You gotta love Google's Alerts...Google helped dredge this one from the depths of the web.
We didn't write this but we sure enjoyed it, of course we read it for the articles.
Alright off with you now...on your way to the Hottest Hockey Wives and Girlfriends.
While checking out the box score of the Atlanta-Tampa game, an interesting name popped out at me: Jordan Lavallee-Smotherman.
I wonder how that last name looked on the back of his jersey.
On Frozen Blog has a great post on the GeriHatricks
The good news is as the games become less and less, the Caps' playoff math becomes easier and easier. If they win out, and either the Canes, Bruins, Flyers, or Sens lose at least two, the Caps are in. If you want to get more technical you can, but that's the simple breakdown.
This all starts with tomorrow night's game against Carolina. According to Corey;
There was a pretty common theme with the players in the room after practice. It doesn't matter if they are young, old or in between, there is a lot of anticipation and excitement about tomorrow night. Brooks Laich laid out the scenario pretty well, saying if they win tomorrow there is a good chance they will make the playoffs, but if they don't it will be awfully, awfully tough.
Tarik echoes that sentiment, noting that;
I just left the dressing room here at KCI, and if there's any tension, I sure didn't feel it. The Caps looked and sounded loose and excited about the challenge that is before them.
Hopefully being loose and ready is the key to victory. It's nice to see they aren't getting too wound up beforehand. But don't be fooled, when it's time to drop the puck they will be hungry for blood.
First Period: MI 1, CL 0
Flashes of gold everywhere. That's the only way to describe what is going on so far in this game. Michigan scored on a wraparound where Clarkson goalie Leggio bit on a fake, and his attempted kick-save left him helpless as Michigan's Palushaj looped behind the net and slipped the puck across the line on the other side. Both teams have been playing well, with neither team really holding advantage. Michigan seems to be a little bit better hockey, so I expect them to come out hard in the 2nd.
First Period: Miami 1, AF 0
After one period Miami has a slim 1-0 lead. But despite the close score, Miami has been in control of the game. My dad and younger sister are actually at the game back in Worcester, and my sister noted that "I hope [Air Force skaters] fly planes better than they play hockey." Miami is the more physical team, and are crashing on the boards and battling for loose pucks. Miami is even dominating the faceoff circle.
This game is Miami's to lose. They only way Air Force can win is if they get a couple lucky bounces and net a few lucky goals and sneak away with the win. They have to find a balance between risky attacks and lockdown defense. They have to push in order to get 2 goals, but they also can't give up any more. It will be interesting to see how Air Force comes out in the 2nd period.
Second Period: Miami 1, AF 2
Volkening starts out the period in style by making an NHL-caliber top play save. On the penalty kill the rebound bounces back door to a Miami forward, and as he shoots on the wide open net Air Force goalie Volkening sprawls across and throws out his stick, deflecting the shot. I'll try and link to video of it as soon as I can find it.
Air Force rebounds from their penalty kill to move into the Miami end and bang in a rebound to tie things at 1. Air Force is going to have to play gritty hockey and knock in some ugly goals tonight.
And they seem to agree, as they bang in another hardworking goal. After a few ugly shots, the rebound is collected and an Air Force forward slips the puck five-hole for the lead.
The whole period has been surreal for Air Force. Volkening has made some huge saves, Air Force has banged in some gritty goals, and they kept Miami off the board in the 2nd. Now it's Miami's turn to regroup during the break and come out strong. They're playing their game, they just have to finish their chances. While Volkening is playing well, he is by no means unstoppable, and the RedHawks need to exploit that. It's time to get ready for a dogfight in the third.
Third Period: Miami 2, AF 2
You'd be hard pressed in that period to tell who was the #1 seed and who was the #4. It was Miami who needed the ugly goal to tie, as Camper collected a deflected shot next to the net and buried it for a goal. Volkening had no chance to stop the shot. Air Force backed down a little trying to protect the lead, but it was their too many men penalty that caused the Miami goal. With both teams back on even footing, the OT will be a nail-biter. Miami has the momentum and skill, but Air Force will not give up without a fight. Normally I'd say that Miami's big, physical skill guys will finish this came, but Air Force has played tough tonight, so it really is anyone's game.
Overtime: Miami 3, AF 2
Someone forgot to tell Air Force that they were supposed to roll over in overtime. They fought all the way until Miami's game winner, and certainly gave their all. They were clearly outmatched but still managed several strong scoring chances in the extra session. Both goalies played extremely well, stopping some point-blank shots. But in the end Miami's Justin Mercier made a nice move down the wing and cut back in, beating Volkening for the winner.
