Thursday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ Bolts

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

Welcome to Tampa Basement, where the Bolts are doing everything in their power to up their odds of winning the draft lottery, most recently scratching goalie-of-the-future Mike Smith due to a very minor "sprained left ankle" and recalling Marc Denis (he of the 1-5 record, the 4.05 GAA and the .853 save percentage) on an emergency basis - the emergency being that Tampa was in danger of ending up with more points than Los Angeles, Atlanta and possibly St. Louis.

This, my friends, is called "Pulling a Yeats" - look out below.

But even Matt Yeats won a game back in 2003-04 (against the Pens, no less, thanks in large part to a pair of goals from Trent Whitfield... seriously), a reminder that games are played not on paper but on ice, so the Caps had better not look past this one. And to bring things full circle, the second star in that Caps/Pens tilt for the ages was none other than current Lightning pivot Jeff Halpern, who has caught fire since being traded back to the Southeast Division, racking up seven goals and eight assists in 13 games (apparently he didn't get the Yeats memo).

So the plan is simple: take care of business in Hockey Bay (whatever the hell that is), and- well, since the Caps shouldn't look past this one, I won't either.

Two points await in Tampa, boys. Go get 'em.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

If you thought Alex Ovechkin was going to be a Cap into the 2020s, think again - he's obviously going to go back to play in Mother Russia before then.... Luckily for the Flyers, Simon Gagne has decided that once his team has done the heavy lifting and gotten to the Stanley Cup Finals, he'll declare himself ready to play.... One year ago today we previewed that night's game and you guys added insult to my personal injury and saw that Sid really was thirsty, and two years ago today we looked at anti-left wing bias in the media and peeked into TSN.ca's mailbag. Finally, I hate to desert you guys at a time like this, but I have to head west for the weekend. I'll leave you in KB's capable hands, but it's on you all to keep things lively. Deal?

Daily Awards

• Hart: Milan Hejduk (2G, including the game-winner, A, +1, 5 SOG)
  
• Ross: Mikko Koivu, Milan Hejduk, Peter Forsberg, Peter Stastny (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Clay Wilson (G, A, +2, 3 SOG)
  
• Vezina: Jonas Hiller (31 saves on 32 shots against in shootout win)
  
• Richard: Milan Hejduk (2G)
  
• Calder: Jonas Hiller (31 saves on 32 shots against in shootout win)
• Aiken: Roberto Luongo (L, 5 goals allowed on 23 shots against in 31:31 of work)
  

Wednesday Roundup/Gamenight: Flames @ Caps

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

The last time we saw the Flames, Alex Ovechkin was blowing up Dion Phaneuf, a pair of Z's scored a pair apiece, and Olie Kolzig was a wall, stopping 37 of 39 shots.

Seventeen months later the Z's are gone, but Olie Kolzig will be back in net tonight and you can bet that Alex Ovechkin will be hitting everything that moves (provided, of course, that he's actually somewhere in the neighborhood of 100% healthy) and taking aim at crossing another off the list of NHL team's he's scored against (which would leave only L.A., Minnesota and San Jose unscathed). His next goal will give him more than Glenn Anderson or Pat LaFontaine ever scored in a single season, and the air only gets more rarefied from there.

Calgary comes to town for the first of back-to-back games against the Southeast Division (they're in Atlanta - where it all began - on Thursday night), trying to complete a five-game sweep of the SED (they already have 2-1, 9-6 and 4-3 wins over Florida, Tampa and Carolina, respectively) and trying to hold on to first place in the Northwest Division (they have a one point lead over Minny).

Led by Hart hopeful Jarome Iginla (who on Monday became the team's all-time leading goal scorer), the Flames score more than the Flames you might remember (though not so much on the power play) and are a tough visitor, sporting an 18-13-1 road record. To top it all off, they're hot (7-1-2 in their last ten), despite scoring two or fewer goals in six of their last eight games.

The Caps playoff hopes, as we've documented over the past couple of days, are on life support. But we're told that there's still a heartbeat. Tonight, you'll see whether or not the team truly believes that.

Why The Flames Will Win:

In a moment of confusion, Nicklas Backstrom will think he's actually Flames' draft pick Mikael Backlund and thus shoot yet another puck into his own net. No? Okay... Calgary natives Mike Green and Jeff Schultz will be so enamored to be playing on the same ice as their hometown heroes that they will get stuck in a time warp, thinking they are playing pond hockey with their buddies (all of whom are wearing Flames red) leading to an even larger moment of confusion where upon finding themselves so close to the opposing team's net (read: Caps) that they will shoot the puck into the net instead of defending. Or maybe the Flames are just better. :P Alright, I don't want to die too horrible of a death by the hands of CapsChick so I will retreat quietly now." - Double D(ion)

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Happy 31st Birthday to Brent Johnson.... What the hell has gotten into Jeff Halpern? He now has four goals and five assists in eight games for the Bolts (and why do I feel like he's going to do the Caps in in one of those late season games?).... Despite no goals, one assist and a minus-four rating in his last five games, Mike Green = good.... One year ago today we ran down a checklist to see whether the Caps were actually an AHL team.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Dany Heatley (3G, including the game-winner, A, +2, 6 SOG)
  
• Ross: Dany Heatley (4 points)
  
• Norris: Pavel Kubina (2G, including the OT game-winner, +3, 6 SOG, 2 BkS)
  
• Vezina: Carey Price (38-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Dany Heatley, Vincent Lecavalier (3G each)
  
• Calder: Carey Price (38-save shutout win)
• Aiken: Johan Hedberg (L, 5 goals allowed on 23 shots against in two periods of work)
  

Thursday Roundup/Thrash 3, Caps 2 (SO)

[AP Recap - Game Summary - Super Stats]

Isn't Kari Lehtonen about due for a groin pull?

With his shootout win last night, the Finnish netminder has now won his last two starts against the Caps in dominant fashion, with a GAA under one and a save percentage of .974 (to say nothing of that pass to spring Marian Hossa). Without question, he was the difference in a game that the Caps dominated for stretches at a time. Some thoughts on the game:

• All eyes immediately turn to the Tom Poti injury which, if I'm not mistaken, was not mentioned by the boys in the booth.
• That game was vintage Olie Kolzig, with a handful of great stops and brilliant positioning (forget about the sideshow junk that ended the game).
  
