Happy 48th Birthday, Dale Hunter

Yep. I'll post this just about every chance I get:

Happy Belated Birthday... To Us

With all the excitement around the end of Development Camp, it seems that we missed our own birthday. On Saturday, The Rink turned three-years-old, which is 21 in dog years (and an absolute eternity in Internet years), so finally we can have our first sip of alcohol in celebration.

This is the post in the comments to which you all now thank us for our tireless efforts and perform other acts of sycophantism while we scratch our head and wonder where the last three years went (hint: into 1,978 posts... oy).

Oh, and fret not - actual substance returns in time for lunch.

Saturday Roundup/Gameday: Caps @ Bruins

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

Since we last saw the Bruins on Monday night in "the city of Satan" (and not Miro), they've gone out and been shutout by the Panthers and dismantled by the Leafs. The formerly impenetrable Tim Thomas has been yanked three times in his last two starts (impressive) and has seen his League rankings in goals against average and save percentage drop from tenth and second, respectively, to 19th and seventh (and it's killing my fantasy team).

So the Bruins are in danger of free fallin' right out of the top eight in the Conference, the Caps are hot, Alex is good, both teams need this game, don't look past this one to the Pens, yada yada yada. Rather than looking forward, let's take one last look back at Monday's massacre in the time-honored lazy blogger tradition of the Top Ten list and count down the Top Ten Goals The Caps Scored On Monday Night:

10. Brooks Laich's second goal, a power play deflection.
    

9. Matt Cooke's goal that opened the scoring and the floodgates. Welcome to DC, Cookie.
   

8. Alex Ovechkin's second goal, on a nice feed from Nicklas Backstrom.
   

7. Matt Bradley's second goal - "The fans wanted [number ten], and I am a fan favorite, so I had to give them what they wanted."

6. Ovechkin's back-door power play goal, on a beautiful feed from Alex Semin.
   

5. Bradley's first goal, the one that sent Thomas to the bench the first time.
   

4. Donald Brashear's goal - every time an enforcer score, an angel gets its wings.
   

3. Speaking of wings, Laich's first goal meant free wings for all.
   

2. Backstrom's breakaway goal on a ridiculous pass from Ovechkin.
   

And the number one goal the Caps scored on Monday night...

1. Ovechkin's breakaway goal, his 50th of the year.
   

Now we can close the book on Monday night and look at what really seems like a "trap" game up in Boston. The Caps have to guard against both over-confidence (I've got the under on them scoring ten times on Saturday) and looking forward to the uber-hyped Sunday match-up with Pittsburgh. Without question, mental preparation for a reeling Bruins team will be of the utmost importance in determining whether the Caps come back from Beantown with two points or, well, "other." Coach 'em up, Gabby - this is a biggie.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Happy 32nd Birthday, Chris Clark, and Happy B-Day to other former Caps Larry Murphy, Mike Lalor, Rob Zettler and Craig Johnson.... Golfer Ernie Els' son has autism, which is obviously sad, but the tiny silver lining is that it lends another very prominent voice to the long list of advocates for increased research into the disease, its causes and its cure.... Finally, one year ago today I yapped about how wonderful Google Reader is (and still is) and we looked at some awesome video of The Donald, and two years ago today we previewed that night's Caps/Pens game.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Patrik Elias (Game-winning OT goal, A, +2, 9 SOG, 11-for-19 faceoffs)
  
• Ross: Patrik Elias, Brent Burns, Ilya Kovalchuk, Joe Thornton, Brian Rolston (2 points each)
  
• Norris: Brent Burns (G, A, 4 SOG)
  
• Vezina: Mathieu Garon (W, 30 saves on 31 shots against)
  
• Richard: 18 players tied with 1G each
  
• Calder: Jonathan Toews (G, 3 SOG, 10-for-14 faceoffs)
  
• Aiken: Patrick Lalime (L, 3 goals allowed on 23 shots against)
  

Friday Roundup

Discussion time, peeps.

