The Almost Young Guns ... Those Who Owe Bruce Boudreau A Big Thank You At Least

The Capitals just finished a road trip to Western Canada and don't have another game until Wednesday night here at Verizon Center against the Detroit Red Wings. Anytime the Caps travel westward or have a break in the Regular Season that usually gets me musing 'bout "hockey" things.  This time I've been thinking about the first season I decided the Capitals "rebuild" was definitely over.  That was basically 2010 when the Caps won the Presidents trophy finishing the 2009-2010 regular season

with 121 points.

Both the 2009 - 2010 and 2010 - 2011 Capitals were very solid teams, but they had several players who owe then Capitals Coach Bruce Boudreau and/or GM George McPhee a big thank you for providing a platform/stage that allowed them a chance to shine and ultimately reach for a "pay day" in free agency.  This week's road trip to the Canadian West and it's games against Edmonton - current "home" for Matt Hendricks and Boyd Gordon who are two such players has prompted me to "muse" about several of the similar players as well.  Where are they?  How is their season going so far?  Where/how would they fit on the 2014-15 Capitals in Barry Trotz's system etc.  So lets start in Edmonton with Hendricks and Gordon.

Boyd Gordon is currently 31 and has played in the NHL for 10 seasons, he has career earnings of $13.4M.  In the 2009-10 season his salary was $800K.  His salary has steadily increased with each new contract since then, but he wasn't a solid "full season" NHL'er until after his stint with the Capitals where his skills as a backchecking forward were clearly understood and well documented.  Of all the guys on this list though I'd say he owes McPhee and Boudreau the least since he was originally drafted in 2002 though he did play for Boudreau in both the AHL and the NHL with a few years in between here in Washington under Glen Hanlon.  Gordon's current contract in Edmonton is the richest of his career to date - 3 seasons $3M/year, and his stint here in DC certainly helped him earn som solid dollars and respect throughout the NHL.

Matt Hendricks is currently 33 and has played in the NHL for 6 seasons, he has career earnings according to CapGeek of $7.425M. In the 2009-10 season his NHL salary was $500K when at 26 he played his first full season (56 games) for the Avalanche, in 2010-11 he joined the Capitals and played 77 games followed by 78 games in 2011-12.  He then played all 48 games in the shortened 2012-13 season before "cashing in" and joining Barry Trotz's Nashville Predators as a UFA for the 2013-14 season. Hendricks quickly became a fan favorite here in DC after Boudreau added him to the 2010-2011 team following GMGM getting him in a trade with the Avalanche.  Hendricks toiled in the AHL the majority of his career after graduating from Saint Cloud State in 2004 until breaking through with the 2009-2010 Avs but it was his stint here in DC under Boudreau that opened the leagues eyes to his value.  Hendy's currently in the first season of a two year deal in Edmonton that pays him $1.85M/year; without the chance Boudreau gave him to be  solid role player on that 2010-11 Capitals team its unlikely he'd have had a solid chance to make an NHL roster at age 27.

Mathieu Perreault:  After a breakout year last season under Boudreau playing with a likely first ballot all star, the affable 26 year old "MattyP", cashed in with a 3 year, $3M/year deal, joining the Winnipeg Jets. owes Bruce Boudreau the least of the players on this list, it's likely the undersized Perreault owes him the most.  After the 5'10" 185# Center had a less than spectacular 2012-13 season here in Washington, Gabby brought Perreault out to Anaheim for the 2013-14 season where he played 69 regular season and 11 playoff games. In the regular season he saw occasional first line time and notched 18 Goals and 25 assists; in the 11 playoff games he had 2 goals and 3 assists.  Additionally throughout the season he played "bigger" than he had at any point of his career. It was exposure and utilization that it's likely no other NHL coach but Bruce Boudreau would have ever given him, and he rose to the occasion, now's he's in the enviable position to more than double his $7.625M career earnings to date over the next three season.

David Steckel, the 32 year old Ohio State grad is currently playing in the AHL for the Anaheim Ducks affiliate, Norfolk Admirals.  However thanks in some degree to the opportunities that Boudreau and the Capitals gave him he was able to cash in on his success as a faceoff specialist and now has career earnings of $5.6M.  So far this season in 7 GP with the Admirals though he is not putting up good statistics and his prior four NHL seasons (2011-13 with Toronto and 2013-14 with the Ducks), the former Verizon fan favorite has not had an "easy go of it" nor has he been exceptionally productive.

Jeff Schultz: The 28 year old defenseman from Calgary has $15.365M of career earnings to date, most of which he should credit a single great season playing alongside Mike Green and being the NHL's +/- leader.  To that he has to give second order credit to Boudreau for having teams in 09-10 and 10-11 that were offensive behemoths.  Then you have to directly credit what is the product of GMGM's propensity for "1 Year too long and $1M too much" - which resulted in him being a compliance buyout.  He is currently playing for the Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings on their AHL affiliate Manchester Monarchs after getting into 7 playoff games last spring on the Kings Cup winning run.

Well now it's time to go back to musing about the current Caps team and thinking about the upcoming game against the Red Wings...

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!!!!!!!!

The Week That Was 2/12 - 2/18/2012; Caps Go 1-3-0, Now 3-4-1 So Far In February

Well good morning fellow Capitals fans, and that's what I've decided I am for sure. Yesterday my season ticket renewal package arrived in the mail and with no hesitation, I know I'm in for another season (2012 - 2013). Yep, I'm in despite the fact the Capitals continue to flirt with not making the playoffs for the first time in five seasons this coming spring, that's pretty much why I know for sure I'm a fan and not a "band wagoner." That said it also meant that once again I have to admit this is not a blog written by an objective online journalist, though I don't think I've ever alluded to or contended that, rather the blog of a fan about "his team" and his feelings about that team when it comes to NHL hockey.

So without further ado lets face it this is a confounding year for us Capitals fans. Take this past week for instance: 1-3-0 and you'd think I should or would be really just plain disappointed and upset. Yet that's really not the case because of the one victory of the week, a 2-1 comeback victory over the Division leading Florida Panthers. Never mind the Panthers should not be leading the Southeast Division, they are and they are proving to the league they are "for real" as they pretty much have been since the end of October. Why are they for real, simple - they are the only team in the Southeast Division who is playing better than 0.500 on the road (13-12-4). They are also a team that is "ripe for the picking" with an overall goal differential of -16 and a team GAA of 2.80. The problem for us Caps fans is that right now, our team isn't looking like the team it needs to look like to be the one who "pick off" the Florida Cats, despite beating them 2 out of 3 contests so far this month. The team that looks like it could pick off the Panthers this morning is the Winnipeg Jets who are 6-4-0 in their last ten games, have won their last two games including a 4-2 victory over the Stanley Cup Champion Bruins on Friday night in Winnipeg where the Jets have a great 17-9-2 record so far this season. Simply put the Caps needed a win last night against the Tampa Bay Lighting and they didn't get it, that's going to be a problem. So why am I not needing to be talked off the ledge this Sunday morning? Well probably because A) it's (NHL Hockey) just a nice diversion and entertainment for me; and B) the win in Sunrise was perhaps the best game the Capitals have played since Dale Hunter took the reins from Bruce Boudreau. Alan May summed up the game in Sunrise best, in my opinion, during the pre-game show before the Tampa Bay game: "no passengers." Yep, no passengers, in other words everyone played the system and played it hard for all sixty minutes. That's what it takes, even when your a team or a player with an amazing talent level. Oh and lets face it, that's what frustrates we Caps fans, and I'd suspect Majority Owner Ted Leonsis, most - we know this team has an amazing talent level and several plyers with truly amazing talent levels. Sure there's Mr. Ovechkin, and the other three young guns: Backstrom, Semin, and Green; but there's also Vokoun, Wideman, Johanson, Knuble, Laich, Ward, Brouwer, Alzner, Carlson, and Chimera - all guys who are "no slouches" as well. Pound for pound and dollar for dollar the Capitals who have the second highest payroll in the NHL, are "well stocked" so yes playing 0.500 hockey which is what they've pretty much done so far this season, is disappointing and frustrating, but life does or should go on, at least for those of us who are not NHL professionals.

