Tuesday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ Flames

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

Since the lockout, the Caps and Flames have tangled but twice - once on each team's home sheet of ice - meaning that of Alex Ovechkin's 250 career NHL games, residents of Calgary have had the chance to see him in their building exactly once, which is, of course, how many times Jarome Iginla has visited the Verizon Center in the past three seasons. But each of those meetings has been something special, no doubt leaving fans longing for more.

In the first meeting between these two elite power forwards (October 30, 2006), Ovechkin's Caps left the Saddledome with a 4-2 win, thanks to a big night in net from Olie Kolzig, a pair of goals apiece from Richard Zednik and Dainius Zubrus (sidenote: which, if any, of those three would make the current Caps roster?), and AO blowing up Dion Phaneuf.

The last time these teams met was last March, when Ovi scored twice in the last 2:05 to give Kolzig a 3-2 win, the 300th of his career.

A few pre-game notes:

• The Flames are allowing the most goals per game in the League and have had trouble scoring five-on-five in the early going (and their performances overall have been somewhat uneven). The Caps, on the other hand, are a five-on-five machine so far. If they stay out of the box, they'll be putting themselves in a good position to succeed.
• Ovechkin hasn't yet scored a goal in the Saddledome, one of seven NHL cities in which he has been held goal-less (Chicago, Edmonton, L.A., Minnesota, San Jose and St. Louis are the others).
• Throw out the first period against Atlanta and Jose Theodore has a 2.79 GAA. Throw out his three first periods overall and he has a 1.35 GAA. Five of the nine goals he’s allowed have been on the PK. Of course, goals allowed are goals allowed, but I think the concerns over Theodore's play so far have been greatly overstated and aren't far from being respectable (that said, the fact that Brent Johnson has played more minutes through five games is noteworthy).
• JT60 has a career 9-7-2 mark against the Flames with a 2.15 GAA and .922 save percentage (don't forget Theo's Avs are in Calgary's division). Last season, Jose was 5-3-0/1.95/.928. Stout.
• Michael Nylander had 17 goals and 36 assists in 93 games for the Flames and Chris Clark had 53 goals and 53 assists in 326 games for Calgary (who drafted him in the third round, 77th overall, in 1994).
• Sergei Fedorov has 22 goals and 29 assists in 56 career games against Calgary.
• Jarome Iginla has been a staple on my fantasy team for years now, so if someone's gotta score for the Flames...
• Look for Calgary to try to play a physical game against Ovechkin.
  

So the Caps open their three-game road trip in Calgary (birthplace of Washington blueliners Mike Green, Jeff Schultz and Tyler Sloan), where they haven't lost since March 13, 1999 (when Nicklas Backstrom was 11-years-old). Might as well keep that streak going, eh?

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

This morning's Calgary Sun has articles on Green and AO and a game capsule, and The Leader-Post has one on Ovechkin, too (The Globe and Mail too!).... The Caps are down two spots to ninth in CBS's Power Rankings.... Brits are excited to watch Ovi online (but not Sid?)... John Walton Hockey has a nice recap of what's been going on in S.C. so far.... Here's an interesting nugget for you: Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Matt Stairs (who has quite a way with words) is "the first New Brunswick athlete to reach the final in one of the big four professional sports since Mike Eagles of Sussex played in the 1998 Stanley Cup final as a member of the Washington Capitals." ... Matt Pettinger is on re-entry waivers. Will anyone want a $500k Princess?

Sunday Roundup

"Know what the difference between hitting .250 and .300 is? It's 25 hits. Twenty-five hits in 500 at bats is 50 points, okay? There's six months in a season, that's about 25 weeks. That means if you get just one extra flare a week - just one - a gorp... you get a groundball, you get a groundball with eyes... you get a dying quail, just one more dying quail a week... and you're in Yankee Stadium." - Crash Davis in Bull Durham

For some reason, that quote keeps banging around my head these days when I think about the difference between making and missing the playoffs. It's going to be close. How close? Who knows. But in this year of mediocrity parity, you can bet that it will be five points or fewer.

