Photos by Chris Gordon. Click to enlarge.

A day after their thrilling 3-2 victory over the Rangers to even the series, Washington took to the ice at Kettler Capitals Iceplex Sunday morning. As they prepared to head to New York for a pivotal Game 5 Monday, the team’s sprits were high and the beards long. Below, check out some of my photos from the skate.

Dmitry Orlov playoff “beard” update.

Karl Alzner playoff beard update.

Old Man Knuble intense even during practice.

Old Man Knuble also sometimes confused even during practice.

The world must know what Alex Ovechkin is staring at.

Braden Holtby wants to learn from, kill Dave Prior.

I know it’s Dany Sabourin, but I thought the photo looked cool.

Jason Chimera  freaking loves the indoors.

Czech backup goalie confab.

Now for the main event.

Apparently that was enough joy for the day.

Dale Hunter drops knowledge on CSN’s Chuck Gormley.

Fin.

Photo credit: Mitchell Layton

Remember that possible goalie controversy? Well now there’s a new problem in the crease — and it isn’t pretty. After Tomas Vokoun re-injured his groin last week in Boston, the Caps have been forced to rely on Michal Neuvirth and call-up Braden Holtby. That’s not so bad considering Vokoun’s play before the setback. It’s Neuvy who’s hurt now, suffering a possibly devastating leg injury a quarter of the way into the second period Thursday night.

With the puck in the Capitals defensive zone, the Panthers’ Dmitry Kulikov fired a slapper on net. Twisting to get out from the way from the point blast, former Cap Marco Sturm fell onto Neuvirth, causing the young Czech netminder to bend backwards awkwardly. Replays appear to indicate Neuvirth’s left knee endured the damage, but our fake medical degrees are from eBay so we can’t be sure. Neuvy had already taken some hits lately, most notably two pucks to the noggin his last time out, but this one looks far more serious.

The Caps are so far keeping mum — Dale Hunter termed it a day-to-day lower-body injury and said the team will know more later Friday– but it’s hard not to fear the worst. So where do we go from here?

Shake it off, Philipp. It's not that hard to play in a sling. (Photo credit: @WashCapsRock)

We’re inclined to believe — barring a magical, Newt Gingrich-esqe recovery for Mike — it’ll be Holtby and Hershey backup Dany Sabourin in net when Washington begins the playoffs next week against New York… or Boston… or New Jersey with the former not being let anywhere near the crease in the postseason. Prospect Philipp Grubauer was having a nice year down in South Carolina, but he’s on the mend after wrist surgery. We don’t even want to mention the Bears goalie situation if Sabourin does in fact get called up, but Darren Machesney looks to be the man.

Despite Holtby’s raw abilities — he’s 3-2-1 with a 2.79 goals against average and a .910 save percentage this season but has shown flashes of brilliance since Vokoun went down — the 22-year-old is untested in the playoffs. While Holtby was part of the Calder Cup-winning Bears squad in 2010, Neuvirth was the one who got nearly all the minutes. The Lloymindster, Saskatchewan native started for Hershey during their run for the Cup last year, but he was less than impressive as the Bears bowed out in six games. But now Holtby’s got his shot.

“We know that’s he’s a good goalie,” forward Troy Brouwer told reporters after the game. “He’s proven himself time and time again that he can play here.”

Still, Holtby doesn’t look to be relishing his newfound opportunity, not surprising given the circumstances around it.

“Vokey, Neuvy, Grubauer in South Carolina — it’s not a good thing,” said Holtby. “That’s how the cards are dealt and we’ve got to deal with what we have.”

Holtby acquitted himself pretty well after taking over after the starter hobbled to the bench in a painful scene, making some nice saves right off the bat while the Caps seemed to play with a new fire scoring two quick goals. He ended the night with 12 saves and two goals allowed.

“I don’t really ever feel 100 percent comfortable like you do when you play when you know you’re starting,” Holtby explained. “You basically just run off adrenaline and just battle as hard as you can. Your mindset of the technique and everything kind of go out the window. You just try and stop the puck, even if it’s not pretty.”

Said coach Dale Hunter: “We’ve got one goalie down already, then another one goes down. It’s one of those things, sports, something stupid happens like that. But Holtby came in and played great for us.”

Get well soon, Neuvy.

Photo credit: Mitchell Layton

S/T to Sara Bae for another masterpiece.

Photo by Nick Wass/AP

Well, it’s a good thing we got this out of the way. Every hockey team has a measure of bad hockey games in them, so we should be relieved that the Caps disappointing performance came before anyone started keeping track.

After a sterling performance in net by Michal Neuvirth for thirty minutes, Dany Sabourin‘s relief effort fell woefully short. The first shot he faced, courtesy of Nashville’s Cal O’Reilly, got past him. Two of the twelve shots he faced in the third, both from Joel Ward, put the game well out of reach for the home team.

Not that the home team was very determined to win anyway. The best player on the Caps’ offense was Eric Fehr, who sported six shots on goal. Eric traditionally occupies the third line of the Caps offense, but he could headline the top for any of a dozen other NHL teams. Like the Predators, for example.

