Caps vs. Buffaslugs 12-2-2006 Post-Mortem

I have to admit, I was worried that somebody was going to post a 7 on the scoreboard tonight. I only thought it would be the Buffaslugs and not the Caps. Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• Where's Ron Webber when you need him? When was the last time the Caps had 2 goals on the scoreboard before their opponent even had a shot on goal? The Caps got off to a great start tonight and simply kept pace the rest of the evening.
• 15 shots on goal in the first period for the Caps to 7 for the Buffaslugs. The Caps did a great job of getting the puck to the net and what impressed me was that the Caps did it in what looked like a deliberate fashion. They weren't rushing things and seemed to have a cool confidence about themselves in that first period.
• Alexander Semin really showed off his skill tonight and had a great game. And considering the struggles he's had centering the second line, Jakub "and Sons" Klepis has performed rather well centering the first line. Now I'm not ready to have him replace Dainius Zubrus on a permanent basis, but he has done better than expected.
• And speaking of doing better than expected, John Erskine Bowles played a good game tonight. He had a nice open ice hit in the third period and then capped off the scoring with the ENG from behind his own net. But he still isn't the key to the Caps winning the Cup.
• The Penalty Killers went 1 for 6 tonight, only yielding a 5 on 3 goal in the dying seconds.
• Referees Don "Have Another Donut You Fat Pig" Koharski and Mike Hasenfrantz did an excellent job of keeping control of a hockey game that very easily could have gotten totally out of hand. My only gripe is that they didn't call the Buffaslugs for their consistent whining after every minor penalty.

THE BAD:

• The Power Play was awful tonight going 0 for 7. And make no mistake, it wasn't looking very impressive before A.O. was ejected and Richard Zednik got carried off.
• Here's the line on the third consecutive goaltender chased by the Caps (speaking of Ron Webber, when's the last time that's happened?) Ryan Miller, 3 goals on 9 shots, for a .667 save percentage, and a (if my math on this is right) 22.500 Goals-Against-Average in just 8 minutes worth of work. At least his team mates got him off the hook and stuck the loss on Martin Biron.

THE UGLY:

• He deserves this: Ryan Miller:

(Oh come on, you want the cheap joke that everybody is doing? Ok, if you insist...)

• The Buffaslug:
  

( There, happy?)

Was this a perfect game? No, not by any stretch. Not when the Caps went 0 for 7 on the Power Play tonight. The Caps played by far their best game I've seen this season and I am sure that in tomorrow's Wrap Up you'll see the Buffaslugs talk about what a bad game they had tonight. But the Caps won tonight, that's the important thing. The Caps held off the Buffaslugs minus three of their valued skilled players (Zubrus, A.O., and Zednik) and sent the Buffaslug fans back home to Loserville rather quiet. There isn't much to complain about tonight.

It has been... A TWO POINT NIGHT!