2015 Week 2 - Capitals Games 38, 39, and 40 Are In The Books ...

Well fellow Caps Fans here we are basically at the mid-point of the 2014 - 15 NHL regular season and the Barry Trotz era Capitals appear to have jelled into their new system rather nicely and with a new culture as well.  No "Winter Classic Hangover here (nor in Chicago for that matter.)  The Caps are now 3-0-1 so far in the New Year after going 8-2-3 for the month of December, all of which means that at this season's midpoint the Capitals find themselves 21-11-8 with 50 points & 20 ROW on track for 100+ points and 40 ROW.  That's a pretty big change from last season when they finished the regular season with 90 points and a paltry 28 ROW which meant golf lessons.  The biggest difference, the one that validates how much harder a team, the Caps are to play against is the ROW number.  That and the overall goal differential the Caps finished last season with a goal differential of -5, this season through 40 games, the Caps are +16.  Those two things are really huge, IMO. 

Then we have the basic way the Caps play now which in games like the Winter Classic or any of games 38, 39 and 40 you can see, this is a much different team then we've seen in a pretty long time.  The 2014-15 version of the Washington Capitals are constructed fundamentally different then the Caps have been built in some time.  Over the past summer when the Caps decided that GMBM, former Deputy GM Brian , would succeed GMGM his former boss George Mc Phee, I feared the Caps would not change enough.  Then when  free agency opened and the Caps went out and spent big money to bring in not one but two high priced UFA Defensemen, one of whom is 34 years old, I still wondered how this season would play out.  I was encouraged but apprehensive.  The first two full months of the season, and to some degree even now, the jury remains "out." But for me December gave me enough encouragement that I've transitioned from "cautious" through "cautiously optimistic" to just plain "optimistic."   One of the reasons for my shift is that same 34 year old UFA defensemen that GMBM signed over the summer - Brooks Orpik, let's face it the Caps haven't had such a physical "stopper" defensemen on the blueline since trading Brendan Witt to the Nashville Predators during the 2005-2006 season.  And when was the last time the Caps had five bonafide NHL top four caliber defensemen in their lineup?  Clearly the team has and retains a scary good group of forwards who now have scored a total of 120 goals and average of 3.0 goals per game so far this season, buts its the fact that despite having a group of forwards lead by a generational talent who has averaged 0.615 goals/game over his career so far (678 NHL regular season and 58 NHL playoff games) is now clearly built from the goal line out.  A team built so that the offense starts and is rooted in solid defense.  Still not convinced look at the scoring stats of the Capital's blueline corps led by John Carlson who is having a career year: 4 G and 26 A, 30 Points through 40 games played; followed by a resurgent Mike Green: 4 G, 19 A, 23 Points in 32 games played; Karl Alzner with a career high 3 G (and 6 A), even though the season is only half way over.  Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen who also have 9 and 13 points respectively.  Clearly the blue liners are stepping up and participating in the offense as well as blocking shots and making sure the overall team defense numbers are looking good including resulting in a average goals against per game of 2.6 goals/game (10th best in the NHL so far this season.)

Then look at the difference in the forwards and the offense - clearly Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom are at the core of the Capitals "offensive game" but with four other forwards (Fehr, Ward, Brouwer, and Johansson) besides Ovechkin and Backstrom on track for 20+ goal seasons and another six players (Laich, Beagle, Burakovsky, Kuznetsov, Carlson, and Green) likely to end the season with 10+ goals this is clearly a much more balanced group of scoring forwards as well.   And I'm not the only one starting to notice some of the other Washington forwards "gifts" and impact.  If that isn't enough to convince you please also note that 10 different Capitals have scored the game winning goal in the Caps 21 wins so far this season. 

Now back to a quick set of thoughts on the three games this past week. 

Game 38 was a  solidly played, 2 point afternoon home win on Sunday January 4th over the never say die Florida Panthers.  While there were a few flitches and lapses, to my thinking the Caps played a well structured game that they pretty much controlled the full 60:00 IMO. 

Game 39 was a good road game on Wednesday evening in Toronto that ultimately the Caps won in regulation by a score of 6 - 2.  Despite the final score, for the first ~27:00 the game was closer than the final score indicates but from that point on the Caps clearly controlled the game and the Maple Leafs. 

Game 40 was the second game of back to back road games that the Caps stole a point from the Flyers on the back of Braden Holtby's performance in goal last night in Philadelphia.  That said the Caps never quit and it was the second game of  two back to back road games in a hard building to play in and three points out of a possible four in two nights are three points I'd gladly take without complaint.  If you're counting that's five out of a possible six points this past week or 0.833 hockey if you're counting.

Next up the Red Wings at Verizon Center tomorrow evening....

LETS GO CAPS!!!!!

Last Night - The Perfect Illustration of Why I Think They Should ALL Be Three Point Games....

If you understand the title of this blog, and if you are here reading my musings you probably do, you know exactly what the title referees to.  If you don't well here it is, in the NHL during the regular season some games count for two points and some games count for three points in the standings, and well that just , well ... makes no sense at all.  Until a couple of years ago every game counted for two points in the standings, win get two points, tie each team gets one point.  But hey someone decided , we hockey fans hated ties and in every game there had to be a winner and a loser, so the solution was ... now get this, if a game ends in regulation in a tie, each team still splits the two original points, but then gets to play first a 5:00 overtime at 4 on 4 and if that doesn't result in a winner they do a shootout - basically the NHL's version of a layup completion for an extra point and the one who wins that is the "winner" of that game, with the one who loses it getting the consolation prize - keeping the "looser" point they already won. And just to make sure they make it clear how dumb they know we fans think this skills competition to decide the winner of a team sport game is, if at the end of a season two teams are tied in the standings the first "tiebreaker" is the total number of Regulation and 4 on 4 overtime wins in the season.

However this past week in the NHL, especially if you are a Capitals fan, the ludicrousity of the current way things are done couldn't be driven home to you more with an 8# sledgehammer. First our Capitals take part in and loose a 20 round shootout in Florida, now remember one of the so called excuses for the shootout vice a longer 4 on 4 OT or following the 4 on 4 with a 3 on 3 is well it takes too long.  So that really short 20 round shootout, that was the way to go right? And now we had last night, the Caps are "on the bubble" battling the NY Rangers for third in the Division, they basically owned their opponent last night, the New Jersey Devils, especially for the last 40:00 of the game beating them in a 4-0 shutout.  For their efforts they were awarded two standings points and New Jersey got no points.  That makes sense right?  Sure until you look at the game that was played between the Rangers and the Hurricanes last night in Raleigh, NC.  There while the Rangers certainly did enough to earn a win, it too them a 3 round shoot out to get is so they too got two points last night just like the Capitals.  My point is had all games been worth the same weight in the standings the Capitals would have edged one point further in front of the Rangers last night.  In fact if a Regulation win was worth three points while the Metropolitan Division Standings would be the same then the Capitals would have 50 standings points to the Rangers 47  and we wouldn't need to keep track of "ROW" at all. 

 

I could talk about last night's game in Newark more but it's been all over the web and NHLN all day so far.  Here's five quick hit take away points from the game and the coverage: 

1) Braden Holtby played very well and earned his shutout - 21 saves were required of him and several were very difficult to make.

2) Ovechkin's goal was one of those highlight reel Ovi goals we will see many times more and one of his best moves ever.

3) Nicklas Backstrom is an awesome hockey player too and it takes Ovi doing something like 2) above to cast even a small amount of shade on that fact from time to time.

4) This Mike Green guy ... really good at hockey as well, probably time for the Caps to figure out how to extend/resign him.

5)  The entire Capitals team is now wholly invested in the new system under Barry Trotz and basically getting better every game they play at executing it.

But in the end this is just hockey not world peace we are talking about here so moving on to my next hockey musing, "How 'Bout dem Caps! anyways?" Playing 0.700 hockey in their last ten games and looking more and more like a very solid team every game they play.  Next up are the Ottawa Senators, who are solidly on the bubble right now so that won't be an easy game, tomorrow night at DC's Verizon Center.  Then on Tuesday night it's a trip up to Madison Square Garden to face those very same NY Rangers on Manhattan.  Then after Christmas they face the Penguins in Pittsburgh on the 27th and the Islanders in Uniondale on the 29th before coming home for the Winter Classic on New Year's day here in DC.  And I thought I had a busy holiday season planned, wheh!

LETS GO CAPS!!!!

11/15 A No Point Night In Saint Louis - Not The Start To A Three Game Road Trip Anyone Rocking the Red Was Hoping For ...

Another Caps Hockey Game, another disappointing slow start that ended in more disappointment.  The Caps rolled in to Saint Louis off a 1 - 0 loss the prior evening at Verizon Center.  They apparently decided that since New Jersey successfully beat them by slowing the pace of the game, they'd try and do the same thing against Saint Louis.  One could talk fancy stats or simple stats or "olde tyme hockey" or whatever you want and by every normal measure, especially the scoreboard, the bottom line is it didn't work. As the final seconds of the game wound down last night the scoreboard showed Blues 4 - Capitals 1.  

