[Boxscore - Recap]Well, it started out okay. In fact, for the first five minutes of the game, the Caps took the play to the Flyers, opening up a 1-0 lead on Chris Clark's all-effort second goal of the year. But then things got real bad real fast and the team spent the rest of the night looking like the squad that got trounced by Atlanta (Friday night's opponent - gulp!) in both games of a home-and-home series earlier in the season. The WaPo recaps here, the WTimes here, but a couple of additional observations from The Rink:
- Brent Johnson can blame his defense for a couple of the goals and rust for a few of the others, but he made some incredibly poor decisions Thursday night and, quite frankly, didn't look like an NHL goaltender.
- Alex Ovechkin seems to be pressing a little bit, whether out of frustration or additional pressure he's heaping on himself. Nowhere was this more evident than on a powerplay rush in which he tried to deke past fellow rookie Jeff Carter, only to be stripped of the puck and left to watch Carter skate the other way and beat Johnson for a shorthanded goal. Hey Alex - dump the puck in.
- Defenseman Mike Green looked every bit the rookie that he is, though he showed nice speed in catching Simon Gagne on a partial breakaway.
- I'm not a huge fan of fighting, but recognize its purposes and do think they are vital ones. The bottom line is that there's a time and a place for fighting in hockey. And in an 8-1 drubbing, there are several times where a nice scrap is important for morale, pride, etc. For example, at one point a Flyer took a whack at Johnson's catching glove after he'd made a stop and Shaone Morrisonn responded by giving the offender a little nudge. It would have been the perfect time to let out some frustration and let the Flyers (and anyone watching, including tonight's opponents) know to respect our goaltender. Yet Morrisonn did nothing. No one on the Caps stepped up then or at any other point. Not their captain, not their alternates. No one.
- Hart: Eric Staal (2G, A in win over Toronto)
- Ross: Sidney Crosby, Mario Lemieux, Ryan Whitney, Eric Staal, Peter Forsberg, Joni Pitkanen, Mike Rathje, Alexander Steen, Matt Stajan, Jaromir Jagr (3 points each)
- Norris: Joni Pitkanen (3A, +5)
- Vezina: Curtis Joseph (Shutout win with 21 saves)
- Richard: Sidney Crosby, Eric Staal, Jeff Carter, Simon Gagne, Jon Sim, Alexander Steen, Michael Nylander, Tomas Holmstrom, Jaromir Jagr, Joffrey Lupul, Antti Laaksonen (2G each)
- Calder: Sidney Crosby (2G, A)
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