• Mike Green played 33:07, had a beauty assist on the Alex Ovechkin goal, and was plus-two for the game. But man, did he miss a golden opportunity on an unreal Alex Semin cross-ice pass late.
• How can you have a shootout in which neither Ovechkin nor Viktor Kozlov gets an attempt?
• Speaking of questionable coaching in the shootout, as KB noted, it's a shame that Joe Benanati knew what Eric Perrin was going to do but no one on the Caps seemed to.
• Faceoffs were an atrocious 35% successful. This team might need to go get a second-line center if they want to make the playoffs. An-toine Ver-mette (clap clap clap-clap-clap).
• Nicklas Backstrom - at what point can we use the word "great"? Now? Cool. He's got great vision and is a great passer (and also was great at losing faceoffs last night - 24%? Ouch). Great player? I'll hold out a little longer, but not much.
• At some point, the power play will stop trying to be so damn cute... you'd hope.
  

So a four-point game turned into a two-point game thanks to Red Jesus, and the boys will be back at it on Friday night in South Beach. With three goals in their last three intra-divisional games (all three losses), the Caps will need to start lighting the lamp more frequently, and soon.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Happy 33rd Birthday, Viktor Kozlov.... Caps love from The Maven.... Green love from up north.... Aside from the plagarism here, the underlying idea is pretty cool, and would be great for the NHL to try.... Allan Muir notes something about Jeff Halpern that Caps fans have known forever.... Finally, one year ago today we sent a Valentine to a very special someone, accepted one on AO's behalf and watched a little CourtTV.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Ryan Miller (35-save shutout win)
  
• Ross: 12 players tied with 2 points each
  
• Norris: Brent Seabrook (G, A, +2, 5 SOG, 3 hits)
  
• Vezina: Ryan Miller (35-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Dustin Byfuglien (2G)
  
• Calder: Nicklas Backstrom (2A, +1, 3 SOG)
  
• Aiken: Pascal Leclaire (1 goal allowed on 3 shots against in just 4:50 of work)
  

Halpern's Done Playing Nice

Earlier today we caught up with Dainius Zubrus. Now another former Caps pivot is making news, and this time it's not for his on-ice performance (or lack thereof). This odd little nugget comes to us from Mike Heika's blog via Kukla's Korner:

Jeff Halpern is responsible for Mike Smith's injury, but the Stars said it was not a fight. Halpern and Smith were playing 'the rebound game' after practice when the two started to get very competitive. Halpern then (they say) accidentally slashed Smith while going for a puck that was in the air. That led to a verbal confrontation which was very heated. I was in the locker room, so I didn't see it.

...

"You get caught up in the game and, unfortunately, it led to an injury," Halpern said. "Anytime you're part of that, you feel bad for the other guy involved and realize it was just a game. That's awful for him and bad for our team."

Uh huh.

Of course, it serves Smith right - he should've known better than to mess with Halps. And let this serve as a lesson to all of you - we Potomac boys are both tough and crafty with various forms of weaponry. Smith is probably lucky Halpern didn't have his gaffi stick on him.

Thursday Roundup/Habs 4, Caps 1

[NHL.com Recap - WashingtonCaps.com Postgame Coverage]

At the end of the first period of last night's 4-1 Caps loss to Montreal - a period in which the Caps outshot their opponents 14-7 and dominated play save for two defensive breakdowns that turned into Canadien goals - I turned to my wife and said, "I hope you liked that effort because that's likely to be as good as it gets tonight." I was more or less spot on, as the undermanned Caps ran out of gas and were able to muster up only a very late 5-on-3 goal to break Cristobal Huet's shutout bid.

A few noteworthy points:

• The Caps were again dominated in the faceoff circle, losing 57% of the 53 draws and a whopping 78% in the offensive zone. Dainius Zubrus (who has to be in the top ten in the League in being thrown out of faceoffs) and Kris Beech - the Caps' top two centers - combined to go 2-for-10 on offensive zone faceoffs. It's hard enough to score on the Habs when you have to gain the offensive zone first; not being able to take advantage of the opportunity to start in the zone makes life even more difficult. Boyd Gordon, who had an otherwise strong game, was 6-for-17 on draws.
• Brooks Laich looked good. I don't have any stats to back that up, but he was noticeable in areas other than the penalty kill, which has been rare for him.
• On the flip side, Mike Green was bad. I don't know if he's hitting some kind of wall, but his last two games have been among his worst this season.
• The line changes, especially in the second period, were particularly sloppy. At least twice, a Cap forward carried the puck across the blueline and dropped a pass to a teammate who had gone to the bench for a change, leading to a Canadien rush the other way.
• Olie Kolzig couldn't be faulted for any of the Hab goals (except for the empty-netter, for which Olie was horribly out of position). Saku Koivu's tip-in nail-in-the-coffin was a thing of beauty.
• Montreal's defense corps is everything the Caps' isn't - experienced, decisive and skilled at the break-out pass.
• Yesterday I mentioned the Habs' special teams and they were the difference last night as the Habs were 25% effective on the power play and 87.5% effective on the kill.
• It was a surprisingly large crowd for a mid-week game (during the holidays, no less), announced at 15,609 but didn't seem packed with Montreal fans. Huh. Could it have been the 7:30 start time (a half-hour later than usual)?
• The Donald absolutely soaked Aaron Downey's melon with haymakers (see video below - h/t to Off Wing). Psst... Aaron... he's left-handed.

After generating little offense against Huet and Les Habitants, it's off to the swamp to face Marty Brodeur and the Devils - that sure ought to cure what ails the team.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

• NHL.com has a little piece on Nick Backstrom playing in his final junior hockey tournament.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Jeff Halpern (Game-winning goal, 2A, 4 blocked shots)
• Ross: Jeff Halpern, Marian Hossa, Jere Lehtinen, Daniel Sedin, Mattias Ohlund, Wojtek Wolksi (3 points each)
• Norris: Mattias Ohlund (3A, +1, 2 blocked shots)
• Vezina: Cristobal Huet (W, 30 saves on 31 shots against)
• Richard: Kristian Huselius (2G)
• Calder: Wojtek Wolski (G, 2A, +1, 4 SOG)
• Aiken: Jose Theodore (L, 5 goals allowed on 22 shots against in 41:52 of work)

A Capital Christmas

As hockey fans all over the world celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus today, I'd like to send belated Happy Hannukah wishes to Jeff Halpern, Mike Cammalleri, Mathieu Schneider and, of course, Gary Bettman.