Blues goalie Brian Elliott wasn't all that great, and that makes the final score even tougher to take - the goalie wasn't unbeatable, but he didn't have to be.  Add to the fact the Capitals forwards didn't make it hard for Elliott to turn in a 0.960 SV% on the night the fact that in addition to having brain freeze similar to Holtby's faux paux on Friday night that Justin Peters turned in a SV% of just 0.882 last night and the final score of 4-1 can only be attributed to the Caps limiting the Blues to just 34 SOG.
  The Caps are now 0.500 on the season with 17 games (21%) of the 82 game season played so far.  That's not good enough, by any measure to be confident in this team's chances of returning to the playoffs.  They need to settle down, play the system much harder for 60:00 of every game and move things forward.  On the GM side of things, some things need to happen, and one of them is resign/extend Mike Green now not later.  A second is clear Cap space of guys who will never again be even close to what George McPhee signed them for - for example one should not be paying $4.5M of cap space for a guy who if/when he gets healthy is a third line center for your team or $2M for a guy who might sometime later this season be your #7 D-man... . A third thing is that between the GM and the coaches they need to facilitate some stability in the top three lines and let the players work out their issues as long as they play hard for 60:00 of every game.  The musical chairs on the lines isn't helping provide any of the needed spark IMO.  

I know last night was game 2 of a back to back but you know what, just like the Saint Louis Blues, I don't care, nor can the Capitals afford to care or think about that either.  Basically what this Capitals team needs to do is play the entire first 50:00 of every game with the same drive, speed and urgency like they seem to be playing the last 10:00. Last night they didn't do that and it cost them another two points.  Will they look inward and decide enough is enough during these next two days before facing the Phoenix oops Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday in Phoenix oops Glendale?  We can only hope and cheer for them to do so, at least we Caps fans can only do so.  In that vein I shout out:

LETS GO CAPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  LETS GO CAPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Like I Said, Really, Really, REALLY Hard - Game 12, A One (1) Point Night

Well last night at Verizon Center I, a Washington Capitals fan, watched a hockey game between the Capitals and the Flames from Calgary.  It was exciting, generally well played and exceptionally frustrating to watch, at least for me. I can only imagine how frustrating this must be for both the players on the team and even more-so the coaching staff.  To be fair unlike Sunday's game where by the end you could really say nothing positive about a regulation loss at the hands of what is, was and remains an inferior opposing team, last night's game had some positives, actually a lot of positives.  However, my theme today, even upon retrospective reflection is mediocrity is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted.  Last night what the Capitals organization both needed and wanted was a 2 point regulation win - what they got was one (1) point, a loser's point, at the end of overtime.  Say what you want, a one point night that puts your team as playing under 0.500 (11 points in 12 games) hockey is mediocrity.  Mediocrity is "life on the bubble."  Life on the bubble, now early in the season or in April is not what I imagine a team with the 4th highest payroll in the league the Ted Leonsis and the Monumental Group were going for this season.  I'm pretty sure, they like we - the Capitals fan base, did not think or want a team that has trouble finishing games, for whatever reason.


However, I will not discriminate, you can't fault only the players here.  Everyone in this organization seems bent on celebrating mediocrity.  Last night the Capitals organization went out of it's way to do so.  Making sure we as fans saw the passing of the torch from Peter Bondra to Alex Ovechkin.  Celebrating Ovechkin overtaking Bondra as the leading scorer in Capitals history.  That's a meaningless record, by the way and one anyone capable of simple extrapolation knew would fall, and fall hard early in Ovechkin's career, barring significant injuries just three years into Ovechkin's career.  "Smokin' Al Koken's" Intermission Interview with Nicklas Backtrom was the height of celebrating mediocrity, however of the participants, the only one who seemed to understand just how stupid it was - Backstrom - who pointed out what one would expect both he and Ovechkin no doubt feel - "really right now it's all about getting a W."  Maybe if the organization didn't take so much away from focusing on it last night, having Ovie come out and wave to the crowd after a jumbotron homage, etc. everyone would realize what they needed to do and make sure a W for the Capitals was what happened.  Maybe if the MSM who voted the games top three stars realized that another example of the definition celebrating mediocrity is having the home team for two of the three stars of the game while not giving one of them to the guy who sealed the deal for his tam - opposition goalie - Jonas Hiller with his 0.912 SV% and robbing the Capitals in the final seconds of regulation, as well as several times in OT who "stole two points" last night for Calgary.  Fine give Ovie the third star if you want, I'm not saying his achievement isn't worth mentioning, but in the middle of a losing streak it's not worth celebrating the way this organization did last night.  Look let's face it, if this team never ever looks inside and fixes itself so it can win these games, let alone a Stanley Cup, ten years from now Ovechkin will take Marcel Dionne's place on the NHLN special on the "greatest players to have never won the Stanley Cup."  I don't think that's what the son of a two time gold medalist is shooting for, do you? But hey let's further celebrate the mediocrity of this meaningless record with a splash screen rather that focusing on fixing the team...if you've gone to the Caps website today you know what I'm talking about: "Congrats Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals Franchise Points Leader 827 points #AllTimeGr8"  Dissect that for a minute folks - All time franchise points leader of a team that in forty years has been to the Stanley Cup finals once and has never won.  Why not start a "40th Anniversary Celebration that celebrates what the Caps are really about - frustration and futility? That's what we'll keep being as a fan base unless this entire organization stops celebrating and taking joy in mediocrity.

Enough of the rant.  As I said last night's game had a lot to like, it had two short periods, maybe 4:00 of play where the Caps throttled back just a little and on both occasions, the Flames sensed it and took advantage of it that resulted in two goals for them.  If that was will that happened they'd have won.  Then we have the Flame's third goal - watch the replay - tough luck for the Caps, yet again if that was all that happened the Caps would have still won.  Then we had the save with seconds left where young Tom Wilson failed to raise the puck over Hiller's outstretched pad, again tough luck but again, if that was all that happened they could have won.  No this game was lost by the Capitals with you pick it, either the first goal of the game or the overtime goal - on both those occasions the Capitals "team" defense failed to properly challenge the Flames on the blueline and that set up the Flames ability to score a goal rather than getting a Caps "takeaway."  Other than that hey it was great, well played game by the Caps  - see how easy it is to accept and even celebrate mediocrity, maybe that's why so many do it, so often.  Look bottom lines -

• Caps forwards - all of them - need to forecheck and backcheck more aggressively and more effectively for every second of every game whether it's a 60:00 or 65:00 game.
• Caps defense  - all of them need to be better, both defensively and offensively.  Niskanen in particular needs to get his game and numbers closer to what the Caps paid for - his last season numbers.  Green needed to challenge and end up with the puck last night at the 4:10 mark of OT - watch that play, it was an inauspicious end to an otherwise good game for him.  The rest of the defense needs to be better at both ends of the ice, and get pucks through and on net in the offensive zone and be more constantly effective physically in the defensive zone.  Simply put at the end of a game against the Capitals, the entire opposing team's forward lines, every one of the twelve of them should be very, very tired and sore.
• Caps Goaltenders need to frankly not stink, mediocrity for an NHL goaltender is a less than 0.900 SV%, that's what this teams goaltenders are.  They need to do better, period.  The rest of this season and through the playoffs, they need to make all the saves they should and 70% of the rest required to win.  If they can't then management needs to move the players they need to move to get someone in here who can.  This isn't a personal assault on the goaltenders, they have in many, many cases the hardest job on the team and they have nowhere to hide.  That's the life they chose though.  They need to fix this and themselves so this happens pretty much now so in another eight games, when the season reaches the 25% mark (20.5 games played) the Caps are in a much better place as a team and with a much better record than they are now.  Make no mistake both #1 and #2 above need to happen for that to occur but number 3) is just as important as items 1) and 2) combined after watching last night's game.

Next up the Blackhawks in Chicago on Friday evening.  Look I'm still a loyal fan and I know this post will irritate some but Step One of any 12 Step program is admitting you have a problem, to me as I've ranted above right now the Caps real problem is accepting and indeed celebrating anything less than excellence.  However, anything can change and I hope for the Caps 2014-15 season that changes now - they played the game right last night and basically dominated the Flames they just did not however, "get it done" and celebrating anything about what leads to the results of "not getting it done" so far this season makes no sense to me.  So again I shout:

LETS GO CAPS!!!!

Sometimes It's Really, Really, REALLY Hard ...

Sometimes, it's really difficult to be a tried and true fan.  That's something we Capitals fans know well and if we didn't we are definitely learning this season.  Look it's easy to be a fan when "your team" is doing well.  It's even pretty easy to be a fan when your team is struggling, "rebuilding" , etc. when they are playing up to their potential.  It's gets more and more difficult as "your team" does not deliver on reasonable expectations when they are not delivering results.  However, it gets "REALLY" hard when they aren't delivering on expectations AND you see things that make you question the team's commitment to each other let alone you, the fan base.

It's not rocket science - realizing and understanding professional sports is a business, that is.  It's also not rocket science that it's easier to "sell" and get behind either "a winner" or "an underdog" story than it is to sell the entertainment value of watching "your team" just outright blow a game they seemed to have in hand.  Yes, of course I'm talking about Sunday's game versus the "Arizona" Coyotes.  As was noted in Peerless's postgamer - for all of 16 minutes - the Capitals looked like the team we the fan base, and no doubt they and management, want them to be.  Sure they let up an early goal, BUT, they then took control and the first period ended with them up 3-1 and looking pretty much in control of things.  Of course that was before, "Arizona", a team not known for offensive firepower, came out and scored five (5) - yes you read that correctly - five (5) - unanswered goals before the Capitals responded.  The Caps finally woke up in the middle of this nightmare of a game with less than five minutes to play in regulation and managed to score two (2) late goals with the game ending 6-5 and not looking as badly played by them as it actually was.  They then retired to the dressing room where I'm sure they got an earful from the coaching staff, and then held a lengthy players only meeting. 

To a fair degree, the entire season so far can pretty much be summed up by Brooks Orpik's post-game quote:

“I don’t think there’s one guy in the room who’s happy with the way he played the past four, five games, I don’t think it’s one or two guys who’s responsible. Everybody’s had their moments.”

However, I'm sure at this point I am not the only Capitals fan whose reaction is that while I'm glad nobody seems to be taking things lightly and the words sound right, I don't really care about the words right now.  What I care about is I expect more out of "my team" right now, and I think that's fair since we are talking about a team that has basically been pretty well assembled and is being paid up to the salary cap maximum.  After all this team, like every NHL team, is composed of professional athletes, a rare breed.  I know they can't be happy, at all, with things, you don't get to their level by being mellow and less than 1,000% competitive, they all have to have that.  But to win consistently at their level, they all need to execute, every minute of every game, and NOT get rattled or slowed by the inevitable mistakes in a game - they like us are human and mistakes will happen.  When that occurs the other team usually capitalizes unless someone on "your" team comes up big.  You know that save by a goalie that leaves you wondering - something we've really not seen in a while.  Or that herculean effort to get back, make a seemingly miraculous back-check and turn things around and into a scoring chance for your team, etc.  Most important, when those bad things happen, is to "step back" gather yourself and your teammates and start anew - avoiding the "quicksand", you know what I'm talking about.  Stepping into the quicksand and what happens - well Sunday night for example- five unanswered goals by a team that averages less than 2.5 goals/game.

Look the Capitals showed many things on Sunday - none of them good.  They need to go back to the basics, not the fundamentals of the game basics, but the determination that keeps you from loosing.  Funneling the fear of loosing into the focus that lets a team reach it's potential and win.  They can do it, but it has to come from within the guys on the bench, not behind it.  They have a good system and they need to keep believing in it and executing.  That's what the team they're facing tonight - the Calgary Flames have been doing. To begin to turn things around they once again need to play a 60:00 game and execute well like they did before these less than stellar last four games intervened between their win at the Saddledome against these same Flames. 

So, Caps, let's ignore our fears of insects, stay out of the quicksand, and execute.  Oh and to the Capitals management - I think it would be in poor taste, and frankly disrespectful of the fans and the game, if when Alex Ovechkin breaks an otherwise meaningless "team scoring record" any sort of big deal were to be made of the fact.  Regardless of how many goals or assists, Ovechkin, who will no doubt join Bondra in the HHOF, notches tonight or in the next several games, what needs to be the focus is winning games and that's a TEAM, not individual item to be celebrated.  In the meantime, next up Calgary's Flames at Verizon Center, tonight.

 

LETS GO CAPS!!!!

I'd Have Rather ... But, Alas ... ; Game 9 Recap and Thoughts

I'd have rather been writing about a Caps 2-1 regulation win when recapping tonight's Caps - Red Wings game, but alas it was not to be.  Instead I am forced to write a less fun but much more accurate recap about a 4 - 2 regulation loss.  Yes, it was a no point night - the Caps despite starting the third period leading the Red Wings 2 -1 gave up three (3) unanswered goals to drop the game at the end of the third period 4 -2 to the Detroit Red Wings. Simply put it was a total bummer.  Another "Goose Egg" night,  last two games, two regulation losses, last four games, 3 losses out of four opportunities.  So instead of ending October on a high note, we Caps fans are less than subdued, but not in a good way.  The Capitals finish the first month of the 2014 - 15 NHL regular season with a 4-3-2 record while the Red Wings finish it with a 5 - 2 - 2 record.  Both Detroit and Washington came into last night's contest with identical records, they finished it in markedly different style and moods.  Washington now has more questions than answers as to the path forward, and those outstanding questions need at least some of the necessary answers, fast.  Detroit, exits October with confidence and poise, at least until teams like our Washington Capitals mature and get more patient and confident in their system, as well I suspect, better conditioned.

The headline over at NHL.com on this game reads " Red Wings Score Three In Third; Rally To Defeat Caps."  The headline after you "click through" says: "Red Wings Top Caps; Ovechkin Drought Hits 5."  Only in reference to Alex Ovechkin, and only on a "slow" sports news night is a guy with five (5) goals in the first 9 games of the season (on track for 40+ goals in the regular season" in a drought.  But the article captures the essence of the game in a very (seemingly) post game quote from Caps coach, Barry Trotz:

"Every turnover that we did have, it seemed to end up in the back of the net; those are the things that are killers, big-time killers."

Unlike other early season losses, the Caps did not have a bad or slow start to the game.  At least they played the first period with the same energy and intensity level, actually more so, than the Red Wings.  While the first period ended in a 0 - 0 tie, the Caps outshot the Wings 8 - 3, and generally outplayed the them in every facet of the game, and at both ends of the ice during the first period.  The only thing really lacking in the first period was much grit, and nobody really got in Rad Wings goalie Jimmy Howard's "grill" to push any of the 8 shots on goal the Caps had past Howard.  Additionally,
Washington held Detroit to three shots on goal in the first period.  Red Wings coach Mike Babcock apparently agrees with my assessment of the first period as seen in his post game quote:

"I didn't think we were very good early, they skated way better than us. We weren't good enough. We had no tempo to us."

That said even though the Caps outshot and outplayed the Wings, last evening's first period was one of the less interesting 20:00 of Hockey I've seen/watched in a while.

On the other hand, last night's second period was perhaps the most entertaining and well played 20:00 of hockey I've watched so far this season.  It was fast, exciting and a really fun game to see.  Lots and lots of speed, and back and forth, and best of all the Capitals, despite a few miscues, managed to stay within the structure of their new system and kept up with the Wings, in fact the period ended with the Capitals ahead of the Red Wings 2 -1. were it not for the third period, but alas I get ahead of myself.  In the second period the Wings came out skating fast and the Capitals responded.  Red Wings youngster, Gustav Nyquist got the Wings on the board first with an even strength tally, assisted by Justin Abdelkader at 8:53 of the period, for the Capitals the "first" "Frankenline" of 90-19-43 along with the Mike Green and Nate Schmidt, both of whom otherwise had a very good night, were on victimized.  The Caps did not breakdown or abandon their system after that goal though, and at 11:26, Nicklas Kronwall was sent to the sin bin for interference which afforded Caps youngster Evgeny Kuznetsov the opportunity to get his first goal of the season on the ensuing powerplay, victimizing Detroit's league leading penalty killing unit.  Game tied  1 - 1.  Then Justin Abdelkader was whistled off to the box for high-sticking at 17:01 of the second stanza, and just as the penalty ended, Troy Brouwer put a wickedly placed wrister past Jimmy Howard at the 19:02 mark of the period.  The Caps went into the final intermission with a 2 - 1 lead and the games momentum in hand. 

The Caps should have come out in the third period and played it with the same stifling efficiency they had played the first period.  Unfortunately, the Red Wings were determined to not allow that to happen.  Their veteran first line of Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Abdelkader just kept coming ... and coming and coming.  Like Barry Trotz's quote above indicates, it's not that the Capitals gave the Wings a lot, it's that they gave them anything at all and what the Caps did not give, if the Red Wings needed it, they took it anyway.  the game's overall statistics show the Caps with 10 giveaways and the Wings with 6 takeaways.  Unfortunately for the Caps to have won this game the Caps needed to have 5 less giveaways and have played harder on the puck so the Wings would have ended with no more than 2 takeaways.  The Red Wings started their "comeback" by Justin Abdelkader scoring what is shown on the scoresheet as an "unassisted" goal at the 4:04 mark of the final period.  Not shown on the scoresheet is the giveaway Brooks Orpik made that landed on Paval Datsyuk's stick, literally right next to the right side post that Braden Hotlby kept out of the net at about the 3:50 mark or the Henrik Zetterberg  "almost takeaway" from Andre Burakovsky at ~4:02 breaking the puck loose in the lowere lefthand slot that Abdelkader pounced on and put past Holtby two seconds later. Well my mother always used to tell me bad things happen in threes - guess she was right.  Had the Capitals managed to rebound from that goal, things would have likely been different.  That was probably on at least several Caps minds then, since that's about the time they started to not play their system dogmatically and trying to make more herculean individual efforts. Victimized at the time was the "Frakenline" of 8 (Ovi) - 65 (Burakovsky) - 42 (Ward) and defensive pair 44 (Orpik) - 74 (Carlson).

