Game 7 Caps vs. Canadiens 4-28-2010 Post-Mortem

Well, at least we still have their baseball team...

We can't say were all that surprised right now.  We don't know what it is but there's just something about this franchise.  If it isn't a hose job or a freak injury or a bad bounce or who knows what else, then this franchise just can't seem to get out of its own way.  How else do you explain the blown playoff leads and the 2-7 record in Game 7, 2-6 at home?  We knew the shoe was eventually going to drop on us, it always does.   But congratulations folks, we're not only the first #1 seed to blow a 3-1 lead to a #8 seed but we gave Jacques Martin his first win ever in a Game 7.

The seed for the loss tonight was first planted back in late January-early February when the Caps went on that magical 14 game winning streak.  Simply put, this team peaked way too soon folks.  Remember all those lists of NHL teams with long winning streaks during the regular season?  The most recent team to win the Cup was the Islanders from back in the 1980's.  That wasn't a good sign for us as we racked up the wins that pulled us away in the Eastern Conference and President's Trophy race.  That seed was then given a good fertilizing when it was Montreal who broke the 14 game winning streak.  Interesting isn't how the team who put an end to our epic winning streak put an end to our season?  Coincidence?  We think not.

While the series was formally lost tonight, it was really lost last Friday when the Caps blew Game 5.  The Caps, as usual in this series, fell behind 2-0 before starting to score.  Despite cutting the deficit in half early in the second period, it was with about 5-6 minutes left that the Caps seemed to pull up.  They realized that in order to win Game 5, they'd likely have to play Overtime for the fourth straight game at home and seventh time in the last ten home contests going back into the regular season.  So the Caps figured, "hey, we've got two more chances, lets save it."  Instead they gave Montreal life and the confidence that they could pull off the upset that they did.

And here's the thing about tonight that mystifies us.  Of the Game 7's the Caps have played, this was by far their best performance.  Even better than the 2 wins.  That's not say that there were no mistakes made tonight.  Mike "BEAM ME UP" Green takes a stupid penalty in the first period that leads to Montreal's first goal after the Caps had been dominating the first period.  Green then decided to play the man instead of the puck late in the third and the Caps end up down 2-0 for the fourth time in the series as a result.  The Caps for the most part stopped hitting after the first period too and we don't know why.

Silly us too thinking that because the Caps are now considered a "marquee team" that they would be given a little assistance onto the Second Round.  Not once in this series did the Caps have to deal with either Bill McCreary or Paul Devorski.  But we're glad to see that two years since Game 7 against the Flyers that the league is trying to do something about goaltender interference.

But before we wrap this up let's give credit to Jaroslav Halak and the Montreal Canadiens.  Halak played another great game tonight and the team in front of him blocked almost as many shots, 41, as the Caps got on goal, 42.  Montreal had blocked 26 shots heading into the third period.  You do the math folks.  However, we won't be the least bit surprised if the Penguin Scum shred him for 6 goals on 10 shots on Friday night.  That's just how it is for the Washington Capitals.

Finally we know this is mostly wishful thinking, but we hope we don't have to hear from players, coaches, General Managers, and Owners about how disappointed they are.  About how upset that they are that "the season ended way too soon."  About how "we haven't achieved our goals and won't rest until we do."  About how "we can't wait for next season."  We've heard that two years in a row now and probably will hear it for a third.  But until something is actually done about it, it is just empty talk.

Game 6 Caps @ Canadiens 4-26-2010 Post-Mortem

Not where anybody wanted to be...  Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• Eric Fehr got a goal late.  It was too little too late for this game but it broke up the shutout because as bad as it is to be going into a Game 7 under these circumstances, it would be 100 times worse if Jaroslav Halak had pitched a 54 save shutout at us tonight.
• Montreal has been flopping like fish out of water all series long trying to draw penalties.  Thankfully tonight Tim Peel and Dan O'Rourke were finally calling them out on it and whistled them three times for diving.

THE BAD:

• With all due respect to Halak who played an amazing game tonight, Caps added to their own frustration by pumping more and more shots at Halak without screens, without players in front ready to pounce on rebounds, and from distance.  Yes Halak robbed them stone cold on a number of occasions tonight but when the Caps did get players in front, the shots went wide.  When the Caps did get rebounds, hardly anybody was fighting for them.  Instead of taking the puck to the net and crashing the crease, the Caps were content to shoot from distance against a goaltender that was stopping everything.  It shouldn't be any wonder that he posted some of the numbers that he did tonight.
• If you're wondering why Tomas Fleischmann isn't scoring look at his botched chance.  He had to make an extra move with the puck before shooting at a wide open net.

THE UGLY:

• No way to sugarcoat it, Semyon "The Saviour" Varlamov did not have a good game tonight.  3 goals allowed on 21 shots faced.  Bruce Boudreau would have pulled Jose "Alvin, Simon," Theodore had he gotten down 2-0 for the second consecutive game less than 10 minutes in.
• The Power Play is more than a problem, it is an albatross around our necks right now.  0 for 6 tonight and the coup de gras is the big fat 0 shots on goal during a 1:15 5 on 3 in the first period.  The Caps badly needed a goal there to get back into the game but couldn't even muster a shot.  18 shots on goal otherwise but none of them mattered because none of them got into the net.
• In addition to 54 shots on goal, 23 of them were blocked, and 17 missed everything.  That's 94 shot attempts tonight and only one goal.

So you're thinking what we're thinking, "He can't do this two games in a row right?"  Well, looking at his game log, yes he can because he has.  After facing the magic number of 45 shots, where he's undefeated, Halak is 4-2 in his next outing including the 6-5 overtime loss in Game 2 of this series.  Halak made 45+ saves in three consecutive games before yielding the one loss in the regular season.  He then made 45+ saves twice in a row before beating the Penguin Scum with just 18 saves on 21 shots.  So yes folks, be afraid.  Be very afraid about Wednesday night because this version of the Caps has not come out with a sense of purpose in any of their previous three Game 7's.

Game 5 Caps vs. Canadiens 4-23-2010 Post-Mortem

Some things never change... Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• After giving up two early goals, Semyon "The Saviour" Varlamov recovered with a solid performance to keep the game from getting further out of hand.
• For the first time this season, the Caps Penalty Killers shutdown the Montreal Power Play.  The Caps were 6 for 6 tonight.

