Off Wing Opinion

Well last night didn't go as many of us hoped it would. Montreal managed to get things done on the powerplay, even-strength, and shorthanded. It didn't help that John Erskine is a master at delay-of-game. If you include the delay-of-game for shooting the puck over the glass against Toronto last week, that's 3 delay-of-game penalties in 2 games. As Caps Nut put it;

I'll give you three guess as to what the "John "Delay of Game" Erskine Bowles Boneheaded Play of the Game" was last night and the first two won't count.

It seems Erskine is the media target of the day, as Japers' Rink also noted that;

John Erskine as a third-pairing defenseman? Acceptable (perhaps). As a first-pairing guy? Not so much. Two delay of game penalties and a tripping call, a minus-one rating and a team-high three giveaways tell some of last night's story...

If Shaone Morrisonn is ready to go Thursday night, I wouldn't mind seeing Erskine as a healthy scratch.

According to Tarik;

Morrisonn says he feels "a lot better" but still will wait until after the morning skate tomorrow before deciding whether to play vs. the Canadiens.

Apparently the Caps, and Coach Boudreau in particular, were less than thrilled with the officiating during last night's game. From In the Room;

Boudreau was not happy about the officiating. The Caps had two power-play chances, and they were at the same point in the game and led to a 33-second 5-on-3. Both Alex Ovechkin and Boyd Gordon have cuts on their faces from what they believed to be high-sticking infractions that went uncalled.

The Peerless breaks down the game, and each goal given up in detail. Each goal is more heartbreaking than the last.

And Caps Chick has been kind enough to put up some photos of the damage from last night. Ouch is right.

Also, Mike Vogel has a breakdown of the goaltenders drafted over the two decades or so. He notes the stars and duds of each draft class, as well as listing all the netminders picked by the Caps since Olie in '89.

And lastly, another nice story on the dues Boudreau paid to make it to the District, this one by Canada's National Post.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 30th, 2008 at 7:21 pm by Joe Dumas and is filed under 2007-08 Washington Capitals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

First off every at OffWing sends their best to the Press family, who welcomed, as JP himself puts it, "the world's youngest (I think) Caps fan, Joseph Wesley Press, who was born yesterday and already cries less than Sidney Crosby." Good choice of name too.

Tonight and tomorrow night the Caps play their last 2 games before the All-Star break. It's a home and home with Toronto that kicks off tonight north of the border. It will be Coach Boudreau first game behind the bench in his hometown, and he's gone to extra lengths to be prepared.

"I blew everybody off yesterday," he said. "This is a big game for us. I was in bed at 8:30. There were so many things I could have done. There were so many people I could have seen. But I didn't want to overextend myself. How can I ask the players to rest up if I don't do the same?"

For his own unique take on the game, check out The Peerless Prognosticator

Also, Kris Beech was claimed off waivers from Vancouver, and he's expected to be sent to Hershey to help boost their offense.

On Frozen Blog links to an interesting article today by MSNBC's Bob Duff, who is calling for a mercy killing for the NHL if Malkin can't get the Penguins to the playoffs. A serious article yes, a serious article to be taken seriously, nah.

And lastly, CapsChick at A View from the Cheap Seats takes a look at how the standings have taken a turn since Turkey Day. As The Peerless puts it, noting their current seed, Toronto's now at "14th place in the Eastern Conference (the Caps left the furniture behind so the blue and white can feel comfortable)."

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008 at 4:45 pm by Joe Dumas and is filed under 2007-08 Washington Capitals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

While it may be a little early for spring cleaning, the Caps certainly didn't notice, sweeping the Sens back to Ottawa with a 4-2 victory at the VC. While most teams would be glad to get Ottawa out of the way so early, I'd imagine the Caps are wishing for a couple more games against them after going 4-0 on the season. Imagine the chaos among experts if the Caps slipped into the playoffs as the 8 seed and had to face Ottawa in the first round.

From the Ottawa Sun;

Three-hundred and fifty-five days since their last victory over the Capitals, the Senators blew a second-period lead and went on to drop their fourth and final meeting of the season with Washington...

They just better hope they don't see them again in the playoffs.

But the big news today comes from Olie Kolzig. Earlier this week Mike Wise from The Times had a chance to talk to Olie, and the response he got was mildly unsettling.

"I've talked to my wife about retirement," Kolzig said after the Caps' morning skate. "Things just haven't gone as well for me as I've thought the past two years. I'll wait and see how things play out."

Asked if he felt he would be moved at the trading deadline Feb. 26, "I don't know," he said. "I thought I'd be approached about a contract by now and that hasn't happened either. We'll just wait and see.

"Obviously, because I am unrestricted, being 37, they're not quite as worried I'm going somewhere. And they had to worry about Alex before anyone. Now, they're probably working on getting Greenie [Mike Green] signed. It might be a case where they don't have to worry about me until it's my time. I hope that's the case."

There are a few ways to look at this, and it seems like everyone has a different opinion. Our friend The Peerless notes that;

...It

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 16th, 2008 at 5:52 pm by Joe Dumas and is filed under 2007-08 Washington Capitals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.