Retired - Washington Capitals

[mikerocksthered]

Hi everyone. I am fairly new to the forum and brand new to fantasy hockey this year. I am a die hard Caps fan, and hope to share everything Caps that I can get my hands on. I am 31, and live in Arlington, VA, just a few blocks from Kettler Capitals Iceplex where the Capitals practice. I have been urged by some of the members to represent all things Caps in this forum. Thanks to GMGates for the go ahead!

I will try to post lines prior to puck drop, injury updates, random articles, and updates from practices and morning skates.

Here are some of the pages I follow to get my info:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitalsinsider/

http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/

http://www.japersrink.com/


I also follow a lot of Caps bloggers on twitter. My twitter is @mikerocksthered and although I have not been much of a tweeter, I will start retweeting line ups that I get before puck drop, as well as any injury related info.

Enjoy!

[newper114]

Nice loooking forward to hearing more. not a caps fan but we all carry a few of them on our fantasy teams. ANother thing i would love to see is recap of some games also. seems like alot of other sections do this. that is if they can watch the game. always great to get as many teams covered as possible.

as your a caps everything i would love to hear your thoughts on two things if you have time:

1) the deal that sent fleischmann out. he seems to be really connecting in colorodo and i am wondering is he that good (70ish point pace guy) or is it just being on a new team. what happened to him in washington.

2) My favorite debate of all time. who is the glue that makes this team score boat load of points (aside from this weird slump). Which is the true Alexander the great. Semin or Ovechkin. I alway ssay that it seems to be semin. whenever ovech and backstrom seem to struggle semin gets put on there line and bam they all combine for 10+ points the next game. so yeah just curious??

again welcome.

[valec]

Can't find you on twitter.

[Dean Youngblood]

I am glad to see you took my advice to represent the Capitals. You have did a great job in the forums so keep up the good work.

[mikerocksthered]

Can't find you on twitter.

TWITTER

I changed my twitter name today, so according to twitter it may take a few days for me to show up in search. I will let everyone know once I am showing up in the search.

EDIT: You should be able to find me on twitter now!

[mikerocksthered]

Nice loooking forward to hearing more. not a caps fan but we all carry a few of them on our fantasy teams. ANother thing i would love to see is recap of some games also. seems like alot of other sections do this. that is if they can watch the game. always great to get as many teams covered as possible.

as your a caps everything i would love to hear your thoughts on two things if you have time:

1) the deal that sent fleischmann out. he seems to be really connecting in colorodo and i am wondering is he that good (70ish point pace guy) or is it just being on a new team. what happened to him in washington.

2) My favorite debate of all time. who is the glue that makes this team score boat load of points (aside from this weird slump). Which is the true Alexander the great. Semin or Ovechkin. I alway ssay that it seems to be semin. whenever ovech and backstrom seem to struggle semin gets put on there line and bam they all combine for 10+ points the next game. so yeah just curious??

again welcome.

Great questions and I don't consider myself a hockey expert by any means, but hear are my thoughts.

1. Fleischmann was just too buried in the depth of the caps forwards. I am very glad to see him doing so well in Colorado and wonder myself if the same thing would happen if someone like Knuble, or Fehr would have been sent to the Av's. When you have a line consisting of Ovechkin, Backstrom and Semin, it is easy for the other guys to be overshadowed. Being the new guy on the team, Fleischmann has to prove himself and work even harder than usual, and he has done that with flying colors!

2. People might give me a bunch of crap for this, but I think Mike Green is the glue that hold the team together. He has not been doing very well this year, especially during the slump. This is very evident when Mike Green is sick or injured. I can't find the exact numbers but will continue to look for them. Since Mike Green leads the team in time on the ice, it would make sense that he is the guy that everyone feeds off of. If he is slumping then everyone on the team will be on the ice with him throughout the course of the game. I do agree that Semin and Ovie tend to go back and forth with one being "on" and the other being "off". The annoying part of that, is Semin tends to have a lot of stupid offensive penalties in the worst possible times when he is "off".

[newper114]

Great questions and I don't consider myself a hockey expert by any means, but hear are my thoughts.

