Update Decision 2008 Results Tracking: Theodore vs. Huet 2010

I've admitted it before I'm a guy who won't let some things go ... But like I've said, when I as part of a fan base, indeed a city's metropolitan area embrace a guy and he spurns us when our team, yes I'm a little bitter. I understand that in the end Christobel Huet ended up with basically $11 million reasons to make the decision he did, so I don't really have any bitterness towards him on a personal level. I mean it's not the Jaromir Jagr thing where the Caps had to pay him to play for the Blueshirts. No at this juncture, I really bring this subject up regularly because there seem to be people here in the DC fan base who still haven't "cottoned" to Theo. I on the other hand have liked and been rooting for him since he arrived. For two reasons I think he's a good player and I think the deal made for him was the absolute right one given the decision confronting Dick Patrick, GMGM, BB and the rest of the Capitals Hockey Operations staff at the time. So I track the results and play of both players since the deal. I've been thinking of adding tracking of Nickolai Khabibulin's performance this season to this whole set of data but since I'm trying to not make this a personal thing, I decided that would just be rubbing it in to Chicago fans. [Khabibulin is in the first year of a 4 year $3.75M/year deal at Edmonton after being basically let go by the Blackhawks in favor of Huet who is now in year 2 of a 4 year $5.625M/year deal in Chicago, last off season.] In any case since some of the Caps fan base continues to wonder if we made the right choice; I continue feel a need to present the facts at hand, and ensure the record on the matter is straight.

Through the first 9 games of the season:

Capitals & Theodore:
Team Record: 5-2-2; GF: 34; GA: 28 (+6)
Jose Theodore's Numbers: GP:6, Record: 1-2-2, 13 GA; GAA: 2.67, SV% 0.910
Salary & Cap Hit 2009-2010:
Next Season: UFA
Theo's Career NHL Regular Season Numbers: 507 GP; GAA: 2.67, SV% 0.908

Blackhawks & Huet:
Team Record: 5-3-1; GF: 31; GA: 26 (+7)
Christobel Huet's Numbers: GP: 6, Record: 2-2-1, 17 GA; GAA: 3.25, SV% 0.844
Salary & Cap Hit 2009-2010: $5.625M
Next Season: $5.625M 2010-2011; $5.625M 2011-2012
Huet's Career NHL Regular Season Numbers: 230 GP; GAA: 2.47, SV% 0.914.

So as relatively quiet as Theo's season start has been the numbers still point to the fact the Caps made the right choice summer before last. Theo, though out for a couple of games with injury and a solid but unspectacular record to date this season, is playing on par with his career numbers and on par or better then the numbers he put up the season before the Caps signed him to his $4.5M/year deal as a free agent. My feeling is the basis for deciding a player was worth the salary you offered them in free agency being three things: 1) their career historical performance; 2) their performance the prior season or two, and 3) the size of the available free agent pool at their position that particular off-season and the comparative numbers of the others in the pool. So I feel that when you look at Theo's or Huet's current performance vs. Salary and Cap hit it's fair to look at those things. Comparatively, Huet at $5.65M per year through 2011-2012 is looking like a worse and worse deal for the Blackhawks. so far this season Huet is playing significantly below his career GAA and SV% numbers, as well as his numbers during 2006-2007 in Montreal and 2007-2008 in Montreal and Washington. Apparently lots of folks around the Blackhawks agree as there is a growing "goalie controversy" there while there seems to be a subsiding one here in DC.

Just my thoughts on the subject - apparently we'll have an additional data point of sort on both these guys after tonight's games though.

I'm not rooting for or against Christobel Huet, unless he's facing off against the Capitals or a couple other teams from around the league I adopt now and then; I am rooting for Jose Theodore to be sure, though...

THE - O! ... THE - O!! ... THE - O!!! [Just Rockin' Some More Red]

LETS GO CAPS!!

Reflections on Last Night's Game and the Road Ahead for the Capitals (along with a little bit of a rant)

Well as usual The Peerless beat me to the punch with a great post on last night's game. It was everything, good and bad that he said it was here.

Before getting into the thoughts about the Caps perfromance last night, an item of note about Jamie Heward , this from Tarik El-Bashir's Blog: "Update: *Just got off the phone with Lightning PR director Jay Preble who said Jamie Heward has been released from Sibley Memorial Hospital with a concussion and is on his way back to Tampa Bay. He is expected to land in Florida this afternoon." That seems indeed good news, especially for this blogger and the other 18,000+ hushed fans at Verizon Center last evening.

Now back to the regularly inteded blog. It has indeed become a season where "good is not good enough," for as last night was a clear two point night, in that the Capitals never trailed and a 2 point win wasn't in doubt for more than 2 or 3 minutes at a time, the Capitals have now transcended to a much higher level of hockey than they ever achieved or many, including this writer, ever thought during the so called rebuilding years. This year the Caps are generally playing excellent hockey, so much so, that during those periods of a game when they are not, you notice it, even, perhaps especially, when the opposing team is also not playing great hockey. Last night was one of those games. The Caps won by three goals, "going away" and never trailed, but because they have now conditioned us to expect great hockey, you notice when they don't play at or near their potential. For example, the whole team seemed pretty flat the last half of the second period, sure it's hard to stay driven and "into it" when you are up by such a margin and it seems like you can't loose, but guess what, it's the NHL and you can - didn't you watch the Winter Classic? And while it was great to see Sean Collins get his first NHL goal and on the score sheet go +/- even, if you watched the game you noticed that his miscues resulted in two Lightning goals. That's not to say the 25 year old rookie is the first,nor will he be the last, NHL caliber defenseman to have his pockets picked by Martin Saint Louis and Vincent Lecavalier. I bring it up to highlight the level of play, we all have come to expect from the Capitals, every game, regardless of who is or is not in a particular game's lineup. It's really pointless whether or not, we the fans, now expect the Caps to play near perfect hockey and strive for perfection every night. The teams setting the standard in the NHL are the ones driving the Capitals to do so; the Caps have a goal this year, it's the goal every professional sports team should have. At the risk of superstition, I'll say it - to win the Stanley Cup Championship. You have to know and believe it is the same goal shared by 29 other teams and the same goal that at least ten other NHL teams are thoroughly convinced is possible.

Who is setting the bar now, well here's the top 10 teams in the NHL based on the results of the last 10 games:

1) Boston Bruins/10-0-0 (1.000 hockey)

2) Washington Capitals/9-1-0 (0.900 hockey)

3) Chicago Black Hawks/8-2-0 (0.800 hockey

4) San Jose Sharks/6-1-3 (0.750 hockey)

5) Calgary Flames/6-1-3 (0.750 hockey)

6) Detroit Red Wings/6-3-1 (0.650 hockey)

7) Montreal Canadeans/6-3-1 (0.650 hockey)

8) Philadelphia Flyers/6-3-1 (0.650 hockey)

9) Columbus Blue Jackets/6-3-1 (0.650 hockey)

10) Dallas Stars/6-3-1 (0.650 hockey).

So if you think you've been watching some of the best hockey played in the NHL of late, you're probably correct.