Know what the difference between, say, 88 and 93 points in the standings is? It's five losses in overtime rather than in regulation, okay? There's six months in a season. That means if you get less than one more game per month to overtime before losing - just one - an extra save in the last thirty seconds of regulation... you get a clear into the corner rather than into your own net with 28 seconds left... you get one puck past a mediocre goalie in sixty minutes... you hold on to a tied game for four more minutes in a game in which your goalie, 50-feet from the net, fans on the puck... you - rather than the officials - get to decide the outcome of a game... you get a call or a bounce, just one more call or a bounce a month... and you're in the playoffs.

Each of those five games referenced above was a Caps loss... in regulation. In total, the Caps have twelve one-goal, sixty minute losses (and ten one-goal regulation wins). The Caps may still make or miss the playoffs, but either way, it's going to be closer than even the standings might indicate.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Damien Cox thinks Alex Ovechkin is a "talented loser" if the Caps miss the playoffs by a point, but the Hart winner if they're in. Tom Benjamin thinks Cox is a talented loser, minus the talent. I think "Damien Cox" sounds like a horror-porn actor.... Finally, one year ago today we briefly (and I mean briefly) recapped a Caps loss, watched an outstanding old school brawl and followed-up on the "fighting" post, and two years ago today we recapped yet another Caps loss and defended poor, defenseless Ovie.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Jarome Iginla (3G, including the game-winner, +2, 7 SOG, 3 Hits, 2 TkA, 0 GvA)
  
• Ross: Eight players tied with 3 points each
  
• Norris: Dion Phaneuf (G, 2A, +4, 8 SOG)
  
• Vezina: Dan Ellis (37 saves on 38 shots against in shootout win)
  
• Richard: Jarome Iginla (3G)
  
• Calder: Sam Gagner (2G, including the game-winner, +2, 8 SOG)
  
• Aiken: Jose Theodore (3 goals allowed on 8 shots against in just 14:29 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)
  

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Calgary Sun

Wednesday Roundup/Gamenight: Isles @ Caps

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

When the New York Islanders take to the ice tonight at Verizon Center, they'll do so with a patchwork blueline and a group of forwards that's just slightly more established. Take a gander at their current injury report:

Shawn Bates (C): Hip surgery, remainder of the regular season - IR
Chris Campoli (D): Shoulder surgery, remainder of the regular season - IR
Blake Comeau (C/W): Head injury, day-to-day
Bruno Gervais (D): Oblique, day-to-day
Mike Sillinger (C): Hip injury, late February - IR
Chris Simon (LW): Suspended
Jon Sim (LW/RW): Right knee injury, remainder of the regular season - IR
Andy Sutton (D): Leg injury, 4-to-6 weeks
Brendan Witt (D): Knee injury, sidelined indefinitely - IR

On that list are four of the Isles' top six defensemen in terms of ice time, their top faceoff man and third-leading goal scorer (Sillinger) and Cap-killer extraordinaire Jon Sim (11 of his 52 career goals have come against Washington). These are big injuries, especially for a team that wins (when they win) on defense - no team has scored fewer goals on the season than the 'Ders.

And yet, just when the Isles look dead in the water, they rattle off a few wins to keep hope alive. Case and point, they come to town riding a four-game win streak which comes right on the heels of an 0-6-1 stretch in which they scored just 11 goals. On the plus side, they haven't won five straight since 2003.

Ted Nolan deserves every ounce of the praise he gets for squeezing a winning record out of these guys because, quite frankly, the Islanders are awful. They don't score, don't have a terribly good team GAA, are bad with the extra man and worse five-on-five, and are led in scoring by a guy with a minus-20 rating (and bad taste in pop tarts) who has fewer points than Alex Ovechkin has goals. In fact, the Isle's top three goal scorers combined have one more goal than Ovie. Their top six scorers - each of whom has a minus rating - are a combined minus-63. Michael Nylander's 37 points would be good enough for second on the Isles in scoring. I could go on, but won't.

But for all that suck - and there's plenty - they have one more point in the standings than the Caps, which is the real kick in the yambag.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - if you're gonna make the playoffs, you've gotta beat the teams you've gotta beat. This certainly is one of those teams, and one with whom the Caps shouldn't have a whole hell of a lot of trouble. For a Caps team that hasn't won a game by more than a single goal in more than a month, it's time to cash in two points in a convincing manner.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Mike Green love at CBSSports.com.... Happy 51st Birthday, Glen Hanlon.... Finally, one year ago today we looked at what "fair value" for Dainius Zubrus would be and previewed the Caps and Habs (which included my incredibly prescient take on the state of the franchise in Montreal - "the Habs are destined to be mediocre for the foreseeable future").

