Off Wing Opinion

Brooks Laich certainly knows how to celebrate. Hours after the passing of the trade deadline, Laich had a hand in all 4 of the Caps goals, with 2 goals and 2 assists, as they beat Minnesota 4-1.

Kolzig certainly isn't giving up an inch with Huet coming in as he stopped 34 of 35 for the win. Johnson was supposed to get the start Friday against New Jersey, but now Boudreau isn't so sure. From Tarik;

Boudreau said he's talked to Olie Kolzig and Johnson about how three goalie situation is going to work, but there's still no resolution.

"I don't think it's quite, exactly resolved at this point," Boudreau said. "But in a couple of days, when Cristobal gets here and starts practicing we'll get into a routine."

Three goalies is tough to do, whether it be getting them time between the pipes in a game or practices. With only 18 games left and no real time to make a statement, I imagine Johnson ends up being the odd man out, whether it's a bus ride to Hershey or a spot in the press box in Washington.

Apparently it was a good move getting rid of Pettinger; he got a little chirpy with the Canadien news, saying he was butting heads this season with Boudreau. From Corey;

"

I disagree with that. I didn't butt heads. I wanted nothing more than Matt to succeed, and I think we gave him every chance. If he is using that, then I think it is a little bit of a copout. He and I never butted heads. At one point I called him in and said, 'This is what we think as a coaching staff. You have to go to the net more and do this a little bit more, but we think you're capable of scoring and you've proven it.' I think it just got to a point where he needed a change of scenery. His confidence was probably at an all-time low and maybe that was his perception that he wasn't one of 'the coach's guys' but I've told our coaches in here that wasn't case. If was scoring, he would have been playing more."

Even averaging 12 minutes or so a game you'd expect more than 7 points in 56 games out of a guy that averaged 18 goals the last 2 seasons. The decrease in ice time would have hurt his numbers, but not to the point they are at now. If he didn't like being here, then then I say good luck and godspeed.

Japers' Rink leaves the thread open today, but has a great picture of Bradley throwing down on Aaron Voros. An interesting point brought up in the comments was what will the lines look like? I've said it before, I hope Laing stays in the lineup. The guy is a terrific defensive forward, and is someone I want out there, even if it's in limited time.

Caps Nut made an amusing comment concerning Eminger's role in the lineup.

I was glad to see John "Coach's Pet" Erskine Bowles walking on the street outside the Phone Booth at 5:50 pm wearing a coat and tie. Though I think it's a little too late to try to showcase Steve Eminger for a trade.

I was surprised that out of all the moves the Caps made Eminger didn't go. He publicly stated that he wanted a trade, but remains for the rest of the season. Come the off-season when the Caps straighten everything up for a new year I'd imagine Eminger would be on the blocks again.

The Peerless has so much praise going around it's impossible to fit it all here. But I will throw in a part that speaks to what the team has been trying to do the past few years by building a contender from within.

And while we

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 27th, 2008 at 5:04 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.

Damn those Boston Bruins! They held a 2-0 lead over Carolina for nearly 59 minutes last night, then stupid Tim Thomas had to give up 2 goals in 20 seconds to let the 'Canes force overtime. I love my Bruins, and Boston still won, but can't they at least help the Caps at the same time and deny Carolina ANY points? Jeez.

And the big news, albeit unfortunate for all you single ladies, is that Ovie is now off the market. According to Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts of the Post, AO met his new girlfriend online. They connected through a mutual friend on "Odnoklassniki, a Russian equivalent of Classmates.com or Facebook".
Apparently Ovie is one heck of a romantic.

He won her over with phone calls, teddy bears, roses. "He'd send me a [text message] 10 minutes before the start of the game, and even in between during the breaks, [saying] 'Thinking of you' or 'Honey, I scored this goal in your honor.' "

As DCSportsChick points out at OFB;

The girly girl in me thinks that

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 20th, 2008 at 6:01 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.

Carolina's win last night was doubly painful for me, as my Boston Bruins lost, and the Caps dropped out of the Southeast lead. But there will be a new Southeast leader after tonight, whether it be the Caps or the Thrash. Both teams are playing well, but Caps Chick notes that;

...the reality is the Caps have been the hotter team of late - and again, stop me if you've heard this one, they should be able to win this game. Atlanta's offensive firepower is potent and their goalie can keep them in a lot of games, but when one of your top defensive pairings is Ken Klee and Alexei Zhitnik, you're weak on the blue line...and the Caps need to exploit that. Throw in the fact that the Caps have recently gotten their specialty teams back on track with a clinic in both just three days ago, and this team is ready to go.

Oh, and they need to watch out for that Hossa guy - he scores a mean empty-netter.

Japers' Rink keeps it short and sweet, saying;

...with a dozen more Southeast Division match ups remaining on the schedule and only a .500 intra-divisional record, the Caps need to step it up against their "rivals," and that needs to start sooner rather than later.

Well I'm going to say that is bordering on stating the obvious, as these 4-point games are the most important for the Caps. They still hold games in hand on both the 'Canes and Thrashers, so a win tonight jumps them into first while still holding a game in hand on each team.

Also, the Caps have re-signed winger Tomas Fleischmann to a 2-year deal. According to OFB, "Fleischmann will make $725,000 in each of the next two years. He is currently making $495,000." He's had decent numbers, but with 6 top-six forwards already signed, JP wonders why they needed to re-sign Fleisch now.

Perhaps the team feels that Flash will play better, unburdened by pending free agency. Perhaps it's a reward to coach Bruce Boudreau - taking care of one of "his guys" as payback for the job he's done so far. Or (cue foreboding music) perhaps it's easier to trade a player who is under contract for two more years than a guy who will be an RFA on June 1.

Who knows, but hopefully a raise gets a few extra points out of him.

And with re-signing in mind, Tarik notes that this may be Marian Hossa's last home game in Atlanta "if he doesn't sign an extension before the trade deadline." But according to Atlanta GM Don Waddell, ""We haven't tied ourselves to a date...Our No. 1 goal is to try to sign this player."

And lastly, for a little humor, Greg Wyshynski has a good post over at the AOL Fanhouse. IT involves Scott Stratten, a Leafs fan who has realized he just can't take the heartbreak anymore. My favorite line: "We've been together through thick and thin, and I realize...there's a lot of thin, and no thick."

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 13th, 2008 at 5:53 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.

When it seemed like everything and everyone, even the officials, were against the Caps last night, they managed to pull out the win. Going up against the man who's owned the shutout this season after being shut out in 2 of their last 3 seemed like a bad sign, but they managed to net 4 goals, including Ovechkin's overtime winner.

And you know a team's got it rough when even the ref is helping the other team score. JP at Japers' Rink puts it perfectly. It took everything I had to keep from laughing 'til the point of crying.

From A View from the Cheap Seats;

Quote of the night, courtesy of Shaone Morrisonn:

It was a great hip check by Billy [McCreary] there. I don't know what he was doing in the middle, but everybody makes mistakes. Thank God we got the win, or I probably would have fought him.

Thank God that wasn't a home game for the Caps, and that they won, or else McCreary would be risking life and limb if he tried to officiate another game at the Verizon.

Caps Nut covers the good (Tom Poti had his best game of the year, including his first goal of the season), the bad (not many shots from in close), and the ugly (McCreary's hip check on Morrisonn) in his breakdown of the game. Bottom line: we came, we saw, we got 2 points.

Now for tonight. Philly was the site of Boudreau's first NHL win, and here's hoping he gets another one, which would put the Caps in the Southeast Division lead. The Caps are pulling out wins, the Flyers are hot, and both teams know how to throw the body around some. So tonight is Philly skill and strength against DC determination and optimism. Can the Caps pull one out and jump into that 3 seed in the East? I think they can. It will be a tough, physical game, but I feel a Caps win in the City of Brotherly Love.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 6th, 2008 at 4:59 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.