Game 69 - Caps 4 Blackhawks 3 (OT)

Well the Caps like the big stage - coming back from three goals for the second time in front of a national TV audience - or at least NBC approximation of one.

The laughable game misconduct and the borderline insane two game suspension that followed are Exhibit A as to why the NHL will not be taken seriously by the sporting establishment for the foreseeable future. In a season where deliberate, vicious, and debilitating shots to the head have become a weekly event, the NHL elects to suspend Ovechkin for an ill-advised check that inadvertantly caused an injury only because of his proximity to the boards.

If that check (a push really) happened at center ice it would not even have warranted a comment - unlike the growing list of head shot incidents culminating with theMatt Cooke incident. That's right, Ovie got suspended because of geography. Make no mistake - the Canadian dominated NHL heirarchy has targeted Ovechkin and he will not get any breaks.

Meanwhile the Caps showed why they are leading this pitiful league in points. Missing their main man for almost the entire game and falling behind by three goals, they made it all up at once with a third period two and a half minute three goal blitz. Chicago managed only one shot the entire period. The third best team in the league Blackhawks.

Backstrom's overtime goal was a season highlight and one more indication that he will be *very* expensive to sign this Summer. I'll be shocked if he gets less than Eight Million a year.

The four-on-four breakdown that resulted in the Blackhawks first goal was dis-quieting. I know there are new players out there but that one amounted to a giveaway goal.

Game 68 - Lightning 3 Caps 2

Well they mailed this one in. The Canes are good enough that you have to show up to play and the Caps didn't.

Hopefully this doesn't turn into a replay of the last month of last year's season which carried over to the first round of the playoffs.

With the increasing distance they are putting between themselves and the rest of the Division, Conference and even the League - plus the new players - Boudreau will be challenged to keep the quality of play at a high level.

Game 67 Hurricanes 3 Caps 4 (OT)

That was the prototypical Mike Green game; two goals scored, a giveaway pass for a goal, a takedown that resulted in a penalty shot. The penalty shot was a tough break as he made a pretty good play to sweep the puck away but somehow missed it entirely.  I would still rather see that play than the usual pointless hooking call. You gotta dance with the girl you brought but it should make for some interesting post-season games.

Belanger is quickly making the case to be the #2 center after the no-look OT setup pass to Flash. BMo is disappearing from view.

Also fading  – Chimera is working himself into a fourth line winger.

It’s fun watching OV punish people – I don’t know that his crunching checks are enough to discourage rough play as much as, say, the prospect of a dance with the Donald was in times past – but at least it’s entertaining.

Here's a good post from DC Sports Bog which seems to validate the Caps player management  strategy:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2010/03/could_caps_score_their_way_to.html#more

To summarize: The path to the Cup in the post-lockout NHL is with lots of scoring and average defense. A hot (but not necessarily hall-of-fame) goaltender doesn’t hurt.

______________________

Standings:

League +6;    Conference +15;    Division +33

Likely first round opponents (currently 7/8/9):

Canadians – Hosting Edmonton tonite.

Bruins – In Philly tonite.

Rangers  - Lost to the Devils last night

Bolts and Thrashers still not out of it.

Game 66 - Stars 4 Caps 3 (SO)

In my pre-season analysis, one of the criteria for evaluating the likely success of a cup run was the ability of the penalty kill to become one of the better squads in the league. It hasn’t happened and it seems that most of their losses (fortunately, not many) can be tied to poor PK performance.

Leading a stubborn Dallas team by two going into the third period - after carpet bombing Marty Turco with 40+ shots over the first two periods - would typically have led to a different outcome this season, a five to one blowout, for instance. But two early penalties and they were suddenly in a tie game and just as suddenly were behind after a soft goal.

I’m hard pressed to explain this deficiency – they have talented players who have shown no lack of determination or concern for personal safety to get the job done, yet they continue to languish at 25^th in PK efficiency. If I were George McPhee I would be beating the bushes for a proven PK expert to bring on as a consultant. They have one month to fix this problem but what is clear to me is that they can’t fix it by refining what they do now. For the record, I think the PK is too passive – teams gain the zone too easily and get set up for extended periods of time. The Caps seem content to sit back and block passing lanes – leading to long shifts and too many screened shots.

If they’re going to suck at the PK I’d rather they suck while playing a more aggressive style. But I’m not the expert. Find one and fix this mess.

