The Caps even missed the services of Mike Green for a couple of those games, and didn’t miss a beat.

The injury bug finally caught up with them when Mike Knuble was injured Friday night and absent from Saturday’s game in New Jersey.

Knuble hasn’t been the prolific scorer that Ovechkin is, but he’s a hard worker. He wears down opponents.  He finds the open slots, controls and moves the puck well, and if he sees a few inches of daylight, he’ll score on you.

The Caps still got good pressure on New Jersey. I don’t want to take anything away from the team. They fought hard against a rested New Jersey team, and a future hall-of-fame netminder in Marty Brodeur, but they missed Knuble who plays well from in front of the crease gobbling up rebounds for either redistribution, or second chance attempts.

Hopefully he feels better soon; and with that, let’s get to some recapping.

Wednesday, November 11^th, vs. NY Islanders – :08 seconds in and the Caps were up 1-0 thanks to Alex Semin. Six minutes later the Caps were down 3-1 and Jose Theodore was replaced by Semyon Varlamov. A period and a half later, the Caps were up 4-3, and with less than three minutes left in regulation, the Islanders tied the game on the power-play and forced overtime. After a scoreless overtime period, the game came down to a shootout. The Caps elected to shoot first. After the obligatory three rounds, both teams had scored a goal. With each stop of a Caps’ shot, it put all the pressure on Varlamov, as the Islanders could end the game with their next goal. Verizon Center was on it’s feet, and in the 11^th round it was Chris Clark that finally put the pressure on New York when he scored. Semyon held his team’s fate in his glove literally as he caught New York’s final shot and ended the game with a big win and a big grin! Washington would win 5-4.

The goal that tied the record – Alex Semin’s goal in the first :08 seconds tied a Caps record for the fastest first goal of a game that dates back to March 14^th, 1987.

Note to the fans – Shootout goals do not count for season stats or hat-tricks. Alex Semin’s goal during the shoot-out was in fact the third time he had put a puck in the net, but it doesn’t count as a “hat-trick.” This can actually have the unintended consequence of icing your own goalie, as he waits nervously while all the hats are cleaned up off the ice. Thankfully; it didn’t take long for the hats to be cleared, and I think Varlamov has ice in his veins.

The Goalie of record – After giving up three goals in the game’s first six minutes, Jose Theodore was given the night off. When Alex Semin tied the game at 3 early in the 2^nd period, it became Varlamov’s game to lose. He played 57 minutes (including OT) and stopped 25 of 26 shots surrendering his only goal while NY was on the power-play. Words cannot accurately convey how spectacular he was in the shoot-out.

Friday, November 13^th, vs. Minnesota – Coming into Verizon off a tough shootout loss in Tampa, the Minnesota Wild should have been exhausted. They started off strong outshooting the Caps 7-1 in the first half of the first period, but after that it was all Washington who outshot Minnesota 32-9 over the next period and a half. Cal Clutterbuck, who torched Washington last season for two goals, got his third against the home team as he put Minnesota on the board first just 1:31 into the second period. It was the first time in eight games that Washington hadn’t notched the game’s first goal. Defenders Mike Green and Brian Pothier scored two for the Caps to put them back on top and it was Brooks Laich with the empty netter that put the game out of reach. Minnesota would fall 3-1.

Varly is Gnarly – Varlamov stopped 55 of 57 shots in the 117 minutes he played this week. He is now 11-1-1 in regular season games, and 7-1-0 this season. He has a .912 save percentage and a 2.67 goals against average in his games this year.

On the bright side – The loss of Mike Knuble comes just as the Caps are about to welcome back Alex Ovechkin. This should leave room on the roster for the Caps latest call-up, Mathieu Perreault. In Perreault’s six games he has 2 goals and 3 assists and a 22% shooting percentage.

Saturday, November 14^th, @ New Jersey – Washington entered New Jersey tied for first place in the Eastern conference. Washington was riding a four game winning streak; New Jersey had won their last eight straight. Just as the game was five minutes old, the Caps had a 2-0 lead; unfortunately it would be all New Jersey from there. Bruce Boudreau was looking for his 100^th career victory but would have to wait a little longer as he watched New Jersey score five unanswered goals over the next 38 minutes. Washington, who had played pretty disciplined hockey over their last four victories, began to come apart as they pressed for answer goals. The Caps gave up several odd-man breaks, breakaway goals, and started committing penalties that greatly hindered their come-back effort. In the end, the Caps fell 5-2 and slipped to second in the Eastern Conference.

Random Scoring Stats – For the fourth time this season, the Caps scored on their first shot of the game. For the first time the season, the Caps found themselves down by as many as three goals.

Reaching a milestone – Caps’ Captain Chris Clark played his 500^th game Saturday night.

Coming Up – The Caps are hanging around in Jersey waiting for their matchup Tuesday versus the Rangers. Then they come back for a Friday night game versus the Canandiens, and immediately head to Toronto to face former Caps Coach Ron Wilson and his struggling Maple Leafs.

New York is always a tough opponent for Washington, especially in New York, but it is looking like the Caps are going to get some high powered help with the return of Ovechkin. Having a few days off before facing Montreal should help the Caps, but the overnight flight to Toronto could make that game a little more even than it would be ordinarily.

If I’m Coach Boudreau, I start Varlamov versus New York and Montreal, and give him a break Saturday by starting Theodore versus the Leafs.

All in all, it’s been a good week for the Caps, but now I’m off to write a ‘Skins blog as they finally put together a game to be proud of this week!

C-A-P-S Caps! Caps! Caps!

Seven of those goals came in a game without Alex Ovechkin or Mike Green.

Now I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself and start talking about how dominant the Caps are playing right now. We should keep in mind that the Caps scored 11 goals against a struggling Panthers team, but the fact that they were able to do it without Ovechkin does speak volumes for the depth and heart that this organization has.

It is sometimes very easy for a team to throw their hands up when their best player is hurt and start to feel sorry for themselves. The Caps started to look like one of those teams Wednesday night in a losing effort to New Jersey, but Boudreau rallied the troops and they came out fighting Friday night in Sunrise Florida where they played a nearly flawless game against the Panthers.

Without further ado; let’s get to the recap!

Wednesday, November 4^th @ New Jersey – In typical fashion, the Caps jumped out to an early lead scoring the first goal of the game in the first period. Also in typical fashion, the Caps let the game slip away in the third period. After the Devils tied the game in the second period, the Caps gave them four power play opportunities in the third which resulted in two goals for the Devils. Coach Boudreau was not happy with his team’s performance. “When you go behind the net and you put your stick on a guy you’re going to get a penalty.” said Boudreau, “Brendan Morrison has been in the league for 10 years, Semin’s been in the league for five years. These guys know this. It’s just dumb penalties.”

Chris Clark; Devil Fighter - Caps Captain Chris Clark (say that three times fast) has two fighting majors this season. Both have come against New Jersey. He found himself in a scrape versus David Clarkson when the Devils came to Verizon back in October, and again here versus Rod Pelley.

Well that was disappointing – In the absence of Ovechkin, the team turned to their other Alex (Semin) to pick up the slack. Semin tallied only three shots on goal, but was flagged for two penalties, one of which gave the Devils the go-ahead goal.

Friday, November 6^th, @ Florida – In the first of a home-and-home series versus the Panthers, the Caps played a nearly flawless game. There were a couple of moments during the first period that would have been tough on those with heart conditions. Both net minders had some near misses where the puck hovered in the crease in front of an open net, only to be swept away by a defender. Tomas Vokoun had a shot squirt through his pads and slide perilously close to the goal-line before running out of steam and stopping just short. It looked like it was going to be the Caps first goal, but it was saved by a Florida defender from going in. The in typical Caps fashion, they again scored first, but this time was different. The Caps played mistake free hockey until the midway mark of the third period when they received their first penalty (50 minutes without a penalty!). Florida scored their only goal on that power-play, but then, a little over a minute later, the Caps were called for a 5-minute major. The Caps did not allow a single shot on goal for that five minutes and went on to win 4-1.

Who’s left? – The Caps came into the game with six defensemen. By the time Florida had scored their first goal, and were gearing up for five minutes of power-play time, the Caps were down to three. Mike Green and Jeff Shultz were both injured early in the game, and Shaone Morrison was not only assessed a five minute major, but was given a game misconduct penalty and kicked out of the game. Tyler Sloan, who had been converted from defenseman to forward before the game started, was re-converted back to defender after Green and Shultz were injured, and the bulk of the Caps defensive ice-time was divided up between Poti (28:42), Pothier (25:20), and Jurcina (23:12).

Blue-Collar Heroes – For the second consecutive game, the Caps first goal was scored by Tyler Sloan. Sloan (who was later converted to defenseman), and defender Tom Poti teamed up to account for two of the Caps four goals. The other two were scored by Brendan Morrison.

Morrison scored the Caps second goal, which became the game-winner when Florida scored their only goal on the power-play. The penalty that Florida scored on was Brendan Morrison, two minutes for interference. Morrison also scored the empty netter to make up for Florida’s PPG.

Saturday, November 7^th vs. Florida – This was going to be a tough game for both teams. Florida and Washington were both playing their third game in four nights. The Caps scored the only goal of the first period, but then it appeared that fatigue, combined with their mountain of injuries, had finally caught up with them as Florida scored three goals in the second period. The Caps looked like a beaten team in the second period as Florida was all over them, but the Caps were just “playin’ ‘possum” as they came out fresh in the third period and scored a season high five goals in that period alone. This time Florida was the team looking gassed scoring only one goal in the third, but ultimately unable to stop the onslaught as the Caps rolled to a 7-4 victory.

It’s a Trap! – The Caps have built a reputation for being a team that starts early but withers late. They have outscored teams in the first period by an amazing 20-6 in 17 games this season. It’s no surprise that the Panthers were lulled into believing they had this game in the bag after outshooting the Caps 23-16 in the first two periods and leading 3-2 to start the third.

The Caps had as many shots in the third period as they did in the first two combined, and scored on 31% of them. The Caps outskated, outshot, outscored and outhit a surprised Florida team in one of the best efforts I’ve seen from this team in a long time.

Coming up – The Caps enjoy a few days off, and don’t play again until Wednesday when they host the Islanders. They play again Friday when they bring Minnesota to Washington, and then it’s off to New Jersey again Saturday night.

Even though the Caps played two great games without their star winger and star defenseman, they are hoping for speedy recoveries for both as their opponents get tougher this week.

Hopefully the fun continues, as the Caps are playing well in their absence so far!

C-A-P-S Caps! Caps! Caps!

The New York Islanders come into the Verizon Center looking to avenge a 3-2 overtime loss to the Capitals just six nights ago in Nassau Coliseum. Making his first trip to the Verizon Center is 19-year old John Tavares. The 2009 No. 1 overall draft choice is second on the team with points and goals scored. The Capitals will also welcome a familiar face back to the rink when Brendan Witt hits the ice. Witt spent 10 seasons in Washington from 1995-2006. He was traded to the Nashville Predators in the second half of the 2006 season for Kris Beech and the Predators’ first round selection, which the Capitals used to select goaltender Semyon Varlomov.

1st Period Overview:

Not surprisingly the Capitals struck first with a goal from none other than Alexander Ovechkin, who is on pace for a third straight MVP season. The Capitals did a great job getting themselves out of jams by clearing the puck from behind their own net to across the rink on several occassions. That was until the Islanders were able to capitalize off of that pressure they forced and retaliated with a goal by Kyle Okposo (his third on the season) with an assist coming from Witt.

Goals: NY – 1 WAS – 1
Shots: NY – 11 WAS – 9
Power Play Goals: NY – 0 WAS – 1
Hits: NY – 9 WAS – 4

2nd Period Overview:

The second period was a tale of two scorers. There was not much defense to be had, especially in the final minutes. The Islanders struck first with a goal from Frans Nielson to go up 2-1, Tomas Fleischmann, who made his season debut last night against the Thrashers after missing the start of the season with deep vein thrombosis (a blood clot) in his leg, delivered his first two goals of the season to give the Caps their second lead of the night at 3-2. His second came with a little over three minutes to go. Just over one minute later, Nielson closed out the period with his second goal of the season as well with 2:10 remaining to tie it up at 3.

Goals: NY – 2 WAS – 2
Shots: NY – 9 WAS – 13
Power Play Goals: NY – 0 WAS – 1
Hits: NY – 2 WAS – 9

3rd Period Overview:

The Capitals spent most of their time as they did in the first period, trying to clear traffic out from goaltender Jose Theodore’s way. This period was a battle of defenses. The contest ended in regulation as it did on Satruday night with a tied score headed into overtime.

Goals: NY – 0 WAS – 0
Shots: NY – 8 WAS – 17
Power Play Goals: NY – 0 WAS – 0
Hits: NY – 8 WAS – 6

Overtime Overview:

The Islanders earned their first victory over the Capitals since February 2008 in the same fashion the Capitals earned their win last win against the Isles Saturday night; in the first minute of overtime. This time, Mark Streit is the hero of the night for New York, who shocked the crowd by taking advantage of a puck-handling error by Capitals defenseman Mike Green just 0:53 into overtime.

Goals: NY – 1 WAS – 0
Shots: NY – 2 WAS – 0
Power Play Goals: NY – 0 WAS – 0
Hits: NY – 0 WAS – 0

Tom Poti – Postgame Interview

Tomas Fleischmann – Postgame Interview

Bruce Boudreau – Postgame Presser

THN Turning Point:
Green’s goal in the third period – it gave the Capitals life, and seemed to subsequently put the Islanders back on their heels.

Game Summary:

For two periods of the Capitals – Islanders game, it was a dull, low scoring affair. The Islanders couldn’t put them away early though, and the Caps came back with two goals in the third period and forced overtime, where Brooks Laich scored to give Washington a 3-2 victory.

Laich’s goal came just a minute into the extra period, when he crashed the net and tipped in a Mike Green pass. It was Laich’s fourth goal of the young season, and his first game winning goal; but make no mistake about it, the goal was created by Green. The young blue-liner looked like a man possessed on the rush, and carried the puck out of his own zone, through the neutral ice, and into the Isles zone; he then threw the puck at a streaking Laich, who tapped it into the net.

The win was Washington’s third overtime victory in a row in New York – in fact, it was actually the fourth consecutive overtime decision between the two squads at Nassau Coliseum. Alex Ovechkin scored two overtime winners last year, and Rickard Park gave the Isles an overtime win over the Caps back on December 22, 2007.

Early on, the Islanders took the lead on a first period short-handed goal from Radek Martinek. The Capitals got caught up ice on the power play, and Martinek made them pay on a nifty 3-on-2 pass from Frans Nielsen. New York had a 1-0 lead, and the Caps had given up the game’s first goal for just the second time in their first ten games.

It stayed that way until New York made it 2-0 at the beginning of the third. Jeff Tambellini redirected a Blake Comeau shot that was going wide, and tipped it past Jose Theodore for a two goal spread. Believe it or not, it was the first time in this 10-game old season that the Caps have trailed by two goals. Comeau’s shot came after Josh Bailey beat Nicklas Backstrom clean on a draw to the right of Theodore; the Caps were dismal at the face-off dot on Saturday, going just 20 of 66 (30%).

Less than three minutes later, Mike Green got Washington back to within one. The Capitals broke out of their own end beautifully, and hit Mike Knuble as he entered the Isles zone; Knuble sensed Green jumping into the play and laid a beautiful blind back pass on to his stick. Green made no mistake and fired a Howlitzer off the far post and in, to half the deficit to 2-1 Islanders.

The Caps completed the comeback at just past the 13-minute mark of the third. Keith Aucoin took advantage of an out-of-the-net Dwayne Roloson, and tucked the puck in on a wrap around. Alex Ovechkin was going hard to the net and an Islander defenseman pushed him into the crease – putting Roloson out of position. Aucoin picked up the loose puck behind the net and banked it in off of New York center Josh Bailey to even the game at 2-2.

After the game, coach Bruce Boudreau said that he sensed the outcome coming, “I just thought the play of the team… you could feel it on the bench that they were going to come back tonight.”

Jose Theodore had a lot to do with the victory as he fought hard and kept the Caps in the game. While he only had to face 24 shots, crucial saves early on were a big part of what allowed the Caps to storm back.

Doing so brought the Caps record to 6-2-2 atop the Southeast Division, and second overall in the Conference behind only the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was Washington’s fourth win in a row.

Notes:
The Caps had five first period shots on goal, their fewest in any first period this season… the Islanders blocked an impressive 25 shots – 10 in each of the first two periods, and 5 in the third… the Caps took just two penalties on the evening – a marked improvement in discipline… Both Ovechkin and Green logged more than 26 minutes of ice time… Keith Aucoin had the least amount of ice time for any Cap with less than 9 minutes, but made it count with the game-tying goal in the third.

The German philosopher, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, famously said, “that which does not destroy us makes us stronger” and for new Hershey Bears head coach, Mark French, that statement could not ring any truer.

After being fired in his only previous professional head coaching job by the Wichita Thunder of the Central Hockey League in December of 2007, and then serving a short stint as a volunteer coach with the Reading Royals of the East Coast Hockey League, French arrived as in Hershey in January of 2008 to begin his job as Bob Woods’ assistant coach.

“You find out a lot about yourself in adverse situations. Everybody’s a good coach when things are going well and you have great players, but you truly find out a lot about your character and intestinal fortitude when things don’t go well,” said French.

“I know I’ve become stronger as a person, and I think that’s the biggest thing I’ve taken from that experience, no matter what the circumstances are, I’ve been able to overcome it and land on my feet.”

French, who played four years of college hockey and graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Psychology from Brock University in Canada, receiving the highly regarded “212 Degrees” award each year, presented to the athlete who demonstrates leadership, commitment and excellence on the ice, still benefits from the lessons learned at that institute.

“I think the one thing that going to university and getting a degree, the biggest thing it taught me was how to learn; and the thirst for knowledge, and that’s how I’ve always been as a coach,” he reflected. “So, I think that’s what it’s provided me, always striving to learn a little more.”

While it might seem that his degree would benefit him in his dealings with the multiple personalities that comprise a hockey club, French is not so sold on that line of thinking.

“I don’t know if there’s a direct correlation with the psychology, but I’ve got a hunger for knowledge and I love the game of hockey and all of the nuances of the game of hockey and I always want to be learning.”

After the recently concluded Washington Capitals prospect camp, French said the experience was like his previous ones, with one notable exception.

“I don’t think it was much different, but certainly when I got a chance to introduce myself, it’s nice to put the head coach title beside it,” French said. “That was the only thing that was different, it was just nice to be here for a second year and get comfortable with the players and staff.”

Unlike recent affiliations that Hershey has had, which saw them not always reading from the same book, their most recent union with the Capitals has saw the partners not only reading from the same book, but being on the same page. With that happy unison spurning two Calder Cups, French had a simple one word answer, “no”, when I asked him if fans should expect a discernable difference in the Bears’ style of play now that he has switched roles.

“I think the one nice thing that has been done with Washington and Hershey is that we basically play the same style, and that’s dictated by the Caps. So, if there was a change in their philosophy, that would be mirrored in Hershey. Bruce’s system has proven to be very successful; we employed it last year in Hershey and were also very successful, so, there’s certainly no need to change our style.”

French’s promotion opened up a spot for an assistant coach; and that position has been filled by Troy Mann, who previously turned down the position in the midst of the 2007-08 season, opening the door for French to join the organization.

“Even prior to me getting the head-coaching job, the whole organization talked about getting him,” said French. “Bruce (Boudreau) has a very good relationship with him, Bob (Woods) played with him and I’ve known him for many years, as has Doug (Yingst, Hershey’s General Manager). Bruce probably knows him best, but at the same time everybody knows what values and type of work ethic he brings to the table.”

French and family in 2009.

When asked what was his most cherished memory of last year’s title run, French, who had answered all of my previous questions with certainty and swiftness, pondered the question for a few seconds before offering up his response.

“After Keith Aucoin scored that empty net goal late in game six. We had scored the three quick (first period) goals and then it was a long wait, where every second seemed like an eternity; and the game still seemed to be very much on the line up until that point, especially when Manitoba made it 3-1. When he scored that goal with just over a minute left, you could really start to bring yourself to enjoy it and reflect.”

In French’s upcoming first season leading the boys from Chololatetown, Bears fans are hoping that the results will be a mirror image of last year’s successful campaign.

“They’re all good and nice in their own way. I think the differences are, as a player it’s nice because you’re one of the guys, and as a coach, you’re kind of the leader of the guys.”

Woods, who replaced Boudreau last season after Boudreau received the call to run the Washington Capitals’ bench, was well aware of the scrutiny he would be facing following up Boudreau’s highly successful run at the Hershey helm.

“Those are big shoes to fill, and to be able to show that I could do it on my own, I was pretty proud of that; but I couldn’t have done it without the guidance from Bruce.”

Despite the fact that he was leading a talented club with a heavy veteran presence in his first full season in Chocolatetown, Woods, a native of LeRoy, Saskatchewan, was confident that he could handle the challenge that awaited him.

“This is my fourth championship now, so I think I’ve got a pretty good handle of what it takes to be a champion. I think I’m fair with the guys. As long as you’re talking to them and are fair with them, they’re going to play hard for you.”

Lauded by Boudreau as a big reason why the 2006 Bears ascended to the top, Woods feted his assistant coach, Mark French as a huge factor in the 2009 triumph.

“I’ve got a great assistant in Mark, he was a big bonus for me, and I don’t know what I’d do without him.”

Peering through his crystal ball as he eyed up the 2009 campaign, Woods, who definitely knows a winning squad when he sees it, liked what he saw from the start.

“Before anyone even got here, we saw the potential and knew that we had a team, if all would keep healthy, if we could keep them all together, we knew we had all the makings of a championship team.”

Although the Bears struggled slightly, but eventually mowed down the Manitoba Moose in the finals, Woods said his charges’ chances took a pivotal turn much earlier in their playoff journey.

“I think the turning point was when we beat Wilkes-Barre in game seven. We knew that was good, and that was what we were battling for, as much for the division championship because we knew home ice would be huge. Once we got through that and won that series, even though we knew Providence was going to be tough, we knew we had that chance.”

Heading into the playoffs, with Daren Machesney faltering a bit down the stretch, and Simeon Varlamov securing a spot between the pipes for the Capitals in the NHL playoffs, many thought that Hershey’s goaltending looked to be its most problematic position. However, Woods knew that rookie, Michal Neuvirth, was capable of steadying the ship.

“Once we really got to know Neuvy, I didn’t have any doubt because I just saw he was the type of kid that he is, and nothing really bothers him.

“You think about a kid 20 years old being in an environment like Hershey, where there’s a lot of pressure, and he handled it well, under the circumstances. He showed emotion and the guys were fired up that he was doing what he was doing, and they battled hard for him.”

Now that the 41-year-old Woods has accomplished everything one can accomplish in the AHL, the powers that be in Washington have decided to give him a chance to earn “one for the thumb” as Boudreau’s assistant coach after being named to that position yesterday.

With the Capitals, he will have the opportunity to coach the defenseman, many of whom he helped develop in Hershey.

Varly faced 42 shots on the night – many of them quality chances – and turned away all but 3. The Caps were outplayed and outworked most of the night, but the outstanding young Russian kept the Caps in the game, allowing them to force overtime, and ultimately, put themselves in position to steal a win.

History was not on their side last night. The Capitals have pulled out to a 2-0 lead in a best of seven series five times in franchise history. All five times, the Caps have gone on to lose game 3, and in all but one, they have gone on to lose the series. Notably, the series they did win, they won in 5 games en route to the Stanley Cup finals.

As for last night’s game, the scoring got started early for the Caps. Mike Green dumped the puck into the Penguins zone to facilitate a line change. Alex Ovechkin drove in on the forecheck as Pens netminder Marc-Andre Fleury left the crease to corral the puck, dropping his stick in the process. Somehow, the puck bounced off the boards out in front of the net, directly in front of a charging Ovechkin. Ovie had the whole goal to shoot at, and didn’t miss on a diving shot, past a diving Fleury.

Initially, it seemed to stun the Penguins, and Washington’s offense began to press, culminating in a wrap-around attempt by Nicklas Backstrom that slid across the crease past a wide-open net. From that point forward, the Penguins dominated the game, with the formula used in the regular season by teams like the San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings and Columbus Blue Jackets to beat the Caps: an ultra-aggressive forecheck and relentless physicality. If not for the Caps’ 21-year-old netminder, this game could easily have been a blow-out.

The entire second period looked as if the Capitals were on the penalty kill. The Pens seemed to have possession of the puck for 70% of the period. When the Caps did get possession, they were lucky to get it out of their own zone, let alone create quality chances.

On top of the offensive woes, the Caps couldn’t stay out of the penalty box. It seemed every time Evgeni Malkin touched the puck, the Caps were called for a penalty. The Penguins had six straight power plays, and again, Varlamov was there to save the day, stopping point blank shots, making diving saves and frustrating the fired up Pens at every turn. His magic ran out in the sixth, after Alexander Semin was called for hooking, as Evgeni Malkin, who dominated the Capitals all evening, finally found the back of the net.

The Capitals finally got their chance with the man advantage for the second time with just under two minutes to play in the third period, and boy did they take advantage. Caps sophomore Nicklas Backstrom made up for his earlier miss with a goal off the back of Fleury, and just like that, the Caps found themselves tied at 2, in a game that could easily have been 6-1 at that point.

The Caps came to life, and had several quality chances in the last two minutes of regulation, and in overtime, Ovechkin had two quality chances within seconds of each other, but fanned on one and lost the puck on the other.

Unfortunately for Simeon, at 11:23 of the first OT, he made a stop on a full-court pass that just missed a driving Malkin, and the ensuing face-off was his undoing. In a play eerily similar to the one Ovechkin scored his second goal of game 2, Sidney Crosby beat David Steckel on the face off for only the third time all evening. The puck trickled back to Mark Eaton, who sent a cross-ice pass to the waiting Kris Letang. Letang, who had fanned on two quality chances of his own in OT, nailed this one. The puck careened off of defenseman Shaonne Morrisson over the glove of Varlamov, off the cross bar and in to end game 3.

As mentioned before, the Capitals have had little success in series in which they hold a 2-0 lead, but as the history of this post-season has shown, the Caps are routinely re-writing their history. Hopefully the boys in red, white and blue will come back for game 4 a little more fired up and continue to distinguish themselves from previous Caps teams, en route to the finals. For now though, they need to focus on game 4.

There’s a pretty good chance that Bruce Boudreau is telling his team that at this very moment. That, and telling George McPhee to sign Varlamov for a long, long time.

At that point, the decibal level in the Verizon Center was deafening. In the arena, you could feel that something was going to happen for the Caps. When Sergei Federov, certainly no stranger to the playoff hero role, scored the game winning goal (and first of the series), the decibal level soared even higher, and remained there until well after the final horn blew.

Feds believed the energy from the crowd helped will the team to victory: “It was a great atmosphere all around. I’m sure any player who plays in an atmosphere like that would enjoy it and work hard and play hard… It really was an amazing experience.”

Bruce Boudreau agreed.

“The last five minutes after we scored,they never sat down, they never stopped cheering. If you look at the energy we had just in checking. The people brought that out. They wouldn’t let us not continue skating,”  Boudreau said, adding, “ it was really a thing to watch.”

Of course, going into the third period, it was an experience few thought would come to pass. For the first two periods, the Capitals were out-played and out-hustled. If not for the continued dominating play by the barely 21-year-old Simeon Varlamov, this game could easily have been 3-0  after five and a half minutes. 

In the first period, the normally gifted Washington offense had only managed two shots on the Rangers Henrik Lunqvuist. Luckily, one of them went in after deflecting off two Rangers defenders.

The second period was more of the same. It almost felt like the Caps were on penalty kill the entire period. Washington managed nine more shots on goal, but Lunqvuist looked to be back in form for this pivotal game 7.  The most telling stat of the second period was time of possession. While this isn’t an officially kept statistic, Mike Green mentioned in the locker room after the game that he felt like the Caps only had the puck for 2 of the 20 minutes in the period.

After the second period ended, there was a weird vibe in the air. Some thought that this series was set to end like last year’s opening round defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers. Still others thought that the Caps were lucky to be tied at 1, and that the third period was the Caps period, so anything could and would happen. Most though, believed the Capitals would prevail.

Whatever the vibe in the building, the vibe in the locker room was much like the last. In his post-game presser, Coach Bruce Boudreau, when asked what was said between the dreadful second period and the fateful third, quipped:  “One of the messages was ‘20 more minutes.’ How hard is that to work as hard as you can for one of the best feelings you’re ever going to have.”

Besides the motivation, the Coaching staff went to work, as well, trying to solve the dominating play the Rangers brought to the rink.

“We were used to them being a more passive team and they were very aggressive, in your face,” the Caps head coach stated. ”We had to change what we were doing and I’m not that sharp. I took me two periods to figure it out.”

Whatever was said or done, it paid off. The Caps came out in the third playing like themselves. The passing was crisp, the effort was phenomenal and the results were there. Everyone in the building began to feel like a Russian was going to send the Rangers packing. Of course, everyone assumed that Russian would be Ovechkin or Semin.

Enter Sergei Federov. As Feds skated down the right side, pulling up to look for the trailer on the play for a pass, he noticed several things. First, Wayne Redden was playing way off, quite possibly because the ever-threatening Ovechkin was on the left side of the net. Second, there was no trailer on the play. Third, the top-shelf glove side of Lunqvuist, perhaps the outstanding goalies only weakness, was beakoning him. He let the shot go, kept a longer follow-through to get the shot up, and watched as the puck soared into the net for the eventual game winner with just under five minutes to go in the third.

Fellow teammate and countryman Alex Ovechkin was the first on the scene leaping onto the 39-year-old’s back, squeezing him hard and slamming him into the boards.  Since Federov was the Red Wing that ended the Caps Stanley Cup hopes oh so many moons ago, perhaps this game seven winner will reverse the fortunes of this young, exciting team in their current pursuit.  

Regardless of kharma and the existential side of the meaning of this goal, Federov has brought something the Capitals haven’t experienced since that 1998 run to the Cup finals and never since the best owner in Washington sports bought this team: a playoff series win.

While many thought Ovie would play the role of hero, Boudreau was not as surprised. “Experience sometimes pays off. He knew what he had to do and… when to do it,” the Capitals coach said. ”That’s what makes him one of the greatest players ever.”

Washington Capitals fans everywhere sure think so.

The Caps returned to form as they went 2-0-1 last week, netting 5 out of a possible 6 points.

The Caps are still where we left them prior to the All-Star break ranked 1^st in the Southeast division (now with a 13-point lead), ranked 2^nd in the Eastern Conference (now with only a 1-point lead), and still ranked fourth overall in the league (also with only a 1-point lead).

The team nipping at their heels in the conference, and the league is the Caps next opponent; the New Jersey Devils. The Devils will be the Caps third opponent in four days.

Let’s get to some recapping.

1/27/09 – @ Boston – In a game that seemed like a chess match, these two heavyweights of the Eastern conference squared off for the second time in 11 days. The Caps had won their previous meeting at Verizon Center by a score of 2-1. This game started with the Caps leading 2-1 after the first period. The Bruins were able to tie the game up in the second period, and goaltending expedition by Jose Theodore and Tim Thomas in the third period carried the game into overtime with both teams tied at two. In the end, a costly penalty put the Capitals 23^rd ranked penalty killers into a 4-on-3 situation and lead to the Bruins game winning goal.

Losing in the worst way – The Bruins game winner in overtime came when Shaone Morrison attempted to disrupt a pass in front of the net, and had the puck ricochet off his skate past Theodore. This is the second time I’ve seen this happen to Morrison this season. Morrison was in good position; it was just an unlucky bounce.

1/31/09 – vs. Detroit – The Washington Capitals have turned Verizon Center into the place that no one wants to play. Their sell-out crowds at Verizon have only seen four Capitals losses this season. Even the defending Stanley Cup Champion Redwings couldn’t overcome the Red-Out at Verizon as they fell 4-2 to their ungracious hosts.

Call ‘em out, Bruce – After watching the Redwings tie the game near the end of the second period, thanks to a bone-headed and unnecessary penalty by Alex Semin, Coach Boudreau had some choice words for his two superstars Alex Semin and Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin’s response was immediate as he came out and scored two goals in the third period to give the Capitals the 4-2 win over Detroit.

How many Caps can you fit into one penalty box? – To show you how much the NHL loves their dramatic finishes, I’ll need to paint you a bit of a picture. The Caps are up by two goals. Detroit has pulled their goalie with two minutes left to get the extra attacker and are skating 6-on-5. Victor Kozlov is given a questionable hooking penalty giving the Redwings a 6-on-4 advantage.

The refs weren’t finished yet; 13 seconds later, Brooks Laich has the puck hit high on the glass and bounce over, but the refs call him for delay of game. Laich takes a seat next to Kozlov; Detroit replaces their goalie and now skate 5-on-3 with a minute-and-a-half left to go. The refs still weren’t done. Tom Poti, while clearing the puck, hit an attacker’s stick and the puck flew up over the glass. He was forced to stand in the box with Kozlov and Laich with a little less than a minute to go, knowing that the Redwings could be on the power-play for both the game tying, and game winning goals.

Detroit failed to score, but I gotta tell you, a game where your team is leading by two goals with less than two minutes to go, should not be so nerve racking!

2/1/09 – vs. Ottawa – It had been less than 24 hours since the Caps wrapped up their game versus the Bruins. During that time, the ice had been converted to a basketball court for the Wizards, and returned to an ice surface for the Capitals as they prepared to face Ottawa. This was the Caps fourth meeting with the Senators, and Ottawa had won the previous two matchups. Ottawa scored the game’s first goal, early in the first period, but it would be the last time they would lead in the game. Washington poured it on getting four straight goals before Ottawa was able to score their second. By the end of the second period, the Caps had a comfortable four-goal lead, and Alex Ovechkin had scored a hat trick. Ottawa was able to score two more goals in the third, but it was really too little, too late. The Caps went on to win 7-4.

Five Goals in 24-hours – Alex’s two goal performance in the third period versus Detroit, plus his hat trick in the first and second periods versus Ottawa gave him a grand total of 36 goals for the season. I would be willing to bet if you asked people who hadn’t seen the game versus Ottawa to guess who had the hat trick in that game, they would all guess Ovechkin first.

The Wrap up – Getting 5-out-of-6 points, considering the competition last week, is a great job by the Caps. They faced two of the top three teams last week and got three points for their efforts. A casual observer may see the Caps lose to some teams that they shouldn’t, but the more trained eye will notice that the Caps seem to play their best when they are facing the best.

Looking forward – The Caps start this week tomorrow night in New Jersey as they try and fend off the Devils. The Caps need a win over New Jersey to keep their position in the conference standings. After that they get to come back home to welcome the Kings, and the Panthers. The Caps are the healthiest they’ve been since November but need to be careful this week. As noted in the wrap-up, the Caps are notorious for losing to teams they should beat, and L.A and Florida certainly fit that description.

I’m going to do things a little differently for this week’s recapping by giving you the good and the bad.

That’s good! – No Fly Zone – After the 7-1 thrashing the Caps had taken from the Flyers in their last meeting the Caps played a much more solid game of hockey this time. It quickly became apparent that the Caps were stressing defense this time around. After three periods, and the overtime the shots on goal were 34 apiece, and the score was still locked at 1-all. It was Victor Kozlov that scored the only goal in the shootout that sent the hated Flyers home with an OTL.

That’s Bad – Love for Ovie – Alex Ovechkin had scored a goal in each of the previous nine home games prior to the Flyers game where he did not notch so much as an assist.

That’s Good! – The All-Star Nod – Alex Ovechkin was officially named to the Eastern Conference All Star team this week. It was more of a formality as most knew he was going to be in last week, even if he was snubbed from the starting line-up.

That’s Bad – 8 is not enough – Ovie was the only Capital to get an All-Star invite, even with the great play of Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green this season. It’s still amazing to me that the Canadiens get four players in the starting line-up while they are ranked fourth in the Eastern Conference, and the Caps are lucky to get the League MVP on the team while they are ranked second only to Boston.

That’s Good! – Record shatters Record for Best Record – The Caps 27-11-3 and 57 points qualify for the best first half of a season in Caps’ history.

That’s Bad – What’s worse than getting a tie for your birthday? – Getting a loss. The Caps got blanked 3-0 on the 54^th anniversary of their bench boss’ birth when they faced Columbus at Verizon Center last week. I know you can’t get ties in the NHL anymore, but an OTL would have been better than a loss. Hopefully they do better when they play on my birthday on the 19^th.

That’s Good! – Healthy Returns – The Caps saw the return of Thomas Fleischmann and Sergei Federov this past Friday. Fleischmann apparently had the flu, and Federov was listed as injured for so long that he probably forgot why he listed as injured in the first place. I know I did. Was it something to do with his ankle?

That’s Bad – Check that net for shrink wrap – The Caps may have been shut out versus Columbus but it certainly wasn’t for lack of effort. Washington poured the shots on goal, and outshot Columbus 45-23. They had at least four shots ring off the post but nothing seemed to bounce the Caps way.

That’s Good! – The Capitals bounced back from their 3-0 loss by hanging four goals on their next opponent; The Montreal Canadiens.

That’s Bad – Unfortunately the Canadiens scored five. The Caps entered the third period with a 2-1 lead, but let the Canadiens score four goals in the third while only scoring two themselves. The game appeared to be headed to Overtime, but that chance slipped away with 00:21 seconds left in regulation.

That’s Good! – A pattern of Hope? – The Caps have been shut out three times this season. They have lost the next game after each shutout, but have gone on to win six of the next seven after that.

That’s Bad – Unfortunately the Caps face the Bruins (twice) and Redwings as three of their next seven opponents. Boston is currently ranked second in the league standings followed by the Detroit Redwings at third, and Capitals at fourth.

That’s Bad – Part Two – Who’s this friggin’ Guy? – The Caps only had to register a point to send their Coach Bruce Boudreau to the All-Star game as an assistant coach for the Eastern Conference. Montreal had to win to send their coach Guy (pronounced “Ghee”) Carbonneau. Bruce is going to watch the game at home with the rest of us; While Montreal gets yet another All-Star nod.

Funny how the All-Star game is being played in Montreal; The Montreal Canadiens already have four starters for the All-Star game even though they are the fourth place team in the conference. The game that decides which coach gets the nod is decided in Montreal. The Canadiens are given two 5-on-3 power-plays after the Caps get the go-ahead goal in the second period and convert for two goals to start the third period….

…I’m calling shenanigans!

The Wrap up – Even though the Caps lost their last two games, they really didn’t play all that bad. There were a few times where a guy might be out of position, and a couple of times where guys bumped into each other, but some of that is to be expected when you shuffle up the line combinations as the Caps did when they got Fleischmann and Federov back.

I’m not quite ready to hit the panic button just yet. Yes the Caps lost two in a row, but nobody wins them all. They are still in good shape and none of their rankings slid (they are still first in their division, second in their conference and fourth in the league). Their opponents did get to catch up on them a little though so they will need to get back on the winning track to keep their conference and league rankings in place. Otherwise, they are in no real danger in the Southeast as they still hold a 10-point lead there.

Coming up – The Caps start their week off tomorrow at Verizon Center when they welcome in the 21^st ranked Edmonton Oilers. Immediately after that they head up to Pittsburgh on Wednesday to face a Penguins team that has lost eight of their last ten games. They finish their week on Saturday by welcoming the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Bruins to Verizon Center.

Final Thought – The Capitals are one superstar goalie away from being the best team in the league. It’s hard to say anything bad about the work that Johnson and Theodore have been doing as of late, but I’m not ready to consider them “franchise goaltenders” just yet. My blood boils when I consider the burn left by Cristobal Huet as he spurned the Caps for Chicago. The thoughts of what could’ve been will really drive you crazy.

The fact that Johnson and Theodore are playing so “on the bubble” makes it difficult to say the Caps should bring Varlamov up from the AHL for good, because he is still technically an unknown. So unless Caps GM George McPhee has any other magic tricks up his sleeve that can pull in a guy like Steve Mason or Roberto Luongo, I don’t think the Caps are true cup contenders this year.

This doesn’t mean that they won’t be fun to watch in the meantime, and you never know when it comes to George McPhee, we’ve seen him pull rabbits out of hats before.