Trade Analysis So Far

To
Richard Zednik to NY for a 2nd Round Pick

Well you have to give General Manager credit, he once again got good value out of a spare part. Last year he traded Jeff Freisen to Anaheim for a 2nd round pick after acquiring him for a 3rd round pick over the summer. He pulled off the same manuever this season after acquiring Zednik from the Canadians for a 3rd round pick in the off-season. However, the last thing this team really needs is more draft picks. I would have liked to of seen the Caps try to pry center Robert Nielsson from the Islanders, even if it took a mid-round pick in addition to Zednik in order to complete.

ToFor
Lawrence Nycholat to Ottawa for Andy Hedlund and a 6th Round Pick

A move that will provide a boost to Hershey's blue line for their playoff run. Washington determined that they would not be able to pass Nycholat through waivers so they did the next best thing. In moving him on to Ottawa, they got a late round pick and a veteran defenseman that is already at the AHL level so they don't have to worry about losing him through waivers. Hershey will be grateful. Being that he's 28 and has yet to play in the NHL, tt's unlikely that he will see time with the Caps unless injuries force the issue. His career numbers:

			Regular Season					Playoffs
Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1997-98	Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks	USHL	56	4	12	16	135	4	0	4	4	0
1999-00	Minnesota State U - Mankato	NCAA	36	4	2	6	58
2000-01	Minnesota State U - Mankato	NCAA	38	6	6	12	64
2001-02	Minnesota State U - Mankato	NCAA	37	5	10	15	48
2001-02	Trenton Titans	ECHL	2	0	0	0	0	6	0	0	0	6
2002-03	Trenton Titans	ECHL	13	1	2	3	14	--	--	--	--	--
2002-03	Binghamton Senators	AHL	59	1	7	8	48	10	0	0	0	0
2003-04	Binghamton Senators	AHL	80	4	19	23	108	2	0	0	0	2
2004-05	Binghamton Senators	AHL	75	2	13	15	103	6	0	2	2	25
2005-06	Krefeld Penguins	DEL	52	12	22	34	100	5	0	2	2	6
2006-07	Binghamton Senators	AHL	56	5	21	26	84

Two down, perhaps two to go in Zubrus and Heward. Stay tuned.

Caps/Devils Preview

New Jersey Devils (38-18-6, 82 points)
at
Washington Capitals (24-28-10, 58 points)

Television: Comcast SportsNet
Radio: WTNT 570-AM
Gametime: 1:00 PM ET

When the Caps and Devils hit the ice today at the Verizon Center, the NHL's trade deadline will be a little more than 48 hours away. What that means is that this might be the last time a few select players get a chance to wear a Capitals sweater.

Danius Zubrus and Richard Zednik seem to be the most sought after assets Washington has. Both players will be unrestricted free agents at the end of the season, and while the team has expressed interest in resigning them, neither is close to an agreement. If extensions are not reached before the deadline the word is that they will be dealt.

The Caps could also part with a few other players in hopes of solving their current logjam on the blue line. Veterans Jamie Heward and Brian Muir have both been involved in trade rumors over the past few days. The only problem with trading them is, what can you get in return? Is it really worth dealing them for middle round draft picks, which is about as much as I can see them getting in individual deals. Their is always the possibility that they could package them together with Zubrus or Zednik in hopes of increasing their overall value. All of this should lead to an exciting couple of days as the team prepares to make moves to improve the team for the long haul.

As for the game itself, the Capitals will look to build on their solid performance in New Jersey in hopes of sweeping their weekend series against the Devils. While Alex Ovechkin was unable to break out of his current funk, going scoreless again in yesterday game, his fellow countryman Alexander Semin had a goal and assist to lead the Caps to the win. The team also got offense contributions from Boyd Gordon (2 assists), Matt Pettinger (SH goal), Milan Jurcina (1st goal with Caps), and Tomas Fleichmann (1st NHL goal, picured) to provide an unexpected offensive explosion against one of the best goaltenders in the game today.
(Photo Courtesy of Bill Kostroun/AP)

Before yesterday's result the plan was for the Devils to rest Martin Brodeur today and start his seldom used backup Scott Clemmensen. But now it wouldn't surprise anyone if Brodeur is back in the net again today in a game New Jersey would hate to lose.

