The last Capitals preseason game is today and it's a 5:00 pm start time, so don't show up late. Caps will take on the Bruins who only have 2 wins so far in games that don't count. The B's are probably thinking that is is a good thing they don't.
The Capitals, however, are enjoying their preseason so far with a 5 and 1 record and have outscored their opponents 22 to 11. This will be the last time Bruce Boudreau will have a chance to experiment, and most likely we will see some call ups from Hershey for the game.
While several teams wrap up their preseason schedules this weekend, the season has actually already started with two games that started overseas. One pitted the New York Rangers against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Prague, which the Rangers won 2-1. The other was in Stockholm where the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Ottawa Senators 4-3 in OT. I guess the Rangers and the Penguins are the only ones in the hunt for the President's Trophy so far.
Olie Kolzig is slated to get the start in net for Tampa Bay today as the Bolts are now the away team versus the Rangers. Watching the game yesterday, it seem to me that the Lightning are really hurting on the blue line. Former Capital Jamie Heward seems to be the only experienced player back there. It could be a long night for Kolzig.
After the Bruins/Caps game, I will preview the Eastern Conference, most likely that will come out on Monday. So enjoy your Sunday hockey.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Friday, October 03, 2008
Caps Fry Flyers
Capitals 5, Flyers 1
Preseason - Scoresheet
It's a preseason game, so any thoughts of the Caps getting vengeance for the 2-1 loss up in Philly or the early post season exit by the Flyers should stop. Vengeance will come when the Caps knock them out of the playoffs, not by a meaningless game a week before the start of the season. This by no means was "getting back" at the Flyers, so all that talk is just stupid.
Sorry, back to the game.
Alex Ovechkin had a goal and two assists. Ovi has yet to score an even strength goal in the preseason, his goal tonight was on the penalty kill (which by the looks of it, he will see some time there since this is his second shorty of the preseason). Again, as the story line was with the rookie game, it was the Caps high powered talent and speed versus the Flyers slow hard hitting game that led to a Caps victory 5 - 1.
The Caps didn't let the Flyers get their defensive play slow down their offense, even if they were on the penalty kill. The Caps power play was back to sufficient as the Caps went 1 for 7 and the penalty kill did okay too killing off 5 of 6 chances for the Flyers and scoring a shorty.
While the Caps lead increased, as expected, the Flyers started to get chippy. I guess that is this team's motto; "Win, and if you don't win, slash the crap out of the good guy on the other team." Nice to see that Scott Hartnell took that to heart. But in the preseason? C'mon Harts, the Caps aren't even in your division. Let it go. It was pretty clear to see that both teams lost no love for one another in the off season. In order to keep the peace, the refs ended up throwing both Donald Brashear and Ryan Cote out at the end of the game. When they were both tossed, neither one had been fighting, just chirping. 2 minutes unsportsmanlike and a 10 minute game.
All of Ovechkin's points came on the first three goals. Also scoring goals were Chris Clark, Nick Backstom, Eric Fehr and Tomas Fleischmann. Sergei Fedorov, who was experimenting being a defenseman this game, came away with a couple of assists. And Chris Bourque may not be sent down the way he is playing, he had an assist tonight. He also saw time on the power play and about 12 minutes of game time. In all, 10 Capitals made the scoresheet.
Jose Theodore played all 60 minutes, and he didn't look bad. The only goal scored on him was a rebound shot from the point that went right to Daniel Briere's stick on a Flyers power play, he had no chance to save it. One thing I have noticed about Theodore is he is aggressive on the primary shot, and if a rebound goes where he doesn't want it, he is very out of position. Although tonight he had a stellar defensive squad in front of him only allowing the Flyers 18 shots. In fact in the first period, the Flyers could only muster 3 shots on Theodore. I was afraid Jose might fall asleep. When he did have to make a save, Theodore made some pretty good ones.
Next preseason game is Sunday against Boston. After that the Caps will have finished their preseason and open on the road Friday, October 11th in Atlanta. The NHL season actually begins tomorrow (Saturday) with the New York Rangers taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning in Prague.
