James Mirtle has a nice profile in his blog today...
Friday, March 07, 2008
A Ring of Honor
Corey Masisak penned a column in this morning's Washington Times under the headline, "Caps Need an Honor Roll."
It's certainly a topic worthy of discussion, and now might be the best time to get that ball -- or puck, if you will -- rolling.
Why is this the "best time?" Well, for those of you who frequented RFK Stadium for Nationals games the past few years, you no doubt remember seeing the Washington hall of stars banner displayed in right field.
RFK -- home to the Senators, Redskins, DC United, and Nationals over the years, not to mention some famous media personalities who covered those teams -- was a logical place to honor Washington's sports heroes, without respect to the sport they played or covered.
But now, with Washington home to arenas that are dedicated to sports -- FedEx Field for the Redskins, the new Nationals Park opening for the baseball team, Verizon Center for the Wizards and Capitals, RFK still for the United -- it might be the best time to introduce the idea of a Ring of Honor at Verizon Center to honor those who played and chronicled events under its roof (and, by extension, the old Capital Centre/USAirways Arena).
A "Ring of Honor" might be a difficult thing to accomplish, logistically, since the obvious choices for locations for such a ring are now display boards for in-game advertisements or messages. But perhaps a ring above the rink...one made of banners to be hung as one might do with championship banners...to honor those of the Bullets, Wizards, and Capitals who have distinguished themselves over the years; to honor a Dave Fay or a Ron Weber in a manner befitting the best that Washington winter sports and sports journalism has to offer.
Readers, what say you?
It's certainly a topic worthy of discussion, and now might be the best time to get that ball -- or puck, if you will -- rolling.
Why is this the "best time?" Well, for those of you who frequented RFK Stadium for Nationals games the past few years, you no doubt remember seeing the Washington hall of stars banner displayed in right field.
RFK -- home to the Senators, Redskins, DC United, and Nationals over the years, not to mention some famous media personalities who covered those teams -- was a logical place to honor Washington's sports heroes, without respect to the sport they played or covered.
But now, with Washington home to arenas that are dedicated to sports -- FedEx Field for the Redskins, the new Nationals Park opening for the baseball team, Verizon Center for the Wizards and Capitals, RFK still for the United -- it might be the best time to introduce the idea of a Ring of Honor at Verizon Center to honor those who played and chronicled events under its roof (and, by extension, the old Capital Centre/USAirways Arena).
A "Ring of Honor" might be a difficult thing to accomplish, logistically, since the obvious choices for locations for such a ring are now display boards for in-game advertisements or messages. But perhaps a ring above the rink...one made of banners to be hung as one might do with championship banners...to honor those of the Bullets, Wizards, and Capitals who have distinguished themselves over the years; to honor a Dave Fay or a Ron Weber in a manner befitting the best that Washington winter sports and sports journalism has to offer.
Readers, what say you?
The week in...ugh.
Tim Thomas...goaltender for the Boston Bruins...bad week. Really bad. Dog tossing its Ken-L-Ration in the toilet kind of week:
0-2-0, 10.54, .744
When the day dawned on Monday, Thomas was 23-14-4, 2.36, .925. Then, he gave up seven goals on 24 shots in 36:30 -- getting pulled twice -- in a 10-2 loss to Washington. He followed that up by allowing five goals on 23 shots in 31:50 in an 8-2 loss to Toronto last night, getting pulled in the second period, upon which he "disappeared under the stands to throw a nutty, relieving himself of the frustrations of a second straight yanking." So now, he's 23-16-4, 2.57, .920. Instead of being second in save percentage, he's seventh. Instead of being 13th in goals against, he's 19th.
Bad week.
And it's not like Alex Auld has been leaps and bounds better, either...
0-0-1, 3.75, .881
He did have a superb effort in a 1-0 overtime loss to Florida, but he also gave up six goals on 27 shots (.778) in 51:40 of work (6.96 GAA) in the other two games, too.
Boston, which before this swift turn had been on a 7-0-1 run, is in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, only five points ahead of the Capitals. As if it needs repeating...the Bruins' next game is tomorrow, against the Caps.
Let's hope the Caps put the Bruins in the mood to once more, "throw a nutty."
Nine Lives...and other stuff
The Peerless thought this nine-lives thing applied only to the domesticated variety of the species.
And will someone please tell Craig Anderson he is not Roberto Luongo?
And then there is
And speaking of getting hot at the right time, the New York Rangers pulled seven points ahead of
And from the “what the #@%& happened to
Even though the Caps didn’t play, it was quite a night.
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Anything you can do, I can do better
Like the song from "Annie Get Your Gun," the battle of "I can do anything better than you" rages on -- and promises to continue raging on -- between Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby...
2005-2006...Ovechkin outscores odds-on rookie award favorite Crosby 106-102 and wins the Calder Trophy voting in a landslide, winning 124 of 129 first-place votes. He also was a finalist for the Pearson Award.
2006-2007...Crosby outscores Ovechkin 120-92, leading his team to the playoffs for the first time since 2001. Crosby wins the Ross and Hart trophies, as well as the Pearson award.
2007-2008...Ovechkin, whose career to date had been marked as much by consistency as skill, takes advantage of Crosby going on the shelf with an injury to surge to the top of the pack in goal scoring, overall scoring, power play goals, and game-winning goals, while improving his plus-minus by +36 over last season. He is poised to perhaps (and we do wish to stress..."perhaps") win the Hart, Ross, and Richard trophies, and the Pearson award, as well as lead his team to the playoffs for the first time since 2003.
We might yet be treated to their first meeting the playoffs, one of what the league certainly hopes will be many to come. In the meantime, they'll no doubt continue the battle...
Anything you can do, I can do better.
I can do anything better than you.
No, you can't.
Yes, I can.
No, you can't.
Yes, I can.
No, you can't.
Yes, I can!
Yes, I can!
Tomas Vok-who?
One of these players has stopped the last 105 shots he has faced, spanning 143:58 of his time on ice.
Can you pick out goaltender Craig Anderson of the Florida Panthers?
OK, all of them are...it just seems like he's been everywhere around the crease lately in three straight wins he's recorded for the Panthers.
A TWO-point night: Caps 3 - Sabres 1
Another demon dealt with.The Caps defeated the Buffalo Sabres last night, 3-1, for their fourth win in five games. In doing so, they continued a recent trend in dealing with demons – beating Martin Brodeur (a rarity in recent years), beating the Boston Bruins (just about as rare), and last night the Sabres (a team that has used the Caps as its personal scrimmage partner in the first three games this year).
And again, the star of the show was Alex Ovechkin – two goals (numbers 53 and 54 on the year), five hits, plus-3 in 20 minutes of work. But he certainly had ample help…
Nicklas Backstrom held onto his rookie scoring lead with a goal and an assist, won seven of 11 draws, and was plus-3 himself.
Viktor Kozlov chipped in a pair of assists and finished plus-3 with his other two linemates.
Olaf Kolzig stopped 27 of 28 shots, including 13 in the third period, five of those in the last three minutes of the game.
John Erskine made a save of his own on a puck that squirted through Kolzig’s pads near the 14 minute mark of the first period. Erskine swept the puck out of the crease just as it was trickling toward the goal line.
And with a team as balanced as is Buffalo, there needs to be shared responsibility on defense. It can’t be just a checking line or a top pair matched against the other guys’ top line. Everyone has to pitch in. The Caps got that last night, as no player finished on the minus side of the ledger. Buffalo could manage only a power play goal for the evening. It was made more impressive by the fact that the Caps played at even or shorthanded strength for 59:41 of the game. They had a grand total of 19 seconds of power play time of their own (Buffalo had 9:28).
Speaking of time, Shaone Morrisonn led the team in ice time (25:20) and had almost six minutes of penalty killing time. He was on the ice for the Pominville power play goal (and without that pppledge ppppin!!!), but otherwise had a solid evening.
If there was a negative to be found, it was in the five minor penalties whistled on the Caps. All of them were of the “obstruction” sort of penalty – two hooking calls, two interference calls, and a tripping penalty. Four of them were called on defensemen (Jeff Schultz twice, Mike Green, and Tom Poti). Fortunately for the Caps, Green gets no penalty killing time (he averages 15 seconds of shorthanded time this year). However, Poti and Schultz are among the ice time leaders for this team on the PK, and having them off could have resulted in more damage than the one-for-five result on the Sabre power play.
But all’s well that ends well, as the saying goes. And it certainly ended well for the Caps, using the win to close within two points of eighth-place Philadelphia (the Flyers hold a game-in-hand) and to maintain the three point deficit to Southeast-leading Carolina (the Caps hold a game-in-hand).
If Ovechkin was the first-paragraph of last night’s story, the next might be the subtle evolution of Nicklas Backstrom’s game. And by that, we mean confidence to go with the 20-year-old’s considerable skill. Known as a deft passer, he’s become more assertive in shooting the puck. Last night, in addition to scoring the game-winning goal, he had three shots on goal. It’s part of a trend. If one looks at his first 20 games, he took a total of 21 shots (1.1/game), scoring one goal. However, in his last 20 games, he has 47 shots (2.4/game) with two goals, scored in each of the last two games. While his shooting percentage hasn’t necessarily improved, shooting creates opportunities with the potential for rebounds or otherwise occupying the defense and goaltender to open avenues for teammates. One could argue that Backstrom himself is benefitting from the opportunities he’s getting when Ovechkin is shooting and opening up the ice, but that’s merely the other side of the same coin. Backstrom is taking advantage by asserting himself in those situations.
Outside the numbers, we’ve gotten used to singing and hearing the praises of Ovechkin and his plucky band of Capitals from local media and bloggers, but this quote is different…
“He’s so good for the game. His energy is so good for the game. He’s having so much fun playing the game. When Pat [Kaleta] scored the other night, it puts a smile on your face. It’s what the game is all about. There’s not a lot of fun moments in the game. [Ovechkin] makes it fun almost shift in, shift out. And he’s not a fun guy to play against. When he hits you, he hurts you. What an element to have as a player.”
That was Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff, after his team's loss. Then there was this…
The more Ruff talked Wednesday, the more obvious it became that Ovechkin is the best player of his generation. Yes, that includes Sidney Crosby. The Penguins superstar is the face of the NHL, but Ovechkin is the guy coaches want on their teams because the Great Eight dominates in so many ways.
