The last time the Caps met the ‘Bolts, at Verizon Center on November 11, Alexander Semin potted three goals and two assists in a 6-3 triumph by the hosts. Friday night Semin’s hat trick arrived naturally — in just 4:29 of playing time in a second period in which the Caps’ crisp passing and razzle-dazzle distribution ended any remaining doubt about the outcome. Entering play last night Tampa had closed to within four points of the Caps for first place in the Southeast.

It’s a good thing the Caps no longer play Tampa and the rest of the Southeast division eight times each a season — contract negotiations with Semin and his agent then would get really expensive for General manager George McPhee.

Stat of the night: Semin now has three hat tricks in just the past 35 days, the fastest ever by a Cap in one season. The former holder of that honor was Peter Bondra, who had three in 60 days during the 1996 season.

Semin’s strikes were all of the highlight-reel variety — a pair of one-timer blasts from the weak side off of stellar feeds from Johansson and Nick Backstrom, and a jaw-dropping tally off a sublime feed from Backstrom again on the power play. The Swedish pivot, regaining his elite form of late, fed a seeing-eye cross-ice pass onto Semin’s tape, which the sniper whipped into the upper corner of the cage to secure his third hat trick of the season and give the Caps an unassailable 5-0 lead. It was a play impossible to defend.

Perhaps lost in all of the goal scoring prowess was the play of the Capitals’ defensemen Friday night. John Carlson and Karl Alzner kept Tampa’s top line, featuring Steven Stamkos, more or less silent. Tom Poti also impressed, with Bruce Boudreau pointing out, “You could tell his experience back there when he got the puck he made the right plays.” John Erskine scored his third goal of the season, extending his career high lamp-lighting tally. The blueline unit overall exhibited exceptional positional play and consistently limited the time and space and impact of Tampa’s high-powered top line.

It was a conspicuously easy evening for Semyon Varlamov, who earned his third career shutout and was called upon to make just 17 saves. And Marcus Johnasson recorded the first multi-point game of his NHL career, with two assists, the first of which arrived with a clean win of the draw in the Tampa zone, which Carlson promptly blasted past a helpless Mike Smith. Tampa used both Smith and Dan Ellis Friday night, but no goalie would have bailed out a work-ethic-challenged Tampa club going against a suddenly in-synch Caps’ club.

Beyond all of the scoring though, the defense stepped up in several crucial spots, none more important than during a 5-3 penalty kill with less than five minutes to play in the second period. Yes the Caps were up 5-0 at the time, but two quick scores Tampa there and Washington could have been positioned for some most unwanted third period drama. The D-corps and special teams held strong, though, and the Caps were able to quasi-cruise. And consider that the Caps were without their top defenseman, Mike Green. On the night the Caps’ specialty teams were stellar: 5-for-5 on the PK, striking twice in four opportunities while on the man advantage.

Erskine’s stellar year has been one of the pleasant surprises of the season. Last year he looked like a guy who was going to play himself off the team, but this year he seems to have that fifth d-man spot locked up. He spoke to that after the game and it is our quote of the night.

Erskine on his new-found confidence: “I think it is nice coming to the rink and knowing you are in the lineup. There have been other years where you’re kind of guessing trying to think about what the coach is thinking. This year I am just kind of rolling with it and playing.” Part of his “rolling with it” Friday night was another impressive bit of handiwork with the gloves dropped.

With one day off, the Caps will face the Carolina Hurricane’s for the second time in less than seven days on Sunday. Washington was able to pull out of their longest slump of the year and point the ship in the right direction against the ‘Canes on Wednesday. The ‘Canes have been among Washington’s toughest divisional opponents in recent years, and irrespective of the standings the two teams always play each other tough. But even an outstanding effort Sunday by the Caps will be tough to match last night’s virtually perfect three-period performance.

However, I have realized that maybe they are being aggressive this offseason . . . just inside the organization instead of outside it.

This tactic makes complete sense. For the last two seasons, Washington has essentially looked outside the organization for answers to their problems. Whether it was the signing of Mike Knuble and Brendan Morrison, or the trades for Sergei Fedorov, Eric Belanger, Joe Corvo, Jason Chimera, and Scott Walker, Washington has tried to fill holes and add depth by bringing in players from other organizations. Of all these moves, only about three of them could have been said to have worked out, and yet the Caps have not lived up to anything close to their potential in the playoffs.

When the Caps have filled holes from within, however, by promoting Semyon Varlamov, John Carlson, Karl Alzner, and to some extent Mathieu Perreault, the team has found success — in admittedly limited engagements with the young defenders and the young center. To General Manager George McPhee, Head Coach Bruce Boudreau, and owner Ted Leonsis, maybe that is a sign they should use the Hershey Bears to find success instead of the rest of the NHL.

Looking to the back-to-back Calder Cup champions for help in the NHL may be one of the smartest hockey decisions in the league from any team this offsseason. Not only do the Caps not have to spend any money or trade away young assets to alter their lineup, but they also fill their team with players who know how to win and execute Bruce Boudreau’s system– and have done it before.

The first big move of the offseason was made just moments after the Capitals were knocked out of the playoffs by Montreal. We all knew that John Carlson was going to stay with the team; how could he not — he looked great on the ice. But Alzner’s future was somewhat up in the air, until Boudreau essentially confirmed after game 7 that he would be with the team next year. Not only is that great for Alzner (most would agree he has earned it), his promotion would seem to aid Carlson’s continued development. The two had a lot of chemistry on the ice together in the American League — and it is important for a player to feel comfortable when their surroundings change.

Boudreau was not alone in his belief that Alzner and Carlson were ready to contribute full time in the NHL. Many bloggers, including us at OFB, took their performance in game 7 as the sole bright spot from the playoff run. Corey Masisak over at CSN.com saw the pairing as a sign that while Washington may have lost in the playoffs, they had a great shot at being victorious in the long run.

The Caps clearly have a strong set of goaltending prospects, and the position is one of the organization’s strong points in development. This year the Capitals appear poised to use much of that depth. According to Hockeyfuture.com, it is the main reason Washington ranks fourth overall in organizational rankings. Michal Neuvirth was tapped as the team’s backup goalie early in the summer, and for good reason. Not only has he stopped just about everything that has come his way in the minors, and backstopped the Hershey Bears to consecutive Calder crowns, but he has also shown he can hold his own in an NHL game. His ability to handle an NHL workload is important given Varly’s history of injuries and his relatively poor performance in the regular season last year.

The final no-brainer move Washington appears poised to make this fall is with the promotion of Mathieu Perreault to fill a major hole. Washington has been looking for a second-line center since the departure of Sergei Fedorov and has yet to find an adequate replacement. The Brooks Laich experiment didn’t work, Tomas Fleischmann was solid in the faceoff circle at home, but not on the road, and Eric Belanger largely looked out of place. Matty possesses a top-six skill set.

Perreault skates well, has elite player tools, and appears to have no fear, even in corners. Not only does he drive to the net with nifty moves, but he also battles beautifully in the corners, often taking angles there that not only allow him to make plays but also limit his vulnerability there. He’s especially adept at kicking pucks out to teammates in scoring positions. He is not very big, standing only 5’9′, 175 pounds, but he doesn’t play a physically weak game. George McPhee, in speaking to OFB about Matty two summers back, said that if you’re good enough to play in the NHL, you’re big enough to play there. Matty sure looked good in his third- and fourth-line duty auditions in 2009-10, and this summer, it sure looks as if the Caps want him as a primary contender for the second-line center spot.

Perreault’s promotion, while it may be overlooked by many, could have a huge impact on the Caps’ season. A player who can finally quarterback a line with Alexander Semin would give the team two legitimately deadly scoring lines — something it has not only lacked in the regular season, but was an obvious Achilles heal in the playoffs. And Matty possesses a toolbox that is an obvious asset for a second-unit power play.

Even guys who have spent much of their career in the NHL haven’t been able to center a second line, and there is no proof yet that Matty can either. Our friends at Russian Machine Never Breaks believe Perreault could be a boom player, but there is just no guarantee, like anything in the NHL, he will succeed. Still, he’s done everything the Capitals have asked of him in his young pro career — including improving each and every season. There’s one last intangible with Matty I believe is a must to consider, and it’s something that John Walton likes to discuss when talking about players transitioning from the ‘A’ to the National League. Some guys who bear relatively modest numbers in hockey’s second-best league make the jump and just catch lightning in the proverbial bottle. They play bigger in the big league than numbers alone would seem to indicate they should. That sure seems like what happened in 2009-10 with Matty.

After such a disappointing season the Caps’ lack of moves may be a head-scratcher to some. After taking a step back, however, suddenly it seems as if only limited transactions have to take place in order to improve this team. Washington is absolutely loaded with talent in Hershey. Not only is Hershey overflowing with guys primed for professional success, but the whole organization is rich in talent.

Sure, an Anton Volchenkov would have been a nice addition. But he may end up being someone the team doesn’t need. Instead, Washington now has some cap room to play with at the deadline if someone doesn’t work out in a new role or (cross your fingers this doesn’t happen) a major part of the team goes down with an injury. In fact, in retrospect, not making a free agent move was probably the best thing the Caps could do this off-season.

In poker it is rarely smart to bet on the long-shot, that the impossible happens. Play the odds, build on the cards you have, and you have a better shot at winning. Sometimes the best strategy is to simply play the cards you were dealt — particularly when that hand is pretty darned good already.

