How Sweet It Is Again

The Caps only had to wait two days to get back on top of the standings in the Southeast Division. The Caps put together a solid game against the Rangers and were able to come away with an victory in overtime. Beating any team that Jaromir Jagr plays for is especially sweet in my book. It also worth noting again that the Caps kept the streak intact with respect to back-to-back losses under Bruce Boudreau.

In my last post specifically about the Caps' loss to Carolina, I suggested that the team needed to improve in two areas. The first was on the power play. After going 0-7 against Carolina, the Caps went 2-3 against the Rangers on Sunday. Granted that the Rangers were a tired team after playing the day before in Philadelphia in a very physical contest, the Caps won the special teams battle which ultimately earned them the two points. The Rangers went 0-6 on the power play.

Carolina did a great job of pressuring the puck while shorthanded and the Rangers seemed to give the Caps a little more time to get things set up. Mike Green scored the game winner in overtime on the power play by simply firing a low, hard shot that appeared to deflect off of Marc Staal's stick. I thought it was fitting to see him get the winner as he played an awesome game, expecially in the third period when the Caps were trailing 2-1.

The second area for improvement was goaltending. Olaf Kolzig played perhaps his best game of the season. He made some unbelievable saves when the game was on the line. His rebound control was better with the exception of the second goal scored by Chris Drury. The team needs this type of goaltending on a more frequent basis to stay at the top. Perhaps some of the rest is helping Olie get back to the level expected of him.

Now that the Caps are back on top, the hard part of staying there begins again. The challenge ahead in the next week seems a bit poetic. Three road games against Division foes offers a great opportunity for the Caps to start separating themselves from the pack. It will not be easy but climbing out of the cellar seemed like an impossible task in November.