Caps vs. Canadiens 11-20-2009 Post-Mortem

It was another one of those days...  Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• "Mighty Mouse" Mathieu Perreault was probably the best forward on the ice for the Caps tonight.  He only had two shots on goal, one assist, and was a +1 but was all over the place in the offensive zone.
• John Carlson made his NHL debut tonight and got through it without any noticeable gaffes.  He almost scored goal but the shot was one of three goal posts that Caps hit cleanly tonight behind Carey Price.
• Defensively, the Caps allowed only 22 shots on goal.  Not much more you can ask for there with two minor leaguers and John "Coach's Pet" Erskine Bowles skating on the blueline for most of the game.
• At the other end, the Caps were able to generate 34 shots on Carey Price despite Montreal clogging the ice in all three zones throughout the night.

THE BAD:

• We told you this morning that the Special Teams could be the difference and Montreal's Power Play goal in the third period was the difference.  It was only their second man-advantage on the night.
• To give you an idea of how boring this game was, Carey Price was named second star for his 32 save performance but we can't think of any huge saves he came up with.

THE UGLY:

• John "Coach's Pet" Erskine Bowles with yet another an ill-timed step up at the blueline in the third period with the Caps down 2-1 leading to a 2 on 1 break for the Canadiens.  While, luckily for the Caps, Montreal did not convert, it is the John "Coach's Pet" Erskine Bowles Bonehead Play of the Game.
• The tripping call on Brooks "and Dunn" Laich in the third period just reeked of "even out the Power Plays."  We can respect referees who "let em play" and get upset when they decide to "even things up" with less than 10 minutes left in the third period.  Especially when the penalty call leads to a Power Play Goal against.

Well folks, we're kind of at a loss for words tonight.  We can't complain about the effort the Caps put forward tonight.  They had energy, they drove to the Montreal net, they cleared their own net consistently, and they played hard throughout.  However, for some reason, something just seemed off.  Too many times tonight Caps started celebrating goals that weren't scored.  For some reason, the pucks just were not going in.  All we can say is that over the course of an 82 game season, things like this will happen.