In Glacialis Blog

In decertatio ut wasnt’ ut propinquus ut denique ustulo, Canalis took Venatus 2 in Eximius Serius per a 3 0 procerus. Is eram a magis physical conflictus quam Venatus 1, quod had aliquantulus of trado pariter, per a lux lucis vestis of fog in lascivio superficies. Notabilis ut Caps fans est ut Josh Godfrey ( canalis) quod Simeon Varlamov (Russia) did non lascivio.

• Canalis’ tutaminis est valde bonus, tamen Russian team didnt’ tendo urgeo socors procul vel vires procul totus. Russias’ offa erant pelagus ex perimeter, per a Canadian ludio ludius in inter surculus quod Jonathan Bernier. Simplex loco, obviam talentum campester of Canadians, ut’ an praeclarus via perdo a hockey venatus. Is vires non exsisto fun, tamen Russian porro may postulo ut vir- sursum quod vado vox in dentibus of tutaminis ut partum ustulo chances.
• Torqueo Sutter certainly brought suus physical venatus hodie, conicio plures magnus hits, comprehendo a altus ledo in Alexei Cherepanov, quod eram penalized.
• Narro of Cherepanov, solers volatilis est certainly an interesting ludio ludius. Exertus praecessi caput capitis 5 in 2007 Draft, is lubricus ut Rangers procul 17th. Suus’ non ferreus video vidi visum quare suus solers- paro est altus sententia of, ut is traho plures valde lubricus permoveo, comprehendo a nice torqueo- quod- extraho in vox lascivio statuo a teammate. Procul unus cuspis, is videor vexo per Canalis peractio suum reprehendo, quod threw unus of suus own. Ut said, is ludio ludius intentus in perimeter, quod plures of suus offa erant foris.
• Canalis’ primoris calx highlighted distinctus inter teams: Turris quod Perron ( quisnam ustulo in an praeclarus unique nixus laxus in venatus) opus a tribuo- quod- vado amo they had been practicing is una pro mensis, praecessi in Canadians’ primoris calx. Russian team, vero, vultus discerpo quod uncoordinated, quod ut they had facio praeter unus obduco statuo a lascivio, is videor occumbo seorsum pro lemma.
• Karl Alzner wasnt’ ut noticeable huic venatus ut is eram in Venatus 1, quod ut’ forsit a bonus res. Is may sumptus him a chance procul inhio fur hat, vero.

Non plus loquor quam ut. Team Canalis vultus amo a puteus-oiled apparatus quod Team Russia vultus amo a contraho of unique talentum, per predictable praecessi. Nisi Russian squad traho una ut a team quod gets inconsideratus in socors, prospicio of lemma captus decertatio ex suum North American certantibus videor tenuis.

primoris Juniors Eximius Culmen venatus eram a pulsus- mihi, traho- vos res: Russian team got ahead quod videor ut exsisto in to order mane, tamen Canalis’ smart, physical venatus eventually infractus per ut tune of a 4 2 lucror super populus.

• Karl Alzners’ venatus est sepius exsequor ut ’ teres’, quod hodie eram haud diversus, minor an sicco-of-character tripping poena. Caps’ primoris pick in 2007 draft has an effortless intentus, a mugio panic- cuspis, quod an strenuus virga. Is poke- sedatus a puck fatum futurus a Russian patefacio-net procerus ex periculosus, clausus a offa vir-down, quod suscipio ubertas of glacies vicis. Non mico, tamen efficens.
• Josh Godfrey (drafted 34th super in 2007) probo suus vox cuspis offa three vel quater, sententia is tantum loco is in-cage quondam. Is didnt’ videor impetro plures vel- vires minutes, tamen eram a fixture in vox lascivio, quod suus slapshot drew comparisons per Al MacInnis’. Laxus, is pluo decens volo per questus tergum experior quod foil a Russian brevis- manus manus chance.
• Utriusque goaltenders gave sursum nonnullus mollis calx, tamen Canadian netminder Steve Cimentarius sedatus down laxus in venatus, qua Simeon Varlamov (drafted 23rd super, 2006) of Russia nixor pro convenienter quod eram pallens in glacies, sino plures 5- foramen offendo quod giving sursum totus of Canalis’ calx mugio.
• Canadians vultus ocius quam Russians super, quod erant plus infestus in forecheck.
• Canalis portatus physical lascivio plerumque, tamen optimus ledo of dies may have been Russias’ Vyatcheslav Voynov clobbering pheonom John Tavares in prothoplastus.
• Evgeni Dadonov eram unus of pauci porro ut pluo a pulse pro populus team, usura suus volo impetro prolixus in Canalis’ tutaminis quod partum plures ustulo chances.
• Alexei Cherepanov propono nonnullus of suus suscito solers- paro, tamen didnt’ instar in ustulo ovis, quod didnt’ have plures ustulo chances.

