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• Carlson Latest In Caps' Kids C

  • From: MikeVogel
  • Description:

    When he suits up for the Caps on Friday against Montreal, defenseman John Carlson will give the Capitals seven first-round, homegrown draft choices in the lineup and nine on the roster.

    Carlson, a first-rounder (27th overall) in 2008, joins 2002 first-rounders Alexander Semin and Boyd Gordon, 2003 first-rounder Eric Fehr, 2004 first-rounders Alex Ovechkin, Jeff Schultz and Mike Green, 2006 first-rounders Nicklas Backstrom and Semyon Varlamov on the roster. Semin and Gordon are both currently on injured reserve.

    Washington has made a total of 45 first-round selections in the draft over the years, and Carlson becomes the 38th of those to don a Capitals’ sweater for a regular season contest.

    More significantly, Carlson becomes just the ninth teen-aged defenseman to play for the Caps and the first since Steve Eminger in 2003-04. The others: Nolan Baumgartner, Eric Calder, Tony Camazzola, Jakub Cutta, Sergei Gonchar, Kevin Hatcher.

    And Scott Stevens.

    Born in Massachusetts, Carlson grew up in New Jersey and greatly admired Stevens as a youngster.

    For what it’s worth, Stevens, Hatcher, Gonchar and Eminger are the only defensemen to play more than five games with the Capitals as teen-aged defensemen.

    “[At] nineteen,” recalls veteran Washington rearguard Brian Pothier, “I think I was in high school. I had about six years to go before [my NHL debut].”

    Caps defenseman Tyler Sloan made his own NHL debut last season at the age of 27, first touching NHL ice in his hometown of Calgary. When he was 19, Sloan was skating for Kamloops of the Western Hockey League.

    “I can’t even imagine,” exclaimed Sloan. “For [Carlson] to be the way he is … I would have been a mess. I was nervous enough last year in Calgary. I don’t know. I can’t even imagine being that young and inexperienced. He hasn’t even played a full year of pro. He’s got 18 games of playoff experience and the beginning of this season. I can’t even imagine what it would be like.”

    Carlson had just finished dining up in Hershey on Wednesday when The Call came.

    “I was at home and I was sitting on the couch after dinner when I got the call,” he says. “I don’t even know how to describe it. I was so happy. I was with one of my buddies there, and I told him right away and called my parents and everything. It was unbelievable.”

    His parents and brother are expected to travel in for Friday’s game. Everyone else in the Caps’ locker room has experienced what Carlson is going to experience on Friday.

    “Just play, have some fun,” says Pothier, when asked what he might say to the kid. “We get so worked up and so anxious for those big moments that sometimes we forget to enjoy them. I think that’s probably the biggest thing you can do as a young guy. Just go out and play, have fun. Don’t worry about making a mistake. Obviously, play responsible but don’t worry about making mistakes and just go out and have some fun.

    “I think he’s a confident guy. He knows how to play the game and he knows he can play. He’s done a great job in the playoffs last year and in training camp he was effective for us. I don’t think it’s going to be a big jump for him. He’s a good enough player to make the transition. If he just plays, he’ll be fine.”

    “He’s a great player, a high pick,” notes Caps captain Chris Clark. “He’s gotten to this point by playing his game and nothing should change. That’s what everybody tells the guys coming up. You shouldn’t change anything. Play the game, play your style, play the way you normally do and you should do all right.”

    A right-handed shot, Carlson is likely to spend his first game playing alongside the Caps’ most experienced defenseman, Tom Poti. Poti, who has never played in the minors, played the first of his 738 regular season NHL contests with Edmonton in 1998-99. 

    “Nothing yet,” says Poti, when queried as to what he’ll say to Carlson. “Maybe talk to him [Friday] a little bit and just tell him, ‘You’re going to be nervous, but once that puck drops you’ll be fine. There is a reason you’re here. Play to your strengths. Just go enjoy yourself. Have fun.’ 

    “It’s a skating game today and he’s a great skater. He’s going to be fine out there.”

    “He’s played exhibition games, too,” notes Caps forward Brooks Laich, “which helps. And they play the same way in Hershey that they play here so it’s a seamless transition for Carl.”

    Carlson skated in 16 playoff games for Hershey last spring as the Bears won their 10th Calder Cup title. Bob Woods, who was the head coach of that championship Bears team, is now a Washington assistant.

    “He’s got Woody back there [behind the bench],” says Laich. “Bob Woods is really going to help keep him calm. I’m sure our coaching staff is going to put him in positions to succeed on the ice, not positions where he feels out of place. 

    “He’s not going to be out there in 5-on-3 penalty kill where he’s not going to know what to do. They are going to put him in safe positions and give him a chance to succeed and he’ll do great.

    Carlson is the ninth Capital to make his NHL debut in the last 13 months, so the team is familiar with the situation and with helping him get adjusted and acclimated on and off the ice.

    “We have great depth in the minors and we can just plug guys in and away we go,” says Clark.

    “I think our young guys come up with a lot of energy and they do a great job of filling in for guys who are injured,” opines Laich.

    Caps coach Bruce Boudreau won’t be treating the kid with kid gloves.

    “When they get in the lineup, I treat them as if they’ve been here for five years,” says Boudreau. “They know they have to do. They get crap if they don’t do it and they get praise if they do. I believe this is just a golden opportunity for them rather than, ‘Hey, don’t blame it on me. I’m just a minor league guy’ type of thing. We’ve never had that attitude. I got called up enough to know that if you don’t perform, you don’t stay up. That’s why [Mathieu] Perreault is still here. He’s playing real well.”

    Boudreau also offered up some advice for Carlson on the eve of his debut.

