Edmonton Upset the Capitals 5-2 at the Verizon Center

The title says it all. I left work in Central PA on Tuesday and drove for 2.5 hours to witness the Capitals host the Oilers. Having never seen Edmonton in the flesh, I was excited about how this game could be a "turnaround" game for the Capitals, who had dropped their previous two games to Columbus and Montreal. In hindsight, maybe I should have simply gone straight home from work instead - for while I was willing to make the effort to get to the game, it appears that the majority of those dressed in red jerseys on the ice did not share the same level of enthusiam.

Without taking anything away from Edmonton, they had a lot of help to win this game. No, not from bad officiating (okay, some suspect calls, but not enough to alter the course of a game)! No, not some spectacular play from the visitors! No, the Capitals simply played a less-than-stellar 60 minutes of hockey. When the Mighty Mites at the intermission play with more passion and gusto, you know something is not right. The Capitals lacked chemistry and any desire to perform. Sloppy passes, lack of strength in the defensive zone, and no support to the puck handler in the offensive zone. Nobody seemed to want to go to the net - the puck seemed to be relegated to the perimeter for most of the game. The line combinations did not work! The defensive pairings lacked any communication! The whole performance from the Caps was simply unacceptable to a sold out crowd who spent their hard-earned to see their boys put on a show.

The only spark from the Caps came from Tomas Fleischmann. Returning from a bout of pneumonia, he looked sharp as he scored the only worthwhile goal for the Capitals that "should" have sparked some energy and desire to get back into the game. Unfortunately, that was not the case, and Edmonton took an easy 2 points from the Verizon Center.

Okay, so the Capitals had an off-game. In return for my cost of admission, I have every right to heckle my team when they play like this. I heckle when I see room for improvement, and I cheer when I see the boys doing what they do best. What I cannot fathom, however, is why many of the fans would resort to booing their team that night! To heckle and jeer is totally acceptable, but to boo because they are playing poorly is disrespectful. The team are not purposely trying to lose, and they are embarrassed enough to suffer a lop-sided loss on home ice. Don't boo them because they've lost a few games! Stick with the program, people - Rome was not built in a day, and Stanley Cups do not come in one season. Real fans are patient - fair weather fans (and I'm sure that there are plenty who have jumped on the bandwagon - especially in a city that has had sporting woes for many years) need to realize that Ovechkin and co would love to satisfy your instant gratification, but like the rest of us, you have to take the rough with the smooth over seven long months of hockey.

Caps/Penguins: Many may believe that the Caps simply overlooked the Oilers in anticipation of their next game against Pittsburgh. With the whole "Ovechkin/Malkin" and "Semin/Crosby" fueds that have been exagerrated by the media, both teams desperately needed the win without the media sideshow. The first two periods were not spectacular, but the Capitals dominated the third and took the 6-3 victory at the Mellon Arena. There was no controversy between "Ovie" and "Geno". Semin and Crosby would not get into a war of words. Both teams played hard, but in the end, the Capitals found their groove and took it to a Pittsburgh team that is reeling.

World's biggest shock!!! Jeff Schultz scored an empty netter to record his first goal of the season. Schultz has taken the brunt of my heckling for most of this season, but I felt so happy for him when he realized the puck was in the net. The smile on his face was priceless, and while I offer no promises of easing up on the heckling, I will go on record and congratulate Jeff for a great effort and consistency during this game. Keep up the good work Jeff - force me to find somebody else on the Caps roster to be the target of my sharp tongue.

With the clash between the Caps and Bruins this weekend, I can't wait to rock the red at the Verizon Center once more. Go Caps!

Here's Johnny!!!

We took in two hockey games over this past weekend, and while one was hot, the other was not. Saturday night was spent down in DC as the New York Rangers came to town. Due to another obligation called employment, we were a little late getting to the game. Fortunately, XM radio allowed us to listen in to the first period, and wow, what a period. With Brooks Laich and Tom Poti both beating Lundqvist, we were in great spirits before we even took to our seats during the first intermission. The second period was a great defensive battle, with neither side conceding any scores, and both goaltenders looking more than comfortable between the pipes. The true highlight reel of this period was the penalty shot awarded to Chris Drury, which Brent Johnson poked checked away much to the delight of the delirious fans in the stands. The Rangers would light the lamp in the third, and came close to making it a tied game within the last two minutes after a hooking penalty sent Alexander Semin to the box. Semin may have felt some heat from such a dumb penalty at the most crucial point of the game, but after serving his two minute minor, returned and fired an end to end empty netter to seal the victory. With a 0.966 save percentage throughout the game, Brent Johnson more than earned his first star rating for the evening.

Sunday evening we ventured to Reading to catch the Royals and the Bombers. The Royals came out strong, and quickly took the lead when Ned Lukacevic found the back of the net. The lead was short-lived, however, when a Joe Van Culin shot from the blue line beat Danny Taylor just two minutes later. With two consecutive penalties, the Royals found themselves in a tough 5-3 predicament defensively, but once again looked extra sharp on their penalty kill. During this 2 man disadvantage, Brock Hooton stole the puck and made the dash up the ice, only to be hauled down whilst attempting his shot on net. The penalty shot was awarded, and Hooton made a fantastic highlight reel worthy shot into the back of the net. The Bombers would make the score 2-2 as the second period came to an end. The third period was a different game. The Royals looked tired - they were outhustled and outplayed by Dayton. Frustration led to penalty trouble, and the Bombers capitalized on the man advantages handed to them. Some of the calls were justified, but the goaltender interference penalty on Matt Herneisen was a terrible lack of judgement from the officiating crew. Conceding another goal to Dayton as a result of this call, Herneisen vented his frustration and 'earned' his ejection from the game - as the captain, he HAD to voice his objections to the dubious penalty that ultimately cost Reading the game. Hopefully the Royals can turn things around and move on as the season progresses.

With the Monday night match-up between the Caps and the Bolts, it was strange seeing number 37 wearing the opposing jersey. While Olie will always command my respect, it was bittersweet to see him surrender 4 goals and allow the Caps winning streak to continue. Once again, Brent Johnson delivered for the Capitals in goal, and hopefully will remain the goaltender of choice for Bruce Boudreau for the upcoming road game in Carolina.

Procrastination Comes Back to Bite You Sooner or Later...

My thoughts about last night's Caps/Pens game are largely in line with those of my wise Hubs, but I do have a couple of additional thoughts. Last year, I was somewhat frustrated with Hershey's tendency to play 2 periods (or even 1-1/2) instead of 3. What has made me acutely nervous in the games against the Blackhawks and the Pens has been the necessity of coming back after digging oneself in a great, big, fat hole; I'm not sure I'm seeing three consecutive periods of consistent, full-out hockey from the Caps yet, and that does bug me a bit. Still, it's early in the season, and it does appear that Theodore has settled down a bit, so hopefully I'm just picking nits.

On the Habs, I'm thrilled at the possibility that Christopher Higgins might be back in the lineup tomorrow night - we desperately need him back. Latendresse has shown improvement, but I still don't think he's right for a line with Koivu and Tanguay; he's faster, but not fast enough.

And did anyone besides us think that Malkin should have been given a 5-minute major for his hit on Semin last night????