Capital Ups and Downs
Capital Ups and Downs: Week 7
by J.P. on Nov 16, 2009 11:00 AM EST
in Capital Ups and Downs
164 comments
Our weekly look at individual Washington Capitals' ups and downs:
| Goalies | Trend | Notes |
| Jose Theodore | ▼ | Brutal week (0-1-0/7.17/.714) leaves his season numbers in tatters, but more important than just this week, JT60's GAA and save percentage over the last five games: 4.29 and .850. Yikes. |
| Semyon Varlamov | ▲ | Don't look now, but after a 2-0-0/1.02/.964 week (including a marathon shootout win), Varly has a GAA that's half a goal better and a save percentage .019 better on the season than his main competition in D.C. More important? That 7-1-0 record. |
| Defensemen | ||
| John Erskine | - | Led the team in hits and was +1 against the Wild, scratched against Jersey. Such is the life of the sixth/seventh/eighth defenseman. |
| Mike Green | ▲ | A goal and four assists in three games and, with three points while up a man, the key to a power play that went 4-for-7 for the week. |
| Milan Jurcina | ▼ | Bad game against the Isles (including a bad penalty that led to the game-tying goal), out with a muscle pull for the next two. |
| Shaone Morrisonn | - | Led the team in hits against the Isles and blocked shots against the Devils. |
| Brian Pothier | ▲ | Continues to assert himself in the offensive zone with great results, including Friday night's game-winner and seven shots on goal in three games. |
| Tom Poti | - | On the ice for five of the ten goals the Caps allowed on the week (including an empty netter). |
| Jeff Schultz | - | Missed two games, came back to do his thing in Jersey. |
| Swingman | ||
| Tyler Sloan | - | Skating as a blueliner for the two games he played this week, he didn't show up much on the stat sheet... which isn't a bad thing. |
| Forwards | ||
| Nicklas Backstrom | ▼ | Minus-5 rating and just one assist in three games (not to mention a 2-for-10 night in the dot Saturday). Think he'll be happy when AO returns? |
| Matt Bradley | - | Solid work Friday night, a helper and the team's only plus rating Saturday. |
| Chris Clark | ▲ | Assist streak ends at four on Friday, one game after his shootout winner. Eight shots in less than two games since the Knuble injury - a sign of things to come? |
| Eric Fehr | - | Points in four of five entering Saturday night, gets yet another chance to make an impact with Knuble out. |
| Tomas Fleischmann | - | Has pointed in every game since his return except the first and his three-point week includes a power play goal and two extra man helpers. But a minus-six rating on the week (minus-two against the Isles, minus-four in Jersey) prevents him from getting a green arrow here. |
| Boyd Gordon | - | Blink and you missed his return to the lineup and subsequent exit from it. |
| Mike Knuble | ▼ | An assist and minus-two rating against the Isles and a busted finger against the Wild. But the Caps got him for April, not November, so don't worry too much. |
| Brooks Laich | - | An empty netter was his only point of the week, but 14 shots on goal is a nice number for three games. |
| Quintin Laing | - | Played the prototypical Q game on Friday night, didn't do much on either end of it. |
| Brendan Morrison | ▲ | Points in five-straight, including power-play helpers in the past two games where he's subbing for AO on the point (and doing quite well). |
| Michael Nylander | ● | The dreaded yellow circle of "What the hell, dude?" |
| Alex Ovechkin | - | Getting closer to playing, but not in the way that we're all getting closer to dying - most expect the Great Eight in the lineup Tuesday night in Gotham. |
| Mathieu Perreault | ▲ | Goal, assist, plus-two for the week and has yet to have a minus rating in any of his six games. We'll talk about those faceoffs some other time. |
| Alexander Semin |  |
Two goals against the Isles (and countless other fantastic chances) and one of the world's worst turnovers against the Devs. He's trending neither up nor down - he's trending Sasha. |
| David Steckel | - | Dominating the dot (70% for the week and 83% against Minny), but still yet to find the back of the net. It'll come, Stecks. |
