Game 40 - Caps 2 Sharks 5

Well, to paraphrase Tarik El-Bashir (actually, a direct quote); the Caps got run out of the building last night.

Although not horrible in the first period, they were completely blanketed by the Sharks. They only occasionally gained their own blueline with possession and rarely managed to carry the puck through center ice. The result was only three shots and fewer opportunities - one of which resulted in a goal the other way when Mike Green got caught deep.

I wouldn't exactly characterize the Sharks forechecking as relentless but the Caps D seemed overwhelmed nonetheless. I guess you could blame it on the new line combinations (or the loss of Milan Jurcina - ha), but the team was not in sync moving the puck out of the zone.

Speaking of penalty shots, glad to see Mike Green is reading the blog ('Canes Recap). When he got on the wrong side of a second period breakaway he tried a dive and sweep to actually break up a scoring opportunity as opposed to waving his stick and taking the hooking call. Of course the puck ended up in the net on the ensuing penalty shot - but since he can't seem to keep his stick on the ice in those situations (he sees a lot of them) at least he managed to disrupt an opportunity.

The power play continued on its extended slide including a lengthy 5 on 3 early in the second when the game was still in reach. No movement, no shooting, no bodies.

Haven't seen the third period yet so no comment on the Caps goals or the SECOND penalty shot (Tarik labeled it a soft call).

As well as they played team defense in two big wins a week ago, this game and, of course, the last one are a good illustration of why they need a premium shut down stud on defense.

Game 39 - Hurricanes 6 Caps 3

So I guess I'm not yet convinced these guys are for real.

You could see this Charlie Foxtrot of a game coming from a mile away and one assumes that the emotional uncertainty of having their captain traded hours before the game only contributed to the cause.

There was plenty of blame to go around on this one but let's set the scene. Two days after completing a two game sweep against two of the better teams and goaltenders in the league (Sabres and Devils; Miller and Brodeur) the Caps got to host the worst road team in the league (one win) with the most anemic offense in the league (dead last) and, by a substantial 10 point margin, the worst team in the league.  Smells like a letdown to me.

The Caps defense treated their own crease like a nuclear hot zone and all night long Eric Staal got more time and space than a swine flu carrier at hypochondriac convention.

On a better day, the goaltender might have pulled a few big saves out of his butt and paved the way to a comeback - but this was a moody Jose ("Three-or-more") Theodore playing somewhere between bad and average and didn't make a big save all night. With the support he got from his teammates on his first start in two weeks - a game where he should have been anxious to prove that he's at least a capable backup for the remainder of his contract - well, he probably wished he was included in the trade to Columbus.

But since it’s a favorite topic of mine let me point out the Mike Green penalty. He's taken this particular penalty so many times now I just refer to it as "the Mike Green penalty".  It’s the one where he's been caught behind the play (I know, what are the odds?) and does the one thing ABSOLUTELY GUARANTEED to draw a penalty every single time; the one thing that has VIRTUALLY NO CHANCE of producing a positive result - he put his stick in mid-section of a skater on a breakaway. While they were killing off a four minute penalty.

Now, I know the call was a weak one; that he barely made contact with guy; that he had no effect on the goal scoring opportunity; but all of that only proves the point. If you even think about touching a breakaway skater above the knees they'll call it EVERY SINGLE TIME. Put your stick on the ice and move your feet. If you must do something dive at the guy and sweep at the puck with the stick. You'll probably still get a penalty but at least you might actually prevent a goal.

The whole point here is that this mess occurred in the first six minutes of the game, the Canes converted the 5 on 3 and it was all downhill from there.

The worst game of the year to this point.

The Trade

Reading the various blogs and message boards about this makes me think that there's a lot of over-analyzing going on out there - a lot of it based on the fact that Chris Clark was the captain and management is trying to "send a message".  While the Caps can be frustratingly inconsistent - and I have been critical of that fact (just wait for my next post) the Caps ARE the best team in the league right now and not in need of shaking up. 

This trade was simply a combination of opportunity and salary management.

Once you take the emotion out of it - Chris Clark was underperforming. A lot. $2.5 M is way too much to pay a player with four goals and a minus rating at the season midpoint. Before his injury-plagued seasons of late, Clark was good for 20-25 goals a season but is now unable to crack the first two lines and is not particularly effective as a third line player.

A combination of age and injuries reduces the effectiveness of a moderately expensive player at a position where the Caps are deep. Captain or not - if the opportunity arises you have to make that trade.

At $1.3 M, Milan Jurcina is already overpaid and he becomes a UFA at the end of the season. Despite his size Jurcina never developed into the type of D the Caps needed. His puck moving abilities were challenged under Boudreau's stretch offense and he never used his ample size to control the crease or deal punishment to unwanted interlopers.

Someone out there with cap room will be enticed by his size and would have made an offer at the end of the season. Its unlikely the Caps would have been motivated enough to match an offer.

Jurcina was no more than a third line defenseman - with no particular skill set to offer - on a club carrying NINE of them. He was the million dollar 'bag of pucks' in this transaction.

Jason Chimera carries a $1.9 M price tag.  He is a largish gritty winger who has 8 goals and 9 assists to this point in the season - in fact, he looks very much like a more in-your-face version of Chris Clark with double the production and the added bonus of being a natural left winger, where the Caps are thin once you get past the world's best player.

For the Blue Jackets - I assume they had some salary room to spend, needed a defenseman, and were looking to add leadership and shake up a team that is on a 1-7-2 stretch and in danger of missing the playoffs.

So the net effect of this trade is that the Caps cleared out $2M of cap space and pruned the defensive group - which is still bloated at 8 players. It was not a blockbuster deal and did not resolve their most pressing need - a shut-down stud defenseman, although it did better position them to make such a deal.

The only question is: What do you do with the $2M plus the $2-3M cleared up by resolution of l'affair de Nylander?

That's easy - some combination of the following:

• Bank it for the upcoming Backstrom deal.
• Use it for a trade deadline rental.
• Make another deal for that shut-down stud.

The good news is that the Caps now have a lot of flexibility to pursue any number of opportunities - which is a 180 turnaround from just a month ago when they couldn't even afford to bring up their rookie prospect Karl Alzner for some much needed NHL seasoning.

I would think they'll be adding a player at some point before the season ends although - given McPhee's conservative approach - not necessarily a blockbuster transaction.

Alexander Semin

The big Holiday news is Alexander Semin's one year $6 Million contract extension.

At first blush the short term of this extension may appear somewhat curious but it makes a lot of sense. According to GM George McPhee (GMGM), the one year deal was requested by Semin and agreed to by the Caps because it works for both sides.

Its worth noting that few members of the Red Army create as much discussion and divided opinion as Alex Semin. While his production is undeniable there is a strong feeling that he is inconsistent, frequently unmotivated, and has a penchant for bad penalties.

For Semin - at the end of this season he is a Restricted Free Agent so his ability to negotiate in the open market will be hampered by the draft choices an acquiring team would have to surrender. At the end of next season, he'll be an Unrestricted Free Agent and the sky will be the limit. If he continues to produce over the next season and a half at the same pace he has so far he will be in some seriously elite company:

"Semin, Washington's first-round choice (No. 13) in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, has 226 points in 231 games during the last four seasons, among the top 20 point-per-game scorers in the NHL in that time (0.98). He is tied for 14th in goals in that span with 112, and is one of only 20 players League-wide to score more than 25 goals in each of the last three seasons. He is on pace to hit that mark again in 2009-10.

"Semin established a career-high with 79 points (34 goals, 45 assists) in 62 games last season. He finished fourth in the NHL in points per game (1.274), trailing only teammate Alex Ovechkin and Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. His career-high of 38 goals came in 2006-07."

The thinking here - based on this deal and other comments form his agent - is that he's going to be looking for $8-10 M and that he doesn't particularly care where he plays.

