Caps @ Bruins 2-28-2009 Post-Mortem

And yet so unsatisfying... Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• If the Caps were looking to put doubt into the minds of the Bruins; they had to have done it with this win on the road in overtime. Twice this season, Alexander "Slappy" Semin has come up with a game winning goal that has Tim Thomas shaking his head. And oh by the way, the Caps never trailed in this game today.
• The Power Play continues to impress, at least in the first period. Another first period Power Play goal staked the Caps to an early 1-0 lead. The unit finished 2 for 5 but Tomas Fleischmann's third period PPG was a pure stroke of luck as the unit fell apart after the first period and did not generate very much.
• Mike "BEAM ME UP" Green may not be scoring as many goals as he was a couple of weeks ago, but he posted another two assists today and continues to be an offensive threat.
• Boston Head Coach Claude Julien was crowing about keeping A.O. under wraps so far this season, but score one for Bruce Boudreau who used the short offensive line change in the second period to sneak A.O. out for his 45th goal of the season. A.O. got another 4 shots on goal today in addition to the goal he scored. He now has 208 goal in his career which puts him 10 goals behind Mike Ridley for third on the Caps All Time Goal Scoring list. His 391 career points is 4 behind Bobby Carpenter for 14th on the Caps All Time Scoring list.
• Pending the outcome of tonight's Carolina @ Atlanta and Colorado @ the New York Rangers games, the magic number for a playoff spot is down to at least 22 points and could go as low as 20 if Carolina falls in regulation tonight. A division title is wrapped up in 25 points with Florida getting blown out on the road again, this time in New Jersey, 7-2. Finally, the New York Islanders can no longer catch the Caps in the overall standings this season.

THE BAD:

• The Caps and Bruins both came out with guns blazing in the first half of the first period, but when both teams settled down, the Caps seemed to be on their heels for a majority of the game.
• We have to admit, we feel that Jose "Alvin, Simon," Theodore played a Hades of a game today with 34 saves, but didn't like the Power Play goal he gave up to Zdeno Chara that tied up the game late in the third period. That alone is why Boston was able to get away with the Bettman Point today and the Caps were only able to shave off a single point of Boston's lead.
• And if it wasn't for Theodore's stellar play, the Caps wouldn't have been in this game as kinda mentioned above, Boston had 37 shots on goal.

THE UGLY:

• After two periods of tough, smart, and disciplined hockey, the Caps let it all get away in the third period. The Caps allowed 15 shots on goal in the third period alone after allowing 22 through the first two and took 3 minor penalties in the third period after taking just one in the first two.
• Though in the first two periods, the Caps held the lead for a total of 1:45. We allowed tying goals 1:27 and then just 18 seconds after taking the lead. The Caps need to play with the lead much better than that. While they held onto their third period lead for 13:03, Boston was clearly the team on the attack for the majority of that time.

Did we see what we wanted to see out of today's dress rehearsal? Kind of. While the Caps pulled out the win, we're still troubled by how loose we play in our defensive zone. Maybe the Caps will get Chris Pronger before the deadline or maybe they won't but as currently constructed, we don't think the Caps have what it takes to get very deep into the playoffs. Nobody really knows what General Manager George McPhee is thinking so we could be in the hunt for another goal scoring center or goaltender. Come playoff time, teams that give up goals from 80 feet out aren't going to go very far and we can't count on playing many teams like that. However, if you're Boston, you know at least the Caps think they can beat you no matter what and that has to be of some concern.

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

Caps @ Bruins 2-28-2009 Preview

Washington Capitals (39-23; 83 points; 1st Southeast Division, 2nd Eastern Conference, 4th Overall) @ Boston Bruins (42-20; 92 points; 1st Northeast Division, 1st Eastern Conference, 2nd Overall):
Caps Game #63, Road Game #31, NHL Game #923

TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, MA. 1:08 pm. Washington TV: Comcast Sportsnet Mid-Atlantic. Radio: WFED 1500-AM. Boston TV: NESN. Radio: WWBZ 1030-AM. NHL Center Ice: NESN feed.

Today the Caps return to the road when they travel up to Boston to face the Bruins. The Caps have been alternating wins and losses over their last five games but have won three of their last four games on the road, the only loss being the gimmick loss to the Rangers on the 11th. The Bruins are coming off a 6-0 pasting of the Thug Ducks at home on Thursday night. The Bruins are playing the third game of a six game homestand and have scored 6 goals in the first two games easily winning both so far.

What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com AP Wire.


Open Source Intelligence:

Boston Globe: The Crock, Caps Thumbnails. Boston Herald.

What Do We Expect Today?:

Almost exactly one year ago the Caps had a Saturday matinee that was the first of a back-to-back matinees on the road and then at home. CW said that the Caps needed wins in both games just to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Caps ended up losing both games in a heartbreaking fashion but still made the playoffs. Today, CW says that this game is a MUST WIN if the Caps want to claim the Eastern Conference's top spot for the playoffs. The players believe it is a MUST WIN because they want to put doubt into the minds of the Bruins players about their ability to beat the Caps. Tomorrow's game against Florida could also be described as a MUST WIN because the Caps would like to put even further distance between themselves and the Panthers. But we believe that this game today is a MUST WIN because looking at the schedule ahead; there will be six weeks and 19 regular season games left after today. Only one of those games, March 12th in Philadelphia, comes against a team that is anywhere near our level. Yes, we have three games against Florida, two of them in Sunrise, and yes we have 3 against Carolina, two at home, along with the Penguin Scum in another 8 days at the Phone Booth. But ten of the games are against teams already out of the playoff chase. The Caps aren't going to get much in the way of dress rehearsals for the playoffs in the next six weeks. Today is one of those few games and a potential "Eastern Conference Finals Preview." Of course, the Caps could win today's game and still finish 2nd or 3rd in the conference while they could lose and still claim the top spot. But what we're looking for is how well we play today. The players were focused in practice yesterday and we're curious to see if they carry that focus over into today's game and just how well they play with that focus. That our friends will tell you just how far this team could go in the playoffs.

Caps Nut Official Prediction:

Caps 2
Bruins 3
Winner by Ryder

(5-2 on the season)

Caps vs. Thrashers 2-26-2009 Wrap Up

The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post. Times: better recovery, Caps +. Caps.com.

The Neutral Observers:

NHL.com AP Wire.

The Other Side:

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: overpowered, notes.

Final Thoughts:

We don't often listen to the Post-Game show on the radio coming home from games but we do find it interesting that on the show last night they said that Bruce Boudreau had announced that Michal Neuvirth would start Saturday in Boston. None of the print articles mentioned that and as a matter of fact Katie Carrera's notes on Tarik's (Com)Post blog and Corey Masisak in his Times blog both specifically mention Boudreau stating that Jose "Alvin, Simon," Theodore will start tomorrow afternoon in Boston, not Neuvirth. Throw in that just about every time we listen to the show one of the hosts butchers something basic about the rules (when they aren't repelling the psychotic Jeff "Sergeant" Schultz bashers) and now you know why we rarely bother listening to that show. We if the Caps odds of catching Boston are slim, Boudreau is making the right move by keeping the rookie on the bench.

