Game #47 Recap: Caps 2 Philadelphia 3 (OT)

The Capitals continued their most current trend of giving up a early goal, go further into the hole and come back to tie the game in the third period. Last night it was the Eastern Conference best Philadelphia Flyers who scored in the game's second minute then built a 2-0 lead after the second period before Washington responded with goals from Mike Knuble and Alex Ovechkin in the third to tie the game and send it to overtime. The Flyers took the win when a bad defensive play left the point man all alone for a perfectly placed point shot just 1:07 into the extra frame. With just 1 first period goal in the last 8 games, Washington has been forced to from behind far to often and are unable to play the game on their terms. I, for one, would like to see how this team performs when they get the lead. The first and second periods were dictated entirely by the Flyers and their puck possession offense. Through the first two periods of play the Capitals had just 12 shots on goal, a total they matched in the third period. On the other hand, you have to give this team credit for coming back. They didn't mail it in and give up. They continued to play and were able to get 1 standings point out of the game. Now they head Long Island, New York for the second stop on this road trip.

Of Note:

• Congratulations to Nicklas Backstrom. His assist on the Ovechkin goal was the 300th point in his career. Backstrom has been coming on as of late with 5 assists in his last 6 games.
• Michal Nuevirth started the game in net. He gave up 1 goal on 8 shots and left after the first period with a lower body injury. Semyon Varlamov came on in relief and took the overtime loss after stopping 20 of the 22 shots he faced.
• There was only 1 power play in the entire game and it belonged to Philly. The Capitals penalty killers did their job well. They killed off the penalty without allowing a shot on goal.
• Alex Ovechkin scored his 16th goal of the season and broke a personal 3-game scoreless streak.
• Marcus Johansson and Jason Chamira each had 1 assist in the game. 
• Jeff Schultz was +1.

Official Recap
Game Summary
Event Summary

Game #47 Preview: Washington Capitals at Philadelphia Flyers

Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA

When:  January 18, 2011, 7:00 PM

History:           

Caps Record on this Date: 6-5-1-0

Caps Game 47 Record: 18-13-4-0

All-Time vs. PHI: 33-28-5-3

All-Time at PHI: 19-11-4-1

Last Season vs. PHI: 3-0-1

Last Meeting: 12/19/10, WAS 3 OTT 2

Season Series: 1-0-1

This Year:

WAS Record: 25-14-7

Standings Points: 57

Division Rank: 2nd

Conference Rank: 5th

Last Game: 1/16/11, WAS 3 OTT 1

Streak: Win 1

PHI Record: 29-11-5

Standings Points: 63

Division Rank: 1st

Conference Rank: 1st    

Last Game: 1/16/11, PHI 3 NYR 2

Streak: Win 2

Probable Line-Ups:     

Washington

Forward Line 1: 8 OVECHKIN, 19 BACKSTROM, 90 JOHANSSON

Forward Line 2: 21 LAICH, 85 PERRAULT, 22 KNUBLE  

Forward Line 3: 25 CHIMERA, 15 GORDON, 63 A. GORDON

Forward Line 4: 26 HENDRICKS, 39 STECKEL, 83 BEAGLE

Defense Pair 1: 52 GREEN, 55 SCHULTZ

Defense Pair 2: 27 ALZNER, 74 CARLSON

Defense Pair 3: 23 HANNAN, 4 ERSKINE

Goalie: 1 VARLAMOV

Back-up Goalie: 30 NEUVIRTH

Philadelphia

Forward Line 1: 19 HARTNELL, 48 BRIERE, 22 LEINO

Forward Line 2: 93 ZHERDEV, 18 RICHARDS, 15 NODL

Forward Line 3: 21 VAN RIEMSDYK, 28 GIROUX, 17 CARTER

Forward Line 4: 45 SHELLEY, 11 BETTS, 36 POWE

Defense Pair 1: 44 TIMONEN, 5 COBURN

Defense Pair 2: 41 MESZAROS, 6 O’DONNELL

Defense Pair 3: 8 WALKER, 25 CARLE

Goalie: 33 BOUCHER

Back-up Goalie: 35 BOBROVSKY

Injuries:

Washington – 3 POTI (upper body) IR, 17 KING (undisclosed) IR, 10 BRADLEY (broken finger) IR, 28 SEMIN (hip) DTD, 14 FEHR (upper body) DTD

PHI – 25 PRONGER (foot) IR, 14 LAPERRIERE (concussion) IR

Caps Milestones:

Nicklas Backstrom needs 1 point to reach 300 in his career.

