Snip Snip: Former Caps Edition

The Vancouver Canucks have placed Matt Pettinger on waivers. Also not making an NHL club out of camp? Brian Willsie. Good luck, gents.

Thursday Roundup/Caps 2, Avs 1

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

There's little doubt in my mind that last night's Avalanche posed the smallest offensive threat of any team the Caps have played so far this season. Sure, they scored a goal (and came close a few more times late), but if it wasn't for a strong game from Jose "Hair Club" Theodore in between the pipes (and the Caps pounding shot after shot into the middle of the logo on the front of his sweater), last night's game would not have been close. A few more thoughts on the game:

• Hats off to Olie Kolzig who made every save he needed to make, including a left leg kickout on a goal mouth scramble that instantly transported 16,000 fans back to 2000.
• Quintin Laing's effort on the third period penalty kill was incredibly inspiring (and the fans acknowledgement of it with a standing ovation speaks to their savvy as well).
• Shaone Morrisonn's diving poke check was a thing of beauty, but his decision to step up on Wojtek Wolski with just over three minutes left was a poor one that cost the Caps.
• I know the fourth line was the Caps' best all night, but I don't want to see Donald Brashear on the ice in the last five minutes of a tight game. Ever.
• I've long been a Brooks Laich fan (it's true), and this year he has proven to be worth that faith.
• I didn't see the hit that sent Matt Bradley flying, but he was in ill-humor thereafter and immediately sought out Jeff Finger as a dance partner.
• Mike Green's rush with four minutes left in the first period was a thing of beauty, and Alex Semin had as pretty an unsuccessful breakaway as you'll see.
• Steve Eminger had a bit of an attitude last night and led the team with four hits.
• The Caps dominated the dot, winning 58% of all draws on the night.
  
• Memo to the Guy Sitting Behind Me Last Night: I didn't want to embarrass you in front of your man-date, but it's "Boudreau" (Bourdeaux is a city in France known for its wines), Mike Green will not be winning the Rookie of the Year this year (call it a hunch), and just because you've got a mouth doesn't mean you have to run it for 60 minutes of action. Cheers.
  

So now it's a few more days off for the Caps to heal up a bit more before facing Philly in a Sunday matinee that has all the makings of a playoff-like atmosphere. They'll need to adjust the sites on their sticks if they're going to have any luck against the Flyers, but then again luck is the due reward of the skillful - and these Caps are showing themselves to be just that.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Eric Fehr played - and played well - for Hershey last night.... Bad off-ice news for Bears enforcer Louis Robitaille.... Michal Neuvirth has been traded again (thanks to Brian for sending this one in).

Daily Awards

• Hart: Todd Bertuzzi (Game-winning G, 2A, +3)
  
• Ross: Mike Modano, Corey Perry, Todd Bertuzzi (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Sergei Zubov (A, +2, 2 blocked shots, 3 SOG)
  
• Vezina: Olie Kolzig (W, 18 saves on 19 shots against)
  
• Richard: 12 players tied with one goal apiece
  
• Calder: Nicklas Backstrom (61% faceoffs won)
  
• Aiken: Vesa Toskala (L, 5 goals allowed on 24 shots against)
  

Wednesday Roundup/Gamenight: Avs @ Caps

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

When last we saw the Avalanche, Mike Green was tooling his way through their entire team, Alex Ovechkin was blasting Karlis Skrastins through the glass, and Olie Kolzig was stopping a ridiculous 45 shots on goal en route to a 5-3 Caps win. The last time Colorado visited D.C. was even longer ago, all the way back in March of 2003 (a 2-1 Caps win thanks to a Sergei Berezin goal. Seriously).

Over the years, Washington has been inhospitable to tonight's visitors. In fact, since moving from Quebec to Denver, the Avs haven't won a single game in regulation in our nation's capital (both of their wins have come in OT, to go along with four losses and a tie).

If more recent history is your thing, Colorado has the fewest road wins in the Western Conference on the season. And if you're into really recent history, the Avs dropped a game last night in Detroit, their first stop on a five-game road swing that will take them to each of the Southeast Division cities other than Atlanta.

And despite a horrendous power-play and a bad penalty kill, the Avalanche are hanging right around the eight-spot out West (of course, a good week and they're looking at home-ice advantage in the first round - viva parity!), and lament as we might the Caps' current injury issues, the Avs are without Joe Sakic and Ryan Smyth (among others) - that's 2,203 career NHL points in the press box for those of you keeping score at home.

So as long as Paul Stastny doesn't do to the Caps what his father and uncle did nearly 27 years ago, there's no reason the Caps can't send the Avs South still searching for (and hopefully finding) their first points on this road trip.

Why The Avalanche Will Win:

"The Avs are looking to comeback from an embarrassing loss to the dreaded Red Wings, and the Caps are the perfect team to make a comeback against. [Peter] Budaj should get the start, the Avs are hot against the Eastern Conference, and it's time for the team to win without the help of Joe Sakic and Ryan Smyth, both on long time IR.

