Panthers Defeat Capitals 5-3 on Tuesday - Islanders Feel Caps' Wrath on Thursday

We attended both of the home games at Verizon Center this week, and while we were more than disappointed with the lack of effort on Tuesday, we were happy to see the Caps turn things up several notches last night.

Mourning the embarrassing loss at home against the Panthers, I decided to postpone sharing my thoughts until the bitter taste of defeat had left my mouth. I don't expect the Capitals to win every game, and it was inevitable at some point that they would take a regulation defeat on home ice. However, the full 60-minute performance from every player wearing a red jersey that evening was lackluster, unenergetic, and totally unacceptable. The Caps have most likely been through the wringer enough over this performance, so I shall close this chapter with one comment. Home ice does not guarantee a victory - the will to play hard and work as a team is the recipe. Stick to it, guys, and you'll be okay.

You have to respect a coach like Bruce Boudreau. To be humiliated on Tuesday night, he dished out the punishment to his team and moved on to focus on the next opponent. The Islanders had not played since the weekend, and arrived at the Verizon Center looking to add to their recent success on the road. Joey MacDonald was awarded the NHL third star of the month for November, and having seen him perform during our trip to Montreal, we knew that he was an incredibly talented backup netminder.

The Capitals, however, wanted to redeem themselves in front of their home crowd, and came out with a renewed sense of energy and willingness to play hard. With goals from Alex Ovechkin and Viktor Kozlov, the Caps dominated the first 20 minutes and took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. New York would turn on the heat during the second period, shutting down the Caps offense, and taking advantage of an ill-timed line change which left Sami Lepisto out to dry behind the net as the tying goal was sent home. The third period remained close until Donald Brashear crashed the net after a Karl Alzner ricochet from the backboard found his stick and was pushed home. While the puck crossed the line almost in slow motion, the signal from the official had the fans out of their seats and a renewed energy burst through the arena. Eric Fehr would seal the victory with a goal for added insurance, and Nicklas Backstrom would send home an empty netter to close out the game and secure the two points.

Our boys from Hershey once again played well in their supporting role. Congratulations are in order for Keith Aucoin, who made his Caps debut and displayed great chemistry with Kozlov and Tomas Fleischmann. Bryan Helmer had a strong outing too, setting up the Kozlov goal with his bullet from the blue line. Sami Lepisto looked a little better, but needs to find the rhythm that he has displayed consistently at Hershey if he is to win the Caps fans over. Tyler Sloan seems to have regressed as of late. His confidence seems to be lacking, with frequent breakdowns in the defensive zone and poor positioning at times against the opponent breakaway. Hopefully Tyler can once again find his game, lest he be the first d-man heading back up to Chocolatetown. A good effort overall though from the boys from the farm, and hopefully further opportunities to play will remain open for them as the season progresses.

Hey Habs - There's No "I" in Team...

For the third time this week, I proudly donned my bleu/blanc/rouge to support the Habs, this time at the Phone Booth in Washington. Also for the third time this week, the Habs fell in a disappointing effort. The Caps season holder in me was totally pleased that they finally delivered 60 minutes of solid, near-perfect hockey and that José Theodore looked like a $4 million goalie for the first time this season; the Habs fan in me was utterly crushed.

The Habs' defense is holding steady and did an adequate job, by and large, last night; they blocked a number of shots and probably kept the game from being a total blowout. This is no slam on Jaroslav Halak, by the way; he made some excellent saves but, while defense may win championships, it can't win without some kind of offense, and that, my friends, is where the Habs are sorely lacking. To go 9 minutes into the game before registering the first shot on goal is scary, to say the least.

Since I saw them lose two games with Tanguay in the lineup, I'm not willing to attribute the complete lack of scoring last night to his absence. As I've written previously this week, Kovalev is there in body only (5 goals so far this year); neither of the Kostitsyns have done much yet this year (7 pts total for Andrei; 9 pts total for Sergei); and Chris Higgins doesn't seem to be fully back from his injury, just to cite a few problems. To me, though, the biggest worry by far is the power play, or absence thereof. I know others have said it before me, but I think that letting Mark Streit go was a big mistake on the part of the Canadiens; no one else has stepped up to take the kind of leadership role on the power play that he provided last year in particular.

