Getaway Day -- Scrimmage III... "Carlson's Revenge"

No, not that Carlson, but we’ll get to that.

Today was graduation day of a sort as the Caps’ prospects wrapped up a fun filled week in Arlington, Virginia, with a spirited scrimmage that was the best of the three held this week. And they did so in front of the largest crowd of the week, most of which appeared to get the news that the opening faceoff would come at 10 am, not 10:30, as previously published by the club.

The Aardvarks of Group A (in white) won the final scrimmage, 4-2, over the Banshees of Group B (in blue) to take the week’s series, 3-0. There were a couple of roster changes, though. Joe Finley dressed for the Banshees and skated on the wing for this one, and the clubs traded goalies, Dan Dunn heading to the Banshees and Dustin Carlson skating for the Aardvarks.

To probably no one’s surprise, Michael Dubuc opened the scoring in the first period for the Aardvarks. It was his sixth goal of the week, although one of the questions not of folks’ minds this week was “Can Dubuc find the net?”

One guy who did find the net in what had to be the highlight goal of the week was Eric Katellus for the Group B Banshees, who while being hauled down from behind, still managed to keep one hand on his stick and flip the puck over Braden Holtby’s pad to tie the game at a goal apiece.

It was that guy again, though – Dubuc – who would net his second of the game and seventh of the week to restore the one goal margin for the Group A Aardvarks. And then, late in the first period, the puck was shot in behind goalie Dan Dunn. The puck caromed hard off the end boards, and Everett Sheen was Johnny-on-the-spot to stuff the puck behind Dunn and give the Aardvarks a 3-1 lead at the first intermission.

In the second, the teams looked a bit ragged, with few scoring opportunities presenting themselves. However, Benjamin Casavant did get his blade on a puck to tap it in to cut the lead to one at the second intermission, 3-2.

In the third period, the competitive attitudes of the guys took over – not unexpected; it’s part of what got them here. The Banshees played some of their best hockey of the week among the scrimmages and pressed hard for the equalizer on Aardvark goalie Dustin Carlson (the subplot here being how Carlson would respond to the seven-goal period he endured in the third period of Scrimmage II). It was Andrew Glass for the Aardvarks, though, who would break through with a tally off a rebound late in the period to give the boys in Group A a 4-2 lead.

The Banshees weren’t done, though, and pulled out all the stops in the last minutes of the contest, maintaining possession in the offensive zone for almost the entire final two minutes and rifling shots at Carlson. The Banshees were unable to solve Carlson in those last two minutes, and the week ended with the 4-2 score in Scrimmage III.

Other stuff…

Joe Finley had some moments when he looked indecisive or hesitant in his role as a winger, but that certainly isn’t surprising. He did lay a few monster checks on opponents, including one on Brett Flemming that knocked his microphone loose (Finley was apparently mic’ed for this contest). The remains of the equipment lay on the ice like some remnant of a Joe Louis Arena octopus until the next stoppage of play.

There are always going to be teams looking for little guys with skill who are unafraid to get their noses dirty in traffic and, more to the point, can survive in doing so. Mathieu Perreault is one of those kinds of guys. Clearly, he has skill. There were occasions today – and during the week for that matter – when it was clear he had the best stick-handling skills in this camp. The best passing skills, too. And he was not shy about pushing himself into scoring zones or in getting scruffy along the boards in his own end. But frankly, he’s expected to put on a bit of a show in this sort of environment. He would appear to have the skill to do it when the competition moves up a weight class or two, too. Does he have the staying power to do that? Guess we’ll see in September.

And what’s up with that little sumo hop Braden Holtby does before a faceoff in his end? Is he evicting the evil spirits from his crease?

Today’s Three Stars:

1. Dustin Carlson, Aardvarks
2. Michael Dubuc, Aardvarks
3. Eric Katellus, Banshees

Three Stars for the Week:

1. John Carlson – the most consistently good performer over the duration of the week
2. Michael Dubuc – cemented the perception that he has a knack for scoring, looked better in other aspects
3. Braden Holtby – solid all around all week, made some superb saves in Scrimmage III, impressive glove hand

If we had a "3A" star, it would go to Mathieu Perreault. He displayed his skill set on many occasions over the course of the week. We'd go so far as to say that he had the most impressive skill set of anyone at this camp (including Carlson). But on the other hand, one could argue that he should dominate in this setting. There is no quibbling with the fact, however, that he's got those skills that he'll need to get to the next level.

