A Guest Blog By Alan Zlot

Please somebody pass the butter, the Washington Capitals are officially on a roll. The Capitals won their fifth straight game last night by defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in a skills competition the NHL calls a shootout.

The Caps sailed into the Sunshine state and right into the perfect storm, a storm that saw their ship rise instead of sink. Washington arrived in Florida one point behind the Lightning for first place in the southeast and just six points behind the Flyers for the overall lead in the eastern conference.

With 17 fathers and two brothers along for the ride on the annual “Mentor Trip,” the Caps sail back to DC with all four possible points, in first place and now sit just two points behind the Flyers for the No.1 seed in the east.

The Capitals continue to defy experts in winning games ugly and without the benefit of scoring a ton of goals in the process. Many of those same experts are beginning to concede that the Caps are a different team and one that could do some damage in the playoffs with this new defensive style of play.

The Caps have surrendered just eight goals over their last five games and are getting stellar goaltending play from Michael Neuvirth and last night Braden Holtby. Holtby was magnificent in relief of Neuvirth, who did not start the second period after taking a shot off the mask early in the first period.

There was no update from Bruce Boudreau today about Neuvie’s condition, or Nicklas Backstrom who left the game with a hand injury.

“Right off the bat he comes in and there’s a power play,” Coach Bruce Boudreau said of Holtby. “I think he has three great chances. Gagne had a fabulous chance and when he saved that, you knew he was going to be on. If they had scored on that first or second shot, whatever it was, he could have said: ‘Man it’s my first game back in three weeks.’ But it didn’t and he’s a competitive guy. That’s why we’re happy we’ve got three good young goalies.” (Washingtonpost.com)

The Capitals have been the cardiac caps this week. They are tying and winning games very late in the third period and into overtime.
Last night Alexander Semin tied the game with 5:32 remaining and Ovechkin scored the only goal of the shootout in gaining the extra point and the win. On Sunday, Semin again scored but this time in overtime, beating a Panthers team that outplayed the Caps for much of the game.

Last Thursday against the Blues, Jason Arnott tallied the game winner with just 5:19 remaining in the game. Brooks Laich scored the latest goal of the third period in this recent nail biting heart-thumping run. Laich scored with just .48 seconds left in the game and the Great 8 won it in overtime.

The Caps won that game in overtime when Alexander Ovechkin traveled the length of the ice, deeked a few defenders, and beat a stunned rookie goalie for the win.

Washington has averaged just two goals per game in their last nine but they are getting points from their top players once again. Ovechkin has 18 points in his last 15 games and is currently riding a five game point scoring streak.

The other Alex has been MVP like in the last week. Alexander Semin has six goals in his last ten games, scoring the game tying and game-winning goal in consecutive nights.

Need more proof that Semin is a strong candidate to be Caps MVP this season ( I can’t believe I said that), Washington is 16-0 when he scores a goal. He has seven goals (two hat tricks) and nine points in just four games against the Bolts.

Last night against the Lightning, Semin’s multiple curl and drag shot that beat Bolts goalie Dwayne Roloson, was simply magnificent.

Roloson was well on his way to becoming the third goalie in the Capitals 36 year history to shut them out three times in one season, but Semin stepped up and beat the 41-year-old net minder to tie the contest.

“I was more worried that Roloson was in a zone,” Bruce Boudreau said. “I’ve played against him too many times and when he gets in that zone, no matter what happens, he’s impossible to beat.” In case you were wondering, Tommy Salo and Ken Dryden were the others to accomplish the feat.

The Caps were lucky last night at times but when you play defense as they do, luck is the byproduct of working hard in the corners and along the boards. Washington does those two things consistently, and does them well.

Washington caught a break on a goal that was disallowed because the referee said Caps net minder Braden Holtby was interfered with. If you saw the replay then you know Washington got lucky with the call.

Luck is allowing the first goal on the road and coming back to win. Luck is also beating a team that is 25-2-1 when leading after two periods, which the Lightning was prior to last night’s contest.

Washington also works hard in overcoming those stats. They won their 20th game of the season when allowing that first goal (20-16-4) last night. They also did not allow the Lightning a shot on goal for the final eight minutes of the game. They earned their victory last night and they got lucky too.

There is also some luck attached to the fact that the Lightning and Flyers lost four games in a row at the same time. However, Washington did their part by taking advantage of that lucky break. They won the games that have allowed for these “capital” gains in the standings.

Every year experts say in order to be a successful playoff team you must, play good defense, have good goaltending, get a little lucky, and score timely goals———-Currently looks like a four-for four scenario to me Caps fans.

Washington and their 17 fathers and two brothers come home to play the Edmonton Oilers tomorrow night. Before you start thinking this could be an easy win, remember, defensive teams do not win easy, they win ugly.

Washington is on to something and for once in many years, it appears to be happening at just the right time.

If I told you that the score of last night’s Panthers-Capitals game was 4-1, that the Capitals had to start their 3rd string goalie, Ovechkin and Semin were held without a goal, and Mike Green left the game in the middle of the 2nd period, you’d probably conclude Washington’s win streak was snapped. But, that was not the case last night. Even with all the odds stacked against them, not only did the Capitals win, but they dominated the Florida Panthers to take their their 9th game in a row. Washington has a 6 point lead in the Eastern Conference, and has been playing their best hockey of the season, despite having to get starts in 3 of the last 4 games from rookie net-minder Michal Neuvirth.

Neuvirth, who was called up because the Caps ‘other’ young goaltender Seymon Varlamov is injured, has made the most of his time with the team going 8-4. Neuvirth actually has a better Goals Against Average (GAA) and save percentage, than the Caps top line veteran goalie Jose Theodore (though both are well behind Varlamov in both categories). While Neuvirth’s time with the team may be coming to an end, with both Varlamov and Theodore on the mend, one can not overstate his importance to the Capitals (especially during this streak).

Washington will go for their 10th win on Sunday against the Lightning. While it might seem like there is so much of the season left, and that it doesn’t matter as much that the Caps have a big lead in the Eastern Conference, but this season isn’t a normal one. With the Olympic break coming up in just over 2 weeks, there is extra incentive for the Capitals to jump out to a big lead in the Conference.

There is so much uncertainty when it comes to the Olympics, with the chance that star players could get injured, or that the rest of the team is rusty because they haven’t played meaningful hockey in two weeks. Also there is the very real possibility that the team’s chemistry is off given the players coming back from being on different teams. If the Capitals can maintain this big lead into the break, then I think that will help take some of the pressure off when the season starts up again in March. Right now Washington is the team to beat in the Eastern Conference, and with the way they’ve dominated their opponents during this 9 game stretch, no one from either Conference should want to play them in a 7-game series.

The NHL returned to the ice in a big way last night with a few interesting surprises:

Caps Silence the Bruins: The Washington Capitals spoiled the Boston Bruins home opener in a big way, with a 4-1 victory. Washington dominated from the opening face-off to the final minute of the game. Their defense limited the Bruins to just 20 shots on goal, impressive for a defensive unit usually known more for their offensive exploits than their defensive prowess. Its not as though the Bruins are a bad team either. They return the majority of the team that finished with the best regular season record in the Eastern Conference last season, and the team that is favored to win the Northeast division this season. The Caps last night though were the far superior team, and showed why they have the ability to challenge for the Stanley Cup this year. Despite losing two of their veteran 2nd tier scorers from last year (Fedorov and Kozlov) the Capitals didn’t have any trouble putting the puck in the net. The Capitals frontline dominated, as both Alex Ovechkin and Brooks Laich scored twice. Nicklas Backstrom had three assists in the game as well. If the rest of the East struggles against Washington’s top two lines like the Bruins did, then the Caps will sprint away with the top spot in the East.

Sharks Pick Up Where They Left off: Last time we saw the San Jose Sharks, they were a number1 seed in the Western Conference, getting upset in the 1st round by the 8th seed Anaheim Ducks. Last night the Sharks (who again are widely considered one of the Cup favorites), got crushed 5-2 on the road in Colorado. The Avalanche capitalized on some mistakes and a crowd that honored Joe Sakic before the game. This is not a game that the Sharks should have lost, the Avalanche were the worst team in the West last year, and had perhaps the most anemic offense. Yet they managed to score five goals in just 20 shots against one of the league’s best goalies, Evgeni Nabokov. What’s even worse is four of the five goals the Sharks were even strength. San Jose needs to start playing up to their talent level, and not down to the opposing teams’. Its just one game, and its a long season, but the Sharks don’t look like they are ready to compete with the other top teams in the West.