Caps' Win Is Costly

Capitals 4, Panthers 1
Scoresheet

The Washington Capitals may have won the game in convincing fashion, but it was the parade of defensemen off the ice that drew the most attention. The Caps were resilent when they needed to be and Brian Pothier had one heck of a hockey game with 3 points as they win game one of a home and home with the Florida Panthers, 4-1.

Mike Green left after only four shifts in the first period with an upper body injury. He was followed by Jeff Schultz in the second period who had a lower body injury. Shaone Morrisonn was called for a boarding call with eight minutes left in the third and was ejected for the game. Bruce Boudreau put Tyler Sloan in as a forward and it paid off as the blue line seemed to be dropping like flies.

The Caps however get some timely and much needed scoring from some lines that had been struggling. The second line of Mike Knuble, Brendan Morrison and Brooks Laich played hard all game rewarding Morrison with a pair of goals. While Pothier had a career night with a goal and two assists. Sloan scored his second in as many games as he has found some chemistry with Mathieu Perreault and Chris Clark.

This was a total team win tonight by the Capitals. It was made evident by the primary and secondary assists on the first three goals of the night. Jose Theodore stopped 28 shots and what he couldn't stop, his defensemen stepped in. Sloan even stopped a dribbler from making it past Theo towards the net.

"Jose was superb," Boudreau said. "Especially in the first five minutes of the game when they came right at us. He did a great job holding the fort until we got a goal or two."

Injuries seem to be mounting up for the Capitals. Green and Schultz will join Alex Ovechkin who is likely out for tomorrow's rematch game against the Panthers. Boyd Gordon and Eric Fehr are still nursing injuries.

For the most part, the Caps were successful in avoiding the penalty box. But Shaone Morrisonn hit a Panther right in the numbers into the boards. That led to a five minute major for the Caps' defenseman. The Caps did a fantastic job of killing off the major only allowing one shot on net for the 5 minute duration.

Caps Notes:

• According to Bruce Boudreau, Shaone Morrisonn may be suspended for his boarding hit. The Caps received a letter from the league stating as much so if Morrisonn had a 5 min. major called on him in either the first 10 or 15 games (they weren't sure on the time frame). The letter claimed that Morrisonn had been called for two boarding majors last season, but he only had one (Feb. 7 against the same Florida Panthers). It's unclear if he will be suspended by the league.
• Alex Semin may not have scored a point, but he didn't take any bad penalties either. His ice time was pretty even through out the game including some time on the ice when the Panthers had pulled their goaltender.
  
• Nick Backstrom got his 15 assist on the season when he passed it to Brian Pothier and his one timer scored on the power play. He is now tied for second in the league with two other players.
  

Caps Win First Preseason Game

Preseason: Capitals 4, Sabres 3 OT
Scoresheet

In a game when the Caps seemed to look a bit shaky for their first preseason game, Semyon Varlamov was anything but. Varly stopped all 17 shots in the first two periods and held on in the third to help his team beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 in overtime. Brian Pothier scored the game winning goal on a 5 on 3 power play carry over from the third period to give the Caps the win.

The Capitals didn't quite get the start they wanted in HSBC Arena at the start of the first period. They were badly outworked and out hustled. The Sabres offense seemed to be in fine form as the Caps struggled. Well all but one, Varly. Varlamov came up with save after save against the Sabres who were trying to score on the young goaltender by finding the open man across the ice. But each time Varly had an answer robbing Jason Pominville a couple of times with his athletic splits to cover the once open net.

With the Caps' goaltender keeping them in the game, the Caps seemed to get a good start as Alex Giroux scored the opening goal in the first period. He scored on a feed from Brendan Morrison and it gave the Capitals the early 1-0 lead. Thanks to Varlamov's heroics that scored held until the third period. Then the Sabres finally started getting the shots to go in.

The Sabres scored 2 goals jumping up to a 2-1 lead on goals by Pominville and Clarke MacArther. Mike Knuble tied things up with a goal right in front of the net. The Sabres answered with a goal of their own again going up by a goal. Just 23 seconds after the Buffalo goal, Jay Beagle tied the game.