THE BAD:

• No way to sugar coat it, the Caps top line was on the ice for all three goals scored tonight.  If we had won 3-0 or 2-1, that wouldn't be a problem, but it is a problem when we lose 2-1.
• We're not sure how it happened, but taking a Too Many Men on the Ice penalty with just over a minute to go is not a good way to finish off a game.

THE UGLY:

• The Caps Power Play failed big-time tonight.  0 for 5 with 11 shots on goal.  We give Jaroslav Halak credit for making a big save on Alexander "Slappy" Semin in the third period.  But there was precious little fighting for rebounds on the Power Play tonight which is a cause for concern going forward.
• As usual with a loss, we didn't bother listening to the Post-Game Show on the radio because we didn't want to hear what was being said about Mike "BEAM ME UP" Green.  We don't think Green's defending has been all that bad, it has been his puck handling as he seems to be once again succumbing to the pressure of the playoffs.  Some of it isn't necessarily his fault as he had some bad bounces but as long as he's not blowing defensive assignments, we can live with his play.  Other however are different story...

Well folks, we told you initially we just had a feeling that this would go a little longer than everybody thought.   We aren't too upset about this loss tonight though.  We remember reading last year that teams who wrap up their first round series in 4 or 5 games have a dismal record in the second round because the rest turns into rust with the long layoff.  The Caps can still close out this series on Monday night in six games and the earliest they would have to face Philadelphia is Thursday but much more likely on Friday.  So we're not too concerned about getting enough rest before facing the Flyers as long as the series ends on Monday night.  But we are concerned that talk of yet another blown 3-1 lead is going to start before there is a Game 7.  That is talk we don't need over the next two off days.

Game 4 Caps @ Canadiens 4-21-2010 Post-Mortem

Just too darn good...  Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• Jason Chimera has been a thorn in the side of the Canadiens all series long and tonight he comes up with the Game-Winning-Goal.
• Mike Knuble with the back-breaking shorthanded knoal tonight, the second one for the Caps in as many games.  He added an empty-netter to help seal the deal late in the game for his second goal of the playoffs.  It's good to get him going as the second round and a probable date with the Flyers loom.
• The Power Play finally busted their slump, while Captain A.O.'s goal was off the rush and not off any set work, we'll take it and run.  However, after getting setup in the offensive zone, the Power Play has to find a way to get more pucks to the net.
• And speaking of Captain A.O., he and Nicklas Backstrom both rang up three points tonight.  It's becoming clear that these two alone are more than Montreal can handle.
• Semyon "The Saviour" Varlamov had an outstanding game tonight making 36 saves, 20 in the second period alone.

THE BAD:

• Tell us again why faceoff are so important?  The Caps won 36 faceoffs and lost 29 but were outshot 39-38.  Something doesn't add up.
• Montreal scored yet another Power Play goal on us tonight, going 1 for 4.  So far it doesn't look like our penalty killing is going to cost us in this series.  But it is not over yet.
• And while Alexander "Slappy" Semin lucked his way into an assist tonight for his first playoff point this year, we still don't think he's playing very well.

THE UGLY:

• While the Caps had more Power Plays than Montreal, the officiating tonight was just awful.  First Joe Scorvo takes a blind-side hit from Maxim Lapierre that none of them saw despite the NHL's newest "crackdown."  Then Carey Price whacks Backstrom while Price was standing on the Montreal Bench after the last empty-net goal.  We're pretty certain that NHL Suggestion Book prohibits such actions but we doubt that either Lapierre or Price will face any kind of supplementary discipline nor any further mention of their actions.

Well folks, we're almost there.  We're one game away from getting about a week off before the second round begins and we can rest some players.  While tonight's game was not the best effort the Caps can muster, we happen to think that our problem is not defense, but focus.  There's no reason why other than losing focus that Montreal scored a third goal tonight.  The Caps just stopped playing but Dominic Moore didn't.  That was the biggest example of focus loss but there were other individual moments as well.  But a win is a win and the Caps are rolling along and now come home looking to wrap this series up quickly.

Game 3 Caps @. Canadiens 4-19-2010 Post-Mortem

So much for the Montreal Home Ice Advantage...  Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• Brooks "and Dunn" Laich loses the face shield and picks up the game-winning-goal.  The only one the Caps scored from distance tonight.
• Boyd Gordon returns to the lineup and gets a shorthanded goal to start all the scoring by taking the puck to the net and whacking away at it with some help from Mike Knuble.
• Semyon "The Saviour" Varlamov came up with his best game since getting injured back in December.  Now the goaltender controversy gets really interesting.
• The Penalty Killers had some extra work tonight but ended up going a respectable 4 for 5 tonight.
• Mike "BEAM ME UP" Green  and Jeff "Sergeant" Schultz both played much better tonight that they did on Saturday.  Pity that nobody will give either of them credit for it.

THE BAD:

• Though the Penalty Killers weren't perfect, they did blow the shutout in the third period with some lackadaisical play.  And the sad part is, it was the only time it happened during the game.
• We're not surprised that Thomas Fleischmann has gone MIA, as a matter of fact we expected it and he as usual blew a prime chance tonight but Alexander "Slappy" Semin has to get on track.  Eric Belanger proved that Brendan Morrrissonn wasn't the problem on that line.

THE UGLY:

• Not counting the 3 second Power Play, the Caps were 0 for 6 on the Power Play tonight.  Lots of nifty passing but only 5 shots on goal.
• The Montreal fans classy as ever as the Frogs boo the Star Spangled Banner once again.

Well folks, the tide in this series has certainly turned.  Had you paid much attention to the pundits, you could be forgiven for thinking that the Caps were down 2-0 again and yet after tonight they're up 2-1.  Will the same wags who complained about the Caps defense and goaltending still chirp about it after tonight?  Somehow we doubt it but we also know that they won't give the Caps defense and goaltending any credit either.  Just 1 goal allowed, 27 shots on goal, and 16 shots blocked.  Those are pretty good numbers against anybody in the NHL Playoffs.  While Matt "Omar" Bradley's goal late in the third may be seen as running up the score, it helped to bring Carey Price down a notch after he had made 14 saves in the third period up until that point.  The Caps are likely to face him instead of Jaroslav Halak in Game 4 on Wednesday night and they will need to beat him more than 2 times on 23 shots.  The Caps haven't won this series yet, but they are clearly in control right now.

