Caps @ Maple Thug Leafs 11-21-2009 Post-Mortem

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....  Oh... Hi there... Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• Through regulation and overtime, Semyon "The Saviour" Varlamov was the best player on the ice for the Caps tonight registering 38 saves.  He deserved a much better fate than this tonight.
• A.O. being A.O. again.  He scored the Caps lone goal during the game and took six shots on goal which was tied for the team lead.
  

THE BAD:

• The Power Play had four chances and 10 shots on goal against the worst Penalty Killing unit in the league and came up empty handed.
• If somebody knows what Bruce Boudreau was thinking by pairing Tyler Sloan with John Carlson, would you be as so kind as to let us know?  Thanks!  Talk about a pairing that just did not work...
  

THE UGLY:

• The game was decided by a gimmick and really had no business having a winner declared in any fashion.  This game is Exhibit A in why the gimmick is a bad idea.
• The Caps gave up 39 shots on goal, 28 of them through the first two periods.

Well gang, the returns on tonight's game are not pretty.  So much for the Caps looking to make a statement and put last night's frustrations behind them.  If anything, the Caps only built on them because now the Caps have lost two games in a row and three of their last four.  Some will find consolation that the Bettman point gets us first place in the Eastern Conference, but the games in hand situation makes that a tenuous grip at best.  We know this team is besieged by injuries right now but the same thing happened around this time last year and the Caps didn't miss much of a beat.  Before the season began we were hoping that the anger over the Second Round Hose Job last year would motivate this team to greater heights this year.  So far through the first 23 games, we've seen nothing to indicate that being the case.  Whenever Michael "Meadowlark" Nylander makes his mind up and goes to Europe, it will be incumbent upon General Manager George McPhee to make a move to shake things up and end some of the complacency that has creeped in.