[Ed. note:Today, the latest member of the PuckBuddys team hits the ice. Jason Rogers currently hangs his hat in Virginia, has studied in Paris and worked in China (always one step ahead of Interpol). But where ever he is in the world he’s a Caps fan through and through. He knows the game and we're not holding that against him. Jason currently sports #8 – and the “C” – playing center for the Manassas Sperm Whales. Srsly. Give him a follow on twitter.]

Morning Skate: Well, Saturday’s game against the Devils sure was fun to watch, no? Alex Ovechkin bowled a Magician, and the whole team clearly ate their morning Oates with breakfast. It was a real big-boy win against the defending Eastern Conference champions for this Caps team, and like a really nice yard with an unmarked septic field, hopefully something they can build on. Today, Southeast Division rival Carolina Hurricanes blow into town like a hot, smelly belch from the South. I hope they brought illegal fireworks.

The unbearable lightness of being Sasha

The Puck Drop: There are a couple big plot points to this match-up for the Caps. The first, of course, is the Return of Sasha. Yes, the man who once shared a banner with Voldemort is coming back to Verizon. If I had to guess how Semin feels about this, I would play the averages and assume he doesn’t care.

But I predict the Verizon faithful are going to let him have it, with a few scattered apologists wailing, “Guys, but that wrister!” He’s been an alright pickup for the Hurricanes with three goals on the season. Or, differently, as many as Ovechkin had in his last game. And speaking of Ovechkin, my God, we might get to see Ovi absolutely train track Sasha in the open ice. Think about that, and salivate over it. I need to go change.

The second big plot point is that the Caps have a chance to take two more points off of a division rival’s plate and put it onto theirs. As Jeff Kleiman said on Twitter: “The Southeast Division has really ‘just become a dumpster fire’.” With no teams over .500 and the winner of the division likely to have fewer points than the eventual eighth seed, there’s not a reason in the world the Capitals shouldn’t rise from this trash pile like Rocky over the city of Philadelphia. If they keep playing like Saturday, we could well have a new banner to hang from the rafters at Verizon, even if we have to shake the coffee grounds and band-aid wrappers off it first.

So that’s about where we’re at, which brings me to where we’re going next, and a segment I call:

Liable to Libel: A Baker’s Dozen Lies About Today’s Opponent

• The Hurricanes have petitioned the NHL for permission to change their name twice: once to the Katrinas in 2005, and once to the Sandies in 2012. Let’s see what 2013 brings.
• Eric and Jordan Staal learned to possess the puck so well by being made to fight over scraps of meat tossed to them by their parents, unable to ween all 37 of their hockey-playing children.
• North Carolina ranks first in the US in occurrences of adorable children’s ice cream scoops falling off their cones and making them cry.
• @AlexSemin has blocked @tbrouwer20
• Raleigh, North Carolina was originally called Staalopolis, named for the dinosaur of the same name. It’s true.
  

  The Staal Family

• If you rearrange the letters in Cam Ward’s name, it spells Raw Clams.
• Alex Semin is actually trying really, really hard, guys.
• Passersby often stop the Carolina Hurricanes on the street and say, “Boy, it’s obvious you’ve won a Stanley Cup.”
• Seriously, Alex Semin wants this more than anybody.
• When approached by the league about the possibility of Raleigh hosting an NHL franchise, Mayor Tom Fetzer reportedly began foaming at the mouth and firing a pistol wildly into the air like Yosemite Sam.
• Jussi Jokinen prefers for his first name to be pronounced, “Juicy.”
• The entire cast of Les Mis were all Staals and performed under pseudonyms.
• South Carolina is really grateful the team chose to call themselves “Carolina,” and is totally gonna make it up to North Carolina.

