The 2008-2009 season, by the "tens" -- Defensemen: Jeff Schultz

Jeff Schultz

Theme: “A good scapegoat is nearly as welcome as a solution to the problem”

That anonymous quote seems to fit young Mr. Schultz rather well. Instead of accepting Schultz for the player he is – a steady one who plays angles and anticipates, who does not sacrifice position for the big hit, fans would seem to want to take the clay that is a defenseman with about two years of experience (174 games, to be precise) and remake him into… Chris Pronger.

Schultz’ curse is that he is a positional defenseman in a Pronger-like body (they are virtually the same size – 6’6” and about 220 pounds). And that’s probably going to be his curse for as long as he plays the game. He might develop more of a physical edge as he gains experience, but he plays a certain way, and that way is not to go for the bone-crunching hit or the bug-on-a-windshield smear against the glass. Compound that with the fact that a defenseman of his size playing the style he does can look ungainly at times, and it makes for a difficult row to hoe with respect to how fans view him. The facts are these…

- He was second on the team amond defensemen in even strength ice time per game, second in shorthanded ice time per game.

- He was fourth in points among defensemen, despite missing 18 games.

- He was second in plus-minus, despite missing those 18 games

- He took only eight minor penalties this year (we’ve noted folks – including ourselves – praising Karl Alzner for having taken only one)

- He was second on the team among defensemen in total goals scored when he was on the ice.

- He had the second best goal differential per 60 minutes at even strength on the team (+0.61, second to Mike Green’s +1.36)

His ten-game segments suggest an up and down sort of year…


There was a solid start, scoring wise (seven points in his first two segments), followed by something of a drought. What he was able to do consistently was finish on the plus side of the ledger – he was even or better in five straight segments (and that even came in a segment in which he played only one game). However, at the end, he faded. From Game 61 to the end of the year, 0-2-2, minus-5 in 21 games, although hey, he hit more often (25 hits in those 21 games).

And that leads us to some unfortunate numbers for Schultz as we delve deeper. He was last among defensemen on the team with 50 or more games played in his Corsi rating. He followed up his five goal season last year with a single goal this year – a shorthanded empty netter against Pittsburgh in January. Despite that second best goal differential at even strength noted above, he has the second highest goals-against per 60 minutes at even strength, while the quality of competition he faced was third among the six defensemen playing at least 50 games for the Caps. For a “positional” defensemen, he did not position himself in front of a lot of shots. He was last among the defensemen (50 games, minimum) in blocked shots per 60 minutes at 5-on-5.

As a penalty killer, Schultz faced the second worst quality of competition among the six Caps defensemen playing at least 50 games. Yet, he still was only fourth among the Caps D in goals scored against per 60 minutes in 4-on-5 situations.

An odd number shows up at this point, and that concerns his home and away performance. Despite the heckling he gets from the home folk, Schultz was a better performer at Verizon Center (0-6-6, plus-14, seven PIMs) than he was on the road (1-5-6, minus-1, 14 PIMs), or at least his numbers came out better.

And here is another odd one, if you’re not inclined toward being a Schultz fan… against the other seven playoff teams in the East, he was 1-4-5, plus-12, with only two penalty minutes in 23 games.

Part of Schultz’s problem is that when he makes a mistake, it’s usually a doozy. He’s like the cornerback in pro football whose mistake is out there for all to see. None was bigger than the game-winning goal scored in Game 1 of the opening round of the playoffs, when Schultz got his legs tangled at the Capitals blue line, and Brandon Dubinsky left him writhing on the ice as the Ranger skated in along to net the winner. It would be the only playoff game in which Schultz would play. Why? Well, not because of the gaffe, but the fact that he had a broken rib that was suffered before this misfortune.

Schultz is yet another one of those arbitration-eligible restricted free agents among the defense. His cap hit of $763,889 this past season was, frankly, a bargain. What that means in terms of a new contract, that’s another matter. Is he worth Shaone Morrisonn money (at least what Morrisonn earned this year). Almost certainly not. But the Caps can fill only so many holes on the blue line, if anyone departs. Since he is in a competition of sorts with two other defensemen for contracts (Morrisonn and Milan Jurcina being the same situation), his return is not a certainty. But for all the nonsense he takes for the contradiction that fans seem to feel between his size and his style, he is what he is – a young defenseman who could one day be a quite effective, if unspectacular one.

Grade: B-

Words to live by

"We don't hang up division championships. We don't hang up conference championships. The only thing you're going to see hanging are [AHL] championships."

-- Bob Woods, Head Coach, Hershey Bears


Photo: Blaine T. Shahan/Sunday News (Lancaster, PA)

The 2008-2009 season, by the "tens" -- Defensemen: Tom Poti

Tom Poti

Theme: “Get some ice, I've pulled my groin. My enormous groin.”


OK, we were stuck for groin jokes, so we found that one by Stephen Colbert. But for Tom Poti, this was “The Year of the Groin” (we’re not sure if that shows up on a Chinese calendar). It really wasn’t a laughing matter for Poti, though, who played the fewest number of games (52) in his ten year career because of repeated injury. Poti had four separate stretches in which he lost at least three consecutive games to injury. All of them were attributed to groin injuries. The effect was to leave him with the lowest assist total (10), points (13), penalty minutes (28), shots on goal (48) in his ten seasons. It had a wearying effect, as his ten-game segments suggest…


In his last two segments, in which he played 18 games, Poti recorded only a single point (a power play assist) and was minus-5. In only four of those games was he on the plus side of the ledger.

There is one number in Poti’s season that comes jumping off the page… zero. That is the number of power play goals he had this past year. In fact, he has not yet recorded a power play goal as a Capital, an odd thing since that is one of the talents he was bringing with him when he was signed as a free agent in the summer of 2007. Part of that is the emergence of Mike Green as a force on the power play (18 power play goals this year, the only Cap defenseman to score any), but even Poti’s power play assists dropped from eight last year (itself something of a disappointment) to two this year. Part of that problem might be in that Poti’s power play ice time was almost cut in half this past year (from 2:39 to 1:26 per game).

The more detailed numbers suggest this was something of a lost year for Poti, made frustrating in that he was reasonably productive when he did dress. Among the six Capitals defensemen playing at least 50 games, he was second in goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, second in points per 60 minutes, and maintained a goal differential of 0.00 per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, despite having the highest quality of competition faced among any Capitals defenseman.

Poti’s missing 30 games had its effect on the Capitals. While the team was 33-19 in games for which he dressed (including extra-time losses), they were only 17-13 in those games he missed. Oddly enough, though, in Poti’s longest absence of the year – a 15 game stretch from December 23rd through January 27th – the Caps were 10-4-1, a slightly better standings points pace than their 82-game total.

And, Poti was no road warrior. In 25 road games, he was 1-2-3, even, despite taking more shots (26 versus 22) and getting more ice time (21:33 versus 20:51) in fewer road games (25 versus 27 at home).

What Poti had was a pretty good year against stiffer competition. Against the other seven teams in the East that would make the playoffs, he would finish 1-5-6, +8 in 19 games. He had his only “minus” against the Flyers. His struggles came against also rans – 0-2-2, minus-3 in five games against Atlanta; 0-0-0, minus-3 in two games against Los Angeles; 0-0-0, minus-2 against Buffalo.

His ability to rise to the level of competition was reflected in what was his best playoff season of his career. He scored his first two career playoff goals in this year’s post season, nearly doubled his career total in points (from eight to 15), was plus-8 (only his second year on the plus side). Unfortunately, almost all of that offense was recorded against his former team, the New York Rangers, in the first round. In the second round against Pittsburgh, he was 0-1-1, plus-6. And, there was the unfortunate deflection off his stick on a pass by Evgeni Malkin that was probably the single most important moment in the Penguins’ drive to the Stanley Cup. Had the Capitals won that game in overtime, instead of Malkin scoring the winner, it would have been the Caps taking a 3-2 series lead into Pittsburgh, instead of the Penguins for Game 6.