Game 2 Caps vs. Canadiens 4-17-2010 Post-Mortem

Now it's on...  Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• The Caps may have to call up another defensemen for Games 3 and 4 in Montreal because we have a hard time believing that Canadian Customs is going to allow John Carlson into their country tomorrow.  The Rookie notched his first playoff point and scored the game tying goal late in the third period.   We have to think that Brian Burke should have had him in Vancouver.
• Captain A.O. broke out of his slump tonight, 1 goal (assisted by Carlson), and three assists.  6 shots on goal (7 were blocked and 2 missed everything) and a monster 8 hits dished out.
• Nicklas Backstrom with the game winning goal just 31 seconds into overtime to cap off the Hat Trick.  His dish to Carlson wasn't too shabby either.

THE BAD:

• The Power Play unit continues to struggle going 0 for 3 tonight.
• We said in the series preview that taking more than two penalties was playing with fire and Montreal scored on their third Power Play chance.  It almost cost us again.
• Alexander "Slappy" Semin gets himself demoted to the third line.  He hasn't been much of a factor in the first two games of this series.

THE UGLY:

• Jeff "Sergeant" Schultz and his partner in crime Mike "BEAM ME UP" Green were on the ice for four of the five Montreal goals scored.  Sarge ended up -1 and Green even because they were on the ice for so many of the Caps goals.  They were the best defensive pair in the regular season and need to be the best defensive pair here in the playoffs.
• And let the goaltender controversy begin yet again.  Jose "Alvin, Simon," Theodore allowed two goals on two shots and Semyon "The Saviour" Varlamov comes up with the win after making 19 saves on 22 shots.  Neither goaltender came up with any big saves and Bruce Boudreau has a tough decision to make as to who he starts on Monday night in Montreal.

Well folks, you should know how much we despise fighting in hockey but we will admit that tonight's game turned when Tom Poti of all people had enough of Scott Gomez and got into a fight with him.  The Caps were down 4-3 at the time but really got going and tied the game up while Gomez was in the box.  Gomez was MIA last spring for the Rangers but he's been a problem for the Caps so far and getting him off the ice for five minutes was a huge boost to the Caps.  Now the sleeping giant has been awakened and Montreal has to be very, very concerned.  The Caps best players torched Jaroslav Halak tonight and there is clearly momentum in the Caps locker room right now.  And even if Montreal had won this game, they still would be concerned because while the Caps go their offense going - and we should note the three goals scored from in close including Captain A.O.'s where he dug in front of Halak to poke it in - the Caps can and will play better defense.  But for the next two days everybody is going to wonder who is going to take the net for the Caps in Montreal but the Canadiens cannot rule out a goaltender change of their own.

Game 1 Caps vs. Canadiens 4-15-2010 Post-Mortem

What???  Did you think it would be easy???  Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• Some will try to blame him but Jose "Alvin, Simon," Theodore played a good game tonight.  He made 35 saves and came up with some big stops when the Caps needed them.  All three goals allowed were not his fault.
• The Penalty Killing unit was aggressive all night and for the most part, took the play to the Canadiens.  They were credited with 8 shots on goal on their 4 advantages but the Caps did a great job of keeping them off balance.

THE BAD:

• 19 shots in the first period, only one goal.
• After badly outshooting Montreal in the first period 19-7, the Caps were outshot the rest of the way 31-28.

THE UGLY:

• That Captain A.O. didn't register a single shot on goal doesn't bother us as  much his attempt to deliver a knock-out blow on Scott Gomez in the third period.  Gomez simply side-stepped Captian A.O. and the defense started scrambling to recover, leading to Montreal's game tying goal.  For those of you who love to yell "hit him" this is exactly why you need to pick your spots.
• We thought that the game was inconsistently officiated early on but what annoys us is that during regulation time, a TV timeout cannot take place after an icing call.  Yet in overtime Montreal, having already burned their timeout, was lucky enough to get a TV Timeout type timeout after icing the puck when the ice crew came onto the ice to clear ice shavings.  Why that rule changes in OT is beyond us but it doesn't surprise us if it actually does.  Nor would we be surprised if the refs just simply blew it.  This is the NHL after all.

Coming home from work last night we heard Craig Custance of the Sporting News on WJFK.  He expressed shock at Penguin Scum Head Coach Dan Bylsma saying that he didn't care about winning Game 1.  Bylsma said he wanted to wear down Ottawa to win the series.  Well, the Caps may not be employing the same tactics but they are certainly planting the seeds for it.  Twice tonight Montreal turned the puck over in their own zone because they were afraid of an impending hit by a Caps forward.  The Caps were getting the puck to the net tonight, 47 shots is proof positive of that, and they were getting players to the front of the net as well.  Furthermore, the Caps defensmen were punishing the Montreal forwards.  All of this will add up if the Caps keep at it and it will also pay off.  The difference tonight was that the Caps Power Play was 0 for 4 while Montreal's was 1 for 4.  And the one Power Play the Canadiens scored on came off of Nicklas Backstrom's selfish cross checking penalty.  Backstrom had just gotten away with a brazen elbow and then followed it up with a stupid cross check.  We've said it before and we'll say it again, we've got to stay out of the penalty box to win and we did not do that tonight.

Caps vs. Bruins 4-11-2010 Post-Mortem

Sorry folks, we had some family business to attend to...  Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• Alexander "Slappy" Semin notched his 40th goal of the year.
• The regular season is finally over and no hint of major injuries heading into the Post-Season.

THE BAD:

• In his last start before the Post-Season, Semyon "The Saviour" Varlamov did not have a strong outing.  Considering the first round opponent, this could be a huge problem.
• Jason Chimera got hit with a bogus goaltender interference penalty early in the game (he was pushed into Tim Thomas) and then skated around with the wrong kind of chip on his shoulder and a big fat target on his back for the rest of the game.  He's got to keep his composure from here on out if he wants to be effective.

THE UGLY:

• The game was decided by a gimmick.
• Bruce Boudreau showed no interest in trying to win the gimmick.

Ok folks, not much to say other than the season is now thankfully over.  We'll be back shortly to start the playoff insults.

