Canadiens Vs Capitals 01/31/2008 Review

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Canadiens 4 - Capitals 5 OT

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Alexander Ovechkin overpowered the Montreal Canadiens, and led the Washington Capitals to an amazing overtime win. The Canadiens and their goalie Cristobal Huet won't be able to stop thinking about Alex for a few days. Ovechkin scored 4 goals and 1 assist in the last of the season series against the Habs. He now leads the league in both goals (43) and points (70). He indured a puck to the face, broken nose and a busted lip, and they still couldn't stop him. He's was like the Terminator.

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The game started off with Ovechkin getting accidentally hit in the face by the stick of Alexei Kovalev. He checked his sore jaw and made sure he hadn't lost any more teeth, while on the bench awaiting his next shift. Ovie was obviously fine, as he made a big open ice hit on Steve Begin a little while later. The two teams exchanged a couple minor penalties, including..............Yep, you guessed it........a hooking call on Alexander Semin. Alex Ovechkin and Milan Jurcina exchanged a couple rink wide passes, before Ovie one timed his 40th goal of the season, putting the Cap's on the scoreboard first. Olie Kolzig was looking good and quick in net during the first period, making a few really nice saves.

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About 4 1/2 minutes into the second period, Viktor Kozlov tipped in a pass from Ovechkin. Washington had a 2-0 lead. It was a very physical game. Plenty of hits, and some pushing and shoving throughout. Nobody hitting any better than Ovechkin. However, toward the middle of the game, Francis Bouillon bloodied Alex's nose on a rather hard hit of his own. But, no worries. At 11:54, Ovechkin sent a short side wrister to the back of the net. His second goal of the game, brought the Cap's to their biggest lead of the game. But, just under a minute later, Sergei Kostitsyn finally put the Canadiens on the board, tipping in an oddly deflected pass. Washington's defenceman Mike Green was called for tripping late in the period. With Green still in the penalty box, Andrei Kostitsyn got the Power Play goal, bringing Montreal within one.

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The rough stuff continued in the third, with Ovie putting another big hit on Josh Gorges early on. Then, Alex sent a shot between a defender's legs and over the shoulder of Huet for his 4th career Hat Trick at 12:30. Already leading the league in goals, this one put him on top in points as well. But, about a minute later Guillaume Latendresse put the Canadiens back within one again, scoring his 13th of the season. Netminder Olie Kolzig did his best to keep the lead, as he made a few more excellent saves. However, with less than 33 seconds left and Kolzig (and pretty much everybody else) thinking he had the puck under his body, no whistle! Apparently, the ref on the scene had better eyes than any other ref in history. We all had to see the slow motion overhead taped replay before we could pick it out. But, this guy noticed the puck wasn't quite covered up and let Latendresse poke the puck through and into the net for his second of the game. Tied at 4-4, we would need overtime. .

The crowd sure got their money's worth. At 3:34 in OT, Alexander Ovechkin tipped in a rebound for the game winner. That's four goals and an assist in the game for Alex. It was the second time in his career that he scored four goals in one game, the first time coming earlier this season. It was also his second five point game of this season as well. The only other Cap to ever get 40 or more goals in three consecutive seasons was the great Peter Bondra. I'm pretty sure that Ovechkin will prove to be the greatest Washington Capital of all. There was some good work in this game by Kolzig, Milan Jurcina, Mike Green and others. But as usual, Ovie steals the show.

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All Photos - AP / Manuel Balce Ceneta

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.

Maple Leafs Vs Capitals 01/24/2008 Review

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Maple Leafs 1 - Capitals 2

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It was the Toronto Maple Leafs' first visit to the home of the Washington Capitals this season. After losing to the Leafs on the previous evening, the Capitals were determined to beat Toronto in this third meeting of the four game season series. They did it too. With Brent Johnson in net and a resigned forward Donald Brashear skating the ice.

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About 8 1/2 minutes into the game, Washington's Alexander Semin got his usual first period penalty out of the way with a holding call. The penalty came with a freak accident, as Darcy Tucker was innocently skating by (well, as innocently as Tucker can anyway) and got clipped in the face by Andy Wozniewski's stick as he was being held by Semin. It was the Capitals who would score the game's only Power Play goal though. With one second left on the man advantage, Brooks Laich redirected an Alexander Ovechkin rebound in at 13:05. That makes Brooks' 8th goal of the season, which came during his 200th game as a Washington Capital, and his 201st in the NHL.

