Washington Capitals coach Glen Hanlon was a guest on The Power Play with Jim Tatti and Gary Green (on XM 204). In the five-minute interview Hanlon discusses key injuries, the effect those injuries have had on line combinations and goal scoring, Alex Ovechkin's defensive improvements, and other tidbits. Check out the audio here.

What struck me most about the interview is that Hanlon's line combination plans seemed set well in advance barring any unforseen chemistry issues. Hanlon admits that injuries are part of the game . . . yet it seems that the lines had no real backup plan in place to address the inevitiable injuries every team must face.

Losing a top scorer like Alexander Semin, or a hard-nosed leader like Chris Clark, has no easy fix. But one hopes that camp, preseason, and practices suggested other potentially successful line combinations that could be slotted into place when the injury bug hit--rather than the "random line juggling while crossing one's fingers" that seems in place now. Admittedly it's a brief interview and thus subject to fill-in-the-blanks syndrome, but the impression of a lack of contingency planning was a bit disheartening to this listener.

Hockey Confidential: Olaf Kolzig

Mon, 11/19 | 11PM ET

NHL Home Ice - XM 204 proudly presents Hockey Confidential with Washington Capitals goaltender Olaf Kolzig. Join Hockey This Morning host Scott Laughlin as he goes post to post with Olie the Goalie, in front of our live Hockey Confidential studio audience. This is an hour of honest insight from one of the NHL's greatest ambassadors, a true star of the game, and a tireless worker for Athletes For Autism.

Encores:
Tue, 11/20 8PM | Tue, 11/20 8PM | Wed, 11/21 7PM | Fri, 11/23 3PM | Sat, 11/24 9AM | Sun, 11/25 2AM, 3AM, 5PM