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

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

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

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

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

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

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

LETS GO CAPS!!!!

NHL Opening Day, Caps Travel To Tampa to Open Season

Well it's finally here - opening day for the "2013" NHL regular season. The season starts today with 13 games - since the Capitals open on the road this season, it's definitely a day and evening when having the NHL Center Ice package "might" be worth it.  The only teams NOT playing in games today are: Buffalo, San Jose, Calgary, and Edmonton; all of whom open their seasons tomorrow; Calgary and Buffalo fans get rewarded for their patience with a home opener. The National TV opening games today are Pittsburgh at Philadelphia  on NBC at 3PM EST in the US on NBC, and Ottawa at Winnipeg on CBC at 3PM EST in Canada.

There's already a fair amount of trash talk between the Pens and Flyyers' fan bases on #Twitter for what should be a pretty good game.  A game where frankly in the long run, those teams overall fortunes are likely to rest right with where they were at the end of last season - the answer to the questions: a) how, in both team's cases, their starting/#1 goaltender will play throughout the entire season and playoffs and; b) how their #4 through #6 blueliners will compliment their top 3 and help keep the puck out of their net. 

While it likely won't be of more interest to Capitals fans than the Pens-Flyers game is, the Senators - Jets match up should be.  Given that 1) the shortened season, 2) the Jets are still in the Southeast Division, and 3) the Jets will be Capitals opponent in their Home Opener Tuesday night, we Caps fans should be very interested in today's game in Winnipeg; but in the nature of the Southeast Division we likely won't care about it as much as we should.  To me the big question marks for the Jets this season are: a) will their off season moves "up front" yield the results they need; b) will Ondrej Pavelec handle the compressed schedule and extra travel the Jets have compared to their SE Division peers well enough to play well in at least  35 games and if not can Al Montoya find enough of a "groove" to make up for that? and c) can their blueline corps outside of Dustin Byfuglien and Zach Bogosian rise to the occasion and play well enough assuming questions a and b are answered positively to keep them in the playoff hunt in what looks like it could be a very improved Southeast Division?  For Ottawa, the questions this year for me center on a) will Erik Karlsson's fourth NHL season be as awesome as the 21 year olds' third season was? b) how will the team with what seems to be the biggest "gender gap" handle the shortened season and the fact this may well be both Daniel Alfredsson and Sergei Gonchar's NHL "Swan Song" and c) will #1 goalie Craig Anderson return to the form he had at his best seasons (SV% ~0.93x) or will he merely be a good to very tender as he was last season (SV% ~0.915)?  The 31 year old Anderson's career statistics and statistics from seasons where he's had to "shoulder" 65% or more of the load suggest the latter rather than the former.  Given last season the only Northeast Division team that Anderson had a better than career average SV% (0.913) against for the regular season was Buffalo, and the Senators just managed to be the eight seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, this seems an important thing to watch.  Anderson's backups 21 year old Robin Lehrner and 26 year old Ben Bishop have a total of 36 games NHL experience between them so it's fair to say, they are untested and unproven as the season opens. 

 Other interesting match ups today to me are: Chicago at Los Angeles, my gut tells me the Western Conference regular season points leader will either be: the Black Hawks, Kings or Blues so any games between these three teams are of interest to me; Rangers at Bruins, I' a sucker for a "classic original six match up and the Rangers are tremendously deep, their fast paced game is fun to watch, and who doesn't want to see just how good Rick Nash can be on a team where he's not the only superstar? Detroit at Saint Louis is of interest to me because: a) I want to see how the ed Wings start their first season in 20 without Nick Lindstrom and b) I want to see if the Blues are going to be as good as I think they probably will be this season.  The Avalanche at the Wild because you know I want to see just how much the Wild's investment in Parise and Suter will result in changes to their game.  Finally, Carolina at Florida because it's a Southeast Division match up, I'm a Capitals fan, and I just want to confirm my gut view, its unlikely the Panthers will repeat as Southeast Champs. But hey who doesn't like the Panthers current entry splash screen to their website "Season Tickets for as low as $7 per game." I could go for that even more than the Senators free beers at their Home Opener... 

