Wednesday Roundup/Caps 4, Preds 3 (SO)

[AP Recap - Game Summary - Event Summary]

Remember yesterday when we noted that Alex Ovechkin's absence presented an opportunity for every Cap to raise his game a notch and that how individuals perform with the MVP out of the lineup would tell us a lot about those players? Well, Alex Semin told us what we already knew: he's really, really good.

The Caps tried - and failed - to simply hold on to a third period lead, but the "other" Alex willed his team to victory like his more celebrated countryman has done on so many nights. Last night, Alex Semin became a man. Last night was Alex Semin's hockey Bar Mitzvah.

A few thoughts on the game:

• A dozen minutes into the first period, Viktor Kozlov deposited some loose change in front following a classic Mike Green rush to give the Caps a 1-0 lead and a 16-2 edge in shots (they'd end the period with a 19-4 shot on goal advantage and a 33-6 shot at goal differential).
• Unfortunately, the Caps used that all-important "shift after a goal" to take a penalty, which the Preds then used to tie the game.
• Unfortunately, the Caps used that all-important "shift after a goal" to take a penalty (yes, again), but this time Semin's brilliant blueline-to-blueline tape-to-tape pass sprung David Steckel on a breakaway, which he converted (and since there's no video evidence of it, he can claim he deked and roofed a backhander past Dan Ellis... and who's going to correct him?). And I'll admit to wondering aloud whether giving Steckel a sweater over Eric Fehr was a good idea.
  
• It may have taken 526:21 of game time (give or take), but Nicklas Backstrom finally registered a primary assist - a beautiful feed on Semin's power play goal. Backstrom's quest for an even strength point and a goal continues, however.
• Shaone Morrisonn continued his rapid regression with some poor defense and a horrible interference penalty with under five minutes remaining in the game (and speaking of late penalties, or, more precisely, a lack thereof, the refs missed an obvious Nashville check from behind on Green).
  
• The ice, after a week of horses trotting around the VC, was quite choppy by the third period.
  
• As alluded to above, the Caps were throttled in the third period, and Nashville's goal came on their 14th shot of the frame (to two for the hosts at that point).
• You'd have hoped for more from a veteran like Michael Nylander, but he turned in a two-stick-penalty/1 SOG/36% faceoffs effort... before scoring the game-winning shootout goal (OffWing Photo has a great pic of it, btw).
• Nylander, Tomas Fleischmann and Mike Green killed it in Corsi Rating. Boyd Gordon continues to struggle.
• Things happen when J.P. Dumont is on the ice at even strength. We knew he was near the top in both GAON/60 and GFON/60, and last night we saw why - he had the game's worst Corsi Rating (minus-ten), but was on the ice for Nashville's two even strength goals.
• Jose Theodore was solid, both in his play and his demeanor.
  

For the game, Alex Semin had a goal, an assist and a shootout goal (an Alex Semin Hat Trick?), five shots on goal (and another six that were attempted, blocked or missed), and a whopping 6:42 of shorthanded ice time (only Jeff Schultz, who also had a strong game, had more). He stepped up. Big time. Mazel Tov.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

A nice closeup of JT60's mask over at SI.com.... Alex Semin is clutch.... Michael Farber adds his two cents to AO's slow start (quick summary: it's Backstrom's fault).... A double dose of Dan Sernoffsky, first on Daren Machesney being "the man," then on assorted Bears miscellany.... If Olie Kolzig hadn't found an opportunity in the Southeast Division, he might have retired. Wait - he didn't retire?

Tuesday Roundup/Gamenight: Preds @ Caps

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

So Mr. O is taking a few days off to be with his ailing grandparent far away - and I thought that was last week's news.

While the Caps haven't won a single game without Alex Ovechkin in the lineup since March 30, 2004 (they lost the only game he has missed in his NHL career so far), one could easily view the current melancholy situation as one that presents somewhat muted silver linings for both the player and his team.

For the Caps, the opportunities abound for every player on the team to step up where they might have thus far been over-relying on the League's best player, consciously or otherwise. It's an opportunity for Nicklas Backstrom to re-assert himself as an offensive threat and register his first goal... or even strength point... or primary assist of the season. It's an opportunity for Chris Clark to get into the goal column. It's an opportunity for Tomas Fleischmann to continue his development as a scorer and for Alex Semin to prove that he can be every bit as good as he has been when he's the primary focus of an opposing defense. It's an opportunity for the defense and goaltending to tighten up a bit and win a game in which the offense doesn't provide four or more goals of support. It's an opportunity for every single player to raise his game a notch or two - it's in situations like these that players' mettle is tested. We'll see who responds.

