NHL Season Preview: Florida Panthers

I've always thought that the perspective in the Panthers logo was way off. I mean, how far away can those hind legs possibly be? Maybe she (right?) was just born with small feet.

Anyway, my Cats preview is up over at FanHouse, and here's a bit from last year's tour de force:

Hit:

Who's On The Hook: Jokinen. In a League in which more than half the teams make the playoffs each year, no one in the NHL has played more regular season games without a playoff appearance than the Panthers captain, whose streak currently stands at 641games. While the blame for the team's failure to make the postseason since the ridiculous-in-retrospect trade that brought Jokinen and Roberto Luongo to South Beach in exchange for Oleg Kvasha and Mark Parrish can't be heaped entirely upon the 28-year-old Finn, he's the guy wearing the "C," he'll be the team's all-time leading scorer by Halloween, and he has posted back-to-back career seasons that have been relatively meaningless, as the Cats finished in fourth place in the Division both years. Jokinen can't do it alone, of course, but it's time for him to start earning those big bucks the team shelled out to extend his contract back in March of 2006, and he can start doing that by leading the Panthers to the playoffs.

You can't spell "Jokinen" without "joke."

Miss:

Bouwmeester is now entering his fifth NHL season, and this is the year that his name should start to become a part of any and every Norris Trophy discussions for the next decade or so.

Meh. I'd still take him on my team any day (but seriously, he couldn't even get one fifth-place vote last year?).

So how 'bout dem Kitties? Can they challenge for a playoff spot or are they headed back to Lotteryville? Which crappy Panther will own the Caps this season and win this year's Jon Sim Award (can anyone dethrone reigning award winner Kamil Kreps)?

Saturday Roundup/Gamenight: Panthers @ Caps

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

The Florida Panthers make their third visit to our nation's capital on Saturday night and the Caps will try to be something other than the gracious hosts they've been through the first two games, a pair of one-goal Panther wins.

The Kitties are coming off a thrilling 2-1 win over the Devils in Jersey on Friday night (yawn), as Craig Anderson outdueled Martin Brodeur between the pipes. Seriously.

With Anderson going last night, the Caps can expect to see Tomas Vokoun on Saturday. Vokes is 1-7-1 with a 3.31 goals against average since December 28, but is 3-1-0 with a 1.72 GAA and .947 save percentage against the Caps on the year. Memo to Caps skaters: remember that this guy catches with his right hand - aim accordingly (interestingly, right-handed catching goalies - Vokoun, Rick DiPietro and Jose Theodore - are 5-3-0 with a 1.85 GAA and .930 SV% against the Caps on the season). At the other end of the ice will be Brent Johnson (a decision documented more extensively here).

Things are lining up in the Caps' favor for tonight. The Panthers are 3-4-2 in the second of back-to-back games on the season (and are coming off that surprising win at Jersey in which they were outhit 19-3); the Caps are 10-8-3 with one day off. The Panthers are 2-10-2 on weekends, while the Caps are 7-5-1 in Saturday/Sunday games. And so on.

The Panthers are just what the Caps need in an opponent tonight - a beat-up, soft team with a cold goalie that can't score coming off a tight road game the night before. So why does this game scare the hell out of me?

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Have the Blue Jackets been scouting the Caps? Probably not.... The current installment of NHL.com's Southeast Division Notes focuses on Nicklas Backstrom.... The sky is falling! A Southeast Division team is guaranteed the third seed in the East!... Holy crap - a writer in Montreal might be on the verge of almost considering possibly thinking about taking the Caps seriously.... Oh, and if you were planning to take Metro to and/or from tonight's game, you might want to reconsider.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Drew Stafford (3G, including the game-winner, 2A, +3, 6 SOG)
  
• Ross: Drew Stafford (5 points)
  
• Norris: Dmitri Kalinin (3A, +4, 4 SOG)
  
• Vezina: Johan Holmqvist (27-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Drew Stafford, Derek Roy, Daymond Langkow, Eric Staal (3G each)
  
• Calder: Tobias Enstrom (+1 in 20-plus minutes of a 10-1 loss deserves recognition)
  
• Aiken: Johan Hedberg (L, 7 goals allowed on 28 shots against in 31:21 of work)
  

Sunday Roundup/Caps 2, Panthers 1

[AP Recap - Game Summary - Super Stats]

Prior commitments and a wonky TiVo prevented me from taking in last night's game - which, by all accounts, was a dominating performance that still resulted in a too-close-for-comfort final few minutes - so feel free to discuss your observations in the comments.

Photo: AP
And on an unrelated note - KB and I would like to take a second to thank Elliotte Friedman and his Hockey Night In Canada crew for putting together a great piece on hockey bloggers and media access, and to thank Nate Ewell and the organization for creating the environment in which something like this can happen. But we'd also like to give a quick shout out to Eric McErlain, who the CBC somehow overlooked, for helping to blaze the trail and blur the line between old and new media. Cheers.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Vincent Lecavalier (2G, including the game-winner, A, +2, 7 SOG)
  
• Ross: Vincent Lecavalier, Ryan Smyth, David Legwand, Jaroslav Spacek (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Jaroslav Spacek (G, 2A, +3, 4 hits, 5 blocked shots)
  
• Vezina: Kari Lehtonen (33-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Six players tied with 2G apiece
  
• Calder: Curtis Glencross (2G, including the OT game-winner, +1, 3 SOG)
  
• Aiken: John Grahame (L, 8 goals allowed on 25 shots against)
  

Saturday Roundup/'Canes 4, Caps 3/Gamenight: Caps @ Cats

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

On Friday afternoon, Ted Leonsis called out his offense. On Friday night, everyone in white who wasn't wearing the number eight combined for one goal. Guess they're not much into blogs.

