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With a difficult road ahead and every point gained or left on the table along the way likely to be important, it's critically important that the Capitals win the games they "should win." Reasonable minds might differ, of course, as to what constitutes a "should win" game, but one played at Verizon Center - where the Caps were 19-7-1 - against a Winnipeg team that came into the game 9-16-4 on the road would seem to fit the bill.

If that set-up sounds familiar, it's because it's pretty similar to what we wrote a few weeks back when the Islanders came to town... and promptly shut-out their red-clad hosts.

The Caps seemed determined not to fall victim to the same fate Thursday night, but a failure to capitalize on early chances and an almost literally unbelievable last few minutes of regulation ultimately proved too much to overcome, as they dropped the decision in the shootout by a 3-2 count.

Ten more notes on the game:

• Given that Tomas Vokoun has posted a 1.91 goals against average and .939 save percentage in 14 home games since Dale Hunter took over behind the bench and Ondrej Pavelec came into the game with a 1.99 GAA and .938 SV% against the Caps on the season, a goalie duel was probably to be expected a goalie duel... and that's certainly what was delivered.
  
• One of the big stories headed into this one was the healthy-scratch for the struggling Mike Knuble. Hunter explained that he wanted to get Jay Beagle in the lineup for "more speed." Well, half-way through the second, Beagle took a pass on a good breakout and found himself streaking down the left side in a 2-on-1 with Dennis Wideman. Beagle saucered a gorgeous backhand pass to Wideman, but the blueliner couldn't beat Pavelec. Which is a shame. Because Jay Beagle will never make a prettier pass.
  
• By the end of the second period, the Caps had 24 shots on goal, which is more than they'd had in 16 of Hunter's 31 entire games coming into the night. So there's that. Of course, they couldn't beat Pavelec with a single one of those 24... so there's that, too.
  
• Alex Ovechkin's 10th power-play goal of the season broke the 0-0 tie in the third when he cashed in on an Alexander Semin shot that rebounded off the end boards. Less than two minutes later, Ovechkin would return the favor with a beauty of a feed to Semin on a backdoor cut, who made no mistake and gave the Caps a 2-0 lead with both tallies coming with the extra man (and Wideman assisting on both).
  
• Considering his reputation coming into this season as a high-risk/high-reward offensive defenseman, Caps fans might be surprised at all they've seen from Dmitry Orlov so far in his rookie season. But they got a glimpse of some of that skill early in the third when the young Russian blueliner had a partial breakaway and flashed some sweet stickhandling before having his shot denied by Pavelec. And perhaps some of that high-risk was at play, too, as the Caps were forced to commit a penalty to break up a scoring chance moments later at the other end (though that was clearly more on Orlov's teammates for failing to adequately cover for him on a chance he had to take).
  
• Karl Alzner and John Carlson get high marks for their work against Winnipeg's top line. Reunited and it feels so good? Well, it did until the last few minutes, at least.
  
• 2-man advantages are rare in the NHL. But a three-man advantage? The Jets had that late after a couple of Caps penalties and the decision to pull Pavelec. The Caps killed a bit of the disadvantage, but Evander Kane finally beat Vokoun from atop the crease with 2:15 left in the third... 12 seconds before Dustin Byfuglien beat him from center ice on a shot that deflected off of Alzner to tie the game. Stunning turn of events.
  
• After a five-minute overtime period didn't yield a winner, it was on to the shootout which, like it or not, is how such games are decided these days. Ovechin: goal. Blake Wheeler: goal. Semin: save. Bryan Little: goal. Mathieu Perreault: save. Shootout: garbage.
  
• There were positives to take away from the loss, including an effective power-play, good shot- and scoring-chance generation, and excellent success in the faceoff dot. But it is getting a bit late in the day for moral victories.
  
• Last thought: does anyone miss Eric Fehr? Me neither.
  

And so the Caps have a few days off to think about a brutally hard loss - a game they had to have and a game they did have. Until they didn't.