Caps vs. Thrashers 3-9-2010 Post-Mortem

What perfect night... Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• The unappreciated (at least on this night) Jose "Alvin, Simon," Theodore with 29 saves tonight to pick up his 30th win on the season.  One of the two goals he gave up tonight was totally out of his hands.  He might have had a save on the other but we aren't complaining.  He more than held up his end of the bargain tonight and was denied one of the stars of the game.
• Captain A.O. with his 49th, and 50th goals of the season.  7th Game Winning Goal this season.  And don't forget the 59th assist on the season giving him 109 points in total.  He's one point clear of Henrik Sedin, who has one game left to play tomorrow at home against Calgary, for the Art Ross and one goal ahead of Canadian Diving Team Captain, Lowblow Secondary Assist Cindy Crosby for the Rocket Richard.
• Nicklas Backstrom with two goals and an assist, on Captain A.O.'s 50th goal, for 101 points on the season.  The first time he's topped 100 points.  Break out the wallet because this going to cost us.
• Alexander "Slappy" Semin didn't get his 40th goal tonight but it wasn't for a lack of trying.  Slappy fired 14 shots tonight, 3 of which were blocked and 11 that made it on goal.  One difference we noted that once the force-feeding of Captain A.O. ended (we counted 3 times), the force-feeding of Slappy began but Slappy was picking his spots and not shooting the puck just to shoot.  He did however end up with three assists getting him to 83 points on the season so it wasn't a totally futile night for Slappy.
• Jeff "Sergeant" Schultz followed up his +5 against the Penguin Scum on Tuesday night with a +4 tonight, tied with Backstrom and Slappy for the team lead, and once again was not on the ice for any goal against.  He actually extended his league lead in +/- over Captain A.O. too boot; +48 to +46.
• The Penalty Killing was 2 for 2 tonight.  Baby steps with this unit.

THE BAD:

• The Power Play went 0 for 4 and botched a 44 second 5-on-3 trying to force-feed guys for their milestone goals.

THE UGLY:

• Captain A.O. was picked off clean at the blueline on the Power Play trying to do too much and gave a shorthanded breakaway to Clarke MacArthur who converted.

Well until Captain A.O. started scoring in the second period, tying the game at two, it was every bit the snooze fest we thought tonight would be.  When Captain A.O. scored again in the third period, everybody in the arena came to life, except for the Thrashers who didn't start showing signs of life until the game was out of hand and they showed some anger over having the score run up on them.  Though we do tip our caps tonight to Ondrej Pavelec who kept Atlanta in the game for as long as he could.  He was under siege tonight as the Caps 3rd and 4th lines regularly went to the net as they will need to next week.  Without a strong effort from Pavelec, this game could have been worse.

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

Caps @ Penguin Scum 4-6-2010 Post-Mortem

Still won the third period, even though we didn't need too... Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• For the first time in Franchise history, the Washington Capitals break out the brooms on the Penguin Scum in regular season series.  Yeah, yeah we know it doesn't mean anything that playoffs and Cups and Terrible Towels are the only things that count.  But you have to take a nod to history here.
• In the battle of #1 Centers, Nicklas Backstrom with a "quiet" 3 assists tonight.  All of them primary.  And he won 62% of his faceoffs.  You can't say the same for his counterpart.
• And let the kvetching begin, Captain A.O. with two goals tonight to reclaim the pole position in the Richard and Ross Races.  The second goal was an empty netter with .2 seconds left in the game that he and the Caps were working hard to get.  Remember, the first tie breaker for both trophies is fewest games played and Captain A.O. has that one well in the bag on all his competitors.
• Too bad we can't pick up AM signals in our Command Center here because we would love to hear the Jeff "Sergeant" Schultz bashers equivocate his +5 tonight on the Post-Game Show.  That's right, +5.  Sarge was not on the ice for a single goal against tonight and the only Caps goal scored with him on the bench, a Power Play marker which wouldn't have yielded him a + anyway.  Sarge is now leading the league in +/- with a +44, one better than Captain A.O. who was only a +1.  Serious question here, why isn't Sarge getting consideration for the Norris trophy?

THE BAD:

• Tom Poti however was on the ice for two of the three goals against tonight.  So what else is new?  He however escaped with a +2 because he was Sarge's partner again tonight.
• Eric Fehr with two penalties tonight and wasn't able to convert a couple of prime chances that he got.

THE UGLY:

• Shaone Morrrissonnn had a difficult night tonight to say the least.  He was a team worst -2, the only Caps to post a minus rating tonight, but it was very well earned.  He lost his stick and instead of letting an unscreened and square to the shooter Semyon "The Saviour" Varlamov make a routine save on Jordan Leopold in the second period; he tries to block the shot and ends up deflecting it into his own net  That alone is good enough to earn tonight's John "Coach's Pet" Erskine Bowles Bonehead Play of the Game Award.  Not to be outdone though, Morrrissonnn also played a large role in the third period Leopold goal by trying to lie on the ice to block the shot, at a perfect distance to hide the puck coming off of Leopold's stick from The Saviour allowing Leopold to blow it by The Saviour who had a solid game.
• Four Power Plays for the Penguin Scum to just one stinkin Power Play for the Caps.  And because it took Captain A.O. all of four seconds to score, the Power Play time was a gaudy 6:42 seconds in favor of the Penguin Scum.  Don't ya love it when the refs don't even try to hide it?  The second Leopold goal was started when Backstrom got tripped at the Caps bench with no call and Tomas Fleischmann took a stick to the face later in the third period after the Caps had scored on their lone Power Play which wasn't called either.
• Oh, and we were serious last night about never wanting to see the Erskine Bowles - Tyler Sloan pairing on the blueline again unless it is in a Caps Alumni Game.

Here's the part about tonight that cracks us up, the scratches for the Caps were, Mike "BEAM ME UP" Green, John Carlson, Scott Walker Texas Ranger, Eric Belanger, Boyd Gordon, Brendan Morrrissonn, and Milan Juricna.  That means, yes the Erskine Bowles - Sloan pairing was out on the ice, as was The Human Bruise Quintin Laing and Jay Beagle Yet not only could the Penguin Scum, missing just Evgeni Malkin-Lindros (who has been missing all year to be honest) and Chris Kunitz, not only couldn't win the game tonight; they couldn't even get the lead or tie the game back up after the Caps took the lead exactly 13 minutes into the game.  Forget getting swept by the Caps and having just 3 wins in 17 games against the teams ahead of them in the overall league standings; that alone has to weigh heavily on the Penguin Scum's minds.  The Caps are just playing out the string waiting for the playoffs to start but the Penguin Scum still actually have something worth fighting for.  Maybe the Penguin Scum are tanking again, trying to set up another second round date with the Caps and don't want to win their division.   But if they aren't careful, the Penguin Scum won't make it out of the first round if they keep this up.  Another two points, another record set for wins in a season, road wins in a season, and points in the standings.  Things just keep humming along and we're not even trying that hard.