Preseason - Scoresheet
It's a preseason game, so any thoughts of the Caps getting vengeance for the 2-1 loss up in Philly or the early post season exit by the Flyers should stop. Vengeance will come when the Caps knock them out of the playoffs, not by a meaningless game a week before the start of the season. This by no means was "getting back" at the Flyers, so all that talk is just stupid.
Sorry, back to the game.
Alex Ovechkin had a goal and two assists. Ovi has yet to score an even strength goal in the preseason, his goal tonight was on the penalty kill (which by the looks of it, he will see some time there since this is his second shorty of the preseason). Again, as the story line was with the rookie game, it was the Caps high powered talent and speed versus the Flyers slow hard hitting game that led to a Caps victory 5 - 1.
The Caps didn't let the Flyers get their defensive play slow down their offense, even if they were on the penalty kill. The Caps power play was back to sufficient as the Caps went 1 for 7 and the penalty kill did okay too killing off 5 of 6 chances for the Flyers and scoring a shorty.
While the Caps lead increased, as expected, the Flyers started to get chippy. I guess that is this team's motto; "Win, and if you don't win, slash the crap out of the good guy on the other team." Nice to see that Scott Hartnell took that to heart. But in the preseason? C'mon Harts, the Caps aren't even in your division. Let it go. It was pretty clear to see that both teams lost no love for one another in the off season. In order to keep the peace, the refs ended up throwing both Donald Brashear and Ryan Cote out at the end of the game. When they were both tossed, neither one had been fighting, just chirping. 2 minutes unsportsmanlike and a 10 minute game.
All of Ovechkin's points came on the first three goals. Also scoring goals were Chris Clark, Nick Backstom, Eric Fehr and Tomas Fleischmann. Sergei Fedorov, who was experimenting being a defenseman this game, came away with a couple of assists. And Chris Bourque may not be sent down the way he is playing, he had an assist tonight. He also saw time on the power play and about 12 minutes of game time. In all, 10 Capitals made the scoresheet.
Jose Theodore played all 60 minutes, and he didn't look bad. The only goal scored on him was a rebound shot from the point that went right to Daniel Briere's stick on a Flyers power play, he had no chance to save it. One thing I have noticed about Theodore is he is aggressive on the primary shot, and if a rebound goes where he doesn't want it, he is very out of position. Although tonight he had a stellar defensive squad in front of him only allowing the Flyers 18 shots. In fact in the first period, the Flyers could only muster 3 shots on Theodore. I was afraid Jose might fall asleep. When he did have to make a save, Theodore made some pretty good ones.
Next preseason game is Sunday against Boston. After that the Caps will have finished their preseason and open on the road Friday, October 11th in Atlanta. The NHL season actually begins tomorrow (Saturday) with the New York Rangers taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning in Prague.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Not Entirely Perfect
Capitals 1, Flyers 2
Preseason - Scoresheet
The Capitals are guilty of being a bit too fancy and a slow start played into the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers as they hand the Caps their first loss of the preseason, 2-1. The Flyers played the perfect defensive game of slowing down the high flying Caps and jumped on their slim opportunities.
Nick Backstrom was the lone goal scorer. It was a simple throw on net from the corner. It caught Marty Biron off guard and slipped into the net. It was the only simple thing the Caps tried all game. His goal was unassisted. Two streaks were ended for the Capitals, their power play came to a screaching halt as they were 0 for 8 including a :23 second 5 on 3. The other was the penalty kill that had gone two straight games with out surrendering a power play goal only to let in a goal which turned out to be the game winner for the Flyers.
Credit the Flyers who did a good job of jamming the Caps in the neutral zone and slowing the pace. They also took away passing lanes and left little for the Caps to create space and find open players. The Caps also took some lazy penalties, probably due to them trying to do too much. Only toward the end of the game did the Caps seem to figure out to simplify the game and get the puck to the net.
