Jumping the Glass

Jumping the Glass, Jumping Ship

2010-10-16T09:34:00.001-04:00

Without realizing it, this little blog passed its one year anniversary this past August. Initially, it was a soapbox in a dark room; a place I could write but no one besides my close friends even knew to listen. I wasn't yet a father, nor had I attended any Caps games as a Season Ticket Holder. Then, with one post this past July (thank you Corey for openly wishing for NHL Heat Maps!), and few humbling shout-outs, this little blog... well, it jumped the glass for me.

The more attention the blog received, the more I realized I had to dedicate myself to being a becoming a better writer and commentator. The content had to be more interesting. Anyone who cared enough to read what I had to say deserved the best I could give them.

So it is with a heavy heart, and yet quite a bit of excitement, that I will be stepping away from my solo blogging on Jumping the Glass to join the team of exciting writers and fellow Caps hockey fanatics over at Rock The Red.net. Hockey is a team sport and so are many of the best blogs. I look forward to assuming the role of RtR's checking-line right wing.

Don't worry. I'll still be the same writer I've become these past few months. I'll still attack every topic from my perspective as a coach, player, new father and long-time Caps fan. Sasha vs. Sasha, Three for Three and the occasional video analysis will still be around. And of course I'll try to be funny from time to time. Whether I succeed is up to you.

I hope to see you all at my new home. I'll be there soon.

-Kevin, A.K.A. "Jumping the Glass"

Hold The Calder

2010-10-14T09:51:00.000-04:00

With his winning resume, John Carlson's first full season in the NHL has been greeted with hope and quite a bit of fanfare. His offensive performance in his first 4 games of the season is nothing short of impressive, as he currently leads all rookies and is tied for the lead among defensemen in scoring (the 'P.K. Who?' shirts will be printed shortly).

But lost in the hype is the inexperience in Carlson's game and his frequent positioning issues (hint: he's in the 'Bad' section). So far this season, the Capitals have surrendered 9 goals. Carlson has been on the ice for 6 of those goals (67%), highest on the team by 2 goals. By comparison, Mike 'no defense' Green has only seen one opposition puck behind Michal Neuvirth while on the ice. Jeff Schultz is still defensively perfect on the season.

Much like Green, things happen when Carlson is on the ice. Of the 23 total goals scored for and against the Caps this season, John has seen 13 while on the ice (56%). Tied for next highest? Yeah, the Alexes, with 9. For reference, last season Mike Green was on the ice for only 44% of the total goals scored in Caps games. And in Paul Coffey's most adventurous season, he was also on the ice for 56% of all goals scored.

We simply need to remember that, despite winning a WJC, 2 AHL Championships and playing big in last year's NHL playoffs, John Carlson is still a rookie with only 33 NHL games under his belt. He'll get better, but he's going to be a bit of an adventure in the meantime.

Commercial Break

2010-10-13T12:37:00.000-04:00

In the announcement from the Washington Capitals indicating postponement of the annual Season Ticket Holder Party, one bullet (probably the one that will upset the most fans) jumped out at me:
The Capitals would like to apologize in advance as Alex Ovechkin and Semyon Varlamov will not be in attendance on this date due to a previously scheduled commitment. Both players will be at the ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut, shooting a TV commercial for ESPN.
Ovie and Varly? Together in an ESPN commercial? While I'm guessing the plot will have something to with being Russian, knowing ESPN it could be absolutely anything. If it's a SportsCenter commercial, it's sure to be comedy gold. Some ideas for the shoot:

Ovie and Varly getting ready to take on Lebron and Dwayne Wade in a game of Scrabble, complaining about the lack of Cyrillic tiles.
Alex painting Varly's new mask with butterflies and bunnies. Varly is ecstatic.
Varly shooting pucks at Ovie (in Varly's gear) while laughing manically and yelling 'FIVE HOLE!' over and over again.
Ovie, Varly and Barry Melrose discussing how The Death of Ivan Ilyich is a methaphor for the left wing lock.
Ovechkin: "Russian machine never breaks!" Varlamov: "I'm Russian, and I break..." Ovechkin: "Are you sure you're Russian?"
Ovie working with Varly on his English, having him repeat the phrase 'I'm Siiiicck!' over and over again.
Ovie jumping against ESPN office windows while Varly holds up scorecards. None of them are over an '8'.
Ovie, Varly, Crosby and Fleury discussing warm clothing options for the Winter Classic. Ovie keeps recommending feather boas to Sid.
Ovie and Varly as SportsCenter anchors, showing only hockey highlights while Stuart Scott and Steve Levy are tied up in the corner.

"Affordable solutions for better living"

2010-10-12T15:33:00.002-04:00

This afternoon, Washington Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner Tweeted the following:

Is there an IKEA anywhere around here?

For a player who shuttled from Hershey to Washington multiple times last season, finally being able to say you have a place to call your own is a big deal. Much like graduating college, you find yourself with the sudden need to turn your new space into your home.

Since Karl's tastes clearly fall into the realm of 'Scandinavian modern style furniture and accessories', we're here to offer some suggestions from the blue and gold catalog of goodness.

Get a nice rug, like this one. It'll make a room!
Practical storage is a must. If you're looking for something modern, check this out. Just be careful... these things are known to have weird things in them...
I understand you recently got engaged. Congrats! Just make sure your fiancee doesn't make you buy this. Call me old fashioned, but it just doesn't scream 'rugged defenseman'.
Did you know Ikea does whole kitchens? Did you know you can make your whole kitchen RED!?
Actually, almost everything at Ikea is offered in red. Something like this is always a good bet to store all those trophies you're gonna win.
A tip: having two sinks can save a relationship, especially if you're always clogging the drain when you shave your playoff beard.
Lastly, when you're at Ikea you may be tempted to check out the cafe, featuring all sorts of Swedish food. STAY AWAY FROM THE CINNAMON BUNS! You'll put on 20 pounds before you know it! If you don't trust me, just ask Mike Green.

Three For Three

2010-10-12T10:47:00.000-04:00

For the duration of this season, I'll be attempting to write something about every single game played. But since my son's bedtime often falls in the middle of a game and I coach every Tuesday evening, it may take me some time to see every minute of every game. So, rather than provide my version of a game recap for every game (something done better by dozens of other bloggers and MSM outlets out there), I'm going to focus on 3 individual Capitals for a 3 game stretch. My hope is to be able to show a player's improvement, trends in his play and hopefully notice something insightful.

For Games 1-3, The Three were Marcus Johansson, Jason Chimera and Tom Poti.

Johansson - Can Marcus play the NHL game already?

In one word: raw. He's making some great plays with the puck, plays a very heads-up style, isn't afraid to forecheck and finish his checks and is finding teammates open. He probably should have a few points by now and I'd expect he'll start finding his offensive touch soon enough. Defensively, he's honest in his own end and covers the slot quite well. But he's also making some bad decisions with the puck in his own end (Jersey's 2nd goal came directly from such a decision) and will need some time to adjust to the speed and creativity of NHL players.

The one thing that jumped out at me was how much he reminds me of a certain player. No, not Nicklas Backstrom. It pains me to say, but when Marcus has the puck he reminds me of Sidney Crosby. Except, you know, likeable.

Chimera - How would Chimera do starting his first full season as a Cap?

Not since Al Iafrate has there been this combination of size and speed in a Caps jersey. Springing from the box and blowing a shot past the best goalie ever, beating out icing calls, forechecking relentlessly, standing up for teammates and doing so without one hair on his head. Chimera is playing like the perfect complimentary piece for this Caps team. He's taking advantage of having defenses focus on the two lines in front of him, exactly as a good 3rd liner should.

Chimera's play through the end of last season and these first 3 games is making GMGM look quite smart in making his controvercial trade to obtain the speedster. Chimera fits.

Poti - Donning a visor for the first time, would there be an adjustment period?

Playing in only 2 of the first 3 games, Poti seemed quite confident handling pucks in his feet (frequently an issue for those new to a visor). He was on the ice for 2 goals against in his two games (both in game 1), played ~19 minutes in each contest and blocked 2 shots. Poti missed game 3 with an undisclosed injury, but he doesn't appear to be hindered by last season's injury or the visor.

With the only set defensive pairing being Green/Schultz, Poti's experience is an asset in helping both Alzner and Carlson develop. Hopefully his injury is a minor one.

For games 4-6, The Three will be Tomas Fleischmann, Jeff Schultz and Karl Alzner.

Capstradamus

2010-10-07T13:21:00.000-04:00

Well, the 2010-2011 NHL Season is finally upon us and with it comes the wave of predictions: award winners, final standings, division winners and, most importantly, the winner of the Stanley Cup. Without further ado, I enter the Capitals prediction fray!

-The Caps will finish second in the Eastern Conference and first in the Southeast Division.

-They won't score as many goals as last season, but goals against and PK% will both be much better.

-Semyon Varlamov will play 60+ games this season. That is including the playoffs. And rehab games in Hershey.

-Alex Ovechkin will again lead the Capitals in points, but will not lead the team in goals.

-In a related note, Alex Semin will score 50+ goals.

-Ovie will not be suspended this season, but loads of people will insist he should be.

-John Carlson and Karl Alzner will answer any questions about the Caps blueline youth.

-GMGM will make no moves at the trade deadline. Or 3.

-The Caps will not run into Pittsburgh in the post season.

-Brooks Laich will be the most focused human being ever and keep it up for the whole season.

-Marcus Johansson will be better than you expect... more than 50 points, +/- of +20 or more. And he'll do something jaw-dropping at least once this season.

-The Winter Classic will be a blowout. Also, it'll be almost 60 degrees in Pittsburgh that day.

-The Caps will play more than 16 playoff games.

-Carlson, Ovechkin and Green will be finalists for NHL awards.

We'll see how everything works out next June...

Sasha vs. Sasha: Fists of Fury

2010-10-05T08:39:00.000-04:00

At Saturday's Caps Convention, during the always-entertaining Kids Panel, the following question was asked (from Rock The Red.net):

Q: If you could fight anyone in the NHL who would you pick?

Ovechkin: [quick to answer] Semin

You know what this means... another installment of Sasha vs. Sasha!

FIGHT!

In their careers, the Sasha's have combined for 2 regular season fights. Ovechkin took on Paul Gaustad of Buffalo in December, 2006 (with 75% of hockeyfights.com users choosing Gaustad the winner) wile Semin had an infamous bout with Mark Staal of the Rangers in January of 2009 (with 48% choosing Staal the winner). And, of course, Ovechkin tried to take on Steve Downie of Tampa Bay last season, with Matt Bradley jumping in before punches were thrown. But in a head-to-head match, who would win?

Size: While both Alexes are listed as being 6'2", Ovechkin has a sizable weight advantage (25 lbs) over Semin. Advantage: Ovie

Reach: Unlike the NBA, the NHL doesn't list a player's wingspan. But with all the offensive-zone holding and interference penalties Semin gets, he clearly possesses Go-Go-Gadget Arms. Advantage: Semin

Footwork: Both players exhibit their tremendous foot-speed and lateral ability on the ice. Advantage: Push

Conditioning: Semin spends the off-season relaxing, vacationing and fishing. Ovie spends the off-season ~~doing cardio with the ladies~~ training. Advantage: Ovie

Hands: Ovechkin's short, quick release while close to opponents suggests a jabbing style boxer. Semin, on the other hand, has a large wind-up and huge, sweeping release. Ovie would tire Semin down with lots of strikes while Semin would be throwing haymakers. In a hockey fight, where you have maybe 40 seconds worth of true fight time, you simply can't rely on jabs. Advantage: Semin

Intangibles: Ovie's willingness to take on an established fighter such as Downie speaks to his toughness. Semin, on the other hand, has shown that he'll go Donkey Kong-mental when tested. And there's nothing scarier than an angry chimp. Advantage: Semin

So there you have it! Semin wins 3-2-1 in a battle of the Sashas. Granted, Ovechkin would probably be laughing the whole time, but Semin 'The Siberian Tiger' should score the TKO.

Brunch & Hockey

2010-10-04T10:32:00.002-04:00

"It's too early!"

In the hour or so before yesterday's Caps 12:30pm preseason game, that was the most overheard phrase in the Verizon Center area. Bleary-eyed Caps fans, half awake from late Saturday nights, streamed into the arena like zombies in Dawn of the Dead. Only it seemed like these Red Undead all headed for the Dunkin Donuts kiosk inside Verizon Center, the line at times being 50+ people deep.

On any ordinary 7pm game day, there are a multitude of options for pre-game food and libations with friends. But for a 12:30 Sunday game, the available options are far fewer. Sure, most restaurants in the area open at 11am, but judging from the coffee-mad lines at DD and Starbucks, most Caps fans aren't quite ready for a big salad, burrito or burger yet. It's Sunday. We need Brunch.

Fortunately enough, local vendors have noticed. Here are a few spots that cater to Bloody Mary drinking, eggs and sausage eating Caps fans.

Ruby Tuesdays: They have the distinction of being the only option that opens at 9am. Ruby's has a decent brunch Menu and a full bar. Plus, it's right across the street from the VC entrance.

Clyde's: The pricier option for Brunch spots, they have a great menu that includes a Kid's Brunch. One of the few Brunch options that opens at 10am.

Checking out the Waitresses at Matchbox

Matchbox: Also opening at 10am, this excellent Pizza joint has a fine Brunch Menu and a great list of Brunch Cocktails. Or, if you're ~~like me~~ one of those people who likes beer at 10am, their draft list includes some great micro-brews. Plus, from personal experience, Matchbox is very kid-friendly (my son enjoyed ~~flirting with~~ smiling at the waitresses all morning yesterday).

Jaleo: Opening at 11am for Brunch, this Tapas joint offers much of their main menu to go with Brunch-specific items. Plus, their juice and cocktail list is great for pre-gaming it.

Austin Grill: Yes, they have Brunch! Starting at 11am, this Tex-Mex restaurant serves classic items and things like Huevos Rancheros. Add a cold Shiner, and you're getting your Sunday started right.

Fado Irish Pub: Guiness and Irish Breakfast. I shouldn't have to say more. Fado opens at various times, depending on sporting events, but as they play soccer everywhere in the world, they'll probably be open.

District Chophouse: Opening at 11am, this brewery/restaurant has a fantastic Brunch menu with options ranging from omelets to Porterhouse steaks. And did I mention they brew their own beer?

(I'm sure I haven't covered all the great pre-game options in the Verizon Center area, so if you know of any, let people know with a quick comment)

While only 2 games are currently slated to start at 12:30 this season, the Caps popularity will inevitably get another Sunday game moved for TV purposes. So don't be afraid to set the alarm a little earlier than you'd like and head down to grab some Brunch before Rocking the Red.

Truth or Dare

2010-10-01T15:36:00.000-04:00

This past Tuesday, former NHL defensive forward and Selke Trophy recipient Michael Peca said on TSN that thinks Florida Panthers and Calgary Flames defenseman Jay Bouwmeester is a bit overrated. It was a slightly harsh, yet honest criticism that has brought the wrath of the Calgary Flames brass. One line jumped out at me from Peca's critique (transcribed by Greg Wyshynski at Puck Daddy):

"I enjoyed playing against him. He turned pucks over. He made the game easier to play."

Which got me wondering: how much experience does Peca have against Bouwmeester in his playing career. As it turns out, Peca isn't quite the Jay Bouwmeester expert.

In the 6 seasons the two players' careers overlapped, Peca and Bouwmeester met a grand total of 10 times, with Peca's teams enjoying a 5-3-2 (2 ties) record in those games. Peca himself put up 1G, 3A and an even +/- rating in those 10 contests while Bouwmeester had 3A and an even +/- himself. To me, none of these numbers seem to back up Peca's claims.

Peca's career record and lack of experience against Bouwmeester doesn't exactly help Peca in his agruement. So while Peca is allowed to say the thing's he said about the flaws he sees in Jay Bouwmeester's game, perhaps throwing around lines like "He wasn't a tough guy to play against" and "He's one of those guys you looked forward to playing against" should be reserved for players Michael Peca actually played against more than a handful of times in a half dozen seasons.

I would dare say that several current members of the Washington Capitals, a team that actually played Bouwmeester's former team, the Panthers, quite frequently, would be a better judge of whether he was tough to play against.

Dwayne & Dustin

2010-09-30T09:47:00.000-04:00

The off-season acquisition of D.J. King triggered the salivary glands of many a Caps fan who has longed for the physical, pugilistic side of hockey. The man is massive; a "heavyweight among heavyweights," and his size, grit and intimidation factor should open up a lot of space for teammates.

But could he be used in a more Caps-type role as well? There is a player, new to the Southeast Division, who provided the same size and physical presence to last year's eventual Stanley Cup Champions. This player put Chris Pronger on his tail bone several times and scored 11 goals total in 22 post season games, including 5 playoff game winners.

Could D.J. King be the Caps' Dustin Byfuglien?

Byfuglien, the defenseman-turned-right winger, hammered opposing defensemen down low. He was impossible to move and when the play entered the corners, he dropped even the biggest and toughest of opponents. While he only managed point totals in the mid-30's in his time in Chicago, he proved invaluable to the success of the team. He created space for his superbly talented teammates. And he did so without great hands or speed.

At 6'3", 230 lbs, King gives up 2" and 35 lbs to Byfuglien. But from what I've witnessed, he might be every bit as strong and just as immovable in front of the net. While he was brought on to be a "big brother" to the Caps' more skilled forwards, he himself could prove to be just what the doctor ordered, offensively. Just as Mike Knuble has made a living within 5' of the net, King could establish himself as the massive screen that all goalies hate. He could draw penalties by simply standing stationary atop the crease. Oh, and he can fight.

I'm not saying Coach Boudreau should put King on the second line by any means. But he could add to the productivity of the already skilled 3rd or 4th lines. At the very least, when Atlanta is in town, he can saddle himself next to Byfuglien (returned to his original defensive position) and create some havoc in front of the net.

Killing Time

2010-09-28T15:19:00.000-04:00

After killing penalties at a poor 78.8% success rate last season, the Caps coaching staff is apparently changing the penalty kill. Gone will be the passive, " if we make them pass it one too many times, maybe they'll mess up" defense of ~~Alex Semin's offensive zone stick work~~ man-down situations. This season's penalty kill will be aggressive and will challenge those with the puck.

Here are some of the modifications to the Caps penalty kill this season:

A small electrode has been added to Top Poti's stick that will shock him if he holds onto the puck instead of clearing it immediately.
With the loss of Shaone Morrisonn via free agency, the Caps will have taught their younger defensemen how to deflect pucks into their own net.
The Caps will have someone stand at the top of the left faceoff dot when playing New Jersey, leading to retaliation penalites when Ilya Kovalchuk starts yelling "They can't stand there! That's my ****ing spot!"
Each Caps player has been taking shot-blocking lessons from goalie coach Arturs Irbe. The players are really starting to listen to Irbe: Alex Ovechkin has been seen hand-stitching up the holes in all his Dolce & Gabbana jeans.
Alex Semin will be asked to clear pucks on the penalty kill this season, since he showed he could dump the puck long distance directly at opposing goaltenders in last year's playoffs.
When playing the Penguins, the Caps penalty kill scheme will be the 'let them pass it for 2 full minutes and miss the net on the one shot they take' system.
At the start of every power play, Semyon Varlamov will be replaced with Michael Neuvirth. Statistically, it's the right thing to do.
Just before the puck is dropped, someone will tell Brooks Laich that the other team works for HBO and was walking on the ice.

The Start of Something Great

2010-09-28T11:45:00.000-04:00

When I was a school-aged kid, the summer was a often a time you lost touch with some of your friends. It didn't mean you weren't still friends, but with vacations and summer trips, you just never had time to see each other for those few warm months. Then, in September, we all headed back to school and greeted each other like only a few days had passed. Old friends shared stories. New friends introduced themselves and quickly became part of the group.

With tonight's first home pre-season Capitals game, the start of the DC hockey season officially opens. It's a time of year that many, including myself, look forward to all summer. Such is the life of a hockey fan.

Metro cars will again be full of red-clad fans eagerly heading into the city and, later, heading back home exhilarated and (hopefully) happy. Local bars and restaurants will awake from their summer lull and will again see scores of Caps fans eager to share a beer and a burger with their friends. New fans will walk the Chinatown streets with their fresh, new jerseys and old fans will flaunt their worn sweaters with pride.

Inside the Verizon Center, old friendships will be renewed. A horn will sound and everyone will look over and smile. A bearded man with a bellowing voice will awaken the arena and 18,000 of his friends will return the favor.

Over the long summer, much has happened in Caps Nation. New Caps fans have been born. Some have traded in their season tickets while others have jumped at the change to claim those same seats. Just as players have come and go, Caps fandom is also constantly evolving. It's what brings a constant feeling of excitement and freshness to the start of every season.

It was a good summer and a needed break for everyone involved. Now, it's back to doing what we all love. It's back to doing more than write about the Caps. It's time to cheer for the Caps.

It's time for hockey. Oh boy, it's time for hockey.

One Owner, Two Different Schedules

2010-09-24T11:29:00.000-04:00

Last spring, everyone was delighted to learn that Ted Leonsis, the owner of the Washington Capitals, had also become the owner of both the Verizon Center and the Washington Wizards NBA franchise. Caps fans rejoiced at the end of the team's 'second class status' as far as arena revenues, publicity and scheduling. But with the rather short amount of time from his taking possession of the arena and the Wizards, was there time to even out the schedule for both teams?

Looking at the official Verizon Center Schedule of Events, I looked at the number of times the Caps play a game the day after (and in some cases, the evening after an afternoon game) either an NBA game, Georgetown Hoyas game or a concert. Then I did the same for the Wizards. I excluded pre-season games, unless one of the teams was playing a regular season game the next night. Here's what I found:

CAPITALS

Wizards Games: 20
Hoyas Games: 3 (2 of which are played at noon on the day of a 7pm Caps game)
Concerts: 4 ('The Wall' Live, Minister Dr. David Jeremiah, a choir competition and Lady Gaga)
TOTAL: 27 games

WIZARDS

Capitals Games: 15
Hoyas Games: 4 (3 of which are played at noon on the day of a 7pm Wizards game)
Concerts: 1 (Trans Siberian Orchestra)
Others: 1 (2nd Round of NCAA March Madness)
TOTAL: 20 games

So there you have it. The Caps play 7 more games after another Verizon Center event than do the Wizards. And, speaking with no experience in the matter, I'd imagine a basketball-to-basketball change-over is less intensive, yet still affects the ice surface below it. With so many floor-to-ice transitions throughout the season, it's no wonder that the Verizon Center ice's quality is questioned from time to time. It's a credit to the fine change-over crew at the arena that there were far less complaints last season than in seasons prior.

Hopefully with a full season of full ownership under his belt, Ted can ensure that the Caps and Wizards will have a more balanced schedule for the 2011-2012 season.

Stay-at-home

2010-09-22T15:19:00.000-04:00

As I've posted previously, making the trip down to Kettler is a bit more than a short trip on the Metro. So when I found myself with a day off yesterday, I decided to keep my 8 month old son home from daycare, brave the Tuesday morning traffic and make the trip down to watch the Caps practice and scrimmage. Let's just say it was an eye-opening morning.

I almost always head down to the far end of the rink. I'm not sure why, but for me I like to just sit quietly and watch practice (and take some mental notes). Plus, there is usually plenty of free space along the glass for my son to sit and watch the ~~players~~ lights and colors move around quickly, making banging noises along the way. Upon sitting down, I noticed I was near a bunch of fathers with their young children (10 months to a couple years old). Unbeknownst to me, I had ventured into (wait for it)...