164 comments | 8 recs |
Capital Ups and Downs: Week 6
by J.P. on Nov 9, 2009 11:00 AM EST
in Capital Ups and Downs
287 comments
Our weekly look at individual Washington Capitals' ups and downs:
| Goalies | Trend | Notes |
| Jose Theodore | ▲ | A strong performance on Friday night in Sunrise earned him Saturday's start in which he looked understandably less sharp. Still, a 2-0-0/2.51/.912 week keeps his hold on the #1 spot firm. |
| Semyon Varlamov | - | To the untrained eye, he looked pretty good in Jersey. But Bruce Boudreau didn't see it that way (calling two of the three goals allowed "iffy"), so Varly stays in Chez Bow Wow and doesn't get a start against a bad team in a back-to-backs when the #1 guy has a recent history of back spasms. |
| Defensemen | ||
| John Erskine | ▲ | Shaking off the rust after missing nearly a month, has a plus-five rating over his last four games. |
| Mike Green | - | Had his nine-game scoring streak snapped in Jersey, then was injured early in Florida. Get well soon, GreenLife52. |
| Milan Jurcina | - | Ugly minus-four on Saturday night (though his play wasn't as bad as that would seem to indicate), has still yet to find the back of the net this season and is pointless and averaging just one shot per game in his last ten. |
| Shaone Morrisonn | ▼ | Didn't register a single shot last week... except for the boarding late in Friday night's game. |
| Brian Pothier | ▲ | Responded to Wednesday's healthy scratch with a goal, three assists and a plus-six rating over the next two games (which included loads of PP time with Green out). |
| Tom Poti | - | An assist and a plus-three rating in Saturday's stat-padder, but wasn't credited with a shot on goal all week. |
| Jeff Schultz | - | Injured on Friday night, missed on Saturday. |
| Swingman | ||
| Tyler Sloan | ▲ | Versatility earns him his own position on this list. Had a pair of goals as a forward and played well when shifted back to D on Friday, but struggled on the blueline Saturday. |
| Forwards | ||
| Nicklas Backstrom | - | Seemed to get his groove back once paired with Fleischmann and Knuble, ended the week with three helpers, a plus-three rating and a 56.3% faceoff win rate. |
| Matt Bradley | - | A beautiful pass to set up Laing's goal (and some wrestling) on Saturday night highlight his week. |
| Chris Clark | ▲ | Helpers in each of the week's three games and a fight in Jersey. Good stuff, Cap'n. |
| Eric Fehr | - | Finally got back in the lineup Saturday and produced an assist in limited ice time. |
| Tomas Fleischmann | ▲ | Three goals, one assist and a plus-four rating for the week and five goals and seven points in his last five games overall. We are all, for the moment, seeing Flash as Gabby has always seen him. |
| Boyd Gordon | - | Still hurt (and the PK still misses him). His games played by season over the last three campaigns: 71, 67, 63. Expect 59 this year? |
| Mike Knuble | ▲ | Two goals, three assists and a plus-four rating over the weekend is how a veteran rebounds from a couple of bad games in a row. |
| Brooks Laich | ▲ | 18 points in 17 games on the season, including four last week. Laich also hasn't taken a penalty in his last nine games and has just two minors on the campaign. |
| Quintin Laing | - | Had one more goal than and the same number of shots as Alex Semin last week. Another interesting Q stat: he's been credited with fewer blocked shots on the year than Knuble or Backstrom. |
| Brendan Morrison | ▲ | Called out by his coach for a bad penalty in Jersey, responds with two goals on Friday. |
| Michael Nylander | - | Has agreed to be put on waivers, still would have to agree to any loan to another league (KHL, AHL, etc.), but it's another step closer to what everyone wants. |
| Alex Ovechkin | - | Of the countless AO vids on YouTube, this has to be just about my least favorite. It's gonna be a long |
| Mathieu Perreault | ▲ | A burst of energy who has made Chris Clark and Tyler Sloan look like serviceable NHL wingers, which is no small accomplishment. |
| Alexander Semin | ▼▼ | One down arrow wasn't enough to capture the disappointment of what Semin is doing with his opportunity to be the team's top scoring threat. No points and as nearly many offensive-zone minor penalties (five) as shots on goal (six) for the week. Brutal. |
