J'avais raison au sujet du dernier trimestre de la saison blanc-étant frotté avec le poing (et d'une chevelure) - contesté. I was accurate, too, in my tally of panic attacks — if you apply them to last night’s third period and overtime. But I severely under-estimated the number of therapy sessions, toupees, and hair dye kits that’d be procured by hockey fans across the region this spring. EMTs were on high alert all about the region for last night’s third period.

For all intents and purposes, it’s now a nine-team race for eight postseason spots in the Eastern conference. If you don’t consider the Caps a team of destiny you are either (1) a Washington Post sports editor or (2) orphaned from the team’s third periods and overtimes the past three weeks. Now 9-3 in their last 12 games (and very, very close to being 11-1), the Caps are finding all manner of methods toward victory. Last night, on a night when the world’s greatest hockey player was hard-pressed to complete the most basic of passes, his subordinate teammates picked him up. No NHL team from October 2006 through December 2007 was as futile as the Caps in shootouts, so naturally, now, in the crunch, they are winning them. They are winning, too, in 4-on-4 OT. A pesky last-place Tampa team well neutralized Ovie last night, so Brooks Laich, Matt Bradley, Alexander Semin, and Tomas Fleischmann get the job done offensively.

Tomas Fleischmann? Prior to last night, Flash’s points total for the month of March was zero. From zero to hero.

Now that’s Bucky Dent. That’s destiny.

The Caps have adopted, fully, the personality of their head coach, who saw only opportunity for prosperity in a closing stretch of schedule that had his youngins on the road for six of the season’s final nine games. The Caps have completed five of those road games, with a record of 4-1. Just how are they doing it? The answer may reside in ordinary dimensions made most un-ordinary by the chemical composition of these Capitals. The square footage of their locker room and players bench is identical to that of 29 other clubs, but what’s transpiring within them isn’t. The answer just may be in the alchemy of these Cardiac Caps.

Weeks back regular readers here first began noticing and commenting on an exuberance they witnessed associated with big-goal scoring and victory with this Caps’ club — one that they’d never seen before. It eminates from Ovie and permeates through to the owner’s box. A theory about its genesis:

The necessary and correct coach arrived late in 2007, and his charges answered change’s call in its immediacy; a starkly different new system required patience and growing pains; most importantly, when newness transitioned to normalcy and the adjusted chemicals were placed on the burner of urgency, early in spring a victor’s will was also instilled. Not just any victor, either: he of championship pedigree.

A swagger seems to have settled in on this team — not quite cocky but rather an overwhelming unity, an unyielding spirit — and that’s hockey’s most potent weapon. With that in your room and on your bench, it matters little whether you’re at home or on the road.

Jeff Halpern told the Washington Post on Wednesday, “I don’t see many teams better than [the Caps] in the East. It’s just a matter of making the playoffs.” This morning it sure looks like Halpern’s right, but will the Caps’ fanbase survive the stress-attacks of this month to see any postseason games?

Speaking of the Halpern family, Jeff’s father Mel, a Caps’ season ticket holder since the early 1980s, traveled to Tampa for last night’s game to see his son play. I wondered a bit about dad’s allegiance last night. Obviously, he wanted his son to tally a hat trick, and surely play the finest game of his career, but did he also want to see his home team lose? Might he not also have wanted the Caps to score 4? There was, truly, that much at stake last night — just as there has been with every game the Caps have played in what we should now call our Month of Follicle Greying and Recession.

Blog democracy at its finest — a keeper comment left for us here last night:

“After watching the Tuesday game against Carolina, I realized I needed a haircut. Eighteen dollars and No. 2 clippers later, I was able to watch [last night's] game without being able to grab any hair and pull it out, no matter how hard the Caps made me try!”

It’s a conspiracy, I tell you, by the head coach to get all in the fanbase shiny on top.

Near 10:15 last night I adopted the view that March 2008 has to rank among the most dramatic of months in Washington Capitals’ history. Also, one of the best.

It’s a Friday for a sun-splashed spring cruise on an open highway, listening to a soundtrack selected for euphoria. Don’t worry about the destination. Savor the journey and the beautiful views along the way.

Ventura Highway in the sunshine

Where the days are longer the nights are stronger than moonshine

You’re gonna go I know

‘Cause the free wind is blowin through your hair

Filed in Bruce Boudreau, Eastern Conference, Morning cup-a-joe, Music, Shootouts, Stanley Cup Playoffs, Tomas Fleischmann, Washington Capitals, Washington Post| Permalink| Comments (9)

In a Flash, Caps Win in OT: Caps 4 / Bolts 3

By The OFB Team
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Filed in 2 Points, Tampa Bay Lightning, Tomas Fleischmann, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (12)

A Grade of C+ on the Crucial Road Swing through the South

By pucksandbooks
Sunday, February 17, 2008

I’m sticking to my prediction: on game days, it’s antacid through early April for Caps’ fans. Jonathon Warner of 3WT asked me last night to predict the Southeast division’s resolution, so of course I told him I’d get back to him around April 5. Near that evening’s end.

Of a possible six points among this week’s three divisional road games I thought three the baseline for a passing grade. Insomuch as Alexander Ovechkin was magnificently neutralized by both Florida Friday night and Tampa last evening, and the team displayed great gumption in salvaging regulation-time victory from the jaws of an infuriating overtime Saturday (and more Tums and Pepto for Washingtonians), I’m grading the gang out at C+.

