Russians Are Golden

There's been hockey aplenty this weekend, with international play colliding with NHL conference finals in an all-out battle for hockey supremacy and the attention of hockey fans everywhere.

Without a doubt, though, the most exciting (and least painful, unless you're Canadian) of these games was today's World Championship gold medal game. It was the ultimate game, a clash of the titans, two undefeated teams meeting to continue a historic rivalry, Russia vs. Canada. After falling behind by two goals twice, Russia stormed back to win in dramatic fashion thanks to Ilya Kovalchuk's overtime goal - his second of the game and the tournament.

And for Caps fans, it was certainly a proud moment to see some of our very own receiving their gold medals. In fact, it's hard to see pictures of Ovechkin, Semin and Fedorov, clutching the trophy and bringing it to their lips...and not picture a different trophy in its place.

The three of them made up the formidable "Capital Punishment" line, and every shift they lived up to their name. Today was no exception - at many times they appeared to be the best line on the ice, matching Canada's top line shift after shift, and Semin's two goals kept Russia in the game early on when it looked like the Canadians would run away with the gold.

Ovechkin was dominant as expected but he wasn't alone. In fact in just nine games, the trio of Russian Caps combined for 17 goals and 20 assists, and were an astounding +32. All three finished in the top 10 in tournament scoring, joining their teammate Mike Green - whose 12 points made him the top scoring defenseman in the tournament, by the way.

Should Fedorov decide to sign on with the Caps for another year it seems the possibilities are endless. We saw how well Ovechkin and Backstrom played. We saw how well Backstrom and Semin played. And Fedorov is able to center them both, on separate lines or together. It's called depth, folks, and it would be nothing short of a coup to have Fedorov join Backstrom and Nylander down the middle.

Just another thing for GMGM to mull over in the coming months...because he won't have enough on his plate.

The World Championships showed us just how promising this Caps team is; eight different Capitals represented their countries in the tournament, and six made it to the medal rounds with their respective countries. Four of them finished in the top ten scorers. Five of them received medals.

And so today as the Worlds wrap up we join in the celebration.

Congratulations to Backstrom and Sweden, congratulations to Sami Lepisto and Finland, congratulations to Green and Canada for their superb play throughout the tournament. And of course, congratulations to Team Russia - gold medal winners, World Champions, and proud Caps!

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Sergei Rockin' Out

We've gotten a pretty good taste of Sergei Fedorov's moves on the ice, but what about off the ice? Check it out:





And a little behind-the-scenes action with Feds and his brother:



He's quite the renaissance man, isn't he?

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Ten is Enough

Quote of the Night:
"We heard them. [Matt Bradley] was like, 'The fans wanted it, and I am a fan favorite, so I had to give them what they wanted." - Brooks Laich, on the fans chanting "we want 10" with the Caps up 9-2

There are a number of ways to look at this game - feel free to pick your favorite.

One way would be to write it off as yet another chapter of the Caps' ongoing inconsistencies, off one night and on the next. Just one more reason why a postseason berth is not only out of reach but also not advisable. They can't keep it together for any length of time, they don't know how to get a lead/hold a lead/put together a string of wins.

Another would be to look at this recent stretch and point to it as the third dominant performance in the last four games, the third time in four games the Caps scored four or more goals against a hot goaltender, and the second time in three games the Caps ended another team's winning streak.

Or you could just look at it as a simply thrilling, amazing, incredible performance, built on a foundation of Ovechkin's talent, by a team that is starting to find its way. Whether that way is on the road to the playoffs is not yet known, but the way the Caps came out last night - came out and didn't let up - was enough to give even the most jaded fan hope for the future.

First things first, though: in case you haven't heard, Alex Ovechkin is a beast. Three goals (numbers 50, 51 and 52 which ties a career high), two assists, and step aside Mr. Malkin - there's a new sheriff in town. It was the kind of performance that not only had you believing once more that he could reach the 60-goal mark, you started to think he could do it by the final horn.

Everything he touched seemed to turn to gold; it was the Ovechkin of January, not the one recently mired in a 7-game slump. He was everywhere, doing everything, and we were all treated to that familiar gap-toothed smile once more.

But he wasn't the only one grinning tonight. When all was said and done fifteen different players had registered a point in the definition of a team win. Only Semin, Laich and Fedorov were in the minus column (all -1), and only Morrisonn and Green were even. Seven different players registered multi-point games; three different players had multi-goal games. Donald Brashear even had a multi-fight game...sort of.

Everyone, from wide-eyed rookie to seasoned vet to longtime Cap to brand new face had a role. Matt Cooke made his presence known early with his first goal as a Cap just over thirty seconds in, then followed it up with a bruising four hit performance and two assists.

Fedorov may have been held off the scoresheet pointswise but he won eleven of his sixteen draws, made some nice passes and certainly wasn't invisible. And before leaving the game after the second period (a purely precautionary move after experiencing some back spasms), Huet had turned away 20 of the 22 shots he faced.

