Photo credit: Bill Wippert

The Washington Capitals came out ice-cold against the Buffalo Sabres in a game they should’ve been highly motivated to win. With the playoffs still possible, the Caps let the Sabres run away with a two-goal lead before mounting their comeback. The Caps ran the cycle — with goals by Ovechkin on the power play, a shorthanded goal by Brouwer, and 6-on-5 goal by Mike Green.

Overtime couldn’t decide the game, so to the shootout we went. Ovechkin won it. Because he’s a big damn hero, sir.

Caps beat Sabres 4-3 (Shootout)

• Troy Brouwer and John Carlson lost a battle for the puck along the boards, allowing Jochen Hecht to set up Christian Ehrhoff for a wide-open shot at the game’s first goal. That wasn’t the only goal the Caps have allowed recently after losing a puck battle. That trend has gotta end.
• Ville Leino got two goals on Saturday. I didn’t even know they still made Ville Leinos. But there he is: scoring two goals on the Washington freaking Capitals.
• Leino’s second goal was scored while Jack Hillen was in the box. That was actually a good move, as the Caps got absolutely pummeled while he was on the ice. As the Caps fell into a two-goal hole, Hillen had the team’s worst possession numbers by far. He did complain about the ice during the first intermission, but I think the other players might have been playing on the same sheet.
• Alex Ovechkin continues to be Russian hockey dynamite. He’s got points in 7 straights, tonight’s being a fantastically accurate power play goal from way outside. Ovechkin had 10 shots on goal– which is rigoshdarndiculous. Ovi has been a true captain in the back half of March– something we should all keep in mind next time critics foreign and domestic start talking trash about him.
• Jason Chimera didn’t have a shot on goal in his last three games. Against Buffalo he had two! One was almost a goal, until the cosmos realized it was Jason Chimera shooting it and decreed, “Hahaha yeah right.”
• Troy Brouwer shorty!  Yayyyyy! Shorties are the funnest kind of goals. They’re like when the people at Chipotle put extra guac in your ‘rito and don’t even charge you for it. Braden Holtby got the assist on that guac-laden burrito.
• Mike Green rang the post tragically in the third period. It could have been the tying goal, but the hockey fates said nay. Green was unfazed I guess, because he tried again in the game’s final minute. He hit the post again, but a friendly zephyr whispered it netward. High dramatics to tie the game and force overtime. 5 shots, 1 goal, 1 assist, 27:16 ice time. Stunning.
• Buffalo’s Jhonas Enroth was awesome. His glove save on Mike Ribeiro’s slim-angle shot in overtime was picture perfect if you like your pictures to break your hockey heart into a zillion pieces. That robbery left the game unresolved after 65 minutes, so …
• SHOOTOUT BULLET! Pominville rang post. Hendricks paralyzed Enroth. Ennis swatted by Holtby. Ovi five-holes Enroth! WIN!

Joe B suit of the night

The Buffalo Sabres are not a good team. They’re dead last in possession and seem to be selling off assets as of this afternoon. Yet, they played with purpose in the early goings, stealing a lead and protecting it capably.

Which is my way of saying that a team without anything to play for can still play well. If the Caps don’t make the playoffs this year, it ain’t the end of the world. They can still play good hockey until the end of April and the come back even harder in the fall.

In sizing up the Caps’ chances at a) making the playoffs, and b) actually performing well in the playoffs, I want to point to this game’s first 20 minutes, in which the Caps were utterly dominated by the aforementioned weakest puck possession team in the NHL. I’m not saying every night has to be lopsided like that, but daaaaaaaaaamn that first period sucked.

Thank goodness for the oft-maligned (including by us) Mike Green. That puck lost between his skates earlier in the week was all but forgotten when he secured a point with that 6-on-5 goal. Redemption has been granted. Let us speak no more of his shame.

And let’s all be glad that our preferred team is led by Alex Ovechkin, a guy whose favorite thing to do is shoot pucks at nets. I don’t know much about leadership, but I bet Ovechkin does. What a dude.

Catch you guys tomorrow evening at 6 PM. It’s Philadelphia, so make sure you have soap and bleach and Cipro at the ready.

[Ed. note: Craig Brownstein, PuckBuddy and resident film scholar, provides this look at our dance with the Buffalo Slugs, as imagined through the lens of Ingmar Bergman. You expected different, maybe? Read, learn, and tweet his nose here.]

