by Steve Shoup
May 12, 2012 in NHL by Steve Shoup
For Capitals & Rangers fans, Saturday night is a nailbiter as Game 7 means either going home or continuing onto the Eastern Conference Finals.
So this can be your gameday stream of thoughts, before or after the game!
And give your thoughts DURING Game 7 here!
by Steve Shoup
May 1, 2012 in NHL by Steve Shoup
So each game that Dale Hunter and the Caps win, fans have to start buying into his system more and more, despite limiting minutes for star Alex Ovechkin or line changes.
Will they continue to win doing it his way? And as long as their winning, will Ovi stay happy?
by Rob Yunich
July 6, 2011 in Uncategorized by Rob Yunich
By Guest Blogger Rob Yunich:
While the NBA and NFL are deep in (varying stages) of labor negotiations, the NHL is witnessing a free agent frenzy. Since “open season” began last Friday (July 1), teams around the league have spent money like it was going out of style.
Here in Washington, GM George McPhee had one eye on the upcoming season and another on the future. When he signed Joel Ward, Jeff Halpern, Roman Hamrlik, and Tomas Vokoun to deals, he also needed to sign restricted free agents Troy Brouwer and Karl Alzner. Brouwer signed a two-year deal worth a reported $2.35 million per season on Wednesday. But the Caps are now over the salary cap under an NHL-allowed summer exception.
And that’s only part of the story. An NHL club is an ever-changing group, with a (non-scientific) average of five or six roster spots turning over each summer. McPhee’s decision to give no longer than a two-year deal to everybody but Ward acknowledged that there are future decisions to be made.
Here’s a list of players whose contracts will expire over the next three summers (not including the ones that were just signed):
2012: Alex Semin, Eric Fehr, Mike Knuble, Jason Chimera, Mike Green, John Carlson, and Dennis Wideman.
2013: Marcus Johansson, Matt Hendricks, Tom Poti, and John Erskine.
2014: Jeff Schultz and Michal Neuvirth.
As you can tell, that’s pretty much the entire roster, and it doesn’t include the $233,333 in buyout money given to Tyler Sloan. (Michael Nylander’s awful contract finally came off the books last week.)
McPhee, therefore, probably still needs to make some pretty big decisions this summer, including: How long a contract will he give to Alzner (who most likely will be in town for a very long time)? What will he do with Semin (who many argue will not be back after this season)? Will Poti be able to ever play again?
Semin’s $6.7 million contract is a huge factor, mainly because it’s a virtual guarantee that McPhee will add players at the trading deadline and right now there’s no money to do that. If Poti never plays again, the Caps could save money there, but it most likely wouldn’t be enough. (Poti makes $2.875 million per season.)
Also, Carlson will be due for a huge raise and Green’s already making $5.25 million, so that could be $10 million in salaries just for those two players. Knuble might retire after this season and it’s unclear whether Fehr, Chimera and Wideman will be back.
Longer-term, Johansson is due a big raise as is Neuvirth. Fellow goalie-of-the-future Braden Holtby, by the way, is a restricted free agent after the 2012-13 season.
From my time as an intern with the Caps during the 1998-99 season, I can tell you that McPhee has an organizational chart that has all of this mapped out. When you see GMs doling out contracts, bet that future decisions are playing a factor.
(s/t to Capgeek for the contract information).
*You can find more of Rob’s work at Storming the Crease!
by alanzlot
May 4, 2011 in Uncategorized by alanzlot
You have seen the commercials advertising the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on the Versus network. They show various moments throughout the history of the NHL playoffs of teams winning a playoff series or a game in that series.
They tell you the story of how improbable the win was or why this team made history in the particular series they are showing.
Following their 4-3 Game 3 loss in Tampa, the Washington Capitals need something, anything, so that “history can be made.”
Washington is looking for a hero.
Who on the Capitals will be Dave Roberts stealing second base in Game 4, in the bottom of the ninth inning of the ALCS? Which superstar will be Frank Reich coming off the bench to lead them to a victory after trailing 35-3 at the half?
It may be time to go back to being a southpaw. Yes, they say you must stick with what got you there, but if what got you there is no longer working? Then what?
In Rocky II (yes, I’m desperate), while training for the rematch with Apollo Creed, Micky asked his fighter—the Italian Stallion, Rocky Balboa, a born southpaw—to improve his right-handed punch in hopes of throwing Creed off his game in the rematch.
Apollo was indeed confused, similarly as we Caps fans were when the Capitals began to play defense as much as they did from mid-December on through the rest of the season.
The offense disappeared and the opposition could no longer score against Washington.
Caps head coach Bruce Boudreau said his team would be better for the change in the style of play come playoff time.
They would be a more rounded team in the spring and the adversity of losing and then learning how to win again in the new system would pay huge dividends come playoff time.
The Caps successfully stuck with their right hand for the final five months of the season and into Round 1 against the NY Rangers.
Despite scoring 99 fewer goals, Washington managed to win the Eastern Conference for the second straight year and scored a five-game knockout of the Blueshirts in the process.
Washington sacrificed offense and goal scorers like Alex Ovechkin sacrificed personal accomplishments. Everything was on track until they Caps were struck by Lightning.
In Round 2, the tables are now more than turned; they are upside down with the legs off, and now would be a real good time for Ovie and company to show what all of that adversity taught them during the transition period this past season.
It is the Tampa Bay Lightning frustrating the Capitals with a 1-3-1 defensive zone trap. Washington looks stymied, stonewalled and confused on the ice. The Capitals could not have picked a worse time to lose their first game in regulation this season when scoring three or more goals.
The Caps were 39-0-3 in the regular season when scoring three or more goals in a game and 2-0 so far this postseason.
It is the Lightning that is killing penalties like the Capitals did all season long. Sure, the Caps scored a power play goal tonight, but it took a two-man advantage to do so.
Boudreau needs to change something, anything at this point
The Capitals have faced elimination after the first three games of a playoff series just three other times in franchise history. They were swept by the Boston Bruins in the 1990 Eastern Conference Finals, swept by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals and won Game 4 before being knocked out in Game 5 by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2000.
Only seven teams in the history of the NHL have come back to force a Game 7 after trailing 3-0 in the series. Only three actually won that Game 7.
Last year in the second round, the Philadelphia Flyers trailed the Boston Bruins 3-0 in games and after coming back to force a Game 7, trailed 3-0 in the first period before mounting what many consider the greatest seven-game comeback in the history of any sport.
The defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks almost duplicated the feat in Round 1 this year against the Vancouver Canucks.
After coming back to tie the series, the Hawks lost in overtime of Game 7.
The Caps and Lightning are playing out a version of their own “Freaky Friday” role reversal in this series.
The Caps, who were 29-1-2 during the regular season when leading after two periods, surrendered not one, but two third period goals in Game 4 against Tampa.
The Lightning were one of the worst third-period teams in all of hockey this season. They were a minus-24 scoring just 64 goals (27th in league) while allowing 88 (fifth worst).
In the post season, Tampa is a plus-4 and the Caps are a minus-1 in the final stanza. In fact, the Bolts have scored the most goals of any team (12) in the final 20 minutes during the playoffs.
Michael Neuvirth, who stood on his head in the opening-round series against the Rangers, has now allowed three or more goals in his last three starts.
He has made many big saves but he has not been close to being as good as his “elder,” Dwayne Roloson, at the opposite end of the ice. The wrist shot that beat him for the tying goal was a shot Neuvirth should have had.
Granted, it came off the stick of sniper Steven Stamkos, but Neuvirth was not ready. The puck should have been cleared to begin with, but Eric Fehr could not execute the task.
Downie avgerages 11 minutes per game but leads Bolts in scoring in playoffs
His defense, which protected him as if he was precious gold inside Fort Knox against the Rangers, again committed turnovers in their own zone leading to Tampa goals. Sloppy irresponsible play is the only way to describe the tying goal.
On the go-ahead goal, Karl Alzner was caught at his blue line trying to play (trying is the operative word) a loose puck and John Carlson simply got beaten to his own net by Ryan Malone for the tap in goal.
Sloppy and unacceptable is the best way to describe the entire scenario that was the third period. Tampa came back to outshoot Washington 15-5 in the final 20 minutes.
While the Capitals have no one to blame but each other, they can still give this the old college try. You know the cliché, one game at a time. That game had better be tomorrow night as this may actually be a big break for the Caps.
Back-to-back playoff games may favor Washington with a younger nucleus.
The Lightning were again outshot in the contest. Tampa has now been outshot in all 10 of its postseason games in 2011. The Bolts are 7-3 in those games, and have now won six straight playoff games.
They also own a seven-game postseason winning streak over the Capitals dating back to their 2003 series, in which the Caps won the first two games only to lose four straight.
Nothing to this point matters anymore, including how Washington got to this point or why the Caps cannot win consistently in the playoffs. All that matters now is that Caps must simply win one game.
We all know that Nicklas Backstrom has disappeared, their grinders are schooling our grinders, Dwayne Roloson is standing on his head and apparently Alex Ovechkin wanted to make sure he could not do that anymore by trying to chop it off.
We also know about the mental mistakes. How big was the too many men on the ice penalty that disallowed a Washington goal in Game 3?
What about the lack of an organized functioning power play and the simple fact that the Caps look like they are playing a game in January, with no sense of urgency?
The “if necessary” part of the playoff schedule is more than in the rear view mirror of the Washington Capitals express; it is driving the vehicle.
If the Caps lose tomorrow, the only thing that will be necessary is for the Caps to pack their bags and, here it comes, wait till next year.
Someone from the Washington corner had better tell the boys that it might be time to turn southpaw again, if just for a night. The Caps must change something because the game plan of playing better defensively in the playoffs is out the window right now.
Only goals will save the Capitals now. Michael Neuvirth may find himself out on an island tomorrow night and let us hope he can play it like Darrelle Revis, shutting the opposition down.
The Bjork look-a-like- may have to be prepared to face 40 shots and he may have to stop 37 or 38 of them in order for the Caps to win.
The Caps must pinch from the blue line, cheat down deep and everything else they did to score the most goals in the league last year.
Boudreau may even consider sitting Neuvirth in favor of Braden Holtby or Semyon Varlamov. Holtby did come up big for the Caps in a 2-1 shootout victory in relief of Neuvirth back in March against the Bolts and in Tampa.
Whatever happens tomorrow night, either the Capitals must be prepared to take the necessary steps and make the necessary changes to start to make history, or they will become a part of it.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have swept just one other team (Montreal Canadiens) in their franchise history.
How unlikely is it that the Caps can pull this off? Two hundred-eight teams have led an NHL playoff series 3-0. Two hundred-five of them have gone on to win the series. The time is now for someone in the corner to have the Caps switch back to southpaw.
by alanzlot
April 20, 2011 in Uncategorized by alanzlot
It is funny what a franchises playoff history forces you to say and write. In this case, tonight’s game 4 against the New York Rangers, is a “must win” for the Washington Capitals.
After the last three years, I believed that games 1 and 2 were “must wins” for the Capitals and their psyche. Having done just that, they have now earned the right to be in the same exact position for game 4.
Welcome to the Stanley Cup playoffs, especially in the curious case of the Washington Capitals.
Five times in a best of seven playoff series, the Washington Capitals have led a playoff series 2-0. Four times, they blew it. Not just this version of the Capitals but this is a franchise hex, curse or whatever you want to call this organizations playoff futility.
Alex Ovechkin
What do Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Semin, Mike Green, Peter Bondra, Dale Hunter, Sylvain Cote, Joe Juneau, and Olaf Klozig all have in common?
They were all significant parts of Capital playoff teams that blew 2-0 and 3-1 series leads in back to back seasons. Not this year you say, things are different. This team was tore down and rebuilt for just this very instance.
Let us hope not and that is exactly why tonight is a must win. It would be good for this revamped playoff specific version of the Washington Capitals to have a little margin for error.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the team that wins Game 4 in a best of seven series, goes on to win their series 78 percent of the time. The Capitals have, as they always seem to do when playoffs statistics are involved, bucked that trend over their history.
Washington is 15-11 in game No.4 of a best of seven series. They have won just nine (60 percent) of those series’. Therefore, you see, this franchise is not the norm when it comes to the playoffs. Hence my worries.
Winning tonight may have gotten a little tougher as it has been reported by several hockey outlets including NHL.com and the Washington Post that Caps forward Mike Knuble is likely to miss game 4 with an injured hand.
Knuble was struck on the hand by the puck in game 3. Replay footage from Game 3 shows Knuble take off his glove to examine his right hand after scoring a goal, the same shift where he appeared to have been struck in the hand by a shot from Mike Green.
Joe Juneau
No need to panic, Right! The Capitals know what is at stake for them tonight, don’t they?
Of course they do, these quotes were taken from a recent NHL.com story, and just so you know, you could pretty much put any Caps players’ name from any era in which a Caps team lost a playoff game after being ahead in the series.
“We’re fine. We have a lot of confidence in here,” Jason Chimera said after an optional practice at Kettler Capitals Iceplex. “It was a bad loss, but you have to move on. You have to forget about it quickly in the playoffs — more so than in the regular season. We’re still in good shape so guys just have to keep it going.”
Yes Jason Chimera, you and your teammates must quickly forget about losing but please do not forget how you lost. The loss on Sunday conjured up thoughts of the way we lost in seven games last season to the Canadiens and the year before to the Penguins.
The Caps committed more penalties on Sunday than they had in 21 previous post-season games. They failed to keep the area in front of their rookie goalie clear as Brandon Dubinsky walked right in front to score to game winner.
Aside from all of us watching at home on NBC, Alex Ovechkin, Scott Hannan, Nicklas Backstrom and Karl Alzner watched from right in front of Neuvirth as Dubinsky scored. That is the kind of play, or lack of play that makes me and wound tight Caps fans say, here we go again.
Anyone seen Alexander Semin since his awesome game 1 performance? Yes, he led the Caps with six shots in game three but according to the shot chart, just two were from 15 feet or less. The rest were from 25, 39, 46, and 74 feet. His corner and board play was not as prevalent as it was in the previous two games.
No reasonable thinking Caps fan thought we were going to sweep the Rangers anyway. We knew this was going to be a tough series.
However, it does not make me feel better to hear a Caps player echo those sentiments. Here is Matt Bradley from the same NHL.com story.
“I don’t think anyone thought we were going to sweep every series. We’re going to lose games in the playoffs, and I think for us it is just a matter of getting back to that work ethic and good defensive play we had the first two games and we’ll be fine’. Bradley continued to say, “We’re not going to dwell on the last game. They played really well and they deserved to win. It is up to us now to turn the tide.”
I hope the Caps have thought (not dwell) a lot about their game 3 loss. I even hope they went back and watched film of it, two or three times.
The team that won on Sunday looked like the Washington Capitals we have grown to know and love over the last two months. The Rangers beat the Capitals at their own game and that is cause for concern for me.
For the first time in the series, the Rangers did the little things a lot better than did Washington. The Blueshirts soundly out-hit the Capitals 41-29 and won 10 more faceoffs. The Capitals must get back to basics.
Even Michael Neuvirth, who with a lot of help from his defense has been stellar in the series, finally gave up the “soft goal” we all feared he would allow at some point.
Michael Neuvirth
The feared result of allowing such a goal was realized in the outcome of the game. Maybe the Caps would have lost on a goal that Neuvirth had no chance at stopping but we will never know because he still has problems covering up the posts from time-to-time.
I do feel the Caps have a better chance of winning game 4 than they do of losing. Washington is still the better team with the better players.
The Rangers finally caught some breaks on Sunday. The Capitals were called for eight penalties, the most in their past 21 post season games and looked tired as a result late in the game.
They were chasing the Rangers around after Mike Knuble scored the game-tying goal for the Caps late in the third period. The proof is no clearer than when you watch the above-mentioned players standing around for Dubinsky’s game winning goal.
Please do not misunderstand this piece. This is not a negative article about how the Capitals are going to blow this, in fact, I would point out that the Capitals have done everything in the series to almost perfection.
They have won the right games and lost the right game. They are playing sound defensive playoff type hockey with great goaltending and timely goal scoring.
Even their struggling power play has produced more goals in three games (2) than it did in seven games (1) during last year’s first round. Even with the game 3 setback, the Caps seem to be in control.
Caps defenseman Karl Alzner thinks things are just fine and told NHL.com,”We’re not panicking at all. Game 4 is huge. If you have home ice advantage, you don’t need to steal a game on the road but you always want to, so we want to take the game to them in their rink and if we do that, it’s going to be good for us in the end. The game where you can get a little bit of a stranglehold is the one you want to get.”
Tonight is that game.
Jason Arnott, the most crucial of the trade deadline acquisitions, is doing exactly what he was brought to Washington to do. Arnott has provided veteran leadership on the ice, on the bench and in the locker room during the playoffs.
