Retired - Washington Capitals

[newper114]

I actually think the PP unit makes sense. Ovech abs semins shots with knubles big body in front makes sense. You need that fearless guy in front.

Don't like semin being on 3rd line with 2 youngsters. While talented still not a good thing.

[jeffl97]

mike!! you made it back. awesome

[27Blue]

wow. orlov the only d-man on the first PP unit.

[Chili con Carne]

#Caps lines during am skate: 8-19-20; 25-21-42-85; 50-90-28; 26-15-22.

Hunter putting the #caps through some PP work. First group: 8, 22, 28 along with 81 and 21 on the points.


Second group doing PP work: 25/20, 90, 19 with 74 and 6 on points. Brouwer taking turns with Chimera on drills. #caps

So Backstom off 1st line PP

Thanks for the update Ballsakic - this is great info. I was really hoping Brouwer would get a sniff on PP1. I guess I will have to settle for even strength on the top line for now.

[mikerocksthered]

Washington Capitals 12-9-1 (8-2-1 at home)
St. Louis Blues 13-8-2 (5-6-1 on the road)

Last ten games:
Washington 3-6-1
St. Louis 7-1-2


Tonight will be a big night for the Washington Capitals as they take to the ice under the reins of new coach and retired Washington Capital, Dale Hunter. The Capitals are 4-1-1 against the Blues in their last 6 meetings and have not lost on home ice to the Blues since January of 2003. The Blues are also under a new head coach and have been on a hot streak since their leadership change. The Blues are 7-1-2 since Ken Hitchcock took over November 7th.

Although it is reported that there have been a few changes already put into place by the Caps new Head Coach, I do not expect to see any drastic changes in the Capitals systems. The main item that was reportedly practiced today was the power play.

The lines today during the game day practice for the Capitals where:

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Brouwer
Chimera-Laich-Ward and Perreault was mixed into that line in place of Ward as well
Eakin-Johansson-Semin
Hendricks-Halpern-Knuble

Defensively, Eskine, Wideman, Carlson, Alzner, Orlov, Schultz, and Hamrlik were all on the ice. Mike Green was also on the ice for a brief period today during practice, but there is no word on his expected return. Mike Green has been the most obvious piece missing from the Capitals during their recent losing streak. Green is the quarter back of the power play. The Caps did not lose any of the 8 games that Green has played in this season.

Michal Neuvirth, Jeff Schultz and Matthieu Perreault stayed on the ice for extra practice and are expected to be healthy scratches for tonight’s contest.

Per @TedStarkey - Ovechkin’s number when playing for the Moscow Dynamo was 32, the same number worn by the Caps new coach Dale Hunter. Had Hunters number not been retired, Ovechkin would have worn it when he was drafted by the Capitals into the NHL.

John Carlson, who played in the OHL for Dale Hunter has been hot in November. He has scored three-quarters (9) of his points this season (12) during the month of November. Carlson has the second most points amongst the Capitals defenseman falling one point behind Dennis Wideman. Wideman also played in the OHL for Dale Hunter. Under Hunter with the London Knights Carlson scored 16 goals and 60 assists in 59 games, and Wideman scored 79 goals and 118 assists.

There are a lot of talks about Ovechkin's reaction to being benched by Boudreau and that it might have lead to the team shutting down on and not listening to their coach anymore. That might very well be the case, but it might not be. A lot of the players were very shocked yesterday to hear the news of the coaching change and some were very upset about the loss. I can say that Boudreau did more for this Capitals Franchise than any other coach the team has ever had. Did it get to a point that the players had shut him out? Possibly. I think the main thing to be concerned with at this point is what changes are coming for the Capitals now that the change has been made. I am sure you will see a newly revived team for the next week or two as is typical with a coaching change, but the real test will be in the long-run. It will be interesting to see how the systems change over the next few weeks as well as the attitudes of the players. Having an ex-Cap who is considered a legend among the franchise but never won a Stanley Cup...could there be a more motivated candidate for the coaching position? Only time will tell.

Fantasy Speculation: It is really hard to say how the big guns will do under the new coach but here is are some thoughts that you probably won’t find anywhere else. I have been saying two things since the Capitals winning streak took a turn for the worst, they need to do more conditioning so that they are not outskated on a nightly basis, and they also need to start hitting more so they are wearing teams down. Dale Hunter is big on playing physical and wearing down the opponent, so I would expect to see more hitting from the entire team. Troy Brouwer is already great in the hits column and suspect he will just turn it on more. I would not be surprised to see a little more fighting under the new coach, so guys like Matt Hendricks, John Erskine, and Jason Chimera might be guys to keep an eye on for PIM’s.

[mikerocksthered]

I said I had no clue what a new coach would do for this team, and I was right. I thought the Caps would come out with a new-coach-inspired win tonight and it didn't happen. I really hope Hunter told the team to play "their game" tonight and tomorrow will focus on why "their game" doesn't work. The next few weeks will tell. Hunter needs a few weeks to make this his team an whip his guys in shape. It has already been proven that the players can't do it on their own, so we will see what the new coach can do with this team. Again I say, the Capitals need to be better conditioned and ready for some hard hitting hockey.

[newper114]

First off mike you need to fix your sig. With the dobber link t runs it off the page and using my phone I can't read half your posts as they get cut off.

But what's up with the caps. Such a close game and you have backstrom playing 19min ovechkin under 17 and semin under 15. Carlson had 23mins.

Just seems like what happened under BB j know it's his first game and probably trying to learn the team but such low toi for his stars???

[Ballsakic]

#Caps on the ice for the morning skate and the lines are the same: 8-19-20; 50-90-28; 25-21-42; 26-15-22-85.

[mikerocksthered]

Capitals/Blues Recap:

The Capitals fell to the Blues 2-1 in Dale Hunters debut as the new head coach of the Washington Capitals. The game was plagued by untimely penalties by the Capitals which lead to only twenty seconds of power play time. The only goal of the game for the Capitals came in the first period and was scored by Nicklas Backstrom, assisted by a well placed pass through traffic from Alex Ovechkin. Tomas Vokoun was credited with the secondary assist. Alex Ovechkin was on the ice for a second lowest total time in his NHL career. Ovechkin saw no ice time during the penalty kill and due to the miniscule amount of power play time for the Capitals, only ended up playing for a total of 16:46. Nicklas Backstrom ended the night with one goal, four shots, two hits, and a plus one. Alex Ovechkin had one assist, only one shot on goal, four hits and finished plus one. Matt Hendricks, just as I predicted in my pre-game report, received a five minute major for fighting. He also had one shot and three hits. Despite taking a loss, Tomas Vokoun was solid in goal with twenty-eight saves for a .933 save percentage.


TONIGHTS GAME

Washington Capitals 12-10-1 (8-3-1 at home)
Pittsbugh Penguins 14-7-4 (6-6-2 on the road)

Last ten games:
Washington 3-6-1
Pittsburgh 5-4-1


Tonight the Capitals take on the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second game out of four this season. The Capitals are 4-1-1 against the Penguins in their last six meetings. The Capitals have not lost to the Penguins on home ice since March 9, 2008.

The lines today during the game day practice for the Capitals where:

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Brouwer
Eakin-Johansson-Semin
Chimera-Laich-Ward
Hendricks-Halpern-Knuble/Perreault

It appears from this morning's practice that Hunter is interchanging the second and third lines from Tuesday's game. Tomas Vokoun will be the starting goalie for the Capitals, and the healthy scratch from the defense is yet to be determined.

Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom both play very well against the Penguins. Ovechkin has recorded thirty-three points (19g-14a) in twenty-five games against the Penguins. Nicklas Backstrom has twenty-four points (1g-23a) in seventeen games against the Penguins. Mike Knuble also plays very well against the Penguins. He has had at least one point in the last thirteen games against Pittsburgh and forty-six points in his sixty-two career games versus Pittsburgh. Dennis Wideman scored the game winning goal during the last contest between these two teams on October 13. That battle required extra time and ended 3-2.

Washington has seen another coaching change as former Capital Jim Johnson has replaced Bob Woods as assistant coach. The entire coaching staff for the Capitals (Dale Hunter, Dean Evason, and Jim Johnson) are all former Capitals. The only other team in the NHL this season with a coaching staff completely comprised of former team players is Buffalo.

As a Capitals fan, it is hard to talk about the Penguins players, but there are some statistics that can't be ignored. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Pascal Dupuis are all on multiple game point streaks. Since Crosby’s return on November 21st, he has scored eleven points in only five games, and has had three multiple point games. Crosby had a four point game scoring two goals and two assists in his debut on the 21st. Evgeni Malkin has recorded nine points (4g-5a) in the last five games. Pascal Dupuis has scored six points (3g-3a) since Crosby's return.

Marc Andre-Fleury will be the starting goalie for the Penguins tonight.

[Ballsakic]

Roman Hamrlik to be a healthy scratch for the #Caps against #Pens. Discuss it here: wapo.st/rSXH5r

[mikerocksthered]

Roman Hamrlik to be a healthy scratch for the #Caps against #Pens. Discuss it here: wapo.st/rSXH5r

Thanks Ballsakic! I have figured out I can get my reports done at lunch. Unfortunately my network in the office is pretty locked down so it is hard for me to get to the site to actual post it, let alone post report updates. I appreciate the additional info!

[Dobbernomics]

Just checked out the boxscore from last night's game. Ovie, Backstrom, Semin combined for a grand total of 3 shots on net.... Surprising to say the least.

Also, Semin's TOI was 12:45, ranked 4th lowest among all Caps forwards just ahead of Hendricks, Eakin, and Ward. Only 1:20 of PP time...

[Ballsakic]

Lines: 8-19-20; 50-90-22; 25-21-42; 26-85-15. Semin is not taking part in rushes but is on the ice. Looks like he may be healthy

[jeffl97]

Semin not playing tonight.

[mikerocksthered]

Capitals/Penguins Recap:

In their second game under Dale Hunter, the Capitals looked like a newly renewed team. Despite playing the most physical game they have played this season the Capitals were not able to put an offense together that was capable of defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Capitals 1-2 loss against the Penguins marks the first lost against the rival since March of 2008. The first goal of the game came at 5:21 in the first period as Craig Adams was able to put a puck past Tomas Vokoun with assistance from Arron Ashum and Richard Park. John Erskine quickly responded by thowing off the gloves with Arron Ashum in a heavy weight brawl. The fight was not a surprise after Ashum knocked out Jay Beagle in the Capitals and Penguins first meeting this season. Jay Beagle has been out with concussion-like symptoms since that game and has just returned to practice this week. The Capitals answered the Penguins goal scoring at 1:20 in the second period. Jason Chimera's goal assisted by Joel Ward and Brooks Laich puts him in a solid lead as the Capitals top goal scorer this season. Chris Kunitz scored the Penguins second goal of the night at 2:36 in the third period. Kunitz was assisted by Tyler Kennedy and Simon Despres.

The Capitals came out playing a hard hitting physical game. Alex Ovechkin had ten hits on the night, followed by Troy Brouwer who had six. Ovechkin seemed to have a energy level that has not been seen in many games this season if at all. Although he only had one shot on the night it might have been Ovechkins best game of the season. John Erskine received a five minute fighting major after his rumble with Arron Ashum. I expect Matt Hendricks and John Erskine to continue to step up as the Capitals enforcers as the team shifts towards playing a more physical game. If you are looking for a boost in penalty minutes on your fantasy team, Hendricks and Erskine are your guys. Jason Chimera was of four players to finish the night plus one. He recorded one goal in two shots (.500 SH%), was plus one, and had five hits. Dennis Wideman and John Carlson were the ice time leaders both playing over twenty-five minutes.



TONIGHTS GAME

Washington Capitals 12-11-1 (8-4-1 at home)
Ottawa Senators 12-11-2 (6-6-2 on the road)

Last ten games:
Washington 2-7-1
Ottawa 5-4-1


The Capitals will be looking for their first victory under Dale Hunter tonight as they face off against the Ottawa Senators for their second time this season. Washington defeated Ottawa on home ice 2-1 on October 15th. Tonight's game will be Alex Ovechkins five hundredth NHL game. Only seven players (Gretsky, Bossy, Lemieux, Hull, Kurri, Selanne, Bure) have scored more goals than Ovechkin in their first five hundred games. Brooks Laich will also be playing his five hundredth NHL game tonight. Laichs faced Ottawa in his very first NHL game on February 3, 2008. Laich was drafted into the league by Ottawa then traded to the Capitals for Peter Bonrda.

The lines today during the game day practice for the Capitals where:

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Brouwer
Eakin-Johansson-Knuble
Chimera-Laich-Ward
Hendricks-Perreault-Halpern

Alex Semin will not be playing tonight due to a sore shoulder. This makes room for Mathieu Perreault on the fourth line. Mike Green continues to be missing from the lineup and his return to the ice is still not clear. Michal Neuvirth will mind the night tonight in his first game under Dale Hunter. Neuvirth's last game was on November 25th in a 3-6 loss against the New York Rangers. Neuvirth has not had the numbers this season that he did last year sitting at a current goals against average of 3.81 and a .868 save percentage.

Alex Ovechkin has recorded thirty-two points in twenty-four games against the Senators, and has eight multiple point games.

The Capitals power play has improved over the last few games enough to move them from twenty-fifth place in the league to eighteenth. The Capitals have successfully killed seventeen of the last eighteen short handed situations. Now they need to focus on converting man advantages into goals. The Capitals will continue to play a more physical game as they being to focus on creating more offense and clearing the puck fast and more cleanly from their defensive end.

Thank goodness it's...Saturday? The Capitals are currently 3-0-1 on Saturdays when on their home ice.