Japers' Rink: FanPosts

Rejected Hockey Card - Jeff Schultz

2009-11-20T17:00:39Z

Now I know what you're thinking. Here it comes, the inevitable blast of Jeff Schultz... but it's not. Really. I think Schultzy is getting better; slowly but surely improving and becoming a player that we may someday look back on and laugh about the grief we used to give him. Like when people in my section (GRANT!) yell, "Stop Sucking!".

Usually that's aimed at the whole team, not just Schultz.

Well, if someday we're going to look back and laugh, we might as well start here:

Seriously, I'm excited about his future... no, really I am. It's just that... well, ya know... he's ... funny.

Don't listen to me Sarge! Go get em!

and the longest tenured cap is..

2009-11-19T20:33:54Z

....Nylander

Followed a year later by the class of: Laich, Gordon, Semin, and Morrisonn

http://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/WSH/skaters.html

Isn't that sad?

Unless you guys can find someone else in there with an earlier start date. Sorry. I just discovered this site after the note about Varly being in 22nd place for the Caps in tems of wins.... and i'm obsessed with it now.

Other weird things I learned:

* After just BARELY one season, Theo's #8 in all time wins.

* JIm Carey (remember that guy) has more SO than Beaupre and played half the games

* Chris Clark has more short handed goals than anyone else actively with the Caps... .... .. WTF???

* Chris Simon had exactly 666 PIM's with the Caps. I might actually make a comment about how cool that is if Simon wasn't a douche sanwich.

* OV is a lifetime +28. Backstrom +30. Semin is -1

* OV has barely played 1/3 of Bondra's seasons as a cap (not just seasons but in games played) and it says his TOI is almost the same? That doesn't make any sense. Am I reading that wrong or is something with that stat a little messed up? (Maybe they didnt record TOI until halfway through the 90's??)

* Bruce's win% as a coach in the regular season is WAY ahead of anyone else by a landslide but has had (virtually) the same luck in the playoffs as anyone else

* McPhee should have grovelled to keep Gonchar... oh wait.. crap.. Sorry .. accidentally mixed in an opinion with the stats. Of course I don't really know the history about that. The year he left was the year I least payed attention to hockey.

Is it just me, or does it seem like the Caps have a record of losing legendary D men right during their prime. Makes me fear if we're going to lose Greenie one day.

How do you treat the Cup?

2009-11-19T19:41:58Z

Call me selfish, but this post is either to support my thinking that I'm just being crazy, or dispell said fear and realize I'm in the company of other like-minded individuals. What sparked this was a recent visit to @cmasisak22.

What I'm referring to is the game's reverence for it's end-of-year trophy. We hear classic tales of players who refuse to touch it if they have not had their name on it. Players who will bypass attention to lesser team awards (conference trophies, Boston not raising a division banner this year) with their eyes set on the prize. Players treat the SC as an icon that one has to prove they are worthy to be in the presence of. My question to Cap's Nation: Are fans as "reverent" when it comes to the Cup?

When I see references to the SC used in conjunction with the Caps (signs, fan-game-attire, advertisements, Corey's wallpaper on his Twitter page), I feel like something's out of place. I'm crazy, right?

*sorry, had to add a poll option, just for BP

Poll

As a fan how do you treat the Lord Stanley's Cup?

Any Inline Hockey Players?

2009-11-19T17:12:59Z

Hey guys, I play in the adult league over at the Dulles Sportsplex right off of Rt. 28 and we're in need of two players for next season. It's a pretty competitive league and we're regularly one of the better teams - been to and lost in the finals each of the last two seasons. It's a very run-and-gun league, averaging just short of 12 goals a game.

It doesn't really matter if you're a forward or defender because we've got enough guys that can play up or back. Age isn't that big of a deal either - I'm the youngest player at 20 (almost 21) and the oldest is 34, although there are players in the league well over 40. Most of the team is between 24 and 30 though. If anybody is interested and would like to come out for a game or two to try it out or just would like to know more about the team, league, whatever then let me know.

Thanks guys.

Any Caps Fans in Toronto this Saturday 11/21?

