The Zubrus Trade: My Reaction

Sitting in the stands tonight at Verizon Center, one would have thought the Capitals had just traded away Jaromir Jagr, Sergei Gonchar, Mike Griere and Robert Lang. There was a lot of vitriol, in Section 110 at least, being directed towards Ted Leonsis and George McPhee. Several people in the vicinity were hear to utter some permutation of the phrase "Looks like I won't be renewing my season tickets!" and/or "Oh great, another rebuild." (That second one is real. Nevermind that this is all just part of the first rebuild which is just two years old.) Most of the backlash seems to be a result of the Zubrus trade. Zubrus was something of a fan favorite around these parts, and he was also the team's top line center. So I understand and respect the frustration a lot of fans are feeling. Especially since it is exactly the way I would feel if the Caps hadn't traded Zubrus.

Lost in all the gnashing of teeth and rending of garments is one important fact: Dainius Zubrus really isn't all that good. And by "good" I mean "good at hockey". Sure, he has had career years playing alongside Alex Ovechkin, but if Zubrus' play is any indication, a reasonably well-trained monkey could probably pot 10-15 goals a season playing alongside #8. Most of Dainius' goals are scored almost by accident off of good plays by Ovechkin. Sure, he's shown occasional flashes of brilliance, such as his skate-backwards-from-behind-the-net-and-roof-it goal several weeks back. But for every highlight reel goal he's scored, I can point to five or six instances where the puck came to him with nothing between him and a yawning goal mouth but a whole lot of empty space and he managed to whiff/shank/fall down and embarrass himself. Add to his frighteningly bad finishing skills a rather uninspiring ability to pass the puck and the more I think about it, the more I find myself wondering what he was doing on the top line at all. (Okay, not really. He's really good along the boards and quite responsible in his own end.) There is a reason why when I hypothesized about the potential 2008-09 opening night roster, Zubrus was not on the team.

Then there's the contract situation. Truthfully, I think Zubrus will be back next season for one reason: The Caps will be the only team willing to give him a contract anywhere close to what he is looking for. I think he'll find when he tests the free agent waters that other teams are fully aware that he is nothing more than the player that was lucky enough to get dropped onto a line right next to one of the best players the league has seen in a decade. Think about it. If you were an NHL GM, how much would you be willing to pay a third line winger who will probably chip in 10-15 goals? And how long would the contract be? (If you said "$3.5 million for five years" then I have some bad news: You are probably fired. Or working for the New York Islanders.) What's worse it, I would rather George McPhee not bother. It seems a waste of cap space to sign Dainius Zubrus when you already have several players (chief among them Brian Sutherby, who has officially moved out of the KHFC doghouse, his presence on the PP in Zubrus' place being one of the key reasons for their impressive 3-5 showing, in my opinion) who can do pretty much the same things as Zubrus, but for less money. Because even if the Caps do sign him, they will hopefully be doing so as part of a wave of UFA signings that will relegate him to the third line winger position he so richly deserves.

Of course, most of my accepting/embracing of this trade is contingent upon the Capitals actually being extremely active in the free agent market over the summer. Let it be known that I have officially gotten it into my head that Sheldon Souray needs to be wearing a Capitals sweater next season. Also, Brad Stuart.

The Brian Sutherby Era Begins

One could probably forgive the Caps for not showing up tonight. Less than twelve hours removed from having two respected veterans (and regular starters) traded away, one would expect the Caps' overall game to be affected, both by mental anguish and the daunting prospect of a short roster trying to plug several holes. And for the first eight minutes, that was exactly the case for Washington.

And then Glen Hanlon finally, mercifully, released the hounds. Let the record show that, over the final 52 minutes of play, the Capitals outscored the Panthers 5-2 and mostly dominated just about every aspect of the game. They looked a little bit like the team that reeled off a 7-1-1 streak in November and December. Heck, they looked a little bit like a playoff team at times. And why? Because when a team is trailing by three goals, that team doesn't get to play anything even resembling the trap. Which means the players were finally able to play the type of game most of them are best suited to play: a high-energy, aggresive forecheck combnied with Ovechkin and Semin freelancing and creating chances. The result? Five goals. Most of them as a result of good offensive zone pressure (on the power play, no less!).

