Caps Busy On Trade Day

Contrary to what George McPhee told reporters just yesterday, the Washington Capitals were in the deal making business. He made it sound as if the Caps were comfortable where they were. Trades would not make sense at this point. GMGM sure pulled one over on us.

There were some grumblings about the Capitals shopping Steve Eminger and Ben Clymer around the league. A trade seemed imminent, but it would see the Caps gaining more than dumping. McPhee did say he wasn't in the selling mood. The Caps make an astonishing 5 trades acquiring 5 new players and only losing two. All players the Caps acquired are unrestricted free agents at the end of the season.

The Caps jumped at an opportunity to land Cristobal Huet for a second round draft pick early. Already GMGM was turning heads. Huet, ranked 11th in the league for goaltenders with a 21-12-6 record and a 2.55 goals against average and a .916 save percentage, will certainly help the Capitals out in net. GMGM acquired Huet with the draft pick he obtained from Anaheim. It does stir a controversy in the goaltender position as Olie Kolzig and Huet will most likely be sharing duties. That leaves Brent Johnson out in the cold. Huet will be a UFA at the end of the season, so it's still unclear if this is just a rental type deal or if the Capitals are interested in signing the goaltender long term.

Then the Caps pulled Sergei Fedorov from Columbus for their next move. While he is no replacement for a Micheal Nylander, Fedorov does add experience in the middle as a solid second or third line center. He may see some time with both Alex Semin and Alex Ovechkin on a line, but I am assuming he is there to fill out their center position farther down the line. I don't see McPhee signing Fedorov in the off season, he would be a hefty price tag to keep. But you can not deny Fedorov's veteran status if the Caps were to make the playoffs.

Not long after that was announced, the Capitals made their move again swapping Matts with Vancouver. Matt Pettinger gets to go to his hometown to be a Canuck and Matt Cooke adds some gritty play to the Capitals line up. Cooke, an agitator, actually comes in with better stats then Pettinger. He will be a key checking line acquistion and will prove his worth in a division that seemed to beef up some at the deadline. Pettinger's season was a bit disappointing personally. A change of scene for both players may become a positive for both.

For the final trade, the Caps get back Alexandre Giroux from the Atlanta Thrashers right at the deadline. They give up Joe Motzko who seemed to vanish into the wood work in Hershey, while Giroux seemed to grow up a little. I think McPhee didn't feel right about sending Giroux to Atlanta, and he had an opportunity to get that piece back. But Giroux will be sent to Hershey as soon as he arrives.

The Capitals seemed to make the most head turning moves, and seemed to impress most of the analyst who are still scratching their heads on the Huet deal. GMGM did well, but are these only temporary band-aids for the rest of the season. Will McPhee sign any of the players he traded for. It seems that remains to be see.

Meanwhile Steve Eminger and Ben Clymer are still stuck in the system as neither player was moved.

Caps Rally

Capitals 5, Rangers 4 OT
Scoresheet - Wash Post

The Capitals come out on top in one of the most entertaining third periods the Caps have played this season. In a contest where the Caps and Rangers traded goals in the third period, it seemed fitting that the game winner by Mike Green in overtime was appropriate. The Rangers floundered after a two goal lead and the two teams went to the wire.

Joe Motzko scored the two goals to get the Caps back to even. It seemed the Ranger defense just went to sleep after the two goal lead and the Capitals took advantage. Alex Ovechkin gave the Caps the brief lead with his 22nd tally of the year, and Jeff Schultz and Mike Green added timely goals to tie then win the game respectfully.

What are they feeding Jeff Schultz? The young defenseman has three goals in three straight games, helping the Caps on their three game winning streak. The same could be said about Mike Green who is finding the back of the net. Donald Brashear is getting into the action as well getting two helpers in this game and a fight with Colton Orr.

The Caps have been able to win without veteran leadership, Viktor Kozlov and Tom Poti have not scored during the 3 game stretch and Micheal Nylander has been out of the line up with an injury. What every Bruce Boudreau's preaching in the locker room, has the youngsters up in arms and ready to answer the calls. And Ovie doesn't mind as long as the Caps are winning.

The power play still needs some work, every goal scored was at even strength. And a the Caps did let a goal in even though the penalty had just expired, but it was basically a power play goal for the Rangers. Special teams need to be cleaned up a little if the Caps want to keep this streak moving along. But all in all, it was an entertaining game and I am still wearing my red mullet they gave away at the game for '80s night, much to my wife's disapproval. She thinks it smells funny.

Bears Pulling It Together

While the Caps struggle, the Bears are thriving. Quietly the Capital's AHL affiliate the Hershey Bears have just won three straight and look to add more wins tonight against Bridgeport. And guess whose leading in scoring: Joe Motzko with 6 goals and 4 assists and Jakub Klepis is not far behind with 9 points. You can find out more on BearCap12's blog.

In other news around the rinks, Sid "the Kid" Crosby is leading the All-Star voting in the east. Big surprise. But it looks like Alex Ovechkin may not even get a starting position. Apparently the Capitals have returned to an afterthought on the minds of NHL fans everywhere.

Caps have to pull a win tonight against another southeast rival, the Thrashers. I am not holding my breath, but anything could happen. That is why we watch!

Who Has Time Anymore?

Not me. But Joe Motzko has lots of time apparently to get used to his new digs as a Capital. Tarik did a review of the newest acquisition. The coaching staff was impressed with the right winger and it looks like he may get a few more calls up in the big league.

Alex Semin's ankle doesn't have time to play Thursday. His sore ankle will keep him sidelined. Although if he plays like he did at the home opener it may not matter the forward is back in the line up. Even though he did get some dangerous shots off, Semin's play was a bit lackluster and he looked a little lost on the ice. If he can get open, I am sure Nylander can set up the forward for some great opportunities, that is if he ever gets back on the ice.

What might be scarier than that is Alex Ovechkin is injured. That isn't good. It's undisclosed what his injury is, and I am not about to engage in any kind of rumor about the all-star forward. But if Ovechkin is missing from the line up (he is expected to play Thursday), that bodes bad ju-ju for the Capital's season.

Maryland has plenty of time to build a new stadium to lure the D.C. United out of the District. They could be the College Park United. I can see the new logo now. D.C. isn't going to let the soccer team get away without a fight, but they were the ones that broke off talks about a new stadium along Anacostia. Oooo, that makes for drama.

Looks like the Atlanta Thrashers need to make some time to get better. They again lost and have yet to win a game this season. That makes them 0-6. That makes 10 straight losses if you count the playoff sweep of last season. On the plus side they are the only team with a zero in the win or lose column in the Eastern Conference, so there the only perfect team this season - in a way.