Skeletons From The Closet, Vol. II

Earlier today I referenced the 1988-89 Caps' three 40-goal scorers (Dino Ciccarelli scored 32 of his 44 with the North Stars before being acquired along with Bob Rouse in the blockbuster that sent Mike Gartner and Larry Murphy to Minny on March 7, 1989). Well, here's the promotional poster celebrating the trio and riffing on a popular movie (thankfully, the Caps would never do something like that nowadays):

Click to enlarge

Friday Roundup/Gamenight: 'Canes @ Caps

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

One point separates the Caps and 'Canes in the standings. Six-hundredths of a goal is the difference between the two teams' goals per game and seven-hundredths the difference between the two squads' goals against per game. The Caps' penalty kill is 2.8% more efficient than Carolina's, and their power play 0.8% less efficient. The two teams have split four head-to-head match ups on the season so far, with each team notching a home shutout and another home win, and both teams have been hit hard by injuries (Carolina is without Justin Williams, Matt Cullen, Chad LaRose, Dennis Seidneberg and David Tanabe who have accounted for 26 goals and 75 assists in 190 total games in 2007-08, while the Caps are, of course, without Chris Clark, Michael Nylander and Brian Pothier who have a combined for 21 goals and 39 assists in 96 man-games on the season).

The teams are evenly matched on paper, to be sure, but the Caps come in with momentum. Since Bruce Boudreau took over, Washington is 20-10-4. Carolina is 15-20-1 over a similar stretch, and 4-6-0 in their last ten (the Caps are 7-3-0). Washington's Alex Ovechkin has eight points (seven goals) in his last four outings, Nicklas Backstrom 12 in his last nine and Mike Green four in his last four while Carolina's Eric Staal is pointless in hist last four games, Erik Cole in his last six and Frantisek Kaberle in his last dozen.

Not all 'Canes are chilly, though (Rod Brind'Amour has 11 points in his last nine games and Cam Ward has a 1.98 GAA and .935 SV% in his last four), and not all Caps hot (Alex Semin's goal against Columbus is his only point in six games).

Bottom line: throw out all the stats, because they're gonna play this one on ice (or something close to it), not on paper, and we'll get our first chance to see how the first-place Washington Capitals defend that top spot. It oughta be a doozy.

Why The Hurricanes Will Win:

"The Canes will win if and only if AO comes down with the flu before the game. Otherwise, it's probably going to be ugly." - Carolina On Ice

"Because the Caps are riding high and they aren't used to that. They'll wake up tomorrow and realize something feels wrong and go back to losing again like they're supposed to. I will assist in this by going to DC and changing all the calendars back to November. And because Ovie's gotta run out of gas sometime, doesn't he? Yes?" - The Sliding Pokecheck [Ed. note: No, no he doesn't]

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

So I can get a press pass in D.C. but Pat LaFontaine can't get one on The Island? Ha?... Happy Birthday Dino Ciccarelli... Because I like getting nostalgic, I'm going to start including some links back to what we posted here at The Rink on a given date one and two years ago. I find it interesting to see what we thought at the time and how that may or may not have changed since. So... A year ago today, we previewed the Caps and Kings, looked at why the Caps should trade Dainius Zubrus and discussed an article on one aspect of the culture of the game. Two years ago today we recapped a bleak loss to Florida and found our nominee for hit of the year.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Dany Heatley (2G, including the game-winner, A, 5 SOG)
  
• Ross: Evgeni Malkin, Ryan Whitney, Jason Spezza, Dany Heatley, Brad Stuart, Alex Frolov (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Ryan Whitney (2G, A, 4 SOG, 2 Hits, 3 BkS)
  
• Vezina: Mike Smith (25-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Ryan Whitney, Dany Heatley, Darcy Tucker, Henrik Zetterberg, Mike Comrie (2G each)
  
• Calder: Kris Letang (Game-winning goal, +1, 2 BkS)
  
• Aiken: Henrik Lundqvist (L, 4 goals allowed on 19 shots against)
  

Tuesday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ Jackets

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Pregame]

"His first NHL check was so fierce it dislodged a support beam. He refused to let his team lose, twice answering with goals less than 90 seconds after the opponents took the lead. And when his face appeared on the large scoreboard, he stuck out his tongue and flashed a charismatic smile."

Guess who?

Back on October 5, 2005, Alexander Ovechkin made quite the impact in his NHL regular season debut against the Columbus Blue Jackets and has been "worth the admission," as then-Jackets coach Gerard Gallant said, ever since.

KB's ticket from Ovie's first game, signed by #8 himself

Much has changed in the D.C. hockey world in the twenty-eight months since then - that night the bronze and black-clad Caps got points from Ovechkin, Dainius Zubrus, Jeff Halpern, Mathieu Biron and Steve Eminger before an MCI Center crowd - but at least one thing has remained the same: Alexander Ovechkin is still the best player on the ice almost every time he laces up his skates.

The Caps have come a long way since then. Gone are guys like Andrew Cassels, Jeff Friesen and Bryan Muir (seriously, look at the team they put out there that night, but be careful doing so on a full stomach), replaced in the lineup by the likes of Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Semin and Mike Green. And, to be sure, there is still a long way to go for this team before they reach their goals both small and large. But with a win tonight in Columbus, the 2007-08 Caps will be within four wins of the 2005-06 team (and within three wins of the 2006-07 squad). Given where they've come from, when they surpass those two teams it will be a bit of an accomplishment, but one that you could have seen coming from the very first shift on Opening Night, 2005.

