In Glacialis Blog

Is eram an suscito nox noctis sursum in press arca archa, ut effectrix pro“Hockey Nox noctis In Canalis” erant interviewing bloggers pro an upcoming segment. (CBCs’ Elliotte Friedman, quisnam quoque writes a blog, did vere questioning.) A Visum ex Vilis Sessio, Off Pennae Sententia, Iocus’ Rink, DC SportsBox,quod Abel ut Yzerman erant totus reddo. segment mos aer procul 630: EDT in Imbuo, Dec. 1 ut secui of pre- venatus ostendo. effectrix quoque certe certo mihi ut is ero available in CBC website.

Usquam, lest nos alieno, illic eram a venatus video vidi visum tonight.

• Vegrandis turba tonight, tamen is est Florida quod a Wednesday.
• Brent Johnson wore a Redskins hat in scamnum tonight. Caps quoque did a vere nice tributum ut Sean Taylor- they pluo nonnullus bonus pes ex suus altus schola quod contraho dies pariter ut suus Redskins tutela. EGO maculosus utique unus Taylor jersey in plebis.
• Tergum- ut- tergum poena combibo, singulariter nocens ones amo “ quoque plures men in ice.” Quod illud poena vulnero vel magis ut adversus team ustulo in unus of lemma.
• amiculum guy, quondam notus ut vexillum quod Slapshot puppet guy, eram remuneror per Permoveo of Venatus.
• Is sanus amo Diapente Versus est in domus tonight, sententia is isnt’ unus of suum persona venatus; is could exsisto humus of Germen fans quisnam diligo Olie, tamen quisnam teneo. humus did satus fluctus.
• Zednik eram interviewed per Florida broadcast team per primoris intermission, scilicet super suus calx obviam suus quondam team. (iustus amo permaneo week.)
• Res Bradley occumbo gloves quod vere stuck is ut Garth Murray. Nice opus per Bradley.
• Eximius offa per Expedio subnecto is procul unus. Narro of Expedio, illic est currently a commercial focused in him proveho tunc domus venatus. In is is profero numerus of vieo hes’ suscipio quod numerus of vicis hes’ been infligo down, tamen is gets sursum. Ut’ quis caput operor. Puteus’ capto stipes a video of is in blog laxus.
• Caps Crew iustus threw burritos in plebis. Utique suus’ a change ex usitas pizza vindico.
• Kolzig est vultus valde acer tonight.
• Ineo exAbel ut Yzerman: “Boyd Gordon? Quis’ a Boyd Gordon?” Memor, is est a Pennae fan. They dont’ teneo quis juvenis est in Detroit. Reprehendo sicco suusblogging of venatus, suus’ per entertaining.
• Semin per a adhaero vultus in insisto per… utique is wasnt’ suus ankle.
• Nylanders’ mollis-dump- fere- verto- calx no meus pectus pectoris skip a pello pepulli pulsum… bet is did vos, quoque.
• renuntio est asleep procul mic tonight; dico Pardus “Penguins,” questus Kozlovs’ numerus nefas (15 instead of 25).
• Pro nonnullus causa, surculus paperwork planto mihi rideo risi risum.
• Qua est Ovechkins’ surculus sicco kryptonite occultus? Quispiam postulo ut reperio a plumbum arca archa pro is.
• Kozlovs’ etiam viaticus in SIC quod Backstroms’ rudimentum eram sic teres.
• Caps es certus ostendo venalicium lenimentus in surculus, ut testimonium per quod they went 11 rotundus, suum secundus- porro surculus utpote November 26, 2005.

Random Notitia:

Aiunt a picture est dignitas mille lacuna. Off Pennae Sententia’ Kate McGovern captus a dico statua of Alex Ovechkin in glacies secundum denique cornu of yesterdays’ damnum ut Florida.

Exsisto certus sisto sicco Kate quod ceterus Off Pennae photographers’ exercitatioOff Pennae Photo.

EGO had three sententia in statim aftermath of permaneo nox noctis’ 2-1 damnum in Sunrise. Unus, titulus of unus of meus ventus cinematic comedies, ‘ ut Bonus ut Is Gets’ — ut titulus, suus syntax, iustus genus sauntered super in meus stipes- damnum caput capitis. Duos, ut illic nam eram an sublimis toxicity ut exsisto instituo in forums of fervidus procul os, quod ut Id’ exspecto 12 vel sic hora pro scanning suum tenor, ut pensilis pro losing hockey venatus est in meus visum quoque districtus a rememdium. Quod three, fan exuberance quod suus obvious shortcomings tamen, interdum dementis men es verevoxin suum rabies.