In the standings, this game will be recorded as a loss, but as far as I'm concerned, it is very much a win. Partly because I have long since taken to regarding shootout games as ties in my head, and partly because, for the first time in almost a month, the team wearing black at the Verizon Center were the real Capitals again. The crazy fellow behind me said many things tonight regarding trades, George McPhee, the general direction of the team and so on, and for the most part, he was none to bright, but I have to agree with him on one thing. The Caps may want to consider whether or not Glen Hanlon is really the guy to take them to the next level. His insitence on playing a trapping defense in February seriously hindered this team, and tonight is proof of what might have been if he had let this team do what it was meant to do.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Yes, I am fully aware that one game is not a large enough sample size to coming to sweeping conclusions such as "Fire Hanlon!' I also do not particularly care. I am also aware that giving the offense more free reign would not have particularly helped the team in the long term, but dammit I want to see Ovechkin win the Richard Trophy. It was really the only thing any of us had to look forward to.)

Recaps From People That Matter:
-A View From the Cheap Seats
-Alex Ovetjkin
-Capital Fanatic
-Off Wing Opinion
-On Frozen Blog

Some Quick Thoughts

On the Zubrus Trade: The Caps trade a third line winger masquerading as a first line center for a third-fourth line center masquerading as, well, a third-fourth line center and a first round pick. Good deal.

On everything else: Caps trade dead weight to free up roster space, while getting draft picks in the exchange(s). Good deal.

On the comment section of Tarik's blog: The new Darwin's Waiting Room. Or perhaps just visitors from the real thing.

I'll have some actual, well thought out thoughts later on tonight (or tomorrow morning), after I get home from the game. If you need me, I'll be down on the glass, right next to the visitors penalty box.

Caps' Offense Remains Trapped

Today's stat of the day: Capitals record when allowing three or fewer goals against
Through Jan. 31: 20-2-5 (.833) (Overall record: 21-23-7, .480)
Feb 1-Present: 2-3-3 (.389) (Overall record: 2-5-3, .350)

Please note that, throught the first four months of the season, the Capitals, on average, where allowing three or fewer goals against once every other game, whereas in the month of February it is happening four out of every five games.

The point I'm trying to make, in case it isn't abundantly clear right now, is that Glen Hanlon's trap isn't working. Sure the Caps are allowing far fewer goals, but what has it gotten the team? A significantly hindered offense, and tonight's game against the Sharks was yet another example. The Caps were, once again, not nearly aggresive enough forechecking and a solid effort from the defensive corps goes wasted, as is becoming the norm. The most frustrating part about tonight was that the Caps' trapping defense still failed to prevent San Jose from generating a fair number of fast breaks and odd-man rushes, but the Caps backliners managed to handle them ably with only one exception. And that was John Erskine, who isn't so much an actual defenseman as a human wrecking ball. Can someone explain to me why he is on the ice in place of Steve Eminger?

Just two goals allowed needs to equal a win, folks. And the fact that on six different occasions in the month of February compared to seven the previous four months the Caps have failed to capitalize on keeping the puck out of there own net ought to be enough to convince Glen Hanlon that he needs to let his boys do what they do best. It is high time he let the Caps' skilled guys roam free like he used to. Whether he will or not, only time will tell, but in the mean time, get used to this nonsense.

To be fair, on the rare occasions the Caps were able to generate any real pressure, they looked pretty good. And the Pepco Energy Services Power Outage started looking almost like an AHL caliber power play (which is a huge improvement, sadly enough). And the hooking call on Eric Fehr should have actually been a diving call going against the Sharks. But once again (placing broken record on turntable) the Caps ultimately didn't get it done offensively, and I don't think we have anyone to blame at this point except Glen Hanlon. (Seriously though. Kris Beech is your solution to the power play woes? Pathetic.)

