Well, the Canes lost to the Islanders last night, so that means that if we sweep the home and home against Toronto, the Caps would be in FIRST PLACE in the Southeast going into the break!
With the firing of Jr. and the hiring of no-nonsense Fletcher, the Leafs are poised to take back the season and go all the way this year. I can FEEL it.
Toskala/Raycoft need to be careful, though. This may be the game where another own goal is scored by the D, due to their furious, veteran defense.
More glares and concerned looks from me and we just may impress someone.
Having Morrisonn out obviously really hurt the Caps defensive zone coverage against the Pens. Green is a much better player paired with Mo than with Poti. He and Poti are just too similar, and no one stays home to mind the fort. For a few minutes in the second period against the Pens, Green was out with Erskine. The pairing made a lot of sense to me. Then Poti can stay with Jurcina, which seems to be a pretty good fit, too. That leaves Schultz with Emminger, and while I concede that is risky, they just might be a decent combo.
It always bothers me to play a team right after a managerial change. The Leafs have something to prove through the rest of the season (I'm good enough to keep, I'm good enough for trade value). I hope the Caps come out firing on all cylinders from the start and demoralize the Leafs.
Is it a coincidence that the day JP notes Brian Sutherby's lack of production in Anaheim that Vancouver put Kris Beech on waivers?
Someone said the other day that it was heartbreaking that the Caps lost so many games to start the season. I'd rather think of the glass as half full and the bartender is very liberal on the top-off. It's a lot more exciting to follow the games now than 2+ months ago.
An open forum! Too many topics, I can't concentrate. What do you think of this...4 games in hand against Carolina, the South East Division crown should be mandatory. The real question is how will the caps do against a 4/5/6 seed like Montreal, Philly and Pens? Do they need more ammo through a trade/will they need to concentrate on D against them/will Kelly Miller lace em up or all of the above?
Sorry JP - I got nothing, and class until 10 PM. I'm predicting a boring rehearsal of brass music and...wait, that's my evening. My dream would be for Erskine to fight Tucker and destroy his face. I'll go with this. Paul, it's a dream, but it's not a pipe dream anymore.
1) Looks like Ollie tonight then Johnny tomorrow against the falling Leafs. Someone got it right when they said the Caps need to carry over the intensity they've been showing 2) The Leafs are probably a fragile team right now, so scoring first would go a long way. Both their goalies are shaky. Unfortunately, so is tonight's caps starter. Might we see another high scoring affair? 3) Yes, with 4 games in hand over Carolina, and Atlanta looking just as bad, first in the SE looks VERY plausible. If not this week, then in the very near future. Yes, Gabby deserves the Adams if that happens! 4) Speaking of awards, if this streak/winning % continues, Backstrom is a good Calder candidate, and AO would not only be a Richard possibility, but should also get Hart votes! Amazing!
What if Ilya Bryzgalov was picked up on waivers...what could have been.
Ofcourse what if the caps centre had good ice and Juneau's penalty shot wasnt like skating through a DC side street.
But still Bryzgalov would've helped, unless its the Caps D thats is the problem, instead of Olie, or its the new system that coach has them playing or its a little bit of all three. Go Caps!
The Caps will likely see one game each of Toskala and Raycroft.
The Dulled Razor game is a gimme but Toskala isn't struggling so hopefully the Caps bring their 'A' game and continue their history of just killing the Leafs in these back-to-back games.
For for fun I wanted to see what Ovechkin's career stats would project to if he played 1500 NHL games in his career and if he stayed at the current goal, assist, etc pace that he has done so far in his first 3 years in th league. The following are the numbers I came up with:
Career Projection: 1500 games 967 goals 882 assists 1,848 points
You know, I'm rather glad we didn't get Ilya Bryzgalov. Sending Johnson or Kolzig through waivers would've been bad, and I think our minor league prospects for the Goalie position are going to turn some heads when it comes Pro time.
As for the leafs getting a managerial change... that's pretty crap timing for us, but hopefully it won't matter. We've beaten good and bad teams alike, which the Leafs are... I dunno. But I'd have put Johnson in first, and Kolzig in second, to give more of a chance to get the first game under our belts for a momentum boost into the second game. But, I'm not an NHL coach, either, so what the hell do I know?
Paul, I'm willing to bet we go into the break with 1st in the division.
i'm thinking that tonight if the caps keep up with the offense they've had over this stretch we will be more then fine against toronto, goaltending worries me a bit though.....Kolzig needs to learn to shute down his five hole and move better laterally but if our offense keep going the way it is we'll have more then enough goals to cover for him, even after saving a third of the shots he faced in Pittsburgh, Caps win 6-4
I tell you, Olie cannot let that killer 1st goal in like he did the other night - it was revolting to see that as well as Malkin stepping over the line and snapping it past Olie with a clear view of the shot. The Pens should not have been competitive Monday; Olie has a way of keeping us in the game, though, I'll give him credit.
