Unfair?

What is the difference between this hit...


... and this hit?


Five games apparently. Donald Brashear's hit on Blair Betts cost him a five game suspension (an extra game suspension for his pregame antics). Mike Brown's hit on Jiri Hudler, however, cost him nothing. Brown was just ejected from the game.

The hits are almost identical, both late and to the head. If I were Caps' GM George McPhee, I think I would be looking for an explanation and would appeal Brash's suspension.

Caps Notes:

• Thanks to Japer's Rink, there is a note of caution. The Caps have won seven of eight game ones against the Penguins all time, but only have won one of six series. We don't want to make the same mistake as some New Yorkers did just because of a win.
• Simeon Varlamov has been the talk of the league. His save has been called the save of the playoffs. He even took the number one top play on ESPN's Sports Center top ten plays. I doubt the Penguins did much to shake his confidence and the team is playing well in front of him.
• The best sign of game one by the Capitals fans was an image of a dollar bill with Bruce Boudreau in place of George Washington. Pretty funny, but I would think he would be worth more than just a dollar.
• The Capitals' AHL affiliate Hershey Bears took a 1-0 series lead against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last night. They won 5-3. Game 2 is tonight at 5 pm in Hershey. It is a full-on franchise battle!

Varlamov Steals Game One

Capitals 3, Penguins 2
Scoresheet - Post - Times

Before the series began, the Pittsburgh Penguins talked about rattling the Capitals' rookie goaltender. But it was Simeon Varlamov who may have rattled the Penguins instead. He made an unbelievable stick save when it looked as if Sidney Crosby had a wide open net. It kept the game tied at two and Tomas Fleischmann buried the game winner less than two minutes into the third period. The Caps hold on to win game one 3-2.

Clearly the number one star of the game was Simeon Varlamov who stopped 34 shots including a barrage of third period shots to preserve the lead. He was only beaten twice by the Penguins. The first goal was a shot by Crosby who found some open space in the middle and fired it back to the far post. You can chalk that goal up as nerves for the young goaltender. The second goal was deflected by Boyd Gordon and it fooled Varly, beating him just under his glove and over his goalpad to sneak through.

The Penguins got the early jump on the Caps as it looked as if nerves had the best of them. The Pens out shot the Caps 11 - 8 and held the Caps with out a shot through the first seven minutes or so for the first period. Crosby got the Pens on the scoreboard first and an unlikely source got that goal back.

The Capitals answered back as Dave Steckel scored his first goal in the playoffs to tie up the game. It was a garbage goal too, as the puck was shot back in front of the net by Matt Bradley. Steckel was able to get the puck past Marc-Andre Fleury.

Then the Penguins got into a little penalty trouble. Sergei Gonchar was called for a delay of game penalty and Matt Cooke took a hooking call a little bit after that creating a 5 on 3. The Caps took advantage when Alex Semin slap-passed the puck to Alex Ovechkin for his 4th goal of the playoffs. Since then the Penguins did not take another penalty for the rest of the game. The Caps would be 1 for 2 on the power play.

The penalty kill also played well. The Caps killed all 5 penguins powerplays. Including two third period penalties that gave the Penguins a chance to get back into the game. But the Caps were able to kill off both penalties and even held Evgeni Malkin off the goal column on the score sheet.

Fleischmann got the go ahead goal off of a turn over in the neutral zone. Semin and Nick Backstrom turned the play into a two on one with Backstrom and Fleischmann. Backstrom made a picture perfect saucer pass to Flash who shot it high. The puck hit Fleury in the shoulder and into the net. The Verizon Center faithful went nuts as the building almost got as loud as Sergie Fedorov's game seven goal.

The Capitals may have started a bit slow, but they finished much better. The game one victory was important as it keeps the home ice advantage for the series. They are playing a very good Penguins team that has the ability to put any team's lights out. For the moment, the Caps have a hot goaltender and the first win. We will see if they can build on that.

Game two is on Monday night. The Penguins have some time to make the necessary changes and the Caps have time to recover. We should see the Penguins best as they try to split the home series for the Capitals.

Caps vs. Pens, Bring It On

Just got to Verizon Center. A little early thanks to Metro warning fans of track maintenance. There are a good sized contingent of Penguins fans both on the Metro and outside the building. Almost makes you wonder if anyone turned out the light before they left (or does no one live in Pittsburgh anymore).

