Reports out of Beantown have winger Chuck Kobasew out of the lineup for 4-8 weeks with a broken leg, an injury which continues to ratchet up the number of bruised and battered for the Bruins. He'll join Marc Savard, out with a cracked bone in his back, and probably defenseman Andrew Ference, out with a leg injury, on the sidelines for tonight's game against the Leafs.
Remember two things.
One, the Hurricanes have no less than 378 guys out of their lineup with injuries and have still all but clinched the Southeast Division, so injuries can mean nothing.
And two...karmic retribution can be harsh, so watch the giggling.
Showing posts with label Injuries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Injuries. Show all posts
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Bruised Bruins
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Steckel Out
With sunshine there always seems to be a little rain here in DC...
Mike Vogel is reporting that Dave Steckel broke his finger and is out for 2-3 weeks. It's a huge loss for the Caps - not only is Stecks one of the better faceoff men and penalty killers on the team, but he also makes up one-third of the Steckel-Cooke-Bradley line that has been flying these past two games.
It's that time of year, I guess. Someone else gets the chance to step it up and we move on.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Nylander Injured
And the curse of the Capitals 2007-08 season continues.
Nylander is out with my very favorite type of injury, the undisclosed kind - no word on the severity or the type or the length of time he'll be out for, but he definitely won't be in the lineup for the Caps' first visit to Prudential Center tomorrow night.
So now the question becomes, as it always does, who steps up? In the past the answer eternally seemed to be: nobody.
But this is supposedly a new season, with a new bench boss in charge, and he doesn't seem like the type of guy to let this team get away with anything. Hopefully one more injury won't derail this team from what has been greatly improved play.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Bumps and Bruises and Voodoo Dolls
This was supposed to be a great year for the Caps. This was supposed to be the year that they finally start to regain some of the respect we lost during the Jagr years. And while there's still time to turn things around to a certain extent, there just seems to be a rash of nonstop bad luck preventing a major renewal, the latest being the injuries to key players Clark and Gordon.
So my question is this - do you get the sense that this season might just be cursed?
Let's break it down...
- Alexander Semin goes down with a sprained ankle in preseason. Preseason. We didn't even make it to the regular season before losing our 38-goal scorer. The injury continues to crop up at inopportune times (read: every other day), keeping Semin out of the lineup and preventing any real chemistry from developing between him and the other forwards.
- A team with three 30+ goal scorers and bolstered by offseason offensive producers Nylander, Kozlov and Poti, finds it impossible to find the back of the net. This makes the fact that both goaltenders are standing on their heads irrelevant, as allowing one or two goals a game doesn't help when you can't score at all.
- Alex Ovechkin tries to kill Chris Clark with a slapshot to the head. At the same time Semin is out once more and Boyd Gordon then goes down with an injury, sending the Caps reeling. For the first time in years the Caps are in last place in the NHL.
- A fifth straight loss in which the Caps look flat and unable to do the basic things correctly costs Glen Hanlon his job.
- On new coach Boudreau's first day of practice with his team, Semin reinjures his ankle. Again. In his fourth game the Caps go to their first shootout of the season and lose Clark, Gordon and possibly Semin to injury. Again.
And so on and so forth...
But don't worry, Caps fans, because here's the good news - not only do we get to play Carolina and Florida in back to back games this weekend, but we also get to see each of them four more times before the season ends. (At least this is the last season with such a lovely schedule.)
The better news? Only 57 games left...and counting.
If you're looking for a gameday preview for our next two games go here and here. I'm running out of ways to make these "intense" division matchups interesting, and I'm inspired by the current writers' strike in Hollywood to just run reruns in protest. Luckily after next week we get a bit of a reprieve from the Southeast and I'll return to my usual witty self.
All photos courtesy of AP
Friday, November 23, 2007
Clean Slate
Well, that's a hell of a way to welcome the new coach, isn't it? An overtime victory on the road in Philly, off the stick of our rookie phenom, to snap a five game losing skid. Excellent.
This game, while more interesting than it had to be, was really entertaining from start to finish and just a great 60 minute effort by the Caps. Everyone had a good game, as is usually the case when the team gets a win like this.
The Flyers did a pretty good job of keeping Ovie fairly quiet (or as quiet as you can keep someone like Ovie) and that meant everyone else had to step up. And step up they did - we get a goal from Brashear (deflected from a Morrisonn slapper), a power play goal from Green off a beautiful Backstrom pass, an equally beautiful play by Kozlov to set up Clark, and of course, Nicklas Backstrom with the overtime winner. Happy Birthday to Nick, indeed!
The power play looked good and connected, but the real special teams success story was the penalty killing, which was really phenomenal today despite the two goals during Clark's double minor (one of which shouldn't have happened had the whistle blown in time). Anytime you can kill off an extended 5 on 3, there's a good chance you'll come out on top. We saw it against Ottawa a few weeks ago and once again today it was guys like Gordon, Steckel, Laich and Pettinger stepping in to keep this game competitive.
Going back to that double minor, good for Chris Clark for stepping in to defend Boyd Gordon. I was surprised there was no call on Hartnell for that hit at center ice, but since there wasn't it was the captain's job to make things right. I'm sure we all would have preferred he not pick up a truckload of penalty minutes and put the team down a man for four, but that's one of those "good" penalties that, especially with the win, are easier to swallow.
And then there were just strong performances by Kozlov, Nylander, Morrisonn, Bradley, and everyone else in a white jersey to cap off Boudreau's first career NHL win as a coach.
It's hard to judge this team, and this coach, by one game. We've certainly seen them come out and play like this on isolated situations this season, and with a new coach I expected nothing less. We know they have it in them. What we haven't seen is this kind of effort in back to back situations and that's what is needed at this point - a string of wins to get them out of the cellar and back into the mix where we all know they belong.
But for now let's just enjoy this win (made that much sweeter by happening in Philly, which is always a fun place to win) and look ahead to tomorrow night's game against the Canes. Back to back games against tough teams is the first test for this new coach and the new phase for the Capitals.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Spooky Wednesday
Happy Halloween!
It's a non-gameday Wednesday, so of course that means assorted goodies for your reading pleasure.
- First up - Mike Vogel, of course, has a great piece on Peter Bondra's retirement over at the Caps' website. Reading about the various milestones, the franchise records, the evolution of one of Washington's great athletes just reminds me how amazing he was as a Capital - something I think we forget from time to time with a couple of young superstars burgeoning here in the District.
- Morrisonn, Green and Jurcina stopped by the NHL Store in Manhattan and made an appearance on NHL Live on XM Center Ice. Some highlights:
- Jurcina talking about having to learn English and about the difference between playing in Boston and Washington.
- Morrisonn discussing getting "jumped" by Vinny and offering the quote of the day: "Next time I don't want to lead with my face onto the ice." Indeed.
- Mo grew up idolizing Cam Neely, switched his allegiance from Vancouver to Boston when Neely was traded and had the opportunity to meet him when he was drafted by the Bruins; Green idolized Scott Niedermayer; Jurcina was a fan of the Red Wings and Canadiens but loved Chris Pronger
- Favorite movies: Morrisonn, Braveheart; Green, Dumb and Dumber (oh Mike...really??); Jurcina, no favorite movies
- What they do on days off: sleep. Bet you didn't see that one coming.
- By the way if you've never heard Green, Morrisonn and Jurcina talking together before and you get the chance, be sure that you're caffeinated. Let's just say that Mo was probably the most animated of the three...
- Mr. Happy Sunshine Guy Tarik reports that its not looking good for any of our three injured players returning tomorrow night against the Rangers. Clark is still day to day, Semin skated with the team but not at full speed, and Poti is still nursing a groin injury - and we know how long those can take to fully heal.
People need to stop panicking, though. We beat Toronto...and no, the Leafs are not exactly a formidable opponent. Who says the Rangers are? They have Jagr and a slew of centers unable to play with him; they have a defense about as good as Toronto's; their only asset really is their goaltending. If the Caps play like they did north of the border, they'll be fine.
Plus I'm not ready to count Clark out for the game until I hear official word otherwise. The fact that he flew to NYC when the Caps return home again on Friday gives me hope that he'll be back sooner rather than later - I guess we'll wait and see.
- Finally, happy 24th birthday to injured (or "injured"?) defenseman Steve Eminger - you still have the love of the Cheap Seats, Stevie!
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Busy Saturday
A couple of interesting developments:
- The Caps signed Alexander Semin to a two-year, $9.2 million contract extension today that will pay him $4.2 million this year and $5 million next season. I know there are some around here that don't particularly like Semin and I'll admit he has a tendency to commit lazy penalties and turnovers...but I love him. This is great news.
- Tom Poti's groin injury hasn't quite healed enough and he'll be out of the lineup - bad news for a defense that struggled last night, but in the long run I'd much prefer that he heal completely. Groin injuries are no joke and as we've seen so many times, the nagging ones can change a player's game completely if not given time to heal. Of course, this means a repeat of the Erskine and Green show...I feel a headache coming on already.
- Continuing on the injury front, as we know Clark won't be in the lineup tonight but may return on Monday for the Leafs. Bigger news is what's happening in his absence - Backstrom gets his first shot at centering the big line, working as a pivot for the first time this season between Ovechkin and Kozlov. Young Nicklas really continues to impress me with how calm and mature he's seemed so far, so I'm excited to see how he looks in his natural position.
- Fleischmann returns to play with Nylander and Semin - Flash showed some improvement after moving from the first to second line, but we'll see how he does with Semin instead of Backstrom. Of the three he's probably going to be responsible for working the boards so...yeah. Expect a lot of meetings between Flash's rear and the ice. Checking line likely stays in tact, with Bradley probably remaining on the fourth line with Steckel and Brash.
Clark Update
So it looks like Clark is out for tonight's game, which considering how much pain he looked to be in last night isn't altogether surprising. The good news - no concussion, no lasting damage other than what sounds like a crazy amount of stitches.
The better news - he could be in the lineup as soon as Monday when the Caps travel to Toronto.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Caps Power Play Not Enough
I'm not exactly sure what I expected out of this game - I saw enough of the Canucks in the playoffs last year to know that they've got tons of offensive talent but they like to just kind of lull opponents to sleep and then let Luongo do the rest, which is fine. I like the Canucks when they're not playing the Caps so I won't pick on them too much.
I guess I was hoping that the Caps would let their offense and speed dictate the type of game we'd see and they never really did. The game was, quite frankly, pretty dull.
Let's get right into the good and bad of the game before I fall asleep...
Good
- The power play connected. Twice. Hallelujah.
- Both goals involved players crashing the net. Double hallelujah.
- Ovechkin scored and added an assist, marking his second straight multipoint game of the year
- Clark continued to roll, adding two assists of his own
- After starting off the season fairly shakily, Pothier has really impressed me over the last four or five games and seems to be settling down, making smarter plays and better passes. (I know, I can't believe I just wrote that either...)
- The last 3 or 4 minutes of the game - apparently desperation kicked in right then and the team started playing well. Of course, it helped that the Canucks took a couple of bad penalties to let the Caps' thrilling power play go to work (yeah, I know, I can't believe I just wrote that either...)
Bad
- This is the first time this season that I have had to say the following: Mike Green had a very rough night, which included a horrible turnover that led directly to a Vancouver tally.
- Add Semin to the list of guys with sloppy turnovers tonight (although he did have some sneaky shots that seemed to catch Luongo off guard).
- Schultz had a Mike Green-esque night in that he balanced out some really horrifying shifts with some smarter defensive plays. I guess he's starting to improve? I don't know. Until he learns how to hit I'm not really interested in finding out. Bring back Eminger.
- Snarky AP reporters. Observe:
Vancouver Canucks coach Alain Vigneault was getting a bit nervous while watching Alex Ovechkin try to rally the Washington Capitals to a victory. Perhaps Vigneault forgot for a moment one salient fact: His goalie, Roberto Luongo, simply doesn't lose to the Capitals.
Is it true to a certain extent? Yes. Is it necessary to write it that way? No. Absolutely not. Obnoxious.
- Never leave a Sedin twin open. Ever. Sneaky little buggers...
- Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
In the "make CapsChick's heart stop beating" category, Clark taking a slapshot to the head was probably the scariest thing I've seen since...well, the last time he got a puck to the head, only this time he stayed down. And when Clarkie goes down and stays down, you know it's bad. He had to be helped off, looking extremely shaky on his feet, and word is he got stitches in his left ear. The only thing I've read about it is a quick, unexplained quote from Hanlon that said "it's not going to be good." I'm not even sure what that means. Scary, scary, scary.
So best wishes to Clark on a speedy recovery. Hopefully you were just a little shaken up and true to Chris Clark form you'll be back very, very soon.
Next up the Caps wing off to St. Louis for an 8:30 matchup with the Blues tomorrow night. Here's your gameday preview: thank you NHL schedule, I have no idea what the Caps will see when they play the Blues because we haven't seen them since 2005. They have Weight and Tkachuk and Kariya and a bunch of good young kids that we never get to watch firsthand. Johnson will be in net against his old team. St. Louis is a place with...a giant arch. Or something.
But the good news is we have eight games against the Panthers. It's all about perspective, people.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
You Spin Me Right Round
Guess I should talk about the Caps at some point...
So Gordon continues to be day-to-day with back spasms and his status for tomorrow is unknown. Schultz was recalled, meaning Erskine will probably head to the press box. Semin was placed on IR retroactive to the 7th, so he's possible but not probable for tomorrow's game against the Islanders. Sutherby remains in green jersey purgatory. Motzko is getting a crack at the right wing slot.
And the wheel o' players continues.
Anyone else miss having a stagnant roster for more than two games?
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Poor Benny, Take 2
Ben Clymer has taken a lot of heat this season for not playing at the same level as last year - I won't lie, I picked on him a bit. I will say that after returning from his groin injury a week or two ago it seemed like something was a little off, but there's no way I saw this coming:
So let me get this straight...Clymer injured himself in the first game of the year. He then proceeded to play 66 games, injury and all, and still managed to pick up 20 points.
Huh.
I know that his performance hasn't been great this year and we all certainly expected more from him, particularly after the way he played last season. It is good to have a concrete reason for at least some of his troubles though. I hope this surgery will be the cure to his woes and the jump on rehab will get him back to us in game shape for next season.
Best of luck to Ben on his recovery - looking forward to next year!
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Ovie's Owie
With all the talk in recent weeks about a lack of respect between players in the NHL, it's nice to see that some guys are still pretty decent. Per Capitals Insider:
AO was hit unintentionally by Lightning defenseman Dan Boyle midway through the third period of the Caps' 7-1 victory Sunday afternoon, just as Alexandre Giroux scored the sixth goal [...] AO, who was sporting a fat lip and small cut near his chin, said that Boyle text messaged Ben Clymer, who relayed the apology.Um, can I also love that Boyle text messaged Clymer, who passed it along? I don't know why, but I found that adorable. It's nice that Ben still stays friendly with some of his
Also from the same Insider post, this quote from Ovechkin, which goes in the growing file of hilarious things he says:
Sometimes I don't know where I go. So [Zubrus] will never know where I'm going. It will be a fun game if he plays against me because I know his moves, his strong side.Hear that, Zubie? Ovie knows what you'll do...but not what he'll do. If that doesn't scare the bejeezus out of you, I don't know what will.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Ovie Update
I just saw the replay of Giroux's goal and the subsequent injury to Ovechkin. It looks like a pretty blatant high stick from Dan Boyle into Ovie's face that was completely undetected by the refs. The chaos in front of the net could have been why the call was missed, but boy, was that ugly. Ovie came up with a mouth full of blood and since he didn't return it was probably pretty serious. I'm sure he'll be fine, but for whatever reason he continues to take lumber to the face with little or no repercussions for the other team.
If this kind of thing continues...let's just say I'm glad he wears a visor.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Boo-Boos Galore
Was anyone else watching last night's game and wondering why on god's green earth Hanlon would put Clymer, Pothier and Brashear out in the shootout before sending Matt Pettinger?
Maybe it was just me.
