NHL Gets Approval For Re-Alignment

NHL.com

Good-bye two conferences, eight divisions. Hello four conferences. The NHL Board of Governors approved a new look alignment for the league next year.

What does that mean for the Capitals?

How about a conference that features the Capitals with the likes of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the New York Rangers and Islanders, the New Jersey Devils, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Carolina Hurricanes? Is that more to your liking?

Most Caps' fans will see this as the return of the old Patrick Division (minus the Hurricanes, of course, who were the Hartford Whalers at the time). Per Dan Rosen at NHL.com:

The four conferences are designed to alleviate geographic concerns among several current Western Conference teams that had been unhappy about their extensive travel through one, two, and sometimes even three time zones. Some of those teams argued that the late start of road games in the Pacific time zone were affecting fan interest, especially among younger fans.

While in many ways this would be a dream come true for the Capitals who have argued that they were stripped of some really good rivalries with the Flyers, Rangers and Penguins when they were stashed in the then very weak Southeast Division. Division foes with the Florida Panthers, Tampa Lightning and Atlanta Thrashers seemed to weaken interest in Caps' fans when the move was first made. Since then, some good rivalries have come into place, especially with the Lightning and Caps of late.

The overall structure still makes some radical lines drawn mostly in the eastern side of things. While the travel will be confined and easy for those in Conference D (Caps, Pens, Rags, Flyers, Isles and 'Canes), Conference C stretches over and around the later and includes the Leafs, Habs, Sabres, Bruins, Panthers and Lightning.

Again, the West gets the shaft as their Conferences contain 8 teams per instead of the Eastern side that only has 7 per Conf. As far as playoffs are concerned:

The top four teams in each Conference qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The first-place team would play the fourth-place team; the second-place team would play the third-place team. The four respective Conference champions would meet in the third round of the Playoffs, with the survivors playing for the Stanley Cup.

 Almost a blueprint from taken from the Final Four's Elite 8 to give a comparison.

Rally Short A Goal

Capitals 4, Panthers 5
Game Summary

AP

The Washington Capitals could always count on being the dominant team with in their division in the past. But the Florida Panthers put some serious doubt into the Capitals ability to get easy points from their division with a 5-1 effort through the first half of the game. The Capitals made it a game late by some hard work and tightening their own zone play but would come up short on goals by one and short points by 7 in the division standings as they fall to the Panthers 4-5.

The Capitals Rally fell short a goal to tie the game in the waning seconds of the game. But it was remarkable there was a nail biter ending to begin with as the Caps struggled through 33 minutes of the game and the Panthers pounced to a 5-1 lead half way through the second. Mike Knuble managed the only Caps goal through that first half after a great entry by Marcus Johansson. It opened time and space for Knuble to slap it through Panther goaltender Scott Clemmensen.

Cody Eakin scored his third of the season after his line did some great forechecking late in the second period. With just :20 left in the second frame, Eakin gave a glimmer of hope to the Capitals going into the intermission.

If the first period was awful to watch, in stark contrast, the third period was the Caps best by far.
Pressing the play, strong on the forecheck, and maybe playing a team that had packed it in with the score seemingly out of reach, the Caps out chanced the Panthers 8 to one in the final period of the game. Goals by Brooks Laich and Jason Chimera made the game a bit more interesting, but the Caps couldn't find the equalizer.

The Caps' special teams let them down. Their penalty kill was a horrendous 3-6 while the power play was anything but special going 0-2. John Erkine picked up an instigator penalty when he fought Bracken Kearns in the first when the Capitals were down 2-0. The Panthers three power play goals were the deciding factor in the Caps' loss.

Michal Neuvirth let in possibly the softest goal of his career just :13 seconds after the Panthers' first goal. A knuckler that beat him 7 hole seemed to deflate the team and with some bad penalties and a Florida power play that was clicking, it was lights out soon after that.

The silver lining was the Caps drive to even make the comeback. It was lead, in part, by John Carlson who was the only player on either team to have a +3 with his three assists. He trailed only Dennis Wideman (29:00) in ice time minutes (26:15).

Until the Capitals can solve their woes on the PK and on the PP, it would be wise for this team to steer clear of the penalty box. Take away the three power play goals the Caps gave to the Panthers and it's a 4-2 game.

