Capitals Cut Some More

Yesterday saw the Capitals fall in Baltimore 2-0 to the Nashville Predators in their first action of the preseason.

Recap 

Prior to the game the following players were sent to their junior teams:

Samuel Henley, Luke Lockhart, Garrett Ross, James Oligny

In addition, Tyler Ludwig and Taylor Stefishen were cut. Stefishen was acquired during the summer in a trade with Nashville. If the Caps sign him prior to June 1st they will have to send a 7th round draft pick to Nashville.

Good luck to all the young men.

Preseason Game #7 Recap - Capitals 4 Bruins 5 (OT-SO)

The Capitals completed the preseason with a shootout loss to Boston. The Caps were out played in this one and were lucky to be close. The Caps allowed 44 shots on goal. Previous to this game the most the Caps had allowed was 31. Lets hope this was just a case of a game not meaning much and therefore not putting out the appropriate effort. If anything it will give Coach Boudreau something to harp on in practice. Even with the loss the Caps finish the preseason 5-1-1. Chris Bourque and Karl Alzner both have made the personnel decisions very difficult for the Caps. The Caps need to be down to a maximum 23-player roster and under the salary cap ceiling by wednesday.

Of Note:

• Bourque scored a goal with just about 6-minutes remaining in the third period to send the game into overtime. Alzner assisted on the play as well as assiting on Chris Clark's goal to open the scoring. It was Alzner's first points as a member of the Capitals.
• Alex Ovechkin and Mike Green scored the other goals for the Caps. Milan Jurcina, Alexander Semin, Michael Nylander, Eric Fehr, and Matt Bradley also had assists.
• Jurcina played a very physical game recording 3 hits and a plus-3 rating.
• Jose Theodore had a workout in net stopping 40 of 44 shots on goal. He made several unbelievable saves followed by some pedestian misses.
• The team allowed 1 power play goal against in 4 chances and failed to convert on 2 power play attemps. The Caps finish the preseason 9 for 37 (24%) on the power play and killed 36 of 45 (87%) opponent power plays.
  
• Ovechkin converted his shootout attempt but Nylander and Semin did not. Boston converted on their two attemps to win the shootout 2-1.

Official Recap
Game Summary
Super Stats

Preseason Game #7 Boston Bruins At Washington Capitals

Where: Verizon Center, Washington, DC

When: October 5, 2008, 5:00 PM

Capitals Preseason Record: 5-1-0

Boston Preseason Record: 3-3-0

Probable Line-Ups:

Washington

Forwards:

Line 1: 8 OVECHKIN, 21 LAICH, 16 FEHR

Line 2: 39 STECKEL, 91 FEDOROV, 28 SEMIN

Line 3: 14 FLEISCHMANN, 92 NYLANDER, 17 CLARK

Line 4: 56 BOURQUE, 15 GORDON, 10 BRADLEY

Defense:

Pair 1: 26 MORRISONN, 52 GREEN

Pair 2: 23 JURCINA, 47 ALZNER

Pair 3: 55 SCHULTZ, ERSKINE

Starting Goalie: 60 THEODORE

Backup Goalie: 1 JOHNSON

Boston

Forwards: 11 AXELSSON, 37 BERGERON, 81 KESSEL, 12 KOBASEW, 46 KREJCI, 17 LUCIC, 29 NOKELAINEN, 53 REICH, 73 RYDER, 91 SAVARD, 27 SCHAEFER, 60 SOBOTKA, 16 STURM, 51 THOMPSON, 22 THORNTON, 42 WHEELER, 18 YELLE

Defense: 41 ALBERTS, 33 CHARA, 21 FERENCE, 34 HNIDY, 48 HUNWICK, 45 STUART, 44 WARD, 6 WIDEMAN

Goalies: 35 FERNANDEZ, 30 THOMAS

Preview:

The final preseason game is upon us and Capitals have gone 5-1-0 thus far. The team has performed well in a lot of areas. They have tried some new things that appear to be working including using Alex Ovechkin on the penalty kill. He has 2 shorthanded goals but the question is if the coaching staff will use him in this capacity during the regular season. If the Caps continue to pile up minor penalties as they have in the preseason then yes I think you will. Last season the Capitals averaged a little over 4 opponent power plays per game. In the preseason they are averaging 7 opponent power plays per game. I think the determining factor will be the amount of time the Caps are on the penalty kill. In today’s game look for the young guys to try and make a final impression as the roster must be down to 23-players on Wednesday, also look for the veterans to play lights out to get ready for the opener on Friday.