 Looking back now - I imagine at about the 5:00 mark realizing this Datsyuk and Zetterberg must have gotten wry grins they worked to disguise and suppress. In any case the Red Wings second goal of the evening seems to have convinced the Caps coaching staff to reunite 8 and 19 on the first line, which in itself is/was, at least in my opinion, a smart move/good thing.  Unfortunately, it didn't really do the trick as the veteran Red Wing team now had life and relentlessly pressed the issues, whenever they were given the slightest bit of "daylight."  Had the Caps stayed disciplined, exceptionally disciplined, and committed  no further errors from the 4:04 mark of the third period, I'll speculate they could have turned the tide and gotten one if not two points and maybe even a needed "ROW" - Regulation/Overtime Win.  Alas that was not to be, at the 10:34 mark of the period with the first line of each team, or at least for the Caps 8 (Ovi) - 19 (Backy) and 42 (Ward) on the ice, playing "mano a' mano" once again Abdelkader, Zetterberg, and "the magician" Datsyuk combined to put the Red Wings ahead to stay 3 -2.  Was it a goal Braden Holtby would like back, yes - he likely wants every goal ever scored on him back, I think that's just the way he is.  Was the goal Holtby's "fault" no.  Was the score one of those times this season when we saw/will see the quarter step that Brooks Orpik no longer has and why the Penguins let him go this past summer, yes.  Was it the reason the Caps lost last night - no, that reason is/was they moved, all be it, slightly off of their system and that allowed the Red Wings to "play their game." From this point on, even though Datsyuk scored a final goal for the Red Wings, little matters worth discussing.  Yes the tripping call on Joel Ward was absurd, as was the blatant too many men (7) the Red Wings had that wasn't called; as was the high sticking call on Backstrom.  Also missed were several cross checks Orpik laid on Abdelkader and at least one corss check Abdelkader laid on Orpik; as were ... oh forget it, my point is yes the zebras were really bad, but they weren't biased, just bad.  In any case let's look for the good things, ..., ..., ..., okay other than yeah they played better last night than they played in Vancouver, I got nothin'.

Other notes I think are worth musing upon and mentioning:

Alexander Ovechkin - last evening,  Ovi had seven shots on goal, matching his total of the past four games, but did not have a point for a fifth straight game. Yes, it's the longest drought, in terms of points, of his NHL career to date, and yes he was "-2" on the night, as for that matter so was Backstrom.  Am I worried about Ovi's "production" - simply put, no, not at all.  What Ovi needs to get going again, is in my view simple, I'd put/keep 8 - 19 together, but if Trotz doesn't want to do that then at least pair him with a natural, fast skating, center - that would either Kuznetsov or Johannson.  I'm not sure what Trotz sees/fears that makes it so he's not paired Kuznetsov as a center with Ovechkin on any of the "Frakenlines" to date but pairing him with Burakovsky did not work last evening and I think that was for two reasons - a) Burakovsky, like Ovechkin is a natural wing, at least right now he is; and b) the third forward on the line needs to be faster than Ward if they are going to play the system the way it's meant to be played - all three guys coming into the zone pretty much "abreast" and sustaining a five man forecheck. My vote is a little more patience - across the board by Trotz and staff  (see: "Frankenlines" below) keeping 8 (Ovechkin) - 19 (Backstrom) as the core of the first line, and using either 16 (Fehr), 20 (Brouwer), or 43 (see: "Tom Wilson" below) at Right Wing on that line.

"Frankenlines":  I think I get why Trotz is so quick to shake up the forward lines - it's about developing a more complete confidence in the system so every one of the forwards on the team can and does really rely on and plays the system - every second of the entire game.  However, chemistry and even more-so timing are also important.  It seems to me, the system was meant to be played at as fast a tempo as the personnel on the ice at any given time can play it.  For that reason putting a noticeably slower cog onto a wheel with two other faster line-mates, does nothing from what I see than force all three of the forwards to slow their game.  Last night, particularly in the first 10:00 of the third period, that meant that instead of the Red Wings having to match speed with speed on the top two lines, they had more time to push and force the Caps play.  It was only about ~5:00 of the first 10:34 of the period that the Red Wings did that successfully but they were a disastrous 5 minutes of hockey for the Capitals.  I am ALL for accountability and I'm not suggesting we stick to line combinations through thick and thin, not at all.  I am suggesting there is a limit to the everybody in the lineup of forwards can play on any line and well with any other forward on the team; and that limit has been reached and exceeded.  The coaching staff needs to step back and look at footspeed in addition to a few other things and adjust their thinking about the line combinations.  The only "uneven" footspeed combinations that should even be considered the rest of this first half of the season, IMO, is 25 (Chimera) and 42 (Ward).

Tom Wilson - hopefully, last evening, Tom Wilson realized he got a chance to look across the ice and see the player Barry Trotz aspires for him to be.  That player wears number 8 for the Red Wings - Justin Abdelkader, who was the first star of the game when the final horn sounded.  Simply put, the Caps video team needs to take last night's game, especially the third period, and compile as much isolation video of Abdelkader's 17:44 TOI and just have Wilson watch it over, and over, ... and over - maybe even while he sleeps.  It's important for young players to have guys with similar skill levels/sets to look at and aspire to reach or exceed their accomplishments.  I think for Wilson, Abdelkader would be that role model.

Joel Ward - Ward has raised his game, a lot these past two outings and should be re"ward"ed - some PP time, yes; some more 5 on 5 minutes, yes; playing this system 5 on 5 with Ovi as his opposite wing, no.  Playing with Ovi at 5 on 5, Ward has the same issues as Brooks Laich (when healthy and confident), he just doesn't have the high gear footspeed to match Ovi when "the Gr8" puts it into overdrive.  On the powerplay this is not a factor as once the Caps are setup in the offensive zone, Ward hockey IQ, and grit mean he's anchored in/around the net and the Caps are already in the zone together.  In this system at five on five it means Ovi and the Caps faster centers need to slow their pace back to Ward's and that gives the opposing team the time they need to set up across the width of the blue line.  It just did not work last night nor will I think it work much against any other fairly good team.

Nate Schmidt: played very well last evening from what I could see despite finishing the night at - 1; he's had a pretty good season so far , though last night he played a little cautiously - no hits, no blocked shots.

Mike Green:  the games third star deservedly so had another monster evening.  Not on the scoresheet is the awesome backcheck he made to break up what would have been a 1 on 0 breakaway in the third period....

Braden Holtby: sure the assist on the Kuznetsov power play goal was cool, but for my druthers he had happy feet last night, a 0.818 SV% isn't going to win many games in this league, and which of the two - offensive points or SV% is he being paid for?  Bottom line he didn't make the saves he needed to make in the third period and that's as much a reason as any the Caps lost last evening, however it wasn't the only reason and it wasn't as bad a night for him as the just looking at the SV% numbers might lead you to believe.

Burakovsky & Kuznetsov:  Well Burakovsky did cough up the puck leading to Abdelkader's game tying goal but overall he continues to develop and look better and better every game.  If it wasn't Zetterberg, and it wasn't the third period with the Wings down by one goal, he might have gotten away with slightly over-handling the puck where he was.  For all that he had 13:35 of even strength TOI and was 83% in the faceoff circle and "even" on the night with an assist on Troy Brouwer's goal. Kuznetsov had 13:52 of even strength TOI; was 50% in the faceoff circle and scored his first goal of the season, he had an exceptionally solid night - the only time he was on the ice that the Captials were "victimized" was the final Datsyuk powerplay goal at 19:06 of the third period while he was on the PK unit.  Overall both players continue to develop exceptionally well and despite my earlier statements about Burakovsky not being the right venter to pair with Ovechin, that thought should ent with the word "yet" - he's not the right center to pair with Ovi "yet" because he needs more time paired with Wings who stay in their "lanes" more until he gets more comfortable in the Center position. 

O' Brien & Latta: Latta was 0 for 4 in the faceoff circle, uncharacteristic and something he needs to work on.  Other than that a solid evening for both these youngsters.  Clearly they wanted to make sure Coach Trotz's belief in keeping them here while sending Chris Brown to Hershey was the right  move, which I too agree with.  While they each had less than 8:00 TOI, they made their presence known and felt when they were put out onto the ice.

Brooks Orpik & Matt Niskanen:  Last evening was neither of these two off season pickups "best outing."  As I described in my recap, the Red Wings victimized Orpik just a little too easily.  Orpik and Abdelkader had a war on ice going all night and for the entire first two periods it was a stalemate and like watching two heavyweights go toe to toe.  In the third period, Abdelkader with the help of Zetterberg and Datsyuk used their speed to clearly win the bout in the late rounds.  You just know that Orpik is going to go watch the film of last night's third period and make whatever adjustments he can to try and make sure that never happens again.  I only hope he's only lost a quarter step over his career to date and can do so.  Niskanen's performance, like his entire game, was more sublime than Orpik's.  It's still unclear to me how they did it, but somehow the Red Wings managed to make it so, even though Niskanen had his usual 20:00 TOI he was ineffective.  Good teams do that and you can't have a monster game every night but last night Niskanen di not look like he was a force to be reckoned with, as he had in big games for Pittsburgh last season. 

Well next up Steven Stamkos and the Lightning in Tampa on Saturday.

LETS GO CAPS!!!

Looking Ahead to Game 9: Detroit Red Wings at Washington Capitals

Well Caps fans tonight at Verizon Center our Washington Capitals cross over  the 10% mark through the young 2014-2015 NHL Regular Season. 

The Caps and the Red Wings enter tonight's contest with identical 4-2-2 records (10 standings points).  Both teams are coming off road losses but should be rested and ready to play.  The Red Wings lost their last outing 4-2 to the Broad Street Bullies (aka Philadelphia Flyers) at Philadelphia's Wachovia Center on Saturday evening.  The Caps lost their last outing to the Canucks in Vancouver on Sunday 4-2.  Tonight's game should once again be a good measuring stick.  Will our Capitals play
the opposing team that's on the ice or will they play the reputation that Detroit has built over the past 25 seasons?  If the Caps play the opposing team on the ice, this should be a good, solid, hard fought game that they win.  If they decide to play the reputation of past seasons then the may as well not show up - #justsaying.  Both teams could really, really use an ROW - especially the Capitals who only have three to date. 

