A TWO-point afternoon: Caps 6 - Thrashers 4

If you wanted a title for the movie that played at Verizon Center this afternoon, it might be “Revenge of the Stunt Men.” Or maybe, “The Incredibles.” The Caps got five goals from guys who might be deemed in other circumstances “role players” in scratching out a 6-4 win over the Atlanta Thrashers on Fan Appreciation Day at Verizon Center (we extended our streak to 11 consecutive season enders at the VC without winning any prizes).

Tomas Fleischmann, who last scored a goal when Millard Fillmore was in the White House, got one.

Keith Aucoin – the smallest player on the ice – was the one who seemed most inclined to stick his nose into the middle of things and got one.

Michael Nylander, last seen scoring a goal about the time Betty and Barney Rubble tied the knot, got one. Nylander celebrated in Ovechkinian fashion with a double arm-wind that was reported to have been replayed in the locker room after the game by Brooks Laich and that, according to Eric Fehr in the radio post game, had the guys hooting on the bench.

Fehr got one by jamming the crease and poking one home.

Brooks Laich added an empty netter to send the Caps fans home happy in the knowledge that wings will be on the menu tomorrow, thanks to a local restaurant franchise.

The other goal was scored by an Alex – Semin, not Ovechkin. However, Ovechkin inched ever closer to Evgeni Malkin in the dying days of the race for the Ross Trophy. He had a pair of assists to give him 106 points. Malkin was held off the score sheet in a 4-2 loss to Florida to narrow the Penguin center’s lead over Ovechkin to two points.

Other stuff…

- Ovechkin is going to give message boards all over North America fodder for discussion for this number – 24. No, not his favorite TV show, but the number of shot attempts he had this afternoon. 11 of them got through to Thrasher goalie Johan Hedberg, but none of them got past him. His shot total is now up to 507. With three games to play, he needs 44 shots on goal to get to 551 and pass Phil Esposito (1970-1971) for the most in a season in NHL history. What’s odd is that Ovechkin probably passed up four or five additional shot opportunities from what are for him high-value areas in favor of passing to a teammate.

- Nicklas Backstrom, “Faceoff Warrior,” did it again. 12 of 16 in the circle. He’s crazed, I tell ya, crazed.

- Even with six goals, the Caps could have had more if they weren’t so gosh darn cute with the puck on the power play. If the Caps wanted a sponsor for the man advantage to replace Pepco, they could have Wes Johnson announce over public address system, “The Caps are on a ‘TOTES’ Power Play.” They spent insane amounts of time passing the puck at the top of the five man umbrella. In seven power plays, they had a total of six shots. Against a team that came into the game 29th in the league in penalty killing, that’s just nuts.

- Making things worse on the power play, the Caps allowed a shorthanded goal on which goalie Jose Theodore looked as if he guessed way wrong on which side of the net Jim Slater was going to end up shooting at. Theodore did make a fine save on Eric Perrin in a similar shorthanded situation earlier in the game, which begs the question – what were the Caps thinking, giving up better chances to the Thrashers on their own power play than they were getting at Hedberg? If they draw Philly in the first round and play like that, it’ll be a short series.

- On the other hand, fans were on Theodore where we were sitting on the goal scored by Ilya Kovalchuk. Hey, you know what? Kovalchuk has scored 296 goals in the NHL and won’t turn 26 for ten more days. He didn’t score that many at such a young age without knowing how to pick a far corner over the glove. We were more concerned how it was he got open enough to get that shot off as the Caps defense looked as if it backed off, leaving Nicklas Backstrom to try desperately to poke the puck off off Kovalchuk’s blade.

- Jeff Schultz didn’t make it out for the “jerseys off our backs” ceremony. He was back in the locker room getting stitched up. Add two hits, and Schultz is turning into “The Executioner” right before our eyes. OK…no.

- Atlanta had seven shots on goal in the second period. So did Ovechkin.

- This was Fleischmann’s firs multi-point game since February 11th. It was Fehr’s first since February 11th, too. It was Nylander’s first since February 3rd. It was Aucoin’s first since January 12th…2008, when he was playing for Carolina.

- The Caps out-attempted Atlanta 78-42. Until the third period, though, it seemed as though most of those attempts were coming from Adams-Morgan.

- How many times do you see not one, but two players have their sticks broken by opponents’ slap shots on the same penalty kill? The Caps had five on two guys with sticks and two without and didn’t get a shot through to Hedberg.

- We’re not exactly sure why, but Viktor Kozlov got two shifts of ice time after being on the ice for the Kovalchuk goal. That’s two shifts in the last 24 minutes and change for the game. Hey, he wasn’t alone…Kozlov was minus-2. His linemates – Sergei Fedorov and Alex Ovechkin (at least for the early stages of the game) – were a combined minus-3. We’re hoping that can be filed under, “get it out of your system now, boys.”

- In another episode of “Dumb Play Week” (Sergei Fedorov’s pass that resulted in the game-winner for Buffalo on Frida), Jose Theodore made a play that perhaps not even a mite would make – trying to clear the puck up the middle, perhaps thinking he could score into the empty Thrasher net with under a minute to go. He made a great pass as it turned out – to Slava Kozlov, who promptly deposited the puck into the empty net…the one Theodore abandoned to make his play.

- The Caps finished the home portion of the regular season with a 29-9-3 mark, good for 61 standings points…the same number the New York Islanders have in all their games.

Like we said in the pregame, this Atlanta team – here and now – is a team that has played well for a long stretch, with better results coming into this game, in fact, than the Caps had since February 1st. It is not a bad team, certainly not nearly as bad as their complete season record would suggest. The Caps didn’t have their “A” game, at least not for the first 40 minutes, but they showed what they can do when their opponent has their undivided attention. They outscored Atlanta 4-1 in the final 20 minutes (the one for Atlanta being a bonehead play by the goalie) and held the Thrashers to seven shots.

20 minutes of that sort of play won’t get it done after this week, but we suspect the guys know that. They need to marry a thought to an action, though. They need to play like they know it.

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Caps vs. Thrashers, April 5th

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!

It seems like only last week when training camp opened and the latest crop of Capitals took the ice for the first time in the 2008-2009 season. And now, we’re here at the last home game of the regular season. And, it’s Fan Appreciation Day, which is the kickoff to Fan Appreciation Week. It all puts us in the mind to ask a question…what are other teams doing for fans in this last week of the regular season?

Well, in Tampa, according to the Lightning…

“On March 29 and April 9, all Lightning players will walk the red carpet on the Chrysler-Jeep Plaza from the circle drive in front of the St. Pete Times Forum to Shots at Channelside on the way to the locker room. Players are expected to start arriving approximately three hours prior to game time. Once the players have arrived, the fun will just be starting for fans on the Chrysler-Jeep Plaza. Live bands will rock the plaza pregame for the final three games, and enhanced activities will include a rock-climbing wall and several other interactive games, as well as a FanZone Tent where kids can make their own posters or have their faces painted. Fans will have the once-in-a-lifetime chance to win game-worn Lightning jerseys through a charity raffle in the arena during each game. Twenty lucky fans will be chosen randomly to step on the ice to receive the jerseys off the players’ backs following the game on April 9. There will be “Register to Win” locations on the Chrysler-Jeep Plaza prior to each game and five fans who enter will go on the ice during the second intermission on April 9, with one taking home ThunderBug’s all-terrain vehicle (ATV).

Nothing says “thanks” like a vehicle driven by a sweat-soaked insect mascot. We’re thinking Tampa fans would be thanked enough if the horror of this season would just end. Meanwhile, in Carolina…

"On Saturday, April 4, the Hurricanes will host the Pittsburgh Penguins at 7 p.m. at the RBC Center. Prior to the game, fans can enjoy live music, street hockey, a Hurricanes moon bounce, the slap shot booth, a Hurricanes obstacle course and food and beverage on the RBC Center’s front lawn. The first 15,000 fans inside the building will receive a player poster sponsored by Blackberry Bold featuring Matt Cullen, Joni Pitkanen, Tuomo Ruutu and Eric Staal, and six fans will also win Pepsi vending machines featuring Hurricanes players from the Pepsi can series."

Pepsi vending machines?...How long do you think it will take the winners to figure out that 12-ounce cans of beer will fit in there, too? While out in Phoenix…

“Fans in attendance will be treated to raffles offering a variety of prizes, including a grand prize of a custom Coyotes-painted Suzuki GSX650 motorcycle, compliments of RideNow PowerSports. ‘Fan Appreciation Night is always a special event for the Coyotes,’ said [Coyotes President Douglas] Moss. ‘It’s our chance to acknowledge and thank our loyal fans for their tremendous support throughout the season.’ There will also be a variety of ‘experience’ packages, including lunch with Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney, a pre-game dinner and press box tour with Assistant General Manager Brad Treliving, and ‘away trips’ to see the Coyotes play in Los Angeles and Anaheim next season that include airfare, hotel accommodations and game tickets. Game-used player equipment such as sticks, helmets and gloves and opportunities for post-game player meet-and-greets will also be featured as prizes. All fans in attendance will receive a scratcher card that will tell them if they have won a prize. In addition to the items listed above, some of the other prizes include a golf vacation package from The Markers/US Airways; a 32” Samsung LCD television from Heineken; two bicycles from Pepsi; US Airways gift cards; iPod Shuffles; and a coupon for $500 off a Custom Intralasik procedure at Schwartz Laser Eye Center."

Phoenix is pulling out all the stops there…but we don’t know about that Intralasik thing. Do they really want fans getting a clearer look at how good (or not) the Coyotes are?

We have some ideas for what some other teams might think about for gifts in appreciation of their fans’ devotion…

New York Rangers…five lucky fans will be selected to enjoy the services of Sean Avery to perform a juvenile prank on an unsuspecting friend.

Pittsburgh…every fan gets a free bottle of Visine Pure Tears Eye Drops with a picture of Sidney Crosby on the label.

Montreal…fans get a boxed set of DVDs with highlights from the centennial season for the Canadiens. Oops, the case is empty.

Minnesota…fans in attendance get 100 dollars worth of “Clutterbucks” to buy all sorts of cheesy Wild merchandise to clutter their coffee tables and display cases.

Colorado…all fans get two free tickets to Rockies games. They should have the experience of seeing a pro sports team this year.

As for the goings on at Verizon Center, the Atlanta Thrashers make their last appearance on 7th Street for the season. They might be resting in 13th place in the Eastern Conference, but they have been a nuisance to the Caps this year. The Caps and Thrashers have split four games so far this year, each team winning a pair on home ice. But while the Thrashers have torched the Caps for 12 goals in a pair of blowouts in Atlanta, the Caps have eked out a pair of close ones at Verizon Center – a two-goal victory in November and a one-goal win in February. The overall numbers look like this…


In those numbers is an unsettling statistic. It has to do with 5-on-5 play and the ratio of goals scored to goals allowed. On February 19th, the Caps ratio of goals scored to goals allowed was 1.29 (numbers greater than one being good, and the higher the better) and ranked 5th in the NHL. As the Caps take the ice today, that ratio had dropped to 1.10, and their ranking has dropped to ninth.

Meanwhile, when Atlanta last visited the Caps on February 16th, their 5-on-5 ratio was 0.89, and they were ranked 21st in the league. Today, they have improved to 0.97 and upped their ranking to 17th.

Atlanta is, at the moment, a hockey team to be reckoned with. Since February 1st, the Thrashers are 17-9-1 and are doing their level best not to be in the running to draft either John Tavares or Victor Hedman (they are 26th in the league points standings and one point away from exiting Lotteryville).

How is it that the Thrashers have not only become respectable, but worthy of fear in the last two months? Well, it starts in a big way with Ilya Kovalchuk, who is reminding hockey fans that Russian hockey does not begin with Alex Ovechkin and end with Evgeni Malkin. In his last 24 games, Kovalchuk is 20-19-39, +4. If Ovechkin has had a hot stick in getting to 50 goals, Kovalchuk’s has been positively radioactive over the last two months. In three games against the Caps this year, he is 1-4-5. And in 40 career games against Washington, Kovalchuk is 21-28-49, +12. One would have to think that attention will be paid to him.

Lost in Kovalchuk’s sonic wake has been the performance of Vyacheslav Kozlov. In the Thrashers late season run since February 1st, Kozlov has been on what might be one of the hottest stretches of his career. In 27 games since February 1st, he is 9-20-29, +4, with five power play goals and a game winner thrown in. He is also third in the NHL in total Gimmick goals and is second among players in shooting percentage in the evening gown competition who have taken more than five turns down the runway. He is 3-3-6, -1 this year against the Caps and is 7-19-36, +3, in 50 career games against Washington.

Rich Peverley joined the Thrashers when he was claimed off waivers from Nashville on January 10th, and in 35 games since had posted a 12-19-31 scoring line in 35 games. What’s more, he is +17 as a Thrasher. You’d probably have to search pretty hard to find a more productive waiver wire pickup in the NHL this season. And, he has five game-winning goals – tying him for the team lead this year – in 20 Thrasher wins since he joined the team (20-14-1). While a lot of teams are paying attention to Kovalchuk, perhaps thinking they’re getting a breather when Peverley is on the ice, this guy is making those teams pay. He is 1-1-2 in two games against the Caps this year.

In the category of “things that make Thrasher fans want next year to come faster,” there has been the play of the young defensemen Tobias Enstrom (24 and in his second NHL season) and Zach Bogosian (an 18-year old rookie drafted last June). After a slow start (scoreless and a minus-3 in October), Enstrom is 5-24-29, +15 in 68 games since. In 27 games since February 1st, he is 4-14-18, +9. Meanwhile, Bogosian got off to a slow start of his own – scoreless in October and finishing the month with a broken leg that kept him out of the lineup until New Year’s Eve. The team was concerned about the mental effects the injury could have on the rookie. Coach John Anderson said at the time, “"We’ll monitor him more psychologically than anything right now. You don’t want to feel lonely and by yourself and abandoned because you get injured, especially at 18. We’re well aware of the possible mental things he could go through." The Thrashers’ concerns were apparently ill-founded, or perhaps they should open counseling services at Philips Arena. Since his return, Bogosian is 7-8-15, +17 in 35 games. This is one of, if not the best under-25 pairs of defensemen in the league.

In goal, maybe Kari Lehtonen is finally getting it. A youngster with a world of talent (and heretofore perhaps some questionable work ethic) is starting to play like it, although his statistics are a bit deceiving. Since February 1st, he is 10-7-1, 2.90, .917, with one shutout. But over that span he has had the annual production of Goodyear and Bridgestone tires thrown at him – 34.9 shots per 60 minutes. He stopped enough of that rubber to emerge with a .917 save percentage over those 19 appearances. Lehtonen had cooled off though – in his last two full contests he allowed six goals in each in losses to Montreal and Detroit. The trouble for the Thrashers is that he suffered an “upper body injury” against the Rangers last week and appears unlikely to play against the Caps.

Lehtonen’s absence would leave the goaltending duties to Johan Hedberg, and he’s pulled his share of the load in a relief capacity. Since February 1st, Hedberg is 7-2-0 (including five straight wins, and counting). But where Lehtonen’ statistics are misleading in one sense, so too are Hedberg’s, just in another direction. While winning seven of nine decisions, he hasn’t had very good accompanying numbers. His GAA is 3.14, his save percentage .890. He’s allowed three or more goals in seven of his last nine appearances, although he allowed only two and one in his last two. Against the Caps he is a respectable 6-2-2, 2.66, .911 in ten career games (it sure seems like more, doesn’t it?).

The Peerless’ Players to Ponder

Atlanta: Colby Armstrong

When Armstrong was with Pittsburgh, he had a reputation of a being an in-your-face, edgy sort of a nuisance who was all elbows and up-to-the-edge kinds of hits. In four games against the Caps this year, he has not been credited with a single hit. None. He does provide some lower-half-of-the-lines scoring (19-18-37), but he seems to be a somewhat different player than he was in Pittsburgh. He is 5-7-12, -1, in 14 career games against Washington, 2-2-4, +1 in six games against Washington while skating for Atlanta. He could be an “X” factor in this game; he’s 2-7-9, +9, while in the midst of a six game points streak.

Washington: Jose Theodore

After getting the night off against Buffalo, it is now time for Theodore to get his “Private Joker” war face on. Atlanta will provide a good test for Theodore, having averaged 3.37 goals a game since February 1st and 3.47 goals a game since March 1st. He does have a good career record against Atlanta – 12-5-0, 2.59, .908 – but has been horrific so far this year. He is 1-1-0, 5.39, .796 in three appearances. He hasn’t allowed fewer than three goals in any of his three appearances against the Thrashers this year, and that includes 29:30 worth of time in the season opener before he was pulled in favor of Brent Johnson when he allowed three goals on 14 shots. Until now, three goals has been a minimum against the Thrashers. From now on, the Caps – and Theodore – need to be thinking of three goals as a maximum…against anybody.

If you are inclined to draw conclusions from these teams’ respective places in the standings, don’t. Atlanta has a better record since February 1st (17-9-1, 35 points) than do the Caps (15-8-4, 34 points). It took a while for Bruce Boudreau’s old chum, John Anderson, to get his players all on the same page of his playbook, but he’s doing fine right now. This is a game that could bite the Caps squarely in the backside, and a loss would make for a nasty way to end the home portion of the regular season, especially when added to giving up a third period lead to lose to the Sabres in the previous game at Verizon Center. This will be entertaining, but in the end, the Caps have more Russians…

Caps 6 – Thrashers 3

Bracketology: The Two-Versus-Seven Matchup

In early April, thoughts of seeding come to mind. No, not seeding the lawn, although we have to get around to that, too, but seeding of playoff teams. And in looking at the seeds, one wonders if there isn’t something in there akin to the infamous 5-versus-12 thing you often see in the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament where the lower-seeded team pulls off the upset.

It turns out that at first glance, there is something like that in the NHL. And, it just so happens that it is the 2-versus-7 matchup that has potential for upsets. Going back through ten seasons worth of 2-versus-7 matchups in the Eastern Conference, we see the following results:


There are several things to note here. First, there is the matter of the 7-seed coming out on top in six of ten instances. That is rather amazing in itself. But also note that the first five occasions took place in the first five years of this ten-year window.

Then there is the matter of the matchups themselves. In four of the six occasions in which the lower-seeded team won, the teams were divisional opponents (Pittsburgh and Montreal were members of the Northeast Division before the NHL went to a six division format in the 1999-2000 season). Lower-seeded divisional rivals, who are more familiar with each other, appear to have been unfazed by the matter of seeding and who beat whom in the standings.

Amplifying this theme, there have been three sweeps in 2-versus-7 series in the last ten seasons, and in two of them the lower-seeded team won. In both instances, the winner – the lower-seeded team – defeated a division rival (Buffalo over Ottawa in 1999 and Toronto over Ottawa in 2001).

It doesn’t appear that regular season records have much to do with the results of the 2-versus-7 matchup. Five times the team that lost the season series won this playoff series. Incredibly, Buffalo swept Ottawa in 1999 after failing to win a single game in their regular season series (in an odd twist of history, Ottawa only won once, and that in overtime; there were four ties).

There has been a strange lack of suspense in the 2-versus-7 matchup, if by “suspense” you mean a game 7. In the last ten years in the East, there has been one game 7 in this matchup, that coming in 2004 when Montreal defeated Boston, 2-0. Of course, Montreal was the lower-seeded team. In fact, this has more often than not been a quick-work round of games. In six of the last ten years, the series has gone only four or five games, and in four of those the lower-seeded team won.

Who wins when during the series does appear to matter, though, although perhaps one shouldn’t read a lot into it. Seven times in ten instances, the team that won Game 1 won the series. Four times, it was the lower-seeded team turning the trick, but all four of those instances occurred in the first four years of this ten-season window. But here is the one to watch – Game 3. In nine of ten instances the team that won this game won the series. The lone exception was when Tampa Bay defeated New Jersey, 3-2, in Game 3 of the 2007 series, then lost to the Devils in six games.

The methods geeks will say that ten games is an insufficient sample size to draw any clear conclusions. Add in that teams change, turn over their rosters, etc., and there is more noise added to this kind of a look. But there is a point to be made here, and it is this – there are no easy paths to the Stanley Cup, not even a two-versus-seven matchup. For the Caps, what the last ten years of history suggest is that of the five teams below them that they could realistically face in a two-versus-seven matchup, they stand to have more success against the Rangers (3-0-1 against them this year), Pittsburgh (3-0-1) or Montreal (3-1-0). They would appear to want to avoid the Flyers (2-2-0). The team they do not want to face is their Southeast Division foe Carolina, against which the Caps are 3-3-0 (Carolina winning the season points battle by virtue of earning a point in a 5-4 shootout loss on March 14th).

Still, a 14-6-2 record against the five team group from which the first round opponent could emerge is a favorable sign for the Caps heading into the second season.

But that two-versus-seven history offers a warning – “beware what you wish for…”

Avery's at it again

He must be warming up to play against "Fatso"...



It did not have the intended effect, apparently. Tim Thomas shut out the Rangers, 1-0.

A ONE-Point Night: Sabres 5 - Caps 4 (OT)

[OK…so here is what we would have written, had not our interwebnets provider not decided that their service didn’t need a vacation. We’d name the culprit, but we are not given to such Bombast, if you catch our drift]

A local restaurant franchise offers Capitals fans free chicken wings if the Caps score six or more goals in a game. The Peerless wonders, if the Caps score seven, but three of them are by their own sticks or body parts into their own net, does that count toward free wings?

That was the story last night as the Capitals earned a point and won the Southeast Division title, but dropped a 5-4 overtime result to the Buffalo Sabres in a game where Semyon Varlamov was superb when facing actual shots off Sabre sticks. He just couldn’t cope with shots that: a) deflected off of Milan Jurcina’s skate, b) ricocheted off Viktor Kozlov’s stick blade, and c) took a hop off Shaone Morrisonn’s leg among the five goals credited to the Sabres. His save percentage was .926 on 25 saves in 27 shots faced from Buffalo shooters; it was .000 – no saves in three shots faced – against his teammates.

It was a weird night all around…

- Tim Connolly missed a wide open net from about 18 inches out in the first minute of the game. Bruce Boudreau alluded to this in the post game when he remarked that things – missed open nets and shots off your own guys for goals – tend to even out. Not in Capsville, Coach…not in Capsville.

- The linesmen (Pierre Racicot in particular) had a really bad night calling offsides. They missed no fewer than three instances in they whistled the Caps for the infraction when a Cap had in fact kept the puck in the zone. How do we know this? Because there was in-house replay of each instance. We wonder if the league isn’t going to tell the Caps to knock it off and stop showing up the officials.

- And The Peerless wonders…a Cap and a Buffalo player get tangled up and roll into the goalie, all three knocking the net off it’s pegs. The Cap is down and on his back. The Buffalo goalie takes a swat at the Cap lying on the ice. The Cap gets the gate for goaltender interference. What, Alex Ovechkin’s face interfered with Ryan Miller’s glove?

- Tomas Fleischmann had only a single assist, but it was a doozy. As Buffalo was trying to clear the puck out of their end, Fleischmann – parked near the Buffalo line – dove and poked the puck across to Sergei Fedorov, who ripped a shot past Ryan Miller. Fleischmann, perhaps more so than in any game this year, asserted himself in the corners and along the boards. He initiated contact instead of letting guys push him around.

- What’s gotten into Nicklas Backstrom? 13 for 18 on draws? In his last four games, he is 53 up and 22 down (70.1 percent) in the circle.

- Sergei Fedorov – a veteran of 1,243 NHL games heading into last night – made a rookie mistake in overtime, trying a risky pass in a 4-on-4 situation with a Sabre bearing down on him. Tim Connolly broke up the play and fed a streaking Jason Pominville, who skittered past the last man back – Jeff Schultz – and snapped the puck through Varlamov’s pads for the win.

- Speaking of Fedorov, things happened when he was on the ice. He took 24 shifts last night and in half of them, the shift ended with either a goal (three for each side) or a penalty.

- Alex Ovechkin had a 1-2-3 night…and still finished minus-2. The good with the bad.

- The Caps were 3-for-7 on the power play, but one had the feeling they should have had more…like that 5-on-3 in the second period in which they failed to score in both the 5-on-3 and the 5-on-4 segments.

- If you want a thrill ride, don’t head to Kings Dominion or Six Flags America…watch Semyon Varlamov handle the puck. Between wondering if he’s going to take a wandering penalty (he’s already been whistled for handling the puck outside the Trapezoid of Despair this year, and he came close a couple of times last night) and watching him cough it up (he had four giveaways last night…the Caps don’t have than many giveaway promotions in a season), The Peerless had his heart in his throat each time Varlamov was trying to play the puck. Hey, he’s a rookie…he’ll get better.

- The Caps had a game plan with which The Peerless agreed entirely. Buffalo is not a big team. They’re built for speed and quickness. The Caps, on the other hand, are among the bigger teams in the league. So, the Caps “tenderized” the Sabres pretty well last night in an effort to wear them down. Washington had 24 hits, many of them of the slobber-knocker variety. Milan Jurcina had five hits…Alex Ovechkin had four. Shoot, even Jeff Schultz had three. For heaven’s sake, Tomas Fleischmann had three! It woulda been a great game plan, except for that pesky detail about scoring into your own net.

- The Alexes had 18 shots between them – nine apiece.

- Speaking of shots, the Caps had 37 on goal, but only from 11 skaters. No shots from forwards Viktor Kozlov, Eric Fehr, and Tomas Fleischmann – all of whom are predominantly offense-oriented (and who combined had only three shot attempts) – is equal parts weird and disturbing.

- The Caps set a record last night – in attendance. With last night’s sellout, the Caps hit 723,715 in total attendance for the year. That’s 18,093 a game, or 99.0 percent capacity.

Both teams got what they wanted – Washington got a point to clinch the division and no lower than a three-seed for the playoffs; Buffalo got the extra standings point they desperately needed. But only one team got what they needed. Buffalo got a breath of life and kept their dim playoff hopes alive in a building where the Caps don’t lose often and rarely lose when scoring first.

The Caps, on the other hand, got the bitter taste of a clinch in a loss. It was a far different ending than the manner in which they clinched the division last year. In the post game radio show, it was reported that to a man, the Caps were not happy. Coach Boudreau certainly sounded equal parts subdued and unhappy in the post game comments. The thing is, the Caps outplayed the Sabres in just about every way. Except for the odd bounce that makes hockey “hockey,” this game wouldn’t have been competitive.

Congratulations to the Caps on winning the division for a second consecutive year. However, it’s a measure of what is expected this year, and the standards the club applies to itself, that no one is shouting about it this morning (which is now evening, thanks to our interwebnets provider).

Circle June 16th on your calendars

Puck the Media (which we found via Hooks Orpik over at Pensburgh) has what looks like a preview of the nationally-televised game schedule for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

And if things go to a 7th game in the Finals, by this schedule, then you might find yourselves crowded in a bar or around your TV sets on Tuesday night, June 16th, for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final.

PTM notes some problems with this schedule -- the potential of a 12-day hiatus between the conference finals and the Cup final looking to be a doozy -- but when we looked at it, we thought...geez, the NHL really is becoming the NBA. The NBA seems to have a fetish about stringing out its playoffs, and now the NHL looks to be heading down that road, too.

But The Peerless doesn't care...so long as it's the Caps playing on June 16th. Or maybe it would be better that the season ended on June 14th for the Caps, seeing as that would likely be a home game...

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Caps vs. Sabres, April 3rd

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!

The last home stand of the regular season is half over, and the Caps have two wins to show for it. They will look to make it three in a row when the Buffalo Sabres come calling. And that means Lindy Ruff will be in town coaching the Sabres. Ruff is the longest tenured coach in the NHL, and his history with the Sabres dates back to the 1979-1980 season, when he broke in as a 19-year old and played 63 games for the Sabres.