For Alex Ovechkin, a little time away from the game to focus on what really matters might be just what the doctor ordered (albeit the result of horribly trying circumstances). Only Alex knows how much his grandfather's health has been weighing on him these past days and weeks, but everyone who has been watching him knows how much his own on-ice struggles have impacted his play. Perhaps this trip and a taste of home will reinvigorate the Great Eight, and if he takes the inspiration to re-dedicate himself to the game in his grandfather's honor, well, look out once he returns. And, if as some suspect there's something slightly off with AO physically (left over from when he left practice early a few weeks ago, perhaps), a few days away from the rink won't hurt on that front either.

Fortunately, tonight's opponent - Nashville - is a team that the Caps should be able to beat, with or without Ovechkin. The Preds are the very picture of mediocrity so far - four wins, four losses; they're scoring a lot but allowing a lot of goals too (thanks, in part, to sub-par goaltending); and their special teams have hardly been special at all. Sure does sound familiar, doesn't it? But the Preds are 1-3 on the road and the Caps are 2-0-1 at home - this is definitely a "should win" for D.C.

So expect an entertaining game (too bad you won't be able to see it without buying a ticket), and pay particular attention to who steps up and who disappears in the absence of AO - it'll tell you a lot about those players.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Wade Belak thinks Donald Brashear is tough, and he would know.... Weekly Power Rankings are up at CBC (Caps down two spots to 12), CBS (down two spots to 11), The Hockey News (down five spots to 10), and SportingNews (down two spots to 10).... What's the most impressive record in Caps history? Given the current state of the game, I went with Olie Kolzig's 301 wins.... As promised, KCK's Flickr album from a weekend in Hershey. Very nice.

Wednesday Roundup/Caps 3, Preds 2Gamenight: Caps @ 'Hawks

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

Play twenty minutes and head to Chicago.

Not the gameplan that Bruce Boudreau drew up, to be sure, but the Caps will take those two points and skip town in a hurry. Some quick thoughts on the game:

• You know that in-game "entertainment" at Verizon Center where two fans compete for cheers to determine who butchers a 15-second clip of play-by-play work less? I'm not sure Al Koken would win that promotion more than maybe half the time.
  
• Alex Ovechkin showing wrap around and passing back short-side to Nicklas Backstrom = money.
• Alex Ovechkin's geometry (and selflessness) = money.
  
• Alex Ovechkin's shot blocking = nervous.
• I have never in my entire life seen a completely unimpeded player shoot further wide than Donald Brashear did on one first period attempt.
  
• Alex Semin got the "just shoot the damn puck" memo.
  
• Jordin Tootoo's dive into the boards after a Tom Poti love tap was Avery-esque, and the late tripping call on Matt Cooke was junk.
  
• Sami Lepisto is over-matched right now.
• Cristobal Huet is not.
• The turquoise tank top on the blonde behind the Caps' bench nearly was.
• Can Sergei Fedorov play 20 minutes in the first of back-to-backs in March and have anything left for the second game? We'll find out.
• Speaking of older Russians, Viktor Kozlov was a dog out there last night. Hopefully he was saving himself for the 'Hawks.
  
• The Caps missed David Steckel, as they were dominated in the faceoff circle (though Boyd Gordon did win 64% of his draws).
• The ice at the Sommet Center appeared to be a bit choppy. Unrelated - Sommet is pronounced So-may? Really?
  

So it's off to Chicago, where the Blackhawks have to win out to make the playoffs (good luck with that), the Caps will look for another two points, Nicklas Backstrom will look to prove himself against two of his top Calder competitors, and Alex Ovechkin will look to score his 59th goal of the season - which would (completing the loop on Chicago) be more goals than Bobby Hull ever scored in a campaign.

Marek Zidlicky tries to hide from his fan club, not realizing that they can see through the netting.
Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

In light of Vesa Toskala's one goal allowed last night, there's a great "Best of the Worst" compilation over at PPP... Finally, one year ago today we recapped a huge Caps win that featured a four-point game by Tomas Fleischmann (which is as many points as he has in 11 games since February 15).

Daily Awards

• Hart: Alexander Ovechkin (G, 2A, +2, 4 SOG, 2 Hits, 3 BkS
  
• Ross: Alexander Ovechkin, Shane Doan, Rick Nash, Sam Gagner, Derek Morris, Ales Hemsky, Tom Gilbert (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Derek Morris (G, 2A)
  
• Vezina: Brian Boucher (W, 29 saves on 30 shots against)
  
• Richard: Sean Avery, Curtis Glencross, Manny Malhotra (2G each)
  
• Calder: Sam Gagner (G, 2A, 4 SOG)
  
• Aiken: Ilya Bryzgalov (3 goals allowed on 11 shots against in just one period of work)

Tuesday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ Preds

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

And so it begins.

The Caps can't make the playoffs with a great road trip, but they sure as hell can take themselves out of post-season contention if things don't go well. Six games: Nashville, Chicago, Atlanta, Carolina, Tampa and Florida. What do you think - gotta have eight points, at a bare minimum?

The good news is that none of these teams is unbeatable. Nashville lost big at home to the worst team in hockey on Saturday (but then rebounded to beat the League's best team on the road the next day). Chicago is a nice story in the way that the Caps were a "nice story," but here it is mid-March and the Caps are still playing meaningful games while the 'Hawks are optimistically looking towards next year. And, of course, there's the trio of Southeast Division foes, each of whom the Caps have beaten at least twice already this season.

The bad news is that the Caps haven't exactly shone brightly in big games lately. In fact, since the night they triumphantly stood atop the Southeast Division for the first time in years, they've gone a respectable (thanks to the current three-game win streak) 9-6-3, but only 2-3-1 within the Division, and even in some of their wins haven't been at their best.

"It looked like we were afraid to make a mistake instead of, 'Let's go get them,' and play the way we can.... We were tight a little bit out there because of the importance of the game," said Bruce Boudreau of Sunday's game against Boston, but he could just as easily have been talking about any number of games since early February.

Of course, the more cautious play has yielded some impressive defensive numbers, most notably 19 goals allowed in the last 11 games. Cristobal Huet (tonight's starter) is on fire (1.69 GAA, .940 SV% in his last five games; coincidentally, Huet has already faced the Preds this season, stopping 40 shots but losing in a shootout after giving up three late third period goals). Olie Kolzig (tomorrow night's starter) is also on fire (1.20 GAA, .942 SV% in his last four games). And so on. But the Caps need to be more aggressive and less-easily frustrated than they were on Sunday, or else they're going to see nothing but one-fours the rest of the way.

Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), this sets up as a game in which both teams have every incentive to play a tight, low-risk sixty minutes and then take their chances in overtime or the shootout - the Preds, like the Caps, are within striking distance of eighth place in the conference, but on the outside looking in. Will either team open it up, or will it be a "wink-wink, nudge-nudge, see you in sixty minutes when we each have a point" affair? Tune in to find out.

His seven years of mourning The Intimidator complete, Bobby Joe realized it was his destiny to put his gift of back hair maintenance to further use and start the Marek Zidlicky Fan Club
Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

If you missed this Larry Wigge article on Olie Kolzig, unmiss it now.... Should the Caps miss the playoffs, be prepared for six thousand "Can you miss the playoffs and be MVP?" articles like this one.... Speaking of the Hart Trophy, Mike Brophy's top six candidates early yesterday morning were Jarome Iginla, Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo, Nicklas Lidstrom, Evgeni Malkin and Vincent Lecavalier. Apparently he had a cup of coffee and came back and remembered that other guy a couple of hours later.... And speaking of brain-dead journos, Pierre LeBrun names ten Coach of the Year candidates, but doesn't list Gabby among 'em.... I sure hope Nicklas Backstrom is mentally ready for tonight's game after no doubt being shaken by this news.... The Top 10 Defensemen of All-Time apparently doesn't include Rod Langway or Scott Stevens.... It'll be "a crying shame if the Washington Capitals don't make the NHL playoffs." Agreed.... Happy 30th Birthday to former Cap Jan Bulis.... Finally, one year ago today we looked at two rumors (one of which more or less panned out - I'll let you figure out which one) and two years ago today we previewed that night's Caps/Kitties match up.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Henrik Sedin (2G, 4 SOG)
  
• Ross: Brent Burns, Sami Salo, Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, Kevin Bieksa (2 points each)
  
• Norris: Brent Burns (G, A, +1, 5 SOG, 6 hits)
  
• Vezina: Niklas Backstrom (W, 29 saves on 30 shots against)
  
• Richard: Henrik Sedin (2G)
  
• Calder: Daniel Carcillo (G, 21 PIMs... at least he gets the fantasy Calder)
  
• Aiken: Peter Forsberg (0 points, 0 SOG, -2)

New Logos And Jerseys, Part I

The new logos and uniforms keep trickling in as the teams change over to the Reebok Edge Uniform System, and below are some of the latest.

First up, the new San Jose Sharks logo, featuring it's Japanimated shark:

Pretty cool, if you ask me, and they've got a whole host of alternate logos that you can check out here, including my personal favorite.

Then there's what's rumored to be the very-slightly-tweaked new Tampa Bay Lightning logo (for more, check 'em out at SeSo):

Nothing special (which is fitting), and almost imperceptibly different from the previous logos.

Finally, the Nashville Predators revealed their new threads:


Again, not much of a change, but man, could there be more piping?

So, what do you think?