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

Caps vs. Bruins 4-5-2010 Post-Mortem

Why wasn't there a review at the end there???  Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• Nicklas Backstrom was flat out robbed in the three stars selection tonight, one goal, two assists, for three points on the night but it wasn't good enough to be selected at all.
• Jose "Alvin, Simon," Theodore with another solid performance in making 28 saves.
• Captain A.O. with two assists tonight giving him 104 points on the season and 524 in his career.  With 3 games left in the season, he's just 23 points behind Mike Ridley for 6th on the Caps All-Time Points list.  However we happen to think that it was his hit on Zdeno Chara in Vancouver is what setup Backstrom's goal.  Chara came all the way across the ice to lay a hit on Captain A.O. in retaliation which is what got Backstrom open for Captain A.O.'s pass.
• The Power Play was 1 for 2 tonight and picked up the Game Winning Goal in overtime.
• Oh, and we feel we should mention again, two of the three goals were scored from in front of the net.  Nice to see the Caps getting into playoff mode.

THE BAD:

• The fourth line was left on the ice late in the first period and they gave up a goal with under two seconds left off a faceoff.  Yeah, we know we have another game tomorrow night but we can't let those mismatches take place on home ice.
• Look, we understand and readily admit that Bruce Boudreau is better hockey coach than we will ever be.  Furthermore, we know that the Caps expect to be playing for another two months or so but how can you get the team into playoff mode if Mike "BEAM ME UP" Green is given the night off simply to rest?  Will Alexander "Slappy" Semin and Backstrom be given a rest tomorrow night?

THE UGLY:

• The sitting of Green created a pairing of John "Coach's Pet" Erskine Bowles and Tyler Sloan.  We sincerely hope that the next time we see that pairing is in a Caps Alumni Game because they were just about as frightening as you would expect that pairing to be.

So by giving Boston the Bettman point tonight, the Caps have now given themselves Philadelphia as the likely first round opponent.  Now that could of course change by Sunday night but right now if we had a choice, we'd just rather play the Bruins. Because for a team fighting for their playoff lives, we didn't see much urgency from the Bruins.

It has been...  A TWO POINT NIGHT!!!

Caps vs. Senators 3-30-2010 Post-Mortem

Now we're starting to worry...  Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• Alexander "Slappy" Semin with two goals tonight skating on the top line.
• "Mighty Mouse" Mathieu Perreault with a go-ahead goal early in the third period.  The penalty he was called for later that the Senators tied the game on just reeked of being a makeup call.

THE BAD:

• The special teams were certainly "special" once again.  The Power Play was 1 for 5, scoring on their first shot on their first Power Play and then taking the rest of the night off.  After Slappy scored the first goal, the Power Play unit didn't register a shot on goal over the next two man advantages.
• Captain A.O. led a 2-on-1 late in the third period and instead of ripping the shot on goal against a shaky Brian Elliot, he passed it to Mike Knuble who had to do well just to get the puck towards the goal but ended up missing the net.  Captain A.O. seems to be overthinking out on the ice right now and needs to let the game come to him.
• And despite Slappy scoring two goals, putting him up on the first line was a big fat mistake.  Knuble needs to stay with Captain A.O. and Nicklas Backstrom in the playoffs because with Slappy on the first line, there isn't anybody going to the net and Slappy and Captain A.O. get in each other's way more often than not.

THE UGLY:

• As bad as the Power Play was, the Penalty Killers were even worse posting an ugly 1 for 4 tonight.  That folks is why the Caps were a collective +5 on a night where they lost and people think we have a defending and goaltending problem.
• And speaking of players overthinking, we could actually see Tom Poti thinking tonight.  He had two ugly turnovers because he held onto the puck for way too long.  He was a +1 and the only goal against he was on the ice for was the game winner, but we are not happy at all with his play tonight.  He seemed to improve once reunited with Joe Scorvo.
• Falling behind 1-0 on the first shot of the game and trailing after 1 period 3-1.  The sooner this starting slow ends the better.

Ok folks, we are starting to get a little concerned but we still happen to think that Bruce Boudreau holding Brooks "and Dunn" Laich out for the fourth consecutive game sends a mixed message to his team when he's trying to get them fired up for the playoffs.  The players know if these past four games meant anything,  Laich would have been playing in at least three of them and can tell that despite the words of the Head Coach, there's no real urgency right now.  Maybe Bruce is trying to wear down the player's cockiness and get their attention through some losses down the stretch here so that they'll play better come playoff time.  Or maybe there is something else going on here, we don't know, we're not in charge.  However, either way, we're glad that the Caps are getting this out of their system right now rather than trying to play through this in the first round again.  We're also glad that the Easter season will be over before the playoffs begin too.

Caps vs. Flames 3-28-2010 Post-Mortem

So much for putting those questions about our defense and goaltending to rest... Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• Captain A.O. with a goal and assist tonight getting himself back on track and registering 100 points in a season for the fourth time in his five year career.
• "Mighty Mouse" Mathieu Perreault taking advantage of his recall by scoring a goal today.
• Yeah this one is kind of lame but after laying an egg in the first period, the Caps fought back to "win" the second and third periods 3-1, out shooting Calgary 30-10.  Imagine what the Caps could have done had they played the first period?

THE BAD:

• Jeff "Sergeant" Schultz, the favored defensive whipping boy, was only one the ice for one goal against and ended up even on the day because he was on the ice for a goal that the Caps scored..  Tom Poti, who inexplicably escapes criticism, was on the ice for 3 goals against today and ended up a -2 because one of the goals allowed was on the Power Play.  Maybe, just maybe, Ranger and Islander fans have a point about Poti.
• The Penalty Killers were 1 for 2 today.  It is us or has the Penalty Killing on the road, a problem all season long, gotten better while the Penalty Killing at home is starting to really struggle?
• Down 1-0 early and given a chance to get back into the game on the Power Play, the top rated unit couldn't generate a single shot on goal.