1. Fleischmann was just too buried in the depth of the caps forwards. I am very glad to see him doing so well in Colorado and wonder myself if the same thing would happen if someone like Knuble, or Fehr would have been sent to the Av's. When you have a line consisting of Ovechkin, Backstrom and Semin, it is easy for the other guys to be overshadowed. Being the new guy on the team, Fleischmann has to prove himself and work even harder than usual, and he has done that with flying colors!

2. People might give me a bunch of crap for this, but I think Mike Green is the glue that hold the team together. He has not been doing very well this year, especially during the slump. This is very evident when Mike Green is sick or injured. I can't find the exact numbers but will continue to look for them. Since Mike Green leads the team in time on the ice, it would make sense that he is the guy that everyone feeds off of. If he is slumping then everyone on the team will be on the ice with him throughout the course of the game. I do agree that Semin and Ovie tend to go back and forth with one being "on" and the other being "off". The annoying part of that, is Semin tends to have a lot of stupid offensive penalties in the worst possible times when he is "off".

great points. yeah ive noticed that with semin but to me that just makes things even better. and makes him so much more important. ofcourse i am talking more fantasy related as thats how i look at things. when he isnt scoring i love those games he adds like 6 SOG and a ton of PIM. i guess from a team perspective thats a bad thing.

sorry most of us here have a fantasy hockey mind!

[mikerocksthered]

great points. yeah ive noticed that with semin but to me that just makes things even better. and makes him so much more important. ofcourse i am talking more fantasy related as thats how i look at things. when he isnt scoring i love those games he adds like 6 SOG and a ton of PIM. i guess from a team perspective thats a bad thing.

sorry most of us here have a fantasy hockey mind!

I wouldn't mind the PIM's but I am killing my league in the category and could really use goals and assists, especially assists. We don't count SOG, just SH%.

I am hoping to catch Green out at one of the bars he his know to frequent to ask him "If you had yourself in fantasy hockey, would you still be on your roster, or would have you dropped yourself? (since no one in my league seems to want him in a trade!

[mikerocksthered]

I have to apologize in advance for not being available today to post the starting lines once I get them.....I am heading home to spend the next few weeks with my dad who just got out of the hospital today....should be back on line sometime in the 1st period. Once my twitter account gets straightened out this won't be a problem anymore!

[mikerocksthered]

(12/21) Tonights lines!! (I can post from my blackberry!!!) http://wapo.st/dFKQe9

[mikerocksthered]

Fun Fact: With Atlanta's loss tonight, if the Caps hang on to the lead and beat the Devils, first place in the Southeast Division will change for the 4th straight day.

[mikerocksthered]

No need for me to supply a full recap of tonights game against New Jersey, Japer's has already posted an awesome recap:

http://www.japersrink.com/2010/12/21...aps-5-devils-1

My thoughts on tonights game:
The big 3 being Ovie, Backstrom, Semin, and Green (I know that is four, but with they way they are playing, they only get credit for 3 guys!), are not stepping it up to lead this team out of the slump. The last 8 goals the Caps have scored have been by players with 5 or few goals all year. Knuble's goal tonight is his 6th of the year. The Caps are lucky to have some depth in all of their lines, or they would be in a lot of trouble. Hopefully a few wins will get the veterans to relax a bit and get back into a normal rhythm!

Neuvi - Played a great game tonight. He is on fire, and will most likely remain in the net until his glove goes cold.

[mikerocksthered]

Matt Bradly suffered a broken finger last night against New Jersey and will be out 2-4 weeks.

[mikerocksthered]

Mike Greens Lambo was mentioned in another thread, so I thought I would share a few pictures of his new car and Ovie's car.

Green has is mainly driving a Bentley these days. I have not seen him in his Lambo for over a year.

Ovie has several Mercedes, including an SL 65 Black, but the car in the pictures is a SL 65 Brabus, which has even more horsepower than the Black edition. http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z...2-Biturbo.aspx




Half of me!


Ovie and Green walking to their cars after practice.


Stay tuned, as I should be posting info from todays morning skate an some game notes in the next few hours. I will also post the lines shortly before puck drop this evening. I usually get those 15-30 minutes prior to puck drop.

[mikerocksthered]

Here is my Caps/Pens preview. I don't really consider myself a writer, but more of a research gatherer. I usually get the starting line for the Caps via twitter 15-30 minutes prior to puck drop and will post it here as soon as I have it. Please let me know if my posts are helpful and what I can do to improve my posts.

Michael Neuvirth was the first goalie off of the ice during the morning
skate and is expected to start tonight. This will be his first time in the net against the Penguins.

Take away the 7-0 loss to the Rangers Dec. 12 and the Capitals have allowed just 2.15 goals per game in their last 13 outings (just 2.50 including that game).

Matt Hendricks is the latest victim of the flu that has been going around the Caps locker room. He was told to stay home this morning, and will be a game time decision tonight.

Jeff Schultz who is on IR for a broken thumb is now in a splint instead of a cast, said that he expects to return sooner than later�.

Eric Fehr, who missed the last game due to a death in the family, will return tonight.

The Capitals power play is clicking at 23.9% (22-for-92) in the last 25 games and accounted for the game-winning goal Sunday night. The Caps were 4-for-38 (10.5%) in the first 10 games and are 14-2-2 when they score a power-play goal.The Penguins 350 points (162-93-26) since the beginning of the 07-08 season are fourth-most in the NHL, while Washington ranks third over the same period with 367 points (167-82-33). The key to the game tonight for the Capitals, is converting on power plays. If the Caps can do this and break the Penguins PK streak, they have a good chance!

Washington is 14-2-2 when it scores a power-play goal it is 14-0-1 when leading after two periods and 4-0-1 when tied …it is 19-0-2 when it scores at least three goals it is 9-1-1 when being outshot by its opponent.
Defenseman John Carlson, who was raised in New Jersey, had his second multiple-point game against the Devils this season Tuesday night and finished +4. He shares the lead among NHL rookies at +10 and ranks second with an average ice time of 22:01. His 17 points (4g-13a) are the most by a rookie Capitals defenseman since 1990-91 (Mikhail Tatarinov, 23).

Washington has only lost one game in regulation in which it held a lead opening night at Atlanta.

Mathieu Perreault's two-goal game against Ottawa marked his first points since Dec. 6, when he scored twice against Toronto. All six of his points this year have come in multiple-point games (he had two assists in his first game of the season, Oct. 23 vs. Atlanta). Sunday marked the fourth multiple-point game in his career, but the first that did not immediately follow a recall from Hershey.

Washington has won at least 50% of its faceoffs in 21 of the last 23 games. David Steckel leads NHL centers with a 63.1% success rate on draws.
The Capitals have three defensemen with at least three goals (Mike Green, John Carlson, John Erskine), the same number they had all of last season (Green, Tom Poti, Jeff Schultz).

With a point tonight, Sidney Crosby will become the first NHL player since Mats Sundin in 1992-93 to record a point in at least 23 straight games. Crosby's current 22-game point streak (22G-21A) is the second-longest (tied) in the NHL since Sundin's 30-game streak in 92-93.

Evgeni Malkin has recorded points in seven of his previous eight games against the Capitals for a total of 16 (4G-12A). He's averaging two points per game during his run. Malkin had five assists in two games against Washington last season.

Washington reached 20 wins in 36 games, just four shy of the pace set by last season team, which went on to win a club-record 54 games.

Washington vs. Pittsburgh History
Washington trails, 83-86-16-4, entering the 190th meeting (leading 49-35-9-3 at home). The 190 meetings are more than the Capitals have had with any other team; the series record is the teams closest against any Eastern Conference opponent.This is the first of four meetings this season

The Capitals won all four meetings last year, claiming the two at Verizon Center in overtime and a shootout.

The Capitals are 7-0-1 in the last eight meetings (3-0-1 in the last four at home), the teams second-longest stretch of consecutive games with a point vs. Pittsburgh (14-0-1 from 1983-85).

Washington has scored five or more goals five times in the last seven meetings.

Alex Ovechkin led the Capitals with 7 goals and 10 points in the four games last season; he was +8 with a team-high 22 shots.

Ovechkin's career +15 against Pittsburgh is his best plus/minus against any team.

Semyon Varlamov (not starting tonight) (1-0-0, 3.00, .897) has the only appearance against Pittsburgh among the Capitals two goaltenders.

Matt Bradley (currently injured) is the only Capital to have played for Pittsburgh; Matt Cooke and Brent Johnson are two current Pens who are former Capitals. Andrew Gordon grew up playing with Sidney Crosby in Nova Scotia.