#BeatTheBolts ....

Now what about "our" Washington Capitals' season opener down in the Tampa Bay Times Forum against the Tampa Bay Lightning? Well lets start with the Lightning's home opener is a sellout despite them not making the playoffs last season and that other ... you know ... uh ... lockout thing, so I expect the crowd will be into it and the Capitals, who know every game counts even more in this shortened regular season, will look to take the crowd out of the game early on, if possible.  Second, I will be surprised if Capitals defenseman Tom Poti is NOT in the lineup tonight for the thirst time in over two seasons, as he continues to work on what could be "comeback of the decade."  Poti's long, and unlikely road back to a roster spot, can't be anything but insanely inspirational and motivating for his teammates.  Also in a game where the opposing team has guys named Lecavalier, Stamkos, and St Louis, having a "position" player D-Man with better than average skills and 808 NHL games experience in the lineup seems prudent. Having Roman Hamrlik, who was Tampa Bay's first draft pick EVER as well as the first pick overall in the 1992 NHL entry draft and who has 1,490 NHL games on his resume - assuming he is in as good or better shape then the alternatives who in my mind are: Erskine, Schultz or Hillen, also seems to make sense to me for a lot of reasons.

Relevant "quick hits" about tonight's game in West Central Florida:  Alex Ovechkin has 28 goals and 62 points in 47 career games against Tampa Bay.  Steven Stamkos had five goals and eight points in six games last season against Washington. The Lightning won all three home games last season against the Capitals.

The Capitals' lines at Friday’s morning skate remained the same as they have been all week.
Johansson-Backstrom-Ovechkin
Wolski-Ribeiro-Brouwer
Chimera-Beagle-Ward
Hendricks-Perreault-Fehr-Crabb

The defense pairings:
Alzner-Carlson
Hamrlik-Green
Erskine-Schultz
Poti-Hillen.

So from my post above, you can see my view is to go with the third defense pairing of Poti - Hillen if you want to keep those pairings though I'd probably go with Poti - Schultz as they used to play well together or Poti - Erskine if I thought the game was going to get scrappy.  Of course the issue with a any current option for "Third Pair" is they are all left shooting defenseman.  Another relevant thought and consideration related to trying to take the crowd out of the game early is the fact that as Peerless notes, Tampa Bay gave up a lot of goals last season, though they did beat Washington all three times the Caps played them in Tampa.  So the Tampa Bay players I'm looking at most closely during the first period are 28 year old newcomer Matt Carle and 22 year old  Victor Hedman, for Tampa Bay to turn things around and made the playoffs this season, its essential these two blueliners and 35 year old netminder Mathieu Garon anchor the Lightening defense and keep the puck out of the net better than the Lightning did last season.  Oh and yes I know many others thinks that the Tampa Bay goaltending solution has to be newcomer Anders Lindback but the talented 22 year old Swede from the same hometown (Gavle) as Caps #1 center Nicklas Backstrom, has just 39 games of NHL experience, and is still growing into his 6' 6" frame and NHL game in my view.  I do expect that Lindback will start in net for Tampa Bay tonight though.

The keys in my view are:

For the Capitals: 1) Solid, smart play - don't let Tampa Bays second, third and fourth liners beat them. 2) Pressure down low on either Garon or Lindbeck but especially Lindback.  and 3) Play the new system - out of their end fast; aggressive,  but smart forecheck, and shot the puck from smart, not dumb angles and spots in the Bolts end of the ice.

For the Lightning: 1) Score first and keep the energy level going.  2) Smart defense - force the Capitals to shot he puck from places they'd rather not do so. 3) Either excellent play and production from their big three (Stamkos, Lecavalier, and St Louis) and at least one goal from secondary scoring.

Players to ponder:

Capitals: Mike Green.  At various times in his career Mike Green has been a "Bolt Killer/Cutter" - remember Tampa Bay was he place where Green got his NHL record 8th goal in his 8th game in a row.  He's also been known to score clutch goals to win one goal games - something that Tampa Bay led the league in last season.  Can Green return to his earlier form in what should be a more open system than the Caps payed under Dale Hunter last season?  To me this question is as relevant when asked of Green as it is when asked of Ovechkin.

