Sabres 2, Caps 3

To say Alex Ovechkin is the best player in the league these days is not only a legitimate claim, its a bit of an understatement, if that were possible. The guy has been on an absolute tear (21 goals and 21 assists in 27 games... jesus). He has overtaken Sidney Crosby and is currently second in points in the league. He has a GWG and a GTG in the last two games. His line is out there for every important shift, and they have not failed to deliver. His center is on the league leaderboard for assists. His right wing has four (pretty) goals in four games.

This team is rolling. They've won 7 of their last 8 games. They are currently tied for second in the Eastern Conference with the New York Rangers (who they beat twice) and are only behind the Boston Bruins (who they beat in their only meeting). Thankfully, the Philly game is looking like a bit of a hiccup. And the most amazing part? They're doing it without their best defenseman, (arguably) their best goalie, the best natural goal scorer in the game, and their most experienced player.

Think about when those guys get back for good.

Some random thoughts on the game:

• Ovie can score in any way imaginable, and he showed it once again. He also was hitting everything that moved, made some sweet passes, and had a goal that got waved off that in my opinion would have still gone in even if Lalime hadn't been interfered with.
• Backstrom seems finding some good chemistry with Kozlov.
• Sloan got dangled pretty badly towards the end there. Can't let that happen.
• Good to see Helmer get a star of the game.
  
• Also good to see Juice shooting now. I may have been wrong about him... nah...
• Theo was outstanding. The defense (and especially Boyd Gordon) let him down badly on the first one. The second one wasn't even on net, it just hit Maxim in the leg and deflected in.
• Didn't notice Clark offensively but he was making his presence felt with physicality with a nice hit behind Lalime's net.
  
• Ovechkin almost took Vanek's leg off on a slapshot on the power play. If that happens to our boy when he's put on the penalty kill (though I've seen a lot less of him on it), then we might be in trouble.

Toronto looms on Sunday, and hopefully the return of someone like Green will help this already confident team. I'd look for Theodore to get the start, but maybe Gabby's got something up his sleeve with a young stud goalie who's 2-0 in the bigs on his bench. We'll have to see.

Whoops

Anyone think GMGM sent Varlamov down a bit too early?

Caps 5, Isle 4 (OT)

Not the greatest game of the year, by any stretch of the imagination. The boys let two 2 goal leads slip away and could have easily lost a game that they should have won by three or four goals, considering how bad the Islanders are. Regardless, two points is two points, and an eight point lead in the division, as well as third place overall in the conference, and shooting up to number 3 in the SI power rankings, are all pretty sweet right about now.

Some random thoughts:

• Have I mentioned that I love that Alex Ovechkin guy? AO is now closing in on Malkin and Crosby at the top of the leaderboards in points and is making a run at Vanek at the top of the leaderboards in goals.
• Johnson wasn't his dominant self of the season thus far, but he made the saves when they counted and was let down on a couple of goals.
• Does anyone else privately kind of hope that Theodore stays injured?
• The Caps were money in the faceoff circle.
• Green had the hit of the night: open ice, coming across the blue line, shoulder into chest. Remind anyone else of Scotty Stevens?
  
• Alzner and Jurcina is quickly turning into the teams best D-man pairing defensively.
• Did I just use Jurcina in that sentence? wow.
  
• Our old friend Brendan Witt was -5.
  
• Seems like goals like that just come naturally to Brooks Laich.
• Collins was okay, but took two bad penalties that led the Isle back into the game.
  
• Semin had an off game. But that behind the back pass was pretty.
• With two assists, Backis is slowly crawling up the points chart. Think where he and Ovie would be right now without those slow starts.
• And finally, Ovechkin's shot in OT was absolutely gorgeous.
  

Penguins Fans Annoy Me

Gonchar has played exactly zero regular season games this year.

Hey Kobasew...

You've got nothing.

Ladies and Gentlemen

Alexander Semin is back.

Lepisto Sent Down

Via Tarik, the Caps sent down Lepisto this morning, meaning a defenseman is coming back. Tarik thinks either Green or Poti will be returning (either one would be great), but its also possible that Sloan is ready to play and Collins played better than Lepisto during his call up (which is completely true). So we'll see.

