Caps @ Ning 2-16-2008 Wrap Up

The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com.

The Neutral Observers:

NHL.com AP Wire.

The Other Side:

St. Petersberg Times: wasted effort, scoring race, not for the faint of heart. Tampa Tribune: devastation, expecting too much, Power Rankings.

Final Thoughts:

The best news for the Caps last night is that Carolina won and that Florida and Atlanta lost in regulation which means that there were no three point games in the Southeast Division last night! After playing 5 Divisional games in the last 8 (going 1-4 in that run with 4 of the 5 in 5 games) the Caps have just one Divisional game in the next 11. That one game is a big one next Saturday night in Carolina but between now and March 21st (which is the start of the last seven games of the season which are all inside the Southeast Division just in case you didn't already know that) the Caps are going to be looking for other teams to help them move up and ahead in the standings. Finally, a word about Olie Kolzig. We didn't jump on the "Dump Kolzig" Bandwagon after just a couple of bad starts and we're not going to proclaim him "back to his old self" after just two good outings. There's still good reason for concern despite his good play of late. Kolzig made a number of mistakes that he was able to get away with against the Rangers and last night the Ning missed two wide open nets. The extra rest has certainly helped Kolzig but until you're no longer wondering when the soft goal or two is going to come, you can't say that Kolzig is back where he once was.

60 down, 22 to go.