Capital Rebirth

[Lostkiwi]

Here is the journal of my franchise played as the Washington Capitals.

I'm playing on Hall of Fame with goalies sliders all the way up and injuries on but at the first white notch.

Before the season started, I made the two following trades:

Traded
J. Friesen, B. Clymer, M. Zelesak, D. Sutherby, 2nd, 3rd & 4th pick

to Pittsburgh for
S. Crosby & 2nd round pick

---
Traded
A. Cassels, M. Bradley & 1st round pick

to Boston for
P. Bergeron, J. Girard, B. Boyes, 2nd & 3rd round pick

----
My lines are now
Ovechkin Crosby Zubrus
Clark Boyes Bergeron
Willsie Halpern Gordon
Pettinger Aulin Whitfield

Witt Eminger
Boumedienne Morrisonn
Biron Girard

Kolzig Johnson

[Lostkiwi]

Opening night in Washington!

The Caps showed their revamped offense and won 8-4 against Columbus.

Just acquired super rookie Sidney Crosby scored the first goal of the year for the Capitals with 4mins left in the first period on a beautiful pass from Zubrus.

The game was tied 3-3 after 2 periods before the first line of Ovechkin, Crosby & Zubrus turned on the pressure to let the team push ahead for a four goal victory with Crosby completing his hat trick at 13:44 of the 3rd period.

Crosby finished the game with 3 goals and 1 assist while Ovechkin provided 2 goals. On the back end, Boumedienne had a great game and came out with 3 assists while Steve Eminger played over 26mins and 2 assists. The 2nd line of Clark, Boyes & Bergeron had trouble tonight being on the ice for 2 of the Blue Jackets goals.

For Columbus, Zherdev had a very good game, fooling the defense many times and collecting 1 goal and an assist in the defeat. The defensive duo of Foote & Berard had a rough night facing off against the best the Capitals could offer and finished with a -3 rating.

[Lostkiwi]

2 wins to start the year for the Caps

Facing division rival Atlanta for the first game of a two games in two days galore, the Capitals showed the Thrashers just how much their offense has improved during the long offseason.

Crosby, Bergeron, Boyes & Ovechkin all scored in the first period to give an insurmontable 4-0 lead after 20mins en route to a 6-2 victory. Ovechkin & Bergeron both finished the game with 2 goals.

In the defeat, Bobby Holik collected 2 goals while goaltender Mike Durham was chased away after the first period.

A rematch awaits us tomorrow night, same bat time, same bat channel

[RodFlanders11]

What level are you playing on?

[Lostkiwi]

I'm playing on Hall of Fame with goalies sliders all the way up and injuries on but at the first white notch.

I'm still messing with the other sliders, still too easy to score and the d-men are always getting blown off on the wings.

[Lostkiwi]

First defeat for Washington


The Capitals lost their first game in Atlanta tonight by the score of 4-2in a game where the offense never found it's rythym.

The absence of Patrice Bergeron due to a minor elbow injury left the 2nd line without its main weapon and allowed the Thrashers to focus primarly on the first line of Ovechkin, Crosby & Zubrus which resulted in a pointless night. The two goals for the Capitals were the results of bad defensive plays from Atlanta on the power play which allowed Aulin in the first period then Halpeln in the 3rd to score short-handed.

However, the game was never really in doubt as the Thrashers had a 3-1 lead after the first, the results of 2 goals from Kovalchuk and one from Bobby Holik.

The team gets a day's rest before facing the 3-0 Rangers on Monday.

[Lostkiwi]

Rangers lose for the first time this season

In their first matchup of the year, the Capitals won 4-3 over the unbeaten New York Rangers. The first overall pick in the last draft, Sidney Crosby, was once again the leader for the Caps, finishing with 2 goals and one assist. His linemate Dainius Zubrus scored his first goal of the year to put the game away in the 3rd. Playing his fourth game in a week, goaltender Olaf Kolzig did not seem too tired as he faced 30 shots and was especially brilliant in the last few minutes of the 3rd while the Rangers kept circling the net hoping for the tying goal.

In the losing cause, Ville Nieminen added two goals to his statistics while Jagr also scored while getting 10 shots on goals and being a constant threat in the Washington defensive zone. Tom Poti & D. Kasparaitis finished the game -2 and seemed unable to match the speed of the Capitals forwards.

The Capitals fly out tonight for Raleigh in preparation of a division meeting with the offense-challenged Hurricanes on Wednesday night.

[Lostkiwi]

Crosby plays hero once again!

Facing their SouthWest division rivals, the Capitals battled all night in a defensive matchup against the feisty Hurricanes and no team could shake off the other in what seemed destined to end in a 2-2 tie when Sidney Crosby stole the puck in the neutral zone and flew off the left wing, breezing by Sean Hill before avoiding the pokecheck from Martin Gerber and sliding the puck to the back of the net with 52 seconds left in the game. Clark & Morrisonn scored the other goals for Washington while Eric Cole & Williams scored for the Canes.

With backup Brent Johnson in net, the Caps defense played a conservative game allowing only 20 shots on goals and strifling the scorers of the Canes.

With a record of 4-1, the Capitals are flying back home to face the unbeaten NY Islanders tomorrow night

[Lostkiwi]

Rookie shootout fest!

For the first time in team history, the Capitals had to resort to the shootout to decide the outcome of a game. The exciting feature did not disapoint as 3 Islanders were set to face Crosby, Ovechkin and Bergeron.

Satan scored first by shooting over Kolzig's glove and Crosby replied by feinting Dipietro right before guiding the puck to the left of the net. Yashin was then unable to fool Kolzig which sent the crowd in a frenzy. Ovechkin, who had been robbed by an incredible stick save by Dipietro in the last few minutes of the game had a chance to redeem himself and did not disapoint by putting the puck pass the Islanders goalie's left shoulder to give the Caps a 2-1 advantage, giving Mike York the last chance to tie up the shootout score. Unfortunately for Isles fans, his shot was stopped by Kolzig, giving Washington its 5th victory in 6 games.

The game started very well for the Caps as they were leading 3-1 after the first period but the Islanders defense regrouped and did not allow another goal for the game. Yashin with only 45secs in and Mike York at the midmark equaled the score before the two teams battled through a scoreless 3rd. Kolzig had an excellent game stopping 33 shots while only allowing one goal in the shootout.

Washington now gets two days off before facing the Tampa Bay Lightning for the lead in the SouthWest division on Sunday.

[Lostkiwi]

Goal fest for the division lead

The concept of defense was alien in the MCI Center tonight as the Lightning and Capitals faced off to determine who would take the divisional lead in the revitalized SouthWest division.

After Tampa Bay surprise Stanley Cup win in 2004 with a team built on speed and puck handling, the new management team in Washington followed the floridian example and rebuilt the team on the same principle after the lockout.

Sidney Crosby started the offensive festival only 2mins after the initial face-off on a beautiful unassisted play. By the time, the first period had ended, Tampa Bay was ahead 3-2 thanks to goals by Prospal, Richards and Lecavalier. Richards scored the only goal of the second period, leaving the Capitals two goals behind with only 20 minutes to play.

Tampa Bay scored another goal early in the 3rd before Ovechkin reduced the lead back to 2 goals at 6:47. This goal seemed to change the momentum of the game and Washington then scored 3 times in two minutes including two goals by Brad Boyes at 55 seconds interval.

Less than a minute later, Prospal shot a laser beam from the face-off circle that went past Kolzig's pads and brought the score to 6-6.

The teams went back and forth with all guns drawn for the next few minutes, the goaltenders stopping all comers before Alexander Ovechkin stole the puck from Fedotenko and use a wrist shot to fool Sean Burke.

Boyes, Ovechkin & Crosby for Washington and Richards for Tampa Bay each collected two goals while Vaclav Prospal had 2 goals and 2 assists in the losing cause.

After enjoying another 3 day break, The Capitals will fly to Florida to battle the Panthers and their very talented goalie Roberto Luongo.

[Lostkiwi]

Barrage of goals in South Florida

Roberto Luongo and the Florida Panthers were no match tonight for the Washington Capitals as the SouthWest leaders easily won by the score of 9-3.

The game was still close after the first period as Patrice Bergeron with 2 goals & Josef Boumedienne with another gave the Caps a 3-2 lead. However, the 2nd period was a complete domination for Washington as they scored 5 unanswered goals including a third in the game for Bergeron. Brad Boyes finished the game with 2 assists while Jonathan Girard & Shaone Morrisonn played an excellent game on the backend and also finished with 2 assists each. The first line of Ovechkin, Crosby & Zubrus had a difficult night being on the ice for 2 of Florida's goals and only accumulating one point.

Florida was unable to contain the Washington offense most of the night and even the acrobaties of Luongo were not enough to prevent the final result. The Panthers were especially soft shorthanded as they gave away 3 goals in 3 opportunities.

Washington will now fly back home to face Carolina on Saturday night, hoping to gather their 8th win in 9 games for their best start in franchise history.

[Lostkiwi]

Crosby saves the day again

Facing last place Carolina tonight, the Capitals were in for difficult confrontation and it took the unassisted effort of their capitain at 19:13 of the 3rd period to get the 6-5 win.

The game started well for Washington as Crosby, Boyes & Halpern all scored in the first ten minutes of the game before Eric Cole & Kaberle scored to slim down the lead. Ovechkin added a goal late in the period before Carolina turned up the pressure in the mid period and scored twice to bring the score to 4-4 after 40mins.

Ovechkin scored his 2nd of the game 1:06 into the third before Rod Brind'Amour tied the score again two minutes later. The two teams then battled to a standstill until Sidney Crosby ended the tie with his second of the night with only 47 seconds left in the game.

The 8-1 Capitals will now enjoy a 3 day break before facing the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday.

[Lostkiwi]

Bergeron scores two in 4-3 victory

In Buffalo tonight, the 8-1 Capitals had a tougher game than expected against the 3-5 Sabres and they needed a strong performance from Steve Eminger with two assists and Patrice Bergeron with 2 two goals including the winning goal at 13:12 of the 3rd period to get away with a 4-3 win. Captain Sidney Crosby added another goal to increase his lead atop the league's scoring leaders.

The first unit of Buffalo made many defensive mistakes while leaving the offense to the second & third line, negating any chance of stealing any points from Washington.

On the injury front, D-man Josef Boumedienne suffered a minor concussion and should be away from action for a week.

Washington will now travel to Florida to face the Lightning on Friday and the Panthers on Saturday night.

[Lostkiwi]

The Capitals coaching & managerial staff will provide the press and fans with a team evaluation for every 10 game slice of the season which will include evaluations of the previous 10 games as a team and individually while proposing changes and looking ahead to the next 10 game section.

10 game evaluation : New Beginning

Team evaluation

Management could not ask for a better start to the new season with a record of 9 wins and only one loss while sitting atop the Eastern Conference. The youth & speed movement the team made paid off immensely with the new rules and the team seems perfectly built to take advantage of the extra space on the ice.

