Thursday Roundup

Back in late July, we posted the translation of an article from a Swedish paper regarding Nicklas Backstrom's summer, but the most commented upon aspect of the story needed no translating - for some, the pictures spoke for themselves.

Fast forward a few months to Backstrom's slow start (he's still looking for that first goal and even strength point) and Lisa Hillary's ice-level report during a recent game that casually mentioned that Backstrom had put on twenty pounds in the off-season, and one could easily waddle jump to a conclusion as to the cause of Nick's early season struggles (though his preseason injury, no doubt, has contributed).

Now, I haven't seen Hillary's report corroborated elsewhere, but here's what I do know - Backstrom was listed at 183 pounds in last year's media guide and 210 pounds this year (though he's still at 183 on the team's website):


It should be noted that Nick has apparently grown an inch over the year, and that he's still just 20 years old and filling out thanks to a weight training regimen that is probably unlike what you'd find over in Europe... but 27 pounds in one year?

Perhaps it's not as obscene as it sounds. After all, from Backstrom's draft class, Simeon Varlamov and Mathieu Perreault had weight gains of 18 and 24 pounds, respectively, over the same span, and Alex Semin gained 19 pounds from 2005-06 to 2006-07 (per the media guides). Still, 27 pounds...

You can draw your own conclusions as to whether or not there's any causation here. And this isn't to say that Backstrom is "fat" or out of shape - it may very well be the case that a bigger Backstrom may be a better hockey player in the long run and that his coordination needs time to catch up to his changed (changing?) physique. But the bottom line is that if Backstrom looks a little slower or less nimble than he did last season, there may be a reason for that.

Beefcake. Beefcake!

Update: As Empty points out, 183 pounds was also Backstrom's draft weight, a number that apparently wasn't updated until this year. So it's 27 pounds over two years, not one.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Some love for Alex Semin from up north.... Vogs and Brett apparently mentioned this on Capitals Report yesterday (and if this is Mr. Hanlon's Club, what does Mr. Cassidy's look like?)... Daren Machesney: pretty in pink (via Stack the Pads).... Forbes has some "Best Hockey Fighters For The Buck" silliness posted.... Finally, why don't you guys show this kind of dedication?

Thursday Roundup/Gameday: Flyers Rookies @ Caps Rookies

Dump d-dump dump... Dump! A round of links on me today:

Please make sure Mike Green never sees this.... See you guys out at Piney Orchard this afternoon?... Alex Ovechkin was named D.C. Sportsman of the Year, narrowly edging out Matt Chico.... It probably cost more to insure AO for three weeks at Worlds last spring than to pay John Erskine's salary for an entire season.... Hugs in Finland!... Wouldn't it be something if Sergei Fedorov or Jose Theodore won the Hart Trophy this year? Uh, yeah.... As you know, Karl Alzner and John Carlson have been impressive in Rookie Camp.... Finally, congrats to Paul and everyone at Kukla's Korner on a killer redesign and, more importantly, a new stable of some of the best bloggers in the 'sphere.

[Note: I normally wouldn't pimp a commercial site (especially one from which I get no kickback), but HockeyAttire.com has some great deals, on top of which you'll get 50% off if you enter "alloff50" in the coupon code. Unfortunately, most of their Caps stuff is old logo, but I picked this up for $84.87 total and it arrived in less than a week and is a money replica (and it actually has the correct white lettering, not the black lettering shown). H/t Dunzy.]

Sergei Kostitsyn Rips Hanlon

In a wide-ranging and interesting interview with Russian Prospects, Sergei "Little Tits" Kostitsyn used a fairly innocuous question as an opportunity to take a shot at former Caps and Belarus bench boss Glen Hanlon, who he feels snubbed him on a past national team roster:

Q. Why do you have a special knack against Washington, scoring every third of your goals in the regular season?

A. I don't know, it just happens. Although it's a pity that [Glen Hanlon] left Washington. I would have scored not three but six against them. Let him see who is "too young for the national team."

Zing, I suppose. And yes, three of his nine career NHL goals have come against the Caps. Total pwnage.

You Know Your Car's A Piece Of Crap When...

... they're making fun of it on the other side of the world.

A huge tip - no, doffing - of the hat to our friend TJ at the Alex Ovetjkin blog for translating and posting two lengthy interviews, one with each of the Caps' Alexes, that would be must-reads during the season, but are more or less life-sustaining this time of year.

Some highlights from the Alex Ovechkin interview:

On Glen Hanlon: "[It is nice] when you don't expect good words from a man and he starts to praise you. One example would be Hanlon, our former head coach in Washington. At one moment he is shouting at you and tells you that you are doing everything wrong, the very next moment he calls you the best. One could never guess.... Hanlon is a surprising person. It was a great pleasure to work with him. It is a pity it didn't work out for him in Washington."

On his teammate whose "inner strength surprises" him: "We all have character, all of us. But the most unusual is [Quintin] Laing. He blocks shots, any shots. Sometimes it is impossible even to imagine, is he going to block this one too? A charismatic fellow. He'd never make into NHL, if not his heroism."

On his teammate with the crappiest ride: "Perhaps Jeffrey Schultz. He drives a strange vehicle that looks like a minivan, but it is two seated and has an open trunk. I've learned that his rattletrap cost eight thousand dollars."

Really, there's much, much more there, so make sure to set aside some time to read it and the Alex Semin interview, which includes these nuggets:

On the best player in the NHL: "At the moment? I'd select Pasha Datsyuk. This is a player I like for a very long time. He has the best hands."

On his future: "I am not a fan of changing the environment. I am such a person that I am satisfied with everything in Washington. Never thought about leaving."

On his 2007-08 season: "At first my season started as a failure. I was injured. I didn't play for 2.5 months. And then everything went on. When there were 15 games left before the playoffs, I started to get in shape. And the worlds were later. I peaked. And it all got together."

On whether Ovechkin changed after signing his huge contract: "After he signed it he became more motivated or something, I don't know... he started playing much better to be honest. He became more mean, aggressive. But outside of the game he was the same person as before, friendly, sociable."

You get the point. I'm going to stop writing now and you're going to go read these two interviews. See you back here in a bit.

Where Have You Gone, Tommy Salo?

Unfortunately for Glen Hanlon and Belarus, Mikael Tellqvist is no Tommy Salo.

Tellqvist didn't waste any saves today in Sweden's 6-5 win over Belarus (Nicklas Backstrom had a goal and a helper and led all Swedish forwards in ice time), and by virtue of the near-upset, provided sports shows and blogs the opportunity to show, yet again, one of the great moments in Olympic hockey history:

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)
  

How Do You Say "Rebuild" In Finnish?

According to reports out of Finland, former Caps coach Glen Hanlon will be coaching Helsinki Jokerit of the SM-liiga next season. Terms were not disclosed.

"I love international hockey and the Finnish style of play," said Hanlon. And with Jokerit alums that include Teemu Selänne, (Sami Lepisto's godfather) Jari Kurri, and Esa Tikkanen, what's not to love? Other than Tikkanen, that is.

Saturday Roundup/Devils 3, Caps 2Gamenight: Thrashers @ Caps

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

Bruce Boudreau's Caps may not be a hell of a lot better than Glen Hanlon's Caps were (the jury's still out on that), but one thing is clear - with the regime change came a different kind of accountability:

"That was a horrible giveaway for the first goal, and Olie should have had the save. He's too good a goalie to let those things go in."

Ah. Refreshing not to be tossed around in the spin cycle, isn't it?

Whether it was horrendous giveaways (Brian Pothier), awful penalties (Mike Green, Brooks Laich), a failure to make a save (Olie Kolzig) or poor timing (allowing Travis Zajac's goal just 41 seconds after Alex Semin had drawn the Caps to within one), it all adds up to the simple fact that the Caps were (are?) just flat out bad. Frankly, I'm at a loss to explain how they still had a shot at stealing a point in this one.

