Capitals Vs Devils 02/29/2008 Review

.

Capitals 4 - Devils 0

.

The Washington Capitals, along with new goaltender Cristobal Huet and new center Sergei Fedorov, shut out Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils. The Capitals seemed to be in control for the entire game. Huet only faced 18 shots, but was solid in net, getting the shutout in his first game with Washington. Fedorov finished his first game as a Cap, with 1 assist and 3 shots. He also won 10 out of 13 faceoffs. The win in this final game of the regular season series vs the Devils brings the record to 2-2.

.

This was a quick moving game, especially in the first period. Fedorov did spend 2:00 in the penalty box for a roughing call toward the end of the period. But otherwise, he was amazing. He skates as well and as fast as anybody. Obviously, he doesn't shy away from hitting. Meanwhile, Huet had no trouble stopping all six shots fired his way by New Jersey. Washington only managed four shots on Brodeur, and the period ended 0-0.

.

The second period was a little more interesting. Cap's forward David Steckel had a couple good chances early on, but was unable to get the puck into the net. Toward the middle of the period, Huet made a couple excellent saves, including a big one on a Zach Parise breakaway. Washington went on the power play at 10:36, when Andy Greene was called for tripping. Brodeur was able to stop shots by Sergei Fedorov, Alex Ovechkin and Mike Green during the 2:00 man advantage. But, the Cap's got the PP goal at 11:27 on a snapshot from Green. The play started with a perfect no look backward pass from Fedorov to Alexander Semin, who sent the puck over to Green. That would be the only goal of the period. During the last few minutes of the second, both goalies were able to stop all shots. Washington forward Viktor Kozlov took one in the body for a stop as well. The stats were pretty even through two periods, except the Capitals were well ahead in faceoffs.

Just 43 seconds into the third period, Kozlov scored his 13th goal of the season. This time, Nicklas Backstrom left a drop pass for Ovechkin, who sent a cross ice pass to Viktor. Kozlov then roofed a short side wrister, making the score 2-0. At 5:47, the Devil's Patrik Elias high sticked Mike Green. He was awarded a 4:00 double minor for bloodying Mike's nose in the process. The Cap's moved the puck very well during the power play, as they had for the whole game. A frustrated Ovechkin, wasn't able to hit the mark. As they had been doing throughout the game, the Cap's were cycling the puck, forcing Brodeur back and forth in front of his net. Then, defenseman Tom Poti sent a cross ice pass to Semin. Alex's wrist shot went in for his 20th goal on the season. Toward the end of the period, Poti got another assist. He got the puck to Matt Bradley, who passed it to Donald Brashear in the slot. Brashear's top shelf slapper put the Capitals ahead 4-0.

It was Huet's third shutout of the season, and the 16th of his career. Washington made it look easy. It was their second straight win, and their second consecutive four goal game. There wasn't much, if anything you could complain about. Plenty of scoring, fine goaltending, and the defense pretty much kept the Devils toward the outer limits of the Cap's zone. Plenty to smile about. After the game, head coach Bruce Boudreau complimented his players for their efforts. When asked, he said netminder Olie Kolzig would get the start in tomorrow's home game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

.

All Photos - Bill Kostroun / AP

Wild Vs Capitals 02/27/2008 Review

Wild 1 - Capitals 4

The Washington Capitalslooked great against the Minnesota Wild. This time, playing well also meant coming away with a win. A convincing win at that. Most importantly, they got another two points.

I'm not going to ramble on, today. I do want to say that I was very impressed with Capitals' forward Brooks Laich. Not just because he got two goals and two assists. But, he did it while looking completely comfortable in the scoring role. Obviously, you have to be happy about the performance of goaltender Olie Kolzig. Tom Poti proved he can be a puck moving defenseman. David Steckel proved he can fight, and we already knew that Matt Bradley can. The fact that VP and General Manager George McPhee was able to make four deals yesterday before the 3:00 PM deadline, may have given the team renewed hope for the playoff push. They sure played like it. They were fighting for a win last night!

All Photos - Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

Devils Vs Capitals 02/24/2008 Review

.

Devils 2 - Capitals 1 OT

.

The Washington Capitals played much better against the New Jersey Devils yesterday than they had against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. Good enough to win, in fact. The defense remembered how to keep the front of their own net clear. But, the Devils defense did a fair job guarding their net, and their goaltender did an excellent job on anything that got past them. The Cap's had to settle for the single point that came with the sudden death overtime that ended...well....suddenly.

.

The game started off with some rather quick moving, back and forth play. That's not terribly common during a game involving the Devils, but the Cap's kept the puck moving. They got many more shots and scoring chances than New Jersey was able to come up with in the first period. Brent Johnson must have felt a little lonely in front of Washington's net. Meanwhile, at the other end, the Capitals were taking their shots and ringing the post. Netminder Martin Brodeur was stopping everything with his "snow angels". Personally, I refer to his style as "floppin' like a fish". But, whatever works for yuh Marty. Problem is....it does work for him. The best thing that happened in the first was probably the Donald Brashear vs Sheldon Brookbank fight. Sheldon put a late hit on Brash well after he cleared the puck. Apparently, Shelly didn't talk to his brother Wade, who got pummeled by Donald just yesterday. I'm sure he regrets the decision now. The last 1:18 of the period was spent in the Cap's end due to a hooking penalty called on Sami Lepisto. Washington's defenseman, including the incredible Quintin Laing helped Johnson keep the Devils off the scoreboard.

.

About five minutes into the second period, we almost got another fight. After Johnson gloved his shot, New Jersey's Travis Zajac continued in toward the goal and poked Brent with the business end of his stick. What would make this guy who had just been released from serving time for a hooking penalty, do such a thing? The Cap's continued to play well, and clueless Devils kept trying to pick fights with Brashear. Dirtball Johnny Oduya tried to take out Alex Ovechkin with a terribly obvious intentional knee on knee collision at the side wall. Ovie was down for a minute, but luckily seemed fine later. There will be no suspension for Oduya, but it sure should be at least reviewed. Both, Brooks Laich and Ovechkin had really good chances on some nice efforts. But, the period would end still scoreless. However, Eric Fehr and Tom Poti were each called for high sticking. So, the end of the period was all played in the Cap's end, with Laing clearing the puck just before time ran out. .

The remaining 40 seconds of a Devils' 5 on 3 power play to start the third period, was enough to get New Jersey on the board first. Just enough, as Jamie Langenbrunner got his first goal in six games with one second of the two man advantage left. Just over two minutes later, Washington's Alex Semin answered back with a backhand goal, assisted by Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. Semin now has a five game goal scoring streak. Backstrom's assist gave him his 50th point of this, his rookie season. Ovechkin's assist put him in a tie for the most points so far this season with 82. Ovechkin had a couple drives to the net during the balance of the second, that brought the crowd to it's feet. But, neither team managed to hit the back of the net before the period ended. One of the Devils did manage to hit one of the robotic cameras, which kept the puck from exiting the rink. This should've been a delay of game penalty for New Jersey, but somehow the referees didn't even notice, and play was allowed to continue.

With a 1-1 tie, the game went into overtime. The Capitals continued making good offensive and defensive plays. But, during a split second of casualness by Brent Johnson, New Jersey's John Madden slipped a Patrik Elias rebound between the pads. So, the game ended suddenly, after just 49.6 seconds of OT. The overtime point moves the Cap's up to 5 points behind Southeast Conference leading Carolina, with two more games in hand.

.

All Photos - Nick Wass / AP

Capitals Vs Hurricanes 02/23/2008 Review

.

Capitals 3 - Hurricanes 6

.

The Carolina Hurricanes rather handily beat the Washington Capitals in a very important, and ultimately very disappointing game. Both teams were without some of their better players due to injury. So, we can't use that as an excuse. After the Capitals dominated the first twelve minutes of the game, most of their defense went on holiday.

.

The Cap's did start off very well. They seem to have plenty of energy, and were fighting for the puck all the way. John Erskine was ready to help the cause, with a nice diving body shot block in the first period. Viktor Kozlov chasing Carolina's Bret Hedican, caused him to lose control of the puck. After getting it into the Hurricanes end, Alex Ovechkin passed the biscuit to Mike Green. Green went straight through the slot and sent it five hole past Carolina netminder Cam Ward. Now with 16 goals on the season, Mike continues to lead all NHL defenseman. Although Kozlov didn't score in this game he did at least manage to ring the goal post. Caps' winger Alexander Semin also had a good game. Both he and Kozzy stole the puck a few times. Washington seemed to be in complete control at this point. They were causing turnovers and getting plenty of scoring chances. The puck seemed to just keep bouncing right to them in front of the Hurricanes' net.

.

Just over 11 1/2 minutes into the first, there was a little break in the game action. Capitals' Donald Brashear made the Hurricanes' Wade Brookbank pay for his sins against the Cap's with a mighty good clobbering. Shortly after play resumed, Green got penalized when trying to take up for Caps' goalie Olie Kolzig. Carolina's Ray Whitney had interfered with Olie, whacking Kolzig with his stick while Eric Cole's shot was headed to the net. Then, he gave another whack after the glove save. No call on Whitney though. That's when things started to go wrong for Washington's defense. Matt Cullen got Carolina's first power play goal at 13:24, after the tired Capitals penalty killers failed to clear the puck. The Capitals' forwards were still in high gear. Ovechkin sent the puck to Alex Semin from near the blue line. Semin headed across ice, then shot the puck over the catching glove of Cam Ward for Washington's first power play goal. Ovechkin put some big hits on the hometown players, and the Capitals' defenseman continued to be physical out in open ice. But, there would be no more clearing Hurricanes from the front of the net, and the defenseman seemed to fall in love with the penalty box. They spent the end of the period playing 5 on 3. Kolzig spent the end of the period making save after save.

.

The Capitals had killed 29 straight penalties before today's game. Clearly, the penalty killers had been worn out by that streak. After Tomas Fleischmann took an early second period hooking penalty, Carolina's Andrew Ladd was robbed via a fantastic save by Kolzig. But, Matt Cullen put in a rebound shortly after for another PP goal and tied it at 2-2. At 5:21, Tom Poti got the urge for 2:00 of alone time. So, he crosschecked his way into the 4th consecutive Washington penalty. With nobody willing to clear players from in front of the net anymore, it only took Erik Cole 35 seconds to send in another PP goal. Kolzig had no chance to stop it, and the 'canes were up 3-2. At 6:27, Fleischmann had a wide open Carolina net right in front of him, but he fanned on his shot attempt. But, at 8:47 Brooks Laich hit the back of the net for a Cap's PP goal. Poti seemed to remember what his job was, as he made a few big hits just after the midpoint of the game. However, when Erskine and his teammates failed to clear the puck again, Eric Staal put the 'canes back ahead by one. After being taken on by Tim Conboy and Scott Walker at the same time seconds earlier, Brashear sent a hard shot in on Carolina's net. Ward made the stop, but had to check behind himself to make sure.

Early in the third period, Erskine and his partner couldn't control traffic in front of Kolzig. Andrew Ladd's short side, sharp angle wrister went in top shelf. Then Viktor Kozlov, who had just made a nice hit at the end boards, high sticked Tim Gleason. What a shame, he had been working his ass off the whole game. I can't remember him putting in any greater effort before. Carolina's recent trade acquisition, Joe Corvo put the final nail in the coffin with the Hurricanes' fourth PP goal at 7:44. It was pretty obvious that coach Boudreau had become desperate by this point. He actually gave Ovechkin extra ice time, sending him out on the next penalty kill. I'm sure he was hoping for a Washington goal. But, he was probably also replacing one of the defenseman who had become useless for today's game. In case you're new to Cap's hockey, Ovie's the team's best hitter as well as the NHL's best goal scorer. After going down on the ice making multiple saves, Olie Kolzig destroyed his goalie stick over the crossbar of his net. The Hurricanes' fans delighted in Olie's very justified frustration. At 15:40 into the third period, Kozlov rocketed a shot so hard it removed Cam Ward's goalie stick from his hands. That would end up being as close as the Cap's were going to get to scoring another goal.

Washington screwed up an important opportunity. The undefenders screwed their goaltender, Kolzig. The trade value of some players took a serious hit. The Capitals are now six points behind the division leading Hurricanes in the southeast. If I were Kolzig, I'd probably beg Bruce Boudreau to put Brent Johnson in net for tomorrow's home game against the New Jersey Devils.

All Photos - Karl B DeBlaker / AP

Happy Anniversary Lisa And Dick!

Congratulations to Lisa and Richard Head of Overlea, MD. This is a couple that will make it last. They've been doing it for years. Great to see the announcement. All the guys agree it's true. The thing that keeps them at it is that they have good taste. You're a lucky guy, Dick. Nice job Lisa!

Islanders Vs Capitals 02/20/2008 Review

.

Islanders 3 - Capitals 2 SO

.

The Washington Capitals and the New York Islanders both entered the game with 28 wins so far this season. The Islanders one point better in the standings, added another point to the difference with the win last night.

.

Washington was first to get on the scoreboard. With New York's defense split, Matt Pettinger sent a nice outlet pass to a speeding Alexander Semin. Semin scored via backhand on the breakaway. At 12:20 the Isle's Aaron Johnson was called for "sort of" tripping Victor Kozlov. Just over a minute later, Brooks Laich deflected a Mike Green shot past New York's Rick DiPietro. The game's lone power play goal put the Cap's ahead by two. Olie Kolzig somehow also earned an assist on the play. Which is wierd, because DiPietro handled the puck between Olie having it and Green taking the shot. They may change that later on. With Olie Kolzig continuing to make nice saves, and Quintin Laing continuing to sacrifice his body by blocking shots, Washington made it to the end of period one leading 2-0.

.

It was good to see defenseman Jeff Schultz back on Washington's bench at the beginning of period two, after he left the ice injured seven or eight minutes before period one ended. But, he was only able to get through one shift before leaving the game for good. He apparently suffered a knee strain when he got tangled up with New York's Ruslan Fedotenko in the first period. There was a lot of pushing and shoving going on in the second. You can expect all games to be very physical as we get closer to play off time. These two teams are both currently trying to work their way up to that eighth spot in the Eastern Conference. Almost to the games midpoint, the Isle's Bill Guerin got a break away down the ice. Kolzig stopped the shot. But, Guerin collected his own rebound and passed the puck to Miroslov Satan, who promplty got his 13th goal of the season. The Cap's just didn't have quite the same energy as they had shown in the first. They were having trouble getting the puck out of their own end without it being turned over and brought right back in. Washington did keep their one goal lead through the rest of the second period.

Just over five minutes into the third period, Alex Semin had control of the puck. He was weaving through the Islanders, making them look quite silly. As he wrapped around the net for a shot, an embarrassed and pathetic looking Marc-Andre Bergeron wiped out while trying to keep up. Bergeron took out his frustrations on Semin, who let him have it right back. Everyone then joined the meeting. Both, Semin and Bergeron got 4:00. Around the middle of period three, Washington's Matt Bradley got a few good scoring chances. He moved the puck really well and took some awlfully good shots. Caps' enforcer Donald Brashear and Bill Guerin tried to go at it. Everybody else joined in again. No penalties were doled out this time. At 11:09, Josef Vasicek tied the game up for the Isle's. Kolzig got his left skate to the post in time. But, Vasicek was able to get the puck up a little bit, banking it off the back of Olie's left leg. The typically bad officiating of this season (and last) really showed up toward the end of the third period. Luckily(?), the bad calls went against both sides. Included in this mess, was a bogus hooking call on Washington's Tomas Fleischmann. Later, a cheapish hooking call on New York's Andrew Fata, brother of former Washington Capital Rico Fata.

Both ends of the ice were well traveled in overtime. But, this tied game would require a shootout. DiPietro was able to stop Kozlov, Semin and Alex Ovechkin. Kolzig had no trouble making the saves on Richard Park and Satan. But, Mike Comrie was able to fake out Olie and send the puck in between the pads..

.

Ovechkin hit his longest goaless streak of the season, now three games in a row. He's just getting over the flu. But, he was also very well covered by Radek Martinek. Semin fared better, as he was able to move around more freely. Tom Poti returned to the lineup after missing a couple games due to a lower body injury and played well. The loss of Jeff Schultz might mean Sami Lepisto returns from the Hershey Bears for a game or two. I hope it's not worse than that. The Cap's outshot the Islanders during the game 30-19. Yet, it's the one shot getting through in the shootout that gave New York two points. The one loser point awarded to Washington isn't very satisfying, but we'll take it.

All Photos - Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP

Happy Birthday Glen Hanlon!

.

.

I Like A Laugh - Travel Log Part 2

My travel agent sent me another video to help me decide where to go on holiday. It's another slide show type video. This one is supposed to include pictures of her last couple trips. She said she threw this together in a hurry, and that maybe I shouldn't show this to everybody. Well, I don't think everybody reads this blog. Almost nobody, in fact. So, here it is.

.

.

I'm wondering if she sent the right one. Some of these pictures are a little disturbing. I'm not quite sure what she has on her mind. I'm not quite sure that I even want to find out.

I Like A Laugh - Travel Log Part 1

I've been thinking about where I'd like to go on my next vacation. It's been very hard to make up my mind. For one thing, I'm just incredibly indecisive. Also, I don't get a chance to go away very often. So, I'd like this trip to be really special. I asked my travel agent to send me a couple videos, to help me decide. Here's one she thought would be helpful.

.

The first video she sent, shows the unique things about some of the places I said I was considering.

.

.

.

Yeah, well......I'm not sure yet.

Capitals Vs Lightning 02/16/2008

. Capitals 3 - Lightning 2

.

The Washington Capitals finished off their southeast father & son roadtrip with a win against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tampa Bay's goaltender Johan Holmqvist was very sharp. But, Washington's Olie Kolzig was even better, carrying a shutout all the way to just over four minutes left in the game. "Olie The Goalie" had 39 saves overall. Also, after being called up from the Hershey Bears for a second time, Capitals defenseman Sami Lepisto got his NHL debut.

.

This was a more free flowing game than the one against the Florida Panthers the previous evening, making it much easier to watch. However, Alexander Ovechkin was still unable to score a goal. Tampa Bay didn't keep three or four players around him like the Panthers, but they didn't exactly let him roam completely free either.

