Caps @ Flames 10-30-2006 Wrap Up

The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post. Caps.com

The Neutral Observers:

NHL.com AP Wire

The Other Side:

Calgary Herald: Flames flickering, A.O. worth the wait, Olie Kolzig plays for the Caps too. Flames.com.

Final Thoughts:

The Power of the Z-Men came through...


Dainius Zubrus and Richard Zednik came through with two goals a piece. For Zed, it was good to see as he's been a bit of a punching bag for Caps fans so far this season. He didn't start playing well until Matt "Princess" Pettinger started getting closer to coming off of the IR. Zed's play slipped again because he wasn't scoring but now with two goals, Zed looks to be getting back into form. And this doesn't come too soon either because has anybody noticed Alexander Semin recently? I can't say that I have. If Zed and Semin can trade off on hot and cold streaks, I won't complain too much.

This was the type of game that the Caps needed to play on the road. It wasn't nail biting and exciting until the clock started to wind down. The Caps had a solid effort for 60 minutes and there were only a few moments of disarray. But once the Flames got back within one goal in the third on Iginla's breakaway, the Caps went into lockdown mode and got the win, splitting the four game road trip and getting 5 out of 8 points. So let's hope that the Caps have learned how to win on the road with this trip. While they don't have another 4 game road trip until around the All-Star break in January, they will have to play better on the road if they are serious about contending for a playoff spot. 11 down 71 to go.

No Post-Mortem Tonight

Sorry folks. Even though class ended early tonight, I'm exhausted. I want to go to sleep after the game ends.

I'll say this though, so far the Caps are playing a solid game tonight. Nothing great, nothing bad. Should the Caps hold on to win I'll be happy with this type of game at the end of a long road trip.

There will be a wrap up tomorrow morning.

No More Dog and Pony Shows?

Could the Caps be done with long October road trips? If the Washington International Horse Show leaves D.C. they will be. I'm sure the Caps would like having more games at home to start the season. Though should the NHL keep their schedule format the same, the Caps won't travel any further west than St. Louis next season.

Also, after their win over F$U on Saturday night, the Terps game vs. Miami on November 11th has been optioned. The game will be at Noon on ESPN2, 3:30, or 8 pm on ABC. The other optioned games are Wake Forest-F$U and Cincinnati-West Virginia. Something tells me that Thursday night's West Virginia-Louisville game will go a long way in deciding who gets what slot.

And finally, I had planned to post this on Saturday, but because of the issues I was having with blogger, I was never able to. I was planning on titling the post "Continue To Believe." It takes some time to load.

Caps @ Flames 10-30-2006 Preview

Washington Capitals (3-7; 10 points) @ Calgary Flames (3-6; 7 points):

Pengrowth Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 9:05 pm. Washington TV: Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic. Radio: WTEM 980-AM. Calgary TV: Rogers Sportsnet West. Radio: The Fan 960-AM. NHL Center Ice: Rogers Sportsnet West feed.
Caps Game #11, Road Game #7, NHL Game #165.

Tonight the Caps bring their four games in six nights western road trip to a merciful end in Calgary. This is the Caps last game outside of the Eastern Time zone this season as they are coming off of back-to-back losses where they played some of their poorest hockey yet this season. The Flames are also coming off a loss on Saturday night after they dropped a 3-2 game to the Nashville Predators at the Saddledome. This is another place where the Caps have had trouble winning in recent years when Ken Klee doesn't take out Jarome Iginla in the second period. The Caps had yesterday off and I hope that they had better hotel rooms than I did when I was there three years ago buying my cowboy boots and mastering the mechanical bull better than Limey did.

I'm sorry, I went off on a tangent again, here's the rest of the preview...

What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com. Caps.com pdf game notes have not been posted yet.

Open Source Intelligence:

Calgary Herald: More A.O. worship, which is becoming embarrassing. Flames.com. Flames.com game notes.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com AP Wire.

What Do I Expect Tonight?:

After having yesterday off after not expending much energy Friday or Saturday night, the Caps should have enough in the tank to get by the Flames. The problem for the Caps is that they struggle big time against defensive minded teams and good goaltenders, both of which the Flames have right now. The Flames don't open things up very much so expect a low scoring game. The only good news for the Caps is that the Flames have been struggling overall so far this season. Though all too much in the past, the Caps have been the perfect tonic for those types of teams.

Caps Nut Official Washington Hockey.com Predict The Score Contest Entry:

Caps 1
Flames 2
Winner by Tanguay

Sunday Smorgasbord 10-29

• The power of the blackout came through last night as the Terps beat F$U 27-24. In Maryland's 2nd win over F$U in the past three seasons, the Terps once again held on for dear life down the stretch to win. This time instead of benefiting from three missed field goals, the Terps somehow pulled out the win on a blocked field goal despite being badly out gained 458 to 223. At 6-2 and 3-1 in the ACC, Maryland is now bowl eligible and can afford to lose at Miami and still make the ACC Championship Game. The Terps however will likely need another win to ensure a bowl bid this season.
• In another blackout this weekend, D.C. United advanced to the Eastern Conference Championship with a 1-1 tie with the New York Red Bulls earlier tonight at RFK Stadium. D.C. won the aggregate score of 2-1 and avoided overtime with Christian Gomez's goal in the 86th minute. Simply put, United was lucky to come away with a tie because they got flat out hosed by referee Tim Weyland all night. I don't know how many times I've seen a Penalty Kick called on the exact same play that Freddy Adu was taken down in the box on in the first half but D.C. was not awarded the kick. That and Adu's yellow card when the Red Bull player took two full steps before falling down were the obvious calls that were completely blown. But D.C. did what you need to do in the playoffs, they survived and advanced. For better coverage, check out the guys over at The DCenters.
• And speaking of blackouts, that's what happened to the Caps last night as they were shutout 4-0 by the Edmonton Oilers. I didn't see any of the game but 19 shots on goal isn't going to get it done. While the Terps and D.C. United were going for blackouts, the Caps offensive blackout last night was entirely unintentional.
• One last note on the Maryland-F$U game, F$U's Alumni Pep Band has some very, very young Alumni in it. I don't think I could have legally taken any of them out for a beer after the game last night...
• Word on the street is that the Caps are eventually going to be returning to their old red, white, and blue color scheme. Odds are that it will happen next year as word is floating around that the NHL will go to form fitting and sleeker uniforms next season. I meant to post this last week, but the some of the Bullets are also longing for a return to red, white, and blue. I have to say, Abe Polin missed the boat when he moved both of his teams away from that. Now if we can only do something about those ugly purple seats in the Phone Booth....
• And speaking of ugly purple, BEAT GONZAGA!
• This week, the Caps finish off their Western road trip by visiting Calgary tomorrow night at 9pm. The Caps then come back to the phone booth on Friday night to face the Thrashers once again before hitting the road and heading up I-95 to visit the Philadelphia Flyers. Both of those games faceoff at 7 pm. The Terps hit the road and pay a visit to Clemson at Death Valley for a High Noon kickoff on ESPN2. The Skins are back in action next Sunday as they face the Cowboys in Landover at 1 pm. Also next Sunday, D.C. United hosts New England in a one game playoff for a trip to the MLS Cup kicking off at 4 pm on ESPN2.
• Finally, blogger was acting up on me yesterday and I hopefully have solved the issues that wouldn't let me publish yesterday's Wrap-up/Preview. I wasn't planning on doing a Post-Mortem last night and because I spent so much time this morning trying to fix this, there's no wrap-up for last night's game. It wasn't a case of me being lazy, but a case of me not being a computer geek. Anyway, please send all comments, questions, suggestions, corrections, criticisms, and bribes to "capsnut" over at gmail dot com.

