All posts in hockey

(photo by Mitchell Layton)

Simply put – everything the Washington Capitals touch turns to gold. It’s really as if, at this point, folks within the organization can do no wrong.

How else can you explain everything that has transpired this week? Caps general manager George McPhee could have sat back and rolled the dice that his roster – already with the league’s top record – has enough firepower to make a legit run for the Stanley Cup.

After years of sticking to the plan, McPhee has constructed a roster as deep as any in hockey. The Capitals, as well as their minor-league affiliate Hershey Bears, are at the top of the standings and can beat you several different ways. But GMGM pulled the trigger on four trades, each specifically designed to add depth and a steadying veteran presence, and let everyone know he’s in it to win it this year.

Forwards Scott Walker, Eric Belanger and defensemen Milan Jurcina and Joe Corvo were all brought in and suddenly coach Bruce Boudreau was presented with some tough decisions in regards to his gameday lineup. How soon should he attempt to integrate the new guys? Jurcina is out six weeks with a sports hernia, but the other three all participated in the morning skate and were ready to play.

Boudreau mulled introducing each of the new players gradually into his gameday rotation, but ultimately settled on a baptism by fire approach. Throw all three into the mix and see how they pan out.

Belanger actually started against the Tampa Bay Lightning last night, lining up at center on the Caps’ third line with forwards Tomas Fleischmann and Eric Fehr. Corvo also started, pairing up with defenseman Tom Poti. Walker ended up on the fourth line with center Boyd Gordon and forward Jason Chimera.

The decision to roll with the new guys meant regulars like Matt Bradley, David Steckel and John Erskine were all bumped from the lineup. Clearly there is a glut of qualified NHL players, which is a good problem to have if you’re Boudreau. While the new guys have 18 games left to get settled in and adjusted to Boudreau’s philosophies, he’ll be tasked with juggling the roster and keeping his players (relatively) happy.

Belanger actually got off to the best start out of the new guys, quickly developing chemistry with Fehr. The two had no trouble cycling the puck in the early stages of the game, which was noteworthy because much of the Caps’ roster looked sluggish in the early stages. They looked like a team transitioning back from a three-week layoff to playing on back-to-back nights.

Their hard work was rewarded early when Fehr ripped a wristshot past Lightning goalie Mike Smith at 6:10 into the first period. The rest of the evening was less eventful for Belanger, who won five of 12 faceoffs on the night.

Corvo played a ton against Tampa, logging 20 minutes of action. The former Carolina Hurricane blocked three shots, but otherwise was also fairly quiet.

And then there was Walker. This is what we said just yesterday about Walker:

Because he goes all out every single shift, Walker is instantly a fan favorite wherever he plays. He’s not the biggest dog in the fight, but he’s scrappy. He’s physical. He’s “Rudy” on skates. He plays right wing, but came into the league as a defenseman, so he’s responsible in his own end. He’s a high-energy veteran who leads by example.

Well, the 36-year-old forward was on the ice for seven minutes and 33 seconds and damn if he didn’t make the most out of it.

Read more →

(courtesy photo)

Make no mistake about it – if Washington Capitals general manager George McPhee was engaged in a high-stakes poker game, he just went all in.

That’s the best way to describe his flurry of activity prior to the National Hockey League’s trading deadline yesterday. McPhee, who played coy the last few days, was one of the busiest general managers on deadline day.

Forwards Scott Walker, Eric Belanger and defensemen Joe Corvo and Milan Jurcina were acquired. Defenseman Brian Pothier, middle-tier prospect Oskar Osala and four draft picks (two second rounders, as well as a sixth- and seventh-round selection) were shipped off. That’s four additions to the locker room while only subtracting one player from his current lineup.

The names might not be as big as a couple years ago when McPhee landed forwards Sergei Fedorov, Matt Cooke and goalie Christobal Huet on deadline day during the 2007-08 season, but that’s not a bad thing.

Truth is, McPhee didn’t need to re-tool an entire roster. The Caps came back from the Olympic break with the NHL’s best record and any moves were specifically designed to add a few final pieces in an effort to take home the Stanley Cup this year. So what do we know about the new guys?

Let’s start with Walker. Because he goes all out every single shift, Walker is instantly a fan favorite wherever he plays. He’s not the biggest dog in the fight, but he’s scrappy. He’s physical. He’s “Rudy” on skates. He plays right wing, but came into the league as a defenseman, so he’s responsible in his own end. He’s a high-energy veteran who leads by example. The Caps gave up a seventh-round pick to land him, and Carolina Hurricanes fans (both of them) are bummed that he’s gone.

Belanger had 13 goals and 22 assists for Minnesota, which is noteworthy because it’s not as if there are a ton of points being racked up by the Wild. The 32-year-old center ranks seventh in the league in faceoffs and, more than anyone else acquired yesterday, addresses what could be perceived as a need.

Grinders David Steckel and Boyd Gordon are both very good in the faceoff circle. Your top two centermen – Nicklas Backstrom and Brendan Morrison – have their moments, but aren’t on the same level. Prior to the Olympics, Tomas Fleischmann saw plenty of action at center, but that was because the Czech Republic team asked for him to get some time in the middle to help their cause once they headed to Vancouver.

