Wednesday Roundup/Sens 2, Caps 1 (OT)

[AP Recap - Game Summary - Event Summary - WashingtonCaps.com Recap]

Brent Johnson deserved better (42 saves on 44 shots against), but the team's effort on the whole was much better than Saturday night's, so there was a lot to like (and some things not to like) with the point grabbed in Ottawa:

• The Caps won eight of nine faceoffs when shorthanded, including all four draws on the 1:57 of 3-on-5.
• The Caps allowed 36 even strength shots - waaaay too many.
• Of the three defensive pairings, only Tom Poti and Shaone Morrisonn were on the right side of zero in Corsi, but Mo's lack of coverage on the game winner wipes out most of any good he did the rest of the game.
• Speaking of Corsi, Donald Brashear and Boyd Gordon were putrid. Jeff Schultz, too.
• I'm not one to complain about officiating, so I won't. *cough* Koharski *cough*
• Sergei Fedorov's unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was inexcusable.
• Chris Clark played a team-low 7:58 (Brash had the same ice time) and skated only nine shifts. Is it ridiculous to think that things here are headed down a one way street? Somewhat related: Matt Bradley is not a third-liner.
  
• How about that Tomas Fleischmann? I've always loved that guy.
• Nicklas Backstrom (still without an even strength point or a goal of any kind), now has four assists in 11 games. Through 11 games last season, he had no goals and five assists. Could it be that he's just a slow starter? I don't think so either (by the way, fellow Calder finalist Jonathan Toews doesn't have a goal yet either).
• Alex Ovechkin played.

So the Caps snag a point on the road and come home (where they're 9-0-1 in their last ten regular season games) for four of their next five games - time to make hay while the sun shines. Question of the day: who would you start on Thursday night?

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Three Caps are on the All-Star ballot.... Heading into last night's game, the Caps were in the middle of the pack in terms of crashing the net, but were near the bottom in clearing the crease at their own end - not good with a goalie who's giving up plenty of rebounds.... Power Ranking roundup: SportingNews.com (down five to 15), The Hockey News (down six to 16), CBSSports.com (down three to 14), Sportsnet.ca (down three to 17), CBCSports.ca (down six to 18), TSN.ca (down nine to 23(?)) and The Detroit News (15), (h/t GJM).... Stu Hackel killed Jack Edwards (and Versus) in his column yesterday, and he was spot on.

Tuesday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ Sens

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

A week ago today, we mentioned that Alex Ovechkin's two-game absence from the Caps lineup presented opportunity aplenty for both the Caps and AO. Some players took advantage (at least for one night). Others did not. Now we'll see if the Great Eight can himself make the most of the opportunity to once again show everyone in the League why he is the reigning MVP and get his game, and more imporantly the Caps season (too dramatic?), back on track.

And what better team for Ovechkin to face in this effort than the Ottawa Senators, a squad he positively torched last season to the tune of six goals (including his first career four-goal game) and four assists in four games? For his career, AO has ten goals and nine assists against the Sens in twelve games (his third-highest points-per-game rate against any opponent he has faced more than three times, behind only Philly and Atlanta).

In fact, for one reason or another, the entire Caps team (other than the new guy between the pipes) has fared well against Ottawa recently, going 7-2-0 in their last nine games (after being winless in their previous eight) and outscoring the Sens 37-25 along the way (including 22-12 in last season's four-game sweep).

The current Senators squad comes into the game with a 4-5-2 record, thanks in no small part to a horrid five-on-five goal ratio (both their power play and penalty kill have been strong, however) and weak goaltending from incumbent number one, Martin Gerber... who won't starting tonight. Instead, the Caps will face the red hot Alex Auld, who is 3-2-1/2.15/.931 on the season and has had only one game with a sub-.921 save percentage thus far (so he's due for a shellacking, eh?).

On offense, the Sens are led bythe usual suspects, with Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza, Filip Kuba and Daniel Alfredsson all playing at a point-per-game clip or better.

Wait, Filip Kuba? Heh. (He's no Andrej Meszaros, is he, Brian Lawton?)

So here it is Election Day, and the Caps will get their leader back (talk about the change we need) leaving us with one question: Can we enjoy a Caps win tonight? I've got all the hope in the world that, indeed, yes we can.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Pierre LeBrun weighs in on Semin/Crosby and includes some damage control from Ted Leonsis. Good stuff, though there's no way Ray Shero could take GMGM.... Speaking of the Pens, take a look at this eight-step program to better our friends from Pittsburgh and tell me how many would apply to the Caps (I count a bare minimum of five).... Still sticking with the City at the confluence of the three rivers, LCS Hockey thinks Alex Semin is a stooge, but that Sidney Crosby isn't progressing as a player and right now is just "a fast Adam Oates," which I thought was more or less Semin's point.... The Caps are enjoying the second largest attendance boost over last year's numbers in the League.