Tampa Bay:  Marty Saint Louis.  Basically, this is usually my answer when the Caps meet the Bolts.  St Louis is one of my favorite players to watch in the NHL.  I believe he's often underrated and overlooked so I always focus on and ponder him.  The truth is though tonight the Bolts player to ponder is really either Benoit Pouliot or Ryan Malone as the difference of whether the Capitals or Lightning come away from this game with two points is probably dependant on whether one of those two score or not.

Wow, it's just so nice to have NHL hockey back, I don't know what else to say except for this:

LETS GO CAPS!!!!

Caps Resume Season With Lots Of Activity and Two Victories

I missed posting anything yesterday - I had to support a pesky habit I've had my entire life - eating, to have food to eat I must work. Working, that's what I've been doing lately, though I did manage to catch the tail end of the game on Wednesday evening in Buffalo - actually I stopped at Hard Times Cafe in Manassas on my way home to catch a bite before working some more and caught the last couple of minutes of the Third Period after listening to most of it on the radio while I was driving. From everything I could tell - radio and hockey really don't work well for me - and the recaps, etc. it was a good game and the Caps played well. I also caught all of last night's game at Verizon with a friend.

It was awesome to have live NHL hockey back in the District again last night. It was a pretty crazy game, especially the third period. First we had "the new guys" - 3 of the 4 trade deadline pickups Joe Corvo (#77), Scott Walker (#24) and Eric Belanger (#18) dresses and played last night as did call-up John Carlson (#74). Milan Jurcina is apparently sidelined for the next 3-4 weeks with a sports hernia, but we know how he'll fit into things and he knows the corresponding points and the system as well, so that shouldn't be a big deal, especially since we picked him back up for what looks like a 6th round pick. All of the new guys looked good, though like Lisa Hillary said to Scott Walker in teeing up her post game interview with him, Walker who was picked up for a seventh round pick made General Manager George McPhee look like a genius. Walker, a 36 year old right wing from Cambridge, Ontario had 2 goals and was +2 in just 10 shifts and 7:33TOI last evening. If that's not bringing some impact to the fourth line, I don't know what is. Up until he scored his first of the night, a backhand that dribbled through Lightning goalie Mike Smith's 5-hole into the net, the kind of gritty play and energy I think everyone hoped he would bring to the team, I was thinking that the guy who looked like he was going to have the easiest transition into a Caps uniform was defenseman Joe Corvo. However, the results at least say of the pickups the one who made the most impact with the least amount of TOI last night was Walker. Speaking of Joe Corvo he was paired most often last evening with Tom Poti and he looked god as did they both look good together. Corvo clearly worked very hard to take time and space from Lecavilier, St Louis and Stamkos when they were on the ice with him and he also was great at mixing it up with Ryan Malone at those times. He played 20:19 in 23 shifts and had 1 SOG, 3 A/B, 1 miss, 1 Hit and blocked 3 shots. It was a solid night and the only time he looked awkward was a power play shift in the first when it was clear the entire unit on the ice hadn't practiced much, if at all together. Things seemed to settle down on the power play after that clearly failed experiment, don't get me wrong the "new guys" bring some interesting new elements to the Caps but it's clear, harvesting that potential for the special teams (power ply or penalty kill) will take a lot more time than the 24 - 35 hours these guys have been wearing Capitals Sweaters.

In my view it's unclear whether either Eric Belanger or Joe Corvo will be the trade deadline pickup to make the most impact. However last evening it was clear it will likely take Belanger a little longer than Corvo to get used to his new teammates and linemates. For most of Belanger's 18 shifts and 14:50 TOI he was paired with Eric Fehr and Tomas Fleischmann on his wings and while it looks like that will gel into a very solid, potent line, there were a few times last night where it was clear they were having to look around to find each other rather than knowing where the other two guys would be.