Buffalo took a couple of bad penalties late, one was a delay of game foul called on goaltender Jhonas Enroth. The other was a check from behind by Mike Weber that had B. Mor injured on the ice for a spell. The Caps carried over the 5 on 3 power play into the overtime period where Pothier beat Enroth with a point slapper and wins the game for the Caps.

The standouts tonight for those gunning for jobs were Karl Alzner, Chris Bourque and Jay Beagle. Alzner cool, calm demeanor seemed to help the Caps get out of sticky situations. Bourque seemed to be Bruce Boudreau's safety blanket for this game. When his line was out there it seemed to even things out a bit. Beagle had 4 shots on net (second only to Nick Backstrom who had 5 shots) and scored the game tying goal just 23 seconds after the Sabres scored their go ahead goal late in the third.

Anton Gustafsson had his moments, both bad and good. The good was he did get his nose dirty in front of the net and that lead to some scoring chances and his two registered shots on net. The bad was when he broke his stick and went to the bench to get a replacement which gave the Sabres a scoring opportunity.

Joe Finley didn't really stand out at all, but he didn't make any glaring mistakes either. He registered two blocked shots and gave the Caps some good size up front.

The Caps come back to DC to get a few practices on Friday before heading to Chicago to play their second preseason game against the Blackhawks Saturday night.

Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images

3 Interesting Things To Watch For At Camp

The Washington Capitals technically started their camp today with veterans reporting to Kettler Iceplex for physicals and information. They also had a chance to meet up with the press. Questions about last year's disappointment to the outlook for this upcoming season were zinged left and right at players who just got into town. When the players do hit the ice tomorrow, they will just be four days from their first preseason game against Buffalo.

Just about every player has his own story and what they will try to accomplish in this year's camp. There are three that are interesting to watch as you gaze upon the practices at KCI.

Battle Between The Pipes

Bruce Boudreau is pretty big on seniority. That was made clear when he told reporters over the summer who was the number one goaltender for the Capitals. It was Jose Theodore.

Theo was benched in favor of the up and coming Semyon Varlamov in the playoffs and was returned only when the Caps trailed badly in game seven against the Penguins. But Theo has always claimed (and rightly so) that he was the whole reason for the Caps second place finish in the Eastern Conference to begin with.

But who is number two (bad bathroom humor aside). That is a battle to watch. Varlamov seems to be the obvious choice, but Micheal Neuvirth was in net when the Hershey Bears won their championship. It should be the battle to watch between the two. While Varlamov had some success in the NHL and in the playoffs, Neuvirth jumped from the ECHL to the AHL and going on to backstop for a championship. The battle should be one to watch and the Caps could gain from some outstanding goaltending throughout the preseason.

Knuble's Chemistry

Mike Knuble was the biggest off season acquisition the Capitals made. He comes in to replace the leaving Viktor Kozlov(who choose to go home and play in the KHL), which means they are most likely going to use Knuble on the Alex Ovechkin and Nick Backstrom line as a grinder. It's not a guaranteed spot for Knuble, but his signing in the off season is meant to add some sandpaper to the Caps forward lines.

If Knuble can dig in the corners and win battles on the boards, that could mean some open ice for Ovi and his wicked shot. The two are expected to work off of each other if they are paired on the top line, and it will be interested to see if the two really have some chemistry together. The two may not be paired until late in the preseason, but I would expect Knuble to share some time up on the top line during practices and scrimmages.

De - De - Defense

If there is one position the Caps have a log jam of good talent, it is on the blue line. Here is the list of defensemen who have a good shot at one of the six to seven positions available on the Caps roster: Karl Alzner, Sean Collins, John Erksine, Mike Green, Milan Jurcina, Shaone Morrison, Brian Pothier, Tom Poti, Jeff Schultz, Tyler Sloan and an outside chance for John Carlson. That is eleven players for only six spots.

I don't think there is doubt that Green, Poti, Pothier, Morrisonn and Jurcina will make the opening night roster. That really only leaves one or two spots open for the rest. That battle for those final spots should make any mistake by a defensive player a huge deal. The competition should make for some great defensive efforts on the Capitals' blue line.

