A Season Defining Night At Verizon Center

You want to know how important tonight's games are in terms of impacting the Capitals season? Here you go:

• The Capitals sit 7 points behind both the division leading Hurricanes and the 8th place Flyers (thanks to an amazing 3rd period comeback last night by the Maple Leafs)
• If the Caps happen to beat the Flames tonight, not only will it be Kolzig's 300th win, but it would pull them within 5 points of both teams if the Blackhawks can beat the 'Canes at the United Center, and the Maple Leafs can beat the Flyers again (this time at the Wachovia Center)
• That scenario would put the Caps in control of their own destiny in the Southeast Division because they have one game in hand on the 'Canes and play them twice down the stretch (6 points)
• But as nice as that might be if it happens, things can also swing the other direction if the Caps lose tonight. Should the Islanders win and depending on the results of Maple Leafs game, the Caps could find themselves right back in the Stamkos sweepstakes with the fifth worst record in the NHL. (Remember the Blackhawks won the draft lottery last season with the fifth worst record)

So there you have it. Tonight the Caps could find themselves right back in the hunt for a playoff spot with a win and a little help, or right back in the draft lottery with a loss and a little luck. What do you think is more likely to happen?

Cassivi is Back With the Bears

Wednesday, March 14th 2007

With Olie Kolzig set to return when the Capitals travel to Boston on Thursday, Frederic Cassivi has been reassigned to Hershey. Kolzig has missed the past month due to a knee injury. Cassivi started one game and appeared in three other’s in relief of Brent Johnson and posted an 0-1-1 record with a 2.59 goals against average and an .897 save percentage.
(Photo Courtesy of Dave Sanford/Getty Images)

He returns to the Bears as they prepare to play three games in as many nights beginning with a road trip to Worcester Friday night. They are currently five points behind the division leading Norfolk Admirals and only one point ahead of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for second place in the East Division.

In his place Maxime Daigneault has seen the majority of the action and has flourished compiling a record of 18-6-0 with a 2.65 goals against average and a .912 save percentage.

It is unclear as of yet what the coaches plan to do as far as which goaltender will see the most action. Cassivi will probably take over the number one position again, but it would be nice to see Daigneault get his share of starts, especially in the playoffs in order to continue his development.

Caps/Devils Preview

Washington Capitals (23-28-10, 56 points)
at
New Jersey Devils (38-17-6, 82 points)

Television: Comcast SportsNet
Radio: Sportstalk 980-AM
Gametime: 1:00 PM ET

It's the first of a home and home afternoon series this weekend as the Caps travel to the Garden State to take on Martin Brodeur and the Atlantic Division leaders.

Again Washington will face arguably one of the hottest teams in the league at the moment as the Devils are 9-3-1 in 13 games since the All-Star break. They are also 19-4-3 in their last 26 games and 26-8-5 in their last 39. At home this season they have an outstanding mark of 22-6-4. Why did I just throw all of those numbers at you? Because all of this means that the Caps will have to play some of their best hockey if they wish to come out of either contest this weekend with two points.

The Caps bring a 1-12-1 record in their last 14 road games into today's contest. The key will be a good start and hopefully some lucky bounces that can get this team on the board first, giving them the confidence they have surely lacked in recent outings. A repeat opening of their last road game in Montreal, where the Caps took 7 penalties and allowed 3 power play goals in the first period, and they will be in for a long and ugly weekend.

While it's hard to believe given the results this past week, goaltender Brent Johnson has filled in admirably for the injured Olie Kolzig recording a 2.65 goals against average and a .908 save percentage in the last four games.

If nothing else today's game will be another chance for Alex Ovechkin to try and break out of the current funk he is in. He has 0 points in his last 4 games and just 1 goal and 1 assist in his last 9. They will need him to find a way to contribute as the team will be without it's captain and first line right winger Chris Clark for the next 7 to 10 days with a shoulder sprain. In his place, Tomas Fleichmann was recalled from Hershey and should get the opportunity to step right into the Capitals top line. The speedy Czech winger has 20 goals and 27 assists so far this season in 43 games at the AHL level.

Caps/Lightning Preview

Washington Capitals (23-26-8, 54 points)
at
Tampa Bay Lightning (32-24-2, 66 points)

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


The Capitals lineup will have a different feel as they start a three game road trip in Tampa Thursday night. After longtime franchise goaltender Olie Kolzig was injured in Monday's practice, Brent Johnson will try to fill the slack until he can return.

And when will Kolzig return? There seems to be some debate over that issue. It has been reported that he has a partial tear in the MCL in his left knee, and if true the original report of him missing only three weeks might be wishful thinking at best. If the team becomes mathematically eliminated at some point from the playoff race, it might be in their best interest to shut him down for the season and not risk rushing him back. This could also be a big opportunity for Johnson to reestablish his game.

Brian Pothier and John Erskine accompanied the team on their trip and it appears that Pothier will dress for Thursday's game. He has been taken off of the injured reserve and listed in the lineup by the NHL. Erskine also seems ready to return anytime and if he doesn't appear in Tampa he could very well return for Sunday's game in Pittsburgh. Their returns will result in some roster moves as one or two players will be sent back to Hershey. Those roster moves have been heavily debated by fans over the last few days and the assumption is that anyone of the following: Schultz, Green, Nycholat, or Beech could be the ones to go.

This game could represent the Caps last chance to make a run at the playoffs. Since they last played in their 5-2 loss against the Rangers Saturday night, they have seen Florida move in front of them again putting Washington in last place in the Southeast Division and 14 in the Eastern Conference. They now stand 10 points behind the Montreal Canadians for the 8th and final playoff spot.

Brashear Re-Signs, Kolzig Hurt

It was a good news, bad news day for the Capitals.

The good, being that enforcer Donald Brashear will be returning next season after signing a 1-year $1.1 million contract. After signing with the team last summer, he has fit right in providing the team with veteran leadership and a physical presence on the ice. In 52 games he has 2 goals and 5 assists along with 125 penalty minutes to go along with an even plus/minus rating.

The bad, being that the team will be without goaltender Olie Kolzig for at least the next three weeks after injuring himself in practice today. According to Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post, Kolzig hurt himself while moving laterally during a 2 on 1 breakaway drill early in practice.

The injury will give backup Brent Johnson the opportunity to get his game back into form. He has had a couple of minor injuries during the last month or so, limiting his playing time. Johnson has yet to display the spectacular outings he was accustomed to having in spot duty last season, recording a record of 4-7-3 with a goals against average of 3.86 and an .885 save percentage.

Frederic Cassivi should be recalled from Hershey and could see a few starts in net as well. He has been outstanding at the AHL level leading the Bears to the Calder Cup last season. Cassivi had just returned to action after suffering a broken collar bone in a game on December 23rd. So far this season he has a record of 15-7-4 with a 2.55 goals against average and a .916 save percentage in 28 games.

The Capitals will practice again tomorrow at their practice facility in Ballston before departing for the Sunshine state and a matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning Thursday night.

Capitals Run Through Recap

With today being a run through instead of a normal practice there are no lines to report as the players just wore black jerseys on offense and white jerseys on defense.

Continuing on their way back from injuries John Erskine and Brian Pothier were back on the ice today. They were again doing conditioning drills with trainer Greg Smith before practice and both players along with Brian Muir participated fully in the run through. The only player missing from practice this morning was goaltender Olie Kolzig.

Ben Clymer was getting a lot of extra work in this morning with usual scratches Kris Beech and Lawrence Nycholat so despite his recent play, my guess is that he is a healthy scratch tonight allowing Matt Bradley a spot in the lineup.

The run through this morning consisted of what you would expect on a game day, a lot of free flowing skating, full length drills at what looked to be about 75% speed. The team split sides into offense and defense where the forwards practiced on quick passing and shooting drills, as the defenseman worked on their puck control skills while backpedaling.

In faceoff drills Gordon dominated as expected having no trouble against Laich, Clark, and Sutherby. Speaking of Gordon while perusing the media notes this morning I ran into some interesting stats concerning him. When he scores this season the Caps are 3-0-0. When he registers a point the Caps are 11-3-1. And he has played at least 21 minutes in each of the last three games. Therefore my key to victory tonight is for Gordon to crack the scoreboard in any way possible.

With all the talk about Alex Ovechkin being in a slump eveyone seems to have forgotten about Alexander Semin. Currently he has gone 6 consecutive games without a goal and 4 consecutive games without an assist including a -3 defensive ratings in his last 5 games. The only good news about this is that despite Semin and Ovechkin cooling off as of late, the team has still posted a 2-0-1 mark on the current home stand.

Tonight's game can be looked at as the most important game of the season to date. It's the last game of the home stand, and it's another 4 point swing game where a win would put us just a point out of 11th in the conference, while a loss puts us five points out of 11th and could put us back into a tie for 12th with Boston depending on the outcome of their game with the Islanders.

It should be a packed house tonight as a sell is expected, and with Ranger fans in the house, get ready for a rowdy hockey night in Washington.

Boston Wins Physical Contest in Repeat Manner

The Bruins Beat The Caps For The Third Consecutive Time This Season By The Same Score
Boston Bruins 3, Washington Capitals 2 F/SO
Boxscore
(Photo courtesy of Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

No this was not a rerun. But for some reason the Caps and Bruins have played each meeting this season to the same 3-2 score. Each game has seen the Bruins come away the victor. And for the second time the Bruins were able to win in shootout fashion.

It was the third consecutive solid defensive effort for the Capitals whose only blemish through 40 minutes was a quick goal following a Danius Zubrus faceoff loss. Defenseman Steve Eminger failed to step up and cover Brandon Bochenski who wristed the shot past Kolzig before he was set as the Islanders broke the scoreless tie 5 minutes and 6 seconds into the second period.

The game was physical from the start as Ben Clymer found himself in the middle of two scrums within the first nine minutes of the opening period. Clymer, who was a healthy scratch on Sunday missing his first game of the season, returned to the lineup re-energized. He dropped the gloves with Bruins defenseman Bobby Allen just 2:20 into the game. The two were only able to throw a few punches before being separated and as the aggressor, Clymer was assessed the extra roughing minor in the process. Just six minutes later though he would find himself a true sparing partner in the Bruins Jeremy Reich, who was recalled before the game by Boston to provide the team with a physical presence. Reich had 105 penalty minutes in 46 games this season with Providence of the AHL.

The physical play seemed to spark the Capitals as they controlled the action early on, tallying the games first six shots on goal and outshooting the Bruins in the first period 10-2. Despite all the shots, they were unable to beat goaltender Tim Thomas and the teams went into the first intermission scoreless.

Richard Zednik was stopped on a partial breakaway opportunity moments after Bochenski's goal as the Caps were unable to tally and trailed 1-0 after the second. The key moment in the period was the Capitals ability to kill off a double-minor thanks to an Alexander Semin high sticking penalty on Phil Kessel. The special teams effort meant the game was still within striking distance.

The third period had a completely different feel than the first two. The reason for it was the Caps ability to break onto the score sheet just 21 seconds in on a goal by number 21 Brooks Laich. Laich won the battle for the puck along the boards and found himself wide open in the slot. He rifled a slap shot and beat Thomas over his glove to tie the game at one. That goal rose the intensity of the game to a higher level.

Playing against his former team, who he has traded away from just a week earlier, Milan Jurcina provided the key save of the game at the 2:30 mark of the third period. After a shot had beaten Kolzig and was heading for the open net, Jurcina was able to get his right skate on it and deflect it off to the side keeping the game tied at one.

The Caps would later take their first lead of the game as rookie Eric Fehr put home his second goal of the season on a rebound following a Zednik slap shot from the slot. The goal was scored just five seconds after a Bruins penalty to Andrew Alberts had expired, giving Washington their first lead of the game. However, the lead wouldn't last as Boston took advantage of an Alex Ovechkin delay of game penalty to tie the game with 6:45 remaining on a beautiful slap shot by Patrice Bergeron. The goal was a result of some good puck movement on the Bruins power play that gave Kolzig no chance on Bergeron's shot following a nice cross ice pass from Marc Savard.

There was a scary moment during the overtime period as a powerful slap shot off the stick of the Bruins 6 foot 9 inch defenseman Zdeno Chara hit Ovechkin in the helmet on the side of his head while he was diving to block the shot. Ovechkin would lay on the ice for a moment causing the officials to stop play. Shortly after the stoppage, he jumped to his feet and skated off the ice and seemed to be okay.

In the shootout Alexander Semin got the Caps on the board first, just as he had done in Sunday's shootout win against the Islanders. But Ovechkin and Fehr were denied on their chances, and Boston's Patrice Bergeron and Phil Kessel tallied on consecutive attempts to give the Bruins the victory.

The result moved Boston into a tie with Washington for 12th place in the Eastern Conference. Both teams are currently nine points behind the Carolina Hurricanes for 8th and final playoff spot.

Game Notes:

Jeff Schultz led the Capitals in ice time with 23:51.... Alex Ovechkin was kept off the scoreboard for a career worst third consecutive game recording only 2 shots on the night.... Brooks Laich was the only Caps center with a winning faceoff percentage going 8 for 13 for 62%.... Ben Clymer returned to the lineup replacing Matt Bradley who was a healthy scratch. Kris Beech and Lawrence Nycholat joined Bradley as healthy scratches.... The Montreal Canadians placed disgruntled winger Sergei Samsonov on waivers today.

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.
  

Senators Squeek By

Washington Dominates 2nd and 3rd Periods, But Cannot Overcome 2-0 Hole
Ottawa Senators 3, Washington Capitals 2
Boxcore

There's not much you can do about a game such as this. Washington had every opportunity to tie the contest late in the third period, but the bounces didn't go their way and Ottawa survived to win their 13th out of their last 16 games.

Speaking of bounces, they definitely went Ottawa's way in the first period where, despite a defensively sound effort, the Senators found a way to get two goals past the frustrated Olie Kolzig. The first came on a shot from the point by captain Daniel Alfredsson that got through the traffic in front and into the back of the net. Kolzig was visibly upset over what seemed to be his own defenseman, Shaone Morrisonn, screening him on the play. Their second goal was another case of being in the right place at the right time as a Peter Schaefer shot deflected off the diving Mike Green directly to Jason Spezza who tapped the puck into the empty net for his 20th goal on the year.

The Capitals regrouped and controlled the action over the last forty minutes. They were able to kill off a 2 man disadvantage and should have had a short handed goal as the first penalty expired to Kris Beech. He was sent off on a breakaway following a Boyd Gordon blocked shot. But again the bounces didn't go the Caps way as the puck would not settle down for Beech and he was not able to get off a shot.

Alex Ovechkin was finally able to get Washington on the scoreboard nine minutes into the second period, as he followed up his original shot, which was blocked by defenseman Anton Volchenkov, and rifled the loose puck past Gerber, beating him to the seven hole (between the glove and pad). The goal brought a lot of accolades along with it. First, it extended Ovechkin's point streak to twelve games which is a new career high. Second, it extended his goal scoring streak to three games. And lastly, it put him back into the NHL lead in goals with his 32nd on the season.

However, a Lawrence Nycholat penalty just one minute later would hurt the Capitals as Danny Heatley would capitalize and knock home his 31st of the season to give the Senators a 3-1 advantage. Despite their excellent play in the period, the Caps would head to the locker room still trailing by two.

The third period saw the momentum swing even more into Washington's favor. A nice individual effort by Kris Beech on the forecheck, taking the puck away from Ottawa's star defender Wade Redden. Once he gained control he moved behind the Senators goal and found Donald Brashear wide open in front of the net for an easy finish and his 2nd goal on the year, cutting the deficit to 3-2. That would be as close as they would get as despite numerous quality scoring chances, including several with Kolzig pulled in the last minute, the Caps could not get another past Senators goalie Martin Gerber would ended the night with 35 saves in the win. Kolzig was equally as stellar in net for the Capitals stopping 35 as well.

The loss denied Washington a chance to pull back to .500. With a Lightning win, they are now seven points out of the eighth and final playoff spot.

Your Top Three Stars:
1. Alex Ovechkin, Washington 1 goal
2. Martin Gerber, Ottawa 35 saves
3. Olie Kolzig, Washington 35 saves

Game Notes:

Brian Sutherby was a whopping 0 for 5 in faceoff opportunities. It's no wonder why Gordon has taken his spot as the top checking center on the team.... Lawrence Nycholat had the hit of the night knocking Heatley on his back with an open ice shoulder check.... Richard Zednik, despite being medically cleared to play, did not dress in the game. Matt Bradley was also scratched for the third consecutive game for personal reasons.... Defenseman Jeff Schultz continues to impress playing 17:46 minutes and was +1 defensively.... Alex Ovechkin had a season high in minutes played with 26:57. He even saw a shift towards the end of a penalty kill in the second period.... Tomas Fleichmann had 3 assists and Alexandre Giroux had 2 goals last night in the AHL All-Star game.