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?
Wow! How exciting was this? The Caps haven’t been scoring goals and so Ovie, Semin, and Feds were put on the top line and guess what happened? Goals. Ovie had the three primary assists. Federov had a beautiful set play goal and of course Semin’s game winner with 11 seconds left. A nice pass and shot. I don’t think Ward saw the puck. Ward looked very good throughout the night and deserved better, but Johnson outdid him. My concern with the Caps of late has been poor passing and overpassing. The power play looks terrible and the puck continues to roll off sticks. It is so frustrating to watch. However, the penalty kill continues to impress and is the reason the Caps won vs. Carolina and took a point in Ottawa. The PP needs to have more shots! Shoot already! I am going have to have a talk with Backstrom. Every pass doesn’t need to be gorgeous. Just put it on the winger’s stick already! Whatever. In his defense, he looked much better against Carolina. Keep moving forward buddy.
How cool is Brooks Laich? He blocks a shot by taking it in the log, he is hobbling off the ice (I am sure he couldn’t even feel his leg), and he STILL stops the D to D pass along the blueline???? Are you kidding me? That is why I like this guy. He does the garbage work it takes to win games. The crowd gave him a real nice ovation when he finally got off the ice. Well done, Mr. Laich.
Brent Johnson continues to impress with 32 saves. I thought Carolina’s second goal was a little soft, but the Caps overcame it. I hope they stay with Johson, but something tells me that Jose will start against the Rangers on Saturday. We’ll see.
The Caps got a good win at home against the division leader. Well done! Let’s ride this into Saturday night against the Rangers.
Thoughts?
The following was stated by Penguin’s coach Michel Therrien regarding Semin’s comment about Sidney Crosby:
“Is he talking about the youngest guy to get 100 points in the history of the NHL? Is he talking about the youngest guy to win the Hart Trophy and lead the league in scoring? Is he talking about the youngest captain in the NHL to bring his team to the Stanley Cup Final? That’s all I have to say.”
Ha! Good stuff. Now, Malkin and Crosby can hate Ovechkin and Semin. I can’t wait for the next Pittsburgh game. Of course, Malkin and Crosby are girls and won’t fight so Brashy and Bradley better be ready. Good stuff!
Also, ESPN’s John Buccigross take stock of the Capitals with the following:
“Concern about the goaltending is the only issue. This seems like a team that could just explode with 10 wins in a row at any time. The Caps have so much to like up front. I think once they figure it all out and catch a groove, they could become a major force in the league. As a fan, I wold just be concerned about whether my goalie is better than some of the other guys in the Eastern Conference. Again, you don’t win with good goaltending come playoffs time; you win with great goaltending.”
Amen.
Thoughts?
Hi Everyone,
I have been away for awhile. I was visiting a very special lady. Forgive me, but she is prettier than you! Anyway, I missed the whole west coast swing, the Nashville and Buffalo games, but I did catch the Carolina and Ottawa games the other night (more to come on that).
Ovie being away obviously hurt things, but the Capitals have not been playing well. They don’t seem to be working like they did at the end of last season and the first 5 games or so this season. Of course, the quality opponents haven’t helped. Also, how about Semin’s award? Very cool. He has played very well, but I would like to see him learn to shoot without dragging the puck every time. Goalies I am sure are going to be looking for that move. A quick, surprise release will prove fruitful for him, I am sure.
When is Clarkie going to do something? Geez. You are the captain for pete’s sake. At least he hit somebody the other night. And is Kozlov going to do more than skate around the ice? Does he have a point? I just don’t see his contribution and that is just not this year. The end of last year was the same. Step up, buddy!
Fehr and Steckel have been regular scratches of late. Maybe Steckel could get on the fourth line for Gordon? Shaone Morrison gets a CAT scan after throwing up blood? He took a puck in the puck in the abs apparently (didn’t see the game). He was back playing the other night, but now appears to have hurt his groin? Great. This guy is getting killed and Kozlov skates around. Unreal.
Whatever. Thoughts?
You can really tell the difference between a playoff team (Pittsburgh and New Jersey) and the two games the Caps played prior to these two. New Jersey was not overmatched against the Caps and controlled the game for the most part. They made the Caps’ power play look terrible (1 for 8). New Jersey is a very good checking and forechecking team. A fluke goal only allowed a tie. And how good is Broduer? He will most likely go down as the best goalie of all time, in my opinion. I never saw Sawchuck play, but Broduer will pass Patrick Roy for most wins this season and has already passed Sawchuck. He is a great goalie.