    “Enjoy it,” says the bench boss. “You only get one first NHL game. Don’t over-stress. It’s not going to make his career or break his career. If he’s horrible, it’s going to make no difference. We still think the world of him. And if he’s great, we still think he’s a first-year guy who has played one game. I hope he doesn’t lose any sleep over it.”

    It didn’t sound like he would.

    “You’ve just got to play with confidence,” declares Carlson. “You can only do what you can do, that’s all.”

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• Ovi Back, Lines Changed Up

  • From: MikeVogel
  • Description:

    After missing two weeks and six games, superstar left wing Alex Ovechkin is poised to rejoin the Washington lineup for Tuesday’s game against the Rangers in New York.
    
    The Caps scored more than three and a half goals per game in Ovechkin’s absence, and they clicked at a 42.9% rate on the power play while he was out.
    
    Now, they’ll need to guard against complacency as Ovi returns to the ice.
    
    “I think it’s just a mindset, really,” says Caps center Brendan Morrison. “It’s such an easy thing to do when you have your top goal scorer in the lineup, is almost defer. You have the mentality of, ‘If I don’t get one tonight, he’s going to get one for us,’ which can be treading in dangerous waters.
    
    “But if you have the mindset that ‘I’ve got to go out and contribute and he gets his, too, then we’re in even better shape,’ it’s a mindset of guys believing that they can and knowing that they can. And we have the depth. We have a lot of guys up front that can score goals.”
    
    Morrison also knows what Ovi’s return means to the league and the game.
    
    “He brings so much energy and excitement to the game itself, not only to our team but the game,” observes Morrison. “Opposing buildings, our home rink, when he’s in the lineup people come out to see Ovi. Every time he touches the puck, they expect to see something spectacular. It’s just an energy in the building. And most of the time, he delivers. It’s one thing to have those expectations but for a guy to do it night in and night out, it’s spectacular.”
    
    Ovechkin’s return also necessitates some fine tuning of Washington’s forward combinations. Center Boyd Gordon (back) and defenseman Milan Jurcina (lower body) were not on the ice for Monday’s practice in Newark. With 12 forwards available, here’s how coach Bruce Boudreau lined them up on Monday:
    
    Alex Ovechkin-Nicklas Backstrom-Chris Clark
    Brooks Laich-Brendan Morrison-Alexander Semin
    Tomas Fleischmann-Mathieu Perreault-Matt Bradley
    Quintin Laing-David Steckel-Eric Fehr
    
    And here is Boudreau’s reasoning for those combinations:
    
    “We don’t have [Mike] Knuble,” says Boudreau. “You’re trying to look at lines when I am putting this stuff together last night. And believe me when I say I went through a whole pad of paper doing this stuff. It might last a shift or it might last the year.
    
    “You look at it and say, ‘Okay, what’s going to work?’ Nicky and Alex are a great team together. And then the best time Semin was playing was with Morrison and Laich. Perreault is playing pretty good. Now you give him another offensive guy with Fleisch and you might have a pretty good mix there. And you put a guy [with them] who is fairly physical and can get the puck in the corners with Brads, and then on the fourth line you throw a guy [Fehr] with some offensive flair, so now you’ve got all four lines you’ve got a scorer and some defensive guys. That was my whole thinking behind it,
    
    “Yet again, it might blow up in my face at the 10-minute mark of the first period and change it all around.”
    
    It might have already blown up. Steckel took a hard shot off the foot and left practice early. There’s a chance he might not be able to answer the bell on Tuesday.

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• Life Without Ovi

  • From: MikeVogel
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    One day after finishing off one of the best months in franchise history, Caps left wing Alex Ovechkin suffered an “upper body strain” in a Nov. 1 game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. And the next day – the same day he was named the NHL’s second star for the month of October – the Capitals announced that Ovechkin will be lost to the team and is “week-to-week.” 

    For the first time in Ovechkin’s five-year NHL career, it seems certain that he will miss more than consecutive games.

    Three years and a few days ago, Ovechkin first publicly uttered the phrase, “Russian machine never breaks.” The quote came on an off day in Vancouver after Ovechkin blocked a shot off his foot in the waning seconds of the previous game, a 5-3 win over the Avalanche in Colorado on Oct. 25, 2006. Ovechkin not only played in Vancouver, he was involved in all of Washington’s offense with a goal and an assist in a 3-2 loss to the Canucks. He also skated 23:17.

    The 24-year-old superstar was off to a tremendous start in 2009-10, leading the league in scoring. The rest of the pack is going to get a chance to gain some ground now.

    “I think we’ve got enough character players in there that they will understand what we have to do without Alex,” says Caps coach Bruce Boudreau. “Anytime one player – as great as he is – if he makes the total difference in our team – then we’re in trouble.”

    How do you replace Alex Ovechkin? You don’t. It will take a village (so to speak) to even vaguely approximate what he brings to the ice on a nightly basis.

    Ovechkin went into Sunday’s game averaging 23 minutes a night, tops among all NHL forwards. He averaged 23:07 per game in 2007-08 and 22:59 a contest last season, leading all NHL forwards by at least half a minute both times. 

    Nicklas Backstrom’s ice time has gone from 19 minutes as a rookie to 20 as a sophomore to 21 minutes a night in this, his third season in the league. That steady climb in ice time could go higher still in Ovechkin’s absence. 

    Alexander Semin skated 19:14 a night last season and is at 19:51 thus far in 2009-10. He is a good bet to skate more than 20 minutes a night while Ovechkin’s recovers.

    The recent return of Tomas Fleischmann to the lineup after he missed the first 11 games of 2009-10 with deep vein thrombosis will also help. Fleischmann scored 19 goals last season and has two goals and three points in his first three games of 2009-10.

