Stat Of The Day

Via Simply Sensational: "Since the beginning of the 2007-2008 season, when one of [Donald Brashear, Boyd Gordon or Matt Bradley] scores a goal, the Capitals are a combined 18-0-1."

Friday Roundup

Here's a stat for you: prior to last night's action, the Caps had taken the seventh-most minor penalties per game in the League at 5.8.

Here's another: prior to last night's action, the Caps had the 19th-rated penalty kill in the League at 78.8%.

And here's what happens when you put them together: no team in the League with a worse penalty kill than the Caps' takes as many minor penalties as the boys in red, white and blue - the team is taking a ton of penalties and not doing a terribly good job of killing them off.

So far this season, the Caps power play has been mediocre. The goaltending has been fair. But if this team's looking for a quick fix improvement (and at the risk of stating the obvious), it should stop taking so many penalties. Easier said than done? Perhaps. But it's also probably an easier route to allowing fewer power play goals against than hoping that a team that finished 25th in the NHL in penalty killing efficiency last year is suddenly going to collectively master that skill with largely the same personnel.

First to go? Cut down on the restraining fouls. Mike Green is tied for the League lead in hooking penalties with four, and Michael Nylander is just one behind. Shaone Morrisonn is tied for the League lead in interference minors with four. These are, for the most part, lazy penalties - move your feet boys (increased confidence in the netminder behind them should help here as well).

Next up? The bench minors. Two in nine games may not sound like many, but it's a pace that would have led the League in two of the last three seasons.

Look, penalties happen. But some teams can afford to take more than others; the Caps are not one of those teams. If they can get focused and show some better discipline, however, they'll likely see their efforts pay immediate dividends.

Here are a few more random stats floating around the hockey universe:

• Mike Green leads the NHL in average power play time per game with a whopping 7:12 per game.
• Alex Ovechkin is skating the longest shifts in the League (Green is fifth, Nicklas Backstrom 15th and Alex Semin 22nd).
  
• John Carlson is second in rookie defenseman scoring and tied for the best plus/minus of any rookie in the OHL.
• Braden Holtby leads the WHL in wins and is seventh in GAA and SV%.
  

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Bill Clement loves Sergei Fedorov. We love this Bill Clement Caps card.... Speaking of love, still more of it pouring in for Alex Semin (who is everyone's fantasy), but this article includes a brilliant lament from Matt Bradley that "It's kind of depressing knowing I'll never be able to do half the moves he does."... Tuvan Hillbilly has the translation of some good stuff from our buddy Dmitry Chesnokov on Semin and Viktor Kozlov following the Preds game.... The Falls Church News-Press thinks Jose Theodore is in for a good year yet.... Alex Ovechkin with a brunette? Now we've seen it all.... We hate the Pens more than they hate us. No surprise there.... That CHL All-Star team for which Stefan Della Rovere got snubbed? At least Joel Broda made the WHL squad.... Finally, since it's Halloween...

Thursday Roundup/Caps 4, 'Canes 1 Gamenight: 'Canes @ Caps

[AP Recap - Game Summary - Event Summary - WashingtonCaps.com Recap - the red skate Recap - Red and Black Hockey Recap - Canes Country In-Game and Recap - Lord Stanley's Blog In-Game]

A handful of NHLers, a bunch of AHLers, a few OHLers and an "other" or two (*cough* Jakub Cutta *cough*) got together down in Raleigh last night for the first of far too many preseason games for each team. And while the result may not indicate much about the season ahead, rumor has it that the 'Canes may soon announce that they're going to suspend operations to deal with the nation's economic crisis and seek to postpone the season opener. Huh.

Some observations on the game:

• Simeon Varlamov was sharp, especially late in his only period of action (the first). He ended up stopping all 18 (or 20, depending on who you believe) shots he faced, and while he flopped around a bit at times, he stopped everything that came his way.
• With Chris Clark back in D.C., Matt Bradley wore the "C."
• The Tomas Fleischmann - Michael Nylander - Viktor Kozlov line was the most impressive trio on the ice, by miles. While you shouldn't put much stock in preseason lines (especially those with obvious and glaring holes in forechecking and defensive responsibility), the chemistry these three showed last night will give Gabby something to think about.
  
