Sunday, January 14, 2007

Florida Beats "the pants off the Capitals"

Capitals 3, Panthers 7
ScoresheetWash PostMiami Her.

The Capitals scored 3 goals on 17 shots. That may sound impressive in just one period, but that was for 60 minutes of play. I don’t care how good of a team you may have, if you only have 17 shots in a game and are out-shot almost three times that (FLA: 54 shots), you are not going to win games in this league.

The Caps just weren’t themselves tonight, bad passes, low energy, and the Panthers just seemed to dominate in every one on one battle. There is no real reason for the Capitals to look this sloppy unless they spent the last two days on the beach.

Even the commentators on the Panthers radio broadcast could barely believe how bad the Caps played. Prompting one of them to say, "I don't know if just not the Capitals night or what, but the Panthers are beating the pants off the Capitals." The loss could have been worse than just 7 goals if Olie Kolzig didn’t stand on his head in net. In the end, Kolzig was pulled not because of his play, but that of his teammates in front of him.

Overall Grade: F

I was embarrassed watching this game. The Caps were not their speedy selves, and looked off all night. It was a struggle for the team just to clear the zone. It was clear the Capitals were in no way prepared to play. This loss was a team effort.

But there were some bright spots for Caps fans (albeit a very dull, barely visible spot). Alexander Semin’s point streak continues through five games now with a total of 10 points in five games. Alex Ovechkin has extended his point streak to six games getting a power play assist in each of the last six games. He now has 12 points in the last 6 games.

Caps now have to regroup, maybe even hold one of those clear-the-air player meetings. They face Ottawa next, and that will be no easy task on the road. Let’s hope they come out with a little more jump next time.
Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/Getty Images

1 comment:

Stevens8204 said...

I'm with ya...I thought the shots on goal was a misprint until I watched more of the game. It happens though...when the Devils got blown out 8-1...I thought the same exact thing...then we came back and now have 63 points. There is hope. Come check out www.thenhlarena.com...I think you'll like it.

stevens@www.thenhlarena.com