Caps Hold Off Lightning 3-2

Well they almost blew it, thanks to a pair of Lightning goals within about 30 seconds late in the 3rd period to tie the game at 2. But Alex saved the day in the end, Alex Semin that is, with his quick reflexes that deposited a loose puck past Johan Holmqvist with three minutes to go. Now the Caps players and their dads will be able to enjoy a Sunday outing in the sunshine state. A couple key contributors for the Caps silenced their critics tonight: (Photo courtesy of Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

1. Olaf Kolzig - 39 saves on the night, Godzilla was spectacular in net. Neither goal in the 3rd period was his fault. The Caps will need more consistent performances like this one from their number one netminder if they hope to make a playoff run this spring.
2. Tomas Fleischmann - His promotion to the first line resulted in his second goal in as many nights. He is proving why the organization is so high on him. Fleischmann must continue to be a reliable secondary scoring option for this team to succeed.

And how about the debut of defenseman Sami Lepisto? He showed flashes of brilliance in his 14+ minutes of ice time, contributing on the second power play unit while also delivering some big hits, which is a bit unexpected considering his size. He has definitely proved that he deserves a good look with the big club. Hopefully he is here to stay. (Photo of Sami Lepisto during Rookie Camp, Summer '07)

The All-Star Break Begins

A much need break for the Capitals begins today. The team is off until they practice on Thursday before traveling to Raleigh again to take on a Hurricanes team that will be ready for revenge. Each Caps player needs to take a look at their own game personally and find out the best way for them to return to the team refocused and at the top of their game. Last year the Capitals were able to come off the Olympic break and post a winning record during the second half of the season. They must find a way to repeat that this year. Now, a look at some more morning thoughts:

• At the end of the game yesterday you could see on tv fans throwing trash on the ice. While I can understand being upset with the way the team played, I definitely do not condone this type of behavior. I would love to hear from anybody that was at the game that can describe how bad it was, because it has not been talked about at all in the media.
• The game was one of the most tightly called games of the season. But the officials cannot be blamed for the loss at all as the game was called evenly.
  
• Matt Pettinger provided one of the few highlights of the day when he brook up a quality scoring chance by diving on the backcheck and blocking a cross ice pass on a 2 on 1 break by the Panthers in the first period.
• Jeff Schultz and Jamie Hunt were reassigned to Hershey following the game, and Hunt actually played for the Bears last night against Bridgeport.
  
• I feel bad for Olaf Kolzig who was spectacular as usual stopping 38 of 41 shots, but had no help from his defensemen.

Down on the Farm: Hershey will look to rebound from a sub par effort against Bridgeport last night when they host the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins today at 5:00 PM. For those of you who might not be football fans, or if the Bears game gets out of hand early, you can catch all the live action from b2networks by visiting the Hershey Bears official website.
After losing 5-0 in Friday night in Charlotte, the South Carolina Stingrays rebounded for a 4-3 overtime victory last night when they hosted the Columbia Inferno before a sell-out crowd of 10,496 at the North Charleston Coliseum. Seriously though 10,496 people? Between that and the 9,401 that came to see the Hershey Bears last night in Chocolatetown, it is nice to know that our minor league teams have such great support. From Stingrayshockey.com:

“The crowd was tremendous,” South Carolina coach Jason Fitzsimmons said. “The fans were like the seventh man and helped us to victory. It was an awesome finish to a great game.”
“The fans were amazing,” said center Matt Reid, who had four points on two goals and two assists. “The atmosphere was electric and they gave us the energy that we needed to pull out the win. We certainly appreciate the support from the fans.”

Defenseman T.J. McElroy also added 3 assists to lead the way for the Stingrays. Davis Parley stopped 28 of 31 shots to earn his league leading and career high 19th win. The game winning goal was scored by Evan Schwabe (pictured) at the 3:14 mark of the overtime period.
The Stingrays return to action for an 8:05 PM game Thursday night in Texas against the Wildcatters. Catch all the live action from b2networks by visiting Stingrayshockey.com.