But they'll be back at it Saturday night against the Thrash as they open a four-game homestand. If there's even a slim chance for the season to be saved, it likely depends heavily on winning a few of these games and getting on a roll.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

In case you missed it, the Sabres dropped the first two games of their west coast swing (Anaheim and Los Angeles) by a combined total of 12-3, prompting BoC's inimitable Earl Sleek to create this "picture's worth a thousand words" cartoon.... Since it's Saturday, I'm on Ice Sheet duty over at Da House. Check out today's edition, hot off the press.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Henrik Zetterberg (3G, including the game-winner, +3, 4 SOG)
  
• Ross: Henrik Zetterberg, Ryan Getzlaf, Pavel Datsyuk (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Ruslan Salei (2A, +1, 2 SOG, 3 hits, 2 blocked shots)
  
• Vezina: Evgeni Nabokov (27-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Henrik Zetterberg (3G)
  
• Calder: Jonathan Toews (G, 3 SOG, 85% faceoffs won)
  
• Aiken: Josh Harding (L, 5 goals allowed on 34 shots against)
  

Caps Fire Hanlon, Name Boudreau Interim Head Coach

Per the press release:

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have relieved Glen Hanlon of his coaching duties and named Bruce Boudreau the team’s interim head coach, vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today.

Boudreau, 52, has coached championship teams in the American Hockey League (AHL) and the ECHL and is in his third year as the head coach of the Hershey Bears, Washington’s AHL affiliate. He led the team to the Eastern Conference championship and the Calder Cup finals in each of his first two years in Hershey, winning the Calder Cup in 2006. Boudreau has compiled a 103-45-11-16 record with the Bears (a .666 winning percentage), including an AHL-best 51-17-6-6 record (.713) last season. Seven current members of the Capitals played for Boudreau with the Bears.

Boudreau becomes the 14th coach in Washington Capitals history. He will make his debut behind the Capitals’ bench tomorrow at Philadelphia (1 p.m., Comcast SportsNet, Talk Radio 3WT: 107.7 FM, 1500 AM, 820 AM).

Boudreau is in his ninth season as an AHL head coach, having compiled a 340-216-56-43 career record. He spent four years with the Manchester Monarchs and two years with the Lowell Lock Monsters before joining the Bears. Before ascending to the AHL, he was the head coach and director of hockey operations for the Mississippi Sea Wolves (ECHL), where he won the 1999 Kelly Cup championship.

After making his head-coaching debut in the Colonial Hockey League with the Muskegon Fury in 1992-93, Boudreau took over the Fort Wayne Komets of the International Hockey League (IHL) in 1993-94. The Komets advanced to the Turner Cup finals his first season at the controls, and Boudreau was named the 1993-94 IHL coach of the year.

Boudreau played parts of eight seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Chicago Blackhawks, recording 70 points in 141 NHL games. A third-round pick of the Leafs in the 1975 NHL draft, Boudreau enjoyed one of the best seasons ever by a Canadian junior player during 1974-75. He picked up 165 points for the Toronto Marlboros, a Canadian Hockey League record until Wayne Gretzky surpassed the mark during the 1977-78 season.

An outstanding AHL player, Boudreau ranks 11th all-time in scoring in league history with 316 goals and 799 points. No AHL player in the 1980s notched more points than Boudreau, as he played for the New Brunswick Hawks, Baltimore Skipjacks, Nova Scotia Oilers, Springfield Indians and Newmarket Saints during that time. He won the 1987-88 John B. Sollenberger Trophy for leading the league in scoring, and was also a member of the 1992 Calder Cup champion Adirondack Red Wings.

No timetable has been set for naming a head coach beyond Boudreau’s interim status. The rest of the Capitals coaching staff will remain in place.

Fehr Skates

With all that's going on in Washington, it's nice to see a little nugget from Hershey. Indeed, it's perhaps fittingly tucked in a blurb about Bruce Boudreau as a potential replacement for Glen Hanlon, in the event that one is needed.

Nevertheless, there it is:

Eric Fehr, sidelined since last season, has begun skating.

