What more is there to say?
The important thing here is that the Caps not only got two points but as soon as they took the lead (2165 hours after the game started) they seemed to smell blood and went in for the kill. It was mercifully devoid of any extra-frame excitement, although thanks to Karri Ramo the Lightning hung in there a lot longer than they should have - don't kid yourselves, if they hang on to that youngster their goaltending woes will be a thing of the past.
While there were moments of stifled yawns and unfocused eyes (it was, after all, a Tampa game), this one was not without it's little quirks and special moments. A no-goal call put the kibosh on the Caps' quick bounceback after falling behind just 39 seconds in...and I'm no rules expert so I'll just assume the right call was made and secretly indulge in a little silent consternation that Brooks Laich was denied his 22nd. After all, we won, so who cares, right? Right. Sure.
And let's not forget the one thing that is always guaranteed entertainment when these two teams tangle: John Tortorella. Quite the mouth on that one. Only Torts causes the Caps' website to add an explicit content warning to a postgame interview. Classy, classy guy.
Classiest horse's rear I know of, that's for sure.
It should be said that Matt Cooke certainly doesn't mind those gray-area hits but his bizarro check on Lecavalier was neither cheap (Torts, that black thing there next to Vinny? That was the puck) nor carried out with intent to injure. Let's save the consternation, he who sends out goons to chase tiny Flash around the ice in the dying seconds of his season.
Of course the highlight of the night, aside from Ovechkin's history-making marker in the third, had to be Boyd Gordon's lovely backhander to put the home team up by two - and the ensuing celebration on the bench that included Ovechkin grabbing Laich in a headlock and bouncing up and down. I don't think they're having fun, do you?
One down, one more to go, kids; all eyes on the scoreboard tonight. Go Panthers, go Devils, go...regulation win.
This is about to get interesting.
Friday, April 04, 2008
Another One Bites the Dust
Friday, March 28, 2008
The Cardiac Caps, Team of Destiny
With less than four minutes to go in regulation last night, the Caps trailed the bottom-feeding Lightning 3-2. It was a game that included stretches of the Caps outplaying their opponent intertwined with stretches where they looked either disinterested or hemmed in. And for Caps fans, it didn't look like two points were going to happen.
With less than four minutes to go in regulation last night, Alexander Semin tied up the game.
With less than three minutes left in overtime last night...Tomas Fleischmann won it.
And so this game goes down as a microcosm of the Caps season. It's a metaphor whose bounds are as yet unknown - with everyone counting them out the Caps pulled even and then came out ahead thanks to the unlikeliest of heroes. But will that describe the season only up to the final games? Or will they be the first team in NHL history to go from being dead last in the league to earning a postseason berth?
The road to finding out is long and hard...or should we say short and hard. Four games left and the Caps sit two points out of third, two points out of seventh, and two points out of eighth. Each of the teams in those spots right now has a treasured game in hand on the Caps.
So to a certain extent they hold only part of their destiny in their own hands - win and you put pressure on the other teams to win. Win and you give yourself the best possible chance to make it. But should the others win, too...game over.
And for now that might have to be okay.
If the Caps give themselves every chance to make it, if they win as many games as they can and play the way we know they can play, the rest matters very little. A playoff berth would be fantastic - to see this team in the postseason led by their young superstar, it's beyond compare as fantasies go - but it's up to fate. It's up to other teams helping us out. It's up to some sort of cosmic force deciding that five years without a postseason is too long.
But it is the stuff of fairy tales that this team is even in this position right now...and you can bet everyone in that locker room is feeling the magic.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Over in a Flash
(...had to be done. Sorry.)
My sentiments exactly, Brooks. Shall we go for another heart-stopping win on Saturday or can we just win decisively for once?
Striking Lightning
Look at Richards - former member of "the Big Three", he put up huge numbers in his first game and put visions of Lord Stanley's glory in the minds of all Stars fans. Five assists in one game...quite the debut indeed. In the eight games since, however, he has just two goals and two assists and is a -2. It's hard to tell whether his slump is as a result of Dallas's recent woes - or one of the causes.
Tampa, combining with Marc Denis to have one of the worst goalie tandem save percentages in the league over the last few years. Upon arriving in Dallas he was obviously slated to backup Marty Turco, not an easy task, but he finally got his shot against the Canucks on March 15.
We'll start in net, an area in which the Bolts have struggled mightily since Khabibulin hightailed it out of town. Mike Smith came in as one of the better backup goaltenders in the league and while his win-loss record isn't so hot (just three wins in his first ten starts) he does have a shutout and a two near shutouts, including a game against the Pens that was 0-0 until the last two minutes of regulation.
Jussi Jokinen, the 24 year old Finn and shootout specialist, came to Tampa as more of a playmaker than a goal-scorer, and that's the role he has filled with the Lightning. He has just one goal but has picked up nine assists in his first fourteen games and recently had a season high five game point scoring streak snapped - only to pick it right up again in the last game versus the Panthers.
...okay, not exactly, but his numbers are very pretty since making the move from the southwest to the Southeast. Halpern scored a goal in his first game as a member of the Lightning and has added six more - plus eight assists - during his run. He has four multi-point games already after registering two all season with the Stars. One game after straining an abdominal muscle he put up the game-winning goal against the Panthers and added two assists, factoring into every goal for Tampa en route to a 3-1 win.Saturday, February 16, 2008
Thanks for the Heart Attack, Boys
50 minutes of a goaltenders' duel, an explosion of offense in the span of a minute, tremendous performances up and down the Caps' bench (especially Alexander Semin), and 39 saves by #37, Godzilla himself, Olie Kolzig.
Great game, no? Two HUGE points for the Caps tonight, well done.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
A Bumpy Win
In a game where neither team looked particularly impressive, all you can ask is that your team is the better team. The Caps were just that for most of the game tonight and picked up not only an important two points but an important win as well. Tonight was just not pretty to watch. That's often the case when either Florida team pays us a visit, and I'm not sure what it is, but I think when we call this a division "rivalry" we're playing fast and loose with the meaning. But you know the saying - it wasn't pretty but it didn't have to be.
Come to think of it, that should be the Caps' team motto...ah, well. Maybe next year. On with the show!
- Kolzig, Kolzig, Kolzig...when you are quoted in the papers as saying you let in one a night that you should stop, are you viewing that as a challenge? Is this some kind of weird streak you're aiming for? I assure you, it's not one that will show up in the record books. Legs. Together. Just for giggles. Vinny doesn't need any help scoring on us - he does just fine on his own.
- Speaking of Lecavalier, that was a pretty shot that rifled past Olie to pull the Bolts in front 2-1. The turnover that led to it was not. And again, it's not like he has ever needed assistance or incentive to get points against the Caps.
- The Caps were dominant in the faceoff circle, winning 30 of 49 - and none were more so than Brooks Laich, who was 9 for 11. That's 82% for those math-challenged people (or people unable to read a scoresheet). Vinny the Great? 7 for 18. And that's not counting the 32943 times he got tossed from the faceoff circle...I might be rounding up there, but it was a lot.
- When is the last time you saw the Caps take only one penalty in a game? Even the one they took, an Ovechkin minor that prevented St. Louis from having a breakaway, wasn't a full penalty because it came while on the power play. Discipline, thy name is Boudreau.
- Lightning goaltending is usually kind of a joke, but let's not kid ourselves - Ramo can play. That being said, he was giving up a ton of rebounds and give credit to the Caps for picking up on that fact. They were very good at crashing the net and causing chances, which led directly to two of the three goals.
- Semin, Ovechkin, Steckel. Ladies and gentlemen...your Lightning-killers.
- The fourth line looked really impressive tonight. Laing, Steckel and Bradley combined for a +7 on the night and created some of the best chances, dominating the play almost every time they were on the ice. I've been asked a few times whether I would prefer Laing over Bradley, and the answer is still no - but what do you do when they play really well together? Gordon is probably in tomorrow night, so it looks like we'll have an answer to that question soon enough.
- Kozlov, Pettinger and Fleischmann need to pool their salaries - they can't buy a goal between them, and say what you will about any of them but it's not for lack of trying.
- Boy, was Ovie having a rough night or what? That was one of his worse games of the year.
Next up...Pittsburgh. Here we go again.
Gameday Preview: Caps vs Lightning
Welcome back! I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas or, like me, some good Chinese food and a movie or two. It's time to get back into the swing of things - and what better way to do that than with a home game against the lovely Lightning of Tampa Bay? Can't think of a one.
Who: Washington Capitals vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
Where: Verizon Center
When: Wednesday, December 26, 7 pm
Broadcast Info: CSN, 3WT Radio; SunSports
Media Notes:
Caps' Site
NHL.com
Washington Post
Washington Times
St. Petersburg Times
As the Caps near the halfway mark of the season it's not an exaggeration to say that just about every game becomes do or die, and with six games in the next eleven nights, they need to get things going now. The word "momentum" seems to be missing from their vocabulary for whatever reason, be it in between goals or in between games, and the last thing you want to see as the second half of the season looms is a lack of momentum. You want to be picking up speed, picking up points, and picking up intensity.
The Caps can start tonight as they host division rivals Tampa Bay. The gruesome threesome - Lecavalier, St. Louis and Richards - just love feasting on the Caps. On the flip side, our own Russian duo seems to like scoring on the Bolts (as does Dave Steckel), and games between these teams tend to be on the high-scoring side.
Right now the Lightning sit three points ahead of the Caps, further representing the wonder that is the Southeast Division in the basement of the East and struggling with inconsistency of their own. The Bolts have a tendency to extend their streaks a bit longer, dropping five or six in a row before storming back with a handful of wins, while the Caps have been employing the win three lose three strategy thus far.
Both teams entered the holiday break having lost four of their last five. Neither is particularly adept at achieving balanced scoring. Goaltenders for each team have struggled off and on at various points in the season. In other words, we're gearing up for yet another thrilling Southeast Showdown sure to keep you on the edge of your seats.
Recently we here in the Cheap Seats had a somewhat bizarre epiphany that Vincent Lecavalier and Beauty and the Beast's Gaston bear a striking resemblance to one another. No comment on whether this epiphany grew out of temporary sleep deprivation or not...but what follows is the musical result.
(to the tune of "Gaston"...with apologies to Disney)
Vinny's slicker than most
Even quicker than most
And a neck so incredibly thick Vinny boasts
For there's few men on ice half as manly
Perfect, a pure paragon!
Just a few years since hoisting Lord Stanley
Every man in the league knows to watch when he's on
He can deke to the right
Give the d-men a fright
And then pass the puck off to the midget in flight
As a twosome, yes, they're quite intimidating
Vinny's a true superstar!
He'll drop the gloves
Or dent the twine
In Tampa he's god and the rest are all swine...
But there's one player here
Who can give Vinny fear
Just a certain young Russian who grins ear to ear
He plows through guys with no second glancing
You can see he's got power to spare
Nothing stops him when he starts advancing
The puck's in the net and his fist's in the air!
Vinny ought to beware
Ovie's setting his glare
As he scores goals at will and he does it with flair
He's especially good at the celebrating
Millions of points for Ovie!
Vinny may have been the king of the South
Long before Ovie stepped on our shore
But now that he's here number 8's here to stay
And you know that he's going to score!
No one shoots like Ovie
Makes those beauts like Ovie
Then goes tearing around on a segway like he
Ovie's giving Lecavalier cause to fear him
My what a guy...Ovie!
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Pothier Pots Winner
Another day, another one goal win - and boy, does it feel good to say that.
So what have we learned?
We learned that the Caps continue to prefer allowing the first goal of the game - although we don't know why. We learned that Vinny Lecavalier really, really likes to score on the Caps. We learned that Dave Steckel really, really likes to score on the Lightning. And we learned that our goalies are trying to give us a collective ulcer.
You never go into a road game expecting it to be pretty - in fact, being a fan of the road team means you don't want it to be pretty. An ugly game means our team is shutting down the home team, mucking up the neutral zone and basically taking the home team out of it. This was not a pretty game. And so we get another two points in a hard-fought battle.
Some thoughts:
- Eight turnovers by the Caps tonight - that's a dramatic improvement over the last few games and back down to where it should be. However...Mike Green had two of them. Growing pains associated with learning the ropes as a full-fledged NHL defenseman, sure, but it will be better for all of us if he can hold on to the puck a bit more.
- Michael Nylander was a +1. When was the last time you saw Nylander not in the minus column, regardless of the outcome?
- Brian Pothier had the game-winning goal, an assist and three shots in just over sixteen minutes of ice time. Now that's what I call bouncing back. He also played a pretty decent game in his own end, which is just as important and yet so often overlooked.
- The first goal of the game was a very soft goal for Johnny to let in. Please oh please do not start up this racket that the Caps need new goalies to win games, though. Are they playing like Vezina candidates right now? Maybe not. But if the Caps can put up enough goals and Olie and Johnny make enough big saves the trophies matter very little. And let's not forget that the Vezina candidates from last season aren't exactly playing that way right now, either.
- If Alex Ovechkin takes one more stick to the face he will no longer resemble his roster picture.
- Tomas Fleischmann's goal was a gritty, picking up the trash kind of goal - the second time in the last handful of games that he has parked himself in front of the net and refused to be moved until the puck crossed the line. I think we all can agree that's progress for Flash.
- Pettinger's pass from behind the net was a thing of beauty, as was Pothier's finish. It's so nice to see that play working for us and not against us lately...
- I never get tired of watching Ovechkin, Semin, Nylander, Kozlov, or Green stickhandle around the opposition. I do get tired of seeing them stickhandle around the opposition only to turn over the puck immediately after.
- Ovechkin had kind of a rough night - and by rough night I mean he was a -2 and took a stick across the face. And yet he fired 13 shots towards Holmqvist, 7 of which got through. If he can have that kind of night and the team can still win? I like where we're going.
- Every game Semin looks a little closer to 100%...and we can tell because he not only registered four shots on goal and picked up an assist, but he also took a hooking minor. That's our little Alex 2.0.
- Minnesota held on to defeat the LA Kings last night. Why should we care? Because for the first time since November 9, the Caps are not dead last in the NHL. They're still 29th, let's not get ahead of ourselves, but...baby steps.
All photos courtesy of AP
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Friday, November 16, 2007
Gameday Preview: Caps vs. Lightning
Who: Washington Capitals vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
Where: St. Petersburg Times Forum
Tampa, Florida
When: Friday, November 16 8:00 pm
Broadcast Info: CSN, 3WT; SUN Sports
Media Notes:
NHL.com
Washington Post
Washington Times
St. Petersburg Times
After last night's game, Olie Kolzig said to reporters the following: "I don't know if you're going to want to talk to me. I'm probably just going to sound like a broken record."
Consider this to be a similar warning. I think we've been here before - hey, that tree looks familiar...
Yet again this team played fairly well, generated shots on goal, won faceoffs...and lost. What's worse, they only scored one goal against a goalie and a defensive corps that has allowed all kinds of flukey goals in the last week or two.
The Caps have got to find a way to score goals. Even strength, power play, shorthanded, bouncing off the scoreboard, three officials and a post...something. With only 10 goals in their last 7 games (including four in the one win against Ottawa), this does not look like a team that has Alex Ovechkin, Michael Nylander, Viktor Kozlov, Chris Clark, Matt Pettinger, etc., etc., etc. That's some serious firepower going to waste, and not even the absence of sniper Alexander Semin can explain it.
Tampa Bay has got some serious firepower as well, and lately it's connecting. Say what you will about the top-heavy offensive attack used by happy fun guy Tortorella, but you can't argue with the six goals the other night against a Carolina defense that is frankly much tighter than the Caps' blueline. And you can't argue with four straight wins. And you definitely can't argue with averaging just over 3.3 goals per game, second in the league.
If you're wondering the Caps come in 25th.
The best line on the ice last night for the Caps was, surprisingly, the line of Fleischmann-Backstrom-Kozlov. They need to continue playing well and actually add some offense tonight if the Caps even have a shot.
It also wouldn't hurt if they kept mighty mite off the board shorthanded or any of the big three off the board period. Tampa's goaltending has been overachieving of late and the Caps need to get not just shots on net but second and third chances, bounces, deflections, weird ricochets - whatever it takes. Here we go...
Thursday, October 25, 2007
More Caps-Bolts Pictures
A pensive moment for Olie before the game
Kozlov with his distinctive bright yellow stick
Backstrom
Johnny in his new mask
Gordon getting warmed up
Jurcina, Ovechkin and Semin
Brooks Laich stretching it out
Ovechkin
Captain Clark flanked by two Russian superstars
A gap-toothed grin for Steckel's first goal
St. Louis is hiding...
Ovechkin, always focused
They're fighting...really.
