The Way Forward To The Playoffs For The Caps - A Fan Boy's Opinion

Okay I admit it, I'm a fan boy - a very competitive fan boy - but a fan boy none the less.  Yes I've played hockey growing up, even a little semi-formal" club level/DIII hockey a long time ago in college.  I also admit I wasn't very good, nor were the teams I played on.   So while I have some knowledge of ice hockey I consider myself a fan boy.  I did other sports much more seriously though and I'm quite competitive.  As a Capitals fan, last season (2013-14) was frustrating for me - as I absolutely love spending money to go see NHL playoff games and "my" Washington Capitals did not make the playoffs.  So this season with the Capitals on track to make the playoffs if they keep up the pace they've been playing my fan boy cheers are there to exhort our Capitals on to a clear path to the playoffs.  To me that means 100 points and 40+ ROW (Regulation/Overtime Wins). 

Sure as some have pointed out 95 points will probably be good enough in the East to make the post season, but I say - why chance it.  Go for 100+ and be safe.  The Capitals are currently on track - if they keep playing  to their 2014-15 "norm" the rest of the season.  This season over the first 46 games our Washington Capitals have played 0.619+ hockey and are on track for 101 points.  So I say stay the course Caps, don't let up, don't look back or down the standings at teams like Florida, or even Boston; look up at Pittsburgh, and even the New York Islanders, that way you'll be striving for excellence, rather than working to prevent any sort of collapse/slide.  Working to avoid something rather than achieve something just doesn't seem to me to be a "winning posture/mentality," nor does trying to be "just good enough" to get to the next step up from where you finished the prior season.  That's why I say reach for the stars, if you fall a little short, what's the worst thing that could happen - you get to Mars?  Think about it.  Strive for 100+ points and only get 98, you're probably still good to go for "the second season" - strive to squeak into the playoffs and miss, what happens - get the golf shoes out, ... AGAIN.  So I say skate fast, play hard (all 60+ minutes, have fun and win.

That's should be tonight's theme in Columbus - let's all push for the Caps to play so well tonight Holtby gets shutout number five, we don't hear that obnoxious cannon and Ovi gets the hat-trick just like Tavares did in the ASG out there.

Keys tonight for the Caps: a) hit on all eight cylinders all night long; b) backcheck, backcheck, backcheck; c) play the Blue Jackets key weapons tight to stifle there game and take it to them all night;  d) win the faceoff and therefore the puck possession battle; and finally e) keep it simple and shoot the puck on net, a lot.

Okay, forget about the last three games before the all star break and

 

LETS GO CAPS!!!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

LETS GO CAPS!!!!!

Game 8: Quick Recap - Caps vs. Canucks In Vancouver, A "No" Point Night

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

The Capitals started play of the second of  back to back games in Vancouver less than 20 hours after they walked out of the visitor's dressing room in Calgary's Saddledome.  The Caps haven't had many easy games in Western Canada over the past couple seasons nor in the second games of back to backs so they needed us all rooting for them this past evening in Vancouver.  But without anyone rocking the red at Rogers Arena, the Caps started the game flat, that is all except for Goalie Justin Peters (thankfully.)

1st period: Caps came out slow, Canucks fast, lots of pucks to the net; Justin Peters up to the task; Caps first line flat. Canucks dominated first period out-shooting Caps 14 - 6 and owning the puck for stretches of 60+ seconds regularly. Only thing that kept Caps in the game in first was Justin Peters, he had several highlight reel saves including one at ~11:30 - where he robed Vey after Kuzya had a turnover in the high slot.  First period ended scoreless for either team though.

After luckily escaping the first period the Caps came out firing, Eric Fehr took the breakout pass from Carlson after the faceoff win by Backstrom buck was robbed by Ryan Miller.  The Caps then played the next 5+ minutes with a lot more energy and enthusiasm.  The Caps were working hard and outshot the Canucks 5-1 for the first 5:28 of the period until Marcus Johannson scored to put the Caps up 1-0 with assists from Bruakovsky and Green. Lots of ebb and flow till the 12:47 mark left when Peters robbed the Canucks again thankfully with another highlight reel save on a Canucks odd man rush.  Then the  Canucks kept up the pressure, got a power play where Henrik Sedin scored to tie the game at 1-1 at the 14:00 mark of the second period.  The Caps started to get things going till Joel Ward made an ill advised drop pass, the "flow" changed and the Caps got caught flat footed on a line change at 15:22 and Nick Bonino scored on a snapshot 2-1, Vancouver.  Then Luca Sbisa got down low 25 seconds later, pounded it top corner and put the Canucks up 3-1.  Then the fourth/energy line came out and Liam O'Brien got a redirect and put it top shelf behind Ryan Miller to get the Caps within 1 goal at 17:18; Canucks 3 - Caps 2.  That was the score when the second period ended while the Caps and Canucks were playing 4 on 4 hockey after Burkovsky got a holding penalty at 18:24 and then just about a minute later the Canucks got a bench minor for too many men on the ice.  The Caps were outshot in the second period 10-9 though they out hit the Canucks 9-5 and looked much better in the second period than the first but they needed to come out firing in the tird to make a game of it.

Caps came out strong in the third period but couldn't score, Miller robbed Brouwer at the 5:30 mark. Both teams played well and pretty evenly throughout the final stanza.  The Caps had a power play at the 9:05 mark of the period when Burrows was whistled off for interference but failed to score when Miller robbed Ovechkin and Carlson late in the man advantage. The game ended on a sour note for me as I thought the Canucks should have been called for holding against when he was pulled down on a breakaway but weren't and then Carlson got rightly called for delay of game with 1:38 left to play and Radim Vrbata scored an empty net goal to put the Canucks up 4-2 which is how the game ended.

Next up the Detroit Red Wings at Verizon Center on Wednesday.

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!!!

Well Its Been A Month Since My Last Post and Three Weeks Since The Capitals Season Ended...

Hey fellow Caps Fans and other assorted readers - how ya been?  For me it's been a month since my last blog post and three full weeks since the Capitals season ended, ignominously with a 5-0 defeat at the hands of the New York Rangers that followed a 1-0 defeat at their hands in the prior game. Coming to terms with six straight periods of scoreless hockey at the hands of "King Henrik" hasn't really been the reason for my hiatus, I understood that prety quickly. However letting the Rangers dominate them 5-0 in a game seven was a bit harder to understand, though a week of great fishing in the out islands of the Bahammas made that all a very distant memory so that wasn't th issue either. Now not knowing what to say or add to the discourse on the overall 2012-2013 Washington Capitals and their season, that was and remains the concundrum I find myself in.  But hey, the good news is I do this stuff for fun, and when it stops being fun I can either stop doing it or change what I'm doing - like going fishing, so that's what I did.  Now I'm looking ahead to the 2013-2014 Caps season and watching the remaining four teams in the running for the Stanley Cup battle it out.  And that's starting to be fun again.

So looking at the Caps let me say, I'm excited with the way the Caps geled at the end of the season, and I like the way the Caps now play under Adam Oates and his coaching staff's system.  Doesn't change my perplexion at the way the season ended but for the Capitals Organization and we fans, its time once again to move on and look forward.  In the near term that means the resigning, or not, of Free Agents - Unrestricted and Restricted; and the NHL Draft.  The Capitals had 10 guys under contract in 2012-2013 who are now unrestricted free agents:

Michael Carmen - you too are probably saying "Michael who" so I have attached a link to his Hershey Bears bio.  He was picked up from the Avalanche in a trade of minor leaguers in February 2012 and from what I can tell is unlikely to be resigned by any NHL team at this point, though I wouldn't be surprised to see him continue his professional career in the "A" or Europe next season.

Joey Crabb - another guy from what I can tell is an easy no resign decision, at least for the Capitals the way he was handled and ended the season.  Don't get me wrong I like the grit Crabb brings and I believe he'll end up signed somewhere next season, I just cannot see it being Washington.

Matt Hendricks - to me "Hendy" is a definate guy to resign and I believe he'll be back with a contract similar to the one that Eric Fehr signed (two years at 1-1.5M/year).

Patrick McNeill - if you haven't followed McNeill's career thus far I can't really fault you, to say his development has progressed slower than the Capitals hoped since he was drafted by the Capitals in theofourth round of the 2005 draft would not be understatment, but from my perspective he's worth keeping the 27 ear old around at least another year at the NHL Minimum and assigning him again to Hershey.  Especially since I think we'll be seeing some moving and not resigning of Poti and Schultz this off season.

Tom Poti - it was great to see Poti back from what for most would have been a career ending injury but the Capitals just cannot and should not resign him this upcoming season, and personnally I expect to see the 36 year old d-man retire this off season assuing he doesn't get any significant interest in signing him for $2+M/year elsewhere around the league.

Ryan Potulny - the Capitals signed the 28 year old Center as an Unrestricted Free Agent in July 2011 and since then he has been playing in Hershey, he's 6-0 and 182# and has had two pretty solid seasons in Hershey, he is likely to be resigned at the end of offseason if he's still around and a roster spot is available for a league minimum and that seems like a fair thing to do. Who knows he could be another Matt Hendricks kind of guy.

Joel Rechlicz - this another guy definately worth giving another year and another shot - he's just too much of a charachter and with way too much grit to not see if he can't stick as a grinder somewhere in the NHL, sorry i know I'm a softee for guys like this but that's me.

Mike Ribero - I've made no secret of it, I think in order to continue to maintain thebalance they have and the ability to be a "four line team" the Capitals need to resign "Ribz".  The question at hand is that really possible.  If they don't resign Ribero then the Caps need to go after either Patrik Elias (unlikely that would work or be cheaper), Michal Handzus (also likely to be no easier or cheaper to sign than Ribero) or they could take a flyer on a promising guy whos been somewhat erratic like Tyler Bozak or Nik Antropov and hope it works out.  Personnally, like I said, that's all why i think the Capitals need to resign Ribero but both the term and the amount have to be something both sides can live with and currently that agreement hasn't been reached.

Dany Sabourin - two words on resigning Sabourin - Philipp Grubauer. 

Wojtek Wolski - I just can't see Wolski returning or the Capitals pursuing him in any sort of aggressive fashion.  Though only 27, the 6-3, 215# LW from Poland hasn't really had a season that showcased his talent or potential since the 2009 - 2010 season that he split between Phoenix and Colorado.

So of the ten (10) UFA's, I'm suggesting the Capitals resign five of them:  Hendricks, Ribero, Rechlicz, Potulny, and McNeill. That would be a good offseason for GMGM with regard to UFAs but if he doesn't resign Ribero, then he needs to sign a player with similar potential and talent as the second line center.

On the restricted free agent ledger, the Capitals have two unsinged.  Karl Alzner - that's a no brainer.  He needs to be the first signing of this off season and I'd guess he, his agent and GMGM are talking to make that happen.  The second is Marcus Johansson, for the right price, MoJo should be resigned.  The reality though is the decision to resign him cannot be a "no brainer" - his offensive production to date and his size make it a decision worth "mulling over" but he is only 22 and is likely to continue to develop over the next 3+ seasons. 

Resigning Hendricks, Ribero, Alzner and Johannsson still leaves the Capitals - how all this happens with a healthy Brooks Laich and even thinking about retaining Jeff Schultz is likely an impossibility under next seasons salary cap but I'll continue to ponder and muse on that one.

LETS GO CAPS!!!

WOW Cardiac Kids/Caps Make A Return At Verizon Center Last Night

Well who would have "thunk it" - I had my thoughts about last night's Caps - Lightning game about half right.  The Caps needed to score more than three goals to win, and if they gave the Lightning's stars time and space an offense led by Saint Louis, Lecavalier, and Stamkos was going to score. 

As we all likely know the Caps came out executing their game plan and playing well, it was the smoothest first period of the season to my way of thinking and at the end of the period, the Caps were up 3-0 and had not gotten frustrated by what was a couple of pretty darn good penalty kills by Tampa Bay.  The second period was a tit for tat affair where at the end of the period the Caps led 5-2 despite being as out shot by the Bolts in the second period by a margin almost as large as the Caps had out shot them in the first.  And the third period you ask?  Well if the third period wasn't the Lightning's best period of hockey this season it had to be close.  From the 18:47 mark of the second period through the end of regulation, the Lightning scored four unanswered, even strength goals to tie the game at 5-5 with 2:35 left to play.  At that point the Capitals seemed to really, no kidding, wake up.  Sure during the first two even strength goals by the Bolts they tried to shake the cobwebs from their game, aggressively exhorted to do so by their Captain, Alex Ovechkin.  However, those efforts just didn't seem to thwart the high energy, wildly aggressive play by Tampa Bay until after the game was tied 5-5.  During the final 2:35 of play, Washington again seemed to find their groove but they were unable to find the back of net before the Lightning earned at least one point before leaving Verizon Center.  As "Sudden Victory Overtime" began, the Capitals "took it up a notch" and once again we witnessed a well played game by two teams with lots of talent.  Then at the 1:50 mark of the extra stanza a bounced puck enabled Marcus Johannson to get away and behind the Tampa Bay porous defense of countryman Victor Hedman such that Bolt's Captain Vinny Lecavalier had to break MoJo's stick with a well executed two handed slash to keep the game going by preventing the young, compact, speedy Swede from scoring.  Lecavalier was called for slashing putting the Capitals on the 4 on 3 powerplay for 2:00.  Personally I love watching 4 on 3 PPs simply because there is so much open ice that guys at the NHL level can and do just use so well.  Last night was no exception.  Watching the Capitals powerplay since about mid/late February has been a joy.  Watching it execute last night on the 4 on 3 man advantage in OT was as the British would say "brilliant."  Mike Ribero setting the puck out to Mike Green while the Bolts also had to worry about "yet another" one-timer from Ovechkin as well resulted in the increasingly common exclamation from "Joe B" on Comcast "GAME OVER!" 

It was, despite a very rocky ~25:00+ minutes from the last few of the second period through the end of regulation, a good night.  A good two point night was in the books for the Capitals when the teams left the ice.  Interestingly, last night was not a game with poor goaltending by either Bradon Holtby or either of the Bolts goalies, IMO, despite 11 goals being surrendered.  The seventy-eight shots on goal by both teams were filled with excellent scoring chances.  In Holtby's case he face 40 shots and ended the night with an unremarkable 0.875 SV %, but I ask you what could he have done on either of Marty Saint Louis' goals?  Those two goals by Saint Louis are NOT two that anyone would "want back."  Ovechkin's goal was "sick" - there's only a couple guys in the world ever that can make that move to the backhand while skating that fast wit the puck - I mean there's only a couple guys who can skate with the puck that fast - think about it... The issue for me relative to the eleven goals scored last night was not the goaltending but the fact that the Caps let the game get away from their game plan.  That's why I was pleas that none of the Caps players were pleased with the way their team played in the game during post game interviews despite getting both available points.  They know they can and must do better the rest of the way until their season ends.

Not mentioned by many is that last night's meeting was the last regular season meeting between the two teams as "Division Rivals" as next season Washington, Carolina,  as in "Conference 2" while Tampa Bay and Florida are in "Conference 1" in the East and Winnipeg moves to "Conference 3" out West.  So as we Caps fans look at the Capitals six remaining games it's interesting to note that all six are against teams that are either definitely in the playoffs (Montreal) or fighting for a playoff spot and seeding; however, none of those six teams will be in the same division as the Capitals will  be in next season. I just think that's an unusual situation and one that only happen in a crazy lockout shortened season right before league realignment. 

Well looking ahead to the Capitals' last six games of the season you can see the road to the playoffs won't be easy. On Tuesday Evening the Capitals face off at Verizon against the Maple Leafs.  The Leafs are currently in 5th in the East with 51 points and just dissected the Canadiens last night with a 5-1 pasting in Toronto - this will be a key game for the Capitals and one I am very much looking forward to.  Then they travel north for a two game road trip to Ottawa and Montreal on Thursday and Saturday.  So for the Caps this week is "Canada Week."  Ottawa is in 6th in the Eastern Conference with 48 points, a stingy team GA of 84 goals with 41 games played and goalie Craig Anderson back in the lineup and looking like a "stone wall."  Thursday won't be an easy game for the Capitals but it too will be an important one as it might be a precursor to an opening round playoff match up.  Saturday sees the Capitals facing off against Montreal at Le Centre Bell.  Montreal has been one of three "Beasts of the East" this season along with Boston and Pittsburgh.  The Canadiens currently have 57 points in 41 games and are still battling with Boston (56 points) to see who will be the Northeast Division Champions.  After last night's loss to Toronto and three games (Flyers, Penguins, and Lightning) this coming week before they meet the Capitals, it's hard to predict how Montreal will be coming into next Saturday Night's game.  The week after next the Capitals have three final games at home to wrap the regular season up.  The biggest is likely to be against Winnipeg on Tuesday evening 4/23 before facing off against the Senators on Thursday and finishing the season off against the Boston Bruins on Saturday evening in what will no doubt be a good game though hopefully it will be one with little to no suspense for either team.  An interesting note about the Capitals last two weeks of the regular season - especially their last four home games - the ice at Verizon Center should be good ice - better than usual that is - because there are no other events at Verizon besides Ice Hockey from 4/15 through 4/28.  That's just plain unusual as Verizon Center, like Madison Square Garden is on of the busiest arenas in the league.

Well there's not much else to say except ...

LETS GO CAPS!!!!

A Milestone Has Been Reached ... Now It's Time To Continue Forward ANd NOT Look Back

Well, the comeback from the disastrous start of the 2013 lockout shortened season is now complete thanks to a 4-2 regulation win over Tampa Bay tonight at Verizon Center and a 4-3 regulation win over the Panthers in Sunrise last night. The Capitals are now 1 1/2 games ahead of the Winnipeg Jets for the Division lead in the Southeast.  Additionally if the Caps were not in third by way of the seeding, they'd now be in eighth place and still be a playoff team with eight games left in their regular season.  Additionally, the Capitals first line of Marcus Johannson, Nicklas Backstrom, and Alex Ovechkin are basically on fire; and over the past ten games the Capitals are 8-1-1, which means along with the San Jose Sharks, Chicago Blackhawks, and the Pittsburgh Penguins they are the hottest teams in the NHL right now. Oh and did I mention that Ovechkin is now tied for the league lead in goals with 25 goals in 39 games played - which if this were an 82 game season would mean he's on pace for a 52 goal season. So now it's clear to me the Caps are now likely to make the playoffs.
 
I'm a Caps fan and the Caps have now achieved something I've been pulling for since the Caps went 1-5-1 for the month of January to start the season. They've regained the SE Division lead. The Capitals overall record is over 0.500; as are BOTH their home and away records (Home: 10-8-0, Away: 10-9-2). Their number one goaltender - that would be 23 year old Braden Holtby is 17-11-1 with a Save % of 0.914; a GAA of 2.71; and 4 shutouts. They have a backup goaltender (25 year old Michal Neuvirth) that has a SV% of 0.902 and a GAA of 2.89.  The Capitals team defense has now allowed 110 goals against in 39 games played or a team average GAA of just 2.82 which is 8th best in the Eastern Conference and 19th best in the League.  Their goal differential of +7 is 11th best in the league as well. But what's it all mean?  Will the Capitals finally "go deep" ... into the Stanley Cup Playoffs that is?  Can they "seal the deal"?

The truth is I have no idea but I'm betting that I'm not the only Capitals fan who can wait to see how this whole roller coaster ride plays out.  The truth is that the way the Capitals are playing right now, they are as good as any team in the NHL and betting against them should not be done lightly.  Next up, the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Tuesday Evening.

LETS GO CAPS!!!!

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.

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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?

Distance ...

So it's November and we are told by many that when it comes to the NHL Regular Season and the month of November, it really should be about "distance". As in starting to put some distance between your team and those who if you don't you will find yourselves fighting for those final playoff spot(s) come March and April. I basically agree with that philosophy and have been very pleased with the way the Capitals have started out this regular season.

I was concerned with all the talk about "the 2011 playoffs" before the 2010-2011 regular season even started the team might be taking things for granted, clearly with an Eastern Conference leading total of 25 points in 17 games played, and a 5-0-1 record so far in the month of November, the Capitals are not taking things for granted. Further, I actually like the mood I sense from their team right now, to me it does seem to be a more mature, lower-key, "just "get 'er done" approach; I think the Capitals are still playing the games with a good energy level, and they are generally having fun, but they clearly are not trying to latch on to some big emotional highs or lows right now. I sense that's a top to bottom mentality, one that says this year we really do want to be in a position to take our regular season approach and game and make a serious run into the playoffs to see if we really can "run the table." I think that's why even though I agree that team captain Alex Ovechkin is rightfully one of Peerless' "Players to Ponder" for today's game against the Thrashers, I'm more than fine with the way he's been playing an the (for him) getting his points in a "a subdued fashion." I think it's great that the team captain has a more balanced scoring (both goals and assists) record so far this season. I also think it's fine that there seem to be fewer and fewer times that the Capitals need him to try and take control of a game and energize them to victory this season, in fact I'm not sure I've seen even one time this season where that was necessary, yet I know he still has the ability to do it and we've certainly seen the 26 year old Russian Machine make some electrifying moves and rushes up ice several time, pretty much each game, so far in this young season. So while I too often ponder what it must be like to be Alexander Ovechkin, especially during the hockey season, I don't.

Last night the Capitals played an inconsistent game but still managed to leave Buffalo's HSBC Arena with a single standings point. Last night's game was inconsistent with the Capitals prior 16 regular season games in a number of ways. Two things stick out to me - a) the Capitals scored the first goal of the game, something that has not been the norm this season; and b) the Capitals played their worst period of the game, and the season thus far, during the game's second period. The Caps managed to muster just 4 shots on goal during the second period and were outscored during 2-0 so they started the third period behind 2 - 1. There were a couple of things to like about this game if you're a Capitals fan, of course. For me those things include:

a) Braden Holtby. Holtby's performance was solid, he stopped 24 of 27 shots on goal by the Sabres and played a very solid, steady game in net, including, and at times especially during the 10:24 last evening that the Capitals were playing short-handed. If you read the post-game commentary, Holtby was disappointed in his inability to stop Tomas Vanek on the game winner in OT, but we are talking about a rookie in his third NHL game played and an NHL vetran sharpshooter (188 goals in 436 games played - including his 10 playoff appearances). You gotta love Holtby's attitude - I'm thinking this guy wants every one of the goals ever scored against him back for another try at stopping them - no wonder his model growing up was Patrick Roy. I'm only wondering why Holtby wears number 70 instead of number 33.