And here, one last time, are some pics from today’s action (including one of John Carlson taking a high stick in the chops)…

Day Five -- Clang, Clang, Clang Went the Trolley

No Gus, no fuss
Not today, not no way
For tomorrow
A forward to borrow.

And actually, the “borrowing” of a forward began today. Joe Finley was given a red jersey and skated as a forward in the Group B session today. Maybe it was part of the plan all along, since there had been talk of trying the defenseman at a forward position. Or maybe it was the absence of Gustafsson, who is becoming the Hard Luck Kid after what transpired yesterday – a gash needing 10 stitches to close and a mild concussion. Looks like he’s out for the duration.

But it was the Group A cohort that took the ice first this morning, and the word of the day for these guys was…

CLANG!

It was an iron works behind goalie Dan Dunn, as it seemed that every other shot banged a post. Goalie’s best friend, even in drills.

Meanwhile, there was a certain “Hershey” sort of air in the morning proceedings, as they were led by Coaches Woods (just promoted from of Hershey), French (promoted to replace Woods at Hershey), and Mann (brought in to serve as an assistant at Hershey).

As it has been for most of the week, the emphasis seemed to be on skating. There were a lot of end to end five-on-five drills that had the guys sprinting back and forth. Mixed in was a treat for the defensemen, a skating drill to test their agility in negotiating pylons (no, Jeff Schultz was not in attendance… that one’s for the Schultz-bashers) while skating backwards, then sending a pass to a teammate heading up ice.

One could get the feeling that it’s getting late in the week in this respect – there were a few occasions when the coaches had to hustle the guys into position, shouting at them to keep it moving. The guys in both sessions looked a bit slow.

In the Group B session, Finley was wearing the red sweater with Hauswirth and Meyer.

Dmitry Kugryshev was doing double duty in the second session, skating on a forward line and acting as translator of John Carlson’s instruction to Dmitri Orlov.

As for the other Carlson, Dustin looked as if he had shaken off the blitz he endured in yesterday’s scrimmage, but he was beaten on a few occasions – enough to do a passable impersonation of Olaf Kolzig… “F%$#!!!”

And there was Coach Bruce Boudreau, tucked away in the far end of the party balcony taking things in and engaged in conversation. He was found by some fans, though.

We’re down to it, now. One last scrimmage, scheduled for tomorrow at 10:00 am (not 10:30, as had been advertised). Even though some of the guys look a little worse for wear, and though there will be a few missing bodies, it should be a great show to end the week.

And here are some pics from today’s sessions…

Day Four -- Scrimmage II

It was Scrimmage, Part Deux for the young prospects at Capitals Development Camp this afternoon and a chance for the Banshees (Group B) to exact a measure of revenge against the Aardvarks (Group A).

Well… that was the plan.

And it looked like a great plan early, as the Banshees at least stood their ground in a scoreless first period (we’re back to 20-20-20 minutes). But the score, or lack of it, was a bit deceptive. The period was played almost entirely in the Banshee end of the rink, and goalie Garrett Zemlak was peppered early and often. He was called up on early as the Aardvarks mounted a challenge, crashing the net, where the puck eventually lay near the goal line. Zemlak dove on it barely 80 seconds into the scrimmage to keep the Aardvarks off the board. It was a fine imitation of Dominik Hasek, as Zemlak rolled over on his back and threw his arm out to smother the puck.

Dmitri Orlov would get a chance for the Banshees later in the period as the puck was sent across to him with some open ice in which to shoot. But Orlov couldn’t get good composite on the one timer (once upon a time, that phrase would have been “good wood”), and goalie Dan Dunn turned it aside.

The first period ended scoreless, but the Aardvarks held a 12-4 advantage in shots.

Luck would smile on the Banshees in the second period, despite the lopsided edge in shots for their opponents. Eric Kattelus got the Banshees on the board early to give the blue squad a 1-0 lead. The game was tied not long after, though, as Michael Dubuc did the honors for the Aardvarks. The Banshees regained the lead, though, with a pair of tallies to take a 3-1 lead to the second intermission. One of them was a sweet goal by June draftee Cody Eakin, who took a nice feed from John Carlson and cleanly snapped the puck home.

The best laid plans, as they say, often go astray, and they really jumped the shark in the third period. Andrew Glass, Everett Sheen, Joel Broda, Garrett Mitchell, Mathieu Perreault, Perreault again, and Dubuc put a hurtin’ on Dustin Carlson, who fought the puck but also suffered some indifferent play in front of him as Aardvarks were winning races to the net.

