No Christmas Candy for the Little Devils: Hershey Bears Win 4-2

With a disappointing Texas road trip behind them, the Hershey Bears returned to the Giant Center last night to host the Lowell Devils. Prior to the puck drop, Oskar Osala was applauded for his AHL rookie of the month honors. Osala is developing quickly in his first professional season, and with one NHL game already on his resume this season, he could be on pace to make the transition to the Capitals roster a lot sooner than originally expected. Good luck to you Oskar!

While a handful of Bears remain on the Capitals roster, those that dressed in the chocolate and white last night put in a solid effort against a team that played a lot harder than their win-loss record indicated. Hershey fans would celebrate early after Graham Mink received a nifty pass from Keith Aucoin and slipped the puck into a wide open net just eleven seconds into the game. Kyle Wilson would extend the lead to 2-0 with just under four minutes left in the first period, with assists credited to Darren Reid and Bryan Helmer. Bears fans, in all their "ugly holiday sweater" glory, were in great spirits as the first period ended.

The second period seemed a little less energetic, although things did not start out that way with Andrew Gordon adding another Hershey goal just 1:34 into the period. Daren Machesney would be denied the shutout opportunity midway through the period as Lowell finally found the back of the net, and the score remained 3-1 as both teams went into the locker rooms.

The third period saw referee Nygel Pelletier become very trigger happy with his whistle. Ten penalties would be issued over the course of the twenty minute period, six of which were assessed after an all-out brawl in the dying seconds of the game. The Devils narrowed the deficit to one goal with four minutes remaining, but an outstanding pickpocket play behind the crease from Kyle Wilson led to his second goal of the night and the Bears victory. With a great offensive effort from the Laing-Wilson-Gordon line, Kyle was the recipient of the first star.

Thursday Night Recap:
We traveled to the Verizon Center last Thursday to watch the Capitals take on the St Louis Blues in a battle of the injury-ridden rosters. It was great to see rookie netminder Simeon Varlamov in action for the Capitals, and he looked sharp as the Caps registered a 4-2 victory after goals from Viktor Kozlov (2), Tomas Fleischmann and Alexander Ovechkin. A price was paid for the victory, however, as both Mike Green and Alexander Semin sustained injuries and were once again listed a day-to-day in terms of when they would likely play again. The missed cross-checking call on Semin was a terrible lack of judgment from the officials, with the feisty retaliation from the Great Eight being more than justified. The following bench minor assessed against Bruce Boudreau served only to make the officiating crew look dumber than they were - which was not really difficult on their parts. Coming away with the two points kept the Capitals in a healthy position, but these injuries to key players serve only to challenge that pace and consistency.

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.

Thanksgiving recipe: Just add chocolate.

Returning home from our vacation in Montreal, we headed to the Phone Booth last night to see the Caps seek some revenge for their season opening loss to the Atlanta Thrashers. Since that initial defeat, the Caps had not dropped a game to other Southeast Division rivals, and were looking to not only extend that streak, but to snap a three game losing skid from their previous west coast road trip. Listening to XM on the way to the game, we were surprised to learn that Chris Bourque, Karl Alzner, Sami Lepisto and Graham Mink had all been recalled from Hershey to fill an injury depleted Caps roster. With Chris Clark and Jeff Schultz out on LTIR, an opportunity was presented for these four athletes to show the NHL what they have to offer - especially Alzner, who would be making his NHL debut.

With a 5-3 victory, the Caps took the much deserved two points, and continued to be dominant on home ice. Alex Ovechkin shifted gears and notched his first hat trick of the season, whilst adding an assist on a goal by Viktor Kozlov. The prettiest goal of the evening, however, came from Eric Fehr, who scored on a sensational tic-tac-toe play from Tomas Fleischmann and Michael Nylander. Kudos to Fehr for his performance this season - I was a tad worried about his future with the organization when he was consistently scratched from the line-up throughout October.

Other players worthy of recognition from last nights performance include Graham Mink, Matt Bradley and Tom Poti. All three worked hard out on the ice, and helped the team to secure the victory. Props also to #60, who looked much more comfortable last night, and could only really be criticized for the third Thrasher goal, which I am sure he would have liked to have had back. Overall, a good performance from the Caps who were clearly feeling the effects of both jet lag and a lack of chemistry between the Caps regulars and the Chocolatetown boys who were called up with such little notice.

Kudos

to Keith Aucoin for being named the AHL player of the week. A 3-0 start to the AHL season for the Bears is a fantastic start, especially as all games were in the arenas of divisional rivals. I cannot wait to feel the atmosphere on Saturday at the Giant Center when the Bears kick off at home against Syracuse.

Here's hoping that the injury to Viktor Kozlov in DC is only minor, and that he'll be back on the ice soon. Eric Fehr is more than capable of filling that roster spot, but Kozlov has great chemistry on that line with Ovie and Backstrom. Good health to you Viktor.

The Reading Royals open their 08-09 campaign shortly. Good luck to the guys down there for the coming season.