That is how you do it! The Washington Capitals have done the unthinkable: playing two smart games back to back.

Who better to get us started that Andrew Gordon? His goal-crashing shot off a speedy Marcus Johansson pass was the night’s first goal and the first of Andrew’s NHL career. (We knew you could do it!) The Devils responded with a Patrik Elias whizzer from above the circles, expertly screened by former Cap Danius Zubrus. Hershey’s own Jay Beagle returned fire with a chip-in up close. On a breakaway. Jason Chimera brushed off a hook and converted. Alex Ovechkin pulled an honest-to-goodness statue-of-liberty play with John Carlson, who launched a neutrino puck into Marty Brodeur’s net. Finally, Mike Knuble gingerly diverted a Tom Poti shot for the free wings. Caps beat Devils 5-1.

• Andrew Gordon, did you have fun today?
• Seriously, Gordo had a blast out there, and that’s exactly what the team needed. Crashing an omega-level goalie like Martin Brodeur is a great way to get started in the NHL.  And the kid knows how to celebrate:

• Alex Ovechkin put one shot on net. Yeah. That’s not going to bust him out of the slump.  Between his malaise and Alex Semin‘s manic-depressive play, it’s a good thing that the Hershey guys are playing like they actually care.
• The Capitals powerplay was a bummer. Nick Backstrom and Mike Green stood statuesque as the Devils counted the seconds. Alex Ovechkin shifted from the point the crease, where he was welcomed by the Devils PKers with some pops to the head.  No goals and precious few chances, despite five Devils penalties and 1:18 of two-man advantage.
• 

  NHL goal #1

  Matt Bradley put Anton Volchenkov on the ice with a monster check in the first period. Not sure what happened in the second, but #10 did not return to the ice for the third. 6:44 TOI. UPDATE: Per Mike Vogel, Bradley will miss 2-4 weeks with a broken finger. I am devastated.
• John Carlson: plus-4 rating, one screaming goal, 24 minutes of great hockey.
• RockTheRed.net observed this morning: “Chimera looks about ready to break out of his slump, roofing shootout moves.” His penalty-drawing, top-shelf breakaway goal proves that practice pays off.
• Michal Neuvirth‘s numbers were sterling: 35 saves on 36 shots. Don’t let the offensive resurgence be the only story you take from this game; Neuvy was a star. Hope he’s ready for Thursday, cause he’s going to get the nod.
• The Devils actually led the Caps in shots 36 to 28. After so many 30+ shot losses, here’s more proof that it’s the quality of the shot that matters more. And if you can measure the shot distance in inches (Beagle, Knuble, Gordon), that’s even better.

Joe B's suit of the night

Here comes either the smartest or dumbest analysis ever.  Sure, the Capitals win when they play better, but they also play better when they win. The boys were surging, having fun, connecting on passes, and dominating zone time. And it all started when the Hershey Bears contingent got ‘em started. The attitude was infectious. Even when Ovechkin would flub a shot, his goofy grin stuck around. The goals that felt infuriatingly out of reach came easy tonight, even with a titan in the other net.  That’s Caps hockey: high-octane, high-scoring, fun.

If they keep that energy up, it’s gonna be a good winter.

Pittsburgh on Thursday. I’ll be at a bachelor party in D.C., so Ian will be covering the game. It was nice knowing you all. Go Caps. CRASH THE NET.

Jeff Schultz says Keep On Drinkin

Washington Capitals defenseman Jeff Schultz signed a four-year, $11-million extension on Wednesday, thereby avoiding salary arbitration. So it seems GMGM was not being coy when he said, “We probably won’t make any changes to our defense. We’ve got seven guys ready to go.”

Sorry. You probably wanted a more well known name for the Caps’ blueline. Someone like Michalek. Or Volchenkov. Or maybe even Hamhuis.

Me too. But not at the expense of Jeff Schultz, who, at 24-years old, was the first blueliner to lead the NHL in plus/minus since 2005-06, when the New York Rangers’ Michal Rozsival and the Ottawa Senators’ Wade Redden tied for the lead at plus-35.

Corey Masisak points out

By my count, b/w 16 and 18 teams will use more cap space on their 3rd-most expensive d-man than the #Caps will use on Jeff Schultz.

Think about that for a moment:

Caps are spending 3rd-blueliner money on a Top-2 defenseman.

Still not convinced?

His blocked shots per 60 minutes of ice time (5.2) puts him 15th out of all defensemen who played at least 70 games/12min per and 7th in points per 60 minutes of ice time with 1.16. What do you think that would fetch on “Free Agent Frenzy Day”?

Is Schultz the answer to the Caps woes on the blue line? Of course not. Does he add the grit the Caps needed desperately for the playoffs? No. What it gives them is a top-line option at an extremely reasonable price, that – even if they were to sign a blueliner to pair with Green next year — they would still have a moderately priced 3rd defenseman to pair with Carlson.

Time will tell, but I think this signing makes Schultz one of the NHL’s best bargains two to four years from now. If not sooner.

Mike Green needs help (Rick Stewart/Getty Images).

This week, the Caps free agent picture became clearer as the organization announced they will not be renewing the contracts of defenseman Joe Corvo and forwards Brendan Morrison and Scott Walker, and Tarik El-Bashir reported that José Theodore‘s tenure with the Washington Capitals may be over.

All this leads to more speculation as to what the roster will look like next year. ESPN and the writers of Puck Prospectus have addressed the offseason needs for all 30 NHL teams and surprised no one by stating that the Caps need a shutdown guy on defense.

The Bruins signed defenseman Dennis Seidenberg to a four-year contract extension, taking off a likely target unrestricted free agent acquisition during the offseason and leaving only a few top four shutdown defensemen left in the UFA pool.

The Caps need as close to a sure thing as you can get. They can’t afford to let age (Sergei Gonchar) or injuries (Paul Martin, Willie Mitchell, and Mark Eaton) detract from the production of their top four defensemen during next year’s inevitable Cup run.

With Tarik El-Bashir reporting “the team does not, in fact, plan to pursue the Ottawa blue liner [Volchenkov],” that leaves just two defensemen that can fill a Top 4 spot. And more specifically, the top pairing with Mike Green:

Zybnek Michalek

Michalek has proven to be an effective shot-blocker in the NHL. His 14.2 Blocked Shots For, On Ice, per 60 minutes is more than both Mike Green and Jeff Schultz while playing against MUCH better competition.

Michalek earned $1.5 million last year, which makes him a very affordable option.

Henrik Tallinder

GMGM said both John Carlson and Karl Alzner will be full-timers in Washington next season so it would be nice to have a veteran with experience in helping rookies, similar to what Tallinder did for Tyler Myers in Buffalo.

Described as “more Poti-lite than like Poti” by Corey Masisak, Tallinder averaged over 20 minutes per game for the fourth time in the last five years. Tallinder would bring durability, shot-blocking ability and 36 games of playoff experience.

Tallinder made $3.25 million in 2009-10, which may be a tough fit financially, but having a defensive mentor for the youngsters may be worth the extra cash.

It’s true the pool of UFA defenseman is deeper than it has been in years past, but I think with Volchenkov reportedly off the table, the Caps’ needs are specific enough that there are not too many quality options available.

Now to find a second-line center…

Ever since the Capitals were ousted in the first round, there has been no shortage of reasons why- ranging from “stars” like Semin & Green letting them down to Peter prematurely shaving his beard despite us HAVING A PACT. But I am not bitter. Instead, we look towards the future, which looks bright:

• Nicklas Backstrom signed a long-term extension, ensuring we will see dozens (nay hundreds!) of Backstrom-to-Ovechkin goals over the next decade.
• The Habs proved to be legit, knocking out Crysby and the Pens in the 2nd round and making it to the Eastern Conference Finals before being ousted by Philadelphia.
• Neil Greenberg managed to go to a series-clinching game up in Hershey and didn’t jinx it.

So the focus is now on the rumors surrounding how the Caps will look to prevent a repeat of 2009-10, and it starts with a simple real estate transaction: Senators defenceman Anton Volchenkov has put his Ottawa house up for sale.

It makes sense: Anton Volchenkov turned down a 5 year, $20 million contract before the Olympics and the Capitals surely have a stay-at-home defenseman (Russian optional) on their “How Do We Make Sure This NEVER Happens Again” shopping list. But what does it mean for the rest of the D-Men?

Looking at their roster now, the following D-Men are under contract for the 2010-11 season:

• Mike Green
• Tom Poti
• John Erskine
• Tyler Sloan
• Karl Alzner
• John Carlson

Jeff Schultz is a RFA, but I am sure after leading the NHL in +/- we will see him wearing the Weagle again come opening night.

We will probably say goodbye to UFAs Shaone Morrisonn, Milan Jurcina and Joe Corvo – a deadline deal that never quite clicked, however it did leave to so some pretty awesome pirate jokes.

So let’s speculate on the pairings, assuming Volchenkov joins his fellow comrades in a Caps sweater:

1. Green/Volchenkov
2. Schultz/Carlson
3. Alzner/Poti
4. Erskine/Sloan

Some people think the signing of Volchenkov means the end of Semin in a Caps sweater, but I think Alzer is the one who loses out. Boudreau has said we would see “The Future Is Now” pairing of Carlson & Alzner next season, however, if Alzner is regulated to the third line, which I believe he would be, I think it makes more sense to either:

1. get him more time in Hershey, or,
2. trade him to upgrade at another position.

In addition to a “stay at home” defenseman, the Caps need to upgrade their 2nd line Center (and resign Belanger as the 3rd line center, in my opinion) but the UFA crop of centers is awfully bleak this year making me think that Alzer would be shipped to help fill that void.