Knee-jerks: vs. Boston, 11/15/06
By pucksandbooks
16 November, 2006
- Phil Kessel showed his considerable talent in scoring his goal. That shot was unstoppable.
- It was the kind of game where the Caps just seemed out of sorts – Morrisonn losing an edge to give Tenkrat an excellent scoring opportunity, Erksine and Eminger losing their edges on the same shift in the third, the Caps, and Ovechkin in particular, not seeming to be able to keep a handle on the puck, missed keeps on the blue-line, just a lot of little things that went wrong.
- That said, with all the little things that did go wrong, they got a point out of the game. Boston hasn’t been a juggernaut this season, but I’m not sure that they are as bad as is generally assumed (especially considering their league-lowest 15 games played). Coming back from a 2-0 deficit was nice — the Caps’ next step is not being in a 2-0 hole to begin with.
- More Pettinger props. It’s hard not to like what he brings to the table: grit, defense, speed, and scoring. As somebody who was previously willing to use Pettinger as a trade asset, I’m seriously re-thinking that position. Zednik may need to get used to the fourth line when he heals up.
- Steve Eminger has been playing better of late, especially defensively. If he continues this improvement, it’s a big plus for the Caps.
- Semin had an up-and-down game. Some amazing moves in the B’s zone, but some bad keeps at the blueline, and the penalty he drew looked like a dive to me.
- Brian Sutherby continued to show some improvement in the offensive end, though he didn’t get on the scoresheet. He had a nice drive to the cage to draw a penalty, and maybe that’s the change he has made in his game — going to the net more often.
- Random TV note — the camerawork for the game in the third period was . . . well, it wasn’t good. And was more than a little frustrating.
- Tim Thomas didn’t look like a struggling goalie out there.
- The Caps’ shootout woes continue.
- Programming note for DC-area DirecTV subscribers: I was able to watch the NewsChannel 8 game last night on channel 659, which, I’m told, is one of three slots that is set aside for regional sports networks. Make sure to check it out the next time a game is shown on NewsChannel 8.
- Gotta wonder how big Fay’s smile was as he pointed out Semin’s goal-scoring slump. I’d imagine it was quite large.
2 Comments
So I was in town for this game and had a Section 110 Row L (perhaps the best location IMO) ticket to witness this exciting, and frustating, game.
Two points:
1. Semin. He got pounded, punched, and knocked around frequently during the first two periods, including behind plays when no one was looking. Not really penalties in most cases, but things that can really frustrate a kid, and lead him to *perhaps* take a dive later on. (I won’t admit it was a dive.) Semin needs to be protected to a greater extent as much as he needs to stand up for himself. Some good signs – he threw a few good hits in the second, as I recall. I don’t know if the Beech/Klepis center controversy (am I the only one that sees this as a controversy?) is responsible, but Alex 2.0 needs to score soon, if only for his development.
2. Erskine. The man brought it last night. Rock solid on most every shift – though he wore down in the third, as did many on the team. He positioned well and won a lot of puck battles and, importantly, if he lost the first confrontation he followed the play and made up for it on a second effort.
Related to my Beech/Klepis comment in point 1, Klepis showed some masterful work with puck handling in serious traffic in front of the B’s net during one shift in the later stages of the game, I can’t remember when (curse you second Absolut & tonic!).
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