Anyways, it turns out there was a good reason, as Matt broke his thumb blocking a shot and is likely out for the rest of the season. More good news - Boyd Gordon injured his knee and is out 10-14 days. At least one player from Hershey will be called up, likely Alexandre Giroux...which is the only good thing about this, as he's currently lighting up the AHL and I'd love to see him in action (now that I know who he is).
Yay. So much for finishing out the season with dignity. *Sigh*
Come on, #1 DRAFT PICK!
Friday, December 01, 2006
Heward Update
Mike Vogel is reporting more information on his blog about the injury to Jamie Heward last night - guys, this one was ugly. You know those times when you see a lot of blood from what turns out to be just a small cut? This was not one of those times...and this makes the second time in two weeks that a Cap has been facially mangled. This just in - hockey players are tough.
Apparently Jamie spent three and a half hours getting stitched up, and it was so deep that it took between 100 and 200 stitches to finally close up the wound. It cut a little bit of the facial muscle, too, although the nerves impacted by the cut will probably regenerate according to the team physicians.
The team is listing his availability as week-to-week, but everything sounds good for a full recovery so that's enough for me. Now it's up to plastic surgeons to restore Jamie to his previous glory :)
I've already posted a comment on Ted's blog and I hope you all do the same but I want to again send my best wishes for Jamie's full recovery!
Get Well Soon, Jamie!
I encourage everyone to visit Ted's blog and send a note to Heward wishing him a speedy recovery from what was a very scary injury last night - any get well notes posted as comments on his blog will be passed on to Jamie and his family:
Thankfully it wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it still sounds pretty serious and Jamie will be out indefinitely. Here's hoping he has a quick recovery so he can get back to work!
Monday, November 20, 2006
Underrated Hero
- Much has been made over the last few days about the recent courageousness shown by captain Chris Clark, who got hit in the face by a puck in the loss to the Bruins Wednesday night. After taking a clearing attempt square in the mouth, losing some teeth and fracturing his palate, Clark remained on the ice until the Caps finally iced the puck.
I guess I just don't know why everyone is so surprised.
It was amazing and brave...and downright Clark-like. Honestly, any of us who have watched him over the last season and a half know the heart, the work, the energy that the captain brings to the ice each and every game. He's one of those rare players who doesn't take off a night and who rarely gives less than 110% during each shift. Even before he had the 'C' stitched on his chest, Clark was leading by example, working in the trenches and helping his two well-known linemates reach new offensive heights.
This is why we love him so much - said Clark this morning (as reported by Mike Vogel), "[t]here’s no sense in laying on the ice. My legs didn’t break; I could get up and skate."
True, he could still skate. In fact, if his mouth hadn't been filling up with blood, I'd bet that Clarkie would have finished the game. He's just that kind of player. Missing teeth and mouth pain can wait - there's a game going on. It's for this reason, among many others, that Clark is one of the most underrated players in the league today. For all his hard work and, this season, offensive production, most casual fans wouldn't be able to pick him out of a lineup.
But that's okay. We know what we have.
By the way, I love the end of Vogel's post today - after he had described the injury to Clark and repairs that poor Clarkie had to undergo, he had this to say about the Wizards:
Wait, this just in. One of the basketball dudes had a back bruise. Oh. No wonder there was such concern. Hope he is okay now. At least he didn’t get soap in his eyes. That can really hurt.
Hilarious.
- Every day it seems like I find yet another blogger who is calling for Zubrus to be on the ballot as a write-in. All of these posts, whether they came before me or after me, can only help the cause (and validate my rantings so I know I'm not completely insane...) Add Bleatings from a Caps Nut to the growing list of crazy Caps fans who know the worth of one Dainius Zubrus.
But just putting it on a blog isn't going to be enough - people, it's time to get out there and preach to the non-choir. Tell your friends, co-workers, siblings, grandparents, enemies; show them stats, screen highlight videos, or just point them in the direction of any Caps blog. Hell, if you have to, find some women (or men, I'm not judging) with puckbunny potential and show them a picture of good ol' Zubie before sitting them down at a computer to vote.
I'd say he's vote-worthy, am I right ladies?
Or men, I'm not judging...
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