Great Moments In Journalism

"If Ovechkin won’t respect Malkin’s status as a superstar, the Penguins can’t respect Ovechkin’s status as a superstar. If that means that Eric Godard does Ovechkin a favor by rearranging his face, so be it.

Malkin shouldn’t retaliate personally. That’s not his job. It might help Malkin’s street cred, but what if Malkin broke a finger? The reward is dwarfed by the risk." - Mark Madden, Beaver County Times

I personally don't think Malkin's the wuss that Madden paints him to be - one that can't take a little physicality or fight his own battles - but Madden covers Malkin and knows him better than I do, so I'll defer.

Oh, and Don Brennan called - he wants his clownshoes back.

H/t Kukla's Korner

Line Of The Day

Excerpted from an Olympics article by Shelly Anderson of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette:

Near the back, I came upon Alex Ovechkin sitting alone on a wall over a pond. The Russians brought the Washington Capitals winger and reigning NHL MVP here to help promote the Sochi Games.

"You all by yourself?" I asked.

"No, I'm with friends," he said, although they were nowhere in sight.

I told him I was from the Pittsburgh paper and had interviewed him several times.

"Pittsburgh?" Ovechkin said, lighting up a bit. "Tell [Sidney] Crosby hello."

"What about [Evgeni] Malkin?" I asked.

"Him, too."

Malkin: Ovechkin Is The Best Player In The NHL

Add another vote to the "Ovechkin for MVP" campaign, this from rival Evgeni Malkin:

"I still have chances to become the MVP this season, however I am sure that Alexander Ovechkin is the best player in NHL this season and he will win this award."

"He is a leader of his club as he leads his partners to play-offs, that is why I have no chances to become the season's MVP."

Maybe Geno isn't as dumb as he looks.

What, Is Sid Not Old Enough To Drive Yet?

In case you haven't seen it already, I thought I'd post a local Pittsburgh car ad featuring Colby Armstrong, noted card sharp Maxime Talbot, Sergei Gonchar and Evgeni Malkin (who has so little personality and/or command of the English language that he can't even get a speaking part) for its sheer unintentional comedic brilliance. Enjoy.

Tuesday Roundup/Caps 6, Pens 5 (SO)

[AP Recap (coming soon) - Game Summary - Super Stats]

Clearly I was off the mark when I thought that Bruce Boudreau had gone to Plan B (i.e. playing the hot goalie). Rather than playing Brent Johnson (who didn't have a chance on any of the three pucks that Florida put past him in Saturday night's win), Boudreau came back with Olie Kolzig and just 4:30 into the first period, Kolzig spotted the Pens a goal when his positioning at his left post was, um, less than perfect.

I don't mean to beat a dead horse here, but there isn't a goalie in the entire NHL whose save percentage (in significant minutes) has taken a bigger fall over last season's mark than has Kolzig's (and that was before last night). On the other hand, Johnny's save percentage has improved more since last year than all but eight netminders and his goals against average is up more than all but four other goalies (granted, he had plenty of room for improvement in both categories). Point being, whether or not Boudreau has gone to Plan B yet, it can only be a matter of time before he does - and the sooner he does, probably the better.

That said, helluva win, eh? Some thoughts on the game:

• If you don't love Quintin Laing, stop reading this blog and leave now. Seriously.
  
• Evgeni Malkin was absolutely brilliant in nearly every way, and I think I got my answer as to what kind of #1 center he is on his own. But to suggest that he's as physical a player as Alex Ovechkin is silly (the late first period collision between the two notwithstanding - and, fyi, this is how it's done, Ovie). To date, Alex has 129 hits. Malkin has 21.
  
• The Caps displayed a ridiculous (and uncharacteristic) lack of discipline, including a pair of lazy Alex Semin stick fouls and offensive zone hooks by Nicklas Backstrom, Brooks Laich and a killer by Matt Bradley negating a go-ahead goal.
• The penalty killing - prior to overtime - left a lot to be desired.
• Milan Jurcina had a strong game, as did his fellow countryman Tomas Fleischman. Could Flash actually be developing into a legit top-six winger?
  
• Speaking of Internationals, Russian-born players accounted for six goals, six assists and two shootout tallies on the night.
  
• Backstrom has eight points in his last two games, which is more points than Ovechkin or Malkin have ever scored in back-to-back outings. That said, I didn't think he had a particularly good game overall. Neither, for that matter, did Mike Green.
  
