Can Trotz Instill a Consistent Work Ethic in Caps?

The Caps country club culture issues started the day Coach Bruce Boudreau arrived in Washington on November 22, 2007. That day, he expressed his awe at calling his star player, Alex Ovechkin, off the bench and that is the day he lost control of the locker room. Can Coach Barry Trotz instill a consistent work ethic in the Caps after years of neglect by inexperienced coaches? The Caps inconsistent effort makes it tough to go on a winning roll, especially, against hard working teams like the New Jersey Devils, even if they won their past two games and showed great effort against the Colorado Avalanche.

Make no mistake, goal tending has not helped the Caps this season. Braden Holtby with his 6-4-2 record, .913 SV% and a gaffe behind the net that cost them the New Jersey game is not instilling confidence in fans, although he's been better the past couple of games and stopped Daniel Briere on a game tying goal. Hopefully, Coach Mitch Korn finds a way to elevate Holtby's game and keeps him playing like he did against Colorado.

But, even if the goal tending provided brilliant saves, the Caps lackluster effort during several games cost them standings points. Those lost opportunities count in April as teams vie for playoff positions in a competitive league. 

Read more here.

Let's go Caps!

Welcome back Dale

Most Caps fans felt like Christmas came early today as Dale Hunter took to the ice at Kettler for his first practice as the new head coach of the Caps.  Hunter is a legend to Caps fans and that is my biggest fear about him jumping from the OHL to the NHL as a head coach.  I don't want anything to tarnish his legend.  All day, I've alternated between insane excitement about Dale being here and that lingering fear about his place in Caps history if this goes awry.  That fear won't go away -- I am a Caps fan, after all -- until I see how this unfolds.

I think this is GM George McPhee's last stand with owner Ted Leonsis and it's clear from McPhee's comments that he had to convince Ted this was the right direction.  Either Dale works out or GMGM won't be GM for life anymore which, after thirteen years, is as it should be. It's far more patience than I would ever have had.

GMGM's been in contact with Dale, for years, while Dale amassed an impressive 451-189-23-24 (.691%) coaching record for the Ontario London Knights. His team made many playoff appearances, won one Memorial Cup and Dale won the Coach of the Year award.   Everything I've read and listened to today about his coaching career and through following his team when John Carlson played there, makes me think Dale's a good choice for the Caps. But coaching teenagers, even in the world of rough and tumble Canadian junior hockey, is not like coaching adult multi-millionaires.  They've got to want the Stanley Cup not think that they can win it on talent alone (cue Herb Brooks).  That's the biggest task for Dale.

Now I have a new set of questions for the rest of this Cap season:

• Can Dale turn this team around and make them play hard-working, gritty, disciplined hockey like he did as a player?  He gave it all every night. It would be nice if the Caps gave 75% on a consistent basis.
• Will he easily adapt to the NHL from the OHL?
• Will the players respond positively?  Caps, just be warned, if you mess with Dale, you're going to face one angry fan base. 
• Can Dale bring back Ovie's love of the game and competitive fire? Can he teach Ovie how to become a better and more mature player?  Will Ovie take those lessons to heart?

"It's my team," Dale said in his press conference before laughingly saying it was really Ted's team. But, I like that thinking.  And, getting his name on the Stanley Cup as the coach, since he was denied that honor as a player, would make all the misery of being a Caps fan go away in one game.

Let's go Caps!  

P.S.  Thank you Bruce Boudreau for a good ride for a while.  I enjoyed the romp to the playoffs, your first year here, and that last game against Florida to get there was unreal, rocking the red at the phone booth.  I've been hard on you, but I wish you luck in your future endeavors.

Caps win in ugly fashion

In response to an awful 0-2 Canadian road trip against Edmonton and Vancouver where the Caps defense, penalty killing and transition game looked inept, Coach Bruce Boudreau made several changes to the line up against the Anaheim Ducks.  He brought up Cody Eakin from the Hershey Bears to man the wing on the 2nd line with Marcus Johansson and Alexander Semin while demoting Mike Knuble from that line to the 4th line with Matt Hendricks and Matthieu Perreault.  Jeff Halpern sat in the press box while Perreault played center on the 4th line.

