Recap: Caps 4, Bolts 3
by J.P. on Jan 13, 2012 9:45 PM EST
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As bad as the Caps have been on the road this season (with no turn-around in sight), it's critically important that they keep winning the vast majority of their home games if they want to make the post-season. One game (and one win) into a four-game homestand that sees them face the three bottom teams in the Eastern Conference over the next three, the Caps hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday night, looking to stay on a roll at Verizon Center, where they'd gone 7-1-0 over the last eight games. And, thanks to a quick start, they did exactly that, holding on (barely) to beat the Bolts by a 4-3 score.
Ten more notes on the game:
- Home ice (for all of its literal shortcomings) has been great to the Caps' power-play, which entered the night second in the League in home conversion rate. Less than six minutes into the game, they'd already moved back into first in that metric after making the Bolts pay for a couple of unwise penalties. And credit goes to Troy Brouwer on both - for screening Dwayne Roloson on an Alex Ovechkin shot from in between the top of the two circles on the first goal, and then beating Roloson from in tight on the second. (All-Star Dennis Wideman picked up secondary assists on both tallies. Also, Alexander Semin's celly on the Brouwer goal was sweet.)
- On the penalty-kill, the Caps have also enjoyed a home-ice advantage, entering the night second in the League in efficiency there as well, having gone 26-for-26 since Dale Hunter took over behind the bench. They ran that streak to 30-for-30, but on Tampa's fifth extra-man chance of the night, that streak came to an end late in the third.
- Maybe the Bolts can blame their slow start on having played last night and facing a better-rested Caps team. Or maybe they just weren't ready to play from the opening draw... like they haven't been ready on many nights this season - no team has given up more first-period goals than the Lightning.
- Even though he's had his ups and downs over the first half of the season, Tomas Vokoun has been quite good at The Phone Booth, running his home line for the season to 13-3-0/2.093/.923. And if you toss out that first game and win of the season against these same Bolts, Vokoun's numbers jump to 1.90/.931.
- Continuing the theme, Brouwer picked up a second goal by cashing in on a Brooks Laich rebound, giving him 10 home tallies of his 13 goals overall. As for that goal, Brouwer from Laich and Mike Knuble... is anyone surprised that it was a rebound from just a few feet out, and as a result of strong play along the boards? Oh, and then there was his empty-net hat trick goal... pushing it to 11 of 14 at home. Congrats to Troy Brouwer on an incredible game (that included seven hits).
- Ovechkin's game-opening goal gave him seven power-play goals on the year, the same number he had in all of 2010-11. So there's that.
- Ostensibly and understandably, the Caps shifted to a more defensive posture once they grabbed the 3-0 lead. But to go 18 minutes without a shot on goal is taking things a bit far, especially when the opposition is piling up the shots and scoring chances. The Caps hung on for dear life in this one.
- Karl Alzner dropped the gloves - no, that's not a typo - with Steve Downie in the middle of the second period and held his own. That was Alzner's first fight since juniors (where he fought all of three times)... and Downie's 34th in the NHL. Was that fight (video here) something to which the Caps needed to respond in kind (i.e. a tougher guy going after skill)? Whether it was or not, it never happened.
- If Knuble wants more ice time, he's going to have to be better than he was on the
TaylorTom Pyatt goal, where he had his pocket picked clean deep in his offensive zone by Marty St. Louis. Gaffes like that turn doghouse residents from renters into owners (ask Jeff Schultz). - Not that he deserves to go to the All-Star Game, but it'd have been great to see Jason Chimera selected solely so he could participate in the fastest skater competition. His jets were on display a few times, including beating out an icing and later taking an indirect pass off the boards and turning it into a scoring chance. Speed to burn.
There's no real mystery to what the Caps need to do over the second-half of the season in order to play on beyond early April. At a bare minimum, that includes winning home games and beating the teams they "should" beat. On Friday night against Tampa, they did both. They'll look to continue the trend against the 'Canes on Sunday and the Isles on Tuesday... before heading back on the all-too-unkind road.
Game highlights:
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How was this possible?
If wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak.
by Hang a Laingtern on Your Problems on Jan 13, 2012 9:46 PM EST via Android app reply actions
I came in here to say the exact same thing. maybe he time travels
"I was so drunk I thought a tube of toothpaste was astronaut food"
My Twittah!
Well, game summary says the game ended at 9:46. This post ran at…
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by J.P. on Jan 13, 2012 10:02 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
...
"I was so drunk I thought a tube of toothpaste was astronaut food"
My Twittah!
by Wisco12 on Jan 13, 2012 10:04 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
Yes. I’m about 3/4 through.
Nice guys finish first, but sometimes the season is awfully long.
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JP – do you have a bus to catch? No doubt that’s a new world record. Kudos brotha.
Nice guys finish first, but sometimes the season is awfully long.
Follow me on Twitter.
Holy shit. And an acrostic as well.
/genuflects
Nice guys finish first, but sometimes the season is awfully long.
Follow me on Twitter.
J.P. — Sorry to come off pedantic but Taylor Pyatt plays for the Yotes. Tom Pyatt plays for the Bolts.
by Rather Bengt on Jan 13, 2012 10:51 PM EST up reply actions
Thanks for the catch. I knew I should’ve just gone with “Former Cap Nelson Pyatt’s son.”
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Kinda wanted a tie if I knew you were trying to break the land speed record.
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Anyone have a gif or video of Semin’s celebration on Brouwer’s goal? Totally missed that.
by jopierce on Jan 13, 2012 9:50 PM EST via iPhone app reply actions
Got to watch the last period
and again, I’m pleased we’re now continuing to grind out a good amount of these close wins..
So you missed that the Caps were leading 3-0, then 3-1, and hit the brakes to let the Lightning claw back.
by jopierce on Jan 13, 2012 9:55 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
yup....
i was out at the supermarket and i also got a haircut.
Two months ago, this type of a game may have very well been a loss.
Very true. Kudos to them for hanging on but there was too much pressure toward the end. Really, it was seconds from going to OT.
by jopierce on Jan 13, 2012 9:58 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
Wow!
that sure was fast! thanks!!
by LizzieD on Jan 13, 2012 9:52 PM EST via Android app reply actions
did you not see that story about Mike Babcock? Dud is still steamed about a BS penalty call YEARS after the fact. In a game his team one. In a series that result in getting to life some big huge silver thingy.
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Seriously. Maybe i was looking at things from the wrong angle but I had thought Stamkos was rougher than Brouwer. Originally, I thought that we’d get offsetting penalties — at worst. But, no, we end up in PK mode, which they ended up scoring upon.
Speaking of non calls, I’m surprised Steve Downie didn’t get at least one penalty called for some of the shenanigans he pulled during third period.
Rocking the Red for teams on the banks of the Potomac and at the Gateway Arch and Singing the Blues about Hockey.
If I am reading the rules right, an instigator can’t be called on roughing.
Failure is always an option.
a little late to the party
But that shouldn’t have been roughing. Stamkos dropped the mits and started punching…On a hit that was clean (even though he somehow got a boarding call (without pushing him into the boards)). 100% he should have gotten 22 minutes and the door. Instead he gets a goal and ends our PK streak. It was horrible reffing all the way around on that play, I’m just glad Brouwer got his hat trick in spite of the BS.
Ovechkin’s game-opening goal gave him seven power-play goals on the year, the same number he had in all of 2010-11. So there’s that.
at some point I may recover from the shock of seeing that stat
nothing is as delicious as a little home cookin, right? I’m going to take a wild guess here, but no one has one more games on home ice since the 2008-2009 season than the Washington Capitals.
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Neal. 4-1 Pens with four minutes and change left.
If Pens hold on, Caps are within 2 points with a game in hand on the Cats.
Caps can take over first, at least temporarily by beating the Canes on Sunday.
Nice guys finish first, but sometimes the season is awfully long.
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this makes me smile. it really does.
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Cats don’t play again until Monday when the Bruins go to Sunrise.
Nice guys finish first, but sometimes the season is awfully long.
Follow me on Twitter.
caps don’t play FLA until February 1st but they play them twice in a week’s span then.
