I Rock the Red!

[11-NOV-2009] ELEVEN ROUNDS??!

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:52:53 GMT

Holy COW.

I feel bad for Theodore... poor guy! I hope he's OK. He looked 'off' tonight, and not just because he let in three goals on five shots. :-(

Varlamov? Wow. Holy cow, he had a great night. He plays very well when coming in as relief, in general, and tonight was no exception.

Fleischmann? Six points in as many games. Nicely done! Keep up the goals, Flash!

Semin? Welcome back! Glad to see it!

Green? *wince* Not too bad, but not great either?

Perreault? :-) Mini-AU! #8.5 had a good night, even if he didn't post any numbers.

Captain my Captain, Clark? That shootout goal is why you still wear the big C! Keep it up!

The referees... I think that "boarding" call on Jurcina may be explained by one thing: Gary Bettman was in the house tonight.

And they missed a couple of BIG hooks and interference calls, too. Wow, did they ever.

But a big mark in the W column puts the Caps alone on top of the Eastern Conference.

Take THAT, NHL!

Take THAT!

[07-NOV-2009] Holy Hand Grenade of Antiioch! WOW!

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:21:05 GMT

The Capitals came back from a 3-2 deficit to win 7-3 tonight, and I gotta say... WOW. I am suitably impressed. This is without either Alex Ovechkin -or- Mike Green in the lineup!

I'll post more details on the game later; right now, I am three or four games behind in posting photos, and I need to catch up, but I say it again: WOW. That was some hockey!

[04-NOV-2009] Update...

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:32:51 GMT

Bren came through the surgery well, and they did NOT have to take the hip, just the leg to mid-thigh, so that is excellent news on that front. Thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers. She's "crazy out of it" right now, according to her sister, but that is most likely to be expected, but things did go better than expected, and that is a tremendous relief.

Please continue to remember her in your thoughts and prayers, though... this is still going to be tremendously rough on her, and she's going to need all the support and the like she can get.

[04-Nov-2009] If you read this...

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:40:51 GMT

...please spare a thought, a prayer, for my pretty much lifelong friend, Brenda?

She's in the hospital tonight, as she has been, on and off, since mid-August.

And tomorrow, the doctors will amputate her left leg at the hip.

It's been just over two weeks since they took the right leg mid-thigh.

It's all complications of diabetes, and kidney failure.

...

I can't clear my mind to sleep...

To my other diabetic friends: please take care of yourselves? Please?

[28-OCT-2009] Photos from the Bears game on Saturday

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:42:26 GMT

I swear, it was the gawdawful pink sweaters that caused the three fights in the first frame! The sweaters wouldn't have been all that bad, if the socks didn't match!!!

Don't get me wrong - if I'd had $600-700 to spare, I would probably have gone for Flash's game-worn sweater, pink or no pink! Breast cancer research is a great cause. But grown men should not have to try and play hockey all pretty in pink! And these weren't as horrid as the Valentine's Day ones last season...

In motion, though, the sweaters and socks looked like a fight between Pepto Bismal, bubble gum, denizens of a clown car, and cotton candy. It was rather eye-boggling, to say the least!

[28-OCT-2009] Caps 4, Flyers 2, Jose Theodore SV% .953!

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:40:20 GMT

Jose Theodore kicked ASS last night!

The rest of the team didn't do so badly, either.

The scoring all came from the top line, but I'm not complaining. Ovechkin (2), Backstrom (1), and Semin (1) combined to bring us another two points in the W column, and Jose Theodore...

Wow. Theo stopped 41 of 43 shots, for a save percentage of .953! Un-frikkin'-BELIEVABLE! One of those stops was a penalty shot awarded (justly, it turns out, from a friend who had access to the replays) to Darroll Powe. The 13' wrister bounced harmlessly off Theodore's shin pads and out of harm's way, and from that moment, there was no stopping the Caps!

Photos are here - camera issues and a late arrival (bad positioning, thank you net) prevented getting as many as I usually do.

Beast Report

This time, the numbers really do not tell the whole story. We all know Ovechkin is a beast! The beasts who get the awards today are:

Jeff Schultz - another point, bringing his total for 3 games to 5 points!
Keith Aucoin - for his prowess in the faceoff dot!
and of course
Jose Theodore - for that beast save percentage and making the critical stop when we needed it!

Shots on Goal -
5 - Ovechkin, Green
4 - Backstrom, Semin, Steckel
3 - Laich, Schultz
2 - Knuble, S. Morrisonn
1 - Poti, B. Morrison, Aucoin, Sloan

Attempts Blocked -
5 - Ovechkin
3 - Green
2 - B. Morrison, Knuble
1 - Semin

Missed Shots -
3 - Ovechkin
1 - Bradley, Laich, Knuble, Jurcina, Semin, Green

Hits -
5 - Ovechkin (including one really good one that knocked down Mike Richards!)
3 - S. Morrisonn, Giroux
2 - Poti, B. Morrison, Jurcina, Green
1 - Bradley, Knuble, Steckel, Schultz, Sloan

Giveaways
3 - Ovechkin, Poti
1 - Pothier, Jurcina, Steckel

Takeaways
1 - Pothier, Poti, B. Morrison, Bradley, Jurcina, Semin, Green

Faceoff %
63% - Aucoin
59% - Steckel
57% - B. Morrison
38% - Backstrom

[28-OCT-2009] Update on the PennDOT Situation

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:20:26 GMT

After the Hershey Bears game on Saturday, I reported that there was a dangerous traffic light on PA 322 at Mushroom Hill Road. It's a blind traffic light - you can't see it until you crest the hill when eastbound on PA 322 - and it is the frequent scene of accidents (like the one I mentioned in my Bears game report).

On Monday, as I said I would, I wrote to PennDOT. PennDOT got back to me and directed me to the municipality. So, I wrote to the municipality. They said that basically there's nothing wrong with the light according to the records they keep. I countered with, "oh no? You go look yourself, then tell me that light's safe!"

We'll see what happens next.

[24-OCT-2009] Bears 2, Senators 5...

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:01:07 GMT

The day started off nicely enough.

We left to drive up to Hershey at around noon, and decided, since we had the time, to divert to Basignani Winery. We did, eventually, find the elusive place, but when we got there, we saw no evidence that it was open, so we got back on the road.

Almost immediately, it started raining.

Those of you who make the drive to Hershey on a regular basis will be well familiar with the traffic light located at the top of a hill near a Wal Mart on PA 322. This traffic light often causes near-pile-ups, because you can't see it until you're over the crest of the hill, and by then, it's frequently too late to do anything but react.

That's what happened yesterday when we came to the crest of the hill. The car in front of us stopped abruptly, and we had to do the same. The minivan behind us was not so fortunate. In his attempt to avoid hitting us, he went up the embankment and flipped over.

We pulled over immediately, of course, and as soon as I'd seen what had happened, I was pulling my cellphone out and calling 911, expecting the worst. By the time I was able to make my way to the van, the driver, who thankfully did not have any of his five children with him, was crawling out the shattered passenger window.

Alive.

Unharmed.

Relief. The story came out that he and his sister (who was in the truck behind him, and freaked to the point that we were more worried about her than about him) were on the way to the hospital to say their goodbyes to their grandfather before he was taken off life support.

That family is blessed that they do not have to mourn two today.

When the police came, we gave our statements - mine was minimal, as I hadn't seen anything, only heard the screech and the sickening crunch noise - and then we went on our way.

On Monday, I will be writing a letter to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation about that traffic light. I don't know how many times I've been in a close call there... but this one was the worst. To look back, expecting to have seen a rear-ending, and instead to see a van on its roof... that's something that PennDOT could avoid by putting up a warning sign, and it needs to be done.

Consider this my public service announcement of the day. BE CAREFUL ON 322! There is a traffic light that you cannot see at Mushroom Hill Road. It is VERY dangerous, especially when the road conditions are wet.

After a few more stops, we made our way to the arena. On arrival at Giant Center, we learned that last night was Breast Cancer Awareness Night, and that the Bears would be skating in pink and black sweaters and socks.

Yes - three, count'em, three fights took place in the first frame, the first one with the game under 30 seconds old.

At the end of the 1st, the game was tied, 2-2. Then, the Senators took over, and never looked back.

The Bears' Power Play and Penalty Kill were both awful, and the absence of not only Keith Aucoin and Alexandre Giroux from the top line, but also Graham Mink, who went to the Rochester Americans this season, was obvious. Those three helped the Bears considerably last season, enough that not even the presence of veteran Tomas Fleischmann, assigned to Hershey on a conditioning stint, was enough.

It seems obvious to me, at least, that Flash, while physically fit, is not in game shape. Not yet, at any rate, and I would not be surprised to see the team request an extension to his conditioning stint, if three games is insufficient. By the end of the game, he had gotten his legs back under him for the most part, but by then, it was too late.

Pulling Michal Neuvirth from the net in the final minutes of the game served only to increase the Senators' lead from 4-2 to 5-2, what would be the final score of the game.

In general I have one word for this game: sloppy. I'll say it again: sloppy. Painfully sloppy.

I'm just glad the Caps came out with a win, or yesterday would have completely sucked.

[22-OCT-2009] Caps (5) at Thrashers (4) - squeaking out the win...

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 03:17:12 GMT

That game should not have been as close as it was.

The absence of Alexander Semin (illness) was keenly felt on the ice tonight, both on the power play and the penalty kill units. Still, an amazing fluke goal by Jeff Schultz (assisted by Semyon Varlamov of all people!) at 10:20 in the 2nd frame put the Caps ahead 3-2, and then they scored twice more! The second goal came at 11:34, and the third, a scant 14 seconds later at 11:48 off the stick of Captain Clark. That goal would prove to be the game winner.

The Good

* Secondary scoring - loads of secondary scoring! In fact, the goal our first line might have had was washed out after review for not really being a goal after all. Goals came from Eric Fehr (assisted by Schultz, who, BTW, had a career-high 3 points and was awarded the first star of the game tonight); Alexandre Giroux (assisted by Keith Aucoin); Jeff Schultz (Semyon Varlamov); Matt Bradley (Jeff Schultz, David Steckel); and Chris Clark (Mike Green).

* Schultz was an absolute BEASTkitten out there! He had a team high 2 hits, along with a shot, a miss, a takeaway, and a blocked shot, plus his career-high 3 point game, and a goal. Nothing bad there... except for one cross-checking penalty, very late in the game (discussed later).

* Keith Aucoin was Faceoff Man, winning 71% of his battles in the dot, and he had that assist on the Giroux goal in the first frame. There's something to be said for keeping that pair together on any line they play!

* Brian Pothier, Milan Jurcina, and Tom Poti each blocked a pair of shots.

* Clark finally got a goal, from seriously in close... In fact, most of our goals came from in close. 150, 28, 18, 12, and 10' from the net. Yes. 150' was the Schultz goal, and boy, howdy, was that amusing to watch!

The Bad

* Special teams had problems tonight. Two of Atlanta's goals against us came when we were on the penalty kill: the first, while ShaMo was in the box for tripping; and the last, while Schultz was in the box for cross-checking with under a minute to go.

* The Power Play unit went -1 for 7 this evening, with Zach Bogosian scoring short-handed in the third frame. Semin's absence, as I mentioned previously, was keenly felt. On the ice for that unpleasant incident: Ovechkin, Clark, Backstrom, Knuble, Varlamov, and Green. If Semin's playing, Clark is not on the ice, and the PP clicks better.

The Ugly

* Penalties, penalties, penalties. Nine times, we went to the box. We gave up a 5-on-3 that turned into a 6-on-3 very late in the game when Schultz, who was otherwise the hero of the game, cross-checked Todd White. It was a bad, bad penalty to take, and it nearly cost us dearly. Other penalties included: ShaMo for tripping; Jurcina for holding; BMo for tripping; Knuble for slashing (weak!); Jurcina for interference; Knuble for slashing (again?!); the Schultz cross-check; and Ovechkin for tripping (which was almost slew-footing, given the way I understand that's supposed to work... I suspect the fact it was totally accidental had something to do with it not being called that way.)

* In fact, there were a ton of penalties - more than I've seen called in a while. We went to the box nine times, but the Thrashers went eight, including one VICIOUS slash late in the third frame. But our Power Play unit couldn't do a damnthing tonight, and Atlanta got more short-handed chances than I care to think about.

* Varlamov let in one really bad goal, late in the third frame - it was the one from Bogosian, a short-handed goal that he really should have had. He had defensive support; he just missed it, five-hole (I think). My suspicion was he wasn't ready for the puck to come his way...

The Bottom Line

Washington got 2 points. Atlanta got no points. I am happy.

