Questions, Questions...Then and Now: The Forwards

As the 2013 NHL season starts this weekend, there are questions.  So many questions.  And everyone seems to be doing a blog or a column or a tweet with questions.  We addressed a number of questions about the Caps during our previews last September.  Even though the season is late getting started, these questions still seem to have some relevance.  So, let’s start this look at “the big questions” with the forwards…

Nicklas Backstrom… Will Nicklas Backstrom be centering Alex Ovechkin on the top line, or will he be centering…something on the second line as Mike Ribeiro centers Ovechkin?

What we wrote back then… Just when the Caps solve one problem, another one pops up.  Since dinosaurs roamed the earth, it seems, the Caps have been searching for a second-line center.  That problem looked to be solved when the Caps signed Mike Ribeiro away from Dallas as a free agent (edit: if by "free agent" you mean "return for Cody Eakin and a second round draft pick in a trade"...thank you, dear reader).  But with neither Mike Knuble nor Alexander Semin being re-signed, the Caps do not have any proven finishers on the wings on the second line (yes, Knuble struggled mightily last season, but he had been a reliable 20-goal scorer before that).  The Caps could rotate a number of players through those spots, including (but not limited to): Brooks Laich, Jason Chimera, Marcus Johansson, Wojtek Wolski, or even Mathieu Perreault.  Will Backstrom’s greater familiarity with this group suggest matching him to some combination of this group on a second line?

And now?... Well, is he healthy?  When Backstrom entered the NHL in October 2008 he started what would be a 313-game streak of games played before going missing Game 68 of the 2010-2011 season with a thumb injury.  Since then he has appeared in 52 of 97 regular season games (he missed 40 games last season to a concussion).  He enters this season having sustained a neck injury while playing for Dynamo Moscow in the Kontinental Hockey League.  Although he has been pronounced fit by a specialist in Michigan, there lingers the question of whether Backstrom can return to being the iron man he was upon entering the league.  An absence for any length of time from the Caps lineup would likely doom the Caps to also-ran status and an early end of the season.

Jay Beagle… Can Adam Oates work wonders – even small ones – with Beagle’s offense?

What we wrote back then… Jay Beagle has demonstrated an ability to play a solid, earnest game in his own end.  It did not go unnoticed when the playoffs started last season.  But at the other end, one wonders if someone can find the key to Beagle’s offense.  He had 47 goals in 211 regular season games over four seasons at Hershey.  Maybe there is something there that some tweaks will uncover.  Consider this.  New Jersey Devil David Clarkson compiled a total of 52 goals in 298 games in the NHL before last season.  As an assistant coach with the Devils last season Adam Oates showed Clarkson some video and suggested he shorten his stick.  Clarkson finished the season with 30 goals, obliterating his previous season high of 17.  This is not to say Oates can make Jay Beagle a 30-goal scorer, or even a 20-goal producer.  But if Oates can get Beagle to, say, double his production (note: even prorated for the shortened season), those extra four goals could come in handy and at least make the fourth line a more credible threat.

And now?... Beagle still could be among the more intriguing story lines for the Caps this seaaon, but it still remains to be seen whether he can be a regular fixture in the Caps’ lineup.  He played in 41 games last season, the most in his four-year NHL career.  It might have been more but for missing 31 games as the result of a concussion from being on the wrong side of a decision in a fight with Pittsburgh’s Arron Asham.  He did chip in four goals in those 41 games, though, a level of production that is a bit more than one might expect from a fourth-liner.  What is more, all of those goals came in his last 17 games of the regular season.  But what might be more important here is his ability to help prevent goals.  He was on ice for only 13 total goals against last season in 41 games, the lowest goals scored against per game of any returning Caps forward.  That could be his role this season.

Troy Brouwer… At this stage of his career, does Troy Brouwer become a Knublian Force?

What we wrote back then… Up until now, Troy Brouwer has been a perfectly fine complementary player, averaging 17.2 goals per 82 games over a career than has spanned parts of six seasons. Last year’s 18-goal total was right in line with that level of performance.  But Brouwer might get a long look as the full-time top-line right winger on this Caps team.  It was a spot at which he logged significant minutes last season, but one had the impression the Caps could have or wanted to do better.

At the moment, though, Brouwer might have the inside track to play on the right side on a line with Alex Ovechkin and whichever center – Nicklas Backstrom or Mike Ribeiro – is penciled into the middle of it.  And that presents Brouwer with an opportunity to let him find his inner “Knuble” – to be a guy who does the dirty work of clogging the crease and collecting garbage goals.  It was good enough for the departed Mike Knuble to record 53 goals in 148 games in his first two seasons with the Caps.

Here is how that opportunity might be realized.  In his last three seasons covering a span of 239 games Brouwer has not had less than a 13.5 percent shooting percentage and has averaged 15.4 percent efficiency over those three seasons on a total of 371 shots.  In 82 games last season Brouwer recorded more than two shots in a game only 20 times.  He was also sixth among Caps forwards in even-strength and power play ice time.  If he gets a bit more ice time and more shooting opportunities in those situations as a product of a more permanent role as the top-line right wing, the shooting efficiency he has demonstrated over the past three years could pay dividends.

And now?... Today’s Troy number… 27.  That is the number of even strength points he had last season.  He was sixth on the club in even strength ice time, so it is not as if he was especially lacking in ice time (about half a shift less, per game, that Marcus Johansson who was fourth in ES ice time).  Brouwer’s offensive statistics have dropped over the past three years… goals (22 to 18), assists (18 to 15), points (40 to 33), and plus-minus (plus-9 to minus-15).  This despite his total ice time going up by almost a minute a game.  If there is an even strength silver lining, he did set a personal best in even strength goals last season (15).  Brouwer does not have to be a 50-point player (or 30 in this abbreviated season), but if he is playing on one of the top two lines, as seems likely, getting back to 40 points (his career high in 2009-2010) -- maybe 25 in this season -- would go a long way toward Capitals success this season.

Jason Chimera… “New Normal” or do I hear a clock striking midnight?

What we said back then… In setting a career high in goals last season Jason Chimera did so without the benefit of shooting efficiency that was far outside his career norm.  Coming into the 2011-2012 season his career shooting percentage was 9.03.  He finished the season at 9.76 percent on 205 shots.  The shot total was also a career high and was more than 50 shots higher than what had been his average per 82 games over his career coming into the season (153).

Here is the odd number in those shot statistics.  Chimera’s 10.4 shots per 60 minutes of total ice time was not far off Alex Ovechkin’s 11.8.  By way of further comparison, Alexander Semin was next at 8.5 shots per 60 minutes of total ice time.  If you are thinking 20 goals might be the “new normal” for Jason Chimera, then 200 shots is going to have to be the new normal for him.  If normal, it certainly would be new since he has not averaged more than 9.1 shots per 60 minutes of ice time in any season before last year.  Exclusive of last season he has averaged 8.1 shots per 60 minutes of ice time over his career.  If he reverts to 8.1 shots per 60 minutes and shoots at 9.03 percent (his career average before last season) over the same 1,184 minutes he had last season he will be back to 14 goals.  It is a long way around the barn to say that the answer to the question is all about shots on goal.

And now?... We’re pretty much where we were when we looked at Chimera in September. Last season Jason Chimera doubled his goal output over his 2010-2011 season, potting a career high 20 goals.  A lot of things went right for him to get to 20.  Even in a system that seems likely to be more dynamic offensively than what the Caps employed last season, having those things go right two years running would not seem the way to bet.

Joey Crabb… Can Crabb firm up that soft underbelly that has been the Caps’ third and fourth lines too often over the past few years?

