Caps/Sabres Preview

Washington Capitals (26-34-13, 65 points)
at
Buffalo Sabres (46-19-7, 99 points)

Television: Comcast SportsNet
Radio: Sportstalk 980-AM
Gametime: 7:00 PM ET

It feels as though the season has been reborn again. The Capitals head into tonight's game in Buffalo riding a two game winning streak in which they dominated playoff caliber teams from Toronto and Tampa Bay. Back-to-back home wins included a 7-1 drubbing of the Lightning thanks to a breakout game from winger Tomas Fleichmann and the second career hat trick from Alexander Semin.

In one game Fleichmann doubled his scoring output for the entire season at the NHL level tallying a career high four points. It's the type of game the entire organization has been waiting for from the talented Czech prospect. He has proven at the AHL level that he is a dynamic player that has the ability to take control of a game. His problem has been transferring that production to the NHL level and securing a permanent spot with the big club. Hopefully, he will continue to build on his excellent game against the Lightning and provide the Capitals with another scoring option to complement the Alexs'.

The current win streak just happened to begin with the return of franchise goaltender Olie Kolzig, who has shown no signs of his knee injury that kept him out of the lineup for the past month. He clearly is the glue that keeps this team together.

The Sabres on the other hand have lost three consecutive games at home as they look to secure the number one seed in the Eastern Conference. Goaltender Ryan Miller has struggled lately posting a 1-3-2 record with a 3.38 goals against average since stopping 29 shots in route to a 4-1 victory in Tampa March 5th.

The game also marks the first time Danius Zubrus will play against his former team. In his 9 games in Buffalo Zubrus has scored twice while averaging 18:22 of ice time in more of a checking role than he was used to with the Capitals.

Another win from Washington and things will certainly begin to get interesting as the Capitals look to finish off the season as they did last year, on a high note.

Caps Lose Free For All in Shootout

Ovechkin Breaks Out of His Slump, But Team Falls to 1-9 in Shootouts This Season
Florida Panthers 6, Washington Capitals 5 F/SO
Boxscore
(Photo Courtesy of Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

Both the Panthers and Capitals came into tonight's matchup shorthanded following an active day at the trade deadline. This led to an interesting game as players found themselves playing in situations they are not normally used to being in.

One example of this was Brian Sutherby's promotion to centering the team's first line between Ovechkin and Brashear. In response, the Edmonton, Alberta native had a two point night and tallied the 1st power play goal of his career. He also won 12 out of 14 faceoffs, making a statement to the coaching staff that he deserves to see more playing time down the stretch.

Washington railed from an early 3-0 deficit to make a game of it. The bright spot of the night was none other than Alex Ovechkin, who took advantage of the free flowing game and finally broke out of his scoring slump notching 2 goals and 2 assists on the night. After losing his center and father figure Danius Zubrus earlier in the day to the Buffalo Sabres, Ovechkin responded and displayed the game changing speed and deadly shot that he has been lacking in recent weeks. His 4 point night was the 1st of the season for a Caps player and pulled him within 4 goals of the NHL leader, Vincent Lecavalier who has 41. He did this all while leading the team in ice time with 26:33 on the night.

Olli Jokinen led the Panthers attack recording a hat trick by the 3:29 mark of the second period. It was the third 3 goal game on the season for Florida's scoring leader. And he almost got his forth goal of the game as a game winning attempt in overtime beat Cassivi with a nice snap shot, but the puck clanged off the inside of the post forcing another dreaded shootout situation for both clubs.

If there is any team that has struggled more than the Caps in the shootout this season it is the Florida Panthers. They came into tonight having yet to win in the competition going 0 for 7 on the season. Goals by Jozef Stumpel and Ville Peltonen changed that luck however, finally getting the team into the win column.

Game Notes:

The Panthers made 3 trades before the deadline, dealing Gary Roberts and Joel Kwiatkowski to Pittsburgh, and Todd Bertuzzi to Detroit.... Frederic Cassivi saw NHL action for the first time this season, replacing Brent Johnson after he allowed 4 first period goals.... Following today's trades the Caps roster was short handed forcing Brian Muir back into the lineup for the first time since December.... Mike Vogel announced during the second period that the team expects Jiri Novotny to be in the lineup for Saturday night's game against Richard Zednik and the New York Islanders.

Successful Weekend Pulls Bears Within 3 Points of Division Leader

Winless Weekend for Norfolk Tightens Race for the East Division Crown

Sunday: Hershey Bears 5, Binghamton 2 Boxscore
Saturday: Philadelphia Phantoms 3, Hershey Bears 2 Boxscore
Friday: Hershey Bears 3, Philadelphia Phantoms 0 Boxscore

(Photo Courtesy of Michael Fernandez/The Patriot-News)

A week after dropping both games at home to the Albany River Rats and the Hamilton Bulldogs, the Bears entered this weekend’s slate of games 7 points behind the first place Norfolk Admirals in the East Division. After splitting a home-and-home series with the Phantoms, Hershey finished up the weekend in a winning fashion, defeating the Binghamton Senators 5-2.