• The biggest surprise of camp has been and continues to be John Carlson. Last night he shook off a rough start to end up with an assist, three shots on goal and four hits in 17:17 of ice time (and, frankly, looked better than Karl Alzner).
• The 'Canes radio guy picks some curious syllables to emphasize in player names.
• The pairing of Alzner and Jeff Schultz led the team in shifts and minutes and looked fine doing so.
  
• Stat of the Night: Nylander won 11 of the 13 draws he took (as a team, the Caps won two-thirds of the game's faceoffs). Now, Nyls has never been a great faceoff guy, but his proficiency in the dot against the 'Canes would seem to indicate a healthy shoulder.
  
• Fleischmann, 14... Fehr 16... Fleischmann, 14... Fehr 16... Fleischmann, 14... Fehr 16...
• Unofficially, the RBC Center shattered a record last night for the most god-awful tunes blared over a PA in a sixty-minute hockey game.
  

These two teams (perhaps in name only) will meet again tonight at the Verizon Center, 156 days after the last hockey game was played there. Let's hope next summer is markedly shorter.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Bryan Murray recalls the last time one of his teams - the 1989 Caps - went to Sweden (or is that Thweden?).... In case you missed Alex Ovechkin's ESPN The Mag cover, here it is (and here's The Mag's colorful-but-boring Caps preview)... Speaking of AO, Allan Muir gets points for picking Ovi over Sid (in fantasy hockey, at least), but loses points for misspelling Alex's center's first name.... Finally, they're happy to be getting Joel Broda back in Moose Jaw.

Matt Bradley On HNIC Radio

Matt Bradley was on Hockey Night in Canada Radio (Sirius 122) yesterday afternoon, and here's what he had to say:

Capitals Re-Sign Bradley

Per the team:

ARLINGTON, VA., – The Washington Capitals have re-signed right wing Matt Bradley to a three-year contract, vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today. In keeping with club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Bradley, 29, appeared in 77 games last season for the Capitals, recording 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in his third year with the team. Bradley also added two assists in seven playoff games against Philadelphia. He finished the year fourth on the team with 74 penalty minutes, fifth with 126 hits and eighth with a career-high 111 shots on goal.

A 6'3", 210-pound native of Stittsville, Ontario, Bradley was selected by San Jose in the fourth round of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, 102nd overall. In his seven NHL seasons, he has played for San Jose, Pittsburgh and Washington totaling 411 games. Bradley has 95 career points (37 goals and 58 assists) and 359 penalty minutes. He was signed by Washington as a free agent on Aug. 18, 2005.

Here's what you all thought about Bradley a month ago. Without knowing the dollars involved, what do you think of the deal?

UPDATE: Per Tarik, Bradley will make one million dollars in each of the next three years. Now what do you think?

2007-08 Rink Wrap: Matt Bradley

From Backstrom to Steckel, we're taking a quick look at and grading the 2007-08 season for every* player who laced 'em up for the Caps during the campaign (and is still with the team) with an eye towards 2008-09. Next up, Matt Bradley.

Contract Status: UFA; 2007-08 salary of $700,000
Age (as of October 1, 2008): 30
NHL Seasons (including 2007-08): 6+
2007-08 Regular Season Stats: 77 games played, 7 goals, 11 assists, +1, 74 PIMs
Key Stat: Has improved his plus/minus in each of his last four seasons
Surprising Stat: Had the most shots on goal per minute of ice time of any non-Russian on the team

The Good: Most of the good that Bradley does (aggressive forechecking with sandpaper to spare) doesn't find its way onto the stat sheet, but there are some numbers that we can throw out here. For example, he doubled his fight total from 2006-07 (from five to ten), had a career-high 111 shots on goal, a pair of game-winning goals and was third among season-long Caps forwards in hits, all while getting the second-lowest ice time of any regular. He had his best month of the season points-wise when it mattered most, notching four goals and a helper in March, and his goal in the 12th round of a scoreless shootout against Edmonton back in January gave the Caps a victory on that night. Oh, and he provided us with this fantastic picture. Finally, here's a telling stat for you - after being healthy-scratched five times in 21 games under Glen Hanlon, Bradley played every single game once Bruce Boudreau got to town and saw his minutes increase as well.