From the Caps perspective this works out because they're getting Semin through next season for a fair price and without committing to long range salary cap liabilities. I don't see the Caps spending $8M or more on Semin if that is his asking price. The fact is, it will be very difficult to keep Semin, Ovechkin, Green and Backstrom together for any length of time under the limitations of a salary cap.  The one year deal ensures that the core group will be together for one more season and two legitimate Stanley Cup runs.

GMGM mentioned that this deal gives the Caps more "flexibility". Flexibility in this case means the more room to negotiate a deal with Backstrom who is (arguably - but not by me) the more important long term contract to nail down.

There has been a lot of discussion among Caps Nation denizens about what to do with Semin and how the Caps might handle the contracts coming up for re-negotiation over the next couple of seasons (Morrison, Poti, Backstrom, Knuble,  Steckel and, down the road, Varly and Neuvirth) while keeping under the cap. But I think if you read between the lines on this one, the answer is that Semin is gone after next season and the Caps can spend money on beefing up the second tier of the team (the defense in particular). Losing Semin will hurt but the Caps have shown that they have a strong talent stream to develop. It was noted on the Caps web site over the weekend that all three teams in the organization - the Caps, the AHL Bears, and ECHL Stingrays - are at the top of their LEAGUE in points.

So onward and upward.

Game 38 - Devils 1 Caps 4

Coming off a long and largely successful road trip there was concern in Caps Nation about a home letdown as the Caps had to host a pretty good Sabres team - with the hottest goaltender in hockey - and a very good Devils club (9 wins in their last 10) - with the best goalie in the history of the game in a four day stretch. That last point may be arguable - but just barely.

The team delivered a statement - scoring 9 goals and playing three-zone defense that limited the opposition to just 3. The road to the Stanley cup is going to go through Pittsburgh or Jersey so this was a big win.

 
Alex Ovechkin opened the scoring for the ninth time this season and had his third straight three point game. Despite missing 20% of the season to date, OV is leading the league at plus-21; is one goal behind Gaborik for the league lead; and is tied with Joe Thornton for the league lead in points. 

Backstrom also had a goal and two helpers extending his red-hot December.

Nice play by Chris Clark to sweep away the puck on a Devils breakaway without drawing a penalty - actually thrust his stick between the guy's legs as he dove and swept. A lesson to be learned there - if he had so much as touches the skater above the knees with the blade of his stick he goes off. I you're going to risk a penalty - do it in a manner that has some chance of succeeding.

Neuvirth has looked better each game in collecting his third straight win and is putting up some impressive numbers. Theo is understandably unhappy about playing time but as I said at the beginning of the season - this is a transition year for the Caps goaltending corps and Theo's role is primarily an insurance policy against rookie breakdowns.  He should not be starting any more than 30 games unless the rookies demonstrate that they are unable to win games. Both rookies should be starting at least 15 games to properly evaluate the future and Varly has obviously taken the #1 spot so he should get 35-40 starts as seasoning for the playoffs.  The Five Million should help to soothe any hurt feelings.

It was really good to see back-to-back three period efforts (in the spirit of the holidays I won't criticize the 20 shot second period they gave to the Sabres). If they can resist the temptation to play down to Carolina's level at home on Monday I may be convinced that the team is going places.

Game 37 - Sabres 2 Caps 5

The Sabres played a little flat footed at the opening of this game and the Caps made them pay. The first line in particular was flying all night long and opened the scoring early with a sweet setup from Ovie to Backs who now has 10 goals in 11 game after netting a pair. Green added one to provide the 2-0 lead after one.

Predictably enough, the Sabres found their legs the second period, kept the Caps from getting the puck deep, and picked up a pair of goals. Brendan Morrison's highlight stick between the legs goal kept the Caps one up going into the third.

Coach BB switched up the top line in the third swapping Knuble and Semin - a strategy that paid off as they pressured the Sabres into two penalties and converted both ends of a 5-3 to close out the game.

Five goals on the probable Vezina trophy winning Ryan Miller just days after he shut them out in Buffalo.

A goal and two assists for Ovie who's been dishing off to Backstrom quite a bit lately.

