I förmiddag inte en som trafikerar mycket i kontorsangelägenheterna av stjärnaidrottsman nenar, åtminstone inte, i publicerat danar, men med lokalmassmedia över - bästa täckning i dag av Alexs utländska ingenue, där var för mig en obetydlig avkänning av den ljusa och välkommna förvirringen från dag-i, avrinningen för dagen-ut av lagets eftersäsongjakten. En annan realitetsnurrande på materien: då var sista gång, sågar du Washington postar taken flytta sig mycket långsamt värd av intresserar i de romantiska spring av den lock' spelare?
Med en seger ikväll ska locken jämlike överskrid slutsumman numrerar av segrar för 2006-07. De kan också gå tre lekar över .500 för den första tiden efter. . . säsong lekarna för öppning tre.
Med stor kraftfull förkroppsligar Andy Sutton, och Brendan Witt lineup ut ur för islesna' ikväll, går den att intressera för att se vilket sätt av förtjäna-krascha Bruce Boudreau frågar hans spelare att företa sig. Den predatory naturen av NHL-lag är kanske bäst som illustreras i ett läge liksom ikväll mellan locken och islesna. Tidigare today gick locken två barn och oerfarna spelare tillbaka till Hershey, Eric Fehr och Sami Lepisto. Med ikvällen som är lagets enda lek av veckan för lördag, verkar Boudreau att önska backlinesårbarhet att exploatera för islesna' med en mer veteranlineup.
Trettio noterar för faceoff, bluelinen för islesna som' ska ikväll som synes, består av: Radek Martinek - Freddie Meyer; Marc-Andre Bergeron - Bryan Berard; och Aaron Johnson - drog Fata (Rico förhållande, ja). Det kan mycket oerfaren final två bli partner med med mer veteranblueliners, eller lagledaren Ted som Nolan kan upp till allvarligt begränsa deras, noterar och försök och går med rättvisa två försvarpairings så länge som möjligheten.
Vi är inom en vecka av NHL-handelstopptiden. Att handla eller att inte handla, om du är GMGM? Det är en ifrågasätta som jag ska försök och förlägger för några scribes upp kick under mellanakterna.
Nolans para för öppning D: Martinek och Meyer.
2:17 i: Sniping Semin tänder lampan på en brytning, av en fin head-manmatning från Matt Pettinger. 1-0 hem- lag.
Milan Jurcina’s struggles this season — he’s been wildly inconsistent from week to week, offering physically dominating performances one night and inexplicably mistake-prone ones following — I think need to be corrected if the team is to do anything more than make a ceremonial postseason performance.
13:37: Brooks Laich it appears to earn a tip-in power play tally off a Mike Green point wrister. Olie is announced with a secondary assist! 2-0 Caps, and while the shots are 7-6 in favor of the Isles, in all other respects this appears to be a game that the caps ought to win comfortably. This blogger can’t remember the last game the Caps won comfortably.
2-0 Caps after one.
Way back in the preseason, when there seemed a number of difficult opening night roster decisions for Glen Hanlon and George McPhee to make, I was discussing Brooks Laich with Mike Vogel. Brooks, it didn’t appear to me, was having a particularly strong training camp. I told Mike that I thought Brooks might have a tough time of it amid all the young third line talent in camp. On the right side, the Caps had signed Viktor Kozlov, Chris Clark was coming off a 30-goal campaign, Matt Bradley was in his prime, and Tomas Fleischmann was having a great camp. In the middle, the Caps acquired Michael Nylander, Nicklas Backstrom was a roster given, and then you had fierce competiton among Boyd Gordon, Dave Steckel, and Laich. But Vogel possesses an uncanny eye for seeing the full value of a player’s toolbox, and seeing him slotted just where he ought to be when cut times come, and he wagered me an O’douls that Laich would emerge a roster spot winner and play an important role for the Caps this season.