Mathieu Perreault, filling in for Nicklas Backstrom (14 stitches after blocking a shot against Columbus), looked strong in the first period. Crossing into Predator territory, he would protect the puck like a doting mother hen. But the physicality of the Nashville corps caught up with the shrimpy center, and he faltered in the back half of the game.

Mike Green and Jason Chimera were each sent hobbling to the locker room during separate errant-puck incidents, but neither sustained any real injuries.

What else? Alex Semin had a stick penalty, D.J. King surpassed 10 minutes of ice-time and even looked intimidating on the forecheck, and Alex Ovechkin and Shea Weber spent the day ramming shoulders into one another like a pair of grumpy buffaloes in fast-forward.

We know this team isn’t the real Capitals, so the pain of today’s loss is blunted a bit. Dany Sabourin won’t be the Caps man in the net, and Brian Fahey probably won’t be in a position to commit a double minor in a Caps jersey. The roster will be concretized in the next few weeks, and team must then find its chemistry. Today is an aberration, a curiosity with only dubious value as a hockey game. Think of it as a conversation piece, upon which we might frame these questions:

1. What is the nature of Semyon Varlamov’s injury?
2. Will Tomas Fleischmann be the second-line center?
3. Will Alex Semin be a fixture on the penalty-kill unit?
4. Will Karl Alzner and John Carlson be paired together on defense?  If so, can we come up with a clever portmanteau?
5. Are there any shake-ups to the Ovechkin-Backstrom-Knuble line?
6. What music will be on Brian Fahey’s and Dany Sabourin’s iPods on the bus trip back to Hershey?

That’s it for the preseason. Next time we talk, Joe Beninati will probably be wearing a lime-green zoot suit. Hockey’s back, everybody!

Alexandre Giroux holds the Calder Cup. (Photos by Kyle M.)

One of the greatest Bears of all-time has finally left for a legitimate shot to stick in the NHL. Bears first line Left Wing Alexandre Giroux signed a one-way NHL contract with the Edmonton Oilers early Saturday morning.

Per Mitch Beck of Howlings, Giroux had several good offers on the table and chose Edmonton because he gets to play in front of an old mentor:

The Quebec City native will be reunited with ex-Rangers coach Tom Renney. The left handed shooting Center played for Renney in the one game he got in with the Rangers back in 2005. In that game he played just three shifts and drew a key penalty on the second shift that led to a power play goal.

Giroux told Howlings, that he had other NHL options, including an offer from the New York Islanders. He also had a much more substantial $1.3mm offer from the KHL that he leaves on the table in order to complete his dream of being a regular NHL player. He does it with no regrets. “It was a lot of money and it was a hard decision, but I’m really excited to have this chance to make an NHL roster,” the recently turned 29-year old said. “Coach Renney is a great coach and the organization has such a great history. I’m looking forward to going there and giving it everything I’ve got to help the team become a contender once again and prove I belong there.”

Giroux leaves behind a league in which he completely dominated. His vast accomplishments in Hershey include the following:

• In 2008-09 Giroux was named the AHL MVP. He lead the league in goals (60) and points (98) while playing an abbreviated schedule (69 games) due to an extended 12 game stint in Washington. In total he played 21 games with the Capitals where he totaled 2G and 3A.
• His 60 goal achievement in 2008-09 was an AHL record.
• Also an AHL Record: The Rooster scored goals in 15 consecutive games. The previous owner of the record was none-other-than Brett Hull.
• In 2009-10, Alexandre followed up his MVP season by once again leading the league in goals with 50. The next closest AHL player was his own linemate in Andrew Gordon, who finished the year with 37.
• Giroux also managed to score 5 more points than he did in 2008-09 and go over the century mark (103) for the first time in his 6 year professional career.
• Giroux leaves the Bears second all-time in playoff scoring. He was only four points off Mike Nykoluk for the franchise lead.
• He won back-to-back championships with Hershey in 2008-09 and 2009-10.

I will always remember Giroux as a player who simply was a scoring machine. I will also remember him for being the guy that almost ran me over on the ice after the Bears won the Calder Cup again this year. Well good luck G and I hope to see you return to Washington in an Oilers jersey sometime soon! You’ll be missed!

Other Notes: The Washington Capitals – who have been asleep at the wheel since the Free Agent Doors opened Thursday – signed Goalie Dany Sabourin who is expected to back up Braden Holtby in Hershey next year… Hershey’s third string goalie Jason Bacashihua signed with the Colorado Avalanche today and will play in Lake Erie next year… Kyle Wilson, who had a multiple game stint in Washington last year, was signed by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Wilson was a 50pt producer in Hershey. His departure further hurts the Capitals’ center depth… Count out Brendan Morrison as one of the options to return to the Capitals via free agency. In this in-depth interview with The Province, B-Mo rips the organization and stresses the team made no adjustments to it’s 1 for 34 powerplay in the playoffs. Worth a read.