Game 7: Caps At Flames, A Two Point Night; and a Few Other Blog/Hockey Musings

Well I've been back blogging pretty regularly and I guess thanks to a few links over at Japer's Rink I'm getting a fair amount of traffic, not bad for a fanboy blog, IMO.  In any case sorry for the last post/rant but as those who are Caps fans know, I wasn't the only person who avails themselves of these outlets to feel Glen Healy's comments were way over the top.

Before going over the recap of tonight's #CapsFlames and my thoughts on it a few other random
musings on the topic of hockey blogging.  When I started doing this blog in November 2007 there were a fair number of pretty good blogs out there and many like mine were independent.  Since that time a lot have been assembled into various outlets such as Japer's Rink and their affiliation with SB Nation, while other really, really awesome blogs like The Peerless Prognosticator have stayed "independent."  A few of the bloggers whose contribution to the hockey blogsphere inspired me regularly to add to the content out here on the interwebs in a manner I still aspire to have opted to "hang up their keyboards" and revert to their day jobs.  I myself certainly took a pretty solid hiatus from pretty much April 2012 until again in September, feeling I really had nothing to add to the conversation, and blogging had stopped being a place to release some of my creativity in a manner I enjoyed.  In any case it was with some trepidation that I decided to start doing so again a little over a month ago, so its really pleasurable to note that since I started blogging again I've had a fair amount of traffic and folks reading my blog and musings.  Hopefully it's as entertaining for people to read as it is for me to write again, and that remains the same for both you the reader and myself the writer.

Now to musings about this evening/morning's game in Calgary.  As most Caps fans know from various CSN comments, as well as a quick run through the Caps roster, any trip to and through Western Canada means more than a few Caps are likely to spend a chunk of change for friends and family coming to see them play nearer to their "ancestral homes" than at Verizon Center. In Edmonton, Jason Chimera and Braden Holtby were the ones, Chimera playing in his hometown and Holtby playing but a couple of hours from his in Lloydminster, SK; in Calgary, Mike Green and Jay Beagle are "home"; and when the team gets to Vancouver tomorrow, Troy Brouwer, and Karl Alzner will be playing in front of a number of family, and close friends form their youths.  Additionally, as I noted before this three game road trip though Western Canada is likely as good an early measuring stick as any for the Caps progress in adapting to the team's new system and their discipline in playing that system.  The game in Edmonton on Wednesday Evening was executed almost perfectly by the Caps in every way but one - the scoreboard. 

Last evening in Calgary, the Caps played a very good game both on the ice and on the scoreboard.

They came out strong in Calgary and though it took 11:17 for Joel Ward to score the Caps first goal on a powerplay that really wasn't looking very "awesome" to that point, the Caps did control the game through the entire first period.  Unfortunately the as the first period came to a close Dennis Wideman of the Flames tied the game with a PPG for the Flames at the 19:50 mark of the first stanza. The first period ended with the game tied 1-1 but with the momentum still really tilted the Capitals direction, IMO.

In the second period the Caps did cede some of the game's control to the Flames, however thanks once again to a goal by Joel Ward, this time a 5 on 5 goal at 5:41 of the period assisted by Michael Latta and Brooks Orpik.  Despite being pretty stymied by the Flames from mounting much other offense during the middle period, the Caps did not commit any glaring mistakes of their own and went into the final intermission leading the game 2-1 and playing smart, disciplined hockey.

The third period started just the way you wanted it to if you are a Caps fan.  The Capitals came out of the dressing room ready to play.  In fact just 41 seconds into the period, Nicklas Backstrom scored an even strength goal after a really crisp stretch pass from Karl Alzner sprung him on a 1-0 breakaway. Tonight Karl Alzner was clearly one of the best players on the ice as was Brooks Orpik who showed why he was sought after by the Capitals this off season. Another thing to note is while Ovechkin wasn't on the score sheet with any points, he was a force on the ice throughout the game.  His play when he doesn't have the puck just keeps getting better and better in this system, though he does need to go back to shooting the puck some more as he hasn't been as effective these past three games as he was during the first several of this young season.  Also in addition to Ward's scoring which merits mention in any recap of this game, rookies Andre Burakovsky and Evgeny Kuznetsov also looked extremely solid tonight as did Nate Schmidt and Mike Green.  Finally, despite only facing 21 SOG, anytime Braden Holtby posts a 0.952 SV% the Capitals are going to be a very hard team to beat.