Caps @ Canucks 10-27-2006 Wrap Up/ Caps @ Oilers 10-28-2006 Preview

The Local Yokels:

Caps.com.

The Neutral Observers:

NHL.com AP Wire.

The Other Side:

Vancouver Province: Canucks win in gimmick, Canucks solve Olie Kolzig, Bullis in the doghouse. Canucks.com.

Final Thoughts:

Not only did we play poorly, but now I see Kolzig hurt himself. Well, that's good news for Brent Johnson who most people figured to start tonight anyway. Let's hope though that Kolzig isn't hurt too long. 9 down 73 to go.


Washington Capitals (3-6; 10 points) @ Edmonton Oilers ( 6-4; 12 points):

Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. 10:05 pm. Washington TV: Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic. Radio: WTEM 980-AM. Edmonton TV: None. Radio: CHED 630-AM. Canadian National TV: CBC Hockey Night In Canada Doubleheader Game #2. NHL Center Ice: CBC Hockey Night In Canada Doubleheader Game #2 feed. Stick around after the broadcast to watch the After Hours show.
Caps Game #10, Road Game #5, NHL Game #158

Tonight the Caps limp into Edmonton, a place where they haven't won in over 10 years now. The Caps are finishing up a three games in four nights on the road and are playing on back-to-back nights. The Oilers are coming off of back-to-back 6-2 losses at Anaheim and Phoenix and are also playing their third game in four nights. The problem for the Caps is, the Oilers are a perfect 5-0 at home this season.

What The Natives Are Saying:

Caps.com. Caps.com pdf game notes.

Open Source Intelligence:

Edmonton Journal: Game Preview, line shuffle. Oilers.com has not yet posted their preview.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com AP Wire.

What Do I Expect Tonight?:

Hopefully a better performance that what we saw last night. The Caps couldn't have played much worse than they did. The Oilers are tough to beat at home and considering the troubles that the Caps have had on the road recently and their record in Edmonton (10-15-4), I don't like their chances, even if they have a good game. Hopefully, there won't be any "Anti-War" protests clogging up the streets of Edmonton today. But I digress....

Caps Nut Official Washington Hockey.com Predict The Score Contest Entry:

Caps 2
Oilers 4
Winner Lupul

Editorial Note For The Dozen Readers of This Blog:

Due to work commitments, I will not be able to watch all of tonight's game. Therefore there will be no Post-Mortem for tonight's game. (Hey, if the (Com)Post and Times can get away with not covering all of this team's games, so can I. Nobody is paying me to do this.)

Caps @ Canucks 10-27-2006 Post-Mortem

If there ever was a game that just begged to be decided by a gimmick, it was this one. I think the NHL was set back about ten years by this game that the Caps lost 3-2 in a gimmick.

THE GOOD:

• Olie Kolzig turned in another great performance tonight. Without him, this game would have been over in the first period.

THE BAD:

• Referees Steve Kozari and Brad Watson were downright horrible tonight. Way too many missed calls and way too many inconsistent calls. What was up with the two diving calls on the Caps? And while I don't have a problem with the obstruction crackdown, I do wish officials would call it both ways. All night Vancouver was running moving picks in the offensive zone. All of them were penalties and not a single one of them were called. All four Cap Power Plays came in the second period.
• The Caps came out as flat as I have ever seen them. They should have been blown out in the first period and Kolzig was the reason why this game got to the gimmick.
• The Caps never really got going offensively. They were bottled up for most of the night and had a grand total of three shots in the first and third periods. It wasn't until they got a 1:19 5-on-3 that the Caps got anything resembling an offense going. 22 shots isn't going to be enough to beat a goaltender like Roberto Luongo.

THE UGLY:

• Again, the Caps paraded to the penalty box. Another game, another 7 Penalty Kills for the Caps. This is becoming a broken record.
• This was not a fun game to watch in any sense for any fan of hockey. Between the Caps looking like the Keystone Kops and the Canucks running picks all over the ice there wasn't much of a flow to this game as things were clogged up all over the place. Even when there was open ice with 4-on-4 hockey, the Caps looked even worse and the Canucks could not take advantage.
• Even when the Caps were able to generate 16 shots on goal in the second period, they still gave up 11. As a matter of fact, the only period that the Canucks didn't register double digits in shots was the five minute overtime.
• The game was decided by a gimmick

I could look on the bright side of this and say that despite the Caps playing as bad as I expected them to it was kept close and the Caps came away with a single point. The problem is, the Caps played even worse than I expected they would. Make no mistake though, unlike the gimmick losses in Minnesota and Atlanta, the Caps didn't leave a point on the table, they flat out stole a point tonight. The Caps had no business being in this game with the way they played. This game is a prime example of why the OT loss is a joke. There's no reason why the Caps should be rewarded in any way shape or form for their performance tonight.

Caps @ Canucks 10-27-2006 Preview

Washington Capitals ( 3-5; 9 points) @ Vancouver Canucks (6-5; 13 points):

GM Place, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 10:05 pm. Washington TV: Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic. Radio: WTEM 980-AM. Vancouver TV: Rogers Sportsnet Pacific. Radio: TEAM 1040-AM. NHL Center Ice: Rogers Sportsnet Pacific feed.
Caps Game #9, Road Game #5, NHL Game #146

Tonight the Caps road trip rolls into The Garage in the Pacific Northwest for a matchup with the Vancouver Canucks. The Caps are coming off of a well played 5-3 victory over the Avalanche on Wednesday night. The Canucks are coming off a 5-0 shutout of the Blackhawks in the Windy City from Wednesday night. The last time the Caps were in Vancouver they got steamrolled 6-0 and I didn't drink nearly enough alcohol that night to erase the memory. While staying more sober than most of my traveling companions (which trust me, isn't saying much) kept me out of trouble, I still can't get the sight of that skanky 16 year old's thong out of my head. Maybe I should have drank more with LaCanfora and Kolbe.....

Anyway, enough of the trip down memory lane, let's get on this with this.

What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com. Caps.com pdf game notes.

Open Source Intelligence:

Canoe. Vancouver Province: Luongo befuddles A.O., A.O.'s excellent adventure. Canucks.com: preview, Luongo owns the Caps, new scoreboard. Canucks.com game notes have not been posted yet.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com AP Wire.

What Do I Expect Tonight?:

As relentlessly mentioned by the Vancouver press and the Canucks themselves, the Caps have had their issues vs. Luongo in the past not mention bad games in Vancouver overall. Vancouver is playing just their third home game this season. Despite the strong start to the trip in Denver, I'm sorry to say that I don't like our chances tonight. This could get ugly.

Caps Nut Official Washington Hockey.com Predict The Score Contest Entry:

Caps 1
Canucks 5
Winner by Naslund

Complaining About The NHL Schedule????

Listen carefully.

Do you hear it?

Do you hear the drumbeats against the NHL's unbalanced schedule format growing?

I have to say that this is entirely comical to me. I understand the player's complaints about playing in the same places all the time and only having one, maybe two "new" road trips a season. But the media types complaining about this is downright laughable, but very predictable, because by and large this is par for the course in the NHL and it has been this way since Gary Bettman took over.