Cries and Whispers: I scored last-minute tickets to the Isles game courtesy of a lovely young lady, and we sat in the #415 Lounge, just one seat from Sam Wolk, a distinct pleasure in and of itself. (My left ear has finally stopped ringing). Down by two in the early going, I met some friends on the concourse during the first intermission. Cue the hand-wringing, nay-saying, and rending of garments. Third period hopes were soon dashed, slipping between Mike Green’s skates. It was like a bad movie. Make that a depressing movie, think Cassavetes, or in honor of our stoic Swedish players, Bergman may be more appropriate.

Danse Macabre: Maybe I jumped on the Caps bandwagon at the right time. In just four short years I’ve experienced both the dizzying highs and terrifying lows that this team can provide: President’s Cup, deep(ish) second season runs, arrivals & departures (e.g., love Ribz but still miss Cody Squeak), a lockout and white-knuckled, needle-threading, Bataan Death Marches to the playoffs.

After such poor play this season, it’s hard to be optimistic, even when looking at a game with those chumps from Buffalo. Are the next few weeks really a death march? How about a death spiral? Or more likely, as we watch the Caps fumble and stumble their way through these last 15 games, a painful and regretful dance of death.

Scenes from a marriage… of Caps fans

Scenes From A Marriage: My normally fragile emotions have been shredded this season. Maybe I’m not cut out for this game. Or given my undeniable allegiance to this team, perhaps I’m just the perfect mate. In this always-challenging hockey marriage, I’ve vowed to have and to hold, for better, for worse (it may only get worse), for richer, for poorer (cap space constraints), in sickness (groins especially) and in health. Where there’s love there’s suffering, and the suffering came to a head Tuesday evening.

Tuesday was a landmark day in DC. All of the good gays were closely following the Prop 8 arguments at the Supreme Court. The better gays were actually down there showing their support for the cause.  This bad gay, the one suffering through a troubled hockey marriage, had his mind elsewhere; the Isles tilt at the Booth that night. Marriage equality will happen sooner or later, but the Caps playoff prospects seemed like a far more pressing matter that day. Sure they broke my heart that night, but I just can’t quit them.

First Star, Seventh Seal: It’s hard to believe that the Caps PP is still ranked 2nd in the NHL after going 0-3 against the Isles on Tuesday, not to mention that 5-on-3 embarrassment. With 10 of his 16 goals on the PP this season, the Captain keeping the man-advantage on life support. Mazel tov to Ovi for his first star last week, much of that due to his standout games against the Jets, back-to-back blowouts, and his PP performance. One of the better quotes to come out of that Winnipeg trip was from Jets bench boss, Claude Noel. Asked to explain the Jets’ dismal performance after their 4-0 drubbing, he said, “They’re playing chess, we’re playing checkers.” The chess match continues Saturday night. but in the back of our minds, given the steep climb, we think we’re playing chess with this guy:

“This damned ranting about doom. Is that food for the minds of modern people?” Do they really expect us to take them seriously?  Jöns, The Seventh Seal (1957)

Look at where we are (15-17-1, 31 points), 11th in the East, and a humiliating 23rd overall. The chances we catch up and overcome Winnipeg in the Southeast, or the desperate clutch of teams vying for the 8th spot in the East, are somewhere between fat and slim. And Slim just left town on a northbound train for Long Island. We need to go 11-4, or according to Ted Starkey, grab 20 of the 30 available points. The smart money says no. We’ve squandered far too many opportunities. Each point we didn’t gain is another nail in the Caps’ coffin.

The next three games– before the April 3 trade deadline– are critical, but the general lack of faith in the Caps’ performance is leading many some scribes to war game the sell-off of assets and play armchair GMGM. It’s depressing as all hell to read, but I don’t blame them. If we’re not in the playoff hunt and expect to be golfing after April 27, let’s look ahead to the rebuild. I’ll look at this season as a bump along the road in an otherwise happy marriage. We have tickets to that last game at Verizon against the Bruins (going with a Habs fan actually), so don’t blame me if I go out and look for some strange during the playoffs. Ohai, Montreal!

“You find him disgusting with his thick mouth and ugly body and wet appealing eyes. You think he’s disgusting and you’re afraid.” Alma, Persona (1966)

This is the spot where I say the city of Buffalo smells. Niagara is a toilet, their players are delinquents and miscreants, and we all have a good laugh. That’s not so easy to do this time around; truth is, I’m from Rochester and Buffalo was a regular cosmopolitan jewel compared to the ROC. While we can’t let this be an insult-free zone, I’ll save my fire for the philistines who don’t appreciate Bergman, those who consider Tarantino a good director, and find WillFarrellBenStillerSteveCarellVinceVaughn films remotely entertaining. It’s you that suck. And you all probably live in Buffalo.