Heading into the weekend, the Caps had already announced their intentions to play Brent Johnson in both games. On Saturday, he finally was able to win his first game in the fifth start he's had since since replacing the injured Olie Kolzig, and picked up his first career victory over the Devils.

The key to the game will once again be to get out to a good start and avoid falling behind a Devils team that is traditionally hard to come from behind on. Plus, you have to expect New Jersey to be extra prepared for this game following yesterday's outcome.

The Morning After Super Sunday

It was great to see the Caps get back into the win column yesterday but first, how about that Super Bowl? Wow, did the game ever get off to a quick start. If you were late to the party you missed Devin Hester taking the opening kickoff all the way for the touchdown. Easily the most exciting moment of the game. Unfortunately Hester doesn't play quarterback for the Bears as Rex Grossman was absolutely atrocious. His interceptions in the fourth quarter killed any chance they had of getting back into the game, giving Peyton Manning his coveted first Super Bowl title and the MVP in the process. It's was good to see such a deserving player finally come out on top. And as a University of Tennessee grad, it was nice to see the former Volunteer get the win. Now are you ready for some hockey?

• The Verizon Center obviously wasn't ready for hockey yesterday. Can you believe there were five delays to fix the plexiglass around the rink? That's unacceptable and completely killed the flow of the game. The building has long been known for having a bad sheet of ice, but there is no excuse for the problems they were having yesterday.

• The question has been brought up this morning by the Capitals Washington Post columnist Tarik El-Bashir about Richard Zednik. Should the Caps trade or keep the winger? The answer is clear. You make every opportunity to re-sign him, as this team is desperate for a veteran presence. Zednik likes the DC area and the team so a reasonable offer should get him to stay. If they decide to trade him, the only way you do it is if you receive a young player with tremendous upside that is ready to play in the NHL right now. The last thing this team needs is more draft picks.

• Lawrence Nycholat was a healthy scratch for the second consecutive game since the team acquired Milan Jurcina from Boston. It seems as though the fairy tale run has come to an end for Nycholat. Since flourishing when he was first recalled from Hershey, his play has gone down hill since as he was a -7 defensively in his last five games. It will only get harder for him to get back into the lineup as the team has been playing well on the defensive side since he has been out. Jamie Heward has stepped up his game as of late, and with the returns of Muir and Erskine down the road, it looks as though Nycholat might be sent back down to Hershey in the future.
  

• This team was able to win in a shootout for the first time since April 15th of last season. It's hard to believe that with all the individual skill that this team has in Ovechkin, Semin, and Zednik that they cannot be a factor in shootout situations. But that was the case until yesterday as the Caps were 0-5 in those circumstances. The win was greatly needed as a confidence builder in this area.

• The Caps power-play continues to be awful. Not only did they not threaten while on the man advantage yesterday, but they allowed a short handed goal just 27 seconds into the second period that threw away a period worth of solid defense. With the football theme of Sunday, I was screaming at the television for the Caps to decline each future penalty. They really need to rethink their strategy with the extra man, as having Semin on the point just doesn't seem to be working. Maybe Jurcina, who we have been told has a hard shot, should get more time there. It can't hurt to try.

• Speaking of Jurcina, he has stepped right into the top defensive pairing on the team with Morrisonn and has played as well as we could have hoped. He has also led the team in ice time in both of his games with the team. Maybe he just wasn't getting the opportunity in Boston to show what he could do. Whatever it is, the trade is looking great so far. Hopefully this will be one of those trades we look back at a year or two from now and say, "What was Boston thinking?" And Jurcina will get a chance to take on his former team as Boston comes to the Verizon Center Tuesday night. He should have a little extra incentive to show his former team what he can do given the chance to play.

