Photo credit: Patrick McDermott

I wrote on our mission statement that hockey should be as fun to read about as it is to watch. So what happens when hockey– Caps hockey at least– becomes a chore? Tuesday’s game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals was another messy loss, and gnome amount of puns will cheer us up right now.

The Leafs scored first, JVR seizing upon a communication breakdown between Neuvirth and Poti behind the Caps net. JVR struck again after Washington’s defense temporarily lost motor function. Marcus Johansson got his first of the year late in the first after Tomas Kundratek gave him a nice feed at the back door. Korbinan Holzer got his first NHL goal with a tricky long bomb. Mike Ribeiro executed a nice zone entry and passing sequence by sinking a powerplay goal, but the Leafs emerged victorious.

Leafs beat Caps 3-2.

• Of course Marcus Johansson scores 24 hours after we publish a treatise on how bad he’s been. Glad to see it Marcus get on the board… [evil mustache-twirl] …as it increases his trade value! Tomas Kundratek‘s pass to Mojo was a work of art as well, a well earned first NHL point for the young D-man.
• I’m ecstatic that Mojo scored, but he still has the worst underlying numbers on the team. He should be kept away from Alex Ovechkin at all costs, not paired with him to start the third period.
• Tom Poti had an eventful first period. First, he took a dangerous hit into the boards from Leo Komarov and stood up for himself. Ten he was the trailing D on a nice two-man rush with a decent chance at scoring, but later on that shift it all fell apart. Neuvirth retrieved the puck behind the net, flinched as if he was gonna clear, and then took his time returning the net. Poti seemed unsure if he was supposed to take the puck over, which gave Toronto’s JVR the opportunity to steal the puck and wrap it around.
• Korbinian Holzer is not a hockey player name. Korbinian Holzer is the name of a war criminal from Belarus. Korbinian Holzer is a minor character in a Vonnegut novel. Korbinian Holzer is the spice smuggler who sabotaged your primary buffer panel when you were trying to make the Kessell run in 11.8 parsecs.
• Did Joe B say that Beagle is a bloodhound along the boards? If so, niiiiiiice.
• Close calls: the more desperate your team is, the more they sting. When the Verizon Center spotlight comes on or Ovi puts his arms up in a “eff you I’m an anteater” pose it is even worse.
• Mike Ribeiro is the Caps best player right now, perhaps because he’s the least Capitals-y player (which is to say he’s new). That makes 3 goals for Ribs– all on the power play, and he leads the team in points. Ian says he deserves a 10-year, $200-million contract, and I think he’s exaggerating only a little.
• Agent Steckel: You are discovered. Your cover is blown. Get out now. p.s. thanks for blowing that empty-netter. <3 RMNB
• Michal Neuvirth, yikes. You’d think by now one of the Caps goalies would accidentally get a SV% above .900, right?
• Who is this JVR person?

Joe B suit of the night

Three years ago the Caps were the best team in the league. Right now they’re the worst. 30th out of 30 in points per game. Has any team fallen from grace this fast?

I worry something is being overlooked. A season like this is toxic to enthusiasm. That sucking sound you hear is what a contracting fan base sounds like. You as a fan deserve so much more than what you’re getting out of these Capitals right now.

I don’t have anything funny to say right now.

Caps at Pens on Thursday. That’ll be fun. Like going to a dinner party at your ex-girlfriend’s new mansion and her boyfriend is a state senator and you’re wearing zubaz and crocs.

Photo credit: Graig Abel

Not a bad way to go out. The Washington Capitals’ domination of the Toronto Maple Leafs was likely the last we’ll see from this version of the team. Knowing this, the Caps busted out all their greatest hits from the last few years. Let’s review!

Marcus Johansson wrapped around Reimer’s net for an unchallenged goal in the first minute. Alex Semin fought off Luke Schenn and scored five-hole. Jeff Halpern took two whacks and hit top shelf. Keith Aucoin finished a bang-bang sequence from Johansson and Ovechkin to make it 4-0.

