Top Ten Stories of 2009 -- Number 5: The Goalie

Number five is next on the look back at top stories in 2009…

Number 5: The Goalie

On March 9, 2006, the Capitals traded defenseman Brendan Witt to the Nashville Predators for former Capital Kris Beech and a first round draft pick. The pick was nice, and Beech was more or less an afterthought. The object of the exercise was to move a player who expressed a distinct lack of interest in the rebuild in which the Capitals found themselves. Witt was soon a memory, Beech would soon be one, even as he played in 64 games for the Caps the following season, and the thought of the draft pick was stashed away in the attic of Caps Nation’s memory.

Fast forward to June 2006. For fans of the Washington Capitals the attention was focused at the top of the first round, where the Caps had the fourth overall pick. It was a pick with some uncertainty attached, as there was a case to be made for the Caps to take any of Erik Johnson, Jordan Staal, Jonathan Toews, Nicklas Backstrom, or Phil Kessel, if any of this quintet was available. The Caps selected Backstrom (and we know how that turned out), leaving the 23rd overall selection as a bit of an afterthought at draft day parties held by Caps fans.

With that 23rd overall pick the Caps selected a virtual unknown (to Caps fans, at least) – a young goaltender from Russia, Semyon Varlamov. The talent analysis at the time would not have given comfort to Caps fans…

"A good sized netminder who plays smaller than he really is... plays more of a butterfly style...doesn't cover a big space of the net, but makes up for this drawback with quality reflexes and athleticism...an okay skater with a decent lateral movement in the crease...moves fast side-to-side...does precise splits to stop the puck which makes up a bit for his mediocre length of the legs...challenges the shooter and relies on his skating ability...adequate on the blocker side...a solid fast glove hand...handles most of the rebounds well thanks to a strong dexterity and flexibility...adequate anticipation of the developing plays...should particularly upgrade on his dealing with hard initial shots...tends to allow the odd soft goal through his five-hole...tends to play too deep in the net occasionally, thus being vulnerable to the initial shots...displays only average puckhandling ability and should work on his stickhandling ability…A butterfly style goalie...moves well both in the butterfly and on his skates...weak in handling the puck outside the crease...improving with the control of the rebounds...takes up a lot of space the net (source: russianprospects.com)"

Except for a glimpse of Varlamov at Capitals development camp, there really wasn’t a lot to know about Varlamov, other than he was another Russian. But he was giving indications that the pick would yield benefits down the road. At Yaroslavl Lokomotiv in 2006-2007 he posted a 2.17 goals against average with three shutouts. The following year his numbers might have appeared to slip a bit in the regular season, but he had a remarkable playoff campaign, posting a 1.62 GAA and five shutouts in 16 post season games. He was ready to hop the pond.

At Hershey to start the 2008-2009 season, he appeared to suffer no particular problems with the smaller rink or the distance from home, at least on the ice, going 19-7-1, 2.40, .920, and two shutouts with the Bears. His play in Hershey earned him a call from the Caps, one that was not without adventure. The Caps were without a backup goaltender on hand and with Brent Johnson the only semi-healthy goalie, himself suffering from a bad hip (which would eventually require surgery). While Brett Leonhardt was being plucked from the video production studio to serve as emergency backup, Varlamov was getting a phone call in the middle of a ride to the next town in Texas where the Bears would be skating. Varlamov made it to DC during a 5-1 win over the Ottawa Senators and would get the call the next night, in Montreal, ground zero for professional hockey.

That Varlamov was impressive in his debut on that December night in Montreal is to damn with faint praise. He stopped 32 of 33 shots in a packed Bell Centre, including 14 in a third period that was tied until Michael Nylander scored with 2:32 left to give the rookie his NHL debut win. It would hardly be the last time Varlamov would impress. Although he was sent back down after a win over St. Louis on December 18th, he was recalled in March. He would appear in three games over the rest of the regular season and would finish up the year 4-0-1, 2.37, .918. It seemed a fine introduction to NHL hockey. But then, as they say, things took a turn…

In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the New York Rangers, starting goalie Jose Theodore allowed three goals in the first 38 minutes and then, after the Caps clawed back to tie things up early in the third period, allowed the game winner with 8:17 left in the third period. The 4-3 loss convinced Coach Bruce Boudreau to roll the dice and send Varlamov between the pipes for Game 2. Varlamov allowed a first period goal by Ryan Callahan, but it was the only goal he would allow. Unfortunately, the Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist was one better in a 1-0 Rangers win. Boudreau needed no convincing, though to send Varlamov out again against the Rangers from then on. His gamble was rewarded in Game 3 and over the rest of the series as Varlamov went 4-2, 1.17, .957, and two shutouts.

Varlamov was the toast of the town whose performance was drawing comparisons to another youngster who was brought up late and given the playoff reins 28 years earlier – Ken Dryden. There were differences, though, between Dryden’s parlaying six regular season games of experience into a Stanley Cup in 1971 and Varlamov’s run. The vast cultural differences aside between a goalie who grew up in the North American sport and one who was still finding his way in a new country, Dryden was 23 years old when he won the Cup, Varlamov had just turned 21 the day before Game 7 of the Rangers series. Dryden had three seasons of NCAA hockey at Cornell University, a stint with the IIHF World & European Championship Pool A, and 33 games with the Montreal Voyageurs of the AHL before getting his shot with the Canadiens. Varlamov did have comparable stops along the way, but not to the extent that Dryden did. Varlamov was in the deep water without a lot of experience, and his performance had been truly amazing.

But reality – and a hail of shots over seven games – came crashing down on Varlamov and the Capitals in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Varlamov would win the first two games of the series (and have what was probably the save of the Stanley Cup tournament on Sidney Crosby in Game 1), but there were ominous signs as the Penguins pounded 36 shots at him in each game. The barrage finally caused the wall that was Varlamov to give way in the last five games of the series, of which the young goalie and the Caps lost four, Varlamov being pulled after 22 minutes of a Game 7 loss.

Even with the difficulties in the second round, Varlamov finished the playoffs 7-6, 2.53, .918, with two shutouts, a more than respectable performance for any goalie, let alone one with as little professional experience as Varlamov had. He carried his fine play over into the 2009 portion of the 2009-2010 season, posting to date a 12-1-2 record, a 2.21 GAA, a .924 save percentage, and two shutouts. His 16-1-3 record to start his NHL career (not to mention four shuouts in his last 28 games played, including playoffs) has been remarkable. For that reason “The Goalie” is one of the top stories for the Capitals in 2009.

Top Ten Stories of 2009 -- Number 6: The Repeat

And now, the number 6 story of 2009…

Number 6: The Repeat

In the history of the National Hockey League 51 different players have been named winner of the Hart Memorial Trophy as league most valuable player. Of that number, 17 have won the award on more than one occasion. Of that number, 11 have been a repeat winner at least once in their careers. And of that number, one player is still active.

Alex Ovechkin.

In NHL history 22 players have won the Lester Pearson Award as outstanding player. Of that number, nine have won the award more than once. Of that number, six have been repeat winners at least once in their career. And of that number, one player is still active.

Alex Ovechkin.

In the history of the NHL, nine different players have won the Maurice Richard Trophy that is awarded to the top goal scorer in the league. Of that number, three have won it more than once. Of that number, two have been repeat winners. And of that number, one is still active.

Alex Ovechkin.

In NHL history, 16 forwards have been named a first team NHL all star at least four times. Only one of these players is active and is the only player in the history of the league to have been named to the first team in each of his first four seasons.

Alex Ovechkin.

Ovechkin stands alone at the top of his sport. You could make an argument for a Sidney Crosby, an Evgeni Malkin, a Nicklas Lidstrom, a Pavel Datsyuk, a Jarome Iginla, or a Joe Thornton eclipsing Ovechkin as a player. You could, but it would not be convincing. Let’s look at these players in 2009 (you’re free to think there should be others on this list, but it is a representative group of elite players from 2009):



Ovechkin, despite having played fewer games than anyone on this list, has more goals, points, game-winning goals (having played in fewer games than Evgeni Malkin), and more power play goals than anyone on this list. Yes, you are free to think that other measures should be in here (even you stat geeks), but these are a simple enough sampling to tell a story.

Ovechkin had some other noteworthy accomplishments in 2009:

-- 14 multi-goal games
-- 34 multi-point games
-- two hat tricks
-- two ten-game points streaks (coming as part of a 29 games in 31 points run)
-- two three-game goal scoring streaks during the 2009 playoffs
-- 11 goals in his last 11 games in the playoffs, including seven in the seven game series against Pittsburgh
-- 11-10-21 in 14 playoff games, which still left him fifth in playoff scoring, despite not playing in the final two rounds (he was plus-10, to boot, sixth in the league for the playoffs)

Even a suspension didn’t slow him down (and it inspired almost as talk about an NHL player in the regular season as there was talk about a certain golfer’s infidelity….ok, it didn’t). Since taking a couple of games off for a knee-on-knee hit on Carolina’s Tim Gleason, Ovechkin is 8-11-19, plus-6, with four power play goals (he had four all season before the suspension), and a game-winner. It just adds to the story Ovechkin authored this year.

And that story is that at this point in his career, having consistently produced at an elite level, repeating multiple times in individual awards, Ovechkin is the most prolific player of his era. He is the NHL’s only equivalent of a rock star, creating a buzz in every city he visits. That he would repeat in three major awards this year – Hart, Pearson, Richard – and be named for the fourth consecutive time to the NHL first all star team, Alex Ovechkin is – again – a top story in 2009.

Top Ten Stories of 2009 -- Number 7: Home Cookin'

Continuing with the top ten Caps stories of 2009, we’re up to number seven…

Number 7 – Home Cookin’

The old saying in team sports is, “split on the road, win at home.” Well, the Caps did the latter in 2009 with a vengeance (last night’s result notwithstanding). The Caps were 14-8-2 in the 2009 portion of the 2008-2009 season, which included an 0-3-1 hiccup at the beginning of March. In the 2009 portion of the current season no team had fewer home losses in regulation than did the Caps heading into last night’s action. The 12-3-3 home record thus far this season brings the Caps’ 2009 home mark to 26-11-5. In those 42 home games the Caps…

-- Scored at least five goals ten times.

-- Outscored the opposition 148-127 (3.52 – 3.02 per game)

-- Outshot the opposition by an average of 34.7 to 28.2 shots per game

-- Converted power plays at a 26.7 percent rate

-- Killed penalties at an 84.2 percent rate

-- Had six streaks of at least three wins in a row (high: five, which was snapped last night)

-- Finished with at least a .500 mark against five of the six divisions:

• Southeast: 9-3-0
• Atlantic: 7-2-3
• Northeast: 6-2-1
• Central: 2-1-1
• Northwest: 1-2-0
• Pacific: 1-1-0

But one of the most important parts of “home cookin’” can be found in this number…

703

No, it’s not a reference to the Northern Virginia area code. It is the total number of unsold seats the Caps had in 50 regular season and playoff games in 2009. The Caps sold out 48 of those games. Only a January 13th game against Edmonton (a 5-2 loss watched by 17,948) and a March 3rd game against Carolina (another 5-2 loss watched by 17,903) marred a perfect 2009. In terms of attendance, these are the glory days of the Capitals.

The combination of success and the red-clad crowds make Washington an increasingly difficult place of opponents to visit. Whether this will matter in terms of a championship is something that will be decided in a few months. The Caps could, if current standing hold, enjoy home ice advantage for at least two playoff rounds. But for now, the Caps winning ways and the packed-to-the-rafters rink in which they play makes “home cookin’” one of the top ten stories of the year.

The TSN Top Plays of the Decade (guess who has the top two "goals")

...and guess who doesn't make an appearance (yeah, yeah, we know... he has a Cup)

A NO-point night -- Hurricanes 6 - Caps 3

Well, it was over at the first intermission, anyway, just not quite the way we envisioned.

The Carolina Hurricanes scored early (three goals in the first period), scored late (two goals in the last ten minutes to pull away) and withstood a mini-rally by the Washington Capitals on their way to only their second road win of the season, a 6-3 decision at Verizon Center last night.

It wasn’t pretty. How so? Well, until last night…

- Carolina scored as many as four goals on the road this season once… in Colorado… in a loss.

- They had not scored as many goals in any game since beating Florida, 7-2, on October 9th.

- They did not have a better shooting percentage than their six goals on 26 shots (23.1 percent).

- They had not won a game by as many as three goals since that 7-2 win over Florida.

- They did not have a 5-on-3 goal this season… at all.

Meanwhile, about that first period for the Caps. Washington was credited with four shots. That is being more than generous. Here is the official tally:

2:32 – Knuble, slap shot, 83 feet
8:31 – Fleischmann, wrist shot, 32 feet
13:27 – Backstrom, wrist shot, 76 feet
18:25 – Gordon, backhand, 36 feet

See a pattern? Cam Ward could have knitted a quilt for all the pressure the Caps put on him in the first frame. He could have stopped those shots with a badminton racquet. Oh, Carolina’s three goals were scored from a combined distance of 27 feet.

That, kids, was more or less the game. The Caps are an adept come-from-behind team (best in the league, in fact, winning percentage-wise going into last night;’s game), but a three-goal deficit in the first period is a bit much. A team has to expend so much energy just to get back into the game it doesn’t often leave anything at the end to get over the hump, take a lead, and hold it to the end.

And such was the case for the Caps. They did sort of make a game of it. They got an early second period power play goal from Mike Green, thanks to a nice feed from Tomas Fleischmann and a screen by Mike Knuble in front of goalie Cam Ward. But they gave it right back. OK, Jose Theodore is going to get a fair amount of blame for that fourth Hurricane goal, for giving up a rebound, then not stopping Brandon Sutter on the put-back. But watch the faceoff. Nicklas Backstrom lost it to Sutter, then did his best imitation of an orange traffic cone as Sutter made a bee-line for the net.

The killer, though, was the fifth Carolina goal. As a power play was expiring, Eric Staal sent a shot to the cage that Theodore paddled away from one knee. Staal retrieved the puck and sent it across to Sergei Samsonov in the left wing circle. Samsonov got off a wrister, but it was blocked by Tyler Sloan. Samsonov got the loose puck, though, stepped around Sloan, and wristed it past Theodore. The thing is, though, in that entire sequence, Theodore played from his knees. He never seemed to get himself into a sturdy position to defend against a shot, and when Samsonov changed the angle in stepping around Sloan, he had a much better target of open net to shoot at. It was the frustration of the night in a nutshell.

Other stuff…

-- For what it’s worth, that’s four straight multi-point games for Alex Ovechkin (5-6-11, +3). It is the first time he has had a streak of that sort this long within a season since a five-game multi-point streak from November 10-19, 2008 (6-8-14, +12). He had a four game streak that crossed seasons – the last game of the 2008-2009 season and the first three games of this season.

-- With a goal and an assist, Mike Green registered a point in his fourth straight game (3-3-6, +4). He has a way to go to match his best this year, though – an eight-game points streak from November 11th through November 25th.

-- The Caps out-attempted Carolina 71-45 (shots, misses, shots blocked). But last night was one of those instances in which Carolina’s chances were of the much better opportunity sort than were the Caps’ opportunities.

-- No, it was not a personal best for Eric Staal. His five point night was eclipsed by a six-point night against Tampa Bay last March 9th (tying the club record).

-- Carolina certainly didn’t spread things around. Only seven players recorded points on a six-goal night. Four players – Staal, Matt Cullen, Tuomo Ruutu, and Jussi Jokinen did the multi-point damage.

-- Rod Brind’Amour, who is last in the NHL in plus-minus, found a way to finish minus-1 on a night when his club scores six and wins by three. He also had only 4:19 in ice time, only one shift in the last 27 minutes of the game.

-- The Caps came into the game as the best 5-on-5 team in the league. They got pounded, 4-1, in that part of the game (not counting the empty-netter) by the team that was worst in the league in that measure.

-- The Young Guns night… 2-3-5, 15 shots on goal, 32 attempted shots… and a minus-8.

-- The Young Guns Night II… about that expending of energy, after the Hurricanes scored those three goals in the first period, here is how the ice time played out for the Young Guns in the last two periods: Ovechkin – 18:15, Backstrom – 14:28, Semin – 14:07, Green – 22:56.

-- Pretty grim night in the circle if you are a Cap, and your name isn’t “Steckel.” 14 wins and 27 losses for just such players.

The Caps now head west to herald in the new year. What they seem unable to herald in is a clear number one goaltender. Jose Theodore did himself no favors tonight by allowing five goals on 25 shots. The trouble is, Semyon Varlamov is hurt, and Michal Neuvirth has too little experience (though no less than Varlamov had at this time last year). Certainly this will sort itself out by April, but at the moment the Caps are winning in spite of a revolving door between the pipes.

Last night is what happens when a perfect storm of events occurs – last game before jumping on a plane to the left coast, maybe taking an opponent (even a division opponent) too lightly, a lack of focus as a product of the day’s earlier events, and uncertainty in goal. Again, the trick here is not to let one become two, and that will be a chore as the Caps visit the San Jose Sharks next. But last night, the Caps looked, well…

Top Ten Stories of 2009 -- Number 8: Oh Captain! My Captain!

