Sunday Open Thread

Never a doubt, eh?

Feel free to talk about last night's game, the latest crap from from Bruce Garrioch or anything else.

Photo: AP

Saturday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ Sens

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

It's another our capital/their capitals clash pitting the Conference's best against its worst. So why tune in? Because the Caps have won two of the last four meetings between the teams in Ottawa and three of the last five overall, something of which Sens pivot Mike Fisher is all too aware:

"They kind of caught us a little bit overconfident, or we took them too lightly. But that's not going to happen again."

Fisher was talking about the last matchup between the teams - the totally unexpected 4-1 Caps win from back in the Hanlon days (which, incidentally, included Viktor Kozlov's last goal, a mere 51 days ago) - but he could've been talking about any of the recent Caps wins in this series, as the Sens have repeatedly taken the Caps "too lightly."

Which Ottawa team shows up, of course, will go a long way towards determining tonight's outcome, but at this point, there's very little that would surprise me from this Caps team - even a road win in the Conference leader's barn.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Be sure to check out today's Ice Sheet for some more goings-on from around the League (including plenty on Sens backup netminder Ray Emery) and don't miss Wyshynski's year-end column over at TFP.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Evgeni Nabokov (26-save 1-0 shutout win)
• Ross: Christopher Higgins (3 points)
  
• Norris: Mike Mottau (Game-tying goal, +1, 3 SOG, 2 blocked shots)
  
• Vezina: Evgeni Nabokov (26-save 1-0 shutout win)
  
• Richard: 16 players tied with 1 goal apiece
  
• Calder: Milan Lucic (A, 5 hits)
  
• Aiken: Tomas Vokoun (L, 4 goals allowed on 9 shots against in just 25:03 of work)
  

The Tragedy That Might Have Been

You saw the headlines today: "Ovechkin, Johnson hurt in Caps loss," but apparently the headline might have read "Ovechkin's johnson hurt in Caps loss," had Kris Letang's skate blade taken a very slightly different path.

Of course, we joke because, well, that's what we do, but the physicians over at Alex Ovetjkin remind us that we really might not have been too far from a legitimately scary on-ice incident... which would be just what this rivalry needs: the Pens killing the Caps' savior two days after Christmas.

Update: Here's video of the injury.

A Trade Rumor That Doesn't Involve Ovechkin (Or A Trade Rumor, Really)

Thanks to a recent hot streak, Caps blueliner Brian Pothier is now on the trade rumor radar in a League starved for two-way defensemen. But with another two years and $5 million left on his current contract, even if the Caps were to fall out of contention, I'd be surprised if they would move the 30-year-old rearguard, who seems to finally be settling into his role on this team as a solid second-/third-pairing defenseman who can play in all situations. Of course, perhaps a trade is part of the bigger plan, so what do I know (I'm still waiting on an explanation of how he went from week-to-week with a broken thumb to missing one game)?

Incidentally, Potsy is the third Caps defenseman this season to go on a three-goals-in-five-games streak (Mike Green and Jeff Schultz being the others) as we all still anxiously await Tom Poti's first one-goal-in-one-game streak of the year.

Friday Roundup/Penguins 4, Caps 3 (OT)

[AP Recap - Box Score - Super Stats]

Well that sure was a punch in the gut.

The Caps came into last night's game tired, having played the night before. The Pens entered the game rusty, having not played since before the Christmas break. Predictably, the game was ugly. Equally predictably, the tired team got more tired and the rusty team got less rusty. And while it's difficult to pin a loss like this on a coaching decision, you've got to question Bruce Boudreau sending Brooks Laich out to take the defensive zone faceoff at the end of the Pens' power play late in the third. Laich was 1-for-4 in his faceoffs up to that point (48.1% on the season entering the game) and lost the draw to Erik Christensen that Darryl Sydor sent bouncing off Milan Jurcina and into the goal to tie the game. The right call would have been to call a timeout and send Boyd Gordon back back out there for the draw. It would have meant Sidney Crosby in the dot for the Pens rather than Christensen, but Sid was only at 42% for the night and, more importantly, 0-for-3 against Gordon. The result may very well have cost the Caps a point and handed the Pens two, and the Caps simply can't afford a three-point swing like that in the Conference.

Some more thoughts on a heartbreaking loss:

• Initial reports had Alex Ovechkin out for a week with a cut on his inner thigh, but GMGM said he won't miss a game. We shall see.
• Brent Johnson is out two-to-four weeks. Maybe the Caps should sign this guy to back up Olie Kolzig for the next stretch.
• Sergei Gonchar giveth, and Sergei Gonchar taketh away. Classic Gonch.
  
• Nicklas Backstrom is so... effing... good (despite his misplay at the point that led the the Jeff Taffe goal).
• Thanks to our buddy Hooks Orpik for passing along this vid of his pregame ritual. Good stuff.
• From the "Stats can be misleading" file, Viktor Kozlov led the team with a plus-two rating.
• Donald Brashear had a very effective night overall, as did Olie in relief of B.J.

Frankly, it's a hard recap to write after that game, so feel free to throw your thoughts out there on the game and where the team goes from here (other than "Ottawa").

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Even fancypants political commentators know that Wednesday night's crowd was awesome.... Sidney Crosby needs help. Clearly.... Vote Weagle!

Daily Awards

• Hart: Ville Koistenen (Game-winning goal, 2A, +3, 7 SOG)
• Ross: Eric Belanger, Ilya Kovalchuk, Ville Koistenen, Marek Zidlicky (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Ville Koistenen (Game-winning goal, 2A, +3, 7 SOG)
  
• Vezina: Niklas Backstrom (W, 46 saves on 48 shots against)
  
• Richard: Ilya Kovalchuk, Joffrey Lupul, Bill Guerin, Valtteri Filppula, Nathan Horton (2G each)
  
• Calder: Nicklas Backstrom (2A, 67% faceoffs won, 3 takeaways, 0 giveaways)
  
• Aiken: Miikka Kiprusoff (L, 5 goals allowed on 20 shots against)
  

Thursday Roundup/Caps 3, Bolts 2Gamenight: Caps @ Pens

[AP Recap - Box Score - Super Stats - WashingtonCaps.com Postgame - AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

I'm as short on time this morning as Marty St. Louis is on, well, height, so here's an open thread to discuss last night's must-win win and tonight's big game in Pittsburgh. Feel free to discuss anything from David Steckel's like-a-man-possessed play to who should start in goal tonight, from Vinny Lecavalier's cherry-picking to who sits if and when Boyd Gordon returns or anything else that strikes your fancy.

Photo: AP

Capitals Name Bruce Boudreau Head Coach - Remove "Interim" From His Title

From the press release:

"ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have named Bruce Boudreau the team's head coach, removing 'interim' from his title, vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today. The Capitals are 7-5-3 since Boudreau was named interim head coach on Nov. 22.

"Boudreau, 52, has coached championship teams in the American Hockey League (AHL) and the ECHL and has coached more than 1,000 games in the minor leagues. He led the Hershey Bears, Washington's AHL affiliate, to the Eastern Conference championship and the Calder Cup finals in each of his first two years in Hershey, winning the Calder Cup in 2006. Boudreau compiled a 103-45-11-16 record with the Bears (a .666 winning percentage), including an AHL-best 51-17-6-6 record (.713) last season.

"Washington's seven wins and 17 points under Boudreau exceed the team's total from prior to his appointment (6-14-1). Offensively the Capitals have averaged nearly a goal per game more under Boudreau ( 3.0 to 2.2) and have seen significant improvements on both the power play and penalty kill."

A Belated Halloween Christmas Card From Hershey

Photo: UniWatch

Wednesday Roundup/Gamenight: Bolts @ Caps

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

With Christmas now behind us, it's time for Santa's #1 elf to get back to his normal line of work - namely riding shotgun on Vinny Lecavalier's right wing.

Tampa comes into tonight's game at the Verizon Center losers of six of their last eight games (allowing 4.25 goals per game over that stretch) and carrying with them the League's worst road record (3-12-1). Of course, the Caps have the NHL's second-worst home record (6-10-1) and have lost at home to the Bolts once already this season, so this match up of the Eastern Conference's two worst teams is up for grabs.

In case you missed the end of that last sentence, allow me to reiterate - Tampa Bay has the third-worst record in hockey. How have the Bolts gotten so bad so fast? Lousy goaltending. Starter Johan Holmqvist has a 3.02 goals against average and an .888 save percentage while backup Marc Denis has a putrid 4.05 GAA and an .859 save percentage (by comparison, Olie Kolzig has a 2.95 GAA and an .893 save percentage). And as bad as those season numbers are, they're nothing compared to what the duo has done recently - Holmqvist has a 6.53 GAA and a .757 save percentage in his last three games and Denis has a 4.87 GAA and a .825 save percentage in his last two. Yikes.

Enter Kari Ramo, the Lightning's sixth round pick (191st overall) in the 2004 draft, who was recalled from the AHL on December 19 and has started Tampa's last two games, going 1-1 with a 1.51 GAA and a .955 save percentage along the way. A big goalie at 6'2", the 21-year-old Ramo is one of Tampa's top prospects, and presumably will be their starter tonight.

To beat the Bolts, the formula is fairly simple - score first and don't let their sixth-rated power play get them back in the game. Easier said than done, perhaps, but as Tampa has the second-worst winning percentage in the League when giving up the first goal, the fifth-best percentage when scoring first and trouble scoring goals five-on-five, the team that gives the Lightning that first goal or more than, say, four power play opportunities is asking for trouble - and more trouble is the absolute last thing the Caps need right now.

Question of the Day:

Four of the League's five worst team goals against averages belong to Southeast Division squads (Washington, Carolina, Tampa Bay and Atlanta). Is bad goaltending (and/or team defense) the reason the division has the League's leading scorer and three of the top five goal-scorers, or are guys like Lecavalier, Ilya Kovalchuk and Alex Ovechkin the reason the division's netminders have such poor numbers? Not to take anything away from these skaters, but it's got to be the former.

First of all, compare what these skaters have done against Southeast Division opponents versus what they've been able to accomplish against the rest of the League. Lecavalier is scoring .72 more points per game in intra-divisional games than in games against non-SED teams (that's more than 23 points over 32 games). Kovalchuk is scoring .18 and Ovechkin .10 goals per game more in such games (a difference of 5 and 3 goals, respectively over 32 games). Want more? Martin St. Louis: .61 more points per game within the division. Cory Stillman: .27 more points per game. Olli Jokinen: .41 more points per game. That covers the six Southeast Division forwards in the Top 20 in the NHL in scoring and it makes a pretty clear point - these guys are feasting on intra-divisional opponents. By contrast, of the other top five scorers in the League, Henrik Zetterberg (+.48) and Sidney Crosby (+.23) are scoring more outside their own division, while Jarome Iginla (-.05) has abused all opponents nearly equally.

But that's just one part of the equation. The other part is to compare what the division's goalies have done within and outside of the Southeast - if the division's snipers and playmakers were responsible for lighting up the division's goalies, you'd expect those goalies to have worse goals against averages within the division than against non-divisional opponents. And for two of the division's number one goalies (by minutes played), that's what you've got - Kolzig is giving up .22 more goals per game and Tomas Vokoun .36 more goals per game in Southeast match ups. But Cam Ward (.39 fewer goals per game), Johan Hedberg (.51 fewer goals per game) and Holmqvist (.64 fewer goals per game) have much better numbers within the division.

What does it all mean? It's hard to say. On one hand, it's interesting that the only goalie who has to face Lecavalier, Kovalchuk, Ovechkin and the high-powered 'Canes attack - Vokoun, who is also unquestionably the best goaltender in the division - does significantly better outside the Southeast. On the other hand, three of the division's five starters have used the Southeast to help their numbers approach respectability.

