May 2, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Capitals center Marcus Johansson (90) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the New York Rangers in the second period of game one of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The Washington Capitals got out of the gate quickly and dominated early on, with the benefit of a too many men on the ice penalty in the first minute to dominate the first half of the period, but they could not beat Henrik Lundqvist.  It was actually the Rangers who got on the board first with just over 3 minutes left as Carl Hagelin‘s wrap-around beat Braden Holtby to break the ice. After 20 minutes it was the  Rangers leading 1-0 despite being outshot 14-8.

The Rangers seemed to have gotten the momentum early on in the second as they peppered Holtby with shots, but couldn’t add to the lead, which would prove costly.  A power play for the Capitals allowed Alex Ovechkin to knot the score when he picked up a rebound off the back boards and put it past Lundqvist.  Washington struck quickly for two more, the first one being Steve Oleksy’s stretch pass to Marcus Johansson sprung the Caps forward and he broke in on Lundqvist and beat him.  Then the backbreaker came 46 seconds later when Jason Chimera‘s shot from the side boards snuck in under Lundqvist’s pad to give the Capitals a 2 goal lead despite a 16-9 Rangers edge in shots on goal.

The third period was scoreless, as the best chance came with John Moore pinching in down the wing and putting a shot on Holtby that probably crossed the line at some point, but there was no definitive angle that showed it and the no-goal call on the ice stood.  That was as close as the Caps would get, and they took game 1 at home by a score of 3-1.

SENSHOT’S 3 STARS

1.  Braden Holtby

2. Jason Chimera

3. Alex Ovechkin
Game 2 goes Saturday afternoon at 12:30 PM.

OTHER GAMES OF THE NIGHT

OTTAWA BEATS MONTREAL 4-1, TAKE 1-0 SERIES LEAD

BLUES BEAT KINGS 2-1 TO TAKE 2-0 SERIES LEAD AT HOME

RED WINGS EVEN SERIES WITH DUCKS IN OVERTIME

While the definition of the award is the player judged to be the most valuable to his team, it is often given to the best player in the league, despite what that player might have around him in terms of a supporting cast.

Apr 7, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) celebrates with Capitals goalie Michal Neuvirth (30) after scoring a goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Verizon Center. The Capitals won 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

While I might be late to get on the bandwagon, it might be hard to not give the award to Ovechkin.  Much maligned early on for his lack of scoring, Ovechkin has lifted the Capitals to the Southeast Division lead and a legitimate playoff spot.  Ovie recorded just 2 goals and an assist in his first 8 games, as his team started out 2-5-1.  Fast forward and 37 games later, Ovechkin has a league leading 30 goals and has added 21 assists for 51 points and sits just 5 points behind Crosby for the league’s scoring lead.  More importantly, the Capitals are 25-18-2 and have the 6th best record in the conference.    It can be argued that Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green stepping up their games as well has lifted Ovechkin and his numbers, but in the end the Capitals go as their captain goes.  The biggest knock on Ovechkin will be his slow start and his even +/- rating, while Crosby sits at +26 and Toews at +27.

Crosby’s performance this season prior to his injury is nothing short of phenomenal, and whether he wins the scoring title or not, he was still the best player this season.  But the Penguins have rolled on in his absence, along with the injuries to Evgeni Malkin and James Neal.  While he might be the best player this season, it would be hard to argue that he is the “most valuable” to his team.  If you look at the Chicago and Pittsburgh rosters, they are deep enough to withstand the loss of a star player (or three), while Washington would be up the creek if you took #8 off their roster for an extended period of time.

If I was doing the voting, my vote would be for Ovechkin for Hart, while Crosby would be my pick for the Ted Lindsay award, which goes to the Most Outstanding Player as voted by the members of the NHLPA.

I think that would be an appropriate split of the hardware.