I fielded calls and email from out-on-the-ledgers after Friday night’s loss in Florida. That was a game determined by a miscue (a Mike Green whiff) and a bad bounce (on BJ’s left post). But generally speaking, the Caps would rather face Detroit or Ottawa than the Florida Panthers. Since the lockout, the teams have faced each other 22 times. The Caps have won a grand total of six of those games. Six. It doesn’t seem much to matter that Roberto Luongo is no longer in South Florida — it’s a mean moon rising for the Caps in Sunrise.

At least three compelling storylines emerged from this roadtrip. The most obvious, in light of his first-star effort last night, is Olie Kolzig’s revitalization. The Washington Times’ Corey Masisak this morning notes that the 37-year-old netminder “is now 11-3-2 since Christmas. [He] has allowed a total of 10 goals in his past five games.” He’s in a groove for sure, and the consistency and game-stealing he’s displaying gives one ample evidence to believe that the rotation with BJ that Bruce Boudreau has insisted on in 2008 is paying big-time dividends. Yes the Caps would have liked more than three points from this trip, but if they arrive in mid-March with a fit and sharp no. 1 netminder — all things injuries being somewhat equal — you have to like their chances in the race for the division crown.

Sami Lepisto made his NHL debut last night, and his 14 minutes of ice time seemed in their impact more like 24. He displayed the poise and mobility and deft puck distribution that had Hershey Bears’ officials and fans raving about him. It was only one game, but it was a very good one on a must-win night, and Lepisto’s resume in his first season of North American pro hockey is stellar. He skated a +27 with the Bears and put up almost a point per game (32 points in 38 games, good for 4th on the team in scoring) as a rookie rearguard — much of those numbers accumulated while Hershey’s blueline was decimated by injuries.

A third-round selection in the 2004 bumper crop of Caps’ Entry Draft picks, Lepisto represents one of the more intriguing prospects in the entire Caps’ organization. For whatever reason the Caps have seldom selected Finns, in an era when that small, Scandanavian, hockey-mad outpost has delivered scores of smart, sturdy defenders, reliable two-way forwards, and the odd stud goalie to the NHL. Prior to coming over to North America, Lepisto had three full seasons of experience in Finland’s top pro league with Helsinki Jokerit. (The team, incidentally, that beginning next season will be coached by Glen Hanlon.) Contending NHL teams need not only to select well in round one each June but to pick up serviceable players intermittently in later rounds. As a young pro hockey player Sami Lepisto already looks a good deal more than serviceable.

Another non-first-rounder, Tomas Fleischmann, may have announced his comfort zone arrival as a productive top-6 NHL forward on the road trip. The owner of a new two-year contract, Flash had 2 goals and an assist in the three games and looked a lot like his did in the AHL the past two seasons — among the best players on the ice each night. So many hockey fans render etched-in-stone verdicts on players’ value and potential from an opening 50 or 100 NHL games. Alexander Semin, for instance, had 10 goals in his first 50-plus games as a rookie. Fleischmann is from the same draft class, and now has 8 goals in 56 games on the season. Flash is particularly important to the Caps as a skilled winger on the left side should the unthinkable in terms of injury take place. The Caps didn’t give him a new two-year, one-way deal out of a sense of charity.

So the old and new came through on an important road swing through the South. On the radio last night studio host Jonathon Warner a few times used the word “separation” as Caps’ fans hoped it would relate to the team’s fortunes on this road trip. Mike Vogel, calling in from Tampa, was quick to dispel us all from such a silly notion. New data arrived this week further confirming that this will be the springtime of our disquiet.

Filed in 3WT, Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Atlanta Thrashers, Eastern Conference, Florida Panthers, Jonathan Warner, Media, National Hockey League, Olaf Kolzig, Radio, Sami Lepisto, Southeast Division, Tampa Bay Lightning, Tomas Fleischmann, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (6)

News Fleisch

By The OFB Team
Wednesday, February 13, 2008

The Washington Capitals have announced they have signed left wing Tomas Fleischmann to a two-year extension. Terms were not disclosed. Per the press release:Tomas Fleischmann - photo from the Washington Capitals

Fleischmann, 23, has appeared in 53 games for the Capitals this season, recording 21 points (six goals, 15 assists) in his first full year with the team. He ranks tied for sixth on the team in assists, seventh in points and eighth in goals. He has eight points in his last 13 games.

A 6’1�, 192-pound native of Koprivnice, Czech Republic, Fleischmann was Detroit’s second-round choice, 63rd overall, in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. He was acquired by Washington in a trade that also brought draft picks to the Capitals that were used to select Mike Green and Oskar Osala, on Feb. 24, 2004. Fleischman was the leading scorer for the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL) in the 2006 AHL playoffs which culminated in a Calder Cup championship and again last season when Hershey reached the Calder Cup finals.

[Update 12:10pm]  TSN is reporting that Fleischmann will make $725,000 in each of the next two years.  He is currently making $495,000.

Filed in Tomas Fleischmann, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (6)

Opening Night in ChocolateTown

By pucksandbooks
Saturday, October 20, 2007

Hershey Bears Logo11:45 a.m.: In the middle of this week I wondered about the appeal of spending this particular weekend in Hershey, coincidental to the Bears’ home opener. It’s never a bad idea to take in a Saturday night hockey game at Giant Center, and the moreso on Hershey’s home Opening Night. But I thought the gentle hills of south central Pennsylvania likely in peak autumn colors, and two full nights within them the perfect escape from hustle and bustle of D.C. Late this morning, driving East through the Lebanon Valley en route to Adamstown and Stoudt’s brew pub, some 30 minutes East of Hershey, I realized I’d made a brilliant travel decision this weekend.