But I have Christmas wishes to pass along as well. I have gifts, too. Well, not really, but if I could, I'd hand out the following gifts to each member of the 2006-07 Washington Capitals:

Beech, Kris - Passion to match his raw skills
Bradley, Matt - A comfortable seat in the press box
Brashear, Donald - Someone to dance with every night
Clark, Chris - His two front teeth
Clymer, Ben - plus-14
Eminger, Steve - Confidence and a healthy John Erskine
Erskine, John - Better skating ability
Giroux, Alexandre - A bus ticket back to Hershey
Gordon, Boyd - Fewer penalties to kill
Green, Mike - More shots on goal
Heward, Jamie - Better defensive-zone coverage
Johnson, Brent - A few more starts
Klepis, Jakub - Kris Beech's ice time (and faceoff ability)
Kolzig, Olaf - Five more years in the League
Laich, Brooks - Skills to match his hockey sense
Morrisonn, Shaone - Better passing ability
Muir, Bryan - More effective use of his size
Nycholat, Lawrence - A flight back to Hershey (hey, he's older than Giroux)
Ovechkin, Alex - A playoff game (can you imagine how good he'll be once he makes the playoffs?!)
Pettinger, Matt - Alex Semin's shot total
Pothier, Brian - The broadside of a barn at which to practice shooting
Schultz, Jeff - Zdeno Chara's career path for a big man
Semin, Alexander - More effective play without the puck
Sutherby, Brian - A second goal for the year (we'll work on the third, etc., from there)
Zednik, Richard - Good health so the Caps can get something for him at the trade deadline
Zubrus, Dainius - Nothing (he's got Ovechkin - what more does he need?)

There you have it. Merry Xmas to the Caps and their fans and more importantly, to my readers and friends.

J.P.

Friday Roundup/Caps 4, Stars 3

[NHL.com Recap - WashingtonCaps.com Postgame Coverage]

Was there ever any doubt? Check Washington Hockey Daily for all your recaps of the Caps' 4-3 win over the Stars, but I had a couple of impressions that I'll share here:

• Given the ice time, Jakub Klepis can look like an NHL-caliber center for long stretches of time. Maintaining a high level of concentration and effort may be a constant struggle for him, however.
• John Erskine was very solid on the blueline yet again, with perhaps his best play of the night coming on a diving sweep-check to poke the puck away from Eric Lindros who was otherwise unabated towards Olie Kolzig. Unfortunately, Erskine took the rarely-called (and inexplicably-stupid) "playing with a broken stick" penalty seconds later.
• Alex Semin's confidence is back in a big way. Alex Ovechkin's isn't.
• Secondary scoring, baby - that's two straight games (two straight wins) with four non-AO goals. Consistent secondary scoring = wins.
• The Caps still gave up waaay too many third period shots and chances, but on the plus side played another very disciplined game.
• The Caps were gracious hosts to former captain Jeff Halpern, doing all the could to make him feel comfortable - after all, he's used to losing at the Verizon Center, right?
• Jamie Heward suffered a pretty nasty injury (a skate to the face), so I guess I won't mention how god-awfully he misplayed the puck that led to the first Dallas goal.
• Stars defenseman Darryl Sydor almost made the worst mistake of his career when he seemed headed for reluctantly challenging The Donald to a fight. Luckily, the two parted ways before the gloves were dropped.
• Without getting into specifics, Brian Sutherby had a pretty terrible game.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Marian Hossa (3G, including game-winner, A, +1, 7 SOG)
• Ross: Marian Hossa, Slava Kozlov, Ladislav Nagy (4 points each)
• Norris: Zbynek Michalek (G, 2A, +4)
• Vezina: Kari Lehtonen (36-save shutout win)
• Richard: Marian Hossa (3G)
• Calder: Alexandre Picard (PHI) (2A, 5 blocked shots)
• Aiken: Dan Cloutier* (3 goals allowed on 5 shots against in just 9:26 of work)

* There were many worthy Aiken nominees last night as seven goalies had GAAs over 4.50 for the evening and Eric Brewer and Anze Kopitar were each a woeful -4, but once again Cloutier walks away with the much-coveted award. Congrats, Danny Boy.

Thursday Roundup/Gamenight: Stars @ Caps

[NHL.com Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview - Official Gameday Thread]

Welcome back, Jeff Halpern. For the second time in five days, the Caps will face one of their former captains, this time the Little Jew That Could. It'll be interesting to see how many faceoffs Jeff gets thrown out of (the over/under's set at five, and the betting windows are open). So far, Halps has eight points in 24 games and has cashed approximately $500,000 in paychecks from the Stars - not bad work if you can get it (and yes, I know his role doesn't require him to be a big point producer, but still... three goals more than a quarter of the way through the season? C'mon.).

In Dallas, the Caps face a team that has the League's best GAA and allows the second-fewest shots against per game. On the plus side, the Stars will be travelling from Chicago after facing the Blackhawks on Wednesday night and plan to start the same goalie - Marty "What Do You Mean There's A Season After The Season?" Turco - against the Caps as they started against the Hawks, so perhaps he and they will be tired. On the minus side, he's really good.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

• NHL.com has a profile on Mike Green up.
• According to the Arizona Republic, Jeremy Roenick "missed practice on Monday and Tuesday because of an upper respiratory illness." The illness in question apparently keeps J.R. inhaling non-stop. Trained physicians recognize this as the medical diagnosis for "sucking."

Daily Awards

• Hart: Tuomo Ruutu (GWG with 1:48 left in 'Hawks 2-1 win)
• Ross: 27 players tied with 1 point each
• Norris: Shea Weber (A, +2, 3 hits, 1 blocked shot)
• Vezina: Nikolai Khabibulin (W, 20 saves on 21 shots against)
• Richard: 11 players tied with 1G each
• Calder: Joe Pavelski (G, +1, 4 SOG, 2 blocked shots in 2-1 win)
• Aiken: Jussi Timonen (-2, 0 points, 0 SOG)

Wednesday Roundup/Caps 5, Lightning 2

[SeSo Open Thread]

For a young team, confidence is often everything. The Caps jumped out to a 4-0 lead, thanks to a snow-balling amount of confidence after scoring the game's first goal. But after the Tampa scored the first goal of the third period, one could see doubt creeping into the Caps' collective mind. When Tampa scored a second time, the Caps confidence was completely shot and the team was skating around like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off.

Luckily, Olie Kolzig is a veteran goalie who is nearly immune to such lapses in confidence. Facing a whopping 50 shots on goal, Kolzig was only beaten twice as he led to the Caps to their first win in seven games.