Media types for years were complaining about "boring hockey" so we had umpteen "crackdowns on obstruction." And why did they all fail until last year? Well last year was the first time that the media types did not bemoan the parade to the penalty box that the crackdown created. The media types have long been advocating shootouts and the elimination of the two-line pass. The elimination of the two-line pass may have "opened up the game" but it only increased scoring for about a month or two (and of course, we all know that scoring=excitement/"Chicks Dig The Long Ball.") Teams adjusted and defensemen hardly ever pinch in at the opposite blueline anymore. The shootout has taken "the most exciting play in hockey" and turned it into "the most common play in hockey." Was anybody on the edge of their seat when A.O. missed his penalty shot last night? I wasn't. The only thing I want to know is does that missed shot make him 0 for 7 or 0 for 6 in his last penalty shots? Fans stand during the gimmick at the end of the game not because it is just so gosh darn exciting, but because they know that the game is about to end and they will be going home soon. Kind of like the standing ovation that accompanies a win by the home team as the clock runs out in the third period.

Media types have also been calling for more "division rivalries." One of the problems of expansion is that teams that used to play each other on a regular basis had their regular season meetings cut down. The media types kept talking about what great games "division rivals" created. So the NHL went about creating a schedule where division rivals meet eight times a season. Only baseball offers more intra-divisional bang for your buck. Yet now just barely one year into this new format we're being told that it isn't fair. It isn't right that the Denver, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Minnesota fans are just now this season getting to see a great player like A.O. in person and have to wait another three years before he comes back. How it is not right that Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, Nashville, and Columbus fans have to wait another year to see this player play in their home buildings. Soon we'll learn that the much ballyhooed "Battle of Alberta" is becoming "stale" because Calgary and Edmonton meet so often. Did you miss the game on October 5th because your favorite NHL team was also opening up that night or on the 7th because of Florida-LSU or some other game? Don't worry, you can still watch them play November 21st, December 31st, January 13th and 20th, March 3rd, and finally on April 7th. NHL Center Ice subscribers such as myself find that they are choosing from the same games just about every night.

But as I said, this isn't the first time the media types have done these types of things. Remember when the NHL had a rule about players in the crease? The media types went berserk when the NHL decided to enforce this rule. The media types complained about goals being waived off because of players on the other side of the crease who weren't interfering with the goaltender being in the crease. The NHL went and shrunk the crease and because idiot NHL players STILL couldn't stay out of the crease, the rule was simply abandoned, altogether. (The NHL went and shrunk the crease and because idiot NHL players STILL couldn't stay out of the crease, the rule was simply abandoned...)

And I know what you are thinking, Bret Hull. Let me tell you folks, that was by far the worst example of media stupidity I have ever seen. The media (and Sabre fans) still complain up and down the street about that call but they seem to forget that THE PLAYER WITH THE PUCK CANNOT BE IN AN OFFSIDE POSITION! It is a simple rule but what we ended up with are media types howling in protest over a rule that THEY DIDN'T EVEN UNDERSTAND. When these folks are blissfully unaware of the rules of the game that they are covering, why should we take their suggestions for "improving" the game seriously?

With their track record, the media types will get the NHL to dump the unbalanced schedule and the media types will go back to complaining about "the lack of division rivalries." Personally, I hope the media types start to complain about the gimmick, but that's too much to hope for. I'll settle for them attacking Gary Bettman's utter incompetence. But I don't hold out much in the way of hope for that one either.

Caps @ Avs 10-25-2006 Wrap Up

The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post. Caps.com.

The Neutral Observers:

NHL.com AP Wire.

The Other Side:

Denver Post: Failed 5-on-3 hurts, 1,501 for Sakic. Rocky Mountain News: Sakic gets 1,501 and is tired of seeing A.O., Avs Faceoff. Avs. com: Sakic overshadowed, Sakic reaches 1,501.

Final Thoughts:

In the AP wire Olie Kolzig sums it up well, A.O. is this franchise. And when the defacto captain of the team says that, I hope certain people pay attention and begin to treat him accordingly. He doesn't need to be out there during garbage time. While he says he's fine, we really won't know until tomorrow night in Vancouver because of just how squirrelly the Caps are about injuries. 8 down 74 to go.

Caps @ Avs 10-25-2006 Post-Mortem

All sorts of reasons to feel good about this 5-3 win, but they had to go and do something downright stupid at the end.

THE GOOD:

• With 45 saves, Olie Kolzig had his best game of the season. Some might say that he single handedly kept them in the game in the first. But I think that the Caps were playing well; they just had to kill too many penalties and couldn't get any offensive momentum going.
• You can't complain about the start of the game with Captain Chris Clark scoring just 53 seconds in. The Caps jumped all over a backup goaltender getting a back-to-back start.
• Both the Power Play and Penalty Kill looked good tonight. The Power Play was 1 for 3 and the Penalty Killers were 1 for 7. The Penalty Killers killed off a 2 minute 5-on-3 and didn't give up a Power Play goal until the last kill in the third.
• With a two goal lead in the third period, the Caps never let up and did not try to sit on the lead. When Colorado pulled within one twice, the Caps scored again to restore the lead. Last week in Atlanta I said that they need to learn how to win the close games on the road when they are ahead; tonight they did what they couldn't get done a week ago.

THE BAD:

• Having to kill a 2 minute 5-on-3 and 5 penalties in the first period. It kept players like A.O. and Alexander Semin off the ice and prevented the Caps from building on their quick start.
• 18 shots in the first and then 22 in the third. The 18 in the first was understandable because of all the Penalty Kills, but 22 in the third is a little discouraging as I felt that the Caps kept applying pressure and didn't seem to be sitting in a shell.

THE UGLY:

• Again, too many penalties. While I like the fact that the Caps are getting better at the Penalty Killing, they don't need to keep practicing it so much during games.
• Just what in the world was A.O. doing out there after Matt "Omar" Bradley's empty net goal iced the game? Seeing A.O. go down in a heap and needing help to get off the ice was not fun to watch and Glen Hanlon should be questioned for putting him out there when the game was no longer in doubt. A.O. is this franchise and we cannot afford to lose him for any length of time for any reason. Especially stupid ones.
• The defending (or the complete and total lack thereof) of Ossi Vaananen and Patrice Brisebois on Mike Green's goal. No wonder Brisebois is not a fan favorite in Denver. They made Mike Green look like A.O.

I have to say that I am a little steamed about A.O. While it is good to hear that he's ok, seeing him helped off the ice is without a doubt a total buzz kill. There was a lot of good in tonight's game but it all got overshadowed by what happened at the end. The Caps played well for the entire 60 minutes and they closed out the win. There are still things that need some work, but overall, there isn't much to complain about tonight's game except for the star player getting hurt in garbage time. Let's hope that we don't see A.O. out there in garbage time like that again.

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

A Job For Frank?

Assistant GM out.

Something tells me though that this is a little too low profile for him.

Stay tuned.

Caps @ Avs 10-25-2006 Preview

Washington Capitals (2-5; 7 points) @ Colorado Avalanche (4-5; 10 points):

Pepsi Center, Denver, CO. 9:05 pm Washington TV: Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic. Radio: WTEM 980-AM. Colorado TV: Altitude. Radio: KKFN 950-AM. NHL Center Ice: Altitude feed.
Caps Game #8, Road Game #4, NHL Game #133

Tonight the Caps hit the road for their first extended road trip of the season totaling four games. The Caps are starting a three games in four nights and four in six nights set after finishing up last week a three games in four nights set with Saturday's 6-4 loss to the Ning. The Avs are playing their second of a three game home stand and are coming off a 6-1 win over Los Angeles from Monday night.

What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post: Uncertain road, yesterday's notebook. Times. Caps.com. Caps.com pdf game notes.

