So where do the Caps stand? Well, after their late December meltdown, the Caps slid pretty far in the standings giving up their seat atop the NHL leader-board. Just seven days ago, the Caps were two points behind Chicago and six points behind San Jose. The Caps are now two points ahead of Chicago and have closed to only 1-point behind San Jose for the top spot in the NHL.

The Caps have increased their lead in the Eastern Conference standings from three points ahead of New Jersey, to eight points ahead of New Jersey and have increased the lead in their division to 23 points. The remaining teams in the Southeast division aren’t fighting for first anymore; they are fighting for second. Florida, Atlanta and Tampa have 57, 56 and 55 points respectively and second place seems to change every other day. The margin from worst to first in the Southeast is 35-points! It’s the widest margin in the NHL.

Washington could forfeit every game between now and March 8th and still be leading the Southeast division.

Many are worried that the Caps may be “peaking too early.” I think what we are seeing in Washington is a team that is showing that it can accomplish whatever goals they set for themselves. Sure Coach Boudreau is not talking about the winning streak to the media, but you better believe that the players are focused on it.

This team believes in itself; the players believe in each other. The “superstar effect” is gone. These guys aren’t waiting for Ovechkin or Semin to make the game-winning play; they all want to make the game-winning play.

Since Ovechkin was named Team Captain, the team has gone 13-2. Ovechkin isn’t leading the league in goals. He’s not even leading the league in points, and he’ll tell you he doesn’t care about such things. What he does care about is winning. Last year the touchdown play was Backstrom to Ovechkin for the score. This year it’s Ovechkin to Backstrom; or Flieschmann to Fehr or Laich to Semin etc..

It’s easy for a team to “watch out” for one guy. Whenever Ovechkin is on the ice, he sees the opponents’ “top line.” With scoring coming from all four lines, and from their defensemen, the Caps are hard to stop. Washington averaged 4.67 goals per game in January and are averaging 3.82 goals per game for the season. That’s a half-goal per game better than anyone else in the league!

So the question on everybody’s mind is where will the winning streak end? Will it be tomorrow in Boston (4^th in the Northeast with 55 points)? Thursday in New York versus the Rangers (4^th in the Atlantic with 57 points)? Friday when they come home to face Atlanta 24-hours later (3^rd in the Southeast with 56 points)? Sunday versus Pittsburgh (2^nd in the Atlantic with 69 points)?

Let’s break down the upcoming opponents.

Tuesday, February 2^nd @ Boston Bruins

Last Game: Thursday October 1^st at Boston, Caps won 4-1

Boston may not be doing very well this year, but it’s hard to know which Boston team you’re going to face. Boston has gone 0-3-2 in their last five games, and 1-7-2 in their last ten, but their one victory in that time period was over the San Jose Sharks (who currently sit at first place in the league, 1-point ahead of Washington).

Thursday, February 4^th at New York Rangers

Last Game: Tuesday, November 17^th, @ Rangers, Caps won 4-2

New York has a history of giving the Caps trouble, especially in Madison Square Garden. When the Caps last visited the Garden, they escaped with a two goal lead only because New York had pulled their net-minder trying to get the tying goal. New York carried Washington to a full seven games in last year’s playoffs. New York has won only three of it’s last 10 games including a 3-1 victory yesterday over Colorado. The secret for the Caps here is not to over-look them.

Friday, February 5^th vs. Atlanta Thrashers

Last Game: Saturday, January 9^th, @ Atlanta, Caps won 8-1

Atlanta has faced Washington three times this year, and all three times were in Atlanta. The Thrasher faithful watched their team fall by scores of 5-4, 4-3, and most recently 8-1. Atlanta will be looking to return the favor to the Washington fans in Verizon against a Caps’ team that may have been softened up playing back to back games. The only two players on the Caps’ roster that will be well rested will be Mike Green who will be returning from his three game suspension, and the goal-tender (unless Boudreau is going to have one goalie play both in New York and again the next day at Verizon which is highly unlikely).

Super Bowl Sunday, February 7^th vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

Last Game: Thursday January 21^st, @ Pittsburgh, Caps won 6-3

Thursday, January 21^st was the first time the Penguins and Capitals had seen each other since game 7 of the ’08-’09 playoffs. Washington hung six goals on them at the Igloo; since then Pittsburgh has won three of it’s last four games and will be looking for similar retribution as Atlanta. Pittsburgh is the toughest opponent for the Caps this week (by the numbers) so hopefully Washington isn’t looking too far ahead.

Unbelievably, the only one of these upcoming opponents the Caps have lost to this season has been New York and it was at Verizon Center (and you have to go way back to the fourth game of the season; Thursday, October 8^th Rangers won 4-3). New York is also the only opponent on the list to play the Caps at Verizon this season.

As long as the Caps keep doing what they’ve been doing, there is little reason for them not to continue this streak. Let’s just take it one game at a time and hope for a history making win in Boston!

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

Here’s a few things to start off with. Did you know that the Caps have scored four or more goals in all but two of their eleven games this month? The Caps faced down Detroit (who even though banged up is always a dangerous opponent), Pittsburgh, and Phoenix. The Caps scored 13 goals in those three games. They were also 38% on the power play scoring 5 PPG’s on 13 attempts. More impressive, the Caps were flawless on the power-play this week allowing no power-play goals. That’s 0-15 for the Caps’ opponents in the past three games.

The Caps outscored their opponents this week by a combined score of 13-7. These teams didn’t just lay over for the Caps, as the Caps’ goal-tenders faced an average of 38 shots per game. I don’t know what it is about the Caps’ bench, but both of their goal-tenders have had a taste of it here recently, and their game seems to have improved as a result. The Caps’ combined goaltending this week was 3-0-0 stopping 107 of 114 total shots with a .938 Save % and a 2.33 Goals-Against Average (GAA).

Jose Theodore has had the hot hand this month, but even so, he still managed to dig deep and come up with two impressive games, and a dozen highlight-reel stops versus Detroit and Pittsburgh. Michal Neuvirth seems to have finally shaken off the demons from his bad game in Tampa and put up an impressive win over Phoenix.

Ovechkin may have had a rare “pointless” game versus Detroit, but he shined where Caps fans wanted it most; versus Pittsburgh. Especially after Penguins’ pseudo-star Sidney Crosby got a garbage goal on a broken play to give the Eskimo-Chickens the lead, Alex responded with two goals and an assist. I personally would have loved seeing Ovechkin get the hat-trick because if you thought Sadly Crieslikababy was upset about the hats in Verizon Center in game two last year, he’d have been suicidal about hats raining down from his own rafters.

So, what are the Caps doing differently? Well, the Caps penalty kill stat gives us the first clue. The Caps have changed their mindset in the defensive-zone. The Caps used to play more of a collapsing umbrella style of defense which was focused more on taking away the shooting lanes and forcing attackers to the outside. Now the Caps have gone to more of a box-style of defense where they keep the goalies’ sight-lines clear and can play more aggressive on the outsides. In essence, they are taking away the passing lanes and trusting their net-minders to make the stops.

This allows the Caps to chase down the puck-carrier into the boards and pinch him in so that he has to shoot, or risk turning the puck over.

The Caps are also playing more aggressive in the attacking zone with a focus more on setting up plays than taking the quick shot and getting back to play D. They try to get the puck in deep, and then feed the puck back to their waiting defenders at the point. Now the defender can go point to point across the ice. Dump the puck back into the corners or activate themselves and charge the net. This system doesn’t rely on Alex Ovechkin to make the play every night, and instead has allowed a lot of Caps’ players to flourish; such as Eric Fehr.

Fehr had 15 goals in his first 113 games; he has had 14 in his last 36. Nicklas Backstrom has long been known as Ovechkin’s “set-up man” and has had consistently high numbers of assists; he is on pace to score 30 goals this season. Nearly half the Capitals’ bench has double digits in goals.

So, we now know how the Caps’ did this week, so where do they stand?

The Caps are:

1^st in the Southeast Division with 72 points; 19 points ahead of Florida in second place.

1^st in the Eastern Conference; 3 points ahead of New Jersey in second place.

3^rd in the League overall; 6 points behind San Jose in first, and 2 points behind Chicago.

1^st in average Goals per Game with 3.74; San Jose is second with 3.28.

1^st in Power Play Scoring % with 26.0; Montreal is second with 24.7.

1^st in win % when the opponent scores first (.579); New Jersey is second with .500

Coming Up:

The Caps are busy this week with four games. The first comes tonight as the Caps play their only away-game for the week in New York versus the Islanders. The come home tomorrow to face off against the Anaheim Ducks, and then they welcome two division rivals to Verizon Center as they take on the Florida Panthers on Friday and the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday.

If the Caps pull off a win tonight, it will be the third straight season the Caps have had a seven game win-streak. Prior to Boudreau’s arrival the Caps went 13 seasons without winning as many as seven games in a row.

Want to join other Caps’ fans for a “Road Viewing Party”? Then you’ll want to check out Glory Days Grill in Gainesville (7581 Somerset Crossing Drive, Gainesville, VA 20155) for the Official Caps Viewing Party. There will be giveaways, premium raffle items as well as food and drink specials. Tonight’s game versus the Islanders will be on as many as 6 big screens! Happy hour runs from 4-7pm leading up to the game and at 9pm there will be $5 Appetizers. You won’t want to miss Slapshot and your fellow Red-Rockers for this party! Who knows, you might even see me there!

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

Let’s Go Caps!

We have a lot of games to cover, so I’m going to dive right in. Our first starts with the 7-4 loss in Tampa; definitely not the way anyone wants to start their week.

Tuesday, January 12th, @ Tampa Bay – The Caps had won the past 12 meetings versus the Bolts as they came in to Tampa on this evening. The Tampa crowd was electric after the Lightning charged ahead and struck the Caps down in the first period, 4-1. Coach Boudreau changed the conductor in net, pulling Neuvirth and calling Theodore to the front. The Caps managed to tie it up in the second, but Tampa managed to zap Theodore for a goal, and still carried a 5-4 lead into the third. Tampa created a bit of friction in the final period, adding two more goals to their lead, and the static boiled over between Steve Downey and Alex Ovechkin. After several fighting majors were doled out in the third period, the Lightning would leave the Caps Thor (norse god of thunder for those who didn’t catch the reference) as they would go on to win by the final score of 7-4.

Grey Area – Immediately after Downey and Ovechkin left the penalty box for their roughing minors, Downey wanted to go for real, and tried to pick a fight with the Great Eight. If he wanted to dance, Alex was ready to oblige. Both players tossed their gloves, and Alex tossed his helmet, but before the two combatants could lock horns, Matt Bradley came to the defense of his Captain and rode Downey to the ice. Bradley was ejected from the game under the “third man in” rule. The refs made the correct call based on the letter of the rule, but not on the spirit of the rule. The rule prohibits another player from jumping into a fight, once two players are already engaged. The key word is engaged. Ovechkin and Downey had both tossed their gloves, so it could be argued that even though they were 10-feet apart, they were “engaged” in combat. The rule is designed so that one player doesn’t have to fight two at the same time. Alex skated away after Bradley jumped in, so it was a fair fight between two combatants, but the refs followed the letter of the law and ended Bradley’s night.

Wednesday, January 13th, @ Florida – It was beginning to feel like deja-vu for Caps fans as Washington fell behind 4-1 for the second time in as many nights. Most fans in Washington have learned that when it comes to the Caps, nothing is over. Roaring back with three goals in the third period, the Caps would carry the Panthers into the shoot-out. After both teams went scoreless for the first three rounds, Florida (who shot first) would put up the game’s first tally. The Caps matched them score for score over two rounds, when Theodore finally made a big stop, it was Thomas Fleischmann with the game literally on his stick that would deposit the game winner.

A cornucopia of interesting factoids – This game marked the first time the Caps had come back from a three goal deficit this year. Jason Chimera got his first Gordie Howe Hat-Trick (a goal, an assist, and a fight) as a Capital, Chimera’s goal was his 10th of the season and he has become the 11th Capital with double digit goals on the season, the Caps had played 18 of their last 27 on the road, of that 18, they played 16 different opponents.

Even with the Caps busy schedule, they still had time to visit with the kids of Bristow Run Elementary School

Friday, January 15th, vs Toronto – It took less than a minute for Alex Ovechkin to unpack the bags for Washington and set out the game’s first goal. Even though the Caps had just come off a three game road trip, and had played their last game two nights ago, they seemed energized to be home. The Caps would skate all over the Leafs and finally looked like the power-house team that they are, winning6-1.

And more interesting factoids – The Great Eight’s goal in the first period marked the eighth time this season that the Capitals had scored on their first shot on goal. Mike Knuble’s two goals were his third multiple goal game of the season, it was also the 34th time that a Capitals’ player has scored two goals in a game this season. No Caps player has earned a hat-trick (shoot-out goals do not count towards a hat-trick). The Capitals majority owner Ted Leonsis extended an invitation to “Capstronaut” (a fan that has been showing up to games in an astronaut costume) through his blog to join him in the owners box; “Capstronaut” appeared in the owner’s box during the game. I personally found it a very cool move on Leonsis’ part.

Sunday, January 17th vs Philadelphia – This was the game Caps fans had been waiting for. The true litmus test for Washington who had faced Tampa, Florida, and Toronto. Those were games the Caps were supposed to win (even though they lost one). Philly was going to be the real challenge. In the first period, Philly and Washington exchanged goals twice and it was 2-2 after 1. Both teams battened down the hatches in the second period, but not before Alex Semin beat Ray Embry making it 3-2 after 2. In the third, Philly was given an early power-play opportunity to tie things up, but instead Brooks Laich stole a drop pass and ran it in for the shorthanded score. Later in the period, Ovechkin would get his first penalty shot goal of his career (he is now 1 for 6). Philly’s last goal came on a late power-play 6-4, but it would be too little too late, the Caps would win 5-3.

And still more interesting factoids – Brooks Laich had his first three point night since October of last year, and scored his first shorty in four straight seasons. Ovechkin registered his 2,000th career shot 4.5 years into the league, no other player in NHL history has registered 2,000 shots in less than six years. The Caps had never won a Sunday game, and it was the first time this season they had won an afternoon meeting. The Caps’ last penalty shot goal was October 13th, 2008 (Nylander vs. Vancouver).

It doesn’t get any easier for the Caps this week as they face Detroit, Pittsburgh, and the surprisingly good Phoenix Coyotes. Hopefully the Caps can give me a big win for my birthday tomorrow versus Detroit.

Hold on tight fans, it’s going to be a bumpy ride!

Let’s Go Caps!

Brooks Laich Post Game Video

Bruce Boudreau Presser

The team’s obviously been working on their passing, and shooting accuracy, but more importantly, they are starting to trust each other again. We aren’t seeing as many occasions where guys are bumping into each other, or passing the puck to vacant spaces. They have their confidence back. Lets get to the recap.

Tuesday, January 5^th 2010, vs. Montreal – After losing the past three straight, the Caps bounced back with a much needed win in front of the Verizon faithful. The Caps came out pretty tentative and skated to a 0-0 tie with the Canadiens at the end of the first period. It would be Thomas Flieschmann who would get the first goal of the game in the second. Later in the second, if you got up for a bathroom break at the wrong time, you might have left a 1-0 game only to return and find that the Caps were up 3-1. There were three goals scored in a little over two minutes (one for Montreal, and two for the Caps). Montreal would narrow the Caps lead to 1 with a goal in the third, but it was Alex Semin with his second goal of the night that would give the Caps the insurance marker and a much needed victory on home ice 4-2.

One streak still continues – Washington’s three game losing skid ended many of the Caps’ scoring streaks, but the Caps have yet to lose three straight games in regulation under Coach Bruce Boudreau in his 185 games as the bench boss.

Like buttah – Thomas Flieschmann played his first game as a center for the Washington Capitals. How’d it go? One goal, two assists, a +2 rating and he was 67% on face-offs.

Thursday, January 7^th, 2010 vs. Ottawa – Jose Theodore was let out of the dog-house Thursday night to face a team with one of the worst road records in the NHL. The Caps are often known for “playing down” to their opponents, but on this night they took the lead early and ran with it. After scoring two goals in the first period, the Caps lead looked a little shaky late in the second as Ottawa closed to within a goal to end the second period. It was Nicklas Backstrom who not only got the Caps their two-goal lead back, but also gave them a three point advantage in the third period. Ovechkin would score one late in the third to make it a four goal lead, but Ottawa would get one more in the waning seconds of the third and the Caps would hold on for a 5-2 win.

I’ll have what he’s having – Nicklas Backstrom has been a regular set up man for Alex Ovechkin and has tallied over 50 assists in both of his first two years. He seems to be on track to not only make it a three-peat, but at his current rate, he may score more than 30 goals this season!

Off the chain – Caps’ netminder Jose Theodore has been stewing on the bench, unhappy to see his job go to AHL Call-Up Michal Neuvirth. This game was not only a brief rest for Nuevirth, but a show of confidence for Theodore who had not beaten the Senators since October 19^th, 2006. Granted, the Sens have a horrific road record, and Theodore doesn’t see them very often (even though it’s been years since he last beat them, he’d only lost to them twice during that time), still, when the coach throws you a bone, you take it a run, right?

Saturday, January 9^th, 2009 at Atlanta – Atlanta was coming into this game after only just recently snapping a nine-game losing streak. The Caps were flying high after a 5-2 victory over Ottawa. The two previous meetings between these teams were decided by a single goal, and the mix seemed just about right for this to be just as close. I figured the Caps would win, and told a friend of mine I predicted a 4-3 OT win. I was forced to rethink that prediction when it was 4-0 less than five minutes into the second period. I won’t get too much into the uglier details for Atlanta fans, but the Caps would score four goals on two different goaltenders, and roll to an easy 8-1 win.

Maybe Atlanta’s coach needs to switch to Pepto – Atlanta was certainly feeling some heartburn finding themselves down 4-0 less than halfway through the game. It may be possible that he was asking for “Prilosec” instead of “Pavelec”, but in any case, the goalies were switched, and the scoring continued.

Be careful what you wish for – Bruce Boudreau turned 55 Saturday night. It would seem that several Caps’ players had the same idea on what to get him for his birthday!

I’m out of time this week, so I’ve got to cut the recap a little short. I’m glad to see the Caps’ have turned things around, and just in time too, as they face a string of divisional opponents! They seem to have righted the ship, now it’s just a matter of staying the course!

Go Caps!

Tom Poti Post Game Interview

Bruce Boudreau’s Post Game Press Conference.

Alex Ovechkin’s Post Game Press Conference

Mike Knuble – Post-game Video Part 1

Mike Knuble – Post-game Video Part 2

Bruce Boudreau's Post-game Presser (Audio)

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