For the rest of the weekend I will be liveblogging the NCAA D1 hockey playoffs. I will be blogging any games which are on ESPNU, which as of now is the Miami (OH) vs. Air Force game and then the East Regional final between Michigan and Clarkson at 7:30.
I will be updating summaries after each period of each game, so be sure to check back often for updates.
According to Roy Johnson, the IRL has implemented a rule change making the minimum weight of the car include the weight of the driver. It's nickname as the Danica Rule refers to the famous Danica Patrick, who weighs in at the bottom of the IRL driver's list at a slight 100 lbs. Johnson notes that "The heaviest driver, according to the IRL guide, is 165
Another game, another close win for the Caps. After quick goal off the faceoff by Semin to tie things at 4 late in the 3rd, Flash nets what might as well be an empty netter in OT for the W. Semin's goal just goes to show how important Federov has been in the faceoff circle for the Caps since his acquisition.
The general consensus is that the Caps didn't play with any sense of desperation last night. Here's what some of our favorite bloggers thought about the game.
It was a game that included stretches of the Caps outplaying their opponent intertwined with stretches where they looked either disinterested or hemmed in. Caps ChickIt didn't seem to me that the Caps were playing with a whole lot of desperation last night. The Caps certainly weren't flat but seemed content to just match the Ning's level of play. Twice in the third period, the Caps were beaten to icing touch ups in their own end. That's a sure sign that a team isn't playing hard enough.
Caps NutThere was a curious lack of urgency in the Caps
If we just went through "Super Tuesday", what does that make tonight? Philly is off, but Boston goes up against Toronto in the back half of a home-and-home, while the Caps are down in Tampa Bay. Florida and Buffalo also play, but if anyone on the Caps is worrying about them they should be reminded who they're chasing, not who's behind them.
According to JP, the Bolts are doing everything they can to tank the rest of the season without making it look obvious. And it's not like the Bolts are playing that well to begin with. The Peerless breaks down their shortcomings, which seem to be in nearly every statistical category. These won't exactly be an easy 2 points, but they are well within reach for the Caps. With every game an elimination game for them, they have to come out hard and play to win. You can't lose when you give 100% every shift. According to Tarik, Huet will get the start, and Cooke will add some forechecking power to the 2nd line. So now that we're set, let's go Caps.
After what seems like forever of listening to who should be awarded the Hart this season, it boils down to 2 camps. Either it matters if your team makes the playoffs or not, and therefore Ovechkin can't win if the Caps don't make it. Or playoffs don't matter, and Ovie should be a unanimous pick.
Barry Melrose is in the playoffs decide things camp, and he made a statement that confused me.
"Anybody can play on a bad team, anybody can put up big numbers on a bad team. It's putting them up on a good team, it's putting them up in the playoff time."
For starters, the Hart is chosen for regular season efforts. The Conn Smythe is for work in the playoffs. And shouldn't it be the other way around? Anyone can put up big numbers on a good team, but not everyone can do so on a bad team? I'd imagine it'd be easier to do well when your team doesn't stink.
And yeah, if the Caps miss the playoffs, Ovie wouldn't have mattered, because they would have missed the playoffs either way. But come on, imagine how far back they'd be without him. He is scoring over 27% of the teams goals so far this season. No other 60-plus goal scorer in NHL history has been responsible for more than 20%. Ovechkin is the heart and soul of this team.
And if we're going strictly by how important a player is to his team, does that mean Sidney Crosby should never win the Hart Trophy again? Because it's clear that his team can do just as well, make that even better, when he's not playing. So just how important to his team is he?
When it's all said and done Ovie should walk away as league MVP no matter what. But to be safe, how 'bout we just have the Caps make the playoffs. And if that happens and he still doesn't win, I want to see a Johnny Drama-style verbal lashing of whoever didn't vote for him.
For the past couple days I've been hearing and reading about the fight involving Patrick Roy's son in juniors. Patrick Roy owns and coaches the team, and was said to have encouraged his son before the fight. And if you watch the video, it isn't so much a fight as a one-sided beatdown. Before I wasn't sure if it was actually that bad, or it was just being blown up because it involved Patrick Roy. Well, it turns out it was really that bad.
I don't know what either Roy was thinking. Yes they were losing big in the playoffs, but there's never room for that kind of stuff in hockey. It clearly looks like the elder Roy knew what was about to happen and gave a sort of "fine, go ahead" gesture to his son. A seven game suspension for Jonathan and a five-gamer for Patrick isn't enough. Well, 5 may be alright for the Roy behind the bench. But his son deserves more than 7 games. What he did was inexcusable, and 15-20 games would be more deserving.