Rink Reader Kyle shot me an email the other day that I'd like to throw open to the group:

[Effusive praise omitted]

I have a question re: goalie stats. In many of your game previews, you refer to a goalie's winning percentage, goals against average, or save percentage against a particular team. Sometimes you even use career numbers against one club.

When you get the chance, can you explain to me the value in these numbers? With more experience as a baseball fan, I can see how this applies to a one-on-one matchup such as pitcher vs. batter. But it seems to me a goalie's performance on a given night is better predicted by his most recent outings, not his history against one team. Putting aside Huet's more accomplished set of defensemen in Montreal, don't other factors such as team penalties, winning streaks and injuries (and chance?) play more important roles in determining a goalie's success on a given night? And is it likely that a goalie would have a problems with the style of a particular opposing coach or a particular opposing forward? I guess my concept is that while maybe Zdeno Chara does well in his individual matchups with Ovechkin (save Monday night), it is that type of individual skater matchup that better accounts for how many goals are scored in a game (regardless of goaltender, who sits in his crease and tries his best to see the puck). You also have clubs like the Caps who have changed personnel and philosophies during the course of the season, or just off nights from goalies (difficult to predict a goalie's future success from one or two showings).

[More over-the-top praise omitted]
[Still more embarrassing kudos omitted]

Below is my response to Kyle, but I'd like to know what everyone thinks on the topic:

I pretty much agree with everything you're saying - using career records against an opponent as some sort of predictory device is dubious, at best. The sample size is usually tiny, and even where it's not, the personnel changes and small differences between "good" games and "bad" ones can be misleading (and if a goalie gets absolutely shelled once - he'll never get his numbers back down).

But these numbers can sometimes creep into a team's psyche and they start thinking that the only way they can beat a guy is to be perfect - which leads to overpassing, shots wide, etc. Roberto Luongo a couple of years ago is a perfect example. Also, players and even teams develop tendencies, and if an opponent picks up on them, it can make a goalie's job that much easier. And, of course, with teams playing each intra-Divisional opponent eight times a year, these stats can take on some significance.

At the end of the day, I just love stats and all the various splits and permutations. They're fun. But they don't tell you what's going to happen in any given game. After all, games are played on ice, not on paper.

So what do you all think?

On a mostly unrelated note, if you were Bruce Boudreau, how would you handle your goalies this weekend, with afternoon games in Boston on Saturday and at home against the Pens on Sunday?

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Make sure to take a look at the stuff I posted "after hours" yesterday - just scroll down past this post.... Here's another Mirtle poll for you guys not to vote in.... Sergei Fedorov knew he was a Cap before he was a Cap. Huh?... I've pinned the "Milestones" post under the Quick Links sidebar so it's readily accessible, and please feel free to add any suggestions you might have in the comments. Oh, and next up? More goals than Glenn Anderson or Pat LaFontaine ever scored in a single season.... Just sayin'.... Happy 45th Birthday to former Cap Mike E-A-G-L-E-S Eagles.... One year ago today we recapped another Caps loss (that included a juicy Alex Ovechkin postgame quote), went free agent defenseman shopping, clubbed Matt Barnaby and looked at a pretty picture, and two years ago today we actually got to recap a Caps win.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Erik Ersberg (40-save shutout win)
• Ross: Bryan McCabe (4 points)
  
• Norris: Bryan McCabe (Game-winning G, 3A, +2, 3 SOG, 3 BkS)
  
• Vezina: Erik Ersberg (40-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Sean Avery, Nik Antropov, Jeff Carter (2G each)
  
• Calder: Erik Ersberg (40-save shutout win)
  
• Aiken: Dan Ellis (L, 3 goals allowed on 11 shots against in just 6:09 of work)
  

Monday Roundup/Gamenight: B's @ Caps

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

It certainly wasn't the primary motivation for acquiring goaltender Cristobal Huet at the trade deadline last week, but with three of the Caps' last 16 games against the Boston Bruins, it doesn't hurt that Cristo has dominated the B's throughout his career. In three games against the Bruins so far this season, Huet is 3-0-0 with a 1.67 goals against average and .943 save percentage, and for his career he is 8-2-0/1.93/.940 with three shutouts (the most wins and shutouts he has against any opponent).