Over the last three weeks, I've shown two things with various numbers, 1) Why I think to make sure you get into the playoffs in the Eastern Conference of the NHL you should be shooting for 95 points, and B) how the Caps need to play much better on the road and continue to play very well at Verizon Center to ensure they make the playoffs (basically resulting in an overall record of 0.600 the rest of the way this season). Last week the Caps neither played great at Verizon Center, especially against the San Jose Sharks or great on the road consistently. You can't and shouldn't candy coat that just because of the excellent comeback game in Sunrise on Friday evening. You also can't wish for 0.600 hockey when since January 1st the Caps have played 3-5-1 so far in February after a 6-4-2 January for an overall record of 9-9-3 or exactly 0.500 since the New Year. The problem/challenge with managing or coaching a team that is playing 0.500 is with every contemplated move or change there's as much downside as there is upside. I believe we saw that last night in spades when in order to get Mike Green in the line-up Dale Hunter, wisely opted to have 7 defensemen on the bench and only three full lines + 2 extra forwards in the game against Tampa Bay. The odd man out from the prior evening's fourth line ended up being Jay Beagle. Beagle was in the press box despite having played a very good game, IMO, against the Panthers on Thursday evening and the fourth or energy line being one of the best in that game. Was that the right thing to do? I think it was but it certainly changed the game plan and made coaching the game as well as managing the overall flow of the game very different and again IMO harder than things were the night before in South Florida. As for the stats for yesterday's Tampa Bay game, well to me they are the opposite of the stats for the Panthers game on Thursday. Statistics in my view never tell the entire story. In Sunrise on Thursday, the Capitals actually played even better than the games final statistics say they played. At the Saint Pete Times Forum last night, the Caps didn't play badly but they didn't play as well as the statistics say they did. Both Lightning goals last night came off of Capital miscues that should not have happened. Sure Mathieu Garon played very well and the Caps had opportunities and Tampa Bay limited the Caps shots on goal pretty well but there were too many times where the Capitals let the Lightning dictate the pace and tempo of the game and that's why I think the Caps didn't play as well as the stat lines indicate. As for the offensive zone slashing penalty by Marcus Johansson at 16:41 of the third period, well it was sort of a 21 year old rookie mistake and you have to believe those things can and will happen. Of course while they will, we really need MoJo to step up his game and it will be nice to have Backstrom back which I hope happens within the next week or two. As for last nights effort at rolling 7 defensemen, that went okay from what I could see and was well managed, Mike Green played just over 14:00 in his return and is indeed shaking a fe cobwebs out relative to timing, etc. Most of his time on ice came at the "expense" of Roman Hamrlik and let's face it, at 37 years of age only playing ~10:00 TOI the second night of a back to back isn't the end of the world though I felt "Hammer" looked very solid last night and his three blocked shots led the team. The other D-Man whose minutes were down was Dmitry Orlov, though there may have been another reason besides Mike Green being back in the lineup. As I often get down on Jeff Schultz who had 15:49 TOI last night and two blocked against the Bolts - I just wanted to say I thought last night he played very well, in fact better than his stat line indicates. Getting chippy with the Bolts after they hit Green a few times was exactly the kind of play I hoped the Caps would adopt when Dale Hunter was named head coach; also I thought Schultz looked very solid on the PK last evening. "Good on ya, Jeff."

As for my overall feelings about the Caps playoff chances and "life on the bubble"; I'll revise my needed point total down to somewhere between 91 and 93 points to MAKE SURE you are in in the East. I'll also say the 8th seed might squeak in with as few as 88 points, but if they do, they will need to rely on the ROW tiebreak to do so. For the Capitals to finish with 93 points they need another 30 points in their remaining 24 games, that's still 0.625 hockey. For the Capitals to remain firmly on the bubble and finish with 88 points, they need to play 0.521 hockey. There's really not much else to say about it. They need a spar and they need a winning streak, something they haven't had this season since their 7 game explosion to start the season. The talent is there, the drive seems there - at least it did in Sunrise on Thursday. Another, bigger Center would be a nice trade deadline pickup for sure but really who is out there and with the team firmly on the bubble should they be buyers this season or just go with what they've got since they really have no Cap space? Who knows, certainly not me.

Another oh by the way, since January 1st, Bruce Boudreau's Anaheim Ducks have played 19 games; in January they went 9-2-1 and so far in February they are 5-1-3 - that's 14-3-4 or 0.842 hockey overall so far in 2012. The Ducks are also 6-1-3 on the road in 2012 and 17-11-6 (0.571) since "Gabby" took the Ducks' helm on December 1st. I don't mention it to draw any comparisons - really I do not. I only mention it because a) I am keeping track because I really think Boudreau is a very good coach and I hope that he succeeds in leading an NHL team to a Stanley Cup since I find watching teams he coaches really entertaining and exciting; and b) while I do think he had lost the Caps as a team and they needed a change, he really wasn't 'the problem." I think with the Ducks playing 0.841 hockey since his system has really taken hold, even though this morning the Ducks are in 13th in the Western Conference, they could make the playoffs. Oh and did I mention that today the Ducks play the Florida Panthers in Sunrise, Florida at 3:00. Can I have at least one loud "LETS GO DUCKS!!!!" from "all" 17 or so of my loyal followers please.

Now back to Musings about the Capitals. This coming week the Caps again have four games - three of which are on the road: Carolina tomorrow night, Ottawa on Wednesday, Montreal here at Verizon Center on Friday, and Toronto in Toronto next Saturday. All four games which come April 7th, the last the Capitals season, could end up in retrospect having been "four point" games. If ever there was a better time than any other in the 2011-2012 season for the Caps to have a four game winning streak, now would likely be it. That's really all there is to say about that. Oh and remember kids, especially those of you who are Washington Capitals fans this season, if you like me are finding yourself confused while thinking about the Capitals this season and it's causing you to at times be "flumoxed" there are a few simple rules to ground your life that may help in these times:

1) Always, but especially if you are befuddled and confused, look bot ways BEFORE crossing that street, even if it doesn't seem that busy.

2) At really disappointing times and junctures in life, The Prayer of Saint Francis, is often your best option and it can help.

and whatever else remember number three:

3) Life is like a box of chocolates, your usually just never know what you're gonna get, so sit back and savor the ones you really like.

In the meantime, as we look at this upcoming week of NHL hockey:

LETS GO CAPS!!!!

Caps 3 - Canadeans 0: If Bruce Boudreau Could ...

Caps 3 - Canadiens 0: If Bruce Boudreau could bottle this game and replicate it as an elixir, I bet he would be doing so this morning. First let me say despite the final score, and despite the fact that for Caps fans this was, by and large, a fun game to watch; there was one glaring short-coming ALL night long: the officiating was awful, and worse yet the officials were involved in things that affected the outcome and flow of the game even when they didn't have to be so. I'm not saying all the calls went one way or the other, they did not - both teams "got screwed", in my view evenly so or close to it. I just think that a professional sports league, especially one which is the highest level of it's sport, or at least purports to be so, can and should, do better. More on that, maybe, later in this post. For now let's get to the good, the exciting and even probably a little of the bad from last night.

Coaching and Preparation: Grade A. First let me say I saw two things from the Capitals Coach and his staff I haven't noticed all that much before (doesn't mean they weren't there, I just really never noticed them much before) that were really good and really worked out. First thing was the basic relatively calm and reasoned reaction to what was likely the worst call all night if not one of the worst so far this year - the wash out of the goal by David Steckel in the first period. Trust me when I say I certainly didn't think this was the right move by Gabby when he did it and I was going apoplectic because it was such a bad call. Apparently though the ref whistled the play dead because he lost sight of the puck and that's not a reviewable call or certainly the hardest one to get a reversal on anyway. That said: the whistle was way too fast, and if that was how the NHL Officials usually handled this situation, there would be A LOT FEWER goals through goaltender's 5-holes by guys right on the doorstep. In any case, Boudreau and the Caps merely and rightly requested an explanation and when they got it they didn't unduly delay the game, get flustered, or distracted bay it. Instead they quickly went back to work and in short order got their second goal of the night when Mike Green joined the rush and nailed a beautiful laser fast wrister past Carey Price at the 19:22 mark of the first period. The second thing that Boudreau did that frankly shocked and totally delighted me was when with about 2:00 left in the game he called a timeout. I'm sitting there, probably like most of the crowd wondering why with just 2:00 left in the game, a 2 goal lead, and the Caps playing well, their coach called a timeout. Then after the timeout, the Caps come out on the ice and immediately start playing a 1-4 trap, regardless of who they have out on the ice. That was beautiful to see, to see this ultra-talented team full of offensive powerhouses, play a 1-4 trap in a manner that would make Claude Lemiuex and/or Claude Julian happy. They were playing for the shutout for their goaltender who had played very well all night. They were just making sure they were ready for the inevitable offensive push from the Canadiens which came less than 20 seconds later when they pulled Carey Price. Best of all both coach and team were rewarded for this solid, smart play when at the 19:28 mark of the period, Team Captain Alex Ovechkin, got the empty net goal to put the Caps up by the final score of 3-0. Folks, if anybody tells you at any point between now and whenever this season ends that this Coaching staff has lost this team, pull out a video of the last three minutes of this game to show them just how absolutely wrong they probably are no matter what happens between now and then.

