WASHINGTON (AP) The Stanley Cup Final is a block party for the Washington Capitals.For all of Evgeny Kuznetsov’s points on offense and
Braden Holtby’s saves in net
Bo Horvat Jersey , the Capitals are one win away from blocking their way to the Cup. They’ve gotten in front of almost a third of the Vegas Golden Knights’
shots, blocking with enough smarts and precision to take a 3-1 series lead into
Game 5 Thursday.”There’s more to blocking shots than just going out there and
trying to get hit,” Holtby said. ”We’re doing a great job of creating the right
layers, guys going out there strategically to know which lane I’m picking for
sight lines and they’re taking away the other half and making big
blocks.”Washington is blocking in quantity and quality in the final, 86 total,
in limiting Vegas to 124 shots on Holtby – many of which he’s seeing and
stopping . Even star captain Alex Ovechkin is blocking shots as he gets closer
to tasting his first championship.”You see `O’ jumping in front of shots, it
makes everyone on the team want to do the same,” winger Devante Smith-Pelly
said.Blocking shots is a team-wide commitment right now and comes from a
season’s worth of skaters, goaltending coach Scott Murray, Holtby and Philipp
Grubauer getting on the same page. The goalies have worked on making sure they
can see past blocks to give players the confidence to get in front of pucks.And
in return, Capitals players study opponents’ tendencies and consciously decide
when to try to block a shot and not so Holtby isn’t at a disadvantage.”You
obviously don’t want to cross in front of him,” center Jay Beagle said. ”You
don’t want to become a screen. So if you miss the block, which happens, guys are
good at shooting pucks and stuff, you want it still so from your standpoint you
didn’t hinder Holts’ view.”Defensemen have an understanding of which half of the
net is their responsibility and which half is Holtby’s. Forwards closer to the
blue line have to react quickly, take the right angle and get to the shooter.”If
guys have time and space, they’re going to be able to sift one
through
Youth Brandon Sutter Jersey ,” Smith-Pelly said. ”For the forwards, it’s just going out there pretty hard and just getting in the way.”The amount of
shots the Capitals have blocked through four games seems to be getting in the
Golden Knights’ heads. They’re struggling to get quality shots through and
resorting to settling for lower-danger scoring chances.”If you’re going to take
shots, make sure they pay a price for blocking those shots,” Vegas coach Gerard
Gallant said. ”Shoot it harder.”Capitals coach Barry Trotz doesn’t want his
players thinking too much about blocking shots or hesitating. He doesn’t care
much about Ovechkin’s blocking form or the philosophy of shot-blocking as long
as it keeps the puck out of the net.”If you’re positionally sound, if you’re in
shot lanes, block the shot,” Trotz said. ”It’s all about will.”And that will can
turn into skill. Washington has been comfortable and confident enough in the
final to push the puck up ice quickly, and a well-timed block shot can set the
table for an odd-man rush.”The less shots they have, the more opportunities
we’re gonna have in offensive zone,” defenseman Dmitry Orlov said. ”Sometimes
when you block it, you get quicker pass and you jump on the rush and you got
3-on-2 or 4-on-3.”The Golden Knights by this point are well-aware of that. But
they don’t really have a solution.”You just have to – I don’t know – defensemen,
puck fake, maybe move around, or maybe look for a guy off to the side, or put it
off the end wall,” forward Alex Tuch said. ”There are a bunch of different plays
that could happen and when they’re blocking shots they’re getting momentum from
it, and if they’re blocking shots and having odd-man rushes that’s even worse.
”In addition to a suffocating neutral-zone trap that’s not easy to play but has
frustrated opponents for four rounds
Brendan Leipsic Jersey Kids , the Capitals have embraced a shot-blocking-when-it-matters mentality.”It’s not exactly fun, but you got to do
if you really want to win,” Smith-Pelly said. ”Everyone is on board with doing
those things.”—More Stanley Cup coverage:
https://apnews.com/tag/StanleyCupFinals— BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) Defenseman Will
Borgen is skipping his senior season at St. Cloud State after signing a
three-year entry level contract with the Buffalo Sabres.Borgen’s contract with
the Sabres won’t kick in until next season. He will finish this year playing for
Buffalo’s minor-league affiliate in Rochester, New York, after agreeing to sign
an amateur tryout contract.The deal was reached Sunday, three days after
Borgen’s season ended when the top-ranked Huskies lost 4-1 to Air Force in the
first round of the NCAA Tournament.Borgen was selected by Buffalo in the fourth
round of the 2015 draft. The 21-year-old had two goals and 15 points in 36 games
this season, and named the National College Hockey Conference’s defensive
defenseman of the year.Overall, Borgen had five goals and 36 assists in 106
games.From Moorhead, Minnesota, he was one of four collegians selected to the
United States Olympic team roster, though he did not appear in a game at South
Korean Winter Games last month. In January, Borgen won a bronze medal
representing the U.S. at the World Junior hockey championship, which was held in
Buffalo.—