Dunno. Doesn't really bother me, either. I think any of them could be called up now and perform on(if absolutely no better than) Kolzig's level, and they'd likely only get better with time anyway.
Regardless, when they do make it here, it'll be nice to see people shut the hell up about Bryzgalav.
I couldn't agree more. Those both pissed me off, and I told my girlfriend as soon as he let that first one in, that I'd have pulled him then and there. I love the guy, really, but that was just flat out ugly. Unfortunately, these days it seems that Kolzig is either on a hot night, or a cold night. He's extremely inconsistent, and it hurts because you can't predict which kind of night he'll have.
Also agreed that the penguins shouldn't have really been in the game, we outplayed them almost every minute of that game. Penguins fans can scream bloody murder about Saubourin sucking, but Kolzig wasn't any better. The rest of our team just beat theirs, plain and simple. I was certain that the penguins were going home with 2 welfare points after those bogus calls in overtime. But the caps seem to surprise me often, these days.
Who cares about them firing their manager? Toronto is a hot mess. The contents on the ice haven't changed. Hopefully Mo will be back tonight...I haven't seen any updates. Let's Go Caps!!
Well, we only changed our coach, and our ice contents stayed the same. But, to a degree, you have a valid point... a GM isn't a coach, either. Which is exactly why I think we'll still whoop up on 'em. But the caps have a tendency (always have, really) to beat the top ranking teams and then get spanked by some nobody team.
Here's to hoping, anyway, eh? :P
Also, sorry for all the posts, I'm actually just now making a blogger identity and keep seeing new comments.
please tell me you are joking about the kris beech pick up.....and if it's true then keep him down in hershey if nothing else if he can go there..beech has never done much of anything produtctive since he was drafted by us and we throw him out but somehow he always keeps coming back....
It's on Comcast Sports Net+ in the washington area, and on RIS (french canada) and TSN on the maple leaf's local side.
For us living in neither section, this is what we get Center Ice for... and it's blacked out. I have emailed them asking why, because it doesn't make sense to me, since it's only being covered locally on either end. I live in NC, so I don't get Comcast sports net+, and I definitely don't get canadian local crap.
What the hell, NHL? Is this some sort of punishment for calling Crosby an overrated douchebag? :(
Could it be since this is covered on the NHL Network (from what I could glean from the NHL website), that they're doing what the NFL did and keeping everyone else out of it?
I'm just glad I'm hopping a plane to DC in a bit so I can catch most of the game when I land...
1) Write to Gary Bettman. He'll answer each note individually and get things straitened out fast.....NOT! 2) After all, as he liked to say during his second lockout, 'its all about the fans'. ; )
So really, the explanation for why I don't get the game tonight, is that NHLN = dickheads. This doesn't make me want to get their service any more. It actually makes me want it less. Great PR move.
Until the NHL Network is bundled with Center Ice, blackouts like this will keep occurring. If you don't get Comcast+ in your area, the only solution then is to pony up the $3 a month for Comcast's Digital Sports Package upgrade.
Drip, drip, drip.
$3.00 gets you NHLN, NFLTV, NBATV, a whole slew of Fox sports channels, *and* the Tennis Network.
I agree, this just makes me feel blackmailed, not like I have to get NHL Network for all the great programming I'm now missing. There's no way I'm subscribing to it for the one or two times the Caps might be on per season
Is that what it is? $3 a month? Not a lot, but I still feel like I'm being blackmailed and as a grad student living in an area with a relatively high standard of living, every dollar counts.
But I guess it's worth it if you get the tennis network....
This is why I wouldn't move anywhere. I'm just over the line in PA, and I get the Baltimore-Washington Comcast channels. If I moved farther away, I'd lose the Caps. To hell with that idea!
Although I have to admit, I missed a game that was on CS+ because I didn't even know I had it. Regular Comcast had the Wizards. Like I want to watch that. Bring back the Bullets! But I digress...
I have NHLN but certain games, in the US i think, are not televised. The guide lists the game that SHOULD be aired, but when you flip to it the NHLN is showing some classic game.
i call shenanigans. this has happend about 3 times already
Indeed. The NHL is getting it's money already, in the most direct, no-nonsense way possible. What's even dumber is their argument for doing it, I believe, centers around Advertisement, but the fact of the matter is that even on center ice, the commercials are STILL THERE.