Offensive Game Plan & Execution: Grade B+. Bottom lines here are: i) everyone was part of the offensive game both 1st and 2nd lines as well as 3rd & 4th lines and the Blueliners. Despite the relatively low score and the fact the Caps only scored the single empty netter after the first period, they kept the pressure up all night long. The forechecking was relentless well over 55 of the 60 minutes of play. Were it not for a quick whistle in addition to call-up Jay Beagle's excellent goal to start out the night's scoring that was the result of simple, straight forward play and hard work the first period would have included two goals that are the kind of goals you really want to see if you think you are trying to get ready for the playoffs. Beagle's goal and Steckel's disallowed tally were the result of players going where they need to go and being willing to pay the price to score, plain and simple. I guess in addition to feeling the washout of Steckel's goal was a horrible call, another reason I was so upset with the call, is because it would have been Steckel's second goal in as many games - I haven't looked but has he scored in back to back games as a Cap anytime before that? The first and second lines played very well, Mike Green's goal was the result of a blue liner activating and joining the rush the way he should and when he should. As far as putting real pressure on the opposing goaltender and getting solid offensive zone time, this was one of the best games I've seen, especially five on five. Top 2 Lines: Ovechkin, Semin, Knuble, Laich, and Backstrom all had very good nights - Backstrom was 83% in the faceoff circle. Call-up Kieth Aucoin did well filling in for the injured MP85 and MoJo90 as the second line pivot. From the third and fourth lines, the performance and contributions were great from where I sat and now post-game looking over the statistics. Jay Beagle was a truly noticeable presence in the game, in a good way - all night long. David Steckel also solid all night long - in every facet of his game. Eric Fehr +2 on the night and involved in the game in every way on every shift. Matt Hendricks didn't let a weak call against him just 0:23 into the game affect his game one negative iota and was his usual solid self. Jason Chimera was +2 on the night and chased down two pucks to nullify icing calls that helped keep pressure on the Habs and give the Caps more offensive zone time. Andrew Gordon played a solid all be it relatively unremarkable game last night after being much more noticeable in the last game, that combined with the fact that if he played two more games here in DC he'd have to pass through waivers were probably while he was sent back down to Hershey. That said A. Gordon and Jay Beagle's play of late has to be keeping everyone on the Caps roster on their toes.

Defensive Game: Grade A (it was a shutout) : So ice time leaders among the Caps Blue liners last night were: Mike Green - 28:19 TOI (4:56 SH and 11:49 PP); and John Carlson 22:13 (14:32 EV). Carlson was usually on the ice with Karl Alzner (18:13 TOI, 14:01 EV). Last night was Jeff Schultz' return to the ice from injury. #55 played 13:16 TOI (2:07 SH) and was generally paired with John Erskine. Schultz was the only defenseman who wasn't in the + column, finishing the night +/- even. Green was +2 and all the rest of the blue liners were +1 on the night. Any night you are playing the "Flying Frenchmen" and you only see Brian Gionta and/or Mike Cammelari get free and skate in on your goaltender unencumbered a few times and with either a blueliner or backchecking forward in close enough pursuit there isn't any real threat from a follow-up on the initial shot is a good night defensively in my book. Also it seemed to me that Mike Green had more than the one blocked shot and had at least one hit last night but apparently not so per the score sheet. By the way, I don't think you should penalize or reduce your opinion of a guy's defensive abilities just because he also happens to be a great skater and have a great shot too. Green had an excellent night last evening and his pairing with Scott Hannan during the shifts when Hannan joined him were really, really solid - Nice to see.

Goaltending: Grade A (it was a shutout). Semyon Varlomov was 25 for 25 and "pitched a perfect game". He seemed a lot calmer and more comfortable in the net than he did against Carolina the other night as well. The Canadiens had enough real scoring chances that you can't say Varly didn't earn the shutout, he did. By comparison, Carey Price was 27 for 29 and had a solid night as well, though not well enough to steal his 20th win of the season off the Caps at home.

Special Teams - Penalty Kill: Grade B+. The Canadiens had 8:30 TOI with a man advantage during five power play opportunities. Despite that large amount of time, from my perspective their best scoring chances came 5 on 5. At no time did they really threaten to score for extended periods and during really extended zone time. In fact there was only one of the five power pays where they seemed to get any extended zone time. During these time periods it's hard to say who in addition to Varly was the best penalty killer. Not because there weren't any others but rather because pretty much everybody did a very good job on the penalty kill.

Special Teams - Power Play: Grade F. The only special team on the ice last night worse than the Canadiens' power play was the Capitals' power play. It was the only aspect of last night's game that the Capitals didn't execute well. To be fair there is no doubt in my mind that Carey Price was his team's best penalty killer but the Capitals 7 times including a 4:00 double minor for a total of 14:27 of ice time. That's 24% of the game. To have that much power play time and not get at least one goal is just not good enough so you can't really even give the power play anything but an F. I don't know what the answer is to get the Capitals power play back on track but I do have faith in this coaching staff and team to figure it out or die trying and when they do, these guys will work their butts off to effectively change things and start scoring more power play goals again. That said until they do that, there's always a risk they won't win games without every other aspect of their game being as good as they were last night.

Next up is the Penguins in the Winter Classic. I'll be there with Wingman and we'll both be very psych'ed.

LETS GO CAPS!!!!

How About Those Capitals?

Yes how about our/your/my Washington Capitals. This is what I just saw posted over at Japer's Rink ...

The Noon Number
3.8 - Caps' shooting percentage during their current four-game losing streak, down from 10.7% over the previous 26 games.

Well that says something for sure, especially when you understand that's just the number based on actual shots on goal that got through and the number looks even worse when you consider the attempts that were blocked or missed the net. There is no doubt the Capitals are slumping right now and as a fan watching a slump is nothing but painful anguish. However, I've gotta believe living through it as a coach or player has to be a lot, lot harder. The crazy thing here is that when you look at the comments, etc. on various message boards, etc. there is just so, so much total drivel in response to this. From statements that amount to crazy conclusions that these sorts of numbers and the past four games mean that Alex Ovechkin will never win a Stanley Cup to things like this all is total, unequivocal proof that Bruce Boudreau is a lousy coach, Mike Green isn't a good defenseman, etc. To me all of it - and I mean all of, also actually including this blog post - my own thoughts and words should totally be ignored by the coaches and players as they and they alone are the ones who can and must change and "fix" whatever it is that really needs fixing.

What am I talking about you justifiably ask. I'm saying that a group of professional athletes and coaches - the ones on the Washington Capitals - are a talented, driven team. They are all getting paid hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars to play and WIN ice hockey games. I'm not sure of much but I'd bet and bet A LOT that these guys might not have the answers this second, and they really didn't seem to have the answers last night while they were playing the Florida Panthers. So what can and should be done about this? I really do not know as far as what can and should be changed, I do know that whatever changes do need to get done, they seem to me to be about being a team - using this reaction to the current issues and adversity as a reason to bond together and be a team. It's needs to be a lot, lot more about things like Ovechkin's stick salute to DJ King while King was in the box serving his five minute fighting major after Ovechkin scored in the third period of the game against Toronto on Monday night and a LOT LOT less about looking for things to blame or quick fixes and heroics by single players to "fix this". It's clear every and I mean EVERY one of these guys, including Coach Boudreau is frustrated and looking for answers. I am absolutely not going to sit here and say that people should be dodging the tough questions or not stepping up and identifying issues. I am going to say that for a team to be a team when things are going like this, everyone has to shoulder a portion of "the blame" because in the end everyone is as much a part of the problem as they are the solution. We need to recognize this is an excellent hockey team, they are playing below the level they are possible of, no issue and they need to make some adjustments to fix that.

That being said, they are not going to win all their remaining regular season games nor will they make it through all four playoff rounds without a loss or even a bad game. We fans and the management are expecting a lot from this team - rightfully, it's a very, very talented team. However that does create a pressure cooker for them at times. So here is a change that I don't think you need to be a world class athlete to make since it's really about leadership and dealing with adversity, etc. The first thing I would do if I were Bruce Boudreau is I'd stop calling out players - ANY players to the media in his post game pressers. I'd also tell the players I wasn't going to do it, but that doesn't mean I have any issue with them taking exception to their OWN performance on any given night. I'd also encourage players - win or loose - to point out and to teammates who had good games and did good things. I know, you're hearing "kumbayah" being sung in the background. I'm not saying be ridiculous or practice denial, I'm just saying at this point the emphasis needs to be you win or loose AS A TEAM. So here's some not so bland comments all of which are okay in my book and some that would be way out of bounds as well in this regard.