Colby Armstrong cracked the shutout with a wristshot early in the third period. Tim Connolly got a greasy one on a power play to make it interesting, but they ran out of time. Caps beat Leafs 4-2.

• The Capitals have won back-to-back games for the first time in over a month. They have peaked over 30 shots a game for the 5th time in the last 10 games.
• Michal Neuvirth was almost perfect in Toronto, including denying the dirtiest player in the NHL, Dave Steckel, on a breakaway significant more for the bloodlines involved rather than any fancy stickwork. 28 saves for Mikey, many of them k-rad.
• 5’9″ Keith Aucoin had not scored in the NHL since October of 2009. A two-step plan to ending that drought: pair him with dynamic players like Ovechkin and Johansson, and put him against a Toronto defense that might have been high.
• Also busting slumps is Jeff Halpern, whose post-sunset goal on Saturday was his first since December 13 and his first point in over a month.
• Also on the topic of faceoff specialists, Dirty Dave went a hearty 9 for 14 on the dot. Less awesome when he’s on the other team, but it’s been 2 years, so we should probably get over it.
• What is with Marcus Johansson and wraparound goals? He’s got three this season. And here we were thinking that wraparound went extinct with passenger pigeons and thylacines.
• Dennis Wideman used his wrist to absorb a hit into the boards late in the second period. It didn’t look good, but Wides returned in the third. Heh. That rhymes.
• Toronto goalie James Reimer is embattled. He’s getting criticism from his own GM, and this game sort of tells you why. Reimer wasn’t flawless, but he is also playing behind a defensive unit that looked unengaged when it mattered. It’s fun to comment on other teams’ misery for once.
• Yes, CSN’s Jill Sorenson jinxed the shutout. That’s just superstition, so we won’t hold it against her. But her awful non-apology apology afterwards (“sorry if I jinxed that for you”) just made it worse. You don’t apologize if something; you apologize for something.

Joe B suit of the night

This game was just fantastic. Withstanding a late-game rally, the Caps won a crucial road games and stole another pair of points from the Eastern Conference.

The Leafs are struggling– that’s obvious– but let’s not allow that to detract from the Caps’ jam session. Those long offensive shifts, dangling pucks and threading passes between befuddled defenders, remind us of a team we’ve been missing as dearly as an amputated limb.

The Capitals host the Islanders on Tuesday, but we don’t know exactly who will be rocking the red in Caps uniforms by then. Elliotte Friedman says George McPhee is not interested in rentals, so a shopping spree of free agents at the end of their contracts is unlikely. GMGM is thinking long-term, which is bold.

Either way, a change is coming. Get ready.

The crowd reacts to Dennis Wideman’s first PPG of the night. (Photo credit: Bruce Bennett)

The Washington Capitals converted four of six power play opportunities on Friday night to best the Toronto Maple Leafs. The win pushes the Caps solidly into 8th place in the east and bounces their overall PP% up to 18.1%, good for 12th in the league. There’s a lot to be happy about, but Former-Cap/Current-Leaf David Steckel isn’t feeling warm and fuzzy about any of it.

In his post-game interview, Steckel scoured his team’s performance on the penalty kill with some salty language: “Any time you give up four power play goals, you’re not going to win a [expletive] game.”

Steckel was traded to the New Jersey Devils last season in exchange for Jason Arnott. On Friday, Steckel served on three of the four penalty kill units that surrendered a goal. Usually a faceoff specialist, Steckel won just six of 13 during the 4-2 loss. Despite saying his team “outplayed” the Capitals five-on-five, Steckel himself sported even ratings in both Corsi and Fenwick.

Additional reporting by Ian Oland.

Matt Bradley does his part by pushing a kid around on a sled.