The defensive pairing changes were even more dramatic since Boudreau broke up John Carlson and Karl Alzner. Not that they played that well in Canada together.  He paired Alzner with Jeff Schultz and put John Erskine (nice to have you back John!) with Carlson.  Dennis Wideman and Roman Hamrlik played together again.

Not that all the lines stayed intact because...for the first 28:59 of the game the Ducks owned the Caps and put on a clinic on how to pass - shoot - score - forecheck - pressure - and keep the puck in their offensive zone.  On 11 shots during that time, the Ducks netted three goals, two from Teemu Selanne and one from Saku Koivou.  The first Selanne goal happened on an atrocious mistake by Wideman throwing the puck to Hamrlik right in front of Voukoun and Selanne took advantage.  That line pairing, with Hamrlik playing minus-3 hockey, stunk it up badly.

The Caps continued to look lost trying to get the puck out of the defensive zone and through the neutral zone, just like in their last two games.  It's so obvious when Mike Green is out of the Caps lineup because he's their most effective defenseman at moving the puck up the ice.  How many times in this game did you watch the Caps passing around behind the net and in front of Voukoun because they couldn't get past the Ducks.  Ugh.

In the last half of the second period, the Caps woke up and flurried around the Ducks netminder, Jonas Hiller, and netted two goals in a little over three minutes.  Brooks Laich threw a great pass to Joel Ward and he got it past Hiller.  Wideman helped to make up for his atrocious play in the first period by blasting the second goal past Hiller.

In the 3rd period, the Caps 24th placed penalty killing unit got to work about eight minutes into the period on Voukoun's tripping penalty (he looked shaky tonight, too).  Corey Perry got a goal after stabbing at the puck in Voukoun's net about three or four times.  Once again, the Caps got caught looking around at the puck instead of moving bodies out of the net.  Another problem area for them.

Troy Brouwer got the Caps within one at 11:42 in the 3rd.  Nicklas Backstrom tied the game with a wicked wrister with 42-seconds left.  Boudreau left the Alexes - Ovechkin and Semin - on the bench while Backstrom played the extra man with Chimera, Laich and Ward.  Smart move on Boudreau's part to bench the Russians as I trust the third line more to get the job done, when needed.  With the Russians, not so much, particularly, with how Ovie played tonight.  He needs to step it up, become a better two-way player and realize he's getting nowhere with that barreling toward the net, curl and drag move, as he doesn't have enough space anymore to make that play.  He hasn't in a long time.

Backstrom netted the game winner halfway through the overtime period by signaling to Ovie to stay behind him instead of barreling in again.  Backie had an outstanding game and was awarded the first star.

So, Boudreau, for the first time in his tenure, sent a message to his star, by limiting his ice time.  I never thought I'd see the day.  I hope it motivates Ovie.  Regardless, all of the Caps need to play better and as a team.

Bottom line from tonight's game:

• Caps got lucky, as they played an overall lousy game, and Hiller helped them out by letting in some softies.
• Caps don't play well against teams with good forechecking pressure like Vancouver and Anaheim.  That's not going to fly in April, May and June just like it didn't last April against Tampa Bay.

The Caps head out for a two game road trip this weekend against the Hurricanes and Islanders.  I hope they play better than they did these last three games.

Let's go Caps!

Questions for the 2011-2012 Caps season

Like most, I think GMGM picked up some good players this summer in forwards Troy Brouwer, Joel Ward and Jeff Halpern and Roman Hamrlik on defense.  I watched all of them, except Halpern, at the last pre-season game yesterday against the Chicago Blackhawks and I liked what I saw.  Brouwer and Ward bring desperately needed grit to the team and I like how they battled for the puck along the boards and how they set up plays. And, Hamrlik looked good paired with Mike Green.  It's easy to see that he's faster than Scott Hannan.