Joe’s prediction: Caps 6 Boston 1

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Preseason Game # 6 Recap - Capitals 5 Flyers 1

Alex Ovechkin started the scoring shorthanded for the Caps. He went 1-on-3 into the Philly zone and wristed a shot through the five hole of the defensemen and goalie. Ovechkin continued on with assisted on the next two Capital goals. It was five minutes into the third period before the Flyers got onto the scoreboard. Two more Caps goals finished the game as a 5-1 rout of the Flyers. Jose Theodore played the entire 60-minutes in net facing only 18 shots. The team is now 5-1-0 in the preseason and have one exhibition game remaining.

Of Note:

• Ovechkin had 1 goal and 2 assists for 3 points. He has played 3 preseason games scoring 7-points.
• Chris Clark, Nicklas Backstrom, Tomas Fleischmann, and Eric Fehr scored goals for the Caps.
• Sergei Fedorov had 2 assists while playing defensemen. David Steckel, Brooks Laich, Chris Bourque, and Jeff Schultz also had an assist each.
• The Caps scored 1 power play goal on 6 chances. The Caps gave up 1 power play goal to the Flyers on 7 chances.
• Caps' enforcer Donald Brashear and Riley Cote of the Flyers did not play well together. The two fought in the second period and each were given an Unsportsmanlike Conduct and a 10-Minute Misconduct Penalty with about 5-minutes left in the game.
  

Official Recap
Game Summary
Event Summary

Preseason Game #6 Philadelphia Flyers at Washington Capitals

Where: Verizon Center, Washington, DC

When: October 3, 2008, 7:00 PM

Capitals Preseason Record: 4-1-0

Philadelphia Preseason Record: 4-2-0

Probable Line-Ups:

Washington

Forwards: 8 OVECHKIN, 10 BRADLEY, 14 FLEISCHMANN, 15 B. GORDON, 16 FEHR, 17 CLARK, 19 BACKSTROM, 21 LAICH, 25 KOZLOV, 28 SEMIN, 39 STECKEL, 53 LAING, 56 BOURQUE, 87 BRASHEAR, 91 FEDOROV, 92 NYLANDER

Defense: 3 POTI, 4 ERSKINE, 23 JURCINA, 26 MORRISONN, 47 ALZNER, 52 GREEN, 55 SCHULTZ

Goalies: 1 JOHNSON, 60 THEODORE

Philadelphia

Forwards: 45 ASHAM, 48 BRIERE, 17 CARTER, 32 COTE, 27 DOWNIE, 12 GAGNE, 19 HARTNELL, 22 KNUBLE, 15 LUPUL, 13 METROPOLIT, 18 RICHARDS, 9 UPSHAW

Defense: 5 COBURN, 26 EMINGER, 2 HATCHER, 6 JONES, 3 KUKKONEN, 77 PARENT, 44 TIMONEN, 23 VAANANEN

Goalies: 35 AUBIN, 43 BIRON, 30 NITTYMAKI

Preview:

The Caps suffered their first defeat of the preseason against the Flyers on Wednesday night. The two teams meet again on Friday in Washington. The Capitals sent defensemen Sami Lepisto, Tyler Sloan and Grant McNeill to Hershey along with goaltender Simeon Varlamov. Look for forwards Chris Bourque and Quintin Laing to make their last cases to the coaching staff as the team needs to make at least 2 more roster moves to get to the maximum 23-man roster. Karl Alzner is still trying to make the team as a rookie but the team has been looking at Sergei Fedorov as a possible defensive fill in. It is still not known if the Caps will carry 6 or 7 defensemen to start the season. Watch for more of the regular lineup in this one as the team heads towards next Friday’s season opener.

Joe’s prediction: Caps 5 PHI 2

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Preseaon Game #5 Washington Capitals at Philadelphia Flyers

Where: Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, PA

When: October 1, 2008, 7:00 PM

Capitals Preseason Record: 4-0-0

Philadelphia Preseason Record: 3-2-0

Rosters:

Washington

Forwards: 8 OVECHKIN, 10 BRADLEY, 14 FLEISCHMANN, 15 B. GORDON, 16 FEHR, 17 CLARK, 19 BACKSTROM, 21 LAICH, 25 KOZLOV, 28 SEMIN, 39 STECKEL, 53 LAING, 56 BOURQUE, 87 BRASHEAR, 91 FEDOROV, 92 NYLANDER

Defense: 3 POTI, 4 ERSKINE, 23 JURCINA, 26 MORRISONN, 42 LEPISTO, 47 ALZNER, 52 GREEN, 55 SCHULTZ, 75 G. MCNEILL, 89 SLOAN