THE UGLY:

• No way to excuse Jose "Alvin, Simon," Theodore today who avoided a loss despite giving up three goals on just nine shots.  He didn't have a chance on the last goal he allowed but just simply whiffed on the first two he allowed.  None of the six saves that he made could be considered big saves.
• Mike "BEAM ME UP" Green had a adventurous day today.  He took a highly suspect (in other words, Barbara Streisand) closing the hand on the puck penalty which led to a goal against.  He then pulled up and avoided blasting Eric Nystrom with a clean shoulder to the chest in the neutral zone.  Nystrom responded by blinding-side Green with a hit to the head.  However, don't count on Nystrom becoming the first victim of the NHL's new headshot suggestion.

We have to admit folks, we don't know which way to go on today's game.  Yeah, the Caps did exactly what they shouldn't have done which was give life to a team that had none.  Once the Flames got up 2-0 they clearly felt that they could compete with the Caps and in many cases, not only did but won more than their fair share of battles.  However we have to ask ourselves, if this was a playoff game or a MUST WIN GAME for the Caps, would Brooks "and Dunn" Laich, Brendan Morrrissonn, and Shaone Morrrissonnn have sat out today?  We seriously, seriously doubt it.  For the Caps to lose the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference they would have to lose every single game left on their schedule in regulation and the New Jersey Devils would have to win every single game left on their schedule.  That just isn't happening and with a seven point lead on San Jose and ten point lead on Chicago, the Caps would have to go into collapse mode in order to lose out on the President's Trophy.  Simply put, there isn't much for the Caps to play for right now aside from the fact that over an 82 game schedule, there are going to be games where just about everything breaks against you.  You come out flat, bad calls are made against you, the puck just doesn't bounce your way among other calamities.  Finally, think back to March 19th, 2008.  The Caps got shellacked in Chicago by the Blackhawks 5-0.  For about the umpteenth time that mnth the Caps playoff's chances were written off.  That however was the last regular season loss the Caps would suffer that year as the Caps went onto win the final seven games and make the playoffs many thought they wouldn't.  Are the Caps about to go on a seven game winning streak here?  We doubt it mostly because the Caps don't have to, but we're not too worried going forward here and we're looking forward to Tuesday's game in Ottawa to see how we respond to day's stinker.

Caps vs. Penguin Scum 3-24-2010 Post-Mortem

Here we go again...  Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• Alexander "Slappy" Semin with a shorthanded goal on an individual effort as pretty as you're ever going to see.  It was his second shorty on the season and just the fourth for the Caps this season.  The fact that it tied up the game at 2 in the third period was just icing on the cake.
• Mike Knuble doing what he does best, getting to the net and picking up garbage knoals.  It kind of makes us wonder why he bothers shooting from distance.  And let us stipulate that Bruce Boudreau looks like a genius for sending him out there in the gimmick.  Had Knuble missed and the Caps lost, Boudreau would have been hounded for sending out a guy who had never scored a goal in the gimmick.
• Jose "Alvin, Simon," Theodore had an outstanding game again tonight.  Not a whole lot he could do on the three goals he gave up and while you might want him to make a big save on the third goal late in the third period, he had just made some big saves in the sequence right before that one.
• Mike "BEAM ME UP" Green and Jeff "Sergeant" Schultz were +3 and +1 respectively.  For Schultz, it was his first plus game in 8 games.  

THE BAD:

• So the Caps are now 7-1 when allowing more than 40 shots on goal.  That's nothing to be proud of as the Caps were outshot tonight 42-32.
• Matt "Omar" Bradley and David "Bolt Cutter" Steckel were both a -2 tonight.  The Bolt Cutter can at least lean on his faceoff ability (though he was 6-7 tonight) to stay in the lineup, Omar can't.

THE UGLY:

• The game was decided by a gimmick.
• We realized early on that Paul Devorski and Ian Walsh were calling tonight's game as if it were a playoff game and they certainly did.  5 Power Plays for the Penguin Scum versus only 1 for the Caps.  We guess we should feel lucky that they didn't call it like a Game 7.

On the scale of 1 to 10, Caps-Penguin Scum games recently have had an intensity of about a 12.  Tonight it was more like a 6, maybe a 7.  For long stretches tonight, it really did seem like just another regular season game.  We're curious to see what the Penguin Scum media have to say about tonight's game (we've already heard Dan Bylsma's spin cycle and aren't impressed) because if this really was another top drawer effort from the Penguin Scum, they'll be easily dispatched in the Playoffs before they ever reach the Caps.  Once again the Penguin Scum blow a lead to the Caps.  Once again the Penguin Scum get blitzed by the Caps in the third period.  Yeah, yeah the playoff are a different animal but things like this have a way of catching up to you in the playoffs.  But for yet another night, the Caps picked up a win on pretty much talent alone.  That's not to say that the Caps played poorly or didn't have any intensity, they just didn't play tonight's game like their lives depended upon it as they usually do against the Penguin Scum.  We have no doubt that the Caps will ramp up the intensity come playoff time and should the Penguin Scum last enough to face the Caps again, the intensity will be cranked up to about 15.

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

Caps @ Ning 3-20-2010 Post-Mortem

And they say we can't win the close ones...  Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• Welcome back Captain A.O. with his 45th goal of the season putting him in the driver's seat for the Richard Trophy.  Because of the injuries and suspensions, Captain A.O. does not need to win either the Art Ross or the Rocket Richard trophies outright, he simply needs to be in a tie for first place in order to claim them.  The first tiebreaker for both awards is the fewest games played.
• Alexander "Slappy" Semin going to the net and scoring the insurance goal tonight.  After scoring he seemed energized and could have had a couple more to really open the game up.
• The Penalty Killers have taken a lot of heat this year, especially on the road, but were 5 for 5 tonight.  They allowed 12 shots on goal during those 5 kills but nothing in the back of the net.
• They say that your goaltender has to be your best penalty killer, we don't know if Jose "Alvin, Simon," Theodore really was but he was solid once again tonight.  He made 33 saves tonight, didn't give up much in the way of rebounds, and the one that got past him tonight was not his fault.  The competition should be over now.

THE BAD:

• The nominal third line that was working was broken up tonight by Bruce Boudreau.  Brendan Morrrissonn energized the second line tonight but the players he left behind, Eric B. Fehr and Jason Chimera looked a little lost out there tonight with different line-mates.
• Eric Belanger had little jump in his skates and just "didn't compete" on a number of occasions in the offensive zone.  He had the chances to be a big factor tonight but just didn't get it done.  Maybe he should sit next?
• We make no secret that we think that the Jeff "Sergeant" Schultz critics go way too far in their criticisms on him.  However, tonight he struggled a bit and made a glaring error that resulted in a goal against.  This is the second game in a row where he's made that kind of high profile mistake.  Everybody had tough stretches and slumps throughout an 82 game season but Sarge is picking a bad time to go into a funk.

THE UGLY:

• Scott Walker "Texas Ranger" obliged Zenon Konopka in Konopka's favorite pastime tonight and Walker ended up ending his own evening rather early.  Luckily we have some better depth than we did before the deadline but the general rule of thumb is to make other people react to you and not you react to them.
• Wes McCauley and Dennis LaRue called a very loose game tonight.  That led to a lot of the chippiness that you saw and they should have held a firmer grasp on the game tonight.

The knock on the Caps is that they can't play tight, grind them out, close games.  Well, the Caps did it again tonight.  Yeah both teams kept trying for the long passes which were getting gobbled up but that is a sign of a team playing good defense, they don't let those passes through.  We also like the improving Penalty Killing on the road.  This week, the Caps were 14 of 16 on the Penalty Kill with both goals against coming in 5-on-3 situations.  The Caps are now up to 27th on the road with a 74.2% effectiveness rate.  Now if the Caps can stop taking boarding penalties and find somebody other than Tom Poti to put out there for the 5 on 3 kills, the Caps should be in good shape.

It has been... A TWO POINT NIGHT!!! 

Post-Mortem Postponed

Hey folks,we've been fighting a cold all week here and we're pretty hyped up on narcotics (the Q is talking to me, the Q is talking to me...) and we think we just saw some weird stuff like the Caps blowing a late lead and losing in overtime.

Anyway, we'll be back in the morning.  We think...

Caps @ Panthers 3-16-2010 Post-Mortem

Caps "Magic Numbers" (Caps Points Earned+Lost by team named) to clinch:
Playoff Spot: Clinched 3/11
Southeast Division Championship: Clinched 3/11
Eastern Conference #1 Seed: 10 Pittsburgh and New Jersey (8 of 14 eliminated)
President's Trophy: 19 San Jose and Chicago (Calgary eliminated 12th of 29 eliminated)

The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post: no problem, slow it down.  Caps.com.

The Neutral Observers:

NHL.com AP Wire.

The Other Side:

Miami Herald: big mistakes, missing something.


Final Thoughts:

70 down, 12 to go.

Caps @ Panthers 3-16-2010 Post-Mortem

Imagine if we had Captain A.O....  Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• 13 of 18 skaters registered a point tonight.  Brendan Morrrissonn and Brooks "and Dunn" Laich lead the way with 3 points each.  And we should note that neither of those guys were under serious consideration to play in the Vancouver Olympics.
• The nominal third line was anything but a checking trio tonight as Morrrissonn, Eric B. Fehr, and Jason Chimera were the best line for the Caps tonight.  Bruce Boudreau better not break them up or scratch Eric B. Fehr again.
• 7 goals scored, a goaltender chased and only one of the seven goals came from as far away as the hash marks tonight.  Once again, these are the types of goals the Caps are going to have to score to succeed in the playoffs.  Laich took an absolute pounding to get the PAT tonight.
• And with the rout, only Mike "BEAM ME UP" Green and Joe Scorvo played over 20 minutes tonight.  Good job by Boudreau to roll the lines and play everybody.  There's only two more games left on the road trip and in the every other night run so any additional rest is a bonus.
• The Power Play was officially 2 for 4.  One of the missed Power Plays was a 3 second Power Play.  The Penalty Killers were 3 for 3 with a 3 second Penalty Kill.  But with our road Penalty Killing numbers, we'll take it.

THE BAD:

• While Florida doesn't have the firepower to run and gun with the Caps, the Caps were still too loose and left Jose "Alvin, Simon," Theodore out to dry.  He gave up three goals tonight but none were really his fault because the Caps really weren't clearing the crease and tightening things up as much as they should have.  The 37 shots on goal against is testament to this fact.
• Tyler Sloan is just a younger, somewhat cheaper version of John "Coach's Pet" Erskine Bowles and he certainly played like it tonight, getting blown by on a number of occasions.

THE UGLY:

• Greg Campbell  (looks too much like his father...)

Photo from NHL.com
• With his kneeing penalty in the second period, we're setting the over/under on Green's suspension at 5 games. He is after all, a repeat offender...
  

Ok folks, we soundly beat a team we should soundly beat even without our best player available to us. Hades, this is the fourth time this year we've done it.  What concerns us about games like this is that bad habits start to creep in as we saw during the 14 game winning streak earlier this year.  The Caps kept going for the stretch passes up the ice even when they were covered and as previously mentioned, abandoned Theodore way too much and didn't protect the crease with a large lead.  But we are pleased with the overall effort.  If the Panthers aren't going to the play with the desperation they need to make the playoffs, the Caps had to bury them and that's exactly what they did tonight.  This should be a confidence boost for some of the players who were struggling a little bit recently as well.  The Caps are going to need all hands on deck to win it all this year and it is nice to see the Caps not struggling the way they did at this point last year too.

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

Caps @ Blackhawks 3-14-2010 Post-Mortem

We told you there wouldn't be a shutout today...  Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• Facing a team that tends to out-shoot its opponents 34-25 per game, the Caps actually out-shot the Blackhawks 30-23 despite some moments of bad over-passing in the third period.
• The Power Play was officially 1 for 5 and officially blew a 2 minute 5-on-3 but the Caps scored three seconds after the 5 on 3 ended and the Caps second goal was a direct result of the pressure applied by that Power Play.  And to give credit where credit is due, Chicago goaltender Antti Niemi did an outstanding job to keep the Caps at bay as long as he did.
• Nicklas Backstrom with two goals and one assist though you might be able to credit him with an assist on his game winning goal as he recovered his bad turnover to start the rush going the other way.
• And a shout out to Jose "Alvin, Simon," Theodore who couldn't be faulted on any of the three goals he allowed (on two of them a forward blew his coverage) and made some big saves with the game tied that allowed the Caps the chance to win this game in overtime.

