Quote Of The Day

Glen Hanlon "is the most underrated coach in the League with the most underrated staff in the League..." - Pierre McGuire

Sunday Roundup/Gamenight: Sens @ Caps

A quick roundown of what you (and by "you" I mean "I") may have missed over the past couple of days: Joe Motzko and Josef Boumedienne have cleared waivers (Motzko has reported to Hershey, Boumedienne is likely to do so)... Alex Semin's ankle is sprained... Tarik on Brent Johnson and Dave Steckel... George Solomon on Olie Kolzig... Corey on Steckel and the penalty kill... the Sunday Source on K-Plex... Josh Godfrey is off to a good start in the OHL, but it's nothing compared to Mathieu Perreault's Friday night... Tim Panaccio takes a quick look at the Caps... finally, don't forget that you get a free ticket to tonight's game with a D.C. United stub.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Michael Cammalleri (2G)
• Ross: Michael Cammalleri, Anze Kopitar (2 points each)
• Norris: Rob Blake (Game-winning goal, +1, 25:18 of ice time)
• Vezina: Jonathan Bernier (W, 26 saves on 27 shots against in NHL debut)
• Richard: Michael Cammalleri (2G)
• Calder: Jonathan Bernier (W, 26 saves on 27 shots against in NHL debut)
• Aiken: Ilya Bryzgalov (L, 3 goals allowed on 20 shots against)

Ducks/Kings: Brunch At O2 Arena

OK, so it doesn't have nearly the ring or cachet that "Breakfast at Wimbledon" does, but at least we don't have to listen to Bud Collins. The 2007-08 NHL season begins in England later this afternoon (12:00 pm ET), and hockey fans in the U.S. have fingers crossed that Center Ice is up and running by then. (Sunday's game 2 will be carried by Versus.)

The typical lede in the local press has been hockey as curiosity. (Indeed, the BBC ran a story on Thursday titled, "NHL Circus in Town".) Some of the highlights:

From the BBC,

Two-time NHL All-Star, Todd Bertuzzi said: "It's something different to start the season. We'd usually be over in the US preparing so this is different and exciting."

Makes one wonder what Bertuzzi quotes ended up on the cutting room floor.

From the IHT,

"We're cross-town rivals, and we really don't like each other," Kings coach Marc Crawford said.

King's coach doing his best Don King.

From the The Guardian,

No game loses more in the translation to television than that played by 200-pound men skating at up to 40 miles an hour, laden with body armour, chasing a disc of vulcanised rubber and using a combination of balletic skill and basic thuggery as the tools of their trade.

"Laden with body armour"? What... is the air-speed velocity of an unladen right wing?

SkyBet likes the Ducks in game 1, and so do I I do not. And I like the over under of 6. At 16/1, I'm also taking, "Celeb and pro dancer meet on show [Dancing with the Stars] and marry by end 2008."

Caps Cut Bourque

The Caps have sent Chris Bourque to Hershey this morning, with the tougher decisions still to come.

Friday Roundup/Gamenight: Flyers @ Caps

We're a week away from opening night and there's a whole lot of nothing going on regarding Caps coverage in today's papers (other than a note from up North about how the Caps and Leafs may be getting ready to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. Seriously.)

If you aren't already sick of reading my thoughts on the Caps (and if you are, why are you here?), head over to SportsFan Magazine for a quick interview I did (note - it was a little while back) to help them preview the team (thanks, Steve!).

Finally, on an administrative note, I'm heading out to Los Angeles later this morning for about a week. I'll be back in time for opening night, but posting will be intermittent between now and then (fearless prediction: Ben Clymer won't be a Cap by the time I get back). Anyway, feel free to discuss any goings on in the comments to whatever the most recent post is. Cheers.

Adam Proteau Is Smart

Or, perhaps more accurately, Adam Proteau agrees with me, as he has picked the Caps to win the Southeast Division (he even alludes to Glen Hanlon as being on the hook if things don't go according to plan).

Anyway, take in Proteau's words of wisdom below (and enjoy his brevity):

Why 1st? Because dammit, what would a pre-season NHL prediction series be without at least one shocker pick for a new, worst-to-first division champ?

The thing is, on paper, the Capitals are far from the basement dwellers they were last year. The sense some NHL observers have about the Caps is, while they're not yet genuine Stanley Cup contenders, they’ve got the components to mirror Atlanta’s 2006-07 campaign (i.e. road warriors in the regular season, roadkill in the playoffs).

Indeed, in the same way the Thrashers prospered by surrounding young stars Marian Hossa and Ilya Kovalchuk with veterans such as Slava Kozlov and Alexei Zhitnik, Washington added Michael Nylander, Viktor Kozlov and Tom Poti this summer to help "Alexanders (Ovechkin and Semin) The Greats" raise their games. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Ovechkin and Semin combine for 100 goals or more this season.

The similarities between the two teams continue: The Thrashers didn’t have a Ducks-like defense corps last year and the Caps don't this year; but both have above-average goaltending, as well as hardworking third and fourth-line forwards willing to come back and help their blueliners out. I like Washington’s forward unit more than I like Atlanta’s, which is why they get my nod over the Thrashers.

