Another City's Joy

photo: Chris Knight, The Patriot-News

I feel like the uncle at the wedding.

Not that I’m not family, but the day belongs to the bride, the groom, and their parents. I get to sit off to the side, smile broadly, and take pictures.

But it’s not the same as if I was in the wedding party.

And so that’s how I feel today, as a Caps fan, as the Hershey Bears celebrate their 11th Calder Cup, their third in five seasons (four trips to the finals). It is a great accomplishment, one for which the Bears and their fans should be proud. Truth be told, though, even if the Bears are a part of the larger Capitals organization, it doesn’t feel nearly the same as if the Caps won.

And this has nothing to do with the fact that the Caps are NHL and the Bears are AHL. The Bears arguably have the more legendary history and are the platinum standard for franchise management in the AHL. It is that our emotional investment has been and remains with the Capitals. The Bears are part of the family, but for us are more the nephew, not the child into which we pour our hopes, dreams, and fears.

It was interesting to watch the players, friends and families on the ice after the game on Monday, but it was interesting to watch the fans in the stands as well. It was as if no one wanted to leave. This was a celebration of a community that went through six months of a regular season together, shared adversity as the team faced the possibility of disappointment, and then together realized the ultimate prize. It was another year in a long history of seasons of shared hopes, disappointments, and victories that has made Hershey Bears hockey, well, Hershey Bears hockey. And it isn’t the same for a Caps fan who happens to follow the Bears and appreciates the success they have forged over the years.

Perhaps it is different in a smaller community such as Hershey, where the Bears occupy such a well-earned important place, but I would hope that when (and we still think it is a case of “when”) that day comes that it is the Capitals celebrating a Stanley Cup on their own ice, the joy you could see among the fans at Giant Center on Monday will be evident in the faces of the fans who share in the celebration. Those fans who witness the victory that the players work so hard for, and that those same fans share through their support over a long, often arduous season.

Eleventh Heaven: Bears 4 - Stars 0

The Hershey Bears defended their Calder Cup championship won last year in style last night, shutting out the Texas Stars in Game 6 of the Calder Cup final, 4-0, to earn the eleventh Calder Cup in franchise history.

“Defending,” indeed.

The four goals the Bears scored in the Cup-clinching win were all scored by defensemen – Patrick McNeill with a pair, John Carlson, and Karl Alzner. And, Hershey’s defense permitted only 22 shots to reach goalie Michal Neuvirth, who turned all of them away to earn his first shutout of the post season.

The game was not as close as the score indicated. Hershey came out storming, a far cry from the frustrated club that lost the first two games of the series on Giant Center ice. The Bears apparently learned some lessons in breaking down the Stars’ defense, peppering goalie Brent Krahn early and often. In fact, it was Krahn (returning to the lineup and getting his first start in the series) who kept the Stars in the game early. But the Bears did a fine job working the puck in deep, then winning battles to get the puck out in front for scoring chances.

What Krahn could not do, however, was kill penalties. Hershey got a power play chance when Aaron Gagnon was sent off for high-sticking 11:49 into the first period. Forty seconds later, John Carlson pounced on a loose puck in the slot, out of Krahn’s reach, and buried it in the back of the net to give the Bears the only goal they would need. Karl Alzner doubled the lead less than three minutes later, scoring on a drive from the left point as Steve Pinizzotto was screening Krahn. The first intermission ended with the Bears up, 2-0, and dominating the shot total, 17-4.

In the second period, the teams not only switched ends, but apparently switched styles as well. Texas came out aggressively, and Hershey looked a bit timid. But with five minutes remaining in the period, the Bears were putting pressure on the Stars. Patrick McNeill was rewarded for the overall hard work on the part of the Bears, putting back a rebound of his own at 14:47 of the period to give the Bears a 3-0 lead at the second intermission.

McNeill repeated his success in the third, netting a power play goal to drive the final nail into the Stars’ chances for a comeback. Not that the Stars quit, but any means, for after the McNeill goal they mounted their most sustained attack of the game. But goalie Michal Neuvirth made three fine glove saves in succession that had the Stars looking into the rafters in frustration. All that was left was for the Bears to play smart and hard, forcing the Stars to skate all 200 feet of the ice to have any chance of scoring. Neuvirth took care of the rest, turning away ten shots in the period and earning the shutout, thrusting his arms skyward as the final seconds ticked away on the Bears’ repeat as Calder Cup champion.

Chris Bourque was named the winner of the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs. He tied Alexandre Giroux for the overall points lead in the playoffs (27). Bourque’s win continues the history of the trophy never having been won by any player twice. 26 times it has been awarded, 26 different players have won it.

This was a night for the prospects. Carlson’s goal was the game winner, but his play in his own end was top notch. Particularly noteworthy was his contribution to holding Jamie Benn to a pair of assists for the series and a minus-3 rating. Karl Alzner had a fine game in his own end as well (despite performing a face-plant behind his own goal on one occasion). Neuvirth did not have to be spectacular for most of the game – the Bears did a good job of keeping the Stars to the outside – but he was certainly on his game in the last ten minutes when he was called upon to step up in defense of his own shutout. Those three glove saves coming with about five minutes remaining in the game were exclamation points on a fine overall playoff performance for the still rookie netminder.

Other stuff…

-- Along with Patrick McNeill, Carlson and Alzner combined for ten of the Bears’ 36 shots on goal and all four goals.

-- The Bears set a Giant Center attendance record of 11,002. You would have been hard pressed to find any unoccupied seats, too. Not many no-shows.

-- Jay Beagle did not crack the scoring column (he did record an assist), but he had a whale of a game chasing down pucks and making things difficult for the Stars when they controlled (or tried to control) the puck.

-- In the end, Texas simply could not compete with Hershey at even strength. Even though the Bears scored two goals on four power play opportunities last night, they dominated the play at 5-on-5. In the final four games of the series – all won by Hershey – the Bears outscored the Stars 10-2 at even strength.

-- What a different age we live in... it seemed that every Bear had a cell phone in the post-game celebration and was either talking to someone or texting.  And there was Steve Pinizzotto getting everything on video.

It was a great night for the Bears and their fans. We had the opportunity to capture some of it in images…

Congratulations to the Hershey Bears, the 2009-2010 Calder Cup Champions.

Teamwork

photo: Chris Knight, The Patriot News

Well, we're back after an unexpected hiatus, and it appears as though we've missed some heroics by the Hershey Bears.  The Chocolate and White are on the brink of winning the 11th Calder Cup in franchise history. As they prepare to take on the Texas Stars in Game 6 of the Calder Cup finals tonight at Giant Center in Hershey, it bears noting (so to speak) that this playoff season has been especially interesting in terms of spreading the Bears' wealth around. How?...

- The Bears have won 15 games so far, and 12 different players have at least one of the game-winning goals (Alexandre Giroux has three, Matthieu Perreault has 2, 10 others have one).

- Five of the top-eight playoff scorers are Bears: Chris Bourque, Giroux, Keith Aucoin, Andrew Gordon, and Perreault.

- Hershey is 8-1 in overtime games in these playoffs. The eight overtime game-winners were scored by eight different players – Andrew Joudrey, Kyle Wilson, Jay Beagle, Perreault, Bourque, Francois Bouchard, Boyd Kane, and Giroux.