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Nobody scored in the second period, as both the Leafs' Vesa Toskala and Caps' Brent Johnson continued to turn away all shots fired on net. Johnny was playing particularly well. The game was looking like it would be a second consecutive low scoring game between these two teams, and it was.

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The Capitals had some good scoring chances in the first few minutes of the third period, but it was the Maple Leafs who got on the board about five minutes in. Boyd Devereaux deflected a long range Pavel Kubina shot, and Johnson had no chance of keeping it out of the net. But, just 36 seconds later, Viktor Kozlov got his ninth goal of the season. He was right in front of the net, when another Alex Ovechkin shot rebounded right to him. Toskala wasn't able to recover in time to block it, as Kozzy put it in the wide open short side. It's great to see him starting to score goals regularly. No more goals were needed for the Cap's to win this one. Throughout the rest of the game, with a little questionable officiating (as usual) aside, some good defensive play by Milan Jurcina (that's right!), Jeff Schultz (I swear!), and the rest of the guys, Washington held on for the win. .

The win makes three home games in a row for Brent Johnson, who handed his game stick over the glass to a Caps fan, after the game. He was so on in this game, I'm anxious to see the next game with Johnny minding the net. The Caps go into the All Star break, just one point out of first place in the Southeast Division. I don't usually like this team to get too much time off, but it will give them all a chance to heal. We Capitals fans, can celebrate a little while we're waiting for the next game.

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All Photos - AP / Evan Vucci

Capitals Vs Maple Leafs 01/23/2008 Review

Photo: AP / The Canadian Press - Frank Gunn

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Capitals 2 - Leafs 3

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This was only the second time these teams have faced each other so far this season. The last time was also at Air Canada Centre, way back on October 29, 2007. The Washington Capitals, along with the team's former head coach Glen Hanlon, clobbered the Toronto Maple Leafs 7-1. This was the Caps' first visit while led by former Leaf and current head coach Bruce Boudreau. Bruce got to catch up with a lot of old mates while on this trip back. He probably bought a few tickets for family and friends to see this game.

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About six minutes into the first period, Alexander Ovechkin knocked down Tomas Kaberle. Leaf's Pavel Kubina got up in Ovie's grill. It wasn't much of a fight. But, it made me nervous that Kubina had a stick in the fist he was swinging with. No penalties were called. At 7:12, Chad Kilger deflected the puck past Washington's Olie Kolzig for the first goal. Just seconds later, the Capitals got their first Power Play when Toronto's Hal Gill was called for holding. However, they didn't get anything past netminder Vesa Toskala. Caps' Steve Eminger was later called for boarding. Maybe he misjudged the distance, when he pushed Leafs' Alexei Ponikarovsky into the wall. It looked like a shoulder injury, and Ponikarovsky would not return to the game. Washington's John Erskine however, spent the game putting nice, clean but heavy hits on Leafs throughout the game. Donald Brashear joined teammate Erskine in giving particular attention to Darcy Tucker. Tucker was introduced to the ice at least three times in the first period.

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Photo: AP / The Canadian Press - Frank Gunn

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The second period started off with Toskala temporarily losing his stick, but still making a save. Both goalies were very sharp in this game. But, nobody has stopped Alex Ovechkin from getting at least one goal in each of the last six games. Alex tied the score with his 39th goal of the season. Washington's Steve Eminger was making his presence known. At one point, he was in a corner playing the puck with one hand on his stick, while down on his knees and being hooked. The hook went uncalled. With a little over a minute left in the period, Caps' Mike Green went down, losing the puck. The Leafs' Alex Steen put the puck in the net, while Toronto's Nik Antropov rolled over Kolzig with no interference call. The period ended with the Cap's behind by one.

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For those of us watching the game on CSN-DC+, we were shown some old video footage of Cap's head coach Boudreau playing in a game as a Maple Leaf during the second intermission. Pretty neat, watching the old boy score a goal.