Today, the Capitals teamed up with Dreams for Kids for Extreme Recess Hockey. Caps Matt Bradley, Tom Poti, Dave Steckel and coaches Bruce Boudreau and Bob Woods took to the ice after practice and skated with children with physical and developmental disabilities. For some of the kids, today’s skate was the first time they had ever played hockey or even shot a puck. Britt McHenry of ABC7 was on the scene at Kettler and had a chance to speak with some of the participants including Connor, who had the chance to skate with some of his heroes.

Matt Cooke and Alex Ovechkin in happier times. (Photo credit: Mitchell Layton)

Once again the Super Bowl Sunday rendezvous between the  Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins was a rousing success. Through three periods of hockey, the Caps laid siege to the Penguins’ net and their depleted forces.

Mathieu Perreault won a battle below the goal line to feed Brooks Laich, who was waiting eagerly in Fleury’s paint. His greasy backhander put the Caps up 1-0. On the penalty kill in the second, Marcus Johansson scored perhaps his prettiest goal yet, a no-look backhander. 2-0. Desperate in the third, the Penguins’ offense relented and allowed Mike Knuble the empty netter. Shutouts don’t feel so bad from the other side. Caps beat Pens 3-0.

• The Capitals offense was persistent and aggressive, tallying 18 scoring chances to Pittsburgh’s seven and denying them any chances in the first period. You can chalk that up to a sturdy defensive unit for the home team, anchored by…
• Mike Green, who pulled the unorthodox block-it-with-your-ear maneuver at the end of the first period.  Green did not return to the ice, but Boudreau didn’t sound too concerned at the post-game. “It’s just day-to-day,” Boudreau said. “He’s got a little bit of a headache. I mean if you get hit in the head with the puck, you’re going to have a headache. We’ll re-evaluate and see how he is tomorrow.”
• Michal Neuvirth distinguished himself after a lengthy absence from the Washington net. His shutout was assisted competently by the aforementioned D, but his biggest boon might have been the Penguins’ anemic offense, who showed precious little threat without Evgeni Malkin (knee) and Sidney Crosby (Dave Steckel) among them.
• Speaking of “Danger” Dave Steckel; his rampage through the NHL continues. After leveling an monstrous one hit(s) in regulation and screening Fleury on the short-handed goal, the ever-bellicose Steckel picked a fight with the unassuming Tim Wallace. When will Dirty Dave’s reign of terror end?

• Everyone’s favorite heel, Matt Cooke, did a great impersonation of himself, kneeing Alex Ovechkin with four minutes remaining. Despite a resemblance to the incident with Tim Gleason that led to Ovechkin’s suspension last year, Cooke received only a humble, two-minute sentence, and that likely won’t be revisited by the league. On the hit, coach Bruce Boudreau commented, “It’s Matt Cooke. Need we say more? It’s not like it’s his first rodeo. He’s done it to everybody. Then he goes to the ref and says, ‘what did I do?’ He knows damn well what he did.” Yep. Cookie is the best there is at what he does, but what he does isn’t very nice.
• Holy what: John Erskine was on ice for 8 of the Caps 11 even-strength chances. Now, THAT’s the Caps-ocalypse.
• Mike Knuble was denied a goal early in the second after Matt Hendricks interfered with (read: was pushed into) Marc-Andre Fleury. His nine-game streak of goals against Pittsburgh was in danger until Fleury left the net in the game’s closing minute. That wasn’t an empty-netter, that was justice.

Quotes of the Game:

“They don’t like us. We don’t like them. That’s the way it should be.” – Bruce Boudreau

“I don’t get it…why are they allowed to punch each other with three referees right there?” – Peter’s mom

“It’s the kind of hockey I like to play. It’s fun hockey. It’s emotional hockey. It’s physical.” – Matt freakin’ Bradley

Too many good things happened in this game to list. Brooks Laich led the offense as we knew he would, Jay Beagle (0 even-strength scoring chances against ) and Mathieu Perreault were rabid terriers in the offensive zone, and Karl Alzner countered nearly every attack foisted upon him. The entire team was at or near their best, and when playing against a Pittsburgh team without its two stars, the outcome was never in doubt.