There was quite a scare in the third period as several players got tangled up in front of Aardvarks goalie Braden Hotlby. Anton Gustafsson appeared to bang the crossbar with the side of his head, opening a gash and leaving him on all fours on the ice for several moments as medical personnel trotted onto the ice to provide assistance. The play unfolded right in front of us, and Gustafsson looked very woozy as he was being administered aid. It was a nasty gash that left some blood on the ice that had to be cleaned up as Gustafsson was helped off, a towel applied to the side of his head. He was taken to the locker room and did not return to the bench.

Although it was Banshees carrying the play early, the Aardvarks kept rooting around for pucks until they could open the floodgates on Carlson. Aardvarks 8 – Banshees 3 (Aardvarks lead, 2-0 in scrimmages).

Three Stars:

Michael Dubuc
Braden Holtby
Dmitri Orlov

Here are a few pics of the action…

About that schedule...

The 2009-2010 NHL schedule came out yesterday, and there is enough commentary on it to suit most any Caps fan. Still, there was one thing about it that struck us as interesting. And it goes back to last year. You will recall that in the dying weeks of the 2008-2009 regular season, the Caps beat up a lot of tomato cans (it’s a boxing reference… look it up). For example, the Caps played 19 games from March 1st through the end of the regular season, and during that time…

- Five of the 19 games were against playoff-bound teams.

- They played playoff-bound teams in consecutive games only once (Philadelphia and Carolina on March 12th and March 14th).

- They played a playoff-bound team only once after March 14th (Carolina on March 21st), none in their last eight games.

- Of the five games played against playoff-bound teams, three of them were against Carolina. The other teams faced were Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

- The Caps were 2-2-1 against those five playoff-bound teams.

- Of their last 12 games, the Caps played lottery teams (bottom five in the league) seven times.

It wasn’t the highest caliber competition for the Caps heading into the post season. Did it play a role in what some might consider an early exit? We can’t say for sure, but what we can say is that it should not be a factor this season. The Caps will play 20 games from March 1st through the end of the regular season. Of that number…

- 11 will be played against playoff teams from 2008-2009.

- Twice they will play three playoff teams from last year in succession (Pittsburgh/Carolina/Calgary from March 24th-28th and Columbus/Boston/Pittsburgh from April 3rd-6th).

- In their last ten games, the Caps will play playoff teams from a year ago seven times.

- Of the 11 games against playoff teams, the Caps will play Carolina three times. The other eight are against teams outside the Southeast and include the Stanley Cup champion Penguins twice and Eastern Conference regular season leader Boston twice.

- The Caps will have five games against lottery teams, but two are against Atlanta (which gave the Caps problems last year), and the other three are against Tampa Bay.

It is a schedule made for preparing the Capitals for a playoff run…

… or for elimination from the playoffs.

It won’t lack for interest.

Hey you...yeah, you. Like hockey? Hate cancer?

Then look here...

...and mark your calendars.

Celebrities (Brian Pothier, Slapshot!), silent auction, hockey, a good cause... hey, what could be better in July?

And if you need a reminder of the hard-fought tilt last year, then check this out.

Here is the press release on the event...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PUT CANCER ON ICE to hold
Third Annual Dave Fay Charity Hockey Game
and Silent Auction

July 2009 - Washington, DC -- Put Cancer On Ice™ (PCOI) will hold the Third Annual Dave Fay Memorial Hockey game Saturday July 25, 2009 at 4:30 p.m. at Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, Virginia. Sponsored in part by The Front Page restaurant and Sports Page deli, together with annual PCOI sponsor Mirant Mid-Atlantic, this year’s event will include scheduled appearances by Capitals defenseman, Brian Pothier, and Capitals mascot, Slapshot.

Members of the professional hockey community, Yvon Labre, Granny Grant, Gord Lane, Blair Stewart and Gary & Jaynen Rissling will join players from across Maryland and Virginia as they compete for annual bragging rights and Lord Brown’s Boot in the charity hockey game. The first period will feature an in-goal duel between celebrity guest goalies, The Ice Queen, Miss Virginia Tara Wheeler and Iceman, Steve Kolbe, Capitals radio play announcer.