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A couple minutes into the third, Mike Green skated in reverse, putting a Rob Blake (one of my personal favorite players) style hit on Toronto's Jason Blake . The Capitals and the Leafs exchanged a few more penalties in the third. But, neither team scored a single PP goal in the entire game. Alexander Semin took a pass from David Steckel and drove to the net. He deked around a defender and backhanded the puck to the back of the net. Alex was upended by Toskala on the way by the net. But, he was all smiles as he got back up. A few seconds after play resumed, Semin got a good chance to put the Cap's ahead. But, the puck didn't get through. With less than 30 seconds left in regulation, the Leaf's Mats Sundin sent the game winner under a sprawling Olie Kolzig. Kolzig had been solid all night, but wasn't quite able to recover from the previous save in time to stop Sundin from getting his 409th career goal.

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Photo: Getty Images - Dave Sanford

The Capitals win streak ends at four games, and they finally lost a game in Canada. Washington will get another shot at the Maple Leafs tomorrow night, when the Leaf's pay their first visit this season to Verizon Center in Washington, DC.

More Heaven And Hell In 2008?

Will there be more Heaven And Hell in 2008? Recent reports from BLABBERMOUTH.NET and Artisan News Service (Vinny Appice 3 part Interview) say yes, it looks that way. The band, which includes Black Sabbath's guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler, along with former Sabbath drummer Vinny Appice and former lead singer Ronnie James Dio toured last year and released a live CD and DVD "Live At Radio City Music Hall" at the end of 2007. The latest word is that they are working on new material, with hopes of getting a studio CD out in 2008.

The band name Heaven And Hell comes from the first album they did together as Black Sabbath in 1980. They did a few albums and tours together in an on again off again relationship from 1980 - 1982 and 1991-1992. If they manage to release a studio CD album of new material this year, it will be the first time in over 15 years.

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Personally, I much prefer the original Black Sabbath lineup formed in the late 1960's with Ozzy Osbourne on lead vocals and Bill Ward on drums. They've had many member changes from time to time, and I've liked them all. But, the first lineup, which stayed in tact until 1979 was definitely best. I was lucky enough to see most of the different versions of the band live, including the "Reunion" tour with Ozzy and Bill when they were in Columbia, MD at Merriweather Post Pavilion August 14, 1999.

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I look forward to the new release later this year. Don't expect Heaven And Hell to tour in 2008 like some are saying. It's more likely to happen in early 2009. The rumor that Judas Priest will tour with them seems unlikely, as they start a world tour soon. Whenever it happens, I'd like to make it to this reunion tour as well.

Panthers Vs Capitals 01/19/2008 Review

Photo - Getty Images

Panthers 3 - Capitals 5

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This was one of those games that the Washington Capitals had to win, and the did. They moved ahead of the Florida Panthers in the standings by beating that same team tonight in Washington, DC. They had a few things going for them, including facing a team gutted by injuries, and they also had their own intense level of determination driving them to victory.

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Former Panther, Viktor Kozlov was first on the board with a deflection goal at 6:49. Then, David Steckel passed back to John Erskine, who sent a long range slap shot past Florida goaltender Tomas Vokoun through a three player screen just 66 seconds later. It seemed clear Washington was ready to dominate this game. Shortly after the Erskine goal, the Cap's forward Boyd Gordon got a breakaway, going all the way into the goal. Literally into the goal. However, the puck didn't make in it with him. But, a few minutes later the puck ended up in that very net anyway, as Kozlov got his second goal of the game right off the faceoff. He was first to the puck, where he grabbed it with his stick and slung it in. The Capitals ended the period ahead 3-0.

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Photo - AP / Evan Vucci

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The Panthers must have found some motivation between periods, because they started off the second a little differently than they had played in the first. Less than a minute in, Panther rookie Shawn Matthias got his first NHL goal when he deflected a Bryan Allen slapshot. Matthias was a member of Team Canada, who recently won Gold at the 2008 World Junior Championship tournament. Two of his tournament teammates, Karl Alzner and Josh Godfrey are Washington Capitals prospects. Dave Steckel then got called for hooking, putting Florida on the Power Play. Shortly after, Matthias showed why the Panthers are seventh in the league on the PP, when he got his second deflection goal on a shot from Steve Montador. The Panthers were definitely fired up now.