If the lack of defense of Alex Ovechkin can be exploited, and he can be kept in check, the Avs should rule the game. Or not." - Jerseys and Hockey Love

"The Avs will certainly beat the Capitals. Our coach has come up with a super secret plan that can't be stopped: he dresses eight defensemen and everyone knows eight defensemen is more than six defensemen. With two more defensemen than all the other teams, how could we lose?" - In The Cheap Seats

"The Avs will probably not win against the Capitals because Coach Joel Quenneville will probably start Jose Theodore in net---AGAIN. And also because the whole team is playing like crap lately." - Mile High Hockey

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Eric Fehr may play tonight (happy, Jan?).... Will Alex Ovechkin go back to Russia to be a whale in a fishbowl? In a word, no.... Go Canucks Go?... More Karl Alzner.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Chris Gratton (2G, A, +3, 3 SOG)
  
• Ross: Chris Gratton, Erik Johnson, Andy McDonald, Scott Hartnell, David Legwand (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Erik Johnson (3A, +2, 2 hits)
• Vezina: Dominik Hasek (19-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Jeff Carter, Chris Gratton, Andy McDonald (2G each)
  
• Calder: Erik Johnson (3A, +2, 2 hits)
  
• Aiken: Jason LaBarbera (L, 3 goals allowed on 7 shots against in just 6:40 of work)
  

Save The Dates

The NHL has released its 2007-08 regular season schedule. The Caps open on the road on October 5th against the Thrashers (and return home the following night to host the 'Canes), and close at home with the Panthers on April 5th.

Dates to be circled on your Caps calendar include: Kool-Aid Lips' Sidney Crosby's visits to D.C. (Oct. 20th, Mar. 9th), Dainius Zubrus's return to the VC as a Devil (Dec. 10th), the Caps' next opportunity to be speared by Daniel Briere (Nov. 2nd), the jilted Oilers' first-hand look at Michael Nylander (Jan. 17th), and Tom Poti and Viktor Kozlov's return to Long Island (Oct. 8th).

86 days and change until we get to see the Caps skate in their road whites on the Philips Arena ice.

Update: Here are more particulars from the club:

Like the past two seasons, the Capitals will face the other teams in the Southeast Division eight times each and the remaining Eastern Conference opponents four times each. Washington will host the five teams in the Northwest Division – the Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild and Vancouver Canucks – for one game each while paying a visit to each of the teams in the Central Division.

Nearly half of the Capitals’ 41 home games at Verizon Center fall on weekends, including nine Saturday games, five Friday games and five Sunday games. The schedule features holiday home games on the day before Thanksgiving (Nov. 21 against Atlanta) and New Year’s Day (Ottawa).

All but six of Washington’s home games are scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Select Sunday game start times are subject to change should they be selected for national broadcast on NBC.

Washington’s schedule includes four separate homestands of at least four games, highlighted by a five-game stretch at Verizon Center from Jan. 9-19. The other three four-game homestands are: Oct. 18-26, Dec. 8-14 and March 9-16. Washington will close out the regular season with three straight home games, April 1-5. Each of the Capitals’ last seven games are against Southeast Division opponents.

The team has only one road trip longer than three games, a six-game stretch from March 18-29. The Capitals will play 18 sets of games on consecutive days during the course of the season. Washington plays three home-and-home series – all against Canadian teams and all in January (vs. Ottawa Dec. 29 and Jan. 1, vs. Toronto Jan. 23 and 24 and vs. Montreal Jan. 29 and 31).

And The Nominees Are...

The NHL announced the nominees for its major (and not-so-major) awards this afternoon. Here they are, with my picks in bold:

CALDER MEMORIAL TROPHY (outstanding rookie): Evgeni Malkin, Penguins; Jordan Staal, Penguins; Paul Stastny, Avalanche.

FRANK J. SELKE TROPHY (outstanding defensive forward): Rod Brind'Amour, Hurricanes; Samuel Pahlsson, Ducks; Jay Pandolfo, Devils; write-in: Boyd Gordon, Washington Capitals.

HART MEMORIAL TROPHY (most valuable player to his team): Martin Brodeur, Devils; Sidney Crosby, Penguins; Roberto Luongo, Canucks.

JACK ADAMS AWARD (outstanding coach): Lindy Ruff, Sabres; Michel Therrien, Penguins; Alain Vigneault, Canucks.

JAMES NORRIS MEMORIAL TROPHY (outstanding defenseman): Nicklas Lidstrom, Red Wings; Scott Niedermayer, Ducks; Chris Pronger, Ducks.

LADY BYNG MEMORIAL TROPHY (sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct): Pavel Datsyuk, Red Wings; Joe Sakic, Avalanche; Martin St. Louis, Lightning.

LESTER B. PEARSON AWARD (most outstanding player as voted by fellow members of the NHLPA): Sidney Crosby, Penguins; Vincent Lecavalier, Lightning; Roberto Luongo, Canucks.

VEZINA TROPHY *** (outstanding goaltender): Martin Brodeur, Devils; Miikka Kiprusoff, Flames; Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers; Roberto Luongo, Canucks.

*** tie for third place in balloting; four finalists named

What do you think?

Mascot Power Rankings

I was curious, so I did a little research. In the United States, an estimated 55 people are killed by lightning, 21 or so people are killed by avalanches, and 17 by hurricanes each year. Bruins (bears) kill around one person per year in the U.S., less than one death by shark or panther (mountain lion) happens in the U.S. annually, coyote attacks are incredibly rare and I can't find a single reported death by duck, penguin, thrasher or the ever-frightful maple leaf.

So congrats, Bolts - it looks like you're the NHL's most prolific killers (of course, it could be argued that Senators killed more than 800 Americans last year, but we needn't go there).