See? Ouch. Poor Morrisonn.
And that would be it for Vinny's night.
Semin keeps his eye on the puck
Well done.
Goal!!
Vinny the Goon and Other Tall Tales
There was a loud whooshing sound last night as the clock ticked down the final seconds - did you hear it? It was the sound of the Caps faithful breathing a collective sigh of relief as the losing streak is over.
It's never good to go through stretches like that, but you have to think that the team learned a thing or two about themselves and they got it out of the way early in the season. For one thing, they saw what happens when they play a team game, everyone chipping in - 3-0. They saw what happens when they don't...0-3. And they learned that even playing well doesn't always get the win, especially if your offense and power play production are sputtering (i.e., the Penguins game).
I thought overall the Caps looked solid and it is amazing how much a difference being back with Ovechkin has made in Clark's game. The checking line played great against what is essentially Tampa's one big line, even though St. Louis did get on the board, and having Semin back, albeit a slightly rusty Semin, was a nice boost for the club and the fans. Ovechkin had another complete game, doing more to convince me that this new well-rounded thing he's taken on might be here to stay.
I could talk about the power play continuing to falter, and it did, but it looked markedly improved even with the shorthanded goal. There are tweaks to be made, sure - getting Semin back in game shape is job one, and that will happen soon enough. Shooting the puck needs to be a priority, as well, but the Tampa penalty killers are renowned for being not only well-positioned but also aggressive...hence the shortie. I'm okay with how things seem to be progressing, at least.
Congrats to Clark, who not only saw his pointless streak end with two goals last night but also probably got home in time to see his beloved Red Sox take game one of the World Series. Congrats to Dave Steckel, who scored his first NHL goal and point off of a beautiful cross-ice pass from Ovechkin. Best wishes to Shaone Morrisonn as his face heals after being jumped by Vinny Lecavalier of all people.
UPDATE: If you missed it last night, here's the Lecavalier-Morrisonn fight courtesy of the good people at hockeyfights.com. You can see at the end why Mo had to get 10 stitches over his right eye, and it wasn't because of Vinny's wicked right hook.
And now some pictures...ooh, pretty:
Dave Steckel's first NHL goal
Kozlov and Ovechkin ready for the draw
Semin and Ovechkin during warm-ups 
Clark, Kozlov and Ovechkin lining up for the draw
Slightly blurry evidence of offensive zone pressure
Another faceoff 
GOAL!
Johnny's relieved this is just warm-ups...
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
I Don't Believe in Signs, but...
Watch for Lightning? Uh oh. That sounds ominous.
Caps Host Bolts
Yikes - 8th game in and already slacking...gameday preview? No? Oops.
So. The biggest news going into tonight's game is the possible return of Alexander Semin to the lineup. I say possible only because there's no official word as to whether he's been taken off the IR but he did practice yesterday and participate in the morning skate. Plus Hanlon said he would play. Now we're just waiting on the paperwork to be finished. Hey, it wouldn't be Washington if something didn't get mired down in paperwork, right?
Semin's return, as I mentioned a few days ago, will hopefully spark the power play and the offense in general, both of which have been underachieving...to put it lightly. Other changes include Clark's shift to the top line alongside Ovechkin and Kozlov, Brooks Laich sliding into his spot on the checking line, and Dave Steckel centering the fourth line between Brashear and Fleischmann.
So Flash is now on a line with Brash - aside from the unfortunate rhyme, it seems like Flash might be on his way back to Hershey sooner rather than later. This is the third "demotion" he's had after starting the season on the first line, and we're less than ten games in. I say put Bradley back in, send Flash back to Hershey and call up Clymer.
It could happen...
I'll be at the game tonight, as I hope many of you will be as well, to see our first of eight games against the delightful Lightning. I'm even bringing a Thrashers fan with me who has promised to root for the Caps (although I think it's only so she can say her team won for once). Lots of things to watch for tonight, not the least of which is special teams in both directions, but with Bolts goaltending continuing to be, well, Bolts goaltending and the Caps offense sputtering, you have to think something has to give one way or the other.
Finally a quick shout-out to DCSportsChick, who has joined the world of OnFrozenBlog to keep those crazy boys in line and provide the female (read: intelligent) perspective on all things Caps. Good to see you back in the blogging world, DCSC - it was far too empty without you!