Several Caps that were earlier sent to Hershey were dressed for the game in Philly. Andrew Gordon, Jay Beagle (who got in a fight) and Alexandre Giroux all were in the line up. Bruce Boudreau alluded to the fact that just because some players were sent to Hershey didn't mean they were done with the Capitals. It was in his plans to bring back the players he just couldn't fit into the practices at Kettler. The Flyers on the other hand had a much more experienced line up. They nearly had starting night line up with only three prospects dressed for the game.
The Capitals return home to face the Flyers again on Friday at the Verizon Center. While the Caps have made some strides in the past 4 games, this loss shouldn't be considered as a step backwards. It is preseason after all. Now they have to learn from their experiences. The power play was pitiful, much like it was last season. Too slow, too predictable.
Alex Semin tried to way too much on his own, as often the case when he feels he has to do it on his own. Often the Caps would follow that lead and try to push the puck through three flyers. While it drew penalties, it did little for creating scoring chances. David Steckel was the only one that took shots at the net (he had the team's most shots on net with 5).
Brent Johnson finished a full game and was spectacular. He made an impossible save off a bounce off the dasher that landed right on the stick of Daniel Briere. Johny showed his athletism to stop the puck. He came up with some big plays, especially on the penalty kill. Only the Caps didn't push their aggresive offensive style enough to overcome the two goals scored by the Flyers. J0hny turned away 22 shots.
Caps come back to Kettler tomorrow for some practice and expect a much more energized team at home against the Flyers Friday night.
Corey Masisak caught up with Steve Eminger that looked pretty good tonight against his old team. "[It was] preseason, but I felt like I was pretty jacked up for the game," Eminger said. "I wanted to make a good impression, and I wanted to win."
Preseason - Scoresheet
The Capitals are guilty of being a bit too fancy and a slow start played into the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers as they hand the Caps their first loss of the preseason, 2-1. The Flyers played the perfect defensive game of slowing down the high flying Caps and jumped on their slim opportunities.
Nick Backstrom was the lone goal scorer. It was a simple throw on net from the corner. It caught Marty Biron off guard and slipped into the net. It was the only simple thing the Caps tried all game. His goal was unassisted. Two streaks were ended for the Capitals, their power play came to a screaching halt as they were 0 for 8 including a :23 second 5 on 3. The other was the penalty kill that had gone two straight games with out surrendering a power play goal only to let in a goal which turned out to be the game winner for the Flyers.
Credit the Flyers who did a good job of jamming the Caps in the neutral zone and slowing the pace. They also took away passing lanes and left little for the Caps to create space and find open players. The Caps also took some lazy penalties, probably due to them trying to do too much. Only toward the end of the game did the Caps seem to figure out to simplify the game and get the puck to the net.
Several Caps that were earlier sent to Hershey were dressed for the game in Philly. Andrew Gordon, Jay Beagle (who got in a fight) and Alexandre Giroux all were in the line up. Bruce Boudreau alluded to the fact that just because some players were sent to Hershey didn't mean they were done with the Capitals. It was in his plans to bring back the players he just couldn't fit into the practices at Kettler. The Flyers on the other hand had a much more experienced line up. They nearly had starting night line up with only three prospects dressed for the game.
The Capitals return home to face the Flyers again on Friday at the Verizon Center. While the Caps have made some strides in the past 4 games, this loss shouldn't be considered as a step backwards. It is preseason after all. Now they have to learn from their experiences. The power play was pitiful, much like it was last season. Too slow, too predictable.
Alex Semin tried to way too much on his own, as often the case when he feels he has to do it on his own. Often the Caps would follow that lead and try to push the puck through three flyers. While it drew penalties, it did little for creating scoring chances. David Steckel was the only one that took shots at the net (he had the team's most shots on net with 5).
Brent Johnson finished a full game and was spectacular. He made an impossible save off a bounce off the dasher that landed right on the stick of Daniel Briere. Johny showed his athletism to stop the puck. He came up with some big plays, especially on the penalty kill. Only the Caps didn't push their aggresive offensive style enough to overcome the two goals scored by the Flyers. J0hny turned away 22 shots.