NHL Notes:

• Dany Heatley is a Shark according to TSN.ca. A trade that took long enough. Heatley and a 5th round pick to San Jose for Milan Michalek, Jonathan Cheechoo and a second round pick. I think Ottawa won in this trade to be honest. I don't think that Heatley will boost the Sharks offense anymore than Cheechoo could.
• If the Coyotes weren't confused enough about their owner, they are really confused now that Wayne Gretzky was a no show for the first day of camp. No owner, no coach, what is going on in Phoenix? Ulf Samuelsson is filling in as head coach. This organization just went from sad to pitiful.
  
• On a totally non-hockey subject, things will be changing big time for the Puckhead family. We found out in July that my wife is expecting our first child. It is the reason I have not been updating the blog as often as I would like. So as my life changes on the home front, I am sure it will be more difficult to keep the blog up to standard at all times (considering I do this for the love of it and don't get paid at all). We are super excited and before the season is out, there will be a new little Caps fan that Uncle Ted will want to sell a season ticket to.

Thank goodness hockey is back!

Caps Taking Game Three Seriously

If you have not seen the last two games between the Capitals and Penguins, you certainly would not know the Caps were up 2 games in the series by the way they acted at Kettler yesterday.

"I hope we're not going to be lulled into a false sense of security because we haven't really played well," Caps' defenseman Brian Pothier said. "We've had timely goals and great goaltending, but as a team I don't think we've played nearly as well as we can."

The Capitals have had their fair share of scary moments in their own zone with the Penguins pressuring. But they have had plenty of help off of Alex Ovechkin's stick and a rookie goaltender. The call to play better can be heard from the head coach Bruce Boudreau down through the ranks. The Caps feel they are capable to play better and have been lucky thus far.

"When you are playing good teams with a lot of character like Pittsburgh it doesn't get any easier." Boudreau cautioned. "If this was a game of tennis, we've held serve."

They have also have had a hard time staying out of the penalty box. The Caps have been whistled for 5 minors in game one, and seven minors in game two. Seven penalties total in the first period in both games.

But the bright spot for the Capitals of late has been their play on the road. Once a concern earlier in the season, they have simplified their game in a different barn and come away with a win. They will have to keep their focus and keep up their winning ways.

But the Caps have to be able to contain the only scorer in game two for the Penguins, Sidney Crosby.

"We can be more cognizant of where he is," Boudreau said. "That's what we can do, but if he wants to go there, short of taking a penalty every time, he's going to go there."

All three of Sid's goals in game two were down low and in tight to the net. A contrast to Ovechkin's tallies that were 10 to 15 feet out and were great shots that beat Marc-Andre Fleury. But the Pens remained frustrated as they have played well, but have nothing really to show for it.

"I'm sure Pittsburgh's a little frustrated by that," Pothier said. "They have been playing pretty well but they haven't been able to score, We cannot think for a second that we've been dominating the series or anything. We need to play a much better game."

Caps Notes:

• According to Tarik on his blog, the league will not suspend Chris Kunitz for his cross check to the neck of Semyon Varlamov late in the third. However, he will be fined. The only quote offered about the hit came from Dan Bylsma:
  

  "Chris is going to the net trying to create a loose puck and jam home a rebound, We have no other intention than that. For me, it was a battle and he was in there tight and making contact with the goalie."

• Fleury was asked if Ovechkin is playing with an illegal stick. "I don't know," he responded. "Haven't really taken a look at it. The puck kind of sticks to it pretty good." When asked if he would be surprised if he was using one Fleury responded with a "No."
• Eric Fehr is questionable for game three as he was hurt in the first period after getting hit by Ruslan Fedotenko. He only played three shifts in game two. No word if they will recall a player or if Micheal Nylander will get a game sweater.
• The Penguins are whining about picks. They claim that the Capitals are making illegal picks and interfering with defenders to get players open. I guess that is better than saying "We blew the coverage."

