Caps' Surging Power Play

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

It was a slow start for the Washington Capitals' power play. Just four power play goals for 25 chances in their first six games. But as the season wore on, the Caps' special teams turned a corner and now have the hottest power play in the league in the last 10 games. That is good enough for second in the league with a power play efficiency of 28.6%. They only trail St. Louis who has a PP percentage of 30.6%.

Certainly head coach Adam Oates new power play system of the 1-3-1 is paying off. In more ways than one.

The last five power play goals scored for the Capitals came from five different Capitals. Nick Backstrom scored the latest in the big win against Carolina. Troy Brouwer and Alex Ovechkin each had a PPG in the game against the New Jersey Devils in their 5-1 win. Mike Ribeiro and Mathieu Perreault both scored on the power play first of back to back games with the Devils at the phone booth.

That distribution of the wealth on the power play makes it very hard to defend. Many teams in the NHL have that go-to guy on the power play. Take the New Jersey Devils as an example. They love to set up Ilya Kovalchuk for his one timers. The Tampa Bay Lightning do the same with Steven Stamkos. But after a while, coaches have to find ways to move that player around in the power play as teams are getting better at blocking those snipers' shots.

For the Capitals, dishing the puck to just about every player that is on the power play unit has made it a deadly PP to face in the league. The Caps are not relying on the Ovechkin one timer as they did so heavily under Bruce Boudreau. The spread of goals amongst players on the power play makes everyone on the ice a potential scorer. It makes the opposition have to keep track of everyone, at all times. If not, boom, the puck is in the back of their net.

The Capitals ability to maintain zone time with the puck under control is another factor that helps their power play become potent. By keeping the puck in the zone and keeping it moving around with crisp passes tires the oppositions' penalty killers. It also wears down the goaltender.

Ovechkin scored his hat trick goal when the Caps were able to keep the Devils penalty killers in their zone for some time. When the puck did leave the zone, Ovi quickly skated it back in and it left one tired Anton Volchenkov on the ice who wasn't able to make the quick change on the fly. The worn out defenseman for the Devils could only camp out in front of the net. The Caps exploited it not once but twice in the following sequences. The first chance brushed off the oust side of the net, while the second one found its mark.

The more the players work up their chemistry with one another and are more familiar with the system, the more dangerous of a power play it becomes. With a producing power play, things can open up for the Caps five on five. At even strength, teams will be less likely to play a tight checking game giving the Caps more room on the ice.

Holy Parade Of Penalties

Capitals 2, Devils 3
Game Summary - Event Summary

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The Washington Capitals had a rough night. Well, they had a rough third period, which ruined the rest of their night. The Capitals took five consecutive minor penalties in just under 8 minutes in the third period. The blew their 2-1 lead after two periods and drop a must win to the New Jersey Devils 2-1.

Matthieu Perreault scored the Caps' first goal of the night on a clean up job in front of the net. Troy Brouwer made a crazy power move to the front of the net getting a shot on Devil goalie Martin Brodeur. The rebound bounced out passed three Devils and Perreault chipped the rebound over Brodeur's shoulder for the tally. Mike Ribeiro scored his sixth goal of the year on the power play. Troy Brouwer had two assists and the game's third star. He also had a 10 minute misconduct at the end of the game.

The Capitals had a lot of positives through out the game, despite a barrage of shots by the Devils at even strength. They practiced the long ancient art of bending but not breaking to New Jersey for at least two periods. They allowed 30 shots on net at even strength. The Caps only fault in the first 40 minutes was misplaying the puck in their own zone on the power play and the combo of Patrick Elias (who scored) and Adam Henrique lead to a shortie for the away team.

Then the third period happened. It started with a hell of a penalty kill by the Caps when Nick Backstrom was hauled off with Adam Larsson for coincidental minors. Not long after that Matt Hendricks took his hand off his stick on onto Ilya Kovalchuk's shoulder, he was whistled for holding. Then Jay Beagle cleared the puck over the glass for a delay of game penalty, but Tomas Kundratek served the time, giving the Devils a 5 on 3 power play.

The Capitals PK actually did a fantastic job killing that series of penalties off. The combo of Backstrom, Karl Alzner and John Carlson did a bang up job of blocking shots, getting into passing lanes and killing off that 5 on 3. But in the end, it was just too many penalties. Kovalchuk would score when once again the Capitals got into penalty trouble down two men. Marek Zidlicky cut into the slot and took out Backstrom's stick as the pass went to Kovalchuk whose shot finally made it on net.

It was a tough game to swallow for the Capitals. To get that far and lose all momentum from a solid second period was what did this team in. Alex Ovechkin even had a jump to his game. In his most dynamic game in quite awhile, Ovechkin broke in three times on Brodeur. But he couldn't solve the Devils net minder. The penalties in the third pretty much kept him quiet for the rest of the game.

It will be a short turn around for the boys from DC who face off with the Devils again on Saturday.

Caps Notes:

• Both of Kovalchuk's goals against the Capitals this year were game winners. The OT goal on January 25th, and tonight's power play tally.
• The Caps' power play is smoking hot. It is 10 for 23 in the Caps last eight games (43.5%). Just to compare, the St. Louis Blues have the best PP in the league with 31.7% on the season.
• Caps out-hit the Devils 30-9.

Finally... Free Wings

Capitals 5, Panthers 0
Game Summary - Event Summary

(AP Photo/Nick Wass)

It has been awhile since the Florida Panthers have won a game at the Verizon Center. The Washington Capitals have won the last five games at the phone booth and have had 3 of the last four games end with a Caps' shutout. Tonight would prove to be a tough game for the visiting Panthers as the Caps romp Florida 5-0.

Coming into tonight's game, the Capitals were committed to focusing on what is ahead of them. With a hard practice on Friday, they were looking to be in the right frame of mind for sixty minutes against Florida. The players even held a meeting to get things back on track.

"We had a team meeting with the guys just to press the reset button and to calm down and go out there and support each other and make plays," Joel Ward said. "Today we made a good effort."

"I had a feeling right away that we were going to play well," Alex Ovechkin said of the mood of the team before the game. "Everybody was focusing and not joking around. That’s how we have to play. The first goal was huge for us. The whole team was better."

Braden Holtby has now four career shutouts and also a assist, only the second of his career. His power play assist led to a big goal for the Capitals to exorcise the demons they have been fighting in second periods this season.

"It was a great play, and a big goal," head coach Adam Oates said of the play. "It obviously hurt that [the Penguins] had scored one of those against us. It’s a pass down the ice; that means [Holtby] is involved in the game."

Troy Brouwer had a big night with the first two goals of the game. The first one looked as if John Carlson scored his first goal of the season, but his shot glanced off Brouwer's leg before fooling Jose Theodore. Brouwer's second goal was a sniper blast after receiving a pass from Holtby on the power play. He skated down the right side and powered it past the Florida net minder. It would be Brouwers fourth and fifth goals of the season.

Also on the scoresheet, Ward scored for his fifth goal of the season. The aggressive forecheck of his linemates Eric Fehr and Matty Perreault coughed the puck up to Ward's stick as he headed for the net. He snapped it past Theodore to make it 3-0. Ovechkin scored his first even strength goal of the season after Ribeiro won the faceoff and Jason Chimera chipped it to Ovi at the top of the slot. Add a Perreault goal to give the Verizon Center faithful free wings, and the Capitals finish off their best performance under Adam Oates to date.