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Halfway through the second period, Olli Jokinen tied it up 3-3, sending a shot over Brent Johnson's left shoulder. But, less than two minutes later, Alexander Semin put the Cap's back ahead for good. He got the puck near the front of the net, waited a split second, then snapped it in between the pads of Vokoun. Washington's hulking defender, John Erskine then received a lame tripping call after a massive hit on one of the Panthers. I'm not sure who it was, and the player probably wasn't sure who he was as he cork screwed through the air. But, there was no trip. It was the hit that sent him down. Well.........eventually. About three minutes before the period ended, I expected to hear the whistle though, as Johnson had the puck long enough. But, it was hard to be sure with the crowd of players in front of his net. Somehow, Johnny kept the puck from getting in.

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Photo - AP / Evan Vucci

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At 4:36 into the third period, Florida's Ruslan Salei was called for hooking Gordon. Washington's Alex Ovechkin scored the PP goal right off the draw. It was Nicklas Backstrom, who won the draw. With four assists in the game, he had tied a Capitals rookie record set almost 30 years ago. Backstrom has to be considered for the Calder Trophy, when it comes time to pick the rookie of the season. It got a little rougher in this period. But, the Cap's can handle it. I don't understand why Washington seems to get penalties called for every little thing, while their opponents usually get away with an awful lot. Like when Quintin Laing had a Panther holding him down on the ice by sitting on him for a rather lengthy amount of time.

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The Capitals were able to hold on to the lead and get another win. The big guns, both Alex's scored. Defenceman John Erskine had another good game, offensively and defensively. Brent Johnson was pretty solid in net with 25 saves. The Capitals' puck possession time was huge, especially in the third period. Nicky was awesome as usual. A fine effort all around. The Capitals now hold third place in the Southeast Division.

Oilers Vs Capitals 01/17/2008 Review

Photo - Getty Images

Oilers 4 - Capitals 5 SO

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Tonight, the Edmonton Oilers brought their speed skating style of play into DC, and the Washington Capitals brought it right back. The Oilers also brought their stick swinging and down right dirty brand of play in. This season, dirty seems to be just fine with the refs. The Capitals fought back with a cleaner, yet just as physical style of play, beating another Canadian team as usual.

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The Oilers, who've never won at Verizon Center, got on the board first. Shawn Horcoff knocked a rebound in for his 20th of the season. Right after that, Washington's Brooks Laich put a good clean hit on an Oiler at the wall. However, he was called for boarding, putting the Oilers on the Power Play. Odd that the ref's saw it that way. Yet, a little earlier when Cap's Alexander Semin got popped in the face, no problem. Then again, these same ref's didn't notice Oilers goalie Dwayne Roloson play the puck (well, misplay actually) in the restricted area about two minutes into the game. Well anyway, the Capitals' penalty killing unit got the job done.

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Later on, Semin went down, but was still dangling and stick handling the puck while on his bum. No lack of effort to be seen from him in this game. At 13:35, Washington's Mike Green did what he had to do, getting called for interference when he stopped an Oiler forward (Ales Hemsky ?) on what looked like a pretty good scoring chance. However, the Oilers' Robert Nilsson put in the PP goal soon after. The puck found his stick off a Jeff Schultz clearing attempt. The period ended with the Oilers leading 2-0.

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Before play resumed, Comcast SportsNet's Smokin' Al Koken hinted that as soon as the Cap's got into the dressing room after the first period, Head Coach Bruce Boudreau let them have it. Whatever happened in the intermission, it seemed to have immediate results. At 1:01 into the period, Washington's Nicklas Backstrom got his nineth goal of the season, shooting the puck over an already sprawled Roloson. Just 38 seconds later Alex Ovechkin got his 35th. He had just picked up a replacement stick at the Caps' bench. Oilers' Head Coach Craig MacTavish was left with his mouth hanging open in total disbelief. He shouldn't be too surprised, as Alex is averaging over a point per game this season.

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Just before Dustin Penner put the Oilers back ahead, I was yelling at Tom Poti to clear him from the front of the net. He repeatedly gave him lame little love taps. That's just not going to get the job done. John Erskine skated over and rudely shoved Penner as if to show Poti how it is done. In between a bunch of non called Oiler Slashing and a Hemski dive, Mike Green got his 14th goal of the season, keeping him atop all NHL defenseman. He was assisted by Ovechkin, who sent him a rink wide pass while holding off what looked like the entire Edmonton Oilers team. Less than 52 seconds before the end of the period, Semin picked his knocked down stick up off the ice and put the Cap's back on top with a behind the goal line shot, banking the puck off an Oilers defenceman. Period two ends Caps ahead 4-3.