However, the team must not get too excited about this start as the opposition was not the most ferocious the league has to offer. Of those 10 first games, 7 were against teams hard-pressed to make the playoffs: Columbus, 2 vs Atlanta, 2 vs Carolina, Florida & Buffalo.

The next 10 games should allow a better evaluation of the real strength of the team as it will face Philadelphia & Montreal once, Toronto and New Jersey twice a piece.


Individual evaluations

Offense
Rookie Sidney Crosby has been stellar and his acquisition for Friesen, Clymer, Zelezak, Sutherby and 3 draft picks has proved to be a steal. The confidence the coaching has shown by giving him the C also contributed to a change of attitude for the whole team, injecting new energy and forcing the rest of the team to follow the example of the super rookie.

Currently first in the league with 13 goals and sitting 3rd overall in points with 15, the Capitals could not be happier with Crosby's play. His LW partner and also rookie-of-the-year candidate Alex Ovechkin has started the year with a good performance too, racking up 9 goals in 10 games while being a constant threat in the offensive zone.

The 3rd member of the first line, Dainius Zubrus has been much slower to gather points as he sits with only 1 goal and two assists over the first ten games. It is possible that there is simply not enough pucks to go around to allow him to produce on the same line as Crosby & Ovechkin.

The 2nd line anchored by Patrice Bergeron at RW and Brad Boyes at C has also produced nicely, taking some of the pressure from Crosby & Ovechkin. The coaching staff has not yet settled on a leftwinger to complement the B Boys as Chris Clark, Brian Willsie & Boyd Gordon have all seen action on the 2nd line.

The checking line which faces off against the dominant lines seemed to have found its setup with Jeff Halpern & Chris Clark providing continuous forechecking and excellent defensive coverage. The three goals each Halpern & Clark have contributed shows up as a bonus.

The fourth line of Pettinger, Aulin & Whitfield has seen little action but were able to hold their own on the ice without looking out of place... though much skills improvements will be needed before any of those players will merit playing time on the first 3 lines.

S. Crosby 13-2-15 +8
P. Bergeron 8-1-9 +6
A. Ovechkin 9-0-9 +9
B. Boyes 5-3-8 +4
J. Halpern 3-4-7 +3
C. Clark 3-3-6 +5
B. Willsie 3-1-4 +3
B. Gordon 2-2-4 +4
D. Zubrus 1-2-3 +7
M. Pettinger 0-1-1 +0
J. Aulin 1-0-1 +1

Defense
The offensive contributions of defensemen has been another agreable surprise for the coaching staff. Shaone Morrisonn (1-7-8), Josef Boumedienne (2-5-7) and Steve Eminger (1-5-6) have all produced at an excellent rate while still being responsible in their own zone.

In goal, Olaf Kolzig has been his usual self, making acrobatic saves and keeping the team in games every night. However, the heavy workload (9 games played out of 10) may become an issue as the season drags along and Brent Johnson (1-0 2.00) will need to win the confidence of his coach and teammates to allow more rest to the 35 year old Kolzig.

S. Morrisonn 1-7-8 +9
J. Boumedienne 2-5-7 +9
S. Eminger 1-5-6 +4
M. Biron 0-5-5 +2
J. Girard 0-4-4 +2
B. Witt 0-2-2 +5

O. Kolzig 8-1 3.65 .875
B. Johnson 1-0 2.00 .900

Recommendations and Changes
With the remarkable production of Crosby & Ovechkin, the coaching staff will move Zubrus to the 2nd line with Boyes & Bergeron while giving youngster Boyd Gordon a chance to prove himself on the first line.

Once Boumedienne is recovered from his concussion, him & Shaone Morrisonn will move up to become the first defensive duo, moving down Witt & Eminger which should allow Brendan Witt to stay fresh for the long season.


The team has shown great potential in the first ten games but the season is very young and there is still much to prove.

[RodFlanders11]

This is really fun to read :)

I'm currently 6-0 with the Rangers on All-Star (I did create myself, all 90 stats, and my best friend all 90 stats and put him on the Islanders). We're both leading the league as far as most offensive rookie catagories goes.

Can I change to HoF midseason if I keep winning like this?

[Lostkiwi]

Thanks Rod :) It's the first time I take the time to write like this for every game and I find it pretty enjoyable. Thank God I have alot of free time to play the games and write those! :D

and yes, you can definitely change to HoF in midseason. It's in Options, Setup (the first option at the top) and you can also adjust the other sliders.

I'm still trying to find the best slider set. Once I've found it, I'll post it here too

[RodFlanders11]

Thanks Lostkiwi, I'll most likely change to HoF this week if I keep winning games like this.

I'll check this thread often, good luck with your season :)

[Lostkiwi]

No chance for the Lightning

Tonight in Tampa Bay, the Capitals showed the Stanley Cup champions how much more difficult the SouthWest division will be this year by convincinly winning 4-1 in the second matchup of the season.

The issue was never in doubt as the Capitals came out strong and after goals from Bergeron, Halpern & Aulin, the game was 3-0 with still 5mins to play in the first period. Vinny Lecavalier at 6:50 of the 3rd took away Kolzig's shutout in the only bright spot for a Tampa Bay team who has lost 6 of its last 7 games following a 4-0 start.

Replacing swedish defenseman Josef Boumedienne out with a concussion, Mathieu Biron did very well on the 2nd defensive pairing with Morrisonn and both finished the game +3. The 2nd line of Tampa Bay had a rough night and Richards, Prospal & Afanasenkov all ended up -3.

The team will now put their 8 game winning streak to the test facing the Florida Panthers tomorrow night in Miami. The Panthers are themselves on a 3 game winning streak including impressive wins against Ottawa & Philadelphia.

[Lostkiwi]

A night of extremes in South Florida

A very erratic game was played tonight at the Office Depot Center which culminated in a 5-4 defeat for the Washington Capitals and ending an eight game winning streak.

The game started very well for the Capitals as they scored four unanswered goals (Crosby, Bergeron, Pettinger & Whitfield) in the first 12mins of play before the Panthers got an earful from their coach on the bench. The profanity-laced tirade from Jacques Martin seemed to jolt his team awake and Niewendyk scored his first goal of the game to bring the score to 4-1 after one period.

The Panthers completely shut down the Capitals offense in the 2nd period, allowing them only 4 shots on goal while Gary Roberts scored on a beautiful play set up by Kolnik & Nieuwendyk.

The third period was once again all in Florida's favour as they scored 3 unsanswered goals including the 2nd of the night from Gary Roberts which turned out to be the winning goal and the Panthers' defense frustrated the Caps offense into only 5 non-threatening shots on goal.

Steve Eminger was the only bright spot for Washington finishing the game with 2 assists and a +3 rating. The first line of Crosby, Ovechkin & Gordon struggled all night and were responsible for 3 Florida goals.

The line of Roberts, Nieuwendyk & Kolnik had a dominating night finishing with a +4 rating and gathering 10 of 11 points. Florida's defense was excellent after the first period jitters and ended up allowing only 18 shots on goal.

The 10-2-0-0 Capitals will now use a 4-day break to regroup before travelling to Philadelphia to face the struggling Flyers (2-6-0-1).

[Lostkiwi]

Crosby seals the deal

In a tightly played game in Philadelphia, the Capitals won 4-2 against an inconsistent Flyers team.

The first period started slowly with both teams tentatively trying to establish their offense and the sellout crowd had to wait until 18:11 of the first to see the first goal, a quick wrister from Brian Willsie on a great pass from Jeff Halpern.

The second period saw more intense play with the Flyers delivering many thundering checks through the engagement. Desjardins tied the score at 12:43 before Ovechkin went top corner with 2mins left in the period.

The Capitals' captain, Sidney Crosby, took things over in the third: first scoring at the 4 minute mark on a pass from Boyd Gordon to give his team a 2 goal lead. Newly signed free agent Stan Chistov then scored his first goal of the year to bring the game back within reach for the Flyers.

With a minute and 24 seconds left, Ken Hitchcock pulled his goalie for an extra attacker hoping to tie the score but Crosby sealed the deal with an empty net goal, giving Washington their 11th win of the season.

The defensive duo of Brendan Witt & Steve Eminger struggled to adjust to their reduced ice time (down from 20 to 12mins) and ended up with a minus two rating. For Philadelphia, the 2nd line of Kapanen, Primeau & Radivojevic had a difficult night and were on the ice for 3 of the 4 Washington goals.

The Capitals will now fly home for a game against the 6-6 Atlanta Thrashers tomorrow night.

[Lostkiwi]

Crosby kept off the scoresheet but Caps still win

In a game where Sidney Crosby was shutout for the first time of the season, the Washington Capitals capitalized on their chances to get away with a 5-3 win.

Playing with their powder blue uniforms, the Thrashers opened the hostilities early when Marian Hossa scored only 49 seconds after the initial face-off but Alex Ovechkin replied less than a minute later. The 3rd & 4th lines of Washington then provided some offense when Chris Clark scored before Trent Whitfield scored a magnificient goal in the top right corner to bring the score 3-1 after 20mins.

Kovalchuk scored twice in the 2nd period on passes from Bobby Holik to bring the game back to a tie before Patrice Bergeron got the lead back on an unassisted goal at 17:08 of the 2nd. The only goal of the 3rd came on an empty netter giving Bergeron his second of the game and insuring the win for Washington.

Bobby Holik with 3 assists and Ilya Kovalchuk with 2 goals and an assist lead the way for Atlanta in a game where the rest of the team seemed overmatched.

Washington will now face Toronto in a home & away doubleheader

[Lostkiwi]

Offensive bonanza at the MCI Center

Facing the Toronto Maple Leafs Sunday night, the Capitals gave their fans what they were asking for: goals, goals and more goals in a 9-7 win.

Sidney Crosby, Chris Clark and quickly improving 23 year old Jared Aulin each scored two goals while Ovechkin & Boyes had 1 goals and an assist and Josef Boumedienne cimented his role as quarterback with 3 assists.

For the Leafs, Jason Allison completed a hat trick while Lindros scored two goals and newly signed Vladimir Orszagh had 1 goal & two assists. The first line of O'Neill, Sundin & Czerkawski had a terrible night finishing the night with a -6 rating.

The two teams will now travel to Toronto for a rematch on Tuesday.

[Lostkiwi]

Tight game in Toronto

Facing each other again less than 48 hours after a 9-7 game in Washington, the Maple Leafs and Capitals played a much tighter game but Washington still came out ahead, winning 4-3 at the Air Canada Centre.

Toronto opened the score with less than 2mins played when Czerkawski fooled Kolzig on the stick side before Sidney Crosby scored at 19:22 to let the two teams enter the first intermission tied. The 2nd period was very similar to the first with the two teams trading goals, first Zubrus for the Caps then O'Neill brought the crowd to its feet with a great individual effort.

In the 3rd, the Capitals seemed to find more space to maneuver as Zubrus added his 2nd goal of the night before Ovechkin scored what would become the winning goal on a pass from Crosby. Antropov reduced the lead to one goal at 16:22 but it was too little too late and the Capitals escaped Toronto with 2pts.

Shaone Morrisonn & Josef Boumedienne had a difficult time against the Leafs forwards and ended up -2 in 18mins of play. For Toronto, the 3rd line of Jason Allison, Vald Orszagh & Darcy Tucker were responsible for 3 of the 4 Washington goals.

Washington will now travel to New Jersey and enjoy two days off before facing the Devils twice in two days.

[RodFlanders11]

Wow so are you like 13-0 or something now?

I switched to HoF after going 10-0 on Allstar. Faced the Islanders last night, they won 1-0 on a fluke goal that I accedently took control of the goalie and moved him away from the net :(

Now Im 10-1 lol

[Lostkiwi]

Shootout in Jersey!

Facing the 7-8-0 Devils for the first time of the season, the 14-2-0 Washington Capitals battled all night against tough checking and in the end, it took a shootout to determine the winner.

The game was a well fought affair all night as the teams each traded one goal each period. Zubrus scored the first goal at 8:08 of the first on a brilliant pass from Brad Boyes before Dan McGillis equalized the score at 18:49 on a hard slapshot from the point. Mogilny scored at the mid point of the 2nd before Dainius Zubrus tied the score again with his 2nd of the night with less than 32 seconds left to the mid engagement.

Both teams played conservatively in the 3rd and the crowd had to wait for the 15th minute to see a goal: a beautiful play from Sidney Crosby assisted by Gordon & Girard. The disapointed crowd did not have to wait long however as Andrei Nikolishin scored less than a minute later to send the teams to overtime.

The overtime period went by quickly without any goals and the two teams faced off in a shootout for the win. While none of the Caps were able to fool Brodeur, both Gomez & Elias scored against Kolzig, giving Washington their first loss in a shootout.

The line of Jeff Halpern, Chris Clark & Brian Willsie, usually so effective defensively, stumbled tonight and were on the ice for 2 of the Devils goals. Steve Eminger & Brandan Witt also had a rough night, ending up -3.

The two teams will now travel to Washington for a rematch tomorrow night.

[Lostkiwi]

Bad first period too much for Caps to redeem

In their second match in two nights, The Devils & Capitals played a tight game but the Devils came out on top again with great games from Mogilny & Gomez in a 5-4 win at the MCI Center.

The Devils came out extremely pumped and not even 2mins and 30secs had passed that New Jersey was ahead 2-0 on goals from Mogilny (Gomez, Rafalski) and Gomez (Mogilny, Elias). Jay Pandolfo added a 3rd NJ goal at 11:43 to completely silence the crowd.

Patrice Bergeron scored the first Washington goal a few minute later on a scoring chance created by the acrobatic play of Brad Boyes before Mogilny scored his 2nd of the night to give the Devils a 4-1 lead after 20 minutes.

The 2nd period was a defensive affair with only 9 total shots on goals and the only goal coming on a fluke play by Trent Whitfield. The 3rd seemed destined for the same scenario as only 4 shots were made in the first 10mins of play. Patrick Elias scored at 16:01 to give New Jersey a 3 goal lead again.

The Washington coach then called a timeout which was beneficial as Crosby scored 40 secs later. The Capitals seemed to take courage after this goal as they monopolized the puck and spent much of the rest of the period in the offensive zone. Alexander Ovechkin scored with less than 70 seconds left in the game but it was too late and the Devils escaped the national capital with 2pts.

The first line of Mogilny, Elias & Gomez had a great night, scoring 4 goals and shutting down their opponents.

Washington will now enjoy two days rest before their 3rd meeting of the year with the Stanley Cup champions Tampa Bay Lightning.

[Lostkiwi]

Another shootout defeat for the Capitals

Facing the 8-8 Tampa Bay Lightning, the 14-2-0-1 Capitals started Brent Johnson in goal to give some much needed rest to Olaf Kolzig after two difficult games versus New Jersey.

The first engagement saw mostly defensive plays and Fredrik Modin scored the only goal at 10:54. In the 2nd period, Tampa Bay continued their great defensive work, allowing only 6 shots on John Grahame. Prospal at 1:39 then Jonathan Girard at 15:42 scored to bring the score to 2-1 after 40mins. The only goal of the 3rd period was scored by Boyd Gordon on a beautiful individual play where he completely fooled John Grahame, having him move left while he backhanded the puck in the top corner.

The overtime period saw the Tampa 4-somes play a perfect defensive game as they allowed only one shot in the 5 mins.

For the second time in three games, a shootout was needed to determine the winner. Martin St Louis was first to go and feinted right but it did not fool Brent Johnson who made an easy save. Sidney Crosby was next and he did not disapoint the capacity crowd by sending the puck over Grahame's glove. Vinny Lecavalier tied the score but it did not quiet the crowd very long as Ovechkin came back immediately to put all the pressure on the shoulders of Brad Richards. Richards seemed tentative as he came up the ice but his quick feint and wrist shot was not deflected enough by Johnson's blocker and ended up in the back of the net. Patrice Bergeron was then unable to give the victory to his team, losing control of the puck a few feet in front of the net. The two shootout men were then needed to break the tie. Vaclav Prospal had no trouble beating the goalie while Dainius Zubrus was frustrated on a great glovesave from Grahame. Defenseman Dan Boyle then scored on a nice wristshot between the legs to give the victory to the Stanley Cup Champions.

14-3-0-2 Washington will now fly to Buffalo to face the last place 6-12-0-0 Sabres on a Thursday night game.


On a personal note, I'd like to thank every potential customer who didn't come in the store today and one of our distributors for postponing delivery. Man, talk about a slow Wednesday when I can cram in 3 games during my work day! :lol: :lol:

[Lostkiwi]

Kotalik sinks the Capitals

Ales Kotalik scored three goals in 3 mins midway through the third period to blow open a so far tightly played game and give the Buffalo Sabres their 7th win of the year.

The first period started slowly with the teams studying each other and trying to establish their offense. Chris Clark opened up the score at 9:31 on a weak play by Martin Biron. 3mins later, Daniel Brière and Jean-Pierre Dumont connected on their first of two goals. First Briere scoring on a pass from Dumont before returning the favour 2 minutes later when Dumont sent a slap shot past the Capitals goalie right shoulder. Brad Boyes scored at 17:41 to tie the score for the first intermission.

The only goal of the 2nd period came at 4:07 when Brad Boyes scored his 2nd of the game and 9th of the year on a backhanded pass from Dainius Zubrus.

Washington gave Brent Johnson a second game in a row facing the last place Sabres and the idea seemed to be working until the 3rd period started. At first, the Washington defense was able to contain Buffalo and the score stayed 3-2 until the 8th minute when the Sabres scored on a 2-on-1 after Chris Drury feinted the goalie and pass the puck to Ales Kotalik for an easy goal. 2mins later, Kotalik scored again on a poor play from Brent Johnson who scrambled out of his net and send a pass directly on the stick of the Sabres forward.

Kotalik completed his hat trick a minute later on a beautiful play orchestrated by Kalinin and Afinogenov. Tim Connolly score a few minutes later to give Buffalo its 4th unanswered goal in the 3rd period and a 3 goal lead with less than 6 minutes left to play. Jeff Halpern scored at 17:31 but it was too little too late and the Capitals ended up with their 4th loss in a row by the score of 6-4.

Washington did a poor defensive job tonight, allowing 40 Buffalo shots on goal and the first line of Ovechkin, Crosby and Gordon was silenced all night while Brent Johnson seemed to weaken in the 3rd after such a barrage of shots and so little help from his skaters.

The Capitals will now travel to Montreal to face the Canadiens on the traditional Saturday night game at the Centre Bell.

[Lostkiwi]

Slow start cost Washington the game

Playing in front of a capacity crowd at the Centre Bell in Montreal, the Washington Capitals came out flat in the first period and were unable to catch up, registering a 7-5 loss.

Olaf Kolzig was back in net for the Caps after a 6 days rest and the rust was apparent as Zednik (on a powerplay), Radek Bonk & Francis Bouillon all scored in the first 10mins of the game. Bonk added his 2nd of the night a few minutes later before Sidney Crosby stopped the carnage with a goal on assists from Gordon & Eminger. Chris Higgins scored with 64secs left in the first period, chasing Kolzig out of the game and allowing his team a 5-1 lead.

Washington was able to tighten up their defensive play in the mid engagement, keeping the Habs off the scorecard while the team slowly ate up the 4 goal lead. Crosby scored his 2nd of the game at 1:52 before Halpern added his 6th of the year.

With only 56 seconds ticked off the clock in the 3rd, Alexei Kovalev scored on a beautiful wristshot to give his team a 3 goal lead. Zubrus and Boyes scored to bring the game within 1 goal before Jan Bulis nailed the coffin shut to give his team 2 goal lead with only 4 mins to play.

Even though they ended up with 5 goals, the Washington offense was anemic tonight with only 20 shots on goal, a total way too low to stop a 4 loss streak.

The 14-5-0-2 Capitals will now travel to Pittsburgh to face the 13-5-3-0 Penguins in their first meeting of the season

[Lostkiwi]

The Capitals coaching & managerial staff will provide the press and fans with a team evaluation for every 10 game slice of the season which will include evaluations of the previous 10 games as a team and individually while proposing changes and looking ahead to the next 10 game section.

10 game evaluation : November Jitters

Team evaluation (14-5-2)

After an incredible 9-1 start, the team came back to Earth in the 2nd 10 game section of the calendar ending up with 5 wins, 4 losses and 2 overtime losses including finishing on a 5 game losing streak with a bad game against Montreal.

The team is still holding to the first rank of the Eastern Conference with an overall record of 14-5-2 but Florida, Pittsburgh and Toronto are all less than 2 points behind.

While the offense has somewhat slowed down, the responsibility for the team .500 record rests mostly on the defense who has been unable to stop anybody and has given over 35 shots on many occasions.

The next 10 games should provide a good chance to maintain the lead for the SouthWest division as the opposition is average and include a two weeks home stay.


Individual evaluations

Offense
Captain Sidney Crosby has continued his great play, racking up 10 goals & 3 assists in 11 games to maintain his lead on top the scoring leaderboard and just one point behind the point leaders Seigei Samsonov & Alexei Kovalev.

His linemates Alexander Ovechkin & Boyd Gordon each added 6 points to their total and were instrumental in many victories. The line however disapeared in certain games, leaving the team scrambling for offensive production.

The addition of Dainius Zubrus to the 2nd line formed by Brad Boyes & Peter Bergeron after the first team evaluation transformed the makeup of the line, adding speed and another weapon forcing the opposition to focus less attention on the Crosby line.

