Su Blog Frozen

Probabilmente la squadra non ha ritenuto abbastanza cos� il � � del close� all'estremit� del secondo � � venerd� del period�. Asked if he’d delivered a message of motivation of any sort during the intermission, with his team’s season hanging in its competitive balance by a worn skate lace, Boudreau yesterday said, “I said a word or two.”

Care to share that word, or two, coach?

“No,” he replied with a smile.   

The surging Caps are 7-3 in their last 10 games, and 9-4 since the deadline day deals that delivered Sergei Fedorov, Cristobal Huet, and Matt Cooke. They appreciate the three-day break they’re immersed in now, as they’ve bumps and bruises and travel fatigue aplenty, but they also can’t wait to get down to Raleigh for Tuesday night’s next “biggest game of the year.”

Saturday’s was an optional skate, and coming off three tough road games, and with Sunday being declared a day off, a good many Capitals could have enjoyed a pleasant two full days off. Instead, 19 dressed for the 11:00 a.m. session, including all three goalies. Alexander Ovechkin (nearly 26 minutes of ice time Friday) and Sergei Fedorov took the morning off, as did the injured Donald Brashear, Dave Steckel, and John Erskine. Chris Clark skated by himself prior to the practice session and then went in for treatment.

Out on the ice there were smiling skaters but also some hard drills and a general seriousness of purpose. Even with three days off before resuming the second of Boudreau’s “two road trips,” it was all business. Afterward in the dressing room, Matt Bradley and Brooks Laich and Shaone Morrisonn were quick to shift the focus of their comments away from the feats of 14 hours earlier and toward next Tuesday in Raleigh. The team has had the game “circled” on its calendar for quite some while. Their last visit to Carolina included four power play goals surrendered in a 6-3 wipeout — a loss that moreso than any other in 2008 may have motivated management to make the moves it made three days later.        

A small band of reporters Saturday asked Boudreau if he was satisfied with the points results from road trip no. 1. He was, and he intimated that, while the Caps certainly want to win all three road games ahead, a comparable performance in the week ahead would be dandy. Success this past week was assured in large part because the Caps won the opening toughie in Nashville. 

“Tuesday is huge in the standings, but it’s also huge for momentum” for the rest of the trip, Brooks Laich said, speaking in a unified voice for a surging hockey team.  

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