62 down, 20 to go.

Caps vs. Thrashers 2-26-2009 Post-Mortem

Maybe we're too comfortable at home... Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• The Power Play was once again on a roll, going 3 for 7 and generating 15 shots on goal.
• Four goals from four different players without the initials A and O. Secondary scoring is going to be key down the stretch and into the playoffs.
• Alexander "Slappy" Semin with a goal and two assists tonight. Looks as if he's getting back into the form that had us talking about him as MVP earlier in the season.
• The win was very much needed tonight as Florida came back on the Rangers to win in regulation, Carolina won a gimmick over the Buffaslugs, Boston blew out Anaheim, and New Jersey took down Colorado tonight. As a result, the magic number for a playoff spot is now down to 24 points and a division title will be claimed in 29 points.

THE BAD:

• We understand A.O. was upset about the no-call when Rich Peverley high sticked him in the face, we were too. But #1, he has to keep his composure, the Power Play goal Atlanta scored on his roughing penalty got them back into a game they shouldn't have been in and #2, if you are going to lose your cool, at least go after the guy who did it, not the nearest guy you can find.
• We know we're in the minority here but color us unimpressed with Michal Neuvirth tonight. We find it hard to praise a guy who gives up 3 goals on 24 shots like he did tonight. He looked like a statue on two of the three goals he gave up, and those were shots he saw clearly but just didn't react at all.
• After not allowing Philadelphia, the clear leader in shorthanded goals, to get much of a sniff shorthanded; the Caps allowed a shorthanded goal to Atlanta on what could only be described as poor coverage and even poorer goaltending.

THE UGLY:

• We have learned Ladies and Gentlemen that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has invited Stephane Auger and Mike Hasenfratz to serve as special guest referees the next time the Pittsburgh Steelers are in the Super Bowl...

Call it a lack of composure, a lack of killer instinct, immaturity, "playing down to the competition," or whatever you want, but whatever it is, it is going to make things a lot more interesting down the stretch for us than they should be and could cost us the 2nd seed in the East. The lone bright spot is that while Atlanta hung around and even tied up the game in the second period, we never felt seriously threatened. The game never felt much in doubt but having to pull another one out continues to trouble us. We're a little over six weeks away from the start of the playoffs and while we understand that you don't want the team to peak in March, you also want to get yourself properly positioned for playoffs. While it would be tough for us to face Philadelphia, we don't want to face Florida either. Finishing in third, or worse, would greatly increase those odds. However, will admit that it is nice to talk about a so-so effort on a night you win than having to play the perfect game just to have a chance at winning.

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

Caps vs. Thrashers 2-26-2009 Preview

Washington Capitals (38-23; 81 points; 1st Southeast Division, 2nd Eastern Conference, 6th Overall) vs. Atlanta Thrashers (22-39; 50 points; 4th Southeast Division, 14th Eastern Conference, 29th Overall):
Caps Game #62, Home Game #32, NHL Game #912

Verizon Center, Washington, DC. 7:08 pm. Washington TV: Comcast Sportsnet Mid-Atlantic. Radio: WFED 1500-AM. Atlanta TV: SportSouth. Radio: WCNN 680-AM. NHL Center Ice: Comcast Sportsnet Mid-Atlantic feed.

Tonight Caps, who have alternated wins and losses over their last four games, will host the Atlanta Thrashers in the final game of a five game homestand. The Thrashers are coming off of a 4-3 win at home over the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night. The win was Atlanta's third in their last five games.

What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post: the value of Viktor Kozlov, hot item. Times.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com AP Wire.

Open Source Intelligence:

Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

What Do We Expect Tonight?:

Once again tonight, the Caps are faced with a team well below them in the standings and as Corey Masisak pointed out in the Times, that is going to happen a lot the rest of the way. The Caps have played only 11 games in their division which is the fewest division games of anybody in the NHL. A third of our 21 remaining games (which includes tonight's) are against the Thrashers and Ning who are currently 29th and 28th overall respectively. The Thrashers are a long ways away from the team that beat us 7-4 on opening night. However, like any other team, the Caps have to guard against a total let down. This is another game that shouldn't be close.

Caps Nut Official Prediction:

Caps 6
Atlanta 2
Winner by A.O.

(4-2 on the season)

Caps vs. Flyers 2-24-2009 Wrap Up

The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com.

The Neutral Observers:

NHL.com AP Wire.

The Other Side:

Philadelphia Daily News: third period rally, flu bug. Philadelphia Inquirer: flashy, notes.

Final Thoughts:

61 down, 21 to go.

Caps vs. Flyers 2-24-2009 Post-Mortem

Not going to win them all... Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• Let's give it up once again for the much maligned Penalty Killers. They killed seven of eight penalties tonight and had nearly as many good scoring chances as the Flyers Power Play did. The one goal they did give up was on a 5-on-3.
• A.O. with another goal tonight, but what was the most impressive to us was his assist on Nicklas Backstrom's Power Play goal in the first period. A.O. faked the slapper and had everybody fooled leaving Backstrom wide open on the back door.
• Florida got bombed in Boston which drops our magic number for the Southeast Division title to 34. Carolina lost in Ottawa and a playoff spot will be secured in 26 points in spite of our loss tonight.

THE BAD:

• No matter how you cut it, allowing 4 unanswered goals on home ice while blowing a 2 goal lead is bad.
• Tonight was one of those nights where we seriously wondered just what in the world Tom Poti is doing here and why do some consider him a vital key to our success? Poti kept turning the puck over in our zone and failed on numerous clearing attempts.
• Many will want to blame a loss like this on Jose "Alvin, Simon," Theodore but folks, the more we watch him, the more we come to believe that he has not fully recovered from his hip injury either. He simply isn't moving very well in the crease right now. The only real solution is to go out and find another goaltender for the playoffs because we don't want to rush the Hershey kids into action.

THE UGLY:

• Could somebody please tells us just what exactly the Washington Capitals did to Paul Devorski? Seriously folks, while we give him credit for calling a moving pick on the Flyers in the offensive zone early in the game, we're sick and tired of watching this guy continue to give us the shaft. Frederick L'Ecuyer wasn't much better, but he has the excuse of being a minor league official. Devorski is a veteran official and we can't understand why he calls the game the way he does anymore.
• The Power Play was 1 for 6 and while they did prevent the Flyers from scoring a shorthanded goal, they were too predictable at times tonight and made Philly's job easy tonight.