In an adjacent note, John Carlson was called up from Hershey and he had an excellent game. He finished the game with these numbers: TOI - 14:46, Shifts - 15, +1; 1 shot on goal and 4 blocked shots. He also sprang "Flash" with a really nice stretch pass on a breakaway that unfortunately Mike Smith was able to stop. It was a really good game for him, because for the entire game he played with a lot more maturity then a 20 year old rookie.

With all the attention I'm paying to the new guys, I can't forget to mention that off season pickup and first line Right Wing Mike Knuble had a super game - 2 goals, +1 in 15:43 and 21 shifts on ice. Mike Green was +2 and had 2 assists on the night. Jeff Schultz was +2 on the night as well.

Overall it was clear last night the Caps now have a team loaded with great skaters and they intend to use their skill in this area to create time and space for their offensive game plan as well as to tie up other teams defensively. Through the first two periods the Caps led the game 3 - 2 on the scoreboard and on the ice it seemed like an even bigger lead. However Tampa Bay is a team with some very talented driven players - both veterans and youngsters, namely: Marty St. Louis, Vincent Lacavilier, Steve Stamkos, Victor Hedman and Ryan Malone. They weren't going to make it easy for the Caps and they always seemed to find the energy and a "hole" in Semyon Varlamov's pads somewhere last night so they could stay within one goal. They even tied it up 4 - 4 on a goal by Stamkos, his 38th of the season, at 12:28 of the third period. Luckily that goal seemed to be the one that really woke up the Capitals fully and just 00:41 later at the 13:09 mark when Scott Walker scored his second goal of the game, the ultimate game winner, his 5th goal of the season and his second while wearing a Caps sweater. After that Tampa Bay tried to respond and surge a couple of times but the Caps generally never let them get too fired up or skate freely enough to score. So the game ended up being another two point night for the Capitals, their third and fourth in just two games since the NHL season resumed. Next up the New York Rangers at Verizon Center, tomorrow evening - more on that another time. In the mean time - - -

LETS GO CAPS!!!

Wow - That Was Painful, A No Point Night

Tampa Bay 7 - Capitals 4; let's say that again so it sinks in Tampa Bay 7 - Capitals 4. There were some good plays and nice goals but there were really only three things that were "good" to watch. 1) the play of Steve Stamkos, Martin St Louis and the Lightning's power play unit; 2) Matt Bradley stepping in and making sure Ovie didn't fight Steve Downie, and 3) Mike Green's two goals so now the snub by Team Canada looks even more marked as the defenseman in the league who is the leading goal scorer, #2 in assists, #1 in points, #7 in +/-, and #12 with an average TOI of 25:05 in the world's premier league isn't going to the Olympics.

Other then that there wasn't much to like in this game; there was a lot to watch but not a lot to like, especially if you are a Caps fan. Of course it is worth noting that in the last 7 days Tampa Bay has beaten both the Caps and the Conference leading New Jersey Devils and out scored them by a combined total of 11-6.

Well the good news is the Caps are back in action tomorrow night in Sunrise, FL against the Panthers and they'll have a chance to not really dwell on tonight's game of totally undisciplined pond hockey, shake off the loss and start the next winning streak.

LETS GO CAPS!!!

A Look Ahead To Tonight's Caps - Bolts Game

Well sportsfans,tonight at the St. Pete Times Forum the Washington Capitals take on the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second game of a three game road streatch. The Caps lost the first of the three in overtime to the Rangers on Wednsday night, however, they come into Tampa Bay rested and should be reasonably "loose." This is the "Father-Son" road trip, the Caps are in third palce in the Eastern Conference (with a game in hand and only two points behind the red hot, second place NJ Devils) and are in first place in the Southeast Division nine points in front of the second place Florida panthers (who are now in 7th place in the Conference).