Absentis a prodigiosus turnaround huic hockey team, qui quibus est impossible ut deprehensio is oriens, odds es ut Caps’ procuratio est iens venire contra animadverto res ultum quantum fanbase has pro super duos weeks iam — quod amo, quinymo nunc. (vindicatum they iam dont.’) Quod mihi invites an interesting question. Nos can totus congruo ut 75 vel 90 sentio of vicis, furca- quod- lampas latrunculus of vapulus down per quoque plures damnum est reactionary quod insensatus in prorsus sterilis formo. Suus’ vetusEGO gotta have a caput capitis in a patella mentality. Suus’ coegi per Ids’ postulo ut erumpo. Tamen ocassionally, iustus ocassionally, subter supter totus sanus quod fervidus, illic est vere dignitas ut suum rabies.

Tamen magis imprimis, quis est is super regnum of fandom ut quondam in a dum affords is a visum ut an vindico iuguolo, dum procuratio, comprised of seasoned professio in industria, dithers quod pestifer profero? Is could forsitan exsisto analogized ut canis erus quisnam dictata suus pup ut veterinarian queribundus of a gut-felt malady in parum guy, tamen reperio haud rememdium. ‘meus parum doggie iustus isnt’ vox’ erus would opinio. vet would probatur, deprehensio haud peius, quod eo ut inspect tunc critter. A tumor quomodo went undetected, per pro nos plurimus nitor ut reperio is. Iterum, novem vicis ex ten, suus’ instituo, quod per sepius immodicus fatigo quod vae needlessly coegi ustulo of bestia diligo ut supervacuus quod carus saluto ut vet. Vero in Lavatio is cado, weve’ a sincerus infirmus pup nomen puck.

Copiose quinque dies is hockey team had paro ipsum pro jugiter underwhelming Florida Pardus, perdo of quattuor rectus venatus. Suus versus eram procul 95 sentio concepta. Suus gubernatio orator is week in record of an imperative of moment. Iterum, quondam puck occumbo, is ludio ludius non penuriosus procul totus tamen non bonus satis ut lucror. Iterum.

Unus could speciosus positus ut Inferus est NHLs’ minimus speciosus divortium, quod Caput is oriens es procul solum of is. Syllogism: Caps es pessimus team in hockey. Unus ut duodeviginti weeks abhinc orator similitudo quod palam super participating in NHL postseason.

fanbase is oriens vires vere scisco of procuratio: iustusquantus testimonium operor vos postulo?

Is oriens illic est mihi a foreboding voluntas of an awful appointment tonight pro Caps, iterum in Florida. EGO testis ultum of quis Vinny did ut primoris- locus ‘ baculus ceterus nox noctis. A Friday nox noctis in Tampa: is aedificium edificium, dissimilis permaneo nox noctis’, ero miles militis sicco. Illic est a team forsitan in vel appositus mortalitas phasmatis labor lapsus obviam a potential susurro. EGO vereor a altus ordo of ugliness. Tunc, subsequens, a quietis weekend of infesto. Iterum.

Tunc, maybe tunc — amo non tamen forsitan — rememdium mos insisto. A vehemens fanbase ero adstringo. A rectus tractus ero insequor. Maybe.

Magis amo, vero, vel in vicis of a miserabilis, additionally phasmatis- fossura evinco is vesper, unus coegi is hockey team porro subter supter Resarcio versus of competitiveness, procuratio mos penso porro. Procul nonnullus cuspis, vero, dare belt of rationalizing lentus mos producto produxi productum haud uber. Tunc is ero mediocris pro fanbase sciscitor of teams’ procuratio, per veneratio ut is weeks’ quinque- dies effrego,Quare did vos exspecto?

Novus solvo procurator pulvis’ tractare penuriosus. tutaminis est ultum amplio, goaltending eximius firmus quod sepius vel melior. Alex est lascivio optimus hockey of suus tutela. Tamen placitum commodum of laxus schedule quod ego- speciosus imperative of victor, optimus is Caps stipes could operor permaneo nox noctis in Sunrise eram lascivio puteus satis perdo ut a lousy stipes. Iterum.

Is est ut bonus ut is gets.