The Caps were outshot for the first time this season. Green was on the ice an incredible 34 minutes according to the stat sheet. Semin continues to play well, but the Caps need to find a way to get Ovie going. Ovie is going to face the opponent’s best defensive pair and checking line all season. The Caps need to find a way to create space for him. Bourque was sent back down to the minors after the game which tells me that Brashear will be ready to play in Calgary on Tuesday. The next three games will be tough for the Caps. I think a 1-1-1 record is a reasonable goal.
The hero of the night for the Caps was Brent Johnson. He made more saves in the first period than in the entire Vancouver game. He also kept the Caps in it throughout. I thought he played very well. I know Jose was brought in here to be a #1 goalie, but if he keeps letting in softies and Johnson continues to play well………who knows. We’ll see.
Thoughts?
Poti (groin), Brashear (hand), and Kozlov (knee) are hurt and will not be playing tonight. Federov will play for Poti, while Clark will play on the first line. Boyd Gordon will most likely play the third line center and Steckel on the fourth line. The Caps called up Bourque from Hershey who will play on the fourth line. I read that Bruce is thinking about putting Bourque on the PP’s second unit as Bourque has done very well there for Hershey. We’ll see.
Bourque is not a big banger and I highly doubt will try to perform Brash’s job. I don’t think it would play to his assets to try this. We’ll see what happens. Brent Johnson will start in goal.
Does anyone know if Pothier is ever going to play again?
Wow! We actually beat Pittsburgh! The Caps never beat Pittsburgh! The last 30 minutes were vintage Caps (this season anyway) and they were able to overcome a horrible first period. They were on the PK for most of the period it seemed. I believe they took 4 minors. Duh! Is anyone better 5 on 5 than the Caps right now? Doubtful. I was thinking during the game that they shouldn’t try to draw penalties. The Capitals power play needs work and obviously will need to be improved upon, however they are playing great 5 on 5 this season so far. The Caps outshot Pittsburgh 21-6 in the third period.
What is the deal between Malkin and Ovie? Does anyone know the cause of this strife? Ovie was trying to run him over all night. This was going on last year too. I don’t understand why Malkin doesn’t fight back. It is not like he is a little guy or anything and why doesn’t someone from Pittsburgh go after Ovie? Whatever. I think it is funny. Ovie and Crosby had words at the end of the game. Crosby is a wimp also and mouths off and doesn’t back it up. At least Ovie will stand in and fight you. I have no respect for Crosby or Malkin. They remind me of how Lindros was in the mid-90’s.
How brave is Matt Bradley? This is why I like Bradley. He gets his butt kicked BADLY and yet he gets stitches and is down on the ground blocking shots. Very cool. Well done, Mr. Bradley. I read several comments from the Caps who said despite the beating it sparked them. That is the definition of taking one for the team. You should get the hardhat award Matt.
Thoughts?
Victor Kozlov has apparently hurt his knee after getting hit in the Vancouver game. He was wearing a brace the next day and walking without crutches. I haven’t been overly thrilled with his play and was going to rip him in this post, but now………
It appears that Clark will be taking his spot on the top line. Depth…..not a bad thing.
How cool was this game? The Capitals opened a can of whoop-ass and slapped Vancouver around. The Vancouver forecheck never existed and Washington’s forecheck dominated. This game was an absolute joy to watch from beginning to end. When the other team is trying to get the puck out of their zone all night it is impossible to shoot. Hence, 10 shots for the night for Vancouver and the last one came from center ice. Federov was fantastic on defense. I was very impressed and may rescind an earlier post about keeping him at center on the third line. I thought Boyd Gordon played extremely well in his first game and that type of play may keep Sergei at the blueline. We’ll see.
Greenie’s power play goal was perfectly played and Nylander made a great move on the penalty shot, although I thought the call was a gift. I really hope this is what we see of Semin this year. That toe drag shot is very deceptive. And how cool was Jurcina’s goal? Boyd Gordon wins the draw to Clarkie who puts it on Jurcina’s stick and then into the goal. Very cool. I must say I replayed that one a couple of times. A perfect faceoff. Well done guys.
The Capitals continue to outshoot opponents. 35-10 in this game and the faceoffs were 50%. I will take it! Regarding an earlier post, Backstrom improved his faceoff percentage to 55% against Vancouver. We need more of this if Federov is to continue playing defense.
Thoughts?