What exactly was last night? I know it's in the books as a win, but it certainly doesn't feel that way. With both Boston and Philly winning, and Carolina getting a point in the shootout loss, it seems more like a tie at best. The Caps finally beat the hated 'Canes, yet sit exactly where they did before they played - 2 points behind Boston for the 8th seed. And Boston has a game in hand.
While that's enough to make any Caps fan fret, the fact that I have dual fan-ship (yes I just made that up) with the Caps and Bruins, I'm counting on a Flyers free-fall to end the season in the hopes that both my teams get in. This will be a long week and a half, but at least I know it's coming.
With that said, the Caps did in fact leave Raleigh with the win last night. Ovie netted #61, the Canes got a couple lucky bounces, and Kozlov snapped the winner past Cam Ward in the shootout. CapsChick sums up the feel of last night's game best.
This game was, for all intents and purposes, a playoff game. It felt like it for sure, as many of the players acknowledged and those of us watching at home saw for ourselves. There was an intensity that has maybe been missing from previous division games, a sense that this one meant more than the rest. No, a three point game wasn't exactly what the Caps wanted but the two points they came out with in the end were incredibly important for sure.
It might not have looked or felt too good, but those points really do matter. Now they look ahead to tomorrow night's game against Tampa Bay. As The Peerless says;
The Caps can
With many writers and hockey fans questioning whether or not Ovechkin should win the Hart Trophy if the Caps don't make the playoffs, there's one who feels that doesn't matter. Says ESPN's John Buccigross;
Hart Memorial Trophy (most valuable player to his team)
IF it turns out that Ovie can't hack it in the NHL, his fall-back will be comedy. Both Japers' Rink and On Frozen Blog have a list of some pretty interesting questions (all with interesting answers) that were asked to Ovie by SovSport's Gennady Boguslavsky. And since none of us can speak Russian, Dmitry Chesnokov was kind enough to translate. My favorite question:
Q. Is it true that Markov is an amazing chef?Yes, he can make an amazing burnt omelet in the morning.
It certainly sounds like Ovechkin is enjoying himself right now.
Now, for tonight's game against Carolina. They may be the hottest team in the East right now, so the Caps will have a tough go of it. In their last two big matchups against Carolina they didn't even look like they could compete. Says Caps Nut;
This should be a good game with both teams playing a playoff type game. But the Caps haven't been able to win playoff type games against playoff bound opponents so far season so it could be a long and disappointing night for us.
The good news, according to Tarik, is that Brashear will be back in the lineup, and Huet will be between the pipes. Corey also notes that Erskine is back skating but it isn't known if he'll dress or not. So Sami Lepisto will not be sent back to Hershey just yet. And the Caps are looking to play the spoiler tonight.
The Caps' mindset a few weeks ago was to win the division. Now, it's just get in -- a sentiment that was echoed by Coach Boudreau and many of his players."We don't really care [how we get in]," Boudreau said. "It doesn't matter. I know [Carolina] is going to want to win because they can pretty much clinch the division if they win tomorrow night. That will be big motivating factor for them, and we want to deny that."
Whatever the Caps are thinking, they need to be thinking win. If they have to believe they're the underdog to get that intensity then the whole world is against them. If they feel they are due a win, then destiny says it is so. But regardless of what they're thinking, the bottom line is they need to be thinking win. In any way possible, just get it done. They haven't fared well in the big games this season, so tonight will be the defining moment of their season. Either they lose and are probably done, or they win, creep closer to the 8th seed, and show that they can produce in the clutch. They gave everyone a taste of that against Atlanta; lets see if they can do it again.
Tonight the Caps finish off the first half of their 6 game road trip. They face off against the Atlanta Thrashers. According to Tarik, Erskine and Brashear will be out, so Eminger and Laing will be in the lineup. Corey notes the damage still seen around the city after the storm that interrupted the SEC basketball playoffs earlier in the week.
One of the buildings across the street from the park looks like someone took a knife and cut half of it off. It is some scary-looking stuff for sure.
Well it's fitting that the Thrashers are playing as bad as their city looks at the moment. The Peerless takes at look at how bad they are by the numbers. Japers' Rink notes how horrible they have been at drafting blueliners. And Bleatings from a Caps Nut just agrees that they are plain old awful.
The Caps need to win, plain and simple. The Thrash are spiraling downward, and provide a perfect team for the Caps to beat and rebound back from their loss to Chicago. They also enter their Southeast Division stretch run to end the season. The Caps need to close out with at least 5 wins, probably 6.