Interestingly, the Blue Jackets goalie that night was the same one the Caps are likely to face tonight, Pascal Leclaire, who is having a breakout season in C'bus. Leclaire (who is not only leading the NHL.com 3 Stars race, but also has one of the worst headshots in the history of Earth) sports a 19-11-3 record with a 2.11 goals against average (fourth in the League), .925 save percentage (fifth in the NHL) and a League-high eight shutouts - not exactly what the doctor ordered for a Caps team that has been shutout in two of its last three games.

But Leclaire's emergence isn't the only positive story for Ken Hitchcock's Jackets, who are on pace to end up with the first winning record in team history. Rick Nash is establishing himself as a clutch goal-scorer (though he's pointless in four games), the enigmatic Nikolai Zherdev (think Alex Semin without as many bad penalties - check out his TSN.ca scouting report) leads the team in scoring and is within six goals and nine points of a career high, and the team's top four defensemen in ice time all have positive plus-minus ratings. Oh, and former Cap Jiri Novotny already has career highs in goals and points.

Simply put, these Blue Jackets aren't the easy two points that teams have grown accustomed to over the years. Though they're just 26th in the League in scoring, they're sixth in goals against, third in penalty killing and have a sparkling 16-8-4 at home record (only Detroit and Colorado have more points at home).

The Jax have lost three in a row and five of seven (having scored just 12 times in those seven games), but two points will still be tough to come by for the visiting Caps, who will get no breaks as they have to play in Philadelphia on Wednesday night. These two points are huge for both teams, and as it will likely be a low-scoring affair (C'bus has scored two or fewer goals in a staggering 31 of their 54 games), the opportunity will be there for a single individual to be great and snag the win for his team. In such situations, is there a player on the planet that you'd rather have than the Caps' Number Eight?

Why The Blue Jackets Will Win:

"We will win because our goalie was an All Star...and yours wasn't...wait ours wasn't either...crap." - Bethany's Hockey Rants

"The Jackets are a team that's seen the post All-Star break games transform them from a team on a roll to one where desperation lurks around the next corner. With a few days off to recover, the Jackets will get back to what's been successful for them so far: smart, hard checking defense, aggressive forecheck, and good goaltending in the Capitals' first visit to Nationwide since prior to the strike." - End of the Bench

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Today's a big day, historically, for Caps goal scorers. First, on this date back in 1991, Dino Ciccarelli became the 33rd player in NHL history to score 400 goals as he tallied in a 5-3 Caps win over Vancouver (he would score another 208 before hanging 'em up). Then, eight years later, Peter Bondra would notch a hat trick in a second straight game (he actually had four two days earlier against the Bolts) with three goals in a home win over the 'Canes. Whaddya got, Alex?... Know what's impressive? Being one of the 30 most improved players in the League (merely from a point production perspective) after scoring 92 points the season before. Just another reason pundits and fans alike think AO is Hart-worthy.... Or maybe it's because he was the most clutch player in the League in January. By a mile.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Zach Parise (OT game-winning goal, 2A, 3 SOG, 3 hits)
  
• Ross: Zach Parise, Patrick Elias (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Steve Staios (G, +1, 4 SOG, 2 BkS)
  
• Vezina: Mathieu Garon (24-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Radim Vrbata, T.J. Hensick (2G each)
  
• Calder: T.J. Hensick (2G, 75% faceoffs won)
  
• Aiken: Curtis Joseph (L, 5 goals allowed on 28 shots against)
  

If I Were A Hockey Player

Apparently Jes has started a new chain letter that's spreading through the blogosphere faster than his mom's chlamydia. Casonblog has tagged me, so here we go.

If I Were a Hockey Player

Team: Washington Capitals

Uniform Number: 16 (in honor of Bengt Gustafsson, my first favorite hockey player)

Position: First-line playmaking center

Nickname: Japers (but only because Rex Grossman took my original nickname)

Linemates: Alex Ovechkin and Peter Bondra (c. 1995-98)

Rounding out the PP: Al Iafrate and Dino Ciccarelli (Bonzai will play the point)

Job: Setting up the two greatest scorers in Caps history while cleaning up their garbage in front

Signature Move: The Hogan (charging at the goalie with the puck on my stick, slamming into him and watching the puck trickle over the line... just like you'd do in NHL 94)

Strengths: Possesses an excellent combination of skill and physical play. Is an outstanding playmaker due to great vision. Also takes care of business in his own end. Can change the pace of a game with an eye-popping rush or a crunching hit. [per TSN.ca's scouting report on me]

Weaknesses: Tequila, the Canadian Ballet

Equipment: Whatever - it's a poor craftsman who blames his tools

Nemeses: Denis Potvin, Pat LaFontaine, Petr Nedved, the entire city of Pittsburgh

Scandal Involvement: see "Weaknesses," use imagination

Who I'd face in the Stanley Cup Finals: Sidney Crosby and the Kansas City Penguins

What I'd do with the Stanley Cup after our victory: Fill it with redneck margaritas and declare yet another Cup victory for the South

Would the media love me or hate me? The media would be largely indifferent (though somewhat condescending) towards me, as they always have been with anything to do with the Southeast Division

Alright, my time's up. You guys have been great. Don't forget to try the waiters and tip your veal (or something). I tag SeSo running mates TLW and Jen, The Peerless Prognosticator and any (all?) of the OFB guys. I'd also invite anyone to comment with their own answers (especially you, Netsy).