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Period three had more of the same back and forth, end to end play that we had seen for most of the game so far. Lots of scoring chances in this one. Even Cap's Matt Bradley got a chance. he made a nice move, taking the puck to the front of the net. But his attempt was turned away by Roloson. The Oilers' Horcoff rang the post on one shot. Then, on his next chance, he put the puck in the net for the second time in the game. Oilers' sticks still flinging around. No call again, with Ovie getting popped in the mouth. And plenty more end to end action. The Caps fourth line didn't see much action in the period, as Boudreau wanted to give his higher scoring forwards more chances to put this one away in regulation. Even so, this game would require OT.

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Overtime wasn't enough to get it done either. It was full of more of the exciting play that had been going on all night. There were some nice chances by both sides. I thought Tomas Fleischmann had done it on one of his beautiful moves, but no. And again it was no on an Ovechkin shot right before the horn. Both goaltenders did an exceptional job. And that exceptional work would continue in the shootout, as it took 12 rounds before the Capitals' Matt Bradley would be the one to get the puck past Roloson. Then, Olie Kolzig stopped Sheldon Souray, as he had stopped the other 11 shooters before him. I think Kolzig showed all the recent complainers that he's not quite ready for the pasture yet. Godzilla still rules!

Photos 2, 3, 4 - AP / Evan Vucci _____ DVD Graphics - Unknown

Senators Vs Capitals 01/15/2008 Review

Senators 2 - Capitals 4

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Both the Ottawa Senators and the Washington Capitals entered this match without some of their players. WashingtonCaps.com's senior writer, Mike Vogal listed them in his game preview. The Capitals are once again without their Captain - Chris Clark, who reinjured his groin in his comeback against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday. Worse yet, Michael Nylander is now out for the season because of a shoulder injury he received in a game several weeks ago. He has been playing through the pain. He has now decided to have rotator cuff surgery, and he's off to a hospital in Cleveland where he will have the operation tomorrow morning.

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Overall, the first period wasn't terribly exciting. The Senators did start off strong as expected. After all, they were trying to keep from getting swept by a team that most didn't think would defeat them in the other three times they faced Washington this season. The one thing that did get some reaction from the Caps was when Ottawa's Chris Neil ran right over goalie Brent Johnson at the top of the crease. Apparently, it was decided that Johnny was fair game since he was (just barely) outside the crease. But, the team and the fans thought there should've been a penalty called anyway, since he didn't have the puck at the time. The period ended with no score.

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Just 47 seconds into the second, Mike Green got the first goal before time ran out on the Power Play left over from the first period. Washington's Viktor Kozlov passed the puck from the far corner, and Green put it past Ottawa's Ray Emery. Alexander Semin also assisted. The Cap's defence was working pretty well for a while. John Erskine's name came up a few times, as he made some nice defensive plays. Almost at the mid point of the game, the Capitals had killed off two consecutive penalties, as Boyd Gordon cleared the puck from their end of the ice. But then, the Senators scored twice in less than a two minute span. Both were of the ugly ricochet variety. The first, from a Dean McAmmond backhand deflection at 13:41. The second was a Wade Redden wrist shot at 15:03. The Senators appeared to be overcoming whatever spell that the Capitals have had on them. However, 23 seconds later, Alexander Semin put them right back under. He was hanging out at the blue line. When Joe Corvo made a cross ice pass heading out of the Senator's zone, Semin picked it off. He deked past Redden, then strolled in and sent a wrister to the roof of the net. The second ended tied 2-2.

