When .... It's ...

Helloooo out there fellow Caps fans!  Today we're going to play the "when ... it's ..." game in honor of the slight roller coaster we Caps fans have been on the past couple weeks.  From December 4th through January 7th the riding the "Caps Train" was all honey and butter, really great fun like listening to Aretha Franklin belt out her best tunes on Soul Train in the 70's.  But then starting with the Caps-Flyers game on January 8th, even though the "four game losing streak" didn't start till a week later on January 16th in Smashville, watching the Caps, while still mostly fun for us fans, starting to get to be a bit of an emotional roller coaster.  Games were tight and the play by the Caps was at times, tentative so we started to get a bit tense and at times "reactive" - perhaps we were really channeling the teams own feelings from closer to "real time" then they or we would have preferred.  But as the team heads into tomorrow's game in Montreal to take on the once again, very "hot" Montreal Canadiens, the Caps are seemingly back to riding a wave of confidence after empathically breaking their recent loosing streak and besting the Pittsburgh Penguins by a score of 4-0 on the friendly tide of solidly played home cooking at Verizon Center on Wednesday night.  Thankfully, they aren't going into Bell Center on the tail of Tuesday's game in Columbus and so the game of "When .... It's..."

Let's start the game with the big picture ....

1)  "When after the All Star Break, your NHL hockey team of choice is on pace to finish the regular season with 100+ points and 40+ ROW, It's time to start saving your shekels to be able to afford to go watch some playoff hockey."

2) "When four of the seven Canadian NHL franchises are on track to make the playoffs at the All Star Break, It's pretty pointless to even worry for one second what the US-Canadian exchange rate might do to the salary cap since unless they are criminally mismanaged the Canadian franchises are likely to remain incredibly financially healthy."

3) "When immediately after the All Star Break, despite having one of his worst seasons ever, Sidney Crosby is still "just" fifth in the entire NHL in points/scoring and on track for his fifth straight 100+ point season, It's tragically ironic and funny to listen to media wonder aloud "What's wrong with Sid this year, etc." and as a Caps/Ovechkin fan very easy to imagine Ovi calling Sid and opening a conversation with: "Hey Sid, Ovi here, I don't know why they decided it was your turn for them to talk stupidly about, but you know what I'm not gonna say I'm sorry it's someone else in the League's turn, make sure when you pass it along it's to somebody like Sequin or Giroux, or better yet that cocky little "B" Kane,  and not back to me, okay?"

Now onto the more micro picture of the Caps to finish out today's game ....

1) "When the Caps play like they did on Tuesday evening against the Blue Jackets in Columbus; It's really, really easy to get down on them and be very, very concerned that once again you and they might be spending more time on the golf course than you'd prefer. After all "it" happened just last spring."

2) "When the Caps play like they did on Wednesday evening against Pittsburgh at Verizon Center; It's really, really, really easy to foolishly not worry about anything with this team or even how deep they might go into the playoffs and start having "champaign wishes and caviar dreams" that might even extend past say ... May 2015.  But that too would be really, really foolish, I mean remember the 2009 - 2010 team and how great they looked before the second season started?"

But fear not and hey enjoy the ride while we all can since ...

1) "When your concerns in life are centered on how "your" NHL team is really doing and is really positioned for the playoffs and run for "The CUP" are problems you have tome to consider/worry; Its really "all good" as those are truly "just and solely" what I call "first world problems."  As if to drive that point home we Caps fans can proudly point to our Team Captain for reflecting that, behaving in a manner that was pretty fun for all NHL fans to watch during the All Star Break and then have it turn around/out that he used the stage to do something good for some youngsters and families that have real, everyday challenges and generally approach them in a manner that is just a great example and model for us all.  I know to some talking about this is getting old and tired, however every time I think about it, I feel good about being an NHL fan instead of taking even a second to talk about the right amount of pressure an NFL football is supposed to be inflated to, etc. 

2) Finally, tomorrow... When we Caps fans pump out a tweet that bemoans the fact that only Ovechkin as opposed to say Ovechkin, Backstrom and Carlson were selected for the All Star Game: It's probably a good idea to look at the other team and think how ironic it is/was that the only Montreal player selected for the All Star Team was Carey Price instead of Price, P.K Subban (2012 Norris Trophy Winner), and the team's leading scorer Max Pacioretty.   I mean at the break the Canadiens only had 61 points in 45 games played and a top five record in the league while Columbus, with three all stars somehow was/is struggling out side of the playoffs and in appearing to be getting ready to make a run at the "McDavid" Sweepstakes.  My point is while I love the All Star Game, it's an NHL marketing event on par with the best, most well orchestrated sports marketing ever.  Thinking about it any other way and trying to fret about where somebody goes in the "mock draft" or something like that is pointless.  Every player selected, even some guy who got the most votes because he's the only guy in the league from Latvia  "really, really good at hockey."  Follow Ovechkin's example have fun with it, and hey wouldn't it be really, really great if the entire NHL turned at least some of the fun and benefits it generates into some good action and awareness raising for good causes.  I say let's make it one big "ice bucket challenge, car give away for great causes."  I'm even down with making sure the total goals increase - as long as we ditch that friggin' cannon.

In the meantime I'm hoping for a 4 - 1 win by the Caps tomorrow against the Habs.  I say LETS GO CAPS!!!! Wire to wire, never trail or be tied after the first goal and score the final fourth goal into an open net late in the third to ice it. Realistically do I think that will happen, probably not, but if the Caps play tomorrow at Bell Center like they did Wednesday evening at Verizon, I know it's possible, and hey if you're going to dream, why not dream big, "it don't cost any more."

So .... When this Blogger is wrapping up a post .... It's time to loudly proclaim:

LETS GO CAPS!!!!

Caps Now 8-2-2 For December and 0.600 On 2014-15 Season; SWEET

Last night in Pittsburgh it was a two point night for our Washington Capitals, it's been a pretty long time since the Capitals had a two point game that they came out on top of in Pittsburgh.  Last night's win in Pittsburgh gave the Capitals an 18-11-6 record and 17 Regulation/Overtime Wins (ROW) in 35 games played.  That's a solid 0.600 on the season to date.

Back on December 6th just three weeks ago I mused about the likely difference between ending up on "the right side" versus the "wrong side" of the bubble both in terms of record and pace/quality of play by the Capitals.  Granted none of the thoughts expressed in my December 6th blog are "rocket science."  However, up to that point in time the 2014-15 edition of the Washington Capitals had not played consistently in a manner that exhibited the play I mused about.  However, now 22 days later I can safely point to the past ten (10) games as an extended stretch where the Caps entire roster has pretty much all elevated their compete level and been rewarded with 16 standings points and increased confidence in both their own individual skills and abilities as well as the system they are now playing.

Last night's game was from my perspective the best game of hockey I've seen the Capitals play in over at least 15 months.  The Caps played a team game, with skill, and beat a very good team, whose goaltender was on his game.  Think about it, when was the last time the Caps really did that and you weren't surprised if not shocked?  For me it's pretty much been since the end of the 2011-12 season that I've felt this solidly confident in the Capital's abilities to play through adversity, play hard on the puck and 110%, 200 foot hockey and not get frustrated by an NHL goalie on his game or otherwise do something that gave the opposing team a real opening to beat them with.  I've got to say, it's a really good feeling for a fanboy like me.  Also looking back at my December 6th musing, I also want to say that every player on the list I did, save one are all more valuable to the team and contributory to it's ability to win then I felt they were three weeks ago.  The one player whose gone "down" in the rating system I used back on December 6th being Jason Chimera, but I'm guessing if you read this blog you probably already knew that.

The last game of December for the Capitals is tomorrow in Uniondale against the New York Islanders, the Isles are in second place in the Metropolitan Division and Third in the Eastern Conference with 47 points in 35 games.  Tomorrow's game on the Island will likely be very similar to last night's game in Pittsburgh, the Caps will face a good team anchored by a couple very fast skilled forwards and a very solid goaltender.  To win against the Islanders they'll have to play a similar "heavy" game.  That is apparently the new vernacular for a physical, tightly contested game of hockey as per yesterday's NBCsn  team that called the Caps/Pens game.

I'm now quite "bullish" on the Caps, and assuming they play tomorrow's game the same way they did yesterday's contest, I'm looking for a 4 - 2 Caps victory, the four players to ponder in my view are:  Holtby and Halak in goal and Backstrom and Tavares up front.  In the meantime

LETS GO CAPS!!!!

Capitals Hockey 23.2% Into the 2014 -15 NHL Season: Life On The Bubble Exemplified

Well Caps fans our Washington Capitals completed their 19th game of the 2014-15 Season in Denver, CO last evening and achieved a two (2) point regulation win over the Colorado Avalanche.  It was their eighth (8) ROW (Regulation/Overtime Win) of the season.  they are now on pace for a total of  90+ points and notable 34+ ROW.  If this were last season that would place them again "just" on the wrong side of the bubble as they finished last season with 90 points as well but only 28 ROW due to having earned 14 "looser" points which so far this season they've only gotten 3 and are on track for just 12 loser points.  That's the bad news, the good news is "the trend is our friend" and while living life on the bubble trends are everything When last season ended the two "wild Card" teams aka "Winning Bubble Teams" were Columbus with 93 points of which 38 of their 43 wins were "ROW" and they had only 7 "loser points" and Detroit who also had 93 points of which they had 34 ROW and 15 loser points.  That means that in Columbus' case 92+% of their 93 points were "2 point games" while in Detroit's case ~84% of their points were "2 point games."