There's Always Next Year... To Bet On

Despite the fact that the 2006 Stanley Cup Champion has yet to be decided (despite what some 'Canes fans are apparently flooding message boards with), Vegas is already posting odds for next year's Cup, and here they are:

Name			Current
OTT SENATORS			6/1
DET RED WINGS			7/1
CAR HURRICANES			8/1
NJ DEVILS			10/1
DAL STARS			10/1
SJ SHARKS			10/1
PHI FLYERS			12/1
CGY FLAMES			12/1
BUF SABRES			12/1
NY RANGERS			15/1
EDM OILERS			15/1
ANA DUCKS			15/1
NAS PREDATORS			18/1
COL AVALANCHE			18/1
TB LIGHTNING			20/1
VAN CANUCKS			20/1
MON CANADIENS			20/1
TOR MAPLE LEAFS			25/1
LA KINGS			25/1
ATL THRASHERS			30/1
FLA PANTHERS			40/1
PHX COYOTES			40/1
MIN WILD			50/1
BOS BRUINS			50/1
COB BL JACKETS			50/1
NY ISLANDERS			50/1
WAS CAPITALS			75/1
PIT PENGUINS			75/1
CHI BLACKHAWKS			75/1
STL BLUES			100/1

If you're in Vegas, drop a dime on the Sabres for The Rink. We'll split the returns with you.

[Hat tip to Stanthefan for the link]

Bertookie Executed

After being denied clemency by California Governor Arnold Swarzenegger, former Vancouver Canuck and founding member of the Crips gang in Los Angeles Todd Bertookie (pictured) was executed by lethal injection early Tuesday for the 1979 robbery murders of four people in Los Angeles and for criminally assaulting then-Colorado Avalanche forward Steve Moore during a 2004 game.

The Ultimate Hockey Roadtrip

[With apologies to Eric at Off Wing Opinion for borrowing his title]

Recently Odd Man Rush linked to an article in a small Maine newspaper (Maine's oldest paper, in fact) about a couple of friends and their ambitious hockey vacation:

I studied the NHL schedule and a road map and discovered it would be fairly easy to hit several NHL cities in a week. I informed my friend, Josh, an equally demented pucks fan, of my plan and he was quickly on board. The plan was to go to games in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Detroit. The trip would allow us to see three Original 6 teams (the Montreal Canadiens, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Detroit Red Wings) in three hockey-crazed cities, and possibly the NHL's best all-around squad in the Ottawa Senators, who also happened to have one my favorite all-time players, 40-year-old Dominik Hasek, in goal. Since the trip would take us through Toronto, we'd also be able to hit the Hockey Hall of Fame. It was the ultimate pucks pilgrimage.

Best of all, we'd be free to act like little boys again.

"Three cities in a week?" I thought. "Amateurs." Now, I'm not about to claim that I invented the hockey road trip. I may, however, have perfected it. And with my father and brother, we had just about the best family vacation imaginable. What follows, then, is the timeline of an incredible week of hockey, male bonding and more hockey.

March 6, 2004

My brother Rich (Pooh, to Rink regulars) lives in Los Angeles. At this time he was an employee of the L.A. Kings and free club-level tickets to the Kings/Canadiens game were well worth the price of sleeping on the floor in Pooh's apartment (dad got the pull-out couch). The game featured a 46-save performance by then-Hab goalie Mathieu Garon (maybe that's why the Kings traded for him) and a two-goal, one-assist performance by personal favorite Richard Zednik, so despite a home team loss, the on-ice product was enjoyable. The highlight of the game, however, was that our seats were in the players' section, and we sat one row behind an injured Ziggy Palffy. I don't know why I'm star-struck by hockey players. I can walk right by celebs in other walks of life, but for some reason am in awe of hockey players. Anyway, I got Ziggy's autograph on a puck as he left, and we headed home happy. Well, except for the Kings fan among us.

March 7

The first flight of the trip was early the next morning, a 7:00 flight to Vancouver. This was Sunday and one of the only non-game days, so we rested up, saw some of Vancouver in the rain and generally relaxed. We had no idea what would await us the next day.

March 8

Otters. Really cute otters. Good lord, these things were- sorry. I'm back on track now. After spending the better part of the day sight seeing (including the Vancouver Aquarium) in what really is an exceptionally beautiful city, the three of us headed to GM Place for that evening's game between the host Canucks and the visiting Avalanche. There was a lot on the line - first place in an ultra-tough division and, for a small handful of cro-mags, revenge for a marginal hit that Avs' grinder Steve Moore had laid on Canucks captain Markus Naslund two weeks earlier. I don't need to detail the events leading up to the game, nor really do I have to detail what happened during the game (which wasn't really much of a game at all, though Trevor Linden did become the Canucks' all-time leading scorer with his two assists). But I remember clear as a bell turning to my father about mid-way through the third period as Todd Bertuzzi and Moore were both on the ice and saying, "Watch Bertuzzi - he's trying to get Moore to go." So we watched Bertuzzi chase Moore and finally, well, you know what he did.

After the dust cleared slightly and Steve Moore lay there on the ice, I swear I thought he was dead. It was a very similar feeling I got watching the Jiri Fischer incident on television a couple of weeks ago. Absolutely mortifying (and I wonder why the Wings game was postponed at that point but they finished the Avs/Canucks match). We spent the rest of the night in bars, talking to the locals and trying to gather any information about what we'd seen. The fact that Moore was alive was good news at that point. The fact that I was well into the wobbly pops and we had another early flight the next morning was not.

March 9

I guess this is as good a time as any to mention that my brother doesn't fly well. At all. Think about how you'd feel if the pilot came over the loudspeaker and said, "Folks, I'm afraid I have some bad news. It seems our engines have petered out, our landing gear is kaput and that twelve-pack of Pabst I had before the flight are finally catching up to me. We do realize you have a choice in airlines and we thank you for choosing us." Ding. You are now free to crap in your pants. That is how I imagine Pooh feels on even the smoothest of flights. So when we encountered a little turbulence as we crossed over the Canadian Rockies, he was a wreck. Poor kid. Needless to say, we made it.

After a whirlwind tour of Calgary (the Tower -which was swaying in the wind, the Zoo, the cowboy stores, etc.) it was off to the Saddledome to take in one of the great rivalries in sports - the Oilers and Flames. We had the Bob Uecker seats in a building that is reminscent of the old Capital Centre out in Landover. In other words, dark, dingy and rockin'. The game didn't disappoint either, with Jussi Markkanen and Miikka Kiprusoff standing on their heads and settling for a 1-1 tie. On a side note, I think I got a tan from the pyrotechnics following the Flames' goal. I'm shocked it didn't melt the ice. Then again, if the ice girls couldn't nothing would (ed. note: upon further review, the girls are awful looking. Hey, I told you we had bad seats).

March 10

The next morning we awoke, hopped in the rental car and headed to Tim Horton's. How is it that they have Tim Horton's and we're the nation of fatties? I probably had enough maple dip donuts in four days to give a moose a heart attack. But I digress. We finished Glutton Bowl IV and headed north, arriving in Edmonton early in the afternoon. We only had a few hours in which to see the town, which proved to be enough time. By a few hours.

A subway ride and a scalper later, we were inside Rexall Place (where we'd been greeted by a statute of Wayne Gretzky hoisting the Cup outside and multiple Stanley Cup Champion banners inside) to see the Avs again. Steve Moore was a scratch. The game was a good one - the Avs won in overtime on an Adam Foote goal - and our time in Canada was drawing to a close. But not before I watched my 140-pound brother put away more food at a Boston Pizza than I thought humanly possible. It was a little bit revolting, but oh so manly. Which was what this trip was about, right?

March 11

Here's where things went from a little crazy to full-blown mania, as we had a 6:30 AM flight the next day out of Edmonton. With a brief stop in Denver (why didn't we take the Avs' charter?), we arrived back in Los Angeles by noon. Was our trip done? Hardly.

March 12

The most harrowing leg of the planes, trains and automobiles trip may have been the drive from Los Angeles to Anaheim during a Friday rush hour. Lord. We finally made it to the Pond for that night's game between the Isles and Ducks, easily the least entertaining game of the trip, though Rick DiPietro's 45-save performance is certainly noteworthy, as were not one but two fights involving Duck tough Garett Burnett. Also noteworthy was the arena itself. It was easily the most family-oriented and cleanest building I've ever been in (including hospitals). And the hallways literally have marble floors. I guess I should have expected that combining Disney and the O.C. would result in such a non-hockey friendly environment, but it was still a shock to the system.

March 13

The next morning we caught a flight out of LAX up to San Jose for the last game of our trip, an afternoon tilt between the Kings and Sharks. Nice arena. Decent game. Great giveaway (an HP laptop is given away during every game). But I could sense a bit of burnout in the three of us. Too much travel? Too much hockey? Too much of each other? Maybe a little of each, but honestly, if anyone had wanted to hop a flight to Denver for the next day's Coyotes/Avs game, I'd have done it in a second.

After the game we had a nice dinner and toasted our trip. Six games in six cities in eight nights. A couple of weeks later, I took a mini trip by myself to see games in Columbus and Pittsburgh (I had a wedding to attend in Columbus and Pittsburgh was on the drive home... sort of), but it wasn't the same. You see, what made the trip special wasn't the hockey. It was the time spent with my father and brother. Alright, who am I kidding? It was about the hockey. And it was almost enough to carry me through the entire lockout. Almost.

That, my friends, was the ultimate hockey roadtrip.

Wednesday Roundup/Gamenight: Preds @ Caps

[Gameday Preview - Nashville Tennessean Preview]

Tonight the Caps welcome the Music City Kitties, brought to you by Grey Poupon, to the MCI (and yes, they'll be wearing those beautiful alternate sweaters). The Preds have the fourth most points in the NHL (with at least a game in hand on everyone in front of them), and boast the League's reigning Defensive Player of the Week in goaltender Tomas Vokoun (who has a 1.82 goals against average and a .944 save percentage in his career against the Caps). Nashville does face the Rangers back home tomorrow night, so it's quite possible the Caps will see backup netminder Chris Mason and not Vokoun. Either way, tonight will be a sizable challenge for Los Capitales.

In other Caps news, the WaPo takes a look at Olie Kolzig's future in Washington (perhaps it will be longer than most had thought at the outset of the season), and the WTtimes has a profile of Shaone Morrisonn (who is coming along rather nicely, thank you very much).

In other news from around the League:

• Interesting stat of the day, per TSN.ca: "Carolina's Kevyn Adams scored three goals in a 6-2 win over Anaheim on Tuesday. He is the first NHL player to score his first six goals of a season on hat tricks since November 2001, when Alexei Kovalev did it with Pittsburgh."
• The Colorado Avalanche have called up goaltender Vitaly Kolesnik, despite numbers one (David Aebischer) and one-A (Peter Budaj) goalies apparently being healthy. Is something big afoot in Avland? The Rocky Mountain News seems to think so. Stay tuned.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Mike York (2G, 3A)
• Ross: Mike York (2G, 3A)
  
• Norris: Mattias Norstrom (2A, +1)
  
• Vezina: Mathieu Garon (W, 36 saves on 37 shots against in Toronto)
  
• Richard: Kevyn Adams (3G)
  
• Calder: Antero Niittymaki (Shutout win including 28 saves through OT and three in the shootout)
• Aiken: Patrick Lalime (L, 4 goals against on 13 shots in 38:22)
  

Season Preview & Fearless Predictions

Friends, we've waited too long for this day to come, but it is finally nearly upon us. Tomorrow night: NHL hockey. The League opens with a full slate of games featuring superstars in new places, highly-anticipated rookies getting ready to leave their marks on the sport, and optimism about rules designed to let the game's best players flash their skill and athleticism. But first, some predictions, beginning with the standings (click on team for Japers' Rink's Team Preview) and wrapping up with awards:

Eastern Conference

1. Ottawa Senators
2. Boston Bruins
3. Philadelphia Flyers
4. Tampa Bay Lightning
5. Montreal Canadiens
6. New Jersey Devils
7. Pittsburgh Penguins
8. Florida Panthers
9. Toronto Maple Leafs
10. Atlanta Thrashers
    
11. Buffalo Sabres
    
12. New York Islanders
13. Carolina Hurricanes
    
14. New York Rangers
15. Washington Capitals

Western Conference

1. San Jose Sharks
2. Detroit Red Wings
3. Calgary Flames
   
4. Vancouver Canucks
5. Nashville Predators
6. Colorado Avalanche
7. Dallas Stars
8. Los Angeles Kings
9. Edmonton Oilers
10. Anaheim Mighty Ducks
11. Phoenix Coyotes
    
12. Columbus Blue Jackets
13. Chicago Blackhawks
14. Minnesota Wild
15. St. Louis Blues

Stanley Cup Champion

• Conventional Wisdom: Calgary Flames
  
• Our Pick: Ottawa Senators

Hart Trophy (Most Valuable Player)

• Conventional Wisdom: Jarome Iginla
  
• Our Pick: Joe Thornton

Art Ross Trophy (Top Point Scorer)

• Conventional Wisdom: Markus Naslund
  
• Our Pick: Joe Thornton

Norris Trophy (Top Defenseman)

• Conventional Wisdom: Scott Niedermayer
  
• Our Pick: Chris Pronger

Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy (Top Goalscorer)

• Conventional Wisdom: Jarome Iginla
• Our Pick: Jaromir Jagr

Vezina Trophy (Top Goaltender)

• Conventional Wisdom: Miikka Kiprusoff
  
• Our Pick: Evgeni Nabokov
  

Jack Adams Trophy (Coach of the Year)

• Conventional Wisdom: Darryl Sutter (Calgary)
  
• Our Pick: Ron Wilson (San Jose)
  

Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year)

• Conventional Wisdom: Sidney Crosby
  
• Our Pick: Kari Lehtonen
  

Flyers 5, Capitals 2/Sunday Roundup

For two periods last night the Caps, thanks mostly to the sparkling goaltending of Maxime Ouellet, were tied with the Flyers. Max had saved 17 of 18 shots and Miroslav Zalesak's power play goal had the two teams tied at one. But just 31 seconds into the third period Flyers rookie Mike Richards scored, a tally that was answered by Brian Sutherby's goal with the extra skater eight minutes later. A Brendan Witt hooking call (Witt? A penalty? No...) half a minute later put Philly a man to the good and Jon Sim scored the goal that put the Flyers ahead to stay. Sim, who had scored the game's first goal, completed the hat trick with under three minutes left and Joni Pitkanen added an empty netter to finish off the Caps (0-3-1) 5-2.

The Caps were once again victimized by penalties at inopportune times, leading Witt to remark that "The game was played one way for 100 years or more, and now they are changing it." Apparently Witt is not taking issue with the shootout, removal of the redline, 4-on-4 overtime, or the advent of the slapshot or goalie masks for that matter. No, the change Witt has a problem with is the enforcement of rules that have been on the books, some for 100 years or more. You see, Witt's real problem is that unskilled, slow defensemen like him can no longer clutch and grab as much as they used to. The Brendan Witts of the NHL are an endangered species. To his credit, Witt seems to recognize this, noting "[y]ou have to learn what you can and can't get away with." He'd better learn fast, because under the new strict-enforcement regime, it is definitely not Brendan Witt's NHL.

Back to the game and, well, there's not much more to say. The shootout sounded exciting, as neither goalie could stop anything and the Caps actually won it. Cheers.

The WaPo's coverage is here, the WTimes' is here. George Solomon also has a blurb on the Caps here in which calls on McPhee and Leonsis to bulk up the blueline:

I know all about Capitals majority owner Ted Leonsis's youth program and his $25 million budget, but being outscored, 18-4, in four preseason games, including a 4-0 loss to Buffalo at MCI Wednesday night, doesn't bode well for the upcoming NHL season.

The Caps had nearly 18 months to prepare for the resumption of hockey and owe their fans more than what they've shown. So how about spending some money on acquiring some defensemen to put in front of goalie Olie Kolzig and cut the philosophic manifestos.

Well said.

Tonight's game: Pittsburgh @ Washington (in Hershey), 5:00 PM.

Saturday's Scoreboard:

• Mike Dunham saved 36 of 38 shots for Atlanta as the Thrash beat Carolina 4-2. It was Atlanta's first win and Carolina's first regulation loss of the preseason.
• The Senators pounded the Penguins 6-2 and some guy scored his first career NHL goal.
• Jose Theodore went the distance and made 20 saves in the Candadiens' 3-2 win over Toronto.
• Glen Murray scored twice in his first preseason game to help the Bruins crush the Isles 6-2.
• Speaking of blowouts, Tampa beat in-state rival Florida 5-0 behind (or in front of) a 26-save shutout by Sean Burke.
• Patrick Lalime's 28 saves held off Nashville as the Blues beat the Preds 2-1.
• It was a great night for a pair of Ducks rookies in Vancouver as Corey Perry potted two goals and Ryan Getzlaf had three assists in Anaheim's 4-2 win over the Canucks.
• Former Cap captain Steve Konowalchuk scored in overtime to lift the Avalanche over the Kings 2-1 at MGM Grand Garden Arena. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but both teams apparently had left their offense at home.

In other news of note around the League:

• I've got nothing. Enjoy the President's Cup and a day of NFL football.
  

Tuesday Roundup: Caps' Self-Imposed "One Max Max" Rule

With the demotion of goaltender Maxime Daigneault, Tarik El-Bashir has deduced that the Caps will use Maxime Ouellet as Olie Kolzig's backup for the coming season. Hard-hitting investigative reporting, considering that the move left the Caps with only two goaltenders in camp. According to the snoozer of an article in the WaPo, Ouellet could see upwards of 20 starts.

Dave Fay wasted less space saying the same thing and spent the remainder of his article talking about how the rule changes are good for hockey. Zzzzzz.

CNNSI.com's Darren Eliot has his preview of the Caps up.

There's also a disturbing rumor floating around that Alexander Semin played for Lada last night and is going to stay in Russia. Will the saga with this kid ever end?

Monday's Scoreboard:

• Columbus needed a shootout goal from Jaroslav Balastik to beat Pittsburgh 3-2, despite having 16 power play opportunities (and scoring on just one). Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 31 of 33 shots for the Pens, who played without Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby, among others.
  
• Martin St. Louis picked up where he left off last year, scoring a goal and adding two assists in Tampa's 5-3 win over Detroit. Freddy Modin and Kris Draper each had a pair of goals and an assist for the 'Ning and Wings, respectively, and John Grahame beat Manny Legace in a battle of two netminders fighting for their team's starting job.
  

Elsewhere around the League:

• The Devils have to cut $2.22 million in salary over the next two weeks to get under the salary cap. Likely candidates to be shipped out of the swamp for a bucket of pucks are Viktor Kozlov, Sergei Brylin, Jeff Friesen and/or Jamie Langenbrunner.

Updates:

• Avalanche wing Milan Hejduk has undergone arthroscopic knee surgery and will miss four to five weeks.
• Pavel Datsyuk is back with the Wings. Can Ilya Kovalchuk's return to Atlanta be far behind?
  

Team Preview: Phoenix Coyotes

Key additions: Wayne Gretzky, Head Coach; Brett Hull, RW (FA - DET); Curtis Joseph, G (FA - DET); Mike Leclerc, LW (T - ANA); Mike Ricci, C (FA - SJ); Petr Nedved, C/LW (FA - EDM); Oleg Saprykin, LW (T - CGY); Sean O'Donnell, D (FA - BOS); Denis Gauthier, D (T - CGY); Jason Chimera, LW (T - EDM); Boyd Devereaux, C/LW (FA - DET); Chris McAllister, D/LW (FA - NYR); Zbynek Michalek, D (T -MIN); Steve Passmore, G (FA - CHI); David LeNeveu, G (D - 2002, 2/46); Keith Ballard, D (D - 2002, 1/11 by BUF)

Key losses: Daymond Langkow, C (T- CGY); Radoslav Suchy, D (T - CBJ); Brian Savage, LW (FA); Brent Johnson, G (FA - VAN); Andrei Nazarov, RW/LW (FA - MIN); Jean-Marc Pelletier, G (FA - FLA); Jon Sim, LW/RW (FA - PHI); Erik Westrum, RW/C (T - MIN); Dustin Wood, D (T - MIN); Dan Cleary, RW (FA)

Key players unsigned: None

Forwards: The Coyotes tied for 23rd in the League in goals in 2003-04. Such a pathetic offensive showing would not sit well with the new bench boss, so the usually-thrifty Desert Dogs went on a bit of a spending spree before the lockout adding Petr Nedved, Brett Hull and Mike Ricci, who totalled 51 goals among them in 2003-04. Hull is still capable of scoring around 25 goals and Nedved should also be around the 20 goal mark. Ricci hasn't scored 20 goals in his past two seasons combined, so don't look for it this year from the checking line center. The real boosts to the offense will come if the 'Yotes can get full seasons out of wingers Ladislav Nagy and Mike Johnson and center Mike Comrie, who played only 55, 11 and 28 games, repectively, for Phoenix in 2003-04. Nagy was in the midst of a breakout year (52 points in 55 games) when he suffered a dislocated wrist that ended his season in February of 2004; Johnson, who was coming off a 23 goal/63 point 2002-03 had 10 points in 11 games before undergoing shoulder surgery in November of 2003; and Comrie, now with his third organization in four NHL seasons, never really got it going in Philadelphia or Phoenix after a lengthy holdout. Joining Nagy and Comrie on the top line will be Shane Doan, a "heart-and-soul" type who has scored at least 20 goals in each of the last five NHL seasons. The inconsistent Oleg Saprykin will also see some time on a scoring line, as will Mike Leclerc, and the Coyotes hope that this is the year that former first round pick Fredrik Sjostrom (11th overall in 2001) starts to live up to his advanced billing. Overall, Phoenix's offense will be better top-to-bottom in 2005-06 and, if they can stay healthy, the team will have two consistent scoring lines. They're not the 1983-84 Oilers (who scored more goals than the 2003-04 Avalanche and Bruins combined!), but at least the Great One should be able to resist the urge to lace 'em up again, at least until November.