It's not much, but it's something of a pleasant surprise. The article continues:

"He skated well," Boudreau said. "I don't want to put a pressure point on. Whenever he can play he'll play. He's feeling a lot better now than he did three weeks ago. That's a very good sign."

Indeed it is.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled lynch mobbery.

Tuesday Roundup/Panthers 4, Caps 3

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

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

Well, they didn't get it.

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

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

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

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

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

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

Daily Awards

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

Monday Roundup/Gamenight: Panthers @ Caps

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

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

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

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

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

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

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

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

Daily Awards

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

Sunday Roundup

It looks as if Alex Semin will be back in the lineup for tomorrow night's game against Florida, which is quite obviously a good thing for a team in desperate need of scoring. Semin's return and Milan Jurcina's crappy play of late have caused a bit of a ripple effect of line juggling, leaving the forward and defense combos at this morning's practice as follows (per Tarik):

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Clark
Semin-Gordon-Pettinger
Fleischmann-Nylander-Kozlov
Brashear-Steckel-Laich

Erskine-Morrisonn
Schultz-Pothier
Poti-Green
Jurcina-Eminger

I guess the thinking there is that you might as well play Semin with two guys who could barely score into an empty net, since they won't be passed the puck anyway.

Here's the question of the day, though - is Glen Hanlon's discipline applied consistently and/or should it be? My point here is that Milan Jurcina is far from the only Cap to make a mistake in the past month, but he seems to be punished for his screw-ups more openly, whereas other players seem to get free pass after free pass. Thoughts?

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

The Caps passed on claiming Ilya Bryzgalov off waivers, allowing the Coyotes to claim the Russian netminder, who promptly went out and shut out the Kings in his Phoenix debut.... Chris Bourque had a pair of goals in Hershey's win over Bridgeport last night, but the interesting note in the Lancaster Online summary is that Bears coach Bruce Boudreau "is rumored to be a possible replacement if management decides to fire Caps coach Glen Hanlon." Not that that's news, I just hadn't seen it in print.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Patrick Sharp (3G, including the game-winner, A, +4, 7 SOG)
  
• Ross: Patrick Sharp (4 points)
  
• Norris: Michal Rozsival (2G)
  
• Vezina: Ilya Bryzgalov (28-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Patrick Sharp (3G)
  
• Calder: Eric Nystrom (2A, +1)
  
• Aiken: Antero Niittymaki (2 goals allowed on 2 shots against in just 20 minutes of work)
  

Sunday Roundup/Lightning 5, Caps 2

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

Following Saturday night's 5-2 drubbing at the hands of the visiting Lightning, the Caps have four days before returning to the ice Thursday night in Miami. If ever there were a time to pull the trigger on a coaching change, that time is now.

It's Rememberance Day and the Caps have the worst record in hockey overall and over their last ten games (tied with a handful of other floundering teams there). They are near the bottom of the League in goals for, are in the bottom-third in both special teams categories and have only two home wins in seven tries.

Without question, injuries to key players have played a part, and a coach can only play the cards his general manager has dealt him. But there are problems with this team that go beyond injuries, and those are the more troubling issues.

Even with the injuries, any team with a sniper like Alex Ovechkin and a playmaker like Michael Nylander needs to be more effective on the power play (and, frankly, with skill players like the Caps have, they shouldn't be in the bottom-third of the League in power play opportunities per game). There are teams with a lot less talent who have a much better power play than the Caps, and that is, at least in part, due to coaching.

The fact that Donald Brashear not only continues to get a sweater every night but also power-play time while Mike Green can't get a sniff of extra man action and Chris Bourque gets called up to provide a spark and barely sees the ice is, at least in part, due to coaching.

Most importantly, that a team can come out flat to start a game or a period at home against a division rival and fail to play with a sense of urgency when the game is still very much on the line is, at least in part, coaching.