O Captain! My Captain! Our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won;

So begins the poem by Walt Whitman. The prize the Caps seek has not yet been won, yet as in the poem their Captain will not be with the team to reap that reward, should it come this spring. Chris Clark was dealt to the Columbus Blue Jackets with defenseman Milan Jurcina for forward Jason Chimera just before the end of the year.

In the cold light of truth, the move cannot be criticized on its face as a bad business move. Clark clearly lost a step, either through age (he is 33), the accumulation of injuries, or both over the past couple of years. And, the deal saves the Caps about $2.2 million in salary cap (annualized), thus giving the team additional flexibility to pursue a trade down the road. The trade comes with enough lead time so that the team can take a long look at the remaining pieces and see how they fit both on and off the ice.

And that brings us to the elusive concept of “chemistry.” George McPhee is no stranger to flipping the switch on a big deal in the midst of good times. This deal, coming as it does in the midst of a three game winning streak, has the faint echo of a deal he made on March 13, 2001, when the Caps were on a 16-2-2-1 run (and five-game winning streak) and were coming off perhaps their most electrifying comeback in team history – a 6-5 win over the Ottawa Senators when the Caps came back from a 5-2 third period deficit. McPhee traded Richard Zednik, Jan Bulis, and Washington's 1st round choice in 2001 Entry Draft to Montreal for Trevor Linden, Dainius Zubrus and New Jersey's 2nd round choice in 2001.

The trade in 2001 did not work for the Caps as intended, the club finishing the post-trade portion of the regular season 4-7-0-2, then going quickly and quietly in six game in the opening round of the playoffs against Pittsburgh. This deal isn’t that big, perhaps, but it has a similar feel in that it the effects on team chemistry cannot be overlooked. And the biggest part of the chemical equation has to do with the dealing of the team captain. The Caps are no strangers to this, either…

1995: Kevin Hatcher — replaced by Dale Hunter as captain in 1994, traded to Dallas
1999: Dale Hunter — traded to Colorado
2002: Adam Oates — stripped of captaincy in 2001, traded to Philadelphia
2003: Steve Konowalchuk — traded to Colorado
2009: Chris Clark — traded to Columbus

It is a stark reminder that this is, first and foremost, a business where jobs and reputations are measured in wins and losses. It is the responsibility of team management – any team’s management – to make every effort to ice the most competitive team possible with an eye toward winning the Stanley Cup. If it means dealing a player – a captain – widely respected in the locker room and among fans as a player’s player, one who will do whatever it takes to win, then that is the price one pays from time to time to take the next, and perhaps the last step needed to winning the Cup.

For fans, it is another rite of passage for those who perhaps have not followed the Caps or any individual team for very long. Players come, and players go, sometimes suddenly and without warning. The attachments that fans develop with those players – and Clark was a player anyone who appreciated the sport could root for – makes for some trying times and bitter responses (The Boss will probably be getting some e-mails now). But this is how it is in professional sports. Nevertheless, another part of what makes this a top-ten story is the nature of Clark as player, teammate, and representative of the club. In all of those respects, his time here has been memorable. As a player, he introduced himself to Caps fans by setting, then breaking personal highs in goal scoring in his first two years here on clubs that were otherwise difficult to watch at times. He was a stand-up sort of player who did not suffer liberties taken with teammates lightly. And he gave every indication of being honest and forthright in his dealings with the media, often serving as the voice of the team after a win or a loss.

Clark also served as the sort of role model of the tireless, they’ll have to drag me off the ice sort of player that inspires. Taking an Alex Ovechkin slap shot off the ear or a puck in his mouth, requiring a repair with the aid of a cadaver’s palate and screws, or playing through a wrist injury that would ultimately require surgery, Clark was the epitome of the tough as nails teammate.

This has to be especially hard for a player like Clark, who can see the end of his career in the distance. He came to the Caps having played (and lost) in a Stanley Cup final, skating for a new club that was in a self-inflicted burn-it-to-the-ground rebuild. He played just about every role a forward could have – scorer, checker, keeper of the peace, grinder – serving as an example for a team that played hard every night, even when it was only a 70-point team. Then the injuries started coming, and the Caps had skilled kids who passed him on the depth chart. He did not seem to be able to get over the hump, even as his health returned, and his ice time and responsibilities were cut back. But he was still the “Captain,” who carried himself in such a fashion that did honor to himself and the club on and off the ice, despite being reduced to fourth-line status much of the time. At 33, he can see the end of his career on the horizon, and now he goes off to a team that is itself at least a couple of years from contending in a tough division. In the back of our mind, we think a guy like “Clarkie” deserves better.

This trade would perhaps be a bigger story in 2009 if the effects were better known. We can’t know that at this stage, neither team having yet welcomed their new players. For all we know, this could be the equivalent of a Dainius Zubrus-for-Jiri Novotny trade. But for the seismic shocks that will ripple through the team that sees its captain, and arguably its most heart-and-soul player, traded away, it has to be a top-ten story for 2009.

Top Ten Stories of 2009 -- Number 9: The Goodbye...And The Hello

At number 9 in this look at the top ten stories of 2009, we look at a goodbye… and a hello.

Starting with the drafting of Alexander Semin in 2002, the Caps drafted six Russians in six drafts through June 2007. Although only Semin and Alex Ovechkin from that cohort would be with the team to start the 2007-2008 season, those two would be important cogs in the Capitals’ machine heading into that season.

In that summer of 2007 the Caps would add Viktor Kozlov as a free agent from the New York islanders, a player of considerable skill, but something of a disappointment in his career, too. What he brought to the team was a measure of maturity, having toured the NHL as a member of four other teams over 12 seasons. He could be as much of a help to the young Russians in the locker room as he could on the ice.

Later that season, the Caps would execute a heist on the Columbus Blue Jackets, giving up prospect defenseman Ted Ruth for veteran and hall-of-famer in waiting Sergei Fedorov. Fedorov – a hockey legend on two continents – was just what the Alexes needed at their respective points in their development. It might be hard to quantify the effect the marriage of Fedorov to the young Russians (figuratively speaking) might have had on the youngsters, but there is no doubting the amazing record the Caps compiled (11-1-0) in their head-long rush to a playoff spot in 2008.

Kozlov and Fedorov were back for the 2008-2009 season, but it could be reasonably said that neither were critical contributors on the ice – numbers-wise – to the Caps record-setting 108 point season. Kozlov played in only 67 games and contributed only 41 points (he dropped from a plus-28 to a minus-9, worst on the team). Fedorov fought lower body and ankle injuries in playing only 52 games and finishing eighth on the team in scoring (11-22-33). When the playoffs came, there was only one real highlight for either player, although it was a doozy – Fedorov’s series-winning goal in Game 7 of the Easter Conference quarterfinals against the New York Rangers.

When the season ended it was clear that the $6.5 million in cap hit accounted for by the two Russians was not yielding as much of return as hoped for, and it was iffy that either would be resigned. Both players made the decision easier on the Caps by accepting offers in the Kontinental Hockey League – Kozlov with HC Salavat Yulaev and Fedorov with Metallurg Magnitogorsk, the latter fulfilling an ambition to play alongside his brother Fedor.

It left the Caps with two top-six forward positions to fill. Neither Eric Fehr nor Tomas Fleischmann had been able at that point in their careers to grab that role by the throat, and no one from Hershey was ready to be given that responsibility. It left the Caps to be a player in the free agent market last July.

On July 1st, the first day of open season on unrestricted free agents, 49 free agents were signed. Washington eschewed the high-end signings such as Marian Hossa ($62.8M/12 years by Chicago) or Marian Gaborik ($37.5M/five years by the Rangers), targeting need in signing Mike Knuble for two years and $5.6 million. Knuble might not have had the reputation of being a flashy 40-goal scoring type, but the Caps had enough of those already, either in fact or in potential. What Knuble brought was precisely something the Caps didn’t have enough of – a knack for scoring in close, cleaning up garbage, and being a solid power play presence in front of the opposing goalie. Although he has missed time (12 games to a broken finger), the Caps are 17-9 in games in which he played so far, 7-5 in games he missed.