Fine post game comments after a loss like last nights to Atlanta:

1A: "We got frustrated after the first period and didn't stick to the game plan like we should have in the second and third periods."

2A: "Vokoun played well, we didn't make it as hard on him as we should have and the Panthers picked up on our frustrations and were able to bait us into shooting from the perimeter too much in the second and third periods."

3A: "Well, I really wouldn't fault Varley for any of the goals, I'm sure like just about every goaltender that ever lived he'd like them "all back" but tonight on at least two of the three he made the first two stops, we just didn't give him enough help and allowed the Panthers to get even more chances than the first two."

Post comments that I don't think help the situations at all - and seem to be the type of comments we are hearing these days (all be it with a lot of exaggeration and satire laced in) in reverse order:

3A: "Well we didn't loose tonight because of having a young goaltender. We just sure didn't backcheck or play defense well a lot of the times. I mean go back and look at Bernier goal, I mean, jeez, Carlson takes out Alzner who is sprawled in Varley's way and the guy gets the third whack at the puck that's right on the doorstep. I know Carlson's a rookie and he and Alzner get better every game but we just gotta do better. The forwards could have been back checking deeper and maybe ..."

2A: "Okay so we come into the locker room at the first intermission and I see them down after that late score by Florida. It's my job to build them up and I give them my usual good words on that that should work. However, they don't go do it. I mean hey Ovechkin isn't scoring much lately, even Semin hasn't scored in a while, Backstrom where'd he go? Knuble almost nothing all year. Heck you'd think Green would take advantage of things lately - heck he loves to score and instead he goes out there and throws his body around. Don't look at me on this one guys, talk to those guys, why they can't find the back of the net and don't keep driving it and revert to perimeter shots on a guy like Vokoun is beyond me."

1A: "So last game we get that great "I'm back in the bigs effort from MattyP and you know we don't win. This game we let these guys put one in on a third whack at the puck with seconds left in the first period, then we let them put one in on a third whack at the puck about halfway through the second period, then we give them a power play with just under 2:30 left in the game to kill any momentum we might have AND we let them score the third goal of the game. First period was fine, Vokoun frustrated us but we stuck with the game plan. Last two periods - you know that scene from that "Replacements" movie that Keneau Reeves is in and that speech about "quicksand" well s#&t next time we have an intermission right after a late goal forget about the whole coach is happy pep talk, forget about showing video and you know maybe actually coaching, forget about talking to Ovechkin about maybe trying moving things around and giving him some time on the off wing, forget about pointing out that the real issue is we didn't score when we had man advantages and people got to get in a guy like Vokouns face, forget about admitting to the team that putting MP85 on the first power play unit might not have been my best idea of the season and taking my share of the heat/blame - I'm gonna talk about freakin' BEES AND SPIDERS - yep you heard me right. It's all the best players faults because they weren't the best players tonight and they are making me and my Mercedes Benz "cup holder" commercial look really bad. I'm so pissed right now I could be Joh Tortorella..."


What changes should they make - I don't know but the coaching staff and the team need to do three things to fix this:
1) Communicate;
2) Get On the Same Page are: the issues and changes that need to be made;
3) Make the changes, stick to the revised game plan and "Just Do It>"

To do that if it were me in charge here's what I'd do if it were my call though relative to a process to address this:
1) Spend a bunch of time together looking at the video;
2) Have the Coaches tell them what they think the problems and mistakes have been - but not the changes ... yet..
3) Let the players have a players only meeting to discuss it and come up with some suggestions and hold themselves accountable for some of this.
4) Concurrently brainstorm with ALL the coaching staff and make some changes - also setup a lineup that we will stick with for at least the next 5 games no matter what except if somebody goes sick or injured.
5) Get back together with the Team present the plan and then if we agree with any of their comments/suggestions tweak the plan and lineup that will be used for the next five games.

Put in place two inviolate rules for the next five games and post-game comments to the press and fans:
1) Stick to the Plan - Keep executing the plan and approach the coach's call for whether it's relative to shift length, distance from the net for shots, etc. - Just Do It.
2) Stick Together - everyone, - No more negative waves, just like oddball says in Kelly's Heroes. No more calling anybody out before or after or between games. Do whatever it takes to bring this team together both on the ice and off it so they play more team focused hockey - every minute of every game.

Then, I'm pretty sure when we say "How about those Capitals?" I think we'll be doing so "in a good way."

LETS GO CAPS!!! AND Don't forget to post at least five write in votes every day for Alexander Semin on your All Star Ballots.

Sometimes You Try To Change Things And It Just Doesn't Work - Other Times as Freud Said A Dream Is Just A Dream ...

Last night the Washington Capitals lost their third straight game in Newark to a New Jersey team that had hereto for been, to put it mildly, struggling. Further the Capitals did so in monumental fashion.

Let me say this though - Caps Nation, fret not, all is not lost. Let's review. By the end of the game the Capitals were playing without either of their top two defensemen and had only four blue-liners on the bench. There goal tending consisted of two young players one of whom had awakened that morning in Hershey, PA on what was to that point an extended post-injury conditioning stint. Even their vaunted forward line corps had been affected by recent injuries in that veteran top six forward Mike Knuble was also not dressed for the game - out with an injury. Welcome to November in the NHL regular season. A month where there always seems to be a few more games on the schedule than a team would like. Even if that team isn't affected by injuries by the end of November, the lack of any time to practice often becomes an issue. Often both things factor into how a team "finishes out" the month. Now I'm not making excuses and I'm certainly not going to suggest that being shutout and outplayed to 5-0 shutout losses in 2 out of 3 games isn't something that you should just shrug off. Further I'm not going to expect that it's something that can just be shrugged off. By that I mean, don't expect tonight's game in Carolina to be played in a manner that would suggest there were/are no reasons at all for those two 5-0 shutout losses.

Tonight's line-up though will no doubt look somewhat different from last night's starting line-up. According to Katie Carrera's twitter feed, the forward Capitals lines in practice today were:

Ovechkin - Backstrom - Hendricks
Fleischman - Johannson - Semin
Chimera - Gordon - Fehr
King - Steckel - Bradley

No news on who of the defense will and won't play other than that at this afternoon's practice, Brooks Laich played defense, and that Mike Green skated this afternoon while Tyler Sloan did not after both left last night's game with injuries. So my guess on the defensive parings:
Laich - Alzner
Green - Schultz
Carlson - Erskine.

I also wouldn't be totally shocked to see Holtby in net though if he's not, I'd expect to see Varlomov, vice Neuvirth between the pipes.

Was I as a fan happy with last night's play by virtually anybody on the Capitals team? No. Do I understand that after watching the Caps and Devils play each other every game over the past 5 seasons, how New Jersey, as much as anybody knows how to disrupt the rhythm of the Caps style of play? Heck, yes. Did the Devils do that as well as ever last night? Heck, yes. Did the Capitals make any meaningful adjustments to effectively counteract hat New Jersey was doing last night? Heck, no; and that includes the coaching staff from what I could see. Coach Boudreau is being quoted today as saying that Boudreau said his decision to play Ovechkin, who said he expects change when the team is playing poorly, elsewhere wasn't a demotion but an attempt to spark some offense.

"I just didn't like the way that first line was going at all," Boudreau said. "So I mean, I had to break them up. They were not working. Outside of sitting all three of them....What you're hoping for is that if they get a goal all of the sudden it might turn it around for those guys because they're struggling."

The problem I have with this statement is that it indicates that Boudreau would even consider sitting anyone, let alone all three of his team's top offensive threats. I don't really think he would or did, that said I do think the statement indicates a lack of ideas on the coaching staff's part of what they might do between periods, other than juggle the lines up a bit. My problem with that whole thought process really wasn't what happened with the Ovechkin - Johansson - Bradley line last night but rather how out of synch the Semin - Backstrom - Hendricks line looked and played from what I saw. Further I found the failure of the coaching staff to quickly notice that and make some additional adjustments, both a little baffling and frustrating. I understand why you'd try to put Hendricks up there - he was one of the few Caps who seemed to want to play hockey all out last night and kept his head in the game. However, it also looked to me like there was no chemistry between Backstrom - Ovechkin and Hendricks and that the three were frequently out of synch and out of position when they were on the ice together. Further, I know so far this season, Eric Fehr hasn't been on the same page he was last season, but if there is anyone on the Capitals roster today I think can someday grow into Mike Knuble's skates and play his style of game, it's Fehr. So why on a night when nothing was working you wouldn't try that, I don't know.

