Lackluster Caps lose 3-0 to Blue Jackets

Steve Mason, the rookie net minder for the Columbus Blue Jackets and league leader in GAA and save percentage blanked the Capitals last night in a 3-0 lost just like he did in their prior meeting.   He was awarded the first star of the game and stopped 45 shots.  It felt like watching the Caps ineffectively throwing a million shots at Scott Nittymaki against the Flyers in their 7-1 loss.

The Caps need to figure out a way to get the puck past strong goalies.  Last night, the Caps couldn't get a rebound or garbage goal because there was never anyone in position to capitalize on a rebound or to crash the net.  

The highlights:

• I thought David Steckel had a  good night. He hit well, used his body effectively and won 67% of his faceoffs.  He did have 2 giveaways but overall I noticed him a lot and in a good way.
• Mike Green played 31:50 of even hockey with 4 takeaways and also had an effective game.
• And, that's about it for the highlights.

The lowlights:

• The line of Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin played totally ineffective hockey and were too cute, at times.  Coach Boudreau replaced Semin with Viktor Kozlov on that line later in the game, thankfully. 
• Ovie gave his all on a couple of really strong shots on net, but Mason was too good. 
• Alexander Semin looked overall horrible last night.  For whatever reason, he seems to have forgotten how to shoot the puck.  I expect him to get his game on track, but last night was a stinker.
• The defense struggled all night, including top rookie, Karl Alzner, and Milan Jurcina. Jurcina's bobbled pass play resulted in R.J. Umberger's first goal.
• It was nice to see Sergei Fedorov and Tomas Fleischmann on the ice again, but neither contributed much although Fleischmann had 3 takeaways.  It's clear the lines need to regain their chemistry with the additions of the returning players.

The Caps headed to Montreal last night for a rematch against the Habs.  If the Caps win, Bruce Boudreau coaches the joke that is known as the NHL All-star game.  If they lose, Guy Carbonneau goes.  I only care about the the Caps getting 2 points so...

Let's go Caps!

Caps road woes continue as Blue Jackets win 3-0

After shutting out the Montreal Canadiens on Friday, the Caps got shutout by a rookie goaltender, Steve Mason, in Columbus last night.  I didn't get to see the game and it seems like that was a good thing.  The Blue Jackets, Rick Nash, scored twice which is no surprise to me as he continually scores against my team in EA hockey!  Raffi Torres scored the other goal.

From what I've read, Capitals goalie Brent Johnson played solid in net so it was the lack of offense and the AHL level defense that couldn't contain the Blue Jackets.  Even though Johnson played well, I'm still curious why Coach Boudreau didn't go with Jose Theodore after he got the shutout the prior night.  Who knows.  The bigger question is why can't the Caps win on the road?  They have to improve on their 4-8-2 road record if they want to do anything in the post season this year.

The worst news of the game, defenseman Karl Alzner, went out with an injury.  This has me wondering what in the hell is going on with the Capitals if they have players getting injured every single game.  Is it conditioning? Is it simply bad luck (Caps fans are all too familiar with that)?  Is it carelessness (I'm sure Mike Green will remember to keep his head up now)? All I know is that the list of injured players has reached a unparalleled level of absurdity.  I'm also getting sick of players like Alexander Semin being listed day-to-day which quickly turns into week-to-week.  Arghhh.

At least the Caps come back home to the friendly environs of the phone booth for a game against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday.  I'll be there rocking the red.

Let's go Caps!

A disappointing loss...and Eric Fehr debuts

The Caps played a lackluster game against a division team, the Atlanta Thrashers, they should be fired up against and lost 2-0. What more is there to say about that since I'm not in the mood to compliment the player most responsible for Atlanta's win.

Eric Fehr, recalled from the Hershey Bears today, is slated to play on the 1st line against the Columbus Blue Jackets tomorrow night. Wow, let me count the ways I hate that decision. I know the Caps have played tepid offense lately, but I'm not sure I'd want to break up the line of Ovie, Backstrom and Koslov to bring up a forward who's been sidelined with a mysterious back/hip ailment for 10 months. And, to rush him up here after only 10 games played in Hershey. I'm going to hope management doesn't quickly regret this decision.

All I know is that I want to see the Caps fighting tomorrow night. Because, fighting for 1st in the SE or fighting for 8th in the Eastern Conference is the only way they're going the playoffs. And, i want to see Ovie play in the playoffs. And, yes, I'm very aware I'm not the only one.

Let's go Caps!