The Rangers needed to play their best game to beat Washington on Sunday and that is exactly what they did. The Capitals even get two whole days off between game No. 3 and game No. 4 and will again between games 4 and 5.
With the physicality of the series, I think this benefits the hockey team with the better skilled players and that team, in this series, is the Washington Capitals.
Washington seemed to figure out that crashing the net will allow them better scoring chances as both goals came from just outside Henrik Lundqvist’ crease on Sunday. The Caps will not consistently beat Henrik Lundqvist from 15 feet or beyond, they can consistently beat him from six to 10 feet.
Many will say true the Capitals may be the better team but how many times have the Caps been the higher seed and lost a playoff series? This is the Stanley Cup Playoffs and if the Capitals playoff past has taught us anything, it is that anything can happen.
This series will not be a case where the home team wins every game. I will go as far to say that the first team to win a game on enemy ice will probably win this series.
Let me say this one more time, that game for the Washington Capitals is tonight.
Even though winning in five games and at the Verizon would be the ideal situation, it is a good bet that the Capitals will have to come back to New York and win this series.
I say that because when has this franchise ever done been or done the ideal thing in the playoffs. It has never been easy and that is why tonight is a must win.
There must be room for error and a 3-1 series lead provides that room. Let us hope that’s all it is and not another setup for heartbreak. Let’s Go Caps!
ELSEWHERE IN THE NHL:
The defending Stanley Cup champions managed to stay alive lats evening as they defeated the Vancouver Canucks 7-2 in Chicago. The Blackhawks Dave Bolland returned to Chicago’s lineup for the first time since suffering a concussion six weeks ago and contributed a career playoff-high 4 points to extend the Blackhawks’ season at least two more days. Bolland had a goal and 3 assists to lead the Hawks.
Expect the Balckhawks season to end on Thursday as the Canucks still lead the series 3-1.
My Washington Capitals may have a sketchy playoff past but they have never squandered a four goal lead and lost a playoff game. The LA Kings led 3-0 at the end of the first period and scored the first of seven second period goals. The problem is, the San Jos Sharks scored five of those seven goals to tie the game.
The Sharks became just the fourth team in playoff history to overcome a deficit of four or more goals –the first since Minnesota rallied to beat Chicago 5-4 on April 28, 1985.
“History Will Be Made” is how the commercial goes and the NHL has held true on their promise as Devin
Setoguchi helped the Sharks make some history when he scored at 3:09 of overtime to finish the comeback give the Sharks a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference quarterfinal series with Game 4 for Thursday night back in LA.
MINI PREVIEW OF TONIGHT’S GAMES:
Philadelphia leads best-of-seven series, 2-1
The goaltending change in Phialdelphia has paid huge divendends. Brian Boucher followed his strong relief effort in Game 2 by stopping 35 shots to propel the Flyers to a 4-2 win in Game 3. Nikolay Zherdev, a healthy scratch for the first two games of the series, scored the game-winning goal late in the second period as both Boucher and the Sabres all world net minder Ryan Miller stole the show. Each made incredible saves keeping their teams in the contest.
Still missing form the Flyers line-up is defenseman ChrisPronger. Pronger has been out with a broken hand and many had his returned pegged for this game. ”I think our defense has been good,” said Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette. “Even (Wednesday), there was a lot of shots and there was a lot of opportunities, but an awful lot on the power play, and they had enough opportunities on it. … It’s been a good team concept on defense that has kept the even-strength chances low for us at this point.”
Pittsburgh leads best-of-seven series, 2-1
The Penguins continue to defy the odds without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. They have yet to score a power play goal (0-15) and their No.1 ranked regular season penalty kill has surrendered four power-play goals on 11 chances given to Tampa Bay.
The Pens 3-2 win on Monday night allowed them steal home ice advantage back from Tampa Bay and take control of the series. The Lightning need to start getting production from the NHL”s second leading goal scorer, Steven Stamkos.
Stamkos has just one assist in the series and one goal in his last 26 games. The Penguins’ have scored seven 5-on-5 goals from six different players. Each team will have some roster decisions to make prior to puck drop after the NHL levied one-game suspensions to Tampa Bay forward Steve Downie and Pittsburgh forward Chris Kunitz for separate incidents in Game 3.
Nashville leads best-of-seven series, 2-1
One of the top defensive teams in the NHL this season is showing a little offense in the playoffs. Led by Carrie Underwoods husband, Mike Fisher ,Nashville has scored 11 goals in the first three games of the series.
Fisher, who is tied with Daniel Sedin, Pavel Datsyuk and Corey Perry for the League scoring lead this postseason, was brought in midseason from Ottawa not just for his scoring, but his postseason experience. He was a member of the 2007 Eastern Conference champs that lost to the Ducks in the Stanley Cup Final..
The age-less wonder, 40-year-old Teemu Selane has led the Ducks in goal scoring with four this post season. Even with Selane’s productin the Ducks are the lower seed and a loss in the Music City tonight would put the their season on the brink.
The Ducks have scored often on one of the best goalies in the NHL this season. The Preds Pekka Rinne was one of the toughest goalies to score on this season, compiling a 2.12 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage, good for third and second best in the League, respectively. In the first three games of the playoffs he has not posted those types of number. Rinne has a 2.70 GAA and .887 save percentage through three games.
Rinne may be due to shut down the high flying attack of Anaheim and now would not be good timing for the Ducks. A 3-1 series deficit with Nashville’s defense could spell doom for the Ducks.
by alanzlot
April 13, 2011 in Uncategorized by alanzlot
By Guest Blogger AlanZlot:
The Washington Capitals will face-off tonight in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 22nd time in franchise history. If you know the Washington Capitals then you know all about their tumultuous playoff history.
Eight times in their tortured history, the Capitals have led a playoff series by two games and lost the series. Last year as the President’s trophy winner the Capitals became the first No.1 seed to lose a series to an eighth seed after leading three games to one.
Therefore, you must excuse me if this sounds like broken optimism heading into this year’s playoffs. I must admit that while I have predicted the Rangers to win the series on a few other sites, I will use this opportunity to find a way to show what the Caps can do to win.
To start with, the Rangers owned Alex Ovechkin and Co. this season. The Blue Shirts took three of four from the Caps and blasted them 15-1 in the final three games.
The Rangers are eerily similar to what Washington faced in last year’s first round. The Montreal Canadians struggled to get into the playoffs but played well down the stretch.
While no team played better hockey than the Caps down the stretch, the Rangers were 11-4-1 in their final 15 games and posted a 7-2 record against teams currently in the playoffs.
Goaltending:
The Canadians beat the Caps with a historic goaltending performance from Jiroslav Halak and the Rangers posess one of the best goaltenders in the NHL in Henrik Lundqvist.
Lundqvist shut the Caps out twice this season and led the NHL with 11 total whitewashes throughout the season. If he gets hot, then he is capable of winning a few games on his own. Lundqvist plays a style that gives the Caps fits. He stays back in his net and is very quick going side-to-side. This takes away the give-and-go’s Washington loves to employ deep in their zone.
Lundqvist is is 6-4 with a 2.73 goals-against average against the Caps in the Boudreau era. This includes two seasons where his goal against average versus the Caps was well above three.
The Capitals will apparently try to platoon rookie Michael Neuvirth and Semyon Varlamov. While Varlamov battled injuries, Neuvirth battled his consistency. Despite the fact that he set the Caps single season rookie record with 27 wins, he was never able to full claim the No.1 spot.
Neuvy has plenty of playoff experience in the American Hockey League as he won two Calder Cup’s with the Hershey Bears. He was named playoff MVP two years ago but it remains to be seen if the 21-year-old can parlay AHL playoff success into NHL playoff consistency.
Varlamov has played 19 post-season games for Washington and did show he could handle the bright lights when he replaced Jose Theodore against these same Rangers two years ago. In that series, the led the way in net allowing the Caps to rally and win after being down three games to one.
Each has a knack for allowing the “soft goal” and each showed that knack several times down the stretch. One has to wonder how much confidence either has knowing that Boudreau never named a No.1 guy this season.
Edge: King Henrik and the Rangers
Defense:
The Capitals recorded their best defensive season in franchise history. Washington set franchise records in goals against average (2.33) and goals allowed (191). Led by a mix of youth and experience the Caps are very effective at operating the 1-2-2 trap.
More than likely, Washington will head into the playoffs with Mike Green who has missed 20 games with a head injury and while he may not be in game shape just yet, his return will help bolster an already effective unit but depleted one to say the least. Led by rookie John Carlson and veteran Scott Hannan, the Caps did not miss a beat in Greens absence.
Karl Alzner and last year’s NHL plus-minus leader Jeff Schultz are consistent players that execute the system well for head coach Bruce Boudreau.
Washington does not carry an edge over New York as the Rangers ranked right behind the Capitals allowing just 2.38 goals per game. The Rangers have one of the best young blue liners in the game in 24-year-old Marc Staal. The third Staal brother in the NHL pairs with 26-year-old Dan Girardi as both put in about 25 minutes per game.
The Rangers youth continues with rookies Michael Sauer and Ryan McDonagh. While they have turned in good first seasons how they perform on the big stage in the NHL playoffs remains to be seen.
Edge: If the Caps get Mike Green, Tom Potti, and eventually Dennis Wideman back then the edge is not a close one. However, with Lundqvist in net and the uncertainty of the health at the blue line for Washington, a slight edge must go to New York.
Forwards:
The Capitals scored 99 less goals this season than did last season and team captain and leading scorer Alex Ovechkin finished with 26 less goals and 21 less points than his career averages. Washington boasts on paper, at least, the better offensive weapons.
Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin are all world players that can explode at any given time. Backstrom has been impressive in his past playoff performances with 30 points in 28 games.
Semin, as he tends to do during the regular season at times, has disappeared in the second season. He has just eight goals in 28 playoff games and failed to score one in last year’s first round collapse.
The Capitals will need to crash the net and Mike Knuble has been hot doing just that lately. Knuble finished out the season on a tear with nine goals in his final 13 games. Lundqvist can be frustrated in his own crease and Knuble is the man for the job.
While the Caps have star power, the Rangers still ranked higher than the Caps offensively this season. New York tallied six more goals than the Caps did and were led by Brandon Dubinsky who notched a career high 54 points. The Rangers also have Marian Gaborik who is the kind of player that can bust out in a post-season. He scored 22 goals and finished with 48 points this year.
The Rangers took a huge blow last Monday when they lost their second leading scorer Ryan Callahan. Callahan broke his leg in the Rangers comeback victory of the Bruins on April 5. The Rangers are still missing their team Captain Chris Drury, who has played in only 23 games this season because of finger and knee injuries. He has been out since undergoing knee surgery on Feb. 11.
The loss of Callahan is a series changer for Washington but keep in mind he missed 19 games in the middle of the season and the Rangers still managed to post a 10-7-2 record without him.
Edge: With the Great 8 and the star power the Capitals have, the edge must go to Washington. Without Callahan, the Rangers could be in more trouble than they care to admit.
Special Teams:
The Capitals were the second best penalty-killing unit in the NHL this season. The Caps power play that ran away with the No. 1 ranking last year, struggled mightily this year. The Capitals went from November 26 until March 9 without scoring multiple power play goals. The 43-game span was a franchise record.
