Game #2 Preview: Washington Capitals vs. New Jersey Devils

Where: Verizon Center, Washington, DC

When:  October 9, 2010 7:00 PM

History:           

Caps Record on this Date: 2-9-1-0

Caps Game 2 Record: 12-20-3-0

All-Time vs. NJ: 73-57-8-9

All-Time Home vs. NJ: 43-22-4-5

Last Season vs. NJ: 1-2-1

Last Meeting: 12/26/09, WAS 4 NJ 1

This Year:

WAS Record: 0-1-0

Standings Points: 0

Division Rank: 5th

Conference Rank: 13th      

Last Game: 10/8/10, WAS 2 ATL 4

Streak: Loss 1

NJ Record: 0-0-1

Standings Points: 1

Division Rank: 2nd

Conference Rank: 6th    

Last Game: 10/8/10, NJ 3 DAL 4 (OTL)

Streak: Loss 1

Probable Line-Ups:     

Washington

Forward Line 1: 8 OVECHKIN, 19 BACKSTROM, 22 KNUBLE

Forward Line 2: 21 LAICH, 14 FLEISCHMANN, 28 SEMIN

Forward Line 3: 25 CHIMERA, 39 STECKEL, 16 FEHR

Forward Line 4: 17 KING, 15 GORDON, 10 BRADLEY

Defense Pair 1: 55 SCHULTZ, 52 GREEN

Defense Pair 2: 3 POTI, 74 CARLSON

Defense Pair 3: 27 ALZNER, 4 ERSKINE

Goalie: 30 NEUVIRTH

Back-up Goalie: 35 SABOURIN

NJ

Forward Line 1: 26 ELIAS, 25 ARNOTT, 23 CLARKSON

Forward Line 2: 22 LEBLOND, 16 HENRIQUE, 17 KOVALCHUK

Forward Line 3: 9 PARISE, 10 PELLEY, 15 LANGENBRUNNER

Forward Line 4: 12 ROLSTON, 19 ZAJAC, 8 ZUBRUS

Defense Pair 1: 6 GREENE, 28 VOLCHENKOV

Defense Pair 2: 7 TILLINDER, 5 WHITE

Defense Pair 3: 2 FRASER, 29 URBOM

Goalie: 30 BRODUER

Back-up Goalie: 1 HEDBERG

Injuries:

Washington – 1 VALAMOV (groin) DTD

NJ – 24 SALVADOR (concussion) IR, 29 SALMELA (knee) IR

Caps Milestones:

Nicklas Backstrom needs 11 assists to reach 200 in his career.

Brooks Laich needs 10 points to reach 200 in his career.

John Erskine needs 2 penalty minute to reach 300 with the Capitals.

Preview:

After a lackluster performance against the Atlanta Thrashers the Capitals will try to rebound against the New Jersey Devils in their home opener. Atlanta played without Ilya Kovalchuck last night but the Devils have no such problem. The Caps usually have a tough game against the trapping defensive style New Jersey plays. The Caps will look to use a lot of indirect passing in the neutral zone to break the NJ trap. Again tonight, the key for the Caps is defensive responsibility and this will be a big early season test for the Caps. I think this will be a tight checking game with few scoring chances.

Joe’s prediction: Caps 3 NJ 2

Official Preview

Game #1 Recap: Caps 2 Thrashers 4

In the third minute of the game, there was an awful scene at Philips Arena as Thrashers goaltender Ondrej Pavelec collapsed to the ice unconscious. Pavelec lay on the ice for nearly fifteen minutes before taken off on a stretcher and rushed to the hospital. Reports are that preliminary tests are negative and he regained consciousness. We offer our prayers for a speedy recovery to the young man. It was quite a terrible site to witness.

As for the Caps, they just couldn't put it all together tonight. The ice looked choppy and the timing was not there. They seemed unable to capitalize on their chances. In the first period, Brooks Laich opened the scoring when he tapped in a sweet passing play from Tomas Fleischmann and Alexander Semin. However, five minutes later Fleischmann coughed up the puck at his own blue line and the Thrashers tied it up. The one bright spot for the Caps was the play of their young goalie Michael Nuevirth. Nuevirth made several sparkling saves and held the Caps in the game until late in the second when he was beaten on a deflected shot. he then had to face Evander Kane on a penalty shot when Mike Green was called for covering the puck in the crease. I don't know how the ref could make that call because from the replay Green looked as if he swiped the puck but I guess it doesn't matter and Atlanta converted on the penalty shot. The Caps got within one goal 8-minutes into the third as Alex Ovechkin made a nice shot fake and passed to Mike Knuble on a 2-on-1. Knuble buried the puck and the Caps were within striking distance. The Thrashers replied at the 15-minute mark with another deflection goal. The Caps took a penalty with 3-minutes left and that was it. The team heads back to Washington for their home opener with New Jersey tomorrow night.

Of Note:

• Matt Hendricks and rookie Marcus Johansson made their debuts in a Capitals uniform. Hendricks played well with 1 shot on goal, 1 hit, 1 takeaway and 2 blocked shots. Johansson played a solid 2-way game with some nice passing but needs to work on the face-offs, he won 1 of 8 draws. Hey Marcus, see David Steckel who was like second in the league last year.
• Nuevirth stopped 27 of 31 shots in the game.
• Alex Ovechkin, Mike Green, Tomas Fleischmann, and Alexander Semin each recored an assist.
• Jeff Schultz was +1.
• Both teams were 0-for-3 on the power play.
• And for those who keep track of such things. Of course Ovechkin wore the "C" as captain, the "A" was worn by Nicklas Backstrom and Jason Chimera.

