Game #11 Recap - Capitals 1 Senators 2

The Capitals were defeated with 40-seconds left in overtime. In a game where Capitals Goalie Brent Johnson stopped 42 of 44 shots the Caps couldn't seem to generate quality scoring chances. With that being said the team just looks a little off. I have a feeling that soon things will start clicking for this team. This was a tough game for the Caps but they still managed a point in the standings.

Of Note:

• Tomas Fleischmann scored his 4th goal of the season with assists from Alexander Semin and Michael Nylander.
• Semin's assist gives him 154 points in his career. He is now tied with Geoff Courtnall for 38th on the Caps All-Time Points list.
• The Caps killed off all 5 Ottawa power plays including a 1:57 of 5-on-3 advantage. The Caps failed to score on their 1 and only power play attempt.
• Sergei Fedorov reached the 800 penalty minute milestone.
• In his first game back, Alex Ovechkin had 4 shots on goal. He moved ahead of Sylvain Cote into 9th place on the Caps All-Time Shots on Goal List with 1,308.

Official Recap
Game Summary
Event Summary

Game #11 Washington Capitals at Ottawa Senators

Where: Scotiabank Place, Ottawa, Ontario

When: November 4, 2008, 7:30 PM

History:
Caps Record on this Date: 8-4-0-0
Caps Game 11 Record: 10-18-5-0
All-Time vs. OTT: 28-26-5-0
All-Time At OTT: 13-15-1-0
Last Season vs. OTT: 4-0-0
Last Meeting: 1/15/08, WAS 4 OTT 2

This Year:
WAS Record: 5-4-1
Standings Points: 11
Division Rank: 2nd
Conference Rank: 9th
Last Game: 11/1/08, WAS 0 BUF 5
Streak: Loss 1

OTT Record: 4-5-2
Standings Points: 10
Division Rank: 5th
Conference Rank: 12th
Last Game: 11/1/08, OTT 2 TAM 3 (OT-SO)
Streak: Loss 1

Probable Line-Ups:
Washington
Forward Line 1: 8 OVECHKIN, 19 BACKSTROM, 25 KOZLOV
Forward Line 2: 21 LAICH, 91 FEDOROV, 28 SEMIN
Forward Line 3: 14 FLEISCHMANN, 92 NYLANDER, 17 CLARK
Forward Line 4: 87 BRASHEAR, 15 GORDON, 10 BRADLEY
Defense Pair 1: 26 MORRISONN, 52 GREEN
Defense Pair 2: 55 SCHULTZ, 3 POTI
Defense Pair 3: 23 JURCINA, 4 ERSKINE
Goalie: 60 THEODORE
Back-up Goalie: 1 JOHNSON

Ottawa
Forward Line 1: 15 HEATLEY, 19 SPEZZA, 11 ALFREDSSON
Forward Line 2: 20 VERMETTE, 22 KELLY, 10 DONOVAN
Forward Line 3: 73 RUUTU, 12 FISHER, 18 WINCHESTER
Forward Line 4: 71 FOLIGNO, 5 SCHUBERT, 25 NEIL
Defense Pair 1: 24 VOLCHENKOV, 4 PHILLIPS
Defense Pair 2: 17 KUBA, 21 SMITH
Defense Pair 3: 45 PICARD, 2 RICHARDSON
Goalie: 31 AULD
Back-up Goalie: 29 GERBER

Injuries:
Washington – 2 POTHIER (concussion) IR, 26 MORRISONN (undisclosed) DTD
Ottawa – none

Caps Milestones:
Victor Kozlov needs 1 point to reach 500 in his career.
Matt Bradley needs 4 points to reach 100 in his career.
Sergei Fedorov needs 1 penalty minutes to reach 800 in his career.
Sergei Fedorov needs 3 shots on goal to reach 3,900 in his career.

Preview:
After an embarrassing effort in Buffalo the team was put though a workout and a half. Head Coach Bruce Boudreau was not very happy with the team’s performance and let them know it. Hopefully the rebuke has the intended effect as the team heads to Ottawa to face the Senators. Good news for the team as Alex Ovechkin has returned from Russia and Shaone Morrisonn’s injury from last game is not as bad as first thought and both should be able play in Ottawa. Look for the Caps to be flying around in Ottawa with a strong forecheck. The defense has to be better and look for Ovechkin to take command of the game in the early going. The Caps went 4-0-0 against Ottawa last season so the Sens will be ready. It should be a physical match up and close on the scoreboard.

Joe’s prediction: Caps 3 OTT 2

Official Preview

Alexander Semin Named NHL 1st Star for October

The NHL just named the three Stars for the month of October:

1. Alexander Semin, Washington Capitals
2. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers
3. Shea Weber, Nashville Predators
   

Semin and Alex Ovechkin are the only Caps to be named the 1st Star of the Month. The monthly three star awards were started last season. Ovechkin, Olaf Kolzig, Jim Carey (twice), and Mike Gartner previously earned NHL player of the Month honors for the Capitals.

Link

Game #10 Recap - Capitals 0 Buffalo 5

What can you say about this one? Well, Buffalo showed up and the Caps did not. The Sabres then stuck it to the Caps 5-0. Head Coach Bruce Boudreau did not the performance one bit. After the game he called out a few guys and canceled today's day off. The team will practice at 11:00 and I assume much skating and battling for pucks will be involved.

It would be easy to put this one on the goalie, who did not have his best game but the defense was absolutely shameful. Mike Green made Thomas Vanek look All-World as he went around him and scored on the first shot of the game. From there it didn't get any better. The Caps took eight minor penalties with Buffalo converting once. Defensemen Shaone Morrisonn was injured and forced Sergei Fedorov back to blue line duty. Morrisonn was taken to the hospital but did return with the team to Washington. The Capitals expect Alex Ovechkin to return to the team on Monday, not soon enough.

Of Note:

• John Erskine and David Steckel were the only two Caps not to register a minus rating in the game.
• Jose Theodore stopped 22 of 27 shots in the loss.
• Michael Nylander recorded his 1,600th career shot on goal.
• Tomas Fleischmann ringing the cross bar and Nylander hitting the post was the closest any Cap came to scoring.
• The Caps recorded 29 shots on goal. They also missed 10 shots and had 17 shots blocked.
• On the power play the Caps were 0 for 5 including over a minute of a 5-on-3 advantage.

Official Recap
Game Summary
Event Summary

Game #10 Washington Capitals at Buffalo Sabres

Where: HSBC Arena, Washington, DC

When: November 1, 2008, 7:00 PM

History:

Caps Record on this Date: 6-6-2-0

Caps Game 10 Record: 12-16-5-0

All-Time vs. BUF: 33-75-15-1

All-Time At BUF: 17-39-6-0

Last Season vs. BUF: 1-3-0

Last Meeting: 3/5/08, WAS 3 BUF 1

This Year:

WAS Record: 5-3-1

Standings Points: 11

Division Rank: 2nd

Conference Rank: 8th

Last Game: 10/28/08, WAS 4 NAS 3 (OT-SO)

Streak: Win 2

BUF Record: 6-2-2

Standings Points: 14

Division Rank: 2nd

Conference Rank: 4th

Last Game: 10/30/08, BUF 2 TAM 5

Streak: Loss 2

Probable Line-Ups:

