Capitals 6, Thrashers 3
Scoresheet - Wash Post
These are the types of games I am going to miss this month. Boy did I miss a whopper. The Capitals finally get secondary scoring. Besides 2 goals from defenseman Mike Green, 4 different Capitals scored against the Thrashers. It's something that the Caps must continue to do if they want to jump back into the playoff question.
Nick Backstrom started the scoring off a give away by the Thrashers' defender. Goals were followed up by Jeff Schultz, Alex Ovechkin, Green and one player who needed to find the back of the net this season in the worst way - Matt Pettinger.
Another player that looked closer to normal was Alex Semin. He was faster than he had been all season and it looks like he is getting back in the groove. Semin was close to scoring on several opportunities.
Bruce Boudreau's comments the night before sparked the Caps. Olie Kolzig let in a couple of softies late, which wasn't that bad since the Capitals were in control. Kolzig started in his second straight start, something he hasn't done this season. Boudreau called out the veteran goaltender against the Devils on the first goal and Kolzig responded with some solid saves early in the Thrasher game, but those soft goals still bother me. The Capitals had an chance to keep this game way out of hand, but the Thrashers were allowed to come back.
The Caps didn't score on the power play either. That needs to change tonight against the Devils. The Capitals look to avenge their loss to NJ at home. The Caps are getting a team that has seen it's winning streak snapped in overtime at MSG against the Rangers. The Caps can take advantage of a tired team at home.
After the big win, many of the players decided to celebrate, by throwing Shaone Morrisonn a birthday party after the game. Morrisonn's birthday is actually Dec. 23, but it seemed the appropriate time to go and party which I am sure the Caps did with a big win over a hated rival.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Saturday, December 08, 2007
NHL's Worst
Capitals 2, Devils 3
Scoresheet - Wash Post
What can one say? 5 days off, fresh legs against a team that had to come from behind the night before, and the Capitals come out sluggish. That to me, makes zero sense. The Caps get burned early in the first and shut down the Caps. How? Bad turnovers, lazy plays, bad penalties. You name it, the Caps are experts in all those areas this year. Hanlon shouldn't have been fired, 20 other guys should have lost their jobs.
Instead of going through the game, I am just going to post some of the quotes out there on players reactions to the game. Maybe it will give you a better idea of who really is at fault.
From the Washington Post:
"We didn't play good enough to win, or we would have won. That was a horrible giveaway for the first goal, and Olie should have had the save. He's too good a goalie to let those things go in." - Bruce Boudreau
"We weren't moving our legs in the first period. If you look at it, the first period was the difference in the game. We had no reason to come out sluggish." - Brooks Laich
"We can sit there and look for positives all we want. But the bottom line is we didn't get the job done. In this league, you have to play for 60 minutes at the top of your game." - Bruce Boudreau
"There's not much you can say about that [injured players]. That's the hand we were dealt. We made a valiant effort at the end, but it wasn't enough." - Olie Kolzig
From the AP:
"We're a team that needs 20 guys to go. As I told them after two periods, you can't rely on No. 8 (Ovechkin) to win every game for you." - Bruce Boudreau
Alex Ovechkin didn't score, but he did get an assist and got hit akwardly into the boards by former Cap Danius Zubrus. No penalty was assessed. Alex Semin scored only his second goal of the season and the his wrist shot looks better than ever, now if only that ankle would heal all the way. Brooks Laich scored another goal that gave the Caps some life, but these guys can't play the game in the last 3 minutes.
Bruce Boudreau's comments are a welcome relief to the happy go lucky face Glen Hanlon sometimes would put on. He is laying the blame exactly where it belongs, on goaltending, on scoring, on defense, on this team. This team has to preform at an elite level to win games in the NHL, and right now they are no where near it.
The Capitals don't have much time to dwell on this lose as they have to jump back down to the Verizon Center to Atlanta. I am sure the building will be even more empty. Just another day at the office for the league's worst.
Scoresheet - Wash Post
What can one say? 5 days off, fresh legs against a team that had to come from behind the night before, and the Capitals come out sluggish. That to me, makes zero sense. The Caps get burned early in the first and shut down the Caps. How? Bad turnovers, lazy plays, bad penalties. You name it, the Caps are experts in all those areas this year. Hanlon shouldn't have been fired, 20 other guys should have lost their jobs.
Instead of going through the game, I am just going to post some of the quotes out there on players reactions to the game. Maybe it will give you a better idea of who really is at fault.
From the Washington Post:
"We didn't play good enough to win, or we would have won. That was a horrible giveaway for the first goal, and Olie should have had the save. He's too good a goalie to let those things go in." - Bruce Boudreau
"We weren't moving our legs in the first period. If you look at it, the first period was the difference in the game. We had no reason to come out sluggish." - Brooks Laich
"We can sit there and look for positives all we want. But the bottom line is we didn't get the job done. In this league, you have to play for 60 minutes at the top of your game." - Bruce Boudreau
"There's not much you can say about that [injured players]. That's the hand we were dealt. We made a valiant effort at the end, but it wasn't enough." - Olie Kolzig
From the AP:
"We're a team that needs 20 guys to go. As I told them after two periods, you can't rely on No. 8 (Ovechkin) to win every game for you." - Bruce Boudreau
Alex Ovechkin didn't score, but he did get an assist and got hit akwardly into the boards by former Cap Danius Zubrus. No penalty was assessed. Alex Semin scored only his second goal of the season and the his wrist shot looks better than ever, now if only that ankle would heal all the way. Brooks Laich scored another goal that gave the Caps some life, but these guys can't play the game in the last 3 minutes.
Bruce Boudreau's comments are a welcome relief to the happy go lucky face Glen Hanlon sometimes would put on. He is laying the blame exactly where it belongs, on goaltending, on scoring, on defense, on this team. This team has to preform at an elite level to win games in the NHL, and right now they are no where near it.
The Capitals don't have much time to dwell on this lose as they have to jump back down to the Verizon Center to Atlanta. I am sure the building will be even more empty. Just another day at the office for the league's worst.
Friday, December 07, 2007
Night of Nights
Tonight is the an important night for the Capitals. After the Caps get nearly a week off to work on Bruce Boudreau's new system, they get to show what they have learned tonight at the Devil's new flat, dubbed "The Rock." Sounds cooler than the phone booth.
The Capitals are now under command of a new coach and how this new system - that was successful in the AHL - will work at the NHL level is in question tonight. Boudreau's new system is much more offensive minded, which is nearly a 180 from what Glen Hanlon had been preaching. This should be more of an exciting team, if they can get on a roll.
This league has been such a roller coaster ride for teams so far. Ottawa getting off to a fast start to fade of late. While the Maple Leafs started slow and have begun to pick it up. This has been the year of streaks for teams, so maybe the Capitals can ride one of those streaks - a winning one hopefully.
They will have to do it though with out the help of Micheal Nylander (undisclosed), Boyd Gordon (broken hand) and Chris Clark (groin). Even though Alex Ovechkin did not practice much over the past week, he will be present and accounted for. Joe Motzko will be recalled for some help against the Devils. Tonight is an important night for the Capitals.
In other news, Scott Niedermayer is coming back. What does that mean for the Capitals? We could pick up a solid defenseman. Sean O'Donnell could be possible trade fodder since the Ducks will have to dump about a million dollars for cap space. Since Brian Burke is no longer on friendly terms with Edmonton (reporters asked him if he had been talking to the other 29 teams about a trade, Burke responded, "28 teams, we don't talk to Edmonton"), the Caps have a 1 in 28 chance maybe of picking up another defenseman. Burke also may not move a defenseman, but instead a forward. Either way, it may be a way for the Caps to dump some problems to southern California in return for some proven talent.
Also there has been talk of how bad the ice is at the Verizon Center. An ideal ice condition for hockey is hard, cold ice. The game is faster and the ice holds together so there is less ruts (less chance for the puck to bounce/players getting hurt). Instead the ice at the phone booth is soft and wet (wet means the ice is not cold enough and is refusing to freeze). I am surprised the league hasn't led the charge for every building to have quality control for ice conditions. Since I have been playing out at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex, I can tell you the ice there is in good condition. At the very least, the ice condition at the practice facility should match that of the Verizon Center. Maybe we should just have the games at the Kettler, since we can't seem to fill the phone booth anyway.
The Capitals are now under command of a new coach and how this new system - that was successful in the AHL - will work at the NHL level is in question tonight. Boudreau's new system is much more offensive minded, which is nearly a 180 from what Glen Hanlon had been preaching. This should be more of an exciting team, if they can get on a roll.
This league has been such a roller coaster ride for teams so far. Ottawa getting off to a fast start to fade of late. While the Maple Leafs started slow and have begun to pick it up. This has been the year of streaks for teams, so maybe the Capitals can ride one of those streaks - a winning one hopefully.