Next up the Caps take a quick hop over to Vancouver to take on the Canucks (4-3-0; 7 points, 0.572)at 6:30 PM PDT and 9:30PM EDT tonight. They will likely be facing a well rested Ryan Miller along with the rest of a hungry Vancouver lineup coming off a 7-3 loss in Denver on Friday evening.

LETS GO CAPS!!!

Game 5: A Two Point Night - Caps 2, Panthers 1 (SO)

Well after five games at the start of the season, the Capitals are 3-0-2.  My initial reaction remains, anytime during the regular season you can end the night with at least one point, that's a good thing. 

As has been said elsewhere, last evening's win was a bit of an ugly win.  As with the Canadiens game, while the Capitals were dominant throughout the first period, and in last night's case also pretty much all of the second, they were unable to get that second goal. Brooks Laich almost got it for them in what for my money was his best game of the young season, but he redirected it under the crossbar behind Al Montoya with a stick that when you see the replay was clearly above the top of the net. 

While Montoya did give up some rebounds, he and the Panthers were able to recover and keep the puck out of the Panthers net.  This gave the Panthers a chance to revert to the dreaded trap, play "not to lose" in the third period, and hope the Caps made a mistake to let them back in the game to steal a point or even better yet two for the night.  That seemed like it might happen when they got a power play goal from Brad Boyes early in the third period.  Fortunately this team, this coaching staff, this system, and the confidence they have in both each other's abilities and the system's inherent strengths make that a lot less likely this team will snatch defeat from the jaws of victory than it has been  for a couple of seasons.  Other than one pretty weak call on a retaliation that was pretty weak, and as they all are - foolish, by Jason Chimera, the Caps did little wrong to make sure they didn't beat themselves.  Also Chimera redeemed himself, knowing his new coach wasn't going to be pleased with the penalty he took, came out of the box skating fast and smart and drew a penalty of his own that gave the Caps their only full 2:00 powerplay of the game.  Unfortunately the Caps did not convert that opportunity to a 2-1 lead but at least it seemed to get them back on track and playing smart for the last ~5:00 of the third period. 

I'll only make this comment about the officiating last night - I thought the officiating was pretty bad, and the game was not consistently called through the full 60:00 or did the rules seem to be the same for both teams - 'nuff said on that point.  The good news is this Capitals team doesn't seem to care about or get distracted by things like that much at all.

Some comments on individual performances last night:

Justin Peters - AWESOME game;

Al Montoya (Panthers) - Very good game;

Alexander Ovechkin - Good game - also nice to see him out there occasionally on the penalty kill and one of those PK shifts was probably his best of the evening;

Evgeny Kuznetsov - Very good game, nice to see you getting more ice time, though not really happy about the reason since....

Brooks Laich - Best game of this young season for Laich so fair, hope the injury is minor, he recovers soon, and keeps up the confidence to go to the harder areas on the ice like he did last evening - the Caps need him to do that (play more like he did last night and less like he did the first four games of the season, a manner I'd characterize as "tentatively.")

Andre Burakovsky - Good game, he keeps getting better every game and over the next two years he'll only grow and get stronger which is really something to look forward to.

Jason Chimera - good game, netting his first goal of the season and looking better and better as a line with 16 and 42.  Fehr's setup of Chimmer for the goal was masterful and gave Chimmer pretty much all day to convert his primary assist.  Ward was solid the entire game and in addition to good five on five play with 16 and 25, had a couple of pretty neat shifts on the PK.

The entire Capitals group of Blue Liners had a good game - at both ends of the ice. I can and would only say good things about all six of them.  I am really, really loving the fact the team now has the ability to put any one of three defense pairing out on the ice with confidence they can and will deliver.

Marcus Johansson - another really good game he and Burakovsky are really "gelling" well as a line pair regardless of who the third that is paired with them.  Marcus is skating more confidently, shooting more and playing harder on the puck than he has ever before (IMO.)  That combined with his natural speed, playmaking ability, and creativity - along with being in a role where he is counted on to bring that to a forward line without Backstrom or Ovechkin, seemingly has been a good stimuli to push the young Swede's game up half a level or so.