| David Steckel | ▼ | The only Caps forward still looking for his first goal of the season (minimum seven games played), Steckel was point-less on the week and was on the ice for all three power play goals the Caps surrendered in the three games. He did win 62.5% of his draws overall, however. |
287 comments | 2 recs |
Capital Ups and Downs: Week 5
by J.P. on Nov 2, 2009 11:00 AM EST
in Capital Ups and Downs
143 comments
Our weekly look at individual Washington Capitals' ups and downs:
| Goalies | Trend | Notes |
| Jose Theodore | - | Gave up one he'd probably like to have back against the Isles and had some hard luck against C'bus, but stopped 41 of 43 (including a penalty shot) against Philly and was 1-0-2/3.63/.895 for the week. |
| Semyon Varlamov | - | Apparently told SovSport after the Atlanta win that the team concentrates more on the game when he's in goal. Now if only he'd concentrate more on the game when he's in goal... |
| Defensemen | ||
| John Erskine | - | Still not ready to play, but the Caps probably have used his skillset against Columbus. |
| Mike Green | - | Points in nine-straight, but an even-rating and very uneven play (albeit not at full health). |
| Milan Jurcina | ▲ | Dare I say... steady? Bonus points for coming right back after taking a nasty spill into the boards against Columbus. Slovakian Machine never breaks? |
| Shaone Morrisonn | - | Can a player fall down the depth chart while sticking on the top pairing? |
| Brian Pothier | ▼ | No production + bad penalty = down arrow |
| Tom Poti | ▼ | Prior to Friday night, Poti had a streak of a half-dozen "+1s" in a row, but he's making bad decisions, failing to clear pucks and generating no offense. |
| Jeff Schultz | - | Offensive outburst apparently behind him, Sarge is back to doing his thing - playing very solid defense with the occasional goofy lookin' gaffe. |
| Tyler Sloan | ▼ | Time to move him to the list of forwards? Or, better yet, Hershey? |
| Forwards | ||
| Keith Aucoin | - | Two points in four games, but hasn't done enough to warrant consideration for a full-time NHL gig once the team gets healthy. |
| Nicklas Backstrom | ▲ | Seven points in four games while battling the flu. Faceoffs are still a concern. |
| Matt Bradley | - | Has had some good opportunities for that second fighting major of the season, but is doing other things, and doing them pretty well. |
| Chris Clark | ▼ | Whatever Clark's on-ice role is on this team right now, he's not doing it well. |
| Eric Fehr | ▼ | With nearly every game that passes, Fehr's "make or break" season seems more and more broken. |
| Tomas Fleischmann | ▲ | Who are you and what have you done with the real Tomas Fleischmann? |
| Boyd Gordon | - | Still out, still missed. |
| Alexandre Giroux | ▼ | Back to Hershey, where he belongs. |
| Mike Knuble | - | Just three goals in 14 games (a 17-goal pace) and a few bad penalties along the way, but his effort is always there. |
| Brooks Laich | ▲ | Three helpers against Atlanta and a pair of goals against the Jackets. |
| Quintin Laing | ▲ | Comes back from H1N1 and scores a goal to add yet another chapter in the crazy story that is Laing's hockey life. |
| Brendan Morrison | ▲ | Terrific effort every night. |
| Michael Nylander | ▲ | Five AHL games, five points. Now let's get down to business... |
| Alex Ovechkin | ▲ | Caps Nation holds its collective breath. |
| Alexander Semin | ▼ | Do you really want to be wondering come playoff time if one of your alleged star players is going to show up? |
| David Steckel | - | Strong game against C'bus, but didn't have much else going on this past week. |
143 comments | 2 recs |
Capital Ups and Downs: Week 4
by J.P. on Oct 26, 2009 11:00 AM EDT
in Capital Ups and Downs
176 comments
Our weekly look at individual Washington Capitals' ups and downs:
| Goalies | Trend | Notes |
| Jose Theodore | ▲ | Stopped 28 of 30 Islander shots on Saturday, keeping the team in the game long enough for them to wake up, come back, and get him a long overdue win - his first since opening night. |