b) Caps scoring first. The Capitals knew that Buffalo was going to be hungry last evening but they came up ready for the first period. Unfortunately that did not translate/transition into a high energy, well played second period for them. However, I don't think anyone was unhappy with the first period last evening and falling behind has been an issue at times for the Capitals so far this season.

c) Marcus Johansson's return to the Capitals. Okay, I'm a biased fan and I admit it, but I liked the performance Johansson had last evening and the fact he continues to do some things every game that show he is getting better - in my opinion. Let's be clear, I think the only Capitals Center that had a good game last evening was Nicklas Backstrom, in fact I'd say Backstrom's play in the third period was energetic and inspired, and not just because he scored a goal. For example, Backstrom was 92% in the faceoff circle. Look at MoJo's play last evening, yes he ended up -1 because he was on the ice for Vanek's game winner but he had 3 SOG, played well with both the first and second lines, had a blocked shot and should have had at least one takeaway as I saw him make at least two. He played responsible hockey, the truth is on the game winner Vanek was a man possessed and if he wasn't either John Carlson or Braden Holtby would have stopped him on that play. It's painful to do but compare MoJo's night to Tomas Fleischmann's night last evening and consider the following. If MoJo can get himself to have better results in the faceoff circle, who do you want on the ice more as the second line pivot - MoJo or Flash. I know I've made my case on this a lot of times before but last night showed very clearly why I think that in the long run if they both stay here on the Capitals MoJo is the second line center and Flash is back to playing on the left wing. Oh and let me say I didn't think Flash should have gotten 4 minutes for that high-stick, he was hooked and spun around, but I will admit the call was well within the way the rules are written.

d) Distance. At a time of year when it is all about putting some distance between your team and the others in your division and conference, last evening hte Capitals put another point between themselves and all their Southeast division rivals. The Caps are now 7 points and 3 games ahead of second place Tampa Bay in the Southeast Division and they lead the Eastern Conference, 1 point ahead of Philadelphia and 2 points ahead of Montreal. So while the season is indeed still young and there are some bizarre things going on, like from a season record so far, the Atlantic Division is currently the weakest division in the NHL, the Capitals are putting some distance between themselves and their competition. That's a good thing to do no matter how you look at it.

A couple of other side notes about recent happenings around the NHL over the past couple of days. First, let me just say that Paul Holmgren locking up Jeff Carter for 11 more years at a salary cap hit of $5.75M per and Claude Giroux for three more seasons with a cap hit of $3.75M per is/was truly the smartest move I think the Flyers have made in a while. Giroux far less so than Carter since the extension only ensures the Flyers and he will have good relations going into his next and final RFA contract negotiations, but smart moves both. Probably not what we Capitals fans need to hear but it was smart and I've gotta say it. I agree with the commentary on Red Light District about the signing:

For Giroux, I believe this is a stepping-stone contract before he receives one similar to Carter’s. Carter will be 37 when his 11-year pact ends.

Between Carter, Mike Richards, Danny Briere, Kimmo Timonen and Chris Pronger (who are all signed through at least 2014), the total cap hit is just shy of $29 million –nearly half of the allotted salary cap amount.

Second, Brent Burns reaction to his two game suspension last week, may be the most mature reaction to such a situation ever by a professional athlete. In response to the news when asked for a comment Burns reportedly said something on the order of "I have to be responsible for my stick." That short, sweet and accurate statement is something any fan hast to like to see and support.

Now about this afternoon; both teams played last night and lost. The Capitals lost 3-2 in overtime in Buffalo and the Thrashers lost Pittsburgh 4-2 in Atlanta. Peerless' preview, which is always better than anything I might come up with, is here. I'm also forecasting a win by the Caps but I'd be surprised if after a late finish and flight home last evening we Caps fans get wings so I'm thinking the Capitals will win in regulation by a score of either 4-2 or 4-3 rather than 5-2.

I'm looking forward to the game and just getting ready to head out to Verizon Center now - see y'all there and of course:

LETS GO CAPS!!!

Flyers vs. Caps @ Verizon Center This Evening

Well here I am getting psych'ed up for today's 5PM start of a hockey game in the district and then I go on line and find this bad news: "#Caps assign Marcus Johansson to Hershey: http://wapo.st/9rW5vw" on Katie Carrera's twitter feed. I get it but I don't get it. "It" being both Tomas Fleischmann and Bruce Boudreau's insistence that "Flash" is the right interim answer for second line center for the Capitals. Sorry I know I'm getting to be a harp on this but I can't help it, every game since MoJo's hip flexor injury we've seen "Flash" have flashes of offensive brilliance and mediocre results in both the faceoff circle and the back end when he's sent out as pivot to a second line that includes Brooks Laich and any of the other obvious choices (Semin and/or Knuble) as his wings. I can't say I didn't see this coming. Boudreau has given Fleischmann more ice time and chances both at wing (compared to Eric Fehr) and at Center (compared to either MoJo or Brooks Laich) consistently over the past couple of years. Fleischmann is indeed a talented NHL calibre player, I've said it repeatedly. In fact I'm on record here as saying I think he is worth his $2.3M salary - but I'm also on record as saying he is worth that as a left wing. When you look at Fleischmann as a center, especially as a second line center, well to me it just doesn't make sense. Let's start with faceoffs - to date Flash is 41.3% in the faceoff circle, so sure he won an important one against the Bruins but hey, as John Carlson's uncle who was sitting in front of me that game pointed out, we're talking about doing it against Patrice Bergeron who though he leads the Bruins' centers in that category is only 48.7% "in the circle" and the Bruins who as a team - well in the faceoff catagory this year, they aren't very good. So while Marcus Johansson is the only Capitals Center with a worse faceoff percentage than Flash (MoJo has a 34.)% in the circle), neither are the guy who Gabby is sending out to take an important last minute defensive zone draw when the the other team is on the power play or has their goalie pulled in a tight game.