Now, coach Glen Hanlon may not survive the season if Washington stumbles out of the gate as they try to make all the new faces (including potential Calder Trophy candidate Nicklas Backstrom) fit in. Call it a hunch, but I bet they'll gel into one of the league's swiftest, most offensively dangerous teams rather quickly – and drop many a jaw in the process.

Go See The Caps For Free

In response, no doubt, to a Tuesday night crowd that was generously announced at 8,326 (see pic below of a portion of Section 120 at the start of the second period), the Caps are literally giving away tickets to this coming Sunday evening's game against the Sens. Just show up with a used or unused ticket to a D.C. United game and you'll get a freebie for the tilt against Ottawa.

Photo: KB

NHL Season Preview: Washington Capitals

Today brings us the last of our 30 team previews over at FanHouse, and it's my take on the 2007-08 Caps (it's set to publish at 10:00 this morning, but y'all can take a gander at it now as my personal V.I.P. readers).

It's lengthy and optimistic - go bold or go home, right? - so check it out when you've got some time and don't be afraid to represent, as the kids say, in the comments.

Thursday Roundup/Flyers 2, Caps 1

[AP Recap]

Not much in the way of recaps of last night's action (which featured few regulars and no official stats), so read Vogs' and move on.

Tim Leone shares Caps blueline prospect Patrick McNeill's NHL role model with us, Tarik profiles Mike Green and Corey takes a look at Tom Poti - I guess it's D-day. The Lebanon Daily News says to expect at least three more cuts from D.C. on Thursday, and believes the Caps will open the season with 13 forwards and 8 defensemen on the roster. Oh, and E.J. Hradek's got the Caps finishing in the Southeast cellar while his buddy at the Worldwide Leader, Scott Burnside, has them doing a bit better.

Finally, they may not have published the stat from last night's game, but I'm pretty sure that this earned Donald Brashear five for fighting and Riley Cote five for receiving:

Photo: Getty Images

Downie And Out

I figured I'd post the Steve Downie hit on Dean McAmmond from last night, in case you missed it.

Obviously it's a dirty hit for which Downie should be suspended, and understandably McAmmond's teammates are upset. But isn't Sens tough Brian McGrattan's declaration that "he'll get what's coming to him the next time we play them, for sure" a bit too reminiscent of Brad May's infamous "There's definitely a bounty on [Steve Moore's] head... It's going to be fun when we get him"?

Well, they "got" Moore, alright. And the NHL "powers that be" had better watch this one closely going forward.

Anyway, here's the hit:

Wednesday Roundup/Caps 3, 'Canes 2 (OT)

[AP Recap - Scoresheet - Super Stats]

I've been to the Louvre. I've been to the Grand Canyon at sunset. I've even sat through an entire Jessica Alba movie. So you can believe me when I tell you that the new HD Scoreboard at the Verizon Center is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my life (Capital Fanatic has a nice picture of it, but pictures can't do it justice - it's something you need to see in person).

Of course, beneath that glorious manvention they played a little hockey last night, so here's a quick take on some of what went down:

• Another game, another third period lead blown. First teams learn how to get leads, then they learn how to keep 'em. It's not always an easy process, but it is a necessary one - and I've got no complaints on how this tilt wound up.
• Olie Kolzig was good and occassionally lucky - and any goaltender will tell you need both to win.
• Mike Green looked like he belongs, Jeff Schultz looked like he belongs (in Hershey) and Steve Eminger looked like it was his first preseason game (for more on Emmy, read Tarik's article in today's WaPo).
• More on Green, per Vogs: "With two goals in the four preseason games to date, Green has equaled his total from 70 NHL games last season. His six preseason points represent half of the dozen he totaled during the 2006-07 regular season." Green was a mixed bag again last night - a couple of penalties to go with his gorgeous goal and inspired OT rush down the right side - but that's to be expected from a 21-year-old blueliner. In my opinion, he deserves to make this team.
• As a team, the Caps won 53% of the night's faceoffs, which is always good against a team that has Rod Brind'Amour taking most of its draws (and sits Eric Staal). Dave Steckel won 12 of his 17 faceoffs (71%).
• Last night was not Michael Nylander's best game - he looked disinterested at times, had three giveaways, took a bad penalty and was an abysmal 1-for-8 in the faceoff circle. Chalk it up to a veteran who's tired of preseason games, perhaps?
• Despite playing only 10 minutes, Brooks Laich tied for the team lead in hits (3) and won five of his six faceoffs, but also choked on a golden opportunity in the offensive zone. He is still very much on the bubble to make this team.
• Tomas Fleischmann's pass on the Green goal was a beauty.
• You can see in his game just how much more comfortable Brian Pothier is in his role this year.
• Stop me if you've heard this one - Alex Semin was at times dazzling and at other times uninspired (sometimes on the same shift).
• Despite his OT game-winner, Nicklas Backstrom had a pretty weak game - perhaps that explains the look on his face below, mere seconds after sending everyone home happy. Vogs quotes the kid as saying "It was very fun to score in overtime but it was the only right thing I do today." I tend to agree.

