Wednesday Roundup/Gamenight: Avs @ Caps

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

When last we saw the Avalanche, Mike Green was tooling his way through their entire team, Alex Ovechkin was blasting Karlis Skrastins through the glass, and Olie Kolzig was stopping a ridiculous 45 shots on goal en route to a 5-3 Caps win. The last time Colorado visited D.C. was even longer ago, all the way back in March of 2003 (a 2-1 Caps win thanks to a Sergei Berezin goal. Seriously).

Over the years, Washington has been inhospitable to tonight's visitors. In fact, since moving from Quebec to Denver, the Avs haven't won a single game in regulation in our nation's capital (both of their wins have come in OT, to go along with four losses and a tie).

If more recent history is your thing, Colorado has the fewest road wins in the Western Conference on the season. And if you're into really recent history, the Avs dropped a game last night in Detroit, their first stop on a five-game road swing that will take them to each of the Southeast Division cities other than Atlanta.

And despite a horrendous power-play and a bad penalty kill, the Avalanche are hanging right around the eight-spot out West (of course, a good week and they're looking at home-ice advantage in the first round - viva parity!), and lament as we might the Caps' current injury issues, the Avs are without Joe Sakic and Ryan Smyth (among others) - that's 2,203 career NHL points in the press box for those of you keeping score at home.

So as long as Paul Stastny doesn't do to the Caps what his father and uncle did nearly 27 years ago, there's no reason the Caps can't send the Avs South still searching for (and hopefully finding) their first points on this road trip.

Why The Avalanche Will Win:

"The Avs are looking to comeback from an embarrassing loss to the dreaded Red Wings, and the Caps are the perfect team to make a comeback against. [Peter] Budaj should get the start, the Avs are hot against the Eastern Conference, and it's time for the team to win without the help of Joe Sakic and Ryan Smyth, both on long time IR.

If the lack of defense of Alex Ovechkin can be exploited, and he can be kept in check, the Avs should rule the game. Or not." - Jerseys and Hockey Love

"The Avs will certainly beat the Capitals. Our coach has come up with a super secret plan that can't be stopped: he dresses eight defensemen and everyone knows eight defensemen is more than six defensemen. With two more defensemen than all the other teams, how could we lose?" - In The Cheap Seats

"The Avs will probably not win against the Capitals because Coach Joel Quenneville will probably start Jose Theodore in net---AGAIN. And also because the whole team is playing like crap lately." - Mile High Hockey

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Eric Fehr may play tonight (happy, Jan?).... Will Alex Ovechkin go back to Russia to be a whale in a fishbowl? In a word, no.... Go Canucks Go?... More Karl Alzner.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Chris Gratton (2G, A, +3, 3 SOG)
  
• Ross: Chris Gratton, Erik Johnson, Andy McDonald, Scott Hartnell, David Legwand (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Erik Johnson (3A, +2, 2 hits)
• Vezina: Dominik Hasek (19-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Jeff Carter, Chris Gratton, Andy McDonald (2G each)
  
• Calder: Erik Johnson (3A, +2, 2 hits)
  
• Aiken: Jason LaBarbera (L, 3 goals allowed on 7 shots against in just 6:40 of work)
  

Monday Roundup

With no practice or game yesterday and no game tonight (or for the next few nights), there's not much new news this morning, so I'd like to open it up to discussion on how to right the S.S. 2007-08 Season before she sinks.

Obviously, a coaching change is one option. Look at what Ken Hitchcock has done in Columbus this year, or Ted Nolan on the Island last year. Heck, even what Don Waddell has done so far for Atlanta (this is the only in-season coaching change among the three). Then again, there's what Mike Keenan has done to, err, for Calgary. If you're for change behind the bench, what kind of coach do you think this team needs?

Another option is a shake up in personnel. TSN.ca has a list of players who could be destined to end the season somewhere other than where they started it. Anyone pique your interest?

We all know the bottom line: with 65 games left, the season is still very much salvageable - the Caps are but five points out of eighth place in the East. But can staying the course guide the Caps to the playoffs?