A final "heart warmer" for other Caps fans who felt unjustly spurned and used in June when the Blackhawks picked up Christobel Huet. From James Mirtle's blog on the Winter Classic comes this subtle reference (my emphasis added): "The best part if you're a new Blackhawks fan? While the team (Blackhawks) was outplayed in this one, mostly in goal, this is the tip of the iceberg for this group, and there's a very real possibility they'll be a contender over the next few years." So as I told the two overly smug Red Wings fans (who wears Redwings sweaters to a Caps - Lightning game anyway - do they think that is "Rockin' the Red"?) that were in section 103 with wingman and I, I'm happy with Theodore. Of course the guy wearing the Yzerman Jersey thinks that the other goalie (yes he plays goal so he's an expert) in his beer league has "better form," his words I kid you not, than Theodore.

Now I ask your indulgence and for you to please excuse the following rant, however one of the most disturbing things for me of late is to continue to hear folks "worry" about Jose Theodore and/or continue to second guess the Capitals goaltending situation. I feel it does three egregious things: i) trivializes the great team (including the goaltenders) effort that has resulted in a great start to the season, ii) fails to take into account that the current situation was not one of first choice for the Caps organization, and iii) really fails to recognize that goaltending hasn't been too much of an issue despite a game of total musical chairs on the blueline due to injuries for over the past 7 weeks. First and foremost, let's review the bidding on the Capitals choices re: netminder at the end of last season and how things look after three months of the 2008-2009 season are in the bag.

As of yesterday afternoon had the Caps gone for a 3 year/$5.5+M deal they MIGHT have had Christobel Huet in the net as their number 1 goaltender this season; Huet's numbers with the Blackhawks to date are as follow. The 33 year old French-Canadian netminder is 9-6-3 with 1 shutout, a GAA of 2.55 (17th in the league) and a save percentage of 0.910 (tied for 21st) in 18 games played. These numbers (save percentage and GAA) are slightly below his career NHL regular season numbers of 0.918 and 2.44 in 201 games played. Last regular season he played a total of 52 regular season games for the Caps and Canadeans, the most he's ever played since entering the league. He's been in the playoffs twice (2006 and 2008) in both instances he took his team into the second round but not beyond; his career playoff save percentage matches his regular season numbers of 0.918. In brief, he was and is a solid NHL netminder but NOT someone you'd want to overspend on nor one you could likely build a team around for the long haul from a proven talent perspective. Ask yourself this. Had the Capitals spent an extra million this season for Huet and also gone for the extra million for next season, AND agreed to give him a contract one year longer than they gave Jose Theodore, do you think their record would be better than it's current 25-11-3? Would they be on par with Boston's pace? As data for making your choice of answers A or B consider this - Of the Capitals 11 losses only 3 are by one goal and only 2 are by two goals, the remaining 6 are by 3 or more goals. So even if you feel Huet would have been the difference in a game you could only reasonably feel he would have won a maximum of 8 more games than Johnson and Theodore, if he were superhuman - being reasonable and assuming he is an almost mere mortal, NHL starting goaltender as his current rankings would suggest call it 4 games and give the Caps 8 more points maximum and he still isn't the silver bullet to overtake the freight trains that are Boston and San Jose in the standings.

So how does the Theodore pickup look right now anyway? The thirty two year old French-Canadian netminder is: 12-6-1, with 1 shutout, a GAA of 3.08 (36th) and a save percentage of 0.889 (39th) in 22 games played so far this season. Okay, he got off to a very rocky start and he does need to show consistency. The solid netminding of his last four games have been well chronicled elsewhere, but what hasn't been discussed much is the comparison of potential and the value of having been there before. As well as the value of wanting to be here versus the apparent fact that Huet realy didn't care that much where he played his next three seasons after last year. Theodore's career regular season numbers are a save percentage of 0.908 and a GAA of 2.68 in 466 games; he has played over 60 games in two seasons and over 50 in three others, his numbers are better in seasons where he has played over 50 games. In 47 career playoff games his GAA is 2.76 and his save percentage is 0.914. He's been through the second round of the playoffs and into the third before and his career statistics indicate two things: a) he gets better as the season goes on and b) even more importantly he clearly elevates his game come playoff time. All for $1M less a season than Huet and for a contract term the Capitals wanted for their goaltender. So yes i) rocky start, ii) improved play of late, iii) so far three more wins in four more starts than Huet, and iv) wants to be here and seems committed to the system - so far no prima donna stuff over the goaltender rotation or play when your hot stuff though to be fair this seems to be the case for Huet and Khabibuhlen in Chicago as well, and v) the Capitals have $1M more of Cap space then they would have had.

How about Brent Johnson, how's that guy look? Well, funny you should ask, he looks pretty good compared to both these guys too. So far this season the thirty one year old American netminder is: 11-5-2, with no shutouts, a GAA of 2.61 (22nd) and a save percentage of 0.913 (15th) in 19 games played. All for more than $4.6M less than Huet and $3.6M less than Theodore. Johnson, like Theodore has been a little inconsistent, and of late hampered by a nagging hip injury but he has been one of several feel good stories for the Capitals. His career numbers also compare favorably with Huet's both in tenure and results. Over a ten NHL season career that started in Saint Louis in the 1998-1999, "Johnnie" is 110-93-13-12 with a GAA of 2.62 and a save percentage of 0.903 in 245 regular season games; his career playoff numbers are 5-6 with a GAA of 1.84 and a save percentage of 0.931 in 12 playoff starts he took the Blues through the first round and into the second round of the 2001 - 2002 season. The only "knock" of sorts against Johnson is he is basically untested over the long haul as a workhorse goaltender, the only season he's played more than 50 games was the 2001-2--2 season with Saint Louis. He is a consummate team player and a solid citizen on the ice, in the dressing room and in the community. The biggest challenge for the Caps with Johnson at the end of this season will be affording him if he keeps his level of play up to where it has been so far this year. His play so far has enabled the Capitals to have a 1A/1B situation in goal and it seems that both he and Theodore get along as well as he and Kolzig did in the past. Another plus for Caps fans to note about "Johnnie" is that while like Huet he has limited (less than 15 games) playoff experience, like Theodore, he clearly elevates his game in the playoffs. All for a bargain basement price of less than $900K against the salary cap this season.

Next up the blueshirts, the New York Rangers, at Verizon Center on Saturday evening, I'll be watching from the couch as Tom has the tickets to this game since growing up he was a Ranger fan. I don't know who he'll be rooting for but I'll be hoping the Caps make it six in a row and find themselves at six points ahead of the Rangers at the end of the evening's contest.

LETS GO CAPS !!!!!

Sometimes I'd Rather Be Lucky Than Good

As part of reviewing my time here in the blogsphere, I went back to look over my posts to see where I got comments. Interestingly, I did a post on the Ottawa Senator's firing John Paddock where I digressed and made a prediction that Christobel Huet would get signed to a 4 year $20 million deal. Of course numerous aspects of that prognostication were incorrect, however at the time I looked at 4 things to estimate Huet's future value - 1) the limited number of goalies that would be entering the free agent pool at the end of the season; 2) Huet's age and his desire to get a contract that would take him as long at a number 1 goaltender's salary; 3) Huet's save percentage both career and season long till that point in February; and 4) the amount of money/budget I projected the Caps would be willing to spend on their next year's #1 goaltender. While many aspects of my thinking were off by a little (the Capital's budget) to a lot (where Huet would ultimately sign - Chicago vice Washington), the bottom line value and term of the contract I predicted were pretty close. While at the time I was questioned by some, and at the time Huet had not had the end of season run he ultimately put together, I maintain that the overall market conditions (the limited number of proven #1 goaltenders available) were as much a reason and in fact the over-riding reason that he got the deal he did.

