Caps at Flyers Game Recap

What do I know about Ovechkin? Talbot was right.

Tonight was billed as a test for the Capitals and the Flyers. Both have had strong starts to the season, and both made some gutsy moves in the off-season, especially in net. They are both expected to be Cup contenders this year and likely for years down the road. Washington spent far less money on their star goalie, and it looks like money can't buy everything. After two tight periods, the Capitals dominated the Flyers in the third and silence the home crowd in Philadelphia. Perreault, Hamrlik, and Ward all got their first goals of the season while Ovechkin got two. It wasn't a perfect game, if such a thing exists, but it was a strong effort for Washington all the way through. It looked a lot like back-to-back 60-minute games, but that might have just been my eyes playing tricks on me. Anyway, here are my five thoughts:

• While I still don't think Perreault belongs on the fourth line, he certainly does not seem to care where he plays as long as he is in the game. One of the stronger players for the Capitals tonight, he got the tying goal late in the first period after reading a pass and firing a low shot that deflected off one of the Flyer's skates and added an assist on Hamrlik's goal later on (first goal for each guy this season). All those people who claim Johansson is the more defensive-minded of the young centers have to be questioning themselves after these first few games. Perreault has yet to be on ice for a single goal against and is credited with five takeaways and zero giveaways. MoJo has been on ice for three goals against with four takeaways and two giveaways. MP85 also has three points (1-2-3) in four games, while MoJo has four points (3-1-4) in five. This is all while Johansson has seen far more ice time, so take all that as you wish six games into the season. Personally I have always been an unabashed Perreault supporter and I have seen nothing but play to vindicate my support so far. Both still need serious work winning faceoffs, with neither being even near a 40% win percentage.
• Dennis Wideman came to the Capitals last year to help shore up an injured blue line and spark a floundering powerplay. He soon fell victim to injury with a nasty hematoma in his leg and missed most of the time he spent with Washington. Well, now he is on a six game points streak and has been one of the most valuable guys on the team in all six games. He is still subject to the occasional defensive lapse, but overall he makes this year's Caps all the more dangerous with one of the best defensive corps in the league.
• All that time with awful teams was just Vokoun's way of preparing for nights like this. He kept the Caps in this game even more than the offense did, holding the Flyers to just one goal until they got a meaningless second tally with 14.7 seconds left. Oh yeah, that required him to stop 40 shots, with 41 coming before that last goal. He is making this team look a lot better than they probably are right now. 
• Has the beast awoken? Ovechkin scored twice tonight, including a blast of a one-timer on the power play, bringing him to a season total of three. He still trails Chimera for the team lead... That right there should tell you just how much to read into goal-scoring trends in the first six games, but the Great 8 looked a bit more like his old self tonight. He laid out his old buddy Max "Ovechkin-is-a-Douche" Talbot for a questionable interference penalty and was putting shots on the net all night. Hopefully we'll see more of this Ovi on Saturday against the Red Wings, and throughout the season.
• It's hard to criticize a team and coach that have a perfect record six games into the season, and after passing their first real "test" against another top-notch team... but that's what you have to do with a Cup contender. Just like I'm not sold on Perrault the fourth liner, I'm not a huge fan of Brouwer and Knuble on the 1st and 2nd lines, respectively. The 8-19-22 line has so much chemistry built up, while Semin and Knuble just clearly are not clicking. Semin in particular had a rough go of things tonight, being directly responsible for the Flyers scoring the first goal of the game. He may be trying to prove he does care after all, but playing cute little puck games on the blue line with Wayne Simmonds and Claude Giroux poking at the puck is asking for trouble. Brouwer said earlier today that he wanted to try and open up the ice for Alex and let him get back to his game (and become a more consistent scoring threat, himself). Obviously he was referring to Ovechkin, but I say the same attitude would work just as well with the other current Swede-Russian Alex pairing on the team. Put Knuble back where he is comfortable, and let Brouwer play his game on the second line, where he is probably more comfortable, too.

The test isn't over. Washington hosts (currently) undefeated Detroit on Saturday. The Red Wings will be playing their second game in as many days, but as of right now have not lost and lead the league in GAA. The Caps have already felled their two biggest foes in the Eastern Conference (Pitt and Philly), now they face a Western Conference dynasty. If they keep up the kind of effort we've seen so far, they'll either never lose again or all be on IR by Christmas. I give it even-up odds. NHL.com highlights below:

Caps - Panthers Recap

After missing the Ottawa game, I'm back with a recap for the Capitals franchise-record setting win over the Panthers. The Caps have now opened the season with five straight wins for the first time in franchise history, including a franchise-best four wins at home. To cap it off, they earned a shutout against a division foe that demolished the Tampa Bay Lightning the night before. Johansson (PP), Semin, and Chimera (EN) scored while Vokoun earned the shutout. Here are my five thoughts:

• Tonight, as just about everybod

  

  That's a good goalie. You'll get a treat for
  the shutout when we get back to the locker room.
  

  y who would possibly be reading this knows, was a sort of homecoming for a couple players. Vokoun and Wideman were with the Panthers last year, and Matt Bradley was one of the most loved players on the Capitals for years. Tomas Fleischmann was one of the many players who suffered under Boudreau's line changing regime, getting shipped off to Colorado last year before signing with Florida this off-season. Jose Theodore, a member of the rotating door cast of goaltenders for Washington for two years, got the night off for Florida. For Vokoun and Wideman, it was a good night: Vokoun got his first shutout as a Capital and Wideman extended his points streak to five games. "Flash" had a decent game and saw a couple scoring chances, while "Brads" finished a -1 for the evening. I hope they have success in their careers, just as long as things go like tonight any time they play the Caps.
  
  
• Marcus Johansson scored on Washington's only power play of the night, giving him three scores on the season. This was his first non-wraparound goal, but it wasn't too far off. MoJo saw that Ovechkin was double covered in addition to having a good look at the net, and decided to just try and force it in the corner by Markstrom's left side, and in the five-hole it went. The sophomore Swede is showing some of that offensive prowess that everyone talked about last year (but that I never really saw translate into anything other than a solidly mediocre season), and I am man enough to admit I may have been wrong about him. Let's not get too excited, though: as was noted by Joe Beninati and Craig Laughlin, the goal should have been an easy one to stop. Goalies today do not close off the posts quite like they used to, especially guys playing their first ever NHL game. He may have three goals, but temper expectations as they were close goals that all should have been stopped. But kudos to the kid for having the awareness to see that they actually would go in and making the necessary moves.
  
  
• While he got his second straight game winner, Johansson is still leaving the second line center debate open a bit with his faceoff percentage. He only won 1 of 7 on the dot tonight. If he keeps up his goal scoring and his faceoff percentage, I see no reason why he shouldn't be moved to wing later on this season. The team really has too many centers, and on any given night you have at least two playing wing. Backstrom and Laich struggled a bit tonight, too, winning only 10 of their 26 combined faceoffs. The fourth line, made up of three natural centers in Perreault, Hendricks, and Halpern, lost only one faceoff. Perreault won both of his, Hendricks his only attempt, and Halpern won 8 of 9. Much has been said, often times by me, of how little faceoffs can actually mean in the context of a team's offense, but it is still something to keep an eye on since they do affect puck possession.
  
  
• There have been games when you read the stats and see something like "Capitals shut outopponent and hold them to 20 shots," but think to yourself "Yeah, but it probably wasn't pretty." Tonight was not one of those games. The boys in red played the ever-elusive 60 minute game, and it really showed. The shot totals (32-20) and the score (3-0) are representative of that, and the score could easily have been even more lopsided than it was. While keeping up that kind of play for the remaining 77 games of the regular season could take a physical toll on the team, this is the kind of effort they will need in the postseason. It is refreshing to finally see it and know they can do it, now they just need to keep it up.
   
• Florida must have been a little shocked at the lack of penalties. They scored four powerplay goals last night and got a shorty to boot. Tonight the Caps and Cats combined for three penalties total - two on us, one on them. Definitely another tribute to how well both teams played tonight. For years, Florida has been at the bottom of the bottom tier, but they have started this season strong and pose a legitimate threat as a dark-horse playoff contender. Markstrom played very well in net tonight, stopping 29 shots for a .923 save percentage. And if history is any indicator, he could challenge Theodore for starts for much of the season. The Panthers have a good future ahead. Add another team to the list challenging the South-Least Division nickname. Now if only the Jets would get on board the playoff train....

Now that the Caps have beaten three division opponents, a Cup-favorite team in the Penguins, and a man-I-wish-we-had-their-draft-spot team in the Senators, they go on the road to face the Flyers on Thursday before hosting the Western Conference's undefeated Red Wings on Saturday. It was a good win against a respectable team, but now is not the time to relax by any means. Five down, seventy-seven to go. Now for your NHL.com highlights:

Caps-Pens Recap

Ceremonial puck drop in honor of the Lokomotiv plane crash
tragedy. Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images from NHL.com

The Capitals and Penguins have one of the fiercest rivalries in the sport. In recent years, the Caps have dominated the Penguins during the regular season, only losing twice in a shootout and once in regulation in the previous 14 games including a 7-for-7 record when playing in Pittsburgh. Now they can notch it up to 8-for-8. The Pens lead the NHL in points, even after tonight's loss, but they have also played twice as many games as the undefeated Capitals. These two teams will be battling all year, and tonight just got us started. Check out Lindsay Applebaum's write-up for the Capitals Insider for some more quick facts on the rivalry. For now, my five thoughts on the game:

• Tomas Vokoun said he likes to play a game right after a particularly bad one. He made it very well known that he was not happy with his performance against the Lightning on Monday night. Well, tonight he showed that he certainly can bounce back. He was a huge reason the team only allowed one goal on the PK tonight despite the team taking five in regulation -- compared to the Penguins' zero. Oh yeah, and he stopped 39 of 41 shots, good for a .951 save percentage. This is why McPhee signed him, let's hope he keeps it up.
  
• Speaking of the penalty kill, the Penguins were perfect this season going into tonight. They only took on penalty, and it was in OT, but that was all Washington needed. Backstrom and Wideman broke out on a 2-on-2 rush, and 19 shook off some of that off-season rust and threaded a beauty of a pass between the defenders' sticks. The puck landed right on the tape, and Wideman blasted the puck past former Caps' backup goalie Brent Johnson. Win.
  
•  The Capitals are now 3-0-0, seemingly a great start to the season. Points wise, it sure is. However, all three came in overtime or the shootout, meaning all three opponents (two division rivals and possibly their biggest rival in the league) all got a point apiece. Nor did the team really "Rock the Red" and dominate the other team in any game. The first two were just ugly hockey, and tonight Vokoun was the real star of the night, despite not actually being named one of the three stars. Washington only got 19 shots on net while allowing 41 on their own. I know everyone is impressed with the third line, and they should be, but I again feel the need to reiterate how much I think Boudreau is mis-managing his talent with the current combinations.
  
• Ovechkin has now had three games to show that he is back to form, and unfortunately he has failed to do so. He was credited with a goal tonight, but Green fired the blast that nicked off Ovi's skate and up into the net. The Great 8 has not looked himself for the better part of a year now. Some of it is obviously the focus that every team puts on him, but that didn't stop him the first four years of his career. Captain Cap needs to find a way to turn the afterburners on and get this team rolling again. Backstrom got two assists tonight, so he has started his own breakthrough, while Semin and Green have looked good, too. Time for Fearless Leader to do his part.
  
• The biggest story of the game is going to be the fight between Jay Beagle and Aaron Asham. Beagle appeared to have the upper hand, but got demolished by two hits to the jaw. While Beags was laid out and bleeding, Asham made a taunting gesture and proceeded to verbally assault Ovechkin and the other Capitals players. The Pens fans, too, showed a little less than classy behavior with their own cheering, but that is to be expected when your guy wins a fight. For what it's worth, Asham did the right thing in challenging Beagle after 83 flipped the lid off Pens all-star defender Kris Letang (and earned a roughing penalty in the process). Asham said in interviews after the game that he was sorry for his post-fight actions, and repeatedly called them classless. He seemed legit, but you know what? That's too bad. Don't be surprised if he pays for his actions next time he is on the ice against the Caps. Not a single player on the team was happy, and none will forget. These are the things that come back to haunt enforcers in future matchups. More drama for the storyline here.

No Crosby tonight, but we'll see him next time around.

When all is said and done, again, a win is a win. Especially one against the Penguins in their home arena. I hope Boudreau continues to lay into the team and hold them accountable. They can and should be much better than they've played so far. One final note on this front: my favorite target Marcus Johansson skated for the fifth-least amount of time of all Capitals skaters, ahead of only Hendricks, Halpern, Chimera, and Beagle, after a couple turnovers early in the game and being on ice for Pittsburgh's even-strength goal. Don't say you weren't warned: the second line center battle is not over yet. And now, your game highlights courtesy of NHL.com: