For who?

Stubhub is always a blast this time of year. Ticket brokers are selling off tickets to important games, and it's always a hoot to see how much tickets are going for. Like seats right behind the penalty box going for $8,888. Against the Devils.

Not against the Penguins or the Flyers, or against a team whom you'd love to heckle, but against the Devils. And honestly, who would spend that much money to harass Bobby Holik.

A picture says a thousand words

An addition to the Caps blogging community.

Hockey Primetime is a start up hockey forum, with a brand new Caps Blogger, Meghann Bowman. For those unaware, Ms. Bowman has edited this very blog many times. So, if you see a down turn in quality on this blog, it's most likely due to the fact that she is occupied with her own endeavors. Ah, who are we kidding. This blog doesn't have any quality.


As far as tonight's game, it's going to be an intense game, the most important hockey game in Washington in five years. If I wasn't at work right now, I'd be drinking, or sleeping, but honestly, I can't think of anything to write that hasn't been said elsewhere, so I shall bury myself in work and get ready for tonight's game.


Dear Jeebus I'm stressed.

Oh Say Can You Sing?

Interested in singing the national anthem before a televised Caps game? Tuesday, March 4th (like, next Tuesday), there will be an American Idol style competition at the ESPNZone in DC at 6 pm. The winner of said competition will get to sing the "Star Spangled Banner" before the Capitals-Penguins tilt on Sunday the 9th at 12:30 pm. Good luck to all! You won't be any worse than Bitsy.

I've Never Been Prouder

As the Capitals headed into yet another skills competition following the completion of Wednesday's game against the Islanders, something happened in the arena that made me proud to be a Caps fan. A decent chunk of the crowd, (maybe a thousand) got up, and left. They left the game before the shootout, and that to me says more about the shootout than any focus group or Bettman spun logic EVER could.

God bless America.


Meanwhile, our owner is trying to stifle civic pride, and the Flyers keep on trucking.


I'll probably write more on the Ted thing tomorrow.

Really NHL.com?

Has anyone checked out the NHL.com "recap" to tonight's win?

Here's a link

Caps fans are always complaining about how the NHL never gives us much love. We beat the Penguins in one of the most exciting games of the year, and it's not on NHL.com. We have the rookie of the year two years back, but the league hardly gives him lip service as the Crosby promotion machine roars on. Following the Calder victory for Ovechkin, the myth of "Ovechkin edges Crosby for the Calder" begins. We could count to hundred of screwjobs by the refs (including incidents like tonight).

But here it is in a nutshell, from the article,
"With the score tied at 2 early in the third period, Nash was on a mini-break. . .Nash skated around the pileup . . . and beat Brent Morrison on the stick side for his second of the game and 28th of the season."


really NHL.com? I understand that the AP wrote the article, but shouldn't you have someone around to fix these types of things? I understand that the author probably confused the Caps' defenseman Shoane Morrisonn in there, but if that were the case, "Morrisonn" was spelled wrong.

I'll just take the two points and move along

853 Days

"What is how long it has been since the lockout ended, Alex?"

On October 5, 2005, the NHL resumed regular season play with all 30 teams in action. That night was heralded around the league as the debut of Sidney Crosby. Alex Ovechkin played his first game that night as well, scoring a pair of goals as the Capitals defeated the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets by a score of 3-2. 28 months later, the Caps are finally going to Columbus as part of the NHL's unbalanced schedule. I don't know about you, but that is a looooong time between games.

Of the Capitals that are taking to the ice tonight, here is a complete list of those that played the last time these two teams tangled:

Alexander Ovechkin
Matt Bradley
Olaf Kolzig
Shoane Morrisonn
Boyd Gordon

We all know that the NHL's unbalanced schedule is to blame for this, and we all know that the reason the NHL created the unbalanced schedule was to create rivalries among teams that are closer to each other geographically. But think for a second. Of the four other teams in the Capitals' division, only the Carolina Hurricanes are closer to Washington than Columbus. But I won't begrudge the team a couple of trips to Florida in the middle of winter. I'm just glad the Caps will get to go off to far away Columbus more than once every three years now.

A bit of a concern . . .