Still, there was a lot to like about last night's game, and a lot to dislike. Let's take a look at some of it:

• Michael Nylander (who now is in sole possession of the worst plus/minus in hockey) won just one of his four faceoffs in the first period, but oh what a win it was, beating Jeff Hamilton clean to set up the Alex Ovechkin goal just two seconds into the Caps' first power play.
• The Caps got caught with their fourth line and third defensive pairing on the ice against Carolina's top unit and it cost them the first goal of the game.
  
• Would it have killed Comcast to show a replay of the apparently controversial Tom Poti delay of game penalty?
• Speaking of Poti, he had only 26:31 of ice time. I say "only" because even though he lead the team in ice time Friday night, he'd been up over 30 minutes in each of the previous two games. The difference? On Friday night he only had 1:06 (of a possible 9:34) of power-play time. Poti was also the only Cap to finish the game on the good side of the plus/minus ledger (+1).
  
• The Caps did an excellent job of protecting the puck, turning it over just six times (three each of giveaways and Carolina takeaways).
  
• Quintin Laing had three blocked shots in 5:02 of ice time in the first period. Tomas Fleischmann has two blocked shots in 270:01 of ice time on the season.
• Bruce Boudreau sure does like his colored shirts, doesn't he?
• If Brian Pothier was willing to take a hit to make a play, the second 'Canes goal may never have happened. Of course, if they froze the pucks and/or had decent ice in Raleigh, we wouldn't be talking about this right now.
• Mike Green's curl-and-drag at the end of the second was brilliant, and his goal a split second after the period ended was great. I'm bumping his goal total to 5.5 for the year.
• Alex Semin came closer to scoring on Olie Kolzig than he did on Cam Ward. That's not good. Of course, Semin's fellow countryman actually did score on Kolzig, but he also put a pair past Ward, so all we're cool there.
  
• November is now mercifully over for Viktor Kozlov and Matt Pettinger who combined for one goal in 28 man-games during the month.
• The Caps are averaging 33.4 shots per game under Bruce Boudreau (which would be good for third-highest average in the NHL over the course of the season) and have topped 30 shots on goal in each of their last eight outings dating back to the previous administration. The goals have to follow, no?
  
• Jeff Schultz was minus-three.
  
• The special teams were special: 2-for-7 on the power play and 5-for-5 on the penalty kill.
  

Next up, yet another date with the Panthers tonight in Sunrise. That'll make Florida the Caps' opponent in four of their last ten games and all in a 17-day span (in the most recent meeting, the Cats took a 2-1 shootout win home with them from the Verizon Center on Wednesday night).

The Panthers didn't play last night and catch a Caps team playing the second of back-to-back games and their sixth game in nine days. Needless to say, the Caps - who are 2-4-1 on the back ends of games on consecutive days - have a tough challenge facing them tonight. But then again, they have a tough challenge facing them every night this season, don't they?

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Despite sagging ratings, Hockey Night In Canada is doing their take on the "hockey bloggers with access" story. The good folks at CBC interviewed a handful of local blogging types during Wednesday night's Caps game, yours truly among them, and presumably will run the segment at some point during tonight's coverage - because if there's anything that can spike ratings, it's my made-for-radio mug.... On this date back in 2000, Calle Johansson notched his 331st assist as a Cap to surpass Scott Stevens for most helpers by a blueliner in franchise history, a mark that still stands today (and is in absolutely no danger of being challenged any time soon - Steve Eminger's 36 lead the current rearguards).... Howard Fendrich has penned, err, typed a nice profile of Gabby.... NHL Tournament of Logos takes a shot at rebranding the Caps.... Finally, I'm on Ice Sheet duty over at FanHouse, so be sure to head over there and check out what you might have missed last night while you were pondering whether Dennis Seidenberg's slash to Alex Semin's leg was as bad as Semin made it look (he's apparently okay, by the way).

Daily Awards

• Hart: Dustin Byfuglien (3G, A, +1, 5 SOG, 5 hits)
  
• Ross: Zach Parise, Dustin Byfuglien (4 points each)
  
• Norris: Dustin Byfuglien (3G, A, +1, 5 SOG, 5 hits)
• Vezina: Martin Brodeur (27-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Zach Parise, Dustin Byfuglien (3G each)
  
• Calder: Jonathan Toews (Game-winning goal, 2A,
  
• Aiken: Ilya Bryzgalov (L, 5 goals allowed on 7 shots against in just 10:30 of work)
  

Thursday Roundup/Panthers 2, Caps 1 (SO)

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

Well, the initial adrenaline rush that accompanied the coaching change has worn off leaving the same Caps team trying to learn a new system. The result? What we saw Wednesday night. A few thoughts on the game:

• If Tomas Vokoun catches with his left hand, the Caps win that game. Period.
• He doesn't, and they didn't. Period.
  