After last year's epic playoff flameout, GMGM had to have a good offseason.  Time will tell if those players will help the team.  Regardless, huge questions remain about the Caps and their elusive quest for the Stanley Cup.  And, here they are:

• Will Coach Bruce Boudreau learn how to adjust his game strategies in a seven game series to effectively compete in the playoffs?
• Will Boudreau instill discipline in his players during practice and during games? Will the country club atmosphere be replaced with more seriousness this year?  Many of the players came in earlier than they did last year and in better shape, but I'm not convinced the players will listen to the same voice any better than in years past.
• Will the players police their own locker room and call out other players, when necessary?
• Will Ovie elevate his game to the next level and realize he can't do it all himself?  I was pleased to see he didn't try his signature move once yesterday, the one that every defender in the NHL has figured out. 
• Will Nicklas Backstrom return to form this year?  This is an especially important question as the Caps are thin at experience down the middle and Stanley Cup winners are typically strong at center.
• Will the power play ever improve?  Yesterday, the power play continued to look disorganized and ineffective with the Caps having to chase down pucks far too often. 
• Will Mike Green stay healthy and will Boudreau please pair him with Hamrlik and not Jeff Schultz?  Japer's Rink excellent post, with numerous video clips, shows why Green's partner is crucial to his health.
• Will all the Caps, yes, including Alexander Semin, play like they care and with heart on a consistent basis? Will they care enough to leave everything they've got out on the ice in April, May and June?

There are too many unanswered questions for me to get overly excited about this season.  And, the important ones don't matter until April.

Changing topics....kudos to Michal Neuvirth for a spectacular game in net yesterday.  My other half, Jeff, pointed out to me that it appeared like Neuvy was anticipating where the puck was going.  He was in the zone.  Yes, he's now the #1B goalie because there is no way GMGM could pass up Tomas Vokoun.  Neuvirth will learn a lot from Vokoun and I like his attitude about Vokoun coming in, but I also hope Neuvy gets lots of playing time, too.

Congrats also to Mathieu Perreault for a great pre-season with the most points of anyone on the team.

Let's go Caps!

Watching Caps hockey - a big meh

The Caps are surprisingly up 2-0 on the Montreal Canadiens as I type this, but I still can't stir up any excitement for Caps hockey right now. They even netted a pretty power play goal on a pretty move and pass by Mike Green to Mike Knuble. However, the 19th ranked power play comes away empty handed way too often.

I probably can't stir up any excitement for Caps hockey because they are now returning to form and sucking it up in the second period after ending the first period up 2-0, an unusual occurrence of late. In typical fashion though, the Caps are easing back on the gas since they have a lead. They start gliding around, playing lazily, overpassing and not finishing their checks. Sigh. I'm tired of the lack of effort from this team. It does not bode well for the rest of this season.

The recent NHL Players Association Players Poll called the Caps the most overrated team in the NHL by a enormous margin. 35% of the players voted the Caps for first place and the 2nd place Vancouver Canucks only got 14% of the players. I have to agree, right now, they do not have what it takes to win a Cup.

The other two questions with interesting results from that players poll are that Bruce Boudreau is the easiest coach to play for with 21% of the vote and yet he doesn't appear on the top 5 coaches players want to play for list. What that confirms for me is that Boudreau doesn't hold this team accountable enough and, even worse, doesn't know how to get this team to the next level. I say that because I believe that players want to win and they want to play for a coach that knows how to win.

This team will go nowhere until they learn to live by the words of Herb Brooks, "You can't win on talent alone." This team is way more talented than that Miracle on Ice team, but that quote still applies to any team with aspirations to win the Stanley Cup. It takes heart, grit, effort and also talent. I don't see heart, grit or effort from this Caps team on most nights this season.

Montreal has now tied the game. Like I said, a big meh.

Update: the Caps managed to lose yet another game after having a lead and yet another game in overtime - they lead the league in that statistic. Clearly, there are not enough players on that team that give a damn anymore.

Let's go Caps!