Caps Notes:

• Alex Semin has missed his second straight game with an undisclosed upper body injury. Anyone miss him?
• Alex Ovechkin did play but was ineffective with only 4 shots on net and a miserable -2. 
• Capitals outshot the Panthers 32-30 but only outshot them in the third period (13-6).

Woods Out, Johnson In

Well, that didn't take long. After some question on whether the assistant coaches would remain the same, GM George McPhee assured reporters the assistants weren't going anywhere. That lasted for a day. Bob Woods will be replaced by Jim Johnson, another ex-Cap. I am not sure if Woods was let go, or he quit the team. But per Caps PR:

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have named Jim Johnson the team’s assistant coach, replacing Bob Woods, vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today.

Johnson, 49, took over as the head coach of the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL) at the end of the 2009-10 season, finishing with a record of 15-5-0-2 (.727) in his 22 games behind the bench. Prior to his time with Norfolk, Johnson was an assist coach for the Tampa Bay Lightning during the 2009-10 season.

The former defenseman played in 829 NHL games with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Minnesota North Stars, Washington Capitals, Dallas Stars and Phoenix Coyotes from 1985-1998. Johnson tallied 195 career points (29 goals, 166 assists) and 1,197 penalty minutes. The New Hope, Minnesota, native appeared in 121 games with the Capitals from 1993-1996, collecting 19 points (two goals, 17 assists) and 89 penalty minutes.

Different Coach, Same Result

Capitals 1, Blues 2
Game Summary

(Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Dale Hunter had one practice and a morning skate to work with his new team. Not much time to turn the team on its rear and start playing like the Washington Capitals should. It was clear that not much changed as the players took the ice and dropped Hunter's coaching debut to the St. Louis Blues and their new head coach Ken Hitchcock 2-1.

Nick Backstrom scored the only Caps' goal after a pretty feed from Alex Ovechkin in the first period. But that would be all the offense the Caps could muster as the Blues choked the top lines. Typical Hitchcock-coached team, the Blues stifled the Capitals high powered offense and took advantage of the few chances they did get from some break downs by the Capitals.

(Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Matt Hendricks picked probably the best time for a fight early in the third period, but the Caps gained little to no momentum from it. Jason Chimera had a strong game too moving his feet and registering 4 hits.

The Blues have been a hot team of late since their coaching change. The Caps are still in slump mode and it showed for most of the game. The Caps had a weak second period mustering only 6 shots on Halak. Granted the Caps were forced to kill off a double minor by Troy Brouwer but the Caps were only able to get 19 shots total on Jaroslav Halak.

While it's not that great of a measuring stick on how Dale Hunter will ultimately coach his team, it does show the work that is cut out for him. With just one more day of practice before Conference rival Penguins are at the phone booth, Hunter is going try and solve the offensive woes of the Caps while keeping an eye on the defensive side of the puck.

Caps Notes:

• Tomas Vokoun registered his first point of the season with an assist on the Backstrom goal. He was credited with the secondary assist.
• The ice times for each player was pretty consistent. No player averaged more that :50 seconds per shift, and only Troy Brouwer was the lowest at :37 seconds per shift (mostly due to his double minor in the second period).
• Both John Erskine and Marcus Johansson left the game with injuries and both returned before the end of the game.

Just Let Him Play

With the coaching change for the Washington Capitals, Bruce Boudreau out and Dale Hunter in, a lot of things will change as this team struggles to find identity. Lately there has been a lot of talk lately of Alex Ovechkin's under performance over the past two years as a part of the Caps' failures. Some draw that under-achievement to the C that rests on the wingers left shoulder. In some ways, I believe that to be true.

The expectation level for the one of the league's most captivating forwards in the modern NHL has been an awful burden on the 26 year old. Ovechkin not only puts the pressure of a NHL team that was picked by some to win the Cup this year, but of his country's duties and the up coming Olympics in Sochi in 2014. The pressure Ovi puts on himself to win a gold medal and win the Stanley Cup, not to mention be the leader of his team, seems be too much to bear. I do think that it is affecting his play on the ice night in and night out.

Let's be clear, this is Ovechkin's team. It was built around him from the moment the Caps picked him in 2004. Nick Backstrom was brought in to support him, the Caps have drafted grinders to help his line produce and the young guns are all centered around Ovechkin. It was the logical choice to make him captain when Chris Clark was traded to Columbus leaving the office open. At first Ovechkin reveled in the spotlight. But of late, it seems to be more of a hindrance than an asset.