Quote Of The Day

"With the emergence of (centers Kris) Beech and (Jiri) Novotny, I think we can put (Nikolai Zherdev) on the wing." - Columbus head coach Ken Hitchcock

This quote should be taken with a grain of salt, as it cuts off before Hitch undoubtedly added "and our season in the toilet."

Watch The Home Preseason Games Online

Per the Caps: "Washington Capitals fans can watch and listen to tonight’s home preseason game versus Carolina and the final two home preseason home games live on WashingtonCaps.com. The Capitals and Hurricanes drop the puck at 7 p.m. and Steve Kolbe, the voice of the Capitals for the last 10 years, and former Capital Ken Sabourin will call the game live from Verizon Center.

"Fans will also be able to listen to the Capitals lone remaining preseason road game on Sept. 26, at Philadelphia on WashingtonCaps.com. Mike Vogel, senior writer for WashingtonCaps.com, will join Kolbe in the booth to call the action from Wachovia Center."

NHL Season Preview: Tampa Bay Lightning

If you liked my 1,200 word preview of the Florida Panthers, you'll really dig 1,400-plus on the Bolts. Check it out over at FanHouse, and get ready for Thursday's Caps preview - it'll be a biggie.

Tuesday Roundup/Gamenight: 'Canes @ Caps

[WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

Home hockey that almost sorta matters - it truly has been too long.

The Caps will debut their new scoreboard tonight (but not their new home unis - you'll have to wait 'til the home opener to see the reds) as the 'Canes come to town for a 7:00 start.

I'll have more on the game in this space later, but for now, let's take a quick spin 'round the intertubes, where Tarik takes a look at the powerplay, Corey's editors misspell "Jurcina" in the header (despite the name being spelled correctly five words into the article), and CanWest tries to create controversy where there is none (namley in Alex Ovechkin's contract situation).

Update: Per Tarik here's who's skating tonight:

Goalies: Kolzig, Johnson

Forwards: Ovechkin, Kozlov, Fleischmann, Semin, Nylander, Backstrom, Bourque, Laich, Klepis, Pettinger, Steckel and Gordon

Defense: Morrisonn, Eminger, Schultz, Green, Poti, Pothier

Other than Chris Clark, the top nine forwards are all there and other than Milan Jurcina, the top four defensemen will be playing (along with Steve Eminger's preseason debut).

With Young Guns Like These, Who Needs Veterans?

"So far, the talk of Leafs camp has been the play of young guns like Simon Gamache, Tony Salmelainen, Kris Newbury, Ben Ondrus, Jiri Tlusty and Bryan Muir." ¹

Muir is 34. Only Tlusty is younger than 25.

Young guns indeed.

H/t to Mirtle on the link

Alex Ovechkin Media Conference Call

Alex Ovechkin participated in a media conference call this afternoon, and here's the transcript of that call:

JULIE YOUNG: Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Julie Young with the NHL's Public Relations Department, and I would like to welcome to you today's media conference call with Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin.

Thanks to Alex for taking the time today to answer your questions and to the Capitals' Nate Ewell for helping arrange the call.

Alex is the first player to earn first All-Star Team honors in each of his first two full seasons since Detroit Red Wings goaltender Terry Sawchuk in 1950-51 and 1951-52. Ovechkin tallied 46 shots in his sophomore campaign, fourth in the NHL and just six behind league leader Vincent Lecavalier. He scored in 17 of the Capitals' 23 victories and led all players for the second consecutive season with 392 shots on goal.

Thanks again to Alex for joining us, and we'll now open it up to questions.

Q. Lots of good stats but are you at the point where you want the team to make the playoffs? I can't imagine it's much fun if the team doesn't make the playoffs.

ALEX OVECHKIN: My goal is to make the playoffs and I have to score goals and everybody has to score goals. So my goal is to score goals and try to win games.

Q. How is it going to be playing with Michael Nylander?

ALEX OVECHKIN: Right now I'm playing with Viktor Kozlov.

Q. How is it going to be playing with him?

ALEX OVECHKIN: Good (indiscernible).

Q. Do you need a center that can get you the puck?

ALEX OVECHKIN: The center gets me the puck all the time. I feel good right now, our line.

Q. Thanks for taking the time today. You trained with Viktor Kozlov in Russia in the summer; is that right?

ALEX OVECHKIN: Yeah, Kozlov and Evgeni Malkin, Sergei Gonchar, Andrei Nikolishin, Alexei Semenov.

Q. Did you get some chemistry with Viktor over the summer, or did you start feeling very comfortable with him on the ice?

ALEX OVECHKIN: Well, I feel comfortable with everybody, but with Kozlov, it's like Zubi (Dainius Zubrus) in my first year. He was my center and a big difference when you can run defense in Russian language.