Caps come back to Kettler tomorrow for some practice and expect a much more energized team at home against the Flyers Friday night.
Corey Masisak caught up with Steve Eminger that looked pretty good tonight against his old team. "[It was] preseason, but I felt like I was pretty jacked up for the game," Eminger said. "I wanted to make a good impression, and I wanted to win."
What The Flyers Might Look Like
The Philadelphia Flyers, the Capitals next preseason foe, trimmed their roster. They cut 13 players yesterday and released former Cap prospect Maxime Ouellet today. Antero Niittymaki has returned to camp for the Flyers after having left hip surgery, but most likely Marty Biron will get the start in the Philly net. Former Cap Steve Eminger might also be in the line up for the Flyers.
Their line up will be very similar to the Caps probable line up with mostly vets with a few prospects mixed in.
Thanks to Tarik the Caps' probable line combinations looks like this:
Forwards
Laich-Fedorov-Semin
Clark-Backstrom-Fehr
Laing-Steckel-Bourque
Grant McNeill-Gordon-Bradley
Defensemen
Schultz-Poti
Erskine-Jurcina
Alzner-Lepisto
Goalies
Johnson, Theodore
Bruce Boudreau plans to play Brent Johnson for the whole game leaving the last two preseason games to Jose Theodore. The game will be a live streaming broadcast from the Flyers' website which can be accessed here.
Their line up will be very similar to the Caps probable line up with mostly vets with a few prospects mixed in.
Thanks to Tarik the Caps' probable line combinations looks like this:
Forwards
Laich-Fedorov-Semin
Clark-Backstrom-Fehr
Laing-Steckel-Bourque
Grant McNeill-Gordon-Bradley
Defensemen
Schultz-Poti
Erskine-Jurcina
Alzner-Lepisto
Goalies
Johnson, Theodore
Bruce Boudreau plans to play Brent Johnson for the whole game leaving the last two preseason games to Jose Theodore. The game will be a live streaming broadcast from the Flyers' website which can be accessed here.
Round One Goes To The NHL
In an exhibition game that pitted the New York Rangers against Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL. I watched a little bit on the NHL Network and the Metallurg team jumped to a 3-0 lead and looked as if the Rangers were down and out. But 4 unanswered goals including a late third period break away goal by Ryan Callahan gave the Rangers the win 4-3 and the Victoria Cup.
In a game that was purely exhibition, both sides played with a great deal of passion. It was rumored that the Russian team promised each player $100,000 if they defeated the Rangers, and they were close to coughing up over $2 million for the win. But the Rangers were able to rebound.
The conditioning of the NHL seems to be the deciding factor, because this Metallurg team was right in it until the end. At the award ceremony after the game the Russian team looked clearly upset, some even crying. While the Rangers won the Russian league team did not look out of place during the game, with some spectacular plays made by both teams. Andrei Mezin, the goaltender for Metallurg, I thought played very well. Chris Drury scored two goals including the game tying goal.
We have pondered that a couple of games between the NHL and the KHL may not be a bad thing. If NHL players will not longer be apart of the Olympics that this maybe an alternative to seeing some great worldwide talent play meaningful games.
On a side note, the Victoria Cup looks pretty cheap. It has a silver (I assume plastic) base and several clear plastic hockey sticks arranged out the top. And it lights up, weird. They also gave out medals which most of the Metallurg players took off right after they had been awarded them.
In a game that was purely exhibition, both sides played with a great deal of passion. It was rumored that the Russian team promised each player $100,000 if they defeated the Rangers, and they were close to coughing up over $2 million for the win. But the Rangers were able to rebound.
The conditioning of the NHL seems to be the deciding factor, because this Metallurg team was right in it until the end. At the award ceremony after the game the Russian team looked clearly upset, some even crying. While the Rangers won the Russian league team did not look out of place during the game, with some spectacular plays made by both teams. Andrei Mezin, the goaltender for Metallurg, I thought played very well. Chris Drury scored two goals including the game tying goal.