Daily Awards

• Hart: Jarome Iginla (2G, A, +2, 7 SOG, 2 hits)
  
• Ross: Jaromir Jagr (4 points)
  
• Norris: Dion Phaneuf (2G, including the game-winner, +3, fight, 5 SOG, 2 hits)
  
• Vezina: Tim Thomas (43 saves on 45 shots against in shootout win)
  
• Richard: Jarome Iginla, Dion Phaneuf, Michael Ryder, Ryan Malone, Alexei Kovalev, Brendan Shanahan (2G each)
  
• Calder: Sam Gagner (G, A)
  
• Aiken: Carey Price (3 goals allowed on 11 shots against in just 13:56 of work)
  

Friday Roundup/Bruins 2, Caps 0

[AP Recap - Game Summary - Super Stats]

And you thought non-stop coverage of the Iowa Caucuses was boring.

A few notes from an uninspired evening:

• Jeff Schultz is listed at 6'6", 221 pounds. Chuck Kobasew is 6'0", 192 pounds. How in the hell does the former allow the latter to push him into Olie Kolzig on a 3-on-5 penalty kill when the referees would let the Caps blueliner do damn near anything to clear the front of the net? KB texted me before the game "I'm gonna go with Kobasew as the Bruin who most embarrasses Schultz tonight." Very prescient.
  
• Every now and again we get a reminder that Mike Green is only 22-years-old, and last night was more or less a sixty-minute reminder. Green was totally out of position on the first Boston goal, took a careless double-minor that led to their second and could easily have gotten called for a dive on the Marc Savard hooking penalty. He did draw two penalties, but both were highly questionable calls. Was he feeling too much responsibility with Tom Poti out? Likely.
  
• Olie Kolzig had his best game in weeks, perhaps months. The fact that it came in a loss makes it less likely that Bruce Boudreau will start Freddy Cassivi in Montreal on Saturday, but we shall see.
• The officiating was, at best, inconsistent.
  
• Despite getting stuffed on a partial breakaway in the first, Tomas Fleischmann played his best game in a while as well.
• Please, Gabby - no more Donald Brashear on a scoring line or power play. Brooks Laich deserves that spot, if it comes to that.
• Alex Ovechkin always has a tough time with Zdeno Chara, and last night was no exception (though he did ring two missiles off the iron).
• The Caps are now 1-6 with Poti not in the lineup.
• Milan Lucic is an animal. He absolutely crushed Brian Pothier late in the second, and that's the last we saw of Potsy for the night.
  

Now it's off to Montreal for another tough Eastern Conference match up. Getting Alex Semin, Poti and/or Pothier back would be nice - getting a better all-around effort will be necessary.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Thanks to Rink Reader Chris for pointing out the Mike Green love in Dave Hodge's latest offering.... On this date back in 1986 Mike Gartner registered his 10th career hat trick and Dave Christian had a pair of goals and three helpers in a 9-3 rout of the Devils. Four years later, Sergei Gonchar would tally the second ever hat trick by a Caps defenseman (Kevin Hatcher had the first) in a 6-1 win over the Habs.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Jarome Iginla (2G, including the OT game-winner, +3, 4 SOG, 4 hits)
  
• Ross: Nine players tied with 3 points apiece
  
• Norris: Brent Burns (3A, +3)
  
• Vezina: Tim Thomas (31-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Evgeni Malkin (3G)
  
• Calder: Martin Hanzal (G, A, +1, 2 hits, 2 SOG)
  
• Aiken: Marty Turco (3 goals allowed on 4 shots against in just 13:14 of work)
  

Monday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ Wings

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

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

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

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

Why The Wings Will Win:

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

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

Daily Awards

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

Friday Roundup/Gamenight: Sabres @ Caps

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

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

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

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

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

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

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

Daily Awards

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

Thursday Roundup/Caps 5, Bolts 3

[AP Recap - Boxscore - Super Stats - WashingtonCaps.com Postgame]