Recaps From People That Matter:
-3 Grumpy Caps Fans
-Bleatings From a Caps Nut
-Capital Fanatic
-DCSportsChick
-Off Wing Opinion
-Puckhead's Thoughts

Tuesday, Bloody Tuesday

Quick, name the only team in the National Hockey League that can take two four-minute power plays and turn them into three goals against...

That's right, it's your Nation's Capitals.

That was pretty much the story of the game for the Caps. Montreal wasn't especially impressive, but when you are blessed with a four-minute double minor and follow it up with three (three!) penalties, you are going to lose the game. Period. Sure, the Caps played great even strength hockey and even managed to find their way on the penalty kill, especially in the third period. And two goals from the blueline are certainly encouraging. (EDITOR'S NOTE: It has been brought to my attention tha tthe Caps first goal was ultimately credited to Brian Sutherby. Which is bulls***.)And Alex Semin's goal at the end of the second period was a thing of beauty. And, yes, it certainly seemed like tonight's officiating crew had been instructed by the league brass to make up for the goalie interference call on Saku Koivu from the last time these two teams met. But, seriously, three goals against off of two four minute double minors. Pathetic.

It serves to underscore a rather important point, though. The Habs won tonight by virtue of three-for-seven power play efficiency. Special teams are as important as ever these days and the Capitals simply don't have what it takes in that area of the game. I get that he is going to be rather expensive (and that I am probably one of the only people that holds this opinion), but if the Caps don't make a very serious play for Sheldon Souray I will be very upset.

Recaps From People That Matter:
-A View From the Cheap Seats
-Bleatings From a Caps Nut
-Capital Fanatic
-Capitals Corner
-Japers' Rink

Stat of the Day

From November 28 to December 16, a stretch of nine games, the Capitals allowed an average of exactly three goals per game. Their record during that stretch was 7-1-1 (.833).

So far in the month of February the Caps have played eight games and have averaged exactly three goals against per game. Their record for the month? 2-4-2 (.375).

EDIT: 3 Grumpy Caps Fans has a post up that says the same thing I'm trying to say here, only in a far more eloquent and well-thought out manner.

I Hate Pittsburgh

Once again the Capitals played a solid game defensively and once again, the guys on offense let them down. The Caps have now scored just 17 goals in their last nine games (an average of 1.89 goals per game) since a 7-3 win over the Hurricanes on January 27. They are 2-5-2 over that stretch. For all the early-season talk of how much the defense needed to improve, it is incredibly frustrating watching them hold Sidney Crosby in check yet again yet still fail to convert it into any points in the standings. What's worse is I can't even figure out exactly what is wrong with this team's offense (Okay, that's not true, the problem is that the Alexes are slumping and the Power Play is for shit. But how do you fix that?) At this point, I really don't see them turning it around, which means the Caps are likely to finish at or below where they finished last year in terms of the standings.

As for the game itself, I thought the Caps, at the very least, played it dead even with the Penguins. The problem is, when one team is hot and the other is slumping, guess which team is going to get the lucky bounces that decide close games? I give Evgeni Malkin a ton of credit on his goal late in the second period because it was a fantastic shot to the top corner from a bad angle, but I doubt he could do that again if you gave him fifty tries. Likewise, when Alexander Semin beats a goalie that badly, 99 times out of 100 the puck ends up under the crossbar (his overtime game winner against Atlanta being the best example of that) instead of ringing off of it. Once again, if this loss were an isolated incident, everybody involved would simply shrug and say "It just wasn't our night." Unfortunately for the Caps, it hasn't been their night in quite a long time.

Recaps From People That Matter:
-Bleatings From a Caps Nut
-Off Wing Opinion (1st Period, 2nd Period, 3rd Period)
-Puckhead's Thoughts

Caps Bloggers Happy Hour Version 3.0:
Once again, the Caps Bloggers Happy Hour was a roaring success. Which is good, because for a while there it looked like the whole thing was going to consist of me sitting in a corner by myself. The attendees this time around included yours truly, Mr. and Mrs. DC Sports Chick, A View From the Cheap Seats (plus guest), Capital Fanatic (plus guest), and Gustafsson (plus Mrs. Gustafsson and Gustafsson Jr.) and pucksandbooks from On Frozen Blog. We also had some verious non-Caps bloggers show up: William F. Yurasko (and guest) who was joining us for a second time, as well as Ah, Bugger and As Smooth as Sandpaper. Which brings the grand total of attendees to... fifteen! For those of you who are keeping count, that is a 50% increase over v.2.0. I bet you feel really stupid for not showing up, don't you? But don't worry, you have one more chance when the CBHH will be taking over the Grand Slam Sports Bar in the Grand Hyatt downtown at 10th & H St, NW on March 12. If you miss that one, you'll never forgive yourself.