In another harbinger of bad signs for the coming playoffs – the Stars were able to bang bodies deep and force turnovers which led to a number of stymied breakout attempts. Watching defensemen make multiple regressive passes – many of them bank shots behind the net to no one in particular - gave me a queasy feeling when contemplating a physical playoff series.

Welcome back Ovie - breaking out of his six game slump with two goals, including a dazzling outside/inside move to tie the game late. Steve Robidas was the very definition of an overmatched defenseman on that play – you just *cannot* let OV get to the inside on his forehand. Over-commit to the inside position and force him to score a spectacular goal off the backhand – that way *he’s* the focus of the highlight clip not you.

Standings:

League +4; Conference +13; Division +31

Likely first round opponents (currently 7/8/9):

Canadians – Hosting Edmonton tonite.

Bruins – Lost to Leafs last night - Philly tonite.

Rangers - In Jersey tonite.

Game 65 - Rangers 0 Caps 2

The Rangers are a bubble team and two nights after allowing 55 shots in a shootout loss to the Pens they buckled down and played this game in the only style that could give them a chance to win – they shut down center ice and hung on for dear life hoping they’d still be in it at game’s end. Except for some Jose Theodore heroics and a handful of ill-timed penalties the strategy might have worked.

Although the game was far from a gem from the Caps perspective the good news is that they are demonstrating that they can win games a lot of different ways.

Scratches for this game included Brendan Morrison and Boyd Gordon which means Flash was back in as center. I’m still not sold on the idea of Flash as a center at this point in the season. Re-boot that experiment next Fall.

It was nice that the Caps got the first period five-on-three opportunity but I can’t imagine why the Rangers weren’t called for the Mike Green takedown during that sequence. Even the guy next to me in the Rangers jersey was laughing over that one.

While the team put in a decent defensive effort as a whole – there were some breakdowns. Notably the Morrisonn clearing pass to the tape of Dubinsky eight feet in front of the net.

There also should have been more situational awareness as they gave up a nearly clean two-on-nothing breakaway as a penalty expired in the waning minutes of the game with a two goal lead. Not good.

Still waiting for the big guns to get it moving.

It’s pretty obvious at this point that the goaltending job is Theo’s to lose although I expect Varly will get plenty of minutes before the playoffs to help find his groove. Prediction: Whoever has the starting job going in will be on a very short leash.

Standings:

League +3; Conference +12; Division +30

Likely first round opponents:

Bruins – Just started a seven game road trip - ouch

Rangers - Games against the Thrashers, Flyers and Canadians in the next week. End the season home and home with the Flyers.

Canadians – may have the easiest schedule but they’ve played three more games than most of their competition

Game 64 - Lightning 4 Caps 5

This effort wasn’t as tidy as the Buffalo game.  They were not as strong defensively and there was more ugly penalty killing as they gave up a pair to a less than stellar Lightning power play. Having said that they killed off an extended sequence of 4 on 3 including a extended sequence where a stickless Backstrom blocked three hard shots from point blank range causing the squeamish to avert their eyes in anticipation of certain bloodshed.

People may not regard DC as a hockey town but the fans are knowledgeable and know to show their appreciation for this kind of effort and sacrifice and Nick got a standing ovation when got to the bench.

For the second game they failed to convert on a number of odd-man rushes and breakaways – including OV on a clean breakaway.  The Olympic players do not yet seem to be on their game.

Bradley and Steckel sat to make room for the new acquisitions which turned out nice as Walker scored two in the third including the game winner.  But Boudreau has to know that he’s playing with fire right now and he’s probably secretly hoping that some of the inevitable injuries happen sooner rather than later to take some tough decisions out of his hands.

There is no more popular player in the building than Matt Bradley (except you-know-who)  - who has given everything there is to give for the team, including no small amount of blood. Fans and teammates will not take warmly to the idea of Brads sitting for extended periods.

_________________

Standings:

League: +3  Conference: +14   Division: +28 (not a typo)

Game 63 - Caps 3 (EN) Sabres 1

Six days of practice had the desired effect. Although initially rough around the edges for their first game back (Sabres were playing their second) the Caps played solid three zone hockey - matching the Sabres defensive style and forcing a fair number of neutral zone turnovers and odd man rushes. The margin should have been wider and would have been if a mere mortal was in the net.

Theo was on top of his game and positionally sound. Made two big third period saves to bring the game home.

