Caps vs. Buffaslugs 12-14-2007 Post-Mortem

Christmas came early for the Buffslugs... Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• Facing the 7th best Power Play in the league, the Penalty Killers pitched a shutout killing all six penalties the Caps took tonight.
• The Power Play got the team on the board in the first period and went 1 for 4 on the night.

THE BAD:

• The Penalty Killers had to kill six penalties. Two of them for too many men on the ice. The Caps played with fire tonight and almost got badly burned.
• All of that good ink clearly went to Mike "BEAM ME UP" Green's head as he went -3 on the night and had numerous, costly turnovers all night long. Such is the life for a young defenseman.

THE UGLY:

• You can somewhat forgive Olie Kolzig for his gaffe in the first period that cost the Caps a goal and gave the Buffaslugs life. However when he gave up a second soft goal in the third period, you could tell he hadn't sufficiently beared down and got back on his game. It is no secret that Kolzig is the real captain/leader of this team and if he can't/won't tighten up his own play when needed, how can anybody else be expected to?
• Somebody needs to point out to the Neanderthal Loserville...er...Buffalo fans that they did NOT win the Stanley Cup tonight. It's December 14th, not June 14th. They won the NHL's Pillow Fight of the Night as they, like the Caps, are in last place in their division and now move to an insurmountable five points ahead of the Caps in the Eastern Conference Standings to sit in 11th place (which BTW is about good enough for a playoff spot as 15th is). More than any other set of fans, these Losers consistently act like they've just won the Cup at the Phone Booth when all they've done is beat one of the worst teams in the league.

Just like Monday night against the Devils, the Buffaslugs stepped it up in the third period and this time, the Caps not only couldn't respond, they also could not hold on. Kolzig is getting a much needed night off tomorrow night in Tampa and Bruce Boudreau should also bench him in Detroit on Monday if for no other reason than to show consistency. Brian Pothier had a bad night that cost us a game and he was scratched for two games. Why can't the same be done to Kolzig? Despite the wins, Kolzig hasn't been playing very well recently which is a good sign because we've won three of our last four games. But Kolzig needs to play better to keep this team moving in the right direction.