Will the Real Caps Team Please Stand Up?

Tale of Two Games as Capitals Start Out Strong Then Disappear As Panthers Dominate Once Again
Florida Panthers 4, Washington Capitals 1
Boxscore

In front of a crowd of 13,877 at the Verizon Center, the Caps came out guns a blazing, just as they had two nights ago in Raleigh, North Carolina. They took advantage of a penalty-plagued opening (14 minutes of penalties combined in the first 8 minutes of the game) and converted on a two man advantage when Danius Zubrus took a cross ice pass from Alex Ovechkin, and slipped the puck between goaltender Ed Belfour's pads for an early 1-0 lead. It was Zubrus' 17th goal of the season and the 3rd time he has scored while the Caps enjoyed a two man advantage. Alex Ovechkin's assist extended his career high point scoring streak to 9 games.

But that would be the end of the highlights for the Capitals. Beginning in the second period the game quickly resembled last Saturday's debacle in Florida as the Panthers dominated every aspect of the game. They tied the score at the 2:42 mark on a beautiful backhand cross from Anthony Stewart which Marin Gelenas had no problem depositing into the back of the net for his 5th goal of the season. The Panthers would not let up, and despite a Nathan Horton tripping penalty, they would continue to control the action converting on their second quality scoring chance of the penalty kill when Jozef Stumpel snapped a wrist shot past the glove of Kolzig. The score would give the Panthers the lead for good. The Capitals did not record their first shot on goal in the second period until jthe 14:00 minute mark.

The third period was more of the same as the Capitals were outshot 10-1 early on. The game was put out of reach for good when Steve Eminger turned the puck over in his own end, which quickly turned into a 2 on 1 which the Panthers converted on as Ville Peltonen beat Kolzig for his 8th goal of the season and a 3-1 lead. Martin Gelenas would add his second goal of the game on an empty net goal in the last minute of the game making the final 4-1.

A week after giving up 54 shots to the Panthers, the Capitals were once again manhandled by the Southeastern Division dwellers giving up 42 shots on goal while only recording 18 shots themselves. The one positive stat to take away from this game was the Caps holding the Panthers to 0 for 10 on the power-play.

Game Notes: Brian Pothier was scratched from the lineup with what the team said was an "illness". Make your own judgments on the validity of that statement based on the team's history of not reporting injuries to the press....Jamie Hunt was recalled from Hershey but did not dress as Mike Green was able to return to the lineup....Shaone Morrisonn limped to the dressing room towards the end of the first period after blocking a shot off his foot, something that is becoming an epidemic for the Capitals' defenseman, but he was able to return in the second period and finished the game....Boyd Gordon was dominant in the face-off circle winning 15 of 22 for a 68% win percentage.

A+ Team Effort Ends Losing Streak

Semin, Kolzig Key Victory Over the Defending Stanley Cup Champions
Washington Capitals 5, Carolina Hurricanes 2
Boxscore

The fourth out of eight meetings on the season between these division rivals had a special meaning tonight. The Caps entered the game desperate to get anything positive going in their direction, while the Hurricanes looked to continue their dominance of the Southeast division, having not lost in regulation since October 26th.

Injuries forced the Capitals' head coach Glen Hanlon to juggle his defensive parings matching Steve Eminger with Shaone Morrisson, and Brian Pothier with Lawrence Nycholat. The changes seemed to spark the team as they played a consistent defensive system throughout the game. This defensive improvement helped spark their standout goaltender Olaf Kolzig who had an excellent game stopping 34 of Carolina's 36 shots. The key to Kolzig's performance was the fact that he was not allowing any rebounds, preventing the Hurricane's from any second chance opportunities.

