Friday Roundup/Gamenight: Devils @ Caps

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

Uh oh. Here come the Devils and... Scott Clemmensen?

Perhaps Lou Lamoriello went to Brent Sutter and said, "Give this start to Clemmensen. I want reliable people, people who aren't going to be carried away. After all we're not murderers in spite of what this undertaker thinks." Or not.

If you're not familiar with Clemmensen, here's a look at the 31-year-old's career stats (he has actually played in three games against the Caps, starting two, and going 1-1-0/2.61/.893).

If you're not familiar with why Kevin Weekes isn't starting, here's a look at his stats on the season (plus, the two were likely going to split this home-and-home series anyway).

And if you're not familiar with why Martin Brodeur isn't starting, well, you've probably been living under a rock for two weeks. Since Brodeur went down with his elbow injury (and took my fantasy team with him), the Devils have gone 1-4, scoring just eight goals and giving up 15.

On the season, the Devils have had trouble scoring goals (especially on the power play) and have one of the League's worst penalty kills. And they're 0-4-2 when outshot. And they're banged up. And since I should probably talk about the Caps at some point in this post, here's an interesting stat from Simply Sensational:

The New Jersey Devils are the only team in the Eastern Conference that Alex Ovechkin has not had a multi-point game against.

Prediction: that ends tonight.

These are two points for the Caps' taking - go get 'em, boys.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

The Caps may be "the very model of a modern rebuild," but I can't help but wonder what might have been had they ended up with Cam Barker in 2004 instead of AO.... Hey, it's been a while since we saw a Michael Nylander-to-Chicago rumor, so this quenches that insatiable thirst.... Quoth the Maven: "[H]as anyone noticed that [Brent] Johnson is better than Washington's alleged No.1 Jose Theodore?" No, Stan. No one. You're the first. Really.... For some reason, the Sports Guy lumps winning a Division in the NHL in with leading the WNBA in attendance. Oh, I know the reason - so he can crap on D.C.... Since we love gambling (but only wager M&M's), we love some of these prop bets. For example: Number of 2008-09 Southeast Division Playoff Teams, over/under set at 1.5. Whaddya got?... Simeon Varlamov will be between the pipes for da Bears tonight.... I couldn't possibly dig this post any more. Go there and click on every link, especially my personal fave (this is the end, beautiful friend).... Finally, potentially-to-likely NSFW depending upon where you work (via Four Habs Fans via Habs Fan in NYC): We're all Canadiens fans today, I'd say.

Saturday Roundup/Gamenight: Rangers @ Caps

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

No more Jagr. No more Avery. Can you really still hate the Rangers?

You're damn right you can (and if you need a new reason why, here are a couple).

The Rangers come into tonight's game with the most wins in the Eastern Conference, a 4-1-1 record on the road, a miserly 2.12 team goals against average (thanks to an eye-popping 90.3% effective penalty kill), a born-again Nikolai Zherdev and a brick wall named Henrik Lundqvist (who is 5-1-0/1.82/.936 in his last six games).

Against that stout team defense, the Caps will ice a squad that has scored four goals in its last three games (three of which came Thursday night) and has scored one goal or less in four of its last seven outings, partially the result of a sputtering power play that has gone 4-for-39 (10.3%) over the last nine games (the Rangers power play, by the way, had gone five-for-50 over the ten game span leading up to their last match, in which they lit the lamp three times with the extra man).

But as the Caps' power play efficiency has tanked, the penalty killing has excelled, to the tune of 89.7% effective over the last seven games (35-for-39). Put another way, over the last 65:47 of shorthanded ice time (slightly more than a full game plus a full overtime session), the Caps have only surrendered four goals - the team has a .931 save percentage and a 3.65 GAA (which is 0.21 higher than Jose Theodore's overall GAA on the season) while down a man (or two) over the past seven games.

That's some pretty impressive penalty killing. Perhaps even more impressive? Tonight's likely Caps starting netminder's numbers as a starter this season - Brent Johnson is 2-0-2/1.93/.936 in the games for which he's been on the ice at the opening puck drop.