In addition to Kolzig's brilliant effort, the team got secondary scoring (three of the team's four lines potted goals), and great penalty-killing (including a Boyd Gordon shortie). Read all about it from whatever source you want at Washington Hockey Daily, but I found this excerpt from The Peerless Prognosticator particularly interesting:

The number that sticks in The Peerless’ head this morning is this one . . .

81

That represents the total of shots on goal, missed shots, and shots blocked by Capitals. That’s approximately one shot sent toward the net every 45 seconds. And let’s put that number in further perspective. Last night, the Milwaukee Bucks scored more points in an NBA game than any other team – 109. In doing so, they took 85 shots from the floor (we don’t include free throws for this comparison, since the clock is stopped for those instances). The Tampa effort was as close to a run-and-gun NBA game as you’re likely to find.

Rink reader Tim also pointed me to these numbers from the good folks at Elias:

Alexander Ovechkin scored a goal, his 10th of November, in Washington's 5-2 win over the Lightning. It's already the third calendar month in which Ovechkin has scored 10 or more goals; he also did so in January and March. Since Ovechkin entered the league as a rookie last October, the only other NHL player to record three 10-goal months is Jonathan Cheechoo.

Olaf Kolzig stopped 48 of 50 Tampa Bay shots on goal to lead the Capitals to a 5-2 win over the Lightning. Kolzig is 4-0-1 this season in the five games in which he's made 40 or more saves. The Islanders' Mike Dunham and the Blues' Manny Legace are the only other NHL goaltenders with even two such wins this season.

Next up for the Caps, Dallas and the return of favorite son Jeff Halpern on Thursday night. I'm already getting a little verklempt.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

• Pens fans are so totally awesome.
• Ever wonder if your friend the Thrasher fan is talking too much trash? Well, he probably is.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Olie Kolzig (W, 48 saves on 50 shots against in 5-2 win at Tampa)
• Ross: Marian Hossa (4 points)
• Norris: Dion Phaneuf (G, A, +1)
• Vezina: Cristobal Huet (36-save shootout shutout win)
• Richard: Bobby Holik, Adam Hall, Colby Armstrong (2G each)
• Calder: Paul Stastny (G, A)
• Aiken: Johan Holmqvist (L, 3 goals allowed on 13 shots in 36:29 of work)

A Quick Rundown Of The Days' Caps News

The WaPo profiles prospect Jeff Schultz (read the article and insert "Caps/choke" joke here), while the WTimes profiles local would-be Cap Stephen Werner.

Finally, much has been made lately about whether or not Alex Ovechkin will (or should) replace Jeff Halpern as the Caps next captain. Kara Yorio thinks so, and she should know, having spent countless days travelling with the team and hours behind closed doors in the locker room after games and practices. Wait, no she hasn't. Neither has just about anyone speculating about the future of the team's captaincy.

A hockey team's captain isn't about individual points, hits or potential, and while Alex is clearly a strong leader on (and by all accounts off) the ice, if and when he's ready to captain the team - and if and when the team is ready to have him as their de facto leader - head coach Glen Hanlon, and not some columnist in a national sports publication, will let him and the rest of us know it.

Caps Shed Excess Marylander

After drafting Ellicott City's own Luke Lynes in the fourth round of last month's NHL Entry Draft, the Caps found themselves with three native Marylanders in the system (captain Jeff Halpern and prospect Stephen Werner being the others), which is alright if you're a lacrosse team, but not so good if you're a hockey team. Something had to give, and today it did as Halpern signed with the Dallas Stars, returning the Caps to a more manageable two skaters from the greatest state in the land.

As for the Halpern deal (said to be for four years at around $2 million per year), I'll likely have more to say on it at some point, but I agree with GMGM's assessment that "[i]t's hard [for Halpern] to turn that kind of deal down." Um, yeah. I'd have liked to have seen Halpern back for a one- or two-year deal at maybe $1.5 million, but sinking $8 million into Jeff Halpern for the next four years is way too much, as Dallas will likely find out. I wish him all the best in Big D, though, and hope his storybook NHL career has plenty of great chapters left in it. Chapters like this one:

The 2006-07 Washington Capitals

Inspired by a post over at Red and Black Hockey and with the free agency period nearly upon us, I figured I'd provide a rundown of the Caps' current contract situations and my personal thoughts on what they should do between now and opening night in October.

First, a look at the 2005-06 Caps (and prospects) and their contracts (click on image to enlarge):


[Note: the above chart has been updated as the team has made roster moves]. I'm sure I've missed some players and am wrong about some others, so feel free to correct me (finding details on NHL player contracts is apparently harder than finding confidential financial information about suspected terrorists without a warrant). As you can see, I've offered my thoughts on those players above who are already signed (in black) and those who are unsigned (comments in red indicate my desire to never see the player don a Caps' sweater again, comments in green mean that I'd like to see the team re-sign the player and comments in brown indicate that the player should be re-signed for Hershey and perhaps part-time duty in Washington).

A word or two on who's no longer a Cap in GMJP's world:

• Mathieu Biron: Had his moments, but didn't strike me as particularly "hockey-smart," "hard-working" or "talented."
  
• Ivan Majesky: The "New NHL" isn't particularly kind to Ivan the Terrible. Come to think of it, neither was the "Old NHL."
  
• J-F Fortin: Word is that he's ready to sign with a European team. Too bad his stomach is so much bigger than his heart.
• Matt Bradley: I have nothing but good things to say about Bradley, a good team guy with a mean streak. There just isn't enough room up front for someone with his limited arsenal.
• Brian Willsie: Another great teammate and a hard-worker, but a minus-19 rating, even on this team, is inexcusable. He'll be cheap to qualify, so don't be surprised if he starts the season with the team but hits the waiver-wire when he can't regularly crack the lineup.
  

OK. Now that those tear-filled goodbyes are out of the way, we can get down to business. Assuming that Nicklas Backstrom is not a Capital this coming year, if the team re-signs the players I'd like to see them re-sign, the team's lines would look something like this (and I'm more concerned with the filling out a lineup card than the chemistry any given line might have, so don't complain about the combos):

Ovechkin - Zubrus - Clark
Semin - Halpern (signed with Dallas 7/5) - Zednik (signed 7/12)
Fleischmann - Laich - Free agent
Pettinger - Sutherby - Clymer

Scratches/taxi squad: Fehr, Gordon

Eminger - Heward
Morrisonn - Muir
Green - Pothier (signed 7/1)

Scratches/Taxi squad: Nycholat

Kolzig
Johnson

Now the fun part - shopping time! With the increase in the salary floor, the Caps may have to throw a few rubles around just to clear the minimum, but we'll try to keep it within reason.