What we said back then… Last season, if you look at the bottom half of the forward draw for the Caps, the quintet of Joel Ward, Mike Knuble, Jeff Halpern, Matt Hendricks, and Jay Beagle recorded a total of 24 goals in 333 man-games, a six-goal pace per 82 games.  Crabb had 11 goals in 67 games last season in Toronto getting 13:26 a game (that was more average ice time than any of the Caps we mentioned except Knuble).  But scoring more does not really help much if you are on the ice for a lot of goals against.  Of Toronto forwards playing in at least 40 games last season, only Matt Frattin and Mike Brown were on ice for fewer even strength goals against; he was also third best among that group in terms of goals against/60 minutes at 5-on-5 (numbers from behindthenet.ca).

And now?... Crabb not only set a personal best for goals scored last season (11), but he scored more in 67 games than he did in the 77 games in his career before last season (seven).  And his was also a product of a high shooting percentage (14.7 percent, second on the Maple Leafs among players playing in at least 25 games).  Can he repeat that performance?  It is a small sample, but going into last season his career shooting percentage was 8.3 percent.  Given the shortened season, five goals might be considered an achievement for a player who seems targeted to get fourth-line minutes.

Matt Hendricks… Can Matt Hendricks translate some of his “paralyzer” game to the 60-minute portion of the game?

What we said back then… As Matt Hendricks enters his fourth full season his offensive production shows a somewhat concerning trend: nine goals in 56 games in 2009-2010 (a 13-goal pace per 82 games), nine in 77 in 2010-2011 (10), and four in 78 games last season (four).  And this trend comes in spite of his getting progressively more ice time (9:16/game three seasons ago to 11:28 in 2010-2011 to 12:07 last season).  Part of the problem might be that Hendricks’ offensive zone starts dropped from 51.7 percent in 2010-2011 to 44.2 percent last season.  Still a 4.1 percent shooting percentage is not something that can be sustained, even from a fourth line forward.  That shooting percentage was 449th among 597 forwards dressing in the NHL last season.  Only 22 forwards playing more than half their team’s games had lower shooting percentages.  That 4.1 shooting percentage would have ranked Hendricks only 131st among defensemen in the NHL last season.

And now?... In a 48-game season, those Bettman points might take on added meaning.  Hendricks had five trick shot goals last season.  If he comes close to replicating that performance it might be the margin by which the Caps get into the post season.

Marcus Johansson… Can Johansson use the hard lessons learned in 2011-2012 to become a solid second line contributor in the 2012-2013 season?

What we said back then… Consider this.  At the 18:30 mark of the third period of Game 7 last spring against the New York Rangers, with the Caps down a goal, Marcus Johansson took the ice for his last shift of the season.  He did not do it as a center.  He was playing right wing to Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Semin on the left side.  When play was stopped at the 19:20 mark on an offside call, the Caps had not registered a shot attempt on that shift.  Johansson skated to the bench in favor of Brooks Laich to take the ensuing faceoff.  Was that last shift something symbolic?  Something meaningful with respect to Johansson’s season?

Not in an obvious way, perhaps, but it did suggest that after 96 games (82 in the regular season and 14 in the playoffs) Johansson had not come as far as one might have hoped.  But that was in no small way a product of being thrust into a role that was outside his comfort level, given the state of his development.  He just was not ready to be a first-line center, and in the end was given a wing slot when things were most desperate for the team.  It was not a demotion by any means, but it was the sort of sideways movement that seemed to be his season.  The opportunity that results is that Johansson had a lot thrown at him in his sophomore season, and it might have been a blessing if he can take some of what he learned from that back to being a second-line center.

And now?... Here is the most important number to keep in mind with Johansson: “22.”  Johansson turned 22 on October 6^th.  He is still very green.  Since the lockout, 44 different forwards aged 21 or younger recorded 46 or more points, including Johansson.  There are a lot of big names on that list: Ovechkin, Crosby, Malkin, Stamkos, Toews, Kane, Kopitar, Seguin, Kessel, two Staals.  Caps fans seem a bit unimpressed with Johansson so far, but he is still in the midst of finding his niche.

Brooks Laich… What will his role be under new head coach Adam Oates?

What we said back then… It is precisely his versatility that makes this an interesting question.  He flourished at the offensive end under Bruce Boudreau, putting up 69 goals in 242 games over the 2007-2008 through 2009-2010 seasons.  Last year he started as part of a shutdown line – the “Meat and Potatoes” line with Joel Ward and Jason Chimera – but moved around the top three lines as circumstances (mostly injuries) dictated.  He can be (and was) deployed in a more defensive role; he can be deployed as a power play specialist.  Concerning this latter point, the departure of Mike Knuble and Alexander Semin suggests Laich will get more opportunities here.  Consider that 41 of his 116 career goals have been scored on the power play.

And now?... Laich comes into the season with a cloud over him.  Clearly he is injured, but the severity of it and the length of time it will keep him out of the lineup remains a mystery.  He could miss a week or two, which in the shortened season is almost like losing a month.    He was among the top five Capitals forwards in even-strength, shorthanded, and power play ice time last season, evidence of his versatility.  Missing him for a couple of weeks blows a big hole in the forward lines that has to be filled by multiple players, some with big questions of their own to answer.  For a team that could be on the edge of playoff eligibility, this could be a serious problem.

Alex Ovechkin… What does Alex Ovechkin have left?

What we said back then… That goal scorers enjoy their best years before the age of 27 is not exactly news.  But the difference between Alex Ovechkin of his first five seasons and the player he has been these last two seasons is considerable.  Ovechkin has never been an especially efficient shooter.  Even in the year in which he scored 65 goals he finished only in a tie for 46th in shooting percentage.  He did, as they say, a volume business in shots.  While he finished sixth among forwards in shots on goal last season, his total of 303 was 30 percent fewer than what he averaged over his first five years (432).  The matter of whether Ovechkin has more 40- or even 50-goal seasons left in him might come down to whether his drop in production is due to his being used differently by coaches, depressing his shot opportunities and shot totals, or to the fact that he can no longer get shots off from his preferred shooting areas.

And now?... Ovechkin overcame a bit of a slow start with Dynamo Moscow during the lockout.  Even now he is sixth in points and tied for fourth in goals in the KHL, despite playing in as many as ten fewer games than the players ranked ahead of him.  Granted, it is a level of hockey a rung below the NHL, but it did suggest he is ready to make an impression in the NHL when play resumes.  It makes the possibilities under new head coach Adam Oates even more intriguing.

Mathieu Perreault… Just where does Mathieu Perreault fit?

What we said back then… Mathieu Perreault is nominally a center, but it would be hard to think he has an inside track to any of the top three slots on this team.  Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Ribeiro are certainly ahead of him, and Marcus Johansson probably has an edge over Perreault on the third line, though that is by no means a certainty.  Perreault is an opportunistic goal scorer, as evidenced by his shooting percentage (he is over 20 percent in 120 career NHL games), but he does not have many opportunities.  That 26.7 percent shooting percentage last season came while averaging less than a shot on goal per game.  An offensive player is either going to have to generate more opportunities for himself, or he is going to have to do it for his teammates, and Perreault had fewer assists than goals both last season (14 to 16) and for his career (26 to 27).

And now?... Perreault is one of those players who might be asked to fill the hole left in the absence of Brooks Laich to start the season.  Perreault could get increased minutes at even strength and some power play minutes.  He showed the offensive skills to assume a bigger role last season, and his opportunistic bent might serve him well here.