Maybe I'll care about the Caps again

When the Caps start caring again or

When Alex Ovechkin starts scoring again or

When Nicklas Backstrom wakes up out of the coma he's been in this season or

When the Caps start crashing the net, doing the dirty work, winning the board battles and throwing guys out of their crease or

When their power play isn't known as the power kill by the fans for its complete ineffectiveness and when the coaches figure out what to do about it or

When Coach Boudreau stops putting John Erskine in the press box for an injury riddled Tom Poti who didn't even make it out in the 2nd period in that crap game against Tampa Bay tonight or

When Boudreau figures out how to hold these professional hockey players accountable for their putrid play or

When Boudreau can get this team to show up for a game that decides the division lead.

This screed is not aimed at the rookie blue liners, John Carlson and Karl Alzner, the goal tending duo of Semyon Valamov or Michal Neuvirth, who get hung out to dry way more than they should, John Erskine, Matt Hendricks, the defensive play of the Mike Green/Scott Hannan pairing or the Hershey boys, Matthieu Perreault and Jay Beagle (gee, he was pushing guys out of the crease tonight).

Let's go Caps and see if you can get your heads out of your rear ends although, right now, I'm not hopeful about that. The only thing I am is one very frustrated Washington Capitals fan. Some things never change.

Caps stink it up, lose 1-0 to Rags and go down 0-2

I attended my first Caps game as a child in 1974 and have been sucker punched by them every year since then.  They've found every imaginable way to lose in the playoffs over the years or not make it, at all.  This game, the 2nd home ice game in the best of seven series against the New York Rangers was imperative for the Caps to win.  Instead, they put in a lackluster effort and are now down two games heading back to Madison Square Garden.   

The game was a disaster starting with the performance of Alex Ovechkin and including Mike Green, Viktor Kozlov, Alexander Semin, Michael Nylander, Sergei Fedorov, Tom Poti, Eric Fehr, Tomas Fleischmann.   The players on this team who showed up to play include Matt Bradley, David Steckel, Nicklas Backstrom and the rookie net minder Simeon Varlamov. Varlamov didn't make the only stop he needed to, but that was a 2 on 1 breakaway in his first NHL playoff game after only playing 6 regular season games. I'll give him a break on that one.  He was pretty composed for the most part and he had every right to be nervous.

Observations:

• Coach Boudreau needs to change it up.  The lines aren't working and they're not getting past Henrik Lundqvist's body in net.
• Ovie needs to stop playing like he can do it all himself.  He can't and he needs to work better with his teammates.  His 5 giveaways were 2nd only to Mike Green.
• Mike Green played horribly with 7 giveaways, 1 penalty, minus 1 hockey in only 23:44 of ice time compared to 30+ the first game.
• Surprisingly, the penalty killing unit played really well, killing off all 5 of the Ranger opportunities.
  
• The checking line played aggressively and I always noticed Matt Bradley and David Steckel for good reasons.
• Nicklas Backstrom continues to impress me in the playoffs and it's amazing how much he flies under the radar screen in the NHL. He's one helluva a hockey player and he's getting impossible to get off the puck even in the grittier environment of the playoffs.
• Henrik Lundqvist is an elite net minder and is playing the part, but the Caps need to create traffic in front of the net to get scoring.  The coach, writers and players have been saying this all season long and, yet, the Caps still don't do it because they do not have the players that are willing to do that except for Brooks Laich.  They will be playing golf in April again if they don't start doing it.
• GM George McPhee hasn't won a playoff series in 10 years with the teams he built and it's not looking good this year either.  
• The Caps are playing worse than last year in the playoffs, so far, and that's the part that is downright depressing. 

The series heads to New York on Monday.  I'm hoping to see a different team show up, like the one that gave the Boston Bruins fits this season.

Let's go Caps!

Not a good time to slump - maybe OT loss signals a change

The Caps have been playing like a team that doesn't care for the past couple of weeks other than a win over the Boston Bruins.  They showed a little more heart and played a little better yesterday, coming back from 3-1 to tie the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 3rd period and ended up with a point in an overtime shootout loss.

This team has lost it recently and no one should think Coach Boudreau is happy with the way his team has played even if they are in first place in the SE and now in 3rd place in the Eastern conference.  So, what is it?  Do they believe their own hype too much as many have said? Is their defense just that bad (or that young and inexperienced) to begin with?  Do they really think they're an elite team too good for the likes of the teams that are below them in the standings? And, if that's the case, why in the hell didn't they learn from their early losses against those teams?  Is Coach Boudreau struggling to motivate this team? Do the Caps need new assistant coaches?  Are the guys waiting for the playoffs to turn it on?  