 For the Capitals thus far this season , 85.7 of the 21 points they've accrued to date are a result of "two point nights."  Additionally, they find themselves in third place in the Division and "on the right side" of the bubble right now because with the exception of the Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators they've played no more games than the other Eastern Conference "bubble teams".  Additionally 0.550 (4-3-3) at home and 0.5556 (5-4-0) on the road thus far this season.  The Caps, surprisingly find themselves in need of making Verizon Center a harder place for opposing team's to play when for the majority of the past 5 seasons Verizon has earned a reputation of being a hard place to play and beat them and last season the Caps had a 0.598 record.  if the Caps stay on track for a 0.550 road record and raise their game at Verizon back to 0.598, they will end the season with 94 points and at least 35 ROW which should put them "on the right side of the bubble."  Given the trends and what we've been seeing from the Capitals the 5-4-1 record they have thus far in November, should they string a couple more wins together before the end of November, of the remaining four (4) games this month, clearly the "home and home" against the New York Islanders are most important.  However as long as the Capitals win three of the next four games (6 of 8 available standings points) they should close the gap with either the NY Islanders or Pittsburgh Penguins by at least two points before the month of  December starts.  That will give the Capitals 27 points in 23 games - on a 0.587 pace for the season, on pace for a 96 point season and securely in third place in the Metropolitan Division - avoiding the "Wild Card Sweepstakes" altogether.

The Islanders have six more games to play the remaining 10 days this month - including back to back home and home against Pittsburgh this weekend and a home and home against the Capitals bracketing Thanksgiving Day.  In addition to those four games against Division Rivals, the Islanders face the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday (11/24) and the Devils on Saturday the 29th. Truly this last week of November is a key time for the Islanders fortunes and a groups of tough games stacked together, the only break in it is that four of those six games will be home games for them.

The Penguins have also have six games over the last 10 days of November, the back to back home and home against the Islanders this weekend, followed by the Bruins in Boston on Monday and hosting the Maple Leafs on Wednesday before having another back to back home and home against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Pens last six games of November are evenly split between 3 home games and 3 away games though four of the six are played on back to back evenings.

Those are the guys in the Division ahead of the Capitals, but the Devils, Rangers Bruins, Senators, Maple Leafs, Panthers and even the Flyers are all likely to end the season on the bubble with the Capitals.  Looking at the rest of the Metropolitan Division Teams who are on or around the bubble and their schedule the rest of November here's how thing look.  The Rangers have 20 points in 19 games played as of tonight.  They have four more games in November: Montreal at MSG on Sunday, the Lightning on Wed. the 26th in Tampa, the Flyers in Philadelphia on the Friday 28th and then the Flyers again 24 hours later at MSG on Saturday the 29th.  So that's not going to be an easy road for the Blue Shirts.

The Devils start  three game road trip through Western Canada tonight in Edmonton, followed by a back to back tomorrow night in Calgary against the Flames before facing off against the Canucks in Vancouver on Tuesday on the 25th.  They then come back to Newark and play the Detroit Red Wings on Friday the 28th and then finish the month playing the Islanders in Uniondale on Saturday the 29th.  Another bubble team with five tough games to finish the second month of the 2014-15 season.

The Flyers have five more games to play in the month of November starting tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets at home in Philly.  They then travel to Long Island to face the Islanders on Monday evening, then host the Red Wings at Wachovia Center on Wednesday the 26th before finish the month with a back to back/home and home against the Rangers on the 28th and 29th.

Columbus has been struggling recently but as they get healthier they too could threaten other bubble teams.  They have four more games in November, only one of which tomorrow against the Flyers is against a Metropolitan Division opponent. Their other games in November are against Winnipeg, Vancouver and Nashville.

So as you can see the final week of November features a lot of Metropolitan Division games for every team in the  division with the exception of Columbus plays at least as many games against Division rivals as they do against teams in other divisions during the rest of this month.  That might put a little separation between teams in the division (given either Pittsburgh or the Islanders could finish the month with 35+ points and on track for 110+ point seasons) but it could also bunch things up even more.  For the Capitals the key will be winning at least three out of four and not giving any "loser points" to the Islanders in those two games, assuming they can win them.  If the Caps continue to find their grove and capture all eight points available to them in November they'll also be on track for a 100+ point season, that would be a significant step off the "right side" of the bubble compared to where they were just two weeks ago.

All that said you have to play the games on the ice, one game at a time.  The only thing certain about all this is it's going to be an exciting final week of November for fans of NHL Teams in the Metropolitan Division.

For the Caps, next up are the Sabres tomorrow night at Verizon Center.

LETS GO CAPS!!!!

Cool A Two Point Night Comeback Victory Against the Islanders; #Caps 3 #Isles 2 (OT)

So the Capitals won their third game in a row for the first time since January 15th. This is also only the fourth time this season the Capitals have won more than two games in a row. That felt good, to have two point night and stay only three points behind the Florida Panthers for the Southeast Division lead, as the FlaCats also won their third in a row against the Maple Leafs in Toronto tonight. Tonight's comeback victory in overtime kept the Capitals in eighth place, within reach of the post season, in the Eastern Conference. However the Caps sure had me worried there for a while. I came home late and turned the game on the TV and just as the TV picture pooped up "BOOM," Josh Bailey scores his seventh goal of the season to put the Islanders up 1-0 at 4:14 of the first period. Then it seemed to be a pretty even game even though the Capitals were outshooting the Islanders 20 - 15 by the end of the second period. The Caps had a few scoring chances by Islander goaltender Evgeni Nabokov held them scoreless.

The third period started with the Capitals continue to trail the Islanders by a score of 1-0 but Matt Moulson of the Islanders put his team up 2-0 with a solid effort that netted his 27th goal of the season. Even though I was watching from home, I could tell that hushed the crowd and took most of the energy out of Verizon Center. However, the Capitals did not give up and kept playing their game plan as they had all night but again Nabokov held them scoreless. That is until the Capitals got a bunch of traffic in front of the net and Troy Brouwer scored his 16th goal of the season at 16:31 of the final period of the game. Could it be? Were we in for an episode of "The Cardiac Kids?" Well at about the 18:00 mark, the Capitals pulled Michal Neuvirth in favor of a sixth skater. For a while though it looked like the Islanders once again had the Capitals number as they kept the Caps off balance and didn't allow them to force the play into the offensive zone for a while. However then the Caps forced an offensive zone face off and stacked up lots of traffic once again in front of Nabokov. At first to me it looked like Brooks Laich scored the tying goal but on the replay it was once again Troy Brouwer with his seventeenth goal of the season. How's that for getting off the schneid? Awesome night and game for Brouwer, he scored two goals tonight and his total combined distance from the net couldn't have been more than five feet. That tied the game at 2-2 setup the game to go into "Sudden Victory" overtime. I like probably very other Caps fan in the world was ecstatic at the time of the goal, even though at the time I had no idea how the game would turn out when it was over, the fact the Capitals scored to tie the game and they did so by once again "playing the game the right way" made me quite happy and restored my hope in the Capitals ability to pull something out of this up and down season.

Overtime, what can you say about it? Tonight overtime ended up being "Ovi-time" and that happened at just 1:35 into the extra period. The happy end to a two point night for the Capitals. This latest three game winning streak is important thing for the Capitals, hopefully they are the first three of several more. Tonight's result means the Caps finish the month of February with a 6-7-1 (0.464) record while the other two Southeast Division teams in the race for the playoffs Winnipeg and Florida finish the month with respective records of 7-5-2 (0.571) and 8-5-1 (0.607). Also, don't look now but the Tampa Bay Lightning are 6-4-0 in their last ten games and only one point behind the stumbling Maple Leafs with 64 points in 11th place in the conference. Things are getting interesting, crowded and interesting.

Next up New Jersey on Friday evening - LETSGOCAPS!!!

Saturday Is A Great Day to Muse 'Bout Spoilers & "Headshots" In the NHL

Wow, it's Saturday March 26th already, and in some ways it doesn't seem like we are already almost one quarter of the way through with 2011. I mean, hey here I am in Bristow, VA ten days into the season of spring and The Weather Channel is telling me it's going to snow tomorrow so in that respect it seems more like January or February. However, if you're an NHL player you know that's not the case since the All-Star break is well in the rear-view mirror and the end of the regular season are now no more than nine (9) games away for any team. So of course that means when you think about the NHL you can look at the remaining few games and really understand the impact or potential impact of a few simple things: a) three point games; b) "hot" teams at the bottom of the standings aka "spoilers"; c)injuries to teams who are fighting for playoff spots aka "bubble teams" key/star players; and d) injuries to "playoff" team's key/star players. So because I don't want this post to ramble on infinitely I'll only be musing "aloud" about two of those items this morning, "don'tch ya know."

So at the bottom of the standings, teams who are either mathematically eliminated or nearly so from the playoffs sit teams who are to my thinking eight or more points behind the eighth place team in their conference. That means that in the Eastern Conference I consider: Atlanta, New Jersey, the Islanders, Florida, and Ottawa, and in the Western Conference: Minnesota, Columbus, Saint Louis, Colorado, and Edmonton all teams that may as well be cleaning their golf equipment in preparation for late April vacations. Of course between now and then there is a little matter of the basic traits of competitiveness and personal pride that all professional athletes share for those ten (10) teams. That's what can, and often does, make them the biggest threats to the "bubble" teams or anyone else fighting for points these next two weeks in order to get better playoff seeding. So when you look at those ten teams who's shaping up to be the biggest, most consistent spoilers? To answer that question, you need to look at the play of each of them during the past four (4) weeks or so - basically their performance in games since March 1. Based on looking at the results of those ten (10) teams for the month of March to date, there are three teams I'd now classify as "spoilers" - teams who will not make the playoffs, but who will have affected already and will likely continue affect who makes the playoffs and how they are seeded, unfortunately for the Eastern Conference "bubble teams" they are all the East:

1) Islanders 6-2-4, or 0.667 hockey, basically if the Isles played this way all season, they'd be on track for 109 points.
2) Ottawa: 9-5-0, or 0.643 hockey, a 105+ point season pace.
3) New Jersey: 7-4-1 or 0.625 hockey, a 102+ point season pace.