A big game from Erskin who I still think is no better than a 7th D.

Neuvirth got his second straight start and had a good game although a bit of a softie on the first Sabres goal.

The PP is back from the dead after going 0-8 in the last two games

Game 36 - Caps 4 Oilers 2

You had the feeling the Caps were going to mail it in for the third period of this game after putting out a decent first period and finding themselves down by two after a lackluster second.

Alex Ovechkin had other ideas and unleashed his own brand of fury on a period long relentless attack - two goals and a dozen shots later the Caps were going home with nice victory instead of a pair of losses to close out the road trip.

OV set the tone seconds into the period scoring on a dogged wraparound sequence stuffing his second or third poke at the puck.

His second goal of the period was pure OV and a goal scorer's goal - skating to some open ice near the blue line he took an outlet pass, barreled down the off wing and blistered a slap shot from the top of the right faceoff circle and one-timed his own rebound from a sharp angle.

Easily his best period of hockey since his injury/suspension time off.

Game 35 - Caps 2 Canucks 3

A typical Capitals loss - a late penalty and a power play closed the deal on this fairly average effort. Getting blanked on four PP chances didn't help.

The second Canucks goal was also one we're seeing quite a bit of as Mike Green rushed the net and hung his partner out to dry.

We should have gotten some points out of this one.

Game 34 Caps 6 Avalanche 1

That's as good a road game as you're gonna see. Lots-o' secondary scoring and energy the first two periods against a good club that's been playing well lately. I just hope I don't wake up to some bad news tomorrow.

I can hear Boudreau in the room now: "Sixty minutes boys!"
____________

No bad surprises, the 5-0 lead turned into a 6-1 route.


A nice debut from Hershey callup Kyle Wilson - two assists including one on his first NHL shift and a nice play on the second one where he anticipated a clearing pass and one-timed a perfect deflection setup for Flash. Also, got stuffed on a breakaway.



Speaking of Flash, another mutli-goal game.



The blue-liners looked much more competent than what we saw in Toronto.

Most of Caps Nation will be keeping an eye out for a league announcement concerning David Koci and his mugging of Mike Green. If you give out two games to the best player on the planet for an arguably inadvertant knee on knee check - what do you hand out to a known thug who delivers a blatant head shot from behind into the glass?



Although goaltender Anderson may not have had his best game, this was not some Southeast weak sister, or a reeling Flyers club with a new coach that the Caps routed. The Avs are a good, speedy club at or near the top of the Western conference and, I thought, showed up to play.

Posted w/o comment

"We don't have the absolute skill that Washington has so our attention to detail has to be so much stronger than what Washington would be paying attention to. I'm talking about having our sticks positioned, knowing where they are at all times. I don't think they're worried about, at any point in the game, about defending – they're thinking about scoring the next goal. And we have to kind of do a bit of both."

— Leafs coach Ron Wilson on the Capitals

Game 33 - Caps 3 Maple Leafs 6

OMFG what is it with these guys and two goal first period leads? This game should have been over fifteen minutes in.

The fact is - this team only skates when it thinks it has to. The only thing worse than these guys scoring an early goal is scoring two early goals. From that point on they're clearly only thinking about the next one. They stop playing team defense and then hang their inadequate (yeah, I said it) defensive corps out to dry. Then when the other team gets a goal and some energy the Caps can't re-ignite the spark.

Since they are giving up very nearly three goals a game they should understand that a two goal lead means they are still underwater and they need to play like its 0-0.

If the last two game are any indication of what's in store when Varly doesn't play…. Well, lets hope his fragile "lower body injury" (pulled groin for those of you playing along at home) holds up come playoff time.

And a note to Vladislav Tretiak - don't do us any favors by selecting the Future to suit up for Team Russia in the Olympics. He's gonna need the rest.

Game 32 - Hurricane 3 Caps 4 (OT)

Glad to see things are back to normal - eking out an OT win against an inferior team with a 40 minute effort.

Watching Mike Green play defense is like watching Phil Mickelson play golf - you're not always sure what the result will be but its gonna be a wild ride.

If it was Alex Ovechkin throwing the stick and gloves to the face like the Carolina D did to Mike Green in the early going (and springing a two on one), how many penalty minutes does he get?

This tidbit from Capitals Insider:    The in-game entertainment staff didn't get an assist, but Boudreau thinks they deserved one.  "Whoever is doing the videoboard did the 'Unleash the Fury' video in the second period and it got the crowd into it, which was a tremendous thing," Boudreau said. "We were dead emotionally. And that's what happens when you play a lot of games."

Jose Theodore - meh.

Game 31 - Caps 0 Sabres 4

You'll have games like this one. The last game of a 4 game road trip against a pretty good team and a hot goaltender spelled trouble from the get-go. One might have hoped that the team's rare perch looking down on the entire rest of the league might be enough to get them motivated expand the lead, but no.

It didn't help that they were missing some of their energy players - Bradley home delivering a baby, and the always ebullient Perreault out sick. Plus Knuble. The result was a fairly relaxed effort for the first two periods with few attempts to go to the net or get the puck deep. Despite the slow start there were some opportunities early that could have changed the direction of the game but shanked shots (OV on a wide open net) and big saves (Morrison on an equally empty net) kept them off the board.

Once the Caps brought some heat in the third period it was all Ryan Miller who truly made some big stops - I mean gaze-at-the-rafters-in-frustration-bring-the-home-crowd-to-its-feet kind of stops.

The shutout loss ended one of the more remarkable streaks you'll see - 30 straight games where they had the lead at some point in the game.

The diving call on Alex Ovetchkin - in addition to being absurd on its merits - helps to confirm a nagging suspicion of mine: he's being targeted by refs for extra attention. He's had a series of very marginal calls go against him over the last half-dozen games and I'm not expecting that trend to end any time soon.

Game 30 - Caps 3 Lightning 0

This is just how you wanted a game like this to go.

The Bolts have been playing pretty good hockey lately and had a bee in their bonnet about the eleven straight losses thing so there was an expectation that they would show up to play on home ice. And they pretty much did, but couldn't overcome a solid lunchpail effort by the Caps.

The first period was a bit of a chess match as Tampa clamped down defensively and the Caps were not particularly inclined to get the puck either on, or behind, the net.  Something about having OV back in the lineup makes these guys go to their finesse game and it was not a productive effort for the first 20.

All the goal scoring happened in the second period and all were a result of guys going to the net. Even the first goal (the only one close to a finesse move) came off a Semin pick-off just outside the blue line and a dash-and-dish to OV flying up the middle towards the net. At that point I was almost surprised OV didn't pull up and look for trailer to dish to.

Eric Fehr is continued his hot streak later on with an Eric Fehr goal - lingering about the crease, he waited for a Fleischmann shot/pass to tumble his way and calmly collected the puck and stuffed it by Smith. The one area the Caps have absolutely improved in this year is this is the ability to collect garbage around the net. One might have expected that with the addition of Knuble but Fehr and Laich have elevated that portion of their games and, come playoff time, they'll have three guys who will have scored 50-60 goals of the type that win playoff games.

Even OV got in on the act late in the second period - tapping in some loose change that goaltender Smith lost track of. That play showed Alex Semin at this best. A little frustrated that they had lost zone possession on the PP, Semin relentlessly backchecked Jeff Halpren who was doing everything short of a flat out dive to draw a penalty as he lagged the puck into the Caps zone. Unlike the Semin of a month ago, this version stayed strong on the body, kept his stick on the ice, skated a 360 around Halpren and stole the puck clean before turning it up ice - all at the end of a shift. Pass to Flash, shot on goal, OV cleaned up.

Unlike in many prior games, the Caps kept the pressure on throughout the full sixty minutes and even killed a good number of penalties and probably should have had a shorties or two but couldn't resist the opportunity to overpass the puck on a number of occasions, including twice on the same PK.

As good as Theo is playing I don't think there's any doubt that Vary is now the starting goaltender - hopefully he plays another thirty games before the season ends.

Oh yeah, welcome back Alex.

Game 29 - Caps 8 Flyers 2

Wow. Its hard to know where to start with this one.

First off, there's the Flyers turmoil. Unable to win (below .500 and out of a playoff position) or score (back to back shutouts, 4 goals in 4 games) they fired coach John Stevens 30 hours before the game. With jobs on the line you can reasonably expect a spirited effort for a new coach's first game, although perhaps a disorganized approach as the coach tries to implement his style without creating complete turmoil.

The Flyers did come out with some energy even though they gave up a goal in the first minute. As noted in a prior post, I'm no fan of the early goal - they're just as likely to create complacency as spur a scoring outbreak - but in this case neither team seemed to miss a beat and the Flyers had it tied up by the twelve minute mark. It was shaping up to be a typical Caps-Flyers game.

Then Daniel Carcillo struck. In a stunning example of a brain spasm he sucker punched Matt Bradley four feet away from a referee who was already calling him for cross-checking Bradley as he tried to get up on his skates after throwing the check that got Carcillo piqued to begin with. It was a cheap shot from a known thug which is exactly how the refs saw it as he was banished for the crosscheck, an instigator and a fighting penalty (plus the obligatory 10 minute and game misconducts) creating a nine minute power play for the Caps.

If Carcillo was trying to impress the new coach Laviolette he took the wrong approach - not only is the new guy a relative pacifist by Broad Street Bully standards but the Caps blew the game wide open on the extended powerplay and turned Laviolette's debut into an embarrassing route that had the home fans in an ugly mood, both goaltenders humiliated and an already reeling team in further disarray. Its quite possible Carcillo has played his last game in Philly.

That Bradley was sucker punched has not been subject to much dispute or debate. As mentioned, he was trying to get up off the ice as he was repeatedly cross-checked in the back and neck and as soon as he realized Carcillo was ready to fight he started to drop his gloves - problem was, the first punch was already on the way and it dropped him to the ice bloody and semi-concious. As compared to the transgressions that earned Alex Ovechkin a two game vacation, it was a deliberate, goonish, and frightening action. The league apparently agrees and levied a four game suspension - not enough given the deliberate nature of the attack, Carcillo's history, and the league's noted attempts to eliminate exactly this kind of thuggery. Regrettably, the suspension just has the effect of making the Flyers a better team.

Back to the game. By the time the teams got back to 5 on 5 hockey, Fleischmann, Green and Laich had scored to make it 4-1 early in the second period. Still, only three goals down with nearly two-thirds of the game to go and a certain recent history concerning the Caps and mid-game lead and the Flyers may have had some hope of making a game of it - especially when they went on the PP for an Alzner penalty. Well, not really. The PP was awful and seconds after it was over Chris Clark scored on weak chip shot goal that chased Ray Emery, who looked pretty shaky in general and hasn't had a good game in some time. More good news for Laviolette.

Boucher didn't fare much better as Backstrom and Green added two more to make it 7-1 heading into the third period.

The third period highlight was Steckel finally potting his first goal of the season - on the PP no less.

Theo had another solid game as their goaltending has been excellent throughout the current winning streak. I've maintained from the start that goaltending is not this club's primary problem and anyone looking that direction as a limiting factor for Stanley Cup run is not paying attention - although there were some admittedly rough spots earlier in the season.

Almost lost in all of the excitement was the missing Alex Ovechkin. Playing without the game's most prolific goal scorer for two game the Caps merely averaged 7 goals and a five goal margin of victory and picked up enough PP goals to make them the league leader.

So yeah, a good night.

Game 28 - Panthers 2 Caps 6

This is the blowout we've been waiting for.  The Caps came up big for game one of OV's suspension. Although Florida was a tired team - 2 games in 2 nights, 3 in 4, arrived at 3 am - they put on an early flurry and once Semin scored and Flash barely a minute later (first in a while) they cruised for the remainder of the first period.