Ironically, Chicago wasn't a team, that back in February, you would have predicted was in the market for a new number 1 goaltender. Nickolai Khabibuhlan is still listed on the Blackhawk's website as their number 1 tender, last year he was 23-20-6 in 50 games played with a Save % of .909 and a GAA of 2.69. While his statistics were in the lower third of goaltenders (GAA - 23rd and Sv% - 25th), given the young team in front of him and especially the young defense, and the fact that his $6.75M salary cap hit comes with a no trade clause it was difficult to see Chicago taking a run at Huet. Huet's stats for last year were a Save percentage of 0.920 (6th in the league) and a GAA of 2.32 (10th in the league) in 52 regular season games played. However in the 39 games he played in Montreal last year he was 21-12-6 with a GAA of 2.55 and a SV% of .916 (in his 13 regular season games with the Capitals he was on fire at 11-2 with a GAA of 1.63 and a save percentage of .936). A couple of off hand observations follow. Is Khabibuhlan worth $6.75M/season? Maybe not right now but career statistics-wise, Khabibuhlin has played in 636 games over 11 seasons and is 274-258-58-17 with a save % of .908 and a GAA of 2.69. These totals include his last three seasons in Chicago during a rebuilding period which actually pull down his career overall numbers. Huet's career statistics: 183 games in five NHL seasons, a record of 83-61-11-13 with a GAA of 2.43 and a save % of .918 in the regular season. Next season the Blackhawks will pay him $5.625M, as they will for each of the next four seasons, he is currently 32 years old. So who should be the Blackhawks number 1 goaltender in 2008 - 2009 and why? From my perspective, it needs to continue to be Nickolai Khabibulin because of the statistics NOT listed above - he has 57 games of playoff experience and a Stanley Cup compared to Huet's 13 games and never getting past the first round. Also when you discount Huet's time last season with the Capitals, Khabibulin's numbers for 2007-2008 are pretty comparable to Huet's with Montreal. Bottom line is during the first third of this coming season, Christobel Huet needs to show the coaching staff and fans in Chicago that he is capable of consistently playing at the level he played from February through April. If he does that his signing by the Blackhawks will be lauded, if he doesn't well .... that sort of stuff will all go the other way.

If your still not glad that the Washington Capitals have a straightforward goaltending situation at the start of the season, led by a number 1 goaltender who wants to be here, and a solid, experienced backup; well you should be. Also of note is that Chicago's budget for their number 1 and 2 goalies $12.375M, Washington's budget for the same roster slots: $5.312M. Comparatively, the Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings #1 & #2 goaltenders will earn $2.167M this coming season; last season's Vezina Trophy winner Martin Brodeur will make $5.2M and the New Jersey Devils will spend $5.87M on goaltender salaries next season. In general most teams are spending between $5 & $7.5M of their available salary cap on goaltender salaries, IF they have one of the top 10 goaltenders on their roster. Of course with their current crop of young talent at forward, Chicago has some salary cap room to spare and can carry an extra goaltender through this next season if they so choose. However, that space quickly evaporates at the end of this season as they will need to plan for the looming Restricted Free Agency of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. All in all, the Capitals situation looks much better when it comes to managing their talent pipeline and salary cap over the next few years than the young and talent rich Blackhawks.

Can't wait till next season. LETS GO CAPS!!!! But for now it's time to get back to work on this lovely, hot Sunday afternoon.

Relief and Surprise!!!!

Caps Sign Mike Green and Jose Theodore

It's been a day so far. The Washington Capitals first signed Mike Green to a four year $21 million dollar contract and then inked a two year deal with one of the better Unrestricted Free Agent Goalies on the market - Jose Theodore reportedly for 2 years at $4.5M per year. This should work out fine for the Capitals and I believe is a good deal by GM George McPhee and crew, they must have felt they were not getting anywhere fast on a key element of negotiations with Cristobel Huet's camp - likely either the dollars or the contract term. Clearly, the amount seems fair given the fact that only Theodore, Olie Kolzig, and Huet are proven, work-horse number 1 Goalies in the UFA market and Kolzig probably wasn't an option and is rumoured to be well along in negotiations with Tampa Bay. The next viable option would be Ty Conklin though he has yet to have an entire solid season behind himself and has little playoff experience.

These deal looks to me to give the Caps most of, if not all the room they'll need to keep the current team, with the possible exception of Matt Cooke together for next season.

Can't wait till next season. LETS GO CAPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Huet's Price Going Up? Flyers Down Habs 6 - 4 To Take Series

Well I was watching the Flyers-Canadeans Game 5 and the Flyers had just pulled ahead of the Habs 4-3 at the end of the 2nd period. Carey Price had just let two Flyers goals get past him that he'd probably like to have back and I can't help but wonder what this all is doing to the likely "price" it'll take for the Capitals to resign Christobel Huet. Throughout tonight's game Cary Price didn't get a lot of help in front but his glove side looked very vulnerable throughout the entire Flyers series. The other thing going against Price is that at the other end of the ice Martin Biron continued to play excellently throughout the series.

The Canadeans came out in the third period and tied the game before the Flyers took the lead again at 16:56 on a textbook tip-in by Scottie Upshall on a Jeff Carter shot from the point through a crowded slot. Mike Knuble "sealed the deal" with an empty net goal at 19:10. Overall tonight Carey Price stopped 31 shots. However the bigger story was that the Flyers scored 20 goals in 5 games on the Canadeans' 20 year old rookie goalie. The Flyers now await the outcome of the Penguins - Rangers series to see who they play for the Eastern Conference Championship. The Penguins currently lead that series 3 - 1 and could end the series tomorrow when they meet for game 5 in Pittsburgh. One thing is for sure, regardless of who the Flyers end up playing - Pittsburgh or the Rangers - it will be a physical series.

What do you think will Montreal try to resign Christobel Huet after Price's issues in the Flyers series?

Caps Live to Fight Another Day!

The Caps did what they had to do to stay alive yesterday - they beat the Flyers 3-2 in regulation. In fact, through the first forty minutes of the game they pretty much dominated the Flyers. If not for super goaltending by Flyers goalie Martin Biron, the score could have easily been more lopsided. During one 20+ minute stretch the Caps limited to the Flyers to just one shot on goal.