That worked out well, didn't it? A pair of goals to get the captain off the schneid, and, quite frankly, he could have easily had a couple more. But we'll certainly take it and the 5-3 win, which improves the Caps intra-divisional record to a sparkling 3-0, outscoring their Southeast Division rivals 10-4. Some quick thoughts on the game:

• You can put any game in which Brooks Laich, David Steckel and Chris Clark score in the win column without looking at anything else. Period.
• Say what you want about Brian Pothier, but his willingness to shoot the puck from the point deserves mention, and it led directly to the fourth goal. For the game, Potsy had two assists and was plus-four. Cheers.
  
• Speaking of that goal, if you ever wondered why the NHL awards a secondary assist (and no, it's not so Sidney Crosby can win scoring titles), look no further than Michael Nylander's pass to Pothier on that second Clark goal. It was breathtaking.
  
• Y'know, I had a lot of respect for Vinny Lecavalier when he dropped the mittens with Jarome Iginla during the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals. I lost most of that respect tonight when he jumped Shaone Morrisonn.
• By the way, kudos to the refs for calling that sequence perfectly. Vinny deserved each of the four penalties he was given.
  
• Dare I bring up the 0-for-4 power play that surrendered a shorty? For tonight, I'll lay off it, but don't think that it's going unnoticed, and not only by me.
  
• Alex Ovechkin attempted 16 shots on goal tonight, with six getting to the goal.
• Does anyone believe that Steve Eminger is 100% healthy? Probably not anyone who has seen Jeff Schultz's play so far this year (despite the plus-three night he managed to put together).
• Steckel's first NHL goal (congrats) came on a beautiful feed from AO. In fact, all four of the Caps goals on Denis came as the result of well-developed plays.
  
• Olie Kolzig made a big save after the double-minor on which the Caps failed to score, and had a solid if unspectacular game.
  
• Awesome to see Goat leading "Let's Go Caps" from the owner's box.
  
• Alex Semin looked very rusty, but did unleash that wicked wrister at one point, and it got on Marc Denis so fast he was lucky it hit him - otherwise it was headed for the back of the net.
• Mike Green looked good, but ended up a team-worst minus-two. He was way out of position on the first goal (set up by a nice pass from Brad Richards).
  
• If Tomas Fleischmann is only going to get three shifts, would the team be better off dressing John Erskine as a seventh defensmen to use exclusively on the penalty kill?
  
• Boyd Gordon (12-for-17) and Viktor Kozlov (8-for-11) dominated the faceoff circle. Nylander (3-for-10), not so much.
• Milan Jurcina had a game-high five hits, but his hugging holding penalty was a bad one.
  

Next up, Mary Kate, Ashley, Bobby Lou and the Canuckleheads - someone invite Henrik Zetterberg and Mats Sundin to town, because it will be a Swede-filled Friday night at the VC. See you there.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

It's great to see Liz back in the blogosphere.... The Caps are the biggest team in the NHL.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Jarome Iginla (G, 2A, +2, 8 SOG, 2 takeaways, 0 giveaways, 4-for-4 in the faceoff circle)
  
• Ross: Alexander Ovechkin, Eric Staal, Jarome Iginla, Alex Tanguay, Bret Hedican (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Bret Hedican (G, A, +5, 4 SOG, 2 blocked shots)
  
• Vezina: Cam Ward (W, 19 saves on 21 shots against)
  
• Richard: Chris Clark, Alex Tanguay, Tomas Holmstrom, Gregory Campbell, Olli Jokinen, Jason Pominville (2G each)
  
• Calder: David Steckel (G, +2)
  
• Aiken: Henrik Tallinder (0 points, 0 SOG, -4, 2 giveaways, 1 takeaway, 2 penalties including a Delay of Game on which Carolina scored)
  

Sunday Roundup/Pens 2, Caps 1

[AP Recap - Boxscore - Super Stats]

If it wasn't for the "Let's Go Pen-guins" cheers still reverberating in my head, I think I'd be pretty comfortable with last night's game. The effort was fantastic (kudos to Glen Hanlon for readying the troops), Boyd Gordon did a sensational job on what's his name, and the Caps were the more physical team by miles. Frankly, if it wasn't for Marc-Andre Fleury, the Caps win last night's game.

Of course, that's a big "if" (recall my feelings on "ifs") , and at the end of the night, the Caps lost their fourth straight game to fall under .500 for the first time this season. Some more thoughts on the game:

• As brilliant as Brent Johnson was - and he was brilliant - I'm sure he'd like the game-winner back.
• Did anyone catch Donald Brashear's nifty stick-handling in the first period? Maybe that rush was the reason he forgot how to fight for the first three-quarters of his bout with Georges Laraque. Unluckily for Gorgeous George, Donny remembered how to fight before it was too late.
• Asking your penalty killers to do their job four times in a period is a tall order, and in last night's second period the man-down unit failed on that fourth kill.
  
• We've already discussed Joe Motzko a bit (Tarik says it's just a paper transaction, though, so don't get too excited), so I won't do so again here other than to once again question why he led the team in power play ice time but Mike Green could barely get a sniff with the extra man.
• Alex Ovechkin continues his great all-around play, registering eight shots on goal, five hits, two takeaways, no giveaways and a blocked shot.
  
• Gordon and David Steckel combined to win 18 of their 32 faceoffs (56%). I got a chance to ask Hanlon about how important it was to get Gordo back in the lineup (at about 5:30 of his presser):
• Tomas Fleischmann has had his two best games of the season playing with the Swedes instead of the Russians. Coincidence? Probably not. One gets the feeling that he was intimidated playing on the Ovechkin line because everyone knows who's supposed to get the puck on that line. Playing with the Swedes, however, more is expected of him as a finisher, and he's not afraid to shoot when he's got the puck on his stick. When Alex Semin comes back, I wouldn't be shocked to see a little shuffling that splits the Swedes up with each centering one of the top two lines and Viktor Kozlov and Flash filling the top two right wing spots.
  
• Tom Poti actually had four shots on goal last night (and attempted another two), but I'll repeat it until I'm blue in the face - he needs to shoot more on the power play to establish the threat of a shot which will, in turn, open up more down low. You can talk all you want about getting a Tomas Holmstrom-type in front of the net, but if shots aren't coming from the point, the traffic in front is somewhat wasted. At least when Brian Pothier is back there, he's not afraid to tee it up (and he was rewarded last night with the Caps only goal - a power play blast from the point).
  
• If I hadn't sworn off the use of the term "snake-bitten," I think Chris Clark, Matt Pettinger and Nicklas Backstrom would all be worthy of the moniker.
• Speaking of Backstrom, the kid is simply a brilliant hockey player. His "hockey smarts" are off the chart, and his skill is right there too. And he's only played seven games in North America.
  
• Did Evgeni Malkin play last night?
  
• Oh, and the White Out? Not so much.

Now it's back to the Southeast Division for the Caps after an unfriendly run through 60% of the Atlantic and a brief run-in with (run-over by?) a Northeast team. If they can play like they did last night, they'll leave Wednesday night's game against Tampa two points richer.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Michal Neuvirth was apparently sharp in victory last night for Plymouth. For the season, he's now 2-3-1 with a 2.99 goals against average and an incredibly impressive .924 save percentage (good enough for fourth in the OHL).... Ben Clymer scored twice for Hershey last night in their first win of the season.... Lastly, I want to take a moment to bid a fond farewell to OFB's Empty Maybe, who is hanging up the keyboard. The blogosphere - especially here in D.C. - is weaker today for his absence. Hope to see you around in meatspace soon, Empty.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Jarome Iginla (Game-winning goal, 2A, +1, 6 SOG)
  
• Ross: Jason Williams (4 points)
  
• Norris: Roman Hamrlik (3A, +1, 3 blocked shots)
  
• Vezina: Manny Fernandez (26-save shootout shutout win)
  
• Richard: Mats Sundin, Vaclav Prospal, Simon Gagne, Kirk Maltby (2G each)
  
• Calder: Josh Harding (W, 33 saves on 34 shots against)
  
• Aiken: Andrew Raycroft (L, 5 goals allowed on 38 shots against, including 4 goals allowed on 15 shots in the third period)
  

Friday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ Cats

[SeSo Open Thread]

With five games to go in the season, the Caps have 26 wins and 65 points, three wins and five points behind their totals from a season ago. Whether or not they can best last year's point total will be of great importance to some onlookers, but wins and losses alone don't tell you everything about a team's progression (or lack thereof). Of course, neither do raw stats and rankings, but here are a handful anyway that probably better reflect where this team is now versus where they were at the end of last season:

• The power-play is up 2% to 16.7% (moving the Caps up four spots in the League rankings).
• The penalty kill is up 1.3% to 80.2% (a jump of four spots as well).
• Goals per game are up .14 to 2.94 (a nine-rank leap, up to 14th in the League).
• Goals against per game are better by .24 to 3.42 (a two-place bump).

And while similar improvements next year would likely put the Caps in playoff contention, as we've all seen with our friends from Steeltown, sometimes young teams can make bigger-than-expected leaps. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Back to the here-and-now, while the Caps can perhaps still play the spoiler a bit in some of their five remaining games, fan attention is likely more focused on individual milestones, and none are bigger than these three:

• Alex Ovechkin has 43 goals and 87 points. 45 and 90 are nice round numbers and should be no problem (and no, I'm not counting him out for 50 quite yet).
• Alex Semin has 38 goals and 72 points. 40 and 75 would be huge and more than anyone could have realistically hoped for.
• Chris Clark has 29 goals. Raise your hand if you thought he could be a 30-goal guy.

In a season with more than its fair share of disappointment in the nation's capital, a trio of 30-goal scorers would be an impressive highlight. How many other teams will have three 30-goal guys by season's end, you ask? Well, Buffalo has four. Already. Calgary has three already. Pittsburgh, Ottawa and Carolina are all on the verge of having a hat trick of 30-goal getters and that's it by my count. Not a bad bunch of teams to be lumped in with, is it? And only two other teams - Tampa and perhaps Atlanta - have a shot at a pair of 40-goal scorers.

There's one more "magic number" I'd like to see before the year ends, and that's 2.99 - as in Olie Kolzig's goals against average. Currently, Olie's GAA stands at 3.05. If he plays sixty minutes in four of the final five games and gives up nine goals, he'll end up at 2.994, certainly respectable and certainly doable. By contrast, if Brent Johnson played every minute of the last five games and didn't give up a single goal, his GAA would finish up at a relatively-bloated 3.20 (and that's neither terribly respectable nor is it doable).

But it all starts tonight, in Sunrise, against a Panthers team that has scored nearly at will against the Caps in the last four meetings, racking up 23 goals in those four wins. Hopefully the Caps can get back on track and finish up strong for themselves both as a team and as individuals with goals... and saves.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Jarome Iginla (3G, +2, 4 SOG)
  
• Ross: Teemu Selanne (4 points)
  
• Norris: Chris Pronger (2G, A, +2, 7 SOG, 2 hits, 1 blocked shot)
  
• Vezina: Chris Osgood (W, 1 goal allowed on 25 shots against in 2-1 win at Nashville)
  
• Richard: Jarome Iginla (3G)
  
• Calder: Phil Kessel (G, A, +2, 2 SOG)
  
• Aiken: Niklas Backstrom (2 goals allowed on 2 shots against in just 1:20 of work)

Sunday Roundup/Caps 4, Devils 2Gameday: Devils @ Caps

[NHL.com Recap - NHL.com Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

Second verse, same as the first - could be better, could be worse.

I'll have my thoughts on the home-and-home later today or tomorrow, but for now, consider these stats from yesterday's win:

The Capitals beat Martin Brodeur and the Devils 4-2 in New Jersey. It was the first time that Washington has scored more than three goals in a game against Brodeur since Oct. 6, 2001, when the Caps knocked Brodeur out of the game by scoring five times in the first two periods of the season opener for both clubs.

Saturday's game ended Brodeur's 11-game unbeaten streak against the Capitals (10-0-1) and it was the future Hall of Famer's first loss to Washington at the Meadowlands since Dec. 9, 2000. Brodeur had won seven games in a row versus the Capitals in New Jersey since then.

Oh, and there's more fallout from New York regarding Jaromir Jagr's "leadership," for those of you interested in that sorta thing. This article asks the following:

Now that Jaromir Jagr appears to be one bad haircut away from a Britney Spears moment, we have to ask: What do the Rangers do now?

They miss the playoffs. That's what they do.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Jarome Iginla (2G, including the game-winner, 2A, +2, 4 SOG, 2 hits)
  
• Ross: Jarome Iginla (4 points)
  
• Norris: Bryan McCabe (3 assists, +2, 2 SOG, 2 hits)
  
• Vezina: John Grahame (W, 28 saves on 29 shots against)
  
• Richard: Tomas Holmstrom (3G)
  
• Calder: Frans Nielsen (1st NHL goal is the game-winner, 1st NHL assist, +1, for the Dane in 3-2 Isles win)
  
• Aiken: Evgeni Nabokov (L, 6 goals allowed on 22 shots against)

Wednesday Roundup

You can give me back my belts and shoelaces now.

Nearly 36 hours have passed since Monday night's collapse (the Caps', not mine) and despite Dave Fay's cryptically dire (or was it direly cryptic?) proclamation that "[s]ome club officials are hoping it was just a game that was lost and not a lot more[,]" the sun has risen both mornings and the Caps still, so far as I can tell, intend to play the rest of the games that remain on their schedule. And I think we may have set a personal record for comments-to-posted-words ratio with yesterday's Roundup that featured clearly-frustrated and emotional thoughts that ranged from the Caps' need for depth down the middle to requests for the abolition of questionably-used pronouns.

With most in Capland feeling a little down (especially given this rainy Tuesday morning, I figured I'd throw a couple of "feel goods" out there. The first is from the Philly Inquirer and has the added bonus of trashing the Flyers while complimenting the Caps:

You'd think that given how awful the Flyers have been, the players would understand the significance of public relations. Saturday was a disgrace. Kids representing the High Five Club stood at the tunnel exit to greet the team upon its entrance onto the ice. Most of the Flyers ignored them. The only player who actually high-fived every kid was goalie Antero Niittymaki. After the game, Washington's Alex Ovechkin skated over to a young fan wearing a Flyers sweater and gave him his stick. Donald Brashear also gave sticks to fans. The Caps get it; the Flyers don't. If the players weren't told the kids were there in advance, then shame on the marketing department. If they were told, then shame on the players. This team needs to cultivate good will, not ill will.

The second collection of Caps-related kind words comes from a Versus producer still basking in the glow of Monday night's show, via F.O.R. (Friend of Rink) KB:

Alexander Ovechkin in my mind deserves any accolades he gets now and in the future. Tell me another athlete in another pro sport who would stick around 2 hours after his practice (on Sunday) to do the interview/translation for [Elbows] Malkin. And when I asked him if we were the only reason he was hanging around, he answered: "Why wouldn't I?". He's got phenomenal talent, and just loves every aspect of the game of
hockey.

I can never get enough of this stuff, especially with the borderline character assassination that followed the Briere hit. It's nice to be able to root for good players who are also good people.

Stat of the Day :

• "Jaromir Jagr had 11 shots on goal -- but no points -- in the Rangers' 3-1 win in Philadelphia. It was the 14th time that Jagr reached double figures in shots on goal in a regular-season game, the most of any active player.
  
  "Jagr is in his 16th NHL season. But believe it or not, the player who stands fourth on the list of active leaders in 10-shot games is in his second season in the league: Alex Ovechkin, with nine. Between Jagr and Ovechkin are Peter Bondra (who made his 2006-07 debut with Chicago on Tuesday night) with 13 and Paul Kariya with 12." - ESB

Daily Awards

• Hart: Jarome Iginla (2G, including game-winner 2A, +3, 4 SOG)
• Ross: Jarome Iginla (4 points)
• Norris: Chris Pronger (2G, including game-winner, +2, 5 SOG, 3 blocked shots, 2 hits)
• Vezina: Evgeni Nabokov (W, 36 saves on 37 shots against)
• Richard: Jarome Iginla, Jason Spezza, Marc Savard, Chad Kilger, Joe Pavelski, Sergei Samsonov, Chris Pronger (2G each)
• Calder: Joe Pavelski (2G, including game-winner, +1, 6 SOG, 3 blocked shots)
• Aiken: Manny Fernandez (L, 4 goals allowed on 13 shots against in 23:35 of work)