    Right wing Eric Fehr is a proven scorer at every level, and he delivered a dozen goals last season in limited ice time. Fehr had off-season surgery on both shoulders and then suffered an upper-body injury early in the season. He averaged 11:16 a night last season and has skated just 9:40 a night in 2009-10. 

    Fehr is also 24 and it’s about time the Caps enabled him to get the type of ice that Fleischmann has gotten the last few years, and find out once and for all what the strapping Manitoba native can do.

    Fleischmann scored 10 goals in 2007-08 while averaging 12:37 a night. He moved to 19 goals last season when his ice was increased to 15:06 a night. Fleischmann has averaged about 16 minutes a might in his three games thus far this season. With similar ice, Fehr could enjoy a similar increase in production.

    Increased ice has been a boon for Brooks Laich. His ice has gone up every season since his rookie campaign of 2005-06 and goal total has gone up with it. After scoring seven goals and averaging 11:13 a night as a rookie, the 26-year-old Laich is coming off consecutive 20-goal seasons and is on pace for a 35-goal campaign in 2009-10. He is skating 19:18 a night thus far this season, up a full two minutes over his 17:17 figure from 2008-09.

    Wingers Fleischmann and Fehr seem the likeliest choices to pick up significantly more ice in the wake of Ovechkin’s injury. Fehr’s career has been marked by injury, and the Caps have also seemed reluctant at times to endow him with a role in which he could excel, but his time may be upon us.

    Down on the farm, Andrew Gordon has seven goals and 13 points in 11 games for the AHL Hershey Bears. Francois Bouchard, a 21-year-old 2006 draftee, has caught fire after a sluggish start. He has five goals and 10 points in his last five games, and has moved into the league’s top 15 in scoring. 

    Both Gordon and Bouchard are right wingers, however, so the loss of portsider Ovechkin could also mean another recall for left wing Alexandre Giroux, who on Monday was named AHL Reebok Player of the Month for October despite playing in only seven of Hershey’s 11 October games. Giroux spent a week with Washington last month.

    Filling the ice time is one thing. The Caps can spread 23 minutes worth of nightly ice time in power play and even-strength situations among half a dozen or more forwards, but how can they make up for the production lost in Ovechkin’s absence?

    “We have to buckle down,” says Boudreau. “A goal a game, he scores. We’ve got to play better defense. We can’t allow four goals and five goals a game. You have to win 3-1 and 2-1 and if you get lucky sometimes, make it a 4-2 game.”

    With 23 points (14 goals, nine assists) in 13 October games, Ovechkin had a hand in nearly half of Washington’s first 47 goals this season. He had scored at least a point in 11 of 13 games prior to the injury. He had eight multiple-point and six multiple-point games in 13 October games.

    Ovechkin’s 14-goal performance in October matched his single-month personal best. He also scored 14 goals in March, 2008. With 15 goals in February, 1982, only Dennis Maruk has scored more goals in a month for Washington than Ovechkin. The NHL record is 20, held jointly by Joe Malone (20 for Hamilton in Feb. of 1921) and Teemu Selanne (20 for Winnipeg in March of 1993). 

    Washington is 1-3 in the previous four games Ovechkin has missed during his NHL career. The Caps were outscored by a combined 15-7 in those games.

    That’s a small sample size, and the 2009-10 Caps aren’t a one-man team. Ovechkin was one of half a dozen Caps to record at least 10 points in the team’s first 14 games. The team had nine multiple-goal players through 14 games. If anything, Ovechkin’s sudden absence might help hammer home the point to the Caps that standings points lost by squandering a few late-game October leads can’t happen anymore in November, as it did on Sunday when the Caps lost Ovechkin and the game.

    Every player in the league wants more ice time. Starting on Wednesday when Washington visits New Jersey, some of the boys in the red, white and blue sweaters are going to start getting more ice. It will be interesting to see what they do with it.

    And for how long they’ll have to do it.

     

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  • 3 weeks ago
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• Forty Shots

  • From: MikeVogel
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    For the second night in a row, the Caps allowed 40 or more shots on goal in last night's 4-3 win at Atlanta. In just 12 games this season, Washington has now allowed 40 or more shots in three of them. The Caps are also 2-0-1 in those three games.

    Over the 82-game 2008-09 regular season, Washington permitted as many as 40 shots only twice, including the final game of the regular season. The Caps were 0-1-1 in those two contests. During the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Caps permitted 40 or more shots three times in a span of four games during the second-round series against Pittsburgh. All three of those games were overtime contests; the Caps were 1-2 in those games.

    That means the Caps have -- including the playoffs -- allowed 40 or more shots on goal in seven of their last 27 games. This, after having done so in just one of the team's previous 84 games, including playoffs.

    Back in 2007-08, the Caps allowed 40 or more shots five times in the 61 games in which Bruce Boudreau was the team's coach. They surrendered 40 or more shots twice during the 21 games that Glen Hanlon coached at the beginning of that season. Those two games under Hanlon --Oct. 12 against the Rangers at MSG and Oct. 13 at Buffalo -- mark the last time the Caps surrendered 40 or more shots on goal in consecutive regular season games. 

    The last time the Caps surrendered 40 or more shots in consecutive games and won both? It was on NoOv. 11-13, 2006. With Olie Kolzig in goal for both games, the Caps beat the Rangers, 3-1 and then defeated Florida by a 4-1 score. Those two games also mark the last time the Caps allowed 20 or more shots in the third period of consecutive games and still got away with a win. The Caps gave up 21 third-period shots to the Rangers and 20 to the Panthers in those two games. 

    Kolzig allowed just one third-period goal in those two games in which Washington was outshot by a combined 41-13.