Washington did show signs of extra man life to close out the season. The Caps were 5-for-10 in their final four games of the season. The Capitals finished the season ranked 16th with the extra man converting 17.5 percent of their chances.
The Capitals were 27-3-4 when it scored a power play goal this past season and 14-0-2 when it scored one but did not allow an extra man tally.
The Rangers power play looked top notch at times but it looked anemic through some stretches where it just could not score. It finished 18th at 16.9 percent, but it showed some improvement after they acquired Bryan McCabe. The penalty-killing unit ranked in Top 10 (83.7 percent) and their 11 shorthanded goals ranked among Top 5 in the League.
Edge: Penalty killing is more important than power play goals in the playoffs. However another 1-for-33 performance from the Capitals and they will once again be watching from the golf course after the first round. This edge goes to Washington.
Intangibles:
Something has to give in this series in terms of which team bucks the following trend.
The Rangers were a better road team than home team this year. New York won 58 percent of their games away from Madison Square Garden and just 48 percent when playing in it.
The Capitals were the best team in the Eastern Conference at home and second best team in the NHL when playing at the big phone booth in DC.
The Capitals will need to start fast in this series and must play Game 1 as if it were Game 7. Washington cannot afford to get behind in the series or in Game 1. However, the numbers indicate the Caps will do just that and with Lundqvist in goal, they can afford to play catch up.
Washington scored just 54 first-period goals this season and only the Edmonton Oilers scored less in the opening frame during the year.
However, Washington was an NHL-best 15-11-3 when they trailed after the first period and were 23-19-5 when allowing the first goal, also best in the NHL.
This stat catches up with teams this time of the year. I wonder, with last year’s result and the miserable playoff history of this franchise, can the Caps psyche handle falling behind early?
As the No.8 seed, the Rangers are playing with house money and have virtually nothing to lose as heavy under dogs in the eyes of many experts. The pressure sits squarely on the shoulders of the Capitals and Bruce Boudreau in this series.
Edge: With nothing to lose and only house money on the line, this edge goes to New York.
Coaching:
The Rangers have a coach in John Tortorella that won a Stanley Cup back in 2004 with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He asks a lot from them and they deliver. Tortorella demands a tough physical style of play, one suited for the playoffs.
Bruce Boudreau’s teams have been incredible in the regular season, as he has won almost 62 percent of his games. He took over a last place team in the middle of the 2007 season and has since won four straight division titles. His work during the regular season has been second to no other NHL head coach over the last four seasons.
Boudreau’s players also delivered for him as he completely got his super star laden team to buy into his defensive trapping style of play.
However, coaches are judged in the NHL on what they accomplish in the second season and Boudreau has not done much. His teams are 1-3 in game sevens and won only one playoff series in four tries.
Expectations are incredibly high in Washington, and Boudreau’s job, rightly or wrongly, could be in jeopardy if the Caps fail this year.
Edge: One Stanley Cup to none equals edge to the Rangers.
I am a huge Capitals fan and want very badly to pick the Capitals. I am leaning New York in seven games but I will leave it this way with my last breakdown of this matchup. The Capitals must either do or prevent the following four things in order to win this series.
Two years ago, the Rangers had Washington on the brink of elimination and led the opening round series three games to one. They allowed the Caps to battle back and win in seven games.
The Rangers won both Games 1 and 2 in DC and then would essentially fall apart in losing the series. That Capitals were an end-to-end let it all hang out gunslinging bunch of goal scorers as they scored 15 goals in their four wins.
These Capitals are a defensive-minded bunch that does not score goals like that anymore. Let us hope that all of their hard work in transforming into a better playoff team pays off starting tomorrow night.
Good luck and “Rock the Red” Caps fans. This will not be as easy as many experts are predicting and if I am wrong and the Caps roll past the Rangers in five games, then this could be the start of something special. LET’S GO CAPS!
by alanzlot
April 5, 2011 in Uncategorized by alanzlot
By Guest Blogger Alan Zlot:
It is this simple, Caps fans. A win in Toronto tonight and the Washington Capitals will clinch their fourth straight Southeast division title. If it loses, Washington can still finish anywhere from first to fifth in the NHL’s Eastern Conference.
Washington managed to win two out of three at home last week despite playing less than stellar hockey. It even managed to tie the Philadelphia Flyers atop the NHL’s Eastern Conference with 103 points.
A potential first round opponent helped the Caps on Sunday. The New York Rangers kept the Flyers from collecting two points as they beat the Flyers in Philly in a shootout.
Washington and Philadelphia (46-22-11) share identical records, However, the Flyers hold the tiebreaker as they have the greater number of games won,excluding games won in the Shootout (NEW for 2010-11). This figure is reflected in the ROW column when reading the NHL conference standings on NHL.com
Washington leads the very hot Tampa Bay Lightning by four points as the Caps, Bolts and Flyers all have three games remaining. Tampa Bay has won five in a row and is coming off a 1-0 shutout win over the desperate Blackhawks in Chicago on Sunday evening.
Tonight’s task will not be easy. Currently the No. 10 seed, the Toronto Maple leafs are still alive for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Toronto is currently mired in a franchise record five-year playoff drought. It trails the Buffalo Sabres by six points and a loss tonight would end its season.
The Leafs have won three in a row and must win all three remaining games to make the playoffs. They also need a lot of help. The Sabres must also lose all three of their remaining games in regulation or the tally will run to six straight seasons without appearing in the Stanley Cup playoffs for Canada’s second top-storied franchise.
The Caps are hurting at the blue line, even though they have won five of their last seven games.
Dennis Wideman will be out for a prolonged period with a lower body injury and Mike Green missed his 17th straight game on Saturday as he recovers from a head injury.
The Caps spent the last three games playing with just five defensemen in the third period. Wideman left last Tuesdays game, John Erskine departed on Thursday and Tyler Sloan left Saturdays tilt against the Sabres.
Erskine and Sloan were injured but are expected back soon as both made the trip to Toronto.
Tom Potti, who has averaged the second most amount of ice time over the last three seasons is expected back at any time. Potti has been out since January 12 with a groin injury. Stepping up in all of the injury madness has been rookie John Carlson.
Carlson has two goals and nine points in his last nine games. With a pair of assists in Saturday’s game against the Sabres, Carlson has matched a single-season franchise record for most points by a rookie defenseman, a mark that has stood for nearly three decades.
Robert Picard notched 37 points as a rookie in 1977-78 and Greg Theberge matched it in his rookie season of 1981-82. Carlson now has seven goals and 37 points in his rookie season, and he has three games in which to claim the record for his own.
Offensively, Mike Knuble and Alex Ovechkin remain hot-handed. Ovechkin’s overtime winner on Saturday was his 30th of the season, marking the sixth consecutive season in which he has reached that plateau.
The club record is nine straight 30-goal seasons, set by Mike Gartner. With points in 16 of his last 19 games, Ovechkin has nine goals and 16 assists for 25 points during that stretch.
Knuble has nine points over his last seven games and three goals in his last two games.
Still undecided for Caps head coach Bruce Boudreau is which of his three young goalies will start the playoffs for Washington. Michael Neuvirth was shaky at best on Saturday against the Sabres, especially when he allowed a soft shot from the blue to enter the net with no traffic in front.
Both Semyon Varlamov and Neuvirth have good numbers in their recent outings but this is not necessarily a case of quality numbers versus the kinds of goals both Neuvy and Varly have allowed in recent starts.
Both have allowed soft goals at bad times in recent outings, and with the playoffs coming up next week, there has to be concerns on whether either is playoff ready.
From all indications, Braden Holtby will not factor in the decision-making process. It was during the Caps last trip to Toronto where Holtby began to make noise back in January.
Holtby made 18 third-period saves and 35 for the game as the Caps beat the Leafs, 4-1, on an Ovechkin hat trick.
I am not a mind reader, but I have to think Boudreau is leaning towards Varlamov after Neuvirth’s performance on Saturday. Varly does have playoff experience and is the rested goalie.
Whoever gets the start tonight will do so against a hot team and in a hostile playoff atmosphere. Tonight’s game is huge, Caps fans, and could go a long way in deciding which one gets the nod next week.
The Caps are 1-1-1 against the Leafs this season, and they will need a solid effort tonight. Even Boudreau knows this could be a tough win tonight in Toronto.Toronto has won six of its last seven games and it has lit the red light frequently in doing so.
Toronto has 25 goals over that span and has scored nine goals in its three previous meetings with Washington this season.
“They’re playing as good as any team in the league,” says Boudreau of the Maple Leafs. “And they’re probably the highest-scoring team that we will have faced, the most offensively gifted team—other than Philadelphia—in the East.
The Capitals are 10-2-2 this season against Canadian teams and 5-1-0 in Canada. Washington has scored 47 goals (3.36 G/G) and allowed 28 goals (2.00 GA/G) in 14 games against Canadian teams.
Washington is now 16-6-2 in its last 24 road games. The Capitals have allowed just 49 goals in those 24 contests (2.04 per game). In 16 of their last 24 road games, the Caps have allowed two or fewer goals.
by alanzlot
March 27, 2011 in Uncategorized by alanzlot
Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby idolized Hall of Fame goalie Patrick Roy in his youth. Roy, who spent a little over 10 seasons in Montreal, led the Canadians to a Stanley Cup title in 1986 and then again in 1993.
Holtby, who is openly competing with Michael Neuvirth and Semyon Varlamov for a chance to become the Capitals post-season starter, was not yet alive to witness Roy make history when he became the second Canadians rookie to lead Montreal to a Stanley Cup title in 86.
The 20-year-old Roy joined another Hall of Fame Canadians goalie, Ken Dryden in becoming the first rookie since Dryden to win the Stanley Cup in 1986.
Dryden the first rookie goalie in NHL history to win a cup title, was 23-years-old when he accomplished the feat. After playing in only six regular season games and then leading Montreal to the Cup in 1971, Dryden came back the following season and won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 1972.
While Roy did not win rookie of the year honors, (Gary Suter, Calgary Flames) both he and Dryden won the Conn Smyth trophy as the MVP of the playoffs in their first Stanley Cup appearances.
It remains to be seen if the Capitals 21-year-old net minder will have a chance to match his idol but one thing is for sure he is not making the decision on whom to start in the post season any easier for Caps head coach Bruce Boudreau.
The 6’2″, 205-pouond Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, made 18 saves for the second NHL shutout of his young career in beating the Canadians 2-0 last evening in Montreal.
Holtby, whose last win before being assigned back to Hershey on March-19, was a 24 save performance against these same Canadians just 11 days ago, seemed focused and unfazed by the last 24 hours.
Holtby received the call on Friday just prior to his scheduled start for the Hershey Bears that he was needed back by the Caps and would play against the Habs. Hershey, in a heated playoff race, was getting ready to play the Adirondack Phantoms in Glenn Falls New York.
Holtby was called back to the big club because Semyon Varlamov was forced to start Friday’s game against the Senators after scheduled starter Michael Neuvirth became ill.
Varlamov was scheduled to return from his knee-injury and start against the Habs last night but after playing Friday evening and coming off injury, Caps coach Bruce Boudreau did not want to take any chances, summoning Holtby.
Holtby made the trip in style. The Capitals summoned a limousine to fetch Holtby and bring him the three and half hours to Montreal from Glens Falls.
The Capitals were coming off a stale performance in Canada’s capital on Friday evening. The Ottawa Senators shutout Washington 2-0, marking the tenth time this season the Caps had been whitewashed.
The Canadians entered tonight’s contest on a shutout streak of their own. Montreal had not scored a goal in 126-minutes and five-seconds of play. Their last goal came a week ago when they scored eight in beating the Minnesota Wild 8-1.
Since then the Habs have been blanked by Buffalo 2-0 and embarrassed by their division rivals, the Boston Bruins 7-0 on Thursday.
The Caps scoreless streak ended first and very quickly into last evenings contest. Marco Sturm, who has missed more than a few empty nets since being acquired off waivers by the Capitals back on Feb-26, scored just 1:24 into the contest.
The Capitals Nicklas Backstrom picked up a loose puck along the boards, skated down the right wing, and fired a shot on Habs starting goalie, Carey Price. The puck bounced up and to Sturm who knocked it past the sprawling Price for his first as Capital and his fifth of the season.
“It’s always really important, especially here in this rink, to get the early lead and get the crowd a little bit quiet,” Sturm told reporters following the game.
That would be all Braden Holtby needed as Washington played a choking style of defense limiting the Canadians to just three first period shots and 18 for the game. Holtby never gave Montreal a second chance at any shot he faced.
Holtby said after the contest, “That’s all the credit to the way we came out and we were prepared, and luckily they didn’t put much of a push because we were sticking to our game plan very well,”
The Capitals would add a little breathing room 6:40 into the final stanza as Alexander Semin converted a perfect pass from Nicklas Backstrom beating Price. Sloppy play at the Habs blue line led to an offensive zone turnover giving Backstrom and Semin a two-on-none break.
Backstrom who assisted on Strums goal notched his fourth point since returning from a broken finger on March-18.
Even after Semin’s goal there were a few tense moments late as the Capitals Marcus Johansson was called delay of game with just 3:19 remaining, Johansson flipped a clearing attempt over the glass form inside the defensive zone forcing Washington to kill off a Canadians power play.
Habs coach Jacques Martin pulled Carey Price for much of the power play but Montreal was unable to convert. In fact, the Canadians were twice called for icing with the extra man. The Habs tried to dump in missed empty net clearing attempts by the Caps.
Washington took three out of four from their first round playoff nemesis from last season. In doing so, the caps killed all 16 Habs power plays in the four games this season.
Montreal has now been held scoreless for a little over 186-minutes and have not suffered three consecutive shutouts since Oct. 23-29, 1949. The Habs host the Atlanta Thrashers on Tuesday night and have not been shutout in four consecutive games since Feb. 14-21, 1928.
The Capitals concluded their six game road trip with a 4-2 record and come back to DC to play the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night. Washington continues to trail the Flyers by two points for the overall lead in the eastern conference.
The Caps improved to 22-14-3 on the road this season and have just two games left away from the big phone booth this season.
Washington played in its third straight game without team captain and leading scorer Alex Ovechkin. The caps are 2-1 without the Great 8 this season. Ovechkin has now missed 17 games in his six seasons with the capitals.
During the first four seasons of Ovechkin’s career, the Caps were 1-3-0 with Ovie, over the last two seasons, Washington is 9-3-1 without the Russian sniper. According to Bruce Boudreau, the Caps could have both Ovechkin and Jason Arnott back for a full practice on Monday.
No one knows what the future of Washington’s post season goaltending situation holds but if Braden Holtby continues to play this way, can he be denied a shot to lead the Caps into the playoffs?.
Last night’s win was not just Holtby, the Caps defense should actually be given most of the credit. Making life relatively easy on Holtby, Washington kept the Canadians outside the circles all night and kept the area in front of the young net minder clean.
Having said that, the Caps look more confident on the ice playing in front of Holtby. Watching them play you get the sense that one goal leads are going to stand for a Caps win.
Fair or unfair, when Neuvy and Varly are between the pipes you hold your breath for the one bad goal you know is going to happen.
Sure Neuvirth and Varlamov have played well this season but neither can seem to stay healthy for long stretches and is it just me or do the Caps play with a little more confidence in front of Holtby?
Holtby is now 10-2-2-for Washington this season with 1.79 goals against and a “sick” .934 save percentage. He has won his last six appearances and eight of his last nine. His lone loss over that span came in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Rangers back on Jan-24.
If Holtby is not given serious consideration for the Caps post-season job then I am not sure what more a goalie can do to win the job.
Holtby, in my mind is earning the right to see if he can do for Washington, what Ken Dryden and his idol Patrick Roy did for Montreal, what Cam Ward did for Carolina in 06 and last year what Antti Niemi did for Chicago, win a Stanley Cup as a rookie goaltender.
by alanzlot
March 9, 2011 in Uncategorized by alanzlot
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.
by alanzlot
February 22, 2011 in Uncategorized by alanzlot
A Guest Blog By Fanspeak Contributing Writer Alan Zlot:
Welcome to the second week my NHL Power Rankings. I do this a little differently than most. I use a point system similar to that of the Bowl Championship Series. I have selected six categories in which I feel give the overall feel of just how good or bad a team is during a current week.
I only rank the top 16 teams in the NHL. I also add any team not ranked in the top 16 but is currently playoff eligible in their conference. This week the Rangers and Hurricanes fall into that spectrum.
The categories are winning percentage, goals for, goals against, division winning percentage, road record winning percentage, and goal differential.
I never begin until after the All-Star break, what does it matter before then and I do not rank the bottom half of the NHL, because, well, you already know how bad your team is.
Please enjoy and if there are any hateful, comments please them below.
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