16:32 Stoppage - Puck in the crowd
16:32 Boyd Gordon won faceoff against Milan Hejduk
16:42 Giveaway by Alexander Semin
16:50 Shaone Morrisonn credited with hit on Milan Hejduk
17:11 Shot blocked by Jordan Leopold
17:11 Penalty to Michael Nylander 2 minutes for Holding Jaroslav Hlinka
17:11 Power play - Paul Stastny won faceoff against Dave Steckel
17:38 Power play - Shot missed by John-Michael Liles(Wide of Net)
17:39 Stoppage - Goalie Stopped
17:39 Power play - Paul Stastny won faceoff against Dave Steckel
17:54 Power play - Shot missed by John-Michael Liles(Hit Goalpost)
18:01 Power play - Giveaway by John-Michael Liles
18:03 Shot on goal by Boyd Gordon (Backhand 12 ft)
18:04 Shot missed by Shaone Morrisonn(Wide of Net)
18:05 Stoppage - Net Off Moorings
18:05 Shorthanded - Brooks Laich won faceoff against Jaroslav Hlinka
18:22 Stoppage - Offside
18:22 Shorthanded - Boyd Gordon won faceoff against Jaroslav Hlinka
19:16 Takeaway by Milan Jurcina
19:22 Shot blocked by Alexander Ovechkin
19:31 Shot missed by Alexander Ovechkin(Wide of Net)
19:37 blocked by Alexander Ovechkin
19:42 Stoppage - Puck in Bench

For those wondering why I'm posting the play-by-play from Wednesday's night win, you had to be there. At 16:32 of the first period, a puck flew into the seats and hit a woman about two sections over from me in section 114. People in her vicinity signaled for the paramedics immediately, and the usher went to go get them. Down in the seats, people began pooling any napkins they had available to stop the bleeding. Meanwhile play went on. A few minutes later there was a penalty on Washington. No paramedics. A couple of fans stepped forward to take charge, presumably people with some medical training, be they EMTs, Doctors, or Nurses. The Caps killed off the penalty. No paramedics. The Avalanche failed to score on the power play, no paramedics. Finally a minute or two after that, the paramedics lacsadaisically sauntered down the aisle to treat the woman. During mites on ice, the woman was escorted out, not returning for the duration of the match.

By my count, there were 4 stoppages in play, and a little over 3 minutes in game time between when the puck was over and when the paramedics finally showed up, which I figure to be about a 6-7 minute delay. What were the paramedics doing? The first aid station is behind section 117, right next to the incident. When someone gets hit in the head by a piece of frozen rubber being propelled that hard, you have to wonder what takes the paramedics so long.

On a positive note, it was nice to feel Verizon Center as cold as well, a hockey rink. Someone has been getting the notes on how to make the ice better it seems.

Signs You Might Be A Caps Fan, part 1.

You are watching two teams play, neither of which is the Caps. When regulation ends in a tie, your first thought is "Oh, good. We at least get a point."


*sigh*

Season Preview: Dave Steckel

I held out on doing Steckel's bio for a while. I started out doing a lot of the checking line guys, but I didn't want to have to do a guy that wasn't going to stick with the team. Then he hung around. And hung around. And hung around, and lo and behold, he's still here. I guess I should have done him earlier, and just passed on Josef Boumedienne.
Dave Steckel has the potential to be one of the best penalty killers in league history. No really. With his long wingspan, Steckel makes a 5 on 3 seem like a 5 on three-and-a-half. When put out there with Boyd Gordon (as he so often was in Hershey), Steckel and Gordon become an extremely potenet PK combo, something that will only help the Caps, as their special teams have really been their downfall the last few years.

Did we also mention he's great at faceoffs? During the Carolina preseason game, Steckel beat Face-off wizard Rod Brind'Amour in 6 straight faceoffs in the third period, and in the Caps/Flyers preseason game in which the Caps managed that great comeback, Steckel was seen taking faceoffs in both the offensive and defensive zone for Victor Kozlov, helping the Caps chances at gaining control of the puck.

Look for Steckel to bounce between the third and fourth line this season, depending on who is healthy. Also keep an eye out for him any time the Caps are down a man, and any time they really need to win that faceoff.

