Those Ukrainian PeeWees have been practicing down in College Park at Wells Ice Rink and they’re amazingly good. I’m tempted to get a roster and check for their names during the NHL Draft in 7 years…

Epic links list today, JP. Holy crap.

Is more painful than we first thought.

I support this Adrian Dater Xmas wish:

- Please allow John Tortorella to be miked, uncensored, for every game.

That would be awesome.

Nicklas Backstrom with an attractive young lass. [UNT.se]

For this link above, Firefox or the web page itself translates the page into English and makes for quite the hilarious read.

So if OFB is coming around on Schultz, does that mean the war’s won?

Somehow I think it’ll be a long time before that game gets forgotten (and I knew someone was going to bring it up). Hey birthday boy, wanna pot another one (or two, or three) for your birthday this year (preferably sooner than overtime)?

OFB: “Too many Caps’ fans I think focus on what Schultz is not: a banger, a deft skater, a points producer.”

Yes, and by “too many Caps’ [sic] fans,” they mean themselves. You could get whiplash from reading that blog. They do still crush on that female goalie right?

I was really enjoying the snow until I got close to my house because that is when you realize that D.C. does not have the plowing capabilities that they have in Canada or in New England where I have also lived. Our whole street was filled with snow and I ended up getting stuck because I tried to plow through it with the car (I hope Mercedes does not mind!). I got stuck on an incline and then it took 90 minutes to dig out.

I’m seeing a new version of the “No problem, coach!” commercial…

Random question, because I haven’t been one for comments in the past, but is there a Caps EASHL community? I just got NHL 10 and I want to get online.

Ah. Now we see why TMZ has been taking practice runs at AO.

I brought this topic up in my discussion with F&B, Killer Carlson, Zephyr et al. in last Wednesday’s Caps Clips. Hockey fans, even very savvy and intelligent ones, tend to understand hockey metaphorically through other sports. I pointed out that many people compare the position of goaltender to that of the quarterback in football, or the pitcher in baseball. As if to prove my point, a very savvy and intelligent hockey fan, one of the guys who writes “Defending Big D,” wrote this:

The goaltending position is a lot like the quarterback position in football: Franchises flounder for years without one you can call a “franchise guy.”

I understand what he’s getting at, namely that goaltenders are the keystone of a franchise, and without a good one, the rest of the edifice falls apart. The problem is, by comparing goaltenders to quarterbacks, he’s actually vastly underselling the importance of goaltenders. Quarterbacks and pitchers play approximately half of the game or less. Goalies typically play all 60 minutes. Quarterbacks and pitchers have essentially zero effect on the rest of the game when they’re not participating (yes, National League fans, I know your pitchers occasionally go up to bat, but c’mon…).

Given the flowing style of play in hockey, the relative quality of the goaltender is constantly affecting his teammates. Good goaltenders allow the players in front of them to play more aggressively, because they’re confident in the knowledge that a mistake won’t end up in the back of the net. Great goaltenders, such as Brodeur, actually become offensive weapons with their ability to handle the puck and start the rush. To put this in football terms, a sequence wherein Brodeur corrals a dump-in and hits one of his players with a long outlet pass is the equivalent of Tom Brady returning a punt on special teams, then staying out on offense and throwing a 30-yard completion.

I understand how these metaphors creep in, and we’re all (myself included) guilty to some degree, particularly when trying to explain the game to newcomers. In this particular case, however, the metaphor doesn’t add to our understanding of the situation, it detracts from it significantly by understating just how crucial goaltending is in hockey.

Was Souray talking about playing a pick up football game?

The idea that the Caps are getting healthier caught my eye. 13 of the last 17 on the road, back to back weekend games 2 straight weeks, and the Caps are getting healthier? Really? I would expect callups from South Carolina to start any minute, not sending players back to Hershey.

Then I though, what could be contributing to a healthier team, and the first thought was better ice. Injuries can happen on any ice conditions when you get your bell rung against the boards, or someone cracks a rib laying a huge check on you, but how many injuries, and not just groins strains, are a factor of bad ice? Lets look at the last 17 games:

Nov 14 @ NJ Same arena as the Nets? But still probably better ice than home.
Nov 17 @ Rangers Same quality ice as home.
Nov 20 vs. Canadians home ice.
Nov 21 @ Toronto Same arena as Raptors but better ice.
Nov 23 @ Ottawa better ice.
Nov 25 vs Buffalo home ice.
Nov 28 @ Montreal Not as good of ice as I would expect, but still better than home.
Nov 30 @ Carolina No basketball team on the arena, but still southern ice like home.
Dec. 3 vs Florida home ice.
Dec 5 @ Flyers Comparable to home ice.
Dec 7 @ Tampa Comparable to home ice.
Dec 9 @ Buffalo Better ice.
Dec 11 vs. Caroline home ice.
Dec 12 @ Toronto Better than home ice.
Dec 15 @ Colorado Better than home ice.
Dec 18 @ Vancouver Better than home ice.
Dec 19 @ Edmonton Best damned ice sheet there is.

So, by my count, that is 9 games in 17 on better ice sheets than at home. And, over a 10 day stretch, from Dec 9-19th, only one game not a a pretty good rink. So, even though travel and exhaustion are usually candidates to cause more injuries, perhaps this road trip was exactly what the Capitals needed to get healthy again. 5 games out of 6 on good ice to prevent new injuries while our other guys healed up.

Nov 30 @ Carolina No basketball team on the arena, but still southern ice like home.

Well, most ACC Fans wouldn’t count the N.C. State Wolfpack as a basketball team either, but they do play there….

Scott Hartnell will be on The Price is Right today. While he’s there, perhaps Jeff Carter will be playing Plinko with his wife.