So, on paper at least, we're looking at what should be a defensive battle where a single mistake can be the difference between two points and a night wasted... which means the game will be anything but low-scoring. Bet the over and hope for two points.

Random Nicklas Backstrom Thought:

Last season, Nicklas Backstrom played 15 games before finally scoring his first NHL goal in game number 16. During those first 15 games (playing mostly on the wing), he fired just thirteen shots on goal.

This season, through a dozen games, Nick has no goals, but has taken 28 shots on goal (including four in each of his past two games). It's only a matter of time before he finds the back of the net, of course, but even if he was scoring at the same shooting percentage rate as he did under Bruce Boudreau last year, he'd only have 2.78 goals so far. So really, even with that goose egg, he's not that far off where we might reasonably expect him to be in terms of goals (assists are another story - he "should" have at least nine by now based on last year's post-Hanlon rate, but there's another significant factor impacting that equation at present).

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Per NHL Director of Corporate Communications Michael DiLorenzo's Twittering, the Caps experienced a 74% year-over-year increase in merchandise sales at NHL.com in October, which was the fifth-largest increase in the League (Chicago was up a whopping 234%!). Alex Ovechkin had the second-best selling jersey for the month (behind Alex Semin's buddy), with Mike Richards, Henrik Lundqvist and Evgeni Malkin rounding out the top five. Good stuff, and h/t to KK to tipping me off to DiLorenzo's feed.... Speaking of Ovechkin and Malkin, with weeks having passed since their last meeting and months to go before they meet again, you'd think their rivalry wouldn't be a hot topic for Steel City journos. You'd be wrong.... Down on the farm, Simeon Varlamov picked up his first pro shutout (and Oskar Osala scored yet another goal) for Hershey and Joel Broda had a natural hat trick for Moose Jaw.... For those of you wondering about Jamie Heward, here's an update.

Ovechkin On Goalies

After Saturday night's 4-2 win over the Blackhawks, Sport-Express's Natalia Shemleva caught up with Alex Ovechkin to talk netminders (translation via The Morning Skate, which also has Slava Malamud's interview with Nikolai Khabibulin):

Were you surprised that Khabibulin was Chicago’s goalkeeper instead of Huet?

“Last year when we played against Chicago and Khabibulin stood in the goal, we lost 5-0. I think today he was the best player on the visiting team, but luck was on our side.”

Before each game with Atlanta, you make a joking commitment to goalkeeper Kari Lehtonen about how many times you will score. Did you make a promise (Friday)?

“I said that I would score a goal, but it did not happen.”

Did you make a promise like that to Khabibulin today?

“No, Khabibulin was not promised.”

Perhaps your unexpected goals lowered his market value.

“His market value? He is not just some vegetable or fruit in the market. Khabibulin is one of the best goalkeepers in the league, as is Chicago’s other goalkeeper Huet, who was in Washington last year at the end of the season.”

Would you not like to see that one of the best goalkeepers league was yet another Russian player in the Washington?

“I wish — I do not want to, it’s not for me to decide. We have two excellent goalkeepers. And we have [farmhand Simeon] Varlamov, who may come here at any time. He’s available to play in the N.H.L., he simply needs to adapt to hockey here. And this is only a matter of time.”

A Friday Night Bright Spot

There's an old adage that one of the keys to happiness is to never go to bed angry - which is why it's always better to get hammered before going to sleep.

So have a drink or four and note that the Bears keep scoring goals (five this time, and against Karri Ramo) and winning, which is nice. Also note that Simeon Varlamov backed up Daren Machesney tonight and will likely get his first AHL start tomorrow night (unless, of course, he's summoned to D.C. for Saturday's game... just kidding... sorta).

Snip Snip: Alzner, Bourque, Laing Edition

Final cuts have been made and Karl Alzner, Chris Bourque and Quintin Laing have been sent to Hershey (which, for Laing, means having to go through waivers), leaving a 22-man roster in D.C. (for more on the cuts, check out John Walton Hockey and Dump and Chase).

The above moves make the following (which I was about to post) somewhat irrelevant:

As rosters move closer to being finalized at all levels of puck, the Hershey Bears have sent defensemen Viktor Dovgan and Sasha Pokulok (along with forwards Travis Morin and Tommy Maxwell) down to South Carolina of the ECHL.