• Neither Chris Clark nor Alex Semin were available for the shootout. Semin's injury would appear to be that same ol' ankle, and he's day-to-day, and Clark's malady wouldn't seem to be significant.
  
• Both Vokoun and Olie Kolzig were awesome through overtime but beatable in the shootout (I wonder what the highest combined total in a shootout is).
  
• It was awfully nice of Brooks Laich to wear the #21 in honor of Sean Taylor. It was nicer still to see Shaone Morrisonn honor Taylor by hitting everything that moved early on.
• Speaking of Laich, if you want to see what his shootout move looks like when it's successful, it's #6 here (and I could easily go another 35 games without seeing the Caps in one of those skill competitions).
• Last word on Laich - he's always a good guy to talk to, and last night was no exception. Check out his post game interview (warning: MP3).
  
• It took the Caps more than ten minutes to get their first shot of the second period, meaning that in the other 55 minutes of hockey, the team fired 33 shots on goal (11 of which came off Alex Ovechkin's stick).
• The Caps won a paltry 44% of the game's faceoffs, with Nicklas Backstrom going 0-for-8 and Viktor Kozlov only slightly better at 1-for-6.
  
• If only David Steckel could lift the puck.
• Another 30+ minutes of ice time for Tom Poti, and a hair over 30 for AO as well.
• Why can't the Caps get players like Richard Zednik?
  
• Finally, if a picture's worth a thousand words, this one that KB took in the locker room post game says it all:

Next up, the Hurricanes in Raleigh on Friday night. Then the Panthers. Again.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Michal Neuvirth was named to the Czech World Junior team.... Happy 58th birthday to #7, Yvon Labre.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Mike Knuble (G, 2A, +2, 3 SOG)
  
• Ross: Mike Knuble, Pat Kane, Milan Hejduk (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Andrej Meszaros (2G, 4 blocked shots)
  
• Vezina: Tomas Vokoun (32 saves on 33 shots against in shootout win)
  
• Richard: Andrej Meszaros, Martin Havlat (2G each)
  
• Calder: Pat Kane (3A, +2)
  
• Aiken: Johan Holmqvist (3 goals allowed on 10 shots against in just 40 minutes of work)
  

Wednesday Roundup/Gamenight: Cats @ Caps

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

Had enough exhilarating Caps-Panthers action yet? No? Good, because you'll be getting another couple of heaping portions of it tonight and Saturday night. By the end of Saturday night, the Caps will have played four of their previous ten games against Florida. Memo to Gary: that's why people hate baseball.

Gratuitous scheduling rant out of the way, let's turn our attention to the game, a home game of sorts for the Panthers. Why? Because they're 9-2-0-1 in D.C. since the start of the 2003-04 season.

But those weren't Bruce Boudreau's Caps, so let's wipe that slate clean and start anew, something we had thought the Caps had done last Thursday. Monday night's game against the Sabres, however, looked a bit too familiar. The turnovers were the readily apparent manifestation of what killed the Caps, but to me, they were more the symptom than the disease. As Rage noted to me in an email (and I'll paraphrase), when the Caps looked good, it was largely the result of great individual efforts, whereas when the Sabres looked good, it was the result of crisp passing and skating to open spots. I couldn't agree more.

Now, some of that certainly can be attributed to a new coach with a new system and some new linemates - you wouldn't expect everything to come together overnight. But a lot of it was simply players taking unnecessary risks in bad places on the ice, and that has little to do with systems and teammates and everything to do with focus.

Speaking of Michael Nylander, he's an NHL-worst minus-13 (tied, interestingly enough, with that stalwart defensive defenseman for whom everyone was clamoring in the offseason, Scott Hannan). But if you want an encouraging spin on that stat - and who doesn't? - head over to Peerless's neighborhood.

And sure, Alex Semin may have two more giveaways in the seven games he's played this season than Nyls has all year, as well as the worst giveaway-to-takeaway ratio of any forward in the NHL with at least two takeaways (sorry, no link - I did the calculation myself), but as he shakes off the rust, that will no doubt change - he had a respectable ratio last year.

So let's just throw out that Sabres game and see what the Panthers game brings. Most importantly, let's hopefully continue to start everything anew.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Ted Montgomery's take on the Caps, two months in: "Semin's been hurt and the defense has been awful."... Greg Wyshynski has a much more insightful review of the Caps' season so far.... Please. Stop. The. Stupidity.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Pavel Datsyuk (2G, including the game-winner, A, +2, 6 SOG)
  
• Ross: Pavel Datsyuk, Jarome Iginla (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Matthias Ohlund (2A, +2, 4 hits, 3 blocked shots)
  
• Vezina: Roberto Luongo (26-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Pavel Datsyuk, Ryan Kesler, Alexei Kovalev (2G each)
  
• Calder: Carey Price (43 saves on 46 shots against in shootout win)
• Aiken: Miikka Kiprusoff (3 goals allowed on 15 shots against in just 24:30 of work)
  

Tuesday Roundup/Panthers 4, Caps 3

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

When the Caps surrendered the dreaded last-minute goal with 51 seconds left in the first to break a 1-1 tie, you had a feeling that the team would need a shot in the arm to get back in the game - be it a pep talk, a shake-up in the lines, the right coaching adjustment, a lucky bounce - even though they were only down a single goal.