The other seven (7) are all playing 0.500 hockey or worse so facing them is no different, IMO, then playing any other team in the League, in that they meet the criteria of "On any given night ..." Of course, if you are a Caps fan and watched last night''s 2-0 loss to the Ottawa Senators, you knew they were playing very well of late; and if you're a hockey fan of any type who isn't completely/totally "dead" (not nearly dead) then you know the Devils have been pretty much "on fire" since mid-January; however, the late-season play of the Islanders may have escaped your attention. By the way, that's part of the reason why I think Michael Grabner is likely, and should be this season's NHL Rookie of the Year.

So who do the "spoilers" play that matter in particular (i.e. "bubble teams") over the remainder of the season:

a) The Islanders have eight (8) games remaining, six of which are against "bubble" or playoff teams. "Bubble Team" opponents include: the Rangers on 3/31 and the Carolina Hurricanes on April 2nd, both are home games for the Islanders.

b) Ottawa has seven (7) games remaining, five of which are against "bubble" or playoff teams. "Bubble Team" or opponents whose play could affect their seeding include: Tampa Bay on 3/29, Toronto on 4/2, and Montreal on 4/7. The Tampa Bay game is on the road but the games against Senator rivals Leafs and Habs are in Ottawa.

c) New Jersey has eight (8) games remaining, seven (7) of which are against "bubble" or playoff teams. "Bubble Team" opponents include: Buffalo tonight in Buffalo, Montreal on 4/2, Toronto on 4/6 (both in New Jersey at "The Rock), and the Rangers at MSG on 4/9.

So as long as I can I plan on watching or at least channel flipping between the Caps game and the following, as they should be really good games and I have the NHL Center Ice Package:

Tonight: Devils - Sabres
March 29th: Ottawa - Tampa Bay
March 31st: Islanders - Rangers
April 2nd: Senators - Maple Leafs
April 7th: Senators - Canadiens
April 9th: Devils - Rangers.

Now about "headshots." First there's no question in my mind they are an issue that needs to be addressed by the NHL, there's also no question that it took the injury to Crosby to get the league to do something about it - and that's a bad thing that also should be a subject to ponder by both the NHLPA and the Board of Governors as the CBA approaches. I say this because Mike Green is a star no doubt, at 25 he's been a Norris Trophy finalist twice already; he's been out for a month already with a concussion and outside of the DC blogsphere and MSM there has been little mention of it. Simply put the only other player getting a concussion that might have gotten the NHL's attention to the degree of the Crosby injury has generated would be Ovechkin. I say might because with Ovie's style of play I'm not even sure it would have done so. The issue to me isn't that the Crosby injury is overblown, it's that with 70+ concussions this season, that number alone without an injury to a star or multiple star players should have been enough to get the level of debate going. It wasn't and anyone who says it was, please explain to me the basis for that statement. As for the Matt Cooke suspension, it's a start but frankly, I don't think it was harsh enough - he should have been suspended for the remainder of the season and the entire playoffs, in my opinion. Do I think Cooke can change the way he plays the game as he has indicated he knows he needs to do - I don't have an answer to that other than I think he has the talent and skills to play in the NHL effectively without playing the way he has been these past few seasons that has gotten hi four (4) suspensions since he's joined Pittsburgh. That said, I think two other places the game needs to change to address this and lower the risk to the players, besides stiffer penalties and suspensions are a) The equipment - specifically the shoulder pads, bottom line they are allowed to be too big and too hard; and b) The pace of play - the changes to the rules that have increased the number of interference calls have also increased the speed of the game. The goal was to make the game more exciting and also likely higher scoring. It's more exciting for sure - the increased risk of injury does that; as for higher scoring, the fact that at some point everyone knows defense wins Stanley Cups means that everything is regressing to a norm here and that's not so much the case anyway. The rules re: interference need to be looked at again so when someone does make a hit they have more options that don't result in an interference penalty than hitting them at full speed since the difference between hitting someone who is and isn't able to defend themselves can often be literally a split second. That's just my view but I think the general point that the rules other than just the hit to the head rule need to be considered here. I'm going to end these musings with a final thought - here's hoping both Mike Green and Sidney Crosby a) are out on the ice again soon and b) after the season is over get involved in these discussions and help the NHL come up with some changes that make their workplace a little safer in this regard.

So I'm not doing a recap of the Ottawa game there's several good ones out here in the blogsphere but I will make sure everyone who reads my blog sees that my favorite quote of the evening came from Matt Hendricks when asked about a another particularly bad call by another NHL official - one of the latest of many this season. In this case a blatant 4:00 high sticking call that was waved off was the subject in question. Hendricks response: "My view?” he said. “It was an Easton Synergy in my face.” As for tonight's game in Montreal, as usual I'll be rooting for the Caps from my den here in Bristow and happy that I'll see the game in HD tonight - for some reason my CSN-HD Channel had a poker game on last night, what was that about?

LETS GO CAPS!!!

Yesterday Around The NHL: Musings re: Kings 4 - Caps 1 and "Olde Tyme Hockey" & NHL Justice (Pens/Islanders)

Well I can't let this morning pass without a brief, very brief comment relative to yesterday's Caps - Kings game. There are several very good recaps around, of course my favorite two are from The Peerless Prognosticator and Red Line Station. They have good recaps and also post game analyses after what was, at the end of the day, one of the worst performances of the season by the Capitals, especially the second period. So Peerless started his recap by asking "Didn't that just ... suck?" - short answer: Yes, it did. That's really all I want to say on this other than if you do read Peerless' recap and today's post, don't do it on an empty stomach, I've been hankering donuts ever since reading them this morning.

Well last night Colin Campbell conducted a couple of in person hearings and rendered his decisions relative to the melee that was sort of a hockey game on Long Island Friday night between the Penguins and the Islanders. I won't even begin to try and approach the decision in the context of any sort of comparative thing as some are trying to do by bringing up the recent Canadeans-Bruins game in which Mr. Campbell's son was a participant. I won't for a couple of reasons which I think are valid: a) I didn't see any of the Bruins-Canadeans game so even if I thought there was value in a comparison, and I do not, I couldn't make one. b) Mr. Cambell recuses himself from review and discipline of games in which his son is involved. Whether you or I truly believe that is also really immaterial. c) The real heart of the matter and our feelings about the incident should be considered i) on it's own merits, ii) in the context of this one game, and iii) in the context of the rules on the books today and what is going on around them - not for example on what made sense or was felt to make sense 5, 10, 15, 20 or even 30 years ago, despite any resemblance one might think there was between the game and the movie "Slapshot."

So here's what I think - basically I'm good with all of Colin Campbell's decisions and judgements, save and only in a minor way, one "non-call/penalty" if you will. Please keep in mind I am not one of those people that Don Cherry reviles as being for the "wussification" of the game of hockey, and while I grew up playing the sport in those same 1970's everybody seems to talk about when they talk "Olde Tyme Hockey", by and large I think the game is generally better now both to play and to watch then it was then. So let's go down the list of the calls and "non-calls" I think Colin Campbell made or didn't make and why in general I think they are right:

1) The 10 game suspension of Eric Goddard - easiest call of all to make, like a delay of game call, and rightfully so - unless you are one who wants to routinely see the return of bench clearing brawls to the sport - automatic by the rules. BTW Eric should get some of the ~41K he now is forfeiting returned to him in the form of free meals, etc. by his teammates, especially Brent Johnson, for the rest of the season.

2) The 9 game suspension of Trevor Gilles for his hit and follow-up punches on Eric Tangradi. So again this is easy to me, any defense Gilles might have wanted to try and say was totally pre-empted by the follow-up punches, it was out of line. Islander fans might point to the prior game hit by Talbot on Comeau, but I say two things - missed calls happen all the time and so do inadvertent hockey hits that cause unitended injuries, and second there is no place in the game for targeting someone or even possibly (I say possibly because I'm not omnipotent so I don't know what was in Gilles head when he hit Tangradi - though Colin Campbell does have to make an educated general guess to do his job) intending to hurt someone intentionally.

3) The 4 game suspension of Matt Martin. Martin's "move" was bush league, punching a guy when they aren't looking is like hitting them below the belt - real men don't do it and hockey is qame for and played by real men. Seriously no place for it. If Martin had confronted Talbot, I'm pretty sure Talbot would have gladly fought him like Talbot indicated in post game comments. In fact I'll bet Talbot was pretty much ready to be confronted by anybody, even Zenon Konopka, on the Islanders - and challenged to a fair up front direct hockey fight. I'll also suggest he was likely prepared to be the object of a few extra, legal checks every time he went into the corner, etc. You know - normal up-front "Olde Tyme Hockey" sort of stuff. Martin targeted Talbot and did it in a way that was, I thought, over the line. The suspension is fair from my perspective.

4) The $100K fine to the Islanders for as Colin Campbell stated - "The Islanders also must bear some responsibility for their failure to control their players" You might argue the amount, trust me it's a lot of money but to Mr. Wang it's not a check he cannot write nor as some in the blogsphere have alluded is it anything that might bankrupt the Islanders as a going business concern. I think a fine is certainly fair and I do feel that the NY Islanders should be penalized disproportionately compared to the Penguins because after getting out to a 6-0 lead in the first ~26:30 of regulation play, they used the freedom that lead gave them to target some of the Penguins they clearly felt did not respect them or their organization. The Islanders did that with apparently no effective effort, if one was made at all, by the Islanders coaching staff to "reign things in" or keep them under control throughout the majority of the game. Is $100K fair - certainly doesn't seem to bad or too much considering the fines that were basically levied on the suspended players in the form of forfeited salaries: Goddard - $40.3K; Martin - $41.6K, and Gilles - $24.2K.

5) So the first known non-call/suspension has to do with Zenon Konopka who was summoned to the hearing apparently because there were some questions concerning his involvement in one of the "scrums" after he came onto the ice during a legal line change and joined an ongoing altercation. During the game he received a roughing penalty and a misconduct during the third period. After the hearing he did not receive any further discipline. From what I saw of Konopka's conduct during the game, this was absolutely the right call by Mr. Campbell and the NHL. In fact, after watching the game, I have respect for Konopka, the most penalized player on the Islanders so far this season, that I certainly did not have for him last season when I watched him as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Konopka played a total of 20 shifts for 13:41 TOI and the only two penalties he took all night were the roughing penalty and the 10 minute misconduct that were reviewed. He was 15 for 23 in the face-off circle and did a fair amount of penalty killing for the Islanders, in short, he wasn't anywhere near the goon I thought he'd be in a game like this. I agree with Mr. Campbell, Konopka's conduct warranted no further discipline, in fact I was surprised Campbell felt the need to include him in these proceedings but I guess that's to some degree because he is the team leader in PIM, or at least was before Friday evening's game.

6) No fine to the Penguins as a team, at all. I already indicated that I felt the Islanders deserved a disproportionate amount of blame and attention relative to the supplemental discipline meted out, but will reiterate that before making my point on this one. Mr. Campbell apparently did not feel the Penguins as a team deserved a fine and that his review indicated they did not fail to control their players in a manner similar to how the Islanders failed to control their team. I just cannot reach the same conclusion given the fact the Islanders were given 183 PIM including 5 Game Misconducts and 6 Misconduct penalties, while the Penguins received a total of 5 Game Misconduct and 5 misconduct penalties. Further watching the game's third period it did not seem to me that Penguins head coach Bylsma and Assistant Coach Granato had any more or less control of their players than their Islanders' counterparts had. In short I grew up in a household where we were always taught, and punished on the grounds that "it takes two to Tango" and, while I will agree much of the chaos on Friday evening was rooted in or started by the actions of the Islanders; I just think strongly the NHL missed an opportunity to tell ALL coaches and teams everywhere that participating in things like Friday evening's strange excuse for a hockey game will not be tolerated or allowed to stand when they failed to also issue a fine to the Penguins as a team. If it were me I would have sent that signal with a $50,000 fine to Penguins.

At the end of the day what I lament most about the decisions and the statements made by Mr. Campbell is I look at the whole story in it's entirety and conclude that the instigator penalty is alive and well in the NHL. To some reading this that statement will seem out of "left field" on several fronts so let me explain. I think these sorts of things wouldn't happen so much if players could police the game themselves without the fear of putting their team at a man disadvantage just by attempting to start a hockey fight to send a message to an opponent that they will not tolerate things like, even unintentional, blind-side hits. I also feel the message sent by the $100K fine to the Islanders and no similar penalty to the Penguins says the NHL in general and Colin Campbell in particular feel the instigator should indeed suffer significantly more than anyone else involved in a "hockey fight" or similar activities. To me that's not a good thing. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I'd like to see the instigator penalty abolished altogether. I'd also like to see the embellishment penalty be something that a referee cannot call if someone has been actually fouled. Please explain the logic to me of punishing someone for what you think is embellishment in the way they fall to the ice, after you agree they have been tripped, etc.? But I digress, I only think that if say in the first period, before the Islanders got up 6-0, the Islanders felt an appropriate player could go out on the ice and accost Talbot, have a really solid, knock down drag out Hockey Fight and not worry about an instigator penalty, perhaps and just perhaps, this entire game, especially the second and third periods might have been different and NOT have been such a chaotic "Cage Match/Rumble". Either that or maybe the league should forbid ANY player on an NHL roster from watching Ultimate Fighting.

In the meantime, the Caps are in action in Phoenix tomorrow night - LETS GO CAPS!!!!

Last Night Roundup: Caps 2 - Islanders 1; Fight - Fest in Philly; Marty Gets SO #114

So last night it was a 2 point night for the Capitals in Uniondale, NY in front of an announced crowd of only 9,119. That's a two point win that takes the Capitals road record this year to 10-9-3 or 0.523 hockey (vs. a home record of 16-5-5 or 0.716).

I must say I'm far less reserved in my thoughts about the Caps then many other blogger's this morning in the wake of the 2-1 victory over the injury riddled struggling Islanders. That's in large part that I've accepted that over the past 5 years or so regardless of where either team is when they meet each other, the Islanders play the Caps close, tight and very hard. So it just seems to me that no matter what Caps - Islanders games are usually close. I really think the Islanders "get up" for the Caps and I'll point to the fact that Rick DiPietro started and played the full game well last night against the Caps, despite the fact that he and the Islanders then indicated he was too sick (flu) and wouldn't even be getting on the plane for their trip to ---- after the game. Don't get me wrong I understand where folks like DMG over at Japer's Rink are coming from and can't even argue with this particular statement in his recap of the game:

An Islander defenseman breaks his stick on a shot from the point and lets the Caps get the puck out of the New York zone, his partner losing his footing and falls down on the backcheck, Rick DiPietro's forced to come and play the puck, shanking it to the most dangerous goal scorer of the past five years...and the end result is a penalty against the Capitals? Has any sequences summed up this season better than that one?

That said, the Caps are clearly once again on the road to a 100+ point season, and they are playing very responsible, sound defensive hockey. In fact of the 7 teams who woke up this AM with 60 or more points, the Capitals 125 GA/2.60 per game is fifth best and nearly tied with 3rd best Dallas (122, 2.596) and fourth best Philadelphia (124, 2.64). As some examples of the Caps defensive responsibility as Garret over at Puckhead's Thoughts noted after last night's game:

The Caps blocked 20 shots, including a whopping 7 shots stopped by Mike Green. They also had more take-aways than the Islanders 17-11. Carlson lead the Caps in that category with 4 TKs. The Caps PK was also top notch as they denied the Islanders a power play goal in six chances.

So my own bottom line on last evening's game is I thought it was a solidly played game by the Capitals for a couple of reasons:

1) They never trailed in the game.

2) The Caps played their game and played it well for all sixty minutes. After going out to a 2-0 lead the Islanders did get a quick goal to keep the game tight, but the Caps never looked like they were even considering leaving their game plan.

3) Call up Braden Holtby played very, very well in net for the Capitals. His 24 for 25 SOG, 0.960 SV% performance was a nice way for the 21 year old to get his third NHL win of the season.

4) The first line for the Caps was the first line, all night long. I'll admit that I wasn't sure if Jason Chimera would have the right chemistry with Ovechkin and Backstrom but at least so far his speed, skating ability, size and willingness to mix it up right in opposing goaltender's faces is bringing an even more "Knuble-esque" dimension to the duo then Knuble does. Also while we're at it, I know it was against an injury ridden Islander's team but the second line with Knuble on it is working better now too, when whichever young center (Perreault or Johannson) is on it, doesn't make rookie mistakes and take bad penalties.

5) Taking two points - on the road; and giving none to a Conference opponent. I could go on, I could qualify it with another "I know it's the Islanders and lots of them are hurt" etc. BUT that wouldn't change the fact that the game ended with two points for the Capitals and they earned them by playing solid, smart hockey.

Final item I'd like to note from last night is that John Erskine is clearly having the best season he's ever had as a Capital last night Erskine was questionable all the way up through the pre-game skate. When you look at the results at the end of the night on the stat sheet: 15 minutes and four blocked shots for the game. He did have a holding penalty.But last season he often didn't play 15 minutes on his better nights, yes I know Poti is out but right now I'd consider Poti #5 on the blue line depth chart anyway and even on nights like this in prior season's Erskine would rarely get 15 minutes if he was 100%. The caliber of his play has been raised and the confidence everyone especially himself and the coaching staff have in him is probably best shown by how he was used last night while he wasn't even 100% and everyone - including the opposing team knew that. Just sayin' that's all.

Lots of other good items noted and stats from the game in the recap by the master - Peerless over here.

Next up for the Caps will be the Maple Leafs in Toronto, tomorrow night at Air Canada Centre.


Elsewhere around the NHL last night:

The Flyers pasted a 6-2 beat down on the Ottawa Senators in a game where the Senators tried to keep things interesting and salvage some pride by getting physical with the Flyers. Umm really? seriously? You go into another team's building, get your butts kicked and then try and salvage some self respect by getting physical with against a team whose heritage includes the name Broad Street Bullies and you think this is going to play out well for you. I'd be guessing probably not and I think in retrospect, I'd be right. So from PuckDaddy here's the links to a couple of videos of fisticuffs in the so called "line brawl" in the third period. I'd argue the initial Giroux - Foglino bout wasn't as "clear" a win for Foglino as might be inferred from Wysh's choice of words and the Rutuu - Hartnell fight was no contest, Hartnell got a lot more licks in than he took; and the Shelly - Neil bout ends with Shelly clearly in total control and more than making up for the scant few punches Neil got in at first. A few other videos and descriptions of the fights are here at "The 700 Level" apparently none of the eight (8) goals scored in the game were near as interesting as the any of the five fights or the fact that combined both teams racked up 126 penalty minutes since the only place you see video around of those goals are the combined game highlights and there are numerous links to any one or more of the five fights. Yeah sure the league and others "wish" fighting would just go away and the only thing fans find interesting in hockey is goals being scored ... sure that's the way things are, just ask Gary...

In LA the Coyotes beat the Kings 2-0 and the Kings are still complaining about the first Phoenix goal. So here's my thoughts - I agree with the statement by Mike Murphy, the NHL's senior vice president of hockey operations, told FSN's Jim Fox that there was no conclusive replay that would have overturned the goal based on the replays posted on the interwebs. To me it's a call like the one where MAF robbed Mike Green of the OT winner against the Penguins here in DC. Was the call on the ice wrong, yeah probably. However, the video available for review wasn't adequate to overturn the call on the ice. That's hockey. Anyway did it matter? The Kings failed to score so the most accurate conjecture although you never know is that given how the rest of the game played out LA still would have lost 1-0 and taken their record in the last 12 games to 2-10-0. Bottom line really is when your team is going through a stretch like that you just have to make sure you don't grab onto any excuses and you take ownership of just making things happen to turn it around. Sure doesn't seem like that's a thought currently shared by King's GM Dean Lombardi who is being quoted on the call last night as saying:

Lombardi said, speaking of Murphy, "When the guy in Toronto making the decisions on the goals, in Ottawa and the one tonight, wanted the G.M.'s job in L.A. and was not happy about not getting it, you have to assume you are going to get those type of calls. However, we have put ourselves in a position where these calls have a monumental effect on our season, and we're going to have to find a way out of it ourselves."

Way to be the bigger man and lead, I thought "California Guys" were supposed to be all laid back and stuff even when they are being intense.

Final score in Pittsburgh last evening Devils 2 - Penguins 0. Sure the Pens were without the services of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin but hey 114 is a lot of shutouts and Marty is the current active leader in the category. Last night's SO was his fourth (4th) of the season - considering he has 9 wins the fact that 44.44% of his wins this season are by shutout would sort of say that even at age 38, this guy can and does still play the game at the NHL level and he's pretty darn good, wouldn't you be forced to agree. Especially given the way the team in front of him has had to play with what is basically a short bench while changing their system in front of him all season.

The Detroit Red Wings are working towards having Evgeni Nabakov back in the NHL and in front of the pipes for the remainder of the season. As soon as he clears waivers. Lots of speculation last night about that on Twitter but I agree with TSN's Bob McKenzie, odds are that Nabakov will in fact make it through and be guarding the net for Detroit. That's probably not great news for other teams who have their eye on the ultimate prize in Hockey and playing into late May and early June. However, as they say, that's why they play the games on the ice....

In other news my thoughts and my wish for a sound and speedy recovery go out to former Capital Tomas Fleischmann who had been on fire since joining the Avalanche in the trade that brought the Capitals Scott Hannan. Fleischmann's season has ended when two blood clots were found, one in his lungs. Flash had found new life in the Avalanche line up and the injury is yet another blow to Colorado who has been riddled with injuries all season. As many reading will recall, "Flash" missed Capitals' training camp a few years ago when he developed a blood clot when flying home after the Caps were defeated by the Penguins.

Finally before I close this post if you haven't seen what happened when news of the Winter Classic results reached "The Fuhrer" here's a glimpse from inside the brain trust sort of 24/7 like.... Wonder how he reacted when he saw Marty got his 114th SO at the expense of the Penguins, Bylsma is probably toast and already on his way to Stalingrad.....

LETS GO CAPS!!!

Checking In On The NHL With Just 10 Days Before the All Star Game

Well fellow Cap fans here we are on the precipice of the event which generally is used to mark the middle of each NHL Regular Season - the All Star break, even though in the Washington Capital's case they are now six (6) games past that actual point as are most other teams in the league as well. Today, Thursday, January 20th, 2011, the Caps are in the middle of a three game Eastern Conference road trip/swing before returning to Verizon Center to face the New York Rangers on Monday evening. Tonight the Capitals will face the New York Islanders in Uniondale and then they travel to Toronto to face the Maple Leafs on Saturday evening.

There's a great interview with Semyon Varlamov over at Japer's Rink and if you haven't read it you should. There were three of his answer's that really impressed me, they aren't fancy or wildly expressive, that's not the reason they impressed me. Here's the excerpts:

How did you get beat in overtime?

"Their defenseman rolled up to me and shot under my glove. I didn't have time to react."

In the last game against Ottawa the team started out down 0-1 but scored two goals in 45 seconds. Tonight you were down 0-2 and scored two goals in 40 seconds. What's going on with Washington?

"The fact that we are playing badly the first two periods. We aren't scoring. Only then do we start saving ourselves. We need to give it our all for the entire sixty minutes. We are constantly allowing the first goal. But this is a very powerful league. To fight back, you have to break through the other guy's defense-you have to put forth a lot of effort. It isn't always successful. So we need to score first and carry the game. Then everything will be okay."

What do you think of Sergei Bobrovsky and his debut season in the NHL?

"I know Sergei well, we ran into each other on the national team. Bobrovsky is having a great season. He's a great guy! If you make it to the NHL in your very first season you've already played 28 games, then that shows that the guy is talented and he works a lot on himself and his mistakes. And you can achieve a lot of success if you don't stop."

To a fair degree the answers to these three questions reflect a couple of things about Varlamov that make me like him even more and make me continue you think he could very well end up really being "The Guy" here in Washington. Those three things are: 1) mature intensity, no excuses about why he got beat on an OT goal, just a direct factual answer - but underneath I sense he's been looking at that goal in his mind and thinking about what he'd do differently next time so he would have enough time to react, 2) clear understanding that even as talented as he and the rest of the Caps are, they need to work ev ery minute of every game like they can be beaten, and 3) he doesn't measure himself against others, that's why he can be both brutally frank and still be happy to see another peer like Sergei Bobrovsky do well. Anyway tonight's goaltender match up is probably Varlamov vs. DiPietro though it is possible that the Capitals might start Braden Holtby who was just called up from Hershey, and the Isles may also be without "DP" as he didn't skate today and was listed as "sick" and I don't think that's in the good way like when Alexander Ovechkin often uses the word as slang, so Nathan Lawson may be in net for them. Tonight should mark the return of Kyle Okposo and Frans Neilsen to the Islander's lineup while it looks like former Capital Milan Jurcina will not be available. For whatever reason, it always seems like the Islanders play well and hard against the Capitals regardless of how the rest of their season is going, so let's hope that tonight is one of those night's where as Varlamov said, the Caps play solid hockey for all sixty minutes.

More on the current health situation and development of Neuvy and Varly from Katie Carrera of the WaPo here - it's an article worth the read IMHO.

So with four more games before the All-Star break, the Capitals find themselves with two goaltenders who could and hopefully will make good use of the break and in the thick of a tightening contest for superiority in the Eastern Conference - right now the only team of the top nine in the Conference with any "breathing room" are the Philadelphia Flyers who the Caps battled back against before ultimately succumbing in OT on Tuesday evening with a league leading 30 wins and 65 points. There are only nine (9) points separating the second place team in the Conference (really Pittsburgh with 62 points) and the 9th place Carolina Hurricanes with 50 points, additionally the 10th place Florida Panthers (46 points) and the 11th place Buffalo Sabres (45 points) also can't really be counted out since they have three games in hands (while the Hurricanes have two in hand) on the eighth place Atlanta Thrashers (53 points). The Capitals (58 points) are battling for first place in the Southeast Division with the Tampa Bay Lightning (59 points); while the Penguins (62 points) and the Flyers (65 points) are battling for first place in the Atlantic Division, though the third place New York Rangers (57 points) also aren't out of that hunt either. Rounding out the top nine teams in the Eastern Conference are the defensively stingy Boston Bruins atop the Northeast Division with 59 points in 46 games played and the 7th place Montreal Canadeans with 56 points in 47 games played. All in all the remainder of the season, as well as the few weeks remaining before the trading deadline should be very interesting to follow when it comes to the NHL's Eastern Conference - welcome to parity.

For the Capitals it all continues tonight in Uniondale ...

LETS GO CAPS!!!

Wow - Caps Win Back To Backs By A Combined Score of 12 - 3

Well as I note yesterday I was in Atlanta on business travel last night. It turned out, I couldn't catch last night's 5-1 victory over the Duck as the hotel I was in didn't get Versus and because the game was on Versus it was blacked out on GameCenter....crud. So I was reduced to checking the score periodically and reviewing the statistics, not the most exciting or interesting way to "watch"/follow Ice Hockey I assure you.


That said looking at those two items all you can say is ... wow! It's a great time to be a Caps fan.

Following last nights games, the Caps lead the Eastern Conference with 76 points and were 2 1/2 games ahead of the New Jersey Devils.

Also don't look now but so far this week, the Southeast Division teams are all playing well. Additionally Following tonight's games a lot of shuffling is getting ready to possibly happen in the Eastern Conference. The Ottawa Senators, like the Capitals, are on an eight game winning streak. In the Southeast Division, the Caps lead the second place Atlanta Thrashers by 20 points - that's 10 games. They lead the third place Florida Panthers by 21 points and the fourth place Tampa Bay Lightning by 22 points. However if the season ended today, there would be three Southeastern Division Teams in the playoffs as the current Conference standings look like this:

1st - Washington 53 games played; 76 points
2nd - New Jersey 52 games played; 70 points
3rd - Buffalo 52 games played; 69 points
4th - Pittsburgh 55 games played; 67 points
5th - Ottawa 55 games played; 64 points
6th - Atlanta 53 games played; 56 points
7th - Philadelphia 52 games played; 55 points
8th - Florida 53 games played; 55 points
9th - NY Rangers 54 games played; 55 points
10th - Montreal 55 games played; 55 points
11th - Boston 51 games played; 54 points
12th - Tampa Bay 52 games played; 54 points
13th - NY Islanders 54 games played; 54 points
14th - Toronto 54 games played; 44 points
15th - Carolina 53 games played; 43 points

That's right as of tonight the Capitals are in first (1st) place in the East, while the Thrashers are in sixth (6th) and the Panthers are in eighth (8th). Even more interesting is the current streaks, every team in the Southeastern Division has won the last two or more of their games and the Carolina Hurricanes are about to exit the conference cellar by virtue of winning their last three games. In their last 10 games, every team in the Southeast Division is 0.600 or better - when was the last time that happened? I honestly don't know, it may be a first.

In any case next up for the Capitals are the Florida Panthers tomorrow evening at Verizon Center. I will be watching from my sofa here in Bristow. It should be a good game as the Caps look to make it nine in a row while the FlaCats are looking for their third in a row. The two teams last met on January 13th in Sunrise, FL and the Caps won that one 5-4 in overtime. This is the final regular season meeting between the two teams and so far this season the Caps are 4-0 and have out scored the Panthers 23 - 11 (4-1, 7-4, 6-2 and 5-4 in OT ). In each of their games the Caps have scored 4 or more goals, an average of 4.6, against a team that has allowed an overall average of 2.91 goals against per game. Further over their last 10 games, the Caps are 9-1-0 have scored an average of 5.3 goals per game against a strong schedule while allowing their opponents to score an average of 2.6 goals. That's an average goal differential per game of +2.7 for the Caps. While the Panthers have won their last two games and are 6-2-2 in their last 10 games, during that stretch they've scored an average of 2.1 goals per game while allowing just 1.6. In fact the only team to score more than 3 goals against the Panthers during their month of January (their last 12 games) was the Capitals. The Panthers come into Verizon off a 2-1 win against the Canadiens in Florida on Tuesday, and they need the points more. However, as long as the Caps stay focused, and stick to their game plan, none of that will matter. The Caps should win the game.

Forecast: Caps 4 - Panthers 2; Winning goal: Backstrom

LETS GO CAPS!!!

Vindicated - - - - Haters; Caps 5 - Islanders 4 (SO), Semin Has Excellent Night...

Sorry for the delay in getting this posted and the relatively abrupt ending to this post...I've been interuppted in pulling it together about 20 times since Wed Night when I got hme from the game...



So first off, Wed night was a two point night for the Washington Capitals at the Verizon Center in another three point night kind of way. I haven't read the other blogs, or Tarik or Corey's blogs or articles, I haven't looked over the Caps press releases, etc. on the game, even now (Friday morning). I was there and have my own, likely slightly contrary views to some about the night. After all, I've never been in the closet about my support and opinions for the play and potential of Alexander Semin, or for that matter Jose Theodore and what I write here about both will be my own views, the views of a person wholly unqualified to make judgements, assessments or pronouncements. At least no more qualified than anybody else with the price of admission to a game and who prefers to spend a disproportionate amount of his disposable income/recreation budget on "those things hockey". Here's the game I was at.


Eight seconds in just finished putting my jacket on the back of my seat in Section 103 and BAM! Brendan Morrison takes the opening faceoff puts the puck onto the stick of Alexander Semin "the other Alex --- really "The Unfairly Maligned Alex" --- he shoots and HE SCCOOOOOORRREEES! Caps up 1-0. The look on Semin's face - relief; the look on Semin's mother's face in the row behind me as we all do high fives, joy.


Unfortunately a little less than a minute later, Islander Left Wing and leading goal scorer Matt Moulsen returned the favor scoring for the Islanders. Game tied 1 - 1 at the 1:02 mark of the period's after goal number 1 that Caps goaltender Jose Theodore would like back but that frankly he didn't get a lot of help on. Then at the 5:10 mark of the period, Islanders' defenseman Mark Streit helps press the attack and is rewarded with his third goal of the season on the the fourth shot of the game for the Islanders. Wow these guys are real sharpshooters; of course it would help if the Caps, including Jose Theodore weren't all collapsing back and giving them room to roam. Then at the 6:54 mark, Mike Green in one of those "high risk/high reward" things ends up on the "high risk" side of things and yields a 1-0 breakaway to Islander Left Wing Sean Bergenheim who skates in on a less than then fully confident Jose Theodore. Theodore backed into the net quickly instead of aggressively challenging the 25 year old Finn who fired his second goal of the season past the Caps goalie to put his team up 3-1 at that time. Bergenheim's goal ended Jose Theodore's evening as he was pulled in favor of rookie Semyon Varlamov having yielded 3 goals on 5 Islander shots at that point.


Coach Boudreau's decision at that time to change goaltenders seemed to have the desired effect, a frustrated netminder was replaced with a young, determined one and the team also seemed to tighten things up a little. Also Varlamov made some solid stops over the next 8 - 10 minutes and the Caps blue line corps let the Islanders know they weren't going to tolerate them running into the Caps' goalies all night. Things went back and forth while the Caps edged their shots on goal total up slowly until the Caps had a good shift penning the Isles into their end and drawing a holding penalty from J. Sim at 12:14. On the ensuing power play Tomas Fleischman once again showed us all he definately has a nose for the net and Nicklas Backstrom showed us he may well be the consumate playmaker in the NHL today with a solid primary assist on "Flash's" 6th goal of the season at the 13:42 mark of the period, narrowing the Islanders lead to one goal. From about the 10:00 mark on the Caps took it the Islanders and Isles goalie Dwayne Roloson kept the Isles in the hunt; while Varlamov kept the Isles stuck on "3"...


The second period started with Tim Jackman taking an interference penalty to give the Caps their second power play of the night. The Isles kille that Penalty off and things see-sawed with the Caps having the "control" edge throughout the first period but once again the Islaes gave the Caps a power play when Josh Bailey got called for interferance. This one provided Mike Green a stage on which to work and setup Alexander Semin who scored his second of the night and 9th of the season at the 5:35 mark of the period to knot the score at 3-3. After this goal, there was actually a lot more joy vs. relief on Semin's face. It bears mentioning as well that the setup by Mike Green was patented Green and was a display of superior skating ability by him all the way into the zone and around the net while Semin went to the nt and got open for the setup. And in case you were pondering the question the tally did mean the caps went 66.6667% on the power play for the game. After tying the game the Caps kept the pressure on but Roloson hung tough until the 16:46 mark of the second period when Eric Fehr notched his second goal of the season assisted by Captain Chris Clark and Mike Green (that was Green's 13th assist of the season). The second period ended with the Caps up 4-3.



For the entire third period the Caps played hard and seemed determined to make sure the game ended in regulation with a 5 or more goal victory (can you say Wings!?!) by Dwayne Roloson had other ideas and wwas unfathomable at times. The Caps also took three penalties in the third period. I presonally didn't really think the infractions were something that should necessarily have been called but when I think in this day's NHL when you are up you need to play unquestionably clean hockey else everything seems to go against you.

For all intents and purpooses from the 15:10 mark when Dave Steckel was called for holding until the 17:52 mark when T. Hunter put a laser just past Varly's glove the Caps were skating one man down and looked like they were going to hold off the Islanders and end this game in regulation. Alas that wasn't to be, Hunter's shot was a rocket, I'm not sure Varly saw it so much as was playing the angle properly and that's why he might possibly have stopped it if his hand wes 3 inches high. However th reulst was the third period ended with the score tied 4-4. Was that such a surprise? It was a Caps - Islanders game after all.

Overtime, once again if not for Roloson and a few fortunate bounces. During OT the Caps got off 4 shots 3 of which I'd call scoring chances. The Islanders had one (1) SOG. Victory wasn't to come for the Caps yet, on to the Gimmick, urrh I mean shootout.

For the Caps Backstrom shot wide;

For the Isles Tambellini nic move scored;

For the Caps Semin, sick move puts a backhander into the roof of the net on Roloson's blocker side and scores;

Isles' Tavares, wide of the net (was he trying to do "anything you can do I can do better with Backstrom perhaps?" My perdication - these two guys will be the acknowledged best centers in the league along with that Crosby kid, before long.)

Caps' Bredan Morrison wrister saved by Roloson;

Isles' Schremp backhand stopped by Varly - never a doubt...

Next fourteen more shooters (7 from each team) are basically denied by good goaltending, the only close one was Mike Gren hitting the TOP of the crossbar duirng round 7 of the shhotout.

Then the 21st shooter, Captain Chris Clark, having watched 9 of his teammates fail, came in and as soon as Dwayne Roloson gave him an opening, sent a nice, quick release snapshot past him to put the Caps ahead and the next Islander shooter on the hot seat. The final attempt of the shootout was made by Islanders defenseman Mark Streit and Semyon Varlamov was "having none of it" he snuffed out Streit's wrister with determination and celebrated by banging his stick on both posts. If he was Johnny Drama we no doubt would have heard him shout "VICTORY!!!" all the way down at our end of the VC in section 103.

It was a sweet game for me in many ways. I attended with a good freind from college and we had a pleaseant dinner catching up before getting to VC and we had a great time at the game. I shouted myself hoarse and I';m ready to do it again tonight. One of my three favorite Capitals - Alexander Semin - was vindicated (take that you haters -yeah!). It was a two point night, I'm still perplexed as to how the press decided to make Mark Streit and not Dwayne Roloson the third star of the game, I know Streit had a goal and an assist and was +2 on the night but Roloson stopped 37 of 41 shots (0.902) to give the Islanders a chance at two points, some of his saves were pretty incredible. For the Caps I think they got the right two guys listed as stars Varlamov and Semin and I really don't care which was listed as 1st and who was 2nd. Do I think Semin's 2 goals in regulation and shootout goal along with 11 SOG, 3 A/B and 1 missed attempt while staying well away from the sin bin will get people firmly off his case and behind him? No not really but I'm sure he feels at least a little vinidicated. Heck I would.

Now it's time to start thinking about tonight's game against the Wild - hey you dudes from Minnesota - we'll be there, we'll be there 18,277 strong Rocking the Red and cheering for our guys? You where will you be? In front of your TV's out in the cold land of 10,000 lakes eh? FYI it won't be much different here than there - projected temp and conditions in St. Paul, MN at 8PM CST is 49F and raining - but oh yeah, we'll be watching our guys in person. All joking aside the Caps will need to play disciplined hockey and I don't expect the over and under to be greater than 6 goals tonight if Caps are to win.