Finally, let's be honest the only 5 guys on this team who can skate with Ovechkin when he decides to skate full speed are probably: Backstron, Semin, Green, Laich, and Chimera. Johansson might get there and soon, but he's not quite there yet. Especially if you might have also been telling the whole team to simplify the game, play north-south hockey, and put as much rubber with as much traffic towards the New Jersey net as possible to break out of the shutout. No it's not time to panic or make any rash changes, neither was last night. That said I think this immensely talented Capitals team - all of them, including the coaching staff - needs to step back and buy into the idea of that when things aren't going the way they want them too, they need to simplify the game. One aspect of simplification that this coaching staff doesn't often seem to buy in to, is playing with familiar linemates, linemates who play a similar and complimentary speed. To me that generally means that the top two lines need to consist primarily of the top six forwards and the third and fourth line should consist of the remaining six (6) forwards, even when say one or two of the top six guys aren't having great nights or when one of the next six guys are having a great night. This is still a very young team and they all need to work through some bad games and figure out how to adjust things during a game to turn things around for themselves and their team. Sure these are all great athletes but this (the NHL) is Ice Hockey at the highest level it's played in the world. Anyway, nobody pays me to coach a team and it's a good thing I don't have to try and get paid enough to feed our clan by doing that. I'm just a fan who is disappointed in the quality of the play I've seen over the past three games - a fan who wonders if some, not all, not most, but some, of the blame for that isn't a bit of impatience and frustration on the part of the coaching staff.

I do know this though. All the silliness I read around the blogsphere today about how this is a referendum on whether Ovechkin is the right guy to be Captain of the Capitals or if he's a good Captain/Team Player/Team Leader is just that total silliness. Everyone needs to take a breadth and just settle in because as we saw last season - it ain't over till it's over.

Now we're on to tonight's game in Raleigh, NC. It will be interesting to see what DJ King makes of his first chance to play in a couple of weeks and what the entire Capitals line-up does tonight against a recently not totally consistent Cam Ward in goal.

LETS GO CAPS!!!

Caps Season Over; Habs Move On To Take On Pittsburgh In Round 2

I'd be lying if I said I too wasn't disappointed in the way the Capitals season ended. I am. I, like most Caps fans had higher expectations this year. However, I am also a "glass is half full" guy by nature and I cannot understand when fans get truly depressed after a loss. After all watching hockey or any sport is entertainment to me. Following a team and being a fan of them is an avocation. When I switched from being a life-long Flyers fan to being a Caps fan after the so called "lockout" and became a Capitals season ticket holder in 2006 the Capitals were not the local sensation they are today. They were in the early stages of re-building the franchise, something they did and did well as evidenced by the last three seasons results and the fact that now and going forward, any season that doesn't end with the Caps at least getting to the Stanley Cup finals will be considered disappointing to us all - players, management, and fan base.



That's really how it ought to be, isn't it? Life as a DC Hockey fan now, is not like it was in 2008 when we were just glad to make the playoffs. After all the team we get to watch all season long is an excellent and strong team. In 2009 we were all happy the team made it to the second round of the playoffs before being knocked off by the eventual Cup winner. This year, 2010, was supposed to be "our" year in every one's mind. The team played with purpose throughout the season. They made a set of trade deadline moves that showed they would have the depth needed to make a deep run in the playoffs. They finished the regular season with the best record in the NHL. The list of "goods" and "rights" goes on and on.



So what happened? Well they ran into the Montreal Canadiens that's what. The Canadiens finished the season sliding but with a talented team and a 2-1-1 regular season record and they matched up well against the Capitals. I felt many folks on both teams raised their game as you need your team to do in the playoffs. However a couple of things happened that are obvious in the many accounts, recaps, etc. you'll read that derailed the chances of Capitals this post season:



#1 has to be where did the league's best power play go? The Canadiens' penalty kill unit was very effective. Effective enough that the lack of productivity from the Capitals power play probably cost the Caps a goal a game on average. Given that 4 of the 7 games were one goal games and 3 of the 4 Canadien wins were by one goal, this is something that has to be considered as or more significant to the Caps fortunes as the absolutely super-human play of Canadien goaltender Jaroslav Halak in the 4 Canadien Wins.



#2 has to be the stellar play of Canadien goaltender Jaroslav Halak. The Canadiens won games 1, 5, 6, and 7 with Halak in the net. In game 1, Halak stopped 45 of 47 shots and had a SV% of 0.9574. In game 5, Halak stopped 37 of 38 shots on goal and had a SV% of 0.9737. For game 6, Halak turned in an other-worldly performance stopping 53 of 54 shots on goal for a SV% of 0.9815. Last night in game 7, he continued to come up big and power his team to victory stopping 41 of 42 shots on goal for a SV% of 0.9762. Overall in the four victories Halak had a SV% of 0.9779. Through the full series Halak appeared in 6 games, has allowed 14 Goals Against on 231 shots on goal, a 2.46 GAA and had a SV% of 0.939. My point - Halak was good, but during the Canadien victories, he was better than great.

#3 has to be the way the Canadiens' team defense was able to limit the scoring chances, though not necessarily the shots on goal by the Capitals. In combination with the great play they got from Jaroslav Halak, the Canadiens defense was generally able to keep the Caps from having more than one forward in or around the net at any point in time during the 4 games they won. This made it hard for the Caps to break through the wall that Halak was putting up to them during those games.

#4 the match-ups and how the Caps did or didn't respond. This morning there are numerous calls through the blogsphere for various players, coaches and management's heads. All of which in my opinion are totally reactionary and unjustified. There are all sorts of statements about how the Caps fell to a vastly inferior Montreal team and I'm not convinced that's at all right. Montreal underachieved throughout the regular season and they've matched up well against the Capitals all season. As we all saw there are many talented players on the Canadiens and whatever they did or didn't do in the regular season, they ALL raised the level of their play throughout the playoffs. There are calls that Coach Boudreau's system is wrong, R.J. Umberger was right, etc. To me that wasn't and is not the problem. The Caps have "grit" players on their roster and like the finesse players some did and some did not raise their games sufficiently to win. That's a sad but true statement. I have my opinions on the match-ups. While I think I'm pretty much on record clearly that I think the Capitals should have played a more physical game across the board in all seven games, especially in the first two periods. I just feel the Caps did not use their size advantage enough throughout the series and part of that was because of the lineup and line match ups. Sure part of it is "the Caps system", part of it is "the new NHL", though the officiating in this regard continues to be inconsistently applied, etc. All that said, I'm not sure any of that would have mattered, particularly in games 5, 6, and 7 because of items #1 and #2 above.

I had the interesting experience of sitting in front of Carolina Hurricanes Right Wing Erik Cole last night who was at the game with his wife sitting next to Joe Corvo's wife. (BTW Erik, sorry again about spilling the water on you during the "wave" your bride was attempting to start.) Cole made several interesting comments but the most telling and noteworthy was a head shaking thought about how "Now every icing will be an adventure ... put your goaltender back in the net ... (head shaking) ... this is the best power play in the league." Cole was basically talking to himself but I was thinking similar thoughts during the game's final minutes when the Caps had the power play and couldn't/didn't tie it up to force overtime.

What this all means I haven't figured out. Where do the Caps go from here? Thankfully others get paid to figure that out, I'm pretty sure we all want me to focus on my day job and leave that to George McPhee and Bruce Boudreau. I have faith in them, they will figure it out. As others have pointed out, Bruce Boudreau has a 0.701 winning percentage in the regular season, he's a true student of the game. I contend, it's a game that is evolving and changing, it's no longer a game about "piss and vinegar" even in the playoffs. Bottom line is like others, sure I'm very disappointed, sure some changes need to be made, I'm an optimist and believe this team is close, very close. Minor adjustments and changes need to be made. Sure I'm a blogger and I'll think about and put those musings up here but look around the Eastern Conference. all top three seeds are now cleaning out their lockers. The Sabres and the Devils both are supposedly "defensive" minded/focused teams with big name goalies, etc. Their season, like the Capitals is over. Are their fans calling for everyone's heads? I'm really asking I didn't bother to go look through the blogshpere about that.

Right now though I know I'm rooting for Montreal in their next series. I'm also thankful to the Capitals players, the coaching staff, and the management for another season of great hockey. It didn't end like we all wanted. We have next year to make adjustments and make sure it ends better. In the meantime, we do have some good things to look back on and build upon. I just wanted to end by saying thank you for 89 games of excitement and entertainment.

What's Left To Say ...

Okay, the Caps lost last night. For Caps fans like me, the game was disappointing. I refuse to whine about the officiating, I admire that so far as I can see no one in the Caps organization is doing so. Sure other bloggers and a few of my own comments on blogs, etc. indicate my real feelings after thinking about it for some time today. It was a great game, the officiating left a lot to be desired on/for both sides, and the game given the quality of play deserved a better ending than the one that occurred. That is not to say that means the team I root for needed to be or necessarily would have been the one to win. Okay so that's all I'll say on that subject.