To me the issue is that for their second line center, the Caps need a playmaker who is as good on his defensive assignments as he is in the offensive zone. The guy who has the potential to do that most is not, IMO, the 26 year old Fleischman who finished last season with 23 goals and 28 assists in 69 games after playing most of the season on the Wings. It might be and I say might be Marcus Johansson, a 20 year old Swede who is clearly a playmaking, vice scoring Center and who so far this season has looked more comfortable and in the right place relative to defensive assignments when he's been the second line Center than Fleischmann has looked to date. Well it really doesn't matter what I think and clearly nobody pays me millions to coach hockey or even to pitch Mercedes, the only right I have to an opinion is to my personal opinion as a rabid Capitals fan who buys tickets. So all I can do is say this - watch this afternoon when the Caps play the Flyers, given Johannson's reassignment and the other rumblings coming out of the Caps quarters today, I'm guess we'll see a second line of either Laich - Fleischman - Knuble or Laich Fleischmann - Semin. So just watch and see how many times during his shifts Flash ends up playing the Left Wing's assignment in the Caps Defensive zone because for whatever reason either Laich or Semin end up being the deep back-checker.

Personally I think this is the result of "Flash" - despite what Boudreau and he say - being a far more natural winger and scorer than Center/play maker. Again I'm not saying Flash isn't good, what I am saying is IMO he's a far better Wing than Center, particularly on the backcheck. Now if the reason to do this is to get Flash the ice time and exposure he needs to become a "tradable asset" then I can be convinced it's the right thing to do. Again Flash isn't bad and he's worth his salary as a Top 6 Forward at Wing on any number of NHL teams. In fact in the right situation, in that role, it wouldn't surprise me to see him score 30 goals a season. That said here in Washington the best I think we'll ever see is where he ended up at the end of last season: #6 in goals (as long as Ovechkin, Semin, Backstrom, and Laich are on the team) and # 7 in points with a defensive contribution that is "middle of the pack." Most importantly from my perspective Flash as the second line center seems to make Brooks Laich less effective on the second line across the board. So once again I'm saying that I think Tomas Fleischmann is not the answer as our second line center if we are going to go deep into the playoffs, even in spite of his current play, which has I will grant him, seen him going to the net far more often and aggressively than he did last season. He will score his share of goals - I mean he's been getting an average of 14:30 TOI/Game and that will continue to rise now. However, his defensive play when he's at Center, just plain scares me, especially when the Caps second line find them out on the ice against an opponents first line. Today that would mean that Flash will be going up against Mike Richards ... hard to see him coming up better than +/- 0 in that sort of matchup. Of course if he's up against the Flyers second line he'll be trying to win faceoffs against Jeff Carter who is 57.3% in that category while having an offensive output (5 goals, 6 assists, 11 points) that so far this season is better than Flash's (4 goals, 3 assists, 7 points) though Flash's +7 +/- is better than Carters +2, that's another matchup that I think Flyers' coach Peter Laviolette isn't going to fret too much about.

Well now about the rest of my pre-game thoughts. The Flyers are coming into a game with a 5PM start right off another away game against the Islanders on Long Island last night. In that game the Flyers won 2-1 in regulation. Last night's Flyers - Islanders game was a tight one and another game that saw Flyers Rookie Goaltender Sergei Bobravsky play very well. The 22 year old Russian turned in a sterling 31-save performance and earned the 2nd star of the game. Assuming he gets the nod for the back to back start he will be a player to watch and a key for the Flyers as he has been so often so far this season. Danny Briere will not be playing as he'll be serving the last of his four game suspension this afternoon in the Verizon Center press box, however as I noted the Flyers have a few other weapons who will be playing - their names are Richards, Carter, Pronger, Hartnell and Van Riemsdyk. The Caps come into today's game having won their last three (3) in a row and in second place in the Eastern Conference while the Flyers come in having won their past six (6)games in a row and in first place in the Eastern Conference. It will also be interesting to see which goaltender - Holtby or Neuvirth gets the nod to start for the Capitals today, and whether Alexander Semin starts the game on the first or second line after seeing how the Capitals - Bruins game on Friday evening ended.

In any case, as all of the recent contests between these two teams have been, I expect this will be a very good and exciting to watch game.

LETS GO CAPS!!!

Caps Roster Taking Shape Now ... Assign Four To Hershey

Well earlier today the Washington Capitals assigned Jay Beagle and Matheiu Perrault to the Hershey Bears of the AHL this afternoon. They also placed Patrick McNeill, Steve Pinnizotto, Andrew Gordon and Brian Fahey on waivers apparently with the intent of assigning Gordon and Fahey to the Bears if they clear waivers; no reports on what they intend for McNeill and Pinnizotto but I suspect they too will be assigned to Hershey as both McNeill is 23 and Pinnizotto is 26, though right now McNeill is currently listed as sidelined indefinitely with an injured shoulder. Andrew Gordon and Brian Fahey must clear waivers until noon tomorrow, Beagle and Perrault do not have to clear waivers. As of right now it's unclear whether Semyon Varlamov will be able to play yet this weekend and until he does, it's likely that Dany Sabourin will remain here in DC. By my count that leaves the Caps at 23 assuming that John Carlson is also still likely to be on injured reserve at noon tomorrow. The Capitals are already below the Salary Cap so no issues or changes will be driven by that requirement. By my count/thinking here's what the Capitals Roster will likely look like on Friday Evening for their season opener against the Thrashers in Atlanta;
Forwards:
Ovechkin-Backstrom-Knuble
Semin-Fleischmann-Laich
Chimera-Johansson-Fehr
Hendricks-Steckel-Bradley
Reserves: Boyd Gordon, DJ King,
Defense:
Green-Schultz
Poti-Alzner
Erskine-Sloan
Reserve: Carlson if he's not on IR...or skating with Poti or Erskine if he plays instead of Sloan.
Goaltender:
Neuvirth
Varlamov

If Varly is on IR then Neuvy will definitely start with Sabourin on the bench as backup.

