Florida goes up a point in the standings; they reclaim the lead in the Southeast; we tumble to 9th place.
A good crisp read here on last night’s game.
We have work to do.We get Alex Ovechkin back for the next game on Saturday – against Montreal. We were 1-1 and 1 without Alex during the 3 game suspension. 6 points available; we garnered 3.
We received high marks and kudos for our work in free agency this past weekend.
I am very happy with the performance of our front office and professional scouting department.
I think they really delivered.
I wanted to take a quick moment to thank Matt Bradley for all he has done for our franchise. I am happy that he received a great two year deal to serve in the Florida Panther organization. Matt is a great guy. A good and tenacious player and really contributed to our team. He will be missed by our community. Thank you Matt.
The Panthers now have added several players to their lineup that played in Caps jerseys not too long ago. Also they added a bunch of ex Blackhawks too. They greatly improved.
I read that we are the favorites now in our division because of how we improved our team this past weekend. I don’t agree with that at all. I believe Tampa is the team to beat. They finished this past season a few points behind us and they beat us in round 2 of the playoffs. They are the team to beat in the division with the Boston Bruins the odds on favorite to repeat in the East as defending Stanley Cup champs.
We have work to do and we have only improved on paper. Tampa is the favorite coming into this new season.
Read this one on NHL.com; thank you.
That wasn’t a pretty game.
Some fans booed at the game’s end and I understand why.
As I noted the other day in a blog post, we have good goaltending and good defense and good penalty kills now. We are struggling on the power play and our forwards are in a slump.
Simply stated, our best players aren’t playing like they are our best players.
To be 0 for 8 on the power play and then to lose 3-0 isn’t a surprise. We have to score on 5 on 3 advantages. We can’t allow goals against with one second left on the clock. Ugh!
Every team that we play comes in at 110 percent effort. They want to beat us bad.
If we play to our capabilities and with energy, we are a very good team.
If we play at 90 percent of our capabilities, we will lose like we did last night.
As I have noted every day, the regular season DOES matter. Every shift does matter. The hang over from the concept of only the playoffs matter is an issue for us. We can’t go through the motions. We can’t be casual and get through the regular season. We have to play with intensity. I know it is a long season but last night was a game that made me quite uncomfortable as I know many fans felt depressed with our performance as well.
So let us see what we are made of. Can we shake off the slump? Can we find a solution to make our power play more effective? Can our forwards play a two way game with discipline for 60 minutes? I believe.
But these are questions that need answering. We can find out Saturday night. Practice today will be intense deservedly so. We hope to turn boos into cheers.
Another day; another game; another comeback. Only this one was successful. A 5-4 shootout win after being down 4-1.
We can take stock and believe that our team has a lot of heart and character. Thankfully with our depth and scoring prowess, we are really never out of a game. That is “goodness.”
I was pleased that we never got discouraged or played like we didn’t think we could win the game. I was pleased with “new guy” Jason Chimera. He skates like the wind. He scored, had an assist and a fight - a Gordie Howe hat trick last night – welcome Jason!
I am happy that Jose Theodore came in and played quite well. If we get average to above average NHL caliber goaltending, we are well positioned. Goaltending and special teams play is key to success in the long run and in the playoffs.
But heart, determination and a “never say die” attitude are also very important. We won 2 of 3 on the road all in the division. We have 62 points. We are second in the East in terms of points generated.
We aren’t happy with how we are playing but we are winning and getting points. We now – finally – come home for awhile. Some home cooking is what we need. Come out on Friday night and scream your lungs out as we now enter a very tough stretch of games. Go Caps!
A tough schedule is upon us. We will be very short handed; we need to gut it out and play tonight and remain focused on playing tough — smart team oriented hockey.
We are all very proud of the team for its performance and win last night — that was one heck of a “gutty” performance. Losing two first team NHL All-stars — and several important role players and getting two points on the road is a wonderful show of heart and determination. Continue reading
If not now, when?
Truer words were never spoken.
Get ready for a tough, big time game tonight. Florida is unsung but very talented and hungry. They have us in their sights.
There is still a lot of hockey to play in the regular season.
Tonight will be loud and alive and electric at Verizon Center. It is cold outside. It is time to drop the puck and play some hockey. Let’s put the last game behind us and focus on the here and now. No more talk about potential. As someone great once said, ”The future is now.”