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!!!