The central region just north of Maryland hasn’t endured anything like the summer and early fall drought of the lower Midatlantic, and as I drove under brilliant sunshine this morning green fields stood out as novel to my eyes, lush between burnt orange, brown, and maroon leaves above and, intermittently, vibrant orange pumpkins stacked and splashed about porches, yards, and small-town merchants’ store entrances.

Stoudt’s, while not near Hershey, is for me a must-visit on every visit. The beer is brewed and bottled cold, meaning that for a traveler like me I can store it in my Jeep and allow it to warm before chilling it again without the slightest harm. Stoudt’s Pils, Pales, and seasonals arrive on the beer lover’s tongue like nectar from an unearthly realm. There’s a quirky law that requires the Stoudt’s patron purchasing beer for take-out to transport only 12-packs at a time to his car. I had a shopping list generous not only for myself but also for my expert on all beers of the planet friend Michael, who lives back home on Capitol Hill. This exertion represents the day’s exercise. Today in the air’s crispness and the hills’ panoramic colors I savored the entirety of the 40-mile drive. The brewery opened at noon. I was there at 12:11.

12:45 p.m.: I hurry back to Hershey from shopping in order to meet a gracious invitation from the Patriot News’ Tim Leone, beat reporter for the Bears, who invited me to his home to watch a half afternoon’s worth of college football before heading over the Giant Center together. USC was playing Notre Dame Saturday. Tim is a USC grad, and, I like to kid Tim, I’m a “patriot,” so it was a showdown slate for us. Tim has a basset hound named Dash who waddles in the family yard patterns that are better disciplined and faster than any of the Fighting Irish’s wide receivers. I think Dash might run block better than any ND linemen as well.

5:15 p.m.: Tim and I head over the to the rink. It’s Chamber of Commerce gorgeous out. If I didn’t have a game to cover, I’d have no problem sipping a few Stoudt’s on my hotel room’s veranda and just staring at the sun setting over the horizon’s hills. Hershey is playing the second most storied franchise in the American League tonight, the Rochester Americans. It’s a novel matchup, Leone informs me, as the visit represents Rochester’s first to the Giant Center in almost two years. Rochester has a dual affiliation with Buffalo and Florida.

I don’t know the identities of the man and woman staffing the credentials table in the entrance hall of the press door at Giant Center, but when I inform that that I’m with OnFrozenBlog, the lady tells me “Oh you’re with the frozen blog. You guys are doing a terrific job.” There is always some manner of warm welcome I experience on every visit up here, in some restuarant or at some service station or at the rink, and this ranks among the best of them all for me.

The Bears are 0-3 on the new season, in the basement of the AHL’s East Division. This is very unfamiliar territory, particularly for Bruce Boudreau and his staff.

6:55 p.m.: In pre-game darkness and opening night lasers, a business-suited Eric Fehr is introduced to the home crowd. I’m so tired of seeing Eric in a business suit. Sami Lepisto is also a scratch, also because he is hurt. A Bears’ staffer informs Leone and me that Boudreau will dress just five defensemen tonight. I find that interesting in light of the fact that the Bears’ bus got home from Connecticut in the middle of the night.

Weird looking: Ben Clymer is dressed for the Bears. I am anxious to see Sasha Pokulok, who’s enjoyed something of a renaissance in his hockey career in the last three months. He led the Bears in scoring during the preseason.

The house is about fourth-fifths full.

7:15 p.m.: Both on paper and in the early going tonight I notice less flash to the Bears’ lineup relative to the past two seasons. One good reason for that is the graduation of Tomas Fleischmann. But Dave Steckel, too, put up big numbers and played an enormous role for Bruce Boudreau the past seasons in Hershey. In the middle of the summer I asked Leone if he thought this would be a “rebuilding” season in Hershey. He actually thought they’d contend for the East division title again, and he said this again to me today in his home. Continue reading ›

Filed in American Hockey League, Dave Steckel, Eric Fehr, Hershey Bears, Prospects, Sami Lepisto, Sasha Pokulok, Tomas Fleischmann, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (5)

Lunchpailin’ It

By pucksandbooks
Thursday, October 18, 2007

Cup'pa JoeA not-so-funny thing happened on the way to the Caps dressing a productive and seriously puck-possessing top 6 set of forwards this season. Some of the machine parts have fallen off. A cranky ankle has shelved sublime sniper Alexander Semin for all but one game thus far. Worse, one third of the top line has imploded. Has ever a young top-line winger’s fortunes soured as swiftly and as thoroughly as have Tomas Fleischmann’s early this autumn? A light switch seemingly shut down Flash’s fission. The boys up front are a bit unsettled right now.

That right side of the Capitals’ forward ranks has to unnerve management and Coach Hanlon. In addition to the flickering out of Flash there is Eric Fehr’s perpetually uncertain status. He’s not even skating these days. Joe Motzko, acquired in the offseason with the Hershey Bears in mind, has suddenly taken a turn on the top right flank. Where is the front-line right wing in this organization this October? The answer is, he may not exist — the moreso if Viktor Kozlov becomes entrenched as AO’s pivot.