In fact, Huet has great career numbers against a handful of the Caps' remaining opponents: his best career GAA (1.08) and save percentage (.964) are against Florida, who Washington will face twice more; he's 2-0-1/1.73/.947 against Nashville (who the Caps play on March 18); he's 4-2-2/2.05/.932 against Atlanta, 6-3-0/2.24/.931 against Tampa and 3-2-1-0/2.37/.931 against the 'Canes (each of whom Washington will play two more times before the regular season wraps up); and he's 3-2-0/2.13/.915 against Pitt, who the Caps face at home next Sunday.

Sure, Huet is no longer playing behind Mike Komisarek, Andrei Markov et. al., but the fact that he has a career 29-13-1-4 record with a 1.97 GAA, .937 SV% and nine shutouts against the teams the Caps will play in 13 of their last 16 games has to count for something. Oh, and against those other three teams - Buffalo, Calgary and Chicago - Huet is 8-9-1-3/2.73/.909... maybe Olie Kolzig can get some work in in those games - he's 26-19-6-1/2.42/.914 against that trio of teams.

The flip side of the "Huet vs. the Bruins" coin is "Tim Thomas vs. the Caps." The B's netminder is 8-0-1 with a 1.82 GAA and .940 SV% in his career against Washington, thanks in large part to Zdeno Chara's ability to shut down Alex Ovechkin. For his career, the Great Eight has only five points - and only two goals - in nine games against Big Z's teams (Boston for this year and last, Ottawa in '05-'06) and three goals and four helpers in nine tilts against Boston.

So even though the Bruins come into tonight's game 7-0-1 in their last eight and the Caps have been playing around .500 hockey for the past month-and-a-half (8-6-3 since January 22), expect another tight game - since the lockout, only one of the nine games between these two teams (of which the Caps have won only one, by the way) was decided by more than one goal (this season's only meeting, January 3rd's 2-0 Boston win). Oh, and for those of you revenge seekers, a reminder that this will be the first time the Caps have seen Milan Lucic since he quite possibly ended Brian Pothier's career.

The Caps should have no trouble getting up for this game. Maintaining that intensity will be the challenge.

Why The Bruins Will Win:

"The Bruins will beat the Caps tonight because Tim Thomas does yoga. All bets on the Bs are off if Huet wears his old Canadiens helmet, though." - The Hockey (and Donut) Blog

"Right now, the Bruins are flat out clicking. Everything that can go right is going right, and Boston has six straight wins. Between the pipes, Tim Thomas has allowed just one goal in his last two outings. This alone is not a good sign for Washington, as Thomas is 8-0-1 in his career against the Capitals. A solid performance from Thomas and the rest of the B's could lead to seven wins in a row." - The Bear Cave

"The Bruins will win because they're on a 6-game win streak. Besides, the only quality players on the Caps' roster are Ovechkin and ...uh....that other....hmm. Well, at least they have Ovechkin." - The Spoked B

"The Bruins will win because they have won their last six games, and are planning to make it seven tonight to keep the streak alive." - WickedBruinsFan

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Happy 24th Birthday to Alex Semin and Happy 45th to Kelly Miller... H/t to Ted Leonsis for digging out this GMGM gem.... On this date in 1996, Jim Carey set the franchise mark with his sixth shutout of the season (and second in two days). He'd add another three before his Vezina-winning campaign was over, and the nine shutouts remain a Caps single season record.... On this date in 2004, the Caps sent Sergei Gonchar to Boston for Shaone Morrisonn and the picks that were used to draft Jeff Schultz and Mikhail Yunkov.... On this date in 1895, according to the HHOF, "The earliest recorded ice hockey game was played, with McGill University going against the Victoria skating club, at the Victoria Rink in Montreal. The two teams played with nine men on a side, and used a flat disk as a puck." Chris Chelios finished the game with a plus-two rating.... Finally, one year ago today, we wished Semin a Happy Birthday with some of his personal highlights and started our offseason free agent wish list by looking at the available centers.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Craig Anderson (53-save shutout win)
• Ross: Patrick Kane (3 points)
  
