Stop Wearing Football Jerseys: Caps Beat Thrash 5-4

I'm growing a little tired of listing scores like 5-4, 6-5, 6-4, 4-3. This Caps team is so damn good, and so infuriating at the same time. I should have known better than to pack it in after Chris Clark's tally put DC up 5-2 in the second period. Between our erratic goaltender and our undisciplined play, there was no way that score would hold up. Shocker...it didn't. Here are my thoughts of the night:

• Ilya Kovalchuk is good. Really good. So when you feed him the puck (stares at Keith Aucoin) in the high slot, he's probably going to bury it. I bet he felt two feet tall after that giveaway...oh wait...


• He looked two feet tall standing up against Antropov after the big red diving machine gave him a little bit of a cheap shoulder in the third. I didn't mean to offend Aucoin with that little height joke, and I like his guts in standing up for himself. Nice pass on the Giroux goal too.


• Brendan Morrison continues to impress me with the little things he does. He had some nice backchecks last night, and really seems to be playing with some consistency, even when he doesn't show up on the scoresheet.


• Speaking of the scoresheet, where has Nicklas Backstrom been? The top line looked lame last night, so thank God for secondary scoring.


• The power play was garbage, and so was the ice. I agree with Boudreau, but I don't know that we have room to talk on the ice condition issue.

I think the penalties are maddening, and although you can yell at the refs for that slashing call on Knuble, it didn't surprise me. The Caps are not only shooting themselves in their proverbial foot at the end of games, but they're now maintaining a reputation for stupid, sloppy play in the third. I think that had a lot to do with the quick whistles down the stretch last night. I don't think a disciplined team doesn't get called for slashing or cross-checking in the same situations. That is the most concerning thing about this loss. Boudreau's run the boys down in practice Herb Brooks-style, and that obviously hasn't done the job. What can he do to alleviate the problem? I say fines. I don't know if that's possible, but fining a guy for a third-period penalty makes me think they would get the message quickly. But that's why I'm behind a computer and Boudreau gets to make ASC commercials, I guess. Get it fixed Gabby.

Kudos Go To:

Eric Fehr. Fehrsie has looked like a man trying to save his job, and it finally paid off last night. Sick hands on that goal. He's also been flying around the net a lot more lately, which I'm sure has a lot to do with #22. Secondary props to Double Nickel on the 3-spot (even if the goal wasn't his), and Clarkie for getting on the score sheet. Does Matt Bradley really have 3 goals already?

AO at the Beginning, AO at the End: Caps Win 3-2 (SO)

The Caps called on their superstar to deliver on Saturday night, and in keeping his torrid scoring pace, he managed to just that. Ovie scored his trademark goal on "The Play" (a la backdoor pass to make the goalie stretch) on the power play, and then found himself all alone on Dan Ellis a short while later. Those two weren't enough, because the defense and Varly couldn't hold out. After a soft goal by J.P. Dumont late in the second period, the two teams played to a shootout, where Ovechkin dazzled fans with a nasty deke that put Ellis on his belly before Ovi flipped the puck in the net. A few observations from the box score:

• -1 for Backstrom with 33% in the dot? Not such a good night. I think Nicky misses his line buddy no. 8.
• Tom Poti skated 23+ minutes at a +1? Nice. Better than he's shown early on in the young season.
• Only four minors taken throughout the night...we've been much worse lately. Overall the Caps are moving in the right direction with regards to the penalty box.

Kudos Go To:

Alex Ovechkin of course. He now leads the league in goals (9), points (16), and is second in +/- (9). Not a bad start, considering he's also averaging 2.00 points per game. That extra training over the summer seems to be paying off. He's several weeks ahead of last years pace, and that's bad for the rest of the Eastern Conference, especially that he's doing it 5-on-5.

Next Up: @ Atlanta

Nabby Dances, Caps Win: 4-1

What on God's green Earth was he attempting to do on that save? We'll probably never know, but man was it pretty. After Nabby thwarted an early shot by Ovechkin with his glove hand, he and Ovi seemed to exchange some playful words and a laugh. Then Ovi had fun the rest of the night. #20 for San Jose? Not so much. Here are a few of my observations from last night:

• I was really skeptical about the Ovechkin-Morrison-Knuble line, but man did they have a solid night. Knuble made the heady plays, Morrison moved the puck up ice quickly, and Ovi capitalized...it's all good.
• Brian Pothier hasn't looked as sharp these last few games.
• No bad penalties, and I thought Quintin Laing looked really solid last night.
• Alex Semin had a few really pretty takeaways, and I agree with Alan May that Sasha had an overall solid game last night. I also thought that Shaone Morrisonn continued to play physically strong and effective in his own zone.
• Varly's glove looked pretty solid last night, eh? It's a shame that seeing it had to be at the expense of Theo's back, considering that JT60 had played really well so far this season. Get better soon Theo.

Kudos Go To:

Brendan Morrison. The guy has just seemed like he's out to prove himself all over again, and he really seems like a quiet leader that the Caps need. Someone that plays with a lot of heart on the top two lines is a big plus right about now, and B-Mo fits in well with the team's attitude and chemistry. Let's hope this is only the beginning. That signing is looking like a pretty good bargain at this point...

Game Two: Caps 6, Leafs 4

Apparently somebody saw the Versus ad about defense, who needs defense. Vesa Toskala watched it. The Caps young guns are getting it done early and often so far. I know it's the second game of the season, but this looks nice. Unfortunately I was watching my drumline rock to a second place showing last night, so I couldn't watch the game, but my blackberry was humming. Let's add some more defense next time.

Game One: Caps 4, Bruins 1

Overall, you have to be happy with opening night if you're a Caps fan. There was relatively solid defense (after the first ten minutes), calm goaltending, and an efficient power play. Here are the my thoughts about the win:

• Brooks Laich is developing into the kind of reliable threat that the Caps need from their secondary scorers. Thank you Peter Bondra.
• I still hate the 8-19-28 line. Does Boudreau want Ovechkin to be the biggest body on the top line? I don't think that's what anyone needs to see. Bring up Mike Knuble and make us all feel better.
• Potsy is the Potsy of old. Shortly after returning to the ice last winter, he told me he'd be back, and he said it with a fire in his eyes. Now he's brought that out onto the ice with him. I don't forsee #2 seeing a lot of the press box this season if he plays like that.
• Ovechkin is just strong. It's not easy to just out-muscle Milan Lucic in front of the net, let alone go top shelf with that puck. Wow.
• You can't tell me Tim Thomas lost respect for Mike Green after his playoff performance. Green should get a big thank you from Ovi for his first goal of the season. Thomas was preoccupied with Green down low and was out of position for the trailing Ovechkin.
  
• Good for Jose Theodore. That performance had to be good to his psyche after such a hard summer.
  

Great start to the season. If the Caps can play with that sort of discipline in their own end this season, we can start talking about a deep playoff run. Here's to another dominant effort on Saturday against an improved Toronto team.

Olie Given Nice Tribute...and a Loss

Image Courtesy of ESPN.com

Last night marked the return of everyone's favorite Cap, Olie the Goalie to Verizon Center. It was also my first game since last year's Boston Massacre in early March. Before I get to the breakdown of the game, I wanted to include a few thoughts on my experience in Verizon last night.

• It was nice going over to the game alone, since I was able to do what I wanted to, and was able to go down and watch warm-ups for the first time in years.
• Although I've seen them live, seeing Mike Green and Alex Ovechkin warm up from ice-level is breathtaking. I am really glad I'm not an NHL goalie that has to deal with those shooters on a nightly basis. Ovie put 5-6 pucks right at my face and I couldn't help but flinch every time. He also seemed to be able to place the puck WHEREVER he wanted to on every shot. I have every expectation that this offense has unlimited potential moving forward with that raw ability on the roster.
• Alex Semin seems to be skating much smoother than I remember him skating in March. He's got a nice swagger about him with the puck.
• I made sure to donate to our many military families by getting a new "courage cap," which are awesome. Classy philanthropy guys.
• "Unleash the Fury" NEVER gets old. I love Tom Green.
• I wish we could bring back the C-A-P-S CAPS CAPS CAPS chant more often. Seems to get lost in the shuffle a bit now.
• What's with the middle sections being completely empty? Verizon was full of energy, but I couldn't help but notice some COMPLETELY empty club-level (correct me if I'm wrong) sections.
• Classy tribute to Olie, it's just a shame it had to come after a 2-0 lead. Not that I wasn't happy about it, but it couldn't feel that good to Kolzig. Props to the crowd for the standing-O.

The game obviously started out pretty well, with Olie giving up two goals on the first two shots, but I have to say that I'm actually pretty disappointed with the effort for the last 2 periods. As Gabby pointed out with the post game media, it seemed as though Ovechkin and Semin were being way to cute with the puck after the first period. There were at least four cases where we made one-too-many passes and could have scored with some more selfish play. I liked the shorthanded efforts as well, but we could have easily put up 6+ goals last night.

Hustlers: Brooks Laich, Brent Johnson, Tom Poti
Boneheads: John Erskine

If the Caps can keep this run going, they can build a lead in the Southeast, but we'll learn a lot tomorrow night @Carolina. Hopefully Erskine won't have any stupid turnovers like last night, because the Canes will capitalize.I f we can put in a full 60 minutes, we should have no trouble coming out on top.

Kudos go to...

Brent Johnson for being the NHL's third star this week. He should continue to start over the underachieving Theodore, and his GAA would be even better without last night's garbage goal.

Caps Rock the Red, Rock the Preds 4-3 (OT)

Image Courtesy of ESPN.com

Hats off to Alex Semin. He currently leads the NHL in points and is tied for the lead in goals. As I wrote the other night, he's making the kind of plays that only a really special player can make, and the more and more I see him play (although this time on replay), the more impressed I become. I do not consider myself to be a hockey expert by any stretch of the imagination. I know the basics that a fan would typically know, but I've never played and I don't know the nuances nearly as well as I do with football. However, I do feel like I know about the makeup of a successful team, and I see a lot of good signs with this 08-09 Caps squad (hats of to Ted Leonsis) AGAIN for the rebuilding efforts). Alex Semin is a major reason for the success of this team currently, and will continue to be so for the next several years. Semin is the quiet leader that goes out, takes care of his business, skates hard, and pulls hard for his teammates (albeit rather quietly). Semin is also the type of player that makes a special kind of play. The kind of play that can lift his team up to new heights, and can demoralize an opposing team. The amazing part of this is because he's able to do it so quietly. Ovechkin plays every game like a kid that loves the game. Semin plays every game like a veteran that's been there before and knows how to get the job done. While we all love Alex Ovechkin and all that his greatness brings to the ice, the Washington Capitals need a player like Alex Semin to compliment him. I'm not speaking in terms of a Batman-Robin relationship. I don't feel like it's fair to say that Semin is a "sidekick" to Ovechkin's star, but rather his alter-ego that provides a steadying, almost calming confidence to this franchise. Ovie is the volatile, excitable, fun-loving star that D.C. Hockey needs, but Alex Semin is the steadying force behind a potential championship-caliber franchise. If the Caps hope to hoist the cup in the next few seasons, look for Semin's contributions to matter every bit as much as Ovechkin's. His exploits may be a little quieter, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't win the hearts, or the respect of all Caps fans.

As for the 4-3 Victory, Kudos go to...

Bruce Boudreau, for continuing to push the right buttons (considering the absences of Ovie and Poti), as well as this freakin' sweet commercial.

Next up: @ Buffalo Sabres, 11/1 7:00pm