Well, they didn't get it.

In fact, it was the Cats who got the lucky bounce and that was that. Another game, another loss, but this one featured something new - the debut of the "Fire Hanlon" chant. Frankly, the team might owe it to Hanlon for all he's done for the organization to let him go while he still has his dignity - he doesn't deserve to be remembered as he will be if things keep going the way they're going and they keep him around for much longer. Something's gotta give, and sooner rather than later. Some other notes on the game:

• Sure, the Caps put some lipstick on the pig, but that wasn't a one-goal loss.
• Is Glen Hanlon desperate? Playing Alex Semin for 18-plus minutes in his first game back after saying the Russian would be eased back into the lineup might suggest so.
• As for Semin, he was manhandled at times, but also sure does like to embellish things, doesn't he? Still, his presence in the lineup unquestionably changes things a bit.
  
• Nicklas Backstrom has to do a better job of tying up his man in front on the first Panther goal.
• Brooks Laich's shorty was only the Caps' second of the year (Matt Bradley had the other), and it tied Laich with Tomas Fleischmann for third on the team in goals with four. Again, good on Brooks - bad on most of his teammates.
  
• Speaking of Flash, he registered his first block shot of the season in the first period, leaving Joe Motzko and Chris Bourque (who have each played just three games) as the only Caps without a blocked shot.
  
• The Caps still haven't scored a 5-on-3 goal yet this season - they're 0-for-6 in those situations.
• The power play is now 3-for-33 in the last nine games.
  
• Speaking of missed opportunities, I was in the press box but passed up the chance to exact some revenge on Panther color analyst Denis Potvin for the knee-on-knee hit that essentially ended Bengt Gustafsson's career. Sorry, Caps fans.
• John Erskine looked, uh, rusty on the Cats' second goal. I thought he was supposed to clear opposing players from in front of Olie Kolzig, rather than vice-versa.
• Remember when Matt Pettinger and Boyd Gordon got the occasional assist at least? Eight games and counting for each without a point.
  
• Chris Clark's hooking penalty midway through a second period power play was unforgivable and unnecessary.
• Mike Green had a pair of bad penalties, but drew one on a nice end-to-end rush. Typical Mike Green game.
• At one point in the third period, the Caps had a 3-on-2 break that they quickly turned into absolutely nothing, which allowed the Panthers a 3-on-2 break the other way that resulted in a quality scoring chance. That's coaching.
  

Anyway, after the game I headed down to the morgue, err, locker room. Olie Kolzig was sitting in his stall, pads still on, looking very much like Rodin's Thinker (and moving just as much). It was literally five to ten minutes before any of the assembled throng of media dared to approach him. Not good times.

Next up: Atlanta who, in case you haven't noticed, has clawed all the way back to .500 after their 0-6-0 start.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Word is that Bob Hartley has been offered a job coaching in Russia.... A small handful of Rangers games this season are being broadcast in Chinese. The wins will be just as satisfying, but after an hour, you'll be hungry again.... Just when you thought Todd Bertuzzi couldn't be a bigger scumbag, there's this.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Dany Heatley (Game-winning goal, 2A, +3)
  
• Ross: Jason Spezza, Dany Heatley (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Michal Rozsival (G)
  
• Vezina: Mike Smith (22-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Olli Jokinen (2G)
  
• Calder: Mike Smith (22-save shutout win)
  
• Aiken: Johan Holmqvist (OTL, 4 goals allowed on 24 shots against, including two in the final six minutes of regulation)
  

Monday Roundup/Gamenight: Panthers @ Caps

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

When Alexander Semin comes off the IR later today, Glen Hanlon will have a full, healthy roster to work with for only the second time this season. The results of the first two games? A 2-0 win over the Hurricanes and a 5-3 victory over the Lightning. This is significant for two reasons. First, because it gives us all some hope that things can turn around - with six of the Caps' next eight games at against Southeast Division rivals, it's nice to recall what this team, when healthy, can accomplish.

Perhaps more importantly, however, Semin's return to the lineup should officially mark the end of the excuse-making. Don't get me wrong, taking a 38-goal scorer out of the lineup is a big hit. Add in Chris Clark's, Tom Poti's and Boyd Gordon's absences, and injuries have undeniably played a leading role in the tragedy we've all watched through the first quarter of the season - not all excuses are illegitimate ones. But provided that Sasha is actually ready to go at something resembling 100%, we'll hopefully get our first extended chance to see the team that George McPhee has assembled, and we'll get to see how Glen Hanlon coaches 'em up.