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The third period was pretty intense. It was obvious both teams wanted the win. Washington's Nicklas Backstrom was named one of the NHL's Young Stars earlier today. The Young Stars will compete next weekend in Atlanta, as will the All Stars. He will be joining teammate Alexander Ovechkin, who was previously added to the Eastern Conference's 2008 NHL All Star Team. However, neither the Senators or the referees were showing him any respect. Backstom was upended while driving to the net, no call - typical. Later on, Ottawa's Chris Neil found himself between a rock and a hard place - Washington's John Erskine and Donald Brashear. The Senator's Antoine Vermette didn't seem to get the message. He was called for tripping Mr. Backstrom at 8:33. It worked out for the best though. At 9:11, Alex Ovechkin sent a Brooks Laich rebound past Emery via seven hole, while heavily screened. That PP goal put the Caps ahead for good. It was Ovie's 34th goal of the season. Then, just over two minutes later, Tomas Fleischmann passed the puck from behind Ottawa's net to Alexander Semin, who sent the puck into the net for the final tally. Tom Poti and the rest of the Caps' defence did a fine job holding off the Senators the rest of the way. Daniel Alfredsson "accidentally" high sticked Quintin Laing within the last minute. But, the teeth that might have been knocked out, have already been gone for a while.

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So, the Caps sweep the Sens for the first time since the 1995-1996 season. There's a lot of shocked and most likely angry fans in Ottawa tonight. The crowd in Washington, DC however, showed how happy they were with a standing ovation.

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All Photos - Getty Images

Flyers Vs Capitals 01/13/2008 Review

Flyers 6 - Capitals 4

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The Washington Capitals faced the Philadelphia Flyers in a 1:00 PM game this afternoon with a healthier roster. Their Captain, Chris Clark returned after missing 18 games with a groin injury. Tom Poti and Brent Johnson also were among the players returning from injury. But, even with healthy players coming back, the Capitals still couldn't manage to come out ahead of the Flyers in this game.

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Washington's Alexander Semin scored just 1:22 into the game. Captain Clark knocked the puck loose from a Philadelphia defender, and Michael Nylander passed it over to Semin, who sent it in with a five hole wrister past Flyers' netminder Martin Biron. The Caps led by one, but it would be the only time they would have a lead in this game. Less than a minute later Washington's Nicklas Backstrom was called for tripping, only his sixth minor penalty of the season. At 3:08 Philadelphia's Scottie Upshall got nicked for a two handed slash over the back of Semin. Neither team was able to score during this part of the first period. But, at 8:45 Mike Knuble evened things up when he tipped in a rebound that got behind Capitals starting goaltender Olie Kolzig. Later on, with 4:31 left in the first period, Knuble got his second goal on a sharp angle shot during a Power Play compliments of a Michael Nylander holding penalty. The Flyers led 2-1, and would hold the lead for the rest of the game.

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During the first intermission, Comcast SportsNet showed some highlight clips of the first period as usual. Then, they showed an early first period clip of Caps' Chris Clark as he apparently reaggravated the groin injury he had just returned from. He did play a few more minutes in the second, but he left the game early in the third period. No sense in pushing it. Hopefully, he can fully recover before the next game.

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Just over three minutes into the second period, Washington's Matt Bradley and Philadelphia's Jason Smith got into a fight over Bradley's hit on Sami Kapanen. They both got 5 minute fighting majors. Smith also got 2:00 for instigating and then 10:00 for game misconduct, as he somehow felt the need to argue his losing case with the referee. A couple minutes later, the Flyer's Jim Dowd tipped in his team's third goal, putting the Flyers ahead by two. Just 59 seconds later, Philadelphia's R. J. Umberger scored with a slapshot that deflected in off of the Capitals' Milan Jurcina. At this point, Washington's Brent Johnson replaced a very upset Olie Kolzig in net.

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The change seemed to motivate the Capitals. Less than 30 seconds later, Mike Green's slapshot went past Biron to bring the Caps back within two. The credit for scoring the goal may eventually be changed, as the puck seemed to deflect off of at least one other Cap. At 11:50, Washington's "124 Million Dollar Man", Alexander Ovechkin scored his 33rd goal of the season via slapshot. There was a good bit of rough stuff going on with about seven minutes left in the period. Washington's John Erskine and Donald Brashear were in the Capitals' penalty box, while Philadelphia's Riley Cote and Jim Dowd kept each other company in the other box. The period ended Flyers 4 - Caps 3.

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Both goalies got a bit of a workout in the third, as play continued to be very brisk. The refs seemed to be tired of blowing their whistles. Quite a few things went uncalled. But then, that's pretty typical of this season, so far. At 8:23, Mike Richards' backhander got past Johnson for his 20th of the season. Ultimately, that would be enough for the Flyers to win. On the bright side, Michael Nylander got his 200th career goal later in the period. But, with Johnson off the ice for the extra Washington skater and just 37 seconds left, Kimmo Timonen got an unassisted empty netter.

