Ask FS! 10/29/07

Welcome back loyal readers! It's time once again for the only online column to win the triple crown . . . in horse racing. It's "Ask FS!" Today's question comes from Suzie in Wheaton. Suzie asks

Why doesn't Nylander get moved to the [Ovechkin] line?

Great question Suzie! Hanlon loves mixing up his lines, based on performance, injury, and the moon's position, but as of yet, we haven't seen a lot of Ovechkin and Nylander together. When Nylander was acquired, everyone assumed it would be to play with Ovechkin, but everyone had the wrong Alex. Now that the Caps have no right wings (Alexander Semin and Chris Clark are both hurt), it is possible that we will see Nylander moved up to the top line, but not necessarily. In the one game that Ovechkin and Nylander saw considerable time together, we saw Ovechkin and Nylander put a -2 together up on the boards, and that seems to be the real reason that Hanlon is keeping them apart. Another reason could be that Hanlon wants to develop two scoring lines, and putting his two most healthy forwards on the same line is no way to do that. Until the team gets healthy, we really have no idea what the plans are for the future with regards to the Caps' top 6 forwards.

Thanks for the question Suzie! If you have a question you'd like to see show up in a future edition of "Ask FS!" just drop it in the comments section below, or send an email to the link provided in the profile. Until next time, "Let's Go Caps!"

Your no brain move of the week.

Am I the only one that is saying "No duh" after watching Chris Clark's breakout performance on Wednesday? It's not that hard to predict, take a guy that scored 50 goals the last two seasons on a line with Ovechkin, throw him back out there with Ovy, and watch him put in his first two goals of the season. Despite what some people have said, it's not THAT easy to play on a line with Ovechkin. If you can figure it out, you're going to get inflated points, it's that easy, as Dainius Zubrus and Chris Clark will tell you. It's also not the most obvious thing in the world, as some guys like Jiri Novotny, Joe Motzko, and Thomas Fleischman will tell you, as they have been given opportunities out the wazoo, and have been unable to perform anything.

Now that the Motzko experiment has ended, and Fleischman has been proven to be a bust, could we finally see some real playing time for Brian Sutherby? One could only hope so. Maybe #16 on the score sheet, but #1 in my heart will get to see the ice this weekend or on the ensuing "Western" road trip.

Season Preview: Chris Clark

Captian Chris Clark will be back for his third season with the club, second as captain. Clark has spent most of the last two years on a scoring line with Alexander Ovechkin and Dainus Zubrus. With Zubrus gone and the Caps in posession of some new high-priced toys, Clark's role has changed to being on the third line, while Thomas Fleischmann gets a look on the top line with Ovechkin and Kozlov. Clark joins Matt Pettinger and Boyd Gordon on the third line, whose main goal will be shutting down opponents. For the last two years Clark has put up career numbers in goals. This year we will learn if it was because of Clark's natural skill, or because he had that numbe 8 guy playing across from him.

Bored this weekend?

Nothing planned this Saturday afternoon? Desperately needing your hockey fix?

Well, if you are in the Dulles Airport area (like myself), just head on down and check out the 15th Annual Dulles Day Family Festival and Plane Pull! As if the thought of pulling an airplane wasn't exciting enough, I received the following press release this morning from the Caps,

Washington Capitals team captain Chris Clark will take part in the 15th annual Dulles Family Day Festival and Plane Pull on Saturday, Sept. 8, from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at Dulles International Airport. Clark, who will participate in the 145,000-pound plane pull for Team Southwest Airlines, will also sign autographs for fans attending the event from noon-2 p.m.

So hey, head on down to the Plane Pull tomorrow, check out the Captain, and report back to me on whether or not he bothered to put his teeth in (because he certainly didn't have them in during practice yesterday.