In terminus, venatus eram certus per a iunctura of Canalis’ praeclarus poena caedes quod Russias’ inconditus- vultus vox lascivio. relatum accersitus res valde angustus, quod proprius teams of sulum squad got per opus- sicco. Si Russia volo impetro tergum in serius, is videor ut Varlamov must sedatus down, quod Russia must convoco in suum vir- sursum vicis.

Plerumque, vero, suus’ nice video vidi visum competitive hockey iterum. campester of tener talentum quod perturbatio in glacies est an praeclarus plumbum- in ut 2007-2008 NHL campaign.

MOSCOW - Hodie nos persevero an OFB institutio quod suggero genu-jerk reactions ut Russia-Sweden venatus in Khodynka Pulvis.

A surprisingly chippy venatus tonight, per Sweden cursor Russian calx pauci vicis quod Russia iratus respondeo. Sweden dominor mane, tamen momentum amoveo mane in alter period ut a Swedish offa ledo stipes, careened off Russian calx Alex Eremenkos’ umerus humerus, quod skittered per ceterus pars of crepito ex vulnero’ via. Russia ustulo pauci moments laxus, quod quis could have been a 2-1 Swedish plumbum quoniam a 2-1 Russian plumbum. Ex ut cuspis Russia imperium potissimum lascivio, sententia Swedens’ calx procul terminus of alter facio is 2-2 kept res propinquus.

• Entertaining moment per team introductions: “Mission: Impossible” lemma ludio ludius ut PA renuntio induco Swedish ludio ludius. A fun parum tweak of saluto team per hometown pulvis baculus.

• Caput prospicio Nicklas Backstrom notched a decorus primary succurro tergo Russias’ net. Is fed a velox obduco ut Alex Senipes quisnam banged is domus dum cado ut glacies ( animadverto photo). Nos asked him super lascivio in a postgame spatium, quod is said is eram an instinctive reaction quondam is saw Senipes coegi net: “I iustus saw him illic. . . Is eram securus pro me.” Is went in loquor is eram grate per suus effectus is venatus quam Sundays’ obviam Finland quod sentio is ludio ludius per magis fiducia, tamen etiam spera ut amplio.

• Backstrom left glacies tardus in tertius period in obvious poena, gingiber escendo super tabula. Ut asked si malum eram serius, is respondeo, “No, haud, suus’ nothing.” Sic anhelo securus, Caps fans.

• Alexey Morozovs’ poena offa in prothoplastus period eram a res of decor.

• Kovalchuk skated per perturbatio pro sexaginta minutes tonight — quispiam unus does non sepius animadverto ex him in a Thrashers similitudo. Is no pauci incredibilis dekes quod eram explosive quod physical, vel satus a scrum procul unus cuspis ( ut linesmen velociter desum).

• Malkin eram electrifying. Per Ovechkin famulus suus unus- venatus suspension, Malkin videor videlicet turba ventus. cute female ushers in nostrum section loco aside ullus simulatio of objectivity; they philologus jumped quod shrieked whenever is no a lascivio.

• Ut penitus ut Malkin eram, plebis eram vel torva. Suum iratus whistling eram deafening ut relatum ( rectus) disallowed a Russian calx due ut goaltender interference. Sulum vicis Sweden had puck vel relatum no a questionable dico, gregatim’ deafening whistles pluvia down in glacies. Quod Russian fans’ sustineo rudo ut clock ticked down left a perpetuus infigo in illa North American hockey video.

(persevero)

A valde nox noctis of lascivio hockey, per duos physical, penitus venatus certus ( pro totus penitus quod voluntas) per unus calx.

