Bummer .... Kings 5, Caps 4

Too little too late? Not really, how about too little early? Headlines elsewhere will probably say things like Kings Edge Caps 5-4 but that seems a little misleading... Let's recap, it was a "no point night" - only the third home "no point game" of the season for the Caps. Another interesting point is that the LA Kings, San Jose Sharks and the Columbus Blue Jackets are the only teams to "blank" the Caps so far this season. Coach Boudreau summed it up in the post game interview, the first two periods were as bad as the Caps have played all year. Nobody looked sharp. As good as the third period was, there was no reason that the Caps should have ever been down 4-2, the Caps really didn't play well at all during the third period.

The Caps special teams were mediocre, Theodore's goaltending wasn't horrible, but it sure seemed like there were a couple times when his glove hand wasn't where it was supposed to be and he got scored on. Brooks Laich had a solid game, but overall it wasn't until the lines were jumbled by Coach Boudreau in between the second and thrid periods that the Capital's offense came alive. Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, Alexander Frolov and Jonathan Quick did indeed take advantage of the openings the Caps gave them tonight but, with the exception of Quick, they also pretty much had their way with the Capitals the last time the two teams met. If anybody could have screened Jose Theodore better than Jeff Schultz did in the first period when the Kings scored, it would take a lot of work and some luck. The two quick goals the Kings scored at the beginning of the second period were the "Cap Killers" though. The game was a very different game then it could and would have otherwise been. However, to say the Caps lost may not be giving Quick, who had 41 saves or the Kings Offense who scored , 1 power play, 1 short handed and 3 even strength goals against the Caps in front of another sellout crowd at Verizon Center.

All that said, I have to say this - didn't you just love Sergei Federov's save of an empty net insurance goal by the Kings. The guy is hands down the easiest guy actively playing the game today that you can say the following about - "future hall of famer." Alexander Ovechkin scored his 200th goal - as was repeatedly pointed out by "Joe B" on Comcast SportsNet, Ovie is just the fourth player ever to reach the 200 goal plateau in 4 seasons. So a three game winning streak ends and now the Caps need to move on. Next up the Florida Panthers on Saturday at Verizon. The Panthers are 6-2-2 in their last 10 and just finished beating the NY Islanders 3-2 in regulation tonight. The Cats are also now in second place in the Southeast Division and Eighth Place in the Eastern Conference with 56 points, 14 back of the Capitals. Saturday will be a tough game the way the Panthers are playing.

LETS GO CAPS!!!!