Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Bad Luck, No Problem

Somewhere, veteran referee Bill McCreary is resting comfortably. The 24 year veteran who has called nearly 1700 games in his career committed an officiating blunder the equivalent of scoring on your own goal or Jim Marshall's wrong way touchdown. Much like these scenarios, McCreary's takedown of Cap defenseman Shaone Morrisonn won't soon be forgotten.

With the score tied at two in the third period, Rick Nash gained speed down the right wing. Morrisonn had excellent position as he began skating backwards to thwart the scoring opportunity. It was then that the 52 year old ref skated right into Morrisonn, knocking him down and allowing Nash a clean shot on Brent Johnson. The first overall pick in 2002 found the net, putting the Blue Jackets back on top after the Capitals had rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game at two.

The play, a rarity that I'm a bit surprised we don't see more often, was allowed to continue. My perusal of the official record book does not suggest that the whistle must be blown in this type of interference, however the play could have been blown dead citing a possible injury to the official. The whistle was not blown, and I'm not so sure that it should have been. Pucks are always bouncing off the officials and on more than one occasion such caroms have directly resulted in goals. Of course the whistle could be blown in these instances citing that the official was injured by the puck, but that's just ridiculous. The game is so fast and officials are looking at so many things that situations like these are inevitable.

Fortunately for all parties involved, the play did not decide the outcome of the game (though it may have given the Blue Jackets an extra point in the standings.) The league can thank the Washington Capitals and their non-stop effort night in and night out.

The Capitals controlled the first 17 minutes of the game -- up until Rick Nash scored on a breakaway while killing a 5-on-3 power play. Less than a minute later, the discombobulated Capitals fell behind 2-0. The score would remain that way beyond the midway point of the contest.

Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin traded markers less than five minutes apart to tie the game at two going into the final period. The McCreary blunder allowed the Jackets to regain a one goal lead four minutes into the third, a lead that lasted until Tom Poti FINALLY scored his first goal as a Capital, sending the game to overtime.

Ovechkin, who now has four goals in two career games against Columbus, scored his second overtime game winner in three games to cap the comeback and give the Capitals two crucial points. His two goals give him 45 on the campaign, a half dozen more than Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk and a full dozen more than Calgary's Jarome Iginla.

All five Southeast Division teams were in action: Carolina and Atlanta lost while Florida and Tampa Bay were victorious. The Capitals and Panthers each have 55 points, one behind the Hurricanes and Thrashers for the division lead. A heck of a race appears to be shaping up, with only one (two at the most) of the top four teams likely to capture a playoff spot.

A FEW NOTES FROM THE GAME:

• Eric Fehr played nearly 17 minutes in his season debut, toppling his previous career high of 13:32. He was Fehrly (sorry, I had to do it) active firing 6 shots, two of which made it on goal. He had pretty good positioning on a couple loose pucks in the slot but was overpowered and couldn't manage to get his stick on the rubber. All in all, it was a good start for him but he needs to get much more involved to warrant his placement on the #1 line and to substantiate his first round draft selection.
• While Ovechkin continues to solidify his goal scoring lead, Mike Green is hanging on to his by a thread. Green has now gone eight games without a goal and leads Michal Rozsival by one and Andrei Markov by two for most goals by a defenseman.
• Tom Poti played perhaps his best game of the season. Not only did he score the tying goal in the third period, he made a very nice play to set up Ovechkin for the game winner. In the defensive zone he blocked five shots, three more than any other Capital.
• Brent Johnson has improved to 6-2-0 under Bruce Boudreau. Does this mean he may finally have the reigns handed to him? Probably not yet, but a couple more poor outings from Olie may indeed relegate the aging vet to the backup role for the stretch run.

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