Until joining the Caps, Poti had never gone through a regular season without scoring a power play goal. Perhaps next year, he can take some of the heat (and ice time) off Mike Green by playing and contributing more in those situations. He’s shown to be perhaps a better defender here – certainly a more mature one – than he’s been at any of his previous stops in his career in Edmonton, Manhattan, and Long Island.

But this season was a year-long struggle just to get and stay on the ice. The frustrating part of it is that when he was out there, Poti was pretty good, especially early in the season, when he still had two good legs (or at least better legs) under him. Nevertheless, he was probably the second best defenseman for the Caps this year.

Grade: B

The 2008-2009 season, by the "tens" -- Defensemen: Shaone Morrisonn

Shaone Morrisonn

Theme: “Right timing is in all things the most important factor.”

That quote is more than 2,500 years old, from the Greek epic poet, Hesiod. Sometimes, it seems that long since Shaone Morrisonn was traded to Washington, along with a first round pick (which became Jeff Schultz) and a second round pick (Mikhail Yunkov) in 2004 for Sergei Gonchar. In fact, in terms of service to the franchise, Morrisonn is the longest tenured Capitals defenseman in time spent with the team and games played with Washington. He was obtained in trade on March 3, 2004 and has played 309 regular season games as a Cap.

As the ten-game segments suggest, though, Morrisonn did not improve on his consistency with maturity…


He did not string together two consecutive “plus” segments, which is probably not a good thing for the defenseman who might best pass for a “shutdown” type on this team. He had spikes of penalty minutes and three times had at least three consecutive games with penalties taken. On the other hand, the Caps were 17-8-3 in games in which Morrisonn was sent to the box.

One ten-game segment stands out, Morrisonn’s sixth. In those ten games, dating from February 1st through February 22nd, Morrisonn registered his highest point total of any segment (2-2-4), his best plus-minus (plus-5), the most hits (22), the most shots on goal (nine), and the most penalty minutes (29, including 15 minutes – for a boarding major and a game misconduct – in a 3-1 win over Florida on February 7th). Perhaps not coincidentally, the Caps posted their second best ten game win-loss record of any ten-game segment (7-2-1, including a pair of 5-2 wins over New Jersey and Pittsburgh). It suggests that a more energetic Morrisonn is a more productive one, or at least it seems to go along with more success for the team.

More than most Caps (and there were plenty in this category), Morrisonn suffered in his efforts against Western Conference teams, against which he registered a single point (an assist) and went minus-5 in 17 games. In 55 games against Eastern Conference opponents, he was 3-9-12, plus-9. However, that plus-9 was earned in its entirety from Southeast Division teams in 22 games, not the strongest division in the East. Against the rest of the East, he was 2-3-5, even, in 33 games.

But on the defensive side, and this is where Morrisonn earns his keep, there were some numbers not so good. He was 69th in the league among defensemen playing at least 50 games in blocked shots per 60 minutes (by way of comparison, Tom Poti was 36th). He was tied for 76th in goals scored against-per-60 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time, despite being tied for 108th in quality of competition.

For a defenseman who makes most of his contribution at the defensive end, he wasn’t getting a lot of opportunity to make that contribution. He was sixth on the team among those playing at least 50 games in even strength ice time per game (if we include Karl Alzner in the mix, who played 30 games, Morrisonn would be seventh), and he was third (fourth, if you include Alzner) in shorthanded time on ice per game. He also had the shortest shifts, on average, of any defenseman for the Caps this season (ok, Staffan Kronwall had shorter shifts, but he played in only three games).

Here is another set of numbers that have a somewhat disturbing air about them. Morrisonn was 3-10-13, +3 in 2006-2007. He was 3-10-13, +4 this past year. The difference is that he recorded that first set of numbers on a team that finished the year with 70 points, 14th in the Eastern Conference. This year, he recorded almost exactly the same numbers on a team that finished with 108 points, 2nd in the Eastern Conference. The first instance was that of a standout on a poor-performing team, the second that of, well, something else on a very good team.

Last year, Morrisonn had a decent year that earned him a contract of $1.975 million through arbitration. This year was a contract year for him, and while he improved his numbers marginally over last year, his timing doesn’t appear to have been fortunate in terms of suggesting a large increase in pay. In fact, his numbers suggested those of a 4/5/6 defenseman, one who could provide 18 minutes a night (he was sixth on the team in average total ice time), occasionally – if not consistently – provide a bit of a physical edge, and generally finish on the plus side of the ledger (if not overwhelmingly so). It suggests that he, too, is not irreplaceable, although he can be useful. The trouble for Morrisonn here is that his minutes could be Karl Alzner’s next year.

This year, Morrisonn ended up in the usual place, as far as his career numbers go, but he took a rather meandering route to get there. Given his consistent regular season numbers with the Caps, one might be forgiven wondering if this is as good as he will be. Not bad, to be sure, but not a cornerstone, either.

Grade: B-

The 2008-2009 season, by the "tens" -- Defensemen: Milan Jurcina

Milan Jurcina

Theme: “There must be consistency in direction.”

Maybe it’s fitting we insert a quote from Deming here. Because, if we look at the performance of Milan Jurcina this year, we are struck by two things – the occasional stretches of quality performance and the lack of consistency in achieving them. This is reflected in Jurcina’s ten game segments…


Jurcina, to the extent he can be, was a “scorer” early, recording more than half of his season’s points in the first 40 games of the year. Unfortunately, he also had three segments in there in which he was a minus-2 for each. That’s not the sort of result one hopes for concerning a defenseman who: a) is not considered or expected to contribute a lot of offense, or b) doesn’t face top-flight offensive lines on a night-to-night basis.

Jurcina scored less, but moved into “plus” territory in the last half, not registering a “minus” in any of the last four full ten-game segments. That’s probably a more suitable “comfort zone” for a defenseman who is probably a third-pair sort on a contender (his even-strength ice time per game – 15:05, fifth among defensemen with at least 50 games played this year – suggests his being such a defenseman).

If there is a disappointing aspect to Jurcina’s season, it is that he hasn’t become something more of a goal scorer, despite the observation of some that he has a heavy shot. He had six goals in 51 games in his rookie season in Boston and hasn’t come close to equaling that modest total since. As a Capital, he has a total of six goals in 184 games, covering three seasons. This year he had his highest total since that rookie year (three). And this despite his being second on the team in shots on goal and total shot attempts (shots, blocked shots, missed shots).

Regarding the latter point on shot attempts, there is a notion that Jurcina has trouble getting shots to net, that he is slow on the release (he is), and that he is something of a scattershot (ok, he’s that, too). But if you take a look at his ratio of shots on goal to shots not on goal (misses, blocks), he is fourth on the team among defensemen playing at least 30 games, behind Mike Green (the only Cap with a ratio above 1.00), Karl Alzner, and Tom Poti. As much as anything else, that might tell us that the Caps defensemen not named “Green” had their problems.

Defensively, Jurcina was second best on the team among defensemen (at least 30 games) in goals scored against per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time. That is, as much as not, a reflection of the fact that among the same group of defensemen he faced the second worse quality of competition. He also managed a goal-differential per 60 minutes of ice time of +0.10, which was third on the club.

Going back to those ten-game segments, there were two areas in which Jurcina was reasonably consistent. He registered eight penalty minutes in five of the full ten-game segments and ten in another. Jurcina, in fact, tied for the team lead among defensemen in minor penalties taken and had the worst differential of penalties taken to penalties drawn at 5-on-5 per 60 minutes on the club among defensemen and second worst, regardless of position (Sergei Fedorov). Not that it seemed to have an inordinate effect on the Caps results. The Caps were 17-11-2 in games in which he took a penalty (1.20 standings points-per-game, versus 1.32 points-per-game overall)

The other area was hits. After a slow start in that department in the first ten games (12 hits in ten games), he was tightly bunched around the 20 hit mark for the next six segments, and even in the last full segment averaged slightly more than two hits a game in eight games played. He led the team in hits (157) and was tied for 21st in the league that measure.