Defensemen: As bad as the Phoenix offense was in 2003-04, the defense was worse, finishing only ahead of the woeful Rangers, Capitals, Blackhawks and Penguins in goals against. Of course only so much of the responsibility for that ineptitude can be heaped upon the defensemen, but the blueline was of enough concern that the 'Yotes went out and bolstered the group by adding a pair of punishers in Denis Gauthier and Sean O'Donnell to take care of business in the defensive zone, though neither has much to offer offensively. The trio of Paul Mara, Derek Morris and David Tanabe are all above-average offensive defensemen entering their respective primes (each is between 25- and 27-years-old), and will compliment Gauthier and O'Donnell nicely. Cale Hulse, Matthew Spiller and Brad Ference will all also see time on the backline, and Keith Ballard has an outside chance of making the team out of camp, but more likely will start the season in the AHL. The additions of Gauthier and O'Donnell, as well as the maturing of Phoenix's big three defensemen make this group a significant upgrade over 2003-04's.

Goaltenders: Back in December of 2003 Brian Boucher went on a 10-game undefeated tear that saw him stop just about everything in sight, including a five-straight-shutout/332 -minute scoreless streak. Thereafter, Boucher went 4-17-5 and had a save percentage of .886. Look out below! Even with his historic 10-game stretch - in which his save percentage was a staggering .958 - Boucher ended the season with a save percentage of only .906. Take away the scoreless streak and his goals against average was over 3.00 for the year. All of this is a long-winded way of saying that Brian Boucher is not an NHL-caliber starting goalie. The Coyotes knew this as well as anyone (except perhaps Bobby Clarke, who stole Robert Esche and Michal Handzus from Phoenix for Boucher back in 2002), so they signed Detroit's free agent castaway Curtis Joseph to handle the goaltending duties. Joseph never really got a fair shot in Detroit, but did a decent job when he was playing. Immediately before that, he was solid for good Leafs teams. Joseph is a proven winner, going 396-289-90 over his career. But he's also 38-years-old and missed half of 2003-04 with ankle injuries. Can the Coyotes get 40+ games out of CuJo this year? We'll take the under. Against this bleak goaltending background is a shining future star in former Cornell Big Red goaltender David LeNeveu. LeNeveu had a tough year on the AHL's worst team last year, but has the physical and mental tools that scouts look for in young goalies. Should the season start to slip away from Phoenix or if either Joseph or Boucher get hurt, expect LeNeveu to get a look.

Bottom line: The 2003-04 Coyotes finished 23rd in goals scored, 26th in goals against, 26th in power play percentage and 23rd in penalty killing percentage. There is almost no place to go but up, which is good when you have a rookie head coach. Expectations are probably unrealistically high because of a few big names (Gretzky, Hull, Joseph), but the Coyotes are a team that could sneak up on people. They play in an improved division, so the road to the playoffs won't be easy, but a healthy Phoenix will have a decent shot at playing post-season hockey for the first time since 2001-02.

Team USA: The March To Turin Begins

For Team USA, today was orientation day in Colorado Springs, as the players and coaches got a first look at each other and the team upon which American hockey fans will once again pin their Olympic hopes. The team will be coached by Franklin, MA native Peter Laviolette, who currently holds the same position with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Many, like Avalanche center and Salt Lake City, UT-native Steve Konowalchuk, looked forward to this camp as "fun being back on the ice with the boys." But expectations are high for the Yanks. As the Edmonton Sun notes, "[i]f the U.S hockey team skates off with a gold medal in the Turin Olympics, no one will call it a miracle or rush to make a major motion picture."

Expect much more in the weeks and months ahead, so stay with The Rink for coverage of Team USA all the way through its quest for gold in Turin.

Team Preview: Nashville Predators

Key additions: Paul Kariya, LW (FA - COL); Daniil Markov, D (T - PHI); Scott Nichol, C/RW (FA - CHI); Darcy Hordichuk, LW (T - FLA); Randy Robitaille, C/LW (FA - ATL); Sheldon Brookbank, D (FA - ATL); Kris Beech, C (T - PIT); Ryan Suter, D (D - 2003, 1/7); Shea Weber, D (D - 2003, 2/49)

Key losses: Andreas Lilja, D (FA - DET); Shane Hnidy, D (T - ATL); Andrew Hutchinson, D (T - CRL); Andreas Johansson, C/LW/RW (FA - Europe); Robert Schnabel, D (FA - Europe); Cam Severson, LW (FA - CGY); Wyatt Smith, C (FA - NYI); Vladimir Orszagh, RW (FA); Brad Bombardir, D (FA)

Key players unsigned: Adam Hall, RW

Forwards: Paul Kariya had the worst year of his career in 2003-04, racking up only 36 points in 51 games for the Avalanche (three fewer points than he had in 47 games as a rookie in 1994-95). Kariya is clearly not that bad a hockey player, but is he a $4.5 million man in the salary cap era? He may very well be. Kariya has scored at well over a point per game over his career, is only 30, and will be his team's primary offensive option for the first time since 2002-03, a season in which he posted 81 points. Kariya is a shot-producing machine, four times besting 300 shots on goal in a season and once breaking 400 (by comparison, only one player, Ilya Kovalchuk with 341, had more than 300 shots in 2003-04). It may be early, but Kariya certainly has the inside track on Comeback Player of the Year. Kariya will have plenty of help up front with the talented Martin Erat, the speedy David Legwand and another dimunitive playmaker, the always-in-motion Steve Sullivan, as well as the gritty Scott Walker and a pair of young guns in agitator Scottie Upshall and power forward Scott Hartnell. Greg Johnson, Robitaille and crowd-favorite Jordin Tootoo will also see plenty of ice time. The Predators have seven regular forwards under six feet tall (Kariya, Sullivan, Walker, Erat, Johnson, Robitaille and Nichol), and contrary to popular belief, that still may be a problem in the "new NHL." They also could use another center, but the Predators boast their deepest group of forwards to date, and with Kariya leading the way, this team should break the top 10 in goals scored.