Up until this point, it's been perfectly fair to judge each of the aforementioned members of the Caps brass on their job performance, but any such analysis has been somewhat incomplete. Sure, it's a GM's job to put together a team with enough depth to handle some injuries, and it's a coach's job to adjust when players miss time - both men can fairly be judged against those performance standards. But we all know that the "if we were healthy" talk has some measure of merit to it (obviously a significant amount of merit, in fact, to the powers that be), so now that the team is healthy, it's time to see what they - and the suits - can do to try to save this season.

On a side note, the team will have to make a roster move to free-up a spot for Semin's return - any guesses as to what that move might be? A new "injury" to one of the scratches? Someone put on waivers?

In some ways, tonight's game against Florida marks a new beginning for this Caps team - and it may just be the beginning of the end for some of them.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

The NHL has released it's preliminary draft rankings for the 2008 Entry Draft. Unfortunately, this list is becoming increasingly important to Caps fans with each passing week.... If you missed Martin Brodeur's save on Daniel Briere during the third period of Saturday night's game, make sure to check it out, especially the overhead shot (and don't miss Danny picking his nose and wiping it on his jersey).... Jakub Klepis is en fuego.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Nicklas Lidstrom (G, 2A, +1, 5 SOG, 3 blocked shots)
• Ross: Nicklas Lidstrom, Nikolai Zherdev, Rick Nash (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Nicklas Lidstrom (G, 2A, +1, 5 SOG, 3 blocked shots)
  
• Vezina: Roberto Luongo (W, 29 saves on 30 shots against)
  
• Richard: 18 players tied with 1G apiece
  
• Calder: Josh Harding (W, 27 saves on 28 shots against)
  
• Aiken: Miikka Kiprusoff (L, 4 goals allowed on 21 shots against)
  

Friday Roundup/Panthers 2 Caps 1Gamenight: Caps @ Bolts

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

Tom Poti, come on down!

While it's impossible to pin a 2-1 loss to one of the worst teams in hockey on any one player (but not, necessarily, on one coach), there was one player who was more responsible for the two goals against than any other, so T.P. is under the microscope today.

Let's begin with his effort last night, shall we? First he gets outmuscled and outworked by Jozef Stumpel who was able to feed a wide open Richard Zednik for Kitty Goal Number One, then he made a pass that would have made Bryan McCabe wince to spring Kamil Kreps on a breakaway that would turn out to be the eventual game-winner. To top it all off, he missed the net on a late scoring chance, left a 5% tip at dinner and used the last of a roll of toilet paper in his hotel room bathroom and didn't replace the roll (those last two items have yet to be confirmed).

Bad night. It happens. But what about his season so far?

Through 18 games, the Caps' big blueline acquisition has as many points as John Erskine, as many goals as Steve Eminger, a worse plus/minus than Brian Pothier, fewer hits than Nicklas Backstrom, and two more power-play points than Joe Motzko.

Bad night or bad player?

At this point, I'm willing to give Poti the benefit of the doubt and accept that the team's slump (nine goals in the last seven games), a groin injury and "the system" are all contributing factors to his slow start, but while we didn't expect him to be the second-coming of Bobby Orr, we didn't expect him to be the second-coming of Bryan Muir, either.

In lieu of further specifics on last night's game (but feel free to comment on Alex Ovechkin manning the power-play point, his Michael Strahan smile, Michael Nylander's curious passing, Glen Hanlon's decision on when to pull Olie Kolzig, Sunrise's pitiful ice or anything else that strikes your fancy), just read any of the last few recaps from games played in this country. Speaking of which, did you realize that the last time the Caps won on U.S. soil was October 24? That makes eight straight losses in the land of the free for your nation's Capitals.

Next up are the appropriately white-hot Lightning, who have won four straight and have scored 16 goals in their last three games, including their 5-2 win in D.C. on Saturday night and a pair of drubbings of the Carolina Hurricanes. Vincent Lecavalier had more points on Wednesday night against the 'Canes as all but seven Caps have on the entire season. Yikes.

But hope springs eternal, whether you're hoping for wins or personnel changes, so here's hoping Friday night gets us a little closer to that which we desire - it's hard to imagine we could be any further away from it.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Thanks to Nate for passing along this story, in which Boston University's "Independent Student Newspaper" wonders how good BU would be if Chris Bourque was still in school there. My guess is they published a similar article last year. And the year before that.... Michal Neuvirth won his Windsor debut, and apparently looked great in doing so.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Eric Belanger (4A, +1)
  
• Ross: Eric Belanger (4 points)
  
• Norris: Kent Huskins (0 points, +5, 4 hits, 3 takeaways, 0 giveaways)
  
• Vezina: Martin Gerber (W, 35 saves on 37 shots against)
  
• Richard: Peter Schaeffer, Jarret Stoll, Daniel Alfredsson, Corey Perry, Joe Pavelski (2G each)
  
• Calder: Denis Tolpeko (G, A, +1)
  
• Aiken: Lubomir Visnovsky (0 points, -4)

Thursday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ Panthers

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

They say that misery loves company, and while you know precisely how miserable the Caps have been on most nights this fall, you may not have noticed that they're only two points behind the Panthers (with two games in hand) in the Southeast standings. How's that for company?

The Kitties actually have a very good power play (welcome "Brian Rafalski-lite" Cory Murphy to the, um, rivalry) and a good penalty kill, but have been absolutely brutal five-on-five. Overall, the Cats are scoring just .12 goals per game more than the Caps and surrendering .28 goals per game more than the boys from D.C. Florida has lost four straight entering Thursday night's game (including a heart-breaker to Atlanta on Tuesday) and have the same 3-6-1 record over their last ten games as the Caps do over their last ten.

On the personnel front, old buddy Richard Zednik has a half-dozen goals in 15 games (which would be good enough for second-most on the Caps), Olli Jokinen is Olli Jokinen and Tomas Vokoun has yet to prove to be the South Beach Savior in between the pipes (7-9-0, 3.13, .913). But when it comes to the Panthers, it's always the Stumpels, Weisses and Sims that seem to kill the Caps, so be on the lookout for - I dunno - David Booth tonight. [Note: for a more in-depth and not-yet-totally-outdated refresher on the Cats, check out my preseason preview over at FanHouse]

For their part, the Caps should get a shot in the arm with the return of Chris Clark . Forget about his skill and potential on the first line for a second (hard to do, I know) - it's his leadership that has been most sorely missed and will be a welcome addition to the Caps lineup. And if you're playing "Guess Which Viktor Kozlov Shows Up Tonight" at home, flip a coin as the third-highest scorer in Panther history returns to Florida, a team against whom he has eight points in 13 career games but was held scoreless against in four games last year as an Islander.

On the road to the playoffs (or at least to respectability), you've gotta beat the teams you've gotta beat, and for both the Caps and the Panthers, tonight's opponent is one of those teams. The loser will find themselves in the Southeast cellar. The winner... well, they'll still have some pretty miserable company nearby.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Rink Reader Jan asked me for an Eric Fehr update a week-and-a-half ago and, with my apologies for letting it slip through the cracks, Tarik provided one yesterday.... For a Pens fan's take on yesterday's Caps practice, check out frequent commentor Hooks Orpik's blog. Seriously.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Vincent Lecavalier (3G, including the game-winner, 2A, +5, 5 SOG, 4 takeaways, 0 giveaways)
  
• Ross: Vincent Lecavalier (5 points)
  
• Norris: Paul Ranger (G, A, +3, 2 hits, 2 blocked shots)
  
• Vezina: Mathieu Garon (29-save shutout shootout win)
  
• Richard: Vincent Lecavalier (3G)
  
• Calder: Devin Setoguchi (G, game-clinching shootout goal, +1, 4 SOG, 2 blocked shots)
  
• Aiken: Cory Stillman (0 points, -4)
  

NHL Season Preview: Florida Panthers

Never in my life did I think I would end up writing nearly 1,200 words on the Florida Panthers - much less in a single post - but, well, I did. If you never thought you could read 1,200 words on the Florida Panthers, head over to FanHouse and try to prove yourself wrong (warning: I may be developing a mancrush on Jay Bouwmeester).

New Logos And Jerseys, Part II

Thanks to Kukla's Korner for pointing us to the Panthers' new duds, modeled here by Nathan Horton and Stephen Weiss:


As for new logos, Alanah at Canucks And Beyond has the rumored new 'Nucks logo, which appears to be nothing more than the old one (but not the cool old one) in blue and white:


Thoughts?

The Eagle Has Landed - After Being Tasered

The hockey season may have ended, but it's always drinkin' season when you're Ed Belfour... and he's in not-at-all-rare form.

UPDATE: Here's Eddie's mugshot. Sadly, it's only the side shot.

Wednesday Roundup/Caps 1, Panthers 0Gamenight: Caps @ Thrashers

[NHL.com Recap - WashingtonCaps.com Postgame Coverage - SeSo Open Thread]

When I guarantee a win, you can take it to the bank (although I was certain that another recent post of mine would be the one to be revisited Tuesday night).

On a superficial level, last night's game was won the way Caps games should be won - with Olie Kolzig stopping everything in sight and Alex Ovechkin providing the offense. We can quibble over details (such as the impotent power-play), but at this point I'm sure we can all agree that just winning a game is an exquisite feeling unto itself.

In addition to Olie's mastery in net and AO buzzing like the AO we all know and love, props go out to Shaone Morrisonn for gutting out the last 45 seconds or so of the game after taking a hard shot from the point in what appeared from my vantage point to be in the vicinity of the yambag (medical term).

Also worth noting - on a gorgeous night on which the Nationals played their first evening home game of the season, the Caps drew 16,311 to see the Florida Panthers. What's up with that? Actual versus paid attendance aside, that's still a huge number for a "meaningless" mid-week tilt between two relatively-crappy teams.

So it's off to the ATL (perhaps without Alex Semin, who seems to have hurt his foot late in the second period) to face the Thrashers tonight. The Thrashers have a slim one-point lead over Tampa in the Division, and you can bet that this Caps squad would like nothing more than to play spoiler and hurt Atlanta's chances at winning the Southeast. Will I guarantee a victory? No. But I wouldn't bet against it.

The Brilliant Musings Of J.P. You May Have Missed From The FanHouse

• Brodeur Ties Record... Or Does He?