Semin will eventually heal, but can the Caps plausibly vie for the postseason without the services of a scoring wing opposite Alex? I wonder.

In my darker moments, I fret about a new position leak springing — in this case, right wing — just as the blueline swiftly became old and immobile at the start of this decade.

Anyway, the Caps are tasked with gutting it out for the foreseeable future.

The beauty of hockey is that a beleaguered lineup can get its collective nose dirty and steal points even from much prettier clubs when their hearts swell for the work.

Monday brought about a two-hour practice. That’s long by NHL standards. When a rut is driven by low shot and goal totals, the most common prescription is hard work. This is a hockey club that for a few years now has been characterized by its hard work.

Not all is gloom and doom this mid-October. It appears that in net, the most important position on the ice, the Caps will regularly get quality, even game-stealing efforts from its tandem. The larger perspective up to the present is this: three weeks ago, knowing that the Caps faced four of the first five on the road, and all of the road games without Semin, had you been offered a record of 3-2 through them, you’d have grabbed it.

More good news: Pittsburgh is losing plenty.

Filed in Alexander Semin, Eric Fehr, Front Office, Glen Hanlon, Olaf Kolzig, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tomas Fleischmann, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (5)

A Postcard from the Washington Capitals’ Media Day 2007

By OrderedChaos (Mike Rucki)
Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Gustafsson and I attended Tuesday’s 2007 Capitals Media Day at the Verizon Center. After opening remarks by owner Ted Leonsis, an open session followed. Here are a few highlights:

Pearls of Wisdom from Ron Weber

I struck up a conversation with Capitals radio great Ron Weber. We were both gazing out at the empty ice surface as chatted about hockey history for a bit, such as the fact that only one team, the Montreal Canadiens, used to have blue lines along the bottom of the boards rather than the standard yellow. He also (without my prompting) commented on the lack of out-of-town scoreboards and real-time clock; we were both hopeful that the cloth-draped ends of the lower ribbon displays will be unveiled as scoreboards on opening night.

The most interesting tidbit he shared with me was in the form of a question. “See the red line?” he asked. “Do you know why it’s not a solid line, but has those white spaces along the line?” I confessed that I did not. “Well,” he explained, “back when they started broadcasting hockey games, they couldn’t tell on close-up camera shots whether the player was skating over the blue line or the red line . . . because on black-and-white televisions they looked the same. So the NHL made a rule that the red line had to have those white marks, so viewers could tell the difference between the lines. Not that anyone is watching on a black-and-white TV today, but they’ve still kept it that way.”

Breathe Deep the DC Air

Dave Steckel and Lisa Hillary -- photo by On Frozen BlogAmong the many media folks at the event was Comcast SportsNet’s wonderfully friendly Lisa Hillary. Ted Leonsis, Hillary, Gustafsson and I were chatting about the upcoming season after Leonsis and Hillary taped an interview for Comcast. Leonsis apologized for his rough voice. “It’s the mold,” he explained — and I sympathized, as a few days ago I awoke with what I thought was a bad cold but was in fact a sore throat caused by the incredibly high count of mold allergens in the air. Hillary remarked on the clean Northern air, “We never had to worry about mold in Ottawa!” Welcome to DC, Ms. Hillary, and good luck in the humid, pollen-ridden, exhaust-fume-choked DC air this spring. Bring Claritin!

At right, a photo of Lisa Hillary and Dave Steckel. Steckel’s impressive camp and preseason have earned him a spot on the Capitals’ opening night roster.

Q & A with Tomas Fleischmann

OFB: You had a shorter season than most of the Caps with your Calder Cup playoff run last year. Looking back, could you imagine then that four months later you’d not only make the team, but be skating with Alex Ovechkin?

Fleischmann: You never know, this is hockey! I didn’t think about it, I just went to summer workouts and worked hard in training camp to make the top two lines . . . You have to work every day, be better every day. I’m just excited and can’t wait for our first game.

OFB: How were those Calder Cup runs, and how do you think that will prepare you for an 82-game schedule in the NHL, and hopefully the playoffs?

Fleischmann: That was a great experience . . . the first thing you have to do in the playoffs is have a good group of guys who want to win, and play for the Cup. Everyone has to do his job, and that’s what it takes. And if everything works like that, it works every time on the ice.

OFB: And you feel that’s what the Capitals have this year?

Fleischmann: Oh, exactly, that’s the way I feel.

As do we, Tomas, as do we.

Filed in Alexander Ovechkin, Comcast SportsNet, Dave Steckel, Lisa Hillary, Ron Weber, Ted Leonsis, Tomas Fleischmann, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (3)

No Flash in the Pan

By The OFB Team
Monday, October 1, 2007

It looks like the opening night roster for the Washington Capitals will include forward Tomas Fleischmann. The Capitals have just announced they have signed Fleischmann.

“Fleischmann, 23, is a fourth-year professional who has played 43 games with the Capitals during the last two seasons, recording four goals and six assists (10 points). He has also been a standout for the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL) in that time, helping the Bears reach the Calder Cup finals both years and win the Calder Cup in 2006. Fleischmann has led Hershey in playoff scoring and led the AHL in playoff assists the past two seasons. He has 114 points (52 goals, 62 assists) in 102 regular-season AHL games in two years with the Bears.”

“A 6’1â€?, 192-pound native of Koprivnice, Czech Republic, Fleischmann played all seven games for the Capitals in the preseason, finishing fifth on the team with four points (one goal, three assists). He posted a +1 rating and 13 shots on goal.”

