Wednesday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ 'Canes

by J.P. on Sep 24, 2008 6:08 AM EDT Comment 20 comments

[WashingtonCaps.com Preview - J.P.'s Carolina Hurricanes Season Preview]

So it may not count for all that much in the grand scheme of things, but for the first time since last April, the Washington Capitals (or some approximation thereof) will take to the ice tonight against an NHL opponent (or some approximation thereof) as they head to Raleigh to play the Hurricanes (or some approximation thereof).

Remember the last time these two teams met? If not, here's the recap and the video evidence:

Awesome (and note the game's three stars - what a truly magical run).

Back to the here and now and on to tonight's the rosters, Tarik reports that Bruce Boudreau et. al. will choose from among the following players when putting together their lineup:

Goalies: Johnson, Varlamov and Machesney.

Forwards: Bradley, Bourque, Beagle, Fleischmann, Fehr, Aucoin, Laich, Kozlov, Giroux, Steckel, Osala, Laing, Joudrey, Andrew Gordon, Morin, Perreault, Nylander.

Defensemen: Jurcina, Morrisonn, Cutta, Lepsito, Alzner, Schultz, Godfrey and Carlson.

Presumably this means that a trio of Russians and the new netminder, among others, will be available for the preseason home opener when these two teams meet again on Thursday night. Also, is it odd that Viktor Kozlov is on the list (but neither of his expected linemates is), while Michael Nylander and Tomas Fleischmann's expected right wing (Chris Clark) isn't on this roster? Probably not.

Carolina may counter with a group that looks like this:

Sergei Samsonov - Matt Cullen -Drayson Bowman
Ryan Bayda - Jeff O'Neill - Scott Walker
Chad LaRose - Brandon Sutter - Dan LaCouture
Matt Murley - Dwight Helminen - Jakub Petruzalek

Joni Pitkanen - Tim Gleason
Niclas Wallin - Joe Corvo
Casey Borer - Brett Carson

Cam Ward
Justin Peters

I say "may counter" because the source of the lines is an "educated guess" from a guy who apparently doesn't know much about hockey.

As for the game itself, Bowman and Sutter are probably the 'Canes two best forward prospects, so keep an eye (or whatever) on them, and note that those top four defensemen and the starting netminder will all be in Carolina this year, so it will be interesting to see what an Alex-less, Backstrom-less, Green-less offense can do against them.

Note: Per the team, audio of all seven preseason games will be available on WashingtonCaps.com, and fans in the D.C. market can watch the three preseason home games live online. The final four preseason games (starting Sept. 29) will also be available on WFED 1500 AM and WWFD 820 AM.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Those Nylander trade rumors won't die, will they?... The Caps' video shoot from Monday night (which will no doubt end up here some day) has been covered pretty extensively, and I have nothing to add (but only because it's too soon to make a Travis Barker joke about this YouTube gem).... Speaking of videos, Josh Godfrey was mic'd up for the rookie game, and the feature is definitely worth checking out, if for no other reason than to hear an f-bomb dropped at WaPo.com (just after the 3:00 mark, and right after he calls a Flyer... "bung sauce?").... Sergei Fedorov: Fantasy Hockey Kryptonite (for what it's worth, I've got Feds pegged for 14 goals and 29 assists).... Jose Theodore has something to prove.... Building the (then) MCI Center in downtown D.C. was a good idea. Building the (then) Palladium 28 km from downtown Ottawa? Not so much.... Stefan Della Rovere's OHL team is expecting a lot from him, which is good.... The Pens like Matt Cooke and will skate him with Maxime Talbot and Ruslan Fedotenko.... Know who's not making the Bruins? The guy whose name they misspelled on his jersey.... Staying in New England, want to read about Bruce Cassidy begging for a job? Of course you do.... Nolan Yonkman (who - surprise - is currently injured) is apparently part of the Predators' plans.... I really dig Lowetide, but go vote for our good friends at Bflob log (and while you're there, vote for Peerless and PPP too). Think of it as practice for November.... My alma mater is finally getting a D-I hockey team. Now if they could only get a D-I football team.... Finally, I know it's a region out in B.C., but I still think "Kootenay" sounds like a euphemism for, um, girl parts.

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Any chase of those preseason games being on TV anywhere?

by Ryan on Sep 24, 2008 7:17 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Preseason = injuries. Could do w/o the games.

by hotdog88gt on Sep 24, 2008 8:24 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

It's amazing, JP, how you were able to find all this Caps-related material this morning, yet the Washington Post couldn't even mention the team once in today's sports section. Oh, they did find space for a front page article on the Wizards' signing of a back-up guard and there was that five column story on a figure skater in Florida, but not a word about yesterday's scrimmage or tonight's opening to the exhibition season. But hey, space is tight and writing about the Caps might have meant cutting that article about the return of women's pro soccer to the area. I'm sure the ten people who actually attend their games were happy for the coverage. But I'm sure that if the Caps go deep in the playoffs this year, the Post will happily climb on the bandwagon and proclaim their love for hockey. Before blogs like yours and OFB, this stuff used to drive me crazy. Now it's just mildly irritating, but, like Don Quixote, I'm going to keep banging at this windmill until the idiot editors at the Post realize just how special this team is this year. BTW, I should mention that the one paper that really does love hockey in this town, the Washington Times, somehow found space in their print edition for a full-length feature on Karl Alzner.

by b.orr4 on Sep 24, 2008 9:43 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Three pre-season games at VC will be streamed at the Caps' website.

Tarik is not terribly insightful or thorough. (Hello: Salary cap issue?) I mean, he has a blog too. If JP can get all these links/etc. for us in the morning, why can't a full-time writer at the Washington Post?

by Tyler on Sep 24, 2008 9:52 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

1) Its about time SU started a hockey program. Geez, upstate NY is a huge hockey area, with lots a home gown talent, it would seem to be a natural. Just a guess, but within 5 years they'll be in the Frozen 4.

by FAUX RUMORS on Sep 24, 2008 9:55 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

In fairness, some of those links (and the ones in the "What We're Reading" sidebar) are only tangentially related to the Caps (if at all), and to most I have added very little value - a beat writer's job isn't to aggregate links.

by JP on Sep 24, 2008 9:55 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

"Also, is it odd that Viktor Kozlov is on the list (but neither of his expected linemates is), while Michael Nylander and Tomas Fleischmann's expected right wing (Chris Clark) isn't on this roster? Probably not"

Who is the Nylander that is on the roster?

by Anonymous on Sep 24, 2008 9:58 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Why isn't a beat writer's job to aggregate links related to the team (such as in today's post)?

Memo to newspapers (for whom I occasionally write): It's not 1984 anymore.

by Tyler on Sep 24, 2008 10:00 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

If I read one more Nylander trade rumor I think my head is going to explode.

by DMG on Sep 24, 2008 10:03 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Screw fairness, JP. Tarik does a good job, but he's being paid full-time to do nothing but cover hockey. Unless I'm mistaken, you've got another job that occupies your day and you still manage to churn out ten times more Caps-related material than the Post ever publishes. The bottom line is that in two out of the last four days, the Post hasn't had a single story about the Caps and that's inexusable for a paper that bills itself a major publication. To paraphrase their old ad campaign: "The Washington Post-if you don't get it (and you're a hockey fan), we don't care".

by b.orr4 on Sep 24, 2008 10:12 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

@anon(myself)
I misread that...

by Anonymous on Sep 24, 2008 10:13 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

There's a reason why I do and have for years referred to that particular paper as either the Washington Pest or the Washington Compost.

Opening day of the preseason. As someone else put it a few days ago, hot damn I'm ready for hockey.

by this space for rent on Sep 24, 2008 10:36 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Let's not overdo it here. I'm talking about Caps coverage. Name-calling is a little preposterous. The Post does journalism that has saved lives and made America a better place. Take the Walter Reed or the CIA black sites stories.

by Tyler on Sep 24, 2008 11:56 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Mind you, this is my personal opinion. The Compost coverage is so biased it's not even funny, the editorials are ill-researched nonsense, and they don't even run decent comics. I want facts, not brainwashing, and I'll take my money for news elsewhere, thanks.

Oh, by the way - speaking of compost. From another commenter on Caps Insider, some moron thinks Washington has no depth.

by this space for rent on Sep 24, 2008 12:03 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

@ b.orr4:
I don't think it's fair to criticize Tarik for lack of coverage in the Post's print edition because that's not a decision he makes. After all it's not as if a sports editor is calling him up saying, "Yo, Tarik, what up? So the Caps are about to start the preseason how about whippin' up a little something on that?" and Tarik is replying, "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea but, well, I just don't care enough". If there's a problem it's with the editors.

@this space for rent:
Delving into pseudo-politics for a moment, the reality is, that however it relates to your political views, The Washington Post is regarded as one of the best newspapers in the country. As for bias, the fact that the paper has been criticized both by the "left" and "right" as being biased towards the other end of the political spectrum suggests two things to me: (1) There's not overwhelming bias and (2) People see what they want to see. If conservatives want to believe that the "liberal media" is manipulating people, they'll find evidence of it and if the left find that big companies and "the establishment" have scared people or are controlling people enough to induce a conservative bias, they'll find it too.

by DMG on Sep 24, 2008 2:41 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

@dmg, I wasn't really taking a shot at Tarik. In fact, I think he does a very good job considering who he works for. I was just responding to a comment by JP about beat reporters. If you notice in my first post, I referred to his bosses as the "idiot editors" who make the decisions on coverage. Still, if Tarik raised a enough of a rukus about the coverage, I think we'd see a few more stories make their way into the Post.

by b.orr4 on Sep 24, 2008 4:15 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

@dmg: Bravo for your post! Both parts!

BTW, I was watching WaPo Live one day, and they had a guest (I think his name was Matt Rennie) who was described as being the "Hockey Editor for the Post." I was shocked, since I never imagined for moment that the Post even had a "Hockey Editor." Perhaps he should be the one getting the shots from the tylers and b.orr4s of the world. (Yes, you absolutely did take a shot at Tarik.) I've never in my life heard of reporter who didn't want his or her byline in the paper as often as possible. The Post's coverage (or lack thereof) is not his doing.

by norske on Sep 24, 2008 4:44 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

You can watch tonight's game on the Carolina Hurricane's site. The sound is messed up, but the video is there

by Slacker on Sep 24, 2008 7:00 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I have more respect for JP than to drag politics into hockey on his blog, so I'm going to drop the WaPo argument. I haven't changed my mind but I see little point in continuing.

End of first period, 2-0 Caps. First goal was Fleischmann/Carlson/Kozlov on the PP, second was Bradley/Laing. Quality is pretty bad but it's followable. Varlamov is kicking butt and taking names out there, especially in the last minute of the first period.

by this space for rent on Sep 24, 2008 7:52 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

SU's Div-I team is a women's team. How do I get in touch with the writer of that article?

by HotDog88GT on Sep 25, 2008 10:49 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

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Southeast Standings

	GP	W	L	OTL	PT
Washington Japers' Rink	71	47	14	10	104
Atlanta Bird Watchers Anonymous	70	30	29	11	71
Tampa Bay Raw Charge	70	28	30	12	68
Florida Litter Box Cats	69	28	30	11	67
Carolina Canes Country	70	29	33	8	66