I don't know what happened coming into last night's game, but the first line was on, not to mention the first D pairing. For the first time that I can recall that 4 guys combined for all the points (14) in such a high scoring game. Take out the powerplay goal, and they were all +4 as well, including Jeff Schultz, who didn't record a point, but was out there for every goal. Semin was on top of his game yet again, and left the ice with 5 points, including 2 goals. Backstrom looks to be coming out of his slump, with 4 points last night, and 9 in his last 9 games. Ovechkin too is getting back on track, with 8 points in his last 4 games.
Last night the Caps simply had their way with Carolina yet again, winning their 4th straight against the Canes. Semin now has 17 goals and 28 points against them in 21 games. The Capitals work was so brutal last night that I can't even explain it. Luckily, Alex Ovetjkin has the video.
On Frozen Blog points out that the Semin triplets are leading the league in goals, points, and plus/minus. Oh, wait, sorry. That's one Semin leading in 3 categories. And keeping on with stats, The Peerless has an awkward stat for the season so far. The Pens and Caps both stand 9-4-2 with 20 pts. each after 15 games. The also both have scored 48 goals while giving up 42. Creepy. Also, Fox Sports Carolina needs to update their graphics every once in a while. Apparently the Caps are still rocking the eagle logo.
For tomorrow's game, Fedorov is out, while Morrisonn is a game-time decision. Johnson tweaked his hip last night and will be backing up Theodore against New Jersey. Ovechkin took the day off, but he didn't miss much of a practice. It was short and didn't even have any official lines. He will, however, be playing tomorrow.
So today is mainly a recovery day for the boys as they get ready to welcome a Brodeur-less Devils team to Washington. While I wouldn't mind seeing the top line explode for a million points again, I'd feel a lot better if the other lines were contributing on a more regular basis. The Caps can't over-rely on that top line all season, and definitely not all postseason.
