All's Fehr In Overtime

Capitals 4, Bruins 3 OT
Game Summary - Event Summary

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The Washington Capitals rallied from 3-0 to over come the Boston Bruins with a highlight reel goal by Eric Fehr in overtime to win 4-3.

The Capitals got contributions from a wide swath of players tonight. Mike Ribeiro, Tomas Kundratek, Wojtek Wolski and Fehr all scored for the Capitals. Recently signed and called up Steve Oleksy got his first career NHL point on an assist and Kundratek scored his first NHL career goal. Fehr's game winner capped off a three point night for the winger with the goal and two assists. He was also the only Cap with a +3.

It was looking a lot like the Capitals were set up for another disappointing outing, even though they were playing solid through most of the first period. On the Capitals' first power play opportunity, Brad Marchand broke up the play near the blue line and John Carlson blew a tire on the skate back. Alex Ovechkin had no choice but to hook the speedy forward drawing the penalty shot for Marchand. The Bruins would go up 1-0 on his penalty shot goal. Things then broke down for the Caps late in the first when Zdeno Chara picked up his own rebound to make it 2-0, and Ovechkin again was penalized and Dougie Hamilton scored on the ensuing power play.

Down 3-0, the Capitals entered the second period sticking to their game plan. They were solid five on five play and Braden Holtby came up with the next 24 saves combined in the last two periods. The Bruins cracked when a point shot by Oleksy was knocked down by Ovechkin who made a sparkling pass to a wide open Ribeiro at the side of the net. Nearly five minutes later, the Caps cut the lead to only one goal off of a nice face off win by Nick Backstrom to Fehr who dropped it to Kundratek. The Caps' rookie defenseman shot it and it glanced off of a Bruin and past Tuukka Rask. The Caps would tie it in the third period when Fehr chipped passed the puck on a fast break and the puck trickled through Hamilton to a waiting Wolski. He slid the puck under Rask for his first goal since Feburary.

Adam Oates must have been feeling the good mojo from Fehr and Backstrom because he started the pair in the overtime period. Just 37 seconds into the extra period, the Caps would complete the comeback with a spectacular highlight reel goal by Fehr. The entire four man unit broke the puck out of the zone with some good passing and good speed through the neutral zone. Backstrom saw Fehr streaking into the zone and head manned the puck near the Bruins' blue line. Fehr split the defensemen who both closed in on him and as he fell he chipped the puck up over Rask's left shoulder, squeaking the game winner just past the leaning goaltender. Two big points for the Capitals.

Alex Ovechkin didn't score, he had a beauty of an assist on Ribeiro's goal, but he was certainly a factor in the game. Not once did he crash the net, but three times Ovechkin knocked the goal from its pegs. The aggressive move seemed to spark the rest of the team. Backstrom had three assists by playing a very controlled game. Something we have not seen from him in some time. 

Quietly, the Capitals have strung together a nice little winning stretch here with 7 W's in their last ten games. The Caps still need to play the division tough as they will take on rivals Florida Panthers Thursday night.

Caps Notes:

• The Capitals have outscored their opponents 9-0 in the third period in their last five games.
• This is the second time in Fehr's career he has had a three point game, the first was against Boston on March 3rd 2008 where he had 3 assists.
• The Bruins were 9-0 after scoring first and 9-0 when leading after the first period this season. The Caps tarnished that perfect stat tonight.

Recipe For Road Win

Capitals 3, Jets 0
Game Summary - Event Summary

It was a perfect road game for the Washington Capitals. A recipe fit for some tasty win against a bitter divisional rival who leads them in the standings. A shut out by Braden Holtby helped the boys in white to a win over the Winnipeg Jets 3-0.

First part of the recipe for the Capitals is to cool a hot Winnipeg Jets. A team that has done well at MTS Centre, the Jets have found success by scoring early. The Caps would have to put water on a team that loves to score early in their home sweaters. That was done with Holtby turning aside 15 shots while the Capitals could only muster 5 of their own. But getting to the first intermission tied at 0-0 was a small victory unto itself for the Caps.

Second, break the hostility tension with a good fight. New comer Aaron Volpatti added that break with a fight with a bigger Anthony Peluso. Although Peluso seemed to have won the bout, the Capitals seemed to play better. Peluso would also leave the game after the fight with an "upper body injury" and would not return.

Add some timely scoring. After the Capitals worked back the momentum from the streaking Jets, it would be a goal by Matt Hendricks that would break the stalemate in the second period. Started by a heavy shot by John Erskine who took out Jets' forward Blake Wheeler. Since the Caps retained possession of the puck, Erskine faked the second slapper and passed it to Mike Ribeiro on the opposite side of the ice. Ribeiro snap passed it to Hendricks in front of the net. Hendricks scored his fourth goal of the season.

That opened the play up for the Capitals, but some fantastic saves by Ondrej Pavelec including a glove save on a certain goal shot by Jason Chimera. The Jets gained some momentum from those saves and Holtby would answer every shot that came his way. He would get his sixth shutout of his career, his third of the season. Holtby was solid in net, calm and cool with every save. Credit his team in front of him keeping a slew of those shots to the outside and clearing the slot so Holtby could see those outside shots.

Add some insurance goals by Troy Brouwer (his ninth of the season) and Mike Ribeiro cleaning up an Alex Ovechkin shot for his seventh goal of the season. With the Jets trying to get back into the game, things opened up in the third for the Capitals and they took advantage.

The Caps were able to kill off all the penalties they took. Their first minor came in the waning minutes of the second period. The Jets would go 0-3 on the power play, the Caps would also go with out a power play goal on the afternoon.

Mix well and you have the perfect recipe for a win on the road. A big win for the Capitals who are looking to climb up the Southeast Division standings ladder. As long as the Caps are able to play their division tough, it should help them to make the playoffs. Mike Green was scratched with a "lower body injury" or groin injury for the rest of us. Wotjek Wolski was a healthy scratch.

Caps Notes:

• Holtby would finish by turning away all 35 shots against him for his career sixth shutout, his second in three games. 
• The Capitals were out shot (35-21) and out hit (32-13) by the Jets. 
• Troy Brouwer scored his 9th goal of the season that now puts him in the scoring lead for the Capitals this season.

Caps' Surging Power Play

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

It was a slow start for the Washington Capitals' power play. Just four power play goals for 25 chances in their first six games. But as the season wore on, the Caps' special teams turned a corner and now have the hottest power play in the league in the last 10 games. That is good enough for second in the league with a power play efficiency of 28.6%. They only trail St. Louis who has a PP percentage of 30.6%.

Certainly head coach Adam Oates new power play system of the 1-3-1 is paying off. In more ways than one.

The last five power play goals scored for the Capitals came from five different Capitals. Nick Backstrom scored the latest in the big win against Carolina. Troy Brouwer and Alex Ovechkin each had a PPG in the game against the New Jersey Devils in their 5-1 win. Mike Ribeiro and Mathieu Perreault both scored on the power play first of back to back games with the Devils at the phone booth.

That distribution of the wealth on the power play makes it very hard to defend. Many teams in the NHL have that go-to guy on the power play. Take the New Jersey Devils as an example. They love to set up Ilya Kovalchuk for his one timers. The Tampa Bay Lightning do the same with Steven Stamkos. But after a while, coaches have to find ways to move that player around in the power play as teams are getting better at blocking those snipers' shots.

For the Capitals, dishing the puck to just about every player that is on the power play unit has made it a deadly PP to face in the league. The Caps are not relying on the Ovechkin one timer as they did so heavily under Bruce Boudreau. The spread of goals amongst players on the power play makes everyone on the ice a potential scorer. It makes the opposition have to keep track of everyone, at all times. If not, boom, the puck is in the back of their net.

The Capitals ability to maintain zone time with the puck under control is another factor that helps their power play become potent. By keeping the puck in the zone and keeping it moving around with crisp passes tires the oppositions' penalty killers. It also wears down the goaltender.

Ovechkin scored his hat trick goal when the Caps were able to keep the Devils penalty killers in their zone for some time. When the puck did leave the zone, Ovi quickly skated it back in and it left one tired Anton Volchenkov on the ice who wasn't able to make the quick change on the fly. The worn out defenseman for the Devils could only camp out in front of the net. The Caps exploited it not once but twice in the following sequences. The first chance brushed off the oust side of the net, while the second one found its mark.

The more the players work up their chemistry with one another and are more familiar with the system, the more dangerous of a power play it becomes. With a producing power play, things can open up for the Caps five on five. At even strength, teams will be less likely to play a tight checking game giving the Caps more room on the ice.

Here Come The Capitals

Capitals 3, Hurricanes 0
Game Summary - Event Summary

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Watch out Southeast Division. Here come the Washington Capitals. The Capitals' defense played the biggest role in Alexander Semin's return by keeping him and his team mates off the scoring sheet while added a pair of big goals to boot. The Capitals chase the division leading Carolina Hurricanes out of Verizon Center with a convincing 3-0 win giving Braden Holtby his second shutout of the season.

Nick Backstrom scored his second goal of the year on the power play. It was a tip-in right in front of the net. He would add an assist on John Erskine's goal, his second of the year as well that made it 2-0 in the second period. Add a John Carlson goal off of a big Cam Ward rebound and the Caps win their second in a row.