.

The first period went by fairly quickly. There wasn't a penalty called until the period was more than half way over. All three penalties were called on the Lightning. The second was a delay of game, for sending the puck over the glass at 15:51. During this man advantage, Washington got the first goal of the game. Alexander Semin was speeding deep into the Lightning's end, when he spun around and showing great patience, held on to the puck for a couple seconds before sending a perfect no look pass across the top of the crease to a driving Tomas Fleischmann, who backhanded the puck past Holmqvist. That makes a goal in two straight games for Flash, and his eighth of the season. Shortly before the end of the period, Washington netminder Kolzig ended up in an interesting position. He stood over the puck which layed a couple inches from the restricted area for a couple seconds, before successfully clearing it out of the area. It was obvious he knew exactly what he was doing. But, that's the kind of moment when you expect something to go horribly wrong. Nothing bad happened. The period ended with the Cap's leading 1-0.

.

The Lightning tend to outscore their opponents in the second period. They did out shoot the Cap's 24-12. But, Tampa Bay were held scoreless, mostly by the exceptional goaltending of Olie Kolzig. Washington's Matt Bradley got the period's only penalty, when he was given two minutes for slashing at 18:17.

.

The third period moved along briskly as well. At 6:08, Cap's rookie forward David Steckel sent the puck past a diving Holmqvist for his fifth NHL goal. Four of Steckel's goals have come against the Lightning. He now has a total of six points in seven career games vs Tampa Bay. Less than two minutes later, Tampa Bay's Vinny Prospal bounced one in off of Olie's skate. The chance for a shutout ending with just 4:11 left in the game. Just 33 seconds later, Jan Hlavac deflected in a shot from Filip Kuba, making the score 2-2. You can imagine the fans were getting a little excited at this point, as the Lightning had come back and tied the game with 3:38 left on the clock. But thankfully, Alex Semin tipped in a rebound 38 seconds later. Olie Kolzig and the Capitals held off the Lightning the last three minutes for the win.

.

With all the end to end play, the great goaltending, the Lightning evening the score late in the game, and then Semin getting the game winning goal with time running out, this was a truely fun game to watch. What a nice way to end the road trip.

.

Photo 1, 2 and 4 by Bruce Bennett / AP

Photo 3 by Mike Carlson / AP

Capitals Vs Panthers 02/15/2008 Review

.

Capitals 2 - Panthers 4

.

As usual in the last couple NHL seasons, the Florida Panthers beat the Washington Capitals. As usual, the Panthers tried to make the game as boring as possible, with their stifling defensive style of play. Washington played well, but somehow I'm left almost completely unsatisfied. I'll try to make this game review as short as I can. I feel like I just want to get it over with.

.

What can I say about the first period? Both goaltenders played well. Washington's Brent Johnson was a little busier than Florida's Tomas Vokoun. The Capitals only managed three official scoring chances. One each, by Tomas Fleischmann, Mike Green, and Brooks Laich. All three were good, but unsuccessful. The Panthers' Rostislav Olesz was successful, as he popped in his own rebound at 5:52.

.

Things were looking up early in the second period. The Cap's went on the power play at 1:04, when Florida's Stephen Weiss got called for hooking Tomas Fleischmann in an attempt to prevent him from scoring. Just 53 seconds later, Alexander Semin put the puck over Vokoun's stick for a PP goal. Starting just after the mid point of the game, Washington spent a good bit of time cycling the puck in the offensive zone on three separate occasions, within a few minutes time span. Although none of their shots found the inside of the net, it was certainly very incouraging. But then, the Panthers did pretty much the same thing on two somewhat shorter spans of time, toward the end of the period. Thankfully, Johnson was able to make the stops. Both goalies were very busy and very good in this period.

Just 57 seconds into the third, Fleischmann got past Florida defenseman Jay Bouwmeester and scored another PP goal. That's the first goal for Flash, since going ten games without scoring a goal. After Mike Green failed to clear the puck (fanned on first attempt) a few minutes later, the Panthers' Nathan Horton just barely got one by netminder Brent Johnson to tie it at 2-2. At 8:27, Kamil Kreps was credited with sending a ricocheting puck off Johnny's skate and into the net for the game winner. It came from behind the net, but it looked more like a clearing attempt by Washington's defenseman John Erskine that sent the puck on it's way, to me. Anyway, with Brent pulled for the extra skater, the Capitals' net was empty when Florida's David Booth got the fourth Panther goal.