Significantly, two of the Caps three goals came on the power play, the Caps power play production in games 1 - 3 had been relatively anemic. Before their two power play tallies in the game 4 overtime loss, the Caps power play was 2 for 15 (13.334%). In the last two games the Caps power play has been 4 for 10 (40%). Making the more penalty prone Flyers pay for their infractions and playing a disciplined game, avoiding the "Sin Bin" themselves, will likely be one of the continued keys to success for the Caps, as the Flyers work hard to keep Alexander Ovechkin bottled up. The move of Nicklas Backstrom down to Line 2 and Federov up to Line 1 seems to have opened things up slightly for line 1 while not adversely affecting the productivity of "the other Alex" - Alexander Semin at all these past two games. In game 5, Line 1 Linemates Alexander Ovechkin -Sergei Federov-Viktor Kozlov all were +/- +1 and had solid games. AO and Federov each had over 20 minutes of ice time last night; Federov scored an even strength goal and the trio combined for 11 of the Caps 26 shots. Ovechkin was held pointless however had 6 shots and was credited with 3 hits. Game 5 was a physical affair - playoff hockey at it's best. The Caps were credited with 44 hits (hit leaders were Donald Brashear - 7 hits in 6:52 of ice time and Dave Steckel - 5 hits, 4 takeaways in 15:06 of ice time) while the Flyers had 38 hits on the evening (led by Scott Hartnell with 7 hits in 15:58 of ice time). Those watching the game know the Caps had the momentum and intensity throughout the first and second periods of Game 5, they were clearly the more intense team. Unlike the heartbreak of game 4 where the Caps often outplayed the Flyers but couldn't seem to convert that into a lead for any length of time before being victimized by the sudden death winner in the second overtime by Mike Knuble at 6:40 of the second OT, last night the Caps took the lead at 7:31 of the first period and held it throughout the game.

Game 6 is in Philadelphia tomorrow night. Fans should expect it to be just as intense, if not more so, as last night's game. Flyers winger Mike Knuble is out for the rest of the series after injuring a hamstring last night. Knuble has been fairly productive for the Flyers so far this series - he has 2 goals, 3 assists and is +/- +3. The Flyers scoring leader is Danny Briere with 5 goals, 4 assists and a +/- +5. Briere has been his usual elusive self and is often found camped out nearby the left goalpost at the bottom of the slot or just outside the crease. His knack for being there during Flyer power plays has been most annoying to Caps defenders and troublesome for Caps goalie Christobel Huet. Both goalies, Christobel Huet for the Caps and Martin Brion for the Flyers, have played exceptionally well. Huet's Save Percentage for the series has been 90.2% overall, with a GAA of 3.14 including game 3 which was a bad game for the Caps and their goalie (Flyers 6, Caps 3). Brion has been outstanding throughout all five games thus far, his save percentage is 89.8% with a GAA of 2.59 including a 2-0 shutout of the Caps in Game 2. While the Flyers have been relatively successful in containing Caps superstar Alexander Ovechkin, during game 5 it appeared the Caps have adjusted and other Caps forwards are making the Flyers pay for their focus on the "Russian Rocket".

Entering Monday night's game, Caps Coach Bruce Boudreau will be looking to dispense the same "elixir" he gave the Caps before last night's first and second periods. Even with a home ice crowd behind them, the Flyers will need to work hard to ensure the Caps don't bring forward the same momentum they had in game 5. While Knuble's injury will complicate things for Flyers coach John Stevens, the balanced Flyers offense (7 players with 20 or more regular season goals) is resilient. The Caps need another big game to bring the series back to Washington for game seven. It's a position the Caps seem to have grown used to since December ("win or die"), also if Ovechkin gets another game with 6 shots, 2 missed shots and 1 attempt blocked it's hard to imagine he won't net a goal (or two), even with Brion playing as well as he is. In the meantime, the Caps are showing a pretty balanced attack themselves so far in these playoffs. So far in 5 games 10 different Capitals have scored - Defenseman Mike Green leads the Caps with 3 goals, while Alexander Semin and Nicklas backstrom each have two goals, seven (7) other Caps including Alexander Ovechkin and Sergei Federov each have one goal. The last two games of the series have proven the Caps were and are a championship caliber team, as much as any other Caps fan here's to hoping for a Game Seven at the Phone Booth on Tuesday Night and here's to hoping Philadelphia Sportswriter Phil Sheridan is correct. LETS GO CAPS!!!!!!!

Federov & Huet - No Brainers?

On February 26th - the trade deadline, Washington GM George McPhee made several moves in addition to the Matt Cooke for Matt Pettinger deal. In all McPhee and the Capitals made three additional deals that day. They acquired veteran center Sergei Federov from the Columbus Blue Jackets for Prospect Defenseman Ted Ruth; they acquired 32 year old Goalie Christobel Huet from the Montreal Canadeans for a 2009 2nd Round Draft Pick they had acquired earlier in the season for surplus backline center Brian Sutherby in November; and they traded 29 year old journeyman forward Joe Motzko to the Atlanta Thrashers for journeyman forward Alexandre Giroux.


The Caps picked up 27 year old center Alexandre Giroux for 28 year old Right Wing Joe Motzko. What this deal was about is really unclear other than trying to give two journeyman another chance at greener pastures isn't obvious. Though it does appear a fair deal and it did clear ~$100,000 of cap room for the Capitals next year.


In designating rookie Cary Price as their number 1 goalie and trading Huet to the Caps, the Canadeans picked up a reasonably good draft pick for a guy they were likely to not resign anyway. The Capitals picked up a "second" number 1 goalie to bridge from 37 year old Olie Kolzig to any one of several goalies in their development system. Whether the Caps resign Kolzig will be dependant on Kolzig himself. It's virtually certain after the past twenty games, the Caps will make an effort to resign Huet, who is an unrestricted free agent at season's end. The Caps also have 31 year old, solid backup, Brett Johnson signed under contract through the 2008-2009 season. There doesn't seem to be much doubt the Huet deal made a very positive impact in Washington and was a solid move by George McPhee. Since joining the Capitals, the 32 year old Huet has played 13 games, compiling an 11-2-0 record including 2 shutouts; while earning a Goals Against Average of 1.63 and a save percentage of 93.6%. Between Huet's and Kolzig's current salaries the Caps have $8M of cap room at the end of the season; between this and their other Cap room, they should be able to resign Huet as well as Defensive Phenom, Mike Geen who is a restricted free agent at years end. Either way - whether the Caps resign Huet or not - in retrospect this has been a no brainer.


The benefits of picking up of 38 year veteran Russian center Sergei Federov are a little more sublime. Federov, an unrestricted free agent at seasons end, has three Stanley Cup Championships under his belt; and is a solid steadying presence in the locker room for Washington' younger Russian phenoms. Federov has 2 goals and 11 assists in 18 games played with the Caps; additionally he has played well on both the Powerplay and the Penalty Kill units. Additionally, Federov is clearly a great 2nd line partner for LW Alexander Semin. Semin has been on fire the last games of the season and his cross-ice backhand pass to Federov to set up the game winner the other night was masterful. Clearly, playing with the first big name Russian to come into the NHL is both inspiring and reassuring for both Semin and Ovechkin. Semin has a center that understands his style of play and Ovechkin has a guy he talk to in his native tongue about the burdens and joys of super-stardom and chasing that first Stanley Cup. Just as Michael Nylander was a solid, steadying influence for Nicklas Backstrom during the first part of the season, Federov is the same for Alexander Semin. Whether Federov comes back to the Caps and they have room for him next season of not, the Federov pickup was indeed a no brainer - who is Ted Ruth anyway?

The Caps first playoff run in five years starts on Friday at Verizon Center against the Flyers. I'm on vacation till Monday so my next post after tomorrow morning may not be till Tuesday but hey - LETS GO CAPS!!!!!!!!!! Ovechkin for President - 2008!!!

Flyers 2 - Penguins 0; Biron Finishes Regular Season With Back to Back Shut-outs

It's official, the NHL Eastern Conference third place Washington Capitals will face the sixth place Philadelphia Flyers in the first round of the 2007 - 2008 season playoffs. As a kid I was a HUGE Flyers fan so I thought I'd have been a little bit conflicted. I am not at all though, so - LETS GO CAPS!!!!