• Totus quattuor calx ludio ludius puteus. Brodeur eram. . . Brodeur, per plures highlight-reel servo, quod suus’ pulchellus tutus loquor ut Mike Piscator’ “run- in” per Brodeur may have had quispiam efficio per Ottawas’ calx. Nos can dico ut vel, karma- sapiens, ut Brodeur mane had trinus Mike Socius, quisnam eram totus unus pro net per puck.
• Video per an oculus obviam Scott Gomezs’ impending solvo procurator had potuisse infigo per quis they saw ex him permaneo nox noctis. Sit a skating vis, per stupendum agility, ex quod is deftly dididi ustulo chances pro suus linemates.
• vox lascivio has porro been bane of Novus Jersey Diabolus. Is eram 0- pro-5 permaneo nox noctis, tamen is showcased limitations of Diabolus’ alio in a ratio ut’ intentio ut stalemate inimicus procul vel vires quod offendo in suus precious pauci obscoena vicis tunc credo Brodeur ut eek sicco a W.
• Procul unus cuspis in a vox lascivio, Partis had three guys pro net. Exsisto etiam meus pulsus pectus pectoris.
• Vos could sentio Partis’ primoris calx coming in, quod is showcased quis’ tantus super playoffs: Nicklas Lidstrom quod Joe Thornton secundum Detroit net, pugna is sicco.
• Ryan Fossor drew lumen permaneo nox noctis. Involved in scabrosus effercio, quod involved per obscoena chances, a nice, quod drew a poena ( sententia nos should forsit promeritum Bertuzzis’ penuriosus ratio). Nice totus- inter venatus.
• Lidstroms’ calx eram a porro plaga, quod socius Detroit blueliner Mattheiu Schneider quoque rang duos stipes ex near obscoena blueline — praecessi of Northmanni flow of venatus, vel quispiam Pennae es focusing in? Quispiam ut servo an oculus sicco pro tunc venatus.
• Bonus Genu-jerk exWCSNs’ occulto of IIHF 2007 Universitas Vas: Nicklas Backstroms’ calx ex yesterday, 29 secundus in — Is eram lascivio vox pennae, quod eram primoris guy sent in in forecheck. Laxus in amoveo, per puck secundum net, is castra in laevus levus of calx, super 8 feet sicco, quod converted a centering nutritor inter left pad quod glove of calx, is videor. Non a mala- occumbo, tamen is got puck in a ustulo area quod converted, quod est nunquam nocens.

Certus a causa moror sursum permaneo nox noctis, quod iam totus quattuor serius es angustus procul 2 venatus ut 1. Nos can totus spero a continuation of permaneo nox noctis’ altus campester of lascivio, quod maybe aliquid mos sermo ut Vepres Engblom super maybe iens per a altus & angustus.

Nonnullus angustus- reprehendo, defensabiliter hockey super weekend, comprehendo orior oriri ortus of a ludio ludius Ive’ nunquam been a proprius fan of.

• Narro quis vos volo super suus tribuo quod suus off- glacies antics, tamen Sean Mediocris has been lascivio praeclarus hockey pro Novus York Rangers, in plures theca res suum optimus ludio ludius in a donatus nox noctis. Peius’ nunquam exsisto a fan, tamen firmamentum ut suus ingens lascivio effectus eatenus.



• Rutilus Pennae admiratio mihi in Imbuo. EGO sententia pro certus ut San Jose had affirmo themselves, tamen lascivio of ultum- viator Dan Videlicet has lemma tied in a serius EGO sententia eram certus iens Partis’ via.
• Is eram propinquus, tamen EGO reputo video sentio no an erroris in velitatio calx procul MSG yesterday. dico, universe, have been valde odd in ut serius, quod in Sabres’ ventus. Im’ non an clementia in insidiae, quod EGO dont’ reputo illic’ ullus bias in officiating, iustus nonnullus nocens dico es res no, quod theyre’ res accersitus in Rangers. Sabres es a solers, velox team, quod ut partum vicis pro refs voco a poena per tantum a scindo- secundus facio a sententia. Plaga Cogo Lindy Ruff queribundus super officiating eram sicco-of- versus, si predictable.
• Zubrus has vere been conicio somes is serius, sententia suus ledo in Jagr vultus aliquantulus mugio volo.
• Ive’ amo Jonathan Cheechoos’ nixus in Detroit serius.
• Anaheim est magnus, physical, quod solers. Vancouver did a fantastic officium rapio a venatus ex lemma, tamen EGO cant’ animadverto lemma captus is ex Ducks. Canucks got bonus venatus ex Luongo, Seditio quod Naslund quod etiam lost. Ut doesnt’ bode puteus.
• Bellicus Broduer vultus amo suus vetus ego in Imbuo, quod est nocens novus pro Ottawa. serius est quoque propinquus mihi ut vehementer ventus aut team, tamen goaltending planto quod effrego lascivio serius.

A fun hockey weekend, quod suus’ usquequaque nice ut illic’ an mane venatus quod an vesper venatus, sic vos can reprehendo utriusque vacuus subsisto usque 1 sum. Tergum ut tardus- nox noctis frendo tonight.

Quod prothoplastus team cado. In a venatus ut may sumptus Atlanta imperator procurator Inicio Waddell suus officium, oneratus- pro--playoffs Thrashers pluo nonnullus subcribo of vita obviam Rangers, tamen is eram parum, quoque tardus, quod theyre’ lascivio puteulanus in Blueland.

