Capitals Chat

Caps Chat Has Moved

2007-10-09T17:07:00.001-07:00

Check the new diggs at www.capitalssource.blogspot.com. The JET is back in the red, white and blue!

A Look Back to My Season Outlook

2007-04-08T21:18:00.000-07:00

Goaltending: the most important position in the game is the most stable position for the Capitals. Olie Kolzig is a proven goaltender. At 36 he can still carry this team and play a good 50+ games. He came into camp in much better shape this year and the increased quickness is noticable. He still needs to try and limit the number of rebounds he gives up, especially with such a green core of defensemen. Behind him, Brent Johnson can certainly steal some games and showed last year he can play. In his 20 or so starts, he could conceivably win 10 games.

Kolzig did end up playing 54 games and did give up a lot of rebound goals. Johnny started 30 games. He won 6. Both goaltenders had a GAA of 3.00 or above and Olie had a .910 save percentage.

Defense: Youth is the theme for this year. Morrisonn, Eminger, Pothier, Green. What do they all have in common? They're under the age of 30. Only Jamie Heward and Brian Muir have seniority in this group. The problem is that before the lockout, Heward and Muir weren't in the NHL. This team gave up an average of 35 shots last year (28th in the league). Granted, Green and Pothier are an improvement over Biron and Majesky, but this group still has trouble breaking out, getting bodies out from in front of Olie and clearing rebounds. That shot average might go down to 33 a game; but still, over 30 is a LOT.

That Jeff Schultz (38 games, 3 points) was the team's leading +/- rater (+5) for defenseman tells you something about the team's defense this season. The team's big time off-season signing, Brian Pothier was...disappointing. -11, 28 points is disappointing, but he did lead the team in blocked shots (140).
But the team's best defenseman, by far was Shaone Morrisonn. Absent from the stat sheet most nights, he had a +3 rating (3rd on the team), blocked 120 shots, had 38 takeaways (most by a Caps defenseman) and played in 78 games.
Muir was injured most of the year, Heward was traded away at the deadline. Erskine was also injured most of the time. Mike Green did not have incredibly impressive numbers. Steve Eminger continued to make mental mistakes.
Oh, and as a whole, the team allowed 33.3 shots against per game (not bad huh?) which was second worst in the league. The league median for shots against was around 29.

Offense: It starts and ends with Ovechkin. The 52 goal, 106 point man has to have a good season in order for the Caps to succeed. He does have help with Semin and Zednik back in DC and with Pettinger, Zubrus, Clark and Sutherby along with him. The problem: only Zubrus and Zednik have eclipsed 40 points in a season in their careers. At the end of the day, Ovechkin will (barring injury) be good for 100 points, but if that Caps offense is going to run, someone else needs to get close to the 55-60 point area. That is definitely possible for either Zubrus or Clark, who are (currently) playing along with the Russian Dynamo, and for Alexander Semin, who has come out of the gates strong.

Ok, any numbskull could tell that Ovechkin was going to be a driving force for the offense. A 40+ goal season and 90+ point season is still nothing to sniff at. Semin was undoubtedly the Robin Ovechkin desperately needed to take pressure off, but beyond that...the river is dry.
Yes, Zubrus scored a bunch for us while he was here, but a lot of that was (as is becoming apparent) dependent on Ovie's playmaking ability.
Semin managed to be the 55-60 point man I mentioned in October (38 goals, 73 points), but after that you find Chris Clark with 54 points and a plethera of players who didn't crack 40 points or 10 goals (Pettinger's the only other 10+ goal scorer).
The Caps were, once upon a time, a team that could not be stopped offensively (remember those beautiful December days?) but they finished the year as only mediocre (2.85 goals per game, 17th in the league).

The Power Play: Oh. My. God. The problems on the powerplay are too endless to list...but I will anyway. The Caps need to move the puck quickly and with purpose. The point men need to pull the trigger when they have the open shot and have the forwards redirect the puck or bang in the rebounds. Beyond that, they need to figure out how to get the puck in the zone without dumping it (which they inevitably lose and allow the other team to fling it up the boards) and holding the puck in the zone at the points. They need to give up less shorties and with two strong PP units, they should do better than last year.

Ok, let's just go down the list here shall we?
- Move the puck quickly and with purpose? Umm...no one can pass the puck (except Ovechkin), no one can catch a pass (except Ovechkin and Semin) and no one can hold the puck in the zone. Kinda makes it hard to move the puck effectively.
- Point men need to pull the trigger and forwards need to bang in rebounds? Yeah, if there was ever anybody in FRONT of the net. Shots from the outside are fine...when you have people ready to grab those inside shots. The Caps could not get anyone in front of the net to cause havoc.
- Figure out how to get the puck in the zone without dumping it and hold it there? Not even close. First off, they still have not figured out how to pentrated the offensive zone, have one guy carry it in, and wait for his teammates to set up shop. You have an extra player guys...USE HIM. You CAN get the puck into the zone without dumping it! Trust me I've seen it done. On the other side of the coin, Pothier was supposed to be our PP QB...that didn't work. The team still simply flails their stick at the puck, hoping to bat it into the zone, rather than using their body to effectively keep it in.
Oh and they were 23rd in PP percent (16.4).

The Penalty Kill: As bad as the power play is, the PK is worse. The Caps tend to swarm to the puck and get caught behind the net, usually leaving one or two guys camped out around Olie. They need to focus on being aggressive, but holding the box. They can not have their forwards revolving down low because the defensemen are getting caught trying to retrieve the puck at the point. Beyond that, they must clear the screens out from in front of Olie and just clear it as quickly as possible. With a PK ranked near the bottom of the league last year, they can only go up...hopefully.

I did hope. I did. A lot of good it did me? The Caps' PK just broke 80% effectiveness...barely.
They chased the puck A LOT. They got caught behind the net A LOT. They can't figure out how to effectively clear the puck out of the zone (here's a hint guys, hard, and off the glass high!)
They were misserable in clearing the mess out from in front of Olie and let a lot of passes throught the crease. Special teams were slightly better than last year...but they are still nothing that you can be smiling about.

Dark Horses: Alexander Semin might be the most unexpected player to have a huge sophomore year. On a line with Zednik his speed and new-found matured skills could produce 30 goals and 60 points. The other thing that makes him an X-factor is the fact that most teams will be geared towards AO and allow him and Zed to find the twine a little more. He spent two years playing in Russia and that only gave him more time for his skills and body to mature.The other Dark Horse is a fourth line veteran: Donald Brashear. For an enforcer being paid to protect the most valuable player on the Caps, "Brash" could be a big producer. He'll usually be playing with some younger players who are hungry to prove themselves. Plus, in a new city, with a new, big contract, Brashear will want to play well to get a big extension. Plus, he's shown some offensive poise in the first two games.Last but not least, Shaone Morrisonn is the most underrated young defenseman in the league. While he doesn't have a lot of flash or big-hit ability, he can make the plays in his own zone when he has to. He knows what to do with the puck and he has the veteran savvy to make those big plays on his own. He might not put up huge defensive numbers this year, but he will make leaps and bounds toward being the Caps' number one defenseman.

Semin: I'm good. 38 goals, 73 points. Second highest scorer on the team. Even without Zednik most of the year, he was deadly. Teams underestimated him. They won't next year. Kudos to Sasha.
Brashear: The Don did nothing that will make the stats sheets sing, but I tip my hat to him. Along with Clark and Ovechkin, he was hustling. Every game, he was hustling. He scrummed in the corner, got pucks out and made things happen. All of us in the stands cheered whenver Don-ald! got a goal or made some poor scruffy forward a knuckle sammich. For his efforts, he got a 1 year extension, which was absolutely deserved.
And it was also refreshing to see other team's players stealing glances at Don as they were about to line up Ovie. You know what that man's thinking...
Morrisonn: ShaMo! What more do I have to say? Nothing I haven't already said, I imagine. Unquestionably our best d-man and certainly someone I'm confident in who can be our #1 guy one day.
I would like to add to the list, however, a mid-season pickup. Milan Jurcina was a guy that the Bruins discarded for rubble. McPhee traded a meaningless 4th round pick for that "rubble" who was one of our top 3 defensemen this year. Bet the B's fans are scowling at that fleecin!

Overrated: Unfortunately, the two most overrated players are defensemen. Steve Eminger was the 12th pick in 2002. Four years later, he still has not adapted to the speed of the NHL. He can hit, and he has some speed, but he still does not have poise. He hasn't learned to knock the guys in the crease down and has given up plenty of rebound and deflection goals on his watch. His decision-making ability with the puck needs to improve if he wants to be a top notch defenseman, which he has the potential to be.Second, the highest-paid defenseman, Brian Pothier. George McPhee brought in Pothier as a stablizing top defenseman. Heck, he paid him $2.5 million per year to do so. The only problem is that Pothier is not the #1 defenseman the Caps have slotted him to be. In Ottawa, Pothier was usually paired with a veteran as a second pair and had the opportunity to learn from Redden and Chara. He is only 29 and is not a top defenseman in the NHL. Hopefully, that four-year contract will give him time to mature into the top two defenseman he could be, but you can't expect him to give Chara or Redden-like numbers.Finally, Danius Zubrus has STILL not become the star forward the Flyers envisioned when they drafted him in the first round. Now approaching his 30s, Caps fans are still hoping that Zuby will have the breakout year. It may never come. Zubrus is a great power forward, but on a line with a 100 point forward he only scored 42 points. I'm sorry, but Dainus Zubrus will never be a consistent 80 point forward.

Nail on the head here. Eminger has still not emerged into what a 1st round pick defenseman should be...a top line d-man. He finished with the worst +/- rating of any Capital defenseman (-14), and tallied only 1 goal and 17 points.
Pothier is a special case. It's hard to compare his numbers from last year (77 games, 5 goals, 35 points, +29) to this year's (72 games, 3 goals, 28 points, -11) because of the quality of talent he was playing with then (Redden, Chara) as opposed to now (Eminger, Green). Still, he is a $2.5 million defenseman who was brought in to be our Power Play's quarterback, but only scored 2 power play goals and had difficulty holding the zone.

My Outlook: The Caps will be better this year...but not by much. Most people are picking the Caps to finish in 14th in the East, ahead of only the Islanders. I see the Caps finishing 12th, ahead of the Isles, Panthers, and Penguins. Final totals for this year are 80 points.Ovechkin leads all forwards with 54 goals and 110 points. Shaone Morrisonn is the top plus/minus getter with +11. Olie wins 29 games and has a GAA of 3.10. In the end, the Caps don't make the playoffs.

Ok, the Caps finished the same as last year (70 points, 4th worst in the NHL) so I wasn't too far off from that. The "many people" were right about where the Caps would finish, but not who they would finish ahead of. The experts didn't see the Flyers having an abysmal year and trading Forsberg (I didn't either to be truthful) or that the Isles would skyrocked ahead under Ted Nolan. The Caps finished behind the teams I said they would finish ahead of, though to be fair, if they had managed to win some of the "gimme" games against Florida, they might have finished 13th in the East. I was 10 points off from the teams point total, Ovechkin's scoring drought cost him any shot at that top forward spot and he was unable to break the 50 goal plateua. Morrisonn was a +3, tops for those defensemen who played for most of the year (Schultz had a higher +/-, but only played 38 games). Kolzig won fewer games than I predicted, but surprised me and had a lower GAA.

So in the end, I was right about the a lot, but I overestimated the Caps depth, which became apparent as the injury bug struck. If Ovie hadn't had a huge scoring slump and McPhee had upgraded some depth in December, who knows? We might not have to go Golfing right now...

Lightning 5 - Capitals 4 (SO): Word of the Day...

2007-03-02T11:44:00.000-08:00

MARATHON

Last night's Caps-Lightning contest went to overtime/shootout, with the Caps falling in the 10th round on Nick Tarnasky's goal to win the shootout. After stopping the Lightning's "Big Three" of St. Louis, Lecalavier, and Richards, Johnson proceeded to keep the Capitals alive time after time as player failed to score in the shoout.

Who is Nick Tarnasky and why don't we have him?

The game knocked the Capitals season shootout record to 1 for 11 and showed just what bad shape the team is in terms of skill players. After Semin and Ovechkin (who was kept out of the shootout lineup originally due to his recent struggles), the drop off is very fast.

Drop a penny...wait for it...wait for it...

Because Ovechkin was slated in the #4 spot, should the shootout go that far, coach Glen Hanlon would have to find two other to round out the shootout lineup.

Wait for it...

Brooks Laich and Tomas Fleischmann rounded out the top three, but these two could hardly be looked at as legitimate shootout threats.

Not legitimate NHLers either...wait for it...

But the teams woes last night were their inability to score. The team is third worst in the league in goals scored in the shootout, ahead of only Carolina and the hapless Philadelphia Flyers. But Carolina has only taken 15 shots in the shootout to Washington's 37, and Philly has only taken 26.

Still waiting for that penny to hit the bottom of the talent dropoff...

The sad truth is that with two of the most offensively dynamic players in the shootout, the Capitals only score on 10.8% of their shots in the shootout. That translates to one goal every 3-4 games.

*Plink* There it is!

The Capitals cannot continue to let these games progress to the shootout, because they aren't very good in the shootout!

Or the first period...or the second...

Letting these games extend like this will wear this already depleted team down. They need to keep their spirits up, because the finish line is almost within sight with only 17 games to go in the season.

The other teams are already crossing the finish line.

But give credit to the Caps: they haven't given up on playing. But the fact is, they are just not good enough to hope for anything beyond a lottery pick. So slow up Capitals! Let the Flyers, Blackhawks, and Blue Jackets storm on past you. Because the farther behind you get, the earlier the pick in June. And then in October, it begins again.

The Marathon

And that's your word of the day...

Panthers 6 - Capitals 5 (SO): Word of the Day...

2007-02-28T15:12:00.000-08:00

DRAW!

The Capitals made a gallant effort last night after their 3rd ranked scorer, their injury-prone, yet savy vet and their #4 defenseman at the trade deadline.

Now team's 5th ranked scorer, #6 defenseman and still injury-prone vet.

Washington fell behind early, but then rallied back and tied the game at 5-5 to force the game into overtime. The game was still tied after 65 minutes of play. Then came the shootout.

Oh boy...

For those of you unaware, before last nights game, the Capitals were 1-8 in the shootouts this year. They had scored 4 goals on 27 shots and had the second worst save percentage of any team in the shootout (.444)

Wow, the odds are really against us aren't they?

But, miraculously, they were facing a team almost as bad as the Caps in that regard.

WHAT???

Florida was a puny 1-7 in the shootout, who had only scored 6 goals on 32 shots and a .541 save percentage.

It's like looking in a mirror, isn't it?

But alas, the Capitals once again fell short. They lost their 9th of 10 shootouts on the season. If these were real shootouts like those of the old West, the Capitals would be known as the "slowest hands in the West."

Alex Ovechkin is keeled over bleeding on that haystack.

The fact is that the Capitals have been bad in the shootout all year. Glen Hanlon has been having the team practice and juggling lineups to see who can score, but nothing seems to have worked. The fact is, the shootout is where our lack of talent is most evident. When you have Matt Pettinger and Chris Clark filling that third and crucial slot, you realize just how paper thin your team is. They cannot depend on Ovechkin and Semin to do all the scoring. This is where the need for a skilled center is most apparent.

Please be Backstrom...please be Backstrom.

Do you realize that if the Capitals had won even half of their shootouts (5 wins would actually be more than the league median, but they've had 10 shootouts) the Capitals would be a .500 team and within striking distance of that 8th spot in the East.

Shot in the foot by not shooting well? The irony!

This summer, the necessity for a skilled player who can give us a solid threesome in the shootout could bump us, if not over the edge, closer to it. We already have Ovechkin

Yeah I know he's only scored 1 goal in the shootout, don't get jumpy. It's a slump folks!

and Semin in the lineup. Those two are proven skill players. One more, and a better performance from our goaltending could lift us up into the top echelons of shootout teams. But George McPhee and Ted Leonsis have been reluctant to go out and get players that our team needs.

Like players who other teams would put on their NHL roster...

So this offseason, I know what's on my wish list.

1. Invisibility

2. #1 and #2 defensemen, #1 center, young goaltender

3. World peace

Most of all, I wanted a skilled player who can play the top line with Ovechkin, and has a quick trigger.

Draw.

And that's the word of the day...

After a Long While Off, the JET is Back and Looking at the Trade Deadline Deals!

2007-02-28T12:34:00.000-08:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year! No not Christmas! Trade Deadline Day! And the JET spent it watching the live TSN newscast of the many trades and signings that came about. While there were certainly big trades of high profile players being sent to contenders, all the JET cares about is who got dealt to and fro the Caps. So without further ado...

Trade #1: Richard Zednik to NYI for 2nd round Draft Pick
Now this year, the JET is not a big fan of trading for picks, especially because this draft is rumored to be one of the weakest in recent memory. Second round picks are usually fringe NHL talent and the Isle's pick figures to be around a mid-rounder (so somewhere in the late 40s-early 50s). Whoever the Caps use this pick on will, in all likelihood, not be a player who can step in immediately and probably won't be close to the NHL within 3 years (if ever).
That said, Zednik is a UFA who the Caps couldn't resign. He's been nagged with injury problems and has been inconsistent in scoring. I knew once the Caps traded for him in the offseason that he wouldn't be more than a secondary scoring threat who the Caps would try to use to get some more young assets later in the season. Most people thought Zednik would get traded for the 3rd round draft pick the Caps had previously sent to Montreal. But instead, George McPhee pulled off a 2nd rounder for Zednik. Big ups to McPhee who once again traded a player for a much higher draft pick than he was worth (see Witt for Beech and 1st rounder).

Overall Grade: B

Trade #2: Lawrence Nycholat to OTT for Andy Hedlund, 6th round pick
This is an even trade, in every sense. It's literally, one minor league defenseman for another. The only difference is the 6th round pick coming the Caps way which can be disregarded since even in very strong drafts (which I mentioned, this is not) there are not many NHL players or top AHL players that are drafted in the 6th round.
There is no TSN scouting report on Hedlund, so there is nothing to expect from him. All in all, this trade was probably made to allow the Caps to move Helbling with Zubrus to Buffalo. If you don't hear of Hedlund for a couple of years (unless you live in Hershey) I wouldn't be surprised.

Trade #3: Dainus Zubrus, Timo Helbling to BUF for Jiri Novotny, 1st round pick
Losing Zubrus, to many Caps faithful, means losing a critical part of our team: the first line center. The only problem is that Zubrus is, by nature, a right wing! This trade makes sense and is, dare I say brilliant, for a number of reasons:
1) The loss of Zubrus will force management to go out and acquire a legitimate 1st line center. Seeing this team lose faceoff after faceoff, while watching Ovechkin skate around with no one to pass to him will, hopefully, show them the light to trade for or sign a top line center man and pay him the money he needs. Simply bringing back Zuby or saying that Nicklas Backstrom won't cut it either George. This team is weak down the middle and Zubrus was merely keeping our front line from looking pathetic. If he's brought back, it should be as a right wing (we're also pretty weak at that position). Backstrom, right now, is an AHLer in my mind. Maybe he can step in and be the 2nd line center, or maybe not. As of right now, there are two glaring holes in the middle of the ice.
2) We might just be getting something for nothing. I heard the reports on XM radio that Zubrus may be coming back to DC in the offseason and, quite frankly, I think that's the case. Once I heard he was traded to Buffalo, I rejoiced because I knew that the Sabres don't have the cap room to sign more than 1 center. That means Zubrus will be on the market again this summer and I'm sure he'd be willing to come back here to play with his buddy Ovechkin.
3) I feel that Zubrus' value has been inflated by playing with Ovechkin. He's had record years when he's played on the same line with Ovechkin, as has Chris Clark. A few years ago, no way Zubrus would be worth this much, so we're getting more than he's worth.
Another element is that Zubrus was asking for $3 million per year for 5 years. Zubrus may be overvalued, but he's not worth that much. I think McPhee recognizes that and also realizes that Zuby will only be on the 2nd or 3rd line in Buffalo. I believe his production will taper off in Buffalo and so, when he becomes a free agent, he'll be worth LESS than he is now. Therefore, the Caps might just be able to resign Zubrus in July for around $2-2.5 million a year (a salary range he should be in) because other teams will be offering him less after seeing just how dependent he is on Ovechkin's offense.
The only downside to this deal is what we got in return. I did say Zubrus was overvalued, and I do think we got more in return than we gave up in the first round draft pick, but I don't think Nvotony was the right guy in return. George McPhee described him as a "third line center" and TSN's analysis agrees. A third line center is the LAST thing we need. Along with Beech, Sutherby, Laich, and Gordon, this team would win the "third line of the year awards." McPhee should have either thrown in another defenseman (perhaps Eminger or Clymer) or relented on the 1st round pick for a 2nd or 3rd (since this a weak draft and that late 1st round pick is essentially equal to a mid-second in another year's draft) and gotten a young defenseman or forward. Among those McPhee could have swiped for Zubrus (in my opinion):
- Dmitri Kalinin
- Ales Kotalik
- Derek Roy
- Jochen Hecht
So while I don't feel that it was a BAD trade, it wasn't the BEST trade that could have been made.

Overall Grade: C

Trade #4: Jamie Heward to LAK for 5th Round Pick
This is just getting the most bang for your buck here. Jamie Heward was going to be a UFA this summer and is clearly the least valuable player to this rebuild. It hurts me to say this, but the 5th round pick from LA was probably the best offer out there. It just pains me that Muir didn't get shipped out as well.

Overall Grade: C+

Caps Resign Donald Brashear for 1 Year

2007-02-12T12:52:00.001-08:00

So we can expect more of this:

I'm glad that "The Don" will be back in DC next year. While he doesn't put up any numbers, he's the type of player that makes you think "damn, I'm glad he's on our team."

Well, that does it!

2007-02-12T11:25:00.000-08:00

Tarik El Bashir has reported that Capitals goaltender Olie Kolzig has suffered a "lower body injury" and will be out for about 3 weeks. Originally, El Bashir believed this to be a groin injury until General Manager George McPhee announced that Kolzig has a knee injury and will be out for at least 3 weeks.

This is the sort of cataclysmic blow that all of the Capitals faithful have feared since the beginning of the season. Obviously, any team losing their starting goaltender is a blow, but other teams have teams with defenses that cover up for their goaltenders inadaquicies (see Andrew Raycroft, Cam Ward, Ed Belfour; all of whom are in the top 30 in wins but have save percentages below .900).

The Capitals allow more shots than anyone (34.2 per game). Kolzig has been a huge reason for their inconsistent success. Kolzig has a .909 save percentage this year.

With this injury, backup Brent Johnson will have to take the reins. This year, he has a 4-7-3 record with a .885 save percentage and 3.86 save percentage (both worse than Kolzig). The Caps defense will have to step up now, if they want to keep their fading playoff hopes from disappearing.

Capitals vs. Kings: Word of the Day...

2007-02-08T14:51:00.000-08:00

Persistency

A combination of the words persistent and consistency, this what Washington must do tonight to win. They need to be persistent in attack the puck and get that consistency back on the powerplay.

They're already consitently bad on the power play, two guys with more than 10 power play goals?

But also, Alex Ovechkin needs to be persistent and consistent. He's riding a three game scoring drought.

Jakub Klepis says: "At least you're not riding the pine for that delay-of-game penalty!"

Ovechkin has fallen to 4th overall in points in the NHL with 70, that's 16 behind rival Sid "the Kid" Crosby.

Also Known As: "Poppa Floppa" and "Whiney Crosbaby"

But Ovechkin is not the only one who hasn't been consitent or persistent. Olaf Kolzig needs to step up his game and play with more intensity. He's only got 1 win in his last 5 starts and his last shutout was before the lockout.

That's roughly 230 years ago.

If Kolzig can play the way he did in his prime and keep the puck out of the net, the Caps will have a great chance to win. But he does have a 4-7-3-0 record against LA with a 3.33 GAA and .886 save percentage. But that could change tonight.

Because Elisha Cuthbert moved to NY with Sean Avery and no longer can distract him?

Los Angeles is the only team with a losing record when scoring first. Considering how bad Washington is when trailing first and how many goals they score in the first, this game could provide a comeback that could boost their spirits.

If they don't come back, they're gonna have a LOT of spirits.

Final note: Milan Jurcina has been hot for the Caps, averaging over 22 mins of ice time and recording a +1 rating.

Bruins 3 - Capitals 2 (SO): Brought to You by the Letter...