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  • 4 weeks ago
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• Accounting

  • From: MikeVogel
  • Description:

    A few notes on some statistical adjustments that are in the works for Washington. First, Keith Aucoin will be credited with an assist on Chris Clark's Oct. 22 goal at Atlanta. If you recall, Aucoin won a draw back to Mike Green who let a shot fly from the point. The puck bounded off the glass/boards behind the Thrashers' net and came to Clark, who deposited it for his first of the season.

    Aucoin now has a goal and four points in his six games with the Capitals this season.

    Also, further review shows that Brendan Morrison and Brooks Laich were on the ice when Atlanta's Zach Bogosian netted a last-second goal last night. Tomas Fleischmann and David Steckel were not, as the official scoresheet indicated. Therefore, add a plus-1 to Fleischmann and Steckel's ledger and a minus-1 to that of Morrison and Laich.

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  • 4 weeks ago
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• Flash is In, Varly to Start

  • From: MikeVogel
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    Added to the active roster last night, left wing Tomas Fleischmann will get his first taste of game action tonight against the Thrashers in Atlanta. Flash seems likely to slot in alongside Keith Aucoin and Chris Clark in a spot occupied by Alexandre Giroux for Washington's last three games.

    Jose Theodore has had the hot hand lately, and coaches love to ride the hot hand. But with four games in six nights, three games in four nights and back-to-backs coming up tonight and tomorrow, Semyon Varlamov will get the nod in goal for Washington tonight. 

    Varlamov is 8-0-1 lifetime during the regular season with a 2.76 GAA and a .904 save pct. He is 2-0 with a 2.86 GAA and an .889 save pct. in three games (two starts) lifetime against the Thrashers, with all three appearances coming at Philips Arena.

    As we noted last week when Washington visited Atlanta for the first time this season, these two teams tend to engage in some high-scoring games against each other. Of the 31 Caps-Thrashers contests since the lockout, one or both of the two teams have scored four or more goals in 21 of them. 

    Also, the Caps have been more prolific offensively when Varly is in the nets this season.

    Varlamov has a perfect 4-0 mark this season. He has been the beneficiary of some solid goal support from his teammates. The Caps have scored 19 goals during the 259 minutes he has played in goal, an average of 3.4 goals per 60 minutes.

    On the other hand, Theodore has had less than stellar support with which to work at times this season. Despite a 2.47 GAA (Varlamov’s is 3.24) and a .922 save pct. (compared to Varlamov’s .884 mark, Theodore is 3-2-2 on the season. The Caps have managed only 20 goals in his 413 minutes in goal. That works out to 2.9 goals per 60 minutes, or half a goal less than what Varlamov has had to work with. 

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• Fleischmann Activated, Laing I

  • From: MikeVogel
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    The Capitals activated left wing Tomas Fleischmann on Wednesday, and he may be able to take the ice for the first time this season on Thursday in Atlanta. Fleischmann, who scored 19 goals for the Caps last season, has missed the first 11 games of the 2009-10 season with deep vein thrombosis, a condition he developed early in the off-season. Fleischmann is one of eight players who have missed action because of injury or illness in Washington’s first 11 games.

    In other injury news, left wing Quintin Laing was diagnosed with the H1N1 (swine flu) virus. He was sent home early on Tuesday and will remain away from the team until he is symptom-free. Forward Boyd Gordon and defenseman John Erskine are both still sidelined with injuries as well.

    Right wing Eric Fehr is day-to-day with an upper body injury. His status for Thursday’s game with the Thrashers will likely be determined at the morning skate.

    
    

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• Ten Spot; Caps Good, Can Be Be

  • From: MikeVogel
  • Description:

    On Saturday night against the Islanders, the Caps did something they had not done in two weeks: trail in a game. They also did something they had not done all season, trail by two goals. Washington overcame a two-goal deficit in the third period to take a 3-2 overtime win and finish up a perfect 2-0 road trip.

    The Caps did not play their best hockey on the Island, and they have only occasionally flashed their best form through the season’s first 10 games.

    “Potentially, I think we can be better,” says Caps forward Brooks Laich. “I think our new additions [forwards Mike Knuble and Brendan Morrison] have been great. It has been a seamless transition for those guys. But I don’t think right now we’ve played our best hockey. We’ve seen glimpses of it.

    “First game against Boston, I thought we played a very good hockey game. But since then, we’ve played a period well or a period and a half well, but we’ve never really put it all together. With our record, we are sitting first in our division so obviously we’re happy with that. But as far as how we’re playing, we’re not satisfied. I still think we have more to give.”

    Laich is not alone in those thoughts.

    “We haven’t played great,” says Knuble, “but I don’t feel we’ve been outplayed, either. Even in the games we lost, it was things that we did to ourselves: untimely penalties and poor penalty killing.”

    “We’ve had some really great periods and we’ve had some that aren’t so great,” says right wing Matt Bradley. ‘But it’s nice to know that when we play well, we’re usually successful.”

    Whatever woes are worrying Washington, the Caps can take comfort in the fact that they’ve rolled out to their best October record since 1997-98, and they’ve ensured a 13th straight month with a winning mark, adding to the franchise record.

    “I’m pretty happy with where we are,” says Bradley. “Obviously there are a lot of things we need to work on and we need to tighten up. But for the first 10 games, Knuble and Morrison have been great additions and they’ve had a seamless transition into things.”

    If the Caps are able to go 6-2-2 during a stretch in which they haven’t played their best, it’s somewhat tantalizing to think how good they might be when they are at the top of their game.

    “Points-wise, we’re where we want to be,' says Caps coach Bruce Boudreau. 'I think it’s 114 points if we keep this up. I don’t think we’re as consistent as we want to be. Hopefully, that will get there as the season progresses. Every game takes on more importance and the players get more into the season. It’s still early.”

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  • 4 weeks ago
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• $2,500 and 60 Minutes

  • From: MikeVogel
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    By now you have certainly heard that Alex Ovechkin was fined $2,500 for his hit on Atlanta’s Rich Peverley in Thursday’s game against the Thrashers. Those looking to paint Ovechkin as a dirty player or a repeat offender need to get a different brush and a new bucket of paint.

    Colin Campbell, the NHL’s czar of discipline, came right out and stated that Ovechkin is “not a repeat offender.”

    As Japers’ Rink astutely points out, Ovechkin has 847 career hits that have produced one instance of supplementary discipline. He is not a dirty player.

    “He was trying to get position on him,” says Caps coach Bruce Boudreau. “And his leg came up, but I don’t think it was like, ‘I’m going to slew-foot the guy to get the penalty.’ He was trying to lean in to get the puck and his leg came out.

    “It’s a dangerous play. I’m glad the league is looking at those things.”

    Ovi plays as hard as anyone who has ever played the game, but he doesn’t play with malice.

    “I don’t think whatever Alex does there is a thought of injury,” continues Boudreau. “He plays really hard, and he plays to go get the pucks. I don’t think it’s going to change the way he plays. I don’t think anything he does is malicious.”

    Not sure how much of a deterrent the $2,500 fine will be. That’s the equivalent of a $13.89 fine to someone who makes $50K a year. 

    Of more immediate importance to the Capitals is tonight’s tilt against the 1-4-3 Islanders. Washington is 5-2-2, but it has led in all nine of its games and has let a few late leads erode in its wins. Tonight, the Caps will try to play a full 60 minutes and keep it buttoned down throughout.

    “It’s just keeping their focus the whole time and not having lapses,” says Boudreau. “And when we decide to play a game with no lapses, we’ll be a good hockey club. But when you play for 50 minutes, in 10 minutes if you’re not ready a lot of things can happen. It took Atlanta a minute and a half [Thursday] to pretty well self-destruct.”

    “Sixty minutes is so important.” 

    
    

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  • 5 weeks ago
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• On The Island

  • From: MikeVogel
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    The Caps arrived on Long Island this morning for tomorrow's tilt with the Islanders. Washington held a team meeting followed by an optional practice. The Caps are 3-0-1 in their last four games and can ensure a winning record for the month of October by taking a victory from the Fishermen on Saturday night.

    Thursday's win in Atlanta was a sloppy one for the Caps. Washington leaped to a 5-2 second-period lead with three goals in a span of just 88 seconds, but were unable to put the Thrashers away. The Caps gave up a shorthanded goal and a power play goal in the third, and also squandered a 5-on-3 power play of 1:08 in duration that might have put the final nail in Atlanta's coffin. The Caps finished the night 0-for-7 on the power play.

     

    "I take a lot of pride because I run the power play," says Caps coach Bruce Boudreau. "When you’re 0-for-7, you’ve got to put some of them in the net. And it nearly cost us. Our 5-on-3, you’ve got to score when you’ve got five minutes to go and you’ve got a 5-on-3. And we didn’t do it.

    “We talked about it before the game. When we win the battle of the special teams, we’re 4-0. When we lose it, we’re 0-2-2. So we know that special teams every night are going to be an integral part of winning and losing in this league."

    The Caps also did not get goals from any of their "Young Guns" on Thursday. Alexander Semin missed the game because of illness, and none of Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green were able to light the lamp. The Caps got some secondary scoring in the game, which enabled Washington to get away with a win. 

    Lack of secondary scoring had been a problem for Washington in the first eight games, but the Caps got it in spades on a night when they needed it, when they weren't getting the best from their best.

    “It’s individualism is what it comes down to and we talk about it a lot," says Boudreau, speaking of the team's power play troubles on Thursday. "Our power play is based on five guys playing like one. But when we have five guys playing like five guys, it becomes no good. You could look at that game and say overall it was Nicky and Alex’s worst game in a long time. And they’re integral parts of the power play. So when they’re not at the top of their game a lot of things aren’t working.”

    Semin won't play on Saturday against the Isles, nor will center Boyd Gordon or defenseman John Erskine, both of whom are nursing ailments. Jose Theodore will get the start in goal for Washington on Saturday.

     

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  • 5 weeks ago
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• Take The Over

  • From: MikeVogel
  • Description:

    Back on Oct. 7, 2005 the Capitals and Thrashers hooked up for the first time in the post-lockout era. The Thrashers took a 7-3 decision from the Caps in Washington that night, and thumped Washington 8-1 in Atlanta the very next night. Those two games have set the stage for the 28 games between the two clubs that have followed. 

    Caps-Thrashers contests have been mostly high-scoring affairs producing often lopsided results. Only four of the 30 games featured a combined total of four or fewer goals, excluding those things that went across the goal line during those things called shootouts. Eight of the 30 games were decided by a margin of three or more goals. 

    In 20 of the 30 games, at least one of the two teams has scored four or more goals in the game. Again, that excludes anything that may have occurred after the conclusion of overtime. 

    There have been a dozen one-goal decisions mixed in, with nine of those requiring overtime or a shootout to decide the result. The Caps are 2-3 in overtime games and 2-2 in shootout games against Atlanta since the lockout.

    Both teams have averaged better than three goals per game in the 30 contests. Although Atlanta has outscored the Caps 108-94 in the 30 games, Washington has picked up at least a point in 19 of them (14-11-5). 

    Tonight? Who knows? It's Semyon Varlamov for Washington against Ondrej Pavelec for the Thrashers. With a couple of kid goaltenders facing a couple of potent offensive attacks, we could be in store for another high-scoring exhibition at Philips Arena tonight.