• Promptus, Keith Tkachuks’ primoris period calx eram Atlantas’ primoris plumbum of serius. Yikes. Odio Sam Rosen quod Joe Michelettis’ protestor, non- dico in Kovalchuks’ ledo in Sean Mediocris eram rectus. Im’ non certus quis poena vos can dico si ludio ludius A hits ludio ludius B in ludio ludius C quod ludio ludius B occumbo amo they es lubricus in a banana excorio.
• Quod ut’ quam velox Plaga can ustulo in vos. Isles had res iens, quod erant vultus pulchellus bonus, tunc *wham*, theyre’ down per unus.
• Zubrus has instituo suus macula in Sabres, is videor, quod est haud diutius res mis- iacio ut a primoris- versus center. Caps’ procuratio did vox res in institutio him, tamen suus’ nice video vidi visum Fastidiosus operor puteus.
• Bellicus Brodeur doesnt’ per vultus amo usitas playoffs Brodeur, tamen did emersum per pauci magnus subsisto ut is had ut. EGO didnt’ amo prothoplastus poena accersitus in venatus, quod eram a ticky-tack dico in volatilis Jason Pupillus pupilla.
• Nice offa per Gomer ut terminus venatus. Is quod Drury have perfectus nusquam tamen coegi suum off-season paydays sursum.
  Vir, operor Malo vigilo venatus in populus television.
• Tim Connolly can virga- tracto aliquantulus frenum.
• Quare doesnt’ is admiratio mihi video vidi visum Zack Parise erigo suus venatus in playoffs?
• Vokun has ut subsisto Pavelskis’ quod Michaleks’ secundus calx.
• Im’ vere usura intensity of San Jose/Nashville serius. Lots of factum.

Should exsisto magis factum tonight, per three teams adversus elimination, sic illic ero multus in versus.

Haud verrimus tonight, quod EGO selfishly tanquam, is opes magis hockey ut vigilo.

• Novus York eram totus super Thrashers, quisnam vultus verto inter. Calx changes pulvis’ succurro, quod team videor insum funis. Vos have ut admiratio si Inicio Waddells’ ultum- propalata tardus-season permoveo mos redeo ut obsideo him in off-season. Suus guarantee of permaneo season didnt’ terminus suus tenura in Atlanta, tamen is eram an infestus quod publicus pulsus impetro profundus in stipes-season.
• Gary Roberts has been a ingens addition pro Pittsburgh. Hes’ a fixture in glacies tardus pro Penguins.
• Ilya Kovalchuk iens secundum Sean Mediocris, ut’ preoccupo. Kovalchuk vere got a offa vel duos in.
• Ottawas’ primoris calx est exigo quidam quaedam quedam quidam fluke calx ut videor ut contingo ASTUS-A Fleury.
• Mike Socius est lascivio ex suus mens vox iam.
• Dan Videlicet clocked Dion Phaneuf, tunc partum a Detroit calx. EGO nunquam specto ut typus illud lacuna in ut ordo, tamen totus promeritum ut Videlicet.
• Roberto Luongos’ opus sicco okay in playoffs, isnt’ is?
• gravitas of sperma ostendo in Ottawa/Pittsburgh serius — Penguins vultus amo they could pello pepulli pulsum ullus of Insula, Diabolus, Levitas, quod Thrashers vox iam. Due ut suum sperma, vero, they es captus in a ingeniosus, veteran team ut est lascivio per multus of fiducia. Ottawas’ captus nonnullus gravis verbera ex Pittsburgh quod subsisto per a sedo, postulo propinquo.

Sic sulum est etiam alive, sententia nonnullus es pensilis in per a thread, quod nonnullus valde interesting serius iens in. Is ero interesting video vidi visum quam Bellicus Brodeur lascivio is vesper, pariter ut tunc chapter in San Jose/Nashville drama. physicality of playoffs has been a exspectata change ex ordinarius season, quod has no pro nonnullus ferventer- conflictus venatus.