Mike Ribeiro…  Can Mike Ribeiro be the contributor in the playoffs the Caps have lacked in the 2C slot?

What we said back then… It would be surprising if Mike Ribeiro did not have a regular season at the second line center slot better than that of any Caps’ center in the last ten years.  But the lack of a productive second line center has been crippling to the Caps in the post season in the post-Lockout I era.  Last spring the Caps got three points in 14 playoff games out of Marcus Johansson, who spent much of the season as the first or second line center.  The year before, Nicklas Backstrom had two points out of the first line center slot and the Caps got six out of Jason Arnott in the second line slot in nine post season games.  In 2009-2010 the Caps got a combined two points out of Eric Belanger and Brendan Morrison in seven playoff games.  Mike Ribeiro is here largely to improve on that… a lot.  But while he had 17 points in 18 games in his last playoff appearance, that appearance came in the 2007-2008 post season.  Will being out of practice influence his performance in the post season?  To the extent it does, it defeats much of the purpose of his being here.

And now?... If Backstrom is healthy, then the Caps really do get an opportunity to see what having an accomplished number two center will be like.  He has averaged 48 assists per 82 games since the lockout.  No Capital center other than Backstrom has had a single season with as many as 48 assists since the lockout.  On the other hand, do the Caps have enough accomplished finishers at wing to maximize Ribeiro’s talents?  This is going to be the recurring subplot for the season. 

Joel Ward… Was Ward’s season in 2011-2012 an aberration, or was it part of a slow decline in production?

What we said back then… 17-13-10-6… 35-34-29-18… 12.8 - 9.7 - 6.4 - 7.6.  That is Joel Ward’s four-year progression in goals, points, and shooting percentage, respectively.  There are 10 players that capgeek.com identifies as spot-on comparables with Ward in terms of his $3.0 million cap hit.  Those ten players averaged 75 games played last season with a 19-23-42 scoring line.  Ward was 6-12-18 in 73 games.  He certainly showed glimpses early on of what he was brought to Washington for, but as the season wore on his offense dried up.  To his credit, he played hard and responsibly in the defensive end in a system that valued those attributes.  But at $3.0 million a year, 18 points is probably below the low end of expected contributions in the offensive end.  Given the forwards the Caps have assembled for this season, can Ward expect to improve on his production from getting more than the 12:25 a night he skated last season?

And now?... We’re pretty much in the same place.  Ward is one of a logjam of big-body forwards who can give the Caps rugged play, but who have questions lingering about their ability to contribute offense on a consistent basis.  Last year Ward’s problem was perhaps not so much his own as how others chose to use him.  But that contract sticks out like a sore thumb.  It is too much for a fourth liner, if that is where he ends up getting his minutes.

Wojtek Wolski… Is Wojtek Wolski a contender or a pretender to be a top-six winger with the Caps?

What we said back then… Let’s face it.  If you are paying a former first round draft choice $600,000 on a one-year deal, you’re hoping for, not expecting big things.  This what is called a low-risk signing.  But if Wolski can score goals at something approaching his career pace per 82 games (18) and perhaps chip in a couple of extra goals with some power play time under the tutelage of Adam Oates, that just about replaces Alexander Semin’s production last season (21 goals) at less than a tenth of the cost.  And if he doesn’t, well, you still have the $6.1 million you’re not paying Semin this season (net of the $6.7 million cap hit last year) to do other things.  What is unnerving about Wolski is the idea that he has been traded as many times as he has in so few seasons and that he has gone from a team’s “topline to its fourth line to a healthy scratch to a salary dump.”  This is not the sort of career arc that one should feel comfortable thinking is that of a potential top-six forward.

And now?... What’s that sound?  Oh, it’s “opportunity” knocking.  With Brooks Laich looking at some time off to repair, Wolski has a golden opportunity to demonstrate that he can contribute as a scoring line forward.  He might prove that he can handle that workload, or that he will be a healthy scratch for a lot of the season when Laich returns.  The first 5-10 games might be his season.

Eric Fehr... Is he capable of "shouldering" any of the offensive load?

What we said back then... Well, nothing.  He was an unrestricted free agent about to sign a contract to play with HPK in Finland.  By the looks of things -- two goals in 35 games with Winnipeg in 2011-2012 -- he looked cooked.

And now?... In a sense he is the right-handed Wojtek Wolski.  Fehr has the same low-risk one-year, $600,000 contract.  He has the same sort of "damaged goods" history to deal with, which in his case really is damaged goods -- multiple surgeries on his shoulders and a back injury over the course of his career. He is also a reasonably efficient goal scorer given his injury history and limited ice time when in the lineup (15 goals per 82 games played over his career, even with that ghastly 3.7 percent shooting percentage last season).  If the Caps get anything approaching that level of scoring efficiency it will be money well spent.

Aftershocks

When thinking about the sort of post that would generate our highest volume of views and responses, we would have hoped it would have the headline, “Caps Win Cup, Cheerless Streaks at Kettler!”, not the post we entered last Friday.

But there it is, an unfortunate product of The Great NHL Lockout of 2012-2013. 

As we noted, we do not have any delusions that one rant is going to create a groundswell of resentment over what the NHL did over the last few months.  But the comments, e-mails, and tweets we received in response did suggest that there are more than a few hockey fans out there who are and remain upset over the behavior of management.

If anything surprised us in the responses it was that there were so few of a negative nature.  The vast majority of them were of the “me too” variety – fans who had come to similar conclusions that the business of the NHL was broken, one that seemed interested only in the commercial aspect of it at the expense of the “relationship” part of it.  To all those who took the time to respond, whatever your opinion, thank you for your attention.

The problem the NHL has is not one we think a week’s worth of so-called “appreciation” or a half-season’s worth of “discounts” will fix.  But that is the league’s problem, not ours.  We have severed our business relationship with the league; that is in the rear-view mirror.

It is time to return to the game.  The game itself remains, in our opinion, the most compelling spectacle in sport.  No other sport combines the speed, strength, endurance, and will that characterize ice hockey.  And it is that to which we will now return.  Besides, the cousins are getting itchy to get back to blogging about games. 

To those who stayed along for the ride during the lockout, we thank you for your own endurance.  For those who might be coming back after being away, or for those who might have stopped by out of curiosity after our rant, welcome.  It’s time to fire up the TV, pop open a cold one, and settle in for the thrill ride that is hockey.

I'm Sick, I'm Tired, and I'm Done

I am a hockey fan.  This probably is not news to you.  I’ve been one for more years than I care to admit.  It is why I watch the games, why I write this blog.  When I arrived in Washington in January 1984 from Michigan, the first order of business after getting the keys to my apartment and getting the utilities turned on was to get hockey tickets.  The Washington Capitals became my team.

Being a Caps fan would mean a lot of things over the years starting back then – Patrick Division rivalries; watching “The Plumbers” become the personality of a hard-working, lunch pail kind of team; a four-overtime gut punch in a Stanley Cup Game 7; an overtime winner in a Game 7; the annual disappointments of losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins; cheering on Rod Langway, Dale Hunter, and Mike Gartner; cheering on Lou Franceschetti, Steve Konowalchuk, and Kelly Miller.  Peter Bondra and Alex Ovechkin.  Bryan Murray and Bruce Boudreau.  I’ve seen about 350 players come through Washington in the years I have been following the Caps.  For 29 years almost to the day the Washington Capitals have been the team I rooted for above all others in DC, and in time, in all sports.

Early last Sunday morning the NHL and its players association came to terms – finally – on a framework for a new labor agreement.  Players are returning to NHL rinks from Russia, Sweden, the AHL, or from wherever they are working out to prepare for a late-starting season.  Fans will be returning to those rinks to cheer their favorites in hopes of seeing them raise the Stanley Cup.

One fan won’t be back, though.

After 29 years, after giving the matter far more thought than it deserved, and even though I am thrilled that the best players in the world will once more take the ice, I realize that being one of “the world’s greatest fans” merely means I can be taken for granted, played for a sucker, and given no respect by those who depend on fans like me for the health of their game.

My days as a season ticket holder are over.

I am sick of NHL ownership holding a season hostage merely because it can.  This is the third time I’ve seen a lockout in the NHL.  In 1994 the issue was small market revenue and who should pay for propping it up – players, by tying salaries to revenue, or teams, through revenue sharing.  In 2004, the argument was that the player compensation system was broken, crippling the ability of small market teams to compete.  This year, we were right back where we started.  You did not need a map and a flashlight to understand that the problem was not, as the Commissioner opined, that “we believe that we are paying the players more than we should be.”

It was that the league put hockey in cities that quite frankly cannot support it or that have turned their backs on it.  This was not the players’ problem.  It was the league’s problem and that of its ownership.  This lockout was on them and on them alone.  But in a callous effort to have others – players, for the most part – pay for the sins of NHL and club management, folks whose livelihoods depend on hockey suffered.  Fans who really are the greatest fans in the world did not suffer in the same way, perhaps, but their disappointment was deeply felt.  Perhaps that disappointment will manifest itself this time in fans turning away from the sport, or at least the NHL brand of it.  Sad it might be, but it will be what those who are the stewards of the game deserve.

I am tired of NHL ownership’s arrogance as expressed by their hired mouthpiece.  Gary Bettman commenting that “we have the greatest fans in the world” is merely boilerplate hot air, a throwaway line that speaks volumes about what the league thinks.  It drips with contempt for those fans, suggesting that there is no level of abuse they will endure that will push them away from the rink.  Three work stoppages under this Commissioner in 18 years?  Hah!  They’ll come back. 

There is the misleading tease.  Before the last lockout, the Commissioner said, “with the right economic system, we can take the pressure off of ticket prices, and I believe with the right economic system, many, if not most of our teams, will actually lower ticket prices. I believe we owe it to our fans to have affordable ticket prices.” 

Ownership got the economic system they wanted in 2005, down to every dotted “i” and crossed “t.”  Did ticket prices go down?  According to Team Marketing Report the average ticket price for the Washington Capitals went up 7.4 percent in 2009, 24.2 percent in 2010, and 12.3 percent in 2011.  Another hefty price increase was in store for the 2012-2013 season.  This time around, the league doesn’t even go through the pretense that ticket prices will be made “affordable” after yet another lockout.  This time, it seems, the fans are owed nothing.

I am tired of being treated like an idiot.  There are owners who will say, “our season-ticket pricing has been moderate when compared with others around the league…we estimate that our average ticket price will be in the middle of the pack. More importantly to you, however, our season-ticket pricing will be in the lower half of the league.”  More important to me?  More important to me are the double-digit percent price increases that have become normal.  It is not as if I can be a cost-conscious consumer and say, “well, maybe I’ll just buy a season ticket package for one of those teams with lower prices.”  The market choice I have here is purchasing a Washington Capitals season ticket or none.  So stop with the silly arguments about having lower prices than the Toronto Maple Leafs or the New York Rangers.  They aren’t relevant.

In the end, it was all so pointless.  The lockout became a bubble in which the two sides argued over what would become comparatively small sums of money, given the revenue the game generates, without a concern in the world for those outside the bubble who actually pay the freight – the fans – and those who depend on hockey for their livelihoods – small businesses, vendors, arena staff, and more.  It became a death match in which the sides, but the league far more than the players, were more willing until the last possible moment to blow up a season than entertain the thought or perception that they could “lose” to the other side.  No one – I repeat, no one – was thinking of “the good of the game” in this pathetic affair.

Once upon a time, I wrote a long essay about my relationship to NHLhockey and the Washington Capitals in particular.  The passion for hockey is still there, but not so much for the NHL.  The National Hockey League has cultivated a subtle idea in the minds of hockey fans.  The league would like you to believe that there is equivalence between being a “real” hockey fan and purchasing their product to watch in person and their merchandise to wear at those games.  If you’re not attending NHL games or buying NHL team jerseys, you are some lesser specie of fan.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  One can be a rabid fan without ever buying a ticket, purchasing a jersey, or contributing one thin dime to any of the league’s affiliated enterprises.

I am a fan of hockey.  I will continue to be a fan of hockey.  But I am not a fan of the NHL as a corporate enterprise.  I root for the Washington Capitals.  I will continue to do so and to write in this space about them.  But I do not root for Monumental Sports and Entertainment.  Hockey fans should acknowledge the difference between competitive hockey played on a rink and corporate hockey played at a conference table.  You can watch games and cheer in the company of friends at a local bar (whose owner – perhaps one hurt very much by this lockout – probably respects your patronage much more than does the NHL); you can do so with your fellow fans at each others' homes.  Or, if you just want to root in solitude, you can do so in a comfortable chair where the beer is colder and the food is cheaper.  You can still be a rabid fan of the sport without lining the pockets of the league or its clubs while being abused or insulted every half dozen years or so for the privilege.

Fellow hockey fans, it is time to face an inconvenient truth about your position in the world of NHL hockey.  You are a wallet with feet, a credit card number, nothing more.  Neither the league nor its clubs have any consideration for you outside of that.  Ignore that at your peril or at your profound disappointment.  The next time a league official says you are “the greatest fans on earth,” know it for what it is, a throwaway piece of rhetoric.  The next time a club owner says he values, appreciates, or cherishes you, it is prelude to his trying to pry more money out of your wallet.  And as for bottom lines, there is but one bottom line here, the owners’.

Because in the end, sports is a business.  That is not just a turn of phrase, it is a reality.  Sports has always been thus, but it has more often than not been accompanied by at least the notion that a sports franchise was a community enterprise, that one was a steward of that enterprise as well as an owner.  These days, that has changed.  A sports franchise is merely an asset to be managed by people whose interest doesn’t seem to stray far from, well, asset management.  The NHL has reduced itself in this process to an elemental expression of that fact.  In that respect – and perhaps in that respect alone – they are like one of the major professional sports.

OK, fine.  It’s a business.  As a member of that business the Washington Capitals are asking me to buy a product.  It is a product that has provided a lot of thrills over the years and its share of disappointments, too; misfortunes that I have set aside to return to the stands because I do have a passion for hockey.  The current state of the product the Capitals want to sell me has evidenced little improvement over the past several years and has shown itself to be unreliable in its availability.  Yet it is one for which I am being asked to pay higher and higher…and higher prices, year after year…after year.  If it was just that, though, I’d be back.  The pull of hockey has been, and remains, that strong. 

Let me repeat that…the pull of hockey has been, and remains, that strong.  After all, I had already decided last spring to renew for this season, despite the too-frequent on-ice disappointments with my team and even the sticker shock in ticket price increases from year to year.  But in the midst of this lockout, I found myself realizing that I just don’t want to do business with these people anymore.  Arrogance, unreliability, and an utter lack of sensitivity or appreciation to those who pay the bills do not make for a trusted business partner.

You, dear reader, might think this rant is one-sided, that there is blame to be shared by the players and their Players Association.  I am not happy with some of their tactics, but in the end, one party was responsible for a lockout, and it has become the default position of the league upon the expiration of collective bargaining agreements.  In the assignment of blame for the state of NHL hockey and this lockout, the scales tip heavily on the ownership side of the scale.

I have no delusions that the rant of one unhappy hockey fan is going to create a groundswell of opposition to what the NHL is doing.  It will not register not at all in Washington.  After all, the Caps are selling out the joint, and there is a “waiting list” for tickets.  Enjoy it while it lasts.  Because the Caps might be the “in” thing in DC for now, but a lot of those fans that jumped on board when they started winning won’t miss a beat in jumping off when they stop or when they are overtaken by other local teams, such as the up-and-coming Nationals or a Redskins team that has an electrifying rookie in Robert Griffin III.

In the end, I can't even be angry, just sad.  Sad in the knowledge that in almost 29 years as a fan attending games when I could, then as a partial plan holder, and then as a season ticket holder, I was there when the Caps were the lunch-pail team working hard and busting tail, despite the playoff disappointments.  I was there when the Caps were frustrated year after year, first by the Islanders, then by the Penguins.  I was there when the Caps tried to do the right thing and trade for a superstar in Jaromir Jagr, then when they traded Jagr away to start to rebuild their team.  I was there going into and coming out of The Great Lockout of 2004-2005, when the Caps tried hard but weren't very good.  I was there when the Caps couldn't draw flies. I was there when they made themselves competitive again.  I was not alone.  A lot of season ticket holders, fierce in their loyalty, could tell a similar story here in Washington and in a lot of other cities around the league.

But now, I find that for a few dollars, or pride, or just being unable to stomach the very idea of "losing" to the help in a labor dispute, the league could not return that loyalty for their legions of season ticket holders and fans.  The league seemed intent to follow a script in which they would get around to a settlement, secure in the knowledge that whatever the delay, fans would be back.  Well, when the NHL locked out its players, it locked out its fans, too.  The difference between one and the other is that the players will be back.  And even though I suppose most fans will be back, I won’t be, not as a season ticket holder.  One might argue that I’m turning my back on the NHL, but the fact is the league turned its back on me and thousands of other fans when it decided to go down this road one more time.

I’m sick, I’m tired, and I’m done.

F.J. Corrigan

Just Get In...It's Not Just a Tag Line This Year

Well, Caps fans, there will be a season.  And a short one it will be.  If there is one theme that might best fit this 48-game season, it is this…

“Just Get In.”

Sure, you’ve heard that before, that in the NHL finishing at the top of the heap in the regular season does not mean much, and even the also-ran can succeed in the post season.  After all, the Los Angeles Kings will defend the 2012 Stanley Cup having won it as an eighth-seed last spring.

That is the rare exception.  This time, though, "just get in" might mean something.  The clear comparison here is 1995, when the league started late after a lockout and played a 48-game season.  In the first round of the playoffs that season, big upsets (if you could call them that) were not rare.  For instance…

• The Vancouver Canucks, a team that finished with only 48 points in the regular season off an 18-18-12 record, beat the 28-15-5 (61-point) St. Louis Blues.
• The San Jose Sharks, who finished a dismal 19-25-4 (42 points) in the regular season, beat the Calgary Flames – the champion of the Pacific Division (24-17-7, 55 points).
• The New York Rangers, who finished the regular season 22-23-3 (47 points), knocked off the Quebec Nordiques, who had the best record in the East that year (30-13-5, 65 points).
• The New Jersey Devils, who finished the regular season with the same record as the Washington Capitals (22-18-8), beat the Boston Bruins (27-18-3, 57 points) in five games.

The second round was not so kind to underdogs.  Three higher seeds – Chicago, Detroit, and Philadelphia – knocked off lower seeds.  But there the Devils were, beating the Pittsburgh Penguins, a team that finished nine points ahead of them in the standings (29-16-3, 61 points).

The Devils did it again in the conference finals, beating Philadelphia in six games to reach the finals.  There, they made short work of the team with the best regular season record in the league, the Detroit Red Wings (33-11-4, 70 points), sweeping the Wings in four straight to win the Stanley Cup.

And if you’re trying to divine whether starting fast or closing fast makes a difference, well…

• Quebec opened like they were shot out of a cannon, going 12-1-0 in their first 13 games (their only loss would be a one-goal loss to New Jersey).  They closed less than supersonic, going 2-4-1 in their last seven games to close the regular season as Eastern Conference champs before being eliminated by the Rangers in the first round of the playoffs.
• The Rangers closed with a rush, compared to the rest of its season, going 7-4-0 to finish one game under .500 before disposing of Quebec in the first round.
• Detroit started hot and never really cooled off.  They went 12-4-1 to start the season, and in 48 games they lost consecutive games only once (Games 44 and 45, both on the road in Los Angeles and Winnipeg).  They rode the wave all the way to the finals before losing.
• Vancouver struggled early before going 9-5-4 to close the season, then upended the St. Louis Blues in the first round.
• On the other hand, the Blues finished up 7-5-2 after a 21-10-3 start.  They dropped a seven-game series to the Canucks to end their season.

Then there were those Devils.  It was not as if they started aflame.  They were 3-5-2 in their first ten games.  And it was not as if they closed with a big kick, either.  They were 2-4-1 in their last seven games.  As noted, they finished 22-18-8 (52 points), tied for fifth in points among Eastern Conference teams.

But there the Devils were, knocking off the Boston Bruins in five games to open the playoffs, then besting the Pittsburgh Penguins in five to win in the second round.  They beat the Philadelphia Flyers in six games to advance to the Stanley Cup final, then swept the Detroit Red Wings in four games to raise the Cup.   From a 22-18-8 regular season finish to a 16-4 record in the post season. 

All it took was just getting in.  This year, it might prove just as true.

Your Simulated Caps at the Simulated 40-Game Mark

The Washington Capitals played almost half a virtual 2012-2013 season before the league and its players association agreed on a framework for a new labor agreement that would allow a real 2012-2013 season to be played.

In those 40 games the Caps compiled a record of 21-15-4, good for second place in the Southeast Division, their 46 points being three points behind the Carolina Hurricanes and tied for sixth in the Eastern Conference.

Compared to last season through 40 games, the Caps realized some improvement.  In 2011-2012 they were 21-17-2 at the 40-game mark, this season being a two point improvement over the 40-game total last season.  It is not an insignificant difference.  Last year, 44 points after 40 games left the Caps in tenth place in the East, two points behind eighth-place Pittsburgh.

On the power play, the Caps have become more efficient, converting 19.8 percent of their man advantages compared to 19.0 after 40 games last season.  The difficulty, though, is still the team’s inability to draw penalties.  Last season they finished 26^th in total power play opportunities; this year they are on a pace to finish last with fewer opportunities (217) than Colorado finished with last season (222).

The penalty kill has shown greater improvement.  The Caps’ 87.1 percent efficiency rate ranks them fourth in the league.  Were they to finish there it would be a vast improvement over their tie for 20^th place finish last season.

Overall, the offense is right where it was at 40 games last season – 117 total goals scored.  The defense, though, is much better.  The 105 total goals allowed (2.63/game) is 13 fewer than what they were at the same milepost last season (2.95).

Individually, the leaders through 40 games look like this, with their comparable 40-game totals from last season…

And so you have it.  The Caps after 40 games of this virtual season are a bit better than last season, but there is still a long way to go.  This will be the last installment of our look at what a 2012-2013 season might have been.  With the NHL and NHLPA having reached agreement on a framework for a new labor deal early this morning, the real thing will be starting up in the next couple of weeks.  Let the real games begin.

A NO-point night -- Blackhawks 4 - Capitals 3

Saturday night, the Washington Capitals took the virtual ice for the 40^th time this season, hosting the Chicago Blackhawks at Verizon Center.  The Hawks were coming off a tough 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers in Chicago on Wednesday, while the Caps were fighting illness, injury, and a 2-4-1 record in their previous seven contests.

Neither team appeared especially interested in reversing their recent fortune; no shots were recorded for either team in the first five minutes of play.  Although that statistic was reversed for each team, only Chicago would make good on any of their shots in the first period.  Jamal Mayers notched his third goal of the season by putting back a rebound of a shot by Dave Bolland at the 14:33 mark.  The visitors made it 2-0 in the dying moments of the first period when Steve Montador sent a soft wrist shot to the Caps’ net that goalie Michal Neuvirth whiffed on when he tried to glove it down.  The Hawks went to the locker room with a 2-0 lead, even though the Caps out-shot them, 9-7.

The second period opened with Braden Holtby taking over in net for the Caps, and things started in ugly fashion for him.  Jonathan Toews won the draw to open the period back to Duncan Keith.  The Blackhawk defenseman sent the puck up to Patrick Kane at the Capitals’ line where he turned and circled for the Caps net. His wrist shot snuck though Holtby’s five-hole, giving Chicago a 3-0 lead just 16 seconds into the middle frame.

The Blackhwaks sensed blood in the water and went for the kill with heavy pressure on Holtby.  They were unable to add to their goal total, and gradually the Caps tilted the ice in the other direction.  Their efforts paid off when Jay Beagle drew a tripping call on Patrick Kane as Beagle wrestled the puck away from him.  The Caps converted the power play opportunity a half-minute later when Nicklas Backstrom slid a pass from close quarters to Mathieu Perreault at the post to the left of goalie Ray Emery.  Perreault redirected the puck past Emery’s skate to put the Caps on the board.  They could get no closer over the last five minutes of the period, though, and the teams went off at the second intermission with the Blackhawks holding a 3-1 lead.

Chicago made it 4-1 at the 4:02 mark when Keith recorded his fifth goal of the year, wristing a shot past Holtby off a faceoff win by Jonathan Toews. 

Joey Crabb got the Caps got closer at the 13:25 mark when he banked a shot off the skate of Chicago defenseman Johnny Oduya.  Troy Brouwer made a game of it when he snapped the puck past Emery at the 17:44 mark with Brent Seabrook draped all over him. 

That would be as close as the Caps would get. They would have chances late with Holtby pulled for an extra attacker.  Nicklas Backstrom hit a post with 30 seconds left, and Alex Ovechkin sent a shot just wide before the final horn.  But Chicago escaped with a 4-3 win, giving the Caps their sixth loss in eight games.

Notes: Michal Neuvirth was listed as day-to-day after being removed at the first intermission with flu symptoms.

Blackhawks 4 – Capitals 3

A ONE-point night -- Game 39: Hurricanes 4 - Capitals 3 (OT/SO)

On Thursday the Washington Capitals took to the ice in Raleigh, NC to face the Carolina Hurricanes and to try to establish some momentum after going 2-4-0 in their last six games.  They would do so with a depleted lineup as illness and injury took over the Caps’ locker room.  Mike Ribeiro, Marcus Johansson, Wojtek Wolski, and Dmitry Orlov all were held out of the game, giving Zach Hamill his second start this week for Washington and giving Matthias Sjogren his first start in the NHL.

Things did not start well for the Caps as Eric Staal opened the scoring just 55 seconds into the contest when the Caps got sloppy with the puck in their own end.  Jack Hillen tried to send a pass through the middle to Nicklas Backstrom at the Carolina blue line.  Staal flagged the puck down, though and ripped a wrist shot past goalie Michal Neuvirth to give the Hurricane fans something to cheer early on.

The home team added to its lead at the 9:12 mark.  This time is was Jordan Staal figuring in the scoring,  Staal outworked Jeff Schultz behind the Caps’ net and slid a backhand pass into the slot where Tuomo Ruutu buried the puck before Neuvirth could react.  Head coach Adam Oates called his timeout at this point, not liking what he was seeing on the ice, the Caps having wasted two power play opportunities and allowed two goals in less than ten minutes.

The timeout seemed to settle the Caps, at least on defense.  They could not, however, find a way to solve Carolina goalie Cam Ward.  The first period ended with the Hurricanes leading, 2-0, and leading on the shot meter by a 9-8 margin.

Things did not improve much for the Caps to open the second period.  Jack Hillen and Joey Crabb took penalties 32 seconds apart in the fourth minute to give Carolina a 5-on-3 power play.  Michal Neuvirth was nothing short of amazing in leading the penalty kill, fending off six shots in the 1:28 of 5-on-3 play and another two shots in the 5-on-4 portion of the power play. 

The penalty kill gave the Caps a lift, as they dominated territory for much of the rest of the period.  They could not, however, find the back of the net on two more power plays, making them 0-for-5 in the first 37 minutes of the game.  They finally broke through with less than two minutes left in the second period when Joel Ward scored his fifth of the year, poking a loose puck past Cam Ward’s left pad.  The second period ended that way, with Carolina holding on to a 2-1 lead and a 21-17 lead in shots on goal.

Washington opened the third period with heavy pressure on Carolina, but they were having trouble getting pucks all the way to the Hurricane net.  The inability to take advantage of that pressure came back to haunt the Caps when Jussi Jokinen wristed a puck past Neuvirth from the left wing circle with just 6:29 left.  It looked grim for the Caps as the clock wound down toward the two minute mark.  Then Carolina suffered a breakdown.  John Carlson reversed the puck along the rear wall, and Joe Corvo tried to corral it at the Capitals’ blue line. He was late getting there, though, and the puck slid into the neutral zone where Jason Chimera picked it up.  Chimera started out with Jamie McBain back.  Brooks Laich joined in the play to make it a 2-on-1.  Chimera held the puck as he entered the offensive zone, then ripped a shot that Ward got a pad on.  The rebound came out to Laich, who batted it back and into the back of the Carolina net to get the Caps within a goal.

Just over a minute later, with Neuvirth called to the bench and the Caps skating 6-on-5, the visitors tied it up.  Alex Ovechkin circled out from the left wing wall after picking up a loose puck off the stick of Mathieu Perreault.  As he skated inside the faceoff dot he used defenseman Tim Gleason as a screen for a wrist shot.  Cam Ward saw it at the last moment and got his left pad on the shot.  But he was in no position to defend a rebound, and Nicklas Backsrom pounced on it for the equalizer with just 47 seconds left in regulation.

That is how the 60-minute portion of the game ended, and the teams went to overtime.  Carolina had the better of the play in the extra session, but Neuvirth turned away all six shots he faced.  Cam Ward faced only two shots at the other end, keeping the back of his own net clear.

That left it to the Gimmick.  Matt Hendricks, Alex Ovechkin, and Mathiew Perreault took turns unsuccessfully for the Caps, while Jeff Skinner and Eric Staal failed in their own trick shot attempts.  Jussi Jokinen finished things off for the home team, though, when he snuck a snap shot through Neuvirth’s five hole that the goalie couldn’t squeeze.  Carolina skated off with a 4-3 shootout win and extended it’s lead in the Southeast Division to three points.

Hurricanes 4 – Capitals 3 (OT/SO)

The Cousins Weigh In on The Great NHL Lockout

So here we are.  Day 111 of The Great NHL Lockout of 2012…uh, 2013. 

“You realize, cousin, that the number ‘111’ is a perfect totient number.”

A what, Fearless?

“A perfect totient number.”

“Toilet number?  I thought that wuz a ‘1’ or a ‘2.’"

“Totient…totient, not ‘toilet,’ Cheerless.”

“Well, I think this whole lockout thing is a perfect number ‘2,’ if you ask me.”

Guys, can we leave exotic mathematics and bodily functions out of the discussion for the moment?  You two have been pretty quiet about this whole lockout thing.  It seems like any moonyok with a keyboard and at least two working fingers has an opinion on whether we’re going to have a season or not…

“We’re not just any moonyoks, cuz.”

No argument from me, but still, do either of you have any thoughts on the matter now that the calendar has turned over without NHL hockey on it?

“Cousin, I think everyone needs to take a deep breath and realize that these are titanic issues confronting the National Hockey League…”

“Huh…titanic.  Yeah, and look what happened to that boat.”

“As I was saying, these are titanic issues confronting the National Hockey League.  On the one hand you have grasping, greedy, graceless, grumpy grifters trying to grab the last farthing on the table.  On the other you have, well, the same thing.”

“You’ve been reading too much from them hockey media types.”

“How so, my dim-witted cousin?”

“Let me guess, you think both sides are equal to blame, even-steven, right down the middle, right?”

“Of course, such is always the way of such things.”

“So, then you’re saying that the owners locked out the players just in time, right before the players had a chance to lock out the owners, right?”

“No, what I’m saying is…”

“And both sides have given up stuff they had under the old agreement, right?”

“Well…”

“So it’s just a case of two guys who can’t seem to get along not getting along enough to make a deal that’s sitting right in front of them?”

“Uh…”

“And no one needs to be held accountable for being stoopid.”

“Well, you’d know stupid…”

“And not just that, but the stoopid things done by one side have to be paid for by the other side…you think that’s fair?”

“What’s ‘fair?’…this is a negotiation.”

“Yeah, cuz, but don’t crap in my hand and call it chocolate pudding, either.”

Guys, are you going somewhere with this or just grazing?

“That ‘Capgeek’ fella said way back in September when this whole lockout thing started that teams spent more than $1.5 billion on 177 players since the free agent stuff started on July 1.  Know how many Slim Jims that’ll buy?..."

“I don’t have the number at my fingertips.”

“…more than five billion wholesale.  I looked it up.”

“You must have spent days doing the arithmetic on your fingers and toes.”

“And now, these doofuses want to call ‘do over.’”

“But there are a lot of teams losing money, and…”

“Hey, even I can figure out that a game played on ice isn’t going to be a big draw in places where ice is only used to keep the beer cold.  Where are all these teams that are losing so much money?  According to those guys at Forbes, they’re in places like Phoenix, Tampa, Miami, Anaheim, Carolina, and Nashville.  I see six teams there, but not the ‘Original Six.’  Whose bright idea was it to put teams there?”

“But…”

“And what’s with the contracts?  Is there some Federal law that says every owner has to have at least one player with a contract that lasts as long as the gum I stuck under the table?  They got 11 teams with 16 players with contracts of at least ten years totaling $1.2 billion according to that Capgeek fella…but I did the arithmetic all by myself on that one.  These guys can’t help themselves, so they scream “stop me before I sign another guy to a gozillion year contract!’”

“You seem inspired.”

“And back to this whole even-steven thing, if the players have to give up money and contract years and this and that and the other thing, what are they getting?  What is the other side giving up?"

“Well, there’s…uh…”

“Yeah, exactly.  So, what you’re telling me, cousin, is that because one side is trying to get a deal where they end up having to give up less than what they would have had to give up in all the other proposals they got, that they’re just as much to blame for there being no hockey, even though I don’t see any players with a set of keys locking the doors to any rink so that hockey isn’t being played.”

“But it’s complicated.”

“No, it’s not.  It’s stoopid.  But the league seems to be really good at being really stoopid.  Then again, maybe we’re being really stoopid, too.”

How’s that, Cheerless?

“We’re still fans.”

Well, we’ll see.

A NO-point night -- Game 38: Penguins 4 - Capitals 1

The Washington Capitals ended the old year in dismal fashion, hoping 2013 would be more successful than the year they left behind at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh.  The Caps were a team fighting a flu bug, and it showed as they dropped a 4-1 decision to the Penguins on Monday night.

The Caps were missing Mike Ribeiro, Marcus Johansson, and Dmitry Orlov to illness, leading the club to calling up Zach Hamill from the Hershey Bears for his first appearance in a Caps uniform, and to give Jeff Schultz a sweater for the first time since October.

The first period passed without scoring, the teams exchanging unsuccessful power plays when the Caps’ John Carlson was sent off at 12:43 for interference and Matt Cooke for the Penguins at 18:22.

The second period started a bit differently.  Mike Green was sent to the penalty box for elbowing 44 seconds into the period.  At 1:13 the Penguins converted the opportunity when Evgeni Malkin backhanded a centering feed from Sidney Crosby past Caps goalie Braden Holtby.

Pittsburgh doubled their lead at 13:36 when Malkin struck again.  This time it was more of an individual effort, picking up a pass from Kris Letang as he was heading into the neutral zone.  He feinted toward the middle, which froze Roman Hamrlik.  Malkin used the opening to curl wide where there was a clear path to the Capitals’ net.  He pulled the puck onto his forehand and slipped it between Holtby’s pads to give the home team a 2-0 lead, a score that stood up as the teams went to the second intermission.

Pittsburgh widened its lead in the eighth minute of the final period when Malkin drew two Caps to him, and Malkin found James Neal for a quick snap shot that sailed past Holtby’s glove.

The Caps got one back when Joey Crabb poked a loose puck past Pens goalie Marc-Andre Fleury after a goal-mouth scramble, but that would be as close as the Caps would come.  Craig Adams potted an empty-net goal with 29 seconds left to ice the game and send the Caps home with their second straight loss and fourth in six games by a 4-1 margin.

Notes: Ribeiro, Johansson, and Orlov all are reported as day-to-day with flu symptoms.  Wojtek Wolski left the game in the second period with what appeared to be a leg injury and did not return.  He is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

Penguins 4 – Capitals 1

A Not So Merry Virtual Week -- Caps Go 2-3-0

While we were away, the Washington Capitals – well, the virtual version of them, anyway – spent Christmas week marking time.  In five games Washington went 2-3-0 and finished the week tied with Carolina for first place in the Southeast Division with 45 points on a 21-13-3 record.  Here is how it went for the good guys…

December 22, Game 33: Boston 3 – Washington 2

Boston broke on top just 78 seconds into the game on a give-and-go between Tyler Seguin and Nathan Horton, Seguin finishing the play for his 12^th goal of the season.  Washington tied it late in the first on Nicklas Backstrom’s 10^th goal of the year, but Boston notched single goals in the second and third periods to give them a lead and insurance.  It was insurance they would need when Mike Green scored his sixth of the year with the Caps’ net empty in the last minute.  However, the Caps could get no closer, and Boston gained some measure of revenge for their Game 7 loss at TD Garden last spring.

December 23, Game 34: Washington 4 – Carolina 3 (OT)

It was the Brothers Staal Show early in this one as Eric and Jordan staked the Hurricanes to a 2-0 lead in the first period.  The visitors made it 3-0 just before the second intermission when Alexander Semin notched his 14^th goal of the season, finishing  on a curl-and-drag around Dmitry Orlov.  It looked as if the Caps would head into the Christmas break on a down note, especially when the Caps were unable to solve Carolina goalie Brian Boucher in the first half of the final period.  All of that changed when Mike Ribeiro wristed one in from the high slot after a Brooks Laich shot rebounded away from Boucher.  Troy Brouwer scored at the 15:33 mark, and the Caps came all the way back when Ribeiro scored again with 26.8 seconds left in regulation when Boucher could not find a loose puck lying at the doorstep.  The Caps secured the extra standings point when Alex Ovechkin cut inside of the Carolina defense and wristed the puck past Boucher at 4:22 of the extra period.

December 26, Game 35: Buffalo 4 – Washington 2

The Caps faced the Sabres for the first of their four games this season, and it did not end well.  It was a thoroughly sluggish effort by the Caps, who fell behind in the first on a goal by Tyler Ennis and an early second period goal by Thomas Vanek.  The Caps cut the Buffalo lead in half when Brooks Laich scored his ninth of the year on a power play at the 9:12 mark of the second period.  The Caps could not get the equalizer, though, and the Sabres reclaimed a two-goal lead when Nathan Gerbe recorded his sixth goal of the season late in the period.  The Caps climbed back within one when Wojtek Wolski scored at 12:22 of the third period.  But that would be as close as the Caps would get.  Jason Pominville scored at 14:39 for the final margin.

December 27, Game 36: Capitals 3 – Islanders 2

The post-holiday sluggishness continued for the Caps when they returned to Verizon Center to host the New York Islanders.  Washington fell behind when Kyle Okposo muscled his way to the net and stuffed the puck behind Michal Neuvirth on an Islander power play at 12:54 of the first period.  That was one of the rare scoring opportunities either team had in the first period.  The second period was different.  Matt Hendricks was the unlikely spark plug, potting his third of the season just over a minute into the period to tie the game.  Nicklas Backstrom followed in short order, scoring his 11^th of the season just 32 seconds after Hendricks’ tally.  It was Hendricks again at 4:12 to give the Caps a 3-1 lead.  It was all the Caps would need.  The Islanders made it close on a Matt Moulson goal (his 15^th of the season) with 27 seconds left, but the Islanders would threaten no more, the Caps skating off with the 3-2 win.

December 29, Game 37: Nashville 2 – Washington 0

The best word to describe this game might have been “stifling”… as in Nashville’s stifling defense.  The Predators scored just 52 seconds into the game when Mike Fisher put back a David Legwand shot.  Pekka Rinne and the Nashville defense took over from there.  Nashville held the Caps to a combined 14 shots over the first 40 minutes, and that seemed to take the fight out of the Caps.  Fisher would pot an empty net goal with 3.7 seconds left in the contest to provide the final margin, wasting a fine 27 saves on 28 shots effort by goalie Braden Holtby.

For the week Nicklas Backstrom led the Caps with six points (2-4-6) with Alex Ovechkin (1-3-4) and Mike Green (1-3-4) close behind.  In goal, Michal Neuvirth finished the week 1-2-0, 3.00, .900; while Braden Holtby finished 1-1-0, 1.93, .936.

The Five Stages of Writing the "Take It or Leave It" Labor Agreement

Comedian Larry Miller once came up with a brilliant bit that described the "five stages of drinking."  Turns out there are five stages to a lot of things, not the least of which is writing the "take it or leave it" proposal for a labor agreement.  Sort of like the "take it or leave it" agreements (note: plural) the NHL has offered up during this God-forsaken lockout. 

Here then, with apologies to Larry Miller, is how those stages unfold...

LEVEL 1:

It's 11:00 on a September weeknight, you've got crumpled paper from labor proposals littering the floor of your office. You get up to leave because you’re sick of this stuff and besides, one of your friends wants to buy you a round. Here at level one you think to yourself, "Oh come on, this is silly, as long as I just pass this off as a ‘take it or leave it’ deal (snap fingers), I'm cool."

LEVEL 2:

It's midnight on a weeknight in October. The other side rejected your deal, and you've just spent 20 minutes putting in a clause proposing realignment. You get up to leave again to meet your friend at the bar, but at level two, a little devil appears on your shoulder. And now you're thinking, "Hey! I'm out with my friends! What am I working for anyway? These are the good times! Besides, as long as I can pass THIS off as a ‘take it or leave it’ deal (snaps fingers), I'm cool."

LEVEL 3:

One in the morning Hallowe’en night…uh, next morning. You've had your friend bring over a case of beer and a gallon of tequila. You've just spent 20 minutes writing a clause AGAINST realignment. And now you're thinking, "Don Fehr is the smartest guy I’ve ever gone up against." At level three, you respect the world. On the way to the bathroom you say hello to the custodian working the night shift because you like his face. You get fantasies. (Like, "Hey fellas, if we do this right, we could crush the union and have labor peace forever. We could do it.") But at level three, that devil is a little bit bigger....and he's not buying your schtick. And you're thinking, "Oh, come on, come on now.  As long as I can convince everyone that THIS is a ‘take it or leave it’ deal… and get more than ten minutes of sleep before we announce it (snaps fingers), I'm cool."

LEVEL 4:

Two o’clock on Thanksgiving morning. And the devil is at the podium.  You hijacked a Budweiser delivery truck. You ARE realigned. This time on your way to the bathroom, you punch the custodian on the night shift ...just because you don't like his face. And now you're thinking, "Don Fehr is the dumbest $@#% I’ve ever sat down with." Your friend won’t come within a city block of you, but you don’t care… you can scare up another Budweiser delivery truck. And here, at level four, you actually think to yourself, "Well ... as long as I can pass this off as a ‘take it or leave it’ deal, I may as well ... STAY UP ALL NIGHT AND REALLY GET SH*T-FACED!!!! Yeah! That'd be good for me. I don't mind going to that press conference looking like Keith Richards. Yeah, I'll turn that around, make it work for me. And besides, as long as I get 31 hours sleep tomorrow ...cool."

LEVEL 5:

Five in the morning the day after Christmas. After unsuccessfully trying to get your money back at the tattoo parlor ("But I don't even know anybody named Sidney!!!"), you wind up across the state line in a bar with guys who have been in prison as recently as ... that morning, trying to convince them that the Phoenix Coyotes really CAN make a go of it. It's the kind of place where even the devil is going, "Uh, I gotta turn in. I gotta be in Hell at nine. I've got that brunch with Hitler, I can't miss that." At this point, you're drinking some kind of thick blue liquor, like something from a Klingon wedding. A waitress with fresh stitches comes over, and you think to yourself, "Someday I'm gonna make that girl Commissioner!!" Bill Daly stands up and screams, "WE'RE DRIVIN' TO FLORIDA!!!!!" and passes out. You crawl outside for air, and then you hit the worst part of level five ~~ the sun. You weren't expecting that were you? You never do. You walk out of a bar in daylight, and you see people on their way to work, or jogging. And they look at you, and they know. And they say, "Who's Sidney?"

Let's be honest, if you're new at this job and you stay up all night, it's like a victory, like you've beat the night, but if you've done this lockout thing a few times, then that sun after you’ve spent the night trying to come up with a “take it or leave it” proposal is like God's flashlight. We all say the same prayer then, "I swear, I will never do this again… how long?... as long as I live!" And some of us have that little addition, "......and this time, I mean it!"

'Tis the Season... Today's Lockout Carol

O wretched league, the N-H-L,

Yet still we hear thee lie!

It makes you weep, that Bettman creep,

Will let this year go by.

Yet in the darkness shineth

The ever-dimming light.

The hope we have to save the year

And by the fans do right.

For Jonathan and Sidney, too,
For others gathered ‘round,
Career clocks are a’ticking
But they remain homebound.

O will they have a meeting
And figure these things out
Before it’s clear we have no year
And fans start to check out.