Yesterday, the Bears found themselves in a tough battle with the last place Senators. With the game tied at 2 in the third period, Kyle Wilson was able to tally what ended up being the game winning goal taking a nice feed from Jakub Klepis and beating goaltender Kelly Guard from the right circle. Hershey ended up firing 45 shots on Guard during the night and goals by Mike Green, his first in the AHL this season, and Quinton Lang, his 12th, in the final five minutes of the game would make the final score look a lot more one-sided than the game actually was.

Maxime Daigneault continued his superior play since the team lost both Frederic Cassivi and Nolan Schaefer to NHL recalls, making 23 saves in route to improving his record to 15-4-0 on the season. He saw action in all three of the Bears games making 31 saves in a shutout win at Philadelphia on Friday night and then stopping all 10 shots he faced in relief of Jeff Pietrasiak Saturday night.

Jakub Klepis was also a key factor this weekend notching a goal and two assists to go along with some solid physical play that is making people, such as his coach Bruce Boudreau, take notice. His coach had this to say following Sunday’s game: (From Pennlive.com)

“In Washington, they compete, compete, compete and they talk to Jakub a lot about that,” Boudreau said. “He’s come down here and he’s hit probably in the 15 games he’s played more than he hit last year. That’s a really positive step in his development.”

With the NHL trading deadline set for tomorrow afternoon, and the Capitals letting it be known that they will be active, Hershey could once again find themselves the beneficiary of some quality additions for their playoff run. Last year a Washington trade with Nashville for veteran Brendan Witt brought them Kris Beech who was a key member of the Bears Calder Cup championship team. This year the team will be looking to deal forwards Danius Zubrus and Richard Zednik along with a veteran defenseman or two that could include Jamie Heward. Zubrus in particular should bring some attractive young prospects that could potentially see some time with Hershey during the remainder of the season. It also remains to be seen if the Capitals make any moves with some of their depth players such as Beech or Lawrence Nycholat who would need to pass through waivers in order to be reassigned to the team.

It will definitely be something that all fans in Hershey will need to watch as any moves Washington makes will directly effect the Bears and their clear day roster.

Devils Lull Caps into Submission

This Time Bounces Go the Devils Way as Teams Split Weekend Home-and-Home Series

New Jersey Devils 3, Washington Capitals 2
Boxscore
(Photo Courtesy of Greg Fiume/Getty Images)


After yesterday's disappointing loss at home, the Devils made sure they established their style of play in today's game. And they accomplished that to perfection, using their neural zone trap and sound defensive positioning to lull their opponents and everyone in the Verizon Center to sleep.

The home team was able to strike first however, taking a 1-0 lead after a John Erskine shot from the point deflected off a Devils defenceman right to the front of the net, where Brooks Laich snapped it home into the wide open net. The goal by the fourth line winger was Laich's 7th of the season and 1st since his demotion from the second line center position.

The 22-year old Zach Parise was able to strike back for the Devils just 5:34 into the second period, taking a nice feed from the left corner by Travis Zajac and beating goaltender Brent Johnson five-hole along the ice from point blank range. The play followed a couple of unsuccessful attempts by the Caps to clear the defensive zone.

In the third period the Devils were the recipients of a couple bounces. They struck early again, this time just 1:37 in as a Brian Rafalski shot from the point hit traffic and front and bounced directly to Zajac for the easy goal.

At the 9:13 mark, Alex Ovechkin was able to answer and tie the game at two after he used defenseman Paul Martin as a screen and wristed a shot high off of goaltender Scott Clemmensen and in. It was Ovechkin's 1st goal in his last 6 games, giving him 35 now on the season and hopefully putting his slump behind him.

But the Capitals were not able to celebrate for long, as only 35 seconds later Brian Pothier was called for a questionable tripping penalty after a diving poke check to the right of the net dislodged the puck from the Devils forward, but also sent him to the ice. The Devils capitalized with the extra man and tallied the game winning goal on another lucky bounce, as a Jamie Langenbrunner shot deflected off of Johnson's right shoulder high into the air and somehow found the back of the net. It was Langenbrunner's 20th goal of the season as he sent the Devils back to New Jersey victorious.

After seeing the Devils in action it's not hard to see why despite their success on the ice, they fail to draw crowds at the Meadowlands. Their style of play is just so boring, and while the lack of energy from the fans may have been somewhat attributed to the bad weather on the trip in, it was more a result of the slow play because of their defensive approach.