How long ago is that? Well, as the curtain was rising in October of that 1979-1980 season….

- The US returned the Canal Zone to Panama

- Pope John Paul II became the first Pope to visit the White House

- The Quebec Nordiques’ Real Cloutier became only the second NHL player to record a hat trick in his first game.

- Allan McLeod Cormack and Godfrey Newbold Hounsfield won the Nobel Prize for medicine for developing the CAT scan.

- The Philadelphia Flyers started their NHL all-time best 35-game unbeaten streak.

- Wayne Gretzky scored his first NHL goal.

- “Monday Night Football” broadcast its first game from New York City (the Jets beat the Vikings, 14-7)

- Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace.

- Home Depot was four months old and was operating in four stores in Georgia.

- Bryan Trottier was the defending Hart Trophy winner. It would be the last time someone not named “Gretzky” won the trophy for the next eight seasons.

- Ken Dryden and Michel Larocque of Montreal were the defending Vezina Trophy winners

- Denis Potvin was the defending Norris Trophy winner.

- Bob Gainey was the defending Selke and Conn Smythe Trophy winner.

- Bobby Smith was the defending Calder Trophy winner.

- Bob MacMillan was the defending Lady Byng Trophy winner.

It's been awhile...

If the Caps made a habit of playing desperate teams in March, then they are playing a team on life support tonight. Being six points out of a playoff berth with six games to play qualifies for the NHL equivalent of last rites, and the Caps could administer them this evening. What is puzzling is how Buffalo got into this position given their numbers…

Part of the problem, it seems, is that Buffalo’s strength in past year – its scoring balance – has become something of a weakness. The Sabres have 18 players in double-digit scoring and could finish the season with 20, which would match their number from two seasons ago. But that 2006-2007 team, which led the league with 53 wins and 113 standings points, had two players topping 80 points – Daniel Briere (95) and Thomas Vanek (84). Maxim Afinogenov pitched in at better than a point per game pace, too.

This year’s Sabres might be balanced, but they seem to lack a go-to scorer. Vanek looked to be that guy early, scoring 25 goals in 37 games in the 2008 portion of the season. But since New Year’s Day, he has only 12 goals in 30 games. He had an especially difficult March with only three goals in 12 games. Perhaps April agrees with him a bit more – he had a pair of tallies in a 3-2 overtime loss to Atlanta in his first game of the month.

Derek Roy leads the club in scoring with 67 points, which has to be seen as something of a disappointment, given his scoring progression in his first four years (19, 46, 63, and 81 points). What’s more, his March wasn’t very special – 4-4-8, -9, in a dozen games.

Perhaps visiting Washington will be a tonic for these two. Vanek has three goals in three games against the Caps this year (6-5-11 in 15 career games), and Roy has a goal in three games against Washington (8-7-15 in 17 career games).

Dominic Moore was picked up at the trading deadline from Toronto, perhaps with an eye toward providing some secondary scoring. He was in the midst of his best offensive season – 12-29-41 in 63 games with the Maple Leafs – but he’s been more or less silent in Buffalo. In 12 games since the trade, he is 1-3-4. Buffalo is his fifth team in five NHL seasons. We’re betting he’s on a first name basis with moving van companies across North America.

Two years ago, in that 53-win season, the Sabres had seven defensemen with at least ten points, and all 10 of those who dressed that year finished the season even or better, led by Brian Campbell’s +28. This year, there is that balance – six defensemen have at least ten points – but the scoring is down significantly, and among those players who have played in at least 50 games, only Craig Rivet is in plus territory.

Clearly, this team isn’t the same since the departure of Daniel Briere, Chris Drury, and Brian Campbell. That is 75 goals and 212 points from that 2006-2007 season not skating for the Sabres. But Ryan Miller is still there in goal. He’s even having a better year, statistically, than he did two years ago. His goals-against average is down (2.73 to 2.57), his save percentage is up (.911 to .918), and he has more shutouts (five versus three). What he hasn’t had is health. Two years ago, he played in 76 games. This year, he missed a month with an ankle injury in the middle of what should have been Buffalo’s push to the playoffs. He’s been fairly sharp since his return, though, going 2-0-1, 2.85, .911. He’s also been successful against the Caps – 8-3-0, 2.53, .910, with two shutouts. He is 1-1-0, 1.51, .949, with one shutout against the Caps this year.

The Peerless’ Players to Ponder

Buffalo: Ryan Miller

Last week, CBC asked the question in an online story headline, “Is it too late for Miller to save Sabres?” At this point, that’s about what it comes down to. Buffalo has become a very average offensive team, and the defense has holes in it due to departures and age (five defensemen are past 30, and two are past 35). The Canadiens and Rangers aren’t playing so well in seventh and eighth place that they are impossible to catch at this stage, but the Sabres would almost have to win out to do it. And to do it, Miller has to be at his absolute best, starting tonight.

Washington: Michael Nylander

To be charitable, Nylander has had a difficult year. It is the classic case of a player with skill and talent who just doesn’t seem to fit in with what it is the Caps are trying to do. Nylander had a rough March – 1-2-3, -3, in eight games and sitting in the press box on some nights. April, if it is possible, started worse. In the first game this month, he was held off the score sheet and sat for the last 17:48 of the game after skating only eight minutes. He does have 28 points in 37 career games against the Sabres, though, and sometimes the day is darkest before the dawn. Let’s hope so…the Caps could use a productive Nylander going forward.

The Caps are in a position to make history – they are within six standings points of the franchise high for a season – in a season where a fair amount of history has already been made. But that is really secondary. The Caps are getting ready for the playoffs. Jose Theodore could get the baseball cap tonight in favor of Semyon Varlamov, and Coach Bruce Boudreau might be further inclined to test line combinations and defense pairings. It could make for a closer game than fans might like, but in the end, well…two points is two points.

Caps 3 – Sabres 2

Your Caps Caption Three Fer...

" 70-chip, on two...on two...ready, BREAK!"


Viktor "Tiger" Kozlov picks the worst time imaginable
to practice his short game


Some pictures say a thousand words...

...and then again, some don't



(pictures: The Washington Capitals)

A TWO-point night: Caps 5 - Islanders 3

Last night, the Caps surged…well, surged isn’t quite the word. Let’s say that they crawled over the 100-point threshold for the season in defeating the New York Islanders, 5-3.

It was a game we might call an “ISO” game. No, not some personals “in search of” kind of thing, more of an “in spite of” sort of effort…

In spite of looking for all the world for the first 40 minutes as if he had downed a bottle of NyQuil before the game, Mike Green ended the night with a very splashy score sheet – two goals, an assist, two hits, four blocked shots, a franchise record for power play goals (season) after netting his 17th and 18th, and becoming only the eighth defenseman in NHL history to register 30 goals for a season.

In spite of never having engaged in an NHL fight, and having only two on his resume – one in the WHL and one in the AHL – Jeff Schultz dropped the mitts with Tim Jackman. We have to give it to Schultz, he didn’t tangle with a lightweight. That was Jackman’s 19th fight of the NHL season and 33rd of his NHL career. It would be nice to say Schultz won, or even held Jackman to a draw. He didn’t. But the kid gets marks for competing out there last night. It was something that seemed curiously lacking in his game the last month.

In spite of being the guy with the reputation for wadding up like a cheap suit when he gets hit, there was Tomas Fleischmann standing in front tangled with Brendan Witt when Mike Green floated the puck in for the game winner.

In spite of being only 5-6-1 this season when recording at least 40 shots on goal, the Caps managed to get the win in this one after getting 43 shots on goal.

In spite of looking like they were spraying shots like an actor doing a spit take all evening, the Caps were credited with only 19 missed shots. It seemed like 39.

Some other stuff…

The Caps had only two shots on goal on the power play…they scored on both of them (Mike Green getting both shots and both goals).

The centers schooled the Islanders in the circle. Nicklas Backstrom (16-for-24), Sergei Fedorov (11-for-18), Keith Aucoin (7-for-9), and David Steckel (5-for-6) were a combined 39 up and 18 down on faceoffs on the way to a 45-24 overall edge.

On the other side of that coin, Josh Bailey…1-for 12. Doug Weight…4-for-17. Guys, you do know you can use a stick in the faceoff circle, right?

The Islanders’ Joel Rechlicz is nicknamed, “The Wrecker.” Think he comes by the name accidentally? In four seasons (and counting), starting in the QMJHL through last night’s game, he’s had 63 fights. That’s what makes John Erskine’s tussle with him all the more impressive. Choreographed fights of the sort a lot of heavyweights engage in these days are side shows to the game – they really don’t seem to have much of an effect. But there was a distinct change in the energy level in the Caps’ play after Erskine beat Rechlicz. With the Islanders leading 2-0 when that fight took place, you have to wonder if Rechlicz shouldn’t have skated away. Alex Ovechkin scored five minutes after the bout, and the Caps had their feet back under them again.

Give Keith Aucoin credit for recognizing an opportunity and pouncing on his own rebound to get his first goal as a Cap – he was one of the hardest working guys out there all night. But give Eric Fehr credit on that one, too. His persistence in forechecking and using his reach to deflect a pass to Aucoin’s stick started that play.

Is it me, or does it just seem as if Richard Park plays his best hockey against the Caps? Park had 12 shot attempts (Parkvechkin?) and a goal in just over 16 minutes of ice time.

Speaking of Park, how did the puck end up on his stick to be able to split the Caps defense and walk in alone on goalie Jose Theodore? Well, along the boards Michael Nylander got tangled up with Tim Jackman, and Nylander kicked the puck to the center of the ice at the Caps line and onto Park’s stick. Nylander did not see another shift for the rest of the game.

How many times do you see three unassisted goals in a game (ok, one was Backstrom’s empty-netter)?

One looks at Kyle Okposo and sees a little bit of Alex Ovechkin (circa 2006) in this respect…if the Islanders can ever get some talent around this guy, watch out.

How lackadaisical were the Caps over too much of this game? How does 24 giveaways sound? And the Caps lost the turnover battle, 31-16.

Hey, we get the “Unleash the Fury” thing to rouse the crowd in the third period. What we don’t get is having to announce it. Just play it…the crowd knows what to do.

Admit it, the Caps shouldn’t have won this game. For most of the night, the Islanders outworked the Caps in all three zones, and Joey MacDonald had, for the most part, a fine game in goal. But the Caps just have too much skill for that team to cope with. Even when the Caps tried – at times quite literally – to give the two points away, the Islanders couldn’t put it away. And when Green tied things up mid-way in the third, one had the feeling that the Islanders, even with the effort they were expending, were going to fade in the stretch.

That’s not a recipe for success, but then again, the Caps are now 7-2-1 in their last ten games. That’s only one point fewer than the media’s darlings of the month – Carolina and Pittsburgh over the same span of games. The Caps haven’t done it as prettily as Pittsburgh or as confoundingly as Carolina. But two points (or 15) is two points.

In a way, how the Caps are doing this is encouraging. They are finding ways to win games when they don’t have their “A” game, when they have to struggle, be it from illness running through the team or a general lack of intensity given their opponent. Winning when things are going peachy is comparatively easy. Figuring out how to win when you don’t have your best stuff is how a long playoff run could be built.

101!!

Apparently, Defensive Defensemen Need Not Apply

To the AHL All-Rookie Team, that is.

The six rookies named to the elite squad are:

Goaltender: Nathan Lawson, Bridgeport Sound Tigers (30gp, 18-9-2, 2.13gaa, .929sv%, 2so)

Defenseman: Mattias Karlsson, Binghamton Senators (67gp, 8+41=49pts.)

Defenseman: Yannick Weber, Hamilton Bulldogs (66gp, 14+27=41pts.)

Forward: Justin Abdelkader, Grand Rapids Griffins (71gp, 22+27=49pts.)

Forward: Nathan Gerbe, Portland Pirates (50gp, 26+24=50pts.)

Forward: Tim Kennedy, Portland Pirates (66gp, 16+43=59pts.)

We don't have a problem with the forwards (especially since two of them are fellow Michigan State alumni), although the criteria there appear to be points-based. We don't have a problem with Nathan Lawson as the top rookie goaltender, seeing as he is second in the entire league among all goalies in GAA and save percentage.

Our problem is with the defensemen. Mattias Karlsson and Yannick Weber happen to be the top two scorers among rookie defensemen. However, Karlsson is a -11 on a likely playoff team (Binghamton is fourth in the East Division), and it is a mark that is exceeded by only two other players on the Senators' roster.

As for Weber, he plays for a playoff participant (Hamilton has already clinched a spot), but his +9 is surpassed by eight other players on the roster, including a pair of fellow rookies, and is matched or exceeded by five other defensemen on the roster. One could make a case that these are the two best offensive defensemen in the rookie class.

We can appreciate there being few statistics that shine a bright light on defensemen, and plus-minus is a statistic that can be abused if taken out of context. But there is a rookie defenseman who is currently third in the AHL in that statistic. If you look closely, you would find that his +27 for the season is roughly the same as a number of teammates. On that basis, you might say -- with reason -- that his mark is the product of his surroundings. However, he accomplished his feat in a mere 42 games, not the almost-70 of his teammates and similar AHL leaders. And, he has a mere 10 penalty minutes taken this season, which speaks to his discipline as a player. His 19 points in 42 games apparently was not enough to convince the voters that he was one of the top two defensemen, without respect to adjective, in the league.

Karl Alzner, we're thinking you wuz robbed.

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Caps vs. Islanders, April 1st

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!

The Caps return to action after a welcome rest since last Friday’s 5-3 win over Tampa Bay. Tonight’s guest – the New York Islanders – pose another of those “will they play down to the level of their opponent” challenges.

Well, as far as playing down to the level of the opponent is concerned, the Islanders occupy quite the low level, as their numbers suggest…

However, the Islanders did manage to put together a 6-5-2 record for March, which would equal that of the Caps. There were some impressive wins along the way, too, as the Islanders knocked off New Jersey, Montreal, and Chicago before shutting out Detroit in their last road game of the month.

"And I was the goaltender in that game!"

And you are…

“My name is Tommy Flanagan, and I'm a member of Pathological Hockey Liars Anonymous. In fact, I'm the president of the organization! Uh, no…I’m Emperor of the organization…that’s it.”

And you were the goalie in the Islanders shut out of the Red Wings…

“That’s right.”

It says in the score sheet that Joey McDonald was the goaltender…you’re lying, aren’t you?

“I didn't always lie. No, when I was a kid, I told the truth. But then one day, I got caught stealing my brother’s hockey sticks…and my mother caught me. I lied. I told her that my coach told me to do it, that he said my brother’s sticks had more goals in them. And he got fired! Yeah, that's what happened!

“After that, lying was easy for me. I lied about my age and joined a Canadian junior team. I was thirteen at the time…no, I was ten! Yeah... I went to Kamloops, and I was injured catching a puck in my teeth. I didn’t miss a shift…and they made me captain! And then I went to Europe, playing for MoDo-dee-oh-doh, or some Swe…uh, Russian team! Yeah… I was scoring a goal every ga…uhhhh, period! In fact, I won the Hartsky Trophy as the most valuable player that year! Yeah, that's the ticket.

“And then I got a call from Wayne Greztk…uh, Scotty Bow…uh, Toe Blake. Yeah, that’s the ticket. And he offered me a five…ten…sixty million dollar contract! But I wanted to play on the team Mike Milbury was coaching. Yeah, right.. And he told me about Pathological Hockey Liars Anonymous.

“Oh, you'd be surprised how many famous hockey people belong. In fact... at one of the meetings I met my wife – Carrie Milbank! Yes, I'm a changed man now, and all because of Pathological Hockey Liars Anonymous. Why, I - I even have my picture on the cover of The Hockey News. Yeah. Every day! Online!! Yeah.. that's the ticket! Yeah, you betcha!”

April Fools Day…it brings ‘em all out, doesn’t it? Getting back to the real game…What New York was able to do in March that could spell some trouble for the Caps is play respectably, if not spectacularly, on special teams. The Islanders coverted 8-of-46 power plays (17.4%) while killing off 48-of-59 shorthanded situations (81.4%). Those numbers actually got better on the road – 20.0 percent on the power play (6-of-30) and 86.2 percent on the penalty kill (25-of-29).

What is perhaps odd in this improvement for the Islanders is that it was accomplished after their second leading scorer – Bill Guerin – was removed from the lineup and subsequently traded to Pittsburgh. What Guerin’s trade created was an opportunity, and Kyle Okposo seems to have taken advantage of it. In 13 games in March, the rookie was 5-8-13, +2, and had two game winners to his credit. The Caps haven’t seen much of him, as Okposo had played in only one of the three games to date played by these clubs. He had a goal in that game, on January 19th.

Meanwhile, Doug Weight is just getting back into the lineup after missing six weeks to a knee injury. He left quite an impression in the Islanders’ last game – a 4-3 shootout loss to Philadelphia. In what was one of those “I went to a fight, and a hockey game broke out” kind of nights, Weight took on Darrell Powe, getting an instigator and a misconduct on top of the five-minute major, then added a roughing minor penalty later on his way to a 19-penalty minute evening – big stuff for a guy who has averaged a little over 40 minutes of PIMs a year over the last seven seasons coming into this one.

Frans Nielsen is another of those guys who might be taking advantage of the departure of Bill Guerin to make an impression. He was 4-6-10, +2, in his last 11 games in March. Nielsen also had two game winners for the month. Nielsen has an assist in three career games against the Caps.

What the Islanders would probably like to get is some more production out of Andy Hilbert. The center is 11-15-26 in 63 games this year, which probably wasn’t what was envisioned when he was brought to Long Island after getting 18 points in 19 games to close the 2005-2006 season in Pittsburgh. He’s been something of an underperformer since (28 points being his high mark in three seasons with the Islanders), and he was 1-3-4, -2, in 13 games in March. He hasn’t had much success against the Caps, either, going 1-1-2, -2 in 12 career games. He has no points in two games against Washington this year.

On defense, Mark Streit has had as fine a year as one could hope for on a team that struggles as much as do the Islanders. He leads the team in scoring by a wide margin (55 points, compared to 36 for Okposo). Streit also had a fine month of March, going 4-7-11, +7, in 13 games. He’s fifth among all defensemen in total scoring, fifth in goals, and tied for second in power play goals. Against the Caps, he is 3-9-12, -1, in 14 career games, and 1-4-5, +1, in three games this year.

Joey MacDonald will get the call against the Caps tonight in goal, and he – Not Tommy Flanagan – was the author of the 2-0 shutout of the Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena last week. He did not have a busy March, as he was nursing knee and groin injuries for a large portion of it. However, he was 2-0-1, 2.00, .944, with that one shutout for the month. He’s had his troubles against the Caps, though. In two career appearances – both this year – he is 0-1-1, 4.37, .895.

The Peerless’ Players to Ponder

New York: Brendan Witt

Let’s face it, the Caps should score on this team. If the Islanders are to have any chance of preventing that, they are going to have to have some guys step up on the blue line in the absence of Andy Sutton and perhaps Freddy Meyer. Streit has been a horse for the blueliners, but a guy like Witt needs to step up. While Witt is dead last in the NHL in plus-minus (-31), he was even for the month of March and contributed a couple of assists. Against his former team, he is 0-1-1, -5 in ten career games and 0-0-0, -5 in three games this year.

Washington: Eric Fehr

Here is an odd piece of information to take with you for this game. In the two games that MacDonald has played in goal for the Islanders, seven different Caps have the nine goals scored against him. And, of those seven, three of them came from very unlikely sources (Boyd Gordon, Donald Brashear, and Milan Jurcina). Three of them came from Alex Ovechkin, who generally has his way with the Islanders, anyway (11 goals in 14 career games). Another of those goals was off the stick of Eric Fehr, who appears to be getting another shot on the top line tonight. That goal against the Islanders in a 5-2 win on December 4th is his only career goal against New York, but he should get ample opportunities to add to that total tonight. His problem hasn’t been getting shots – he had 27 in 13 games in March, while averaging less than 12 minutes a game on the fourth line more often than not – it’s been getting them to go in. He had one goal on those 27 shots in March.

Well, it’s April. And now, while there will be some experimenting (like Fehr on the top line), it’s time to get down to business. The trick for the Caps is to start playing like it’s the playoffs to ensure that they are still playing at the end of the month, not just the beginning.

Caps 5 – Islanders 2

Sittin' at the End of the Bar

Stuff that caught our eye this morning...

- On New Year’s Eve, the St. Louis Blues were 14-20-3 and looking like they might be renting space in Lotteryville. Since then, the Blues are 23-10-6, have won five in a row to close March, and have climbed over Anaheim into eighth in the West.

- Bill Guerin gets pulled from the lineup in anticipation of a trade, then finally gets sent to Pittsburgh. The Islanders are 7-5-2 since and could pass Colorado for 29th place in the league (they are five points behind with seven to play).

- Speaking of Colorado…26th in league attendance? This was a team that sold out seasons not long ago. Since 2001, their ranking has gone: 10th, 10th, 10th, 10th, 11th (those five years all being 100 percent of capacity), 13th, 17th, 26th.

- Menawhile, Washington (14th) is the only team in the Southeast Division ranked higher than 20th in attendance. It is the only team playing to better than 85 percent capacity (96.8 percent).

- A Tale of Two Marches…Before St. Patrick’s Day: 7-7-14, -1 in eight games. After St. Patrick’s Day: 1-3-4, -5 in seven games. That would be Jarome Iginla.

- Has anyone put together a quieter scoring season than Nicklas Backstrom? Since February 1st, he is 9-21-30, +6 in 26 games. He’s failed to register a point in only five of those games.

- 75 games, 30-46-76, +22, seven game winning goals
75 games, 18-57-75, +19, six game winning goals
Yes, Daniel and Henrik Sedin are twins.

- Miikka Kiprusoff and Marty Turco each have played in 71 games. They are the only goalies with more than 4,000 minutes played this year. Kiprusoff is 43-21-5, but his GAA and save percentage are ordinary (2.85, .903). Turco doesn’t appear as if he’ll make the playoffs, and his GAA and save percentage are wallowing in the same region of the rankings as Kiprusoff (2.84, .897). Without looking it up, can you name their backup goalies? Are Curtis McElhinney and Tobias Stephan really that bad? Well, McElhinney hasn’t won a game this year (0-6-1), and Stephan has one win (1-3-1). We don’t like either team’s chances (should Dallas get into the playoffs) to last past the first round.

- Three of the top five, four of the top ten, five of the top 15, and six of the top 20 players in plus-minus hail from Boston. Meanwhile, Brendan Witt is last, at -31, although he was even for March.

- A guy with a $942,000 cap hit who has 32 goals in 65 games this year, 59 goals in his last 127 games, and who was named “Mule” by none other than Steve Yzerman is going to get a nice payday coming when he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer. And, he’s a center. And no, I don’t think Johan Franzen will be a Cap…but it’s nice to think about.

- Once upon a time, the Flyers’ Jeff Carter was leading Alex Ovechkin in the goal scoring race. Carter has nine goals in his last 29 games, only two against teams currently in the playoff mix (New Jersey, Washington).

- Chris Osgood shut out St. Louis to open the month. After that, the Red Wings allowed 37 goals in 12 games (3.08/game). The over/under on the Wings seems to be “two” for March. When allowing two or fewer, they were 7-1-0. When allowing three or more, they were 1-3-1. They also allowed five or more goals three times in their last 11 games of the month. Last year, they allowed five or more goals three time – total – in 30 games after February 1st. Something’s not right there.

The Good, the Bad, the March

March – when spring announces itself and playoff contenders emerge from a long winter’s hibernation --- has come and gone. The Caps had a fair month, all in all, with a 6-5-2 record. But within, there was the good, the bad, and…well, the ugly.

The Record:

The Good…The Caps finished March on a 6-2-2 run to propel them to the second spot in the Eastern conference. It helped that New Jersey’s run led by Martin Brodeur’s return has run its course, the Devils finishing the month 0-4-1 to remain one point behind Washington.

The Bad…[caution…we used this same sentence to lead off last month’s GBU] The Caps again showed a tendency to play down to the level of their opponent when not playing a top-notch team. The Caps were 3-3-1 against teams that today are not in the top eight of their respective conferences. Thank heavens for Tampa Bay, which the Caps defeated twice in the month, scoring ten goals in the process.

The Ugly…Four losses by at least three goals, two of them to potential playoff opponent Carolina and the other two to Southeast Division also rans Florida and Atlanta. All of a sudden, the Caps can’t compete in their own division (4-4-0 for the month, not what you’d expect of the runaway division leader).

Special Teams:

The Good…The power play was 26.1 percent for the month (12 for 46). The Caps had at least one power play goal in eight of 12 games. On the other side, the penalty killers faced fewer shorthanded situations per game (4.3) than was the case in February (5.4).

The Bad…While the power play was efficient, it might not have been “effective.” Why? Because the Caps enjoyed fewer power play opportunities per game (3.8) in March than they did in February (4.1). Perhaps this is a case of referees getting into the spring thing of putting their whistles in their pockets. We’ll see.

The Ugly…In that same vein, the Caps had only one game in March where they had more than four power play opportunities in a game, that being the last game of the month in which they had nine such opportunities. Again, thank heavens for Tampa Bay.

The Record II:

The Good…Once again, the Caps were road warriors of sorts. They were 4-2-1 on the road in March, including a shutout win in Florida.

The Bad…They lost their last two road games for the month (one of which was a Gimmick).

The ugly…0-3-1 at home to start the month in which they were outscored 16-8.

The Players – Goaltender Edition:

The Good…Jose Theodore ended the month 5-2-1, 2.33, .910, with one shutout.

The Bad…Theodore started the month 0-2-1, 3.79, .845

The Ugly…Theodore getting pulled twice, both times against Southeast Division opponents (March 1st against Florida and March 16th against Atlanta).

The Players – Skaters Edition:

The Good…The “Young Guns” – Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Mike Green – combined for 22 goals, 38 assists, ten power play goals, and three of the five game-winners for the month (the other win was in a Gimmick).

The Bad…The rest of the team had 11 goals among 23 skaters who dressed, and Brooks Laich had four of those.

The ugly…Only four players for the month were on the “plus” side of the ledger: Brooks Laich, Keith Aucoin, Shaone Morrisonn, and Quintin Laing. You’ll note that only two of those players played more than three games in March.

Hershey Call Up Edition…

The Good…Six skaters: Aucoin, Laing, Chris Bourque, Staffan Kronwall, Oskar Osala, and Jay Beagle were called up in March and dressed for games.

The Bad…They had a combined two points, both from Aucoin (assists).

The Ugly…Quintin Laing going down to a torn spleen, which ends his season.

Some other good, bads, and uglies…

The Good…Semyon Varlamov was 1-0-0, 2.07, .912 in two appearances.

The Bad… The play of the skaters in front of the goaltenders in too many games.

The Ugly…Michal Neuvirth allowed a penalty shot goal, two short-handed goals, a power play goal, and an even strength goal in a 5-2 loss to Carolina (the club played a gruesome game in front of him). Welcome to the NHL, kid.

The Good…Brooks Laich had a solid month – 4-6-10, +3, with a power play, shorthanded, and game winning goal on his record. He had only two “minus” games for the month.

The Bad…Eric Fehr was 7-4-11, +6, with a game winning goal in 13 games in February. March? That’s another story: 1-0-1, even in 13 games.

The Ugly…Tomas Fleischmann – 0-0-0, -4, in 13 games. And on top of it there is the bad luck, having a couple of goals disallowed and another changed from his record to that of Nicklas Backstrom. April can’t get here fast enough for young Mr. Fleischmann.

The Good…Shaone Morrisonn built on a pretty solid month of February by having another in March – just in time after struggling much of the year. In the last two months he is 2-6-8, +4.

The Bad…Tom Poti failed to register a single point in the month. In fact, he is 0-3-3 in 26 games in the 2009 portion of the year. While it’s true that the “offensive defenseman” and “power play” quarterback duties have fallen to Mike Green, the absence of any offense from the blue line is troubling.

The Ugly…Jeff Schultz seems to be hearing the boos. He was 0-0-0, -4 in 12 games for the month and was a healthy scratch in the last game of March.

The Good…The Caps have clinched a playoff spot

The Bad…Pittsburgh seems about to.

The Ugly…



Once again, thanks for coming, and don't forget to tip your waitress.

Not even God had this Frozen Four in His bracket

Yeah, tell The Peerless you had Bemidji State. Tell The Peerless you even know where Bemidji State is.*

bracket prepared by gwsportsalliance.com

For the record, we managed only to have one correct entry in the Final Four -- Boston University. Out bracket was pretty much blown up in round one, when we only had four of the eight games picked correctly.

What is amazing about this Frozen Four, though, is that of 12 games played thus far in the tournament, three have gone to overtime, and four games featured goals scored in the last 20 seconds of regulation to win or tie the contest, two of those with less than one second remaining.

Based on the pair-wise rankings of the clubs, numbers two through eight are gone (Boston University being the only ranked club remaining).

The longest winning streak remaining? Five games -- Boston University and Bemidji State.

If you have tickets for the Frozen Four at Verizon Center, be prepared to pay the babysitter overtime. It could be a couple of long evenings.

* Bemidji State is located on the western shore of Lake Bemidji in Minnesota, which happens to be the northern most lake feeding the Mississippi River.

Why Guantanamo Should Stay Open

"...it is tantamount to state-sanctioned terrorism."

Before you think we've lost our minds and have been recruited to write a political blog for Rush Limbaugh or Daily Kos, let us assure you...this is hockey related.

The statement above was penned in all seriousness by our favorite spewer of parochial crap, Larry Brooks. Was he recruited by Rush Limbaugh or Daily Kos? No. The esteemed Professor Brooks penned an essay in constitutional law in this morning's New York Post, arguing that Sean Avery (the party of the first part), forward for the New York Rangers, suffered "unequal treatment under the law" at the hands of Dave Jackson (the party of the second part) and Steve Kozari (the party of the third part), referees both.

Brooks submitted his evidence...

"Avery was slammed into the boards away from the puck early in the first; crosschecked in the slot at a whistle soon after that; run in the neutral zone without the puck by Hal Gill in the second; and, hit upside the head by Gill later in the period."

It might be the first time in a legal brief that the phrase, "hit upside the head" was offered as testimony, but Brooks is nothing if not innovative in his turn of phrase when waxing indignant on the treatment of his beloved Rangers. He grieved for the future of the NHL, if not civiliation itself when he pleaded...

"...the refusal of the officials to call infractions committed in plain sight against the Rangers' winger not only casts doubt on the integrity of the NHL, it is tantamount to state-sanctioned terrorism."

It was worthy of a rant on a team message board. All that was missing was, "we wuz robbed" as closing argument.

The Rangers lost to Pittsburgh, 4-3. Avery failed to register a shot on goal.

A Big Hit in Hershey

This is an interesting weekend for the Hershey Bears. They came into it facing the three teams immediately below them in the East Division standings -- Binghamton, Bridgeport, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

The Bears dispatched Binghamton on Friday night, sweeping the Senators out of Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena, 4-0 -- a magnificent 47-save shutout by Michal Neuvirth. But that was a mere appetizer compared to what went on at Giant Center in Hershey on Saturday. Bridgeport visited the Bears with the aim of closing their deficit to one point behind Hershey. They left beaten and beat up...and five points out of the top spot.

Alexandre Giroux established a Bears franchise record for goal in a season by netting his 53rd and 54th in a 7-2 rout of the Sound Tigers. Giroux' record-setting performance as part of a four-point night wasn't the only highlight of the evening. Keith Aucoin had a five-point night -- a pair of goals and three assists. Graham Mink had a goal to set a career record of 32 goals. Chris Bourque had a goal and a pair of assists. Semyon Varlamov stopped 38 of 40 shots. But there might not have been a bigger "wow" moment than this one...



Staffan Kronwall registered 11 hits in three games with the Caps, but none like this one. You'll note that Kronwall was jumped and had his nose bloodied in fight with Micheal Haley -- the latest installment of players getting jumped after landing a big hit. Kronwall is no fighter, unless you think three (this one being his third) fights in almost 200 regular season games in the AHL and NHL is evidence of pugilistic tendencies. But Haley was made to pay, in a manner of speaking, having to drop the gloves against a tougher customer later in the evening -- Graham Mink...



Should Hamilton defeat Manitoba on Sunday, and Hershey complete the weekend sweep by beating the Penguins, the Bears would take over the top spot in the AHL with six games left to play. Seems the Bears are getting their game faces (snouts?) on as the playoffs approach. Seeing as how the Caps are 6-2-2 in their last ten, maybe they are, too.

It's that time of year. And, for the rest of the highlights...

A TWO-point night: Caps 5 - Lightning 3

The cliché du jour is, “it wasn’t pretty.” And, in fact, the second period – again – was down right ugly. But, to use another cliché, a win is a win, and the Caps get two points for one whether they beat Detroit in the last game of January or Tampa Bay in the last game of March.

The Caps beat the Lightning 5-3, but it was a lot more exciting than it needed to be…

-- The Caps scored three goals in the first period by pounding the net relentlessly, then they…stopped. The score sheet will duly record that the Caps had 16 shots on goal in the first period and 13 in the third – what seems to be little difference – but only three of the 13 shots in the second period were from within 30 feet. Compare that to the first period, when all three of the Caps’ goals were scored from inside that perimeter.

- Evgeny Artyukhin is one big man who can skate (in a straight line, anyway). Geez, he’s a load. But kudos to Mike Green who made the effort to stand him up a couple of times.

- And speaking of Green, he looks more and more like a basketball point guard bringing the puck up the ice – he controls the speed and the pace of the play. But where the analogy breaks down is, point guards can drive to the hoop and create something. When Green takes it all the way in and into the corner or behind the net, nothing generally happens, and he is way out of the play going the other way.

- Matt Smaby had a rough time the last time these teams met, going minus-4 and being on the ice for every even strength goal scored by the Caps. Last night he had as rough a time, although it didn’t show up on the score sheet. It seemed like every Cap was taking a run at the guy. Even Sergei Fedorov recorded both of his hits on Smaby.

- Funniest scene of the evening – Keith Aucoin barking at Artyukhin as the players were going off for a shift change. Artyukhin is 6’5”, 254…Aucoin is 5’9” (maybe), 187.

- What happened to Vincent Lecavalier? That might have been the quietest game he’s played against the Caps since he was a rookie.

- Martin St. Louis was anything but quiet. Nine shots on goal (to lead all players), three takeaways, a goal, and generally being the pest everyone wants to see smeared on the glass.

- Nicklas Backstrom had those two goals, but 14 of 16 in the circle?! Including 5-of-6 against former Cap Jeff Halpern??

- Speaking of that, take away Aucoin’s gaze-averting 1-for-8, and the Caps were 36 up and 18 down on faceoffs.

- Tomas Fleischmann can’t get a break. He was credited with the Caps’ second goal (reviewed to see if it was kicked in), then had it changed to Nicklas Backstrom’s at the intermission. If he’s not having goals disallowed (like on March 12th against the Flyers, for instance), he’s seeing them go to teammates.

- Lost in all this, perhaps, is that Brooks Laich had a three-assist night. That’s his best assist total for any game he’s played with Washington, and he scored more points only once – a two-goal, two-assist night against Minnesota on February 26, 2008.

- Tampa Bay played hard, if really unintelligently. Five minor penalties in the first period almost took them out of the game (the Caps conveniently decided not to play in the second period to let them back in it). Giving a team like the Caps nine power plays is a recipe for catastrophe, and that the Lighting “held” the Caps to four goals with a goalie in net is evidence of their at least competing.

- Brian Pothier…14 minutes, a takeaway, a blocked shot, a goal. This is probably his comfort zone as far as time on ice, and he looked very comfortable in it.

- And from the “you don’t see this in other sports,” Tampa goalie Mike McKenna apologized to Alex Ovechkin after the game for remarks critical of Ovechkin in his 50th goal celebration the last time these teams met. Imagine a situation where the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills meet, and Terrell Owens meets Tony Romo at midfield after the game and apologizes for accusing Romo of getting together with Jason Witten to draw up secret plays. Yeah, we’ll wait.

- Matt Pettinger – you remember him – dressed last night. You’d hardly know it. He got a gift assist when Martin St. Louis did a spin and shoot move that ricocheted off Tom Poti and past Jose Theodore, but other than that Pettinger’s score sheet was lily white, with nary a mark on it in almost 13 minutes of ice time.

- We look at Oskar Osala and think that this guy is going to be a regular 25-goal scorer in the NHL. It might be that not even Ovechkin has a faster release on his shot than this kid. We didn’t see that in training camp, but he had a couple of opportunities last night when the puck got to him and it was gone in less than the blink of an eye.

- The one time Michael Nylander sticks his nose in there, he’s standing in the paint when a goal is scored (it was disallowed for that reason).

- That makes ten in a row against the Lightning -- Bruce Boudreau has never lost to Tampa Bay – but double that, and it doesn’t make up for blowing a 2-0 lead in the 2003 playoffs. Over those ten games, the Caps have outscored the Lightning 43-22 and have scored at least five goals in each of the last four games in the series.

This one wasn’t one for the scrapbook – except perhaps it being the game in which Ovechkin registered his 100th point for the third time in his career and Brian Pothier scoring his first goal since December 27th, 2007 (against Pittsburgh) – but (another cliché coming) two points is two points. And, it allowed the Caps to crawl over New Jersey into second place in the Eastern Conference only three points behind Boston. All in all, a productive night.

Continuity

Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary defines the word, “continuity,” as “uninterupted connection or succession; close union of parts; cohesion.”

With the calling up of Keith Aucoin and Oskar Osala, we’re reminded of how important “continuity” is in the evolution of the Capitals as a perennial contender. Fourteen skaters and two goaltenders appearing with the Capitals this year have spent significant time with the Hershey Bears (this number does not include Brian Pothier, who played for the Bears on a rehabilitation assignment, or Steve Pinizzotto, who was called up but did not play). You could include in that number quite a few players who can legitimately be considered players who will draw a steady NHL paycheck in the future (you may add or subtract from this list, but it does not obscure the point we're making):

Simeon Varlamov
Michal Neuvirth
Karl Alzner
Chris Bourque
Andrew Gordon
Oskar Osala
Jay Beagle

And to that you find the kind of depth players necessary to keep a team running when injury or circumstance dictate the need – Keith Aucoin, Quintin Laing, Staffan Kronwall, Graham Mink, Alexandre Giroux, and others.

What interests us here is that first group, the prospects. Those seven players have appeared in a total of 48 games this year, not an insignificant amount, since four of them – Alzner, Osala, Varlamov, and Neuvirth – are in their first year of professional hockey.

While their appearances have provided contributions in the here and now – Varlamov and Neuvirth have chipped in with important wins in goal, and Alzner had 30 games of solid play when the Caps were faced with health problems on the blue line – the experience gained this year might be viewed with next year in mind.

We can envision a roster next year that has Alzner and Varlamov as permanent residents, perhaps even Bourque and Osala, with Neuvirth getting more than a cup o’ coffee’s worth of games in the event of misfortune, and others filling the breach when the need arises.

Then, it will be the turn of guys like Francois Bouchard, or Matthieu Perreault, or even perhaps a Josh Godfrey to get a few games to get a feel for what it is they are working toward.

It is a position – a luxury, in fact – that the Caps have not experienced lately. But, if your long-term version of an operating plan is “draft-centric,” and you’re successful at it, then year-by-year, you’re going to get something like “preview” experience on the part of prospects working their way through the system. It is a way of providing for contributions in the here and now (it speaks to how talented the Caps' prospect pool is), but with one eye on the future as the kids grow into the roster spots they will occupy down the road.

It is one continuous process.

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Caps vs. Lightning, March 27th

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!

It’s “Son of Stick,” or is that “Son of Schtick,” as the Caps host the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first meeting of these teams since Alex Ovechkin touched off a furor across North America unseen since, well, maybe ever.

Ovechkin, as you know, celebrated scoring his 50th goal by laying his stick on the ice and “warming” his hands from the heat of the instrument, so hot it was to be the tool used to score that 50th goal. Some folks didn’t like it.

"I took it as an insult, personally…It's embarrassing, this isn't football."

-- Lightning forward Ryan Malone

"[Ovechkin]'s got a free ride. He runs at guys, does this stuff. I'm predicting somebody is going to get him and somebody is going to get him good."

-- Canadian hockey icon and professional grumpy old man, Don Cherry

"I wouldn't have any trouble with somebody [hitting] him right in the noggin. I would have no trouble with that.”

-- Hockey “analyst” and village idiot for hire, Mike Milbury

And those were the things that were fit to print. We have exclusive transcript of a meeting held at Tampa Bay Lightning offices in which feelings for what should happen to Ovechkin were aired. We caution you, the language is not for minor children…

“I want you to get this f*ck where he breathes! I want you to find this nancy-boy Alex Ovechkin, I want him DEAD! I want his teammates DEAD! I want his locker burned to the GROUND! I wanna go there in the middle of the night and I wanna PISS ON HIS ASHES!”

“I'm gonna tell you something. Somebody messes wit me, I'm gonna mess with wit him. Somebody taunts me, I'm gonna say you taunted. Not talk to him for spitting on the ice. Understand? Now, we have done nothing to harm these people but they are taunting us, and what do they do, show me up wit some stick, which dey should not do. To celebrate like a Canadian, no, to harass a peaceful team. I pray to God if I ever scored a goal I'd have a little more self respect. One more thing, you have an all out fight, you wait until the fight is over, one guy is left standing. And that's how you know who won.”

Sounds fairly serious. We had the privilege of witnessing a conversation between a member of the Caps staff and one of the preeminent authorities in law enforcement, Jimmy Malone, late of the Chicago police force. Here’s what transpired in their conversation about retaliation…

Malone: You said you wanted to get the Lightning if they jump Ovechkin. Do you really wanna get them? You see what I'm saying is, what are you prepared to do?

Caps representative: Anything within the rules.

Malone: And then what are you prepared to do? If you open the can on these worms you must be prepared to go all the way. Because they're not gonna give up the fight, until one of you is dead.

Caps representative: We want to beat the Lightning! We don't know how to do it.

Malone: You wanna know how to beat the Lightning? They pull a knife, you pull a gun. They send one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That's the Chicago way! And that's how you beat the Lightning. Now do you want to do that? Are you ready to do that? I'm offering you a deal. Do you want this deal?

Caps representative: We have sworn to beat that team with all the rule book powers at our disposal and we will do so.

Malone: Well, the Lord hates a coward. Do you know what a blood oath is?

Caps representative: Yes.

Malone: Good, 'cause you just took one.

It could be an interesting evening. These teams played just eight days ago, and little has changed since we put this together. The teams have played a total of five games between them since that night, and there is only one win in the bunch – Tampa Bay beat Columbus in overtime, 2-1, this past Tuesday. The Caps have lost a pair of games – 4-1 at Carolina and a 3-2 Gimmick loss to Toronto on Tuesday.

But it seems that the game is taking a back seat to the melodrama that is the après-celebration. Now, we learn that the Tampa Bay coaches were contacted by Caps Coach Bruce Boudreau to discuss the matter and presumably put it to rest. Except the boys at TSN didn’t want to let it rest, and Boudreau went off on them.

You’d almost forget there is a game to be played here. What Tampa seems to have found in the three games since they played the Caps is defense. They’ve allowed only six goals in regulation in those games, and the tandem of Karri Romo and Mike McKenna have stopped 99 of 106 shots overall (.936 save percentage). That could spell difficulty for a Caps team that has averaged only 2.42 goals per game this month and has scored more than two goals only four times in 12 games.

On the other hand, Tampa isn’t scoring much either. Since losing to the Caps, 5-2, on 50th Goal Night, the Lightning have scored seven goals in three games, and they have gone to overtime in all of them. In fact, Tampa Bay has played in seven extra time games this month (2-5 record). Since thrashing (can Lightning “thrash,” or is that an Atlanta thing) Calgary 8-6 in the first game of the month, the Lightning have scored 28 goals in 11 games (2.55/game), so it’s not like these two teams are the 1984 Oilers and the 1978 Canadiens at the moment, at least offensively.

The Peerless’ Players to Ponder

Tampa Bay: Steven Stamkos

The rookie is 2-2-4, +1 in three games since the Caps and Lighting last met. He is 8-7-15 in his last 14 games and has been held off the score sheet only three times in that span. He is becoming a, if not the go-to guy in the Lightning line-up as the season winds down. What he has not had is much success against Washington in his inaugural season. He is 1-0-1, -3 in four games.

Washington: Alexander Semin

Barrels of ink and millions of pixels will be devoted to one Alex in the run-up to this game, but how this Alex does is likely to have a bigger bearing on the outcome. Semin has only one goal in his last eight games (1-7-8, -3), that coming in a four-point effort against Carolina on March 14th. But if there is a team he can turn that around against, Tampa Bay is it. He has 13 goals against the Lightning in 22 career games (13-11-24), including five power play goals and two game winners. He is 1-2-4, +3 in three games against the Lightning this year.

In the end, though, it’s the time of year when a group of guys just has to come together as a team. It’s not just about Alex Ovechkin and his 50th goal and whatever celebration there might have been. It’s about coming together with a common purpose. As one guy put it…

“A man becomes preeminent, he's expected to have enthusiasms. Enthusiasms, enthusiasms... What are mine? What draws my admiration? What is that which gives me joy? Hockey! In da Gimmick a man skates alone with the puck. This is the time for what? For individual achievement. There he skates alone. But in the real hockey game, what? Part.. of… a… team. Teamwork... Looks, skates, checks, hustles. Part of one big team. Shoots the puck himself the live-long day, Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe, and so on. If his team don't play defense... what is he? You follow me? No one. Sunny day, the stands are full of fans. What does he have to say? I'm goin' out there for myself. But... I get nowhere unless the team wins."

WHACK!!!

Caps 5 – Lightning 2