THE STAY-AT-HOME DAD LISTSERV ZONE

Apparently, there is some online listserv for stay-at-home dads in the Arlington area. They look for interesting, time killing things to do throughout the day to ~~stay sane~~ keep their kids active and yesterday was Kettler day. They introduced themselves to me and explained the culture around being a stay-at-homer. Some had lost their jobs, others had households where mom was the breadwinner. Either way, they were Mr. Mom and, being guys, were a bit bored of the options on PBS and the Disney Channel.

This is where it gets weird: they had no idea about Kettler. One of them 'stumbled' upon the rink when his kids wanted to ride the elevators on a trip to the mall. One kid hit G8 and POOF! ice rinks. They knew absolutely nothing about hockey, the Caps, or what was going on. One guy admitted he didn't understand what the players were doing and had always made fun of hockey, but the kids liked it so why not come watch.

"Who do these guys skate with?"
The Caps.
"All of them? I don't know any of their names, but this looks like a lot of people."
It's training camp. Some are THE Caps, some are trying to show the coaches they deserve a spot.
"So where would the others go?"
Canadian Juniors, college, or the minor leagues in Hershey or South Carolina.
"OH! Hey guys! This guy says the ones that don't make it go to Hershey!"
"In Pennsylvania!? Wow!"

It went on that way for a while. After explaining the game and the team a half dozen times, I came to a rather startling realization:

Not everyone in the area Rocks The Red. They're not hockey fans, fair-weather or otherwise. They don't care about the Caps, know who Mike Green or Alex Ovechkin are (I had to point out who 'the good one' was), and could care less about learning. There are just some people who aren't ever going to be on board. So cherish the Caps. Spread the word, educate the masses and sell as many people as you can on how great hockey is.

And if that doesn't work, just tell them there's a place where their kids can ooh and aah when grown men hit each other. And it's free.

Making Strides

2010-09-21T07:59:00.000-04:00

For most hockey fans, a player’s skating ability is an afterthought. Sure, some players are faster or shiftier than others, but so are players in sports where running is the preferred form of propulsion. Skating ability is assumed; if you can’t skate, you can’t play ice hockey at a high level. But for the professional hockey player, it isn’t that simple.

On March 11, 2010, Dan Steinberg of the always excellent D.C. Sports Bog write an article entitled ‘Brooks Laich is a skating scientist’ in which he profiled Brooks’ off-season sessions with Liane Davis of Liane Davis Power Skating in Regina, Saskatchewan to improve his skating technique. The article also focused on Brooks’ constant analysis of his own skating technique to ensure he hadn’t “reverted to his wide-track”, inefficient stride as the season progressed.

Being a skills-based coach, the article intrigued me. So I decided to contact Davis and ask her a few questions on the subject of skating. Liane was very generous with her time and thoughtful in answering a Minor League blogger such as myself, and I thank her for that. She said that she has “never had so much feed-back from an article as I have had from the Washington Post blog.” Good job Dan!

With the Caps having several European superstar players, I started off wondering if she thought North American skaters had a different approach to skating than their counterparts from across the Atlantic. “I don't get a lot of European players, and I don't want to generalize, but I think that their approach is very different. I think that most of them consider themselves athletes as opposed to hockey players and are very willing to break skills down and put them back together.” I found that answer enlightening, as Caps fans always see pictures of Alex Ovechkin's off season training routine, which rarely feature on-ice training. Perhaps the Europeans are on to something?

I also wondered about the toll an 82 game season takes on skating technique and efficiency. Davis broke my question down to explain: instead of a full season, look at one shift. “I think that the players with the most efficient stride have minimal break-down during a shift - we have all seen players flying around for the first 15-20 seconds of a shift and then struggling to make it from one end to the other the next 15 seconds.” She also used Coach Boudreau’s favorite drill, the ‘bag skate’, to explain how a player’s technique starts to deteriorate. “If you have ever watched players getting 'bag-skated' the bad habits are unique to each player - knees straightening, upper body dropping forward, stride recovery very wide, skates kicking up, wild/no arm motion, etc.” Davis also mentioned how an injury can play into a lapse in technique. “Injury, minor or major, is another reason. 'Playing through' an injury often results in a compromised skating style.” Considering most players are nursing, at minimum, the bumps and bruises of the game, it’s easy to see how a player’s stride can start to be affected over the course of a season.

With the Caps defense under intense scrutiny this coming season, I was interested to see if defensemen get enough credit for their skating ability. “My players would be the first to tell you that I favour defensemen! Because their position is more reactionary I think they have to be able to execute a wider variety of skills. I am a big proponent of forwards skating all the same skills as the d-men in my classes.” The next time Caps fans pick on a defenseman for his perceived lack of mobility, just remember: most NHL defensemen are skating backwards as fast as the other team’s superstar is coming at them, then pivoting to stay in position without losing speed. It’s harder than it looks.

Since Davis is a technique-oriented skating coach, I wondered if there were skater’s who were faster than their technique would indicate they were. “I think that lots of players are faster than their style should support but I don't think that any player is more efficient than they should be.” Then she mentioned a key part of a skater’s stride: the player’s own personality. “It has been my experience that a player's personality shows up in their skating eg. Every big, smooth skating d-man that I've met has a calm, relaxed personality, at least on the ice.” This idea makes a lot of sense. The next time I watch a Caps game, I’ll definitely be looking at the players’ skating styles to see if it matches their off-ice personalities.

Davis also mentioned the Pros’ own views on skating. “I had a discussion with a group of my pro players a couple of weeks ago and they had a couple of interesting views. They all agreed that every good skater that they knew worked on their skating. They also said that once they had skated with a more efficient stride, actually felt the difference, they were hooked on working on their skating.” Davis finds that “most people think that it's the weaker skaters that spend the most time on their skating, but that has definitely not been my experience at a pro level.” It’s heartening to know that players already skating at an elite level are still never satisfied that they’re “good enough,” and especially nice to know that some of our own Caps (Davis has also worked with Boyd Gordon, Quintin Laing, D.J. King and Anderew Gordon) are those kinds of players.

Davis grew up around the video machine of the Edmonton Oilers in their dynasty seasons. With all that experience looking at film, does anyone in particular stood out as being ‘the best’ skater? Obviously those Oilers teams left an impression. “I could never pick one skater as most technically solid but I think the Oiler teams in late 80's were an interesting combination of skating styles with the effortlessness of Coffey, strength of Messier, pure speed of Anderson. The first time I saw Pavel Bure skate (at World Juniors) I was amazed, and continued to be every time I saw him play. Not often that a player can maintain high speed and pull off the moves he did with the puck.” With Ovechkin's power, Chimera's speed, and Laich's efficiency, I can start to see some similarities between those Oilers teams and the current Caps roster. And those Oilers did pretty well for themselves.

Finally, I just had to ask: Is there anyone in particular on the Capitals that Davis would say had exceptional skating technique/ability?

“If I answer your Caps question with any name other then Brooks Laich I will hear about it!”

Grumpy Brooksie

2010-09-17T10:54:00.000-04:00

It seems as if Brooks Laich is still a bit pissed by the way his season ended last year. In yesterday's Toronto Sun article, he said that he is "getting called 'Grumpy'", which is a bit understandable given last season's high expectations and subsequent poor playoff performance.

Here's Brooks. I wouldn't say he looks 'grumpy'. More like 'focused'. I'm sure the ladies would probably use other adjectives entirely.

Dictionary.com defines grumpy as "surly or ill-tempered; discontentedly or sullenly irritable; grouchy". Ok, that helps define Brooks' mood this offseason. But is he truly deserving of the nickname 'Grumpy'? I think we need some Pop Culture help here.

When I think of 'Grumpy', several images come to mind. First, of course, is Grumpy the Dwarf.

Hmm... same intense stare. Same 'I'm serious' eyebrows. Same red uniform and a serious playoff beard. But those shoes are seriously throwing me off. Sorry Brooks, close but no nachos.

Next up, is Grumpy the Care Bear.

First off, he's blue. Secondly, his logo includes hearts. I just don't see Brooksie wearing anything with hearts on it. An 'I Heart Mom' tattoo, maybe. Finally, he's in terrible hockey shape. I know you need that belly for Care Bear Staring, but someone needs to lay off the Butterfingers. Nope, doesn't fit.

Lastly we have Mr. Grumpy, created by the great Roger Hargreaves.

Once again, we have the blueish complexion as a distinct difference. Both do have the solid, square jaw and are built like bricks. I just don't think Brooks would really wear a green top hat.

Nope, I frankly don't think the 'Grumpy' nickname will stick this season. That is, unless Mr. Laughlin starts throwing it out there on a regular basis.

Casual Friday

2010-09-16T21:29:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is Friday, which during football season, means the majority of my colleagues will be donning their Ravens, Redskins, Giants, Steelers, Packers and Cowboys jerseys and trash talking each other in the lunch room. It's a time of year that reminds me of the second-class status hockey owns compared to the big three of professional sports.

So I'm speaking to all the managers who have the authority to declare things when I petition for "All Sports Friday" rather than "Football Friday".

Sure, attempting to remain business-like in an Extra Large, bright red Caps jersey makes you look like a 4rd round draft pick, especially with the knot of your tie poking up through the NHL-logo'd collar. But there is something cool about seeing a long sleeved, slightly baggy hockey jersey in a business meeting. It shows that you're serious. It shows that you think outside the box. It shows that you're capable of anything.

I'm not trying to fight football for supremacy or anything. I know I'd probably be one of maybe ~~one~~ two people to wear a hockey jersey if this request came to be. I'd be stared at and questioned by everyone with a Raiders jersey. But I'd be networking.

Maybe I'll just start wearing my jersey from time to time. I wonder how long it would take for someone to question it and tell me it's unprofessional. And they'd be lucky football jerseys aren't baggy enough to be pulled over their heads.

STH Benefits

2010-09-15T07:09:00.002-04:00

Upon receiving my Washington Capitals Season tickets in the mail the other day, I eagerly opened the packaging to find all sorts of goodies: lanyards, ticket holders, pins, a bag and a flash drive with the Season Ticket Holder (STH) Guide Book. All this stuff in addition to the STH Party later this season, free STH gift and other assorted benefits of having Caps Season Tickets (first dibs at playoff tickets being my favorite).

But in Section 412, there are perks that no other section in the arena has. And they're awesome perks.

-By sitting directly behind the AV guys, I can see ~~Tyler Sloan's name~~ the scratches before everyone else. This is a game changing perk when you know that Sean Avery is scratched in Game 5 against the Rangers before everyone in the arena.

-You can also see the end of the 4:00pm NFL games on the Sound Guy's tiny TV. I can't tell the score or which teams are playing, but the moving colored blurs are pretty.

-Being directly below the press box entrance, I get to see Stretch and Vogs saunter up the 412 stairs at least once a game. I used to see Tarik and Corey walk those stairs... (*tear).

-Also at the top of those stairs is the in-house video replay booth, allowing the section to yell at people we don't know and who won't be influenced by our 'NO GOAL!' chants at them no matter how many beers you offer them.

-We get to sit next to two of our best friends. Unless it's a Penguins game, in which case we get to sit next to one of our best friends and the guy in the Pittsburgh jersey we're pretending not to know.

-Being at the end of the ice where the Caps shoot twice, I've seen more goals for than against. Or, during last year's playoffs, more saves than in Mariano Rivera's entire career.

-The added benefit of watching almost every other section win Section Roulette or be visited by the Red Rockers and Slap Shot with Chipotle/hats/shirts/schwag. I have enough fatty burritos and Caps gear, thanks.

-When beer bottles and other assorted items come cascading down after game 7 losses, even the weakest of arms can usually propel items over us and out of the upper deck. Heads up down there!

-I always know how much time is left at the end of a period.

-My son managed to sleep through Ovie's 50th goal last season, so apparently the section is pretty mild...

-Yet no one ever accuses me of swearing too much.

It's a great section with great people who happen to be huge Caps fans. I can't wait to cheer right along side everyone again this year. See you guys in a few weeks!

30 > 40?

2010-09-14T07:57:00.000-04:00

Michael Neuvirth already has a pretty impressive professional hockey resume: two Calder Cups, a Calder Cup MVP award, an 11-5-0 NHL record and .910 save%. This coming season, he looks to vie for playing time against fellow youngster Semyon Varlamov. Despite displaying two dramatically different goaltending styles, both have managed to work their way into a 1/1A goalie tandem.

In my previous analysis, we've already seen that Varly was susceptible to goals on the blocker side last season. But just how did the 40 goals Neuvy surrendered last season go in. Once again, we head to the video.

Using the same categories to describe how pucks got past Michael as I did with Semyon (location of the shot, whether the shot came off a rebound, was redirected or whether Michael was screened) here's the breakdown:

High Blocker - 6

Low Blocker - 9

High Glove - 5

Low Glove - 5

5 Hole - 9

Other (down and out, on his back, etc) - 6

As for the other factors, I found Neuvirth popped out a bad rebound 10 times, was screened on 7 goals and 5 goals came off deflections or redirections in front (one of which Semin knocked in after a big save by Neuvy).

What's obvious right from the start is that the 5 hole goals are concerning for a butterfly goalie. Neuvy managed to get square to the shooter on almost every one of these goals, but wasn't able to close himself up quickly enough to prevent the squeaker (most of them managed to hit the inside of his pads before going in). Neuvirth also had a tendency to pop out rebounds to the middle, leading to quite a few goals against. At Hershey, his rebound control was quite good, which bodes well for his development at the NHL level.

Neuvy, like Varly, was also vulnerable to blocker-side goals more than on the glove side (15-10). However, those who wish Varly could have Neuvirth's glove hand seem to have something, with only 13% of his goals going in high glove compared to 25% for Varlamov.

Neuvy doesn't have the athleticism or explosiveness of Varlamov. But he is a technically-sound butterfly goalie. He squares himself to the shooter well and the majority of the shots he sees hit him in the body or pads. If the two young goalies can sound up the small holes in their game (and maybe learn something from each other), the Caps could have a very solid last line of defense this season.

The Frustration of a Marylander

2010-09-10T07:38:00.001-04:00

Once upon a time, there Piney Orchard Ice Arena, Home of the Washington Capitals. Piney Orchard was a bit out of the way, but being a Marylander it was a great place to catch a practice or, as a kid, get a few autographs. A few seasons ago, the Caps bid farewell to Odenton and moved into their new facility in Arlington, VA. Kettler is nothing short of amazing; the best rink in the area and a state-of-the-art NHL practice facility. But is has one HUGE problem: It's in Virginia.

I live and work in Maryland. How the hell am I going to sneak out of work to watch training camp!?

It's not like there's a good way to get to Kettler from here. Whether I'm coming around the Beltway or braving the city, it's still an hour+ to get to Ballston Commons Mall. Most bosses tend to notice things like 5 hour lunch breaks. It's one thing to take a 5 minute walk or drive to the rink to catch an hour of a scrimmage while downing a sandwich. It's another thing to take a full day off for what is essentially a 3 hour window of ice time in the middle of the day. I know it's worth it, it always is, but it's painful. It forces you to pick certain days over others.

Which scrimmage will be the best? Who will be on the ice? When can I catch Kugryshev's hilarious dry heaving routine? What if today is THE day!?

It also makes it hard to coordinate a camp trip with friends. Camp is so much better when it's shared with a few pals, trading stats, analyzing the power play, or making snarky comments about Boyd Gordon's assorted nicknames before heading down to the Front Page or Rock Bottom. But trying to work around schedules and meetings and family requirements to take a day off in the middle of the week? Excruciating.

So rather than sneakily catch six or seven practices and scrimmages throughout camp, I'm left filling out leave requests and HONESTLY declaring my intention to attend Caps Training Camp. I'm hoping to keep my boss happy enough to forget the random days I'll take off in the middle of the season to catch a practice.

(cough cough) I am feeling a bit under the weather though. I hope I'm not coming down with something...

A Case For Pants

2010-09-08T13:08:00.001-04:00

It's not every day that I become an advocate for pants, but today is one of those exceptions. I'm writing today to urge the powers that be to include the forgotten hero of past Caps uniforms in this season's Winter Classic ensemble and further more, into the standard regular season Washington Capitals uniform.

This hero is none other than the Starred and Striped Pants of old.

Gone since the 1995-1996 season, these unsung heroes toiled away on Tacklas and CCM Supras and Coopers of old, never seeking the attention of their chest star counterparts. Alas, when the Caps ~~corrected the injustice of black jerseys~~ switched back to the classic red, white and blue, only the pompous chest stars came along for the ride.

The Stars and Stripes pants were the cornerstone of Caps hockey for a generation and have been missed. I implore the Capitals, the NHL, and Reebok to bring them back as a permanent fixture of the Washinton Capitals uniform. See how good this looks:

It's a fantastic compliment to what is already one of the best jerseys in the league. It doesn't require altering the current sweater, the development of a 3rd jersey or a wholesale re-branding of the team. It's simply an homage to the teams of old in the form of a half dozen red and white stars and a couple pin stripes.

At the very least, please make sure the last thing the Penguins see when they leave the Heinz Field ice in January are the Stars and Stripes celebrating an outdoor win.

Your Hockey Friends

2010-09-07T08:23:00.003-04:00

As hockey fans, many of us tend to hang out with hockey people. We chime in on blogs and message boards. In bars and at parties, we're the ones standing in the corner talking about starting goaltenders and defensive prospects. When people come to join in, they usually start with 'How good is that Ovechkin guy, huh!?' and get stared at. There's nothing wrong with it, as every professional sport has the same type of culture.

But with this type of culture comes a problem: what happens when your friends aren't Caps fans, or aren't the same type of fan as you? I've come up with a handy cheat sheet to help you accurately identify which type of hockey fans your friends are.

Dr. Stats: This guy can explain in depth why he thinks his team is better. He's always on every team's blogs gathering info to be smarter in conversation. Sometimes the arguments make sense, sometimes things like "Statistically, the Panthers' goaltending is just better." fall on deaf ears.

Mr. Deferential: This guy isn't looking for trouble. He's still a die hard fan of his team, but he's not the type to trash talk. Most likely, he'll say non-controversial things like "You guys are right up there with the Devils for sure. In the Eastern Conference, it'll probably be one of the two of us." and completely diffuse any argument before it begins. Also known as Mr. Frustrating.

The Belligerent Guy: We all have this friend. He's the guy who says things like "Well you guys just suck!", and "That Ovechkin guy is terrible!!" He's really annoying, but he's always picking up the tab so you keep him around. Secretly, he has a Mike Green poster in his room. The one with the tank top and tattoos.

Captian Sarcastic: This guy asks loaded questions, such as "Why are there only 3 games pre-Ovechkin in your '10 Greatest Games box set? Didn't you guys start playing in 1974?" but you know he's just bitter because one of those 3 is Hunter beating his Flyers in OT.

Ms. Transplant: She'll always root for her how team, but her allegiances are torn. She'll wear her Red Wings jersey to a Caps/Wings game, but jump up and cheer when Semin puts one in. She REALLY loved it when Fedorov was here.

Mr. Friendly Fire: This guy IS a Caps fan, but his reasons for liking or not liking the team are always different than yours. He'll say things like "They just need to trade Green!" when you try to argue that #52's presence on the blueline is necessary.

The Fantasy Islander, aka 'Tattoo': Also a Caps fan but he'll root for anyone on his fantasy team, even if they're playing against the Caps. "GO BOGOSIAN GO!" should never be yelled by a guy in a Laich jersey. Ever.

Kenny Rogers: This guy is a gambler. He's willing to bet you on any game or game-within-the-game. "$20 says Bradley doesn't get any assists tonight!"

Darth Vader: He's always trying to get you to say his team is better. "Come on. You know Pittsburgh is better. Just say it." But don't worry and hold your ground... The Force is strong and the Dark Side will be defeated.

Hopefully you'll now be able to identify your friends and respond accordingly.

Goals (From The Other Side)

2010-09-04T11:00:00.000-04:00

So far in the video analyses I've performed on various players from last season, I've stuck with 'goals scored'. For my next video session, I decided to flip things upside-down: I'm looking at every goal scored ON the young Caps goaltending tandem of Semyon Varlamov and Michael Neuvirth. Today, we'll look at Varly.

Varlamov is a reflex goalie. His reaction time is off the charts, as is his lateral movement. He was criticized early on in his career for having a wear glove hand, but those feelings seemed to subside as last season progressed. So how does Varly get beat? Are the goals put past him his fault, or is his defense leaving him out to dry. Let's look at the tape!

I had to come up with a variety of categories to describe how pucks got past Semyon: Location of the shot, whether the shot came off a rebound, was redirected or whether Varly was screened.

Looking at location, this is what I found:

High Blocker - 14
Low Blocker - 16
High Glove - 15
Low Glove - 4
5 Hole - 6
Other (Varly down and out, on his back, etc) - 10

As for the other factors, I found Varly popped out a bad rebound 7 times, was screened on 11 goals and 7 goals came off deflections or redirections in front.

So what does this mean? While Varly is vulnerable to shots high glove, most of the goals against of that variety came off a good, hard shot rather than some misplay by Varlamov. The majority of his goals against last season found their way in on his blocker side, several of which came from areas of the ice where a shot to that side is a relatively routine save. Coach Boudreau's reactions to those goals should speak volumes to their lack of difficulty to stop.

Varly's athleticism often has him driving laterally from one side of the crease to the other, so rebounds or redirections back to the other side frequently leave him down and out in his net. It also doesn't help that on a number of goals, his defensemen either screened his view of the shot, or knocked the puck in their selves. It's encouraging that so few of Varly's goals against came from rebounds, as it shows his rebound control to be fairly solid.

Overall, Varly had a relatively solid season. With some attention to certain areas of his game, his stats this coming season could be excellent. Hopefully the defensive corps around him can help eliminate some of the need for him to have to make so many highlight reel type saves.

Giveaways!

2010-09-03T08:28:00.000-04:00

For most Caps fans, the word 'giveaway' conjures up images of Mike Green at his own blueline or Alex Semin at the point on the powerplay. But it also means 'cool promotional items'! Magnetic calendars, posters, drink koozies, scarves and more. It's like the surprise in the box of Cocoa Puffs!

There has been a lot of speculation (ok, I've been wondering) about which current Cap gets his likeness on a bobblehead this season. With Alex Semin and John Carlson already on their own Inova Blood Drive bobbleheads, consider them off the Fan Giveaway list. Let's take a look at the candidates!

Nick Backstrom - Your odds on favorite. Successfully translating his blond locks into plastic sculpture could be tough, but it can be done.
Semyon Varlamov - If done right, goalie bobbleheads are cool. If done wrong, they end up looking a lot like Michael Neuvirth.
Brooks Laich - I would personally go for a 'Brooks Laich Tire Pressure Gauge Night, sponsored by AAA', but I'm sure the ladies would like a mini-Brooks to put on their night stands. Ok fine, I would too.
Matt Bradley - Everything needs more Bradley, but now your bookshelf will have just enough. The real question is: is the bobblehead bleeding or not?
Karl Alzner - Get Hertz Rent-a-car as your sponsor and include The Beard and you're gold.
John Erskine - You could pretty much just change the name on this.
Mathieu Perreault - Technically, it would have to be 'Mathieu Perreault Mini Bobblehead Night'...
Eric Fehr or Tomas Fleischmann - Coach Boudreau isn't too high on the Fehr bobble, but would happily endorse the Flash version.

Of course if the Caps are budget-savvy, they'll just hand out an empty base with the Verizon logo and call it 'Second Line Center Bobblehead Night'.

The Color Man

2010-09-02T09:24:00.001-04:00

Yesterday's announcement that Rob Dibble would no longer be broadcasting Washington Nationals games didn't come as much of a surprise to most MASN viewers. Dibble's often style as an analyst was home-team slanted and often abrasive or controversial. As an experienced ex-player, his knowledge of the game often got in the way of being an unbiased commentator.