Tampa Bay is having an off year, but is not as soft a team as their points standings would lead you to believe given the number 1 point overtime losses they have this season - 11. If the Lightning had those 11 more points, they'd have 60 standings points instead of 49 and be in the thick of the battle for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot. They'd also have only given up 160 goals against vice 171 however,unlike the Capitals who have given up 160 goals against this season, the Lightning have only scored 141 goals for while the Caps have turned on the red goal lamp 182 times; both teams have played 55 games to date. So if your looking at overall productivity and weaknesses; the Caps have scored an average of 3.31 goals/game and have allowed an average of 2.91 goals per game (an average of +0.40 goals/game); the Lightning have scored an average of 2.56 goals/game while allowing an average of 3.12 goals/game (an average of -0.56 goals/game.) Additionally coming into tonight's game the Caps are 6-2-2 in their last 10 while the Lightning are a respectable 5-4-1. While the Caps lost their last game to the Rangers, the Lightning beat the visiting Maple Leafs 6-4 on Thursday evening in their last outing. As Tampa Bay has struggled in their games this year, so too apparently have they struggled in filling up the seats at the Forum, judging from their great offer for a package of two seats to tonights game that includes, 2 beers or sodas, two hot dogs and a parking pass for $39.00 - that's almost cheaper than going to a movie these days. [ed note: Had I seen that offer earlier, perhaps I would have had "wingman" join me in Tampa for the weekend rather than coming home for President's Day Weekend. Probably should have looked at these two games as an opportunity for a long weekend with the family in Florida, before 11AM on Saturday morning - Mark muses...]

The biggest issue for the Capitals tonight - SHOULD - be the potential concern they look beyond tonight's game to tomarrow's against red hot second place Florida. However, Tampa Bay does have some real weapons on offense and if they can hold the Capitals to three or fewer goals tonight's game won't be easy for the Caps. The injury situation for the Caps in goal means that Michal Neuvirth may well see his first NHL action either tonight or tommarrow against the Panthers at Sunrise, unless Jose Theodore goes for both games. Speculation is Theo will be in the net one of the two nights this weekend and then rest the other There is little doubt he'll then return to take on one of his former teams - the Montreal Canadiens at Verizon Center next Wednsday evening. At the oppositte end of the rink, because of injuries to Olie Kolzig and Mike Smith, Tampa Bay is "getting by" or trying to with with Karri Ramo and Mike McKenna in the interim. It appears that rookie Mike Mckenna will make his fifth consecutive start in net against the Capitals. There is no doubt that both Vincient Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis will come out gunning and both Ryan Malone and hearladed rookie Steve Stamkos have been "stepping it up" a nothch of late. For the Caps, it appears likely that Aleander Semin will return to the line up after a one game absence but that Viktor Kozlov will remain sidelined tonight. Semin will likely be paired with Ovechkin and Backstrom on the first line. Where Michael Nylander skates on the second or third line, center or wing, remains a mystery at this point however early speculation is he will center the third line. Jay Beagle has remained up with the Caps and traveled to Florida with the team and it appears he will center the fourth line tonight as pivot between Donald Brashear and Boyd Gordon. Over the past couple of games the Defensive corps and pairings have remained steady but with the With the official addition of defenseman Staffan Kronwall to the roster, the Capitals now have eight healthy rearguards on their roster. It seems likely that all eight defenders will see action in the two games this weekend, and early speculation is that Kronwall will play tonight on the second pairing with Tom Poti.

Of course many eyes around the league tonight will be on "Game Over" Mike Green to see if he breaks the NHL record for most consecutive games with a goal by a defenseman. As any Caps Fan with a pulse knows, Green has scored in each of his last seven games, matching the mark establised by Boston's Mike O'Connell in 1984. With multiple point games in six straight games, the young Caps blueliner has matched a feat achieved by only Bobby Orr, Ray Bourque and Paul Coffey - that heady hall of fame company have been the only defensmen who have had half a dozen consecutive multiple-point games among all defensemen in NHL history. Congratulations Mike and GOOD LUCK tonight. It would be an even sweeter record, if you and the boys brought back four points from the trip this weekend ;->

Prognostications:

1) Mike Green 1 G, 1A, new record set.

2) Nuevirth gets the start; wins first NHL game.

3) Semin returns scores a goal to keep on his pace.

4) Ovie & Backstrom combine for 3 points, not sure of the mix.

5) Lightning goals by Saint Louis, Stamkos, and Malone - Lecavilier has 2 assists.

6) Caps 5 Lightning 3.

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