Two Super Bowl Sunday games in two years, both rowdy wins for the good guys. The Caps have again broken that two-goal ceiling that has been looming over them lately, and now they stand poised to play their very best hockey in the toughest month of their schedule. They’re a more cohesive team right now than we’ve seen all season, and that speaks to Boudreau’s leadership and a sense of cooperation on the team. “It is buying in,” Karl Alzner said of the shift in tone. “It is every single guy on the ice doing the same thing.”

Or you could say it like Mike Green: “We are starting to get our mojo back.”

Net crashed. Go Packers.

Additional reporting by Neil Greenberg. Interview coverage by Chris Gordon.

Editor’s note: One year ago, Emily Karol gave a newborn RMNB a kick in the pants with her report on the first Casino Night. This year she does the same with the added bonus of Chris Gordon’s photos.

By the way, Emily is looking for a roommate. Available February 1st, she’s got a single bedroom with a private bathroom and a walk-in closet located just 3 miles from Kettler Capitals Iceplex. Email her if you’re interested. Awesome people only, please. Take it away, Emily.

When I learned that the 2nd annual CapsCare Casino Night and Auction would take place on January 9th, I couldn’t be more excited. I attended the first Casino Night and had a blast, but this year’s festivities hit on the birthdays of both Bruce Boudreau and me. Who could pass up the chance to wear a pretty dress, drink some cocktails, and schmooze with fabulous people on your birthday? Not me.

But this evening was very different from the first. I was a year older ,and even though I still attended alone there were many more people I knew and wanted to visit this time around. I purchased the VIP ticket again (hey, it’s for charity!) and was granted access to the coaches and players for a hour before the event really kicked off. I’m guessing the VIP room had fewer people this year; it seemed more casual and the players definitely mingled a lot more. All the guys I met were very sweet. I was surprised at how many of them didn’t know about the blog, Russian Machine Never Breaks. Regardless, they obliged to pose with friendly smiles when I asked, and a few even said they would look up the blog. Ian, Peter, and Neil: I will take my payment in cash or credit.

I made a point in the VIP room to wish Bruce Boudreau a happy birthday and apologize for the dirty looks. That comment provoked a double take from Bruce. I chuckled and said I was the girl in the Mercedes Benz commercials that glared at him during his bird calls and track suit dance. Bruce gave a big smile and said no worries and wished me a happy birthday right back.

The hour flew by quickly, and it was time to venture out into the the main ballroom for food, music, mingling, and gambling. The ballroom was set up completely different from last year, with the food all in the middle by the dance floor. The number of gambling tables doubled. After a quick introduction of the team to the crowd, the party really started. Fans and players scattered throughout the main ballroom and the lobby, which hosted Wii bowling, Rock Band, and the silent auction. I should note that Semyon Varlamov is a sweetheart, staying out in the lobby to sign autographs and take photos with fans for most of the event. Fans were not allowed to take posed photos or ask for autographs in the ballroom, so the fact that Varly stayed in the lobby for most of the time meant a lot to this fan.

I didn’t really partake in any events during the evening. I just wandered around and watched fans interact with their idols. I did see Schultz and Neuvy play on Wii Rock Band, and a year later Mr. Nasty is still intense about that game. Semin and Ovi seemed inseparable, and I loved the wives all hanging out at a poker table together trying to win some chips. The place was really hopping this year.

I’m eager to see what next year’s Casino Night will bring. Two years, two completely different experiences, both enjoyable in their own right. Thanks for reading!

Photos (Click to enlarge)

Nicky Backstrom can manage only a crooked smile after 16 games without a goal.

During a hand of NLHE, Alex Semin checks his wristwatch. It is apparently zebra o’clock.