LETS GO CAPS!!!!

Another Not Very Pretty Two Point Night for The Capitals ...

The Capitals escaped from the Nassau County Veterans Coliseum tonight with two points. To be fair it wasn't too ugly a game but it wasn't pretty either - kinda like the picture i posted in it's honor. There were only three things that made the game a little ugly for the Capitals:

1) Faceoffs - the Capitals only won 30% of the faceoffs and there were a lot of them - 66 to be exact with the Capitals winning 20 and loosing 46 for the evening.

2) The powerplay was again toothless going 0-4 and once again gave up a short handed goal, a goal which for a long portion of the evening looked like it would be enough to get the Islanders their first regulation win of the season.

3) The Capitals were out played a lot of the time during the game, thankfully Jose Theodore, was solid in his return to the lineup.

During the first period the Caps were out shot by the Islanders 10 - 5; though the Caps did out shoot the Isles 10-4 in the second period, it sure didn't feel that way and at the second intermission the Islanders were still leading 1-0 on Radek Marinek's first period shorthanded tally. The the Islanders went up 2-0 on a nice tip-in by Jeff Tambellini at 3:44 of the third period, after the Islanders started the third period with an energy level that seemed to be directed at dispelling their own third period let down demons this season.

The reason I say the game wasn't very pretty vice being an "ugly" win is that the Caps, though clearly oft frustrated by the defensive style of play the Islanders played tonight, played their own disciplined game and stuck to the game plan. Ultimately things started to come into focus for the Capitals. First at the 6:02 mark Mike Green scored his second goal of the season - it was a nice slap shot and a goal scorer's goal. Then at the 13:08 mark an unlikely line combo and trio combined to tie the game at 2-2 when Kieth Aucoin scored his first goal of the season on a wrap around off an Islanders' skate assisted by Alexander Ovechkin and Jeff Schultz. The game picked up considerably and both teams had a couple more chances however the goaltenders - Jose Theodre and Dwayne Roloson rose to the occassion to ensure that each team came away from the game with at least a point. Then in overtime Brooks Laich got a tip in goal off a beautiful setup from Mike Green and Shoane Morrisonn. So lots to work on given the Islanders are currently 27th in the league overall standings. But, hey what's new - the Caps go to Uniondale and need Overtime to get two points, that was the story last year as well.

Also not sure if it's just my mood tonight or what but am I the only guy around who hates listening to Locker and Kokin call a game - like tonight when they talked about everything but the game which was in play for long periods of time during the second period....Oh and big news from HNIC (Hockey Night In Canada) surprisingly Don Cherry once again called out Alexander Ovechkin - since I haven't said it lately - I think Cherry is a joke and schmuck.

Next up the Flyers, Tuesday evening at Verizon Center. To be sure the Capitals will have to raise their level of play from where it's been the past couple of games. However, the Caps are now 6-2-2 since the season opener and have won their last 4 games. That's 0.700 hockey to start the season, and with a little luck Tuesday evening will see Alexander Semin's return to the lineup, and it seems that Mike Green is finding his game, and we're starting to see at least a little secondary scoring. Now if they can just settle down in the faceoff circle and get their power play at least halfway back on track, we'll be ready for the Flyers. The Flyers beat the Panthers 5-1 in Philly tonight and there will be some controversy surrounding the Mike Richards hit on David Booth from that game; they also face the San Jose Sharks tomorrow evening at home before having a day off between that game and coming to DC to take the Caps on at Verizon Center.

One last thing to note since I recently mused on the Jose Theodore vs. Christobel Huet discussion that dates back to the summer of 2008 - Huet blanked the Nashville Predators tonight at Chicago's United Center for his first shutout of the season. Chicago fans got their first real display of why Caps fans fell in love with him and why the Blackhawks are paying him $5.625M this year. He was pretty spectacular a couple of times during the third period which I watched on NHL Center Ice.

Well until the next time I get the urge to muse...

LETS GO CAPS!!!

A Quick Look At The Caps Scoring Machine As We All Get Ready For the Islanders Tonight...

Tonight the Caps take on the NY Islanders in Uniondale, NY. The Caps can't take things likely and it would really be "good" if they play all sixty (60) minutes tonight. True, on Thursday night the Caps left Atlanta with two points and gave the Thrashers none, and a win is a win... However, there were several areas where I'd bet everyone would like to see the Caps improve on things tonight. I suspect Jose Theodore will get the nod in goal for his first game back after being out injured. Whether Alexander Semin and/or Boyd Gordon return to the line-up remains to be seen as well. It's also unlikely the Isles will shut down either the Caps first line, Alexander Ovechkin, or the Caps power play unit if they give the Caps seven chances. However, the Caps will need to stay on their toes when they are on the man-advantage as the Isles have been known to score a "shorty" every now and then. To be sure, I don't think the Isles are as weak a team as their current record would otherwise suggest. Also, in today's NHL, even the worst team having a very good night can beat the best team having an off night. It probably would have been worth a ride up to NY to catch the game as looking at the attendance figures for the Isles first four home games so far this season, it looks like what the Caps used to get 4 years ago and good seats are probably still available and it's only a five hour drive. A solid contingent of loud Caps fans at the game might help keep the team focused and in the game all three periods - something that seemed to be an issue during the third period in Atlanta.

In light of Thursday's game in Atlanta, a lot of discussion about secondary scoring is being had by Caps fans and around the Caps "blogsphere". Secondary scoring has many definitions and the general consensus focus in the blogsphere is scoring by other than a team's top six forwards. I look at things a little differently - first I look at goals, not points; second I look at overall offensive strength - does a team have enough weapons so if an opponent focuses on shutting down a star or two a team still has enough weapons to really hurt them and still win. On both counts I respectfully submit, the Caps have not had a problem or issue at all this season. Thursday's game just proved that beyond a doubt.

Looking at the Capitals' "goal scoring machine" this is what you see:
1) Alexander Ovechkin on pace for an 82 goal season
2) Alexander Semin on pace for a 54 goal season
3) Brooks Laich on pace for 27 goals
4) Brendan Morrison on pace for 27 goals
5) Matt Bradley on pace for 27 goals
6) Mike Knuble on pace for 18+ goals but likely to get 20+
7) Nicklas Backstrom also 18+ goals but likely to get 20+

Five other players have also scored including Mike Green somewhat off his pace from last season but looking more and more ready to break out, as is Eric Fehr who after getting a late start to this season has looked great the past two games. The fact is that when teams other than the absolute elite like Pittsburgh or Detroit focus too much energy at shutting down the Caps first line, there are lots of guys on the roster capable of putting the "biscuit in the basket" with a goal scorers touch and with Knuble, Laich, Fehr and team Captain Chris Clark all exuberantly crashing the net there are at least four guys who don't mind putting up numbers by "taking out the garbage." Also we still haven't seen if this will be the year that Tomas Fleischmann breaks the 20 goal mark after he returns to the line-up, but he sure got close last season. Assuming Green also flirts with at least 20 goals that means the Capitals could easily have 8 - 10 guys with 20 plus goals this season. They were also on that same sort of pace on Thursday morning - scoring, especially the "lack of secondary scoring" isn't any sort of Achilles' Heel for the Caps. The thing that gets me excited is when they play as well as they can, they shut down opponents, to me the Achilles' Heel is they don't do that consistently.

Well I won't be driving up to Long Island later this morning - tempting as it may be. I'll be watching from my perch in the den here in scenic Bristow, VA...

LETS GO CAPS!!!

My 2 Cents This AM on The Coyotes, The Islanders, and The Lightning

Okay instead of something about hockey, the really interesting part of ice hockey you know players, skating, statistics, etc. - since I got nutin' on that stuff - today if you read further your gonna get a couple of my quick thoughts on the business of hockey as it has to do with 3 teams in the news lately.

First the Phoenix Coyotes, Hockey Blog In Canada has the answer - REALLY - this is the answer if the NHL Board of Governors really doesn't want Jim Balsillie to buy the team, the league should enter and win the action. I find the NHL's current 26 page motion to me must be a real stretch and pretty ludicrous. I haven't read it but I'll take a guess it consists of 2 major parts: Part 1) 6 - 10 pages on how Jerry Moyes, like every other owner, committed when he bought the team to only convey ownership (full, partial or controlling) to persons or legal entities pre-approved by the NHL Board of Governors, and Part 2) the remaining 16 - 20 pages with numerous details, provided in first person deposition form, by members of the current Board of Governors, about their interactions and business dealings with Balsillie related to his prior 2 attempts to get a hold of an NHL team and why that has led to the unanimous rejection of his current application as an unfit member of "their club". I don't see how the Judge does anything but look on this motion the same as he has looked at the NHL's blackballing of Mr. Balsillie in the past - not at all in the interest of the Coyotes creditors - unless there are some first hand accusations, with some substantiating evidence, that Balsillie's prior actions were in some way illegal. Since that's probably not the case then I say that HBIC has it right, the NHL needs to buy the team, exit it from Bankruptcy and then sell it to someone it can work with. I bet if they did that, they would want more from the Reinsdorf's then is currently on the table, they also would probably be open to moving the team, though probably not to Southern Ontario. Just my 2 cents on that one this morning.

On the Islanders and the Lighthouse Project, here's my 2 cents. I've lived on Long Island several times in my life for a total of 12 years, I've been to the Nassau Coliseum, in early days when it wasn't old and decrepit and more recently. I frequently stay right next door to it at the Marriott, Uniondale when I have business trips to the area. My 2 cents is while not totally in line with all the "Just Build It" crowd --- "Just Build It" Expedite the environmental impact studies, do what you have to do on both sides to make that happen - if that means breaking the project and the reviews into phases then do it, but it needs to happen and there is no reason not to build it. The current site is old, dated, and really not at all aesthetically pleasing or a modern suburban vista in any way, shape or form. As for the idea there are too many teams in the area with the Devils, Rangers, and Bruins as well as the Islanders in the region - that's stupid too. The population base is big enough to support all those teams, and the AHL teams that are in between NYC and Boston (Bridgeport & Providence). The markets are segmented enough that there isn't an issue either. The Islanders have been a good franchise and will be in the future, they need a new arena and another draft or two like they had this summer and they'll be back in fine form. Now about their never ending quest for a cool logo...probably not gonna happen. Just my 2 cents "on dat one."

