Without Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Mike Green, this Capitals team is surprisingly similar to the Capitals of almost a decade ago… a hard-charging team that both delighted and frustrated its fans.

How so, you ask? Read on… and while these comparisons are far from perfect, consider them food for thought:

It’s not a perfect match; the old-school Caps had no Karl Alzner, nor a spark-plug like Matt Hendricks, nor a promising young defenseman like Dmitry Orlov. Of course, that team of yore had a disenchanted but still-dangerous Jaromir Jagr—but the current Caps have Ovechkin… and however you feel about Ovie wearing the “C” he’s undoubtedly more deserving than Jagr was, and a wrecking-ball to boot.

Oh, and comparing the coaches falls down just a little bit… while Dale Hunter is another minor-league coach given his first NHL shot with the Caps, he kicks Butch Cassidy’s ass in pretty much every way.

When the 2011-12 team’s Robert Lang (Nicklas Backstrom) and Sergei Gonchar (Mike Green) return from injury, this roster can compete with any in team in the league. The team going through trying times with a depleted roster will build their chemistry and resolve come playoff time.

This limping Capitals team has earned three points in two games, including a tilt against the defending champs… and that’s without three of their big stars. Adding back a healthy Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Green down the stretch improves the team dramatically — but in the meantime, a team forced to play without its superstars is also forced to play a balanced, team-focused game.

If Coach Hunter and the locker-room leaders enforce that team-first mentality when their superstars return… watch out, ’cause these Capitals will be dangerous.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have hired former Capital Olie Kolzig as associate goaltender coach, vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today. Dave Prior will return to his role as director of goaltending and NHL goaltender coach.

“We are excited to add a familiar face to our staff in Olie Kolzig,” said McPhee. “Olie had a tremendous impact on this franchise as a goaltender as well as an individual, and we are looking forward to him having the same impact as a coach.”

Kolzig, 41, played in 711 games as a Capital from 1989-90 through 2007-08. He currently owns nearly every all-time Capitals goaltending record, including games played, wins (301), shutouts (35) and minutes (41,259) and ranks fourth (minimum 3,000 minutes played) in goals-against average (2.70) and third in save percentage (.906). In terms of single-season records, Kolzig leads in games (73), minutes (4,371), wins (41) and is second (minimum 1,200 minutes) in goals-against average (2.20), save percentage (.920) and shutouts (6).

The Johannesburg, South Africa, native was awarded the 2000 Vezina Trophy, awarded to the league’s top goalie, and was named the 2005-06 King Clancy Memorial Trophy winner (awarded to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and who has made a significant humanitarian contribution to his community). He was also named to two NHL All-Star teams (1998 and 2000) as a member of the Capitals.

A former Caps first-round draft pick (19th overall) in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft, Kolzig helped guide Washington to its only Stanley Cup Final in 1998. During his final season with the Caps in 2007-08, Kolzig was teammates with several current Capitals, including captain Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Semin and Mike Green. The three-time German Olympian (1998, 2002 – sat out due to injury and 2006) appeared in 719 career NHL games with Washington and Tampa Bay before retiring in September 2009.

Prior spent 12 seasons as the Capitals goaltending coach from 1996-97 through the 2008-09 season, including 11 seasons coaching Kolzig, and worked in the Capitals organization as a goalie coach this past season. Under his watch, Washington goalies posted three of the five lowest team goals-against averages in franchise history, including Kolzig’s Vezina-winning season (1999-2000) and the Caps 1998 Stanley Cup appearance. The Capitals won four divisional championships and made six playoff appearances during Prior’s tenure.

Before joining the Capitals’ coaching staff, Prior worked as a goaltending coach for the Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, San Jose Sharks and Winnipeg Jets. In addition, the native of Guelph, Ontario, gained international experience mentoring goalies on the German National Team and spent seven years working with the NHL Central Scouting Bureau.

Both coaches will attend the Capitals’ Rookie Development Camp, running from July 11-16 at Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, Va.