It's easy to dismiss all of this as an emotional reaction to yet another disappointing loss, but these aren't the types of problems that were unique to last night's game. If you've seen a team that gives a full sixty-minute effort every night while playing for an astute tactician who makes all the right in-game adjustments and knows just what buttons to push to motivate his team, then you've been watching a different team than I have for the first seventeen games of this season.

I love what Glen Hanlon has given to and done for this organization - he guided an under-manned team of kids through incredibly tough times and did it with class and sensitivity. But at this point, I fear he's wandering the desert - these aren't supposed to still be those same incredibly tough times. Hanlon's message is either not the right one, or it's falling on deaf ears. Either way, the sum of the parts adds up to a need for a new voice to get this team back and headed in the right direction.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Bruce Garrioch "reports" on the Ovechkin contract negotiations and says that "[i]t's believed Ovechkin's camp, which includes his mother Tatiana, is looking for a bigger deal [than Sidney Crosby's], in the $9-to-10 million range." The missing data, of course, is the length of the deal (it's as if your friend were to set you up on a blind date with a girl who weighs "around 150 pounds" but doesn't tell you whether she's 4'9" or 5'9"), but one quick question: what makes AO think he's worth 3-15% more than Sid?... Kevin Paul Dupont has a lengthy profile on Chris Bourque in today's Boston Globe - just in time for C-Bo's return to Hershey.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Kimmo Timonen (G, 3A, +1)
• Ross: Kimmo Timonen (4 points)
  
• Norris: Kimmo Timonen (G, 3A, +1)
  
• Vezina: Tim Thomas (W, 45 saves on 46 shots against)
  
• Richard: Daniel Alfredsson, Shawn Horcoff, Anze Kopitar, Alexei Ponikarovksy, Marian Hossa, Rod Brind'Amour (2G each)
  
• Calder: Andrew Cogliano (2A, +1)
  
• Aiken: Marty Turco (L, 6 goals allowed on 34 shots against, including 5 on 14 in the third period)
  

Friday Roundup/Gamenight: Canucks @ Caps

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

Well, the National Capital Region sure is doing its part to make the Canucks feel right at home, as the forecast calls for a cool, rainy day. Hell, The Tragically Hip are even in town. Let's hope the Caps are a little less hospitable when they welcome Vancouver to the VC for tonight's game.

With Vancouver comes one of the Caps' old nemeses, Roberto Luongo. For his career, Bobby Lou is 14-9-3-0 against the Caps with a 2.14 GAA and a .933 save percentage, and he has shut the Caps out twice in 26 career starts. In his only start against the Caps as a Canuck, he held the boys from D.C. to two goals on 21 shots in a shootout win almost exactly a year ago today (more on that game in a minute), this on the heels of a 2005-06 season in which he simply manhandled Washington (to the tune of 7-0-0, 1.96, .949) as a member of the Florida Panthers. In fact, Luongo has won his last nine decisions against the Caps, and Washington hasn't beaten Vancouver since the 2000-01 season. Tonight would be a great night to kill two monkeys with one hammer, wouldn't it?

Back to last year's game between these two teams - if you don't remember it, take a quick glance at the AP's recap and/or the following day's Rink Roundup to refresh your memory. Vancouver outshot the Caps 44-21 on the night, including a combined 31-3 in the first and third periods (!), and Alex Ovechkin had a Sidney Crosby Hat Trick (goal, assist, diving minor). Needless to say, if it wasn't for Olie Kolzig that night, the Caps would have left the Pacific Northwest without a point (and likely without much pride).

That was then and this is now, as they say, and this is a Canucks team that has struggled mightily to get their offense on track in the early going, scoring a handful of goals on a pretty efficient power play, but ranking dead last in the League in shots on goal per game (no thanks to stretches like the second period against Columbus last week in which they didn't register a single shot on goal).

But, as the Minnesota Wild are showing on a nightly basis, you don't need to score big to win games in the NHL. Which brings us back to Luongo who has been, well, average to date. Twenty-fourth in GAA. Twentieth in save percentage. Those aren't very Louie-like numbers, and when you combine that with a team that isn't scoring, you get a 4-win/6-loss squad that comes into Washington in need of a win. Big time.