Washington

Forward Line 1: 21 LAICH, 19 BACKSTROM, 25 KOZLOV

Forward Line 2: 16 FEHR, 91 FEDOROV, 28 SEMIN

Forward Line 3: 14 FLEISCHMANN, 92 NYLANDER, 17 CLARK

Forward Line 4: 87 BRASHEAR, 15 GORDON, 10 BRADLEY

Defense Pair 1: 26 MORRISONN, 52 GREEN

Defense Pair 2: 55 SCHULTZ, 3 POTI

Defense Pair 3: 23 JURCINA, 4 ERSKINE

Goalie: 60 THEODORE

Back-up Goalie: 1 JOHNSON

Buffalo

Forward Line 1: 20 PAILLE, 9 ROY, 21 STAFFORD

Forward Line 2: 26 VANEK, 22 MAIR, 12 KOTALIK

Forward Line 3: 41 MACARTHUR, 28 GAUSTAD, 29 POMINVILLE

Forward Line 4: 37 ELLIS, 19 CONNOLLY, 61 AFINOGENOV

Defense Pair 1: 44 SEKERA, 6 SPACEK

Defense Pair 2: 5 LYDMAN, 27 NUMMINEN

Defense Pair 3: 10 TALLINDER, 4 WEBER

Goalie: 30 MILLER

Back-up Goalie: 40 LALIME

Injuries:

Washington – 2 POTHIER (concussion) IR, 8 OVECHKIN (personal reasons) DTD

Buffalo – 55 HECHT (finger) IR, 52 RIVET (knee) IR

Caps Milestones:

Victor Kozlov needs 1 point to reach 500 in his career.

Matt Bradley needs 4 points to reach 100 in his career.

Michael Nylander needs 3 shots on goal to reach 1,600 in his career.

Sergei Fedorov needs 3 penalty minutes to reach 800 in his career.

Sergei Fedorov needs 7 shots on goal to reach 3,900 in his career.

Preview:

The Capitals travel to Buffalo to face the Sabres in a clash of 2^nd place teams. The Sabres started out strong but have fallen in their last two games. The two teams boast strong offenses with Thomas Vanek of Buffalo and Alexander Semin of Washington pacing all goal scorers and point getters in the NHL. Buffalo is a very fast team but the Washington defense will be bolstered by the return of Tom Poti. Poti practiced with the team this week and with his return Tyler Sloan has been sent back to Hershey. Watch for the Caps to keep the Buffalo skaters to the outside of the rink and force them to take long range shots. The team also needs to stay out of the penalty box. Last season they were one of the fewest penalized teams. This year has not been so good. The Caps will once again be without their All-World left winger Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin is still in Russia but is, from news accounts, expected back on Monday. The Caps and Sabres are particularly fond of each other so it should be high paced and very physical. I’m thinking another 1-goal game. It would be the Caps 7^th straight 1-goal result.

Joe’s prediction: Caps 5 BUF 4

Official Preview

Game #9 Recap - Capitals 4 Predators 3 (OT-SO)

The Capitals were without Alex Ovechkin for the first time in 203 games, but that did not stop them from pulling out a 4-3 overtime, shootout victory last night. Alexander Semin continued his hot hand with a goal, an assist and a shootout goal. Semin is now leading the NHL in points and goals. The Caps came out firing in the first period out shooting Nashville 19-4. Three times the Caps took 1-goal leads in the game only to see Nashville come back. In the third period the Caps took 3 minor penalties and were out shot 15-3. Jose Theodore stopped 3 of the 4 Nashville shootout attempts to seal the victory. The Capitals have won 2 in a row in overtime and their last 6 games have been decided by 1-goal.

Of Note:

• Alexander Semin's goal came on the power play. His previous 7 came at even strength. He also set up David Steckel's 2nd shorthanded goal of the season. Semin's 2 points moves him into a tie with Greg Adams for 39th on the Cap's All-Time Points List with 153 points.
  
• Viktor Kozlov started off the scoring with his 1st goal of the season. Mike Green recorded his 4th assist of the year on the goal.
• The Caps were 1 for 5 on the power play and killed 6 of 7 power plays against. For the season the Cap's power play is 17.4% successful and they kill 78.4% of the opposition power plays.
  
• With 32 shots on goal the Cap's have put up at least 30 shots in 8 of their first 9 games. They have given up more than 30 shots only 4 times.
• Sergei Fedorov continued to be productive recording an assist on Semin's power play goal along with Nicklas Backstrom. Backstrom has assists in 3 consecutive games.
  
