January 31, 2008

Canadiens Vs Capitals 01/31/2008 Preview

Photo - Getty Images
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Okay, so this is the last time the Washington Capitals will face the Montreal Canadiens this season. Regular season, anyway. Who knows what the playoff schedule will look like at this point. Oh yeah, I'm counting the Cap's still in the race. Way too soon to panic yet.
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I know, I know. That game in Montreal on Tuesday night wasn't pretty. I know, I know. Where has all the scoring gone? The last few games have probably made some fans nervous. Maybe, you think the wheels are ready to fall off again. Well, calm down. It ain't gonna happen. Watching that last game did make me think of something George Carlin would say, though. "It was like getting snot on you. Somebody else's ...... BBBLLLLAAAAAAAHHH!!!.....You'd do anything to get it off. You'd wipe it on flaming wood if you had to!" Obviously, there were a few breakdowns in the system.
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Washington rarely wins a game after having so much time off. I said I didn't like the idea at the end of my last post. It seems to kill any winning momentum they may have going on. The only positive thing that can come out of it is maybe the extra time allows for someone to heal up enough to come off the IR list. According to WashingtonCaps.com's senior writer Mike Vogel's game preview, Shaone Morrisonn may be one who's ready to do that for tonight's game.
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If Mo gets back into the lineup, it could free up Capitals' defenceman Mike Green for some much needed secondary scoring power. Without Morrisonn, Green has had to spend all his time defending. He even seemed to be a little rusty back there, too.
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The main thing the Cap's need to do is stay out of that freakin' penalty box. That's true when facing any team. But, especially when they're up against the team with the league's second best Power Play. Another thing to concentrate on is cutting off passing lanes going toward the net, so goalie Olie Kolzig doesn't have to spend all his energy shifting back and forth from one side of the net to the other. Also, it would be nice to be able to slow down any Hab hitting the neutral zone with the puck. We don't need any 2 on 0 breakaways this time, do we?
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Photo - Getty Images
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Just keep reminding yourselves that Washington hasn't lost two consecutive games in regulation since Bruce Boudreau took over as head coach. If they can beat the Ottawa Senators four times this season, surely they can split the season series against the Canadiens.

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