Caps vs. Flyers 10-27-2009 Post-Mortem

We love it when we're right... Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• Back from the Oink or something like it, Alexander "Slappy" Semin registers 3 points, scores the game winning goal, is a +3 but isn't one of the three stars of the game. This gives you an idea of what a complete performance the team put forward tonight.
• Nicklas Backstrom with 4 points and a +3 and A.O. with 2 goals and a +3 too. For those keeping score at home, that's 9 points and +9 combined for the reunited New SOB line. Bruce Boudreau is going to have to think hard before splitting up this line again.
• Jose "Alvin, Simon," Theodore with a very strong performance tonight. 41 saves and quite a bit of help from the goalposts tonight.
• While the bashers will only remember the ugly turnover late in the game, Jeff "Sergeant" Schultz had a good tonight as well. He was clearing out the crease and registered another assist tonight finishing with a +1.
• The Power Play started getting back in sync tonight going 1 for 4. The 1:41 5-on-3 was a little disappointing but the Caps were credited with 6 shots on goal during that span. They did everything they needed to do on that except score the goal.

THE BAD:

• Yikes, 43 shots on goal and the first few shots on goal from the Flyers tonight came from right in front of the net off of centering passes from behind the net. This game was a little too wide-open for our tastes.
• If anybody wants to know why Alexandre Giroux did not get any interest from any NHL team this past summer needs to watch this game tonight. Plain and simple, he does not belong in the NHL.

THE UGLY:

• Tyler Sloan is much better as a defenseman than as a forward. However, the fourth line played well tonight and was able to create pressure and havoc in the offensive zone.
• We had flashbacks to the second round of the playoffs. After the Caps Power Play finally connected, no more penalties were called on Philadelphia. Not that Philadelphia didn't commit penalties, just that nothing was called. We're tired of that stunt.

Boudreau has been looking for a sixty minute performance all season and you could say that he finally got it tonight. The Caps certainly had the effort they needed for sixty minutes but, as we mentioned above, the game was a little too wide-open for our tastes. We know this team can tighten things up better than they did tonight. We're a long ways away from the playoffs right now but for the Caps to be able to come back from a 2-0 deficit against a team like Philadelphia is very, very encouraging.

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