PCOI will again hold a silent auction for sought after NHL and Capitals team items including a Capitals jersey signed by the entire ’08-’09 team, Alex Ovechkin signed collectible, Mike Gartner tribute signed collectibles, and an NHL game puck signed by Norris Trophy winner Zdeno Charra, among others.

“We have received amazing support from the Capitals organization, Hockey Fights Cancer and the entire community,” declared Rob Keaton, PCOI co-chair. ”The players are thrilled to take the ice alongside some of the Caps greats and look forward to hearing their names called by Caps game announcer, Wes Johnson who will be on hand to call the game.”

“What started out a few years ago as a casual, monthly pickup hockey game among Caps fans has developed into a charity that we all are excited to be a part of,” explains PCOI co-chair, Gavin Toner. “We are honored and excited to hold this event in recognition of Dave Fay. His support of our sport and unbiased, reliable reporting of the Washington Capitals made him a favorite of players and fans alike. Dave’s untimely passing from cancer was a loss for so many and we are pleased to again donate all proceeds from this event to Hockey Fights Cancer.”

There is no admission fee to watch the game, but donations are always appreciated.

For a list of auction items and event information, visit the organization’s website at http://www.putcanceronice.org/.

Evolution at the Speed of Thought

There is another “rebuild” of sorts going on in Caps Nation, and it isn’t on the ice (even if what is on the ice is often – although not always – the focus). Or maybe it’s just a “build.”

If you haven’t been paying attention these last few days and weeks, there is a “grass roots” building of coverage infrastructure that has fairly exploded across Caps Nation. Start anywhere you like…

OK, start with the usual suspects. We’ve had “Capitals Insider” and “In the Room” for a while now, but although they are “blogs” in the more traditional sense of the term (we’re already using the term “traditional” with respect to blogs?... my, but the world moves fast these days), they already have the vague sense of being somewhat quaint. That isn’t any dig at Tarik El-Bashir, Corey Masisak, or any of their colleagues. They do really fine work. And beat reporting is still the first, consistently best source of information on the team. But…

We have all these other blogs… Japers, OFB, Capitals Kremlin, A View from the Cheap Seats, and others (check over there on the right margin for some of them). These folks have been working at their craft for a little while now, and all have carved for themselves a healthy niche in Caps Nation, providing new and unique perspectives on the team. But…

Here is where things get interesting. In a short time, we’ve seen fans jumping into the fray with impromptu video (some of the stuff being posted on the Caps “unofficial” message boards is interesting, as well as what Reed-CK is doing over at Capitals Kremlin – real-time posting of the what’s and the who’s from Kettler during development camp). And…

There is “Twitter.” We’re not entirely sold on the concept as revolutionary, but it has been a tool used by many to “real-time” their thoughts and observations of what is going on, either at camp or with respect to the latest moves the Caps are making (tweets on the Jeff Schultz contract situation have become a cottage industry in a matter of hours).

We want to reserve a special comment for some really fine work, too. If you haven’t taken a look through the photographic work being done by Jimmy Jazz over at Tic-Tac-Toe Hockey and TTT Photo, do yourself a favor and page through his work. Today’s images of Braden Holtby and the "search and destroy" look in Joe Finley's eye are just examples of the fine imagery you’ll find. He certainly has a knack and a keen eye.

What seems like a long time ago (August 30, 2006 it turns out), a “Guidelines for Granting Press Credentials to Bloggers and Other Online Media Representatives” was published at Off Wing Opinion. Today, however valuable they are or might have been, they seem like the Articles of Confederation of 1781. Fans have taken their own paths to covering the team they follow, “guidelines” be damned. And those paths have trampled on some traditional methods of covering teams that yesterday were considered cutting edge. We feel positively ancient writing this blog in the shadow of embedded video and Twitter. And we’ve been at this for less than four years.

We have no idea where things are headed. It would be a fool’s errand to try and predict or anticipate such things. One thing we’ve learned in doing this over the last four years – it won’t be “managed.” Twitter is barely three years old, although as a phenomenon its life might be measured more in weeks or months. A year ago, no one ever heard of SB Nation; today, it is as close to a media colossus as there is in the blogosphere.

When Albert Einstein was but a teenager, he pondered the idea of what a beam of light might look like if you rode a bicycle next to it. Well, take a look… things seem to be changing that fast.

Development Camp -- We Got Scrimmage!

OK… how do you know that the Caps are a successful franchise at this point in their history? If you said, “because they sold a couple thousand tickets for a convention”…

WAY WRONG ANSWER!!!

