Caps @ Red Wings 10-10-2009 Preview

Washington Capitals (2-2; 5 points) @ Detroit Red Wings (1-2; 2 points):
Caps Game #5, Road Game #3, NHL Game #54

Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI, 7:07 pm. Washington TV: Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic. Radio: WFED 1500-AM. Detroit TV: Fox Sportsnet Detroit. Radio: WKRK 97.1-FM. NHL Center Ice: Fox Sportsnet Detroit, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic feeds.

Tonight the Caps coming off of two losses venture up to Detroit to face the Red Wings for the only time during the regular season. Last season these two teams met at the Phone Booth the day before the Super Bowl with the Caps coming away with a 4-2 victory. The Red Wings opened up their official home schedule on Thursday night with a 3-2 win over the Blackhawks after dropping a pair of games in Sweden to the Saint Louis Blues last weekend.

What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com. AP Wire.

Open Source Intelligence:

Detroit Free Press: Franzen out, numbers game.

What Do We Expect Tonight?:

There's three ways for a coach to deal with an ugly loss in hockey and one is the bag skate. Bruce Boudreau however went with the detailed video session instead of just ignoring the bad game to call out certain players who weren't pulling their weight. We happen to think that having A.O., Alexander "Slappy" Semin, and Mike "BEAM ME UP" Green skate 11:27, 9:17, and 9:16 respectively of 12:16 Power Play time leads to mistakes and lazy play with the man advantage, but that's another discussion for another time. Tonight we're very interested to see how the Caps respond to the tongue lashing. Last year the Caps had a habit of playing to the level of their opponents so, one would not have to worry too about the Caps effort tonight in Detroit regardless of what Boudreau did. The effort will be there because Detroit is considered one of the best teams in the NHL. The Red Wings are on a youth movement this year and for Detroit, that means not having a player over the age of 40 on the roster for the first time in six years. The Red Wings have played in the last two Stanley Cup Finals and it is starting to wear on them with their slow start so far this season and the losses they suffered in free agency over the summer. The loss of Johan Franzen is going to hurt in the long run but teams usually rally initially when a key player gets hurt. This could be a fun game to watch tonight and the third "playoff type game" in a row for the Caps.

Caps Nut Official Prediction:

Caps 3
Red Wings 2
Winner by A.O.
(2-2 on the season)