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The Archives of In AheadSaturday, December 15, 2007Buffalo Outlasts the CapitalsWashington ran out of steam in the third period as Buffalo ended the Caps modest three game winning streak by a score of 5-3. The game belonged to anyone after the first 40 minutes, but Buffalo came out storming early in the third and ran Washington ragged late. All told, it was too much for the Capitals on this night. The Sabres have had the Capitals number for several years, and this game was no different. The Caps, who opened the scoring and lost two leads, have now dropped 13 of their last 15 matchups with Buffalo. Alex Ovechkin opened the scoring with his league leading 10th power play goal, however mistakes proved costly on this night, none more conspicuous than Olie Kolzig's gaffe that allowed Buffalo to tie the game with a minute to play in the first. Washington responded only 38 seconds into the second period on a nice little give-and-go between Nicklas Backstrom and Viktor Kozlov. The one goal lead held up until the last minute of the second when Mike Green allowed Maxim Afinogenov to sneak behind him all alone on Kolzig. The final frame opened with another early goal, this time only 19 seconds in, but it was Buffalo's Drew Stafford giving the visitors their first lead in the see-saw affair. Brooks Laich used a friendly Verizon Center bounce off a crack in the boards to score in the vacant cage -- but it would take more than lucky caroms to win on this night, and Washington just did not have it. Buffalo manhandled the Washington line of Brashear-Steckel-Motzko-Schultz-Poti for exactly one minute late in the third period. During this stretch, which began with 4:42 to play in the third, the Sabres peppered Olie with five shots and at least three quality scoring chances before culminating in a well-deserved goal by Tim Connolly. Down by a goal, Coach Boudreau decided to pull Kolzig with 1:48 remaining but the plan backfired. Michael Nylander, who essentially gave the previous meeting between these teams to Buffalo by committing two costly turnovers, ended the Caps hopes of tying the game with an errant pass at the offensive zone blue line. Buffalo iced the game, and Washington's streak, by converting the turnover into an empty-netter. A few notes from the game:
POST GAME INTERVIEWSFriday, December 14, 2007Washington Looks to Sweep the HomestandThe Capitals host the Buffalo Sabres tonight to close out a four game homestand. With a win, Washington will sweep their first four game homestand since March of 2000, but they'll have to do it against a team they have gone 0-2 against this year while being outscored 10-4. The biggest question of the game is: Which Buffalo team will show up? The Sabres are 3-3 in their last six games, but no game was close. In their three wins, Buffalo outscored their opponents 20-5. In their three losses, they were outscored 16-4. So as I mentioned, who the heck will the Caps be playing tonight? One thing we do know is that we are watching a much different Capitals team than we saw in the two previous meetings with Buffalo. The first game was an embarrassment as Buffalo outshot the Caps 53-26 en route to a 7-3 victory. The game was the third straight in which Washington was dominated in the shot column -- they were outshot 125-63 over the three game stretch. The second matchup was much more closely contested but a pair of Michael Nylander turnovers led to Buffalo's go-ahead and insurance goals as Buffalo knocked off Washington 3-1. That game, Nylander's worst as a Capital on his second tour of duty with the team, also included the play where Nylander whiffed on a puck that was rolling along the goal line behind Sabres' goalie Ryan Miller. Of all teams for Nylander to return to the lineup against, it appears it will be tonight against Buffalo. Tonight's game, like Michal Rozsival in the recent matchup with the Rangers, will feature another prolific scorer from the blueline. Buffalo's Jaroslav Spacek is one goal behind the Caps' Mike Green for the league lead among defensemen -- but he has done it ten fewer games. That's 7 goals in only 21 games, and five of those markers came on the power play. It will be critical for the Capitals to stay out of the box because Spacek, along with Ales Kotalik and Paul Gaustad, headmans a Buffalo power play that clicks at nearly 21% effectiveness, ranking them 7th in the league. Winning this game is an important step for Washington to begin their climb back into playoff contention. A victory will not only move them past Phoenix and Los Angeles out of last place in the NHL standings, it will move them to within one point of the two teams directly ahead of them in the Eastern Conference standings, Atlanta and (you guessed it) Buffalo. Thursday, December 13, 2007Comeback Caps Do It AgainFor the second straight game the Capitals fell behind early, and for the second straight game the Caps skated off the ice winners. It took overtime and help from the shoddy Verizon ice surface, but Washington has now won three straight, four of five, and are 6-3-1 since the coaching change in their attempt to climb out of last place. Now tied with Phoenix and Los Angeles for the fewest points in the NHL, the Capitals three game winning streak to open their four game homestand has improved their home record from a miserable 3-8-1 to a much more respectable 6-8-1 mark. The New York Rangers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period but it was Washington's role players who again spearheaded the comeback. Joe Motzko, who rediscovered his scoring touch this season down in Hershey, netted the goals Washington needed to even the game while his linemates, Brooks Laich and Donald Brashear, registered season highs with two points apiece. The Capitals have been getting scoring from everywhere, a welcome sign for a team that has relied far too heavily on Alex Ovechkin over the past two-plus seasons. The game featured the league's top goal-scoring defensemen, Mike Green of the Caps and Michal Rozsival of the Rags. While Rozsival turned in a solid performance picking up two assists with a +2 rating, Greenie stole the show. He played nearly half the game (a career high 30:05,) picked up two helpers, and notched his 8th goal to take over sole possession of the league lead for goals by defensemmen with his overtime game winner. Add a more than solid +3 rating on the night and you have perhaps the best game of a young star's career, one which has been reinvigorated by the arrival of Bruce Boudreau. In the ten games since the new bench boss took over, Mike has five goals, two assists, and a +8 rating. As a team the Capitals, who have outshot 16 of their last 18 opponents, mustered the most shots (35) the Rangers have given up all season. This while holding the Broadway Blueshirts to their second lowest total of shots (23) all season. Washington is controlling these games from their first line down through their fourth -- and everyone is contributing. On the whole Capitals team, only Brashear was on the ice for fewer than 11 minutes and had he not spent five minutes in the box for beating up on Colton Orr, he likely would have. But even he made the most of his ice time picking up two very pretty assists and playing a very physical, grinding style. Coach Boudreau has done exceptional job of getting his injury-riddled team believing in themselves. We are seeing the Capitals outwork their opponent every single night, regardless of the situation, and it has been resulting in goals and more importantly wins. Thus far, he has pulled all the right strings and has the Capitals on a pace to win the Southeast Division title, good for third seed in the Eastern Conference. If the Capitals were to continue at their current pace, they would wind up with 92 points on the season. Division leading Carolina is on a pace for 89. Most intriguing of all is the fact that the Capitals are doing this without their captain, best playmaking center, best defensive forward, and underperforming talents (namely Alexander Semin and Matt Pettinger.) Could the Capitals possibly play significantly better than they currently are? Frighteningly for the Eastern Conference, the answer is an emphatic "Yes." But with much more hockey to be played, absolutely anything can happen. And that is excellent news for Caps fans. A few notes from the game:
POST GAME INTERVIEWSTuesday, December 11, 2007Capitals Beat the Devils at Their Own GameThe Capitals used two goals in the second period, their best 20-minute stretch of the season, to exact revenge of a 3-2 loss to the Devils three days earlier. This time it was Washington who came out on top by that same score with help from unexpected sources. The game looked in doubt early on when John Madden scored less than six minutes in. When scoring first, the Devils -- a team that has registered 19 of a possible 20 points in their last ten games -- had a record of 11-2-1 while Washington was only 1-12-2 when allowing the first marker. The odds of a comeback were simply not in the Caps' favor, but Washington wasted little time in bucking the odds when Nicklas Backstrom scored a pretty goal on the power play less than three minutes later. It appeared the Capitals took the lead in the last minute of the period when the puck crossed the goal line about a full second before the whistle blew. But it was ruled that the play was blown dead, an unreviewable call. The Capitals came out storming after the break and took the lead on a deflected point shot by Jeff Schultz, his second goal in as many games. The second period was a forechecking clinic spent almost entirely in the New Jersey zone. The Caps beat the Devils to every single puck, both offensively and defensively, and greatly outworked New Jersey in creating scoring chances for themselves. A player we have come to know for his hard work got rewarded with his first career NHL goal at the ripe age of 28. Quintin Laing, who could fit a puck in his toothless smile, put a rebound in the much roomier cage behind Devils backup goaltender Kevin Weekes. The third period began with a scare as New Jersey appeared to cut the lead to one, but it was ruled that the puck was kicked in. Perhaps it was the wrong call, but frankly the Caps should have been credited with the goal at the end of the first period. New Jersey didn't appear flustered by the overturned goal as they kept the pressure up and just minutes later pushed one past Olie Kolzig, who had an otherwise very solid game. For the remainder of the game, Washington did a good job neutralizing the Devils attack and held on for the much deserved victory. Nicklas Backstrom is already looking like a seasoned veteran. Not only has he been defensively responsible since the outset of the season, he has become much more patient and confident when he has the puck. Over his last nine games, Backstrom has tallied three goals and seven assists and has a +4 rating. He has flourished in every situation -- the power play, penalty kill, checking line center, top line center -- and his line was on the ice for the final minute of last night's win. He looked silky smooth on his goal from a spot on the ice where many young players would rush a shot on net rather than calmly deke the goalie down and switch to the backhand as Nicklas did. He was tripped up twice maneuvering away from the Devils' defense as well, however neither call was made by the officials. As for the Alexes, Ovechkin was all over the ice and was as physical as we have ever seen him. And how about OV looking a little like Gretzky behind the net in his first period setup of Backstrom who rung the puck off the post. Semin, despite having only one shot and limited scoring chances for himself, was all over the ice. He was weaving around with control of the puck and is really beginning to look like the player we were in awe of a season ago. If I were to say that the Capitals had 20 giveaways (that's one every three minutes for those of us mathematically challenged,) you'd have to guess that the Capitals lost badly. With how well the Capitals outworked the Devils, the giveaways were not noticeable. Every time the puck was turned over, the Caps were instantly all over the man who just got the puck. This is an area that HAS to be improved, however, because they cannot expect to be as fortunate the next game they are that sloppy with the puck. A few notes from the game:
POST GAME INTERVIEWSSaturday, December 8, 2007Caps Storm Out Early to Take Out the T(h)rashA night after having a couple important players called out by Coach Boudreau, the Capitals put forth their best effort since Gabby took over the job. This game was never close as the Caps finally put goals on the board from all over their lineup in a game reminiscent of that wonderful night in Toronto. We can only hope they don't lose nine of the next ten as they did after embarrassing the Leafs a month and a half ago. The game was not as dominating a performance as we saw in the recent contests against Carolina and Florida, but goals win games not shots. Shots are important because without them you can't score goals, but without goals you can't win. Tonight Washington didn't take many shots (well below their season average) but they didn't need shots, they needed goals -- and goals they got. Mike Green led the way tonight, picking up two goals to with his pair of helpers. More dramatically, he was one of four Caps players who were +3 on the night, the others: Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Shaone Morrisonn. Do you know who was a +2 for the first time all season? Here's a hint. He scored for the first time since I was Bar Mitzvahed (ok, ok not quite that long ago.) MATT PETTINGER! And he was the happiest I've seen him all season. We can only hope that he can score in games where the Capitals score less than six. So far he's 2-for-2 in scoring when DC nets six or more, but 0-for-27 when the Caps can't light up the opposing netminder. It's great to see Pettinger score, but they need him scoring in one goal games for them. A goal or three on the PK also shouldn't be too much to ask for from a guy like Petty. Another player we have been waiting to come out of a funk put in a second straight quality game. Of course I'm talking about Alexander Semin. While he did not figure prominently on the score sheet (1 assist) he has regained the jump in his stride and has his timing back. He is in the right position much more consistently than he was earlier this season. As long as he doesn't reinjure his ankle, we should see, in short order, the Semin we have been waiting months for. As far as the players who were called out in the Devils game, Brian Pothier was given the night off to watch John Erskine skate in his spot. I recommended Eminger, rather than Erskine, because at 24, he still has a big upside and I'm afraid another team will reap his benefits if he is let go. Most defenseman reach their prime from age 29 to 35. Eminger just turned 24 less than two months ago. We have been witness to an immature player who was brought along too quickly, but he has the talent to be a top four defenseman for 15 years to come. If he's not playing with us, though, someone else may be enjoying his success in the near future. To make the point another way, could you see Erskine playing at least 10 years as a top four defenseman in the NHL? Or do you feel the odds are in Eminger's favor to do the same? My vote is for Eminger. Olie Kolzig was called out on the same play Potsy was because he failed to stop a shot that NHL goalies are expected to get in front of. He was given another shot to go at it tonight, unlike Pothier, and kept the Caps lead intact by fending off some early chances. The veteran Olie is, we should expect no less from him. All in all, it was not the Capitals strongest effort in recent games, but they are finally putting goals on the board. Now if they can find a happy medium and get everyone healthy in the process, we should start see some wins rolled up one by one to push the Capitals back into playoff speak. Friday, December 7, 2007Former Caps Steal the NightOn a night that celebrated a Hall of Fame career that began in Washington but reached its pinnacle by bringing three cups to north Jersey, the Capitals were upended with help from a more recent former Capital. It was good to see Scott Stevens again -- the lockout ended his career all too suddenly and without the appropriate fanfare. On the ice, Dainius Zubrus scored to help New Jersey's cause and provided a huge scare when he hit close friend, Alex Ovechkin, from behind. Ovechkin crumpled head first into the boards and stayed down on a play that likely should have resulted in a boarding penalty but didn't. Washington played fairly well tonight, but that doesn't get teams into the postseason. Dictating the play for 50 of the 60 minutes against the hottest team in the league was a pleasant sign but only one team made a horrendous turnover -- the Caps -- and it cost them the game. The Capitals gained the edge in the early-going, outshooting the Devils 4-1 and keeping the play in the NJ end, until Brian Pothier sent an errant backhand pass up the middle of the defensive zone, right to Vitaly Vishnevski who skated in and scored on Olie Kolzig 12 minutes into the first period. For the remainder of the first, the Caps were on their heels and a team like the Devils will almost always take advantage. They proceeded to outshoot the Caps 11-1 during this stretch as our old friend, Zubrus, fired a rebound past Olie four minutes after the first tally. Alexander Semin broke the goose egg for the Capitals on a beautiful onetime slapshot that found a four inch hole above Marty Brodeur's left shoulder. Semin appeared to be in much better form after the extended rest and his minutes increased accordingly. He played in 22:31 on the night, more than three minutes greater than his previous season high. He pasted five shots on Brodeur, tying his season high, and finished a plus player (+1) for the first time since opening night. Semin also seemed more effective with his curl-and-drag and his timing in general was more up to snuff. The one goal deficit held up for less than a minute, though, as a scrum in front of Kolzig led to a Travis Zajac goal 41 seconds after Semin's. But the Capitals continued to work and were rewarded by a Brooks Laich goal with Olie pulled in the third. It proved too little, too late and Washington exited New Jersey's new digs without a single point. Despite going down by two early in the game, the Capitals managed to nearly double up the shots on New Jersey for the remaining 40 minutes but were held, for the most part, to the outside. The ability to make the comeback was nice to see, but this team needs wins badly. The mistake by Pothier was inexcusable, especially when he had plenty of space to maneuver behind the net rather than send a puck up the middle of the ice without looking. I feel the same example that was made of Milan Jurcina earlier in the year should be made of Brian. Bench him for a game, and let Steve Eminger have one more crack at the lineup. If he doesn't work out, at least these guys should get the message. A few notes from the game:
Watch the GAME HIGHLIGHTSCapitals Begin Critical Stretch Missing Key CogsTonight, Washington will make their first visit to the new home of the New Jersey Devils, which by many accounts is a beautiful building in a bad part of town. Sound familiar? Us Washingtonians know how the MCI Center (as it was originally named) revitalized its surrounding area, so we can expect the "Rock" will do the same for Newark. Unfortunately for the Caps, the ice surface will be even less welcoming than the neighborhood. They face a New Jersey team that has won eight straight games to vault themselves into a tie for first in the playoff-team ridden Atlantic Division. And they do so missing a face we have seen all season long, Michael Nylander. Nylander is out "indefinitely" with an "undisclosed injury." That just doesn't sound good at all. And this comes in the wake of finding out that Boyd Gordon was placed on IR after he broke his hand early in the Florida game, a night on which he later scored in the shootout! Add to the list Captain Clark who remains out at least another game or two with his groin problem. And who do the Capitals have in place of Nylander? Joe Motzko. Yes, THE Joe Motzko we saw on the power play point under Glen Hanlon. Well he's played extremely well for Hershey, netting 10 goals in 16 games, and goals are just what the Capitals need. They have had a full work week to get more comfortable under the new coach and that should translate to improved play. The Capitals rank 6th in shots but 26th in goals in the NHL, so let's see this weekend if they have learned to finish more effectively. Washington will have to do so against prime-time goaltending as they face Marty Brodeur twice, Ryan Miller, and Henrik Lundqvist over the coming week. The former two represented the East in last year's all-star game and the latter leads the league with 14 wins and ranks high with 4 shutouts and a 2.02 GAA. Sprinkle in a game against division opponent Atlanta, the Southeast's best team over their last ten games, and the Capitals have a difficult road in front of them over the next week, a road that (at least in part) will not be travelled by their best defensive forward, their best right wing, and their best center. Tuesday, December 4, 2007The Glass is More Than Half FullThe Capitals are in the midst of their longest break of the season and remain the league's cellar dwellar. But they are not nearly as far down as they appeared to be just a week and a half ago. With 55 games yet to be played, anything can happen. The team we have watched take the ice over these past six games looks like a playoff team. Not a Cup contender, mind you -- but a very solid playoff team that would stand a good chance to make it past the first round. And now that they have almost a full week to figure out how to get the puck across the goal line... There has been plenty of talk around town that this season is already a lost cause. But as all sports fans know, if a team can go 9-16 it is also possible for them to go 16-9. Look no further than the Colorado Rockies and Philadelphia Phillies of this past baseball season. To see just how close the Caps are to the "promised" (remember - the rebuild is over) land, let's take a gander at what this new-look team has done. Under Coach Boudreau, the Capitals have amassed seven points over their past six games. At their current pace, they would add 64 more points to their current total of 20 giving them 84 for the season. Currently the New York Islanders hold the final playoff spot with a pace for 89 points. If Washington beat Carolina a couple nights ago, a game they would have won minus the bounces and bad calls, they would be on pace to ADD 83 points to their current total giving them 103 for the season -- good for 2nd place in the Eastern Conference! There certainly are a lot of "if's" but the Capitals have been playing better these last couple games than they have in years. (I noted recently that the 77-44 margin by which the Caps have outshot their last two opponents is the most lopsided two game stretch since October 2002, which coincidentally was the last season Washington made the playoffs.) With more time to work on the coach's system and several players overdue for offensive breakouts it is very possible that we could be witness to one of the great turnarounds in league history. Sunday, December 2, 2007Capitals Get Rewarded for Another Dominant PerformanceWashington turned in another excellent performance and were finally rewarded for their feats, downing a Florida team against which the Capitals have struggled mightily by a 2-1 margin. From the opening faceoff until the final buzzer, the Caps controlled the play. It appears they have gotten in the habit of turning in 60-minute efforts -- they just need to be consistently rewarded for it. The Capitals are forechecking aggressively and this is leading to turnovers by the opposing team. When an opposing defenseman sets up for a breakout from behind the cage, a winger is stationed at the top of the crease. As soon as the D-man makes a move, the Caps' winger is all over it. By the time the puck is moved up ice, the second forechecker has converged on his man and forces the turnover. It really is a thing of beauty. On the few occasions where the puck does cross the red line, Washington's third forward is in excellent backchecking position. Florida had several odd-man rushes that were stalled by backchecking forwards. The chances Florida did have were, for the most part, easy saves for Brent Johnson. Johnny's jersey got a workout. He was able to see every puck (aside from the one that beat him) and was positioned perfectly. This is due to Washington keeping everything to the outside and keeping bodies away from the front of the net. Florida was usually one and done as the Caps were making solid breakouts and keeping the pressure on at the opposite end of the rink. Quintin Laing, playing in his second game for the Caps, is looking like he belongs in this league. His defensive positioning is spot-on and he may have saved the game at the end. With less than five seconds left and a draw in the Capitals zone, Florida won the puck back to their point. Laing dove and blocked the shot, got back up, and dove again to block a second try. The horn sounded and held on at the end of a game that they could have easily won by five goals. That leads me to the unsettling fact that despite all the chances (43 shots,) the Caps were only able to score twice and still needed stellar goaltending to win the game. Are they running into great goaltending or are they simply unable to finish? If it is the latter, they better be working on that during this full week of practices before their next stretch of games. They will be facing future Hall-of-Famer Marty Brodeur twice and the league's winningest goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist, in their next four contests. A few notes from the game:
Saturday, December 1, 2007Coach Boudreau Posesses Hockey Smarts; Lacks IntensityWashington's third straight defeat last night certainly seemed unwarranted. They outplayed Carolina in every facet and still came up short. And Bruce Boudreau WATCHED it all. Call after call went against the Capitals, and Boudreau never truly went up in arms. Alex Ovechkin, obviously the team's leader on a night that found captain Chris Clark out of the lineup, did. But not the coach. The most we got out of our coach was a feeble wave. For those of us novice lip readers, it was not hard to mistake "F-ing BS" (in shorthand) come out his mouth at one point as well. But we never saw him pull a ref to the bench and light him up. When things are not going your team's way, that is what is needed most. Boudreau's system has been working very well but the Capitals remain quite possibly the unluckiest team in the league. When the bad luck transcends to the officiating though, the head coach must step up. Had Boudreau done so, some of the calls may have gone the Capitals way -- most notably the non-call on the forechecking Chad LaRose directly leading to the penalty on Mike Green. It would not have hurt to have gone ballistic after the review of Rod Brind'Amour's goal. The stick was clearly above the crossbar when the puck was deflected in, but the goal was allowed anyway. Had Coach Boudreau let the refs have it after the call, Green's goal at the buzzer may have been allowed. Although the plays are reviewed upstairs and at league headquarters, it is safe to assume that the on-ice officials have some say in the matter. Bruce Boudreau speaks with confidence and has his team playing a very good brand of hockey but they need to know that their coach is gonna stick up for them. I mean REALLY stick up for them -- Tortorella stick up for them, or Carlyle or Bowman or Laviolette or Hartley. By the way, haven't they all won a Stanley Cup? It has been nice to see this team maintain its poise over these past few games, and one has to suspect that the coach is playing a major role in that. But it begs the question: For how long can it continue when games are ending in defeat? |
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