Frustration has set in after the Washington Capitals suffered their second straight overtime loss to the Boston Bruins. The Capitals now trail the best-of-seven series 2-1 after a miscommunication between Justin Schultz and goalie Ilya Samsonov led to a Craig Smith goal in double OT.
Alex Ovechkin was not a happy camper as a result. The irritated Capitals captain broke his stick on the bench. Then he skated on the ice and appeared to barking and yelling at the young goalie Samsonov.
Pressure is on the Capitals after being bounced in the first round each of the last two seasons. Washington hasn’t won a playoff series since Ovechkin and his teammates celebrated their Stanley Cup championship in 2018.
It’s unclear what Ovechkin was saying to Samsonov, but it is clear the Caps are feeling the pressure. And it doesn’t help their goaltender situation remains murky at best despite a pair of 40-save efforts by Craig Anderson and Samsonov in the back-to-back losses.
Samsonov was playing in his first game since May 1. He was first suspended one game by the team and then shortly placed on COVID-19 unavailability list. He was cleared and activated on Saturday. It was an otherwise impressive NHL playoffs debut for Samsonov.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t good enough to get the win. And one mishap proved costly and drew the ire of Ovechkin, apparently.
