Rookie game Vs Philly.

Lines for the game were:

Ross-Eakin (A)-Galiev

Stefishen-Sjogren-Mitchell (A)

Elliot-Lockhart-Frazee

Paquette-Edmonson-Henley

D-pairs

Ovlov-Flemming

Stevenson (C)-Carrier

Tabisz-Ludwig

Goal

Grubauer first half

Anderson second half

Scratches: De Kastrozza, Oligny,

The Caps took the early lead on a goal by Garrett Ross from Galiev and Eakin and held the lead until the second when the team struggled and Philly put up three goals. The Caps made it 3-2 about 8 minutes into the third but couldn’t quite tie the game despite many good chances and lost the game 3-2.

Caps goal scorers were Garretts Ross and Mitchell

Assists: Eakin, Galiev, Stevenson, Stefishen

Minor Penalties: Sjorgen, Stevenson (2x), Paquette

Fighters: Stevenson, Edmonson, Paquette. With all being pretty much ties except Edmonson who didn’t throw a punch and held on for dear life.

First those who impressed me the most

1) Dmitry Orlov.

As I am sure many others will write about Orlov was the stand out of today’s game from the Caps side. While many will talk about the great offensive moves he made, including drawing both of the Philly penalities or his rocket shot that hit the cross bar that would have tied the game late but what impressed me most was his defensive play. Yes he still has to learn when to pinch and at times gets too low in the offensive zone but when he is back playing defense he was much better then I expected. On the PK he created several turnover that lead to clears. He also calmly took the puck from Sean Couturier, 8th overall pick in last years draft and has an outside shot of making the Philly team. He also had a big hit on a rush against Brayden Schenn who played 8 games in LA last year and one the year before so he has NHL experience. Orlov along with his partner for most of the night Flemming kept those two quite all night long as the best chance either got was when Schenn got the puck in the slot after a Grubauer turnover but couldn’t get the puck on the net.

2) Cody Eakin.

Once again this kid was a standout in this game. On the first goal he started the play giving the puck to Gaviev and finished in crashing the net and while he didn’t score, the goal was credited to him for almost 20 minutes, him driving the net made the Philly D look at him and not the puck that was bouncing off the post, then the goalie and in the net. He also was very solid on the PK and several times set up plays that were just not finished.

3) Stanislav Galiev.

He made a great play to draw the D before making a nice pass to Garrett Ross on the first goal. In the second he forced a turnover at the point and got the puck to Ross who created two scoring chances for Orlov one on the rush and one after Orlov came out from behind the net after making a great move. He also used his speed to get a partial breakaway which was stopped by a poke-check as he was trying to cut across. With a full year in the AHL he could be a guy we see in the Caps top six training camp of next year.

4) Brandon Anderson.

Kid has impressed me both days I went to camp and once again did so tonight. It looked like he was a little cold coming off the bench mid way through the game and gave up a goal early in his half of the game but after that he was lights out. He made several big saves including a big 2 on 1 glove save and another on a break after a bad Sjogren turnover.

5) Garrett Mitchell.

Guy was getting in front all game and was taking a beating but kept going to the net waiting for a good thing to happen and got rewarded with a goal. He also has some great wheels. Early in the game he took a puck that was a high dump in that landed right in the slot and had a great scoring chance with a defender hitting him as he skated around him.

Now the not so good.

1) Mattias Sjogren.

He had a great faceoff win that lead to the Caps second goal but other then that not much good to say about him today. He had several turnovers including one he passed into the middle at the blue line that was intercepted and amazingly saved by Anderson too keep the game close. He also took a penalty early in the game behind the net because he tripped a guy instead of putting a shoulder into him. For a guy who was supposed to be a man among boys he didn’t look like it today and from what I have seen may be seeing his roster spot on the Caps slip away.

2) Samuel Carrier

Ranked 11th among Caps prospects by hockey’s future he was constantly getting beat and having it cost the team. On the first Philly goal he was turned inside out by Tyler Brown and Brown went in to score. The second Philly goal came on a PP that was created by Carrier getting beat around the outside and his man getting a pass right into the slot leading to a goal saving hook. In the span of a single shift he helped Philly go from down one to up one.

3) Philip Grubauer.

While neither goal was a clear his fault goal the second goal was a huge rebound that he never got over for and could have controlled better. Late in the first period he went behind the net and flung the puck along the wall right to a Philly player who set up Schenn in the slot that Grubauer was lucky didn’t end up in the back of the net while he was still behind it. He isn’t a bad goalie he just tried to play the puck too much today and almost had it bite him in the backside.

4) Dustin Stevenson.

For someone to be given the captain C he didn’t show much leadership. Two penalties both hooking calls because he had been beat one of which was the power play Philly scored on. He also got in a fight that gave no spark to the rookies after getting out of the box for his original penalty. He did get an assist on the second goal after taking the shot that got deflected and ended up on Mitchell’s stick but it does not make up for the rest of the game.   

Finally there is a guy who could have gone in both categories. Brett Flemming. His style kind of reminds me of a slightly more physical Jeff Schultz. Most of the game you don’t really notice him. He isn’t making big hits but he is rubbing guys off the puck. He isn’t making flashy plays like his partner for most of the night Orlov he is almost unnoticed unless he makes a mistake. In the second period he made a huge one. He got sucked up too high on a point shot by Philly and was beat to the rebound by Thomas Hyka for the game winning 3rd goal for Philly. If he can fix those small mistakes he could be a possible Schultz replacement in the future.

Special teams. While Philly was 1 for 4 on the PP and we were 0 for 2 with 15 seconds on 5 on 3. The Caps power play was very in control just couldn’t find the back of the net while Philly only once or twice in four power plays get any kind of play set the rest of the time they were just scrambling and on the first PP could barely get the puck in the Caps zone.

So with that prospect camp is over and we can look forward to real camp starting in a few days. I expect to see a few of these guys get added to the roster and get a game or two and am really looking forward to what Eakin, Galiev, and Orlov do against the big boy and to see if Sjogren can redeem himself.