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A little less than a week ago, the Caps traveled to Sunrise to take on the Panthers in a game that would determine who would sit atop the Southeast Division. It was an important game, one that could have given them some breathing room in first, a game that should have had built-in energy and focus... and instead the Caps came out flat, lost and found themselves on the outside looking in once more.

Tonight they had a chance to redeem themselves for that performance, the loss still fresh in their minds and a slim one-point lead now in the hands of the Panthers. And redeem themselves they did, jumping out to a lead before the game was a minute old, establishing an energetic game early on and never looking back.

Ten more notes on the game:

• May it never be said that Mathieu Perreault doesn't take advantage of his opportunities... or at least that he hasn't lately. With injuries comes extra ice time and the chance to play a bigger role on the team, and he's made the most of both, picking up five of his eight goals on the season in the two weeks leading up to tonight and adding a ninth just thirteen seconds into this one. Credit Alexander Semin for setting up the play, Jason Chimera for the beauty of a pass from behind the net and Perreault himself for getting open (and being small enough to hide behind two defenders).
• As good as Perreault has been of late and as much as he's stepped up, he can't make up for the talent of his team's captain; luckily tonight he didn't have to, as Alex Ovechkin showed up to play and picked up his first goal since coming back from the suspension... and then added another one for good measure. Both tallies were of the "vintage Alex" variety, marking his first multi-goal game of 2012 and coming out of ten total shot attempts (with five that hit or got past Scott Clemmensen).
• Getting outshot in a game is hardly new for this team these days; still, it never quite sits right to watch the shot counter tick up and up and up for the opposition while the Caps' shots are few and far between. Even with a respectable start, firing 18 shots on net through forty minutes, they still gave up 27 over that same stretch and were outshot 10-2 in the first half of the third. Naturally some of that was because of the healthy four-goal lead they carried into that third, but still.
• If you saw Brooks Laich's injury against the Bruins Sunday afternoon, you might have thought he was done for at least a few weeks. If you heard about him being unable to put weight on his leg in the locker room after the collision, you might have thought he was done for the year. And yet here he was, not a single game missed and back in the lineup. He clearly wasn't 100%, his ice time was limited and his impact on the scoresheet minimal, but there was something truly badass about his presence nonetheless.
• Chimera had what was easily his best game in a long while tonight (despite taking an ill-advised retaliatory penalty late in the third), as he set up the game-opening tally and added a shorthanded tap-in of his own early in the second period. And led the team in shots by a wide margin with eight. And won all three faceoffs he took. We understand Chimera's parents were in town to take in their son's performance... wonder if they'd be interested in making Washington their winter habitat.
• Knowing how to take control of a game early used to be something the Caps did without a second thought. Holding off the opponent and piling on the offense, instinctual. It's been missing of late, however, so to see this team jump out to a lead - and then continue to build on it and put pressure on the Panthers, even while giving up the requisite barrage of shots-against - brought back fond memories of pre-Trapitals hockey. Ah, memories.
• No one would argue with the fact that Joel Ward has been less than impressive over the past two months...so if you were wondering who that guy was in the #42 jersey barreling his way around the offensive zone at the halfway mark of the game, you weren't alone. That was an absolute beast of a shift by Ward and his linemates that earned a well-deserved round of applause from the Verizon Center faithful, and was really just the icing on what was an all-around solid, physical game for Ward. More, please?
• Even in a slightly lopsided contest, you don't want to be giving the other team chances to get back in it - especially a team with a top-10 power play, and especially when you're a team with a bottom-10 penalty kill. It ultimately didn't end up hurting the team but discipline is still important. Yeah, we're looking at you, Dennis "two trips to the sin bin" Wideman .
• Every goal counts the same regardless of the situation in which it's scored. Still, it was nice to see the Caps capitalizing in a variety of different ways - they scored in transition, scored off a nice offensive zone cycle, picked up a power play goal and even tallied shorthanded for just the second time this year.
• Seems this is the case more often than not these days, but yet another stellar performance for former Panther Tomas Vokoun. His team got him the lead and he did the rest, turning aside all 42 shots he faced for his third shutout of the season (and second in the last three games).

What goes around comes around, and the Caps find themselves back in the lead in the Southeast - the hope now is that the cycle ends and the Caps find some momentum, start building a cushion for themselves. It starts with one win, preferably a strong one like this; then it's up to the team to find a way to make one good win into two, then three, to find some consistency in a season that continues to be lacking in that area. The home stretch only gets more difficult.

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In their last game before the All-Star break, the Washington Capitals rallied in the absence of their captain, their top center and their best defenseman to defeat the defending Cup Champs and enter the mid-winter hiatus on a positive note. A dozen days later, with their captain back and coming off a shutout victory in Montreal twenty hours earlier, the Caps couldn't generate the same energy, offense or, most importantly, result, as they dropped their Super Bowl Sunday matinee to the visiting Bruins by a 4-1 count.

Ten more notes on the game:

• Given that the Bruins were coming off a tough loss yesterday (one in which they didn't feel particularly good about their own effort), it was unsurprising to see them come out with a strong effort early, the kind that forces the opposition to "weather the storm" for the first ten minutes or so. Given that the Caps were coming off a rare (and not particularly difficult) road win yesterday, perhaps it was unsurprising to see them come out, well, flat (I hear it's sometimes difficult to get up for games in Southeast Division buildings). At the ten-minute mark, the B's were up 6-1 on the shot clock, but there was nothing on the scoreboard for either side. Storm weathered.
  
• Only a few moments later, however, the Bruins would strike when Rich Peverley and Milan Lucic crossed up Jeff Schultz and Dennis Wideman a stride or two inside the Washington blueline. Schultz stayed with his man (Peverley), and forced him to a backhand posture which was pretty well-contained. But the Boston pivot was able to thread a pass to his teammate, whom Wideman had let get behind him. Looch beat Tomas Vokoun and the B's were up 1-0. Most of the culpability on that one has to go to Wideman... but most of the retribution will probably head Sarge's way.
  
• Perhaps the biggest disappointment of The Dale Hunter Era so far is the Caps' apparent lack of interest in winning battles along the boards. Or maybe it's just an inability to win those battles on a consistent basis. Either way, the team's offense is predicated upon trying to score off the (somewhat rare) rush and/or capitalizing on opponents' mistakes. That's a tough way to generate consistent, dependable offense in this League.
  
• And, of course, losing board battles can be an absolute killer. Case-in-point, the Bruins' second goal, on which NBC's Eddie Olczyk rightly crushed Karl Alzner for not having his stick on the ice and losing a battle behind the Caps' net to Patrice Bergeron who got the puck past John Carlson and to Brad Marchand, who squeezed the puck past Vokoun to give Boston a 2-0 lead headed to the first intermission. This team has the size to be good on the boards and an even greater need for it. But, for whatever reason, it hasn't happened.
  
• Think things couldn't get much worse for the Caps from an injury standpoint? Think again. Brooks Laich left the game in the second-half of the second period after getting hit along the end-boards by Dennis Seidenberg. While we'll resist the urge to speculate (even though the hit looked an awful lot like the one that ended Evgeni Malkin's 2010-11 season), any prolonged absence from the Caps' Mr. Versatile could be a nail in the 2011-12 Caps' coffin.
  
• Realistically, a two-goal deficit with twenty minutes left shouldn't be nearly by-definition insurmountable. But against the Bruins it essentially is, as Boston is now 62-3-2 when leading after two periods since the start of last season (including 22-0-0 this season). Hopefully you took the time to go prep some snacks for the big game or something.
  
• In his last 11 games (and thus the team's last 14), Alex Ovechkin now has three goals and three assists, with one of those goals and two of the assists coming in his last pre-suspension game at Pittsburgh. The Captain came out with good energy in this one, but couldn't generate much offense (a couple of nice passes notwithstanding). Needless to say, if this team is going to end up in the post-season, that's going to have to change.
  
• Of all the problems the Caps have these days, it might be a relatively minor one, but Marcus Johansson has become an adventure in his own zone. And since he has just two goals (including the shutout-breaker today) and three assists in his last 11 games... yeah, he's struggling. (Add him to the list.)
  
• Tyler Seguin's 20th goal of the season early in the third was another tally on which Wideman let his man get behind him in a dangerous position. After Johansson got beat one-on-one by Marchand, it was essentially a tap-in for TyTy. Three goals-against, and at least one fairly stunning mental lapse on each - obviously not a recipe for success.
  
• Silver lining? The Caps managed to fire 36 shots on goal, topping 30 for just the fifth time under Hunter and out-shooting an opponent for the first time since Nicklas Backstrom's last game.
  

On the one hand, with a road game and a tough home game on the schedule, an 0-fer weekend was certainly a strong possibility for the Caps, but they managed a couple of points and continue to tread water in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. On the other hand, losing at home always hurts... and losing a heart-and-soul player hurts even more. Onward.

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A big road win for the good guys... but no recap. Hash out what went right and what went wrong in the comments.

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On paper, tonight's game against the Florida Panthers didn't look very promising. The Panthers were well-rested, the Caps were coming off an overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning the night before, and the team was still missing its captain and star player, Alex Ovechkin, to the final game of his three-game suspension. If that wasn't enough, this was a road game, which haven't been too kind to the team.

True to form, the better-rested Panthers outlasted a depleted Caps squad, breaking open a tie game in the third period and skating away with a 4-2 win and sole possession of first place in the Southeast Division. Meanwhile, the out-classed Caps end their three game stretch without any of the Big Three skaters and eagerly await the return of Alex Ovechkin for Saturday's game in Montreal.

Ten more notes on the game:

• The big takeaway from tonight's game - and last night's as well - is that without the Big Three trio of Alex Ovechkin, Mike Green and Nick Backstrom, the Caps are a bad team. Tampa and Florida are both below average hockey teams, and in both games the Caps were never in control of play and came out with two losses. Sure, optimists will point out that the same depleted Caps beat a good Boston team a week ago. But if forced to play a full season with this roster, the Caps are no more than an 80-point team. That's an ugly reality for a team that fancied themselves Stanley Cup contenders with all the off-season "upgrades".
• In what is becoming an all-too-familiar refrain for the 2011-12 Caps, the team was out-shot yet again, 38-28. Hey, at least the Caps hit 28!
• Michal Neuvirth had a so-so game. He made some beautiful saves and kept the Caps in the game the first two periods, but he was conned into letting in a second period 100-foot softie and the third period power play goal he allowed wasn't much better. Bad goals kill and it did the Caps in tonight.
• At least the Caps played a very physical game, outhitting the Cats 38-23. If there's a silver lining to being without their superstars, it's that necessity has dictated that the team pick up its physicality. The shot disparity will shrink if and when the Caps get their skill players back, but it appears, for now, that the Caps are becoming harder to physically play against. At least one-half of the equation is coming together.
• However, as physical as the Caps were tonight, the Panthers employed a pretty good strategy of their own and that was to crowd the crease and create opportunities via deflections and close-in shots. The Caps defense needs to pick up the physical pace and not allow a softer team like Florida to crowd the crease and create havoc. There may be options available at the trade deadline to help out with this issue.
• Shake your head and frown when you read this: the Caps have scored power play goals in two of the past 11 games. Sigh.
• Don't stop frowning when you read this nugget: the Caps won 35% of their non-neutral zone draws tonight. The team's faceoff aces, Jeff Halpern and Brooks Laich, were a combined 2-for-11 in the defensive zone. No team can drive puck posession if you constantly lose key draws.
• Ice time is always an interesting stat to track under the Hunter regime. Tonight's ice itme included 6:18 for Joel Ward, 6:03 for Cody Eakin and a quiet 9:48 for Jeff Schultz. Then there's Joel Rechlicz, who skated four shifts for all of 2:48, notching two hits and getting declined on his invitation to dance with Krys Barch. With all due respect to Joel - who should be having the time of his life with this unexpected call-up to the bigs - this roster spot could be better used. It's becoming safe to say that Dale's roster management is head-scratching.
• On a lighter note, Brooks Laich beauty of a goal looked a lot like the type of goal that Ovi would have scored three years ago. Except Ovi usually did it at double the speed. No matter, they all count the same!
• If you're a hockey purist, there is something disconcerting about a Florida Panther team that is flirting with winning their division despite a 23-26 won-loss record. They've mastered the art of the loser point, and we only have Gary Bettman to blame.

Seeing that the Florida trip wasn't too successful, there is a lot of pressure on the Caps to perform well this upcoming weekend at Montreal and at home against Boston. The Caps need points, else not only will first place in the division start to slip away, but the 8th spot in the conference will also become more distant. With no return date set for Green or Backstrom, Ovechkin's going to have to carry this team on his shoulders, or else the unthinkable will start becoming more of a reality: a playoff-less season in Washington.

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It may not be the true halfway point, but there's no question that the All-Star break is a demarcation point of the season, one that separates that "it's still early" portion from the stretch run. And in the first game back from the break, the Caps needed to put the pedal to the metal and finish out strong - not only to set the tone for the second half but also to keep pace with the rest of the conference.

Unfortunately tonight they just fell short, staging a comeback and forcing overtime but ultimately finding themselves unable to finish it out. No shame in this one, though; the Caps played hard and earned a well-deserved point headed into a big showdown tomorrow night.

Ten more notes on the game:

• Seeing Matt Hendricks on the second line alongside Troy Brouwer and Brooks Laich was probably enough to turn a few heads coming into this one, but in a weird way it seemed to work, with that line providing most of the early energy to kick off the road trip and continuing most of the game. They even generated the first goal of the game, as Hendricks took a lemon of a whiff and made it into lemonade...aka a sneaky backhander over Mathieu Garon's shoulder. He totally meant to do that.
• There's nothing wrong with a little toughness on the road, but against a Tampa team where the most likely combatant is 5'11" Steve Downie, one has to question bringing up a guy like Joel Rechlicz, whose claim to fame is the PIM lead - by a healthy margin - in the AHL. Especially when his total ice time for the evening was shorter than your average commercial break, and especially considering the fact that he didn't see a shift after the first period.
• Right up until the last minute of the opening frame, the Caps were poised to take a lead, albeit a small one, into the locker room. Enter the last minute goal of doom, one that came about because for some reason all five guys on the ice for the Caps simultaneously forgot what they were doing. Um... synergy?
• Even worse than the last minute goal of doom (LMGD) is the first minute killer, another familiar foe that reared its ugly head at the start of the second. At first glance, it looked like simply a blown tire by Hamrlik followed by a speedy zone entry by Martin St. Louis. Upon further review, however, it appears there was simultaneous fail by both the refs (missing Lecavalier's interference on both Hamrlik and Carlson) and the linesmen (missing just how offsides #4 was whilst interfering with two Caps). A hat trick of a less-than-pleasant kind, that.
• Tomas Vokoun's glove save on Vincent Lecavalier early in the overtime frame was the kind of thing that dreams are made of. Or nightmares, depending on what jersey you're wearing. Absolute highway robbery.
• Coming back from the All Star break, one might assume this would be a sloppy, turnover-filled game. You know what they say about what happens when you assume... sometimes you're right.
• Hard to think of a goalie who takes a dive quite like Dwayne Rolo-... oh, that was Garon? Well, I suppose the guy who gets a front row seat to it on a nightly basis would be able to do a pretty good impression. The stick-toss and twirl in mid-air was an especially nice touch. Next time? Jazz hands!
• Roman Hamrlik has been one of the Caps' better defenseman over the last month or two. This needs to be reiterated, since one might forget it watching tonight's game. He looked lost on Tampa's first goal, stumbled to the ice on Tampa's second goal (which obviously wasn't his fault but still embarrassing), and followed it up by simply getting beat by Nate Thompson on the third goal. That he wasn't on the ice for the overtime winner is likely only because he was benched for most of the third period and all of overtime. Shake it off, big guy.
• Up until the extra frame, Dmitri Orlov was quietly having a very nice game for himself, looking rested and reinvigorated after the long weekend and playing much better than he had been going into the break. Sadly that takes a back-burner to getting straight up beaten by St. Louis on the overtime winner (although in Orlov's defense, it can't be easy to track someone who comes up to your ankles) - he lost his man, Stamkos got free and just like that it was game over.
• No Alex Ovechkin for a second straight game (with one more looming tomorrow night) - and yet the Caps have picked up three of the four possible points without their captain. That's truly nothing to sneeze at.

That the Caps gave up an important point in Tampa tonight stings a bit; that it came off the stick of Steven Stamkos stings a bit more.

But there's something to say for the odd "good" loss (especially when accompanied by the bonus point for making it to extra time), and this was one of them. The Caps were incredibly depleted against a team that boasted all of their big guns and yet came out and attacked early, erased a two-goal deficit late and earned a crucial point in the standings. Obviously a win would have been better - but we'll take it.

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No Alex Ovechkin. No Nicklas Backstrom. No Mike Green.

Since they were drafted (Ovechkin and Green in 2004, Backstrom in 2006), the Caps haven't played a single game without at least one of their "three best players" in the lineup. Needless to say, the storyline for Tuesday night's game against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Bruins (and quite probably the next two games as well) was going to be about whether or not the trio's teammates in the lineup would step up in their absence. And, with a few minor exceptions - and one huge (but at the same time pint-sized) exclamation point - they did just that en route to a somewhat improbable 5-3 win.

Ten more notes on the game:

• Stepping up: The whole team, for the most part, in the latter half of the first period. Double-digit shots on goal for the stanza (five of which came off the sticks of nominal third-liners Jason Chimera, Jeff Halpern and Mike Knuble), a handful of quality scoring chances, and more than a few big saves (a trend which Tomas Vokoun would continue all night).
  
• Not stepping up: That said, one bad breakdown found the team trailing after one period after Alexander Semin was softer than a Damien Rice song along the boards, Dennis Wideman lost his man, Mathieu Perreault was spinning like a top, and Karl Alzner ultimately put the puck in his own net. The only thing that was missing was Yakety Sax.
  
• Stepping up: The fourth line, early in the second, as a Cody Eakin shot trickled through Tuukka Rask somehow and across the goal line to tie the game. It was Eakin's first goal since December 5, Joel Ward's second assist since December 13, and Jay Beagle's first point of the season. Put pucks on net - you never know what's going to happen. Novel concept, that.
  
• Stepping up: The "first" line, just 41 seconds later, as Perreault drove the center lane, Semin found him, and Perreault beat Rask for his second goal in four games (and second since October 22).
  
• Stepping up: Chimera, taking two Bruins defenders (Chara and McQuaid, no less) off the ice at once with a trio of coincidental roughings. It was one of the rougher three-ways I'd seen since... nevermind.
  
• Not stepping up: John Carlson, who had an easy clear up the boards around midway through the second, but instead went to the middle of the ice with his pass, which was thieved and soon thereafter deposited in the Caps' net by Tyler Seguin. That said, he did have the team's top Corsi rating on the night, so there's that.
  
• Stepping up: Perreault. Again. This time, picking off a Johnny Boychuk pass and beating Rask on a breakaway (though we need ding this "stepping up" a bit for the offensive-zone hooking penalty he took that preceded the Bruins' third goal, scored on the ensuing power play, and the offensive-zone high-sticking penalty he took in the third).
  
• Stepping up: Perreault. Yet again. A nice keep-in by Roman Hamrlik (who had two assists on the night), followed by a get-it-on-net floater from the blueline rebounded off of Rask to Perreault, who made no mistake on the rebound for his first career hat trick. Huge night for the little man, who now has five points in his last two games as the team's top center.
  
• Stepping up: Dale Hunter. Not that this game was necessarily a referendum on the Caps' bench boss, but if a guy's going to get blamed when his team comes out flat and fails, he deserves some praise when they put forth an honest effort and succeed. So good on coach for rallying the troops.
  
• Not stepping up: Joe Corvo. Big surprise.
  

There's a temptation to label this win with all sorts superlatives, many or even most of which are probably well-deserved. But, ultimately, it's two more points in the standings, a bit of a confidence boost... and an awfully nice way to head into the All-Star break.

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Coming off of two ugly shutout losses in the last three games, the Washington Capitals traveled to western Pennsylvania for a matinee game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Unlike the last game, today the Pens entered the afternoon with a 5 game winning streak, their last loss coming against the Caps in Verizon Center. The Caps dug themselves out of an early hole and put themselves in position to snap the Pens' streak, but in the end James Neal and Evgeni Malkin were too much and the Pens went home happy. At least the Caps got the charity point, right?

Ten more notes on the game:

• Last time these two teams played fans got 10 minutes of good, entertaining hockey. After a slow start this game turned out to be much more like the Caps v. Pens games fans have been used to since the lockout. Seven goals were scored, all of them involved Alex Ovechkin or Malkin (although Malkin didn't point on the first goal, he helped set up the Pens' PP and then picked Brooks Laich to buy Kris Letang some time to get his shot off).
• The Caps scored two goals off the rush tonight. One of them came off of a terrible Pittsburgh turnover (Steve Sullivan has to take a shot) and the other came after some lax forechecking/neutral zone play allowed the Caps to break up ice with speed. Dale Hunter has been trying to transition the Caps away from scoring on the rush, believing that those goals won't be around in the playoffs. But with the other Caps goal coming 4 on 4 after a power play expired, it has to be asked: What is the even strength strategy for creating offense, if it's not supposed to be on the rush?
• With Nicklas Backstrom and Marcus Johansson out of the game, this was a huge chance for Mathieu Perreault. Perreault responded with a solid game, including two assists. On the first assist he made a nice play to receive the puck and then get the shot off quickly, low, and hard. That created the perfect rebound for Alex Semin to tap home. On the other assist Perreault drew Brooks Orpik out of position looking for a big hit and then slid the puck to Semin for a two on one that Ovechkin finished. It's always good to see goals scored while Orpik is out of position.
• The first Caps goal came on a four on four and was the result of textbook play by Dennis Wideman. The Pens defender on the point broke his stick, so Wideman carried the puck down that wing and challenged the stickless defender. Ultimately he found a passing lane to Laich out front, and Laich managed to bury it past Marc-Andre Fleury and get the Caps back in the game.
• Tonight was Ovechkin's first 3-point game of the season. It turns out the rumors of his demise have been moderately exaggerated.
• All season we've noted that Semin has tended to disappear after taking a penalty. Tonight he took a penalty early in the game but rebounded to end the game with a goal and an assist.
• At the end of the day the game comes down to puck battles. The Pens dominated the first period largely because they were winning the puck battles. On the Pens' third goal Malkin dominated Hamrlik in the corner and then fed Neal for an open shot below the faceoff dot. When you aren't winning puck battles the possession game is going to suffer and the other team will have scoring chances, it's as simple as that.
• Just like the last time these teams met, Malkin and Neal dominated the Caps. In particular, Malkin was taking Hamrlik's lunch money all night. It would be so nice if the Caps had a defenseman with a history of controlling Malkin with a long reach and solid positional game.
• After a listless first period the Caps needed some energy. Alex Ovechkin came out throwing the body, and the team responded with a 2 goal period. The final 40+ minutes were much more evenly contested than that opening 20 minutes, and that was almost exclusively due to the work of the top line.
• "Oh he pushed me a little... Lean forward... and... fall down... but gently so I don't hurt myself." You could actually see the thought process in Paul Martin's mind as he drew a penalty against Troy Brouwer, ending the Caps' 5 on 3. Not a smart play by Brouwer to give the refs a chance to blow a call, but that's awfully questionable. I'm sure the ref 100 feet away must have had a pretty good look at it, though.

Life without Nick continues, and it's bound to be ugly. The Caps were lucky to get a point out of tonight, but they were also opportunistic in converting their chances (or lucky, whatever). The season is going to be a grind from here on out, coin flip games take their toll on everybody. At some point you expect the Caps to get hot and take a (relatively) firm grip on the division, but there's no denying this is a seriously flawed team. Not even Nick is going to change that. Hey, at least they got 20 shots again tonight.

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