Caps @ Penguin Scum 2-3-2007 Post-Mortem

Frustration must be the order of the day around here in D.C. Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...


THE GOOD:

• Overall a great effort by the Caps, I really can't see how you can say that the Caps did not come to play today. Yeah, they had some doldrums in the second period, but the Caps deserved a better outcome.
• Outstanding defensive effort as well. The Caps held the Penguin Scum to 20 shots on goal and Olie Kolzig wasn't left scrambling around in his crease.
• The better defensive effort didn't come at a cost to the offensive attack today. The Caps lead in shots on goal again after the first period and outshot the Penguin Scum overall 30-20.

THE BAD:

• Get rid of that crummy arena up there. The ice was horrible with players losing edges and the puck bouncing all over the place.
• The only time the Penguin Scum looked threatening for an extended period of time was when the Caps were on the Power Play. The Caps ended up 0 for 4 and in some cases were just standing around and not trying to retrieve the puck on the Power Play.
• It may have been because of the bad ice, but the Caps passes were off all game long. Many a good break and rushes were thwarted by bad passes. However, the Caps all season long haven't passed the puck very well for the most part and today I think it really hurt them.

THE UGLY:

• It was some brutal officiating today. Boos reigned down on Mike Hasenfratz and Marc Joannette when they properly called Jordan Staal for tripping Steve Eminger in the offensive zone. However, the Penguin Scum were running all sorts of moving picks all day and that was the only one that got called. Vancouver and Detroit do it so well that their offensive interference is an art form. The Penguin Scum however are as obvious as the day is long when they set their picks. If the NHL is going to crackdown on the defensive obstruction, they need to pay just as close attention to the offensive obstruction.

"These are the times that try men's souls." It is one thing to play a bad game and lose. At least you can look use that to get better and provide a good effort on a more consistent basis. You can even take solace in a loss when you play well and lose to a superior team which has happened to the Caps on more than one occasion this season. However, when you play well and lose to a team as pathetic as the Penguin Scum are, it has got to be frustrating. The Penguin Scum are nothing but a team playing on sky-high confidence right now because they are beating up on a horrendous Atlantic Division. They are not better than the Caps are right now and are not a serious threat to the Caps. Had the Caps played like this for 60 minutes back on December 11th, the Penguin Scum would have been routed. Now the Caps have to figure out how to play through adversity because bounces just are not going their way right now.