Caps @ Panthers 2-15-2008 Post-Mortem

Slip slidn' away... Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

I'm running on fumes here so this will be abbreviated tonight...

• Ever since the introduction of the Regulation Tie/Overtime Loss, games that entered the third period tied were usually snooze fests but with 4 goals scored in the final period of a 1-1 game, that was not the case tonight as neither the Caps or the Panthers got into a "Protect the Point" mode.
• The Caps really need to learn how to play with a lead as it lasted all of three minutes tonight.
• Sure he took out Brent Johnson on the play which lead to the Panthers first goal but give Alexander Semin some credit for at least getting back on defense. How often do we see that?
• However, Semin and Mike "BEAM ME UP" Green had bad clearing passes in the third period which lead to goals against. Some of it Green's and Semin's fault but the Caps have not been doing a good job recently on their breakouts because the forwards allow too many defenders get in front of them on defensive zone breakouts.

With Atlanta's win in another gimmick in Joisey and Florida holding the tie breaker over us, the Caps are now in fourth place after two consecutive losses. The sad part is, with two consecutive wins, the Caps can end up back in first place.