Quis would a manus manus of hockey bloggers careo divinatio pro novus NHL season?

Nos dont’ vindicatum potior aut crystallus ball vel spys’ eyes inside palaestra castra of 29 alius stipes, tamen nos sententia is vires exsisto benevolens ut nostrum lector ut congero a album of offseason ( quod tardus permaneo season) ludio ludius tractus, in a concisus lima, quod have aliquantulus fun vitualamen sursum nullus- quoque-accountable “ pollex Sursum” vel “ pollex Down” forecasts pro totus 30 teams.

Basically, a team meritus a “ pollex sursum” si nos sententia suus manuevering quod maturation innutum ut itd’ amplio super suus 2006-07 cuspis numerus. Stipes ut “ subsisto pat” vel engineered boneheaded volo quod/ vel inedicabilis, altus- terminus solvo procurator farewells erant awarded “ pollex down.”

Sic weve’ dummodo panton “primer” a puckhead could postulo hic.

Praeter beer.

Team	Comings	Iens	Juvenis est Servo	Verdict
	Mathieu Schneider	Selanne quod Neidermeyer ( pro iam?), Pulvis Penner	Bobby Ryan
	Eric Perrin, Ken Klee, Todd Niveus	Scott Mellanby, Crur Hnidy, Glen Metropolit, Keith Tkachuk, Denis Harniis, Eric Belanger,	Bryan Parum(?)
	Glen Metropolit, Aaron Pupillus pupilla, Peter Schaefer	Crur Donovan	Res Ferito (?)
	Jocelyn Thibault	Fere sulum	Dan Paille, Drew Baculus
	Adrian Aucoin, David Vigoratus, Cory Sarich, Owen Nolan	Tony Inter, Jeff Amicus, Romanorum Hamrlik, Brad Stuart, Andrei Zyuzin	Eric Nystrom (?)
	Res Runco	Jack Johnson, Anson Currus, David Tanabe	Nullus	Hmm . . .
	Brent Spoel, Robert Lingua, Sergei Samsanov, Andrei Zyuzin, Yanic Perreault	Michal Manus manus, Adrian Aucoin, Peter Vinculum, Jason Cullimore	Jonathon Toews, Pium Kane, Jack Solers
	Scott Hannan, Ryan Smyth,	Ken Klee, Pierre Turgeon, Ossi Vaananen, Pium Brisebois	Nullus
	Michael Peca, Jiri Novotny	Vepres Boucher, Bryan Berard	Gilbert Brule, Insulto Orichalcum (?)	Hmm . . .
	Todd Fedoruk	Res Barnaby, Jon Klemm, Eric Lindros, Ladislav Nagy, Pium Stefan, Darryl Sydor	Niklas Grossman
	Vepres Rafalski, Dallas Drake	Robert Lingua, Todd Bertuzzi, Kyle Calder, Danny Vestigium, Mathieu Schneider	Igor Grigorenko
	Crusta Acidus, Joni Pitkanen, Pulvis Penner, Denis Grebeshkov, Dick Tarnstrom	Ryan Smyth, Joffrey Lupul, Petr Sykora, Jason Smith	Sam Gagner, Ryan OMarra’ (?)	Hmm . . .
	Uber Zednik, Radek Dvorak, Tomas Vokoun	Ed Belfour, Alex Auld, Bellicus Gelinas, Sarcalogos Memor, Todd Bertuzzi	Nullus
	Brad Stuart, Tom Preissing, Kyle Calder, Michal Manus manus, Ladislav Nagy	Mathieu Garon, Jamie Heward, Tom Kostopoulos, Jamie Lundmark, Aaron Miller	Jonathon Bernier, Jack Johnson
	Eric Belanger, Sean Tumulosus,	Ratio Fernandez, Todd Niveus	Benoit Fomentum (?)	Hmm . . .
	Romanorum Hamrlik, Bryan Smolinski, Tom Kostopoulos	Crusta Acidus, Radek Bonk, Sergei Samsanov, Mike Johnson	Tutela Pretium, Kyle Chipchura, Andrei Kostitsyn
	Bellicus Gelinas, Radek Bonk	Fere sulum	Villa Koistinen, Kevin Klein (?)
	Fastidiosus Zubrus, Vitali Vishnevski, Kevin Weekes, Karel Rachunek	Scott Gomez, Vepres Rafalski	Nicklas Bergfors (?)
	Bill Guerin, Mike Socius, Ruslan Fedotenko	Fere sulum	Sean Bergenheim (?)
	Scott Gomez, Sarcalogos Drury	Michael Nylander, Karel Rachunek, Res Runco, Kevin Weekes, Brad Isbister	Proficiscor Staal, Ryan Callahan (?)
	Tondeo Donovan, Luke Richardson, Denis Harniis	Mike Socius, Tom Preissing, Peter Schaefer, Oleg Saprykin	Nick Foligno, Vepres Lee
	Daniel Concisus, Joffrey Lupul, Jason Smith, Bellicus Biron, Scott Upshall, Kimo Timonen	Peter Forsberg, Joni Pitkanen, Kyle Calder, Robert Esche, Todd Fedoruk, Mike York	Braydon Coburn, Ryan Parentis
	Alex Auld, Radim Vrbata, Niko Kapanen, Mike York	Owen Nolan, Jeremy Roenick, Velum Joseph, Mike Ricci	Peter Mueller
	Darryl Sydor, Gary Roberts, Petr Sykora	Eric Cairns, Joel Kwiatkowski, Jocelyn Thibault, Michel Ouellet, Nils Ekman, Josef Melichar	Kristopher Letang
	Craig Flumen, Jeremy Roenick	Scott Hannan, Bill Guerin, Vesa Toskala	Nullus	Hmm . . .
	Paul Kariya, Keith Tkachuk	Radek Dvorek, Dallas Drake, Glen Metropolit, Jamie Flumen	Erik Johnson
	Michel Ouellet, Sarcalogos Memor, Jan Hlavac	Cory Sarich, Ruslan Fedotenko, Eric Perrin	Karri Ramo (?)
	Jason Blake, Vestigium Campana, Vesa Toskala	Jeff ONeill’, Michael Peca, Yanic Perreault, J.S. Aubin	Jiri Tlusty (?)
	Brad Isbister, Ryan Crur	Bryan Smolinski, Brent Sopel, Jan Bulis, Rory Fitzpatrick,	Luc Bourdon (?)
	Michael Nylander, Viktor Kozlov, Tom Venenum	Fastidiosus Zubrus, Kris Beech, Bryan Muir, Jiri Novotny	Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Viridis, Tomas Flesichmann