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• Caps Back at Work

  • From: MikeVogel
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    After having Sunday off, the Capitals practiced for over an hour on Monday. The latter part of the session was devoted to a conditioning skate.
    
    Winger Alexander Semin was not on the ice; he is ill and went to visit a doctor. Left wing Tomas Fleischmann skated earlier in the morning on his own. Fleischmann is on long-term injured reserve, and has not yet been cleared for normal practice and game conditions.
    
    Center Boyd Gordon, who has missed the last two games with a back ailment, came out for Monday’s skate but didn’t remain for long. Injured defensemen John Erskine (hand) and Shaone Morrisonn (lower body) both went through the entire practice, as did goaltender Jose Theodore (back spasms).
    
    Theodore left Thursday’s 4-1 win over San Jose after the first period. He is not likely to start the Caps’ next game against the Thrashers this Thursday. Theodore had two tough starts at Philips Arena last season, going 0-1 with a 7.68 goals against average and a .778 save pct. in two starts in the Atlanta barn.
    
    Varlamov started one game at Philips Arena and relieved Theodore in another. The 21-year-old Russian rookie is 1-0 with a 2.07 GAA and a .919 save pct. lifetime in Atlanta.
    
    Looking ahead to Saturday’s game against the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum, it’s likely Theodore will be healthy enough to start. He is only 3-6-1 lifetime in that building, but he has a very impressive 1.96 GAA and a .935 save pct. against New York on Long Island.

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• Varly to Start vs. Preds

  • From: MikeVogel
  • Description:

    The morning after the Caps stopped a four-game winless run with a convincing 4-1 win over the San Jose Sharks, Washington prepped for the last game of a three-game homestand. The Nashville Predators come to town on Saturday.

    Goalie Jose Theodore left after the first period of the San Jose game because of back spasms, yielding to Semyon Varlamov. Varlamov, seeing his first game action in nine days, stopped all 15 shots he faced in earning his second win of the season.

    Varlamov will start against the Preds. Theodore is unlikely to suit up on Saturday; the Caps recalled Braden Holtby from ECHL South Carolina on Friday to serve as Varlamov’s back-up.

    “He probably won’t play Saturday,” says Caps coach Bruce Boudreau of Theodore, “but he’ll be ready to play [on Thursday] in Atlanta.”

    Varlamov was sharp against the Sharks after giving up goals in bunches in some of his preseason and early season efforts.

    “I’m really happy for him, but I knew he’d be fine,” says Boudreau. “I think it was all about getting his mind [right]. He is so wound up all the time about being so good and just [needs] to relax and let the game come to him. And he did that yesterday. He is such a talented guy that he is going to be good in this league for a lot of years.”

    On Friday morning, Varlamov told reporters that he felt fine going in cold after the first period but felt like he might not have had such good results had he been called upon in the third period.

    “He wants to shut out everybody every game,” says Boudreau. “It just looked to me like he was letting things bother him. When he got a goal scored on him, instead of letting it go and thinking, ‘Okay, what can I do to prevent the next one?,’ he was still thinking of the last one. So in all his previous games they were scoring goals in clumps. And if he learned from that, what a great cheap lesson.”

    Injured Caps center Boyd Gordon (back) also won’t play tomorrow, but should return soon.

    “He’s not going to play tomorrow,” says Boudreau of Gordon, “but he should be ready to go I would think by Thursday.”

    John Erskine missed Thursday’s game with an upper body injury. He is on injured reserve and will be eligible to come off on Thursday when Washington travels to Atlanta.

    In order to accommodate Holtby on the active roster, the Capitals placed forward Tomas Fleischmann on long term injured reserve, retroactive to the start of the season. Fleischmann has been sidelined with deep vein thrombosis but is getting close to returning to game action.

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• Half Full

  • From: MikeVogel
  • Description:

    The Capitals find themselves in the midst of a stretch in which they are home for 11 days, but in which they play just three games at Verizon Center. The second of those three games is Thursday night when the San Jose Sharks come to call. Today was the first of two practice days the Caps have in preparation for that contest.

    Although the Caps have lost four straight games (0-2-2), and are just 2-2-2 on the season despite holding the lead at some point in all six of those games, most prefer to see the glass as half-full, at least for now.

    “We’ve played," begins Caps forward Brooks Laich, "with the exception Toronto, a No. 1 and a No. 2 seed. We’ve played very good hockey teams, teams that just don’t go away, teams that don’t roll over. They keep coming. We can say we have to play with the lead better, but sometimes you have to give some credit to the other team and how hard they work.

    "That being said, we still believe we have a very good hockey team. And there is no reason to panic, Sure, things haven’t gone the way we wanted the last four games but if you panic you make life worse for yourself. A couple of hard days at practice, get back to the basics and we’ll be excited to play the game on Thursday."

    Except for one ill-timed penalty in the third period against Detroit on Saturday and one bad shift in the third period against New Jersey on Monday, Washington's effort and performance have both been better in the last two games.

    "We had one really bad shift that seems to stick out in everybody’s head," says Caps coach Bruce Boudreau of the loss to New Jersey. "They had 18 shots on goal with like eight minutes left in the third period. I’m looking at the tape this morning and we did so many good things, except get a win.

    “Our record at this time last year was 3-2-1 and was 3-3-1 after the seventh game. The schedule has been really grueling and we have competed with everybody. We have had leads in every game. Mike Knuble said it yesterday, ‘These are fixable problems and it will straighten itself out.’”

    Boudreau tweaked his forward lines again at Tuesday's practice, giving Brendan Morrison a go as the middle man between Alex Ovechkin and Mike Knuble. Nicklas Backstrom centered for Laich and Alexander Semin.

    “You’re looking for the chemistry," offers Boudreau. "We’d like to get all four lines scoring, but definitely more than one for sure. We tinkered with today again, and you’ve known me long enough that it might change again tomorrow. This is the way I wanted to go just to see the reaction and the body language of everybody concerned because sometimes you change lines and guys go from happy to sad in a heartbeat. But I think everybody accepted it pretty well.”

    Defensemen Tom Poti and John Erskine and center Boyd Gordon were not on the ice for Tuesday's practice.

    "Tom Poti played 30 minutes last night and he’s older, so we just gave him the day off," says Boudreau. "John Erskine has an upper body injury at this point. He’s day to day and I check almost hourly to hourly at this point to see how he’s doing. Boyd Gordon has a history of having a sore back so we just wanted to give it a rest so it doesn’t inflame."

    Notes: Hershey goaltender Michal Neuvirth (hip) has been given the go-ahead to resume play this weekend, so the Bears have reassigned goaltender Braden Holtby to the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL. Holby got into three games with the Bears, posting a 2-1 mark, a 1.01 GAA a .967 save pct. and a shutout. The Stingrays open their season this Friday when they host Wheeling.

     

     

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• Theodore in Goal Tonight vs. D

  • From: MikeVogel
  • Description:

    Jose Theodore will start for the third consecutive game when the Capitals host the Devils tonight at Verizon Center. Theodore started as many as seven straight games for the Caps last season.

    I talked to Theodore after practice one day last week, but was unable to publish on the blog then. We've ironed out those issues, and here are Theo's thoughts on a few subjects.

    First, I asked him what he would say to Semyon Varlamov who was pulled after allowing four second-period goals in his most recent start last Tuesday in Philadelphia.

    “It’s not the first time and it’s not the last time," says Jose. "Those kinds of things happen. He’s 21. It’s a learning experience for him. He’s a good goalie and he works hard. For him, it’s just part of getting experience. It’s all about coming back and working hard and bouncing back. That’s how a goalie gets maturity.'

    I also noted that playing goal for an offensively focused team such as the Capitals is not conducive to winning Vezina and Jennings Trophies.

    “I think every time you play you play to win games and that’s all you want to do is win," declares Theodore. "At the end of the day when you win, everybody is happy. Some games you might be up 5-1 and then it finishes 5-3. It doesn’t mean you didn’t make the key saves. But I think we have a team that is capable of winning a 2-1 hockey game as well as 6-5.

    "As a goalie you’ve got to make sure that if you’re down a couple of goals or you’re up a couple of goals, you’ve got to make the next save. I think last year proved it. Defensively, our goals against were on the higher side. But my winning percentage was the best I ever had. That means everything."

    at this point, I want to know his thoughts on goals against average and save pct., the traditional yardsticks for measuring a goaltender's effectiveness.

     

    “I always say it’s sometimes not an accurate stat just because of the different styles,' says Theodore. "Some teams really want to win games 1-0 and 2-1. Obviously we want to do that but with the style we play, the games might be a little bit higher scoring. At the end of the day, you’ve got to make the key saves at the right time in order to win. There’s no easy win out there. When you win, you’re happy."

     

    That last line may sound a bit like Denis Lemieux, but you can't argue its truth.

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• Wings Without Franzen

  • From: MikeVogel
  • Description:

    By now you know that Red Wings right wing Johan Franzen -- he of the 34 goals last season -- will miss the next four months because of a torn ACL in his left knee suffered in the team's home opener against Chicago on Thursday.

    Detroit recalled ex-Michigan State star Justin Abdelkader from Grad Rapids of the AHL to replace Franzen on the roster but the Wings are under no illusions about replacing Franzen's production.

    "You don't lose a power forward who scores 35 goals and breaks Gordie Howe's playoff scoring record and think you're going to magically find another one and plop him in there," says Red Wings general manager Ken Holland in this morning's Detroit News. "It's a [salary] cap world. It's going to put pressure on 18 other guys. Everyone's got to be 10 percent better. At the same time it opens up an opportunity for somebody else to step up."

    "Somebody else" in this case is Abdelkader, although he won't start out playing in Franzen's spot on Detroit's top line. He made the Wings' opening night roster and played in the team's first two games in Sweden this season. Detroit signed veteran winger Brad May earlier in the week, and it sent Abdelkader back to Grand Rapids, but not for long.

    "It's tough anytime guys get injured," says Abdelkader. "But it just means it's an opportunity for other guys. Hopefully I can prove to them I can stay up here and play well and earn a spot here."

    "I always hope when injuries happen they happen about December," says Red Wings coach Mike Babcock, "so you've got your kids playing at an NHL level before it happens and you don't have to force-feed them. The reality of the situation is that didn't happen. Someone else is going to get a real good opportunity. Guys are going to have to step up.

    "If I'm Abbie I say to myself, 'I had an opportunity to be here. That opportunity was taken away, whether as a player I thought it was right or night, What am I going to do to make sure I don't have to ride that bus another six hours, or another 106 hours?' Come here and play hard.

    "He's got lots of ability. He's got good size. We think he is a biog part of our future. Right now, he is getting force-fed more than he would be if he had gone back to Grand Rapids and played 20 minutes a night."

    Babcock's first line for tonight's game looks every bit as daunting as Washington's top unit of Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin most look to Capitals opponents. The Wings will go with Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Holmstrom flanking Pavel Datsyuk on the top line.

    Babcock likes the Caps, whose style is similar to that of the Wings.

    "I like their team," says Babcock of the Capitals. "I like the way they play. They play with their foot on the gas. They're a fun team to watch, explosive."

     

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• Got Goaltending?