BBBBBB (Bench boss birthday boy Bruce Boudreau) tells the Slap Shot story for the billionth time.

Karl Alzner: happy and wholesome. Tom Poti: sinisterly counting Karl Alzner’s stack.

Jason Chimera then unhinged his jaw and swallowed this partygoer whole to a smattering of applause.

George McPhee, on the button, raises pot value and then throws in D.J. King’s contract.

Marcus and Nicky pore over an Ikea catalog (out of frame). Billy the Bookshelf FTW.

Tyler Sloan and Jeff Schultz are either throwing dice or watching MoJo and Backy playing Twister.

Okay, Alex Ovechkin’s suit is sharp. No jokes. I need that thing. Fashion bugs: where can I get it?

Ovi’s ongoing Wii Bowling slump has him almost 20 strikes off his 2009-2010 pace.

John Carlson (not yet 21 here ) and Jay Beagle applaud for BBBBBB’s kegstand (not pictured).

The guy from the gaming commission had a stroke when he saw this picture.

Mathieu Perreault sits at the kids table. In the background, Ovi is clearly peeking at someone’s cards.

Alex Ovechkin shuffles his chips. The dealers haaaaaate when you do that, but c’mon: it’s Ovi!

Semyon Varlamov and Alex Semin recite a Plath poem from memory. JK, it was Russian.

Mr. Nasty and Mikey Neuvirth ditch the party for a Rock Band sesh. Band name: Puzzle Crotch.

“So Hendy was like, ‘if you blindside Crosby in the head, I’ll buy you a beer’, and now here we are.”

Beags and Carlson’s persistently cold rolls wiped out the entire table table in two orbits.

DJ Brett Leonhardt simultaneously checks Facebook and updates his iTunes playlist.

BBBBBB’s birthday wish was that this cake was made out of cheeseburgers.

Semyon Varlamov is unamused by BBBBBB’s “I’m not touching you! I’m not touching you!” taunt.

Capitals players and staff with a rousing rendition of Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way.”

It looked like an ordinary birthday high-five until Bruce went for the Top Gun follow-through.

Jason Chimera and Alex Ovechkin laugh at you. Damn, that suit is cool.

It’s not like the Washington Capitals have a hard time getting pumped up for a intra-division game. Facing the Atlanta Thrashers at home tonight, the Caps put a season-high 46 pucks on net (with another 20 attempted). But Ondrej Pavelec stood like a giant in the Atlanta net, turning away all but one of those pucks. At least it wasn’t a shutout.

Rich Peverly deflected a monster shot from Byfuglien to create the first goal of the night.  Penalty engine Alex Burmistrov recorded the second goal, a brilliant chip shot from no angle. At the end of a long shift in Atlanta territory, Alex Ovechkin ended his nine-game goal drought with a one-timer assisted by the other Alex. After David Steckel took a controversial kneeing penalty, Andrew Ladd took only eight seconds to score the game’s final goal. Bummer. Thrashers beat Caps 3-1.

• 

  Ovechkin ends the slump (Photo credit: Luis M. Alvarez)

  If Ondrej Pavelec were a car, he’d be firing on all cylinders. Last time we saw a goalie this hot, we had to invent a word for it: Halak’d.

• That said, the 46 shots stat might be misleading.  The Caps took a lot of their shots from outside and were not helped by friendly traffic in front of the net. It was way too easy for that nigh-invulnerable goalie to swat away pucks without imminent rebounds. The PP unit can cycle the puck in their sleep, but they falter when it comes to shifting into the slot.
• Alex Ovechkin scoars, thank goodness. I know we were all “he’s a playmaking, Russian assist machine now; who cares if he doesn’t score!”, but c’mon. He needed this. We needed this. In an interview with CSN’s Al Koken during the second intermission, Alex said it best: “My job is to scoar goals.”  Then Do Work, Son. Crosby’s got a hefty lead on you.

