Alex Ovechkin

If there is one lesson we can learn from this series so far, its that no matter which team is the best on the ice, it doesn't necessarily mean it will  translate into a win.
 
The Capitals last night were outplayed for the better part of 3 periods.  In the first period the Rangers looked alive: they had a strong forecheck, managed to keep the puck in the offensive zone and didn't give up a ridiculous amount of shots on goal.  Going into the first intermission, they were down 2-0.   Make sense?   No, but has this series so far?

The day after an exciting shoot out victory, Coach Bruce Boudreau decided to give most of his players the day off.
 
Thursday's Capitals practice was more of a pick-up game than practice, as only 10 players took the ice--3 of them forwards.
 
Viktor Kozlov returned to practice for the first time in weeks--he spent about 30 minutes on his own working on skating and agility drills.
 
About 15 minutes into practice, the Caps moved a goal, just above the blue line, effectively splitting the ice in half.
 

There was nothing but smiles as the Capitals took the ice at practice today.Alex Ovechkin is all smiles at practice. Photo by Nick Perretti

Here are some of my observations and analysis:

First of all, injured forward Viktor Kozlov did not skate today--probably will not play tomorrow.