Looking Ahead

If there was any doubt that the Capitals playoff hopes for 2007 were finally snuffed out, it's gone now. With all due respect to Brent Johnson, who is an excellent goaltender in his own right, there is no way the Capitals turn this season around without Olie Kolzig, especially given the way they've played of late. I think we've probably hit rock bottom in terms of overall fan frustration. A lot of fans are starting to lose patience with the rebuilding process and that is mostly understandable, especially given the success of the yellow and black clad evildoers in Pennsylvania. It is especially tough because, at this point, I don't think there is much more this particular group of guys can do to grow as a team.

Part of the fun last season was watching all the new faces grow as hockey players. There was consistent improvement over the course of the season. This year, the team seems to have hit a wall, and I don't really think there is anything that can be done about it. It is time to start bringing in some new faces, but those new faces aren't likely to arrive until the free agency signing period starts in July. So why watch the team right now? The playoffs are out of reach, there's little to be seen by way of growth and improvement from the players, even Ovechkin's attempt to catch Sidney Crosby in the points scoring race is pretty much over. Now the only thing to root for, really, is for Ovechkin to edge Vincent Lecavalier et al for the Richard Trophy, an accomplishment that will likely ring somewhat hollow for most Caps fans as they watch Crosby receive the Art Ross and, most likely, the Hart Trophies while leading his team to the playoffs. So the frustration is to be expected.

Fear not, though. We will get through this. Sure, it's tough, but it's nothing new. It isn't nearly as bad as the final stretch of the 2003-04 season. Besides, no matter how little it shows on the ice right now, there is definitely a bright future in store for this team. One need only look at the amount of space the team has remaining under the salary cap and a list of the potential free agents over the next two years to see that there is a very real possibility of this team being a legitimate power in the Eastern Conference by the 2008-09 season.

In order to help you get through the coming hard times in Capsland, I'm brazenly stealing an idea from 3 Grumpy Caps and running with it. I'd like to show you some of the more notable potential free agents this coming offseason. For the task at hand, I'm only going to look at centers and defensemen, as those are widely accepted as the team's two most pressing needs:

Centers:
-Petr Sykora, EDM
-Pavel Datsyuk, DET
-Robert Lang, DET
-Daniele Briere, BUF
-Chris Drury, BUF
-Mike Comrie, OTT

Defensemen:
-Brad Stuart, CGY
-Sheldon Souray, MTL
-Brian Rafalski, NJ

Nothing especially exciting by way of centers, but I see two defensemen on that list whom I expect hope and pray the Caps will seriously pursue. Stuart, from what I've seen on the two occasions Boston came to visit, is particularly solid in his own end and can really dish out some hits. As for Souray, his contribution to the power play would, one would hope, prove invaluable.

Now let's move on to the summer of 2008, when, out in San Jose, both Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau are scheduled to become UFAs. What are the odds the Sharks will be able to sign both of them? Imagine a world in which Ted opens his pursestrings and lures Marleau to Washington with a good contract and a chance to be the #1 center alongside Alex Ovechkin. Suddenly, everything is looking quite rosy.

Combine the acquisitions of Stuart, Souray and Marleau with the arrival of Nicklas Backstrom and the further development of the youngsters (who will all be 3-4 year veterans by 2008) and all of a sudden things are looking up. Not convinced? Take a look at what the lineup could, conceivably, look like at the start of the 2008-09 season:

Ovechkin-Marleau-Clark
Semin-Backstrom-Fehr
Sutherby-Gordon-Pettinger
Brashear-Laich-Bradley

Morrison-Jurcina
Eminger-Stuart
Green-Souray

Kolzig
Johnson

Pretty impressive, no? The best part is, based on salary figures obtained here and my own estimation of what kind of raises the UFAs might get, the salary comes in some $3 million under the cap. (Assuming the Cap goes to $49 million, which I'm pretty sure I heard was true. Somewhere.)