• His career should have ended after 2008 — “Age took over”

• “I’m a Cap through and through”

• Cristobal Huet “would have been better off” had he remained in Washington for 2008-09. His move to Chicago forced the Caps into signing (expensively) Jose Theodore, and now Huet, whose tenure with the ‘Hawks was catastrophic, is playing his pro hockey overseas.

Elliot certainly was right in suggesting that the reception Kolzig will enjoy this Saturday from more than 6,000 red-clad fans will be special.

Obviously, there’s a Curse.

For some, the term “Curse” may be too mystical and myth-premised, too draconian and fatalistic to buy into. I use different terminology, and associate the Capitals’ springtime fortunes with a skating swagger of doom. But you can think of it as a curse all right — it has the same effect.

Twelve years ago, the Baltimore Orioles, then a flagship franchise in Major League Baseball, did what Americans citizens can’t and traveled to Cuba to play the Cuban national baseball team. That trip was referenced on Baltimore sportstalk radio this week, amid the O’s’ 7-21 start to the new season. Ever since that trip, the radio hosts alleged, the one-time class of the American League East has been in a tailspin. A serious tailspin. As in: the O’s have played 1,973 games since making that trip to Cuba in ’98, and they’ve won just 863 of them, according to my crack intern Andrew. They’ve finished either 4th or 5th in the five-team AL East every season save one since ’98, in 2004, when they finished 3rd. Beginning with that 1998 season the O’s have never finished a season above the .500 mark.

Sounds like a curse to me. And a plague (Angelos).

The Capitals of course have never traveled to Cuba as a team (although Canadians are permitted to visit the island, and it is a popular vacation destination for a fair number of Canucks). However, their power play against Montreal last month looked as if had been designed by Fidel Castro.

A select few sports organizations boast what might be termed a swagger of success. The New York Yankees. The Boston Celtics. The New England Patriots. They’ve risen above the level of cursable. In individual sports, Roger Federer, Michael Phelps, and the 2.0 Tiger Woods have similar swagger. The Washington Capitals do not. They never have. In the postseason they perpetually possess a swagger of doom.

In 1988, when the Dale Hunter-led Caps overcame a 3-1 series deficit, and a 3-0 game 7 deficit, to topple the Flyers and win a Patrick division semifinal, I allowed myself the delusion of believing that the Curse had been quashed. In their next series the Capitals, again enjoying home-ice advantage over the 4th-place club in the Patrick, New Jersey, lost in seven games. The Capitals in 1987-88 boasted the league’s best defense. In game 3 against the Devils that spring the Caps surrendered 10 goals.

Of course there’s a Curse.

1998 was an outlier of springtime success for this organization. The Caps benefited from some remarkable opening-round upsets that spring. No. 1 seed New Jersey fell to no. 8 Ottawa. No. 2 seed Pittsburgh was slain by no. 7 Montreal. No. 3 Philadelphia was bested by no. 6 Buffalo. Only the 4th-seeded Caps advanced as favorite in the East in the opening round. The Caps got stupendous netminding all postseason long from Olie Kolzig, but ultimately Esa Tikkanen came up empty early on in the Cup Finals versus the Wings, reminding us in D.C. that the Curse lived.   

The Capitals have now competed in nine game 7s, winning just two of them. And eight of those game 7s have been at home. They’re a godless 2-6 in game 7s at home. Four times the Caps have led a series three games to one and gone on to lose the series. Four times they’ve led a series three games to two, and in the four instances in which they lost game 6, they also lost game 7.

No no. 1 seed in NHL history had ever squandered a three-games-to-one lead in a series against no. 8 and gone on to lose the series. Until your Capitals pulled it off this spring. That’s not the breaks beatin’ the boys.  

Of course there’s a Curse. 

No club has perpetuated a Curse upon the Capitals’ postseason fortunes as Pittsburgh has. Why belabor that; if you’ve followed this team for any length of time you know that sordid story. Last May, after Ovi’s Caps endured a Sidney Crosby hat trick in game 2 and still triumphed, taking a 2-0 series lead, I allowed myself the delusion of believing that the Curse had been quashed. After the Montreal dagger in our hockey heart, I’ve a full-on belief in our foul fate.