The keys to tonight's game is for the Caps are IMO:

1. Return to form and play the system - limit the Red Wings to less than 30 SOG;
2. Shot the puck more - especially our top two lines;
3. Get in the Red Wings paint" and their goaltenders "grill" more than they have the past two games;
4. A Save Percentage of 0.920+ for Holtby; and,
5. Come out faster and harder on the puck in the first period than they have yet to do this game.

The keys to tonight's game for the Red Wings to get the Verizon Crowd behind them are:

1. Play like gentlemen, realize the are the visiting team, lay down and politely give the Caps the two points we want and need.
2. Look it's a long season, Babcock should save his stars for when he really needs them and give Datsyuk and Zetterberg a night off so they rest, after all neither is getting any younger.
3. Be careful, very careful there is NO need for any Detroit skater to risk injury by getting into any Caps shooting lanes or blocking any shots, that "puck" thing is made of really, really hard rubber and it could hurt somebody.
4. Remember the importance of helping our Swedes look really good.  Washington is a growing hockey market ad the Red Wing's Swedes should go out of their way to help Backstrom and Johansson look really good tonight.
5. Prior to the game eat a really heavy, unhealthy meal, it's a long flight after the game and they'll all likely want to immediately catch some "Z'ssss" right after the game or on the flight, nothing helps you sleet better than a really heavy dinner.

Hope you weren't looking for anything too serious there - bottom line for the Red Wings is th old adage for road hockey - "play your game" - the basic keys for Detroit will be to try and dictate the pace and tenor of play.  It will be very important that the Caps don't let them especially during the first 40:00 of the game.

I'm not Peerless but my "prognostication" assuming the Caps execute on their keys 1-5 is: 

Capitals 3 - Red Wings 1

LETS GO CAPS!!!!

If You Ever Wondered ...

Fall is in the air here in "Bucoulic Bristow" the leaves on the hardwoods are turning, sunny Saturday traffic on Westbound route 66 will be packed with cars heading to Skyline Drive to see the fall splendor tomorrow.

Oh and  wow, it only took six games for Hockey's "mainstream (lower case because of the following lower class examples) media" (MSM) to decide they want to continue to pummel on their made up idea that "Alexander Ovechkin is a stupid, coach killer."  See here.  Such tripe only continues to fuel my belief that since Hockey's MSM is filled with Canadians, who still apparently can't stomach the fact that Europeans and Russians can play their National Game too, 98+% of what they write (or is that "wright" or "rite" who knows, or they say on TV) is fueled by Hockey Xenophobia.  But hey why listen to his current coach, who has not been fired and has an Ovechkin led team playing 0.667 hockey, on pace for a 109 point season ( See Here)?  I mean wouldn't you rather listen to some guy who still craves the spotlight even though his on ice career is over or even worse is a "Never Was" let alone a "Used to Be".  I don't know why Healy, Krypos, or anyone else's comments get me "going" but they sure do so here's a couple of points to muse - backed by facts and real data instead of sensationalistic, bigoted adjectives and "bloviation":

A) Ovi's average shift time, as with the rest of the Capitals is shorter than ever - and it's a product as I see it of the new system that EVERYONE on the Capitals including the Captain, Alexander Ovechkin buys into.  Until I listened to Healy, I always thought "buying in" was a trait associated with being "coachable" though I admit and point out that is a "second order" relationship.  I offer the "Event Summary" from the Edmonton game and suggest if you or even better Glenn Healy before he spouts off inaccurate "stuff" again examine ANY of the other 5 games statistics of real data available for 2014-15 Season. If you don't want to go read it, in Edmonton Ovi played 22 shifts in the game with an average shift length including the 2:11 TOI he had on the PP of 53. 73 seconds.  Ovechkin's average shift length in every game so far this season has been tracking, similar and shorter than the other two forwards on his line (Backstrom and either Fehr or Brouwer) throughout the season. Further reinforcing evidence to me that he is indeed playing the system as desired by his coaches.  The only difference on this last game is Ovi only had 2 SOG and 5 attempts vice more in earlier games.  Of course a guy who's shooting percentage so far this season is markedly higher than it has been over his earlier career, might be also changing where he shoots from.  Also, how many SOG he takes when he isn't in those higher percentage areas might also be lower, of course that's just speculation on my part, and probably NOT something a "dumb" player with awards like a Hart Trophy would think to do.....

B) As far as loosing the room and/or other reasons why either Glen Hanlon, Bruce Boudreau, or Adam Oates were replaced as Caps coach, sure the easy thing to do is point to Ovi's big contract and role as Captain and say he's the reason.  However, as a guy who's been focused on the Capitals through Ovechkin's entire career to date I feel otherwise and point to the following:

1. Glen Hanlon:  Hanlon was replaced in November 2007,  Ovehkin's current contract was signed in January 2008.  While some could say perhaps Ovi was the reason Hanlon was fired and the driver is/was Ovi's current contract, to me at best that's a third order relationship.  Perhaps Ovi then playing under his entry level contract, and his team of advisors that does include his Mother (a two time Gold Medalist and former Commissioner of a women's pro basketball league, who probably knows something about winning formulae,  was saying that among other things he did not think Hanlon didn't seem to be the coach to reach that level, but clearly there were other things they wanted before hitching Alex's star to the Capitals for what was likely his entire career. Further there were a lot of other current and former players who had issues with Hanlon's playing not to loose system.
   
2. Bruce Boudreau:  Come on?  All on Ovi?  Really if you feel that you really didn't follow the Capitals.  I agree that letting Boudreau go wasn't a smart move or answer to the Caps woes when it happened, but he had lost over "half" the room if I can read between the line.  I'll also agree that Ovi was indeed one of the guys Boudreau lost.  I don't know why but I'll guess that Boudreau wanted to change up his system slightly - a system that in the regular season had frankly served Boudreau, Ovechkin and the entire team well, and Ovechkin was saying Hey, Coach Why Mess With Success? Instead of okay lets tweak things.  That said I'll bet just as Trotz's "leadership group" is a way for him to manage things and different, and Ovi is clearly responding differently to things like this now, Boudreau handled things like this differently since he arrived in Anaheim. So I guess I am saying I agree if you want to say Alexander Ovechkin is one of the reasons Boudreau was fired but he wasn't the only reason.
   
3. Dale Hunter: Again come on.  Hunter wasn't the right guy.  He is like a King and Dictator in London and he likes it that way.  He was never going to be happy in the NHL as a coach.  As soon as he realized it was going to take a couple of years to get the Stanley Cup as a Coach he was going to insist whoever was GM do things his way as much as he was going to tell his star player, especially a non-North American player to shut up, sit down, and block shots first and foremost.  I'm betting the entire room, except for a few of the guys who played for him in London, grimaced every time he talked to them in front of his "Fathead" at KCI.  Total transparency here - I am not a lifelong Capitals fan and based on what he did in 1993 and I could never fault any hockey player for having trouble respecting the guy who did this. No to me Ovechkin wasn't the reason Hunter isn't the coach today - I'm betting he asked for some aspect of control, driven by his ego, that neither Leonsis or McPhee wanted to give a guy capable of being that out of control.
   
4. Adam Oates:  Look Oates is a Hall of Famer and in his first half of season as Caps coach I think him moving Ovi to right wing worked for both of them and made Ovi a better player so how does that make Ovechkin "uncoachable"? Bottom line is the way last season ended lost Oates and McPhee their jobs and put this entire team, including Ovechkin, "on probation." Anyone who thinks, says, or writes otherwise is NOT looking at the big picture.  Clearly from the off-season moves the Capitals ORGANIZATION realized the blueline needed more focus, both in the system being played AND the personnel playing it.  Further a decision seems to have also been made, rightly so, IMO, that a winning team in the post season needed to play more of a "Western Conference" type game and say what you will but to me, Oates' system was more an Eastern Conference, tweaked New Jersey Devils approach to hockey than Trotz brings from his long tenure in "Smashville."  Finally post season comments by guys that include very stoic, clearly team players like Karl Alzner make me believe a LOT of post season discussions between ownership and players would have only further solidified a belief it was time for a change in both the GM AND the coaches offices here in DC.

C) Dumb? Not the sharpest knife in the drawer"?  "his mommy negotiated his contract and that's dumb" or any similar backhanded implication of such - come on.  Okay, Ovi never "gradiated" from a prestigious North American University like Western Michigan University like Healy did. Nor did he create any sort of on air in depth analysis segment, like Healy that highlights good players having bad games. I mean coming up with something like that requires deep thinking, after all it is the hockey media's equivalent of a movie like "Jacka$$", and no doubt requires a really smart creative guy to come up with something as intellectually stimulating as his TSN segments were/are. But Ovi did avoid paying 10% to someone outside his true inner circle to negotiate a contract, that at the time was the richest ever negotiated in NHL history.  He does have numerous endorsement deals worldwide that help he and others in the hockey world raise awareness for what is, world-wide, a niche sport.  He is bilingual, though it did take several years for him to be so and he still talks with pretty deep Russian accent. How well do you think Healy, Krypos, or any of these other MSM geniuses speak a second language? I know Ovi's English is a lot, lot better than my Russian, or my German, or my Spanish....

Healy played 15 NHL seasons and 437 NHL games as a NHL goaltender and managed a career 0.888 SV% a 3.37 GAA and 166 wins.  Contrast that to Ovi's career to date 9 NHL seasons, 678 games played, 422 goals, 392 assists, 3 World Championships (+ a silver and 2 bronzes) and yes NO Stanley Cups or Olympic Gold Medals, yet. Also Six (6) time first team and three (3) time second team NHL All Star; Calder Trophy, Hart Trophy (MVP) - 3X;  Art Ross Trophy (2008) and Richard Trophy (four times). Why not buy into Healy's assessments, ignore Ovechkin's current coach's recent statements and the basic facts/contrast of between a long tenured, "average" former NHL player, and one of it's current superstars?  Could this just not be a guy like Healy frustrated that a Non-Canadian like Ovi has kids in Edmonton lining up for his autograph and wearing his Jersey and number while often the only guys from Healy's era they remember or have heard about are truly generational players like Gretzky, Messier, etc? Of course, me I disagree with Healy's assessment of Ovechkin and look at him, as I do Crosby, as one of those generational players and start, who I have the pleasure of watching play at least 82 games a season.

 Of course the most ridiculous thing to note is that in spite of all the trash the SI NHL beat writers spew about Ovechkin, he was selected by them as "NHL Player of the Year" in 2013, I'm pretty sure that's the season they now say he was a coach killer to Boudreau and Hunter, showing just what jokes they are as hockey writers, at least to me.  And who is the dumb one?  I mean isn't it "dumb" to contradict yourselves so loudly and vociferously as they seem to do? Wouldn't a "smart" person, say one with a degree from such a prestigious university as Western Michigan (which ranks academically as 181 per US News and World Report) at least know when to research things and use facts accurately in a debate?  I mean even I know there's these things called the Internet and fancy search engines like "Google" to find out actual facts and statistics to use to confirm or refute my suspicions.  Then in a debate in front of millions I might actually only use those arguments that are substantiated by facts, I'm pretty sure it was news to Barry Trotz that with a 2-1-2 record he'd been fired this week. Finally yes Ovi's Mother is his agent, per say.  Her qualifications - two gold medals in Olympic basketball, and she was the head of a  Professional Basketball League and his father was a professional soccer player. So I'm pretty sure when he and they decided they didn't need some former hockey player, likely Canadian, or otherwise or an American or Canadian Lawyer to negotiate his contract with Ted Leonsis, they knew what they were doing. In retrospect, it looks to me like they had about 12.5 Million reasons to go the way they did - and for my money only a stupid person would ignore that many reasons to do something.

Sure, when a team doesn't succeed and that gets a coach fired every player, particularly the leading players in the lineup bear some of the blame.  But when you read the SI article how can you ever wonder why Ovechkin, or any similar athlete say, when they are being honest, they really don't care and CANNOT care what media, has beens, used to bes or never could bes, say?  Also and this is me talking, how can you conclude anything other than these guys i) have some kind of ax to grind, ii) write/say things that are intentionally sensationalistic to garner attention, and iii) SI is the worst place to read anything about Hockey.

Next up for Trotz and his un-coachable Captain - the Flames tomorrow evening in Calgary.  I can't wait to hear the commentary from guys like Healy and Krypos after that game, regardless of the results or facts. Sorry for the rant I hope you at least found it entertaining, this fanboy, just had to get it off his chest.

LETS GO CAPS!!!!!!!!

Caps Are 2-0-2; Playing 0.750 Hockey; and On Pace For a 100+ Point Season

The Capitals have started the season right, playing four games against 3 playoff teams and getting at least a point a game.  That's a good thing, as is the fact that four Caps skaters - Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Andre Burakovsky, and Mike Green are on pace for 100+ point seasons just like the team on which they are members. So lets take a look at a brief recap of the Capitals first four games along with how the team and their "simple" vice "fancy" statistics are looking so far.

Game 1: Canadiens 2 - Capitals 1 (SO), a 1 point night.

Opening night at Verizon Center and while a good game, Caps fans left 7th and F Streets dissapointed. Unfortunately the Caps did not get a win in their 40th NHL home opener. Rather the stories of the night were solid performances by two rookies.  Canadiens rookie goaltender Dustin Tokarski made 29 saves on 30 shots against through 65:00 of play and 'one more' save than Caps goalie Braden Holtby in the "gimmick" to get his team two points.  Caps rookie Andre Burakovsky got his first NHL regular season goal in his first NHL game and while failing to score in the shootout, the 19 year old had a great first game in what I believe will be a long and productive, likley notable NHL career. 

The story to me really was Tokarski, the Caps came out and dominated Montreal through the entire first period outshooting the Habs 15-2 and Tokarski stopped a several great scoring chances by the Capitals to keep it a one goal game until Montreal finally got one by Barden Holtby at 10:31 of the third period. Also as is often said a teams best penalty killer has to be it's goalie and - "That's where we lost the game is in the first," Trotz said. "We scored the first goal and then we had to back-to-back-to-back power plays and we had a chance to really take the game over. They were sort of hanging on and we really needed that second goal. We couldn't get it." Enough on the slightly disappointing home opener.

Game 2: Capitals 4 - Bruins 0, a 2 point night.

The first road game of the season led to a first road win, these two points were driven and delivered to the Caps by the goalie - Braden Holtby was spectacular at times, while he made all the saves you'd expect him to, he made several that were "highlight reel worthy. The team Captain, led by example - the Great8 Alexander Ovechkin was great with a 2 goal night, not an unusual feat for him, but even more notably and important, to me he played a 200 foot game for 60:00 with more enthusiasm and joy then I think I've seen him play in a while.  He wouldn't take "no" for an answer from anybody and he was both playing with intensity, and responsibly as a team Captain should buth seemed to be having fun doing it.

Who doesn't love it when "your team" gets a shutout of a division opponent in their barn, it's hard to be anything but effusive or say anything too reflective after a result like that, but hey why not try.  As I mentioned above to me the great story here was Ovechkin being the Ovechkin we've come to know and love through his early career - two goals, one on the powerplay and one 5 on 5 to start his season's scoring.  Another good story (if not great) is it was Mike Green's first game in the lineup and he scored a PPG and 19 year old Andre Burakovsky had another excellent game with two assists, as did Nicklas Backstrom.  Green's return also was the fuel the Caps second powerplay unit needed to enable the Capitals to put out two different PP units that had ten skaters, any one of which, could be the one to find the back of the net.  Something that should make nights like the home opener loss against the Canadiens where the Caps power play didn't produce when given the chance(s) few and far between.

As far as the team developing and "everyone" buying in to Trotz's system, I really liked this Trotz quote after the game on Ovechkin: “He’s playing good offensively, as you saw tonight,” Trotz said. “He’s shooting pucks, he’s scoring goals, but I’m really happy with him. The other part of his game is really good. He’s committed on the walls, he’s committed defensively, he’s just skating. He’s actually really fun to watch now again which is exciting for me, but it’s really got to be exciting for him because he’s one of the best players on the planet.”

Game 3: Sharks 6 - Capitals 5 (SO), a 1 point night.

To me this was the game the Caps needed, even though they only got one point out of it.  The first period ended with the Sharks up 3 - 0, so perhaps you might be tempted to say the Caps "stole" a point in this game.  To any statement like that I'd had to respectfully disagree, because the Caps got back in this game by sticking with their system and playing hard the rest of the game; in other words, this was to use a cliche' - a "charachter game." A BIG TIME "charachter game."  Another two goal night (one 5 on 5 and one PPG) for Ovechkin; a PPG to start Marcus Johansson's season scoring; a 5 on 5 goal by Mike Green to get his second of the season; a great 5 on 5 effort and goal by Troy Brouwer at 15:25 of the third period to tie the game completed the comeback and pushed the game into OT.  Unfortunately the Caps couldn't "finish it" off and get the second point in either the five minute OT or the shootout.  However there was a lot the Caps could be proud of in the second and third period and take forward with them for the rest of this season though it's early.  I like the Marcus Johansson quote after the game:

"We knew they were going to do it and I just think we let them," Johansson said of the Sharks' first-period dominance. "They came out hard and we didn't push back and I think that's what got them those early goals. It's tough to come back from three goals behind, but I think we did a great job of doing that. That start cost us the two points. In the long run, that can cost us a lot, but I think we've got to bring the last two periods of the game with us and keep working off that because we played great and worked really hard and that's what we need."

Game 4: Devils 2 - Capitals 6, a 2 point night.
In a game the Caps never trailed (Ovechkin scored his fifth goal of the season, 5 on 5, just 34 seconds into the game) with the first period ending in a 2-2 tie, the Caps showed they understood what its going to take to put opposing teams who play hard on the puck away.  That's being harder on the puck, playing a 200 foot game, and playing with intensity for all 60:00.

Post game notables, in my view:

A)Five (5) of the Capitals 6 goals were five on five and the fact they came out in the second period and "got better" than they played in the first are key things.  That along with the fact the powerplay was 20% (1 for 5) while the PK "batted 1.000" making it hard for the Devils, despite having three chances, to generate any momemntum while playing on the road.
 
B) A great "bounce back" game by Braden Holtby in goal after a "rocky" first period against the Sharks, in game three was also excellent to see. As Trotz said after the game: "Braden Holtby was really good in the first," Trotz said. "They could've put a couple of goals on us and he made some big saves at key times when the game was 2-2. Up 3-2, he made a big save. That's what good goaltenders do. They give you the timely saves."

C)Once again the Caps played a 60:00 - 200 foot game; oh, and who said Barry Trotz was a "defensive coach"?  I think we are seeing a more aggressive style of play and game than we've seen since Bruce Boudreau left town - yes the Caps are a defense first team when you look at the "little things" now (the "devil" is in those details) but they are virtually always pressing forward during a game as soon, as often, and as much as they can.  The result? An average of of 4.0 goals for per game (GFG) versus 2.5 goals against and scoring up and down the lineup - so far everyone on the roster with the exception of Jason Chimera, Nate Schmidt, Jack Hillen and Michael Latta have a point or more, and Hillen and Latta have not played in all four games.  I am surprised Chimmer is still looking for his first goal or assist as he has been flying and playing well in all four games I've watched, his points will no doubt come - perhaps when he and Ward get the center between them who adds to their chemistry? Schmidt is playing his role on the team and with three (3) SOG with an ATOI of 14:38 per game Schmidt's points will come - he has a very heavy shot from the point and with the traffic the forwards are generating even though he doesn''t take many SOG, I think he will get at least a couple points and get off the scheid soon.  Latta has nly played in two games for a total of 14:02 TOI, and his major role and value right now seem to be his 75% face off win percentage.  However he drive the net hard and when the time comes that he is needed and given the opportunities I'm thinking he'll respond - I love his game.  Jack Hillen has only played one game and when Orlov returns from IR he's either number eight (8) or nine (9) on the depth chart so I'm not sure he'll get too many more games in a Caps sweater.

All in all to me Matt Niskanen's post game quote below sums up how the season is shaping up so far for our Washington Capitals and I remain very optimistic about what this team can and WILL do this season.

"It's early in the year. A lot can change, but two points is two points. They're in the bank now," Niskanen said. "Things that felt good for us [are] the process of how we want to play and who we're going to be. You saw at times even tonight, where we weren't that detailed and we weren't that good and they had some good looks and Holtby had to bail us out, keep it tight, then we got to what our game should look like and we had good success. That's encouraging. Hopefully guys can believe in it now."

A couple of "notes" and thoughts on the team so far this season worth looking at and thinking "on" IMO:

1) Time On Ice:  The team's average TOI (Time On Ice) leader so far is, perhaps surprisingly to many, Matt Niskanen with an average of 23:42 per game played (and an average of ~0:51 secs & 28.3 shifts/game); thats pretty low especially since its despite the fact he's played in all four games so far including two that were 65:00 (vice 60:00).  Think about it, the league leader is Duncan Kieth with a total of 28:18 per game (and 00:51.46 per shift). The Capitals forwards average TOI/game leader is Nicklas Backstrom at 20:57/game (followed closely by Alexander Ovechkin at 20:33/game (24.8 shifts/game, 49.72 seconds/shift). Compare that to the league leader Steven Stamkos with 21:31 and 23 shifts/game. Before the season started I indicated I thought one of the hallmarks to watch and a key to what I thought the system changes Barry Trotz and staff would put in place would involve had to do with ice time and shift length. I truly believe that to play the game/system Trotz preaches and teaches requires a lot more energy than the system either Oates or Hunter wanted to play.  I think to do that well you need more, shorter shifts up and down the line up.  These stats seem to confirm that, as well as the buy in, and the intensity the team plays the system both comes from and is fueled by (both mentally and physically) the shorter shifts and more logically distributed TOI up and down the lineup.   length.  So far it seems to be playing out that way.  Shorter, more intensly played shifts and more "logical" distribution of ice time, particularly 5 on 5 ice time are evident in the statistical recaps from each of the first four games of the season.  By "more logical" I mean you can see/coorelate ice time to depth chart location for each of the forward lines and defensive pairings.  Also the ice time spread is not in anyway glarringly diproportinate for any individual on the Capitals - they are playing a "team game" in that regard, rolling four lines and all three parings whenever possible. (No Dan Girardis or Duncan Kieths on this team/in this system - at least so far.)

2) 20.8% - that's Alexander Ovechkin's shooting percentage so far this season.  That more than anything tells me he's bought in to Barry Trotz's system and is both playing that system harder on the puck than he has in a couple of seasons, and he's skating to and shooting from the higher percentage areas that system intends for him to get to and shoot from.  I mentioned earlier that the changes Trotz's system has over the last aggressive system the Caps played under Bruce Boudreau are subtle and sublime and to me they are. Whether it's noticing that at the end of a powerplay, the second unit is on the ice and Matt Niskanen drops 10 feet back from the offensive blue line so making a quick breakout pass to an opponent exiting the sin bin is more than "a little hard"; or it's noticing that in five on five play the forecheck is different than under Oates - it's a two man forecheck and it's in many ways a simpler system where if you have any room to drive towards the low slot every forward regardless of who they are does, these sublime details are how you know this entire team has bought in.  Ovechkin's shooting percentage while still averaging 6 SOG/game are the result of him "buying in" and playing this system - it's a statistic that you can watch to validate any belief you ight have in the star's positive statements on his new coach and the system as it's in many ways directly tied to where he will be when he is playing without the puck in the offensive zone. The fact it lets him play the game to his strengths and have fun being Ovechkin is the gravy, the results, including being the Captain of a winning team is the steak that will continually reinforce his buy in to this system; of course, I don't expect many, if any of the NHL main stream media journalists to notice or change their mantras on our team's Captain any time soon. In fact look at the "ice tracker" on NHL game center and where the Caps are shooting from this season and you're likely to see what I'm talking about pretty easily from the display of where the Caps' SOG are being taken from.

3) Pleasant surprises - i.e. "the new guys" Kuznetsov, Burakovsky, O'Brien, Orpik and Niskanen.

While Evgeny Kuznetsov might not be a surprise, his transition onto the team in this regular season has seemed to go smoothly and with each game he seems to get more and more "comfortable" with the NHL/North American Game. With each game his number of shifts/game and his TOI rightfully is increased.  With each shift on the powerplay in game situations he gets more dangerous as the playmaker/quarterback of the Caps' second powerplay unit.  All good things since at least so far this season Brooks Laich hasn't found his stride in 5 on 5 play and seems tentative regardless whether he is on the wing or playing pivot on the second and third lines.  Kuznetsov's versatility and quiet, solid work ethic playing 200 foot hockey as the fourth line center is somewhat a pleasant surprise to me.

Andre Burakovsky is a great story and of course a pleasant surprise, at least to me.  Anytime a ninteen (19) year old can come onto any NHL team and clearly deserve a roster spot in every game he plays, that's a pleasant surprise, at least to me.  "Bura" is a surprise, especially playing ceneter for the first time in his career.  He, along with Kuznetsov, hold the answer to the Capitals' second line center questions.  The 19 year old is averaging 20 shifts and 13:59 TOI per game; and with 5 points (2 G, 3A) is currently the Caps third leading scorer.  Hopefully he won't wake up and realize playing in the NHL is "really hard" until sometime in late June 2015.

Liam O'Brien - everyone's pleasant surprise, undrafted, came to camp unsigned. Yet here after four regular season games played has earned his sweater and shown he's deserved it every second of the 26:04 he's been on the ice so far this season. O'Brien is still in quest of his first NHL regular season point but he's +2 and he's played well, IMO.  To me his best game so far was the Boston game.  I'm really rooting for this kid - how can anyone not?

Matt Niskanen - the pleasant surprise is so far to me, he's even better than I thought he was/would be in a Capitals' sweater. Look we all knew he was good, but nobody on this team's blueline puts the puck on net faster from the offensive blueline from what I've seen.  That's another pleasant surprise because it seems to be helping the team's five on five play improve in ways I didn't anticipate.  Niskanen is currently the team's ice time leader and that is deservedly so. 

Brooks Orpik - my pleasant surprise(s) with Orpik are several.  i) I'm pleasantly surprised how much I enjoy watching him play and how he plays in this system.  ii) I am surprised, pleasantly, just how much Orpik helps the Caps penalty kill effectively, and how good he is at playing the PK. iii) I am pleasantly surprised at how fast, when he needs to do so, Orpik can and does get back in proper position. and iv) I am surprised at how good his hockey sense and IQ is - how else do you explain a guy with 0 SOG having 2 assists in 4 games played.  Right now he's on pace for a 40+ point season - last season only eight (8) defensemen had 40 or more assists. Think about that the next time someone tells you they are "positive" the Caps overpaid for him.

In the meantime, next up are the  Florida Panthers at Verizon Center at 7:00 PM tonight.

LETS GO CAPS!!!

Game 2: Caps Blank Bruins 4-0 In Boston

Well last evening's time watching the Capitals was much more what I was hoping for than the twitter feed vigil I spent on Thursday evening while out of town on business.  Lots of what I was hoping the Caps would be and do under the Barry Trotz coaching regime was in evidence.  The end result was better than I was hoping for as well and that was because Braden Holtby was spectacular last evening else this would have been a different game, one that would have seen the second period start with the Caps up 2-1 at best.  But there is no reason to even go there as Holtby blanked the Bruins even if it did require not one but two highlight reel saves to do it.  So lets get to the things I saw that I really liked.

1) A balanced defense 5 on 5.  As Peerless said over at Japer's Rink and I can say no better:

"Even-strength ice time was parceled out relatively evenly among the top five defensemen, ranging from 15:30 (Green) to 17:19 (Brooks Orpik). Spreading ice time among the three pairs like that (Nate Schmidt was sixth in this group with 13:55) was not something the Caps could do to good effect last season."

