At the Break

It's hard to believe how far this team has come since Thanksgiving. The playoffs seemed like an impossibility and yet now at the All Star break the Caps sit one point out of first place in the Southeast Division with two games in hand on Carolina. They are also only three points out of the eighth spot in the conference standings. I must give the team and Bruce Boudreau a lot of credit.

Although the Caps have been on a roll, the break comes at a good time. The team seemed to be getting a little tired and a four day rest should do them some good. Hopefully, a few of the banged up players will be able to get back in the lineup soon as well.

It's a shame that only Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom will represent the team at the All Star festivities. Mike Green deserved to be there but clearly was overlooked. Hopefully, he'll be there next year.

I must say I was happy to see Brent Johnson in net last night. He played great. Perhaps I was a little too critical in my assessment of Olaf Kolzig's play the night before with respect to Mats Sundin's game winning goal. I read some other accounts of the play and Boudreau said he did not like the gap that Steve Eminger gave up at the blue line or Alexander Semin's coverage of Sundin. The gap did not look too large to me and I did mention Semin getting beat by Sundin. I stand by my assessment of the rebound. It was soft and juicy and, ultimately, an easy poke home. The bottom line in my book is the team just simply seems to play a little better with Johnson in net right now. Given their status in the standing, the Caps can not afford to give up any points at this juncture.

Let me be clear. I am not suggesting that the Caps ride Johnson for the balance of the season. Kolzig should clearly be the goalie of choice. I wonder if he might be a bit tired and fighting the puck right now since he was essentially the lone workhorse for Boudreau for quite some time when Boudreau first took over the coaching duties. Having said that, Kolzig simply needs to play better for this team to have a realistic chance of making the playoffs and doing anything in them if they get there.

Enjoy the All Star break. Let's hope the Caps can maintain the momentum after the break.

Caps/Leafs Recap

What a brutal finish to a game that the Caps were just about guaranteed to at least come out of with a point. Mats Sundin scored on a terrible rebound given up by Olie Kolzig with 29 seconds remaining in the third period. A routine shot was put at the net from the left point and Kolzig left a soft, juicy rebound just to his right. Sundin beat Alexander Semin to the puck and quickly tucked it under a sprawling Kolzig for the game winning goal. Bruce Boudreau must not have heard my plea to start Brent Johnson although it seems Johnson will definitely get the start in the finale of the home and home series with the Leafs.

The Caps had the better of the play for most of the game and ended up coming away with nothing to show for it. After working so hard to tie the game up with just a few minutes to go and having some great chances of their own to pull ahead, Olie simply let them down again. Where's the big save, let alone the routine save, when the game is in the balance. The feeling must be pretty somber in the locker room tonight.

The good news for the Caps is that they get to try to avenge the loss to the Leafs right away and to remove the bad taste out of their collective mouths. It will be interesting to see what if any changes Boudreau makes for the next game. I would bet that Steve Eminger comes out and that Jeff Schultz goes back in. Depsite the bitter loss, the Caps are still in position to climb atop the Southeast Division. Let's keep in mind that the Caps have not lost back to back games since Boudreau became the coach.

First Period Update Caps/Leafs

It was a pretty entertaining first period. Although the Caps came out of it down 1-0, after a give away at their blue line was quickly thrown at the net and deflected past Olie by Chad Kilger, they had the better chances in the period. The third and fourth lines did a great job cycling the puck in the offensive zone but simply could not capitalize (no pun intended) on their opportunities. They will wear the Leafs down if they can keep this up and maybe open up the ice a bit more for the first and second lines. Neither team was able to score on the power play. Steve Eminger's penalty was terrible. Those plays have no place in the game and are scary no matter what team you are cheering for. If you did not see it, Eminger boarded Alexei Ponikarovsky from behind after Ponikarovsky beat him to the puck. The Caps were almost down two at the conclusion of this penalty kill when Kyle Wellwood beat Boyd Gordon cleanly on the draw and Hal Gill rung a shot off the crossbar. If the Caps can maintain the energy level from the first and keep generating some chances, they will come behind yet again.

A win is a win

The losing streak finally came to an end last night against the Pens. From my perspective, it was a long time coming. It was great to see it go down the way it did. Olie started in net, much to my chagrin, and had a devilish save percentage of .666 (10 saves on 15 shots). Thank God Dany Sabourin had a similar save percentage of .692 before being pulled.

After falling behind in the third period, Viktor Kozlov scored a beautiful power play goal on a great feed from Matt Pettinger to tie things up. The Caps had a few good chances down the stretch but could not get the go ahead goal. In overtime, the Caps essentially played the entire session shorthanded and a good portion of it down two men. The penalty kill unit did a great job and Quintin Laing blocked three shots to send the game to a shootout. It was interesting to see Alex Ovechkin race to the bench as the overtime session came to an end to give a helmet rub to all of the penalty killers. It says a lot about his leadership and certainly shows that he understands and appreciates what the other players contribute to the team.

The Caps won the shootout 2-1 on pretty moves by Ovechkin and Alexander Semin. Olie got lucky in my opinion during the shootout, as the first shooter missed the net, the second chance rang off the crossbar (Olie was clearly beat) and Jarkko Ruutu made Olie look completely silly. However, two points are all that matter right now. With the win, the Caps moved into second place in the Southeast Division and remain three points behind Carolina with three games in hand. The Caps are also three points out of the eighth spot in the Conference standings.

Next up for the Caps is a home and home series with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Hey Bruce, please start Brent Johnson in net. I also need to recognize Nicklas Backstrom who had back to back four assist games. He is the first rookie in NHL history to accomplish this feat.

Caps/Pens Preview

For some reason, I have a really good feeling about the game tonight. Although the Caps have lost six straight to the Pens, the team seems poised to end that streak tonight. The Pens will be without Sidney Crosby and evidently may be missing a few more players (Adam Hall, Colby Armstrong and Tyler Kennedy). The Caps will be without a number of players as well with Shaone Morrisonn joining the injury list along side Chris Clark, Michael Nylander and Brian Pothier. I hope Boudreau plays Brent Johnson in goal tonight. The team seems to have gotten an extra spark since he relieved Olie against Philadelphia. The power play has been hot of late and the team continues to find ways to win and overcome most obstacles. Let's look for a 4-1 win tonight.

My Apologies...

My apologies to all my faithful and committed readers (all one or two of them including me) for the time between my last posting and this one. The holidays can be brutal in terms of having the time to just kick back and watch a game. I've also been traveling a bit for work which means I generally get to see no hockey during my travels. However, I will make more of an effort now that things are settling back into a routine to post more often.

What a difference just a few weeks makes? Not only have the Caps climbed out of the cellar of the league (they were the worst team in the NHL in terms of standings in November) but with the end of their five game home stand, the Caps are only three points out of the lead in the South(l)east Division with three games in hand on Carolina. They also trail Atlanta by two points for second place with two games in hand. They are also only four points out of the eight playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Caps went 4-1 on the home stand and now stand at .500 for the first time since late October.

What can you say about coach Bruce Boudreau? He has the team playing the way most people thought they would before the season started. I love his quote after last's night game - "We've officially reached mediocrity." He just keeps it all in perspective for the team. The challenge now will be to not be satisfied with the hole this team has miraculously climbed out of. It's natural to take a collective sigh of relief and forget that there is still a lot of work to do. The nice part for the team is that they truly hold their own destiny in their hands with respect to winning the division. This is clearly the easiest path to the playoffs for the Caps. While they also carry their own fate in the Eastern Conference, there are simply many more teams to pass in the standings.

The next five games for the Caps are against Eastern Conference foes and include two home and home series against Toronto and Montreal. I would love nothing more for the team to go into Pittsburgh tomorrow and hammer the Penguins. Although the Pens will be without Sidney Crosby (the Caps will be without Michael Nylander), a win would be significant achievement.

Again I apologize my truancy in terms of posting my thoughts. More to come on a more frequent basis...

Karl Alzner Article

For those interested in reading an article on the Capitals first round draft pick from last year and the World Junior Championships, please see the link below from the NHL website. It is hopefully a preview of things to come in future years for the Capitals defensive corps.

http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=348475