[18-OCT-2009] Caps 3, Predators 2 (SO)

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 06:24:21 GMT

Wow.

Even though it didn't count as an official Hat Trick for Alex Ovechkin, hats flew tonight when he scored the game winning goal in the shootout. Mine was among them. What the hell, the hats go to charity. :-) But I couldn't watch Ovechkin shoot; I had my hands over my eyes, but when the horn went off, I screamed as loudly as everyone else in the stands. And yeah, I flung my hat. Oops. Somehow, I'm not upset. :-)

Milan Jurcina was a beast out there tonight, blocking shots and making big hits (4 and 3 respectively) to lead the Caps in both categories. Sloan looked very good on defense, blocking three shots, and generally being where he was supposed to be. As a team, we had 8 giveaways and 15 takeaways (high number on the latter going to Nicky Backstrom, with 3). Defense looked good except for the second half of the second frame; offense looked good, again, but for the second half of the second frame...

Both of Ovechkin's goals came in the first frame, one assisted by Green and Knuble, and the second assisted by Morrison and Knuble. The two goals put Ovechkin firmly in the lead in both points (16) and goals (9).

That said, the second frame looked like absolute shite. We let them get back in the game, and it damn near cost us badly. A team that has fewer points combined than our star player has by himself should never come close to beating us, should never take us to overtime, much less a shootout, but we won, and that's the part that counts the most.

Kelly Sutherland was his usual self, ignoring - 'scuse me - "missing" three flagrant rules violations from the Predators - including one I would have called as slew-footing - and calling instead a very weak hooking penalty on Nicklas Backstrom (who was being interfered with before the hook happened). Any one of those gets called, and it's 3-2 in regulation. That lame hooking call on Backstrom resulted in the centers for the top two lines switching places for the rest of the game, a move that I found interesting, but not entirely effective, since Morrison and Knuble know each other better than Backstrom and Knuble or Morrison and Semin do... but it's what Boudreau does, and line swaps happen in these games, like it or lump it.

But, we won. Beyond that, our next game isn't until Thursday the 22nd in Atlanta. That gives the guys tomorrow off, and a couple of days to practice hard before they have to hit the ice again. I am waiting to see what we do against the Thrashers (4-1-0) on Thursday. Our 4-2-2 record is enough, right now, to keep us on top in the Southeast, but the Thrashers have three fewer games than we do...

It's October. I really can relax a little bit. But not much.

Like Thursday, I have no pictures for tonight. Rainy weather prohibits me from taking the camera out, because I really don't want to fry another one!

[15-OCT-2009] Caps 4, Sharks 1

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 03:56:27 GMT

And that was MUCH better!

Goals went to Semin (Backstrom, Green); Ovechkin (Knuble, BMo); Ovechkin (Knuble, BMo); and Bradley (Jurcina).

For the most part, we stayed out of the box, although ShaMo seemed to like it in there tonight, though - two minor penalties (of the three we took) went to him: one for holding, and the other for delaying the game (puck over glass). That sounds like a bad sort of gourmet dinner... which is what Dany Heatley (?) served up to Tom Poti: a puck to the face, leaving blood on the ice and causing yet another commercial break during the 1st frame (they had something like five of them) while they cleaned up the mess. Fortunately, Poti was back a few minutes later, and played the rest of the game.

Not so for Jose Theodore. :-( Theo was playing exceptionally well (as he has been all season); his 12 saves on 13 shots were good for a SV% of .920 - and back spasms took him out of the game at the end of the first frame. The netminder is now day-to-day, and we'll see in the next day or two whether we get to see Neuvirth before Theo comes back or not.

Not to be undone, Semyon Varlamov in relief stopped all 15 of the shots he faced (8 in the 2nd, 7 in the 3rd)... he all but could have taken a book onto the ice, for all the time the Caps spent at the other end of the ice, and I don't know who would have noticed!

I have to give a shout-out to the entire team, though, tonight. Almost everyone was at or near the to of his game.

Shots on Goal

Gee, I wonder which Cap had the most shots on goal tonight... hmmm... I'll bet it was Alex Ovechkin (13)! The Caps as a team put up 36 shots, and Semin accounted for another 6 of those. Green and Knuble had 3 shots on goal each, and Quintin Laing put up two. The rest were spread out, and it's a shorter list to list off who didn't take a shot: Brendan Morrison, Keith Aucoin (see notes later - his game was otherwise very good!), and Jeff Schultz. EVERYONE else on the team had a shot on goal tonight!

Attempts Blocked

Semin and Ovechkin tie in this category, with 3 each, and Matt Bradley had 2. Between the three of them, they accounted for half the Caps' 15 attempts blocked. Kudos to Rob Blake of the Sharks for blocking a full third of that, with 5 blocked shots to his credit.

Missed Shots

Mike Green tops this list, with 3; Brooks Laich and Brendan Morrison each missed twice, and the three of them accounted for nearly half the Caps' tally in this category (the team as a whole missed the net 15 times).

Hits

Ovechkin and ShaMo top the list here - each were credited with a pair (which does not, contrary to popular belief, make up for taking two of the Caps' three penalties, Mr. Morrisonn!) I'm amazed I didn't see a couple credited to Nicky Backstrom, though, because he was throwing his weight around out there quite a bit, and I know he notched at least one good solid hit. Maybe they credited it as a takeaway instead...

Giveaways

Not many of these tonight; that, I consider a good thing! We had a total of 8 giveaways for the team. Semin and Poti each accounted for 2 of those, and the other four went to Ovechkin, Clark, Backstrom, and our favorite chump-du-jour, ShaMo.

Shaone Morrisonn was not having a good night out there, I don't think.

Takeaways

Knuble gets the Puck Thief Award tonight, with 3 of the Caps' 9 takeaways; Semin stole the puck twice.

Blocked Shots

The Blocker King tonight has to be Tom Poti. He blocked three, including one with his face. Didn't they teach you not to do that, Poti??? Owwwies! :-(

Faceoff Percentage

Keith Aucoin wins in the dot tonight, with a FO% of 75% (3 of 4) - and so does David Steckel, only more so (75%, 12 of 16!) Wow, Stecks! Great job!

This quote just about sums it up for me.

"I like the combination. I like what the three of us bring," Knuble said after the game. "We bring different parts of the game and we can all complement each other. At the same time, it's only one game, one outing, and we have to keep doing it consistently. But, it makes you hungrier to do it the next game."