Tuesday Roundup

Just about a year ago at this time, a young team that hadn't been in the playoffs in a while was gearing up for a first round date with a pretty evenly matched opponent. Led by their Ross (and eventual Hart) Trophy winner, prized rookies, high-scoring blueliner and a veteran forward and some sandpaper picked up at the trade deadline, they promptly got trounced (ok, beaten handily) in the first round.

That team, of course, was the Pittsburgh Penguins, a 105-point squad whose inexperience showed against a more battle-tested Ottawa team, but the reasons Pittsburgh lost went beyond youth.

Will this year's Caps team suffer a similar fate? Let's take a look at some differences (and similarities) between this year's Caps/Flyers series and last year's Pens/Sens match-up.

• Goaltending. Heading into last year's playoffs, Pens' netminder Marc-Andre Fleury hadn't played in a single NHL playoff game, and he got lit up to the tune of 1-4/3.76/.880 (though, to be fair, Pitt's offense went and hid after Game 2). He was outplayed by Ray Emery, who had 10 games of playoff experience the prior year.
  
  Cristobal Huet, on the other hand, has a playoff series under his belt (2-4/2.33/.929) already, and it's Martin Biron who will be making his debut on the game's biggest stage.
  
  
• Offense. Pittsburgh was the third-highest scoring team in the regular season last year... but Ottawa was second. Despite the Pens' lethal power-play, the Sens' far superior five-on-five scoring predictably (due to the reduced number of penalties called in the postseason) provided them with an edge.
  
  Like their Pennsylvania brethren last season, the Flyers had a great power play during the regular season, but the Caps were the better team five-on-five (and, of course, those are season-long, not post-Hanlon numbers).
  
  
• Defense. The Sens gave up fewer goals and had a better penalty kill than the Pens last season.
  
  This season, the post-Hanlon Caps had a better GAA than the Flyers' season-long mark, but the Flyers had the better penalty kill (which they'll likely need - they were the most penalized team in the Eastern Conference during the regular season).
  
  
• The home stretch. Finally, the Pens finished up the 2006-07 regular season with a 6-3-1 record. The Sens put a wrap on their season with a 6-2-2 mark.
  
  The Flyers ended this season 7-2-1, and the Caps, well, you know what they did - 9-1-0.
  

On paper, and with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, it's easy to see that the Pens had their work cut out for them last year, despite having the same number of points as Ottawa over the 82-game regular season. The Caps simply don't have the same match-up disadvantages in their first-round series with Philly (and they have home-ice, which the Pens did not). That's not to say that they don't face a significant challenge - of course they do. But chalking up Pittsburgh's loss to Ottawa last year to inexperience is a little shallow, analytically, and assuming that the Caps will fold because of their collective youth is just silly.

I will, however, point out this fact: Sergei Fedorov has played in 162 NHL playoff games. The rest of the skaters on the roster? 155 (Donald Brashear 49, Matt Cooke 32, Chris Clark 26, Tom Poti 24, Viktor Kozlov 14, Matt Bradley 10).

Then again, maybe experience is everything. What do I know?

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

The news is coming fast and furious, so be sure to check back with the "What We're Reading" sidebar often for all the latest.... Mike Green is an unsung hero.... Eric Fehr is Hockey's Future's 47th-best prospect, and Karl Alzner is #12 on the list.... The Caps are up to sixth in CBS's power rankings. R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to Ovie.... Pierre LeBrun says Caps in seven.... Scott Burnside doesn't think it'll take that long.... Neither does David Bastl (whoever he is).... A video game says Flyers in seven.... How nice was it not to give a crap about the Draft Lottery last night?... Vote for Huet's mask.... A great read on faceoffs from the WSJ? WTF?... On this date back in 1993, Sylvain Cote scored his 20th goal of the season making the Caps the first team in NHL history to have three 20-goal scoring blueliners in a season (CoCo would end up with 21 goals, joining Kevin Hatcher (34) and Al Iafrate (25) as 20-goal rearguards).... Also on this date back in 1989, Kelly Miller's overtime goal gave the Caps a 4-3 win and a 2-1 series lead over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 3 of the Patrick Division Semifinals and on this date back in 1987, Mike Ridley's game-winner gave the Caps a 4-3 win over the Isles in Game 1 of the Patrick Division Semis.... Finally, one year ago today we lamented an individual statistic (yawn) and thanked you guys for coming out and partying with us (awww).

Ottawa Or Philly - Who Do You Want?

If the Flyers take down the Pens this afternoon (at home), they'll snag the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and a date with the Caps. Anything less than a win and the Caps will face the Sens. A brief recap of the season series with each:

Ottawa

• Capitals 4, Senators 1 (11/8/07)
• Capitals 8, Senators 6 (12/29/07)
• Capitals 6, Senators 3 (1/1/08)
• Capitals 4, Senators 2 (1/15/08)

Philadelphia

• Flyers 3, Capitals 2 (11/2/07)
• Capitals 4, Flyers 3 (OT) (11/23/07)
• Flyers 6, Capitals 4 (1/13/08)
• Capitals 4, Flyers 3 (2/6/08)

Of note, Alex Ovechkin had 6 goals, 4 assists against the Sens and 3 goals, 2 assists against Philly, and Cristobal Huet was 1-3-0 with a 3.93 GAA and .878 save percentage against Ottawa this season (all while still a Montreal Canadien, of course) and 1-0-0 with a 2.00 GAA and .895 save percentage against the Flyers (also while Cris was still a Hab).

So what say ye? Would you prefer a beat up and rudderless Sens team or the Flyers squad against whom this whole run started back on the day after Thanksgiving?

Wednesday Roundup/Caps 4, Sens 2

[AP Recap - Game Summary - Super Stats]

Despite recent losses on the ice and in the lineup, the Ottawa Senators are still probably favorites to win the Eastern Conference (provided that Ty Conklin, at some point, returns to earth). That being said, I wonder who they're rooting against sneaking into the playoffs in the eight-spot.

The big guns were a-firin' for the home team Tuesday night at Verizon Center, and the result was another come-from-behind victory for the Caps over the visiting Sens. Some thoughts on the game:

• The Caps haven't lost back-to-back games in regulation under Bruce Boudreau (24 games).
  
• Tomas Fleischmann had a very strong game, and the shift on which he set up Alex Semin's second goal of the game was a great example of hard work combining with a touch of skill. It goes without saying that efforts like that will keep him in the lineup. On the night he had two helpers, a plus-one rating, three shots on goal (which tied him for the team high), four takeaways and no giveaways.
  
• Sticking with the second line, Semin's first goal was jaw-dropping Sasha circa '06-'07. The ice was littered with the jocks of both Wade Redden and Ray Emery.
• Did Brent Johnson earn a Thursday night start? Are we past "If we're going to make the playoffs, it will be with Olie in net" and at "It's time to play the hot hand"?
  
• Here's something that Caps and Sabres fans can agree upon: Chris Neil is ten pounds of monkey crap in a five pound sack.
• A little something for the ladies: Antoine Vermette was 13-for-15 (87%) in the faceoff circle and 1-for-1 in the shirt-off circle.
• Nicklas Backstrom was 4-for-13 (31%) in the dot and I don't have any topless shots of him.
  
• If my name was Cody Bass, I think I'd tell people it was short for Cody Badass.
• Alex Ovechkin and Mike Green scored goals, the sun rose, John Edwards' folks were millworkers, etc.
• Matt Pettinger's penalty was so stupid it hurt. Rest assured that it didn't go unnoticed - he only had four short shifts the rest of the game (excluding his first shift out of the box).
• Milan Jurcina had four blocked shots but no hits. Matt Bradley also threw a no-hitter, a rarity for him of late.
  

The Caps are now 6-2-0 against Canadian teams and, as luck would have it, get Edmonton on Thursday night. Last night's win got the Caps back on track, but this is a team that has to turn single wins into streaks. With a pair of second line wingers stepping up their game in the absence of their pivot, I wouldn't bet against such a streak starting right now.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

The first official Olie Kolzig retirement talk.... Nicklas Backstrom will participate in the Young Stars silliness.... Josh Godfrey is an OHL All-Star.... Complaining about a problem but offering no solutions always makes for a great article.... See if you can read the first two sentences of this post without laughing (then again, just getting up from this hit makes the assertion a little more understandable).... Finally, according to the Hockey Hall of Fame, on this date back in 1905, "'One-eyed' Frank McGee netted an all-time Stanley Cup record 14 goals in the Ottawa Silver Seven's 23-2 victory over the Dawson City Nuggets, who had travelled more than 4,000 miles by dogsled, boat and train to challenge for Cup." Chris Chelios was reportedly a healthy scratch for Dawson City.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Marian Hossa (First period natural hat trick, including the game-winning goal, 5 SOG)
  
• Ross: Ed Jovanovkski (4 points)
  
• Norris: Ed Jovanovski (G, 3A, +2, 5 SOG)
  
• Vezina: Jose Theodore (32-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Marian Hossa (3G)
  
• Calder: Peter Mueller (3A, +1, 3 SOG)
  
• Aiken: Chris Osgood (L, 4 goals allowed on 17 shots against in 27:28 of work)
  

Tuesday Roundup/Gamenight: Sens @ Caps

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

The Sens are in town tonight for the final (regular season) meeting of the year between hockey's two nation's capitals. Will the Caps break out the brooms or will Ottawa salvage a win to avoid the sweep? Would you start Olie Kolzig (3-0-0, 3.34, .881 against the Sens this season) or give Brent Johnson the nod? And are Dany Heatley's teammates quietly grateful that it's his gear-shifting shoulder that's injured? One thing is for certain - it's time for an open thread. Have at it, people.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Evgeni Malkin (3G, including the game-winner, +2, 4 SOG, 2 hits)
  
• Ross: Evgeni Malkin (3 points)
  
• Norris: Sergei Gonchar (G, A, +1, 2 SOG)
  
• Vezina: Ty Conklin (W, 43 saves on 44 shots against)
  
• Richard: Evgeni Malkin (3G)
  
• Calder: Kris Letang (A, 2 SOG, 2 hits)
  
• Aiken: Henrik Lundqvist (L, 3 goals allowed on 22 shots against)
  

Wednesday Roundup/Caps 6, Sens 3

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

A month and change into the Bruce Boudreau regime, two major themes have emerged. First, the Caps are a team that will never give up on a game and second, that the team is still learning how to win, i.e. gaining that ever-elusive killer instinct. After giving up two quick goals to start the game, the former was put to the test - and the team passed with flying colors - and following a four-goal explosion, the latter also came into play - the team's first five-on-three goal of the season may have been a nail in the coffin on a big New Year's Day win, but with only 11 shots on goal over the game's final two periods, the Caps could have done a better job of keeping their foot on the proverbial gas (granted, there were injuries to consider). Some other thoughts on the game:

• Three of Ottawa's ten regulation losses on the season have come to the Caps, a team who has scored 18 goals against them in that trio of games.
  
• The Caps entered the game with a single double-digit goal scorer and left with a trio of 'em.
  
• Since Boudreau took over, Mike Green has seven goals, seven assists and a plus-seven rating. Also impressive is the fact that he's averaging less than one minor penalty every two games, despite getting huge minutes and tough assignments. Green's pace under Boudreau would project to 60 points over an 82-game season, which would have been good enough for sixth in the League last season. He and Shaone Morrisonn each had a team-leading plus-three rating on Tuesday.
  
• Alex Ovechkin has seven goals and 12 points in his last seven games and Nick Backstrom continued his point-per-game pace under Boudreau (6 goals, 13 helpers in 19 games) with a gorgeous pass that Viktor Kozlov actually managed to convert for his first goal since November 8 (and first at home this season).
  
• Alex Semin (injured ass) didn't play after around the 12 minute mark of the first period, and Tom Poti (upper body injury) skated his last shift of the game around eight minutes into the second. Both are listed as day-to-day. Incidentally, Tarik referred to Semin as "the Capitals' second-best offensive weapon" - agree or disagree?
  
• Michael Nylander had a goal and an assist, but he should have had two helpers - the second being on a giveaway in the offensive zone that led to an odd-man rush the other way and the Sens' second goal.
  
• Olie Kolzig was very solid. Martin Gerber was not. Ray Emery is also not terribly good. Despite his troubles so far this season, I'd rather have Olie than either Sens netminder right now. Am I crazy? Incidentally, the win moved Olie into a tie with Eddie Giacomin for the 25th most career wins for a goaltender (289).
  
• The Caps had their best New Year's Day attendance since before the lockout (nearly 2,000 more folks than last year and more than 3,000 more than 1/1/06), but you'd have to combine the Caps' total attendance from the last five home dates to eclipse (by 623) the number of folks who took in the Pens/Sabres live.
• Semin managed to be minus-two in just 1:45 of ice time. Impressive.
• Jeff Schultz looked terrible on the first Ottawa goal (but ended up with a team-high five blocked shots), and Milan Jurcina and Poti looked awful on the second. I guess no one told them about the early start time (and if Poti is able to go on Thursday, it might be time to sit Juice down for a game, though perhaps the opportunity to show up his former organization will inspire him to start playing like he did for the Caps last season).
• The Caps won 43 of the games 73 faceoffs (59%), led by Brooks Laich's eight-of-nine. That's fantastic, of course, but I'd trade any four of those wins for a win against Erik Christensen the other night. Laich's goal (the game-winner), assist and plus-two, in addition to that faceoff dominance, made him a very worthy second-star.
• At this point, I think I'd settle for Matt Pettinger or Tomas Fleischmann scoring. I'm not greedy.
• Wade Redden and Joe Corvo combined for 14 shots on goal... and a minus-six rating for the Sens.
• Brian McGrattan can run his mouth all he wants, but until he gets a regular shift, he remains a clown. On the night, he had three shifts and 2:04 of ice time and ran his goal-less streak to 68 games. Donald Brashear, on the other hand, had 16 shifts, 11:37 of ice time - and the primary assist on the game-winning goal, though, in fairness he has now gone two games without scoring a goal.
  

So here we are on January 2 and the Caps are two points out of second (six points out of first) in the Division, and more importantly are only five points out of eighth in the Eastern Conference. Next up, a trip to Beantown to take on a very beatable Bruins team. Obviously the statuses of Semin and Poti will be important in that effort, but as long as this team stays humble and stays hungry, there's no reason another two points won't be theirs for the taking.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

I wasn't sure who to root for in the Tampa/Toronto game last night, but I was sure I wanted the game to end in regulation. Bastards.... Further to my point above regarding Brash, there's a short piece on his game in The Province.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Ladislav Nagy (3G, 2A, +3, 7 SOG)
  
• Ross: Alexander Frolov, Ladislav Nagy (5 points each)
  
• Norris: Mike Green (2G, A, +3)
  
• Vezina: Ty Conklin (1 goals allowed on 37 shots against in shootout win)
  
• Richard: Ladislav Nagy (3G)
  
• Calder: Nicklas Backstrom (A, +2)
  
• Aiken: Martin Gerber (3 goals allowed on 8 shots against in just 7:34 of work)
  

Tuesday Roundup/Gameday: Sens @ Caps

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

Happy '08, everyone.

08... for some reason that number sticks out in my mind as being significant.

Hopefully 08 and his teammates give us plenty to cheer about in this new year, and it all starts today against the Sens. Here's to a happy 08 - on and off the ice.

Why the Senators Will Win:

"The Sens will beat the Capitals because paper beats rock.

The Sens are paper! Flammable, thin and agile, with a strong defensive core and good goaltending... just like any good paper.

The Capitals are rock. Unmoving and heavy. Forced during the cretacious period. Like any rock, the Capitals depend on one source of offence and have a slow goaltender from Germany!

Wow. That made no sense... oh well, I stand by the logic!" - Sens Army

"Why the Sens will win: Well, after Saturday, I think it's safe to say that we've finally clued into the fact that that Russian kid is pretty good and perhaps merits a wee bit more attention. Take away 40% of the Caps goal production and we win (seriously, WE have a problem with secondary scoring? Yikes!). We're still the Beasts of the East folks. You would all do well to remember that." - Five for Smiting

"They're going to play guilty because what happened last time. I get the feeling Paddock and Alfie and Co. will make sure it's not happening again." - Scarlett Ice

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Karl Alzner: Fashionista.... The Bears scored eight seconds (there's that number again) into last night's game.... EMac will be live-blogging the Winter Classic this afternoon over at FanHouse, so be sure to stop by and check it out.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Rick Nash (3G, including the game-winner, 6 SOG, 2 hits)
  
• Ross: Marc-Andre Bergeron, Rick Nash (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Marc-Andre Bergeron (2G, A, 3 SOG, 3 blocked shots)
  
• Vezina: Manny Legace (31-save shutout win in Detroit)
  
• Richard: Rick Nash (3G)
  
• Calder: Peter Meuller (Shootout-clinching goal, A, 2 SOG)
  
• Aiken: Kari Lehtonen (L, 5 goals against on 37 shots)
  

Sunday Open Thread

Never a doubt, eh?

Feel free to talk about last night's game, the latest crap from from Bruce Garrioch or anything else.

Photo: AP

Saturday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ Sens

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

It's another our capital/their capitals clash pitting the Conference's best against its worst. So why tune in? Because the Caps have won two of the last four meetings between the teams in Ottawa and three of the last five overall, something of which Sens pivot Mike Fisher is all too aware:

"They kind of caught us a little bit overconfident, or we took them too lightly. But that's not going to happen again."

Fisher was talking about the last matchup between the teams - the totally unexpected 4-1 Caps win from back in the Hanlon days (which, incidentally, included Viktor Kozlov's last goal, a mere 51 days ago) - but he could've been talking about any of the recent Caps wins in this series, as the Sens have repeatedly taken the Caps "too lightly."

Which Ottawa team shows up, of course, will go a long way towards determining tonight's outcome, but at this point, there's very little that would surprise me from this Caps team - even a road win in the Conference leader's barn.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Be sure to check out today's Ice Sheet for some more goings-on from around the League (including plenty on Sens backup netminder Ray Emery) and don't miss Wyshynski's year-end column over at TFP.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Evgeni Nabokov (26-save 1-0 shutout win)
• Ross: Christopher Higgins (3 points)
  
• Norris: Mike Mottau (Game-tying goal, +1, 3 SOG, 2 blocked shots)
  
• Vezina: Evgeni Nabokov (26-save 1-0 shutout win)
  
• Richard: 16 players tied with 1 goal apiece
  
• Calder: Milan Lucic (A, 5 hits)
  
• Aiken: Tomas Vokoun (L, 4 goals allowed on 9 shots against in just 25:03 of work)
  

Friday Roundup/Caps 4, Sens 1

[AP Recap - Game Summary - Super Stats]

And that, my friends, is why they play the games.

On most nights in the NHL, it's awfully difficult to win without a good effort and a bit of luck. The Caps got more than a little of each last night in Ottawa and snapped their four-game skid in a big way. Some notes on the game:

• The Caps narrowly avoided giving up a goal on the opponent's first shot of the game for the fifth time this sesaon when Olie Kolzig made a great stop on Chris Kelly a mere eight seconds in.
• Christoph Schubert is no Anton Volchenkov.
  
• Count with me the Caps who had their best game of the season last night: Viktor Kozlov, Tomas Fleischmann, Nicklas Backstrom, Olie Kolzig... am I missing anyone?
• The penalty kill was five-for-five including a damn-near heroic effort on a minute-plus of three-on-five time in the second (great use of the timeout during that kill, by the way - Olie was gassed).
• Further to that last point, despite winning only four of fourteen draws, David Steckel is fully deserving of a man-crush - he blocked five shots last night and utilizes his ridiculously long reach sublimely.
• Alex Ovechkin had 10 shots on goal (and another five that didn't make it on goal) and two brilliant defensive plays on the backcheck to go along with his goal and assist. "Slump" over?
• Is it possible that Milan Jurcina actually stinks? I don't think so, but it bears watching. He had a bad giveaway in the first, looked bad on the Daniel Alfredsson goal, and was crushed along the boards a few times by Mike Fisher. He needs to play with more confidence. Jeff Schultz, on the other hand...
• AO's goal last night was his 10th of the season and was scored in the team's 16th game. In his each of his first two years in the League, he reached double digits on November 6, in game number 14.
  
• Flash's six shots on goal were a career high. Backstrom's one goal was also a career high.
  
• The Caps are now 2-0-0 in the province of Ontario, outscoring their opponents 11-2. Perhaps they should be the team that moves to Hamilton.
• It was a bad night in the dot, as the Caps won only 21 of 52 (40%) of the game's faceoffs.
• Did Chris Bourque skate a shift once the Caps took the lead? He did have one nice hit in the 5:33 of ice time he did get.
• The Sens rang the iron behind Kolzig on at least two occasions, and misfired on several others (Ottawa was credited with 21 missed shots, three times as many as the Caps). But the Caps were due a break or two, weren't they?
• I'll resist the urge to type "If Viktor Kozlov could put forth that kind of effort every night..." Oops.
  

So a road trip that began miserably in Carolina ends triumphantly in Kanata and, for those of you keeping score at home, the Caps earned three of a possible six points in three tough buildings. Next up, a Saturday date with Vinny and the Bolts (who got their first road win of the season last night in Raleigh). Confidence has to be brimming up and down the lineup right now - let's just hope it carries over for the next sixty minutes of game time.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Forbes has updated its valuations of the NHL's 30 teams and the Caps are in just about the same place on that list as they are in the standings, but I wouldn't worry about that too much. As I wrote when Forbes compiled the same list last year, the most valuable franchises are those whose owners also own the arenas in which the team plays, co-habitating NBA franchises, etc. Since the Caps are renters and Ted Leonsis et. al. don't yet own the Wiz, it's not surprising that they'd be way down the list. Some day, however, Lincoln Holdings will own the building and the 'Zards, and the Caps will skyrocket up the list.... Boyd Gordon is underrated everywhere but on this blog.... The City Paper has the heart-warming tale of former Cap "Classy" Joe Murphy and his legal woes.... Finally, Nick Backstrom wasn't the only NHLer to get rid of the goose egg in the G column last night - Dainius Zubrus potted his first and second goals of the year in Jersey's win over the Flyers. At this pace, he may get to ten yet!

Daily Awards

• Hart: Viktor Kozlov (G, 2A, +2, 4 SOG, 2 hits, 2 takeaways, 0 giveaways, 67% faceoffs won)
  
• Ross: Viktor Kozlov, Vaclav Prospal, Steven Reinprecht, Ed Jovanovski (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Ed Jovanovksi (Game-winning goal, 2A, +1)
  
• Vezina: Johan Holmqvist (W, 40 saves on 41 shots against)
  
• Richard: Dainius Zubrus, Shane O'Brien, Steven Reinprecht (2G each)
  
• Calder: Carey Price (W, 28 saves on 29 shots against)
  
• Aiken: Marty Turco (L, 5 goals allowed on 31 shots against)
  

Thursday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ Sens

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

Kudos to EMac for posting a perfect-for-the-blogosphere quote from Alex Ovechkin following Tuesday night's disappointing overtime loss to the Thrashers. When asked whether or not he'd be in Washington next year, AO replied (translated from Russian to English):

"I don't know yet where I will be next season. I am not negotiating my new contract. I want to stay in Washington. But who knows what is going to happen?"

Well, we all know exactly where #8 will be playing next year, don't we? A few years down the road may be another story entirely, but he'll be in D.C. next year - you can call Rick Tocchet and bet the house on it. Alex isn't going back to Russia to be the big fish in a small pond, and the Caps would, in a heartbeat, match any offer sheet another team would sign him to (if it somehow got to that point), even if Mike Milbury and Kevin Lowe got together and dreamt up the offer over a bottle of tequila and a handful of roofies.

Sure, the lack of news regarding an Ovechkin extension is no doubt frustrating to all parties involved - the player, the team and the fans - especially given the benchmark deals already in place for players like Sidney Crosby, Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza, Jarome Iginla and others. But go ahead and order that Ovechkin jersey for Christmas - he's here for a while yet.

The more interesting question is whether or not the off-ice business is impacting AO's on-ice play. After all, Ovechkin has but one point in his last four games. Want to know the last time he suffered through such a stretch? March 15-21, 2007. And before that? Two weeks earlier. In other words, it happens. During the current stretch, he has fired 18 shots on goal (which is more shots than he registered during his last four-game goal-scoring streak), and has had countless other misfires (which are somewhat troubling and a whole other topic for discussion), but he's still playing hit-everything-that-moves-and-shoot-from-anywhere hockey, and until he has a few games in a row where that's not the case, chalk it up to an individual and, perhaps more accurately, team slump.

The bottom line here is that AO is frustrated on the ice and he's frustrated off the ice. But he "wants to stay in Washington," and he will stay in Washington... at least for the foreseeable future. Period.

With that out of the way, let's dare to turn our focus to tonight's game.

At 13-1-0, the Sens are off to the best start in NHL history after 14 games. At 5-9-1, the Caps have the fewest points in the League. Ottawa is scoring 3.50 goals per game - more than a goal per outing better than the Caps - and are giving up a miserly 1.93 tallies per affair. They're great five-on-five and down a man or two, shoot a ton, win faceoffs and don't relinquish leads (they've yet to lose a game when scoring first or leading after the first or second period).

As for individual players, Martin Gerber has been positively ridiculous thus far this season, going 10-1-0 with a 1.80 goals against average and a .941 save percentage, and Daniel Alfredsson is already in double-digits in both goals and assists.

I could go on, but won't. The point is that this is as lopsided a game, on paper, as you'll see in the NHL. But games aren't played on paper, and the matchup looks little different than it did on December 6 of last year. Or on November 6 of last year. The Caps will certainly miss the home ice they had in those two games, as well as the Chris Clark and Alex Semin they had in those two games. But the Sens aren't unbeatable. After all, they've already lost this season... once.

Why The Senators Will Win:

"The Sens will beat the Caps because the only team that had any success against Ottawa in the past 12 months had Pronger and Neidermayer on the blueline. Poti, Pothier, Green, Morrison, and Jurcina? The Cap trainers better get the ice packs ready for Olaf." - Battle of Ontario

"At their current pace, it would take the Washington Capitals another 24 games (so 39 total) to get as many wins as Ottawa has in our first 14 games. Our forwards have more goals, assists, and points. Our defencemen have more blocked shots and better plus/minus ratings. Our goaltender has more wins and a better save percentage and goal-against average. Sorry, Caps fans." - Sens Army

"Because Washington has too much Poti and Semin." - Hockey Will Tear Us Apart

"Ottawa will trounce the Caps Thursday as a special favour to me as I picked Semin and Backstrom in my pool and THEY ARE KILLING ME!!!!" - Sens Underground

"'Cause this train is on a roll! The Senators are the kids the popular gang made fun of and picked on in school only to come back rich, hot and popular. Or some other similar-type of metaphor. - Scarlett Ice

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Michael Nylander was more clutch than Alex Ovechkin (among others) in October. So sayeth USAToday.... With six goals and five assists in seven games, Caps prospect Travis Morin was named the ECHL Player of the Month. He has since been recalled to Hershey.... More power rankings, with the Caps at 27 and 27.... Bobby Clarke says Eric Lindros is a Hall of Famer. Just over two years ago, I said the same thing, but now I'm not so sure - a couple of years of average play make it harder to remember the greatness that once was.... Hey, James - what about the Caps?... Mike Modano is now the highest scoring American-born player of all-time. Is he the greatest? He's certainly closer than I had him back in January of '06.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Ian Laperriere (2G, A, +3, 4 SOG)
  
• Ross: Peter Mueller, Chris Pronger, Mathieu Schneider, Steven Reinprecht, Ian Laperriere (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Chris Pronger (3A)
  
• Vezina: Marty Turco (W, 38 saves on 39 shots against)
  
• Richard: Peter Mueller (3G)
  
• Calder: Peter Mueller (3G, +1, 5 SOG)
  
• Aiken: Ilya Bryzgalov (4 goals allowed on 18 shots against in 37:10 of work)
  

Monday Roundup/Sens 2, Caps 1

[AP Recap - Scoresheet - Super Stats]

The preseason has come to an end with a 2-1 loss at the hands of the Ottawa Senators, but from all accounts, there were plenty of positives to take away from the game, namely the chemistry displayed on the top two lines, and the work in the faceoff circle (can Dave Steckel really get cut after winning every single one of his seven faceoffs?).

So how do the final cuts shake out? Corey reports that Jeff Schultz has all but made the team, and there's nothing but speculation past that for the last few roster spots. But there is this tease from Vogs: "It wouldn't shock me at all if I were to come off the course [at the Caps charity golf tourney today] to news of another deal on tournament day this fall." My money's on Clymer for a fourth round pick, but feel free to speculate in the comments.

One thing's for sure, however - these three guys will be in red, white and blue Friday night in Atlanta:

Photo: KBDaily Awards

• Hart: Corey Perry (2G, A, 5 SOG, 3 hits)
• Ross: Corey Perry (3 points)
• Norris: Kent Huskins (A, +1, 3 hits)
• Vezina: Jonas Hiller (W, 22 saves on 23 shots against)
• Richard: Corey Perry (2G)
• Calder: Jonas Hiller (see above)
• Aiken: Jason LaBarbera (L, 4 goals allowed on 25 shots against)

Sunday Roundup/Gamenight: Sens @ Caps

A quick roundown of what you (and by "you" I mean "I") may have missed over the past couple of days: Joe Motzko and Josef Boumedienne have cleared waivers (Motzko has reported to Hershey, Boumedienne is likely to do so)... Alex Semin's ankle is sprained... Tarik on Brent Johnson and Dave Steckel... George Solomon on Olie Kolzig... Corey on Steckel and the penalty kill... the Sunday Source on K-Plex... Josh Godfrey is off to a good start in the OHL, but it's nothing compared to Mathieu Perreault's Friday night... Tim Panaccio takes a quick look at the Caps... finally, don't forget that you get a free ticket to tonight's game with a D.C. United stub.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Michael Cammalleri (2G)
• Ross: Michael Cammalleri, Anze Kopitar (2 points each)
• Norris: Rob Blake (Game-winning goal, +1, 25:18 of ice time)
• Vezina: Jonathan Bernier (W, 26 saves on 27 shots against in NHL debut)
• Richard: Michael Cammalleri (2G)
• Calder: Jonathan Bernier (W, 26 saves on 27 shots against in NHL debut)
• Aiken: Ilya Bryzgalov (L, 3 goals allowed on 20 shots against)

Go See The Caps For Free

In response, no doubt, to a Tuesday night crowd that was generously announced at 8,326 (see pic below of a portion of Section 120 at the start of the second period), the Caps are literally giving away tickets to this coming Sunday evening's game against the Sens. Just show up with a used or unused ticket to a D.C. United game and you'll get a freebie for the tilt against Ottawa.

Photo: KB

Downie And Out

I figured I'd post the Steve Downie hit on Dean McAmmond from last night, in case you missed it.

Obviously it's a dirty hit for which Downie should be suspended, and understandably McAmmond's teammates are upset. But isn't Sens tough Brian McGrattan's declaration that "he'll get what's coming to him the next time we play them, for sure" a bit too reminiscent of Brad May's infamous "There's definitely a bounty on [Steve Moore's] head... It's going to be fun when we get him"?

Well, they "got" Moore, alright. And the NHL "powers that be" had better watch this one closely going forward.

Anyway, here's the hit:

Senators 5, Capitals 4

[Scoresheet - Super Stats - AP Recap]

First their dollar catches up to ours, then their capital beats ours on the ice.

There was some good and some bad coming from Thursday night's affair between the Caps and Sens, so let's dive right in:

• First things first - the penalty kill needs a lot of work.
  
• Michael Nylander and Nicklas Backstrom gave a glimpse of the awesome offensive-zone puck control of which they're capable. Throw a finisher (read: Alex Semin) on with those two and watch the goals come.
  
• Mike Green should not have stepped up at his on Antoine Vermette at his (Green's) own blueline - Vermette got the puck to Nick Foligno (who doesn't wear a goofy helmet like his old man) for a breakaway that he buried on a niftily-roofed backhander. But it was a mixed bag from Green tonight, with the young blueliner adding a couple of power play helpers.
  

• As the French might say, Jakub Klepis est histoire. He played on a line with the Swedes, took five shots on goal, had three hits... and still really did nothing.
  
• Tom Poti and Nylander are so much better in their roles than the players they're succeeding it's laughable.
• Speaking of Brian Pothier, I didn't notice him all that often tonight. Maybe that's a good thing.
  
• The Caps were slaughtered in the faceoff circle (only 41% won), but their success rate was still better than that of the Rogers Sportsnet announcers' in pronuncing the Capitals' names.
• Olie Kolzig looked sharp at times, but needs to do a better job containing rebounds (either that or the defensemen in front of him need to clear every offensive player within a 15-foot radius of the crease - which do you think is more likely?).
• Tomas Fleischmann may have earned himself a contract.
• I don't know if it's the travel, the time of year, conditioning or what, but the Caps seemed to be a flat for most of the third.
  
• If you're not watching these games online, you need to be.
• With Donald Brashear (and Ben Clymer) out of the lineup, Brian McGrattan took a few liberties (and while we're on the topic of fighting, Brian Sutherby could have done some serious damage to Larry Nycholat at the end of their kerfuffle, had he wanted to).
  
• I think Jeff Schultz starts the season in Hershey.
• Boyd Gordon was minus-three. Ouch.
  
• The Caps road uniforms are definitely sweet.
  

New Logos And Jerseys Part IV

Here are the Sens' new threads. Read all about' em here.


Thoughts?

New Logos And Jerseys Part III

Thanks to Sean at Pop Jocks for forwarding this pic of the Isles' new threads:

Pretty awful, no? The orange arms make Rick DiPietro look like he's wearing a homemade tanktop after getting a bad spray tan (which, I suppose, is fitting for a team from Long Island).

Update: Check out the home jerseys here. Horrendous.

And here are black and white versions of what presumably will be the Senators' new primary and secondary logos, respectively (thanks, NHL Tournament of Logos, a very cool site for this kind of thing):

If they look familiar, the primary logo is a tweaked version of the Sens' current secondary logo and the secondary logo is an updated version of their current primary logo (nice shawl, Spartacus!).

Thoughts?

Sens To Name Former Cap Head Coach

No, not this one; this one. Read more here.