Photo courtesy of Overtime w/ Bill Rohland

On Wednesday, 106.7′s Overtime w/ Bill Rohland featured a Hershey Bear who’s sure to have a big impact in D.C. this season: Karl Alzner.  According to Tarik:

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, but McPhee pretty much said both John Carlson and Karl Alzner will be full-timers in Washington next season. “He’s shown us enough,” McPhee said of Alzner, who scored a huge goal in the first period of Monday’s Calder Cup-clinching win and was a rock on the blue line. “He could have been in the NHL last year. But the way our team was playing last year, we didn’t want to tinker with the chemistry too much and we thought he would be better off if we kept him playing. He’s a guy we expect to be in Washington.”

Listen to the audio here, if nothing else, to hear him explain how he looked like Wolverine for the team photo.

Overtime w/ Bill Rohland can be heard on weekdays from 7-11 PM on 106.7 The Fan.

With time winding down, Nicklas Backstrom took a somewhat foolish(and controversial) cross checking call, which, after Ilya Bryzgalov was pulled, gave the Coyotes a two-man advantage. Behind strong play from rookie Michal Neuvirth and a few great individual defensive plays, the Caps pulled it out. The game was capped with a great feed from Alex Semin to Alexander Ovechkin for an empty net goal in the final 10 seconds.

• A big key to the victory was the Caps’ special teams. They were a letter perfect 5-for-5 on the penalty kill, following a perfect performance in Pittsburgh Thursday night, and 2-for-7 on the power play.

• Tom Poti won the hardhat for the night and for good reason, as he was in on seemingly almost every important defensive play. Karl Alzner had a strong night as well, and his partner Shaone Morrisonn had nothing but good things to say about him, noting in the postgame Alzner’s fundamentals and his play development recognition. Morrisonn also said he was there to offer words of encouragement to his partner as the game went on.

• Kind words also have to be offered for Michal Neuvirth. In his previous two starts earlier this month he got yanked in both. Saturday night, he played with poise, appearing to shake off any doubts or dings to his confidence from his previous outings, and he had to come up clutch on a few Capitals’ breakdowns throughout. Alzner, John Carlson, and Neuvirth at times have all played beyond their years for the Capitals in recent weeks, especially during this six-game win streak.

• While the young guns on defense have been effective, Mike Green’s lackluster play from last night cannot be overlooked. After suffering a mysterious “hand injury” and missing the game against Pittsburgh, Green put up a -1 with three shots, three missed shots, and had four giveaways. On top of all of that, when the Caps needed to buckle down late in the last two minutes he was throwing haymakers in front of the Washington net. He has put a nice season together in the big picture, but nights like last night are a far below his standard.

• A few notes about Saturday night’s press box. Bloggers outnumbered traditional print media by a 4-to-1 margin last night. I don’t know if you want to characterize that as alarming or not, but keep in mind that there was an overwhelming amount of print media present against Philadelphia and Detroit earlier in the week, and many local media even traveled to Pittsburgh, and so the precipitous dropoff last night was conspicuous.

The Phoenix Coyotes are a tremenous, tremendous story this season, lodged in fifth place in the Western Conference, built with an abundance of speed and impressive young skill — they’re a team built to win in the playoffs, in fact. The Coyotes are a typical team for the West, with a strong blueline that not only defends well but can also produce points at the other end. And so it seems local media has a long way to go still in developing a savviness for realizing that meaningful and entertaining and newsworthy hockey isn’t restricted to just the marquee games.

Also of note about last night’s media coverage was that fans in Phoenix were unable to see the game as there was no TV coverage for them: the Caps’ Nate Ewell  also pointed out that there was radio broadcast of the game for Arizona hockey fans but no video broadcast of the game, which is really a shame given how appealing this up and coming club is.

• Last night’s game marked the end of a tough stretch for the Caps in which they either played a perennial playoff contender or a big rival. On Tuesday the team travels to New York to face the Islanders and kick off a stretch where five of their next seven games are against teams who are currently not in the playoffs(NYI, Boston, Florida, Tampa Bay and Atlanta). If they continue to play the way they are and can get a few guys back from injury the Caps can put some nice distance between them and the New Jersey Devils for first overall in the Eastern conference.

• Also worth noting about last night, the Hershey Bears completed a two-game sweep of Manitoba by a final score of 8-2. On the weekend in the series Hershey scored 16 goals and allowed just five. John Carlson, Keith Aucoin, Oscar Osala, Jay Beagle, Andrew Gordon, Chris Bourque and Boyd Kane all scored on Saturday night, while Gordon, Aucoin Bourque, Kyle Wilson, Beagle, Osala, Steve Pinizzotto and Andrew Joudrey scored on Friday. Manitoba brought some injury issues to Chocolatetown, but still, the Bears these days appear able to easily outscore the Redskins on any given night. The Bears have now a club record 14 games in a row at home, and Saturday night also established a new record for attendance at Giant Center with 10,844.

• The wins gave Hershey a total of 70 points on the year, which is 17 more than the number two team in the East Division, the Albany River Rats. Winning sure seems to be in the air in the Washington hockey community.