Courtesy CBC Sports

As for the Caps, with back-to-back games this weekend (the team heads to St. Louis for a Saturday night game with the Blues), it'll be interesting to see which goalie starts which game. You'd think Olie would get the home game Friday and Brent Johnson would play Saturday night against his former team (and the only NHL team he's never faced), but you never know when Glen Hanlon will play one of his hunches.

Speaking of goalies and former teams, as you probably know, Hanlon broke into the NHL with the Canucks after being picked by Vancouver in the third round of the 1977 draft. In parts of five seasons with the club, he posted a 43-66-21 record with a 3.56 GAA and looked damn fine while doing it (and even better starting at around the 3:55 mark of this video).

Anyway, on the morning of the last game of this four-game homestand, the power play still stinks, the penalty kill seems to be on its way back (thanks, Boyd) and the Caps will try to salvage a .500 record over the four games with a win tonight against a goalie that owns them who's playing for a team that isn't scoring goals. This game has 2-1 written all over it - hopefully the good guys come out on top.

Why The Canucks Will Win:

"As much as they are trying to redefine the word 'suck' these days, the Canucks will still school the Caps tonight based purely on the math involved:

- Swedish Twins > Singular Russian
- A properly made waffle > Tom Poti
- LuonGod > Godzilla (who mind you can barely beat a moth. Go check IMDB.)
- Our uni's have our name on it > scared to admit where you live

Rather then getting angry at the inevitability of your loss, just say 'thank you Vancouver for Donald Brashear, Brent Johnson, Glen Hanlon and for taking Luongo out of our division' and in return we won't unleash the full force brunt of Hell's fury on you (otherwise known as Brad Isbister on four red bulls and a bag of Pop Rocks). Can you hear me now?" - The Yankee Canuck

"Surely, the Canucks can't keep playing as horrible as they have in the last week. Not with Luongo finally finding his form and all top-six defensemen finally healthy and in the lineup. Besides, with so many fans jumping off the bandwagon, it's time the team does something to reel them back in. - Canucks Hockey Blog

"The Canucks will win if they finally figure out that the season has started. If not, they won't." Canucks Corner

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Did You Know: Canucks forward Rick Rypien (who is day-to-day with a hand injury) is a cousin of Redskins Legend-for-a-Season Mark Rypien.... Karl Alzner will lead the WHL stars against the Russians, much like his fellow QMJHL Caps prospects will do for their league.... On this date back in 1983, former Miracle-on-Icer Dave Christian scored his first of 193 goals for the Caps.... Matt at Battle of Alberta has some fun wondering aloud who a potential trade partner would be if the Flames were to move Miikka Kiprusoff.... Rick Nash is a beast right now, and scored a gorgeous goal last night on a shot I've seen AO try a few times.... Finally, if you didn't see last night's Zdeno Chara/David Koci fight (and you don't get squeamish at the sight of blood), check it out here. Nice call by Jack Edwards, too.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Shawn Horcoff (2G, 2A, +2, 4 SOG, 67% faceoffs won)
  
• Ross: Shawn Horcoff (4 points)
  
• Norris: Pavel Kubina (2A, +2, 2 blocked shots)
  
• Vezina: Pascal Leclaire (35-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Nigel Dawes, Jiri Tlusty, Phil Kessel, Brad Richards, Ales Hemsky, Shawn Horcoff (2G each)
  
• Calder: Jiri Tlusty (2G, including the game-winner, +2, 4 SOG in his first NHL game)
  
• Aiken: Marc-Andre Fleury (L, 5 goals allowed on 27 shots against)
  

Tuesday Roundup

With the likely return of Alex Semin to the lineup for Wednesday night's game against the Bolts (must be the nine goals and 13 points he had against Tampa last year that got him healthy), the lines at Monday's practice were as follows:

Ovechkin - Kozlov - Clark
Backstrom - Nylander - Semin
Pettinger - Steckel - Gordon
Brashear - Laich - Motzko
Fleischmann - Sutherby - Bradley

More noteworthy to the torch-and-pitchfork masses (myself included), the power play units looked like this:

Ovechkin - Kozlov - Clark
Poti - Green

Pettinger - Nylander - Backstrom
Pothier - Semin

We've lamented the power play enough for the time being and seemed to have gotten our collective wish - no mo' Motz. Now it's time to execute... or be executed (cue scary music). On a side note, is it me or does that second unit have "Martin St. Louis shorthanded goal" written all over it?