Iocus’ Rink permissum Caput’ angustus season ticket contemplatio ex pera ut quondam iterum broached thema of “ glacies Puella”. Neither OrderedChaos neque nec EGO suscipio season ticket contemplatio, sic nos dont’ teneo si is comprehendo praeter quinque questions memoratus per Iocus’.

Tametsi nos have penso informatio of Lavatio Caput’ Glacies Puella, nos dont’ teneo si is est a perfectus paciscor necne. Potissimum ceterus teams have iam held suum tryouts. Est Lavatio secundum curvo, sic oro? Vel have eximius specialis auditions iam been held quod glacies puella es promptus pello pepulli pulsum glacies in September 8th?

In ullus theca, nos erant curiosus ut ut quot alius teams have talis squads. refero may admiratio vos.

• Anaheim Ducks Vox Ludio ludius
• Atlanta Thrashers Puteulanus Crew
• Boston Frendo Glacies Puella ( link ut Glacies Puella pelagus page eram lost secundum profugus ut NHL servo)
• Calgary Flamma Glacies Crew
• Carolina Turbo Tempestas Squad
• Pullus Blackhawks Glacies Crew
• Columbus Puteulanus Jackets (quisnam vere have 2 humus) - Vox Patronus & Glacies Crew
• Dallas Astrum Glacies Puella
• Florida Pardus Glacies Presul
• Nashville Predators (quisnam quoque have 2 humus)
• Calx Puella
• Presul
• NY Insula Glacies Puella
• Ottawa Orchestra Vox Patronus (magis of a phasmatis humus quinymo quam glacies puella/cheerleaders)
• Philadelphia Flyers Glacies Team
• Phoenix Coyotes Sarcina
• Pitsburgh Penguins Pens Patronus (magis of a phasmatis humus quinymo quam glacies puella/cheerleaders)
• Tampa Sinus Levitas Puella
• Vancouver Canucks Glacies Team

update[: Dan Steinberg est procul Kettler quod has non seen ullus “ glacies- substructio letifico alio”]
update[ 2: Dan Steinberg suscipio confirmation ex Nate Ewell, Presul of Interventus Consanguinei, ut illic erohaud glacies- substructio letifico alio roaming Phone Tabernus is season.]