Jonathan Huberdeau and Tomas Fleischmann - if the Panthers are to finish this season with more than 78 points, these two guys need to be more visible and more noticeable on the ice and one the post game "event summary." On a whole, despite shuffling their lineup and adding some solid veterans like Shawn Thorton, Brad Boyes, and Willie Mitchell, the truth is this game shouldn't have even been close.  Through the first 30:00+ minutes of regulations, there were lots of times the Capitals looked like they were the only NHL level team on the ice, dominating play for literally multiple consecutive shifts. That failure to get the "second goal" in a game like this (or against the Canadiens) is still something the Capitals need to work on.  However, two ugly points in October is still two points in April so I'm glad the Caps were able to gut it out and win the gimmick round, also even though I hate the "sudden victory shootout" I will comment that Ovechkin's shootout goal was "sick" though not unbelievable.

Next up a swing through Western Canada and games in Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver starting Wednesday against the Oilers.

LETS GO CAPS!!!

Is It Time Yet? - Yep, It's Time ...

   Well tonight in Buffalo, there was sort of a preseason hockey game. I say sort of because by my reckoning, the result was inevitable.  Inevitable because the Capitals showed up with three NHL defensemen to the Sabres five and eight NHL forwards to the Sabres ten. So basically the Capitals had just ~56% of their skaters as guys likely to be wearing Capitals sweaters on while the Sabres had ~72% of what will likely be there opening night team on the ice.  Add to that fact, the Sabres came out with jump in their steps and they were allowed to pepper Braden Holtby pretty much at will during the first period and as I say, the result was pretty much inevitable.

Finish the First Period of play with the Capitals down 3 - 0, the second period with the Sabres up 5 - 0 and a Capitals Team without most of their best offensive weapons dressed to play and well lets be honest, this game was basically over after 20:00.  The score sheet on this game was pretty much plain ugly, if you're a Caps fan.  Everyone on the roster except 58 Conner Carrick, 48 Casey Wellman, and 24 Kris Newbury was a minus player.  John Carlson finished the night - 3; Marcus Johansson, Evgeni Kuznetsov, and Karl Alzner finished the night at -2.  The only bright spot was except for Burakovsky all the Capital's Centers had good nights in the faceoff circle.  Other than that there's really nothing I saw tonight that you'd want to build on in a positive fashion going forward.  The Caps did not play as a solid team; with the talent deficit they had tonight  they needed to be making better, smarter hockey decisions on the ice and bluntly that didn't really happen on most shifts.

What did we learn tonight? Let's see ... I learned or reinforced my feelings that:

1) Matt Moulson is a really good hockey player, who goes to the dirty areas on ice and fights for those needed ugly goals.  You remember, the way Brooks Laich used to but certainly didn't tonight on several occasions when he should have.  So that means the 30 year old Moulson will likely be well worth his $5M Salary Cap hit for 3 and probably at least 4 of his current 5 year deal ... while the 31 year old Laich, likely needs a change of scenery in order for him to be worth his $4.5 million Cap Hit during the final three seasons of his current deal.

2) Jason "Ice Cheetah" Chimera, the oldest guy on the Capitals roster, as they say in Bahston, skates wicked fast, and is the fastest skater on the Caps Team.

3) The Capitals without Ovechkin, Backstrom, Green, and Niskanen in the lineup really aren't a team that one can see coming back from 2 let alone 3 goals down.

4) It's unlikely that at the end of this season many people, even in Buffalo, will feel that Ryan Miller is worth $4.5 Million more than Jhonas Enroth.

5) It's time.  ...  ITS TIME for the Caps to pare down the roster and play their last two preseason games with a roster that is 75+% consisting of guys who will be here after opening day.

Next up, a preseason game against the Flyers at Verizon Center tomorrow night.

LETS GO CAPS!!!!

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

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


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


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

LETS GO CAPS!

Capital's Rookie Camp Barely Underway; TSN Commenters Already Quite Ridiculous and Irritating

Well Caps fans yesterday my Caps Season Ticket Holder (STH) package arrived - not sure if I'll really use my new "Club Red 365" Lunchbox but I like it.  If there was a 10 year old mini-me here I know what his sandwich would be in tomorrow morning.  The arrival of the Caps STH package always cements the idea that hockey season is just around the corner and prompts me to check out the usual hockey blogs and media haunts as well as start some more research as to where and how I think the Capitals prospects and approaches for the upcoming season are starting to flesh out.

If you read my blog last week you'll know I am a fan and generally an optimistic one at that.  Last year this time I was curiously optimistic as to how the Adam Oates era would begin and go here in DC hockey, now we know those answer - short and not at all sweet.  Now we start the Barry Trotz era, given Trotz's last "gig" was so long in Nashville, I think we can all expect our current head coach's era to be longer than our last one here in Cap Nation.  I also think we can look to the style that Nashville played for at least a few clues as to the type of game he is going to be expecting from the Capitals and we will be watching.  Combined with the off season Free Agent pickups I think we will be looking at - believe it or not - a much higher energy game plan, and yes a "200 foot game" as has been speculated.

 But what does that really mean, I'm thinking shorter shifts for the forward lines and shifts of no more than 1:00 on average for the Blue Liners.  To me, I expect at the end of this regular season Ovechkin and Backstrom will have played 77+ games and have an ATOI of 18:45 - 20:00 - there 5 on 5 Corsi and +/- will be at career highs; and both will be 100+ point producers for the season with no more that 50% of those points coming on the power play.  Remember that you read that here first. Why did I lead off with that - just read the comments to this article over on TSN - it's typical of what their readers usually post about our Captain who they clearly do not watch actually play. Further if at any time you've ever wondered why reading my blog I'll occasionally rant about  "xenophobia" against anyone who is not a Canadian in the NHL in hockey media, etc.  just read more comments in articles on TSN where posters talk about any Russian, European or American players.  Now back to my more on point hockey musings.  I think the improved success of Backstrom and Ovechkin will be sparked by two things an even more talented and creative new Left Wing on the line (either Kuznetsov or perhaps Burakovsky) and smoother, faster breakouts from the Defensive zone enabled by a collectively more talented, bigger defensive corps. To me the addition of Niskanen is huge - it means the Caps now will have three pairings with anchored by a really skilled puck mover.  It takes a huge load off Mike Green and John Carlson and means other teams cannot sit back at all when 74 and 52 are on the bench.  Orpik brings grit and means gives some relief to Alzner - his addition means that 27 isn't the only NHL top four "shutdown" D-Man on the team; but I feel Niskanen's addition means other teams will have to play a much more intense forecheck if they expect to beat the Capitals during a game's five on five play.  I also think these changes mean the Caps, who had and continue to have tons of talent on the forward lines, now have a full set of three defensive pairings that will be able play the same game no matter who is out on the ice.  That will mean opponents won't be able to focus so much of their game plan on stopping 8 and 19.

Play the above out through the 40 minutes of each game that Ovechkin and Backstrom are on the bench and it should mean the rest of the team will also have more room to play the game and put up solid five on five numbers.  I don't see any reason why 42, 25 and 20 can't once again have career or near career years.  As with last week's article I think this year could be the year when we see if 90 is really better off as a natural center and a second line of Burakovsky (if Kuznetsov is on the first line) - Johansson - Brouwer could be surprisingly awesome.  I would NEVER count Eric Fehr out of the mix for the top lines.  Last season Chimera and Ward made whoever played pivot between them better, IMO.  I believe Tom Wilson will continue to develop, as will Casey Wellman as well.  What does the above mean - to me it means that Brooks Laich and Jay Beagle as well as any other forward on the team better show up to camp as fit as they've ever been and ready to play a harder faster game than they've ever played if they expect to be in this lineup on Thanksgiving.  The same really goes for the blue line corps.  I expect this team, far more than the 2013-14 Capitals will push each other to be much better hockey players both as individuals and as a team.

LETS GO CAPS!!!!!

Looking Ahead to the 2014-15 Washington Capitals ...

It's been quite a while since my last blog post here but I just thought about it more and more and missed this outlet - at least for my hockey musings.  So with my cautiously optimistic feelings about the prospects for the Capitals during the upcoming 2014-15 NHL Season nearly upon us and training camp just two weeks from opening, I decided to begin "blogging" about my musings again.

I look at this off season's moves and can really only forecast one thing with high certainty - that is the 2014-15 Washington Capitals will play a different game and style than the 2013-14 Washington Capitals.  What that "game" and style will be remains to be seen, though I think it will be a grittier, 200 foot game than they played last season.  I also think they'll be more focused on sound play at 5 on 5 and they will start their breakouts from their own end with shorter crisper passes than they did last season.  Those are just "hunches" but it sure seems to be something one can say after having watched the Nashville Predators mush during the past several seasons.  Combine that with the free agent pickups - Orpik and Niskanen - and I think one has to conclude the changes are likely to be focused on creating and playing a more "balanced" solid five on five game. 

