Saturday Open Thread

Client-8 makes Kari his Kristen

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)
  

Shall We Officially Start The Bob Hartley Watch?

When I previewed the Thrashers over at FanHouse back in late August, I thought that head coach Bob Hartley was the man "on the hook" in Blueland, noting that "should Atlanta get off to a slow start, don't be surprised if someone else is behind the bench come Christmas." And while it's still very early and the Thrash are struggling through perhaps the most difficult month on their schedule (and without their best player, to boot), I'm standing by the prediction of a last-place finish for the Thrash that I made over at SeSo just over a week ago.

Consider that the Thrashers are now 0-4-0 and have scored just four goals while surrendering 17. They're the only team without a point in the standings, have scored the fewest goals per game in the League (thanks to a 1-for-19 start on the power play) and have the second-worst team GAA.

And while those numbers are likely grisly enough for Thrash fans, throw in last year's playoff embarrassment and Atlanta has lost their last eight games by a total combined score of 34-10, a stretch over which franchise goaltender Kari Lehtonen is 0-5-0 with a 4.82 GAA and a save percentage of .870 and Ilya Kovalchuk, Marian Hossa and Slava Kozlov have combined for four goals and three assists.

So Maybe it's Lehtonen. Maybe it's a dormant offense. Maybe it's personnel. But when you can't pin-point the problem on the ice, the gaze usually shifts upwards towards the bench. And when a team needs its sniper mixing it up in order to try to rally the troops, it may be because they're not getting what they need from their bench boss.

A new coach by Christmas? I think I'll take the under.

Why Alexander Semin Isn't A YoungStar

I've gotten clarification on the matter, and it finally makes sense. Apparently the determining factor isn't whether or not the player is on his entry-level contract, it's whether or not the player is an entry-level player (in the first three years as a pro, with the clock apparently starting to run once the player is Calder Trophy-ineligible for the following season).

How this plays out is that Alex Semin is in his fourth year as a pro - his rookie year in 2003-04, and two years in Russia prior to returning to the NHL this year. Kari Lehtonen (in his second year, by this definition) and Peter Budaj (also in his second year), on the other hand, are eligible for the YoungStars, despite being, like Semin, not still in their respective entry-level contracts.

No conspiracy, no waivers... just rules.