Canes 3, Caps 1

It's hard to blame a loss on two people, but I am prepared to do that tonight by putting a good amount of the responsibility on two guys: Michael Leighton and Sami Lepisto. Leighton was nothing short of outstanding, stopping 38 of 39 shots. He stopped Ovie on a penalty shot and absolutely robbed him (and several other Caps) numerous times. Lepisto was statistically only bad in his plus/minues at -2, but he continues to be an absolute disaster behind the Caps net, and the go-ahead goal for Carolina was scored because he lost a key battle to Eric Staal and Sergei Samsanov.

My opinion? We need Mike Green and Alexander Semin now more than ever.

Some random thoughts:

• The Caps came out and played their hearts out the whole second period and most of the third period. They had allowed no shots by the halfway mark of the third and the two goals scored on Theo in the third period were shots 2 and 3 of the third frame (though the defense left him out to dry on all three goals).
• Ovechkin's pass to Backstrom was a thing of beauty. Backstrom's one-timer was as well.
• I can't remember the last time the Caps played a team's number one goalie at the start of the season besides last night in Toronto.
  
• Alzner, despite being minus 1, played a pretty solid game and made few mistakes. The same could be said for Collins.
• Ovechkin fired 11 shots on net. That's more than Carolina had in each period.
• I despise Eric Staal more with every additional game we play against him.
  
• The refs were on our side, for once, and the Caps got away with at least two calls that could have been easy penalties (especially on the 5 on 3).
  

So the boys get a bit of a break, two days off before facing the white-hot and Eastern Conference leading Bruins on Wednesday at Verizon. Please, please tell me that we get somebody back by then.

Huh?

I was kind of confused when I saw this on SI.com (2nd time I've been confused by something on that site in a week).



Checked back a minute later, and they'd changed it... kind of...



Weak.

Caps 2, Leafs 1

Great win in Toronto, and coupled with a Carolina OTL, we just opened up a 6 point gap in the standings with the 'Canes coming up tomorrow.

Some random thoughts on the game:

• Congrats to King Karl, with his first NHL goal, second assist, a +2 rating, and a 100% shooting percentage.
• Ovechkin had a typical off night, and an off night for him is a helluva lot of shots (7) with everything slightly off (and one easy shot banking off the post). No points for AO either.
• Flash, Backstrom, and Kozlov, the Caps besides Ovie who have been providing all the scoring, were all pointless. Nyls was the only Capital forward who recorded a point.
  
• Ovie led the team in ice time with 23:17, and Alzner led all defensemen with 23:06. I love what the kid has been doing, but the relatively gradual development is what made Mike Green who he is. Giving King Karl over 23 minutes of ice time on the top line isn't slow development, but we don't have a lot of options now.
• Fehr is hurt. If he can't go expect to see Mink or Bourque in Carolina tomorrow.
• Sha Mo was hitting everything that moved, and had one of his better games of the season.
  
• Sami Lepisto just plain sucked tonight.
• Johnny was quite good, stopping 19 out of 20 shots and looking confident and poised all game. The only goal he allowed was more of a good shot by Antropov than a mistake by BJ1 (and I think he was moving across too after a nifty drop pass from Stajan).
• I thought Helmer was pretty good. I don't even remember seeing Collins, and that's a good thing. Goose eggs across the board with one shot and 13 minutes of ice time.
• Keith Aucoin continues to impress.
• Finally, I wasn't angry at Milan Jurcina after the game. His goal was an absolute bomb, and finally proved all those scouting reports I've heard and never believed that he has a good slapshot.

So, back to back games result in a trip to Carolina tomorrow. Hopefully the boys get some sleep tonight, we've seen what back to back games have done to the Caps this year (1-3-1 on the tail end of back to back games so far).

Next Up From Hershey...

Eric Fehr is hurt.

2009 Mock Draft

It may be a bit early to start talking about this but Allan Muir has the 2009 mock draft over at SI.com, our favorite hockey media source besides ESPN. Muir has the Caps picking Swedish center Jacob Josefson (don't we have a couple of those already?). Josefon is a 2-way forward with an offensive upside, reminding me a bit of Brooks Laich. Anything can happen between now and summer though.

Or so I thought, until I looked at the standings and realized that the Lightning and Thrashers are the leagues two worst teams. And I really do not see either of those teams getting better this season, especially since they are likely to dump their best players at the trade deadline (the Ilya Kovalchuk rumors have already begun). So, assume that the bottom half of the NHL standings finish roughly the same, with the Thrashers in the cellar and the Lightning second to last. That would mean the John Tavares is essentially guarenteed a spot in the Southeast Division. If he's with the Lightning, then thats Stamkos and Tavares together. If he ends up with the Thrashers, and they end up keeping Kovie, then thats Ilya and Tavares together.