| Semyon Varlamov | ▼ | Has now allowed four goals or more in three of his five starts, but is 2-0-0 in those games. Must be nice. |
| Defensemen | ||
| John Erskine | - | Not healthy. Not playing. Not missed. |
| Mike Green | ▲ | Green "got mad and said, ‘The heck with this,’ and he played the way he can." More, please. |
| Milan Jurcina | - | A couple of penalties in the Atlanta game and the willingness to shoot the puck (albeit not on net) in the Isles game stand out. |
| Shaone Morrisonn | - | Penalties in three straight games, but playing solid D when he's on the ice. |
| Brian Pothier | ▼ | Continues to struggle to make an impact. |
| Tom Poti | - | Back-to-back plus-1's and a whopping 6:41 of penalty killing time against the Thrashers. |
| Jeff Schultz | ▲ | "Did I ever tell you kids about the time I took the puck coast-to-coast through the entire Thrashers' team, deked the goalie and roofed it on the backhand?" One goal, four assists, plus-four, 6:12 SH TOI versus Atlanta (and, unlike Poti, un-scored upon in that time), and a big blocked shot at the end of that game. Keep killing it, Sarge. |
| Tyler Sloan | - | Couldn't get a game last week. One wonders what his immediate future holds. |
| Forwards | ||
| Keith Aucoin | ▲ | A big goal and an assist and a plus-two rating in two games (and in limited time, to boot). The results, at least, are all you can ask of him... other than a more consistent effort in backchecking. |
| Nicklas Backstrom | ▼ | Continues to struggle, posting a minus-three rating and winning just 33% of his draws last week. Backstrom has now gone seven games without an even strength assist and has just one helper in that span. Could his contract situation be weighing on him? |
| Matt Bradley | ▲ | Another goal for Brads, whose Pts/60 at even strength trail only Ovechkin and Semin among Caps skaters with five or more games played. |
| Chris Clark | - | Scored the eventual game-winner in Atlanta, but didn't do anything with more than five minutes of PP time for the week or a few shifts on the top line. |
| Eric Fehr | - | No preseason, no conditioning assignment, no ice time (but a nice goal against the Thrash). Recipe for failure? |
| Tomas Fleischmann | - | No preseason, a conditioning assignment and presumably a second-line slot being kept warm. Recipe for success? |
| Boyd Gordon | - | Still out with an injury. Could use his faceoff (and other) skills on the penalty kill. |
| Alexandre Giroux | - | When Green got kneed on the Island, he had the perfect opportunity to show he's more than a minor league cherry-picker. Like most of his opportunities at the NHL level, however, Giroux failed to take advantage. He did pot a goal against Atlanta, though. |
| Mike Knuble | - | Two penalties in the Atlanta game (though at least one was highly questionable), beauty drop pass to Green against the Isles. |
| Brooks Laich | ▲ | Overtime game-winner in New York (his first tally in three weeks) to go along with his assist earlier in the game and a plus-two rating for the week. |
| Quintin Laing | - | Judgment day coming? |
| Brendan Morrison | ▲ | A helper and a plus-four rating in the two games, but just 39.3% in the dot. |
| Michael Nylander | ▲ | Sometimes it's just real good to see a hockey player finally playing hockey. Five points in three games doesn't hurt either. |
| Alex Ovechkin | ▼ | The six shots on goal AO was credited with last week were as many or fewer than in any of his previous half-dozen games. Two hits in two games, a fine, and a team 0-for-11 on the power play (including two shorties against) also speak to a rough week for the best player in the world. |
| Alexander Semin | - | When it has to be clarified that a player's absence is health- and not discipline-related, it says something about how that player's been playing. |
| David Steckel | - | Plus-two on the week, but where's that offense about which we heard so much in the off-season? |
176 comments | 9 recs |
Capital Ups and Downs: Week 3
by J.P. on Oct 19, 2009 11:00 AM EDT
in Capital Ups and Downs
478 comments
Our weekly look at individual Washington Capitals' ups and downs:
| Goalies | Trend | Notes |
| Jose Theodore | ▲ | A 2.12 GAA and .929 save percentage in four-plus periods for the week deserves better than an 0-0-1 mark and an injury. |
| Semyon Varlamov | ▲ | Everything about the second goal he allowed to Nashville - how quickly it came after the first, the goal itself - was troubling, but a 2-0-0/1.14/.949 week sure is encouraging. Varly has still yet to lose a regular season game in regulation in his career (7-0-1). |
| Defensemen | ||
| John Erskine | ▲ | Plus-two in just 6:39 of ice time for the week before heading to the IR with an upper body injury. |
| Mike Green | - | Points in three straight, including his first goal of the season, but the consistency is still not there yet. |
| Milan Jurcina | ▲ | Playing solid defense (plus-one on the week, plus-six for the season) and led the team in hits and blocked shots on Saturday night. |
| Shaone Morrisonn | - | Playing with a snarl. Or rather, he was playing with a snarl, before missing Saturday night's game with an undisclosed injury. |
| Brian Pothier | ▼ | For a puck-mover like Pothier to have more minor penalties (two) than points and shots on goal combined (one - a shot) in three games isn't a good thing. |
| Tom Poti | ▲ | The Caps killed all 12 power plays they faced in the week's three games, so good on Poti as the shorthanded ice time leader. |
| Jeff Schultz | - | If a coach has enough confidence in a guy to give him first-pairing minutes with Mike Green, why is he ever scratched? A couple of miscues in the Nashville game stand out, but so does a solid effort against San Jose |
| Tyler Sloan | - | Filling in admirably, but not doing much. |
| Forwards | ||
| Keith Aucoin | ▼ | Hasn't shown anything yet during this call-up other than a lack of desire to backcheck against San Jose's fourth line after being out of position on the forecheck. |
| Nicklas Backstrom | ▼ | Has gone five games without an even strength assist and has only one helper overall during that span. |
| Matt Bradley | ▲ | Still the only non-top six forward with a goal, he potted his second of the season against San Jose and played his 500th career NHL game on Saturday. |
| Chris Clark | ▼ | No points, just two shots on goal and a minus-two rating for a week perhaps highlighted by his questionable fight in the Jersey game. |
| Eric Fehr | - | Lousy backcheck on San Jose's goal, strong first period against Nashville followed up with... a cut in ice time? |
| Tomas Fleischmann | - | Placed on Long-Term Injured Reserve retroactive to the beginning of the season, which means the Caps didn't need to lose Chris Bourque on waivers when they did. |
| Boyd Gordon | ▼ | Another penalty in the Jersey game, followed by a couple of games in the press box (ostensibly with an injury) during which the penalty kill has been superb. Uh oh, Gordo? |
| Mike Knuble | ▲ | Six points (five at even strength) and a plus-five rating in three games playing with AO. Predictable, perhaps, but you've still gotta go out there and do it (right, Viktor?). |
| Brooks Laich | ▼ | Hasn't scored a goal since the second game of the season and doesn't have a point in any of his last four games (during which he has a minus-four rating, including minus-three last week). |
| Quintin Laing | - | Q's doing what Q does. |
| Brendan Morrison | ▲ | Three helpers in two games with Ovechkin and Knuble after a bad game with Laich and Semin. He was switched back to center that second pair of wingers in the third period against Nashville, so stay tuned. |
| Michael Nylander | - | Since every passing week is one week closer to the end of this whole mess, one could argue that Nylander's trending upwards. We won't, though. |
| Alex Ovechkin | ▲ | Ovechkin had as many points this week (six) as the Redskins did, and he scored the game-winners in both of the Caps' wins on the week. Four goals, two helpers, a plus-four rating and 26 shots on goal in three games without taking a single penalty. MVP-like week. |
| Alexander Semin | ▼ | Scored a goal and drew three penalties in the first period against San Jose, but was brutal in the week's other two games. The inconsistency is maddening. |
| David Steckel | ▲ | With the Caps' penalty kill in the top ten in the League, kudos go out to the top PK forward (by minutes), who won 68.5% of his 54 draws on the week. Stecks is still looking for that first point of the season, but at least he's contributing elsewhere. |
478 comments | 3 recs |
Capital Ups and Downs: Week 2
by J.P. on Oct 12, 2009 11:00 AM EDT
in Capital Ups and Downs
283 comments
Our weekly look at individual Washington Capitals' ups and downs:
| Goalies | Trend | Notes |
| Jose Theodore | - | After three games, a .902 save percentage and 2.90 GAA is probably about what we'd have expected, and he's looked good at times, but those two third-period softies in the Rangers game sting. |
| Semyon Varlamov | ▼ | Off to a tough start, with questions about both his glove and head. |
| Defensemen | ||
| John Erskine | ▼ | Wore the hard hat after game one and was terrible in Philly. If it wasn't for his willingness to drop the gloves, he wouldn't be here. |
| Mike Green | ▼ | Having trouble getting shots on net and taking too many penalties. |
| Milan Jurcina | ▲ | Did you know that Juice is tied for the team lead in plus-minus? More importantly, do the League's other 29 general managers? |
| Shaone Morrisonn | ▲ | Blocking shots, hitting, not committing penalties and playing with a bit of snarl... so far, so good. |
| Brian Pothier | - | Nice to have another guy back there who can make an outlet pass or skate the puck. |
| Tom Poti | ▼ | Bad in Philly and not much better elsewhere so far. Also, only two shots on goal through five games. |
| Jeff Schultz | - | Having trouble getting games and minutes. Has he lost the coach's confidence or is he sitting while trade bait gets showcased? |
| Tyler Sloan | - | Defenseman? Forward? Waiver fodder? |
| Forwards | ||
| Nicklas Backstrom | ▲ | Could Backstrom become just the fourth player in history to hit the 100-assist mark in a season? |
| Matt Bradley | ▲ | Three points and a plus-three rating through five games is all you can ask of the grinder. |
| Chris Clark | - | Skating well, but with just one point (a helper) and six shots on goal in five games, he's not showing up on the score sheet enough. |
| Eric Fehr | - | It's now or never, Fehrsie. |
| Tomas Fleischmann | - | It's a couple of weeks from now or never, Flash. |
| Boyd Gordon | ▼ | Winning 60% of his draws, but three penalties and a minus-two rating aren't what you'd like to see from your fourth-line center. |
| Boyd Kane | ▼ | D.C. was only big enough for one Boyd, apparently. Plus, Kane stunk. |
| Mike Knuble | - | Just one goal (and no assists) through five games, but he's been better than that would indicate. |
| Brooks Laich | ▲ | Skating on the top PP unit with Ovechkin, Backstrom, Green and Semin. Jackpot! |
| Quintin Laing | ▼ | If Laing has no points, a minus-two rating, and the team's penalty killing percentage is well under 80% effective, is he doing his job? |
| Brendan Morrison | ▲ | Three goals (on just six shots on goal) and a 57.4% mark in the faceoff circle make the early returns on this signing look fantastic. |
| Michael Nylander | - | Sigh. |
| Alex Ovechkin | ▲ | White-hot out of the gate, needs to establish a consistent commitment to all aspects of the game... but then again, so does everyone on the team. |
| Alexander Semin | - | Called out by his coach after two bad penalties in the Detroit game, he's mixing jaw-dropping skill with maddening decision-making. Ladies and gentlemen, Alex Semin. |
| David Steckel | ▼ | The good? 63.1% in the dot. The bad? Team-worst minus-4 rating and no points. Maybe he's not a third-line center after all. |
283 comments | 0 recs |
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Southeast Standings
| GP | W | L | OTL | PT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Washington
|
22 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 30 |
|
Tampa Bay
|
19 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 23 |
|
Atlanta
|
18 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 22 |
|
Florida
|
20 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 20 |
|
Carolina
|
21 | 4 | 12 | 5 | 13 |
(updated 11.21.2009 at 8:36 AM EST)
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