You could scour NHL history books and not find another player quite like him. You need a scorer? Ovechkin leads the league with 54 goals and 92 points in 68 games. You need a leader? The Capitals would be long gone from playoff contention without his nine winners. You want a banger? Ovechkin is 6- foot-2, 217 pounds, plays 6-6, 260, and works the corners like a hot dog vendor. He led both teams with five hits
Wednesday night.
That comes from the game story in this morning’s Buffalo News, penned by Bucky Gleason.
But we’ll leave it to Ovechkin to interpret the recent turn of events…
But we’ll leave it to Ovechkin to interpret the recent turn of events…
"The last two years, we didn't play for something...We started thinking about vacation. It's more interesting when you play for something."
Interesting, indeed.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
An...interesting look at hockey arenas
OK, let's understand up front that what we will refer to here in the next few moments is a Penguins site. That out of the way, "The Pensblog" has complied an interesing "then and now" look at hockey arenas. It is a look back across the years at the tradition-laden arenas (or out-and-out dumps) teams used to occupy and the palaces they occupy now.
It's worth a peek...
...honest.
It's worth a peek...
...honest.
The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Caps vs. Sabres, March 5th
The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!
15 games to go. 30 points available. Still a chance to earn 100 for the season. And it starts tonight in Buffalo.
“A little optimistic there, aren’t ya, cuz?”
Well, if it isn’t my cousin, Cheerless Prognosticator. And if Cheerless is here, then his brother, “Fearless,” can’t be too far behind. Hey guys, what brings you two here?
Cheerless: “Writers block.”
You guys have a blog?
Cheerless: “No, you dunce, yours…you can’t think of anything witty to write about, so you dredge us up for a visit.”
Well, yeah…but while you’re here, what’s your take on these last 15 games?
Fearless: “The Caps are set up perfectly for the stretch run…their offense is showing some spark, they’re getting decent defense and goaltending – only two games giving up more than three goals since February 1st, and their last seven games are against divisional opponents. It’s all in their hands…”
Cheerless: “Yeah, and they have butterfingers…they have consecutive wins only twice in the last six weeks, they haven’t had a three-game winning streak in the same span of time. Cristobal Huet is “questionable” for tonight. Sergei Fedorov has one point in three games since the trade…"
Fearless: “blah, blah, blah…you’d complain that a bulb on the back of the Christmas tree was out after you got a brand new bicycle for Christmas…you’ve got Alex Ovechkin breaking out of his slump with a vengeance – 4-4-8, +6 in his last three games. The old man giving up more than three goals in a game only once in more than a month – shoot, he’s given up more than two only three times in his last ten appearances (only one more time than has Marty Brodeur, by way of comparison)."
Cheerless: “and they’re still missing the captain, a top-four defenseman, and a top-six forward to injury…think any of those guys are coming back? And look at that schedule…Buffalo, Boston, Pittsburgh, Calgary…that’s 140-96-32 among them. And it’s not like the Caps are all that successful against these guys recently…2-4-5-1 against Boston in their last 12 games…2-13-0 against Buffalo in their last 15…3-9-2 against Pittsburgh in their last 14 games…”
Fearless: “…they haven’t lost to Calgary since 1999.”
Cheerless: “yeah, and they’ve played them as often as you buy the beer…”
OK, boys, that’s enough…we have a game to play tonight. And if you’re looking for a theme for the Caps over the next four games – that Buffalo-Boston-Pittsburgh-Calgary quartet – it’s this…
"You have to be this big to ride this ride. "
This is the test the Caps have to pass to make those last seven games with Southeast Division games mean anything. And it starts with Buffalo, a team marking time – fine if you’re in a marching band, not so much when you’re in ninth place looking up at the playoffs:
Record (last ten games): 4-5-1
Goals for/against: 34/36
Power play: 8/48 (16.7%)
Penalty killing: 34/43 (79.1%)
Record in one-goal games: 1-1-1
Note that last number…three one-goal games in their last ten. This isn’t a club that generally has been keeping fans on the edge of their seats late, although the games they’ve been in have been – by modern standards – free-wheeling affairs.
And therein lies the problem for the Sabres…those 36 goals allowed in their last ten games. While Buffalo, even with Daniel Briere, Chris Drury, and Brian Campbell gone, remains a dangerous offensive team, they are allowing far too many goals to think they can survive this stretch run.
Ryan Miller has been playing more like Dennis Miller, although Sabres fans probably don’t see the humor – he’s been the goalie of record in all ten games in this stretch (4-5-1), 3.95, .873. Not a great record, even if he did have the save of the week according to NHL.com.
If The Peerless was to ask, “who is Buffalo’s top scorer?,” your first answer might not be “Jason Pominville.” But, it would be the correct one. That Buffalo is still in the playoff hunt with Pominville – a fine player, to be sure, but not one of whom you readily think, “scorer” – is testimony to the balance of the Sabres. That has been, and remains, one of the strengths of this club. The Sabres have 16 players in double digits in points (the Caps have 15 – Sergei Fedorov doesn’t count – indicative of progress they’ve made in this area), 13 with more than 20 (the Caps have ten). They have eight players with ten-or-more goals (the Caps have seven), three with at least 20 (the Caps have two).
Looking at the top scorers for the club, their career stats against the Caps:
Jason Pominville: 10 games, 3-2-5, +2…but he has four of those points in the three games between the clubs this year.
Derek Roy: 13 games, 7-7-14, +13…he’s 3-1-4, +5 in three games this year.
Thomas Vanek: 11games, 3-5-8, +7…he seems almost sluggish in comparison with his 0-2-2, +4 in three games.
Tim Connolly: 24 games, 5-8-13, +5…he’s 1-1-2, +3 in three games
The Sabres have won all three games this year by a combined score of 15-7. This is, as if it isn’t obvious at this point, a stiff test, even if the Sabres have struggled lately. But, the time comes when you leave the kiddie rides behind and ride the Kingda Ka.
Tonight, the Caps pass the first round of the test…
Caps 5 – Sabres 3
15 games to go. 30 points available. Still a chance to earn 100 for the season. And it starts tonight in Buffalo.
“A little optimistic there, aren’t ya, cuz?”
Well, if it isn’t my cousin, Cheerless Prognosticator. And if Cheerless is here, then his brother, “Fearless,” can’t be too far behind. Hey guys, what brings you two here?
Cheerless: “Writers block.”
You guys have a blog?
Cheerless: “No, you dunce, yours…you can’t think of anything witty to write about, so you dredge us up for a visit.”
Well, yeah…but while you’re here, what’s your take on these last 15 games?
Fearless: “The Caps are set up perfectly for the stretch run…their offense is showing some spark, they’re getting decent defense and goaltending – only two games giving up more than three goals since February 1st, and their last seven games are against divisional opponents. It’s all in their hands…”
Cheerless: “Yeah, and they have butterfingers…they have consecutive wins only twice in the last six weeks, they haven’t had a three-game winning streak in the same span of time. Cristobal Huet is “questionable” for tonight. Sergei Fedorov has one point in three games since the trade…"
Fearless: “blah, blah, blah…you’d complain that a bulb on the back of the Christmas tree was out after you got a brand new bicycle for Christmas…you’ve got Alex Ovechkin breaking out of his slump with a vengeance – 4-4-8, +6 in his last three games. The old man giving up more than three goals in a game only once in more than a month – shoot, he’s given up more than two only three times in his last ten appearances (only one more time than has Marty Brodeur, by way of comparison)."
Cheerless: “and they’re still missing the captain, a top-four defenseman, and a top-six forward to injury…think any of those guys are coming back? And look at that schedule…Buffalo, Boston, Pittsburgh, Calgary…that’s 140-96-32 among them. And it’s not like the Caps are all that successful against these guys recently…2-4-5-1 against Boston in their last 12 games…2-13-0 against Buffalo in their last 15…3-9-2 against Pittsburgh in their last 14 games…”
Fearless: “…they haven’t lost to Calgary since 1999.”
Cheerless: “yeah, and they’ve played them as often as you buy the beer…”
OK, boys, that’s enough…we have a game to play tonight. And if you’re looking for a theme for the Caps over the next four games – that Buffalo-Boston-Pittsburgh-Calgary quartet – it’s this…
"You have to be this big to ride this ride. "
This is the test the Caps have to pass to make those last seven games with Southeast Division games mean anything. And it starts with Buffalo, a team marking time – fine if you’re in a marching band, not so much when you’re in ninth place looking up at the playoffs:
Record (last ten games): 4-5-1
Goals for/against: 34/36
Power play: 8/48 (16.7%)
Penalty killing: 34/43 (79.1%)
Record in one-goal games: 1-1-1
Note that last number…three one-goal games in their last ten. This isn’t a club that generally has been keeping fans on the edge of their seats late, although the games they’ve been in have been – by modern standards – free-wheeling affairs.
And therein lies the problem for the Sabres…those 36 goals allowed in their last ten games. While Buffalo, even with Daniel Briere, Chris Drury, and Brian Campbell gone, remains a dangerous offensive team, they are allowing far too many goals to think they can survive this stretch run.
Ryan Miller has been playing more like Dennis Miller, although Sabres fans probably don’t see the humor – he’s been the goalie of record in all ten games in this stretch (4-5-1), 3.95, .873. Not a great record, even if he did have the save of the week according to NHL.com.
If The Peerless was to ask, “who is Buffalo’s top scorer?,” your first answer might not be “Jason Pominville.” But, it would be the correct one. That Buffalo is still in the playoff hunt with Pominville – a fine player, to be sure, but not one of whom you readily think, “scorer” – is testimony to the balance of the Sabres. That has been, and remains, one of the strengths of this club. The Sabres have 16 players in double digits in points (the Caps have 15 – Sergei Fedorov doesn’t count – indicative of progress they’ve made in this area), 13 with more than 20 (the Caps have ten). They have eight players with ten-or-more goals (the Caps have seven), three with at least 20 (the Caps have two).
Looking at the top scorers for the club, their career stats against the Caps:
Jason Pominville: 10 games, 3-2-5, +2…but he has four of those points in the three games between the clubs this year.
Derek Roy: 13 games, 7-7-14, +13…he’s 3-1-4, +5 in three games this year.
Thomas Vanek: 11games, 3-5-8, +7…he seems almost sluggish in comparison with his 0-2-2, +4 in three games.
Tim Connolly: 24 games, 5-8-13, +5…he’s 1-1-2, +3 in three games
The Sabres have won all three games this year by a combined score of 15-7. This is, as if it isn’t obvious at this point, a stiff test, even if the Sabres have struggled lately. But, the time comes when you leave the kiddie rides behind and ride the Kingda Ka.
Tonight, the Caps pass the first round of the test…
Caps 5 – Sabres 3
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
A TWO (can't we get more for this) point night: Caps 10 - Bruins 2
Glen Metropolit couldn’t find the puck.
Less than half a minute into the game, Matt Bradley had already had a fine scoring opportunity. The puck came out of the
That might have been the high point of the night for the Bruins…it was still a one-goal game. By the time the final horn sounded, the Caps had nine more goals – three of them by Alex Ovechkin, who certainly had a flair for the dramatic in notching his second 50-goal season in three years – and the Caps had a 10-2 win at the expense of the visiting Bruins.
We won’t describe the goals…you can go to NHL.com and catch the carnage on video highlights. There were, though, a lot of interesting numbers. It reads like “The 10 Goals of Caps-mas”…
On the 3rd day of March, my Cappies gave to me…
- 15 skaters with points
- 11 skaters with hits
- 10 skaters with blocked shots
- seven skaters with multi-point games
- six skaters with goals
- three skaters with multi-goal games
- two Donald fights
- and a hat trick in only 9:13
In case you’re wondering, no…
- Ovechkin did not set a record for fastest three goals by a Caps player (Ovechkin: 9:13, Peter Bondra: 2:06 in 1994 against Tampa Bay)
- Ovechkin did not set a team record for goals in a period tonight (Ovechkin: three; Caps record: four by Peter Bondra in 1994 against Tampa Bay)
- The Caps did not set a record for fastest five goals (tonight: 12:25 for goals two through six in the first; Caps record: 3:03 in 1987 against
- Nicklas Backstrom did not set a rookie record for points in a game (1-3-4 tonight; Caps record: five by Greg Theberge in 1981 against
- Backstrom did not set a Caps rookie record for assists in a game (tonight: three; Caps record: four by Rolf Edberg in 1979 against St. Louis, tied by Backstrom this year twice against Pittsburgh and Florida in consecutive games)
- The Caps did not set a record for most goals in a period (tonight: six; Caps record: eight against Tampa Bay in 1999
- They did tie a team record – assists in a game (20, first set against Quebec in 1990)
It just seemed as if the Caps were setting records because of the stunningly swift and surgical way they dismantled Boston – who looked slow and out of sorts all night…
0:32
6:18
7:08
8:29
15:31
18:43
6-0 after one period. Wings for everybody, drive safely.
And it was great to see the guys who don’t get the ink making a splash on the scoresheet…
Donald Brashear had two scoops of Bruins on his way to a Heavyweight Hat Trick (a goal and two fights). He bull-rushed Zdeno Chara to the ice when Chara thought it might be a good idea to give his somnambulistic teammates some inspiration in the first period (and hey, big guy…wearing the “C” is not license to whine to every passing official) in the first bout, then pummeled Shawn Thornton into submission in the second.
Matt Bradley had a two goal/three-point night. It was his second three-point night of the season and his first two-goal game since October 2005. He tied Ovechkin for the team lead in shots with five.
Eric Fehr set a career record for assists (three) and points (three). It was his first multi-point game for the Caps.
Brooks Laich had two more goals to add to his career best season (he now has 15); it was his second two-goal game in the last four contests.
Matt Cooke was 1-2-3 and drew a penalty by annoying Glen Metropolit into a slash. Ovechkin capitalized 61 seconds into the penalty.
The Caps had four power play goals in seven chances, the four successes being their season high in a game.
This was payback for a lot of frustration over the past three years at the hands of the Bruins in general and Tim Thomas in particular. Thomas really never had a chance.
Two of the goals were clean breakaways – a nice symmetry of Backstrom sending Ovechkin free on one, then Ovechkin returning the favor. But the rest were just a case of the Capitals getting in tight into high-probability scoring areas for slam-dunk scores. Thomas (and later Alex Auld) never really had much chance on most of the goals. Compare that to the
For the Caps, they now have the league's top point-producer (Ovechkin), top goal-scorer (Ovechkin), top goal-scoring tandem (Ovechkin and Alexander Semin), top goal-scorer among defensemen (Mike Green), top rookie in assists (Backstrom), and top rookie scorer (Backstrom). Six goals in tonight's game were scored by players 24 and younger.
The only bad news tonight was on the injury front. Cristobal Huet was relieved by Olaf Kolzig for the third period when it appeared Huet took back spasms after making a somewhat awkward save against the post late in the second period. And Tom Poti took a puck right in the chops on an errant pass from a teammate. He skated off under his own power, which was encouraging.
You look at a game like this and think, “save some for next game, boys.” But the Caps have 20 goals in their last four games, 18 in their last three wins. They are capable of such explosions – not necessarily ten goals worth on a nightly basis, but they have a lot of bullets in their clip at the moment. The trick is bringing that level of effort and urgency every night for the last 15 games. Do that, and there will be hockey after the first week of April.
Monday, March 03, 2008
On a Clear Day...you can see Eric Fehr
Of players currently on the Caps roster, Fehr is the only one on the AHL Hershey Bears' 2008 clear day roster:
That's certainly not unexpected, but we just thought we'd bring that matter up to date.
The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Caps vs. Bruins, March 3rd
The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!
The Caps are back at it in a Monday tilt against the Boston Bruins…Boston, rich in history and tradition, home of some of the most important events in the young Nation’s history – the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the Battle of Bunker Hill, the Boston Tea Party. Boston natives were not shy about exporting their feisty nature, either, as was the case in The Battle of Manhattan.
So we have with us a couple of Massachusetts’ favorite sons here to get their take on tonight’s contest…the cousins Adams, John and Samuel. Welcome…
Mr. President, let’s start with you…I don’t imagine they played a lot of hockey in 1776. But you’ve become quite a fan…
JA: “Here is everything which can lay hold of the eye, ear and imagination - everything which can charm and bewitch the simple and ignorant.”
Hey, hey…this ain’t NASCAR, pal.
JA: “My apologies…power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak.”
Well, back to hockey, what do you think of officiating this year?...do you think it is being performed at a high standard?
JA: “In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three is a congress…four is a team of NHL on-ice officials.”
And what of league management, as a former president, I’d be interested in your take on the tenure of the NHL Commissioner…
JA: "I have been quoted as saying, ‘my country has contrived for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived.’ Well, then I was introduced to the name, ‘Gary Bettman.’”
You lived through some of the most violent times in the early days of the Republic…I’m guessing you’re a fan of the occasional fight in the NHL?
JA: “Virtue is not always amiable.”
Back to the Caps…Alex Ovechkin finally ended his goal-scoring drought with a marker against the Maple Leafs. A slump?...or is he feeling the pressure of the playoff run?
JA: “No man is entirely free from weakness and imperfection in this life.”
Samuel, does he always talk like that?
“Oh, yeah…why do you think I took up brewing beer?”
As for the Bruins, it’s fashion night at Verizon Center…an opportunity for Alex Ovechkin to model the latest in Chara-wear…a 6’9”, 260 pound stole that Ovechkin will be wearing 20-or-so minutes of this game. Ovechkin is 3-4-7, even, in nine games against the Bruins, but one of the telling stats is shots. Ovechkin has averaged 5.1 shots a game over the 229 games of his career. He has 36 in nine games against Boston, 21 in the five games against Boston in Chara’s two seasons in Beantown. It isn’t a complete shutdown, but his chances have been fewer and of lower quality than his career numbers since Chara joined the Bruins.
While that battle within the battle is taking place, Boston is on an eight-game points-earned streak:
Record: 7-0-1
Goals for/against: 27/17
Power play: 9/38 (23.7%)
Penalty killing: 35/38 (92.1%)
Record in one-goal games: 4-0-1
Balance has been a key to the Bruin attack in this eight-game stretch. 19 different skaters have registered points, 13 have goals. The individual leaders in this streak include:
Marc Savard: 1-10-11, even
Marco Sturm: 3-7-10, +3
Zdeno Chara: 6-2-8, +5
Dennis Wideman: 2-4-6, +3
Glen Murray: 4-1-5, -2
Tim Thomas has appeared in goal for seven of these last eight games, going 5-0-1, 2.03, .928. Incredibly, he’s even been better over his career against the Caps: 8-0-1, 1.82, .940. As if this isn’t bad enough, the Caps have one win against the Bruins in the last 11 meetings between the clubs.
Let’s think of this as the law of averages making an appearance – Ovechkin with one goal in his last eight games, Thomas unbeaten in regulation in his career against the Caps, the Caps with one win in 11 games against the Bruins. I mean, c’mon…it can’t go on forever, can it?
We don’t think it will, as you no doubt have concluded if you read this space even occasionally. Plus, this is another of those “games-in-hand” the Caps hold over Carolina. It’s a win they have to have. They’ll get it…
Caps 3 – Bruins 1
The Caps are back at it in a Monday tilt against the Boston Bruins…Boston, rich in history and tradition, home of some of the most important events in the young Nation’s history – the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the Battle of Bunker Hill, the Boston Tea Party. Boston natives were not shy about exporting their feisty nature, either, as was the case in The Battle of Manhattan.
So we have with us a couple of Massachusetts’ favorite sons here to get their take on tonight’s contest…the cousins Adams, John and Samuel. Welcome…
Mr. President, let’s start with you…I don’t imagine they played a lot of hockey in 1776. But you’ve become quite a fan…
JA: “Here is everything which can lay hold of the eye, ear and imagination - everything which can charm and bewitch the simple and ignorant.”
Hey, hey…this ain’t NASCAR, pal.
JA: “My apologies…power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak.”
Well, back to hockey, what do you think of officiating this year?...do you think it is being performed at a high standard?
JA: “In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three is a congress…four is a team of NHL on-ice officials.”
And what of league management, as a former president, I’d be interested in your take on the tenure of the NHL Commissioner…
JA: "I have been quoted as saying, ‘my country has contrived for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived.’ Well, then I was introduced to the name, ‘Gary Bettman.’”
You lived through some of the most violent times in the early days of the Republic…I’m guessing you’re a fan of the occasional fight in the NHL?
JA: “Virtue is not always amiable.”
Back to the Caps…Alex Ovechkin finally ended his goal-scoring drought with a marker against the Maple Leafs. A slump?...or is he feeling the pressure of the playoff run?
JA: “No man is entirely free from weakness and imperfection in this life.”
Samuel, does he always talk like that?
“Oh, yeah…why do you think I took up brewing beer?”
As for the Bruins, it’s fashion night at Verizon Center…an opportunity for Alex Ovechkin to model the latest in Chara-wear…a 6’9”, 260 pound stole that Ovechkin will be wearing 20-or-so minutes of this game. Ovechkin is 3-4-7, even, in nine games against the Bruins, but one of the telling stats is shots. Ovechkin has averaged 5.1 shots a game over the 229 games of his career. He has 36 in nine games against Boston, 21 in the five games against Boston in Chara’s two seasons in Beantown. It isn’t a complete shutdown, but his chances have been fewer and of lower quality than his career numbers since Chara joined the Bruins.
While that battle within the battle is taking place, Boston is on an eight-game points-earned streak:
Record: 7-0-1
Goals for/against: 27/17
Power play: 9/38 (23.7%)
Penalty killing: 35/38 (92.1%)
Record in one-goal games: 4-0-1
Balance has been a key to the Bruin attack in this eight-game stretch. 19 different skaters have registered points, 13 have goals. The individual leaders in this streak include:
Marc Savard: 1-10-11, even
Marco Sturm: 3-7-10, +3
Zdeno Chara: 6-2-8, +5
Dennis Wideman: 2-4-6, +3
Glen Murray: 4-1-5, -2
Tim Thomas has appeared in goal for seven of these last eight games, going 5-0-1, 2.03, .928. Incredibly, he’s even been better over his career against the Caps: 8-0-1, 1.82, .940. As if this isn’t bad enough, the Caps have one win against the Bruins in the last 11 meetings between the clubs.
Let’s think of this as the law of averages making an appearance – Ovechkin with one goal in his last eight games, Thomas unbeaten in regulation in his career against the Caps, the Caps with one win in 11 games against the Bruins. I mean, c’mon…it can’t go on forever, can it?
We don’t think it will, as you no doubt have concluded if you read this space even occasionally. Plus, this is another of those “games-in-hand” the Caps hold over Carolina. It’s a win they have to have. They’ll get it…
Caps 3 – Bruins 1
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Attendance watch
In calendar 2008, the Caps are averaging 16,526 for 15 home dates. In those 15 games they are 9-4-2.
Nothing sells like winning.
Sittin' at the end of the bar...
Is the coach turning back into a pumpkin for Pittsburgh goaltender Ty Conklin? 1-2-2 in his last five games, 3.32, .906 (including being pulled once). Marc-Andre Fleury gets the call today against Atlanta.
Much is made of the prowess of the Edmonton Oilers in shootouts. But, they have more wins in regulation (16) than do the Atlanta Thrashers (15). Both teams have 14 wins in extra time games this year.
And what is it with overtime and Northwest Division teams? Edmonton is tied for first in overtime wins; Colorado and Vancouver are tied for third. Combined, they've played a total of 53 extra time games this season.
Jason Spezza had a hand in all six goals (3-3-6) in a 6-3 Ottawa win against Montreal on February 9th. Since then...2-2-4, -3 in ten games. It's not like his running mates are doing any better. Dany Heatley is 3-1-4, -5, while Daniel Alfredsson is 3-2-5, -8 (and he needed a three-point game last night to reach that level). Any wonder why Ottawa is 3-5-2 in their last ten games?
23-8-3, 2.10, .916, four shutouts...19-8-3, 2.10, .903, four shutouts. Does it really matter at this point whether Mike Babcock puts Chris Osgood or Dominik Hasek in goal for the Red Wings?
Jeremy Roenick has ten goals this year. Seven are game-winners. We don't know if that's clutch or being in the right place at the right time.
Consider this 21-game stretch for a player of note...3-8-11, -13. Meet Daniel Briere, who has had one multi-point game in those 21 and hasn't had a "plus" game in calendar 2008.
Meanwhile, if you're wondering about the other two free agents from last summer's big forward trifecta -- Chris Drury and Scott Gomez -- Drury has points in 11 of his last 13 games (9-6-15, +8), while Gomez has points in 11 of his last 14 games (3-12-15, +8).
Jaromir Jagr option watch...17-39-56, +6. That's a pace for 21-49-70, +8. Nope, that option's not looking good, no matter whether Sean Avery dedicates the rest of the season to Jagr or not.
Jiri Fischer Skating
More than two years ago, Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jiri Fischer collapsed on the bench at Joe Louis Arena during a game against the Nashville Predators. Fischer suffered cardiac arrest and was taken from the ice on a stretcher. What caused Fischer's seizure was -- and remains -- something of a mystery. The game was halted, the first time in NHL history that a game had been suspended due to injury.
Fast forward to Wendler Arena in Saginaw, MI, last night. For the first time since Fischer's collapse, Fischer took the ice to play in a hockey game. The event was the "Shocks and Saves" charity game at Wendler Arena, where a crowd of 1,000 or so came out for Fischer's Healthy Hope Foundation. Proceeds helped raise funds for devices such at that which revived Fischer during his incident in 2005.
Still only 27 years old, the chances of Fischer returning to competitive hockey remain slim, but he will not rule it out completely...
"There's always chances on anything. Right now everything is hypothetical so I just enjoy every day. I just take it as it goes and I work towards getting healthy, and hopefully I can achieve that."
It is cliche to say that whether he skates in the NHL again is unimportant compared to the life given back to him. But for one night he had the chance to lace 'em up again, and that was cause for smiles all around.
A no-point night: Maple Leafs 3 - Caps 2
Infuriating…
The Caps can put together a pair of dominating performances – those in which they imposed their will at both ends of the ice – then they put up an iffy effort such as the one that earned them a 3-2 loss at home to the Toronto Maple Leafs last night.
Make no mistake, the Caps’ superior skill was on display for long stretches of the game, especially in the first and third periods of the game. But once more, the second period was their bugaboo, as the Leafs took the lead they would not relinquish. The problem was that while the Caps were putting on displays of skating and passing skill (and at times it was quite entertaining to watch), all those pyrotechnics weren’t sufficient to solve the goaltending stylings of Vesa Toskala, who had a superb game in earning the game’s first star. Unable to beat Toskala with superior skill, the Caps weren’t in a working mood last night and failed to do the little, grimier things that one must often do to win hockey games this time of year.
On the other hand,
For the Caps, it was an opportunity lost. This was the most winnable game they would probably see in the next two weeks. After last night, they play
The Caps’ goals were largely the part of superior efforts by Ovechkin, who finally got off the goal-scoring schneid with a drive that beat Toskala low on the blocker side from just above the top of the left wing circle. It was a goal of a type scored often by Ovechkin, where he collects a pass (this one from Tom Poti), skates in, and while using the backskating defenseman as a screen, snaps the puck just past the edge of the defenseman’s leg so that the goalie has a tough time picking the puck up. The other goal was scored when Ovechkin stepped out from Toskala’s right and tried to stuff the puck in. The puck squirted out to the low slot to Toskala’s left, where Viktor Kozlov pounced on it and buried it in the back of the net.
And that, as they say, was that. There were chances of the woulda-coulda-shoulda variety, such as Tomas Fleischmann having an almost open net in front of him while skating across the crease, but unable to lift his backhand shot, it bounced off Toskala’s pad. Alexander Semin had some dazzling displays of in-tight puck handling, but couldn’t manage that last move around a defender or to deke Toskala to the ice for the finish.
In what is probably going to be a game-by-game dissection of the goaltending battle between Olaf Kolziog and Crisotbal Huet, this was a night on which Kolzig lost some ground to Huet. Not that Kolzig played badly, necessarily. He did give up one goal one suspects he’d like to have back – Sundin’s goal from near the right wing boards that gave the Leaf’s the lead. But the first goal came on a Nik Antropov deflection of a Sundin shot, and the third was the product of what looked like Mites-on-Ice hockey played by the Caps in their own end. After the Leafs missed connecting on a stretch pass, the puck sailed all the way to Kolzig, who sent it off the boards to his left. Then, everything fell apart. Shaone Morrison could not control the puck, and it ricocheted back toward Kolzig. Mike Green tried to move it away, but could only poke it behind the net, slipping to the ice in the process. Sundin was there to pick up the puck, sending it out in front to a closing Alex Steen. Sergei Fedorov could not get back in time to lift Steen’s stick, and Steen snapped one off the pipe and behind Kolzig for what would end up being the game-winner.
Numbers-wise, there is a lot of blank space on the Caps’ scoresheet. Ovechkin, 1-1-2. Kozlov, 1-0-1. Poti, 0-1-1. That’s it on the scoring side. The Caps did outhit (20-17) and out-turnover (18-23) the Leafs, but that was deceptive. First, the power play was 0-for-5 against a team that came into the game 29th in the league in penalty killing (although they were 20th in road penalty-killing). To fail in five chances against that kind of performance is not what playoff teams do at this time of year.
What also looks disappointing is the four shots that the Semin-Fedorov-Fleischmann group had. That group needs to generate more activity than that (although it was Matt Cooke who opened on the second line tonight).
And, look at the shot pattern below. To the extent it is accurate, the Leafs had more opportunities – virtually every shot they had was in higher-probability scoring areas, while the Caps were pushed outside and exhibited a distinct left-handedness to their offense. That’s a function of work, or the absence of it, and that is what did in the Caps last night.
The loss qualifies as a lost opportunity. This was a team the Caps should have beaten. Perhaps they skated onto the ice thinking that, themselves. But instead of keeping pace with
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