I don't know the answer, but I do know that I'd really like the Caps to win their first playoff series in 10 years this year.  I have no expectations for this team beyond that because all the pieces aren't in place yet, particularly, on defense.  The atrocious defense is a glaring weakness that must be addressed before this team will be a serious Cup contender.

The Caps make a rare trip to Nashville tomorrow to take on the Predators.

Let's go Caps!

Capitals choke and miss an opportunity

Elite teams play as hard against teams that are behind them in the standings as they do against teams they are trying to catch in the standings.  The Caps, on the other hand, seem to consistently follow up a strong game against a top opponent, see Boston yesterday, to take a team that is trying to catch them in the standings, the Florida Panthers, way too lightly.  The result...they got shellacked by them for a 6-2 loss.  Ugh.

Putting Sergei Fedorov on defense means Coach Bruce Boudreau got as tired of the putrid defensive play as the rest of the fans.  Coach Boudreau needs to find a way to motivate this team to play better on defense, in general, play as a team, quit trying to do it as individuals, stop making stupid cross ice passes that result in giveaways and stay out of the damn penalty box.  It's quite simple but this team fails to execute in a consistent manner and they give up two points.

Goaltending wasn't much better.  Jose Theodore, the losing goalie, got pulled after letting in four shots. Michal Neuvirth couldn't save the Caps and let in two goals.

A disgusting loss.

The Caps play the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.

Let's go Caps!

Caps roll over again against Philly

Yes, they won the first game, but barely and only due to a 3rd period offensive surge, but the past two games, including last night's 6-3 loss, have been stinkers against the Philadelphia Flyers. This team looks like a young, inexperienced team that has been outplayed and outcoached. It's a miracle the series isn't 3-0 Philly right now.

What worked for Coach Boudreau in his AHL championship run isn't going to cut it in the NHL playoffs. What worked for the Caps to actually reach the playoffs isn't going to cut it either. It's a different game in the playoffs and Coach BB and the players need to figure it out.

The thing that is most distressing to me is the fact that the Caps are rolling over and letting Philly get away with anything they want to do. What happened to the heart & soul of this team? Where is the team that stood up for each other and fought their way into the playoffs? I never thought the Caps would go deep into the playoffs this year, but I didn't think they'd stink it up this badly either. Thankfully, they did, because this rude awakening to playoff hockey will hopefully make the team (and management) adjust.

I said management, specifically, because, if Ted & GMGM think the "rebuilding" is over, they better take another hard look at the defense and they better start looking for some gritty hockey players, in general, to balance out the softness of this team. It'll be tough to ever go deep in the playoffs without it, much less win a championship. The Caps right now look about as tough as the Mighty Mites.

Coach BB is shaking up the lines moving Sergei Fedorov up to center Ovie & Kozlov and putting Nicklas Backstrom down on the 2nd line. Backstrom has been completely overwhelmed in the playoffs, but I'm not sure this change will do much for them and it messes with the line chemistry. I've also heard in the media that he's keeping Cristobal Huet in net. I'd like to see Olie in net instead because I think he can cause a spark and bring that desperately needed toughness to the game (even though that shouldn't be the net minder's focus!) And, that's not a knock on Huet. He's had zero help from his teammates.

Game 4, tomorrow, Wachovia Center, 7 pm.

Let's go Caps!

A horrible excuse for a hockey game

The Caps lost to the Philadelphia Flyers, 2-0, in their 2nd game of this best of 7 playoff series. The Caps, all of them, deserved to lose this game. They looked tired and listless out there and it's surprising the score wasn't worse. No one is playing physical and you have to against Philly and no one played defense worth a damn yesterday.

Scott Hartnell abused Cristobal Huet, trying to take his helmet off after tackling the net minder. He needs to pay and I'm sorry he didn't yesterday. Philly seems to be taking advantage of Huet's small size. That makes me wonder if Coach Boudreau is thinking of putting Olie Kolzig in net. Olie's size does bring an advantage in net and if anyone went at him, he wouldn't hesitate to mix it up.