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Before they left the ice, Ovechkin and Richards had what looked like a few heated words. But, as Craig Laughlin suggested, those words were probably something like..."I'll see you at the All Star game. Yeah, ...right. I'm sure that was it. Not the way we Caps' fans wanted this game to end. But, without some brilliant saves by Brent Johnson in relief, it could have been even worse.

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All Photos - AP / Manuel Balce Ceneta

Ovechkin Gets 13 Years

As posted on the Washington Capitals web site, Alexander Ovechkin has agreed to a 13 year contract extension. According to Tarik El-Bashir at washingtonpost.com, Alex will get $124 million over the 13 years of the new contract. Tarik says it will be $9 million for each of the first six years, then the remaining seven years at $10 million each.

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Tarik's article includes the following quote from Ovechkin, as he spoke to the fans at the Meet The Team event held at Verizon Centre tonight.

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"I want to say thanks to all my teammates, the whole organization, to Ted, George, the coaching staff, [Glen Hanlon].......I'm proud to be with the Washington Capitals for 13 years more...... Our goal is to bring a Stanley Cup here."

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Let out that big ol' sigh of relief Caps fans. Your prayers have been answered. The day is finally here!

Ovechkin Signed Extension With Capitals?

The Rumor Mills are really rolling today. Some have reported that Alex Ovechkin may have agreed to a long term deal with the Washington Capitals for big money. At least one site has almost hidden their earlier headline story. I'm referring to a TSN.ca post that now says according to a close source a deal is close, but not completed. They say that RDS.ca reported Ovechkin agreed to a 6 year deal totaling $54 million. I myself will believe it when I see it on WashingtonCaps.com.

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Update: Tarik El-Bashir at washingtonpost.com has reported that an agreement has been finalized, but the rumored terms were of course not accurate. Tarik, who spoke to Washington Capitals majority owner Ted Leonsis, says he will have the details up soon.

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Update: An article stating that the deal is complete has now been posted to the Caps' web site. According to this article, the details will be announced around 8:30 PM tonight. The official announcement will be made at a press conference to be held near the press room on the Event Level at Verizon Center. This will be right after the Meet The Team Party, an event held tonight for season ticket holders.

Capitals Vs Canadiens 01/05/2008 Review

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Capitals 5 - Canadiens 4 OT

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Can we play every game in Canada? The Washington Capitals won yet another high scoring game North of the US border. The victim this time was the Montreal Canadiens, who recently beat the Caps in DC 5-2. Is there something in the Canadian air that gets Washington going? Whatever it is, keep it coming.

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Things didn't start off the best, as John Erskine's holding penalty led to the first Canadiens' goal via Tomas Plekanec just 2:38 into the first period. Washington's Olie Kolzig was definitely the busier goaltender early on, making some nice saves. The heavy hitting also started early, and this would be a very physical game. The Caps didn't seem to have a problem with that in this game. So, there was some hope. It's when you get a game where they don't get into it, that you have to worry.

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The second period was a more busy one, with Montreal's Andrei Kostitsyn putting the Canadiens ahead by two with a wrist shot at 7:27. But, about a minute later Alexander Ovechkin put the Capitals on the board, with a Power Play goal right off the draw. It's a play the Caps have had some success with a few times. One of my personal favorites. Carey Price was not ready for that one, and neither was the defender that tripped over Viktor Kozlov on his way toward Alex. At the game's midpoint Price wasn't yet totally rattled, and continued looking like a veteran netminder. Well........for a little bit longer anyway. At 11:53, December's Rookie of the Month, Nicklas Backstrom made him look like a rookie goaltender by driving up the middle and unleashing a long range wrister that Price had no chance of stopping. With just over a minute left in the period, Boyd Gordon put the Caps ahead with a slap shot. The boos from the crowd got louder as Montreal's goalie was looking kind of shaky at this point.

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In the third period Montreal got a bit of luck, not that they need any. Just over two minutes in, the puck took a funny bounce off the wall behind Washington's net and came right to Roman Hamrlick, who immediately put the puck in the wide open net. At 6:38, Alex Ovechkin got the puck right out of the penalty box, and sent a wrist shot between two defenders and past Carey Price. Later on, Alexie Kovalev copies Ovie's play at the other end, tying up the game. Overtime would be necessary to end this game.

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Just 1:27 into OT, the Caps scored. Mike Green sent a smooth wrist shot in off a backdoor pass from Michael Nylander. So, the Capitals hand Price his third straight loss. Final score Capitals 5 - Canadiens 4.

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This is one of those games where I didn't mind it going into OT one bit. Both teams were playing well. There was a lot of back and forth. But, mostly because the Caps won! Steve Eminger got a chance to play, due to injuries. He did alright in the mere 6:32 he played with an overall minus 1. He was on the ice when Hamrlick got that lucky bounce. Wins are always even nicer coming off a loss. I might even have to watch this one a second time. Roll that tape!

Canada Wins 2008 WORLD JUNIOR FINALS

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The Final games were played at the CEZ Arena in Pardubice, Czech Republic today. Canada won their fourth straight U-20 Men's World Junior Ice Hockey Championship. Not much of a surprise to the many Canadian fans that made the journey to cheer for their team. The surprise in this tournament was Team USA ending up in fourth place after going undefeated until the Semi Final round.

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Russia beat USA 4-2 to win the Bronze Medal. Apparently the American Juniors' play was a little flat compared to earlier games, including the preliminary game in which they had defeated Russia. Nikita Filatov scored the game winning third Russian goal in the first period, assisted by Alexei Cherapanov. Jeremy Smith was then replaced in net by Joe Palmer. USA scored their second goal with a little over six minutes left in the game. But, penalties kept them from getting a chance to tie it up before running out of time.

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To win the Gold, Canada had to defeat Team Sweden. Sweden had previously beaten Canada in their third game of the tournament. They knew it was going to be a tough close game. And it was. Canada scored the first goal just over a minute into the first period, and got their second at the end of the first. But, Sweden eventually scored in the third. Sweden's second came with just 38 seconds left in regulation, sending the game into overtime. At 3:36 into OT, Wayne Simmonds got the game winner, and the hard fought game was over. Canada won 3-2.

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Of course, most of the awards went to Canadian players. Canada's goaltender Steve Mason won Best Goalkeeper and the tournament's MVP award. The 2009 Men's World Junior Championship games will be played in Ottawa, Canada.

2008 WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP UPDATE

The Men's Elite U-20 Quarter Finals were played Wednesday Jan. 2, 2008 in Pardubice, Czech Republic. Canada beat Finland 4-2 to advance to play in the Semi Finals against undefeated Junior Ice Hockey Team USA. Brad Marchand scored the game winning goal and Steve Mason was the goaltender for Canada in their victory over Finland. Meanwhile, Team Russia out did the Czech Republic 4-1. Russia's Viktor Tikhonov got the game winner for Russia, and their winning goalie was Sergei Bobrovsky with 12 saves on a mere 13 shots. Washington Capitals' goaltending prospect Michal Neuvirth picked up the loss in this game, but tended net in Czech Republic's 5-1 win over Finland the next day to take Fifth Place. Russia would go on to face undefeated Sweden in a Semi Final game.

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It took Overtime for Sweden to get the Semi Final win against Russia on Friday Jan. 4, 2008. Russia had the only goal through the first two periods. Mikael Backlund put in the game winner at 66:18. It had been a pretty defensive game, with few shots on goal. And so Russia would face the loser of the other Semi Final in a quest for the Bronze Medal.

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USA and Canada went scoreless in their first period, just as the other Semi Finalists had. Canada would get the scoring going in the second period. Shawn Matthias got the first goal early in the middle period. Then, Capitals' prospect Karl Alzner put the puck past USA's goaltender Jeremy Smith for what turned out to be the game winner. Canada went on to win with some great defensive play and game MVP netminding by Steve Mason. Final score was USA 1 - Canada 4.

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Tomorrow's games will also be played at the CEZ Arena in Pardubice, Czech Republic. USA will play against Russia for third place Bronze. The Gold Medal game will be a rematch of Canada vs Sweden. A win by Canada tomorrow would earn them their fourth straight Gold Medal in the U-20 Championship.

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