Hot And Hotter: Here’s who and what I’ll be keeping an eye on in tonight’s game at the SIM Card:

1. Ain’t Eight Great? - Much like Hansel, Ovi is burning hot right now. And in DC we’re basking in this fairweather praise like cool whip from Katy Perry’s brassiere. In the home-and-still-home against the Devils, OBestkin played like a Russian with a fire lit under him, with a meteoric ‘See what I did there?’ rise that many would tell you was long in coming. In addition to finishing his checks with gusto and roaring into the zone on breakouts, finally – finally – his buckets and buckets of shots started to hit pay dirt. Whether playing the 1812 Overture from the top of the circle, or creating room for himself with a little dink-and-dunk puck play, the Russian Machine seems to be revving up. Woe unto the rest of the league if he is.
2. The Ebb and Flow of John Carlson - Once hailed by the Screen Actors Guild as the world’s greatest living actor, my jersey-sake #74 has been a sore subject for me this season. J.C. Superstar was once the roll bar on our Miata, keeping us secure when the cycle got rolling on us, pinning us to the boards sharply when we lost our way, and other shallowly extended metaphors. He made smart, lockdown plays in his own end, and was never the weak link going the other way on the rush. Early this season, Spike Strip was blowing tires nightly and leaving Holtby on islands like his name was Tattoo (children, go look it up.) Lockouts are tough on young players to whom acclaim has come quickly. Big things are expected from you, and accomplishment is no longer a pleasant surprise. It’s demanded from you, and Captain America now seems to be lifting himself up off the mat and coming out swinging. He’s keeping pucks in the zone, working the wheelhouse on the power play like Steamboat Willie, and winning footraces to the puck. Also, I bet if you stuck a fork into his hair, it would stand straight up. And that’s gross, but I respect it. [Ed note: Johnny cut his hair!]
3. “Now I ain’t sayin’ he a goaltender, but he ain’t messin’ with…” We’ve been a hot mess between the pipes, like the area rug of a crack house. We have a list of old boyfriends like an experimental trip through Europe: Cristobal, Jose, Semyon, Michal. But Holtby could be our guy; a just-inked, two-year deal underscores that. We all fell in love with Braden during last year’s playoff series against the Bruins when he stared down that little twerp Rich Peverley like a consummate boss and stood on his head so long he got CTE. Yes, Braden Holtby will give up goals if you don’t play defense in front of him. Just like that other guy – what’s his name? - Oh, everyone. But boy, if you give this kid a a demi-snowball’s chance to make a stop, 9.31 times out of 10 he makes the save over the last four games. He’s making quick decisions with the pads and ought to take that glove with him over to Nats spring training. We’ve had our share of streaky goalies, but Holtby could be our Windex man. He’s currently starting in the most consecutive games of his career, and we may be able to keep doing so thanks to the shortened season. I hope that in so doing, he can find his groove and keep doing his weird, Jedi thing.

And with that, I leave you to eagerly await the drop of the puck at 7pm tonight at Verizon. Let’s go get ‘em, boys.

The Puck Buddys have the night off to pamper their new greyhound puppy. So instead, here’s me!

The Washington Capitals are running out of time to earn a playoff berth. Berth is a weird word. It just means anchor, but it sounds a lot more… obstetrical. Like once you clench a berth, you are supposed to take a hot shower and replace electrolytes.

Stuff is looking dire for the Caps, but here’s a spot of good news: they get to play the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday! With a 22-26-11 record, the ‘Canes are the worst team in the eastern conference and the closest thing our team will have to a sure thing from here until April.

• The Canes have earned 11 pity points for overtime losses this season. They will have to share their participation trophy with the Kings and the Panthers, also at 11.
• They won’t be in Raleigh, but those Florida Panthers will be the team to look out for during this game. Thanks to Boose Boudreau and his Ducks giving Florida a 2-0 beatdown on Sunday, the Caps can claim first in the division with a win on Monday. The Panthers won’t play again til Thursday.
• The Canes lead the league in an obscure statistic that only we track: number of players with names that could be minor characters in the Star Wars Extended Universe. Jussi Jokinen (diplomat from Dantooine, 8G 23A) + Tuomo Ruutu (Mandalorian vibroblade expert, 17G 13A) + Drayson Bowman (spice smuggler with heart of gold, garbage stats).
• At their last meeting, the Capitals were shut out 3-0 due to the hot hand of Mister Cam Ward.
• Also on a hot streak is Nick Backstrom, who secured a 48-save shutout and dammit I just realized that’s the other Backstrom.

But the Hurricanes really are awful:

Our Caps reaaaally need this win. It’s like the rest of the league is deliberately tanking it to give our guys a chance, and you know the schedule only gets harder from here on out. We’ve got one more date with the Canes (March 6), but pretty much every other game is against scary good teams.

Puck drops at 7:30 on NBC Sports.

Crash the net.

[Editor's note: We are proud to welcome writers Craig Brownstein and Doug Johnson to the Russian Machine! You might already know Craig and Doug from their gay-focused hockey blog, Puck Buddys. You are hereby required to follow them on Twitter: @PuckBuddys. Puck Buddys is increasing its scope from Caps-centric coverage to the whole NHL, so you'll see C+D here a lot, especially for game previews. Please give them a very warm welcome and let us know if they break anything expensive.]

And now, a new season kicks off with an ominous sign of the Hockpocalypse - teh gays are now writing about the Caps for RMNB: a risky collaboration between the established Russian royalty (or oligarchy), and the gauche, nouveau riche upstarts.  The cheeky bastards of the hockey world will occasionally share insightful analysis, anatomy lessons, and keen fashion sense with a wider cross-section of the Caps fanbase. The questions on everyone’s lips?  1) Who’s going to embarrass the other first?  Answer: We’re demonstrating that right now. 2) How did RMNB end up with us? Answer: Dave Nichols of District Sports Page already grabbed all the talented free agents.

It’s been a tough summer, our first official offseason. Since we last left our rink-side heroes, the economy is still falling like Sasha’s many unexplained losses of balance; the earthquake did as much damage to the city as Tampa Bay (and wrecking the one pure thing in DC); and America’s most high profile hockey mom, Sarah Palin, is…well, still Sarah Palin. In other words, stasis. During the Dog Days, our hockey hunger was temporarily sated by Dev Camp, the rookies, training camp, the Alumni Game (Go Team Locker!), and finally, CapsCon.

We’ve been watching the pre-season (mostly) closely, scoping out the Baby Caps, GMGM’s seasoned vet additions and the many new names, faces and sweaters around the NHL (Hi, Stecks!).  And speaking of that former Caps fan fave, we’re glad he wound up with the Leafs; it’s home to our #1 fave hockey dad, Brian Burke. But enough about friends, let’s look at Saturday night’s foes, the Carolina Hurricanes.

First off: they’re from somewhere called “Carolina.” We’re told there are actually two Carolinas, but we’re not so sure. The Hurricanes are actually immigrants from Hartford, where they were once dressed as whales, occasionally beached. But that’s so 1970′s – get with the new economy – anything worth a crap now lives in the South, like Hank Williams, Jr., who is our choice to host next year’s NHL Awards show. And to be honest, he’d be a marked improvement over Jay Mohr. If we were writing Hank’s opening remarks for the evening, we’d have him liken President Obama to Gary Bettman.

But we have all season to high-stick the Commish, let’s talk hockey. After a gypsy season or two – we call this the “Carolina Homeless” era – the Canes settled comfortably in Raleigh, which we pretty much liken to the the fictitious sit-com town of Mayberry. Among North Carolina’s other significant contributions to culture are pig-pickin’, douchey Duke snots and creepy Senators. Still, despite our city slicker snickering, Raleigh hoisted the Cup, which is more than we can say at this point.

The Canes racked up only one win in the preseason, blanking the NKOTB, the Winnipeg Jets. We won’t read anything into those September contests, since the Caps too, played spotty, prompting immediate and panicked calls for the firing of both Coach Boudreau and GMGM.

Tomas Kaberle

Beginning nowhere in particular for the Canes is 4-time all-star Tomas Kaberle. Or more accurately, Tomáš Kaberle, a Czech-born former Bruin of with great skills.  We get a little dizzy typing Tomáš into the Google – not that there’s a lot of Czech-born ‘models’ named Tomáš or anything – but it’s clear Kaberle brings experience to their squad.  Sure, the 33 year-old D-man has a bit of grey in the beard, and perhaps he fizzled a bit in the last playoffs, but he’s big (215 lbs) and aggressive…and has something only two others on the Caps have: the magical and elusive NHL championship ring.  On the subject of precious rings, we’re staying away from the booth on opening night because the sight and sound of 20,000 Caps channeling Smeagol may be a bit too much for us.

Hewing closer to the more youthful demographic is Cam Ward, Conn Smyth winner in 2006, and still among the best goal-tenders in the NHL. A Saskatoon native, the 27-year-old Ward isn’t to be mocked, on the ice or off. (Serious cute on this guy). Although 2010 was a sort of crud year for him due to injuries, that’s nothing compared to what the Caps have seen previously. A lot. A whole lot. Our boys will need to pick his lock on Saturday night and in the five subsequent match ups with this squad.

Eric Staal

The Top Cane, Eric Staal, brings his family’s “I’m Eric-the-Vampire-from-True-Blood“  Nordic good looks back for another season. 26 and freakishly tall, the ‘Canes captain is ridiculously talented, and sibling to, at last count, 14 hockey-playing brothers.  Mmmm - that’s some good DNA! He boasts mad skills yet occasional bad judgment, which could be his undoing when facing our newly fortified D (Hi, Roman! Remember us from the autograph session at CapsCon?).

The Biebs

Without getting typically gay fanboy, Tiger Beat gushy, we can’t look at the Canes and not take a shot at the NHL’s very own Justin Beiber -  Jeff Skinner [Peter: This should boost your SEO. BTW don't forget to remove this note before posting!]. 19 years old… wait…just let that sink in: 19. We have socks older than Jeff Skinner. Apart from his yucks-inducing name for any Simpsons fan, the shortish (5’11″) Toronto-native is a natural, having made the rare transition from figure skating to hockey (a move that we pray Johnny Weir never considers).

In his first NHL season, he smoked it up for Carolina, and the Calder winner has franchise hopes riding on his slender and delicate shoulders, almost like a young Ovechkin many years back. Well…maybe not Ovi. Sasha, perhaps, as long as we’re speaking about delicate.  Either way, the Carolina tween is someone with talent but has a lot left to learn – most notably about fighting. He can find the twine but can he deliver and take a punch? Sure he danced with Kris Russell of the Blue Jackets during the preseason, but that was kid stuff.  Hell, even we could beat down Russell, and we fight like girls (correction: mean girls).  Maybe not on Saturday, but if he keeps dropping his dainty little mitts, at some point, the Canes’ Beebs may get that ominous page over an arena PA system: “Mr. Jeff Skinner, RED courtesy phone - Matt Hendricks is holding on Line 3.”

At the other end of the Canes age spectrum is Bryan Allen, a well-traveled, 31 year-old, 6’5″ 225lb monster, and quite possibly a nice addition to the Canes D. Weird to single him out? For us, not so much – he’s a handsome SOB.

Which leaves us back at the topic that brought us here. Men? No, hockey. Or, more explicitly, hockey men. Until the apparatchik at RMNB ask us politely to leave (or have us kidnapped and buried in shallow graves outside of Frederickgrad), we’ll continue scribbling occasional thoughts on the side of hockey that the tourists never see.

Anze Kopitar celebrates a goal last year against the Blackhawks. (Photo credit: Harry How)

Editor’s note: You can win a 1-year subscription to ESPN Insider and a $25 gift certificate to Front Page VA by guessing Neil’s first two draft picks tonight. Check out the details on our Facebook page.

As part of ESPN.com’s NHL family, I was invited to participate in their fantasy hockey draft this past Tuesday. Just me and guys like Craig Custance, John Buccigross, and Scott Cullen.