Both the Caps and the Flyers are hot right now. The Flyers finished the season 7-1-1 with Marty Biron shutouts in the two final games. Even though Sidney Crosby didn't play in the final game, the Penguins played a solid game and the Flyers had to work to win two well deserved final regular season points. The Caps are 13-4-0 since March 1st, and Caps Goalie Christobel Huet had a GAA of 0.750 in the last three games of the season. The Caps finished the season with a seven (7) game winning streak and are the hottest team in the NHL right now. For the season the Caps have the second most improved regular season record; the Flyers have the most improved regular season record. The series will be hard fought and hard hitting. Injuries will play a factor. The Capitals have some injury challenges right now, particularly on Defense. Jeff Schultz went down in their season finale against Tampa Bay and did not return for the rest of the game; and as of this writing there has been no update on his status.

Updated Player Pos Injury Expected Return

04/07/2008 Jeff Shultz D Unannounced Questionable

04/06/2008 Chris Clark RW Groin Questionable for first round of playoffs
04/06/2008 Shaone Morrisonn D Upper body Questionable for first round playoffs
04/06/2008 Brian Pothier D Concussion Doubtful for first round playoffs
04/06/2008 Dave Steckel LW Finger Probable for first round playoffs;

02/06/08 Michael Nylander C Shoulder IR. Out for the season

For the Flyers their injury report is slightly less daunting:

Updated Player Pos Injury Expected Return
02/27/2008 Simon Gagne LW Concussion IR. Out for season
12/28/07 Mike Rathje D Groin IR. Likely out for the season
03/17/08 Derian Hatcher D Leg Out for season

Center Daniel Briere, Right Wing Sami Kapanen, Defenseman Jason Smith, and Center Denis Tolpeko were all also scratched and didn't play in the Flyers season finale against the Penguins today.

Over the course of the season the two Eastern Conference foes met 4 times and the Flyers led the series 3-1. Since the Caps Thanksgiving day coaching change the series was knoted at 1-1. All four games were tight, three of the four were decided by one goal and the only game that the margin of victory was greater than one goal was a game where the Flyers scored an empty net insurance goal in the final minute. Fans can expect this series to be hard hitting; fast paced and probably low scoring. Goaltending will be key for both teams, in the end it will however come down to Washington's big men against a balanced Flyers attack. The Flyers have seven (7) forwards with twenty (20) or more goals this season. The Caps have three (3) forwards including league goal scoring leader Alexander Ovechkin, along with left wing Alexander Semin and center Brooks Laich with more than 20 goals. They also have defenseman Mike Green with 18 (leader among all NHLdefenseman this year) as well as Victor Kozlov with 16 goals and rookie center Nicklas Backstrom with 14 goals. Additionally, trade deadline pickups Sergei Federov and Matt Cooke have made their presence felt on special teams since their acquisition. In goal the Flyers #1 Martin Brion has no NHL Playoff experience in his 9 NHL seasons, while backup Antero Nittymaki has 2 NHL playoff games under his belt in his three NHL seasons. On the Goaltender situation for the Capitals, they have two #1's and an experienced backup ready to go all with more playoff experience than either choice Flyers Coach John Stevens has. It seems clear, Caps coach Bruce Boudreau will look to trade deadline pick-up Christobel Huet, who is the hot goalie in DC. Huet has 32 wins this season split between Montreal and Washington; he's won his last 9 outings and has a save percentage of 97.0% (and a GAA of 0.750) in his last 4 outings. Like Biron and Nittymaki, despite playing 4 NHL seasons, Huet has limited playoff experience - he went 2-4 with a GAA of 2.44 and a save percentage of 92.9% for Montreal in the 2005-2006 season playoffs. If anyone is motivated to have a great playoffs though it's Huet; he'll be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and each round the Capitals advance that he is in net will likely result in solid financial rewards for the NHL's only French Born player. Additionally, he's got to be motivated by the intense competitive nature all goalies share to drive his new team deeper into the playoffs than the Canadeans rookie of the year candidate, Cary Price, who he was cast aside for. If the Caps need playoff experience in goal, they can turn to current number " 1/2", veteran Olaf Kolzig. The 37 year old Kolzig has a 20-24 record in 45 playoff games including the 1998 playoffs when he backstopped Washington to the Stanley Cup finals. Sidelined, healthy scratch, Caps number two, Brent Johnson also has more playoff experience than both Flyers netminders combined. Johnson has 12 games of NHL playoff experience, most gained during the 2002 playoffs with the Saint Louis Blues when he went 5-5 in 10 games played.

The series will be fun to watch when it kicks off on Thursday or Friday; hopefully I'll be able to catch it on satellite - I'll be in the Bahamas, fishing for Marlin, Tuna and Dorado, with a few of my USMMA Class of 1982 Classmates on my Best Man's boat. It was a tough call but not that tough. We'll be fishing for four days from Thursday through Sunday, we'll spend a day or fishing the eastern side of the gulf stream around Bimini and dock for the night in Alice Town, one of Hemmingway's old hang outs. Then we'll proceed into the Tongue of the Ocean and spend two days fishing out of Chubb Cay Marina, some of the best Marlin fishing in the world in early April. Over the past four years this trip has become an annual tradition for five of us and each year we seem to find a way or reason why it's length needs to grow from it's original three day weekend duration. This year we are going from April 9th - 14th so I won't be making any blog posts during those from the 9th until the 15th.

I'm ready for a break, even if it means I'll miss the first few playoff games the Capitals have. Over the last month, we've had a lot of excitement. At work, ICx Technologies, has had am eventful couple of months. I was on a team that just finished submitting a competitive proposal for a large DoD CBRNE program, it was the largest program I've been involved in chasing since joining the company in 2006 and both exhilarating and pressure filled. One of our larger trade shows just concluded - ISC West - on Friday and during it, we had several product releases as well as product update releases. On my return from vacation, I'll be in the middle of chasing two more smaller DoD Force Protection initiatives that will keep me busy and occupied for the next couple of months. So a short break from the real world pressures with a few days of fishing in paradise, and maybe a cheeseburger or two there as well, will be a welcome respite.

What's Not to Like? or I See Red People, I See Red People Everywhere!

Well as Caps Fans, "y'all", what was your favorite thing about tonight's home game against the Hurricanes? There was just so much to like. Here's my list what's yours? In really no particular order:
The easy thing to like - the final score.
Second easiest - 5 wins in a row. Will the Caps win out - it could indeed happen.
Others - Alexander Ovechkin's 63rd goal - a turnaround, blind slapshot on a rolling puck.
- Brooks Laich's goal - getting the powerplay going early.
- Matt Cooke's goal - the first of the game to get the Caps into a grove.
- Christobel Huet's stellar saves, there were many.
- Alexander Semin's powerplay goal to get 'Canes coach Peter Laviolette going "apoplectic" and probably useless from that point through the rest of the second period.
- Huet's "check" on the breakaway to stop a 1-0.
- Alexander Ovechkin stepping up when Staal made the tap of the stick on Huet.
- The defense being able to step up after Shoanne Morrison went down (possibly the only thing not to like).
- The fact the Caps outshot the Canes 39-22, yes Cam Ward is "that" good, if it weren't for him this game could easily have been 8-1 Caps.
- Bruce Boudreau not loosing any of his composure when there was bad calls against the Caps?
- Ted Leonsis wearing a Red Jersey instead of a suit - nice duds Ted, I would have been disappointed if you weren't in Red after that autodial phone call to the Caps faithful I got.
- The atmosphere in Verizon Center, especially the M-V-P chants for Ovie?
...Anyway I'll do an analysis tomorrow, I just enjoyed this game so much I wanted to post early and say I haven't had this much fun watching a pro hockey game since I was a kid in Philly and the Flyers won THE CUP. LETS GO CAPS!!!! I think the Cup will look good rolling down F street with the team.

