After-Math -- Caps vs. Islanders

No points . . . again.

The epic “Alexander” by Oliver Stone runs 176 minutes. It is an awful movie. So, too, has been the Capitals’ offense the last three games, tonight ending a 176 minute goal-scoring drought in their 5-2 loss to the New York Islanders. Coincidentally, the drought was ended by the Capitals’ own “Alexander” – Ovechkin, that is (a much better performer than any in that abysmal flick).

Frankly, it was a f**ked-up game all around. The Caps could have had a half-dozen goals above the two they ended up scoring, and that is without any of the several fine saves Islander goalie Rick DiPietro made. The Caps certainly had their minimum daily requirement of iron, having banged pucks off posts to the beat of Anvil Chorus. And for those Caps fans who seem to think the Caps haven’t really showed up for games recently, the NHL seems to agree, based on this shift chart:

Of course, the Islanders were absent for those first six minutes of the second period, too, so it is hardly surprising that neither club scored.

One thing that came out of this game . . . Brendan Witt really has become something of a prissy little twerp. Maybe he’s trying to be Sean Avery with hair, but all he seems to do is yap-and-run. His performance tonight in the third period was especially noteworthy – in fact, worthy of a starring role in the aforementioned, “Alexander.” Yapping at Donald Brashear moments after Brashear scored the Caps’ second goal, giving a fake shot at him, then dropping as if he was shot when Brashear responded with a left hook and squirming on the ice like a slug on my driveway . . . pitiful. He drew the call – “Gadzooks! I am slain!! -- but any thought of attaching an adjective like “tough guy” to this clown would be, well, funny.

But like last Saturday’s 6-2 loss to the New Yorkers, the Islanders raced off to a lead, more or less ending the competitive portion of the game, then watched as the Caps hung some window dressing on DiPietro late. It was good, though to see the Caps end that 176 minute goose-egg, and it was good to see Ovechkin end his three game scoreless streak (following a four-game scoring streak, following a four-game scoreless streak) as part of a generally strong game overall. Milan Jurcina and Boyd Gordon also had decent efforts.

But these are mere morsels of positives in what is now a “please, let this end soon” season. That the Caps are playing hard at this point – and they did play hard tonight, just not especially well – is something that should be appreciated by their fans.