NHL Trophies & Recognition For Ovechkin & Green

Alex Ovechkin with Pearson, Hart and Richard Trophies on June 18, 2009.
Photo by Ryan Remiorz - AP Photo / The Canadian Press

The NHL handed out it's annual awards last night in Las Vegas, NV. Among this year's winners, both Alex Ovechkin and Mike Green of the Washington Capitals received recognition for their efforts during the 2008-2009 season. As expected, Ovechkin was the big winner of the evening.

Green and Ovechkin were named to the NHL's First All-Star Team. It is the fourth time for Alex and the first time in the Capitals' history that they had two players named to the team for the same season. Ovechkin also collected a few trophies during the event.

For the second year in a row, Alex Ovechkin won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the league's top goal (56) scorer. He also repeated in the voting for the Hart Memorial Trophy (Professional Hockey Writers Assoc. MVP choice) and Lester B. Pearson Award (Player's MVP choice). Ovie is the first player to win the Hart two years straight since Dominik Hasek won in both 1997 and 1998.

The choice of presenters for a couple of the awards that Ovechkin won were pretty cool. The Pearson Award was announced by retired Russians Vladimir Konstantinov and Igor Larionov. The Hart Trophy was presented to Ovechkin by none other than previous (1994) winner, teammate and fellow Russian Sergei Fedorov.

For the fourth consecutive year, Russian NHL players voted to award Alex Ovechkin the Kharlamov Trophy for being the best Russian player in the NHL. He received the award at a separate ceremony held June 9th.

Penguins Vs Capitals 05/04/2009 EC Semifinal Game 2 Review

Alex Ovechkin celebrates hat trick goal May 4, 2009.
Photo by Nick Wass / AP Photo.

Penguins 3 - Capitals 4

Rookie goalie Simeon Varlamov and the Washington Capitals won their fifth straight playoff game last night. It was the second straight win in the Eastern Conference Semifinal series between the Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins, a game that included first ever playoff hat tricks by both Washington's Alex Ovechkin and Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby.

As in Game 1 of the series, Sidney Crosby scored the first goal of the game, in the first period. This goal came with one Pen and two Caps in the penalty boxes. Brooks Orpik got two minutes for roughing, or possibly more acurately, spearing Alexander Semin in the nuts. Semin retaliated (sort of) and got two minutes for roughing, while Alex Ovechkin joined him, with a redundent two minutes for Semin's supposed high sticking. This situation helped Crosby make his way closer to the net. Brooks Laich also lost his stick, which had mysteriously exploded just before Crosby's strike. What slashing? Right, Mr. referee? I'd also like to ask the refs why David Steckel didn't get a penalty shot, when he was taken down from behind as he tried to take a shot later on.

A couple minutes into the second period, Ovechkin got his first tally on goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. Sergei Fedorov entered the offensive zone and spun around before his centering pass to Viktor Kozlov. Kozlov immediately relayed the puck to Ovechkin, who let it rip from his favorite spot, in the face off circle. Just after the mid point of the game, Crosby put the Penguins back ahead by one, when he snuck his way over to the crease for a back door goal. Caps' defender Mike Green didn't notice Sid was behind him until it was too late. About five minutes later, David Steckel evened the score again. Brian Pothier took a shot from the point that bounced all the way back to the AHL call-up Tyler Sloan at the opposite side. Sloan's shot deflected off a player, and Steckel was there to pop in his second goal of the playoffs.

The Capitals finally got the lead in the third period. With Evgeni Malkin in the penalty box for tripping, it took Washington only four seconds to score the power play goal. Nicklas Backstrom won the face off. When the puck went to Green, he quickly passed it to Ovechkin for a beautiful one time slap shot. A couple minutes later, Ovechkin scored the hat trick goal at even strength, with the help of Kozlov and Fedorov. Apparently, Sidney Crosby took strong exception to the fans celebrating with the long standing tradition of tossing hats onto the ice. Don't allow a hat trick, and you won't have to put up with people being happy, Sid. Crosby got his own bogus hat trick a few minutes later, while on a power play. With six attackers in the Caps' end, and an intentional two handed cross check to the throat of Varlamov by some jerk named Chris Kunitz, Crosby batted in the puck from mid air. The ref looking right at Kunitz while he tried to injure the unflappable Simeon Varlamov, must have been suffering from steamed up eyes, caused by all the friendly play right in front of his fat face.

Anyway, the Caps had better figure out a way to keep Crosby from getting so close to the net. His goals weren't pretty, but they count at least as much as anyone else's. And sorry, but consistent officiating isn't going to happen in this league. You've got to close off those passing lanes, and clear the front of your net.

Otherwise, well done Caps. Great to see them in control of most aspects of their game. Outstanding play by Ovechkin and Varlamov, but don't forget about David Steckel. His faceoff dominance, fine defensive play when needed and now goal scoring, are very helpful as well.

Rangers Vs Capitals 04/28/2009 EC Quarterfinal Game 7 Review

Sergei Fedorov celebrates winning goal with Alex Ovechkin and Viktor Kozlov.
April 28, 2009 photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP Photo.

Rangers 1 - Capitals 2

The Washington Capitals advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 1998, when they defeated the New York Rangers in Game 7 at home Tuesday night, April 28, 2009.

The Rangers, as expected, came out full of determination and played at their top level. The Capitals started off the game a lot weaker than their fans would ever want to see in a Game 7. New York's goalie Henrik Lundqvist was as sharp as ever and Washington's netminder Simeon Varlamov was just as good. It was Varlamov who was tested early, due to the sheepish play by most of the Capitals for the first several minutes.

The visitors scored the first goal at 5:35 in the first period. Alex Ovechkin was joined by defenseman John Erskine in clearing forward Brandon Dubinsky from the front of the Caps' net while Varlamov made a stick save on his shot, leaving a hole for the snap shot of Nik Antropov to find it's way into the net. The fact that the home team wins a Game 7 about 63% of the time was little comfort to the hometown fans who also remembered that the team that had scored first has won every game but the first of this series. About ten minutes later, worried fans got some relief when Washington's Alexander Semin evened up the score. Just out of the penalty box, Mike Green joined Semin and Nicklas Backstrom for a 3 on 2 odd man rush. Backstrom left a drop pass to Semin as they neared the goal. Semin's shot deflected off the stick of Ryan Callahan and fluttered into the far side of the cage.

Neither team scored in the second period. The Rangers continued to play strong, but there was also some improvement by the Capitals. Some nervous (and classless) fans with higher expectations, due to the accomplishments of the team over the past two seasons, booed their team anyway.

The team leaders, it has been reported, spoke a few words of probably both warning and encouragement before the start of the third period. That seemed to help an awful lot, and Washington came alive when they got back to the ice. Fans also added fuel to the fire by cheering on the team the rest of the way. From the reactions of the players, that made as big a difference as anything. The Capitals kept up the pressure on the Rangers, while New York seemed to be running out of gas. With about five minutes left in the game, 39 year old Sergei Fedorov scored the playoff game winning (12th of his career) and playoff series winning goal. Matt Bradley fed Feds from the sidewall in the Caps end. Fedorov skated up the ice and fired the puck in top shelf, giving him point number 172 in his 176th playoff game.

The first round playoff series between the Capitals and the Rangers probably shouldn't have taken seven games to decide, but we're not going to hang our heads down now, are we? Some important lessons have been taught by the older, more experienced players and learned by the younger players. All of Washington's players know more about what they are capable of, as a team and as far as individuals. The players, coaches and the entire organization has made us Washington Capitals fans very proud.

Sabres Vs Capitals 04/03/2009 Review

Capitals fans celebrating last season's Southeast Division title on April 5, 2008.
Photo by Mithell Layton / Getty Images.

Sabres 5 - Capitals 4 OT

The Washington Capitals clinched the Southeast Division title for the second straight season, by getting the overtime point in last night's game versus the Buffalo Sabres. The play of both teams, and the on ice officiating as well, were inconsistent throughout. With that said, it was still an exciting game for the most part.

Both teams made some really good plays at times. Netminder Ryan "Sucker Punch" Miller and his Buffalo teammates never let up, showing that they are desperate to make the playoffs, which are currently just out of reach for them. They got a couple lucky bounces and deflections that turned into a few goals. The Sabres also made several mistakes that lead to a non-goal and a fairly steady parade to the penalty box.

The Capitals took advantage of those power play chances, scoring three times out of seven chances. They moved up to number one in the league for power play success. Washington also continued to do incredibly well in winning faceoffs. Rookie goaltender Simeon Varlamov (3-0-1) might not have been at his best, but he was better in his fourth game than the score indicates. Alex Ovechkin scored his 55th goal of the season, extending his scoring streak to seven straight games, while on the power play in the first period. Alexander Semin hit the 30 goal mark with his second period PPG. Sergei Fedorov scored two goals, both with long range shots that made their way through traffic. Unfortunately, Fedorov was also the one that made the bad pass during overtime which led directly to Buffalo's game winning goal. There were some other mistakes and miscomunications by his Washington teammates, so all the blame certainly does not land solely on him.

The Caps kept shrinking the gap between themselves and the Eastern Conference's first place Boston Bruins over the past couple months, but Boston has now clinched the conference title for the season. Washington should be able to hold onto second place, though the New Jersey Devils aren't far behind them.

Seinfeld (Season 5 / Ep. 21) - "The Hamptons" (Shrinkage Scene)

The Capitals' inconsistencies have got to at least be greatly reduced if they are going to go far in the playoffs. They haven't got much time to work on it now, with only four regular season games left. Hopefully they can improve on their focus. They definitely have the talent to be Stanley Cup contenders.

Islanders Vs Capitals 04/01/2009 Review

Mike Green celebrates goal number 30 of the season on April 1, 2009.
Photo by Alex Brandon / AP Photo.

Islanders 3 - Capitals 5

After a very weak effort in the first period, the Washington Capitals got a little physical in the second. Then in the third period, defenseman Mike Green scored two power play goals, putting the Capitals ahead of the New York Islanders for the win.

Once again, Washington spent the first 20 minutes making a lesser team look real good. They seem to like to toy with bottom dwellers, allowing them to gain the lead and become over confident, before pouring it on for an exciting comeback win. Personally, I could do without the nerve wracking start, followed up by a late winning surge scenario. However they do it though, a win and two more points are always good.

It was clear that the Caps needed a spark to get them going after falling two goals behind, and at 1:40 in the second period, defenseman John Erskine provided that spark via a good old fashioned hockey fight with New York's Joel Rechlicz. While Jeff Schultz will never be the tough guy that Erskine is, he joined the effort, getting into his first NHL fight shortly after. His opponent was Islander Tim Jackman. The rough stuff seemed to be the right kind of fuel to get the Capitals' scoring engine running. At 5:37, Alex Ovechkin banged in his NHL leading 54th goal of the season past netminder Joey MacDonald, after getting a nice from behind the goal pass from Sergei Fedorov. Fedorov, who was actually playing defense on that particular shift, had collected the puck sent deep by Mike Green. Recent call up and AHL leading scorer with 94 points, Keith Aucoin scored his first goal as a Capital about four and a half minutes later. It was also his first NHL goal of the season.

Richard Park put the Islanders back ahead early in the third period. The unassisted goal versus Caps' goalie Jose Theodore made the score 3-2. With the help of Alexander Semin and Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green scored his 29th goal of the season at 10:55, while on the PP. One minute and twenty-three seconds later, on the power play again, he scored his 30th unassisted. Green is only the eighth NHL defenseman ever to score 30 or more goals in a single season. It's an accomplishment that hasn't been done since the 1992-1993 season. Green currently has a seven game scoring streak going. About a minute before the end of the game, Nicklas Backstrom scored his 22nd of the season. Backstrom got the unassisted empty netter after taking the puck away from NY defenseman Jack Hillen just inside the offensive zone.

The win gives Theodore 30 on the season for the third time in his career. It also means 101 points for the Capitals, who are now just 7 points behind the Eastern Conference leading Boston Bruins and 3 points ahead of the third place New Jersey Devils.

Penguins Vs Capitals 02/22/2009 Review

Alex Ovechkin scores on Marc-Andre Fleury with his first shot on goal.
Photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP Photo.

Penguins 2 - Capitals 5

The Washington Capitals may have momentarily stumbled on Friday when they hosted the Colorado Avalanche, but they clearly frustrated the hell out of Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins in yesterday's third straight victory over Pennsylvania's biggest crybabies.

The NBC Sports announcers presenting the game may have wrongfully called Crosby a "nice" guy, but they also finally and rightfully called Alex Ovechkin the "best player in the NHL by far". Sidney Crosby could be seen continuously spouting rubbish throughout the entire game toward Ovechkin and his mates on the ice and at the bench. Obviously, bad feelings were flowing both ways. Fortunately for us Caps fans, our guys usually don't also play dirty, like the whinny little windbag Crosby and some of his teammates. The referees sure seemed bent on making it look the other way round, but the outcome of the game should wash away most of those mistakes. Enough ranting! On with the important stuff.

Washington had the game sewn up about 21 minutes after the first puck drop. The Capitals got power play goals from Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin in the first period, with Maxime Talbot netting Pittsburgh's first tally between those strikes. The Pen's managed a power play goal of their own from Sergei Gonchar at 4:46 in the second period, but the game winner for the Caps was already scored by Sergei Fedorov just 56 seconds into the period.

Shaone Morrisonn and Brooks Laich gave Washington a couple of insurance goals later in the second period. The goal by Morrisonn was his 3rd of the season. Laich's goal, which he banked off starting Pens goalie Marc-Andre Fleury through a grapefruit sized gap between Fleury and the goal post, was his 14th. It also led to Pittsburgh switching to Mathieu Garon in net, but the damage had already been done.

All the Caps seemed to be ready for this match up. They played with energy the whole 60 minutes. Jose Theodore made 31 stops between the pipes. The power play worked well. The penalty kill may have been used a little more often than one would like, but things went right on that end as well.

I have to admit I did enjoy watching Ovechkin teasing Crosby. After Sid crosschecked him high in the back while in front of the Capitals' bench, bending him over the half wall near the end of the second period, Ovie kept his cool. He simply put his arm around Crosby's shoulders and passed along what I'm sure were compliments on Sid's fine, yet relatively unproductive play. After Crosby wrangled away from Ovechkin, they both headed to their benches. Ovie waved bye-bye and then added a flapping chicken gesture as time ran out on the period. Ahh yes, very entertaining game.

Ovechkin and Crosby chat near end of second period.
This video was obviously mixed by a Penguins fan.
"Alex Ovechkin Roughs Up / Taunts Sidney Crosby [Feb 22, 2009]"
I found the "Roughs Up" part of the title very funny.

Capitals Vs Penguins 01/14/2009 Review

Washington's John Erskine checks Sidney Crosby into the boards.
January 14, 2009 Photo by Gene J. Puskar / Assiociated Press.

Capitals 6 - Penguins 3

The Washington Capitals stopped their recent losing streak at three games by beating the Penguins in a great momentum building effort last night in Pittsburgh. The Capitals kept their focus on winning and left all the media's semi-fabricated bickering hype behind them, off the ice.

Both teams started off looking a little sloppy at first, but play tightened up as the game moved along. Washington netminder Jose Theodore wasn't looking to be at his best early on, even though he made some good saves in the first period. The referees weren't at there best either, calling a four minute double minor high stick penalty on Washington's Donald Brashear, when his stick was clearly not the one that made contact. The offending stick may even have been one of Kris Letang's teammates, from within traffic in the area. Pittsburgh scored on the power play with a slap shot by Evgeni Malkin at 5:45, for his 18th goal of the season. Malkin managed a couple hits on Alex Ovechkin, which thrilled the Penguins fans. They weren't terribly thrilled when he got whistled for interference at the 16:00 mark, after smacking Ovechkin in the head with his stick. Everyone became concerned shortly after, when Rob Scuderi blocked a hard shot by Mike Green with his face. He did not return to the game.

Things looked a little brighter for Caps fans, when Viktor Kozlov sent the puck through Marc-Andre Fleury's catching glove for his 10th goal of the season about a minute into the second period. At 8:13 however, Miroslav Satan put the Pens back ahead by one goal. A few minutes later, the Capitals answered back with Alexander Semin netting his 17th of the season. Tomas Fleischmann got the puck from the side wall to Sergei Fedorov, who sent a perfect saucer pass over a defender's leg to Semin. As Semin reached the other end of the crease, he batted the flying puck into the net. The two Capitals goals, along with increasingly confident and physical play by Washington, were starting to get to Pittsburgh, including their goaltender.

The Caps went ahead for the first time in the game, when Ovechkin potted his own rebound from the edge of the Pens goal crease. Pittsburgh then scored their third and final goal via a slapper from the point by Ryan Whitney, after Sidney Crosby sent the puck to him on a nice rink wide pass. Just after that, a temporarily rattled Theodore got nicked with a delay of game penalty. He misplayed the puck, then unfortunately swatted the biscuit out of the playing area. Luckily, he straightened out afterwards. Pittsburgh's Petr Sykora lost his cool right after a draw, and smacked Fedorov on the helmet with his stick (seems to be a common behavior by the Pens). Washington's Tomas Fleischmann scored his 15th goal of the season on the PP opportunity. He sent Ovechkin's rebound in for the game winner with a wrister, while lunging through the air toward the goal. By this point, Fleury was completely flustered, and his mates were losing it as well. At 11:27, Ovechkin banked the puck off of Whitney's skate, scoring his 29th goal of the season and second of the third period. About a minute before the end of the game, Caps defenseman Jeff Schultz ended his 72 game goalless drought. He cleared the puck from Washington's crease, and it went all the way across the ice surface and into the empty net at the other end. That made it 6-3 for Washington, adding insult to injury. Injury including Pittsburgh's Rob Scuderi, Maxime Talbot and Sidney Crosby.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Capitals throttle the Penguins. It was just icing on the cake to see Washington's players taking turns crunching both Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. A totally frustrated and shaky Marc-Andre Fleury is a good sight for Caps fans too. Perhaps the most special moment of the evening was when Crosby tried to check David Steckel into the side wall during the third period and almost completely missed his mark. Unfortunately, that's when he also got hurt. Hopefully, the injured foul get the necessary repairs soon. I don't wish serious injury on any of them, much as I hate them. The first two games versus the Penguins this season have both been wins for the Capitals in Pittsburgh. The last two will be on Washington's home ice. I'm looking forward to the Capitals taking those games as well.

Hurricanes Vs Capitals 11/06/2008 Review

Alexander Semin tries to gain control of the puck.
November 6, 2008 Photo by Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP

Hurricanes 2 - Capitals 3

It was the Carolina Hurricanes's turn to be disappointed last night. Until the final few minutes of the game, it looked like they might eek out a victory over the Washington Capitals. Thankfully for Caps fans, Alexander Semin and his mates had a couple surprises in store for the Canes.

Things were looking good for Carolina after Scott Walker tipped in the first goal, on the very first shot of the game. First shot goals have now happened to the Capitals in four of their first 12 starts. After that though, Washington relied on another solid performance by goalie Brent Johnson, and their recently recovered forechecking skills to get them safely through the first period.

The goaltending of Cam Ward had been giving the Caps fits through the first, but at 3:05 in the second period, Sergei Fedorov's wrist shot found the back of the net. Even though Washington seemed to have lost their edge somewhat, it took until 12:13 for Tuomo Ruutu to score and put Carolina back ahead. Some respect was definitely earned by forward Brooks Laich in the second. He blocked a hard shot with a leg at one point, which took him down to the ice for a minute. After a couple attempts, he was able to get up and slowly make his way to the bench. Along the way, he blocked a Carolina defender's pass. Brooks spent a few minutes in the dressing room, before returning to play.

The Capitals' regained their edge, and came out full of energy in the third period. At 17:17, Alexander Semin tied the game. Alex Ovechkin passed the puck to Semin, who brought it around to the front of the net and sent it in through a good bit of traffic. It started looking like we were headed to overtime. Then Ovechkin skated the puck up the ice. He probably should have shot the puck, but he elected to pass it to Semin instead. Semin barely got a hold of it, and with about 11 seconds left on the clock, snapped in the game winner. Caps fans, including yours truly, shot up from their seats and cheered their fannies off. No matter what you might have thought about the rest of the game, that was a great way to end it.

No power play goals yet again. However, the penalty killing keeps on rolling. Brent Johnson was great in net. Alexander Semin had another multiple goal game, and Alex Ovechkin had the primary assist on all three Washington goals scored.

I experienced this game from high up in section 406, along with my hockey buddy and daughter, Chelsea. We also brought a friend of hers, who didn't know anything about hockey. She thought the pounding that Donald Brashear handed out to Wade Brookbank was "hilarious". Even though you can see everything from up in the 400 level, as you would expect, it's just not quite as good an experience as our normal 100 level seats. I usually opt for the good seats because we don't make it down from Harford County, MD very often. One of the worst things about the evening was the sound system. We couldn't make out what was being announced most of the time. But, we still enjoyed the game. Since I got the tickets for free, I guess I shouldn't complain very much. We hope to make it back again, real soon.

Capitals Vs Stars 10/25/2008 Review

Alexander Semin celebrates winning goal with Shaone Morrisonn and Mike Green.

Capitals 6 - Stars 5 OT

It was back to "Run 'n Gun" style hockey, as the Washington Capitals out dueled the Dallas Stars in the final game of their road trip out West. Believe it or not, both goaltenders Marty Turco of the Stars and the Caps' Jose Theodore made plenty of fine saves, despite all the goal scoring that took place.

Obviously the netminding wasn't perfect. Theodore would probably like a redo on the big right up the slot rebound he set up the Stars first goal with. Turco had his own puck mishandling moments too, but for the most part, both played well. There were a few times at each end of the ice when the goalies were surprised by players who somehow made their way through the defense and ended up wide open, right on the doorstep.

Sergei Fedorov celebrates NHL goal 474 with Alex Ovechkin.

I'm not about to go back and add them all up, but it did seem like the Stars committed more turnovers than the Capitals. Washington was very aggressive, causing Dallas to cough up the puck via excellent forechecking. The Caps did fairly well on their puck possession time as well.

Among the Caps' goal scoring was Tyler Sloan, with his very first NHL goal during his third NHL game. It was good to get both defenseman John Erskine and forward Viktor Kozlov back from injury. Erskine's return meant Sergei Fedorov was put back at center, and that worked out very well for him and the Capitals. Fedorov scored two goals (#474 and #475), the first of which made him the Russian born player with the most career goals ever in the NHL. Tomas Fleischmann also put in two and came very close to a hat trick a few times. Meanwhile, even with only 12:12 total ice time, Michael Nylander managed two assists. Alexander Semin also had a multi point night, with two assists and the game winning overtime goal.

Tyler Sloan scores first NHL goal on Mart Turco.

It wasn't the most technically brilliant game. But even with all those pucks flying into the net and a lack of any real domination, it was still a very satisfying win.

All Photos from Associated Press - October 25, 2008.

Capitals Announce Preseason Game Schedule

The Washington Capitals have finished Development Camp 2008 and finally officially signed future Hall Of Fame center Sergei Fedorov to a one year contract. With only defenseman Shaone Morrisonn left to sign (as far as we know, anyway), the Capitals released their 2008 preseason schedule.


2008 Washington Capitals Preseason Schedule (and Sergei Fedorov photo) from Washingtoncaps.com

Date / Opponent / Location / Time

Wed., Sept. 24 at Carolina RBC Center, Raleigh, N.C. 7 p.m.
Thurs., Sept. 25 Carolina Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. 7 p.m.
Sat., Sept. 27 at Boston TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, Mass. 4 p.m.
Mon., Sept. 29 at New Jersey TBD 7 p.m.
Wed., Oct. 1 at Philadelphia Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, Pa. 7 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 3 Philadelphia Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. 7 p.m.
Sun., Oct. 5 Boston Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. 5 p.m.

All Times Eastern


It sure would be nice to be able to watch some of these games on TV, but I doubt that's going to happen. I remember getting giddy listening to them online last season. We got to watch via the intermittently working NHL Live Center Ice Video Portal (temporarily free), but preferred our own Steve Kolbe and Mike Vogel as far as the audio. All of us Cap's fans and bloggers commenting back and forth during the games was a good time. I anticipate it being exciting this year too.

Capitals Earn Respect With 2008 Awards

Photo - Al Bello / Getty Images

The Washington Capitals now command a lot of respect, after an award winning 2007-2008 season and 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs berth. The NHL, NHLPA, even the sports news media and local government have spoken. They have made it clear that they admire Alex Ovechkin, Bruce Boudreau, Nicklas Backstrom and the Capitals organization. Washington will no longer be referred to as the lowly Cap's. They now have plenty of hardware that says otherwise.

Capitals fans watched the 2008 NHL Awards Show from home and Verizon Center with joyful anticipation as Ovechkin was rightfully awarded the Lester B. Pearson Award (Player Of The Year) and the Hart Memorial Trophy (Most Valuable Player). It eased the nerves of some when the Pearson was presented to Alex at the start of the show. We already knew he was getting the Hart. Backstrom did not receive the Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie Of The Year), but second place is obviously still very respectable. Coach Boudreau was presented the Jack Adams Award (Coach Of The Year), after inspiring a last place team enough to get them to the playoffs.

Alex Ovechkin had already received a few other awards. As the league's highest goal scorer (65) he earned the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy. Having also led in points (112), Ovechkin won the Art Ross Trophy. For the third straight year, Alex won the Kharlamov Trophy after being voted the best Russian player in the NHL by other Russian players.

Capitals teammates Alex Ovechkin, Sergei Fedorov and Alexander Semin helped lead Team Russia to their first world championship in 15 years at the 2008 IIHF World Championship, held in Halifax and Quebec City, Canada between May 2nd and May 18th. Next year they may be busy going into later rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs instead.

Photo - Mitchell Layton / Getty Images

What all these accolades bring to the Washington Capitals as a team is much the same as it brings to the individuals themselves. It brings a feeling of pride and satisfaction. They know for sure that they can play at an elite level. It makes Washington a desirable organization to belong to. From pee wee league youngsters to NHL superstars, the Capitals are a team most would love to play for. They've earned some serius respect.

Russia Wins Gold At 2008 World Championship

For the first time in 15 years, Russia won the IIHF World Championship. Congratulations to Sergei Fedorov, Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin and their fellow countrymen for a brilliant achievement. Russia and Washington Capitals fans are very proud. It's nice to see some of our Cap's enjoying a championship win before going on holiday. That's got to make the time between now and the start of the NHL's 2008-2009 season a little bit happier and easier. They've got a lot to celebrate right now. Let's hope we get to celebrate a different kind of championship next spring. Winning at the Worlds might just add some experience that could be very helpful in that effort.

Capitals Vs Flyers 04/22/2008 EC Quarterfinal Game 6 Review

Capitals 4 - Flyers 2

The Washington Capitals evened up their first round playoff series against the Philadelphia Flyers with another win last night. They had to come back after getting behind by two, but they've been there before. They seem to have a strong need for the dramatic. None of the players more so than Alex Ovechkin, who scored the game winner and an extra insurance goal.

The Capitals looked just a touch out of sinc in the first period. They kept the pressure on. But, they committed turnover after turnover. Eventually, the Flyers were able to take advantage and went ahead on power play goal by Mike Richards, with Matt Bradley in the penalty box for hooking. Washington had their share of scoring chances, seven to the Flyers five. Brooks Laich had three shots on goal in the first. Another bright spot in the period was a massive open ice hit on a Flyers defender by Mike Green.

The second period didn't start off to well either. Philadelphia got their second PP goal at 1:18, on a strike by their hottest hand, Danny Briere. That's Briere's sixth goal and tenth point in the series. However, the Cap's took over from that point. Cristobal Huet made 16 saves for Washington in the period. Martin Biron had 15 saves of his own, but he was looking a bit shaky. Capitals' defenseman Tom Poti made a couple nice saves also. He's been very alert by the net lately, making kick saves and diving poke checks. While Washington was increasing the pressure on Philadelphia, the Flyers increased their physical play. That aggressive "physical" play included some dirty tricks as usual, some of which was detected by the officials.

Drawing toward the mid point of the game, Nicklas Backstrom got his second goal of the playoffs. It started with a long range outlet pass by Steve Eminger, who's played very well, even with limited ice time. Brooks Laich received the puck and sent it on to Alexander Semin. Semin and Backstrom seemed to be casually passing the puck back and forth uncontested, before Nick snapped it by Biron at 9:34. The Cap's didn't make good on any of their power play chances in this frame, but they did have success at even strength. After Laich loosened up the puck with a nice hit on Briere, they struck again at 18:03. John Erskine sent in a hard shot. Semin followed it up and popped in the rebound for the tying goal. That was Semin's third goal of the playoffs. He now has a four game point streak.

Less than three minutes into the third period, Alex Ovechkin ended his four game goalless streak. The Flyers turned over the puck, and Viktor Kozlov fed a pass to Ovechkin. Alex accelerated up the ice, leaving everyone behind. One leg pump, and then he sent the game winner into the net. At 10:19, Philadelphia got caught with too many men on the ice. A problem the Cap's have been suffering from. It only took 22 seconds for Washington to take advantage of the opportunity. Sergei Fedorov tipped the puck into the offensive zone. After he recaptured the puck, he sent it over to Brooks Laich. Laich fed it to Ovechkin, who slapped in his second goal of the game. The Flyers seemed to ease up a little bit at this point. They didn't give up completely, but some of their fans did. The rest of the crowd started booing their team, with two minutes left on the clock. The Capitals didn't show a lot of excitement at this point. They remained calm as time ran out, knowing that they aren't done yet.

Philadelphia didn't want a Game 7, but they're going to get one. Don't expect them to lay down and let the Cap's roll over them. They're most likely going to give it all they've got tonight. Let's hope the Washington does the same.

Photo of Alex Ovechkin - Tom Mihalek / AP
Other Photos - Bruce Bennett / Getty Images

Flyers Vs Capitals 04/19/2008 EC Quarterfinal Game 5 Review

Flyers 2 - Capitals 3

Before today's first round playoffs Game 5, the Washington Capitals' head coach Bruce Boudreau said "I'm not ready to go home yet". Thanks to their win today against the Philadelphia Flyers, there will be at least one more game. Every player on the Capitals' team chipped in and made a difference in this match.

Washington got 5 on 3 power play in the first period, after Philadelphia's Jeff Carter was called for interference on Mike Green, and then Kimmo Timonen joined him in the penalty box after hooking Alex Ovechkin. The Capitals kept play in the offensive zone. After grabbing his own rebound, Brooks Laich shuttled the puck to Alex Semin. Semin fired a pass to the net, where Nicklas Backstrom sent the back door wrist shot past Martin Biron for the first goal of the game at 7:31. The Capitals held the Flyers to only four shots in the first. They more than matched Philadelphia's physical play. Just before the period ended, Ovechkin hit Jim Dowd so hard, Dowd nearly ended up on the players' bench.

Just 1:25 into the second period, the Capitals increased the lead to two goals. Viktor Kozlov pushed Scottie Upshall away from the puck, behind the Flyers' net. He skated it toward the corner, drawing two defenders away from the front of the goal. He passed the puck to a wide open Sergei Fedorov, who backhanded in his 51st career playoff goal. Mike Green also got his first of two assists in the game on the play. It took 11:10 and a couple really lame penalty calls on the Cap's for the Fly's to answer back. Mike Richards sent the puck to Danny Briere on the left side of the goal, drawing over netminder Cristobal Huet. After Huet was committed, he slide the puck to the other side, where Vinny Prospal sent it to the back of the net. Washington was able to keep Philadelphia's shots down to seven in this middle period.

Around five minutes into the third period, Philadelphia's R.J. Umberger had me laughing pretty hard. He tried to draw a penalty by starting something with Donald Brashear. To me, the inevitable pounding of a lifetime just wouldn't be worth it. Donald wasn't falling for that trick. With the Cap's ahead, it just wasn't the right time. About a minute after the Flys' Scott Hartnell went to the box for hooking at 13:38, I got another good chuckle. The score sheet shows assists by Green and Fedorov. But, when Semin sent in his net seeking missile at 14:33, it had to make it's way through no less than seven bodies before reaching the back of the net. I stopped laughing for a little bit, when Philadelphia's Derian Hatcher scored less than a minute later, with the help of Prospal and Briere. But, by the time the Fly's iced the puck with minute and a half left in the game, I was smiling pretty big again.

This was a great game on so many levels. The Capitals played very hard and very smart. They didn't let themselves get rattled by the energetic and often dirty play of the Flyers, or the inconsistent officiating. Washington finished their checks, blocked shots and kept their sticks in the lanes. Tom Poti had what may have been two goal saving poke checks, deep within the Caps' end during the second and third periods. John Erskine was excellent in his role again, putting a fair amount of fear into any Flyers who might want to hang out in Washington's crease or take liberties with his teammates. Donald Brashear had seven hits in his 6:52 of ice time, six within the first period alone. Alexander Semin seems to be maturing, playing more physically and smarter than ever before. Ovechkin went goalless again, but he's starting to get open more often. With his increasing chances, it's only a matter of time. He and his Capitals mates will get more time Monday, during their EC Quarterfinals Playoff Game 6.

All Photos - Len Redkoles / Getty images

Flyers Vs Capitals 04/11/2008 EC Quarterfinal Game 1 Review

Flyers 4 - Capitals 5

While the Philadelphia Flyers' top two forwards scored all their goals, the Washington Capitals' got some help from the fourth line in another typically dramatic come from behind Capitals win. Three of the Capitals ended up with a multi point effort in Washington's first playoff game since 2003.

The Capitals started off pretty well in the first period, with fourth line forward Donald Brashear putting the Cap's on the scoreboard at 3:16. Defenseman Tom Poti took a long range shot that was deflected toward Brashear by linemate Matt Bradley. Donald took the loose puck and made a fine move to the right side of the net before putting it past Philadelphia's netminder Martin Biron. I bet it felt good getting a playoff goal against his former team. Unfortunately, Flyers' RW forward Vinny Prospal evened the score about five minutes later, right off a draw. Washington's goalie Cristobal Huet never saw it coming. He had three guys screening the shot, including Caps' defensemen Milan Jurcina and Mike Green. Philadelphia's Scott Hartnell was the Flyer camping out at the crease, as usual.

The second period started off much like the first, with fourth line center scoring a goal at 4:08. Matt Bradley was in on this one too. He dumped the puck deep into the Flyers end, drawing two defenders along with him as he retrieved the puck. Then, while facing the end wall, Brads sent the puck between his legs and back toward Dave Steckel. Steckel roofed his first NHL level playoff goal, glove side. After that, the Flyers started to get a little nasty. Like when Scottie Upshall took a shot around the middle of the period. While Huet was trying to make the save, Jeff Carter followed up the shot by jamming his stick into Huet's crotch. That went unnoticed by the referees. The slash by Danny Briere behind the net was called at 9:38. But, Washington failed to score with the man advantage. Worse yet, Mike Knuble fed an outlet pass to Briere, as he was released from the penalty box two minutes later. Briere snapped it past Huet to tie the score 2-2. Cristobal seemed a little shaky for the most of the second period. With the Capitals' defense not being quite as aggressive as they should've been at the same time, Washington wasn't looking very good. When Prospal made it 3-2 after a turnover at the end of a Cap's line change, the stunned fans were quiet for the first time in weeks. A flicker of doubt went through my mind, when Briere got his second on a lucky back door chance about three minutes later.

As soon as the third period started, you could tell that the Capitals were back on line. The coaches and the veteren players with Stanley Cup Playoff experience must have straightened out the younger guys during the second intermission. In his first playoff game at the NHL level, Mike Green scored at 1:50 into the third. LW forward Alexander Semin passed the puck from the left sidewall to Sergei Fedorov at the far edge of the faceoff circle. Fedorov dished the puck to Green as he drove in on the other side. Green put it in past Biron, who tripped Mike as he crossed the top of the crease. With the Cap's resurging, Philadelphia took a few more cheap shots. Semin was hooked and Huet was downed in his crease. The ref's finally called a penalty, when Briere high sticked Matt Bradley. It sure looked intentional to me, as there was no reason for him to lift his stick up so high and horizontally. The Capitals made good use of this power play. Nicklas Backstrom passed the puck to Mike Green, who fired a hard slapshot that hit Flyer Patrick Thoresen. Alex Ovechkin grabbed the puck and sent it back to Green. Green's second slapper went in at 6:26 to tie the game at 4-4. The boys did another one of those pile up celebrations, and the crowd's volume went up another notch or two.

During the third period, Washington's defense was doing a much better job of keeping Philadelphia away from the front of the net. The whole team was energized and made more good clean hits. With about 4 1/2 minutes left, Alex Ovechkin got his first playoff goal. Alex poke checked a lazy pass by Lasse Kukkonen. He beat Kukkonen to the puck and snapped it past Biron for the game winner. The crowd leapt to their feet and screamed M-V-P!...M-V-P!...M-V-P!

The middle period was a little rough, but the Capitals got their first playoff win since April 12, 2003. In typical Capitals' fashion, they came from behind scoring three of their five goals in the third period alone. Also typical, it was Alex Ovechkin with the goal that put it away for good. Like you, I can't wait for game two.

All Photos - Getty Images

Panthers Vs Capitals 04/05/2008 Review

Panthers 1 - Capitals 3

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The Washington Capitals beat the Florida Panthers, gaining themselves their first NHL Stanley Cup playoff berth since the 2002-2003 season. Along with getting in at the third seed in the Eastern Conference, they are now this season's Southeast Division Champs. The last time they owned the division crown was at the end of the 2000-2001 season. Officially, it was Fan Appreciation Night, which included the "Shirts Off Our Backs" on ice ceremony after the game. Unofficially, it was also Capitals Appreciation Night. The overjoyed sellout crowd was so loud, they might want to check Verizon Center for structural damage.

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The Capitals started out a little tight in the first period. The Panthers were going all out, hoping to spoil Washington's post season plans. One of the Panthers probably couldn't remember which end of the ice he was heading for, when Donald Brashear knocked him out of the Capitals zone and into the neutral zone. At about six minutes into the game, netminder Cristobal Huet almost helped them out. He seemed to space out for a second. After settling the puck behind the net, he appeared to hand it off to one of the Panthers. Nothing came of it, as he quickly got back in front of the goal. Other than that unfortunate incident, he was very solid. Florida's Craig Anderson was also excellent guarding the net. But, it was the Cap's who got on the scoreboard first. Brooks Laich put some pressure on Brett McLean at the sidewall to the right of the Panthers' net, causing a turnover. Tomas Fleischmann grabbed the puck and headed straight for the net. When he got close, he fanned on his shot while going around a defender. But, he got his own rebound as he skated around the top of the crease. While being intentionally tripped by Anderson, he made his second try count. You better believe that got one hell of a reaction from his team and the rabid fans. The Capitals seemed much looser after that. However, even with two 5 on 3 power play situations, they couldn't get another one past Anderson, in the first.

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The Panthers got their only goal of the game in the second period. It was a power play goal by Kamil Kreps that went unnoticed at first. Kreps' shot sent the puck behind Huet rolling on edge along the goal line, and then the puck banked in off the far right post. The referee had his hand up, waiting to call the delayed penalty on Washington. Along with a little confusion about Sergei Fedorov's slashing penalty, video review showed the puck crossing the goal line. After that, the Capitals started playing a little more aggressively. At 15:03, Fedorov put them back ahead by one. Mike Green sent an outlet pass to Alexander Semin, who was by the sidewall right on the center stripe. He immediately sent a perfect backhand pass to Fedorov, who he saw waiting at the blue line. Sergei entered the zone and sent a seriously hard slapshot past a completely helpless Anderson.

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Early in the third period, the Cap's were cycling the puck in the Panthers' end. Steve Montador blocked a Sergei Fedorov shot, but the puck went right back to Fedorov. He sent the puck to Nicklas Backstrom near the end wall. Backstrom passed it to Semin in the high slot. Semin banged the cross bar with a top shelf PP goal, putting Washington ahead by two. While Mike Green was congratulating Alexander Semin, Alex Ovechkin skated over and leaped into the air, bowling over Green and Semin. Then Backstrom piled on, followed by Fedorov. What a fantastically entertaining and joyful sight. I could watch the replay over and over again. As a Cap's fan, you couldn't help but be filled with pride and confidence at that point. But, the silly officials insisted the other 17:39 left in regulation be played out. The Panthers weren't exactly ready to give in yet, either.

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The rest of the game was also exciting. There were more big hits, including Branislav Mezei sending Tom Poti corkscrewing through the air and Ovie plastering Jay Bouwmeester. John Erskine got decked behind Washington's net, without a penalty being called. Then Erskine made the mistake of getting caught giving Nathan Horton a little shove. This time, the mood for actually calling the penalty struck the ref. Then, the ref's swallowed their whistles for the second half of the period. Just before the thirteen minute mark, Brooks Laich took a shot to the inside of his left leg. He had to hobble through traffic and all the way across the ice before reaching the Cap's bench. Yeah, that's going to leave a mark. The final minutes were full of cheers from the fans. The M-V-P chants for Ovechkin which had also been heard earlier, increased again. Another standing ovation, as Ovie headed to the bench at the end of a shift. About two minutes before the final horn, everyone was on their feet for good. The final seconds ticked off and the biggest celebration you've ever seen erupted, on and off the ice.

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Eventually, head coach Bruce Boudreau met up with Comcast SportsNet's Lisa Hillary on the ice for a short interview, heard over the PA system. About his players, he said "These guys are the coolest guys in the world, man". The fans think you're pretty cool too, Bruce. Remember, this team was at the bottom of the league when he took over on Thanksgiving Day in November, 2007. They were 14th in the East at the midpoint of the season. To finish on top of the division with 94 points and be headed for the playoffs, is amazing. That is a feat that has never been done before. There are so many great things about this game and the second half of the season, that will leave smiles on Cap's fans for a long time. .

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All Photos - Nick Wass / AP