2007-02-07T06:06:00.000-08:00

Now many reading this might think the "O" is for Ovechkin, who was held scoreless last night against Boston. Last night made the third consecutive game in which Ovie did not register a point. Indeed, NHL.com's recap of the game focused entirely on Ovechkin's inability to score. They spoke of how Zdeno Chara held the Russian Phenom in check and about how frustrated Ovechkin seemed after the game.

But the "O" I'm referring to is "O" for offense! To pin this loss on Ovechkin's lack of scoring is ridiculous, considering that before the three-game scoreless streak, Ovechkin had scored in 13 straight games. Let's be honest folks, you can't put that kind of pressure on a young kid-expecting him to score every game--and have him consistenly meet it. Some games, Ovechkin's gonna not scores, so it's up to the rest of the team to step up.

Certainly in this game, some of the lesser heroes did step up to provide a boost for the Caps. Brooks Laich and Eric Fehr scored the two regulation goals for the Caps. Combined, the two have eight goals on the year. Laich's goal was unassisted while Fehr got help from Richard Zednik (15 points) and Mike Green (9 points). While the less likely heroes did chip in, the other players who were supposed to be helping Ovechkin carry the offensive load were silent.

Chris Clark, Dainus Zubrus, Alexander Semin and Matt Pettinger, who round out the Caps top 5 in scoring, were all scoreless last night. I'll give Semin a break because he was the only one who scored in the shootout, but Alex Ovechkin is supposed to be such an offensive dynamo that he should free up space for other players. That means on nights when Ovie's not scoring, Clark and Zubrus need to step up. Pettinger as well, has not been strong of late.

Putting the blame on Ovechkin for the teams offensive sputterings is preposterous. The offense got help from the "unusual suspects" but they couldn't get the firepower from their stars. If Ovechkin couldn't cash in, then the other big guns needed to step up. We needed some offense last night and #8 wasn't going to carry us there.

If I Were a Hockey Player

2007-02-02T09:19:00.000-08:00

If I Were a Hockey Player:
Team: Washington Capitals
Uniform Number: 10
Position: Left Wing
Nickname: Josho (my real hockey nickname) or Thunder
Linemates: Backstrom and Ovechkin
Rounding out the PP: Bondra and Visnovsky
Job: Deflections and garbage goals. Defensive forward and penalty killer.
Signature Move: The snap shot
Strengths: Puck stealing and passing
Weaknessess: Hitting
Injury Problems? Lower body injuries
Equipment: CCM helmet, Easton Synergy stick (green), Bauer skates
Nemesis: Mario Lemieux
Scandal Involvement: Cheating on my girlfriend (who I hope to be Sophia Bush)
Who I'd face in the Stanley Cup Finals: Vancouver Canucks
What I'd do with the Stanley Cup after our victory: Baptize my children in it, bring it to my high school and parade it through the halls. Have a big freakin' barbecue
Would the media love me or hate me? They'd love my intensity, but despise me for not being more agressive.

Panthers 6 - Capitals 3: Brought to You by the Letter...

2007-02-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

As in: how the hell do you lose to the Panthers...AGAIN?
Not only how do you lose to the Panthers, but how do you keep losing games that you HAD to win and were SUPPOSED to win.
6-14-0 in their last 20 games has basically knocked the Capitals out of the playoffs. 3 of those games were against the bottom feeding Panthers, 1 against the lowly Coyotes. Winnning those four games keeps them even during that last stretch and now 1 point behind Carolina for the #8 playoff spot.
Instead, the Capitals have played flat, struggled mightily on the power play and basically looked like a bad team. Not and inexperienced team--a BAD team. Some of the numbers from last nights Panthers game are a microcosm of what has happened to the Capitals in the last 20 games:
- 2 for 9 on the power play (including a boatload of wasted 5 on 3 time)
- 3 for 6 on the penalty kill
- Outshot 32-30
- Olie allows 6 goals on 32 shots (.813 save percentage)
- Capitals fell behind early (2-1 at the end of the first) and then fell further behind (5-1 at the end of the second).

So in a nutshell, bad defense, sloppy play, flat early, uninspired afterwards. So what's the reason?

Is it coaching? Well certainly when your team started out 15-10-7 and then loses 14 of 20 games following it, you've gotta hold some of the blame. The Capitals seem to be a team that comes out either unprepared or just flat most nights. Other teams take advantage of their early lull and put them behind the eight ball. That in turn disheartens the team who fall further downhill and by the time they pick themselves up and play well, its too late.
Thats the other thing: they still play well. If it were a matter of them getting outplayed when they hustled and worked hard, it would be one thing. But when the Caps show up to play, they are nearly unstoppable. If theres inconsitency, it has to be with the coach. I thought Hanlon was a good motivator; I guess I was wrong.

It is management? Well as I said earlier, they can play well so the talent's still there. But its just so few and far in between. I have never liked George McPhee and never supported the plan to rebuild through the draft. Why? George McPhee CANNOT draft. Let me give you an example, he had 3 first round picks in the 2001 NHL draft. He spent them on Boyd Gordon, Steve Eminger and Alexander Semin. Only one of those guys, Semin, has proven to be worth the first round pick spent on him. In that same year, McPhee passed on Marek Zidlicky and Marek Svatos as well as a bevy of young goaltenders who could be groomed as Kolzig's successor (Cam Ward, Peter Budaj and Cristobal Huet are in that list).
But this year specifically, the Caps got hot early. They had what looked like the opportunity to make the playoffs with, arguably, the least talent of anyone. What did McPhee do? Nothing. Did he really think that this team would survive into January and February when players started getting banged up? What if Ovechkin, Semin or Olie had gotten hurt? It could have knocked us to the bottom. But instead of reinforcing a young sparky team, he let injuries plague us and allowed our AHL guys to get NHL minutes. Not a bad idea in philosophy, but it hurt the Caps chances at the playoffs. The fact is, he should have been making deals like the Jurcina trade in December. He sat on his hands too long and allowed this to become the year that never was.

Is it the system? Well show me a team that dumps-and-chases on the power play. Has three players on one side of the ice when cycling the puck in the offensive zone. Has a goaltender who gives up huge rebounds with a defense in front of him who can't clear traffic. Basically doesn't realize that most of their goals come from rushes and won't spread the ice. A team that can't make a breakout pass, ices the puck than most other teams, cannot establish a semblance of a solid powerplay and is constanly out of position on defense.
Yes, the system is at fault. Whoever is in charge of drawing up the gameplan needs to be fired. This system was designed for the old NHL, as was this team. Now, you need speedy players, mobile defensemen (McPhee's still picking those 6'5 guys who can't keep up with the fast forwards) and solid young goaltending. The breakout pass, weaving into the zone and an agressive forcheck are all things that make a team successful now. No one has figured this out. The system needs to be revamped. The more you teach these young kids to do the bad things the Caps do now (like dump into the zone when your team is up a man), the harder it is for them to "unlearn" it.

So basically all we have to do is suffer through another 30 games before more promises of "playoffs next year" come from Ted and George. The problem is, and I've said it before, it should have been this year.

Capitals Acquire D Milan Jurcina from Boston

2007-02-01T14:21:00.000-08:00

The Capitals announced that they have acquired defenseman Milan Jurcina from the Boston Bruins for a conditional pick (rumored to be a 4th rounder).

Jurcina was drafted in the 8th round (241st overall) by Boston in the 2001 Draft and is going to be a restricted free agent this July. His carer stats: 91 career NHL games, 8 goals, 14 points, -2, 74 PIMs.

Said GM George McPhee:
''This acquisition is consistent with what we are trying to
accomplish,'' Capitals GM George McPhee said in a statement. ''Milan Jurcina is
a young guy with some growth potential. We expect that he will help our penalty
kill right away and we look forward to seeing how else he can help us in the
long term.''

My take: I think this is a low-risk/big-reward scenario. Jurcina could immediately step in and take a defensive slot and add much needed depth to the blue-line. Since he is young (he'll turn 24 in June) and not costing a lot, I see this as a nice move that could help us push toward the playoffs. The Caps may not be buyers in a few weeks, but they got something for not a lot here.

Capitals (21-23-7) @ Panthers (19-23-10): Keys to the Game

2007-02-01T08:53:00.000-08:00

#1. Score First, Score Early
Caps fans will basically be able to tell within the first 20 minutes of the game if the Capitals have a fighting shot. They've been outscored 31-16 in the first period during their 6-13-0 run since December 16. In those six wins they've amassed, they've scored first 4 times, but only trailed at the end of the first once. Getting an early jump on the Panthers could be key, since they have a .226 win percentage when trailing first (26th in the league) and have fallen behind first in 31 of their 52 games.
But if the Caps cannot strike early and first, they will be in for a bad night. They are, themselves, 5-19-4 when trailing first (.179 win percentage is 27th in the league) and they are only 2-16-3 when trailing after the first period (.095 win percentage is 3rd worst in the NHL).
The saving grace: Florida has only led after the first period in 14 games.

#2. Kolzig Is the Man
The Panthers and Caps have split the season series, 2-2. In the two games that the Capitals won, Olie Kolzig was the first star and has made a combined 78 saves on 81 shots in those wins. In the games they lost, 76 saves on 82 shots. So Kolzig has been solid in all the games against Florida. In fact, in his career, Kolzig has a 22-16-3-2 record against Florida, a 2.33 GAA and .924 save percentage.
The Caps have averaged about 41 shots against when playing Florida. They will have to keep that total down, but since they haven't been successful at all this year, Kolzig will have to be superb. The good news is that this year against Florida he has a .933 save percentage.

#3. A High Scoring Affair
In the games between the Caps and Cats, the winning team has averaged 5 goals while the losing team has averaged just under 2. The difference in how the teams play is critical in determining who wins those games. Typically, the teams that come out of the gate firing will win these games. Usually one team gets off to a good start while the other comes out flat. If the Caps can avoid coming out flat like they did against Ottawa, they can have a shot at success.

Players to Watch for...
Florida: Ed Belfour
Eddie "the Eagle" is responsible for both of Florida's wins over the Caps. He has 2 wins against the Caps this year, as well as a no-decision (the loss was credited to Alex Auld). In his career against Washington, he has a 20-8-2-0 record with a 2.46 GAA and a .898 save percentage. This year, he's allowed 5 goals on a mere 49 shots, but he still has the ability to backstop the Cats to a win.

Washington: Alex Ovechkin
The Capitals are 2-7-0 in the 9 games that Ovechkin doesn't register a point. That's right, he's scored points in all but 9 games (thats 42 out of 51 games). Ovie has 12 points in 12 career games against Florida, including 4 goals. He is currently on a 3 game goal-scoring streak and a 12 game point-streak. Considering he's scored 1 goal and 3 assists in 4 games against Florida this year, its a safe bet that he'll add another point tonight.

Doesn't It Seem Like Just Yesterday that...

2007-01-31T12:28:00.000-08:00

We were talking about the playoffs? Oh wait, it was just yesterday. Well...not quite--but it was just a month ago. On December 16, the Capitals defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1. Dainus Zubrus, Alex Ovechkin and Alex Semin accounted for all the Capitals scoring. Olie Kolzig made 21 saves. It was Washington's 32nd game of the season

The Capitals' record was 15-10-7. They were five games above .500. Now as January is about to end, the Capitals have gone on a horrid streak of 6-13-0 to put themselves 2 games below the .500 mark and are 21-23-7. Back then, the Capitals hopes of the playoffs were flying high. Now, they are 7 points out of that #8 spot. To put it into perspective, if the Capitals had continued at the pace they were playing at before December 16 (1.15 points/game), they would have about 59 points, 10 more than they have now. Thus they'd have approximately 5 wins more (and thus 5 losses less) making their record 26-18-7. That would put us in second place in our division (a spot that we occupied on December 16) and in 6th place in the East.

So what's the problem? What happened to make the Capitals fall off?

Some say the Caps were just hot early. Well you don't just get hot for more than a third of the season and then play horribly for another third. By that logic, its conceivable that the Caps could get incredibly hot and make the playoffs.

Others say that the injuries hurt the Caps. Specifically, they point to the injuries of Erskine, Zednik, and Muir (don't forget, Heward, Morrisonn and Pothier missed multiple games during our stretch). But lets look at the injuries and the injured's impact on the team.

- Richard Zednik's been hurt since 12/2 when he suffered the groin injury. In 20 games, he has 5 goals and 13 points.
- John Erskine was injured in that December 16 game against the Flyers. He is third on the team in PIMs (despite only playing 18 games) and has 1 goal and 5 points (and - 5)
- Brian Muir was injured December 19 against Tampa. He has 3 goals and 5 points in 19 games and is a +8.

But looking at the people who came up and replaced them...
- Boyd Gordon has 2 goals and 14 points in 42 games. He is also 51% on faceoffs (highest on the team of anyone with more than 100 faceoffs taken)
- Lawrence Nycholat has 2 goals and 8 points in 17 games but is only a -3.
- Mike Green has 2 goals and 8 points in 42 games and is only a -1.

So it doesn't appear that the injuries put the Caps behind the eight ball too much. Granted, George McPhee could've gone out and gotten a proven defenseman to anchor the defense rather than throwing inexperienced players into the lineup (after all, we could've pushed to make the playoffs). But still, the loss of 3 guys who weren't helping too much (one of whom will be dealt soon) didn't knock us out of the playoffs.

The fact is, since then, Olie and Brent haven't been playing spectacularly. The defense has looked shaky. The power play's been failing. The fact is: the team ran out of gas because of a lack of depth. It turns out Olie, Ovie and Semin can't carry the team. Zubrus doesn't show up every day. Green and Nycholat are inexperienced, Eminger bounces around like a yo-yo. Heward is slow. Pothier is not a #1 defenseman (no matter how hard we wish) and beyond that second line, we have no firepower. The season is slipping away. Tomorrow I'll break down which players should go and who we should be looking for in return. But Ted and George's excuse of needing to go through growing pains is done. We could've made the playoffs this year. And we'd better make it next year.

Oh, and if the Caps had played at the rate they were in the beginning of the year, they'd have wound up with 95 points and a sure playoff spot.

Senators 3 - Capitals 2: Brought to You by the Number...

2007-01-31T12:12:00.000-08:00

1

Or the first period in which the Capitals fell behind 2-0. The Capitals spent yet another game having to play catch-up and, once again, failed. This marks the Capital's 13th loss in 19 games. During that stretch (6-13-0), the Capitals have been outscored 31-16 in the first period.

The Senators are a darn good team, especially when going ahead early. They are 20-4-1 when leading after the first period (which they were last night), and are 23-6-1 when scoring first (which they did). Those stats aren't terribly amazing in comparison to the rest of the league (they have the 10th best win percentage when leading after 1 period and 11th best when scoring first). For the Caps, the problem is in the mirror.

They are 5-19-4 when trailing first (4th worst in the NHL) and 2-16-3 when trailing after 1 (3rd worst in league). Basically, the Capitals cannot come back from deficits. That has nothing to do with inexperience, a problem many have aruged is hold the Capitals back. It's from a lack of hardwork (which usually puts the Capitals behind the eight ball) and lack of skill. The Capitals only have 31 games left in the season. They are 7 points out of the #8 spot. They need to get rid of players who can't help them into the future (who I'll pick out soon) and start playing to gain confidence for next year. And I'd suggest that this offseason, they try to add some firepower.

Capitals (20-21-7) vs. Hurricanes (25-19-6): Keys to the Games...

2007-01-26T07:11:00.000-08:00

#1. Don't Fall Behind
There are two factors working against Washington in this key. The first is that they are terrible at coming from behind. The second is that Carolina never falls off a lead. The Capitals have only won two of their 19 games when trailing after one period (.192 win percent) and only won two of 21 when trailing at the second intermission (.095 win percent). Also, when trailing first, the Caps are 5-17-4 (.192 win percent, 4th worst in league). Compare that to when the Caps score first, they are 15-4-3 (.682 win percentage). Scoring the first goal and getting a lead early usually gives the Caps a confidence boost, while falling behind early puts them behind the eight ball.
But for a team that has a hard time coming back from early deficits, Carolina is the worst team to be facing. The Hurricanes are best in the league both in winning percentage when leading after the 1st period (.941) and the 2nd (1.000). In fact, Carolina has never fallen in regulation in a game where they lead after the first period. They only have one overtime/shootout loss where they led after the first period. In addition, when Carolina scores first they have a winning percentage that is fourth best in the league (.789). When trailing first, they are a mediocre .323. The good news, for the Caps, is that Carolina has only led first in 19 of their 50 games, as opposed to the Capitals who have scored first 22 times of 48.
So the first period will be a critical one. If the Caps can score first and keep a lead into the second, they will have a good chance. If Carolina scores first and gets a lead entering the intermission, Washington's already in a deep pit. The saving grace for Washington is that Carolina has an even goals for to against ratio for the first period. The 'Canes have scored 38 goals in the first (21st in the league) and allowed 38 (9th in the league). By comparison, the Caps also have an even goals for:against ratio with 50 goals for (6th in league) versus 50 against (5th worst). So the scoring battle looks to be a coin flip. The Caps'll have to outwork Carolina to grab the early edge.
#2. 'Canes Spread Out Attack
Unfortunately for the Capitals, their defensive strategy cannot simply key into one player on Carolina to shut him down (as many teams would do to Ovechkin). Three different Hurricanes lead the teams in the three offensive categories. Ray Whitney leads the team in points (53), Rod Brind'Amour leads the team in assists (39) and Justin Williams leads the team in goals (23).
None of these stats look particularly frightening, but the fact that so many guys are so close to them in scoring is what makes that Carolina offense so terrifying. Carolina has...
- Three 20+ goal scorers (Williams 23, Staal 22, Cole 21)
- Three other 10+ goal scorers (Whitney 19, Walker 16, Brind'Amour 13)
- They have two players with 50+ points (Brind'Amour and Whitney)
- Three others with 40+ points (Williams, Cole, Staal)
- They have seven total players with 20+ points
This spread out offense has worked wonders for the Hurricanes. They are 12th in the league in goals/game (3.06) and average 30.6 shots per game. Their only "flaw" on offense is their power play where they are only 16.4% effective. Washington needs to play a solid offensive game to shut down this explosive offensive core.
#3. Pad the Lead
Unfortunately for the Caps, they have been on the wrong side of close games. In one-goal games, the Capitals only have a .294 win percentage (3rd worst in the league). Luckily, the Caps have only played in 17 one-goal games. But while they lose a lot of close games, they also don't do well in wide margin games. They've lost 14 of 24 games in which the goal differential was 3 goals. But they have won 10 of those games, as opposed to the mere 5 they've won in one goal games.
But the Caps tend to do better in two goal games. They have 5 wins in 7 games when the goal differential is 2. The fact is that the Caps tend to win more games when the lead is bigger. That doesn't offset the fact that they also lose a lot of blowouts. If the Caps can avoid those close games, or at least keep their leads bigger, they will have a much better chance of winning.
Players to Watch For...
Carolina: Cam Ward
For 'Canes goaltender Cam Ward, the last few games before the All-Star break were a jarring experience. After two straight games with save percentages over .940 (wins against the Islanders and Leafs) Ward feel off the sort of play that won him the Conn Smythe Trophy last June. Following a no-decision with the Panthers in which he allowed 3 goals on 31 shots, Ward gave up 8 goals in 55 total shots in his next two games (both OT/shootout losses to Atlanta and Tampa). Now, after the All-Star break, Ward looks to regain his stellar play against the Capitals. Against Washington, Ward's got a 2.96 GAA and .903 save percentage. His numbers against Washington have been slightly better this year (2.50 GAA, .909 save percent), but for the 'Canes to win, Ward must be stellar.
Washington: Olie Kolzig
Olie Kolzig has also had a stretch before the break marked by inconsistent play. In the five games before the break, Kolzig allowed 5 goals twice but also had two games with save percentages above .935. This has been the trend for Kolzig and his inconsistent defensive corps. Now, with Brian Pothier out, the Caps will need more young defensemen to step in.
As highlighted by my column yesterday, the Caps defense is still lacking. Kolzig has had great sucess against Carolina in his career 2.15 GAA, .925 save percentage and if the Caps want to win, Kolzig will have to be a stabilizing force.

Funny Ovechkin Interview

2007-01-25T22:06:00.001-08:00

These sorts of interviews that the NHL should be promoting more and more. Alex is such a charasmatic guy, once his English improves, he'll be a very good marketing tool. I can't wait to see what sound byte the kid spouts out next!

A Mid-Season Look: Defense

2007-01-25T18:16:00.000-08:00

Caps fans are long since removed from the glory days of intense Capitals hockey. Those days were marked with gritty veterans, stylish young players and, most importantly, exceptional defense. The Capitals have begun to assemble pieces to resemble the first two. They have gritty vets in Clark, Clymer, Brashear and Zubrus as well as young stars in Ovechkin and Semin. But what about defense?
The days of watching Calle Johannson, Mark Tinordi, Sergei Gonchar, Ken Klee, and even Brendan Witt anchoring our blueline are long gone. Now they are replaced by the likes of (and these are listed in order of whom they resemble) Brian Pothier, Shaone Morrisonn, Mike Green, Steve Eminger and Jamie Heward. The lineup is younger, ownerships master plan. But is younger better? Let's look at how the Caps defensive unit has fared this year.

- The Capitals allow 3.40 goals per game (26th in the NHL)
- They allow 34.6 shots against per game (last in the league)
- They have allowed 50 first period goals (5th most in the NHL)
- As a result, they have trailed first 26 times this year (they only have a .192 win percent when trailing first, 4th worst in the league)
- Also as a result, they have trailed at the end of the 1st period 19 times (and only win .105 percent of games in that state, also 4th worst in the NHL)
- To be fair, the 1st period is their best defensive period. They've allowed 56 goals in the 2nd period and 55 in the third (those are both 24th in the league)
- Only three of their defensemen have a positive plus/minus rating* (Bryan Muir +8, Mike Green +3, Lawrence Nycholat +2)
- Their highest paid defenseman, Brian Pothier, is worst on the team in plus/minus* (-9). To be fair, Pothier leads the teams defensemen in ice time (24:59 mins/game)
- However, Brian Pothier does lead the team's defensemen in blocked shots with 94. There are two other d-men with more than 50: Shaone Morrisonn and Steve Eminger. Jamie Heward is also above the league median (42) with 49 blocked shots.
- Brian Pothier is also 10th in the NHL in takeaways (30). Shaone Morrisonn is right behind him at 18th with 26 takeaways.
- The league median in takeaways is 9. Along with Morrisonn and Pothier, Mike Green (19) and Steve Eminger (11) are above that mark.
- Only 2 of their defensemen have more than 50 PIMS. One of them is John Erskine who has only played 18 games, the other is Shaone Morrisonn.
- The league median for PIMs for d-men is 24. Every defenseman who has played 40+ games is above that mark.

* Note: The JET does not consider plus/minus to be an accurate indicator of a player's defensive prowess. In fact, he considers it to be the most useless statistic in sports. He only uses it because the NHL does not do a good job of monitoring more important aspects of defense (how many shots a defenseman blocks, how many shots the goaltender must face when a certain defenseman is on the ice, ect.)

Brian Pothier has been a good addition to this core of young defensemen. Shaone Morrisonn is proving himself to be one of the next great rising defensemen. John Erskine, before he got hurt, was an intimidating and surprising force in the defensive zone. Jamie Heward has been a calming force. Steve Eminger has been streaking hot of late. Mike Green is playing years ahead of where he should be. Lawrence Nycholat has stepped up and proven that he deserves the chance to be an every game defenseman. Jeff Schultz has been good when called upon.
If you're a Capitals fan, you're looking at this and saying "great! We've got a core of young defensemen who are playing incredibly well! We'll be golden at the blueline for years to come."
Not quite.

The first problem for this defensive core is that they still do not have a clear-cut #1 bona-fide defenseman on this roster. Brian Pothier is a great puck-moving d-man, but he is not cut out to be "the guy" at the Caps blueline. Shaone Morrisonn has that potential, but he's probably a few years away. The top line is stocked full of future top-defensive players. That's great...for the future. If the Caps want to win now, they need a stabilizing force at the blueline. A solid, veteran top 4 defenseman who can eat minutes, calm the younger players and provide depth throughout the lineup so Olie Kolzig can get an easy night now and again.

Now, there have been some things that have hurt the Capitals and are things that a veteran defenseman could help the team improve on. These things are skills that a defensive core has to have if they want to be successful. As of right now, I don't think our defensemen can...

#1 Make an Outlet Pass
The biggest and best thing that a team can do to limit shots against and keep the puck out of the net is to get the puck out of their defensive zone. This entails either simply icing the puck (now less common since new rules keep the same, tired defensemen on the ice) or getting the puck and passing it to a forward who can, presumably, take the puck out (lets face it, guys like Ovechkin, Semin and Zubrus can do that). The problem the Capitals defensemen is that they cannot get the puck and do anything with it. They bang it up the boards right to the point men waiting.
What they cannot seem to do is settle the puck in the corner and pass it to the forwards. Instead, they panick and just shoot the puck up the boards. It wouldn't be too bad if they didn't shoot it hard and the puck hit the defenseman before getting out (preventing icing). Unfortunately, the puck can never get out of the zone.
#2 Positioning
I don't know if the NHL approves of or even allows man-to-man defense, but that's what the Capitals do. Rather than follow the conventional defensive strategy (near-side d-man pressures the puck, far-side d-man patrolls the crease, center moves supporting the puck, wings stay with the points) the Capitals seem to play the sort of youth soccer style defense: swarm to the puck.
Too many times I've seen the forwards below the goal line, the defensemen past the face-off dots, the center at the point or the goaltender at the blue line (okay I made up that last part). The Caps look frantic in their defensive zone. They need to play the style of defense that they (presumably) were taught since they were squirts.
The style of defense the Caps play is flawed because it typically leaves one or two fowards in a mismatch. Sometimes one or two forwards will be collapsing around the goal with no one to tie them up. Other times a man will be free in the slot. Or a point man will have a clear shooting channel. The fact is, it allows the other team to create chances that other teams wouldn't give them.
It also doesn't help the breakout passes. It's hard for a forward to catch a breakout pass when he's in the slot and its hard for a defenseman to make a breakout pass from behind the net.
#3 They are Way to Agressive
This has two connotations. The first is the Capitals defensive play in the zone. As mentioned above, they tend to follow the puck, even when its in a non-threatening area (behind the net). The defensemen don't have to attack the puck when the forwards cannot get a shot. Instead of driving at a guy who has the puck directly behind the net and giving him an option, just sit back and prevent him from getting the puck from out of that area. I mean if the puck's back there, the other team can't really score.
The other meaning of the title is the fact that the players (both d-men and forwards) play the body too much. The point of hitting other players is to separate them from the puck. If the defensemen don't come away with the puck or at least knock the guy off the puck, a check is worthless. I have seen the Caps players time after time line up a guy and either miss the check (and end up hopelessly out of position) or hit the puck carrier and have that player (or another player on the team) keep the puck. The Caps need to work on playing the puck and getting it. Puck possession is half the battle. If you have the puck, the other team can't score.

Defense has been the most lacking area of the Capitals game since the season started. Tarik El-Bashir wrote in yesterday's Washington Post Article that the Caps wanted Alex Ovechkin to step up in his defensive role. A quote from the article stated:

Everyone agrees that the 21-year-old Russian's defensive decision making is better than it was a year ago, when he won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie. But there's a reason Ovechkin has been limited to less than 19 minutes 12 times his season, less than 18 minutes on seven occasions and has a plus-minus rating of minus-6. Hanlon said he wants to play his franchise winger an average of about 24 minutes.

"If it's a 2-1 hockey game in the third period, you're not ever above the puck, ever," Hanlon said. "You can't assume someone else is going to get the puck out. If you aren't exactly where you are supposed to be, it throws everything into chaos. That's why when the game is on the line, there are certain guys who are out there. We want Ovie to be one of those guys, every single night."

So Hanlon's saying that if Ovechkin plays defense, that'll help the Caps win a Stanley Cup? Hmm...sorry Glen. If this team wants to win a Stanley Cup, they need to work on the things I mentioned above. Forget your star player being out of position. What about the other 17 guys on the team who are also all out of position. The Caps need a stabilizing force in the defensive zone. They need to stop panicking. They need to hold their positions. And they need to do it soon.

Capitals Offense: The Numbers Only Tell Half the Story

2007-01-24T16:59:00.000-08:00

Welcome to part 1 of my series on evaluating the Capitals mid-way through the season in the main areas: offense, defense, special teams, and goaltending. In this new series, I'll attempt to break down the Capitals in each of these categories based on the statistics, and my observations of nearly 10 Capitals games I saw during my winter break.

#1. Offense
- 3.10 goals/game (9th in league)
- 83 5 on 5 goals (15th in league)
- 26.8 shots per game (22nd in league)
- 50 1st period goals, 49 2nd period goals, 47 3rd period goals
- .682 win percentage when scoring first (17th in league)
- .192 win percent when trailing first (27th in league)
- Score first in 45.83% of games
- Two players with 25+ goals (Ovechkin, Semin)
- Three other players with 10+ goals (Clark, Zubrus, Pettinger)
- Team goal median: 2 goals (league goal median: 3 goals)
- Three players with 40+ points (Ovechkin, Semin, Zubrus)
- Two others with 20+ points (Clark, Pettinger)

The numbers don't lie, the Caps have been darn good on offense this year. That's to be expected with a player like Alex Ovechkin on your roster, but Alex Semin has been an incredible "addition." The only problem is that beyond those two, along with the other three top scorers mentioned, the team is not very deep. By observation, the team tends to score most of its goals on the fly (breakaways, 2 on 1s). The biggest problem the Caps have offensively is that their defensemen cannot make a decent breakout pass, which leads to the Caps getting bogged down in the neutral zone. Ultimately, in the offensive zone, the Capitals strategy mainly consists of dump-and-chase and cycling the puck. These problems are both affected by what I believe is the Capital's achilles heel: passing.

If you've watched a number of Capitals games, one thing about their offense is evident: they can't pass. I've seen too many defensemen fail to hang onto the puck at the point on the power play or mishandle the puck at the blue line. There have been many times the Caps have had odd-man rushes, but were spoiled by a poor pass or inability to catch passes. It's especially problematic with the defensemen, but the forwards also have been known to misplay the puck. In addition, the Capitals tend to have passes broken up because they either take to long holding the puck or don't make a crisp enough pass. All this means that the Caps frequently have to dump the puck into the zone, rather than pass it in (as almost all other teams can do).

In addition, the team must cycle the puck because they cannot space themselves accordingly. They can't make a pass to the point and then set up a rotating offense where they can get people into shooting channels. Generally, when the Caps have the puck in the offensive zone, the puck will go into the corner. Two Caps players will converge on the puck along with the defenseman. One player will wait alongside the scrum, typically below the goal line, waiting for the puck to squirt loose to them. The near defenseman pinches down and the far defenseman moves toward the center.
Now, there are two major problems with this setup. #1 is that there is nobody on the far side of the ice, which allows the other team to swing the puck to the boards on the other side where their far-side defenseman can pick up the puck and bring it out. Or they'll simply fling the puck around the boards and past our far-side defender, who is too far out of position to keep the puck in. It's happened many times before. But the second problem is even more troubling...no one is in the slot!!! So if and when the Caps do come out of that scrum in the corner with the puck, they have virtually no options. If it, say, squirts to the guy waiting below the goal line, all he can do is turn away from the scrum to end up behind the net with nobody to pass to besides the far side defenseman. But typically, the other team's defeseman, who has been camping out in front of the net, will pinch down, pin the player with the puck behind the net and take it.
A simple remedy to this solution is to not have two people converge on the puck. It is a waste of ice to have two of our players on top of each other (particularly when there is one other guy three feet away). Instead, the winger on the near side (the side which the puck is on) should pin the puck on the boards. The center should wait for the puck to squirt out, the defensemen should be where they were and the far-side wing should move to the slot, wating for a centering pass from either the center or near-side wing. Another option is to have the far-side defenseman pinch in and move to the high slot (again, waiting for the pass) and have the three forwards converge on the puck and get it to one of the defensemen. Either way, the Caps cannot continue to have their three forwards occupying a five-foot area while their defensemen hang out in la-la land.

While the Caps offense has been good, it has not been great. If the Caps could be more efficient with the puck in their offensive zone, they could generate more scoring opportunities and draw more penalties.

Stay Tuned: Tomorrow...DEFENSE!

Why ESPN.com Angers Me!

2007-01-23T15:02:00.000-08:00

This is all per Scott Burnside's NHL "mid-season predicitions" on ESPN.com

Capitals coach Glen Hanlon once again is showing he might be one of the most underrated coaches in the game, having guided his team to a 20-21-7 record at the break. The Caps are just three points out of the eighth spot, but rank 13th overall as injuries and a lack of talent are starting to eat away at the hardworking squad.

First-half surprises: The emergence of former Senators defender Brian Pothier as a top-notch leader (he is averaging 24:59 in ice time) and the play of enigmatic Alexander Semin (27 goals, 47 points), who is taking some pressure off Alexander Ovechkin.

Second-half questions: Will ownership free up cash to bring in some offensive help before the trade deadline? Will anyone in the perpetually half-empty Verizon Center notice?

Where they'll finish: It won't be for lack of effort, but the talent-thin
Caps won't have quite enough and will end up fourth in the division and 12th in
the jam-packed East.

Now, let me go through all the points step by step:

Capitals coach Glen Hanlon once again is showing he might be one of the most underrated coaches in the game, having guided his team to a 20-21-7 record at the break.

First off, I don't know how you can be underrated as a coach when your team has a losing record at the midway mark of the season while in the top 10 in scoring with a former Vezina trophy winner in Olaf Kolzig (I know, its been a while, but he still has a .910 save percentage and 3.12 GAA). Don't get me wrong, Hanlon's a great motivator who has gotten this team to play lightyears ahead of where they should be, but the team still looks frantic in the defensive zone and cannot sustain pressure in the offensive end. As much as other Capitals faithful would like me to applaud Burnsie for this, I don't think he's quite right.

The Caps are just three points out of the eighth spot, but rank 13th overall as injuries and a lack of talent are starting to eat away at the hardworking squad.

I'll agree about the injuries, but the Caps have talent. Maybe not great talent like other teams might but they still have enough to keep from getting embarassed. Most of the players who came here as low level players (Clark, Pettinger, Zubrus, Morrisonn, Green) have proven to be more underrated than others thought and teams that still overspend are not necessarily getting the bang for their buck.

Will ownership free up cash to bring in some offensive help before the trade deadline? Will anyone in the perpetually half-empty Verizon Center notice?

I'll start with the second part first: no. Not as long as the Washington Post glosses over a Caps win with news that some Western Conference NBA coach went on a tirade or Barry Bonds might get caught for steriod use. While Ted Leonsis is partially to blame for not using his talented young players as good marketing tools, no one can blame him for the fact that his team is barely on national television, gets shafted by Comcast whenever the Wizards are playing and are passed over by the Post in favor of coverage of what Joe Gibbs ate for brunch.
The first question is an interesting one posed by Burnside: will management pony up the dough to give the Caps the offensive help they so desperately crave? My answer: why would they?
What Burnside doesn't realize is...
- The Washington Capitals are averaging 3.10 goals per game (that's ninth in the league), ahead of his precious Thrashers (2.98 goals/game), Carolina (3.06), Detroit (3.02), Montreal (2.90), and Dallas (2.58)
- The Capitals have two 25+ goal scorers (Ovechkin and Semin) and three others with 10+ goals (Clark, Zubrus, Pettinger)
- Washington is 12th in the NHL in power play goals scored (45) and are ahead of the New York Rangers (44), Buffalo Sabres (42), and Calgary Flames (37)
If the Capitals have a flaw to fix, it's defensively. Granted that's a place where they've been plagued with injuries (Muir, Erskine, Morrisonn, Pothier, Green were all out for multiple games), but they have long been last in the league in shots against per game (in my mind, the greatest indicator of defensive prowess) and look frantic in their own zone. They have had rookies playing extended minutes for a long time, and while this is good for their experience, it hurts the Capitals. If I were in charge, I'd trade some of my younger forwards (particularly a left wing since we're loaded there) for a youngish, physical, top-4 defenseman. The Caps need help on defense Scott.

It won't be for lack of effort, but the talent-thin Caps won't have quite enough and will end up fourth in the division and 12th in the jam-packed East.

We'll beat out Philly, I think. Florida too. The Islanders, Toronto, Boston and Pittsburgh are all teams that could fade out or move up in the next few months. I'd say 12th is a good place, since we could finish anywhere from 13th to 9th.

Scott Burnside, no disrespect, but watch a Caps game and maybe get your story straight.

Capitals (19-19-7) @ Senators (26-19-2): Keys to the Game

2007-01-16T07:19:00.000-08:00

#1. Shut Down the Kelly-Alfredsson-Heatley Line
The recently formed line of Chris Kelly, Daniel Alfredsson and Dany Heatley has been responsible for the Sens recent turnaround in points. When this line was formed, Ottawa was in dead last in the Northeast Division. That was back in December. Now, Ottawa is on a four-game winning streak and is 9-1-1 in its last 11 games. This new line has carried most of the offensive burden during the winning streak.
Heatley and Alfredsson are 1-2 in points on the Sens with 61 and 46 points, respectively. Kelly is fifth on the team with 26 points. This line also has all players in the top 10 in goals (Heatley 26, Alfredsson 15, Kelly 9). This line has combined for 133 points and 50 goals. By comparison, Washington's top line of Clark-Zubrus-Ovechkin has a combined 134 points and 60 goals. So shutting down Ottawa's top power line could tip the scale of balance in Washington's favor.
#2. A Goaltending Conundrum?
The first time these teams met this year, Ottawa chased starter Olaf Kolzig in the first period, scoring 3 goals on 7 shots. Brent Johnson then stepped in to stop all 21 shots that came his way. In that same game, Ottawa starter Martin Gerber stopped 22 of 26 in a 4-3 OT loss. In the December 6 meeting, Olie Kolzig started again, but made it through the whole 60 minutes. In that matchup Kolzig only allowed 2 goals on 37 shots, while Ottawa's Ray Emery let in 6 on 37.
So in only two meetings this season, four goaltendenders have played, with two different goaltenders getting wins (for Washington) and losses (Ottawa). For these four goalies, their stats in the games against their season averages makes choosing a starter for this game incredibly difficult.
- O. Kolzig - 88.6% save percent, 5.5 GAA (90.8%, 3.15)
- B. Johnson - 100.0% save percent, 0.0 GAA (89.2%, 3.58)
- R. Emery - 83.7% save percent, 6.0 GAA (91.9%, 2.55)
- M. Gerber - 84.6% save percent, 4.0 GAA (89.5%, 3.15)
The anounced starters for tonight are Johnson and Emery, but the question remains: how will the goaltenders fare?
#3. Third Period Comeback
Ottawa is and has been (as evidenced by their 3 goal collapse to Washington in November) a team suceptible to comebacks. They are 12th in the league in terms of winning percentage when leading after the first period (.810) but they are 22nd in terms of winning when they have a lead going into the third period (.792). But the problem is that they are following a disturbing trend of teams that find it harder to hold onto a lead as the game goes on (Dallas, Buffalo, and Boston also rest on this list).
This could be due to two possiblities: they score most of their goals in the first period, and allow more goals in the latter stages of the game, or they get a slight lead that they carry into the third and give up a few goals to lose. The fact is that Ottawa is 4th in the league in goals scored in the first period (48) and 24th in goals allowed (34). They are still 4th in goals scored in the second (60) and 7th in goals for in the third period (51). But they are 6th in goals allowed in the second (52) and 13th in third period goals against (46). This suggests that Ottawa holds slight leads entering the third and then loses them in the period where they score the least and allow a lot of goals. For Washington to win, they must continue to perservere late into the game.
Players to Watch For...
Ottawa: Dany Heatley
Heatley is a member of that new unstoppable top line for the Sens. He is currently on a two-game multi-point streak and a 4-game point streak in which he amassed 5 goals and 11 points. In his career against the Caps, he has 20 points in 19 games including 6 goals. All in all, Heatley spells trouble for the Capitals if they can't contain the man leading the Sens with 61 points and 28 goals.
Washington: Brent Johnson
For Johnson, it's always a matter of who will show up for the game: Jekyll or Hyde. When Johnny's on, he can be spectacular, but when he's off, he looks positively amatuerish. In his last three games he's allowed a combined 10 goals on 43 shots (a meager .767 save percentage). Two of those games were losses, one was a no decision. Before that, he had won 2 in a row with a combined save percentage of .924. His season streaks look like this:
O-O-L; W-W; L-O-L; W-W; L-L
It would seem that Johnny is set for an OT loss tonight, but the streaking Sens might be his saviors. In his career against Ottawa, Johnson has 3 wins, a 0.91 GAA and a .972 save percentage. If his good side shows up tonight, the Caps could put one up in the win column.

Capitals 3 - Thrashers 2 (OT): Brought to You by the Letter...

2007-01-07T21:03:00.000-08:00

A

A for Alex. Normally. the only Alex who jumps to mind when talking about the Caps is the Ovechkinator. However, in last night's victory over ATL, it was Semin who put the Capitals in the win column. Semin got the game winning goal off a beautiful setup by Steve Eminger and lofted a beautiful backhander over Kari Lehtonen. That goal made two on the night after Semin had scored a second period goal to tie the game at 1-1. Semin also had an assist on Ovechkin's game tying goal in the third period, the goal that ultimately sent the game into OT.

And Ovechkin was not quiet either, scoring his goal and assisting on Semin's first. Still, the goal was a 5 on 3 blast which propelled the Caps to a comeback tie and eventually a win. The goal was Ovechkin's league leading 26th on the year (tied with Marian Hossa). It also put him into the third overall position in terms of points with 56 (Sidney Crosby leads the league with 62).

Ovechkin and Semin have been the offensive 1-2 punch for Washington this year. Ovie leads the team with 26 goals, 56 points, 11 power play goals and 228 shots. Semin is right behind him in all those categories (21 goals, 40 points, 10 power play goals and 129 shots). Ovechkin is on pace for 51 goals and 109 points (he had 52 goals and 106 points last year) while Semin is on pace for 43 goals and 82 points (he had 10 goals and 22 points in 2003-2004).

The "Alex and Alex Show" came to DC last night and they brought back a win. They provided the scoring and have been shouldering most of the offensive load all year. More production from these two can only lead to good things for the Caps.

Capitals 5 - Canadiens 1: Brought to You By the Number...

2007-01-05T19:30:00.000-08:00

4

Power play opportunities for the Montreal Canadiens, only one of which they were able to score on. The game, which ended the dreaded Capitals' five-game losing streak, was marked with incredible discipline shown by the Capitals against the NHL's second best power play. The Caps are 20th in the NHL in terms of penalty kill with an effectiveness of 80.8% while the Habs are a solid 22.9% on the power play.

The Caps are also 15th in the league with 219 times shorthanded, an average of 5.3 per game. Going under your season average against a team that knows how to cash in on their limited power play chances (they have 41 power play goals on 179 chances). The Habs only average 4.5 power play chances a game and 1 power play goal a game. That the Caps held them to that and prevented them from scoring even strength goals (one of my keys to the game) was the reason the Caps were able to win.

Capitals (15-16-7) vs. Canadiens (23-11-5) Keys to the Game

2007-01-04T10:39:00.000-08:00

#1. Don't Fall Behind in the First
During the Capitals current 5 game losing streak, the Capitals gave up the first goal in every single game. The team, which is fifth in the league in terms of goals scored in the first period (42) only scored three in their last 5 regulation loses and gave up 14. Granted, Washington is also fifth worst in the league as far as giving up first period goals (42), but 14 of them came in the span of about a week. The Caps only gave up seven combined goals in those five loses in the second and third periods, and scored five. It also hurts the Caps that they cannot seem to come back from a first period deficit (their winning percentage when trailing after one is .067). If the Caps can come out and at least be even after one, they will have a chance to snap their losing streak.
#2. Make the Habs Score Even Strength Goals
When it comes to power play goals, the Habs are 13th in the league in 5 on 4 goals for (32), and 10th in 5 on 3 goals (6) translating to only 40 power play goals (11th in the league). Yet their power play is the best in the league at 22.9% (their road power play is slightly worse at 19.5%). How is this possible? Because Montreal is second worst in the league as far as power play opportunities. They also lead the league in shorthanded goals with 12. But their deficiency is playing at even strength. There, Montreal is 26th in the league in 5 on 5 goals with a mere 58 (as opposed to the Caps who are 14th with 69 goals). Montreal has only scored 60 even strenth goals (2 4 on 4 goals). That means out of Montreal's 119 goals, only 50.4% are even strength goals. If the Caps (who have scored 120 goals, with 60% of them coming at even strength) can keep Montreal from scoring in special teams situations (either up or down a man), they can shut down that lethal offense.
#3. Olie Needs to Step Up
I don't like to put the onus on goaltenders, but in the 5 straight regualtion losses, Olie Kolzig has a 3.22 GAA. He is 14-11-3-1 in his career against the Habs (2.34 GAA, .920 save percentage) but he's been playing on short rest and it has started to show. In his last three games, his save percentage never exceeded .890. On the year he has a GAA of 3.15 (33rd among goaltenders) and a .910 save percentage (17th). Certainly, those numbers have been deflated due to the lack of rest, an injured defensive unit (John Erskine and Bryan Muir are still listed as out indefinitely) and a tough stretch of games, but if Washington wants to pull out a "W" today, Olie needs to backstop them.

Players to Watch For...
Montreal: Cristobal Huet
Huet has been a Capital killer throughout his career. Huet is 4-1-0 in his career against Washington with a 1.99 GAA and a .928 save percentage. On December 27, he stopped 30 of 31 shots on the way to a 4-1 Montreal win. He is also the top goaltender in the NHL in terms of save percentage (.930) and has the 6th highest GAA (2.34). Beating him will be the key to winning.
Washington: Alex Ovechkin
Alex Ovechkin continues to be the Russian dynamo that leads the Caps to victories (up until those last 5 losses). He is the leagues leading goal scorer (25) and is 5th in points (51). During the Caps 5-game losing streak, Ovechkin had only 1 goal and 4 points. Despite only having 1 goal, he had 27 shots on goal. If Ovechkin can break out of his scoring "slump" the Caps will have a much better chance at winning.

Canadiens 4 - Capitals 1: Brought to You By the Number...

2006-12-28T10:40:00.000-08:00

8

Power play opportunities the Capitals had. They squandered seven of those chances. Granted, scoring on 12.5% of your power play chances on a team that has been 88.3% effective in killing penalties is pretty good. Unfortunately, the Caps were well below their season power play effectiveness of 17.2%. Granted, the differences between 12.5% effective and 17.2% effective is a scant .376 goals, but when a team that averages 5.69 times shorthanded a game gives you 8 power play opportunites, a team must take advantage of it.

The Capitals did not. Indeed, they only got one power play goal (courtesy of Alexander Semin with 2:56 left in the third and Washington trailing by 2 still) on a mere 7 shots. While the Caps did outshoot the Habs 31-27 (Kolzig only had a 85.2% save percentage vs. Huet's 96.8%), their power play was unable to generate the chances they needed.

Capitals (16-13-7) vs. Canadiens (21-9-5) Keys to the Game

2006-12-27T12:27:00.000-08:00

Okay and welcome back from Christmas holiday.

#1: First Period Lead is Crucial

The Capitals have only a .091 winning percentage when trailing after the first period and a .083 win percentage when trailing after 2. By contrast, Montreal has a .727 winning percentage when leading after 1 period. It's lucky then that the Caps are third in the league in 1st period goals (40) and Montreal is only 14th in goals allowed in the first (31)

#2: Beat Huet

Goaltender Cristobal Huet has been nothing short of spectacular of late and particularly against Washington. This season he's 14-4-3 with two shutouts and has a GAA of 2.36. In his career against Washington he's 3-1-0 with a 2.23 GAA. All this has translated into a winning record for the Habs and a team which allows the second fewest goals (97) behind only New Jersey (89). Luckily they're only 14th in goals scored with 108 while Washington is 9th with 113.

#3: Special Forces Needed

Washington isn't bad when it comes to the special teams aspect of hockey. They're ranked 14th in power play percent (17.4) and 19th in penalty kill (81.7). The problem is that Montreal is ranked #1 and #2 in power play percentage and penalty kill percentage, respectively. Montreal kills a devastating 88.3% of their penalties (they're ranked 15th in times shorthanded with 197) and is a stunning 23.5% effective on the power play.

Players to Watch...

Montreal: Christobal Huet

For all the reasons stated above, Christobal Huet is the most dangerous person in a Canadiens uniform tonight and is the one player who can put Washington on the road to a 2 game losing streak. It also doesn't hurt that he leads the league in save percentage (93.1%) and is one of only 15 goaltenders with multiple shutouts.

Washington: Alex Ovechkin

One night after surviving the boo-birds in Buffalo (he responded in kind with a goal) he looks to build another goal scoring streak (he's already got goals in 2 straight games). Ovechkin is the league's leading goal scorer with 25 goals and is currently on pace for a whopping 57 goals and 109 points.

Capitals (15-10-7) vs. Lightning (14-17-2) Keys to the Game...

2006-12-19T05:35:00.000-08:00

#1: Shoot on Denis
Tampa goaltending has been a glaring weakness for them all year. Starter Marc Denis has lost 10 of his last 11 starts and is 6-11-2 this year. His stats have been less than stellar: a 3.13 GAA and 87.8% save percentage. Against Washington, his numbers are worse (3.63 GAA; 88.7% save percentage). Remember that most of those games came when he was a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets. But this year, as an in-division foe, Denis has 1 win and a 3.61 GAA to go along with an 87.2% save percentage.

#2: Make it a Defensive Struggle for TB
Looking at the two games in which the Caps and Lightning have squared off, it's been an offensive battle both times. Tampa won the first game 6-4 and Washington won the second 5-2. Thats 17 goals combined in three games (8.5 goals scored per game). Both teams have high ranking offenses (Caps ranked 7th in the league averaging 3.19 goals for per game; Tampa ranked 8th averaging 3.12 goals for per game) and horrid defenses (Tampa ranked 22nd in the league with 3.21 goals against/game, Washington 23rd with 3.22 goals against/game). If Washington can keep Tampa off the board they will be in great position to win the game. Oh, and limiting Tampa to under 40 shots would help out Olie Kolzig (the 'Ning averages 42.5 shots against Olie this year).

#3: Second Period Lead is HUGE!
Washington continues to be suspect to late game collapses. Their win percentage difference when they lead in the second intermission to when they lead in the first is 176 percentage points (.864 compared to .688). By comparison, Tampa is abysmal not only when trailing after two, but when trailing after one! When behind after one period, Tampa Bay only wins .267 percent of their games, same as when they trail after the second. So going into the third with a lead (hopefully, a commanding lead as they did in their last game against the Lightning) will be critical.

Players to Watch...
Tampa Bay: Martin St. Louis
St. Louis is tied with Ovechkin and Jason Spezza for 4th on the points leaderboard (43 points). In his career, St. Louis has bloomed in recent years, and has become a perennial Cap-killer. No one will forget his overtime goal on Easter Sunday in 2003 that ended the Capitals playoff run (in the first round, 4-2). St. Louis has 9 goals and 22 points in his 30 game career against Washington, but has been hot of late, with 3 goals in his last 3 games. Can he lead the Lightning out of their losing streak against DC?
Washington: Alex Ovechkin
In an offensive struggle, there's no one Caps fans would rather have on the ice than Ovie. As mentioned, Ovechkin is 4th in the NHL with 43 points, but he also leads the league in goals with 22 (tied with Hossa and Shanahan). He does have 7 goals and 13 points in 10 games against Tampa, but the most staggering statistics are the ones he's put up recently. 13 multi-point games, points in 25 of 31 games (including 10 of last 11). Not to mention in his 7 game scoring streak he's amounted 6 goals and 16 points. Will he keep his scoring streak alive?

Capitals (15-10-7) Power Rankings for December 18

2006-12-18T17:39:00.000-08:00

TSN.ca ranks the Caps at #15 (up from #16 last week)

With one regulation loss in the last nine games, the Caps are climbing and
captain Chris Clark is one of those in the lesser-known supporting cast that has
elevated his game, putting up 26 points in 30 games.
Key Injuries: D Jamie Heward (face), RW Richard Zednik (groin).

ESPN.com ranks the Caps at #9 (up from $14 last week)

While Alexander Ovechkin continues to tear things up for the Capitals (he has
six goals and 10 assists in his last seven games), that other Alex (Alexander
Semin) is also helping Washington win games. The result: the Caps are 7-2-1 in
their last 10 games.

The Hockey News ranks Washington at #10

Average Ranking: #11

From Bettmanhateshockey.blogspot.com. Something to Bring to Your Attention

2006-12-18T14:12:00.000-08:00

Quoted from Bettmanhateshockey blog:
Attention all Caps fans who will be at the game on Friday against the Devils: the plan is afoot for as many fans as possible to wear some sort of mirrored sunglasses or visor to taunt Marty Brodeur. For those of you who are unawares, Marty is the goalie that complained not being about Alexander Ovechkin's mirrored visor, because Marty claimed he couldn't see Ovechkin's eyes. Never mind the fact that a goalie shouldn't be looking at the player's eyes. The competition committee (of which Brodeur is a member of) recommended the rule change, and the NHL's GMs voted for banning the visor by a vote of 29-1. The lone dissenting vote? Caps' General Manager George McPhee
Pick up a cheap pair of sunglasses at the local dollar store and bring them to the game on Friday. Tell all your friends as well. And fellow bloggers? Help spread the word.
AFTERNOON EDIT: We're now accepting absentee donations to help pay for
additional shades. Anyone wanting to donate money via Paypal, can do so by
sending money to wgoatboy@starpower.net . We'll be accepting donations until
11:30 AM tomorrow.
Please chip in!

Yes it's chaim letterish and I am a Broduer fan, but we've got to support our home hero!

Capitals 4 - Flyers 1: Brought to You by the Number...

2006-12-17T13:11:00.000-08:00

22

Shots allowed by the Capitals defense last night. In a stifling performance, Olie Kolzig got a night off, only having to make 21 saves. The Flyers only got double-digit shots in one period, the first, and were held to 12 combined shots in the second and third periods. On the season, Washington usually averaged 12 shots against per period.

By giving up only 22 shots last night, Washington's shots per game has decreased .7 shots per game (from 36.0 to 35.3) but are still the worst in the league. Washington has a .600 win percentage when outshooting their opponents.

Note: with his goal last night, Alex Ovechkin now has 22 on the year and is tied for the league lead in goals. He is tied for third in the league in points with 43 (Sidney Crosby has 52 and Jaromir Jagr has 46).

Capitals (14-10-7) vs. Flyers (8-19-4) Keys to the Game:

2006-12-16T13:56:00.000-08:00

#1: Keep the Flyers Out of the Net
The Flyers are 5th worst in the league in goals scored per game (2.42) while the Caps are 6th worst in goals allowed per game (3.29). The Caps continue to give up more shots than anyone, but Philadelphia is in the bottom half of the league when it comes to shots per game (28.8). Still, if the Caps can limit the Flyers in scoring chances, it will help their chances.

#2: Second Period is Crucial
The Caps give up most of their goals in the latter stages of the game. They have given up above 35 goals in both the second and third periods. The Flyers, on the other hand are second worst in the league in terms of goals scored in the second period (21). If the Caps can build a lead going into the third, they have a great chance of winning.

#3: Forsberg Returns
The Flyers are 0-6-3 in games in which Peter Forsberg doesn't play. His return to the line-up (which is still doubtful) could turn his team's fortunes around.

Players to Watch
Philadelphia: Peter Forsberg
As mentioned above, the Flyers have been horrid without Forsberg. His return to the lineup can give Philly an offensive boost. The question is not only if he will return, but how effective will he be in returning from his injury.
Washington: Alex Ovechkin
Ovechkin scored a hat trick last night against Atlanta (the second of his career). But fans must wonder how he will fare against Philly after a huge offensive game. In his career against Philly, he has 6 goals and 10 points.

Capitals 3 - Thrashers 2 (OT): Brought to You by the Number...

2006-12-16T13:40:00.000-08:00

8

As in Alexander the Great's number! Let's face it, when NHL.com names you as the #1 star of the night and your hat trick goal was the overtime game-winning goal, you've had a good night. When you score all the goals and are now second on the NHL's goal leaderboard, you're the reason your team won. Ovie is the face of the franchise, and last night he put them on his back and carried them past Atlanta, one of the best teams in the East.

Capitals Player of the Week: December 14

2006-12-15T17:11:00.000-08:00

Chris Clark

In three games, Clark has recorded 3 goals and 2 assists. Two of those goals came in a hearbreaking loss to Pittsburgh and the other against Philadelphia in a win. On the season, Clark has 12 goals and 25 points in 28 games (tied for the second highest point total in his career).

Honorable Mentions:
Alex Ovechkin: 1 goal; 5 assists
Brooks Laich: 2 goals
Dainus Zubrus: 3 assists

Capitals (13-10-7) @ Atlanta (18-9-5) Keys to the Game

2006-12-15T12:24:00.001-08:00

#1: No More Late Collapses
Something the Caps need to work on, which killed them against Pittsburgh, is their tendency to fade off later into the game. The Capitals goal differential for the second and third periods is -16. They rank 5th worst in the league in goals against for the second period (38) and 6th worst for GA in the third (36). Most of their goals are scored in the first period, but the Caps need to work on holding onto the lead late into the game. That might be hard because Atlanta is 3rd in the league for goals scored in the third period with 40.

#2: No More Shootouts
They lost to Fittsburgh in the shootout, which has become the norm for them. The Caps haven't won in the shootout. They've only scored one goal, tied with Carolina for last in the NHL (but the Canes have only been in 2 shootouts). Some disheartening statistics for the Caps are that they are worst in the league in shooting percentage (7.7%) and save percentage (33.3%) in the shootout. If the game goes to OT, the Caps better pull out all the stops to win it there.

#3: Limit the Shots
I probably sound like a broken record, but the Caps still give up more shots than anyone (36 per game). Glen Hanlon's approach to limit the number of shots to under 10 per period is a good one, but the Caps just cannot execute. This discrepancy just highlights the Capital's defensive weakness.

Players to Watch...
Atlanta: Marian Hossa
The leagues leading goal scorer (22) has had some great success against the Capitals in his career. Hossa has scored 21 goals and 43 points in 34 career games against Washington. He has been slumping as of late, only scoring 1 goal in his last three games. The question is will he have a huge game, or continue his woes?
Washington: Olie Kolzig
Kolzig is likely to start against Atlanta and Johnson against Philly tomorrow night. After surrendering 4 goals in the second half of the game against Pittsburgh, will he stand up to the task of facing Atlanta's barrage. He is 12-10-4-2 overall against Atlanta with a 2.72 GAA and a 90.6% save percentage in his career against the Trash. But in three games this year, he is 0-2-1 with a 3.96 GAA and an 87.6% sv. pct.

Capitals (13-10-6) vs. Penguins (12-11-5) Keys to the Game

2006-12-11T11:21:00.000-08:00

#1: A Fleury of Shots
The Caps need to get shots on Pittsburgh's young and still spastic goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury has a GAA of 2.91 (25th in the league) and a save percentage of .905 (23rd in the league). This is probably due to the fact that Fleury has faced the 9th most shots of any goaltender in the league (Olie Kolzig, of course, has faced the third most), but also has allowed the 8th most goals (Kolzig has allowed the 10th most). It doesn't hurt either that Pittsburgh allows 31.6 shots against per game (25th in the league).

#2: Watch "Set-Up" Sid
Sidney Crosby can hurt the Caps by setting up his fellow players, particularly Evgeni Malkin (14 goals leads the team). It doesn't hurt that Crosby is second in goals with 13. Beyond those two, however, are two 22 point players (Gonchar and Recchi), but no other 10 goal scorers. By contrast, the Caps have five players with 10 or more goals and 4 players with 20+ points. The fact that the Caps scoring is spread out while Pittsburgh's is concentrated on a few players could help Washington.

#3: Dominate the Faceoff Circle
Nothing more needs to be said about Pittsburgh than that their faceoff percentage is 46.8%, worst in the league. The Caps aren't much better, winning 48.4% of faceoffs, but controlling the start of play, particularly in the offensive zone, could help them create scoring chances against the defensively hapless Penguins. Once again, it comes down to Crosby and one other guy. Both he and Dominic Moore are above 50% in the faceoff circle, but the other two lines are centered by terrible guys to take the draw. Washington's best chance is to square those two lines off against their grinding lines, who also happen to have their best faceoff winners: Boyd Gordon (52%) and Kris Beech (51.5%)

Players to Watch For...
Pittsburgh: Sidney Crosby
If you haven't been paying attention throughout this preview, Sidney Crosby is the Pittsburgh Penguins. He leads the team in assists (26) points (39), and +/- (+9). He's also second (to Evgeni Malkin) in a bevy of other stats (goals, power play goals, shooting percentage). Stopping Sid will stop the Penguins. Can he face the DC crowd and come away with a victory for the Pens?
Washington: Alex Ovechkin
The rivalry is getting so much hype I just had to address it. Ovie is the snake to Crosby's mongoose (or the mongoose to his snake, I don't know animals). He leads his team with 18 goals, 17 assists, 35 points, 7 power play goals (tied with Alexander Semin), 4 game winning goals, and 152 shots. One might think that just as stopping Crosby stop the Pens, stopping Ovechkin stops the Caps. Pittsburgh did that last year when they held him to 6 points in 4 games vs. Crosby's 9. The question is, can Ovechkin lead the Caps to triumph over Pittsburgh who they went 1-3-0 against last year?

Capitals 5 - Philadelphia 3: Brought to You By the Number

2006-12-10T14:20:00.000-08:00

3

Even strength goals by Washington. Overall, the Caps played a wonderful game against Philadelphia and won both their games in Philadelphia for the first time in years. The Caps also added a power play goal (courtesy of Matt Pettinger) and a shorthanded goal (ala Brooks Laich).

The three even strength goals are important for Washington because Philadelphia has given up the most even strength goals (75) of any team in the league.

And it didn't hurt that the Capitals scored first. They won four consecutive games before Friday's loss to the Ducks. In those four games, they scored first. Against Anaheim, they gave up the first goal. When scoring first, Washington has only lost twice in regulation.

Former Cap Peter Bondra Has Signed with Chicago

2006-12-10T14:11:00.000-08:00

Terms were not disclosed. Bondra has 498 goals and 878 points in 1,044 career games. 15 seasons with the Capitals before being traded to Ottawa.

Many have criticized Bondra for not resigning with the Caps last year, but going to division rival Atlanta. I've heard rumors that Bondra was hoping to come back to Washington, but the team wouldn't match Atlanta's offer. Now, this offseason, I've heard the Caps wouldn't even offer Bondra a contract. He was a great player for us. I hope he can get those missing two goals in Chicago.

Capitals (12-10-6) @ Philadelphia (8-16-4) Keys to the Game

2006-12-09T12:47:00.000-08:00

#1: Shut Down Gagne
With no Peter Forsberg in the lineup, Simon Gagne is the Flyers biggest scoring threat. Gagne has 22 points and 14 goals in 28 games. Their next highest scorer is Mike Knuble, who has 18 points in 22 games. Peter Forsberg has, admittedly, been struggling with 16 points in 22 games. Three Caps equal or outscore Gagne, Ovechkin (32 points), Semin (23 points) and Zubrus (22 points). Stopping Gagne could shut down the Flyers offense.

#2: Take a First Period Lead and Hold it through the Second
The Flyers have only have a .091 win percentage when the trail after the first period. When they lead, they have a .625 win percentage. The Caps win .692 percent of the games when they lead after one period, and .909 percent of the games when the lead after the second. It doesn't hurt that the Flyers have NEVER won a game when they are trailing after the second. Taking a lead into the third will be huge for the Caps.

#3: Think Offensively
Plain and simply, the Flyers allow 3.64 goals per game, the most of any NHL team. The Caps average 3.07 goals per game, 9th in the lead. If the Caps can be effective on the power play (they are 17th in the league with a 16.3% efficiency), then they can take it to the Flyers.

Players to Watch for...
Philadelphia: Simon Gagne
As I said before, Gagne is the teams leading scorer and has been their only efficient scorer over the year. While Knuble and Geoff Sanderson (17 points) have contributed, Gagne carries most of the offensive load for the Flyers.

Washington: Alexander Ovechkin
If Philly has one advantage over Washington, it is their 9th ranked Penalty Kill. Ovechkin and Alexander Semin are tied for the team lead with 7 power play goals. Ovechkin has had 4 asssists in the last two games and it is about time for him to bust out with a goal. Getting one on the power play could boost his confidence and give the Caps a ton of momentum.

A debate for the ages: Ovechkin vs. Crosby

2006-12-09T12:21:00.000-08:00

By Robert Picarello, NHL Correspondent

Just the way hockey fans from the 1980s still argue today over who was
better, Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux, years from now, the same debate will center around Washington's Alex Ovechkin and Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby.

The two current super sophs came into the league last season and more than lived up to the hype, entertaining fans around the league with their eye-popping moves and highlight-reel goals. While Crosby was all but handed Rookie of the Year honors before the 2005-06 season even started, Ovechkin was the one who captured the Calder Trophy last June in Vancouver at the NHL's Award Show.

Looking back, the race wasn't even close, as Ovechkin virtually ran away with the award, receiving 124 of the 129 first-place votes and five second-place votes for 1,275 points, as compared to Crosby's distant 831 points.

While Crosby didn't skate away as the top rookie, he did come out on top in head-to-head play last season. The then 18-year old not only led the Penguins to a 3-1 record over Washington, he also was Pittsburgh's leading scorer against the Capitals last season, notching three goals and six assists.

Ovechkin finished the 2005-06 season with six points against the Penguins, scoring three goals and three assists in the four games.

The two will meet another four times this year, with the first matchup coming Monday night in Washington.

"I think it's always a little bit more motivating. You know, from my side I think that it's built up so much that, in a way you want to respond and make sure you have a good game," Crosby said. "But at the end of the night the win is most important. That's the way I looked at it. But there's no doubt there seems to be more emotion and intensity when we play each other."
"I think Sidney is right. It's important for us, for our team, to win the game. Of course, Sidney and me want to score goals and have some points, but it's important for us to win the game," Ovechkin said.

Next month, it looks as though the two players may be able to make magic together for the first time at the NHL's All-Star Game, which will be played on Wednesday, Jan. 24th in Dallas. As of Tuesday, Crosby and Ovechkin were among the top Eastern Conference vote-getters for the star-studded event. Crosby was first on the list with 401,365 votes and Ovechkin was in fourth with 203,138 votes after approximately 12 million votes had been cast in the all-digital voting program.

"It will be nice," Crosby said about the opportunity to play with Ovechkin for the first time. "There's always so many comparisons. But for me, I think with my game I'm more much a playmaker and I think Alex is more of a shooter. It would be great to be passing to someone like that, so I look forward to that sure for."
Ovechkin is also hoping to get the opportunity to make history together at
midseason classic.

"Me too. He's a great player I watch lots of games he plays. He just give the pass, and guys just love to shoot, you know. So I’m looking forward to playing with him."
So are the fans.

Ducks 6 - Capitals 1: Brought to You by the Number...

2006-12-09T10:08:00.000-08:00

6

Goals allowed by Olie Kolzig in one of his worst performances of late. Kolzig allowed two goals early in the game on just four shots. The Caps trailed early (and trailed for the first time in their four-game win streak) and never recovered. Anaheim ended the first period with 2 goals on 7 shots.

Kolzig looked better in the second period, allowing one goal on 18 shots, but in the third he allowed three more on nine shots. One of those goals, a shorthander by Marchant, was the result of a misstep by Kolzig.

Overall, Kolzig had 34 shots in the game and only made 28 saves. That's a save percentage of 82.4%, much lower than Kolzig's year save percentage of 91.3%. By contrast, J.S. Giguere made 26 of 27 stops against the Caps (who admittedly could have had more if they had pulled the trigger more often on the PP), giving him a save percentage of 96.3%. That is slightly higher than his season average of 92.6%.

If Kolzig and Giguere had played to par with their season averages, the score would have turned out to closer, actually it would have been a 3-2 win for the Ducks. Because Kolzig's difference to the season average was greater, it was his poor play more than Gigure's great play that resulted in the Caps loss.

There's No Stopping Kolzig

2006-12-08T08:43:00.000-08:00

Ol' buddy Tarik El-Bashir writes for the Washington Post

Washington Capitals Coach Glen Hanlon has a standard response when someone asks about Olie Kolzig: "We feel he's the best goaltender in the NHL."

This season, Hanlon isn't the only person saying it.

"You look at where Washington is at, outshot most nights, outshot badly a lot of nights, and they are within striking distance of a plaoff spot," ESPN hockey analyst Barry Melrose said in a telephone interview yesterday. "It's phenomenal what Kolzig has done. I'll take what he's done this year over anybody."

Kolzig has faced more shots and made more saves than any other goaltender. His standout play is a primary reason the young and inexperienced Capitals have won four consecutive games and are only one standings point out of a playoff spot entering tonight's game against the NHL-leading Anaheim Ducks.

"I feel as good about my game as I ever have," Kolzig said after yesterday's practice.

Through Wednesday's schedule, Kolzig had faced 701 shots in 20 games -- a whopping 35 per contest -- but had stopped 643 of them. His .917 save percentage, which ranks 10th, is nine percentage points higher than his career average.

Consider this:
· He's 8-0-1 when facing more than 35 shots.
· He's 4-0-1 when making 40 or more saves.
· He has made an average of 37 saves in his 10 victories.

Kolzig has a sensible explanation for the counterintuitive notion of why he plays better as his workload increases.

"I'd much rather have 30-plus shots per game than 20 shots," he said. "I like being involved. You get into a flow."

His longtime position coach, Dave Prior, agrees.

"One benefit of it is that it's easy to stay in a game," Prior said. "That's the advantage of getting regular work throughout a period or throughout a game, especially when things are going bad and you have idle time to think about things. That's when you start worrying about whether you are going to make the next save."

That certainly wasn't a problem Nov. 28 at St. Pete Times Forum, where the Capitals arrived reeling from a six-game losing streak that showed no sign of ending, not with Dallas, Buffalo, Ottawa and Anaheim up next.

The Lightning peppered Kolzig with 50 shots, 24 of which came on power plays, but the 6-foot-3, 225-pounder stopped 48 of them to lift the Capitals to a 5-2 win.

"Fifty is a little extreme," Kolzig cracked.

The unlikely victory ignited the Capitals, who, in the eight days since, have knocked off the Stars, Sabres and Senators, each of whom had 100 or more points last season.

During the streak, Washington's offense has come through with 22 goals. But, as usual, Kolzig has been the key. The career Capital is 4-0-0 with a 2.75 goals against average and a .929 save percentage.

"If you're not watching Olie every night, and you are just looking at statistics, and you see someone with a real micro goals against average and a lot of wins, it's not easy to respect what Olie has done," said Hanlon, a former NHL goaltender. "Every time he plays, we feel we're going to get strong NHL goaltending."

His players agree.

"He's the best in the NHL, for sure," said Alex Ovechkin, the Capitals' leading scorer. "He's 90 percent of our team. We feel like we have great goalie."

Chris Clark, the club's captain, said: "Sometimes you just feel like saying sorry to him after he's all over the ice making a save. I don't say anything because he's so focused. But in my head, I'm thinking, 'Jeez . . .' "

Interestingly, Kolzig's surge has come at an age -- he turns 37 in April -- when many professional athletes' skills begin to decline. He attributes the upturn to mental maturity.

"As you get older, you deal with things better," Kolzig said. "You don't get too nervous, you don't get too uptight, you don't get too down. You rebound quicker from bad goals and bad nights."

That's not to say that Kolzig, long renowned for his fiery temperament, isn't susceptible to the occasional stick-smashing episode. The hardwood shelf above his locker has a three-inch dent in it from where he slammed down his mask after a recent loss.

But he is, by all accounts, mellower than in previous years. And that, he said, has helped him maintain his focus, which he can't afford to lose for even a moment.

Kolzig and his coaches say the number of shots the Capitals have yielded can be misleading. They contend that the team's defensive play has improved, that the opponents' number of odd-man rushes and breakaways are down from last season, and that many of the shots come from the perimeter.

They also acknowledge the ideal number of shots would be about 30 per game.

"You don't want to give up that many shots because anything can happen, the goalie can give up a rebound," Kolzig said. "Our goal is keep the shots to about 10 every period."

Until then, it's all on Kolzig, who is glad to oblige.

Washington "is not like Anaheim, where they've got Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger out there," Melrose said. "Kolzig's got young defensemen in front of him, and young forwards in front of them. They are going to make a lot of mistakes. You look at the number of shots he sees, the types of shots he sees, and his record: Kolzig is probably playing the best he's ever played."

Capitals (12-9-6) vs. Anaheim (21-3-6) Keys to the Game:

2006-12-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

#1: Shut Down Selanne
Teemu Selanne is one of the league's leaders in points and has been on a hot streak during Anaheim's run of six wins in their last seven days. Selanne scored twice and added an assist in Wednesday's 4-0 win over Nashville.

#2: Limit the Penalties
Anaheim is the league leader in power play percentage for the league at 22.7%. Their PP on the road is lower than their overall PP percentage (19.2%) but that's also because they get 52 power play opportunities on the road (vs. 111 at home). Unfortunately, that translates to 163 penalties overall, 7th in the league. But Washington is in the bottom 15 in the league in regards to times shorthanded overall (12th) and at home (8th).

#3: Limit the Shots Against
Once again, it's the same old tune. The Caps give up more shots (36.1) per game than anyone in the league. They gave up 37 against Ottawa on Wednesday, but Olie Kolzig was huge. Anaheim is third in the league in shots for per game (32.1). If the Caps can hold the Ducks to 11 shots or under per period, they can stay competitive.

Players to Watch For...
Anaheim: Jean-Sebastien Giguere
Many may argue that Selanne, with his 16 goals and 31 points against Washington will be key, but Giguere also has great numbers versus the Caps. Giggy is 2-1-1 with 1.48 GAA all-time against Washington, and two shutouts. Giguere, one of the more spastic goaltenders who hasn't yet found his consistency since the 2003 Stanley Cup run. If he is hot, it will be tough for the Capitals to find the net, certainly harder than it has been against the goaltenders they've beaten in four straight games: Denis, Smith, Miller, Emery.
Washington: Matt Pettinger
The inaugural Capitals player of the week continued to be hot, scoring another goal against Ottawa on Wednesday. He now has 4 goals in his last 3 games. Capitals star Alex Ovechkin did get three assists and Alexander Semin has scored two goals over the four game streak, but Pettinger seems to have the hot hand of late. He also has scored one goal in two career meetings against the Ducks.

Capitals Player of the Week: December 7

2006-12-07T21:25:00.000-08:00

Matt Pettinger

In three games, Pettinger has recorded 4 goals and 5 points in 3 games. Of those four goals, two came in the decisive win against Buffalo, as did the assist. This week has brought Pettinger's season totals to 9 goals and 16 points in 20 games.

Honorable Mentions:
Olaf Kolzig: 3.00 GAA; 91.43% save percentage
Chris Clark: 3 goals; 3 points
Alexander Ovechkin: 1 goal; 4 points

Capitals 6 - Ottawa 2 Brought to You by the Number...

2006-12-07T11:05:00.000-08:00

5

The number of consecutive penalties the Senators took from the end of the second period to midway through the third. These five penalties gave the Caps a long stretch of a 5 on 3, but also prevented the Senators from mounting a late third period charge, as Dallas did two games ago. The power plays gave the Caps the room to add two insurance markers, provided by Pettinger and Semin.

Five also equals the total number of penaties by the Sens in the third period and equals the number of saves Ray Emery made on power play shots (he had seven shots total).

Capitals (11-9-6) vs. Senators (15-12-1) Keys to the Game:

2006-12-06T08:26:00.000-08:00

#1: Change the Tune from Last Time
The Senators aren't the same team that blew a 3-0 lead to the Caps in November. Back then, Ottawa was struggling to get to .500. Now they are steadily climbing their way up the East Standings. If the Caps give up a lead early again, don't expect them to make another comeback.

#2: Hold the Lead
By contrast, the Caps have come very close to relinquishing large leads during their three game winning streak. If they continue to have late-game lapses, it will come back to bite them. Tonight, the Caps must jump out to a lead early and close out the game.

#3: Minimize the Shots Against
Once again it is the Caps achilles heel. They give up 36.0 shots per game (worst in the league). Unfortunately, Ottawa averages 32.2 shots per game. Olie Kolzig does have a good record in games when he faces 40+ shots, but he did give up three quick ones against the Sens last time they faced off.

Players to Watch for...
Ottawa: Dany Heatley
The Sens leading goal scorer (with 18 on the year) has scored 4 goals in his last three games, all of which have been Ottawa wins. In his career vs. Washington, he has 6 goals and 19 points in 18 games. This could be a problem for Olie Kolzig, who has a .882 save percent against Ottawa.
Matt Pettinger
Pettinger leads the Caps in scoring over their three game winning streak. He has scored 3 goals iand 5 points n the last two games, including two against Buffalo. Pettinger epitomizes how the Caps must spread out their scoring to win. It doesn't hurt that Pett has 3 goals in his career against Ottawa either.

Ken Campbell Trashes Ovechkin for Hit on Briere

2006-12-05T11:14:00.000-08:00

Per TheHockeyNews.com, part of writer Ken Campbell's article has words for Alex Ovechkin's hit on Daniel Briere.

This is not the time to call into question the actions of Colin Campbell, particularly given that he is grieving the death of his mother over the weekend.

After all, the fact that neither Alex Ovechkin nor Dwayne Roloson was suspended for his actions this Saturday was not simply due to the whims of Campbell, the NHL’s top disciplinarian. It is, however, due in large part to a hockey culture that accepts violent acts as commonplace and a players’ association that often looks out more for the offender than the aggrieved player.

How else can you explain why neither player was suspended for what he did Saturday? Both acts were heinous and potentially very serious, but both players escaped without supplementary discipline after a review.

In the Washington Capitals game Saturday Night, Ovechkin drilled Daniel Briere from behind a good two seconds after Briere had dumped the puck into the zone and was clearly headed to his bench for a line change. When asked about it on an NHL conference call Monday afternoon, even Ovechkin had trouble getting his story straight.

He originally said the hit was an accident. Then he went on to say that Briere turned and Ovechkin didn’t have time to let up. But when pressed about what was accidental about the hit, Ovechkin said: “My contact was not an accident. I just saw (Briere’s) back and hit him.”

Well, if Ovechkin saw Briere’s back and hit him, then why did he say Briere turned on him? When asked exactly why he did it, Ovechkin responded by saying: “I can’t answer this question because it is a game. You know, I don’t know.”

So now that we’ve established that its all right to drill a guy from behind, knock his helmet off and almost plow his face into an open door to the bench, things are very clear now.

Apologists will say that Ovechkin didn’t hit Briere that hard and Briere was back a couple of shifts later to play in the game. That’s not the point. Players are responsible for what they do with their sticks, so they should be held accountable for what they do with their bodies.

Campbell then spends a measley paragraph on Dwayne Roloson's shot to Rick Nash's testicles (which is, in my mind, a much more blatant cheap shot than Ovechkin's). But his article is unfounded on it's primary basis, mainly that Ovechkin was unsure of his story.

First of all, Campbell treats Alex as though he were a criminal searching for an alibi while being questioned by the police. That is not the case, Alex made a mistake, he hit Briere at the moment when Briere turned to skate to the bench. It was a freak accident and nothing more.

The big basis of the argument against AO is that at one point he said it was an accident, then later said that he didn't mean to hit him that hard and saw his back. Let me be clear: the contact wasn't an accident, he meant it was an accident to hit him from behind.

Campbell argues that if Alex saw Briere's back, why did he hit him. Ovechkin was lining Briere up as Briere was skating down the wing. At the last second, Briere dumped the puck and turned to enter the bench. It was at that exact moment, that Ovechkin made contact. If Briere had continued skating along the wing (which, I believe, Ovechkin thought he would), Briere would have gotten harmlessly rubbed out along the boards. It was not a cheap shot. It was an accident. Since there is no lasting damage to Briere, hopefully, we can put this incident behind us and concentrate on the Senators on Wednesday.

Capitals (11-9-6) Power Rankings for December 5

2006-12-05T11:00:00.000-08:00

TSN.ca ranks the Capitals at #16 (up from #22 last week):

Went from a six-game losing streak to a three-game winning streak,
including back-to-back wins against Dallas and Buffalo. If they can keep that
going over the next two -- at home to Ottawa and Anaheim -- then there's really
something to keep an eye on.
Key Injuries: None.

ESPN.com ranks the Capitals at #16 (up from #23 last week):

We might be giving the Caps too much credit here, but they're regarded as one of the hardest-working teams in the league. The Caps snapped their skid with three straight wins, their first such stretch of the season.

The Hockey News ranks the Caps at #17.

SI.com ranks the Caps at #18 (up from #23 last week):

After dropping six in a row, the Caps bounced back with three consecutive wins. And they've done it against quality opponents: Tampa Bay, Dallas and Buffalo. Thursday's win over the Stars was special for Olaf Kolzig, who made 35 saves to finally defeat the only team he had never beaten. "I think that rounds off the NHL, doesn't it?" Kolzig said. "It might be the last time I ever play them, too. You never know -- we don't play them next year." Last Week: 3-0-0

Average ranking: 17

Alexander Ovechkin hit on Daniel Briere

2006-12-05T08:36:00.001-08:00

Ovechkin Gets $1,000 Fine, No Suspension

2006-12-05T08:17:00.000-08:00

According to The Washington Post, Alex Ovechkin will not receive a suspension for his hit against Sabres forward Daniel Briere.

Ovechkin will incur a $1,000 fine though.

We talk about it," Ovechkin said after practice at Kettler Capitals Iceplex. "He tell me we understand you don't try to give some dirty hit. I tell him same. . . . I just want to hit him, but [Briere was] turning and I don't have time to do something. I'm happy it's done, I hope Briere is okay."

I think it's the right move by the NHL. Ovie's no goon and he seems sincerley sorry for the hit.

Caps (and former Caps) rumors:

2006-12-04T20:12:00.000-08:00

Former Capital Peter Bondra is rumored to be close to a return to the NHL. Among those interested in the 38 year-old winger are Chicago, Detroit, New York Islanders, Boston and Toronto. It would be great to see Bondra return to get his 500th NHL goal. It would be even better to see him return to the Caps, but it doesn't look like George McPhee wants to deal with Bondra or agent Rich Winters.

In all likelyhood, the Islanders are the likely team to claim Bonzai.

There was some speculation that coach Glen Hanlon was on the hot seat after the Caps 6-game slide and that McPhee would make minor roster changes to turn the tide. Now that the Caps have won 3 straight, that talk has died down.

Capitals (9-9-6) vs. Stars (16-8-0) Keys to the Game:

2006-11-30T11:40:00.000-08:00

#1: Get to Marty Turco:
In his last four starts, Turco is 0-3 with a GAA of 3.27. Playing the night after a heartwrenching loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, the defense in front of him should be tired. The bad news is that in his three starts against the Caps, Turco is 3-0 with a 1.34 GAA.

#2: Limit the Shots:
This is one that has plagued the Caps all year. Washington has given up an average of 36.2 shots per game. The league median is 30.2. The Caps goal should be to only give up 10 or fewer shots each period (which would make the shot total 30 or fewer). The good news is that Dallas only averages 28.1 shots per game (21st in the league).

#3: Get a Big Lead before the 3rd:
Washington has given up 28 goals in the third period (5th worst in the league) while Dallas has scored 22 in the third. Both teams score most of their goals in the first and least in the second, so if the Caps can jump out to an early lead and hold onto it, they need to keep Dallas from scoring in the third.

Players to Watch for...
Dallas: Jeff Halpern
Halpern makes his first visit to DC since signing in Dallas over the offseason. How will the crowd react to the Potomac native's return to the nation's capital? Also, will Halpern improve his pitiful performance this season. He only has 8 points and is a -1.
Washington: Olaf Kolzig
Kolzig is 0-9-1 with a 3.50 goals against average and an .867 save pct. lifetime against the Stars. As evidenced against the Lightning, the Caps need him to step up for them to win. Will Olie break out of his slump against Dallas?

Capitals 5 - Lightning 2 Brought to You by the Number...

2006-11-29T08:14:00.000-08:00

48

That's how many saves Olie Kolzig made last night, on 50 shots. Anytime your team gives up 40+ shots and comes away with the victory, a team must look to their goaltender. The Capitals were dramatically outplayed in the first, but Kolzig shut down Tampa Bay and the Caps took a 1-0 lead to the dressing room. In the second, they blew the game open, scoring three goals. The third period tested Olaf with 25 shots, but he stopped all but two of them to give the Caps the win.

"He's the backbone of our team," Clark said of Kolzig. "We were outplayed maybe in the first period, but he was here to keep it (close)."

Kolzig has always been the team's backbone. His 91.8% save percentage is one of the highest in his career (his highest was 92% in 97-98) and has been a huge reason for the Caps success this year.

"One of the best performances I've seen in a long time by a goaltender," Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella said. "Kolzig was the difference."

No arguments here.

NHL.com Article on Brian Pothier

2006-11-28T11:31:00.000-08:00

The Washington Capitals badly needing help on the blue line this summer flirted with the idea of signing Ottawa All-Star defenseman Zdeno Chara. Ultimately, the thrifty Capitals opted to sign his less-heralded and even less-expensive teammate, Brian Pothier.

In hindsight, there was no way the Capitals would have paid out the average of $7.5 million per season that Chara later received from the Boston Bruins. Yet the signing of the puck-moving Pothier did not come without some risk of its own.

Pothier played as a No. 5 defenseman with the defense-rich Senators in his first full NHL season. But the Capitals envisioned a much larger role for Pothier, most likely as the team's No. 1 defenseman. The question was, could he make the jump?

The move has paid off in a big way and Pothier is playing every bit as well as Chara. The 29-year-old Pothier ranks fifth in the league in minute, averaging 27:04 a game. That's impressive considering he is basically playing the same number amount of minutes as former Norris Trophy winners Chris Pronger (27:24) and Scott Niedermayer (26:47) of the Anaheim Ducks.
Pothier has been a big part of the reason why the Capitals are playoff contenders a year after the team was in the running for the No. 1 overall draft pick.

"He's added a lot of skill to our blue line and made a big difference on the team," Washington General Manager George McPhee says. "He's certainly been responsible for our better record."

Pothier's biggest impact has been on special teams. The Capitals' power play ranked 25th in the league last season, converting only 14.7 percent of its opportunities. It's a different story this year. Washington is making 16.4 percent of its chances, which ranks 16th in the NHL. Pothier quarterbacks the power play and has 12 assists in 23 games.

"He reads the play well and makes good smart decisions," says Washington assistant coach Jay Leach, who works with the Capitals' defensemen. "He is a great breakout guy. It's one of the things we had trouble with last year. We could not at times get the puck out of our zone."

Playing so many more minutes with Washington has been quite an adjustment for Pothier since he averaged 17 minutes a game with Ottawa last year. The 6-foot 195-pound Pothier knew the big jump in ice time was coming, so he worked out like a maniac during the off-season. He focused on cardiovascular training more than in the past, putting in rigorous three-hour sessions daily.

"I just ramped up the intensity,” Pothier said. "I did a lot more of everything. With the new rules, I spent a ton of time trying to get my feet agile and mobile."

The defensive play of Pothier is sometimes overlooked. He's been paired with rising 23-year-old Shaone Morrisonn. The pair plays against opponent's No. 1 line.

"We didn't realize how good defensively he can be," Leach says. "Brian is not a big guy, but he gets his body in great position and he is not afraid to stick his nose into the play."

The Capitals made a big commitment to Pothier, signing him to a four-year, $10 million deal. It's the longest contract extended to any player on the roster and the richest deal McPhee has given out since forward Robert Lang inked a five-year, $25 million contract in 2002. For a No. 1 defenseman, Pothier is proving to be worth the money.

Pothier, an undrated player out of RPI, emerged on the NHL scene last season with the Ottawa Senators."When he decided to sign with us he had other choices for the same amount of money, but he wanted to come here," McPhee says.

Pothier said picking the rebuilding Capitals was a relatively easy decision.

"I get that question a lot," he says of why Washington. "If you look at this team, it's young and energetic. It's fun to be around. It's got a great foundation for the future, and to be part of that is very attractive for me."

The late blooming Pothier seemed to come out of nowhere last season in Ottawa to put together an eye-catching season. Before that, he'd played in only seven games across three seasons with Ottawa and Atlanta. He spent four full seasons in the minors: three in the American Hockey League (Binghamton, Chicago) and one in the International Hockey League (Orlando).

But Pothier, who went undrafted and played college hockey at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, got his big break with the new NHL rule changes last season and he totaled five goals and 30 assists in 77 games. Even more impressive was his plus-29.

"He wasn't getting the kind of minutes he deserved in Ottawa," Leach says.
McPhee was more than willing to give Pothier all the ice time he wanted in Washington.

"You can tell Brian you don't have to be 6-3 to play in the NHL," McPhee says. "The best players are the smartest players. He is a really smart player." --

Capitals (8-9-6) @ Lightning (13-10-1)

2006-11-28T11:05:00.000-08:00

From NHL.com's preview:
Washington lost its sixth in a row Saturday, 4-1 to the New York Islanders. Alex Ovechkin scored a power-play goal early in the third period, his third in four games and 15th of the season.

Ovechkin has three goals and an assist during a four-game road point streak.

Success on the power play has been one of the few bright spots of late for the Caps, as they've scored with the man advantage in seven straight games. Washington, though, has been outscored 25-9 during its longest skid since an eight-game slide from March 10-23.

"We're just getting some bad bounces," said the Caps' Olaf Kolzig, who made 26 saves against the Islanders. "I'm a firm believer that the bounces even out, though. We'll get our share."
After Tuesday's contest, however, Washington's next four opponents are over .500, including matchups with Eastern Conference-leading Buffalo and Pacific Division powers Dallas and Anaheim.

Caps left wing Alexander Semin opened the season with eight goals in his first seven games, but hasn't scored since Oct. 21. He hasn't played since Nov. 17 and remains day-to-day with a shoulder injury.

Washington forward Donald Brashear will serve the final game of his three-game suspension for his actions in a late brawl during a 4-2 loss to Atlanta on Wednesday.

From Mike Vogel's washingtoncaps.com short shifts, injuries and probable line combos:
Short Shifts: Donald Brashear has five goals and seven points in 27 career games against Tampa Bay. The five goals are tied for his most against any opponent … Ben Clymer has two goals in nine career games against the Lightning … Steve Eminger has a goal and five points in 12 career games against the Bolts. He has more points against the Lightning than against any other NHL club … Brent Johnson is 4-1-1 with a 2.11 goals against average and a .934 save pct. lifetime against the Lightning … Jakub Klepis has two goals and three points in his last four games … Olie Kolzig is 20-10-2 in his career vs. Tampa Bay … Shaone Morrisonn has two assists in nine career games against the Lightning … Alex Ovechkin has six goals and 11 points in nine career games against the Bolts. Ovechkin has nine goals and 15 points in his last 13 games … Matt Pettinger has three goals and six points in 15 career games against the Lightning. Pettinger has four goals and six points in his last eight games … Brian Pothier has two goals and seven points in 12 lifetime games vs. Tampa Bay … Alexander Semin has two goals and five points in six career games against the Lightning. Thirteen of his 18 career NHL goals have come against Southeast Division opponents … Richard Zednik has a dozen goals and 22 points in 34 career games against Tampa Bay. Zednik has three goals and eight points in his last seven games … Dainius Zubrus has nine goals and 22 points in 42 career games vs. the Lightning. Zubrus has three goals and six points in his last seven games … Dan Boyle has six goals and 21 points in 35 career games against Washington. Dan Boyle has four goals and eight points in his last eight games … Ryan Craig has two goals and three points in four career games against the Caps. Craig has two goals and four points in his last three games … Marc Denis is 2-3-1 with a 3.70 goals against average lifetime against the Capitals … Ruslan Fedotenko has nine goals and 17 points in 27 career games vs. the Caps … Johan Holmqvist has won eight of his last nine starts. He is 4-0 with a 2.03 GAA and a .920 save pct. at home this season … Filip Kuba has three goals and 11 points in his last 11 games … Vincent Lecavalier has 12 goals and 25 points in 37 lifetime games against Washington. Lecavalier has eight goals and 22 points in his last 18 games … Eric Perrin has two goals and four points in his last five games … Vaclav Prospal has five goals and 19 points in 35 career games against the Capitals … Brad Richards has five goals and 22 points in 30 lifetime tilts vs. Washington. Richards has eight goals and 13 points in his last 13 games … Martin St. Louis has nine goals and 22 points in 30 career games against the Capitals. St. Louis has four goals and nine points in his last four games.

Injuries
Tampa Bay Lightning
Left wing Right wing Rob DiMaio has a concussion and is out indefinitely.
Center Tim Taylor has a neck injury and is day-to-day.
Washington
Left wing Alexander Semin has an upper body injury and is day-to-day.
Right wing Richard Zednik has a lower body injury and is day-to-day.

Possible Line Combos and Defensive Pairings
Tampa Bay
Forwards
9-Perrin, 4-Lecavalier, 15-Alexeev
34-Craig, 19-Richards, 26-St. Louis
20-Prospal, 49-Jones, 17-Fedotenko
29-Afansenkov, 24-Karlsson, 74-Tarnasky
Defensemen
3-Janik, 22-Boyle
54-Ranger, 71-Kuba
21-Sarich, 44-Pratt
Goaltenders
30-Denis, 40-Holmqvist

Washington
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 9-Zubrus, 17-Clark
28-Semin, 24-Beech, 18-Pettinger
10-Bradley, 16-Sutherby, 27-Clymer
21-Laich, 15-Gordon, 38-Klepis
Defensemen
2-Pothier, 26-Morrisonn
6-Heward, 52-Green
4-Erskine, 44-Eminger
Goaltenders
1-Johnson, 37-Kolzig

Team Leaders: WSH - TBL
Goals: Ovechkin (15) - St. Louis (15)
Assists: Pothier (12) - Lecavalier (16)
Points: Ovechkin (25) - St. Louis (30)
+/-: Heward (4) - St. Louis (8)

Team Stats (rank): WSH - TBL
Goals for/game: 2.74 (18) - 3.17 (9)
Goals against/game: 3.30 (25) - 3.04 (19)
Power Play Pct.: 16.1 (18) - 17.6 (12)
Penalty Kill Pct.: 80.9 (24) - 73.8 (30)

The JET's take: With Alexander Semin back, the Caps will try to snap that 6 game losing streak in Tampa Bay. This time, the Caps have the advantage of facing the WORST penalty kill in the league. This could potentially help their recently ailing power play.
The Caps get back their third leading scorer, but they have been bad in the last 6 games and especially bad this year against the division. Their defense still leads something to be desired and, again on the road, it is unlikely that they can snap their slump.

Capitals (8-8-6) @ NY Islanders (11-7-3)

2006-11-25T10:12:00.000-08:00

From NHL.com's Preview:

Washington (8-8-6) is mired in a season-high five-game losing streak after Saturday's 7-1 rout by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Playing without suspended forwards Donald Brashear and Brian Sutherby as well as injured forward Alexander Semin, backup goaltender Brent Johnson allowed four goals in a 4:10 span of the second period that turned a one-goal game into a 6-1 deficit.

"We certainly didn't want to get embarrassed like that," Capitals coach Glen Hanlon said. "We had all kinds of opportunities to tie it up 2-2 and then we took a couple of penalties.
"After that, it was as if they scored on every opportunity."

Olaf Kolzig, who likely will return to the net for this game, is trying to end a personal three-start winning streak. He has allowed eight goals in his last two starts while making 61 saves.

The 36-year-old netminder is 24-8 with two ties, a 2.29 GAA and three shutouts lifetime versus the Islanders, and he is 11-5 with a 2.44 GAA and one shutout at the Nassau Coliseum.

Alexander Ovechkin, who scored the lone goal for the Capitals in Saturday's loss, has four goals in his last eight games. The reigning Calder Trophy winner as the NHL's best rookie, Ovechkin had two goals and two assists in three games against the Islanders last season.

New York won three of the four games between the teams last season and also has a three-game home winning streak against Washington that includes DiPietro's two shutouts.

From Mike Vogel's washingtoncaps.com short shifts, injuries and probable lines:
Short Shifts: Matt Bradley has two goals and three points in 12 career games against the Islanders … Donald Brashear has three goals and seven points in 31 career games against New York … Steve Eminger has a goal and two points in seven career games against the Isles … Boyd Gordon has two assists in five career games against New York. He picked up his first career NHL point (an assist) against the Islanders on Oct. 9, 2003 … Mike Green has one assist in three career games against New York … Jamie Heward has one goal and two points in eight career games against the Isles … Brent Johnson is 0-4 with a 4.23 goals against average and an .878 save pct. lifetime against the Islanders … Olie Kolzig is 24-8-2 with three shutouts, a 2.29 goals against average and a .911 save pct. lifetime against the Fishermen. He has more wins against the Isles than against any other NHL team, and he picked up his first NHL win against New York on Jan. 27, 1995 … Bryan Muir has two goals and three points in nine career games against the Islanders … Alex Ovechkin has two goals and four points in three lifetime games against New York … Brian Pothier has four assists in seven career games against the Isles … Alexander Semin has one assist in two career games against New York … Richard Zednik has three goals and nine points in 27 career games against the Islanders … Dainius Zubrus has five goals and 18 points in 34 lifetime tilts against the Fishermen … Jason Blake has six goals and 11 points in 20 career games against Washington. Blake has four goals and nine points in his last seven games … Rick DiPietro is 3-2 with two shutouts and a 2.32 goals against average lifetime against the Capitals … Sean Hill has two goals and nine points in 42 career games against the Caps. Hill has a goal and three points in his last three games … Trent Hunter has two goals and six points in nine career games against Washington … Viktor Kozlov has nine goals and 18 points in 28 career games against the Caps. Kozlov has four assists in his last four games … Tom Poti has two goals and 10 points in 15 career games against Washington … Miroslav Satan has 24 goals and 35 points in 36 career games vs. the Capitals. Satan has three goals and four points in his last four games … Mike Sillinger has three goals and 12 points in 27 career games against the Caps … Chris Simon has three goals and four points in eight career games against the Capitals … Alexei Yashin has 20 goals and 44 points in 42 career games vs. Washington. Yashin has five goals and nine points in his last seven games … Mike York has six goals and eight points in 18 career games vs. the Caps … Alexei Zhitnik has three goals and a dozen points in 41 career games against Washington.

Injuries
New York Islanders
No significant injuries.
Washington
Left wing Alexander Semin has an upper body injury and is day-to-day.

Possible Line Combos and Defensive Pairings
New York
Forwards
12-Simon, 79-Yashin, 55-Blake
81-Satan, 16-York, 7-Hunter
11-Hilbert, 18-Sillinger, 25-Kozlov
10-Park, 17-Bates, 45-Asham
Defensemen
3-Poti, 8-Gervais
6-Hill, 77-Zhitnik
24-Martinek, 32-Witt
Goaltenders
1-Dunham, 39-DiPietro

Washington
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 9-Zubrus, 17-Clark
18-Pettinger, 38-Klepis, 14-Fehr
10-Bradley, 16-Sutherby, 27-Clymer
21-Laich, 15-Gordon, 20-Zednik
Defensemen
2-Pothier, 26-Morrisonn
47-Muir, 52-Green
4-Erskine, 44-Eminger
Goaltenders
1-Johnson, 37-Kolzig

Team Leaders: WSH - NYI
Goals: Ovechkin (14) - Blake (12)
Assists: Pothier (12) - Yashin (16)
Points: Ovechkin (24) - Yashin (26)
+/-: Clark (4) - Zhitnik (11)

Team Stats (Rank): WSH - NYI
Goals for/game: 2.82 (17) - 2.71 (20)
Goals against/game: 3.27 (24) - 2.62 (9)
Power Play Pct.: 16.4 (15) - 16.0 (18)
Penalty Kill Pct.: 81.1 (22) - 80.8 (24)

The JET's Take:
It's been a while, but I still know how to do this. The Caps have had 5 lackluster performances in a row and--no surprise--they've lost all 5. Plain and simply, the Caps need to step up from the way they've been playing if they want to win. The Islanders (another overacheiving team) have been hot of late. On the day after a game on the road, the Caps don't have it in them to win.

2006-11-09T11:15:00.000-08:00

From NHL.com's preview:

The Washington Capitals have finished in last place in the Southeast Division the last two seasons, but they're looking like a different team so far this year.

Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals look to build on their first back-to-back wins of the season when they visit the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.

Washington (6-4-4) beat the Ottawa Senators 4-3 in overtime on Monday, two days after a 5-3 victory at Philadelphia. The Capitals, who haven't reached the postseason since 2003, ended a 16-game winless drought at Philadelphia and an eight-game home winless skid against Ottawa.
Against the Senators, they came back from a 3-0 first-period deficit.

"Now we know we can score, and that's the difference," said captain Chris Clark, who scored the game-winner on Monday. "We can come back and actually win these games, not just fight hard and make it respectable."

Ovechkin scored two goals for the second straight game, including one with 24.4 seconds left in regulation against Ottawa to force overtime. Last season's Calder Trophy winner as the NHL's top rookie has 18 points through 14 games - three points ahead of the pace he set last season en route to 52 goals and 106 assists.

"My goal is not to score 52 goals, 56 goals," said Ovechkin, who has four straight multipoint games. "My goal is to play hard, try to help the team win."

Ovechkin scored two goals in the Capitals' 5-2 win over the Hurricanes on Oct. 7.

"For a determined guy, he seems to be even more determined when it gets down to the nitty gritty," coach Glen Hanlon said. "When this organization does make the playoffs, you're likely going to see someone who plays even greater hockey."

Olaf Kolzig gave up all three goals Saturday on five shots in less than 12 minutes - his shortest outing since March 2003 - before being replaced by Brent Johnson. Johnson stopped 21 shots against the Senators after making 33 saves against the Flyers.

Johnson owns a 2.21 goals-against average in five games this season, while Kolzig has a 3.45 GAA in 10 contests.

"We never give up," Kolzig said. "Last year, going into the season, it was, 'Let's go out and have some fun and then see what happens.' Now we believe we can actually win games."

From Mike Vogel's washingtoncaps.com short shifts, injuries and probable lines:
Short Shifts: Matt Bradley has two assists in his last two games … Donald Brashear has two goals and eight points in 32 career games against Carolina … Chris Clark has three goals and nine points in 12 lifetime contests against the Canes. Clark has a four game point streak working. He has two goals and five points during that span … Ben Clymer has two goals in his last two games … Steve Eminger has two assists in his last two games … Jamie Heward has two assists in his last two games … Brent Johnson is 4-0-1 with a 2.27 GAA and a .937 save pct. lifetime against the Hurricanes. Johnson has allowed three or fewer goals in each of his four starts this season … Olie Kolzig is 22-10-9 with three shutouts, a 2.15 GAA and a .926 save pct. over his career against Carolina … Brooks Laich has a goal and four points in seven career games vs. the Hurricanes … Shaone Morrisonn has a goal and three points in 11 career games against the Canes. Morrisonn has a goal and four points in his last four games … Bryan Muir has played plus or even hockey in all seven of the games in which he has played this season. He is plus-4 overall … Alex Ovechkin has five goals and 12 points in nine career contests vs. Carolina. Ovechkin is tied for fifth in the NHL with 10 goals. He has four straight multi-point games and two straight multi-goal games. Ovechkin has four goals and eight points in his last four games … Alexander Semin has five goals and seven points in six career games against the Hurricanes … Brian Sutherby has four assists in 13 career games vs. the Canes. Sutherby has two assists in his last two games. Sutherby is slated to appear in his 200th NHL game against Carolina on Thursday … Richard Zednik has nine goals and 19 points in 29 lifetime tilts against the Hurricanes … Dainius Zubrus has 10 goals and 25 points in 39 career games against Carolina. Zubrus has totaled more points against Carolina than against any other opponent. He has four goals and five points in his last four games … Rod Brind’Amour has 33 goals and 66 points in 79 career games against the Capitals. After going pointless in his first four games of the season, Brind’Amour has five goals and 20 points in his last dozen games. He is tied for fourth in the league in scoring with 20 points. At 23:35 a night, Brind’Amour is second among all NHL forwards in average ice time per game. Brind’Amour recorded the 1000th point of his NHL career in Ottawa on Saturday, becoming just the 71st player in league history to reach that milestone … Erik Cole has four goals and nine points in 17 career games against Washington. Cole has two goals and seven points in his last five games … John Grahame is 5-4 with two shutouts and a 2.71 GAA in his career vs. the Caps … Eric Staal has four goals and 11 points in 15 career contests against Washington. Staal has eight goals and 16 points in his last 12 games … Cory Stillman has six goals and 22 points in 24 lifetime tilts against the Capitals … Scott Walker has four goals and five points in his last seven games … Cam Ward is 2-2 with a 3.70 GAA lifetime against the Caps. Ward has surrendered four or more goals in five of his last seven starts … Glen Wesley has four goals and 14 points in 68 career games against the Capitals … Ray Whitney has 12 goals and 25 points in 32 career games vs. Washington. Whitney has five goals and 18 points in his last dozen games. He is tied for fourth in the league in scoring with 20 points … Justin Williams has nine goals and 22 points in 24 career games against the Caps. Williams has four assists in his last five games.

Injuries
Carolina Hurricanes
Defenseman Frantisek Kaberle had shoulder surgery and is out indefinitely.
Defenseman Tim Gleason has an upper body injury and is day-to-day.
Left wing Cory Stillman had offseason shoulder surgery and is out indefinitely.
Washington
Defenseman Jamie Heward has an upper body injury and is day-to-day.
Right wing Richard Zednik has an upper body injury and is day-to-day.

Possible Line Combos and Defensive Pairings
Carolina
Forwards
24-Walker, 12-Staal, 11-Williams
26-Cole, 17-Brind’Amour, 13-Whitney
16-Ladd, 25-Belanger, 27-C. Adams
59-LaRose, 14-K.Adams, 19-Letowski
Defensemen
6-Hedican, 22-Commodore
7-Wallin, 48-Babchuk
2-Wesley, 28-Hutchinson
Goaltenders
30-Ward, 47-Grahame

Washington
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 9-Zubrus, 17-Clark
43-Fleischmann, 38-Klepis, 18-Pettinger
10-Bradley, 16-Sutherby, 27-Clymer
28-Semin, 15-Gordon, 87-Brashear
Defensemen
2-Pothier, 26-Morrisonn
6-Heward, 52-Green
44-Eminger, 47-Muir
Goaltenders
1-Johnson, 37-Kolzig

Team Leaders: WSH - CAR
Goals: Ovechkin (10) - Staal (9)
Points: Ovechkin (18) - Brind'Amour (20)
+/-: Clark (5) - Wallin (3)

Team Stats (rank): WSH - CAR
Goals for/game: 3.36 (8) - 3.12 (12)
Goals against/game: 3.21 (21) - 3.38 (25)
Power Play Pct.: 17.8 (14) - 15.8 (17)
Penalty Kill Pct.: 83.5 (16) - 84.4 (12)

The JET's Take:
The Capitals are coming off a huge, come from behind win against Ottawa, but now they face some more stiff competition in the Carolina Hurricanes. The Caps claimed their first win of the season against Carolina at home, but now they travel to Raleigh. Even though the Caps have been above .500 on the road, this will still be a tough game.

The Caps defense is still their achilles heel. They still allow above 35 shots per game. Their special teams are in a good place but if they want to win in Carolina, they should try to limit the 'Cane's number of shots. I wince, but will give the Caps the chance to take this one, but I think it'll go to OT.

NHL Power Rankings for Nov. 2

2006-11-08T08:15:00.000-08:00

TSN.ca ranks the Capitals #13:

The leading sniper for the Caps this year? Danius Zubrus, who is elevating his game to the first-line status he holds, with nine goals in 13 games.
Key Injuries: None.

ESPN.com ranks the Capitals #19:
The Capitals are 2-1 in the last week and they just missed beating Atlanta. Washington could be even better if Alexander Semin would just break out of his slump (he has no goals in six games after a great start).

SI.com ranks the Capitals #19:
When you need to snap a losing streak, who better to count on than Alex Ovechkin? The 21-year-old ended a four-game goal-less drought with two of the Caps' four first-period goals in a 5-3 win over the Flyers that snapped a 16-game winless streak in Philly. The win came one day after the Caps lost in regulation for the first time after scoring first. They had been 3-0-2 when taking a 1-0 lead.
Last Week: 2-1-0

Average Ranking: #17

The JET's Ranks the Capitals at #12:
The Caps are getting a bad rep for their "weak" team. Many people are quick to believe that the Capitals success will die down. I'm not sure that it will. What the Caps did against Ottawa makes them legit. It is important to know that these ranking were before Sunday's win.

Capitals 4 - Senators 3 (OT): Brought to You by the Number...

2006-11-08T08:11:00.000-08:00

1

A HUGE win for the Caps on Sunday. There is no truly relevant statistic. Early in the game the Caps and Olaf Kolzig were bad. Very bad. But then, the Capitals began to play their game and proceeded to come back and beat a very tough Ottawa team.

The number one is for Brent Johnson and more importantly for Glen Hanlon (for putting in Johnson). This is no knock on Olie. When your goaltender comes out and lets in some goals early, changing it up sends a wake-up call to the team. I'm sure once the Caps saw Johnny in net, they realized how badly they'd been playing.

Overall, that was the win for Washington. Coming back from a large deficit against a good team is the mark of a very good team. The Capitals have given themselves confidence and shown the hockey community that they can be for real, as evidenced by the latest power rankings coming.

Ottawa (5-7-0) vs. Washington (5-4-4)

2006-11-06T08:12:00.000-08:00

From NHL.com's preview:

Now that the Washington Capitals have ended their longtime struggles in one building, perhaps they have enough momentum to overcome another nemesis on home ice.
The Capitals look to defeat the Ottawa Senators at home for the first time in more than five years Monday when the teams face off at the Verizon Center.

Alexander Ovechkin scored two of Washington's four first-period goals and increased his team-leading points total to 16 on Saturday as the Capitals (5-4-4) defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3 at the Wachovia Center. The victory snapped a 16-game winless streak in Philadelphia for the Capitals, who concluded a stretch of five road games in six contests.

"It's part of our progress here that you try to win in buildings where you haven't won," Capitals coach Glen Hanlon said. "It says something at where you are as far as building a team because this is usually the kind of mark that you try to meet as far as competitiveness and challenging and physical play.

"It's just good for us to get this win."

Defeating Ottawa (5-7-0) could be nearly as satisfying - and overdue. The Capitals are winless in eight home meetings with the Senators since the start of the 2001-02 season, with six losses and two ties over that span.

The games frequently haven't even been close. Five of the six Ottawa victories were by three goals or more, and the Senators have outscored the Capitals 35-13 in their last eight visits to Washington.

From Mike Vogel's washingtoncaps.com short shifts, injuries and probable lines:
Short Shifts: Matt Bradley has a goal and two points in 10 career games against Ottawa. Bradley has a goal and five points in his last seven games … Donald Brashear has three goals and eight points in 31 career games against the Senators … Chris Clark has a goal and two points in eight career games vs. the Sens. Clark has a goal and four points in his last three games … Ben Clymer has six assists in 18 career games against Ottawa … Boyd Gordon has two assists in his last three games … Mike Green has been a plus or even player in 10 of his last 11 games. He is plus-5 during that stretch … Jamie Heward has two goals and seven points in 11 career games against the Senators … Brent Johnson is 2-0 with a shutout, a 1.22 goals against average and a .966 save pct. in three career games against the Sens … Olie Kolzig is 7-13-3 with a pair of shutouts, a 3.42 goals against average and an .887 save pct. in 26 career games vs. Ottawa … Shaone Morrisonn has a goal and four points in his last three games … Bryan Muir has played plus or even hockey in all six games he has played this season. He is plus-3 overall … Alex Ovechkin has one goal and two points in four career games against the Senators. He has picked up at least a point in 10 of Washington’s 13 games this season. Ovechkin has six goals and 12 points in his last eight games … Matt Pettinger has two goals in a dozen career games against the Sens. Pettinger tallied his first NHL goal against Ottawa’s Jani Hurme on Nov. 13, 2001 … Brian Pothier is tied for fifth among all NHL defensemen with nine assists … Brian Sutherby has one goal and three points in nine career tilts vs. the Senators. Sutherby netted his first NHL goal against the Senators’ Patrick Lalime on Nov. 29, 2002. Sutherby has a goal and four points in his last seven games … Richard Zednik has eight goals and 18 points in 33 career games against Ottawa … Dainius Zubrus has two goals and 13 points in 30 career games against the Senators. Zubrus has seven goals and nine points in his last eight games … Daniel Alfredsson has 23 goals and 40 points in 36 career games against Washington … Patrick Eaves has two goals in four career games against the Capitals … Ray Emery is 2-1 with a 1.34 goals against average in four career appearances vs. the Caps. Emery has won three of his last four starts. He has allowed two or fewer goals in four of his five starts this season … Mike Fisher has three goals and six points in 13 career games against Washington. Fisher has two goals and six points in his last six games … Martin Gerber is 4-2 with a 2.83 goals against average lifetime against the Capitals … Dany Heatley has five goals and 18 points in 17 career games against the Caps. Heatley has seven goals and 10 points in his last seven games ... Chris Kelly has two assists in four career games against Washington ... Dean McAmmond has two goals and nine points in 18 career games vs. the Capitals. McAmmond has two goals and five points in his last six games ... Andrej Mezszaros has four assists in four lifetime games against the Caps. Meszaros has a goal and four points in his last five games … Chris Neil has four goals and seven points in 16 career games vs. Washington. Neil has a goal and four points in his last six games … Tom Preissing has two goals and five points in his last six games … Wade Redden has five goals and 21 points in 35 career games against the Capitals … Peter Schaefer has four goals and six points in 15 games against the Caps … Jason Spezza has three goals and 13 points in 10 career games against Washington. Spezza has three goals and 12 points in his last seven games … Antoine Vermette has four goals and seven points in his last six games.

Injuries:
Ottawa Senators
Defenseman Wade Redden has a groin injury and is day-to-day.
Washington
None.

Possible Line Combos and Defensive Pairings
Ottawa
Forwards
15-Heatley, 19-Spezza, 44-Eaves
20-Vermette, 12-Fisher, 11-Alfredsson
27-Schaefer, 37-McAmmond, 25-Neil
17-Hamel, 22-Kelly, 16-McGrattan
Defensemen
14-Meszaros, 24-Volchenkov
4-Phillips, 7-Corvo
5-Schubert, 42-Preissing
Goaltenders
1-Emery, 29-Gerber

Washington
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 9-Zubrus, 17-Clark
43-Fleischmann, 38-Klepis, 18-Pettinger
10-Bradley, 16-Sutherby, 27-Clymer
28-Semin, 15-Gordon, 87-Brashear
Defensemen
2-Pothier, 26-Morrisonn
6-Heward, 52-Green
44-Eminger, 47-Muir
Goaltenders
1-Johnson, 37-Kolzig

Team Leaders: WSH - OTT
Goals: Zubrus (9) - Heatley (7)
Points: Ovechkin (16) - Heatley (14)
+/-: Clark (4) - Priessing (9)

Team Stats (rank): WSH - OTT
Goals for/game: 3.31 (7) - 3.00 (15)
Goals against/game: 3.23 (21) - 2.50 (7)
Power Play Pct.: 15.9 (15) - 8.4 (30)
Penalty Kill Pct.: 83.1 (18) - 90.6 (3)

The JET's Take:
The Caps definitely should not let the record fool them. Even though Ottawa is the worst team in the Northeast Division point-wise, they are still a force to be reckoned with. The Sens still have allowed only few goals per game and have the 7th best defense. While they have had trouble scoring (particularly on the PP), they still have the third highest shots per game total. That will ultimately be the key stat.

Washington's defense still allows far too many shots and against Olie Kolzig, that will come back to haunt them. History will repeat itself tonight as the Senators will put up a TON of goals against the Caps tonight and leave DC with a win.

Thrashers 4 - Capitals 3: Brought to You by the Number...

2006-11-04T10:00:00.000-08:00

187

Thats how many seconds it took for Atlanta to take control of the game. The Caps had a two goal lead in the second period. But in 3 minutes and 7 seconds, the Thrashers scored three goals to take the lead.

Granted, Dainus Zubrus did score at the end of the second to tie the game, but the damage had been done. It completely deflates a team when you lose a lead that quickly. You could see it in the third. Olie let in a bad goal, the Caps were twirling in their zone, gliding, unable to get quality chances. If this team wants to get better, they must learn to play with more consistency.

Thrashers (8-3-3) vs. Capitals (4-3-4)

2006-11-03T08:12:00.000-08:00

From NHL.com's preview:

The Capitals, though, haven't been very effective in short-handed situations this season, killing off just 81.8 percent (54-of-66) of opponents' power plays.

Thrashers left wing Ilya Kovalchuk's six-game goal streak and eight-game point streak ended Wednesday. The point streak started when he had a goal and two assists in the first meeting with Washington. Kovalchuk recorded nine goals and eight assists in October.

In the Thrashers' second victory of the season over the Caps, Hossa scored the tying goal with 33 seconds left in regulation and had a goal in the shootout. Washington is 0-3 in shootouts this season.

Washington returns to the Verizon Center after going 2-1-1 on a four-game road trip. The Capitals, who won 4-2 at Calgary on Monday, play their final 71 games in the Eastern time zone.

Capitals coach Glen Hanlon moved Richard Zednik to the fourth line against the Flames and got results, as Zednik delivered with his first two goals of the season. Zednik had 16 goals in 67 games with Montreal last season before Washington acquired him for a third-round pick in July.

"You could feel it on the bench, you could see it in his body language, the relief and exuberance that he showed," Hanlon said.

Dainius Zubrus scored twice, and Ovechkin added two assists for the Caps.

From Mike Vogel's washingtoncaps.com short shifts, injuries and probable lines:
Short Shifts: Matt Bradley has four assists in 15 career games against Atlanta … Donald Brashear has three goals and 10 points in 17 career games against the Thrashers … Chris Clark has three goals and six points in 15 lifetime tilts vs. Atlanta … Ben Clymer has three goals and eight points in 30 career games against the Thrashers … Boyd Gordon has a goal and two points in five career games against the Thrashers. Gordon netted his first NHL goal against Atlanta on Oct. 11, 2003 … Mike Green has two assists in three career games against the Thrashers. Green recorded his first NHL assist vs. Atlanta on Mar. 4, 2006 … Jamie Heward has two goals and 11 points in 13 lifetime games against the Thrashers … Brent Johnson is 6-3 with a 2.20 GAA and a .906 save pct. lifetime against the Thrashers … Olie Kolzig is 12-8-6 with four shutouts during his career against Atlanta … Brooks Laich has two goals and four points in nine career games vs. the Thrashers … Shaone Morrisonn has three assists in 10 career games against Atlanta … Bryan Muir has a goal and four points in 13 career games against the Thrashers … Alex Ovechkin has six goals and 17 points in 10 career games against Atlanta. Ovechkin has four goals and eight points in his last six games … Matt Pettinger has four goals and five points in 20 lifetime contests vs. the Thrashers … Brian Pothier has three assists in eight career games against Atlanta. Pothier has five assists in his last six games. He is tied for 10th among all NHL blueliners with nine assists … Alexander Semin has four goals and six points in six career games against the Thrashers. Semin has netted 13 of his 18 career goals against Southeast Division foes … Brian Sutherby has three assists in 15 career games vs. Atlanta … Richard Zednik has seven goals and 21 points in 27 lifetime games against the Thrashers. Zednik has two goals and six points in his last seven games … Dainius Zubrus has 12 goals and 21 points in 26 career games vs. Atlanta. Zubrus has five goals and seven points in his last six games … Johan Hedberg is 3-2-2 lifetime against the Capitals … Bobby Holik has 18 goals and 42 points in 72 lifetime games vs. Washington. Holik has a goal and three points in his last three games … Marian Hossa has 21 goals and 42 points in 32 career games against the Caps. Hossa has seven goals and 11 points in his last nine games … Niko Kapanen has four assists in six career games against the Capitals … Ilya Kovalchuk has 13 goals and 29 points in 24 career games against Washington. Kovalchuk has nine goals and 15 points in his last nine games … Slava Kozlov has 11 goals and 22 points in 33 career games against the Capitals. Kozlov has six assists in his last six games … Kari Lehtonen is 5-0 lifetime against Washington. Lehtonen has won one of his last four starts, allowing four or more goals in all four … Steve McCarthy has one goal and three points in five career games against the Caps … Scott Mellanby has 18 goals and 50 points in 82 career contests vs. the Capitals. Mellanby has three goals and six points in his last six games … Steve Rucchin has five goals and eight points in 17 career games against the Caps … Jon Sim has nine goals and 13 points in 16 career games against Washington. He has twice as many goals against the Caps as he does against any other foe … Andy Sutton has six goals and 10 points in 24 career games against the Caps. Sutton has three times as many goals against Washington as he does against any other opponent in the league. He has two assists in his last three games.

Injuries
Atlanta Thrashers
Defenseman Braydon Coburn has a shoulder injury and is out indefinitely.
Defenseman Niclas Havelid is on personal leave and is day-to-day.
Washington
None.

Possible Line Combos and Defensive Pairings
Atlanta
Forwards
17-Kovalchuk, 20-Rucchin, 14-Sim
13-Kozlov, 39-Kapanen, 18-Hossa
23-Slater, 16-Holik, 19-Mellanby
29-Larsen, 9-Metropolit, 11-Vigier
Defensemen
2-Exelby, 25-Sutton
3-Vishnevski, 7-de Vries 5-McCarthy
34-Hnidy
Goaltenders
1-Hedberg, 32-Lehtonen

Washington
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 9-Zubrus, 17-Clark
28-Semin, 24-Beech, 18-Pettinger
21-Laich, 16-Sutherby, 10-Bradley
87-Brashear, 15-Gordon, 20-Zednik
Defensemen
2-Pothier, 26-Morrisonn
6-Heward, 27-Clymer
47-Muir, 52-Green
Goaltenders
1-Johnson, 37-Kolzig

Team Leaders: WSH - ATL
Goals: Semin (8) - Hossa (11)
Points: Semin (12) - Hossa (18)
+/-: Clark (4) - Kozlov (5)

Team Stats (rank): WSH - ATL
Goals for/game: 3.18 (11) - 3.36 (6)
Goals against/game: 3.18 (22) - 2.71 (11)
Power Play Pct.: 17.0 (11) - 18.8 (9)
Penalty Kill Pct.: 81.8 (20) - 86.4 (11)

The JET's Take:
No contest in this one. Atlanta is simply a better team than Washington. The Capitals have not been good against teams with a winning record and Atlanta has been steamrolling through teams. In every single aspect, either individually or as a team, the Thrashers outmatch the Caps.
The only glaring hole in Atlanta is their goaltender, Kari Lehtonen. If the Caps want to win, he'd better have a terrible game. While DC has taken ATL to OT in their previous two games, that's not going to happen this time. The Thrash will win handily.

October 30 Caps Power Rankings

2006-10-30T21:57:00.000-08:00

TSN.ca ranks Capitals at #15:

Balance is not the name of the game on the Beltway, as the Caps have seen the Alexanders score 14 of the team's 31 goals. A little help, please! Key Injuries: None

ESPN.com ranks Capitals at #22:
With the two big Alexes at work (Semin and Ovechkin) and Olaf Kolzig in net, this team works hard every night, keeping them out of our Chateau Bow-Wow for the time being.

TSN acknowledges that the Alexes are the ones getting the goals for WSH, but they forget that the Caps are tops in the league in goals/game. There's not much to worry about with Semin and Ovechkin teaming up and the rest of the group chipping in when need be (note, tonight it was Zednik and Zubrus getting the goals).
ESPN's ranking makes it seem that the Caps are a fluky team that will end up in the bottom of the rankings soon. But they have played well against some stiff opposition early in the season. Their combined opponents record is 59-42-11. There are many teams ranked above the Caps with .500 and sub-.500 records.

Capitals (3-2-4) @ Oilers (6-4-0)

2006-10-28T16:09:00.000-07:00

From NHL.com's preview:

The Oilers will have their hands full with reigning rookie of the year Alexander Ovechkin, who they are facing for the first time. Ovechkin has goals in four straight games, including Friday's 3-2 shootout loss to Vancouver when he recorded also had an assist for his third multipoint game this season.

His second-period goal tied the game and forced overtime, but neither Matt Pettinger nor Ovechkin could solve Roberto Luongo in the shootout. Washington has lost all three shootouts this season and is 0-4 in games decided after regulation.

"We got the point, we were disappointed that we didn't play well," said Ovechkin. "We stayed in because of our goalie. He is our leader, he's a tremendous goalie and saved us a lot of times."

Olaf Kolzig kept the Caps in Friday's game, making 42 saves, but is expected to get the night off Saturday with backup Brent Johnson getting the nod. He's started two games this season, losing in road shootouts to Minnesota and Atlanta.

The Capitals won the last meeting from the Oilers, 1-0, on Jan. 11, 2004 in Washington in behind 26 saves from Kolzig.

From Mike Vogel's washingtoncaps.com short shifts, injuries and probable lines:
Short Shifts: Matt Bradley has four points (two goals, two assists) in his last five games … Donald Brashear has five goals and 10 points in 32 career games against the Oilers … Chris Clark has two goals and four points in 20 career games against Edmonton. Clark has had at least a point in seven of Washington’s first nine games and is tied for second on the team in scoring with nine points (three goals, six assists) … Ben Clymer has a goal and two points in seven career games against the Oilers … Rico Fata has two assists in three career games against Edmonton. Fata has played plus or even hockey in all nine Washington games this season and is plus-4 overall … Mike Green has two goals and three points in his last five games. He is plus-4 during that span … Jamie Heward has three goals and eight points in 11 career games against Edmonton … Brent Johnson was 2-2-1 with a 2.66 goals against average and an .896 save pct. lifetime against the Oilers … Olie Kolzig is 5-4 with two shutouts, a .259 goals against average and an .898 save pct. lifetime vs. Edmonton. Kolzig has made more than 40 stops in each of his last two starts (45 vs. Colorado on Wednesday and 42 against Vancouver on Friday). The last time Kolzig had to make as many as 40 stops in consecutive starts was Feb. 17 and 19, 2004, when he stopped 47 against Ottawa and 43 against New Jersey, respectively. The Caps tied the Sens 1-1 and downed the Devils 3-1 in those two games … Alex Ovechkin has scored a goal in four straight games and has recorded a point in seven of Washington’s nine games this season … Brian Pothier has five assists in his last four games and is plus-3 in his last five games. He leads all NHL defensemen with nine assists. Pothier is averaging 27:25 per game in ice time, fifth in the NHL … Alexander Semin is Washington’s leading scorer with 12 points (eight goals, four assists). He had an eight-game scoring streak snapped in Vancouver on Friday … Brian Sutherby has a goal and three points in his last five games. He is plus-3 over that stretch … Richard Zednik has five goals and six points in 11 career games against the Oilers … Dainius Zubrus has four goals and 11 points in a dozen career games against Edmonton. Zubrus has five goals and eight points in his last seven games … Ales Hemsky has one assist in two career games against the Capitals. Hemsky has a goal and five points in his last three games … Shawn Horcoff is minus-5 in his last two games … Joffrey Lupul has one goal in two career games vs. the Caps … Jussi Markkanen is 0-1 with a 2.03 goals against average in one career start vs. Washington … Ethan Moreau has four goals and six assists in 11 career games against the Capitals … Fernando Pisani has three goals in two lifetime tilts vs. the Caps … Marty Reasoner has four assists in six career games against Washington … Dwayne Roloson is 3-2 with a shutout and a 1.61 goals against average in five career games vs. the Capitals … Jason Smith has four assists in 25 career games against the Caps. Smith is minus-6 in his last two games … Ryan Smyth has two goals and five points in a dozen career games vs. Washington. Smyth has one assist in his last six games and is minus-4 in his last two … Steve Staios has three goals and four points in 16 career games against the Caps … Jarret Stoll has three goals and six points in his last three games … Petr Sykora has five goals and 18 points in 29 career games against the Capitals. Sykora has three goals and six points in his last four games … Patrick Thoresen has a goal and five points in his last five games … Daniel Tjarnqvist has three assists in his last four games and is minus-6 in his last two … Raffi Torres has a goal and two points in his last three games.

Injuries:
Edmonton Oilers
Left wing Ethan Moreau has a shoulder injury and is day-to-day.
Washington
None.

Possible Line Combos and Defensive Pairings
Edmonton
Forwards
28-Thoresen, 71-Sykora, 83-Hemsky
94-Smyth, 10-Horcoff, 15-Lupul
14-Torres, 16-Stoll, 34-Pisani
22-Jacques, 19-Reasoner, 26-Winchester
Defensemen
21-Smith, 29-Tjarnqvist
5-Smid, 24-Staios
2-Greene, 47-Bergeron
Goaltenders
30-Markkanen, 35-Roloson

Washington
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 9-Zubrus, 17-Clark
28-Semin, 24-Beech, 20-Zednik
18-Pettinger, 16-Sutherby, 10-Bradley
87-Brashear, 38-Klepis, 22-Fata
Defensemen
2-Pothier, 26-Morrisonn
27-Clymer, 44-Eminger
6-Heward, 52-Green
Goaltenders
1-Johnson, 37-Kolzig

Team Leaders: Washington-Edmonton
Goals: Semin (8)-Sykora (7)
Points: Semin (12)-Sykora (14)
+/-: Clark (4)-Hemsky (5)

Team Stats (rank): Washington-Edmonton
Goals for/game: 3.44 (5)-2.90 (16)
Goals against/game: 3.22 (19)-2.80 (14)
Power Play Pct.: 17.6 (13)-15.9 (18)
Penalty Kill Pct.: 81.8 (19)-87.9 (8)

The JET's Take:
The Caps ought to be thanking their lucky stars that they came out of those first two games on the Northwest road trip with 3 points. Actually, they should be thanking Olie Kolzig who's made 87 saves on 92 shots in two games (thats a 94.5% save pct.) That translates into an average of 46 shots per game in two games (the median of shots per game is about 30). Tonight, though, Brent Johnson will be in net and I doubt he'll be able to stop 40 or 45 shots. Edmonton is 2nd worst in shots per game (26.7) but Washington is last in shots allowed per game (37.6).

The Caps defensemen had better step up tonight against a weaker offense and allow few shots if they want to come out of Edmonton with a win. My prediction: they won't do it and will lose.

*One last note: if the game does go to a shootout, the Caps had better score if they want to win (they haven't scored a shoot out goal yet).*

Canucks 3-Capitals 2 (SO): Brought to You By the Number...

2006-10-28T11:37:00.000-07:00

3

The total number of shots taken by the Caps in the 1st and 3rd periods. Against a team like Vancouver and a goaltender like Luongo, the Caps needed to shoot. They did just that towards the end of the second period. Admittedly, the Caps took 16 shots in the second period, high for the game, and converted on one of their four power plays. But still, the Caps did not jump on Luongo early and they couldn't ride the late momentum of the second into the third.

For the second straight game, Olie was amazing (42 saves on 44 shots) but Luongo allowed 2 goals on 21 shots. And once again, the Caps could not convert on the Shootout. Hanlon made a huge mistake by not practicing the shootout early in the season. Already, the Caps have lost 3 games in the shootout. Worse yet, the Caps have not yet scored in the shootout. They've been blanked every time. The shootout must be better because the Caps could be one of the top teams right now.

Capitals (3-2-3) @ Vancouver (6-4-1)

2006-10-27T12:49:00.000-07:00

From NHL.com's preview:
Alex Ovechkin was 15 years old and had yet to play professional hockey when the Washington Capitals last beat the Vancouver Canucks.

Now, the star forward is the centerpiece of a Capitals team that will try to defeat the Canucks for the first time in over 5 1/2 years when they meet at GM Place on Friday.

Vancouver (6-4-1) has won three straight and six of its last eight meetings with Washington (3-2-3), but this will be the teams' first matchup since a 6-1 road victory by the Canucks on Jan. 31, 2004. The Capitals' last win in the series was on Feb. 14, 2001, when they came away with a 4-3 overtime victory in Vancouver.

That was seven months before Ovechkin's 16th birthday and eight before his first season with Dynamo Moscow of the Russian League. The second-year left wing is now a star and has been heating up lately, scoring goals in three straight contests.

Ovechkin had an eventful game Wednesday as the Capitals opened a four-game road trip.
He scored his fifth goal of the season in a 5-3 win over Colorado and also took a slapshot to the leg and crumpled to the ice in the final seconds, but was walking around fine after the game.

"He's our horse, our organization," Capitals goaltender Olaf Kolzig said. "I got a little worried."

Ovechkin also missed a penalty shot in the third period - he kicked the puck back down the ice in frustration - and smashed in the glass near the Avalanche penalty box after ramming Karlis Skrastins into it.

"Make sure you get your tickets (to watch him)," Washington defenseman Mike Green said. "Players like him come around only so often."

Alexander Semin recorded an assist on Ovechkin's goal and has at least one point in all eight games, matching Ovechkin's string to open last season. Semin, also in his second year, leads the team with eight goals and 12 points.

From Mike Vogel's washingtoncaps.com short shifts, injuries and probable lines:
Short Shifts: Kris Beech has six points (one goal, five assists) in his last eight games … Matt Bradley has three points (two goals, one assist) in his last four games … Donald Brashear has one goal in five career games against Vancouver … Chris Clark has three goals and five points in 14 career games against the Canucks. Clark has had at least a point in seven of Washington’s first eight games and is second on the team in scoring with nine points (three goals, six assists) … Rico Fata has played plus or even hockey in all eight Washington games this season and is plus-4 overall … Mike Green has two goals and three points in his last four games. He is plus-4 during that span … Jamie Heward has one goal and three points in nine career games against Vancouver … Brent Johnson is 2-2-2 with a 3.08 goals against average and an .867 save pct. lifetime vs. the Canucks … Olie Kolzig is 5-6 with a 3.34 goals against average and an .880 save pct. lifetime against Vancouver … Bryan Muir has two goals in nine career games against the Canucks … Alex Ovechkin has scored a goal in three straight games and has recorded a point in six of Washington’s eight games this season … Brian Pothier has four assists in his last three games and is plus-3 in his last four games. He is tied for the NHL lead among defensemen with eight assists. Pothier is averaging 27:07 per game in ice time, sixth in the NHL … Alexander Semin is Washington’s leading scorer with 12 points (eight goals, four assists). He has an eight-game scoring streak going, tied for the longest current run in the league … Richard Zednik has four goals and six points in a dozen career games against Vancouver. Zednik has three assists in his last four games … Dainius Zubrus has a goal and six points in 13 career games against the Canucks. Zubrus has four goals and seven points in his last six games … Jan Bulis has six goals and seven assists in 15 career games against Washington. Bulis has a goal and three points in his last four games … Matt Cooke has a goal and three points in six lifetime games vs. the Capitals … Josh Green has a goal and five points in nine career games against the Caps … Lukas Krajicek has four assists in eight career games against Washington … Trevor Linden has six goals and 22 points in 36 lifetime tilts against the Capitals … Roberto Luongo is 13-9-3 with two shutouts, a 2.16 goals against average and a .934 save pct. lifetime against Washington. Luongo was 7-0 with a shutout, a 1.96 GAA and a .949 save pct. vs. the Capitals last season. Luongo is seventh in the NHL with a 2.08 GAA and .928 save pct. in 2006-07 … Brendan Morrison has two goals and five points in 13 career games against the Caps. Morrison has two goals and three points in his last three games … Markus Naslund has five goals and 16 points in 18 career games against Washington. Naslund has two goals and five points in his last five games … Mattias Ohlund has three assists in six career games vs. the Capitals. Ohlund has three assists in his last three games … Taylor Pyatt has four goals and seven points in 14 career games against the Caps. Pyatt has five goals and seven points in his last eight games. He is plus-7 during that stretch … Sami Salo has one goal and five points in 11 career games vs. Washington. Salo has a goal and four points in his last four games. He is plus-4 during that span … Daniel Sedin is tied for second in the league in scoring with 14 points (five goals, nine assists). He is also second in the NHL with a plus-10 defensive rating … Henrik Sedin is tied for second in the league in scoring with 14 points (two goals, 12 assists). He leads the NHL in assists.

Injuries:
Vancouver
Defenseman Willie Mitchell has a concussion and is day-to-day.
Washington
None.

Possible Line Combos and Defensive Pairings
Vancouver
Forwards
19-Naslund, 7-Morrison, 38-Bulis
22-D. Sedin, 33-H. Sedin, 9-Pyatt
34-Cooke, 17-Kesler, 25-Green
14-Burrows, 32-Chouinard, 16-Linden
Defensemen
2-Ohlund, 3-Bieksa
5-Krajicek, 18-Fitzpatrick
4-Bourdon, 6-Salo
Goaltenders
1-Luongo, 35-Sabourin

Washington
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 9-Zubrus, 17-Clark
28-Semin, 38-Klepis, 20-Zednik
22-Fata, 16-Sutherby, 10-Bradley
87-Brashear, 24-Beech, 18-Pettinger
Defensemen
2-Pothier, 26-Morrisonn
27-Clymer, 44-Eminger
6-Heward, 52-Green
Goaltenders
1-Johnson, 37-Kolzig

Team Leaders: Washington-Vancouver
Goals: Semin (8)-D. Sedin (5)
Points: Semin (12)-D. Sedin (14)
+/-: Clark (5)-D. Sedin (10)

Team Stats (rank): Washington-Vancouver
Goals for/game: 3.62 (2)-2.64 (20)
Goals against/game: 3.38 (21)-2.09 (4)
Power Play Percent: 17.0 (14)-12.5 (22)
Penalty Kill Percent: 81.2 (20)-87.3 (10)

The JET's take:
The Caps face an old nemesis in Roberto Luongo. One of the toughest goaltenders to score on, he is the reason that Vancouver is having so much success. The Capitals offense is performing very well this year, but they now face a very tough Defense/goaltending force. On the flip side, Vancouver's not very good at scoring goals and the Caps aren't great at stopping them.

The two teams look pretty evenly matched up, even on the special teams. Look for this game to be a close one, but Luongo will once again be the difference maker in keeping the Caps from getting the win.

Capitals 5-Colorado 3: Brought to You By the Number...

2006-10-26T11:16:00.000-07:00

45

Or the number of saves Olie Kolzig made in last nights win. The 45 saves are the most "Olie the Goalie" has made in any win in his career. As bad as Olie looked against Tampa, he looked much better against Colorado. He made unbelievable stops and kept the Caps in the lead all the way throughout.

Washington certainly didn't help their own cause by taking nine penalties (as opposed to Colorado's three). On those nine powerplays, the Avalanche had 14 shots. Kolzig turned 13 of those away. The Capitals won last night because their netminder played the way he did in his Vezina days. On the season, Kolzig has a 90.1% save percentage and a 3.49 GAA.

Washington (2-2-3) vs. Colorado (4-3-2)

2006-10-25T08:05:00.000-07:00

From NHL.com's preview:

The Capitals (2-2-3) have dropped consecutive games, including a 6-4 defeat Saturday to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Alexander Semin continued his fast start with a goal and an assist, but spotty play in the second period resulted in Washington allowing three goals that created a deficit too large to overcome.

"We had too many turnovers and they're an offensive team with a lot of firepower," Capitals center Brian Sutherby said. "We turned a few too many pucks over and they were all over our net."

Semin has eight goals, two shy of his 52-game total as a rookie in the 2003-04 season, and has scored a point in all seven games. Alexander Ovechkin netted a goal for the second straight game and has totaled seven points in his last five contests.

Washington has two wins and a tie in its last four games at Colorado.

Mike Vogel's washingtoncaps.com shortshifts, injuries and probable lines:

Short Shifts: Chris Clark has two goals and six points in 15 career games against the Avalanche. Clark is second on the Caps in scoring with eight points (two goals, six assists) … Ben Clymer has an assist in three career games against the Avs … Mike Green is tied for fourth in the NHL among rookies with a plus-3 defensive rating … Brent Johnson is 3-5 with a shutout, a 2.41 goals against average and a .903 save pct. lifetime against Colorado … Olie Kolzig is 3-8-1 with a shutout, a 2.29 goals against average and a .914 save pct. lifetime against the Avalanche … Alex Ovechkin is tied for third in the NHL with 46 shots on goal. Ovechkin is tied for third on the team in scoring with seven points (four goals, three assists) … Brian Pothier has a goal in three career games against Colorado. Pothier is tied for fifth in the NHL in scoring among defensemen with seven points (seven assists) … Alexander Semin is the first Capital ever to score as many as eight goals in his first seven games of the season. Semin is tied for 13th in scoring with 11 points (eight goals, three assists), tied for third in goals and is tied for sixth with four power play goals … Richard Zednik has a goal and two points in a dozen career games against the Avs … Dainius Zubrus has three assists in 11 career games against the Avalanche. Colorado and Nashville are the only NHL franchises against which Zubrus has yet to score … Tyler Arnason has four assists in seven career games against the Capitals … Patrice Brisebois has three goals and 11 points in 37 career games vs. the Caps … Andrew Brunette has six goals and 10 points in 16 career games against Washington … Milan Hejduk has three goals and six points in eight career games against the Capitals … John-Michael Liles is fourth among all NHL defensemen in scoring with eight points (three goals, five assists) … Brad Richardson is tied for second in the NHL with two shorthanded goals … Joe Sakic has 13 goals and 29 points in 35 career games against the Caps. Sakic is tied for 10th in the NHL with 35 shots on goal … Paul Stastny is third in the NHL in scoring among rookies with eight points (two goals, six assists) … Jose Theodore is 7-7-1 with two shutouts and a 2.55 goals against average lifetime against Washington … Pierre Turgeon has 21 goals and 58 points in 50 lifetime tilts vs. the Capitals … Wojtek Wolski is fourth among NHL rookies in scoring with seven points (three goals, four assists). Wojtek is tied for the league lead among rookies with three goals.

Injuries
Colorado Avalanche
Defenseman Jordan Leopold underwent hernia surgery and is out indefinitely.
Center Pierre Turgeon has a shoulder injury and is out indefinitely.
Left wing Brad May has a shoulder injury and is out indefinitely.
Right wing Cody McCormick has a chest injury and is out indefinitely.

Washington
Left wing Matt Pettinger has an upper body injury and is day-to-day.

Possible Line Combos and Defensive Pairings
Colorado
Forwards
15-Brunette, 19-Sakic, 40-Svatos
8-Wolski, 26-Stastny, 23-Hejduk
53-McLean, 39-Arnason, 14-Laperriere
24-Laaksonen, 12-Richardson, 20-Rycroft
Defensemen
3-Skrastins, 5-Clark
2-Klee, 4-Liles
27-Vaananen, 71-Brisebois
Goaltenders
31-Budaj, 60-Theodore

Washington
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 9-Zubrus, 17-Clark 2
8-Semin, 38-Klepis, 20-Zednik
22-Fata, 16-Sutherby, 10-Bradley
87-Brashear, 24-Beech, 18-Pettinger
Defensemen
2-Pothier, 26-Morrisonn
27-Clymer, 44-Eminger
6-Heward, 52-Green
Goaltenders
1-Johnson, 37-Kolzig

Team Leaders: Washington-Colorado
Goals: Semin (8)-Sakic (4)
Points: Semin (11)-Sakic (10)
+/-: Semin (3)-Wolski (2)

Team Stats (rank): Washington-Colorado
Goals for/game: 3.43 (6)-3.33 (7)
Goals against/game: 3.43 (21)-3.11 (16)
PP Pct: 15.9 (15)-19.3 (11)
PK Pct: 80.5 (21)-83.3 (14)

The JET's Take:
The Caps played sloppily in their last game against Tampa. Hopefully a few days off has gotten their heads back in the game. The team is much more talented than last year, but their intensity is not the same. The stats show that the Caps are a pretty good offensive team, but horrid defensively. Colorado has the edge on them in the defensive aspect.
The Caps/'Lanche game will undoubtedly be a high scoring one, Colorado has a better defense, and the Caps have not yet won a game on the road. It won't happen tonight.

Lightning 6-Capitals 4: Brought to You by the Number...

2006-10-22T11:19:00.000-07:00

7

The number of Capitals penalties in the game. Now, seven doesn't seem like a HUGE number (the league average is actually about seven penalties per game), but when you play a team that only goes shorthanded THREE times, you need to watch out. Yes, only one goal was scored by Tampa on the power play (their dysmal power play), and the Caps cashed in for two goals on their power play, but the biggest problem with the Caps was the stupidity of their penalties.

Zubrus's second penalty was stupid, as was Pothier running into the goalie. All three penalties in the second were hooks or trips, the stupidest type of penalty to take. Those penalties prevented the Caps from getting any offensive momentum. And give Tampa credit, they didn't take any penalties from the beginning of the first to midway through the third. That prevented the Caps from getting good offensive chances.

Capitals (2-1-3) vs. Lightning (3-4-0)

2006-10-21T10:10:00.000-07:00

From NHL.com's preview:

Olaf Kolzig is 12-4-1 with a 2.20 GAA at home against Tampa since the Verizon Center opened in 1997. The 2000 Vezina Trophy winner went 2-0-1 with a 1.89 GAA in three home games versus the Lightning last season, and is 20-9-2 overall against them.

Tampa went 4-2-2 against Washington last season, but was 1-1-2 at the Verizon Center.
Kolzig, who is 2-1-1 with a 2.97 GAA this season, is expected to start Saturday after sitting out Thursday's 4-3 shootout loss to Atlanta.

Alexander Semin scored his team-leading seventh goal to extend his point streak to six games, but the Capitals gave up the tying goal with 33 seconds left in regulation before losing the shootout 2-0.

Alex Ovechkin, who won the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie last season with 52 goals and 54 assists, tallied his third goal of the season and also had an assist on Thursday. He has 10 points in eight games against the Lightning.

Mike Vogel's washingtoncaps.com short shifts, injuries and probable lines.

Short Shifts: Donald Brashear has five goals and seven points in 26 career games against Tampa Bay. The five goals are tied for his most against any opponent … Ben Clymer has two goals in eight career games against the Lightning … Steve Eminger has a goal and five points in 11 career games against the Bolts. He has more points against the Lightning than against any other NHL club … Brent Johnson is 4-1-1 with a 2.11 goals against average and a .934 save pct. lifetime against the Lightning … Olie Kolzig is 20-9-2 with a 2.41 goals against average and a .914 save pct. in his career vs. Tampa Bay … Shaone Morrisonn has two assists in eight career games against the Lightning … Alex Ovechkin has five goals and 10 points in eight career games against the Bolts … Matt Pettinger has three goals and six points in 15 career games against the Lightning. With 112 career points, Ovechkin has tied Doug Jarvis for 50th place on the team's all-time list. Ovechkin has played in 87 games with the Caps; Jarvis played 265 … Brian Pothier has two goals and five points in 11 lifetime games vs. Tampa Bay … Alexander Semin has a goal and three points in five career games against the Lightning. He has picked up a point in each of Washington’s first six games this season and leads the Caps in scoring with nine points (seven goals, two assists). Semin is tied for the league lead in goals and is tied for the fastest goal-scoring start in team history with seven in six games. Dennis Maruk (1979-80) and Mike Gartner (1987-88) each had seven goals in six games, and neither scored in his seventh game in those seasons. After tallying 10 goals in 52 games as a 19-year-old rookie in 2003-04, Semin has rolled up more than half that total in just six games in 2006-07. A dozen of his 17 career NHL goals have come against Southeast Division opponents. Semin has three of Washington’s five power play goals this season … Richard Zednik has a dozen goals and 21 points in 33 career games against Tampa Bay … Dainius Zubrus has nine goals and 21 points in 41 career games vs. the Lightning … Dan Boyle has six goals and 20 points in 34 career games against Washington … Ryan Craig has two goals and three points in four career games against the Caps … Marc Denis is 1-3-1 with a 3.63 goals against average lifetime against the Capitals … Ruslan Fedotenko has nine goals and 16 points in 26 career games vs. the Caps … Vincent Lecavalier has 11 goals and 24 points in 36 lifetime games against Washington … Vaclav Prospal has five goals and 19 points in 34 career games against the Capitals … Brad Richards has four goals and 20 points in 29 lifetime tilts vs. Washington … Martin St. Louis has eight goals and 20 points in 29 career games against the Capitals.

Injuries
Tampa Bay Lightning
Left wing Right wing Rob DiMaio has a concussion and is out indefinitely.
Center Ryan Craig has a sprained knee and is out for a month.

Washington
Defenseman Mike Green has an upper body injury and is day-to-day.
Left wing Matt Pettinger has an upper body injury and is day-to-day.

Possible Line Combos and Defensive Pairings
Tampa Bay
Forwards
15-Alexeev, 19-Richards, 26-St. Louis
17-Fedotenko, 4-Lecavalier, 20-Prospal
74-Tarnasky 27-Taylor, 29-Afanasenkov
9-Perrin, 24-Karlsson
Defensemen
22-Boyle, 54-Ranger
3-Janik, 71-Kuba
21-Sarich, 44-Pratt
7-Richardson
Goaltenders
30-Denis, 40-Holmqvist

Washington
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 9-Zubrus, 17-Clark
28-Semin, 24-Beech, 20-Zednik
21-Laich, 16-Sutherby, 10-Bradley
87-Brashear, 38-Klepis, 22-Fata
Defensemen
2-Pothier, 26-Morrisonn
27-Clymer, 44-Eminger
6-Heward, 47-Muir
Goaltenders
1-Johnson, 37-Kolzig

Team Leaders: Washington-Tampa Bay
Goals: Semin (7)-Craig (5)
Points: Semin (9)-Craig (6)
+/-: Semin (5)-Craig (6)

Team Stats (rank): Washington-Tampa Bay

Goals for: 3.33 (5)-2.14 (26)

Goals against: 3.00 (18)-2.29 (7)
PP Pct: 12.2 (23)-7.7 (27)
PK Pct: 79.4 (23)-80.0 (22)
Stats are Per Game

The JET's Take:
For the first time, this looks to be an even matchup for the Caps. They are facing a team that is not nearly as deep as they are on offense and defense. Tampa's goaltending is still a question mark since Khavibulin left and Denis did not prove himself in Columbus or with TB early in the season to be a reliable goalie.
Tampa's Special teams are, remarkably, worse than the Caps and their leading scorer, center Ryan Craig is injured. The Caps should come out of DC with the W tonight.

Atlanta 4-Washington 3: Brought to You By the Number...

2006-10-20T09:52:00.000-07:00

19

Which is the number of shots in the third period. The Capitals entered that period, clutching a 3-2 lead. They had, at that point allowed only 20 shots and given up one powerplay goal to Hossa. But even though Brent Johnson was sensational with 40/43 saves (a 93% save percentage) the Capitals allowed the Thrashers to bombard their weary goalie in the third and Hossa finally tied the game with 33 seconds left.

It certainly didn't help that the Caps gave up seven penalties to one of the league's best powerplays, but they were only scorched once and even added a PP goal of their own, thanks to Alex Semin.

In the end, on a back-to-back night, and your backup goaltender in, you need to limit the shots. For two periods, the Caps kept the shot totals close (17-20, Atlanta at the end of the 2nd), but those 19 shots are just an invitation for the Thrash to come back. Frankly, the Caps are lucky to have gotten a point out of that game. It could have been much worse.

Capitals (2-1-2) vs. Thrashers (4-1-1)

2006-10-19T11:36:00.000-07:00

From NHL.com's preview:

Washington (2-1-2) had a rare offensive outburst Wednesday, beating the Florida Panthers 5-2.
Alexander Semin had a goal and an assist as the Capitals scored all five of their goals in the first period and received points from eight different players. Washington hadn't scored as many as five goals in any of its previous four games.

Jamie Heward and Matt Bradley scored unassisted goals and Richard Zednik had two assists for the Capitals, who were coming off two overtime losses.

It was the first five-goal period for the Capitals since Feb. 12, 2003, a 5-1 win at Atlanta.
Washington's Alex Ovechkin was held without a point for the first time since the season opener. Ovechkin assisted on a game-tying goal with 5:40 remaining in regulation last Saturday.
He has five goals and 10 assists in nine career games against Atlanta.

Getting a big lead in the first period Wednesday allowed Olaf Kolzig to have a relatively stress-free night in goal. He finished with 34 saves and lowered his goals-against average to 3.01.
"We took advantage of our chances in the first period and created some breathing room," Kolzig said. "As a goalie, that's what you like to see, because if you make a mistake it's still a three-goal lead."

Mike Vogel's washingtoncaps.com short shifts, probable lines and injuries:
Short Shifts: Matt Bradley has four assists in 14 career games against Atlanta … Donald Brashear has three goals and 10 points in 16 career games against the Thrashers … Chris Clark has three goals and five points in 14 lifetime tilts vs. Atlanta. Clark has collected at least a point (two goals, five assists) in each of the season’s first five games, establishing a career high scoring streak in the process … Ben Clymer has three goals and eight points in 29 career games against the Thrashers … Rico Fata has three goals and six points in 11 career games vs. Atlanta … Boyd Gordon has a goal and two points in five career games against the Thrashers. Gordon netted his first NHL goal against Atlanta on Oct. 11, 2003 … Mike Green has two assists in three career games against the Thrashers. Green recorded his first NHL assist vs. Atlanta on Mar. 4, 2006 … Jamie Heward has two goals and 11 points in 12 lifetime games against the Thrashers … Brent Johnson is 6-3 with a 2.20 GAA and a .906 save pct. lifetime against the Thrashers … Olie Kolzig is 12-8-6 with four shutouts during his career against Atlanta … Brooks Laich has two goals and four points in eight career games vs. the Thrashers … Shaone Morrisonn has three assists in nine career games against Atlanta … Bryan Muir has a goal and four points in a dozen career games against the Thrashers … Alex Ovechkin has five goals and 15 points in nine career games against Atlanta … Matt Pettinger has four goals and five points in 20 lifetime contests vs. the Thrashers … Brian Pothier has two assists in eight career games against Atlanta … Alexander Semin has three goals and five points in five career games against the Thrashers. With six goals in his first five games this season, Semin has exceeded half the total of goals (10) he recorded as a 19-year-old rookie in the NHL in 2003-04. Eleven of Semin’s 16 career NHL goals have come against Southeast Division foes … Brian Sutherby has three assists in 14 career games vs. Atlanta … Richard Zednik has seven goals and 21 points in 26 lifetime games against the Thrashers … Dainius Zubrus has 11 goals and 19 points in 25 career games vs. Atlanta … Johan Hedberg is 3-2-2 lifetime against the Capitals … Bobby Holik has 18 goals and 42 points in 71 lifetime games vs. Washington … Marian Hossa has 19 goals and 39 points in 31 career games against the Caps … Niko Kapanen has four assists in five career games against the Capitals … Ilya Kovalchuk has 13 goals and 27 points in 23 career games against Washington … Slava Kozlov has 10 goals and 21 points in 32 career games against the Capitals … Kari Lehtonen is 4-0 lifetime against Washington … Steve McCarthy has one goal and two points in four career games against the Caps … Scott Mellanby has 18 goals and 50 points in 81 career contests vs. the Capitals … Steve Rucchin has five goals and six points in 16 career games against the Caps … Jon Sim has nine goals and 13 points in 15 career games against Washington. He has twice as many goals against the Caps as he does against any other foe … Andy Sutton has six goals and 10 points in 23 career games against the Caps. Sutton has three times as many goals against Washington as he does against any other opponent in the league.

Injuries
Atlanta Thrashers
Defenseman Braydon Coburn has a shoulder injury and is out indefinitely.

Washington
Center Boyd Gordon has a lower body injury and is day-to-day.
Left wing Matt Pettinger has an upper body injury and is day-to-day.

Possible Line Combos and Defensive Pairings
Atlanta
Forwards
17-Kovalchuk, 20-Rucchin, 18-Hossa
13-Kozlov, 9-Metropolit, 14-Sim
23-Slater, 16-Holik, 19-Mellanby
29-Larsen, 39-Kapanen, 11-Vigier
Defensemen
25-Sutton, 28-Havelid
2-Exelby, 5-McCarthy
3-Vishnevski, 7-de Vries
Goaltenders
1-Hedberg, 32-Lehtonen

Washington
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 9-Zubrus, 17-Clark
28-Semin, 24-Beech, 20-Zednik
21-Laich, 16-Sutherby, 10-Bradley
87-Brashear, 38-Klepis, 22-Fata
Defensemen
2-Pothier, 26-Morrisonn
27-Clymer, 44-Eminger
6-Heward, 52-Green
Goaltenders
1-Johnson, 37-Kolzig

Team Leaders: Washington Atlanta
Goals: Semin (6) Hossa (5)
Points: Semin (8) Hossa (8)
+/-: Semin (5) Kozlov (5)

Team Stats/Game (rank): Washington Atlanta
Goals for: 3.40 (5) 3.33 (6)
Goals against: 3.00 (19) 1.67 (2)
PP Pct: 11.1 (23) 19.4 (9)
PK Pct: 77.8 (24) 92.3 (1)

The JET's Take:
The Capitals have not lost a game in regulation since opening night in New York. They haven't won a game away from the Verizon Center. That being said, they are 2-0-1 against the Southeast, but now it's time to come back to earth. Ovechkin hasn't found his stride, Zednik and Pothier have been mediocre and Kolzig still cannot afford to give up to many rebound with that defense in front of him (which he invariably does). The Capitals horrid special teams will allow Atlanta to feast and beat the Capitals.

Week One Power Rankings

2006-10-16T16:33:00.000-07:00

TSN.ca Power Ranks the Caps (1-1-2) at #15

"Welcome back: Prodigal son Alexander Semin suddenly gives the Caps a second
game-breaking scorer. While it's unlikely that he'll keep his 100-goal pace,
if Semin could chip in 30, that would ease the pressure on Alexander
Ovechkin.

Key Injuries: None. "

It's hard to put the Caps ahead of teams like the Canucks, Senators, and Flames, all of whom have the same number of points (4) as the Cappies. Sure, the Caps are a .500 team, but they couldn't seal the deal in OT against the Wild or the Thrashers.

As for key injuries, Matt Pettinger, our third highest forward scorer returning from last year still has not played. His return will take some of the pressure off Semin and Ovechkin.

Capitals (1-1-0) vs. Wild (3-0-0) Preview

2006-10-12T11:22:00.000-07:00

From NHL.com's preview:

"Minnesota's revamped offense will try to slow down Washington's
high-scoring left wings, Alexander Ovechkin and Alexander Semin.

The two have scored six of the Capitals' seven goals this season,
including a hat trick by Semin in a 5-2 victory over Carolina on
Saturday.

Semin, who was sued by the Capitals after he went to play in
Russia
instead of the minor leagues during the lockout, had never scored
more than once
in 53 career games before his outburst.
"I scored three
tonight - but I could
have scored more," Semin said through a
translator.

Ovechkin, the reigning NHL rookie of the year, bounced back
from a poor
effort in a season-opening loss 5-2 loss to the New York Rangers
last Thursday
with a career-high 15 shots and his first two goals of the
season.

"First period, I played awful," Ovechkin said. "Terrible. Second
period, I told myself: Shoot everything."

Forward Chris
Clark and defenseman Brian Pothier are tied for
the team lead with
four assists each."

Mike Vogel's Washingtoncaps.com probable lines, injuries and short shifts:

Short Shifts: Donald Brashear has three goals and six points in 11 career games against Minnesota … Chris Clark has a goal and four points in 15 career games against the Wild … Brent Johnson is 3-3-2 with a 1.57 goals against average and a .931 save percentage lifetime against Minnesota … Olie Kolzig is 2-4 with a 2.09 goals against average and a .931 save pct. lifetime against Minnesota … Alex Ovechkin netted two goals in Washington’s home opener for the second consecutive season … Alexander Semin joined Mike Gartner (10/10/87 vs. Chicago) as just the second player in franchise history to record a hat trick in the team’s home opener … Richard Zednik has three goals in seven career contests against the Wild … Dainius Zubrus has one goal and two points in five career tilts vs. Minnesota … Pavol Demitra has seven goals and 13 points in 14 career games against Washington … Pascal Dupuis has two goals and four points in four career games against the Capitals … Manny Fernandez is 1-0-1 with a shutout and a 0.96 goals against average in two career appearances against the Caps … Marian Gaborik is without a point in five career games vs. the Capitals. Boston and Washington are the only NHL clubs against which Gaborik has yet to record a goal … Kim Johnsson has three goals and 13 points in 21 career games against Washington … Petteri Nummelin has an assist in his lone career appearance against the Caps … Mark Parrish has two goals and 11 points in 29 lifetime contests against the Capitals … Brian Rolston has 10 goals and 29 points in 36 lifetime games against the Caps … Stephane Veilleux has a goal in two lifetime tilts vs. Washington … Wes Walz has three goals and seven points in nine career games against the Caps. Walz’s next goal will be the 100th of his NHL career … Todd White has one goal and nine points in 10 career games against Washington.

Injuries
Minnesota Wild: None.
Washington: Center Boyd Gordon has a lower body injury and is day-to-day. Left wing Matt Pettinger has an upper body injury and is week-to-week. Right wing Matt Bradley has a lower body injury and is day-to-day.

Possible Line Combos and Defensive Pairings
Minnesota
Forwards
10-Gaborik, 38-Demitra, 21-Parrish
12-Rolston, 28-White, 96-Bouchard
19-Vellieux, 9-Koivu, 92-Radivojevic
24-Boogard, 37-Walz, 11-Dupuis
Defensemen
5-Johnsson, 55-Schultz
26-Foster, 41-Skoula
3-Carney, 33-Nummelin
Goaltenders
32-Backstrom, 35-Fernandez

Washington
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 9-Zubrus, 17-Clark
28-Semin, 24-Beech, 20-Zednik
87-Brashear, 16-Sutherby, 21-Laich
22-Fata, 38-Klepis, 10-Bradley
Defensemen
2-Pothier, 26-Morrisonn
27-Clymer, 44-Eminger
6-Heward, 52-Green
Goaltenders
1-Johnson, 37-Kolzig

Team Leaders: Minnesota Washington
Goals: M. Gaborik (2) A. Semin (4)
Points: P. Demitra (5) A. Semin (4)
+/-: P. Bouchard (2) A. Semin (3)

Team Stats/Game (Rank): Minnesota Washington
Goals For: 3.33 (11) 3.50 (9)
Goals Against: 2.67 (16) 3.50 (22)
PP Pct: 46.2 (1) 12.5 (17)
PK Pct: 87.5 (11) 87.5 (10)

The JET's take:
With only a small sample size, the Caps game seems inconsistent. As good as they were at home against Carolina, they were that bad against the Rangers. Both were very good teams last year, but the 'Canes have apparently fallen off early this year.
The fact of the matter is that the Wild have beaten three decent teams (Vancouver, Nashville, Colorado) at home and the Caps were embarrassed in New York against the Rangers. In the end it's the same story as last year with the Caps performing dysmally away from the Verizon Center. The Wild's balance and performance on the power play against a penalty-prone Capitals team will let the Wild come away with the victory.

Bi-Weekly Caps Rumor Report

2006-10-11T10:19:00.000-07:00

Eklund: Jason Allison (e1) and Mike Leclerc (e1). Allison would probably be the better of the two pickups. He's a 31 year-old center and would improve the depth chart down the middle. He recorded 60 points in 66 games (missed the final 12 with a broken hand) last year with the Leafs, but will probably come with a hefty price tage Leonsis won't pay.
Leclerc is a left wing. The Caps are pretty well set with Ovechkin, Semin, Laich and Brashear, so I really don't see that one happening unless Laich moves to the fourth line as a center and Klepis goes down (which is unlikely).
Also has old friend Bondra signing in Detroit (e3), NY Rangers (e2) or Toronto (e2).
Nothing from Spectors or the Fourthperiod regarding WAS.

The Full Season Outlook

2006-10-10T20:49:00.000-07:00

Goaltending: the most important position in the game is the most stable position for the Capitals. Olie Kolzig is a proven goaltender. At 36 he can still carry this team and play a good 50+ games. He came into camp in much better shape this year and the increased quickness is noticable. He still needs to try and limit the number of rebounds he gives up, especially with such a green core of defensemen. Behind him, Brent Johnson can certainly steal some games and showed last year he can play. In his 20 or so starts, he could conceivably win 10 games.

Defense: Youth is the theme for this year. Morrisonn, Eminger, Pothier, Green. What do they all have in common? They're under the age of 30. Only Jamie Heward and Brian Muir have seniority in this group. The problem is that before the lockout, Heward and Muir weren't in the NHL. This team gave up an average of 35 shots last year (28th in the league). Granted, Green and Pothier are an improvement over Biron and Majesky, but this group still has trouble breaking out, getting bodies out from in front of Olie and clearing rebounds. That shot average might go down to 33 a game; but still, over 30 is a LOT.

Offense: It starts and ends with Ovechkin. The 52 goal, 106 point man has to have a good season in order for the Caps to succeed. He does have help with Semin and Zednik back in DC and with Pettinger, Zubrus, Clark and Sutherby along with him. The problem: only Zubrus and Zednik have eclipsed 40 points in a season in their careers. At the end of the day, Ovechkin will (barring injury) be good for 100 points, but if that Caps offense is going to run, someone else needs to get close to the 55-60 point area. That is definitely possible for either Zubrus or Clark, who are (currently) playing along with the Russian Dynamo, and for Alexander Semin, who has come out of the gates strong.

The Power Play: Oh. My. God. The problems on the powerplay are too endless to list...but I will anyway. The Caps need to move the puck quickly and with purpose. The point men need to pull the trigger when they have the open shot and have the forwards redirect the puck or bang in the rebounds. Beyond that, they need to figure out how to get the puck in the zone without dumping it (which they inevitably lose and allow the other team to fling it up the boards) and holding the puck in the zone at the points. They need to give up less shorties and with two strong PP units, they should do better than last year.

The Penalty Kill: As bad as the power play is, the PK is worse. The Caps tend to swarm to the puck and get caught behind the net, usually leaving one or two guys camped out around Olie. They need to focus on being aggressive, but holding the box. They can not have their forwards revolving down low because the defensemen are getting caught trying to retrieve the puck at the point. Beyond that, they must clear the screens out from in front of Olie and just clear it as quickly as possible. With a PK ranked near the bottom of the league last year, they can only go up...hopefully.

Dark Horses: Alexander Semin might be the most unexpected player to have a huge sophomore year. On a line with Zednik his speed and new-found matured skills could produce 30 goals and 60 points. The other thing that makes him an X-factor is the fact that most teams will be geared towards AO and allow him and Zed to find the twine a little more. He spent two years playing in Russia and that only gave him more time for his skills and body to mature.
The other Dark Horse is a fourth line veteran: Donald Brashear. For an enforcer being paid to protect the most valuable player on the Caps, "Brash" could be a big producer. He'll usually be playing with some younger players who are hungry to prove themselves. Plus, in a new city, with a new, big contract, Brashear will want to play well to get a big extension. Plus, he's shown some offensive poise in the first two games.
Last but not least, Shaone Morrisonn is the most underrated young defenseman in the league. While he doesn't have a lot of flash or big-hit ability, he can make the plays in his own zone when he has to. He knows what to do with the puck and he has the veteran savvy to make those big plays on his own. He might not put up huge defensive numbers this year, but he will make leaps and bounds toward being the Caps' number one defenseman.

Overrated: Unfortunately, the two most overrated players are defensemen. Steve Eminger was the 12th pick in 2002. Four years later, he still has not adapted to the speed of the NHL. He can hit, and he has some speed, but he still does not have poise. He hasn't learned to knock the guys in the crease down and has given up plenty of rebound and deflection goals on his watch. His decision-making ability with the puck needs to improve if he wants to be a top notch defenseman, which he has the potential to be.
Second, the highest-paid defenseman, Brian Pothier. George McPhee brought in Pothier as a stablizing top defenseman. Heck, he paid him $2.5 million per year to do so. The only problem is that Pothier is not the #1 defenseman the Caps have slotted him to be. In Ottawa, Pothier was usually paired with a veteran as a second pair and had the opportunity to learn from Redden and Chara. He is only 29 and is not a top defenseman in the NHL. Hopefully, that four-year contract will give him time to mature into the top two defenseman he could be, but you can't expect him to give Chara or Redden-like numbers.
Finally, Danius Zubrus has STILL not become the star forward the Flyers envisioned when they drafted him in the first round. Now approaching his 30s, Caps fans are still hoping that Zuby will have the breakout year. It may never come. Zubrus is a great power forward, but on a line with a 100 point forward he only scored 42 points. I'm sorry, but Dainus Zubrus will never be a consistent 80 point forward.

My Outlook: The Caps will be better this year...but not by much. Most people are picking the Caps to finish in 14th in the East, ahead of only the Islanders. I see the Caps finishing 12th, ahead of the Isles, Panthers, and Penguins. Final totals for this year are 80 points.
Ovechkin leads all forwards with 54 goals and 110 points. Shaone Morrisonn is the top plus/minus getter with +11. Olie wins 29 games and has a GAA of 3.10. In the end, the Caps don't make the playoffs.

Welcome!!

2006-10-10T20:45:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Capitals Chat, a blog devoted exclusively to coverage of the Washington Capitals. I am and have been a long time hockey and Caps fan. I was at game 3 of the '98 Cup and that heart-wrenching game 6 of the '02 first round loss to the Lightning. Bondra, Olie, Hunter, Labre, Langway are all great players. We never should have let go of Scott Stevens and Allison. The words "Puck Fittsburg" bring a smile to my face and anyone who says Crosby is a much better player than Ovechkin deserves to be beaten.
My goal is to channel my rantings about the Caps into a healthy outlet and occupy some of my time. I will typically post links to other Caps related media and articles about updates. Enjoy my rants!!