As for the five-on-five lines, while I'm sure it was difficult for Glen Hanlon to break up the Matt Pettinger - Boyd Gordon - Chris Clark third line even for a night (more on that in a second), give me David Steckel and Gordo lining up opposite Vinny Lecavalier and St. Louis and I'll take my chances with the rest of the matchups all the way down the roster. Besides, even though the third line is primarly out there to keep the opponent's top line in check, with no goals through seven games, the trio needs to start chipping in a bit offensively and maybe this will get at least one of the three going.

As for that temporarily-defunct third line, it seemed to be just a matter of time before they broke through on the score sheet, but it also seems that Clark has been pressing a bit (I'm sure that, as captain, he feels a little more pressure to right the ship than the rest of the guys in the room), and he has taken a few ill-timed penalties along the way. Clearly his role is (or at least has been) different this year than it was last year - the Caps don't need 30 goals from Clark this year, but they certainly do need 15-20 - and perhaps a goal or two playing on the top line will give him the confidence to return to the third line, relax, and just go out and play hockey.

But is a return to the third line for Clark a certainty? I'd be willing to bet on it, if for no other reason than because that's where he "belongs" on a playoff team. The Caps can force square pegs into round holes all they want to, and have experienced varying degrees of team and individual success in doing so (think Clark, Dainius Zubrus, Brian Pothier, etc.), but Hanlon knows what playoff teams look like, and he knows that his PGC line "looks" like a playoff team's third line. In recent weeks we've heard the coach repeatedly refer to Anaheim's Travis Moen - Rob Niedermayer - Samuel Pahlsson line, and with good reason - that's the benchmark for checking lines League-wide, and Hanlon believes he has a comparable trio here (fun fact: that Ducks line combined for a minus-16 rating last year, while the PGC trio combined for a minus-13 rating).

At the end of the day - and this isn't to take anything away from him - Chris Clark is a third-liner on a playoff team (at least one that wants to make some noise once there) and a first-liner on a team heading for the draft lottery (as a buddy of mine from Alabama would say, "Just because you put a kitten in the oven don't make it a biscuit"). This team sees itself as the former (a playoff team, not a golden-browned feline), and knows that if they can't find a first-line right wing within the organization, they have the means to go get one (I'm of the mind that we'll see Alex Ovechkin - one of the Swedes - Viktor Kozlov before that happens, however). They also know that, in the long-run, Chris Clark isn't that guy any more, not because of diminished skills, but because of heightened expectations and an organizational sense of urgency.

So lock in that third line, Coach, and worry about making the rest of the lineup look - and more importantly play - like a playoff team.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

The geniuses at the League offices have finally decided to put the goalies and their stats on the game summary sheets. The stat sheets are still miles away from reader-friendly, but this is a step in the right direction.... A trio of Monday Power Rankings are out, with the Caps placing 23rd, 24th and 24th.... Darren Elliot identifies the Caps' identity as "a team-first philosophy founded on building from within" - do you buy or sell that as the Caps' "brand"?... Finally, in the least surprising news of the day, everyone in Philadelphia is ugly (and Rod Brind'Amour hasn't even played there since early 2000!). But before you call that buddy in the City of Brotherly Love to remind him that he's so ugly that when he was a kid his parents would sit him in the corner and feed him with a slingshot, you may be interested to know that D.C. is the nation's second-least attractive city.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Milan Michalek (2G, including the game-winning shorthander, +2, 5 SOG)
  
• Ross: Seven players tied with 2 points each
  
• Norris: Mike Komisarek (A, +1, 2 SOG, 4 hits, 5 blocked shots)
  
• Vezina: Cristobal Huet (W, 31 saves on 32 shots against)
  
• Richard: Milan Michalek (2G)
  
• Calder: Mikhail Grabovski (G, +1)
  
• Aiken: Manny Fernandez (L, 6 goals allowed on 20 shots against)
  

Thursday Roundup

Yesterday's post-practice media availability with Glen Hanlon yielded some hints as to what might be going on in the coach's head, especially regarding the power play. Take a listen for yourself (courtesy of the team and WashingtonCaps.com) and then we'll discuss.

