Caps/Leafs Recap

What a brutal finish to a game that the Caps were just about guaranteed to at least come out of with a point. Mats Sundin scored on a terrible rebound given up by Olie Kolzig with 29 seconds remaining in the third period. A routine shot was put at the net from the left point and Kolzig left a soft, juicy rebound just to his right. Sundin beat Alexander Semin to the puck and quickly tucked it under a sprawling Kolzig for the game winning goal. Bruce Boudreau must not have heard my plea to start Brent Johnson although it seems Johnson will definitely get the start in the finale of the home and home series with the Leafs.

The Caps had the better of the play for most of the game and ended up coming away with nothing to show for it. After working so hard to tie the game up with just a few minutes to go and having some great chances of their own to pull ahead, Olie simply let them down again. Where's the big save, let alone the routine save, when the game is in the balance. The feeling must be pretty somber in the locker room tonight.

The good news for the Caps is that they get to try to avenge the loss to the Leafs right away and to remove the bad taste out of their collective mouths. It will be interesting to see what if any changes Boudreau makes for the next game. I would bet that Steve Eminger comes out and that Jeff Schultz goes back in. Depsite the bitter loss, the Caps are still in position to climb atop the Southeast Division. Let's keep in mind that the Caps have not lost back to back games since Boudreau became the coach.