The Bad: Only seven of Bradley's 111 shots on goal found the back of the net, a 6.3 shooting percentage that was the worst of any regular forward, and he hasn't scored more than seven goals in a season since 2001 (when he potted nine for the Sharks). His job isn't to put up points, but 16- and 11-game pointless and 23- and 17-game goal-less stretches are a bit lengthy.

The Vote: Rate Bradley on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best) based on his performance relative to his potential for the season - if he had the best year you could have imagined him having, give him a 10; if he more or less played as you expected he would, give him a 5 or a 6; if he had the worst year you could have imagined him having, give him a 1.

The Question(s): Potentially an unrestricted free agent come July 1, should Bradley be in the Caps' plans for 2008-09? If so, what will it take for him to earn a 10 next year?

If you've missed any of the previous 2007-08 Rink Wraps, click here, get caught up, and vote - polls will stay open for a while.

* And by "every," we mean every one who played more than just a handful of games.

Wednesday Open Thread

There was a lot to Laich like in last night's 4-1 win over Minnesota, but how about Matt Bradley sticking up for David Steckel sticking up for Chris Bourque as the moment of the night? The Wild's Aaron Voros is just lucky the Caps didn't take it one more step up the ass-kicking chain of command to The Donald.

Photo: AP

Friday Roundup/Caps 5, Oil 4 (SO)

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

Well that'll help Olie Kolzig's career shootout numbers.

And while I'm still trying to figure out what was the least likely occurrence from Thursday night - the Caps (two wins in their previous 18 shootouts) beating Edmonton (11-2 in shootouts on the season entering last night's game), Kolzig stopping a dozen straight shooters (he was 1-7 in shootouts and had stopped only 15 of 31 attempts since the beginning of last season prior to last night), or Matt Bradley scoring a shootout goal (it was his third career attempt and first success) - I do know this: the Caps are up to 11th place in the Conference and trail Southeast Division-leading Atlanta by only four points (with two games in hand). Baby steps, to be sure, but steps nonetheless.

Some thoughts on the game:

• 20, 22, 22, 23 - the ages of the Caps four goal scorers.
  
• Whatever Bruce Boudreau said to his team after a crappy first period worked, as the Caps fired 17 shots on goal in the second, four of which beat Oiler netminder Dwayne Roloson.
• The fourth line (Quintin Laing, Dave Steckel and Bradley) had a great shift to start the first period and another very early in the third.
• How is it that not a single one of Edmonton's 12 shootout shooters attempted the move on which all three Red Wings scored against Kolzig just a few weeks back? Gotta be poor scouting/coaching, no?
  
• Tom Poti's secondary assist on Alex Ovechkin's goal was a fantastic homerun pass to Boyd Gordon. See? Secondary assists aren't all worthless (Ales Hemsky's on Dustin Penner's second period goal was another great example of this).
• Jeff Schultz's primary assist on Robert Nilsson's goal was less impressive.
  
• Any coach whose team doesn't aggressively pressure the puck when the Caps are on the power play should be fired on the spot for either negligence in game preparation or sheer stupidity.
• Matt Pettinger played with a greater sense of urgency and did some good things out there (he had a team-high four hits), but the fact of that matter is that he has just five points on the season in 42 games and has just two points since October. Welcome to Suckville, Matt. Population: you.
• Mike Green was all over the scoresheet with a goal, three shots, four hits, three giveaways, two takeaways and five blocked shots in 31:13 of ice time. He now has six goals in his last seven games, which is wholly ridiculous for a blueliner.
• If Boudreau had any hair when he came to Washington, he wouldn't have any left by now after coaching Alex Semin for two months (Glen Hanlon must have had an orange rug).
  
• Tomas Fleischmann continued his solid (but now snake-bitten) play, and Boyd Gordon - the night's first star - had a couple of helpers. Still, I don't see either as long-term solutions on the second line.
• Nicklas Backstrom has now played in 46 games this season, equalling his single-(regular) season high in games played back in Sweden. He's showing no signs of hitting a wall, but he's entering uncharted waters, so it's something to keep in the back of our minds.
• If you blinked, you missed Steve Eminger's shifts.
• I don't care what he did in regulation and overtime, if an NHL goalie goes 12-for-12 in a shootout, he deserves one of the game's three stars.
  