- Despite scoring 71 goals in 20 games (3.55 G/G), Hershey has only two of the top-ten goal scorers in the playoffs (Giroux with 14, Gordon with 13). But they do have seven players with at least five goals (Bourque, Perreault, Wilson, Bouchard, and Steve Pinizzotto rounding out the group of seven), almost a third of the total number of players having scored that many in the playoffs (24).

- Of the 11 shorthanded goals scored thus far, no team has more than the two the Bears recorded (Bourque, Pinizzotto).

- The Bears have nine players in the top-20 in plus/minus (Perreault, Bryan Helmer, Bouchard, Wilson, Bourque, Karl Alzner, John Carlson, Beagle, and Pinizzotto).

- Michal Neuvirth is third among goaltenders in goals-against average, first among all rookie goalies in the Calder Cup playoffs (2.18).

- Only once in his last 11 appearances over the last two series has Neuvirth allowed more than three goals, only three times more than two goals (7-4, 2.05, .927).

If the Bears complete the journey tonight or Wednesday, they certainly will have done it together, as a team.

Calder Cup Final, Game 3: Bears 6 - Stars 3

Well, the Hershey Bears stepped away from the precipice last night, coming back from a 3-1 first intermission deficit to defeat the Texas Stars, 6-3, to get the series to 2-1, Stars. The cousins joined us last night to watch the game on ABC-27, by way of Comcast Sports Net. Of course, those two had very different takes on the action. I tried to keep some notes…

Peerless: Well, guys, it’s a series again. Win Wednesday, and the Bears have home ice again and ensure the series goes back to Hershey.

Cheerless: I read where no team lost the first two games of the Calder Cup final on home ice and came back to win the series.

Fearless: Well, that was then, and last night was now. OK, you get what I mean. Five unanswered goals, and the Bears seemed to spend the last 40 minutes in the Texas end of the ice.

Peerless: The game might not have been as close as the score indicated, either. The Stars got one goal off a Bears skate, another when Michal Neuvirth decided Christmas should come early and played the puck from in front of his own net right onto the stick of Francis Wathier, and Wathier didn’t miss.

Fearless: After that, it was just a matter of getting their heads back in the game.

Cheerless: Uh, no team has come back from losing the first two games of the finals at home…

Fearless: Yeah, yeah, we heard. That first period was brutal… those two fluky goals wrapped around a nice Kyle Wilson goal off a pretty feed from Francois Bouchard. But even as the period was coming to a close, you had a feeling it wasn’t over. The Stars weren’t spending a lot of time in the Hershey end, and when they did, they did little with the opportunity.

Peerless: It looked a little as if Texas was content with a 3-1 lead to just go into a shell, clog the middle of the ice like they had done so far, and try to frustrate the Bears into turnovers.

Fearless: It might have worked, too. Especially as bad as the Bears’ power play had been – 0-for-16 going back to the Manchester series. But then Ethan Graham took a pretty bad elbowing penalty mid way through the second – didn’t have to take that kind of penalty there. And the Bears finally made them pay on Wilson’s second goal of the game.

Peerless: Nice goal, but Keith Aucoin did a whale of a job fending off a Stars defender, pushing the puck deep into the zone and finding Wilson for the goal.

Fearless: That was nice, but the series might have turned less than 90 seconds later when Mathieu Perreault found himself planted at the post to goalie Matt Climie’s left. All he had to do when Karl Alzner threw the puck at the net was tap in the deflection.

Cheerless: Uh, guys? No team has ever come back in a Calder Cup final from losing the first two games on their own ice.

Peerless: Uh-huh… So, it’s tied after two, but it’s a good tie, if there is such a thing. The Bears outshot the Stars 12-9 in the period. It never felt as if the Stars had nine shots, and Neuvirth sure shook off the effects of that turnover. Fortunately, he kept his handling of the puck to behind the net, not in front of it.

Fearless: Yeah, but admit it… even when he handled it behind the net, you were thinking… “gulp!”

Peerless: Well, there was some of that, but he was very strong in front of his own net. No rebounds on those few chances that got through.

Fearless: They sure had the Stars back on their heels…

Peerless: Yup. You had a sense it was a matter of time. Then Andrew Gordon got the big one – maybe the biggest goal of the season for the Bears – off another feed from Aucoin.

Fearless: Nice of Aucoin to show up. He had a whale of a game.

Peerless: Sure did, now if they could only get Giroux going. Although, he did have the primary assist on the insurance goal, Perreault’s second of the game.

Fearless: Texas was hanging their heads after that one.

Cheerless: You know… no team has ever come back in the Calder Cup finals from losing the first two games on home ice.

Peerless: -sigh- We’ve heard… often, in fact. But when Gordon got the last one to make it 6-3, you had the feeling that the Bears finally found their legs.

Feerless: And what about the play of Alzner on that one… gets the puck in deep, circles all the way back to the top of the zone, keeps the puck in, fires, and there is Gordon in front to get the deflection.

Peerless: Sweet play. Alzner had a very good last 40 minutes. Now, if his partner can just find his game.

Fearless: Yeah, Carlson has been struggling. Looks like he’s having trouble in transition. A sign he’s played a lot of hockey this season?

Peerless: Could be, but the prospect of tying the series on Wednesday might be enough to shake the cobwebs loose.

Fearless: Let’s hope so. Let’s hope they remember what Coach Mark French reminded them of before the game… “We talked before the game and there's only one team in this league that's won 72 hockey games this year.''

Peerless: Well, make that 73.

Cheerless: Hey, did you know that...

Peerless/Fearless: SHUT UP!!!

The 2009-2010 season, by the "tens" -- Ten Games That Mattered: Washington at New York Rangers, February 4th

February 4: Washington (38-12-6) at New York Rangers (25-25-7)

The Result: Capitals 6 – Rangers 5

The Background: Truth be told, this game probably meant more to the Rangers than it did to the Caps. The Rangers were in danger of dipping below the .500 mark for the first time since they were 15-16-3 on December 17th. Worse, Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist came into the game having lost his previous five decisions. And it was the wrong time to be in that situation, as the Rangers were fighting for their playoff lives. Meanwhile, the Caps were still in the midst of what would become a 14-game winning streak. A win here would be the 12th in a row for the club, but you could already see the wheels wobbling a bit. In the first eight games of the streak the Caps averaged an even 5.0 goals per game while giving up 2.25 goals per game. The offense then stumbled a bit, and unexpectedly at that, in relatively tame wins over Florida and Tampa Bay before going to Boston and disposing of the Bruins, 4-1. One might have had a sense that the streak was about to come to an end.

Why It Mattered: The teams split the previous two encounters in the season series, each team winning on the other’s ice. So, one might expect that the Caps would have no particular concerns about playing in Madison Square Garden, even if the Rangers drew first blood on a power play goal by Ryan Callahan in the game’s ninth minute, a goal that came off a deflection of a shot by Olli Jokinen that squeaked through the pads of Caps goalie Jose Theodore.

Sure enough, the Caps got the equalizer, courtesy of Boyd Gordon picking up some garbage in front of Lundqvist. But the Rangers struck back only ten seconds later on a goal by Vaclav Prospal to give the Blueshirts the lead at the first intermission.

Someone turned the juice on in the second period, as the power was ramped up – power play, that is. After Mike Knuble tied the game on an even-strength goal in the fifth minute, the next four goals would come via the man advantage. And the Rangers would get three of them. Alex Ovechkin got the Caps’ power play goal, which gave the visitors the lead. But the Rangers answered with a power play goal by Jokinen, then scored on both ends of a 5-on-3 power play, getting a goal by Prospal with a two-man advantage, then getting one by Brandon Dubinsky with on the ensuing 5-on-4 with just 1:12 left in the second period.