In keeping with club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Update: John Walton is reporting that Flash signed a two-way deal with the club. No mention of dollars or length.

Update: Tarik El-Bashir is reporting that the deal is for $495,000.

Filed in Tomas Fleischmann, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (0)

It’s All Good (but for the playing of the games)

By pucksandbooks
Monday, October 1, 2007

Cup'pa JoeWhat did the Washington Capitals accomplish with their preseason this September? A good bit, I think. First and foremost, they accomplished the most important task: they avoided serious injury — we’ve no indication that Alexander Semin’s ankle sprain is serious. The second most significant accomplishment, in my opinion, was seeing a healthy number of fresh faces perform at a high level and well integrate with the returning Caps’ core. Tomas Fleischmann, it appears, has won first line right wing duty. He’ll be centered, at least initially, by Viktor Kozlov. So two-thirds of Washington’s top line is new this season. It looks more playoff worthy than either of its previous incarnations the past two seasons.

Speaking of looking playoff worthy, the Caps break camp boasting one of the most intriguing second lines in all of hockey — assuming Alexander Semin’s ankle is merely a day-to-day ailment. Nicklas Backstrom’s poise and production from his very first exhibition game on exceeded I think even management’s rosiest forecast. Look for him to improve month by month as his freshman season progresses, and for him to be lodged on everybody’s short list of Calder candidates come spring. Like the Caps’ top line, the second, centered by Michael Nylander, is 66 percent new this autumn.

Line three will have a new look as well. Boyd Gordon will center it, and Matt Pettinger will flank him on the left. But another Hershey Bear, Dave Steckel, made real loud noise (especially in the faceoff circle) this training camp. He may best draw man in the entire organization, he plays a smart game, and he partners exceedingly well with Gordon. (Caps’ fans can only hope Gordon and Steckel replicate in Washington their two-way work from Hershey’s postseason run to Calder glory in 2006.) Captain Chris Clark appears to be a bit of the utility infielder for the first three lines — he’s likely to see duty on all three this season. At times he should skate on Gordon’s right, at others — perhaps as with this week, when a teammate up top is injured — he’ll skate in the top 6.

That Caps’ fourth line, just 30 hours before opening night rosters must be submitted to the league, may still have five bodies vying for assignment: Donald Brashear, Matt Bradley, Brian Sutherby, Brooks Laich, and Ben Clymer. In recent seasons the Caps’ roster has had the look and feel of too much muck and grit too high up front. This autumn, a lot of it has been pushed downward, and a logjam has emerged. It’s been at least five years since the Caps could credibly claim three lines capable of producing points with any reliability. They’ll be able to in 2007-08.

There’s considerably less turnover and churn on the blueline: only Tom Poti arrives from outside in the top 6. Caps’ management is looking for its blueline corps to mature and blossom organically, and this September, there were encouraging signs of marked improvement from within. Milan Jurcina returned to Washington brimming with bulging biceps; his teammates coined for him the nickname “Juice.” He doled out dozens of bruising hits last season after arriving from Boston, and 2007-08 could see him stake a legitimate claim as an impact, top-2 physical force.

When the Caps sent Mike Green back to Hershey last spring they instructed him to go offensive. He did. That burst of production from the blueline continued this preseason, when for much of it Green led the Caps in scoring. He was on nobody’s radar for power play point duty three weeks ago; now he may be part of the unit’s second pairing.

Last season Brian Pothier, out of necessity, was forced into roles and minutes he wasn’t accustomed and suited to. Look for him to flourish in a more stable — and within an overall more talented — defensive unit. But he is also capable of performing at a high level — anyone who saw him skate for Mike Sullivan and the United States at last spring’s World Championships would agree.

There were no questions about the Caps in net heading into camp. There are none departing it.

There is health. There is the league-wide sense that while the rest of the Southeast stood pat, the Caps upgraded. There is buzz. There is optimism. All is good. Now, it’s time to drop the puck.

Filed in Alexander Semin, Boyd Gordon, Brian Sutherby, Brooks Laich, Chris Clark, Dave Steckel, Donald Brashear, Front Office, Matt Pettinger, Michael Nylander, Milan Jurcina, Morning cup-a-joe, Nicklas Backstrom, Players, Tom Poti, Tomas Fleischmann, Training Camp, Viktor Kozlov, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (4)

Reflections on Training Camp’s Opening Week

By pucksandbooks
Sunday, September 23, 2007

Capitals Training Camp 2007It’s a day of rest not only for Washington Capitals’ players and coaches — well, the players at least — but for the team’s frenzied communications staff as well. Being out at Kettler as much as I have been the past 10 days, I gained a deep appreciation for the commitment of Nate Ewell, Julie Petri, Paul Rovnak, and Mike Vogel, among others. Their days during camp begin early and end late, and at this time of year they’re not only facilitating one of the heavier media flows following camp in years but also putting together the in-season communications products, such as the Media Guide. It’s forecast to be a stunning late September Sunday today, and I hope they’re all out having fun in the fun and recharging their batteries.

The pause in on-ice action is a good time to take stock of what the Caps have achieved thus far in what I believe is the most important training camp in the organization’s history. I made a point during my visits to survey the hockey-savvy heads also taking in the daily doings at Kettler, from print and broadcast reporters to fellow bloggers to fans in the stands, and herewith I’m blending their leading storylines of camp to date with my own.