The change was quite beneficial for Zubrus in particular and kick-started his production: after gathering only 3 points in the first 10 games, the Lithuanian speedster scored 6 goals and added 3 assists. Boyes & Bergeron continued their good work, adding 8 and 7 points respectively.

The checking line of Chris Clark, Jeff Halpern & Brian Willsie continued their excellent defensive work and also provided some timely goals.

The forth line of Pettinger, Aulin & Whitfield played much better in this 11 game section scoring 7 goals (compared to 1 in the first 10 games) and still provide a jolt of energy when needed. Jared Aulin has particularly impressed the coaching staff with his elusive skating and leadership.

S. Crosby 23-5-28 +8
P. Bergeron 13-3-16 +7
A. Ovechkin 14-1-15 +8
B. Boyes 10-6-16 +6
J. Halpern 6-6-12 +6
C. Clark 7-5-12 +8
B. Willsie 4-1-5 +6
B. Gordon 3-7-10 +4
D. Zubrus 7-5-12 +10
M. Pettinger 1-2-3 +0
J. Aulin 4-0-4 +1
T. Whitfield 3-0-3 +0

Defense
Alot of work will be needed to improve the defensive play of this unit as the team took a step backwards in this 2nd section of the season. Boumedienne & Morrisonn who played so well in the first ten games and were promoted as first d-unit struggled mightily in their new role gathering 9 less points and finishing the 11 game section with a combined -6 rating.

The 2nd unit of Steve Eminger & Brendan Witt continued their quiet good work and Eminger added 5 points to his total, giving him 11 for the season.

The 3rd unit of Jonathan Girard & Mathieu Biron surprised and did excellent work ending up with a +11 combined rating and seeing Girard scored 2 goals and add 5 assists.

With the bad defensive plays going on in front of them, the goaltenders had a difficult time and both goalies saw their GAA rise considerably. With Kolzig's difficulties, Brent Johnson saw much more action but did not provide the type of quality goaltending that would allow the coaching staff to rest Kolzig more often. You should expect Kolzig to start 8 or 9 of the 10 games in the coming section.

S. Morrisonn 1-9-10 +7
J. Boumedienne 2-9-11 +5
S. Eminger 1-10-11 +6
M. Biron 0-9-9 +9
J. Girard 2-9-11 +6
B. Witt 0-3-3 +7

O. Kolzig 12-4 3.91 875mins
B. Johnson 2-2 3.59 394mins

Recommendations and Changes

With the inconsistency of the Crosby-Ovechkin line, the coaching staff is thinking of replacing Boyd Gordon on the right wing but the attractive options are scarce as they do not want to dismantle the 2nd line of Zubrus, Boyes & Bergeron. Chris Clark was considered for promotion to the first line as well as youngster Jared Aulin who really impressed recently. The coach however decided to keep the first line as is, giving Gordon more time to find his role among the two rookie superstars.

With his great play, Jared Aulin has deserved a promotion and will now patrol the left wing on the 3rd line while Brian Willsie will be relegated to 4th line duty.

After an horrific section of calendar, the first duo of Josef Boumedienne & Shaone Morrisonn will be broken up, with Witt & Morrisonn forming the new first defensive duo while Boumedienne & Eminger will form the 2nd unit.


The team fell back down to Earth (and a .500 record) after the best start in franchise history and the character of the players will be tested in the next 10 games as they will battle to stay atop their division and among the leaders in the Eastern Conference.

[Lostkiwi]

Costly loss for Washington

Facing a red hot Pittsburgh team on a 7-game win streak, the struggling Washington Capitals battled all night and managed to get one point before John LeClair scored the winning goal at 2:48 of the overtime period.

The game started well for the visitors as Shaone Morrisonn scored at 4:07 then Dainius Zubrus added his 8th of the year on a beautiful one-timer on a perfect pass from Brad Boyes to give the Caps a 2-0 lead after 20mins.

The Penguins tied the score in the 2nd period in a 90 seconds period, all due to the brilliant efforts of Lemieux & Friesen. Jeff Friesen scored first at 1:36 after Lemieux stole the puck from the Caps defenseman in the corner and sent the puck in front of the net where Friesen backhanded it past Kolzig. Friesen returned the favour at 2:54 when he crosschecked Peter Bergeron near the faceoff circle and passed to Lemieux who one-timed for his 2nd point of the night.

The 3rd period saw the two teams trade goals: Gordon at 0:20, LeClair at 7:55, Jared Aulin at 9:11 then Palffy at 12:06 which brought the score at 4-4. At 14:08, Sidney Crosby scored his league leading 24th goal on a play orchestrated by Jonathan Girard who took the puck at the blue line, circled all the waybehind the net then passing to the point where Mathieu Biron sent a powerful snapshot toward the net. Sitting in front, Crosby redirected the puck to give his team a 5-4 lead. The Penguins were not out however as Rico Fata scored on a beautiful pass from LeClair to tie the score again.

The overtime period was a tight affair but the game ended on a beautiful individual play from LeClair who sent the puck pass Kolzig's shoulder for the win.

After the game, it was found out that captain Sidney Crosby will be sidenlined for the next 2-3 weeks due to a bruised shoulder suffered in the 2nd period. 22 year old RW Owen Fussey who had 8 goals & 21 points in 22 games at Hershey was recalled to replace him. Brendan Witt also got hurt on a botched crosscheck and will miss a week of action.

Now on a 6 gamelosing streak, the Capitals will now face the Tampa Bay Lightning, themselves on a 3 game losing streak.

[Lostkiwi]

Capitals in free fall

Playing their first game of the season without their captain and the league leading goal scorer Sidney Crosby, the Washington Capitals had trouble generating offense and were defeated 3-2 by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The game was fast paced from the start with Martin St Louis scoring at 1:12 before Alex Ovechkin tied the score two minutes later on a perfect play from Peter Bergeron and Boyd Gordon. Dimitri Afanasenkov scored at 6:41 before the teams tightened their defense and the score was 2-1 after 20mins.

St Louis added his 2nd of the game and Chris Clark scored his 8th of the year, allowing Tampa to retreat to the locker room with still a one goal lead following the 2nd period. No goal was scored in the 3rd period, giving Washington their 7th loss in a row.

With Crosby out for a few weeks, the Caps coach had to juggle his lines. Peter Bergeron was moved as center of the first line between Ovechkin & Gordon while Chris Clark was moved with Boyes & Zubrus.

The Capitals will now fly to New York and face the 9-13-2 Rangers on Saturday night.

[Lostkiwi]

Carnage in New York

The New York Rangers proved too strong for a depleted Washington team and won 7-2 in a one sided game at Madison Square Garden.

The Capitals offense was anemic tonight, both goals being scored by defensemen and then only at the mid point of the 3rd when the score was already 5-0.

Steve Rucchin with 2 goals, Alex Giroux and Jason Ward with 1 goal and two assists each lead the way for a Rangers team starting to gel.

Now mirred in a 8 game losing streak, Washington will fly home tonight to face 9-14 Buffalo tomorrow night

[Lostkiwi]

Washington in freefall

Unable to win and now without their captain and best scorer, the Washington Capitals struggled again versus the last place Buffalo Sabres but managed to scrape up one point as a shootout was needed tonight to determine the winner.

The game started badly for Washington as Chris Drury, Dumont & Daniel Briere all scored in the first before Ste Eminger reduced the lead with only 11 seconds left in the first. Entering the 2nd period leading 3-1, Buffalo played a very conservative game which saw the two teams traded goals, first Ovechkin at 3:04 then Taylor Pyatt at 18:45.

Still trailing by 2 goals with only 2 minutes to play, newly appointed first line center Patrice Bergeron took things over, scoring twice while registering 6 shots on goals.

The overtime period saw Washington buzz around Noronen's net all period but no goal ensured which forced a shootout to determine the winner. While Chris Drury was stopped by Brent Johnson, Ovechkin did not miss his chance, completely fooling the Sabres goalie. Daniel Briere continued his great work by scoring next before Noronen made a magnificient save against Zubrus to tie the shootout. Afinogenov then scored to put all the pressure on Patrice Bergeron. A great glove save from Noronen finished the game and gave Washington their 9th game without a win.

The demoralized team will now get 5 days off before facing the Rangers on Saturday night.

[Lostkiwi]

Enough was enough!

Facing a possible 10th game without a win, the Washington Capitals came out strong and determined and the end result was never in doubt as they easily won 5-1 against the New York Rangers.

Jared Aulin unassisted and Patrice Bergeron on a pass from Boyd Gordon scored in the first while the Rangers were able to send only 6 shots on Olaf Kolzig. The 2nd period saw Marek Malik score the only goal of his team on a slapshot from the point but Jeff Halpern scored at 19:21 to bring back a 2 goal lead.

The Caps once again completely dominated the 3rd, forcing New York in their zone most of the period and adding two goals from Morrisonn and Ovechkin.

The trio of Nieminen, Nylander & Rucchin had an especially difficult night, being responsible for 3 of the Caps goals.

In the middle of a two week home stay, 15-7-4 Washington will now face 11-11-3 Nashville for their first matchup of the season.

[Lostkiwi]

Zubrus leads the Caps in a 10 goal romp

Dainius Zubrus had a career night including a milestone with 5 goals as Washington demolished the Nashville Predators in a game sure to help fans forget the recent 9 game losing streak the team went through.

Zubrus scored twice in the first period, including the 100th of his career before adding two more in the 2nd and his 5th of the night in the third period.

Jared Aulin also performed well with 2 goals while Ovechkin & Morrisonn each added a goal and an assist to their totals.

The line of Sullivan, Johnson & Hall had a difficult time for Nashville, ending up with a -5 rating.

the 16-7-4 Capitals will now face the 17-11-2 Detroit Red Wings on a Friday night battle.

[Lostkiwi]

Kolzig allow Caps to extend winning streak

Facing the Detroit Red Wings tonight at the MCI Center, the Washington Capitals needed all the acrobatics from their goaltender and a strong effort from their first line to win and left the ice with a 7-4 victory.

The Capitals came out hungry for this game, showing their teeth quickly when Ovechkin on a breakaway scored with only 1:14 off the clock. Less than 2 mins later, his centerman Patrice Bergeron scored his WHATth of the season to give Washington a 2-0 lead with less than 3mins played. Detroit was from beaten and came back with goals from Shanahan and Maltby to send the teams tied for the first intermission.

The 2nd period was a repeat of the first with the teams traded a pair of goals: Ovechkin scored his 2nd of the night then Holmstrom followed by Lang a few minutes later gave the Wings their first lead of the game. Jared Aulin however scored a beautiful goal while his team was shorthanded to bring back the tie.