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

The London Free Press takes a quick look at OHL London's forward and Caps 2007 sixth round pick Justin Taylor. Taylor is second on the Knights in goals, third in PIMs, leads them in fights and offered up this beauty of a quote after a 3-2 win over Maine: "I'll sacrifice my face as long as we keep winning." I guess that's what playing for Dale Hunter does for a kid's attitude. Hmm.... Kris Beech is back in the NHL after C'bus recalled him this weekend. I'm sure Ken Hitchcock will just love him.... Our friend Kelly has updated his hockey widget (mac and PC) and it's pretty awesome - you can even check the site feed from this site with it. Thanks, Kelly!... Finally, a heartfelt thank you to all of those who have served this nation and sacrificed so that I can have the opportunity to do meaningless crap like writing this blog. Cheers.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Paul Stastny (2G, including the game-winner, A, +1, 4 SOG, 61% faceoffs won)
  
• Ross: Paul Stastny (3 points)
  
• Norris: Scott Hannan (A, +1, 2 SOG, 4 blocked shots)
  
• Vezina: Nikolai Khabibulin (W, 30 saves on 32 shots against)
  
• Richard: Paul Stastny (2G)
  
• Calder: Patrick Kane (G, A, 4 SOG)
  
• Aiken: Martin Skoula (0 points, 0 SOG, -2)
  

Monday Roundup/Gameday: Caps @ Isles

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

Happy Thanksgiving, Canadians, and Happy "I don't care if there were already people here, I discovered it" Day, Yanks. In honor of these holidays, the NHL has scheduled a couple of day games, including the Caps' visit to Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (assuming the arena hasn't been renamed Blackwater Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum or something similar), where both teams will be looking to improve to 3-0 on the season.

The Islanders have looked impressive so far, taking both games of a home-and-home series from the Buffalo Sabres this weekend. Led by newcomers Mike Comrie (4 goals, 6 points) and his linemates Bill Guerin and Ruslan Fedotenko (5 points each) and familiar faces Brendan Witt, Jon Sim and Andy Sutton (already minus-3), the Isles are gelling much more quickly than most would have thought, and the credit there goes to bench boss Ted Nolan.

Between the pipes, today's game will feature a pair of netminders who have had tremendous success against their opponents, as Olie Kolzig is 25-9-2 with a 2.27 goals against average and a .912 save percentage in his career against the Isles, while Rick DiPietro is 6-2-1 with a 1.99 GAA and .930 SV% against the Caps (with numbers like that, New York should start thinking about a contract extension for DiPi, as his current deal expires in just under 14 years).

Are the Isles really this good - is Ted Nolan really this great a coach - or is their start a fluke? Those are likely questions many are asking of the Caps and Glen Hanlon right now as well, and we might get some answers this afternoon.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Paul Stastny (Game-winning goal, 4A, +4, 4 takeaways, 0 giveaways, 54% faceoffs won)
  
• Ross: Paul Stastny (4 points)
  
• Norris: John-Michael Liles (A, +1, 2 hits, 2 blocked shots)
  
• Vezina: Peter Budaj (W, 24 saves on 26 shots against)
  
• Richard: Milan Hejduk, Ryane Clowe (2G each)
  
• Calder: Torrey Mitchell (-1, 2 shots on goal, 67% faceoffs won... hey, he was the only rookie who played yesterday)
  
• Aiken: Evgeni Nabokov (L, 6 goals allowed on 23 shots against in 48:06 of work)
  

And The Nominees Are...

The NHL announced the nominees for its major (and not-so-major) awards this afternoon. Here they are, with my picks in bold:

CALDER MEMORIAL TROPHY (outstanding rookie): Evgeni Malkin, Penguins; Jordan Staal, Penguins; Paul Stastny, Avalanche.

FRANK J. SELKE TROPHY (outstanding defensive forward): Rod Brind'Amour, Hurricanes; Samuel Pahlsson, Ducks; Jay Pandolfo, Devils; write-in: Boyd Gordon, Washington Capitals.

HART MEMORIAL TROPHY (most valuable player to his team): Martin Brodeur, Devils; Sidney Crosby, Penguins; Roberto Luongo, Canucks.

JACK ADAMS AWARD (outstanding coach): Lindy Ruff, Sabres; Michel Therrien, Penguins; Alain Vigneault, Canucks.

JAMES NORRIS MEMORIAL TROPHY (outstanding defenseman): Nicklas Lidstrom, Red Wings; Scott Niedermayer, Ducks; Chris Pronger, Ducks.

LADY BYNG MEMORIAL TROPHY (sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct): Pavel Datsyuk, Red Wings; Joe Sakic, Avalanche; Martin St. Louis, Lightning.

LESTER B. PEARSON AWARD (most outstanding player as voted by fellow members of the NHLPA): Sidney Crosby, Penguins; Vincent Lecavalier, Lightning; Roberto Luongo, Canucks.

VEZINA TROPHY *** (outstanding goaltender): Martin Brodeur, Devils; Miikka Kiprusoff, Flames; Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers; Roberto Luongo, Canucks.

*** tie for third place in balloting; four finalists named

What do you think?

Friday Roundup

What do you guys want to talk about today?

Do you care who among Montreal, Toronto and the Isles gets the last playoff spot in the East, or whether Colorado can catch Calgary for the last spot out West?

How about our good buddy Jaromir tying Mike Gartner's record last night with fifteen 30-goal seasons?

What about Alex Ovechkin needing two goals tomorrow to hit an even 100 goals, 100 assists in his first two NHL seasons or Alex Semin needing a pair (if he even plays, which I'd imagine is doubtful) to hit 40 goals for the year?

Are you going to say a teary goodbye to Bryan Muir's career as a Capital or to the black sweaters tomorrow? Will it be Steve Eminger's last game as a Cap?

Basically, I've got nothing so I'll turn it over to you guys for now. The Rink... even more interactive than ever! Enjoy.

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

• Nothing But Meaningful Games On The Schedule
• Perseverance and Dedication? Get on the Bus!

Daily Awards

• Hart: Milan Hejduk (3G, including the game-winner, +3, 10 SOG in 3-1 win at Vancouver)
• Ross: Milan Hejduk, Paul Stastny, Jaromi Iginla, Tom Poti, Thomas Vanek (3 points each)
• Norris: Tom Poti (3A, +1)
• Vezina: Nikolai Khabibulin (56 saves on 58 shots against in SO win)
• Richard: Milan Hejduk (3G)
• Calder: Paul Stastny (3A, +3, 2 SOG in 3-1 win at Vancouver)
• Aiken: Rhett Warrener (0 points, 0 SOG, -3 in 4-3 loss)

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)

Sunday Pucks Brunch: Hockey Notes From Saturday Night

“Saturday Night’s All Right for Fighting,” the Nickleback cover and ante/anti “Hockey Night in Canada” theme*, was the only mention of the word “fighting” in last night’s show. What a difference a week makes. Whereas last week's pre-game interview segment featured a grilling of League disciplinarian Colin Campbell that would make Atticus Finch blush, this week featured cliché after boring cliché pouring from the mouths of Montreal coach Guy Carbonneau and Pens superstar Sidney Crosby on their teams' respective playoff runs.

It appears that on ice discussion about fighting has quieted as well. In the "for what it's worth, correlation is not causation" category, fighting majors are down 26% in the 10 days since the Colton Orr-Todd Fedoruk knockdown (in the 10 days leading up to the incident, the League saw 29 fights in 61 games;in the 10 days since, there have only been 26 fights in 74 games.)

From Scott Harrington’s interview with Guy Carbonneau: “I’m paid to make decisions. Did he [Craig Rivet] pay for other people’s mistakes? I’m sure, because you can’t sit 20 guys. If I could have done it, I would have done it, but you can’t.” On Sergei Samsonov, “I gave him all the chances. He was playing every power play until Christmas. It just didn’t work out. So we had to go to the next step.” On his future in Montreal, “I’m going to be here for as long as I can. I’m not stupid enough to think that this going to last for 15 – 20 years in Montreal.”

“Coach’s Corner” was largely unremarkable with the exception of the clip showing Jan Bulis’ welcome to rookie Jack Johnson. In an interview with MSG, newly acquired rock-in-your-shoe Sean Avery gushed, “I love the [NY Rangers] jersey, I love putting it on every game and I love the city.”...CBC’s Bruce Rainnie is reporting that Rick DiPietro is “likely gone for the year.”...TSN's Michael Whalen says that should Sheldon Souray receive a substantial offer from one of the Western teams, "like Anaheim or the Kings," the Canadiens would have a difficult time keeping him in Montreal.

The “Satellite Hot Stove” is reporting: Boston GM Peter Chiarelli met with Dave Lewis on Saturday and assured him that he will be returning next year as head coach… Henrik Zetterberg is expected to return to the Red Wings lineup Tuesday…Andy Murray is now considered the front-runner to coach the Canadian World Championship team. An announcement naming the coach and team are expected by midweek. Red Deer Rebels GM and head coach Brent Sutter is being considered as an assistant coach… Paul Stastny will likely play for the U.S. team…Current Phoenix GM Michael Barnett will move to become President of the Coyotes. The two names being mentioned as his replacement are Steve Tambellini and Pat Quinn.

Watching HNIC is a joy, but assembling SPB means exposure to hours and hours of CBC commercials. Were you aware that “Canada’s punk pop star,” Avril Lavigne, has an exclusive special coming up? Mercifully the show airs tomorrow (check your local listings) and we’ll all be freed from having to see the perky girlfriend every 17 minutes. I never thought I’d pine for the Quizno’s lady.

* There’s only one legitimate HNIC theme.
---------
Lines of the Night:

• First star: When you have a three-goal lead, you're already thinking, 'Let's play smart and save some energy.' - Jaromir Jagr on Philadelphia's comeback in the 3d period
• Second star: “No.” - Sidney Crosby when asked if he would ever vote for himself for MVP
• Third star: “Hard to be humble. Hard to be humble.” - Don Cherry on Blades of Glory star Amy Poehler’s declaration that Cherry is her favorite figure in hockey.
  

---------
Overtime was delayed for 10 minutes at Air Canada Centre after a fan collapsed in the stands. Paramedics were able to resuscitate the fan; providing Leafs’ fans everywhere an omen for their playoff hopes...For the tenth time this season, Pittsburgh has come from behind in the 3d period to earn at least one point…Pittsburgh has an identical 12-3-1 record in February and March…Mats Sundin remains one goal behind tying Darryl Sittler's Leaf's record of 389 career goals. He has just one goal in his last 16 games…In 5-on-5 play this season, Montreal’s Sheldon Souray, Michael Ryder and Saku Koivu are a minus 74…Canadiens rookie goaltender Jaroslav Halak is a perfect 6-0-0 with a 2.14 GAA and .924 save percentage at home…Sheldon Souray scored his 18th power-play goal of the season, tying Hall of Famer Denis Potvin and Adrian Aucoin for the NHL single-season record by a defenseman...Dany Heatley is 2 goals shy in his bid to become the first back-to-back 50-goal scorer since Pavel Bure in 2001…The Islanders have allowed at least one goal in 15 of the 17 full periods they've played without Rick DiPietro…Todd Simpson, recently signed by the Islanders from the DEL, was not allowed to play Saturday night as the NHL honored an indefinite suspension Simpson received for abusing an official while playing for the Hannover Scorpions …Washington is 6-31-6 when its opponent scores first…Alexander Semin did not record a SOG for only the third game this season… Antero Niittymaki played in his 100th NHL game…Anaheim has set a team record 21 road wins… Nashville, which didn’t sell out any of its playoff games last season, sold out Game 1 within hours of tickets going on sale.

And a happy 79th birthday to a guy who could still kick our collective ass, Gordie Howe.

Sources: AP, CBC, Comcast, Elias Sports Bureau, FSN, MSG, NESN, TSN

Thursday Roundup/Google Reader

In the past you've seen me use this space to extoll the virtues of Bloglines, a web-based reader. Not surprisingly, Google has joined the party to offer their version and, also not surprisingly, it kinda kicks ass. One of the cool things that you can do with Google's version is embed your "shared" feeds in a blog. I first saw this over at Mirtle's site (under the heading "What's Hot On The Blogs") and had to rip it off, so there it is in the sidebar - "What J.P.'s Reading." So if you come here and there's nothing new (or even if there is), check out what I'm reading. It'll usually be hockey, but I might throw some randoms in there every now and again. Hopefully it entertains.

As for the Caps (the reason you're here), good news on the injury front, as Chris Clark and Boyd Gordon are expected to return Friday night against Carolina.

Not much else going on in Capland. Did anyone go to last night's Season Ticket Holder meet n' greet? I was planning to, but had to bail late.

Oh, and is it bad that I actually caught myself thinking "Sweet - they each get a point" when the Kings and Jax headed to OT last night? Sigh.

Daily Awards

• Hart: David Vyborny (Game-tying and OT-winning goals, A, +1, 3 SOG in 3-2 win)
• Ross: David Vyborny (3 points)
• Norris: Joe DiPenta (Game-winning goal, +1, 2 SOG in 2-1 win)
• Vezina: Marc Denis (W, 29 saves on 30 shots against)
• Richard: David Vyborny, Vincent Lecavalier (2G each)
• Calder: Paul Stastny (2A, +2, 2 SOG)
• Aiken: Teppo Numminen (-3, 0 points, 0 SOG in 3-2 loss)

Wenesday Roundup/Habs 5, Caps 3Gamenight: Sharks @ Caps

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

If you take away the special teams goals and the empty-netter, the Caps outscored the Habs 2-0 last night. The problem, of course, is that all those goals count - all five of 'em. So the hole that the Caps dug themselves by committing six first period penalties (including some that would certainly qualify as "dumb") and allowing three first period powerplay goals against proved too much to overcome and the Caps fell 5-3 in Montreal.

On a positive note, Jamie Heward (a goal and 2 assists) and Richard Zednik (assist, +2) helped increase their trade value with strong games and Brian Sutherby scored his first goal since 1988 on a redirection of a Heward blast. In fact, the fourth line was a combined +6 and The Donald has now gone 18-straight games without being a minus player (has he been the team's best player over that span?). Also worth noting is that not once but twice the referees missed a Montreal high-stick (or elbow) that bloodied a Cap face (Shaone Morrisonn's and Matt Bradley's), but got the call right (or close enough to right) after talking to the linesmen. Kudos, Zebras.

On a negative note, Alex Ovechkin continues to struggle and offered this quote postgame:

"Maybe it's my fault. Because sometimes I have speed and I have puck and I go to the zone and I don't know what to do."

Maybe it is your fault, Alex. Then again, maybe it's the soul-crushing, excitement-stifling trap the team insists on playing that doesn't allow your teammates to join you on the rush. Is losing 3-2 rather than 5-4 really worth it?

Anyway, on to tonight and San Jose. I'll have more on tonight's game later, so check back throughout the day.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Tim Thomas (44-save shutout win)
• Ross: Michael Ryder, Paul Stastny, Daniel Briere, Saku Koivu, Mike Richards (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Jamie Heward (G, 2A, 3 SOG, 2 hits)
  
• Vezina: Tim Thomas (see above)
  
• Richard: Michael Ryder, Paul Stastny, Chris Higgins, Simon Gagne,Nathan Horton, Petr Sykora (2G each)
  
• Calder: Paul Stastny (2G, A, +1, 6 SOG)
  
• Aiken: Robert Esche (L, 4 goals allowed on 14 shots against in 22:25 of work)

Thursday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ 'Canes

[SeSo Open Thread]

Remember last Spring when the Caps had a two week stretch in which they played the Hurricanes five times (out of seven scheduled games)? No, it wasn't the playoffs. But it sure felt like it for... well... no one. If you liked that, you're sure to love the next ten days, in which the Caps take on the 'Canes three times, sandwiched around a matinee this Saturday with the Panthers and the All-Star break.