We have pondered that a couple of games between the NHL and the KHL may not be a bad thing. If NHL players will not longer be apart of the Olympics that this maybe an alternative to seeing some great worldwide talent play meaningful games.
On a side note, the Victoria Cup looks pretty cheap. It has a silver (I assume plastic) base and several clear plastic hockey sticks arranged out the top. And it lights up, weird. They also gave out medals which most of the Metallurg players took off right after they had been awarded them.
That Looked Awfully Good
Seeing Alex Ovechkin wear the "C" on his chest didn't look too out of place Monday night as the Capitals took on the New Jersey Devils. At some point it's possible for that to be a permanent stay. While Chris Clark is still is captain of the Caps, it's still Ovechkin's team.
Ovi has declined the captaincy before. "I'm not ready because my English isn't good enough," Ovechkin told the Canadian Press in 2006. "If I need to say something to the team . . . it's hard. The captain is very important, you must be a leader all the time."
Clark's leadership (and the fact that he is the nicest guy ever off the ice) has helped this team even when he wasn't on the ice. Having to sit out the majority of the season with a strained groin injury, Clark didn't stop being a leader. He was present at every team meeting, in the locker room at every intermission and encouraging youger players along as they made the impossible happen last spring. No one is saying Clark shouldn't be captain, in fact he is the perfect captain for the Caps.
Undoubtedly though, Alex Ovechkin is the face of the Washington Capitals. And Ovi is the quentesential team guy. He would never think of taking that "C" away. While individual awards and accomplishments endear him to hockey fans everywhere, it's not really what he wants. If you told him that he could have could be captain but not have the Cup, he would avoid it like the black plague.
Ovechkin has clearly stated what award he would rather have. "I'm happy I take these cups (the Ross and Richard trophies)," Ovi told reporters at the 2008 NHL awards ceremony, "but the biggest cup is not in my hands. Soon, probably."
While I have been critical of another player becoming captain too soon, Ovechkin is quickly becoming a leader by his actions both on and off the ice as we understand him much more. Ovi has come a long way in just four years. From his broken english in the first year that beloved him to Caps' fans who chuckled with every quote to a young man that has his own clothing line, the league's most valuable player, and the new face of Washington Capitals hockey.
It was still nice to see him wear the "C" even if it were for a night in a meaningless game.
I have a feeling it will be back there. Soon, probably.
Ovi has declined the captaincy before. "I'm not ready because my English isn't good enough," Ovechkin told the Canadian Press in 2006. "If I need to say something to the team . . . it's hard. The captain is very important, you must be a leader all the time."
Clark's leadership (and the fact that he is the nicest guy ever off the ice) has helped this team even when he wasn't on the ice. Having to sit out the majority of the season with a strained groin injury, Clark didn't stop being a leader. He was present at every team meeting, in the locker room at every intermission and encouraging youger players along as they made the impossible happen last spring. No one is saying Clark shouldn't be captain, in fact he is the perfect captain for the Caps.
Undoubtedly though, Alex Ovechkin is the face of the Washington Capitals. And Ovi is the quentesential team guy. He would never think of taking that "C" away. While individual awards and accomplishments endear him to hockey fans everywhere, it's not really what he wants. If you told him that he could have could be captain but not have the Cup, he would avoid it like the black plague.
Ovechkin has clearly stated what award he would rather have. "I'm happy I take these cups (the Ross and Richard trophies)," Ovi told reporters at the 2008 NHL awards ceremony, "but the biggest cup is not in my hands. Soon, probably."
While I have been critical of another player becoming captain too soon, Ovechkin is quickly becoming a leader by his actions both on and off the ice as we understand him much more. Ovi has come a long way in just four years. From his broken english in the first year that beloved him to Caps' fans who chuckled with every quote to a young man that has his own clothing line, the league's most valuable player, and the new face of Washington Capitals hockey.
It was still nice to see him wear the "C" even if it were for a night in a meaningless game.
I have a feeling it will be back there. Soon, probably.
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