However, what will the lineup look like? Who will be the Capitals Defensive pairings?  Who will be the First Line Left Wing?  Who will be the Second Line Center?  Will Jason Chimera and Joel Ward once again have career or near career years?  Will this be "the year"? These and so many questions are percolating in my cranium, I can't help but muse about them... As I've mentioned before, I am at my core - an optimist.  I also really felt at the end of last season the Capitals needed to make some fundamental changes and I've always liked what I saw the Smashville Predators do when they were led by Barry Trotz.  Brooks Orpik was a guy I loved to hate as a Penguin but I'm happy the Caps picked him up, yes I think it's a contract that is "one year too long and one million too much" but I'd rather the Caps give it to a guy like Orpik then some of the guys who got those deals in the past - I think he'll be a solid leader "in the room."  I actually think the Caps got Niskanen at a fair to good value.  I also think that add those two guys to the other guys on the Caps blueline: Carlson, Alzner, Green, Orlov, Carrick, Olesky and Schmidt and you are looking at a group of nine guys that will form a much better and more stable group than the thirteen plus that cycled through the roster last season.  Of course look at what that statement likely means: 1) what do they do with John Erskine; 2) Orlov, Carrick, Olesky, Wey and Schmidt - pick three of the five...

Lets talk the answer to 1) I love John Erskine but if there's room for him in the mix after the Orpik and Niskanen UFA signings then it will not be a good regular season for the Capitals, IMO. Others will say the odd man out should be Mike Green but I look at him John Carlson as the guys who will benefit most from the Orpik and Niskanen, particularly the Niskanen  signing.  To me assuming he comes to Camp ready play and play hard, the number six D-Man is likely Orlov.  Behind those six I see Carrick, Olesky, Schmidt and Wey before I get to Erskine on the Capitals Depth Chart as I see this team shaping up both next season and then almost surely any season beyond then.  Erskine has twelve (12) seasons of NHL experience and he has great size (6-4; 220) he's a total beast and "hockey player's hockey player" IMO but his foot speed just isn't there for the game I think the Caps will be looking to play.  Also note - I put Jack Hillen who is also still on the roster below Erskine on that depth chart, so as for people who worry about the salary cap situation there's $2.6M of salary cap space tied up on Hillen and Erskine vs. $2.4M total for all four of Carrick, Olesky, Schmidt and Wey. So if you give two of the young guys the 7 and 8 slots on the roster vice "4" and "38" and you've freed up $1.2M of Salary Cap for the season...

Now onto 2) Orlov, Carrick, Olesky, Schmidt and Wey - pick three of the five.  I pick Orlov (I think he's the most NHL ready of the five despite some of the bonehead moves he made last season); Schmidt (the only Left Hand Shot of the other four); and Olesky (I give him the shot at the start of this season as I like his grit, hockey smarts, and size).  I think both Wey and Carrick can use at least a half season of regular play in Hershey to bulk up a little in Carrick's case and get used to a pro vs. NCAA game in Wey's case. But in no way should any of these guys be competing with Hillen or Erskine for ice time or roster spots beyond the first week of the season - the Caps need to move 4 and 38 before then, IMO.

Now what about who should be the first line right wing?  To me the two choices are Kuznetsov or Johannson, both are Left Hand shots and natural Centers but to play where they think they should - as top six forwards - then the logical place for them is on Backstrom and Ovechkin's Left Wing.  To me the guy I think meshes best with 19 and 8 of these two is 92 - Kuznetsov.  He's also bigger and as fast or faster than 90 - Johannson at 6-0; 172# - with a little help from the Caps Strength and Conditioning team the 21 year old should be able to add another 10-12 pounds of muscle without loosing any flexibility or slowing any other aspect of his game.  That should make a 92 - 19 - 8 line into a first line on par with any in the league and very much to Barry Trotz's coaching stff's liking as long as they backcheck as fearlessly as they can and do when they "want it."  That leaves Johannson free for part of the discussion to the next question which is the 2nd and 3rd line Centers...

