(photo by Brian Murphy)

In the interest of full disclosure, we’re just going to come right out and say it – we’re big fans of Keith Aucoin.

There’s something intriguing about the Washington Capitals scrappy forward that makes it impossible not to root for him.

When he got called up two weeks ago, we refused to get our hopes up. The Caps were dealing with a handful of injuries and there was little reason to believe Aucoin would be in town after everyone got healthy again.

But a funny thing has happened recently – Aucoin has points in three-straight games and he keeps finding subtle ways to impact games, even when playing limited minutes.

We caught up with the 30-year-old minor-league standout yesterday to chat about his mindset, both on and off the ice, these days.

Alright Keith, you’ve got a little point-streak going on these last couple days and seem to really be making the most out of this opportunity. How comfortable are you feeling this time around?

“I’ve felt a lot more comfortable out there this year,” he said. “Coming to the team last year was kind of tough. It was the first time I’d done that in a long time. But knowing the locker room, the guys and the system and knowing that the coaching staff knows what to expect from me, I think all of that is making it easier for me to go out there and make plays. They’re giving me a lot of great chances – like playing on the powerplay – and they’re giving me a lot of ice time, so it’s been a lot of fun.”

How much of it is feeling comfortable off the ice first and then having that translate into success on the ice?

“It’s a lot,” Aucoin said. “It comes from playing a lot. When you’re playing well, you’re going to play with a lot of confidence. Once the second and third games came around, I started playing with a lot more confidence and I started playing a lot better. It just takes a little bit to get your legs back under you when you get called up. You get to a point where you’re playing with so much confidence that you’re going to go out there and produce every shift and help the team win.”

And you’re not the only one with confidence. Like you said, coach Bruce Boudreau has thrown you out there with the big guns on the powerplay lately. How great has that been?

(Laughs). “Yeah, it’s fun,” he said. “Every time I get to go out there with those guys – you know, some of the top guys in the league – you get a little nervous because you want to make sure you get them the puck and you don’t screw up. But it’s a lot of fun when I go out there, even if a lot of time I don’t know where to go. It’s kind of a split decision, where to go. But they help me out a lot and make it easier on me because they all know how to make plays. It’s a lot of fun and something I look forward to.”

Boudreau recently said something along the line of, “you’ve got everything except for the NHL body.” Obviously that’s been the knock on you and it’s something beyond your control …

“Exactly,” Aucoin said. “You just have to use the stuff you have to your advantage. With the new rules that have been put into place, they’ve really helped me a lot. I’m able to use my speed more because they can’t use their stick or hold you in the corner anymore. That’s been a big reason why I’ve been successful at this level. I try not to use my size as a disadvantage. I try to be physical and have never shied away from that stuff.

“I wish I was 6-2 or 6-3,” he said. “It’d be a lot easier. But I’m not. So I don’t worry about it. I just go out there and enjoy it.”

Off the ice, how tough is the uncertainty when you’re called up like this – knowing that some roster spots are going to have to open up once guys get healthy?

“It’s tough, but you kind of get used to it,” Aucoin said. “The last few years it’s something I’ve gone through. The best thing you can do is go out there every night and give it 110 percent and make it hard for them to send you down. That’s the best thing you can do, and I feel like I’m doing that. I try not to worry about it, because I think if you get caught up in it, then it affects your game and you don’t play as well. I just take it day-by-day and go from there.”

Okay, so if you’re living one day at a time, then how much fun are you having this time around?

“I’m having a great time,” he said. “It’s a great team and a great locker room. They make it a lot easier on me and this is a fun locker room to be a part of. They’ve got some of the best players in the world here, so it’s a lot of fun. I’m going to enjoy it as long as I’m here.”

(photo by Manuel Balce Ceneta)

When Semyon Varlamov first arrived in Washington and showed flashes of brilliance, Capitals fans quickly envisioned a lock-down goalie who could single-handedly take over games.

One season later, that’s exactly what the Caps have. The only surprise? It’s Jose Theodore who has become the indisputable number-one goalie in Washington. Not Varlamov.

After falling behind 2-0 deep into the second period Tuesday night, the Capitals battled back to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2 at the Verizon Center, thanks to Theodore’s best outing since he joined the Caps.