The Caps have their work cut out for them, who knows these guys seem to thrive when their backs are against the wall. Ovie said it well and I'll paraphrase - the Caps need six periods IN A ROW where they play their best hockey, six periods like the first and second period of last night's game. Oh and don't, I repeat DON'T expect the Penguins to get frustrated, play stupid or just fold up and go home. For the record so far this series there have been 5 games, four out of the five have been one goal games and the other was a two goal game in which the Caps scored the first goal and Sergei Federov had two other good scoring chances before the Pens rattled off three in a row and never looked back. Simple fact, these are two very talented teams who play all out, new style hockey; they match up well to each other and so far the Pens have found a way to win three times, while the Caps have only found a way to win twice.

In the end it really probably is that simple. Speaking of simple, hopefully the Caps will keep it that way. I have no doubt when each of these two teams is eliminated from the playoffs, or if the hockey gods shine on them one of them wins the Cup, we'll learn there were more guys "ding'ed" up than anyone suspected. That said, none of that matters. At the end of the game tomorrow night either the Penguins will advance or both teams will be headed back to Verizon Center for Game 7.

As a Caps fan, I'm hoping to get a chance to see another game 7. I also hope if we get that chance the following things happen in no particular order of precedence:

a) All 18, 277 in attendance listen to the announcement for our National Anthem and indeed join in and sing it respectfully rather than desecrating it with that "O" stuff and even that "RED" stuff.

b) If Sergei Gonchar plays we applaud his return to the ice once and then forget that stupid Larry Murphey "whoop".

c) No matter what the Pens fans do on Monday when Ovie touches the puck, we continue to NOT boo every time Crosby touches the puck.

d) We continue to take advantage of the advantages Caps ownership have given us to pack our building with Caps fans clad in read and we continue to see precious few "baby blue" or "black & gold" sweaters "in our house."

and last but possibly most importantly:
e) No matter how stupid or frustrating the officiating is or isn't to us we do NOT throw things on the playing surface.

Now for Monday night I'm hoping the Caps just play simple, straightforward,GREAT hockey and kick some flightless bird butt. They can do it, they've shown that but they need to turn up and keep up the intensity. There is no doubt the Penguins will want to finish this series at home. Don't kid yourselves no one who has a chance to finish and end a series in Game 6 wants to play Game 7.

So folks we have them right where we want them, they are visible on all sides, our options are simple and obvious in front of us - we shall attack, attack and drive to victory. We shall ask no quarter nor shall we offer such to our opponents. There is no option, it's either victory or the embarrassment and ignominy of digging our golf clubs out of that cobweb ridden corner in our garages. So sharpen your skates, tape your sticks, adjust your pads and leap, leap my loyal band of brothers into the breach screaming that cry that elicits fear from the hearts of your worthy opponents --- "NO PRISONERS!!!!!"

LETS GO CAPS!!!!

Penguins Fire Therrien - It's Just Like When The Caps Fired Hanlon Only Way Different

Pittsburgh has fired head coach Michel Therrien and replaced him with Dan Bylsma on an interim basis. So this is just like last year when the Capitals replaced Head Coach Glen Hanlon with the head coach of their AHL Affiliate Bruce Boudreau, right? Well to be sure Pens GM Ray Shero, Ownership and legions of Penguins Fans hope so given the way last season went for Capitals. However if you look at things closely, the similarities end with the fact each team was loosing, fired their head coach and put the coach of their AHL affiliate behind the bench.

First there is the fact the Capitals were in the process of an extensive rebuilding and had Hanlon and crew had several years to put their system in place and it sure seemed like it had taken the Caps as far as it could. The feeling of the Caps from ownership to faithful was one that felt the time had come for reasonable results but last season no one, and I mean NO ONE. expected the Capitals to go deep into the playoffs. Everyone figured the nucleus which was completed by Nicklas Backstrom would take 3 or 4 more years to get things settled in DC. So difference number 1 was that expectations in DC last season were reasonable.

Second, before last season the Caps hadn't made the playoffs let alone gone deep in them for several years. I just double checked and last year, the Penguins coached by this guy went to the Stanley Cup Finals. So it isn't like there isn't reason to think there are other things at issue in Pittsburgh besides Michel Therrien - don't get me wrong, I don't think he's the Phil Jackson of the NHL, ever was or will be, but when you have the talent the Pens clearly have and you don't win, it's not just the coach. (Oh and the guy who I would think of as the Phil Jackson of the NHL - that guy used to be named Scotty Bowman, these days he goes by the name of Mike Babcock. If Bruce Boudreau can keep the Caps together, playing unselfishly, and hold it all together for say 3 or 4 years where the Caps win a couple of Cups, he too will be in that class. No disrespect, I think he might actually do it with the bunch of guys in DC these days but we have a way to go. BTW, I would love to hear Sergei Federov's thoughts on that subject, perhaps Mike Vogel can get that interview after this years playoffs are over.) In any case the difference is the pressure on Boudreau in November 2007 was little to none - the pressure on new Penguins head coach Bylsma is substantial.

Third the experience of both men is markedly different. At 52 when he took the helm of the Capitals, Boudreau had extensive minor league coaching experience and had worked in several NHL organizations. He was in his third year as head coach of the Hershey Bears and had spent nine seasons as an AHL head coach. In addition to the Calder Cup he won in 2006, he had also won the ECHL championship - the Kelly Cup as head coach of the Mississippi Sea Wolves in 1999. In short, Bruce Boudreau had paid a lot of dues, after he won the Jack Adams Trophy last season, the question in may fans minds when they heard his story was "Why didn't someone give this guy a shot as an NHL head coach sooner?" This is meant as no disrespect to Dan Bylsma, the W-B Baby Pens are a well coached team that is playing well a and he may well be a very good coach. Also it's clear some changes needed to be made and it's a lot easier to replace a head coach, or a GM, then it is to totally rebuild an entire team; and what team with Sid Crosby (the guy I love to hate) and Evgeni Malkin would want to start over totally anyway? It's just clear that the coaching experience contrast between Bruce Boudreau and Dan Bylsma is stark. At 38, Bylsma instantly becomes the youngest coach in the NHL and is only five years removed from his playing career with the Ducks. This is his first season as an AHL head coach, and even if the Pens' affiliate in Wilkes-Barre is one of the top teams in the league, it's not nine years and a Calder Cup.

Finally, one has to wonder about how many of the current changes to the Penguins lineup between last season and this season is Therrien's doing vice GM Ray Shero's vice local hero co-owner/chairman Mario Lemieux's. There's probably more then enough to go around and I'd guess Therrien's alleged mercurial personality was part of the reason for his drawing the short straw, given Lemieux owns the team it was a two horse race and the first logical shoe is probably the head coach. All that said I wonder if now we'll get some details as to why the Penguins ever refused to figure out a way to keep Ryan Malone on their team, they certainly miss him now. I've always felt Matt Cooke for Jarkko Ruutu at a salary cap savings of 100K was a very smart move; I even felt that way before Ruutu did his best Mike Tyson impersonation. (And Bettman sends Avery to anger management for saying folks pick up his sloppy seconds - go figure?) I know why the Caps couldn't hold on to Cooke but boy I wouldn't have minded if they figured out a way to hold on to him, I'll take Cooke over Avery or Ruutu any day, plays the same role well, without any of the baggage. I'll also accept that Marian Hossa wasn't going to stay in Pittsburgh no matter what but Malone would have gladly stayed and retired a Penguin, they should have figured out how to make that happen, instead now they need a winger for Crosby otherwise they have to stack both he and Malkin on the first line since Miroslav Satan, good as he is, is only a "poor man's Hossa". When you look at the Penguins salary cap data, the problem is clear - up front - 3 great centermen but no "power forwards" - though Malkin can play that role, it's a waste to put him there. So as you look at the Penguins salary cap situation and you see they have no room this season, little room next season, and no clear power forward on the roster after this July who isn't a UFA, how's that the Coach's fault? Clearly last season was supposed to be "The Year" for Pittsburgh and if not for the Detroit Red Wings, it probably would have been. I guess in the end that's why it's Therrien's head not Shero's that Lemieux opted for, but with no cap room and really nobody they want to deal that anybody wants, how will Ray Shero get more help on the wings for his excellent group of centers?

Well look, I'm a Caps fan so I guess I really don't care. I'm just trying to make my point clear, there is little to no similarity between the Caps move in September 2007 and the Penguins move this past weekend. Anybody who thinks there is hasn't looked below the surface.

