Caps vs. Canes 11-6-2008 Post-Mortem

Now THAT'S how you finish... Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• Go figure, 15 shots, no goals in the first period. 9 shots and two goals in the third period. Better late than never.
• 35-20 as a team in the faceoff circle tonight with all four centers over 60%.

THE BAD:

• So much for the goaltender controversy, Brent Johnson continues the troubling pattern of allowing a goal on the first shot.
• Nice passing by a Power Play Unit that somehow found a way to get 6 shots on goal. We could consider this progress but the glaring lack of a Power Play quarterback is becoming just too obvious.

THE UGLY:

• Unable to corral a breakaway pass, Michael Nylander compounds his error by failing to get the puck deep in the Carolina zone in the second period. The resulting turnover at the blueline caught the Caps in a bad line change and led directly to Tuomo Ruttu's second period goal. That our friends is the John"Coach's Pet" Erskine Bowles Bonehead Play of the Game.
• Shaone Morrrissonnn and Sergei (#3) Fedorov both left early tonight with injuries. At least Bruce Boudreau resisted the temptation to put Federov on the blueline in Morrrissonnn's absence. But the lack of depth is going to have an effect on this team.
• And speaking of Federov, what is more surprising at this point in the season; that he has more goals and points than A.O. or that he's tied for second on the team in Penalty Minutes?

Well folks, we were the first in North America last year to make the suggestion of a campaign to get A.O. voted MVP, so why not be the first in North America to kickstart the discussion of Alexander Semin being voted MVP this year? He got our vote for his accurate comments about Canadian Diving Team Captain, Secondary Assist Cindy Crosby alone (memo to Michel Therrien, your own media last year was crediting Evegni Malkin-Lindros with being the best player in the league and, by extension, on the team) and since Semin is also backing it up on the ice, there's no reason to believe that he cannot accomplish the feat that A.O. pulled off last year. Something Cindy has never done.

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