While the Dovgan move is mildly surprising (especially given that some thought he would be joined at the hip with Simeon Varlamov this season so as to provide the bluechip goalie with at least one teammate on and off the ice who speaks his language), one wonders if the move is meant to free up a spot or two on the Bears blueline before the the season starts in anticipation of the arrival of a certain rearguard from Washington.

Snip Snip

Per the team, the Caps have sent the following players to Hershey today: Sami Lepisto, Grant McNeill, Tyler Sloan and Simeon Varlamov.

For those of you keeping score at home, that leaves seven (or is that eight?) defensemen still with the big club.

Monday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ Devils

The Caps will be in Jersey tonight to take on the Devils and their new tough guy (and if you're a N.Y. area Caps fan planning on attending, make sure to check in with Pepper), but rather than attempt to preview the relatively meaningless game, I thought I'd run a few numbers by you from last season, namely a break down of home and road plus/minus.

While plus/minus may be a somewhat silly stat to begin with, it's nevertheless interesting to take a look at some anomalous results in the home/road splits of last year's Caps. For example, both Alex Ovechkin and Viktor Kozlov were both plus-28 overall, with much of that coming on the road (+18 for Ovi, +19 for Kozlov). Is it odd that they'd be so much more successful in buildings in which opponents could more easily get their top defensive forwards out against the Caps' top line? Perhaps (though it should be noted that among the NHL's top ten scorers, half of them had a better plus/minus on the road, including Ilya Kovalchuk, who was somehow a plus player away from home). And is it odd that the center on that Ovechkin-Kozlov line for most of the season, Nicklas Backstrom, has a much better home plus/minus (+11 to +2)? Under Glen Hanlon (i.e. before being promoted to the top line), Backstrom was minus-four on the road and minus-one at home. Not a single member of the Caps' top trio had a home/road point differential greater than Kozlov's four.

How about a glance at defensive pivots? David Steckel and Boyd Gordon had similar roles for most of last season, and yet Steckel was plus-seven better at home and Gordon was plus-seven better on the road. Gordon's split makes sense - at home he'd often match up against opponents' top offensive threats, whereas on the road, he'd often face lesser talent - and so does Stecks', I think - as the fourth-line center on most nights, he was used more sparingly and in favorable spots at home, while teams could more easily take advantage of Steckel and his wingers on the road (though Gordo actually had lower quality linemates on the year).

On the blueline, the splits that stand out are Shaone Morrisonn's and Tom Poti's. The two played the 3rd and 4th most even strength minutes on the team last year, but had opposite splits, with Mo posting being plus-ten better at home and Poti finishing plus-13 better on the road (and each man's partner had a similar, albeit less drastic, split). Perhaps Morrisonn's differential can be explained by the desire to get Mike Green out against lesser talent at home and to utilize the Poti-Jeff Schultz pairing against opponents' top threats... but if that were the case, you'd expect the latter duo to have a higher quality of competition than the former pair, which was not the case (though it's close). Or perhaps the numbers were just a fluke.

The bottom line here is... well, there isn't one. It's a lot of correlation with little in the way of causation. You can come up with a theory to explain any of these splits and convince yourself of their validity, but, at the end of the day, plus-minus is still somewhat devoid of rhyme or reason. How else to explain that of the top 31 plus/minuses in the NHL last season, 15 players had a better number at home and 15 were better on the road (Ryan Getzlaf was +16 both home and on the road)?

All that said, who's got a theory on any of these that they want to throw out there?