Yet another reason it's fun to be a Caps fan this year - it's not fun to be a Penguins fan. Sure means folks on NBC will have more to talk about besides the so called Ovechkin/Semin vs. Malkin/Crosby feud next Sunday thankfully though, eh?

LETS GO CAPS!!!!!

Caps - Zip/Nada/Nothin' - Blue Jackets 3; Gabby Indigestion Due to "Frustration" On Birthday

Well looking around the blogsphere no one is overly alarmed that the Capitals finally lost their second home game in regulation this season, even if it was to an injury depleted Columbus Blue Jackets team at the end of a long road trip. Caps coach Bruce Boudreau said he was frustrated on his 54th birthday last evening. A video is available over at "On Frozen Blog" - Coach clearly wasn't happy about a lot of things but seemed to also be still in need of time to figure out what to do about the things he saw on the ice last night. The quote about "It's going to happen sometime, unless maybe you're San Jose who might go 37-0-3..." was clearly a quote from a guy who wants his team to try and go 82-0-0 over the course of a season but knows that there will be games like last night. What kind of game was last night, anyway? From my perspective on the couch here in Bristow, I think frustrating was a good word. However, maybe not for all the same reasons as some others watching but more on that later. Here's some other rationale reactions to last night's end to the Capitals' latest winning streak.

From Nation's Capital Blog: "Although the boys from Washington didn't have their "A" game, they definitely weren't sloppy or disinterested. 45 shots is a pretty good indicator that they were getting their chances (not to mention all the near misses that didn't make it on goal). Some nights, 'ya' just don't get the breaks."

From my favorite The Peerless Prognosticator: "What?...You thought they’d go 39-1-1 at home? The Caps lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets last night, 3-0. Why? ... [See Large Picture of Blue Jackets Rookie Goalie Steve Mason stopping one of 45 shots by the Capitals on the way to his 4th shutout of the year]. ..... Later Peerless states] ... Jose Theodore did not have a poor game, just a very average one. A rebound that got away, a deflection, and a scrum in front. But it stood in such stark relief against what was going on at the other end that it had the look of a poor game."

From Puckhead's Thoughts: "...There is not much I would have liked the Caps do differently in this game, except for the bad penalties toward the end that stymied the Capitals' offensive push and allowed two BJ power play goals late in the second and third periods. Those were pretty bad penalties. ... The Caps do end a four game home stand with a 3-1 record and 6 points out of eight possible. Now they hit the road to Montreal, where confidence is abound in the Habs. ..."

From Capitals Kremlin, the headline " Worst. Birthday. Ever." says it all but the picture and sentiment is pretty cool too.

My personal reactions are mixed and I have a few more concerns apparently than others after watching last night. Sure it was a great game by Steve Mason, I counted at least three really, really good driving scoring attempts by the Capitals that normally would have gone in no matter who they were playing. Not fancy stuff but real digging down low kind of stuff with multiple scoring attempts; and yes Mason was the sole reason the Caps didn't score on those attempts. The concerns I have are in fact with the frustration the Caps displayed and their reaction to it. It seems like the Capitals absolutely felt two things that came through both of which have been covered elsewhere but bear repeating: a) the Caps felt the should win the game and b) they felt "snakebitten" from the start with the injury to Gordon before play even started. The frustration came through after the Blue Jackets scored their second goal when the Caps took some just "dumb" penalties. A normally smart Donald Brashear going off for a double minor when the team is trying to come back just shows how frustrated the Capitals were. All that said I think Caps forward, and former Blue Jacket, Sergei Federov got it right on when he was quoted in today's Washington Times as saying "It is easy to say we were frustrated, but we still have a job to do. You have to respect the opponent and work as hard as they are - if not harder." It's the highest level of the sport and on any given night pretty much anybody can beat anybody else - that's why they play the games on the ice not on a computer. Well as Coach said - good teams bounce back - how about tonight?

And from around the other league's bloggers - over at Sean Leahy's Going Five Hole there's a bizarre supposed interview with Jaromir Jagr supposedly saying he would play for the Penguin's for the NHL minimum if Mario Lemiuex asked him because he owes Mario everything. This blogger's reaction...yeah sure, why not...I'm betting the interview never happened like it was reported, but if you hit the link, you had to love the mullet, I did so I'm putting up here for you to see. No matter how silly or bad some of Ovechkin's pics look they'll never beat this one (don't get mad at me now - I love Ovechkin, especially the way he plays, but he does show up in some bad pictures, you have to admit.)

The usual hockey related silliness abounds over at The Wonderful World of Loser Domi, today they poke fun at Maple Leaf's goaltender Vesla Toskla. So that's not too original given his efforts of late, come on, be nice now everybody.

And before we look ahead at tonight's foe - the All Star heavy Montreal Canadeans, I just want to point those of you who like slightly weird blogs from brash young hockey manias over to another new blog - though not totally devoted to the Washington Capitals - that so far seems to be written by someone with a pretty good sense of humor - "Nochnaya huligana - hockey gone wild" - don't worry about the title it is written in English. Well that is if you think this blog is written in English.

VS.

Tonight's game look ahead it's simple....It's for two points in the standings and a LOT of pride, even more so than last night's chance for the Caps to show the hockey world there should be at least three Caps on the All-Star roster. The math for the second coaching spot behind the Eastern Conference All Star bench is simple - tonight's game is for it. Caps win and the second spot behind the bench belongs to Bruce Boudreau. Habs win, it's Guy Carbonneau, the last thing this year's All Star Game needs is another Canadean on or behind the Eastern Conference; no disrespect intended to the Canadeans' record or play so far this season.

The Habs are playing well and having a fine season so far. Additionally, tonight they will be playing for their fourth straight win since loosing to New Jersey in Newark on January 2nd. They won their last home game 6-2 at Bell Centre on Thursday and will be rested and ready to face the Capitals. The last time the two teams played each other was December 13th in Montreal and the Caps took that game in a closely played 2-1 win on a late third period game winner from Michael Nylander and a solid net-minding game by Simieon Varlamov, who is now back at Hershey. So far this season the Caps lead the series 2-0 having won the first game on the back of Jose Thodore's only shutout so far this season. Rest assured the Canadeans will be woring very hard for the two points, their coach's "honor" and to avoid going down 3-0 in this season's series against the Capitals. As for the Capitals, here's to hoping Michael Nylander has a great game after a night off last night, the Caps Defense got things sorted out on the flight to Montreal, and Ovechkin, Semin, Backstrom, and Mike Green all get a chance to show why they all should be in the All-Star lineup and Caps coach Bruce Boudreau is the right man to be behind the bench at the All Star Game.

According to Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post's blog, neither Boyd Gordon or Sergei Federov will play tonight and Brent Johnson will likely get the start. The Habs come into the night just three points behind the Capitals and have both Philadelphia and the Rangers on their heels as well. This is a game that matters for several reasons, look for both teams to "bring it" and "bring it with their A games."

LETS GO CAPS!!!!!!!

Caps 3 - Sabres 2; A Recap of Last Night's Game and Some Other Interesting News

Last night at "the Phone Booth" aka Verizon Center the Washington Capitals hosted the Buffalo Sabres for the second meeting between these two NHL Eastern Conference foes of the four times they'll meet this regular season. In very brief summary for Caps fans it was a two point night, and Alex Ovechkin scored another one of those goals that make it clear why he's the most exciting AND most valuable player in the NHL today. If all you're looking for is bottom line stuff you need read no further, the above is the bottom line on last night's game. For those wanting just a touch of color, here it is, my son and I watched from our perches in Section 103, the atmosphere was electric, it was a sellout crowd, only a few misguided Sabre fans in blue jerseys, most folks were clearly into it and Rocked the Red. This was perhaps the best non-playoff game of hockey we've ever been too; certainly the most fun game to we've attended prior to the All Star Break. [ed note: Summary over, there's already been a lot about this game posted around the blogsphere, so I'll just be posting some general observations and musings about it. But it was an awesome game for the Caps and Caps fans.]


Last night was a great game for the Capitals, for a lot of reasons, not just the obvious ones: 1) The Caps won the game in regulation. 2) So far this morning, it appears the Caps got through the game with both 2 points and no more injuries, though Tyler Sloan's low TOI makes it clear he's probably still on the mend. 3) Because of the injuries, this was another "character game" for the Caps; and they never lost composure, despite clearly outplaying the Sabres during the first period and having Patrick Lalime keep his team tied with them despite being out shot 15 - 8 in the first stanza. Those being the obvious reasons it was a great game for the Caps here's some observations and musings on more subtle or specific reasons it was great.