• Mike Green was quite busy last night. Along with his assist, he blocked 4 shots, had 4 takeaways and 4 giveaways, 1 hit, 4 shots on goal, 2 missed shots, and a plus-1 rating.

Official Recap
Game Summary
Event Summary
Shootout Summary

Game #9 Washington Capitals vs. Nashville Predators

Where: Verizon Center, Washington, DC

When: October 28, 2008, 7:00 PM

History:

Caps Record on this Date: 5-11-1-0

Caps Game 9 Record: 13-16-3-1

All-Time vs. NAS: 5-5-1-0

All-Time Home vs. NAS: 3-2-0-0

Last Season vs. NAS: 1-0-0

Last Meeting: 3/18/08, WAS 4 NAS 2

This Year:

WAS Record: 4-3-1

Standings Points: 9

Division Rank: 2nd

Conference Rank: 8th

Last Game: 10/25/08, WAS 6 DAL 5 (OT)

Streak: Win 1

NAS Record: 4-4-0

Standings Points: 8

Division Rank: 4th

Conference Rank: 11th

Last Game: 10/25/08, NAS 5 LA 4

Streak: Win 1

Probable Line-Ups:

Washington

Forward Line 1: 21 LAICH, 19 BACKSTROM, 25 KOZLOV

Forward Line 2: 16 FEHR, 91 FEDOROV, 28 SEMIN

Forward Line 3: 14 FLEISCHMANN, 92 NYLANDER, 17 CLARK

Forward Line 4: 87 BRASHEAR, 15 GORDON, 10 BRADLEY

Defense Pair 1: 26 MORRISONN, 52 GREEN

Defense Pair 2: 55 SCHULTZ, 89 SLOAN

Defense Pair 3: 23 JURCINA, 4 ERSKINE

Goalie: 60 THEODORE

Back-up Goalie: 1 JOHNSON

Nashville

Forward Line 1: 27 HORNQVIST, 19 ARNOTT, 71 DUMONT

Forward Line 2: 28 JONES, 11 LEGWAND, 10 ERAT

Forward Line 3: 29 WARD, 14 BONK, 25 SMITHSON

Forward Line 4: 22 TOOTOO, 12 NICHOL, 74 TARNASKY

Defense Pair 1: 6 WEBER, 20 SUTER

Defense Pair 2: 2 HAMHUIS, 7 DE VRIES

Defense Pair 3: 4 KOISTINEN, 5 ZANON

Goalie: 39 ELLIS

Back-up Goalie: 25 RINNE

Injuries:

Washington – 2 POTHIER (concussion) IR, 3 POTI (groin) DTD, 8 OVECHKIN (personal reasons) DTD

Nashville – 26 SULLIVAN (back) IR, 41 ORTMEYER (knee) IR

Caps Milestones:

Victor Kozlov needs 2 points to reach 500 in his career.

Matt Bradley needs 4 points to reach 100 in his career.

Michael Nylander needs 4 shots on goal to reach 1,600 in his career.

Sergei Fedorov needs 3 penalty minutes to reach 800 in his career.

Preview:

The Capitals return home for a game against Nashville. The Caps were 1-2-0 on their Western road trip and finished the trip with a wild 6-5 overtime victory in Dallas. The team will be without Alex Ovechkin in this game as he has returned home to Russia to be with his ailing grandfather. Brooks Laich has been penciled in for first line duties and Eric Fehr gets the call on the second line. The Caps are still without Tom Poti in the defensive ranks so once again rookie Tyler Sloan will pair with Jeff Schultz. The defense was very suspect on the latest road trip and will be called upon to give a more consistent effort. The power play has a goal in each of the last two games and looks to be a work in progress. Look for the second line to get the Ovechkin treatment and face the number one defensive pair from Nashville. The Caps will try and get more traffic to net on the power play and take more shots. I think this one will be very competitive in the first but the Caps will pull away in the second.

Joe’s prediction: Caps 5 NAS 3

Official Preview