- Mike Knuble

I have to say that I thought Aucoin looked great out there. He had a couple of really good scoring chances, and if he gets another shot to play, he might be able to finish those. I was really impressed with the half-pint centerman from Chocolatetown! Unfortunately, with Theodore down for who-knows-how-long, there's a possibility that we might have to call up Michal Neuvirth, and while I think seeing him in a Caps sweater would be a good thing, I hate that Theo's hurting, and we'd have to send Aucoin back down.

I loved the reconfigured lines. Ovechkin-Morrison-Knuble and Laich-Backstrom-Semin accounted for a good number of our goals tonight (3 of the 4); the fourth was notched by Matt Bradley, who was skating with David Steckel and Quintin Laing, and they looked good as well. The Aucoin breakaway almost got us some wings tonight. :-)

On an emotional level, tonight's win was crucial for the Caps for several reasons:

1) It ended their losing streak (only the 2nd 4-game losing streak they've had under Boudreau).
2) It ended their 11-game losing streak against the Sharks, and their 8-game losing streak against Nabokov (who, BTW, kept the Sharks in the game until everything fell apart on them.)
3) It brought the fans back into the game. Once again, it was almost playoff-loud in the Phone Booth tonight. And that's a good and happy thing!

[11-OCT-2009] Better... still not great, but better...

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 23:19:27 GMT

The Caps have GOT to stay out of the Z#^@&*!%$! box!!!

They do that, they win.

<grumble>

<unrelated side note>

CAT! QUIT MAKING MY PRINTER PRINT TEST PAGES!!!

[08-OCT-2009] Dammit.

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 02:54:51 GMT

OK, that was bad.

Theodore let in two soft goals that he damnwell should have had.

At least Nicky finally got a couple of goals, but... 4-3.

Damn.

[05-OCT-2009] Photos from 03-OCT-2009...

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 03:10:56 GMT

Here they are...

My favorite:

[05-OCT-2009] Anticipation... and the madness of waiting!

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 03:08:42 GMT

Tomorrow, the Capitals travel to Philadelphia to take on the Flyers.

Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timonen are the star defensemen set to mind Ovechkin... and even the Flyers' beat writer says:

I love this...

"Stopping Ovechkin is like going a day without hearing media reports (ugh) about Jon and Kate.

Virtually impossible."

I seriously - SERIOUSLY - hope the team is ready for this. Pronger notwithstanding, I don't like going up against Philadelphia. They play dirty, and their fans are no better.

I'm glad I'll be watching from the safety of someplace else.

[04-OCT-2009] I wish I could apparate...

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 13:54:55 GMT

The Hershey Bears, carried by an Andrew Gordon hat trick, defeated the Norfolk Admirals 3-1 to win their home opener last night. Since I can't be in two places at once, here's the quick version of the recap.

Alexandre Giroux assisted on all three goals, and Keith Aucoin on two of them, making the Giroux-Aucoin-Gordon (GAG?) line the best Bears on the ice.

Braden Holtby made 23 stops on 24 shots to an opening save percentage of .958.

B-E-A-R-S! BEARS! BEARS! BEARS! WOOOOOOOOO!!!

[04-OCT-2009] Home Opener Win! Caps 6, Maple Leafs 4

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 13:45:17 GMT

The Capitals dominated - OWNED - the ice for the first 40 minutes of last night's home opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The game was, once again, bidding fair to be a route. At the beginning of the third frame, the Caps were up 6-1.

The final score was still in the W column, at 6-4, but between a loss of defensive responsibility that had been so very evident in the first two thirds of the game, and Varlamov's loss of focus, the Leafs were able to close the gap considerably, and had the Caps not played all-out when the Leafs pulled their goaltender in the last couple of minutes of the game, the numbers might have told a different story this morning.

This morning, the Caps still sit on top of the league, with a 2-0 record, 10 GF, 5 GA.

This morning, Ovechkin still has the most goals (tied with several others, including Brooks Laich, at 3). His +/- is the best in the league at +4 (tied with Dubinsky and Erik Johnson).

This morning, Nicky Backstrom stands alone with 5 assists, best in the league.

This morning, in two games, the Caps have spent 21 minutes in the box.

Jay McKee of the Penguins, at 19 PIMs, has almost beaten that single-handedly. The Penguins as a team have more than double the Caps' penalty total, at 45 minutes in two games.

Highlights

Beast Awards

Goals - Semin (2), Ovechkin, Morrison, Laich, Knuble (1).

Assists - Ovechkin, Backstrom (2), Erskine, Morrison, Clark, Laich, Jurcina, Semin, Green (1).

Shots on Goal - Ovechkin wins again with 5; Laich and Semin each had 4.

Attempts Blocked - Ovechkin (4), Pothier, Bradley (3).

Attempts Missed - Ovechkin, Green (2); just about the rest of the team, 1.

Hits - Ovechkin, Jurcina, Morrisonn, Green (4).

Takeaways - Semin (4).

Blocked Shots - Morrison (5).

Faceoff Wins - Semin (2 for 2), Gordon (8 for 12),

[02-OCT-2009] Rolled like a barrel going over Niagara Falls!

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 22:17:23 GMT

Last night's season-opening matchup between the Washington Capitals and the Boston Bruins looked like it was going to be controlled by the Bruins at first. Then, at 17:00 in the first frame, the Bruins made a critical mistake. Six men came out onto the ice, and, unlike a game involving the Flightless Birds, the referees (who were #8 Dave Jackson and #40 Steve Kozari) called them on it. Fifteen seconds later, Nicklas Backstrom took a beautiful pass from Alex Ovechkin, which he fed to Brooks Laich, and Laich put that beautiful feed right past the Bruins' netminder, Tim Thomas, who was guarding against Ovechkin on the other side of the net to make the score 1-0 Capitals.

It was all Caps from there.

Mostly. But I'll get to that later.

Highlights

The first frame ended with the Caps up 1-0, and at 09:31 in the second, at even strength, Alex Ovechkin struck. The backhanded pass from Alexander Semin would have been labeled "cute" had it failed, but the pass from Backstrom to Semin went tape-to-tape, and Semin's trick worked beautifully, leaving Ovechkin free to flick the puck past Thomas, who only had time to stand there and wonder what the hell just happened!