This was a good sixty minute effort from a struggling squad that needed a desperate win to stop a three game skid. Their play was much better after the first period. The second period, which has been a house of horrors for this Capitals squad, was not the disaster in waiting much like it has been for the Caps of late. For the first time all season, the Capitals have actually outscored their opponent in the second frame.

Special teams was a hot button issue for general manager George McPhee. Concerned over the Caps taking a few too many penalties, he could find some comfort as the Caps were a perfect 2-2 on the penalty kill and a 1-2 on the power play. It was a good sign the PK is improving especially against a good power play team in the Panthers who are ranked 11th in the league.

Holtby was pretty solid. He was controlling rebounds and making smart decisions with the puck. His pass to Troy Brouwer to catch the Panthers on a line change while on the power play led to the game's second goal. The goal was huge for the Capitals as they stretched their lead to two goals and forced the Panthers to play a more conservative style of hockey for fear of giving the Caps another power play.

"The traffic in front of the net tonight was non-existent today," said Holtby to reporters following the game. "Our defense and our forwards really took it to heart this last little while that we need to bear down on our end and it was outstanding tonight. We’re going to need that to keep moving forward."

The Capitals will get a much needed day off to rest then back at the rink on Monday before they head to the Sunshine state for a second rendezvous with the Panthers in Sunrise Florida. This is definitely a game the Capitals can grow off of. As long as their work ethic can continue, the Caps certainly have the time to crawl back into playoff contention.

Caps Notes:

• Holtby was named the game's first star followed by Brouwer (second star) and Ward (third star).
• Ovechkin continues his point streak to now 4 games with 2 goals and 3 assists during that span.
• Perreault scored his first points of the season with a goal and an assist. He has been in and out of the lineup sharing duties with Marcus Johansson. Perreault did not play against Pittsburgh on Thursday night.
• The promotional double whammy, Caps scored 5 goals and won which means the 18,506 in attendance won free wings and everyone in the DC Metro region gets Papa John's Pizza half off tomorrow (by using promotion code CAPS50).

Talkn' About... Practice

The earliest training camp would start is Wednesday. But to get players in and the coaching staff primed, the likely start of camp would be Friday. But this won't be like training camps of the past. With only a week (or less) to prepare for a sprint of a 50 game season, Adam Oates will be in cut down mode from the get go.

What would a shortened camp look like? More like a practice during the regular season. A small contingent of players form the AHL will make an appearance, but most likely it will be the contract players the Caps signed and have under contract. Formal rosters will be submitted in the next day or so, but for now we can speculate who will be at Kettler in the next week.

In the way of goaltenders, the possibility of bringing up three for camp seems likely, but the coaching staff might stick to two. Braden Holtby and Micheal Neuvirth most likely will be the team's one and two netminders, although not necessarily in that order. If Oates decides to make it a competition for the top spot, the Caps could see some young goaltenders duke it out over this 50 game stretch. To round out camp, the Capitals could bring up Danny Sabourin. It is more likely that the organization wouldn't leave the Bears with out a goaltender, so we may only see Holtby and Neuvirth at camp.

Your standards at defense will return. Karl Alzner and John Carlson most likely will be the top two blue liners. Rounding out Dmitry Orlov, Mike Green, Roman Hamrlik, John Erskine and Jeff Schultz will all report to camp. Jack Hillen will be the new face on the back line. Patrick McNiell might get a call up for a look.

Washington's forwards will have some new faces with the acquisitions of Wojtek Wolski and Mike Ribeiro. (Rumor has it Ribeiro has been playing in the DC area for the last couple of months with some men's leagues) They will be in fused with the return of Alex Ovechkin and Nick Backstrom returning from Russia where they played with Moscow Dynamo. Troy Brouwer, Jason Chimera, Matt Hendricks, Brooks Laich, Mathieu Perreault, Joel Ward and Marcus Johansson will be the regulars for camp.

Joey Crabb, Mattias Sjogren, Filip Forsberg and Stanislav Galiev might make an appearance to see if they need to call up anymore talent from Hershey or beyond. For them to crack the line up, they most likely would have to fill in for an injury (Laich ended his brief stint overseas after sustaining a groin injury) or if someone's game went downhill.

In any event, and who ever does show for camp, the Capitals' coaching staff will have to quickly evaluate, cut and mold their team for a short season. Oates priorities will to be bring a flowing chemistry to the team in a short amount of time, make the power play work at a consistent level and shore up the defensive end of the ice for the Caps to make a run at the playoffs and beyond.

What Now?

The Washington Capitals struggled. They struggled where they were so powerful just two years ago. A lack of offense. You would think with a salary burden of just over $34 million in player salary just on forwards Alex Ovechkin, Nick Backstrom, Alex Semin, Brooks Laich, Joel Ward, Troy Brouwer and Jason Chimera. Little good it did them as the best they could do is 2.66 goals a game, and just over 2 goals a game average  the playoffs.

When Dale Hunter took over for the Capitals in November, he didn't give the offense free range like Bruce Boudreau had. Instead he took the stance that if the big guns weren't going to score then they better had been defensively sound in their own end. With the personnel he had to work with, it seemed a monumental task.

But it slipped them into the playoffs. That style helped the Caps pull up an unlikely upset of Boston, and nearly toppled the first place team in the East. They went toe to toe with the Eastern Conference two best teams and took them to the brink, one eliminated, the other eliminated them. But questions are still out there. Did general manager George McPhee flub getting a solid second line center? Could he have found better scoring when his team needed it the most?

Frankly, this team went from high expectations with their off season acquisitions, to a team in distress, to a team that barely made the playoffs, to being a goal or two shy of making it to the Conference Finals. It has been a rollercoaster ride for the team and its fans. But how can that change into a winning season, and getting the Capitals back to a Stanley Cup Contender.

Let's look at the possibilities of losing some names. Mike Knuble most likely will not be resigned. Alex Semin may not return, rumors still stirring he might join the KHL. Tomas Vokoun might jet now that the Capitals seemed set with two young warriors in net in Braden Holtby and Michal Neuvirth. Dennis Wideman (the only Capital that was at last year's all star game) most likely will walk.

Loose ends on the RFA front include Jay Beagle, Mathieu Perreault, Mike Green and John Carlson. All played an important part in the Caps' post season push, especially Beagle who was the hardest working player outside of Matt Hendricks for them.

The Capitals still need to find a solution for a second line center. McPhee failed to secure one in the off season, and even at the trade deadline. Even though his group exceeded expectations of a mostly failed season, they still came up short of the Conference Finals and hopes of a Cup contending team seem fleeting.

If those unrestricted free agents walk, the Caps lose a combined 214 points gained in the 11-12 regular season. That will be hard to replace if McPhee loses that talent with out bringing in some solid offense. If Hunter sticks around, then it will be offense that can succeed inside of that system. That might be the trickiest part of the off season for McPhee. If he is still around.