• "In a pinch [Shaone Morrisonn] probably could have played." The Caps were in 11th place in the Conference and two points out of 14th heading into last night's game in a building they can't win in against an opponent their goalie can't beat. Just out of curiousity, what, exactly, is a "pinch"?
• In addition to Mo's absence, this team is really feeling the loss of Brian Pothier and approximately 50% of Tom Poti. A depth move to shore up the blueline might be needed.
  
• Psst... Bruce... they're called collar stays. Look into 'em.
• Ovechkin's and Semin's shootout moves were dazzling (as was Jarkko Ruutu's).
  
• The Caps won 59% of the faceoffs on the night.

Not to take too much away from a great win, but as Tyler noted to me in an email, "You can play like crap against Scranton and still win." The Caps will need to do a better job against NHL-caliber talent going forward than they did last night, but come April, they're not going to be asking how the Caps got the points they got - they'll be asking how many points they got, and these two sure do help.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

From the "Update on Guys I Don't Miss At All" file, Brian Sutherby is still looking for his first point as a Duck (he's played 19 games for Anaheim).

Daily Awards

• Coming in the morning
  

Monday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ Pens

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

Despite what you may have read elsewhere on the interwebs, the biggest diver in hockey likely will be in Pittsburgh's lineup for tonight's big game between the two best teams in the Eastern Conference since Turkey Day, but the focus will most likely be on the two Russians comrades who were taken one-two in the 2004 Entry Draft and have won the last two Calder Trophies. You know plenty about that first pick, so let's talk a bit about the second.

Evgeni Malkin is following up last season's playoff disappearing act his brilliant debut with another big season - 24 goals, 29 assists, plus-six rating, etc. - with much of his success has come riding shotgun on Sidney Crosby's left wing. But with Crosby now out indefinitely, the pressure is on Malkin to step up and center the top line. And despite being drafted as a center, Malkin hasn't yet been able to really establish himself as an NHL pivot - he has the worst faceoff percentage (37.6%) of any center in the League who has taken more than 78 draws and has the fifth-most giveaways of any forward in hockey (Alex Ovechkin, incidentally, has the second-most, though he has a much better giveaway-to-takeaway ratio than Geno).

Make no mistake about it - Sidney Crosby is irreplaceable, both on and off the ice. But if there's a silver lining to his injury for the Pens, it's that they'll get a clearer picture of where Evgeni Malkin is in his development as a player and a leader. Something tells me they won't be disappointed.

Why The Pens Will Win:

"Evgeni Malkin. Period. The guy has been playing like he has a chip on his shoulder the size of the Communist Bloc. His consistent dismissal of an all-star game invitation will fuel 'Geno' to new levels leaving goalies to beware." - Confessions of a Hockey Fanatic (and if you're more of an aural learner, check out the audio clip Mike sent over - very cool):boomp3.com

"This game has Capitals finally rise up and beat the Penguins all over it..... It should be a really entertaining game. How come no one ever talks about Malkin vs. A.O. Old fashion shootout. Pens torch caps goalie Jim Carey 6-4." - The Pensblog

"The Pittsburgh Penguins will win this game because of, wait for it, defense. Gasp! That's right, since getting lambasted by the injury bug in 2008, the Penguins have clamped down in their own zone and played tight hockey in front of some hot goaltenders. Ty Conklin has been absolutely stellar between the pipes and Dany Sabourin earned a shutout in his first start of 2008 Saturday night in Montreal. Evgeni Malkin rose to the occasion in Crosby's absence Saturday and I'd expect him to do the same tonight." - Faceoff-Factor

"Let me preface this by saying that I was once a resident of Northern Virginia. Yes, I was one of those Penguins fans that all Capitals fans hate. You could count on me being at each and every game that the Pens came south to meet Washington, in my Lemieux jersey, agitating everyone around me to the point that my well being was threatened on many occasions. But those, as they say, were the days...