So we start the season with some interesting differences than I thought we would and I have to say based on what we've seen during the pre-season I like all the decisions that have been made. The only one that I might have gone in a different direction is I might have gone with Brian Fahey over Tyler Sloan but that's really a nit and a toss-up. Based on what I saw the last two pre-season games at Verizon, I have to say I agree with going with Marcus Johansson over Matheiu Perrault. Perrault is a budle of energy on the ice but I like the upside on Johansson better. Heck if Johansson can just figure out how to consistently win 35-40% of his faceoffs he'll be a notch or tow better as an overall player and his skating and instincts are really good. As for the changes required to have D.J. King and Matt Hendricks in the lineup, I'm very comfortable with both of them and feel they really add a good deal of grit and defensive posture to the lineup. The one I think who is on a short leash here has to be Fleischmann as the second line center - there are a bunch of other options if "Flash" doesn't prove up to the role of second line center he can be moved back to Left Wing and there are a bunch of other options available to the Capitals coaching staff to try in that position.

In any case these moves mean we can now speculate on what the final opening night roster will achieve during the first 20 games of the season....

LETS GO CAPS!!!

Satisfied Saturday Following the Caps 5 - BlueJackets 3 Preseason Game

Well last night's preseason match up at Verizon Center with the Columbus BlueJackets was the most physical game I've seen the Capitals play in the past four seasons. The game featured a fight between Tyler Sloan and Nathan Guenin at 2:00 of the first period, then later in the game there were several "dust-ups" between the two teams that did not end up with fighting majors being issued but with coincidental minors and other penalties being issued. Interestingly, despite being actively involved in the game and having making his presence felt, the Capitals designated "muscle" DJ King finished the evening without any penalty minutes; and in an even stranger coincidence Tyler Sloan finished the evening with 3 minors and a major for 11:00 of penalty minutes, while Capitals Captain Alexander Ovechkin finished with 2 minors and 4:00 of penalty time in the "sin bin". Overall the Caps received 10:00 penalties and the Blue Jackets 7, though to be fair there were at least 2 blatant penalties committed by Columbus that went unnoticed by the Referees - it's preseason for everyone... As to the scoring 2 of the 3 goals for Columbus came off of the sticks of former Capitals properties - one each for Chris Clark and Kyle Wilson. All of Washington's scoring came off the sticks of players who were regular members of the Capitals last season. The only involvement in scoring by those players on the Caps Roster Bubble came in the form of assists by Marcus Johansson and Matheiu Perrault, each of whom had one (1) assist on the night.

Even though the "bubble guys" only had two assists for the evening, I felt they all played well and nobody had a bad game. Despite being on the ice and participating in the scoring of one of the Capitals regular strength goals, Perrault was also on the ice for one of Columbus' regular strength tallies so he finished the night even in the plus/minus category; the diminutive centerman skated between a variety of different line-mates during his 17 shifts and generally looked comfortable with them all including a couple of shifts between Mike Knuble and Alex Ovechkin. Number 85 also had a good night in the face-off circle going 67% and winning 8 of the 12 draws he had. Nineteen year-old Marcus Johansson also had a solid night last evening as well. Johansson, wearing the Capitals Number 90 Sweater, played 14:26 on 22 shifts during which he tallied an assist, ended the evening at +2, and had a takeaway. However, the young Swede's troubles in the faceoff circle continued and he was 0 for 10 in draws on the evening. As I noted after the last pre-season game, he really needs to improve this area of his game and the AHL is probably the best place for him to do that, even if that's not what he wants to hear. The other areas of his game are quite good and his role in Eric Fehr's first score of the evening was nothing but impressive. Jay Beagle and Andrew Gordon both had solid, though generally unremarkable evenings. In both Beagle and A.Gordon's cases even though they didn't make any game changing plays, they did play consistently strong hockey and played very responsible games. Beagle had 14:10 TOI (including 4:20 on the PK) in 18 shifts while A. Gordon had 12:10 TOI in 15 shifts. The final person I consider "on the bubble" who dressed last evening was Matt Hendricks, whose night was cut short - 1 shift, 00:16 TOI by a totally cheap hit, that in my opinion should be reviewed by the league, from Nate Guenin. Guenin's hit on Hendricks is what led Tyler Sloan to drop the gloves with him and I say kudos to Sloan for that. Sloan and Guenin "duked it out" while Hendricks lay on the ice. From where I sit, it looked to me like Guenin at least three quarters clothes-lined Hendricks instead of missing an open ice hit that he did not properly set-up. I also didn't see the meeting between these two teams but noted when I checked that Guenin did not play in that game so he probably just trying to send a message that the Blue Jackets had no intention of letting Hendricks skate freely and light them up for another hat trick. That said, it was a hit that should have been penalized and wasn't and it should get reviewed as it was either a hit to the head or as close as you can get without doing so. So ranking last night's performances by the bubble guys I show: 1) Marcus Johansson; 2) Jay Beagle; 3) Matheiu Perrault; 4) Andrew Gordon; INCOMPLETE) Matt Hendricks. I put Beagle # 2 because he basically was played in a manner as I see him actually being used in the regular season if he makes the roster and he played 4:20 on the Penalty Kill Unit without being on the ice for a Columbus goal - in fact last evening the penalty killing unit for the Capitals looked very strong. I'm a big Perrault fan however last evening he was on the ice for two of the three Columbus goals including the shorthanded tally by Kyle Wilson. During Wilson's goal it sure seemed like he knew both Perrault and Michal Neuvirth's Achilles heels which isn't surprising since he spent the last two seasons playing with them in Hershey. I suspect we'll see Hendricks again in Sunday's contest as he is now said to be fine, according to the game recap on the Caps site: "Hendricks did not return to the game, but he is said to be fine. Boudreau said afterwards that had it been a regular season contest, Hendricks would have returned to action."