Nos es iam plenus in in per of terminus of offseasons’ offseason ( misericordaliter, AMC permaneo nox noctis dedi sursum an 800: airing of ‘Slapshot,’ forsitan ut aliquantulus of a kickoff ut NHLs’ off- glacies factum is mensis). Illa EGO vilis ut ullus moment iam nos could animadverto crux crucis transfero prothoplastus of quis typically est a ligamen of professio stipes planto ut ineo suum offseason rebuilding. Is June pre-draft paciscor susurro isnt’ per quis is eram permaneo, tamen Ive’ seen quoque plures Draft-Eve seasons scio melior. Prothoplastus shoe mos eventually occumbo, quod off puteus’ exsisto. Quod dissimilis permaneo June, ut Caps erant iustus ex prothoplastus verto in suus redivivus natio nationis, is estas procuratio has spondeo futurus an strenuus ludio ludius pro novus ludio ludius.

Amo nos moris’ animadverto a blockbuster amo permaneo Junes’ Pardus’ paciscor of Roberto Luongo ( pro junk; quod nos may non animadverto talis lopsidedness iterum huic saeculorum). Tunc iterum, nos may animadvertoPium Mara commotus. venatus intus venatus captus locus iam per tunc Friday nox noctis involves leagues GMs genus per suum UFA quod RFA album, comparing permaneo seasons’ payroll per ‘07-’08s’ exertus solio, quod Carnotense a tractus pro rectus quod lenimentus. Pro nonnullus stipes, payroll ero subseco quod nonnullus prime ludio ludius commotus. Pro alius ( Caps), payroll mos proventus, contraho added. A mediocris frenum illae rectus mos exsisto super tractus of tunc 10 dies.

Ultra res eximius submerged subter supter salary solio ( per amo intentus of millions of pupa), is estas Caps have convenienter quod palam spondeo alloquor suum roster rememdium per “ professio” Ipsa graduations, quodpotentially UFA venalicium. In totus of suum publicus editio super offseason upgrades, totus of procuratio has convenienter IDed paciscor ut a intentio ars, quod pulsatus mihi ut eneus in suus fiducia. Notabilis, efficens paciscor postulo voluntarius tripudio consortio. Duos ut tango. In medium-April, quam could Caps’ procuratio have been certe certo of lemma adveho medium-June?

refero may non exsisto quicumque specialis vel admiratio. Propter teams’ plethora of draft picks dating tergum ut 2002, quod iugo per Ipsa Gero’ fabulous prosperitas preteritus duos seasons, GM George McPhee has validus pecto in suus paciscor manus manus. Sit, nam, oneratus procul left pennae. Quod secundum permaneo Junes’ opus per suus explorator in Vancouver, norma repente videor profundus in net. Sit forsitan tantum a annus vel sic a res enviably profundus in blueline. Quod iterum per is Viscus Draft, is has multiple picks sursum altus ( duos picks sulum in rotundus unus quod duos). Adaugeo illis officina teams’ unrivaled solio tractus, quod Caps videlicet es a vox ludio ludius in phones tunc 10 dies. (persevero)

Lets’ abicio obvious ex foris: Olie Kolzig utor suus primoris shutout utpote hiberna of 2004 per totus quattuor members of OFB monitoring pluma ex press row. Should norma, in 2007-08, respondeo per occasus aside quattuor leather recliners for us up there? Seems mildly excessive.

I really enjoy being around members of the Caps’ organization on a day when an exciting prospect has been inked. And last night there was no denying the Caps’ enthusiasm about Andrew Gordon joining the organization. Nate Ewell made a point of coming over to us during the first intermission and letting us know the organization’s expectations of him: of all the signings this spring, he told us, Gordon is the guy with a real chance to make a difference at the NHL level.

Before the game I had a chance to stop George McPhee for a brief chat about the signing. He told me that in the short term, Gordon, now sidelined with a sprained ankle, will remain on campus, but that he will eventually make his way to Hershey, and should the Bears make another lengthy postseason run, Gordon would likely compete for playoff playing time. I’m aware of the general patience the Caps have in developing their draft picks, and so I wondered if the organization would have been all that bothered had Gordon opted to remain at St. Cloud for his senior year. The Caps, McPhee made clear to me, wanted him playing pro right now.

He will start next season in Hershey, the GM told me, but — and this I found startling — he doesn’t necessarily expect Gordon to remain there all year.

“We think there’s a real chance that he can help us out here next season,” McPhee said.

Next season isn’t about more shuffling of youth in and out of the lineup, like piecing together and pulling apart a puzzle; it’s about making a big move up in the East’s standings, so it’s clear the Caps believe they have something special in Gordon, and that his development timeline should be briefer than normal. No slouch of a seventh round pick, this one.

We kept an eye on the game 7 proceedings between Acadie Bathurst and PEI, and we passed along updates to Caps’ communications guys. PEI is an hour ahead of us in the Maritimes, and so as we settled into our seats early last night we learned that Mathieu Perreault had already potted a goal and an assist midway through the second period. Bathurst prevailed 4-3 on the road in what must have been an OT thriller. Perreault finished the series with five goals and three assists. Next up for the Titan is Cape Breton in round 2.

I really enjoy chatting with the out-of-town reporters between periods, and last night I was surprised by the size of the Florida press contingent in attendance. There was a Palm Beach Post scribe, a Miami Herald fella, and one or two others from sunshine state dailies. All this southern media interest in a Tuesday night, playing-out-the-string Southeast showdown? Then I realized: the Florida Marlins were in D.C. opening their baseball season, and a bunch of these guys were pressed into double coverage duty.

Anyway, I wanted to pick their brains about the full-season impact of the Roberto Luongo deal, as it’s increasingly acquiring the rotting aroma of worst-trade-in-NHL-history status. You recall the particulars of that one. The classic butterfly French Canadian uber talent, still south of reaching his prime splendor, with likely at least 10 game-changing seasons still ahead of him, dealt by Mike Keenan just days before last June’s Entry Draft, for like three bloggers to be named later.

I began my inquiry by noting that the Panthers were an above-.500 hockey club (in the NHL’s quirky three-column standings), and I wondered where these writers thought the club would be had it held on to Luongo. For a more dramatic cup-a-joe Wednesday morning file I wanted all of them to shout in unison “20 . . . maybe 25 games over .500, and Cup contenders.”

But their answers surprised me. For starters, while none of them waxed euphoric over Alex Auld, the Cats’ blueline has improved dramatically this season. A healthy chunk of that is attributable to Jay Boumeester’s no. 1 guy blossoming, but all their press guys agreed that both Ruslan Salei and Bryan Allen had played important and durable roles all season long. Last night was the 80th game of the season for both of them. They also pointed out the adverse impact of Joe Nieuwendyk’s injuries. I appreciated their nuance, and I didn’t dispute them, but I raised the analogy of Patty Roy being thrown out of Montreal in his prime, and they all nodded. Then the Miami Herald guy told me, “The deal cost Keenan his job, no doubt.”

And with a win this evening, the iPod community at large gives a collective sigh of relief.

Winning may not cure everything, but it never hurts. Olie Kolzig works hard and gets his long-overdue shutout, Ovechkin lights the lamp, some hits are thrown, and the Caps come away with two points in what can probably be considered a sloppy affair overall. “It looks like both teams are playing hot potato out there” is how OrderedChaos put it, and I have to agree.

• Ovechkin had an interesting game, whiffing several times on the puck, yet having one of his best puck-control games of the season. His backwards shot on net was a fun moment, and he threw the body — unfortunately, that included accidentally clocking Alexander Semin, who had no ice-time in the third period according to the NHL shift chart. Update: Mike Vogel reports that Semin suffered a foot injury late in the second.
• Olie Kolzig was strong.
• Brooks Laich had an up-and-down game, with an iffy penalty that negated a power play and a tough turnover with a minute left. Of course, he also fed Ovechkin for the goal.
• I’m not sure about Florida netminder Craig Anderson being around long enough to have a “book” out on him, but the Caps seemed to shoot predominantly high tonight, with lots of missed shots off the glass.
• The Caps continue to have trouble getting out of their own zone. Be it weak chips, players getting in the way of clearing attempts, or being beaten to pucks, it’s become an adventure working any breakout.
• Jeff Schultz and Milan Jurcina continue to be bright spots for the team. Jurcina’s physical game was on display tonight, wall-papering several Panthers on the backboards. Schultz displayed some promising physicality as well, including a shift in the third where he pushed Chris Gratton around behind the net. The Sarge’s continued knack for not being noticeable on the ice is maybe the best thing you can say about a young defenseman.
• The Caps threw three hip-checks in the game, something I haven’t seen in awhile.
• Boyd Gordon is a smart hockey player. He seems to make the proper play in most situations.
• The Caps seem to have the knack of getting the cycling game going without having someone go to the middle for a centering opportunity. It’s nice that they can keep possession, and it’s going to grind the other team down, but the next step is creating a solid scoring opportunity out of that.
• Despite getting train-wrecked by Alex Ovechkin, Jay Bouwmeester displayed his considerable talents: a defenseman that big with good speed leading the rush is not something you often see.
• Shaone Morrisonn appeared to be injured in the final minute of the game, which is very bad ju-ju for the defensive corps.

Something of a costly win, but a win nonetheless. The Caps held on to a lead late, which has been something of a bugaboo for them this season, and got off the schneid. Team OFB also got to spend some time with “The Godfather”, Eric McErlain of Off Wing Opinion, and his fellow Offwingers, Joe and Kate, as well as the ever-productive DCSportsChick, who set a new land-speed record for fastest and most accurate comment in OFB history (see the OFB team picture for more).

The next two games are against tough competition, and with the newest injuries to the club, a difficult task became more difficult. A good showing in both games would be a nice way to end the season.

Well, things are really getting to be a grind, now. Waived-off goals, bad penalties and strange special-teams play, smashed sticks and iPods, the past two games haven’t been a lot of fun to watch. The games had their similarities (the results) and some big differences, as well.

The Caps played well enough in Florida to win, and were game for a bit in Tampa Bay. Florida is a comparable team to Washington in terms of talent currently on the roster; Tampa Bay is well ahead of both, and thus the results aren’t too surprising. Tampa’s talent asserted itself to provide a relatively easy win for the Lightning, while the Panthers had to fight to get the extra point.

Just some quick observations, as it’s all kind of a painful blur.

• Jiri Novotny’s play has picked up, which is nice, and you have to wonder how related it is to his RFA status.
• Quietly, Matt Pettinger has put up similar numbers to his break-out season last year.
• Four of the six Caps’ defensemen took a penalty against Florida.
• Alex Ovechkin was really throwing the body in the Tampa game, which may have led to the Brashear/Roy fight. On the other hand, it’s entirely possible those fellas didn’t need any outside influences to go.
• Jeff Schultz continues his non-descript play, which is a big positive for a 20 year-old rookie defenseman.
• It’s an exercise in futility, but you have to wonder if things would go down a little differently if the waived-off goal in Florida is counted.

Three games left and the team’s in about the same boat as it was last year: low in the Eastern conference and under-manned via injury and trade. Philadelphia is a lock for last place in the league, but the Caps could finish at 29th, facing Florida, visiting Atlanta, and hosting Buffalo to finish out the season. It’s tough to shake off the losing, but these are, allegedly, the last three games of the rebuild.

The latest issue of The Hockey News has ranked all 30 NHL team’s prospect systems. They have defined prospects as players under 22 years of age as of January 31, 2007. This ranking does not take into account any movement of players at the trade deadline. Note that three of the Caps’ Southeast Division rivals bring up the bottom-5 rear.

1. Pittsburgh [Last Year’s Ranking 1]
2. Washington [7]
3. Nashville [6]
4. Los Angeles [10]
5. Chicago [8]
6. Boston [12]
7. Anaheim [2]
8. St. Louis [28]
9. Montreal [17]
10. N.Y. Rangers [19] (Continued)

Mrs. Gustafsson just returned from Las Vegas and brought me the Bellagio’s Odds to Win the 2007 Stanley Cup. I’ve combined that sheet with the one I picked up in November.

So the Caps trade their first-line center, completely sleepwalk through the first eight minutes of the first period, then manage to make the rest of the game worth watching. Strange, strange game.

• After being complete zombies throughout the first half of the first period, Washington got back to playing the manic, high-energy style that marked their success earlier in the season. It was a welcome sight, maybe next time they start that at the beginning of the game.
• According to my count, the Caps had all of the 30+ year old players in their line up tonight: Brashear (35), Muir (33), and Cassivi (31). (Chris Clark is 30, Kolzig is 35, both injured)
• Brian Pothier had a tough defensive game early.
• The power play almost looked competent. The Caps really seemed to simplify t