If 92-19-8 are the first line that leaves 16, 20, 21, 25, 42, 43, 46, 48,83, and 90.  Just to make the discussion more traditional and despite them both having career years in 2013-2014 lets call 25 (Jason Chimera) and 42 (Joel Ward) the third line wings; and lets say after we finish the discussion of the "second line" we'll need to assign a center to them - since last season it seemed like they made whoever played between them look better than they had looked elsewhere in the lineup.  The "second line" for the Caps, at least coming into this season remains pretty much undetermined and a bit of a mess.  Going by salary cap hit the logic thing to say is the second line is 20 - 21 -16; however that didn't seem to work last season because 21 (Laich) couldn't stay healthy; also even when he was in the lineup he looked out of place there - at center - in Adam Oates' system.  Personally I think that Johannson is a natural center, as is Fehr and that Laich should be played at Right Wing; but with a productivity last season of just 8 goals and 7 assists in 51 games (0.29 pts/game) it remains debatable whether the Caps can afford to give the 31 year old Laich top six or even top 9 forward ice time at even strength.  Personally, if he doesn't light it up early and show he's back in top form at training camp and the first 10 games I'd drop him to the fourth line and have him focus on his Penalty Killing if they can't trade him or don't want to waive/buy him out.  For the start of the season though I'd put Laich at second line left wing and have either Fehr (16) or Johansson (90) at Center and have Brower over on Right Wing.   That way if Laich doesn't "cut it"/regain top form which unfortunately I don't think he will, I could quickly go to a 16-90-20 second line.  It's really time, in my opinion to move Laich somehow though to clear Cap Space and a roster spot for a stable second line, as this is the final year of Ward and Fehr's current contracts.  So I'd start the season with 21-16-20 as the "second" line and 25-90-42 as the "third" line.

My fourth line would be 43 - 83 - 46/48 (Wilson - Beagle - Latta/Wellman).  So that means I'd send Volpatti to Hershey - which requires he clear waivers, or trade him.  So to recap that makes my forecast opening season roster for the Capitals is:

Kuznetsov - Backstrom - Ovechkin
Laich - Fehr - Brouwer
Chimera - Johannson - Ward
Wilson - Beagle - Latta/Wellman

Green - Orpik
Carlson - Alzner
Niskanen - Orlov
Schmidt/Olesky

Holtby
Peters.

I think that will be a better team than we ended the season with last April

Capitals 3 - Panthers 0, 10/18/2011 Brief Retrospective

Last night the Capitals hosted the Florida Panthers at Verizon Center and they beat them 3 - 0.

...

...

...

Okay maybe that retrospective was a bit too brief ... but first let's review our top questions before the game:

1) "Will Tomas Fleischmann show up for the game or continue to be nearly invisible?"
"Flash" wasn't totally "invisible" but it wasn't a performance that made it self evident why he is the second highest paid member of the team.

2) "Will Ovi come alive and electrify us with something like a hat trick"
Captain Ovechkin had one assist and 4 hits and turned in an overall solid but unremarkable (for him) performance.

and 3) "Will Vokoun shut out his former team just one game after they put up big numbers?"
Yep, Tomas Vokoun got his first shutout of the season and his first shutout as a Washington Capital at the expense of his former team last night making 20 saves and earning the games first star.

Other quick hits -

* As slow as Ovi's start has been, Sasha Semin, Dennis Wideman, Nicklas Backstrom, Marcus Johansson and Jason Chimera have been pretty darn quick. Backstrom has 1 goal and 5 assists for 6 points in 5 games; Semin and Wideman each have 2 goals and 3 assists for 5 points MoJo has 3 goals and an assist and Chimera has 4 goals. Putting in into perspective both MoJo and Chimera are on a 60+ goal pace for the 82 game season. While obviously it's highly unlikely for them to maintain that pace, my point is we wanted/needed secondary scoring and with the three scoring lines the Capitals now have "we've" got it.

* So far this season, ice time is much more equitably managed and in the end that should mean the entire team is likely to stay healthier. Right now the ATOI leader is Mike Green but his ATOI is only 22:31 down from over 25:00 two years ago and 49th in the league so far this season, and "Game Over" is the only Capital in the top 60 in this statistical category. That means the Capitals are a much more "balanced" team and to me that means they are a tougher team to prepare for and play against than they were even just last season.