They will have to do it though with out the help of Micheal Nylander (undisclosed), Boyd Gordon (broken hand) and Chris Clark (groin). Even though Alex Ovechkin did not practice much over the past week, he will be present and accounted for. Joe Motzko will be recalled for some help against the Devils. Tonight is an important night for the Capitals.
In other news, Scott Niedermayer is coming back. What does that mean for the Capitals? We could pick up a solid defenseman. Sean O'Donnell could be possible trade fodder since the Ducks will have to dump about a million dollars for cap space. Since Brian Burke is no longer on friendly terms with Edmonton (reporters asked him if he had been talking to the other 29 teams about a trade, Burke responded, "28 teams, we don't talk to Edmonton"), the Caps have a 1 in 28 chance maybe of picking up another defenseman. Burke also may not move a defenseman, but instead a forward. Either way, it may be a way for the Caps to dump some problems to southern California in return for some proven talent.
Also there has been talk of how bad the ice is at the Verizon Center. An ideal ice condition for hockey is hard, cold ice. The game is faster and the ice holds together so there is less ruts (less chance for the puck to bounce/players getting hurt). Instead the ice at the phone booth is soft and wet (wet means the ice is not cold enough and is refusing to freeze). I am surprised the league hasn't led the charge for every building to have quality control for ice conditions. Since I have been playing out at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex, I can tell you the ice there is in good condition. At the very least, the ice condition at the practice facility should match that of the Verizon Center. Maybe we should just have the games at the Kettler, since we can't seem to fill the phone booth anyway.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Much Needed Break
Sorry about the short absence, but I just got the NHL Network and have been spending my time mesmerized by the wonder and awesomeness of my television. Look at the pretty TV, it's interested in hockey as much as you are, whoooooooaaaaa. Uh-em, anyway.
Plus I have been going through a blogger crisis. It's what every blogger goes through at some point where you consider just not writing a blog. It's too hard, or I would much rather sleep, or who is that strange lady at the end of my couch, oh yea that's my wife. Plus the holiday season is upon us and soon I will be going to fabulous parties and missing much more games not to mention a big trip to Minnesota the week of Christmas. So blogging will be far and few between during this very busy and festive time of year.
Okay, now that is out of the way, Tomas Fleischmann and Jeff Schultz are going to try their hand at coaching. Youth hockey that is and only for a day. The pair will be at Fort Dupont to teach the tricks of the trade to youth players (no, not how to not score, that is an awful thought, shame on you). That happens this evening at 6 p.m.
Addressing some of the Alex Ovechkin might not play here next year rumors. Okay that is just not going to happen, because it doesn't matter what the league may offer Ovie to sail away, the Capitals do have the right to match it to keep him. But if some genius (like a Kevin Lowe) decides to make an outlandish offer for the forward, the Caps could be handcuffed cap wise with the weight of Ovechkin's contract. It would almost ensure that Ovie would be skating with a lot of twenty and twenty one year olds for some time before his is a free agent.
No one quite knows what the real story is however with a contract extension. With McPhee tight lipped and Ovie's "I speak no english/I have no agent" until a something is on paper I don't think anyone will know what is going on. Hence everyone has their own opinion on the matter and rumors abound. Listening to XM Satellite Radio Home Ice, every Canadian team's fan wishes they had Ovechkin on their team. Funny how they aren't that wild about Sid "the Kid" Crosby.
Jakub Klepis is going back to Europe, which is good for the young forward. He didn't earn a contract and the Capitals retain his rights. But at some point I look for that to be traded along with Ben Clymer at some point. Both toughed it out, and both are not getting rewarded with the big club. It all boils down to not enough room.
That is all I have for now....
Plus I have been going through a blogger crisis. It's what every blogger goes through at some point where you consider just not writing a blog. It's too hard, or I would much rather sleep, or who is that strange lady at the end of my couch, oh yea that's my wife. Plus the holiday season is upon us and soon I will be going to fabulous parties and missing much more games not to mention a big trip to Minnesota the week of Christmas. So blogging will be far and few between during this very busy and festive time of year.
Okay, now that is out of the way, Tomas Fleischmann and Jeff Schultz are going to try their hand at coaching. Youth hockey that is and only for a day. The pair will be at Fort Dupont to teach the tricks of the trade to youth players (no, not how to not score, that is an awful thought, shame on you). That happens this evening at 6 p.m.
