Blue Jackets 3, Capitals 0

This was a terribly played game.  The team was listless and only showed sporadic bursts of good play.  I know it was their third game in four nights, but this has been typical of the Capitals play on the road.  Their current road record is 4-8-2 and 9-0-1 at home.  Does this tell you something?  No one went to the front of the net and no one went into the corners to hit somebody.  Steckel had a great night in the faceoff circle and total shots taken were fairly even.  I guess my real problem with last night’s game was with Backstrom.  He made a terrible pass up the middle when trying to leave the zone.  Of course, it was a turnover and led to a goal.  The thing I hated was he didn’t even hustle to try and hit the guy or even get in the way.  Jurcina was there, but was backpedaling because he assumed (I am guessing) that Backstrom would be competent enough not to do something that stupid.  Whatever.

Backstrom’s mistake on the power play led to Nash’s second goal.  Again, he didn’t hustle on the backcheck.  I am not sure he would have caught Nash, but just hustle anyway and show your team you care a little bit.  What do ya say????  Backstrom has been like this all season, and last year as well, and I guess the Caps are going to let him get away with it because he passes to Ovie.  I would like to see what Backstrom does centering the third line.  I am sure his numbers would plummet and his +/- would go way down becuase he wouldn’t backcheck.

On the plus side, I am impressed with the improved play of Kozlov over the past few games.  I guess his knee is healed.  I also thought Bradley had a couple nice hits last night as well.  Now, Alzner is hurt and Hershey will have to send someone else up.  Oh boy.  This is getting brutal.

Thoughts?

Capitals 3, Montreal 0

The Capitals won again despite being down eight starters and they shut out the Canadiens.  I am sure Theo was thrilled to get his first Capital shutout against his old team.  He stopped 28 shots and and is looking much more comfortable in goal versus the beginning of the season.  He also was square to the puck all night and did not give up a lot of rebounds.  Locker kept talking about how he has been working on quickening his feet.  I guess it is working.  I have never played goalie.  I wouldn’t know.

Flash had a really nice goal on a bonehead play by Montreal’s Buillon.  I have never seen a goal like that before.  Still, it was a sweet pass from Nylander to get it back to Flash and the goal.  Very cool!  Steckel scored the third goal on a sweet deflection.  I am still amazed these guys can do that with their stick.  Does anyone not agree that Alzner will be wearing a red uniform next season?  He hasn’t done anything flashy in the first two NHL games of his career, but there hasn’t been that blaring mistake either.  Can Montreal’s defenseman say that??????  No way.  I also thought Lepisto and Helmer played well.  I think staying out of the penalty box was key.  The Caps only took three minors and won the faceoff battle as well.

A really good win for the Caps and a standing ovation for Theo as the #1 star from the Verizon Center crowd.  Very cool!

Thoughts?

Sharks 7, Capitals 2

Ok, this was horrible.  The Capitals came out in the beginning of the second period and for 8-10 minutes played hard and got a goal for their efforts on a very nice hustle play by Tom Poti.  Then, the “stank in the Tank” began again.  The third period started the same way and the Capitals were rewarded with a very nice tic-tac-toe power play goal by Flash.  I guess another positive to take from this is Brashear’s beating of Jody Shelley.  How cool was that?  Shelley was bleeding all over Brash’s sweater!  Why do people fight Brashear?  Idiots.  I would like to have known what Brashear said to the ref’s to get a 10 minute misconduct though.  Ok…….that’s it.  No more good to tell.  On to the bad stuff.

After the goals, the Caps played poorly at best.  Morrison had a night to forget and seemed to be very upset about it.  He scored on his own goal (by accident of course), but he also had several turnovers.  Ovie had a terrible blueline pass and had to hook the San Jose player (Marleau?  I can’t remember who it was now) in order to prevent a goal.  I believe it should have been a penalty shot, but no matter.  San Jose scored anyway.  Ovie also didn’t backcheck and let Setoguchi score.  Ovie, you have to play both ends dude!  How many times have I written that this season?  I don’t think Johnnie saw a puck all night so I can’t really blame him except for Grier’s goal.  That was pitiful.  Vlasic’s goal should NEVER happen.  How do you score from 40 feet?  Easy.  Have the goalie looking around four guys.  The Caps defenseman have to knock that puck down.  Backstrom was not his usual self and showed his frustration by punching Rob Blake in the head.  Nicklas, you are lucky he didn’t kick your butt for that.  Three goals were given up on the first 5 shots, I believe, and the first shot went in AGAIN!  Sergei Federov left with an ankle injury after the first period.  It is the same injury as before.  We will have to see what the damage is.  I guess this will delay the Nylander trade, which I don’t know if that is a good idea.  What is the latest on that?  I am so disgusted with this team right now.  Let’s face it.  When the Caps are good, they are great.  But, when they are average they are BAD. 

The Capitals need Clark to do something, Kozlov to do something, and Nylander to do something.  The Caps cannot rely on Semin, Ovie, Flash, and Backstrom to carry this team all year.  If Nylander can be traded for better defenseman or a goalie I would be thrilled.  Boyd Gordon can be the third or fourth line center all year long.  He hustles, hits, and plays hard every night.  I would really like to have Matt Cooke back.  Whatever.  Now, a promising start to this road trip with the Anaheim game has turned real ugly at San Jose and LA.  The Caps need to play a tough Minnesota team on Monday.  Cross your fingers.  This one could be painful, but at least we won’t have to stay up to 1:30 to see it.

Thoughts?

Devils 6, Capitals 5 (SO)

Wow!  This was a really good game to watch if you like to be excited and then disappointed all night.  The Caps played well enough to win and poor enough to lose.  I still can’t decide which they deserved, but they got a point on the road against a good team and I guess we should be thankful.  Still, Ovie’s goal with one second left saved what would have been a very disappointing night.  It was a great pass by Backstrom amongst a lot of players that got it done.  The Devils seemed to regain their awesome forecheck in this one and it caused the Caps problems all night.  There were a lot of turnovers and poor backchecking allowed Gionta’s goal and several more chances.  I thought Theo played well, despite the soft goal he gave up to Elias which was short side.  Ollie used to do that all the time.  Whatever.  New Jersey found their old form and the Caps still almost won the game.  I guess that is the positive to take out of this.

Steckel played well on the penalty kill and Fleishmann scored again and played hard.  I like our 4th line as well.  They are consistent.  Did you notice Brookbank for New Jersey back off from Brashear when pushed?  He is their tough guy and Brashear scared the tar out of him.  Brashear has a lot of respect in this league and he should.  Even Kozlov scored a goal.  He looked as surprised as I was.  However, it was nice to see his improved effort rewarded.  I thought the Caps gave up too many shots, but that can be expected with the Devils’ forecheck.  The Caps go on a four game road trip of which three are on the West Coast (San Jose, Anaheim, and LA) and Minnesota.  Plan on staying up late!!!  Hopefully, they will go 2-2 on this trip.  That may be a lot to ask given how well San Jose and Minnesota are playing.  We’ll see.

Thoughts?

Capitals 3, Devils 1

New Jersey just isn’t the same team without Brodeur.  The goaltending wasn’t bad.  Clemmenson only gave up two goals (the third was an empty netter), but the NJ power play and penalty kill are falling.  They are both among the worst in the league.  Laich tipped in Ovie’s shot and Ovie added an empty netter (third consecutive game with a goal).  However, the big news is Kozlov got a point on an assist to Fleishmann.  Wow!  Kozlov got a point.  I guess he had his Wheaties for a change.  It was nice to see Flash get a goal as he has worked hard and made some nice passes over the past few games.  Flash has been playing well lately.  Maybe getting a contract and not worrying about being sent to Hershey has relaxed him?  Who knows, but his 5 goals are very welcome and hopefully 30 on the season would be very helpful from the forward.

Theo has 32 saves and looked very confident in the net.  He had a very nice save in the second period on Zach Parise.  The only goal he gave up was on a horrible change by the Caps who left him high and dry against Patrick Elias.  You can’t blame him on that one.  It cost him a shutout.  At least it didn’t cost them the game.  I fully expect Theo to be in net tonight against the Devils again.  I am sure Johnnie is not ready to play yet.

The big news is Semin not returning for the third period.  An upper body injury is all that has been reported, however Boudreau stated the he would probably play tonight.  Hmmmmmm.  We’ll see.  The latest news is they are going to wait and see what he is like in the warm-up.  I am sure they will err on the side of caution with this.  So, I don’t expect him to play.  If it is a shoulder and he gets banged into the glass he could be out a couple weeks instead of one game.  I am sure the Caps realize this.

Still no word on Federov.  Morrison appears to be getting closer to returning.  Nylander will play tonight and Theo is in goal.  I have no idea what the lines will be as the Semin situation needs to be resolved.  If he does not play, I wonder if the Caps will move Flash up to the first line?

Thoughts?

Capitals 5, Hurricanes 1

Wow!  What a phenomenal game!  The Caps made the Hurricanes look like a high school team in this game.  Ovie, Semin, and Backstrom had 12 points between them and only Jeff Green got another point.  Incredible!  Semin now has 27 points on the season and leads the league.  Ovie scored in consecutive games for the first time this season.  Maybe he will get himself on a roll?  Look out if he does.  And how good was Laich’s screen on Greenie’s goal?  The was picture perfect.  He won’t be on the scoresheet, but that is how you win games.  Laich does a lot of grunt work for this team as does the 4th line.  They are doing it very well lately and that is why the Caps have won four in a row.  Of course, Johnson has a lot to say about that as well.  He has been very good.

Johnson hurt his hip making that great save on Staal(?).  It looked awkward on TV so I am sure there will be a day to day listing next to his name tomorrow.  A post interview quote from Johnnie stated, “It felt pretty bad out there, but it’s tough to tell right now.”  We’ll see.  Theo will have to pick up the slack.  Hopefully, he will play better than he has prior to Johnnie taking over.  Cross your fingers!

