Caps vs. Canadiens 11-20-2009 Preview

Washington Capitals (13-8; 30 points) vs. Montreal Canadiens (10-11; 20 points):
Caps Game #22, Home Game #12, NHL Game #307

Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. 7:07 pm. Washington TV: Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic. Radio: WFED 1500-AM. Montreal TV: None. Radio: CJAD 800-AM.  Canadian National TV: TSN, RDS (French)  NHL Center Ice: Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic and TSN feeds.

Tonight, the Caps come home to start a four games in six nights run heading into Thanksgiving with three games in four nights when they face the Montreal Canadiens for the first time this season.  The Caps swept the Canadiens on home ice last season when they took three of the four matchups though the most recent win on home ice came courtesy of a gimmick.  The Canadiens made many changes this past off season and are still trying to get things together.  They're 3-3 in their last six games including Tuesday night's 3-2 gimmick win at home over the Carolina Hurricanes.

What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post.  Times.  Caps.com.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com.  AP Wire.

Open Source Intelligence:

The Gazette.

What Do We Expect Tonight?:

The one thing the Caps, who have quickly turned into the walking wounded, don't want to do tonight is work overtime.  Montreal has not lost after regulation in eight games so far this season.  We'll get a good look tonight at the organizational depth as John Carlson makes his much anticipated NHL debut on the Caps blueline and Michal "Bebe" Neuvirth makes his season debut in goal.  Though that's not to say that Montreal comes in at full health.  They lost Brian Gionta to a broken foot earlier this week and good news for A.O., Hall Gill will be out as well.  Look for special teams to be a factor tonight, the Caps have crawled all the way to #2 overall in the NHL with their Power Play Unit but Montreal, while 24th overall, is 11th overall on the road with the Power Play.  The Caps Penalty Killing is still struggling, coming in at 23rd and only 78% effective, but 6th overall at home at 86% effectiveness.  The Canadiens are 26th on the road and and 15th overall killing penalties.

Caps Nut Official Prediction:

Caps 4
Canadiens 2
Winner by Laich
(9-12 on the season with one perfect game)

Caps @ Rangers 11-17-2009 Wrap Up

The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post.  Times.  Caps.com.

The Neutral Observers:

NHL.com.  AP Wire.

The Other Side:

New York Daily News.  New York Post: shut down, old self.  New York Times.  Rangers.com.

Final Thoughts:

21 down, 61 to go.

Sorry Folks

Ok, this one is not our fault.  We blame the non-driving people who for the second night in a row jacked up I-395 South at 236 causing our commute home to become rather arduous.  We missed most of the first period tonight so there will be no Post-Mortem later.

Caps @ Rangers 11-17-2009 Preview

Washington Capitals (12-8; 28 points) @ New York Rangers (11-9; 23 points):
Caps Game #21, Road Game #10, NHL Game #289

Madison Square Garden, New York, NY, 7:10 pm. Washington TV: None. Radio: WFED 1500-AM. New York TV: None. Radio: WEPN 1050-AM.  U.S. National TV: Versus.  Canadian National TV: TSN2  NHL Center Ice: None.

Tonight, the Caps travel to New York to face the Rangers for the second time this season.  Back in October, the Rangers skated off with a 4-3 win in D.C. The Rangers though have been up and down lately.  While they won their last outing, a 2-1 gimmick win in Ottawa over the Senators on Saturday, they are just 3-3 in their last six games overall.

What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post.  Times.  Caps.com.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com.  AP Wire.

Open Source Intelligence:

New York Daily News. Rangers.com.

Open Source Idiocy:

New York Post.

What Do We Expect Tonight?:

As the Caps pass the quarter mark on the season tonight, it seems a little odd to hearken back to the playoffs from last year but considering the series between the Caps and the Rangers last year, that is something we can indulge in.  The Caps return to Madison Square Garden for the first time since Game 6 when they chased Henrik Lundqvist from the net after two periods for the second game in a row.  Rangers Head Coach John Tortorella, true to his form, has been rotating goaltenders recently on Broadway with Steve Valiquette getting some starts recently for the Rangers but as we've noted already, the results have been mixed.  However, goaltending situation for the Caps isn't quite settled either.  While Jose "Alvin, Simon," Theodore is still officially the number one goaltender, Semyon "The Saviour" Varlamov could (and we think should) get the nod tonight because he drove the Rangers nuts last year in the playoffs.  Add in the expected return of A.O. to the Caps lineup a few weeks early and things look pretty good for the Caps tonight especially since the Rangers had a hard time containing Ilya Kovalchuk in his return to action for the Thrashers last week.

Caps Nut Official Prediction:

Caps 5
Rangers 3
Winner by A.O.
(8-12 on the season with one perfect game)

Caps @ Devils 11-14-2009 Wrap Up

The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post.  Times.  Caps.com.

The Neutral Observers:

NHL.com.  AP Wire.

The Other Side:

New York Daily News.  New York Post.  New York Times.  The Record: total effort, notes.  The Star-Ledger: eight in a row, A Night To Remember, next up.  Devils.com.

Final Thoughts:

20 down, 62 to go.

Caps @ Devils 11-14-2009 Post-Mortem

That will be the LAST time we go to a game watch party... Onto the Battle Damage Assessment....

THE GOOD:

• Earlier today we said that the Caps would be well served to get out to a fast start and build an early lead, they did exactly that with two goals in 37 seconds with just over 5 minutes gone in the game.
• The Power Play needed only 52 seconds and one shot to convert their only opportunity tonight.

THE BAD:

• Tonight's top line of Niklas Backstrom, Alexander "Slappy" Semin, and Tomas Fleischmann were -3, -2, and -4 respectively for a big fat -9 combined.  Get well soon Mike Knuble.
• And speaking of Backstrom, 2-8 in the faceoff circle tonight.
• Boyd Gordon made his return tonight only to exit once again with a back injury.
  

THE UGLY:

• Normally, allowing only 23 shots on goal would be considered good, but when you give up five goals, we shudder to think that would have happened had more shots been taken by New Jersey.  Jose "Alvin, Simon," Theodore did not have the bounce-back game he was looking for as the Devils were picking the corners on him practically all night.
• After driving the net the past few games, the Caps got very far away from that tonight.  Too many perimeter shots and not enough traffic creating havoc in front of Martin Brodeur.  That's not how they built the four game winning streak.
  
• Slappy's turnover in the second period leading to Zack Parise's game winning breakaway goal earns the John "Coach's Pet" Erskine Bowles Bonehead Play of the Game Award tonight.
  

Ok, we all know that playing three games in four nights is tough.  That's why we always mention it when it comes up in the schedule.  There are also going to be lackluster efforts over an 82 game schedule as well and nobody is going to go an entire season losing games by only one goal in each.   So while this is certainly a humbling loss, we can't really qualify it as a bad loss.  The Devils are running on an eight game winning streak now and are right with the Caps at the top of the Eastern Conference.  It isn't as if they laid this kind of egg against Carolina or Toronto.  Well, that's enough of the rose colored glasses for tonight.  We know that Bruce Boudreau is going to have some choice words for the team over this one.

Caps vs. Wild 11-13-2009 Wrap Up/ Caps @ Devils 11-14-2009 Preview

The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post.  Times.  Caps.com.

The Neutral Observers:

NHL.com.  AP Wire.

The Other Side:

St. Paul Pioneer Press: out of gas, proving performance. Star Tribune: gased out, love to host, recap.  Wild.com.

Final Thoughts:

We do think we can thank the schedule makers for this one...

19 down, 63 to go.


Washington Capitals (12-7; 28 points) @ New Jersey Devils (13-4; 26 points):
Caps Game #20, Road Game #9, NHL Game #270

Prudential Center, Newark, NJ, 7:07 pm. Washington TV: Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic Plus. Radio: WFED 1500-AM. New Jersey TV: MSG. Radio: WFAN 660-AM.  NHL Center Ice: MSG and Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic Plus feeds.

Tonight the Caps look for their fifth win in a row for the second time this season when they travel to Newark to face the New Jersey Devils.  This is the third time the Caps have faced the Devils this season and the Caps have lost both times by a score of 3-2 though one of those losses came in a gimmick.  Both teams are wrapping up three games in four nights runs.  Since beating the Caps on home ice 10 days ago, the Devils have continued their winning ways by winning all four games to push their winning streak to seven games including Thursday night's 4-1 win in Pittsburgh over the Penguin Scum.  As a matter of fact, the Devils have yet to lose a game in the month of November.

What The Natives Are Saying:

Caps.com.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com.  AP Wire.

Open Source Intelligence:

The Record.  The Star-Ledger.

What Do We Expect Tonight?:

Last night the Caps were the beneficiaries of playing at home with one day of rest against a team coming in after playing the night before.  Tonight, the Caps are the team that had to travel after playing a game.  So while it is always important to get off to a fast start against New Jersey, it will be doubly so tonight as the Caps will see their own energy level drop as the game progresses.  If he is ready, getting A.O. back in the lineup will provide some energy.  The Caps could also catch the Devils looking ahead tonight.  After winning seven games in a row and nine straight to open their road schedule, the Devils play on the road again on Monday night where they can tie the NHL record for most wins on the road to start a season.  But New Jersey hasn't given up more than 2 goals in their current seven game winning streak so even if A.O. comes back from injury tonight, the Caps will need the "secondary scoring" to continue to pull out a win tonight.

Caps Nut Official Prediction:

Caps 2
Devils 4
Winner Zubrus
(7-12 on the season with one perfect game)

Caps vs. Wild 11-13-2009 Post-Mortem

Not quite boring, not quite exciting...  Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• No shots on goal for the Caps in the first seven minutes as they didn't get the "chase" part of the "dump and chase" style going.  But 41 shots on goal over the last 53 minutes was impressive to us even though there are still those who think they didn't shoot enough.
• We have a Brian Pothier sighting!  A game winning goal, for #2, his 2nd of the season, at the 2 minute mark.  Anybody else noticing a pattern here???
• Against a team that was running at over 90% on the road in the Penalty Killing department, the Caps went 1 for 3 with 7 shots on goal.  As a matter of fact, it was the Power Play in the first period that got the Caps offense going in tonight's game.

THE BAD:

• Look, we don't enjoy beating up on Semyon "The Saviour" Varlamov on here but calls for him to be proclaimed the #1 goaltender after just under two games is absurd, especially since he let in another questionable goal.  The Saviour is young, he'll be a good one but can we please keep expectations at a somewhat reasonable level right now?
• Against a goaltender with a 4.73 goals against average and .761 save percentage entering tonight's game.  The Caps hung just two goals on him in 40 shots and allow him to lower those gaudy numbers to a slightly more respectable 3.92 GAA and .849 save percentage.
• The defensive effort overall was ok but with Jeff "Sergeant" Schultz and Milan Jurcina out of the lineup tonight, not a whole lot of crease clearing going on in the Caps zone.  Too many pucks to the slot for our tastes tonight.  That a big reason why the Caps allowed 30 shots on goal.
  

THE UGLY:

• If you haven't already heard it being reported in mulitple places, Mike Knuble is out 3-4 weeks with a broken finger.  That's going to hurt we think from a leadership standpoint.
• And we've seen stupid penalties in our lives and Niklas Backstrom's cross checking minor in the first period is among the stupidest we've ever seen.  Not only was the cross check late, uncalled for, but it was entirely weak.  IF you're going to take a penalty like that, you should least get your $$$$$'s worth as far as we're concerned.

We remember coming out of the lockout knowing that the Caps were a bad, but young, hockey team.  We were amazed at times how the Caps would play outstanding games where they displayed the raw talent that they possessed and took heart knowing that it would eventually come together.  Now it is amazes to us to see what happens with this hockey team when they decide to start going to the net.  Should they stop doing this come April, May, and June, we will be very upset because we now know that one of the knocks against the Caps just simply isn't true anymore.  This is a team willing to fight to get to the net to score goals.    However, on another note, A.O. has now missed five games this season and the Caps are averaging 4 goals a game in his absence.  Now we're not advocating keeping A.O. on the shelf any longer than is really necessary but these past five games should dispel the notion that the Caps are nothing more than a "one man band."  We just hope that Knuble's kninjury doesn't force A.O. back into the lineup tomorrow night if he's not fully ready.  The team has a lot more hockey left to play than just 63 games.

It has been... A TWO POINT NIGHT!!!

Caps vs. Wild 11-13-2009 Preview

Washington Capitals (11-7; 26 points) vs. Minnesota Wild (7-11; 15 points):
Caps Game #19, Home Game #11, NHL Game #262


Verizon Center, Washington, D.C., 7:07 pm. Washington TV: Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic Plus. Radio: WFED 1500-AM. Minnesota TV: Fox Sportsnet North. Radio: KLCI 106.1-FM.  NHL Center Ice: Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic Plus and Fox Sportsnet North feeds.

Tonight, the Caps look for their fourth win in a row when they wrap up a three game homestand by hosting the Minnesota Wild.  This is the first and only meeting between the two teams this year, last year Minnesota won the lone matchup, 4-3, at home.  Heading into last night's 4-3 gimmick loss in Tampa, the Wild had won four of their last five games.  This is the third stop on a four game road trip for Minnesota and their second game of a three games in four nights run with all three of those games coming against the Southeast Division.

What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post.  Times.  Caps.com

Neutral Views:

NHL.com.  AP Wire.

Open Source Intelligence:

St. Paul Pioneer Press: blown lead, friends now rivals.  Star Tribune: late collapse, adjustment period, Game Preview.

What Do We Expect Tonight?:

Gone are the days in Minnesota where they look to bore everybody to death before scoring a single goal and winning the game 1-0.  The Wild have tried to open things up which is a big part of the reason why they started off with just one win in their first seven games.  The Wild have been getting the hang of things since then but still have a long ways to go to overcome their slow start.  The Caps will want to avoid overtime tonight, three of Minnesota's seven wins have come after regulation and last night in Tampa was the first time the Wild lost after regulation this season.  We've certainly noticed a certain "Wild West Shootout" trend with the Caps right now and considering that the lineup isn't likely to change all that much, why wouldn't tonight's game be as crazy as the past few home games?  We're just starting to become numb to the whole thing.

Caps Nut Official Prediction:

Caps 5
Wild 3
Winner by Semin
(6-12 on the season with one perfect game)

Caps vs. Islanders 11-11-2009 Wrap Up

The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post.  Times.  Caps.com.

The Neutral Views:

NHL.com.  AP Wire.

The Other Side:

Newsday's Subscription Shakedown.  Islanders.com.

Final Thoughts:

18 down, 64 to go.