• Colo colui cultum nos incrementabiliter infigo per utriusque Poema poematis quod NBC. Poema poematis has a voluptuosus habitus - dress of impendo suus occulto per “ in progressio” transitions ut tardus- nox noctis games. More puck for your buck. And it’s come so, so far from its primitive studio sets and sterile analysis there circa autumn 2005. We still think Bill Clement better at color work than studio hosting. Mike Emerick? Simply one of the best play-by-play guys in all of sports today. And Peter McNab! His ice-level analysis was so chock full of poise and polish and penetrating insight that NBC more or less converted him to a second color guy in the booth. His work surely shamed that of the ice-level puck bunnies of recent years . . . Erin Andrews (where has she gone??) exempted . . . for aesthetic reasons . . . of course.
• Sean Avery with the luckiest/weirdest of all goals . . . off a crazy bounce from a dump in Saturday. Fortunately it wasn’t the Rags’ game winner. That trade deadline acquisition is fast turning out to be one of the better ones.
• Finally . . . finally! . . . some decent use of “Mic’d up” and “Sounds of the Game.” We’ve waited about two seasons for it. While a scrum was broken up by the refs Saturday in Atlanta, Thrasher Brad Larsen said to New York’s Thomas Pock “Don’t fool yourself . . . it’ll be the end of the period for you . . . you don’t want that!” And Sidney Crosby actually articulated some insightful reflections for NBC Saturday.
• Brett Hull laments Ottawa fans’ “respectful booing” of Crosby. Why? Is his memory that short? Mario got it pretty good on the road in the Patrick Division postseason in his day.
• The final minute in the Mullet zone late Saturday afternoon was high octane incredible pressure by Ottawa, playoff puck at its regulation time most dramatic. That was one fabulous game for 80 percent of the U.S. to receive.
• Saturday night: It’s HNIC and no Canadian teams are playing, yet they aired the complete singing of the U.S. National Anthem. There was a time when the U.S. broadcasters did the same. We miss those days.
• Not the normal early game HNIC announcers on Saturday — they must have the main guys for the earlier Senators’ game. Which also means no ‘Coach’s Corner.’ Is this why we haven’t seen Grapes on NBC yet?
• Speaking of NBC, both Saturday’s Sens/Pens’ and Sunday’s Wings/Flames’ games seemed to be a bit dark and yellowish. Saturday’s broadcast of Rags/Thrash, however, was bright. Is the lighting in Philips Arena that much better, or is it something else?
• Scott Gomez can dramatically obliterate the meager numbers from his injury-plagued regular season with a prosperous postseason. Let’s hope he does, and that he seriously considers trading in that red, white and black for red, white, and blue.
• It’s only one game, but in Buffalo Saturday night it was the Rick DiPietro Show, squashing talk of a SlugSweep, and as veteran Caps’ fans, we’ve seen enough Isles’ postseason heroics in net for four lifetimes.
• Marty St.Louis with a killer one-timer from a sharp angle — the little guy always comes up with large goals.
• Daniel Alfredsson can look uninvolved and marginalized for large portions of a game and then, as in Sunday in Pittsburgh, in a flash release a laser shot from the faceoff circle that sours the spirits of the Iron City-swilling faithful.
• The Stars again are in an early postseason hole, but does anyone want to scapegoat Marty Turco? The margin between victory and defeat in this series, in all three games, has been sheer agony for Stars’ fans — it could very easily be a 3-0 lead in games for Dallas this morning.

Starting off in a less-than-glorious fashion, it looked to be a quick loss for the Caps last night: an early goal given up, young defensemen taking penalties, and an Atlanta team with something to play for. All that added up to what figured to be a tough loss.

So, of course, the Caps pull it together, their superstar pots a couple and is the best player on the ice, and the Boyd Gordon Experience continues it’s world tour.

It’s kinda hard not to wonder where this was in December.

• Bryan Muir had another tough game.
• The Caps’ season-long trend of having trouble locating the puck again reared it’s head last night. It’s frustrating to watch, though it should also be noted that it’s easy to say when there aren’t five guys on the ice trying to take your head off.
• The Caps were very, very lucky to get out of the first only down one. Pipes, Brent Johnson’s heroics, and some lucky Caps bounces kept things from really getting out of hand.
• The Thrashers tried to put a physical stamp on the game — they hit early and often.
• We’ve alluded to it at certain times, but Boyd Gordon deserves his own point — rock-solid defensively, good speed, good hockey sense, coachable, and now developing a bit of scoring touch. Gordon’s emergence this season has been a true bright spot, and it’s safe to say the checking line center spot is in good hands.
• Always fun to see Ovechkin flying around like that. He seemed to have a lot of jump in his stride, and the accuracy of his shot has been evident.
• Power play woes continue, from not utiliizing some good offensive zone possession, to giving up a shortie. That pretty much runs the gamut of what can go wrong, there.
• Brooks Laich again takes a tough penalty at a bad time.
• The last two words I have written in my game notes: improbable win.

A young team mans-up and secures a win most wouldn’t predict. While there’s much talk of how this affects the Caps’ drafting position, with no clear number one in the draft, the win works for me. May as well see if the Caps can leave a bad taste in the Sabres’ mouth.

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.

Just quick knee-jerks this evening, as I have to spend the rest of the night figuring out who to blame for the fact that I can watch the Notre Dame/Michigan State game on three different channels, but can’t watch the North Dakota/Michigan game at all.

• Bryan Muir had a rough game.
• The Caps’ power-play was ghastly. The Caps simply can’t gain the zone in a proper and efficient manner, and that throws everything else off. They have trouble receiving passes, and that cuts the margin of error very fine. Too fine for the Caps.
• Shaone Morrisonn again took a strange and ill-advised penalty that cost the Caps.
• Boyd Gordon hit someone behind the net. No lie.
• You’d like to see Kolzig stop that second goal.

Okay, enough of the pain. Back to making a voodoo doll of a television executive.

Update — ESPNU will apparently be showing the North Dakota/Michigan contest . . . tape-delayed. Thanks, fellas.

And back to reality for the Caps, with a visit to the high-flying Buffalo Sabres bringing the Caps back down to Earth. The Caps were very game in the first, but Buffalo’s talent rose to the top in the second, putting the game away.

• Shaone Morrisonn had a good pinch later in the game, and played some solid defense, but the high-sticking double-minor he took in the first put the Caps in a spot.
• The Caps’ power play looked, well, confused. The passing wasn’t really up to snuff, and Alex Ovechkin continued his season-long trouble of holding onto the puck, causing trouble in trying to gain the offensive zone.
• Speaking of things we’d like to see on the power play, Brian Pothier’s bomb from near the blueline was impressive. I’m not sure why he’s hesitant to use it on the man-up (or Milan Jurcina, for that matter), but it couldn’t hurt, at this point.
• The only real highlight for Caps fans is Brashear’s clear win over Andrew Peters.
• Brooks Laich continues to be offensively assertive, though it’s not paying off. He’s taking the puck to the cage and showing some good stick-handling. At some point he needs to pot a few, but hes going in the right direction.
• Milan Jurcina against pasted a few opponents, but his hooking penalty couldn’t have come at a worse time — the Caps get on the board, they may have a bit of momentum, then *boom*, time to go a man-down.
• Boyd Gordon has to find a way to keep his stick throughout his penalty-killing shifts. Seems like he’s broken or lost his twig a lot recently.
• The team has settled down, overall, in front of Kolzig, but you’d really like to see him make the stop on the second Buffalo goal.
• Drew Stafford looked pretty darn good. His move on Eminger was a thing of beauty.

Buffalo continues it’s march to the post-season, and the Caps get Carolina tonight, and get a chance to wipe the bad taste out of their mouth by trying to play the role of spoiler. While I don’t expect the ice to be as tilted as it was for the Sabres contest, it’s still an up-hill task.

With an alternate work schedule today, I was able to attend my first Caps practice since training camp and first visit to Kettler Capitals Iceplex since the ribbon cutting press conference. I took a few notes and will present them in typical OFB Knee-Jerk style.

• I’d estimate the attendance at about 50-75 fans. A practice at high-noon can’t hurt and it makes me wish I worked closer to Ballston. It’s probably just as well because an “extended lunch” would probably become a bad habit.

• Attendance from the MSM included Lindsay Czarniak. Here’s hoping her non-game day visit means improved quantity and quality of Caps’ coverage on News4.

• Team mood seemed to be quite good. Amazing what winning — and winning big — can do.

• Through most of the practice, the top two stars of Sunday’s game were skating on the same line. Semin on the right wing and Fleishmann on the left. Beech centered them.

• Ovechkin was sporting a fish tank off his helmet, courtesy of Dan Boyle.

• With the hand injury, Pettinger was still practicing, albeit he was the lone man wearing red.

• At some point during drills, both Ovechkin and Semin each tried to complete a “Wheeler goal.”

• The last 5 minutes of the “official” practice icluded a shootout competition. Chris Clark’s team, clad in black, pitted against the Russians & Co., donning white. The cheers grew louder with each goal scored by the Men in Black. I soon found out the reason for the commotion. The losing team in white, upon their loss, took to the ice, laid down on their backs, and began a series of crunches. I didn’t notice if Brent Johnson had to endure the punishment of loss.

• An impromptu unofficial drill took place after practice with Brent Johnson in net surrounded by Brashear, Clark, Laich, Eminger and others as a shot was taken from the top of the circle. BJ would leave a rebound for one of the masses to pick up the sluff and try to score. I did not keep track.

• I was able to thank Lindsay for dramatic reduction of News4 sports replays that include slowed down action and cheesy sound effects. The SportsMachine style of replay, mercifully, seems to be headed to pasture with its trainer.

• When asked if WRC had named a replacement for the top sports anchor, Lindsay told me that she and Dan Hellie will split those duties. Congrats to both. With split responsibilities, all sports not owned by Dan Snyder should get increased coverage.

Okay, raise your hand if you saw this one coming. No fibbing.

The Caps pasted a Tampa team that is the midst of a dogfight for playoff positioning, Tomas Fleischmann served notice that he’d really, really like to stay with the big club, and Alexander Semin scored a natural hat-trick in a game that was a pleasant as it was surprising.