Goalies: 1 JOHNSON, 40 VARLAMOV, 60 THEODORE

Philadelphia

Forwards: 45 ASHAM, 48 BRIERE, 17 CARTER, 32 COTE, 27 DOWNIE, 12 GAGNE, 19 HARTNELL, 22 KNUBLE, 15 LUPUL, 13 METROPOLIT, 18 RICHARDS, 9 UPSHAW

Defense: 5 COBURN, 26 EMINGER, 2 HATCHER, 6 JONES, 3 KUKKONEN, 77 PARENT, 44 TIMONEN, 23 VAANANEN

Goalies: 35 AUBIN, 43 BIRON, 30 NITTYMAKI

Preview:

The Caps move into October with a matchup against the Flyers. The Caps won all 4 of their preseason game in September. With 10 days remaining until the start of the season, the Caps roster was trimmed by 2 yesterday as C Keith Aucoin was sent to Hershey and D Jakup Cutta was given his release. Aucoin is a guy who may be called up during the season whereas Cutta will most likely head back to Europe. The roster has 16 forwards, 10 defensemen and 3 goalies on it. Look for Chris Bourque and Quintin Laing to fight for forward spots and Karl Alzner, Sami Lepisto, and Tyler Sloan make their case for a spot on the defense. In goal Simeon Varlamov has done well in training camp but needs to get some experience in Hershey.

Joe’s prediction: Caps 4 PHI 2

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Preseason Game #4 New Jersey Devils vs. Washington Capitals

Where: Prudential Center, Newark, NJ

When: September 29, 2008, 7:00 PM

Capitals Preseason Record: 3-0-0

New Jersey Preseason Record: 2-1-0

Rosters:

Washington

Forwards: 8 OVECHKIN, 10 BRADLEY, 14 FLEISCHMANN, 15 B. GORDON, 16 FEHR, 17 CLARK, 19 BACKSTROM, 20 AUCOIN, 21 LAICH, 25 KOZLOV, 28 SEMIN, 39 STECKEL, 53 LAING, 56 BOURQUE, 87 BRASHEAR, 91 FEDOROV, 92 NYLANDER

Defense: 3 POTI, 4 ERSKINE, 23 JURCINA, 26 MORRISONN, 29 CUTTA, 42 LEPISTO, 47 ALZNER, 52 GREEN, 55 SCHULTZ, 75 G. MCNEILL, 89 SLOAN

Goalies: 1 JOHNSON, 40 VARLAMOV, 60 THEODORE

New Jersey

Forwards: 18 BERGFORS, 23 CLARKSON, 44 CORMIER, 51 DAVIS, 47 DISALVATORE, 26 ELIAS, 25 FEDOROV, 14 B. GIONTA, 55 S. GIONTA, 63 HALISCHUK, 16 HOLIK, 15 LANGENBRUNNER, 58 LETOURNEAU-LEBLOND, 11 MADDEN, 54 MURPHY, 20 PANDOLFO, 9 PARISE, 10 PELLEY, 12 ROLSTON, 17 RUPP, 56 SNETSINGER, 53 SWIFT, 21 TALLACKSON, 22 VRANA, 46 WISEMAN, 19 ZAJAC, 48 ZHARKOV, 8 ZUBRUS

Defense: 2 BROOKBANK, 32 CORRENTE, 37 ECKFORD, 33 FRASER, 6 GREENE, 36 LEACH, 39 MAGNAN-GRENIER, 7 MARTIN, 27 MATTAU, 29 ODUYA, 34 SALMELA, 24 SALVADOR, 38 SPILLER, 5 WHITE

Goalies: 30 BRODEUR, 35 CLEMMENSEN, 31 FRAZEE, 50 SMITH, 1 WEEKS

Preview:

The Capitals sent D John Carlson back to his junior team and C Mathieu Perrault to Hershey on Sunday. The roster is now down to 32 players. Chris Bourque is trying to make it difficult for the Caps to send him down with two outstanding performances in the last two games. He currently leads the team with 4 points in the preseason. The Caps have scored 13 goals in their three preseason games and 7 of those have come on the power play. They have a 46.7% success rate going 7 for 15. The penalty kill has allowed only 3 goals in 21 chances. If the Caps can keep this up they will win a lot of hockey games. The team takes on New Jersey tonight in New Jersey. Look for the Caps to work on their 5-on-5 game and try to reduce the number of penalties taken.

Joe’s prediction: Caps 4 NJ 2

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