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Vogs has the translation of an interview with Simeon Varlamov that's worth checking out.... TSN.ca's Caps preview might be garbage, but at least you could remove the team and player names and still know which of the NHL's 30 squads was being previewed, unlike with this turd.... Speaking of lazy writing, Yahoo! (Ross McKeon, I presume) offers up the following analysis: "Viktor Kozlov was a crucial late season pickup by GM George McPhee. Kozlov served as a great team leader, especially for the Russian kids, and he’ll do more of the same this year." Sergei Fedorov had a similar impact.... Apparently everyone seems to think that winning the Southeast Division is the Caps' "divine right." And here I thought they were the favorites because they've put together the best roster, have the best coach and the best player in the SED.... Add Justin Taylor to the list of players sent back to juniors who had a hell of a time at rookie camp (and he's just about the only London Knight scoring these days).... And add another chapter in the Boudreau storybook.... Finally, a question for the group based on this article (and h/t to PPP) - would you rather the team you follow win one Cup and then stink for a decade or be consistently competitive with the possibility (but no guarantee) of a Cup over the same time period?

Thursday Roundup/Caps 4, 'Canes 1 Gamenight: 'Canes @ Caps

[AP Recap - Game Summary - Event Summary - WashingtonCaps.com Recap - the red skate Recap - Red and Black Hockey Recap - Canes Country In-Game and Recap - Lord Stanley's Blog In-Game]

A handful of NHLers, a bunch of AHLers, a few OHLers and an "other" or two (*cough* Jakub Cutta *cough*) got together down in Raleigh last night for the first of far too many preseason games for each team. And while the result may not indicate much about the season ahead, rumor has it that the 'Canes may soon announce that they're going to suspend operations to deal with the nation's economic crisis and seek to postpone the season opener. Huh.

Some observations on the game:

• Simeon Varlamov was sharp, especially late in his only period of action (the first). He ended up stopping all 18 (or 20, depending on who you believe) shots he faced, and while he flopped around a bit at times, he stopped everything that came his way.
• With Chris Clark back in D.C., Matt Bradley wore the "C."
• The Tomas Fleischmann - Michael Nylander - Viktor Kozlov line was the most impressive trio on the ice, by miles. While you shouldn't put much stock in preseason lines (especially those with obvious and glaring holes in forechecking and defensive responsibility), the chemistry these three showed last night will give Gabby something to think about.
  
• The biggest surprise of camp has been and continues to be John Carlson. Last night he shook off a rough start to end up with an assist, three shots on goal and four hits in 17:17 of ice time (and, frankly, looked better than Karl Alzner).
• The 'Canes radio guy picks some curious syllables to emphasize in player names.
• The pairing of Alzner and Jeff Schultz led the team in shifts and minutes and looked fine doing so.
  
• Stat of the Night: Nylander won 11 of the 13 draws he took (as a team, the Caps won two-thirds of the game's faceoffs). Now, Nyls has never been a great faceoff guy, but his proficiency in the dot against the 'Canes would seem to indicate a healthy shoulder.
  
• Fleischmann, 14... Fehr 16... Fleischmann, 14... Fehr 16... Fleischmann, 14... Fehr 16...
• Unofficially, the RBC Center shattered a record last night for the most god-awful tunes blared over a PA in a sixty-minute hockey game.
  

These two teams (perhaps in name only) will meet again tonight at the Verizon Center, 156 days after the last hockey game was played there. Let's hope next summer is markedly shorter.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Bryan Murray recalls the last time one of his teams - the 1989 Caps - went to Sweden (or is that Thweden?).... In case you missed Alex Ovechkin's ESPN The Mag cover, here it is (and here's The Mag's colorful-but-boring Caps preview)... Speaking of AO, Allan Muir gets points for picking Ovi over Sid (in fantasy hockey, at least), but loses points for misspelling Alex's center's first name.... Finally, they're happy to be getting Joel Broda back in Moose Jaw.

Tuesday Miscellany

For all the latest from Rookie Camp, be sure to check the "What We're Reading" sidebar often during the day, as it'll be current with the great work being done by Vogs, Tarik, Corey and your favorite Caps bloggers (provided that I'm not one of 'em). But from me today you get a link dump (and a Thrashers preview later):

Tuvanhillbilly has translated a Sport-Express interview with Simeon Varlamov that should put to rest any immediate KHL worries.... Some 14-year-old prodigy out in Seattle digs Alex Ovechkin.... Sergei Fedorov, Eric Fehr and Mike Green - what's not to love?... Scott Burnside has questions, we have answers: Yes, Yes, Yes, Anywhere, Yes and Just Watch.... To hell with saving the Bay, it's time to rock the weagle.... Darren Eliot continues to show he's a believer.... Finally, to some this probably reads as somewhat heartbreaking, but I find it to be quite heartwarming. Group hug.

