Comments on: Aaaand We’re Back: Bolts beat Caps 6-3

By: Mike Green Drops Puck at Outdoor Classic

Mike Green Drops Puck at Outdoor Classic — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 00:07:59 +0000

[...] a night before, Green played his first game in the 2013 NHL Season in Tampa Bay. “The game is so much faster. It takes usually a period to adjust and we did. It’s [...]

By: DMV: Oates Era Starts With A Loss | Mr. Irrelevant, a D.C. Sports Blog by the Brothers Mottram

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 19:58:35 +0000

[...] Caps lose season opener 6-3 to Tampa behind poor penalty plays. [RMNB] [...]

By: Why Alex Ovechkin on the Penalty Kill is a Bad Idea

Why Alex Ovechkin on the Penalty Kill is a Bad Idea — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 19:43:14 +0000

[...] scuttlebutt about Alex Ovechkin on the penalty kill turned to be accurate on Saturday night. Kicking off the season in Tampa, Alex Ovechkin served 69 seconds of the game’s six man-down situations, and while he kept the [...]

By: ACN

ACN — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 15:18:00 +0000

I’m with the others who don’t think Ovi embellished that fall– Salo clearly was holding him, which caused Ovi to go down and spin on his ass. You can get on his case if you like for looking over to the ref, but I don’t think it was out of line, given the clear hold. Which makes the fact Salo WAS called for holding but Ovi called for embellishment all the more confusing and ridiculous. So… if you think he should have just sucked it up, gotten to his feet right away, and not looked for the call, okay, but I want Ovi to draw penalties when appropriate, and I think you guys are wrong calling him out for this one.

We did look scrambly the whole game. I’m hoping it’s just out learning curve and we get it together quickly from here.

By: Brian Zupruk

Brian Zupruk — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 08:27:00 +0000

The Caps clearly aren’t all on Oates’ page yet, and having Hillen get hurt like that didn’t do the team mentality any favors. I saw flashes of brilliance though even in the loss. Ribeiro is fire, 19/8 had a hard welcome back to NHL defenses,and Holtby got a smack in the face. Jets at home will be a rebound game – too much hockey smarts on this team to think otherwise.

By: Owen Johnson

Owen Johnson — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 07:50:00 +0000

1 game with Oates after 6 days of practice? Give him time. I think he will be good.
Having said that, this might be a transition year for the Caps.

By: Akay

Akay — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 06:25:00 +0000

Game 1 done. They’ll adjust. Meanwhile, I could not keep my eyes off of Mike Ribeiro. He gave me chills every time he touched the puck. Man knows how to make plays happen.

By: Peter Hassett

Peter Hassett — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 05:32:00 +0000

I think Ovi looks to the refs for enforcement too much in general, but I could be wrong– particularly in this case.

By: Chase

Chase — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 04:56:00 +0000

Apparently you should watch the Ovechkin “dive” from full screen, the up close one doesn’t show how Salo holds on him the whole time and yanks him.

Adam Hall on the other hand, superman dive.

By: Priscilla Villanueva

Priscilla Villanueva — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 03:57:00 +0000

Agree with you on Holtby. D was lacking, but at the end of the day – you gotta make a save. 6 goals against on 34 shots means you didn’t make enough of ‘em. But I thought only Greenberg and me thought he would fall to earth.