  • Proud Papa. I’ve regularly seen Owner Leonsis as training camp spectator during the past 10 days, and while it’s true he’s no longer involved with the day-to-day operations of AOL, he remains a busy communications man. I think what’s happened with his training camp interest level mirrors that of the rest of us: the quality and depth of the organization on display is so impressive you are fairly compelled to make the trip out there and simply revel in the turned corner of the team’s competitiveness.
  • Nylander to line 2. Two years ago Michael Nylander left Washington as a very good hockey player. This fall he’s returned but done so appearing to be more a star. He’s a dynamic playmaker, in supreme condition. And while almost everyone in hockey this summer forecasted an Ovechkin-Nylander top-line pairing, way back in July Head Coach Glen Hanlon very publicly stated his intention of experimenting with top-6 forward combinations, and thus far in camp, the conspicuous chemistry appears to have melded among Alexander Semin, Michael Nylander, and Nicklas Backstrom as Hanlon’s second unit.
  • Slick Swede Part II. Speaking of Backstrom, he is irrefutably gaining comfort on the North American-sized sheet of ice — making progress “on a daily basis,” to quote my friend Mike Vogel. At the World Championships in Moscow in May, former Cap and Swedish National Team Head Coach Bengt Gustafsson told us that Backstrom would make that transition successfully and reasonably swiftly, and he was right. Tim Leone up in Hershey thinks it in Backstrom’s, and the Caps’, best interest for him to have a cup of coffee with the Bears this season. Ain’t happening.
  • It’s my puck, and I’m keeping it. The Caps don’t (yet) have a dominant shut-down defenseman, so Glen Hanlon’s strategy for improved defensive play this season rests with his club maintaining possession of the puck more often than in the past two seasons, when often they chased it around the rink in futile fashion. If you have the puck more often than your opposition, your goalie isn’t get apt to face 40 or 50 shots each night, and surrender five or six goals most nights. So far, this strategy appears to be taking hold. In training camp’s scrimmages and through the Caps’ first three preseason games, you can see more puck possession and fewer netminders collapsing from fatigue.
  • Captain, My Captain/Son of Kono-Dahlen-Halpern. I’ve changed my views on cloning, because of Chris Clark. Meaning no disrespect to Dale and his retired sweater, but should Clark captain the Caps to a Stanley Cup title in one of the next three seasons, he will have to be regarded as the best and most important captain in team history, having guided the team from the barrens of an unprecedented bottoming out to the promised land. And sitting here in September 2007, I wouldn’t stand in line to wager against it. (See Carolina ‘05-06, Tampa ‘03-04.)

It is Chris Clark’s team-first, two-way versatility that has Glen Hanlon fantasizing about a two-way, impact third line along the lines of the great Steve Konowalchuk, Jeff Halpern, Ulf Dahlen trio of a few years ago. That line, you’ll recall, was so dominant that Ron Wilson opened just about every game with it. It was also one that was a lynchpin to the Caps’ postseason participation. The coach has told the media that he’s looking for 60 goals from his third line this season, and given the defensive acumen of Clark and Boyd Gordon, and Matt Pettinger’s offensive pop, it’s natural to invoke the KDH comparison.

I’m also not wagering on Clark’s offensive production diminishing, dramatically, by virtue of his dropping down to line 3. As he noted himself on Media Day, he’s spent the past two seasons taking shifts against the likes of Zdeno Chara and top defensive pairings. Less so, it would appear, beginning this season.

  • Deep Depth. The Caps this weekend have 35 players battling for spots on the opening night roster. It’s reasonably easy to forecast another five cuts, but the leap from about 30 to 23 is another matter. To put it charitably, the Caps’ are in uncharted territory, post-lockout, in terms of the skater quality they’ll be showcasing out at Kettler in week two of camp. This is the most basic and encouraging sign of the overall success of the rebuild.
  • Three games, three leads. Through three exhibition games, the Caps have only once fielded a fairly veteran lineup — last Thursday night in Ottawa. They opened in Carolina, against a comparatively veteran Hurricanes’ lineup, dressing only John Erskine and Mike Green on the blueline as guys with significant NHL experience from last season (and with BJ in net). In all three games the Caps have played significant stretches with a lead (twice with two-goal leads). There remain mistakes (penalties) and concerns (penalties) aplenty, but we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that Coach Hanlon’s strategy of playing a more puck possession game is abundantly evident. In order to win more often, a team must first establish competitiveness, then achieve leads in games. The Caps have accomplished both early in this preseason.

The next step is to close the deal once you have the lead.

  • When did Toronto’s print media come to work in Washington? For the first time in my hockey life, I wake each day knowing that with my morning coffee I need to visit the web sites for both of Washington’s big newspapers in order to follow coverage there of Caps’ training camp. There are files there basically every day. And good ones. Additionally, blog files there. This is as it should be, but to our print guys — and most especially the Times’ Corey Masisak, who’s only taking on the beat of a departed legend — good on you.
  • Sharp-dressed men. It’s not anywhere near as important as the talent upgrade, but in this the autumn of uniform mischief, the Caps have showcased the best-looking new threads in the entire league. And it’s not even close. I’ll be particularly grateful when those snazzy white uniform system tops are rightfully returned to wearing on home ice.
Filed in Boyd Gordon, Chris Clark, Comcast SportsNet, Corey Masisak, Dave Steckel, Front Office, George McPhee, Glen Hanlon, Kettler Capitals Iceplex, Lisa Hillary, Matt Pettinger, Michael Nylander, Mike Vogel, Nate Ewell, Nicklas Backstrom, Prospects, Staff, Steve Eminger, Sweaters, Tarik El-Bashir, Ted Leonsis, Tomas Fleischmann, Training Camp, Washington Capitals, Washington Post, Washington Times| Permalink| Comments (4)

On Friday, They Rested

By pucksandbooks
Friday, September 21, 2007

No Ovy or Captain Clark on the ice today at Kettler. They were given the day off. The team, Nate Ewell told me, got back in town from Ottawa near 2:00 this morning.