As we said this morning ladies and gentlemen, the Flyers are a problem matchup for us. They're big, they're fast, and they are certainly not afraid to play physical. Furthermore, with the special teams that they have, can afford to take penalties because they know they can kill them off and score on them as well. And when you take a retaliation penalty (the Caps did well not to retaliate), they can burn you with their Power Play. Sometimes folks, you lose to a better team and tonight, the Flyers were the better team. What tonight showed is why we don't believe the Caps will win the Cup this season. We thought the Caps played a pretty good game but we continue to be too loose in our zone. The Flyers got us running around too much tonight and in the third period, finally made us pay. The best news of the night is that unless something wacko happens, we won't see the Flyers until the second round of the playoffs.

Caps vs. Flyers 2-24-2009 Preview

Washington Capitals (38-22; 81 points; 1st Southeast Division, 2nd Eastern Conference, 6th Overall) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (31-26; 71 points; 2nd Atlantic Division, 4th Eastern Conference, 8th Overall):
Caps Game #61, Home Game #31, NHL Game #895

Verizon Center, Washington, DC. 7:08 pm. Washington TV: Comcast Sportsnet Mid-Atlantic. Radio: WFED 1500-AM. Philadelphia TV: Comcast Sportsnet Philadelphia. Radio: WPHT 1201-AM. NHL Center Ice: Comcast Sportsnet Mid-Atlantic feed.

Tonight the Caps, winners of four of their last five games, host the Philadelphia Flyers for the second and final time this season. The Flyers are coming off of Saturday's 5-4 loss at home to the Penguin Scum where Martin Biron's misadventure snapped a 3 game winning streak for the Flyers. The Flyers however have won all three games of their games on the road this month.

What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post. Times: trying to stick, NHL Report. Caps.com.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com AP Wire.

Open Source Intelligence:

Philadelphia Daily News. Philadelphia Inquirer: first star, the bad old days.

What Do We Expect Tonight?:

We're sure you've seen somewhere by now that the Caps are 12-4 against the Atlantic Division this season. The one loss in regulation came against the Flyers back on December 20th in the 7-1 disaster up in Philadelphia. The Caps fared a little better when the Flyers came to the Phone Booth back in January but needed the gimmick to claim a 2-1 win. This should be another tight checking and low scoring game as both teams are playing well and are preparing themselves for the upcoming playoffs. The Caps do not match up well against the Flyers who we know will play the Caps like Colorado did last Friday and contest every inch of the ice against the Caps. The Caps Power Play will have to be especially vigilant tonight not just because the Flyers have the 8th best Penalty Kill in the in the NHL; but because they also lead the NHL in shorthanded goals by a large margin with 16. The Caps will also want to stay out of the Penalty Box as the Flyers Power Play is ranked right behind ours which means the special teams tonight will play a large role in deciding this game.

Caps Nut Official Prediction:

Caps 2
Flyers 3
Winner by Gagne

(3-2 on the season)

Caps vs. Penguin Scum 2-22-2009 Wrap Up

The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post: tide has changed, a boy against men. Times: reversing the curse, no match. Caps.com.

The Neutral Observers:

NBC Sports. NHL.com: AP Wire, doing it again. Canadian Press.

The Other Side:

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Penguin Scum fall, powerless play, time running out. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: frustrated, growing pains. Penguin Scum.com.

Final Thoughts:

For whatever reason it seems fashionable especially now to denigrate A.O. for his goal celebrations. We admit that we think he sometimes crosses the line into taunting which we really rather not see. But those are very rare occasions and he will celebrate a team mates goal just as much as his own as he always has. However the thing that is being lost in all of this is that for all of Canadian Diving Team Captain, Low Blow Secondary Assist Cindy Crosby's crying yesterday, there was only one occasion where her own team came to her defense on the ice. For the most part, Low Blow Cindy was left to fend for herself and that our friends speaks volumes not only about where she stands on her team, but of the leadership she is providing as team captain. But enough about the Penguin Scum, it is starting to look as if the Caps have a chance to jump into the top spot in the Eastern Conference. The chances are remote but with the Bruins having just one win in their last seven games the door is starting to open. The Caps last meeting with the Bruins is this Saturday in Boston and, if everything breaks just right, that game could be where the Caps catch and pass Boston. However we don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves. The Flyers are certainly enough of a challenge on their own.

60 down, 22 to go.

Caps vs. Penguin Scum 2-22-2009 Post-Mortem

Maybe 6 can beat 8.... Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• It looks as if Sergei (#3) Fedorov has lost his scoring touch, but he did find enough of it in order to net today's Game Winning Goal. While the Caps don't necessarily need his goal scoring ability, they do need his veteran leadership which he showed throughout the game today. His chemistry with Nicklas Backstrom on the Power Play is also a vital key to our further success.
• Alexander "Slappy" Semin with some of the most inspired and smart penalty killing we've ever seen by him. He could have had a couple of more goals today in addition to the one that he did get, but his 2:26 of penalty killing in the later part of the game was critical as he put and kept the Penguin Scum Power Play on their heels.
• The other Penalty Killers were outstanding today too , killing off 7 of 8 Penguin Scum Power Plays and not allowing the Penguin Scum much room to operate. When the Penguin Scum were able to setup, the Caps allowed one shot at the most and consistently beat the Penguin Scum to loose pucks. Numerous breakouts were also thwarted at the Penguin Scum blueline and the only thing missing to make it more complete was a shorthanded goal or two.
• A.O. with his 43rd goal of the season, 206th of his career, 34th assist on the season for his 77th point so far this season and 387th of his career. Nice layout of Sergei Gonchar in the second period as he continues to show why he should win his second Hart Trophy. While Federov may have been the game's first star, A.O. was the best player on the ice today.
• We didn't see a single charter bus outside of the Phone Booth after the game today (as we've told you over and over, they all friggin live here because Pittsburgh is such a horrible place to live) of course, they had no more than the Red Wings did a month ago (which was maybe a third if we want to be generous). Though those that did bother to show up didn't represent at all as there were no Penguin Scum cheers for Caps fans to drown out.
• Right now, a playoff spot will be clinched in 28 points pending the outcome of the Carolina-Colorado game (Carolina just went up 4-2 in the third period as we type this), the fifth Division title is clinched in 33 points and we won't have to worry about the Penguin Scum catching us in 25 points.

THE BAD:

• Up 5-2 with just over 6 minutes left and Marc Andre-Fleury on the bench, the Caps decide they were going to get cute. Just score the dang gone goal and be done with it.