Finally, in the great old Habs tradition many people have been throwing Guy Carbonneau under the bus for the current slump. Perhaps he has some responsibility; perhaps not. Not being in the locker room, I'm not willing to venture a guess one way or the other. I will say, however, that the Canadiens I saw this week against the Bruins, Islanders, and Capitals were not playing as a team. I recognize that slumps happen, but unless these guys come together as a team and start playing consistently (say, like they did on Wednesday against the Red Wings), the Habs might be in for a disappointment at the end of this 100th season.

BTW, from the Caps part of me, snaps to the Hershey guys once again, particularly Sami Lepisto for his second assist in two games, Karl Alzner for some great defense, and Chris Bourque for some fiery play. This is the great thing about being a season ticket holder for both the Caps and the Hershey Bears - we don't miss out on these great guys regardless of where they play. :-)

And a final note to the Habs - go out tonight, play like you did Wednesday, and show the Sabres how it's done, please.

Pretty in pink....

Hockey fights Cancer as the Bears fought the Rochester Americans at the Giant Center last night. Looking impressive in pink was Chris Bourque, who looked better still when he flipped a penalty shot past Tyler Plante within the first two minutes of the contest to take a 1-0 lead. Rochester kept things close in the first period, and went into the first intermission tied at 1 goal a piece. And that was a close as they came to keeping pace with Hershey. The remaining periods were pure Bears hockey, with Bourque adding 3 assists to take 4 points and be awarded the first star for his stellar performance. Goals came thick and fast in this 8-3 victory, with Quintin Laing and Oskar Osala both finding the back of the net twice. Andrew Gordon, Karl Alzner and Alex Giroux rounded out the scoring in front of a lively 10000+ crowd.

Greg Amadio and Michael Duco entertained the crowd in the first period with an all-out brawl, but the biggest surprise of the evening had to be witnessing Kyle Wilson drop the gloves and duke it out with Duco in the third. Wilson and fisticuffs are seldom categorized together, so it was nice to see that our talented center can look after himself when pushed into a corner. And talking of courage and grit, kudos to Keith Aucoin for stepping up and taking on Keaton Ellerby. When it comes to watching out for his team-mates, what Aucoin lacks in size, he more than makes up for in heart. Well done Keith - four mintues for roughing are a compliment rather than a penalty for your actions. All in all, a great night of hockey once again from the Giant Center.

On a brief note, congratulations are in order for Tyler Sloan, who made the headlines twice this week in his NHL debut. First, THE hit against the Flames was the biggest crunch of the week. I still cannot fathom why Rene Bourque decided he had to pummel Tyler for a legal hit, but Sloan sure looked competent in his Capitals jersey. And then, on Saturday night against the Stars, Tyler scored his first NHL goal. I wonder which highlight he cherishes more - the big hit in Calgary, or lighting the lamp in Dallas? Good luck Tyler - hopefully Bruce keeps you in DC a little longer while Poti recovers from his injury.

Not quite sure what to think about the contract extension for John Erskine. I am kind of on the fence about this guy, whose performance is often simply mediocre. Why take Erskine over the likes of Shaone Morrisson or Milan Jurcina, who are likely candidates to be salary cap casualties next season? Are the Caps ready to have the likes of Sloan, Lepisto and Alzner playing defence at the phone booth next season? Erskine brings experience, and can play the enforcer role when needed, but I'm not sure the extension was necessary at this moment in time in a league where there is no shortage of good defencemen.

Over in the ECHL, the Reading Royals came up short in back to back games this weekend against Johnstown and Augusta. We shall be in Reading this coming Saturday to see them face off against the Idaho Steelheads. Can't wait to see that.