• This bullet is dedicated to all the ludicrous saves Pavelec made. That desperate swat of the glove to turn away Mike Green should be criminal.
• Personnel notes: John Erskine missed tonight’s game after a bad bump sustained on Thursday. In his place was Tyler Sloan, who mostly paired with winless Scott Hannan. It should not go unsaid that this pair was on ice for Atlanta’s game winner.
• The faceoff dot was unkind to the Caps. Of the players who were not dismissed from the circle entirely, pucks seemed to go the wrong away too often. Most at fault here is Nick Backstrom, who had an uncharacteristic 5-for-17 faceoff record.
• David Steckel collided knee-on-knee with Tobias Enstrom. After the ensuing fight with Jim Slater, the referees retroactively imposed a penalty on Stecks for the original contact, but did not penalize Slater for the instigator. What’s the point of the instigator penalty if it’s never used?
• I hate piling up on the zebras, but there’s more. Either the Capitals’ faces spontaneously generated some attraction for hockey sticks, or the Thrashers knew they weren’t gonna get called for it. Mike Green can testify to that. So can John Carlson. Jason Chimera could tell us about that three or four times, and the nasty gash on his lip would be exhibit A.

Joe B's suit of the night

But let’s put the whining aside. Just like last game, poor officiating is not the reason the Caps lost tonight. The refs are not to blame for the paltry offense we’ve seen lately. You can define lately as either “this week” or “since April”. There’s a killer instinct, a Bodhi-like hunger for adventure that is missing from the D.C. forwards. Until the Capitals get back in that zone, feeding free wings to the fans at every chance, they’ll continue to lose marginal games like this one.

Catch you guys on Monday, when the Caps will undoubtedly put the hurting on the wallowing Toronto Make-Believes.

Former Capital Mike Grier was honored before the game for playing in his 1,000th career game tonight. (Photo credit: Bill Wippert)

Sigh. Thomas Vanek scores the OTGWG. (Photo credit: Rick Stewart)

Without Ryan Miller, the Buffalo Sabres are not really daunting foes. The well-haired goalie had been convalescing with a hip injury for the last handful of games and returned to the Washington Capitals’ distinct displeasure. But with a stiff upper lip, the Caps entered the fray in nigh-Canada. Sort of.

Karl Alzner opened the game with a laser through traffic that found a wide swathe of net behind Ryan Miller. The second period was an unbridled embarrassment. The Sabres scored twice (a well-screened bomb by Montador and a fluke by Vanek). For their part the Capitals simply refused to play offense of any kind, offering only four shots across the middle frame. To qualify that, Jason Chimera spent four minutes in the box for a cross check that might have been overblown a bit, and Tomas Fleischmann also caught a double minor for a freak high sticking that carried no aggression.

Nicklas Backstrom allowed 7 minutes to escape the third period before equalizing with a high swat. Ten minutes later, a suspicious high sticking call earned Backy a double minor (the Caps’ third of the game). The Capitals survived another backbreaking penalty kill all the way into overtime. Things look liked they were headed towards the shootout until Thomas Vanek suckered Carlson and Holtby in sequence to score a sharp-looking OTGWG. Bummer, I know, but at least the Caps take a point home. Sabres beat Caps 3-2 (OT).

Bleh-lets.

• Kind of a bad game in general, eh?
• The Caps played the second period like it was the first. They producted only four shots to Buffalo’s 11, zero scoring chances to Buffalo’s 8. Why must there be one guaranteed bad period every game?
• While the Caps were struggling in the second period and the first half of the third, the grinders got short shrift. Matt Bradley and Dave Steckel in particular had far fewer shifts than usual.
• With Poti out (a worry of its own), Bruce Boudreau did as much as he could to limit any Tyler Sloan-related damage. Sloan trailed all defenders in ice time with only 13:20.
• 13:20 sounds like precious little until you consider than ersatz 2C Tomas Fleichmann played only 11 minutes and change. Which might be more than he deserved. Flash produced no chances at even strength. So did Eric Fehr, for that matter. Pitiful.
• The ice at HSBC Arena was wackadoodle. Mike Green and Buffalo’s Tyler Myers each lost skate edges, leading to Chevy Chase-style pratfalls.
• 

