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.

It All Started in 1985...

Nearly twenty-four years ago, I fell in love with a game called hockey and especially a team called the Montréal Canadiens courtesy of CBC's Hockey Night in Canada, which I was able to watch via a huge satellite dish in our Kansas backyard. My parents thought I was absolutely insane but gave up a lot of Saturday night television for my addiction, even buying me a Habs jersey as a Christmas present.

This past weekend, I finally saw my beloved Habs play at home in the Bell Centre and was able to scream "Go Habs Go!" along with 21,000+ similarly addicted people. Even better, the weekend we chose for our hockey excursion was the one during which Patrick Roy's jersey was retired, in an emotional (and beautifully done) pre-game ceremony. The fact that this was a player that I had actually watched and followed made it especially meaningful for me, and I was grateful that Patrick read the French portions of his speech slowly enough that I could pick up quite a bit of what he was saying. :-)

The game itself, an Original Six matchup against the Bruins, was a bit of a disappointment in that the Habs simply did not look sharp. Granted, the Bruins have been on a streak of late, but the sheer numbers of missed passes and botched defensive matchups cannot be attributed solely to the Bruins' skill. As much as I enjoyed the play of Alex Kovalev last year, his play so far this year leaves much to be desired. It's as if he is simply a shell of himself, or simply marking time, I'm not sure which.

We also attended Monday's game against the Islanders, and since so many have already harped on poor Ryan O'Byrne, I won't follow suit. The fact is that the Habs had plenty of chances to win that game and failed to capitalize on the majority of them. As big a mistake as O'Byrne made, it's equally foolish to pin the loss on him.

On our way out of Montréal Tuesday, we caught some of the morning discussion on the Team 990, and I have to agree with the commentators, most of whom agree that the Habs are not playing as a team but as a group of individuals. What is the reason for this? Ego? Poor guidance from their coach? Believing too much of their own press?

Since we were at the Capitals/Thrashers game last night (and I'll let Hubs tell you about that one - it was a goody), we didn't catch most of the Habs' win over the Red Wings last night, but I'm very pleased that they were able to take that kind of a win on the road. Tomorrow night we will be a divided household as I represent Habs Nation at the Phone Booth and Hubs supports the Caps - hopefully it will be a happy ending for le Canadien!