Caps Waive Three

Francois Bouchard, Kyle Greentree and Zack Miskovic were put on waivers Saturday according to TSN.ca. Hershey Bears are set to start their training camp Monday and Keith Aucoin and Dany Sabourin were sent down. They join players Andrew Carroll, Jacob Micflikier, Joel Rechlicz, Brett Flemming and Julien Brouillette.

Bouchard was signed about the same time as Mathieu Perreault but has failed to be even considered a call up from Hershey. His production numbers have plummeted since his arrival from Juniors where he had 125 points (45 g, 80 a) through 68 games in '05-'06 with Baie-Comeau. Since being with Hershey, he has only mustered an average 52 points through 77 games in '09-'10 and dropped to just 24 points and a -5 through 74 games last season.

Miskovic was a free agent signed by Washington, but was another prospect that did not pan out.

Since attacking the free agent market this summer, it is likely the Capitals might be thinning the ranks through Hershey so clear way for cheaper call ups with a tight salary cap. It is also likely that the players they waived (which none have been claimed as of yet) were players that could flourish in a different organization since space is tight with the Caps new additions.

PP Spudders, But Coughs Up GW Goal

Capitals 2, Sabres 1
Game Summary

It looked like the Capitals' power play was going to make the headlines for all the wrong reasons. But Mathieu Perreault sparked a late power play goal to lift the Caps over a team pressuring for a playoff spot, the Buffalo Sabres 2-1.

Perreault would only get a goal, but he figured in on both tallies. The first goal was one of opportunity as the dump in by Matt Hendricks took a crazy bounce off the boards to a waiting Perreault in front of the net. He shot it opposite side and beat Ryan Miller for the early lead.

What was to be Perreault's second goal was a result of some determination by Alex Ovechkin. A streaking Ovi weaved his way into the zone on the power play and let go a wicked snapper. The rebound went right to Perreault who threw it back at Miller. The puck apparently hit Marcus Johansson on the way in and the Caps would get the lead back for good.

While the Caps took the lead on the power play, it wasn't easy sailing when the Sabres practically gave the game to them in the first period. A slew of early penalties even had the Caps on a long 5 on 3 opportunity. The pp wasted opportunity after opportunity going 0 for 4. They had their shots, an almost open net for Nick Backstrom turned their fortunes around, but he couldn't get the shot high and Miller made the easy save.

Everything about the game the Caps did pretty good. They played solid 5 on 5 and the PK only allowed a goal against. There were good chances at even strength for the Caps as well. Even the checking line had a few good looks.

Semyon Varlamov looked pretty solid when he was called to make a save or two. He looked good in net and looking like the Varly of old where it is just plain tough to score on him. He would turn aside 28 shots including 11 in the third period. He would have some good control over his rebounds and looked square to the shooter.

Mike Green sits out for another game, but his return seems close. The Caps return Patrick McNeill to Hershey in hopes of making room for Green back in the line up.

Caps don't have much time to celebrate as they take on Pittsburgh Monday night.

Caps Hold Off 'Canes

Capitals 3, Hurricanes 2
Game Summary


Perhaps it was the break for Christmas, but both teams had sloppy starts the day after the December 25th holiday. But the Washington Capitals got the lucky bounces and they edge the Carolina Hurricanes for their fourth straight win against the Hurricanes and an important two points in a much tougher division. The 3-2 win would also end a long scoreless drought for Alex Ovechkin.

The Caps had to rely on a bit of luck to win tonight. Mathieu Perreault would open the scoring on a pretty "no look" pass from Alex Semin to the front of the net. The lucky pass would avoid the poke-checking sticks of Cam Ward and Eric Staal and Perreault got his stick on the pass and tipped it passed the 'Cane goaltender.

David Steckel would benefit from an Ovechkin misstep with the puck as he tried to deke around the defender. The puck went through Ovi legs and luckily to an open Steckel who scored the goal. Even Ovechkin's big goal was due to a bit of luck as the point shot from Mike Green hit traffic in front to a wide open Ovechkin crashing the net. It would break a goal drought of 8 games and only 2 goals in the past 19 starts.

While the Caps take home a win, they do take some damage as Tim Gleason ran Perreault into the boards. MP85 would leave the game with broken nose. Gleason was given a five minute major and was ejected from the game. The loss of the defenseman seemed to blow the wind out of the sails for the 'Canes.

The Caps did have a 3-1 lead in the second intermission but allowed an early third period goal just :30 seconds in. The goal gave the Hurricanes some life and the Caps were constantly on their heels through out the final frame. Their defense would bend, but not break as they killed two big penalties. Even a few misses in the final minute with Ward pulled, the Caps would hold on to their one goal lead and go on to win the game.

Injuries seem to hinder the team's defensive core. Tom Poti missed the game after taking a stick to the face in the Penguin game from his own teammate. Jeff Schultz remains out with a broken hand. The core is beginning to thin.

Power play woes continue for the Caps as they failed to take advantage of three minutes of a five minute major late in the first period. Not that they would have a lot of chances, but they were 0 for 2 with the extra man.

The two points takes points away from the Hurricanes, but the Tampa Bay Lightning stay hot as they down the Thrashers in overtime to stay tied with the Capitals in the Southeast. The Caps have two very tough games ahead, and it is important that the Caps come away with 4 points in those next two games. They can't overlook the Montreal Canadiens as they come to the phone booth on Tuesday night.

Semin's Trick Tanks Thrashers

Capitals 4, Thrashers 3 OT
Game Summary

Alex Semin broke out with three goals as the Washington Capitals overcome another slow start against the Atlanta Thrashers. Tomas Fleischmann would finish it off in overtime and the Capitals stop their losing ways at just 2 games. The Capitals are a perfect 3-0 when going into overtime thus far in the season.

Semin would score a natural hattrick to bring up his season total to 5 goals. His first happened after Chris Mason made an errant pass up the wall and found Semin at the half boards. He ripped it into the open net sending out a loud ping as the puck hit the post and went in the net.

On his second goal, Mathieu Perreault's gritty play would benefit Alex Semin's game tying goal after Brooks Laich forced a turn over along the boards to Perreault. MP85 would get tripped up and Semin would clean up after the play in front of the net to tie the game at two in the third.

Perreault would make the most of his call up by also assisting on Semin's third goal to give the Caps the lead in the third period. Perreault moved his feet to open some space and found Semin on the far post open. Semin chipped it with his back hand past Mason and the hats rained down on the ice. It was Semin's fourth career hattrick, and the first by the Caps since February of last season (also scored by Semin).

The penalty kill has hit a snag in the last two games. After being perfect through the first 6 games, the Caps shorthanded have allowed 4 goals on 11 chances in the last two games. While the PK was okay tonight, the Caps' power play continues to struggle as they went 0 for 3 tonight. They blew three minutes of a major penalty on Dustin Byfuglien. Buff ran the Caps' goaltender Michal Neuvirth and got his head nearly taken off by John Erskine standing up for his goaltender. But the power play sputtered and a hooking call by Brooks Laich would negate the penalty early in the third.

The Caps would dress Mike Green for the tilt, but he would see no actual five on five ice time. He was just in to help the struggling power play. He would bounce a puck off his skate in the net, but the call was called back as it was deemed Green kicked it into the net. He didn't play in the overtime period either and spent most of the time sitting on the bench.