The last time the Caps allowed four power play goals happened to be the last time they lost in regulation before embarking on this winning streak, a 7-4 loss to the Lightning in Tampa. And trailing 5-3 with the clubs about to head off for the second intermission, it appeared as if the streak’s life was down to 20 minutes. But about a minute after Dubinsky’s goal, Nicklas Backstrom picked up a loose puck in the Capitals’ end, turned, and headmanned the puck to Alex Ovechkin heading up the left side. Ovechkin carried the puck into the Rangers’ zone and executed a curl-and-drag through the legs of defenseman Michal Roszival, slipped past the defenseman to the outside, leaned to the middle and one handed the puck over Henrik Lundqvist to get the Caps within one at the break. It might qualify as the best goal a player might ever score in his career, but this one might not have been a top-five on the Ovechkin resume. Still, to top hand the puck over a goalie with a defenseman trying to push you wide was quite a feat of skating and strength.

Instead of the Rangers carrying the momentum into the third period on the late power play goals, the Caps had the momentum opening the last 20 minutes. Tom Poti capitalized on that feeling, scoring the tying goal on, what else, a power play 59 seconds into the period. Nicklas Backstrom restored the lead for the Caps on (yup…) a power play at 5:34 of the third when the puck pinballed around and through the Ranger crease and out to Backstrom coming down the slot.

The Caps held the Rangers to four shots on goal the rest of the way and managed to stay out of the box, no small thing given that of the 11 goals scored in this game, only four were scored at even strength. That was what the Caps needed to escape with another come from behind win at Madison Square Garden. Perhaps not as thrilling as the 5-4 overtime win on this ice sheet in December 2008, when the Caps came back from a 4-0 deficit, but it was satisfying in its own way nonetheless.

The Takeaway: The whole nine yards was on display in this one – the ability of the Capitals to come back from multi-goal deficits, a lethal power play (3-for-9 in this game), a suicidal penalty kill (giving up four on six opportunities for the Rangers), the dazzling play of Ovechkin (2-1-3 on the night, including the highlight reel goal), the continuing emergence of Nicklas Backstrom (1-4-5 on the night, his second five-point night of the season).

In an odd sort of way, though, this game might have been the high point of the season. Almost all of the weapons that the Caps have were on display (Mike Green did not play, as he was serving the last game of a three-game suspension for elbowing Michael Frolik of Florida). The power play – a team strength for most of the season – was productive. The Caps showed once more an ability to wipe out a deficit. But if one looked hard, one could also see the wheels coming off at the end of a long winning streak. After this game, the Caps would finish 15-3-7, certainly a fine record. But they were never again as consistently dominant as during the 14-game winning streak. After this game the Caps two winning streaks of at least three games, but one of those – a five-gamer in the season’s last two weeks – came at the expense of teams that were out of contention (Columbus and twice against Atlanta) and a team that had little to play for (Pittsburgh). More ominously, the Caps sustained two streaks of three games in those last 25 where they failed to get a win. Three of those games came against playoff teams (Montreal, and twice against Ottawa) and another came against a team fighting for a berth (Calgary).

For the Rangers it had to be especially bitter, given how their season ended. Had the Rangers held on to win this game, their season might not have come down to a shootout in the last game of the season, and the playoffs would have looked very different for both the Rangers and the Capitals.

The 2009-2010 season, by the "tens" -- Ten Games That Mattered: Washington at Pittsburgh, January 21st

January 21: Washington (31-12-6) at Pittsburgh (31-19-1)

The Result: Capitals 6 – Penguins 3

The Background: The Capitals and Penguins played four times in 2009-2010. Each game had its own argument as a game that mattered. There was the “Snovechkin” game of February 7th that the Caps won in overtime, 5-4, coming back from a 4-1 deficit. There was the March 24th game that saw the lead change three times before Jordan Staal tied things up for the Penguins, only to see Mike Knuble, of all people, get the game-winner in The Gimmick. There was the 6-3 win on April 6th in which the Caps scored early and late to finish the season sweep of the Penguins, something they had never done before (the closest they came was going 6-0-1 in 1984-1985).

However, this the 6-3 win on January 21st probably mattered more in the scheme of things than the three games that followed. The teams were fighting for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, both with 31 wins coming into the game. Washington was coming off a tough 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings. And while the Caps had won seven of their previous eight games, this was Pittsburgh, in Pittsburgh. The last time these teams met, it was in one of the most deflating losses in the history of the Capitals, a 6-2 loss in Game 7 of the 2009 Eastern Conference semifinals.

If this game could not wash away the pain of that playoff loss, it could re-establish the fact that the Capitals were a club that could more than compete against the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Why It Mattered: Any duel between the Caps and the Penguins begins with “Ovechkin vs. Crosby.” And to date, Crosby had the upper hand. In face-to-face meetings in the regular season, Crosby was 8-18-26 and won 11 times in 15 games, while Ovechkin was 8-10-18 and was on the high side of decisions in four of the 15 face-to-face contests. In their lone playoff meeting, Crosby finished the series 8-5-13, while Ovechkin was 8-6-14, but Crosby skated into the next round, not Ovechkin.

This game started off as if things would remain the same, Crosby getting the game’s first goal less than five minutes into the contest when Caps goalie Jose Theodore tried to collect the puck that was sliding down the ice into the corner. He misplayed the puck, deflecting it with his stick into the low slot, and Crosby swooped in to poke the puck into the net after a couple of tries while Theodore was still searching for it. But that was all the Penguins could do in terms of trying to put this one away early, despite some fine chances – Nick Johnson testing Theodore with a tough shot, then missing on a rebound attempt; Sergei Gonchar hitting the crossbar on a shot from the top of the offensive zone; Crosby failing to lift the puck over Theodore’s left pad from just off the post. The Caps struck for two goals sandwiched around the first intermission, Mike Knuble getting one of them on a rebound after Ovechkin dipsy-do’ed around defenseman Kris Letang, forcing goalie Brent Johnson to make the first save from the doorstep. Eric Fehr got the next one when he collected the puck after a shot that Johnson fended off into the corner. Fehr stepped out and around Johnson and appeared to get a shot off that defenseman Brooks Orpik knocked into his own net.

But the Penguins came back with a pair of their own – Nick Johnson and Letang making up for prior failures by getting the scores. Had the Penguins kept that lead going into the second intermission, they might have had enough momentum to carry the day. But with just over four minutes left in the period, Letang was in the middle of things again, this time taking a holding penalty drawn by Mike Knuble. Only 36 seconds later, the Caps made the Penguins pay for the error when Brendan Morrison walked the puck down the left wing boards, then passed it to Alex Ovechkin circling up into the middle of the zone at the Penguins’ blue line. Ovechkin stepped into one, wristing the puck past Brent Johnson to tie the game going into the third period.

The third period belonged to the Capitals. Tomas Fleischmann tok a lovely 40-foot saucer pass from Alexander Semin and scored on a breakaway, and Nicklas Backstrom added another goal before the period was three minutes old. Jose Theodore slammed the door on the Penguins, coming up especially big on a three-shot sequence midway through the period when the Penguins could have crawled back into the game. Ovechkin added an empty netter with 25 seconds left, and that was that.