The bottom line to me seems to be that there's an overall lack of talent depth (skaters and goalies) in the division that allows some of the high-end talent to fatten up their stats a bit with so many intra-divisional games, while at the same time working to give the division's goaltenders a break from some of the more potent and deep extra-divisional opponents. Could Johan Holmqvist hack it in the Northeast Division? Doubtful. Could Cam Ward cut it in the Pacific? Questionable. But both are somewhat viable starters in a division in which every one of the teams boasts a ridiculously talented forward or two (or three) and, outside of maybe Carolina, little behind them. Eric Perrin is third on the Thrashers in scoring. 'Nuff said.

Would Vinny Lecavalier be leading the League in scoring if he was a Hab, facing the Sens, Sabres, Leafs and B's 32 times per year? Would Ilya Kovalchuk be the League's leading goal scorer if he was wearing an Islanders uniform? Would Alex Ovechkin be talking 60 goals if he was a Coyote? It's impossible to say. But it's pretty clear that these guys owe at least a portion of their gaudy numbers to the mediocre (at best) goaltending and team defenses that they face so frequently.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

These guys say they'll more or less be live-blogging the U.S. game at the World Juniors starting at 10 a.m. USA Hockey also will attempt a live audiocast.

Oh, To Be Average

A few days ago, someone expressed to me the opinion that even with average goaltending so far this year, the Caps would have five to eight more points and be right around the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference standings. I certainly didn't disagree with the assessment, but wondered how such an assertion could be quantified.

Well, thanks to Mirtle, I found an analysis over at Behindthenet Blog of five-on-five goals against that takes a goaltender's workload - including a broad measure of shot quality by accounting for the locations from which the shots faced are coming - and "shows the number of goals allowed by each NHL goaltender this season (minimum: 300 mins) and the expected number of goals allowed by an average goaltender."

Not surprisingly, the stats confirm what your eyes have been telling you - the Caps goaltending has been below average. In fact, Olie Kolzig and Brent Johnson rank 39th and 43rd, respectively, out of fifty in their statistical deviations from the expected norm and have combined to give up more than seven goals more than you'd expect from an "average" goaltender in five-on-five situations. Not good (but not Andrew Raycroft, so at least there's that).

What does that mean? It is, of course, still impossible to quantify how many points below-average goaltending has cost the Caps. But for a team that has the most one-goal losses in hockey and the second-worst winning percentage in the League in such games, it's a safe bet that with just average goaltending (remember, the seven "bad" goals above only take into account five-on-five goals), the Caps would be in much better shape right now. Five to eight points better? Quite probably.

The bottom line here, of course, is that without better goaltending the rest of the way this year, the Caps are going nowhere fast. And no one's demanding Vezina-caliber play - mediocre may very well be good enough. It certainly would be an upgrade over what they've gotten so far.

On a sidenote, this type of statistical analysis (check out The Forechecker for similarly great stuff) really is invaluable and adds a depth and understanding to the hockey world that only the blogosphere is providing. Kudos, guys.

Update (12/25): Five-on-four numbers are up, and it looks as if Olie is performing exactly as you'd expect an average goaltender to a man down but Johnny has actually saved the Caps two goals against. How 'bout that?

Christmas Eve/Day Open Thread

Merry Christmas to all, and to all... well... you know.

Sunday Open Thread

This Isles fan was right - they did, they did rock us.

Saturday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ Isles

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

Basically, there are two ways the Caps can head into the Christmas break - on a high note and no more than seven points out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference or... well... "other." Tonight's game on Long Island, of course, will go a long way towards determining how merry the Caps' collective Christmas is, and while it's never easy to win on the road in the NHL, the Caps have a lot going for them tonight. Consider:

• The Caps have been better away from home thus far this season.
• The Isles are 3-6-1 in their last ten games. The Caps are 5-4-1.
• Islander coach Ted Nolan won't be behind the bench - he'll be in Tampa watching his son's NHL debut. Odd, but nice decision (and h/t to RBH on the link).
  
• The Isles played last night and won - on the season, they're 6-8-1 following a win (but they're 5-2 in the second game of back-to-backs).
• Islander GM Garth Snow is a jackass (despite and not just because of this). I'm not sure how this helps the Caps tonight, but I thought I'd throw it out there anyway.
• Jon Sim's still injured.
• The Isles have scored the fewest goals in hockey. Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk and Jarome Iginla have combined for more tallies this season than the entire Islander team.
  

It's safe to say that no team wants to go into a break having lost three straight and four of their last five, but that's what's staring the last-place Caps in the face tonight. If ever there was a time for some of the team's veteran leaders (Olie Kolzig, Viktor Kozlov, Tom Poti, etc.) to get back on track (or on track at all), tonight would be a great time to do so - the young guys can't do it alone.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

On this date back in 2001, Brent Johnson recorded his seventh career shutout. Just sayin'... Another day, another great quote from Karl Alzner, Canada's World Junior team captain: "We're going to go there pretending we're the New England Patriots and everybody hates us." I wonder if he gets to be Tom Brady.... If it's Saturday, I'm on Ice Sheet duty at FanHouse. Be sure to stop by and check it out.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Mike Ribiero (2G, including the OT game-winner, +1)
  
• Ross: 13 players tied with two points each
  
• Norris: Jaroslav Spacek (2A, 2 blocked shots)
  
• Vezina: Fredrik Norrena (W, 33 saves on 34 shots against)
  
• Richard: Milan Hejduk, Mike Ribiero (2G each)
  
• Calder: Blake Comeau (Game-winning G, A, +2)
  
• Aiken: Rob Scuderi (-3, 0 points, 0 SOG)
  

Good News From Chocolatetown

Per Tim Leone, Eric Fehr "competed intensely at practice" this week, and Bears' interim head coach Bob Woods "indicated there's a chance Fehr could be cleared to play within a month. 'We're optimistic that that's going to be the case,' Woods said."

Friday Roundup/Habs 5, Caps 2

[AP Recap - Game Summary - Super Stats - WashingtonCaps.com Postgame]

On some nights, you're the big dog. On others, you're the fire hydrant. Thursday night at the VC was a bit more of the latter for the Caps as they ran into a hot goalie, had trouble on the penalty kill and missed converting a couple of chances of their own en route to a 5-2 loss. Some thoughts on the game:

• Jeff Schultz played the Alexei Kovalev/Tomas Plekanec first period 2-on-1 beautifully.
• Shaone Morrisonn can't leave his man alone on top of the crease with the puck behind the net on a power play, or you get what you got on the Habs' first goal.
  
• Chipchura sounds sounds like something I'd order at Taco Bell.
• The Habs scored on their second power play with Tom Poti in the box, but I blame the penalty on Tomas Fleischmann's brain cramp giveaway at the blueline.
• Was I the only one expecting Mike Green to stop to fix his hair after Mike Komisarek separated him from his helmet? Green had another solid game, finishing with seven shots on goal, an even rating and only one giveaway in a game-high 30:12 of ice time (nearly eight minutes more than any other Cap).
  
• Losing Brian Pothier for a few weeks with a broken thumb will hurt. Say what you want about him, but he's a 19-minute guy who can play in all situations, and the Caps sure don't have six more of those. Heck, do they have two? Sidenote: Here's hoping Steve Eminger gets a sweater tomorrow night and not John Erskine, though I'd be shocked if that's what happens.
  
• Apparently Locker's favorite new phrase is "soap on a rope." Personally, I'm waiting for him to drop "Soul on roll, but you treat it like soap on a rope 'cause the beats in the lines are so dope."
• Michael Nylander and Nicklas Backstrom swapped lines in the third period and the Backstrom-centered second line produced instant dividends (the Alex Semin goal). One wonders if the new combos will stick.
• Speaking of Backstrom, he's now only nine points out of the rookie lead in scoring.
• Alex Ovechkin seemed to be off his game a bit, especially after his third period tripping call. He whiffed on an open net thereafter and didn't exactly shine in his brief tryout as a blueliner. He finished minus-three on the night and had nine shots either miss the net or get blocked. Maybe Andrei Markov and company are in his head. Or, perhaps, the Matt Pettinger as a top line winger experiment just isn't working - AO is minus-eight in his last four games (Backstrom is minus-six and Pettinger minus-five - it sure would be nice to get Chris Clark back in the lineup or, better yet, a legitimate first-line right wing).
  
• Red, white and blue is still better than bleu, blanc et rouge.
• Fact: Guillaume Latendresse is the only player in NHL history to wear the number 84. For another bizarre Latendresse fact, check this out.
• A lot of bad news for scoreboard watchers, as the four teams directly ahead of the Caps in the Eastern Conference who played last night - Tampa, Atlanta, Florida and Pittsburgh - all won and the Bruins picked up a loser point.
  

So it's off to Long Island to try to snag a win and, with it, a merrier Christmas.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Let's give credit where credit's due, and it's due Sidney Crosby on the occasion of his first career Gordie Howe Hat Trick (and he handled himself a hell of a lot better when the rough stuff started than the Great One did).... Sure, you can play in the World Junior Championships at age 16 (and spell your name with almost as many umlauts as Mötley Crüe and Löwenbräu combined), Magnus Svensson-Pääjärvi, but Viktor Alexandrov would like to know where you've been the past two years.... I was catching up on my Mirtle and really digging this post when I recalled having seen this article in The Windsor Star - dated a day later - that had a handful of noteworthy similarities to Mirtle's post. Was it coincidence? Inspiration? Did Tom Layberger move to Canada and change his name to try to escape his shame?... Finally, on this date in 1929, the "NHL implemented the new 'offside' rule for the first time in league play. Forward passing would now be permitted inside all three zones, but not across the blue lines." At the time, Chris Chelios thought this would be a great way to increase offense, and, as it turns out, he was right.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Marian Gaborik (5G, but not the game-winner, A, +2)
  
• Ross: Marian Gaborik (6 points)
  
• Norris: Ed Jovanovski (2A, +1, 6 SOG)
  
• Vezina: Karri Ramo (W, 30 save on 31 shots against)
  
• Richard: Marian Gaborik (5G)
  
• Calder: Karri Ramo (W, 30 save on 31 shots against in first NHL start)
• Aiken: Henrik Lundqvist (L, 6 goals allowed on 18 shots against in 52:04 of work)

It's Not Unusual (Or Is It?)

In his blog today, Caps' owner Ted Leonsis acknowledged the team's poor home record and noted that having a losing record at home "is quite unusual for us as a franchise."

But is it all that unusual? Let's take a look at the Caps' home record since Leonsis et. al. bought the team in May of 1999:

• 2007-08: 6-9-1
• 2006-07: 17-17-7
• 2005-06: 16-18-7
• 2003-04: 13-20-6-2
• 2002-03: 24-13-2-2
• 2001-02: 21-12-6-2
• 2000-01: 24-9-6-2
• 1999-00: 26-5-8-2
  

That's seven full seasons and only two in which the team had more regulation losses than wins (and in 2005-06, it was only by two games) - not bad, considering some of the recent *ahem* lean seasons. Then again, if we're counting all losses as, you know, losses, it looks slightly different and the bad years look appropriately bad:

• 2007-08: 6-10
• 2006-07: 17-24
• 2005-06: 16-25
• 2003-04: 13-22-6
• 2002-03: 24-15-2
• 2001-02: 21-14-6
• 2000-01: 24-11-6
• 1999-00: 26-7-8
  

In other words, since the last playoff appearance, the Caps' have won 52 and lost 81 home games. Some would say that would make this season's losing home record not at all "unusual." Then again, the current downswing has come on the heels of a dominant 95-39-22-8 home record in the first four seasons of the Leonsis Regime. So what is usual and what is unusual is, I suppose, in the eye of the season ticket-holder*.

The bottom line is that it's time for the Caps to reclaim a home ice advantage - no matter how crappy the ice or how sparse the crowds - and everyone in the organization knows it, from the top on down. That effort continues tonight against the Habs.

* Of course, the lawyer in me must note that when Leonsis wrote "[w]e have a losing record at Verizon Center which is quite unusual for us as a franchise," he's inarguably wrong - all of those winning home records were achieved at the MCI Center (and this is where I'd insert a winking emoticon, were I not so ardently anti-emoticon).

Thursday Roundup/Gamenight: Habs @ Caps

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

I thought the loss of Sheldon Souray to Edmonton this past season was supposed to cripple the Canadiens' power play. Apparently, that wasn't the case, as the Habs have the second-best extra man unit in hockey and are clicking at a higher frequency than last year's top-ranked unit did.

That power-play efficiency (they have scored the second-most power-play goals in the League while giving up the second-fewest shorties) has made up for a poor penalty kill and a bad five-on-five ratio and has left Montreal with a 16-12-5 mark, good for sixth in the Eastern Conference.

The Habs have been a better team on the road (10-5-1) than at home (6-7-4), but haven't won in Washington on a Thursday since October 31, 1974 (take that, Elias Sports Bureau!), and traditionally have had a tough time around the holidays (thanks to ephperson for the link).

Alex Ovechkin has often said that the Habs' Andrei Markov is one of if not the toughest defenseman in the League for him to play against and the stats reflect that - there's no team in the Eastern Conference against whom AO has fewer goals (2) in his career than Montreal. But even if #8 doesn't solve #79 tonight, the Caps have shown recently that they have enough scoring depth to win. Let's hope that trend continues Thursday night at the VC.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

On this date in 1981, Lou Franceschetti's first NHL goal proved to be a game-winner for the Caps in a 3-2 win over the Rangers.... Down on the farm, Derek Meluzio has a holiday-themed Q&A with Freddy Cassivi.... Vote Weagle.... Finally, Happy Birthday to former Cap Bill Clement, Clement Hands of Cement who turns 57 today but will never look as good as he did in this brilliant hockey card.

And now, your goofy picture of the day (with corresponding "must read" article, in case you missed it):

Photo: Washington Capitals

Got a witty caption? Let's hear it in the comments.

Update: Here's the video. Fantastic stuff.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Ryan Miller (W, 41 saves on 42 shots against)
  
• Ross: Niklas Kronwall (4 points)
  
• Norris: Niklas Kronwall (4A, +3, 2 SOG)
  
• Vezina: Ryan Miller (W, 41 saves on 42 shots against)
• Richard: Patrick Sharp, Robert Lang (2G each)
  
• Calder: Jonathan Toews (Short-handed A, +1, 63% faceoffs won)
  
• Aiken: Chris Mason (2 goals allowed on 2 shots against in just 5:23 of work)
  

'Tis The Season

Per a PRNewswire story, Mike Green is "supporting Children's National [Medical Center] as part of America's Giving Challenge, sponsored by Parade.com. He has created a 'charity badge' that others can post on their websites or blogs, or attach to their emails. Donations of $10 or more will count as a 'vote' for his campaign."

Well, here's that badge - give if and what you can, and be sure to check out a new profile of Greenie in the CP:

Sidney, With Your Lips So Bright...

Quick question: has anyone ever seen a lamer hockey poll than the one Sportsnet.ca is currently running? Don't bother clicking over - here it is:


Note that Martin St. Louis is not an option, undoubtedly because he'll be busy in the workshop making toys.

Wednesday Roundup

We all know that the Caps have been much better (good, even) under Bruce Boudreau than the were under Glen Hanlon.

We all know that they're playing at a playoff-caliber (100 point) pace since the change.

But Caps fans might need more context by which to judge their team, and the favorite stick by which to measure, of course, is the Pittsburgh Penguins. With that in mind, let's take a look at what both teams have done since the Caps pulled the trigger and canned Hanlon:

• Washington: 7-4-2 (16 points); 3.15 G/G; 2.77 GAA; 20.0% PP; 89.3% PK
  
• Pittsburgh: 8-4-0 (16 points); 2.67 G/G; 2.83 GAA; 18.5% PP; 73.6% PK
  

The teams have the same number of points (though Pitt has a game in hand), but the Caps have been markedly better offensively and on the penalty kill.

What about individual players? Let's take a look at the Pens' "big three + one" over that span:

• Sidney Crosby: 4G, 9A, +3
  
• Evgeni Malkin: 3G, 6A, -4
  
• Jordan Staal: G, 4A, +1
• Ryan Whitney: 4G, 2A, +1
  

And the Caps':

• Alexander Ovechkin: 10G, 6A, +4
  
• Alexander Semin: 2G, 3A, -4 (11 games played)
  
• Nicklas Backstrom: 4G, 8A, even
  
• Mike Green: 5G, 2A, +4
  

Finally, the number one goalies:

• Marc-Andre Fleury: 4-0-0, 1.41 GAA, .936 SV%
  
• Olie Kolzig: 5-4-2, 2.86 GAA, .890 SV%
  

So what does this (admittedly small sample) tell us? Well, to begin with, the Pens would likely be better than 8-4-0 over this span if Fleury, who was playing some of the best hockey of his career, hadn't gotten hurt (he hasn't played since December 6 and won't for another month-plus). Then again, if Chris Clark, Boyd Gordon and Michael Nylander hadn't been hurt and Alex Semin was at 100% this whole time...

Secondly, the Caps would likely be better than 7-4-2 if Olie Kolzig was playing better. Currently, he's 33rd in the League in GAA and 34th in save percentage. Unfortunately, his numbers since Boudreau took over are very similar to his numbers under Hanlon and hence, overall - the rising tide hasn't quite lifted all ships in D.C. Olie simply needs to be better if the Caps are going to make a run in the standings. There aren't 30+ goalies in the League you'd rather have as your number one netminder than Kolzig (heck, go ahead and try to list 15 in the comments - bet you can't), and his numbers need to start reflecting that.

The thing to take away here is that the many people who picked the Caps to be "this year's Penguins" (i.e. a young team that breaks through) might have been right all along - the team numbers listed above would all be good enough to be in the top half of the League for the season - albeit they had to wait a bit longer than they anticipated. The 2007-08 Penguins are a good team. But right now, the 2007-08 Caps are a better team. They're a better team than a lot of the teams in front of them in the Eastern Conference. And if things break the right way, the Caps could even have a shot at passing the Pens in the standings when the two teams face off in Pittsburgh on the 27th of this month. By any measure, that would be a hell of an achievement.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Jason Spezza (2G, including the game-winner, 4 SOG)
  
• Ross: Henrik Sedin, Michal Rozsival (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Andrei Markov (2G, 2 SOG, 2 blocked shots)
  
• Vezina: Roberto Luongo (32-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Jason Spezza, Andrei Markov, Markus Naslund, Scott Gomez (2G each)
  
• Calder: Peter Mueller (Game-winning goal, +1, 4 SOG)
  
• Aiken: Johan Holmqvist (L, 3 goals allowed on 9 shots against in one period of work)
  

Tuesday Roundup/Wings 4, Caps 3 (SO)

[AP Recap - Game Summary - Super Stats]

I'm not huge on "moral victories." I'm also not big on "at least we didn't get blown out on (quasi-) national television." But going into The Joe and leaving with a point is somethin', so there's that. And yet I'm sure there's not a single player who dressed for the Caps last night who is happy with just that one point - and that's a the real takeaway from a game like this, and it's another difference between this team today and this team one month ago. Some other thoughts on the game:

• Olie Kolzig's lateral quickness (or lack thereof) was exposed on the Henrik Zetterberg goal, and his performance in the shootout - getting beat three times on the same shot - was... well... not good. Still, he made a number of outstanding stops (one in particular, on Tomas Kopecky, comes to mind), and at least Pavel Datsyuk didn't embarrass him with this move.
  
• Was Ed Olzczyk really blaming Michael Nylander for getting checked from behind headlong into the boards by Johan Franzen in the second?
  
• And did Alex Semin actually try to get up in Franzen's mug in Nyls' defense? Looks like Gabby's message (or, as Dan Cleary might call it, a "tongue-licking") may have gotten through to Sasha, as he also added the game-tying goal and a shootout tally and had not a single giveaway.
• Speaking of turnovers, was the scorekeeper sleeping on this stat, or did the Caps really only have four giveaways and Detroit only four takeaways?
• Despite the goal, Alex Ovechkin wasn't particularly sharp, as this was one of those games where he looked to be trying to do too much on his own and he looked disinterested in displaying everything in his arsenal. But the fact that it's been since November 5 and 6 since AO went two straight games without a goal is pretty amazing.
  
• You might have known that Quintin Laing, who assisted on the Jeff Schultz's fourth goal in the last six games was drafted by the Wings back in 1997. You might not have known that so was former part-time Cap Petr Sykora.
• Mike Green rushing the puck has become just about my favorite things to watch during Caps games, perhaps only trailing AO crushing a defenseman against the boards on the forecheck.
• The power play's inefficiency shouldn't be overlooked. Two-for-seven is nice in the box score, but the unit did not look good last night and failed to click (or even really threated) on any of three straight opportunities sandwiching the second intermission.
  
• David Steckel won 13 of 16 faceoffs (81%), and while Nicklas Backstrom won only 48% of his draws, he had a huge win late in regulation in the defensive zone (which didn't quite make up for his poor backchecking on Tomas Holmstrom's second goal).
• Viktor Kozlov was the only Cap skater not to register a shot on goal, and even went as far as to ring his shootout attempt off the iron. Ugh.
• When Backstrom was born, Chris Chelios had already been in the NHL longer than Shaone Morrisonn has now.
• Green and Schultz have combined for 13 goals, which is tied with Ryan Whitney and Sergei Gonchar for the most in the League by a pair of blueliners on the same team. The Caps' 2004 Draft is looking better every day, isn't it?
  

So the Caps will take the point (something only four other teams have been able to do when visiting Detroit this season) and head home to face the Habs. With every game bigger than the last one, Thursday's matchup should be both hard-fought and entertaining, and hopefully worth two points for the home team.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Tomas Holmstrom (2G, 3 SOG, 2 hits)
  
• Ross: Pavel Datsyuk (3 points)
  
• Norris: Brett Clark (2A, +2, 4 SOG)
  
• Vezina: Dominik Hasek (3 goals allowed on 30 shots against in shootout win)
  
• Richard: Tomas Holmstrom (2G)
  
• Calder: David Steckel (+1, 81% faceoffs one, 1 Esa Tikkanen)
  
• Aiken: Jack Johnson (0 points, 0 SOG, -2, 2 minor penalties, 4 giveaways, 0 takeaways)
  

Monday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ Wings

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

Fresh off a win in the hardest Eastern Conference building for visitors to go in and leave happy (at least prior to Saturday night), the Caps head to Motown to face the Red Wings, who sport the NHL's best home mark at 14-3-1.

Detroit leads the League in points and is second in both goals against average and goals for per game. The Wings are fourth in the League in power play efficiency, sixth in penalty killing, first in five-on-five for/against ratio, first in shots on goal per game for and against, and have won eight of their last nine (the loss coming in a shootout last week).

Needless to say, Boudreau's boys will have their work cut out for them, visiting a building in which they haven't played in more than four years.

Why The Wings Will Win:

"Depth, depth, depth, and also depth. The Wings have stepped up their play with Tomas Holmstrom and Kris Draper out of the line-up, with all four lines contributing, and the possible returns of the Human Screen and the Wings' steadiest forward, respectively, will make the Wings that much harder to play against. Kronwall has stepped up his play on the back end, supplementing the Lidstrom and Rafalski's offensive punch and Chelios and Lilja's solid defence. Unless our boys keep scoring goals against themselves, I can't see the Caps outhustling, out-skating, or out-checking the Wings over sixty minutes of play. Mike Green and Tomas Fleischmann will continue to make the Robert Lang trade look dumber and dumber over time, but they won't have their revenge on Monday night." - Red Wings Snapshots

"Because of Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk,Tomas Holmstrom, and Nick Lidstrom. Also, they've outscored the Southeast Division 14-6 this season. I'm not very good at smack talk, but the Wings' record and roster mostly speak for themselves." - On the Wings

Daily Awards

• Hart: Jarome Iginla (2G, including the game-winner, 2A, +1, 3 SOG)
  
• Ross: Kristian Huselius (5 points)
  
• Norris: Jay Bouwmeester (G, A, 3 SOG)
  
• Vezina: Tomas V0koun (W, 44 saves on 45 shots against)
  
• Richard: Jarome Iginla, Daymond Langkow, John Madden, Joel Perrault (2G each)
  
• Calder: Torrey Mitchell (SHG, +1, 2 SOG, 2 hits)
  
• Aiken: Stephen Valiquette (L, 5 goals allowed on 26 shots against)
  

Sunday Open Thread

Rock it, people.

Photo: AP

Saturday Roundup/Sabres 5, Caps 3Gamenight: Caps @ Bolts

[AP Recap - Game Summary - Super Stats - AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

This morning's post is more or less an open thread. Think Olie Kolzig cost the Caps a point (or two) on Friday night? Want to talk about how good Nicklas Backstrom is? Or which defenseman had the worst game? Or what Michael Nylander's return to the lineup means? Fire away on these or anything else in the comments.

Photo: AP

Daily Awards

• Hart: Dion Phaneuf (Game-winning goal, A, 3 SOG)
• Ross: Matt Cullen, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Nik Antropov, Brian Rolston (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Dion Phaneuf (Game-winning goal, A, 3 SOG)
  
• Vezina: Vesa Toskala (24-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Alexei Ponikarovsky (2G)
  
• Calder: Josh Harding (W, 28 saves on 30 shots against)
  
• Aiken: J.-S. Giguere (L, 3 goals allowed on 9 shots against in 26:15 of work)
  

Friday Roundup/Gamenight: Sabres @ Caps

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

Since the lockout, the Caps have had a rough go of it against the Buffalo Sabres, tonight's opponent, posting a 2-8 record with only one win in the last nine meetings between the teams (that win, of course, being the infamous "checking from behind" game). In six of those nine games Buffalo lit the lamp at least five times. And I can't even use my go-to "But those were Glen Hanlon's Caps," since game three of the Bruce Boudreau era was a 3-1 home loss to the Sabres.

But those were Bruce Boudreau's Caps before he implemented his system (that dog'll hunt, right?).

At this point, I'm pretty confident that we know what we'll get from the Caps - a strong, confident effort that may or may not translate on the scoreboard. The Sabres, on the other hand, are a total crapshoot - their last six games include 8-1 and 7-1 wins, an 8-2 loss and a pair of 4-1 losses. Buffalo is still scoring in bunches, but they're giving up too many goals and have been every bit as mediocre overall as their .500 record would indicate. But their record is a little deceiving (at least as it applies to tonight's game), as they've managed a 7-4-0 record against Eastern Conference opponents not in the Northeast Division, including a 6-2-0 mark against the Southeast.

Still, it's impossible to predict which Sabre team will show up tonight - flip a coin... and bet the over.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Tarik profiles Mike Green's breakout season in today's WaPo, and includes an interesting quote from GMGM (similar to one he had in Wednesday night's pregame show on Comcast): "You just never know when a player is going to break through. We thought it might be last year. But it seems to be happening this year." Question - how much of that was Hanlon and how much was Green, and if the former was a significant factor, has the development of other prospects been similarly stunted by having Hanlon at the helm for so long? Discuss.... Here's your Eric Fehr update (Jan), and it seems to be pretty good news.... Could the Caps have an embarrassment of riches on the blueline in a few years? Both Karl Alzner and Josh Godfrey made the Canadian World Junior team. Mathieu Perreault, however, was cut.... Speaking of the Caps Junior prospects, Hockey's Future provides an update on 'em.... The first player in Caps history to score on a penalty shot is being inducted into the Niagara Falls Sports Wall of Fame (slow news day, JP?).

Daily Awards

• Hart: Jarome Iginla (3G in the third period, including the game-winner, A, +5, 9 SOG)
  
• Ross: Dion Phaneuf, Kristian Huselius (5 points each)
  
• Norris: Dion Phaneuf (5A, +3, 3 SOG, 4 hits, 3 blocked shots)
  
• Vezina: Tomas Vokoun (33-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Jarome Iginla, Kristian Huselius (3G each)
  
• Calder: Carey Price (31, 30 saves on 31 shots against)
  
• Aiken: Johan Holmqvist (4 goals allowed on 6 shots against in just 13:05 of work)
  

Thursday Roundup/Caps 5, Rangers 4 (OT)

[AP Recap - Game Summary - Super Stats - WashingtonCaps.com Postgame]

The promotional schedule read "80's night," but Wednesday evening at the VC could be more accurately described as "50's night," specifically numbers 50 and 52's night, as Joe Motzko and Mike Green combined for three goals, two assists and a plus-five rating in the Caps' highly entertaining 5-4 overtime win over the visiting Rangers. Some thoughts on the game:

• The Caps went from October 8 through December 10 - a span of 26 games - without winning a single game in which the opponent scored the first goal and now they've done it twice in three nights. The difference? Confidence. Even down two goals in the first against a stingy Rangers team, the home team didn't for a second think the game was over. There's no chance the Caps would have won this game a month ago.
• In 21 games under Glen Hanlon, the Caps were 6-14-1. In 10 games under Bruce Boudreau, the Caps are 6-3-1.
  
• Donald Brashear had his best game in a year-plus as a Cap, beating the stuffing out of Colton Orr just 2:41 into the game, throwing a Ranger off the puck to set up the Caps' first goal, and sending a perfect cross-ice pass to Motzko to set up the Caps' second tally (by the way, was that Motzko or Alex Semin on that dangle?). That Martin Straka was given the third star over Brash was a miscarriage of justice of the highest order.
  
• Matt Pettinger's string of bad luck continued with his puck that beat Henrik Lundqvist seven-hole but somehow managed not to cross the goal line. Still, he's playing his best hockey of the year by far on the top line.
• Memo to Craig Laughlin: the expression is "Johnny on the spot," not "jolly on the spot." Oh, and while we're at it, not every call is "an easy call for the referee to make" (got a Locker pet peeve? Let's hear it in the comments).
  
• Tom Poti looked pretty awful on the first two Ranger goals, allowing a pass to get under his stick on the Scott Gomez tally (on which Jeff Schultz also looked bad) and having his back to the puck and not tying up Martin Straka on the next score.
  
• Much to my surprise, the eighteen first period shots on goal for the Caps wasn't a season-high (they had 19 in the first at Carolina on November 5).
• I don't know what to say about Schultz's goal-scoring streak, but his latest tally - 1:18 after the Rangers had tied the game - was exactly the kind of goal the Caps used to give up (and more or less did three minutes later when Nicklas Backstrom tried to clear the puck rather than holding it against Olie Kolzig for a whistle).
• The power play has gone cold, going 1-for-17 (5.9%) over the past five games. When you're winning, no one cares, but they'll need to right that ship in order to keep winning.
• David Steckel had a couple of good scoring chances, but putting the biscuit in the basket isn't his game (neither is the minus-2 rating he had on the night) - the four hits, three takeaways and 60% faceoffs won are his game.
• Backstrom (6-for-16) and Brooks Laich (4-for-15) continue to struggle in the faceoff circle.
  
• Green's ice time was monstrous (30:05). His stickhandling at the end of regulation was simply magical. His goal was magnificent. His celebration was Ovechkinesque. I think he's aged five years in the past month.
  
• Raise your hand if you thought the Caps could score five goals in a game on anyone - much less Lundqvist - with Michael Nylander and Chris Clark out of the lineup and Alexander Ovechkin, Viktor Kozlov, Matt Pettinger, Tom Poti, Tomas Fleischmann, Semin and Backstrom combining for two points.
• I wonder what Brendan Shanahan thinks of the ice at Verizon Center.
  

The Caps are now two points out of fourth in the Southeast and six points out of eighth in the East. Next up? The Buffalo Sabres. I'd be willing to bet the 20 guys in red would play that game right now if given the chance. Friday night can't come soon enough.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

The NYT takes a predictable shot at the Caps' attendance.... According to the NYPost, Nylander's injury is a rotator cuff problem. Even though Nyls is supposed to play this weekend, the words you really don't want to hear here are "Dr. James Andrews."

Daily Awards

• Hart: Mike Green (Game-winning OT goal, 2A, +3, 5 SOG)
• Ross: Mike Green, Patrick Sharp, Dany Heatley, Jonathan Toews, Jason Spezza, Brendan Shanahan, Jason Pominville (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Mike Green (Game-winning OT goal, 2A, +3, 5 SOG)
  
• Vezina: Martin Gerber (31 saves on 31 shots against in 54:27 of relief work)
  
• Richard: Joe Motzko, Martin Havlat, Mark Recchi, Dany Heatley, Martin Straka (2G each)
  
• Calder: JonathanToews (G, 2A, +1, 4 SOG, 2 takeaways, 83% faceoffs won)
  
• Aiken: J.S. Aubin (3 goals allowed on 9 shots against in just 14:06 of work)
  

Green Makes It Three-In-A-Row

Photo: AP

Wednesday Roundup/Gamenight: Rangers @ Caps

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

What better opponent for an '80s night mullet giveaway (be sure to check in with The Peerless for an in-depth history of the mullet) than Jaromir Jagr and the Rags, who may or may not show up in these uniforms?

The Rangers enter tonight's game dead last in the NHL in goals per game (2.13) but atop the League in goals against average (2.10). And yet they're 16-12-2 and have won 70% of the games in which they've been outshot. If it wasn't for Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers would be such a glorious drama right about now, but, as it is, they're just a winning team with a pouting, underachieving superstar.

The Blueshirts are 1-3 in their last four games, scoring just five goals in those four games and connecting on just two of 15 power plays. Not surprisingly, #68 has just one point during this stretch, and is scoreless with a minus-seven rating in his last three games. Woe captain, my captain.

Expect Olie Kolzig in goal, Brian Pothier back in the lineup, and a confident Caps team to try to keep the ball rollin' at home.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Thanks to Tyler for pointing us to this article about SKA St. Petersberg (Jamie Heward's current squad) and Russian current events.... Vote Weagle!... The Flyers are going to induct Ron Hextall into the team's Hall of Fame prior to a game against the Caps. Something tells me that Dale Hunter's Game Seven OT breakaway goal won't make his highlight montage.... Karl Alzner is at Canadian national junior team camp and is (surprise) giving great interviews.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Joffrey Lupul (3G, 3A, +4, 12 SOG)
  
• Ross: Joffrey Lupul (6 points)
  
• Norris: Erik Johnson (3A, +3, 3 SOG, 2 hits)
  
• Vezina: Miikka Kiprusoff (32 saves on 33 shots against in shootout win)
  
• Richard: Joffrey Lupul, R.J. Umberger (3G each)
  
• Calder: Erik Johnson (3A, +3, 3 SOG, 2 hits)
  
• Aiken, Pt. I: Dany Sabourin (L, 5 goals allowed on 25 shots against in 39:56 of work)
  
• Aiken, Pt. II: Ty Conklin (3 goals allowed on 15 shots against in one period of work)
• Aiken, Pt. III: Rob Scuderi (0 points, -4)
  

Lordy, Lordy, What's Happened To Jordy?

Last year, Jordan Staal burst onto the NHL scene as an 18-year-old rookie and tallied 29 goals, 42 points and a plus-16 rating en route to a Rookie of the Year nomination.

It would seem, however, that the sophomore slump has hit Staal in a big way, as he has but two goals and four assists through 29 games and has the worst plus/minus rating among Pens forwards at minus six.

In fact, Staal has the worst plus/minus of all 2006 first round draftees who have played in the NHL this year, the worst minutes-per-point ratio of that group, and the fewest goals among the lot. Take a look:


So what does it all mean? Not too much. I don't pretend to know what's holding Staal back this year (I can only stomach watching Pittsburgh four times a year, and even that's pushing it), but he's too good a player not to rebound, especially in the plus/minus department. And he does have something none of those other guys has yet - playoff experience.

But most folks recognized at the time that last year's goal total was a bit of an aberration, especially given his League-leading shooting percentage and the fact that he'd never even scored as many in juniors (then again, he was in the NHL and not in Peterborough at 18). Staal will likely develop into one of the game's better leaders, a two-way player who puts up solid but not gaudy numbers, which is exactly what the Pens need him to be - they've got a couple of other guys to carry the scoring load.