Bad Ice In B-More

(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Capitals 0, Predators 2

It should have been about the amazing skill of the players on the ice inside the 1st Mariner Arena at the 2011 Baltimore Hockey Classic. Or how great it was to see a Caps' sweater in Baltimore for a preseason match up with the Nashville Predators. But instead, the poor ice conditions overshadowed what should have been a great start to an annual event for the Washington Capitals. Add a 2-0 loss to the Preds and the Caps preseason begins with a disappointing start.

It certainly was not a good game to really gauge the players trying for positions on tight rosters. Stand outs for the Capitals would have to be Garrett Mitchell, Cody Eakin, Chris Bourque, and Jay Beagle. But early attempts at some pressure just was droned out by bad ice conditions.

Alex Ovechkin would have a solid game, but a late slashing call with under 4 minutes left sealed the deal for the Caps who were held scoreless since facing Carolina to start the '05-'06 season where they lost 6-0. He did have a big hit when Ryan Ellis tried to take a run at the All-Star foward, but Ovi was able to thwart the hit away sending Ellis flying as a result. 

The power play lacked any substance, again. The Caps special teams again suffered with the extra man. It did look like they scored in waning seconds of the game, but the whistle had blown leaving the Preds to hold the Caps off for their first preseason win.

DJ King was the overall stand out player for the Capitals. King, who is in roster limbo with the team since signing here a year ago, played a tough physical game, but also added some offensive pressure with Beagle on his line.

Caps don't have time to wallow in there sadness (or grab a sock). Some of the team will head off to Columbus tonight to face a preseason game against the Blue Jackets tomorrow night.

New Look Divsion - Hurricanes

The Washington Capitals might have made the Southleast Division into one of the toughest divisions in the NHL. After winning the division title for the last 4 years (regular season eastern champs for the last two), the division is wising up and bettering their teams to make the playoff push. The influx of better talent into the division makes this year's division champ a toss up. But all the pundits agree, it is Washington's to lose.

Carolina Hurricanes:

The Hurricanes have been in a position to make the playoffs down the final few games of the season far too many times than they cared for. If they had just beaten the Lightning at home in game 82 last season, they would have been there. Instead, it's been a long summer. Not much changed for the 'Canes as they were pretty quiet at the free agency market. But the changes they did make seem more like minor adjustments to a struggling Eric Staal who Carolina would like to see him back in the 100 point range for next season.

Who's in: Alex Ponikarovsky, Anthony Stewart and Tim Brent signed on board to add some depth on the offense. The 'Canes resigned Joni Pitkanen after failing to draw bigger names in the free agent market. Also add free agent defensman Tomas Kaberle and back up netminder Brian Boucher.

Who's out: Eric Cole couldn't reach a deal to stay in Carolina, which has been the best place for him after he briefly played for Edmonton. Corey Stillman was also allowed to walk. Joe Corvo was traded for a draft pick to the Boston Bruins.

The 'Canes really had hoped to beef up their defensive squad. But instead seemed to have been stuck with what they got. After trying for Kevin Bieksa and Christian Erhoff, Carolina had to go back to Pitkanen. While they have a solid four blue liners in Pitkanen, Tim Gleason, McBain and Kaberle, the depth chart drops sharply after that. Unless they have some phenom rookie defenseman in the pipeline, look for the 'Canes to struggle all season with defensive talent.

They are really looking for solid second seasons from rookies Jamie McBain and Jeff Skinner. Both entering their sophomore years, the 'Canes are hoping some of the add-ons over the summer help accustom Staal and the youngsters to make a push for the playoffs. Ponikarovsky should add some offensive spark to replace the speedy Cole. It does not look like the 'Canes will have trouble generating some offense.

In net, they are solid. Cam Ward continues to be a consistent bright spot for the Hurricanes. Add in a capable back up in Brian Boucher who could steal a few games in relief. The 'Canes were below average on the power play and penalty kill last season (they were 24th and 20th respectively in the league). Both will need to improve for them to even consider the playoffs. Especially since the 'Canes have spent more time than any other team on the power play.

Caps Notes:

• Tomas Vokoun's reported new mask is here, courtesy of I Love Goalies!. Some are already drawing similarities to Varly's mask. One thing is for sure, there is no nickname on the chin.
• Enforcers are getting some acknowledgement for all the depressing reasons. Matt Hendricks and D.J. King shared their thoughts about the recent tragedies over the summer to the WaPo.
• Alex Ovechkin will be in town, a few days more than he is used to. He is making a special announcement next week at Kettler. Maybe we get to see his six pack as proof he is in shape? Never know.

Pluses And Minuses

The Washington Capitals are set to start the 2010 - 2011 season with pretty much the same team as they started with. The Caps face some positives and negatives this year.