Could Simeon Varlamov Be Headed To The KHL?

This evening brings us yet another interesting interview translation over at the Alex Ovetjkin blog, this time with Caps top goaltending prospect Simeon Varlamov... 's father. Money quote:

Q. In your opinion, can we expect Simeon to return back to Russia during this season?

A. First of all he must see how he would be treated [in North America]. If all goes well he certainly won't return. But if the situation in terms of the chances to break in will look hopeless, then we'll talk through his American agent about the possibility that the club could rent him.... After all, one thing is to play in the NHL, and completely different one is to play in the AHL, which is greatly inferior to our Russian league. But it's not in Simeon's plans to flee from the NHL, everything will be done officially through negotiations.

The elder Varlamov goes on to say that if Simeon doesn't make the Caps, he will go to Hershey (where the goaltending situation is anything but settled), but a quote like that has to give the organization at least a little heartburn... or does it simply give them another option?

Russian hockey dads causing a stir in the media... another reminder of our cultural differences?

The Goaltending Situation Down On The Farm

Our friend Derek Meluzio at Stack the Pads has a look at some of what to expect between the pipes down in Hershey this season (natch), as well as Q&As with Daren Machesney and former Bear/Cap Freddy Cassivi.

Here's a (rather large) taste of what Derek's got:

The coming season has the makings of one of the biggest goalie stories we have seen in a long time. For the first time since Marc Denis was a rookie, we will have a true blue chip prospect in the mix. In fact, we might have two! I am certainly not downplaying guys like Budaj, Lawson, Sauve, etc. but the truth of the matter is Semen Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth are coming into their first pro North American seasons with high expectations. Perhaps more pressure to perform is on Varlamov but no matter how you look at it both will be coming to play and both will be wanting to make it to the NHL. Will they live up to the hype? We will see, and time will tell. 2008-2009 could be the year of the rookie (Varlamov) or.... it could be a true break out year for another player.

That other player is Daren Machesney. He is a guy who was not quite as highly touted, has been a back-up before, and wasn't really expected to deliver the goods last year... but did. He was kind of looked at as being second fiddle in the depth chart before, but now he is looking at being the #1 goalie in Hershey. Not bad. Assuming the Caps start the season with Theodore and Johnson, Daren will look to be the starting goalie in Hershey and will be the first guy called up when there is an injury in Washington.

Will Washington want Varlamov to learn the North American culture and nurture him in the AHL as the back-up to Machesney first, or will they be looking to throw him into the fire sooner rather than later? Then the real monkeywrench here could be Michal Neuvirth. He has been in North America for a few seasons in juniors already and could very well challenge Varlamov. Seeing who ends up in Hershey and who goes to South Carolina will be interesting. I would not want to be the one making that decision. My personal opinion... I say Machesney starts the season as the #1 guy in Hershey. He will play the majority of the games and will get called up a few times to the NHL during the season when injuries happen. As for the back-up.... I say Varlamov gets the spot and Neuvirth goes to South Carolina. Neuvirth can stand on his own as a pro in the ECHL or AHL and he will be better suited to go to South Carolina. I think they will want Varlamov in Hershey to be brought along under closer eyes. He has the game down, I just think they want him to adapt to the North American culture. I could be wrong. One way or anothe rit will make for an interesting story. Last but not least there is the rumor of trade. Maybe one of the three will get dealt knowing that "three's a crowd" and the Caps could use help in other areas.

Be sure to check out the full post for more, including those Q&As.

Saturday Open Thread

The time for teary goodbyes is nearly upon us as Development Camp draws to a close, but not before the final scrimmage of the week and a few "Fan Fest" events out at Kettler.

If you can't make it out to K-Plex, EMac and an OFBer or two (or three... or four...) will be live-blogging the day's action starting at 10:00, and if you do make it out there, stop by and introduce yourself to me - I'll be the remarkably good-looking guy in the white patterned button-down, jeans and brown boots.