First, the forwards. The Caps need a couple of relatively inexpensive veteran rightwings who can score a bit, play a little defense, aren't afraid to hit or be hit and most of all play hard. We're letting Willsie and Bradley go, so the new guys will have to be an upgrade over that pair. Who fits the bill? Realistically, how about taking a look at Mark Parrish or Jamie Langenbrunner? Then again, there's always Jeff Friesen (just kidding, relax). Oh, and forget about that other #12 coming back. Not gonna happen.

Now to the rearguards. There aren't as many openings on the blueline (not to be mistaken for "there aren't many holes on the blueline"), but the team certainly could use another top-4 or certainly top-6 defenseman, preferably one with some offensive ability. Hmmm... Three guys that would certainly be upgrades are Filip Kuba, Willie Mitchell (though he has no offensive skill of which to speak) and, depending on the asking price, Brian Pothier.

Finally, who will back up Olie Kolzig? Despite his Calder Cup playoff run, Freddy Cassivi is not up to the task. Personally, I'd welcome Brent Johnson back in a second. But if that doesn't happen... eh, throw any crappy retread back there. It doesn't matter. Ideally, the Caps would have Olie's heir apparent playing 30 games this season, but since that's not in the cards, it doesn't really matter as long as there's a legitimate NHL keeper behind Olie. Mike Dunham? Sure. Brian Boucher? Whatever.

And there you have it. If the Caps sign all of the guys I suggest, are they a playoff team? Probably not. But stranger things have happened. They'd certainly be better than they were last year, and the team will have done nothing to hinder the progress of the younger players, hurt the financial bottom line or turn off the fan base. As I see it, throw the big bucks around next summer, with 2007/08 as the target for the next playoff appearance and 2008/09 as the target date for serious contention in the Eastern Conference.

I love it when a plan comes together.

(Originally posted 6/26)

UPDATE (6/27, 5:15 p.m.): The chart has been updated to reflect the Group II (restricted) free agents to whom the Caps did and did not tender offers by yesterday's deadline.

UPDATE (6/28, 7:35 a.m.): The Caps are in negotiations with Jeff Halpern and Johnson to bring the two back, according to the WaPo, and according to the WTimes, the team is close to a deal with the latter.

UPDATE (7/4, 8:20 p.m.): The Caps have re-signed Brent Johnson, signed UFA defenseman Brian Pothier, bought out blueliner Nolan Yonkman's contract, are about to lose Jeff Halpern to the Stars and saw Brian Willsie sign with the Kings.

UPDATE (7/5, 9:00 p.m.): It's official - Halps has signed with the Stars. In addition, six players have filed for salary arbitration (just about everyone who was eligible to take the team to arbitration did).

UPDATE (7/6, 5:30 p.m.): The Caps have signed defenseman Sasha Pokulok, the team's first pick, 14th overall, in the 2005 Entry Draft.

UPDATE (7/10, 5:20 p.m.): The Caps have re-signed defenseman Shaone Morrisonn, who had been a restricted free agent. Also, it appears that first-round pick (fourth overall) Nicklas Backstrom will be staying in Sweden for the 2006-07 season.

UPDATE (7/12, 6:45 p.m.): The Caps have re-aquired rightwing Richard Zednik from the Montreal Canadiens in return for a third-round pick in 2007.

UPDATE (7/13, 9:30 p.m.): The Caps have re-signed center Brooks Laich and Hershey-bound goaltender Frederic Cassivi.

UPDATE (7/14, 2:30 p.m.): The Caps have signed Donald Brashear. Caps fans rejoice. Also, the Caps (or Hershey - I'm not sure it really matters) signed forwards Alexandre Giroux and Chad Wiseman.

UPDATE (7/15, 6:20 p.m.): The Caps have re-signed defenseman Steve Eminger and forwards Boyd Gordon and Kris Beech.

UPDATE (7/17, 7:45 p.m.): The Caps have re-signed centers Brian Sutherby and Rico Fata.

UPDATE (7/18, 9:10 p.m.): The Caps have signed left wing Quintin Laing.

UPDATE (7/21, 5:00 p.m.): The Caps have re-signed left wing Ben Clymer to a three-year deal. The team also signed minor league tough Pete Vandermeer.

UPDATE (7/26, 9:00 p.m.): The Caps have re-signed right wing Matt Bradley to a two-year deal. The team also re-signed minor league defenseman Dean Arsene.

UPDATE (7/31, 7:15 p.m.): The Caps have re-signed left wing Matt Pettinger to a three-year deal.

UPDATE (9/8, 10:20 p.m.): The Caps have announced their roster for training camp.

Wednesday Roundup/Caps 4, Lightning 1

[Boxscore - Recap]

Before I get into the recap of last night's game, you may recall that yesterday I mentioned the Asian guy who rocked the arena with his smooth dance moves during The Hockey Song. Well, through the magic of the internets I can now show you the video (though it doesn't do the performance justice, since it was the surprise of the whole thing that made it so great). Still, here it is. Enjoy.

Now on to last night's action on the ice and what a way to end the season for the Caps. The closest the Caps could come to playing spoiler on Tuesday night was to beat the Lightning in their own building and force them to play first place Ottawa (against whom the Lightning were 0-4-0 during the regular season and were outscored 16-6) in the first round of the playoffs rather than the Candycanes (against whom Tampa ran up a very impressive 5-2-1 record).

Mission accomplished.

The Caps got great goaltending from Brent Johnson and a couple of goals from captain Jeff Halpern en route to a 4-1 win in Sunrise. Interestingly, according to the WaPo it may very well have been the last game in a Caps uniform for both of the unrestricted free agents. The win gave the Caps an even 70 points on the season and ends the year with three straight division wins, victories in four of the team's last five games overall and a 7-3-3 record in the team's final 13 games. I'll have a more complete season review in the days ahead, but certainly the way this team ended its season is encouraging. I, for one, can't wait for next year.

On a sad note, The Rink would like to pass along our condolences to Olie Kolzig and his family who lost Olie's father late Tuesday night. According to the WTimes,

Axel Kolzig, the 64-year-old father of Washington Capitals goaltender Olie Kolzig, died Monday night of an apparent massive heart attack in his Union Bay, British Columbia, home.

Axel Kolzig watched his son win his 20th game of the season earlier in the evening on television and turned on his computer to read about his son's victory on the Internet. His wife, Renata, discovered him shortly thereafter.

