Caps vs. Ning 4-3-2008 Post-Mortem

Now we've locked up at least 9th place... Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• 20 freaking shots in the first period alone, 40 for the game. We somehow manage to pull this off despite some rather listless moments out there on the ice.
• A.O. moves into 10th place all by himself on the Caps All-Time Goal Scoring list by netting #64 and #65 on the season and has 163 goals in his career. Dale Hunter and Michael Pivonka are tied for 8th with 181 a piece. His 22nd Power Play goal this season ties the team record set by Peter Bondra in 2000-2001 and his 11th Game Winning Goal leads the league and is 2 off the team record of 13 held by Peter Bondra from 1997-1998. And there are some people who don't think he should be the MVP?
• Though A.O. could very well lose the team record for assists by rookie to running mate Nicklas Backstrom.
• Maybe it was because Steve Eminger was in the lineup tonight but Mike "BEAM ME UP" Green skated for 2:10 on the Penalty Kill tonight. Of course, I think it had something to do with our favorite defensman being in the penalty box at the time too.

THE BAD:

• Giving up a goal 39 seconds into the game against a team that is having trouble playing for pride?
• That wasn't a very good second period. We were hanging on by the end and were a little bit lucky to still be tied.

THE UGLY:

• Well, it was a close call tonight but the John "Coach's Pet" Erskine Bowles Bonehead Play of the Game goes to its namesake again tonight for his momentum killing double minor high-sticking penalty 1:08 after the Caps took the lead. Luckily we killed off the penalty but all the hard work of getting that lead was almost wasted.
• A close runner-up is referee Dan O'Rourke's suspect "coincidental contact" call that wiped out Brooks "and Dunn" Laich's goal in the first period. If NHL Referees want to make that kind of call, they can on about 50% of the goals scored. So much for the whole "League Wide Conspiracy To Get The Caps Into The Playoffs" theory because we're still looking for the contact.
• Enjoy the 3 (should be 4) game suspension John Tortorella and you too Jason Ward, enjoy your 10 game unpaid vacation from the league. Coach, the next time you send your goons out to start a fight at the end of the game, don't make it so bloody obvious by also taking a Too Many Men on the Ice penalty. How there wasn't an instigator thrown in for good measure is beyond me. Though, if Tortorella is fired in the off season, will he have to serve the other two games if he is hired by another team?

The turning point of tonight's game was when Vincent Lecavalier injured himself trying to throw a moving pick on Matt Kent Cooke in the neutral zone. Lecavalier went off with over 13 minutes left and the Caps were finally able to break through on Tampa. Maybe the Caps would have anyway with Lecavalier on the ice but it certainly didn't hurt. The Caps nonchalant start made this closer than it needed to be. With Montreal's win over the Buffaslugs, the Caps are now assured of finishing no worse than 9th in the Eastern Conference and have a temporary hold on 7th. However Ottawa's shellacking of Toronto did not help us. This could go all the way until Sunday as the Caps playoff tickets started arriving today. The sad part is, we very much could end this season on a seven game winning streak and have no need for them.

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