Jurcina took some heat for his three penalties.  The delay of game penalty was stupid, but the roughing penalty I will take all day long.  Staal hit Johnnie with his stick and you cannot let people take liberties with your goalie.  Throwing Staal to the ice was warranted and expected.  Nobody touched Johnnie after that, did they?  Semin has been taking much more stupid penalties the past two games, but it is overlooked be/c of his scoring.  Milan can keep shoving forwards to the ground and beating on them if it keeps the goalie from being messed with.  Just stop the delay of game penalties.

Still no word on Morrison and Federov.  Kozlov skated around again, but at least he seemed to have more energy in this game.  A very good effort from everyone overall.

Thoughts?

Capitals 4, Lightning 2

The Capitals really came out and skated in this game.  They really seemed faster than TB for most of the game.  Two nice power play goals by Gary Roberts gave the Lightning two goals and that was it.  The Caps scored all four goals in the net closest to the TB bench.  Why do I mention this?  Because three of the goals were scored on bad/slow line changes.  Green, Fehr, and Poti’s goals were all scored because TB did not get off their bench and backcheck.  Usually this sort of mistake is made on the far end of the ice.  Not so in this case and they made it three times.  Give the Caps credit for cashing in, but TB really did not do well in a simple area.  Ovie finally scored on a really nice deflection from Semin.  Brashear made a super pass setting up Poti’s goal.  So far this season, the Caps have destroyed teams that did not establish a forecheck and/or clog the middle of the ice.  Last night was no exception.  The Caps were able to clear the zone easily and entered their zone with speed.  TB was backpedaling the whole time, especially in the first period.  The Caps also were in front of the net which helped create problems.  Overall, a well played game.

Kozlov, Federov, and Morrison did not play.  I thought Fehr and Steckel played well in their stead.  I like John Erskine in that he takes the body and punishes people.  I, however, do not like him taking interference penalties.  If he is going to the box, it should be for roughing.  Period.

Think about this.  The Caps are in first place and Backstrom has yet to score or really play like himself and Ovie has just three goals.  What are the Caps going to be like when they do score???????  The Caps should thank Brent Johnson for picking up the slack as his goaltending has been phenomenal lately.  I hope this keeps up.  It is fun to watch the Caps play right now and it is good to see the Verizon Center full.  The Caps are also taking care of business at home.  That is a good thing.  Let’s see what happens in Carolina on Wednesday.

Thoughts?

Capitals 3, Rangers 1

Well, the Caps got an ugly win although I wouldn’t call the game ugly.  The goals were ugly, but the game was fast.  Laich was in front of the net all night and got an ugly goal for his efforts.  Boyd Gordan made a sweet move and his efforts were rewarded with an assist as Poti put in the rebound.  A good hard working man’s goal.  Unfortunately, Poti didn’t get to enjoy it very long as he allowed an accidental goal with a deflection off his stick.  You can’t fault him for that.  It was just bad luck.  Brent Johnson continues to play outstandingly in goal.  Semin took a stupid penalty right at the end of the game and the Rangers could have easily scored.  I hope Boudreau talked to him about that one.  Of course, everyone will forget about it because he scored an empty netter which could have very easily been an icing penalty.  At any rate, the Caps beat a very good team at home which they will need to do in order to win the division.  Kozlov handled the puck more and played with more intensity.  It was nice to see.  I still would like to see a goal or an assist at least.  Finally, the Caps owned the face-off circle.  Gordon won 8 of 10 there.  Puck control!

I guess a concern I have from the game is the large number of turnovers the Caps had, especially in their zone.  Fortunately, the puck never rolled right to a Ranger but it got crazy.  They don’t seem to pass well which slows things down when coming out of their zone and now they aren’t protecting the puck.  Johnson made more saves than he needed to and bailed the Caps out.  I hope Boudreau is addressing this!

Back to Brent Johnson.  How good has he been in the past three games?  He is 2-0-1 with a 95% save percentage stopping 102 of 107 shots.  He faced 28 shots against the Rangers.  And how nice was the poke check save on the penalty shot?  Well done, Mr. Johnson.  I am sure he will start against Tampa Bay on Monday and it appears he will be facing Ollie.  I hope the Caps fans give him a warm welcome when he is announced.  I am sure they will.  He deserves it.

I didn’t see a lot out of Steckel and Fehr.  I don’t think they played badly, but they didn’t catch my eye either.  I am thinking that will put Clark back in the lineup on Monday, although who knows exactly what is going on with that.  Federov and Morrison will probably not play on Monday, so Sloan will start and Fehr or Steckel will play depending on Clark’s situation.

Thoughts?

Preliminary Information…..

I am reading that Tyler Sloan was called up for Morrison and will play with Poti.  It also appears Feds will not play as Steckel and Fehr are in the lineup.  Only the fourth line will be its normal lineup as Backstrom is back on the top line with Ovie and Semin.  Johnson is in goal.  Nylander will center the second line.  Oh, Clark is not playing either.  I don’t know what the deal is.  It may be a benching.  I am sure that won’t go over well with him.

Thoughts?

Injuries……….

I am reading that Morrison does indeed have a groin pull.  Sucks.  Federov has a “lower body injury.”  I love the NHL’s new injury reporting policy.  Give me a break.  I hope none of these injuries are serious.  I suspect we’ll see Alsner called up for Saturday’s game.  We’ll see.