Photo credit: Orange County Register

Teemu Selanne is one of the greatest hockey players ever to lace up skates. His 642 career goals rank him in 12th place of all time. He’s led the league in goal-scoring three times during his career, and he won the Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007.

Put simply, the man knows how to score goals and win games. So when Teemu started talking about Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin with Alisa Volbidaht of Sovetsky Sport, we paid attention.

During the long Q/A, the Finnish Flash gives his opinion on Ovi’s recent “benching,” what the Great Eight needs to do to regain his scoring touch of years’ past, and who he thinks will win the Rocket Richard trophy.

The interview, published in Wednesday’s issue of the Sovetsky Sport newspaper, is translated below by RMNB’s Fedor Fedin.

Selanne’s Comments On Ovechkin

Alisa Volbidaht: You recently played against Alexander Ovechkin. Many Russian fans think our best forward is degrading. He’s predictable, he only has one move. Do you agree?

Teemu Selanne: Ovechkin’s play, of course, still has fire in it. Everybody wants to stop him. He has some tough nights. Well, in every game he’s getting defended very tightly. If you give him freedom, he’ll use it. What’s happening right now with Ovi is not a big deal. He just needs a breakthrough. Find a way to get open and score. He needs to change something in his game. I’m not worried for him. Ovi is a great forward. Great players know how to get the job done.

Alisa Volbidaht: What’s your advice for him?

Teemu Selanne: Relax and enjoy!

Alisa Volbidaht: Ovechkin in a game against the Ducks was so relaxed that he swore at Coach Boudreau, who benched him late in the game.

Teemu Selanne: Emotions are always high. Especially when the game isn’t coming to you. But those are just words. It happens in hockey. The words are forgotten, the deeds are remembered.

Alisa Volbidaht: Was Bruce Boudreau right in benching him?

Teemu Selanne: I don’t know what was going on between them. I simply believe that the best players need to be the best, and they need to be on the ice during critical moments. I was shocked when I didn’t see Ovechkin. But that’s none of my business.

Alisa Volbidaht: Have you ever had a conflict with a coach?

Teemu Selanne: No. Sometimes I express my opinion. Sometimes they disagree. That’s it.

The Rest of the Article

Teemu Selanne: When I give interviews to the Russian media, I first of all thank my coach Boris Mayorov, who worked with me during the early 90′s in Jokerit. I immensely respect him. He taught me a lot.

Alisa Volbidaht: Mayorov now contributes to our newspaper.

Teemu Selanne: You’re lucky. He played a big role in my successful NHL debut. Mayorov is very smart, especially in hockey theory. He knows the game well and helps young players reach their potential. He told me not to go to the NHL too young. I went to Winnipeg only at the age of 22.

Alisa Volbidaht: Boris Alexandrovich [Mayorov] said that you have a big collection of cars.

Teemu Selanne: I only have 20 left. My fleet is disappearing!

Teemu Selanne, Selanne’s Maybach and Cam Fowler.

Alisa Volbidaht: If SKA offers you a contract, which car will you drive from Helsinki to Saint Petersburg?

Teemu Selanne: I’ll probably drive my Maybach.

Alisa Volbidaht: So is this a deal? I’m calling St. Petersburg!

Teemu Selanne: I didn’t say I’ll sign a contract! I’m too old to play in Russia. Maybe I’d think about doing that earlier in my career. But now – no for sure. It’s difficult to go around the world with four kids. My sons like Anaheim.

Alisa Volbidaht: Have you ever been to Russia?

Teemu Selanne: I have only played in Moscow. I liked your capital city very much. It reminds me of New York City.

Alisa Volbidaht: Do you know any Russian words?

Teemu Selanne: All the bad words.

Alisa Volbidaht: Any good ones?

Teemu Selanne: Dobry vecher ["Good evening"], S Novym godom ["Happy New year"],  Krasivye glaza ["Beautiful eyes"]. Alexey Zahmnov taught me Russian. We were roomates playing for Winnipeg. I learned the unprintable words from him as well.

Alisa Volbidaht: In Anaheim, Ruslan Salei, who died in the Yaroslavl tragedy, was your teammate.

Teemu Selanne: Oh… That was one of the most sad days in my life when I found out Salei was actually on that plane. There were rumors that Ruslan was not on board the Yak-42, that he went to Minsk earlier. But… Salei was a great guy. We played together a lot. Simply… a heartbreaking tragedy. Life is often unfair.

Alisa Volbidaht: Have you had any flight incidents?

Teemu Selanne: God has blessed me. [Teemu knocks on wood]. Flights are not one of my favorite ways to spend some time. It is probably the worst part of sports.

Alisa Volbidaht: You have five goals and 14 points in 14 games. You’re one of the NHL’s leading scorers again. How do you feel?

Teemu Selanne: It’s cool. The older I get, the more fun I have playing. Don’t take this game against the Rangers into account. We had almost no energy. But I really enjoy playing hockey.

Alisa Volbidaht: Jaromir Jagr is shining in Philadelphia. He’s 39. He’s scored 15 points, and tallied six goals in 14 games.

Teemu Selanne: Oh, Jaromir! My good friend and a great player. I’m very glad that the old guys can still keep up with the youngsters.

Alisa Volbidaht: Do you have enough in tank to have a whole year of that?

Teemu Selanne: Sure! The key is to believe it!

Alisa Volbidaht: We do. Right now you’re beating Perry and Ovi in the scoring race.

Teemu Selanne: Goals and points come if you play well. They are not that important by themselves. The main thing is team wins.

Alisa Volbidaht: Who will be the NHL’s top scorer this year?

Teemu Selanne: Interesting question… Many guys can. We talked about Ovechkin – he gets better with every single game. Toronto’s Phil Kessel has played great. I don’t think there is one player who is going be much better than the others. Let’s wait for the surprises.

Alisa Volbidaht: Maybe even Selanne?

Teemu Selanne: Anything can happen [winks].

Additional reporting by Ian Oland.

Photo credit: Kyle Mace

Andrew Gordon won two Calder Cups with the American Hockey League’s Hershey Bears in four seasons.  He played nine games with Washington last season, scoring his first career NHL goal on future hall of famer Martin Brodeur, a feat he celebrated by kissing assister Marcus Johansson on the bench. But Andrew left the organization over the summer to hazard the free market. After a promising performance at Anaheim’s training camp, Gordon was added to the team’s roster (and then cheated on us in Finland with another blog).

I caught up with the notoriously well-spoken Andrew Gordon after the Ducks’ painful 5-4 overtime loss to the Capitals on Tuesday. We talked about California weather, competing against his former teammates, and the enduring adoration of Washington’s fans.

Ian Oland: So Andrew, what’s the move been like from Hershey and Washington to Anaheim?

Andrew Gordon: It was different going in. California’s a lot different from the East Coast cities I’ve played in and grown to love. It’s good. Everywhere you go in hockey, it’s the same sort of thing. A lot of good hockey players. A lot of good guys who came up through the same system and had the same coaches and everything. The guys [at Anaheim] are great, and they’re easy to get along with. Plus, you leave the rink, and it’s 85 degrees everyday. Nothing to complain about there. It’s a much different lifestyle up there though. It took a little bit of an adjustment.

Gordo during warm-ups. (Photo credit: Kyle Mace)

Ian Oland: What was it like playing your old teammates tonight? In the first period, you almost checked John Carlson through the boards.

Andrew Gordon: No, I know. I just tried to make sure that I wasn’t thinking about it. That was the main thing. You know, in practice, you go out there and you don’t really finish your checks as hard as you would. These are guys I practiced with and against for years and years and years. I really tried to make sure that I didn’t treat it like that. I tried to make sure that I treated it like a game situation and ‘do what I do.’ There was a lot of good players out there that I know a lot of their tendencies and stuff. At the same time, it’s a quick game out there. It’s a fast game. Guys with that much skill can beat you. You gotta remember when you’re out there who’s on the ice with you. [The Capitals] have so much skill — no matter if you’re friends with the guys or not — they’re going to try and go out there and beat you. It was fun leading up to the game, but it wasn’t the result I wanted. I’m not too keen on how tonight ended.

Ian Oland: During your years in Hershey, you were a jack of all trades. You started your career there as a bottom-six forward. Later on, you played on the first line and was always out there on the power play. So far in Anaheim, you’ve mostly played on the third line and when the team’s shorthanded. What has the transition been like to concentrate so much on offense to now being a bottom six guy again?

Andrew Gordon: Well, you have to find a role out there. You know, guys like Perry. Guys like Getzlaf. Guys like Bobby Ryan, Selanne, Koivu. These are the guys that have been putting up numbers for years and years and years. We have guys that can score goals. We have guys that are going to play those offensive minutes, those powerplay minutes. So they’re starting me off on the PK. It was something I used to do back in Hershey a few years ago. It was something I used to do back in college quite a bit. So I’ve been taking that really seriously and have really been trying to contribute on that end of the ice. A team is made up of 20-25 guys and not everyone is going to score every night. When you’re not scoring — as I’ve been struggling with lately — you have to make sure you’re contributing in other ways every night. Our PK was pretty good, but [the bottom six guys] have to find a way to chip in. Like I said earlier, change is inevitable when a team starts struggling like this. Managers and coaches aren’t going to put up with losing. So everybody’s gotta find a way to dig ourselves out of this. Everybody’s got to find a way to do their jobs a little bit better. For me, that’s keeping up with this PK and not giving up anything while I’m on the ice. And also finding a way to contribute offensively.

Photo credit: Kyle Mace

Another fan's sign dedicated to Andrew. (Photo credit: Kyle Mace)

Ian Oland: What did you think of the warm reception you got from Caps fans during warm-ups? There certainly were a lot of signs…

Andrew Gordon: It was really nice. It was wonderful. Yeah, it was good to see a lot of people from Hershey, some familiar faces. It’s a community that’s embraced me and I really grew to love during my time here. To see that I haven’t been forgotten quickly, that really means a lot to me. It’s really a unique situation here in Washington and Hershey. The fans and the media, they don’t mind that short two-hour drive ‘down the street.’ It’s sorta like one big community whereas with a newer organization — the teams are split up by cost and country — and you don’t really hear what’s going on in the minor leagues. Even though I played about 95% of my career in Hershey, it was like I was a member of this Washington Capitals family for a long time. It was great to see how some of the staff and some of the fans welcomed me back. It was much appreciated.

Ian Oland: Some of my friends have been nagging me, so of course I have to ask: when’s the Twitter hiatus going to end?

Andrew Gordon: ::laughs::

Ian Oland: Is it because you’re superstitious or maybe waiting for a certain something to happen this year?

Andrew Gordon: I just wanted to make sure I was focusing on the right things. There was no single event that triggered it. I just wanted to make sure I was thinking about the right things out there. Focus a little bit harder. But you know, I should definitely switch back soon. I haven’t scored a goal since I quit! I think with Movember coming up, I’m going to do some promotion and generate some money for that organization. I’m sure you’ll see me back on there pretty soon.

Image of Hiller’s mask via The Goalie Guild.

Ian Oland: What did you think of Hiller’s mask by the way with you on there? What did you think of your portrait?

Andrew Gordon: ::laughs:: Oh man, I don’t know. That’s more stache’ growth than I’ll probably have for my whole life! It was pretty cool. He first brought the mask in when we were in Minnesota. Everyone got a good laugh out of it. It was pretty creative. He did a great job on it that’s for sure!

Ian Oland: So big question. What were your feelings when you made Anaheim out of camp? Last year with the Caps, you were one of the final cuts, one of the final three not to make the team.

Andrew Gordon: I mentioned this to someone earlier in the day. It wasn’t like one day the coaches called me into the office and said ‘congratulations.’ Just no one told me I wasn’t on the team. It was a no news is good news kind of thing. So as long as they haven’t talked to you, then they can’t really be too upset by the way you’ve been playing. That’s been the case for me so far. I don’t know — whenever you’re a rookie or a guy that’s constantly on the bubble — nothing’s guaranteed. You have to earn every practice. You have to earn every game. You have to earn every minute you get out there. So for me, it’s not like I made the team yet. It’s a 365 day tryout I’m on now. I gotta make sure I bring my ‘A’ game every day, and unfortunately I don’t know if today was it.

Gordo gives a hug to a fan in a Hershey Bears jersey before warm-ups. (Photo credit: Kyle Mace)

Ian Oland: We talked about this earlier, so you know what should be coming. Tell me something great about Teemu Selanne.

Andrew Gordon: What’s NOT great about Teemu Selanne would be the better question. Growing up he was my favorite player. In fact, there’s still some of my old posters of him up at my parents’ house that I see when I come home for the summers. My dad’s from Winnipeg, so I used to watch [the Jets] religiously all the time. He turns out to be one of the best guys in the game. You find that nobody in the world has a bad thing to say about Teemu Selanne. I think his character and personality is what brings him above all the other superstars. You know, if you look, and there’s an article written about him, you’ll look and see the comments below and they’ll say, ‘I hate the Ducks, but I love Teemu Selanne.’ Nobody has anything bad to say about the guy. He’s a guy that gives back to the community. He welcomes young guys. He’s really the face of this franchise. He’d probably be the face of the NHL if he was a little bit younger. The personality behind this great player and this great skill set is something that stands out to me and makes him above the rest. He’s an unbelievable guy and I’m really fortunate to play with him.

Ian Oland: Awesome. Well good luck with the facial hair. It was obviously very nice catching up with you.

Pot roast. (Photo credit: Mitchell Layton)

The Washington Capitals had only one date with the Anaheim Ducks on the calendar this year, so they played it like two totally different teams. The Caps of the first half hour were disorganized and besieged. The Caps of the second half hour were focused and buzzing. A hole was dug by the former and filled in by the latter.

Saku Koivu siezed on bad communication between Wideman and Hamrlik to score the game’s first goal. Teemu Selanne took a pass from Koivu for a lay up goal to make it 2-0. Selanne notched another one in the second period, thanks for some more bad defense and a weak-side pass. Joel Ward got the Caps on board with a close wrister that went five-hole. Dennis Wideman capitalized (puns!) on a scrambling Hiller, slapping home a goal making it 3-2. Corey Perry took a couple swats at a loose puck in the paint to make it 4-2. Troy Brouwer’s shot gave Hiller trouble and kept the game interesting.  With six attackers and less than a minute remaining, Nick Backstrom made the net quiver. Tie game. 4-on-4 overtime, where Backstrom struck again by slapping a bouncing puck into a gaping net. Game over! Caps beat Ducks 5-4 (OT).

Teemu Selanne is intense. (Photo credit: Kyle Mace)

• Nicky GD Backstrom. Maybe it was facing the European pros on the Ducks, maybe it’s just Movember. But something certainly got stirred inside the team’s dominant Swede. Two goals– the tying and winning tallies, his third and fourth of the season. Backstrom is your team’s points leader with 14.
• Welcome to the National Hockey League, Cody Eakin. You are 20 years old, already a world famous snowboarder and skateboarder, a prop comic, and a Gryffindor stalwart. Now you are a Capital of Washington. 13:19 ice time, 3 shots, and a dandy chance at the game-tying goal. He’ll get it next time.
• Welcome back to the line-up, John Erskine. Your shoulder healed, your face shorn, your tree-trunk legs pumping furiously to move your mass. We missed you, ya big lug.
• The Caps are allowing an alarming number of shots against this season, a bunch of which can be laid at the feet of the struggling D-Corps. The new pairing of Dennis Wideman and Roman Hamrlik were on ice for the first two Ducks goals, looking bewildered and out of sync. A missed reverse-pass led to one goal; inability to read the offense’s passes led to the second. The duo was broken up for the second period. And there was much rejoicing.
• Roman Hamrlik was on ice for every Ducks goal. Every. One.
• What is the deal with Teemu Selanne? We don’t see the 41-year-old flash a lot over here in the East, but dayumn. Ain’t nobody covering that guy. Whether that’s our team’s fault or a testament to his speed is matter of debate. Either way, on a team with the depth problems that Anaheim has, Selanne is Finnish gold.
• How bad is Anaheim’s depth? Nick Bonino’s and Brandon McMillan’s lines gave up too many shots against and were not trusted with many shifts in the game’s back half– recording 8 and 5 fewer minutes than the Ducks’ top line.
• RMNB grad Neil Greenberg wrote a solid piece for WaPo today addressing the output problems with the meat’n'taters line of Ward-Laich-Chimera and celebrating its dissolution. Surely, the trio read the piece together and resolved to prove Neil wrong. The Caps’ two goals in the middle frame were thanks to their effort. Them and…
• Dennis Wideman, whose 10 points in 10 games is tied with Ovechkin for second best on the team. Backstrom has 12, obvs.
• #41 Andrew Gordon, now an Anaheim Duck, had 14:11 of ice time, 2:11 of it shorthanded. No offense to speak of. He’ll need to distinguish himself in the next 10 games lest he fall back on his blogging career.
• The Capitals were without a penalty (if you ignore Matt Hendricks’ fight, which we do) until Tomas Vokoun tripped Corey Perry. Perry scored on the ensuing power play. The Capitals PK still sucks.

Joe B suit of the night

The last offensive-zone possession of the Capitals’ last power play ended with Alex Ovechkin trying to move the puck between a defender’s legs. Once upon a time, this move worked. It does not any more. Now it is an infuriatingly selfish play that deprives the team of any chance at scoring. The puck-handling whiz version of Alex Ovechkin needs to retire. It’s time for Alex Ovechkin v2.0– a positionally savvy, cherry-picking deviant– to reign.

Fitting then, that Bruce Boudreau didn’t give Ovechkin a tap on the shoulder for that extra-man shift at the end of regulation. This is the Age of Accountability after all, and not even the Great Eight is beyond reproach.

But a win is a win. And for all the pathos of that first period, we look at the bright spots: Dennis Wideman is soaring and Nick Backstrom knows when to strike. The Capitals played a disciplined game, except for that one lapse by their goalie. It’s progress.

We’ll talk about the defensive goofs and the reconfigured line-ups, but for now– the Caps are still perfect at Verizon Center.

See you on Friday, when the Capitals will drive you crazy for a little while before turning into a totally different team.

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.

Photo credit: Ethan Miller

Wednesday was a night of hardware in the NHL as the league’s annual awards show took place in Las Vegas. The night’s biggest winners? Corey Perry of the Ducks picked up the Hart, Ryan Kesler of the Canucks hoisted the Selke, baby-faced Jeff Skinner of the ‘Canes took home the Calder, Stanley Cup champion Bruin Tim Thomas won the Vezina and Washington fan favorite Disco Dan Bylsma of the Pens presented with the Jack Adams Award.

So how did the Capitals fare?

Alex Ovechkin was named to the NHL’s second all-star team while John Carlson was honored with a spot on the all-rookie squad. Via Nate Ewell, this is the first time in five years Ovechkin has not held a spot on the first-team, ending his record streak to start a career.

As for the trophies, Brooks Laich finished 11th in Selke voting as best defensive forward (0 first-place votes, 1 second, 2 third, 4 fourth, 7 fifth); Bruce Boudreau placed sixth for the Jack Adams as top coach (2-3-7); Carlson (3-3-16-12-21) and Michal Neuvirth (0-0-0-1-1) were fifth and 14th respectively for the Calder as best rookie; George McPhee finished sixth for GM of the Year (2-4-3); Mike Green was edged out by the Kings’ Dustin Brown for the NHL Foundation Player Award for charitable work; finally, Ovechkin came in 15th for the Hart as MVP (0-0-0-4-7).

Sadly, none of the Capitals were in Vegas leaving us unable to critique their red carpet photos. Yes, none of this this year. No awkward tension between Sid the Kid and the Great Eight either, though Bobby Ryan and Ryan Getzlaf filled the void. Since everybody loves “comedian” Jay Mohr, we leave you with one of his few funny moments of the night.

Photo credit: Mark J. Terrill

Let there be hats! (Photo credit: Mark J. Terrill)

[Ed note: This post is by the Carroll County Times' Brandon Oland, Ian's very own flesh and blood. Since he's accustomed to staying up until 4am, we figured he could fill in for us tonight. Take it away, Brandon.]

Doubts were creeping in. Could the Washington Capitals score enough goals to keep up with Anaheim’s freakishly talented top line? Could the Caps steal a pivotal road win against one of the NHL’s top teams? Could the underperforming Alexander Semin regain his finishing touch?

Yes, yes and yes.

Semin scored three goals, including the game-tying and game-winning tallies to lift the Capitals to a thrilling 7-6 victory in one of the most captivating back-and-forth battles in recent team history. That is, unless you are a fan of defense.

Semin notched his fourth hat trick of the season and seventh of his career. He also finished with a tidy plus four, officially breaking out of the longest goal-scoring slump of his career (17 games) in explosive fashion.

The goals came fast and furious in this defense-purely-optional imitation of the NHL All-Star game. Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf got the scoring started with a way-too-easy power play tally set up by a brutal interference penalty on Tyler Sloan. Getzlaf’s goal came with 15:50 to go in the first. Alexander Ovechkin responded six minutes later on a breakaway sparked by a tremendous outlet pass by Nicklas Backstrom. Brooks Laich gave the Caps a brief 2-1 lead with 3:53 left in the first frame, capitalizing on a horrible turnover by Teemu Selanne. After Saku Koivu worked past two waving Capitals defenders, Selanne redeemed himself with a nifty redirect just a few minutes after his lazy pass to tie the contest up. Toni Lydman gave the Ducks a 3-2 lead with 30.7 seconds left in the first, thereby ensuring Bruce Boudreau wouldn’t let Semyon Varlamov see the ice in the second.

The Capitals power play continued its recent struggles in the second period. Corey Perry scored on a breakaway short-handed goal with 13:39 to go in the second to put the Ducks up by two. The goal was set up, in part, because Ovechkin got caught being too aggressive from his point position. But, the Capitals’ blue-collar checkers would come to the rescue. David Steckel scored in front after a nifty centering feed from Boyd Gordon, making it a one goal game. The Caps would then tie it at four on Semin’s first goal since Nov. 28. He needed a 3-on-1 break to make it happen with just less than 10 minutes to go in the second period. Alas, the Ducks took yet another lead just four minutes later. Lubomir Visnovsky, who probably deserves some Norris Trophy consideration, scored on a wacky deflection to give the Ducks a 5-4 lead with 6:42 left. At this point, I contemplated offering my resignation to Ian, who owes me a Chipotle burrito for all this effort.

But after drinking some Sun Drop (it’s a poor man’s Mountain Dew!), I soldiered on.

After killing a penalty, the Capitals scored quickly to tie the score one minute into the third. Mike Knuble, doing his best Ovi imitation, deked his way past Anaheim goalie Curtis McElhinney (who was absolutely terrible) on a breakaway to make it 5-5. After the Capitals seemed to have momentum, Ryan scored in transition during a wacky series that started with the goal behind McElhinney becoming dislodged. The officials allowed play to continue on, leading to the Anaheim goal with 14:05 to go. The Capitals bench wanted an offsides call on the play. They didn’t get it. No matter. The Capitals tied it AGAIN on Semin’s second goal of the night, a backhand swat from close range. Credit Scott Hannan for pinching up and creating the opportunity. Semin’s game winner came with just fewer than two minutes to go on a goal that McElhinney absolutely should have stopped. The Ducks desperately need to figure out what is wrong with starting goalie Jonas Hiller (fatigue) because they can’t win a Stanley Cup with McElhinney back there. Yuck. Caps beat Ducks, 7-6.

• Forget about all the goals. The night’s most entertaining moment came when the Comcast Sportsnet cameras panned to the stands and spotted four rubes wearing presidential masks cheering on the Capitals. The Ronald Reagan mask was particularly hilarious for reasons I can’t fully explain.
• Huge props to John Erskine for immediately sticking up for Matt Hendricks following a blind-side blow near the boards by Andy Sutton. Erskine dropped the gloves and bloodied Sutton with a few haymakers. Advantage: Erskine. If you are counting at home, Sutton racked up as many penalty minutes (nine) as minutes played.

• Mike Green (inner ear) missed the game. Doubt we’ll see him against San Jose Thursday night. The Capitals desperately need him back.
• The Capitals power play continues to sputter. No power play goals tonight, and the Ducks managed an unacceptable short-handed tally in the second. Personally, I think it’s time to get Alex Ovechkin off the point and back up front. It’s worth a shot, eh?
• This seems odd to say in such a high-scoring affair, but Hannan played one of his best games as a Capital. He led the Caps in ice time (25:19), and played reasonably well against Anaheim’s crazy-good top line. Hard to believe the Caps got him for a forward who is now out for the year.
• Wait a second. They gave Corey Perry the number one star of the game and not Semin? That’s like throwing a party for Al Gore after he lost the 2000 election. Nice try. Good effort. Decent creativity. But a loss is a loss.
• Ian and I talked about it. We don’t think Semyon Varlamov deserved to be pulled. He wasn’t exactly conjuring up memories of Patrick Roy in his prime, but the Ducks were doing an outstanding job of blocking his vision. The Capitals, meanwhile, were doing a miserable job of just about everything defensively. What happened to the courageous, unselfish group that relishes blocking shots and playing it close to the vest? They’ve done it twice against the Penguins in 2011, but apparently they are merely picking their spots.
• 

  Joe B. Suit of the Night

  The Capitals matched a season-high with their seven goals tonight. They also scored seven against New Jersey (Oct. 9) and Calgary (Oct. 30). Here’s a shocker: The Caps are 3-0 when they score seven goals this year. Also, this was the most combined goals in any Capitals game this year. I’m pretty sure this is also the longest recap in Russian Machine Never Breaks history. What’s even more remarkable: I’m usually a concise writer. Just goes to show you how crazy tonight was.
• I’ll leave you with one final thought: Craig Laughlin likes his pizza with Canadian bacon and pineapple. Joe B does not. If they can’t share a pizza, can they truly be friends?

It’s off to San Jose. We’ll be back here tomorrow night, will you?

Additional reporting by Chris Gordon and Ian Oland.

An unimpressed Pat Sajak looks on as Ilya Kovlachuk & Mike Green fight. (Photo credit: Heather Mabb)

Now look, last night we took a few shots (a har har) at Mike Green for fighting Ilya Kovalchuk. See here, here, and here. But really it was all in good fun, and we were reacting to something we saw after one take.

Today, after video of the fight made its way to the masses, it seems as if other people jumped at a chance to make it personal with Green Life. Let’s take a look at the comments on hockeyfights.com shall we?

Lugatha writes:

Props to Kovalchuk for pursuing Green who was skating backwards away from the fight the whole time….

CocoQuaker7 states that:

This bout was a let down. Green jumped away like he was scared, then spun Kovalchuk so he couldn’t throw.

intodeep941 observes that:

i like superstars fighting but damn. green is a pansy. this is why the caps D is soft and they cant get past the 2nd round. no tough guys on their blue line

And finally, Sapunka16 thinks:

Mike Green is pretty good at flailing around like a bitch.

Now see, these comments are all well and good – we live in a society where there’s free speech – but I’m sorry, Mike Green didn’t get punk’d last night. To the contrary.

First, let’s observe some photos of the bout:

I don’t see any backwards skating here. (Photo via Clydeorama)

Mike Green donning a Wolverine hair-style, attempts a haymaker. (Photo by the AP/Jacquelyn Martin)

Hey! Is that Kovalchuk bleeding from the chin? (Photo by Heather Mabb)

I’m sorry, I must have missed Kovy bleeding during the telecast as the refs quickly ushered him off the ice and into the locker room. Kovalchuk explained later to reporters that the cut on his chin occurred when he was hit by a puck, not from the fight.

::cough cough:: BULL$%@# ::cough cough::

Secondly, I don’t want Mike Green fighting. But when he’s sticking up for a teammate – a teammate that routinely stands up for everyone else – that’s admirable.

Kovy took a run at an unaware Matt Bradley and checked him into the sideboards near the Capitals bench. Fast-forward to the 51 second mark of the below video to see what I mean:

Now look, I don’t care how many limp-wristed claw punches you throw, if you go out of your way to stand up for a teammate, good on you. This is the kind of stuff that brings teams together. This is what makes good teams great.

Finally, why is a finesse player like Ilya Kovalchuk taking runs at guys and starting fights in the third period? We appreciate that he was embarrassed after getting mollywhopped, 7-2, and he wanted to head to the locker room with some sense of dignity. But with Kovalchuk on-tilt against Matt Bradley and Mike Green, he doesn’t look dignified; he looks like a punk. Whereas the night before, 4-time Lady Byng winner Pavel Datsyuk earned respect for fighting Corey Perry. Why?

Datsyuk, a gentlemanly player who never drops the gloves, hung tough with Corey Perry, who has 40 career professional fights under his belt.

That’s what hockey’s about. Even if the fight between Kovalchuk and Green was amateurish, our boy Greener did right by his team like a true hockey pro.