The story of the game was all about the Caps defense. After signing a two year contract, John Erskine looked like he would reward his team for the opportunity to stay a Cap. He scored a big goal in the second period as Nick Backstrom pulled up to hit the trailing defensemen. He got all of the puck on his one time slapper and Erskine gave the Caps their two goal cushion. Erskine finished the game with a goal, three blocked shots, and he absorbed a boarding check to give his team the power play in the third period. A pretty solid game from the big blonde.

Of the Capitals 40 shots on net, 10 came from the Caps' defensemen. It would take a team defensive effort to keep Semin from the getting on the score sheet in his return to the Verizon Center since signing with the 'Canes in the off season. Troy Brouwer did a phenomenal job keeping him at bay. Mike Ribeiro contributed not only with an assist, but had five blocked shots. The forwards pitched in where they could, the defense held their ground and Holtby was there to clean up the rest.

Braden Holtby was there with some solid stops, even stoning Semin streaking in on a break away. Holtby would face down all 33 shots that came his way for his 5th career shutout. His calming demeanor meant he was seeing the puck well, squaring up to the shooters, and that glove of his was lightning quick when it needed to be.

Holtby's save on Semin was pretty awesome, but Cam Ward came away with the steal of the night. Ward left a sloppy rebound in the slot off of a Wotjek Wolski. Joel Ward streaked in and shot it at the open net, but Cam Ward pushed his glove out at the last second to steal a would be goal from Joel Ward. It fooled the horn guy and the lights guy. Could be the save of the year by Ward who was on top of his game. It was a shame none of the other 'Canes showed up.

There were long stretches in the first and second periods were the Caps were just dominating the Hurricanes. A ten minute stretch in the second was the best net minder Holtby had seen since joining the team. They worked as a five man unit moving the puck and creating scoring chances. The Caps played probably their best 60 minute game of the season.

They will need a repeat performance when they travel up to Philadelphia to take on the Flyers tomorrow night.

Caps Notes:

• This marks the first time this season the Capitals have had 40 shots on net. Alex Ovechkin had zero. He had a shot ring off the post and missed on another shot. It is the first time this season he has been held to no shots on net.
• Losses tonight by Tampa Bay and Carolina, the Capitals move to within four points of the lead in the division. 
• Head coach Adam Oates was tight lipped about who would be in net tomorrow night against the Flyers.

Caps Re-Sign Erskine And Holtby

The Washington Capitals locked up a couple of players today. Defenseman John Erskine and goaltender Braden Holtby get two year contracts. First Erskine per Caps' PR:

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have re-signed defenseman John Erskine to a two-year, $3.925 million contract extension, vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today. Erskine will earn $1.925 million in 2013-14 and $2 million in 2014-15.

Erskine, 32, currently ranks sixth on Washington in average ice time per game (19:30), the highest total in Erskine’s 11-season career. His previous high came in 2006-07, Erskine’s first year with Washington, when he finished the season with an average ice time total of 18:03 per game. He has tallied one goal and one assist this season and ranks fourth on Washington in hits (31) and tied for third in blocked shots (19).

The Kingston, Ontario, native has recorded nine goals and 32 assists along with 452 penalty minutes in 294 career games with the Capitals. Washington is 9-0-0 in games that Erskine tallies a goal and he currently ranks 17th all-time in games played among Washington defensemen. Just five other players remain on the current Washington roster from Erskine’s first season with the club in 2006-07.

The 6’4”, 220-pound blueliner has compiled 46 points (12 goals, 34 assists) and 788 penalty minutes in 435 career NHL games with Washington, the New York Islanders and Dallas. He currently ranks 16th among all active defensemen in penalty minutes. Erskine has appeared in 32 career playoff games, all with Washington, and ranks eighth among active players in career playoff games played with the Capitals.

Erskine was originally drafted by Dallas in the second round (39th overall) of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft.

And Holtby per Caps' PR:

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have re-signed goaltender Braden Holtby to a two-year, $3.7 million contract extension, vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today. Holtby will earn $1.7 million in 2013-14 and $2 million in 2014-15. He was set to become a restricted free agent following this season.

“We are pleased to sign Braden to a contract extension,” said McPhee. “Braden is a young and talented goaltender who has performed very well in both the regular season and the playoffs during his NHL career. We are fortunate to have two excellent young goaltenders on our roster in Washington.”

Holtby, 23, leads his 2008 draft class in playoff appearances (14) and wins (7) and ranks second among all goaltenders drafted in 2008 in career games played (32) and wins (19). He has registered a 19-10-3 record with a 2.51 goals-against average, a .916 save percentage and four shutouts in his 32 career NHL appearances. Holtby has compiled a 5-6-0 record this season with a 3.37 goals-against average, an .896 save percentage and one shutout. He has started Washington’s last six contests, going 4-2-0 with a 2.35 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage in that span.

The Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, native became just the third goaltender to own a .920 save percentage and 2.00 goals-against average or better (in a minimum of 13 games played) in the playoffs at age 22 or younger (Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy) in the 2012 playoffs. He went all 14 postseason games without suffering back-to-back losses and set a Capitals rookie record with 14 playoff games played and tied a rookie record with seven wins in a single postseason.

Holtby became the third rookie goaltender to defeat the defending Stanley Cup champions in a playoff series (Montreal’s Ken Dryden and Calgary’s Mike Vernon), defeating Boston in seven games in the 2012 Eastern Conference quarterfinals. He became the seventh rookie goaltender to post an overtime win in Game 7 of a playoff series with his win over Boston. His 44 saves in Game 4 against Boston were the second-most in the expansion era in a regulation playoff win for a rookie goaltender since Ken Dryden made 46 stops for Montreal in a 4-2 win against Boston on April 16, 1971.

The 6’2”, 205-pound goaltender was named to the 2011 AHL All-Star Game as well as the 2010 ECHL All-Star Game and was a member of the 2009 WHL First All-Star Team prior to his time in Washington. Holtby was originally drafted by Washington in the fourth round (93rd overall) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

A Different Look

Alex Ovechkin scored his first hat trick since he did it in 2011 against Toronto. It all began from a different look.

What do we know about Ovechkin? Well, he loves to rip down the wing. Bear down on the defenseman, make a move or draw a shot and drive to the net. For the first 2 or 3 years of his career that was good enough for the Capitals. But when teams finally caught hold of what the left winger was doing, they collapse defensively around him and soon he became a non-factor.

One of the reasons Ovechkin was being so well defended was he often came in alone. The opposition defense would simply have to "box" him in with a defender in front of him and a forward coming back to keep him to the wall and force him to cough the puck up, take a low percentage shot, or make a hell of a move to free himself. How many times have we seen the Caps forward fly down the wing only to get snuffed out of the play by three defenders on top of him? Too many times to count.

Ovi was often too fast for his own team. When the Capitals broke out of their own zone and passed it to Ovechkin, the opposition had no troubles containing him in the "box" and stifling the offensive explosiveness Ovechkin had. Often Ovi would try different things like stop and find the trailer, or keep moving down the boards, but often that was met with the defense clamping down on him and he would often lose the puck or no one would be there to help.

Adam Oates knows Ovechkin needs the help. He put the fastest guy on the ice on his line. Jason Chimera adds an element of a pass option for Ovechkin. Added with the crafty play making ability of Mike Ribeiro and this line is quickly becoming a feared line to play against.

But what happened on Saturday afternoon was something we have rarely seen (if ever). And I will break down what transpired.

Here is the break out. Ovechkin has the puck and the Devils work to "box" him in. Normally Ovi would streak down the wing side and right into the trap the opposition lays for him. But as the three Devils look to isolate him he does something unexpected.

Ovi drop passes the puck in the neutral zone to Jason Chimera. The "box" converges now on Chimera the puck carrier as Ovechkin slides to the left side. This is key because Ovechkin is giving the Devils a different look than in the past. He is not carrying the puck into the zone, but relying on his linemates to help him out so he can break out of the defensive scheme.

Chimera's speed draws in two defenders and creates room for him to stop and spin to find the open trailer. In this case it is Ribeiro just off screen entering the zone.

He passes to Mike Ribeiro trailing the play late (John Carlson is there too). At the top of the pic and you will see a floating Ovechkin free from the "box" as all five Devils concentrate on the new puck carrier Ribeiro (a dangerous scorer in his own right).

With that convergence, all Ribeiro has to do is dish it to a now wide open Ovechkin.

Much celebration as the puck is one timed to the back of the net. I threw in some arrows if you don't see it. Chimera is a happy guy 'cause he gets on the scoresheet with a secondary assist.

By Ovechkin handing off the puck and forcing the Devils to make a decsision, follow the current puck carrier or stay on Ovechkin who doesn't have the puck, created some break down for the Devils in their own zone on the break. Add Chimera's speed to make room for the pass to the trailing forward or defenseman and the defensive system that once stifled Ovechkin has broken down and given him a pretty darn good chance to score on net (which he did).

The system Adam Oates has put in has brought the offensive excitement back to DC. It has also made this team a very dangerous one to play in the NHL. Because the power play is not smoking hot, the Capitals are finding a lot more room on the ice 5 on 5. With that room they will be able to make plays like these more common place. We hope.