“No matter what sublime works you fabricate, they don’t shield you from the fateful knocking at the door that interrupted the knight and his friends at the end of “The Seventh Seal.” Woody Allen in 2007, on Bergman’s passing.

Nineteen seconds, one goal. (Photo credit: Greg Fiume)

The Washington Capitals and Buffalo Sabres are neck-and-neck in a battle for playoff position. The Caps are just one point behind the Sabres as the lockout shortened regular season begins to come to a close. One problem, though: the spot they’re fighting for is 13th place in the Eastern Conference.

This season has been pretty abhorrent for fans in Buffalo and Washington. The Caps, however, still have time to salvage this year. Playing in hockey’s weakest division, the Caps came into Sunday’s game nine points out the the Southeast-leading Winnipeg Jets with 21 games left to play. But if Washington want to be playing hockey in May, that drive has to start now. Maybe it did. Thirty hours after the start of their deflating but fight filled 4-1 loss to the Boston Bruins, Washington showed no St. Patrick’s Day hangover (I’m sorry).

Caps beat Sabres 5-3.

Nineteen seconds into Sunday’s game, Alex Ovechkin unleashed a quick wrist shot off the draw. His goal from the slot was the fastest tally to start a game for the Caps this season, putting a some life into an otherwise late arriving and somewhat inebriated Verizon Center crowd. They went back to sleep during the rest the lazy first period.

Speaking of asleep, Braden Holtby was the next tally. Just 12 seconds into the second frame, Holts let in a weak marker from Cody Hodgson from the circles. We’ll forgive him because he’s pretty good sometimes.

A little less than five minutes after Buffalo’s goal, the Caps pulled ahead once again. With the Sabres Tyler Myers in the box for holding, Troy Brouwer fired a shot past Ryan Miller. The marker was set up by a delicious pass from behind the goal line by Mike Ribeiro. Ribz backhanded it through the legs off a Buffalo defender to Brouwer, who was waiting at the hashmarks. It was pretty.

A few minutes later, it was Jason Chimera‘s turn. Yes, Jason freaking Chimera! Chimmer snapped a 486 year — err – 27 game goalless streak with his tally. Logically, this means Peter was entirely at fault for the dearth goals from #25. He should stay at that Drive By Truckers concert where he belongs. Forever. Seriously, Peter, don’t leave Rams Head. Not if you care about our oft-screaming bald brother.

Anyway, less than a minute after Chimera’s first of the century, another player who has struggled this season got on the board. Marcus Johansson executed an expert poke of the puck while Miller was playing beached whale, putting the Caps up 4-1.

The goal crazy second period continued when Washington’s defense completely disappeared for a play, leaving Buffalo’s Brian Flynn wide open in front of the crease as if he had an infectious disease. Flynn took the pass out of the corner from Marcus Foligno and popped it past Holtby. 4-2 after two.

The third period got off to a slow start, in that it didn’t start. With some of the lights out at Verizon Center, the beginning of the period was delayed for a few minutes. Despite the outage, the game finally got going again — albeit with a yellower hue.

Joe B. Suit of the Night

With the lights finally came back to full power, Buffalo got within one when Hodgson put a rebound off Holtby’s left pad right back where it came from for his second goal of the game.

In the waining minutes of the game, Mathieu Perreault got on the board with a beautiful goal that would make Ovechkin jealous — all alone and with a lot of weaving. Wings for everybody and two standings points!

The Caps have a lot of ground to make up and just six weeks to do it. I still don’t think they can make the playoffs. If they do, Washington is going to have put together performances like this against teams that don’t come into the game in 13th place. On that high note, Peter will be back with you Tuesday when the Caps head to big bad Pittsburgh!

Photo credit: Patrick McDermott

Although hockey has been back for over a week now, the lockout seemed longer to the Washington Capitals and their fans. Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres put a definitive end to that. The Caps were poised, aggressive, and — most importantly– victorious for the first time this season.

And oh yeah, Ovi scored.

John Carlson allowed a bad breakaway that became a goal for Tyler Ennis, but Joel Ward occupied the slot a few minutes later to restore the tie. John Erskine scored a sneaky goal from outside to give the Caps their first lead since the season home opener vs. Winnipeg. Then, Alex Ovechkin scored a glorious powerplay goal with a one-timer that went top shelf on Ryan Miller. Marcus Foligno got one back for Buffalo, feeding at Neuvirth’s trough to make it 3-2.

Caps beat Sabres 3-2!

• Welcome back, Alex Ovechkin. That was a monster shot, that game winner, and the kind of one-timer we wanna see more of on the powerplay. It’s like the part in Hook where they have to force Peter Pan’s face into a smile before they recognize him. There you are, Ovi!
• But maybe nail that empty netter next time?
• Joel Ward scored 6 goals in 73 games last season. We’ve just wrapped up game 5 of this new season, and he’s already got three. He’s definitely getting some luck (his shooting percentage is like 20% higher than it should be), but he’s getting more ice time and doing more with it than he had been in seasons past. Let’s see more.
• John Carlson hasn’t missed a game since he joined the team full-time in 2010. After his poor stickhandling gave Tyler Ennis a breakaway goal, it’s perhaps time John ended his iron man streak.
• On that breakaway, Alex Ovechkin was on neutral ice. As Ennis and company stormed Neuvirth’s net, Ovechkin coasted into the Caps zone without a quantum of urgency. The rest of his game was energetic, but Washington’s captain casually strolling on the backcheck is a really bad visual. I have a feeling more people will remember that sweet one-timer more though.
• The last time John Erskine scored a goal: Obama was president, global mean temperature was increasing, people were still reading news on their phones, Justin Bieber was famous, and the RMNB site had a big gray thing at the top of every page.
• Michal Neuvirth‘s save on Mikhail Grigorenko early in the third was a work of art. Neuvy had to go full split to deny the 18-year-old rookie what would have been his first NHL goal. It was a quality start from Michal with smart reads and some groin-defying moves.
• Two-point games for Mike Ribeiro, Joel Ward, and Jason Chimera. Secondary scoring is going to be absolutely essential in a shortened season, and these are the guys we need producing.

Joe B suit of the night

I missed much of the last few games (Thanks for the assist, PuckBuddys!), and maybe that’s why I haven’t panicked about the Capitals. Sunday’s game was actually pretty damn encouraging. I liked the shot totals, particularly the volume of shots on the powerplay. I liked Neuvirth’s positional intelligence. I liked Schultz’s physical D, and Jay Beagle playing finesse hockey for a brilliant moment. I liked the Ward-Chimera pairing. I liked the horn guy’s embouchure. I liked Joe B’s suit (look at that stitching!).

It felt like Capitals hockey again.

Don’t get me wrong: I still want more offense, and the Caps won’t truly be back until someone’s groin disintegrates and the Canadian media talks trash about Ovechkin, but this is a good start.

See you on Tuesday!

From Caps Instragram

Photo credit: Bill Wippert

The Caps wasted a chance to climb the standings with Monday night’s loss to the Lightning, but we held out hope that our rivals– Buffalo (9th place), Ottawa (7th), and Florida (3rd)– would have crummy nights on Tuesday.

That did not happen.

The Buffalo Sabres climbed out a two-goal hole twice before beating Toronto in overtime. Jordan Leopold’s game-tying goal came with less than two minutes left in regulation. Check out this nine-man pile-up in front of the Toronto net:

If you can see the puck through that replay, you could be an NHL ref, too.

Meanwhile, the Florida Panthers needed two points to sew up the Southeast division title. Leading 3-0 in the second period, it looked like they would do it, but the Winnipeg Jets fought back despite having nothing to play for save pride. The Jets earned a lead, but Tomas Kopecky tied the game up with four minutes left. Of course, the Panthers ended up losing in OT, making that their 18th overtime loss of the season. That ties them with the 2008-2009 Tampa Bay Lightning for the most OTLs since the lockout.

Call that stat sour grapes if you want, because that’s exactly what it is. The Panthers are beating the Capitals because they waited longer to lose more games.

Also, Ottawa lost to the Canes. No one cares.

So here’s where we stand now [UPDATE: Posted an out-of-date version before. Fixed now.]:

• The New York Rangers have locked up the first seed in the East.
• Buffalo and Washington are in a virtual tie for 8th place, but the Caps have the tiebreaker (regulation/overtime wins).
• The Caps can catch Ottawa for 7th– if Ottawa loses to Boston and New Jersey and the Caps win their last 2 games.
• The Caps can catch Florida for 3rd– if Florida loses in regulation and the Caps win both games. FLA’s last game is against Carolina.
• Buffalo’s final two games are against Philly and Boston.

3rd, 7th, 8th, and – gulp— 9th place are still possible for the Capitals.

Pretty much anything can happen. But the biggest determining factor for the Washington Capitals remains the Washington Capitals themselves. Thursday’s home closer versus Florida needs a fever pitch.

And Saturday’s bout with the Rangers will be…

Come to our party at Front Page on Saturday, April 7. It’s a viewing party for Caps @ Rangers. It’ll be epic.