So things may look bad now, but with a little patience and a whole lot of shameless optimism, I think that we're gonna make it after all.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is not, necessarily, meant to be an outline of what I think will actually happen. It is mostly just a fantasy I've concocted to make myself feel better. It is based largely on baseless assumptions and wishful thinking. So feel free to go ahead and correct, berate and/or agree with me, or share your own ideas about who might be wearing a Caps sweater uniform system soon, in the comments section.

F%$@

No. Seriously. F%$@.

Recaps From People That Matter:
-A View From the Cheap Seats
-Bleatings From a Caps Nut
-Capital Fanatic
-Capitals Insider
-Japers' Rink
-Off Wing Opinion
-Puckhead's Thoughts
-The Peerless Prognosticator

Roughing, Roughing, Roughing

First, let me admit that I watched this game on a tiny TV screen tucked away in the corner of a particularly lame "sports bar" in Silver Spring where the clientele found the NFL Pro Bowl, Keno and computer generated horses all more important than some hockey game. So it was tough to get a good read on exactly how things were going for the Caps. For example, after watching the first period, I thought the Caps played especially well. They did a great job of establishing possession in the offensive zone, controlling the boards and playing a very physical brand of hockey. Yet when the first period stats flashed across the screen during the intermission, to my surprise the Rangers were badly outshooting the Caps. In fact, all of the first period stats seemed to heavily favor the Rangers.

The difference, of course, is simply a question of overall team mentality. The Rangers don't seem to be particularly afraid to put the puck on net, whereas the Capitals tendency to keep passing the puck no matter what during power plays seems to have spread to even strength play as well. You would think after the game against Los Angeles ended on a garbage goal resulting from a seemingly harmless shot from Milan Jurcina, they might have figured out the value of taking shots, but they still seem rather obsessed with trying to make the perfect tic-tac-toe play.

It seems to me that some of the guys out there think that they are better than they really are. They see the sort of plays that the Alexes make and they endeavor to try to replicate that and as a result, all they get are turnovers and the occasional close-but-no-cigar scoring chance. The Rangers, meanwhile, scored almost all of their goals from above the hash marks. Granted, a few of them were on one-timers, but the point is: SHOOT THE FREAKING PUCK!

Speaking of the power play, the new scheme didn't seem to make a lick of difference. If you just looked at the box score and saw the Caps' two power play goals, you would think that they had actually made some sort of improvement, but the reality is that both of those goals were lucky bounces. The Caps failed to generate any real scoring opportunities without the generous assistance of the end boards.

As a quick aside, the officiating seemed particualrly dreadful tonight. The roughing call against Clark was pretty much absurd based on the replay I saw. The one on Kolzig was less rediculous but it seemed to me that there was a lot worse happening (from both teams) (but especially the Rags) that wasn't getting called. I don't ask that every single infraction result in a penalty, all I ask is for some consistency within a single game.

So the Caps end their homestand with a 2-1-1 record, a record that is misleading since one of those wins was a shootout win against a team that they are ostensibly competing with for a playoff spot. Really, if they wanted to have any chance of jumping back into the hunt for real, they needed to win at least three.

Recaps From People That Matter:
-Bettman Hates Hockey!
-Bleatings From a Caps Nut
-Capital Fanatic
-Capitals Corner
-Capitals Insider
-Off Wing Opinion
-On Frozen Blog
-Puckhead's Thoughts
-The Peerless Prognosticator

Yes, It's That Time Again

This here blog may not be very good, but if there is at least one thing it is good at, it's uniting Caps fans with the lure of alcohol (also, hating on Dainius Zubrus). And so it is I'm pleased to announce the third edition of the Caps Bloggers Happy Hour. This time around, we'll be heading back to Bugsy's in Old Town Alexandria to take in the February 18th game between the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguin Scum (a.k.a. the Kansas City Penguins, Flightless Sea Fowl etc. Take your pick).

As has been the case previously, your truly will be there about a half hour before the opening face off wearing my red white and blue hat (like this one) with Craig Laughlin's signature on it. So feel free to stop on by. (Seriously, please come. So far the only people who have said they'll be there are myself and Mr. and Mrs. DCSportsChick. That's only three people.) (Not that there's anything wrong with that. They are both excellent people.) (Also, screw you J.P. Nobody challenges me in a contest of parentheticals because I always win.)

That Looked Familiar

From January 4 to January 9, the Capitals had a stretch of three straight games in which they held the opposing team to two or fewer goals (they allowed five total over that stretch). They won all three of those games. From February 3 to tonight, the Caps have now held their opponents to two or fewer goals in three straight games for the second time this year (again, five total during this stretch). This time? One win, one loss, and one shootout loss. The difference? The first time, the Caps scored five, three and six goals respectively, an average of 4.67 goals per game. This time around, they've scored zero, one and two goals respectively (steady progress, at least) for an average of exactly one goal per game.

You can talk all you want about steadying the defensive corps, but this team lives and dies by it's offense and right now, they are not getting the job done. There's not much to say about this game that hasn't already been said about the previous two. Start with a healthy helping of blown opportunities on offense, add a dash of soft goal between Olie Kolzig's arm and his body and sprinkle liberally with an inability to pass the puck effectively through the neutral zone and you have the recipe for yet another Caps loss. It is becoming repetitive and, frankly, somewhat boring.

Alex Ovechkin had one of the worst games of his career. He was virtually a non-factor tonight save for his delay of game penalty that ultimately cost the Caps a point in the standings. I'm not sure I understand why Glen Hanlon felt compelled to have Ovechkin spend so much time on the bench, but it seemed to me like it started happening after the Caps first power play when Ovechkin didn't make the line change with the rest of the first PP unit. We saw Hanlon bench Ovechkin last year for double-shifting without permission and that is pretty much the only explanation I can come up with as to why Alex Semin got moved in OV's spot on the top line. It certainly isn't as if Semin was all that much more succesful.

The sad thing is, the Caps are finally starting to get some scoring support from the secondary forwards. Brooks Laich's goal was as pretty a slapshot you'll see, and Eric Fehr exhibited some great hands on the second goal. Fehr was especially solid tonight. Without Ovechkin's delay of game penalty and the subsequent game tying goal, Fehr's goal would have been the game winner. He nearly had another goal (which then would also have been the GWG), but was robbed on a brilliant save by Tim Thomas.

Speaking of Tim Thomas, is it just me, or does he appear to be completely insane? I give him a lot of credit for the bizarre little backflip he did after Fehr scored, but what the heck was that all about? And then the Comcast cameras caught him yelling at Alexander Semin after Semin beat him with the backhand in the shootout. I can understand a goalie having something of a hot temper *cough*Olie*cough* but there really wasn't a whole lot to get upset about on either of those goals.

On the positive side of things, the loser point the Caps picked up tonight keeps them from falling behind Boston in the conference standings (though thet do have three games in hand). So we can thank Gary Bettman for that, at least.

Recaps From People That Matter:
-A View From the Cheap Seats
-Alex Ovetjkin #8
-Off Wing Opinion

Gotta Put the Puck In the Net

Because I have a real life that occasionally forces me to drop everything I'm doing at a moment's notice and rush out to Takoma Park, I missed a large portion of today's Caps-Penguins game, so I'm going to refrain from commenting on it too extensively other than to say that there is very little left to say. They played badly two nights ago against the Panthers and got blown out, they played pretty well against the Penguins today and lost a close game. Get used to it.

Recaps From People That Matter:
-A View From the Cheap Seats
-Bleatings From a Caps Nut
-Capital Fanatic
-On Frozen Blog
-Puckhead's Thoughts

Caps Finally Show Up, Eight Periods Too Late

Tonight, the Capitals spent 4:33 of the first 5:26 of the second period on the power play. Part of that power play time included a lengthy 5-on-3. The result? At the end of those five minutes and twenty-six seconds the Capitals were even further behind the Panthers than they were at the start of the period.