It doesn't look like they'll catch Carolina, who's gotten red-hot of late, so it's all about sneaking into the 8th spot in the East. And with that in mind, CapsChick breaks down the teams above and below Washington that are fighting for the last couple seeds in the East. The Caps have the easiest schedule on paper, but their previous results against their own divisional rivals this season makes it clear that its going to be harder than it looks. The Flyers, on the other hand, have the Rangers, Devils, and Penguins twice each, and Buffalo has the Senators and Canadians twice each. Florida has the Caps twice, and the Bruins have Montreal and Ottawa twice each, and New Jersey once. So while everyone will be fighting down the stretch, its clear that the Caps have a solid shot and finishing up in the final playoff spot.
With all the March Madness around us, it's easy to forget that there is still hockey going on. And not just NHL action, but college playoff hockey too. On Frozen Blog has a nice list of major college conference semi-final action. From roughly 3 to 11 today you can find semifinal games for the WCHA, Hockey East, and the CCHA. So while anyone can call in sick to watch basketball, its the real fans that choose to call out sick and watch hockey.
From the AP, on Wild defenseman Kurtis Foster...
Minnesota Wild defenseman Kurtis Foster is recovering in California after having surgery to repair a broken left leg...He had to be carried off the ice on a stretcher and his season is likely over.
i'd say more than likely. Anyone who comes back that quick, even if it was in the Cup finals, is either a miracle healer or plain dumb, or both.
"I can't say it any more clearly: We were all horrible together."
-Bruce Boudreau
It says it all....
The game is still going on as I type this, but for all intents and purposes the game is over.There's no sense sorting things out tonight because as Craig Laughlin said in the second intermission; this is the type of game where you just burn the tape and forget about it.
Caps Nut put it perfectly. Stop by The Peerless, View from the Cheap Seats, or even Japers' Rink, and the consensus is the game was over not long after it started.
Basically the Caps can't afford to drop more than one more game. And it cannot be to Carolina. With a packed Southeast schedule to end the season, the Caps need to tear through the bad teams like Atlanta, Florida, and Tampa Bay. They haven't been able to do that so far this season, so hopefully their 5-0 stomping at the hands of Chicago will give them the drive to close out the season in style. They will still be in the hunt up until the final games, and hopefully they can snag a playoff spot. Here's hoping.
Poor guy. If this guy never wins a Stanley Cup, here's the video they'll be showing the day they put him in the ground:
Mike Brophy kicks off an argument today about what exactly constitutes an outstanding or most valuable player. His story today breaks down who he feels could vie for the Hart Trophy, and why. But it seems like he is a little misguided in his ideas, and people have noticed. On Frozen Blog mentions his lack of direction in choosing candidates.
'With a few weeks to go, the Hart Trophy is still wide open from my perspective. So wide open, in fact, Daniel Alfredsson might sneak into the pack with a strong finish.'Alfie definitely is valuable to his team, but this suggestion goes against his logic for the other candidates (except for Brodeur and possibly Iginla). Ottawa is a team who went through much of the season in the number one spot in the conference, but they
Tonight kicks off the Caps 6-game road trip with a Music City showdown against the Preds. According to Tarik, Chris Clark skated this morning but will not play tonight. He will skate again before the game against Chicago and see how he feels. Corey enlisted the help of new Cap Matt Cooke, who played Nashville 4 times this season with Vancouver, with a scouting report on the Predators.
"They are a different team at home than they are on the road," Cooke said. "They come out extremely hard and fast, trying to score a couple early and take the wind out of your sails. They are a fast, puck-moving hockey club."
"Weber, Hamhuis and Zidlicky are all good players. They are good defensemen who are great offensively as well. Zidlicky is looking to go a lot like Green does. Up front, they have Radulov and Dumont who have been playing very well for them. Dumont is a power guy. Erat is pretty shifty. They also have a couple of good checking lines."
"[Tootoo] is guy who is going to finish his check, no matter how late it is. He hits hard, and I give him credit -- he plays physical. But you can catch him running around as well."
It sounds like quite a change from the trap-happy Boston Bruins, so it will be interesting to see how the Caps come out. Both teams can fly, so I expect a lot of scoring chances and back and forth action.
In anticipation of the game CapsChick pairs up some Caps with the country songs that best describe them. The one that stands out?
Alexander Semin "If I Fall You're Going Down with Me" - Dixie Chicks
Caps Nut notes that both Nashville and Washington sit mere points out of the 8th spot in their respective conferences, and are fighting for every point left on the board. And that adds up to a thrilling game in the works for tonight.