The Caps did what they needed to do in every set of match ups and category of comparisons.

A) In goal Jose Theodore had a very, very solid night. The Caps never trailed in the game. Theodore had a save percentage of 0.917 (22 of 24), without any help from the referee, and the two goals that did get in were not in any way "softies." In fact Thee-O , was pretty much without fault on the two he let in. The first one he was screened by multiple guys and the second he had two Sabres, one on each side of the doorstep unencumbered. Throughout the game he made all the sames he should have and at least a couple that were pretty amazing and kept the Caps either tied at 0-0 or in the lead. Patrick Lalime, at the other end, also played an excellent game and as cited by Theodore after the game, pretty much kept his team in it for the duration. Lalime's save percentage of record for the game was 0.915 (31 of 34). But there were numerous entire shifts where Lalime didn't get the help he should have gotten from the team in front of him.

B) On defense, there was no chronic or systemic evidence during this game that the Caps blueline corps on the ice was significantly less experienced than their Buffalo counterparts. That's pretty much the bottom line but the reasons are much more subtle. The only Cap with a minus plus/minus rating for the game was Sean Collins who was on the ice with Karl Alzner for the Sabres second goal. That goal was scored by Maxim Afinogenov from the doorstep and was the only time both Caps defenseman were out of position at the same time all night. The reason that happened? Simple immediately prior to Lydman shooting the puck towards the net, Afinogenov got away with a weak cross-check of Boyd Gordon to get the room he needed to make the play. Gordon was properly lined up so Collins cheated out towards the shooter, hoping to maybe block a shot that he didn't block. A solid hockey play and why good things happen when you crash the net and mix it up. This isn't whining about the Sabres' second goal, the officiating, though with the usual level questionable calls we've come to expect this NHL season, was even handed. The point here is the Sabres didn't lose the game nor did they take it easy on Washington's relatively inexperienced blueline corps. Overall for the game the Caps Blueliners were +4, to the Sabres Blueliners -6. There is no doubt that the return of either Mike Green or Tom Poti and preferably both would greatly strengthen the Caps right now. However, the play of Karl Alzner, Sean Collins, and Tyler Sloan was solid last night. Bryan Helmer, on the other hand, had a career night and deserved to be one of the three stars of the evening, it might have been a little cheesy in light of Ovechkin's "The Goal - Redeux," but nobody is probably going to argue with Helmer's status as number 1 star of the game. The continued solid play of these four call-up defenseman will be required for the Caps to continue to win for the rest of this month. The opportunity to directly contrast Karl Alzner and Luke Schenn on Sunday, should be interesting.

C) Forwards - The Capitals first line of Ovechkin - Backstrom - Kozlov was excellent throughout the entire game; their numbers also reflect that, even with Ovechkin's power play tally negated a goaltender interference call, on Brooks Laich in the last two minutes of the second period. Ovechkin's game winner is a highlight real centerpiece and has already been well chronicled elsewhere here on the net and in the mainstream media; in addition he finished the night +2, had 8 shots, 8 attempts blocked, 3 missed attempts, 3 hits, 1 giveaway, and 3 takeaways. Just your typical Ovechkin night at the game, the guy is well paid but he tries to make sure he earns his money every game, last night there was no doubt about that. Nicklas Backstrom finished the game with a primary assist (his 28th of the season) and +2 on the night with 21:11 TOI during 20 shifts. Last night was another great night for Viktor Kozlov, he scored the Caps first goal of the evening, breaking Lalime's "shutout" at the 17:46 mark of the first period on a very well played give and go that Backstrom was in the middle of; that goal was Kozlov's 9th of the season and the third goal he's scored in the last four games. Kozlov's play over the past three weeks has been as good as he's ever played since joining the Caps. It sure looks like he's having fun out there, and perhaps most importantly, he's playing hard, all out hockey, the enitre time his skates are on the ice and the results are speaking for themselves. The Caps second line of Giroux-Nylander-Fehr seemed the most challenged of the Caps forward lines last night but they hustled and perhaps with a little more time together might start to "click." Nylander is clearly working hard to adapt to a more North-South style of play and shoot more, though his shot selection of a slapshot over a wrist shot from the center slot last night was clearly wrong headed as it gave Lalime more time to square up on him. Giroux, was clearly working harder on playing both ways and back-checking more than his prior outings, he also used his size more against the Sabres and was credited with 4 hits. Fehr still seems to be playing his way back into shape and favoring his shoulder, he only had 1 hit, but he did have 4 shots on goal and 6 takeaways as well as zero giveaways. Nylander's wheeling and counter-motion, which sometimes makes it look like the puck is glued to his stick, also makes it harder for wingers newly paired with him to get their timing right. If Fleischmann is out for a few more games, it seems like Giroux might be the guy to pair with Nylander on the left wing. Overall the line was played sparingly and while at first the Sabres seemed to take advantage of their communication challenges, by the end of the game they seemed to be moving the puck well out of the Capitals zone and keeping it in the Sabres end of the ice. The Caps third line and energy line played a great game and clearly over matched the Sabres' third line, though the Sabres energy line also played well when they found themselves on the ice against the Caps first or third lines, they were generally outplayed by a significant margin. The Caps third line of Laich - Steckel - Bradley played a great game and when they were on the ice you could just about hear the theme song from "True Grit" in your ears. That the Caps energy line of Brashear - Gordon - Clark scored the Capitals second goal speaks for itself. Overall on the night the Caps forwards were a combined plus/minus +6 while the Sabres forwards were -4; the Caps forwards had 18 takeaways and only 10 giveaways while their Sabres counterparts had only 3 takeaways and 6 giveaways; Caps forwards had 23 hits, while the Sabres forwards had just 7 hits. Clearly despite saying otherwise in the main stream media, after looking at the game tapes and reviewing the statistics from last night's game, the Sabres will understand, they stayed in the game because of solid play by Patrick Lalime. It sure seems the Sabres forwards need to "kick it up" a couple of notches, if they are to reverse their current trend and regain and hold on to a playoff spot through April. Right now both the Florida Panthers and the Carolina Hurricanes are playing better hockey then the Sabres did last night. As a Caps fan, I'm sure glad that under the current Capitals coaching staff and management, it's okay to admit both your mistakes when you have a bad game and also to show that you hate loosing.

In some other interesting, sort of sports related, news, according to a Wall Street Journal Report yesterday, the New York Times Company is looking to sell it's 17% minority stake in New England Sports Ventures one of the minority owners of the Boston Red Sox and Fenway Park, and indirect ownership/control (80%) owner of the New England Sports Network, the other 20% of which is owned by the Boston Bruins. Reportedly NYT is looking to get $166Million for this asset sale, not a bad haul in what is generally a down market, eh? [ed note: I just thought it interesting that the New York Times even owned both the Boston Globe and 17% of the Red Sox. It also seemed very small world, 6 degrees of separation-esque that that then gave them ~13.6% of the network that broadcasts the Boston Bruins too, if you're looking for a "hockey tie-in" here. No doubt as the current economic turmoil sorts itself out we'll all continue to learn about more and more details about the "interconnectivity" in our economy.]

Last night's game gave the Caps a total of 47 standings points so far this season, and kept them 8 points ahead of the second place Carolina Hurricanes, who also notched a two point victory in regulation last night, in the Southeast Division. The win also takes the Capitals home ice record this season to 14-1-1, best in the Eastern Conference; and takes the Caps up to second place in the Conference 7 points behind the Boston Bruins, who have 2 games in hand on the Caps, and tied for points with the New York Rangers but with a game in hand on the Blueshirts. Next up the Toronto Maple Leafs at Verizon Center on Sunday Evening. Per Tarik El-Brashir, Bryan Helmer, after earning the number 1 star last evening, was returned to Hershey so it would appear that either Mike Green or Jeff Schultz will be in the lineup against the Maple Leafs. That should help, but the 11th place (in the Eastern Conference) Leafs at times this season have been "giant killers;" just last Saturday evening (December 20th) they beat the Penguins 7-3 in Pittsburgh. The last time the Caps and Leafs met, December 6th in Toronto, the Caps won the game 2-1. The Leafs are 5-5-0 in their last ten and lost their last game against the Islanders 4-1 at Nassau County Veterans Memorial Coliseum last night. It should be a good, fun game, the Caps will retire Mike Gartner's number before the game and will be playing in their White Sweaters, if the Caps win they will remain at 8-2-0 in their last 10, as they are currently but will once again be making quite a statement as their home record would go to 15-1-1. Coach Bruce Boudreau has said, a goal for the season is to make other teams not look forward to playing the Capitals at the "Phone Booth" - that's one goal for this season the Caps seem well on their way to accomplishing.

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