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!

The Flyers come to downtown D.C. today having won four of its last five games, with their only loss in that span coming as a 4-0 shutout on Thursday against the team the Capitals defeated handily the night after to the tune of 6-1, the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Today’s matchup will mark the fourth and final contest between these two teams during the regular season. In the previous three contest, the Capitals have scored 17 points, which was padded due to an 8-2 Capitals victory in Wachovia Center on Dec. 5th.

The Caps have won 10 out of the last 15 contest against the Flyers since the 2006-2007 season began.

1st Period Overview:

Despite thousands of empty seats, presumably due to the NFL’s Divisional playoff games, the energy filling the Verizon Center matches that of a full house.

The period can be summed up as a chess match for both teams, with each team going tit-for-tat with two goals apiece. The Flyers struck first with a Jeff Carter goal but the Capitals retaliated with a quick goal from former Flyer Mike Knuble. The chess match continued when Flyers left winger James Van Riemsdyk put the Flyers up 2-1. That lead didn’t last long when Brooks Laich scored his 12th goal of the season and evened the contest out at 2-2 with 6:32 left in the opening period.

It has been a very entertaining matchup so far in a game featuring two local rivals. Considering the fans of both teams feeding off of each other’s energy, it only looks to become more enticing as the day goes on.

Goals: PHI – 2 WAS – 2
Shots: PHI – 9 WAS – 8
Blocked Shots: PHI – 9 WAS – 6
Faceoffs Won: PHI – 10 – WAS – 11

2nd Period Overview:

Defense was the name of the game in the second period, with the only score coming seven minutes in.

Both the Capitals and the Flyers had just returned their fifth men on the ice following a 4-on-4 stretch with Washington’s Tyler Sloan and Philadelphia’s Scott Hartnell in their respective penalty boxes when Jeff Carter gave the Caps a 5-on-4 advantage by holding Sloan shortly after he left the box. Just seven seconds after Carter’s penalty, Alexander Semin gave the Caps a 3-2 lead with his 20th goal on the year.

The Capitals tightened up their defense, helping keep traffic away from Jose Theodore when he wasn’t making clutch saves. Washington was able to clear the puck at the right times and also increased their physicality, making their presence known to the Flyers on their own as opposed to just responding to the hits that Philadelphia was giving them.

Goals: PHI – 0 WAS – 1
Shots: PHI – 12 WAS – 9
Blocked Shots: PHI – 6 WAS – 6
Faceoffs Won: PHI – 10 – WAS – 13

3rd Period Overview (most of it):

Brooks Laich scored his second goal of the night on a beautiful backhanded shot to give the Caps a 4-2 lead 4:56 into the final period, giving the team much-needed momentum to close out the Flyers.

The score remains 4-2 with five minutes remaining.

For a more complete game recap, check out my full article.

The game was seemingly over before it started when Alex Ovechkin got his first of 5 points in the night, less than a minute into the game. The Great 8 had one goal and four assists; Mike Knuble had two goals; and Mike Green added two assists.

Check out NHL.com for the full highlights package. Coach Bruce Boudreau’s post game comments can be found here.

Other Game Notes:

John Carlson was called up for the game and despite arriving at the Verizon Center about an hour before the game, played quite well… Jason Chimera dropped the gloves for the second time in a week… Washington’s next game is on Sunday at 3pm against the Flyers… it was Ovi’s 4-assist NHL game… Jose Theodore stopped 28 shots, including 14 in the first period

Going into the third period, the Caps were down by two goals – but what Cap fan doesn’t realize that two goals are nothing for this offensive juggernaut? As long as you have Alex Ovechkin on your team, you shouldn’t ever think that two goals is insurmountable; it might only be two shifts for the Great 8.

Ovi proved that, when he brought the Caps back to within one on an unassisted goal just 27 seconds into the third to breathe new life into the Caps. The Panthers coughed up the puck in front of their own net, and Ovi made them pay by jumping on the loose puck and throwing it past Vokoun to make it 4-3.

Then at 12:25 of the third, Nichlas Backstrom evened the score at fours. Mike Green picked the puck off the boards on a bad clearance attempt from Florida and just threw it at the net; Backstrom was Johnny-on-the-spot and tipped it in to (eventually) send the game into overtime.

The extra period settled nothing, so it went to penalties. It took six rounds, before Fleischmann’s goal gave the Caps the win.

It was a great win in part because it’s always a shame to see a Gordie Howe hat trick go to waste; especially one that happened all in one period. That’s exactly what new recruit Jason Chimera did in the second frame. First he potted an unassisted goal, then he got a helper on Brian Pothier’s goal at 16:12, and then he completed the trick about two minutes later when he dropped the gloves and had a go with Gregory Campbell. To coin an old Howie Meeker phrase, ‘Just Super!’ It was definitely Chimera’s best outing since coming to the Caps seven games ago from the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Michal Neuvirth started the game in goal for Washington, but was chased from the game when Gregory Campbell scored his first of the season to make it 4-1 half-way through the second. Jose Theodore came on in relief and made the comeback possible by stopping all 15 shots that he faced.

Michael Frolik, Dominic Moore, Stephen Weiss and Campbell scored for the Panthers in the losing effort; Vokoun stopped 33 shots.

“We always had that feeling tonight that something good was going to happen, we were always in striking range,” Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said. “Once we made it 4-2 near the end of the second, we thought we could come back. Fortunately, for us, we did.”

The win gave Washington a 1-1 split in Florida, and brought their season total to 28 wins and 62 points – good enough for tops in the division and second in the Eastern Conference. They now head back home to face the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Verizon Center on Friday night – game time is 7:00pm.

Video highlights

Tonight, the Verizon Center hosts a battle of the NHL’s points leader (the Capitals are tied with the San Jose Sharks at 44) against the NHL’s most deprived (the Hurricanes come into tonight’s contest with just 19 points).

The Capitals are looking to avenge a 3-0 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night while the Hurricanes are looking to win their third game in their last four after losing five straight.

1st Period Overview:

The Hurricanes came into downtown D.C. with a lot to prove and they did just that by striking first off an easy two-on-one goal that was assisted by center Brandon Sutter and finished off by center Jiri Tlusty for his first goal of the season. Their second goal came with an unlikely slide from the puck. With over six minutes to go, Jose Theodore, filling in for the injured Semyon Varlomov, had his leg against the corner of the net and had the puck trapped following an Eric Staal shot but once he moved his leg, the puck slowly slid behind the veteran goaltender.

The opening period of the night can best be described by the Capitals inability to take advantage of oppurtunities on offense, with Alexander Ovechkin whiffing on two shots, the last being within 20 feet of the Hurricanes net with just a few minutes remaining in the period.

The Capitals offense has not been able to sustain a solid presence in Carolina territory while the defense has allowed time and space for the last-place Hurricanes to create two-on-ones and open oppurtunities for shooters. The lack of defensive awareness and inability shows when the shots on goal are reviewed. The Hurricanes have converted half of their shots into goals while the Capitals have failed to score once while almost quadrupling Carolina’s shot output.

The Caps must keep the puck away from Theodore if they want to have any chance tonight and take advantage of any scoring oppurtunity.

Faceoffs won: Car – 11 Was – 8
Blocked Shots: Car – 8 Was 4
Hits: Car 7 – Was 3
Shots on goal: Car – 4 Was – 14
Goals: Car – 2 Was – 0

2nd Period Overview:

This game, so far, has been a tale of two periods.

Despite starting out the beginning of the period defending themselves on their own half of the ice for the most part, the Capitals applied a large amount of offensive pressure against Carolina and it increased towards the middle of the period.

The pressure paid off when Alexander Semin fired a missle past Cam Ward’s shoulder to put the Capitals on the board. Following the goal, the Capitals showed a renewed energy and continued to surround and harsass Ward around the net, reminding the fifth-year goaltender why the Caps remain atop the league in scoring.

Semin ended the period in exciting fashion by finishing off a shot deflected by Ward for his second goal of the period. The goal came with 0.6 seconds to go.

The Capitals still had a tendency to let long pass get behind the defense but as long as they don’t get past Theodore and the offense continues to ride the wave of momentum, winning this game should not be a problem.

Faceoffs won: Car – 9 Was – 12
Blocked Shots: Car – 10 Was – 4
Hits: Car – 6 Was – 2
Shots on goal: Car – 7 Was – 12
Goals: Car – 0 Was – 2

3rd Period (Most of it):

Just less than three minutes into the third, Tomas “Flash” Fleischmann strikes with his first goal of the night (11th on the season), giving the Capitals their first lead at 3-2.

Washington is looking more fluid on both ends of the ice this period. The offense is passing the puck around better and looks more organized by the minute.

The Hurricanes tied the game up with an interception from Tim Gleason, who scored on an unassisted shot that screamed past an out-of-position Theodore, who had skated up from the net several feet forward, giving Gleason plenty of open room.

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!

The players have the day off today, and boy do they need it. They played three games in four nights, and I’m sure they are exhausted.

The Caps played four total games last week and went 2-0-2, netting six of a possible eight points. Atlanta was their only divisional opponent, and they won that game in regulation.

Washington is 8-2-4 for the season and currently holds a commanding lead in the Southeast division with 20 points, followed by Tampa Bay in second place with 12, and Atlanta with 11.

We got a lot of games to cover, so let’s get to the recap!

Tuesday, October 27th vs. the Flyers – The Caps have been a “strike first” team this season, but after being held scoreless in the first period they found themselves down 2-0 after allowing Philly to score twice in the second period. Washington bounced back by scoring four unanswered goals and carried their win streak to five games.

It wasn’t for lack of effort – Philly peppered the net with 43 shots on goal, but it was “No Way” Jose Theodore that slammed the door shut stopping 41 of those shots including 20 in the third period alone. Even though Theo’s career record for shots faced in a game is 47, the 43 he faced Tuesday night were the most he had ever faced as a Washington Capital.

Can’t keep a good team down – The Caps have only had to come from behind on multifocal deficits twice this season, and in both occasions they have come back to win it. The previous time was the game immediately preceding this one where they found themselves down to the Islanders. Brooks Laich scored the game winner in OT.

Thursday, October 29th @ the Thrashers…again – It had to feel like déjà vu for the Caps who had just faced this Thrasher team the previous Thursday…also in Atlanta. It had to feel like déjà vu for the Thrashers as well as they fell to the Caps again on home ice. The Caps, who knew they had to play another game in less than 24 hours tried to put this game away early so they could start resting up their players for Friday night’s game. In a classic example of why you never “look past” you current opponent the Caps watched a three-goal lead evaporate in the third period. Atlanta, being down 3-2 pulled their goalie in favor of the extra attacker. Mike Knuble had no idea his empty net goal would be the game winner (it made the score 4-2) as the Thrashers got what would have been the tying goal in the last 1/2 second of regulation, but by then it wasn’t enough and the Caps held on for the 4-3 win.

Define: “Four Point” game – When you beat a division opponent in regulation, it is referred to as a “four point” game. You gain two points in the standings for the win, and at the same time cost your opponents two points by preventing them from winning. To really see it, you need to look at the season standings. Washington held a 7-point lead in the Southeast division going into Thursday’s game. Two teams were tied for second; Atlanta and Tampa. At the end of the night, the Caps still had a seven point lead in the division (Tampa won their game), but now had a nine point lead over Atlanta.

Back on Track – After a short slump where he was held without a goal for two games Alex Ovechkin came back and scored four goals in two games including two here versus Atlanta to give him 13 goals in 12 games.

Friday, October 30th vs. the Islanders – While the Caps were in Atlanta tangling with the Thrashers, the Islanders were in Washington helping themselves to whatever the Caps had in the fridge and kicking their feet up onto the coffee table. The Caps may have had the home ice advantage, but considering that they had just finished playing a game the night before, it was New York that had the advantage. The Caps kept it close and even held the lead a few times throughout the game, but just couldn’t seem to shake the Islanders and ultimately fell to them in OT by the final score of 4-3.

THN on Ice – Our own Jake Russell was at the game Friday night posting a live blog from the press box. Click here to check out his blog and video interviews after the game.

Sunday, November 1^st vs. the Blue Jackets – Even though the Caps lost Alex Ovechkin early in the second period, they weren’t going to go down without a fight. After scoring the game’s first goal, they found themselves trailing 2-1 at the beginning of the third period. Brooks Laich stepped up and scored the game tying and go-ahead goals putting the Caps up 3-2. A short while later Raffi Torres tied it up, but the Caps regained their lead when Quintin Lang scored with a little more than three minutes left to play in regulation. With less than half a minute to go in regulation, it was Torres who brought the score even at four and forced overtime where the Caps would fall 5-4.

Sometimes, it’s just not going to be your day – Jose Theodore played a great game, but was victimized by two unfortunate incidents that lead to goals. The first of which was in the second period when Theo went behind the net to play the puck, only to have the puck take an unusual bounce away from him, back towards the front of the net and straight to R. J. Umberger who stashed it home. The second came midway through the third where Theo had his stick knocked out of his hand as he slid left to protect against the wrap-around he had nothing to defend his right side where Raffi Torres was waiting to tap the puck in on the now stickless stick-side.

Coming Up – The Caps have three games this week starting Wednesday night in New Jersey. They then go to Florida to face the Panthers on Friday, and bring them back to DC for another meeting on Saturday.

In the meantime, we’ll all be crossing our fingers on Ovechkin!

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

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 week before last, the Washington Capitals went 0-2-1. It looked like they trend would continue when they kicked their week off last week with an overtime loss to New Jersey. Instead they bounced back against a team they hadn’t beaten since 1999, the San Jose Sharks. The Caps rounded out their week Saturday night by edging Nashville in the shootout and finished 2-1-0 for the week.

Alex Ovechkin added four goals to his already impressive five for the season and has scored a total of nine goals in eight games. Ovechkin, who lead the league with 56 goals last year, didn’t score his ninth goal until his 19th game last season. At his current rate Ovechkin is on pace to score 82 goals in 82 games.

Let’s get to some recapping!

Monday, October 12th vs. New Jersey - The Caps jumped out to a two goal lead midway through the first period. Devil’s goalie Marty Brodeur locked up his crease after that by refusing to allow the Caps to add to their lead. Meanwhile, his teammates kept working and snuck back into the game getting the tying goal midway through the third period. Try as they might the Caps could not avoid overtime and ultimately fell in the shootout following a scoreless overtime period.

Looked Laich it hurt - With the Devils already a man short, Marty Brodeur gave the Caps a two-man advantage 5:12 into the third period when he slapped Brooks Laich square in the face with his goalie paddle. The hit was unintentional as Brodeur was trying to bat the puck from mid-air, but I’m sure that didn’t make it hurt any less!

They say it’s your Birthday - Mike Green turned 24 on Monday and celebrated by ending his scoring drought early in the first period; his first goal of the season. Mike Green, known as “Game-Over” Green, lead all defensemen in goals last season with 31, but has been in a slump that started shortly before the playoffs.

Thursday, October 15th vs. San Jose - Having lost four straight the Caps were now facing an opponent they hadn’t beat in over a decade. The Sharks brutalized Washington last year in San Jose by a score of 6-2; this time it was Washington’s turn to be inhospitable. The Caps scored first, but San Jose came right back to tie it up and the first period ended with the teams tied at one. When the Caps returned to start the second period they did so without their starting netminder as Jose Theodore had fallen to an injury. Semyon Varlamov, who had been victimized earlier in the season, would need to come in and finish the game for the fallen Theodore. Semyon’s teammates made sure he wouldn’t be alone. Playing their best game since their first versus the Bruins, the Caps finally played the kind of two-way hockey we had been looking for from them all season. With two goals from Ovechkin in the second period, and a final goal in the third by Matt Bradley, the Caps
sent the Sharks packing; winning 4-1.

Was that fast? It looked fast. Was it fast? - Alex Ovechkin scored at the 2:55 mark of the second period to give the Caps a one goal lead over San Jose. He only needed :28 seconds to make it a two goal lead, scoring at the 3:23 mark.

One list ends; a new list begins - While we are on the topic of Ovechkin, he has now scratched San Jose off his list of teams he has scored a goal against. He has now scored at least one goal against every team in the NHL. His second goal allowed him to scratch San Jose off his next list. The only teams he has not scored TWO goals against are Colorado, Dallas, Edmonton, Los Angeles, and Minnesota.

For more Caps coverage of their amazing win versus San Jose, check out these articles exclusively on TheHogs.net

http://www.thehogs.net/blogs/2009/10/16/caps-dominate-sharks-end-slide/

http://www.thehogs.net/blogs/2009/10/16/by-the-numbers-caps-4-sharks-1/

Saturday, October 17 vs Nashville – Last season the Capitals faced Nashville twice taking both games into OT. The Caps won both of those games; one in OT and the other in a shootout. They kept that streak alive by downing the Predators once again in the shootout. Again, the star of the game was one Alex Ovechkin who notched not only both the team’s regulation goals, but also scored the only goal of the shootout to win. Semyon Varlamov got the nod again for the still injured Jose Theodore and things were looking pretty good from the start for the Caps; then they got sloppy. No one was immune from the sloppiness for the Caps including Varlamov who stonewalled two breakaway attempts in the first, but let in a flukey game tying goal. In the end though, it was the glove hand of Varlamov that closed the door on Nashville and held them scoreless in his first career shootout.

Hats off…even so – Alex Ovechkin scored the team’s only two goals in regulation, and the team’s only goal in the shoot-out. Shoot-out goals do not count towards a player’s stats, but that didn’t stop fans from sending their hat’s out on the ice to celebrate Ovie’s “unofficial” hat-trick.

That’s gratitude for you – The Washington Capitals selected Semyon Varlamov with a draft pick they had received from Nashville.

A little Ovie makes everything better – Mike Knuble may see a career high in assists this year. His 5 assists put him on pace for 51 for the year; which would be 20 more than he’s ever had in his 12-year career.

Washington has a slow week this week with only two opponents.

Thursday @ Atlanta, 7:00pm

Saturday @ New York Islanders, 7:00pm

The Caps, who came out swinging in their first two games, went down flailing in their last three going from 2-0-0 to 2-2-1.

Ordinarily, I’d break down the games with a quick blurb about the game, and some noteable notes, but I feel your pain Caps fans. We don’t really want to re-live last week do we?

I didn’t think so.

How is it that the Caps are playing this poorly?

1) You gotta play D – Defense isn’t just in your own zone; it’s at center ice and in the attack zone as well. You are going to turn the puck over sometimes and you need to be ready to stop them before they cross center ice.

2) Watch those penalties – Watch your stick; keep it low. If you keep your stick low to the ice at all times you lessen the chances of hooking and high sticking penalties. Watch your opponents’ feet. Keep your stick outta there and you avoid the trip penalty. I’m not saying that’s an easy task, but it’s a lot easier than playing PK all night.

3) A goal is a goal – Goals don’t always have to be pretty. Stuff-ins, tuck-ins, rebounds; if it crosses the goal line it counts. Get some bodies in front of the net then start taking your shots. If you can see the net…shoot; then let your guys in front of the net play whack-a-mole with the puck.

Now last week wasn’t all bad news. The Caps lost each of their games by one goal, so nothing was ever out of reach; they weren’t blow outs, just a few bad nights. The Caps played some good hockey, but in the end they just came up a little short.

Here are some things to put a smile on a Caps-fan’s face

- Center Brendan Morrison has four points in his last four games (3g-1a) and stands fifth on the team in scoring (tied for third in goals). Last season, with Anaheim , Morrison didn’t record his fourth point until Nov. 16. He has at least one shot on goal in all five games this season and has scored on half of the shots he has taken. His ice time has been above 16:00 in each of the last three games; in the first two games he skated under 15:00 per game.

- Alex Ovechkin had nine shots on goal in Saturday’s game at Detroit and 10 hits. That matched his hit total from the first four games of the season and moved him into a tie for second in the league in hits (20). His 35 shots on goal are 11 more than any other player in the league (nearly double any other Cap). Ovechkin assisted on Brendan Morrison’s power-play goal, moving him into a share of the NHL scoring lead with teammate Nicklas Backstrom and two others.

– Goaltender Jose Theodore has a .930 save percentage in his three starts this season (80 saves, 6 GA), including a .924 save percentage in the Caps’ last two losses. He stopped 34 of 37 shots against the Red Wings Saturday night.

– Washington already has six power-play goals this season (6-for-24, 25%), including at least one in every game. The Capitals are still without a PPG from their top two power-play goal scorers last season (Alex Ovechkin and Mike Green). All five of Ovechkin’s goals have come at even strength.

- Washington has three of the top 5 point-leaders in the league (Ovechkin-10, Backstrom-10, and Semin-9), and two of the top 5 goal scorers (Ovechkin-5 and Semin-5)

The Week Ahead

This week starts tonight with the Caps back home against the Devils, and they stay home all week facing the Sharks on Thursday and Predators on Saturday. For those of you keeping score, that’s two more playoff teams from last year they will be facing this week. The Caps went 2-0-2 last year versus the Devils, lost the only game they played versus the Sharks, and won both their games versus the Predators in OT.

So it doesn’t really get any easier Caps fans, but with a sold out Verizon Center should help the them feel right at home this week!

Rock the Red and as always…

LET’S GO CAPS!!!