Patrice Bergeron broke the tie in the third for his 2nd of the night at the 3min mark. Detroit followed this goal with intense play but they were unable to get anything past Kolzig. Brad Boyes at 13:12 scored the assurance goal but Detroit kept coming... and kept getting stopped by Ollie. Halpern added a goal in an empty net to bring the score to 7-4 and ending the hopes of the Wings.

Kolzig showed his talent tonight, stopping 35 of the 39 shots sent toward him, including 19 in the 3rd period. The first line of Ovechkin, Bergeron & Gordon had a great night, scoring 4 goals in what might well be their last game together as captain Sidney Crosby is expected back from his shoulder injury in the next few days.

For Detroit, the line of Shanahan, Datsuyk and Holstrom struggled, being on the ice for 5 of the Caps goals.

The 17-7-4 Capitals will now fly to the West Coast to face the 17-9-4 Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday

[Lostkiwi]

Crosby's return cannot lift Caps past Kings

Back from a shoulder injury which sidelined him for almost 3 weeks, captain Sidney Crosby seemed slow at times and was unable to score, allowing his team to be defeated 4-2 by a feisty Los Angeles team.

The Kings played an agressive defensive game, constantly pursuing the puck carrier and allowing very little manoeuvering space for the speedy Washington forwards. With this constant pressure, the Caps were unable to generate any offense in the first 2 periods while the Kings scored twice, first Roenick from Frolov & Demitra then Frolov on assists from his two linemates.

Old-timer Luc Robitaille added a power play goal at 4:20 of the 3rd to give his team a 3 goal lead before the Caps 2nd line went to work. Brad Boyes scored on a perfect pass from Bergeron at 8:52 before Bergeron added his own goal two minutes later to reduce the lead to one goal. Craig Conroy however sealed the deal at 18:53 with an empty netter and allowing the Kings to maintain their lead on top of the Pacific division.

Patrice Bergeron & Brad Boyes had a nice reunion party as each added a goal and an assist to their season total in their first game back together as Bergeron pivoted the first line in Crosby's absence.

The team will now travel north to face the 17-8-4 San Jose Sharks on Friday night to complete their only West Coast trip of the season.

[Lostkiwi]

Zubrus & Ovechkin sinks Sharks

The offenses could not be contained tonight as goal scorers put themselves on display in a 9-7 win for the Washington Capitals over the San Jose Sharks.

The Sharks came out strong in the first period at the HP Pavillion scoring 3 goals while containing the Caps offense to 6 shots on goals. McCauley, Michalek & Sturm all scored to send back their team to the locker room really confident for the rest of the game.

The Caps were not out yet however and reversed the roles in the 2nd period, scoring twice before the sharks defense knew what happened. Ovechkin scored his first at 0:38 then added another 36secs later on a precise backhanded pass from Crosby.

Patrice Bergeron tied the score 3-3 at the 14 minute mark before Michalek scored his 2nd of the night, giving his team a lead one more time. Ovechkin was not done however as he scored 17 seconds later to complete his hat trick and tie the score again.

The fist half of the third period saw disorganized and individual plays from the Capitals, allowing the Sharks to dominate. Marco Sturm scored his 2nd of the night less than a minute in then Marleau & McCauley added goals before the 10 min mark to give San Jose a 7-4 lead. Sidney Crosby then made a beautiful play, circling the net before coming back in front nad sending the puck right under the crossbar to reduce the lead to 2 goals. Washington seemed to wake up offensively after this and Shaone Morrisonn scored at 12:32 on a shot deflected by a defenseman.

Dainius Zubrus then started his magic, scoring three goals in 4 minutes: first on a breakaway at 15:39 then less than a minute later on a pass from pointman Boumedienne to give the Caps their first lead of the night. The Lithuanian sniper completed his hat trick at 19:49, sendign the puck through the net abandonned by Nabokov in favour of a 6th skater.

Both Ovechkin & Zubrus finished the game with 3 goals while Crosby added 1 goal and 2 assists to his total. Olaf Kolzig started the game but was pulled out following the third goal (on 10 shots) of San Jose at 17:04 of the first period.

Sturm, McCauley & Michalek each scored twice while the defensive pairing of McLaren & Stuart struggled all night finishing with a -4 rating.

Jeff Halpern who left the game in the 2nd period following a hard check in the neutral zone will be sidelined for at least 2 weeks with a dislocated shoulder. Samuelsson should take his spot in the lineup.

18-8-4 Washington will now return home and face the 16-15-2 Florida Panthers in a divisional matchup on Sunday night.

[Lostkiwi]

Crosby & Ovechkin overwhelms Panthers

Facing the South Floridian Panthers, the Washington Capitals required offense from their first line only as linemates Sidney Crosby & Alexander Ovechkin scored four goals, all that was needed for a 4-2 victory at the MCI Center.

Sidney Crosby scored both his goals in the first before Stumpel sent a puck past Kolzig to send the teams to their locker with a 2-1 score. Martin Gélinas scored the only goal of the 2nd period to tie the score.

The Capitals first line continued their work in the third, this time Ovechkin provided the firepower, first scoring the winning goal at 7:14 on a beautiful pass from Crosby before adding his 2nd of the game in an empty net.

19-8-4 Washington will now travel to Atlanta for a matchup against the 14-17-3 Thrashers.

[Lostkiwi]

The Capitals coaching & managerial staff will provide the press and fans with a team evaluation for every 10 game slice of the season which will include evaluations of the previous 10 games as a team and individually while proposing changes and looking ahead to the next 10 game section.

10 game evaluation : December Stretch

Team evaluation (19-8-4)

Following an incredible 9-1 start then a 5-4-2 November, the team continued their over .500 play with a 5-3-2 10 game section even though captain and leading scorer Sidney Crosby missed 6 games and the team defensive woes continued. The strong offense and the acrobatic play of Kolzig are the only things allowing the team to continue winning.

The team is still holding to the first rank of the SouthWest division but are now third in the Eastern Conference, 2 points behind leading Pittsburgh.

The next 10 games include another 12 days home stand to start the New Year and 4 games against opponents under .500. The team will need to take advantage of this schedule to increase its lead.


Individual evaluations

Offense
Captain Sidney Crosby missed 6 of the 10 games played in this section but still managed to add 4 goals and 4 assists to his total allowing him to stay among the league 20 top points leader. The super rookie still leads the league in goals with 27 but Patrick Elias with 26 and Tkatchuk & linemate Ovechkin with 25 are keeping the pace.

Alexander Ovechkin in fact picked up the pace in Crosby's absence and added 11 goals to his season total while also embelishing his defensive standing by ending this 10 game section with a +11 rating. Their right winger Boyd Gordon continued at his pace with one goal and 4 assists while nicely complimenting the two rookie of the year candidates.

In Crosby's absence, Patrice Bergeron was moved up to center the first line and accomplished excellent work there, a development forcing the coaching staff to consider moving him back permanently to center. His return to RW once the captain came back from injury did not slow down his production however and Bergeron finished this section with 10 points and a +4 rating. Dainius Zubrus continued his great though streaky offensive work by scoring 9 goals, including a 5 goal game last week. The 2nd line center, Brad Boyes struggled recently finding the back of the net only twice while adding only 6 points to his total.

3rd liner Chris Clark, who was promoted to the 2nd line during Crosby's injury struggled mightily and has only one point to show for his last ten game effort. His lackluster play while sharing the ice with offensively gifted players like Zubrus & Boyes show that the 29 year old American player cannot be counted on for constant offensive production but belongs on a checking line with clearly defined defensive assignments.

Jeff Halpern's production has been slowly going south since the beginning of the season (7 pts 1st 10 games; 5pts 2nd section and now 3pts) which may indicate the heavy workload given by the coach is too much for him. Newly appointed to the 3rd line youngster Jared Aulin did not disapoint with 5 goals while providing a nice speedy complement to the relentless checking of Clark & Halpern.

The forth line of Pettinger, Brian Willsie & Whitfield played little recently but still provide energy and adequate defensive work when called upon.

S. Crosby 27-9-36 +14
P. Bergeron 21-5-26 +11
A. Ovechkin 25-2-27 +19
B. Boyes 12-10-22 +7
J. Halpern 8-7-15 +7
C. Clark 8-5-13 +8
B. Willsie 4-2-6 +8
B. Gordon 4-11-15 +15
D. Zubrus 16-6-22 +11
M. Pettinger 1-2-3 -1
J. Aulin 9-0-9 +3
T. Whitfield 3-0-3 -1

Defense
The defense is still the Achilles Heel of this team and their play in the last 10 games has not changed anybody's view on this. Lacking a mean streak and lousy at blocking and deflecting shots, this defensive unit survives through stickwork and sound positioning. The only thing preventing the defense from receiving a falling grade is their excellent offensive contribution and the quickness of their first pass which gives so many breakaways for the forwards.

Once again, the 3rd unit of Jonathan Girard & Mathieu Biron played excellent and were considered the best defensive duo by the coaching staff. Girard added 7 points to his record while journeyman Mathieu Biron added 6 and also finished the 10 game section with a +6 rating. The 25 year old Biron was never really given a fulltime position before and he seems dedicated to keeping his everyday role.

The new first unit formed of Shaone Morrisonn and Brendan Witt which started playing together after the last evaluation accomplished some good work and will be given more time to develop chemistry. Newly paired Boumedienne & Eminger delivered a lacklustre performance without being awful but the emergence of Girard & Biron may soon relegate them to 3rd unit duties.

Olaf Kolzig responded well to the heavy workload given to him recently and lowered his GAA by 0.63 points in the last 10 games. The coaching staff would have liked to give Ollie more rest but backup Brent Johnson struggled mightily giving out 8 goals in only 107mins of play, giving him a GAA of 4.49 for the recent 10 game section.

S. Morrisonn 5-10-15 +10
J. Boumedienne 2-12-14 +8
S. Eminger 2-12-14 +6
M. Biron 1-14-15 +16
J. Girard 3-15-18 +13
B. Witt 0-5-5 +11

O. Kolzig 16-8 3.80 1375mins
B. Johnson 3-2 3.59 501mins

Recommendations and Changes

The coaching staff can hardly complain about offensive production and the forward lines seem set for now even though the excellent play of Patrice Bergeron at center brings roster change possibilities for the future and the emergence of Jared Aulin may force the team to find him a spot on the first 2 lines.

The defense needs to shore up its play or personnel changes will be required as such a unit will not last long once the playoffs come along. The good play of Girard & Biron should warrant them more playing time in the month to come.

Brent Johnson must find his groove and learn to accept his role as backup goaltender or he may soon find his way out of town as prospect Maxime Ouellet is chomping at the bit in the AHL.


The team survived without Crosby for 6 games and still managed an over .500 record which give confidence to the coaching staff the team can continue to lead the division and stay within contention for the lead of the Eastern Conference.

[Lostkiwi]

Stefan propels Thrashers to victory

Fresh from a 3 day rest, the Washington Capitals played a great game that required an overtime period but Patrick Stefan gave his team the victory in the shootout that followed.