All of Caps Nation's thoughts and prayers are with you, 'Zilla, and I'm sure your father couldn't have been prouder of you as a hockey player or, more importantly, as a human being.

Thread of the Day: Official End Of The Season Thread

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

• WashingtonCaps.com has a nice thank you message for the team's fans on its front page.
  
• Do you get the sense that no one - especially within the Southeast Division - likes Bob Hartley and his team of hot dogs and thugs the Atlanta Thrashers? According to the WaPo,

  After beating Atlanta on Monday, both [Capitals Head Coach Glen] Hanlon and [General Manager George] McPhee received phone calls from their Tampa Bay counterparts, John Tortorella and Jay Feaster, respectively, thanking them for defeating the Thrashers. The Capitals' victory clinched a playoff berth for the Lightning.

  For some reason, I don't think that call would have been made had the Caps locked up a playoff spot for Tampa by defeating, say, the Leafs.
  
• In a successful attempt to draw attention to his column by writing something stupid, CBS Sportsline's Wes Goldstein thinks Dion Phaneuf should win the Calder Trophy, primarily because the two forwards most often mentioned for the award played for horrendous teams while Phaneuf's Flames are a contender built on defense and he's a defenseman. Huh? Don't get me wrong - Phaneuf is a great player who had a great year. But we're supposed to be more impressed by a blueliner that fit in on one of the best defensive teams in hockey (a Stanley Cup finalist, no less) than by the 3rd-best rookie point and goal totals ever or the youngest player to hit the century mark in points? I, for one, am not buying it.
• If you like numbers, the NHL has some it's crowing about, namely those related to attendance and scoring.
  
• Happy 19th Birthday Maria Sharapova. What, that's not hockey related?

Daily Awards

• Hart: Brian Gionta (2 goals and an assist in the most incredible game of the night and win streak of the year)
  
• Ross: Paul Kariya, Mats Sundin (4 points each)
  
• Norris: Mike Van Ryn (2 goals, including the game-winner, +1, in 2-1 win)
  
• Vezina: Martin "The Good" Biron (33-save shutout win in Carolina)
  
• Richard: Paul Kariya (3 goals)
  
• Calder: Sidney Crosby (Goal, assist)
  
• Aiken: Chris Osgood (Loss, 6 goals allowed on 30 shots against)
  

Tuesday Roundup/'Canes 6, Caps 5 (OT)

[Boxscore - Recap]

The Caps finished their seven-game road trip last night in Raleigh with a 6-5 overtime loss to the host Hurricanes. Despite finishing the trip with a 3-1-3 record, including 2-0-1 against the Southeast Division champ 'Canes, last night's game stung, as the Caps grabbed a pair of first period leads, then fell behind 4-2 during a horrid second period only to tie the game at four and then at five in the third period before losing on a powerplay goal in overtime after failing to score on a 5-on-3 advantage of their own in the closing moments of regulation (I can draw a diagram of that last sentence if it would help).

As in the previous three games against Carolina, the Caps did a great job of handling the duo of Baby Face (0 points in his last four games against the Caps) and Baby Food (.831 save percentage in the last four Carolina/Washington tilts), but got beaten by perennial thorn-in-the-side Butt Fugly (another three points last night) and the recently rehabilitated Josef Vasicek, who had a pair of goals to match his pair of assists. It certainly didn't help matters for the Caps that they played the whole night with only 10 forwards (Matt Pettinger was unable to play after warm-ups and the Caps have been skating 11 forwards and 7 defensemen lately to begin with) and played half the second period without another forward, captain Jeff Halpern, who was in the penalty box serving fighting majors for beating down a slash-happy Baby Face and later tussling with a creaky Doug Weight, but excuses are, as they say, like Tony Kornheisers (more on him later). The Caps simply didn't get it done last night, whether it was getting the big save, clearing a rebound, scoring on a gift-wrapped 5-on-3... Seventy-four games into the season and the fact remains: the effort and attitude are there but the talent and results simply are not.

The WTimes recaps the game here, the WaPo here. Speaking of the WaPo, I wonder how Caps beat writer Tarik El-Bashir feels when he busts his tail covering the team for a paper that prints an article entitled "He Shoots, He Scores, America Snores" (web-titled "NHL? Nobody Cares"). Yes, hockey fans, Tony Kornheiser has once again decided to trash our beloved sport for no apparent reason. Eric over at OWO takes him to task on it, but I wanted to make a couple of points myself.

Kornheiser begins beating his dead horse with the bold assertion that "Hockey is dead" (interesting, as attendance is way up league-wide over the 2003-04 season), then backtracks by qualifying his claim with "At least it's dead right here, right now." Looking merely at ticket sales, that would be hard to argue, as the Caps have lost the second-most ground at the box office over two years ago of any team in the League. But let's not forget that two years ago, the Caps had big expectations and big draws Jaromir Jagr, Peter Bondra, Robert Lang, and Sergei Gonchar for more than half the season, whereas this year the team was expected to be awful and, despite exceeding those expectations (and the record of the 2003-04 squad) and boasting arguably the League's most exciting player, the public perception of this team has been too much to overcome. Kornheiser continues:

The Caps have played 74 games. They only have eight left, and they've been playing since October. And when was the last time they came up at all in conversation? Not just the Caps, any NHL team? For five bucks, name the coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets, I dare you.

Obviously I'm not a good judge of this, since the Caps come up in nearly every conversation I have, but his "name the coach" example is ridiculous. How many people could name the head coach of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks? Or the manager of the Colorado Rockies (the baseball team)? Or the head coach of the New Orleans Saints of the mighty NFL? Are those sports dead too? For the record, Tony, Gerard Gallant is the head coach of the Blue Jackets. You owe me five bucks.

Hockey is so dead in America, the players may as well still be locked out.

See attendance figures, as there are millions of fans who will disagree with you. In fact, more people have already attended NHL games this year (18,954,089) than attended NFL games last season (17,200,324) and ten of the NHL's 30 teams are playing to capacity (or more) crowds, while 12 of the NFL's 32 franchise did the same in 2005. The article goes on with gratuitous shots at the local team, its star and the League on the whole, and maybe later I'll discuss it further. But for now there are two major points I'd like to make.