  • From: MikeVogel
  • Description:

    The Caps apparently do. First-year pro Braden Holtby pitched a shutout against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, making 38 saves in his first professional road start. The 20-year-old Holtby won his professional debut in Hershey's home opener last Saturday, carrying a shutout into the third and making 23 saves in a 3-1 win that night.

    While the focus is deservedly on 2006 draftees Semyon Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth as Washington's possible goaltenders of the future, Holtby -- a 2008 draftee -- figures to be heard from as well.

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• Fehr's U-Turn, From Hershey to

  • From: MikeVogel
  • Description:

    Last night, Caps right wing Eric Fehr believed he would be heading up to Hershey for the weekend. With the 24-year-old at the tail end of his rehab from dual shoulder surgery in the off-season, the Caps had an inkling to send Fehr to Hershey on a conditioning stint. The Bears are playing three games in as many nights this weekend.

    Fehr took the warm-up prior to last night's game with the Rangers, then watched Washington's 4-3 loss to the Blueshirts from the press box upstairs. Assured that none of the Capitals' forwards had sustained any injuries, Fehr got in the car and began his journey to south central Pennsylvania.

    Somewhere around Frederick, Md., Fehr got a call from Caps coach Bruce Boudreau asking him to turn around and head back. Boudreau had originally targeted Monday's date with the Devils or Thursday's skirmish with the Sharks as Fehr's return date, but now it's looking like Fehr could be in the lineup when the Caps visit Detroit on Saturday night. He skated on the team's third line with David Steckel and Chris Clark at Friday's practice.

    "I'll take the game here," says Fehr, not lamenting an AHL weekend that never came to be. "Hopefully I can get my feet wet and play well."

    Washington has racked up 18 goals in the season's first four games, but only six different players -- the team's top six forwards -- have contributed to that total.The Caps have yet to get a goal from any of their bottom six forwards or any of their defensemen.

    Fehr had a pair of 50-goal seasons as a junior in the WHL and had a couple of 20-goal campaigns with Hershey. He had a dozen goals for the Caps last season, his NHL career high. It's not fair to expect Fehr to single-handedly fix Washington's secondary scoring woes, but once he gets back to form he is capable of a healthy offensive contribution.

    "I don't really know what to expect," says Fehr. "I'm going to go out there and go hard, and hopefully I can help contribute on the scoresheet in some way and just help this team get back to its winning ways."

    Instead of earning the distinction of becoming the first Bear to wear the Chocolate and White for Boudreau, Bob Woods, and Mark French, Fehr hopes to be playing his first career game at the storied Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

    "I really wanted to play," he says. "I looked on the calendar and saw this game in Detroit. Anywhere there is an Original Six team, there is a lot of history there. I take a lot of pride in playing against teams like that. It's real exciting for me."

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• Three of 82

  • From: MikeVogel
  • Description:

    Game No. 3 of an 82-game slate is hardly reason for excitement, but tonight's Caps-Flyers game should be a good one. Assuming of course, that you're not one of those unfortunate souls with Direct TV. Tonight's episode of "SharkTank" isn't likely to hold a candle. Sorry.

    Most folks see the Capitals and the Flyers as two of the top four teams in the Eastern Conference, along with the Penguins and Bruins. Washington and Philadelphia engaged in an entertaining playoff series some 18 months ago, and both clubs have improved since.

    The Flyers' off-season additions of Ray Emery, Chris Pronger and Ian Laperriere were inspired ones. Philly has some good young players coming up in Claude Giroux and James van Riemsdyk. 

    Again, we are only two games deep in an 82-game run. There is no real significance attached to tonight's tilt, but the members of the media and the hockey community here that I have talked with are all jacked for this one tonight.

    There is plenty of star power in Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green, Alexander Semin, Pronger, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and even Emery, to a lesser and different degree. It's the Flyers' home opener. Mike Knuble, a fave Flyer for four seasons, is making his first visit in an enemy sweater since before the lockout.

    The Caps have scored 10 goals in two games. The Flyers have allowed just two goals in two games. Both teams are 2-0. But again, it's Game No. 3.

    "If this was the middle of the season and the numbers were like that, it would be [something remarkable]," says Caps coach Bruce Boudreau. "They're an offensive club that's playing good defensively right now. The numbers mean nothing after two games. By Thursday we could be .500."

    So it doesn't mean anything. But it should be fun to watch anyway. You can always TIVO SharkTank.

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• No More Jell-O For Me, Mom

  • From: MikeVogel
  • Description:

    As a guy who finds the "tradition" of "celebrating" division championships cloying and underwhelming, I was happy to see the Bruins gave exactly zero mention or notice to the fact that they won the 2008-09 Northeast Division title in Thursday night's season opener. 

    There are 30 teams in the NHL, and none of them is in the business of winning division championships. Six teams -- or one-fifth of the teams in the circuit -- will win them, but a year or two from now few will care or remember. It's all about the Stanley Cup, and anything less is a door prize. 

    With that in mind, I am happy to report that Saturday night's home opener here in the District will not feature overly needless pomp and circumstance to note the Caps' capturing of the 2008-09 Southeast Division crown.

    “I don’t know what kind of message it is," says Caps coach Bruce Boudreau, of the team's decision not to make a big deal of something that happened last season, and something that falls well below the level of expectations that the Capitals have for themselves.

    "Boston just introduced the players," notes Boudreau, "They didn’t show any banners, did they? Their goals are bigger than division championships. I think ours are bigger than division championships. We raised the banner last year, so there’s no point in raising it again.”

    Hear, hear. A division championship and about four bucks will get you a large cappuccino at a local coffee emporium. And we all know that foam is a key component in the composition of cappuccino. 

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