Official Recap
Game Summary
Event Summary

Game #1 Preview: Washington Capitals at Atlanta Thrashers

Where: Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA

When:  October 8, 2010 7:30 PM

History:           

Caps Record on this Date: 4-7-0-0

Caps Game 1 Record: 17-16-2-0

All-Time vs. ATL: 34-18-5-5

All-Time at ATL: 14-11-2-4

Last Season vs. ATL: 6-0-0

Last Meeting: 4/9/10, WAS 5 ATL 2

This Year:

WAS Record: 0-0-0

Standings Points: 0

Division Rank: 1st

Conference Rank: 1st      

Last Game: 4/28/10, WAS 1 MON 2

Streak: na

ATL Record: 0-0-0

Standings Points: 0

Division Rank: 1st

Conference Rank: 1st    

Last Game: 4/10/10, ATL 1 PIT 0

Streak: na

Probable Line-Ups:     

Washington

Forward Line 1: 8 OVECHKIN, 19 BACKSTROM, 22 KNUBLE

Forward Line 2: 21 LAICH, 14 FLEISCHMANN, 28 SEMIN

Forward Line 3: 25 CHIMERA, 39 STECKEL, 16 FEHR

Forward Line 4: 17 KING, 15 GORDON, 10 BRADLEY

Defense Pair 1: 55 SCHULTZ, 52 GREEN

Defense Pair 2: 3 POTI, 74 CARLSON

Defense Pair 3: 27 ALZNER, 4 ERSKINE

Goalie: 30 NEUVIRTH

Back-up Goalie: 35 SABOURIN

Atlanta

Forward Line 1: 9 KANE, 80 ANTROPOV, 18 BERGFORS

Forward Line 2: 16 LADD, 47 PEVERLEY, 10 LITTLE

Forward Line 3: 21 EAGER, 23 SLATER, 19 MODIN

Forward Line 4: 36 BOULTON, 49 BURMISTROV, 27 THORBURN

Defense Pair 1: 6 HAINSEY, 39 ENSTROM

Defense Pair 2: 33 BYFUGLIEN, 29 ODUYA

Defense Pair 3: 4 BOGOSIAN, 3 SOPEL

Goalie: 50 MASON

Back-up Goalie: 31 PAVELEC

Injuries:

Washington – 1 VARLAMOV

Atlanta – None

Caps Milestones:

Nicklas Backstrom needs 11 assists to reach 200 in his career.

Brooks Laich needs 11 points to reach 200 in his career.

John Erskine needs 6 penalty minute to reach 300 with the Capitals.

Preview:

The Capitals open the season on the road against the Atlanta Thrashers. Atlanta went through great changes in the offseason. They have a new coach, a ton of new players and no Ilya Kovalchuk. The Caps had their number last season going 6-0-0. The Caps come into the season as a Stanley Cup contender and need to prove they can win in the second season. The Caps will want to come out of the gate strong so look for an extremely fast paced game. The key for the Caps is defensive responsibility and penalty killing. The team ranked in the middle of the pack in terms of penalty killing and this phase of the game is going to be emphasized by the coaching staff this year. I think there will be lots of hitting and lots of scoring chances and in the end the Caps will outgun the Thrashers.

Joe’s prediction: Caps 5 ATL 2

Official Preview

2010-2011 Washington Capitals Opening Roster

Here is the Opening roster for the Washington Capitals:

• Line 1: #8 Alex Ovechkin, #19 Nicklas Backstrom, #22 Mike Knuble
• Line 2: #21 Brooks Laich, #14 Tomas Fleischmann, #28 Alexander Semin
• Line 3: #25 Jason Chimera, #90 Marcus Johansson, #16 Eric Fehr
• Line 4: #17 D.J. King, #39 David Steckel, #10 Matt Bradley
• Reserve Forwards: #15 Boyd Gordon, #26 Matt Hendricks
• Defense Pair 1: #52 Mike Green, #55 Jeff Schultz
• Defense Pair 2: #3 Tom Poti, #4 John Erskine
• Defense Pair 3: #74 John Carlson, #27 Karl Alzner
• Reserve Defensemen: #89 Tyler Sloan
• Starting Goalie: #30 Micheal Nuevirth
• Reserve Goalie: #35 Dany Sabourin
• Injured Reserve: G #1 Semyon Varlamov

Caps Sign Goalie Prospect Grubauer

The Capitals signed goaltender Phillip Grubauer their fourth round draft pick in the 2010 entry draft to a 3-year entry level contract. The Rosenheim, Germany native will play junior hockey for the Kingston Frontenacs in the Ontario Hockey League this season. Grubauer also played for the German National Team that won the gold metal at the second division World Championships. This is a signing for the future but Grubauer looks to be a solid goaltender prospect with a winning upside.

Capitals Winter Classic Jersey

The Capitals unveiled their Winter Classic Jerseys at this weekend's Capitals Convention. The look is a throwback to the original jerseys from '74 to '95 with the six red and blue stars over the old school logo. I must say that I always liked the old jersey style so I give this rendition an enthusiastic thumbs up!

For more on the Capitals Winter Classic Jerseys Click Here

Joe is Back!!!

After an ill fated trip to another blogging website, I am returning to my old home here at blogger.

I am looking forward to another exciting season with the Capitals. With much of the team intact from last season, it will be interesting to see if they have finally learned how to finish. Experience is a wonderful thing and I think you will see a much more focused team this year. So follow along with me and we'll find out if this year's team is a team of destiny.