The odd thing about Jurcina’s whole line is that if one removes his games against the Rangers, it wasn’t a bad year. He was scoreless and a minus-6 in four games against the Blueshirts, a problem he seemed to rectify in the playoffs, when he was 1-0-1, plus-4 in seven games. He had his best regular season efforts against teams in the Northeast Division, against which he was 1-3-4, plus-8 in 20 games.

Jurcina is an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent this summer. Last year he was an $881,250 cap hit on the team ($912,000 salary). And, he is among a clot of defensemen (Shaone Morrisonn, Jeff Schultz) in a similar contract situation. Jurcina’s numbers and performance do not suggest that he is irreplaceable by any means. However, he just turned 26, and he still has fewer than 300 games of NHL regular season experience. He might not have reached his peak.

In the meantime, though, Jurcina displayed a certain inconsistency in his game, but perhaps not as much as is commonly believed. He might have been (and continues to be) somewhat disappointing on the offensive end, but he otherwise played his role fairly well.

Grade: B-

That's a Wrap

Tonight, Pennsylvania is the center of the hockey universe. The Pittsburgh Penguins defied the odds in winning a Game 7 on the road against the defending Stanley Cup champions and beat the Detroit Red Wings, 2-1 to win the Stanley Cup.

Not long after the horn sounded in Detroit, the Hershey Bears set an American Hockey League record in winning their tenth Calder Cup, a 4-1 win over the Manitoba Moose to close out that series in six games in Winnipeg.

Caps fans might not be pleased with the Penguin win, but it was well-earned. Several players stepped up in a big way for the Penguins in a manner befitting a champion. Marc-Andre Fleury forever silenced his critics (we being occasionally among them) with a sterling performance in a building that has been unkind to him in his young career, one capped by a diving save on a Nicklas Lidstrom drive in the dying moments of the contest. Maxime Talbot was the hero of Game 7, netting both goals for the Penguins in what would be the Triumph of the Grinders in the championship-deciding game, and the rest of the team cobbled together a superior defensive effort in holding a team that had scored 11 goals in three home games to a single tally.

As it was chronicled in many places, no team in any of the major North American team sports had won a Game 7 in the last 18 tries since 1980. It hadn’t been done in the NHL since the Montreal Canadiens did it against the Chicago Blackhawks in 1971, coincidentally the last time a team fell behind 2-0 on the road and came back to win the in the finals.

Congratulations to Evgeni Malkin (Conn Smythe winner), Sidney Crosby (youngest captain to win the Cup), Dan Bylsma (a mid-season replacement behind the bench who in no small way saved the Penguins’ season), and the rest of the Penguins. It was a Cup well-deserved.

For the Hershey Bears, it was another season in a long history of excellence. And perhaps the biggest part of this year’s contribution to that history was the performance of Alexandre Giroux. The Bears’ winger scored on a breakaway mid-way through the first period in tonight’s Game 6 against the Manitoba Moose to drive a stake into the heart of the fans in Winnipeg, giving the Bears a 3-0 lead on their way to the 4-1 win. For Giroux, it would be the emphatic exclamation point on a season for the ages – 60 regular season goals, 15 more in the playoffs, a total of 75 goals for the season that would be the highest total ever achieved in the AHL for the regular season and playoffs, combined.

But Giroux was hardly alone. Michal Neuvirth – this year’s winner of the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as Calder Cup MVP – announced loudly in these Calder Cup playoffs that he is a prospect to be reckoned with in the Capitals’ scheme of things. He posted a 16-6 record, a 1.92 goals against average (third in the Calder Cup playoffs and a Bears team record), a .932 save percentage (fourth), and four shutouts (tops in the Calder Cup playoffs). He became the first goalie in AHL history to win Games 6 and 7 of a playoff series with shutouts, turning the trick against arch-rival Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the second round of the playoffs.

Then there was Quintin Laing. On a March evening dominated by Alex Ovechkin’s “hot stuff” goal celebration, Laing skated in his only game for the Caps this season – a 5-2 win over Tampa Bay – and tore his spleen. It was an injury that was expected, at the time, to sideline him for the rest of the season. But Laing came back to play in nine Calder Cup playoff games and served as an inspiration to his teammates in their march to the championship.

For Bears head coach Bob Woods, it was probably especially satisfying. In leading the Bears to their tenth Calder Cup title, he can now claim a Cup as a player (1997 Bears), an assistant coach (2006 Bears), and head coach (2009 Bears). He’s earned his place in the long history of excellence achieved by the Bears.

While turnover is a part of any team from season to season, there might be a special poignancy attached to the Bears in this regard as this season comes to a close. There is a certain “graduation day” air attached to it. For players like Karl Alzner or Chris Bourque, it might be the last time they skate for the chocolate and white as they move onward and upward. It might be that guys like John Carlson and Michal Neuvirth – neither of whom started the year in Hershey – won’t be far behind. Oskar Osala could make the jump before too long. And for a player such as Alexandre Giroux, he might move on to another franchise to find a clearer path to the NHL. Bryan Helmer, who captained the team, and Graham Mink, who is in his second stint with the Bears, are unrestricted free agents this summer.

What a last eight months it’s been for the Keystone State. A World Series championship in Philadelphia, a Super Bowl Championship in Pittsburgh, a Stanley Cup championship in Pittsburgh, and a Calder Cup championship in Hershey. You might even throw in a Governor’s Cup for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees of the International League of minor league baseball. It's been a big year in Pennsylvania.

With tonight’s action, hockey comes to an end for the 2008-2009 season. The celebrating isn’t over yet for the Penguins and Bears, but for the rest of us, we’re already looking forward to next season. It can’t get here fast enough.

A picture is worth...

courtesy of Mike Thompson, Detroit Free Press

If you're in Hershey on Friday...

John Walton informs us that Giant Center will be open for viewing the action of Game 6 of the Calder Cup final against the Manitoba Moose from Winnipeg...

Doors will open at 7:30 p.m. Our television coverage from Winnipeg will begin at 8:30 p.m. From me to you, I strongly encourage you to think about coming to see the game along Hersheypark Drive Friday night. Admission is free, food and beverage is available as well as plenty of Calder Cup merchandise (I highly recommend the Good Morning, Good Afternoon and Good Night Manitoba t-shirts....very nice!) and wouldn't you rather be around your fellow Chocolate and White backers?

Indeed.

Calder Cup Final - Game 5: Manitoba 3 - Hershey 2

Well, it would have been nice, anyway.

The Hershey Bears had a chance to clinch the tenth Calder Cup in the storied history of that franchise, the first time doing so on home ice since 1980. But the Manitoba Moose sprinkled moose droppings all over the Giant Center ice and ruined what might have been a special evening, defeating the Bears 3-2 and sending the series back to MTS Centre in Winnipeg for Games 6 and, if needed, 7.

This has really been a goaltender’s series so far, with Cory Schneider coming into this game 1-3, 2.39, .916 for Manitoba and Michal Neuvirth doing him one better – 3-1, 1.66, .941 and a shutout.

Tonight, however, was Cory Schneider’s night to shine. How many times have you seen this movie?... Home team comes out, guns a’blazin’… pounds shots at the visiting goalie while holding the opponent off the shot meter (Manitoba would not register their first shot on goal until 12:02 had passed in the first period; Hershey had outshot them -- officially -- to that point, 8-0)… visiting goalie stops everything thrown at him… teams go to the intermission in a scoreless tie.

Of course, many of you being Caps fans, you know what comes next. And it certainly would come, in this instance late in the third period when Michael Grabner pounced on a loose puck at the top of the crease and fired it past Neuvirth, who was still on the ice from having already made a save on the play. 67 seconds later, Cody Hodgson – who had been scratched in Game 4 – took a pass from Jason Jaffray (who is having a whale of a series himself) at the top of the right wing circle. Hodgson skated down to the faceoff dot and let fly a wrister through a screen that beat Neuvirth high over his glove into the top corner, giving the Moose a 2-0 lead at the second intermission and sucking the wind out of the Giant Center.

At that second intermission, the Bears had outshot the Moose, 24-11. And the game really wasn’t that close. Hershey had thoroughly and completely outplayed the Moose in all three zones, forechecking effectively, creating turnovers, moving through the neutral zone with speed when they had the puck, and putting consistent pressure on Schneider. What they didn’t do – and this is kind of why they play the game – is score.

The Bears came out in the third period with the same effort and intensity with which they started the game, and it was finally rewarded early in the period when Alexandre Giroux sent the puck behind the cage, where it was collected by Keith Aucoin. Aucoin circled to Schneider’s right, then sent the puck out to Graham Mink in the high slot. Mink moved the puck across the ice as Schneider went down, and with the goalie on his stomach, all that was left for Mink was to ease down toward the goal line to improve his angle around Schneider and lift the puck over him to halve the deficit.

But the Bears could not get the equalizer. Jason Krog would pot an empty netter with 1:21 left, but John Carlson would give the fans some late hope as he skated through the left wing faceoff circle and sent a low drive past Schneider’s right pad with 30.9 seconds left. Giroux and Staffan Kronwall had good chances in the last five seconds, but neither could solve Schneider for the tying goal. So, it’s back to Winnipeg.

Some other stuff…

- Note to AHL headquarters… will someone please buy Frederic L’Ecuyer a whistle? He must have left his at the hotel. His steely determination not to call a penalty in the first 45 minutes of the game was the sort of thing they made war movies about in the 1940’s. The man let everything go. Well, except when he couldn’t bring himself to send only Shaun Heshka off for hooking in the first period… he had to send Steve Pinizzotto off, too, for diving. And that might have been retribution, of a sort, for Pinizzotto’s honesty in admitting after Game 4 that he embellished a fall that resulted in a penalty to Manitoba. Coach Bob Woods alluded to this in the post game when he obliquely referenced Pinizzotto’s admission – “'You read the article that I read, last page of the paper, I would have bet a lot of money that that call was going to be made tonight.”

- Hershey’s effort can’t be faulted. They came out strong, took the play to the Moose (despite the circa-1970’s style of officiating), and maintained a high level of intensity, even when they fell behind by two goals. This was Schneider’s night (and L’Ecuyer’s). If Hershey’s biggest worry is that Schneider can do that twice more, it’s a worry I’d prefer to have than in being outplayed. Hershey was not outplayed.

- Speaking of Schneider, he bears a resemblance in his style to Olaf Kolzig, a big goaltender who uses his size well to take away space. He does not wander to play the puck and his moves to stop puck behind his net are at a minimum. He doesn’t seem to have Kolzig’s temper, but he was yapping pretty good at L’Ecuyer when his mask was batted off his head.

- Mathieu Perreault looked more than a little gassed out there at times (not that he wasn’t trying – he was). Part of it might be his slight build, but it also reminded us of the brutal paces the youngsters were put through on Day 1 of Rookie Camp last September.

- Things got away from L’Ecuyer early, and the game paid for it late. Eight roughing minors in the last minute of play. Then there were the penalties he did call to give teams a power play. After Keith Aucoin was sent off for an iffy slashing call, Dean Arsene twice went up to L’Ecuyer for some wisdom about the call. We saw L’Ecuyer pat Arsene on the side, and we thought to ourselves, “there is a make up call coming.” Sure enough, 4:30 later, he sent Mario Bliznak off for an equally iffy, if not iffier interference call.

- Hershey has a nice mix. There are the kids that would be expected to make an appearance with Washington in the near future – Carlson, Karl Alzner, Oskar Osala, Chris Bourque, Michal Neuvirth perhaps. Then there are the vets – Giroux, Aucoin, Bryan Helmer, Graham Mink. Seems to work very well.

- Hockey players… Mark Fistric took a shot to his jaw in the second period, and when play was whistled dead, he scraped himself off the ice and went straight to the locker room. Well, he was back on the ice in the third.

- 10,860 pairs of thundersticks make a lot of noise. And they’re really… really annoying.

We didn’t think it was possible for Hershey to lose this game. As we were being pelted into finding an overpass to hide under from dime-sized hail on the drive up, we heard “We Are The Champions” on the radio. Then, as we were pulling into the Giant Center parking lot, there was Journey singing, “Don’t Stop Believing.” There had to be a win at the end of this with those kinds of signs.

But, there wasn’t. Hershey does have two more opportunities to end this on a happy note, and they have already won in come-from-behind fashion in Winnipeg. The trouble, though, is that Schneider guy. He can’t have two more in him, can he?

Can he?

Some more of our images from the contest...

The 2008-2009 season, by the "tens" -- Defensemen: Mike Green

Mike Green

Theme: “Life is short, eat dessert first”

We saw that sign at an ice cream establishment on our drive up to Hershey this past weekend, where we watched the Bears win a couple of playoff games. It brought us to mind of the sort of season had by Mike Green. Whether the product of injury, illness, or demonic possession, one could not have foreseen the sort of drop off in production Green had between his regular season and his playoffs. Comparing his regular season of 68 games to his playoff numbers, extrapolated over a comparable 68 games, the result is as follows:

Regular Season: 31-43-72, +24
Post-Season: 5-39-43, -24

But let’s get to dessert first. Green had one of the most prolific seasons by a defenseman. His league ranking among defensemen in several categories bears this out:

Goals: 31 (1st)
Assists: 42 (7th)
Points: 73 (1st)
Plus/Minus: +24 (T-5th)
Power Play Goals: 18 (1st)
Power Play Assists: 20 (T-11th)
Power Play Points: 38 (2nd)
Game-Winning Goals: 4 (T-3rd)

Green did this in only 68 regular season games, at least five fewer games played than any of the top-20 scorers among defensemen in the NHL. Dig deeper, and the same results appear (all for defensemen playing in at least 50 games):

Corsi: 2nd
Goals/60 minutes: 2nd
Primary Assists/60 minutes: 4th
Points/60 minutes: 1st
Goals For/On Ice per 60 minutes: 1st
Goals Against/On Ice per 60 minutes: better than Zdeno Chara, Brian Rafalski, Chris Pronger, Jay Bouwmeester, and Mike Komisarek, among others. He was only five spots behind Nicklas Lidstrom.

And it’s not as if he padded his stats against also-ran opponents, either. Against the other seven Eastern Conference playoff teams, he was 10-15-25, +12 in 27 games. But nestled in that last set of numbers is this… 0-0-0, -4. That was Green’s line in four games against Philadelphia, and it might have served as a bit of a harbinger of things to come in the post season. Philadelphia is among the more aggressive forechecking and puck pursuit teams, and Green had his troubles here (yes, it’s a small sample).

Looking at his ten-game segments is a bit deceptive...




He lost virtually the entire third segment to a shoulder injury, playing one game (he was 1-2-3 in his return from injury, against Ottawa). It masked what would be a fairly consistent first half of the season, followed by rather substantial improvement in the last half. It was in that last half (in Games 49-56) during which Green set a record for consecutive games with a goal scored by a defenseman. During those eight games, he was 10-7-17, +8. That is important in that if you take that stretch away, Green was still 21-35-56, +16 in 60 games, which would still have left him tied for sixth in scoring among defensemen while having played at least 17 fewer games than any defenseman above him.

Green had a big year on the offensive side of the ledger.

It’s not as if he was a slug on defense, either, although he remains something of a work in progress in that regard. The evidence of his progress is perhaps reflected best in his ice time while killing penalties. In 2007-2008, Green averaged a grand total of 20 seconds a night on the PK, last on the team among defensemen (50 games, minimum). This year, he averaged 2:28 a game. That was still only fourth on the team (among defensemen playing at least 50 games), but clear evidence of his being given more responsibility in his own end. And he responded to the increased responsibility. Although he did not face the best power play opposition (worst on the team among defensemen), he was on the ice for fewer than half of the goals scored against per-60 minutes in those situations than the next best Capital (John Erskine).

But then, there were the playoffs. In his last ten regular season games, Green was 6-6-12, +2. That was against some pretty weak competition (nine of those games were against teams that did not make the playoffs), but there was nothing in his play to suggest a full-blown meltdown in the playoffs. From our seat, Green had to be injured (the shoulder he injured earlier in the year, made worse by an awkward tumble into the boards in the opening round series against the Rangers?). He was tossing change-ups at the net, and he was avoiding contact when pressed in his own end. It make for a lack of offense at one end (the one goal he scored coming in Game 6 of the opening round) and getting abused in his own end (minus-6 in the last six games of the second round, no plus games among them, and Green is still the leader, so to speak, in giveaways in the 2008-2009 playoffs, the only player with more than 20). It probably isn’t fair to say this in light of what we think had to be an injury, but if there was one factor above all others that contributed to the Caps’ early exit, it was the difficulties Green had at both ends of the ice.

At the start of the season, we said this of Green…

“In the last ten years, only one defenseman playing more than 60 games in a season achieved a point-per-game performance (Nicklas Lidstrom – 80 points in 80 games in 2005-2006). Green, given his talent, the talent around him, and the philosophy of the club, appears best positioned among current NHL defensemen to achieve that level of production.”

We also said it wouldn’t be this year – we were wrong about that. And Green had an otherwise sweet regular season, historic and certainly worthy of a defenseman selected as a finalist for the Norris Trophy. But the playoffs were a helping of broccoli – perhaps something to be endured and perhaps healthy in the long run. But it did not leave a good taste in anyone’s mouth.

Grade: A-

The 2008-2009 season, by the "tens" -- Defensemen: John Erskine

John Erskine

Theme: “Opportunity is missed by most because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work”

John Erskine was the only Capitals defenseman playing more than 15 games this year who did not score a goal.

That’s alright; that’s not his job. He was, by far, the team leader among defensemen in hits-per-game (2.46, compare to 1.99 for Milan Jurcina). He was third on the team – first among defensemen – in fighting majors (three). That’s more his job – the heavy lifting in the more physical aspects of the game. It’s a hard way to make a living, but that’s where Erskine makes his. And it’s taken Erskine a while to get to this point. Until this year, Erskine hung around the margins of NHL rosters – he had never played more than 51 games in a season for one team in his career (he played in 60 games for Dallas and the Islanders in 2005-2006). But Erskine earned a two-year contract extension with the Caps last fall, and he fills a niche on this team – the hard working defensive defenseman who plays with an edge. That’s suggested in the ten-game segments, where the offensive numbers are meager…


But 128 hits in 52 games, 63 penalty minutes, and three fighting majors is indicative of Erskine’s taking on his role with a certain gusto. And that is made more impressive by the fact that he missed 22 games with a mild concussion – not the sort of thing that would lead one to want to engage in a lot of physical stuff upon one’s return. But he did have 85 hits in the 33 games following that concussion and two of his fighting majors.

Erskine has a profile that suggests to some that of a 5/6/7 defenseman. Well, there might be some truth in that, but in 52 games, Erskine was on the minus side of the ledger only 12 times. If you’re not going to contribute a lot on the offensive end, one might put more emphasis on this sort of measure. While it’s true that he did not face the highest of competition (he was last in this measure among Caps defensemen playing at least 30 games, according to behindthenet.ca), he held up his end of the bargain and wasn’t on the ice for goals scored by opponents who shouldn’t do damage. In fact, Erskine was best on the team in goals scored-against per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 of any Capitals defenseman (30 games, minimum).

Part of Erskine’s success has to do with management of ice time. That’s important in putting him in a position where he can best succeed. He doesn’t have much in the way of offense to contribute – he averaged only two seconds (that’s not a misprint) of power play time a night – last on the team among defensemen. On the other hand, there are folks who are suspicious of his skating ability, which might account for his averaging only 1:37 in shorthanded ice time per game, sixth among Caps defensemen (30 games, minimum).

What he did get was even-strength ice time, and at 15:07 a game he averaged almost as much as Tom Poti (15:19) and slightly more than Milan Jurcina (15:05) and Shaone Morrisonn (14:59).

The question, though, is whether or not Erskine is a difference-maker. Hockey is not a sport that lends itself to clear conclusions that one player makes a difference, unless we are speaking of the elite of the elite, and 5/6/7 defensemen wouldn’t generally be among that class of player if it was possible to make those kinds of assessments. But the Caps were 20-10 with Erskine out of the lineup (including losses in extra time), 30-22 when he dressed.

Erskine is a player who defines the term “role player.” In this instance he fills the role of “physical defenseman” – the sort of player the Caps do not have in abundance anywhere in their system. But the comparative rarity of this specie of defenseman should not lead one to confuse Erskine with a Brooks Orpik or a Mike Komisarek among “physical” defensemen. He is not in that class. But he doesn’t cost $3,750,000 a year (Orpik), either, nor does he cost as much as what Komisarek is likely to be offered this summer as a free agent.

Last fall, we said this in previewing Erskine…

“…he has played – and can play – a part that contributes to success on this team…a guy who will give a good effort for 14-16 minutes a night, kill some penalties, wreak some havoc among opponents, stand up for his teammates, and give the top four guys a breather without putting the club at a disadvantage. It’s a role that is underrated.”

It is a role that Erskine filled and filled fairly well (he actually averaged 16:47 a night in ice time), testimony to Thomas Edison's quote about opportunity and hard work. The question going forward will be, can he improve upon it, or will the Caps have to upgrade at this position.

Grade: C+

Just Sayin'...

The Penguins are 0-3 on Detroit ice.

Evgeni Malkin is 1-1-2, minus-3 in three games there.

Sidney Crosby doesn't have a point there and is minus-3 there.

Bill Guerin -- a late season pickup to provide some veteran leadership -- doesn't have a point there and is minus-2.

Chris Kunitz -- ditto -- doesn't have a point there and is minus-2.

Sergei Gonchar?... nope, no points at the Joe.

Jordan Staal?... nope.

Marc-Andre Fleury is 0-3 there with a GAA of 4.33 and a save percentage of .857 there.

This final might go to a Game 7, and Pittsburgh only has to win one game on Detroit ice if things get that far.

But it wouldn't be the way to bet.

Bears Win! -- Calder Cup Final, Game 4: Bears 2 - Moose 1

And then there was one to go…

The Hershey Bears inched to within one win of their tenth Calder Cup championship in team history with a 2-1, come-from-behind win over the Manitoba Moose this evening at Giant Center. The score suggests a close game, but in this instance we’re reminded that close on the scoreboard is not necessarily close on the ice.

This was a game for which a Bears loss would have been an injustice perpetrated by fate. Hershey did a fine job for most of the 60 minutes in pinning the Moose in their own end, constantly and consistently sending two forecheckers like cruise missiles to the puck-carrier, causing a bushel of turnovers. The only offense the Moose could muster in the first, oh, 55 minutes (and we’ll get back to that) was a wrister that Ray Sawada snapped over the blocker of Bears goalie Michal Neuvirth off a nice feed from Jason Jaffray at 11:37 of the first period.

Manitoba couldn’t crack the Hershey shell even when the Moose had an abbreviated 25 second 5-on-3 late in the second period. They would fail to convert on all five of their power play opportunities, making them oh-for-ten in Hershey this weekend.

Hershey spent the first 25 minutes looking as if that lone goal for the Moose would hold up and spoil the party at Giant Center. Manitoba goalie Cory Schneider was stopping everything, but the Bears were not making it as difficult as they could have. Too many of their shots were bruising Schneider’s sternum, and there were no rebounds upon which to pounce. But just past the five-minute mark of the second period, Kyle Wilson picked up a loose puck, stepped through two defenders at the top of the left wing circle, and swept the puck past Schneider on the short side to tie the game.

Then, in the third period, it was Hershey’s turn to benefit from a 5-on-3 as former Capital Nolan Baumgartner was sent off for hooking, then Greg Rallo was led to the box 55 seconds later after the Moose were whistled for too many men on the ice. Two seconds before the first minor to Baumgartner expired, Keith Aucoin took the puck on a rebound off the end boards and snapped it behind Schneider on the short side before Schneider could recover to give the Bears the lead and send the Giant Center crowd into a frenzy.

The next six or seven minutes saw the teams going back and forth – Manitoba looking for the equalizer and the Bears trying to earn some insurance. Neither could capitalize, but that merely set the stage for a frantic last five minutes. Manitoba managed to turn the tables on the Bears, force-feeding them some of the forechecking pressure that the Bears were so effective at using over the first two periods. When Michal Neuvirth was not having to make saves from all angles, it was all Hershey could do just to clear the puck to get five fresh pairs of legs on the ice. At the 18-minute mark, referee Francois St. Laurent sent Jason Jaffray and Alexandre Giroux off with coincidental minors, opening up the ice for some 4-on-4. Then, with just under 30 seconds left, St. Laurent sent the smallest player on the ice – Chris Bourque – to the box for cross-checking.

It made for a wild last half-minute. The Moose pulled Schneider to set up a two-man, 5-on-3 advantage, but Bears foiled the last chances the Moose tried to mount against Neuvirth and skated off that last half minute. The Moose outshot Hershey 13-1 those furious last minutes of the third period.

Some other stuff…

- Much better game for John Carlson tonight. He was hitting, moving the puck smartly, doing a good job keeping the puck in the offensive zone.

- Quintin Laing is probably not going to have a long NHL career. But geez, does this guy pay the price to make a play. By the time this one was over, he had cotton wadded into both nostrils. A broken nose or just your average bloody nose, he was out there breathing through his mouth and doing his best to make plays in his end.

- Hershey’s fourth line of Andrew Joudrey, Steve Pinizzotto, and Oskar Osala was all over the Manitoba end pressuring puck carriers. Pinizzotto was a particular nuisance, finishing checks with gusto and just generally being a pest.

- We could understand the roughing minor Bryan Helmer took in the first period (he took Alexandre Bolduc off with him), but the high-sticking minor at the end of the first? Not good.

- Neuvirth was good – great in fact – when he was tested late, but he spent long stretches of the first two periods getting little work. Hard to keep sharp that way, especially for a young goalie. Credit to Neuvirth for maintaining his edge.

- From the “and a babe shall lead them” file, Hershey has served as an object lesson to the parent club the past couple of nights. You’d be hard-pressed to find a Bear who wasn’t launching his body at a Moose or a puck. Even Mathieu Perreault – all 166 pounds of him (as it says on the web site) – was sticking his nose in there on the forecheck trying to pin Moose defensemen against the walls.

- This might not surprise you, but these teams don’t much like each other. There weren’t many whistles that weren’t following by shoving, yapping, and general exchanges of unpleasantries. It was very entertaining.

- Aucoin played as if he had a dinner of Red Bull casserole. He was all over the ice and had at least a half dozen good scoring opportunities.

- Make no mistake, the Moose were hanging around in this one because of the play of Cory Schneider in goal. For the second straight night, the Moose looked to be badly out of sync at 5-on-5.

The Bears have a chance to do something they haven’t done in 29 years – win the Calder Cup on home ice. To do it, the Bears will have to endure what Coach Bob Woods called in his post-game press conference “the most difficult game of their career.” But with the way Michal Neuvirth is playing (saving 96.1 percent of the shots he’s faced in the playoffs at Giant Center) and the way the Bears are dominating the play at 5-on-5, you have to like their chances.

Like they’re saying in Hershey… “one to go.”

Tuesday night.

And here are some pictures from the event...

The 2008-2009 season, by the "tens" -- Defensemen: Karl Alzner

Karl Alzner

Theme: “You gotta play this game with fear and arrogance.”

So it was that Crash Davis counseled Ebby Calvin LaLoosh before “Nuke” headed off to the show in “Bull Durham.” And so, Karl Alzner got his taste of the show this year, playing 30 games with the Caps when injuries decimated the blue line corps early in the season.

To say it was “up and down” would be a bit of an understatement. Even though the ten-game segments are few, they do reveal a couple of things...


First, Alzner started well – perhaps the adrenaline of getting called up – then faded late in his call-up. He had only one point (an assist) after his 11th game, and he did not register a “plus” game in his last 13, going minus-8 in the process.

Perhaps coincidentally, Alzner’s better “first half” of his call up seemed to coincide with a more physical edge (he had 20 hits in his third and fourth groups of ten, only five in his fifth and sixth). Alzner is not generally described as a physical defenseman, but he does have some size (and could grow a bit more). It might not be the strength of his game – angles and position are – but using that size from time to time could be to his advantage.

At the start of the season, we had this to say about Alzner and other prospect defensemen of recent vintage…

“Since 2000, 16 defensemen have been selected in the top ten overall picks in the entry draft. Two of them – Rostislav Klesla and Jay Bouwmeester – saw action in their first year with their club after being drafted. Another eight saw NHL action in their second year. But here is the thing; through that second year, only Bouwmeester, Joni Pitkanen, Mike Komisarek, and Erik Johnson saw more than 10 regular games in a season with their respective clubs. It doesn’t seem to argue for a long stint with the Caps this year for Alzner, despite his pedigree.”

That Alzner got 30 games with the big club in his first professional season was a product of necessity – injuries. But it says something about his skill and potential that he was able to give as good an account of himself as he did.

What Alzner had, though, was some rather odd splits…

- Alzner might have wished he played in the Northeast Division, or at least played against those teams all the time. He was 1-1-2, plus-7 against the Northeast in 11 games, 0-3-3, minus-8 against everyone else in 19 games.

- As might be expected of a rookie, he had his troubles on the road. While he was 0-1-1, plus-5 in 16 games at Verizon Center, he was 1-3-4, minus-6 on the road.

- He had a brutal time of it against the Rangers; a pair of minus-3 games on his way to 0-1-1, minus-7 in three games against the Blueshirts. We’ll consider ourselves lucky he didn’t dress for the opening round of the playoffs.

Digging a little deeper in comparing him with his defenseman teammates, we find that Alzner held up pretty well in 5-on-5 play. His Corsi rating was second on the team (defensemen, minimum of 30 games played) to Mike Green. Only Tom Poti played against better quality of competition, while Alzner suffered with the worst quality of teammates in posting his numbers. While he did have the second worst goals scored against onice per 60 minutes, his differential of goals for/goals against (0.00) was comparable to Tom Poti (0.00), Shaone Morrison (0.05), and Milan Jurcina (0.10). He was the only defenseman playing at least 30 games who drew more penalties than he took and had, by far, the best penalties taken per 60 minutes number (he took one minor in 30 games).

Alzner is most certainly a work in progress. Even if he makes the Caps opening night roster out of camp next year, he’s probably a couple of years away from being a 24-26 minute a night defenseman who will play in the big shutdown situations. But considering that this is his first year of professional hockey, his production was a pleasant surprise… as long as one keeps in mind that there is a lot of upside yet to fulfill.

We’ll return to the great philosopher, Crash Davis, who once described baseball to Ebby Calvin LaLoosh in these terms – “This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains." Alzner plays such a simple game, himself, to his credit. It will do him well to remember that as he moves forward.

Grade B+

The 2008-2009 season, by the "tens" -- Wingers: Alexander Semin

Alexander Semin

Theme: “But now I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth.”

We’re guessing Umberto Eco, the Italian novelist and philosopher, is not a hockey fan. But if he was, he’d probably appreciate Alexander Semin. And 2008-2009 started with that whole “enigma” thing. It didn’t really stop until the end of the year. Semin got out of the gate faster than Secretariat, going 13-14-27, +17 in his first 15 games, finishing up that run with a 2-3-5, plus-4 night against Carolina. Then he came up lame for the third period of a game against New Jersey on November 14th. In the post game press conference of what would be a 3-1 Capitals win, Coach Bruce Boudreau noted that “he’ll be fine tomorrow, as far as I know.”

Semin missed 12 games.

Upon his return, Semin had points in five straight games (1-4-5, plus-3), and one could be forgiven if he was just going to pick up where he left off. But in that fifth game, against the St. Louis Blues, he was cross-checked from behind by David Backes and reinjured himself.

Semin missed six games.

Then, Semin scored 46 points in his last 41 games. He finished 34-45-79, +25 in 62 games. Projected over an 82-game season, that would be 45-60-105, +33. Tied for third in goals, tied for eighth in assists, third in points, tied for fourth in plus-minus. No one in the league – not Alex Ovechkin, not Evgeni Malkin, not Sidney Crosby – put up an 82-game rate of production like that. Look at his ten-game segments, and you can see the effects of his absence in the third and fourth segments…

He didn’t miss a beat in the playoffs, either, going 5-9-14 in 14 games, thus keeping him on pace as a point-or-better a game player in his playoff career (8-14-22 in 21 games). The Caps were 6-4 in playoff games in which he registered a point, 1-3 in games in which he did not.

But that is part of the enigma that is Alexander Semin.

And we haven’t even mentioned the whole “what’s so special about Crosby?” matter. Or Semin treating the Verizon Center crowd to his bongo stylings against the Rangers on January 3rd…




If you look a little closer at Semin’s numbers, you can get an appreciation for just how gifted he is…

- It’s not like he saved it up to beat up on also-rans. He averaged at least a point a game against the three divisions in the East. He had 13 points against Carolina (an Eastern Conference finalist in the playoffs) in five games, seven points against Pittsburgh (a Stanley Cup finalist) in five games, and five points against Boston (the best record in the East) in four games.

- Remarkably, he was a “plus” player in losses (13-10-23, plus-3 in 23 losses, including those in extra time). If you’re looking for a comparison here, Alex Ovechkin was minus-22 in losses.

- Semin led all Caps forwards in points scored per 60 minutes at even strength (minimum: 50 games). He was second among forwards in the entire league in this measure.

- He was not only first among Caps forwards in goals scored per 60 minutes at even strength, he led all forwards in the entire league.

- That last sentence?...about goals? Well, he led the Caps forwards in primary assists per 60 minutes at even strength and was fifth in the entire league. The four ahead of him are a who’s who of playmakers – Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Marc Savard, and Craig Conroy.

- Semin was second in the entire league among forwards in goals scored for (team) per 60 minutes at even strength (Pavel Datsyuk).

- He was second among all Caps forwards in power play points per 60 minutes (Nicklas Backstrom) and led the team's forwards in both primary and total assists.

The term “under the radar” comes to mind, since Semin doesn’t get much press, at least unless he’s expressing opinions about other players. And there might be a reason for that. Sure, there in the whole language thing – he still seems uncomfortable (or at least unwilling) to do much communicating with the English-speaking media. But there is another reason lurking here.

In three years, Semin’s games played has dropped from 77 to 63 to 62. Ankle and back injuries have limited his time the last two years. Now, we’d probably be calling for mommy ten minutes into a game with all the physical abuse the average NHL player takes, but it really would be something to see what numbers Semin could put up if he played in 15 more games a year. There is also the matter of his coming up on a contract year after the 2009-2010 season, after which he will be a restricted free agent. If he plays 80 or so games and puts up numbers approximating the pace at which he scored this year, he’s in for a big payday. But if he plays only 60-65 games again, you have to wonder if anyone will really take a chance on bumping up his compensation past the $4.6 million he will earn next year. This year, however, Semin showed that he is certainly in the elite class of players on the offensive side of the ledger and at least competent – production wise – in other phases of the game… when he’s healthy.

Health, comments out of left field, a fighting style that is “early grade school” (as opposed to “old school”), packaged with what might be the most sublime set of offensive gifts on the Capitals roster… as Churchill put it – describing Russia as it turns out – it is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.

Grade: B+

She's not going down without a fight

The last roof truss was pulled down yesterday on the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, one of the great hockey arenas of yesteryear. Even in the video and pictures below, you get the feeling that "The Aud" is not going down easily. They built 'em tough in those days...

Bears Win! -- Calder Cup Final, Game 3: Bears 3 - Moose 0

Solid.

The Hershey Bears played 60 solid minutes of hockey to beat the Manitoba Moose at Giant Center and take a 2-1 lead in the Calder Cup final series. Despite the pace of play being up-and-down the ice for much of the evening, there weren’t a lot of scoring opportunities at even strength for either team (although Hershey had the majority of them). The game was decided on special teams, where the Bears were able to convert two of three power play opportunities, while Manitoba was shooting blanks on five man-advantage situations.

It is said that your best penalty killer has to be your goaltender, and Michal Neuvirth certainly was that for the Bears. In pitching the shutout, Neuvirth denied the Moose on nine power play shots, including several chances on a 5-on-3 the Moose enjoyed early in the second period with the Bears clinging to a 1-0 lead. Neuvirth was cat-quick all night in moving from post to post and was especially sharp with his glove hand, frustrating many Moose… uh, Mooses… (and we know this from watching Moose skating back to their bench muttering to themselves). Neuvirth did not come by his first star of the night by accident; he earned his recognition.

It might be said that the Bears were luckier in some respects. Their two power play goals were scored off a goal mouth redirection (Graham Mink) and a one timer that Manitoba goalie Cory Schneider almost got enough of to keep it out of the net (Alexandre Giroux). The last goal was an empty netter by the hardest working man in hockey – Quintin Laing, who is still throwing his body in front of shots. Otherwise, Cory Schneider was just as sharp for the Moose, but the operative word there is, “otherwise.”

The Bears had chances, to be sure. Graham Mink had the puck at the doorstep early in the first period but couldn’t solve Schneider. Jay Beagle had room on the far side of Schneider late in the first, but Schneider got a blocker on his drive to send the puck into the corner. In the second minute of the second period, Schneider denied Giroux twice as the Bear was skating across the top of the crease. Andrew Gordon had a breakaway that could have given the Bears a 3-0 lead late in the third, but the puck wouldn’t behave for him, and his chance went wide of the net.

Among the other Bears, Staffan Kronwall had an especially solid game from the blue line, contributing two assists, but playing a simple game in his own end, too.

Giroux did what guys at this time of year have to do, and that’s more than score. He leveled a Moose at the Hershey line that got a roar from the sellout crowd.

John Carlson clearly has talent. Based on what we saw tonight, he’s also clearly not ready for a jump to the big time. He was just hesitant enough on a few decisions to turn the puck over and give the Moose some momentum.

Chris Bourque is one feisty little cuss. But sometimes, we wonder what he’s thinking, too. There were a few ill-timed passes through the middle of the ice of the sort that can make a goaltender’s night more difficult than it has to be. But there was Bourque at the end of the game, skating after Pierre-Cedric Labrie – seven inches taller and 35 pounds heavier – barking at him for Labrie’s trying to start a ruckus with anyone in a Bear jersey after the final horn.

Karl Alzner looked rusty. Small wonder, given how much time he’s missed. But even with that, Alzner has a knack for making the simple, correct play.

Oskar Osala never seemed to get into the rhythm of the game. He was looking for Moose to hit and pucks to shoot, but always seemed to be just late in arriving where he could do some damage.