• Though his driving the net got him a goal late in the game, Giroux digging early to get back on defense will make as bing an impression in the coaching staff’s eye, I’ll bet.
• Speaking of Giroux’ goal, while it went unassisted in the books, Pothier made a fantastic head-man pass to spring the forward. Great read, and Pothier was also sporting an ‘A’ for the contest. At one point Pothier had a chance to step up and try and intercept a Lightning pass into the Caps’ zone, a high-risk, high-reward play, but instead chose to give up the line, ensuring better positioning against Lecavalier. It stuck out to me due to its conservative nature, as that opportunity has been too good to pass up in the past. It’s a small thing, but it’s the kind of thing the ‘bad’ Caps get burned by.
• Tortorella didn’t seem particularly happy with his goalie play yesterday, going from Holmqvist to Denis to Holmqvist again, though it didn’t seem to make much difference.
• The man in the Caps’ net certainly seems to make a difference for his team, however. Washington seems to play with much more confidence in front of Olie, and the work-rate has been very high the past few games.
• I give O’Brien the decision in his fight with Bradley. He’s a guy that will certainly stir trouble up in the division for a while, and he and Bradley were woofing at each other as they were escorted to the locker rooms.
• Tomas Fleischmann was impressive, and while his goals were noteworthy, his centering feed to Boyd Gordon for the last goal of the game was probably my favorite play of his. Interesting to note that most of the game he was playing his natural left wing spot, with Semin on the right side.
• Alexander Semin. Lovely stick-handling on the second goal, and the third goal of the hat-trick was surreal — shooting one-footed, off the wrong foot, all of the heat on that shot was generated from wrist-strength. Not a lot of guys can make that shot.
• Alex Ovechkin had a strange game. Several times on cycling shifts I saw him pass up centering opportunities to hold onto the puck himself. Not sure what to make of it.
• Mike Green looked to respond to his benching, with a nice poke check early, and some decent physical play.
• Schultz was up-and-down, at one point completely eliminating St. Louis, and throwing a good hit behind the net, but after a run-in with Craig Ryan it looked like he got a bit wound up and followed Ryan out to the perimeter by the far boards. Pothier had to yell at Schultz and point out who he should be covering, and luckily no damage was done.
• Milan Jurcina had another physical game, including a mashing of Prospal against the glass. The hit of the night, however, was Ovechkin clocking one Tampa player into another, knocking both down.

Another fun and surprising game, with the puck bouncing the Caps’ way all game. It’s nice to see the team play with some pride, and win a game that most would have predicted they wouldn’t. In a season that has had more lows than highs, it a nice change.

As pointed out by fellow OFBer pucksandbooks, there was all kinds of good college hockey on yesterday, so I started my hockey Friday with the University of North Dakota playing St. Cloud State in the WCHA semi-finals. The game was of interest to Caps fans, as the red-hot, 6th-ranked Fighting Sioux boast Caps’ first-round pick Joe Finley on their blueline, while the #4 in the nation Huskies have 2004 seventh-round pick Andrew Gordon. Some quick thoughts on that game, then on to Toronto’s visit to the Phone Booth.

• Gordon’s line (Nodl-Dey-Gordon) provided the Huskies’ only offense on the day. For SCS’s first goal, Gordon picked up the puck behind the ND net and made a nice centering pass through two opposing players to Andreas Nodl, who was all alone in front for a forehand-backhand goal.
• Gordon’s goal was the result of nice power-play passing, with Nodl passing cross-ice to Dey, who then centered to Gordon in front of the goal for an easy tap-in.
• In the one draw I saw him take, Gordon beat Toews cleanly.
• Other impressions of the SCS Alternate Captain: he’s game in the corners but not overwhelmingly strong, likes to carry the puck up, and threw a decent forecheck hit on a Sioux defenseman behind the net. The speedy winger has soft hands — passes go where he wants them to, and he seems to have that ability to find the open spot on the ice and exploit it. It will be interesting to see if he leaves school early to sign with the Caps. (Continued)

No such thing as a bad goal, as they say, and Alex Ovechkin isn’t going to argue with that. Conversely, any goalie injury is a bad one, and the Caps probably wouldn’t argue with that. With Johnson leaving the game, Freddy Cassivi again was given spot duty. Tarik El-Bashir reports that Olie Kolzig will try and go on Thursday, which will be an obvious relief, but how sharp will the big netminder be after such a layoff?

Also of note is Alex Ovechkin again commenting on how the team needs help in the offseason. Some have read this as dissatisfaction with the organization, others a genuine assessment of the situation from a top-flight athlete with a competitive streak a mile wide. I tend towards the latter, but Ovechkin has been very plain in expressing his views, which some find a bit disconcerting from the team’s offensive star. Both Ted Leonsis and George McPhee have also spoken plainly on their plans to upgrade the team in the off-season, so it seems everyone’s pulling in the same direction.

