Caps @ Thrashers 4-7-2009 Post-Mortem

Who says you need to play 60 minutes??? Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• The Caps win combined with New Jersey's loss drops the magic number for the Caps wrapping up the 2nd seed down to 1 point.
• We admit that we were concerned about Simeon Varlamov getting the start tonight. We're glad to say that we were wrong because he kept the Caps in the game and preserved the win, especially in the second period when the Caps looked as disinterested as we've ever seen them.
• A.O. with two assists tonight passes Dave Christian for 11th on the Caps All-Time Scoring list. His 108 points remains two behind Evgeni Malkin-Lindros who got two assists himself tonight against the Ning to run his total to 110.

THE BAD:

• Just one Power Play tonight for the Caps which lasted all of 47 seconds, not because the Caps scored, but because the Caps took a penalty themselves to wipe out the Power Play. The reason why the Caps had only one Power Play was because they didn't work very hard in the offensive zone and didn't create much in the way of traffic in front of the net. The two most notable times they did get to the front of the net, they drew their lone penalty of the night and scored a goal. See what happens when you do that???
• 5 shots on goal in a second period that Caps didn't bother showing up for.
• 6 minor penalties on the Caps tonight. Too many penalties if you want to advance in the playoffs.

THE UGLY:

• Sergei (#3) Fedorov took half of the minor penalties himself. Ok, so he scored the insurance goal, but the Caps can't have that kind of leadership from him.
• Against a rookie goaltender who has been chased more than once this season, the Caps managed only 26 shots on goal and didn't apply much pressure after the first period.

Maybe we're too concerned with aesthetics right now. After all, the Caps are now playing what amounts to glorified scrimmages and even if they lost two of their first three playoff games; while they wouldn't be in good shape, they wouldn't be eliminated either. Years from now all anybody will remember is that the Caps won this game tonight. But with the second seed all but officially ours, let's hope that with the playoff picture coming into clearer focus (we don't have to worry about playing Carolina or Philadelphia in the first round anymore and should instead get ready for Montreal or the New York Rangers with the Penguin Scum now a long shot) that the Caps will start getting mentally ready for next week when the puck drops at the Phone Booth for Game 1.

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