“I felt pretty good,” Theodore said. “I’ve been feeling pretty much the same way since the first game. Sometimes you just have to do a bit more. It doesn’t mean that on a 20-save night I don’t feel as good. I think the guys played really well clearing the puck and I was able to challenge the shooters, which is a big part of my game. They did a great job of clearing away rebounds.”

The Capitals have won five-straight games after Theodore’s 41-save effort against the Flyers. And while Theo kept them in the game early, none of his saves were bigger than when he shut down Flyers forward Darroll Powe on a penalty shot in the third period.

“In training camp I said it was the best I felt since the lockout,” Theodore said. “Sooner or later, people are going to realize I didn’t say that just for fun.”

With Theodore frustrating the Philadelphia offense, the Capitals top line of Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin handled the rest – combining for four goals and nine points on the evening.

The Capitals failed to convert on a lengthy five-on-three powerplay in which they had a two-man advantage for 1:41. Typically when that happens, it serves as a huge momentum boost for the opposition. In a related story, Flyers defenseman Braydon Coburn scored just one minute after the powerplay to give Philadelphia the two-goal lead.

But that’s when something clicked for the Caps offense, who responded with an Ovechkin goal, which was set up by a beautiful pass from Backstrom, just 99 seconds later.

So what happened?

“We got pissed off,” Backstrom said. “We were so angry that we couldn’t score.”

Well, okay then.

Pissed off or not, Backstrom evened the score at 2-2 with less than two minutes remaining in the second period with his third goal of the season. Not only was it huge because the goal tied the game, but it ended a streak in which the Caps had failed to score on 13-straight powerplays.

Semin gave the Caps the lead for good with a wicked wrist shot that froze Flyers goalie Ray Emery 5:24 into the final frame and Ovechkin added an empty netter to send the sellout crowd home happy. But the only reason the Caps had a chance Tuesday night was because of the superb play of Theodore.

“Absolutely,” said Capitals forward Keith Aucoin. “That’s one of the best games I’ve seen him play since I’ve been here. He’s been playing really good and he made some huge saves for us in every period tonight. It’s fun to watch him when he’s playing like that. He was definitely the key to the win tonight.”

Not to take anything away from fan-favorite Varlamov, but Theodore is definitely the undisputable number one goalie in town.

While his record is just 3-2-2, Theodore 2.47 goals against average and a .922 save percentage. And while Varlamov is prone to giving up goals in bunches, Theodore has only improved when the Caps fall behind an opponent this season.

No lead is safe against the Capitals these days. Not when they have one of the leagues most potent offenses and a rock-steady goalie anchoring their defense. Just ask the Flyers.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

1. “When the Sun Goes Down” by Arctic Monkeys

Why must networks continue to give the Washington Redskins primetime games? We ask this because, even before this season turned into an absolute nightmare, it’s difficult to remember the last time the ‘Skins actually had a strong showing when all eyes turned to D.C. for a marquee matchup.

Having lost four out of their first six games, with losses to some of the worst teams to actually qualify for “professional” football status, there was little reason to believe the Redskins would somehow get their collective act together and avoid embarrassment against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football.

Of course, the game seemed a fitting ending to a week in which the team became a punchline on a national level after management decided it was a good idea to take away head coach’s Jim Zorn’s playcalling duties and hand them over to a 67-year-old man who, until three weeks ago, was happily serving meals on wheels to old folks in Detroit (see? You can still kick the team without beating the “bingo” jokes into the ground).

2. “Takeover” by Jay-Z

While few rational people believed the Redskins would actually be victorious against the Eagles, it was still jarring to see the game basically over just two minutes into the game.

On Philly’s fourth offensive play of the night, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb handed the ball off to wide out DeSean Jackson on an end around that caught the Redskins so completely off guard, that fans witnessed what might have been the easiest 67-yard run in NFL history.

For his encore, Jackson then caught a 57-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter that gave the Eagles a 27-7 lead. Defensive back Carlos Rogers bit so hard on a double move by Jackson that by the time McNabb threw the ball, it honestly looked like the Redskins only had 10 men on the field – Jackson was that open.

So yeah, even on the night when Redskins receiver Devin Thomas and tight end Fred Davis both caught their first NFL touchdowns, Jackson completely upstaged them both. Here’s the kicker: all three players came from the second round of the 2008 draft. Thomas was the 34th pick, Davis was the 48th and Jackson went one spot later at 49 – meaning the ‘Skins passed up the chance to draft the game changer twice. We can’t help but wonder if that was part of his motivation as he ran circles around the burgundy and gold Monday night.

3. “This Place is a Prison” by The Postal Service

We can’t help but feel bad for Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell. Seriously, at this point, you almost wish that management’s offseason dreams would have come true and Campbell would have been traded away in favor of some other flavor of the month. Then, on nights like this, new guy would be pounded into the ground by aggressive defenses happily taking advantage of the worst offensive line in pro football.

Against the Eagles, Campbell was sacked six times. He fumbled twice, losing one, and had a pass intercepted and returned for a touchdown after it was batted down at the line of scrimmage. All while playing on an ankle he sprained on Washington’s third offensive play of the night.

It goes without saying that it’s difficult to run for your life when you’ve got a bum ankle. But the lowlight of this divisional matchup came when the Redskins couldn’t even execute the simplest of plays – snapping the ball.

In the closing moments of the final frame, center Casey Rabach managed to botch a snap on fourth-and-goal in one of the rare moments this season when the ‘Skins found themselves in the red zone.

Its one thing to blow a blocking assignment and let your guy get a free shot at your helpless quarterback from the blindside (cough … Stephon Heyer … cough), but it’s a whole other level of embarrassment to sabotage a rare scoring chance before the play evens starts.

4. “Reason to Mourn” by Ben Harper

The Redskins have had one consistent playmaker this season. His name is Chris Cooley. They will now, in all likelihood, be without their star tight end for the remainder of the season after Cooley was injured on the first play of the second quarter. Most fans missed it, mostly because everyone was too busy watching Campbell get stripped of the football.

After the game, Zorn confirmed the injury – which is a break is on the inner side of Cooley’s tibia. This means that the Redskins offense, which is already nonexistent, will now be without Cooley and tackle Chris Samuels for the rest of the season.

In a related note, if you were to ask which two players the Redskins offense could least afford to lose, the names Cooley and Samuels would be prominently involved.

5. “On My Own” by Lil Wayne

There was one bright spot on this evening. Sadly, it happened before kickoff.

But, at this point, we’ll take what we can get. On an otherwise forgettable evening, the team did one thing right, inducting returner Brian Mitchell into the Redskins’ Ring of Fame. The always outspoken Mitchell has never hesitated to speak his mind – good, bad or ugly – about the Redskins, which is probably why it took the team this long to honor him. But he’s still the NFL’s all-time leader in kickoff and punt return yardage and gave 10 highly-productive seasons to Washington.

While younger ‘Skins fans can only watch helplessly as Antwaan Randle El alternates between fair catches and fumbling punts, old timers can think fondly back to the days when Mitchell could actually do something once he got his hands on the football. Which basically sums up where this franchise is at. On a dreadful evening when the rest of the country once again got to laugh at our expense, the only saving grace came from honoring a player who hadn’t stepped onto the field for the Redskins in a decade.

This blows.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

Sure, seemingly everything around the Washington Redskins is crumbling. The team has turned into a punchline after giving three previously winless teams their first victory of the season. Well, it’s either that or hiring a bingo caller to run your offense instead of your offensive coordinator-turned-head coach. Really, feel free to take your pick.

And now, the Redskins host the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night - which means all eyes will be locked on the dysfunctional franchise we’ve all come to know and love (which isn’t a good thing - not with the ‘Skins struggling in primetime games even before this disappointing season). So yeah, there’s not a lot of cause for that cautious optimism we spoke of before the season.

But that’s okay. Because we’ve still got really hot cheerleaders, and that’s got to count for something. So instead of focusing on all of the overwhelming negativity surrounding the Redskins, please enjoy this photo. She looks happy. Maybe looking at the photo can help you get there too.

One final tangent. Morons keep forwarding us a list of pitiful jokes that go something like this:

Q. What do you call 47 millionaires sitting around a TV watching the Super Bowl?

A. The Washington Redskins.

Here’s our issue: if they have a 53-man roster (plus eight on the practice squad), why are only 47 Redskins getting together for this hypothetical Super Bowl? Seriously. This bothers us. Are the rest of the players jerks who blow off team functions? Is there dissension in the locker room? Did Mike Sellers screw up his assignment and end up at the wrong location?

