The Ovie-less Caps aren't Pretty

After two overtime losses in a row against the New York Islanders (a team that is playing well above expectations) and the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Alex Ovechkin less Capitals debuted tonight against the New Jersey Devils and, what else, penalties did them in.  Alexander Semin took three penalties, Mike Knuble and Brendan Morrison took one each and New Jersey took one (I'm not counting the fighting majors) and if the Caps think they're going to win games that way, they're sadly mistaken.

This team needs to learn how to play hard.  There has been many from the media and fans that have commented that Ovie's injury was an opportunity for this team to show what kind of character it has.  Well, tonight showed that they still can't play without making stupid penalties at the wrong time.   

The bright spots in an otherwise dismal game:

• The Caps plus/minus leader, who made a perfect saucer pass onto Tyler Sloan's stick for his first NHL point, Mathieu Perreault, played a great debut game.  He's fast, he mucks it up along the boards and he's motivated. I liked what I saw.
• Brooks Laich and Matt Bradley who always play hard, played hard tonight.
• Semyon Varlamov played a decent game in net, but couldn't win the game for the Caps. 

A home and home series against the Florida Panthers is next.

Let's go Caps!