Nine days later, on July 10th, the Caps took a chance on a guy who had been remarkably durable (six consecutive seasons playing all 82 games) and solid in his numbers (averaging 21-39-60, plus-7 in those six years), before missing 43 games to wrist and knee injuries in 2007-2008 and recording only 31 points in 81 games (split between Dallas and Anaheim) upon his return last season. Brendan Morrison was the guy the Caps took that chance on as the replacement for Sergei Fedorov as the center for the second line. Morrison has proven to be durable (played in all 38 games heading into tonight’s action), productive (10-15-25 in 38 games, a 22-32-54 pace that is consistent with his 20-36-56 career per-82 game pace), and flashy, in keeping with the team concept…



Morrison and Knuble – teammates once more after once having been teammates at the University of Michigan – are on a pace to out produce the players they replaced:



It could be fairly said that the Kozlov signing and the trade for Fedorov were the right moves at the right time given the state of the Caps’ development. They lent a certain veteran gravitas to the roster that could help in the progression of Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin. By the same token, both players had become something of a weight on the team, primarily because of their respective contracts and production issues. Replacing them with Morrison and Knuble was the right move (with a $2.2 million reduction in cap hit, to boot) at this stage of the Caps’ development. Ovechkin is a leader in production and in fact on this club, and Semin (while he still has a bit of a way to go in this regard) is a more mature player at this point in his career than he was before Fedorov was brought in. The need for mentors such as Fedorov or Kozlov isn’t as keen a need as production.

To Fedorov and Kozlov, Caps fans might offer a thought of appreciation for their time here. For Morrison and Knuble, Caps fans might be excused for thinking that they are the cogs the club needs to set up an appointment for an engraving order. For that reason, saying goodbye to Sergei Fedorov and Viktor Kozlov, and saying hello to Brendan Morrison and Mike Knuble is the ninth of the top-ten Capitals stories of 2009.

Top Ten Stories of 2009 -- Number 10: The Beasts of the Southeast

Well, we’re almost at another year end, the 35th year that will end without the Capitals having hoisted the Stanley Cup (including one year – 2005 – in which no one did). But in some ways the Caps got closer, or at least took steps to get closer, than they have in any of those 35 years, including the one in which they played in a Stanley Cup final.

It is in that context that we look back at 2009 and what, from our keyboard at least, are the top ten stories of the year (we’re not aware that decades end in the number “9,” so we’re not doing an end-of-the-decade look). So, let’s get started. This year’s ending fast…

Number 10 – The Beast of the Southeast.

Since Bruce Boudreau took over behind the Capitals bench, he has compiled a 39-13-2 record against the Southeast Division. If Washington beats Carolina tonight they will complete a perfect 2009 portion of the 2009-2010 season against the Southeast (9-0-0), and they will finish the calendar year with a 21-5-0 record against their division rivals.

The dominance is stunning in other measures as well. In the 25 games played against the Southeast so far in 2009, the Caps…

-- Outscored their opponents by 100-74.

-- Had a power play success rate of 23.4 percent.

-- Killed off 84.9 percent of the shorthanded situations they faced.

-- Scored at least five goals in a game as many times as they were held to fewer than four (eight times).

-- Had two of the three shutouts the team recorded for the year.

-- Only once lost consecutive games to division opponents (March 1-3 against Florida and Carolina).

-- Have won 12 of the last 13 games played against the Southeast.

Individually, the Caps also dominated the competition. For example…

-- Alex Ovechkin was 15-21-36 in 22 games against Southeast Division competition. In those 22 games he was held without a point only three times (twice by Atlanta).

-- Alexander Semin was 13-17-30 in 21 games. He had nine multi-point games against the Southeast for the year.

-- Nicklas Backstrom was 6-25-31 in 25 games, with ten multi-point games. He is also a plus-13 in those games.

-- Mike Green was 12-11-23 in 22 games, including 11 goals in 15 games in the 2009 portion of the 2008-2009 season.

-- Brooks Laich was 7-14-21 in 25 games and had three three-point games.

One could argue that being the “Beast of the Southeast” isn’t much of an accomplishment, but this is a division that has had over significant stretches this season three teams in the top eight of the Eastern Conference (Washington, Atlanta, Florida). At the moment, the Southeast has three teams with better than .500 records (in standings points) against teams in the Eastern Conference outside the Southeast Division. Are Atlanta and Florida teetering on the playoff edge because they’re not very good, or are they there because neither have found a way to beat the Caps (The Thrashers are 0-2-0, the Panthers are 0-3-0)?

But with the NHL schedule as division-centric as it is (still), a team has to make hay while the sun shines in its own field. And the Caps haven’t lost a game in regulation to an SE team at home since last March 3rd (a 5-2 loss to Carolina, curiously enough). The Caps have built that strong foundation of winning against the Division as a basis for keeping among the top teams, points-wise, in the Eastern Conference and using it as a springboard for playoff seeding. Such things don’t guarantee playoff success (since the Caps are 1-2 in playoff series over the past two years), but all things considered, we would still want that home-ice advantage come springtime.

For that, being the “Beast of the Southeast” is the 10th top story of 2009.

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Caps vs. Hurricanes, December 28th

The Peerless Prognosticator Is ON THE AIR!!!

Well, we’re back. After having our fill of plum pudding, Christmas goose, and a bowl (or twelve) of holiday cheer, we’re back to provide you with the very best in prognostications. While we were away, the Caps gobbled up another two points with a victory at Verizon Center over the New Jersey Devils on the heels of a win over the Buffalo Sabres, which no doubt means that the Caps will slip a few notches in the weekly power rankings among the expert media outlets. No matter – the Caps are winning to the tune of 10-3-0 since Thanksgiving and giving their fans hope that success will bloom in the spring…

“Humbug!”

I beg your pardon?

“Bah...humbug!”

Scrooge, isn’t it? Well, you've never seen the like of me before, have you?

“Never, and I wish the pleasure had been indefinitely postponed.”

Shouldn’t you be as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world, and all that Victorian crap?

“Bah…"

But you had those Christmas spirits visit and show you the error of your ways…

“Bah…that last Christmas spirit? He took me to the graveyard and pointed at a headstone that was supposed to have my name on it, and I fell whimpering that I’d honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year, that I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future, that I’d sponge away the writing on this stone...blah, blah, blah"

And?

“Well, hey genius…it was winter. Snow? It turns out it wasn’t my name on the stone after all. The snow covered up what was really on the marker…”

You mean?

“Yeah, I wasted all this time being nice and jolly, when I could have been…”

Coach of the Rangers?

“yeah…”

Well, the Caps have certainly been spreading Christmas cheer among their fans with having torched two of the best goalies in the NHL – Ryan Miller and Martin Brodeur – for nine goals in the two games on this holiday home stand. Tonight the Caps host the Carolina Hurricanes, fresh off stealing a standings point from the Philadelphia Flyers, coming back in the last 11 minutes of regulation, down 3-0, to tie the game and ultimately send it to a Gimmick, where they lost, 4-3. It was the third loss in a row for the Hurricanes after what was a reasonably decent start to the month for them (4-3-1).

At 4-5-2 for the month, the Hurricanes are still losing ground to, well, everyone as they stand in 30th place in the league standings. They're 30th in a lot of things...


But buried under the wreckage of the season there are elements that suggest that Carolina might be becoming competitive, if not yet a threat to make the playoffs. First, there is the matter of where they are getting their offense. They have been getting it from the guys who have to provide it…

Eric Staal

Career vs. Washington: 38 games, 15-22-37
2009-2010 vs. Washington: two games, 1-2-3
Last five games: 1-2-3

Staal came into the month in the midst of what was becoming his most disappointing season – scoring-wise – since his rookie year when he was 11-20-31 in 81 games. He started the month 3-6-9 in 17 games. In 11 contests this month, though, Staal is 3-9-12 with four multi-point games. However, it wouldn’t be the 2009-2010 season for the Hurricanes without even some cloudiness in these December numbers. Staal started the month on a rush (3-7-10 in his first seven games in December), but he has been held without a point in three of his last four games (0-2-2).

Joni Pitkanen

Career vs. Washington: 15 games, 1-5-6
2009-2010 vs. Washington: two games, 0-0-0
Last five games: 0-2-2

Pitkanen has ten points for the month, all on assists and five of those on power plays (of nine power plays scored by Carolina). He’s been the minutes-eater for the Carolina blue line, four times logging more than 30 minutes in 11 games this month (averaging 29:15). The problem Pitkanen has mirrors that of his team. He is fourth among all defensemen in average ice time, but he is also 263rd (among 265 defensemen) in plus-minus for the year (minus-15). He is one of three Hurricane defensemen for the year with at least a minus-10 (Joe Corvo (minus-10) and Aaron Ward (minus-17) being the others).

Ray Whitney

Career vs. Washington: 54 games, 18-30-48
2009-2010 vs. Washington: two games, 0-0-0
Last five games: 0-1-1

Whitney is the club’s leading scorer for the season (10-14-24 in 36 games) and is the team’s third leading scorer for the month of December (4-5-9). But he, too, has cooled off after a hot start to the month (4-4-8 in the first six games of December). Whitney is the closest thing the Hurricanes have to a power play specialist (2-7-9 in power play scoring this season – the Caps have six players with at least ten points). Last year he was something of a Cap killer – 3-5-8 in six games, the most points he had against any opponent in the 2008-2009 season. He has yet to register a point against the Caps so far this year in two games.

That brings us to goaltender Cam Ward. In his first four games back in goal after missing a month with a lacerated leg, Ward showed signs of rust. He was 1-2-1, 4.00, .878. In four games since, even with getting pulled 9:32 into a 5-1 loss to Montreal after allowing three goals on seven shots, Ward is 1-2-1, 3.10, .903. He might not be “Ward-sharp,” but he is moving forward. He is 12-5-3, 2.61, with three shutouts in his career against the Caps, but he dropped his only decision against Washington this year, a 4-3 overtime loss on December 11th.

The Peerless’ Players to Ponder

Carolina: Jussi Jokinen

Jokinen is tied for the team lead in goals for December (four), getting half of them in a furious comeback from a 3-0 deficit against the Flyers on Saturday (a game the Hurricanes would lose in a Gimmick, 4-3). He is the only Hurricane with more than one game-winning goal this year. If this game should go to a Gimmick, he will be the player to watch. Jokinen is tied for second in the league in Gimmick goals (four) and is 26-for-48 in the Gimmick for his career.

Washington: Jose Theodore

Theodore was not feeling too jolly when Michal Neuvirth was named the starter for the Saturday contest against New Jersey, snapping the blade of his stick as he came off the ice during a practice and announcing that “I just work here” when asked about the situation. Well, he is the likely starter this evening, and he has a pretty good record against the Hurricanes over his career (15-11-3, 2.65, .909, four shutouts). He has two victories over Carolina this year. With the Caps on a bit of a roll, winning three in a row with Neuvirth in goal after Theodore lost a 3-2 decision in Vancouver, eyes will be on him to see if he can get a firm hold on the number one netminder job. He’s had a tough job doing that, showing the unnerving lack of consistency that has been the major complaint about his play. So far this year he has not won more than two decision in a row (although he’s won two in a row four times); he has not lost consecutive games in regulation since losses to the Rangers and Red Wings on October 8th and 10th. Seeing as how he lost his last decision in regulation, this should be a win.

Keys…

1. They’re 30th, they’re not dead. For almost 50 minutes on Saturday night, Carolina looked old, small, and slow. They were either unable or disinclined to create any traffic in front of former teammate-turned-Flyer Michael Leighton in goal. They looked like the worst team in the league. But down 3-0 with 11 minutes left, the Hurricanes finally solved the traffic problem and pumped three goals through Leighton (as part of 15 total shots on goal in those last 11 minutes). Of note, all three goals came from within ten feet.

2. More power. The Caps are 12-for-44 on the power play for December (27.3 percent). But 7-for-18 of that came in the first two games of December. Since then, Washington is 5-for-26 (19.2 percent). That’s not bad, but they have failed to register a power play goal in five of their last eight games. Carolina is served up as a remedy (26th in the league in penalty killing) for whatever might ail the Caps’ power play.

3. Find something to Laich. Brooks Laich doesn’t have a goal since December 5th, against Philadelphia. He is 1-4-5 in 11 games for the month. He doesn’t have a point in either game against Carolina this year. And, he’s struggled a bit at home – 5-6-11, minus-5 at Verizon Center, compared to 5-11-16, plus-6 on the road. He’s one of those guys – a net crasher with some touch – that will be very important down the road. It would be nice to get him started down that road with a point or two.

The moral of this story is that there is no team – not even the 30th-ranked team in the league – against which a team, even as skilled as the Caps, can just throw their sticks on the ice and expect to win. Taking any team for granted is a recipe for failure, and having bested two fine goaltenders in Ryan Miller and Martin Brodeur in their last two games, the Caps might be in the dismal position of tempting fate against a lesser opponent by putting forth a “B” effort.

If the Caps avoid the post-Christmas let-down, this game should be over at the first intermission. Oh, wait…there is that last 11 minutes to worry about. Strike that. Put forth 60 minutes, and the Caps will add two points to their season standings total and post their top month for wins this season (nine).

Caps 5 – Hurricanes 2

A TWO-point night: Caps 5 - Sabres 2

Well, there’s a nice little present to start the Christmas weekend.

The Caps scored early (78 seconds into the game), scored late (two third period power play goals), and withstood an iffy middle 20 minutes in defeating the Buffalo Sabres, 5-2.

It was important to get a lead on the Sabres, because Buffalo plays well with a lead, the product of being able to rely on who is at the moment the best goaltender in the league in Ryan Miller. The Caps, however, were (as Mike Green put it in the postgame) “shooting to score,” not just shooting to get pucks on net.

That was evident on the first goal, a rocket from Nicklas Backstrom off a feed from Alex Ovechkin that sailed past Miller’s left ear and into the far top corner of the net. Mike Green added one five and a half minutes later when he got off a shot that was deflected off the stick of Derek Roy, and up and over Miller’s left shoulder, into the net for a 2-0 lead. In the first period the Caps netted the two goals and outshot Buffalo 15-4. The Sabres had just one shot in the first 17:10 of the period, and none of the four shots they managed came from inside of 35 feet. As Coach Bruce Boudreau said of the first period, you want to grab that and keep it.

It wouldn’t be a Caps game, though, without some adventure, and the second period provided enough of that. It started in the form of a two-on-one rush for the Sabres in the period’s sixth minute, Paul Gaustad finishing the play with something of an iffy five-hole goal on Michal Neuvirth, starting in place of Jose Theodore.

But Brendan Morrison got it back less than six minutes later. Sometimes, a player in a sport makes a fancy play because he can. Then there are those times when he makes a fancy play because it is all he has available. Such was the case for Morrison as Tomas Fleischmann sent the puck to the net. The biscuit dribbled to Miller’s left where Morrison was camped. Unable to get the puck settled for a shot, he pulled it between his skates, and with his stick poking back between his legs flipped it off his forehand over Miller into the roof of the net.

Two minutes later, though, Tim Connolly pulled the Sabres back within one, deflecting a shot by Steve Montador past Neuvirth. That was the way the period ended, and the outcome was hardly certain.

What was certain going into the third period was that the Caps had one power play in eight periods of hockey against the Sabres this season. That changed at 9:20 of the period, when Craig Rivet was whistled for a hooking penalty on Tomas Fleischmann. 1:09 later, Fleischmann drew another penalty, this one on Paul Gaustad, who flung his skate out at Fleischmann as he was skating by, earning a tripping penalty to put the Caps on a 5-on-3 advantage.

At this pivotal point in the game, Bruce Boudreau burned his timeout, and it had the intended effect. Only 26 seconds after Gaustad went to the penalty box, the Caps completed what looked like a set play using Alex Ovechkin as a decoy. With Alexander Semin along the left wing boards and Ovechkin parked at the top of the Sabres’ crease, Semin inched out and threw a pass across that looked as if it might be intended for Ovechkin. The puck sailed through, though, to Nicklas Backstrom at the bottom of the right wing circle. Backstrom settled the puck with his right skate, and in the same motion swung his stick, lifting the puck over Ryan Miller’s left pad.

The scoring was completed later in the power play when Ovechkin rifled a slap shot past Miller and off the inside of the post on the short side for his 24th goal of the season.

Other stuff…

-- He doesn’t have to deal with pneumonia, as he did last year, and he doesn’t have to deal with getting back into skating shape after having blood clots in his legs treated over the summer. Nope, Tomas Fleischmann is now showing how patience pays off. And what is most striking about Fleischmann, Version 2.0, is how strong he has become on his skates. He initiates contact much more than he did when he first came up, he is harder to take off the puck, and he has the capacity – as he showed tonight – to draw penalties.

-- Mike Green… a goal, an assist, plus-2, a couple of blocked shots. In his last 20 games he is 5-17-22, plus-11. He is not a defensive stopper, but he is the best offensive defenseman in the game, and he must be doing something right in the defensive part of the game, given that he’s averaged almost 25 minutes a night over that span (including an early exit when he was plastered into the boards by David Koci against Colorado) with a plus-11. He’s going to be hard to cut when the Canadians make their final decisions on their Olympic team a week from today.

-- If you allow a team like Buffalo to skate and get momentum through the neutral zone, they can make your life difficult. That was the middle 20 minutes (two goals on 20 shots). If you make them set up and force them into a “half court” game, they do not have the wherewithal to create enough traffic in front to do a lot of damage with second shots. That was the first and third periods (no goals, 14 shots).

-- Karl Alzner even showed some snarl by getting up in a Sabre’s face during a post-whistle scrum. Maybe he’s the enforcer Caps fans have been looking for.

-- An odd statistic – ten different Sabres took faceoffs tonight. Seven different Caps took draws. There was a whole lot of throwing out of players from the circle this evening.

-- We made a point of the Capitals offense coming from defense (or lack of it) a little while back. Tonight there was one shot on goal from a defenseman not named “Green.”

-- Ovechkin wins the score sheet buffet coupon for this one – a goal, an assist, plus-1, five shots on goal, nine attempts, four hits, a takeaway, a couple of giveaways, and a faceoff in almost 21 minutes of playing time.

-- 13 different Caps had blocked shots, led by Jeff Schultz (four).

-- Although Neuvirth allowed only the two goals on 34 shots, he looked uncomfortable in his own space for significant stretches tonight, as if he wasn’t entirely sure of his position relative to the pipes. Part of that might have been the lack of any action in his end in the first period, when a young goalie’s attention might wander. But he did have one tricky save on a long shot that bounced oddly in front of him late in the first period.

-- If one was to ask, “which Capital had the most shorthanded ice time tonight?,” how many names would you sound off before you said, Nicklas Backstrom?

The Caps now go into the Christmas break with a 23-8-6 record, third-best in the league. They are tied for the fewest home losses in regulation (two, with San Jose) in the league. They are on a pace for a team-record setting 115 points. There is a long way to go before the games really count, but the Caps have been what passes for a Christmas present to Washington area sports fans.

And that will do it for us until the weekend. To all of you, a happy and safe holiday.

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Caps vs. Sabres, December 23rd

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!

‘Twas the night before the night before Christmas, and all through Washington, we can now focus on the Caps. The Nats are in their slumber until the end of February. The Wizards, well, suck. And the Redskins let the horse out of the barn because their “swinging gate” was left open a long, long time ago. And tonight, it’s the Buffalo Sabres lending to the yuletide cheer of the Capitals' season.

This is the third of four meetings between the Caps and Sabres, the most recent meeting coming on December 9th (a 3-0 Sabres win). Since then the Sabres are 5-1-1 in seven games, outscoring their opponents by a combined 18-13. Clearly, they are not doing it with offense. It’s been the case all year, as the overall numbers show…



How they have been doing it is goaltending. We can’t just insert the name “Ryan Miller” in here, because Patrick Lalime has two decisions in the last seven games. And although he is 1-0-1 in those decisions, his GAA of 0.97 and save percentage of .969 have been excellent.

But it is almost certainly going to be Ryan Miller for the Sabres in goal in this head-into-the-holiday matchup. He is 1-1-0 against the Caps this year (1.01, .966, one shutout). His shutout came in the December 9th meeting between the clubs, and since then he is 4-1-0, 2.19, .935. Miller comes into this game having not allowed more than three goals in a game in his last 14 appearances (dating back to November 18th) and has allowed more than two only twice in those 14 games.

Miller has had to be on top of his game this year, as this is not an especially potent Sabres team. They have no 30-point scorer (the Caps have three, and they’d have a fourth if Alexander Semin hadn’t missed nine games). They have no player with more than ten goals (the Caps have four). They have no player with 20 assists (the Caps have two, and they’d probably have a third if Alex Ovechkin hadn’t missed eight games).

In the last seven games for the Sabres, Jochen Hecht has given signs of rising from his season-long slumber. He is the Sabres’ leading scorer over that span (1-5-6, with points in four of his last six games). In 26 career games against the Caps, Hecht is 8-10-18, although he is without a point in either game played between the teams this season.

Derek Roy is the top goal-getter in the seven games since the Caps and Sabres met (three, with Patrick Kaleta) and second leading point scorer (3-2-5). He does have a pair of assists against the Caps this year to bring his career scoring mark against the Caps to 9-9-18 in 20 games.

Tyler Myers not only continues to impress as a rookie on the blue line, he now has to be given some consideration as being among the most impressive defensemen in the league, regardless of years played. He is 0-4-4 in the seven games since last seeing the Caps, but what is impressive is the time (and the related responsibility) he’s getting. In those seven games he hasn’t had less than 22:24 in ice time and has averaged 25:13 in that span.

Keys…

1. Get out early. These teams are similar in this respect – they get out to early leads. The Caps have scored first in 25 of 36 games, the Sabres in 21 of 35. But while the Caps are something of a come-from-behind team when they do suffer the infrequent first goal scored by the opponent (a league-best 7-2-2 record), the Sabres predictably lose more often then they win (like 26 other teams in the league).

2. Leave fancy at the door. This is the first game back home for the Caps after a long road trip and only their third game at Verizon Center so far in December. There might be the tendency here to be feeling all happy and full of holiday cheer, wanting to decorate the rink with a bunch of fancy plays and slick passing. Leave it at the door. Just pound pucks at Miller and go chasing for rebounds like a starvin’ man on a Christmas ham.

3. Jose, Joy of Caps Desiring. OK, bad music pun there (for you Bach fans). Jose Theodore is the key element here for the Caps. Both games between these teams ended in shutouts (Caps winning 3-0 on the day after Thanksgiving, the Sabres winning 2-0 on December 9th). It was Theodore who took the loss in the most recent meeting, allowing three goals on 25 shots, although he probably didn’t play as poorly as the 88 percent save percentage might suggest. But Miller isn’t allowing any softies these days, and Theodore has to be equal to the task, at least with respect to allowing any iffy goals. If he stops all the ones he should stop, the Caps probably have enough fire power to solve Miller a sufficient number of times.

And with that, we leave you to your holiday cheer and with a verse or two for the boys…

Twas the night before Christmas, when all ‘round the rink
Not a creature was stirring, you could hear yourself think.
The stockings were hung by the lockers with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

The Cappies were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of Stanley Cups danced in their heads.
With Gabby in warmups, and wearing a cap,
They’d just settled in for a long winter’s nap.

When out on the ice there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the tunnel I flew like a flash,
Knocked over some sticks and fell with a crash.

The lights in the arena on the new sheet of ice
Gave the lustre of mid-day, it was oh, very nice.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now Brendan! now, Eric! now, Nicklas and Poti!
On, Gordo! On, Greenie! on, Clarkie and Ovie!
To the top of the glass! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

As players that before the wild Hurricanes fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the roof-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the slate
The prancing and pawing of each little skate.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the stairs St Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like Don Cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the stairs he rose!

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"


Caps 3 – Sabres 2

Kid Goalies

Goalies...numbers. Two of our favorite subjects.

Folks who follow the Caps know that the Capitals have some outstanding goaltender prospects in Semyon Varlamov (21 years old), Michal Neuvirth (21) and Braden Holtby (20). But how good? Well, they've certainly had quite a season as a group so far...


Semyon Varlamov leads all rookie NHL goaltenders in wins, and he is second in goals against average and save percentage. He is 16-1-3 in his young NHL career to date.

Michal Neuvirth is fifth in goals against average among all AHL golatenders (second among rookies... yes, he is considered a rookie at that level) and fifth in save percentage (tops among rookies). He is the defending Jack Butterfield Trophy winner as Calder Cup tournament MVP, which he won by virtue of leading the Hershey Bears to the Calder Cup championship last spring.

Braden Holtby is manning the pipes for the Bears while Neuvirth is on call to Washington to replace the injured Varlamov. If anything, he's been better at Hershey than he has been at South Carolina. Although he's seen limited action with the Bears, Holtby still ranks 13th among rookies in wins (despite playing about a third as many games as the leaders), he would be second in the league in save percentage (tops among rookies) if he qualified, and his GAA would be tops in the entire AHL among all goalies.

And this doesn't even include Dan Dunn, who in six games at St. Cloud State, is 4-2-0, 2.32, .926. His noteworthy number is that of the goals he's allowed, almost a third of them come as a result of power plays (five of 14).

The Caps have as talented a group of goalie prospects as they did when they had Jim Carey, Olaf Kolzig, and Byron Dafoe on the roster (all of whom dressed for the Caps in the 1994-1995 season).

A TWO-point night: Caps 4 - Oilers 2

And we thought we had to do a lot of shoveling.

While the Washington metropolitan region was digging out from under two feet of snow, the Caps were finding themselves having to dig out from under a two goal third period deficit in last night’s game against the Oilers in Edmonton. It helps when your big shovel has an “8” on its back, and the Caps used it to good advantage in roaring back from that two goal deficit to beat the Oilers, 4-2.

But Alex Ovechkin and his two goals was hardly the only story here. The Caps and Oilers played to a scoreless first period, but early in the second Jeff Schultz couldn’t cleanly corral a loose puck, then he tried to poke the puck across to Ovechkin but had it picked off by Patrick O’Sullivan. The Oiler forward headed in on a break on Caps goalie Michal Neuvirth (who was the other noteworthy story in this one). Neuvirth made the initial stop on O’Sullivan, but neither Schultz nor Ovechkin got back in time to cover up the trailer – Shawn Horcoff – who deposited the puck past Neuvirth.

The second Edmonton goal was equal parts effort and luck. Sheldon Souray used his long reach to keep a skittering puck in the Caps zone when it seemed certain to be headed to neutral ice. It ended up on the stick of Ryan Potulny, who fed it across to Andrew Cogliano. Cogliano didn’t get a clean grip on the puck, but did fish it out of the corner from where he tried to center it, although no Oiler was at the front of the net. However, Karl Alzner was, and the puck hit his skate and popped over Neuvirth to give the home team a 2-0 lead.

To that point Neuvirth was a victim of a bad play in front of him and a bit of bad luck in front of him. He was otherwise solid, having stopped the other 16 shots he faced. It was a case of keeping the Caps in the game until the skater could shake the cobwebs and press an attack of their own. It didn’t take long.

Mike Green carried the puck into the Oiler end in the first minute of the third period, but was rubbed out of the play along the right wing boards by Souray. The puck slid behind the Oilers’ net past Nicklas Backstrom but not past Alex Ovechkin, who had darted in from the other side. Ovechkin pulled it onto his forehand and back out in front of the net, jabbing at the puck several times before jamming it under goalie Jeff Deslauriers as he was being cleaned out by Souray and halving the deficit.

That was the grinding goal. Six minutes later he got the style goal by picking up the puck in the neutral zone and working his way down the right wing. At the top of the right wing circle he let fly with a slap shot that Deslaurier saved with his pad. The rebound, however, found its way back onto Ovechkin’s stick blade and from just above the goal line he snapped the puck over Deslaurier’s left shoulder and into the net on the short side. It was a shooter’s goal, an example of shoot, and good things can happen.

The game winner came in the 13th minute of the period when the Caps played a little tic-tac-toe high in the Oilers’ zone. Jeff Schultz moved the puck to Mike Knuble along the left wing boards, and he tapped it to Tomas Fleischmann at the top of the circles. Fleischmann turned and fired a one-timer over Deslauriers, and that fast, the Caps had a lead.

The last goal was all Nicklas Backstrom. The Caps’ center collected a loose puck and found a seam in the Oilers’ defense. He circled into it, drawing three Oilers to him as he moved in on the goalie. Backstrom sent the puck to Ovechkin in the right wing circle for a shot that Deslaurier stopped with his pad. Ovechkin collected his own rebound and skated around the cage, while Backstrom moved in front. The puck came out to Tyler Sloan while Backstrom was setting up at the top of the crease, taking some abuse from the Oiler defense. Sloan fired, and Deslauriers made the save, but he could not help a rebound, and Backstrom calmly collected it and lifted the puck past Deslauriers for the insurance goal.

Other stuff…

- Neuvirth played the role here that a starting pitcher sometimes has to play in baseball. He was the Caps’ “stopper.” Coming off a disappointing effort in Vancouver that the Caps lost, 3-2, the Caps looked equally lethargic early against the Oilers. Neuvirth kept the team in it, and when the Caps finally took a lead late, he slammed the door. Edmonton got five of their ten third period shots in the last 2:02 of the game in a furious effort to get even. Neuvirth turned them all away and ensured that one loss didn’t become “two.”

- Bruce Boudreau proclaimed Alex Ovechkin’s effort against Vancouver as “average.” Even Ovechkin said, "sometimes I just try to play way too fancy." Last night, he was anything but fancy. He got greasy in getting himself to the Oiler net to swat several times at a loose puck to get one goal, then simply fired a rocket at Jeff Deslauriers, who could not steer the rebound away from Ovechkin for another that found the back of the net. He almost had a hat trick on a feed from Backstrom (who would score moments later). Nine shots, 21 attempts, three hits, two goals, an assist, and a plus-1. That’s more of the “average” Ovechkin that fans are used to.

- Jeff Schultz had a very uneven night. A pair of assists, three giveaways – one leading to an Oiler goal. Boudreau stuck with him, though. Schultz skated eight shifts (including a long 1:28 shift late in the third) for 6:32 of ice time in the third period.

- It was a surprisingly choppy game, there being 72 faceoffs in all. It helped that the Caps won 42 of them, Brendan Morrison and David Steckel each winning at least a dozen (even Nicklas Backstrom finished on the plus-side of the ledger). How choppy was it? Zach Stortini played only 8:18 for the Oilers, yet he still took 12 draws – a faceoff every 42 seconds of play.

- As the game wore on, we kept thinking “DeLorean” whenever we heard the name “Deslauriers,” and sure enough – like the car, lots of style and flash early, but he couldn’t last in the end. He seemed to have an increasingly difficult time handling rebounds.

- The Caps out attempted the Oilers 85-49. They had more errant shot attempts (43 misses and shots blocked) than the Oilers steered on net (28). 15 of those Oiler shots came from three players (Souray, O’Sullivan, and Horcoff, who still managed to be a combined minus-2). They got almost nothing from anyone else.

- Chris Clark doesn’t get the ice time he once did for this club, but he makes what he gets eventful. His crashing the net and getting into Deslauriers’ face seemed to get the goalie a bit off his game for a time, and he did have a bout to add to his resume, that being with Steve Staios.

- Even with the own goal, Karl Alzner had a pretty solid game – a couple of shots on goal, an assist, a pair of blocked shots and 19 minutes of ice time.

- Quintin Laing acquitted himself rather well in his first game back from soft food. A tick under ten minutes, a shot on goal, a couple of assists… and no blocked shots.

- With this win, as well as wins by New Jersey and Pittsburgh, plus a standings point earned by Buffalo in the loss to the Penguins, there is now some clear separation between the top half of the playoff draw and the bottom half in the East. The Devils, Penguins, and Caps are separated by one point, and the Sabres are six points behind Pittsburgh with two games in hand.

The Caps have played seven of their last eight games on the road, and they went 4-3-0 in those road contests. If your motto is, “split on the road, win at home,” the Caps fulfilled that goal. They outscored the opponents in those seven road games, 26-17 (although 14 of those goals game in wins over Philadelphia and Colorado). Now the Caps get some home cooking with three games at Verizon Center (Buffalo, New Jersey, and Carolina) before heading to the west coast to end 2009.

Don't Look Now...

Someone's lurking...

A NO-point night: Canucks 3 - Caps 2

No wrap of last night's game or pregame; we're a little preoccupied this morning...



...now if only the cousins would show up to help.

The Hardest Working Man in Hockey

One man's trip to Vancouver. First, a stop at a shopping mall...

"A downtown department store in a major Canadian city is bound to be a madhouse during the holiday shopping season. But it is nothing compared to a public appearance by Alexander Ovechkin, the Washington Capitals superstar and the worldwide face of hockey."

And according to Nate Ewell, Capitals Senior Director of Media Relations (retweeting Paul Rovner, Assistant Director of Media Relations (I have trouble keeping all these tweets straight))...

"Ovechkin spent part of his morning signing construction helmets for workers waiting for coffee at Starbucks."

When asked at The Bay at his signing sessions why he would do this, he responded...

"Why not? It's good stuff for me. People are going to recognize me and shake my hand. It's easy."

Oh, and he has a game tonight, too. If he starts kissing babies, he could run for office.

Putting the Offense in Defense

(photo: Washington Post)

The Washington Capitals are the top-scoring team in the league heading into tonight’s play, averaging 3.56 goals-per-game, a pace (292 goals) that would put them 30-goals ahead of the second-place San Jose Sharks (262) by season’s end.

But there is a significant (we hesitate to say “important,” give that the Caps have the second highest standings point total in the league) difference between the Caps and the Sharks and, by extension, the Caps and the rest of the league.

The difference is that whereas the Sharks get considerable contributions on offense from their defense, the Caps do not, especially once you get past Mike Green. Here are the NHL clubs’ defense corps (all who have dressed as defensemen) and their total points for the year, ranked by points:

Those Sharks are up there in the points rankings (notably, so are the Penguins and Blackhawks – two other teams the Caps might face down the road), but there the Caps sit in 14th place in scoring by defensemen. It doesn’t really get better looking at goal contributions. The Caps rank in the bottom third in the league in goals scored by defensemen, and considering that Mike Green has half of those, it points to a lack of contribution by the blue line…



It does get better for the Caps in terms of helpers, though. But even here, while the Caps are ranked tied for ninth in assists by defensemen, it seems a low product for the highest overall scoring team in the NHL (and there are those Sharks, Penguins, and Blackhawks near the top of that list again)…



You could reason all this away if you could demonstrate that the Caps’ defensemen get a lot of shots on net that others can pounce on for rebound scores. But here, too, the Caps rank in the middle of the pack. The odd thing, though is that a team like Pittsburgh has a comparable number of shots, but has more points contributions from its defense…



Finally, if you drill into the individual numbers to see how balanced – or imbalanced – defenseman scoring might be, you see an expected result. Mike Green accounts for a larger share of points by defensemen for his team than the high scorer among blueliners for any other club…



Yes, Mike Green is the highest scoring defenseman in the league, but the other side of that coin is that Green is the only Capital defenseman in double digits in points. When the Caps take the ice tonight in Vancouver, the second leading scorer among defensemen will be Jeff Schultz (1-6-7 in 27 games).

Have injuries contributed to that result? Yes; the Caps have dressed ten defensemen this year (not including the odd turn Brooks Laich might have taken on the blue line), and Green is the only Caps defenseman to have played in at least 30 games. On the other hand, Pittsburgh has dressed 12 defensemen this year, and only two of them have played in at least 30 games.

On a team as talented and productive at the offensive end as the Capitals, this could be fairly seen as nit-picking, but the margins between winning and losing in the regular season are much larger than in the playoffs, when the slightest differences can be exploited. On a team where the defense – save for one outsized talent – doesn’t make much of an offensive contribution, and on a team that relies on offense to boot, will the Caps be an easier team to defend for the more talented teams they will face in the playoffs?

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Caps vs. Canucks, December 18th

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!

Well, the Caps are about as far away as one can get from Washington and still be in the National Hockey League, as the team representing the District of Columbia travels 2,358 miles (that would be 3,795 kilometres for those north of the border) to Vancouver, British Columbia. The Caps haven’t been to Vancouver in a while, and…

“This... is... "Jeopardy!"

It is?

“And now, here is the host of "Jeopardy!"... Alex Trebek!”

What the…

“I’m Canadian, you know… now, let’s take a look at our categories… ‘It’s Columbia…”

And?

“Well, that’s it. Ratings are down, and we’re cutting back on categories.”

OK… so, I’ll take “It’s Columbia” for one-hundred, Alex.

“The answer…’I’m a record company.”

Isn’t there a bell or a buzzer?

“Like I said, we’re cutting back… you’re the only contestant.”

OK, so… “what is, ‘Columbia?’”

“That is correct…it’s your board, Peerless.”

I’ll take “It’s Columbia” for two-hundred, Alex.

“I’m a mountain in Alberta.”

Ding?

“Peerless…”

I’m “Columbia?”

“Your answer must be in the form of a question…”

What is, “I’m Columbia?”

“Correct!... still your board, Peerless…”

-sigh- I’ll take “I’m Columbia” for three-hundred, Alex…

“I’m a ‘Pike,’ but not a fish”

Ding…

“Peerless…”

What is, “I’m Columbia?” (that's a road in Arlington, VA, thing for those out of town readers)

“Correct again. You’re on quite a roll, Peerless… please select…”

“I’m Columbia” for four-hundred…”

“I’m the oldest Spanish restaurant in the United States.”

What is, “I’m Columbia?”

“Correct!... one more left on the board…”

“I’m Columbia” for five-hundred, Alex…

“I’m an Ivy League university located in New York City…”

Ding!

“Peerless…”

What is, “I’m Columbia”, Alex…”

“Right again, and that completes the board. Would you like to try for double-jeopardy?"

ACK!!!...NO!!!

The Caps put their best-in-the-league record in jeopardy tonight against the Canucks at General Motors Place. After starting the year muddling along in their first 20 games with a 10-10-0 record, the Canucks are 9-5-0 in their last 14. If there is one thing that reflects their reversal of fortune, it is their rediscovery of more consistent defense and goaltending. In those first 20 games they had a respectable goals against average of 2.75, but they also allowed at least five goals six times. In 14 games since, Vancouver has a goals against average of 2.36 and allowed as many as five goals in a game only once. The overall numbers going into last night’s games look like this…



As if it needs repeating, the Canucks employ the Brothers Sedin – Henrik and Daniel – who are very much twins…

- Daniel missed 18 games with a broken foot earlier in the season, but in the 16 games in which he has played, he is 7-13-20 (1.25 points/game). Brother Henrik has played in all 34 games for Vancouver and is 15-28-43 (1.26 points/game).

- In their last ten games, Daniel is 7-8-15, and he has points in nine of those ten (eight in a row); Henrik is 1-16-17, and he has points in nine of those ten (eight in a row)

- Over their careers, Daniel is averaging 0.73 points/game (658 games), while Henrik is averaging 0.74 points/game (680 games). Their respective records against the Caps aren’t quite as mirror-imagey… Daniel is 2-0-2 in eight career games, while Henrik is 0-4-4 in eight career games.

Vancouver is one of those rare teams whose leading scorer has more points than the Caps’ leading scorer (H. Sedin has 43 points to Nicklas Backstrom’s 39), but Vancouver has five other players with at least 20 points. In addition to D. Sedin’s 20 points, the Canucks include Ryan Kesler, Alexandre Burrows (huh… an “Alexandre” who can score at the NHL level; whodathunkit?), Mason Raymond, and Mikael Samuelsson in the 20-point club. These might not be household names to Caps fans, which is undersrtandable, given that they play out west, face the Caps infrequently, and combined they are 0-3-3 in 20 career man-games against the Caps.

What Vancouver does get that the Caps do not is some balanced offensive input from the blue line. Mike Green might be 6-26-32 for the Caps, but Alexander Edler (2-17-19), Christian Ehrhoff (7-11-18), and Kevin Bieksa (1-14-15) provide some punch. By way of comparison, with Brian Pothier out for the Caps, Jeff Schultz is the second leading point-getter from the blue line (1-6-7).

In goal, the Caps get to face an old nemesis – Roberto Luongo. The big netminder missed six games with fractured ribs earlier in the year (certainly contributing to that funky goals-allowed trend early for the Canucks), but he still has a 2.41 GAA and a .917 save percentage to go with his 15-11-0 record in 27 games. Since his return on November 10th, luongo is 9-5-0 in 15 appearances with a 2.13 GAA and a .928 save percentage. He has allowed more than three goals only once in those last 15 appearances. Worse, he is 15-10-3, 2.26, .930, with two shutouts against the Caps in his career. Since the lockout, he is 9-1-0 against the Caps, but seven of those wins came in the 2005-2006 season when he was with Florida.

The Peerless’ Players to Ponder…

Vancouver: Ryan Kesler

Kesler is known as something of a defensive specialist for the Canucks – he was a Selke Trophy finalist last season. But he also has some pop, as witnessed by his 26 goals and 59 points last year. Since November 1st he is 4-14-18 in 20 games. In four career games against the Caps, though, he has only an assist and is a minus-1.

Washington: Brendan Morrison

Morrison spent seven-plus seasons in Vancouver, recording 136 goals and 393 points along the way. Since then, he has a goal in two games against his former team. He broke a four-game pointless streak with an assist in the Caps’ 6-1 win at Colorado on Tuesday, but he hasn’t had a goal since December 3rd. The six-game streak without a goal ties his season high.

Keys…

1. Similar doesn’t mean “same.” These clubs are similar in many ways. They are highly ranked offensive teams, they are similarly middle-of-the-pack in goals allowed, they are similarly tough at 5-on-5, both struggle on the penalty kill. But in just about all respects, the similarities give way to the Caps being statistically superior. If both teams play their game, the Caps are better.

2. Don’t let “Luongo” end with a “O”…make it a “luong” night for him. By current NHL standards, Roberto Luongo doesn’t face a ton of shots – 29.0 per 60 minutes of play. Compared to some of the loads he was bearing in Florida, that workload is like a night off. But oddly enough, since he returned from injury, he is 5-1 in games where he faces more than 30 shots. The Caps average 32.1 a game. It might not be a case of ramping up the volume on Luongo as much as it is from where they get their opportunities. Watch to see how well the Caps crowd him and make him work to find shooters.

3. Nicky Time. Nicklas Backstrom has no points against the Canucks in two career games – a small sample. But he’s coming into this game with a pair of points in each of his last three games. He is 7-9-16 in his last nine games, and he hasn’t had a “minus” game in more than a month (November 17th, minus-1 against the Rangers).

In the end, it’s going to come down to the same thing it has in a lot of games on this side of the continent – can the Caps solve Luongo? In just about every other respect, the Caps are the better team, but Luongo has had uncommon success against the club. Nevertheless, we’ll take “Caps for the win,” Alex…

Caps 4 – Canucks 3