The Caps second goal came off a nice delay and dish move from Flash to Green. Although the Flash at center experiment has not been completely successful he does seem to have a flair for puck control and finding open men. While the addition of Belanger will no doubt bring an end to that experiment for this year as the Caps make thier final playoff push, I would be in favor of re-visiting the cocnept next fall and seeing where several months of regualr action goes.

Trading Deadline

GM George McPhee has repeatedly stated that the team is good enough to take a run. I've not doubted that he meant it so other than the volume of activity none of the moves was a surprise. In all cases he was adding depth and attitude as opposed to filling holes - the addition of much-needed centerman in the form of Belanger being the exception.

These moves were much more in the vein of preparing for a long haul - rather than finding a new vehicle they stocked up on spare parts. All of the players will be UFA's at season end and their cost had minimal effect on the organization's talent stream or its ability to manage contracts going forward. This year and next offer the best chance for a cup run and the Caps have served notice to the rest of the league that they are prepared to go the distance this year without limiting their ability to try again next year.

Belanger - This move filled what I thought was the biggest hole on the roster. Brendan Morrison has scored one goal since Christmas and while moving Flash to center has not slowed down production it has proven to be a defensive liability as he has struggled at faceoffs and is on the ice for a lot of goals against. Belanger will help to fill the gaps at second/third line center, win faceoffs (57%), and kill penalties - an area where the Caps are woefully underperforming.

Joe Corvo - Corvo has (already) been criticized as being "Mike Green lite" and a turnover machine. Many in Caps Nation are disappointed that there was a defensive acquisition that is not large and ornery. But the fact is that Mike Green entered the playoffs last year as a mere shell of his regular season self. Despite being beat up and worn down, Boudreau had to keep going to that well. The addition of Corvo along with the Olympic break should help ensure that Green is in high gear for the playoff run and provides an able backup - particularly on the power play should Green become unavailable.

Scott Walker - Strictly a depth addition. This a case where management has a familiarity with a player and sees the opportunity to add what could be a key role player. His willingness to mix it up and put his nose into a scrum will be an asset for a team that has no designated enforcer.

Milan Jurcina - Adding back a known quantity as defensive depth. Currently injured, he may not be ready to play until the playoffs - and he may not get much time then.

What they did not get:

Goaltender. I would have been shocked to see McPhee go after a "proven" goaltender. There would have been a steep price for anyone in that category and it makes no sense to mortgage the future for a goalie when your own organization is deep in that category.

A shut down stud d-man. I don't how many true studs were available - Hamhuis might have been a nice addition - but again, the strategy seemed to be to add depth without sacrificing talent. Look at the Pronger experiment in Philly and decide if that was worth losing Knuble over.

The McPhee vision seems to be this: It's not 1995 anymore. In a post-lockout salary cap league you don't necessarily need a hall of fame goaltender (Fleury, Osgood, Giguerre, Ward - which of these guys gets in without buying a ticket?) or the league's best defense to go all the way. Instead of the pre-lockout hook-and-grab, build from the goal out, win with two goals mindset, it is now possible to win with speed, full ice pressure, and scoring. That's how McPhee has built this edition of the Capitals and its proven to be a successful regular season formula.

Boudreau will now be challenged with squeezing in the new guys with minimal disruption to what is already THE BEST TEAM IN THE LEAGUE. This is probably the end of the road for Quintin Laing and Tyler Sloan. Boyd Gordon and David Steckel may find themselves on the outside looking in more than they would like and Alzner and Carlson probably won't get many playoff minutes, if any. Time to buckle up - and down.

Olympic Break

Ted Says 'Hi'

Game 62 - Caps 3 Blues 4 (SO)

Their best game all week but still not enough. You'd like to hit the break with a win but for the most part everyone seems more than ready to re-charge the batteries.

Game 61 - Caps 5 Senators 6

Suddenly, an Olympics break that had Caps Nation concerned about disrupting momentum can't come soon enough.

The Caps appear disorganized and worn out. Boudreau is clearly frustrated by what's going on and plainly looking ahead to the training camp style re-boot where he can run drills for six days straight.

Game 60 - Caps 5 Canadians 6 (OT)

All good things come to an end - but in this case it was more like an increasingly marginal thing being put to rest.

Fourteen games is an amazing streak in a salary cap era but the Caps were playing increasingly sloppy games and repeatedly hanging their goatenders out to dry.