THE UGLY:

• You could be forgiven for thinking that Chris Rooney (especially) and Marc Joanette were from or played for Pittsburgh today. The game they called today was downright fixed like Super Bowls XL and XLIII were. Rooney who is from Boston (and has blatantly hosed us before in Boston coincidentally) and Joanette, who is from Quebec, did not award the Caps with a single Power Play after the first period and only called one penalty on Pittsburgh in the second and third periods. Mind you, the Penguin Scum didn't stop committing penalties, Rooney and Joanette just stopped calling them. The only thing we can figure is that everybody knows how awful the city of Pittsburgh is and the powers that be in the NFL and NHL have decided to slant things in the city's favor so their beleaguered citizens have something to feel good about. For the record though, the rest of the country is sick of it.
• Canadian Diving Team Captain, Low Blow Secondary Assist Cindy Crosby's antics were especially embarrassing today. If any other player had whined as much as Low Blow Cindy did, they would have been given a ten minute misconduct (but again, Rooney and Joanette were on orders from on high). We hadn't seen that much crying on the ice since Tonya Harding melted down at the Olympics in 1994. However, Low Blow Cindy is allowed to get away with it and is equivocated as being "passionate" and a "fierce competitor." This is the player the NHL wants as the face of the sport???

Our favorite part of today's game was when the Caps went up 5-2 and the Penguin Scum decided that they were going to get physical and try to throw the Caps off their game. The only thing the Penguin Scum succeeded in doing however was furthering their embarrassment today because while we aren't a team that plays physical, we are one of the largest teams in the league and are not easily intimidated. This was the type of game we were expecting the Caps to play on Friday night when they phoned one in against the Avalanche. The Caps were never seriously threatened and showed a near ruthless efficiency in taking care of an over matched opponent. Simply put, we need to keep this up.

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

Caps vs. Penguin Scum 2-22-2009 Preview

Washington Capitals (37-22; 79 points; 1st Southeast Division, 3rd Eastern Conference, 5th Overall) vs. Pittsburgh Penguin Scum (29-31; 64 points; 4th Atlantic Division, 10th Eastern Conference, 17th Overall):
Caps Game #60, Home Game #30, NHL Game #887

Verizon Center, Washington, DC. 12:38 pm. Washington TV: None Radio: WFED 1500-AM. Pittsburgh TV: None Radio: WXDX 105.9-FM National TV: NBC.

Today with 8 weeks left in the regular season, the Caps finally get to host the Penguin Scum in the Phone Booth in the third game of the five game homestand. The Caps have only lost back-to-back games at home once this season and have won three of their last five games overall. The Penguin Scum are coming in off a win handed to them by Martin Biron and Philadelphia Flyers yesterday where Evgeni Malkin-Lindros posted a Canadian Diving Team Captain, Low Blow Secondary Assist Cindy Crosby, Hat Trick (1 goal, 1 secondary assist, and 1 unsportsmanlike conduct penalty). They are 2-1 under their new Head Coach, Dan Bylsma, but have given up four or more goals in their last two and in three of their last four games.

What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com: AP Wire, scum at heart, ready for the challenge, new philosophy, player's coach.

Open Source Intelligence:

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: impressive win, What Went Wrong, Part I, too many off nights, Green envy. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: coaching derby, two in a row, scouting report, late risers. Penguin Scum.com.

What Do We Expect Today?:

After Friday's game, we should expect the Caps to come out, play hard, and put away a team that the Caps have already beaten twice on the road and that fired their Head Coach one week ago. However, Bruce Boudreau ran a bag skate after the Caps dismal 5-0 loss to the Buffaslugs in Loserville...er...Buffalo all the way back in November and the next time out, in Ottawa, the Caps lost 2-1 in overtime. Furthermore, in both of their wins in Pittsburgh this season, the Caps had to dig out of a hole against the Penguin Scum. While three games is hardly enough to declare the problems of the Penguin Scum cured by their new head coach, the Caps today are facing a team fighting for its playoff life. Even though the Penguin Scum won yesterday, they remain four points out of the 8th seed and need to get 30 of the remaining 44 points available just to match the point total of the 8th in the Eastern Conference last season. We shouldn't expect anything but the best the Penguin Scum have to offer today. Finally, keep in mind what we said a lot last season and this is the Penguin Scum; something fluky always seems to happen when we play them that ends up costing us the game. Last year it was Nicklas Backstrom infamously scoring into his own net to give them a win. It would not surprise us in the least to see something fluky happen again today.

Caps Nut Official Prediction:

Caps 2
Penguin Scum 3
Winner by Gonchar

(3-1 on the season)

Message For Pittsburgh Fans.

Here at Bleatings From a Caps Nut, we strive to extend a warm welcome to fans from other teams, especially those we consider our "rivals."

So without further ado, we pass along this sage advice from one of our favorite Comic Strip artists, Stephan Pastis who draws the hilariously funny Pearls Before Swine comic strip for the United Feature Syndicate.



Ugh, you'll have to click on the link above because we tried to be responsible bloggers and use the "embed" feature...

Caps vs. Avalanche 2-20-2009 Wrap Up

The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com.

The Neutral Observers:

NHL.com AP Wire.

The Other Side:

Denver Post: payback, trade winds. Rocky Mountain News: complete game, respect shown, more trade winds.

Final Thoughts:

Come playoff time, the Caps are going to have to play a slow it down grind it out type of game like Colorado forced them into last night. The wide-open freewheeling style that they enjoy will get them into trouble as teams will fight for every inch of the ice and pack in things in front of their own goaltender. And for those of you who still believe that this team is a true contender for the Stanley Cup (which for the record, we don't), we'll have to beat a Western Conference team in order to win the Cup. We believe that the Caps can play a grind it out kind of game, but have a hard time seeing the Caps beating a Western Conference team four times in seven games.

Caps vs. Avalanche 2-20-2009 Post-Mortem

Let's see what cliches we can use tonight... Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• The Penalty Killers were a perfect 4 for 4 tonight and held firm while killing yet another 5-on-3.
• No Delay of Game penalties tonight for shooting the puck over the glass from the defensive zone with absolutely nobody around us.

THE BAD:

• 8 shots in the first period, 8 more shots in the second period. The only reason why the Caps got 13 in the third period was because Colorado packed it in, especially after going up 3-1. Outside of the S.O.B. line and for a couple of stretches, the F Bomb line, the Caps could not get past Colorado's highly aggressive forecheck tonight.
• The post-lockout Caps emerged again tonight with more passes hitting skates instead of tape. Hard to blame the ice on that one.

THE UGLY:

• Losing to Colorado is bad enough, but losing to Colorado, the fourth worst defense in the NHL, and scoring only one goal in the process is downright ugly.
• We found Nicklas Backstrom's offensive zone interference call highly ironic considering that the Dynamic NHL Officiating crew of Kerry Fraser and Gord Dwyer couldn't be bothered to call any of the offensive zone interference calls on Colorado tonight. Particularly on what turned out to be the Game Winning Goal in the second period. A moving pick was set on Shaone Morrrissonnn which allowed Milan Hejduk a free lane behind the Caps net to set up Adam Foote for the goal. We've complained about it in this space before and we'll complain about it again. We don't have any problems with cutting down on the clutching and grabbing and hooking and holding by defenders but it needs to be called both ways. You cannot tell the defense to lay off players without the puck but then allow forwards to take out defensemen to open up lanes for their teammates. That just is not right.
• Matt "Omar" Bradley, -3.