For a game in which the Caps scored two power play goals, their power play sure did look anemic. One could look at the box score and think that the Panthers played a badly undisciplined game (11 penalties) but the truth was that they had simply figured out the secret to keeping the Capitals from putting goals on the board. With all the talk about the defense being too inexperienced, too out of position, too not-keeping-the-puck-out-of-the-net-ish, I feel like the real problem with this team has been the offense. It's not that they aren't getting chances, but they seem to be completely incapable of converting those chances. It seems like every single player on the team not named Alex or Chris is completely snakebit. I don't know if it's just a really, really, really, really nasty team-wide slump, or if it's a more serious malaise. Given the fact that Richard Zednik returned from injury, played exceptionally well, and still couldn't make a difference, I'm leaning towards the latter. (Editor's Note: I am not, in any way, trying to let the defense off the hook here. They played pretty bad too.)

The more serious problem, however, is the consistently slow starts they have exhibited over the past month and a half. During the first intermission, Craig Laughlin asked Jamie Heward about the Caps poor first period, and Heward's respons was, in effect, that the Caps were caught off guard by the Panther's energy and speed. Seriously?! The Caps have been pasted twice by the Panthers in the past two weeks, yet somehow they manage to come out flat footed yet again, giving up the first goal and trailing almost the entire game. (In all fairness, the Panthers' first goal should absolutely have been disallowed due to goaltender interference.)

I'm going to go out on a limb here and make a bold prediction. The Capitals will not make the playoffs this season. Period. They are now in last place in the Southeast division, 9 points out of the eighth seed in the conference, and falling fast. Getting some defensemen back from the injured list might help, but by then it will be too late, and besides, it won't solve the offensive woes.

I'm not entirely sure how to proceed from here. After spending much of the first half with very real playoff hopes, I find myself somewhat disillusioned. I am aware that, realistically, the Caps are right where I expected them to be back at the beginning of the year, but after seeing the playoffs flash before my eyes, going back to the whole "enjoying watching the guys grow as a team and not worrying about wins and losses" thing seems rather unappealing. The only thing left to root for at this point really is that Alex Ovechkin maintain his lead in the goal scoring race and, hopefully, catch Sidney Crosby for the overall points race.

Of course, I won't be the least bit upset if the Caps bounce bag, reel off a winning streak, and make me eat my words. In fact, I'd love that.

Recaps From People That Matter:
-A View From The Cheap Seats
-Bettman Hates Hockey!
-Bleatings From a Caps Nut
-Capital Fanatic
-Capitals Corner

Special Bonus Coverage! Question of the Day: Which of the three Florida losses is most embarassing? Answer in the comments.

#25

Just when it was starting to look like the Caps' win total would threaten to catch the number of Caps bloggers, Alex Ovetjkin #8 shows up. At this rate, they may never catch up. (To be fair, this one is not so much a Capitals blog as much as it is an Alex Ovechkin blog, but I'm going to count it.)

A Trade? A Trade!

I wasn't even going to bother mentioning this, because yet another young defensive prospect hardly seems worth noting, but I'm going to go ahead and do it now because it looks like evryone else has. (Also, I need something to take my mind off of this game.)

Obviously, you've heard that the Caps acquired Boston defenseman Milan Jurcina in exchange for a 4th round draft pick. Overall, it's not a bad move by the Caps. I really don't think having too many defensive prospects is going to hurt, and a 4th round pick seems a small price to pay for a player that could possibly have a huge upside. That said, I don't know too much about him other than the Boston Bruins value him as much as a 4th round draft pick.

Recaps From People That Matter:
-3 Grumpy Caps Fans
-A View From the Cheap Seats
-Bleatings From a Caps Nut
-Capital Fanatic
-Capitals Insider
-DCSportsChick
-Dump and Chase
-Japers' Rink
-On Frozen Blog
-Alex Ovetjkin #8