• I like the way the second power-play unit is working — there’s puck movement, very little standing around, and they even ran a backdoor play for Jurcina. Of course, they didn’t score, but it didn’t look like two players running everything, with everyone else standing around . . .
• . . . which is what most of the Caps’ offensive forays looked like last night. The grind lines had a few good cycling shifts, and Tomas Fleischmann made a few nice plays, but mostly it was “All Alexes, all the time.” That doesn’t bode well for the rest of the season.
• Atlanta did a good job of blocking the Caps’ shots, and for a stretch in the third period, it seemed like nothing got through at all.
• Tough night for rookie defensemen. Mike Green’s turnover led directly to Holik’s impressive tally, and others have blamed the Tkachuk goal on Eminger. I’m going to vary a bit and split the blame up on that. It looks to me like Jeff Schultz thought Eminger was going to head up the ice, when in actuallity Eminger was skating backwards towards the boards and had to jump up to adjust. Schultz’ pass was too far ahead of Eminger, who didn’t have a chance to do much with it. The Thrashers pick it up and get their break. Nit-picking aside, Green, Eminger and Schultz were shakier than usual last night, and that is a recipe for trouble.

Atlanta looks like a team that could do some damage in the playoffs, and Lehtonen looks like he’s really settled down in the crease. Atlanta could be a team to watch. The Caps? I’ll be watching them, as well, but it will be for the little things — continued effort, refining positioning in the defensive zone, little signs that the youngsters are improving. Hopefully the cavalry will arrive in the Summer, as right now, Hanlon’s looking a little like General Custer.

Well, things are getting interesting when the team scores two goals late and it’s nearly a moral victory. The Caps were game, turning in a much better effort than in the previous night, but they couldn’t get through Rick DiPietro until late.

While still a loss, this was easier to take than the game against Carolina.

• Rick DiPietro had an excellent game, and Brent Johnson looked like he was fighting the puck for much of the night. At one point I thought that Johnson had been injured, getting up slowly after going down to the ice to make a save. He finished the game, so I may have been mistaken, but it wasn’t the most solid performance the big netminder has turned in this season.
• I loved how physically the Caps played last night. Milan Jurcina, in particular, was clobbering Islander forwards on the boards behind the Caps’ net — and yet was not credited with a hit all night. It’s a column for another day, but the way hits are counted from rink to rink and night to night is baffling. The Caps were only given 7 hits all night (the Isles were given 14).
• Mike Green also brought the wood, and was credited with 4 hits. Jeff Schultz got into the act as well, which will make fans happy — of course, he wasn’t credited with a hit.
• Shaone Morrisonn may have had his worst game as a Capital, and that doesn’t include the four minor penalties he took. Looking lost on the power play and making several awful giveaways, he created several Islander scoring chances. I’m not sure if the minutes are getting to Morrisonn, and bad games happen even to the best players, but the Caps depend on Morrisonn, maybe more than any other defenseman, to provide a lot of boring, prosaic, solid defensive minutes, and when that doesn’t happen, the Caps are left scrambling.
• Brian Pothier continued his struggles, as well.
• So, Brashear scores, he and Witt face off a bit, Brashear jostles Witt, Witt makes a quick move like he’s going to come after Brashear, which Brashear responds to with a gloved punch, to which Witt responds like he’s been shot and stays on the ice for 15 seconds, and the only penalty out of it is 2 mins to Brashear? Uh . . . right.
• Great statistic courtesy of Comcast last night — the six blueliners the Caps iced last night had an average age of 23.5 years old. That is incredible, and says a lot about the inconsistencies the Caps still face on the backline.
• “Tomas Fleischmann has picked up his play as late”, an observer e-mailed me a while ago, and I agree. Fleischmann was creating offense and was noticable in the offensive zone last night. He looks like he’s got more confidence, or is more used to the NHL game now. Fleischmann has a chance to make an impression in these remaining games, and he’s beginning to.

Not great, but anything is better than Friday night’s debacle. We’d like to see the Caps put together a game with consistency from the entire team, but with the youth and inexperience the Caps are icing these days, that may be impossible.

Tap. Tap, tap.

Hmm.

I think I’m so deadened from witnessing last night’s game that my knee isn’t reacting.

Other than a stellar night by Brent Johnson — who turned in a Kolzig-esque peformance and will likely spend all morning sitting in an ice bath to heal the bruises from facing 44 shots — the team performed abysmally.

To top things off, the Capitals lost another defenseman to injury last night: John Erskine will miss the rest of the season after dislocating his thumb during a scrum with Scott Walker.

The only enjoyable part of the game was the fact that one of the linesmen was named Thor. Honest.

Not much else to say… feel free to add your observations as comments, as I don’t have the energy to dwell on the anemic PP, two defensemen lofting the puck into the crowd for penalties, sloppy passing… oops, better stop now before I sit in a funk all day.