Walking the hallway next to the press lounge, some Penguins' players are warming up including Sidney Crosby. A woman that works for the phone booth was worried she was going to run into one of the with her cart and hurt someone. We reassured her that she would get flowers and cards for the entire summer if that happened.

I am going to be making more remarks and observations over on twitter.com/pckhdsthghts and you can follow along there.

Let's Go Caps!

Media Blitz, Game 1 Preview

The only two people in the NHL that are not talking about the series between Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin are Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin. Both would rather talk about the series between Washington and Pittsburgh. But the media is having none of that.

Just in the past 48 hours, every question has been posed to both players imaginable. Some including the stick swap the pair did two years ago, whether or not Sid has as much fun on the ice as Ovi and my personal favorite; who is the better player? (If you caught NHL on the Fly this morning, they hit all three)

The media outlets have swarmed the media relations department for the Capitals as well. Prompting them to send out an email to every one asking for media passes for games one and two that they may be placed in a room in the basement and watch the game on a television screen. To say the least, room is at a premium at the Verizon Center.

Bruce Boudreau went so far to call it a circus. Just for the Capitals' practice, Tarik talked about the overwhelming numbers of reporters lining the Kettler Iceplex boards on his blog:

The media contingent out here at KCI swelled to ridiculous proportions this morning. I've never seen anything like it for a second-round matchup. All the locals have been joined by two Toronto newspapers, ESPN.com, the Canadian Press, TSN, Sportsnet, CBC-Hockey Night in Canada, among a dozen other folks I didn't recognize.

Who knows what kind of other crazy questions have been posed to players. Boxers or briefs? Blond or brunette? Regular or unleaded? The last thing anyone needs is the media playing a factor in this series.

This will not be the last we hear about the media overload for this series. Speaking of which, there is a game today.

Round one winners Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals meet once again in the post season. The pair have shared seven playoff series together and the Penguins have always had the upper hand. The Caps has a dismal record of 1 win and 6 losses.

The Caps were able to come from behind in their series with New York to win in seven games. But the Penguins have come from a 2 game deficit three times against the Capitals in their playoff histories. Including a series where Washington built a 3-1 series lead. The Penguins have always have been comfortable playing in Washington.

But these are two different teams. In prior meetings in the post season, the Capitals had only Peter Bondra to face down the likes of Mario Lemiuex and Jarimor Jagr. Now there is are different leaders, different styles of play since their last post season meeting in 2001.

The Capitals have a much more efficient offense and an aggressive forecheck. Parallel that with some pretty dynamic talent and the Caps are a much bigger threat than in previous meetings.

Washington topped Pittsburgh in their regular season meetings 3-0-1. The Pens forced a shoot out get their only win against the Caps. Under Bruce Boudreau the Caps are 4-1-1 against the flightless fowl. The Caps have also found ways to frustrate the Penguins players. They have mostly done that with sharp defense and being more physical.

As far as the Capitals go, the lines aren't going to change all that much. Although, Boudreau does like to keep lineups close to his vest until the drop of the puck. Simeon Varlamov will get the nod in net again as the Caps hope to ride his hot hand through the series.

One thing in the series if for certain, with two top offensive powers on the ice there will be no shortage of highlight reel goals. It will be the garbage goals that might decide this series, and the Caps have had a hard time not making it look pretty. Secondary scoring will be huge for both teams.

The upside for the Capitals is they have gone to battle with one of the league's best defensive squads for seven games. If they maintain the same kind of intensity and focus, they should make quick work of the Penguins' defense and give their goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury a run for his money.

For the locals, if you are thinking about taking the Metro to the game today there are plenty of track maintenance that will cause delays. Delays will be up to 30 minutes for the blue, yellow and red lines. The best bet is to leave early and expect to get to Verizon at least an hour early. Also don't be surprised to see that person next to you who was wearing a Caps sweater last game now wearing Penguins get up. The Pittsburgh contingent should be in full force at the phone booth.

For those of you that will be watching the game from the comfort of your couch, NBC does have a contingent plan should the game go to overtime. Puck Daddy from Yahoo! Sports fills you in.

Rock the Red, Let's Go Caps!

Putting A Bow On It

The Washington Capitals have refined their power play punch. It was a point of contention for them last year, but that problem seems to be solved. The Caps enter the playoffs with the second best power play.

In their first series the Caps did play a very good penalty kill team in the New York Rangers. In round one the Caps were ranked seventh with an 18.2% success rate. That may not sound all that great. But compare that to the Penguins who were ranked eleventh with only a 12.5% success rate.

The Capitals have also played better on the penalty kill. In the first round, the Caps hold a slight lead over the Pens as they were ranked seventh with an 87.1% success rate. Pittsburgh ranked eighth, at 82.7%.

I will give the Capitals the advantage when it comes to special teams.

In the coaching department, the Penguins made a change in that department going with Dan Bylsma. Bylsma seemed to have changed the Penguins to a much more aggressive team then they had been earlier in the season. For the Caps, it's Bruce Boudreau. Gabby always seems to get the best from his players in tough situations.

I will go with seniority and give the Capitals the edge in the coaching department.

Last, intangibles. That is the stuff that does not show up on the score sheet and there is no stats for, but it plays an important role in the series. That intangible for this series is home ice advantage. If the series does go long, I like the Capitals' chances with home ice advantage.

Just to recap, here is who I believe has an advantage in every department:

Offense: draw
Defense: Penguins
Goaltending: Penguins
Special Teams: Capitals
Coaching: Capitals
Intangibles: Capitals

Most experts look to have the Penguins taking the series in six games. To do that the Penguins would have to win some crucial away games. For the Capitals, I doubt they would make the same mistake of dropping their first two games at home again. If the Caps can play tough on home ice, which I expect they will, than this is a tougher series for the flightless fowl to win.

There is at least one expert the Capitals have in their corner, Maggie the Macaque from the Bowmanville Zoo. She was the only one of the TSN panel to pick the Caps to move on.

D Facts And Between The Pipes

Much like the Capitals, the weak spot for the Pittsburgh Penguins is in their defense. While there are good back men like Sergei Gonchar and Kris Letang. The rest are a story of inconsistency and slower big men.

The Penguins count more on their offense than they do their defense. The back line is not anything too special. But they can move the puck and often jump up into the play. Letang, their young budding star and Mike Green wannabe, is their best puck mover and is okay on the defensive side. Gonchar is another good puck moving defensemen and set up man for the power play.

Outside those two players you have Hal Gill, veteran defenseman who has been in charge in the past of being responsible for Alex Ovechkin. But the Pens would better be served playing the much faster skaters of Brooks Orpik and Mark Eaton. Rob Scuderi has been a bit of a wild card on the back line, but he has put together a couple of good games against Washington's top line during the regular season series.

The Capitals have had success against this defensive squad this season. In their four game regular season series, the Caps have outscored the Penguins 18 to 12. Ovechkin accounted for four goals and two assists. In this series there shouldn't be any lack in scoring (of course I say that and game one will be a 1-0 win).

A disadvantage for the Penguins are bad turnovers. If the Capitals can up their play in the neutral zone to create odd man rushes. With the Caps aggressive offense, I doubt that will be the problem for them.

As far as head to head defensively, I will give the Pens a slight advantage with veteran's Gill and Gonchar. The Caps defense has to do a much better job against a team that has much more confidence on the offensive end than the Rangers. Any mistakes the Caps make on the defensive end will lead to goals.

As far as goaltending is concerned, Marc-Andre Fleury has a lot going for him. Besides having three names, he has turned up his play in net for the Penguins. The Penguins are at times defensively challenged and they rely heavily on Fleury to come up with the save. It is the Pens' secret weapon.

When Fleury is playing well, the Penguins are a tough team to win against. When he is struggling, so does the rest of the team.

M-AF is pretty solid down low. He reads the play extremely well and relys on his quick reflexes when things go awry. Fleury posted a .922 save percentage and a 2.39 GAA in his series against Philadelphia. Just a shade better than Simeon Varlamov.

For the Caps to win, they have to solve the Penguins' number one goaltender, which they have in the regular season series. The Caps abused Fleury on January 14th, scoring five goals against him to go on to win 6-3.

Fleury's counterpart, Varlamov, is a very similar player. With the exception that Varly might be much more calm, cool and collected. Fleury does sometimes show a temper when pushed too far. In terms of advantage between the two Fleury has a proven record of going to the Stanley Cup Final, Varly is a rookie. That is what gives Fleury the advantage in this series.

I will wrap up the series breakdown later today with a look at coaching, special teams and intangibles.