Even better is the fact that the Caps, old and new, did it all in front of a huge audience - the fans continue to fill the seats and let their cheers ring from the rafters as the Caps continue their winning ways. Official attendance figures put tonight's game at 17,189...for a Monday night game. Unheard of in recent years when a different gold and black clad team isn't in town, that's for sure. Add in those of us watching on Versus and on TSN up in Canada, and you've got hundreds of thousands of people checking out the Caps and being treated to a phenomenal game. Nothing sells the rest of the hockey world on this team better than showing them firsthand.

We always like to say that a game like this is the elusive 60-minute game this team always looks for yet rarely finds. After all, there were little moments of confusion and the Bruins did get on the board twice, but there was never a sense that the game was in jeopardy, never a sense the Caps would let up. As the horn sounds we ready ourselves for the inevitable feeling of landing back on earth, always waiting for the other shoe to drop and the team to revert back to their bad habits the next time out.

But is such a game so elusive anymore? Does that blasted shoe really have to drop?

Go back and look at the last four games again. In the last four games only once did this team look outclassed and outworked for any stretch of time, and then it wasn't a case of taking off a period or two so much as it was not showing up at all. They took on three elite teams to get their three wins in this most recent stretch, outscoring their defensive-minded opponents 18-3. Two of their last four were of the coveted "game in hand" variety, and they won both - decisively. They're still very much alive in both the race for Southeast Division champ and the race for 8th in the conference, sitting three and four points out respectively. Inconsistencies? Or growing pains? You decide.

Regardless, it can't be denied that this team has been given a jolt. Maybe it's the new players adding a bit of life to the lineup. Maybe it's the young guys finally recognizing what the playoff push looks and feels like, what it takes to win against the league's best. Maybe it's just time for this team.

What matters now is that, like the team, we don't get too high with the highs. A win is a win is a win, two points no matter how many goals you score.

Translation? This game means more only if the next game is a win...fifteen games left, buckle up.

All photos courtesy of WashingtonCaps.com

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New Troops in Town

So the deadline has passed, the dust is slowly settling, and it's time to take stock of what we've got, what we lost, and where we're going.

Let's start with the first deal of the day for the Caps. GMGM snatches up Cristobal Huet from Montreal for a second round pick in 2009, the pick received in exchange for Brian Sutherby. Talk about maximizing your assets - in Huet the Caps get a 32-year-old goalie who is a proven starter, a goalie capable of stealing games for his team despite his recent slump, a goalie familiar with our coach and his systems, and someone who down the road could carry the work between the pipes while we wait for our baby goalies to develop.

Drawbacks? He doesn't bring a lot of playoff experience, with just six games under his belt (although his 2.33 GAA and .929 save % are pretty numbers for that stretch). He has the tendency to be a bit inconsistent and even admitted himself that he didn't work hard enough to keep his spot in the Habs lineup. Still, it's hard to be too upset with a guy who comes to us for little more than a pick. Now the question becomes, with the deadline come and gone, what happens in net? We have three goaltenders...only two can stay. You do the math.

Moving on to the second "holy hell, where did that come from" trade - Sergei Fedorov, acquired from the Blue Jackets in exchange for prospect and 2007 draftee Ted Ruth. This is another one of those potentially low risk, high reward moves for the Caps, and Fedorov brings a few things to the table that could be key.

He provides another veteran Russian presence for our two young Russians, which is going to be key down the stretch. He's also got experience (as we all remember) with winning a Stanley Cup, and he fills Nylander's center spot - something that the Caps have needed since losing Michael for the season. As for downsides, again, low risk, potentially high reward here; if he doesn't work out we have him for about a month and then set him free, and if he does, we might see ourselves doing more in April than we have in many years.

And the final piece in the puzzle, Matt Cooke coming to DC from Vancouver in return for Matt Pettinger. We've talked about Pettinger around here already and it really looked like his days were numbered; he just wasn't getting it done for the Caps anymore and you have to like that he'll get a second chance to prove himself on a team he grew up rooting for. In Cooke the Caps add some grit to the third or fourth line, a similar player to Pettinger but more of an agitator. It's something that has been lacking a bit in the lineup and all in all it looks like another good deal.

Oh, and welcome back to Alexandre Giroux, who returns to the Caps in exchange for Joe Motzko. I think I speak for all of us when I say...woo.

So the dust slowly settles and it looks like we can throw that whole "standing pat" thing out the window for sure. But this was a good day for GMGM and the Caps. Some key moves shoring up some key positions while not giving away the farm, and a definite message that this team is serious about making the playoffs.

A few things of note - the Caps, as I mentioned, did not move Olie or Johnson, so there is a bit of an issue in net and we'll have to see how that plays out. Also, Steve Eminger remains a Cap even after saying he hoped something would happen...and the mystery of Eminger's lost season continues. More on that later. And no solid defensemen were added, although it didn't really look like the pool was that great to begin with so you can't really blame McPhee for that.

Twenty games left (including one tonight, don't forget) and the Caps sit five points out of the playoffs with a couple of fresh faces in for the stretch run. Hard not to get excited, isn't it?

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