As for tonight's game, injuries and ineffectiveness have caused a massive upheaval of lines and d-pairings, with only the Ovechkin and CBS lines being spared Hanlon's razor. As an unabashed Boyd Gordon fan, I like the reconstituted second-line (Alex Semin-Gordon-Matt Pettinger), and am also interested in seeing how Shaone Morrisonn and Brian Pothier do with different dance partners (though I'll admit that the Potsy-Jeff Schultz pairing has me nervous).

Analysis-wise, this is a broken record: play hard, play smart, have a chance to win. Mental lapses against a disciplined team are a recipe for disaster (physical lapses less so). Stupid = death.

I'll have more throughout the day over at SeSo, and make sure to go spout off in the SeSo Open Thread - that's what it's there for (c'mon, Faux - drop some wisdom on those Caniacs).

By the way, it's official: this winter has sucked. My brother - who lives in Los Angeles - has now had more snow than we have had here in D.C. And from the "Piling On" department, I got a $100 parking ticket yesterday while in the dentist's office. That spider I killed yesterday morning must have been someone special in a previous life.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Henrik Zetterberg (2G, A, +2, 5 SOG)
• Ross: Pavel Datsyuk (4 points)
• Norris: Brian Campbell (GWG, A, +2)
• Vezina: Marty Turco (W, 18 saves on 20 shots against)
• Richard: Henrik Zetterberg, Phil Kessel, Daniel Paille, Jere Lehtinen (2G each)
• Calder: Paul Stastny (2G, including the game-winner, +1, 2 SOG)
• Aiken: Tomas Vokoun (2 goals allowed on 8 shots against in just 21:32 of work)

Saturday Roundup/Gamenight: Thrash @ Caps

[SeSo Open Thread]

At the turn (41 down, 41 to go), the Caps find themselves equidistant in the standings from the final playoff spot and from 13th place in the Eastern Conference. There is little doubt in my mind (and in Vogs') that they're much closer, figuratively, to the former, but that's why they play the games, right? [Ed. Note: I didn't do a "first-half recap" because I knew Vogel would do a great one - and I was right. Check it out].

Tonight the Caps welcome their good buddies from Hotlanta to the V.C. The Thrash blew a 4-1 lead last night to Phoenix (they lost 5-4 in OT), and perhaps more significantly, seem to have lost Slava Kozlov to injury. "Kozzie" joins Steve McCarthy (shoulder), Scott Mellanby (neck) and Andy Sutton (Brashearitis) on the Atlanta injured list, but the two big guns, of course, will still be in the lineup (three, if you count Kari Lehtonen).

Speaking of the Thrashers, I noticed something last night and it might be a little insight into why I almost-suddenly despise them so much (other than the Bob Hartley-related thuggery). Guess which team I'm describing:

• Over a four year span, this team had two #1 overall and two #2 overall picks. Among these selections were the team's two best forwards (a North American and a Russian) and franchise goalie.
• This team's mascot is a bird. Not an intimidating one (at all), but a bird nonetheless.
• This team's head coach never played a second in the NHL.
  

Yup. The 2006-07 Pittsburgh Penguins are the 2002-03 Atlanta Thrashers. I wonder who Elbows Malkin will kill with his car next fall.

Anyway, back to tonight's game and the rest of the season ahead, if the Caps are going to make the playoffs, it's time to start that push now. It's time to start turning home ice into an advantage. It's time to start putting together some win streaks (the Caps are 18-44-6 in their last 68 games following a win). It's time to start winning some games within the Division (the Caps are 5-6-2 against their Southeast Division foes). It's time for the third line to start kicking in some goals and for the second line to start scoring at even strength. Really, it's now or never.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Shane Doan (2G, 5 SOG, 2 hits)
  
• Ross: Paul Kariya (4 points)
  
• Norris: Rostislav Klesla (2G, +3, 2 SOG, 1 hit, 1 blocked shot)
  
• Vezina: Marc-Andre Fleury (W, 31 saves on 33 shots against in win at Buffalo)
• Richard: Marian Hossa, Matt Cooke, Tony Salmelainen, Shane Doan, Rostislav Klesla, Scott Hartnell (2G each)
  
• Calder: Paul Stastny (G, 2A, +2, 2 SOG)
  
• Aiken: Nikolai Khabibulin (L, 4 goals allowed on 14 shots against in 21:13 of work)

Wednesday Roundup/Caps 5, Lightning 2

[SeSo Open Thread]

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

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

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

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

81

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

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

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

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

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

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

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

Daily Awards

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

Monday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ Flames

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

Caps Quick Hits:

The WaPo discusses the Caps slooooow starts of late and Hockey's Future ranks the Caps as the fourth best organization in the League from a prospects standpoint.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Milan Hejduk (2G, +1, 5 SOG)
  
• Ross: J.-M. Liles (3 points)
  
• Norris: J.-M. Liles (3A, +1, 1 hit, 3 takeaways, 0 giveaways, 1 blocked shot)
  
• Vezina: Jose Theodore (W, 20 saves on 21 shots against)
  
• Richard: Milan Hejduk (2G)
  
• Calder: Paul Stastny (A, +1)
  
• Aiken: Marc Denis (L, 3 goals allowed on 28 shots against)
  

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)
  

Tuesday Roundup: Any Excuse To Use An Umlaut

Caps Quick Hits

As I told you the other day, Nicklas Bäckström is kicking ass and taking initials over in Sweden (he's so slick he doesn't even take full names). Now Tarik tells you the same and comments on the line juggling (which I noted that he noted yesterday) and an improved power play. The WTimes discusses the Klepis/Beech line swap as well.

Thread of the Day:

• Klepis Movin' On Up

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

• So last week I said that I had "a couple of exciting ideas that I've been working on putting together (and one great idea that probably won't come to fruition - but I'll throw it out there at a later date in case someone wants to pick it up and run with it)." One of the exciting ideas is now Southeast Shootout. And the great idea that I'm not pursuing right now? It's another rivalry site, but a player rivalry site: The Battle of Crosbechkin. It would be awesome - just covering AO and Sid the Kid, talking trash back and forth. I can even envision a banner that has "Crosb" in Pens font, "echkin" in Caps font and then "87" underneath with a Caps 8 and Pens 7. It would be dope. Just imagine if someone had blogged Magic vs. Bird throughout their careers. Yeah. Like that.
• Joel Kwiatkowski scored a goal (in the NHL) last night and Mathieu Biron is leading the AHL in assists. Undoubtedly, Jason Doig is leading a Safeway somewhere in groceries bagged.
• When Alexandre Picard was called up from Syracuse to Columbus, he probably had an idea that he'd be spending some time at the end of the bench. But being on the receiving end of a viscious Christian Ehrhoff hipcheck is probably not what he had in mind (I'll post the video once I find it).

Daily Awards

• Hart: Ilya Kovalchuk (3G, A, 7 SOG)
  
• Ross: Slava Kozlov, Ilya Kovalchuk, Petr Sykora (4 points each)
  
• Norris: J.M. Liles (G, A)
  
• Vezina: Marty Turco (W, 33 saves on 34 shots against)
  
• Richard: Ilya Kovalchuk (3G)
  
• Calder: Paul Stastny (G, 2A, +2, 3 SOG, 2 hits, 2 takeaways, 1 blocked shot)
  
• Aiken: Dan Cloutier (L, 6 goals allowed on 32 shots against in 40:41 of action)