Dibble's short run for the Nats lies in stark contrast to the extended engagement of another Washington, DC sports color analyst: the Washington Capitals' own Craig Laughlin. Laughlin has now presided over the telestrator for Caps games for 20 years and managed to do so under several play-by-play men. He has survived despite being a frequent home-team sympathizer, possessing quite possibly the worst voice in broadcasting (sorry Craig, but it's a bit piercing), and frequently pimping his own business interests on-air.

Unlike Dibble, Laughlin is likable. His slang hockey terms are endearing to Caps fans, as are his cutesy nicknames for certain players (usually just shortening or adding a 'y' to the player's last name). His use of the telestrator has become proficient and his style is certainly that of a hockey coach; thoughtful and instructional. Laughlin seems to want his viewers to love the game of hockey as much as he does. His banter with play-by-play man Joe Beninati keeps the game interesting, even during the middle of a boring or blow-out game. Oh, and he was once a Cap, which goes a long way in connecting him to Caps teams of old (and the fans of those teams).

Once upon a time, Caps fans weren't the hockey-educated, statistics-minded group they are today. They were occasional viewers who needed someone to educate them on what they were seeing on the screen. They needed entertainment in the form of a goofy, munchkin voice with some hockey savvy. They needed Craig Laughlin.

Dibble didn't have to go far to find a good sports color man to emulate. By simply watching a few Caps games, he might have extended his stay in DC and endeared himself to Nats fans the way Laughlin has to us.

Stat Swapping

2010-09-01T10:04:00.000-04:00

I like to sometimes have fun flip-flopping certain players stata to see what they'd look lik under different circumstances. Today's bit of fun: adjusting Alex Semin's shots per game totals to match Alex Ovechkin's, keep Semin's shooting % the same and see what Semin's goal totals look like.

2009-2010: 73 games, 373 shots, 54 goals
2008-2009: 62 games, 414 shots, 63 goals
2007-2008: 63 games, 343 shots, 48 goals
2006-2007: 77 games, 368 shots, 57 goals

See? Now isn't that fun?

Passing Lane

2010-08-31T13:13:00.000-04:00

Alex Ovechkin enters this season with 269 career goals and the 3rd highest Goals Per Game rate of players since 1931 (only Bossy and Lemieux are ahead of him). Looking at the list of Career Goals Scored, Ovechkin looks to pass the following well-known players this season (# of goals needed to pass in parenthesis):

Bobby Orr (2)
Howie Morenz (3)
Red Kelly (13)
Larry Murphy (19)
Neal Broten (21)
Mike Ridley (24)
Ulf Dahlen (33)
Dennis Hull (35)
Martin Gelinas (41)
Denis Potvin (42)
Dave Gagner (50)
Clark Gillies (51)
Bobby Carpenter (52)
Dale Hunter (55)
Adam Graves (61)

It's a pretty impressive list within Ovie's reach, with a number of Hall of Famers and quite a few former Caps. Of course, none of the players on this list are close to Ovie in games played (Orr is closest with 657 to Ovie's 396).

So sit back and enjoy the ride.

Sticker Shock

2010-08-30T10:36:00.001-04:00

Being a Caps season ticket holder is a wonderful thing. You get tickets to 41 Caps home games, a wonderful Season Ticket Holder present, a huge party (last year, at Six Flags), first dibs at the Caps equipment sale, and the ability to gloat to all your friends. But it’s fairly costly. Some view it as an investment, selling various games for a profit and breaking even on the season. Some simply take the hit, and spend even more money on concessions and souvenirs. But there is another hidden cost that hits us all: getting to Verizon Center.
I myself take Metro to and from games. Living up the I-95 corridor in suburban Maryland, Greenbelt Station is my station of choice. It has a direct exit off 495, making it easy to get to, and always has sufficient parking. But Metro isn’t cheap. It’s one of those expenses that you just assume into your cost for a game and coming off your Smart Trip card, you rarely ever see the cash leave you hand. But just how expensive is it?

Get ready to get sick.

The Caps have 25 games that fit Metro’s ‘weekday’ pricing (27 actual weekday games, 2 of which fall on a holiday) and 16 games that fit their ‘weekend’ pricing (including those two holiday games). Assuming you leave for DC at 4:00pm on a game day, park at the station and leave downtown for home after 9:00pm, these are the full-season costs from the system's end stations:

Greenbelt: $632.25 for a couple w/ parking; $1158.25 for a family of 4 w/ parking

Shady Grove: $682.25; $1245.75

Vienna: $676.00; $1239.50

Glenmont: $659.75; $1200.75

New Carrolton: $546.35; $986.45

Franconia Springfield: $676.00; $1239.50

Largo Town Center: $622.25; $1138.25

Branch Avenue: $528.85; $951.45

(Oh, and with Metro’s new $0.20 ‘Peak-of-the-peak’ fare increase, if you’re leaving for DC between 4:30-6:30pm during the week add on an additional $5 to the total.)

Insane, right? The cost of Metro for a family of 4 is nearly the cost of a season ticket. During the week, it’s actually more expensive for a couple to park at Shady Grove Metro Station and take the train in ($20.25) than it is to drive to Chinatown and pay $10-20 to park in a garage (granted, you eliminate the hassle of dealing with rush-hour traffic if you train in).

Fortunately, there are ways of lessening the blow from Metro costs if you’re willing to do some work.
Take a look at stations a little further down the line, closer to the city. With fares that are $0.60 less than Greenbelt’s, taking the train from College Park Station will save you $201.80 over the course of a season. The same holds true for Twinbrook ($30) and Grosvenor ($95) on the Red Line, Van Dorn St. ($90) and Morgan Blvd. ($171.80) on the Blue Line, and Dunn Loring ($60) and West Falls Church ($256.80!) on the Orange Line. Some of these stations have far fewer parking spots than the end stations, but if you’re lucky enough to get a spot it’s worth the extra drive.

You could also look for a job in Downtown DC, in which case you’d save some money by not leaving the city till after Metro’s peak fare times. You could do even better if you find a job with an employer who subsidizes Metro costs. I hear the Federal Government is always hiring!

Or you could simply drive your Mercedes Benz SL65 AMG Black Edition into Chinatown and park in the Verizon Center garage. Oh yeah... to do that, you'll need to be the best hockey player in the world.

No matter what, the cost of a Caps season ticket isn’t the true cost of the ticket and it isn't for the faint of heart. Fortunately enough, 18,000 red-clad Caps Fans think the price is worth it.

More Bradley

2010-08-28T17:16:00.000-04:00

When you think of Matt Bradley, what images come to mind? Do you think of hard hits? Sticking up for teammates? A defense-first mentality? Dirty work? Certainly. But would you ever use the words 'skilled', 'sniper', or 'slick' when talking about Matt? Maybe you should.

Since Matt didn't score a lot of goals last season, we'll take a look at his last 2 seasons, including playoffs. That's a total of 18 goals. As with all our other goal analyses, we'll break the goals down into categories. For Matt, the groupings are pretty simple:

Skill Goals
Rebound/Grit Goals

You might be surprised to know that 10 of those 18 goals fall into the 'skill' category, including 7 of his 11 scored this season. Seven more fit the 'Rebound/Grit' group, and one lone goal falls into the undefined 'luck' category (Martin Broduer's flub of a partially-blocked Bradley shot).

A lot of Brads' goals aren't just showcases of skill, but show the hands and release of a sniper. On breakaways (and 'I'll do it" shootout attempts), he's not afraid to make power moves, use his backhand, or try something tricky. And of course, every time Bradley scores, Caps fans cheer that much louder.

Which brings me to the ultimate point of this post: that even 3rd and 4th line NHL players are still highly skilled and capable of much more than they might regularly show. Like so many, Bradley is dedicated to playing his role as a defensively-minded energy player and he excels at it.

But maybe he's really a 3rd line sniper waiting for the right opportunity to put the puck in the net.

Things I Miss: The Skipjacks

2010-08-27T08:13:00.000-04:00

Ever since the Washington Capitals joined forces with the Hershey Bears of the AHL in 2005, Caps fans have been lucky to have minor league hockey within driving distance of DC. The history associated with the Bears, and the success of the team after the collaboration, have won over scores of Washinton fans who routinely make road trips up to catch weekend games.But when I started playing hockey in the early 1990's, Hershey wasn't in the picture and neither was driving 2 hours to find AHL hockey. In the early 90's, there were the Skipjacks.

Once upon a time, the Baltimore Skipjacks had better attendance than the Baltimore Bullets NBA team. Being only 30 minutes north of Landover, there was always the opportunity to head up and catch a game at the Baltimore Arena. There was also the opportunity, just as the Bears do around the community, for the Skipjacks players to do PR trips.

During my first years playing hockey at the Wells Hockey clinic in College Park, MD, several Skipjacks players made the trip down to get on the ice with kids just learning the game.

The Skipjacks sent a couple young defensemen, Jim Mathieson and Ken Lovsin, down for the PR visit. The two were just kids and acted like it. They had fun with the large group of kids, playing keep-away and stickhandling with the butt-ends of their sticks. As a kid, it was an absolute blast to see these professionals goofing off and having fun playing the game.

I was a goalie at the time and I remember Lovsin throwing harmless shots at me to stop. I yelled at him to really shoot the puck, and he did. I made a glove save on a slap shot (which I was extremely proud of) that pulled my glove off my hand and deposited it top-shelf inside the net. I think Lovsin laughed for 10 minutes while I taunted him that I'd hold on next time.

I wish the DC area had an AHL team to call its own. Sure, the Caps are incredibly involved in the community, but kids are in awe of them. Sometimes having the no-name kids come out really brings out the love of the game.

Varly: Blogger

2010-08-26T14:26:00.003-04:00

The great Caps Blog Russian Machine Never Breaks reported yesterday that Cap’s goaltender Semyon Varlamov had begun blogging on a Russian language site. While not as quotable as either of the Sashas, Varly has certainly had his fair share of interesting interviews.

With that, I give you the top 10 things Varly will eventually blog about:

10. How “Ovie didn’t even like like Dolce & Gabbana before he met me!”

9. Clearing up that it’s not that he doesn’t like American girls, it’s that they’re all intimidated by his flexibility.

8. A poll asking readers if he should start growing his playoff beard at the start of the playoffs, or start now so he can compete with Alzner's.

7. In-depth statistical analysis on how JP’s Rink Wraps score highly in ‘Blogger CORSI’ rating.

6. How he’ll be changing his number to 80 next season, just to piss of Leonhardt.

5. How he completely understood Avery’s English, and yet none of what he said made any sense.

4. Loads and loads of jokes at Neuvy’s expense.

3. Genuine fear that he’ll catch Irbe running over his pads with a Toyota Tundra.

2. Constant posts about how “that bum Carlson keeps screening me!”

1. His frustration with the media constantly mispronouncing his name. "It’s ‘Семён’ people; it’s not that hard. Sheesh."

Z is for Zubrus

2010-08-25T12:46:00.002-04:00

After spending the weekend traveling to Massachusetts with the family, I realized from the plethora of Boston Bruins-themed baby gear that there is almost no Caps-themed 'stuff' for my 7 month old. The book 'Z is for Zamboni' has lots of references to hockey culture, history and is Original Six heavy. We need to create something for Caps babies.

We're calling it 'Z is for Zubrus'.

A is for Alzner, the young Defenseman with a Hertz Gold Card.
B is for Bradley, whom everything needs more of.
C is for Carlson, the defenseman who makes Mike Green tradable in 2 years.
D is for Donald, who is gone but not forgotten.
E is for Erskine, the caveman on skates.
F is for Fehr, who is still looking for ice time.
G is for Green, who likes his sticks blue.
H is for Hunter, who really needed some anger management classes.
I is for Iafrate, who shot really hard and smoked even harder.
J is for Juneau, who put the Caps in the finals.
K is for Khristich, who loved the Caps so much, he came back for more.
L is for Landover, where Abe built his arena and loved his Bullets more.
M is for McPhee, the GM who really wishes he hadn't signed Nylander.
N is for Nylander, who never learned what 'go away' meant.
O is for Ovechkin, the best in the world.
P is for Peeters, who wore the brown pads.
Q is for Quintin, who broke his jaw and then gave an interview.
R is for Reekie, who was really, really slow.
S is for Semin, who pulls a David Copperfield in the playoffs.
T is for Ted, the owner who waits in line like the commoners.
U is for Ustorf, who was a really bad draft pick.
V is for Verizon Center, where the cockroaches roam.
W is for Weber, the great Caps radio voice.
X is for X-rays, which hockey players get a lot.
Y is for the Young Guns, Ovie, Green, Backstrom and Semin.
Z is for Zubrus, who somehow couldn't get 80 points skating with Ovie.

Willie Sign Him?

2010-08-20T09:59:00.000-04:00

With Willie Mitchell's 'LeBron Day' approaching, I thought it appropriate to take a look back at the Capitals' history of dipping their toes in the free agent water to sign a defenseman and, more importantly, how those signings panned out. We'll take a look at the defensemen who played 50+ games in a season for the Caps after being signed, and we may as well go as far back as 1997 and the hiring of George McPhee as General Manager.

I count 10 significant free agent defenseman signings in that time frame:

Tom Poti ('07)
Brian Pothier ('06)
John Erskine ('06)
Ivan Majesky ('06)
Jamie Heward ('05)
Bryan Muir ('05)
Mathieu Biron ('05)
Jason Doig ('02)
Rob Zettler ('99)
Dimitri Mironov ('98)

Yep, everyone else was either home-grown or a trade acquisition (or never played many games as a Cap).

I could argue that the only 'significant' signings on this list are Poti, Pothier and Mironov. Only 5 players on the list had played in a playoff game prior to becoming a Cap, with a total of 143 playoff games between them (with Mironov alone playing 71 of those games). Only Muir and Mironov had won a Stanley Cup. It's a list short on impact players and long on 3rd and 4th pairing defensemen.

On the positive side, the two most recent signings (Poti & Pothier) can be considered solid moves. Also, with the most recent of these signings happening way back in 2007, McPhee has shown confidence in both the current defensive corps at the time and talented defensive prospects in the pipeline. Both Mike Green and Jeff Schultz proved McPhee's foresight correct in the past, and John Carlson and Karl Alzner will get the chance to prove him right again this coming season.

Based on his history of signing free agent defensemen, chances are Willie Mitchell will probably be skating elsewhere next season. But George McPhee has surprised us before... that Jason Doig signing caught us all off guard.

Call for References

2010-08-19T07:59:00.000-04:00

Dear Mr. NHL General Manager,

I write this letter to you on behalf of a player who currently has no team to call his own. This player is a hard worker in the truest sense of the word; his dedication to the game of hockey, to his team and to his teammates is unsurpassed. This player will do anything to earn a spot on your team and will give it his all in every second he's allowed to skate, whether it's in a game or at practice.

I write this letter on behalf of Quintin Laing.

Quintin has earned the respect of his Washington Capital teammates through his self-sacrifice, determination, and willingness to do whatever it takes to help the team, even if that's pushing them hard in practice in preparation for a game he'll watch from the press box. Unfortunately, it appears that the Capitals' roster simply cannot hold a spot for him this season.

It is true that the things we have come to associate with Quintin (shot blocking, hard checking, defensive-minded hockey) weren't as evident in his game last season than in previous years. Perhaps Quintin has worn himself out of being an NHL player from the abuse he has subjected his body to. And perhaps an NHL roster spot is too valuable to waste on a player such as Quintin. But if you have the freedom on your roster to do so, I guarantee he won't let you down.

On behalf of every hockey player who ever dreamed of making it, we ask you to take a small gamble on the one of us who worked the hardest. The one who refused to give up. The one who never stopped working towards his goal. Your team will be the better for it.

Thank you,
Kevin

P.S. Mr. Yingst, if this letter doesn't work, could you please see if Quintin might like to skate with your Bears again? At least that way I'll get the chance to see him play a few more times.

August, 1990

2010-08-17T12:50:00.000-04:00

In August of 1990 and continuing through to mid December of the same year, the Washington Capitals seemed to continuously hold press conferences to announce the signing of some Eastern European player to a contract. First it was Peter Bondra. Then Mikhail Tatarinov. Then Dimitri Khristich. The latter two happened in-between periods of Caps games, with Home Team Sports introducing us to players with strange names and unknown skill levels. Fortunately enough, a couple of them panned out for us.

The 1990-9 season was a strange season. It was the season after the team’s first trip to the Conference Finals. It was the first season after the Caps let Scott Stevens go via free agency. It was the first Caps team in 15 years without a 30 goal scorer. It was a rough season, with John Kordic (7 games, 101 PIMs!), Nick Kypreos, Alan May, Dale Hunter and Al Iafrate all fighting anything that moved. But it was a season of potential, thanks largely to the three mysterious players the Caps had conjured up.

I remember Tatarinov and Khristich being among the first Russians allowed to freely leave to join the NHL (with Tatarinov being the first). I remember Bondra being perhaps the last true unknown star prospect; scouted by the late, great Jack Button and no one else. I was amazed that these three unknown players managed to step onto an NHL team and finish #10, 11 and 12 in team scoring. It was the beginning of something great in Washington and it was fun to watch Bondra and Khristich develop into legitimate players before our eyes.

It’s hard to believe that was 20 years ago this month.

We're Making Waffles!

2010-08-16T12:47:00.000-04:00

Dear Mr’s Varlamov and Neuvirth,

I have heard recently that your team will be participating in the 2011 NHL Winter Classic outdoor game to be held in Pittsburgh, PA and that, as with previous participants in this annual game, you will be wearing throwback uniforms. As a longtime Caps fan, I have some suggestions to help you bring out the true spirit of the Caps teams’ that wore the jersey of old.

As goaltenders, you have the most flexibility to show your creative side. My first suggestion is that you honor the great Caps goaltenders who wore the Red, White and Blue before you. Please have your blocker pad designed to look like an old-school waffle blocker. It isn't just Mr. Beaupre that succeeded with this look. Mr. Liut did as well. And Mr. Kolzig.

If you're looking for a vintage mask design to borrow, look no further than Don Beaupre. The simple stars, stripes, and Capital Dome mask design is a must. It evokes memories of sprawling glove saves, the Patrick Division and the Capital Centre. You could go with the solid white (we know Varly, 'been there, done that') or the patterns and lines of Kolzig's rookie mask but we're fans of Mr. Beaupre (sorry Pete Peeters people).

But perhaps you're looking for a slightly more modern look. You could honor ~~the great~~ Jim Hrivnak and his futuristic flat-front blocker (ooh! aah!). No matter what, you can't go wrong with anything that makes Caps fans remember Jim Hrivnak fondly.

Remember guys, it's all about paying homage to great Caps goalies of the past while being yourselves. The Winter Classic is more about the fans, the retro jerseys and the spirit of the game than it is about ~~beating the snot out of Pittsburgh~~ winning and losing. Have fun with it.

Thanks,
Caps Fans

The Red Line

2010-08-13T11:59:00.000-04:00

I’m sure many a Caps fan can attest to riding the Metro into Gallery Place/Chinatown/Verizon Center station on a game day and coming up the Chinatown escalator into a sea of chaos that would rival a hundred loitering Penguins fans. Kids handing out, preachers on megaphones, office workers hurriedly rushing to catch a train. It’s a bit overwhelming at times (especially when I have my 7 month old son strapped to me).

An interesting article in today’s Washington Post describes the scene around the Gallery Place/Chinatown/Verizon Center on the heels of last week’s Metro brawl and accurately hits on one slightly aggrivating aspect of the area: the large number of teens who congregate there. There’s a reason they’re there.

Why Gallery Place? Fowler isn't entirely sure but offers this theory: It's at the intersection of the Red and Green lines, allowing kids from all over to converge; there are hipster clothing stores; and there's the Regal theater, which became the city's main teen cineplex hangout after the movie houses at Union Station closed last fall.

The article goes on to talk about thefts of cell phones, fights, and the generally annoying tendencies of some of the various groups that hang out around the Gallery Place area. While I’ve never seen a fight in the area, I’ve heard the teasing of passersby and have a friend who had to chase down a thief to get her iPhone back during the Frozen Four (she and the DCPD caught the guy).

But on a Caps game day, the Sea of Red is the dominant gang in town. Caps fans stick up for each other. We walk with a presence that says ‘I will Unleash the Fury tonight’. I have never been scared of anything other than tripping or slipping on a sewer grate while in the Gallery Place area. The kids hanging out on the steps of the National Portrait Gallery are even pushed aside when busloads of Penguins and Rangers fans decide take over. Hockey owns the area on a game day/night.

Sure, the crime and taunting still go on during hockey season. It's unavoidable. But when there’s a Caps game, it somehow feels different. It’s comforting to be around 18,000 of your closest friends.

The article ends with a slightly ominous line:

They'll be back. Even in the winter, Johnson says. "We'll be down here in our peacoats."

Well we’ll be down here too, ESPECIALLY in the winter. We’ll be the ones in Red.

One C, Two C, Red C, Blue C

2010-08-13T09:07:00.000-04:00

There have been quite a few hot-topic discussions this summer among Caps fans, but it seems that none inspires the most heated debates as: who is the team’s 2nd line center for the 2010-11 season? We’ve all conjectured about Fleischmann, Johansson, Perreault, Laich, and a number of free agent possibilities who could fill the void. For a second, I’d like to ask another question on a similar subject:

Who will be the team’s 3rd line center?

With yesterday’s reports that the Caps will be re-signing center Eric Belanger, the issue popped back up again. The Washington Post’s Katie Carrera put the issue out there yesterday:

Belanger's return will certainly make it an interesting battle for among a group of players potentially including Marcus Johansson, Brooks Laich, David Steckel, Boyd Gordon, Fleischmann and Mathieu Perreault for ice time behind top-line center Nicklas Backstrom

Yikes. That's more 'C's than 'Ciccarelli and 'Ciccone' combined!

Ok, so let’s assume (correctly) that Backstrom is the top line center, that the rumors involving trading Flash are true and that Gordon and Steckel will take turns manning the 4th line center duties (as neither showed the offensive side needed to helm the 3rd line role). Let’s also assume Laich will continue to play wing. That would leave Belanger, Johansson and Perreault to fight for the role. Can any of them do it? Sure.

Belanger looks like a 3rd line center to me. Sure, he was running the second line in Minnesota, but none of his linemates there would be 2nd liners for the Washington Capitals and he tends to look tentative; like he's always getting ready to backcheck. Of course, maybe playing a full season with the likes of Alex Semin, Eric Fehr and/or Brooks Laich will turn him into a solid 2C. Over the last 3 seasons, Belanger has had twice as many primary assists (49) than assists of the secondary variety (24). The man can pass.

Perreault fit nicely between Chimera and Fehr for a few games and could assume that same role out of camp. He also possesses the hockey-sense to find the more skilled second liners in open ice, and 2C seems to fit his size and defensive ability more than 3C. If he’s managed to improve his face offs and defensive play, either pivot position would fit him.

As for Johansson, obviously none of us can say who he’ll work best with at the NHL level. He seems like a skilled, play-making center with some grit who could fill in at either 2C or 3C. Only time will tell what kind of center he really is. I know the Caps are very high on him, but the Caps have been very high on players that didn't fit their roles in the past.

None of these questions can be answered until the conjectured signings and trades actually happen, and until the fight for the spot commences at training camp. Until then, Caps fans will be left debating.

Of course, maybe GMGM is looking at trading Flash to make room for Peter Forsberg. Then this discussion is moot...

Gone in a...