"The series is much better when both teams are competitive. Right now, the Caps are in a re-building stage and the Pens are at a much different stage of development. This alone should be reason enought that Pittsburgh will prevail. But, due to Sid Crosby's ankle injury, the plot has thickened. In the Pens most recent game, a 2-1 victory against the Canadiens, they proved to everyone, including themselves (and this may be the most important), that they can win without #87 in the lineup. They did so by playing sound defense, finishing checks and eliminating costly mistakes. Does this sound like a typical Penguins team? No. And this is the same team that the Capitals will face tonight. If Washington is not prepared for a gritty, hard nosed game then they will not end up on top when 60 minutes have been played. If they are prepared, which I believe they will be, it should be a very tight contest with the Pens winning in OT 3-2." - Home of the Penguins

"The Penguins will win because it's not just about Crosby, it's about Malkin. The Pens supporting cast (Malone, Sykora, Gonchar) is more skilled, experienced than the Caps. The Caps have given up three or more goals 5 times in calender year 2008 already; the Penguins just once. The Pens will win because role players like Jarrko Ruutu and Georges Laraque spend more time on the cycle than Lance Armstrong. But mainly the Pens will win tonight because they've beaten the Capitals six times in a row, it's just one of those things that's meant to be." - The Sweater Ted

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

On this national holiday, I wonder how Donald Brashear and George Laraque plan to honor the memory of famously pacifistic Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.... Mathieu Perreault is on a 17-game point-scoring streak (only 44 games to go to tie Mario Lemieux's record) and is tied for sixth in the Q in scoring with 64 points in 40 games (three points behind fellow Caps prospect Francois Bouchard).... Maybe the Caps are scouting the Jax after all.... Another Canadian writer thinks Alex is overpaid. Surprise.... Short blurb on Flash.... Finally, a special welcome to our puppy-stealin' friends to the north. Make yourselves at home.

Daily Awards

• Hart: John Madden (2G, including the game-winner, +1, 5 SOG)
  
• Ross: Scottie Upshall, Braydon Coburn (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Braydon Coburn (G, 2A, +3)
  
• Vezina: Tim Thomas (W, 30 saves on 31 shots against)
  
• Richard: Brenden Morrow, Niklas Hagman, John Madden, Scottie Upshall (2G each)
  
• Calder: Andrew Cogliano (A, +2)
  
• Aiken: Martin Gerber (L, 4 goals allowed on 14 shots against in 39:51 of work)
  

Did Alex Ovechkin Get In A Bar Fight?

Rumors are swirling that Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin's agent may have gotten into a little scrap at a nightclub not long ago. Granted, it's another spotty Google translation (and noticeably absent is this "news" on any of the more respectable Russian hockey media sites, as well as a byline identifying the author) but here's what it says - take it for what it's worth:

At a pre-tournament matches in Mytishchi known in the past goal keeper, and now agent Gennady Ushakov emerged from the trauma person. It was the "SE", a few days ago after a party in a nightclub near Ushakova off with the club attackers NHL Washington Capitals' Alexander Ovechkinym. After Ovechkin heard insult in his address, among them, and owns an argument, in which the latter had broken jaw. The victim is an agent of another Russian NHL star and friend Ovechkin-forward "Pittsburgh" Yevgeny Malkin.

UPDATE: Thanks to the ever-generous Dmitry Chesnokov for passing this along:

Pavel Lysenkov, a Sovetsky Sport editor, called Alex Ovechkin about an hour ago to find out if the rumor regarding his alleged fight was true. Alex Ovechkin stated that this was not true. Alex added that this was just a rumor. Alex also stated that Ushakov and he have a good relationship.

So there you have it, straight from the horse's mouth, as it were. Rumor quashed.

UPDATE: But apparently not quashed enough to keep Sport-Express from running with it.

UPDATE (8/30): GMGM says the alleged incident is "of no concern" (which isn't necessarily a denial that something happened).

H/t to Siberian on HFBoards on the initial link, Mirtle on the S-E link

The Calder Trophy: Malkin Elbows Out The Competition

Evgeni Malkin is the odds-on favorite to take home the Calder Trophy Thursday night, but perhaps the voting should be closer than you'd think.

Pens' Role Players Rolling Over

Where did all the Pens' secondary scoring go? Evgeni Malkin's disappearing act has been well-documented (personally, I'm looking forward to the Where's Geno? series of children's books), but Pittsburgh has gotten absolutely nothing from their over-20/under-40-year-old forwards all series.

Luckily for Ottawa, the Penguins have never come back to win a series after falling behind 3-1 to a team from a country's capital city.*

* Statistic may be slightly less than 100% accurate.

Holiday Ticket Deal From The Caps

Alex Ovechkin has more than 15% more goals than Evgeni Malkin, Jaromir Jagr and Sidney Crosby.

He has more than 15% more points than Patrick Marleau, Olli Jokinen and Eric Staal.

He has more than 15% more hits than Shane Doan, Darcy Tucker and Gary Roberts.

And now you can go see Alex and the Caps for 15% off for the rest of December's home games.

Seriously, what are you waiting for?

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)

Saturday Roundup/Gameday: Sabres @ Caps

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

First off, kudos to Ingmar Bergman on the above graphic, one of many, many "Death to the Buffaslug" banners he's created.

As Netsy put it in the Official GDT, tonight's game "has the potential to be either very, very good or very, very bad." Unfortunately (or fortunately), my company holiday party prevents me from being able to watch live. Oh well.

As always, get all your previews at Washington Hockey Daily.

Caps Quick Hits:

• More (than you likely want) on Jamie Heward's gruesome injury here and here.
• Unless you're an uncultured cretin, you'll appreciate this from Rink regular Tyler, at the confluence of art and hockey.
  

Daily Awards

• Hart: Patrik Elias (G, 2A, +1)
  
• Ross: Patrik Elias, Martin Straka (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Brian Campbell (G, A, +2, 5 blocked shots)
  
• Vezina: Dominik Hasek (20-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Dan Cleary (2G)
  
• Calder: Evgeni Malkin (G, A)
  
• Aiken: Marc-Andre Fleury (L, 4 goals allowed on 8 shots against in just 30:35 of work)

Sunday Roundup/Caps 3, Rangers 1

[NHL.com Recap - WashingtonCaps.com Postgame Coverage - Official Scoresheet - Official Super Stats]

Last night's crowd of 16,263 - a legitimate 16,263, the largest crowd of the season - saw the Caps take care of business by playing a physical and up-tempo game against a team that had played a similar game the night before. Despite being 0-for-7 on the power play before the Rangers even got a man advantage of their own, the Caps got an early goal from Boyd Gordon, a couple of softies from Alex Ovechkin and Matt Pettinger that went through Henrik Lundqvist's gaping five-hole, and phenomenal goaltending from Olie Kolzig en route to the 3-1 win. For those of you keeping score at home, the last four Capitals wins have come against teams that had 100 or more points last year (New York, Ottawa, Philly and Calgary).

The WaPo has their recap here, the WTimes here, but there were a couple other points from last night that deserve mention:

• Besides scoring his first goal since Christ was in diapers (Oct. 11, 2003 to be precise), Gordon was 9-for-11 (82%) in the faceoff circle. In fact, the Caps dominated the night in the dot, winning 34 of the 56 draws (61%). Dainius Zubrus was a very impressive 17-of-25 (68%).
• The defensive pairing of Brian Pothier and Shaone Morrisonn did a fantastic job containing the Jaromir Jagr line, and Morrisonn was acknowledged for his efforts with the game's third star, despite being held off the score sheet. Pothier logged an NHL-high 30:35 last night.
• The Donald finally dropped the gloves for the first time this season, and he made quick work of Colton Orr. When my wife asked why it took him so long to get into a fight this year, I told her that when you're that good a fighter, you don't need to fight very often. Certainly the case with Brash. UPDATE: Video, via OWO:
  

• John Erskine looked pretty good and even picked up a helper on the Ovechkin goal. It was only the third sixth point of Erskine's career (all assists) in 143 NHL games.

Stat of the Day

• The Caps have five regulation losses so far on the 2006-07 season and each of those has been followed with a win in the next game.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

• On October 28, Secondary Sid netted a hat trick against the AHL Philadelphia Flyers. Since then, he has taken 8 shots on goal in six games and hasn't scored a goal. He does, however, have seven assists over that stretch - three primary and four secondary. Must be nice having Evgeni Malkin to carry your water, eh, Sid? Perhaps not coincidentally, Pittsburgh is 1-3-2 over the six game span.
  

Daily Awards

• Hart: Daniel Briere (Game-tying and OT-winning goals, +2, 6 SOG)
  
• Ross: Bryan McCabe, Tomas Kaberle, Kyle Wellwood, Petr Nedved, Slava Kozlov (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Bryan McCabe (2G, A, 3 SOG, 3 hits, 1 takeaway, 0 giveaways, 1 blocked shot)
  
• Vezina: Olie Kolzig (W, 41 saves on 42 shots against)
  
• Richard: Marian Hossa, Glen Murray, Daniel Briere, Chris Neil, Randy Robitaille, Bryan McCabe (2G each)
  
• Calder: Drew Stafford (G, 3 SOG)
  
• Aiken: David Aebischer (L, 4 goals allowed on 28 shots in 37:33 of work)
  

Saturday Roundup/Gamenight: Rangers @ Caps

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

Tonight the Caps welcome J.J. and the Broadway Blueshirts to the VC. The Rags had a physical battle with Atlanta last night (which they won handily), while the Caps come in well-rested as they haven't played a game since Monday night's comeback win against Ottawa (and yes, that includes Thursday night's game at Carolina that was on the schedule but for which they didn't show up), so look for the hosts to have a little more jump from the first puck drop.

The Rangers have three of the NHL's top seven scorers, the seventh best powerplay and the third most potent offense in the League. Needless to say, it will be absolutely critical to stay out of the box and keep the shots against down: Stupid is Death.

Thread of the Day:

• Pothier Is Killing Us ---- AGAIN
  

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

• We're #30! According to Forbes (via OFB), the Caps are the least valuable franchise in the NHL. Now this valuation is largely based on the current arena deal, and since the Caps are renters, it's not surprising that they'd be way down the list. At some point, I assume Abe Pollin will sell the building to Ted Leonsis et. al. and the Caps will be worth a heckuva lot more, so fret not.
  

Daily Awards

• Hart: Jason Spezza (G, 2A, +4, 69% faceoffs won)
  
• Ross: Michael Nylander, Jaromir Jagr, Jason Spezza (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Wade Redden (G, A, +3)
  
• Vezina: Miikka Kiprusoff (37-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Ryan Smyth, Dany Heatley, Radim Vrbata, Tomas Vanek (2G each)
  
• Calder: Evgeni Malkin (G, A)
  
• Aiken: Colby Armstrong (-4, 0 SOG, 0-for-2 on faceoffs)
  

Thursday Roundup

Caps Quick Hits

NHL.com profiles Captain Clark... Puckhead has a recap of yesterday's practice facility opening ceremonies (with video)... D.C. Sports Bog covered the event, um, thoroughly... On Frozen Blog was there too... So was Tarik... So was the WTimes (but not Dave Fay).

Thread of the Day:

• Who Might Be On The Trading Block?

Elsewhere 'Round the Internets:

• The NHL is still on Fox... sorta (and it has nothing to do with glowing pucks!).

Daily Awards

• Hart: Rod Brind'Amour (2G, including GWG, 2A, +3, 2 SOG, 1 hit, 1 takeaway, 0 giveaways)
• Ross: Rod Brind'Amour, Ray Whitney (4 points each)
  
• Norris: Ian White (GWG)
  
• Vezina: Cam Ward (W, 40 saves on 42 shots against)
  
• Richard: Rod Brind'Amour, Ray Whitney, Eric Lindros, Evgeni Malkin (2G each)
  
• Calder: Evgeni Malkin (2G, 4 SOG, 3 hits)
  
• Aiken: Kari Lehtonen (L, 4 goals allowed on 13 shots against in 35:09 of work)
  

Sunday Roundup/Oilers 4, Caps 0

[NHL.com Recap - Official Scoresheet - Official Super Stats]

Jack Daniel's and Coca-Cola conspired to make me miss most of the latter two periods of the Caps/Oilers game last night, so I'll let you get your recaps from the professionals (the WaPo here, while the WTimes has a great article on Canada's love of AO).

Some quick thoughts from what I can remember of last night's game and what I can surmise from reading about it this morning:

• The Caps were absolutely abused in the faceoff circle, winning only 19 of 50 draws (a woeful 38%). Dainius Zubrus and Boyd Gordon were at 50% and Brian Sutherby had a bad night winning only 43% of his faceoffs, but Brooks Laich - back in the lineup in place of Kris Beech - was the real stinker, winning only 2 of 10 draws and losing every single neutral or offensive zone faceoff he too. Beech, who is fifth in the League in faceoff win percentage, will almost certainly be back in the lineup Monday night and if Laich gets a sweater in Calgary, I'd expect him to be shifted to the wing.
• Alex Ovechkin had a whopping seven hits last night, which perhaps can finally put to rest the "What's wrong with Alex?" questions. Matt Bradley had five hits last night, bringing his total for the year up to nine. Nice effort last night, and if Bradley is going to stick, he needs to be hitting everything that moves, as he apparently did last night.
• How 'bout them sluggin' Caps? After not having a fighting major before Friday, the team has now had a fight in back-to-back games as Shaone Morrisonn dropped the gloves last night. But I'm still waiting on The Donald's first fight in a Caps uniform before I dub this squad the F Street Fighters.
• Remember when Richard Zednik was good? Yeah, me neither.
  

Daily Awards

• Hart: Sidney Crosby (3G, +3, 4 SOG)
• Ross: Jaromir Jagr, Tomas Kaberle (4 points each)
  
• Norris: Tomas Kaberle (3G, +2, 5 SOG, 1 hit, 4 takeaways, 2 giveaways)
  
• Vezina: Martin Brodeur (22-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Sidney Crosby, Tomas Kaberle (3G each)
  
• Calder: Evgeni Malkin (G, 2A, +3)
  
• Aiken: Antero Niittymaki (L, 4 goals allowed on 9 shots against in just 22:41 of work)
  

Wednesday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ 'Lanche

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

The Caps are off on their annual Western swing, this time with four stops in the Northwest Division (Colorado, Edmonton, Vancouver and Calgary). In case you're wondering, that's four teams with a combined record of 17-13-3. And as the team heads out, they're at least talking a good game:

"Guys are looking at it as a challenge," [Olie] Kolzig added. "We're going to hockey cities. We have to embrace the environment rather than be intimidated by it."

Uh huh.

"Even though we have three games in four nights, [motivation] won't be a problem because a lot of guys will be playing in front of friends and family," [Matt] Pettinger said. "Guys are going to be excited."

Now, to me when these Caps are challenged and excited, it usually means you can expect lots of penalties. But we'll see. Hopefully Pettinger's return provides a spark, the team plays disciplined hockey and the goalies stand on their heads. If not, the Caps may come back to D.C. in bad shape.

First stop, Colorado (and old friends Ken Klee and Andrew Brunette), where the 4-3-2 Avs no longer sell out all of their home games, but still have two lines that can put up goals in bunches (the team is 8th in the NHL in goals per game). And while Colorado has some ancient players (Joe Sakic and Pierre Turgeon each celebrated his 83rd birthday Monday), youth is being served there as well by the likes of Marek Svatos, Wojtek Wolski and Paul Stastny. The Avs goaltending is suspect (Jose Theodore's GAA is nearly four and his save percentage is on the wrong side of .880 - ouch), and Caps fans can expect to perhaps see Peter Budaj (he of the 2.75 career GAA) between the pipes Wednesday night.

Like I said, the key word for this road trip is discipline. If they play smart and under control, the Caps will be in every game. If not, a team like the Avs can hang a touchdown on them in no time.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

• Let me preface this by saying that Evgeni Malkin's goal last night was a thing of beauty, displaying the kid's speed, size, strength and skill wonderfully. That said, if John Vanbiesbrouck (I believe he was doing the color for Versus last night) uttered the phrase "shades of Mario Lemiuex" one more time, I would have thrown a hammer through my TV screen. We get it - Malkin and Sidney Crosby are like Gretzky and Messier, except good. Enough.
• Speaking of the Pens game, Eric has to be ecstatic that he's no longer the goofiest-looking Staal in the NHL (sadly, that picture doesn't do Jordy's goofiness justice).
• I've been told that the only way to get a bad song out of your head is to pass it on to someone else. So here's hoping that one of you can rid me of the god-awful "That's All" by Phil Collins. You know it. You hate it. And now it's yours.
  

Daily Awards

• Hart: Evgeni Malkin (G, A, +2, 5 SOG, cured cancer, solved world hunger, brought peace to the Middle East)
  
• Ross: 14 players tied with 2 points each
  
• Norris: Andrej Meszaros (G, A, +3, 6 hits, 2 blocked shots)
  
• Vezina: Miikka Kiprusoff (W, 26 saves on 27 shots against)
  
• Richard: 21 players tied with 1G each
  
• Calder: Evgeni Malkin (phenomenal G, A, +2, 5 SOG)
  
• Aiken: Andrew Raycroft (L, 5 goals allowed on 21 shots against in 40 minutes of work)
  

Friday Roundup/Thrashers 4, Caps 3 (OT)

[NHL.com Recap - Official Scoresheet - Official Super Stats]

A second period that was a mirror image of Wednesday night's miserable middle frame and Brent Johnson's stellar goaltending earned the Caps a point in a fifth straight game, but in the end there was just too much Kari Lehtonen and the Caps fell to Atlanta 4-3 for the second time in six days. Read all about the game here.

