Caps @ Flyers 2-6-2008 Post-Mortem

Party Poopers... Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• It's never been easy for the Caps to pull off a sweep in Philly and that's exactly what they ended up doing tonight. It wasn't very pretty, but they got the job done.
• Olie Kolzig had another solid game in net. He's still lacking on making the big save but there weren't any soft goals tonight and he got a big time assist from referee Dave Jackson whose quick whistle prevented a goal from being scored. Kolzig could have used that a month ago when these two teams met in D.C.
• We've been looking for secondary scoring and we had it tonight with Brooks "and Dunn" Laich, Matt "Omar" Bradley, and Viktor Kozlov scoring goals along with A.O. This is exactly what we've been needing and should we keep it up, things will fall into place.

THE BAD:

• Only two penalties on the Flyers??? Something tells me we were done no favors with Bill McCreary being replaced by Dave Jackson. Though Jackson's quick whistle bailed us out, it is the first time I can ever remember getting a break from Jackson. The goaltender interference call on The Human Bruise, Quintin Laing was as bogus as they come.
• It was slim pickings but the John "Coach's Pet" Erskine Bowles Boneheaded Move of the Game goes to Bruce Boudreau for putting said player on the ice at the end of the game with the Caps holding a two goal lead. The only redeeming factor is that it was a two goal lead, but with Philly's Power Play, putting a penalty machine on the ice is a bad idea. The only worse option when you're looking to hold a lead and avoid penalties late in the game than Erskine Bowles is Alexander Semin.
• The Penalty Killers were just 3 for 5 tonight.

THE UGLY:

• While at certain points we were dominating on the shots on goal, we didn't have much in the way of a territorial advantage in the game. This became apparent as the Flyers began to ring up shots and turn their territorial edge into an advantage in shots on goal (34-27).
• Good job building a 4-1 lead in the third period after entering the final frame tied at 1. But there's no reason why the game ends up 4-3 other than defensive breakdowns. We really need to tighten things up.

The best thing about tonight's game is that it was a win that did not require some form of overtime which means only two points were awarded for tonight's game. With the race being as tight as it is, the Caps can ill afford to give up extra points in the standings. So while the team will wake up tomorrow morning in a position they never thought they'd be in, first place in the Southeast Division, there's still plenty to work on and little breathing room to be had.

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