Caps Avoid Cat-astrophy

Capitals 3, Panthers 2
Game Summary

(Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

It would be another slow start for the Washington Capitals allowing the first goal against. Then Bruce Boudreau threw out the line changes and the Caps stop the bleeding enough for them to find their offense. Besides a late goal by the Florida Panthers, the Caps stop enough to take home two much needed standings points by a score of 3-2.

Eric Fehr started the scoring in the second period as the Caps tie up the game at one off of some pretty passing by Mike Green and Mathieu Perreault. Green would find his scoring touch to put the Caps into the lead. Alex Ovechkin scared off some non-scoring demons with a classic Ovi goal that would put the Caps up by two and eventually be the game winner in the third.

Again, the Caps found themselves giving up the first goal after a breakdown in the zone and some smart passing by the Panthers. But the Caps would button up the defense and Semyon Varlamov would stand tall in net. He would make 25 saves on the night including turning away nine important shots in the second period. There were a few times the Panthers had the Caps down and out. With a little luck and Varly standing on his head at times, the Caps practiced bending but not breaking to perfection.

The Capitals just had to hold the line and allow their offense time to break out of their funk. Eric Fehr would be the benefactor of a Mike Green rush behind the net. Green threw the puck out front after cruising behind the net and found Fehr's stick. Fehr didn't have to put it top shelf on the awning net, but did anyway to tie the game at one in the second period.

In the third it looked as if both teams would stem each others offensive advances. But a tripping call on Michael Frolik mid way through the period would set up the Caps on the power play and it would finally pay off. After all the struggles on the power play, it would be Eric Fehr to shake a goal loose for the Caps as he carried the puck through the middle and found Green cutting in off the boards. He passed it to the defenseman that made a smart deke around the Panther defender before burying the puck past Steve Clemmensen for the Caps first power play goal since the Winter Classic.

Ovechkin would break his scoring slump after a misplay by the Panther defense. Once Florida got the puck deep, the Panther defenders were pinching in to keep the play inside the Caps zone. The game plan was working well for them until Nick Backstrom (another Cap struggling to find points) chipped the puck up to the wing to Mike Knuble. The Panther defense decided to pinch down on Knuble leaving Ovechkin open on the far wing.

Knuble would chuck it to the open Ovi who was breaking down the left side. In a classic move Ovechkin would pull the puck in then out to get the shot out. He had to snap it quickly as the Panther defense closed in on him just 15 feet out from the Panther net. The quick snapper beat Clemmensen low glove side to put the Caps up 3-1. It looked as if the Caps had the game at hand. But the Panthers did not exactly give up.

The very next shift, Florida pressured in front of the net nearly putting it in as the Caps defense let up. They would score after Varlamov would leave a juicy rebound in front and the Panthers jumped on the loose puck for the goal. It would make things interesting down the stretch. But what made it down right scary for the Caps is when Backstrom was called for a cross check with just 1:05 left in the game.

The Capitals penalty killers would do their job and secure the win. The PK was a huge bright spot for the Capitals as their power play has struggled. Tonight they were a perfect four kills for four shorthanded opportunities. The Panthers failure to convert on any of their power plays kept the Caps in the hunt for most of the game until Green's power play goal broke open the scoring in the third period.

The Caps will need to continue to plot the course when they face the exact same Panthers Tuesday night in Miami. The Caps need to keep the pressure on in the Southeast Division as they are fighting to take the lead. The Tampa Bay Lightning still have the lead in the division, just a point ahead of the Caps.

Caps Notes:

• Alex Semin was injured from a awkward hip check in the second period. He would not return for the remainder of the game. Speculation swirled around Semin re-injuring his back. 
• This Alex Ovechkin's fifth game winning goal of the season. It is one goal more than he had last year at this time. 
• Boyd Gordon is closer to rejoining the team after his staph infection in his foot. Boudreau expects to have the face off expert back in the line up in about a week.

Lights Out

Capitals 0, Lightning 1 OT
Game Summary

Steve Yzerman knew what he was doing when he brought some goaltending muscle in Dwayne Roloson in a trade with the New York Islanders. The Tampa Bay Lightning play the perfect road game against the flat Washington Capitals who were coming off of an emotional Winter Classic win. When the Caps finally got their legs moving, it would be too little, too late as Roloson shut the door and Martin St. Louis puts the finishing touches in overtime as the Lightning take sole possession of first place in the Southeast Division with a score of 1-0.