Two points, a bit more confidence, and no new injuries - overall, a successful night by nearly any measure. Next up: the Kitties on Saturday night.

Oh, and since all three scored last night, you get the yard sign:


Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

On this date back in 1999, Peter Bondra became the second player in team history to score 300 goals for the Caps.... "With the parity in the East, they should be pushing for the playoffs and they are not." Huh?... J-God had a pair of goals in OHL action last night.... If you missed Rick Nash's goal from last night, do make sure to check it out. It was effing phenomenal (excuse my French).

Daily Awards

• Hart: Rick Nash (2G, including the game-winner with :22 left in the third, +2, 10 SOG)
  
• Ross: Shawn Horcoff, Ales Hemsky, Niklas Hagman, Rick Nash (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Dennis Wideman (2A, +2, 3 SOG)
  
• Vezina: Martin Gerber (W, 36 saves on 37 shots against)
  
• Richard: Mike Modano, Rick Nash, Shawn Horcoff, Dan Cleary, Antoine Vermette (2 G each)
  
• Calder: Peter Mueller (G, A, 8 SOG)
  
• Aiken: Cam Ward (L, 5 goals allowed on 32 shots against)
  

Tuesday Roundup/Caps 7, Leafs 1

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

Last November, the Leafs played the part of the rude guest when they visited the Verizon Center and hung a 7-1 whooping on the host Capitals. Last night, the Caps returned the favor.

Washington came out guns a-blazin', outshooting the Leafs 13-6 in the first period and scoring four times on starter Vesa Toskala before he made an early exit. The power play clicked, the penalty kill did it's job... really, it was nearly picture perfect.

The other day I intimated that the early rollercoaster Caps have left most of their faithful with entirely different world views on an almost-nightly basis. So how's it looking today? Time to start icing the champagne? Alright, maybe not quite yet.

Some notes on the game:

• For those of you keeping score at home, that's four straight multi-point games for Alex Ovechkin (and is there anything better than the sound of a packed house on the road collectively "ooooh"ing at one of AO's flashy stickhandles?).
• It's easy to overlook the winning goaltending in a game like this, but Olie Kolzig certainly deserves mention, especially for his glove save on the Bates Battaglia mini-breakaway.
• Fantastic (and efficient) night for Matt Bradley, who had his first career three-point night in just 10:35 of ice time. Pro-rate his ice-time to equal Ovechkin's and he would have had two goals, four assists and a plus-six rating last night (easily attainable numbers, I'm sure, if he'd just gotten the playing time).
  
• What a nice deflection by Andy Wozniewski on AO's second goal. Hey, someone had to step up in Bryan McCabe's absence.
  
• The Caps got worked in the faceoff circle, winning only 44% of the game's draws.
• Regardless of what you think of his play, you've gotta love Brian Sutherby getting on the board (upping the trade value, baby!).
• Kudos to Ted in yesterday's comments for calling Petty's goal, which came early in what was easily his best game of the year so far.
• According to the CP, "By the time the third period started, at least one third of the Air Canada Centre was empty and one small section could be heard chanting 'Let's Go Raptors!''' Heh.
  
• It wasn't three seconds after I said, "Alright, no stupid penalties before intermission" before Brian Pothier took his tripping penalty at 19:49 of the first.
• If I had an intern, I'd tell you the last time the Caps had five different guys score their first goal of the year in a game. As it is, I don't have the resources to devote to such research and I have to make my own coffee.
  
• What I can tell you is that the last time the Caps scored more than three goals against a team from a city that doesn't start with a "T" was February 27, 2007. Since then, they've score four or more against Tampa and Toronto a total of five times.
• Finally, here's today's discussion topic: it has been suggested that the "players only" meeting after Saturday night's loss to St. Louis resulted in the players deciding how they want to play going forward, Glen Hanlon's system be damned. Did you see anything last night that would indicate such a mutiny?
  