Daily Awards

• Hart: Joe Sakic (Game-winning goal, 3A in 4-3 win)
• Ross: Joe Sakic (4 points)
• Norris: Barret Jackman (Game-winning goal, +3, 2 SOG, 2 hits, 3 blocked shots)
• Vezina: Dominik Hasek (35-save shutout win)
• Richard: Saku Koivu (2G)
• Calder: Drew Stafford (2A, +2, 2 SOG)
• Aiken: Curtis Joseph (L, 5 goals allowed on 22 shots against)

Tuesday Roundup/Gamenight: Cats @ Caps

[SeSo Open Thread]

So what happened in Tampa stayed in Tampa, which is just fine by me because, quite frankly, I've had enough with the losing - the losing can stay down there (and maybe latch onto the Devil Rays), and the Caps can finish strong back up north. In fact, I think I'd rather sit through this in its entirety than another Caps loss. Maybe not.

In lieu of the revolutionary brand of hockey analysis you're used to getting here at The Rink, today I wanted to talk about something dear to my heart: partying. In fact, not just partying on my own (which, truth be told, I've been known to do), but partying with you guys and gals (though the "and gals" part has very strict wife-imposed guidelines... come to think of it, those same guidelines probably apply to partying with guys as well, though I'll ask her for a clarification of the rules on that point).

Anyway, details are coming together as I write this, but it looks as if this coming Saturday KB and I will be hosting a little post-game shindig at Clyde's next to the V.C. for Rink readers, Caps fans, fellow bloggers and... wait for it... V.I.P. guests. We expect to reserve a room upstairs and have some decent swag that we're going to raffle off, too, so mark you calendars, save the date, get a baby-sitter (for you, not the kids) and plan on joining us this Saturday from 4:00 - 7:00 at Clyde's.

Details to follow (it'll likely be $20 a head, which will include an hour of open bar, some light food and an entry in the raffle), but spread the word, and if you plan on attending, drop us a quick email at Rink.rsvp@gmail.com so we can get a head count. Cheers.

Back to tonight's game, I don't ordinarily do this, but I'll go out on a Tortorellian limb and guarantee a victory.

You can write that, I don't [care] what you write. It is a guarantee.

The Brilliant Musings Of J.P. You May Have Missed From The FanHouse

• Cheap, Dirty And Caught On Videos That Would Embarrass Their Parents
• Devils Fire Julien
• Are The Carolina Hurricanes Divers?
• Confessions Of A Sean Avery Fan
• When They Call That Winger A Sniper, They Mean It
• The NHL's Super Sophomores
• Is Paul Stastny The Next Brett Hull?
• Stay Classy, Tie Domi
• The Western Conference's Next Great Rivalry?
• How Do You Say "Owned" In French? Emery
• The Southeast Division: Where The Goals Are
• Sundin Runs Mouth, Leafs Lose Anyway

That's a one-time thing - I promise not to innundate you with a list that long ever again.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Lee Stempniak (2G, +2, 3 SOG)
• Ross: Lee Stempniak, Jamal Mayers, Brenden Morrow (2 points each)
• Norris: Christian Backman (A, +2, 1 SOG, 2 takeaways, 0 giveaways, 2 blocked shots)
• Vezina: Curtis Sanford (W, 28 saves on 30 shots against)
• Richard: Lee Stempniak (2G)
• Calder: D.J. King (A, fighting major)
• Aiken: Jeff Halpern (0 points, -3, 1 SOG)

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)

Wednesday Roundup: Denouement EditionPanthers 6, Caps 5 (SO)

[SeSo Open Thread]

Playing without their captain and just hours after one of the alternates (and a trio of other roster players) was shipped out of town, the Caps shook off an awful start and rode their superstar all the way to a shootout loss to Florida. Feel free to comment on the game, but I know all you want to read about is more fall-out from deadline day, so here we go:

• Tarik has some quotes from Dainius Zubrus, GMGM and Coach Hanlon, including the coach saying that Zubie "helped [Alexander] Ovechkin more than you'll ever know, he's helped [Alexander] Semin more than you'll ever know." Weep.
• Steinberg feels bad for Jamie Heward's wife [must... resist... cheap shot], which in turn makes me feel like a jerk for yesterday's caveman post... OK, I'm over it. Thank god that passed.
• The Maven "was in Washington on Sunday and the Caps insiders assured [him] that Zubrus would return next year after his rental period ends. The key: Zubrus and Al Ovechkin are buddies. If The Big O wants Dainius back, he’ll get him."
• Masisak with this on newly-acquired Jiri Novotny: "He is a great guy, and I can't wait to see him," said Caps forward Tomas Fleischmann, who played with Novotny on the Czech Republic under-20 team at the World Junior Championships in 2003. "You can expect a lot of skill from this guy."
• TSN.ca: "Considering Zubrus is headed for unrestricted free agency, the Capitals get good value for the future with a couple of assets to put towards the rebuilding process. However, the only way that the Caps are going to get out of the rebuilding process is by adding more skilled players, not trading them away for prospects and draft picks."
• USAToday: "The Sabres, overrun by injuries up front, get a gifted center. Zubrus is 6-4, and he's been a 20 goal scorer. Even on this talented Sabres team, Zubrus can play on the second line. There is a possibility that Novotny could be as good, or maybe better, than Zubrus is today. He's big and skillful."

Finally, a lot is being made of this quote from GMGM (from Tarik's article):

"He's a big strong kid who's ready to play in the NHL now," McPhee said of the 2001 first-round draft pick. "He's good defensively and he's got some offensive upside. So we think he can fill that third-line hole for us, but he could be better."

While I know everyone's knee-jerk reaction is "Don't the Caps already have 47 third-line centers?" the fact is that Brian Sutherby, Brooks Laich and Kris Beech (as well as Novotny, for that matter) are not signed past this year and I think that this quote is an indication that the team will go out and get a first-line center, expect Nick Backstrom to center the second line and Boyd Gordon the fourth. Therefore, Novotny will battle for ice-time on the third-line. Or, put another way, would you rather have had GMGM say, "We think he can be our first-line center"?! It's called managing expectations. Relax, people.

I'll post more as I stumble upon it, and you can read reaction from around the Capogosphere at Washington Hockey Daily.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Martin Brodeur (31-save shutout win at Pittsburgh)
• Ross: Jason Blake, Alex Ovechkin (4 points each)
• Norris: Derek Morris (2A, +1)
• Vezina: Martin Brodeur (see above)
• Richard: Jason Blake, Olli Jokinen (3G each)
• Calder: Clarke MacArthur (G, 2A, +3, 2 hits, 2 SOG, 2 takeaways, 1 giveaway)
• Aiken: Brent Johnson (4 goals allowed on 15 shots against in just 20 minutes of work)

Friday Roundup/Panthers 6, Caps 3

Daily Awards

• Hart: Marian Gaborik (2G, including the game-winner, A, +3, 9 SOG)
• Ross: Alexandre Picard (5 points)
• Norris: Alexandre Picard (5 assists, +1, 4 SOG, 1 hit, 2 blocked shots)
• Vezina: Johan Holmqvist (31-save shutout win)
• Richard: Ten players tied with 2G each
• Calder: Alexandre Picard (see above)
• Aiken: Evgeni Nabokov (2 goals allowed on 8 shots against in just 20 minutes of work)

Thursday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ Panthers

[SeSo Open Thread]

Without a doubt, tonight's Caps/Panthers game is the premiere sporting event of the next week to be played in Miami. No? Oh well, I'll preview it anyway...

It's getting to be do or die time for the Caps. Assuming that the magic number to make the post-season is around 92 points (that's what it took last year in the East), the Caps would have to go something like 19-7-5 over their last 31 games to hit the big nine-two. Impossible? No. Difficult? Extremely.

Quite simply, if this team is going to make the playoffs, they need to win just about every game they "should" win and a bunch that they probably shouldn't. Tonight begins a stretch of five games - Florida, Pittsburgh, N.Y. Islanders, Boston and L.A. - that the Caps can win, if they play hard and smart for a full sixty minutes (the Panthers, Bruins and Kings all have fewer points in the standings than do the Caps). Unfortunately, "should wins" have been tough for the Caps lately, as the team is 1-5 in their last six against teams with losing records. But, as Alex Ovechkin said after a recent game against the Flyers, "History is history right now." Right.

The Caps' offense should get a boost from the return of Richard Zednik to the lineup. Zednik has been out since approximately November 1998 with a groin injury, but he's hot, what with goals in each of his last two games (and I'm sure that residual heat will carry over). Needless to say, the Caps will need to find some scoring from someone other than the new Goal Dust Twins if they're going to have much success in the coming weeks, and Zednik is one guy with the potential to pick up some of the scoring slack. Matt Bradley is also back with the team, but even if he plays Thursday night, he won't score (just a hunch).

The young defense continues to improve, but not without some speed bumps along the way. Jeff Schultz had another strong game against Ottawa, and Mike Green had one of his better games in recent weeks in Canada's capital city as well. How well those two play against the Cats may go a long way towards determining whether or not the Caps can leave South Beach with two points.

Finally, here's an odd stat for you - the Caps are 3-3-0 and 2-2-0 against divisional rivals Carolina and Florida, respectively, and in each of those ten games the final margin of victory was at least three goals. Huh.

Be sure to stop by SeSo throughout the day for more pregame thoughts and other assorted idiocy.

Thread of the Day:

• Share Your Best Cap Centre Memories
  

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

• Newsflash! There's actually an article in a Canadian paper about a Cap not named Alex Ovechkin (gasp!). Hell of a picture they used, too.
  

Daily Awards

• Hart: Andrew Raycroft (W, 37 saves on 38 shots against)
• Ross: Fernando Pisani (3 points)
• Norris: Ian White (A, +1, 4 SOG, 1 hit, 1 blocked shot)
• Vezina: Andrew Raycroft (see above)
• Richard: Raffi Torres (2G)
  
• Calder: Gilbert Brule (A, +1, 2 SOG, 1 hit, 2 blocked shots)
• Aiken: Ty Conklin (L, 5 goals allowed on 37 shots against)