Semyon Varlamov played as perfect a game as one could with a team that just didn't have much of a jump. He would turn away all of the Lightning 33 shots in regulation. He would face another 5 shots in overtime, but the fifth one got by him after poor coverage in front and an errant rebound landed right on St. Louis' stick. Varly earned the Caps single point tonight.

The Capitals had such a sluggish start that it was hard to believe this was the same team that seemed to out hustle the Pittsburgh Penguins New Year's Day. They only managed 5 shots in the first period. They would pick up the pace in the second period by getting 21 shots to the net, but Roloson was stellar in net. In overtime, the Capitals didn't even get a shot on net.

Again the Capitals' power play failed to convert on three chances, including a golden opportunity in the third period. The Lightning's aggressive penalty kill was partly to blame for the Caps' troubles with the extra man, but the Caps failure to convert even just a single power play goal in tight games is hurting this team.

Caps better find a way to score on the power play and play tougher against their own division as their next three games are against division foes. Twice against the Panthers in a home and home before they play the Lightning at St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa. Caps will have to make up some ground on the Lightning who take over first in the division by a point.

Keep It Simple

(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

The Washington Capitals learned their lesson; simplicity is the best weapon in the face of adversity. The Caps utilized that in the NHL's Winter Classic to win against their bitter rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

December started as a tough month for the Caps. They had suffered through a eight game losing streak. It was two weeks with out a win and earning only two standings points during that stretch and they would come into NHL's Winter Classic as a team just turning things around. They were unbeaten in regulation in 5 games with a shoot-out loss against the Penguins looming above them coming into Heinz Field on New Year's Day.

When the weather turned on the league's premiere outdoor event the Capitals did not use poor ice as an excuse nor did they try to force the game to suit their high skill style. Instead they went back to basics.

"We thought it was going to be just a grind it out game," Bruce Boudreau said about his thoughts before the game concerning the situation. "After we were on the ice yesterday, it didn't look like the ice conditions would be great. We knew the fancy tic-tac-toe stuff wasn't going to work. So we knew we had to dump it in and we had to win the game below the circles. I thought we did a real good job of that."

The Caps first goal to tie the game at one was anything but fancy or tic-tac-toe. On the power play, the Caps crashed the net creating confusion in front of the Pittsburgh net. Mike Knuble would jab the puck into the net. Their first goal would be the definition of a garbage goal.

With ice conditions as tough as they were, the Caps could not play their high risk/high reward skill game in the neutral zone. So, they kept it simple. They dumped the puck in deep and let their forechecking game take over. It would lead to several Penguin turn overs including Marc-Andre Fleury's flub behind the net that allowed Marcus Johansson find Eric Fehr in front of a wide open net.

"When you play with a lead on ice like that, it's the simple things that are going to win you games," David Steckel said of their strategy. "So we got it out and got it in and tried to play well defensively. It was a great effort tonight."

As the Penguins pressed, the Caps relied on simple outs to keep the puck moving out of their zone. When the situation presented itself in the third period, it would be a simple give and go that would open up the Pens' defense and Fehr would score his second goal of the night to add some insurance.

"We had a good lead going into the third," Fehr said of his second goal. "We just wanted to play defense and fortunately I was able to get that second one. We weren't trying to go for offense right then."

For a team that has blushed away from sandpaper-like play when the going got tough, the Caps used it effectively on the road in front of 68,111 fans. It wasn't perfect, but when the defense faltered Semyon Varlamov came up with the save they needed.

"It was pretty tough to keep concentrated with the water [on the ice]," Varlamov said of his trials with the ice.

Getting the lead was important for the Capitals. It was hard to even make simple out passes out of the zone. But protecting the lead through a period and half of the game, it took everyone to keep their play simple.

"Our skill guys like Ovi and Semin, they were dumping the puck in and getting deep rather than try to tangle and it worked out," Caps' tough guy John Erskine said. "We got it deep and went after them and kept the lead."

Since making passes was a near impossibility, the Penguins tried to play catch up on terrible ice. They were flubbing the puck in the neutral zone as the Caps stood tall on their blue line to keep the them from even entering the zone. The Penguins tried to rely on their skill to get back into the game, but the conditions would not let them.

"Certainly tonight, given the situation, they were content to get pucks out and get them deep," Penguins' head coach Dan Bylsma said after the game. "It made it tough on us to try and mount something to get some offense in the third period. It made it difficult on us."

