Friday Roundup/Habs 3, Caps 2 (OT)

[Boxscore - Recap]

Time after time this season, especially early on, Olie Kolzig has masked some of the defensive shortcomings of his teammates with his outstanding play in net. Sure, it's often been akin to putting lipstick on a pig, but hey, if you've gotta date the sow, you'll take as much makeup as she's willing to wear [overdone metaphor alert!]. Point being, Kolzig has picked up his teammates all season (the Caps have only won four games all year in which Kolzig has allowed three goals, compared to, say, the Hurricanes, who have won 16 times when Martin Gerber has been beaten three times). Even through the first two periods, the only reason the Caps were in the game was Kolzig's stellar play in goal and some strong penalty-killing. But late Thursday night it was the team's turn to pick Olie up, as the netminder let in one of his worst goals of the year midway through the third period.

"Unfortunately, I gift-wrapped the second goal for them," Kolzig would later say of his stick-handling blunder that gave Montreal a 2-1 lead and would be the only power-play goal the Caps yielded in 10 chances shorthanded. "I felt horrible." The Tarik el-Bashir described the go-ahead goal:

Halpern had won a faceoff deep in Washington's zone after a Capitals penalty and tipped the puck back to Kolzig, who reached to control the puck with his stick. But instead of gaining control of it, he redirected it onto the stick blade of Canadiens center Christopher Higgins, who netted his second goal of the game with 11:37 remaining.

Though they could have easily packed it in at that point, there is no quit in these Capitals and nearly a dozen minutes later, with Kolzig watching from the bench after being pulled for the sixth attacker, captain Jeff Halpern banged home a loose puck on a goal-mouth scramble to tie the game with 2.5 seconds left. The Caps had indeed bailed Kolzig out and the game would head to overtime, but the storybook ending wasn't to be as Saku Koivu beat Kolzig on a breakaway in the extra session that Olie thought he had stopped. As the puck trickled through and the crowd of more than 21,000 erupted, however, he knew he hadn't made the save and the Caps suffered about as gut-wrenching a loss as a team 25 points out of a playoff spot with ten games left can have.

Now it's off to Ottawa for a date with the high-flyin' (though defensively-depleted) Sens, nation's capital-à-nation's capital.

Finally, with another visit to a Canadian rink, another couple of nice pieces on Alex Ovechkin from north of the border, the first from the CP. Included therein, this quote from the Caps' superstar:

When I came here, I was a bit nervous. I only knew one player, Dainius Zubrus, but now I know all the guys. We're like a big family. If we lose, we lose together, and if we win, we are happy together. We do everything together. It's very important.

Awww. Can you feel the love? The second article is from the Montreal Gazette bemoaning the number of penalties called against the Caps because they kept AO off the ice. That's right - fans (who lustily cheered Alex during the player introductions) and writers alike in Montreal so appreciate Sasha's talent that they want to see more of him during the game, even if it results in its likely outcome (i.e. goals against the Habs):

[H]ad [Ovechkin] picked up his 50th here he would have had the Full Monty, a standing ovation from the NHL's biggest and liveliest crowd.

Now those are hockey fans. Of course, the article devolves into "bitter Canadian writer" mode, but we don't need to go there. We don't need to, but we will:

If [Ovechkin] completes his quest in Washington, where that thoroughly rinky-dink organization is drawing flies, the feat will likely be witnessed by the Zamboni driver, a few NHL officials and the wealthy characters in the private box of owner Ted Leonsis.

That's the problem with this story: Ovechkin is the league's hottest young property, the almost certain winner of the Calder Trophy, arguably the most dangerous and exciting player in the NHL at age 20. And he's playing, like rookie rival Sidney Crosby, in a city where the team is on life support [he must be an avid reader of Damien Cox].

What a waste.

Who're you calling a wealthy character, pal? Oh, and by the way, how are the Expos looking this spring?

Thread of the Day: NHL Separated At Birth - Ever seen Ken Hitchcock and Captain Kangaroo in a room together? How about Mike Modano and Jon "Napolean Dynamite" Heder? For more, click on the thread.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

• Happy 78th Birthday to Gordie Howe, Happy 41st Birthday to Tom Barrasso and Happy 35th Birthday to Pavel Bure. Six Stanley Cups, two Olympic silver medals, six Harts, six Rosses, two Calders, a Vezina, a Jennings, seven Richards (or equivalent), 1238 career goals, 2677 career points, 2504 career penalty minutes and 369 career wins. Nice trio of birthday boys, eh?
  

Daily Awards

• Hart: Brendan Shanahan (Game-winning goal, assist, fight... ding! ding! ding!... +2 in 4-2 win at Nashville)
  
• Ross: Mike Johnson (3 points)
  
• Norris: Jaroslav Spacek (Goal, assist, +1, 2 hits)
  
• Vezina: Dwayne Roloson (20-save shutout win, assist)
  
• Richard: Christopher Higgins, Dmitri Afanasenkov, Steven Reinprecht (2 goals each)
  
• Calder: Christopher Higgins (2 goals, +2)
  
• Aiken: Evgeni Nabokov (Loss, 4 goals on 27 shots against)
  

From The Silly To The Lazy And Back Again

In a "special" to ESPN.com, Toronto Star columnist Damien Cox tells us that "we shouldn't nitpick Crosby, Ovechkin's play." Aside from the grammatical issue I take with the headline (it should be "Crosby's, Ovechkin's play", as they don't share a single on-ice performance), the article itself is rife with the kind of reporting that is all too prevalent in sports journalism these days - a writer coming up with a thesis and then trying to cram his evidence into the mold he's made, rather than letting the facts lead him to a conclusion.

For the sake of organization, we'll take Cox's claims in the order they appear in the article. Batter up!

Ovechkin and Crosby came into this season with such a hurricane of hype behind them, it would have taken a truly sensational individual performance to have nudged one or the other out of contention.

The fact of the matter is that one of these rookies (I'll let you decide which one) came into the season with a "hurricane of hype" while the other entered the campaign with maybe a steady rain of publicity. Perhaps even a thunderstorm of buildup. But certainly not a hurricane of hype. And there has been a "truly sensational individual performance" that should nudge one of the two forwards out of contention. Which brings us to:

The Russian scoring whiz seems to have the edge in Calder consideration, but the vote is expected to be close, making this year's rookie race one of the most memorable between two sensational scorers ... [as the two] arm wrestle for the coveted silverware.

Henrik Lundqvist is 30-10-9 (9th in the League in wins with fewer losses than all but one of the men ahead of him) with a goals against average of 2.15 (3rd) and a save percentage of .925 (3rd) - how is he not in the running for the Calder in Cox's world? Oh, and if Sid and Alex did arm wrestle for the Calder, my money's on the Russian.

Now Cox gets to the meat of his article - the bashing of the two players in the article in which he tells us (right in the title, no less) not to bash the two players.

Along with the attention and the praise, however, gradually has come a sense that as the NHL season grinds on, both young men are either finding themselves victims of over-exposure or revealing warts that previously might not have been detected.

I'd take issue with him lumping together a season's worth of "Crosby is a crybaby" (his word) articles with one isolated blemish on Alex's otherwise-spotless record, but that's the least of my quibbles, and I covered an integrally-related point here. On to the substance of Cox's analysis:

In Ovechkin's case, the most negative moment of his sparkling season came in a game against the Montreal Canadiens on March 20, when he was benched 14 minutes, including the last three minutes of the second period and first 11 of the third.

The reason? Coach Glen Hanlon was biting his tongue afterward, but close observers believed Hanlon finally had enough of Ovechkin's penchant for taking overly long shifts. In that game, the explosive rookie averaged 58 seconds for each of his 20 shifts, too long in a league in which 45 seconds is considered a long outing.

The next game against Florida, Ovechkin played 35 shifts, and cut his average sortie down to 47 seconds. But by the following match against Tampa Bay, he was back up to one minute and four seconds, perhaps a not-so-subtle message from burgeoning star to the coach of a team with a losing record. [Emphasis added]

The first two paragraphs are accurate enough, but the third is lazy journalism run amok. In the Florida game, Ovechkin had 27:44 of ice time on 35 shifts - 47 seconds per shift, as Cox noted. The following game against Tampa, sure enough, Alex's shifts were up to an average of 1:04. But what Cox doesn't tell you (because he probably has no idea) is that it was due in large part to six consecutive minutes of power-play time during which Hanlon called a timeout so he could keep his top unit and his superstar on the ice. Ovechkin's ice time for the game was actually down two minutes from the Florida game. And what about the games since then? On Saturday night in Carolina he had 25 shifts for 22:25 of ice time (54 seconds per shift) and last night he had 25 shifts for 18:52 of ice time (45 seconds per shift - still too long for Cox's liking). In fact, for the year Ovechkin has averaged 53.25 seconds per shift, 29th highest in the League. I really doubt anyone is sending any not-so-subtle messages, other than the one that Cox is sending that he doesn't care to do much research in order to substantiate his assertions.

And what about Cox's claim that the NHL is a "league in which 45 seconds is considered a long outing"? Of the top 100 scorers in the League, only eight average less than 45 seconds per shift (rounded to the nearest second), and only one of those eight (Brian Rolston) is in the top 75 in scoring. Interesting. I guess Cox meant that 45 seconds is considered a long outing for second, third and fourth line players.

Cox goes on to detail the reputation Crosby has earned, complete with quotes from opposing players, before telling us that all of these criticisms "amount to nothing more, really, than nitpicking" and that both players are remarkably mature for their respective ages, especially since both play for horrid teams (Cox notes that Lundqvist has had it easier playing for a winning team that, we can only infer, has little to do with the Swede's play).

The underlying point that Cox is trying to get across is that there is not much difference between Crosby and Ovechkin and the seasons they've had. This fits right in with the theory that the Canadian media is trying to hype a Calder race where there isn't one (that is, with respect to Crosby and Ovechkin), and it is somewhat artfully done in the guise of a piece purporting to praise both players. Of course, if all the criticisms was really unwarranted and/or just nitpicking, Cox wouldn't have written them into the article (it's somewhat reminiscent of when Fox News Channel pretends to be doing their role as informer by reporting on one of Matt Drudge's borderline-slanderous claims, knowing full well all they're really doing is fanning the flames).

Luckily for us, the article soon comes to a close, but not before Cox, who has saved perhaps his best for last, announces that "[b]oth players have been godsends for franchises with very murky futures in their current locations," thereby breaking news to Caps fans, players, and no doubt majority owner Ted Leonsis alike that their team may not be long for Washington. I'll give Cox this much - at least he ends his article where it started, in utter ridiculousness.

Update: Eric at Off Wing Opinion has some thoughts on this article as well.

Thursday Roundup/Caps 5, 'Canes 1Gamenight: Caps @ Habs

[Boxscore - Recap - AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview - Official Game Day Thread]

Round 2 of the five-rounds-in-two-weeks bout between the Caps and 'Canes followed a story line similar to that of Round 1: score early (Brian Willsie tallied just 2:35 into the game), work hard (the Caps had 15 takeaways and only 2 giveaways and blocked 15 shots) and get great goaltending (Brent Johnson made 49 saves). The result was similar as well, this time a 5-1 win at the RBC Center that prevented the 'Canes from clinching the Southeast Division title for at least another day or two. The Caps have now won consecutive road games for the first time since mid-January (and for only the second time all year) and have held the League's 3rd-highest scoring team to just two goals in two games, as many as Matt Bradley had by himself in the first 22:02 of last night's tilt.

So what has been the key these past two games that was missing over the previous eight? To begin with, the team was competitive in most of the games during the losing streak, losing five of the eight by just one goal, so, despite the results, the team wasn't that far away. But the big difference seems to be that the Caps started dressing seven defensemen, giving every one of the seven a little more energy later in the game than he otherwise would have had. For example, only two defensemen last night topped 20 minutes in ice time and top rearguards Shaone Morrisonn and Steve Eminger combined for a hair under 40 minutes. By comparison, two weeks ago the Caps had three 20+ minute blueliners, another within 21 seconds of 20 minutes and the Morrisonn-Eminger duo combined for more than 57 minutes on the ice (in fairness, the game two weeks ago did go to a shootout so there were five extra minutes of hockey, but the disparity is still notable). The Caps are now 17-0-0 when they hold an opponent to two goals or fewer, so it's pretty clear that if they play good defense and get solid goaltending, there's enough offense there to win games.

The WTimes' recap is here, and the WaPo has a couple of interesting stats to go along with its recap of last night's game:

• The 'Canes have won 14 of their last 17 at home, only losing to the Caps (twice) and the Penguins over that stretch (to me this says "worry not, 'Caniacs - your team is playing very well against the teams that it takes seriously, so they're probably just bored with the regular season and ready for the playoffs.").
• Last night was only the second time in the Caps' 31-year history that they played consecutive road games against the same opponent in the regular season.

Now, off to Montreal for a Thursday night matchup with Les Habitants.

Finally, while the hockey world has been flooded with highlight montages of Alex Ovechkin (who scored his 48th goal of the year last night, by the way), thanks to a tip from rh71 (host of Ovechkinfans.com), The Rink would like to direct your attention to "Montage #2 by Niket Desai" for the most current and perhaps the best montage I've seen. As was noted on the Caps Message Board, AO has a career's worth of highlights in 70 games. Amazing.

Thread of the Day: Let Me Be The First To Say: Majesky! (a little love for the Caps' much- maligned defenseman)

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

• Wanna dream big? Here's a list of players who will be unrestricted free agents after this season. I looked at the defensemen and drooled on my keyboard.
• If your life is just too jam-packed to pay sufficient attention to both hockey and Jesus or you simply can't get enough of the combination of pucks and the Prince of Peace, the San Antonio Rampage (AHL affiliate of the Phoenix Coyotes) have just the promotion for you: Faith Night. After Friday night's game against Peoria, "former dcTalk [who?] vocalist Kevin Max will perform live at the Express-News Headlines in the AT&T Center. The four-time Grammy Award winner [seriously?] is currently on tour doing solo performances promoting his recent album, The Imposter, which has been receiving great reviews for his cutting edge Christian music." Killer. On a side note, I wonder what constitutes "cutting edge Christian music."
• TSN.ca's Bob McKenzie wrote an article on the "loser point" and its minimal impact on the standings. Yeah, I wrote a similar post last week, but this idea has been much-talked about in the hockey media for weeks. Bottom line: BMac is no Tom Plagiarizer Layberger.
  

Daily Awards

• Hart: Miikka Kiprusoff (Win, 25 saves on 26 shots against))
  
• Ross: Jaromir Jagr (4 points)
  
• Norris: Duncan Keith (Goal, assist, +2, 5 blocked shots)
• Vezina: Brent Johnson (Win, 49 saves on 50 shots against)
  
• Richard: Martin Straka (3 goals)
  
• Calder: Duncan Keith (Goal, assist, +2, 5 blocked shots)
• Aiken: Marc-Andre Fleury (Loss, 4 goals against on 17 shots in just 30:34 before getting pulled)
  

Wednesday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ 'Canes

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview - Official Game Day Thread]

After three days off - the longest non-Olympic break since December - the Caps head back to Raleigh for game two of their best-of-five-game set with the 'Canes. Had the Caps dropped Saturday night's game, these three days would have been unbearable as the team would have been mired in a nine-game losing streak. As it is, the time off has given the team a chance to recharge the batteries a bit and to feel good about themselves after winning on the road for only the eighth time this season in a building where visitors have only left happy six times this season. Will the Caps be rusty or energized? Tune in and find out.

Both of the local papers have again taken the day off from Caps' coverage (it must be like in junior high when you and your buddy would both agree not to do your homework - "I won't do it if you don't," "OK"), but if you're jonesing for some new Caps news, head over to NHL.com where they have an article on Shaone Morrisonn's emergence on the blueline, complete with a classic Glen Hanlon "I love my guys so I have no problem making a borderline-ridiculous claim about their ability" quote:

"I think one year he might score eight or nine goals."

Based on the fact that Shaoney Boy has only scored one goal in his 112 career games in the NHL, scored only ten times in 162 game in the AHL and had only 30 lamp-lighters in 239 games in the WHL, I'll take the under. But I'm more than happy with a 23-year-old defenseman who has played to an even plus/minus rating on this year's Caps while getting more than 20 minutes per game. In fact, only one other Cap who has averaged 20+ minutes per game has a better plus/minus. Guess who.

Oh, and the Caps were officially eliminated from the Playoffs last night with Montreal's win. Guess I can stop holding my breath now. On a related note, the 'Canes can clinch the Southeast Division with a win tonight.

Thread of the Day: Can Washington Ever Be A Hockeytown?

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

• The Carolina Hurricanes will have to wait at least one more year for Jack Johnson. Johnson, who "thought long and hard" about turning pro in time for this year's NHL stretch run and playoffs, will return to the University of Michigan for at least his sophomore season, leaving the 'Canes to finish things off on their own this year.
• In my on-going effort to make The Rink (and, by extension, the world) a better place, I've made some graphical upgrades. Some you may have noticed, others you might not have. If you're curious as to what's new (or which Caps are featured in the new banner), click on the screen cap thumbnail.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Cristobal Huet (36-save shutout win)
  
• Ross: Andrew Brunette, Joe Sakic (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Derek Morris (Goal, assist, -1, 2 hits, 1 takeaway, 0 giveaways, 1 blocked shot)
  
• Vezina: Cristobal Huet (36-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Rick Nash, Andrew Brunette, Dany Heatley (2 goals each)
  
• Calder: Alexander Steen (Game-winning goal, +1, 2 shots on goal, 2 hits, 1 takeaway, 0 giveaways)
• Aiken: Tomas Vokoun (Loss, five goals allowed on 42 shots against)

Tuesday Roundup: Some Zubie Love

Another day with no game to recap and none to preview, but, unlike yesterday, today the local scribes have given us something to read. Not surprisingly, it's the same piece from both Dave Fay and Tarik El-Bashir: the long-awaited Dainius Zubrus fluff piece. While Zubie's offensive numbers have disappointed some, the first-line center's all-around game is worthy of praise and, to that end, coach Glen Hanlon isn't afraid to heap it on thick:

"I'm very defensive about Zubie. I don't think [Alex Ovechkin] would have better numbers with anybody in the league. [Zubrus] is a big strong guy who brings guys to him and that opens up space for [Ovechkin]."

Ovechkin was more concise in his acclaim for his centerman:

"What does he do? He gives me the puck."

Thread of the Day: Hockey's Future: Cap's Top 20 Prospects

Elsewhere 'round the rinks:

• Teemu Selanne and Vesa Toskala are your Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively.
• With his 52nd goal and 109th point of the season last night, Jaromir Jagr tied the Rangers' single-season mark for goals (set by Adam Graves in 1993-94) and points (set by Jean Ratelle in 1971-72). Jerk.
• Red Wing captain Steve Yzerman has had a phenomenal career statistically (to say nothing of his career as gauged by hockey's other measuring sticks). Thirteen times he has averaged more than a point-per-game for a single-season, topping 100-points six times and 50-goals five times. Last night Yzerman scored career goal number 690, tying him for eighth most all-time. With Mario Lemieux. Who racked up his 690 tallies in 617 fewer games, or about 59% of the games Stevie Y has played.
  
• Happy 48th Birthday to former Cap Looooooooooooooou Franceschetti. Also celebrating a birthday today, Keith Tkachuk (34 - go easy on the cake, Walt), and former Oiler and Ranger blueliner Jeff Beukeboom (43).

Daily Awards

• Hart: Henrik Lundqvist (Win, 0 goals allowed on 8 shots against through overtime in 24:59 after entering the game down 4-2 in relief of Kevin Weekes, before stopping all three Buffalo attempts in the shootout)
  
• Ross: Alex Burrows, Mattias Ohlund (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Mattias Ohlund (3 assists, +3, 3 blocked shots, 2 hits)
  
• Vezina: Martin Gerber (Win, 1 goal allowed on 24 shots against)
  
• Richard: Alex Burrows (3 goals)
  
• Calder: Alex Burrows (3 goals, including game-winner, +3, 6 shots on goal, 1 hit, 2 takeaways, 0 giveaways)
• Aiken: Mathieu Garon (Loss, 7 goals against on 32 shots)
  

Media Matters For Canada

You all know about the alleged left-wing media bias in the U.S., but did you know that the mainstream Canadian media has an anti-left-wing bias? It's true! The left-wing in question is Alex Ovechkin, whose stats in TSN.ca's Rookie Watch haven't been updated to reflect the two points he racked up on Saturday night. Perhaps the staff is just a little slow to update their website, especially coming off a weekend, right? Then why are Sidney Crosby's stats updated through his game of Sunday night? Conspiracy, I tells ya!

Monday Roundup: Mailbag

With no game to recap, no game to preview and no Caps coverage in today's local papers, The Rink turns to TSN.ca's mailbag for filler. Here are this week's Caps-related questions, with the relevant portions bolded (you'll notice a common theme):

Q. I recently got into a debate with a friend over whether Alexander Ovechkin should be considered as a Hart Trophy candidate. My argument is that in order for the player to be "most valuable to his team", that team would have to make the playoffs or come very close in order for consideration. I measure Hart Trophy eligibility as success of the team because of that team's player, not because he was a one-man show who stole the spotlight due to being on a mediocre team. Do you think the traditionalists will vote the same way, favoring a player whose team is in the playoffs over one whose team has not succeeded despite their great play? I believe only one player in the post-expansion era has won the Hart Trophy and not made the playoffs; a man you may know as Mario Lemieux in the mid-to-late-1980s. Am I wrong about that fact? I had the same debate with him a few years ago over Roberto Luongo and his great year, and I was right that time. - Mark N (St. John's, NL)

A. Mark, Lemieux did win the Hart Trophy in 1988 despite the Penguins finishing just out of the playoffs with 81 points in 80 games. Lemieux had 168 points in 77 games, which was enough to sway the voters away from Wayne Gretzky, who "only" had 149 points in 64 games. I would expect that Jaromir Jagr will be the favourite for the award this year, but that doesn't mean Ovechkin doesn't deserve to be considered. Looking at the talent surrounding him in Washington, that team could have been spectacularly horrible if not for Ovechkin's season. While it's possible that Ovechkin is stealing the spotlight because he doesn't have a supporting cast, isn't it also possible, with adequate support -- say a legitimate number-one centre, for example -- that Ovechkin could be running away with the league scoring race? When you hear the way other NHLers gush about Ovechkin's talent, I don't think that's so far-fetched. - SC

Q. I've heard much talk over MVP canidates. Everyone seems to think it's Jagr's to lose. Right now Jagr and Ovechkin seem to be the favorites. Most valuable to his team. So of course these two would get consideration, since there's a huge drop in points from first to second on both of there teams. But let's say San Jose makes the playoffs. How can Joe Thornton not get consideration. Sure he has Cheechoo. But if it weren't for Lundqvist in N.Y., I think the Rangers would be in the battle for a playoff spot. Forget fighting for tops in the Atlantic division. Thanks. Tyler, Sault Ste. Marie

A. Tyler, Thornton probably will get some well-deserved votes for MVP, particularly if he beats Jagr for the Art Ross Trophy. However, the rejuvenation of Jagr and corresponding resurrection of the Rangers franchise has a lot more light on it than what is happening with the Sharks run for a playoff spot in the Western Conference so I'm among those that think the Hart is Jagr's to lose. - SC

Q. It seems Jagr has been getting alot of hype for MVP, and there is also mention of Thornton and even Ovechkin at this point. However, I think the player that is far-and-away the MVP of the NHL this season is Daniel Alfredsson! Consider this: He is fifth in league scoring. He is fourth in Plus/Minus. Not only is he a top-notch offensive player, but he kills penalties very effectively (tied for second in the league with 5 SH goals). Aside from stats alone, he is the captain of a team that has been in contention for the Presidents Trophy all season, and provides veteran leadership to an extremely young core of forwards. Add 7 game-winners to his resume, and I think he is having the type of all-around season that can't be matched by anyone else in the league right now. I know his team is talented, but I don't think there's anyone else that could replace his valuable role at this time. Does this just seem obvious to me since I am a Sens fan? - Thanks, Craig Sanderson in Ottawa

A. Craig, I think a fan of any of the MVP contenders is going to be able to list a litany of reasons why they are deserving. Jagr leads the league in goals and points, is plus-23 and is tied for the league lead with 9 game-winners. Thornton leads the league in assists, is second in points, plus-23 and turned around the Sharks season when he arrived. Ovechkin has 47 goals, 90 points and a plus-5 rating on a team that is chock full of marginal NHLers. Alfredsson is sure worthy of being in the discussion too, and I think he will be a finalist, but I also think he's far from an obvious choice. - SC

Q. I was just wondering why everyone always thinks Ovechkin has better character than [Sidney] Crosby. I was at the World Juniors in Halifax and there was a point in the game where Canada was on a rush and Ovechkin hit the ice like he had been shot, so the play was called. Right after however he was back out on the ice like nothing happened at all. Also during the first coaching tour of the of Brent Sutter, they shut down Ovechkin and put the hurt on him, after this he barely played and just sulked on the bench. I am just wondering why there are a lot NHL'ers that think Ovechkin is more "mature" than Crosby? - Cariblue

A. Cariblue, NHL players aren't particularly concerned with what happened before players got to the NHL, so any of the World Junior memories that you might have won't resonate much with them. When they consider what happens in the NHL, there is little evidence of Ovechkin yapping at officials or really doing anything other than playing hard. In Crosby's case, players see someone under a bright spotlight who sometimes acts like an 18 year-old and when you're dealing with grown men and their code of perceived conduct, an 18 year-old who is seen as a complainer is not going to get high marks on the character front. - SC

Q. Sorry to burst your bubble... but by the time Crosby is Ovechkin's age, he will be winning scoring titles... not competing for a top rookie award. As for Ovechkin, barring some freak hot streak, he will likely win rookie of the year. However, any talk of an MVP is garbage. MVP goes to players who help their team win. When was the last time a player won MVP without making the playoffs?... sorry, but Ovechkin is no Mario Lemieux. He's a more complete Pavel Bure. Great scorer, but doesn't control the pace of the game. And, when was the last time a player was named MVP on the second worst team in the league... try never. Put up all the stats you want, but if you don't win... don't bother coming out - Colin

A. Colin, It doesn't burst my bubble in the least that Crosby will be competing for scoring titles by the time he is 20. However, I don't think talk of Ovechkin for MVP is garbage. If you don't think Ovechkin helps his team win, just how many wins do you think the Capitals would have without Ovechkin's 47 goals? All due respect to Matt Pettinger and Chris Clark, the next two leading goal-scorers on the team, but those guys are grinders on any other team in the league, so I'm pretty sure Ovechkin does help his team win. Crosby, you might recall, was gift-wrapped a veteran-laden team of stars to support him this year and the wins were few and far between, so I don't think he's proven that he's going to lead his team to wins any more than Ovechkin will. - SC

Thread of the Day: Fleshing Out The '06-07 Roster: Who Makes The Team?

Elsewhere 'round the rinks:

• Rink condolences to Cornell hockey fans, who saw their team's season end last night in Green Bay when University of Wisconsin forward Jack Skille (drafted in the first round of the 2005 NHL draft, seventh overall by the Blackhawks) beat Big Red netminder David McKee at 11:13 of triple overtime to give the Badgers a 1-0 victory and a berth in the Frozen Four. It was the longest scoreless game in NCAA Tournament history and ended on Wisconsin's 60th shot on goal of the night.
  

Daily Awards

• Hart: Joe Thornton (3 assists, +2)
  
• Ross: Radim Vrbata (4 points)
  
• Norris: Tom Preissing (Game-winning goal, assist, +3)
  
• Vezina: J.-S. Aubin (Win, 3 goals against on 38 shots in season debut)
  
• Richard: Radim Vrbata, Christopher Higgins, Alexei Kovalev, Colby Armstrong (2 goals each)
  
• Calder: Noah Welch (Goal, assist, +2)
  
• Aiken: Marc-Andre Fleury (Loss, 6 goals allowed on 25 shots against)
  

Since It's Sunday...

Carolina forward Matt Cullen looks on as Capitals rookie Alexander Ovechkin skates by en route to his 47th goal of the season, scored less than two minutes into last night's 3-1 Washington win.

Friday Roundup/Lightning 4, Caps 3 (OT)

[Boxscore - Recap]

For a moment there, everything was right in the world. I had a newly-opened Sierra Nevada in my hand, Duke was losing an NCAA Tournament game, Alfonso Soriano had played the outfield for the second-straight day and the Caps held a 3-2 third period lead on the road. Needless to say, I took care of my business (a few times over). So did LSU. Even Fonzy gave it the old college try. But alas, the clean-sweep was not to be, as the Lightning - aided by a horrendous phantom interference call on Ivan Majesky with just over a minute left in regulation - downed the Caps early in overtime. Which brings us to today's Rink trivia question: when was the last time the Caps won a road game for Olie Kolzig? Answer at the bottom.

Without question, the effort was there last night from the Caps, and Alex Ovechkin played his best game in a couple of weeks, registering two goals and an assist and firing a whopping 13 shots on goal. But for the second-straight night they allowed three power-play goals (this time on only five attempts) and failed to capitalize on their own golden opportunities with the extra man, this time a 1:46 two-man advantage immediately followed by a four-minute power-play. The result, then, was predictable, albeit the route taken a bit circuitous.

The WaPo's recap is here, the WTimes' here.

Thread of the Day: If I Were An NHLer I Would Be... - borrowing from Jes borrowing from Vancouver Canucks Op Ed borrowing from the HF Boards (how's that for a citation?), I brought the question to the mostly-unwashed mass of Caps fans.

Elsewhere 'round the rinks:

• The Caps signed their 2005 fifth-round draftee, goaltender Darren Machesney, to a three-year entry-level contract. "Machesney posted a 28-17-1-2 record in the 2005-06 regular season, leading the [Brampton] Battalion to first place in the OHL’s Central Division. He tied for sixth in the OHL with three shutouts, ranked 10th with a 3.03 goals-against average and 11th with a .908 save percentage." But I guess the real question (if you follow the two links above) is how many "r's" are in the kid's first name?
  
• Happy Birthday to former Cap Doug Jarvis, who turns 51 today. Needless to say, the Caps sure could use a penalty killer like the 1983-84 Selke winner these days. Also of note is Jarvis's ironman streak, during which he played 964 consecutive regular season games from 1975 through 1987.
  

Daily Awards

• Hart: Todd Bertuzzi (Goal, assist, shootout winning goal, +1, 2 shots on goal, 0 opposing players' necks broken)
  
• Ross: Marian Hossa, Scott Gomez, Brad Richards, Jordan Leopold, Jamie Lundmark, Steven Reinprecht (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Roman "Stop... Hamr Time!" Hamrlik (2 goals, +1, 4 shots on goal, 2 hits)
  
• Vezina: Manny Legace (28-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Alexander Ovechkin, Roman Hamrlik, Raffi Torres (2 goals each)
  
• Calder: Alexander Ovechkin (2 goals, assist, +2, 13 shots on goal, 2 hits, 1 takeaway, 0 giveaways)
  
• Aiken: Martin Brodeur (Loss, 6 goals against on 30 shots in OT loss after giving up 4 third period goals and all 6 after the 12:33 point of the second period)
  

Answer: Olie Kolzig's last road win was December 14 at Los Angeles.

The Ovechkin Backlash

For months the hockey media has somewhat reluctantly come around to recognize the special talent that is Alexander Ovechkin. At the same time that stories of fellow phenom Sidney Crosby's erratic temperment and Louganisian exploits have been a near-daily news item, little but praise has been heaped upon the Caps' young Russian, both for his play on the ice and attitude on and off the sheet.

That all ended on Monday night when Ovechkin was benched for a span of about 14 minutes. In mere hours, Ovechkin went from the consummate team-player, to a typically selfish European who wouldn't recognize his own goalie if he bumped into him on the street for lack of time spent in his defensive zone. This anti-Ovechkin backlash was swift and predictable, circulating throughout a mainstream hockey (read: Canadian) media that had annointed Crosby "The Next One" before he was even drafted and has copy to sell.

The latest salvo in the re-imaging of Alex Ovechkin comes from the Globe and Mail's Eric Duhatschek in an article entitled "Ovechkin's Benching Shouldn't Be A Surprise." Asshatschek Duhatschek praises the Caps' coaching staff for sitting Ovechkin, who, "after all, isn't the first young player to get caught up in own goals at the expense of team goals," and I agree that head coach Glen Hanlon did the right thing by treating his young star the same as he would treat anyone else on the team.

But Duhatschek's article makes it clear that he has not watched Ovechkin enough this year to make the blanket statements he makes about Alex's play or what Alex means to his team and instead has lazily resorted to borderline-xenophobic stereotypes ("[p]hilosophically, getting Ovechkin to think team thoughts is the same issue that the Atlanta Thrashers are facing with their brilliant young Russian forward, Ilya Kovalchuk and it's also the same issue that super prospect Evgeni Malkin's Russian Superleague team, Metallurg Magnitogorsk, faces at home as well." What, you couldn't think of a Canadian example?).

Duhatschek is, of course, way off base. in his assesment of Ovechkin's play and attitude, and pushes the envelope on generalizations based on national origin. Consider:

• Ovechkin currently leads the Caps with 42 assists, 14 more than his next closest teammate, and AO's total would be much higher if he was surrounded by any more talent. There's a reason that Chris Clark has surpassed and Dainius Zubrus will surpass career highs in goals for a single season this year, and that reason is Alex Ovechkin. In fact, Ovechkin may become the first player in NHL history to have more goals and more assists than the second-highest point getter on his team has points (Zubrus currently has 41 points). What a selfish player.
  
• Ovechkin and his two linemates (the forementioned Clark and Zubrus) are the only Caps with a significant number of games played who have postive plus/minus ratings (AO is +2). On a team with a negative-71 goal differential, that is simply astounding. By contrast, Kovalchuk is -9 on a team that has both scored and yielded 230 goals and Canadian youngster Eric Staal has a minus-one rating on a team that has scored 46 more goals than it has allowed.
• Duhatschek makes the claim that "[e]ven though the Russians have been coming for more than two decades (and they get picked high in the draft, the same as Americans and Canadians), there is no real good example (yet anyway) of a Russian player leading a team to a championship." Ask the Tampa Bay Lightning how they feel about that statement. Red Wings fans might even have a name or two that they'd like to throw out there as well.
  
• Further to the "and they get picked high in the draft, the same as Americans and Canadians" line, in the past 10 NHL entry drafts, 49 Canadians have been top-10 picks, while only 17 Americans and 12 Russians have been. The first overall pick has been a Canadian six times in that span, while it has twice been a Russian and once been an American. So I guess Duhatschek is partially right and should have stopped his blather after "Russians... are picked high in the draft, the same as Americans."
  

While I have drifted from my initial defense of Alex Ovechkin into an attack on Eric Duhatschek's ignorant stereotypings, the larger point is that maybe the media is latching on to the Ovechkin benching because they want to sell a Calder Trophy race that simply doesn't exist (hint: the one that does is between Ovechkin and Henrik Lundqvist). Maybe they want to create controversy where there is none (as Ovechkin's 27+ minutes of ice time last night will attest). That's all fine - they have to sell papers. But they do themselves and their trade a disservice when, instead of research and well-thought out analysis, they fall back on tired stereotypes and apply them where they don't fit. Perhaps with guys like Daniel Alfredsson and Mats Sundin dispelling the old "Swedes are soft" company line, "Russians are selfish" is all they have left to cling to. Somewhere, Don Cherry is crying.

Thursday Roundup/Panthers 3, Caps 2Gamenight: Caps @ Lightning

[Boxscore - Recap - AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview - Official Game Day Thread]

When you're the Washington Capitals, you're not going to win many games when you go 1-for-10 on the power play. Or when you go 3-for-10 on the penalty kill. Or when you allow 40 shots on goal. Or when you start Brent Johnson in goal. Or when you're on the road. Or, apparently, when you play the Florida Panthers for that matter. Throw all of these variables together and the result last night was predictable, though not as bad as might have been expected, as the Caps dropped their seventh in a row, 3-2 to the Cats (and, in Johnson's defense, he was pretty solid last night).

The bottom line last night was a familiar one: the Caps simply took too many penalties - deserved or not - to stay in the game. Now the team travels north to Tampa to face a well-rested and somewhat desperate Lightning team, and if they can't stay out of the penalty box, the result will likely be similar to last night's. One can only hope it's not uglier.

On a sidenote, the Caps need to sign or trade for Jon Sim in the offseason (I'm not sure of his contract status). Sim, who had two hat tricks against the Caps in the preseason as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers, has continued to torch the Caps all season, scoring his seventh goal of the year against them last night. He has nine goals against the rest of the NHL on the campaign.

Here's the WaPo's recap, and here's the WTimes'.

Thread of the Day: AO Benching Officially Overblown!

Daily Awards

• Hart: Justin Williams (Game-winning goal, assist, +2 in big 4-3 win at Buffalo)
  
• Ross: Jaromir Jagr, Jussi Jokinen (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Scott Niedermayer (2 goals, 3 shots on goal, hit, takeaway, no giveaways)
  
• Vezina: Roberto Luongo (Win, 2 goals against on 30 shots)
  
• Richard: Jaromir Jagr (3 goals)
  
• Calder: Jussi Jokinen (Goal, 2 assists, +2)
  
• Aiken, Pt. I: J.-S. Giguere (3 goals against on 10 shots in just 10:39 before being pulled, down 3-0, and subsequently bailed out by his team in 5-4 OT win)
  
• Aiken, Pt. II: Martin Straka (0 points, 0 shots on goal, -3, on ice for all non-PP Flyers goals in 6-3 loss)
  

Put Yourself On The Map

An interesting link over at Off Wing made me wonder about the geographic breakdown of Rink readers. So if you would, take a second - literally, it couldn't be quicker and easier - to click on the icon below and put yourself on the map (and for fellow bloggers, it's a great place to leave another link to your site). Thanks.

"When Is A Win More Than A Win?" And Rewarding Failure

Lately I've been hearing more and more about the problem that all wins are not created equal in the NHL and, on a somewhat related note, how the NHL rewards failure (thanks to Off Wing for the pointer). But has either of these made a difference in the standings? With the caveat that of course teams would likely play differently with a different scoring system in place, I looked at a few different scoring systems and the standings they would yield heading into last night's games. Here are the results.

Current Scoring System

This is obviously the baseline. I've ranked the teams by total points, disregarding divisional leaders (noted with an asterisk).

No Points For Overtime/Shootout Losses

This system should please both camps because a) it makes all wins equal (two points) and b) it doesn't reward failure because each game allots two points to the winner, be it in regulation, overtime or in a shootout and zero points to the loser, regardless of when they lose. My problem with this is that lesser-talented teams that play to a tie for 60 or 65 minutes and then simply succumb to their opposition's superior talent in a skills competition (think about a shootout in which the Capitals send out Alex Ovechkin, Matt Pettinger and Brian Willsie against a Lightning trio of Vinny Lecavalier, Brad Richards and Martin St. Louis, for example) get nothing to show for it. In my opinion, if you're going to decide team games with individual skills competition, at least give the loser something for playing the team portion of the game even. But under this system the game is worth the same to the loser as if they had gotten blown out 6-1. That hardly seems right.

Practically, Edmonton and Anaheim, with 11 and 12 overtime/shootout losses would be the big losers in this system, while Vancouver, who has only dropped six games after regulation would be much more comfortable with their position in the standings.

All Wins Worth Three Points

This option will appease the fans of the ninth-place squad who watch the seventh-place team beat the eight-place team in overtime and yet their team loses ground on both of the teams it is chasing. This system is the most fair of all, as it awards the same three points in every game, whether all three go to the winner (as it would for a regulation win, or RW) or the points are divied up as they are now, two to the winner of an overtime/shootout game (OTW), one to the loser of such a game (so the folks that don't approve of "rewarding failure" won't approve of this system).

Critics argue that a potential drawback to this system is that, as Al Strachan put it, "if three points were at stake, coaches would resort to a trapping game to hang on to a third-period lead." Strachan continues:

There is some truth to that. But if you believe coaches have that mindset, then you also have to accept that they'll resort to a trapping game to get the sure point if they're tied in the third period.

And for every coach who tries to cling to a late lead, there will be a coach who opens up to get those three big points.

Further to that last point, the more games that are decided in regulation, the better, as it will preserve the excitement and rarity of the shootout, which has become a little too commonplace for my liking.

Practically, Vancouver is again the big winner, Edmonton the big losers, as the Oilers don't benefit as much from their 11 overtime wins and the Canucks are rewarded for taking care of business in regulation most of the time.

Chen System

Another "rewarding failure" critic, the system proposed by Mike Chen would award two points for a regulation or overtime win (ROW), one point for a shootout win (SOW), and no points for a loss of any kind. Chen lessens the blow to the out-skilled team (our Capitals against the Lightning above) for a loss by awarding only one point for a win garnered in the skills competition portion of the game, but for a less-talented team to play a tie game for 65 minutes and walk away with nothing still doesn't sit right with me. Neither does it seem just for two heavyweights to battle it out for 65+ minutes and for the winner to walk away with a victory that isn't worth as much as when they beat up on the League's weaker teams.

Practically, it's the same ol' story - the Oilers and Ducks (and Devils this time) would lose big, the Canucks would win big as the former trio has gone to overtime "too often" while the Canucks generally send their fans home after just sixty minutes of action.

The bottom line - other than that Canucks (and to a lesser extent Thrashers, Isles and Lightning) fans should be mighty ticked by all of the extra points teams like Edmonton and Philadelphia have been handing out around the League by playing so many overtime games - is that the League needs to do something about the current standings system because it makes little sense as it is. But what's the solution?

I would like to see three points for a regulation or overtime win (and for overtime to be 10 minutes of 5-on-5 hockey), two points for a shootout win and one point for a shootout loss, the rationale being that:

1. all games should yield the same number of points in the standings,
   
2. teams should not be rewarded for losing the hockey portion of a hockey game (hence three points even for an overtime win and no points for an overtime loss), and
   
3. if a less-talented team can play a superior squad even for 70 minutes, they should be rewarded for that, even if they can't hang once the game turns into a skills competition.

Everyone on board?

Wednesday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ Panthers

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview - Official Game Day Thread]

The Caps head to South Beach for a date with the Cats tonight, the first of seven-straight on the road and the Caps' seventh chance to beat the Panthers for the first time this season. It certainly won't be easy, as the Caps enter the game riding a six-game winless streak overall and have the fewest road wins (7) in the NHL, but then again, have the Caps had many easy games this year? Now on to the meat and potatoes...

Kudos to Dave Fay for ostensibly getting to the bottom of the Alex Ovechkin benching. It turns out, as speculated, that AO had "been warned several times about paying more attention to defense in his own zone and keeping his shifts within limits laid down by the coaching staff unless specifically directed to do otherwise" and had not done so on Monday night. The disturbing part of Fay's piece is that this incident may not be isolated or limited to Monday night's game, as "[t]here have been a few murmurs in the dressing room about the publicity Ovechkin receives being overblown, that he has been paying too much attention to offense while ignoring defensive liabilities. A source close to the team acknowledged yesterday that the charge might be true to an extent with the team possibly partially at fault." This certainly bears watching, and is one of the first whispers of anything other than a 100% unified locker room. Then again, Fay's anonymous source could be his cat.

Thread of the Day: Core Players - who are they? (a look to the future)

Elsewhere 'round the rinks:

• The Kings, currently one point out of the playoffs and losers of five of their last seven games, have fired head coach Andy Murray. "I'll be fired up tomorrow because if I expect my team to be energized and ready to go to work, I'd better make sure I'm energized myself," Murray said after Monday night's 5-0 home loss to Colorado. No, Andy, you'll just be fired, not fired up.
  
• Hope you didn't just eat, because on this day back in 1989 Sabres goalie and former Cap Clint Malarchuk's neck did it's Old Faithful impression after St. Louis winger Steve Tuttle's skate slid across Mallard's throat on a goal-mouth scramble, opening up the netminder's jugular. Click here for more grisly details with a picture to boot! Eww.
• Make sure to stop by Kukla's to check out the video of Pavel Datsyuk's shootout goal from last night. Filthy. Amazingly, Tomas Vokoun was able to complete - and win - the shootout sans the jock Datsyuk faked him out of.
  

Daily Awards

• Hart: Alex Auld (30 saves on 31 shots against in crucial win at Edmonton to jump Vancouver from 9th to 7th place in the Western Conference)
  
• Ross: Patrice Bergeron (3 points)
  
• Norris: Marek Zidlicky (2 assists, +1 in 3-2 shootout win at Detroit)
  
• Vezina: Rick DiPietro (Win, 36 saves on 37 shots against)
  
• Richard: Steve Bernier, Marian Gaborik (2 goals each)
  
• Calder: Steve Bernier (2 goals, +2)
  
• Aiken: Reinhard Divis (Loss, 6 goals against on 29 shots)
  

Tuesday Roundup/Habs 4, Caps 2

[Boxscore - Recap - Postgame Coverage]

The game wasn't as close as the score. The Caps suffered through a brutal 2:06 stretch in the middle of the second period in which the Habs netted three goals, had only 9 shots on goal at the game's midway point, and added a meaningless (game-wise, at least) Alexander Ovechkin tally with just 10.6 seconds left in the game to make a cosmetic improvement on the game. Indeed things were so bad from top-to-bottom that head coach Glen Hanlon, despite being down just three goals, went as far as to bench Ovechkin for around 14 minutes at the end of the second period through the middle of the third. Hanlon wouldn't elaborate on his reasons for doing so - was it an extra long shift toward the end of the second period? Was it because he let up when he could have levelled fellow countryman and Olympic teammate Alexei Kovalev? Was it to send a message to the rest of the team? We may never know, but that hasn't stopped fans from offering up their own theories (see today's Thread of the Day).

The WaPo recaps the game here.

By the way, Ovechkin's 44th goal (scored last night) came on his 334th shot on goal of the season, which broke Peter Bondra's single-season Caps record for shots on goal.

Thread of the Day: Hanlon's Press Conference (rampant and largely baseless speculation by Caps fans as to why AO was benched)

Elsewhere 'round the rinks:

• Happy 40th Birthday to the eighth-best American-born Capital of all-time, Al "Wild Thing" Iafrate. The 25 goals Iafrate scored in 1992-93 are only two fewer than the career totals of the current Caps' blueline minus Jamie Heward, and his 105.2 mile per hour slap shot is, um, really fast. On his 28th birthday (1994, for those of you who are not mathematically inclined), the Caps sent Iafrate to Boston for Joe Juneau.
  

Daily Awards

• Hart: Olli Jokinen (Game-winning OT goal, 2 assists, +3)
  
• Ross: Joe Sakic (4 points)
  
• Norris: Michal Rozsival (Goal, 2 assists, +2)
  
• Vezina: Kari Lehtonen (20-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Martin St. Louis, Scott Nichol (2 goals each)
  
• Calder: Kari Lehtonen (20-save shutout win)
• Aiken: Mathieu Garon (4 goals against on 13 shots in just 31:34 before being pulled)
  

Monday Roundup/Gamenight: Habs @ Caps

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview - Official Game Day Preview]

Both the Caps and Canadiens come into tonight's game at Verizon Center riding winless streaks, the Caps at five games (0-3-2) and the Habs at three (0-3-0) as the latter holds on for dear life to the last Eastern Conference playoff spot.

Today's WaPo has an article on Chris Clark, perhaps the greatest on-ice beneficiary of Alex Ovechkin's mind-boggling talent (though Olie Kolzig may argue that point) and the first Cap since November 18, 2000 (Konowalchuk) not named Bondra, Lang or Jagr to tally a hat trick, as he accomplished the feat Saturday night (holy run-on sentences, Batman!). Rounding out the local coverage, Dave Fay has a typically-negative article in today's WTimes.

Thread of the Day: Poll: How Much Longer Can You Take "Rebuilding"?

Elsewhere 'round the rinks:

• Happy 58th Birthday to Robert Gordon "Bobby" Orr. What a stud. Among Orr's myriad of eye-popping statistics, my favorite is probably the plus-124 rating he posted in 1970-71.
  
• On this day in 1996 the Pens traded Markus Naslund to Vancouver for Alek Stojanov. Stojanov had two goals and four assists in 45 games over two seasons for the Pens, while Naslund has racked up 293 goals and 334 assists for Vancouver over the past decade. Oops. But how could Pitt have known? I mean, other than by looking at the stats - Naslund had 19 goals and 52 points in the 66 games in 1995-96 prior to the trade while Stojanov had 1 point in 58 games over that same stretch. Ironically, Stojanov scored his first NHL goal in his first game after the trade.
• The Calgary Sun ran a short article yesterday on how well Brendan Witt is fitting in in Music City. Witt hopes to bring with him to Nashville the "veteran experience that has been passed on to [him] playing with guys like Calle Johansson, Sylvain Cote and Mark Tinordi." Somewhere Joe Reekie feels slighted. Thanks to KB for the pointer.
  
• Rob Blake isn't winning today's Daily Norris, but he did something Sunday night that is deserving of recognition nonetheless - he had a plus-5 rating in a 6-5 loss. Very impressive.
  

Daily Awards

• Hart: Jarome Iginla (Goal and assist in the third period, +2 in 3-2 win)
  
• Ross: Ian Laperriere, Pavel Datsyuk (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Pavel Kubina (Goal, assist, +2, 7 shots on goal)
  
• Vezina: Ray Emery (22-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Patrick Marleau, Ian Laperriere, Jason Williams (2 goals each)
  
• Calder: Ray Emery (22-save shutout win)
• Aiken: Alex Auld (Loss, 7 goals against on 28 shots in 43:42 before being yanked)