THE BAD:

• We knew we're beating an empty glue bottle here but Bruce Boudreau's love of Tomas Fleischmann continues to confound us.  Fleischmann was promoted to the first line and it was his blown coverage that led to the 3rd Chicago goal.  Otherwise, he was as invisible as usual.
• And as infuriating as it was to see Fleischmann on the first line, Alexander "Slappy" Semin had one of his "enigmatic" games today.  Two totally and completely unnecessary penalties in the offensive zone in the first period and then floating around and not really trying for much of the rest of the game though he did draw the double minor that got the Caps going in the third period.  However he didn't earn time on the first line today with the way he was playing. Though we did find NBC's line combinations and defensive pairings funny as they listed Slappy as a second line winger and third pairing defenseman.
• The Caps got pwned in the faceoff circle today.  Eric Belanger was the only Caps above 50% going 10-7.  The rest of the Caps were a combined 9-23 for the entire game and not a single Blackhawk had a losing record on draws today.

THE UGLY:

• Look folks, there's no denying it, Captain A.O.'s hit on Brian Campbell was worthy of a five minute major for boarding and a game misconduct penalty.  No the hit was not vicious, it wasn't cheap or dirty, but it was totally and completely unnecessary.  To make matters worse, it was at a place on the ice where a serious injury could take place.  But what we already know is going to get us and everybody us riled up is the lengthy suspension Collin Campbell is going to hand down to the "Repeat Offender" at some point tomorrow.  The fact that "Repeat Offenders" Matt Cooke and Dan Caricllo got away with what they did last week will be immaterial and we're interested to see how Campbell attempts to justify it.
• And for good measure, last night the Oracle of the Ultimate Fighting on Ice Fans, Don Cherry, said it was outrageous that Matt Cooke wasn't suspended and called for a ban on shots to the head from the side and back but NBC's Mike Milbury refuses to back down and even gave a slight nudge to Cherry for selling out.  Both men have a point that the players need a clearly defined standard of what is and is not permissible ASAP.  But Milbury is just wrong to continue to beat the drum of a "sissfied" NHL where no hitting is allowed.  Nobody is talking about ending the hits like the one Captain A.O. landed on Jaromir Jagr in Vancouver, but at the same time, nobody wants to see players carted off the ice stretchers and their careers placed in jeopardy.  And we'd really like it if this stupid red herring of "softer" equipment were ignored.

Well folks, we have to admit, we didn't have much hope of winning today's game heading into the third period.  We thought that the Caps played well for the most part in the first period despite spending most of the period trying to kill off penalties.   The Caps understandably had a hard time getting back into their groove in the second period and weren't trying to get to the front of the net to score some goals.  The Caps finally got in front of the Chicago net in the third period and look at what happened.  3 goals scored on 11 shots in the period and Chicago only took one.  The Blackhawks have suffered some horrible collapses lately and that the Caps were willing and able to give them another one today shows the character that this team needs to become very tough to beat come playoff time.  But in the interim, the Caps have to keep their edge as they play out the last 13 games of the regular season.  The Cup was not won today and should the Caps and Blackhawks meet in the Stanley Cup Finals, we doubt that this game will play much of a role in the series.

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

Caps vs. Ning 3-12-2010 Post-Mortem

Send in the clowns...  Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• Captain A.O. with two more assists tonight to run his season total to 52 and points total to 96.  And he didn't miss his 45th goal and 97th point on the season by very much late in the third period either.
• The Power Play was 2 for 4 tonight and the Penalty Killers were 1 for 1 and didn't allow a shot on goal.  That's right, the Caps took only one penalty tonight.  It surprised us too just a few minutes ago when we realized that.
• The circus is in the Phone Booth next weekend which means this crummy ice sheet that has had pucks bouncing and players toe picking all over the place these past week will be taken out and a new sheet will be installed before the Penguin Scum infect the Phone Booth on the 24th.

THE BAD:

• Semyon "The Saviour" Varlamov  is slowly getting back into form.  He couldn't be blamed for the last two goals he allowed but still should have stopped the first goal.  He was fighting the puck for most of the night but did show some flashes of his form from last Spring.  The big question we have though is it coming back to him quick enough?  There's only 14 games left.
• Reunited and it didn't look too good.  Mike "BEAM ME UP" Green and Shaone Morrrissonnn were both a -2 tonight.
• And while we're glad to see the Power Play click and the team stay out of the Penalty Box, it also means that the Caps were outscored tonight at even strength 3-0.

THE UGLY:

• Down two goals heading into the third period, Bruce Boudreau  shuffled the lines and reunited the SOB trio.  Boudreau however continued to try to roll all four lines during the third period (Scott Walker Texas Ranger with Brooks "and Dunn" Laich and Mike Knuble???) and didn't deploy the SOB line as often as he usually would in that situation.  So was Boudreau trying to win the game, conduct more line experiments, continue to parcel out the ice time, or some combination of the three?  Whatever it was, it didn't really work.
• And speaking of parceling out ice time, we really, really, hope we've seen the last ice time that Tyler Sloan and John "Coach's Pet" Erskine Bowles will get this season.  There is no point in having John Carlson on the roster if he isn't going to play and we seriously question the healthy scratching of a player with the second best +/- in the NHL.

Well folks, while we would like to see the Caps make an effort to win everything, their Division, Conference #1 Seed, President's Trophy, the Eastern Conference, and the Stanley Cup; we know that the Caps aren't too interested in winning the President's Trophy.  It is hard for us to get too worked up about a game like this because while the Caps lost, they actually played some of their best hockey this week tonight and that was before they fell behind 3-1.  It sometimes happens like this and while we're sure that some people are starting to remember last year's swoon before the playoffs, we'd like to say that we think the Caps are actually playing harder and better hockey now than they were at this point last season with the playoff spot and division title wrapped up.  The Caps didn't really match the urgency of the Ning partly because of the lineup but also because the Caps really don't need to.  And even then, the Ning started packing things in having at least four players around their goalie in the third period and whenever the Caps had the puck in the corner, the Ning had all five players below the faceoff circles to keep the Caps at bay.  The Caps could have punched through and gotten the game tied up and maybe even won it in regulation but Boudreau is clearly working on something right now.  Exactly what it is, we don't know but the time for experimentation is almost over.