The Caps came out blazing in the first period dominating the action early on and getting quality scoring chances from role players Boyd Gordon and Ben Clymer. But Hurricane's goaltender John Grahame was up to the task turning aside shot after shot. At the 13:00 minute mark though the Capitals got the bounce they needed when a Chris Clark dump in from just beyond the red line was deflected with a high stick by defenseman David Tanabe into an empty net vacated by Grahame. The kind of breaks this team had not been getting during their three game losing streak. Clark would add an empty net goal giving him his second of the night and 19th on the season.

The Hurricane's would play the majority of the game with only five healthy defenseman after Niclas Wallin left the game in the first period with a lower body injury.

Alexander Semin was spectacular scoring with a wicked wrist shot on a power-play goal off a Danius Zubrus faceoff win in the second period, and then providing what turned out to be the game winning goal on a breakaway at the 9:33 mark in the third period. It was Semin's 4th multi-goal game in the month of January giving him 27 goals on the season. In 16 division games this season, Semin has scored 14 goals.

Alex Ovechkin notched his 29th goal of the season on an empty net goal in the closing minute of the game to put the contest out of reach for good. The goal ties Ovechkin with Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier, Marian Hossa, and Teemu Selanne for the league lead.

Game Notes: The Capitals were once again dominated in the faceoff department 38-27. The only center with a winning percentage on the night was Brooks Laich who won 4 out of 5 for 80%... Rookie Jeff Schultz stepped in for the injured Mike Green and was solid playing 18:49 minutes of ice time and finishing the game +1 defensively. He even saw some action on the penalty kill... Kolzig won his 270th career game moving him into a tie for 30th place all-time with Gilles Meloche.

Caps Take Vacation in Florida

Florida Panthers 7, Washington Capitals 3
A second consecutive sloppy outing drops the Capitals back to .500.

They were outplayed from the moment the puck dropped. The Panthers took advantage of Washington's slow start and jumped out to a 2-0 lead by the end of the first period. If not for the play of Olaf Kolzig the game would have been already out of hand by that point.
Godzilla kept them in the game and following an Alexander Semin goal halfway through the second period, the Caps looked as though they would make a comeback. It was the fifth consecutive game that Semin had scored, netting his 25th goal of the season and NHL leading 8th of January. The goal was also the 18th time in the last 21 games that either Semin or Alex Ovechkin had scored for the Caps.
But as was the case on Thursday night in Tampa, the Capitals could not keep the momentum on their side. Towards the later part of the second period the Panthers pumped three goals past Kolzig in five minutes and took a 5-1 lead into the intermission. If that didn't dampen the hopes of the Caps getting back into the game, an early third period goal by Stephen Weiss would take care of the rest, putting the game out of reach for good. Weiss would later complete his first career hat trick on the power play netting his 11th goal of the season.
The bright spot for the Capitals was an excellent individual effort by Matt Pettinger, scoring on a short handed breakaway halfway through the third period for his 11th goal of the season. Chris Clark would add his 16th goal of the season in the closing moments of the game.
As can be expected in this type of a game, a number of Capitals' players were exploited. The Panthers seemed to have an excellent scouting report on the Caps and executed their game plan to perfection. Lawrence Nycholat was attacked repeatedly in the first period by the Panthers, who chose a dump and chase style followed by an intense forecheck, to knock him to the ice on numerous occasions. It will be interesting to see if other teams will try this approach as well to take advantage of Nycholat's small stature.
Game Notes: Jakub Klepis was a healthy scratch for the third consecutive game. He has not dressed since Matt Bradley returned from injured reserve. John Erskine, Bryan Muir, and Richard Zednik remain on IR. The Capitals gave up 54 shots on goal including 27 in the second period alone. Backup goaltender Brent Johnson replaced Olaf Kolzig at the beginning of the third period. The Panthers win was only their 3rd in 15 division games so far this year. The Caps lost their 5th straight road game.

