Morning Thoughts
It's games such as these that show how bright the future is for the Washington Capitals. They outplayed one of the better teams in their conference despite still being shorthanded with injuries. The only thing you can be disappointed about from the game was the score. They controlled the action, especially during the third period, and had many quality chances to tie. Once again, the team needs to build on this momentum as they have another important game Thursday night in Florida. A win and they are still only a few points out of a playoff spot. A loss and they would fall into last place in the division and possibly 14th place in the conference. Now some hump-day morning thoughts:
- After the game, coach Glen Hanlon said that it will be up to Zednik whether or not he will play Thursday night. He has been medically cleared to do so.
- Alex Ovechkin now leads the NHL in goals with 32 and is second in points with 69, which is 10 points behind the leading Sidney Crosby. He is currently on pace for 111 points which would surpass his total from last season.
- Don't look now but Kris Beech has put together back-to-back solid games. He followed up a goal against Carolina Saturday night with a beautiful assist last night. It was a nice individual play that involved winning a loose puck from veteran defenseman Wade Redden.
- The Capitals lost for only the third time this season when their goaltender Olie Kolzig has faced 35 shots or more. His record now stands at 11-3-1 in these games.
Draft Pick Updates:
- The Capitals 2005 first-round pick Joe Finley currently leads the North Dakota Fightning Sioux with a +13 defensive rating. The 19 year-old 6 foot 7 inch defenseman also has 1 goal and 1 assist on the season.
- Michal Neuvirth, the 2006 second-round pick, currently leads the OHL with a .933 save percentage. He has posted a 19-6-1-1 record to go along with a 2.28 gaa and 4 shutouts.
- The Fourth-round pick in 2006, Luke Lynes, has 21 goals and 24 assists but is -12 defensively for the OHL's Brampton Battalion.
- Another 2006 Fourth-round pick Oskar Osala has 13 goals and 11 assists and is +9 defensively for the OHL's Mississauga IceDogs.
- The 2005 Fourth-round pick Patrick McNeill has 17 goals and 24 assists and is +2 defensively.
2 comments:
1) OK, we'll go along with your assessment that it was a 'good loss'. That other than winning it was a good game for the Caps
2) Our only problem with that is we feel that philosophy has to eventually change. Losing should NEVER be a good or OK thing. That's what separates good teams from mediocre teams
3) We understand the Caps are relatively young and have a couple of injuries (who doesn't?), but if this team is to be taken as a playoff contender and not a pretender, they have to find ways to win games like last night and NOT be content when they don't
1) BTW, not sure what to make of Hanlon allowing Zednik to say when he returns. If he's medically cleared then why can't he return immediately? If he still hurts how could he be cleared?
2) This is the stretch drive. He makes almost 2 million. Time to earn that dough.
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