It is a hard lesson to learn, but a long losing streak sometimes prepares a team for adversity that is not apart the norm, like, for instance, the Winter Classic. The Caps seemed to have learned their lesson and players have risen to the occasion. Now it is time to work that experience into the post season.

Roloson Comes To The Southeast

In some division news, the Tampa Bay Lightning make a trade to pull in better goaltending. The Bolts trade for Dwayne Roloson from the New York Islanders. The trade bolsters the Bolts' goaltending core and may make things interesting for the Capitals.

In 13 games played, Roloson is 6-4-3 against the Capitals with a 2.40 goals against average and a save percentage of .909. A much better record than Dan Ellis and injured Mike Smith. Neither Bolt goaltender have a win against the Caps.

As Tampa is looking to de-throne the three-time Southeast Division Champs, they needed to get solid goaltending. Why not get a goaltender the Caps have had a hard time with in Roloson. Although the Caps did open up with 4 goals in 12 shots the last time they faced him, chasing him from the net after the first period.

The Caps may get their next chance to face Roloson on Tuesday night as the Lightning visit the Caps at the Verizon Center. The Caps next four games are against division foes in the Lightning and the Panthers.

Caps Win The Winter Classic

Capitals 3, Penguins 1
Game Summary

(Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

Even with a light drizzle falling down and poor ice conditions, the Washington Capitals proved they could deal with a different kind of adversity. In what had to be the most hyped game with an HBO documentary crew following both teams, the league and networks revving up the rhetoric of the rivalry of the teams and both captains Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, the Capitals play the perfect road game defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1.

Eric Fehr scored a pair of goals after coming into this game with only 5 goals to his credit. Mike Knuble would get a great garbage goal to tie up the game in the second period. The weather kept the skilled players from playing their style of play.

The game turned out to be a grinders paradise and Jay Beagle, a hard working grinder for the Caps, had the first two chances by getting his nose in front of the Pens net. It would be a muckers goal by Mike Knuble to get the Caps on the board after giving up the lead on a Evgeni Malkin break away goal. Nick Backstrom just kept the puck in front after a point shot, with the traffic in front of Marc-Andre Fleury. Knuble found the banged in the loose puck past the Penguin goaltender.

(Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

The goal energized the Capitals forechecking and they kept the pressure on. When Fleury mishandled the puck, speedy forward Marcus Johansson was able to pick up the loose puck behind the net and find Fehr in front with a wide open net.

Fehr would add a second goal and some insurance in the third after John Erskine made a solid break out pass to Jason Chimera. Chim played a give and go with Fehr and it broke the winger open. Fehr would beat Fleury high glove side to give the Caps a two goal lead.

The Penguins would make a last ditch effort to try and tie it up, but the Caps stood tall on defense. At one point they stood at the blue line prompting play by play man Doc Emrick called them the white picket fence. It would lead to some rough play with just .6 seconds left as the rivalry went to another level as both teams gave a few face washes and end up leaving the ice with out shaking hands.

(Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

The title bout was in the first period. John Erskine took on Michael Rupp in a heavyweight bout that saw both players landing some haymakers. Erskine did stumble after Rupp connected, but he got right back up and landed a few of his own before Rupp had to call it quits due to a contact lens problem. 

With all the hype on both Ovechkin and Crosby, neither found their way onto the scoring sheet. Ovechkin did have a goal that was waved off after he made contact before that with Fleury. But both players were kept in check for the most part of the game.

Crosby was hit as the second period ended by David Steckel. Sid was caught not paying attention to where he was going and when the play shifted, he was looking behind and Steckel was charging up the ice. The Pens' coaching staff called it incidental contact.

AP

The best Capitals player had to be Semyon Varlamov. Faced with a bouncing puck and some serious rubber from the Penguins stood tall in net. He played his rebounds as best as he could considering the conditions. Shots from the outside he was able to see, a credit to the defensive core in front for boxing out crashing Penguins. Varly would turn away 32 shots as his teammates helped by blocking 16 shots. While Fleury went a wandering from his net from time to time, Varly stayed in his net and didn't turn over the puck that lead to any scoring chances for the Penguins.

In the end, it's just two points. It is a huge confidence boost for the Capitals as they shake free from a bad stretch of games to get their third straight win. They now are unbeaten in regulation in their last six games. They also creep up the Eastern Conference ladder as they are just one game behind the leading Penguins but remain behind Tampa in the division in a tie (Caps have played 2 more games than the Bolts which is the tiebreaker to this point).

Happy New Year

From Puckhead's Thoughts