Also, Tarik has word that Flash will be John Hancock-ing his name to a new, two-way deal any moment now.

Filed in Alexander Ovechkin, Chris Clark, Kettler Capitals Iceplex, Tomas Fleischmann, Training Camp, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (0)

Summer State of the Team - The Forwards

By OFB
Monday, July 30, 2007

Washington Captials - secondary logoAs Training Camp slowly (so slowly) approaches, we decided to take a quick look at some of the new faces, returnees, hopefuls and last-chancers that will be vying for a spot in the Caps’ forward corps. Battles at many slots are expected, and this may be one of the most competitive camp in Caps’ history.

First, we’ll examine the forwards, a group that received an infusion of talent down the middle and added a veteran scoring winger:

Nicklas Backstrom – The youngster is seemingly a lock for the big squad. A slick-passing center with hockey sense and puck-control, the most impressive thing about his game at this point may be his attention to the other end of the ice. His awareness and positioning without the puck, coupled with his creativity and vision should be a boon to either of the Caps’ elite left wingers. Foot speed is a concern, and while he won’t arrive in North America to the same fanfare that Alex Ovechkin did, the “Next Great Swede� will have all the eyes of his country upon him.

Continue reading ›

Filed in Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Andrew Gordon, Boyd Gordon, Brian Sutherby, Brooks Laich, Chris Bourque, Chris Clark, Dave Steckel, Donald Brashear, Matt Pettinger, Michael Nylander, Nicklas Backstrom, Players, Tomas Fleischmann, Travis Morin, Viktor Kozlov, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (10)

Washington Capitals Depth Chart, Summer 2007

By The OFB Team
Friday, July 20, 2007

Herewith, our attempt to devise a depth chart for the Caps to coincide with the recent completion of the team’s annual Rookie Development Camp. It’s important to note that with it we are not forecasting specific line combos but rather attempting to slot players by position according to their professional production and most recent performances in evaluative settings. It’s also important to note that a number of forwards in the Caps’ system play more than one position up front. The Russian elites and Matt Pettinger appear locks on the left side for well into the next decade, whereas the right side seems to carry many more question marks.

We’ve envisioned this as a file hopefully sparking spirited reaction and respectful challenge. We welcome your proposed modifications.

OFBs take on the Washington Capitals Depth Chart

Filed in Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Andrew Gordon, Boyd Gordon, Brent Johnson, Brian Sutherby, Brooks Laich, Chris Bourque, Chris Clark, Dave Steckel, Development Camp, Donald Brashear, Francois Bouchard, Frivolous Summer File, Hershey Bears, Joe Finley, Karl Alzner, Mathieu Perreault, Matt Pettinger, Michael Nylander, Michal Neuvirth, Milan Jurcina, Nicklas Backstrom, Olaf Kolzig, Players, Prospects, Sami Lepisto, Shaone Morrisonn, Simeon Varlamov, Steve Eminger, Tom Poti, Tomas Fleischmann, Travis Morin, Viktor Kozlov, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (15)

Are You Qualified?

By OFB
Monday, June 25, 2007

Another step in the off-season’s activities is tendering qualifying offers (QO’s) to Restricted Free Agents (RFA’s) to keep their rights (rights). QO’s were due today, and the Caps qualified the following players: Steve Eminger, John Erskine, Tomas Fleischmann, Jamie Hunt, Milan Jurcina, Jakub Klepis, Brooks Laich, Dave Steckel and Brian Sutherby.

The Caps declined to offer a QA to Kris Beech, Trevor Byrne, Maxime Daigneault, Jonas Johansson, Jiri Novotny, Louis Robitaille, Matt Stefanishion and Joey Tenute, who all become free agents. This doesn’t affect the Caps a great deal, but does clear room in Hershey for players such as Andrew Gordon, Andrew Joudrey, Sami Lepisto, and Travis Morin to get more ice time. It also opens a goaltending spot behind Frederic Cassivi, perhaps paving the way for Daren Machesny to spend the full season in Hershey.

Names like Beech and Johansson were expected to not be qualified, though it’s a slight surprise to see Joey Tenute or Louis Robitaille, both hard workers for the Bears, to be let go. Jiri Novotny is the only real NHL level skater set free, though his skill set as a checking line center is something the Caps have in abundance.

So, no real shocks, and hockey’s circle of life continues — 8 players on the way out, their spots to be taken up by younger players being given the opportunity to prove themselves.