2010-08-12T14:39:00.000-04:00

Earlier today, it was reported by various Tweeters, Bloggers and Know-it-alls that the Caps were in talks to trade Tomas Fleischmann. @Caps_Girl on Twitter also reported that Fleischmann was no longer listed on the Washington Capitals.com official roster, which was quickly updated to add him back.

Now I think the Caps website people are going the extra length to say "Look over here! See, he's still here! Please don't yell at us George!" When I got onto the site a few minutes ago, this was the background that greeted me:

Awesome. There's sneaky little Flash, pinching in from the right side. (Ok, I know that the Caps site rotates through backgrounds and this was just luck, but it was still pretty amusing.)

Sasha vs. Sasha

2010-08-11T11:42:00.000-04:00

In what will become a running segment during the regular season, today marks the debut of ‘Sasha vs. Sasha’, and in-depth competition between The Alexs, Ovechkin and Semin. Some of the competitive categories will be your standard statistical fare, while some will be up to my discretion (and completely off the wall).

We're calling it 'Sasha vs. Sasha'.

Today, we’ll look at something real: who scored their goals against better defensemen?

Trying to quantify every defenseman in the NHL is a tough task. I chose to go with 'Goals Against On-Ice Per 60 Minutes' DIVIDED BY 'Quality of Competition +1'. This brings negative values of QUALCOMP to a positive baseline that is <1. When GAON/60 is divided by this value, you see an adjustment up if the value is <1. It’s probably not the best way to evaluate a defenseman, but it works. We’ll call it GA60/QUAL. Here’s what I found.

Breaking down the defensemen on the ice for each of the Alexs’ 90 goals scored and using their GA60/QUAL, we come up with an average GA60/QUAL of 2.48 for Ovechkin and 2.71 for Semin (the lower the value, the better the defenseman). Using the standard deviation of the entries and grouping them by frequency, we come up with the following graph:

Clearly, Ovechkin is scoring against better defensemen (his curve shifted slightly to the left of Semin’s) while Semin is taking advantage of less effective defensemen (his curve extending far to the right, even though he scored 10 fewer goals). Obviously, Ovechkin was usually skating against a team's #1 defensive unit while Semin was attacking against unit #2 (and obviously Ovechkin is the 'Superstar' of the two).

But the fact that Semin was able to capitalize against the weaker defensemen in the league is also important, as those are the match-ups a good player/team needs to exploit (especially if your #1 player is seeing tougher defenses). Clearly both players have thier respective roles, with each one producing when called upon.

I'm scoring this one in Ovie's favor though. It's tough to deny the left side of the curve.

Shots

2010-08-09T10:45:00.000-04:00

This weekend, I had the honor of helping out at the Leap Towards a Cure Tournament/Event held at The Gardens Ice House in Laurel, MD. Before I go on, I’d like to commend everyone who helped organize or contributed to the event, as it was a spectacular tribute to our dear Mrs. 'Froggy' Henderson.

Last Christmas, I was given a radar gun by my father-in-law (thanks Marty!) which I’ve used several times in coaching. It’s proven especially helpful in teaching little kids about the differences between wrist, snap and slapshots (because EVERY kid wants to take slapshots). On Saturday, the gun became part of a fun game of one-up-manship between just about every hockey player in the state of Maryland.

I got to sit myself down behind a regulation-sized net while dozens of adult league players, and quite a few kids, shot hundreds of roller hockey pucks my way while I clocked them.

45
60
55
72
26

The shots came in all shapes and sizes (and velocities). There were some old, wooden Sherwood PMP 5030 sticks (Paul Coffey pattern, of course) at the station and nearly everyone who used one went running to their car for their own expensive composite sticks, convinced that they ‘can shoot harder than 52!’ A goalie showed up and, using one of the old wooden sticks, fired one 83mph… I unofficially declare him the winner. Alas, the best anyone in attendance could manage was 84mph (with a roller hockey puck, which is ~4mph higher than an NHL puck).

Which got me thinking about those NHL players who can fire the puck over 100mph and the players that block those shots. I’ve been hit with pucks fired from some of these adult beer league players and they definitely hurt. Those shots are in the low 80s. Adding 20mph to that, I can’t imagine doing what a shot-blocking NHL player does. It’s insane. I know they get paid well for it, but still.

So cheer when someone slides all-out to block a shot. It’s probably a lot harder than you think.

New Coat of Paint

2010-08-06T12:25:00.000-04:00

In this off-season of trades, free agency and arbitration hearings, there haven't been as many goaltenders changing teams/signing deals as I hoped. I love it when goalies move around, since that means new pads and more importantly, new masks.

With that, here are my suggestions for some new masks for some NHL goalies.

With Jaroslav Halak gone, this paint scheme pretty much sums up Carey Price this coming season.

One thing is for certain: with this mask, Semyon Varlamov will never get hit in the head with a puck...

This mask fits a number of goalies this off season.

Then, of course, there's Antti Niemi's new mask.

Conditioning

2010-08-05T13:17:00.000-04:00

With the talk of the town recently being Albert Haynesworth's lack of conditioning, I got to thinking about the conditioning of hockey players. Hockey is all about sprints, stops and starts. A typical NHL shift IS the conditioning test Haynesworth failed: 300 yards worth of 25 yard sprints in 73 seconds. Haynesworth is a defensive lineman, the overweight goalie of the football world; they don't do sprints. They're compact in their movements. And they always, always, look gassed.

Remind you of anyone, Caps fans?

I have been fortunate enough to witness the conditioning hilarity that is Dmitri Kugryshev at Caps Development Camp. To be a legitimate NFL or NHL player requires tons of hard work, some skill, and elite conditioning and dedication to becoming better.

Just don't make them do sprints. Ever.

Taking a Stance

2010-08-04T09:42:00.000-04:00

Much of Caps Nation has been clamoring all off season for moves to shore up some perceived holes in the current (on paper) line-up. At the top of that list are the need for an experienced defenseman and a second-line center.

Unlike some, I'm comfortable with the defensive corps as it stands. The influx of youth this coming season will no doubt cause some growing pains, but I have hope that the doubters will be silenced by solid play by #s 27 and 74.

Addressing the 'hole' and 2C, and GM George McPhee's stance that he's finished shopping, lets look at what's left on the shelf for a minute. I count 17 unrestricted free agent 'centers' on the market (minimum 100 NHL games). Of that 17, 5 are under 30 years of age, 7 are age 30-34 and 5 are 35+. The average career games played for the group:

<30: 371
30-34: 689
35+: 848

It's a list long on experience but short on high-level, high skill players. The two most productive players on the list both skated in DC last season (Morrison, Belanger), both of whom fall into the 30-34 years old category. The group as a whole has an average salary of $1.2M last season, making them very affordable. But second line centers for the Washington Capitals? Not really.

You could maybe make a case for Kyle Wellwood and Mike Comrie (young, affordable, shown flashes of talent in the past), but they have proven to be chronic underachievers who make headlines more for weight issues and celebrity girlfriends than for playing hockey.

But looking at the options McPhee has in-house, it's easy to see why he's not keen on putting anyone in the shopping cart yet.

Tomas Fleischmann - With a full season at C, he could become more comfortable in the middle.
Brooks Laich - He has experience in the middle and could step in with success. Plus, he's not afraid to play smart defensively as well.
Marcus Johansson - Tons of upside. While he was sometimes unimpressive at Development Camp, he also wasn't skating with Alex Semin and Brooks Laich, who will certainly make him look better.
Matheu Perreault - In his limited time in DC, he won over scores of fans with his skill and hard work. He's fast enough and savvy enough to anchor the position, even though some question his size.

For some reason, I think one of the in-house options will prove to be the overwhelmingly smart pick. For one, you wouldn't have to give up a roster spot for a full season when one of the youngsters could be ready mid-year. Secondly, you already have all of these options at your disposal at a moment's notice.

We'll see how things shake out at Camp this fall!

June 16, 1998

2010-08-03T07:46:00.000-04:00

This Thursday at 8:00pm, the NHL Network will air another game in its "Raising The Cup" series, which highlights the Stanley Cup clinching games from the last 35 years. Tonight, I'm watching the Devils sweep Detroit and win their first Stanley Cup with ~~I can't believe I shook his freakin' hand~~ Claude Lemieux winning the Conn Smythe.

But this Thursday will be something else entirely. It will mark the first time I've been able to watch Game 4 of the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals. It's the first time I've allowed myself to watch Steve Yzerman hoist The Cup on ~~Verizon~~ MCI Center ice. I'll have to watch Doug Brown and Martin LaPointe and ~~woop woop~~ Larry Murphy score on Olie Kolzig. I'll have to witness Chris Osgood holding his arms in the air as the clock counts down to zero. I'm really looking forward to watching.

(What?)

You see, I want to see all of those things if it means I can see Brian Bellows score. If it means I can watch Olie at the pinnacle of his career. If I can see Ron Wilson coach his heart out. If I can watch that team just one more time. It was a fun team; a team built for playoff hockey and the closest any Caps team has ever come to the prize. As a Caps fan, I'll be a bit saddened that it didn't end the way it should have. But as a Caps fan, I love watching that team.

As a hockey fan, I'll look forward to seeing Vladimir Konstantinov, just one year removed from the horrific limo accident that nearly killed him and ended his career, holding The Cup once again. Moments like that don't happen much in professional sports and while I hated the Detroit Red Wings that summer, I couldn't help being a little happy for the spirit of 'team'.

So on a Thursday in August, the clock will be turned back to June 16, 1998. It should be a good evening.

Bobblehead Versatility

2010-08-02T09:37:00.000-04:00

I know, it's been over a week since the Inova Blood Drive featuring John Carlson, but I wanted to commend all the fine men and women at Inova Blood Donor Services for what was the finest, most efficient and friendliest blood drive I have even been a part of. Obviously, I'd also like to thank my fellow Caps fans and John Carlson himself for turning the blood donor center the perfect shade of ~~blood~~ Capitals red.

I would also like to thank whoever created the John Carlson bobblehead for the event. The ~~USA USA USA!!!~~ one-knee goal celebration pose if perfect for the young rookie.

Perhaps more awesomely, the stick that comes with the bobblehead is removable, which allows you torecreate some other great goal celebrations. Such as:

Riding The Stick

The Flaming Stick

The possibilities are endless.

To be Fehr...

2010-07-30T08:39:00.000-04:00

Much has been made over the years about how Eric Fehr was drafted ahead of Ryan Getzlaf in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft and, yes, there is a large disparity in their career point production. But to call Eric Fehr a bust seems a little unfair. He's a 20 goal scorer, Calder Cup winner and solid contributor for what was the league's best offense last season. But for some reason, his ice time is held back while others see their time rise (we're looking at you Tomas). Is this disparity in ice time deserved? Let's look at the tape.

As with all our goal analyses, we'll group Eric's goals into a few categories. For the sake of camparison, we'll use the same scoring categories as Tomas Fleischmann:

Skill goals created by offensive zone play/turn overs/face off wins
Goals from offensive rushes/breakaways
Crease work/tap-ins/rebounds/redirections

Based on Eric's goals, he seems to be equally adept at scoring skill goals, dirty goals, and hard working goals, with 8 goals coming from offensive zone work, 7 goals from offensive rushes and 6 more from in close to the goaltender. Oddly enough, when looking for another Cap whose goal scoring style resembles Fehr, my first (and only) thought was of Tomas Fleischmann. He has above average hands and a hard accurate shot and like Fleischmann, he manages to find open space for himself. Fehr isn't a board crasher, but he also isn't afraid to go into rough areas on the ice looking for a rebound.

I find it amazing that Eric had the lowest average ice time (12:08 per game) for any 20 goal scorer in the NHL last season, by 2:36 per game (a huge gap). In fact, you have to go all the way down to John Sim (13 goals in 11:39 in avg. ice time) to find a productive player with less ice time. The last time a 20 goal scorer played less than 13:00 per game was when Jeff Carter, Patrick Eaves and Chuck Kobasew did it in 2005-2006. So once again, the question needs to be asked: is there something about Eric Fehr's game that causes Coach Boudreau pause in calling his name?

We'll probably never know. What I do know is, based on Eric Fehr's game, I see nothing to indicate he's not a 25+ goal scorer in the NHL. With 4 more minutes per game, who knows what we could see.

...In A Flash

2010-07-29T09:57:00.000-04:00

I think it's safe to say that there are two Washington Capitals players that confuse and frustrate fans more than any others: Tomas Fleischmann and Eric Fehr (sorry #28, we all know you're an enigma). At times, they look like scoring machines, capable of playing top 6 forward minutes and producing. Other times, they look lost, afraid of contact and of defensive responsibility. And why is one the Favorite Son while they other is the Whipping Boy?

So which is it? Are they truly skilled players in need of that... something. Or are they products of a system that produces offense? Today, we'll take a look at #14's goals and see if we can tell.

As with all these analyses, we'll break down Flash's goals into categories. They are:

Skill goals created by offensive zone play/turn overs/face off wins
Goals from offensive rushes/breakaways
Crease work/tap-ins/rebounds/redirections

Unlike some of his more skilled teammates (and perhaps due to his 2nd and 3rd line minutes with more grinding linemates), 11 of Felischmann's 23 goals came from working in the offensive zone. Another 8 goals were scored by going hard to the net and either redirecting pucks, tapping in cross-crease passes or Knubling pucks into the net. Only 4 of last season's goals came on transition plays or breakaways. We've seen Tomas score some elite level skill and speed goals in his Caps career (his nickname used to fit), but the majority of last season's goals weren't of that variety.

After watching all of Fleischmann's goals, the first thing I noticed was was his release. There is NO hesitation on Flash's wrist shot, no wind up; he receives the puck and in one motion the shot is off (I'm reminded of Paul Kariya in his goal scoring prime). With the 2nd highest shooting % on the team, Flash was clearly picking his spots well. The second, and perhaps more important thing I saw was his positioning. On many of his offensive zone goals, Fleischmann managed to get into open ice and put himself in position for a good pass. He forechecked well, wasn't afraid to skate out of the corners and went to the places goals scorers go. That's instinct, and that will lead to more goals.

Fleischmann missed the first 11 games of the season and returned to score 7 goals in his first 9 games. But in his remaining 60 games, he managed to score only 16 goals more goals (and none in his last 7 games, including playoffs). Perhaps those Olympic games wore down poor Tomas, after not being able to participate in training camp?

2010-11 should answer quite a few questions about Tomas Fleischmann: Is he a legitimate 25+ goal, 55+ point producer? Can he fill the role of 2nd line center? Can he gain the consistency his game has been lacking in his previous seasons? Does he deserve the high praise his coach heaps onto him?

I guess we'll see.

Stitches and Patches

2010-07-29T09:02:00.000-04:00

I've always been a Caps fan. I've written before about my favorite memories of the old Capital Centre and the Caps of old. As a kid, I always wanted a Caps jersey all my own, with Don Beaupre's #33 on the back, but whenever the opportunity arose to get one I always passed. No one understood why.

You see, those early Caps jerseys had one fatal flaw: the replica jersey and the authentic, worn-on-the-ice jersey were different. While the replica jersey crest was a simple, pre-stitched patch with the 'Washington Capitals' logo and some stitched-on (or often, screen printed) stars above the crest and down the arms, the authentic jersey was a work of art; each letter individually lined up and sewn on, along with the large 'L' stick and all the stars. Even the small puck was stitched on. The jersey was heavy and felt like something a hockey player would wear. By comparison, the replica felt fake.

As far as I could tell, it was the only NHL jersey that was like that. Heck, even the replica Rangers jersey's letters were individually placed on their jersey! THE RANGERS! No thank you, I'd wait until I could get an authentic jersey.

Then I started playing hockey and subscribing to The Hockey News and started getting the Great Skate Equipment Catalog. Somewhere in the middle was the jersey section. And there, at the very top of the price list, was the authentic Washington Capitals jersey, at around $320 with no customization (over $400 with it). You see, in the era of 'people make this, not machines', all that stitching was super time consuming and expensive. Now I understood why no one ever got me one for Christmas. I couldn't afford it and still actually play the game.

Now, all these years later, I still see the odd #5 authentic jersey roaming the halls of the Verizon Center. It still evokes memories that can't really be described. In my opinion, if the Caps are wearing a vintage throw-back jersey on 1/1/11, it say CAPITALS in big, bold, proud letters. I trust Ted will make the right decision.

Doubting Tomas?

2010-07-28T09:44:00.000-04:00

$2.6M is now the going rate for a 23 Goal, 50 Point player.

Well, actually, it's pretty close to the going rate for such a player. There are currently 17 NHL forwards (other than Fleischmann) making between $2.5-3M per season (via http://www.nhlnumbers.com/). Using just their peak performances (most goals and points in a season, not necessarily the same season), their collective averages are 24.4 goals and 52.1 points. If you narrow the list down to players under 30 (7 total players), the averages are 23.6 goals and 47.1 points. Tomas Fleischmann's best numbers happened last season, with 23 goals and 51 points, which are pretty consistent with his salary peers.

As the under-30 players have longer careers ahead of them, it's reasonable to expect at least some of them to improve on their career numbers. If these players grow into the same kinds of contributers as their 30+ counterparts are, you're looking at career average highs of 24.9 goals and 55.5 points. Not a hugh improvement, but an improvement none the less.

And if you consider that only one 30+ player put up their career numbers prior to turning 27 (Sergei Samsonov, 22-23 years old), there is a good chance we haven't seen the best Tomas Fleischmann has to offer. Hopefully.

World's Smallest Ovie

2010-07-26T07:56:00.000-04:00

There's this guy over at http://www.flipflopflyin.com/ that creates these little things called Minipops, which are essentailly tiny pixelated representations of famous people/athletes. Seriously, click through the list... you'll find yourself amazed how accurate you can make a portrait with almost zero detail. But there are no Minipop hockey players.

So, without further ado:

I figure, if you're going to go for the world's smallest hockey player, you may as well go big.

UPDATE (13:38): I think something gets lost with the dark background, so the image has been white backgrounded.

Red Light, Green Light

2010-07-23T13:56:00.000-04:00

So it’s inevitable that we’d eventually get around to taking a look at Mike Green’s 19 goals from the 2009-2010 season. Personally, I had a couple of questions about Mike’s game: “How many times did Mike go end-to-end on the rush and score?” and “How often did he look like a defenseman in scoring a goal?”

Once again, I reviewed each of Green’s goals and placed them in a category. As it turns out, there were 5 categories:

A slap/wrist shot from the right point
A shot off an offensive rush
A shot from the left side
A shot from below the face off dots with the play set up in the offensive zone
An empty net goal

The findings? Well, let’s just say that Mike isn’t a fan of the left side. And he's no Paul Coffey.

Of his 19 goals, 9 were scored on a hard slap shot or wrist shot from the right point, the counter to Ovie’s left-side power play one-timer. Another 4 goals came on an offensive zone rush where his shots came from the middle/right and from below or between the circles. 3 more goals were scored by sneaking down low from the point (the 'Gonchar') and another was a long range empty netter. Mike only scored 2 goals from the left side last season, both from the left faceoff dot.

For the most part, Mike scores the way most defensemen score: from their position on the point and from selectively sneaking in for back door chances when left alone. Mike also has enough speed to join the rush at times, which makes him dangerous trailing the play. But he never broke out for an end-to-end rush like he has in the past (at least he never scored a goal that way).

I found it interesting that so few of Green’s goals were scored from the left side. Usually, for a right shot, playing the left side allows you to open up for a one-timer. Maybe this is because that's Ovie's spot? Mike did, however, almost always take his time with the puck before he shot it, picking his spots rather than blindly throwing pucks at the net.

To me, this analysis was interesting. It showed me that Mike is truly deadly shooting pucks in from the point, not abandoning his defensive responsibilities in favor of skating the puck (something he still does quite often, to the displeasure of many a Cap fan). His point production might be cut a bit if he took fewer risks and skated with the puck less, but his defensive game would likely improve.

Then again, he wouldn’t be Mike Green if he weren’t risky. And quite often, his risks reap rewards.

Is Mike Green the New Kevin Hatcher?

2010-07-23T10:22:00.000-04:00

As former Caps offensive defenseman Kevin Hatcher gets ready to join the US Hockey Hall of Fame, I got to wondering how he compares to our current star offensive defenseman, Mike Green.

As Mike only has 4 full NHL seasons under his belt, I decided to start with his first full season and use Hatcher's seasons at the same age (so age 21-24).

MIKE GREEN

SEASON	AGE	GP	G	A	PTS
2006-2007	21	70	2	10	12
2007-2008	22	82	18	38	56
2008-2009	23	68	31	42	73
2009-2010	24	75	19	57	76
		295	70	147	217

KEVIN HATCHER

SEASON	AGE	GP	G	A	PTS
1987-1988	21	71	14	27	41
1988-1989	22	62	13	27	40
1989-1990	23	80	13	41	54
1990-1991	24	79	24	50	74
		292	64	145	209

Obviously, Mike's rookie season point totals don't compare to anything he's produced since then, but as far as development goes, it's important. From age 21 on, Hatcher is the more consistent of the two in offensive productivity. But even with a slow rookie season, Green manages to out-produce Hatcher (+6G, +2A in only 3 more games). It's also interesting to note that something important occurred after the 1989-1990 season that may have directly led to Hatcher's 20 point increase: the departure of top defender, Scott Stevens.

But Mike is THE man on the back line in DC these days and has been for 3 seasons. The big question is, what kind of production can we expect from him in the coming seasons? Let's take a look at Hatcher's age 25-27 seasons (his last 3 in a Caps jersey):

HATCHER (NEXT 3 SEASONS)

SEASON	AGE	GP	G	A	PTS
1991-1992	25	79	17	37	54
1992-1993	26	83	34	45	79
1993-1994	27	72	16	24	40
		234	67	106	173

Looking at Hatcher's next 3 season brings his 34 goal season into play (the same season Al Iafrate and Sylvain Cote also netted 20+ goals), which led all defenders. But that same season, Hatcher also led in league in goals against while he was on the ice (162) while only managing to be the 7th most productive defenseman in the league. Kevin's goals seemed to come at the expense of his defense, something Green critics often point out.

In the end, it's really no contest. Kevin Hatcher was never considered the best defenseman in the league while Mike Green has done plenty to strengthen his case as the best. Mike Green has already led the league in goals and points by a defenseman for two consecutive seasons. As his maturity and understanding of the position increase (and all signs indicate that NHL defenders take some time to fully grow into the position, especially defensively) we could see some impressive offensive numbers for Mike in the coming seasons (and hopefully some on the defensive end as well).

Mops and Brooms

2010-07-22T09:28:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, the ~~Greatest Owner in Professional Sports~~ Ted Leonsis said he would actively participate in cleaning up the Verizon Center after a game. Having seen Ted and his son wait in line to buy merchandise, having heard him speak to fellow riders of a crowded Kettler elevator about the success of the Caps’ fan relations efforts, I genuinely believe Ted will do the same with his own staff at the Phone Booth and make changes where they're needed.

But I hope Ted is ready for what he’ll find after a Caps game. It won’t be as easy as grabbing a broom or a mop. Here are some of the things Ted should be aware of before he sets out with the cleaning crew:

-No matter how hard you scrub the arena’s seats, those horrid purple-colored stains just won’t come out.

-You’ll find a slight difference between the upper and lower levels as far as the amount of cleaning needed. Lower level: light dusting. Upper level: power washing, with the occasional use of a sand blaster.

-When you’re finished cleaning the home team penalty box, Alex Semin likes it if you leave a mint for him for the next game.

-When these make it onto the merchandise racks, they should immediately be placed in the trash.

-I doubt you’d pick a Game 7 for your post game ride-along. But if you do, all the arena’s garbage will be probably somewhere on the ice surface.

-Craig Laughlin is always drawing on the ‘Telestrator’ with a Sharpie, so have some Windex handy. (Someone really needs to tell him CSN has never owned a Telestrator…)

-When you take the trash out to the dumpsters, you need to make sure Sean Avery goes into the ‘compostables’ container. If he gets into the ‘aluminum cans’ container, it causes all sorts of issues for the people at the recycling plant.

-When you run out of cleaning rags, there should be a few of these you can use.

-You can’t just flush the Sidney Crosby pictures out of the urinals. You have to reach in and grab them.

Seventeen Years In Newark

2010-07-21T09:52:00.000-04:00

The announcement that the NHL has rejected Ilya Kovalchuk's 17 year, $102 million dollar contract with the New Jersey Devils does not come as a surprise. See, there are some influential people in the NHL that will look at the possibility that Ilya will be productive for 17 more seasons and cringe at the thought of him breaking some very important records. And that simply cannot be allowed to happen. If Kovalchuk continues on his current per-season averages for another 17 seasons:

He will play 1940 games, besting "Mr. Hockey", Gordie Howe's record by 173 Games Played.
He will score 1056 regular season goals, besting Wayne Gretzky's combined regular season and playoff total of 1016. You won't even have to add in the 12 postseason goals Ilya will have scored by then!
He will become only the second player to pass the 2000 regular season point barrier. Of course, he'll still be over 800 points behind The Great One thanks to assists, having never intentionally passed the puck in his career.
His career +/- will be -234. Finally, a stat that looks right next to the name 'Kovalchuk'.
He'll score 365 PP goals. As Dave Andreychuk can attest, this means absolutely nothing to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Ilya will take over 7000 shots, approximately the same number of shots taken per episode of Jersey Shore.
He still won't be as good as Alex Ovechkin.

Boredom

2010-07-20T09:50:00.000-04:00

Well Caps fans, now that last weeks' Development Camp has come and gone and we're left with no Caps affiliated hockey activities until September, there is a tendency to get a bit bored with the lack of things to do during the warm months. We're here to help.

Here are a few suggestions of what to do with you hockey downtime:

1. Find some water.

If you can believe it, water is actually just warmed up ice!! (I know, crazy right!?)

2. Grill out.

Food always tastes better when it's grilled. You can use a gas grill, charcoal grill, or CCM sticks to obtain the right temperatures to cook with.

3. Go to the zoo/aquarium.
The rink isn't the only place you'll find Panthers, Predators, Thrashers, Sharks, Ducks, Bruins, Coyotes, Penguins and Karl Alzner's beard. We recommend you don't jump against the glass though...

4. Play street hockey.
It was good enough for Wayne and Garth, it's good enough for you!

5. Read a book.
May I suggest a few books I mentioned in a previous post. And no, there is no such thing a Curious George Plays Hockey. There is 'Z Is For Zamboni' though!!!

6. Go see Hockey!
They're a band! They're at Lollapalooza this August! You can tell people you saw Hockey, outdoors, in August in Chicago!!!

7. Watch Ultimate Gretzky.
You know, since last season's Caps are constantly being compared to Gretzky's Oilers, you may as well see what they're all talking about. Be prepared for your jaw to drop a bit... they're better that you remembered.

8. Take a class.
Pottery is always nice, or maybe learn Russian. Or, may I suggest one endorsed by Brooks Laich?

Leap Towards a Cure

2010-07-20T08:14:00.000-04:00

In the fall of 1993, my home room teacher was a large, loud, friendly woman named Mrs. Henderson. Everyone called her 'Froggy' and she was beloved by all who met her. She wasn't afraid to tell it like it was, but was also one of the few adults that would truly listen if you had a problem or just needed to talk. For me, she was the teacher I went to when I wanted to try to get the school a hockey team.

While it certainly wasn't something she'd have actively done on her own, she gladly provided her name as a sponsor and set out to do the leg work to help make my dream a reality. While I graduated a few years before my dream was realized, Froggy continued fighting on with new students, passionate about the game of hockey. A few seasons later, in 1998, the school finally got its hockey team and Mrs. Henderson was the key reason behind it.

We lost Froggy this past spring, but we'll never forget her. A few of those passionate former students and hockey players have decided to start up a memorial fund in Mrs. Henderson's honor and as the first way to help raise money for it, they're holding a charity adult hockey tournament on August 6-7 at the Gardens Ice House in Laurel, MD. It's actually more of a hockey 'event', with a charity auction, art show, hockey skills competition-type stations and much, much more. All the details are below. It should be an amazing weekend in honor of an amazing woman.

***
High school hockey alumni leap towards a cure

LAUREL, Md. – Following the death of art teacher, mentor and friend, Andrea “Froggy” Henderson, Eleanor Roosevelt High School alumni have become reacquainted in efforts to leap towards a cure, forming the Andrea Henderson Memorial Fund.

The Andrea Henderson Memorial Fund, set up by ERHS alumni Jason Harab and Abram Fox, is a trust set up in honor of the late art teacher to benefit cancer research at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, where Henderson was receiving treatments for breast cancer.

On August 6 -7, 2010, the Andrea Henderson Memorial Fund will be hosting its inaugural event, “Leap Towards a Cure,” a charity adult hockey tournament.

The tournament focuses on a family friendly environment. Saturday, August 7, the Gardens Ice House roller hockey floor will be used as an event venue to hold the student art gallery, a silent auction, hockey activities, including an accuracy station and a shooting speed station, and a full days worth of ice hockey. Local area mascots, such as Washington Capitals Slapshot and Bowie Baysox Louie, will also be present to sign autographs.

There will also be an ERHS Ice Raiders Alumni game with intermission entertainment -“Mites on Ice” featuring the Fighting Falcons, Chuck-A-Puck, and an obstacle course to get the crowd involved.

In addition, all players and spectators are invited to partake in a continental breakfast, lunch spread and a dinner catered by Outback Steakhouse.

Henderson, who lost her short battle with breast cancer on April 12, 2010, was the ERHS Ice Raiders hockey team sponsor from its inaugural season in 1998 through 2008. She was not only the high school art teacher and hockey team sponsor, but a second mother, inspiration, and shoulder to lean on to many. In an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Martin Lawrence, ERHS class of 1984 alum, credited Henderson with helping him get his comedy career off the ground by encouraging him to go to clubs to learn and perform.

Abram Fox, class of 2001 and co-founder and vice chairman of the Andrea Henderson Memorial Fund, says his love of art and art history was inspired by taking Henderson’s Advanced Placement Art class, and is currently seeking his doctorate in art history at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Upon hearing of her failing health, Jason Harab, co-founder and chairman, began thinking of ways to honor Henderson. “I wanted to bring all of the guys back together, let them know Frog was sick and figure out a way to do something good in her honor.” Harab, the oldest of three brothers, all of whom played for the Ice Raiders, never took her art classes, but still considers her “the best teacher [he] ever had.”

“I got some of the old team together and decided the best way to do this with as many people as she touched would be to do a huge community event, doing what we all do best – play hockey,” says Harab.

“Froggy was very important to all of us, and she kind of brought us all together in a way and did so much for everyone – on the team, at school, in the community – so it is really important that we do a little good back for her after all she did for us,” says Alyssa Walker, class of 2006.

Henderson taught art at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt from its opening in 1976 to 2008. Mother of two sons, neither of which played hockey themselves, Henderson still took on the role of the hockey team sponsor in 1998 knowing nothing about the sport.

Henderson, 60, grew up in New York and was the eldest of three children. She is survived by her mother, Alice; her brother, John; sister, Meredith; and two sons Joshua and Adam. Her large, booming personality and even larger heart touched innumerable lives in the hockey community, at school, and with everyone she came in contact to.

For more information please contact Alyssa Walker or Jason Harab at info@leaptowardsacure.com or by phone at 301-541-FROG.

***

Sniper Swede

2010-07-19T15:18:00.000-04:00

Scoring goals in the NHL is a study in style and preference. Most pure scorers have a few specific ways in which they score the majority of their goals and even though those methods are well known, most defenders can’t do much to stop the inevitable red light.

This past season, Nicklas Backstrom quietly became a goal scorer, raising his goal total by 11 from his sophomore season. He joined an exclusive club of players with 30+ goals and 65+ assists in a season since the 2000-2001 season (Malkin, Crosby, Datsyuk, Jagr, Thornton) and joins Crosby as the only player on the list to put up such numbers while not leading his team in scoring.

So how did he do it? How did Nick become a 30+ goal scorer after being previously thought of as Alex Ovechkin’s set-up man? To find out, we once again go to the video replay. For Nick, we broke his goals up into the following categories:

One-timer snap/ slap shot in middle
Cross crease tap in
Shot off an offensive rush
Shot off loose puck/ turn over
Rebound/stuff-in
Play from behind the net/ wrap around
Tip in
Other shot in offensive zone

The majority of Nick’s goals were scored while floating in a position near or between the hash marks and came off a well placed one-timer snap or slap shot (10). Eight of Backstrom’s goals came off work down low, putting in rebounds or jamming home loose pucks. Another 4 goals came while on an offensive rush, including his thrilling OT winner against the Blackhawks. Nick scored 3 goals from cross-crease, back door passes, 3 goals when capitalizing on loose pucks or defensive turnovers, 2 on wrap-around type goals, 2 on tip-ins, and 1 from a ~~spin-o-rama~~ plain old, long range backhand.

The first thing that jumped out after reviewing Nick’s goals is the quality of his snap shot. While not in the same class as Ovechkin's missile, Nick's shot proved to be quite hard and deadly accurate enough, accounting for all but 5 of his goals on the season. His one-timer snapp shot often came while in high-traffic areas and was released with little or no wind-up. Also, his work from behind the net brought back visions of Peter Forsberg for some. It appears quite obvious that Nick has developed a few preferred ways to put the puck in the net.

Some of Nick’s increased goal scoring can be attributed to the almost 50 more shots taken than in his previous season. Nick’s shooting % also rose by over 2%, from 12.6% to 14.9% (better than every Cap but Knuble and Fleischmann). Somewhere, Backstrom not only decided to shoot more often, he learned how to score.

While Ovechkin and Semin tend to get all the attention as the Caps’ “Pure Scorers”, Nick Backstrom quietly helped the Caps lead the league in the number of 30 goal scorers. Based on his still-ascending goal scoring talent, the Caps could potentially have another 40 goal man in Nick. If he wants to be one, that is.

The Ghost of Matt Pettinger

2010-07-17T14:47:00.000-04:00

This morning's Caps Equipment sale went very well, or at least better than it had gone the last time it was held at Kettler. There was a 4 stick maximum, which left quite a few nice sticks for the many local players hoping to find some decent gear on the cheap. My crew of adult league skaters and high school players each managed to find something they were pleased with.

As I mentioned as a partial joke in an earlier post, there have been a few Matt Pettinger sticks at every equipment sale for the past few years. Matt's Last season in Washington was 2007-2008, so you'd think most of these things would be long gone. Once again, the Ghost of Matt Pettinger showed at Kettler Capitals Iceplex.

No less than a half dozen of these twigs stood along the wall during the sale, and not a one was purchased. I guess we'll be seeing these guys again next year.

IT'S MONUMENTAL!

2010-07-16T13:53:00.000-04:00

Today Monumental Sports & Entertainment, led by Ted Leonsis, released its official logo. It's a nifty logo, for sure. But I must admit I was a bit disappointed by the lack of any piece of logos of the three teams the group is comprised of. I recommend that, while the logo is still new, it under go a small facelift:

There. I think that works much better. Aspects of all three teams' logos makes it truely Monumental. Although now this logo is reminding me of a certain internet pop culture icon...

Congrats Ted. It's about time.

Development Camp Testing

2010-07-15T12:26:00.000-04:00

Caps prospect Joe Finley has been writing ‘postcards’ from this week’s Development Camp for On Frozen Blog, providing some insight into what goes into such an endeavor. In some of his postcards, Joe talks about tests that the prospects must complete, both on and off-ice. While most of us assume these would be physical tests of strength, endurance, speed or agility, I have to wonder if there is a written test involved as well. Fortunately enough, we’ve managed to get hold of a copy of the questions.

1. Where do you see yourself in 3 years?

a. In Washington
b. In Hershey
c. In South Carolina
d. Unhappyville

2. Would you get into a motor vehicle with Alex Ovechkin to make the team?

a. No
b. Are you nuts?

3. Would you call yourself a ‘physical defender’ with a chance of making the team?

a. No
b. All of the above

4. Ilya was offered 10 apples. He said no in hopes of getting 10 better apples. Now no one will give him more than 8 apples. How many apples has Ilya lost?

a. 2
b. 4
c. 6
d. Enough to buy 5 Chicago Blackhawks

5. Who wore #32 for the Washington Capitals?

a. Rod Langway
b. Peter Bondra
c. Don Beaupre
d. That scary dude that walks around telling everyone he once coached John Carlson

6. What is the speed limit on the Washington Beltway (I-495)?

a. 55
b. 65
c. 75
d. I am Russian. This question makes no sense.

7. Do you like the end-of-practice ‘Suicides’ couch Boudreau runs?

a. Yes
b. No
c. I like them better than Kugryshev ever will

8. A rental car getting 32mpg leaves Hershey traveling at 60mph with 8 gallons of gas in the tank. The trip from Hershey to DC is 126 miles. Will the car make it to DC?

a. Yes
b. No
c. Depends on if Karl stops to get gas

9. Essay Question: In 500 words or less, explain why Jaromir Jagr is responsible for every bad thing to happen in the world in the last 30 years.

Taking Out The Garbage

2010-07-15T08:31:00.000-04:00

In what has now turned into an ongoing series of ‘how do they score’ pieces, we’ve learned two things:

1. Alex Ovechkin is not a One Trick Pony as many believe.

2. Alex Semin scores with his long-range wrist shot

Now, in what I hope will be an interesting analysis, we’ll take a look at our first line garbage man, Mike Knuble. Everyone knows Knuble has made his living ~~sitting on goalies~~ within 5’ of the opposition’s goal. The traffic he creates by screening the goalie, drawing the attention of defensemen, and just being a pain in the butt likely lead to many more goals than he’ll ever get on the stat sheet for. But on a skill based team like last year’s Caps, there existed the possibility that Mike would get away from his bread and butter. Once again, we take a look back through the video machine at each of Mike’s 29 goals.

As with the two Alexes, I placed each of Knuble’s goals in a category. Because this is Mike Knuble we’re talking about, it’s only right to start out with two main categories, ‘Garbage’ and ‘Skill’, and subdivide those:

Garbage Goals - Rebound Goals, Tip-ins, Goals from a pass into a low position (near the goaltender)

Skill Goals - Goals scored while on an offensive rush, odd-man rush goals, empty net goals

As you probably guessed, Mike is a garbage man, with 19 of his 29 goals coming from within 5’ of the opposing goaltender. Of those 19 goals, 14 came on rebounds from a teammate’s shot, 3 came on re-directions, and another 2 came from a pass to him in a low position. Just as importantly, Mike manages to do all this while avoiding the penalties usually associated with dirty work (only 2 Goaltender Interference penalties).

What you may not have guessed is that while Mike certainly does make his living in the crease, he can still score the occasional skill goal. 6 of his goals were scored while on an offensive rush (with 4 of those coming from a hard shot from the right side) while another 3 came on odd-man breaks (specifically 2-on-1s). Add in the lone empty-net goal (scored from the right side, while on an offensive rush) and it’s clear that this garbage man can hang with the young guns without trying to be one.

The important aspect of Mike’s offensive production comes from doing what others are afraid to do. Mike’s rebound goals aren’t simple ‘scoop up a rebound and tap it in’ goals; they’re hard working, ‘bull over the goalie/defenseman, score at all costs’ goals. That kind of play inspires teammates to do the same. Players like Brooks Laich, Matt Bradley and even Eric Fehr seemed to emulate Knuble's play as the season progressed.

Mike Knuble didn’t have a 20+ goal season until he was 31, and has now had 7 in a row. Had he not been injured early in the season, Mike could have had a career year in just about every offensive category. Given the good luck of a healthy 2010-11, there is nothing to indicate that he’s going to stop picking up the garbage.

Caps Equipment Sale

2010-07-13T14:35:00.000-04:00

This Saturday is the annual Caps Equipment Sale, held at Kettler Capitals Iceplex. Every year, this event brings local hockey players and ~~Ebay Power Sellers~~ non-players together in a mad rush to find the best sticks from a wall of hundreds of composite twigs. In an effort to bring some order to this chaos, I've devised this handy cheat sheet so you know what to look for when you get inside.

PLAYER	R/L	Make/Model	Stick Facts
Alex Ovechkin	R	CCM Vector U+ Crazy Light	These sticks may actually be on fire! Bring oven mitts!
Nicklas Backstrom	L	Bauer X:60	Don't worry if you can't find one, as there will be more of these sticks available for the next 10 years.
Alexander Semin	R	Bauer One95	These sticks expired April 11th and no longer score goals.
Mike Green	R	Easton ST	See: Semin Sticks
Brooks Laich	L	Warrior Dolomite	Can also be used as a tire iron!
Mike Knuble	R	Easton SE16	These sticks are magnetic and are attracted to the blue paint used in goalie creases.
Tomas Fleischmann	L	Bauer One95	Coach Boudreau is always saying how good these sticks are.
Brendan Morrison	L	Easton S19	Technically, these are left handed but they can also be used between the legs.
Eric Fehr	R	CCM Vector U+	These sticks really should score more, but they aren’t used nearly enough.
Jason Chimera	L	Bauer One95	Aerodynamically shaped for speed!!!
Matt Bradley	R	Reebok 10K	Bad. Ass. Sticks. May have blood stains.
Tom Poti	L	Warrior Dolomite	These sticks are sharpened. Seriously.
Jeff Schultz	L	Warrior Dolomite	Not a mark on these sticks, a true rarity for the sticks of a defenseman.
David Steckel	L	Easton SE16	Super tall sticks. Like Godzilla tall.
Shaone Morrisonn	L	Bauer One95	Name is spelled wrong on every stick... not enough 'N's.
Boyd Gordon	R	Easton SE16	These sticks win faceoffs. That’s about all they do.
Mathieu Perreault	L	Reebok 10K	Not the biggest sticks, but really fun to use.
John Erskine	L	Bauer One95	These sticks are exact replicas of Captain Caveman’s club.
John Carlson	R	CCM Vector U+ , Bauer X:60, Reebok	These sticks come with pride. And red, white, and blue tape.
Tyler Sloan	L	Reebok 10K	We still can't figure out why we have these sticks.
Keith Aucoin	R	Reebok, Warrior	Really long sticks. Compensating for something…
Karl Alzner	L	Reebok 10K	These sticks come with a booklet of rental car coupons.
Quintin Laing	L	Easton S19	These sticks are made from old Army tank armour.
Chris Bourque	L	Warrior Hitman	Everyone always compares them to his dad’s sticks.
Semyon Varlamov	R	Warrior Swagger, Bauer X:60	American girls shouldn’t bother buying these sticks. They won’t work for you.
Michael Neuvirth	R	Reebok 6K	These sticks just want a hug.
Jose Theodore	L	Bauer X:60	We really hope we're not making a mistake by selling these...

Now, for a few basic Equipment Sale Rules:

There is a 4 stick per person limit this year. That doesn't mean you can't grab an armful of sticks and hold them for your friends to arrive.
These sticks are way too long for kids to use. It's OK to shove them aside for your own financial gain.
There will probably be no sticks available for: Ovechkin, Backstrom, Semin, Green, Carlson or Varlamov. You should complain as loudly as possible about this fact.
They wash the jerseys before they sell them. Sorry ladies hoping to get a sweat-nasty Brooks Laich jersey.
There will be a lot of prospect/departing player sticks on the wall. And just a warning: I've found at least 5 Matt Pettinger sticks at every equipment sale for the last 5 years. I think it's a running gag at this point.
Don't worry if you can't find any sticks you're looking for. They'll be up on Ebay later this weekend for 4x as much.

That's it. Have fun, and happy stick hunting!

A Jersey Dilemma

2010-07-12T11:22:00.000-04:00

A few months ago, a great friend from Michigan (we’ll call him Uncle Brad) sent my then 3 month old son a present. Inside, my wife and I found a customized, toddler-sized Detroit Red Wings jersey with ‘BRYANT’ and the number ‘10’ stitched to the back in teeny-tiny twill lettering. Aside from being very small and having the flying wheel logo screen printed to the front of the jersey rather than stitched, the jersey is an exact replica of what the Wings actually wear. It's very cool.

Now the dilemma: do I ever actually let my son wear the thing?

I’ve always been a bit of a hockey history buff. My favorite player is Bobby Orr, even though he retired before I was born. I know about Milt Schmidt, Cyclone Taylor, Art Ross, and ‘Boom Boom’ Geoffrion. I also know that the number 10 is retired by the Detroit Red Wings. It’s Alex Delvecchio’s number. Since toddlers are exempt from Jersey Fails, I think that's cool as well.

But as a lifelong Caps fan, can I allow my son to wear a Red Wings jersey? What if, because of this jersey, he were to become a Wings fan? Could I ever live with myself? It’s an interesting study of loyalty vs. doing what’s right. Loyalty says no, he should only ever wear his tiny Ovechkin jersey to games. The right thing would be to allow him to wear his jersey (it was given to him, not to me), and I’ll make sure to teach him about the man who actually wore that same #10 for the Wings. But there’s no way he can wear that jersey to a Caps game. What's a dad to do!?

Fortunately for me, I have an easy solution to this dilemma. As my son’s name is Cameron, the jersey has a purpose. It will prove very helpful in recreating an iconic image sometime in his early life:

Now all I need is a grey suit and a red Ferrari...

#Numbers

2010-07-09T12:26:00.000-04:00

With today's news that Semyon Varlamov has changed his number from 40 to 1, here's my list of other Caps who should change their numbers:

Mike Green, from 52 to 2. You know, so people will think he's Scott Stevens or something.
Jeff Schultz, from 55 to 77. Only the best defensemen get this number (Coffey, Bourque). Only makes sense.
Michael Neuvirth, from 30 to 2. Dude, Varly pretty much just did this for you.
John Carlson, from 74 to 80. Captian America should pay homage to the greatest year in USA Hockey. USA! USA!
Alex Semin, from 28 to 61. Because someone has to pay tribute to the career of Maxim Afinogenov.
Alex Ovechkin, from 8 to 87. Because Eff Sidney Crosby, that's why.

50 vs 40

2010-07-09T10:57:00.000-04:00

About a month ago, I decided to research the question 'Is Alex Ovechkin A One-trick Pony?' by reviewing each of his goals and placing them in categories based on how they were scored. The conculsion was that, no Alex is not a one-move scorer. In fact, Alex scores more goals on plays where he is not leading the rush and when he uses his teammates.

So, with this being the season prior to his Unrestricted Free Agency, I decided to tackle the question 'How Does Alex Semin Score?' Given his performance in the post season, it's an interesting question. Does the way Alex Semin scores goals translate to a decline in goal production in the playoffs?

As with Ovechkin, I reviewed each of Semin's 40 goals on the season and attenpted to place each in a category. The categories are:

"The Semin": A ridiculous wrist shot from the top of the circles
A Breakaway (For the purposes of this list, pantsing a D to get behind them counts)
Power Play one-timer
2-on-1
Rebound low
Shot from the low circles
Deflection
Slap shot

I've always been a huge fan of "The Semin", as I believe it is the best wrist shot in the game. Semin used it 13 times to score goals this past season. The key to the shot is having traffic in front of the goalie, and placement of the shot (see: his hat trick against Ottawa, 2/11). In the playoffs, Montreal's defenders did a great job of either blocking Semin's shots or steping aside and allowing Halak to see the shot the whole way. And from my personal perspective, there was less zip on Semin's otherworldly shot (an injury, perhaps?). Add in the 4 goals scored scored using his slap shot (which is also a rocket), and 17 of 40 goals were scored from the top of the circles.

Down low, Semin also excels, with 6 shots scored directly from rebounds and another 5 scored from shots from the bottom of the face off circles. With 2 power play one-timers, 2 goals off 2-on-1s and 1 deflection, Semin has shown that he can also work the puck down low and with help from teammates. Finally, his 7 breakaway goals showcase his speed and fantastic hands around the net.

I found it interesting that Semin has no empty net goals on the season. If you take away Ovechkin's 5, Ovie only beats Semin in goals by 5.

Based on the large percentage of Semin's goals coming from the top of the circles, I wonder why he hasn't been considered for a spot on the point on the power play (perhaps Mike Green's spot?). Frankly, the Caps #1 power play unit has far too many right handed shooters (Green, Ovechkin, Semin), so perhaps saving Semin for a point spot on Unit #2 while placing a left handed shooter on Unit #1 would provide more chances on the PP (and make both units less predictable).

In reviewing all 90 goals scored by the Alexes, it's clear to me that the two are dramatically different scorers. While Ovechkin is a bull with the puck, Semin is far more tricky and more creative. His creativity sometimes leads to turn-overs and a high percentage of his shots are blocked or sail high. If Alex can rein in his shot a bit (keep it lower) and choose when to shoot vs. when to pass better, 60 goals isn't beyond his reach.

Jeff "Snarl" Schultz

2010-07-08T08:44:00.000-04:00

A lot has been written about the Caps "less than intimidating blueline" this off-season, with George McPhee's clear intention to stay pat with the 7 defensemen under contract.

With the re-signing of Jeff Schultz, who is quite possibly the most 'love him or hate him' Caps blueliner, the conversation has been elevated. Schultz has become the whipping boy for haters, as his lack of physicality doesn't seem to fit with his sizeable frame.

That being said, I have some suggestions for Jeff, to help make him meaner this coming season. With his new spiffy contract, he can afford it.

1. Weight. Add some. At 6'6" and only 220 lbs, Jeff is a bit of a bean pole. Wait. Chris Pronger is 6'6" and 220 lbs? WTF!? That makes no sense...
2. Get rid of the visor. No one takes visored defensemen seriously. Just ask Don Cherry.
3. Vampire teeth. With Twilight being so popular, I'm sure obtaining a pair would be relatively easy, and would make Jeff look THAT MUCH scarier. Or teenage girls would swoon for him. Either way, he's distracting Sidney Crosby.
4. A good story. Someone needs to start talking about the time Jeff wrestled a rabid Grizzly.
5. A number change. Say, to #2. Everytime people see '55' they want to boo or whoop or something. Now #2, you think Scott Stevens. And you'd NEVER whoop Scott Stevens.
6. Red contacts. Badass. With the previously mentioned vampire teeth, even more so:

7. Roughing penalties. Jeff has 97 PIM is his career. Pronger had more than that his rookie season.
8. A full slap shot. Everyone read about his 'half slap shot' and thought "wow, what a pansy". Man up Jeff. Full slap shot.
9. A new nickname. I like 'Snarl'. 'Sarge' just doesn't cut it.
10. Ask Brett Leonhardt for tips. Stretch is super tall too, and he manages 'badass' just fine.

Caps Heat Maps

2010-07-07T13:05:00.000-04:00

I was recently made aware of these things called 'heat maps' that track a player's position throughout a World Cup match, which got me thinking about what various Washington Capital players 'heat maps' would look like. SO, without further ado:

OVECHKIN

SEMIN

FEHR

KNUBLE

NYLANDER

ALZNER

VARLAMOV (PLAYOFFS)

GREEN

Just Remember:

2010-06-22T13:20:00.000-04:00

Never, ever, make Karl Alzner's beard angry.

Eventful First Father's Day

2010-06-21T09:34:00.000-04:00

Having been raised by a single mom, celebrating Father's Day for the first time (father-in-laws excluded) was a rather exciting prospect. Last year, I was a 'father-to-be' and this year, a 5 month old brought me a present. But this Father's day turned out to be much more eventful than the usual 'present, hanging with the family, dinner' day.

At around 7am, after my son's morning feeding, my wife headed out to walk the dog. She didn't last long, as I heard the door open up about 30 seconds after it had shut. She came running up stairs.

"There is water POURING out of the neighbor's garage!"

I told her to watch the baby, and ran outside. Sure enough, much more than a broken water heater's worth of water was gushing from underneath out neighbor's garage door. Being the good neighbor, I started ringing their bell and knocking.

I figured I would probably hear the noises of a pissed off neighbor coming down his stairs until his foot hit the flooded basement floor, at which time panic would set in. What I heard was:

"Damn it, I'm ****ing coming!!!"
Sploosh
"WHAT THE ****!!!???"

I'm sure he didn't need to open the door to know what I wanted. I told him the water was coming out of his garage. He said thanks, closed the door, and started calling for his wife. On Father's day.

The next hour was spent trying to shut off the leak. You see, the water line burst BELOW the main shut-off valve to the house (see: nightmare). We had to open the main line on the street, find the valve in 2' of muddy brown water and shut it off (kudos to the Spanish painter working in the neighborhood... without his help, we'd have never gotten it shut off). When it was all said and done, there was 4" of standing water in my neighbor's finished basement. You've never seen sad till you've seen carpet floating on the air bubbles trapped under it.

Oh, did I mention the house is just shy of a year old? Yeah... nightmare.

Fortunately enough, we suffered no damage and the neighbors should be 100% under home warranty/insured. Still, it's a hell of a way to wake up on Father's Day.

So I consider myself and my family lucky that we weren't affected. I know it won't be easy, but I hope my neighbors get everything fixed and back to normal ASAP.

ROADTRIP! Bears and Babies and Chocolate

2010-06-07T11:26:00.000-04:00

Saturday marked a first for the recently expanded family: Cam's first Hershey Bears game (a Calder Cup Finals game at that). We've been to Hershey before, for the Mutineers annual trip/scrimmage at the old Hershey Park Arena, but we couldn't stick around for that evening's Bears game.

Heading up 83 into Chocolate Town was a super easy drive (with a sleeping 5 month old) and lunch at Houlihan's was pretty tasty. We pulled into the Giant Center parking lot around 3:30 and made our way over to Chocolate World (because nothing beats fresh Take 5 bars!). Hershey is an interesting place. There are tourists galore, a few locals, and a huge range of people and personalities (the tailgate that set up in front of our car was a study in 'woah...').

The Giant Center hums. The fans in Hershey are a rare breed: passionate, polite, educated and fun. Everyone smiles, everyone wears Bears gear and everyone knows every player on a team that changes every year. If ever a town deserved to be called Hockey Town, Hershey is it (sorry Detroit, your reign ended when you let Stevie Y. leave for Tampa).

Side Note: $8 for the small Coco the Bear stuffed animal was super reasonable and Cam greeted him with real pleasure. A similar Slapshot toy would easily be $20 at the Verizon Center. Just saying Caps. Just saying.

Our seats were in the lower level, behind the Bears net for the 1st and 3rd. We managed to get seated next to a couple and their 9 month old, and just in front of THE 5 Stars fans in attendance (in town from Iowa, the former home of the Stars). Mom and I couldn't help but smile at the thought of an active 9 month old Cam at Caps games next season. Cam took in the pregame festivities, watching warm ups curiously. Mom ran out to get some food (note to the Verizon Center: get more dessert options! The cookies and cinnamon-sugar pretzles at the Giant Center were PERFECT). That's when it all went downhill.

Cam decided he was hungry. This decision applied for the next 5 hours. A squirmy 1st period was followed with a cranky 2nd period, was followed with a diaper blowout of massive proportions (and an expert clean-up by mom, as only 2 wipes remained) was followed by a massive letdown of a last minute goal against to send Hershey to the loss.

Hershey looked flat and from our vantage point, Texas looked to be skating downhill at Neuvy all game. The first and last goals against were concentration lapses on our usually exceptional young goalie, and the middle 2 can be placed squarely on defensive lapses. It eerily reminded me of a Caps game: brilliant offensive pressure and skill, followed by a fast break against and poor defensive decision making or the failure to make a routine/slightly difficult save. It's frustrating to admit, but across the board, the Caps system is lacking that 'something' that negates those defensive struggles. Even Super Prospect John Carlson made several poor decisions leading to at least one goal against.

The trip home with a very hungry baby was a bit unnerving, but ended up alright once 'sleeping baby' frequency was reached in the car. The restful Sunday that followed was needed and enjoyed, and knowing that we'll be able to watch Games 3-6 from Austin on TV was a welcome treat.

Overall, the trip was a good one. The Verizon Center crowd could learn a lot from Hershey fans (although there were a TON of Caps jerseys in attendance) as far as sportsmanship and supporting your team more than railing on the opposition and refs.

What If?

2010-05-11T07:54:00.001-04:00

There are times when a group of friends sits around and throws out ‘what if’ scenarios that would have forever changed the world, if only they’d happened (or happened differently). The NHL’s new “History Will Be Made” ad campaign shows important moments in hockey, shown in reverse, ending with the ‘What if…’ question. Without further ado, my personal list of hockey ‘what if’s.

5. What if Esa Tikkanen had scored in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals for Washington? For Detroit, down 4-2 at the time of the miss, coming back from 3 down in the 3rd period might have been too much, tying the series at one. The Caps would have momentum heading back to DC and could have put up more of a fight instead of the four-game sweep that occurred.

4. What if the Caps had matched St. Louis’s offer sheet for Scott Stevens in 1990? I have often said that if Stevens had remained a Cap for 4 more seasons, there is at least one Stanley Cup in those years. Instead, we have another 20 years of Cup failure.

3. What if Rocket Richard hadn’t punched linesman Cliff Thompson and incited the Richard Riot? The riot changed Canada, inspired the Quiet Revolution in the 60s and forever divided French and English speaking citizens of Canada.

2. What if a team other than Pittsburgh had won the 2005 NHL Draft lottery? Would the Penguins still be in Pittsburgh if they hadn’t gotten Sidney Crosby in the Draft? Would people’s opinions of Crosby be as polar as they are if he played in, say, Anaheim? Or Minnesota?

1. What if modern arthroscopic surgery had been around during Bobby Orr’s playing time? With the various knee injuries he sustained throughout his career, Orr missed many games and retired at the age of 30. If the first knee surgery he needed been performed using modern arthroscopic methods, my guess is we wouldn’t be talking about Wayne Gretzky as the greatest player of all time.

Suggestions for Success

2010-05-10T10:04:00.000-04:00

Mr. Leonsis,

Now that you own the Verizon Center, ~~large rats~~ Wizards and Mystics to go along with the Capitals, I have a few suggestions that may aid in the transition from 'Successful NHL Owner' to 'His Highness, King of DC'.

-Always make sure the ice is in great shape. If this means keeping the arena 2 degrees cooler during basketball games, please make it happen.

-Change the Wizards name back to the Bullets, or at least restore the Red, White and Blue color scheme. Do this for the Mystics too. Purple and gold are so late 1990s; it reminds me of high school. It’s like purple and light blue, or teal and black… it looks dated (sorry San Jose, it is), like an old Starter jacket.

-I know it’s an expense that isn’t really necessary, but please rip out all the purple seats and replace them with bright red ones. Make it so The Phone Booth Rocks the Red, even when its empty.

-In 41 home games, section 412 was only visited one time by Red Rockers/Slapshot/Section Roulette. Just saying.

-I hear you already took down the Mystics ‘Attendance Champions’ banners. Thank you. They were sad. They made me cry.

-If you have any say in the matter, can you have CSN drop Laughlin’s voice an octave or two through some sort of filter? The high-pitched, nasal whine drives my dog nuts 41 times a year plus road playoff games.

-Please don’t try any ‘cross-sport merchandising’. If I see a Wizards/Mystics hockey jersey or a Caps basketball jersey anywhere in the arena, I might scream.

-Oh, and I know Ovechkin is Russian, but selling Caps jerseys with the Cyrillic name on the back is bad form. It’s like selling a #21 jersey in women’s sizes with ‘SEXY’ on the back. Sell what the players wear on the ice.

-The sound guy in charge of music clearly has a mullet and/or an AC/DC shirt. Every other arena plays music that is relevant to today to pump up the crowd. We play Motorhead, Metallica, System of a Down (noticing a trend), Blink 182, Blur, etc. Other teams play Arcade Fire, Weezer, Green Day, Jay Z, Gorillaz, Snow Patrol and Radiohead. 1992 Heavy Metal appeals to Middle School Me, and not many others. Including Now Me.

-I know he hasn’t been retired for long, but expediting Olaf Kolzig’s number retirement (and in my opinion, Peter Bondra’s and Calle Johansson’s as well) would be a good thing.

-Find the paperwork for letting Scott Stevens walk away via free agency and burn it in a ceremony at center ice. Clearly, this is where the ‘Caps Curse’ originated, and it should be disposed of. I know it was long before your time, but it needs to be done by someone.

-My wife would kill me if I didn’t ask for a healthy options concession stand on the 400 level. Us lowly common folk like slightly healthy food too.

-We’d also like good beer up there. That suggestion is all mine.

Insults

2010-04-27T10:10:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I know... the 'paying final respects' thing failed miserably. I'm trying something new: Insults.

Mike Cammalleri is short. Like dwarf-short.
Brian Gionta is even shorter. And I know short.
Scott Gomez was paid $666k per goal, and $135k per point this season. Great value!! HONK!
Montreal's jerseys look HORRIBLY dated. That 1920's look just doesn't work anymore.
The last time someone took 54 shots, it was Tony Montana. It didn't end up well for him.
Sergei Kostitsyn. Not even the best Kostitsyn.
Hal Gill's REAL name is Harold Priestley Gill.
Ryan O'Byrne steals purses. Actually, that's not an insult. It's a fact.
Strange but true: Roman Hamrlik is NOT Roman. Nor does he lick hammers. Talk about false advertising!
Only 5 of the 21 Canadiens that have played in the playoffs are positive or even in +/-, as opposed to 13 of 20 Caps. Because, you know, +/- is THE important stat...
Our goalie has more 'V's in his name than yours. Pbbbt!

I have a ton more, but it's Montreal... they're not worth my effort to type up.

Oh, lastly, a joke I once heard:
In court the other day there was a case regarding the custody of a small child.
The judge asked the boy, "do you want to live with your mother?"
He replied, "No I don't want to live with her because she beats me!".
The judge then asked, "Do you want to live with your father?"
The boy stated, "No he beats me too."
Finally the judge asked, "where do you want to live"
The child responded, "I want to live with the Montreal Canadiens!".
The judge asked, "Why do you want to live with the Montreal Canadiens?"
The boy exclaimed, "Because the Montreal Canadiens don't beat anybody!"

Paying Final Respects

2010-04-26T10:34:00.000-04:00

At the end of someone’s life, it’s often customary to remember that person for all their good, ignoring their misdeeds and personality flaws. You don’t necessarily have to like a person to respect them, and paying those final respects is often the appropriate thing to do.

That being said, I think the same goes for elimination games in the playoffs. It takes a lot to win a best of 7 series in any sport and it takes a certain amount of respect for one’s opponent to do so. For that reason, I’m starting a new tradition: for every elimination game the Caps play from here-forth, I will be wearing a piece of clothing related to the other team under my jersey. As of right now, I the only team left in the Eastern Conference for which I am gear-less is Buffalo (if I have to buy a Sabres shirt, I will).

So, tonight, I will be wearing my ‘Rocket’ Richard, #9 shirt from the Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard exhibit at the Canadian Museum of Civilization (yes, an entire exhibit dedicated to a hockey player!) to honor the 2009-2010 Montreal Canadians.

Let’s see if this works…

Hockey and the Media

2010-04-23T08:58:00.001-04:00

With the 24-hour sports news cycle leaning heavily on the NFL draft, NBA playoffs and the topsy-turvy start to the baseball season, it’s interesting that almost everyone I talk to about sports wants to talk about hockey. Since its creation, sports have been dissected, replayed and talked about constantly on ESPN. Think about the growth of the NFL and NBA since ESPN’s sports coverage began. The NFL draft has become a 2-night, prime-time event. And now, for the first time in 30 years, a sport doesn’t need a constant presence on ESPN to educate, inform and grow its fan base.

I think it’s fair to say the NHL has seen more growth in the years since the lockout than at any time in its history. In the Washington, DC area the last few years, hockey has found a fan base unlike any this town has seen before. It has grown by word of mouth, local news and newspaper coverage but mostly, it has grown due to the explosion of the internet as the main way the NHL is reported to the world. There is there no other major professional sport whose image, status and appeal have been more greatly aided by the rise of social networking, blogging and internet-based video than hockey.

The NHL has everything: the world’s fastest players (whose remarkable feats are practically designed to be watched over and over again on YouTube), crushing hits and fights (again, destined to make the rounds on blogs, Tweets and Facebook), and a new-found sense of celebrity among the truly great players (and Mike Comrie). NHL players are just as controversial, quotable and dedicate as other athletes and it’s fun to watch and read about their thoughts.

Millions of new hockey fans sat slack-jawed at their computers a few years ago, watching Alex Ovechkin score ‘The Goal’ over and over and over again on YouTube. They watch montages of every goal Ilya Kovalchuk has ever scored, the hit that sent Marc Savard into a daze and the coach that threw every stick in Canada over the boards over a disputed call.

Still more, like me, have begun to think of ourselves as amateur journalists, writing about our observations of our favorite teams in the many NHL blogs out there. Mainstream bloggers, like Yahoo! ‘s Puckdaddy, have become a place mainstream media envies: a blog that scoops the traditional news outlets on big stories and does so in a highly respectable, highly journalistic way (hiring a Russian-speaking journalist to get the highly-illusive Russian Superstar Interviews: brilliant!).

Now you have professional hockey writers opening up in blogs, offering their opinions and little tidbits that were missing from their printed pieces. NHL.com has streaming video of game highlights, and team sites have interviews, pre-game shows and other insightful material up for everyone to read, free of charge.

I used to watch ESPN all the time. John Buccigross and Barry Melrose offered up great insight on the game and Buccigross’ weekly column on ESPN.com was one of my must-reads. Now, I find myself watching Sports Center for everything but hockey coverage, as I’ve already gotten my hockey info elsewhere, and in a more complete form than anything ESPN has ever dedicated to hockey. It doesn’t matter that the NHL’s network, VS. , isn’t hugely popular, as fans go elsewhere for highlights and interviews.

It’s a great time to be a hockey fan.

Hitting

2010-04-16T09:44:00.000-04:00

In my 15 years of coaching, I’ve had the opportunity to help run a wide range of programs including a women’s team, a developmental ‘clinic’, a high school team and a couple AAA, elite-level teams. I’ve started to notice a trend among the checking-level teams that has stated to concern me: the way kids these days hit with the intent of causing injury. It’s frustrating and it seems to be a product of a generation.

My first experience coaching checking-level boys was at the high school level. It seemed like every hit was intended to knock the opposing player unconscious. Checks were almost always charging or boarding and were usually led with elbows or fists held high. Kids would go out of their way to attempt the big hit, usually resulting in missed contact and a scoring change against. I also noticed that when opposing teams played the same way, our kids took it as a personal slight; some form of disrespect that must be avenged. That vengeance ALWAYS ended with our kid in the penalty box.

The AAA teams weren’t much better. Certain kids showed exceptional confidence and ability and the purpose of the body check in hockey: to gain position or the puck, to stop an opposing player and to tire them out with a constant physical presence. Checking was more of a strategy than an intimidating tactic. Still, several kids thought it was all about YouTube, highlight-reel big hits. And it always elicited “Why?”s in my mind.

This season in the NHL, the number of head hits and clear attempts to injure the opposition seems to have increased exponentially. Grown men playing a dangerous game in a dangerous manner concerns me. I’m not sure if it’s the product of a generation raised on violence, the constant media exposure of the ‘wow’ play or something else. I’m also not sure if it has to do with the area (the kids from other parts of the country played the physical game differently).

I hope something changes. I keep hearing of concussions and other injuries that are unfortunate and unnecessary, what with the advances in the protective equipment kids wear. I just know that in physical sports such as hockey, football and lacrosse, hitting is now done in such a way that it’s become disrespectful of the game. Kids these days have lost sight of the reasons these are physical games.

A Caps Memory

2010-04-05T11:07:00.000-04:00

My buddy Scott recently posted a list of his favorite Caps games, which got me thinking about my personal favorite Caps games.

I rememeber my first game, against Winnepeg, somewhere in the 1984 or 1985 timeframe, probably December 17, 1984, because I remember the score being huge (7-5 Jets win).

I remember a November 8, 1991 game against Detroit that I won tickes to (Bob Probert scored 2 goals and fought someone, if memory serves me).

I remember a pre-season game on September 21, 2005 in which I remember thinking "that Bourque kid sure looks better than Ovechkin" in Ovie's first game at ~~MCI~~ Verizon Center...wrong. Because I remember the next pre-season game where he scored a hat trick against Pittsburgh.

I, of course, remember Joe Juneau's goal against Buffalo and, later, Esa Tikkanen's HUGE miss in the Cup Finals that, I insist, lost us The Cup.

But of all my Caps memories, one stands out: April 25, 1990.

The Caps were playing the New York Rangers in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs after beating the New Jersey Devils in Round 1. My mom managed to get tickets to Game 4 of both the Devils' and Rangers' series', which were the first playoff games I ever attended. The Rangers had won Game 1, but the Caps had managed to win game 2 in NYC and game 3 at the Capital Centre. Game 4 was a close game and eventually went into OT. Then (from the Washington Post, 4/26/90):

Rod Langway, the heart, soul, brains and muscle of the Washington Capitals for the past seven years-precisely the length of The Cap Curse-took the game and perhaps the season on his stick and headed for the goal in overtime.

The great defenseman hadn't scored a goal in more than a year. At Capital Centre, he does everything else. But he doesn't score. Not once this season.

This time, just 34 seconds into overtime, he did, to give the battered, undermanned and underdog Capitals a 4-3 victory and a three-games-to-one lead over the New York Rangers...

It was the last playoff goal Rod Langway would ever score and he would go on to score only once more in a Caps uniform. When the puck went in the net and everyone jumped up, cheering, the guy behind me managed to throw his full, large beer into the air. It landed on 12 year old me, in a cascade of Bud Lite-iness. My mom looked appalled. The guy behind me looked terrified. Seriously, it was as if I pulled a knife on him. My personal reaction was slightly different.

"WHO GIVES A S***!!! LANGWAY JUST SCORED!!!!!"

I high-fived the guy. He was stunned... he shook his head and started laughing. First time my mom heard me swear, if I'm not mistaken. And I didn't get in trouble for it either. I did have to take a shower that night though, as going to school the next day smelling like a frat party didn't seem like an option.

That year, the Caps would beat the Rangers in 5 and go on to play in their first Conference Finals, losing to the Boston Bruins in 4 games. I went to game 4 of that series as well, a loss. But Rod Langway and a beer shower still made it a post season to remember.

Reasons Caps Fans Hate The Penguins

2010-03-26T09:30:00.000-04:00

As Caps fans, we're a bitter sort. We've only ever made the Stanley Cup Finals once (and didn't win), we seem to blow playoff series leads like bubbles, and as great as some of our teams have been, the Pittsburgh Penguins always seem to be better at exactly the right time. Thus, Caps fans hate Pittsburgh. But not for the reasons you think. Here are the REAL Top 10 reasons Caps fans hate the Penguins:
10.) Jaromir Jagr's hair. When the Caps signed Jagr, we expected his vintage 1993 Penguins hair. We were robbed.

