There was, though, something for everyone in the Caps’ 6-4
loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.
If you were inclined toward making Randy Carlyle or Dave
Nonis jokes, there was Mikhail Grabovski scoring three times for his tenth career multi-goal game and his first
career hat trick.
If you were inclined toward sarcasm about Alex Ovechkin
flying to Greece for a ten-minute appearance and flying back to Chicago, so
drained by jet lag that he scored the Caps’ first goal of the season, well,
consider your wishes fulfilled.
If you were a Mike Green fan, you might have been muttering
under your breath about not one, but two goals less than five minutes apart taken
away by the official scorer and awarded to Grabovski.
If you have been saying that the Caps had issues on the
bottom half of their defensive squad, you will have more to say this morning.
If you had hopes that the teens would be keen… it will have
to be another night that your hopes are fulfilled.
If you enjoy Pierre McGuire gushing over, well, anything… he
gushed like a well in west Texas.
The game actually looked a little like the last pre-season
game between these same two teams. The
Blackhawks scored, then the Caps would tie.
The Blackhawks would score again…then the Caps would tie again. The Hawks would score again. And the Caps would tie…again.
When Washington took the lead on the Grabovski hat trick
goal at 5:16 of the third period, it looked as if the spell had been
broken. Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford
looked uneasy after the goal to the point where it seemed a goaltending change
to Nikolai Khabibulin was imminent. But
Crawford stopped the last nine shots he faced, the Blackhawks scored the last
three goals (the last a goal awarded when Marian Hossa was tripped by Mike
Green as Hossa was skating to an empty net), and the Hawks made their
championship celebration night complete.
Other stuff…
-- It took Grabovski five games and 67:39 of ice time to get
his first three goals last season. It
took 12:50 of ice time to get his hat trick last night.
-- For the second straight opening night, Braden Holtby
faced 34 shots. And, with the same
unfortunate results. Last January,
Holtby allowed six goals on 34 shots in a 6-3 loss to Tampa Bay.
Last night, five goals on 34 shots.
Given how he finished his season in 2012-2013, color us unconcerned…for the moment.
-- The Caps grabbed the momentum, so to speak, after the
Grabovski hat trick goal at 5:16 of the third period, but let the momentum
bleed away after that. They managed only
one shot on goal in the next 10:55 while the Blackhawks scored twice to regain
the lead.
-- The good…the Caps were 3-for-6 on the power play. The bad… they were 0-for-2 on the power play
when they had a 5-on-3 chance for 1:26 late in the third period, which they
squandered, then let the ensuing 34 second 5-on-4 advantage come up
empty.
-- …which means they were entirely too dependent on the
power play. The Blackhawks outshot the
Caps, 25-18, at even strength and outscored them, 5-1.
-- Yes, Connor Carrick looked like a rookie last night. He was on ice for two goals against. Yes, John Erskine has a bullseye on his back
for Caps fans. He was on ice for two
goals last night. Uh, so was Karl
Alzner. And Mike Green was on ice for
three goals.
-- Nine goals is an “Ovechktrick.” What is nine shots on goal? Here’s the thing… maybe after a long flight
to and back from Greece and a big opening night ceremony, there is a certain
adrenaline rush that ensues to keep one going early.
Ovechkin had six shots on goal in the first period, three in the last 40
minutes. Just spitballin'.
-- We wonder…if it was Brooks Laich scraping behind Corey
Crawford and having both feet in the crease as Grabovski was scoring a goal,
would that goal have been allowed…last night…in that arena?
-- Holtby will not put this one in the scrapbook (they don’t
keep “scrapbooks” anymore, Peerless), but those two saves on breakaways by
Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane were keepsakes (do they have “keepsakes?”).
-- The Kane goal…yeah, the one where Toews had both feet in
the crease as the puck crossed the goal line.
That one caught Eric Fehr going in precisely the wrong direction,
against the grain of the play. This was
opening night, but more important, the first game Fehr played in the middle. You thought he would be error-free?
In the end, it was an opening night a bit different from
others of recent memory. There were new
players – Grabovski, Tom Wilson, Carrick, Michael Latta. There were familiar players in new roles –
Martin Erat getting fourth line minutes, Eric Fehr playing a new position. This is going to take some sorting out,
particularly at even strength (where, frankly, the Caps looked rather
poor). This is why we opined that the
Caps will not win the President’s Trophy or their division. The first month is likely to look, if not as
gawd-awful as last season’s, then one prone to fits and starts.
As the season moves on Holtby will be sharper, Wilson and Carrick will get their
sea legs under them, Fehr will become more comfortable with his position, Erat will
get more ice time. At least, that is the
hoped for evolution. Tonight, it was
apparent that the Caps have promise, but they also have work to do to grow into
their promise.
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