Both prospects are, I will admit, a bit unnerving. But neither team has much in the way of goaltending, so I'm not too worried.

Avery Given Six Game Suspension

So when a player rams another player from behind, head to the glass, possibly knocking him unconscious, possibly knocking him out for a couple of weeks, you get a slap on the wrist and a one game suspension.

When you go in front of a bunch of reporters and make an immature comment (with a slightly sexual reference), the likes of which have defined your career as an agitator in the NHL, you get suspended for six times as long.

Well done Bettman. Well done.

Caps 5, Isle 2

Good rebound game for the Caps, breaking a 2 game losing streak and hopefully getting some confidence for the weekend in Toronto and Carolina.

Some random thoughts:

• The Caps dominated the first period... until the Islanders got back into it with a power-play goal.
• Really crappy backchecking on the Islander's second goal, and Lepisto played some pretty weak defense behind the net and lost a key battle allowing an easy slot goal for New York.
• The Caps are second in the league in first period goals behind San Jose.
  
• Tomas Fleischmann can dance, and overall he had another solid game.
• Ovechkin had a typical night: 1 goal, 2 assists, 11 shots, and nearly 20 minutes of ice time.
  
• Is it just me or does Ovie seem to be getting more penalties this year?
• Classy play by Ovechkin to give the puck to Backstrom for the easy empty netter rather than shoot what was likely a 50% shot with a defenseman bearing down on him. He still gets an assist and Backstrom continues his tear with a goal on the night. Everyone wins.
• I really liked the play of Keith Aucoin. He was confident, made plays, and most of all, the kid is quick.
• Fred Smoot and Rock Cartwright attended the game and seemed to be enjoying it. Gotta love the Redskins starting to come out to support the Caps.
• Alzner's play on the third Caps goal showed me why he will be a mainstay on this team for many years. Instead of shooting it towards the net, he altered his direction slightly and banked it off the back boards, a safe play that wouldn't lead to a blocked shot and ultimately gave the Caps a goal. If thats Jurcina or Erskine, then there would have been an Islander breakaway instead of a Caps goal.
• The Caps almost had 50 shots on net. If that isn't a formula for a W, then I don't know what is.
  

Well, 2 points in the bag, and Carolina lost so we now have a 5 point lead in the division. Saturday against the Leafs is next.

Kostya Kennedy on Crosby

Kostya Kennedy over at SI.com seems to have a bit of a man crush on Sidney Crosby. Short of dissecting the numerous fallacies in this article, the things that jumped out at me were Kennedy calling the Penguins "injury-wracked" (I'll give you injury wracked), calling Alexander Semin large-mouthed, and saying that Cindy is humble, the "anti-Avery," and doesn't "whine." Give me a break. Does he also draw legitimate penalties now?

My Take on Sean Avery

It is amazing to me that the NHL is trying to censor and rid itself of Sean Avery. It is amazing to me that in the age of Michael Vick and Plaxico Burress, a professional sports player is suspended for a pretty minor, albiet immature, comment to reporters. And it is amazing to me that more than half the league, including Avery's team, and teammates, are thinking "good riddance" to themselves.

Sean Avery is what the NHL needs. He is entertaining, unpredictable, innovative, and overall a complete douche bag. His whole game is to get the other team off of theirs, and he is very good at what he does. His tactics are ingenious, his execution of them legendary. It is arguable that his stick waving antics against New Jersey in the playoffs last year completely knocked the Devils off their game and had a big part in their loss to the Rangers. He is an agitator, he gets under the skin of other teams, and statistically, teams of which he is a member do far better when he is in the lineup then when he is out of it.

Not to say that Avery isn't, as mentioned above, a douche bag. The guy has zero class, he's a nut case, and he loves the spotlight and the attention that his antics provide for him. He is the NHL's version of TO. And you know what? The guy is what could bring the NHL out of its current recession.