The first period was a defensive affair with only 13 shots on goals but 3 goals were still scored: veteran Scott Mellanby scored first at 11:26 on assists from Larsen & Stefan before Boyd Gordon tied the score from the red zone on a beautiful pass from Jon Girard who sent the puck flying through the crease right on the stick of the youngster Gordon. Patrick Stefan scored unassisted 5mins later to give Atlanta a 2-1 lead after 20mins.

Jared Aulin continued his great play by scoring the first goal of the 2nd period while his team was shorthanded. Sidney Crosby scored his 28th of the year 57secs later to give Washington its first lead of the game. Marian Hossa however replied at the 14th minute for a 3-3 score. The third period and overtime did not allow to find a winner as neither team was able to fool the opposite goaltender and a shootout was needed to finish off the game and declare a winner.

Patrice Bergeron started the shootout by wristing the puck over Durham's glove but the puck hit the crossbar and bounced back. Marian Hossa & Alex Ovechkin were next and ended up as unsuccessful before Peter Bondra scored. Slava Kozlov them missed the goal completely to put the game solely on rookie Sidney Crosby's shoulders. The Caps captain did not disapoint by wristing the puck past Durham to force the backup to come up.

Dainius Zubrus was first and his shot was easily blocked before Marc Savard ended up hitting Kolzig's pad with a strong slapshot. Brad Boyes then came up, sending the puck flying 2 feet above the crossbar. Patrick Stefan, already with 2 points in the game, went down the ice under the crowd applause and sent them in a roar by scoring against a dejected Kolzig.

The Capitals will now fly home to face the Montreal Canadiens tomorrow night

[Lostkiwi]

Zednik sinks Capitals in OT

The Montreal Canadiens were in Washington tonight to face the Capitals and regulation time was not enough to decide a winner. Richard Zednik did not seem interested in a shootout however as he ended the game by scoring in the overtime period.

Even though Sidney Crosby opened the score on assists from Ovechkin & Biron at 2:49, the 1st period was all Montreal as they bombarded Olaf Kolzig with 16 shots and scored thrice: Radek Bonk, then Markov before Bulis one-timed a beautiful pass from Bonk and Ryder to give the visiting team a 3-1 lead.

The Capitals tightened their defense in the 2nd period and were able to tie the score on goals from Boyd Gordon and Jared Aulin. The goal from Aulin was scored shorthanded, his 2nd such goal in 2 nights.

The 3rd period was an affair between the Caps defensemen and Richard Zednik. First Alexei Kovalev scored after Zednik had feinted away one defenseman and sent Kolzig off position. Josef Boumedienne tied the score 4mins later before Zednik put the pressure back by scoring unassisted at 14:23. Brendan Witt scored his first goal of the year at 17:33 to send the teams to overtime.

Zednik continued his great work against his old team in the overtime period, sending 3 shots on goal before finally fooling Kolzig at 2:36 to give his team it's 21st win of the year.

For Washington, the 2nd line of Zubrus, Bergeron & Boyes had a rough night, being responsible for 3 of the Habs goals.

The 19-8-6 Capitals will now enjoy a 3-day break for Christmas before facing the 16-14-5 Boston Bruins in their first matchup of the year.

[Lostkiwi]

Zubrus 2 Boston 1

Meeting for the first time since the lockout, Boston & Washington provided the fans at the MCI Center with a defensively tight game but the result, a 2-1 win for the Caps, was sure to send them home happy.

Dainius scored both goals for the Caps,opening the score at 9:11 of the first period on a pass from Morrisonn. The capacity crowd then had to wait for the 4th minute of the 3rd period to see another goal when Joe Thornton scored his 24th of the year on the power play.

Zubrus then played the hero by scoring his 2nd of the night and 18th of the year on a play orchestrated by centerman Brad Boyes in what would become the winning goal.

Boston's 2nd line of Axelsson, Zhamnov & Isbister were on the ice for both Zubrus goals in a night I am sure they wish they could have back. Washington's first line of Ovechkin, Crosby & Gordon had its difficulties tonight and seemed intimidated by the physicality of the Bruins defense.

The Capitals do not get any rest and will travel tonight to New Jersey for a matchup against the .500 Devils tomorrow night.

[Lostkiwi]

Goal fest in the Meadowlands

The Capitals came out strong and determined tonight at the Continental Arena and the Devils were unable to stop them. Struggling to adjust to the new rules, the Devils seemed tentative all night abd the Caps capitalized, scoring 8 goals to easily win the game.

Crosby, Bergeron & Aulin each scored two goals while Boyes added a goal and an assist in this game where Martin Brodeur seemed unable to make any saves. The place of first line Kozlov, Elias & Gomez did not help as they finished the night -4.

Olaf Kolzig was given the night off and Brent Johnson did not disapoint, allowing only 2 goals and making some big saves in the first period.

The 21-8-6 Capitals will now enjoy a two day break before a New Year's Eve battle against the struggling 15-19-3 Philadelphia Flyers

[Lostkiwi]

Tight game for New Year's Eve at the MCI Center

In a festive mood, the Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals played a hotly disputed contest and it took some help from the three main lines of Washington for them to come out victorious in that 4-3 win to finish the year.

Alexander Ovechkin took advantage of his special units playtime by scoring both on the powerplay and while shorthanded. Jared Aulin & Brad Boyes scored the other Caps goals for a team that seems to find more balance for its scoring.

The retooled Flyers played a tough game all night and came out just short. New ly acquired Daniel Alfredsson had one goal and an assist in his first game since being traded for Keith Primeau & M. Knuble. Also newly acquired Mike York did not contribute offensively but provided sound defensive play. This sound defensive play should help forget M. Handzus who was sent to New York in that trade.

Europeans also provided the rest of the offensive production as Forsbergh & Pitkanen sent pucks past Kolzig. The Flyers offense did not play to their usual level however as they sent only 19 shots on goals, half the number of Washington.

Washington will now face the Atlanta Thrashers tomorrow night.

[Lostkiwi]

Goal Whirlwind at the MCI Center

19 goals were scored in a crazy game in Washington tonight and everyone of them was important as the Capitals barely came out on top of a 10-9 scoring fest.

For victorious Washington, Chris Clark with 3, Boyd Gordon with 2 and Zubrus, Crosby, Bergeron, Ovechkin & Pettinger scored while Crosby also added 2 assists to give him 45 points for the year.

For Ottawa, Jason Spezza had 3 and Dany Heatley 2 while Havlat, Smolinski, Knuble Williams also scored. Acquired with Knuble in exchange for Daniel Alfredsson, Keith Primeau racked up 3 assists and showed the type of leadership on the ice the Sens were expecting.

Even though both Bergeron & Zubrus scored tonight, the 2nd line of Washington seemed slow tonight and ended up with a -2 rating as did usually competent defensive duo Jonathan Girard & Mathieu Biron.

The defensive pairing of Redden & Chara ended the night -2 and each spent time in the penalty box, moments difficult for Ottawa to survive without such defensive stalwarts.

After the game, the Capitals learned that Brad Boyes would miss the next 2-4 weeks due to a dislocated shoulder which will probably force the coaching staff to recall a forward from Hershey as Jeff Halpern is still incapacitated by his shoulder problems.

In the 2nd to last game of their current 5 game homestand, the Caps will face again the Flyers on a Friday night game less than a week after defeating them by the score of 4-3

[Lostkiwi]

Washington trades for Mark Bell!

Suddenly thin up front with recent injuries and secure in net with Kolzig and the emergence of Maxime Ouellet in the AHL, Washington's GM ALeX pulled the trigger today and sent backup goaltender Brent Johnson & 3 late round draft picks to Chicago in exchange for left winger Mark Bell.

6'4 25 year old Bell had 10 goals and 14 assists in 40 games so far this year but saw reduced time in Chicago recently as he clashed with the coaching staff and seemed unhappy with the rigid defensive system played by the Blackhawks.

The Caps coach said during the press conference this morning that Bell would initially play on the 3rd line but that his toughness and offensive abilities could make him a great fit on a scoring line once he gets more comfortable in the Caps run & gun schemes.

14th in the Western Conference Chicago Blackhawks felt they needed some help behind the pipes as Nikolai Khabibulin has struggled so far this year and the acquisition of Brent Johnson (4-2 3.43) should give them an experienced backup.

To complete the trade, Washington also sent its seventh, eighth and ninth draft picks in the next draft to Chicago. Both Players are expected to be in uniform for their new team's next game.

To take Johnson's place, Washington called up Maxime Ouellet.


As an aside, the CPU offered me this trade straight up; I did not initiate it. I added the 3 draft picks since it seemed I was coming way ahead... and also late round draft picks are just bothersome.

[Lostkiwi]

No brotherly love for Flyers

Less than a week after a tightly played 4-3 game, the Flyers and Capitals faced off again tonight but the result was complete carnage! The Capitals ended up winning 9-2 against a team that showed very little life.

Ovechkin had the best game of his career so far with 4 goals and 2 assists while his centerman, Sidney Crosby, added a hat trick of his own. Jared Aulin also scored while the new acquisition Mark Bell scored his first goal in a Caps uniform while enjoying 13mins of icetime on the 3rd line.

The Flyers held their own in the first period trailing by only one goal but were unable to maintain the rythym and gave 3 unsanswered goals in the 2nd then 4 in the 3rd.

The Capitals will now continue this long homestand by facing division rival Florida Panthers.


Tough loss versus the Cats

Facing the struggling Florida Panthers, the Washington Capitals were unable to provide a concerted effort and ended up with a 4-3 loss.

Patrice Bergeron with 1 goal and 1 assist and Sidney Crosby with 2 assists were the main offensive weapons for the Caps but the first line still struggled and finished with a -2 rating for the night.

For Florida, Huselius with 1 goal and an assist and Nieuwendyk & Bouwmeester with 2 assists each provided the scoring and Josef Stumpel finished off the Caps with his 3rd winning goal of the year.


On a more positive note, Sidney Crosby (4goals, 4assists, +5) and Alex Ovechkin (5goals 3 assists +5) were both named players of the week.


Bergeron seals the deal in shootout

Facing off less than a week after exchanging two players, the Washington Capitals & Chicago Balckhawks battled for 2 pts tonight and it took an overtime period and a shootout to determine a winner by a 3-2 score.

Mark Bell scored the only goal of the first period vs his old team on a shot from just inside the blue line that was deflected by a defenseman in front of Khabibulin.

Jason Cullimore tied the score in the 2nd on a deflected shot while his team was shorthanded.

Two young promising players, Sidney Crosby & Tuumo Ruutu scored to bring the score 2-2after 60mins played.

The play was tight in overtime and a shootout was needed. Patrice Bergeron went first and fooled the Hawks goalie with a great move to score the only goal of the shootout to give Washington its 26th win of the year.

Brendan Witt was injured in the 2nd period and should be out of action for a week.