  Go High, Ovi! Ryan Miller calmly denies Alex Ovechkin coming in on a breakaway. (Photo credit: Bill Wippert)

  Nicklas Backstrom took eleven faceoffs. He lost ONE.
• Braden Holtby was the Capitals best player, a spastic puck wall until the final second overtime and that unfortunate poke check on Vanek.
• Alex Ovechkin had a prime breakaway chance against Ryan Miller in the first, but was bested. For the rest of the game, Ovi habitually bobbled the puck and whiffed on shots. To be fair, Ovi had only one offensive start in the entire game.
• All penalties are four minutes. It’s a new rule. Did you not get the memo?

Maybe the Caps play down to their competition to keep it interesting for us fans. That’s considerate of them, but they don’t need to go out of their way on our account. When the Caps found motivation in that final extending penalty kill, you’d think they had re-awoken their win-thirst. Naw. This was a snoozer.

Joe B's suit-of-the-night

At least we learned something. When Bruce Boudreau saw the same offensive inertia that you and I did, he tweaked lines. BB tried putting Tomas Fleischmann on the 4th, Johansson on the top, and Backstrom with Chimera and Semin. Only the last of those fiddles did anything of merit, but we learned that the the Caps’ chemistry may be more delicate than we previously thought.

A disappointing game and an undeserved point for an overtime loss. Here’s hoping the team that suits up tomorrow afternoon will have a bit more oomph than the team that played tonight.

Enjoy your Saturday nights, everyone.

Additional reporting by Neil Greenberg.

Mike Smith looks like a dog on linoleum floor, Alex Semin shoots, Brooks Laich scores! (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez) (Photo above: Mitchell Layton/NHLI via Getty Images)

January has been a spectacular month for the Washington Capitals. With newly crowned Captain Alexander Ovechkin at the helm, the team has lost only one game. Entering tonight’s appointment with the Tampa Bay Lightning, their nine-game winning streak was imperiled. After all, it was the Bolts that handed Washington their most recent defeat, the only under the Russian Machines’s reign, and nearly demoralized the team (if not for some histrionics from Matt Bradley). Compounded by the teams’ history is the Caps’ tendency to play down against lesser opponents and give lackluster performances at matinee games. In spite of all these factors and the lack of my wearing the undefeated RMNB t-shirt, the Caps snuck past the Bolts with a 3-2 victory and finished the month of Janaury with an incredible 13 wins.

Let’s get these bullet points out so you can fall asleep watching the Grammys:

• Brooks Laich finished off a lovely passing series by Flash and Semin to give the Caps a 2-0 advantage. The cool part about this was how… Knublian Laich’s goal was. If the Caps’ opponents think of them as a team of finesse snipers, smashmouth players like Laich and Knuble will continue to provide the score augment needed to pull out the win. Mark my words, come playoffs this will be crucial.
• Alexander Ovechkin was stumped for a good 53 minutes tonight. Eleven of his shots were blocked by pesky defenders (especially Mattias Ohlund) and only six made it to netminder Mike Smith. When the Bolts mounted their comeback and tied the game in the third, the Caps looked for a leader to be a hero. Lo, Alexander Ovechkin. The man simply refuses to let his nigh-unblemished record go to waste.
• Dave Steckel won a stunning none of his faceoffs in the offensive zone but was a flawless 4 for 4 on defense. This includes besting Vincent Lecavalier three times before jedi-mind-tricking him into an unsportsmanlike minor penalty with 2 seconds to go. Stecks wasn’t exactly a game-changing force today, but we thought this was an enjoyable morsel of a stat that we should share.
• Tyler Sloan pulls in a massive paycheck, and we’ve been somewhat doubtful of late that his contributions merit such remittance. Well, Tyler was a monster tonight while filling in for Mike Green (suspended, at home playing a dwarf in The Lord the Rings Online MMORPG). Sloan had four hits, two takeaways, and even a couple of shots. Thank you, Tyler, for reminding us to be fans first and critics second. You were awesome today.
• The record for most consecutive games won belongs to the 1993 Pittsburgh Penguins.  For the Caps to tie the record, they’d have to win every game until the Olympic break.  That includes games against the Rangers, the Habs, the Senators, and the damned Penguins.