And, of course, any and all observations about Camp (other than challenges to any assertion made in that last sentence) are welcome in the comments.

Update: I snapped this pic and thought I'd pass it along.

Click to enlarge

Disappointing Indeed

SI.com's Allan Muir has his 2008 NHL mock draft* up, and while he has the Caps taking a two-way defenseman named Tyler Cuma with the 23rd pick overall, this line stuck out to me:

"A goaltender wouldn't be a surprise at this spot, considering the disappointing development of 2006 first-rounder Semen Varlamov..."

Huh?

Is he talking about the same Varlamov that made Russia's gold medal-winning World Championship team this past spring?

Is he talking about the same Varlamov that one of the world's foremost goalie coaches recently called "the most talented young goalie [he has] seen in many years" who "has potential to be a real NHL star in the future"?

Is he talking about the same Varlamov that at the 2007 World Junior Championship "was the second best goalie in the entire tournament, giving up only nine goals on 136 shots, with a 1.51 goals against average"?

Is he talking about the same Varlamov that was first in games played and shutouts, 12th in goals against average and 13th in save percentage in Russia's Super League this past season at the age of 19? [Update: And, as B19 points out in the comments, "Varlamov lead his team to the RSL finals. In 16 playoff contests, Varlamov had a 1.62 GAA."]

Nah. He must be talking about the Varlamov that had one bad series last summer that just happened to be televised in Canada.

Quality stuff, Allan.

* On a mostly unrelated note, if mock drafts are your thing, DC Pro Sports Report is your site - they've got the web's best collection of 'em, as far as I can tell.

Varlamov: "Potential To Be A Real NHL Star"

Eurohockey.net has an interview with Finnish goalie coach Jukka Ropponen, who has tutored the likes of Kari Lehtonen, Niklas Backstrom and others. It's a great read, and of particular interest to Caps fans will be this passage:

Q: Have you followed the recent paths of Semen Varlamov? He seemed to really gain from the experience of being trained by a Finn trainer.

A: I was invited to work with Varlamov and other 2 goalies at Loko’s camp last summer, so I am very familiar with Varlamov’s path. We actually had discussions about additional consulting during the season, but that dried out once the club did let coach Gardner go. In my opinion Semen Varlamov is the most talented young goalie I have seen in many years. He has potential to be a real NHL star in the future. He is also technically amazingly sound and some of the difficult moves are just natural for him. I am sure that it was very beneficial for Semen to have Jussi Parkkila coaching him during the last season. Parkkila is a good coach and he has done wonders with several young Finnish prospects. [Emphasis added]

Nice praise from a guy who should know.

H/t to Kukla's Korner on the tip.

Varlamov's Worlds Over Before They Began

As Tarik told you a couple of days ago, Simeon Varlamov has been ruled out of the World Championships with a small tear in an ankle ligament. In case you didn't believe him, here's a picture of Varlamov on crutches before he headed back to Russia (thanks to SovSport's Dmitry Chesnokov for passing along Pavel Lysenkov's photo), and be sure to check back later for a couple more Russian hockey goodies:

Photo by Pavel Lysenkov

Prospect Notes: Pokulok And Varlamov

A couple of quick prospect notes on this lovely Tuesday afternoon...

First up, the Charleston Post and Courier has a lengthy feature on big blueliner Sasha Pokulok (the player the Caps took with their first round pick in the Great Screw Job of 2005, err, the 2005 Entry Draft). If you don't feel like reading the whole article, here's the bottom line in a neat, two paragraph nutshell:

It is Pokulok's offensive skill, his skating ability, and his 6-5, 230-pound frame that made the former Cornell star a first-round pick in the 2005 NHL draft by the Washington Capitals.

But while his skills are indisputable, the expectations that come with being a first-round draft pick have carried a heavy burden for the soft-spoken Pokulok. Labeled a bust by some hockey experts just two years into his professional career, Pokulok's development has been too slow for some Capitals fans.

Take your time, Sasha - we'll wait... if you're worth waiting for.