Q. Why do you think the Washington Capitals are going to be better this year?

ALEX OVECHKIN: Well, I think the good reason is we signed a lot of experienced guys, Kozlov, Nylander, Poti. The young guys, we have more experience; two years we've been playing in the NHL and we have great experience.

Q. Did you get a sense last year that the team was ready to make a step forward?

ALEX OVECHKIN: Well, I think everybody understands we have to move forward. That's why we signed a lot of good players, and I think we are playing well and just play our system and the coaches right now feel pretty excited.

Q. What are your expectations? Do you feel this is a playoff team?

ALEX OVECHKIN: Why not? You never know. We have to win all the games and we have to win and try in every game. And if you win the games, you make the playoffs. If you have a great team and you lose, you don't go to the playoffs.

Q. Your team has a goalie that's well known out here in British Columbia, Olaf Kolzig. You get to see him all the time. I think he's one of the better goalies in the league, but what is your thoughts on Olaf as a teammate, and how good of a goalie is he?

ALEX OVECHKIN: Well, he's our leader on the ice, off the ice, and you know, we listen to him because he's good.

Right now he's one of the best players in the league, one of best goalies, and in the locker room he's our leader, too. He tells us what we have to do in practice and what we have to do, and then we go to him. So it's great to have that guy in our locker room.

Q. A lot of fans out here are really wanting to see yourself and Sidney and other stars in the East. What are your thoughts about traveling around the NHL, as opposed to the schedule they have now which only has you out here every once in awhile? Are you in favor of coming out here every year?

ALEX OVECHKIN: Well, I like travel. I like going to go to different cities. I like to see different people, different teams, and I like it. It's experience and it's great to see different teams. We played last year in Ottawa and in Minnesota and I love it.

Q. Good memories here in Vancouver?

ALEX OVECHKIN: Oh yeah, great sushi over there.

Q. What in your opinion makes you a better player than a couple of years ago when you first broke into the League?

ALEX OVECHKIN: You know, I have to concentrate about my shots. I have lots of shots in the game but sometimes my shots, I have great moments to shoot but my shots aren't perfect. I just have to practice more my shots and my make my shots well, the puck goes to the net. So I think I have to make more shots.

Q. Let me ask you about the Southeast Division. Tampa Bay and Carolina won the Stanley Cup the last couple of years and Atlanta made the playoffs this past season. How competitive is the Southeast Division? You're trying to crack into the playoffs, but that division seems to be pretty tough. How do you view that division?

ALEX OVECHKIN: Well, it's a hard division and every team wants to go to the playoffs. The first year had a chance to go to playoffs and we didn't unfortunately and did not make the playoffs and the next year we did not make the playoffs. I felt like we have a good team and great players, and it's all about us. It doesn't matter what team you play. You just have to go to the ice and play hard and try and win the game.

Q. How do you feel foreign players like yourself are marketed in the United States, and are you happy with the way you've been marketed in Washington?

ALEX OVECHKIN: Yeah, I'm happy. I'm glad to be here and also we have a great team. It's nice position and I feel pretty comfortable here.

Q. Sidney Crosby just got a new contract. Are you looking for a new contract, as well?

ALEX OVECHKIN: New contract, I cannot talk because the season did not start.

Q. Did you see what Sidney Crosby got? Do you want to make that kind of money?

ALEX OVECHKIN: I don't know. We have to talk with George and we'll see.

Q. There was though incident, wasn't there, in Russia, between you and Gennady Ushakov?

ALEX OVECHKIN: No.

Q. They just made it up?

ALEX OVECHKIN: Yeah.

Q. Do they do that over there?

ALEX OVECHKIN: Yeah, a lot.

Q. They don't do that over here.

ALEX OVECHKIN: No.

Q. Can you just talk about what Tom Poti's addition means for the Capitals and how he might make your job a little easier?

ALEX OVECHKIN: He's a great D and he can control the puck the puck well. We got him in our first line D in power play, so he's pretty good. He can pass and it's very important to us to move forward if you have a guy that can pass. I think the Capitals are in good position after signing this guy.

Q. Last year your team was basically a playoff contender, at least until Christmas, and then things kind of fell off in the second half, games got tougher. Just wondering what you think the team learned from that second half?

ALEX OVECHKIN: Well, the reason that we don't make the playoffs at all last year was we had lots of injuries; Clark was injured, Kolzig was injured; our leaders were injured. And sometimes we don't have the guys to play in the games. So made some calls to bring some guys from Hershey, and it was very hard for us to win games because most of the year we weren't in good shape, we were injured.

Q. You expressed some frustration about the talent level and that the team needed to get new players. Given it's not always easy to turn a team around one year to the next, are you satisfied with the changes?

ALEX OVECHKIN: Well, you can see the level like with the players coming to our team, younger, Backstrom, (Josef) Boumedienne coming. It's nice we have lots of great guys and great players on our team.

Q. You recently started a blog. Granted, it won't help too many of us, as it's in Russian. Is this something that you did on your own, and how often do you plan on updating it throughout the year?

ALEX OVECHKIN: Well, I make decision to make my blog because the Russian fans want to know something about me and it gives some questions. The Russian media call me and this is an answer for these questions.

I think it's nice when you are on the ice and you do some talking with the fans, because, you know, I love my fans and I love Russian fans. They are asking lots of things and I just try and answer.

JULIE YOUNG: Thank you for your time today, Alex.

Feldman, Maloney & Kolzig

Olie Kolzig was a guest on SportsTalk 980's "Feldman & Maloney" show last week. Click here to listen to the interview (link will launch your media player).

Alzner Drops The Gloves

Per the Calgary Herald, "Karl Alzner hasn't had his gloves off in anger in a blue moon but the Calgary Hitmen defenceman couldn't have chosen a better time to doff them Saturday.

"Alzner took exception to an elbow to his head by hard-nosed Red Deer Rebels winger J.D. Watt for the second straight night and decided to make a statement with his fists. He held his own with the noted pugilist and it seemed to calm a storm by the Rebels.

"'The last time I fought was two years ago with Scott Doucet and we set it up before the game,' said Alzner, after the Hitmen downed the Rebels 4-1 for their second straight win. 'Tonight I was thinking about it since after the game Friday. I have to stick up for myself . . . and I guess I was trying to get the guys fired up. If you'd seen the fight, you can tell I'm not a guy who fights very often but we have to let teams know they can't get away with that stuff.'"

Is there anything not to like about this kid?

Neuvirth Returned To Juniors, Four More Sent To Hershey

The Capitals have assigned Frederic Cassivi, Daren Machesney, Jason Morgan and Kyle Wilson to Hershey (AHL) and Michal Neuvirth to Plymouth (OHL).

This leaves 19 forwards and 10 defensemen in camp (along with goaltenders Olie Kolzig and Brent Johnson) and answers the question "Does the organization think that Michal Neuvirth is ready for the AHL?" in the negative.

Caps 2, Bolts 1

[Scoresheet - Super Stats - AP Recap]

I didn't get a chance to listen to the game last night (I was off obliterating breaking my Yom Kippur fast), but have a few thoughts this morning after a look at the box score and a perusal of the intertubes.

But before we get started, what's up with the streak of lightning on the pants?

I never thought I'd have reason to have a "least favorite pant" in the League, but congrats to the Bolts on providing one for me (though they could be worse, I guess). Alright, on to the game:

• Brent Johnson saved 18 of the 19 shots he faced, including all 10 in the third period.
  
• By many accounts, Dave Steckel was an absolute monster last night. He scored the Caps' first goal, finished +1 and won 67% of his faceoffs, all while playing the role of shutdown center. He's certainly making his case to stay in D.C.
• The Caps won 53% of the game's faceoffs.
  
• Mike Green had a powerplay assist and was +1.
• The Caps leader in ice time was Nicklas Backstrom, at 23:46, but that's nothing. John Torotorella played Dan Boyle for 32:20. In an exhibition game. Not surprisingly, Boyle tried to take matters into his own hands in the locker room, pulling an Owen Wilson.
• Alex Semin attempted 11 shots on goal and scored the game-winning powerplay goal, assisted by Backstrom and Green. That's an encouraging scoring summary.
  

For much more on the game, check out Vogs' recap. And here's hoping Dan Boyle has a speedy recovery - he's an integral part of my fantasy team.

Someone's In Mid-Season Form...

From last night's Flyer/Rangers game:

Friday Roundup

I don't have much to say about last night's game other than what's below, but Vogs certainly does. And speaking of having something to say, what would be your initial reaction if you picked up the phone and Donald Brashear was on the other end?

Feel free to talk about last night's game, line combos, or whatever you want to in the comments. And check out this great pic of young Nicklas from last night, courtesy AP:

Senators 5, Capitals 4

[Scoresheet - Super Stats - AP Recap]

First their dollar catches up to ours, then their capital beats ours on the ice.

There was some good and some bad coming from Thursday night's affair between the Caps and Sens, so let's dive right in:

• First things first - the penalty kill needs a lot of work.
  
• Michael Nylander and Nicklas Backstrom gave a glimpse of the awesome offensive-zone puck control of which they're capable. Throw a finisher (read: Alex Semin) on with those two and watch the goals come.
  
• Mike Green should not have stepped up at his on Antoine Vermette at his (Green's) own blueline - Vermette got the puck to Nick Foligno (who doesn't wear a goofy helmet like his old man) for a breakaway that he buried on a niftily-roofed backhander. But it was a mixed bag from Green tonight, with the young blueliner adding a couple of power play helpers.
  

• As the French might say, Jakub Klepis est histoire. He played on a line with the Swedes, took five shots on goal, had three hits... and still really did nothing.
  
• Tom Poti and Nylander are so much better in their roles than the players they're succeeding it's laughable.
• Speaking of Brian Pothier, I didn't notice him all that often tonight. Maybe that's a good thing.
  
• The Caps were slaughtered in the faceoff circle (only 41% won), but their success rate was still better than that of the Rogers Sportsnet announcers' in pronuncing the Capitals' names.
• Olie Kolzig looked sharp at times, but needs to do a better job containing rebounds (either that or the defensemen in front of him need to clear every offensive player within a 15-foot radius of the crease - which do you think is more likely?).
• Tomas Fleischmann may have earned himself a contract.
• I don't know if it's the travel, the time of year, conditioning or what, but the Caps seemed to be a flat for most of the third.
  
• If you're not watching these games online, you need to be.
• With Donald Brashear (and Ben Clymer) out of the lineup, Brian McGrattan took a few liberties (and while we're on the topic of fighting, Brian Sutherby could have done some serious damage to Larry Nycholat at the end of their kerfuffle, had he wanted to).
  
• I think Jeff Schultz starts the season in Hershey.
• Boyd Gordon was minus-three. Ouch.
  
• The Caps road uniforms are definitely sweet.
  

Wanna Watch A Game Or Two Tonight?

How would you like to watch tonight's Caps/Sens game? How about the Leafs and 'Yotes? Hell, why not both at the same time, all from the seat in which you're sitting right now?

Thanks to Allsmoke for pointing us to the NHL's Center Ice Beta preview, where all of this and more can be yours - for free - through October 9 (they don't even require a credit card). Just follow the link here, click on NHL Center Ice, follow the instructions and, knock on wood, you should be watching hockey in no time.

If that description isn't tempting enough, check out the screen grab (updated with an in-game shot):

I think I just drooled on my shirt.

One Less Spot Up For Grabs?

One wonders which came first - Tarik penciling Josef Boumedienne into the starting lineup or his decision to profile the Swedish rearguard in tomorrow's WaPo. Regardless, both pieces give some serious food for thought to those who thought that signing Boomer was merely an insurance policy that could be cancelled once Tom Poti was acquired.

If Boumedienne does make the team, that likely leaves (barring a trade) one on-ice spot and one press box seat left for Steve Eminger, Mike Green, Jeff Schultz and John Erskine... and 15-plus days to figure it all out.

Wednesday Roundup

USA Today has an article on Michael Nylander's return to D.C., Tarik takes a look at Ben Clymer's "weird situation," Corey profiles Mike Green as he tries to make the team, Vogs chats with and about Brooks Laich (and colorfully describes Matt Pettinger's work ethic), the Sens will be skating most of their veterans against the Caps tomorrow night, and AO drops by a couple of schools - traditional and otherwise.

Cut Day: 19 Players Sent To Hershey

The Caps have assigned 19 players to Hershey (Dean Arsene, Scott Barney, Jay Beagle, Sean Collins, Andrew Gordon, Marty Guerin, Jamie Hunt, Andrew Joudrey, Quintin Laing, Sami Lepisto, Tommy Maxwell, Chris McAllister, Grant McNeill, Patrick McNeill, Jason Morgan, Travis Morin, Steve Pinizzotto, Grant Potulny, Steve Werner) and released Dan Kronick. The moves leave 20 forwards (including Eric Fehr), 12 defenseman and five goalies in camp.

Notably still in D.C. trying to make the team, then, are Chris Bourque, Tomas Fleischmann, Jakub Klepis, Joe Motzko, Dave Steckel, Kyle Wilson, Josef Boumedienne, Sasha Pokulok, Jame Pollock, Tyler Sloan and all three non-NHL goalies (Michal Neuvirth, Hershey starter Freddy Cassivi and the injured Daren Machesney).

Oh, and Nicklas Backstrom.

What Hell Frozen Over Will Look Like

While you might have read that the "Ice Bowl" New Year's Day outdoor game between the Sabres and Penguins sold out in a mere 10 minutes, I thought I'd pass along this rendering of what Ralph Wilson Stadium might look like on that day (less the 75,000 or so fans, of course):

Courtesy NHL.com

I don't yet have an artist's rendering of what Sidney Crosby's lips might look like at game time, but rest assured they'll be bright purple.

On Juniors And Going Pro

When Francois Bouchard and Karl Alzner were sent back to juniors earlier today, I had no problem with the move (I thought they might hang around another few days, but, for a number of reasons, it has long been clear where they'd be playing this season). And since both are North American-born and neither will be 20-years-old by December 31, 2007, getting cut meant they were headed back to juniors (recall that "players from the three Canadian junior leagues who were born in North America are not eligible to play in the American Hockey League or East Coast Hockey League until they turn 20"¹).

Frankly, I'm not sure how the blanket AHL and ECHL prohibition on using these players - all the while allowing 19-year-old European kids to play in their Leagues - isn't a violation of antitrust laws, but I can let that pass for now. My CHL (and really all things hockey) expert James Mirtle helped explain to me why the rule is the way it is, and while I certainly can see why it makes sense for the junior leagues, I'm not as convinced that it always makes sense for the players.

For a player like Bouchard, for example, who led the QMJHL in scoring last year, what does he have left to prove at that level? I got to ask Bouchard that very question at the beginning of rookie camp, and it was pretty clear that his feeling was "not much":

Mirtle isn't so sure. On the macro-level, he points to how players in the Q are closer to home, can attend school, etc. On the micro-level, he points to how much better Francois Bouchard's older brother Pierre-Marc's numbers were at the same age and how every hot-shot in the Q thinks he's ready to go pro.

But the elder Bouchard - the eighth overall pick in 2002 - was rushed to the NHL, debuting as an 18-year-old and totalling 42 points in 111 games through two seasons. It wasn't until he spent the lockout season in the AHL that Pierre-Marc found his game at the professional level, and he has now emerged as a 20-goal/55-point player, all at the tender age of 23. Would Bouchard have been better served playing in the AHL than the NHL in those first two years, had that option been available? Or, alternatively and in retrospect, should he have played out his eligibility in the Q?

We'll obviously never know, but here, then, is my question today - from a player development perspective (there are contract considerations that we're not discussing here) is it a shame that Bouchard and Alzner have to go back to juniors rather than taking their game to the next level in Hershey, or is heading back to juniors the best thing for their respective long-term developments?

Public Service Announcement

Should you need a reprieve from watching the Redskins, hearing Tony Kornheiser's shtick, or all those Peyton Manning commercials, below are links to the streaming audio for tonight's pre-season NHL games.


Pittsburgh@Montreal (7:00)
Philadelphia@New Jersey (7:00) (Audio NA)
Atlanta @ NY Islanders (7:00) (Audio NA)
Florida@Edmonton (9:00)
Colorado@Phoenix (10:00) (Audio NA)
Anaheim@Vancouver (10:00)

NHL.com Previews The Caps

In case you missed it during the whirlwind that was the opening weekend of training camp, on Friday NHL.com posted their in-depth preview of the Caps.

I haven't read all of NHL.com's previews to use as points of reference, but this one is pretty effusive in it's praise of and optimism for the squad from D.C., freely throwing around phrases like "the Capitals are ready to challenge for the Southeast Division championship," and "some people, including Ovechkin, think he's the most talented young player in the NHL[.]"

Sure, there's some spotty fact-checking in there (Boyd Gordon was not the Caps first pick in 2002 - he wasn't even their second pick), but it's a good read nonetheless.

Alzner, Bouchard, Godfrey Returned To Juniors; Backstrom To Start Season On The Wing?

A fair amount of news on some of the organization's top prospects, as the trio of Karl Alzner, Francois Bouchard and Josh Godfrey were all returned to their junior teams today and word is that Nicklas Backstrom likely won't be centering one of the top two lines when the first puck drops in Atlanta on October 5.

Tarik reports that the team "plans to start the season with Michael Nylander and Viktor Kozlov as the No. 1 and No. 2 centers," likely meaning that Nicklas Backstrom will start his NHL career skating on the right wing. Or does it mean something else entirely? Stay tuned.

By the way (and in case you're wondering), Kozlov has won a woeful 41% of his 647 faceoffs since the lockout.

Finally, thanks to Director of Media Relations Nate Ewell for clarifying that, contrary to somewhat popular belief, Backstrom does not have an "out" clause in his contract that would allow him to return to Sweden if the Caps want to send him to Hershey.

'Canes 4, Caps 3 (OT)

I didn't get a chance to listen to much of today's 4-3 loss to Carolina, but considering that the Caps sent only two of their putative top six forwards (Chris Clark and Nicklas Backstrom) to Raleigh to face a 'Canes team that dressed Eric Staal, Erik Cole, Justin Williams and Cory Stillman (among others), I'd say that an overtime loss in which Brent Johnson didn't give up a goal in his two periods of work probably indicates a pretty good effort from the under-manned visitors.

Check out Corey and Tarik (including a great quote from Karl Alzner) for more, but here are some quick notes from a glance at the score sheet:

• Backstrom scored in the first period of his first game in an NHL sweater. That's got to help his confidence and take off a bit of pressure going forward. One thing to keep an eye on, however, is that he was only able to win 4 of the 9 faceoffs he took.
• Johnson saved all 12 shots he saw through two periods, and from the sound of it, some of them were toughies.
• Dean Arsene failed his physical, but played in Sunday's game. Interesting. [Update: #47 was Alzner, not Arsene, as NHL.com incorrectly had].
• Mike Green tied for the team lead with four shots on goal (and one fluke shot in goal), and his 25:03 of ice time led all skaters (on both teams). He finished +1 for the day, but was in the box when the OT game-winner was scored.
• Chris Bourque's four hits tied Matt Pettinger for the team lead, and C-Bo added a helper as well - gotta like that.
• Those Caps uniforms look pretty sharp to me.
• Stephen Werner Francois Bouchard (same deal as above - NHL.com had the roster wrong) got only 10 shifts and seven minutes of ice time - I'm not sure whether he even made it 'til the final buzzer before getting cut.
• Boyd Gordon won 16 of his 30 draws (53%), including 15 of 25 (60%) against Staal and Trevor Letowski. Dave Steckel was also big in the dot, winning 9 of his 16 faceoffs (56%).
• Ben Clymer dropped the gloves in his first preseason game against some clown named Nicolas Blanchard - I guess Clymes knows what he's going to have to do to get fourth-line ice time.

Photo: AP

Q&A With Ted Leonsis And Chris Clark

Thanks to B-Dubs for passing along his account of Friday's "Townhall Meeting" with Ted Leonsis and Chris Clark. It's an entertaining read, and certainly provides a good example of the current mood around K-Plex - light, positive and optimistic. I particularly enjoyed this excerpt:

Fan asks Clark if he had input on signings in the offseason as captain

CC: "Well management and the scouting team are responsible for evaluating talent. It’s easy to watch a guy play and know what he can do. They come to the vets like me and Olie to find out what they’re like off the ice. Find out, um, if he’s an idiot or not." everyone laughs.

FAN: Who are some of the idiots?

CC: "Well, um, haha we have a pretty good group of guys here and.."

FAN: "Oh come on, spill the dirt, who are some of the idiots? Not on the Caps"

CC: "Um, well I think you guys had one here a couple years ago"

Heh.

Good luck to B-Dubs (and Post Game Heroes) going forward - keep fighting the good fight amongst all those Pittsburgh fans.

Sunday Roundup/Gameday: Caps @ 'Canes

Game on!

With but two full practices under their belts, the Caps will send a contingent down to Carolina to take on a 'Canes squad this afternoon (listen at WashingtonCaps.com). Alexanders Ovechkin and Semin, Viktor Kozlov (who Corey profiles here) and Michael Nylander are among those not expected to make the trip, according to Tarik (who has a story on Tom Poti's allergies in today's WaPo - and you'll recall that Poti isn't the only one in the organization with that similar affliction), while Bubba's got the 'Canes lineup.

Also floating around out there on the intertubes this morning are articles on former Caps Steve Konowalchuk (which is really a must-read) and Bryan Muir (which isn't) and a snippet from the Ottawa Citizen that predicts that the Caps will be "fun to watch."

Finally of note, WUSA-TV (channel 9) will be running a feature on Michal Neuvirth tonight on their Sunday night sports wrap show (which airs after the 11:00 news).

Saturday At K-Plex

On a gorgeous Fall day like this, one almost feels bad about spending time inside.

Almost.

Today's practice was highlighted by a scrimmage between Groups B (the Freddy Cassivi group) and C (the Olie Kolzig group), while Group A (the Brent Johnson group) practiced on the public rink.

While we all know that line training camp line combos are mostly meaningless, here are today's scrimmage lines, for what their worth (and because I know you want to know):

Group B (Blue Team)
Semin - Nylander - Fleischmann
Laich - Sutherby - Bradley
Werner - Joudrey - Barney
Sloan - Beagle - Guerin
Poti - Jurcina
Erskine - Green
Sloan - P. McNeill
Cassivi
Feyock

Group C (White Team)
Pettinger - Backstrom - Clark
B. Gordon - Perreault - Laing
Bourque - Morgan - Klepis
Kronick - Morin - Maxwell
Alzner - Godfrey
Pokulok - Boumedienne
Collins - G. McNeill
Kolzig
Moyette

A few notes from the scrimmage:

• The Blue Team won 4-2.
  
• Big day for grinders, as Brian Sutherby and Matt Bradley both looked good, each scoring goals (Sutherby on a mini-breakaway after Josef Boumedienne took a spill trying to turn around).
• Alex Semin had a couple of dazzling moves and seems to be in mid-season (read: not passing) form. He also left the ice after crashing into the boards while entangled with Matt Pettinger (see below). Though Semin was bleeding at the time, I was told later that it was nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, that's probably the last time we'll ever see Sasha back-checking.
  
• Tom Poti was generous with the puck, sharing it with players on both teams with great frequency. Paired with Milan Jurcina, the two made for an intimidating (looking) duo.
• Nicklas Backtrom pick-pocketed Andrew Joudrey to create a breakaway (the finish to which he rang off the iron). Backstrom also threw his body around a bit more than I expected him to.
• The Petttinger - Backstrom - Chris Clark line did a great job of puck possession and forechecking, and was rewarded with a lucky bounce that found its way onto Petty's stick and into the back of the net a split-second later.
  
• Though he was darting around like a waterbug out there, Mathieu Perreault was returned to Acadie-Bathurst of the Q after today's practice.
• Both Sutherby and Clark got a little fiesty at points during the scrimmage, which is always good to see.
• The ice didn't appear to be as good as you'd hope it would be in a $42 million building, with puddles still visible well into the second half of the scrimmage after the ice was resurfaced at "halftime." Whether or not that contributed to the Pettinger/Semin trainwreck, I don't know.
  

For more coverage from today, check out the usual suspects - Vogs, Tarik, Corey, OFB.

Finally, on the way out I got a shot of Brent Johnson in his new gear (including his new mask - click the pic to enlarge):

I could make a "two in, three not in - looks about right" joke... but I won't.

First two photos by Ken, last one by JP