Capitals Vs Flames 10/21/2008 Review

Jose Theodore blocks shot versus Flames October 21, 2008.
Photo by Jeff McIntosh for AP / The Canadian Press.

Capitals 1 - Flames 2

The Washington Capitals visit to Calgary for a game against the Flames brought the potential for good times on and off the ice. I'm sure all the Capitals players that are from Calgary or nearby areas had a good time off the ice, but things could've gone much better on it.

Although there were a few things to be happy about, including a solid performance by Washington's netminder Jose Theodore and an overall decent effort by the Caps' defense, there were a couple reasons to be downright frustrated as well. The power play woes of the first five games continued in this match. Four power play goals in six games with an abundance of chances, is just not good. That problem needs fixing pronto. The other glaring problem last night was the amount of penalties being earned, a problem we saw in three other games so far. Ten penalties, including eight straight within the first two periods is also cause for some concern. Mind you, some of those calls may have been of the lousy variety, but you can't use that as a crutch.

Back to the bright side. It's early days yet. Two key components, defenseman Tom Poti and forward Viktor Kozlov are expected to return soon. The Caps have had their share of injuries early in the season. If they can stay healthy and regain some secondary scoring, they'll be fine. As far as primary scoring, don't worry about Alex Ovechkin. He'll come around. You can count on it.