If there is any bright side to this game tonight it is that the Caps did this against Colorado. Hopefully this means that they won't lay another egg on Sunday, however this is two very sub par efforts in a row now. This would be a bad time to go into a slump. What concerns us the most about tonight's game was the forechecking pressure applied by the Avalanche. The Penguin Scum under their new head coach wants to play a much more aggressive game and if it is anything like what Colorado did tonight, we're going to have our hands full again on Sunday. We all know that Philly won't sit back on us come Tuesday night and this could be the start of a snowball effect.

Caps vs. Avalanche 2-20-2009 Preview

Washington Capitals (37-21; 79 points; 1st Southeast Division, 3rd Eastern Conference, 5th Overall) vs. Colorado Avalanche (27-31; 55 points; 5th Northwest Division, 15th Western Conference, 25th Overall):
Caps Game #59, Home Game #29, NHL Game #871

Verizon Center, Washington, DC. 7:08 pm. Washington TV: Comcast Sportsnet Mid-Atlantic. Radio: WFED 1500-AM. Colorado TV: Altitude Network 2 Radio: KCKK-1510AM. NHL Center Ice, Comcast Sportsnet Mid-Atlantic feed, Altitude Network 2 feed.

Tonight the Caps play their last game at home against a Western Conference team this season when the Colorado Avalanche pay a visit to the Phone Booth. The Caps have won three in a row and four of their last five but are 5-3 against the Western Conference on home ice this season and 7-9 overall with just 1 win against the Northwest Division. The Avalanche defeated the Ottawa Senators at home 3-2 in overtime on Tuesday night and are starting a six game East Coast road trip. Colorado has won their last two games after a four game losing streak.

What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com AP Wire.

Open Source Intelligence:

Denver Post: doing better somewhere else, on their way back. Rocky Mountain News: aiming to return, getting closer, job security.

What Do We Expect Tonight?:

With Colorado being the fourth worst defensive team and the Caps being the fourth best offensive team in the NHL; this game tonight should be over pretty quickly. But if we've learned anything about this Washington Capitals team, it is that they rarely if ever do things the easy way, especially against the lesser teams in the league. At least Colorado is in the bottom of the Western Conference as the middle-of-the-pack Western teams have given us the most problems at home this season. The hardest thing for the Caps tonight will be keeping their focus on tonight as Sunday's nationally televised showdown with the Penguin Scum looms on the horizon. We admit that we find Sunday's game much more interesting than tonight's but two points is two points and right now it could be the difference between and 2nd seed and 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference.

Caps Nut Official Prediction:

Caps 6
Avs 2
Winner by Semin

(3-0 on the season)

Caps vs. Canadiens 2-18-2009 Wrap Up

The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com.

The Neutral Observers:

NHL.com AP Wire. Canadian Press.

The Other Side:

The Gazette: building block, continuing drama.

Final Thoughts:

We have a hunch that the Caps meet for practice today that Bruce Boudreau is going to do everything he can to get the team past THE ENCORE and focus on the wretched penalty kill. Though something to stop the stupid penalties would also be a great help too.

58 down, 24 to go.

Caps vs. Canadiens 2-18-2009 Post-Mortem

Now we know where all the sun and sand went... Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• We don't think we need to say anything about THE ENCORE. It speaks for itself.
• David "Bolt Cutter" Steckel not only scores a goal against a team not from Tampa Bay, but he scores game tying goal with about 2:30 minutes left. Who would have guessed he would be the one?
• Magic number for a playoff spot is now down to 30 points and the fifth division title in franchise history will be claimed in 37 points. Throw in the loss by the Islanders to the Rangers, and the Islanders will be eliminated from catching us in 11 points.

THE BAD:

• Our favorite defenseman, John "Coach's Pet" Erskine Bowles scored his first goal of the season. Problem was, it was against Jose "Alvin, Simon," Theodore. See why we love him so much?
• And speaking of Theodore, tonight was not one of his sharper games. The third goal he allowed tonight was the very definition of soft and we aren't too crazy about the first goal he allowed either. The second goal we forgive him because he had to deal with Erskine Bowles which many goaltenders cannot handle. With as much as Theodore stretches during the game, we have to think his hip hasn't fully recovered either.
• What was the deal with having Tomas Fleischmann taking an offensive zone draw in overtime with Alexander "Slappy" Semin on the wing and Sergei (#3) Fedorov playing the point. Are we the only ones who are totally perplexed by this?

THE UGLY:

• The game was decided by a gimmick.
• Taking only four penalties is actually pretty good for the Caps this season, however, killing only one of them tonight is a huge problem. Complain all you want about the goaltending, but the Penalty Killing needs as much if not more work. Sure, you want your goalie to be your best Penalty Killer, but the rate at which we give up Power Play goals, you cannot blame it entirely on the goaltender.
• And speaking of penalties, once again we have a player under no pressure at all in his own zone inexplicably shoot the puck waaaaaay over the glass. So Mike "BEAM ME UP" Green wins tonight's John "Coach's Pet" Erskine Bowles Bonehead Play of the Game Award for doing just that.

All too often this season we've heard the Caps complain about how they did not play well yet still came away with some kind of win. Tonight is no exception and we can safely say, they didn't really deserve one point, lettalone two out of this game. Time to fine tune our game before the playoffs start is running out and the bad penalties are really starting to haunt us. At some point, the talk of playing harder and sticking to the system is going to have to come to and end. Luckily for this team, they can turn in efforts that they aren't proud of and still come away with a win. But remember folks, there are no gimmicks in the playoffs.

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

Caps vs. Canadiens 2-18-2009 Preview

Washington Capitals (36-21; 77 points; 1st Southeast Division, 3rd Eastern Conference, 5th Overall) vs. Montreal Canadiens (30-27; 66 points; 2nd Northeast Division, 5th Eastern Conference, 9th Overall):
Caps Game #58, Home Game #28, NHL Game #856

Verizon Center, Washington, DC. 7:38 pm. Washington TV: Comcast Sportsnet Mid-Atlantic. Radio: WFED 1500-AM. Montreal TV: None. Radio: CJAD-800AM. U.S. National TV: NHL Network (Likely carrying the TSN feed). Canadian National TV: TSN, RDS (French).

Tonight the Caps start a stretch of nine of ten games at home with a five game homestand. The Caps have won six of their last seven games overall and four of their last five at home. Montreal is playing the fifth game of a six game road trip and have just one win in their last six games. Montreal was last in action on Sunday night when they lost 4-2 in Vancouver.

What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post. Caps.com.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com AP Wire

Open Source Intelligence:

The Gazette: left behind, right call.