Filed in Dave Steckel, Milan Jurcina, Tomas Fleischmann, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (4)

The Flea Market Opens

By pucksandbooks
Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Cup'pa JoeWe are now full on in the throes of the end of the offseason’s offseason (mercifully, AMC last night offered up an 8:00 airing of ‘Slapshot,’ perhaps as a bit of a kickoff to the NHL’s off-ice action this month). By that I mean that any moment now we could see cross the transom the first of what typically is a string of trades clubs make to commence their offseason rebuilding. This June the pre-draft dealing buzz isn’t quite what it was last, but I’ve seen too many Draft-Eve seasons to know better. The first shoe will eventually drop, and off we’ll be. And unlike last June, when the Caps were just out of the first turn in its rebuild race, this summer management has pledged to be an active player for new players.

Likely we won’t see a blockbuster like last June’s Panthers’ dealing of Roberto Luongo (for junk; and we may not see such lopsidedness again in this lifetime). Then again, we may see Patrick Marleau moved. The game within the game taking place now through next Friday night involves the leagues GMs sorting through their UFA and RFA lists, comparing last season’s payroll with ‘07-’08’s projected cap, and charting a course for correction and improvement. For some clubs, payroll will be pared and some prime players moved. For others (the Caps), payroll will increase, assets added. A fair bit of this correction will take place over the course of the next 10 days.

Beyond being super submerged below the salary cap (by like tens of millions of dollars), this summer the Caps have consistently and publicly pledged to address their roster remedies through “trades,” Hershey graduations, and potentially the UFA market. In all of their public statements about offseason upgrades, all of management has consistently IDed dealing as a planned strategem, which struck me as brazen in its confidence. Notable, effective deals require willing dance partners. Two to tango. In mid-April, how could Caps’ management have been assured of them come mid-June?

The answer may not be all that secret or surprising. Because of the team’s plethora of draft picks dating back to 2002, and coupled with the Hershey Bears’ fabulous success the past two seasons, GM George McPhee has strong cards in his dealing hand. He is, for instance, loaded at left wing. And after last June’s work by his scouts in Vancouver, the organization suddenly seems deep in net. He is perhaps only a year or so away from being enviably deep on the blueline. And again with this Entry Draft, he has multiple picks up high (two picks each in rounds one and two). Add to these factors the team’s unrivaled cap space, and the Caps clearly are a power player on the phones the next 10 days. Continue reading ›

Filed in Entry Draft, Florida Panthers, George McPhee, Morning cup-a-joe, NHL Trades, National Hockey League, Steve Eminger, Tampa Bay Lightning, Tomas Fleischmann, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (2)

Hershey vs. Hamilton: Calder Cup Finals Preview

By pucksandbooks
Friday, June 1, 2007

Altered Hershey LogoHow ironic it is to suggest that the 2007 Calder Cup Finals pit the farm clubs for the Caps and Canadiens with history being represented by Washington. Tonight at Giant Center the Hershey Bears, AHL members since 1938, will make their 20th appearance in the Calder Cup Finals, an American Hockey League Record, and face the Habs’-affiliated Hamilton Bulldogs, competing in just their 11th season in the ‘A.’ The Bears, the reigning Calder Cup champions, will try to become the first team to repeat since the 1991 Springfield Indians. 

The Bears will seek to reverse an eye-opening trend carried off by Hamilton this spring: in all three of their playoff series the Bulldogs have bested higher-seeded teams. They have prevailed the past five weeks with crunch-time courage — Hamilton has won a lot of close hockey games this postseason — and stellar netminding from blue-chip prospect Carey Price.

In the American League’s Eastern Conference Finals, Hershey had little trouble besting Manchester’s Jason LaBarbera, voted the best goalie in the league this season. But Carey Price, youthful though he is (the 5th pick overall by Montreal in the 2005 Entry Draft), is no journeyman talent. This postseason he is 11-5 with a 2.13 goals-against and a .929 save percentage.

Hamilton likely will not overwhelm Hershey’s blueline with waves of offensive pressure. During the regular season, there wasn’t a single Bulldog ranked in the American League’s top 40 scorers (Duncan Milroy was 43rd, with 25 goals and 33 asists in 64 games). There is balance up front: four Bulldogs tallied 50-plus points (Milroy, Corey Locke, Mikhail Grabovski, and Andrei Kostitsyn).

And in the postseason, this modest offensive output has held true to form: a lot of Hamilton’s wins have been of the 3-2, 2-1, even 1-0 variety. Kyle Chipchura, another Habs’ first-rounder, leads Hamilton in scoring this postseason, but he ranks just 19th overall. Keep in mind that Hamilton has played 17 playoff games, three more than the Bears. The Bears, meanwhile, fairly litter the league’s list of top postseason scorers: Scott Barney is 3rd, Flash is 5th, Kyle Wilson is 8th. Mike Green is outscoring all of Hamilton’s skaters.    

Caps’ fans will also recognize a familiar face from the 2005-06 NHL season in a Hamilton sweater tonight: Mathieu Biron. He had a very solid season for Hamilton, finishing 6th on the team in scoring. Continue reading ›

Filed in American Hockey League, Calder Cup, Hershey Bears, Montreal Canadiens, Prospects, Tomas Fleischmann, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (2)

In a Flash, It’s 3-0 Bears: Hershey 4, Manchester 1

By The OFB Team
Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Through the first three games of the American Hockey League’s Eastern Conference Finals, the Hershey Bears have potted 14 goals past the league’s netminder of the year, Jason LaBarbera. Tomas Fleischmann continued his torrid pace tonight — a goal and two assists.

Look for the Bears to close out this series Saturday night.

2 Point Toast

Filed in American Hockey League, Hershey Bears, Prospects, Tomas Fleischmann, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (0)