"I was so drunk I thought a tube of toothpaste was astronaut food"
My Twittah!
Damn Skippy!
"The Caps fan doesn't say, 'is the glass half full' or 'is the glass half empty'. He wonders when the glass is going to spill."
I’ll be there, and my wife will hopefully be joining me. :D
Occasionally reporting from Section 421 of the Verizon Center...
by MikeL-Pivonka on Jan 14, 2012 1:06 AM EST up reply actions
And – it’s over in Florida.
Caps are 23-17-2 for 48 points.
Cats are 21-14-8 for 50 points.
Nice guys finish first, but sometimes the season is awfully long.
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I really hate the damn loser point. no excuse for a team to have 2 more wins and be behind in the standings.
by Beakers Lab on Jan 13, 2012 10:01 PM EST up reply actions
Without seeing the game, I could have sworn Ovi had the night off after the PP goal. How’d he look?
"One of the most difficult things everyone has to learn is that for your entire life you must keep fighting and adjusting if you hope to survive." -George Allen
From Whyno:
Guy Boucher just ripped NHL for scheduling back to backs like this, said Lightning did everything they could to win.
seriously, fuck Guy Boucher and the GM that hired his sorry fucking self.
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yeah not like every team has to play back to backs.
"I was so drunk I thought a tube of toothpaste was astronaut food"
My Twittah!
I am confused by his Scotland rugby jersey. He figure because it’s sports-related and appropriately colored, no one would notice?
but does he speak French, or just have a French name so you assume he speaks French?
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He’s so excitable, I just assumed…
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by fat_daddyo on Jan 13, 2012 10:18 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Don’t assume a name means anything about nationality. Indy Car driver (and Mr. Ashley Judd) Dario Franchitti is from Scotland, and speaks with a Scottish accent…
Occasionally reporting from Section 421 of the Verizon Center...
by MikeL-Pivonka on Jan 14, 2012 1:08 AM EST up reply actions
it’s a joke from the other night.
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Whyno is tweeting out more choice quotes. Boucher can bitch with the best of them.
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Listening to Tappen and Turco go over this game is excrutiating. Need me some Alan May.
"The Caps fan doesn't say, 'is the glass half full' or 'is the glass half empty'. He wonders when the glass is going to spill."
My mistake – McLennan. Just as bad. Wasn’t watching to catch the change in the chair.
"The Caps fan doesn't say, 'is the glass half full' or 'is the glass half empty'. He wonders when the glass is going to spill."
McLennan is like Gormley… stutter, restate obvious, stutter…
Turco isn’t good, but McLennan is awful.
Beards are the zenith of manliness. First, they are scratchy and unpleasant to womenfolk. Second, they look awesome. Third, if you have something tasty for lunch, you can enjoy the smell all the way until dinnertime. - RMNB
I am watching BUF-TOR listening To Rick Jeannarett. That is more pleasant.
Nice guys finish first, but sometimes the season is awfully long.
Follow me on Twitter.
Hunter talking about the penalty call that was messed up. Predictably, he has nothing interesting to say.
A lot. He likes lots of guys. Lots of guys stepped up. Penalties killed ’em. Some things were “special.”
Typical info-free Hunter presser.
I miss the craziness, the you-never-know-what-sort-of-crazy-shit-he’ll-say-next of Boudreau post-gamers.
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So I’ll go ahead and say it: That bullshit that happened with Stamkos was bullshit and led to nearly everything that happened afterward and for the rest of the game. The refs need to be held accountable for that shit somehow. Fuck.
"He leaves every ounce of energy that he has on the ice and works very hard at it, and he wants to be the best and he wants to win, If you don’t follow that, you’ve got something wrong with you."
Need Red Birdie’s analysis – but this I think I know:
Caps are two points behind Cats, with a game in hand.
Caps are one point behind the Lears, with a game in hand.
Caps are tied with the Pens, with a game in hand.
Caps are two points behind the Devils, with a game in hand.
Nice guys finish first, but sometimes the season is awfully long.
Follow me on Twitter.
plus Caps hold tiebreaker (ROW) on all 4 of those teams
by Beakers Lab on Jan 13, 2012 10:11 PM EST up reply actions
Also 6 points behind OTT with 3 games in hand (and more ROW)
Release the Mackan!
by Killer_Carlson on Jan 13, 2012 10:13 PM EST up reply actions
can I give it to you tomorrow? I’m indulging in a guilty pleasure right now and checking the rink at commercial breaks.
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Taxicab Confessions?
Nice guys finish first, but sometimes the season is awfully long.
Follow me on Twitter.
worse. Bones. which is so awful it’s hilarious.
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okay, here are how things are shaking out:
Caps are chasing Florida, Ottawa, New Jersey, and Toronto. Caps have at least one game in hand on all those teams and can mathematically passed those teams by winning the game(s) in hand because of superior ROW, and in the case of Toronto, outright superior number of points.
Caps have played 42 games, have 48 points, and 22 ROW.
- Florida: 43 games, 50 points, and 19 ROW
- Ottawa: 45 games, 54 points, 20 ROW
- New Jersey: 43 games, 50 points, 16 ROW
- Toronto: 43 games, 49 points, 19 ROW
Okay, teams chasing the Caps:
- Pittsburgh: 43 games, 48 points, 19 ROW
- Winnipeg: 43 games, 45 point, 19 ROW
- Buffalo: 43 games, 43 points, 17 ROW
Basically, the Caps control their own destiny. Assuming they decide to grab in and control it.
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by RedBirdie on Jan 13, 2012 11:22 PM EST up reply actions 7 recs
Wouldn’t every team control their own destiny at this point in the season? Win out, and they would certainly be division champions, and very very likely the #1 seed.
nope. because if the Caps win out and the Kitties win out, Caps win.
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They control it today.
If the Caps lose on Sunday to the Canes and are two points behind with the same # of games played at the Cats, then they don’t control their own destiny any longer.
Nice guys finish first, but sometimes the season is awfully long.
Follow me on Twitter.
I’m just looking at today. I can’t figure out what I’m making for lunch tomorrow, let alone figure out all the possible scenarios for tomorrow night’s games and the possibilities of those horrendous 3-point games
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And how many of the teams ahead of us have a chance of sustaining their success?
We have Florida who’s managed to stay ahead of us via loser points.
There’s Toronto, who’s typically a bad team.
There are the Jets who typically get off to a great start every year and fold during the 2nd half
There are the Senators who were supposed to be rebuilding.
There are the Devils who live via the shootout.
Admittedly, the Pens (who we are tied with in points but ahead of, due to tie breaker) are expected to be better than their current performance
Rocking the Red for teams on the banks of the Potomac and at the Gateway Arch and Singing the Blues about Hockey.
Caps are one point behind the Lears, with a game in hand.
Freudian slip, or Shakspearian slip? It’s actually kinda both…
Occasionally reporting from Section 421 of the Verizon Center...
by MikeL-Pivonka on Jan 14, 2012 1:10 AM EST up reply actions
Now I’m going to finally watch episode #4 of 24/7. Don’t tell me who won the WC. Shhhh.
Nice guys finish first, but sometimes the season is awfully long.
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I always think WC= Wold Cup
"One of the most difficult things everyone has to learn is that for your entire life you must keep fighting and adjusting if you hope to survive." -George Allen
i think water closet
I’m just in it for the Schadenfreude. -D'ohboy
by Alz in the family on Jan 13, 2012 10:15 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
James Van Riemsdyk with the candlestick in the billiards room.
by Rather Bengt on Jan 13, 2012 10:12 PM EST up reply actions
Off to the OT thread with you sir.
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by Bald Pollack on Jan 13, 2012 10:14 PM EST up reply actions
woohoo! first game I’ve attended with a hat trick so I could toss my cap.
"Money talks. I listen."
by apk3000 on Jan 13, 2012 10:20 PM EST via Android app reply actions
I have like six caps. TB20 can keep it.
"Money talks. I listen."
by apk3000 on Jan 13, 2012 10:27 PM EST via Android app up reply actions
Aww, Kundratek being interviewed on 1500. He’s so cute. Sounds like he memorized some stock phrases. “I’m really happy to be here. It’s been amazing. Everyone has helped me. It’s been really good.”
They showed him in-game having a grand old time chatting with Neuvy.
You perhaps knew me better as "Your Nation's Capital." Same great commentary, now with 100% more transparency!
I’m glad that, if Neuvy can’t get a lot of playing time, he’s at least got a lot of countrymen to talk to. Most of last season, he was the lone Czech, and currently, there are as many Czechs as there are Americans!
And he and Kundratek prolly have more in common than Neuvy and the old guys.
I was watching K tonight ; didn’t have huge ice time but he paid attention to his assignments and minded his p’s and q’s.
You perhaps knew me better as "Your Nation's Capital." Same great commentary, now with 100% more transparency!
Karl Alzner – he with the two adorable dachshunds and new cute puppy named Duncan, drops the gloves with Downie? Big balls on that boy. BIG.
That'll make your weagle wink!
"You're the boss, apple sauce" - @GreenLife52
boutros! sad I missed you tonight
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Sweet, sweet schadenfreude
That panic feeling is starting to creep in. Just 2 points up on 8th place Washington who plays again before we do on Monday, which means that first place standing we’ve had since October could very quickly turn into a number 8. God forbid 9th seed Pittsburgh gets healthy, because they sure kicked our ass tonight and we’re only 4 points up on them now.
There’s not a lot happening on the ice that indicates a turnaround is coming, either. Goals are suddenly a rarity and I don’t know that Skille or Upshall or Bergenheim are going to change that much. Haven’t scored more than 2 in a game this calendar year, Boston, Chicago, Philly coming up…. At this point, I’m just hoping to still be in the buyer mode come March. Sigh.
Patron saint of quality footwear.
You hear that, Kitty Cats? That is the sound of inevitability.
by Aliceanna on Jan 13, 2012 11:49 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
lol. Comedian John Carlson
Now introducing @FloydMayweather new fight card. Vs @karlalzner
That'll make your weagle wink!
"You're the boss, apple sauce" - @GreenLife52
Was that fight (video here) something to which the Caps needed to respond in kind (i.e. a tougher guy going after skill)? Whether it was or not, it never happened.
Didn’t need a response. It’s not the same as Downie going after Johansson or something, Alzner’s certainly no fighter but he’s not afraid to be physical, either. Did I think Alzner was crazy for dropping the mitts? Sure. But he’s a big boy, he didn’t HAVE to fight and from everything I’ve heard (didn’t see the beginning of the fight) it’s not like Downie jumped him – why would that require a response? That seems like the guys would be saying he’s not capable of sticking up for himself.
Stamkos is still a massive, massive weenie, by the way. Good for him for sticking up for his teammate after what was apparently a clean hit, I guess (again, didn’t see it closely enough, that one happened in the one part of the ice I can’t really see from my seats) but how he gets away with just two for roughing – particularly after he got a couple of shots in on Brouwer with the linesman between them – is beyond me. Should have been even.
Also, I should point out that the only way he gets in those extra shots on Brouwer is if there’s a linesman in the way. Brouwer’s no goon but he could turn Stamkos into a pile of pulverized weenie mash.
The definition of being a Caps fan is watching the same team over and over and expecting different results.
That game never gets close if Stamkos got the extra two or more. That was a third man in. If he’s still in the box, goal number two probably never happens. Still on the Caps for playing too passively after they built up the lead, though.
"The Caps fan doesn't say, 'is the glass half full' or 'is the glass half empty'. He wonders when the glass is going to spill."
Oh, it absolutely is. They let the Bolts back in…but the Bolts wouldn’t have been able to muster the attack that was allowed by the Caps’ sitting back.
The definition of being a Caps fan is watching the same team over and over and expecting different results.
It was completely a clean play. I hesitate to call it a “hit” by Brouwer, because he and MSL hit each other. MSL just went down kinda awkwardly.
The initial PIM was a joke. The fact that Stammer didn’t get 4 to at least even it up was even jokier.
Patron saint of quality footwear.
The reason I asked, to be honest, was because May said so on Twitter – “After Downie fights Alzner
#Caps need to send TBL a message by going after their skill”
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Gotcha. Still bizarre, don’t think a response was really needed unless, like I said, he’d gone after MoJo or something.
The definition of being a Caps fan is watching the same team over and over and expecting different results.
Guess it depends on how the fight started, which I didn’t see at all.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
I love their photo editors more — of all the possible shots of Brouwer, they get this?
Dingos are involved. Best not to ask.
Where is he?
Nice guys finish first, but sometimes the season is awfully long.
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He’s bending over picking up hats.
You perhaps knew me better as "Your Nation's Capital." Same great commentary, now with 100% more transparency!
except that isn’t even his hat trick – that’s from Ovi’s goal, according to the caption on the Caps site
by HockeyDragon on Jan 13, 2012 11:30 PM EST up reply actions
I'm partial to this one, myself...
The definition of being a Caps fan is watching the same team over and over and expecting different results.
by Becca H on Jan 13, 2012 11:39 PM EST up reply actions 6 recs
EVEN BETTER
The definition of being a Caps fan is watching the same team over and over and expecting different results.
One more to complete the hat trick
The definition of being a Caps fan is watching the same team over and over and expecting different results.
“Ohmigod, he’s coming right at me!”
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Does this technically qualify for OSHP?
by Twenty Seven Ninety on Jan 14, 2012 2:00 AM EST up reply actions
“HELLO MY BABY, HELLO MY DARLIN’, HEEEELLOOOO MY RAGTIME GAAAAAAL…”
Patron saint of quality footwear.
by fat_daddyo on Jan 13, 2012 11:54 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
I read this, and all I can think is the scene in Spaceballs.
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by RedBirdie on Jan 13, 2012 11:55 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
“Mom! Look at the cute little Brouwer I found! Can we keep him? Pretty please?”
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by RedBirdie on Jan 13, 2012 11:55 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Observations from Section 421
Yeah I know it’s late… hadda watch the DVR replay. I still can’t believe it was Alzner was battling with the fabric softener…
1) Since I can now confirm it was Alzner in that bout with Downie, let me emphatically state I don’t ever want to see Alzner fight with Downie, or any other sorry excuse for a second line player again. Five minutes without Alzner, for five minutes without Downie: Advantage Tampa. And what happened in those 5 minutes: Marty lifts the stick of another Caps defender and tosses the puck to Pyatt for a goal. Alzner and Carlson had Vinny and Marty as their assignment, and with Alzner in the box along with two rookie defensemen in the line-up, I don’t like those odds. Yes, Orlov and Kundratek are playing fine, but MSL routinely schools rookie defensemen since it is very unlikely they’ve seen anyone with that sort of skill as a game opponent (yeah, they practice against Ovechkin and Semin…but it’s not the same).
2) Amazing night for Brouwer. Three different ways to score (power play, even strength, empty net) and three different folks to blame for the goals on the Tampa side (Roloson on the first, all of their skaters on the second, and the fact that Roloson isn’t a Jedi and can’t stop pucks into an empty net on the third).
3) Gorgeous shot from Ovechkin too… nice screen by Brouwer on it. Roloson never saw the puck until it was on the way out of the net.
4) Another player who had a very solid game tonight was Hendricks. Did some good work on the PK, and was a constant (and legal) irritant in the side of the Bolts. He really got to Vinny and if it wasn’t for the linesmen, Vinny would have gone with Hendricks. That’s a trade-off I’d take.
5) After the Caps scored the third goal, and Boucher was angry about it, I could have sworn his scar started glowing red…
6) While the win is nice, I don’t like the fact that the guys built a very nice 3-0 lead, but then let the Bolts back into it (and it was after the fight… keep that in mind). It’s much nicer when they turn a 3-0 lead into a 6-1 win instead of a 4-3 win. Hope this does not become a trend.
And now, with 40 games left to go in the season, the Caps skate Sunday in the early evening with a chance to move into first place. Let’s go Caps!
Occasionally reporting from Section 421 of the Verizon Center...
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