How about this news - per the Saint Petersburg Times (Damien Cristodero) "The NHL apparently has decided the Lightning's ownership situation is unsustainable and set up a process in which squabbling co-owners Len Barrie and Oren Koules can buy each other out.
Barrie has the first shot in an exclusive 60-day window that apparently runs out in mid to late September. If Barrie fails, Koules gets his chance. " You have got to be kidding me, these guys somehow managed to get together, work together through the process of buying an NHL Franchise and now they are "squabbling" so much and it's adversely affecting the team to the point the league feels they need to step in and help facilitate a peaceable separation. Guys - grow up, play nice and keep your investment moving forward. Talk about high school shenanigans...jeez. Just my 2 cents.

Last thoughts, doesn't reading this and thinking about silliness like this long for some real hockey news? I mean sports and following the NHL in general and the Caps in particular is my escape from "real life" business, etc. I for one am just at the point I'd love for the Caps to even manufacture some news. Maybe OV will do another interview or something...anything besides stuff like this. If we can't have any real hockey news, maybe we'll get lucky and they'll find some pics of Bettman dressed in WWII German uniforms like that FIFA guy or something... how about it photoshoppers?

In the meantime, I put up another gratuitous cheesecake picture of a former hockey babe just... well ... just because I got nutin' and I figured it's sort of a thank you for working with me while we get through these dog days of summer. Besides, seeing what Anna Kourikova has been up to lately is at least as hockey related as reading a deposition related to the Coyotes Bankruptcy Proceedings, and hey I'm still missing Sergei Federov, though B-Mo is a good pickup.

I can't wait till training camp....

LETS GO CAPS!!!

Let's Hope for No April Fools Day Letdowns - A Lookahead to onight In the NHL

First things first, Caps Fans like me will be watching, or better yet, at tonight's game at Verizon Center where the Eastern Conference 2nd place Capitals take on the 15th (last) place NY Islanders. There's some good pre-game analysis and prognostication already available online thanks to The Peerless and a nice summary by Reed-CK of Capitals Kremlin. Reed's sentiment's: "The key to tonight's game will be focus, not just because the Capitals should easily walk over this Islanders club, but because a momentarily lapse of focus could turn an easy win into a disappointing loss" capture mine very well too. For some reason the Caps haven't had the easiest of times in their recent games against the Islanders, despite holding a 3-0-0 lead in the season series this year. The Islanders have managed to take the Caps to overtime in each of the last two meetings and will be looking to not be swept tonight. Both statistically and because of injuries and trade deadline moves, the Capitals are stronger in every category than the Islanders team they will face tonight. The Islanders are no higher than 12th in the league in any major statistical category and in most categories are in the bottom third in the league. However as their last two meetings against the Capitals show, that's why they play the games on the ice. The Capitals are coming off of four days rest and hopefully the Capitals "Flu Epidemic has run it's course. According to Tarik over at his WaPo Capitals Insider Blog, Mike Green is set to play after battling it, and Kieth Aucoin and Simeon Varlamov have been recalled from the Hershey Bears for tonight's match up. Aucoin will be in for an injured Donald Brashear who is still recovering from a sprained knee. No word on the started in goal but after four days rest you have to believe it will be Jose Theodore in net for the Caps and Varly backing him up as Brent Johnson is still on IR from his hip surgery. The Capitals "Magic Number" to lock up the Southeastern Division is 3, a win tonight gets them 1/3rd there. See you at Verizon tonight when it's time to Rock the Red.... just keep thinking

LETS GO CAPS!!!!!

Elsewhere around the league there are five other games to be thinking about as the drive for the playoffs continue and just 5 points separate 4th place from 9th place in the Eastern Conference, and 6th place from 9th place in the Western Conference. For the Capitals and we Caps fans, who now sit just one point in front of the New Jersey Devils in the standings, thanks to the continuation of their recent loosing streak at the hands of the Rangers on Monday night, in addition to urging the Caps to victory against the Islanders, we'll be watching Devils at the Penguins. as the Devils try and halt their loosing streak at five against a hot Penguins team who now seem focused on making another run deep into the playoffs. In other Eastern Conference action 10th place Buffalo, who hasn't given up hope of the playoffs yet, basically have a must win game against a resurgent 13th place Atlanta team; and 4th place Philadelphia hope to keep the heat on the Devils for the Atlantic Division crown by beating the 12th place Maple Leafs in Toronto tonight. In Western Conference action the the red hot Saint Louis Blues who have won five in a row travel to Chicago to take on the 5th place Blackhawks who have lost their last two; and in a battle for pride the 14th place Phoenix Coyotes visit the 15th place Colorado Avalanche. A win in Chicago would vault the Blues into 7th place, 1 point ahead of both Anaheim and Nashville in a 3 way dogfight for the last two playoff spots in the West.

Wow....when was the last time as a Caps fan you ever saw yourself rooting for the Rangers and the Penguins to win in a span of less than a week?

I just wish I didn't have so much going on at work right now so I could think about this some more but it's time to get to work now... And just because I never seem to tire of sayin it...

LETS GO CAPS!!!!

Fixing A Goof Up & A Look Ahead to Today's Game Against The Islanders

So somehow my post on the Caps - Bruins game got lost in the ether, no doubt cockpit error on my part so here it is in condensed form edited slightly to fix the tense now that it is two days late...

Saturday night the Capitals beat the Boston Bruins and gained two points on the league and conference leading boys from Beantown. It was a tightly played game in front of a raucous, sellout crowd that had all the elements of playoff hockey that are humanly possible for a game in January. The key matchups were as expected and despite Boston's very large and skillful defenseman Zdeno Chara keeping the Great Eight - Alexander Ovechkin contained for much of the game, the Capitals won. They won simply because the Caps won all the other key matchups, not by a tremendous amount, but they did win them decidedly. The end result is it was a two point night and the Capitals won their second game in a row.

In goal Jose Theodore played a very solid game as did Tim Thomas of Boston. Theodore stopped 23 of 24 shots and had a save percentage of 0.958 including several key stops that kept the Capitals tied or ahead. Thomas stopped 28 of 30 shots for a save percentage of 0.933 including a couple ones where he robbed the Capitals. Thomas and the Bruins did get on gift when Ovechkin fanned on a wide open right side of the net - something Caps fans aren't likely to see occur again too often over the next 12 years. However, neight he nor probably anybody else saw the slapshot that resulted in the game winning goal by Alexander Semin in the third period. The other two goals were scored on the powerplay the first by Boston's Marc Savard at the 1:49 mark of the second period to give Boston their first and only lead of the game.

Fortunately for the Capitals the Bruins lead lasted only 1:10. At the 2:42 mark of the second period Matt Lashoff was whistled off for his second minor penalty of the game. The Caps went on the powerplay and just 17 seconds later Michael Nylander found a wide open Mike Green who was pinching in as he often does. Green put the puck past Thomas into the top shelf left side of the net to tie the game back up for his 12th tally of the season. In the end Jose Theodore kept pace with the sizzling hot Tim Thomas and the "Young Guns" didn't get frustrated by the well executed 4-1 trap the Bruins often employed throughout the night. Every game with a team in front of you in the standings mattered and it was important the Capitals used the home ice advantage and the current situation with Boston's injury depleted roster. The associated Press' three stars of the game were: 1st: Alexander Semin; 2nd: John Erskine; 3rd: Tim Thomas. The Bruins will be the Caps first game after the All-Star break when the two teams meet again on Tuesday the 27th in Boston.

The Capitals next have back to back road games between now and the All-Star break. The games are against two teams that are struggling and desperate for wins: the New York Islanders and the Ottawa Senators. They face the Islanders today at Nassau Coliseum at 2PM in a matinee game. The Islanders have struggled with injuries to key players, particularly star goaltender Rick DiPietro all season and are at the bottom of the league standings with an overall record of 12-29-4 for 28 points. The Isles home record is at 7-12-2 and they are 1-8-1 in their last ten games. By all measures the Caps should win this game without too much trouble. The Capitals lead this season's series 2-0-0, having won the first meeting between the two teams 5-2 at Verizon Center on 12/4 and then outlasted a comeback attempt by the Islanders and win 5-4 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum on 12/16.

As always though there are some variables that make this game interesting and could get in the Caps way. Per Tarik El-Bashir, Capitals Captain Chris Clark and Boyd Gordon will return to the lineup this afternoon. Backup goaltender Brent Johnson is a scratch with an injury he sustained in practice last week so the Capitals have recalled Darren Machesney from Hershey. No word on whether "Cheeser" or Jose Theodore will start for the Caps this afternoon yet, nor why it was Machesney vice Simeon Varlamov who went 2-0-0 in the two starts he's made so far this season that was recalled. To make room for Clark and Gordon, the healthy scratches will likely be Eric Fehr and David Steckel.

In addition to the injuries and shuffling on both benches, there's also the fear the Caps will have a let down after beating the Bruins, the one team they really need to beat more than any other right now in the standings, last Saturday. Hopefully, the Capitals will be pros who want to go into the All Star Break riding a 4 game winning streak and no one is taking the Isles lightly. The Islanders still have several guys who can hurt anybody on the scoreboard. This is after all the NHL and that's why they play the games on the ice not via a computer simulation.

Prediction Caps take this game 5-3. Just fifteen minutes till the puck drops...

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