What Do We Expect Tonight?:

There are varying ways to shake a team up; you can throw chairs in the locker room, you can shuffle the lineup, you can fire a coach, you can bench a particular player, you can make trades of varying degrees. The Canadiens were the pre-season favorite to win the Eastern Conference and are now rivaling the New York Rangers for the biggest tailspin to fall out of the playoffs. Consider that the Canadiens are now tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference with the Rangers, Buffaslugs, and Panthers. Streaks, like records, are made to be broken and every team over an 82 game schedule has at least one slump. However, having to come to play the Caps in Washington, is not the recommended slump buster this season. The Caps have a real chance on this homestand to get a hot streak going and put some distance between themselves and New Jersey for the second seed. There is also the slight possibility of catching up to Boston. But with the way things are going for Montreal right now, this could be a first round of the playoffs preview. That means the Caps want to make certain Montreal doesn't get any confidence in playing against them.

Caps Nut Official Prediction:

Caps 4
Montreal 1
Winner by Laich

(2-0 on the season)

Caps @ Panthers 2-15-2009 Wrap Up

The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post. Times: tricky, Caps +.

The Neutral Observers:

NHL.com AP Wire.

The Other Side:

Miami Herald: beaten by the best, adjusting.

Final Thoughts:

With 25 games to go, the Caps really need to start focusing and fine tuning their game for the playoffs. They also need to start playing full sixty minute games, especially against teams they could be facing in the playoffs. With New Jersey staying red hot and Boston in a slump (they've lost four in row now) the Caps can also see their position in the standings change.

57 down, 25 to go.

Sunday Smorgasbord 2-15

• We kick things off tonight with the big news outside of A.O.'s hat trick which is Canadian Diving Team Captain, Low Blow Secondary Assist Cindy Crosby, claiming the scalp of another Head Coach. Low Blow Cindy now has her third Head Coach in just four seasons. (Mary-OH! at least waited until she had been in the league for six years before accomplishing that feat.) This was a long time coming in that the Penguin Scum have not lived up to the standard set last year, though in fairness, this was not the same Penguin Scum team that found its way into the Stanley Cup Finals last year. It was pretty clear that the Penguin Scum felt it didn't matter who skated with their core of Cindy, Evgeni Malkin-Lindros, Gonchar, and Marc Andre-Fleury. We don't know how much Therrien can be blamed for this mess though we do admit, he had the same "deer in the headlights" look that Glen Hanlon had at the end of his tenure in Washington. The big question now for the Penguin Scum is; was this too little, too late? We ask this because the Penguin Scum currently sit five points behind the Buffaslugs on even footing for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. That's a large mountain to climb with 25 games left because of the Bettman Loser point. Add in that 16 of their 25 remaining games are against teams currently in the playoffs (Panthers three times, Canadiens twice, Flyers twice, Caps twice, Devils once, Rangers once, Bruins once, Blue Jackets once, Flames once, Blackhawks once, and Stars once) and the Penguin Scum really have their work cut out for them no matter who the coach is. Finally, the biggest mistake we feel the Penguin Scum could make is trading for Martin St. Louis and/or Jay Bouwmeester. The Hossa trade was a mistake simply because it mortgaged a part of the team's future for the here and now. While it ended up in an Eastern Conference Title, it led to the disaster that is this season and will only further the disaster should they try it again.
• And speaking of job security, we announce tonight the start of The Debbie Yow Watch. Officially it is on Day 2 because of yesterday's Garyland t-shirts distributed and worn by the Friends of Gary at the UMD-Hokie-Pokey game yesterday was Day 1. You might have heard about the little dust-up between Gary and the UMD Administration and while Yow has given Gary the dreaded "vote of confidence," the fact that the F.O.G's remain outward F.O.G.'s means that Debbie's days have to be numbered. The relationship between the two has never been strong and if the big $$$$$ donors are publicly backing the coach over the A.D., well, Maryland is going to be looking for a new A.D. very soon. This comes in spite of a three part (Com)Post series (Part I, Part II, Part III) seeking to bury Williams. Part I was downright yellow journalism in that every single detractor of Gary was allowed to talk about how this kid or that kid would have been perfect in the Maryland system while glossing over and neglecting to mention the regard of the players Maryland did recruit or trying to find out why Maryland never seriously recruited the playes in question. We feel conflicted about Part II because while it is the closest to our understanding of the Rudy Gay fiasco, it shies away from exposing the seamy underbelly and outright violations that have occurred in NCAA Division I Men's College Basketball for a very long time. We understand Gary "protecting the Fraternity" but isn't exposing the dark side of things what journalists used to do? I guess somebody needs to write a press release in order to get the stories written. Part III only served to bolster Gary's point that the media would have had a field day on him for bringing Tyree Evans to campus. However what is the biggest failure of this "expose" is that Steve Yanda and Eric Prisbell didn't even bother mentioning the role of the UMD Administration. We have on tape if they would like to borrow it a See-BS special done in 2003 called From Triumph to Tragedy: The Maryland Terrapin Odyssey. In that special, done one year after Maryland won the National Championship and chronicled the program's fall from the death of Len Bias to winning the school's first National Championship in Basketball one year earlier, former assistant coach Billy Hahn discussed the talented kids that Maryland could not recruit, like Lawrence Moten, who ended up starring at other schools because the UMD Admin made it clear they would not be admitted because of their academic background. It is a problem that plagues both the Men's Basketball team and the Football team to this day. Fact of the matter is this, as long as the ghost of Len Bias haunts he University of Maryland, do not expect the Basketball or Football teams to seriously compete for a National Title on a regular basis, no matter who the coach is.
• And speaking of spinning your wheels, reading this about the Redskins tells us that is exactly what they're going to do for the short term. Simply put, the Redskins do not have the flexibility under the salary cap that they would need in order to retool both the offense and defensive lines this offseason. At least the problem has been identified, now we'll see if the fans and the media have the patience to see the process through. We're betting they won't. However did see how much credit Dan Snyder got for not raising ticket prices? We forgive you if you didn't notice.
• And speaking of ticket prices going up, Ted Leonsis is taking a huge gamble in betting that he can get away with raising ticket prices for 2009-2010 in a tanking economy and not have any effect on the attendance. Tickets for most fans are going up anywhere from $2 a game to $5 a game depending on where you sit. The VIP ticket holders are seeing major increases of up to $20 per game. Ted has to hope that the Caps not only get out of the first round this spring, but avoid some of the playoff disasters that have befallen the Caps in the past. The absolute worst case nightmare scenario is for the Penguin Scum to sneak into the 8th spot, upset Boston in the first round, face the Caps in the second round, and come back from a 3-1 deficit and win Game 7 in the Phone Booth. Should that happen, you can bet the farm that all the goodwill built up over the past two seasons would evaporate and people like Khornball will be taunting "Choking Dogs" all summer long. We hope that doesn't happen, but with this franchise you just never know. This isn't the first time Ted has gambled like this and for his sake, we hope he at least comes out even this time around.
• This week, the Caps kick off a season long five game homestand when Montreal pays a visit on Wednesday night. Colorado is in town on Friday before the Penguin Scum infect the Phone Booth on Sunday Afternoon. The Maryland Men head down to Klempsun on Tuesday night on ESPN2 before getting shellacked again by UNC at home on Saturday on ABC. The Maryland Women visit Georgia Tech on Thursday night before hosting Dook on Sunday Afternoon/Evening on Fox SportsNet.
• As always folks, please send all comments, criticism, questions, corrections, suggestions, and link exchange offers to "capsnut" over at gmail dot com.

Caps @ Panthers 2-15-2009 Post-Mortem

Never easy is it??? Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• Up goes the lead in the division to 13 points and down goes the magic number for clinching the division title to 39 points. A playoff spot will be earned in 34 points.
• A.O. returns to the spotlight with two goals in the second period and his 8th career hat trick, his third this season. A.O. now has 41 goals on the season and has 204 goals in 300 NHL games. His 9th Game Winning Goal of the season gives him 33 in his career, tying him with Bengt Gustafsson for 3rd on the Caps All-Time Game Winning Goal list.
• A nice screen by Brooks "and Dunn" Laich made the Power Play 1 for 2 on the night.
• Another goal chipped in by the "F Bomb" line with Eric Fehr finishing off a Sergei (#3) Fedorov move to the net with other assist going to Tomas Fleischmann.

THE BAD:

• We weren't sure if the Caps were trying to sit on a 2-0 lead on the road, but the Florida Panthers are not the Tampa Bay Lightning, they aren't going to give up. If the Caps were looking to send a message should not have let Florida tie the game back up.

THE UGLY:

• Quite a parade to the penalty box the Caps put on today/tonight. 7 Power Plays allowed is playing with fire for a team that is still under 80% on the Penalty Kill.
• And speaking of penalties, Nicklas Backstrom's not even close, nobody around him, Delay of Game penalty for shooting the puck into the crowd was as inexplicable as they come. That our friends is the John "Coach's Pet" Erskine Bowles Bonehead Play of the Game, especially when Federov had already taken a penalty like that earlier in the period that Florida tied the game on.

Carolina has downed the Buffaslugs so today/tonight's win as allowed us to keep our lead on them and with Joisey beating San Jose, the Caps have kept pace with the Devils but are currently losing the tiebreaker with them. Either way, this was an important win because the Caps have now, going back to last season, twice done the back-to-back games in Florida and Tampa and came away with sweeps. This is important because the Caps have two more sets of back-to-back games in Florida and Tampa this season. However, they need to clean up their own play as the penalties tonight really killed any chance they had at maintaining their momentum.

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

Caps @ Ning 2-14-2009 Wrap Up/ Caps @ Panthers 2-15-2009 Preview

The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com.

The Neutral Observers:

NHL.com AP Wire. NHL.com

The Other Side:

St. Petersberg Times: footnote to history, rookie regimen, trade winds, odds and ends. Tampa Tribune: history made, crossover appeal. Ning.com.

Final Thoughts:

56 down, 26 to go.


Washington Capitals (35-21; 75 points; 1st Southeast Division, 3rd Eastern Conference, 5th Overall) @ Florida Panthers (28-27; 64 points; 2nd Southeast Division, 8th Eastern Conference, 12th Overall):
Caps Game #57, Away Game #30, NHL Game #836

BankAtlantic Center, Sunrise, FL, 5:08 pm. Washington TV: Comcast Sportsnet Mid-Atlantic. Radio: WFED 1500-AM. Florida TV: Fox SportsNet Florida. Radio: WAXY 790-AM. NHL Center Ice: Fox SportsNet Florida and Comcast Sportnet Mid-Atlantic feeds.

Today/tonight the Caps take on their nearest rival for the Southeast Division crown when they make their first trip into Sunrise to face the Panthers. Fresh off of last night's record setting win in Tampa, the Caps have now won five of their seven games. The Panthers were last in action on Friday night when they beat the Rangers in a gimmick at home, 2-1. The Panthers have also won five of their last seven games and are currently on a five game home winning streak and three games overall.

What The Natives Are Saying:

Caps.com.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com AP Wire.

Open Source Intelligence:

Miami Herald

What Do We Expect Today/Tonight?

Hockey players, especially young hockey players, tend to celebrate their accomplishments for quite awhile. It is a part of the maturation process after all and the Caps need to get the shaving cream out of their faces and get back down to earth tonight. Sure, Florida is 11 points back and a loss in regulation would put them 9 points behind. But Florida has a game in hand on us and there are three more meetings between the two teams after this one. The Panthers are also the only Eastern Conference opponent to pull off a regulation victory in the Phone Booth this season. Another reason for the Caps not to take this game lightly is that the Caps could very well see Florida in the first round of the playoffs. Have enough motivation yet? It is hard to call a game like this one a MUST WIN, because of the various cushions the Caps have already built in. But we can safely say that a loss tonight will make things a little tighter and tougher down the stretch. Caps did conserve a fair amount of energy in the third period last night and with up to four new players the lineup tonight they should be able to pull out another two points.

Caps Nut Official Prediction:

Caps 3
Florida 1
Winner by Green

(1-0 on the season)

Caps @ Ning 2-14-2009 Post-Mortem

Well, we got the job done... Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• Normally when a player is approaching a record like Mike "BEAM ME UP" Green was tonight, the rest of the team force feeds everything to that player in an attempt to help him make history. That was not the case tonight as Green broke the record in the second period of tonight's game. The streak will eventually come to an end but for now, he's clearly the hottest player in the league.
• A.O. gets to work on his next 100 goals by scoring his 201st goal, his first (DUH!) since scoring his 200th NHL goal against the Kings on February 5th. He's 17 goals behind Mike Ridely for 3rd on the Caps All-Time Goal Scoring list. He is now sixteen points behind Bobby Carpenter (395) for 14th on the Caps All-Time Scoring list. Oh, and another game winner; his 8th on the season, 32nd of his career, tying him with Mike Ridley for 4th on the Caps All-Time Game Winning Goals list.
• In our opinion, Michal Neuvirth in his NHL debut looked more impressive than Simeon Varlamov did in his NHL debut. We know that Varlamov debuted in Montreal, on Hockey Night in Canada, but Neuvirth faced a more potent offense tonight and wasn't able to feed off the adrenaline rush the dead Tampa crowd was providing. Having Mom and Dad sitting in the stands probably didn't ease his nerves either. Neuvirth also looked more in control than Varlamov though that likely has more to do with their contrasting styles. However, both goaltenders could use more time in Hershey to hone their skills for the NHL game.
• As we mentioned this morning, we were concerned about too much sun and sand finding their way into the Caps skates, and fortunately, that wasn't the case tonight.