• Ollie Kolzig has seen his playing time increase following an injury to his backup Brent Johnson. Earlier in the season, Kolzig was not asked to play in back-to-back games, but has been excellent as of late in these situations. Despite being 36, he looks to have a lot left in the tank. That's good news for the team as it will give their young promising goaltenders in Michael Neuwirth and Simeon Varlamov plenty of time to develop. (Photo Courtesy of Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
  

Capitals/Panthers Preview

Washington Capitals (21-23-7, 49 points)
at
Florida Panthers (19-23-10, 48 points)

Television: Comcast Sportsnet
Radio: Sportstalk 980-AM
Gametime: 7:30 PM ET


The Caps head to the Sunshine state for the second game on their current three game road trip. It will be a return to the venue where they were thoroughly embarrassed almost three weeks ago by the last place Panthers 7-3.

After the Caps had won the first two match ups of the season, Florida seems to have the their number as of late, following up their dominating win in Miami with an equally strong effort in Washington January 20th. That 4-1 loss at home was demoralizing for the Caps as they had to live with the result throughout the week long All-Star break. It also came one night after an inspiring win at Carolina that seemed to be a turning point kind of win.

Washington will try to build on the solid effort they had in Ottawa to help them change their luck against the Panthers. Alex Ovechkin was spectacular in that game and he will look to extend his career long point scoring streak to 13 games. The Caps can expect to face Ed Belfour in goal as he has a 2-0-0 record with a 1.80 gaa against them this season.

The Panthers are coming off a game Tuesday night in which they were shut out by the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0 in Pittsburgh. Speaking of the Penguins, TSN reported during an intermission in the Maple Leafs/Rangers game, that significant progress has been made in talks between the team and the city on a deal for a new arena. Although they made it clear that no deal has been reached yet, it looks as though the Penguins will stay where they belong.

As reported from Washington Post's Tarik El-Bashir, Matt Bradley met the team in Miami and will be a game-time decision. Richard Zednik should also return to the lineup after missing 24 games with a sports hernia.

This is once again one of those must win games as a loss would drop the Capitals into last place in the Southeast Division.

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.
  

Capitals/Senators Preview

Washington Capitals (21-22-7, 49 points)
at
Ottawa Senators (29-21-2, 60 points)

Television: NewsChannel 8
Radio: WTNT 570-AM
Gametime: 7:00 PM ET


The Capitals look to finish up the first month of 2007 by starting a much needed winning streak. Coming off a win Saturday night that few could have predicted the team heads north of the border to take on the streaking Ottawa Senators who have won 12 of their last 15 games.

One player that will be sad to see January come to an end is russian winger Alexander Semin, who has five multi-goal games during the month. The team will hope to get a boost from winger Richard Zednik who should make his return to the lineup tonight after missing 24 games with a sports hernia. He will be a welcomed veteran addition to the Capitals inexperienced lineup. Hopefully he will pick up right where he left off as before he was injured on December 2nd, he had finally rediscovered his scoring touch. With the trading deadline just four weeks away, it will be a critical time for the Caps and Zednik, who could be moved should the team fall out of contention.

But while Zednik returns one of their key defenseman Brian Pothier, continues to miss time with what is believed to be a concussion. He will miss his 4th consecutive game tonight. Matt Bradley who has missed the last 2 games with personal reasons is listed as questionable.

It could be a special night for Alex Ovechkin as he will try to extend his consecutive game point streak to 12 games which would be a career high for him.

This will be the first of a three game road trip for the Capitals who travel to Florida on Thursday and to Pittsburgh on Saturday before returning home for a Sunday matinée with the New York Islanders. The Caps should have an advantage when it comes to rest as the team has not played since defeating Carolina Saturday night. Meanwhile, the Senators are coming off a loss at Montreal last night for the second game in as many nights.

The key, as it normally is, will be for the Capitals to get off to a fast start and take advantage of what should be a tired Senators squad.