Caps vs. Rangers 10-8-2009 Post-Mortem

Eh, they can have Game 8... Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• Nicklas Backstrom joins the scoring party this year with his first two goals of the season.
• Alexander "Slappy" Semin with another goal and assist tonight too.
• While A.O. didn't register a point tonight,and fell off his 246 point pace, it certainly wasn't for a lack of trying on his part. A game high nine shots on goal and he was all over the ice as usual. Just didn't get anything to go in tonight is all.

THE BAD:

• Well, let the Jeff "Sergeant" Schultz bashing begin in earnest. He was a -1 tonight and on the ice for two Rangers goals, but neither one was his fault. Not that this has ever stopped his numerous and barely coherent detractors.
• Furthermore, let the Jose "Alvin, Simon," Theodore bashers come out in full force too. Yeah, he surrendered the 3-2 lead on a soft goal but Tom Poti screened him on the game winner and Theodore will get no credit for standing on his head in the first period where he came up with some very big saves when the team in front of him didn't look very interested.

THE UGLY:

• 1-9 on the Power Play tonight, 2-14 over the last two games. For a team that is looking to burn people for taking penalties, the Caps haven't done it well enough over the last two games. Even more frustrating was the 1:33 of 5-on-3 time that yielded only two shots on goal.
• Putting six skaters on the ice during a Power Play to nullify it with a too many men on the ice call. Who did we think we were, Pittsburgh?
• And for the second game in a row; Boyd Gordon takes a penalty in deep in the offensive zone late in the third period that leads to a costly Power Play goal against. Maybe Bruce Boudreau should have a chat with him as Gordon earns the John "Coach's Pet" Erskine Bowles Bonehead Play of the Game award.

Well folks, it certainly sounds cliche, but you can't win them all. No Sergei (#3) Fedorov tonight to bail us out though Henrik Lunqvist deserves kudos for bringing the crowd and the Caps to life in the third period with his monumental gaffe. We've already seen what this team can do when it is motivated and wants to win and maybe after losing their second game in a row, that hunger will return, especially having to go to Detroit up next. Because tonight the Caps were simply outworked by the Rangers. Give New York credit, they did what they had to do to win and once they bailed Lundqvist out, they didn't give the Caps much of a chance to tie the game up again. Things will work themselves out though because we get the feeling that enough leadership has been put into the room to keep things from getting out of control.