The NBA has Ron Artest, Major League Baseball has Manny, Soccer has Wayne Rooney, golf has Happy Gilmore, skiing has Bode Miller, and the NFL has TO, Chad Ocho Cinco, and more people than I can count. Those guys are all nut cases. They are distractions to their teams and to their sports. But in no way would any sport be at the same popularity level without guys like them. The fans love them, because they are entertaining, and the NHL needs entertainment right now. Despite all the claims by Bettman's front office, the league isn't doing much better than before the lockout. Most people who are avid hockey fans these days were fans before the lockout, and several fan bases and ticket sales that have been strong for years, like Detroit, are now shrinking. The NHL shouldn't suspend Sean Avery, they should make sure that he gets as much exposure as possible.

Think about if the NHL hadn't suspended Avery, and he was in the game against Calgary. Think if the NHL had released a lot of press, condemned Avery's comments, sure, but let him play. Now that game would have been interesting. It is entirely plausable that Avery's comment was meant to get the best defenseman in the league off his game, and, knowing Phaneuf, he would have likely responded by giving Avery an open-ice ticket into unconsciousness. Either that, or Iggy would have beaten him into the ground. The matter would have been settled on the ice, like feuds in hockey are supposed to be settled, Avery would be punished, and, 2 or 3 weeks later, he would pop up again with some other antic, just like the last 100 times. More and more people would take notice, as they have been and Avery's already budding flame as the guy everyone loves to hate in the NHL would continue to bring people in. There is a reason many videos featuring him on youtube have over 400,000 hits.

Instead, the NHL took the initiative and silenced one of their best marketing assets, and took him off the ice, with an indefinite suspension. I mean, come on, the NFL eventually suspends Plaxico Burress because he shoots himself in the leg with an illegal firearm. The NHL suspends players one or two games for illegal hits to the head that ruin player's seasons. Hell, this is a game which endorses, for the sake of its ratings, two men dropping their gloves and trading punches until one falls to the ice. And the NHL suspends Sean Avery indefinitely for a comment he made about an ex-girlfriend and a fellow hockey player to a bunch of reporters? How does that make the league, and hockey in general, look? Just another embarrassing moment for the NHL and Gary Bettman.

Panthers 5, Caps 3

From what I heard from the lovely Steve Kolbe and read in Tarik's game notes, not the best Caps game of the season. The end result was a Minnesota Wildesque comeback that ended in pretty much the same way: a team that was outplayed for most of the game, worked their way back to one goal with too few minutes left, and came up just short.

Some Random Thoughts:

• Gotta feel bad for Alzner, even if that own-goal wasn't his fault (it was a deflection), that can't be good for his confidence. However, check out this gem of a quote from King Karl after the game:

  "I don't have the timing down just yet. I'm definitely going to work on it in practice tomorrow. I'm going to ask some of the guys to come down on me a few times and see what guys like to do in this league."

  Gotta love the work ethic, and that little sound bit, in my opinion, proves that this guy is going to be legit.
  
• Theo wasn't as bad as the score, as it seemed that he really didn't have a chance on two or three of the four goals he was on the ice for. I'd expect him to get the nod against the Isle on Thursday.
• Fleischmann and Backstrom continued their stretches of outstanding play, Kozlov apparently scored a pretty sweet goal, and Ovie added an assist (I was starting to get worried he would be held pointless for two straight games towards the end). Outside of those four, this team's offense needs to get going or we're going to have problems, especially with two of our top 5 offensive threats on the shelf for the time being.
  
• Fleischmann now has as many goals this season as he had all year last year. Not only is he scoring in what seems like every game in which the Caps arn't shut out, but he is also a consistant offensive threat, dangling in the zone, making sleek passes, taking shots, and making things happen. 'Bout time.
• According to the radio broadcast, the Caps were completely exausted and unmotivated from the second period until their comeback late in the third. Interesting, considering they had two days off and have not been short of energy during any home game yet this season. My guess? The injuries are starting to affect the team more and more. We need to get some bodies back. Semin and Green, obviously, are at the top of that list of needs.
• Craig Anderson apparently played pretty damn well, right until the last five minutes. Remind you of Niklas Backstrom in the Wild game?
• Even with the unbeliveable injuries, to such key players, the tough schedule, and arguably the worst stretch in Bruce Boudreau's young NHL career, the Caps are still on top of the Southeast by 3 points and are tied for 5th in the Eastern Conference. Not bad, considering the circumstances. Once this team gets healthy, we'll see what happens.
• And I really want to see Osala soon.