The real test is tomorrow night in Philly. How will Coach Boudreau and the Caps respond? It'll be interesting to see how this young & inexperienced hockey team plays after that stinker of a game.

Let's go Caps!

SE Division Champions...what just happened here

From the high of training camp and the anticipation of the season because of the new additions to the team (Poti, Kozlov, Nylander and rookie Center Nicklas Backstrom ) to the low of Thanksgiving morning when the Caps organiziation finally fired Coach Glen Hanlon to the resurgence of the history making Caps (last in the NHL at Thanksgiving to first in their division), it's been a roller coaster of a season. The Caps are playoff bound for the first time since the 2002-2003 season. The Florida Panthers did the Caps a huge favor last night in beating the Carolina Hurricanes. It was up to the Caps to beat Florida tonight and take the playoffs and the SE Division title away from Carolina. The Caps did what they needed, too, beating Florida 3-1.

This wasn't a game for the rabid fan to enjoy, it was a game to endure. Most of the people around us felt like we did, clock watching, and just wanting the damn game to be over. The Carolina win was more fun. But, the Verizon Center rocked even louder than the Carolina game (the echo was amazing) and the end of the 3rd period was awesome with everyone standing up and clapping.

Tomas Fleischmann put the Caps up 1-0 in the 1st period, netting his 10th of the season. For someone who gets so much grief from Caps fans I was happy for him to get that goal. He's young. Watching Brooks Laich blossom this year makes me realize patience is needed before giving up on these young players.

The trade deadline players, once again, stole the show. Sergei Fedorov showed everyone just how much he wants to go back to the playoffs with his game winning goal at 15:03 in the 2nd. Matt Cooke made his presence felt everywhere and Cristobal Huet continued his sparkling net minding. Alexander Semin, 1 goal, 1 assist (to/from Fedorov) is clearly learning much from Fedorov (boy, I really want him to stay!!!!). Nicklas Backstrom got an assist on Semin's goal meaning he now holds the rookie assist record for the Capitals (1 better than Ovie!) Go Nicklas!

This night wasn't about Alex Ovechkin, who was held scoreless, but nevertheless, the MVP chants rang down at the phone booth. To those who said his team had to make the playoffs to be considered, well, how do you like this team & Ovie now?

Thank you Coach Bruce Boudreau. Everyone loves what you've done with this team. I know why your team in Hershey did so well and we're glad you're here now.

And, finally, my tribute to Olie Kolzig. In the season review the Caps played, they highlighted Olie's 300th win. He's a special and elite goalie, so congrats again Olie. The cheers of "O-lie" rang out loud. Thank you Olie.

Wow, the Caps now have home field advantage in the playoffs. How in the world did that happen? There are some injury issues (Brooks Laich, Jeff Schultz...ugh), but for one night, who cares. The Caps are in the playoffs and they just won the SE division.

Plus, there is more hockey for Caps fans coming soon...it's been way too long :)

Let's go Caps!

Why I love Coach Boudreau...

He's a big football fan and say's in this USA Today article here, that he "cannot stand the prevent defense, because it never prevents anything." Isn't that the truth?

Let's go Caps!

First Place!

A nail biter for sure, but the Caps pull out a 4-3 win over the Flyers on the road to move into first place in the SE division and they did it by beating the Flyers...ahhh. From dead last in the NHL in November to first in early February (albeit, in a weak division), the Coach Boudreau era has arrived with a bang. There's a long way to go this season and in a division that is separated by 2 points among the top 4 teams, first place will probably change hands several times before April. Tonight though, I've got a smile on my face!

Alex Ovechkin mixed it up with James Vandermeer early in the game and ended up sitting for two minutes. Vandermeer knocked Ovie after the whistle and Ovie shoved him right back. You'd think teams would learn that when you piss off Ovie he does things like score 4 goals against you. He didn't score 4 against the Flyers, but he got his 8th game winning goal (and #in the 3rd off of his own rebound.