It’s strange now to see the juxtaposition between Laich and Matt Pettinger this season as it’s unfolded. Pettinger had a first-period assist, but the season’s been an unmitigated disaster for the one-time 20-goal scorer (and on a weak Caps’ club), and his future here (beyond next Tuesday?) is difficult to imagine. Not so much with Laich.
Ted Nolan played his six defensemen rather equally in the first. Martinek and meyer were over seven minutes each, but Aaron Johnson was just a hair under six, and Fata was over six.
Kolzig made a superb stop on Bill Guerin, only to see the power winger make a nifty mid-air grab of the rebound and swiftly center it to Miro Satan for a discouraging lead-halving tally. 2-1 Caps.
An injury-riddled Isles outfit is in period two cycling the puck with little resistance in the Caps’ end. The Caps are flat in this middle frame. Ted Nolan with the decision over Bruce Boudreau in the inspiring effects of intermission oratory.
Predicted intermission text message from AO to sweetie: “We need to step it up, Coach BB yelling loudly.”
2-1 Caps after two.
It’s ‘98 Cup run Reunion tonight in the press box. Joining Joe Reekie here are Peter Bondra and Chris Simon. I emailed Kevin Kaminski to tell him about the gathering of a few of his old buddies and he replied, “tell Bonzai I said hello and that I will still protect his *#@.” He also wanted me to ask Bondra about a Slovak on his Youngstown Steelhounds, a Milan Maslonka, who tips the scales at 6 ‘7, 245!
The Islanders have played, to quote the proverbial, the perfect road game. Undermanned, under appreciated, and for all the past two seasons, underrated. I watched them erase a 2-0, third period deficit against the Sharks on Monday afternoon. They’ve done it again tonight. Yes having DiPietro helps, but Ted Nolan also gets effort from all four of his lines. Tonight the Caps’ best line was their fourth. That’s generally not a prescription for success. I can’t confidently say that the Caps would have earned a point tonight without Quintin Laing in the lineup.
Remember that ‘it-oughta-be-an-easy W tonight’ I penned earlier? Promise I won’t utter those words again this season.
We’re three minutes away from shootout lineups being announced. Will Bruce Boudreau choose Viktor Kozlov — so effective in an Isles’ sweater in that exhibition last season — if it comes to it?
Ovechkin clanks another post, virtually willing his team to victory while carrying end-of-shift fatigue and an Islander on his hip.
I’m waiting on the announced shootout lineups.
The Caps will shoot first. Kozlov goes first.
And misses on the backhander.
Richard Park misfired for the Isles.
AO: thwarted by the goalpost — fitting, tonight.
Satan shoots next.
Another poster job!
Semin . . . snuffed!
Five shooters, five goose-eggs.
Comrie . . . goes 5-hole.
3-2 visitors.
A costly point lost.
11 Comments
Looking forward to the in game comments. Watching live stat feed of the game - but not to streaming audio, as my son won out with his request to listen to the Sharks/Devils game.
Good to see the DC MSM take its long overdue interest in what is turning out to be the most talented team among the Washington 4 ….
Any word on Schultz? I saw he was dinged up, but don’t know to what extent (I was in a bar) and I didn’t see him on the ice? Did I miss him, or did he not play in the 2nd?
No word on Schultzie
Smokin’ Al Koken says he played a shift in the 2nd, but that was it. Hopefully its ok.
HEAL SHULTZIE!
Kevin’s a Killer!
Thanks Olie.
I don’t know Ovie has been off the last couple games…is the girlfriend too distracting? All around disappointing game. I don’t understand why we just can’t keep a lead lately!
So Schultz was out? I noticed in the second the Caps seemed to have a short bench.
“…when was the last time you saw the Washington Post take inches worth of interest in the romantic runnings of a Caps’ player?”
May 1990
Ovechkin’s is, as it goes without saying, a lot nicer story.
Yeah last nights point was a heart breaker. Listening on the internet, it ssemed every time after the first period the Captials took a shot, that i heard a “ping”
do you have a link to the article on Ovi?
Post a Comment