The Shootout Returns to Washington

Florida 2 - Washington 1 F-SO

One of the things most people made note of upon Viktor Kozlov's signing with the Caps was his proficiency in the shootout. Tonight, he was exactly as good as advertised. Sadly, so were the rest of his teammates. Once again, the Caps didn't do anything particularly badly (aside from a couple of bad penalties at the start of the game), but they also didn't do anything well enough to come away with two points. This is getting sort of repetitive, no?

• I hate to trot out the tried-and-true "hot goalie" cliche, but Thomas Vokoun was on fire tonight. His save on Alex Ovechkin's power-play one-timer at the end of OT had me shaking my head in disbelief.
• At the other end, Olie Kolzig was equally brilliant. He is in a zone right now. If only someone could find a way to close up his five-hole during shootouts...
• Dave Steckel had a very good, if very frustrating, night. Chris Clark's goal came immediately after Steckel hustled to the corner to beat out an icing call despite being at the end of his shift. (I could note that, had he failed to beat out the icing, he would have been forced to go back for a defensive zone draw, since there are no line changes for the team that ices the puck, so that maybe it wasn't so much heroism as self-preservation. But I won't.) He also managed to create some quality scoring chances. If he could find a way to get the puck more than an inch off of the ice, the Capitals probably skate away with a regulation win tonight.
• Both Clark and Alexander Semin were both absent from the bench during OT and the shootout. Which is foreboding, to say the least. Anybody think the Caps' chances would've improved if they could've trotted Semin out during the shootout?
  
• The AP report lists the announced attendance as 10, 526, the second lowest of the season. If the actual number of butts in seats was even two thirds that, I'll eat my hat.
• Speaking of hats, classy move by Brent Johnson, wearing the Burgundy and Gold on the bench in place of his usual RWB.
• If I told you that both goaltenders in tonight's game had 2.85 GAAs, would you believe me? Not to mention the fact that their respective save percentages are seperated by just .009. Methinks the Caps might considering scoring a little more often.
• Ovechkin's point streak ends at nine games. Here's hoping he starts another such streak Friday night.

Next up is Friday night in Raleigh against the Hurricanes.

Caps' Offense Remains Mystifying

Can we officially declare that the Caps simply aren't a very good team right now? After an ugly, sloppy, painful to watch 2-1 loss to a Florida Panthers team that is pretty awful in it's own right, that is about the only conclusion I can come to. Let's move on to the quick hits:

• 7:30 PM start times really suck. Not as bad as 8:00 start times, but still pretty awful. More awful than that? The Caps' power play, which still features approximately no Mike Green whatsoever.
• Remember a week and a half ago, when the Caps beat the best team in the conference and had their best overall performance by employing an effective cycle in the offensive zone? Per Joe B. and Locker, Glen Hanlon tonight specifically wanted the Caps NOT to cycle the puck but to "funnel" the puck. I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'.
• Actually, I am saying. For the love of god, fire Hanlon.
• Please?
• In Hanlon's defense, Viktor Kozlov was, once again, mostly silent. Is it too early to declare his signing a bust and start praying for stem-cell research to cure Eric Fehr's wonky back?
• It would also be nice if someone could find a cure for Tom Poti's inexplicable desire to never be in position along the blue line to keep the puck in, while we're talking about mostly useless free agents. Seriously, coach... Mike. Green.
• You know who didn't play particularly well tonight? Thomas Vokoun. You know who made him look like he was? Every single player on the Capitals' team. What is so difficult about finishing off a scoring chance? Isn't this why the team traded away Dainius Zubrus?
• Chris Clark looked good, I guess. I mean, it's nice to have him back and all, but the team still only managed one goal.

Between the Caps' woes and the Redskins' recent inability to score on six different attempts from inside the five yard line, I am becoming increasingly despondent over the state of my favorite teams. Which is good, I guess, if you're a purveyor of beer, wine and/or spirits in the Mt. Vernon Square neighborhood of D.C. But for the rest of us? This sucks.

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

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.

No Comment

I spent part of the day on Saturday annoyed that I ws going to be missing the Caps' game against Florida because I had work. Now? Not so much. I didn't see the game, so I won't comment on just how bad the Capitals actually were. Because everyone else seems to have that rather thoroughly covered.

Recaps From People That Matter:
-3 Grumpy Caps Fans
-A View From the Cheap Seats
-Bleatings From a Caps Nut
-Capital Fanatic
-DCSportsChick
-Off Wing Opinion
-On Frozen Blog
-Pass Shoot Score
-The Peerless Prognosticator