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.
Monday, March 31, 2008