Washington Capitals Hockey

                       Thursday, April 10, 2008

A Quick Video

NHL.com launched "The Hockey Show" yesterday. Check out this short video on the Washington Capitals. It sends chills up and down my spine. Good chills.

The start kind of stinks. Who the heck wants to Cindy Crosby? But I'll never get enough of Bruce Boudreau acting like a kid on his birthday.

         Wednesday, April 9, 2008          

Two Up, One Down -- A Brief Flyer/Capital Playoff History

It's been a quite a while since the good ol' Patrick Division was still in existence. Since the last time Washington faced the Philadelphia Flyers in the postseason, the Capitals have played every other Patrick Division team at least once in the playoffs.

But it's been 14 years since the Capitals played a Patrick team who did not hail from Pittsburgh. That was a loss in five to the New York Rangers, but there were also series with both the New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils since the Capitals last played in City of Brotherly Love in mid-April. The wait is over. But what might we expect?

• The first matchup came in the 1984 playoffs. The first Capitals goal was scored by none other than Craig Laughlin. In fact, Laughlin also scored what turned out to be the series winning goal -- the Capitals first ever playoff series win. The drama was minimal, however, as the Capitals swept the Flyers in three straight and won each of the last two games by four goals.



• Check out the conclusion of the 1988 series. Does it get any better than watching Dale Hunter score the Game 7 overtime winner?





• The Flyers get the last laugh in 1989 when Ron Hextall humiliated the Capitals with a shorthanded empty net goal in Game 5. I posted the video a couple days ago, but for those of you who are too lazy (like myself) to scroll down, here it is again:





• And what would a Capitals/Flyers game be without team brawls? The following are both regular season battles. The first is circa 1985, the second from the 1990-91 season:

As much as I love hearing country music, seeing NASCAR jackets, and hearing cats screaming on every faceoff in 80 degree January weather (note the sarcasm), it sure is refreshing to see an old Patrick Division rival that is not named the Pittsburgh Penguins in the playoffs.

                       Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Lottery Night

Just a couple months ago, it appeared that this would be the Washington Capitals' biggest night in the month of April. Fortunately, we were proven to be dead wrong. With the Capitals among the 16 teams set to vie for the 2008 Stanley Cup, the 14 who failed had the opportunity to move ahead in the draft -- with a little help from Lady Luck.

Once everything was settled, the league's worst team, the Tampa Bay Lightning won the right to choose first, a pick likely to be used on either center Steve Stamkos or either of two defensemen, Drew Doughty or Zach Bogosian.

As it turns out, the lottery was a big waste of time (but a profitable won for the league as this was only the second time the lottery was televised live.) The teams end up drafting in the exact order they would have if there was no lottery and the draft was based soley on their season records. Two of the top three choices belong to Southeast Division rivals as the Atlanta Thrashers will select third. 

While the final 16 picks will be determined by the results of the playoffs, the first 14 picks look like this:

1. Tampa Bay Lightning
2. Los Angeles Kings
3. Atlanta Thrashers
4. St. Louis Blues
5. New York Islanders
6. Columbus Blue Jackets
7. Toronto Maple Leafs
8. Phoenix Coyotes
9. Nashville Predators (from Florida)
10. Vancouver Canucks
11. Chicago Blackhawks
12. Anaheim Ducks (from Edmonton)
13. Buffalo Sabres
14. Carolina Hurricanes

Again, this is the exact same order of the standings. No lottery surprises whatsoever. But who cares? The Capitals are looking for the 30th pick in the draft -- the pick awarded to the Stanley Cup winner. Heck the Stanley Cup finals loser still gets the 29th pick in the draft, the same pick the Capitals used to select Mike Green four years ago.

         Saturday, April 5, 2008          

It's All Set

Beginning Friday, April 11, the Verizon Center will be packed to the gills with throngs of Washington Capitals faithful and certainly a fair share Philadelphia Flyers fanatics.

The Washington Capitals hosted some memorable best-of-7 battles with the bruisers from Broad Street. But this is the first time these two teams will meet in the postseason since the old Patrick Division dropped the Capitals and was renamed the Atlantic Division after the 1992-93 season.

But this Friday's series opener marks the 19th anniversary of a game I will personally never forget. On April 11, 1989, I sat in the upper level at the raucous old Capital Centre and watched Ron Hextall score an empty netter, the first by a goaltender in NHL playoff history:

That goal stuck a knife in the back of Washington, who just won their first ever Patrick Division Champsionship in team history.  With help from Hextall the Flyers broke a 2-2 series tie to give Philly a 3-2 series lead which they closed out the next game back at the Spectrum. That was Washington's last taste of Philly, and it was a bitter, bitter pill. Get used to those awful Flyers airhorns in town a second time around, as this long-forgotten rivalry is rekindled.

In the two prior playoff meetings with Philadelphia, including one the previous postseason, the Capitals fared much better. In 1987-88, the Capitals used all seven games to eliminate the Flyers. Four years earlier in 1983-84, the Capitals swept the Flyers 3 games to none for the franchise's first ever playoff series win. 

Two decades ago, this was developing into a bitter rivalry. That was cut short as the Pittsburgh Penguins took over and found humiliating the Capitals to be both fun and easy as they won 6 of 7 series across the following decade.

Ironically, a series win over Philly would likely match the Capitals with the Penguins (if they defeat Ottawa.) But that's a whole other set of stories for another day.

For now it's all about Philly and both teams have an entire week to rest and prepare. No other series begins this late. All the others begin either Wednesday or Thursday. In fact, San Jose and Calgary will be in the books for two by Thursday, the day before the Caps opener on Friday. Friday also finds three other series playing their second games while the Caps get ready for their first.

This lengthy rest could work out perfectly for the injury situation around the Capitals locker room. Shaone Morrisonn may be fully healed, as should Jeff Schultz. Both are listed day-to-day. David Steckel was cleared to play the season finale but sat out. His finger should be nearing 100% come Friday. Even the mystery shrouding the crotch of Chris Clark may unfold with him in the lineup, or it may not.

So this has been just a brief preview. With so many off days ahead, I plan to chronicle some of the earlier Washington/Philadelphia playoff battles. Check back soon.

         Saturday, April 5, 2008          

PLAYOFFS!!!!!!!!!

         Saturday, April 5, 2008          

A Win, They're In

When I decided to start this website this past Thanksgiving, I never thought in a million years that I'd be writing about the Capitals controlling their own destiny on the final day of this season. I just assumed I'd be talking about their odds of winning the lottery and who was available in the Top 5 of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. And the recurring theme? Well, at least we've got the right to match any offer to Alex Ovechkin this offseason.

My how wrong I was. The Capitals finally made their coaching change, signed Ovechkin for over a decade, and are one point away from their first playoff appearance in five years. Incredible.

Now they just need to finish what they started, and all the signs are there that they will. And the best part? If they do earn at least one point against Florida, the Capitals will have home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. And just as importantly (if not more so) they will avoid having to face the Pittsburgh Penguins, meaning the Caps actually have a chance of making it past the first round.

In a side note, Matt Cooke was fined $2,500 for his collision with Tampa's Vinny Lecavalier. 

Congrats to Lightning head man John Tortorella, whose incessant whining seemed to pay dividends. Torts said, "It's an absolute cheap shot. We have stick fouls - stick foul after stick foul - and then I see that. It's a guy in a vulnerable position. It's an interference if the puck isn't anywhere near him, and that isn't called. It's an absolute cheap shot." You be the judge.

The big question is what kind of fine and/or suspension will Tortorella receive for blatantly sending an extra guy on the ice to pick a fight at the end of the game. As best as I can tell, it may be nothing. The NHL is really dropping the ball on these calls lately, whether it's penalties, disallowed goals, or fines.

Let's just hope that things are tightened up a bit come playoff time.

                       Friday, April 4, 2008

One More Quick Look Back

With a HUGE night on the out-of-town scoreboard beginning in a few short hours, let's take a brief moment to look at a couple of the Caps recent moves.

Let's start in net with Cristobal Huet, who has made Olie Kolzig look like Kevin Weekes up in New Jersey backing up Marty Brodeur. Looking back to December, I hate to say "I told you so," but I TOLD YOU SO. After watching the Capitals lose a game 5-2 that they should have won by that score, I wrote:

Huet, despite a career 2.46 GAA and .919, has been relegated to a backup role in Montreal and is due to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. A former seventh round draft pick, Huet will likely be leaving Montreal to sign as a starter elsewhere -- he could be the #1 guy for at least 20 other teams in this league (including Washington) and will command top dollar as such. With Kolzig also on the verge of unrestricted free agency, the Capitals have the room to go after a guy like Huet if they want to be a serious contender. But we'll save the speculation for another day.

That "another day," apparently was February 26 and the Capitals have since become a serious contender -- if they do indeed reach the playoffs.

Now on to the Matt Pettinger for Matt Cooke deal. Last night, Pettinger's Vancouver Canucks lost to the Edmonton Oilers, thus eliminating them from the playoff race. The Canucks are just 7-10-2 since the trade while the Capitals have gone 14-4-0.

And Pettinger? He saw his ice time decrease every single game during the Canucks' last 7 games, 6 of which were losses. Just two weeks ago, Pettinger played 15:40. In last night's loss Petty was on the ice for all of 7:19, the least of any Canuck.

Now how 'bout that Russian who is supposedly past his physical prime? Sergei Fedorov has provided the veteran leadership this team has been desperate for. And with 163 points in 162 career playoff games on his resumee, his presence will be that much more critical. Donald Brashear is next on the Caps with just 49. Not to mention the Capitals' number one line has never scored a goal in the postseason (Viktor Kozlov has none in 14 games.)

Clearly the trades have worked out magnificently for Washington and with a win on Saturday, the Capitals are likely to reach the postseason for the first time in five years. Especially with a little help this evening.

LETS GO PANTHERS! 

LETS GO DEVILS! 

LETS GO SENS/BRUINS GAME DECIDED IN REGULATION!

         Friday, April 4, 2008          

The Code Has Been Cracked

How does this look folks? (Though it may be short-lived.)

So for at least one evening, the Washington Capitals are resting (un)comfortably in the 8th seed. Of course the Caps got no help (surprise, surprise) from the Toronto Maple Leafs who played the role of punching bag against the Muhammad Ali-esque Ottawa Senators. But tonight remains the biggest night of scoreboard watching for the Capitals in years.

While the Caps recover for their Saturday tilt against Florida, the Philadelphia Flyers, Carolina Hurricanes, Boston Bruins, and Ottawa Senators are all in action tonight. Once these games have been decided, we will almost certainly know exactly what the Capitals need to do Saturday to make the playoffs, and where they may wind up in the standings. 

The biggest game of the set is the Ottawa/Boston matchup. A result in regulation allows the Caps to finally control their own destiny -- something they've unquestionably earned with their play since the trade deadline, including 10 wins in their last 11.

Other scenarios that would place Washington in control of their own destiny include either a Carolina OR Philadelphia loss in regulation or overtime.

Never lost in the playoff shuffle is Alex Ovechkin, who is making his case for MVP more decisively with each passing day. Ovechkin has 17 goals and 29 points in his last 16 games and is a +19 along the way -- the kind of numbers the league hasn't seen since the days of the string bean, stand-up goalies of the '80s and early '90s.

So let's find a comfy seat, grab the remote, and get those NHL Center Ice channels memorized. Tonight's slate is sure to be a doozy.

A FEW NOTES FROM THE GAME:

• Another quietly spectacular performance was turned in by Cristobal Huet, who has extended his career long winning streak to eight games. He has allowed just two goals on 73 shots over his last three starts, equivalent to a .973 SV% and 0.67 GAA.
• The Capitals penalty kill, an Achilles' heel most of the season, has killed off their last 13 penalties including a momentum saving kill of a double minor to John Erskine in the third period.
• Washington has outshot their opponents by AT LEAST 17 shots in 4 of their last 6 games.
• Tomas Fleischmann had a very solid game. Tampa wasn't able to knock him off the puck the way just about every other team has this season. Watching Tomas Holmstrom...uh, I mean Fleischmann easily nudge down 6'5" 230 pound Matt Smaby was fairly impressive.
• Watching referee Dan O'Rourke waive off an obvious goal was a bit less impressive. Does he have a running bet with Chris Rooney as to who can best screw the Caps out of a playoff spot?
• It's a little bit weird hearing nothing from our franchise guy, Olie Kolzig, during this unprecedented run. He looks good in that bright white on the bench though.

         Thursday, April 3, 2008          

Sights on a New Target

For days, if not weeks, the Washington Capitals have been watching the Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, and Carolina Hurricanes. Those are the teams that the Capitals had the best chance to catch. Right?

Not anymore. The Ottawa Senators, a team rife with turmoil these days, are now within Washington's striking distance. And of the four teams Washington is chasing, the Sens are the only one the Capitals hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over. Washington swept Ottawa in all four games this season which at the time seeemed like nothing more than a fluke, but now could mean the difference between qualifying for the playoffs or not.

While outside help has been far from plentiful over the past couple weeks, assistance is rearing itself in the form of the "other nation's capital." It has been a long slide for Ottawa from the glory of opening the season winning 13 of 14 games, the best start in NHL history. The Senators have now lost five of six and are 13-20-4 (including being shutout 6 times) since January 13th.

The Senators, like the Caps, have two games left. If the Capitals go 2-0 and Ottawa goes 1-1, the Caps are in. Simple, eh? 

QUICK FACTS ABOUT OTTAWA'S 2 REMAINING GAMES:

• Since January, Ottawa is 1-3-0 against Boston while being outscored 13-5.
• Since November 17, Ottawa is 0-4-0 against Toronto while being outscored 17-6.
• Boston has points in six straight games while Toronto has won six of nine. The opposite is true of Ottawa who has lost five of six.
• The games are back to back - Thursday & Friday. In Ottawa's last six pairs of back to back games, they are just 2-8-2.

Ottawa stinks right now so they're most likely to be the team to drop out of the picture, but getting past the Senators is far from the only way the Capitals can reach the playoffs. If Washington wins their final two games, here are all the scenarios that would find the Caps in the postseason:

• Carolina loses in regulation or OT against Florida on Friday.
• Philadelphia loses one of its last two in regulation or OT. (Fri. vs. NJ/Sun. vs. PIT)
• Boston loses one of its last two in regulation or OT. (Fri. @ OTT/Sun. vs. BUF)
• Ottawa loses one of its last two in regulation or OT. (Thur. @ TOR/Fri. vs. BOS)

In fact, if Friday's Boston/Ottawa game is settled in regulation, the Caps are in. But first, Washington has to beat Tampa Bay tonight and Florida on Saturday.

         Wednesday, April 2, 2008          

M-V-P, Ovie at 63 (plus a tie for first ain't bad either)

Luc Robitaille. Alex Ovechkin. That's it, those are the guys who have scored the most goals as a left wing in National Hockey League history. 

One minor difference: Robitaille recorded his feat in 1992-93, during an 84 game season. Ovechkin has 63 through 80 with two games to go. And unlike Robitaille, Ovie will not finish 4th in the goal scoring race -- paving the way for a probable MVP award in what could be a massive haul of hardware come this summer. 

But hockey is a team game. And Ovechkin would be thrilled if his team performed as well as Lucky Luc's did that season as his Kings made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Winning the Hart Trophy as league MVP is coming more into focus for Ovechkin now that the Capitals are tied for first in the Southeast Division with Carolina after a 4-1 victory. The win evens the Capitals and Hurricanes at 90 points with two games remaining for each team. However, with tiebreakers in hand for Carolina, the odds of the Capitals reaching the postseason for the first time in five years are a bit less than 50/50.

I have already laid out the NHL tiebreakers, but it's suddenly become much easier to pinpoint exactly what needs to occur for the Capitals to overtake the Hurricanes. 

The Capitals automatically lose out on the second tiebreaker (head to head record). So if they don't earn more points than Carolina does, they'd have to out-win the 'Canes (the first tiebreaker). But the Capitals are one win back and would have to move one win ahead. With two games left, it is impossible to do so and still finish with the same number of points as Carolina.

So it's quite simple. Four points are available for each team to take with two remaining games. The Capitals must get one more point than Carolina does the rest of the way. End of story.

A FEW NOTES FROM THE GAME:

• How are those deadline deals looking these days?
  
  



• Cristobal Huet was spectacular yet again, stopping 21 of 22 shots. During his seven game win streak, Huet has a 1.67 GAA and .937 SV%. He's gained more than a bit of confidence as well, saying "We're gonna go all the way." Not quite up there with Namath -- yet.



• The Capitals received some beneficial calls from the officials all evening long, finally making up a bit for that Boston debacle over three weeks ago. The nine power plays the Capitals received were two more than they had in any other game this season.



• Astonishingly, the Hurricanes (the NHL's power play chance leader) have had three games of 10 or more PPs this season.



• Line of the game: Ovechkin - 1 goal, 6 shots, 5 hits, 2 blocked shots, 1 for 1 on faceoffs.



• Runner up: Matt Cooke - 1 goal, 6 hits, 2 blocked shots in 14:25 of ice time.



• Runner up to the runner up (equivalent to the second assist): Alexander Semin - 1 goal, 3 hits (yes, 3 hits!), his first "plus" game in 21 games.



• The game did not come without bad news as Shaone Morrisonn was rocked by a clean hit from Jeff Hamilton. As Morrisonn made his way to the dressing room, he threw his stick in disgust realizing the potential magnitude of the injury. At this moment, the severity is unknown though it may be a shoulder separation from the looks of it.

         Tuesday, April 1, 2008          

As Big as they Come

The Washington Capitals entertain the Carolina Hurricanes this evening in what is THE most important game in nearly five years for Washington. Not since Martin St. Louis ended the Capitals season in the first round of the 2003 Playoffs has a single game been so significant.

I could sit here going on and on about the importance of this game, but instead let's look at two keys.

This game is a battle of wills. Whoever wins has more resolve. 

The Hurricanes can practically guarantee themselves a playoff spot with a win, so the Capitals know they won't be facing a disheartened team who feels defeated before even setting foot on the ice as Florida was on Saturday. 

The Hurricanes have shucked adversity for over a month now, playing their best hockey of the season despite an ever-growing spate of injuries. Similarly, the Capitals have fought through injuries all season long and are playing their best hockey as well, led by newcomer Cristobal Huet in net. Which leads me to the second key -- goaltending.

The Capitals must solve Cam Ward, who is 10-3-1 against Washington in his career including a 4-0-1 mark this season to go along with a .950 save pct. The Capitals can't afford to have another 42 save performance from Cam Ward, though that game was a bit of an anomaly for Ward, who for the most part has played much worse in losses than in wins. 

Just how important is Ward to Carolina's success?

In his wins this season, Ward has a 1.74 GAA and .937 SV Pct. In losses, his GAA is 4.11 with an .862 SV Pct. Slight difference. 

Compare that to the more consistent Huet who has a 1.80 GAA and .937 SV Pct. in wins, and 3.32 GAA and .893 SV Pct. in losses. Olie Kolzig's numbers are even tighter: 2.38 GAA and .910 SV Pct. in wins, 3.42 GAA and .876 SV Pct. in losses. I'm simply drawing these comparisons to demonstrate just how important Ward's play is to Carolina's success.

So a Washington win prolongs their fight to leap from being left for dead to being in ahead. Hey, in ahead...I like the sound of that.

                       Monday, March 31, 2008

A Look at the Land of Chocolate

The Washington Capitals aren't the only "local" team struggling for their playoff lives at the moment. Their neighbor to the north lies just three points ahead of Ottawa's farm team, the Binghamton Senators, for the fourth and final playoff spot in the AHL's East Division.

It's been an up and down season for the Hershey Bears, though not nearly as drastic a fluctuation as the Capitals have endured. The back-to-back Calder Cup finals participants began the year slowly, losing their first three, and didn't hit stride until the Caps' Brent Johnson went down with a knee injury.

When veteran minor leaguer Frederic Cassivi was summoned to the big club to watch Olie Kolzig for two weeks, 21 year old Daren Machesney was propelled into the starting role. He reeled off an extremely impressive stretch of outings that lifted him to the top of the league in terms of GAA and save percentage. By the end of January, Machesney was 13-3-2 with a 2.13 GAA and .931 SV Pct.

Over the past two months, however, he has slipped to .500 with a 3.12 GAA and .891 save percentage. Cassivi, meanwhile, hasn't fared much better though his play has been more consistent. This year he is 18-19-3 with a 3.20 GAA and .898 SV Pct., far below his numbers of the two previous seasons when his combined record was 56-29-11 with a 2.50 GAA and .913 SV Pct.

The defensive corps protecting the cage has seen the emergence of Sami Lepisto, who we've seen is not yet NHL ready but has been stellar in the minors, and Josef Boumedienne, a steady veteran who has earned at least one point in 26 of 31 games since the calendar flipped to 2008. 

Up front, the Bears (who are tied for 4th in the AHL in goals) have relied on scoring from all four lines. Eleven forwards have reached double digit figures in goals (compared to just 7 on the Caps) and six have surpassed the 40 point mark (twice the number of Caps that have.)

Recently acquired Alexandre Giroux along with Kyle Wilson have been solid point producers all season long, whereas Chris Bourque has been much streakier. The diminutive Bourque poured in four goals just two days ago. But his Ovechkin-like performance came on the heels of a 17 game stretch that saw him score just twice. Still, Bourque ranks third on the team in both goals and points.

A couple less touted youngsters have also played a key role in keeping the Bears afloat. Former 7th-rounder Andrew Gordon and undrafted Jay Beagle have provided solid offensive support while Gordon leads all Bears forwards with a +17 rating. The low-round draft pick prospect pool in Hershey is expected to receive an added thrust as 6th round pick Mathieu Perreault, the QMJHL's leading scorer this year, is expected to debut for the Bears next fall.

And let's not forget about Louis Robitaille and his league leading 345 penalty minutes, helped out by his league leading 37 fighting majors (13 more than anyone else). Stephen Peat, eat your heart out.

While Hershey's future appears very bright with many of George McPhee's stockpiled draft picks coming of age, the focus right now is getting into the postseason. Dating back to February 28th, the Bears have gone just 6-11 and are in jeopardy of being overtaken by either Binghamton or the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (who sit just four points back with two games in hand.)

Hershey's remaining six games will be as critical for them as the last three  are for Washington. The postseason awaits for the top 16 teams in each league, and both the Bears and Caps are in danger of being #17.

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