Next up, a return engagement with the Broadway Blueshirts in Manhattan and a chance to get back to .500.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

If you'd like a side of schadenfreude with your eggs this morning, recall that Leafs Breakfast can be heard here (or, if you're the reading-type, read all about last night's game here and here. Oh, and here).... Monday power rankings are out, with the Caps at 21 and 27.... Nicklas Backstrom has a mentor on the team, but it's probably not who you think.... The Caps are the sixth-cheapest ticket in hockey (the Leafs are the most expensive).... Karl Alzner has been named captain of the Calgary Hitmen.... Finally, check out the kudos for my buddy Greg Wyshynski. If you're not reading him regularly, make sure to drop everything and start doing so here and/or here. Oh, and sorry, ladies - he got married earlier this year.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Matt Bradley (G, 2A, +3)
  
• Ross: Matt Bradley, Michael Nylander (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Jeff Schultz (First NHL goal, +3, 2 SOG, 2 blocked shots)
  
• Vezina: Olaf Kolzig (W, 32 saves on 33 shots against)
  
• Richard: Alexander Ovechkin, Devin Setoguchi (2G each)
  
• Calder: Devin Setoguchi (2G, including the game-tying and -winning goals in the third period, +2, 5 SOG, all in his first NHL game)
  
• Aiken: Vesa Toskala (L, 4 goals allowed on 13 shots against in just 13:56 of work)
  

Caps Cut Clymer, Sign Flash, Demote Pollock

Earlier today the Caps signed Tomas Fleischmann (a formality we all knew was coming, and a potentially great deal at $495,000 for this season), sent Jame Pollock to Hershey (no surprise) and also demoted Ben Clymer to Chocolatetown.

The story there is obviously Clymer, who had to (and did) clear waivers. Should the Caps recall him, he'll have to go through re-entry waivers and any team claiming him would only be responsible for half of his contract (which pays him $1 million this year and $1.1 million next year).

It's certainly worth noting that Clymer has given a lot to the Washington Capitals - and during often difficult times - and should be saluted for his professionalism and leadership both on and off the ice. Whether it was his willingness to accept a return to the blueline at the beginning of last season or the way he handled his frequent healthy scratches during the second half of that same campaign, he has been exactly what the Caps needed him to be, and hopefully some other team needing that role filled will take a look at him and give him a chance. Unfortunately for Ben - but fortunately for the Caps and their fans - that role is no longer needed on this team.

With Clymer and Pollock out of the picture and Jakub Klepis unlikely to be signed, the Caps still have one more player to shed before tomorrow's roster submission deadline. Since David Steckel, Mike Green and Jeff Schultz can all be sent to Hershey without having to go through waivers, any one of them could provide a short-term solution as the team works on trade possibilities and hangs on to veterans like Matt Bradley and Brooks Laich for at least a little longer. Of course, an injury (real or otherwise - John Erskine?) could land someone on the IR to start the season and that would take care of this whole "too many bodies" problem as well.

Who Sits?

With Richard Zednik due back Thursday and assuming that Matt Bradley returns to the team in the not-too-distant future, the Caps will have fourteen healthy forwards (did I just jinx them?). The question, then, is who gets a sweater and who doesn't?

• Obviously AO, Semin, Zubrus, Clark and Pettinger are in the lineup.
• Eric Fehr has made a case for himself to stay, at least for now (though his contract situation makes him the best possibility for a demotion to Hershey).
• Boyd Gordon has proven to be an invaluable penalty killer, as has, to a lesser extent, Brooks Laich. Brian Sutherby (an alternate captain) also is a lock, despite his disappointing season thus far.
• The Donald provides protection and has shown some offensive touch in recent weeks as well.
• Zednik will play in hopes of increasing his value on the trade market.

That leaves one spot for Ben Clymer, Matt Bradley and Kris Beech. I think Clymer's versatility keeps him in the lineup. Might the team put Beech on waivers and send him down to Hershey? Am I wrong about Fehr sticking with the team? Could Bradley or Clymer be put on waivers? Someone else? Are all of these questions annoying?

At some point (perhaps), the team will face these same questions on the blueline. Add in the trade deadline in less than a month and GMGM will be a busy man over the next few weeks.