A Happy Friday In Bristow

As I settled in to watch the Caps hopefully rebound from Wednesday's loss to Chicago with a victory over Atlanta, a busy but exciting and pleasing week came to a close. Since my son Chris didn't know where he wanted to go and didn't apply to any colleges early admission or early decision, we are just starting to hear from colleges. So far, he's gotten acceptances from his proud father's Alma Mater - the United States Merchant Marine Academy, and George Mason University. Still to be heard from are James Madison University and the University of Virginia, though we'll hear about those two in the next 10 days. In any case, he now has a choice that includes an excellent education for free with a "study abroad" year second to none. Additionally, at Kings Point (aka USMMA), he might also get the chance to continue playing Lacrosse, a sport he's come to love and that now plays varsity goalie for his high school - the Battlefield Bobcats.

Work has been hectic, in addition to working closely with several of my ICx Technologies colleagues on a proposal for a large program I spent three hours yesterday in NY meeting with a representative from a company we are hoping to partner with on some other new ventures. Currently, we have so much going on in regards to chasing new business and it's all really exciting stuff. While it's disappointing how bearish the stock market seems to have become about ours and others prospects, I have no doubt that long term we'll be a successful venture. I'm also very excited about the new products and new features to products we'll have and be announcing at the upcoming Security Industry soiree - ISC West - in Las Vegas April 2-4th.

Putting the cherry on the sundae that was today was the Caps 5-3 comeback victory over hapless Atlanta AND Alexander Ovechkin's 59th and 60th goals of the season. Tonight's Caps victory kept Washington's playoff hopes alive. The win was even more important given the Philadelphia Flyers shootout victory over the Rangers, since it keeps the Caps just two points behind the 8th place Flyers. Throughout much of the game it looked like Atlanta netminder Kari Lehtonen was going to steal one from the Capitals. Throughout the season the Caps and Alexander Ovechkin have generally dominated Lehtonen. The first period started atypically for an Atlanta - Washington game and was a "cat and mouse" battle until Ovechkin netted his 59th goal of the season at 15:18 of the first period. However, throughout the first five minutes of the game and often during period two the Caps looked a little pensive and Atlanta always attempted to pounce. At time the Thrasher's pushes during the second period succeeded and they rose to the opportunities given them, especially Jim Slater who scored both a "shortie" and an even strength goal in the second period. Even though the Capitals out shot the Thrashers in the second period 14 - 10, they were outscored 0-3 and during two power plays Atlanta controlled the pace of play. That said the Caps weren't playing flat at any point in the game after Ovechkin's first goal, Atlanta goalie Kari Lehtonen just did a "human wall" impression. The third period was a different story, it was "ALL CAPS, ALL THE TIME", but for the first ten minutes Lehotnian was again a human wall. Then at 11:30 of the third, Ovechkin scored number 60 top shelf, right side over Lehtonen's shoulder, on a pretty feed from Mike Green at 11:30. The goal by Ovie breathed life and hope to a Caps team that had failed to be able to come back after being down at the start of the third period the last 50 times they found themselves in that position. Coach Bruce Boudreau double shifted the first line (Ovechkin-Backstrom-Kozlov) giving them over 10 minutes of ice time in the third period, and they responded. After the Ovechkin goal, Lehtonen kept the Thrashers in the lead for another four and half minutes despite the Thrashers allowing the Caps to completely dominate them with a forechecking and passing clinic and basically shell their 24 year old Finnish goalie. The Caps continued to press hard and double shift line 1 until at 16:00 Nicklas Backstrom was setup by another great play from Mike Green and scored his 13th goal of the season. Thirty-two seconds later at 16:32, Backstrom scored his second goal of the night, he scored his second of the night on a design play that could only be a design play for a team with a left wing named Alexander Ovechkin on their roster. With the Caps now up 4-3, Lehtonen became visibly frustrated and threw his stick down, who could blame him for being angry, his team hadn't played in a way that kept up with the Caps for over 15 minutes. Goalie Christobel Huet got a point with a secondary assist on the first Backstrom goal. The Caps kept pressing even though the Thrashers did try and make a game of it during the final three minutes. At about 18:15 the Thrashers pulled, put on a sixth skater but the Caps and Huet stood tall; center Boyd Gordon scored an empty-netter, his sixth goal of the season to ice the victory at 19:52. Overall during the third period, the Caps out shot the Thrashers 23 - 2, yes that 2. Despite letting 4 goals get by, Kari Lehtonen had a save percentage of 90.9%. Final score Caps 5 - Thrashers 3. It was a Happy Day/Evening in Bristow. LETS GO CAPS!!!!!!!!!!

Tuesday Night Is Hockey Night In Bristow

As a break to a hectic day in a hectic week, we simple Bristow, VA residents settled down to watch the Washington Capitals vs the Nashville Predators on Comcast, turning on the TV a little early, I was rewarded with the tail end of Gladiator on one of the Cinemax Channels and once again realized it's on so much because it's a great movie. It's an even better movie when you're getting ready to watch some NHL gladiators. The great movie line of the night before the game was: "He was a soldier of Rome - - - Honor him." At least for me it was the perfect mood setting line before watching a hockey game.

The first period was barely half over and the Caps were up 2-0. One of Craig Laughlin's better comments of the season or at least of late is noting how the Predators defenseman are all having a hard time just understanding how fast Alexander Ovechkin plays this game. The intensity of the Caps forced the play and the Predators were just either stymied or forced to commit penalties. Alexander Ovechkin had two assists already and his setup pass to Nicklas Backstrom for the second goal of the period was just pure mastery. When Ovechkin retires in about 15 or more years the highlight reel will be movie length and require an intermission the way this guy plays the game. Perhaps taking a cue from Overchkin - Brooks Laich also made a highlight reel setup pass to a wide open Matt Bradley who banged it home for a 3-0 lead at 14:40, and the Predators changed goalies. Chris Mason was put in for Dan Ellis who was victimized for 3 goals in 8 shots. At the other end through the first period Christobel Huet stopped all 7 of the Predators shot including two really awesome saves; Huet also could just have easily gotten a secondary assist on the Bradley goal. At the end of the first period, Sami Lepisto was in the box and The Great Eight was limping after getting hit in the right boot from a shot on his last shift of the period but the Caps were up 3-0. The first period was as they say "All Caps - All the Time"; Ovechkin had two assists one on Semin's power play goal at 6:49 and one on Nicklas Backstrom's 12th goal of the season at 9:59. Those assists were Ovechkin's 100th and 101st points of the season.