Photo credit: Rob Carr

If there was one moment that epitomized Tuesday’s game, it came in the waning moments of the second period. With the Capitals on the power play with chance to narrow the Sabres lead to one heading into the final intermission, Keith Aucoin chipped the puck along the boards to Alex Ovechkin, who was playing the point at the blueline. Ovi fumbled the slow moving puck, got out muscled by Jason Pominville and then stumbled to the ice. Pominville finished the sequence by deflating any hope there was on the Capitals bench when his shot hit the back of the net. Ovechkin smashed his stick against the goal post in frustration.

In sharp contrast to Sunday, chants of “Ovi!” came not from the home fans, but some in the large and vocal Sabres contingent. The game was over, though Buffalo wasn’t done scoring. It ended with a 5-1 Sabres victory and a mostly empty Verizon Center.

“We dig ourselves a hole there and we get some life back in the building at 3-1 and the fourth one really hurt us, so did the fifth one,” Brooks Laich said after the game.

Ovechkin offered a simple explanation.

“I don’t think we play bad we just made mistakes in own zone,” he said. “When they score shorthanded, I should play my skate not my stick but, you know, it happens.”

This was a match-up Dale Hunter compared to a game seven in the playoffs. Which is not an untrue statement if you recall the Caps’ 6-2 defeat to the Pittsburgh Penguins in Washington to end their 2009 season. Verizon Center had the same stunned feel as the third period ticked away Tuesday night. But after the game, Hunter and the rest of the team attempted to play it down and focus on their five remaining contests. That’s obviously valid. After all, they’re not going to get those proverbial four points back by sulking.

“It actually becomes very simple,” said Laich. “Life right now becomes very simple. You focus on your games and what you can control and you can’t look any further than that. And if you put your best effort in, I believe in this group. I believe we’re going to get in. These next five games, they’re going to tell the story of our hockey games.”

Added Karl Alzner: “We’re going to have to be a desperate hockey team, every single second of every game.”

It wasn’t just who they played. It wasn’t just how they played. It was the brilliantly awful way they showed up to the biggest game of their season. At 9:29 p.m. it came to a merciful end. The remaining fans were silent and the Buffalo Sabres laughed and high five’d as they walked down the tunnel to the visitor’s locker room. The Washington Capitals are now in ninth place.

Photo credit: Dave Sanford

Sunday night after the Capitals’ 3-0 win against the Wild, Coach Dale Hunter said that tonight’s matchup with the Buffalo Sabres was going to be “like the seventh game of the playoffs.”

Apparently, Mike Knuble didn’t read his talking points memo, because on DC101′s Elliot in the Morning this Monday he said the exact opposite. “There is a tomorrow after the game,” Knuble told Elliot. “It’s not like a game seven or anything, but you know, they’re obviously a team that’s right with us, right here. They talk about these four-point games, that can be two points we get, two points they won’t get.”

While Knuble wasn’t quite ready to call it playoffs in March, he did acknowledge that the game was important, the team was pumped–and he has a challenge for the fans attending the game tonight. “I hope everybody’s there early, I hope everyone’s in their seat early, I hope they’re ready to see a good game. I don’t want people filtering in there, getting there late, getting out of work late. Skip out of work early! Be there on time! Be there in the warmup!”

Audio of Knuble’s Interview

Craig of the PuckBuddys delivers this pregame and travelogue. Please follow @PuckBuddys on Twitter.

So it all comes down to this. A season full of mediocre and substandard Caps performances could very well hinge upon Tuesday night’s tilt against the Sabres. Or, as we like to call them, the godless and heathen Sabres. Tuesday night at Verizon is when we glance up into the rear-view mirror and see all those squandered games and lost opportunities receding into the distance. Had the Caps gotten their heads and asses wired together at any point between November and say, last Friday’s night’s OT loss to the Jets, we wouldn’t be on pins and needles headed into Tuesday evening, or in my particular case, on lithium and Maker’s Mark.

Marcus Foligno is not Alex Ovechkin

No matter. It is what it is and here we are – do or die on the Verizon sheet if the Caps are to control their destiny. Destiny being a funny thing, donchaknow. We’ll get to all that high-minded stuff later, but first, some spleen-venting. But before we start with Buffalo filth, maybe some de rigueur Pens H8 first – Did that band of misfits and degenerates deliberately tank to the Jets on Saturday night, just to screw with us in the Eastern standings? I’m not smart enough to know, math makes my hair hurt, but I saw tweets that suggested as much. And in this day and age when I can’t believe in anything, I put a lot of weight behind rumor, innuendo, and disinformation, if it helps sustain and further stoke my blind and bitter rage with those miscreants. OK, enough about the Pens – let’s shuffle off to Buffalo, or as near as we risk traveling without the necessary inoculations.

For anyone who grew up in Rochester (90 miles to the east of Buffalo), as I did, you develop not just a hatred of that city, but something more visceral, a disgust. Between the three cities of Upstate New York (and I mean real Upstate, not freakin’ Poughkeepsie), Syracuse, Buffalo, and the Middle Jewel, Rochester, you’d think there would be some sense of fraternal pride and brotherhood between them, based on all three cities losing the geography lottery. But no, there’s a mutual distrust and highly competitive spirit between them. Rochester and Syracuse do share one thing in common however: pity for anyone who comes from Buffalo.

To be sure, Verizon will have its share of Sabres boosters Tuesday evening. To give you an idea of the sorry quality of life for Buffalo expats, is the annual “Buffalo Nite”, a gala evening in DC sponsored by the New York State Society. First organized by Jack Kemp staffers in 1978, Buffalo exiles have jumped at the chance to celebrate their escape from that dark city (dark in the daytime), and swill Genny and gorge on “beef on weck”, two staples that you’d find in just about every Western New York barnyard trough. But they’re the lucky ones, the survivors, the ones who got away. It should also be noted that one of the Buffalo Nite corporate sponsors is Wegman’s. It should also be noted that Wegman’s is a Rochester company and they only opened outposts in Buffalo to keep the citizenry from starving – consider it the grocery version of the Berlin Airlift – but Cold War Berlin was a regular garden spot compared to the “Mistake on the Lakes.”

The Larkin Building, better days

Poor Buffalo. How did it get to be so squalid? At the turn of the last century, it was the Empire State’s second largest city behind New York, and the 8^th largest in the country. Thank the Erie Canal and hydropower for Buffalo’s growth and then blame the St. Lawrence Seaway for its steady erosion and demise ever since. The bloom has been off that putrid rose for over 100 years. The city that boasted the Pan-American Exposition in 1901, reached its high water mark then and there. Of course, history geeks will recall it was at the Expo that President William McKinley was felled by an assassin’s bullet, fired by anarchist, Leon Czolgosz. This is where we make a cheeky joke about that dude having more consonants in his name than Bryzgalov, or McKinley wanting any excuse at all to exit Buffalo, but we won’t go there – too soon.

The Larkin Building, later

But perhaps the greatest blemish on Buffalo’s record was the Larkin Building. Innovative in 1904 for its use of including air conditioning, stained glass windows, built-in desk furniture, the Larkin Building was an early example of Frank Lloyd Wright’s marriage between form and function and his aversion to ornamentation. Mies van der Rohe, one of the few 20^th Century architects often mentioned in the same breath as Wright, hailed the Larkin Building as a “masterpiece.” But an early FLW masterpiece wasn’t good enough for Buffalo – a decidedly un-great city situated on the shores of two Great lakes. In the years after WWII, the building fell into disrepair and became home to vagrants; in 1950 it was torn down and was replaced by a parking lot.

On Tuesday evening, the Sabres, this ragtag gang of streaking hooligans must too, be torn down; brick by brick, shot by shot and goal by goal. Whatever late season pride and momentum this squad brings to Verizon, it must be demolished and replaced only by the kind of soul crushing emptiness and sense of loss that that now haunts that parking lot at 680 Seneca Street. It is the Caps destiny to vanquish these pretenders who claim what is rightfully ours – a playoff spot.

“Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.” William Jennings Bryan (1899)

Two weeks ago, with detached amusement, we read about “What’s Wrong with Alex Ovechkin,” in the Washington Post. It took team owner Ted Leonsis two weeks to weigh in on that piece, but the Captain has been answering that question ever since the edition went to press – 10 points (9G, 1A) in his last eight games. He’s playing aggressive D and despite the occasional lapse in our own zone, is exhibiting “Vintage Ovi.” He logged 26:19 TOI against the Wild and looked like he could’ve handled more. It’s the captain’s responsibility to play the hardest, and Ovechkin is setting the right example for his teammates, especially now, when it counts the most. The tummy pats? Maybe he’s hungry for MOAR! Let him feast on buffalo Tuesday, devouring their spirit, souls and any sense of pride those poseurs bring with them to Verizon. And when he’s done with that – HE WANTS WINGS! BUFFALO WINGS!

Ovi’s Russian playmate, playboy, and playmaker, Alexander Semin, also continues his propensity to care, racking up 7 points (1G, 6A), in the eight games since the Bulldog edition of that Post story hit the streets. If Sasha only knew English well enough to understand what the jokers on the NBC (Nothing But Clowns) broadcast team were saying about him, perhaps he’d really turn the heat up. Maybe he does and he’s just being coy. Keep shooting Sasha, find the twine. Put some rubber on that creep Ryan Miller Tuesday night, and stay beautiful. (And consider a pay cut next season, please? Kuz is coming!!!).

“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.” William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar (Act I, Sc. II)

Braden and Brooks (Photo credit: Mitchell Layton)

The Caps high-dollar talent, the stars, aren’t the only one who need to step up big time on Tuesday night. We’ve been heartened by recent play from those who doesn’t necessarily command the headlines – or the wrath and venom of those blithering idiots on NBC (Nattering Braying Carping): Chimdog, Kanoobs, Beags, Matty P., MoJo and Alzner. Missing from this list? Brooksie. Is it us, or has he been flat lately? Never mind the ill-timed fight with the Jets’ Jim Slater on Friday night, we don’t see much Laich ink on the score sheets lately, except for TOI. Maybe we’re looking in the wrong spots, but we tend to zero in on the G, A and P columns.

Braden Holtby. Say no moar. Except OMGBRADENTHOLTYWASAMAZINGAGAINSTTHEWILD! While we won the first star of the game last night, the heavens don’t hold nearly enough for how many he rightly deserved. Caps fans – Just when you thought you got off the goalie drama merry-go-round, they punch your ticket for another ride. #NeuvyVokesBeast

As for Buffalo’s stars, thanks to Peter we can ding a few on their squad with actual hockey insight rather than just juvenile name-calling.

Ryan Miller is a great goalie, but his star is dimming. Every summer begs this question: is his career stifled by being in Buffalo? I doubt he even gets the starting nod in Sochi with Howard and Quick in the mix.

Amen, Brother! Sing it! Now Peter, savage them with some #fancystats:

Not a strong team on the puck– they sit back and rely on their D too much. 24/30 in possession (Fenwick) when the score is close. Caps should be able to get 30 shots against them.

Testify!!

“The willing, Destiny guides them; the unwilling, Destiny drags them” Seneca, Roman philosopher

Had things gone differently with Buffalo earlier in the season, Gabby might still be Caps coach. (Show of hands – who misses him? Jeez – So much for our sophisticated polling. We showed Santorum up big in Illinois, too). We’re not going to argue Bruce Boudreau’s departure here for the umpteenth time – whether he lost the room, bench, or his corner banquette at Applebees during the troubles, we blame Buffalo for his exit. This season has been so manic, with its occasionally dizzying highs and all too many terrifying lows – but it was probably the night of Saturday, November 26, that was the team’s nadir. If you haven’t repressed the memory by now, the Caps were basically playing my Rochester Amerks that night and were pasted 5-1. Enter Dale Hunter and all that conflama (confusion + drama) that followed, but I digress – because there’re more quotes on destiny from old dead white guys that I need to recycle. (And I get paid by the word).

“It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link of the chain of destiny can be handled at a time.” Winston Churchill (1945)

Five games remain beyond Buffalo’s visit to Verizon, but to what degree do any of them matter? Who among us can even look past Tuesday night? Is it bad juju to look at the final weeks of the regular season before we throttle those gangsters? What if we jinx the delicate balance – do we tempt the fates by looking past Buffalo? Pffft! The hockey fans who buy into that jinx / anti-jinx chicanery, tomfoolery and shenanigoats are probably the same guys who watch “professional” wrestling ::cough Adam, Wysh, Vinny ::cough. They’re also the type that probably buys time-share condos too. Whatevs - Get it done, Caps. Close the deal. Break their backs and crush their spirits. By brutally savaging the Upstate swine, you’ll send a message to Boston, Montreal, Tampa, Florida and New York, “We’re back, b*tches – and we don’t like golf!”

“We need Hawaii Buffalo just as much and a good deal more than we did California Winnipeg . It is Manifest Destiny.” President William McKinley (1898)

There was no way we were going to let our 25^th president off the hook so easily, but we’ll end it here on a positive. Bite us Buffalo. That’s about as positive that any kid from Rochester can ever be.

Photo credit: Mitchell Layton

After the Capitals’ somewhat easy 4-1 victory over the Eastern Conference’s best team Wednesday, Nicklas Backstrom spoke to Versus’ Pierre McGuire. In explaining the team’s troubles this year, Backstrom said, “I think we haven’t been working hard enough. Everybody has to commit and do their job, and that’s what we haven’t been doing.”