First, who is Kornheiser's audience here? Presumably hockey is so dead that the only people who will read this piece are the dozen or so hockey fans out there who read the WaPo. In that case, TK is telling his audience that they're a bunch of dolts who would be better off waiting for parachute pants to come back than for the NHL to be resurrected. On the other hand, if casual sports fans care enough about hockey to read this drivel, it seems proof positive that there is interest in the sport and that perhaps it simply needs a marketing makeover. So take your pick - either Kornheiser is condescending to and insulting his readers (and colleagues) or he's dead wrong on the central premise of his article. Journalism at its finest either way.

The second point is more narrowly focused on the Caps. With just eight games remaining in a season that has long been about goals other than those measured by wins and losses, what purpose is served by writing this article now? The Caps are rebuilding and Ted Leonsis, George McPhee et. al. are doing it the right way, and that takes time. Of course they're not winning right now, and attendance reflects that. But with the team's best player chasing 50 goals, 100 points and the Calder Trophy, why pen such a mean-spirited piece of garbage? Why not write an article about how this team is headed in the right direction and how people should take notice and get in on the ground floor? Then again, why would I expect Kornheiser to start being positive or constructive now after 20-plus years of pissing in people's Cheerios?

Thread of the Day: Uh Oh, Tony K. On The Caps And Hockey (Caps fans react to TK's latest)

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

• Cristobal Huet and Steven Reinprecht are your Defensive and Offensive Players of the Week, respectively, while Ray Emery and Jaromir Jagr are the Defensive and Offensive Players of the Month, respectively, for March. The key to Jagr's success this year? He's found that he's inexplicably drinking a lot more Gatorade (tip of the cap to Eric at OWO for that last link).
• Happy Birthdays to former three-time Jack Adams Trophy winner Pat Burns (54), Hall-of-Famer Dale Hawerchuk (43) and Roberto Luongo (27).
  

Daily Awards

• Hart: Mathieu Garon (23-save shutout win over Vancouver keeps LA's playoff hopes alive)
  
• Ross: Josef Vasicek (4 points)
  
• Norris: Marc-Andre Bergeron (Goal, 2 assists, +2)
  
• Vezina: Miikka Kiprusoff (Shootout loss, 41 saves on 42 shots against through OT)
  
• Richard: Josef Vasicek, Ray Whitney, Rico Fata, Dany Heatley, Vincent Lecavalier, Rob Blake (2 goals each)
  
• Calder: Dion Phaneuf (Goal, 5 shots on goal, hit, 2 takeaways, 0 giveaways, 3 blocked shots)
  
• Aiken: Curtis Joseph (Loss, 6 goals against on 25 shots in 39:48 before being pulled)
  

Friday Roundup/Habs 3, Caps 2 (OT)

[Boxscore - Recap]

Time after time this season, especially early on, Olie Kolzig has masked some of the defensive shortcomings of his teammates with his outstanding play in net. Sure, it's often been akin to putting lipstick on a pig, but hey, if you've gotta date the sow, you'll take as much makeup as she's willing to wear [overdone metaphor alert!]. Point being, Kolzig has picked up his teammates all season (the Caps have only won four games all year in which Kolzig has allowed three goals, compared to, say, the Hurricanes, who have won 16 times when Martin Gerber has been beaten three times). Even through the first two periods, the only reason the Caps were in the game was Kolzig's stellar play in goal and some strong penalty-killing. But late Thursday night it was the team's turn to pick Olie up, as the netminder let in one of his worst goals of the year midway through the third period.

"Unfortunately, I gift-wrapped the second goal for them," Kolzig would later say of his stick-handling blunder that gave Montreal a 2-1 lead and would be the only power-play goal the Caps yielded in 10 chances shorthanded. "I felt horrible." The Tarik el-Bashir described the go-ahead goal:

Halpern had won a faceoff deep in Washington's zone after a Capitals penalty and tipped the puck back to Kolzig, who reached to control the puck with his stick. But instead of gaining control of it, he redirected it onto the stick blade of Canadiens center Christopher Higgins, who netted his second goal of the game with 11:37 remaining.

Though they could have easily packed it in at that point, there is no quit in these Capitals and nearly a dozen minutes later, with Kolzig watching from the bench after being pulled for the sixth attacker, captain Jeff Halpern banged home a loose puck on a goal-mouth scramble to tie the game with 2.5 seconds left. The Caps had indeed bailed Kolzig out and the game would head to overtime, but the storybook ending wasn't to be as Saku Koivu beat Kolzig on a breakaway in the extra session that Olie thought he had stopped. As the puck trickled through and the crowd of more than 21,000 erupted, however, he knew he hadn't made the save and the Caps suffered about as gut-wrenching a loss as a team 25 points out of a playoff spot with ten games left can have.

Now it's off to Ottawa for a date with the high-flyin' (though defensively-depleted) Sens, nation's capital-à-nation's capital.

Finally, with another visit to a Canadian rink, another couple of nice pieces on Alex Ovechkin from north of the border, the first from the CP. Included therein, this quote from the Caps' superstar:

When I came here, I was a bit nervous. I only knew one player, Dainius Zubrus, but now I know all the guys. We're like a big family. If we lose, we lose together, and if we win, we are happy together. We do everything together. It's very important.

Awww. Can you feel the love? The second article is from the Montreal Gazette bemoaning the number of penalties called against the Caps because they kept AO off the ice. That's right - fans (who lustily cheered Alex during the player introductions) and writers alike in Montreal so appreciate Sasha's talent that they want to see more of him during the game, even if it results in its likely outcome (i.e. goals against the Habs):

[H]ad [Ovechkin] picked up his 50th here he would have had the Full Monty, a standing ovation from the NHL's biggest and liveliest crowd.

Now those are hockey fans. Of course, the article devolves into "bitter Canadian writer" mode, but we don't need to go there. We don't need to, but we will:

If [Ovechkin] completes his quest in Washington, where that thoroughly rinky-dink organization is drawing flies, the feat will likely be witnessed by the Zamboni driver, a few NHL officials and the wealthy characters in the private box of owner Ted Leonsis.

That's the problem with this story: Ovechkin is the league's hottest young property, the almost certain winner of the Calder Trophy, arguably the most dangerous and exciting player in the NHL at age 20. And he's playing, like rookie rival Sidney Crosby, in a city where the team is on life support [he must be an avid reader of Damien Cox].

What a waste.

Who're you calling a wealthy character, pal? Oh, and by the way, how are the Expos looking this spring?