Defensemen: Like its forwards, Nashville's blueline is also undersized, as top pair Marek Zidlicky and Kimmo Timonen are both under six feet tall. Both posses impressive offensive skills, though, and Timonen's speed and smarts often make up for his lack of size in his own zone. Markov was brought in as a big hitter with some skill, and should see minutes in all situations for Nashville. The year off should help 2001 first round pick (12th overall) Dan Hamhuis, who dominated for the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL in 2004-05 and who should continue his emergence as a top-four defenseman. Mark Eaton is a decent back-end defenseman and Jamie Allison is the most physical of the Preds' blueliners, but offers little else. The real excitement is about youngsters Suter and Weber, at least one of whom should have a good shot at making the opening night roster, and both of whom will be key contributors before long.

Goaltenders: Tomas Vokoun showed the world that he is a big game goalie when he lead the Czechs to gold at the 2005 Worlds, shutting out Canada in the final (the Detroit Red Wings already knew how good Vokoun is after being frustrated time and again in the 2003-04 playoffs). Vokoun is an aggressive goalie who is developing the cocky edge that fellow countryman Dominik Hasek has carried for years. His numbers haven't been great (2.53 goals against average, .909 save percentage in 2003-04), but that is largely due to the lack of experience playing in front of him; as they improve, so will Vokoun's numbers. Vokoun's backup will be Chris Mason.

Bottom line: The Preds made the playoffs for the first time in 2003-04 and gave Detroit a scare in the first round, pushing the Presidents' Trophy winners to six games before bowing out. Building on that success, the Predators took their first big dip in the free agent pool when they signed Kariya in early August. General Manager David Poile has put together a team in Music City that he believes was a player or two away from contending for a division, if not a conference title, and Kariya fit one of those needs. Well, the Predators still have needs. They need more size up front, a little more down the middle and they need more experience, especially on the blueline, before they can challenge the Western Conference's elites. But the Nashville Predators will make the playoffs with the team they have now, and if they can add the one or two missing pieces and the team matures, they are certainly capable of surprising people in the spring.

Team Preview: Dallas Stars

Key additions: Martin Skoula, D (FA - ANA); Stephane Robidas, D (FA - CHI); Johan Hedberg, G (FA - VAN); Garrett Burnett, LW (FA - ANA)

Key losses: Valeri Bure, RW (FA - LA); Pierre Turgeon, C/LW (COL); Teppo Numminen, D (FA - BUF); Chris Therien, D (FA - PHI); Rob DiMaio, RW (FA - TB); Scott Young, RW (FA); Ron Tugnutt, G (FA); Don Sweeney, D (Retired)

Key players unsigned: None

Forwards: Certain players should never change teams. Can you imagine Steve Yzerman in a Panthers jersey? Or Joe Sakic in Carolina? Or Ray Bourque donning an Avalanche sweater? OK, scratch that last one, but you get the point. Mike Modano is one of those players who is so identified with a franchise - and the franchise with him - that his re-signing with Dallas actually gave some sense of stability to an otherwise maddening frenzy of player movement this offseason. That said, Modano's best years seem to be behind him. He is not as bad as his horrendous 44-point effort from 2003-04, but his point-a-game days look to be fading in the rear view mirror. Most disturbing of all, the usually defensively-sound Modano was -21 on a team that gave up the second fewest goals in hockey. Modano needs to be better in 2005-06, and he will be. Not all was bad up front for the Stars in 2003-04, however. The line of Bill Guerin, Jason Arnott and Brendan Morrow saw each of the three post numbers at or near their respective career highs. All four of these forwards, in addition to Finns Jere Lehtinen, Niko Kapanen and Antti Miettinen, will be expected to produce the bulk of the offense in Big D this year. The Stars have shed some dead weight up front, which should help as well.

Defensemen: What Mike Modano was to the 2003-04 Stars forwards, Sergei Zubov was to its defense. Over the course of a full NHL season, Zubov hadn't scored fewer than the 42 points he posted last season since the 31 points he had as a rookie in only 49 games for the 1992-93 Rangers. Like Modano, Zubov turned 35 this summer and signed a huge new deal with the Stars. One would expect a rebound from Zubov this year. Trevor Daley is Zubov's heir apparent at the point on the powerplay, but needs work on his play in his own zone. Philippe Boucher, Skoula, John Klemm and John Erskine round out a slightly above-average defense. The Stars have a number of defensive prospects as well, lead by Shawn Belle, who could conceivably make the team this Fall.

Goaltenders: In his second full year as the Stars' #1 goalie, Marty Turco took a step backwards, seeing his goals against average rise by a quarter of a point and his save percentage drop by .019. Of course, even with these regressions, his numbers were still outstanding (second in wins, third in GAA, third in shutouts). Perhaps most impressive of all, Turco was second in the League in minutes played, trailing only Martin Brodeur and appearing in a whopping 73 games. Turco should post strong numbers again this year. Backing up Turco will be Hedberg, a goalie who can dominate for stretches (ask the 2000-01 Caps).

Bottom line: Turco carried the Stars to the playoffs last year, as much of the team had off years. Modano and Zubov, for example, combined for 86 points in 2003-04, just one less than Modano had by himself in 2002-03. Stars fans must hope that these two bounce back, that Guerin and Arnott continue to produce, and that some of the younger players step up. Otherwise it will be up to Turco to get Dallas to the playoffs. Again.