Of course, in that game, Boudreau stalked the bench, so I guess he’d be the guy to say whether he’s called to play.

As for hockey, I agree that Erskine is not much useful at all. His bout was pretty much all misses but both combatants. And his hockey skill… well, let’s just say I think he, like Simon and Witt, has fallen victim to Sampson Syndrome. He played pretty well last season, but has not looked good at all this year.
I ask “How is it Erskine can make the line-up, and Clymer cannot?” People have replied “But Clymer is a forward not a defenseman.” My response is “He’s been a defenseman before, not a bad one, and even on his off days is better than Erskine.”
But I guess GMGM has completely written off this player with a ring altogether? Did Boudreax see nothing he liked out of Clymer when they were together in Hershey for the past couple months?

Yeah, 2 of every 3. Tall order indeed.

And my nomination to name Alex’s power move is Ovied, as in, “Ovechkin skates in from the wing, splits the defense…he shoots! Save by Miller but a big rebound back to Ovechkin…shoots again and Ovies the puck past Miller!” Note this would also apply to The Goal, but be sure to mention he was on his back when he made the shot.

(Uh…please note it’s a verb.)

You ask an excellent question, which unfortunately doesn’t have an easy answer. Certainly multi-use venues like Verizon Center are at a disadvantage in terms of general ice quality simply because the conditions therein change so regularly and quite often so dramatically. NHL arenas such as those found in Edmonton and Calgary and Vancouver, which do not share their environs with NBA and college basketball tenants, can ensure greater consistency of conditions, which indisputably helps with ice quality. It is also true that colder climates make for easier maintenance of quality ice. But ice’s real killer is humidity as opposed to simple air temperature. And we in D.C. know all too well about our humidity plague.

Still, we haven’t seen anything approaching the anxiety and, frankly, outrage associated with the quality of the Caps’ ice in years past quite like we have with this season. Something novel and pernicious has taken hold. We’re eager to find out more about its genesis and what Caps’ management is able and willing to do to improve things.