A season ago the Washington Capitals have been off to fast starts in games. They have outscored their opponents in the first period 92-67. In the first 8 games of this season, they have had to come from behind being outscored in the opening frame 9-3. Without the quick start, the Caps are finding a difficult time getting through their games. Tonight would be no different as the Capitals allow a late first period goal against the Thrashers and have to work from behind.

The Caps now go on a three game road trip starting with the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night, then hop over to the Twin Cities to take on the Wild Thursday night and end up in Calgary to face one-time Cap Brendan Morrison on Saturday night. 

Caps Comeback Not Enough

Capitals 4, Senators 5 OT
Game Summary

Another bad start got the Capitals off on the wrong foot. But they battled back into the game and eventually got the lead back. But a bad bounce and some badly timed penalties helped the Ottawa Senators over take the Caps in overtime 5-4.

Alex Semin scored a pair of goals and Mike Green and Mathieu Perreault added goals to what looked like a successful come back for the Caps. But some bad penalties did the Caps in the end. Not to mention the bad start.

Once again, the Capitals fell behind in the first period. And once again it would be an extreme angle shot that caught Jose Theodore off guard. Peter Regin scored from an extreme angle and the puck bounced off of Theo's blocker and into the net. The Capitals would answer with a power play goal by Alex Semin who caught Sens' goaltender Brian Elliot deep in his net.

But the Caps would give up a power play goal to Jason Spezza (even though it looked as if Mike Fisher interfered with Theodore on the goal). Chris Campoli added another goal to give the Senators a 3-1 lead in the first period. The Caps would wake up in the second period.

Alex Ovechkin briefly took over the points lead when he fed Semin a pretty pass on a two on one (Henrik Sedin took back the scoring lead against the Coyotes). Ovi drew the defender in and found Semin breaking in alone. Semin put the puck top shelf as Elliot went for the poke check. It started the Caps comeback. Green would score just :54 seconds later as Tom Poti fed him a nice one timer that beat Elliot over his left shoulder. Just like that, the game went into the final framed tied up.

In his second game, Perreault scored a goal. Right off the face off, Eric Fehr won the battle in the corner for the puck and found Perreault chugging to the net. The little guy was able to get an angle on Elliot and beat him with his back hand shot. That would give the Caps the lead, but it wouldn't last.

The Caps would take some ill-timed penalties and the Senators would make them pay. Spezza scored his second power play goal when he centered the puck and it ricochet off of a sprawling Jeff Schultz and beat Theodore. In overtime, Nick Backstrom would take a tripping call with just over 30 seconds left in overtime and Alexei Kovalev scored the game winner off of a deflected shot.

The Caps have slumped to a 1-1-2 in their last four games. While the games have been close, the Caps still have not had a win in their last three games. The team doesn't seem like it is helping Alex Ovechkin win any hardware this summer as Ovi has only managed 5 points in his last 5 games.

Washington needs to come to the realization that other teams are going to bring their best when they play the Capitals. They have to be more prepared early in games. Falling behind in the first period by 2 or more goals is just too much to ask against teams that are fighting for playoff spots. They need to clean up their act, and put forth a better effort in the first period.

Caps Post A Stinker At Home, Clinch East Anyway

Capitals 3, Flames 5
Game Summary

It wasn't pretty. The Capitals came out with little energy as the Calgary Flames pretty much wrapped up this game all in the first period off of four goals in just eleven shots. From there the Caps could do little else to salvage a poor start, even with Alex Ovechkin scoring his 46th goal of the season. Some thoughts on the game.

• Mathieu Perreault was recalled after Brendon Morrison left practice with a lower body injury. He rewarded the coaches decision by scoring a goal in the third in an attempt at a comeback. It wouldn't go any where as the Flames sucked what ever energy was in the building. Perreault's goal may have not have sparked the big time comeback the Caps were wishing for, but it's nice to know even with the injuries that are plaguing the team late, someone from Hershey can step in.
  
• Alex Ovechkin held the scoring title briefly. Before Sidney Crosby scored a pair against the Toronto Maple Leafs. It is good to see Ovi start to score again and hopefully this will spark a strong end of the season for the reigning MVP.
• Jose Theodore for the first time since January looked human. No fault of his own mind you. Theo was a victim of some unfortunate bounces from extreme angles. He allowed 3 goals in nine shots prompting his exit just over half way through the first period. Semyon Varlamov came in relief and allowed a late period goal that for the most part did the Caps in.
  
• The Capitals defense was downright terrible. Players were badly out of position and a step behind the play. It just wasn't a good night for them. End of story, move on.
• I think this was more of a team that got reamed the night before against a team that is destined to bigger things. The Flames got a stern talking to last night by the GM. As a result, they came out with a bit of vinegar in their veins. The Caps just didn't match that intensity. End result, a 5-3 drubbing by the team that needed the win more.
• The crowd was a restless one. Several times they were on the home team with some jeers and boos when things weren't going their way. I think as a paid ticket holder, you can boo all they want if you think the team deserves it. Do you think they deserved it?
  

If anyone has been reading this blog for a while knows my philosophy on blow out losses. The Caps could feel bad for themselves and shake their confidence. Or they can learn from it. Use it to their advantage and come out the next came with a commitment to fixing their mistakes.

Even with the loss, the Caps wrap up the Eastern Conference as teams below them just couldn't keep up the pace. No team in the east will be able to over come the Capitals 109 points and 49 wins. It is comforting to know that the Eastern Conference title will have to go through Verizon Center. The Caps still hold a 5 point lead overall in the NHL as they look to secure the franchises first President's Cup.

Epic Game Marks Caps 14th Straight Win

Capitals 5, Penguins 4 OT
Game Summary

The story could have been about the Penguins' journey to Washington DC after two and half feet of snow that fell in a blizzard the day before. Or it could have been about Sidney Crosby's dominance over the Washington Capitals with two goals in the first period. Or it could have been about Jordan Staal's late in the second period goals nearly putting the Caps away for good and going up 4-1. Instead, this story is about a winning streak that 14 and got some help from #8.

Alex Ovechkin would be the first Capital of the year to net a hattrick, Eric Fehr got a timely goal late in the second period and Mike Knuble scored the game winner in overtime. And the winning streak continues.

The game had a playoff feel to it as both teams came out flying. It had a little bit of everything. "It's what people paid to see," said Caps' bench boss Bruce Boudreau. "When the superstars shine and there is tension and excitment and there is physical play and you can see the passion on both sides. That is what hockey is all about."

It was all the NBC analysts could talk about as the Penguins jumped to a quick 2-0 lead in the first period. The Penguins were sending a message. The Caps were turning the puck over in the neutral zone and the Penguins were quick to jump on the play. Crosby benefited of a turnover scoring unassisted. Then he scored on the power play moments later as the Caps missed played collapsing on Evgeni Malkin and leaving #87 wide open. Just like that, the Pens were up 2-0.

Ovi would open the scoring in for the Capitals mid-way through the second period. He took a pass from Jeff Schultz up the middle and shot the puck so hard, it shattered the camera box in the back of the net. There would be a delay after the goal as they replaced the shattered shield.

But the Penguins would not let up on their attack. Staal, brother to Marc (Rangers) and Eric ('Canes), scored a pair of goals to stretch the lead to 4-1. It seemed that Eric Fehr's goal later in the period wouldn't matter much as the Caps got into penalty trouble. Late in the period they found themselves down two men as the period finished.

The Caps would kill the penalty and then turn on the offense in the 3rd period.

"The crowd kept pushing us in the third period," Ovechkin said. "We just kept going and kept going. It was pretty sick."

Ovechkin took over the game netting a goal after Tom Poti's shot was knocked down in front. Ovi's quick hands propelled the puck past Marc Andre Fluery's pads. Then he buried an off speed shot from the face off to beat the Penguins' goaltender to tie the game. Just like that, the Penguins watched a three goal advantage slip away.

The Penguins would not quit, pressuring the Caps late. Even with the travel difficulties the Penguins endured, they seemed to keep the Caps on their heels late in the game. "I felt our team had plenty of jump," Penguins' coach, Dan Bylsma said about using the tough travel into Washington. "I think our guys looked good, it didn't have anything to do with [the travel]." But they couldn't convert and the game would go into overtime.

In overtime, both teams had their chances. Brooks Orpik would take a high sticking call 2:26 into overtime. Orpik caught Alex Semin high after Semin got rid of the puck. "He’s a baby," Orpik told reporters after the game. "I don’t know [if it was a high stick] but he does that all game long. I got zero respect for the kid."

But a penalty was called and it would only take 13 seconds later when Ovechkin rang a shot off the post and the puck trickled back into the blue paint under Fluery. Mike Knuble wins the game as he slides the rebound in under the Penguins' goaltender. It capped a 3 goal deficit and keeps the Capitals' win streak alive.

The game had it's share of chippiness and some cheap plays. Craig Adams pushed Ovechkin into the boards in the first, the All Star fell awkwardly into the dasher. Adams would not be called for the penalty, but Mike Knuble came to the rescue. Knuble would receive two minutes for instigating as well as a 5 for fighting, 10 misconduct.

The Caps will get a day off tomorrow before facing Montreal and Ottawa on Wednesday and Thursday respectively. They are have just three games before the Olympic break. If they win against the Habs and Sens, they have a chance to tie the NHL's record for longest win streak at 17.

Caps Notes

• In a weird coincidence, the Capitals farm team Hershey Bears found themselves down by three goals to come back and win it against Pittsburgh's farm team Wilkes/Barre Penguins on a hattrick by Mathieu Perreault to win 5-4.
• Nick Backstrom and Mike Knuble both had a pair of points (Backstrom 2a, Knuble 1g, 1a).
  
• Crosby tied Ovechkin for the goals lead in the NHL with his two goals, just to see Ovechkin score three goals and lead by as much.
• Ovechkin is the first player with 40 goals every season since the lockout (only Ilya Kovalchuk can join him) via @washcaps.

Ovechkin Is Not A Dirty Player

There is a distinct difference between playing all out and playing dirty. To suggest that Alex Ovechkin's knee on knee hit with Tim Gleason was in any way dirty is absurd to say the least.

Was it a penalty? Yes. Was it worth a two game suspension? Not necessarily.

If anyone who has watched Ovechkin play, you know he doesn't cut corners nor does he let up whether it is game seven in the playoffs or just a divisional game between two teams separated by 21 (now 23) points in the standings. This is just an unfortunate incident that Ovechkin reacted late to a Gleason deke. If Gleason doesn't deke, he probably would have been buried by a crushing check. Ovi committed himself to the hit and as a last second adjustment stuck his leg out to catch the 'Cane defender.

I can see a game suspension and time served as Ovechkin was ejected from the game. But two games? Two game suspensions are handed out to players who have the reputation already as dirty players and those who go into situations with intent to harm (like let's say Matt Cooke's latest handy work against the Rangers). I can understand if the league wants to make knee on knee hits a thing of the past, but this was not an intentional event and Gleason finished the game (he didn't even miss a shift).

Coach Bruce Boudreau called the hit reckless, but would he be less apt to criticize if Ovechkin didn't engage in the play at all? I didn't see reckless in the hit, I did see a player making a last second mistake.

When a player is committed to the hit that player has two choices when the other player makes a move to avoid the hit. He can bail on the hit and go right by, which I have seen Ovechkin do on countless occasions (i.e. the last Caps/Flyers game where Ovi lined up Mike Richards and Richards made the move to avoid the hit. Ovi skated right past him). The other is to stick your leg out and slow them up (which is a penalty). At the speed of this game I am not surprised it happens more often.

Caps Notes:

• The injury list is making the trip from Hershey to Washington a regular route for some players. Boyd Gordon, Alex Semin, Shaone Morrisonn, Tom Poti, Mike Knuble and Quintin Laing's injuries have made it tough for GM George McPhee and Boudreau to build any kind of chemistry through the lines. Hence, a slew of one goal games. Of the many that have traveled the road between farm club and Verizon Center have been Mathieu Perreault is making the most of his time as a Capital. Though small, Perreault has been a bright spot amongst the injury gloom and doom. He has scored 2 goals and has 4 assists. But the biggest stat of all would be his +6 rating. In fact, Perreault has yet to recieve a minus rating in any of the 13 games he has played.
• Ovechkin is calling his injury just a bruise while his mother came out in defense of her son's suspension. Nice to see the mom standing up for her little boy.
• Last but not least, Jose Theodore played one of the best games I have seen him play as a Capital against Carolina. True that the effort came against a struggling offense, but he flat out robbed Eric Staal of a goal on a what looked to be a tap in tally. Let's hope this is a more consistent trend.

On a personal note, my time is still torn between a new home (I put in dimmer switches in my new house and my wife thinks I am a genius, nice) and my job which has been pulling a good chunk of my free time from me. I am trying to even everything out, and hopefully things will clear up after the holidays. I will try to update as much as I can but I am watching the games and I appreciate all the friendly emails and the encouragement to keep P.H.T. going.

Caps Punish Panthers With 5 Goals In Third Period

Capitals 6, Panthers 4
Scoresheet

No one can really say the Washington Capitals suffer offensively with Alex Ovechkin and Mike Green out of the line up. With both suffering from injuries and out of the line up against the Florida Panthers the Capitals didn't have much troubles putting up seven goals from five different players, including a 5 goal third period. The Caps would sweep the home and home from the Panthers as they win 7-4.

Mike Knuble had a monster night with two goals and two assists. Tomas Fleischmann also had a big night scoring a pair of goals. Brooks Laich, Quintin Laing and Mathieu Perreault (scoring his first career NHL goal) also added markers for the Capitals. Alex Semin was held with out a point as 13 different Capitals' players earned at least a point in tonight's game.

It was almost a carbon copy start from the previous game with Florida. The Caps seemed to have to thwart the Panther's advances before getting a hard working goal. But the second period differed from the night before as the Caps allowed three Panthers' goals and trailed going into the third period 3-2.

But the Capitals would take over things in the third period. Perreault started things off with his first career NHL goal. His goal was a wrap around that caught the Panthers' goaltender off gaurd and it tied the game at three. The Caps would take the lead just :40 seconds later as Matt Bradley found Laing in front of the net for a redirected goal. Laing would block a shot with his ribs in the first period, break his nose in the second period before his goal in the third.

The Panthers would get a goal to tie the Caps at four as Corey Stillman deflected a shot from the point past Jose Theodore. But the Caps kept coming and Fleischmann got the lead back with a tight-in shot. Knuble would add another goal as he tipped in a Shaone Morrisonn shot and Fleischmann would add another goal to finish off the Caps' five goals in the third period.

The Capitals played a much better "grit" game against a Panther team that would have rather played it more wide open. 5 of the seven goals scored tonight were goals not further out than 10 feet from the net and often the result of winning a battle along the boards. It seems the Caps are a much more of a grittier team with Ovechkin and Green out of the line up.

Theodore didn't play poorly, but he was not as sharp as he was the night before in Sunrise, Florida. He was often the victim of misplays by his team mates on the goals against. Case in point; Milan Jurcina was a pitiful minus 4 on the night.

While the Caps have now a two game win streak going, they still have some mental breakdowns in their zone. It isn't as noticeable against a lesser team like Florida, but could be tougher when the Caps will struggle to get on the scoreboard against teams with much better defense and goaltending. Semin's pair of penalties still hindered the Caps in the second period.

The Caps will face off with the Islanders (again) on Wednesday night. It is unclear if Ovechkin will be ready by then, considering doctors have told him to stop practicing with the team as he nurses his injury. Green and Schultz are also questionable for Wednesday night, for now. They will be reevaluated soon.

Caps Notes:

• Fleischmann has extended his point streak to 5 games with 5 goals and 2 assists. Laich has a four game point streak going where he has 3 goals and 3 assists in that span.
• The salary Cap will hinder the Capitals if Ovechkin returns to the line up. Most likely, Perreault will be sent back down to Hershey after his solid play in the line up for the Caps in the past couple of games. Perreault earned the hard hat in the Caps win tonight, and got a shaving cream pie for his efforts.
  
• Semin has been held pointless in the last two games (since his two assists against Columbus on Nov. 1). He also had two minor penalties; one for tripping and the other for cross checking. He has 8 minor penalties on the year with six of them coming in the offensive zone (@David_Getz).

Caps Win In OT... Again

Preseason: Capitals 3, Blackhawks 2 OT
Scoresheet

In almost a repeat of the first preseason game, the Capitals have to come from behind to get the win in overtime against the Chicago Blackhawks. In front of 19,734 in attendance at United Center in Chicago, the Caps' start was a little slow. The Blackhawks jumped to the early 2-0 lead. But Washington came back with goals in the second and third periods to force overtime and eventually winning with just :12 seconds left in the extra frame.

The Caps got off to another shaky start, but goaltender Micheal Neuvirth kept them with in reach. Chicago got some jump from the crowd early and scored in the first five minutes of the game off of a Patrick Sharp clean up shot with the puck in the crease.

The Caps then started taking penalties, much like they did in the game against Buffalo. They were called for four straight infractions for a total of 5 penalties in all. But the penalty killers did their job, not allowing a single Blackhawk power play goal. That seemed to build the momentum for them and Chris Clark's goal that bounced off a Blackhawk's skate to beat Huet seemed to energize the team.

The line of Clark, Alex Giroux and Kyle Wilson were on the ice for Chicago's 2 goals, but they made up for it by scoring the next two. Wilson scored late in the third to tie up the game and Neuvirth continued to look strong in net, killing off a 3:19 Blackhawk power play when Giroux took a 4 minute high sticking double minor.

Cam Barker took a high sticking call late for the Hawks and the Caps had a late power play to finish regulation, but their power play didn't click. It wasn't until late in the overtime period did Shaone Morrisonn dig the puck from the corner and feed it to a waiting Mathieu Perreault. Perreault buried the walk off goal and the Capitals stay perfect in the preseason.

The battle for second chair in goaltending has reached a boiling point. After Semyon Varlamov gave a spectacular performance in Buffalo, Neuvirth answered with a pretty well played game in Chicago. Both are making the decision harder for the coaching staff to pick one over the other, but one thing is for sure: the Caps have some great goaltending for the future.

Kyle Wilson and Mathieu Perreault played well for the Caps as the battle for the forward spots heat up. Wilson finished with a game tying goal and an assist, while Perreault scored the game winning goal in OT. Andrew Gordon also played well although he didn't make the scoresheet.

The Caps' defensive squad played well overall. Although there were some breakdowns, Neuvirth was there for the save. John Erskine had 5 hits, while Morrisonn assisted on the game winning goal. Tom Poti and Milan Jurcina both finished a plus 2.

The Blackhawks had a lot of stars on the ice for this exhibition game, but the Caps held pretty firm. Jonathan Towes, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Dustin Byfuglien and Cristabol Huet were all in the line up for the Hawks and the Caps still were able to hold their own. A positive sign.

Caps have one day of practice before their next game at the phone booth in Chinatown versus the Sabres. Caps may have more cuts on the way before the game Monday night.

Photo: AP

Group A Dominates

Sorry for the late post, I had engagements this evening.

Group A didn't just win the game by dominating almost the entire game, but also by scoring seven straight goals in the third period. Dustin Carlson's nightmare as the blue team's goaltender. It capped a great scrimmage for the boys in the white Capitals' practice jerseys in the second of three scrimmages schedule for the week as they win it 8 - 3.

Group A had three dominating lines, the Backman/Glass/Bruess line (or the BBG line), the Perreault/Mitchell/Sheen line, and the Dubuc/DiSimone/Broda line. Each one of the lines scored at least two goals. Michael Dubuc now has 5 goals in this summer's camp, while Mathieu Perreault scored a pair today. The BBG line was a great grinding line that kept the blue side frustrated and making bad mistakes.

The overall play was a bit sloppy, a sign that the week is wearing long with some of the prospects. Bad passes, misplays with the puck were the norm. If it were not for Garrett Zemlak putting forth a tremendous effort for the Blue team in the first half of the game, the white score could have easily reached 10 or 12 goals. But Zemlak kept his team in it, as he posted a shut out in the 30 minutes he played.

Dmitri Orlov has been having a great development camp. In his scouting report they call him an "opportunistic hitter" and he did find a couple of opportunities to pull out his hip check. He has the speed to make up for mistakes, he knows when to pinch in and when to back off. Very rarely was he ever out of position. Toward the end though, the Group B just couldn't over come the skill and speed of Group A and Orlov was not completely immune from being taken advantage of. Perreault pick-pocketed Orlov for his second goal of the day and that was the dagger in the heart of any comeback for the blue team.

Speaking of blue team players that impressed, Cody Eakin also did well. His speed factored in two goals for the blue team. One an assist, the other a goal. John Carlson also helped the blue team's cause with a couple of good clears and some great passes. He has yet to have a chance to open up and use that cannon of his.

There was a scary moment in the scrimmage when Jake Hauswirth crashed the net with Anton Gustafsson. The pair of them went into the net hard and Lil' Gus got the worst of the goal post. He cut his forehead really bad and he was stunned and on the ice bleeding as trainers came to the rescue. Hauswirth and Zach Miskovic (who also was in the collision) looked to be a bit shaken but okay. Braden Holtby, the white team's goaltender, was hardly hit at all as the players dove to miss him. Gustafsson did not return.

Injuries weren't uncommon on the fourth day of Development Camp. Patrick Wey caught a puck in the mouth, required stitches. Stefan Della Rovere had to sit out due to a sprained shoulder (he also had stitches on his upper lip). Joe Finley took a stick up high and got cut on his lower lip. It is a sign that every player is playing as hard as they can to impress the Caps' management.

Finley has been slowly improving through the course of the camp. On day one, he seemed to want to hit everything in sight, often slipping out of position to do it. In scrimmage two, he played a better positional game, letting the hits come to him. He also tightened up his discipline after getting whistled for two penalties in scrimmage one.

I would not be surprised if the coaches decide to mix up some of the players between Groups A and B. Group A just was too much for in the second scrimmage. The only answer the blue team seemed to have was being more physical and pray their goaltender can help them out.

Saturday's scrimmage should be a good one in either case.

Caps Notes:

• Jeff Schultz did sign his qualifying offer, but faxed the one year, signed contract not to the Caps office. Instead he faxed it to NHL headquarters. It doesn't void the contract, usually the Caps will alert the league's office of the contract signing. But the confusion made for some he said, they said comments last night. In either case, Schultz will be back as a Capital for next season.
• Japers Rink figure a way to see everyone tweets from development camp. It was very sweet of him to include mine, as choppy and mis-spelled as it was.
• The Caps' prospects got a guided tour of the DC and WashingtonCaps.com was there to film it. At one point Jake Hauswirth is wired for sound, it is both funny and educational! Also if you watch within the opening song sequence you will see Garrett Mitchell almost miss the bus after the White House stop.
  

Group A Takes The 1st Scrimmage

Group A, dressed in the white Capitals' practice jerseys, defeated Group B, dressed in the blue, 5 - 2. Michael Dubuc scored the hattrick for the white team, while Braden Holtby was the only goaltender to post a shutout in 30 minutes of play.

The day included some big hits and some great action. For a first scrimmage, the boys didn't disappoint. One thing was for sure, just about every player gave it their all. Not one player came off the ice dry, everyone broke a sweat.

Stefan Della Rovere had the best performance of the day before he hurt his shoulder. He was physical on the puck and created opportunities deep in the white teams zone. All was missing was a goal for the tough forward, but there were no shortage of hitting. At one point Della Rovere hit Joe Finley behind the net. Finley took the worst of the hit, he fell like a heap against the boards to the ice surprised to be hit that hard by a little guy. Unfortunately, DR missed a check early in the second half and went into the boards hard. He will have his shoulder examined, he won't know until tomorrow whether he can continue.

Dmitri Orlov also played well, the best defenseman on the ice by far, in my opinion. He had two massive hits, one on an invitee Sorkin. He cut into him with a good hip check and it sent Sorkin flying head over heels. The other hit was a good shoulder check on Zack Miskovic. Orlov was solid on defense, a good skater he was never really beat.

Also on the blue team side John Carlson played well, getting a goal off of a rebound from a Orlov slapper on Dan Dunn. Josh Godfrey did well, but he would at times carry the puck into the offensive zone and tend to stay there a bit longer than he should. Often a forward was left behind to play defense and that led to white team chances.

On the white team, Mathieu Perreault was a tremendous puck mover that worked hard. He actually broke his skate when he side stepped a hit from Della Rovere. He missed a few shifts as they fixed his skate. Michael Dubuc also had a good game. He scored the last three goals for the white team, a hattrick. It included an empty netter goal for his second goal, and then he scored after that one with mere seconds left on the clock.

Braden Holtby was very good in net for the white team. He was the only goaltender to post a shutout, and he had to kill off a penalty in the first minute when Finley took a tripping call just :16 seconds in. He was solid, calm and collected in net.

Those that seemed to disappoint to me were Anton Gustafsson and Joe Finley. Gustafsson just seemed lost in the shuffle. He did nothing really to stand out offensively. He had a few back checks that were impressive, a couple of good defensive plays. But he did not produce much on the offensive end. Lil' Gus might be feeling the pressure of the Capitals and his father's legacy.

Finley did what he could, but he wasn't the fastest or the hardest hitting player on the ice. He took two penalties, one a trip and the other was a high stick to a player in front of the net away from the puck. Finley is a big guy, no doubt, but he was hit off his feet by some smaller players. Not a good game for him.

Tomorrow will be the second scrimmage, at the same time 3:30 pm, with the third one on Saturday.

Caps Notes:

• The Caps get some key players back into the fold. Defenseman Shaone Morrisonn forwards Kyle Wilson, Eric Fehr and Chris Bourque signed their qualifing offers (all one year deals). Steve Pinizotto signed a two way, two year contract with the Capitals as well. There is some confusion over if Jeff Schultz signed his contract but I am sure that will be sorted by tomorrow.
• The Capitals schedule has been released. The open at Boston on October first. Then they return home to play Toronto for their home opener on the 3rd of October. Then the schedule just gets harder as their next four opponents will be Philly, NY Rangers, Detroit and New Jersey. Tough start.
• GM George McPhee said it is 50/50 whether or not the Capitals will play at Olympic Stadium against the Montreal Canadiens. The Habs reported having a game at the gigantic stadium on November 28th, and the Caps are scheduled to play Montreal on that date. But nothing has been finalized. "You always look at what benefits the team," Bruce Boudreau said when asked about playing at the stadium, "For the coaching staff you have to look at all the positives and all the negatives in doing it. Right now I don't know enough of either."
  

Just A Morning Skate

Group A took the ice this morning at Kettler and I had a chance to check out the kids. It turned out to be a grueling two hour practice where the coaching staff threw just about everything they had at the prospects attending the summer development camp. Some struggled, some excelled and others impressed.

Of those that stood out, for me, were Mathieu Perrault, big guy Joe Finley, Joel Broda and Trevor Bruess. As well as goaltender Braden Holtby. For Perrault, this is old hat (his third camp to date if I am not mistaken). Not much phased him through the whole practice. He stayed consistent and played tough.

Finley seemed to welcome the challenge in defending Perrault during a one on one drill. Finley is all about size, at 6'7" and 240 you can hardly miss him on the defensive line. But Finley doesn't have Perrault's speed so Finley had to cheat a little around cones and make more direct cuts to keep up with the speedy forward. At one point Finley caught up with Perrault only to deflect his shot right up into his face below the visor (jaw or chin). Finley shook it off and didn't even miss the next round.

When they got to the 5 on 3 and 5 on 5 drills, Finley wanted to show case his physicality. He missed two hits at center ice and the one good hit he got in took him out of position, leaving his linemates high and dry. I'll chalk it up as rusty-ness for now.

Joel Broda also impressed. He has a nose for the net and doesn't shy away from being physical in front of it. His linemate, Trevor Bruess, was the agitator of the day in the 5 on 5 drills. He was also involved in most of the hitting (both giving and receiving). Bruess loves to cut off wingers, get in the grill of the defenders and create havoc in the neutral zone. And all of it for practice. I can't wait to see what he does for the scrimmages.

Those having a tough time were players that were none too familiar with Bruce Boudreau's deep need for perfection and their first time to a NHL development camp. You can say it was nerves and complex drills thrown at them on the first day.