2009-11-19T03:45:12Z

I'm heading to the motherland of hockey this weekend. I was wondering if any other Caps fans are travelling to Toronto on 11/21 to watch the Caps play the Maple Leafs?

I'm actually going to be there Friday & was wondering if anyone would want to meet up & game watch the Canadiens vs. Capitals game at a Bar somewhere in Downtown Toronto Friday night?

Another question, do I touch the Cup at the Hockey Hall of Fame... Dare I...

Your Capitals Gift Giving Do's and Don'ts

2009-11-18T21:29:08Z

Thanksgiving is nearly upon us, and with it the official start to the Christmas shopping season.

To help prepare you to do your duty as a fan this season, I prepared a helpful list of gifts to give and gifts to avoid this year.

First up, it's the item that inspired this list. Despite this having been listed as a piece of Washington Capitals memorabilia on the site in question, I thoroughly recommend you avoid . . .

The Bill Guerin autographed Caps Killer picture!

via www.sportsmemorabilia.com

Instead, choose an autographed photo of a truly memorable goal:

via www.frozenpond.com

If you're tempted to choose something with a little Caps history, be sure to check your spelling carefully.

It's Jim Carey

via www.sportsmemorabilia.com

Not Jim Carrey

via www.authenticsportscollectibles.com

Kids love hockey cards. Just be careful not to confuse them.

So avoid cards which feature Dennis Leary discussing how much Sergei Fedorov loves soccer . . .

via www.beckett.com

And stick to cards of guys actually in their uniform

via www.puckjunk.com

When looking for wall art, choose something timeless . . .

via images.footballfanatics.com

Avoid things which may not age well, like oversize novelty tickets commemorating Jaromir Jagr's 500th goal (model sold separately)

via dsp.imageg.net

A game worn jersey is definitely a top notch gift, but older players get very expensive.

So avoid has-beens . . .

via akamai.edeal.com

And look to the future instead. 1500 posts can't be wrong!

via akamai.edeal.com

Rejected Hockey Card - Matt Bradley

2009-11-18T21:13:35Z

After such an epic night, no one (except perhaps for poor Quintin Laing -- but nobody wants to see that card) deserves to be enshrined in a hockey card more than Matt Bradley. Yes, he tied (at best) his fight, but it's what it meant to his teammates, the fans, the guy who has to scrape blood off the ice, and Henrik Lundqvist that is what we should remember, and celebrate. So I present... the Matt Bradley Rejected hockey card:

(not up to my usual standards, but it's a rush-job).

Speculating Semin's Worth

2009-11-18T04:32:53Z

Deciding to kill some time and being the GM at heart that I am; I wanted to know potentially what Semin's Next Contract could be with the Capitals.

With the help of CapGeek.com i went through a lot of forwards who are currently making around 5-7 Million and in addition to there Salary's; I located current career stats and projected there Avg Points per year.

As we all can agree, Semin is a highly skilled player who can be the best or worst player on the ice on any given night. As many people have discussed his goal scoring and stick handling skills could rival Ovechkin's but his Injuries, Costly penalties, and lack of motivation have cost us games.

The List of players after the Jump:

Player	Age	YR Signed CT	Yearly PT Proj.	TERM	Cap Hit/ Mil
Kristian Huselius	31	2008	65Pts	4yr/19 Mil	$4.75
Patrick Marleau	30	2008	70Pts	2yr/12.6 Mil	$6.30
Brian Gionta	30	2009	60Pts	5yr/25 Mil	$5.00
Sedin twins	29	2009	75Pts	5yr/30.5 Mil	$6.10
Mike Ribeiro	29	2008	75Pts	5yr/25 Mil	$5.00
Martin Havlat	28	2009	60Pts	6yr/30 Mil	$5.00
Mike Cammalleri	27	2009	75Pts	5yr/30 Mil	$6.00
Jason Spezza	26	2008	85Pts	7yr/49 Mil	$7.00
Jason Pominville	26	2009	70Pts	5yr/26.5 Mil	$5.30
Mike Richards	24	2008	70Pts	12yr/69 Mil	$5.75
Paul Stastny	23	2009	70Pts	5yr/33 Mil	$6.60
Phil Kessel	22	2009	60Pts	5yr/27 Mil	$5.40