The Takeaway: The Caps took an early punch in the nose – from Sidney Crosby, no less – and came back. They surrendered the lead to the Penguins and came back. They stood firm when the Penguins mounted a late charge and came back. Ovechkin led the team with a three point night (2-1-3) that would serve as a starting point for a season series in which he would score seven goals in four games against the Penguins. He did not score more goals against any other team in the league this season. Defenseman John Carlson recorded his first NHL point, an assist on Fleischmann’s goal.

It was the fifth consecutive win for the Caps in a streak that would eventually reach 14 games, and it was the first of four wins against the Penguins in which the Caps would score a total of 21 goals. After this game, the Caps would finish the season 22-3-7, and in only one of the ten losses would the Caps fall by more than one goal (a two-goal loss to Calgary on March 28th). This win, coming as it did in such decisive fashion against the defending Stanley Cup champion on their ice, cemented the Caps’ place as the best team in the league for the time being, no small thing in the scheme of games that mattered.

The 2009-2010 season, by the "tens" -- Ten Games That Mattered: Montreal at Washington, January 5th

(photo: Mitchell Layton/NHLI via Getty Images)

January 5: Montreal (21-20-3) at Washington (24-11-6)

The Result:  Capitals 4 - Canadiens 2

The Background: For the first time in the history of the Washington Capitals franchise, the team would take the ice with a European captain. Alex Ovechkin assumed the duties on this night, becoming the 14th captain in Capitals history, succeeding Chris Clark, who was traded to Columbus with defenseman Milan Jurcina for forward Jason Chimera.

The change came at one of the few difficult junctures for the Caps in the regular season. They went into the Montreal game having lost three in a row – an embarrassing 6-3 loss to the struggling Carolina Hurricanes, followed by a long-distance waste of a road trip that resulted in losses to the Sharks in San Jose (5-2) and the Kings in Los Angeles (2-1). It was to date – and would be for the season – their longest string of losses in regulation.

Why It Mattered: Lost in the transition at captain were two facts. First, the Caps were in the throes of a goaltending problem. Semyon Varlamov, who started the year going 12-1-2, 2.21, .924, with two shutouts, went on the shelf with an injury in early December. Jose Theodore missed two games for personal reasons in late November, and after coming back played in only seven of the next 17 games. Coming into the Montreal game, Michal Neuvirth had temporarily become the number one goaltender. He was making the most of the opportunity, too. Neuvirth played in five of six games leading up to the Montreal game, posting a 3-2-0 record, 2.41 GAA, and .917 save percentage. And that included a rough time of it in San Jose, where he allowed all five goals in the 5-2 loss. In the other four games he did not allow more than two goals.

In this one, the Caps made things a bit easier for Neuvirth, allowing the Canadiens only three shots on goal in the first period. Then early in the second they staked the rookie goaltender to a 1-0 lead on a power play goal by Tomas Fleischmann. Neuvirth stopped the first seven shots he faced in the second period, but yielded the tying goal on the eighth shot he saw, off a slap shot by Canadiens defenseman Josh Gorges.

The momentum didn’t last long on Montreal’s side of the ice, though. Eric Fehr put the Caps in the lead to stay less than two minutes after the Montreal goal, and Alexander Semin added a goal 36 seconds later. Benoit Pouliot got one back in the third period, but Neuvirth slammed the coffin lid shut on the Canadiens’ chances after that, stopping the last five shots he saw in the final 8:50. Semin drove the last nail into that coffin with a goal with just over two minutes left to provide the final 4-2 margin of victory.

Oh, you think we forgot about that second fact lost in Ovechkin’s assuming the captaincy. Well, maybe it was because it was a more subtle change. Brendan Morrison was in the midst of a four-game streak without a point and was 1-2-3, plus-1 in 12 games since going 1-2-3, plus-1 in a game (as in one game) against Florida on December 3rd. In this contest, the Caps decided to take Tomas Fleischmann on a test drive at center, inserting him into the pivot on the second line. He scored an unassisted power play goal and assisted on both of Alexander Semin’s goals, and he won six of nine faceoffs. For tonight, at least, things seemed to work.

The Takeaway: If you were writing the story, you might have written it where Alex Ovechkin gets the “C” on his sweater, gets a hat trick, and is named first star of the game (we'll leave the tire changing to Brooks Laich). Well, he got the “C.” But otherwise, Ovechkin had a quiet night – no points, even, three shots on goal. In fact, he was on the ice for only one goal for either club, the unassisted power play goal by Fleischmann in the second period. But his record as captain would hardly be quiet after this game. The Caps finished the season 30-4-7 with Ovechkin as captain. This win would, in fact, start Ovechkin and the Caps off on a 17-1-0 record over the next month.

And Neuvirth? He stopped 24 of 26 shots in this one and would be an important cog in the 17-1-0 run. In what would be his last action of the season, he suffered some from inconsistency, but in ten appearances in this stretch he was 6-0-0, with a 2.51 GAA and a .927 save percentage, establishing himself as a prospect to be reckoned with as the Capitals goaltending competition among Semyon Varlamov, Braden Hotlby, and Neuvirth moves forward.

The 2009-2010 season, by the "tens" -- Ten Games That Mattered: Washington at Philadelphia, December 5th

December 5: Washington (17-5-6) at Philadelphia (13-11-1)

The Result: Capitals 8 – Flyers 2

The Background: The Flyers were thought at the start of the season to be a contender for a berth in the Stanley Cup finals. Defenseman Chris Pronger was added in a draft-day trade (he later signed a seven-year contract extension), Ian Laperriere was added for some grit, and the Broad Streeters were returning the likes of Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Simon Gagne, and Scott Hartnell, all of whom recorded at least 30 goals in the 2008-2009 season. Things looked good for the Flyers when they won their first three games of the season, including a wild 6-5 overtime win over the Capitals on October 6th, a game in which the lead changed hands five times.

The Flyers' fast start dissolved into a run of inconsistency, though. After the three-game winning streak to open the season, the Flyers then lost three in a row, won two, lost two, won seven of eight, then lost six of seven. The roller coaster ride cost head coach John Stevens (who was drafted as a defenseman by the Flyers in 1984) his job on December 4th. Enter Peter Laviolette, a former Stanley Cup winning head coach with the Carolina Hurricanes, who took over a team with a 13-11-1 record and a 10th place standing in the Eastern Conference.

The Caps, meanwhile, headed to Philadelphia on a four-game winning streak and a 3-0-2 record in their previous five road games.


Why It Mattered: It was entirely possible that the road to a Stanley Cup would go through Pennsylvania, and that did not necessarily mean Pittsburgh. The teams had split two games to date – that wild 6-5 overtime win for the Flyers in Philadelphia and a 4-2 win for the Caps in Washington in October 27th. In both of those games the first period ended scoreless.

Not this time.

Tomas Fleischmann scored 57 seconds into the game after Eric Fehr forced a turnover at the Flyers’ line, and Brendan Morrison picked up the puck, skated in, and fed Fleischmann coming down the left side to the right of Flyer goalie Ray Emery. The Flyers managed to tie the game on a goal by Mika Pyorala just over 12 minutes into the period, which might have provided some momentum for the home team.

But it was at that point that Daniel Carcillo decided to audition for an episode of “CSI: Philadelphia,” and not as one of the good guys. Carcillo, thinking no one in the crowd of 19,789 and four on-ice officials was looking, decided that a clean check from Matt Bradley required some retaliation. He cross-checked Bradley (two minutes), instigated a fight (four minutes), sucker-punched Bradley before the latter could get his gloves off (nine minutes… you running a tab on this?), was whistled for a ten-minute misconduct (19 minutes), and was given the rest of the night off with a game misconduct (29 minutes). The Flyers would skate the next nine minutes shorthanded, provided the Caps did not score.