Preview:

A big test tonight for the Capitals as they face their old rivals the Philadelphia Flyers. As Washington struggles for consistency the Flyers have been quietly leading the Eastern Conference and look to put some distance on the competition. The Capitals ended their 3 game slide on Sunday and need to start scoring in the first period. The Caps have scored the fewest first period goals, 28, of any team in the NHL. This is forcing the Capitals to try and come from behind and not allowing them to dictate the pace of the game. As was seem in the Ottawa game and as far back as the Winter Classic, with the new system the Caps can shut down the opposition once they get the lead. I expect a very physical game tonight as the Flyer and Capitals really do not like each other. Look for a very fast paced beginning to this one. I think that the big guns of the Capitals will be ready to play and be involved in the scoring.

Joe’s prediction: Caps 4 PHI 3

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Game #46 Recap: Caps 3 Ottawa 1

The Capitals once again got out to a slow start but three third period goals gave the Caps a 3-1 victory. The Senators opened the scoring 72 seconds into the game. That put the Caps on their heels for the better part of two periods. The Caps were out shot 9-5 in the first period and failed to convert on their first power play attempt. Washington started to get a little more penetration in the second period and evened the shot counter at 17 but couldn't score. The third period saw a much more determined Capitals team and they finally broke through at the 7:15 mark when Brooks Laich collected a bad clearing attempt and fired a wrist shot into the net to tie the game at 1-1. Though officially unassisted, the goal was the result of a strong forechecking by Alex Ovechkin and Marcus Johansson. 45 Seconds later the Capitals took the lead on the power play. Nicklas Backstrom won the face-off back to John Carlson who wired a slap shot past the Ottawa net minder for a 2-1 Caps lead. Jason Chimera added an insurance goal five and a half minutes later when he banked a low percentage shot off the Ottawa goalie's back and into the net for his 6th goal of the season. The Capitals then shut down the Senators the rest of the way for the victory. The difference in this game was the disciplined play by Washington. The Caps took 2 minor penalties and killed off both and gave Michal Nuevirth a chance to see most everything shot at him. The Caps will need to bring their third period game with them as they travel to Philly to take on the Eastern Conference front running Flyers Tuesday night.

Of Note:

• Michal Nuevirth stopped 22 of the 23 shots he faced for his 15th win of the year. It was the third time he defeated the Senators this season.
• Brooks Laich ended his lengthy goal scoring drought with his 9th goal of the season. 
• The Capitals dominated the face-off dot once again, winning 43 of 62 draws. Nicklas Backstrom 13-6, Boyd Gordon 8-0 and Mathieu Perrault 7-4 led the way.
• The Capitals converted on 1 of 2 power plays and did not allow an Ottawa power play goal in 2 attempts.
• Backstrom, Karl Alzner and David Steckel each had an assist.
• Alzner had a solid game with 19:50 of ice time, 1 assist, +2 rating, 1 hit, 1 takeaway and 3 blocked shots. Alzner briefly had to go to the dressing room after being boarded in the third period. The Capitals scored on the power play and Alzner was back after regaining his wind. 
• Washington blocked 15 Ottawa shots in the game. It was the 14th consecutive game with double digit blocks.

Official Recap
Game Summary
Event Summary

Game #46 Preview: Ottawa Senators at Washington Capitals

Where: Verizon Center, Washington, DC

When:  January 16, 2011, 3:00 PM

History:           

Caps Record on this Date: 5-6-4-0

Caps Game 46 Record: 15-14-5-1

All-Time vs. OTT: 33-28-5-3

All-Time at home vs. OTT: 19-11-4-1

Last Season vs. OTT: 1-1-2

Last Meeting: 12/19/10, WAS 3 OTT 2

Season Series: 2-0-0

This Year:

WAS Record: 24-14-7

Standings Points: 55

Division Rank: 2nd

Conference Rank: 6th

Last Game: 1/14/11, WAS 2 VAN 4

Streak: Loss 3

OTT Record: 17-22-6

Standings Points: 40

Division Rank: 5th

Conference Rank: 13th    

Last Game: 1/14/11, OTT 2 CAL 3

Streak: Loss 1

Probable Line-Ups:     

Washington

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

Forward Line 2: 25 CHIMERA, 90 JOHANSSON, 83 BEAGLE

Forward Line 3: 21 LAICH, 85 PERRAULT, 39 STECKEL

Forward Line 4: 26 HENDRICKS, 15 GORDON, 17 KING

Defense Pair 1: 52 GREEN, 23 HANNAN

Defense Pair 2: 27 ALZNER, 74 CARLSON

Defense Pair 3: 55 SCHULTZ, 4 ERSKINE

Goalie: 1 VARLAMOV

Back-up Goalie: 30 NEUVIRTH

Ottawa

Forward Line 1: 9 MICHALEK, 12 FISHER, 11 ALFREDSSON

Forward Line 2: 71 FOLIGNO, 37 LOCKE, 26 SHANNON

Forward Line 3: 73 RUUTU, 22 KELLY, 25 NEIL

Forward Line 4: 15 SMITH, 18 WINCHESTER, 13 REGIN

Defense Pair 1: 4 PHILLIPS, 65 KARLSSON

Defense Pair 2: 55 GONCHAR, 14 CAMPOLI

Defense Pair 3: 17 KUBA, 39 CARKNER

Goalie: 30 ELLIOT

Back-up Goalie: 40 LEHNER

Injuries:

