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courtesy of ‘bridgetds’

Fitting that Semyon Varlamov was in goal last night as the Caps visited St. Louis. Across the ice was a remembered foe from last year’s aborted playoff run, goalie Jaroslav Halak. Traded over the summer by Montreal to a rebuilding Blues team, Halak has shown his new team that last year’s playoff stand in three separate series was not a fluke.

Nonetheless, the Caps came loaded for some personal revenge.

Coach Bruce Boudreau says he never mentioned Halak’s name in the locker room. “We didn’t have it on the board,” Boudreau said. “We didn’t care who was in the net. Last year was last year and we’re just looking forward to hopefully the rest of this year and see where it leads.” For sure, however, most every Caps player knew who they’d be facing on the ice. The question was, would the specter of April past derail a Caps team looking for their fourth win in a row?

Not a chance. Continue reading →