9.) Ulf Samuelsson. If you keep your knee away from Cam Neely in 1991, you know you never make it to the Finals. Everyone knows it.

8.) Matt Bradley. You just had to have him before us, didn't you?

7.) 1994 Playoffs. The ONE year we win in the playoffs, the NHL decides it's time for the Rangers to win a Cup. I blame you Pittsburgh.

6.) Colin Campbell. He was a Penguin before his new job: Ovechkin Suspender

5.) The Cartoon Penguin Logo. I hate cartoons now, thanks to you. You've ruined all my good childhood memories. Screw you Go-bots.

4.) Ron Tugnutt. You know why, Ron. You know why.

3.) 66. Because double numbers over 55 are silly. Come on Mario...

2.) Zarley Zalapski. As hard as we tried with Zednik, Zettler, Zezel, Zinger and Zubrus, we could never find a truely awesome 'Z' name.

1.) Ping Pong Balls. Not that we ever wanted Crosby, but you and I both know that ping pong ball said 'Phoenix'.

On Frozen Blog called me Judas

2010-03-25T11:41:00.000-04:00

Last night, I watched the Caps/Penguins game from a friend's basement while my 4 season tickets were being used by... someone. I sold my ticketson the Caps' Ticketmaster Ticket Exchange site to someone willing to pay for them. Every time I use that site, I worry that my tickets will be going to an opposing team's fans and that they will terrorize my season ticket-holder neighbors (and thus, begin to hate me). It honestly worries me, every time.

This morning, I head on over to one of my favorite blogs, On Frozen Blog, and find a rant against selling tickets to the "devil-enemy". Ok, it was written by the intern, but the words still stung.

The Caps make serious money off the Ticketmaster fees associated with re-selling Season Ticket Holder tickets at a mark-up. The practice is part of the STH sales pitch: based on the face values of the tickets alone, the price of a season ticket package could easliy turn you a profit. How is it my fault if, by using the Caps-endorced site, my tickets end up in the hands of an opposing teams' fan?

Thanks to the birth of my first child, I've given my fair share of tickts this season to friends and family. I love that I can do that. I also love that I can bring my 3 month old to a game and not fear for him. But for certain games, I'm glad I have the option to not subject the little guy to deafening noise levels. Last night's game was one of those games.

One of my fellow STHs is from Pittsburgh and will root for the Penguins if we meet them again in the playoffs. That is his right. He roots for the Caps, loudly and proudly, every other game. At the end of the night, I'll share a beer with him regardless of the score. We both decided to sell last night's tickets to whoever wanted them. It might have been a Caps fan or a Pens fan, or someone douche in a suit who constantly asks who Ovechkin is.

In other cities, home fans invite other teams' fans into the battle. Both sides trade insults, finger points, or friendly banter. But in the end, like the game of hockey, it almost always ends in a handshake or a beer. Caps fans? We taunt, berate, and swear when we're winning. When we're losing, we get bitter, quiet and ref-blamey. We can't take the taunting back. We're offended that these outside fans are in our building. Other teams' fans consider us a bit of a joke. Sometimes, we deserve it. Yes, it's the Penguins. But Caps fans do this stuff at every home game.

Penguins fans will find a way to get tickets. So will Rangers fans and Flyers fans. It's OK. Look around next time instead of staring in anger at the Pens fan in front of you the whole game... the rea of red looks a whole lot bigger when you see how small the pockets of black and sky blue look in comparison. Stop hating other teams more than you love your own.

Until us Caps fans can reach a level of Hockey Fandom that more closely resembles the game of hockey its self, especially among the band-wagon fans, we're just a bunch of complainers.

Harder Than It Looks

2010-03-19T11:38:00.000-04:00

After last night's Caps game, several 'media' pundits (blogs, newspaper beat reporters, etc.) called out Semyon Varlamov for not being able to stop the game winning goal. Some even called it a 'dribbler'. Nevermind that Whitney was allowed to skate unopposed into the slot and wind up for a slap shot, the following graphic describes the dificulty in stopping a shot from that distance and with that velocity. So shut up.

An Example

2010-03-11T10:09:00.000-05:00

Several times during last night's Caps/Canes game, I caught myself wondering aloud what in the hell Mike Green was doing. As beautiful as it is to see the game's best offensive defenseman put two goals behind Manny Legace, I couldn't not help but be overwhelmingly pissed off at almost everything else he did during the game.

On what seemed like countless occasions, Green forced passes through opposition-occupied ice, botched simple D-to-D passes behind the net, failed to look up at a wide open wing and instead throwing the puck away, and one-on-oneing way too many forecheckers in his own end to not turn over the puck a half dozen times. It's frustrating because Green is much better than this. It's frustrating because the Caps would be even better if he could only put his ego in check and simplify his game.

It's pretty clear to me that Green will pocket 20+ goals again this season, possibly even flirting with 25+. He has great hands, above average speed and a rocket for a shot. But Mike Green also has an ego bigger than Ovie and Semin combined. There is no other way I can explain his penchant for passing up the easy play to attempt the highlight reel version. Ovie does this all the time. Semin too. But they're wingers and Green is a Defenseman. When Ovie messes up, there is time to get back. When Green messes up, it's a breakaway against.

I don't want Green to change his game from center ice in. Sneaping in on the far side is an art, and Green is great at it. I just want him to CARE when he has the puck in his own end of the ice. Give it up to the wings with simple passes. Back the puck up and restart the breakout. Lift your head up every once in a while. Green is just careless in his own end. His boneheaded pass directly to a Cane last night turned instantly into a goal. That is unacceptable.

If I were the coach of the Washington Capitals, I would sit Mike Green for a game or two. I would let it be known that it wasn't because of him needing rest or nursing an injury. "Mike Green is in the press box this week because he's forgotten what simple, smart hockey looks like. I figured, from up in the press box, he should have a great vantage point to see what it looks like." As much as I love Bruce Boudreau, I think he treats Green with kid gloves. He's said before that he sees Green as a son. Unfortunately, I think that keeps him from openly criticizing Mike.

A Caps Cup will require Mike Green to be an offensive threat and play solid defense while being more careful with the puck and simplifying his game. If that means benching him for a change in perspective, I'm all for it.

Post-Olympic Look

2010-02-22T10:43:00.000-05:00

Odd as it may sound, the NHL is back in action next week. With so many NHLers attending the Olympic Games in Vancouver, there is the potential for some players and their respective teams to take a slide, either towards the end of the regular season or in the playoffs. Any team whose goaltender is also his country's starter will be playing more than those who have the break. I'll skip some teams that don't seem like serious playoff contenders.

BOSTON:

Let’s face it: If Ryan Miller keeps playing this way, Tim Thomas’s time in Vancouver will be as if he was on a beach in Maui. Chara is conditioned well enough that these extra games, even playing the likes of Russia, should be ok. Of all the Bruins players in need of rest, Partice Beregron is at the very top. Unfortunately for him, he’ll be relied on for key minutes in Vancouver. B

BUFFALO:

Let’s face it, Bufflao’s changes at a long playoff run rest squarely on Ryan Miller’s shoulders. Seeing 45 shots from Team Canada will most surely be felt and these extra Vancouver games could rob him of some energy come playoff time. C

CALGARY

Jarome Iginla’s game doesn’t suffer from extra games but MIikka Kiprusoff’s does. The up-and-down goalie will have to somehow conserve something in Vancouver in order to give the Flames a chance to even make the playoffs in a tight Western Conference. As with all teams whose starting goalies are also Olympians, extra games do them no good. C

CHICAGO

Kane, Toews, Keith and Seabrook are getting tons of ice time for their respective teams. One can wonder how having 4 important pieces to a Cup contender a few games older come the second round and beyond will affect their game. The fact that they’re all young helps. B-

DETRIOT

All of the Wings’ Olympians are, to put it bluntly, ageing. Come playoff time, they will be feeling their legs more than young Chicago, Colorado and Vancouver and face an uphill battle to keep up. Of all the Cup Contenders (and being in 10th place in the West, who knows if they even are one anymore), Detroit is hurt the most by these games. D

LOS ANGELES

The only thing worse than having a goalie as an Olympic starter is having physical players as key parts of those teams. Doughty, Brown and Johnson are all integral to LA’s success and each is relied to provide grit and a physical presence to their Country’s team. C

MONTREAL

Halak has been standing on his head for Slovakia but you can’t tell what all those shots will mean come April. Also, Markov’s early season injury would probably have been better suited seeing some rest that playing key minutes for a medal contender. C

NEW YORK RANGERS

Callahan throws his body around, Gaborik’s body has been thrown around, Lundqvist stands on his head and Drury looks better with Tam USA than in the NHL. All signs that you could be hurting come playoff time. C

NEW JERSEY

Team USA’s Langenbrunner and Parise and Russia’s Kovalchuk are being counted on for huge amounts of ice time and Martin Broduer finally starts to show his age. Something tells me NJ might be wishing their players declined Olympic invites come the first round of the playoffs. C-

OTTAWA

Alfredsson is no longer a young man and probably would have benefitted from some R&R and Volchenkov’s shot-blocking style dictates that he’ll be nursing bumps and bruises all season long. B

PHOENIX

Bryzgalov should be a bench warmer, barring some huge change on Team Russia. While it isn’t Pina Coladas on the beach, rest in Vancouver while still practicing with NHLers is a good deal. A-

PITTSBURGH

Sid the Kid, Gonchar, Gino and Brooks are all vital cogs of their nations’ run for gold. They’re logging lots of ice time, drawing other teams’ hardest defenders and seeing a lot of tough hits. Only Malkin gets a rest while playing with Ovechkin and Semin. B-

SAN JOSE

The team with the most Olympians also has the most to lose come NHL playoff time. Mentally, having Heatley, Thornton and Marleau is the easiest in terms of not having to readjust back to the style of your linemates. But having Nabokov starting for Russia will take its toll on the goalie. C

VANCOUVER

All of the Canucks vital players are on various Olympic teams and, with Broduer’s stinker of a game against Team USA, Luongo will most likely be between the pipes for the rest of the tournament. These players should fare well with some extra games, but the lack of travel helps those Olympians even more. A-

WASHINGTON

Alex Ovechkin has come to Vancouver in search of blood. Instead of waiting for defenses to come at him, he’s attacking other teams. Caps fans should be a little concerned that he’s throwing his body around so much, but should also be relieved that any little injuries he may have had seem completely healed. Alex Semin gets to stay out of the thick of the action, dishing to Ovie and Gino. And like Bryzgalov, young Varlamov gets to rest while practicing with NHL talent and is aided even more by getting the opportunity to learn from the great Tretiak. Something tells me this team will have multiple medal winners come back to DC and will be fine, conditioning wise, for a long playoff run. B+

It's All In The Wrists

2010-02-17T07:50:00.000-05:00

For my money, Alex Semin possesses the hardest, most deceptive wrist shot in the NHL today. Most of the time he shoots off the wrong foot in such a way that the release point completely fools opposing goalies (and shot blocking defenders). He can release the shot in traffic, circling out of either corner, or while simply standing still. He’s even managed to score with the shot while on his knees!

Joe Sakic is renowned for having one of the greatest wrist shots in the game. From his 5’11” frame, he was able to generate immense amounts of torque and snap his wrists in such a way that his wrist shot was as hard as some players’ slap shots. Sakic’s shot was usually a normal, correct foot wrist shot delivered with loads of power.

But in today’s NHL, I honestly can’t find another hockey player to compare Semin’s wrist shot motion to. I had to cross the lines of sport into baseball to find his equal: San Francisco Giants’ pitcher Tim Lincecum. Lincecum has an odd delivery that relies heavily on applying torque to his core and uncoiling to generate arm speed. In an excellent Sports Illustrated piece, his motion is called “an engineering marvel,” a description that fits Semin’s wrist shot perfectly. Lincecum himself says that when he uncoils, “[my arm] is just kind of along for the ride." Like Lincicum, the uncoiling of Semin’s core muscles help generate arm speed for his shot such that Semin’s wrist shot velocity is off the charts without relying heavily on his arm strength.

I’ll use Semin’s 2nd goal against Ottawa as an example.

Semin circles out of the right-side corner with his weight on his left skate, striding forward. His upper body, hips and stick blade are already facing the net.

Semin doesn’t move his hands backward as he moves toward the net, tipping off his shot. Rather, he leaves his hands, stick and puck where they were in the previous frame (use the face-off circle as a reference) and skates past them.

Semin completes his stride, with his weight on his right skate, and has begun to push off with his left skate. His hands and hips are still in the same position they were in the previous frame. As a result, his trunk has already begun to torque in a clockwise direction.

Semin’s hands are STILL in the same position as they were two frames ago. He has completed the stride with the left foot and the torque on his upper body is now very noticeable.

Semin’s hands have moved slightly forward but the twist to his upper body has increased. His left leg has kicked back in order to allow for the increased torque and to begin the shot. Semin’s left leg will act as a counter-balance for the shot.

Semin’s hands have begun to move forward as his leg has begun to kick forward. His hips have opened up slightly to the left, applying additional torque to his core. At this point, Semin’s motion closely resembles that of a trebuchet.

Semin now rises up out of the shot, uncorking his upper body in a counterclockwise motion. His hands have moved closer to his body in order to put more weight into flexing his stick. His left leg has kicked out and to the left to simulate the weight transfer that would occur with a normal (correct leg) wrist shot.

Semin’s upper body continues to uncoil, his hands now moving forward to catch up. His right elbow is now bent to provide support for the flexing of his stick, now very apparent. His left leg continues to kick outward.

The shot is released as Semin’s upper body finally catches up to his hips. His hands are now moving forward and into the shot while his left leg has started to return to the ice. He has snapped his wrists to provide some extra pep to the puck. Notice the Ottawa defender leaning to the left for the shot block. A normal wrist shot would pull Semin’s body such that the shot would go off to the left. This wrist shot allows Semin to keep his body open and shoot short-side.

Semin completes his follow-through towards the net. His top (left) hand has kicked in towards his body to act as a fulcrum for the shot. The puck is already half the distance to the net. Notice the goalie has already begun to drop into the butterfly.

Semin is now through with the shot and is ~~waiting to celebrate~~ watching for a rebound. The release of the shot is so unpredictable that the Ottawa goalie has left his blocker high, thinking the shot is going to that side. Unfortunately for him, the puck can be seen just over his shoulder, to the right, entering the net.

Clearly, Alex Semin’s wrist shot is not his only way to score. His slap shot against Boston’s Tim Thomas from a few years ago, one-foot backhand against Pittsburgh’s Fleury last season and double toe-drag against Philadelphia this season come to mind. But this season, we’ve been witness to a wrist shot that places Semin in a league of his own. Hopefully he's found something with it, as he's used it to score more goals in the last few games before the break. I guess we'll find out in March.

The Beginning

2010-01-20T10:32:00.000-05:00

So, I'm now a father. It's an interesting thing to say, as I still look in the mirror when I'm clean-shaven and think I could pass for a college freshman. When Kel and I go out with the little guy, I know there are people who look at us and get that 'way too young to have a kid' thought. If only they knew...

But this is a hockey blog, so I'll try to stay on topic. For some reason, almost everyone I know has asked the question "Does he have skates/a stick/a jersey yet?", implying that the little guy will be a hockey player. I'm not sure where these feelings come from. And yes, I'm being serious.

I like to think I'm many things. An engineer, a lover of the arts, a bit of an athlete...a well-rounded guy. Kelly is the same way. I know so many of our friendships revolve around hockey and hockey players/fans and so I generally understand the jump-to-conclusion that he'll play hockey. I'll be the first to admit that he has a set of Torpso gear and some Bauer gloves, the former being a 70% off sale item and the latter being a baby gift. But by no means am I expecting the little guy to play hockey. I know enough people in the game that that gear will be put to good use, no matter what.

My only request of him is 'Do something you love and do it exceptionally well'. If he can do multiple things exceptionally well, that's even better. But if those things include biology, playing the guitar, writing, soccer, acting or anything else under the sun, I'll be a happy and proud father. If those things are science and hockey, that would obviously be ok too. I will never be disappointed if he does something he loves.

You're supposed to want your children to be better than you are. In my case, I think I'm good at a lot of things but I'm not exceptional at any one thing (I'll throw a 'yet' in there, as I'm not done yet). I'm not an NHL player or coach, I can't play any instruments, I've never invented or discovered anything and no one is asking me advise as a brilliant engineer. But I can talk to just about anything with anyone and have a general knowledge of the subject.

Hockey is a big part of my life. I do hope the little dude has an appreciation for the game, as I think it's wonderful. But if all he ever does with the game is cheer on the Caps, that would be ok.

...Of 2009

2009-12-18T11:35:00.000-05:00

People always do 'Best Of' lists to end the year, so I figured I'd add mine.

Favorite Albums of 2009 (in no order):
'Swoon' by Silversun Pickups
'(a)spera' by Mirah
'Glasvegas' by Glasvegas
'Dark Was The Night' by various artists
'Mean Everything To Nothing' by Manchester Orchestra
'Armistice' by MUTEMATH
'It's Blitz!' by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
'The Hazards of Love' by The Decemberists

I listen to these albums over and over again. I'm not saying they're the best, I just love them.

Favorite Songs of 2009:
'My Girls' by Animal Collective
'Help I'm Alive' by Metric
'Hearning Damage' by Thom Yorke
'Percussion Gun' by White Rabbits
'Osaka Loop Line' by Discovery
'Two Weeks' by Grizzly Bear
'Hell' by Tegan and Sara

I specifically went for my favorite songs that werent' on my favorite albums...I could easily add 2-3 songs from each of those albums. Interesting that quite a few of these songs are electronic...seems like everyone went in that direction this year.

Concert of the Year: (Tie) The Decemberists @ Merriweather Post Pavillion (6/8), Sunny Day Real Estate @ 9:30 Club (9/30)
The grand scale of The Decemberists show and the joy of seeing an entire concept album brought to life made for one hell of an evening. Seeing my favorite band of all time reunited after 10 years apart, playing as if they'd never left, would normally win every time. But I'm reasonable, so it's a tie.

NHL Player of 2009: Quintin Laing
Laing played in only 1 game for the Caps last season, was +1, lacerated his spleen and was expected to miss a ton of time. Instead, he came back quickly to help Hershey win a Calder Cup. Then he made the Caps out of camp, already has a career high for goals in a season, caught H1N1 (and only missed a few games), then broke his jaw blocking a shot. Q might not be anywhere near the best player in the league, but his 2009 is the stuff legends are made of.

Beer of 2009: Rogue Captain Sig's Deadliest Ale
Because I figure if I don't come up with something new, I'll keep repeating '(tie) Dogfish Head Alehouse 75, Rogue Dead Guy' every year.

Game of 2009: Washington Capitals vs. New York Rangers, Game 7, 4/28
Having random, OBVIOUSLY non-hockey fans asking about that night's game while on the Metro, was surreal. The raw emotion after Sergei Fedorov's 3rd period goal is something I've never seen. 18000+ people screamed at the top of their lungs for the final 5 minutes and errupted at the final horn. 'Unleash The Fury' was the loudest singular moment of my life. The smile lasted for days.

Ok, fine...the real Game of 2009 was the Championship game of the NCAA Frozen 4. BU scores 2 goals in the final minute to tie the game, then scores in OT to win. Seriously!? It's THE BEST HOCKEY GAME I'VE EVER SEEN. I was sitting next to my buddy Greg, a Miami of Ohio alum...it was the first time I've ever witnessed a man's heart break right in front of me. I was worried for his safety after the game. I'm still not sure I'll ever see him smile again. It was that type of comeback game.

Weekend of 2009: May 15-17th
This was the weekend of the Lebatt Blue Adult Hockey Tournament at Laurel. It ended well, as we won all 4 games we played, including the championship game in which I managed to score the game-winner. It was the first tournament championship I'd even been a part of. But the wins paled in comparison to how the weekend started: having my wife deliver lunch to me at work and telling me that I'm going to be a dad. That smile still hasn't gone away.

Story of a Card

2009-11-23T07:37:00.000-05:00

For the briefest of moments in early 1992, televisions in the US were tuned in to the Winter Olympics in Alberville, France. Bonnie Blair and Kristi Yamaguchi were on their way to winning gold medals for Team USA. And a little known, journeyman minor league goaltender named Ray LeBlanc was backstopping US Olympic hockey team to a 4th place finish. To quote his Wikipedia page: "At the 1992 Winter Olympics, LeBlanc appeared in all eight games for the United States, compiling a record of 5–2–1 with two shutouts. The Americans finished out of the medals, however, as they lost 6–1 to Czechoslovakia in the bronze medal game." This US team wasn't supposed to make the medal round. They were bad. Ray stole 4th place for them. As a reward, the Chicago Blackhawks put him in for one game later that season.

Later that spring, at a community card show, I happened across a booth selling hockey cards. Sitting there, for a whopping $3 was a 1990-91 Fort Wayne Komets IHL team set. The sticker on the box cover said "With 1992 US Olympic Hero Ray LeBlanc!" I stupidly bought the box. I was 13 years old, without a clue. LeBlanc played 1 NHL game and his 15 minutes of fame only lasted 8. The set quickly went into a box with all my other cards. It sat there.

For 17 years.

Then, something strange happened. A few years ago, another journeyman minor leaguer-turned coach made the jump to the NHL. In his first season as an NHL coach, he led his team to the playoffs and won the Jack Adams award as coach of the year. Fans of his team became rabid and his stature continued to grow. He's now an icon in the area; a regular guy who made it and who everyone loves. People he's never met call him by his nickname, Gabby. Coincidentally, when he wrote a book about his life, he chose his nickname as the title.

That man is Bruce Boudreau.

About a week ago, I was deep into reading that autobiography when I came across the chapter in which Bruce describes his final few minor league playing seasons. He talked about playing with his best friend, John Anderson, who is now the head coach of the Atlanta Thrashers. He talked about his last seasons in Fort Wayne, playing for the Komets.

Wait.

Where do I know that team from?

...!!!!!!

I raced downstairs to the garage where my box old box of hockey cards sits, gathering dust. I rifled through the older cards and found that old Fort Wayne team set. Ray LeBlanc's card sat at the front of the stack. I quickly shuffled through the cards until I stopped at the two cards I was looking for. John Anderson...

and our own, Bruce 'Gabby' Boudreau.

I no longer collect cards. Sure, I'll buy the odd pack every now and then but I miss the days of bubblegum and cardboard-colored cards. I love my old cards: Bobby Orr, Cam Neely, Ken Dryden. But every so often, I'll find a reason to go digging into the big old box of cards and find a treasure.

Bruce never mentions poor Ray LeBlanc in his memoirs. I wonder if he even remembers him. He retired in 2000 with a career NHL record of 1-0-0, 1.00 GAA, .955 Save%. But if it wasn't for Ray LeBlanc, I wouldn't have these awesome Bruce Boudreau and John Anderson cards.

Thanks Ray!

History

2009-11-18T13:37:00.000-05:00

I consider myself a student of the game. I grew up watching the Washington Capitals of the early 1980s. I collected hockey cards, and studied the statistics on the backs. I heard stories from my older cousins about some of the players they watched growing up: Hull, Orr, Howe, Sittler, Perreault, LeFleur, Bossy, Dionne. I learned as much about them as I could. It's helped me undertstand the game a little more.

It troubles me that many of my own peers, hockey players born from the late '70s-'90s, have absolutely no understanding of the history of this fine game of ours. It's hard to understand how far the game has come without understanding its past. Fortunately, in this world of the NHL Network, YouTube, and Amazon.com, we have all the tools we need to find out about everything 'Hockey'.

As I grew up watching videos and reading books on the subject, I think that's the best place to start. Below are a few of my recommendations, just in time to add them to your Christmas Wish-lists.

Putting A Roof On Winter
The history of hockey from the first indoor game to the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the USSR, this book is hands-down my favorite hockey history book. Finally, I have stories to go with the names on all the NHL trophies. An excellent read.

The Game
Written by Hall Of Fame goalie and lawyer Ken Dryden during his last season on the Montreal Canadiens, it is possibly the best book ever written on the game. Introspective, funny and touching. Also, it provides excellent insight into hockey in the '70s and just how different today's NHL Players have it.

The Best Of Bobby Orr
There is a reason I consider Bobby Orr to be the best hockey player ever: I saw this on VHS when I was a young kid. You can probably find rare YouTube footage that rivals some of the video found here, but as a one-stop shop for greatness, this is it.

Ultimate Gretzky
For those who consider Wayne Gretzky to be the greatest who ever played, this DVD certainly won't sway your opinion. Some truely remarkable footage of the Great One, from his early days in Indy to Edmonton, LA and beyond. A great look at the speed of the game in the 1980s. Compare the game to that of Orr's day, and you'll be stunned at the differences.

Gretzky
A little self-flattering, but interesting none the less. Ok, honestly, this book marks my least favorite moment in hockey. Standing mere feet from The Great One at an book signing, Wayne decided to end the session with roughly 200 people still waiting. A few of us kids snuck past the ropeline and got to Wayne, politely asking to have our books signed. One kid in our group had an old wooden stick for Mr. Gretzky to sign. Gretz looked at him and said "I only sign Easton sticks" and walked away. It taught me that you can be a great hockey player, but still be a failure as a human being.

Legends of Hockey Seasons 1 & 2
This is pretty much the video version of Putting A Roof On Winter. Old archival photos and film footage of the early game, it does a fantastic job of putting faces to names and asking the question "who really was the greatest to every play?" You'll see names pop up on the screen and literally get goosebumps.

Hockey: A People's History
No one takes the game of hockey more seriously than Canada. From the title of the book, it's easy to figure out that this book reads like a love letter/thank you card to the game and all it's done for the country (and the country for it). To know hockey is to know Canada. The history of the country is reflected in the way the game has changed over the years.

Do You Believe In Miracles? The Story of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team
The moment that changed hockey in the US (and Russia, for that matter). Honestly, if you can find a copy of the original broadcast, it trumps this documentary. But as those copies are very rare, this is a great #2 resource.

Slap Shot
No hockey history lesson is complete without this gem. As funny and extreme as it is, it's also a great look at the minor leagues in the 1970s; a far cry from the modern AHL (or even the ECHL).

Gabby
A great companion to Slap Shot (written by film extra, career minor leaguer, NHLer and current NHL head coach Bruce Boudreau), the book is a fantastic mix of funny and touching stories, interspection about lost potential and redemption as a coach. Plus, if you're a Caps fan, it's just cool.

The Physics of Hockey
Ok, more of a science book than a history book. But the concepts of friction, kinetics and momentum as they relate to hockey are awesome to read about.

Thoughts on the Weekend

2009-11-16T13:22:00.000-05:00

So, 2 games, 2 completely different efforts. I'll keep it quick...I missed the Devil's game because I have Fios so I'll have to stick with the highlights.

-For the record, the fact that the Washington Wizards are allowed to have any games televised, much less in place of Caps games, is insane. The product on the ice is obviously better than the product on the court. At this point, the only thing on two legs that shoots more than Alex Ovechkin is Gilbert Arenas and their shooting percentages (16.3% to 40.9%) are far too close by their respecive leagues' standards.

-For those who criticize Forty's tendency to give up weak goals, his lone goal-against vs. Minnesota showed me two things. 1) His angles are solid. He was square to the shooter and followed him all the way. 2) He is working on a few things. He's getting his pads to the ice quicker than before, but that's making his arms do some work to. On that goal, his blocker hand moved just slightly away from his body. That was all it took. In a few games, you'll see those mistakes go away.

-Also, keep in mind that over 117 minutes in his last 2 games (+OT and Shootout), Varly has stopped 64 of 67 shots (.955 Save %). And I know at least 11 of those were of the breakaway variety.

-I'm convinced we need a calming influence on the blueline. I'm also wondering if Brian Pothier might be just that influence. He's had a very solid week's worth of games and the defense as a whole has been better for it. They looked calmer with the puck, less likely to throw it away and more effiecient in moving it up the ice. Granted, that was against Minnesota. Against the Devils, obviously not the same.

-Or maybe it was just Jose Theodore.

-Please look at the standings right now. Have you noticed that Atlanta is actually quite good, and just finished a stretch without their superstar? 3 fewer games, 7 fewer points. A better PK and PP ranking. It's not going to be as easy as come people think to run away with the SE Division. Peverly is the real deal, Enstrom and Bogosian are studs, and Kovy is obviously awesome. Keep an eye on the rearview mirror.

Thoughts on the Game: Islanders, 11/11

2009-11-12T12:29:00.000-05:00

It seems like everyone wants to write about Russians and Russia after last night's game. I think I'll mix it up a bit.

-Is it me, or does Tomas Fleischmann look like he finally gets it? He's going to the net hard, getting tons of quality chances and playing good defensive hockey. I know Backstrom did 90% of the work on Flash's goal, but he still had to be in position and get the shot off. The fact that he ended up in the crease after the goal speaks volumes to how his game has changed.

-I'm still thrilled with Perreault. He forechecks like a maniac and creates chances. Clark and Fehr are looking good again, thanks to his work at center. He's very calm with the puck, even when he's stickhandling around guys. Ovie is right; this kid has a very bright future.

-Theodore looked VERY weak last night. His rebound control was poor and his lateral movement was off. I can't tell if he's tired or whether his back is still bothering him, but it was clear he needed to be pulled after goal #3.

-If I said that I'd prefer we not re-sign Jurcina or Morisson, what would you think. Juice takes ill-timed penalties, is quite slow, and has been a defensive liability recently. Morisson simply thinks he's better than he is. He should not be rushing the puck up the ice, or trying 1-on-1 moves.

-While we're on the defense, I noticed 2 things last night. 1) Mike Green is getting pressured every time he touches the puck. 2) Mike Green doesn't know what to do when pressured. His passes are often very weak or of the no-look variety and he's been turning the puck over quite a bit lately. He's getting the assists, but with only 2 goals on the season, something is amiss.

-Ok, now for some Russians. Forty stood on his head. His rebound control was off on a few rising shots, but he stayed focused and played those rebounds well. Varly's been taking more shots to the chest these days, so his tendency to over-explode seems to be reined in by Irbe.

-For people who say Forty carries his glove too low: a proper butterfly for a goalie emphasizes keeping ones body square to the shot and as closed-up as possible. Carrying his glove high would lead to some more glove saves, but you'd see those 7-hole goals (above the pads & under the arms). On the one goal he allowed, the shot was perfectly placed...not many goalies have a chance at that.

-For the record, the most Heads-Up save I have ever seen occurred last night. During the shootout, Varly made a save but carried a lot of backward momentum towards the goal line. Had he not done something, he and the puck would have ended up in the net and the goal would have counted. Varly threw his arms in the air and accomplished two things: 1) his thrust upwards slowed his momentum enough that 2) when he got to the goal, he was able to push his arms against the crossbar to stop himself. Seriously, I'm sure goalie coaches everywhere will be teaching goalies that move from now on.

-Last Varly note: anyone who has questioned his focus in the past can put down their pitchforks. I think I speak for all Caps fans when I say that it was incredibly stressful watching turn after turn of saves, knowing that the next one against would mean a loss. Imagine the concentration it takes to not have the thought of 'don't mess up' repeat constantly in your head. The built up tension was released when Captain Clark scored...it seemed like a playoff OT goal rather than a simple regular season shootout goal.

-I'm going to put my coaching hat on and talk to Semin now. I'm going to focus on a few little things at a time...too much might cause some overload. First, I always coach what I call the '3 Foot Rule', which mandates that within 3 feet of either blueline, your goal is to make sure the puck either gets deep or gets out. Last night, while Alex was outstanding below the face-off circles, he turned the puck over a few times in this space (one time leading to the Islander's 3rd goal). Dancing around in that magical 3' is dangerous because your whole team is heading into the offensive zone (or out of the defensive zone, at that end). One turn-over, and it's an instant odd-man rush or breakaway.

-Semin has also said that he prefers to skate the puck rather than dump it if there's a lane or if it's a 1-on-1 situation. With his hands and shot, I'll agree with that. Recently, however, Semin has been skating the puck in when he's one-on-two or has no skating lane. I like to emphasize that a great player shows creativity within the team's system. In this case, Semin is using his creativity too much and the system breaks down.

-Finally, Semin's stick penalty woes are an easy fix. Semin has other-worldly puck handling skills and is way above average at taking pucks off opponents' sticks. His issue is he looks for the take-away every time the puck is near him. If he used his body a bit more (angling, tieing an opponent up along the boards), he'd create just as many take-aways while keeping his puck closer to his body. Semin's penalties come from reaching for pucks, so staying more compact would help quite a bit.

No Nyls. Now What?

2009-11-10T13:15:00.000-05:00

With word dropping this afternoon that Michael Nylander is most likely going to Russia, the big question is "What does that really mean?" Well, it's two fold. 1) We get to use the roster spot he's been occupying to carry another player that could actually, potentially, play for us. 2) With his cap hit gone, there is the ability to go after another player in a trade, claim someone off waivers or sign a free agent. In the long term, Nylander's departure opens up space to sign Backstrom and Semin to extensions this off-season.

So, again, what does that mean? Chris Chelios at the league minimum? Brendan Shanahan? PETER FORSBERG? Sorry, probably not. Going after an unrestricted free agent around the trading deadline? Possibly. Opening up the possibility of bringing an Alzner or Carlson type up for a cup of coffee? More likely.

Honestly, I'm not sure you notice any real changes now that Nyls is gone. It opens up possibilities, but I doubt anything happens of substance.

Thoughts on the Game: Florida, 11/7

2009-11-09T14:43:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I'm super late is posting this and it's short. Sue me.

-Go Go Perreault! Not only did the kid get his first NHL goal, but he executed a perfect 'knee-down, fist pump' celebration that Ovie would be proud of (if I recall, that's the same celebration Alex pulled after his first goal). Many more young man. Many more.

-I read on Japer's Rink that Q "blocked a shot with his ribs in the 1st, broke his nose in the 2nd and scored in the 3rd." Urge to buy a toddler-sized #53 jersey growing...

-Once again, WTFD, at least through 2 periods. I guess I must be missing something about Bruce's system...I can't understand why, with the lack of speed on defense and the opponent's tendency to forecheck us them hard, the Caps' forwards start the breakout at the red line. It seems inevitable that our D will bobble the puck and either lose it or simply throw it hard-around. Unfortunately, when they do, there is never anyone on our side of the blueline to get it. A simple '1 deep, 2 high' forecheck and it's an instant 3-2 in the defensive zone.

-Semin: please do something. I know you're hurting. But you are way better than this. Simplify, simplify, simplify.

-Fleischmann has found 'it', and it certainly doesn't look like some 'taking advantage of Ovie's absence' production. Bruce has always put more faith in him than I thought he deserved. This season, Tomas has shown why Bruce is so very good at what he does.

-Finally, this went along with another Japer's Rink post about Caps Forward Prospects. Learn the name Marcus Johansson (and watch the videos!!!). If he keeps progressing, he could be very similar to Backstrom soon...

Varly and Karl

2009-11-05T15:07:00.000-05:00

So last year, two crazy kids from MD decided to get Caps jerseys. They deliberated hard and settled on a #27 and a #40: Alzner and Varlamov. The decision was based on a trip that summer to the Capitals' Development Camp and the realization that "these guys are really, really good." The jerseys arrived sometime in January of last season; late Christmas presents for them both.

Then the jerseys made their way to Verizon Center. Over a string of 4 games, the jerseys proved to be a curse: if the player on the jersey didn't play, the team lost. Toronto, Colorado...the worst teams in the league were beating us at home, all thanks to our new jerseys (I'm being tongue-in-cheek here people...we obviously have nothing to do with the product on the ice and I know it).

Then came the 2009 Playoffs. After a terrible Game 1 against the Rangers, I showed up to the game in a Caps sweatshirt only to find that Varly would be starting Game 2. NOOOO! A 2-1 loss later, and Superstitious Me was convinced I was at fault. I wore my jersey for every game from then out. A game 5 shutout. An amazing Game 7 win. After the game, one fan 4 rows behind us piped up: "VARLY!!!" I turned around. "I saw you with that jersey at Game 1! You KNEW SOMETHING! YOU'RE AWESOME!" I'd never stopped a puck, but I got "Dude, nice jersey" and "WHERE DID YOU GET THAT"'s from dozens of fans.

Meanwhile, my poor wife's #27 sat quietly in the closet. Karl had been called up for the playoffs just to sit in the press box. Upon his return to Hershey, he got a concussion and missed several games. Fortunately enough, we got tickets to a Calder Cup Final's game and she got the chance to break out the Alzner jersey and have it on for a critical game Game 4 victory. As Hershey went on to win the Calder Cup, we both knew that our jerseys had both seen wins for our players and the Curse was over. A pre-season win reinforced that belief.

Since then, Varly has started a few early Caps games to mixed results, but Karl has been down in Hershey, unable to break the Caps logjam at defense. We're both eager for the two teammates to reunite in DC and prove our jersey decisions correct. For those of you looking for the next 'cool' jerseys, my I recommend the following names: Carlson and Perreault. Maybe a Wilson or Della Rovere.

Or maybe an Alzner or Varlamov...they're still cool.

Thoughts on the Game: NJ, 11/4

2009-11-05T08:07:00.000-05:00

Well, I missed last night's game thanks to a ~~totally worthless~~ informative meeting down at the rink last night (if you say '6:30', don't mean '8:30'). I will comment on a couple things I read from the game.

-The Toe Drag Monster was out last night. 3 minor penalties and a benching for ~~Afinogenov~~ Semin? He's in a contract year...given the opportunity, if they charge the same $, would you pay Kovalchuk over Semin? (The correct answer is 'YES!')

-Reader Scott Tweeted yesterday "You know I love the short guys" in response to Perreault being called up. First game for the kid, 2 assists. Said J.P. in his post-game write-up: "His saucer pass to Tyler Sloan was a thing of beauty, and his effort on the six-on-five goal (in Semin's place, to boot), was stellar." Mark my words: this guy's hands, speed, hockey-sense and vision have all the markings of a St. Louis-type player. He's gonna be really, really good, and sooner than I thought.

-Hats off to Varly: Last night was his first loss in regulation. Looking at my handy 'Varly Tracker', that drops him to a .76 career regulation winning % (.66 overall).

SUPER SEMIN...or...

2009-11-04T14:06:00.000-05:00

There is perhaps no greater enigma in the NHL today than Washington's own Alexander Semin. Originally selected with the 13th overall pick in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, Semin's early career showed promise before being derailed by a series of questionable decisions off the ice (a missed flight, failure to report to Hershey, missing a year due to 'military obligations'). Since then, while the product on the ice has often been a display of stunning offense, it has been interspersed with periods of 'bonehead-itis'. With Ovechkin on the mend for a while, many are looking to Semin to show his true potential.

Semin seems to be a quiet person. He prefers to play the ‘Teller’ to Ovechkin’s ‘Penn’. He’s been more accessible recently, with the influx of Russian-speaking media members assigned to the Caps (Dmitry Chesnokov), and made some news last season with his opinion of Sidney Crosby. His opinions, like his game, are distinctly Russian. His style is a hybrid of Alexander Mogilny and the Pavels, Datsyuk and Bure. His hands are super-soft, his skating is effortless, and his shot…well, we’ll get to that.

In his rookie year, it seemed like Semin would be a player in the mold of Peter Bondra; not the best passer but certainly an exceptional shooter. His second and third seasons did little to sway that opinion. But a funny thing happened last season: Semin’s passing ability went through the roof. His vision seemed to come into focus and suddenly the passes he rarely ever attempted in previous seasons were not only going tape-to-tape, but we getting him assists. His game was beginning to round out. Semin also started getting time on the Penalty Kill and showed his above average defensive skills. His knack for the well-executed take-away led to scoring chances that would normally have vanished into the defensive zone.

While Alex was enjoying a career season in all areas of his game, he was also on his way to a slightly less appealing career high: Penalty minutes per game. Late in shifts, Semin became prone to using his take-away skills more and his skating ability less. The stick penalties increased, putting the Caps down a man. Like Ovechkin, Semin started taking long shifts that his body simply wasn’t able to handle if a defensive situation arose. So far this season, those penalties have taken a noticeable drop (1.24 to .5 PIMs-per-game). Semin is currently on pace to set career highs in goals and assists and career lows in PIMs.

One other frustrating aspect to Semin’s game quietly crept up as the season progressed: his tendency to attempt One-on-One moves to get around defenders. His signature toe drag, one of the most sublime of any player in the NHL, began to be used on what seemed like every other rush down the ice. Rather than continue in a skating lane or dump the puck into the corners and fight for it, Semin began seeking out defenders and attempted to deke them. Rather than creating time and space for his teammates, Semin was being more and more selfish with the puck, even as his assist totals increased. So far this season, Semin’s take-aways are down but his give-aways are up. While he’s no longer reaching for pucks and taking penalties, he is using his toe-drag more and more frequently to mixed results.

The thing to remember about Semin’s toe drag is that it can be used for good or for evil. It is not a high-percentage move in attempting to make a defender commit. A well-timed poke check easily leads to odd-man breaks back up the ice and scoring chances against. When used to create space and separation for Semin’s uniquely amazing shot, it is a thing of pure gold.

Alex Semin almost always shoots his modified wrist shot off the wrong foot (the right foot for a right-handed shot) but the torque he generates by kicking his left foot is immense. Directly following his toe drag, Semin seems to be almost vertical, leaning to his right as if to get his stick parallel to his body. Only the toe of his stick is touching the ice and the puck is generally no more than a foot or so behind his right foot. It’s generally right at the height of the toe drag that Semin unleashes his shot: totally unexpected, incredibly hard and usually quite high. I’ve never seen a simple wrist shot break NHL glass, but Semin has done it on numerous occasions. The only problem with the shot is its tendency (since it comes directly off the toe) to fly high of the net.

Yet, with all that talent in his possession, something has been missing. Whether it’s the constant oneupsmanship of Semin, Ovechkin, and Backstrom or a general philosophy about offense, it needs to change. In the already linked article, Semin has this to say about offense:

And in Russia people like beautiful hockey, and not dump and chase. I just don't get it, why when a player is skating up the ice and no one is attacking him, he dumps the puck into the offensive zone and then chases it? Why would you do this if there is no one forechecking you? I understand that if there is someone coming at you and you don't know whether you can get past that player, then you can dump the puck, pass it or shoot. But if not, then hold on to the puck, skate forward, create a chance.

Why would you want to dump the puck and then chase after it and crash into the boards? I don't know. But that's just my opinion.

Hopefully Semin will realize that with the teammates he has, sometimes dumping the puck in and gaining numbers will lead to more scoring chances than taking the skating lane and ending up 1-on-3. In my opinion, Semin has the potential to equal, if not surpass, Alex Ovechkin. Oddly enough, all it seems is missing is the ability to simplify his game and exercise a small amount of restraint.

Will we see Super Semin, or the Toe Drag Monster?

Ovie Who?

2009-11-03T09:15:00.000-05:00

Ok, so reports are that Alex Ovechkin is 'week-to-week' with an 'upper body strain', whatever that means. DC Puckheads are fretting about what we'll do in his absence. Fear not Caps Fans, we're set. Look at the line combos from after Ovie left the Columbus game:

Semin/Backstrom/Fleischmann
Laich/Morrison/Knuble
Laich & Laing/Steckel/Bradley
Laing/Aucoin/Clark

We're obviously missing someone for that 4th line (or 3rd line, if you'd rather have Laing down there), so insert Sloan or a Hershey call-up. (Update: or replace Aucoin with Perreault)

I like Flash's defensive ability (and, apparently, his offensive upside) on that top line. If Semin can do an Ovechkin impersonation and put shots on/in the net, everything will be fine.

For the Second line, I LOVE the toughness of Knuble and Laich (mark my words, in 5 years Brooks will be looked at in the same was as Knuble). They're all the same speed and tough to keep out of the slot.

The Third and Fourth lines are solid defensively. The PP will be hurt a bit without Ovie's shot, sure, but with Semin and Knuble out there, we'll be fine.

The Caps have built a team that has enough talent and leadership to succeed without Ovechkin. I think a .600 winning percentage is in the cards during Ovie's absence.

Thoughts on the Game: Columbus, 11/1

2009-11-02T10:26:00.000-05:00

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ovie's 'hurt' and everyone is worries it's serious. Serious would be if he didn't get up after he fell, or if he was slumped over on his way back to the bench. Serious is not coming back to the bench, waving both arms like a bird and wearing a suit after the game. Ovie will miss MAYBE 1 game. My bet is we see him in all his Ovieness on Wednesday.

To the notes!

-I'm not sure I've heard the Phone Booth go from 'Fedorov scores in Game 7' loud to 'Pittsburgh goes up 4-0' quiet so quickly.

-The Knuble/Laing "I bet I can keep the puck pinned to the boards behind your goalie for 2 minutes" PK was a thing of beauty. Caps fans are smart enough to know when they see hard work and rewarded the PK unit with a deserved ovation.

-Q was his typical Q: nice layed-out shot block and a prettier 'putting in the garbage' goal that SHOULD have been the game winner. No, he's not blocking shots like in previous seasons. But if you notice, teams are moving the puck away from the point side that he's playing. His shot blocking is so well known that he's dictating the direction the puck is going. Caps, take note of this and you can eliminate the harder point shots just by putting Q on that side.

-Having Flash back opens things up to interesting line combos. It was nice to see the Bradley/Steckel/Laich line back together, and Semin/Backstrom/Fleischmann put on a passing clinic early on. When Laich moved up to Ovie's spot with Morrison and Knuble, that line became the best.

-A penalty at the end of regulation? A penalty in OT? Same M.O. on the power play and same goal scored twice? Great teams just don't do these things. We're a good team, but not a great one.

-How can you let the puck get to the far side man on the PK? The Caps' defense does a poor job getting into obvious passing lanes, and an even worse job letting the D know when they have a man behind them.

-I think I'm going to stop trashing the Defense. It's getting repeditive. From now on, I'm just going to type 'WTFD' when the defense:

Loses battles in the corner
Panics
Throws the puck away like a hot potato
Makes passes through the slot
Loses the race to nearly every loose puck
Takes dumb penalties
Skates the puck end to end just to turn it over (coughGreencough...)

-Jose, I understand you couldn't do anything about the bad bounce behind the net. It happens. But the fact that it happened earlier in the period and you just lucked out that the puck hit you instead of carroming in front means you should have known not to come out the way you did. Also, getting your stick stuck in the net? Ugh.

-It's come to the point where if Semin and Backstrom can't stop toe dragging and behind the back passing, and Green can't stop going end-to end and then turning the puck over in the corner, I'm going to lose it. Great teams make the simple play. Great teams don't try the highlight reel play.

-Rick Nash is the quietest superstar in the game. He has great hands, exceptional skating ability and a sick shot. And, unlike a lot of superstars, he's in the first PK unit fot the Jackets.

-Speaking of Nash, I'm not sure who looked worse on his goal: Green who looked like he'd forgotten how to transition from forward to backward or Theodore, who simply fell down.