Caps got a beautiful goal from Brooks Laich in the 2nd period to start their offense and Matt Bradley and Viktor Kozlov both scored early in the 3rd. Mike Green had 2 assists and seemed to be everywhere. He picked up 1st star of the game and Bradley got the 3rd star. Olie also made some great saves. So, even though Philly fought back hard in the 3rd, the Caps edged out a win and moved into first place.

Great win, but I don't think I can't take too many of these games.

Caps play an important game on Friday against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Let's go Caps!

500 hockey...and Boudreau calls it mediocrity

The Caps beat the Florida Panthers (frequently their nemesis, much like the Caps became Ottawa's this season) 5-3 to reach the 500 mark with a 21-21-4 record for the first time in three months. For the Caps, this has been a long, slow climb out of the basement. Coach Broudreau says in the Caps recap "We've officially reached mediocrity." I love this guy.

My friend Karen & I were discussing at the game tonight that you have to appreciate Broudreau's competitiveness and the fact that he's making the most of the opportunity that's been given to him. He's doing a great job so far. He's finally convinced this team that they're a good hockey team even with all the injuries they've had to deal with this year. And, I'm having fun watching hockey again.

Nicklas Backstrom made 4 assists, a career high for him, and got the 1st star of the game. When I think about where the Caps were 3 years ago and where they are now in terms of talent I can't help but smile. Well, earlier this season was no picnic, but now watching Backstrom quickly develop into the NHL talent that people predicted (he's beginning to show me why people compared him to Peter Forsberg and he's only 19), watching Mike Green become the top goal scoring defensemen with Shaone Morrison backing him up, watching Alexander Semin (please stay healthy) start to light it up and with an attitude that seems way better than it has before and, of course, watching the most exciting $124m goal scorer in the league, Ovie, continue to find the back of the net has me jumping for joy. This is a young, exciting hockey team and they're "finally starting to believe". For those of you who haven't watched The Miracle as many times as I have, that's the origin of that line.

The Caps still have a long way to go, but I have a lot more hope for them today than I did on Thanksgiving Day.

The dreaded Pittsburgh Penguins, minus Captain Crosby are up Monday.

Let's go Caps!

p.s. Thank you, Susan (who attended her first hockey game) and Karen for being enthusiastic supporters of the Caps tonight! We all have a huge love of sports and we laughed about the fact that three women were not only talking about the Caps, but the Redskins, Wizards and Nationals all in the same night.

Thank you Ted & GMGM...Ovie is here to stay

At the lowest point of this season in late November, I even thought Ovie deserved better than Washington, but Ted & GMGM finally made the necessary move firing Hanlon (and, yes, I like and respect him and am glad he's coming back to Washington as a scout) and now they've finally struck a 13-year, $124M contract, according to Tarik El Bashir's blog, contract with Alex the Great. I'm wowed by that...he's here until 2020-2021, just let that sink in. Ovie is the best player the Caps have ever had and he's only in his 3rd season. The best is yet to come (if he went from playing -19 to +6 hockey in the past year, anything's possible) and the fact that it will be here in Washington thrills me to no end. With Alex on the Cap's side, promising young stars, Mike Green and rookie, Nicklas Backstrom, and a new coach, Bruce Boudreau who has the hockey analysts wondering where's he been, the future looks bright in Washington.

I read about Ovie, before he even arrived in camp his rookie year, and then I saw him during one of the first preseason games. Like most fans, I couldn't believe this guy was a Capital. His amazing speed, great moves, hard shot, hits (a power hitting, goal scoring forward..what a combo) and sheer love and enthusiam for the game make him the most fun hockey player to watch that I've ever seen. So, thank you, too, Ovie for staying.

There was also a hockey game played last night between the Capitals and the Avs. Caps won the defensive slugfest 2-1. Much to my enjoyment at the game, two Avs fans were sitting in front of me. Since I've been subjected to Flyers and Buffalo fans when the Caps are getting their butts kicked, I admit, I enjoyed their annoyance at the Avs losing.

