On Frozen Blog

Well, at least it wasn’t a blow-out. More than a few observers were worried about a lop-sided result when the ice-cold Caps traveled to Mellon Arena to face the red-hot Pens, but it turned out to be a defensive contest. The two young phenoms were both held off the scoresheet, and Pittsburgh’s two other forward up-and-comers only registered a point on an empty-net goal.

• Marc-Andre Fleury had a good game, and was particularly good at eliminating rebounds on longer shots. It seemed that if he had a good look at the shot, he’d just gobble it up, presenting no second opportunity for the Caps.
• Glen Hanlon seemed to move Alexander Semin off the power-play point late in the game, and I’m going to have to throw my support behind that adjustment. Echoing thoughts that others have put forward, the Caps’ lack of power-play defenseman really puts the power-play at a disadvantage.
• Alexander Semin and Mike Green both had very up-and-down games. I wasn’t pleased with Semin’s effort, but he did have some interesting forays around the Pittsburgh net. Green was alternately awful and brilliant — some very silly mistakes, followed by moments of real proficiency. (His end-to-end rush, for example)
• In what was a goal-tending duel, it was a stoppable shot from Petrovicky that sealed the deal. Kolzig didn’t have a bad game — heck, he was quite good at points — but the weak wrister getting by is not the goal you want to lose on.
• Milan Jurcina? Well, his first game as a Caps was a success, in my estimation. He had a nice poke-check of Crosby, used his body, and had a few blocked shots and pass deflections. Most heartening to hear was his assertion that the Caps’ coaching staff wanted him to be more physical. That works for me.
• Eric Fehr had another good game (his backwards shot scoring chance from an Ovechkin pass was pretty to watch), and I would seriously consider keeping him with the big club the rest of the season. He gets physically involved, he back-checks, and does a lot of the little things you’d like to see a younger player do. I’m a fan.
• Alex Ovechkin was off the scoresheet, and not much of an offensive factor, but he player as physically as we’re seen him do all season. He clobbered Talbot without really trying, and player the body aggressively all day. It was a nice thing to see.

All of the good and bad said, the biggest takeaway we get from today’s game is that Caps fans everywhere are sighing in relief, as their favorite team didn’t get blown out. Following that thought, it’s darn worrisome when not getting blown out is considered a moral victory. It may be time for us to start brushing up on the upcoming draft lottery, and not worrying about playoff seeding.