The answer lies in what happened at 3:30 this afternoon in Arlington, Virginia. A standing room only crowd packed into Kettler Capitals Iceplex to watch a few dozen kids, most of whom they couldn’t pick out of a lineup with a program, and watched them put on a quite entertaining show…

… on a weekday afternoon…

… in the middle of summer.

Now that says much more about the state of the team than the frills and thrills stuff. It speaks to a fan base that just appreciates the state of the Capitals’ brand of hockey.

As for the scrimmage, the Aardvarks (Group “A,” but we prefer to give them a name) faced off in white against the Banshees (Group “B”) in blue. As one might expect, there wasn’t much in the way of tic-tac-toe hockey or sweet feeds for tap-ins, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying. Despite the somewhat odd format (20 minutes, 10 minutes, intermission, 20 minutes, 10 minutes), the guys skated hard and got their noses dirty.

Trevor Bruess got the show started in the first, uh… period… for the Aardvarks when he carried the puck down the right side. With a teammate on his left occupying the defense, Bruess held the puck and waited for Banshee goalie Dustin Carlson to commit. Bruess snuck the puck through an opening (although we suspect Carlson might want to have that opportunity over again). Bruess would also make his presence known with some fine work along the boards in that first frame.

Michael Dubuc staked the Aardvarks to a 2-0 lead when he worked his way in deep and roofed the puck over Carlson, just under the crossbar. Dubuc was another of the youngsters who was contributing in ways other than just getting the puck on net, although he would have a number of other scoring chances in this scrimmage.

Sean Backman put the Aardvarks up 3-0 in the second frame with a shot from the top of the faceoff circle that beat Carlson low on the far side. At that point, it looked like a rout was unfolding.

But the Banshees got back in it when Dmitri Kugryshev banged a slapper in from the right wing circle that rang the iron on the far side.

Bruess almost got that one back for the Aardvarks with a nifty curl and drag that open for a moment, but he could not convert from in close.

The Banshees made the Aardvarks pay as John Carlson pounced on a rebound from low in the left wing circle to get the men in blue back to within one at 3-2. Dan Dunn, who made a fine save on the initial shot, just wasn’t able to recover in time as Carlson left no doubt.

The teams traded runs up and down the ice for most of the remaining time until Dubuc scored into an empty net to make it 4-2. Greg Burke finished the scoring moments later with a goal that left Garrett Zemlak staring into the rafters wondering how he let the puck get through (edit...it appears Dubuc got that one to complete the hat trick... chalk it up to being at the other end of the ice.

That covers the scoring, but it wasn’t the only entertainment. Brett Flemming, the Caps’ fifth round pick in June’s entry draft, had a pretty good first half of the contest. He also seems to us to bear more than a casual resemblance to former Cap Richard Zednik (although Flemming is a defenseman).

Stefan Della Rovere displayed some of the style that will endear him to Caps fans should he skate on the Verizon Center surface in years to come. He wasn’t shy about using his body, connecting on a number of hits, including a couple on Joe Finley that were impressive. Finley had a somewhat difficult game. He was whistled for a penalty 16 seconds into the game (tripping) and was the culprit in the only other penalty called (high-sticking).

Dmitry Orlov – a second round pick in the June draft – also had a fine day, although he didn’t show up in the score sheet. He showed some talent for playing larger than it says in the program (6’0”, 197), planting a couple of hits of his own, including a nice open ice hip check.

It was interesting to see Francois Bouchard and Anton Gustafsson paired on one line for the Banshees. Unfortunately, no chemistry seemed to ensue.

Our Three Stars:

Trevor Bruess, Aardvarks
Michael Dubuc, Aardvarks
Stefan Della Rovere, Banshees

Here are some pics of the action…

Day Three -- What's With the Toys?

No drills (at least with pucks), no scrimmages, no bench coaches...

...just skating.

Some might have found this morning's skating trials a bit dry (ok..boring). Not us. We were fascinated. Groups A and B didn't spend a lot of time on the ice (about an hour apiece), but it was chock full of fun... if you like toys and skating.

The guys were put through timing drills of several sorts -- a long sprint of the sort you might see at the skills competition (down and around the back of the net and a sprint to the finish), a short sprint (roughly blue line to blue line), an obstacle run (up and around one faceoff circle, down and around the other one, and then sprint to the finish line), and a stop-and-start run (from the top of the faceoff circle to the red line, back to the near blue line, then sprint to the far blue line).

There were a variety of styles on display -- choppy strides, fluid ones, the upright skater, the low-slung stealth guys -- but what we were noticing was the sound. The guys who were laboring really made a racket, their skates digging hard into the ice. Then there were those who made little sound at all, which struck us as a good deal more efficient.

Since we're dealing in tenths, if not hundreths of seconds of difference among skaters, it was hard to eyeball who was winning these drills, but there were some things that were expected (like Mathieu Perreault being quick as can be and very good in the obstacle run) and some things that weren't (like Joe Finley being quite nimble, even in the turns).

There were a couple of blown tires along the way -- Everett Sheen got a good-natured stick banging on the ice for his effort -- and a few do-overs, either because of stumbles or temperamental equipment. Speaking of which, the days of stop watches are gone (forgive us, we once used slide rules to do calculations). It's all digital and optical now with gizmos on tripods and receivers and all that.

For purposes of the drills, the guys were asked to line up alphabetically. We were wondering if anyone would screw this up (like the Russians, if they forgot for a moment that this was the English alphabet we were talking about... they didn't).

Oh, and don't think it escaped our attention that after one run, Perreault did his "gold medal finish/stick the landing" stop with a spray of ice after one run...

...show off.

Here are a couple of pics (we apologize for getting that netting in such sharp focus)...

Cue the Lalo Schifrin Theme Music

Good morning, Mr. Peerless. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, involves the clandestine observation of hockey prospects gathering in Arlington, Virginia, and the reporting of same to your superiors. The Washington Capitals are taking extraordinary measures to ensure that certain of their prospects are not identified by name. Consider this exchange between a Capitals operative and a representative of the Capitals community that was intercepted on Tuesday (names have been redacted in the interest of security)...



Although the details will be left to you on mission complement, it is not advised that you select any team members for this mission owing to the importance for secrecy. As always, should any member of your team be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow all knowledge of your actions. And Mr. Peerless, make sure the battery in your camera is working today...

This message will self-destruct in five seconds.

A Back-to-Back Already?

September 23rd and 24th... home to Chicago, away with the Rangers.

NHL bastids...

Development Camp -- Day Two

Day 2 develobits…

- It was Group B on the ice this morning. The most compelling part of it was the pairing of John Carlson and Dmitri Orlov. One might have been forgiven (ok…me) if they were to look ahead three or four years and saw this duo as a pair on the Capitals blue line. Carlson, in particular, was an interesting study in “what a difference a year makes.” Whereas last year he had that “just glad to be here” look, now he looks like a purposeful young prospect. It is easy to throw around thought like “he has captain written all over him,” and we will resist the urge to do that. But watching him giving direction to Orlov on the fly or pointing things out to him during breaks, it was easier to think of Carlson as the “alpha” of a defensive pairing down the road.

- Orlov, while not as demonstrative as Carlson, was effective in his situational drills. While there is a certain “let me be sure to make the right moves” aspect to his play – entirely expected at this point – he does look to have the skating skills, the deft use of his stick to frustrate puck handlers, and the vision to play a role for the big club in two or three years.

- Think Francois Bouchard doesn’t know that this camp might have special meaning for him? Well, he showed his frustration on a couple of occasions by abusing the walls with his stick after not converting or completing a play to his satisfaction.

- Dean Evason did the honors in running the morning session, with George McPhee and Bruce Boudreau up in the crow’s nest. Evason, like Boudreau, keeps things going at a healthy pace… not much (as in any) down time for guys.

- Denny Kearney is probably an optimist. He was already sporting a healthy playoff beard.

- Dmitry Kugryshev had an interesting time of it in a four-corners defensive drill (player has to defend, one-on-one, four players in succession from the four corners of the offensive zone). He poke-checked the daylights out of everyone… didn’t look like guys were figuring it out.

We are not able to take in the Group A session today, nor do we have pics (the battery in our camera dying in service to hockey), but we’ll try to do better tomorrow.

Ten Games That Mattered in 2008-2009 -- One Last Time

And now, the last game that mattered. And oh, we were tempted. Games 7 matter. Win or lose, they matter. But it’s hard to make a case that Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semi-final matters more to the Capitals than does another game in that series against the Penguins. Let’s look at that Game 7, first…

Game 7 – a 6-2 win by Pittsburgh – was not so much disappointing as it was inevitable in a couple of ways. First, there was the matter of goaltending. As we noted in an earlier edition of this short series, the playoffs are often a goaltender’s time. And for 24 days – from April 18th through May 11th – it was Semyon Varlamov’s time. He was 7-5, 2.28, .925, with two shutouts. But the relentless pressure of the Penguins was taking a toll, too. In six games leading up to Game 7, Pittsburgh recorded no fewer than 28 shots on goal in any game and had at least 36 in each of the other five (averaging 37.7 shots-per-game in the process). Whereas only once in six games in the opening round against the Rangers did he allow more than two goals, only once in the first six games of the second round did he allow fewer than three. The wheels had been coming off for a little while for the youngster.

Second, there was that relentless pressure by the Penguins. If you look at the period-by-period scoring, you would note that the Penguins scored ten goals in the third period and overtime in the first six games, the Caps nine. It doesn’t tell the story. In Games 4-6, the Penguins scored seven goals in the third period and overtime. They were taking the Caps’ legs away.

And that was perhaps a function of depth, at least in performance. The difference was not a lot, mind you, but enough. 18 skaters had points for the Penguins through six games, the Caps 17. The Penguins had ten players with at least one goal, the Caps eight. The Penguins had seven players with at least four points through six games, the Caps six. All of the big four for the Penguins – Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin,and Bill Guerin from the top two lines, and defenseman Sergei Gonchar – had at least one goal. Only three of the big four for the Caps – Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, and Nicklas Backstrom from the top two lines, and defenseman Mike Green – had goals for the Caps (Green being the absentee).

Game 7 happened the way it did because of the first six games.

But there was a game in that series that captured the rest of the season to date in microcosm, with both the warts and the wonderful, an example of what sort of team the Caps could be with time and patience. And that is why Game 6 mattered…

Washington at Pittsburgh, May 11, 2009

The result: Capitals 5 – Penguins 4 (OT)

The background: After winning the first two games of the series at home, the Caps lost Games 3 and 4 in Pittsburgh, then lost in equal parts fluky and heartbreaking fashion in Game 5 at Verizon Center, giving up the first goal, taking a lead, surrendering the lead, then tying the game when all-everything Alex Ovechkin scored with less than five minutes remaining in regulation. But in the fourth minute of overtime, Evgeni Malkin carried the puck down the right side with Sidney Crosby heading for the net on his left, and Tom Poti back for the Caps. Using his big frame as a shield, Malkin tried to sweep the puck across to Crosby, but the pass his the shaft of Poti’s stick and ricocheted under goalie Semyon Varlamov for the winner. Given the history of these teams, only the most deluded Caps fan would have held out hope that there was a win in store at Mellon Arena in Game 6. In six series-clinching opportunities against the Caps in the playoff history of this rivalry, the Penguins were 5-1.

Why it mattered: Survival. In more than 30 years of hockey, it hasn’t been a hallmark of Capitals teams in the playoffs, but the Caps have shown a certain resilience under Bruce Boudreau in dire situations. In two previous playoff series under Boudreau – in the opening round in 2007-2008 and the opening round this past season, the Caps fell behind three games to one, only to force a Game 7 in each. The comeback was not so long a march this time around, but it was the third time in three series under Boudreau that the Caps had to win a Game 6 to force a deciding game. And it was the third time they would have to do it on the road. Overall, the Caps were 5-1 in elimination games under Boudreau coming into this one.

This one didn’t take long to take on a certain “Rocky” feel. The Penguins drew first blood – a goal by Bill Guerin in the sixth minute of the first period. From there the clubs traded the lead. Washington took it on goals by Viktor Kozlov and Tomas Fleischmann. The Penguins regained it on goals by Mark Eaton and Kris Letang. The Capitals grabbed it once more on goals by Brooks Laich and Kozlov early in the third period. It was a game of “body shots” from the players on the undercard. The stars who would be thought to throw the haymakers – Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Alex Ovechkin – failed to register a goal. That changed late, when Sidney Crosby, for what seemed to be the latest in a dozen such instances, scored on a backhand from the doorstep with less than five minutes in regulation to tie the game.