Belanger steps into a role on one of the top three lines and shouldn’t have much issue earning playing time. He’s a speedy forward who isn’t afraid to throw his body around and does well on the penalty kill. Those are all qualities that help come playoff time.

Corvo is the wild card out of the new guys. He represents an upgrade on the blue line, but he’s a different kind of player than fans clamored for when they begged McPhee to add a rugged, physical defenseman.

Read more →

(photo by Mark Buckner)

It seems like only yesterday the National Hockey League was on hiatus while the Olympics were in full swing. Well, technically, it was yesterday, so nevermind.

At any rate, action resumes this week for the Washington Capitals, who have their sights set on making some more franchise history.

At 41-13-8, the Caps have the league’s top record and have a chance to earn the franchise’s first President’s Trophy. The Capitals might have faltered – dropping three straight heading into the Olympic break – but the team is now rested and ready to go.

With that in mind, we present to you five subplots worth watching between now and the end of the regular season.

1. The trade deadline. General manager George McPhee needs to take a cold, hard look at this roster and determine if he’s got what it takes to bring home the Stanley Cup. We know that the team’s mindset is to avoid trading away young assets for veteran rentals, which we fully support. No sense in gutting your franchise’s depth if you can help it. But at the same time, McPhee will definitely be busy between now and 3 p.m. Wednesday afternoon making calls and fielding offers.

Do the Capitals need another established defensive-minded blueliner? Should they bring in another center? Would a strong veteran presence – regardless of position – help guide this young team in the right direction come playoff time? These are just a few of the questions the team’s front office has to ask.

If we had to guess, we’d say the team makes a move, but nothing drastic. Think along the lines of the Chris Clark/Milan Jurcina for Jason Chimera deal earlier this season. There might be a big name or two that gets moved prior to the trade deadline, but chances are it won’t involve the Capitals unless it’s a deal simply too good to pass up.

2. Get defensive. Everyone who follows hockey knows the Caps can score. Coach Bruce Boudreau has no problems giving his players the green light to take chances when they see fit and that’s why his team has 43 more goals than anyone else.

But sometimes his players are a little too eager to push the puck up ice and not quite as motivated to back check and take care of business in their own end. In their last four games before the break, the Capitals gave up 20 goals. In related news, Washington dropped three out of those four games (and needed overtime to rally back to beat Pittsburgh).

Simply put – this team won’t win anything if they don’t play better in their own end. Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that McPhee fails to acquire a rugged, stay-at-home defenseman. Should the Caps pack it up and call it a day? Not at all.

Here’s one thing that should be done regardless of any possible trades – give yourself the best chance possible to win.

That means less of John Erskine and Tyler Sloan and more of John Carlson and Karl Alzner. We fully understand that the contracts of the dynamic duo of Carlson and Alzner makes it easier to shuttle them between here and the Hershey Bears, but these two are clearly better than the Erskine-Sloan combo.

Even if you keep Sloan in the minors (he was assigned to the Bears over the weekend), make Erskine a healthy scratch and only promote one of your top two prospects, you’re in better shape than you were before.

Read more →

If you didn’t seen this monster hit by Alex Ovechkin yet, don’t worry – neither did Jaromir Jagr.

Team Russia defeated the Czech Republic 4-2 while advancing to the quarterfinals during Olympic play, but there’s only one moment that folks are talking about.

All you need to know is the old-school face of the Washington Capitals met the new guy in charge today and the results were memorable, to say the least.

Jagr had the puck at center ice and in a momentary lapse of judgment, lowered his head and forgot that Ovechkin was nearby. Ovi, the man they call the Russian Machine for good reason, obliterated Jagr with a devastating open-ice hit and Team Russia scored the game-winning goal seven seconds later. For anyone who ever doubted how much of a game-changer Ovechkin truly is, this was a massive reminder of the impact The Great 8 has every time he takes the ice – even without the puck.

“Guys, before you ask me the question, I know I make a mistake,” said Jagr after the game. “It was a big mistake. The hit, I don’t really care. But the mistake was the turnover I made, they scored a goal. that hurt me the most.

“I don’t care how I feel. If something hurt, it’s always healed. But the mistake is not that easy to heal,” Jagr said.

Ovechkin, as to be expected, downplayed the hit.

“It’s just a moment,” Ovechkin said. “If I have a chance to hit somebody, it doesn’t matter who it is.”

But while Ovechkin had already moved on, Jagr might not be able to do the same as quickly.

“I wish I had a concussion,” he said. “That way I would forget Ovechkin quicker.”

If we could have been anywhere when “The Hit Heard ‘Round The World” happened, it would have been seated next to Capitals owner Ted Leonsis.

We’d love nothing more than to see his reaction when the two biggest names he’s ever had on his payroll collided. We’d never put words in Leonsis’ mouth, but we’d venture to guess he couldn’t help but smile seeing Ovechkin come out on top.

(photo by Robert Beck)

(photo by Phillip MacCallum)

After enjoying the best stretch of hockey in franchise history the Washington Capitals have come crashing back down to earth, dropping two-straight games north of the border.

Their most recent loss, a 6-5 barnburner to the Ottawa Senators, looking eerily familiar to anyone who has been paying attention to the Caps up-and-down play of late. With that in mind, we present to you 10 topics of conversation following the team’s latest collapse.

1. The Capitals have now allowed the opposition to score first in 10 of their last 15 games. Yes, they routinely battle back and tie things up later in the game, but wouldn’t it be nice to actually get off to a better start and not have to play catch up?

It used to be that the Caps had trouble with early-afternoon games because several of the guys like to sleep in and it took them time to get going. These days it doesn’t matter what time the game starts, the Caps allow their opponent to strike first and don’t get going until either late in the second or early in the third period.

We’re all for entertaining “firewagon hockey,” but we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out that the Caps can still pick up two points without ratcheting up the degree of difficulty just for the hell of it. At this point, we’d love to see the Capitals come out Saturday against St. Louis and do something they haven’t been able to accomplish in recent history — start strong and cruise to an easy victory while playing a full 60 minutes of disciplined hockey.

2. It’s a good thing the Olympic break is right around the corner. Between injuries and sloppy play, the Capitals are in need of some alone time. Jason Chimera, Tom Poti, Shaone Morrisonn and Michal Neuvirth are all out of the lineup due to various ailments, and it’s a safe bet other players are dealing with nagging injuries as well. While Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom and Semyon Varlamov head to Vancouver in the quest for gold, the rest of the roster would do wise to take it easy and get healthy for the second half of the season.

3. Speaking of Varlamov, he returned to action for the first time since December and, unfortunately, it showed. Varlamov, who had been shelved for the last two months due to knee and groin injuries, stopped just 22 of 28 shots he faced against Ottawa and let in more than a few he’d like to have back.

After the game, coach Bruce Boudreau had strong words for his young netminder.

“I don’t think he was ready to play,” Boudreau said of Varlamov. “I don’t know if it was slow, rusty or a combination of both. You can use whatever term you want — I don’t think he was ready to play. He knew he was going to play. He’s had 12 days of practice and a game under his belt. It’s his responsibility to be ready.”

No goalie likes to get beat five hole. It happened twice to Varlamov.

“When you say he’s rusty or whatever; that’s an excuse, and excuses can’t be tolerated. One goal went right through the legs. He’s been making that save since he was seven years old,” Boudreau said.

Chances are Varlamov won’t see much action for the Russian National Team. If that’s the case, he’d be wise to spend his free time on the ice working himself back into playing shape. Varlamov was 12-1-1 prior to the Senators game. It goes without saying, Varlamov returning to form can go a long way towards helping his club come playoff time.

4. We hope rookie defenseman John Carlson didn’t watch the Senators game. Because, if he did, he can’t be happy watching Tyler Sloan and John Erskine “play defense.” Sloan was on the ice for three Ottawa goals. Erskine for two. Varlamov didn’t have his best game of the season, but this game could have been even worse if he didn’t come up big several times covering for the Erskine-Sloan combo.

It’s unfortunate that the NHL is set up in a way that guys like Karl Alzner and Carlson are relegated to the minor leagues in favor of lesser players simply because they don’t have to pass through waivers. Maybe if Erskine and Sloan weren’t on the same line it wouldn’t have been as noticeable, but watching them pretend to be traffic cones while Senator players skated circles around them only re-enforced what we already knew — better players are forced out of the lineup for reasons that have nothing to do with on-ice abilities.

Read more →

(photo by Francois Lacasse)

When it comes to officiating, there is nothing more vital than consistency.

Regardless of the sport, referees owe it to the teams playing the game and the fans watching the game to interpret the rules with consistency.

We bring this up because the defining moment of the Washington Capitals 6-5 loss to the Montreal Canadiens yesterday was a questionable disallowed goal.

With less than six minutes remaining in the second period, the Capitals looked to have scored a momentum-changing goal to pull within one, at 4-3. Caps forward Alex Ovechkin destroyed Habs defenseman Hall Gill, who crash landed into goalie Carey Price as the puck slipped into the net. Here’s the video:

Now, let’s go back in time to April 22, 2008. Skip ahead to the 2:30 mark of this next video and watch what transpires:

In both instances, an offensive player hits a defensive player into his own goalie. In both instances, the play goes against the Capitals. When a Philadelphia player delivers the hit (in the playoffs, no less), the play is ruled legal. When a Washington player delivers the hit, it was initially ruled a goal and then waved off without any further explanation.

Folks wonder why Caps fans have some kind of inferiority complex and are convinced the world is against them. Well, we definitely don’t think this call intentionally went against the Capitals, but these are the plays that are turned to when those arguments are made.

If it’s a goal in 2008, then it should be a goal now. Unless the rules have been changed. And if that’s the case, we probably should have heard about it by now.The NFL changes their rules every time Tom Brady get a boo boo, but at least they have the common courtesy to inform us about it up front.

Consistency shouldn’t be optional. It should be what the league office strives for. It should be what officials are graded on. And, most importantly, it should be applied in hopes of restoring what little sanity we have left.