* This year's Capitals are a much, much more physical team than the Capitals of the last three seasons. Team hit leader Troy Brouwer is second in the league in "hits" with 24, as a team in five games so far this season the Capitals have "dished out" a total of 140 hits that's an average of 28 hits per game vice an average of 24 hits per game last season, that's a 16.7% increase. Also that increase in "toughness" is pretty evenly distributed throughout the entire Capitals' roster - for example, Jeff Schultz had a total of 53 hits in 72 games played last season, an average of 0.73 hits per game, so far this season he's credited with 4 hits in 5 games or .8 hits per game, a ~10% increase. Also anecdotally I think he's hitting people harder - I say that because you notice his hits more, this season I'm surprised he "only" has 4 hits and looking at last season's stats I'm surprised he had more than 40 hits. I think this also says the Capitals are a tougher team to play this season in this regard as well.

* Alexander Semin is indeed one of the biggest and best TWO WAY talents in the NHL today. That's all I'm sayin' and I'm just sayin' He's also really fun to watch play this game they call Ice Hockey. Last night his stat line was 1 goal, 1 assist, +2, 16:03 TOI in 18 shifts, 4 shots, 1 giveaway, and two take aways. He's really good; that's especially obvious when you compare his stat line to a less talented, but clearly NHL caliber player in a similar game. Take for example, oh say, somebody like Matt Bradley. Last night's stat line for Matt Bradley reads: 0 goals. 0 assists, 0 points, -1, 13:04 in 18 shifts, 1 attempt blocked, 1 hit and 1 takeaway. Both players earned their salaries last night but Semin clearly played with "heart" and was a far more impactful (is that a word) player on his 18 shifts. Again "just sayin'".

* Marcus Johansson clearly wants to make sure he gets a sweater EVERY night. He also has really shown that the wrap around "stuff" goal is not dead. Watching him score his third goal last night gave me flashbacks to how the Flyers' Bobby Clarke would often score "back in the day." While I'm talking number 90, the 28-90-22 line is "pretty fun" to watch and really good so far this season.

* This Vokoun guy the Caps picked up in the off season - I think he's going to be pretty good for them... actually i think he's a "beast" in a really, really good way.

Next up, the Philadelphia Flyers in Philly, tomorrow night.

LETS GO CAPS!!! Make it "6" okay?

Some May Say ....

Some may say that comparing John Madden to Tomas Fleischmann is a waste of time. They are truly apples and oranges. I will agree they are apples and oranges, at least when you look at age, long term potential, and the roles they play on an NHL team or are likely to play during the 2010 -2001 season, and the 2011 playoffs. John Madden is a proven, 37 year old veteran, center, who is NOT a "sniper." No Madden isn't the guy you look to pass the puck to when you are setting up that clutch goal, after all last season his shooting percentage was a less than stellar 7.87 in the regular season and a mere 4.17% in the playoffs. In 11 NHL seasons, Madden has scored more than 20 goals only twice. Physically, Madden is listed at 5'11"; 190# - so while he's not a large, physically imposing player; neither is he a "featherweight, or pesky, speedy, little guy of the Brian Gionta type. Tomas Fleischmann is 26 years old and already has a 19 goal and 23 goal season (his last two) on his 5 NHL season resume. Last season he was second among Capitals "regulars" in shooting percentage with a gaudy 19.01% trailing only Mike Knuble (one of the league's best ever "garbage men" who logged a 19.21% shooting percentage on the way to his 29 goal season). Fleischmann's nickname "Flash" is well deserved, he is a speedy, excellent skater with a laser for a wrist shot. In his five NHL seasons so far, "Flash" has played in 260 regular season games during which he has amassed 128 points including 56 goals. That's 0.4923 points per game and 0.2154 goals per game. Last season "Flash's" points and goals per game numbers were: 07391 points per game and 0.3333 goals/game. Over the coarse of the regular season the numbers he put up in the 69 games he ended up tied for 90th in points (51) and tied for 71st in goals (23).

