Thursday, October 16, 2008

Caps @ Penguin Scum 10-16-2008 Post-Mortem

Return of the Rally Caps??? Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:
  • Another game, another four goals. How long will this keep up?
  • 21 shots on goal for the Caps in the third period alone after a combined 9 shots on goal through the first two periods. No wonder they scored three times in the period to take the win.
  • Alexander Semin stealing the spotlight again from A.O., Evgeni Malkin-Lindros, and Canadian Diving Team Captain, Secondary Assist (another one of those tonight...) Cindy Crosby. We've long believed that with Semin it was a matter of desire more than talent. Semin could very well take A.O.'s MVP mantle this season if he keeps playing like this and stays healthy.

THE BAD:

  • Poor officiating all around tonight. In the first two periods, no cheap call against the Caps went unmade and the crowning achievement wasn't the bogus Delay-of-Game call on John "Coach's Pet" Erskine Bowles which gave the Penguin Scum a 5-on-3, but the refusal to eject Malkin-Lindros for his boarding on Semin. We've seen lesser hits get a 5 minute major and a game misconduct but this only worth two minutes. We know if it had been the other way around it would have been a match penalty and 10 game suspension for Semin. Follow that up with an "anything goes third period" and you have to wonder what Steve Kozari and Kevin Pollock were doing tonight.
  • Matt "Omar" Bradley showed why fighting after scoring a goal is a bad idea.
  • The special teams certainly were "special" again tonight. We can't blame the Penalty Killers too much for some of the goals they gave up, one on a bad bounce and the other near the end of an extended 5-on-3 but Power Play was rather useless again. Not only should the Caps be in the market for a stay-at-home defensman who will make opposing forwards think twice on the attack but they need another Power Play quarterback on the blueline.

THE UGLY:

  • We don't begrudge Joe Beninati for wanting to do national television work. However, must the Caps use Al Koken as his replacement? Koken is so bad, he makes the Loserville...er...Buffalo crew look like a A-Team. Case in point, Tom Poti had 4:23 of ice time in 8 shifts tonight all in the first period. But Koken didn't notice one of the Caps leaders in ice time was missing until the third period. He constantly gets players names wrong and is just all around painful to listen to. Can't we get Mike Forens out of mothballs?
  • And depending upon how long Poti is out, so much for saving cap space as the Caps will be forced to recall a defenseman from Hershey for their upcoming Western Road trip.
  • Jose "Alvin, Simon," Theodore didn't have much to do in the third period tonight facing only six shots but that's no excuse for his bad turnover with two minutes remaining and the Caps nursing a one goal lead which led to a prime scoring opportunity for the Penguin Scum. Didn't the first goal teach him that the Caps always face bad bounces against the Penguin Scum? Why was he tempting fate like that? That our friends is the John "Coach's Pet" Erskine Bowles Bonehead Play of the Game for tonight.

Yes it is only five games into the season but we strongly recommend that if you're going to follow this team this season that you stock up on the Rolaids, Tums, Maalox, Jack Daniels, or whatever you use to settle down your stomach. You could tell that some were equivocating the Caps 2-1 opening weekend by mentioning that the Caps were facing a Playoff team for the first time in the young season. Well there's no equivocating the Caps start for now and they're showing the signs of a team who doesn't arrive to play until the second period. So folks, stock up, it is going to be a wild ride.

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

(Didn't forget that tonight...)

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