Dan, diep in het derde, terwijl in de vouw achter Molenaar Ryan, hij overal puckà ‚  maar in netto, van een reactie van een schot van Alexander Semin manoeuvreerde. You might not see such ill-timed infamy again the rest of the season. After the game, Boudreau told the press that had the Caps gotten that second goal, he felt the momentum achieved from it would have willed them to a tying goal. 
  • Viktor Kozlov: an enigma wrapped in a mystery. So much skill, so much size, so much sizzle accompanied by too much fizzle. His numbers this season aren’t bad at all, but you consider what’s in his toolbox, and you’re left puzzled by the frequency with which he authors impact-free shifts.

    • Now more than a quarter of the way through the season, the Caps have four players in double digits in scoring. The Montreal Canadiens, picked by no small number of forecasters to finish outside the Eastern conference’s top eight but currently fifth, have nine players in double digits in scoring. Such balance is difficult to defend.   

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    Posted at 12:02 am. Filed under Buffalo Sabres, Eastern Conference, Knee-Jerk, Michael Nylander, Mike Vogel, Tom Poti, Washington Capitals.
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    16 Comments

    1. steph wrote:

      I haven’t been a hockey fan for as long as some of you, so a question - what makes “bad ice”? How do they fix it?

      Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 7:51 am | Permalink
    2. pucksandbooks wrote:

      Steph,

      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.

      Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 8:12 am | Permalink
    3. Victor wrote:

      Steph, bad ice is soft ice–ice that is, for all practical purposes, melting. The puck bounces a lot and skaters lose their edge and start falling all over the place. I don’t know if there’s really a way to fix it, what with a dual-use arena (for basketball games sheets of plywood are placed over the ice before the basketball court is laid down) and the relatively high ambient temps the DC area has been experiencing lately.

      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.)

      Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 8:15 am | Permalink
    4. TG wrote:

      You were too kind to Erskine. The first goal was completely his fault (went the wrong way around the goal towards the guy with the puck), and he just looked awful. The past two games, I’ve always noticed when he’s been on the ice, and the only way I “notice” the defensemen is when they make a mistake.

      Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 8:29 am | Permalink
    5. pgreene wrote:

      i don’t understand why they can’t just dehumidify the everloving crap out of the building. that, and crank the thermostat down a few notches, ought to firm things up a little bit.

      Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 9:20 am | Permalink
    6. hockeygrl76 wrote:

      I think Green is looking awesome! I wasn’t too sure about him at first but he has definately proved himself this year! Ovie is brilliant as always but I was hugely disappointed with the turnovers. That sucked. The energy made the game fun again though so I guess we can’t complain too much. It’ll be interesting to see what BB does with the team when he actually gets a chance to practice them!

      Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 9:23 am | Permalink
    7. Novaron wrote:

      Ceryainly they can do better with the ice. Is the ice in Dallas or Atlanta or Raleigh (other somewhat southern dual use facilities) as bad.

      Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 9:27 am | Permalink
    8. B.ORR4 wrote:

      Fixing the ice certainly is not impossibe. Tampa is a lot warmer than DC and they have some of the best ice in the league. Admittedly, they don’t have a pro basketball team, but as you can see in this article they’ve done a lot of work to make the conditions right for maintaining quality ice. Link:
      http://www2.tbo.com/content/2007/nov/26/sp-its-all-about-ice/?sports-lightning

      Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 9:38 am | Permalink
    9. steph wrote:

      Thanks folks! I knew it was the cause of the guys slip sliding away, but didn’t know why - I really appreciate the info. . .

      Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 11:38 am | Permalink
    10. Jordan wrote:

      At least Kozlov was hitting last night. That blew me away.

      Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 12:51 pm | Permalink
    11. pepper wrote:

      With my glass half-full, I could say that if they continue to win 2 of every 3 games, they would earn about 93 points, which might be just enough.

      Yeah, 2 of every 3. Tall order indeed.

      Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 12:58 pm | Permalink
    12. The Deuce wrote:

      A huge part of the problem is that the Verizon Center is really not a “dual-use” arena at all, but a “quadruple-use” arena. The Wizards, Hoyas, Terps, Mystics, and Caps all share the place.” That means less time for ice maintenance and more time spent hurrying everything together just to make sure the rink is up in time for the game. There was a Post article about this last year, I think. Edmonton has the best ice in the NHL because a) They are the whole show — no sharing; b) It’s brutally cold during hockey season, and there is little humidity; and c) they worship hockey and have nothing else to do. I can just imagine their “ice-master” making out with a freshly made sheet of ice first thing in the morning. Now how do you compete with that?!

      Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 2:42 pm | Permalink
    13. Grooven wrote:

      While you’re talking basketball floors, don’t forget concerts like Bruce Springsteen at VC. Where do you think the floor seats are?
      Ice quality is a hazard of living in a cosmopolitan city. Not to be blunt but… what else is there to do in Edmonton? Here there are all kinds of demands for a pretty good space.

      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?

      Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 4:50 pm | Permalink
    14. MulletMan wrote:

      BB could only request to have Clymer brought up to the team. It’s GMGM’s job to move personnel around and it’s the coaches job to utilize the personnel given to him to make the daily roster.

      Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 7:14 pm | Permalink
    15. pepper wrote:

      I saw Clymer play in Bridgeport a month ago and he was an angry wasp waiting to bust out, aside from being a guy with an above-AHL skill set.

      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.

      Wednesday, November 28, 2007 at 12:02 am | Permalink
    16. DL wrote:

      The Ovechkin power move should be called “Overdrive” or “OVdrive.” It’s self explanatory, I think.

      Wednesday, November 28, 2007 at 7:39 pm | Permalink

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