Crests in hockey, I believe, do carry karma — an aura that’s generally positive or its counterpart. It means something I believe for a kid to be drafted by the Wings or the Habs and to wear their crest versus say that of the Bluejackets. Or the Caps. In their most recent redesign of their crest perhaps the Caps selected a look that too closely resembled that of the accursed original.

Thinking optimistically, perhaps there’s a shelf life on curses. The San Jose Sharks appears to be unshackled from theirs this spring. Perhaps the Caps are next. Still, right now, the ‘C’ in the Capitals’ crest stands for cursed. Until the skaters wearing it prove otherwise.

Like the Caps’ old TV spots, there’s great deal of cleverness to these from the Bs. Such as ‘Tuck in’:

A newer spot, that’s running this season in Boston, addresses those fans who’d bolt for the parking prematurely just to be the end-of-game rush:

And when the Bs unveiled their Winter Classic sweater earlier this season they had some fun with that as well:

But by far the best of all these terrific Bs TV spots, and certainly our favorite, is ‘Never Date Within the Division’:

Makes you a bit nostalgic for those old Caps’ clips that ran locally back in the day, eh? Unfortunately, most of them aren’t archiveable on YouTube. But there are many, many terrific and terrifically funny hockey-themed commercials to be found there. A good transition from Bs to Caps might be with a player who played for both clubs, Adam Oates:

And who can forget Olie Kolzig’s ‘Romantic Dinner’ spot?

After 14 seasons, veteran goaltender Olaf Kolzig announced his retirement today from the National Hockey League.

Kolzig, 39, a two-time NHL All-Star (1998, 2000) and former Vezina Trophy winner (2000), appeared in a total of 719 NHL games, 711 of those with the Washington Capitals. His 303 career wins rank him 21st all-time among goaltending wins leaders. Olaf also posted a career 2.71 GAA along with a .906 save percentage and 35 shutouts.

“I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to play the game of hockey at the NHL level for many seasons and I am grateful for everything the game has given me,” said Kolzig. “I would like to thank my family, all my teammates and the fans for making my time in the NHL so special.”

Lightning backup Olie Kolzig will have surgery on Saturday to repair a ruptured distal biceps tendon in his left forearm. The surgery will be performed in Washington by orthopedist Ben Shaffer, a Capitals team physician who treated Kolzig when he played in Washington. Lightning head trainer Tommy Mulligan said Kolzig will be out three to four months. Unless Tampa Bay makes the playoffs, his season is over. It is unclear how this will affect the 17-year veteran’s career. Kolzig spoke during Wednesday’s practice and said he will not make any decisions about his future until the summer. He admitted, however, “In my mind, there’s a lot of doubt for my future as far as hockey goes.”

Credit the assist to Kukla for the pointer.

I know sports is really all about money, but often team disappointments and losses feel like personal ones. 

Indeed they do, but the group didn’t let that dissuade them from their goal of creating a very unique blanket to show their appreciation.

400 posts and many skeins later, the blanket was ready.

After Monday’s game, some members of the group waited in the bowels of Verizon Center to present the blanket to Olie.  He was extremely gracious and appreciated the labor of love.

He’s gone but not forgotten, as evidenced in one small way by a group of knitters on Monday night.

I followed the MSM pack to the postgame Tampa room — and it was a pack, 5 or 6 deep in a near full circle around the relieved-it-was-finally-over-looking former Caps’ netminder. I stood among them out of morbid curiosity. They asked questions you thought they would. He gave respectful answers as he always has. The formula was in full force. To the extent that you’ve consumed their coverage late last night and this morning, you know that, ah, it was a tough night for our old goalie, that he’d been thinking about the game a while, that he was relieved it was over.

I was far more interested in listening in on Barry Melrose (mullet missing), particularly on a night when his Tampa charges so obviously under-performed for a goalie making a special homecoming. For the past 10 or so years, I’d known only Barry Melrose the outsized ESPN personality. I’d known his endearing on-air Canuck kitsch, a humility blended with passion and accented with self-effacing wit that had managed to celebrate hockey even for years after ESPN ditched its coverage deal with the league. Melrose had been a big hit on ESPN for 10 years, and when early this past offseason he decided to ditch the comfy TV gig for the heavy lifting behind the Tampa bench, I thought his among this season’s most interesting storylines.