Both teams played well, and both goalies were sharp for most of the game. The Capitals killed all six of their penalties against the team with the fifth best power play. But, the Panthers got a few lucky bounces. Florida also held Alex Ovechkin to four shots on goal. Let's just try to forget about this one. Tonight's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning will surely be much more exciting, whatever the outcome. I'm also sure the Fathers (and father in law) on this southest road trip are proud of the guys, and are still having a good time.

All Photos - Bruce Bennett / Getty Images

Hanlon Headed To Helsinki

According to this article pointed out at Dump 'N Chase (Mike Vogel) and Japer's Rink (Jon Press), former Washington Capitals Head Coach, Glen Hanlon has been hired to be coach Helsinki Jokerit for the 2008 - 2009 season. Hanlon apparently signed his one year deal in Helsinki, Finland last weekend on his way back from Minsk. He has been coaching the Belarus national team, who he had also previously coached before taking over in Washington.

.

Glen had accepted a job as a scout for the Capitals after being fired as Head Coach back in November, 2007. He no doubt welcomes the challenge of running another European team. He has said he loves international ice hockey.

.

I've always really liked Glen Hanlon. By all accounts, Glen is a truely good man and nice person. He is a great coach. It's a shame he had to get fired in order to help motivate the young Capitals players. I wish things had worked out for him in Washington.

.

Good luck, Glen!

Capitals Vs Thrashers 02/13/2008 Review

.

Capitals 2 - Thrashers 3 SO

.

They started off so well, but the Washington Capitals just couldn't continue to overpower the Atlanta Thrashers for the entire game. They could manage a tie, but not a shootout win.

.

The Capitals' speed and aggressive forecheck had them dominating in the first period. They had contol of the puck for an awful lot of the period. Lots of time in the offensive zone, but no scoring success. Washington had plenty of chances. They had six times as many shots as Atlanta, 18-3. It's hard to imagine that they weren't able to get at least one shot into the net. Boyd Gordon came close. Close enough for video review. But, you know the old saying. Close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades. While Capitals' netminder Olie Kolzig had to fight to keep from snoozing in the Cap's end, the atrocious officiating and Thrashers' super quick goaltender Kari Lehtonen were very busy in the other. No score at the end of the period.

.

The Thrashers must have gotten an "adjustment" during the first intermission. They were much more into the game during the second period. But, Washington got the first goal before Atlanta really got it in gear. Nicklas Backstrom sent a no look backhand pass to Alex Ovechkin, who sent in a hard slapshot. Lehtonen made the stop, but Viktor Kozlov was there to tip in the juicy rebound. That play gave Backstrom an NHL rookie lead in assists, with 37. It also gave the Capitals their only scoring lead in the game. At 4:22 into the period, it was Atlanta's turn to have a goal video reviewed away. It was a very clear kicking motion that sent the puck into the net off of Eric Perrin's knee. The Thrasher's fans booed loudly, and Perrin gave the obligatory, totally mystified what? look. But, that wasn't doing them any good. Washington and Atlanta traded penalties (some called, some not) and a couple scoring chances over the next several minutes. Then, with Kolzig well screened, Perrin took a pass from Marian Hossa and sent the puck into the goal. With just over a minute left in the second period, Lehtonen stopped a Milan Jurcina shot and immediately passed the puck up the ice to Hossa, who had just come off the bench. The Hossa breakaway came while the Cap's were in the middle of a line change. With 56.1 seconds left on the clock, Hossa sent the puck between the pads of Kolzig, putting the Thrashers up by one. The scoring chances were pretty even in this period. But, it ended with Atlanta ahead, and the crowd chanting "Kari....Kari....Kari....".

.

Both goaltenders continued to be sharp in the third period. Both made some amazing, wild saves. On one occasion early in the period, Kolzig launched himself several feet like a puck seeking missle to keep the puck in the Cap's possesion. In the middle of the period, Washington was hanging in the offensive zone, bombing away at Lehtonen. Again and again, but no luck. But then, Ovechkin (who leads the league in third period goals) sent one over Kari's left shoulder with 1:21 left in regulation, forcing the game into overtime.

.

Overtime looked a little like panic time to me. Both, Washington's Tomas Fleischmann (see new contract extension) and Atlanta's Slava Kozlov, seemed to have holes in the business ends of their sticks. The puck bounced by both. The Cap's Mike Green was everywhere. It was like he had a clone working one end of the ice, while he worked the other. Washington was getting shots to the net, but again, not in it.

.

On to the dreaded shootout. It's as hard for me to type that word as it is for me to have to say it.....Yuk! First up....Eric Perrin. His usual backhand to forehand and it's in, top shelf. For Washington's Alex Semin......denied! Next is Atlanta's Slava Kozlov.......no problem. It's all up to Boyd Gordon, for the Capitals. Just to add to the mounting drama(?), Lehtonen juggles Gordo's shot. The puck falls to the ice and .................Ooohhhhh, s#*t! Kari was just able to get a glove on it, right at the goal line.

.

Olie Kolzig had kept the Cap's in the game, working his tail off in the second and third periods, as well as overtime. He was a major factor in getting at least the one point for the tie. Mike Green put in some serious ice time. Washington played a very good game. They just weren't up for the skills competition at the end. Up next on the Cap's southeast tour is the Florida Panthers on Friday night. Which means facing another great goaltender. Hopefully, the Cap's "young guns" get hot enough that it doesn't matter.

.

All Photos - AP / John Bazemore

Capitals And JWHL Host 2008 JWHL Challenge Cup

The Washington Capitals, along with the Junior Women's Hockey League will host the very first JWHL Challenge Cup tournament. This event will be held at Rockville Arena in Rockville, MD from February 15 through February 18, 2008. The tournament will involve teams from throughout Canada and the US (including Washington, DC).

.

It's nice to see the Cap's get involved with the ladies. Visit the Capitals web site to check out the many different and varied organizations and events they participate in, listed under Community. For more on this event, see the Cap's announcement. For tournament schedules and more information about this fairly new league, visit the JWHL web site.

I Like A Laugh 02/09/2008

I thought some dirty, sexual humor would go over well today. So, enjoy the following boys, girls, etc.

.

.

.

'Canes Vs Cap's 02/08/2008 Alternate Review

Just to lighten the mood after last night's disappointing loss, I offer an abbreviated pictorial review as an alternate to the previously posted regular. You might call this sort of before (,during) and after pictures.

.

.

.

Before:

.

The Carolina Hurricanes about to hit the ice. .

.

.

.

During:

.

Our offence was almost completely covered the whole game, as the 'canes flooded the Cap's offensive zone with good defensive play.

.

.

After:

Clearly unhappy Washington Capitals' fans wade through their disappointment as they leave the E Street parking lot after the game.

.

.

Pictures provided by Cherie. Thanks sis.

Hurricanes Vs Capitals 02/08/2008 Review

Hurricanes 2 - Capitals 1

Well, it was sweet while it lasted. Just 48 hours of unfamiliar bliss before the storm rolled in and washed it away. The Washington Capitals fell from being in first place in the Southeast Division, to being in second place with a loss to the Carolina Hurricanes this evening. OK, so the difference is only one measily standings point. These two teams will probably swap positions in the standings a few times before the real playoffs start. Meanwhile, we're starting to get a preview of that dance now. Let's just hope we have a date when the official invitations are handed out.

.

The first period opened up with Carolina's Scott Walker immediately taking down Quintin Laing. Washington's Matt Bradley waisted no time in letting Walker know that sort of thing was unacceptable behavior for a guest at Verizon Center, DC. At 3:56 the visitor's rudeness continued, as the Hurricanes' Eric Cole scored the first goal. After getting past Capitals defenders Milan Jurcina and Tom Poti, Cole went across the front of the net with netminder Brent Johnson sliding along between them. Then, Cole slowed down while Johnson's brakes failed, leaving a wide open entrance for Cole to park the puck inside. Less than two minutes later, Cole took down Boyd Gordon with a facewash holding move on the way down. The referee apparently didn't want to offend Cole by actually making a call on the infraction. Yeah, it was going to be another one of those evenings. John Erskine then had a go at Wade Brookbank, with the two of them each earning five minutes in the penalty box. It seems Donald Brashear had his heart set on being Brookbank's dancing partner, but Erskine had the gloves off in the blink of an eye, calling it first. We eventually found out that Erskine was injured and would not return. A few minutes later, Poti pushed down one of the 'canes by the sidewall in the Cap's defensive zone. No call on that one either. Then Washington waisted two consecutive power plays, only managing one shot during each. Before the period ended, Andrew Ladd increased Carolina's lead by netting a rebound.

.

In the second, the Cap's got a golden oppurtunity, with 1:10 of a 5 on 3 power play. After that time elapsed without success, followed by failure on the remaing 5 on 4 advantage, the home crowed began to boo rather loudly. No matter how badly they're playing, I hate it when the fans boo the players. Of course, it's perfectly acceptable to let the ref's have it, though. Those familiar cheers did return toward the end of the period, as the Cap's killed off two consecutive penalties, and then Milan Jurcina and Alex Ovechkin both had breakaway scoringing chances.

.

Hope returned in the third period, as Alexander Semin circled the Hurricanes' net, and then sent in an unassisted goal. It was unofficially self assisted, for he backhanded his own rebound. Niclas Wallin then pushed him down. What class. The period did hold a few scoring chances especially toward the end. At one point, Semin took the puck out of the Cap's end with a beautiful spin around move, passing by the defender and sailing up the ice to the offensive zone. Later, Johnson made another fantastic save, keeping Washington within one goal. But, with less than 30 seconds left, Semin took a stupid slashing penalty. The Cap's hopes of evening up the score were dashed, as were their hopes of holding on to first place in the Southeast.

.

Washington is only 1 point out of first place. So, getting back on top is certainly a realistic and likely possibility. But, they will need to surge ahead in the win column if they want to make sure. Especially if they want to end up in a favorable playoff posistion instead of just barely making it in.

.

All Photos - AP / Manuel Balce Ceneta

Capitals Vs Flyers 02/06/2008 Review

.

Capitals 4 - Flyers 3

.

The Washington Capitals are now in first place in the Southeast Division of the NHL! They got there by beating the Philadelphia Flyers. Thanks Philly. It wasn't easy though. Some of the stats make it look like the Capitals dominated the game. But, the final score tells the scary truth. This was also the game that Philadelphia chose to officially induct former goalie Ron Hextall into the Flyers Hall Of Fame. I'm not sure why they waited so long.

.

For a few seconds within the first minute of the game, Washington's Tom Poti didn't look like the dominating defensive force he had been the night before. He got a bit of a surprise when he skated over to check Flyers' Jeff Carter as he was collecting the puck at the end wall behind the net. Carter saw him coming and nocked him on his ass. Poti would not be so casual in the remainder of the game. Once again, we had a game where it became obvious early on that it would be played in rough and tumble mode. Donald Brashear spent a fair amount of his playing time gently (?) reminding the Fly Boys that he would be around if any punishment was to be handed out. The Cap's killed a bogus Brashear high sticking penalty, while Philadelphia only managed one shot. This happened a couple times in the first period, and the fans booed in disapproval, as the Flys are usually one of the best power play teams in the league this season.

.

Early in the second period, we had a little 4 on 4 play. Philadelphia's Jim Vandermeer gave Alexander Ovechkin a shove after the Cap's were whistled offside. Alex took exception to this, and shoved back. Both players got two minutes to cool down. Then, Mike Green passed the puck to Brooks Laich from the blue line as he headed up the ice. Laich went straight to the net and backhanded the puck past Flyers' goalie Martin Biron. The Capitals lead the league in 4 on 4 goals with 10. Somehow, Biron's stick was broken, and he spent a few minutes playing with just the bottom half. He didn't have any problem stopping shots while waiting for a stop in play. Meanwhile, Washington's netminder Olie Kolzig was only facing half as many shots. But, he had to make some difficult saves from time to time. One such save involved him diving back toward the net to cover up the puck, after a shot went wide of the right side of the net, bounced off the end wall, and ended up on the doorstep at the other side. Then, the Caps' Quintin Laing was called for interference when he was shoved into Biron. Shortly after, Mike Knuble got the PP goal. The period ended tied at 1-1.

.

Things got a little crazy in the third. Let's just say it's a good thing some Cap's players, in addition to Ovechkin, started to remember how to score during the previous game. About two minutes in, Matt Bradley deflected a Mike Green shot into the net, putting Washington back in the lead. About a minute later, Poti was able to keep the puck from leaving the offensive zone. The Flyers' defenders were caught out of position, while Poti got the puck to Tomas Fleischmann, who passed it to Viktor Kozlov. Kozzy easily scored his 11th goal of the season. It seemed like a good sign, because the Cap's always win when Viktor scores a goal. The booing returned at this point. At 7:45, Ovechkin scored his 46th goal of the season. This put Washington ahead 4-1. The Fly's fans were now too stunned to even boo anymore. It looked like it was time for Philadelphia to raise the white flag and surrender, right? But,.............Yeah, you know you don't want a "but" at this point. Here it comes anyway. But then, the Flyers got motivated. The next Flyers' "goal" was waived off during play, and officially denied after video review. It was rightfully decided that Scott Hartnell pushed Olie into the net after he had the puck stopped, therefore before the puck went in. The Flyers then got goals from Sami Kapanen and later Randy Jones, with Biron off the ice for the extra skater. But,.........And this is a good "but". But, the Capitals were able to keep Philadelphia from evening it up.

.

The first team the Cap's faced with Bruce Boudreau as head coach was the Philadelphia Flyers. Washington was at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, even with an OT win that day - November 23, 2007. After beating that same team last night, the Capitals are now in sole possession of first place in the Southeast Division. What a wild ride. No time to relax, though. There's more work to do, yet.

.

All Photos - Jim McIsaac / Getty Images