Well, I finally got a reply from Center Ice... and as expected, they gave me a BS answer. Needless to say, I won't be paying them anymore money. I'll find a way to watch the games next season.
Their specific answer is because it's being "nationally televised on DirecTV." DirecTV can fuck itself, as far as I'm concerned. Those cheap pricks cheated me out of money before, they sure as hell aren't getting another chance. I signed up for DirecTV and ordered a package that gave me all the comcast sportsnet channels (that way I would watch the caps games, yeah?) and they blacked every game out, claiming I have to order the NHL Network sperately. Kiss my dick.
DirecTV sucks and the NHL sucks for doing this kind of bullshit.
[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]
53 comments:
the Caps smell blood. so close to that first spot in the Southeast and just a few wins away from the 8th spot, if need be.
hope the Caps can keep up this level of intensity throughout the season. any drop off and its bye-bye playoffs.
5-2 Caps win, me thinks.
Well, the Canes lost to the Islanders last night, so that means that if we sweep the home and home against Toronto, the Caps would be in FIRST PLACE in the Southeast going into the break!
With the firing of Jr. and the hiring of no-nonsense Fletcher, the Leafs are poised to take back the season and go all the way this year. I can FEEL it.
Toskala/Raycoft need to be careful, though. This may be the game where another own goal is scored by the D, due to their furious, veteran defense.
More glares and concerned looks from me and we just may impress someone.
211-1, Caps
Crosby.
Having Morrisonn out obviously really hurt the Caps defensive zone coverage against the Pens. Green is a much better player paired with Mo than with Poti. He and Poti are just too similar, and no one stays home to mind the fort. For a few minutes in the second period against the Pens, Green was out with Erskine. The pairing made a lot of sense to me. Then Poti can stay with Jurcina, which seems to be a pretty good fit, too. That leaves Schultz with Emminger, and while I concede that is risky, they just might be a decent combo.
It always bothers me to play a team right after a managerial change. The Leafs have something to prove through the rest of the season (I'm good enough to keep, I'm good enough for trade value). I hope the Caps come out firing on all cylinders from the start and demoralize the Leafs.
Is it a coincidence that the day JP notes Brian Sutherby's lack of production in Anaheim that Vancouver put Kris Beech on waivers?
Someone said the other day that it was heartbreaking that the Caps lost so many games to start the season. I'd rather think of the glass as half full and the bartender is very liberal on the top-off. It's a lot more exciting to follow the games now than 2+ months ago.
the Leafs don't have the defense to stop our Mites on Ice.
An open forum! Too many topics, I can't concentrate. What do you think of this...4 games in hand against Carolina, the South East Division crown should be mandatory. The real question is how will the caps do against a 4/5/6 seed like Montreal, Philly and Pens? Do they need more ammo through a trade/will they need to concentrate on D against them/will Kelly Miller lace em up or all of the above?
5 goals allowed on 15 shots. Caps are allowing a lot of goals lately. Scary.
Does Brent get the start tonight? I would think that Bruce would have one go tonight and the other go tomorrow night.
If Kris Beech gets NHLPA-credited service time for the years he's spent on waivers, he's eligible for a FAT pension.
Sorry JP - I got nothing, and class until 10 PM.
I'm predicting a boring rehearsal of brass music and...wait, that's my evening.
My dream would be for Erskine to fight Tucker and destroy his face.
I'll go with this.
Paul, it's a dream, but it's not a pipe dream anymore.
Is it me or do other teams just wait for the Caps to come into their building to make a coaching/management shakeup.
1) Looks like Ollie tonight then Johnny tomorrow against the falling Leafs. Someone got it right when they said the Caps need to carry over the intensity they've been showing
2) The Leafs are probably a fragile team right now, so scoring first would go a long way. Both their goalies are shaky. Unfortunately, so is tonight's caps starter. Might we see another high scoring affair?
3) Yes, with 4 games in hand over Carolina, and Atlanta looking just as bad, first in the SE looks VERY plausible. If not this week, then in the very near future. Yes, Gabby deserves the Adams if that happens!
4) Speaking of awards, if this streak/winning % continues, Backstrom is a good Calder candidate, and AO would not only be a Richard possibility, but should also get Hart votes! Amazing!
Paul -
Maybe BB wants the one in goal that will win the home game? ;)
Not to be the buzzkill, but I feel a bit of a letdown as we crash back down to earth for one game.
Caps lose this one 5-3. Just a bad feeling about this game.
What if Ilya Bryzgalov was picked up on waivers...what could have been.
Ofcourse what if the caps centre had good ice and Juneau's penalty shot wasnt like skating through a DC side street.
But still Bryzgalov would've helped, unless its the Caps D thats is the problem, instead of Olie, or its the new system that coach has them playing or its a little bit of all three. Go Caps!
The Caps will likely see one game each of Toskala and Raycroft.
The Dulled Razor game is a gimme but Toskala isn't struggling so hopefully the Caps bring their 'A' game and continue their history of just killing the Leafs in these back-to-back games.
For for fun I wanted to see what Ovechkin's career stats would project to if he played 1500 NHL games in his career and if he stayed at the current goal, assist, etc pace that he has done so far in his first 3 years in th league. The following are the numbers I came up with:
Career Projection:
1500 games
967 goals
882 assists
1,848 points
Wayne Gretzky, who? ;)
You know, I'm rather glad we didn't get Ilya Bryzgalov. Sending Johnson or Kolzig through waivers would've been bad, and I think our minor league prospects for the Goalie position are going to turn some heads when it comes Pro time.
As for the leafs getting a managerial change... that's pretty crap timing for us, but hopefully it won't matter. We've beaten good and bad teams alike, which the Leafs are... I dunno. But I'd have put Johnson in first, and Kolzig in second, to give more of a chance to get the first game under our belts for a momentum boost into the second game. But, I'm not an NHL coach, either, so what the hell do I know?
Paul, I'm willing to bet we go into the break with 1st in the division.
And is Morrisonn back tonight?
hazardous -
When are these prospects going to be ready for full-time NHL duty? Don't the Caps have 2-3 years to bridge between now and then?
-d
i'm thinking that tonight if the caps keep up with the offense they've had over this stretch we will be more then fine against toronto, goaltending worries me a bit though.....Kolzig needs to learn to shute down his five hole and move better laterally but if our offense keep going the way it is we'll have more then enough goals to cover for him, even after saving a third of the shots he faced in Pittsburgh, Caps win 6-4
I tell you, Olie cannot let that killer 1st goal in like he did the other night - it was revolting to see that as well as Malkin stepping over the line and snapping it past Olie with a clear view of the shot. The Pens should not have been competitive Monday; Olie has a way of keeping us in the game, though, I'll give him credit.
Daniel:
Dunno. Doesn't really bother me, either. I think any of them could be called up now and perform on(if absolutely no better than) Kolzig's level, and they'd likely only get better with time anyway.
Regardless, when they do make it here, it'll be nice to see people shut the hell up about Bryzgalav.
Anonymous:
I couldn't agree more. Those both pissed me off, and I told my girlfriend as soon as he let that first one in, that I'd have pulled him then and there. I love the guy, really, but that was just flat out ugly. Unfortunately, these days it seems that Kolzig is either on a hot night, or a cold night. He's extremely inconsistent, and it hurts because you can't predict which kind of night he'll have.
Also agreed that the penguins shouldn't have really been in the game, we outplayed them almost every minute of that game. Penguins fans can scream bloody murder about Saubourin sucking, but Kolzig wasn't any better. The rest of our team just beat theirs, plain and simple. I was certain that the penguins were going home with 2 welfare points after those bogus calls in overtime. But the caps seem to surprise me often, these days.
Who cares about them firing their manager? Toronto is a hot mess.
The contents on the ice haven't changed.
Hopefully Mo will be back tonight...I haven't seen any updates.
Let's Go Caps!!
Debcapsfan:
Well, we only changed our coach, and our ice contents stayed the same. But, to a degree, you have a valid point... a GM isn't a coach, either.
Which is exactly why I think we'll still whoop up on 'em. But the caps have a tendency (always have, really) to beat the top ranking teams and then get spanked by some nobody team.
Here's to hoping, anyway, eh? :P
Also, sorry for all the posts, I'm actually just now making a blogger identity and keep seeing new comments.
Anyone know why the game isn't on center ice tonight? I'm sure it has to do with TV rights and what not, but I'm pretty pissed that it's not on.
1) Is THIS a joke: The Caps claimed (back) Kris Beeech off wavers today???? Why?
please tell me you are joking about the kris beech pick up.....and if it's true then keep him down in hershey if nothing else if he can go there..beech has never done much of anything produtctive since he was drafted by us and we throw him out but somehow he always keeps coming back....
Beech was a monster in NHL 2007 when the Caps' won the Stanley Cup (on beginner).
Scott: Good #$%*ing question.
TV: CSN-DC+, Radio: 3WT - Listen Live
I live in NC, so I don't get Comcast Sportsnet, and it's Blacked out for me, too. What the hell?
1) No joke on Beech
http://dumpnchase.wordpress.com/2008/01/23/390/#comments
whats all this about the game not being on center ice?
Center Ice refuses to air a team that picks up Kris Beach for a 3rd time.
im gonna fucking break something if its not on tv
It's on Comcast Sports Net+ in the washington area, and on RIS (french canada) and TSN on the maple leaf's local side.
For us living in neither section, this is what we get Center Ice for... and it's blacked out. I have emailed them asking why, because it doesn't make sense to me, since it's only being covered locally on either end. I live in NC, so I don't get Comcast sports net+, and I definitely don't get canadian local crap.
What the hell, NHL? Is this some sort of punishment for calling Crosby an overrated douchebag? :(
THE FINAL PIECE OF THE PUZZLE IS NOW IN PLACE!! ON TO VICTORY!!!1!
Seriously though...
Looks like it's a purely Hershey-centric move. Don't expect to see him in red, white, and blue anytime soon, if ever.
The notion that he will be able to show up if the situation gets that dire, though, is just about enough to put my stomach in knots.
All,
Could it be since this is covered on the NHL Network (from what I could glean from the NHL website), that they're doing what the NFL did and keeping everyone else out of it?
I'm just glad I'm hopping a plane to DC in a bit so I can catch most of the game when I land...
See you all at the Phone Booth tomorrow!
-d
Keeping everyone but the local TV stations out of it, you mean? :/
I paid my goddamn money, give me my goddamn games. What the hell ._.
Haz,
I agree, i'd be pissed if I were at home tonight, too. But, realistically, there's not a thing that Center Ice will do about it.
-d
1) Write to Gary Bettman. He'll answer each note individually and get things straitened out fast.....NOT!
2) After all, as he liked to say during his second lockout, 'its all about the fans'. ; )
So really, the explanation for why I don't get the game tonight, is that NHLN = dickheads. This doesn't make me want to get their service any more. It actually makes me want it less. Great PR move.
Until the NHL Network is bundled with Center Ice, blackouts like this will keep occurring. If you don't get Comcast+ in your area, the only solution then is to pony up the $3 a month for Comcast's Digital Sports Package upgrade.
Drip, drip, drip.
$3.00 gets you NHLN, NFLTV, NBATV, a whole slew of Fox sports channels, *and* the Tennis Network.
Advantage, Comcast.
I agree, this just makes me feel blackmailed, not like I have to get NHL Network for all the great programming I'm now missing. There's no way I'm subscribing to it for the one or two times the Caps might be on per season
Is that what it is? $3 a month? Not a lot, but I still feel like I'm being blackmailed and as a grad student living in an area with a relatively high standard of living, every dollar counts.
But I guess it's worth it if you get the tennis network....
I don't have comcast, here, is the thing. My cable company offers next to nothing in way of sports packages. I live in a small hick town in NC. :/
This is why I wouldn't move anywhere. I'm just over the line in PA, and I get the Baltimore-Washington Comcast channels. If I moved farther away, I'd lose the Caps. To hell with that idea!
Although I have to admit, I missed a game that was on CS+ because I didn't even know I had it. Regular Comcast had the Wizards. Like I want to watch that. Bring back the Bullets! But I digress...
Whew! I have the NHLN. $3 per month for that and whatever else is on the Sports Tier here in Central NY from Time Warner Cable.
NHLN isn't bad at all. You can watch old games from playoffs past and see how goalies should be equipped these days - size-wise.
I have NHLN but certain games, in the US i think, are not televised. The guide lists the game that SHOULD be aired, but when you flip to it the NHLN is showing some classic game.
i call shenanigans. this has happend about 3 times already
It's the fact of the matter - if I pay for NHL Center Ice, I should get all the games. period. End of story.
Indeed. The NHL is getting it's money already, in the most direct, no-nonsense way possible. What's even dumber is their argument for doing it, I believe, centers around Advertisement, but the fact of the matter is that even on center ice, the commercials are STILL THERE.
Well, I finally got a reply from Center Ice... and as expected, they gave me a BS answer. Needless to say, I won't be paying them anymore money. I'll find a way to watch the games next season.
Their specific answer is because it's being "nationally televised on DirecTV." DirecTV can fuck itself, as far as I'm concerned. Those cheap pricks cheated me out of money before, they sure as hell aren't getting another chance.
I signed up for DirecTV and ordered a package that gave me all the comcast sportsnet channels (that way I would watch the caps games, yeah?) and they blacked every game out, claiming I have to order the NHL Network sperately. Kiss my dick.
DirecTV sucks and the NHL sucks for doing this kind of bullshit.
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