"That was real competitive. Coach Boudreau is a really good coach. You better have your thinking cap on and make sure you listen." Trevor Bruess tweeted after the practice had ended.

Zach Miskovic had a tough run of practice. Often falling behind or asking others what was going on. Garrett Mitchell also seemed lost in the crowd. I was watching for him to step in, be more aggressive and physical, he choose the "wait and see" strategy a few times. As did many of the first timers who were trying to get it all down. Nils Backstrom, an invitee, looked out of shape at the end of practice as he was getting out skated by the Holtby the goaltender during the last skating drill.

Speaking of Holtby, this has been a different goaltender from the year before. Last summer, the then 19 year old looked a bit out wide eyed and tentative. You could see the potential he had. This summer, it's plain to see how much he has grown. Not only has he filled out his pads, but he is making smarter decisions with the puck. He is calm and collected and he came up with some very solid saves through out the two hour session. He did have some trouble going side to side and challenging a bit, but it's easy to see that Holtby could be in chocolate brown next season.

Dan Dunn was the other goaltender and he looked much as he did last summer. Good size, solid fundamentals. Besides that, nothing to fancy. He is has a solid butterfly that is hard to beat (because of his size 6'5", 200 lbs.). Dunn and Holtby still have some growing to do, mainly in the rebound department, Holtby more than Dunn. But camp is still young.

"I was rusty out there," Holtby tweeted after the workout. "It's a feeling-out process for most of us on the first day. And the first bag skate always hurts."

I was only able to take in the morning skate, I will be back out to Kettler tomorrow morning to take a look at Group B. You can always follow me and my observations on my Twitter account: twitter.com/pckhdsthghts.

Caps notes:

• George McPhee announced today the hiring of Mark French as head coach of the Capitals' farm team, the Hershey Bears. French was in town for the development camp. The Capitals have put up a few of the coach's comments up on their video page.

Who To Keep An Eye On

Over the next three days, PHT will be taking a closer look at the kids coming into town over the weekend for the Capitals' development camp. Some players we will be seeing for the very first time while others may look at next week's development camp as old hat. Either way, the Capitals have invested heavily in their draft picks and their scouting. Camps like these give the Capitals' organization and the fans a chance to see the fruits of that labor.

First let's take a look at some of the returning crowd to Kettler.

John Carlson is rated number 3 on the list of top prospects in the Capitals' system according to Hockeysfuture.com. This will be his second stint in development camp. The first time around the coaching staff have the defenseman some critiques and when training camp started a month or so later, he didn't let those constructive comments go to waste. He spent last season with the OHL's London Knights (former Cap Dale Hunter's team) then was sent to Hershey when the Knights were eliminated from the playoffs. Not only a top prospect for the Capitals, he will also attend the U.S. national junior evaluation camp in August. He was a first round pick, drafted 27th overall in the '08 NHL Entry Draft by the Caps.

Mathieu Perreault played his first full season with the Hershey Bears last year. He also was featured in 21 playoff games in the Bears' march to a Calder Cup Championship. He tallied two goals and six assists in that playoff run. If you can remember, Perreault was the scoring champ in the QMJHL with a 114 points, he led all Hershey rookies in points and was 10th overall in the AHL. He was chosen 177th overall (6th round) in the '06 Entry Draft.

Also returning is Francois Bouchard (pictured right), who was Perreault's line mate for a majority of the season along with another Cap prospect Oskar Osala. Bouchard is a creative forward who dazzled Caps fans last summer with a spin-o-rama move to score. According to the Capitals PR release:

The move looked familiar, as it is the same one his brother (Minnesota Wild's Pierre-Marc Bouchard) has used successfully against Chicago and San Jose in NHL shootouts. You may think that Francois picked up the move from his older brother, but it is the other way around. After Pierre-Marc debuted the move in 2006 he was quick to credit Francois for coming up with the idea and showing it to him first.

Bouchard registered with 15 goals and 20 assist in 64 games with the Bears last season. He was the Capitals 35th overall (2nd round) pick in the '06 Entry Draft.

If there was ever an up and coming pest in the NHL, it could be Stefan Della Rovere. The 5'11", 196 lbs. forward is a pure agitator that other teams love to hate. He makes his second appearance at the Capitals' development camp. He spent last season with the OHL's Barrie Colts and was apart of the World Junior Championship gold medal winning team Canada. He racked up 149 PIMs in Barrie, but also nearly had a point a game with 51 points in 57 games. Della Rovere was picked 204th overall (7th round) in the '08 Entry Draft.

Braden Holtby (pictured left), a prospect goaltender, surprised many in last year's camp. But his good play at camp didn't end with training camp last summer. Holtby started in 61 games for the Saskatoon Blades and was one of two goaltenders to hit the 40 win mark by season's end. Holtby practiced with the Bears during their playoff run and may play a bigger role in Hershey's goaltending depth next season. He was picked 93rd overall (4th round) in the '08 Entry Draft.

If Josh Godfrey's name sounds familiar, it's mostly because of his defensive partner Karl Alzner as both were on the '08 gold medal team for Canada (they were also partners on the Calgary Hitmen squad). The pair worked together for their country, but Godfrey was hampered with an injury last year. He spent a majority of it not with Hershey, but with the South Carolina Stingrays (who were also champions last year, defeating the Alaska Aces for the ECHL's Kelly Cup). Godfrey shows how talented and deep the defensive core is for the Capitals. He was the Capitals' 34th pick overall (2nd round) in the '07 Entry Draft.

The Capitals' biggest prospect (literally) would be Joe Finley. The 6'7", 240 lbs. defenseman has been to a Caps development camp before, but he has missed the previous two due to his college obligations (college players can attend a NHL camp, but NCAA rules stipulate they must pay their own way to the city and for their own accommodations). He suffered through an injury last season, but Finley has been a rock on the blue line for the North Dakota Fighting Sioux. Most will remember Finley as a tough guy who once punched a guy in the line to shake hands and he also went after a visiting team's mascot. He was an '05 draft pick.

Also returning is Dan Dunn (pictured right), a big goaltender who spent last year with St. Cloud State. But he may be looking for work this year as he played second chair to junior Jase Weslosky, who was drafted by the Islanders. Dunn only started 5 times last season and played in nine games. It will be an important camp for him. He was selected 154th overall (6th round) in the '07 Draft.

Tomorrow we will look at a few more prospects that will grace our presence at the Capitals development camp, included a pair that were not even drafted.

Perreault And Carlson Sent Down

John Carlson was sent back to his junior squad and Mathieu Perreault was sent to Hershey. The forwards list is starting to get tighter, but the defensemen roster is still pretty beefy, which could be a sign of they are not sure which direction they might be headed in defensive pairs.

Chris Bourque continues to make the decision to send him down more difficult after netting two points against Boston which included the game winner. While he has been my dark horse for making the team some 3 years running now, it's not likely he will take any contract players position as the lineups in preseason turn more veteran.

Simeon Varlamov is apparently injured, first I read about it. He tweaked his groin in the second Carolina game. Bruce Boudreau is taking it easy on him, but I am surprised they haven't sent him down. It could be the fact that he could get better treatment here. Maybe.