Somewhat Of A Spark

Capitals 5, Lightning 3
Scoresheet - Post - Times - St. Pete Times

It may have been an unlikely source, but when the Capitals were looking to break a critical 3-3 tie the game winner would come from a Player that was on the injury list for 14 months. Brian Pothier shot ricocheted off a Lightning player and past their goaltender Mike McKenna. That wayward shot tilted the contest for the Caps as they go on to win their last game in March against a feisty Tampa Bay team 5-3.

Pothier scored his first goal of the season and got the game winner. It might have been Pothier's night, but this was Nick Backstrom's best performance as a Capital yet. Nick had two goals and an assist, scoring his 20th and 21st goal. Alex Ovechkin added two goals, the first and the empty netter to seal it. Brooks Laich had the playmaker with three assists.

The Tampa Bay Lightning may have a had a chip on their shoulders since the "hot" stick celebration by Ovechkin. Evgeny Artyukhin, lightning's resident Neanderthal, took to hunting Capitals all night. In fact the game was a little chippy through out. If Artyukhin ever gets kicked out of the NHL for doing stupid stuff, he could star in Geico's commercials.

Whether it was retribution for the celebration or Donald Brashear's absence, there was a quite a bit of hitting and jabbing following the whistles and the play. But the atmosphere was conducive to a playoff type game where both teams really wanted the win.

Lightning's Martin St. Louis was spectacular in this game. The 5 foot 9 forward was a terror for Capital players all night. When ever the puck was up for grabs, St. Louis came up with it. He figured into every one of the Bolts' goals.

The Caps seemed to have a bit more energy for tonight's game which has been a turn around for them in the last few. While the big stars got their points, a concern is secondary scoring. That was accounted for with Pothier's goal, but guys like Tomas Fleischmann, Eric Fehr, Viktor Kozlov and Micheal Nylander need to have better finishes (like the puck in the back of the net).

The Caps end March and start their four game homestand on a good foot. Next up is the rough and tumble Islanders who have been putting in a line up mostly made up of Bridgeport's best. And that means it should be a physical affair as well. As much as you want to over look the Long Island team, they did post a 2-0 win over Detroit at the Joe.

Pothier Returns

It's been over a year ago that Brian Pothier suffered a major concussion. It has been a long and winding road for the veteran defenseman who wasn't diagnosed with astigmatism in his eye until just last December. Once they found the problem, the solution was easy and Pothier was on the fast track back to the NHL.

Hershey was the first stop in a road to returning. Brian Pothier was a little nervous about his first hit, but he recounted his time in the minors in a conference call last night. "I actually had a few good collisions," Pothier recalled. "I took a couple of big hits and gave a couple. I was real excited about it. I was relieved. You go in and you don't know what to expect. You haven't had a hit in a while, and when you do get hit, you realize that I'm not damaged goods, I'm not fragile and everything still works real well."

The concussion was able to resolve itself months after the hit, but the astigmatism in his eye was not diagnosed for some time. When Pothier visited a specialist in North Carolina, where Dr. Susan Durham gave him a full two hour exam to find the root of his headaches and disorientation.

"She sat me down at a computer screen and she had me look at the screen," Pothier explained on the conference call. "The letters were kind of gray and pink and blurry. Then she put these glasses on, and I mean, it's hard to explain, but instantly, everything, even the letters changed colors. The letters turned crisp and dark. Instantly, all the pressure and headaches and tension in my head was gone. As soon as two days later, I was able to get on a bike and a couple of days after that I was able to skate. It progressed so quickly."

So quickly in fact that Pothier jumped from his car onto the plane to Atlanta as the Caps take on the Thrashers tonight. He did not even have time to discuss whether he would even be in the lineup. "I just got on the plane. I'm sure we'll sit down and chat real soon."

Pothier is pretty jacked up about his return. Even his wife was pretty excited as well. "It's been a long year and I'm sure she's just happy to get me out of the house. We're all excited."

Michal Neuvirth was sent back down to Hershey and Simeon Varlamov was called up now that his knee has healed. Neuvirth started in three games, replaced Jose Theodore in two games. He left with a 2-1-0 record and a .892 save percentage.