The second period started out roughly with Florida out working the Caps for the full first minute and forcing them into a penalty - the game might have taken a very different course but Bradley's short handed goal (first of the season!!) took all of the wind out of the Panther sails and it was easy going from there.

The other "highlight" of the game was some idiot named Duroc mugging Giroux in "retaliation" for a perfectly clean and less than violent check behind the net. After jumping him from behind and throwing a handful of punches as they slid across the ice he was assessed a minor, a major and a pair of misconducts for a 7 minute power play.  Since this was his second game up from the minors I'm guessing he'll also have a ticket back to Rochester real soon as the Caps converted two goals on the ensuing PP.

Dave Stecke seemed really agitated for most of the second half of the game.  There was an extended period where he was being restrained in the offensive zone and he subsequently rubbed out someone along the boards and could be seen jawing with the Florida bench.  It seemed he didn't get many shifts the rest of the night so maybe some frustration from his lack of goals.

A good effort from Varly who made some early saves to steady the ship before the Caps could start their scoring. He lost the shutout late when Weiss came across the blueline surrounded by four Caps and took the long shot - Varly gave up an atypically deep rebound right back to Weiss - still surrounded - who buried it.  So, yeah, someone should have tied  him up and it was a bad rebound.

As mentioned - this was a tired Florida team and there were some soft goals out there but a solid win where they closed deal  and all without the big man in the lineup.

Game 27 - Caps 3 Hurricanes 2 (EN)

The obvious starting point is Alex Ovechkin. Two games back when he took the five-and-game boarding call (which I thought was a little soft) I suggested that the league was beginning to take notice and his name was probably coming up in pre-game zebra discussions. While that may have had a ring of fanboy paranoia to it, there's no longer any doubt that he will be subject to an unpleasant degree of scrutiny for the rest of this season at least.

Obviously, OV did not engage Gleason with an intent to make knee to knee contact. Nor did he 'throw his out' in Gleason's path in an attempt to make some contact. Alex did what Alex does - he lined up a puck carrier in open ice and went straight at him. Gleason heard the freight train coming and did what you would expect him to do - get out of the way. (Although the Carolina coach called it a "good move" - trying to spin it like Gleason made a world-class deke and OV tried recover by throwing the knee.)

And there's the problem.

If a player reacting in a predictable manner to an attempted check is going to expose both of you to serious injury then you shouldn't be doing it. Alex has to find a way to make those open ice hits without that wide stance that leaves him exposed. I don't know how the league is going to frame up that discussion with him (I expect the word 'reckless' will come up) but there will be a conversation and I'm expecting a one or two game suspension.

Which may be a moot point - Alex went down like a bag of rocks and had the look of a man who knew he was in trouble. Capital Nation will hold its collective breath for the next 5 or 6 hours waiting to hear the results of a (presumed) MRI.

On Frozen Blog has his usual erudite discussion of the matter.

As an aside - Gleason acted pretty much like a dick the rest of the game and the Carolina defense took a lot of high cheap shots - especially along the boards - that went uncalled.

Fehr and Backstrom dominated this game up front - Fehr obviously can't get enough ice time with quality skaters and his emergence can only be a good thing for a team still somewhat lacking in grit and very much lacking in bodies. Backstrom is clearly out of his slump - welcome back.

Fleischmann, on the other hand, is now officially ice cold. The magic hands of November have turned to stone as he failed to convert at least three good scoring opportunities.

Lost, for the most part, in the OV story was a fabulous effort by Theo in goal. Anything short of the near perfect effort he produced and there's no way the Caps win the game as they were substantially outshot for the game and the first period in particular (by the worst offense in the league).

The special teams are collectively near dreadful. The always marginal penalty kill gave one up to the worst PP in the league and seems to have given up at least one a game (Sabres shutout notwithstanding) for some time now. The power play has gone cold over the last 5-6 games - partly due to limited opportunities.

As a final note - the Caps once again were unable to close out a two goal lead failing to score any third period goals and giving up a late one (0:15) with the goalie pulled.