The second nugget du jour comes via the Alexander Ovetjkin blog, and it's the translation of a brief SovSport interview with goaltender Simeon Varlamov, who will join the franchise's better-known Russians at the World Championships. Money quote:

I know that the Washington Capitals are waiting for me, they talk a lot with my agent. I'm planning to leave for North America. I know it will be hard to break into the Capitals roster. But I will try. I am even prepared to spend a year or two in the AHL.... I know how much they pay in the AHL. But at this stage I'm not interested in money.

I'll set the over/under on his NHL arrival at December, 2009. Place your bets.

Neuvirth Ready To Turn Pro; Super Series Stat Wrap

Corey Masisak has a profile of Michal Neuvirth in today's WTimes and his desire to turn pro this coming season rather than return to Plymouth of the OHL.

"I don't want to play with Plymouth for sure because we have a very young team, so I think we're not going to make playoffs this year," Neuvirth said. Well, you're certainly not going to make the playoffs with that attitude.

Someone who has forgotten more about goaltending than Neuvirth likely every will know, Caps goalie coach Dave Prior, believes a tougher year in the OHL could be good for Neuvirth. "I think there is some benefit in going through adversity. Obviously, his team has to rebuild a lot and won't be nearly as strong. In Michal's case, it could be a good challenge to try to be the difference."

But Neuvirth has promise and may be better served in Hershey being mentored by Freddy Cassivi and being coached at a higher level (for what it's worth, I don't think the organization is in love with Daren Machesney, the putative number two goaltender in Chocolatetown). Coach Hanlon had these thoughts to offer on the matter:

"He is going to determine where he ends up playing.... We come with a few preconceived notions and evaluations that we have before camp on some players obviously. The higher end player, the more you’ve accomplished the easier it is to sort of slot where you are. There are always a handful at training camp where it’s wait and see what you do.

"We don’t ever want to take away the fact that if you come here, work hard and show that you can play at a certain level and the rules allow you – because of his situation – allow him to be in the American Hockey League. And if the player and management feel that it’s the best thing for him, then we’ll put him where he deserves to be playing."

[It's also worth noting that, because of his place of birth, the AHL is an option that Neuvirth has that other similarly-situated youngsters (like Francois Bouchard) do not. As Masisak reminds us:

Players from the three Canadian junior leagues who were born in North America are not eligible to play in the American Hockey League or East Coast Hockey League until they turn 20, but because Neuvirth was born in Europe, he could start the season with Hershey or South Carolina as a 19-year-old.]

So Michal Neuvirth will make his case to be a Hershey Bear over the next few days, but ultimately it will be up to the Caps to decide whether it will be better for his development to spend a year getting number one goalie minutes on a potentially bad OHL team or number two minutes on a good AHL team. Where would you send the kid?

Finally, the Super Series wrapped up last night, but not before Karl Alzner potted his first goal of the series. Over the eight games, Alzner had a goal and three assists (and impressed the hell out of everyone who was watching - "few insiders would be shocked if the Hitmen blueliner sticks with the Washington Capitals this fall"), fellow Caps blueline prospect Josh Godfrey ended up with six assists in six games and Simeon Varlamov wound up with a 4.71 GAA and a .861 save percentage in seven periods of work.

Varlamov, Dovgan Take A Pass On Rookie Camp

Per Tarik, Simeon Varlamov and Viktor Dovgan won't be coming to town this week (or next) for rookie camp. The former was not unexpected, while the latter "came as a bit of suprise," and no doubt a disappointment to both the team and to fans who were hoping the young Russian rearguard would play a second season in North America.

In case you're wondering, the Caps signed Dovgan to a three-year entry-level deal back in December and Varlamov to a similar deal in July, so there's no imminent risk of the team losing their rights to either player.

Watch Game Three Of The Super Series

Watch Game Three (or at least what's left of it) here.

By the way, my understanding is that Simeon Varlamov was pulled to start the second period.

H/t to Kukla's on the link.

Watch Game Two Of The Super Series

Big-time glove-tap to OFB's EmptyMaybe for passing along (via the Caps Message Board) this link to watch Game 2 of the Super Series. Enjoy (note: neither Simeon Varlamov nor Josh Godfrey are in the lineup for their respective teams).