The 26-9-6 Capitals will now go on a 3 game trip that will see them face Dallas, Anaheim & Phoenix in the next week.

[Lostkiwi]

The Capitals coaching & managerial staff will provide the press and fans with a team evaluation for every 10 game slice of the season which will include evaluations of the previous 10 games as a team and individually while proposing changes and looking ahead to the next 10 game section.

10 game evaluation : Mid Year evaluation

Team evaluation (26-9-6)

After a 5-3-2 December, the team saw Sidney Crosby come back from his injury and the team went back to its early season dominance by going 7-1-2 in the last 10 games. While the defense has played better, the offense has continued to dominate games and has carried the team through the last month.

The team climbed back to the top of the Eastern Conference standings with this awesome stretch with a 12 points lead on Florida in the SouthEast.

The next 10 games include 10 games in 19 nights including tough matchups versus the Islanders, Penguins, Stars and Lightning.


Individual evaluations

With the team having reached the mid year mark (41 out of 82 games played) each player will be graded and evaluated both about the last 10 games and the first half of the season

Offense
Captain Sidney Crosby showed that his injury was completely healed after missing 6 games and playing the whole 10 games, racking up 11 goals and 15 points in those games.

In his first year in the NHL, Crosby has not disapointed and proved he was well worth trading 3 players for him as he has provided leadership to the young Capitals while being the main offensive weapon. With 51 points and the 8th rank among the league point leaders, it is hard to ask more of the kid from the Canadian Maritimes.

The other rookie on Washington's first line, Alexander Ovechkin, has also shown the hype surrounding him was well deserved and he does not look out of place against the league elite snipers. With 8 goals and 7 assists in the last 10 games, Ovechkin seem to be rounding out his game and finding his linemates more easily on the ice.

Accompanying the two superookies on the first line, Boyd Gordon has sometimes looked overmatched and too slow but his defensive play is without reproach and he has showed improvement on offense, especially with this 4 goal, 4 assist performance in the last 10 games.

The recent arrival of Mark Bell from Chicago puts more pressure on Gordon to produce as with Bell's offensive potential (2 goals in 3 games since the trade), the chemistry & balance of the 2nd line and the seamingly waste of leaving a player of Bell's talent on a 3rd line, Gordon will need to fight to keep his place on a scoring line for the rest of the season.

The 2nd line of Zubrus, Boyes & Bergeron has accomplished very nice work since being put together after the first 10 games. Zubrus adds tremendous speed and puck handling skills to the duo of Boyes & Bergeron and they forces the opposing team to not focus all their attention on the Crosby line. The line can however be erratic and disapear at times, especially against physical opponents

With Brad Boyes on the injured rserve for at least the next 2 weeks, Jared Aulin will get the chance to center the 2nd line. The young speedster has strongly impressed the coaching staff this year. Aulin started the year on the 4th line and then managed to dislodge Brad Willsie to find constant minutes as part of the checking line. When Jeff Halpern went down to a shoulder injury, Aulin stepped right in to pivot the 3rd line and continued his excellent play, contributing 8 points in the last 10 games.

3rd liner Chris Clark has struggled to put points on the scoreboard but his defensive play has been strong, making him a perfect complement to Jeff Halpern when facing the opposition top line. Talking about Jeff Halpern, he has missed the last 11 games but should be back in action this week to secure back the 3rd line.

The forth line of Pettinger, Brian Willsie & Whitfield has played little as the coaching staff gave tons of icetime to the first 3 lines and it is difficult to really evaluate the potention of those players. Whitfield seem to show the best potential and could become a 3rd line player if his development continues. The play of Brian Willsie has disapointed as he started the year ahead of both Clark & Gordon on the wing.

S. Crosby 38-13-51 +23
A. Ovechkin 33-9-42 +28
P. Bergeron 25-8-33 +9
B. Boyes 14-12-26 +4
D. Zubrus 20-7-27 +8
M. Bell 12-14-26 +4
B. Gordon 8-15-23 +24
C. Clark 11-6-17 +10
J. Aulin 15-2-17 +6
J. Halpern 8-7-15 +7
B. Willsie 4-3-7 +8
M. Pettinger 3-3-6 +4
T. Whitfield 3-2-5 +3

Defense
The defense is still the Achilles Heel of this team and their play in the last 10 games has not changed anybody's view on this. Lacking a mean streak and lousy at blocking and deflecting shots, this defensive unit survives through stickwork and sound positioning. The only thing preventing the defense from receiving a falling grade is their excellent offensive contribution and the quickness of their first pass which gives so many breakaways for the forwards.

The new first unit formed of Shaone Morrisonn and Brendan Witt which was formed after 20 games ago has not provided the expected return. While Witt has played his usual game, Morrisonn has struggled with the added icetime and responsabilities, gathering only 3 points in the last 10 games and ending up with a -2 rating.

The 2nd defensive unit of Steve Eminger and Josef Boumedienne is starting to gel and there transition game makes them very effective even though it is difficult to see them being able to duplicate those results as a first unit.

The 3rd unit of Jonathan Girard & Mathieu Biron continues to impress and is seeing more icetime. In the last ten games, Girard racked up 7 points while finishing with a +9 rating while Biron had 5 points and a +11 rating.

Olaf Kolzig is playing his usual acrobatic game and does not seem to mind the heavy workload given to him, especially as he played all the last 10 games and continued to lower his GAA.

The only trade made so far since the beginning of the season was to send backup goaltender Brent Johnson to Chicago for Mark Bell. With the play of Kolzig and the emergence of Maxime Ouellet in the AHL, Washington's management felt confident they could get rid of Johnson to acquire some more firepower and toughness, elements solely needed to advance in the playoffs.

J. Girard 4-21-25 +22
M. Biron 1-19-20 +27
S. Morrisonn 5-13-18 +8
S. Eminger 2-15-17 +9
J. Boumedienne 3-14-17 +12
B. Witt 1-6-7 +10

O. Kolzig 21-11 3.74 1925mins
B. Johnson 4-2 3.43 560mins
M. Ouellet 0-0 0.00 0mins

Recommendations and Changes

At the beginning of the year, the team expected to battle for one of the last few playoff spots and to go through growing pains as the rookies adapted to the pace of the NHL but the team has played way over those expectations and management must now change its philosophy and focus on providing the coaching staff with the tools required to advance deep in the playoffs.

The coaching staff can hardly complain about offensive production and the forward lines seem set except for the arrival of Mark Bell whose play so far warrant work on one of the first two lines. The defense needs to shore up its play or personnel changes will be required as such a unit will not last long once the playoffs come along.

The team management does not want to wait until the trading deadline to improve the team and plan to actively monitor the trade market in the following days & weeks to shore up the defense and get the team ready for a long run in the playoffs.

[Lostkiwi]

Blockbuster trade!

24 hours after holding a press conference reviewing the first half of the season and announcing that the team's goal was not to make the playoffs anymore but to advance deep into them, Washington Capitals GM ALeX pulled the trigger on a blockbuster deal to fill the two aspects he highlighted yesterday as weaknesses of his team: defense and toughness.

To fill those weaknesses, the Caps acquired Scott Hannan (40gp 4g 4a +0), Dan LaCouture (played in AHL) and Milan Michalek (40gp 5g 9a +1) from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for sniper Dainius Zubrus (41gp 20g 7a +8), Shaone Morrisonn (41gp 5g 13a +8) & Brian Willsie (40gp 4g 3a +8). Washington also sent its 5th & 6th draft choices to San Jose while the Sharks sent their 2nd rounder to Washington to complete the deal.

Discussing the deal after the announcement, ALeX had this to say about his new players:

"Scott Hannan will shore up our defense immensely and allow us to rest Brendan Witt more. He also brings a mean streak that we hope will be contageous and it gives us a more balanced defense in general as we now have Eminger, Girard & Boumedienne as offensive defensivemen while Hannan, Witt & Biron are more of the stay-at-home type. It allows us to mix & match much better"

"When you give up someone of the talent of Dainius Zubrus, it leaves a big hole in your offense and we think that Michalek can, as he develops with time, fill out that void and give us 30-40 goals a year. Trading Zubrus also frees up some salary for us and will give a chance to Mark Bell to play more of a role in the offense this year.

Dan LaCouture is one of the toughest guy in the league and we felt that our team got roughed up a bit certain nights so adding Dan, a player who will not let anybody intimidate his teammates was a big plus for us."

Discussing the 3 players he sent to the West Coast, ALeX provided the following comments:

"Dainius Zubrus is a premier offensive talent in this league and I'm very sad to see him leave. I really liked the combination of his speed and quick shot with the relentless stick work of Brad Boyes & Patrice Bergeron... but when you want to acquire someone like Scott Hannan, you need to give talent in return and we felt that our offense was strong enough to be able to perform without Dainius.

Shaone Morrisonn is a very talented young man and I'm sure he will develop into a great offensive defenseman in San Jose but for us, he did not bring enough of a physical presence and we simply could not wait for him to develop, we want to win right now.

Brad Willsie is a very useful player but we expected much more than 4th line work from him. I wish him the best and hope a chance of scenery will help him rediscover his offensive talent."

With all the changed happening recently, the Capitals coach provided a new depth chart with the new lines that will be formed for the next game at Dallas.

Ovechkin Crosby Gordon
Bell Aulin Bergeron
Michalek Halpern Clark
Pettinger Whitfield LaCouture

Hannan Eminger
Witt Boumedienne
Girard Biron

In 2-3 weeks, Brad Boyes should be healed from his dislocated shoulder and then a tough decision will need to be made: will Jared Aulin be sent back to 4th line duty even with his 15 goals already or will he end up on the checking line while Chris Clark is sent to the 4th line. Such a checking line with Halpern centering Michalek and Aulin would be very speedy but quite lacking in toughness and strength.

[Lostkiwi]

Halpern and new faces sink texans

Jeff Halpern did not lose time showing how pivotal a role he plays on a young Capitals team by scoring two goals in his first game back following injury. Newly acquired Scott Hannan and Milan Michalek also scored in their first game with their new team, suddenly making Caps GM ALeX look like a genius and forcing numerous detractors to quiet their negative comments on his recent trade.

Miettinen opened the score for Dallas at 9:58 of the first before Jeff Halpern scored to send the two teams to their locker on a tie. The 2nd period saw little space on the ice and only 9 shots total and the only goal came with only 2 secs left in the period when Mikael Tjarnqvist scored on a beautiful pass from Martin Skoula.

The 3rd period saw the two teams open up the play following Sidney Crosby's goal with less than 30secs after the 3rd started. Bill Guerin scored at 9:31 to give his team another 1 goal lead before Milan Michalek stole the puck from Modano and went flying down the left wing and easily beating Nabokov, Dallas new #1 goaltender following a swap of goaltenders as Turco was sent to San Jose, on a breakaway. Kris D****r scored 3 mins later by deflecting a shot pass Maxime Ouellet but Jeff Halpern played the hero with his 2nd of the night scored shorthanded at 18:34, sending the teams to overtime.

After a quiet overtime period, the teams sent their best players on the ice for a shootout. However, the goaltenders shined through as Nabokov & Ouellet each stopped the first 7 shooters they faced before Scott Hannan sent a wrist shot pass the Stars goalie's blocker to win the game for the visiting Capitals.

Playing his first game since being called-up, Maxime Ouellet was up to the task, stopping the Stars in regulation and especially shining during the shootout where he was perfect against 7 Stars shooters.

Washington will get no rest following their 2nd shootout win in a row and will travel tonight to Los Angeles before facing the Anaheim Mighty Ducks tomorrow night.

[Lostkiwi]

Ovechkin scores in OT

Facing the Anaheim Mighty Ducks for the first time of the season, the Washington Capitals needed all their offensive weapons to win and it took the concerted efforts of Ovechkin and Crosby in overtime to grab the 2pts.

Mark Bell scored the first goal on a deflected shot at 7:43 in what was otherwise a tight defensive first period. Things opened in the 2nd as Murray and Moen scored for Anaheim while Jared Aulin continued to provide unexpected offensive contribution with his 16th of the year to bring the score to 2-2.

No goal were scored in the 3rd period and we had to wait until the 4h minute of overtime to see the winning goal when Sidney Crosby, moving through the offensive zone on the right wing sent a perfect pass through two defenders directly on Ovechkin's stick who one-timed it past Giguere for his 7th game winning goal of the year.

Steve Eminger suffered a torn muscle in his left forearm in the 3rd period of the game and the medical staff expect him to miss 10 to 14 days. Bryan Muir will be brought back from the pressbox in the meanwhile.

The 28-9-6 Capitals will now continue their roadtrip to Phoenix and face the 23-17-4 Coyotes on Monday night.

[Mmm_Oxycontin]

This is sweet.
Really enjoyed reading it. I may have to start my own up.
Not too thrilled about Crosby playing on the Caps, but it's all good. ;)

[Lostkiwi]

Crosby leads the way in 4-2 win against Coyotes
Facing an hungry Phoenix team, the Washington Capitals relied on their first offensive line tonight to come out on top as Sidney Crosby scored twice and his right winger Boyd Gordon added a goal of his own.

The first line of the Capitals was exciting to watch tonight as they flew down the ice and used their bodies effectively to keep possession of the puck and constantly threaten the cage of Curtis Joseph.

The game did not start well for the visitors as Ladislav Nagy scored after only 41 seconds of play following a strong effort from the Coyotes first line who prevented the Capitals defense to clear their zone 3 times within 30 seconds.

Crosby however brought back the excited crowd to a quieter level by tying the scored at the mid mark of the first period on a pass from Mathieu Biron.

Washington dominated the 2nd period as Crosby scored his 2nd of the night and Patrice Bergeron added his 26th of the year to give the Caps a two goal lead after 40mins.

Boyd Gordon scored at the 3:07 mark of the 3rd which sent many Coyotes fans to the exits. Mike LeClerc scored at 17:18 to bring the score to 4-2 but it was too late for the troops of Wayne Gretzky.

The 29-9-6 Capitals will not fly back home to face the 21-22-1 Saint Louis Blues on a Thursday night matchup which should see the 2nd game of the year for goaltender Maxime Ouellet

[Lostkiwi]

Toughness sinks the Capitals

One of the weak aspects of his team that GM ALeX mentioned during the mid-season evaluation was the lack of toughness of his Capitals team and that weakness was glaring tonight as the Capitals lost 5-3 to a physically strong Blues team.

Playing in his 2nd game of the year, Maxime Ouellet had a rough night allowing 5 goals on only 23 shots and appeared nervous and lost at many moments during the game.

The visiting St Louis Blues came out strong and hard, scoring twice in the first 10 minutes and completely dominating the play with a strong forechecking and relentless neutral zone pursuit. Barret Jackman with 2 goals, Eric Bogunecki with a goal and an assist and two assists from Keith Tkachuk provided all the offensive the Blues needed to dominate the Capitals.

In the defeat, Milan Michalek, Sidney Crosby & Jared Aulin scored. The 2nd line of Aulin, Bergeron & Bell had a difficult night finishing -2.

Steve Eminger who was sidelined recently should be ready to play on Saturday to play against the recently hot Carolina Hurricanes, giving the Capitals the first chance to dress their 6 main defensemen for the first time in over a month.

[Lostkiwi]

Red hot Hurricanes too much for Capitals

Starting the game on a five game winning streak, the Carolina Hurricanes played a relentless game that allowed them to come out on top by one goal in a contest at the MCI Center tonight.

The Hurricanes were able to survive the night even though their first line (Vrbata, Brind'Amour & Stillman) had a difficult night and ended up -3 with no points. The second line of Eric Cole, Josef Vasicek & Donald Audette provided alot of energy and firepower as Cole scored twice and Audette added a goal and an assist in the victory.

For the defeated, Sidney Crosby was kept off the scoresheet but his linemate Alex Ovechkin scored his first goal in 5 games while Jared Aulin, Trent Whitfield & Mark Bell continued to provide scoring help in the absence of Brad Boyes and the recent departure of Dainius Zubrus.

With their loss tonight and the Maple Leafs win over Ottawa, Washington & Toronto are now tied with 64 points on top of the Eastern Conference Standings. The Capitals will now face the bottom dwelling Boston Bruins on Tuesday in the first of two games within a week.

[Lostkiwi]

Murray saves the Bruins

Facing a team in disarray, the Washington Capitals did not expect such an effort from the Bruins and their lack of effort saw them come short in a tight game at the MCI Center.

The first period saw exciting play from both sides and the leading scorers for each team (Crosby & Samsonov) showed their skills to send the two teams tied 1-1 after 20 mins played.

Jared Aulin & Brad Isbister scored in the 2nd period, an engagement characterized by thundering bodychecks and tight defensive play.

The 3rd saw the best action as the ice opened up and a sense of urgency was felt by both team. Mathieu Biron scored on a penalty shot at 1:01 of the period due to a hook from behind after an awful defensive change from the Bruins coach. Seigei Samsonov had not said his last word and scored his 2nd of the night 3 minutes later to tie the score 3-3.

Alexander Ovechkin then scored on a beautiful play from Boumedienne at 10:45 to give his team another one goal lead. Glen Murray however did not seem ready to go home yet and he scored the tying goal at 18:27 to force an overtime period.

There were little scoring chances during the overtime period and a shootout was needed to determine the winner.

Samsonov was the first to go and his weak wrist shot was easily blocked by Kolzig. Patrice Bergeron then tried to sink in his old team but his shot went wide. Joe Thornton was next and completely fooled Kolzig with a backhanded feint to send his team ahead. Ovechkin was then pokechecked by Raycroft before Glen Murray scored to give the win to his team.

On a 3 game losing skid, the 29-11-7 Washington Capitals will now face the 27-15-7 Pittsburgh Penguins, themselves having lost 2 in a row.

[Lostkiwi]

Crosby sends Caps past Pens

Facing the team that drafted him last summer then traded him during preseason, Sidney Crosby showed the Pittsburgh brass how big of a mistake that move was by scoring the winning goal in the 3rd period.

The game started very well for the Caps as they completely dominated the first period, building their lead to 2-0 on goals from Michalek & Gordon.

The 2nd period saw a reversal of fortunes as the Penguins came out strong and tied the score on goals from John LeClair & Ziggy Palffy while keeping the Caps off the scoresheet.

The 3rd period was a tightly played affair until Mathieu Biron skated up from the neutral ice, dragging the Pens defenseman with him before sending a perfect pass across the ice where Sidney Crosby was.

Olaf Kolzig had a good night allowing only 2 goals on 32 shots on goal.

The Capitals will now travel to Boston to face the Boston Bruins.

[Lostkiwi]

Ouellet stumbles, Caps lose 6-3

In a game where the Bruins first line dominated, Maxime Ouellet once again looked overmatched and gave up 6 goals in the loss.

After a first game since his call-up where he played great and gave up only 2 goals, Maxime Ouellet has struggled in his last two starts, both losses in which he did not look up to speed to face NHLers. The first line of Ovechkin, Crosby & Gordon also struggled tonight even though Crosby added his 45th of the year as all 3 ended up the night -3 while being limited to a total of 6 shots on goal.

A couple of bright spots were however visible in the losing cause as Mathieu Biron continued his great play by adding 2 assists to his total and Jeff Halpern scored shorthanded once again.

Boston's first line of Samsonov, Thornton & Murray did most of the damage tonight as they racked up 4 goals and 9 total points while bombarding the young Caps goaltender with 16 shots.

The 30-12-7 Capitals will now return home and face divisional rival Tampa Bay on a Sunday afternoon game.

[Lostkiwi]

Tampa can't handle those Capitals

The Stanley Cup champions looked weak and disorganized tonight and the Capitals took advantage to win the game 6-3.

Sidney Crosby scored twice for the winners and Hannan, Aulin, Whitfield and Gordon also scored while Mathieu Biron added 3 assists for a total of 8 points in 3 games for the big defenseman from Quebec.

Josef Boumedienne and Brendan Witt however had a difficult night and ended up -3 while the checking line of Michalek, Halpern and Clark who was watching Prospal, Richards and Andreychuk tonight also struggled, finishing -2.

In the losing cause, Prospal shone with 2 goals and relentless forechecking.

Playing his 2nd game in a row after a bad defeat against Boston in which he gave 6 goals, Maxime Ouellet looked a bit better tonight but still gave up 3 goals on only 23 shots.

To end the month of January, the 31-12-7 Capitals will travel to Long Island and face the 27-17-6 Islanders on a Tuesday matchup.

[Lostkiwi]

One more win for January

In their last game of the month, the Washington Capitals played an almost textbook game and easily won their 10th game of the month by the mark of 5-2 versus the New York Islanders.

Milan Michalek scored twice while linemates Crosby and Gordon each racked one goal and an assist in a quick game played at a very fast pace.

Back in goal after a 2 game rest, Olaf Kolzig showed his skills by allowing only 2 goals on 34 shots.

For the Islanders, the defensive duo of Zhitnik and Sopel struggled and ended up -3 for the night.

The Capitals will now face their closest pursuer in the quest for first place in the Eastern Conference as the Maple Leafs will be in town on Friday.

[gordon24548]

so haw many goals does crosby and ovechkin have on the season and how many games were played

[vietnamron]

this is really really well-done. a very good read, for sure. i think i'm gonna steal that 10-game evaluation idea for myself....really good idea there.

[th1tmrplyr]

Lastnight I was playing against the Maple Leafs and something go into me lastnight. I usually suck and I beat them 10 to 4...I dont know...Probably wont get that much luck tonight.