Even though it's disappointing to lose a lead in the last minute of regulation and then the game minutes later, I'll take three points out of every back-to-back set of games, especially with the second game coming against a division leader who's been resting for nearly a week. Losses like this hurt, but hopefully they motivate even more.

A couple of notes from the game:

• Brian Pothier had more ice time (30:39) than Bryan Muir, Jakub Klepis, Rico Fata and Donald Brashear combined. Why is Klepis - 3:48 of ice time - even in the NHL right now?
• Brooks Laich was 1-for-8 on faceoffs and finished -2 for the game (and when the other team only scores two even strength goals, that's something). Steve Eminger was also a very stinky -2 and was Ilya Kovalchuk's slalom gate on multiple occasions.
  
• On the flip side of that coin, the entire first line and Pothier were on the ice for both Caps even strength goals and all four skaters ended up +2 for the night.
• The penalty-kill was strong again, successfully killing 6 of 7 penalties including a long 5-on-3.
  

Thread of the Day:

• Poll: We or They? How do you refer to your favorite team?
  

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

• NHL.com has a great profile of Brian Sutherby up.
• Got Stats? Hockey-Recap does.
  

Daily Awards

• Hart: Marian Hossa (2G, including GTG with :33 left, A, shootout game-clincher, +2, 7 SOG, 3 takeaways, 0 giveaways, 1 blocked shot, J.P.'s jealous hatred)
  
• Ross: Sidney Crosby, Alexei Yashin, Brian Gionta, Patrik Elias, Patrick Marleau, Milan Michalek, Marian Hossa (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Sergei Gonchar (GWG in OT, A)
  
• Vezina: Mathieu Garon (40-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Glen Murray, Patrick Marleau, Marian Hossa (2G each)
  
• Calder: Evgeni Malkin (GTG, A, +1)
  
• Aiken: Derian Hatcher (-3, 2 giveaways - though he did take the penalty on which the Flyers scored their only goal, shorthanded; Hatcher is now dead last in the NHL in +/- by a mile)
  

Alexander The Humanitarian

There's a nice article in The Star this morning about Alexander Ovechkin's latest humanitarian efforts, as AO has teamed up with Right To Play, "a Toronto-based international humanitarian organization, which brings sport and play programs to children in the most disadvantaged areas in the world."

The NHL's rookie of the year realizes there are many kids not nearly as fortunate [as he was/is/always will be], which is why on a day when fellow Russian wunderkind Evgeni Malkin inked a deal with the Penguins, Ovechkin signed up with a new team of his own. He joined Right To Play yesterday as one of five new NHL athlete ambassadors.

And you thought assisting was one of his less-impressive skills as a player?

Speaking of less impressive (just kidding), Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby will spend the day with Alex in NYC doing a Sports Illustrated photo shoot.

Well That Answers That... Partially

Undoubtdely in direct response to the current Rink Poll at right, Alexander Ovechkin has taken his name out of the running for new team captain (leaving Chris Clark as Rink readers' current pick for the job). Sayeth Alex:

This year I'm not ready because my English isn't good enough. If I need to say something to the team . . . it's hard. The captain is very important, you must be a leader all the time.

Personally, I think this is a great decision. I've discussed this topic before and have mentioned it on the Tag-Board (which I may have to take down thanks to an unbearable amount of robo-spam), but for now I'd like to see Ovechkin focus on his development as a hockey player unburdened by the responsibilities that go along with being the team's captain. Make no mistake about it, though - Ovechkin is a born leader and will lead this team on and off the ice whether he has a "C" on his jersey or not.

And what hockey story these days would be complete without a mention of Evgeni "The Next Next One... No, Not That Next Next One But The Other Next Next One" Malkin? Asked about his fellow countryman, Alex answered in what has become classic Ovechkin fashion:

"He was my roommate at the Olympics, he's a good guy and a good teammate. But if I meet him in the corner...," Ovechkin smiled...

Screw the captaincy. AO for President.