With the changes the Caps have made behind the bench, maybe one of the first duties is to get Ovechkin back into his predator-like offensive mode. One of the ways to do that is just let him be a player. Not a captain, not a country's only hope for a gold medal, not a city's savior for the Cup, just a player. Just let him play.

When the Capitals played like the low expectation team with nothing to lose, they seemed to play their best. Now with expectations through the roof, it has become more of a burden on the team than some thing to inspire them to play like champions. The run to the playoffs when Boudreau was first hired is a perfect example of how low expectations seemed to inspire the Capitals to push them further.

Just let him play, when Ovechkin isn't worried about how badly his team needs him make the perfect play, the Capitals win. He is better when he is getting 40 shots a game and playing for the fun of it, rather than treating the game like a job where all eyes are bearing down on him. He relished in rivalries, was spectacular for the cameras on HNIC, he played best when he just played the game.

Does that mean stripping him of the C? That locker room the Capitals have is full of leaders that don't wear a letter on their shoulder. Ovi doesn't need that C to be great, he doesn't need the responsibility of taking ownership of the teams failures either. He just needs to play the game. If that means stripping the C to make a point, I wouldn't be all that surprised.

Boudreau Out, Hunter In

A shocker, but not really. The Washington Capitals fire head coach Bruce Boudreau after what General Manager George McPhee cites as Boudreau's poor performance over "the last few weeks". The Capitals go in a different direction by hiring ex-Caps captain Dale Hunter. Per Caps PR:

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have named Dale Hunter the team’s head coach, replacing Bruce Boudreau, vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today.  

Hunter, 51, becomes the 15th coach in Washington Capitals history and will make his debut behind the bench tomorrow as the Capitals host the St. Louis Blues at Verizon Center.  

Hunter helped the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) win their first Memorial Cup Championship in 2004-05 and is the fastest head coach in OHL history to record 300 and 400 career wins. The Petrolia, Ont., native owns the highest winning percentage in league history with a record of 451-189-23-24 (.691) in his 11 seasons behind the bench for London and was the 2003-04 winner of the Brian Kilrea Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Coach of the Year.  

Hunter played 19 seasons in the NHL from 1980-99, appearing in 1,407 games and collecting 1,020 points (323 goals, 697 assists) along with 3,565 penalty minutes with Quebec, Washington and Colorado.  

Hunter is one of just four players to have their numbers retired by the Washington Capitals as his No. 32 was retired by the team on March 11, 2000. Hunter captained the Capitals from the 1994-95 season until the 1998-99 season and was named to the NHL All-Star Team in 1997. He played in 872 games for the Capitals from 1987-99 and compiled 556 points (181 goals, 375 goals) and 2,003 penalty minutes. Hunter ranks first all-time in Capitals’ history in penalty minutes, fourth in games played, tied for ninth in goals and third in assists. His 100 career playoff games with the Capitals rank tied for first in team history while his 72 points and 47 assists both lead the franchise.  

OHL Images

Hunter is the only player in NHL history to record more than 1,000 points and 3,000 penalty minutes. He ranks second in NHL history in penalty minutes, 53rd in assists and 73rd all-time in points and his 186 playoff games rank tied for 23rd all-time. He was originally drafted by the Quebec Nordiques in the second round (41st overall) of the 1979 NHL Entry Draft.  

This season the Knights lead the OHL with a 20-5-0-1 record and 41 points. Hunter earned his 450th career win on Saturday, Nov. 26 in a 7-2 win over Erie. The Knights are currently the top-ranked team in the CHL and have been ranked No. 1 for seven of the 10 weeks this season and each of the past six weeks (CHL’s Top 10 teams are selected by a panel of National Hockey League scouts).  During his time in London, Hunter has coached current Capitals defensemen John Carlson and Dennis Wideman and has worked with numerous other current NHL players such as Rick Nash, Corey Perry, Patrick Kane and John Tavares.  

London has won 50 or more games three times and finished first in the OHL four times under Hunter, including a CHL record-setting season in 2004-05 when the Knights finished with a record of 59-7-2-0 and went 20-2-0-0 in the playoffs on the way to the first Memorial Cup championship in London history.

 What I will most about Gabby? His glorious hair: