They got two of a possible six points last week. That might be great if you were the last place team in the league, but when you’re riding high atop the NHL, two out of six doesn’t cut it. So what happened? Personally for me, I think the beginning of the end started with the emotional overtime win versus Pittsburgh.

After trailing 4-1, the Caps managed to battle back and win 6-5 and the celebration was akin to winning game seven. It was the second time the Caps had beaten Pittsburgh in their 14-game winning streak. After a bounce back like that, how could any team beat them?

I think the Caps began to believe their own press. Who needs defense when you can overcome a three goal deficit in the third period? When the Caps skated against Montreal, the Canadiens scored on their very first shot before the game was a minute old. The Caps didn’t get worried; they bounced back and scored one of their own. The Caps even took the lead to start the second period…but then they got sloppy. Montreal scored four goals in the second period and put Washington in a 5-2 hole. Sure, it didn’t help matters that the refs got together and waved off a goal without any form of video review, but when you give up four goals in a period, you have to recognize that you have a serious problem.

You wouldn’t pull your goalie for the whole game would you? Of course not! Why? Well sure, it gives you the extra attacker, and you have an offensive advantage, but it’s a lot easier for your opponent to score on you than it is for you to score on them. When you don’t play defense, and you’re not careful with the puck, you have left your goalie on an island.

The Caps went on their high scoring winning streak by being solid in their own end. It wasn’t just Theodore, it was defensemen being in the right position and sweeping rebounds into the corners. It’s not just the defensemen; forwards have to be back there to clean up the corners on the back-check. They can’t all be waiting at the blue-line for the outlet pass, they have to get back there and help clean up the boards.

In Montreal, the Caps made a last second score that forced overtime. Just like in Pittsburgh, they forced overtime through sheer will. They felt like the game was theirs for the taking…right up until Plekanec scored the game winner for Montreal with :08 seconds left in the overtime period.

So they lost, right? It had to happen sometime. The puck just didn’t bounce their way. They still bounced back from a three goal deficit, nothing to worry about, they’ll get ‘em next time, right?

Well, not exactly. Y’see, when the streak was hot, everyone wanted to be part of it. Now that the burden of the streak was over, they didn’t have all that pressure. So the next night when they went into Ottawa, they could make some changes. The Caps welcomed back Semyon Varlamov, and some guys with minor injuries decided to sit this one out. The Caps found themselves down 3-1 at the end of the first, but they rallied back to tie it 4-4 at the end of the second period.

It was time to turn on the offense. They had just scored three goals in Montreal in the third, and had scored two versus Pittsburgh in the third, and now they had their hot-shot goaltender back in net. Varlamov was 16-1-3 in the regular season, who needs defense when you’ve got him back there between the pipes?

Instead, the Caps gave up two goals early in the third, and even though Alex Semin became the third consecutive Capital to get a hat-trick in three consecutive games, Ottawa showed the Caps that the best defense is really to play defense.

The Caps had been handed their first regulation loss in 15 games; they lost 6-5.

The coach’s words were finally starting to sink in. You can’t expect to win if you let your opponents’ score five or more goals in a game. Sure it’s possible, the Caps had proven that versus Pittsburgh, but you can’t sustain it.

In the Caps’ final game (final game before the Olympic break) versus St. Louis, we saw more of a commitment to defense, but there were still some areas of concern; mostly in transition and puck protection. The Caps’ were turning the puck over way to many times in the neutral-zone creating odd man breaks going to other way. The defense was much more solid, but it’s hard to play defense when you give up a break-away or a two-on-one.

The Caps enter this Olympic break on a three game skid, so most of the team will have plenty to think about over these next two weeks.

Certainly, this isn’t the end of the world for Washington. They are still first place in the league, even if it is only by one-point. They still have a 13-point lead in their conference, and are in no danger of missing the play-offs. The Caps’ 27-point lead in their division is two points shy of being more than the combined margins of all the other divisions.

The Caps could lose more than half of their remaining games, and still win their division.

So, now we have the Olympics for the next couple of weeks. The media world is a-buzz about Team Canada. I’m so sick of hearing about Team Canada I’m ready to stick sharp objects in my ears to dull the pain. Personally, I’m wanting to hear more about Team Russia. With six current and former Caps on the team (Ovechkin, Semin, Varlamov, Gonchar, Kozlov and Federov) how could I not pull for them? Add to that Malkin, Datsuk, Kovalchuk, and Afinogenov, and San Jose Sharks’ (who happen to be second in the league) goaltender Evgeni Nabokov and it certainly looks like Russia is going to be hard to beat.

With the snubbing of Capitals defenseman Mike Green (the highest scoring defenseman in the league, mind you) and Vincent Lecavalier from Tampa in favor of “west coasters” I’m just this side of rooting against Team Canada. Who am I fooling; of course I’m rooting against Team Canada!

Sure, I’ll be happy if somehow Team USA surprises everyone and takes the gold, but my heart lies with the Caps, and Team Russia has the most of them. How could I root for anyone else?

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

Steckel’s main contribution is in the face-off circle. He has been spectacular on face-offs, winning 63.5% in this series. That’s 54 wins in 85 chances. Not too shabby.

David Steckel is also a key cog in Washington’s penalty killing unit. His size and long arms make him a real asset when down a man. He uses his reach to cover a lot of ice, poke checking, blocking passing lanes and shots, which is why his 4:02 of shorthanded ice time is third in the league for the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Those are both great contributions to the team, but in this series, its been his offense that has been the difference. Steckel has scrored three times and the Capitals are 3-0 in those games.

The 6′5″, 225-lb Winsconsonite started off the scoring for the Caps in this series, 13:10 into Game 1. The Capitals went on to beat the Pens 3-2.

In game 2, it really did seem like it was Ovie vs. Sid, with both players recording a hat trick. The Caps won 4-3. The difference: David Steckel, playing tough in front of the net gobbled up a Tyler Sloan shot that bounced off of Kris Letang right onto his stick, and slammed it through Marc-Andre Fleury’s five hole.

Then of course, came the game winner in game 6 to eevn the series and force a deciding game 7 on home ice for the Capitals. Steckel could have won game 5 in overtime, but fanned on the shot missing an open net. Then he took a penalty that led to the Penguins third goal in game 6. Being the big-game player he is, he begged his teammates to give him a shot and they did. He repayed them ten-fold.

The Caps had the face-off to the left of Marc-Andre Fleury in the offensive zone, and who better to work it than David Steckel, who was 10 of 14 in game 6 to that point. Stecks won the face-off to Brooks Laich and drove to the net. Laich, from his knees, passed the puck to Matt Bradley against the boards who passed it back to Laich for the one-timer. Steckel put his stick out and deflected the Laich’s shot in midair, past a butterflied Fleury for the game winner.

So yes, Simeon Varlamov will need to stand on his head again. Semin and Kozlov will need to play the same inspired hockey they played at Mellon Arena on Monday night. And, of course, Ovie will need to be Ovie, but the difference will be David Steckel.

It didn’t look good for the Red, White and Blue early in the contest. Just 50 seconds into the game, Ryan Suter put one in the back of the net, beating Jose Theodore on a wrister from just inside the blue line.

Then, about seven minutes later, all hell started to break loose. It started when Jordin Tootoo leveled Donald Brashear along the side boards. Brashear hit Tootoo, and then Matt Bradley took a run at him. At the 12:27 mark, Brashear went after Wade Belak and the two dropped the gloves. The two went toe-to-toe for a few seconds, and then for the first time I can remember since Brash joined the Capitals, he took a left to the chin and crumpled to the ice. Brash left the game with a sprained knee suffered during his collapse.

Three seconds later, Matt Bradley and Jordin Tootoo threw down just after the face-off to start play after the Brash-Belak bout. This one didn’t end much better for the Caps. Brads sustained a cut over his nose from a Tootoo head… or is it helmet butt. The right winger left the ice in a bloody mess.

At the end of the first period, the Caps found themselves down 3-0 — one on the score sheet and two in the fight card. It didn’t help that the Pred’s netminder Dan Ellis was standing on his head and Washington continued the pattern of missing the net or hitting a defender on every other shot that has contributed mightily to their recent skid.

The second period started out slow, but after the first minute or so, they started to get it together. Around the 4 minute mark, Wade Belak decided 1 5-minute major for fighting wasn’t enough, as he took on Caps big man John Erskine. This time, Erskine held his own (only his second fight of the entire season), fighting to a draw. This ended the boxing portion of the evening, and even though the Caps found themselves short-staffed and holding a record of 0-2-1 after their three bouts, the team really seemed to pull together after that.

Ellis continued his stellar play, but Backstrom put Washington on the score sheet late in the second with a beautiful follow-up on the rebound in front. The play started when Backstrom and Viktor Kozlov skated down the right side, while Ovechkin streaked down the left. Kozlov pulled up at the top of the circle and fired a beautiful cross-ice pass to Ovie, who had pulled up at the top of the slot on the left. While this was happening, Backstrom continued driving to the front of the net. Ovie fired a wrister, and Ellis gave up the rebound right on to Backstrom’s stick for the easy put-away.

The third period was more of the same, highlighted by great goaltending and physical play. The only excitement came late in the period, just after a Caps power play ended. Viktor Kozlov fired a shot on net that bounced off the upper leg of Tomas Fleischmann, who was fighting for position in front of Ellis. Flash’s leg was moving forward when the puck hit him. The play was reviewed and the goal washed out as a kick in. The play was far from cut-and-dry. Yes, Fleischmann’s leg was moving forward, but whether it was a deliberate kick or the product of his fight for position is questionable, particularly given the part of the leg that Kozlov’s shot hit. Unfortunately for the Caps, the call went the other way, setting up Feds’ historic game-winner.

One of the moves Coach Boudreau makes in overtime that I absolutely love is the insertion of Sergei Federov as a Forward-Defenseman. He is far from a liability in his own zone, and gives the Caps an extra forward in the offensive zone. This worked out brilliantly for the Caps last night.

Once again, Viktor Kozlov was the catalyst. Kozlov brought the puck into the offensive zone and passed cross-rink to Semin on the right side. Semin skated into the corner, and then passed back to Kozlov in the slot. Koz put the puck on the stick of Feds in front, who deked to the right past Dan Ellis and put the back hand into an empty net.

It took two beautiful goals and two ugly fights, but the Caps ended their losing ways. It’s better to slump in early March than late April, I guess. Hopefully, this will get the Caps back in their winning ways heading into the post-season.