At the end of the 2nd frame, the Caps were up 2-0, and, better still, Zdeno Chara decided to retalliate against Alex Ovechkin for an absolutely beautiful hit that laid Mark Recchi flat on his keester. That retaliatory cross-check enabled the Caps to start the third frame with 01:58 of power play time... and it took Brooks Laich precisely 16 seconds of that power play to score, assisted by Backstrom and Semin, his second goal of the night. Less than two minutes later, at 01:57, Ovechkin struck again, with assists from Poti and Laich to take the score to 4-0, and leave Thomas reeling in his crease.

But Jose Theodore's first start of the season would not end in a shutout. The play-by-play says that Steckel lost the draw to Patrice Bergeron at 7:43; that isn't quite what I saw, but OK, if that's what the officials saw. In any case, Bergeron's subsequent breakout resulted in the theft of the shutout at 7:56 in the third frame, somehow (and I will have to watch the replay on this) assisted by Begin and Stuart... I'm still not sure how the heck that worked!

At any rate, the final score was 4-1 Caps, and overall, the game looked great from the Caps' perspective. Yes, we got off to a slow start, and yes, there were penalties - there always are - but most of them were acceptable.

Notes

* Jose Theodore's save percentage as of today is .950 with his 19 saves on 20 shots last night. He looked great, and made several good stops early on to keep the Caps in the game while they found their wheels. He is at this very moment in second place in the league, behind Craig Anderson, who also has a .950 save percentage, on a 38 saves for 40 shots victory over the San Jose Sharks. For GAA, Theodore is #1 in the league - the only goaltender last night to have been scored on only once. He's also first place in wins, with that one goal GAA and the .950 save percentage, so his smilin' face is up on the NHL.com page in two places this morning.

* The league leader as of last night for goals and points is Brooks Laich, who is actually tied with Alex Ovechkin, but I suspect that the criteria is "who got there first," unless it's alphabetical order. In any case, it's Brooksie's mug shot in two windows on NHL.com - a refreshing change from the norm.

* Nicky Backstrom leads the league in assists, with 3 last night; second place is Alexander Semin, who helped out on two goals.

"for the 17,565 fans at TD Garden and the thousands more who tuned in on Versus - albeit not via DirecTV, given the dust-up between the network and the satellite provider - the sight of the Bruins getting rolled like a barrel over Niagara Falls didn't serve as a pleasant entrance to the 2009-10 season after a summer of hibernation."

Boston Globe Recap 02-OCT-2009

Refereeing

For the most part, referees #8 Dave Jackson and #40 Steve Kozari called a fair game. There were a couple of missed calls on both sides, but the replay showed that for the vast majority of the penalties called, the infraction had actually taken place.

The biggest exception to this that I might be able to call is the Alex Ovechkin penalty for interfering with Tim Thomas at 18:29 of the third frame. Might. From the angle I was watching (which is the angle Versus gave me), it appeared that Ovechkin was pushed into Thomas, which theoretically would make it not a penalty, but:

1) Per ___, the NHL has instructed its officials to call goaltender interference this season, and we will probably see an uptick in the number of penalties of that nature this season. Certainly, if someone crosschecks Varlamov across the throat again, we can probably expect a call of some sort.

2) The rule (#69, for whoever's interested) indicates that in order for a penalty to NOT be called if someone was pushed or otherwise redirected is if the person being penalized made a "reasonable effort" to not hit the goaltender, and since Ovechkin was crashing the net at the time of the penalty, even though Russian Machine can stop on Ruble, I believe the referees probably didn't think he was trying to stop hard enough.

It didn't matter; the Bruins never scored again, and although it would have been nice for the Capitals to pick up a 5th goal, it was unnecessary.

The game winning goal went to Alexander Ovechkin (2 goals, 1 assist), along with the first star of the game; the other two stars went to Brooks Laich (2 goals, 1 assist) and Nicklas Backstrom (3 assists).

Beast Awards

Shots on Goal: Tie between Alex Ovechkin and Brooks Laich (5 each), runner up to Alexander Semin and Mike Green (4 each).

Attempts Blocked: Hands down, Alex Ovechkin, with 8; the rest of the team totalled the other 8 the Caps got.

Missed Shots: Nobody comes out as a complete beast in this category; Pothier, Ovechkin, Laich, Jurcina, ShaMo, and Semin each got one.

Hits: We have a three-way tie between Ovechkin, ShaMo, and Steckel at 3 apiece for this category.

Giveaways: The whole team wins in this category, because there was not one single giveaway by the Caps all night long! Not ONE! Well done, boys!

Takeaways: Steckel wins this category, with two; Poti, Backstrom, Knuble, Semin, and Green each had one.

Blocked Shots: The blocked shots category is another big tie, with Pothier, Erskine, Laich, ShaMo, and Green each racking up two. Poti, Backstrom, and Knuble blocked one each.

Faceoff Wins: This category goes to BMo, with a whopping 73%! A close second place goes to Boyd Gordon with 71%.
+/-: Poti and Ovechkin finished the night at +2 each.

Best Penalty: John Erskine for his fight against Shawn Thornton at 09:43 in the third frame.

Worst Penalty (Caps): John Erskine for holding Michael Ryder's stick when he lost his own.

Worst Move (Caps): Whatever Steckel did to lose the puck to Patrice Bergeron.

Worst Penalty (Bruins): Zdeno Chara's crosscheck on Alex Ovechkin, with 00:02 left in the 2nd frame, leaving the Capitals with nearly two full minutes in the 3rd frame, on fresh ice, on the power play with the Bruins' best penalty killer in the box. The penalty resulted in the second Laich goal.

Most Easily Avoided Penalty (Bruins): Too Many Men on the Ice at 17:00 in the 1st frame. The penalty resulted in the first Laich goal.

[01-OCT-2009] Caps at Bruins - Pre Game Musings...

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:51:22 GMT

One day after the Chris Bourque Fiasco, the Caps have their home opener against the Boston Bruins. The puck drops in a little over seven hours now, and I couldn't be more excited - or more nervous. The Caps will have to contend with the Bruins doing their banner-raising ceremony, which will hopefully be short enough that the Caps' muscles don't get cold waiting.

Rumor has it (according to Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post) that the forward lineups will start out looking like this:

* Ovechkin-Backstrom-Semin
* Laich-Morrison-Knuble
* Laing-Steckel-Clark
* Kane-Gordon-Bradley

and that the defensive pairings are:

* Morrisonn-Green
* Poti-Jurcina
* Erskine-Pothier

I seriously doubt this will be the way things shake down for the entire game. Boudreau is notorious for line-shuffling, both between practice and puck drop, and within the context of a given game if a line isn't producing the way he expects it to. His response when asked about tonight's goaltender was a succinct, "yes."

Personally, I would expect the first two lines to fluctuate. Semin and Knuble will very likely swap places multiple times during tonight's matchup, and a lot of that will depend largely on whether we are spending more time 5-on-5, 5-on-4, or 4-on-5. This, in turn, will largely depend on how sloppy we are playing, how sloppy the Bruins are playing, and who the referees on ice are tonight.

There have been a lot of questions on why the Caps are choosing to play Boyd Kane over much-maligned Michael Nylander. The primary reason for this, according to a Bruce Boudreau interview published yesterday, is that Nylander is a center and Kane is a wing; Nylander does not play well at wing, and we need a wing for the fourth line. Nylander does not play well on the checking line, in any case; he is more of a "top six" guy if he plays at all, so the decision to play Kane makes sense.

Furthermore, the decision to play Kane over Giroux was due to the risk of putting Giroux through re-entry waivers. We could just as easily lose him to the Islanders or the Lightning, for half his $500k salary, as keep him, and he would be an offensive upgrade for either team. Because of this, we will not likely see Giroux in a Caps uniform again before the trade deadline is passed. The same very likely goes for Keith Aucoin, which is unfortunate, because he missed making the team by just about a hair this year... a Chris Bourque hair. Aucoin, at 5'9", is another undersized forward, with a sparkplug attitude, a wicked pair of hands, and a good work ethic. While I'll be glad to see him up in Hershey again, I really wish he'd made the big club instead.

It's a bit over 3-1/2 hours to puck drop now, and I'm still waiting to hear who the on-ice officials will be. No announcements have been posted by either club, and I will probably already be on the way to ESPNZone in DC, where I'm meeting friends (old and new) to watch the game by the time the announcement is made, so I have my handy-dandy list of referees and linesmen and their respective sweater numbers. That way, even if I miss puck drop (hope not to!), I will still be able to figure out who's who amongst the on-ice officials, a piece of information that will definitely factor into my post-game recap.

Now, it's all over except for the hard part: the rest of the wait.

C-A-P-S! CAPS! CAPS! CAPS!

[01-OCT-2009] Musings on the Michael Nylander situation...

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:49:58 GMT

I've heard it all before...

Hell, I've SAID most of it at least once...

Michael Nylander's infamous no-movement clause (NMC) has turned what was once one of the Caps' top forwards when Glen Hanlon coached an East-West team to an albatross under Bruce Boudreau's North-South heavy attack hand style, and for the 2009-2010 season, it looks like there is not a whole lot we're going to be able to do about it.

The team is handling the situation as quietly and privately as they can; understandably, both the team and Nylander want to work this out as soon as possible so as not to drag the situation through the entire season.

It's obvious that Nylander does not fit in with this version of the Capitals, and his $4.5 million salary could be better spent than paying him to be a seat warmer in the press box, which is largely what it's been doing since the end of last season. Nylander himself appears ready to move on; however, in order for him to do so, there has to be a team out there that is willing to dance with him.

Such a team has not been forthcoming.

Today, however, saw a rumor that Локомотив Ярославль (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl) of the KHL might be interested in taking on Nylander's contract. They recently released one of their foreign-born players (the KHL has a limit, which I was originally told was three, but which actually in practice appears to be five, foreign-born players per team), and with that release, have made space for another.

Here is the report, in Swedish, from HockeySverige.se:

Torsdag 01 okt 13:40
Utland

Nylander placeras i ny rysk klubb

Michael Nylanders NHL-äventyr ser mer och mer ut att varaö. Åtminstone i Washington. De senaste ryska uppgifterna gör gällande att svensken nu ska vara aktuell för spel i Lokomotiv Jaroslavl.

Det är Jaroslavl-baserade tidningen RIA som skriver om Jaroslavls stora intresse och hänvisar till källor inom klubben.

Jaroslavl sade nyligen upp kontraktet med en annan NHL-veteran, tjecken Radek Bonk, och söker efter en ny utlänning att fylla på sin trupp med. Där finns sedan tidigare Daniel Tjärnqvist, Zbynek Irgl, Josef Vasicek och Richard Zednik som lagets utländska spelare.

Tidigare har Avangard Omsk, med Nylanders polare Jaromir Jagr i spetsen, uttryckt intresse för Nylander som under senaste NHL-lockouten spelade för både Kazan och Sankt Petersburg.

Lillebror Peter spelar för Amur Chabarovsk, en klubbadress som knappast lär vara aktuell för Michael.

Robert Pettersson
robert.pettersson@hockeysverige.se

A very rough English translation from Google translate reads:

Thursday 01 Oct 13:40
International

Nylander placed in the new Russian club

Michael Nylander's NHL-adventure look more and more seems to be over. At least in Washington. The latest Russian data claims that the Swede will now be up to date for the game in Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.

It is Yaroslavl-based newspaper that writes about RIA Yaroslavl great interest and refers to sources within the club.

Yaroslavl said recently terminated the contract with another NHL veteran, Czechs Radek Bonk, and are looking for a new alien to replenish his squad with. There are already Daniel Tjärnqvist, Zbynek Irgl, Josef Vasicek and Richard Zednik as the team's foreign players.

Previously, Avangard Omsk, with Nylander's buddy Jaromir Jagr in the head, expressed interest in Nylander as the last NHL lockout playing for both Kazan and St. Petersburg.

Brother Peter plays for Amur Khabarovsk, a club address as unlikely to be considered for Michael.

Lokomotiv's website, http://lokomotiv.yar.ru/, confirms the contract has been dissolved between them and Radek Bonk, but says nothing as of yet on whether they have or intend to sign Michael Nylander as a replacement.

[28-SEP-2009] Roster ramblings...

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:34:10 GMT

Quintin Laing - LW, rock solid in pre-season, missed the mark by a hair's breadth last year, and now his chance has come.

In 55 games with the Hershey Bears last season, Laing posted 9 goals and 16 assists. He was in the box for 21 minutes, which indicates one major penalty as the most likely cause for the odd number of PIMs. (Three, and he'd have a reputation for it.) In his sole game for the Capitals, he ruptured his spleen in the first frame. He played 9 of the Bears' post-season games following his recovery, and posted two goals and two assists in the Calder Cup run.

Chris Bourque - LW, played very well in the pre-season; he didn't make the team just for being his father's son... will be interested to see how he does.

In 8 games with the Capitals last season, Bourque scored one goal; he had no assists credited. In 69 games during the regular season with the Bears, he scored 21 goals and notched 52 assists, and in the post-season, 5 goals and 16 assists over 22 games. Bourque does have a history of concussions, having suffered two (I believe) last season, and one during this year's pre-season, so that is something the Caps will have to watch. Bourque had 57 PIMs in the regular season for the Bears, and another 30 in the post-season; he was not penalized in his 8 games with the Caps last year.

Tyler Sloan - D, rock solid and steady in pre-season. Can't wait to see him play!

In 26 games with the Capitals last season, Sloan had 1 goal and 4 assists, with 14 PIMs. He also helped out for two post-season matchups, in which he notched an assist, and was not penalized during those two games. Sloan played 46 games for the Bears, and scored two goals and 10 assists, and spent 61 minutes in the box; in 16 post-season games, he had 5 assists and 14 PIMs.

[27-SEP-2009] Rangers (3) at Caps (4) - Preseason

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:35:52 GMT

PWND.

That is the best descriptive term I can come up with for the first four goals scored by the Caps.

Laich (unassisted)
Semin (Sloan, Laich)
Bourque (Pothier, Steckel)
Knuble (Green, Schultz)

Then... we slacked off. The third frame, the Caps shifted modes from all-out attack to prevent defense, gave up three goals, and very nearly a fourth when the Rangers pulled their goaltender. The 4-3 victory was a very close thing.

Mike Green had the high number for shots and attempts blocked, at 6 and 2, along with a missed shot, and got himself a very nice primary assist on the Knuble goal. Knuble was right where we hired him to be, and the play was textbook perfect. Ovechkin's five shots on goal and three missed shots were second in the arena.

Hits came out fairly even, with no one Cap distancing himself. Erskine, Ovechkin, Gordon, Laich and Laing were each credited with two hits; Green and Sloan had one apiece, and Green blocked four shots, again a team high.

Varlamov was, once again, perfect through two frames, and did not do as well in the third. I'd hoped to see Neuvirth instead, but apparently the young Czech "tweaked something" and wasn't able to play today. But the Caps' defense gave up 20 shots on goal in the third frame - more than double the total of the previous two! - and Varlamov went 17:20 in that third frame, for a .850 save percentage. If you factor in the other two frames, it goes up to a .903. Lundqvist did not have a very good evening. He gave up four goals in 24 shots (.833) and was chased out of the net for the third frame, where Valiquette went a perfect 4:4. Yes. The Caps got only four shots on goal off in the third frame.

Admittedly, this was a preseason game, and "don't get hurt" has to have been a priority, but we let up the gas in a huge way in the third frame, and gave up a commanding lead. Had we continued to play as we did in the first two, I think the score might well have been 6-0 or 7-0 instead of 4-3. Hopefully this won't happen in the regular season... but the Caps do have an unfortunate tendency to drop off in work ethic when they are winning, especially winning 4-0.

Beast awards tonight go to Brooks Laich (goal, assist, two hits); Mike Green (6 shots on goal, 2 attempts blocked, 1 miss, 1 hit, 4 blocked shots, and an assist); and Mike Knuble for his textbook perfect goal.

The regular season starts Thursday, and I can't wait!

[27-SEP-2009] Last preseason game, Caps v. Rangers

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 13:37:16 GMT

Let's GO, CAPS!!!

I don't have the rosters yet; hopefully, we will play well this time... it'll be interesting to see if Sugs gets another roster spot. I don't want to see Brash going up against either of our other fighters. He'd have Brads for lunch, and Erskine is too concussion-prone for me to want him to deliberately get hit in the head. :-(

Very excited! It's almost regular season hockey time!

Notes on the game, plus notes on yesterday's CapsCon will follow. :-)

[24-SEP-2009] Stats from tonight's game...

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 03:10:52 GMT

Now that I've calmed down a little from yelling at Semin (like he can hear me from my bedroom all the way in New York City...) for that stupid deliberate trip, I have the stats for the Caps guys compiled. On the Rangers' side, this was pretty much the Marion Gaborik Show, with the right winger being credited with two goals and an assist. Without Gaborik on the ice, this game might have gone differently.

Then again, without Semin's hook... oh, nevermind; I've beaten that dead horse quite enough.

Grr. OK, no I haven't; I'm still cheezed at him, and I will be for a couple of days. Idiot!

Anyway,

Shots on Goal
Green - 5
Aucoin - 4 (1 goal)
Erskine, Ovechkin, Clark, Backstrom - 2 each
Laich, Jurcina, Semin (1 goal), Laing, Beagle - 1 each

Attempts Blocked
Green, Schultz - 3 each
Ovechkin - 2
Aucoin, Laich, Semin, Sloan - 1 each

Missed Shots
Ovechkin - 4
Laich - 2
Aucoin, Green, Laing, Sloan - 1 each

Hits
Jurcina - 8
Ovechkin - 7
Steckel, Laing - 3 each
Erskine, Bradley, Clark, Schultz, Sloan - 2 each
Aucoin, Laich, Alzner, Green, Beagle - 1 each

Giveaways
Erskine - 1 (led to a goal)
Jurcina - 2

Takeaways
Schultz - 2
Ovechkin, Backstrom, Aucoin, Alzner, Semin, Steckel - 1 each

Blocked Shots
Alzner, Green - 4 each
Steckel, Jurcina - 3 each
Erskine - 2
Aucoin, Laing, Schultz, Sloan - 1 each

Faceoffs Won
Aucoin - 7
Backstrom, Steckel - 6 each
Beagle - 3
Laich - 1

Faceoffs Lost
Steckel - 8
Backstrom, Aucoin - 5 each
Beagle - 4
Laich, Laing - 2 each (Laing lost both of his)
Clark, Giroux - 1 each (the only ones they took)

Faceoff Percentage
Aucoin - 58%
Backstrom - 55%
Steckel, Beagle - 43% each
Laich - 33%
Everyone else - 0%...

Penalties</b>
Semin - 2 for tripping; a second was not served, because the Rangers scored before the Caps touched the puck... although I think that we blocked a shot and the play should have been stopped at that point.
Backstrom - 2 for holding (WHA?!)
Clark - 2 for hooking (vuups!)
Sugden - 5 for fighting (twice! - Big guy went up against Brashear and won the first, drew the second. Not bad!)
Alzner - 2 for tripping (saved a goal)
Ovechkin - 2 for slashing (saved a goal)

Save Percentage
Theodore - 1st frame: 100% (8:8)
Theodore - 2nd frame: 80% (8:10)
Theodore - 3rd frame: 83% (5:6)

Refereeing
Fair and balanced, from what I could see. Pochmara and Pollock were the referees.

