I thought it was interesting that, in his postgame comments, Carbery was surprisingly positive about the team. He pointed out the screwups, sort of matter-of-factly, but complimented their effort to come back in that last 12 minutes and their 5 on 5 play in general. He didn't say much about Lindgren, but this looked like one of those nights where you could say the goalie was good in a game where he allowed 5 goals. He helped hold the team in there, and there was really nothing he could do on any of the goals they scored. I think the comments Carbery made are another reason the team and the organization are so thrilled with him - he knows when to be more blunt with his comments and when to back off because of the context.
Is it a surprise that Ovie would look like the slowest player on the ice? At 39 years old, coming back from a broken leg, what else is to be expected? I'm a little concerned about Ovie breaking the Gretzky record now, even with next year still on his contract. I could easily see him scoring, say, only another half dozen goals or so in the remainder of the regular season, THEN possibly having a relatively long run in the playoffs, and coming back after a short summer, at age 40, still needing a dozen goals or so to break the record. Father Time IS undefeated. It is always possible that his play could go off a cliff next year and he wouldn't get there.
Saturday's game is going to be REALLY tough. Winnipeg is top-notch, they'll be focused because they and the Caps are front-runners for home ice advantage throughout the playoffs, and the first game back after a road trip actually feels like the last game of the trip - it's travel to another venue, which just happens to be home ice.