But for all the scoring – 19 players had a hand in the eight goals scored in regulation – there was another statistic that would loom large in the overtime. David Steckel won nine of 13 draws in regulation. None of those draws, however, were taken against Maxime Talbot. Steckel and Talbot took a faceoff at 6:15 of the overtime, and while Talbot broke his stick on the draw, Steckel pulled the puck back to Brooks Laich at the right point. As Laich was collecting the puck, Steckel headed for the net where he was met by Philippe Boucher. Laich tossed a floater at the net, and Steckel squirmed free of Boucher just enough to allow him to deflect the puck past goalie Marc-Andre Fleury’s elbow and in for the winner.

The Takeaway: Let’s face it. In years past, the drive by Rob Scuderi at 3:53 of the overtime that was deflected in front of Semyon Varlamov and hit the crossbar would have found its way to the back of the net in previous years, especially against this team. The drive by Alex Ovechkin that Fleury snared with his glove at 4:12 of the overtime would have been answered on the ensuing faceoff with a Penguin rush that would have ended in a goal… in previous years. But the Caps, facing elimination, starting a goaltender having played too few games to be yet considered a rookie (and who made a big save on Tyler Kennedy as Chris Kunitz was flying over his shoulder just before the Scuderi shot/deflection in overtime), playing in a rink that held a lot of bad memories, stood toe to toe with the Penguins and fought off elimination on the road once more. The Steckel goal in overtime was probably the high water mark of the year for Caps fans. In that moment, anything seemed possible.

Reality paid a visit to the Capitals a couple of days later in the form of a Penguins team that displayed its own brand of resiliency. And the best that can be said of that is that it was another lesson in playoff hockey to be learned by a club that didn’t have a lot of playoff experience. But one lesson that the Caps did learn, last year and this, is “don’t quit.” It was that – a 6-1 record in elimination games over two years heading into that Game 7 – for which fans expressed their appreciation in their extended ovation for the boys in the dying moments of that Game 7. It was the second year in a row the Caps had to endure a bitter sweet ovation on their own ice.

Next year, that ovation could very well be for something else for having played games this past season that mattered.

From Within

Bruce Boudreau moves up from Hershey to Washington in 2007...

Bob Woods wins the 2009 Calder Cup with Hershey, gets promoted to assistant coach for the Caps...

Mark French is an assistant on the 2009 Calder Cup winners, gets promoted to head coach for the Bears...

Troy Mann, who has connections to both Boudreau (played for him when Boudreau was at Mississippi) and Woods (was a teammate of his with Mississippi), is named the Bears' new assistant coach under French.

John Walton has the details on the new Hershey bench boss and his assistant.

Development Camp -- Day One

And…they’re off!

It’s Day 1 at Capitals Development Camp. Players, bloggers, twitterers, uh…coacherers. It’s nice to have hockey in July. If you’re looking for deep insights or comprehensive breakdowns of the performances of the young charges, well… we ain’t got ‘em. Not today. We have pics and a few comments…

One of the interesting subplots in the morning session was the frequency with which Joe Finley (6’7”, 229) was matched against Mathieu Perreault (5’9”, 165) in one on one situations. One might have thought that Perreault would skitter and dart and turn Finley inside out. Such was not the case… at least not too often. We’d rate the morning a draw between these two.

Speaking of Perreault, he was the special object of Coach Bruce Boudreau’s affection on one occasion when Perreault spent a little too much time hanging onto the puck trying to do everything himself. Perreault ended up shooting the puck into goalie Braden Holtby’s pads. Boudreau took him aside and explained how he’d never beat him that way (with a good-natured expletive tossed in for appropriate adjectival emphasis).

For Day 1, at least, it seems a bit like a stripped down affair in one respect. The Caps brain trust now seems to know what they want and how they want it, and there was a lot of situational action with teaching moments from Coach Boudreau interspersed. For the moment, there seems to be a bit of hesitancy – of not wanting to stand out by making a mistake – among the boys, but Boudreau and newly minted assistant Bob Woods were giving encouragement to guys in groups and individually.

But Boudreau did appear to offer a warning of sorts (at least, if our hearing wasn’t too poor) with respect to being in shape and what awaits in September when the stakes get higher. Knowing what took place at last year’s rookie camp before the vets arrived, this was no idle warning. As if to give the guys a taste, he conjured up an oldie, but a goodie, to close the morning session – what players refer to as a “bag skate,” in this case, from the near boards to the far boards and back, far faceoff dot and back, hash marks and back, etc., with one cycle added to each shortened distance, until the guys did six repetitions of near hash marks and back.

We won’t be at the afternoon session, but we’ll try to pick up things tomorrow. For the time being, some snaps of the morning action (click for larger images)…