Three Pluses

+ One of the minor moves McPhee did in the off season was to procure some muscle. After playing an entire year with out an enforcer, the Caps were subject to some extra curricular activity with their star players. They traded prospect Stephen Della Rovere for big guy DJ King. King will add some muscle when teams look to start to intimidate the likes of Alex Ovechkin, Alex Semin and some of the other talent players.

+ Nick Backstrom's long contract was also a plus for the Caps going into this season. He signed a 10 year, $67 million dollar contract to stay in red, white and blue for a long time. With Backstrom and Ovechkin locked up long term, the team can grow around them.

+ The last plus will be the Caps offense. With Semin, Ovechkin and Backstrom all back for another year, the Capitals will not have to worry about it's offense. The two time MVP Ovechkin will have something of a chip on his shoulder after spending a summer hearing about how the Caps choked in the first round. Now that the team is his (team captain for the entire year), it will be less about personal accomplishments and a drive to make this year count.

Three Minuses

- Goaltending is unproven. This is not to say that Michal Neuvirth and Semyon Varlamov can't come in and do a great job. But neither one have carried the load of an 82 game schedule and carried that into the playoffs. Jose Theodore was an outstanding back stop for the Caps late in the season. That safety net of Theodore is now gone for the youngsters and it is a swim or drown situation that both young goaltenders will have to face. McPhee pulled in some back up in Dany Sabourin, but the load of the season will be in the hands of Neuvy and Varly. Don't count on Sabourin to rescue the season if the kids can not cut it.

- Maintaining focus will be key for the Capitals' defensemen. You can look at their record and see only 15 regulation losses last season. It is a pretty number to throw out there, but the blue liners didn't exactly stop the other team from scoring a few night in and night out. Mostly, the Caps wins were a result in a better (and aggressive) offense. The Caps D has to beef up and play better especially in close games and playoff games. So far, the defense has psyched themselves out in both situations. This trend has to end of the Caps hope to face stingy defensive-minded teams.

- The final minus is distractions. The Capitals are playing in this year's Winter Classic against a big rival the Pittsburgh Penguins. HBO has decided to do a "Hard Knocks" style show with both teams leading up to the January 1st game at Heinz Field. The team's ability to focus will be a tough one with cameras all around and the exposure some players will be subjected to. It is hard enough to play 82 games and win the Stanley Cup with out the whole world watching you, even off ice. It remains to be seen if the Capitals can stay focused through out the hype.

The intangible for the Capitals this year is a better division. The Caps could still take the Southeast Division, but it will be no cake walk from the year previous. Teams expected to get much better are the Atlanta Thrashers and the Tampa Bay Lightning. It could work in the Caps' favor, playing tougher teams will help them be a more rounded team by season's end. But if the Caps are not careful, this division could pose problems for them.

It's Not Easy Being G

I think it's hard to be a General Manager of any professional franchise. They are constantly second guessed, yelled at and called names, subject to whimsical owners and eventually fired if their players don't perform. All of this from people who adore the team nonetheless.

Not many times are GMs ever recognized kindly for doing nothing in an off season. Fans and critics will both jump on the guy (and or girl) for not "improving" or "loading up" their team. Standing pat sometimes means brushing off the resume. But not with the Capitals, not this time.

George McPhee (or affectionately called GMGM) didn't rock the boat too much this summer when it came to the Capitals' off season. When July 1st came around, Caps fans were hoping for some big signing that made sense and would make the Caps a lock come next April. That didn't happen. In a way, that might have been the big move GMGM could have made.

Let's face it, the free agency pool this summer was lacking. Sure there were a few names floating around that on the surface looked appetizing. But in all, the overall feel of UFAs in the NHL was a weak class.

Instead of signing a long term contract or jumping on the latest "hot" player (see Peerless for a great example of this), GMGM stuck to his guns. He resigned Nick Backstrom to a comfortable non cap-breaking contract. He shed his rental players from the last playoff run. He opened up space for talent in Hershey to gain a step hold with the big club. And he got some muscle (something I felt the Caps severely lacked last season). The draft was okay (not the best, not the worst with what he had). And GMGM kept a team that had huge success in the regular season together for another run.

GMGM freed up some space for defense phenoms John Carlson and Karl Alzner to make the team as regulars by not resigning Shaone Morrisonn. Mo was a solid player (not to mention a cool guy for spending some time with PHT) and he will do well in Buffalo. He also let Jose Theodore go, opening the door for kids Semyon Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth to get some NHL love.

He traded a prospect for DJ King (or King Kong as he is nicknamed, probably the last time you see me mention him that way). A fighter with some skating skills that will fight for fourth line duties on the team. I always felt that GMGM made a mistake not signing an enforcer last season after he let Donald Brashear go (who is now a Thrasher). McPhee soothed my feelings by getting a guy that won't back down from a fight and may get under the skin of the opposing team. Something the team lacked last year, I think.

All in all, not a bad summer's work for the Capitals. They are allowing their youth movement to start to take over the reigns of the team. But time is short. The Caps need to show they can do it not just in the regular season, but in the post season as well.