Marian Gaborik/NYR*	27	2009	70Pts	5YR/37.5 mil	$7.50

*NYR'S GM doesn't understand the price value of players and has over paid certain players(At the time for gaborik but he is looking good currently) Examples: Gomez,Redden,Drury

I know a lot more goes into figuring out how much a player should or should not receive. There Age can be a factor and RFA counts for something. With his agent coming out and saying that he wasn't taking any discounts i was wondering what could possibly be Semin's Value? Even though his agent said this, Ovechkin(best bud) play's in washington and this should have some weight in the discussions.

Based on the player i would say he has an Avg around 65PTs per Season but trending UP if he could play more games per season. In no way should they even consider paying Semin Gaborik type money and I’m sure the team would trade him in a second if he even thinks he is worth that much. Semin i believe, compares the most with Pominville, Ribeiro, Havlat, and Cammalleri.

Therefore i think the Caps should highly consider a contract in the neighborhood of 5yrs totaling 29Mil. Unlike Backstrom who will be given a long and lifetime contract like Ovechkin. You can not offer the same to Semin because having a 5 year contact is the perfect amount to keep him motivated and prevent serous long term injury problems for the team Ex: Rick Dipetro/NYI.

Anyways thats my take and fill free to discuss.

Rejected Hockey Card - M. Green

2009-11-17T21:29:52Z

There's no way that after a season like few defensemen have ever had that the Canadian Olympic team wouldn't include one of the fastest, slickest, and most offensive (wait, that came out wrong) player on their roster, Mike Green of your Washington Capitals... would they?

I mean it seems beyond improbable that a Norris trophy finalist isn't good enough to play on your Olympic team, but here we are.

And thus in honor of the possibility that Greener watches the Olympics the same way we all are going to (in a futon eating Funions and drinking Mountain Dew), I am going to leak the never before seen hockey card that was pulled at the last second!

"I support more Rink original works of art" -Fehr and Balanced

You can thank F&B for this mess.

::Update:: Circles anyone?

JRHL Standings Update

2009-11-16T20:05:41Z

Another Monday, and the leaderboard is holding steady. It seems there is a correlation between division leaders and team names featuring Japers' Rink handles. If the playoffs started tomorrow: Two-Prongered Assault vs. Don't Toews Me Sombrero on one side of the bracket, Natty's Ice vs. Gould's Grinders on the other. Full standings, including sortable season stats, at this link.

HUNTER
TEAM	W	L	T	PCT	GB
Natty's Ice	44	25	1	.636	--
Deb's Goon Emporium	33	27	10	.543	6.5
Disgruntled Goats	32	31	7	.507	9
Set Sail For Fail	30	37	3	.450	13
Dale City Magi	22	42	6	.357	19.5

LABRE
TEAM	W	L	T	PCT	GB
Two Prongered Assault	48	17	5	.721	--
My Jokes Getzlafs	38	27	5	.579	10
Team Pervertedlyslow	32	29	9	.521	14
Prestige Worldwide	27	37	6	.429	20.5
The Royal Tenenbaums	22	40	8	.371	24.5

LANGWAY
TEAM	W	L	T	PCT	GB
Gould's Grinders	40	22	8	.629	--
Two Bit Crew	42	25	3	.621	0.5
Ice Warriors X	34	30	6	.529	7
Let's Go Whalers!	22	41	7	.364	18.5
Winnipeg Jets	20	44	6	.329	21

GARTNER
TEAM	W	L	T	PCT	GB
Don't Toews Me Sombrero	38	27	5	.579	--
Polar Bear Rebellion	32	27	11	.536	3
Harrisonburg Dukes	33	33	4	.500	5.5
Champaign Ice Beagles	25	37	8	.414	11.5
Williamsburg Face Wash	23	39	8	.386	13.5

Bonzai's take on Sasha

2009-11-16T17:06:07Z

Most of you or at least some of you might have already known this, so it ain't exactly breaking news. Bonzai is in the pro-Semin camp. Gathering what little I could from a quick read of Pussandbooks's entry for On Frozen Blog, I have to say that is exactly my mindset with #28. As frustrating as it is watching him go morph schizophrenically from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde on ice, I can not help think that if in the near future he winds up on another team in the NHL (assuming another team would want him and could convince him to get on board with them instead of the KHL) the Caps organization are going to regret it in the long term. Just a gut feeling.

