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

Things Get More Serious At Camp

Bruce Boudreau is giving the guys who deserve a shot at making the opening night roster their due. As more cuts are eminent, the competition for any open spots is starting to ramp up in practices and in the preseason games.

"We've got too many guys that deserve a shot," Boudreau addressed reporters at practice today. "We want to get to our team as quick as possible like everyone else does."

With four games in seven nights through the preseason the pressure is on for the management and coaches to settle on a team. For the youngsters, unseating a veteran will be a tough job. They would have to wow the coaches to make any headway.

"If it's a championship fight and it goes down to a decision, usually the champion gets the decision," Boudreau explained. He was equated that analogy to the goaltending job, but it is also his philosophy for filling out the rest of the team as well.

Players look much more focused in practices, working that much harder today at KCI. The fun and work done during the Duchesne Cup games has faded to a much more concentrated group as guys start to peel away at camp. As more leave, the more intense it should be for the remaining players.

"Tomorrow, we will lose 15 to 20 guys," Boudreau said ominously.

Other camp notes:

• Micheal Nylander looks much more stocky to me this year. After seeing him at practice for the first time, Nylander can still stick handle in a phone booth. But he also looks like he is working harder on what the coaches would like to see out of him. He is finding the open man much quicker, he is not shying away from hits in the corner and he is letting his speed and experience show. It remains to be seen if Nylander can continue the trend, but he looks very focused on the ice.
• Nylander and Anton Gustafsson look like that have a healthy relationship on the ice. The two would often talk between drills. It reminds me of a couple of years ago when another young Swedish kid, Nick Backstrom, made his way to Washington for the first time and Nylander took him under the wing. Maybe there is hope for Lil' Gus after all.
• Boudreau ran the first practice while Bob Woods took charge of the second session. Woods gave the second group a hard skate that had many players, veterans and rookies alike, crouched over with their sticks on their knees. It leads me to think that players in the second group weren't going to be making the trip to Chicago.

That is all I have got for today.

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!

Rookie Camp Ends On Sour Note

The Washington Capitals wrapped up their rookie camp with a rookie game against the Philadelphia Flyers rookies/AHL players. While the end result wasn't the what the rookies hoped for (a 7-3 loss), the week proved to have more positives than negatives for the young skaters.

Having a good week was John Carlson. Not only was he one of the best players on the ice for the rookie game, but Carlson just seemed head above shoulders over the other players though out camp. He has improved his hockey sense to go with his heavy shot and good speed. It will be interesting to see how he progresses into next week with the veterans.

Trevor Bruess also had a great camp and played very well in the rookie game. He is all sandpaper in the way he plays. He spent some time this summer before camp practicing with some of the veterans. Cody Eakin also impressed. Eakin had a goal and his speed was lethal against the bigger Flyer defenders and through out camp.

It was a bit disappointing not to see Stephan Della Rovere take the ice for practices or the rookie game. I am hoping to see more of him in the next couple of weeks and maybe for some of the preseason games.

The players that just didn't impress through out the week includes Anton Gustafsson. Lil' Gus has some seasoning to do. Not to say that the son of Caps great Bengt Gustafsson hasn't been working on improving, but he is just not there yet. He needs to work on core strength and staying on his feet. As well as a season or two in the minors should help improve his hockey sense a bit.

A few of the defensemen had good camps, but in the rookie game they were a bit sub-par. Eric Mestery and Kevin Schmidt had a rough go of it through out the rookie game. They just could not control the Flyers forwards in front of the net.

Dmitri Kugryshev also had a rough game. Not only was he elbowed in the first period and shook up, but his play was a bit sloppy and took a bad offensive zone penalty when the Caps seemed to build momentum. He was eventually replaced on the power play line for first time forward Joe Finley (that could be they wanted to use Finley's size in front of the Flyer goaltender).

Speaking of Finley, the once defenseman now forward was the talk of rookie camp. He did okay for his first game as a winger. He still looks a bit shaky on the break out and has to learn to make that transition and head man the puck once the pass comes his way. Otherwise he was sound positionally and made a few good cuts to the net during the rookie game.

As a whole, the Caps rookies did a good job up in Voorhees New Jersey to take on the Flyer rookies. It was a bit of a lopsided affair with the Flyers 20-21 year-olds against the Caps 18-19 year-olds, but I felt the Caps future held their own. They definitely out chanced the flyers and out shot them. A few lucky bounces the other way and it is a different game.

Now camp goes from development to the real deal. Veterans report to camp tomorrow and are available to the media in the morning. Their first practice is not until Sunday morning, but they will be going through physicals and some off ice testing until then.

