Caps catch a break as refs miss too many men call on Niskanen goal

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Caps catch a break as refs miss too many men call on Niskanen goal

By J.J. Regan December 31, 2017 9:00 AM

The Capitals 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday was not without controversy.

In the third period, Caps’ defenseman Matt Niskanen put the exclamation point on a nice passing play to put Washington up 4-1 in the third. There was just one problem: It should not have counted.

The Capitals had six skaters on the ice when the goal was scored and should have been called for too many men, but the referees missed the penalty.

Watch the replay here and pay particular attention to the view from behind the net that shows the length of the ice:

Here’s another view in case you missed it from NBC Sports Washington's postgame show, Caps Extra:

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Even if you missed it at first, New Jersey head coach John Hynes sure didn’t.

“They had six guys the whole play,” Hynes said after the game. “You can’t do anything about it. It’s the ref’s call.”

MORE CAPITALS: LISTEN TO THE LATEST CAPITALS EXTRA PODCAST ON THE CAPS' WIN OVER NEW JERSEY

A coach can challenge that a goal was offside or that there was goaltender interference, but too many men is not among the options for a coach's challenge. It is a call that has to be made by the referees or the linesmen and clearly they missed this one.

Disallowing the goal would not have necessarily changed the outcome of the game, Washington led by 3-1 at the time the goal was scored, but taking a goal off the board always has an impact. The Capitals certainly dodged a bullet with this missed call.

John Tortorella has no answers, walks out of postgame press conference

By J.J. Regan

How the Caps-NYR '09 series is the blueprint for a comeback

In each of the first three games of the series, the Columbus Blue Jackets always had an answer for the Washington Capitals.

The Caps built a two-goal lead in each game and Columbus was able to battle back and tie it each time.

In Game 4 on Thursday, however. the Blue Jackets had no answer in a 4-1 loss to Washington and that includes head coach John Tortorella.

"We weren't good," Tortorella said to the media after the game. "There's no sense asking me things about the game. I'm telling you, we laid an egg. I'm not going to break it down for you. We sucked. We sucked."

Tortorella is known for having some fiery interactions with the media. By his standard, Thursday's postgame presser was fairly tame.

The Capitals may have won Game 3, but Columbus certainly looked like the better team for most of the night. That was not the case in Game 4 as Washington dominated from start to finish. That led to the contentious postgame presser.

"We laid an egg," Tortorella said. "That's all I have to say, guys. I'm sorry, I'm not going to break it down for you. Nothing went well for us. It's on us, we have to figure it out and we will."

Reporters continued to press the head coach until he finally walked out.

Before you laugh too hard at this, it is important to consider that this may be a calculated move by Tortorella.

Sure, there have been times in which he has lost his temper in the past, but these outbursts may be more premeditated than we think.

Consider this. After their worst game of the series, a game in which the Blue Jackets only scored once and saw a 2-0 series lead evaporate in two games at home, we're talking about the head coach. We're not talking about the loss or the performance of the players. Instead, we are talking about Tortorella walking out on reporters.

Even if Tortorella was not willing to give any answers on Thursday, he will need to find some soon. The series now shifts back to Washington for Game 5 on Saturday with all the momentum on the Caps' side.

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4 reasons the Caps beat the Blue Jackets in Game 4

By J.J. Regan April 19, 2018 10:40 PM