Sweet While It Lasted

At the All Star Break, the Caps stood on the verge of over taking first place in the Southeast Division. After their win against Philadelphia, the Capitals completed their unlikely climb from the cellar of the NHL to the top of the Southeast Division. The accomplishment was nothing short of a miracle after the poor start to the season. I must admit I did not think the team would be able to climb out of the hole. Kudos to the team for getting to the top and putting themselves in a position to realistically compete for a playoff position. After battling so hard for the past few monts to get there, the hardest part began last night with the battle to stay there.

To say last night's game against Carolina was a huge milestone for this team is an understatement. After the final horn, the Caps stay atop the Southeast Division only lasted two days as the Caps fell to the visiting Hurricanes 2-1. The win vaulted the Hurricanes back over the Caps into first place. The loss dropped the Caps from the third seed to the tenth seed in the playoff standings. It was a disappointing loss for a few reasons.

First, the Caps did not play all that poorly as a team. They had their chances but could not take advantage of them. The most telling statistic of the game is the fact that they went 0-7 on the power play. The fact that they had seven opportunities shows that they were playing hard. However, the power play was simply terrible last night. The power play unit played selfishly with each individual trying to do it alone. The Caps had a five on three advantage for 1:10 and looked awful. In fact, Carolina had the best scoring opportunity during this time frame. In the game's waning moments the Caps had another power play with a chance to tie the game up. Alexander Semin was mugged in front of the net and ended up slashing the defenseman and taking a selfish penalty that all but ended the Caps hope of getting the equalizer. The power play will have to get better real quick.

Is it fair to say that Cam Ward stole the game for the Hurricanes? While I'm not so sure that Ward is the main reason the Hurricanes were victorious, there is no question that Ward outplayed Brent Johnson last night. I know this is a familiar refrain but far too often the Caps goaltending has been subpar vis-a-vis the opposing goaltending on a night by night basis. Last night simply came down to rebound control. Ward did a fantastic job controlling his rebounds all night. On Carolina's second goal, Brent Johnson gave up a huge rebound to his left that was easily drilled home for the eventual game winner. The first Carolina goal was not Johnson's fault. Milan Jurcina got beat wide by Erik Cole and Cole made a sweet move to deposit the puck into the net.

The good news is that the Caps still have a game in hand on Carolina. The Division is packed so tightly right now that the race over the final two months of the season to win the Division crown should be great to watch. The Caps have a lot of games against the teams in their Division and it seems pretty logical that the team to play the best against their Divisional foes will most likely win the third playoff seed. The Caps will face the Rangers at home on Sunday before embarking on a three game road trip against Atlanta, Florida and Tampa Bay.

The Rangers presently hold the eigth and final playoff spot. They are three points ahead of the Caps but the Caps have played one less game. Let's remember that the Caps have not lost back to back games since Bruce Boudreau took over the coaching duties. It would be sweet t0 beat Jaromir Jagr and the Rangers.

The three road games following the conclusion of the home stand should really provide a better understanding of how far this team has come. The trip offers the Caps a chance to get some separation in the Division. Let's hope the team continues it's improbable climb to the top and, once there, gets to enjoy it for more than two days.

Forsberg, anyone?