Melrose’s court of press last night consisted largely of Florida media and local bloggers. We had to wait nearly for 30 minutes for his arrival. He didn’t address us long, not even 5 minutes, but it was abundantly clear that had he not had those 30 minutes to partially cool off, much of what he would have told us wouldn’t have been fit for print even on most blogs.

Barry Melrose the cult of ESPN personality, I learned in 5 minutes last night, is very much a personality of the past. Today he is a fiercely competitive big-league bench boss, and whether he succeeds or fails in this latest gig, his analytical eye is keen.

He started by calling his team’s first-period performance “brutal.”

“I told the guys, ‘Why try when you get down 3-0, why try then? Why care [only] when you’ve given up three goals?’”

“I was very disappointed with the play in front of Olie, in Washington. [Rising anger pause at this point] We got a lot of guys that gotta do some soul-searching, cause we got a lot of players that aren’t playing very well right now.”

When one reporter suggested that the Caps had made things difficult for the visitors by coming out and playing inspired against their former goalie, the coach would have none of it.

“They had five shots in the first period [6, officially]. They weren’t the New York Islanders of ’84 by any stretch of the imagination. They had three scoring chances and they put them in. And that’s what the Caps do, they got some great talent. It wasn’t what they were doing, we were awful.”

“A terrible change gives up a goal, Green beat two of our guys up the ice on another goal . . . it wasn’t that Washington was great, we just weren’t ready to play.

“For the life of me I do not know why.”

Then a reporter asked a legitimate question about between-period adjustments Tampa made to make the game competitive after so sour a start. Melrose the nice guy, the studio yuckster, was nowhere to be found.

“We sang ‘Kumbaya’ around the fire after the second period,” he shot back with a death stare.

Yowza!

Did Tampa’s improved play in periods two and three make the start all the more frustrating?

“It just pisses you off more,” the coach returned.

“When you come in here and you’re just stick-checking and nobody’s hitting anybody and you say ‘Excuse me’ when you go to the net . . . “

A final broadside launched by the new head coach returned to the topic of Tampa’s 20 skaters letting down a goalie on his special night.

“If I’m those guys I can’t look Olie in the face. You know probably the biggest game this guy’s played in years, and they show up and do that for him. I think those guys should all be hiding their eyes when they walk by Olie Kolzig tonight.”     
   

• Big crowd tonight, both in the stands and in the press box.
• There’s a new contender for noise during the national anthem: screaming “RED” at “the rockets’ red glare.”  Oh goody.
• Lots of love for Olie- during the anthem (the ubiquitous “O” turned into “O-lie”) and immediately afterwards (“O-lie, O-lie”).
• Overheard: “Ten bucks says Olie doesn’t make it to the tribute video.”  Ouch.
• Sure enough, the tribute video is on pretty quickly after the second goal.  Very classy of the fans to give the man a standing O.  And nice touch at the end: “Olie Kolzig #37, A Capital Forever.”  Fine work by the Caps’ video staff.
• Nice job in killing off that four-minute Brashear penalty, not to mention some great short-handed chances. Only a few years ago, I would have dreaded the thought of a four-minute PK.
• The Spirit Squad is helping us clap to the organ music.  Thank you, Red Rockers.  (Seriously, though, they’re fairly low-key, for which I am grateful.  Dance routines at a hockey game seem kind of cheesy, but they’re not distracting.)
• I couldn’t tell if the Fan of the Game was embarrassed to have the spotlight on him or just didn’t care.  The eye rolls were hard to read.
• I freely admit to enjoying the “Funny Follies” clips of guys getting hit in the groin and kids landing face-first into the ground.  Good crowd-pleaser.
• More crowd-pleasing: featuring both Goat and the Horn Guy on a split screen to energize the fans.  And, of course, “UNLEASH THE FURY” is always a big hit.
• That sound was the collective gasp of thousands of relieved fans, who were happy to see Ovechkin score a goal at last.

Good, solid effort tonight- hope it continues!