The Caps made them pay instead. First, Fleischmann put the Caps out in front to stay at the 17 minute mark of the first period. That goal unleashed the deluge. Mike Green scored 20 seconds after Fleischmann to give the Caps a 3-1 lead at the first intermission. Brooks Laich scored in the first minute of the second period, giving the Caps three goals on the extended power play.

Not 21 minutes into the game, and the Caps had a 4-1 lead. They were on their way to rid their mouths of the bad taste of a 7-1 pasting they absorbed on this ice sheet almost exactly one year before. Which meant that the Caps weren’t done. In a space of 4:09 late in the second period they popped three pucks past starting goalie Ray Emery (who was relieved after allowing the first of them, scored by Chris Clark) and his relief, Brian Boucher. But for the exchange of a couple of third period window dressing goals by Scott Hartnell for the Flyers and a power play tally David Steckel for the Caps (with Hartnell in the box), the competitive portion of the evening was over before 40 minutes were in the books.

The Takeaway: It was not the most goals ever scored by a Capitals team against the Flyers (that would be ten goals in a 10-4 win against Philadelphia on November 21, 1981), but it was the most ever by a Caps team scored in Philadelphia. There were several odd items about this game. First, Alex Ovechkin was not in the lineup. He was serving the second game of a two-game suspension for knee-on-knee hit of Carolina’s Tim Gleason on November 30th. The Caps did not seem to miss him on this occasion. Also, with eight goals scored, one might expect a splattering of points up and down the score sheet. Not in this game. Six Caps had goals, 12 Caps recorded points. The flip side of that coin is that six Caps had multi-point games (Tom Poti, Tomas Fleischmann, Eric Fehr, Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Semin, and Mike Green). Green had a four-point night (two goals, two assists), and Backstrom had a five-point night (one goal, four assists), tying a personal best for points in a single game. Along with the concentration of points was the concentration of shots on goal – only 12 Caps had at least one shot on goal (30 in total). But they were efficient. The eight goals on 30 shots was one thing (26.7 percent shooting percentage), but the Caps also had four goals on six power play shots.

It was the biggest win in a season series that saw the Caps capture at least one standings point in all four games (3-0-1), go 5-1-1 since the 7-1 loss to the Flyers in the first game of the 2008-2009 series, and record an 11-4-1 record against the Flyers over the past four seasons.

Makes you want to scream at who is in the Stanley Cup finals, doesn’t it?

Calder Cup Finals, Game 1: Texas 2 - Hershey 1

All streaks end. That’s why they are “streaks.”

The Texas Stars ended the Hershey Bears’ eight-game home winning streak in this year’s Calder Cup playoffs with a 2-1 win at Giant Center last evening.

It was not much of a game for those who appreciate flash and dash, and that was just the way the Stars wanted it. Content with counter-punching for much of the night, the Stars parlayed a couple of odd goals and some determined trapping to give the Bears only their second loss on home ice in their last 39 games.

If anything, this was a game that Texas probably had an advantage in from the start. Coming off two seven game series (one of which they won in a Game 7 overtime, the other in a Game 7 two-goal margin of victory), the Stars were still game sharp. On the other hand, the Bears looked like a team that hadn’t played competitive hockey in 11 days.

That layoff showed up early as the Stars outshot the Bears 12-2 in the first period and 14-2 over the game’s first 24 minutes. But in the 25th minute, Mathieu Perreault controlled the puck in the Stars’ end and from the middle of the ice found Francois Bouchard circling behind the Texas defense. Bouchard took the pass and patiently waited until goalie Matt Climie committed to the ice, then skated around him and stuffed the puck into the back of the net to give the Bears the 1-0 lead.

That lead lasted barely five minutes when Greg Rallo took the puck by himself into the Hershey end and before the defense could close on him fired a wrist shot that goalie Michal Neuvirth seemed whiff on with his glove. It didn’t matter as Rallo’s shot was perfectly placed just inside the left post and under the crossbar to tie the game.

The deciding goal came on a bad offensive zone turnover by Chris Bourque, who tried to pass the puck from along the right wing boards to Sean Collins, but only managed to get the puck to the stick of Scott McCullough. Bourque tried to make up for the error by backchecking furiously as McCullough raced down the left side, but in trying to slide across McCullough’s line of flight he took himself out of the play, and McCullough finished the play to give the Stars the goal that would provide the final margin.

The best thing that can be said for this game is that despite the 11-day layoff, despite looking very disjointed for the first period and through long stretches of the final 40 minutes, despite never really making Climie work for many of his saves, despite Alexandre Giroux picking up more penalty minutes (four) than the total of his and Keith Aucoin’s shots combined (three), despite an officiating performance by David Banfield that could only charitably be called “uneven,” the Bears held the Stars to two goals. If the Bears hold the Stars to two goals a game in this series, things should end well for the Chocolate and White.

The reason the Bears held the Stars to two goals, though, was not so much defense as much as it was Neuvirth, who was the one Bear who didn’t look as if he had just had an 11-day break. Stopping 24 of 26 shots, Neuvirth had the harder time of it in terms of the quality of chances he faced.

At the other end, Climie played well (26 saves on 27 shots), but the Stars’ game plan looked eerily similar to that employed by the Montreal Canadiens against the Capitals – they took away the center of the ice and forced the Bears to the outside and along the boards. The result was that Texas blocked a ton of shots.

Helping lead to all those blocked shots was the fact that the Bears took a little too much “care” in shooting (get it?...”care bears?”…ok, it’s a Caps thing). Between looking for the next pass or waiting too long to get shots off, Hershey allowed Texas to sit in what amounted to the hockey equivalent of a two-three matchup zone that you might find in basketball. There were no lanes available, either to make cross-ice passes (a favorite among the Bears last night) or to get shots from the points to the net.

One thing was clear as the game went on. Despite these teams not meeting in the regular season, they took an almost instant dislike to one another. There was much after-whistle yapping and shoving. Of the ten minor penalties called in the game, seven were “physical” fouls (cross-checking, high-sticking, slashing, and four roughing penalties).

Because of the games format (2-3-2), Saturday’s game becomes as close to a “must-win” game as there is for the Bears. Going to Texas down 2-0 with three games to play on Stars’ ice would be quite a hole. But even with this loss, Hershey looked like the better team on the ice. They just have to find ways to get more quality scoring chances on net and make Matt Climie actually play “goaltender.” They do that, and things will turn around quickly.

The 2009-2010 season, by the "tens" -- Ten Games That Mattered: San Jose at Washington, October 15th

As Philadelphia and Chicago do battle to see who will end the 2009-2010 season as Stanley Cup Champion, we will take a look back at ten games of this season that mattered to the Capitals. As we have done before, we will look at some wins, look at some losses, and look at what might be taken away from them. They are in no particular order except chronological, which means we start with…

October 15: San Jose (3-2-1) at Washington (2-2-2)

The Result: Capitals 4 – Sharks 1

The Background: The Capitals and the Sharks were two teams of which much was expected as the season started. They also were two teams that disappointed somewhat the previous season, San Jose being eliminated in six games by the Anaheim Ducks in the first round of the 2009 playoffs, the Caps eliminated in seven games by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round.

On this night, both teams found themselves having stumbled out of the gate and each with something to prove early. For the Sharks, the issue was turning over about half of their roster from that which took the ice in the last playoff game of 2009. For the Caps, the issue was the opportunity to face down a strong Western Conference team. San Jose posed a special problem for the Caps in two respects. First, the Caps hadn’t beaten the Sharks since February 20, 1999, going 0-11-1 in the 12 games since and getting outscored by 44-22. Second, goalie Evgeni Nabokov came into the game with a record of 8-0-0 against the Caps since the 2000-2001 season (1.98, .935) and recorded his first shutout of the season in his previous outing against the Phoenix Coyotes.

Why it mattered: After the Caps soundly defeated the Boston Bruins on opening night, they looked less formidable in beating the Toronto Maple Leafs in their next outing, then lost four in a row (0-2-2) leading up to this contest. On top of that, leading scorer Alex Ovechkin had not scored a goal in his previous three games after going 5-4-9, plus-5 in his first three games to open the season.

This game would be highlighted by the installation of right wing Mike Knuble – a free-agent pick up in July – with Ovechkin. The odd part of this was that they would be centered, not by Nicklas Backstrom, but by another free-agent pick up over the summer, Brendan Morrison. The recombination of forwards worked. Ovechkin scored two goals 28 seconds apart in the second period to give the Caps a lead they would not relinquish, Knuble getting both primary assists and Morrison getting both secondary assists. The first of these goals would close the register on NHL clubs Ovechkin scored a goal against, San Jose being the last blank line in that book. The Ovechkin-Morrison-Knuble line finished the night 2-4-6, plus-6, and Ovechkin had 13 shots on goal for the night.

It wasn’t just a case of rejuvenated offense, either. At the other end, the Caps allowed only 15 shots in the last 41:42 of the game, all of which were stopped by goalie Semyon Varlamov, who came on in relief of starter Jose Theodore, who left the game after the first period with back spasms. It was a particularly satisfying night in terms of Varlamov’s performance in that the 40 minutes of spotless goaltending came on the heels of two lesser performances – a four goals allowed effort (on 31 shots) against Toronto in a 6-4 win and another four goals allowed effort (on 25 shots) in getting a no-decision in 33:59 of a 6-5 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Takeaway: The Caps would use this game as a springboard for a run that saw them win six in a row and earn standings points in eight straight games. Beginning with this game, Varlamov would go 11-1-2, 1.88, .929, and two shutouts before leaving the lineup with a groin injury in early December. And beginning with this game, Ovechkin would close the 2009 portion of the season 21-17-38, plus-12, in 26 games. On a higher level, it demonstrated an ability to play with the Western Conference big boys, an important consideration given that the Caps already had a 3-2 loss in Detroit on their early-season record. The win over San Jose would start a 4-0-1 run against Western Conference teams. They would not lose again to a Western Conference team in regulation at home until dropping a 5-3 decision to the Calgary Flames on March 28th.

The 2009-2010 season, by the "tens" -- Ten Other Players You Might Remember

We’ve covered just about everyone who played in a significant number of games this year for the Capitals, but there are ten more players who played significant roles in their own ways…

The Reinforcements

The Hershey Bears have been the Capitals’ American Hockey League affiliate since the 2005-2006 season, renewing a relationship that ended 21 years earlier. In the five seasons since, the teams have developed the kind of relationship whereby holes that occur in the Capitals’ lineup can be filled – often more than adequately – by calling upon the Bears for substitutes. That drive down Route 15 was more than helpful at times this year, no more so than in calling upon a trio of players who played important roles for the Bears.

Keith Aucoin and Alexandre Giroux finished one-two in scoring in the AHL this season, and Jay Beagle chipped in 16 goals and 35 points in 66 games. All three had some experience in the NHL coming into this season, Aucoin the veteran of 65 NHL games, Giroux 22, and Beagle seven (four of those coming in the 2009 playoffs).

One might be forgiven for thinking, in light of their modest experience (a combined 10-17-27, plus-1), that calling them up would result in a drop off in performance. The fact is, both individually and as a group, these three players made their contributions. Combined, they totaled 3-7-10, even, in 25 games. Not first-line performance, perhaps, but it was certainly good enough given the approximately 10 minutes a game that these three players averaged in their time spent with the Capitals.

Perhaps more important, given that they were plugging holes, they were not liabilities, at least not so much as it might be reflected in wins and losses. Individually, the Caps were 8-1-0 in games in which Alexandre Giroux appeared, 6-1-2 in games in which Keith Aucoin appeared, and 4-1-2 in games in which Jay Beagle appeared. Collectively, the Caps had a 14-2-4 overall record in which any of them appeared.

Only one of these three players saw action after the first of the new calendar year (Beagle, on April 6th), and it is unlikely that any of them would seem much in the way of consistent ice time for the Caps going forward (Giroux is a UFA, Beagle and RFA, and Aucoin has two more seasons on his current contract), but this past season this group did help the Caps get off to a good start.

The Prospects

There were four Capitals prospects whose combined appearances this year amounted to almost exactly a full NHL season (81 games, to be precise). Mathieu Perreault, Karl Alzner, John Carlson, and Michael Neuvirth represent a good part of the future for the Caps. Perreault could one day be a top-six forward for this team, Alzner and Carlson are both virtually top-four locks, and Michal Neuvirth could push for the number one goaltending job before too long.

But this year, this quartet took a first step toward assuming a regular place on the roster. The skaters – Alzer, Carlson, and Perreault – played in a total of 64 games and were a combined 5-15-20, plus-13, while averaging more than 14 minutes of ice time a game. Despite their lack of experience, they finished even or better on the plus-minus ledger in 50 of 64 combined games.

What might be most noteworthy about this trio of skaters is that at least one of them appeared in 52 of the 82 games the Caps played – the idea of working younger players into the lineup over time. In those games, the Caps were 34-10-8, which works out to precisely the 54-15-13 pace the Caps played on for the entire regular season.

Carlson and Alzner also saw playoff action with Carlson appearing in all seven games the Caps played. He also finished tied for fourth in total points for the Caps (1-3-4) and was third on the club with a plus-6, all while getting more than 20 minutes a night in ice time.

Neuvirth had a season that doesn’t jump off the page, at least until you look at his numbers in context. And that context is his peer group of rookie goaltenders. Among the 20 rookies tending goal this season in at least one game, Neuvirth finished sixth in wins (nine), ninth in goals-against average (2.75, which was fifth among rookie goalies appearing in at least ten games), and eighth in save percentage (.914, third behind Tuukka Rask and Jimmy Howard among rookie goaltenders appearing in at least ten games).

What Neuvirth also had, though, was an odd end to the NHL portion of his season. He was undefeated in his last ten appearances, but he was wildly inconsistent. He started three games in which he did not finish and did not earn a decision, with a goals against average of 7.94 and a save percentage of .773. In a fourth game he relieved Jose Theodore, stopping all 11 shots he faced in the third period of a 7-2 win over the New York Islanders on January 26th. Otherwise, he was 6-0-0 in that stretch, 1.50, .957, and did not allow more than two goals in any game.

As a group, these four players have barely 100 games of NHL experience among them. Next year, Caps fans will hope that all of the skaters will play in at least 100 games apiece and that Neuvirth will perhaps get his share of games in a rotation with fellow prospect goaltender Semyon Varlamov.