Hmmm...highlights from last night:

• Viktor Koslov actually played aggressive hockey. That was a change of pace.
• Olie had a good night and made some great saves.
• Sean Morrison made some spectular plays on defense last night, most definitely, saving one goal from being scored.
• Brooks Laich, one of the goal scorers and 1st star obviously continues to play good hockey this year.
• Steve Emminger, in back-to-back games for a long-time played well and was also aggressive.
• The Avs tied up Ovie pretty well all night.
• The game was a pretty boring defensive game but the third period got interesting and Verizon Center was pretty load, considering it was a Wed night game.
• The Caps got 2 points...most important.

Up next, the Flyers on Sunday.

Let's go Caps!

p.s. And thank you Caps management for the holiday ticket gift. I'm looking forward to seeing what may be an increasingly important April game in a lower level seat.

Boudreau gets the nod....

I've been out of commission the past few weeks moving and working on a busy project, but I'm hoping to blog more frequently again.

GMGM named Bruce Boudreau as the new head coach of the Washington Capitals today. He loses his interim title after coaching the Caps to a 7-5-3 record since November 22nd. I like Boudreau so far and the Caps are certainly playing better than they did under Hanlon this year. The young guys seem to be responding really well to Boudreau which isn't totally surprising since he coached so many of them under the Hershey Bears.

Coach Boudreau told the team that the 2nd half of the season starts tonight. That's a great message but I still don't hold out hope for this team to make the playoffs and then what? Does GMGM lose his job and the Capitals end up getting another new coach? Sigh....

The biggest concerns I have about the Caps right now are Olie's play and Ovie's contract. Olie is struggling and since the Caps don't have a starting goalie waiting around anywhere (the prospects are young!) that could mean the "rebuild is far from over". I'm one of Olie's biggest fans and I just got his jersey because he means a lot to me as someone who has slogged through the good times and bad times with the Caps and helped them reach their one and only Stanley Cup championship final appearance. Olie, pick it up. I know you can do it.

On to Ovie's contract. Hearing GMGM say "Ovie's going to be in Washington for a long time" doesn't make me feel any better about his lack of of a new contract. Ted said the same thing in September, three plus months ago. Get the damn deal done.

Caps play Tampa Bay here shortly.

Let's go Caps!

A new beginning and 4 points to show for it

Bruce Boudreau made his NHL coaching debut and the Caps beat the Flyers in an overtime thriller, 4-3 on Friday afternoon. Nicklas Backstrom scored the overtime game winner off an Alex Ovechkin pass to make a nice 20th birthday present for the rookie. He also got a shaving cream pie from Ovie after his game winning goal + 2 assist game.

Bourdreau, in a surprise move, played Backstrom on the 4th line between Donald Brashear and Matt Bradley and declared them the best line after the game. That line played well, keeping the puck in the offensive zone and Brashear netted a goal, in addition to, beating the crap out of Riley Cote for good reason early in the game. Flyers v. Caps are always nasty games and this one proved no different.

Not that the game against the Flyers was all good because it wasn't and they almost lost the game, but the Caps prevailed, for once, and a new coach got his first win in the big game.

Then, the Caps turned around and beat the Southeast Division leading Carolina Hurricanes, 5-2 on Saturday night. The Caps outplayed the Hurricanes in the first period, keeping the puck in the offensive zone for huge chunks of time. Even more amazing, the Caps netted three power play goals from Mike Green, Ovie and Michael Nylander after getting another one in Philly. Power play goals have been tough to come by for the Caps so what's going on here? According to Caps writer Mike Vogel post game report, no one is saying, although Boudreau said he listened to suggestions from assistant coach, Jay Leach and trusted his players abilities. Whatever....it worked and little has worked for the Caps on the power play this year.

So, the Caps have won two in a row for the first time since the first week of the season and the wins came against very good hockey teams. I hope it means things might start going in the right direction. Still, at this point in the season, I don't have any expectations for the Caps. They've got a huge hole in front of them and have to play inspired hockey from here on out to get anywhere. Will a new coach be able to do that? I don't know. I'm just happy to watch a team playing with more fire than I've seen in a while.

Buffalo comes to town tomorrow night.

Let's go Caps!