Season Preview: Alexander Ovechkin

Who? Oh, yeah. Alexander Ovechkin has completely lit up the NHL since his arrival after the lockout, starting with 2 goals in his debut. He won the Calder his rookie season, and finished 3rd in the scoring race. A slump in the middle of his second season left him with a "measely" 94 points last season, but he had to adjust to linemates being traded, and the team generally sucking in the second half. Now the Caps have increased Ovy's support cast, but not necessarily his linemates. A lot has been said about the Caps adding offense to help Ovy, but not much of that will be playing on Ovy's line. Sure Kozlov was a nice signing, but I don't think you'll find too many people out there that will say that Kozlov and Fleischmann are better players than Chris Clark and Dainius Zubrus. The real help will be in the Caps having a third line that can score, and very potent second line to play between the two lines. Will that help Ovy learn that he can't do it all by himself? Will Ovy have a "breakout" year and win the Richard trophy like everyone knows he can? Will I keep asking rhetorical questions?

Season Preview: Brooks Laich

So where does Brooks Laich fit in? With all the talk of Clymer going to the minors, and figuring out what our third line is, and who plays with who up top, people seem to be forgetting about the guy that looks just like Chris Clark, Brooks Laich. Will Brooks get to play a lot this year? Will we be renaming part of the press box the "Brooks Laich" wing? It all depends on who is healthy and who has the hot hand. Look for Brooks to be able to get time in the line up as coach Hanlon looks to switch things up, and as injuries begin to deplete the Caps, as it invariably will at some point.

Season Preview: Nicklas Backstrom

The Caps newest wunderkid is finally here, Nicklas Backstrom. According to some reports, Backstrom will score 200 points this season, and accomplish more in a week than Chuck Norris would in a year.

Not since Alexander Ovechkin has a Caps' prospect had anywhere near the hype that Backstrom has, but the front office know that "Becks" won't have that kind of rookie season. Look for Backstrom to have a solid season, starting on the right wing on the second lien, but probably moving to center at some point before the season is over. And given the talent among his linemates, Michael Nylander and Alexander Semin, maybe Backstrom will be able to make a dent in that 200 point plateau.

Season Preview: Michael Nylander

Michael Nylander is back in the fold, or as Locker will undoubtedly call him "Michael Michael Motorcycle" (the over/under is in the first intermission). After a period that saw Nylander go to first Boston and then New York, Nylander was the Caps' big splash this summer in the Free Agent market, luring him from Edmonton at the last mintue (or after the last minute if you are Kevin Lowe, what ever happened to the leagal action he threatened against the Caps, Nylander, and his agent?)

Nylander was brought in to be the Caps top center, and everyone assumed it was for Ovechkin. Except that Nylander was immediately paired with Semin on the Caps' "second line." So it's up to Nylander this year to get the puck to the other Alexander, and mentor that young Backstrom kid that everyone's been yakking so much about, And heck, maybe get the team back to the playoffs. One thing is for certain, he can rest a little easier knowing that Yonkman isn't on the club anymore.

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.

Season Preview: Alexander Semin

Alexander Semin is a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a, well you get the point. Does he speak English? I've heard him speak it pretty darn well. But then he needs an interpreter for an interview with the Post's Tarik El-Bashir. He's got an attitude problem, but then again, I didn't see any problems coming forth from the locker room last year, when Semin put up 38 goals and 73 points, both totals being good enough for second on the team to that other Alex. So what will Semin do this year? Well, hopefully having better linemates will get him even more productive. I don't think there's anyone in America that believes that Nylander and Backstrom aren't a step up from Pettinger and the rotation of Laich, Klepis, and Beech (no offense to Princess). Between the improved linemates and the (hopefully) improved power play, it'll be nice to see Semin's goals go up. Or at least his assists.


And maybe he won't make people mad enough to smash their iPod.