The Hired Guns

At the trading deadline, the Caps acquired four players, three of whom would take their places in the lineup immediately (defenseman Milan Jurcina, obtained from Columbus, was recovering from surgery for a sports hernia). Eric Belanger, Joe Corvo, and Scott Walker were brought aboard to provide some added depth down the middle, penalty killing and faceoff skill (Belanger); another puck-moving defenseman who could help out on the power play (Corvo); and some playoff experience and grit (Walker).

As a group, the trio played in 44 games, going 6-9-15, even, in the process with an average of 14:30 in ice time a night among them. But frankly, it was not the regular season for which these three players were obtained. And ultimately, this was a series of trades of limited return, despite the relatively low price they exacted from the Caps.

Bringing Belanger, Corvo, and Walker to Washington cost the Caps a soon-to-be free agent defenseman (Brian Pothier), a prospect (Oskar Osala), and three draft picks (two seconds and a seventh). But even with the low price to obtain them, the performance of these three players in the playoffs did not appear to justify the investment.

Of the three, Belanger probably had the best playoff series for the talents the Caps were looking for. In the seven games Belanger finished with a only a single assist, only six shots on goal and only three of those coming in the last six games. But he also was on the ice for only three goals of the 20 the Canadiens scored in the series (two of the six power play goals Montreal scored in the series). Belanger also won 76 of 114 draws, his 66.7 percent winning percentage still leading all players in the playoffs who have taken at least 100 draws. He finished at 50 percent or higher in each of the seven games.

Joe Corvo seemed to struggle from the start of his stay in Washington. In 18 games, he was a plus player only once, and that was against the less-than-fearsome Atlanta Thrashers in the next to last game of the regular season. He managed a goal and two assists on the power play, although his getting 1:30 in average power play ice time per game was perhaps not the level of relief for Mike Green that many might have envisioned. But in seven playoff games Corvo’s game deteriorated substantially. He finished 1-1-2, but did not register a point in his last five games, despite recording 19 shots on goal (ten in Game 6 alone). He was given more power play time in the playoffs, almost doubling his ice time with the man advantage (from 1:30 a game to 2:55). But he did less with it, failing to register a power play point. On the other side, Corvo’s even strength ice time was cut by more than three minutes a game (from 17:14 to 13:54), perhaps not surprising given that he was on the ice for four of the 14 even strength goals the Canadiens scored in the series (and two of the last three).

Scott Walker’s problem wasn’t so much performance as it was getting a chance to perform. He potted two goals (including the game-winner) in his first appearance with the Caps after the trade with Carolina, a 5-4 win over Tampa Bay. After that, he would get eight more regular season appearances in which he recorded a single assist and went minus-1, clearing the ten-minute ice time mark only three times. And that was the good part. In the playoffs, he would not dress for the first six games of the Montreal series. He would get an opportunity in Game 7, but skated only 6:47 and only two shifts in the third period as the Caps came up one goal short of advancing to the next round.

A month out from the start of the free agent signing period, it is not clear which of the three hired guns the Caps will want to hire for the 2010-2011 season. Combined, the three earned $6.9 million last year. The problems that the Caps have in terms of depth at center could mean a return for Eric Belanger. It seems doubtful that either Corvo or Walker will be brought back. But the price to take these three out for a test drive was not steep in this respect. Since 2000, the Caps have had 14 second round draft picks. Of that number, four have played in at least one game for the Caps (Matt Pettinger, Jakub Cutta, Chris Bourque, and Michal Neuvirth). and only Neuvirth among this group can reasonably be thought of as having the potential for a long NHL career. The Caps did not give up much in terms of likely contributors, given their drafting history, and the one prospect they gave up – Oskar Osala – might or might not become a regular NHL player.

The best that can be said about the hired guns is that it could have been worse.

Skilled Labor

"The Pittsburgh Penguins are looking for 250 students to help with an important task and there's only one major requirement: You must know how to flush a toilet."

We don't make this stuff up, folks.

It's Official

The Washington Capitals will visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on New Years Day in the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, which will be played at Heinz Field, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed the long-rumored matchup this afternoon.

In addition to confirming the teams and venue for this year's Winter Classic, the Commissioner provided what might have been unexpected news that Washington will host a Winter Classic in the next two to three years.  This should provide Caps fans with no end to speculation on where the game might be held -- FedEx Field, Nationals Stadium, the National Mall, the Dulles Greenway -- and which team might serve as the guest to the event.

So make your hotel reservations, Caps fans.  New Years Eve in Pittsburgh.  Bring your own noisemakers.

The 2009-2010 season, by the "tens" -- Goaltenders: Semyon Varlamov

Semyon Varlamov

Theme: “We love to expect, and when expectation is either disappointed or gratified, we want to be again expecting.”
-- Samuel Johnson

Semyon Varlamov gives teasing glimpses of what he can be. In 51 NHL games (regular season and playoffs), he is 29-13-7, 2.51, .913, with four shutouts. Not bad for a goaltender who just turned 22. This year, Varlamov finished the regular season 15-4-6, 2.55, .909, and two shutouts, a performance that would appear to position him to permanently take over the number one goaltending job for the Capitals next season.

That’s the good news. But look at the ten-game splits a little more closely, and you can start to see the blemishes…

First, there is the matter of his missing the entirety of the fourth, fifth, and sixth segments of the season. Varlamov went down to an injury in early December, going on the shelf with a groin injury right after shutting out the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-0 on December 7th. He would end up missing two months of the season, returning on February 11th against Ottawa.

By that time, Jose Theodore was in the midst of his 20-0-3 finish to the season (he was 10-0-1 at the time). Varlamov appeared in only ten of the last 22 games of the season and did not thrive with the uneven work. He finished the regular season 3-3-4, 3.08, .885. What is worse, he did so facing weak competition. In those ten appearances he faced what would be playoff teams only three times (Ottawa, Pittsburgh, and Boston). He was 1-1-1, 3.91, .874 against those teams.

In fact, Varlamov had a comparatively weak record against playoff teams in the East overall. He was 3-2-2, 3.40, .891, and one shutout in seven decisions. He also had a more difficult time away from home, going 6-2-4, 3.05, .894, with one shutout.

Varlamov was a very good goaltender when defending his net at even strength. Of 46 goaltenders appearing in at least 25 games, he finished tied for sixth overall – with the Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist – in save percentage (.929). His performance deteriorated some when the Capitals were on the power play, finishing 24th among those same 46 goaltenders in save percentage (.909). However, he was among the worst goaltenders in the league when the Caps were shorthanded. Only Vesa Toskala had a worse save percentage (.788) than did Varlamov (.802).

In the playoffs, Varlamov reprised his role of last season, coming to the rescue in relief of a shaky Jose Theodore. He did not have as scorchingly brilliant a performance against Montreal that he had against the Rangers in his first tour in the role, going 3-3, 2.41, .908. But comparing his playoff performance with, say, the goaltenders facing one another in the finals, one can see where he has to elevate his game. His save percentage in the six games at even strength of .924 is comparable to that of Chicago’s Antti Niemi (.927), although both trail Michael Leighton’s .951. But when shorthanded, while Leighton (.923) and Niemi (.913) have seen little drop-off in performance, Varlamov trailed badly at .828. Penalty killing was a problem for the Caps all season, but as the saying goes, your goaltender has to be your best penalty killer. Varlamov was not that for the Caps.

The injury to Varlamov denied the young goalie any sense of continuity to his season. He was injured in the midst of perhaps his best stretch of goaltending for the year, and he did not get enough steady work upon his return to get into any sort of rhythm. In the playoffs, his play certainly was not the primary cause of the Caps’ disappointing loss to the Canadiens, but he did not have an especially impressive series, especially against Montreal’s power play. He and the Caps are going to have to improve in this area to become a more difficult team to play against.

Next year, Varlamov is the prohibitive favorite to start the year as the number one goaltender, although given Michal Neuvirth’s performance last year and this, especially in the AHL playoffs, Varlamov will be pushed for that job. What is sometimes easy to forget is that goaltenders often take a while to mature. For example, of the 26 goaltenders selected in his 2006 draft class, Varlamov is second in regular season games played so far in the NHL (32). Only Steve Mason (112) has more. In fact, he has more games played than the other five goalies with NHL experience combined (note that Michal Neuvirth is third on this list with 22 games played). None of the goalies in the 2006 draft class has had Varlamov’s amount of playoff experience.

Varlamov can be spectacular when he’s on. He can look lost when he’s not. Taking over the number one goaltender job will give him the added responsibility of being more consistent, of being able to carry his team for stretches. He certainly seems to have the talent. Now he has to add the maturity and experience to reach that level of play. But for this year…

Grade: B

Sittin' at the end of the bar...

It's Hershey and Texas in the Calder Cup finals.  It's a little known fact...

-- This is the Stars' first year in the league in their current incarnation.  They were the Iowa Stars, then the Iowa Chops, then they were chopped out of the AHL for a year, then the Texas Stars acquired the franchise and began skating in the 2009-2010 season.

-- Caps connection... Travis Morin.  A former ninth-round draft pick of the Caps (2004... you might have forgotten that as you started your Alex Ovechkin merchandise collection).  He was 21-31-52, plus-10 in 80 games during the regular season and is 3-10-13, plus-2 in 18 games so far in the post-season.

-- Leading scorer... Jamie Benn.  A fifth-round pick of the Dallas Stars (2007), he is a ringer.  He played in all 82 games for the parent club this season, finishing 22-19-41, minus-1.  In 18 games in the AHL post-season he is 14-10-24, plus-10.  He's coming into this series hot.  He had six goals in the seven-game series against Hamilton.  Benn is the playoffs' leading scorer at the moment.

-- Andrew Hutchinson is eighth among all playoff scorers so far (4-11-15, plus-9).  Caps fans might remember him; he has stops with Carolina and Tampa Bay on his resume.

-- Brent Krahn started the playoffs as the Stars' number one goaltender.  He is currently fifth in goals against average (2.32) and third in save percentage (.928) to go with a 7-3 record.  He is also currently suffering the after-effects of a concussion he sustained in the Chicago series.  In his place, Matt Climie has compiled a 5-2 record, 2.62 GAA, and .922 save percentage.  He allowed only eight goals in the last four games of the Calder semifinal against Hamilton, going 3-1 in the process.

-- The Stars and Bears did not meet in the regular season.

The 2009-2010 season, by the "tens" -- Goaltenders: Jose Theodore

Jose Theodore

Theme: “Obstacles cannot crush me. Every obstacle yields to stern resolve.”
-- Leonardo DaVinci

Hockey is a game. That’s why you say that teams “play” hockey. Fans spend a lot of time forgetting that simple fact. This year Caps fans were witness to the living embodiment of that sentiment, the implied idea being that hockey isn’t life.

Jose Theodore had a year that by any standard was as heart-wrenching as one could ever imagine. Having to embark on a year engaged in his profession – a very public one at that – after having endured a private tragedy that would have many retreating away from a public life had to be in a realm of difficulty that most could only dimly imagine.

That Theodore could perform at such a high level for long stretches this season speaks highly of his fortitude and resolve – 30-7-7, 2.81, .911, one shutout, a club record season winning percentage (.761), a club record for longest winning streak by a goaltender (ten games), club record for career winning percentage (.694). Much of it was the product of finishing the season going 20-0-3 (another club record – consecutive games in which a standing points was earned), 2.59, .922. It made for a remarkable set of ten-game segments as the season wore on…

On the ice, Theodore began the season fighting the prospect of losing his number one goaltender position to Semyon Varlamov. It was an extremely, if not altogether surprisingly, uneven start. Theodore got things off on the right foot with a 19-save performance on opening night against the Boston Bruins. In fact, he would allow two or fewer goals in seven of his 14 appearances in the Caps’s first 20 games. But he also allowed four or more in five of those appearances, which led to a shaky 5-3-4, 3.24, .893 record. Giving up five unanswered goals in the last 41 minutes of a 5-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils appeared to be the last straw that would crack Theodore’s resolve. He left the club temporarily for personal reasons.

It might have been the passing of the responsibility as number one netminder to Semyon Varlamov. In fact, Varlamov would appear in seven of the next ten games, going 5-0-2, 1.67, .940. But Varlamov would go on the shelf with a groin injury, opening the door for Theodore to return. Once more he was a bit shaky to start, going 2-3-0, 3.01, .875 in his five December appearances.

But with the new year came an entirely new Theodore, and he rocketed through the remaining schedule. He did not lose a game in regulation in which he started in the 2010 portion of the season (his only loss in regulation coming in relief of Michal Neuvirth in 7-4 loss to Tampa Bay on January 12th).

If anything, Theodore was slightly better in his performance against playoff teams than he was against the league overall. He finished 14-3-4, 2.68, .916 against the 12 teams he faced that would make the playoffs.

There were 34 goaltenders who played in at least half of their team’s games. Of that group, Theodore finished 26th in goals-against average and 21st in save percentage. No number one goaltender on a playoff team playing in at least half of their team’s games had a higher goals-against average than did Theodore, and only two goaltenders on teams making the playoffs (Brian Elliott of Ottawa and Marc-Andre Fleury of Pittsburgh) had a lower save percentage (not counting Cristobal Huet of Chicago, who did not get the call to take the ice for the playoffs).  But he won, and that is the bottom line.

Which brings us to the playoffs. For the second consecutive year, Theodore’s stay between the pipes was short. In Game 1 of the first round series against Montreal, Theodore surrendered the game’s first goal, then could not hold a lead when the Caps came back with a pair of goals, and finally gave up the game-winning goal in overtime in a 3-2 loss.

It got worse.

In Game 2, Montreal scored on its first shot of the game – a goal by Brian Gionta at the 1:00 mark. The Canadiens were held without a shot for almost seven minutes after the score, but struck again when they finally did get a puck to the net, a goal by Andrei Kostitsyn at the 7:58 mark. It would be the end of Theodore’s night and Theodore’s season, giving way to Semyon Varlamov for the remainder of the series.

It was an unfortunate end to a difficult season for Theodore. In two years in Washington he would set those records in the regular season noted above, but as a playoff goaltender would finish 0-2-0, 3.70, .849 in four appearances. For a team whose performance is now to be measured by what it does in April, May and June – not January, February, and March – it raises doubts about his renewal as a member of the Caps as his contract expires.

Still, one cannot help but respect the season he did have in winning 30 games (tied for 13th in wins, despite appearing in only 47 games) after the difficult summer he and his family had to endure. In addition to his performance on the ice, he made contributions to the community through his “Saves for Kids” fundraising program for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Children’s National Medical Center. His nomination for both the Masterton Trophy, for the NHL player who "best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey," and for the King Clancy Trophy, for the NHL player who “best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community,” is very much deserved.

Grade: B