After initially getting away without punishment, the league took a second look at the Chris Pronger stomp on Ryan Kesler's leg and hit Prongs with an 8 game suspension. The video evidence clearly showed that Pronger intentionally stomped on the leg of Ryan Kesler when he was down on the ice. After seeing then-Islander Chris Simon get slapped with a 30-game suspension for stomping the boot of Pittsburgh's Jarkko Ruutu, it is hard to see why Pronger only got 8 games.
Some can say that Simon was punished so severely in part for his past history. But Pronger has been suspended numerous times, including twice in the playoffs last year. On the NHL page at TSN.ca 80% of voters felt that the suspension wasn't long enough. Over at Polemic Hockey Rick takes a look at the suspension and notes that it's all about what people think Prongs was trying to do.
8 games for Pronger may seem like a lot if you credit that he was just trying to get loose, and very light if you think it was intentional.
It's a tough call for the NHL to make, but it seems like with his past Pronger should have gotten a few more games, maybe 15. But when the league ends up with such contrasting suspensions for nearly the same infraction, it just looks bad. And with the Ducks seemingly out of the race for the Pacific lead, and nearly a lock for the 4-5 series, missing Pronger for 8 games isn't a big deal. The NHL and Colin Campbell need to take a hard look at how they handled this and see how they can get it right in the future.
Well yesterday couldn't have gone any better. Yes I know we got our 2 points in the shootout, but hey, that means my hometown B's managed to come away with 1. I'd take a 3 point game between these two teams any day. The Caps won a mostly boring game, but a win is a win. Caps Nut seems to be less than pleased with the play of Semin and Kozlov, even though both scored in the shootout to get the Caps the extra point. But we can all agree that Huet saved the game.
This game could have been much uglier had Huet not been his sparkling self against the team he has owned in his career, and that number one star moniker is only fitting for his performance today. There were other good performances - Laich, Bradley, Semin - but Huet was the reason for the two points today, without question.
And on the heels of that performance Huet will get the start against Nashville tomorrow night. The other big news, courtesy of Tarik, is that Chris Clark may play tomorrow night.
Chris Clark was among the players who did skate, and afterward the team captain confirmed that he plans to travel with hopes of playing, possibly as soon as tomorrow. He said he would wait until the morning before deciding whether or not to suit up.
And with that said nothing is more fitting than the quote Brooks Laich gave explaining his recent goal-scoring outburst.
"If you want money, go to the bank. If you want bread, go to the bakery. If you want goals, go to the net."
When Clark comes back that will make two guys who can crash the net and bang pucks, and generally harass the goalie and defense. It will be interesting to see if the offensive schemes of the Caps change when they get two lines together that have a big guy that can park in front of the net.
And lastly, pucksandbooks over at OFB has a great piece on the allure of the pre-game warmup. For players it is routine, for fans, mesmerizing.
The Capitals beat the Bruins 2-1 in a shootout. Semin scored in the first round, and here, Kozlov seals in the win in round three. Sergei Fedorov scored Washington's only goal during the first period and Boston answered in the second, sending the game into overtime.
Mike Green makes his way down the ice for a shot on Boston's net.
(more...)
Atlanta goalie Kari Lehtonen watches Alex Ovechkin's shot go by in the third period; unfortunately for Ovechkin, this one bounced off the crossbar. Washington outshot Atlanta 37-12.
Kolzig dives for the puck; he earned 11 saves tonight. Brooks Laich scored the first two goals for the Capitals, with Matt Cooke and Ovechkin notching the third and fourth.
Photos by Kate McGovern.
Congratulations to Olie Kolzig for getting win #300 last night. He becomes the 23rd NHL netminder to do so, and only the 5th goalie to do it with one team. He can catch Mike Richter and Turk Broda this season, and has the chance to jump a few more spots should he play again next season. The Peerless puts it best, saying "Congratulations, Olie, on #300...and here's to lots more before you hang up your mask."
Great Pic from Japers' Rink
The Caps continued their winning ways against the Flames as Ovie scored a pair, including the game winner with under 2 minutes to go. Last night was also the debut of the "Ovechkam". With his 2 goals it certainly didn't seem like the OvechKam affected him at all. Or if it did it was certainly in a good way. On Frozen Blog has a few screenshots of what it looked like. I for one would have liked to see the game on the bigger picture and Ovie on the smaller. But I guess the whole point of the OvechKam is to see Ovie himself. I wasn't able to watch the game with OvechKam, so I can't say how it was overall. But I can't imagine it is something that will happen often. As Leonsis said earlier, it's a team game, so cover the team.
Looking ahead, The Peerless gives an idea of what the stretch run will be like for the Caps.
The Caps caught a break tonight, as both teams in front of them