Before the game started, there was played on the video board an excerpt from Manitoba coach Scott Arniel’s press conference after Manitoba’s 3-1 win in Game 2. He made mention of the fact that the Moose would be heading for Hershey, where the crowd was not likely to be as loud as that at MTS Centre. Well, we’ve never been to MTS Centre, but it was plenty loud in Giant Center.

We’re tempted to say that there was a healthy contingent from Caps land. There were quite a few folks in the parking lot before the game sporting red Capitals jerseys, and there was quite a line of tail lights headed south on cars with Virginia and Maryland license plates after the game.

We were in the first row along the glass for this one, the first time we’ve had that experience. It certainly makes for a different look and feel (not to mention sound) of the game than seeing it from the balcony, as we do for Caps games.

The Koharski tradition is in safe hands. Don might have retired, but his brother Terry is picking up the mantle of doofusness. There were times in this one when Koharski was less a referee and more a third defenseman for the Moose, blocking several attempts by Bears on the same shift to send the puck deep around the boards. Terry… get the crullers outta yer ass, already.

That’s three shutouts in Neuvirth’s last five games on Giant Center ice, and he might have had a fourth, but Brad Marchand scored a goal with 36 seconds left in a 2-1 Bears win over Providence in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference final. Neuvirth is now third in the playoffs in GAA, sixth in save percentage, first in shutouts, and most important, first in wins.

Hershey is still in a position to win the series without having to get on an airplane any more. But that won’t be easy. Manitoba had their chances, but Neuvirth had the answer for all of them tonight. Now, they do it all again tomorrow.

The 2008-2009 season, by the "tens" -- Wingers: Alex Ovechkin

Alex Ovechkin

Theme: “A gem is not polished without rubbing, nor a man perfected without trials”

So, a Chinese proverb applied to a Russian playing in a North American hockey league. Well, hockey is a global sport. But the point here is that Alex Ovechkin, despite having what for mere mortals would be a career year, slipped a notch this year, both in numbers and perception, and might very well see his nemesis – Sidney Crosby – skate around the ice with the Stanley Cup secure in his embrace before next week is out. Let’s compare last year to this…


Ovechkin played in three fewer games this year, but Alex Ovechkin was, and remains, the most dynamic force in the National Hockey League – over 130 feet of ice. From his own blue line to the opponent’s end boards, he is a threat every time he touches the puck, whether it is taking the puck at his own line and rushing up ice with a defenseman desperately trying to figure out what to do, or if it is his one timer from the left wing circle beating a goaltender before he can get across the crease, Ovechkin is the best in hockey. He was perhaps the most consistently productive offensive force in the game, as evidenced by his ten-game segments…


But…

There are two sets of numbers from the regular season that are a bit disturbing. First, there is the matter of Ovechkin going minus-7 over his last 21 games, despite his also going 12-19-31. How does such a thing happen? Well, he did earn almost half of those points on the power play (5-9-14) -- no plusses there. But one couldn’t help but think there was “coasting” aspect to his game, too. 13 of those last 21 games were played against familiar foes – teams in the Southeast Division. In those games, he was 6-14-20, but he was also a minus-7.

Then there is the matter of his turnover ratio. His giveaway total was higher this year than last, and his takeaway total was lower. Expressed as a ratio of takeaways to giveaways, Ovechkin dropped from 0.73 to 0.56. Ovechkin plays something of a high-risk game on offense and much of that offense goes through him, but that’s a rather precipitous increase in his generosity with the puck.

Let’s be clear here, we are not talking about a standard against which the average hockey player is compared. It is the high bar Ovechkin has set by virtue of his performance over his first three years. And in many ways, he topped that bar…

- Of the 16 opponents against which he played at least two games, he had points against 15 of them (he, and the other Caps, came up short against Columbus). Perhaps more remarkable – and another expression of his consistency – he had goals against 15 of those teams.

- The day of the week didn’t seem to matter in terms of his scoring: 19 points on Tuesdays, 19 points on Wednesdays, 18 on Thursdays, 13 on Fridays, 21 on Saturdays, 15 on Sundays. Like most of us, Mondays didn’t set well with him; he had “only” five points in five Monday contests.

- Against the other seven playoff teams in the East, Ovechkin played in 36 games and went 18-24-42, +7. He had no fewer than two goals or four points against any of those clubs, averaging at least a point a game against all of them.

- He was the fuel that fired wins – in the 49 wins in which he played, Ovechkin had 46 goals and 83 points.

Drilling further into his numbers, Ovechkin was second on the team among forwards (50 games, minimum) in 5-on-5 points scored per 60 minutes of play. He was, however, slightly below last year’s number (2.86 vs. 3.00). Ditto for goals – his 1.57 goals per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time was second on the team, but slightly below his number for last year (1.68). His Corsi rating, however, was much better this year (19.0 versus 13.0). However, he saw his goals scored against per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time increase dramatically, from 2.56 to 2.91. Since the comparable goals scored figure did not change much (down from 3.79 to 3.72), his goal differential per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 dropped from +1.23 to +0.81. Of course, such things are relative – many players in the NHL (not to mention coaches) would kill for players averaging almost a goal more scored than allowed per 60 minutes at 5-on-5. Nevertheless, as we said, the bar that Ovechkin has set for himself is high indeed.

But drilling down uncovers another odd number. Let’s consider what we might call “elite” forwards. For purposes of this comparison, we’ll select 10 from that group that would include Evgeni Malkin, Jarome Iginla, Joe Thornton, Eric Staal, Henrik Zetterberg, Zach Perise, Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane, Sidney Crosby, and Pavel Datsyuk. In terms of the ratio of penalties drawn to penalties taken at 5-on-5, Ovechkin’s ration of 1.24 is worse than any of those ten players:


Part of that might be style (Ovechkin is the biggest hitter of that bunch, one who initiates contact) or position (centers seem to dominate this list), but Ovechkin would only be fifth on this list in terms of drawing penalties, too. Caps fans will argue here that this is evidence of Ovechkin not getting his share of calls.

Although there were the fun moments -- the skills competiton in the All-Star Game when he hammed it up with the aid of Evgeni Malkin comes to mind -- Ovechkin had, even for an elite player, some difficulties this year. The passing of his grandfather early in the season no doubt weighed on him some. He had his longest career goal-less streak – nine games – as his grandfather’s condition worsened (he returned to Russia to be with him in the midst of this streak and missed two games). There was the sniping of Don Cherry and his ilk over goal celebrations, whispers of Ovechkin being something of a “cherry-picker,” and what some felt was an early playoff exit despite his netting 11 goals in 14 games to go with a plus-10 (8-6-14, plus-5 in the seven game Pittsburgh series). It was Sidney Crosby that advanced out of that second round, not Ovechkin, which undoubtedly will lead many – including the entire Canadian media contingent, we’re thinking – that Crosby has supplanted Ovechkin as the best hockey player on the planet (ok, there will be those Malkin fans, too).

The gripes are nit-picking, to a point. Ovechkin is the most compelling force in hockey, on and off the ice. But he hasn’t led his team (yet) any further than 17 of the other 19 playoff teams in Capitals history. And he does have work to do in terms of becoming a two-way player, or at least enough of one so that teammates can follow his lead (ok, yes…like that guy in Pittsburgh).

Next year will be a telling year in the career of Alex Ovechkin. He will be 24 years old when the season ends. That’s barely getting started in most walks of life, but looking at the greats – Gretzky won his first Cup at age 23, Mario Lemieux at 25, Maurice Richard at 22, Bobby Orr at 21, Gordie Howe at 21. The window is open for Ovechkin to join those greats, and to be mentioned in the same breath as them, he will have to have his name engraved on the same piece of hardware. It’s not all on Ovechkin; a team has to be built around him, just as it has been done in Pittsburgh around Sidney Crosby (age 21), and that is a job for the folks in the front office. But for this year, Ovechkin showed once more that he is elite among the elite in the NHL… but not without flaws that need to be polished and trials that had to be endured.

Grade: A-