Game Notes:

Brent Johnson had another solid game in net, keeping his team in the game with a number a quality stops on his way to 26 saves on the afternoon.... In what might have been their final game with the Caps, Danius Zubrus won 10 of 11 faceoffs and Richard Zednik notched a secondary assist on Laich's opening goal.... Scott Clemmensen gave Martin Brodeur the day off and stopped 23 shots in the Devils win.

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.

Capitals Practice Recap for 2/23/07

Brian Pothier and Boyd Gordon were the first to hit the ice at 9:52 AM. With that, here are your lines for today:

Red - Ovechkin, Zubrus, Brashear, plus Jurcina and Morrisonn
Yellow - Semin, Beech, Fehr, plus Pothier and Erskine
Teal - Pettinger, Gordon, Bradley, plus Schultz and Heward
White - Clymer, Sutherby, Zednik, plus Laich, Nycholat and Eminger
Goalies - Johnson and Cassivi

Chris Clark and Brian Muir both did not practice. Although Muir came out at the end and did some light skating. With Clark out it was interesting to see Brashear being called to fill in on the 1st line. We'll see how long that lasts. Remember earlier in the year he was put on the second line in a brief experiment that lasted about a period. Also something worth noting, Eric Fehr left practice just ten minutes in. The word is he is suffering from a slight groin injury.

Coach Glen Hanlon started out practice by preaching to the team the importance of not turning the puck over at their own blue line, and as a result that seemed to be the main focus of the practice.

The first drill involved each line of five practicing exiting their zone with precise passes. Next was a breakout 2 on 0 drill with shots on goal. This was followed by another breakout drill where a player would take the put at the blue line and shoot on goal while another player would stand in front of the goal and try to deflect the pass. After shooting, the original player would skate to the opposite end of the rink, retrieve a puck and fire an outlet pass for a breakaway.

A lot of time was spend during 2 on 2 breakout drills. There would be 1 forward and 1 defenseman on each pairing. Once you went on offense, you would then go on defense. It was a fast paced drill that again focused on bringing the puck up the ice and entering the offense zone without turning the puck over. This was followed by 5 on 2 drills that once again focused on exiting their own zone and generating an attack up ice.

We then moved on to working on the power play. Since Clark is out, a second defenseman has now been inserted into the top line. Pothier now takes the point position in the umbrella formation with Semin and Heward on each board. Zubrus is assigned to the front of the net while Ovechkin is a roamer. The second line has Jurcina paired up with either Clymer or Schultz to go along with Pettinger, Beech, and Zednik.

A fifteen minute session of shootouts finished up practice with the team split up into two squads. The losing team each time was forced to do sit ups, push ups, and jumping jacks. Ovechkin continued to struggle going 0 for 4 on the day.

After practice Zubrus and Ovechkin (pictured) were having a good time trying to recreate his famous goal from last season.

I don't think many people got the notice of the change in time to 10 am because there was maybe about five people there. However, people were trickling in around 11 with some still arriving as I was leaving at 11:30.

Caps Steal A Point in Tampa

Zubrus Ties it with 15 Seconds Remaining, But They Fall to 1-8 in Shootouts this Season as St. Louis Nets Game Winner
Tampa Bay Lightning 3, Washington Capitals 2 F/SO
Boxscore

A gutsy all around effort allowed the Caps to escape Tampa with a point against one of the hottest teams in the NHL. Tampa entered the contest having won 13 of their last 16 games, while the Capitals had lost 10 of their last 11 on the road.

Those story lines did not carry over into the first period as the Capitals got off to a good start and their sound technical play led to one of their best all around periods of the season. After a good forechecking shift by rookie Eric Fehr caused Lightning defenseman Dan Boyle to take a holding penalty, Alexander Semin continued his good play against Southeast division opponents. Just 4 seconds into the power play opportunity, following a Danius Zubrus faceoff win, Semin fired a shot that deflected off a Lightning defenseman and through the pads of goaltender Marc Denis for his 30th goal of the season and a 1-0 Washington lead. He now has 17 goals and 28 points in 21 games against divisional opponents this season. The Caps also played well defensively, holding Tampa to just 8 shots and took a lead into the first intermission.

The second period however, resembled more of the recent poor play of the Caps on the road. Just 13 seconds in, the team was called for too many men on the ice. After surviving the penalty Brent Johnson immediately sent the team back to the box after playing the puck in the trapezoid area behind the net. The Lightning made them pay scoring 12 seconds into the power play on a Vincent Lecavalier slap shot from the right circle.

Less than five minutes later the Lightning captain would strike again while the Caps were on the power play. Brian Pothier, returning to action after missing ten games with a concussion, turned the puck over in his own zone to Martin St. Louis who found Lecavalier in front of the net for his NHL leading 39th goal of the season and a 2-1 lead. He now has 7 goals and 10 points in the Lightning's 5 games against Washington this season.

The score would remain that way until the very end of the third period. With Brent Johnson on the bench, giving the Capitals the extra skater, Lecavalier turned the puck over in his own zone. His clearing attempt went right to the stick of Zubrus in the slot, who one-timed it over the catching glove of Denis for his 20th goal of the season that tied the game at 2 with just 15 seconds remaining.

Martin St. Louis would provide the lone goal in the shootout to send the Lightning fans home happy with two critical points. The win moved Tampa just one point behind the idle Thrashers for first place in the division.

It was another frustrating game for Alex Ovechkin. He seemed to again have trouble controlling the puck early on as time after time the puck would roll off his stick as he tried to maneuver around the Lighting defense. When he finally was able to get some good scoring chances in the third period, Marc Denis had all the answers repeatedly denying him with his catching glove. Ovechkin now has just 1 goal and 1 assist in his last six games.

Game Notes:

Before the game Washington activated defenseman John Erskine and placed Lawrence Nycholat on injured reserve with what the team described as an "illness".... Milan Jurcina led all players in ice time with 28:55.... Ben Clymer, Kris Beech, and Steve Eminger were healthy scratches.... The point moved the Caps into a tie with Florida for 13th in the Eastern Conference, just nine points behind Toronto for the eighth and final playoff spot.

Zubrus is King, Caps Win in OT

Winger Provides Game Winning Goal in Team's 3rd Straight Overtime Game
Washington Capitals 4, Los Angeles Kings 3
Boxscore
(Photo courtesy of Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)


The Capitals are doing exactly what they set out to accomplish during their season long home stand. Tonight's win, thanks to Danius Zubrus' overtime goal, improved their record to 2-0-1 so far with the Rangers coming to town Saturday night. Their performance at home has provided the team with five out of a possible six points and given them some hope that they can make one last run for the playoffs.

As has been the pattern of late, the Capitals started out slow allowing the Kings to strike first. Back-to-back penalties by Zednik and Pettinger just six minutes in gave L.A. a two man advantage. Despite the Kings record this season, this is one area they have had plenty of success this year, with the extra man on the road. They currently are 4th in the NHL with a 19.7% conversion rate in these situations. They would capitalize here as well as Calder Trophy candidate Anze Kopitar knocked home a rebound in mid-air off of Kolzig's left pad. It was a nice display of hand-eye coordination for the only Slovenian born player in the NHL. He hit the puck back-handed about a foot off the ice and it deflected off the knob of Kolzig's stick directing it into the back of the net. It was his 14th goal of the year.

It would take until the second period for the Caps to respond and it would come from an unlikely source. After Milan Jurcina was sent to the box, putting them short handed again, Boyd Gordon would rifle a slap shot past Mathieu Garon tying the score at one. It was an innocent looking play that saw Gordon carry the puck through the neutral zone and instead of dumping the puck in, he just decided to let one rip as he crossed the Kings' blue line. The wise decision seemed to surprise the Kings goaltender as he completely misplayed the shot.

That Gordon goal would be the start of an explosive period for both teams who combined for five goals. The Caps took a 2-1 lead on a Semin-esque goal by Ben Clymer, a wrap arounder for his 7th of the season. Clymer seems to have really picked up his play since he was a healthy scratch this past Sunday, providing the physical presence and secondary scoring this team needs. Alex Ovechkin recorded a secondary assist on the play ending his three game pointless streak.

The Kings would tie it up again just two minutes later following an Alexander Frolov deflection in front of Kolzig off a shot from the point by Michael Cammalleri. With 8:25 remaining in the period the Caps would take the lead again as Chris Clark won possession of the puck following a scrum behind Garon and stuffed the puck past the Kings goalie for his 23rd of the season. But Lubomir Visnovski would make sure the game headed into the intermission tied after his wide open slap shot from the slot beat Kolzig under his glove with 1:15 remaining.

A scoreless third period despite a few good opportunities for both teams meant the Capitals and Kings were headed to overtime again. It was the third straight overtime game for the Caps and the second straight including three out of the last four for the Kings.

Danius Zubrus would make sure that the Caps would not have to suffer through another shootout after he stuffed home the game winner 2:28 into the extra period. The play started with a hard shot from the point off the stick of Milan Jurcina. The puck squeaked through Garon's pads and slowly bounced off the goalpost where a waiting Zubrus would knock it home to send the good guys home to celebrate.

The win moved the Capitals within eight points of the idle Tampa Bay Lightning for the eighth and final playoff spot. All of this just places even more importance on Saturday's game against the Rangers as the team will then begin a three game road trip at the Lightning next Thursday.

Game Notes:

Their were more than 6,500 armed forces personnel on hand as the Caps hosted their fifth "Salute to the Military" night.... Boyd Gordon led all Caps in ice time with 22:28.

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.