The second period started with Nashville on the power play. Caps fans had to be relieved when they saw Alexander Ovechkin out skating again, even though right after the Lepisto penalty was killed Tom Poti was called for cross-checking. The quick penalty on Poti meant the Caps were shorthanded for (time of goal less 37 seconds) of the period before the Predators' J.P. Dumont made it 3-1 with a power play goal, his 28th of the season at 4:09. Dumont's goal energized the Nashville team for the next six minutes or so, putting on their own forechecking exhibition and manufacturing several good scoring chances. However, Christobel Huet made a couple of excellent saves and the Caps regrouped and resumed the relentless forechecking that has become their style of play since Thanksgiving. Once the Caps had regrouped the pace of play became "blistering" with end to end hockey, and the Predators were every bit as intense as the Capitals had been in the first period. Unlike the first period where the Predators seemed like they couldn't keep up with any of the Capitals, the only line they seemed to be perplexed by in the second was the Ovechkin-Backstrom-Kozlov line and Chris Mason kept the Capital's sharpshooters "out of the net". During the second period Huet, like Ovechkin in the first, was a one man highlight reel stopping everything thrown at him, including a 1 on 0 breakaway by Dumont during 4 on 4 play while Eric Fehr and Scott Nichol were in the "sin bin". The Predators seemed to have made some clear adjustments between the first and second periods. The biggest three were a) how they played Mike Green - check him, check him and check him some more every time he got the puck; 2) how they played Ovechkin - as tight as mere mortals could possibly do so, even if that meant giving more room to Kozlov or Backstrom; and 3) forecheck as intensely and relentlessly as they saw the Caps do during the first period. Following the Dumont goal the Predators clearly outplayed the boys from DC however, Christobel Huet stole the period for the Caps. During the second period Nashville outshot the Washington 9-4 and had solid scoring chances, they also often bottled the Caps up in their own end for much of the period.

The third period was a back and forth match with some really fun hockey to watch for fans of both teams. The Capitals first line clearly caused lots of issues for the Predators, though the "Preds" were not without their own scoring chances; and an awesome center ice hit on Alexander Semin certainly got the Nashville crowd into the game for a while. After s lot of back and forth play the Predators scored during a 6-5 while the Caps had a delayed penalty call and Mason was on the bench. The Caps seemed to sit back, the Preds came down the ice and Jason Arnott scored on a wristshot through a partially screened Huet. Then right after that at 13:23 Matt Cooke was whistled off for tripping and the Predators swarmed. The attack was relentless and intense and at 14:19 they actually took Huet's mask off with a shot. After Huet's mask was taken off the rest of the Caps team seemed to realize they needed to play the final five minutes of the game. The Predators pulled Chris Mason at 18:25 and played like a team possessed. The Capitals responded playing unselfish defense and the crowd was on the edge of their seats or on their feet until at 19:56 Ovechkin with an unselfish clear off the boards netted the empty net insurance goal to "seal the deal" for Washington.

The Predators played a much more physical game in the second and third periods and that changed the whole "demeanor" of the game. During the first period the Predators repeatedly gave the Capitals shots on goal inside the slot. In the final two periods, the Predators got on the Caps forwards much earlier as they came in to the offensive zone. This single adjustment by the Predators changed the game and at times it seemd they were able to physically stifle the Caps. Six of the seven shots (including their three early goals) from the low slot were allowed by the predators in the first period. Overall though the game was pretty even - statistically. Through the 60 minutes of regulation the comparisons look like this: a) Shots on Goal: Caps 21, Predators 26; b) PIM: Capitals 12, Preds; 6; c) Hits: Caps 23, Preds 17; d) Giveaways: Caps 4, Preds 9; e) Takeaways: Caps 8, Preds 6; f) Faceoffs: Caps 28, Predators 36. The difference that tipped the scales in the Capitals favor were the shoulders of two players: Ovechkin who had 3 points (1G & 2A), 4 SOG, 2 Hits, and 3 Blocked Shots on 20 shifts and 20:54 of ice time and Christobel Huet with 24 saves and a save percentage of 92.308. Overall the Caps walked away with the first period; were severely outplayed in the second but kept in the lead by Huet; and in the third period it was basically a draw though in the end the Caps pulled the period out with Ovechkin's empty netter - his 58th goal of the season. The game was crucial for both teams but in many respects the Capitals needed it more and got it. Tonight's game was one of two games in hand the Caps have on the division leading Carolina Hurricanes and the win pulls them within three points of the rival 'Canes. Additionally, if you were scoreboard watching the Caps got no help tonight in the quest for 8th place in the Eastern Conference as the 8th place Philadelphia Flyers also won tonight.

In any case it was "a two point night". Next up - the Chicago Blackhawks tomorrow night at United Center. The Blackhawks are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games and 18-16-2 overall at home; additionally, the Hawks have a couple of injuries they are working though so there is another possible road win against a Western Conference opponent. However, it is Tony Esposito night and the sellout crowd will be looking to see why their rookie phenom, RW Patrick Kane (17 G, 45 A for 62 points) should be the Calder Cup winner over Caps rookie Center Nicklas Backstrom (12 G, 49A for 61 points) and rooting for their rebuilding 'Hawks to spoil the Caps drive for the playoffs. Players to watch? For the Caps: Backstrom, Ovechkin (wouldn't he like to get goals 59, 60, and 61 in "an original 6 city") and Kolzig (wouldn't he like to get win 302 on "Tony Esposito Night" and match or best Huet's 92.3% save percentage tonight). For the Blackhawks: Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews. The 19 year old Toews has played 55 games this season and has 20 goals - he is the "other Alex" to Kane's "Ovechkin".

Capitals 10 - Bruins 2 - YES, You Read the Score Right

The Capitals, disappointed with the result of their last game, a 3-2 loss in regulation to the Toronto Maple Leafs, came out of the locker room flying for their game against the Boston Bruins. Thirty-two seconds into the game, recent trade deadline pickup Matt Cooke scored his first goal as a Washington Capital. The Capitals early surge of energy carried through into solid play and the Caps overpowered the Boston Bruins for the entire first period. For the first twenty minutes, the Capitals scored 6 unanswered goals, ensuring their happy fans received free wings before the end of the first period. Adding to the euphoria, Washington’s sharpshooter, Alexander Ovechkin, tallied a hat trick before the period was over notching goal numbers 50, 51, and 52 on the season during the period. But perhaps Ovie’s best play was the assist he got setting up his playmaking center Nicklas Backstrom for the rookie’s 10th goal of the season in the second period. The Great Eight also had an assist on a power play tally by Brooks Laich early in the third period. With his three goals and two assists on the night, Ovechkin extended his goals scoring lead over countryman Ilya Kovalchuck and regains the point scoring lead over countryman Evgeni Malkin.

The Caps scored 6 goals in the first period, three from the NHL’s leading scorer and three from a portion of the game the Capitals haven’t always seen this season, “secondary scoring”. Trade deadline pickups have apparently allowed Coach Bruce Boudreau to put together a number of third and fourth line mixes that have some offensive punch in addition to the solid defensive play they’ve exhibited most of the season. The keys to these changes, in the game against the Bruins, were Sergei Federov AND Matt Cooke. In Federov, the Capitals have retained the services of a solid veteran center, replacing the injured Michael Nylander in the lineup, who can match-up with and shut down an opposing team’s number one center. Federov also brings the mindset of a champion and the experience of a superstar who’s been there, done that to steady the Capital’s “Young Guns” down the stretch. In Cooke, the Capitals seem to have gotten the player they had hoped the traded Matt Pettinger would be for them. (Since the trade “Petty” though scoreless is +/- 0 and is clearly also energized getting his shots and “mixing it up” for his “hometown” Vancouver Canucks so things might work out for both teams on this deal.) Since joining the Caps Matt Cooke has logged an average of 11:21 TOI and against the Bruins he was +/- +2 and had three (3) points with 1 goal and 2 assists. Even though Cooke only logged 18 shifts and 10:21 of ice time against the Bruins, he led the Caps in Hits with 4 and seemed to provide a spark and raise the energy level every shift he was on the ice. Matt Bradley certainly enjoyed his shifts with Cooke as Bradley was also +2 on the night with three (3) points: 2 goals (both assisted by Cooke) and 1 assist (on the goal scored by Cooke). Could this be a start of something new – “the Matts”? In any case, the juggled lineup with “the new pickups” have been super in two out of three games and solid, though outplayed in the loss to Toronto.

A game like the one against the Bruins is hard to write about succinctly because simply too much happened. In addition to all the scoring, basically everyone played and I mean everyone – all four Goalies who dressed saw ice time. In what would be the only low point for Washington, Christobel Huet did not return to the ice for the third period. After stopping 20 of 22 shots in the first two periods, Huet was apparently injured and the Caps staff opted to play Olaf Kolzig for the third period. Versus reported Huet had back spasms and back pain at the tail end of the second period. While Kolzig played well during the third period, and the Caps have a third, solid Goalie in Brent Johnson; Washington’s stretch run will likely go easier if Huet’s pains reside and he is available for continued duty. Duty in between the pipes was a “rotational affair,” Tim Thomas started the game but was pulled after the Caps went up 4-0 in favor of Alexander Auld. Thomas, who last week had a GAA of less than 1.00 and went 3-0, returned to the net for the second period when the Caps were up 6-0. Boston’s All Star Goalie then played the entire second period yielding 2 more goals to the Caps, came out for the third period gave up another tally when he didn’t squeeze his “5 hole” shut tight enough for the second time in the evening. In all Thomas played a total of 36:30, gave up seven goals in 24 shots against before being replaced Auld for a second time. Auld finished out the game and gave up just one final goal to Matt Bradley on a beautiful setup from Mike Green on a power play that would have taken divine intervention to stop.

Another highlight for DC’s pucksters against the Bruins was their “special teams” play. Washington scored four power play goals in 7 tries, while the penalty killing unit allowed the Bruins to score just one in 7 tries by the Bruins. As you would expect during a 10-2 victory, the Capitals fared well in the +/- stats category, the only Caps not on the positive side of the ledger were Sergei Federov, Alexander Semin, and Brooks Laich since all the Caps goals they were on the ice for were power play scores but were all on the ice for the one even strength score by the Bruins. Another area the Caps excelled in during the game was shooting percentage, not coincidently 8 of the Caps 10 goals came from shots taken “in the slot” and the majority of shots were from high percentage areas. If there can be any down-side to a game like this for the victor, it can only be that the two teams will meet again Saturday evening in Boston, and the Bruins will certainly be highly motivated to “even the score”. The statistics from this game, basically speak for themselves – the three stars of the game were: 1)Alexander Ovechkin (3 goals, 2 assists, 5 points, +3); 2)Nicklas Backstrom (1 goal, 3 assists, 4 points, +3) and 3)Matt Cooke whose play was as previously described. Next up: the Sabres in Buffalo on Wednsday – LETS GO CAPS!!!!

Disappointing Night at the Verizon Center

Final Score Maple Leafs 3, Caps 2

The Caps "won" the first period but only scored one; the Maple Leafs won the second period in fairly dominant fashion out shooting the Caps 12-5 and out scoring them 2-0; the Caps dominated the third period out shooting the Leafs 11-3 but the Leafs tied them in goals 1-1 so in the end - the Caps came away with a "no point night". Olie Kolzig wasn't too bad but he wasn't great either (save percentage of 0.880). However the Maple Leafs won this game on the outstanding goaltending of Vesla Toskla who stoned the Caps in the third period and had an overall save percentage of 0.929 on the night including robbing several Caps. The only "high point" for the Caps was that Alexander Ovechkin broke his "slump" when he put the Caps up 1-0 with the first goal of the game.

Next up: The Boston Bruins at Verizon Center in what will be Christobel Huet's home ice debut against a team he has pretty much owned so far this season while in Montreal. We'll all be rooting for a great win and it would be even sweeter if we all get to see an Alex Ovechkin hat trick that puts him back on track for a 60+ goal season. LETS GO CAPS!!!!

Catching the Caps @ the Devil'sThird Period

Well I worked late up at a partner company's facility in Glen Burnie, MD (life can be hectic these days at ICx Technologies) so that when I turned on this evening's game I found the Caps up 2-0. Then I see a tough hit on Mike Green that results in a legitimate 4:00 double minor against the Devil's Patrik Elias for High Sticking. The Devils and Brodeaur do a good job of keeping Ovechkin from scoring on a "wicked hard" (please imagine the Boston accent I wrote that with) one-timer; only to have "the other Alex" Semin score on an equally "wicked hard" one-timer about 70 seconds later while the Caps are still on the power play. Score!!!!! Caps 3, Devils 0.

They just showed replays of all three goals: Green's 17th; Kozlov's 13th and Semin's 20th. Craig Laughlin just commented about how well the Caps have played this game and while I've only seen a little over 10 minutes of play, all 10 minutes are being played by a different team, with the same players, than the team I've seen the last 3 or 4 games. Huet just smothered a rebound in a way we haven't seen in these parts for a while. Donald Brashear SCORES!!!! on a rocket wrister after a no-look pass from Matt Bradley. It's Brash's 4th of the season. Caps 4, Devils 0. And in the end, Cristobel Huet gets a shutout in his first game as a Cap, how's that for a switch the Caps go to "The Rock" and shutout the Deivls and Martin Brodeur? How'd the Caps trade deadline deals look tonight? Well statistically, Huet stopped 18 shots and shut out the Devils; Sergei Federov won 10 of 13 faceoffs (77%), had 1 assist, and 3 shots in 15:48 of ice time - not bad for a 38 year old. Additionally, the line combination of Federov - Semin - Fleischmann is definitely a solid pairing and having two world class lines clearly opens things up for the first line of Ovechkin - Backstrom - Kozlov as well. Of course one game a season does not make but looking at the statistics and the part of the game I saw, there was "nothing but net" - the Caps entire Caps lineup played great hockey tonight. Tomorrow night at the "Phone Booth" against the Maple Leafs; LETS GO CAPS!!!!!!

No Hockey Thoughts Today - Lots Going On In Work

It's 11:30 PM and the first time today to think about hockey - my question who starts in goal versus the Devils in Newark on Friday night?

Another study in class look at this interview Q&A from Cristobel Huet this morning from Tarik:
Q: Because Olie has been the face of the franchise, what were your thoughts when you found out that you were coming here?A: "I respect Olie a lot. He's been here a long time and he's done well for the franchise. We're just going to work it out and I'm just going to try to be my best when I'm asked to play."