Linesmen
One weird offsides; otherwise, good. Champoux and March were the linesmen. (Is that pronounced "Shampoo?!" *snicker*)

Beasts:

1) Mike Green, for five shots on goal, 3 attempts blocked, a hit, and four blocked shots.
2) Keith Aucoin, for four shots on goal (1 goal), 1 attempt blocked, 1 missed shot, a hit, and a blocked shot
3) Brandon Sugden, for taking on Donald Brasher, not once, but twice, and holding his own.

[24-SEP-2009] Caps @ Rangers ...

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 01:28:21 GMT

I missed about the first 8 minutes of the 1st frame... Today's Alzner's 21st birthday, and he's playing; so is Brandon Sugden. This latter makes me very happy. :-)

Here are the lineups:

Caps Lineup
4 - Erskine (D)
8 - Ovechkin (LW)
10 - Bradley (RW)
17 - Clark (RW)
19 - Backstrom (C)
20 - Aucoin (C)
21 - Laich (C)
23 - Jurcina (D)
25 - SUGDEN! (RW)
27 - Alzner (D)
28 - Semin (LW)
33 - Giroux (LW)
39 - Steckel (C)
52 - Green (D)
53 - Laing (LW)
55 - Schultz (D)
83 - Beagle (C)
89 - Sloan (D)
40 - Varlamov (G)
60 - Theodore (G)

Rangers Lineup
5 - Girardi (D)
6 - Redden (D)
10 - Gaborik (RW)
12 - Kotalik (RW)
17 - Dubinsky (C)
20 - Prospal (C)
21 - Higgins (LW)
23 - Drury (C)
24 - Callahan (RW)
25 - Semenov (D)
33 - Rozsival (D)
34 - Voros (LW)
42 - Ansimov (C)
43 - Del Zotto (D)
59 - Grachev (C)
81 - Lisin (RW)
87 - Brashear (LW)
97 - Gilroy (D)
30 - Lundqvist (G)
40 - Valiquette (G)

(Nothing of note happened until...)
09:17 1st frame - Brashear in the box for hooking; Caps on the PP
11:17 1st frame - Brashear penalty killed
14:15 1st frame - Semin in the box for tripping; Caps on the PK
16:15 1st frame - Semin penalty killed
17:13 1st frame - Backstrom in the box for holding; Caps on the PK again
18:38 1st frame - Rozsival in the box for hooking; 4-on-4
19:13 1st frame - Backstrom penalty killed; Caps on the P
End of 1st frame - Caps will start the 2nd with a power play for 22 seconds.

As of the end of the 1st frame:

* Ovechkin and Laing lead the Caps in hits, with 3 each.
* Erskine, Ovechkin, Clark, Backstrom, Aucoin, Jurcina, Green and Laing each have 1 SoG.
* Erskine, Green, Laing, and Schultz have each blocked a shot.
* Backstrom and Aucoin are each 50% in the faceoff dot.

FUCK.

Gaborik scores shorthanded. SLOP, SLOP, SLOP!

00:36 2nd frame - 5-hole on Theodore, who didn't have a chance to react. Erskine miscued, and missed a pass; it went right to Gaborik. 1-0 Rangers.
00:38 2nd frame - Rozsival penalty killed.
05:46 2nd frame - Clark to the box for hooking - did save a goal...
07:46 2nd frame - Clark penalty killed

08:51 2nd frame - SEMIN with the goal! TIE GAME, 1-1

08:58 2nd frame - SUGS!!!!! Brandon Sugden takes down Donald Brashear in a fight. 5 for fighting for the boys, and SUGS on the T.K.O! in his NHL debut! Way to go, Sugden! <3! Yes, Brashear was off-balance, and I hope he wasn't damaged by the fight the way he was in one of his last ones for the Caps. I do love Brash; he's such a sweet guy. But damn if I'm not proud of Brandon Sugden!

12:20ish 2nd frame - Semin, you stupid IDIOT! You just tripped someone on purpose?! You STUPID #%!@&^ FUCKWIDGET! ARGH!!!!!!

12:37 2nd frame - Gaborik on the delayed penalty (to Semin) scores. 2-1 Rangers. FRAG!
17:00 2nd frame - AUCOIN, assist by Ovechkin! Way to GO!
19:55 2nd frame - Brashear in the box for slashing.

End of 2nd frame - Caps 2, Rags 2; Caps will be on the Power Play for 1:55 at the beginning of the 3rd frame, with fresh ice. Fresh ice is good.

...But that does not redeem you, Mr. Semin.

01:55 3rd frame - Brashear penalty killed.
02:15 3rd frame - Brashear vs. Sugden, round 2: No takedown this time, but I have to give the fight to Brash. Sugden has a bleeding upper lip, and both men are down 5 for fighting. Again.

05:59 3rd frame - Alzner in the box for tripping (it was a necessary penalty)...
07:59 3rd frame - Alzner penalty killed
08:52 3rd frame - Ansimov in the box for tripping Green
09:56 3rd frame - Drury with the breakaway, and Ovechkin goes to the box for slashing... slams into Theodore. 4-on-4.
11:56 3rd frame - Ovechkin penalty killed.
13:21 3rd frame - Seminov to the box for holding.
15:21 3rd frame - Seminov penalty killed.
18:50 3rd frame - FUCK! Higgins goal, 3-2 Rangers.
18:50 3rd frame - Caps pull Theodore. 6 men out.
Final 3-2 Rangers.

Dammit.

OK, I am blaming this loss on Alexander Semin and that STUPID deliberate trip. What. An. IDIOT! I hope Ovechkin yells at him in Russian so he's sure to understand that You. Do. Not. DO. THAT!!!

Argh. Semin doesn't take that penalty, we're either in overtime now, or the Caps win. That was the pivotal play of the game for the Rangers. STUPID, STUPID move on Semin's part. I am NOT pleased.

That said, in general things looked pretty good, although we needed Knuble out there several times. He was taking a break tonight, along with Tom Poti, and it made a difference not having him out there.

We're back to 0-for-5 on the power play, plus them getting a short-handed goal, so -1 for 5, really...

Caps are playing Neuvirth on Sunday. I hope he kicks ass and takes names.