All-Star Snub

Alexander Semin (24g-19a-43p, 40 games) and Olaf Kolzig (15-13-4, 3.07 gaa, .909 sv%) were certainly deserving of a spot on the All-Star team, but they were left off as the complete rosters were announced today. The NHL is always looking for ways to promote the game. He's an idea, how about using the All-Star game to promote how exciting the game can be by including star play makers such as Semin and fellow countryman Ilya Kovalchuk. I mean who would you rather see in the All-Star game?
(Mike Green was chosen to represent the Caps in the Young Stars game. Click here to see the rest of the roster for this game.)
Here is the list of the chosen ones. Some must have discriminating photos of Gary Bettman.

Eastern Conference All-Stars

Starters:
F Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins (21g-44a-65p, 39 games)
F Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals (28g-33a-61p, 44 games)
F Daniel Briere, Buffalo Sabres (16g-35a-51p, 44 games)
D Brian Campbell, Buffalo Sabres ( 5g-21a-26p, 44 games)
D Sheldon Souray, Montreal Canadians (14g-23a-37p, 43 games)
G Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres (22-7-2, 2.62 gaa, .916 sv%)

Reserves:
G Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils (26-13-3, 2.07 gaa, .927 sv%)
G Cristobal Huet, Montreal Canadians (17-8-3, 2.45 gaa, .927 sv%)
D Jay Bouwmeester, Florida Panthers ( 6g-16a-22p, 46 games)
D Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins ( 8g-18a-26p, 39 games)
D Tomas Kaberle, Toronto Maple Leafs ( 8g-29a-37p, 45 games)
D Brian Rafalski, New Jersey Devils ( 2g-27a-29p, 44 games)
F Jason Blake, New York Islanders (23g-18a-41p, 43 games)
F Simon Gagne, Philadelphia Flyers (20g-13a-33p, 44 games)
F Danny Heatley, Ottawa Senators (27g-31a-58p, 46 games)
F Vincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay Lightning (26g-33a-59p, 45 games)
F Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning (28g-31a-59p, 45 games)
F Brendan Shanahan, New York Rangers (24g-22a-46p, 45 games)
F Eric Staal, Carolina Hurricanes (19g-18a-37p, 46 games)
F Justin Williams, Carolina Hurricanes (21g-20a-41p, 46 games)

Western Conference All-Stars

Starters:
F Joe Thornton, San Jose Sharks (11g-42a-53p, 44 games)
F Joe Sakic, Colorado Avalanche (18g-29a-47p, 43 games)
F Jonathan Cheechoo, San Jose Sharks (14g-15a-29p, 38 games)
D Scott Niedermayer, Anaheim Ducks ( 8g-34a-42p, 46 games)
D Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings ( 9g-26a-35p, 44 games)
G Roberto Luongo, Vancouver Canucks (24-16-1, 2.50 gaa, .913 sv%)

Reserves:
G Mikka Kiprusoff, Calgary Flames (21-14-3, 2.32 gaa, .921 sv%)
G Marty Turco, Dallas Stars (21-15-1, 2.34 gaa, .910 sv%)
D Philippe Boucher, Dallas Stars (13g-20a-33p, 44 games)
D Kimmo Timonen, Nashville Predators ( 8g-23a-31p, 44 games)
D Lubomir Visnovsky, Los Angeles Kings (13g-23a-36p, 43 games)
F Bill Guerin, St. Louis Blues (18g-13a-31p, 42 games)
F Martin Havlat, Chicago Blackhawks (13g-13a-26p, 21 games)
F Patrick Marleau, San Jose Sharks (20g-26a-46p, 44 games)
F Rick Nash, Columbus Blue Jackets(13g-17a-30p, 39 games)
F Yanic Perreault, Phoenix Coyotes (14g-11a-25p, 31 games)
F Brian Rolston, Minnesota Wild (23g-18a-41p, 45 games)
F Teemu Selanne, Anaheim Ducks (28g-29a-57p, 46 games)
F Ryan Smyth, Edmonton Oilers (21g-12a-33p, 34 games)
F Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit Red Wings (17g-16a-33p, 44 games)