In earlier posts this season I highlighted how great a thing this would be - having three pairs of defensemen that the Caps could put on the ice any time in a game without worrying much about matchups to either their own lines or the opponents on the ice with them.  Last night I saw that for the first time in a regular season game.  Unfortunately what we saw doesn't bode well Jack Hillen or John Erskine as far as for either seeing much ice time this season.  What we saw that worked was a FAST and PHYSICAL body of work by all three pairs of Capital Defensemen.  My view is what we've seen in the last two seasons from Erskine likely isn't fast enough and so far Hillen hasn't been either physical or durable enough to  stay in a lineup that plays this game.  However we are seeing that Brooks Orpik is still fast enough to play this game and what he's brought to the Capitals Penalty Kill unit is, IMO, at least enough a part of its success so far this season to be worthy of mention.  Matt Niskanen's play is sublime and clearly the addition of both 2 and 44 are providing the relief that 27, 52, and 74 needed to enable them to play the game better than ever.  And while were on that point, the return of Mike Green to the lineup added significant Octane to the second power play unit but more on that later.

2) Rolling  4 lines.  Look at the TOI numbers on the Event Summary and what do you see.  Forwards even strength ice time ranges from a high of 15:13 (The Gr8: Alex Ovechkin) to a low of 06:12 (23 YO Michael Latta in his first game back from IR).  Take Latta and Liam O'Brian out of the mix and only two other forwards had less than 10:00 of even strength ice time:  NHL Rookies Andre Burakovsky (08:44) and Evgeni Kuznetsov (9:25) but both also had 1:44 of power play time and points on the scorecard.  Burakovsky had two assists on the night and Kuznetsov had one assist on the night.  These number are much different than game one's TOI distribution both up front with the forwards and back on the blue line.  In my view this bodes very well for the Capitals through the season, 82 games is a long haul and this kind of more even TOI distribution should help everyone on the team have a better, longer, healthier season.  That's more important than ever given the tempo of play this system demands through the entire 60 minutes of play.

3) Two for Four on the Power Play; four for four on the Penalty Kill.  Last season the Caps had a great power play but "not so much" on the penalty kill.  I was worried about the power play after the last 2 preseason games and the first game of the season.  Last night BOTH power play units scored.   So Barry Trotz, I think I see what you did there.  The second power play unit - moving Mike Green to basically the same spot Ovi plays on the first unit clearly works.  Green's "half wrister" isn't ass spectacular as Ovi's one timer but it was clearly effective last evening and a shooting Mike Green is a dangerous Mike Green.  With Burakovsky and Kuznetsov on that unit as well, Green isn't the only scoring threat on that unit - not even close to the only one.  As I see it now (hopefully clearly and not through rose tinted shades) Last evening I saw two Power Play units take the ice for the Capitals and on those two units any one of ten (10) skaters could find the back of the net.  Given that and the improvements we've been seeing regularly over last season by the penalty kill units, the Capitals' special teams should finish the season with a pretty solid positive goal differential.  That's something that despite having a lethal power play last season was sadly lacking.

4) Physicality - the Caps had 23 hits (led by Troy Bouwer, Michael Latta, and Alex Ovechkin with 3 a piece), 14 Blocked Shots, and 7 Takeaways.  They did that against a team known for it's physical play and all three of those things.  They clearly were not outmuscled by the Bruins and that's a real start at getting to be the gritty tough team nobody likes to play against that Barry Trotz wants them to be - nice to see things like Ovechkin playing fast, smart and physical; Brouwer being the leader in all facets, we need him to be on the second line and Latta being well Latta - I really have loved his game since that Flyers game last season where he was such a sparkplug.  Smart play NOT taking the bait from Robinson and getting the instigator minor but still going to bat for your teammate, Michael. Also it was nice to see Mike Green and Matt Niskanen giving it to, vice taking it from Milan Lucic.

There's still plenty to worry and work on for sure. 

A) The Caps really haven't controlled the puck as much as anyone would like.  Faceoffs ... a "focus area" for Trotz and staff - last night the Caps were only 36% in the faceoff circle. They need to watch lots of film of how Boston consistently win so many faceoffs, and keep working on this aspect of the game.

B) In shooting attempts (SOG, B/S and MS) the Caps were out attempted by the Bruins 58 - 38, as solid and as hard on the puck as the Caps were last evening, they need to be even more solid and harder. 

C) While the Caps scored 4 on Tukka Rask, a seldom achieved number, and are definitely shooting from closer in and higher percentage areas, they still could and need to generate more traffic in front of the net 5 on 5.  That should come as they also increase and improve their puck possession and attendant offensive zone time but it is still something that needs to be considered by the forwards along with the changes in their approach to a more intense and sustained forecheck.

All in all though the Caps are 1-0-1 after facing two tough opponents and this is a much better start than last season, IMO.  Also three points in October are also three points in April as we all learned the hard way last season.  Next up an opponent the Caps haven't had much luck with the past 20 seasons - San Jose at Verizon Center on Tuesday evening.  Be there or be square...

LETS GO CAPS!!! 

Soooo ....

Soooo ... last night I tried to watch the "USA Hockey Prospects Game on NHLN but really did not get into it. 

Sooo .... for some strange reason I went back and reread my first three blog posts from November 2007 - my third post was November 22 and in it I mused about Glenn Hanlon's firing and Bruce "Gabby" Boudreau's hiring as "Interm Coach" of the Capitals. Wow time flies but just shy of 7 years and 633 blog posts later a lot remains the same.  Think about it - know what I'm saying?  I mean another NHL season about too start, another Caps new coach, lots of optimism, lots of good karma but the real question is come April, May and June of next year will we and the Caps have any "RAGRETS"?  I hope not.

I'll note that I am definitely NOT thinking about anything much in the way of what the Caps first three preseason games mean for the upcoming season in the way of "roster" spots.  That said I think that what I'm seeing is so far confirming my guesses about the new system and new culture that  Barry Trotz is trying to make the Caps identity.  Faster pace, more intense forecheck, deeper back check, and shorter higher energy shifts - I guessed that earlier this past summer.  What I didn't guess that I saw during the first preseason game against the Sabres at Verizon Center - that second pass out of our end. The short first pass to the boards you could have called, but that second short pass seems to be towards the center of the rink whenever possible by design.  That I wouldn't have guessed but so far, if that's "part of the system" I think I like.  Yes a little risker than up the dashers through the neutral zone, but it opens up so many more possibilities, and gives the guys breaking through the neutral zone to get into position for that third pass SOOOO .... many more ways to enter the offensive zone.  I think it will open up the game and be a good way to create a lot more scoring chances than we saw last season.  My gut says it works better against teams looking to clog up the neutral zone too.  Will it really work for more than a couple of months I don't know - but as I said I like what I saw, even when it was being played by only two (2) of the Caps top 5 D-men and l4ss than half of who I expect to be on the roster as forwards for the Caps at the season opener.

Sooo ... I remain optimistic about this coming season.

LETS GO CAPS!!!!

IF ...

If Capitals Center/Wing Brooks Laich seems distracted at times this season, we can speculate on a lot of reasons... But I'll go with this as number one and just add "understandably"...

If the Caps finally go deep in the playoffs in the "Ovi era" ... I wonder will all the negative silly xenophobic drivel on TSN article comments finally slow?  I'll go with a short "not likely" ...

If the Caps go deep into the playoffs this year will the "Ovi" era give some way to the "Trotz" era .. I'll go with "to some degree" but it will really be due to a lot more than just Ovi or Trotz...

If ... If .. oh heck...

LETS GO CAPS!!!!

Last Day Of Summer - First Home Preseason Game For Capitals!

  Wow, hard to believe it's here - the end of summer 2014.  For the Washington Capitals I keep hearing how it's been a very long off-season. After seven straight year of making the playoffs, not making the post-season will surely play on the minds of the Capitals players, for many of whom missing the playoffs in 2014 was a new and first time experience they definitely don't want to repeat.  Did it make this summer long for them?  I'm sure it did.  For me I can't believe its September, let alone September is almost over.  While it's hard to think about Ice Hockey on such a lovely day, I'm glad I can though.


I look forward to the resumption of Capitals Hockey every September.  This September I'm as optimistic as ever, perhaps more so. If you, like I, believe what the Capitals have needed was a stronger defense to compliment their awesome cadre of forwards, then you too are probably are pleased with the majority of what we've seen the Capitals do this summer. I'm optimistic and excited.


I'm excited to see what new coach Barry Trotz does with a team that has so much offensive talent.  I'm excited to see what Caps D-Men Green, Carlson and Alzner do as part of a cadre of blue-liners that means whoever is out there for the Capitals on the blue-line can "take it to" the opposing team if they let up one little bit.  I'm excited to see what Evgeny Kuznetsov will do with a full season in the NHL to mature and challenge his hockey skills and sense.  I'm excited to see if Joel Ward and Jason Chimera can match or exceed the year they had last regular season.  I'm excited to see who Trotz pairs Ovechkin and Backstrom with and how he uses and leverages their world class skill sets - I don't know what he will do, but I'm sure we will see yet another perspective on how these two dynamic players can propel their team forward. I'm looking forward to seeing new Caps Orpik and Niskanen play in Capitals Red, I'm really interested in seeing how these two play against Malkin and Crosby when the Caps meet the Pens during this seasons Washington - Pittsburgh games, but I also expect to see them bring a fair amount of drive and grit against the Rangers, Islanders and Canadians.  Like I said I'm excited.

LETS GO CAPS!