Caps Back On Track

Capitals 5, Flyers 3
Scoresheet – Wash Post – Philly Inq.

It’s that time of year that holiday parties start dominating your schedule so you miss things like the Caps visiting Philadelphia. Then in your drunken stupor (I didn’t drive if that is what you’re thinking) you realize bed is better than staying up to watch the game on tape. So about mid afternoon you’re writing a recap with a hang over, and fast-forwarding through commercials. I think we have all been there.

Anyway, Bryan Muir couldn’t have picked a better time to get a much needed goal for the Caps. When it looked like the Caps’ fast start was going south once more with a slew of bad penalties and some breakdowns on the penalty kill, Muir’s snap shot off a dandy pass from Kris Beech while the Flyers’ defense broke down, put the Caps ahead for sure. Even though Alex Ovechkin received the first star, that was the play of the game and stopped the Caps from losing two straight.

Ovie scored off a rebound where he did a 360 to slide the puck under the sprawled out Antero Nittymaki. Also scoring for the Caps were Chris Clark, Matt Pettinger and Brooks Laich. The Caps offense is actually coming along nicely; the Caps have scored collectively 28 goals in their last six games of which they have won 5.

Overall Grade: B

The Caps are still taking some bad penalties, and the penalty kill has been doing its job. In this game however, the Caps couldn’t rest on the hopes that they could kill every one off and the Flyers were 2 of 8 and were able to tie it up mid way through the second. Its something the Caps can’t take for granted anymore.

With that win over the Flyers the Caps have moved to 8th place in the Eastern Conference. If the season were to end today, we would have Boston to face in the first round. The Caps passed a few teams to take the last playoff spot, they were in 11th before they dropped the puck in Philly.

Caps need to keep this streak alive as Versus comes to the phone booth, oh yea, and that annoying Sid “the Kid” Crosby and the Penguins will happen to be there too. Caps need a big win to keep the playoff hunt with in reach by the time the All-Star game comes around. It’s still a long season, but a great start could lead to a great finish.