THE BAD:

• As impressive as Neuvirth was tonight, CW says that the Caps would have played tighter defense in front of him. That wasn't the case as he faced 28 shots in the first two periods along with multiple breakaways for and other prime scoring chances from Vincent Lecavlier. The Caps did bear down and only allowed 4 shots in the third period, but can also thank a Tampa team that gave up in that period.
• We like Eric Fehr and think he has a solid NHL future ahead of him but continue to be bitterly disappointed by his lack of production this season. Yes, he did score a goal in the third period but twice had prime chances and just simply didn't convert. For a guy who is supposed to be a goal scorer, he simply has to start burying more of his chances.
• Staffan Kronwall showed us why he couldn't make the Maple Leafs out of camp and why Toronto is in such trouble that they had to try to recall him.

THE UGLY:

• We were not too impressed with the officiating of Brian Pochmara and Tom Kowal tonight. Too much Tampa stick work against the Caps went uncalled and to be fair, the Caps got away with some stuff too. But with the way the Ning were trying to bait the Caps tonight, it is a minor miracle this game didn't turn ugly.
• With a 2 on 0 from the Ning blueline, A.O. and Tom Poti Green (just watched the highlights again, we thought it was Poti because we got tired of watching him pass up shots all night long. Bleatings From a Caps Nut Regrets the error...) botch the play and come away with nothing. Not even a shot on goal. Poti Green had a layup if he wanted it but passed it back and behind A.O. to blow the chance; that our friends is the John "Coach's Pet" Erskine Bowles Bonehead Play of the Game winner tonight. Poti added to this ignominity tonight when he on two other occasions passed up prime scoring opportunities. Just score the darn goal and be done with it.
• Matt Smaby, -3. Might we suggest Coach Tocchet not putting him out against the A.O. line?

In the third period tonight the Caps looked to be conserving energy for the real test which comes tomorrow night in Florida. As for tonight, the thing that worries us the most was how cute the Caps tried to get after they built a 3-0 lead. We can't allow that to creep into our game because it will come back to haunt us. As tonight showed, the simpler the Caps play, the better of they are. Standings wise, the Caps kept pace with Joisey and picked up a point on Boston who lost in gimmick at Nashville. Carolina's 5-1 loss to Columbus on home ice shaved the Caps magic number for a playoff spot down to 36.

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

Caps @ Ning 2-14-2009 Preview

Thanks Katie, but we'll take it from here...

Washington Capitals (34-21; 73 points; 1st Southeast Division, 3rd Eastern Conference, 5th Overall) @ Tampa Bay Lightning (19-36; 49 points; 4th Southeast Division, 12th in the Eastern Conference, 27th Overall):
Caps Game #56, Away Game #29, NHL Game #829

St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, FL 7:38 pm. Washington TV: Comcast Sportsnet Mid-Atlantic. Radio: WFED 1500-AM. Tampa TV: Sunshine Network. Radio: WDAE 620-AM. NHL Center Ice: Sunshine Network feed.

Tonight, four months into the season, the Caps make their first trip into the Sunshine State when they head into Tampa to face the Ning. The Caps are coming off a 5-4 gimmick loss to the Rangers on Wednesday night but have won four of their last six games overall. The Ning are coming off a 6-4 win over Toronto on Thursday night but have lost five of their last seven games and are playing the fourth game of a six game homestand.

What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com AP Wire

Open Source Intelligence:

St. Petersberg Times. Tampa Tribune. Ning.com

What Do We Expect Tonight?:

Far be it from us to begrudge anybody their vacations and days off, but we've never been fans of the Florida weekend for the Caps, especially when the team heads to Florida early for the specific task of taking a day off. The sand and sun really works into their skates and Caps always come out with a sub-par effort. Already with a weak/neglected defense, the presumptive Southeast Division Champion Ning are now dealing with mounting injuries in goal and have lost the last seven games to the Caps. So of course it sounds like a perfect time to breakout yet another 20 year old goaltender making his NHL debut. The good news is that against the Ning the Caps won't need a full effort to pull out a win tonight. We only hope that is the case here.

Caps Nut Official Prediction:

Caps 6
Ning 4
Winner by Laich

Caps vs. Panthers 2-7-2009 Post-Mortem

We never do things the easy way do we??? Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• With the win, the Caps have knocked the "Magic Number" for wrapping up a division title down to 46 points. Pending the outcome of the Carolina-Phoenix game (Carolina leads 4-2 after two periods), the Magic Number for wrapping up a playoff spot is 43 points.
• Another game, another goal less than one minute into the game. But what has to be the best news is that the Caps didn't get sloppy and careless like they did on Thursday night. Consider that lesson learned.
• Mike "BEAM ME UP" Green is absolutely on fire right now. Another two goals tonight, including the game winner, and extended his team record for defensemen goal scoring streak to six games.
• And of course the much maligned Penalty Killers deserve a tip of the cap for killing off the last 5:56 of the game, including a 1:05 5 -on-3 and a 5:01 major penalty, without allowing as much as a whiff of a good chance. The unit almost suffered some more bad bounces in the second period but put an end to a streak of 13 straight game in which they allowed a Power Play goal.
• Looking to simplify the game, the Caps took 39 shots tonight. Only Michael "Meadowlark" Nylander passed up an obvious scoring opportunity tonight.

THE BAD:

• Getting back to Green, he scores two goals, including the game winner but is not one of the three stars? Tough crowd.
• We admit that this is a bit of a nit pick, but with the Caps facing Florida 5 more times this season heading into tonight's game, we expected a greater sense of urgency out of the Caps. We didn't see it from the Caps and to be perfectly fair, we didn't see it from Florida either who is fighting for a playoff spot. While this game was nowhere near any kind of MUST WIN, it was important for the Caps to win this game tonight because the Caps still have three trips to South Florida on the schedule. While a 14 point lead is comfortable, there's only 9 weeks left in the season and the Caps are quickly running out of time to raise their level of play in preparation for the playoffs.

THE UGLY:

• We happen to think that the call on Shaone Morrrissonnn was iffy at best and understand that hits from behind along the wall is a point of emphasis for the referees this year. However what we fail to understand is why the Caps were not required to place a player in the box for Morrrissonnn? The penalty was assessed at 14:59, meaning there would be 1 second left on the clock when the penalty ended. That could have been the difference between winning the game or losing the game. Yes we are complaining about 1 second but folks, there's no reason why the Caps should have not been allowed to return to full strength after killing the five minute penalty.

The bigger test for the Caps in regard to Florida will come next Sunday in Sunrise. If the Caps are able to win that game, they should pretty much be in the clear of the Panthers for the rest of the season. Right now, only 10 of the final 28 games come against teams currently in the playoffs. If the Caps can step up their intensity, they will easily wrap up another Division title, pull away from the mess that is the Atlantic Division, finish in the top four of the league, and with some luck, catch Boston to claim the #1 seed. However, the Caps need to step up their play because the longer they wait, the harder it will be to fine tune for the playoffs.

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

The Fix Is In

Read the first freakin' line and ask why wasn't there a flag on this play?



AP Photo on Excite.com