Go ahead, I'll wait.... Alright. First of all, I don't know about you, but it sounds to me as if Michael Nylander might be on that top power play unit sooner rather than later, as we speculated the other day, with Alex Semin out of the lineup (that is, the desire to have two balanced power plays takes a hit when the scorer for the second one is laid up, and therefore the team might focus on making the top unit as effective as possible in the short term).

Secondly, Hanlon praises his third line - with very good reason - but I'll go out on a limb and predict that if the trio doesn't score this weekend (none of them has yet), the team won't return home with a still-unblemished record.

Finally, while Tarik, who discusses the slumping power play in today's WaPo, reports that Semin is out for at least the weekend, Hanlon called it a "50/50" proposition. I'll stick with GMGM via Tarik for now, but perhaps there's some hope to the contrary.

Anyway, Hanlon always gives a great interview (this Reuters article has a couple of quotes from the above audio), and thought I'd pass this one along. On to other news...

While we're on the subject of coaching, Scott Burnside ranks the League's 30 bench bosses and has Hugs at number 20. Frankly, I think he should be higher - there are coaches in the top 20 who haven't done much more with a hell of a lot more talent - but let's let this season speak for itself, shall we? (and I won't even bother mentioning this)... This sorta slipped through the cracks, but Newsday reported yesterday that the Isles offered Viktor Kozlov a two-year, $4.5 million deal to stay on the Island. In other words, Kozlov turned down returning to a playoff team for $250,000 per year and a chance to play with Alexander Ovechkin on an up-and-coming team - and you can bet it wasn't about the money.... Speaking of "Kozzie," he's making the most of his assignment centering AO, according to the CP.... And speaking of adjusments, Ben Clymer is getting used to life in the AHL (as St. Cloud State University gets used to life without one of Clymer's Hershey teammates, Andrew Gordon).... Finally, here's an interesting anti-Bettman, anti-RBK article for you haters out there that does raise some interesting points in between barbs.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Mike Richards (2G, 2A, +4, 4 SOG, 3 hits, 57% faceoffs won)
  
• Ross: Mike Richards (4 points)
  
• Norris: Marc-Andre Bergeron (G, A, 4 SOG in 2-1 win)
  
• Vezina: Rick DiPietro (W, 36 saves on 37 shots against)
  
• Richard: Niklas Hagman, Kristian Huselius, Chris Gratton, Mike Richards, Milan Michalek, Brad Boyes (2G each)
  
• Calder: Carey Price (W, 26 saves on 28 shots against)
  
• Aiken: Roberto Luongo (L, 4 goals allowed on 13 shots against in just one period of work)

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)
  

Quote Of The Day

Glen Hanlon "is the most underrated coach in the League with the most underrated staff in the League..." - Pierre McGuire

Media Day Multimedia Dump

Today was Media Day out at K-Plex, and here's your all-access pass to hear what we heard and see what we saw - an organization that, from the top down, can't wait to drop the puck on what should be the most exciting season of Caps hockey in years.


GM George McPhee on Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom:

Olie Kolzig:

The soft-spoken Backstrom:


Chris Clark:



Ovechkin:


Glen Hanlon:






Michael Nylander on Kevin Lowe and the Edmonton situation (unfortunately, the beginning of the question was cut off - Ken asked, "Have you talked to Kevin Lowe since you signed with the Caps?" and Nyles responded "Every day - text messages, Facebook."):


Finally, a quick interview with Boyd Gordon: