Caps vs. Kings 2-8-2007 Post-Mortem

Hey at least it didn't need a gimmick tonight. Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• Domination in the faceoff circle tonight as the Caps won 62% of the faceoffs, including a whopping 65% in their own zone and Brooks "& Dunn" Laich won 78%. himself (11 of 14).
• After a bland first period where a 1:33 5-on-3 put them on their heels, the Caps came out roaring in the second period scoring three goals on their first three shots on goal. Of course, they had to give up two in the process but at least they went into the third period tied.
• After falling short in the first period with a 1:33 5-on-3 to kill, the Caps killed a 1:10 5-on-3 in the second period. What makes it all the more notable was that because Milan Jurcina and Steve Emminger were in the box, Glen Hanlon left Shaone Morrrisssonnn and Jeff "Sergeant" Schultz out there the whole time despite having a chance during a stoppage in play to give them a rest. It just goes to show what he thinks of Jamie "Home Run" Heward and Mike Green on the Penalty Kill.

THE BAD:

• As mentioned above, the Caps got off to another slow start in the first period. A little jump in their skates but they were only able to muster 5 shots in the first to L.A.'s 12.
• Some weird officiating tonight, usually you have an even number of blown calls on both sides, but there isn't much I think Justin St. Pierre and Don Van Massenhoven let the Caps get away with tonight, but L.A. certainly got away with more.
• The Caps gave up a tying goal just 1:05 after they took a 2-1 lead. You need to play better with the lead.

THE UGLY:

• Power Play once again did a great job of killing the penalty for the other team. I know the guys are trying, but it just looks awful. Hanlon even tried putting Mr. Donald Brashear on the second unit. However, the problem isn't that the Caps aren't getting traffic in front of the net or not generating any shots, the problem is that the Caps can't gain the offensive zone under control and get their Power Play set up. And on the odd occasion that they do, they either fail to recover the puck after a shot or make a bad pass that clears the zone.
• The Caps were lucky to get out of the first 5 minutes of the third period still tied. It looked as if the third period was going to be the Caps traditional bad period tonight. Luckily, they turned it around and got into overtime.

The difference between the L.A. Kings who are the worst team in the Western Conference and the Philadelphia Flyers, who are the worst team in the Eastern Conference and the NHL, is that the Kings don't quit. This is why tonight's win was such a good win for the Caps. They've played better in recent outings but this is far from their worst effort too. By facing a team that wouldn't roll over and play dead for the rest of the night, the Caps were forced to fight for the two points that they got tonight. Hopefully this ends some of the frustration they've been feeling recently.

It has been... A TWO POINT NIGHT!