If you’re going to tell shitty jokes, can you at least have the common courtesy to do basic research into the number of players on an NFL roster. Jesus, thanks for screwing up our moment of zen. You dick.

(photo by Kevin C. Cox)

If the Washington Capitals are going to be a legitimate contender, then they’re going to need wins like Thursday night’s 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers at Philips Arena.

On a night when forward Alex Ovechkin was a nonfactor and forward Alexander Semin was out of the line-up due to an illness, the Caps found the secondary scoring that’s often lacking - thanks to goals from Eric Fehr, Alexandre Giroux, Jeff Schultz, Matt Bradley and Chris Clark.

Put it this way, the Capitals top five forwards - Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Brooks Laich, Mike Knuble and Brendan Morrison - went pointless. The Caps’ powerplay failed on all seven attempts and even gave up a shorthanded goal. Washington goalie Semyon Varlamov gave up two soft goals. And yet, the Capitals were able to beat a division rival on the road. That doesn’t happen very often.

“It was good because I didn’t think our number-one line was very productive, and our special teams - that was probably our power play’s worst night in the three years I’ve been here,” said coach Bruce Boudreau. “You need them sometimes, and tonight we got them.”

Leading the way for this improbable victory was Schultz – the lanky defender who frustrates many Caps fans with his inconsistent play.

Against Atlanta, Schultz was everywhere – throwing around his body, clearing opposing players away from the net and playing with a general confidence that’s been missing from his game. Fehr’s breakaway goal, just over two minutes into the game, was only possible because of a perfect cross-rink pass from Schultz.

With the score tied 1-1, the Caps took the lead again – this time courtesy of their top two Hershey Bears. Scrappy forward Keith Aucoin faked a slapshot from the left faceoff circle and then fired a beautiful pass to Giroux, who lifted a wrist shot over Thrashers goalie Ondrej Pavelec to regain the lead.

The game was tied 2-2 courtesy of Ilya Kovelchuk, the NHL’s second best Russian goal scorer, after the first period. But the Capitals took over the game for good with a flurry of second-period goals to chase Pavelec from the game and ensure they left Atlanta with two points.

Schultz picked up his first goal of the season on the flukiest of plays. Schultz took the puck from Varlamov and harmlessly flipped the puck out of the Caps’ defensive zone in the general direction of Knuble. The puck took a couple of bounces and somehow skipped over the shoulder of Pavelec to give Schultz a goal from roughly 150 feet away.

Bradley’s goal also came courtesy of Schultz, who blasted a shot from the point that Pavelec once again had trouble corralling. Bradley, who was camped out near the net, got to the rebound before the Thrashers goalie and lifted a shot into the open net for the 4-2 lead.

Just 14 seconds later, Clark took advantage of a fortuitous bounce off the boards behind the net to give the Caps three goals in just 88 seconds and a 5-2 lead.

The Thrashers got back into the game, thanks to a shorthanded goal by defenseman Zach Bogosian and Kovalchuk’s second goal of the net, but the Capitals were able to survive the late surge and preserve the win.

“It wasn’t a textbook game,” Boudreau said. “I think both teams were really sloppy. Both teams got some pretty soft goals. It wasn’t a very well-played hockey game.”

But the man of the night was Schultz, who had the first three-point night of his NHL career. A guy who had one goal all of last season – and it came on an empty netter – paved the way on a night when, more times than not, the Capitals would have lost this game. In fact, Washington was 1-9-1 in games when Ovechkin, Semin, Backstrom and defenseman Mike Green went scoreless last season.

The Caps don’t need this kind of offensive output from Schultz every night, but games like this will go a long way towards showing your head coach and your teammates that you can be trusted. And while the points are great, the best way for Schultz to quiet the critics is to go out and play solid hockey on both ends of the rink. This game, hopefully, was his first step in the right direction.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

Ladies and gentlemen, back by popular demand, it’s time for another round of “caption this.”

The game is fairly simple, as you hopefully know by now. We supply the photo and you bring the witty reader-submitted captions. You might not win any cool prizes, but you’ll be formally recognized for being better than your peers and will get some love here on the blog.

Here’s our humble offering for this photo to help get folks started:

“Always the innovator, Redskins coach Jim Zorn experiments with popup targets to help improve quarterback Jason Campbell’s downfield accuracy.”

Think you can do better? Leave a comment below with your best caption.

[Editor's note: The winner is Paige with a caption of, “You know it's bad when the players start doing the wave out of boredom.”]

(photo by Brian Murphy)

Times are tough for the Washington Redskins. After losing to yet another doormat, head coach Jim Zorn and friends find themselves at the center of the storm.

A Redskins team that started 6-2 last season has crashed hard – losing 10 out of their last 14 games. As the 2009 season quickly spirals out on control, there’s a sense of hopelessness surrounding the entire organization and it’s fanbase.

With losses to bottom dwellers like Detroit, Carolina and now Kansas City, folks have one question on their mind – how did it get to this?

“From my standpoint, I look at it and take full responsibility,” said Zorn in his post-game press conference. “I am the head football coach. Nobody has more responsibility than I do. That is the way I look at it. I have got to come up with answers and I will. I think our coaches are working hard and I have confidence in what they are doing. Our players really care. We had a real good after-game meeting and it was to the point. It is going to be a very hard week. Last week I thought that it was as hard as it was going to get, but it just got harder.”

And that’s what Zorn said prior to the announcement that he would no longer handle playcalling duties. Redskins players hear Zorn week after week, as he tries to shoulder the blame for all of the team’s deficiencies, and they can’t help but feel sorry for him and the situation they’ve put him in.

“You know, it’s tough,” said defensive end Andre Carter. “Coach Zorn said he’s got to figure out how to help the offense. But we told him, it’s on us as players. He can make the calls, but it’s on us – on both sides of the ball – to execute. Coach Zorn is a great coach. We enjoy him – his presence, his jokes, his long stories – I mean, he’s a great guy. We’re coming in tomorrow as if he’s going to still be here. We can’t control what’s going to happen up top. But we can control how we play.”

Redskins receiver Malcolm Kelly took it one step further.

“I feel really sorry for the man,” Kelly said. “It’s almost like a quarterback and a coach are the same. If a team is losing, those are the first two people they’re going to point a finger at. It doesn’t matter if nothing around them is going right, they always take the blame. But a lot of the time, he shouldn’t take the blame. It should fall on the guys out there playing football. I feel really sorry for him though, because it’s a “show me” type league and they want to see us win. They’re going to say what they’re going to say and tear him down, but we want him back.”

The bottom line is – football isn’t very fun when you’re struggling as badly as the Redskins are.

“I think this week’s been really tough for us,” said tight end Chris Cooley. “I think the last few have been because we’ve put in so much work and there are such high expectations of this team. Not just from the media or our fanbase, but from inside. We expect a lot, and to keep losing is rough. I know it’s hard on a lot of guys and especially on the staff. We’ve just got to keep working. I know I’m going to, and I count on my teammates to do the same.”

Regardless of expectations, for the third time this season a previously winless team got its first victory of the season at the expense of the Redskins. How the hell does that happen?

“I’m really at a loss for words,” said safety Reed Doughty. “I don’t feel like we’re a 2-4 team. I look at how we started off last year and what we did the year before, and now, I’m just dumbfounded. Somehow, we’re just not putting it all together. I don’t know what changes are going to be made, but hopefully we can get on a roll.”

But in order for this team to get on any sort of roll, some serious soul searching is in order. Not just with the players, but with coaches and even management. Until then, the Redskins will likely suffer the same fate as they have against the Lions, the Panthers and the Chiefs.

“That’s why it’s so frustrating,” said safety Chris “The Predator” Horton. “We know we should have come out and beat this team. Every man needs to go home and look in the mirror and say ‘I need to do better.’ Even if you had a great game, you need to see what you can do to help this team win games.”

Everyone on the roster should realize exactly what’s at stake now. We’re not talking about wins and losses. We’re not talking about playing for pride. We’re talking about people losing jobs if things don’t get better in a hurry.

Regardless of who is calling the plays or who is taking the snaps or even who is on the offensive line, the Redskins need better results. If not, it’s only a matter of time before sweeping changes are made.