• Norris: Niklas Kronvall (2A, +3)
  
• Vezina: Craig Anderson (53-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Patrick Kane, Jeff Carter (2G each)
  
• Calder: Patrick Kane (2G, including the game-winner, A, +2)
  
• Aiken: Henrik Lundqvist (3 goals allowed on 8 shots against in just 19:40 (!) of work)
  

Monday Roundup

Rather than recap a couple of tough weekend losses - one more gut-wrenching than the other - I thought I'd use this space today to promote a good cause, namely a fundraiser for the Wilson High hockey team.

The long and the short of it is that Wilson is D.C.'s only public high school with a varsity hockey team and following the loss of their coach last winter to pneumonia, the program is on the verge of being dissolved (more details can be found over at OFB).

In an effort to help out a little bit, a group of bloggers (led by OFB) is hosting a fundraiser this coming Friday night at Clyde's of Gallery Place. For $10 a head, you can help out a great cause AND have a good shot at some great prizes (including items signed by Caps and Hershey Bears players).

So come on out for a good time, a good cause and maybe, just maybe, a Caps win.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Happy 22nd Birthday to Jeff Schultz.... Don't go over to Mirtle's site and vote on who should win Coach of the Year (he blamed me for Alex Ovechkin running away with the Hart in his last poll).... "Major bonus points" for Caps fans.... Finally, one year ago today we recapped a Caps/Devils game (how 'bout that?), noted a silly trade rumor from a silly rumor-monger, and looked at the market values of Dainius Zubrus and blueliners.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Teemu Selanne (3G, 2A, +3, 2 SOG)
  
• Ross: Teemu Selanne (5 points)
  
• Norris: Marek Malik (G, A, +2, 2 SOG)
  
• Vezina: Ilya Bryzgalov (35-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Teemu Selanne (3G)
  
• Calder: Jonathan Toews (3A, 2 SOG)
  
• Aiken: Patrick Lalime (L, 5 goals allowed on 25 shots against in 48:38 of work)
  

Wednesday Roundup/Gamenight: Isles @ Caps

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

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

Daily Awards

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

Thursday Roundup/Thrash 3, Caps 2 (SO)

[AP Recap - Game Summary - Super Stats]

Isn't Kari Lehtonen about due for a groin pull?

With his shootout win last night, the Finnish netminder has now won his last two starts against the Caps in dominant fashion, with a GAA under one and a save percentage of .974 (to say nothing of that pass to spring Marian Hossa). Without question, he was the difference in a game that the Caps dominated for stretches at a time. Some thoughts on the game:

• All eyes immediately turn to the Tom Poti injury which, if I'm not mistaken, was not mentioned by the boys in the booth.
• That game was vintage Olie Kolzig, with a handful of great stops and brilliant positioning (forget about the sideshow junk that ended the game).
  
• Mike Green played 33:07, had a beauty assist on the Alex Ovechkin goal, and was plus-two for the game. But man, did he miss a golden opportunity on an unreal Alex Semin cross-ice pass late.
• How can you have a shootout in which neither Ovechkin nor Viktor Kozlov gets an attempt?
• Speaking of questionable coaching in the shootout, as KB noted, it's a shame that Joe Benanati knew what Eric Perrin was going to do but no one on the Caps seemed to.
• Faceoffs were an atrocious 35% successful. This team might need to go get a second-line center if they want to make the playoffs. An-toine Ver-mette (clap clap clap-clap-clap).
• Nicklas Backstrom - at what point can we use the word "great"? Now? Cool. He's got great vision and is a great passer (and also was great at losing faceoffs last night - 24%? Ouch). Great player? I'll hold out a little longer, but not much.
• At some point, the power play will stop trying to be so damn cute... you'd hope.
  

So a four-point game turned into a two-point game thanks to Red Jesus, and the boys will be back at it on Friday night in South Beach. With three goals in their last three intra-divisional games (all three losses), the Caps will need to start lighting the lamp more frequently, and soon.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Happy 33rd Birthday, Viktor Kozlov.... Caps love from The Maven.... Green love from up north.... Aside from the plagarism here, the underlying idea is pretty cool, and would be great for the NHL to try.... Allan Muir notes something about Jeff Halpern that Caps fans have known forever.... Finally, one year ago today we sent a Valentine to a very special someone, accepted one on AO's behalf and watched a little CourtTV.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Ryan Miller (35-save shutout win)
  
• Ross: 12 players tied with 2 points each
  
• Norris: Brent Seabrook (G, A, +2, 5 SOG, 3 hits)
  
• Vezina: Ryan Miller (35-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Dustin Byfuglien (2G)
  
• Calder: Nicklas Backstrom (2A, +1, 3 SOG)
  
• Aiken: Pascal Leclaire (1 goal allowed on 3 shots against in just 4:50 of work)
  

Thursday Roundup/Caps 4, Flyers 3

[AP Recap - Game Summary - Super Stats]

Never a doubt.

For one night, at least, the Caps found the balanced scoring for which they've been searching of late, as each of the four forward lines chipped in a goal and the team held on for a 4-3 win. Oh, and that win vaulted the Caps into first place in the Southeast Division. A few quick thoughts on the game:

• Just after I remarked about how nice it was to see the team able to score a few goals without Alex Ovechkin having a hand in any of them, he scored the eventual game-winner, his League-leading eighth GWG of the year. His 46 goals equal his total from last year as his ridiculous season gets even more absurd by the night.
• Further kudos to Ovechkin for goading Jim Vandermeer into taking a coincidental penalty with him (a tradeoff the Caps will take any time), as the extra space created by the four-on-four allowed Brooks Laich to show off his skill and deposit the first goal of the game on a beautiful backhander. Heh.
  
• Mike Green was a stud, registering two helper, a plus-two rating, three shots on goal, a pair of blocked shots and a takeaway.
• The Philadelphia Flyers only committed two penalties on the night. Okay.
  
• I didn't particularly care for how the Caps D allowed two homerun passes to connect while trying to defend a three-goal lead in the third period.
• Did the Caps get lucky on the no-goal that was reviewed? Yes (in fact, some had already marked it down as a goal). But they were due a break after that phantom Quintin Laing interference call led to Philly's first goal.
• Five games and counting without a power play goal.
  
• Viktor Kozlov had another strong game (everywhere but in the faceoff circle).
• There's a lot to like in Eric Fehr's game, and it's not far from all coming together.
• Tomas Fleischmann may or may not stink (and I'm pretty sure I'm comfortable letting another team figure out whether or not he does), but his tap pass on the Kozlov goal was money.
• John Erskine has significant issues with successfully clearing the puck.
• Boyd Gordon's unselfish decision not to throw the puck at the empty net while he was on the wrong side of the center stripe deserves mention, so there it is. Mentioned.
  
• Braydon Coburn led Philly in ice time (and was a team-worst minus-three, along with the pylon that is Derian Hatcher). His off night aside, I wonder how Atlanta's liking that Alexei Zhitnik trade now.
  
• Olie Kolzig was very solid when not hung out to dry (and was I the only one hoping he'd take a shot at the empty net on Ron Hextall Night?). Hopefully these last two games are a start to his resurgence - we'll likely get to find out on Friday night.
  

Next up, a home date with the second place Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night, as the Caps are no longer the hunter - they're the hunted. Let's see how they respond.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Happy 40th Birthday to Peter Bondra, the Caps all-time leader in goals (472) and points (825). Enjoy those marks while you can, Bonzai.... For some reason I feel like thanking Glen Hanlon again for guiding this team through the bad times. I'm not sure they'd be where they are today without the culture he helped create in his time behind the bench.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Mathieu Garon (W, 40 saves on 41 shots against)
• Ross: Mike Green, Mike Knuble, John Madden, Sam Gagner, Joni Pitkanen, Brett Clark (2 points each)
  
• Norris: Mike Green (2A, +2, 3 SOG, 2 BkS)
  
• Vezina: Mathieu Garon (W, 40 saves on 41 shots against)
  
• Richard: 20 players tied with 1G apiece
  
• Calder: Sam Gagner (2A)
  
• Aiken: Derian Hatcher (0 points, -3)
  

Happy Birthday, Caps

Happy 33rd Birthday to the Washington Capitals, who played their first NHL game on this date in 1974 - before all but Olie Kolzig, Michael Nylander and Donald Brashear from the current team were even born.

A year ago, Vogs offered this birthday card to the organization, and it's certainly worth a read today.

Happy Birthday, USA

And The Loser Is...

We can argue about who the League's MVP or Rookie of the Year should be until we're all blue in the face, but at the end of the day, there's no right answer - they're all great players (or, if there's a cliche you prefer, feel free to use that). So wouldn't you rather spend your time making fun of the League's worst players? Of course you would.

Without further ado, then, here are the nominees and winners of some, um, alternative awards:

Scott Mellanby Trophy (player who most needs to retire... three years ago): Jeff Friesen, Calgary; Derian Hatcher, Philadelphia; Jeremy Roenick, Phoenix. And the loser is... Roenick. With seasons like this (11 goals in 70 games), it's hard to remember that JR was a two-time 50-goal scorer and all-around dominant center.

Bill Mikkelson Trophy (worst defenseman): Adrian Aucoin, Chicago; Derian Hatcher, Philadelphia; Jason York, Boston. And the loser is... Hatcher. In 82 games, he only registered nine points and had a minus-24 rating, all for the bargain price of $3.5 million. The "new" NHL has not been kind to Hatch.

Jack Adams Ass Award (worst coach): Ken Hitchcock, Philadelphia/Columbus; Dave Lewis, Boston; Jim Playfair, Calgary. And the loser is... Playfair. It would have been easy to go with a guy who got fired or missed the playoffs, but with the talent they've got in Calgary, it's inexplicable how the team barely snuck into the playoffs. The antics at the end of Game 5 of the Detroit series seals the deal.

Todd Bertuzzi Trophy (least gentlemanly player): Sean Avery, Los Angeles/New York Rangers; Ben Eager, Philadelphia; Josh Gratton, Phoenix. And the loser is... Avery. Eager may have led the League in penalty minutes and misconducts, but Avery led in number of penalties and diving minors and only dropped the gloves four times - not very sporting.

This Guy Award (worst goalie): Marc Denis, Tampa Bay; Brent Johnson, Washington; Jose Theodore, Colorado. And the loser is... Denis. Brought in to be "the guy" in Tampa, he repeatedly lost his job to a guy with a 2.85 goals against average and .893 save percentage on a good team. Happy Birthday, Tampa fans! Hope you like crap!

Alexei Yashin Award (least valuable player to his team): Sergei Fedorov, Columbus; Derian Hatcher, Philadelphia; Jose Theodore, Colorado. And the loser is... Theodore. While maybe not the worst goalie in the League, Jose cost the Avs $3,146 per minute of ice time, and for that money they got a 13-15-5 record, a 3.26 GAA, a .893 save percentage... and an early April tee time.

So which stiffs did I miss? Are there any awards I need to add?

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.
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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.
  

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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

Happy Birthday, Pooh

I'd like to take a brief detour from pucks to wish my little brother Pooh a Happy 30th Birthday. Many happy returns, old man.

The rest of you should feel free to use this as your Monday Open Thread until I get something else up. Cheers.

Сднем рождения, Саша

Happy 23rd Birthday to Alexander Semin. To celebrate, I thought I'd post some video highlights. The first highlights are of his hat trick against Carolina early in the season:The second are his best passes since December:














We kid because we love. Hopefully Sasha can celebrate his birthday in style tonight against the Isles.

Who's Better: Agent Zero Or Alexander The Gr8?

As some of you may know, the Caps aren't the only professional sports team that calls the Verizon Center home. I've recently been made aware of something called the NBA, which is a professional basketball League, one of whose member organizations - the Washington Wizards - plays its home games at the V.C. (I've seen some banners hanging from the rafters referencing a "Washington Bullets," but haven't seen anything related to these "Wizards." I also have seen banners denoting a "Washington Mystics" as "WNBA Attendance Champions," but figured that has to be a joke.).

Anyway, apparently these Wiz (as they are familiarly known) have a superstar of their own - Gilbert Arenas - who possesses that rare combination of brilliant skill and radiant personality that puts him in a class of his own. Nearly. For as we all know, the Caps have their own phenom, Alexander Ovechkin. This being a sports blog in which apples-to-oranges comparisons are par for the course, then, the logical next question is, "Who's better - Agent Zero or Alexander the Gr8?" This being a Caps blog, then, you might think you already know the answer. You might be wrong.

The Numbers

• Arenas is currently second in the NBA in scoring (points per game), while Ovechkin is tied for the NHL lead in goals. Advantage: Push
• Arenas leads all NBA guards in shooting percentage and leads the League in shots taken. Ovechkin leads the NHL in shots on goal, but is 133rd in shooting percentage. FYI, if Ovechkin had the same number of shots on goal but the best shooting percentage in the NHL, he'd have 58 goals already and would likely be annointed the greatest player of all-time. Still, advantage: Arenas
• Arenas is 12th in the NBA in assists. Ovechkin is 14th in the NHL in assists. Advantage: push
• Arenas is fifth in the NBA in steals and seventh in the League in turnovers per game (i.e. most turnovers per game). Ovechkin is seventh in the NHL in takeaways and seventh in the League in giveaways (i.e. most giveaways). Advantage: push
• Arenas is tied for 169th in the NBA in blocked shots. Ovechkin is tied for 234th in the NHL in blocked shots. Advantage: push
• Arenas is tied for last in the NBA in hits with none (Carmelo Anthony leads with one). Ovechkin is 33rd in the NHL in hits. Advantage: hockey
• Arenas is 11th in the NBA in personal fouls per game. Ovechkin is 122nd in the NHL in penalty minutes. Advantage: Ovechkin
• Arenas's Wizards are in sixth place in the NBA's Eastern Conference and 12th overall in the League. Ovechkin's Caps are in 11th place in the NHL's Eastern Conference and 20th overall in the League. Advantage: Arenas
• Arenas has led the Wizards to the playoffs twice. Ovechkin has yet to lead the Caps to the playoffs. Advantage: incomplete
• Arenas was the NBA's Most Improved Player in his second year in the League. Ovechkin won the NHL's Calder Trophy as the League's Rookie of the Year for the 2005-06 season. Advantage: Ovechkin
• Arenas is 25-years-old and in his sixth year in the NBA. Ovechkin is 21-years-old and in his second year in the NHL. Advantage: Ovechkin

The Rest Of It

• Arenas had the 20th best-selling jersey in the NBA in 2005-06. Ovechkin had the 5th best-selling jersey in the NHL in 2005-06. Advantage: Ovechkin
• Ovechkin appears on the cover of the EA's NHL 2007 video game. Arenas plays the hell out of Halo. Advantage: Ovechkin
• In May of 2006, Arenas was arrested for disobeying police. Ovechkin's record is clean. Advantage: push (c'mon - an NBA player with that as the only thing on his rap sheet is as squeaky clean as they come)
• Arenas's birthday party had its own website and guests included Diddy and (possibly) other entertainment heavy weights. Ovechkin's birthday party was hosted by DC101 and guests included D.C.'s Republican mayoral candidate. Advantage: push (had Diddy been a no-show, Arenas would have won this one easily)
• Arenas is really bizarre. Ovechkin is really Russian. Advantage: push

The Results

Clearly, the nation's capital has two of the brightest stars in their respective sports in terms of both ability and personality (three, if you throw 'Skins runningback Clinton Portis in the mix). But who's better? At present, Arenas might seem to have the slight edge, but he also has more experience and a more veteran (and relatively-expensive) team around him. However, if you polled NBA and NHL GMs and asked them to pick one player with whom to start a franchise in their respective sport, my bet is that AO would garner more votes than Gil, based on the two players' respective ages and the depth at the positions they play (surely Dwayne Wade and LeBron James would receive more votes than Arenas, and Sidney Crosby would likely receive more votes than AO).

At the end of the day, this leaves us with advantage... Ovechkin. Of course with these two, you can't go wrong with the apple or the orange.

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)
  

Thursday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ Rangers

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview - Official Game Thread]

So here we are at the start of another Caps season (number 32 - perhaps a good omen). Here's what the WaPo's got to say this morning, and here's the WTimes' take (along with a bonus feature on AO). But being opening night and all, I thought I'd go out on a limb and make some ridiculous predictions and projections. And away we go:

Record:

32 wins, 39 losses, 11 overtime losses (5th, Southeast Division)

Forwards:

Ovechkin, Alexander (53 goals, 54 assists)
Zubrus, Dainius (23, 35)
Semin, Alexander (22, 26)
Zednik, Richard (23, 22)
Pettinger, Matt (16, 20)
Sutherby, Brian (16, 17)
Clark, Chris (16, 20)
Laich, Brooks (11, 18)
Beech, Kris (8, 14)
Fata, Rico (8, 9)
Bradley, Matt (6, 9)
Fleischmann, Tomas (5, 9)
Brashear, Donald (6, 5)
Fehr, Eric (3, 6)
Klepis, Jakub (4, 5)
Gordon, Boyd (2, 3)

Defensemen:

Pothier, Brian (8, 28)
Clymer, Ben (9, 22)
Eminger, Steve (7, 19)
Heward, Jamie (8, 20)
Green, Mike (6, 16)
Muir, Bryan (7, 17)
Morrisonn, Shaonne (4, 14)
Erskine, John (2, 2)

Goalies:

Kolzig, Olie - 24 wins, 27 losses, 9 OTL, 3.07, .905
Johnson, Brent - 8 wins, 12 losses, 2 OTL, 3.15, .899

So there you have it. We'll revisit this in April and see just how far off I was.

Thread of the Day:

• Yelling "Oh" During The National Anthem: Yea or Nay?
  

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

• The Pens have been sold and they're staying in Pittsburgh. Sure they are.
• Speaking of the Pens, happy 41st birthday to Mario Lemieux. Speaking of great French-Canadian ex-players celebrating their 41st birthday today, happy happy to Patrick Roy (who can't hear our well-wishes because he's got his three Stanley Cup rings plugging his ears).
• For more pre-season predictions, head over to The Battle of Alberta where Colby Cosh has ten predictions for the upcoming season, including the gratuitous cheap shot of the day, "The Oilogosphere will band together to raise the price of a Porsche 930 Turbo and present it anonymously to Miikka Kiprusoff." Is it just me, or can you also not help yourself from singing "in the year two-thousand" between each item on the list?

Daily Awards

• Hart: Ryan Miller (32 saves on 34 shots against through OT and 3 saves on 3 shots against in shootout win)
  
• Ross: Dany Heatley, Patrick Eaves, Ray Whitney, Darryl Sydor, J.M. Liles (2 points each)
  
• Norris: Darryl Sydor (GWG, A, +2, 3 blocked shots)
  
• Vezina: Martin Gerber (W, 33 saves on 34 shots against - and the one goal was on penalty shot!)
  
• Richard: Several players tied with one goal
  
• Calder: Loui Eriksson (G, +1)
• Aiken: Brett Clark (-2, now on pace to be -164 for the season)
  

Vodka Shots All Around!

Happy 21st Birthday to Alex Ovechkin. He can now finally have that first adult beverage on U.S. soil.

Happy 41st Birthday, Bob Probert

What an animal...