The most notable thing about "Flash" though isn't the fact he was tied at the end of the regular season in the points standings with Marian Hossa, it's that each of the last two seasons, he's done nothing but just get better. In this regard, there is indeed certainly no comparison between he and the 37 year old Madden whose career pinnacle relative to personal achievements was 2000-2001 when he received the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the best defensive forward in the NHL. Yep it's been nothing but "downhill" for Madden since that season, except of course winning his second Stanley Cup in 2003 and his third Stanley Cup this past June. So, sure there's no comparison between Madden and "Flash". Madden is 37 years old, he'll only make $1M playing for the Minnesota Wild next season. "Flash" is 26 years old, he'll make $2.6M next season. Madden has three (3) Stanley Cup rings, and is a stand-out as a responsible two-way forward, something no team can have enough of going into a long playoff run, and something it wouldn't hurt the Capitals to have more of on their roster, IMO. "Flash" has a Calder Cup (AHL Championship) on his resume and despite being +/- +9 over the course of the entire 2009-2010 regular season, will likely never be considered for the Selke Trophy.

So why would I look over the news and NHL UFA signings upon my return from a lovely couple of days up in Shenandoah National Park and key in on what a great deal I think the Minnesota Wild got when they signed John Madden for a 1 year, $1 million contract this past week? Why would I then compare that to the $2.6M the Washington Capitals signed Fleischmann for earlier in the signing period and right before he would have gone to arbitration? Well simply because I look and see in both talented hockey players. However, in Madden, I see one who could probably have fit on the Capitals and filled a needed, though less heralded role on the third or fourth line for the same or nearly the same salary cap hit anybody who is likely to be in that position will get. While in Flash, I see a guy who is now the 8th highest paid Capital and the fifth highest paid forward on the team; yet I don't see Flash earning that kind of position on HIS team. No he's not irresponsible, defensively and yes he can score, though despite some with a contrary opinion I don't think an Arbitrator's Award decision would have been all that much more than what he will make next season. The truth of the matter is though last season, Flash was the 6th highest goal scorer on the team. He scored just two more goals than the most "efficient" forward on the team - Eric Fehr, despite averaging almost 4 full minutes TOI/game than Fehr and getting "oodles" (that's a technical term) more time on the power play unit.

So what's the bottom line? What's this seemingly aimless ramble through some hockey numbers really mean? Bottom line - to me it's simple - when guys like John Madden and Dominic Moore are signing cap friendly, flexible or short term deals all around for about a $1M per season; that's really the most a team should or needs to pay for solid, proven third and fourth line forwards in the league today. So as a Washington Capitals fan it means that guys like Tomas Fleischmann and Jason Chimera need to step it up right out of the gates and prove they are worth nearly $2M or more a season and they can and will be logging second line minutes. The problem for me, is I don't see it and I think giving Jason Chimera and Tomas Fleischmann even similar minutes, let alone more minutes, of ice time per game than Brooks Laich, Alexander Semin, Eric Fehr, Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, or Mike Knuble would be a mistake and make the Capitals a weaker, vice stronger team than they were last season. So to me it sure looks like in "Flash" the Capitals will be paying $2.6M next season for a third or fourth line forward; while in Chimera they will be paying $1.875M for one. I don't have a problem with this as long as they use the majority of currently available salary cap space to go out and get a legitimate, proven second line center, if they aren't going to give Brooks Laich a shot at that job. I've said it before and I'll end my ramble here with it. The number one reason why I don't see Tomas Fleeishmann ever growing into the role of second line center on the Capitals is, while he's not defensively irresponsible, is from what I've seen he's just not that into what the Capitals need from a second line center - two way play. It seems to me that "Flash" wants to be a sniper, and he's often shown that he probably could be, though not here, not now. In DC we already have our "young guns" and two of the four Ovechkin and Semin are two of the best in the world. Flash isn't at that level yet. He either has to re-engineer his game, which likely includes muscling up his 6'-1" frame from 190# to 200-205# and using it to CONSISTENTLY provide net presence, while not sloowing down his skating, and improving his "hockey sense" when setting up plays entering the offensive zone; or he's likely not going to end up being the guy the Capitals need on the second line, at either wing or center. I don't dislike "Flash", I just like what I've seen over the last season from Eric Fehr and over the past three seasons from Brooks Laich more; and I've always like what I've seen from Alexander Semin. (I know others would shake their head at Semin's miscues and "brain farts" but the fact he's one of the 20 most talented forwards in the world today is, while a subject of debate, not all that controversial.)

So bottom line these sorts of deals, we'll see more and more of over the next couple of weeks, do nothing but shine a brighter spotlight and put more pressure on guys like Fleischmann and Chimera.

Is it September yet?


LETS GO CAPS!!!