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(photo by Brian Murphy)

The Washington Capitals were able to defeat the defending champion Detroit Red Wings 4-2 at the Verizon Center thanks to the return of “old reliable.”

While his game doesn’t typically show up on the stat sheet, Caps defenseman Tom Poti stepped back into the lineup after missing 15 games and immediately helped to solidify the Caps’ defensive corps, and more importantly, the team’s pitiful penalty-killing unit (as evident by his team-leading 5:26 of penalty-killing time during the game). We caught up with Poti in the Caps’ locker room after the game to see how he felt after helping his team to one of their biggest wins of the season.

You guys were able to snap a two-game losing streak against one of the league’s elite teams and you personally stepped back onto the ice and looked like you didn’t miss a beat. How did it feel to get back into action?

“It felt pretty good,” Poti said. “Glad I made it through the game and it’s just fun to be back playing. It sucks sitting around watching, not being able to help your teammates. So it’s just good to be back. I definitely felt a little rusty out there, but I got my game back slowly.”

And for what it’s worth, the replay showed that you got a raw deal on your penalty at the end of the game. The puck definitely deflected off of a Detroit stick out of the rink.

“Yeah, that’s the same ref who doesn’t like me,” he said. “He’s made some pretty bad calls against me in the past, so I didn’t expect anything different from him.”

You guys haven’t done great against the Western Conference this year and your record isn’t nearly as impressive when you give up the first goal. And yet, you guys were able to rally back and beat Detroit for only the second time in your last 12 games against them. How were you able to get it done today?

“I think the biggest thing is when we saw this game on the calendar at the beginning of the season we were all pretty excited and jacked up about it,” Poti said. “It’s a great measuring stick to see where you’re at against the defending Stanley Cup champions. We were hyped up to play the game and were able to get the result that we wanted.”

Detroit has won something like four championships in 11 years or something and most impressively, they don’t ever seem to have a down year. What can you guys learn from a franchise like that and what do you have to do where we’re talking about the Capitals being a consistent contender like them year in and year out?

“Their consistency is pretty amazing,” he said. “It just goes to show that their guys buy into their system. If you play within that system, you’re going to get more wins than losses. I think we can kind of feed off of that. The games that we lose, we stray from our system. Those situations are pretty obvious to us sitting on the bench when we’re not playing the right way we’re going to be in for a tough night.”

With about seven minutes left in a tied game you kind of got the sense that whoever struck next would win the game. Along comes Ovechkin once again to bring home the victory …

“Surprise, surprise,” Poti said with a laugh.

Does it ever get old watching him play?

“Not at all,” he said. “We love to see that happen. You know, when he gets the puck on his stick, no matter where he is, the whole crowd rises up and all the guys on the bench rise up at the same time because we know he’s probably going to do something special with it. He was the reason we got the win tonight. Both teams battled hard, but we had Ovie and they didn’t.”

It looked like he kind of lost the puck in between his legs for a second and then was able to get it back and put a shot on net. He didn’t get much on the shot, but it was enough. How many players can make that play with the game on the line?

“Not too many,” Poti said. “He’s the best player in the world and can make something out of nothing. We’re just glad he’s on our side.”

(photo by Elise Amendola)

If you missed the Washington Capitals 3-2 loss to the Boston Bruins last night, fear not. Chances are if you’ve been following the team this season, you can guess how the loss played out.

At times, the Caps easily outplayed their opponent, in this case the Bruins who have the NHL’s best record. Unfortunately, there were other times when the opponent didn’t matter as the Capitals did their best to shoot themselves in the foot.

For the ninth-straight time, the Caps allowed a powerplay goal. That, more than anything, is the reason the Caps left Boston without the win. Center Michael Nylander might have scored a goal (no small feat for the man nicknamed “healthy scratch” this season), but he also took a bad penalty which the Bruins scored the game tying goal on.

And while his penalty wasn’t the one that ultimately doomed the Capitals, forward Alexander Semin once again took an ill-advised penalty in the third period of a tightly-contested game. For those who missed it, Semin was whistled for cross checking with just over six minutes remaining in regulation. If not for stellar goaltending by Caps goalie Jose Theodore during Semin’s penalty, the game wouldn’t have even made it to overtime.

Don’t forget that the last time we saw the Caps in action before the All-Star break, Semin was called for tripping Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson with just over three minutes remaining in the game. The Senators won that game 3-2 after capitalizing on Semin’s blunder.

At this point, you wonder how tough it is for coach Bruce Boudreau to trust Semin on the ice when the game is on the line. While he’s got as much skill as any player in the league, his immaturity and poor decision making is something that will only become more of an issue until something is done.

Behind closed doors Boudreau needs to pull Semin aside and inform him that his foolish third-period penalties will no longer be tolerated. Boudreau spoke during his acceptance speech after his induction into the AHL’s Hall of Fame this past weekend about the NHL’s front office threatening to fine him $10,000 if he bad-mouthed an official in public again. Well, by Boudreau’s own admission, the message was clearly sent and he no longer speaks about officiating in his post-game press conferences.

So Bruce, why not use your own life experiences to teach others? Pull Semin aside and inform him that every penalty minute he gets in the third period is going to cost him a thousand bucks. Hit him in the wallet until the message is received once and for all.

Obviously the Capitals are a better team with Semin than without, but they could be even more dangerous if someone could get through to the talented winger that his penalties are hurting the team and could ultimately end up keeping this team from achieving greatness.

The Capitals’ 24th ranked penalty-killing unit isn’t going to get better overnight, but the best way to minimize the unit’s effect on games is to limit the amount of times they’re called upon. The first step in making that a reality is to hold your players accountable for their actions. That should start with Alexander Semin.

(courtesy of Getty Images)

Sure, he might not have been named the most valueable player of the NHL’s All Star game, but it was still a pretty sweet weekend for Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin.

The fun started with Ovechkin and friend-turned-enemy-turned friend again Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins kissing and making up, with a large assist from Ilya Kovalchuk. Then, Ovechkin successfully defended his Breakaway Challenge during the NHL’s skills competition Saturday night. As you can see from the above photo, Ovechkin was in rare form.

Unlike voting for the All Star game starting lineup, Ovechkin caught the attention of hockey fans  with his shenanigans and captured more than 42 percent of votes. And so what if he didn’t start the All Star game. He was definitely the biggest attraction during the game itself. Ovechkin scored the East’s first goal of the night and scored the game clincher during the shootout. In between he picked up two assists and became the Capitals’ franchise leader for All Star game points (surpassing Peter Bondra).

Oh, and Ovechkin also involved in the best off-ice moment of the weekend too. From Tarik El-Bashir:

Late in the second period, the JumboTron over center ice showed two young women holding beers and dancing to the beat during a break in the action. The camera then cut to Ovechkin, who was watching the girls on the screen and was saying, “Oooooooh.”

Sooo busted.

Of course, all 21,273 fans in the building cracked up with laughter. Ovechkin, too, let out a hearty chuckle.

“They were dancing pretty well, and I said, ‘Wow!'” Ovechkin told me moments ago. “I don’t think the camera was going to look straight at me.”

It’s no wonder some are calling Ovechkin the NHL’s rock star.

The only lowlight from the weekend was Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara breaking the 16-year-old record of the immortal Al “Wild Thing” Iafrate during the hardest shot competition. The former Capital’s record of 105.2 miles per hour was eclipsed by Chara’s 105.4 mph offering (and yes, we know he wasn’t on the Caps when he set the record, but we don’t care).

So please excuse the tear streaming down our cheek. We’re not crying. We’re just making a lasagna … for one.

(photo by Adrian Wyld)

Last week, we focused on the good, the bad and the uncertain for the Washington Capitals so far this season.

One area we didn’t really cover in any of the three midseason reviews was goaltending, mainly because depending on which game you’re watching, the Caps netminders can fall in any of the three categories. Or at least that’s how it was for the first month or so of the season.

Looking at the statistics, goalie Jose Theodore has staked his claim as the team’s number-one goalie, posting a 17-9-1 record at the All-Star break. But keeping with the theme of good, bad and uncertain, he’s been far from the league’s elite.

While his 17 wins rank 11th best in the NHL, Theodore’s 2.81 goals against average is 27th best and his .898 save percentage ranks a disappointing 38th overall.

What’s encouraging for Caps fans is Theodore’s improved play of late. Since Dec. 23, Theodore has a 9-3-0 record with a 2.16 GAA and a .919 save percentage.

As a point for comparison, Theodore was just 8-6-1 with a 3.00 goals against average and a .883 save percentage in his first 18 games for Washington.

Our take on the goaltending situation, specifically with Theodore, is that the more he’s played, the better he’s done. Early in the year when coach Bruce Boudreau was inclined to “play the hot hand,” Theodore struggled. But with backup Brent Johnson dealing with some minor injuries, Theodore has seen the bulk of the action and he’s become much more dependable of late.

If he has an off night, Theodore has shown that it’s best to get him back in the net the next night to move past the rough outing. Otherwise, if he’s stuck on the bench for two or three games, he’s shown a propensity to struggle while attempting to get into any kind of rhythm. While it’s hardly Earth shattering to learn a goalie does better when he’s getting consistent action, Theodore seems to be one of the streakier goalies in the NHL. Guessing which Theo we’ll see on any given night is half the fun.

There are a couple positives we should point out about Theodore. Thanks to the Caps’ 5-4 win over the New York Islanders Jan. 19, Theodore became the 11th active goaltender with 200 career wins. Any goalie who can win 200 games in the NHL is obviously pretty good.

And what’s more than pretty good is Theodore’s career record of 11-3 in shootouts. He may only have a 19-26 record in the playoffs, but Theodore is downright clutch in shootouts. With any luck, the Capitals can continue their hot play down the stretch and then start focusing on getting Theodore a few more postseason victories.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

For those who missed it, we’ve dedicated much of this week to reviewing the first half of a memorable season for the Washington Capitals. First we covered the good. Yesterday, we tackled the bad. Today we’ll focus on a few lingering questions and things to watch from here on out.

This weekend, while left wing Alex Ovechkin is in Montreal for All Star weekend and the rest of the Caps are enjoying some time off, rookie defenseman Karl Alzner is keeping his skills sharp in Pennsylvania with the Caps’ minor league affiliate, the Hershey Bears.

While the intent is to help continue his growth during his inaugural campaign, there’s a very real chance that Alzner might be kept down in the minors even after the Capitals resume play. Not because of anything he’s done on the ice, after all, he’s easily a top-four caliber defenseman at the NHL level right now. But he could remain temporarily demoted simply because Washington doesn’t have the salary cap space to keep him around.

Capitals defensemen Tom Poti and Shaone Morrisonn are set to return from injuries after the break, which means that Alzner and his $1.675 million salary cap number will likely be forced out of the lineup unless general manager George McPhee makes a move to clear room under the cap.

We despise fans who attempt to play fantasy football (or in this case, fantasy hockey) by jumping online and posting their ridiculously made-up trade scenarios, so you won’t find any of that here. But there are two players who would make sense for McPhee to attempt to move if he could find a suitable trade partner.

The first, center Michael Nylander, has been mentioned in trade rumors for much of the season. He’s 35 years old and has just four goals and 18 assists for 22 points in 45 games. His salary cap number this season is $4.875 million, ranking behind only Ovechkin ($9.5 million) as the biggest salary cap hit among Capitals forwards.

Three times this season Nylander has been a healthy scratch, meaning coach Bruce Boudreau benched him even though Nylander’s salary cap number is higher than center Nicklas Backstrom ($2.4 million), forward Tomas Fleischmann ($725,000) and Alzner ($1.675 million) combined.

Many of the folks who cover the NHL expected Nylander to be playing elsewhere by now, but there’s one major problem – his no-movement clause. While his on-ice situation may be less than ideal, Nylander’s family is apparently very happy to be in the D.C. area again and he’s not in a hurry to waive the clause to uproot them any time soon. So unless a compromise is reached, Boudreau and McPhee are stuck with Nylander until after the 2010-11 season.

The second player who the Caps should consider making a move on is forward Chris Clark. The 32-year-old right wing may still be listed as the Caps’ captain, but it’s obvious that the team is moving in a different direction. Clark has been a healthy scratch twice this season (when’s the last time you heard of a team benching its captain just because?) and has just one goal and four assists for five points in 31 games played. The entire world knows this is Ovechkin’s team, so why not give Clark a fresh start elsewhere and formally recognize your franchise player?

Depending on what the team would have to take back in a trade, making either one of these moves could conceivably free up enough space to keep Alzner around. His play alone warrants keeping him in town, but Alzner has also impacted those around him. Before Alzner’s arrival, defenseman Milan Jurcina was a big body with loads of potential, but not much else. Hopefully you know by now that potential is just another way of saying “ain’t done shit yet.”

Well, pairing Jurcina with Alzner calmed the big guy down and somehow transformed the 25-year-old into a legitimate NHL blueliner. Now he’s someone Boudreau trusts with increased responsibility. In fact, in recent weeks, Boudreau moved “Juice” away from Alzner and paired him with Jeff Schultz, who has taken Jurcina’s previously held title of “least dependable defenseman.”

In addition to Jurcina, the other most improved player on the Capitals is Fleischmann. People might not realize this, but the Caps acquired Fleischmann along with the 29th pick in 2004 (who turned out to be defenseman Mike Green) and a fourth-round pick in 2006 from Detroit in exchange for forward Robert Lang. It’s safe to say that trade worked out well for McPhee and friends.

In his first 118 games (spanning three seasons) in Washington, “Flash” recorded just 14 goals. In 39 games this year, Fleischmann has taken his game to another level, netting 15 goals, which is good enough for third on the Caps behind Ovechkin and Semin. Lately he’s been on the team’s second line with Semin and center Sergei Fedorov and is playing with renewed confidence as he’s seen his ice time increase. If Fleischmann and Jurcina continue to evolve as they become more comfortable being full-time NHL players it will only strengthen an already potent lineup.

The final area of concern for the Capitals, free agency, most likely won’t be addressed until after the season. Fedorov (39), forward Viktor Kozlov (33) and tough guy Donald Brashear (37) are all unrestricted free agents after the season. Each plays a key role on this team, but will the front office bring the aging trio back again next season?

Along the same lines, forwards Boyd Gordon (25) and Eric Fehr (23), as well as defensemen Morrisonn (26), Jurcina (25) and Schultz (22) are scheduled for restricted free agency. While it wouldn’t be surprising to see all five back in Washington next season, nothing is ever certain in professional sports.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

Yesterday we addressed the many positives of the 2008-09 Washington Capitals. Today, we’ll focus on some of the areas that should be of concern to Bruce Boudreau and the coaching staff.

The Capitals are currently 30-15-3, which is good enough for fourth best in the league. But what’s troubling is that eight losses have come against teams who wouldn’t qualify if the playoffs started today. Teams like the Ottawa Senators and the Columbus Blue Jackets who aren’t going anywhere this season have multiple victories over the Caps this season (with Columbus shutting out Washington twice).

It’s great that the Caps can compete with the league’s elite teams like the Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers, but until they can get the same level of intensity and effort night in and night out, this team is setting itself up for failure down the road. Beating Boston twice only to turn around and lose twice to Ottawa doesn’t help your cause. It shows that some folks in that locker room think they can just show up and the league’s doormats will automatically roll over. But that’s not the way it works.

If anything, lesser teams look at the schedule and circle matchups against teams like Washington. They might not have a great record, but if a squad like Columbus can show they can not only compete with, but defeat the mighty Capitals, it can help get them back on track. Every team has talent. Underestimating any opponent is naïve and foolish.

In addition to playing down to the level of their opponents, the Caps also have a tendency to, stop us if you’ve heard this before, get too cutesy with the puck and don’t crash the net. Instead of making a higher-percentage pass, guys like Alex Ovechkin, Alex Semin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green all try to earn a spot on the highlight reel with high-risk passes through heavy traffic. When they work, it’s a thing of beauty. Unfortunately, the odds aren’t usually in their favor. Instead of forcing the puck, especially on the powerplay, they should simply regroup by passing back to the point and setting up the play again.

Crashing the net may not be glamorous, but it’s effective. Screening the goalie and increasing the traffic in front of the net always improves your scoring chances. Plus, if the goalie makes the initial save but can’t haul in the puck, then someone is on the doorstep to bang home the juicy rebound. Other than maybe Brooks Laich, who else on the Capitals shows a willingness to stand there and take the abuse from a defenseman trying to clear the zone? The answer is no one.

The Capitals have not given up an even-strength goal in their last three games. While that is impressive, the fact that they’ve given up five powerplay goals over that span is troubling. For the season, the Caps are the fourth-most penalized team and their penalty-killing percentage is 78.9, 24th in the league. So to recap, they take a lot of penalties and don’t do a very good job of killing them. That’s never good.

If we’re going to take this team seriously, guys like Ovechkin and Semin (who are second and fourth on the team in penalty minutes) need to learn to stop taking foolish penalties, especially with the game on the line (like Semin’s terrible penalty against Ottawa with just over three minutes left in regulation).

While the Capitals have been automatic at home this season, they are just 11-12-2 away from the Verizon Center (the 14th best road record in hockey). As previously mentioned, teams are going to get fired up to play the Capitals, especially out on the West Coast where it might be the only time all season Alex Ovechkin and friends come to town. With the Caps’ average road attendance nearly 97 percent, it’s safe to say that the team is playing in front of a packed house night in and night out. Bringing that same level of intensity each and every game helps to prevent trap games against those teams who will be watching the Stanley Cup playoffs on TV come April.

The last concern is the amount of minutes the team’s biggest guns are playing. Green is averaging more than 25 minutes of ice time per game. Ovechkin is over 23. Backstrom, Semin, Alzner, Schultz and Poti (before his injury) are all above 19 minutes. It’d be nice if the coaching staff could lean a little less on the marquee players in the regular season, so they still feel fresh come playoff time. Seven Capitals players have scored at least 10 goals this season, so let’s spread around the ice time a little more evenly and save the major minutes for guys like Green and Ovechkin for the postseason.

While this post focuses on the negatives, please understand where we’re coming from. The Capitals, unlike any other team in town, has heightened expectations. Unlike the Redskins or Wizards, simply going .500 for the year is unacceptable. They have a deep roster with loads of talent and, for the first time in a long, long time, have a legitimate chance to do some damage once the regular season concludes. Addressing some of these concerns simply increases their chances of bringing a championship to D.C. for the first time in franchise history.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

After last night’s 3-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators, the Washington Capitals now have a week off to get rested and healthy before the second half of the season. With that in mind, this seems as good a time as any to take an in-depth look at what’s been good, what’s been not-so-good and what’s in store for the Caps. In this first installment, we’ll focus on the highlights for the 2008-09 Capitals.

Led by the best player in hockey, left wing Alex Ovechkin, the Capitals are off to their best start in franchise history.

At the All Star break, the Caps stand 30-15-3, which is good enough for second place in the Eastern Conference. Only Boston, San Jose and Detroit have earned more points than Washington through the first half of the season.

While much of the focus goes to Ovechkin, there are other players who have contributed to the team’s success this season. In fact, the Caps are tied for the league lead with seven different players (Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Tomas Fleischmann, Mike Green, Nicklas Backstrom, Brooks Laich and Viktor Kozlov) having scored at least 10 goals this season.

After his customary slow start, Ovechkin now leads the NHL in goals scored with 31 and is third in the league in points with 59. Top-line center Nicklas Backstrom continues to develop into one of the premiere setup men in hockey and ranks seventh in the league in assists with 36. While we’re on the subject of Backstrom, his eight goals and 16 assists also earn him a spot among the league leaders in powerplay points. He may only have 12 goals this season, but Mike Green leads all defensemen in powerplay goals with 10. And although forward Alexander Semin has only played in 29 games, he ranks sixth in the NHL in plus/minus. So, it’s safe to say the big guns are getting it done for Washington.

The Capitals are great at home (19-3-1) and truly have a home-ice advantage thanks to passionate and knowledgeable fans who routinely pack the Verizon Center. Not only have there been more sellouts (12) at the halfway point this year than all of last season, but general manager George McPhee recently said they’re sold out for most of the second half of the season as well.

Through 23 home games, the Capitals’ average attendance is 17,973 (more than 96 percent capacity). But what folks may not realize is that the average attendance for Caps road games is nearly as good at 17,666 (also more than 96 percent). One year ago, the Caps averaged roughly 82 percent attendance both home and away, so while the economy has taken a turn for the worse, people are still flocking to see this young and exciting team.

Regardless of whether the games are played on home ice or not, this team has been great against the teams that matter. If the playoffs started today, the Capitals are 13-3-2 against teams who would qualify for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. And while some may claim that the Caps are a product of playing in a sub-standard Southeast Division, that’s simply not the case. They are 9-1-2 against the Atlantic Division and 8-3-1 against the Northeast Division. Bottom line, this team can compete with anyone in the East.

But what’s most impressive is that, even though they’ve had a ton of injuries thus far this season, the Capitals have managed to weather the storm and still find a way to consistently win.

Five defensemen – Karl Alzner, Sean Collins, Bryan Helmer, Sami Lepisto and Tyler Sloan – have appeared in games for Washington after starting the season in the minors. If you count the four games center Sergei Federov had to play on defense (just so the team could have six defensemen), then the Caps have used 12 different blueliners this season. Across the board, the Caps have used a total of 33 players this year and yet, they still have the best record in franchise history. Why is that? Because of Bruce Boudreau.

It seems that no matter who suits up for the Caps, they still find a way to win primarily because of the masterful job behind the bench by Boudreau, who took just 85 games to reach 50 wins (a franchise record). Thanks to a talent-laden roster and Boudreau’s attacking style of offense, the Caps have a chance for victory, even on off nights when things just aren’t going their way.

Which leads us to our biggest point, this team just knows how to win. They win high-scoring affairs. They win defensive battles. They just win. And when you factor in the collective records of the local football, basketball and baseball teams, the Caps are the only team around that can say that.