Because I hardly have any time during the business day to surf the net and pull up some stats and take a closer look on restropectively how Bonzai, himself, matured throughout the years I am not in any way saying Bonzai and Semin are of the same mold. First off, I somehow get the feeling Bonzai was a little more apt to adapt and adjust his game to become more than a scorer. With that said, if Bonzai believes Semin can do the same. Bonzai's anecdote on one of the moments he had with Semin shared with On Frozen Blog seems to give me some hope.

Bondra noted that he roomed with Semin on the road way back during the Russian winger’s first season in D.C., during the 2003-04 season. Semin played 52 games with the Caps that season, scoring 22 points, but one night he returned to his hotel room 5 minutes past curfew, and Bondra let him know about it. "I said to him, ‘This is not how it’s done,’ and it never happened again. This is why I think he will learn."

Read more on today's post over at On Frozen Blog

It's obvious I'm a fan of Sasha, but just like every Caps fan I do have shared concerns and frustrations of his development as a player and whether he's more an asset than a liability to the Caps in the long run ... especially the run to Lord Stanley's Cup. Any thoughts?

Poll

I agree with Bonzai's assesment

Capitals "Football Chants"

2009-11-15T21:45:18Z

So, before the discussion in this fanpost went completely off the rails and had to be closed, one very cool idea had been raised. DMG summed it up best:

In my wildest dreams I imagine using the power of the internet to start up some Caps songs and/or chants and getting together a section to do them at games.

by David M. Getz on Nov 14, 2009 12:05 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Well, why the heck not? Maybe we can come up with something.

Step 1 is to figure out what makes a good football chant. From my perspective, we'd probably need to start with a tune that everybody already knows -- probably won't have much luck teaching the whole crowd a new tune. The words should probably be moderately family friendly -- no acutal curse words -- though rhyming with a swear you think is coming, or suggestive lyrics (Ovechkin scores before, during, and after the game), is probably OK.

Anyone else have any good thoughts on what would make for a good chant? Anyone have one in mind? I don't think there'd be anything wrong with ~~stealing~~ adapting someone else's classic chant from the Premier League or anywhere else.

Will day-job alliances affect olympic play?

2009-11-15T21:06:14Z

Consider the following hypothetical situation. Yes... it's VERY hypothetical, but it's just an example of something that *could* happen.

---------------------

It's February 2010. It's the gold medal game vs Russia and.. oh let's say.. Sweeden. The game is tied and it's in OT. The Russians chip the puck ahead and it curls around behind Lindqvist. Nick Bacstrom zooms back and chases it around the net... but there's OV... rushing in on the other side like a freight train. Backstrom is caught like a deer in the headlights. The way OV plays, he slams into Nikkie with the same zealousness that he used when he blew that hit on Malkin.. hitting him hard enough to get him to cough up the puck and there's OV... all by his lonesome right in front of Henrik with the puck. He roofs it and wins the gold.

Rewind to right before OV makes the hit, during his charge. Do you think it's possible something might pop up in his mind last split second that makes him think "I could destroy Nikkie, get the puck and there's my chance to win the gold.. BUT that might injure him and take him out for months... thus significantly reducing our NHL teams' chances at winning the Stanley cup"?

---------------------

I know it's a stretch (and let's forget about how possible a scenario is like the one above) but we have to admit: Situations like this might pop up; either super critical ones like above mentioned or something as minor as a D-man deciding if he should really whale that hard on the guy creating a screen in front of him because the guy happens to be his NHL-teammate (I don't know why but the pic of tom Poti ramming his stick into Umburger's back before getting owned the other week is popping into my head).

The decision to not allow NHLers to play in 2014 olympic hockey has me torn, not so much about worries over injuries to players who are getting paid tons of money but because of the following dilemna:

* If you want to prove your country's team is the best in the world, then shouldn't you have the BEST players so there's no doubt your country earned that gold medal?

But on the other hand..

* You have to wonder if there are little alliances that could, even subliminally, be making your team "pull their punches", causing the best players to play less then their best, effectively giving us less of a "world class" performance anyways? I guess it wouldn't be as big of a deal during the non-Olympic world championship because it's played during the NHL offseason, and your team would have enough time to rearrange a few things. But the Olympics come right at the start of the home-stretch for the NHL: The do-or-die time where a club teetering on the #8 position needs every tiny little advantage it can get.

Players Union Might Want To Listen To Ovechkin

2009-11-14T20:42:29Z

On Wednesday’s Caps Clips, JP linked to a poorly written sportsnet.ca article:

WHERE'S THE BEEF? When the NHL Players Association held its recent conference call, Alexander Ovechkin joined the party. But Ovechkin wasn't on the call to talk about the future of the NHLPA. All he wanted to do was whine about not getting all the money back that he put into escrow.

I am told players earning in the neighborhood of $500,000 to $700,000 were furious with Ovechkin, who by the way, quickly got off the call. Ovechkin, in case you didn't know, is on a 13-year contract that pays him $9 million a year for six years and then $10 million a year for seven years.

The players are on the fourth year of a collective bargaining agreement in which they pay money into escrow each season. In each of the first three years players received most of that money back. Last season the players started off by putting 13.5 per cent of their pay checks into escrow, but part way through the year their contribution was increased to 22.5 per cent. Few players, Ovechkin apparently being one of the exceptions, expected to get much back. In fact, players did receive a little more than five per cent back.

Not enough to please the Russian superstar, though.

Ovechkin is currently out with a mysterious injury that could keep him on the shelf for five weeks.

"Maybe he's not even hurt," one player joked. "Maybe he's protesting not getting his escrow back."

Of course that is not the case, but Ovie didn't do himself any favors by bitching about escrow on a call that was supposed to be about the future of the Players' Association.

Obviously, I wasn't on the call, so I don't know what Ovi really said. But there is a legitimate beef that Ovechkin, and anyone who signed a multi-year contract before this offseason, has with the NHLPA. In fact, any player who signed a long-term contract before this offseason is getting hosed.

The thing about the NHL collective bargaining agreement is that the players aren't actually paid in salary -- they're paid in equity. In effect, the players collectively hold a 50%+ nonvoting share of NHL revenues.

PLAYERS' SHARE OF LEAGUE REVENUES

What will be the players' share of League-wide revenues?

The players' share will be 54% to the extent League revenues in any year are below $2.2 billion; 55% when League revenues are between $2.2 billion and $2.4 billion; 56% when League revenues are between $2.4 billion and $2.7 billion, and 57% when League revenues in any year exceed $2.7 billion.

Salary numbers and salary cap levels, are relative, not fixed. They're not in real dollars -- they're all based on an estimate of what league revenues will be. Normally, the estimate is pretty good, and an NHL salary dollar is worth about one real dollar. But sometimes the estimates are bad, like last year when the financial crisis took everyone by surprise. By the end of the year, the players had lost 16% of their salaries because that's how far revenues dropped. Larry Brooks writes:

Slap Shots has learned that the escrow withholding figure for last season has been calculated at a staggering 15.9 percent. That means, for example, that Alex Ovechkin will wind up losing $1.431M of the $9M he thought he was earning last year for the Caps.

Ouch! Then, in the offseason, the players exercised their 5% salary cap "escalator." Effectively, that reduced the value of an "NHL dollar" by 5%. That 5% went to pay free agents -- the salary cap was ultimately set to 56 Million, but it should have been 5% smaller.

Five percent may seem small, but it's more than 2.5 Million. In effect, the players union voted in June to force the Capitals players already under contract to take up a collection out of their own salaries, and use that to pay Mike Knuble's salary. General managers must have been thrilled, because they were given the opportunity to acquire new players without actually having to pay any more real dollars.

I can understand why the players wanted to make sure this year's free agents could get jobs, but it's got to be bitter for anyone who did have a contract. I'm sure Ovechkin is upset about losing about $400,000 so this year's free agents could make more money -- what I don't understand is why other players aren't more upset. Guys near league minimum like John Erskine and Quintin Laing lost about $27,000 -- serious money for people whose playing careers won't necessarily last very long.

With the significant effects exercising the escalator would have on all sorts of people, you'd think the players association took the decision seriously, right? Brooks again:

Attendance at the union meetings in Las Vegas was so limited, it seemed as if one had wandered into a game in Glendale. Fact is, the PA did not have enough player reps at its own meeting to tally the vote on the critical issue of voting on the 5-percent cap escalator clause that eventually was adopted through e-mail tally.

Much worse, and perhaps scandalous, is that a number of players went to Las Vegas on the union's dime, partied, and never bothered to actually, you know, attend the meetings. Wait until the summer meetings in Rome.

The NHLPA has become an absolute soap opera. But you know, when a guy who negotiated the richest contract in NHL history without an agent gets on the line, maybe you might want to listen to him. He might just have something to say that's worth your while.

lets bring back THE WAVE

2009-11-14T17:04:42Z

I loved the ol' Caps Center back in Landover. The noise meter, the infestation of birds in the rafters, the dense vampire fog while driving up 301 to the game.

One thing I used to see at just about EVERY game back then was watching some group of guys start THE WAVE. We n ever see this anymore? WTF. I mean really.. it's not THAT lame. For those of you who used to go to all the games at the old arena... I know you remember how much fun it was.

Of course.. the few times where someone COULDN'T get it going, they looked like an idiot. Maybe that's why no one starts waves anymore. They're too afraid of looking like a tool.

However.. I AM not. For I am a tool and proud to admit it. So next game if you see some dork, scruffy 30 year old with glasses in the nosebleeds trying to start a wave... no I am not having a seizure. Stand up and confront your tool-ness and join me and lets RECLAIM THE WAVE!!!!!

->Brian

Better Know Your Backstroms: A Field Guide

2009-11-13T19:18:14Z

Tonight the Capitals welcome their Western Conference opponents, the Minnesota Wild. Minnesota will be bringing with them a 7-10-1 record, Ovi's boyhood hero, and a Schultz 55.

Oh, and they're also bringing along a guy named Backstrom. Niklas Backstrom. Not to be confused with our Nicklas Backstrom, of course. So I have prepared this handy illustrated field guide to provide you with some spiffy visual cues to assist you in identiying and distinguishing between the battling Backies:

Our Backstrom

Their Backstrom

There is a possibility that Minnesota's Backstrom will not be the starter tonight, as the Wild played to a 4-3 shootout loss in Tampa last night. If NB is not in goal tonight, you can identify him by this:

BTW, congratulations are due to The Other Niklas Backstrom. He just notched his 100th win a few days ago. But he'll just have to wait for win #101!

Varlamov should take every shootout

2009-11-12T19:08:42Z

This isn't going to be analysis heavy - there simply isn't enough data to prove who's better. But I'd guess that putting Varly in for every shootout should net us 3-4 points in the standings the rest of the way. The only real downside I see is the risk of injury, since going in cold is the easiest way to pull a groin, and possibly some effect on JT60's confidence. The benefits are, well, more points in the standings, and maybe SV40 confidence. My only question is whether to put Varlamov in at the start of overtime, so as to get him warmer before the shootout, or trust that the 10 minutes before the shooting begins is enough time for him. I think there's even a case to be made that he'd be better than JT60 in overtime (less risk of screens and deflections, greater likelyhood of odd-man rushes) but that's for another time.

Fact: Caps shooters are below average in the shootout. In the last few years it's been a pretty stable group of shooters and what did we get:

'06-'07 - 12.5% vs league avg of 32.76% - (heavy on Ovechkin and Semin)
'07-'08 - 25.6% vs league avg of 32.51% - (Kozlov helped)
'08-'09 - 28.6% vs league avg of 33.71% - (Semin decent, others meh)
'09-'10 - in early returns it's 23.5% vs 31.07% - both figures are brought down by last night's game

Mostly fact: Jose Theodore isn't as good as he used to be, in the shootout or on breakaways.

'05-'06 - .833 save% for MTL (5/6) in shootouts
'06-'07 - 1.00 save% for COL (6/6)
'07-'08 - .786 save% for COL (22/28), 6-1 record
'08-'09 - .727 save% for WSH (16/22), 4-4 record thanks to below average shooters on team

As of last year he was still above the league average. I think most of us would feel that by the end of last year, in the playoffs, and even into preseason that JT60 was no longer above average on breakaways. On numerous occasions we needed a big stop on a breakaway and didn't get it. Most of us have also been pleasantly surprised by his play this year, and somewhat disappointed by SV40's. Of course by now their GAA and SV% are very similar. I'm not going to read too much into his 0/2 in shootouts this year, I'll just state that he's at league average for a team that needs an above average goalie.

Conjecture: Semyon Varlamov is one of the league's best on breakaways.

Obviously he's described as "very athletic and explosive" in every scouting report, and our own eyes can tell us his movement is incredible and reflexes quite good. He does make mental mistakes and he does give up goals in bunches sometimes. But my eyes also say he's well above average at making the big save on the breakaway, with plenty in last year's playoffs. I only remember him conceding one this year - 10/29/09 Todd White ATL - but I could be off and the definition may be subjective. It's too early to use his 13/14 performance in this year's shootout as proof, but it seems to fit the narrative. As a young athletic goalie if you only give him this one thing to concentrate on, with no other distractions, he's one of the best. The risk of goals in bunches or deteriorating confidence means nothing here because if he's given up two we've probably already lost the shootout. The risk of continued failure is irrelevant.

Fact: The Capitals need to pick up points in shootouts. The Caps are right with the best in the league and getting Game 7s at home is important.

But we've consistently left points on the table. Last year it was with a 4-5 record in shootouts, '07-'08 was 4-6. We're 2-1 so far, we haven't lost by more than a goal all year, and it looks like we're a good bet to keep going into overtime at a good rate. Assume we're in nine more shootouts this year. With JT60 I think we're 3-6, with SV40 I think we're 7-2. That's four massive points in the standings - could be less, could be more.

Let's look at our competition. MAF and Johnny have staked PIT to a 4-0 record behind 13/14 saves. Their shooting is a nice 6 for 13 too. NJD and MTL are 3-0 thanks to 8/9 and 7/7 respectively, and great shooting. These teams are getting it done. PIT and NJD are our main competition at the top of the east right now, unsurprisingly.

Advice: Get Varlamov into every shootout. Somehow. Just do it.

Have Red, Will Travel: Caps @ Devils 11/14

2009-11-12T18:27:28Z

I know we've got some Rinkers up in the New York City / New Jersey area. I need to get out of Dodge for the weekend, so I'm going to shoot up to Newark, rock Caps red at Prudential Center on Saturday night, and pray I'm not horrible luck for the Caps this season. Are any other Rinkers going to be there, and if so, do you want to meet up somewhere for beverages / chow / chatter. etc., either before or after the game?

(EDIT: Changed the name of this post because I liked it better.)

So what's the (best) deal on getting some tickets?

2009-11-12T18:16:45Z

Great to have the Rink Ticket Exchange, but it's looking a little lean for the game I want to go to - Buf 11/25.

Anybody used the Ticket-Raper exchange? I was hoping to sit in the lower (blue) section, but c'mon - $130 minimum for these? Aren't these $85 tickets? I love how we are 'sold out' so ticket brokers can bend us over. Is this game a red, white or blue?

Until recently I almost always bought my tickets from the Brother Man outside the arena and never paid face. Does this still go on or is that market dried up?

Thanks in advance!

Where do you guys buy your equipment?

2009-11-12T16:27:54Z

I broke my favorite stick last week after a year of using it (amazingly long lifespan), and then last night some donkey slashed my good backup in half. I'm down to one stick that I'm not crazy about and it's time to re-stock!

So where do you guys that play get your equipment? I've used hockeygiant.com and hockeymonkey.com in the past with some success, but maybe you know another or a better place to buy from?