With today’s win, the Caps of 09-10 have matched the 83-84 team’s 10-game winning streak. This is a huge achievement and one worth considering at length, but we should keep everything in perspective. For the Capitals, the regular season is no longer about winning games and accruing points, but rather building momentum for a gloriously long post-season.

There’s also a bit on one Cap’s under-appreciated skill, which Olympic team has the highest paid players, how to go about building a team, and who the top fighters since the lockout are.

I should note that I don’t think fighting is a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but I do find it entertaining (when it’s done well).

http://www.puckprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=90

“Hockey is a young man’s game, so there’s a big difference between signing a 21 year old Nicklas Backstrom and signing a 25 year old Alexander Semin. Take the top 20 skaters thus far this season by Goals Versus Threshold: their average age is only 25 years old while the oldest is Pavel Datsyuk at merely 30 years old. Signing Nicklas Backstrom (10.8 GVT, 12th in NHL) for multiple years during his peak makes more sense than signing injury-prone Alexander Semin (8.0 GVT, 29th in NHL) for multiple years at slightly past his peak. The Caps are set up for significant cap flexibility after next season: currently Alex Ovechkin and Mike Green are the only significant contracts on the books for 2011-12.”

Makes sense to me. Backstrom might not have Semin’s natural talent, but you’re not paying for perfect world hockey; you’re paying for actual expected production on the ice. And right now, it seems to me that Backstrom gives you more of it, especially relative to the price.

http://bettmansnightmare.blogspot.com/2010/01/celebrating-unsung-bests-and-worsts-of.html

Dave Steckel receives an honorable mention with his 61.5% face-off win percentage, just a tenth of a percent behind Paul Gaustad.

http://www.fearthefin.com/2010/1/1/1229706/olympic-rosters-the-salary-cap#storyjump

Using payroll to judge the various Olympic teams’ chances is an interesting exercise.

Canada’s cap number is about $128 M (for 23 players), which is far-and-away the highest mark.

Russia is at $66.4 M for just 14 players, and the US comes in at $85.2 M for 23 players.

Looks like the Canadian team is the odds-on favorite, especially playing on home ice.

http://www.mc79hockey.com/?p=3288#more-3288

The main article talks about the decline of the Detroit Red Wings and how that relates to the quality of their front office. The comments sections is an interesting read on paying big money for goalies, managing contracts, etc.

“We’re about halfway through the season right now, and the distribution of corsi Sv% looks identical to what would be expected by chance alone. I.e. – in even a sample size of half a year, there’s no discernible “skill” amongst the population of NHL goaltenders.

If I were an NHL GM, there’s no [cough] way I’d spend any kind of money on goaltending. I’d trust my scouts to pick me out a couple guys who belong to the population, and I’d pay them as little as possible.

I can’t understand why one would bet big money on something in which there is so much uncertainty and randomness wrt true equity or “edge”. To boot, if the equity exists it takes so much time to realize, that most of the utility is lost.”

It’s an interesting question. Having a couple young decent goaltenders on the cheap sounds pretty nice though.

http://www.behindthenethockey.com/2010/1/4/1230232/nhl-fighting-and-chess-revisited

Former Capitals brawling aficionado Donald Brashear comes in as the fourth best fighter since the lockout, using the ELO rating system (like in chess) which looks at the quality of competition and not just wins/losses.