Thread of the Day: NHL Separated At Birth - Ever seen Ken Hitchcock and Captain Kangaroo in a room together? How about Mike Modano and Jon "Napolean Dynamite" Heder? For more, click on the thread.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

• Happy 78th Birthday to Gordie Howe, Happy 41st Birthday to Tom Barrasso and Happy 35th Birthday to Pavel Bure. Six Stanley Cups, two Olympic silver medals, six Harts, six Rosses, two Calders, a Vezina, a Jennings, seven Richards (or equivalent), 1238 career goals, 2677 career points, 2504 career penalty minutes and 369 career wins. Nice trio of birthday boys, eh?
  

Daily Awards

• Hart: Brendan Shanahan (Game-winning goal, assist, fight... ding! ding! ding!... +2 in 4-2 win at Nashville)
  
• Ross: Mike Johnson (3 points)
  
• Norris: Jaroslav Spacek (Goal, assist, +1, 2 hits)
  
• Vezina: Dwayne Roloson (20-save shutout win, assist)
  
• Richard: Christopher Higgins, Dmitri Afanasenkov, Steven Reinprecht (2 goals each)
  
• Calder: Christopher Higgins (2 goals, +2)
  
• Aiken: Evgeni Nabokov (Loss, 4 goals on 27 shots against)
  

Thursday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ Sens

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview - Gameday Thread]

The Caps stay north of the border for tonight's game against the Senators in Kanata and while one hopes the players are focused on the task at hand, Caps fans have been anxiously anticipating the impending trades of a couple of veterans, namely Brendan Witt and perhaps Jeff Friesen. Then comes word today via the WTimes' Dave Fay that the captain - Potomac's own Jeff Halpern - is also a candidate to be dealt, as is backup goaltender Brent Johnson. Personally, I'd be shocked if the team traded Halpern, especially now that he is finally healthy for the first time this year, but I guess time will tell. Fay suggests that the Caps might go after an enforcer/pest-type in trade, but is pessimistic (as usual) that the team will be able to get anything more than draft picks for their most prized trade bait, Witt. Again, time will tell.

In obscure Caps coverage news, thanks to Kukla's Korner I saw this article in the Falls Church News-Press (whatever that is) on the Caps' rebuild.

Thread of the Day: Avery Rumor (Admittedly, I started this thread, but was surprised at the decidedly mixed - and voluminous - reaction to the rumor)

Elsewhere 'round the rinks:

• With the Caps beating the Leafs on Tuesday, the Bears completed the week's organizational sweep of Toronto last night as they downed the Marlies last night in Hershey.
  
• The trade season is gearing up as Atlanta has sent goaltender Jani Hurme to Anaheim for forward Joel Stepp just one day after Calgary sent Cam Severson to Columbus for Cale Hulse.
  
• Allan Muir wins the award for "Most Clueless Journalist Of The Day" by penning the following quote:

  How good was teenaged Russian Evgeni Malkin in Turin? When he wasn't the team's second best forward behind Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk, he was its best.

  Presumably Muir is not one of the writers that voted Alexander Ovechkin to the tournament's All-Star team (an honor garnered by neither Datsyuk nor Malkin), but this assertion is still somewhat puzzling, and by "puzzling" I mean "assinine". I will say this for Muir, though - at least he showed himself to be of that increasingly-rare breed of Sports Illustrated columnists expressing semi-original - albeit it ridiculous - thoughts.
  

Daily Awards

• Hart: Scott Young (2 goals, assist on game-winner, +1, 2 blocked shots in 4-2 win)
  
• Ross: Scott Young (2 goals, assist)
  
• Norris: Aaron Ward (2 goals, including game-winner, 4 blocked shots)
  
• Vezina: Craig Anderson (20-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Brad Larsen, Aaron Ward, Scott Young (2 goals each)
  
• Calder: Dustin Byfugliean (Game-winning goal, +2, 2 blocked shots in first NHL game)
  
• Aiken: Jussi Markkanen (Loss, 3 goals against on 10 shots in 39:59 before being benched for the third period)
  

Wednesday Roundup/Panthers 5, Caps 0

[Boxscore - Recap - Postgame Coverage]

The Olympic break can't come soon enough for the Caps. The team is banged up, outmanned and seemingly burnt out and last night at the MCI Center they dropped their second straight 5-0 decision to a Florida team. Coach Glen Hanlon said it best when he noted:

"We are what we are. It's not an NHL lineup. We're playing a lot of prospects. These kids are all a long way away from being ready to wear this sweater for real. And it showed."

Further to that point, Dave Fay points out that six of the Caps 18 skaters were in the minors in the past week. Hopefully the team fairs better in a home-and-home with the state of Pennsylvania this weekend before getting the well-deserved break, but that may in large part depend on the health of veterans like Jeff Halpern and Chris Clark.

Recaps abound, including those in the WaPo, the WTimes and a slew of Miami-area papers (here, here, here and here - thanks to Netsrak for doing the aggregating and for having the coolest avatar in Capland).

In other Caps news:

• Alex Ovechkin fired 10 shots on goal last night, but obviously couldn't solve Roberto Luongo. Ovechkin now is goal-less in his last five games and has just one goal in his last eight outings. Still, he is only two goals off the League lead.
  
• You may recall that Jon Sim, who had a hat trick and an assist last night, had two hat tricks against the Caps this past preseason as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers. He is officially, now, a Cap killer.
  

Elsewhere 'round the rinks:

• By now I'm sure you've heard about the Rick Tocchet gambling story. Until there are more facts out there, I don't care to fan the flames, but if you need to slake your thirst for scandal, there's already some great blogging on it, not surprisingly lead by Eric at Off Wing Opinion. Also noteworthy early is what amounts to a running index of the 'net-wide writings on this story at The Ice Block. But my favorite take so far is from Matt at The Battle of Alberta.
• We told you that yesterday was Peter Bondra's birthday. Today another great former Cap rightwing blows out the candles as Dino Ciccarelli turns 46. Can Mike Gartner's birthday be far behind? Actually, yeah - he was born in late October (interestingly less than four months before Ciccarelli).
• Finally, for any hockey fan who's ever dreamed big, this story has to be a favorite.
  

Daily Awards

• Hart: Jon Sim (3 goals, including the game-winner, assist, +3)
  
• Ross: Jon Sim, Scott Gomez (4 points each)
  
• Norris: Rob Blake (Game-winning goal, +3)
  
• Vezina: Roberto Luongo (44-save shutout)
  
• Richard: Jon Sim (3 goals)
  
• Calder: Alexander Steen (2 assists, +2)
  
• Aiken: Sean Burke (L, 3 goals against on 8 shots - in relief - before getting yanked in favor of the man he replaced after just one period)