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!!!