It will be interesting to watch what happens when the rooks skate with the big boys. It will be easy to see how jumps out and who just gets washed away in the crowd. There will be some big battles for back up goaltender, defense jobs and third and forth line jobs. Will the Caps take chances on some up and comers in the system, or will we see basically the same roster as last year? All questions will be answered in a few short weeks.

The Quest For The Cup Starts Here

71 players, two practice rinks, rookie and regular training camps, and six preseason games. It's the dawn of a new season. One that finds the Washington Capitals' expectations far exceed just getting to the next round.

Their hope is not only to battle for first in both their division and in their conference, but a team that can and will make it to the Stanley Cup Finals. This is a team that felt if they had different fortunes in a certain game seven, they would be the ones lifting a special banner this October. This is the Cup or bust season for the Capitals.

Not that any player would say such a thing, but read between the lines and you will notice this team finds its exit from the post season last spring a bit unsettling. They plan to fix that bad heartburn they had just 4 months ago.

And it all starts here, at Kettler Capitals Iceplex. 71 players will take to these two rinks atop the Ballston Commons parking garage to take on another grueling NHL season. Rookies will take the stage first, then veterans wander in a week later. And just ten days from now, the Caps will be playing in their first preseason game in Buffalo N.Y.

Here are a few interesting things you will see and want to keep an eye on this week at KCI.

Semyon Varlamov changed the spelling of his first name and has some new pads. He will also be on the ice for the rookie camp. Along with Braden Holtby and Micheal Neuvirth, the goaltenders will be battling for spots in Hershey and for the Capitals. Don't think that Varly the number one position in the bag. Jose Theodore is in the final year of his contract and I would expect that he will be playing top notch goaltending throughout camp and the preseason to retain his formally number one spot.

At this point the battle really comes down all three goaltenders, Theodore, Neuvirth and Varlamov for spots one and two on the Caps roster. And the competition looks fierce.

There will be some new goaltending faces at camp, like Jason Bacashihua. He was originally drafted by Dallas in '01, and played a game or two for the St. Louis Blues. He was signed as a UFA by Hershey/Capitals in July. Also Todd Ford, a tall goaltender at 6'4", who was originally a Toronto draft pick in '02. Ford has struggled being sent back and forth from the one minor team to the next, but found a nitch in the ECHL with Victoria where he had a .915 save percentage and 2.64 GAA.

Joe Finley is listed on the forwards side of the roster instead of defense. It is not that big of a surprise as the coaches made the switch at developing camp in July. It a lot of ways I can see what they are trying to get out of Finley, a big gritty forward that has size and isn't afraid to hit wearing down opposing defenders and playing a good two way game. Think of it as a David Steckel clone perhaps. Finley's move to the forward position has been one he has been told to work on all summer. Per Tarik on his blog:

"We told [Finley] we wanted to try him at forward and we wanted him to go back to North Dakota to practice as a forward," [Bruce] Boudreau said. "We want to see how much that has improved because I asked him on the last day [of development camp]. Now he's had a couple of months."

We will see how that little experiment goes.

Micheal Dubuc returns. He easily impressed the coaches in development camp and could fight for a spot on the squad. It will be easier to gain a grasp of what he is capable of when he is mixed in with the veterans, but he should be the one to watch for the rookie game and in intrasquad scrimmages. He just has a nose for finding the back of the net.

Some noticeable misses in the rookie camp roster are defenseman Patrick Wey, forward Greg Burke, center Phil DeSimone, goalie Dan Dunn, forward Andrew Glass, and defenseman Dmitri Orlov (all were at the summer development camp, but according to the list generated by the Caps media relations none of these names appear on the rookie or training camp rosters).

Battles for defense should be a good one. Black horse and underdog Karl Alzner could crack the opening night roster. So could Tyler Sloan, a popular choice of the coaches when the blue line was hurt last season, and also rookie John Carlson, who has done nothing but improve every time we see him. It will be a tough nut to crack because the Capitals did not lose a single starting defensemen in the off season. All will return and all will be looking to keep their spots with the big club.

The Capitals training camp practices are open to the public and start today at 10:30 am. Rookie Camp is first and ends on Friday with the rookie game against Philadelphia in Vorhees N.J. Then the Veterans report on Saturday, September 12th and training camp begins on Sunday with the first squad hitting the ice at 10 am, the second at 11:45 am and the third group at 2:15 pm. Times are subject to change. Schedule of all the caps training camp practices and schedules can be found on the Caps' website.

Hockey is back!