No pressure.

Victoria Matiash has already given a bird’s eye view of the draft, but I thought I would run through my thought process on various picks and give you some ideas for your fantasy draft. Plus, you can see how I do for the season because we are making the results public.

Here were the ground rules for the draft:

Participants included, in original order, Craig Custance, Tristan Cockcroft, Tim Kavanagh, John Buccigross, Pierre Becquey, Michael Hume, Victoria Matiash, Neil Greenberg, Sean Allen and Scott Cullen. Categories include goals, assists, power-play points, plus/minus, penalty minutes, shots on goal and average time on ice for skaters and wins, save percentage and goals-against average for goaltenders. Slots to fill include nine forwards, five defensemen, one “utility” skater, two goaltenders and a five-man bench.

My philosophy was simple: grab young, healthy, talented players with upside. Let others worry if Patrick Kane would be healthy or if Sergei Kostitsyn can once again score 20 goals on less than 100 shots.

I had the eight pick. With my editor Mike Hume drafting before me (he knows which players I fancy) and Cullen having back-to-back picks behind me I knew I had to make strategic decisions.

Not surprisingly, Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos, and Daniel Sedin went in the first three picks. Hume knows I think Corey Perry was no fluke, so the chances of him dropping to me were nil. That left me with Anze Kopitar (who I think will contend for the Art Ross) or Henrik Lundqvist as my first pick. Luckily for me, I got both of them.

My third choice was also an easy one: Duncan Keith. His boxcar stats may have fallen, but he is as fundamentally sound as he has ever been, and he remains my preseason favorite for another Norris-caliber performance.

My next pick caused some raised eyebrows:

Also noteworthy was Greenberg’s choice of Jeff Skinner ahead of Eric Staal. Ranked higher in ESPN.com’s projections, the captain of the Carolina Hurricanes is expected to put up superior numbers across the board. But obviously, Greenberg preferred to put his fantasy faith in the reigning Calder Trophy winner.

Fantasy hockey is about looking forward. While there is no doubt Eric Staal is a 70-point player, Jeff Skinner is (conservatively) a 60-point player who could put up over 70 points next year. So I got a player who may put up five points less or 10-15 points more than Eric Staal. In a rotisserie league with hockey geniuses it was worth the gamble, in my opinion.

I struggled with my fifth pick a little. I had Phil Kessel, John Tavares, and Loui Eriksson queued up but pulled the trigger on Kessel, thinking that one or both of the others would be there for me on my next picks.

I was right about Loui Eriksson, who I took with my sixth pick, but not Tavares, who went three picks before me in round seven.

With Tavares and Matt Duchene off the board, both of whom I think can post 30 goals in 2011-12, I decided to shore up my goaltending and took Jimmy Howard.

A quick note on goaltenders: I only considered drafting Henrik Lundqvist, Pekka Rinne, Cam Ward, Jimmy Howard, or Corey Crawford. Why? Too long to explain here, but I did some analysis on when goaltenders have their breakout season based on age and experience and these five fit the bill. I did the same thing last year and had only two goaltenders on my list: Pekka Rinne and Cam Ward.

In round eight I took Joe Pavelski, which was a solid pick there and then my first miscalculation of the draft came at the hands of Scott Cullen.

I feel Jamie Benn is this year’s sleeper. I think he has 30-goal potential and could end up surprising many people. With my ninth pick I took Evander Kane, thinking Benn would slip past another four picks. Nope.

Cullen: “I’ve been touting Jamie Benn going back to the second half of last year, when his ice time went up dramatically; he’s been my preferred pick as a breakthrough/sleeper forward since. So, by the ninth round, when I had already addressed all my positions to some degree, it felt right to take a young player that has a chance at 70 points. “

If you have a chance to pick up Benn in your league, do it.

Right now. I’ll wait.

It will be him and Eriksson that pick up the slack left by Brad Richard’s departure, not Michael Ryder. In the draft room Hume asked how many of Benn’s goals the last two years came via a Brad Richards primary assist. One. And Richards had only one secondary assist the year before that. Benn is the real deal.

I took Alex Pietrangelo after I misjudged the “sleepiness” of Benn. The D corps looked to be thinning after Dion Phaneuf and James Wisniewski were taken off the board, so I grabbed Pietrangelo. “Good for 45 points, I think he’s a solid fantasy pick.”

Next picks were unremarkable, but ones I believe have some big upside: Erik Karlsson, Tyler Ennis, Patric Hornqvist, Tyler Kennedy, Mikael Backlund, Patrik Berglund, Jakub Voracek and Nathan Gerbe.

I did have two moments of weakness where I got homesick and drafted Dennis Wideman (15th round) and Brooks Laich (20th round).

So there you have it. Be sure to check out how I am doing from time to time. Also, if you would have drafted differently or just want to comment on the draft in general, let us know in the comments.

Wideman grimaces in pain after being laid out by Tuomo Ruutu. (Photo credit: Chris Gordon!)

Cam Ward celebrates the victory. Click to enlarge. (Photo credit: Chris Gordon)

After an extended 10 day break to rest an undisclosed injury, the Capitals welcomed their kapitan back to the lineup Tuesday night against the Carolina Hurricanes. During the three game stretch in which Ovechkin sat out, the Caps went 2-1-0, their most dominant win coming Saturday night in Montreal when Braden Holtby shutout the Canadiens.

Alex Semin’s Canadian Ice Dad, Jason Arnott, also returned from injury, forcing Jason Chimera to the press box. Pre-game, head coach Bruce Boudreau told CSN that while it was great that two of his top six forwards were returning, he also had a fear that there would be a letdown. “You know, the guys have been working so hard while [Ovechkin and Arnott] have been out. I’m scared they’ll look at them returning and go ‘they should carry the load now.’”

In the first period, however, Boudreau would have nothing to worry about. Led by a determined Russian Machine, the Capitals as a team hit everything that moved and rifled 16 shots at Cam Ward, feeding off the energy of a Verizon Center crowd they hadn’t played in front of for sixteen long days. The Caps would not see their hard work be rewarded, and the game would remain scoreless until early on in the second period. After Nick Backstrom took a tripping penalty at 1:06, Joe Corvo brilliantly found Jussi Jokinen wide-open in the slot for a one-timer. Jokinen converted and the Hurricanes would take a 1-0 lead.

The Capitals would answer back twelve minutes later. After Carolina turned it over in their defensive end, Brooks Laich fed Alex Semin the puck along the boards. Sasha Minor then curled around four Hurricanes, went in alone on goal and accurately placed a wrist-shot over Cam Ward’s right shoulder. The goal was certainly of the highlight-reel variety, even though you wouldn’t of noticed by Semin’s celebration.

Marcus Johansson then capped the second period’s scoring off by notching his 13th goal of the year three minutes later.

The Capitals then came out a bit complacent for the third period. 18-year old sensation Jeff Skinner pierced Semyon Varlamov for a softy — his 27th goal of the year  – 1:48 into the period, and the Capitals lost any momentum they had built previously. Both teams traded chances for the rest of the third period and overtime, but a victor could not be decided. In the shootout, the Hurricanes were allowed to shoot first. Skinner and Tuomo Ruutu would score, while both Ovechkin and Nick Backstrom missed on their opportunities. Canes beat Caps, 3-2 (SO).

• Let’s be honest with ourselves, Carolina just wanted this game more in the end.
• The circus might have left town, but it seems as if they left one of their carnival acts behind. I’m just kidding, Tuomo Ruutu. Not really. Despite Cam Ward and Jeff Skinner being named the first and second stars of the night, in this writer’s opinion, there was no more effective and valuable player on the ice for Carolina than the young Finn. Ruutu had eight hits, including one which knocked Dennis Wideman out of the game, and he also potted the shootout game-winner. Let’s not forget too that he had a secondary assist on the game’s first goal and got under the skin of Alex Ovechkin to the point where the Great Eight was targeting him in the third.
• Yeah, about that Wideman hit. It was most certainly a dangerous play, as Ruutu unnecessarily accelerated towards Wideman in open ice, looking for the knockout. Ruutu clipped the Capitals defenseman awkwardly, injuring what looked to be his right leg, and connected on a glancing blow to his head. Regardless on if the hit was clean or not, the play was irritating because of how completely unnecessary it was. But I guess that’s the type of stuff Ruutu does.

• Bruce Boudreau told the media after the game that Dennis Wideman was “okay” and he’s listed as “day-to-day.” I’d be shocked, however, if we see Wideman Thursday. Really, D-Wide. No rush!
• 

  Ovi reacts in frustration as Cam Ward stops his shootout attempt. Click to enlarge. (Photo by Chris Gordon)

  Alex Semin scored his 28th 27th goal of the year, had the primary assist on Marcus Johansson’s tally and then was benched for all five minutes of overtime. That noise you’re hearing right now is me applauding Bruce Boudreau. With 3:19 left in the third period, Semin senselessly took a hooking penalty in the neutral zone. The Hurricanes would not score on the resulting power play, but that’s besides the point. In the playoffs, you cannot take stupid penalties like that or you will lose games. I think we’ve all been frustrated at Bruce for rarely putting his foot down over the past few years with Semin. But tonight, this discipline could not have come at a better time. Play smart or don’t play at all.
• A word for you readers as well. An Alex Semin Hat Trick is when Sasha Minor scores a goal, a goal and a goal. Not a goal, an assist and a penalty. Really, let’s not glorify his laziness. I can assure you, Gordie Howe is not impressed by his stick infractions.
• The Capitals out-chanced the Hurricanes 25 to 14 overall, and 23 to nine at even strength. A dominant offensive performance if not for Cam Ward. One troubling stat however was that Carolina had just as many chances short-handed as the Caps did on the power-play: two. Chad LaRose was even awarded a penalty shot — which Semyon Varlamov poke-checked away — in the second period.
• Karl Alzner was the Capitals best defenseman, as he was on the ice for 14 scoring chances-for and only four against! He also blocked five shots. And I bet you didn’t even notice him on the ice! (Well, minus him slicing Eric Staal’s face up with an inadvertent high-stick.)
• Mike Knuble looked like a junk yard dog tonight. He was everywhere! Knuble had six shots, blocked a shot on a Hurricane’s four on three power play and looked to have the legs of a 22-year old.
• Eric Fehr had one scoring chance for, one against and rifled one shot on goal. Fehr was also not effective at the point on the power play. Let’s just say it wasn’t exactly the statement game he needed with Jason Chimera scratched.
• Scott Hannan was on the ice for seven scoring chances for and nine against. He also had two giveaways, took a minor penalty and had a minus-one in 26:12 of ice time.
• Alex Ovechkin didn’t score, but he had five shots — one of which broke Cam Ward’s stick in overtime — and five hits. Ovi had this to say, as quoted by The Washington Times’ Stephen Whyno:
  

  Joe B. Suit of the Night

  “It was pretty hard when you’re coming back after three games sitting out. But every shift, every period I was feeling better and better.” That’s good news. Ovi’s energy burst is back!

The Columbus Blue Jackets come to town on Thursday, a team that’s just playing the rest of the season out. Will the Capitals bring the intensity and win a game that they should win? With five games left, it’s time to start putting this machine into overdrive. We’ll see you then!

Additional reporting by Neil Greenberg.

The Washington Capitals hosted the Carolina Hurricanes in a pleasant matinee of stick’n'puck and HOLY WOW I SAW THE CAPS WIN IN PERSON FOR THE FIRST TIME EVAR!!!

Marcus Johansson got it started early with a crease-borne knock-in set up by Eric Fehr. A 2-on-1 breakway by the Alexes led to a picturesque second tally (Minor scored, Major gets the assist). Erik Cole made the Caps pay for not clearing the zone and put the Canes on the board early in the second period. There the score sat until only 2.2 seconds remained in regulation. With Cam Ward on the bench and an extra attacker up in our face, Eric Staal tied the game, earned the Canes a well deserved point in the standings, and sent us all the way to the shootout. Where Ovi and Varly totally dominated. Caps beat Canes 3-2 (SO).

Bullet time.

• Head coach Bruce Boudreau‘s continual shuffling of lines may prove to be the shrewdest work of his career. Opposing teams are unable to match the Capitals forward combinations, and that may become a precious advantage in the postseason. Plus it gives us something to talk about! (e.g. – I want to Ovechkin on the right wing more and less of Knuble and Laich’s redundancies on the same line.)
• Alex Ovechkin: Soviet-made, goal-scoring engine? Maybe not so much. But in his place is a playmaking, assist-taking team player that may actually be more exciting. Ovi was on the ice for 8 of the Caps’ 15 even-strength scoring chances tonight (33/52 in the last 3 games). Even if he’s not scoring the goals, he’s essential to the Caps offense. Let Stamkos and Crosby (and Semin!) fight it out for Richard, the stats of Ovechkin’s team are what really matters.
• Mike Green returned to action tonight, but that return ended when Joni Pitkanen‘s shot collided with his knee during overtime. The sound of the impact was sharp, clear, and gruesome. Green needed help leaving the ice, and did not return. Bruce Boudreau reports that Mike is “okay”, which is astonishing since I felt his pain all the way up in the 200 level.
• Eric Fehr continues to drift in the wrong direction. He was on ice for only two 5v5 chances-for in 10:28 of playing time. His “scoring chances per 15 minutes” stat trends down in the last four games: 7.8, 2.3, 1.7, 1.4.
• We all knew Marcus Johansson was going to get better, but we didn’t expect he’d do it this fast. He scored the game’s first goal, worked the cycle capably, protected the puck like a doting mother, and did good work on the PK. There are some among us who might prefer another forward play in MJ90′s stead, but I imagine those opinions are softening lately.
• Tuomo Ruutu went 0 for 10 on the faceoff. Bwahahahaha.
• If anyone has a photo of Ovechkin cuddling with Eric Staal in the crease, please send that over right quick. IT HAPPENED, I PROMISE.  (UPDATE: Here’s the best picture we could find, thanks to Clydeorama!)
• The afternoon’s imagination was captured by… let’s just call them rumblings about an impending trade. Do we know anything substantive yet? Nope! Nonethless, let’s let loose with wild guesses. My money’s on D.J. King to the Devils for a sack of nickels and some mozzarella sticks.

Joe B suit of the night

I don’t think anyone can seriously argue that this team is operating at 100% capacity. It’s unlikely that Tom Poti or Semyon Varlamov has completely recovered from the #brittlegroin scourge. Alex Ovechkin might be emerging from his own head to play actualized hockey again, but the goals aren’t there yet. So the Caps won three in a row despite their shortfalls. What to take away from this? God help a team facing them at full strength.

The Caps emerge victorious in another southeast match-up, and everything is lovely. Well, the second-period slump still sucks the life out of the Caps, and also someone seems to have purchased the now-blackened souls of hockey officials. But surely those things won’t ever come back to haunt us!

On a personal note, I went to my first Capitals game over 15 years ago. It was against the Flyers at the Cap Centre, and the Capitals lost. I’ve been to maybe twenty games since then, and I’ve never seen the Capitals win. I saw ties when they were still around, I saw punishing overtime losses, and I saw mind-stabbing and season-ending blowouts. But until tonight, no wins. So thank you, Washington Capitals, for the visceral delight of watching you win in person for the very first time. I’m seriously considering becoming a fan.

Original Entry:
Peter Hassett will have your gamer later tonight when he returns home from Verizon Center. Until then, feel free to chat about the Caps third straight victory in the comments below. The curse is over.