As for the Caps regulars, last night I noticed starting in warm-ups these were guys with a purpose. I'm not saying they aren't having fun, it's clear when they play they are having fun, but they all have very intense looks on their faces - right now they are 5-0 on the preseason with one more preseason game to play; the looks on their faces during warm-ups and during the games say that even if they played a perfect 103 - 0 between now and June 2011, they won't be really happy until they win their 104th game in a row and get to raise a Stanley Cup. No I'm not saying I expect them to do that, what I am saying is this team has a look of a team with a purpose and that purpose is to win the league championship. It's something that really makes me as a Caps fan happy, especially with folks around town talking like the playoffs are obviously just going to happen. The team I saw play last night doesn't look like a group of guys who are taking anything for granted this season. Everyone who played last evening was clearly ready for the regular season, and they all understand that there are no "gimme points" in the NHL. As I mentioned last nights was a physical game and even two time MVP and team Captain Alex Ovechkin got into it. Ovechkin intervened on behalf of Mike Knuble when the Caps’ captain perceived that his linemate had been the victim of a borderline hit from Columbus defenseman Nick Holden. Ovechkin’s efforts earned him a double-minor for roughing. The only half smile I saw all game came when Mike Green stepped between DJ King and former Capitals Captain Chris Clark early in the third period. Green had a wry grin as he said something to his former Captain which I imagine was some variant of: "Hey Chris since we're still sort of friends, trust me you don't want any of that, especially in a preseason game."

Of the guys who didn't play last evening I expect we'll see Tomas Fleischmann on the ice Sunday along with a few others who didn't play against Columbus including Semyon Varlamov, Matt Bradley, Brian Fahey, David Steckel and if he's at full strength Matt Hendricks. The following Capitals did not skate at this morning's practice: Backstrom, Carlson, Green, Varlamov and Hendricks.

In other news around the league, former Capitals goaltender, and 2010 Masterson Trophy winner, Jose Theodore has signed a 1 year $1.1M contract with the Minnesota Wild. To me that's happy news, I'm still rooting for Theodore who I fell has a couple more good seasons left in him and is a really good human being.

Well next up the final Capitals pre-season tomorrow afternoon at Verizon Center against the Nashville Predators. I am truly wondering what the lineup will look like as it appears as of this evening the Capitals are still carrying 29 players on the roster.

LETS GO CAPS!!!

Wild Wednesday Witticisms and Notes ...

Wild Wednesday Witticisms and Notes ...

Well last night the Capitals met the Boston Bruins at Verizon Center for their third game of the pre-season and came away with a 3 - 2 win. As with moat pre-season games numerous key players were not dressed for either side however by all accounts the game was a pretty fun one to watch. New addition D.J. King had a "dust-up" with Shawn Thorton in King's first game as a Capital. King, acquired in July from the St. Louis Blues, wasted little time in making his presence felt. Playing in his first game as a Capital, King dropped his gloves and took on Boston’s Shawn Thornton at 6:59 of the first period. Both men landed a few good blows, and King finished the fight by taking Thornton down to the ice. This is apparently a great thing and the center-point of the game to folks like OFB ... BTW King is wearing number 17, which in addition to having most recently been worn by former Captain Chris Clark, was worn by Chris Simon when he was a Capital - coincidence? Anyway with all this hype, I'm not even sure I should bother talking about the other aspects of the game like the three goals the Capitals scored, etc. But why not, it's sort of my thing, you know...

So even though there was a good hockey fight either because it ended in what could be looked at as a draw or because you know the rules and object of the game haven't changed, the winner was decided by keeping track of who scored the most goals... In that category the Capitals bested the Bruins by having one more goal at the end of regulation than the Bruins had. Scoring for the Capitals were young centers Mathieu Perrault (age 22), and Cody Eakin (age 19), who managed to sandwich a goal by Alexander Semin. Semin's goal was set-up by a good pass from young center Marcus Johansson (turns 20 next week). Also assisting on two of last night's goals was Alex Ovechkin, who saw his first action in a pre-season game last night as well. Goaltender Michal Neuvirth played the entire game for the Capitals while Nolan Schaefer backstopped the Bruins for all three periods. Neuvirth had a respectable SV% of 90.09% on the night. With 30+ guys still on the roster, none of the "bubble guys" are making the decision of who to send down easy for Coach Bruce Boudreau General Manager George McPhee. That's a good thing for the organization but it's unclear what can and will be done to keep so many talented, young players on a trajectory of continued and effective, if not rapid, development as Hockey Players for those that do get sent down to Hershey. Also I know the Capitals are basically a young team and perhaps a more seasoned veteran in the second line center spot would be a good addition both on the ice and in the locker room, but with all the apparent depth of young talent down the middle, does it really make sense to put a guy who's proven to be more effective as a Winger into that spot, even if he did score 23 goals last season? So while others saw last night's line-up as having three guys on the ice/roster who are battling for the third line center spot on the roster, I'm continuing to unrealistically hope it was otherwise.

Anyway, that's .. that's ... THAT'S ALL for today folks!

LETS GO CAPS!!!