Addressing some of the Alex Ovechkin might not play here next year rumors. Okay that is just not going to happen, because it doesn't matter what the league may offer Ovie to sail away, the Capitals do have the right to match it to keep him. But if some genius (like a Kevin Lowe) decides to make an outlandish offer for the forward, the Caps could be handcuffed cap wise with the weight of Ovechkin's contract. It would almost ensure that Ovie would be skating with a lot of twenty and twenty one year olds for some time before his is a free agent.
No one quite knows what the real story is however with a contract extension. With McPhee tight lipped and Ovie's "I speak no english/I have no agent" until a something is on paper I don't think anyone will know what is going on. Hence everyone has their own opinion on the matter and rumors abound. Listening to XM Satellite Radio Home Ice, every Canadian team's fan wishes they had Ovechkin on their team. Funny how they aren't that wild about Sid "the Kid" Crosby.
Jakub Klepis is going back to Europe, which is good for the young forward. He didn't earn a contract and the Capitals retain his rights. But at some point I look for that to be traded along with Ben Clymer at some point. Both toughed it out, and both are not getting rewarded with the big club. It all boils down to not enough room.
That is all I have for now....
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Finally, A Win
Capitals 2, Panthers 1
Scoresheet - Wash Post
What can I say about this one, the Caps actually played a pretty good road game. The Panthers though did look ripe for the picking, and the Capitals finally sneak a couple by Tomas Vokoun to register a mark in the win column. It took four games and three losses against the Miami squad to finally beat them, but the Capitals pulled out a win.
Alex Ovechkin was a little frustrated in this one, but he did go away with the game winning goal. After back to back penalties (a phantom high stick on a clean hit and a deserved cross checking when Ovie took out a Florida player right into the goal post), Ovie settled down a little bit and got back to what Ovechkin does best, shoot like crazy. Eventually one snuck in an extreme angle for his 20th goal and kept the Caps to the good for the rest of the game.
Brent Johnson was in goal and was good and Brian Potheir got on the scoreboard as well with his second of the year. Matt Pettinger had his fair share of chances in this game but just couldn't put the puck in the net. If it weren't for his bad luck he would have no luck at all, even hitting the post on an virtual empty net. Nick Backstrom had a tough game too. The rookie didn't get any love from the panthers after getting thrown down by the head on more than one occasion. No penalty was assessed.
The Caps actually look like they are on the verge, and it might be Bruce Boudreau's new system that the team will be working on this week. The Caps have a few days to work in a new system the hopefully will breed more offense out of this lackluster offense.
Another thing that concerned me as I listened to the out of town play by play on my XM Satellite radio was the commentators talking about Ovechkin possibly leaving at the end of the year. They continued by saying that the Caps had offered a deal to the Ovechkin that would make him the highest paid player in the league, but the it was Ovie that was stalling the talks in maybe an effort to go somewhere else. That worries me greatly if that is true.
Scoresheet - Wash Post
What can I say about this one, the Caps actually played a pretty good road game. The Panthers though did look ripe for the picking, and the Capitals finally sneak a couple by Tomas Vokoun to register a mark in the win column. It took four games and three losses against the Miami squad to finally beat them, but the Capitals pulled out a win.
Alex Ovechkin was a little frustrated in this one, but he did go away with the game winning goal. After back to back penalties (a phantom high stick on a clean hit and a deserved cross checking when Ovie took out a Florida player right into the goal post), Ovie settled down a little bit and got back to what Ovechkin does best, shoot like crazy. Eventually one snuck in an extreme angle for his 20th goal and kept the Caps to the good for the rest of the game.
Brent Johnson was in goal and was good and Brian Potheir got on the scoreboard as well with his second of the year. Matt Pettinger had his fair share of chances in this game but just couldn't put the puck in the net. If it weren't for his bad luck he would have no luck at all, even hitting the post on an virtual empty net. Nick Backstrom had a tough game too. The rookie didn't get any love from the panthers after getting thrown down by the head on more than one occasion. No penalty was assessed.
The Caps actually look like they are on the verge, and it might be Bruce Boudreau's new system that the team will be working on this week. The Caps have a few days to work in a new system the hopefully will breed more offense out of this lackluster offense.
Another thing that concerned me as I listened to the out of town play by play on my XM Satellite radio was the commentators talking about Ovechkin possibly leaving at the end of the year. They continued by saying that the Caps had offered a deal to the Ovechkin that would make him the highest paid player in the league, but the it was Ovie that was stalling the talks in maybe an effort to go somewhere else. That worries me greatly if that is true.
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Just Plain Bad
Capitals 3, Hurricanes 4
Scoresheet - Wash Post
Now it's just getting ugly. The Caps get two goals washed while a bouncing puck and a high stick deflection that counted gives the Hurricanes the win. For the Capitals they have dropped three straight proving it's not who you put behind the bench, it's the guys on the ice that have to score.
Alex Ovechkin had one of his best and worst games. It seemed to come and go like the tide. A spectacular goal on the power play off the face off started a good night. Then Ovie was caught out of position and had to back check on a break away giving up a penalty shot in the process (that LaRose did not score on). Early in the third he made amends with a pretty goal only to later score on his own net. After that, Ovechkin's high tide never returned despite two great chances late. Ovie scored his 18th and 19th of the season.
After coming off an ankle injury, Alex Semin got no love from the Carolina Hurricanes who slashed the forward on the legs the entire game. Semin left limping in the waning seconds in the third after another slash to the leg. Which proves to me that the 'Canes are a bunch of stick happy goons. They were clearly, clearly looking to injure the forward again, and the refs did nothing.
Speaking of which, this officiating crew really dropped the ball on this one. Two glaring problems I saw were missed calls and phantom penalties. They called a delay of game penalty on Tom Poti after his shot was deflected off the rink off Nick Backstrom's stick, which the puck has to touch nothing on the way out for a minor penalty to be assessed. Chad LaRose clearly hooked Mike Green late in the third and Green high sticked LaRose back. Green sat in the box and LaRose got off. Just the little things are killing this team, so it doesn't help that the officiating was off tonight.
The same problems are plaguing this team. The big problem is the second and third tier lines are not scoring. Ovie, Micheal Nylander, Viktor Kozlov, and Nicklas Backstrom are all in the double digits in terms of points (goals and assists). But Brooks Laich, Boyd Gordon, Matt Bradley, Matt Pettinger, Tomas Feischmann, Dave Steckel and Donald Brashear are all in single digit points with 7 points or less. Of those seven, four just have one goal. Chris Clark and Alex Semin have both been injured, but for everyone else it's been a scoring drought. The Capitals have to, have to, find second tier scoring from someone, anyone.
Chalk all of this down though as a loss. They get 2 points, the Caps get zero. In the end that is the bottom line. The Caps are not just losing, they are failing. They are again the rock bottom worst team in the league. The absolute worst.
Scoresheet - Wash Post
Now it's just getting ugly. The Caps get two goals washed while a bouncing puck and a high stick deflection that counted gives the Hurricanes the win. For the Capitals they have dropped three straight proving it's not who you put behind the bench, it's the guys on the ice that have to score.
Alex Ovechkin had one of his best and worst games. It seemed to come and go like the tide. A spectacular goal on the power play off the face off started a good night. Then Ovie was caught out of position and had to back check on a break away giving up a penalty shot in the process (that LaRose did not score on). Early in the third he made amends with a pretty goal only to later score on his own net. After that, Ovechkin's high tide never returned despite two great chances late. Ovie scored his 18th and 19th of the season.
After coming off an ankle injury, Alex Semin got no love from the Carolina Hurricanes who slashed the forward on the legs the entire game. Semin left limping in the waning seconds in the third after another slash to the leg. Which proves to me that the 'Canes are a bunch of stick happy goons. They were clearly, clearly looking to injure the forward again, and the refs did nothing.
Speaking of which, this officiating crew really dropped the ball on this one. Two glaring problems I saw were missed calls and phantom penalties. They called a delay of game penalty on Tom Poti after his shot was deflected off the rink off Nick Backstrom's stick, which the puck has to touch nothing on the way out for a minor penalty to be assessed. Chad LaRose clearly hooked Mike Green late in the third and Green high sticked LaRose back. Green sat in the box and LaRose got off. Just the little things are killing this team, so it doesn't help that the officiating was off tonight.
The same problems are plaguing this team. The big problem is the second and third tier lines are not scoring. Ovie, Micheal Nylander, Viktor Kozlov, and Nicklas Backstrom are all in the double digits in terms of points (goals and assists). But Brooks Laich, Boyd Gordon, Matt Bradley, Matt Pettinger, Tomas Feischmann, Dave Steckel and Donald Brashear are all in single digit points with 7 points or less. Of those seven, four just have one goal. Chris Clark and Alex Semin have both been injured, but for everyone else it's been a scoring drought. The Capitals have to, have to, find second tier scoring from someone, anyone.
Chalk all of this down though as a loss. They get 2 points, the Caps get zero. In the end that is the bottom line. The Caps are not just losing, they are failing. They are again the rock bottom worst team in the league. The absolute worst.
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