Open Source Intelligence:

Denver Post: Backup Budaj will start again, Brisebois being picked on. Rocky Mountain News. Avs.com. Avs.com still does not have their game notes posted yet, but they do have, Ask a former Cap. (I will be submitting "Do you like movies about gladiators?" I don't expect it to be answered...)

Neutral Views:

NHL.com AP Wire

What Do I Expect Tonight?:

The Caps are looking for their first win on the road this season. Of the four games on this trip, this is the most likely stop where they will get that win. Last season the Caps did not get their first road win until October 26th, their 4th road game, against Buffalo in Rochester, NY. Their first win in another team's arena didn't come until November 19th in Montréal. The Caps are a better team this year and I think playing Colorado could help them out. With the much discussed move of Jakub "and Sons" Klepis to the second line center position (creating an all-Euro second line) with Kris Beech moving to the fourth line, and the impending returns of Matt "Princess" Pettinger and Boyd Gordon, the Caps are dangerously close to having four effective forward lines. This could be the start of something good for the Caps, if only the young defensemen could mature faster....

Caps Nut Official Washington Hockey.com Predict The Score Contest Entry:

Caps 3
Avs 2
Winner by Zednik

NFL Steroid Testing Is A Joke

As you've undoubtedly heard by now, San Diego Charger's linebacker Shawne Merriman has been suspended for four games for steriod use. Yet this shouldn't come as a surprise and could very well end up impacting the Maryland program that he came out of.

Why you may ask? In his last year at Maryland, Merriman was listed as 6'4" and 245 pounds but when he tested for the NFL at the combine and in College Park, Merriman was listed at 6'4" and 274 pounds. Now how does a 20 year old put on 30 pounds in less than 8 months and not become a blimp? Somebody out there at Maryland had to notice Shawne getting unnaturally bigger. And if he didn't hit the juice until after the season was over, how in the world did he get through the initial testing from the NFL? You mean to tell me that not a single scout took a look at the Maryland Football Media Guide and compared it with their readings on that day?

Sadly, this isn't the first situation where Merriman has been linked to drugs. There are strong rumors that he was bragging about pot smoking on his way from the San Diego airport to be introduced to the media after being drafted in the first round last year. The real kick was that he did it in front of a team official who was giving him a ride from the airport to the Chargers complex. Merriman also did himself no favors by firing his agent after being drafted and switching to Kevin Poston. It has also been strongly rumored that had Merriman been represented by Kevin Poston from the start, and not Gary Wichard, that the Chargers would have passed on him because Poston is known for protracting contract disputes. San Diego has to be wondering just what in the world they got themselves into with this guy.

But as more dirt about Merriman comes to the surface, you have to wonder just how much of it is going to hit the Terps. This isn't good news for them because somebody somewhere in College Park had to have known something and didn't do anything about it. The NFL also looks foolish for not being able to catch an obvious cheater.

Sunday Smorgasbord 10-22

• Let's start off with the good news first, yesterday the Terps put two ACC wins together by beating N.C. State 26-20. The Terps are still having problems closing out wins but yesterday the problem was on the offensive side of the ball as the defense stood up when they needed to in order to get the win. At 5-2, the Terps are now one win away from bowl eligibility but may need two wins to ensure a bowl bid. Turnovers were a huge key yesterday as Maryland's two touchdown drives were a combined 55 yards.
• In other good news from yesterday, D.C. United got their playoff run off to a good start with a 1-0 win over the New York Red Bulls yesterday in the Joisey swamps. D.C. now only needs a tie in the return bout next week at home to advance. The ESPN2 commentators today mentioned how D.C. "returned to form" yesterday as the playoffs started. This is good news because D.C. cannot afford anymore losses. For better insight than I can offer, check out the guys over at The DCenters.
• Martin Brodeur flatly admits that he complained about A.O.'s RoboCop visor. Marty says that the fans need to be able to see the players' faces. I agree Marty. How about since you feel that A.O. gets a "competitive advantage" from his RoboCop visor that you take off your mask too. After all Marty, one could argue that it gives you a "competitive advantage" plus you're a superstar Marty. The fans want to see your face. I think even Melanie would like to see you play without your mask.
• There's no more avoiding it for me, the Redskins lost to the Colts 36-22. Now at 2-5, the biggest question for the Redskins is when does Jason Campbell replace Mark Brunell at quarterback? Though I should caution all fans calling for this change at quarterback, it will do nothing to help a defense that is giving up yards in big bunches. The odds of Campbell coming in a leading the team into the playoffs are slim at best. I would consider a quarterback change at this point in time an admission from Joe Gibbs that this season is lost. So, I don't expect that anytime soon, especially with two NFC East games coming up.
• Getting back to the good stuff, as promised earlier today, here's a link where Flyers owner Ed Snider says the old Flyers will return. If the Broad Street Bullies are coming back, I'm glad that the Caps will only have to face them four times instead of eight. The NHL needs to move away from this mindset if they ever want to grow the game and the Flyers won't become a better hockey team either.
• Though one other piece of "bad news," the Maryland Men's Basketball team was picked to finish seventh by the ACC Media. I don't think the Terps have ever been picked first by these guys. While I don't believe that Maryland should be first, I think the ACC Media will be eating a lot of crow over picking Virginia Tech to finish ahead of the Terps.
• And finally this week, the Caps clear out the Phone Booth for the Horse Show and get on their horses and head out west. The schedule picks up considerably as they will play 4 games in six days starting on Wednesday night in Colorado against the Avalanche at 9 pm. The Caps then head to Vancouver to face the Canucks on Friday night for a 10 pm faceoff. The Caps then move on to Edmonton to face the Oilers on Saturday night at 10 pm for the second game of CBC's Hockey Night in Canada doubleheader. The Terps will host F$U on Saturday night at Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium kicking off at 7 pm on ESPN2. D.C. United looks end the New York Red Bulls season on Sunday at RFK Stadium kicking off at 6 pm. Don't worry about any conflicts with the Redskins, they have the bye week to lick their wounds.
• As always please send all comments, questions, criticisms, suggestions, and "joe mamma" jokes to "capsnut" over at gmail dot com. I think you know the drill by now.

More Schadenfreude

Considering some of the comments earlier this week out of Philly, this doesn't come as much of a surprise. Though I do have to say that I am mildly surprised about Clarke. The guy has had so many chances up there that you had to wonder what dirt he had on Snider.

More commentary later and if I can find it, I'll link to the article where Snider says something to the effect of 1970's Flyers hockey returning in the Smorgasbord tonight.

Caps vs. Ning 10-21-2006 Wrap Up

The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post. Times: poor second period, Caps Report. Caps.com

The Neutral Observers:

See the link to the Ning's recap.

The Other Side:

St. Petersburg Times: Alexeev picks up the slack, GM defends coach. Tampa Tribune. Ning.com.

Final Thoughts:

The Caps first goal was switched from A.O. from Alexander Semin and Brian Pothier to Semin from Pothier and Oile Kolzig. 7 down 75 to go.

Caps vs. Ning 10-21-2006 Post-Mortem

If I wasn't so tired from a long day today, I might actually be more worked up about the Caps 6-4 loss to the Ning tonight. So let's get on with this.

THE GOOD:

• The Power Play was 2 for 3 tonight. While I don't know if this the result of improvement or the fact that the Ning's penalty killing is worse than ours, you have to give kudos to the Power Play tonight for getting the job done.
• The Penalty Killers were 6 for 7 tonight. Again, I don't know if this is the result of improvement or the fact that the Ning's Power Play is worse than ours. But considering the recent struggles, I won't complain.
• Teams are starting to take Alexander Semin more seriously. This is going to open up the ice for A.O., especially when they skate on a line together like they did for parts of tonight. Semin was also getting double shifted occasionally.

THE BAD:

• Olie Kolzig had another bad night. If Olie keeps this up and Brent Johnson continues to turn in solid performances, there will be a goaltending controversy. If was Glen Hanlon I would have pulled Olie in the second intermission because the team was playing well until Kolzig started giving up odd goals in the second period. Olie's breakdown dropped the team's morale tonight.
• For a bit there in the third, the Caps looked to be phoning it in. They came alive at the end and fought their way through, but they were too far behind.
• Ben "What A" Clymer's turnover that Brad Richards scored on. That was as ugly of a turnover as you are ever going to see.

THE UGLY:

• The one Power Play the Caps didn't score on, the Ning got a shorthanded goal on an abortive breakaway. That was an ugly sequence to watch.
• TOO MANY PENALTIES. The Caps racked up seven minors tonight and the one they didn't kill turned out to be the game winning goal. More proof that this team needs to say out of the penalty box.
• Referees Mike Hasenfratz and Wes McCauley had an awful game tonight and deserve some time in the AHL for their incompetence. The Caps had three Power Plays to the Ning's seven. In the third period alone there were two blatant calls (one of which the Caps were called for in the second period when they did it) that were flat out blown. A third call was missed because neither ref was looking in the right direction. Hanlon was on the bench early for the start of the third so that he could voice his displeasure with their officiating. However it didn't do much good as the Ning got a Power Play goal before the Caps were awarded their final Power Play of the game (which they too scored on).

The season is 82 games long and these types of game are going to come along once in awhile. The key here is not to dwell on this too much and move on. I think that's the best advice for dealing with this game.

Finally on another sour note, my sister and I would like to extend our condolences to our good buddy Sparky and his girlfriend Katie. Katie's mother passed away yesterday after a battle with cancer. You both are in our thoughts and prayers.

Caps vs. Ning 10-21-2006 Preview

Washington Capitals (2-4; 7 points) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (3-4; 6 points):
Caps Game # 7, Home Game # 4, NHL Game #110

Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. 7:05 pm. Washington TV: Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic. Radio: WTEM 980-AM. Tampa TV: Sun Sports. Radio: WDAE 620-AM. NHL Center Ice: Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic feed.

Tonight the Caps return home before heading out on a four game Western Conference road trip. The Caps are playing their third game in four nights and have split the two previous games 1-1 winning at home on Wednesday night vs. Florida and losing at Atlanta on Thursday night. The Ning are coming off of a 4-1 home win over the hapless Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night.

What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post, Caps.com, Caps.com pdf game notes.

Open Source Intelligence:

St. Petersberg Times: Craig out, no surgery, bench talk Tampa Tribune: Denis fits, so far; leading scorer out. Ning. com.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com AP Wire

What Do I Expect Tonight?:

Two of the three Caps games in four nights are at home so the Caps should have a decent amount of rest for this game. This is also a situation where their youth should serve them well. The Ning are off to a slow start and have played well in Washington ever since the 2002 playoffs. This is a tough game to project. So far the Caps have lived up to their talk about playing well vs. division opponents. Knowing that they have three days off after tonight, the Caps should put in a decent performance.

Caps Nut Official Washington Hockey.com Predict The Score Contest Entry:

Caps 5
Ning 2
Winner by Semin

Take A Picture Folks

After reading this post from Kuklas Korner which pointed at this article from the Toronto Globe and Mail, I made it a point last night to flip over to the Pens-Islanders game last night when the Caps and Thrashers were at the intermissions.

What I saw of Malkin, well, didn't impress me and for reasons that you might not expect. As pointed out in the above links, Malkin has the habit of skating with his head down when he has the puck. In the first period last night I saw him go end to end like that on a Penguin Power Play. Luckily for him, the Pens were on the Power Play because Brendan Witt was in the penalty box (which of course comes as a complete and total shock to Caps fans all around the globe.)

Folks, Malkin ain't gonna last very long in the NHL. Listed at 6'3" and 186 pounds, he isn't built to handle the rigors of an NHL season. Some have already stated that A.O. won't last very long because of his crash and bang style of play. But A.O. is listed at 6'2" and 212 pounds. If A.O. won't hold up, there's no way that a player 26 pounds lighter who skates all over the place with his head down is going to last any longer. Malkin was even skating through the Islanders zone with his head down when he had the puck.

It looks to me like Malkin is either going to flame out of the NHL rather quickly or his career is going to follow the path of Eric "Puddin' Head" Lindros. Either way, Evgeni Lindros won't ever live up to the hype.

And speaking of which, if was an Islander fan watching that game on Fox SportsNet New York last night, I would have pitched a fit over all the Secondary Syd and Evgeni Lindros worship going on. There was also some fawning over Jordan Staal too.

Caps @ Thrashers 10-19-2006 Wrap Up

The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com.

The Neutral Observers:

NHL.com AP Wire.

The Other Side:

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Hossa saves the Thrashers, Brian Pothier is happy in Washington. Thrashers.com post-game notes.

Final Thoughts:

Not a whole lot left to say. Captain Chris Clark's comments sum up mine. The team has to learn how to win one goal games on the road. This is why I don't expect this team in the playoffs this year. This is the second road game where they have had a chance to win in regulation and did not do it. These points left behind will cost them in April but this all a part of the learning process for a young hockey team. 6 down, 76 to go.

Caps @ Thrashers 10-19-2006 Post-Mortem

Another road game and another gimmick loss leaves the Caps still looking for their first win on the road.

THE GOOD:

• If it wore an ugly light blue jersey, the Caps were hitting it tonight. It was the one thing that the Caps were consistently doing tonight.
• Brent Johnson had another great effort tonight with 40 saves. The three goals he gave up you really can't fault him on. Too bad he loses another game because of a gimmick.
• For once the Caps actually played well in the second period. It took them awhile to get going, but this time they made up for the slumbering.

THE BAD:

• TOO MANY PENALITES. Atlanta had two 5 on 3's. While they were both killed off, that is too many to be giving up.
• The Power Play again struggled. It took a 5 on 3 for them to get settled and if memory serves, the one Power Play goal the Caps did score came off a faceoff.
• The Caps once again did all their scoring in one period. I hope they realize that they are allowed to score goals in more than just one period of the game.

THE UGLY:

• Last night the Caps took a four goal lead into the third and won by three. Tonight they tried to sit on a one goal lead in the third and they paid for it.
• For long stretches of the night, the offense was so bad that Hanlon had to play A.O. on every line to get the offense going tonight and Donald Brashear logged 2:20 seconds of ice time on the Power Play for a similar reason.
• This game was decided by a gimmick.

Well the Caps got a point tonight but they should have had two in regulation. Part of the learning process for this team is winning one goal games on the road. For the most part, the effort was there even if the offense couldn't get anything going. What makes this loss disappointing is not just the gimmick, but the fact that the Caps gave up the tying goal with under one minute left. At this time last year, the Caps were getting blown out on the road, now they're losing in heartbreaking fashion. You can see that this team is getting better but still has a long way to go.

The Fawning Has Begun...

You might have heard about some guy named Evgeni Malkin making his long awaited, much anticipated, and much ballyhooed NHL debut last night.

Well, he scored a goal but his team still lost. His other shot broke the cheap pane of glass behind the goal which "should be added to his resume." Oooooookkkkkaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy..... The NHL will be naming him their Rookie of the Month for Ocotber in just under two weeks as long as he continues to avoid teammate John LeClair.

I'd hate to break to the NHL and all the fawning media types that cover the league, but the two Alexanders in Washington, you know who I'm talking about, have more combined points than Secondary Syd and the Defector. Hades, the Alexander nobody bothered to mention this season is leading the team (and Secondary Syd) in scoring and is tied for 8th overall in NHL scoring.

Last year the Calder Trophy went to the player with the most points at the end of the season, while the other Alexander is not eligible for the award this year (he played too many games in his first season here), I'd be willing to wager that our "dynamic duo" ends up with more points than Pittsburgh's does.

But does anybody want to wager which one will get more hype? Which reminds me, I have to excuse myself because I need to clean up the vomit after just watching Mullet Melrose on ESPNguin.

Caps vs. Panthers 10-18-2006 Wrap Up/ Caps @ Thrashers 10-19-2006 Preview

The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post, Times: Caps coast, Caps report, Caps.com.

The Neutral Observers:

NHL.com AP Wire.

The Other Side:

Miami Herald, Panthers.com.

Final Thoughts:

Not a whole lot left to say expect that the Caps only took 12 shots in the second and third periods after taking 14 in the first. It would be nice to see a full 60 minute effort but they got the job done last night. 5 down 77 to go.


Washington Capitals (2-4, 6 points) @ Atlanta Thrashers (4-2, 9 points)
Caps Game #6, Road Game #3, NHL Game #92

Phillips Arena, Atlanta, GA 7:05 PM. Washington TV: Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic. Radio WTEM 980-AM. Atlanta TV: Sport South. Radio: WCNN 680-AM. NHL Center Ice: Sport South feed.

The Caps head back out on the road on the heels of their win last night over the Panthers. They visit the Thrashers who have been idle since beating the Caps 4-3 in OT last Saturday night at the phone booth. The Caps are playing on consecutive nights for the first time this season.

What The Natives Are Saying:

Caps.com, Caps pdf game notes. ((Com)Post and Times links above)

Open Source Intelligence:

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Fans not showing up (put them in the "Patrick" Division too), penalty killing working well, owners and lawyers, why not Nedved? Thrashers.com does not have a preview.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com AP Wire

What Do I Expect Tonight:

Last year the Caps were 13-28 away from the Phone Booth and so far this year, I haven't seen anything different on the road. In the two road games that the Caps have played so far, they didn't show up in the first and played for a gimmick in the second. Atlanta has been resting since Saturday and the Caps have had their issues in Phillips Arena in recent years. Until the Caps can prove that they can play and win consistently on the road, I can't expect them to win there.

Caps Nut Official Washington Hockey.com Predict The Score Contest Entry:

Caps 1
Thrashers 4
Winner by Sim

Caps vs. Panthers 10-18-2006 Post-Mortem

Who says that you need to play three periods in order to win a hockey game? The Caps only played one and coasted to a 5-2 victory over the Florida Panthers tonight.

THE GOOD:

• All Hail and Rejoice! We have a Richard Zednik sighting! Ok, he didn't have any shots and was charged with three giveaways, but he also had his first two points since returning to Washington and he was a +3. He almost single handedly created the first goal but he had huge help from Alex Auld who played that as poorly as he could of. But still Zed fans have something to crow about.
• The first period was the best hockey that the Caps have played all season. For the first 20 minutes of tonight's game, the Caps backed up their talk about playing better vs. division opponents.
• A.O. started to look like he did at this point last season. He was creating his own shot and was going at people with 4 shots on goal and 5 hits.

THE BAD:

• Florida's goaltending. Alex Auld gave up 4 goals on 12 shots in 12:36 of work. Ed Belfour was then pulled out of the mothballs and gave up the 5th goal on the first shot he faced.
• The Caps breakout scheme tonight. I've never seen the Caps as bottled up as they were tonight in the second and third periods.
• The high quality East German Surplus equipment that Abe Polin uses in the phone booth. The scoreboard was on the fritz in the third period and at one point, we were treated to a Mistakes-Shock score. This has been a recurring problem over the years and how is it that these things don't ever get fixed?

THE UGLY:

• The second period once again. The Caps were beaten to pucks and generally outworked. The Caps survived but they have got to stop doing this on a nightly basis if they want to contend for a playoff spot.
• The special teams tonight were certainly "special." 0 for 5 on the Power Play with little threat to score. The Penalty Killers killed off a 1:31 5 on 3 in the second period but couldn't kill the other two penalties. The Caps proved that they were serious about winning division games, now they need to prove their seriousness in improving the special teams.
• Nathan Horton:
  

A win is a win is a win. As I've said throughout this posting the Caps backed up their words and came out strong against a division opponent and won the game in regulation. It is a good sign that the Caps were able to sit on a 4 goal lead for two periods and still win comfortably. Though I honestly do not think that they will be able to do that against better teams. Some of the problems in the third period could have been an effort to save energy as the Caps are on their way to Atlanta to play their first set of back-to-back games. So there isn't much time to enjoy this victory or to fix the mistakes made tonight. But that's life in the NHL for you.

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

To The Surprise Of No One

Malkin suit filed.

With Mettalurg and Yaroslavl using the same law firm and presumably in the same U.S. District Court, I would expect to see these cases being merged into one large case.

But one month before a ruling comes down? Don't you just love the speedy process of the American Legal System?

And You Wonder Why I Bash You.....

There's a simple reason why I refer to the Caps Message Boards as Darwin's Waiting Room and it is because of nonsensical threads such as this.

As noted in throwaway lines at the end of the (Com)Post and Times articles today, John Erskine has been placed on waivers and should he clear, he'll report to Hershey of the AHL.

Yet we're treated to (at the time of this post) five freakin' pages of how Caps General Manager George McPhee should be drawn, quartered, drug out into the street and shot, strung up by his toenails, and burned at the stake for placing this vital cog of the 2006-2007 Washington Capitals on the waiver wire. If you think I'm kidding, check out the thread.

Even a poster I respect, Nomad, mentions something about "a unhealthy desire to keep Bryan Muir and Rico Fata." First of all, Fata is a forward so throw that out right there. Secondly, Muir has only played one game this season. While it is one more game than Erskine, let's look at some facts:

1. Erskine has never played more than 34 games for an NHL team in one season and that was after last year's trade to the Islanders.
2. The Islanders who are hardly considered defensive stalwarts but aren't considered the keystone cops on the blueline either wouldn't give the potential RFA a qualifying offer to retain his rights.
3. The Caps signed Erskine on September 14. The day before the Caps hit the ice for the first time in training camp.

I think we can clearly say that Erskine isn't an NHL caliber defenseman at this point in time. At the age of 26, he's at the point where he's either going to make it in the NHL or he's never really going to blossom. Instead of being MIA, sending him to Hershey at least gives the guy a chance to play and to develop his game.

But the scouting report on him isn't all that good. In the "new NHL" slow footed defensemen are worthless. Some of the posters on that thread agree with me and see that's there's a reason why he was available so late. But too many posters over there will use the flimsiest of excuses to bash McPhee, or Ted, Hanlon, or anybody on the team. This is why I have little respect for the message boards and I've stopped listening to the open line show.

If you want to bash McPhee for putting this guy on waivers, blame Doug Armstrong for trading him, Mike Milbury for not qualifying him, and 27 other general managers for passing on this obvious missing piece for a Stanley Cup contender. There are too many of those threads over there and that's why the place has well earned its nickname. Until the nattering-naboobs-of-negativism and the Ultimate Fighting fans are run off the boards, the nickname will stick.

Cordially;

Caps Nut

Caps vs. Panthers 10-18-2006 Preview

Sorry folks, this would have been posted sooner, but I ran into Blogger's weekly server crash...

Washington Capitals (1-3, 4 points) vs. Florida Panthers (3-3, 7 points)
Caps Game #4, Home Game #3, NHL Game # 85.

Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. 7:05 PM. Washington TV: Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic. Radio: WTEM 980-AM. Florida TV: Fox Sports Florida. Radio WQAM 560-AM. NHL Center Ice: Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic feed.

The Caps hit the ice tonight for the first time since Saturday's "inexcusable" loss to Atlanta. Florida comes in off of a similar three day rest after losing in Tampa on Saturday night. Both teams are starting a three games in four night stretch.

What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com. Caps.com pdf game notes.

Open Source Intelligence:

Miami Herald. (Reg required) It doesn't look like the Panthers.com does a game preview but they do plug their Ice Dancers as a diversionary tactic.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com AP Wire.

What Do I Expect Tonight?:

While tonight starts a three games in four nights vs. division opponents for the Caps. This is actually their second consecutive game vs. the Southeast and their 3rd overall. So far the Caps are 1-1 vs. the Southeast and including tonight's game, all three have been at home. The Caps are right that you need to win in your division in order to be successful because in the "new NHL" that's pretty much all you play are divisional games. Detroit won the President's trophy last year feasting on the weak Central Division. If Saturday's loss was "inexcusable" and the Caps want to do better in their own division, then I expect a solid performance from the Caps tonight.

Caps Nut Official Washington Hockey.com Predict The Score Contest Entry:

Caps 5
Panthers 3
Winner by Ovechkin

Russian Lawsuits Begin

But not Malkin's yet.

The NHL opened up this can of worms and better have some good lawyers to get them out of it. It will be interesting to say the least to watch the legal wrangling on this one. The suit was filed in New York but the Flames and Oilers aren't U.S. teams and may not be subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. court system.

Either way, the ugliness of the legal process begins and it won't get much prettier once Malkin makes his much ballyhooed debut tomorrow night.

Realign This!

It wouldn't a hockey season (or a month for that matter) if somebody somewhere wasn't incessantly whining about the Caps being in the Southeast Division instead of the Atlantic/Patrick Division. Now let me say that I don't mean to specifically beat up on Eric and the folks at On Frozen Blog because the folks in Darwin's Waiting Room get the same wild hairs every so often as well. It almost drives me to drink.

According to the Caps Media Guide and the NHL.com history pages, we can compare attendance history vs. the Caps divisional opponents very easily.

When the Caps came into the NHL in 1974-1975, they were placed in the Norris Division of the Wales Conference. As a matter of fact, that was the first season that the "Historical" names were used. The Caps were in a division with the Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Detroit Red Wings. Sounds like fun huh? The Caps stayed in that division for their first 5 seasons. The Caps average attendance those years were 10,004, 9,835, 10,931, 10,872, and 9,925 respectively. Montreal wasn't any slouch of a team during that time either and one of the "needed rivals" was in our division the entire time.

In 1979-1980, the Caps got realigned into the Patrick Division which was in the Campbell Conference at that time. The Caps now had Philadelphia, both New York teams, and Atlanta in their division. The average home attendance? 11,062. You could make the argument that the Caps were helped by geography but that was also the best Caps team to date. Atlanta moved to Calgary in that off season and in 1980-1981, the Caps averaged 11,800. But guess what happened when Calgary was moved out and Pittsburgh moved into the Patrick Division? Yep, a drop in 1981-1982 to 11,377. The Caps were five points worse than they were the year before.

The Caps made the playoffs starting in 1982-1983 through to 1995-1996. The Caps highest average attendance was 17,251 in 1989-1990 when the Caps were actually two games under .500 but won the Patrick Division Playoffs for the first time in team history. The Caps didn't break the 14,000 mark in average attendance until 1984-1985 when they averaged 14.008, their sixth season in the Patrick Division.

The Caps got moved into the newly created Southeast Division in 1998-1999 season coming off of their Eastern Conference Title and with Susan O'Malley cooking the books they averaged 17,281. That mark was beaten in 2001-2002 when the Caps averaged 17,341. That also happened to be Jaromir Jagr's first season in Washington. Since joining the Southeast and getting lesser visits from old Patrick Division foes, the Caps have only once averaged fewer than 14,000 fans. That was last year's post-lockout post-firesale average of 13,905.

So what has been proved? Well Eric has a point and I think he's on the right track when he says that the winning will cure the Caps attendance issues. The highest average attendance figure comes with the Caps playing in the Southeast Division. People can cry and moan all they want, the Caps attendance will suffer more from poor play and lack of superstar players than they will from "a lack of old rivalries." Based simply on attendance, it took the Caps six years to build up a rivalry with their Patrick Division foes but those were also some of the best teams that the Caps have ever put out on the ice. The 1984-1985 Caps posted 101 points. I'll agree with anyone who says that the current playoff format doesn't build division rivalries the way they used to. The Caps have a superstar now in A.O. once the team's play improves history shows us that the attendance will too.

Finally, I think it is a sad commentary on the Caps and the Washington fans that they believe that they "need" rivals and the rival fans in their home arena in order to have enough incentive to come out and support the local team. Many moons ago I became persona non gratta with the old Caps ownership because I blasted their "come see the rest of the NHL" marketing which included blatantly selling tickets to fans from other cities in the local papers. Real fans not only support the team through thick and thin but no matter whom they are playing. Let's quit the whining about this and move on.

[Sarcasm]What Are These Guys Thinking?

I'm sure you've all heard and seen the video of the Miami-Florida International Brawl in the Orange Bowl Saturday night. But seriously, why all the punishment? Miami thinks they've gone far enough, why shouldn't we accept that?

I mean come on, watch the video below, why is there such outrage? I don't hear any boos in the video below. I hear nothing but cheers from the crowd throughout the clip. The fans clearly loved it and it is a shame that Miami, Florida International, the ACC, and the Sun Belt Conference are coming down so hard on the players for doing something that the fans in the stands clearly had no problem with.


[/sarcasm]

Ted Talks To The Fan Club

After an inane discussion about privacy and by-laws amongst the membership, Ted Leonsis addressed the Washington Capitals Fan Club for the seventh time since becoming owner of the Caps before Saturday night's game with Atlanta. Here are some of the highlights of that talk. My comments are in italics.

Ted started about by saying that he thought that the team was a little bit ahead of schedule. He repeated some of the more common lines about young, energetic, hard working, and so on. There was a preview of some of the players that are currently in the system like Eric Fehr and Nicklas Backstrom that are expected to begin contributing to the team in the coming years. Ted also gave us some insight saying that the locker room was as positive as he has ever seen it. He said that he hadn't realized just how negative it had been in the past and pointed out that Olaf Kolzig and Brent Johnson are a modern day Sonny Jurgensen and Billy Kilmer. They are two players who play the same high profile position but are the best of friends and do not compete with each other for playing time. One other thing about locker room atmosphere that he mentioned was there is a lot less concern about ice time now than there was in the past. Ted wouldn't name any names but said for example that one player was upset that he was getting 22 minutes per game of ice time instead of 24.

On the team's play, Ted believes that the Caps are pretty good 5-on-5 and that the Power Play needs more time to develop chemistry to become really good. Talking to us last year, he mentioned that after taking over the Caps that the Tampa Bay Lightning came to Washington to see how the Caps operated and that Tampa wanted to emulate the Caps. He said that he now wants to see the Caps have three solid lines of forwards and have the team construct its own identity and not somebody else's.

Economically, Ted mentioned that he would like to add an additional 1,000 season ticket holder accounts of 3-4 seats a piece. Another challenge that he mentioned was getting more season ticket holders from the city of Washington, D.C. itself. He believes that, among NHL teams, the Caps have the fewest season ticket holders from the city that they play in. I don't see how this is a problem considering that D.C. proper has just over 500K residents and the demographics of that population are hardly favorable to hockey. He said that right now he doesn't see a situation where the Caps will spend the entire salary cap allotment. He said right now payroll is around $36 million including Jagr's salary and that he's still losing money. Ted also mentioned that were teams last year who were selling fewer season tickets than the Caps were and that had higher payrolls than the Caps that were complaining about losing money. He also said that he doesn't believe that Tampa's salary structure works very well. Maybe they need to come back!!!!! He also mentioned that if every team spent to the salary cap limit that the players would be sending money back to the owners through escrow payments.

When questions were asked, the obligatory "Why did you trade Richard Zednik?" question has been replaced with "Why haven't you signed Peter Bondra?"

Going off on a rant here, folks, you are worse than the Confederacy. It's over. He's gone. He isn't coming back. Get over it. After he was traded, Ottawa paid him $1 million to go away. After the lockout, he had to beg Atlanta for a minimum incentive laden contract (Turning down more guaranteed money from the Caps.) Atlanta wouldn't give him another contract for this season and we're almost three weeks into the season now and NOBODY ELSE IN THE NHL HAS OFFERED PETER BONDRA A CONTRACT. For what insanely little it is worth, Rumor Boy (who does not need a link) has been saying that the only teams still interested in him are Detroit, Toronto, and the New York Rangers, but they haven’t offered him a contract. If you add all of this together you would realize that it means something. Folks, he's done. Let it go.

Anyway, getting back to the point, Ted tap danced around that question and mentioned that after winning back-to-back Southeast Division Titles in 2000-2001, the Caps were told "you need another big scorer." So the Caps went out and got Jagr and in 2001-2002, missed the playoffs altogether (So the Caps went out and got Jagr and in 2001-2002 missed the playoffs....). The Caps were then told "you need a #1 center" and went out and got Robert Lang. The Caps made the playoffs in 2002-2003 but were gone after six games in the first round. The Caps were then told "you need two big defensemen" and Ted threw in the towel. He said that "all teams need something" and that he does not believe that the high priced UFA's worked anymore under the "new NHL." He mentioned that the Caps were pushed to get Dan McGillis and Alexander Mogilny after the lockout and pointed out that neither player has worked out in the "new NHL."

Other little odds and ends tidbits, he said that the Caps were trying to get a radio station outlet in Bhawlmuher. So that the Baltimorons could continue to ignore the Caps as they pursue their own NHL team? He cited the drop in the (Com)Post's circulation since he has taken over the Caps as his reason for reaching out to bloggers like myself. Problem is, instead of paying for and reading a physical paper that takes up space, people are reading newspapers online for free. He also mentioned that he no longer gets angry when "traditional" media outlets like certain Crypt Keeperesque local sportscasters or newspapers give the Caps little or no coverage. Ted also said that Washington Sports and Entertainment will not release the club seats for individual game sales until the upper and lower bowls are sold out for that game.

Finally, Ted said that he isn't getting as many e-mails as he used to. He isn't sure if everybody is happy with the team and the way things are going or if they just don't care anymore. So, folks tell Ted what you think good or bad at "washingtoncaps" over at aol dot com. You may only get a two word reply but please be civil. He doesn't have to do these things for us.

All That For Beating UVA?????

After being relegated to the Internet for TV Coverage of Maryland's win over Virginia in last week's ACC pillow fight, ESPN has exercised their six day option on the Maryland/ F$U game on October 28th. The game will either be at 3:30 PM for an ABC Regional telecast, 7 pm on ESPN2, or at 7:45 pm on ESPN. The decision will be made by noon on Sunday so check the Smorgasbord on Sunday the 22nd for the final word.

It should be noted that the shunned Maryland-Virginia game was one of only three ACC interconference matchups last Saturday.

You Call That An Apology?

Brenda Frese "cleared" of recruiting violations.

It was nothing more than sour grapes at the time the story "broke." It should be noted that Laura Harper and Crystal Langhorne were U-CON targets and that Brenda got one of them to back out of a verbal to there. It shouldn't come as a surprise that the "elite" teams of the Women's NCAA don't like having to battle "outsiders" like Maryland. However, they need to grow up. The same two freakin' teams winning everything becomes boring after awhile. Parity isn't always a bad thing.

Finally, call me crazy or whatever, but I believe that if a source gives you bad information like this, you should "out" that source in the process of apologizing because notice; it isn't "Maryland was going to be punished but talked their way out of it" it was "Maryland is going to be punished but that was just wrong information." The source of that should have to face the same scrutiny that their falsehoods brought against other people. That would only be fair.

Sunday Smorgasbord 10-15

• In the preseason it didn't really matter. There was cause to be concerned after the first two games but now after six games I think it is safe to say that the much ballyhooed 700 page playbook of Al Saunders isn't working after the Redskins lost to Tennesse 25-22 today. Something clearly needs to change as the Skins fell to 2-4 by giving the Titans their first win this season. This isn’t a "bench Mark Brunell, start Jason Campbell" rant, but I wouldn't be too opposed to that. One thing is for certain, the play calling has left a lot to be desired recently. I saw only one quarter of action today and I just do not understand what the play calling is all about. Somebody also needs to figure out what is wrong with the defense. Up 14-3 the Skins defense should have been able to shut down a rookie quarterback, but didn't.
• As depressing as the Redskins loss today was, Maryland's 28-26 victory over Virginia is being described as euphoric. (This of course means I need to throw some cold water on it...) In a role reversal, the Terps scored 21 points in the fourth quarter and erased a double digit lead. It is nice to see the Terps turning the tables. However, it should be remembered that Virginia hardly qualifies as a quality opponent. The Cavaliers have lost at home to Western Michigan and needed overtime to beat Wyoming by one point. While the Terps are relieved to get a win, they need to avoid cockiness and remember that they still have a long way to go.
• Adding to the local sports misery by making it an 0 for 3 professional sports weekend; D.C. United lost 3-2 to Chicago earlier tonight in a game that meant nothing to either team. D.C. was successful in avoiding taking any red cards and didn't pick any yellows that would have led to suspension for the start of the playoffs next weekend. D.C. finishes the regular season at 15-7-10 and moves on to play the New York Red Bulls in a home-and-home aggregate score first round playoff series.
• Could somebody please explain this to me? I am no longer allowed to bring my own soda into the Phone Booth for a Caps game, but last night some clowns in 409 were allowed to bring in a drum? Huh?
• And this week, the Caps will play their first set of three games in four nights. First they host the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night at the Phone Booth. They will then have a return bout with the Atlanta Thrashers in Atlanta on Thursday night. The Caps are back home on Saturday night facing the Tampa Bay Lightning. All games will start at 7:05 pm. The Terps hold homecoming on Saturday against Chuck The Chest's North Carolina State Wolfpack at noon. D.C. United starts their quest for their 5th MLS Cup Title on Saturday in the Joisey swamps vs. the New York Red Bulls at 2 pm. The Redskins visit Payton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts next Sunday at 4:15 pm.
• As always, please send all comments, questions, criticisms, questions, suggestions, and Halloween Costume ideas to "capsnut" over at gmail dot com.