Much Ado About Nothing

I was at the game last night.

I witnessed first hand all of this activity mentioned in the article.

I also saw Alex Ovechkin and Alex Semin after the game in the locker room. They behaved in the right manner and were respectful to the process of losing a game on the road by the score of 5 to 0. They and all of their teammates were unhappy and quite somber.

They did have a quick chat with a player from the Devils in the outside hallway and at some point someone made a comment which elicited a guffaw from a player. It was too hard to figure out who made the comment and who laughed out loud.

The biggest issue was the location of this meeting which was too close to the media interview also in the hallway. There was no disrespect intended in any of the discussions and meeting, I am quite sure of that. It is a shame that this is being made into something that it wasn’t meant to be because honestly these meetings happen literally after every game outside the Capitals locker room in the little hallway that leads to the visiting locker room at Verizon Center – win or lose.

Let us nip this one in the bud.

Many of our players didn’t play well last night. We can take issue with team performance.

This impromptu meeting should have been held somewhere else but it was not a sign of disrespect in any manner and I was not offended. I didn’t like the way we played but I saw the players acting in the right way in the locker room after the game.

Better and More

I feel a little bit better today. We overcame a lot of adversity last night to win in OT and garner two points. That was a character win. We worked hard and we played hard.

We played a very hungry and talented team. It is so interesting to see a team that has a bunch of young hungry players and some gritty role players that lost their big money super star player now be a tough team to play against. They have taken 3 of 4 points against us in the two games played. Atlanta is a very good team. A well balanced “team”! Period.

We started to play hard and with a bit of a mean streak. We kept coming. We finally started to put shots on net. We overcame a bit shot differential and ended with a lot more shots on net.

We didn’t get frazzled when we had a goal overruled. We didn’t wilt when we lost a lead in regulation with less than a minute to play. We didn’t get filled with angst when we let a power play goal in the last minute of a period take our momentum. We didn’t let injuries on our blue line get in the way of a win.

We played some new players with jump who desperately want to play in the NHL who showed hunger and who helped us a lot last night. Thank you number 85. Welcome back.

Alex Semin - congratulations on a hat trick. Our young goaltender - superb. Michael, as noted in the hallway, thank you and I am proud of you. A great OT front of the net goal by Tomas.

Take the two points.

Rest up. Heal up.

Onward to Carolina on Wednesday.

Thank you. Go Caps!

Remarkable Start and Stats

But it only matters if/when we win.Alex is not about personal stats. He is about helping the team win. It is why he is such a beloved teammate. He is focused on our singular goal. Personal accolades will come; stats will be generated; but wins are what are most important.

Right now I would have to believe that the Ovechkin-Backstrom-Semin line may be the best line in the NHL. I think they generated 8 points against Philadelphia and would have had more if we weren’t killing off so many Philly power plays.

What should we call this line? What are your ideas?

Alex Redux as Difference Maker

I agree. Alex Semin is one of the most gifted players in the NHL.

A first round steal for us in the draft, he was picked middle of the pack via a trade deadline deal for Adam Oates all those many years ago.

He is still young but he is developing well. He needs to stay healthy and remain focused at all times but he is truly an elite player and everyone around the NHL now knows it.