Washington – 3 POTI (upper body) IR, 17 KING (undisclosed) IR, 10 BRADLEY (broken finger) IR, 28 SEMIN (hip) DTD, 14 FEHR (upper body) DTD

OTT – 19 SPEZZA (knee) IR, 27 KOVALEV (ankle) IR, 33 LECLAIRE (lower body) IR

Caps Milestones:

Nicklas Backstrom needs 2 points to reach 300 in his career.

Preview:

Washington will try to rebound from three straight losses with an afternoon game against the Ottawa Senators. The Caps are suffering from a power outage on the power play with just 2 goals on the man advantage in their last 8 games. The prolonged scoring slumps of Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Semin and Brooks Laich are most evident on the power play. The boys just don’t seem to have the confidence in their play so they are over passing and trying to make the perfect play. Luckily it is only halfway through the season and these things can be worked out. However, they are going to need to start picking it up sooner rather than later. With their most current loss they have dropped to 6^th place in the Eastern Conference with 9^th place just 7 points behind. Look for a big effort from the Capitals against the Senators as the team needs the two points and a boost to their collective confidence. Look for Nicklas Backstrom to continue his strong play from last game. I get the feeling he is going to connect with Ovie for a couple in this one.

Joe’s prediction: Caps 5 OTT 2

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Game #45 Recap: Caps 2 Vancouver 4

The Washington Capitals lost their third consecutive game 4-2 against the NHL leading Vancouver Canucks. The Caps for the first time in their last 6 games scored in the first period and played even with the visitors. The Caps got on the board first when Matt Hendricks finished a nice transition play from the Capitals zone. John Carlson made a good drop pass to Boyd Gordon at the Caps blue line and Gordon fed a seam pass to Hendrick who buried a wrist shot behind Roberto Lunogo. The Canucks evened the score late in the period when Semyon Varlamov failed to pick up a point drive from the blue line. The two teams were tied 1-1- after the first period. The second period was all Vancouver. They held the Capitals at bay with strong puck possession and score once on the man advantage and once on a defensive break down at center ice. The Caps responded in the third period and created a bunch of chances but only a slick pass from Nicklas Backstrom to Marcus Johansson for a one-time goal was able to penetrate the Vancouver net. The Canucks rounded out the scoring with an empty net goal. The Capitals put up a good effort but special teams once again did the team in. They went 0 for 3 with the man advantage and gave up the go ahead goal with the Canucks on the power play. Washington needs to improve on this area of their game to be successful.

Of Note:

• The Capitals were out shot in the game 35 to 27. In their last 6 games the Caps have been out shot by a combined 212 to 176.
• John Carlson and Karl Alzner were again called upon to take on the oppositions toughest line. They more than held their own with a combined 37 minutes on ice, +3 rating, 3 blocked shots,1 takeaway and 1 assist.
• Semyon Varlamov took the loss stopping 31 of 34 shots and the team allowed the first empty net goal against since December 28, 2009.
• The Capitals dominated the face-off dot winning 38 and losing 18. Nicklas Backstrom went 19 for 24 and David Steckel won 8 of 9.
• Marcus Johansson scored his third goal in three games. The rookie is playing his best hockey of the season and has 6 goals and 4 assists for 10 points in 32 games.
• Matt Hendricks scored his 5th goal of the season. Backstrom, Carlson, Boyd Gordon and Brooks Laich each had 1 assist.

Official Recap
Game Summary
Event Summary

Game #45 Preview: Vancouver Canucks at Washington Capitals

Where: Verizon Center, Washington, DC

When:  January 14, 2011, 7:00 PM

History:           

Caps Record on this Date: 7-5-1-0

Caps Game 45 Record: 15-14-5-1

All-Time vs. VAN: 39-34-9-1

All-Time at home vs. VAN: 23-15-4-0

Last Season vs. VAN 0-1-0

Last Meeting: 12/18/09, WAS 2 VAN 3

This Year:

WAS Record: 24-13-7

Standings Points: 55

Division Rank: 2nd

Conference Rank: 5th

Last Game: 1/12/11, WAS 0 TAM 3

Streak: Loss 2

VAN Record: 28-9-6

Standings Points: 62

Division Rank: 1st

Conference Rank: 1st    

Last Game: 1/13/11, VAN 0 NYR 1

Streak: Loss 1

Probable Line-Ups:     

Washington

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

Forward Line 2: 25 CHIMERA, 85 PERRAULT, 14 FEHR

Forward Line 3: 21 LAICH, 90 JOHANSSON, 83 BEAGLE

Forward Line 4: 26 HENDRICKS, 15 GORDON, 39 STECKEL

Defense Pair 1: 52 GREEN, 23 HANNAN

Defense Pair 2: 27 ALZNER, 74 CARLSON

Defense Pair 3: 55 SCHULTZ,

Goalie: 1 VARLAMOV

Back-up Goalie: 30 NEUVIRTH

Vancouver

Forward Line 1: 22 D. SEDIN, 33 H. SEDIN, 14 BURROWS

Forward Line 2: 21 RAYMOND, 17 KESLER, 23 HANSEN

Forward Line 3: 13 TORRES, 27 MALHOTRA, 26 SAMUELSSON

Forward Line 4: 15 GLASS, 10 TAMBELLINI, 54 VOLPATTI

Defense Pair 1: 23 EDLER, 5 EHRHOFF

Defense Pair 2: 2 HAMHUIS, 3 BIEKSA

Defense Pair 3: 29 ROME, 4 BALLARD

Goalie: 1 LUONGO

Back-up Goalie: 35 SCHNEIDER

Injuries:

Washington – 3 POTI (upper body) IR, 17 KING (undisclosed) IR, 10 BRADLEY (broken finger) IR, 28 SEMIN (hip) DTD

VAN – 6 SALO (Achilles) IR, 37 RYPIEN (personal)

Caps Milestones:

Nicklas Backstrom needs 3 points to reach 300 in his career.

Preview:

Vancouver, and their best overall record in the NHL, comes calling to the Verizon Center for a meeting with the Capitals. The Canucks have been scoring in bunches and will test the improved defense of the Washington Capitals. Look for Karl Alzner and John Carlson to be on the ice against the Sedins’ line as they try to shut down the twins who have combined for 110 points this season. The Capitals will need to ramp up their offense and start converting on the power play if they want to win this game. The power play has been a sore spot for most of the season and the team has scored just once with the man advantage in the last 4 games. The big bright spot for the Capitals has been the play of their two young goalies. Both have turned in solid performances and kept the team in a lot of games they otherwise would be blown out of. I expect a more prepared team in action for the Capitals in this game. The team seems to get up for the high profile games. Look for a high intensity game with lots of scoring chances. Nicklas Backstrom is poised for a big game so watch out for him.

Joe’s prediction: Caps 4 VAN 3

Official Preview

Game #44 Recap: Caps 0 Tampa Bay 3

For the second night in succession the Capitals gave up the first 3 goals to the opposition. On this night, however, there was no push back at all and the Capitals fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-0. The Capitals flat start was punctuated with Mike Green picking up a hooking penalty1:09 in the the game. The Capitals were able to kill off the penalty but gave up a goal 40 seconds after it ended. All over the ice the Capitals looked completely out of sync. Alex Ovechkin broke three sticks with 2 coming on surefire scoring chances. Defensively, Tom Poti made his return to the line up but could only play the first period and 1 shift into the second. Needless to say the defensive pairing had no continuity all night and the team was unable or unwilling to play the dump and retrieve style to get back into the game. the team repeatedly turned over the puck at the Tampa blue line and were forced to defend or regroup. In the end, it just didn't look like the Capitals were interested in the game. With that said Seymon Varlomov like Michal Nuevirth the night before was absolutely solid in net. The rookie stopped 35 of 38 shots with 32 coming in the 1st and 2nd periods. I think the team is having issues with so many players being in and out of the line up coupled with the fact they are using so many different players from previous years. They are still getting comfortable with one another and I believe they will continue to gel as the season goes along. So keep the faith and remember that adversity builds character.

Of Note:

• The Capitals suffered their 6th shut out of the year. In their previous 3 seasons they have only been shut out 8 times.
• The Washington power play continues to be dormant, going 0 for 2 this game and have just 1 power play goal in their last 4 games.
• The penalty kill returned form after a night off in Florida. The Caps stopped all 6 Tampa power plays which is a good job by they need to be killing fewer penalties. The Capitals have given the opposition 12 power plays in the last 2 games, that just too many.
• Boyd Gordon was back in the line up for the Capitals. He had missed 11 games due to foot injury.

Official Recap
Game Summary
Event Summary