It’s hard to express optimism that the Caps have finally turned the corner, if they can’t string a couple of solid victories together, and — you know — actually turn the corner. Would they bring the energy again in their second match-up in three games against the Buffalo Sabres, a team who has given the Caps fits all year?

You tell me. Photo recap time!

First photo! After Jason Chimera is slammed face-first into the glass by Mike Weber, the Caps are awarded a power play 27 seconds into the game. Not shown but worth keeping in mind: Chimera returned to the bench really, really mad. (Photo credit: Mitchell Layton)

Ovechkin goes for a skate and avoids a hip check on the subsequent power play… (Photo credit: Patrick McDermott)

And scores! It’s the quickest Caps goal of the season, and a complete role-reversal of Monday’s dreadful game against the Sabres. (Photo credit: Nick Wass)

11 minutes later, after a stoppage in play, Chimera skates over to Weber and the two drop the mitts.  Despite the fact Chimmer looks to be suckling here, everyone in the arena got the message that he shouldn’t be messed with. (Photo credit: Patrick McDermott)

Oh wait, Ryan Miller didn’t. Time to resort to primitive gestures! (Photo credit: @STLSpidey)

A few minutes later, the chippy play continues as Troy Brouwer fights Christian Ehrhoff. Brouwer’s MMA-style hug (get a room you two) incredibly gives Ehrhoff an upper-body injury. He does not return. The Sabres Twitter account later says Ehrhoff could be out “weeks.”  Brouwer after the game says, “I wouldn’t even put that down as a fight.” Awesome. (Photo credit: Mitchell Layton)

3:52 into the second period, the Capitals score their second goal of the night. Look at Alex Semin hustling.

The tally, Backstrom’s 13th, ties him for the team-lead in goals with Ovechkin and Mr. About-to-be-fined. (Photo credit: Nick Wass)

It was also Backstrom’s 100th career goal. (Photo credit: Ben Guerrero)

After the Sabres dominate the final ten minutes of the second period, Jochen Hecht scores in front of the net to pull Buffalo within one. (Photo credit: Patrick McDermott)

During the intermission, Joe B photobombs Locker. (Photo credit: @skeebs17)

Laughlin finally realizes Joe’s behind him… (Photo credit: @jennrubenstein)

And then notices the hideous dress shirt Joe B’s wearing under his suit of the night. (Photo credit: @jennrubenstein)

Have to have one for the ladies. (Photo credit: Mitchell Layton)

Ovechkin then clinches the victory in the third period. No goalie in the world could stop this.

It’s his second goal of the night and his 14th of the season. Per Neil Greenberg, the Capitals are now 17-2-0 when both Ovi and NB19 score and 16-1-2 (since the 2009-10 season) when Ovi scores twice. (Photo credit: Patrick McDermott)

Two-straight wins! WOOOOOOOOO! (Photo credit: Nick Wass)

That was fun. Photo recaps rule. Well, make sure to go check out the Hershey Bears’ New Years and Outdoor Game jerseys exclusively on our sister site Sweetest Hockey On Earth! We’ll be back tomorrow night for the Caps game in Columbus. See you guys then! (Photo credit: Kyle Mace)

Alex Ovechkin appeals to the ref. (Photo credit: Bill Wippert)

The Washington Capitals might have had too much figgy pudding, as their post-Christmas match-up with the Buffalo Sabres was one of their ugliest of the season. Maybe the worst.

Exactly how bad was it? So bad that we’re exercising The Option. The option is an obscure RMNB bylaw that allows us to not really write about a game because it was so wretched our primitive language cannot adequately describe it.

Roman Hamrlik wasted 9 seconds before sending the puck over the glass. Michal Neuvirth got pulled in the first because he was being a sieve. Unless being a sieve is a good thing, in which case he was NOT being a sieve. Mathieu Perreault impaled himself on his own stick, but he came back in time to leave his skates on a hit. Karl Alzner had a good view of three Buffalo goals. Brooks Laich won 7 of 19 faceoffs. Alex Ovechkin fired 5 shots. Dmitry Orlov won Palm player of the game for some reason.

The situation with the Capitals is dire. This team will not make the playoffs unless they make a significant course correction. Installing Dale Hunter hasn’t been enough. What do you think?

Our opinion: these guys are SOFT. Prove us wrong on Wednesday.

“Soft” by Ian Oland, who is a grown-up.

Michal Nuevirth gave up 3 goals on 6 shots (Photo credit: Rick Stewart)

Alex Semin got high sticked by Brayden McNabb (Screen cap: @Valtard)

Joe B suit of the night