Season Preview: Boyd Gordon

Boyd Gordon (or "Gordo" as everyone with the name "Gordon" seems to be nicknamed), seems to finally be sticking in the NHL. With the potential to be one of the best defensive forwards in the league, Gordon finally seem to arrive last year, as he managed to shut down other team's offensive lines on a decently consistant basis. The former first overall draft pick may not be racking up the points like some of the players drafted around him (like Chris Higgins, Alexander Steen and . . . ummm . . .Jakub Klepis?), but Gordon has shown great skill at Penalty Killing and is coming along nicely in faceoffs. Could he be a little meaner? Sure. Could he provide more goals? Sure. But for now, he's firmly implanted as the third line center, and racking up the TOI on the PK and against the other team's top line.

Season Preview: Matt Pettinger

For Matt "Princess" Pettinger, it's pretty simple what he needs to do: stay healthy. In each of the two seasons since the lockout, Princess has had injury concerns, and as a result hasn't been able to play to his full potential. He missed 11 games in '05-'06 (although a couple of those were as a healthy scratch), and he missed 18 last year. If Matt can stay healthy, he can help this time a lot on the third line. If he's spending more time in the trainers room than in the weight room, it could be a rough season. As a result of the Caps' added depth, Pettinger will be moved from the second lien down to the third line, but this potent third line should still get plenty of ice time and score plenty of goals as Pettinger skates alongside Chris Clark and Boyd Gordon

If I hadn't seen it . . .

I wouldn't believe it. Down 5-2 in the 3rd, the Caps came back to beat the Flyers 7-5 on five unanswered third period goals. Now the Caps were down 5-2, but it wasn't really that the team played all that horrible up to that point, they dominated the play 5 on 5, but the Flyers were burying their chances, Poti gave Richards a gift, and Koharski made some interesting calls in the second (such as Chris Clark getting called for holding when he had two hands on the stick). Above all else though, Olie had a rough game. At one point the Flyers had 5 goals on 12 shots. The past two seasons, the Caps have not been in any games unless Olie was in his top form. Olie wasn't in top form last night, and the Caps rallied to bail him out, something unseen around these parts in a while.

The Good:
1. Alexander Ovechkin. In the third period he just woke up and won the game. Something he's always wanted to do in the past, and been capable of doing before (like games against Anaheim in '06 and Atlanta in '07).

2. Brian Pothier. Exactly what we expected when we got him. Now that he's not logging top 2 minutes, he's playing at his level, and shining both in the offensive and defensive zones.

3. Dave Steckel. He's making management's decisions extremely difficult about who we are going to keep along the back 6. His second and third goals of the preseason along with solid defensive play and his amazing face-off abilities are showing he belongs in the NHL with some organization.

The Bad:
1. Mike Green. He kept getting ice time and doing nothing with it. I've never seen a puck bounce over a stick as much as it did over his last night, giving me flashbacks to Sergei Gonchar.
2. Tom Poti. He had a solid game most of the way, but the moment that sticks out is that awful turnover in the first leading to Richards' first goal.
3. Jeff Schultz. He's not playing anything like he did at the beginning of last season. He's going down to Hershey, and they are just going to murder him when he gets there.

The Ugly:
1. Olie Kolzig. I'm sorry, sir, but that was as bad as I've seen you play in a while. Let's get the rest off in the preseason, please.
2. The officiating. I've never seen the player closer to the boards get called for boarding. I've never seen a player with two hands on the stick called for holding, yet both of those happened against the Caps in the second period, leading to a PP goal by the Flyers.
3. The ice. Let's get this fixed guys. I know it's been in the upper 80s and 90s the last few weeks, but this team needs quality ice to move the way it wants to.

Season Preview: Brian Sutherby

There is no way to describe Brian Sutherby's 2006-2007 season outside of calling it a disappointment. After ratcheting up 14 goals in '05-'06 as part of the Caps' effective "CBS" line alongside Ben Clymer and Matt Bradley, Sutherby saw his effectiveness and minutes drop after the unit was broken up to start the season. After 14 goals coming out of the lockout, Sutherby only managed half that last season. But it wasn't all gloom and doom for the 25 year old in '06-'07, getting practically the same amount of ice time, Sutherby's +/- increased to -9 after a -17 campaign, so his defensive abilities seem to be improving. Sutherby also picked up his first career power play goal, so that may be something he can hang his hat on.

This upcoming season, look for Sutherby to begin on the fourth line, trying to provide a spark for his linemates with his physical, belligerent play, and trying to chip in a goal or two in the mean time.