NOT PICTURED: Officials Stephane Auger and Dan O’Halloran acknowledge the crowd after being named the first stars of the night. (Photo credit: Andy Devlin)

It was a ridiculous night in sports: Winnipeg beat the Flyers 9-8, P.K. Subban dropped the gloves (and almost kayoes himself), and David Freese of the St. Louis Cardinals hit a walk-off homer to force a Game 7 in the World Series.

So when the Capitals were whistled for NINE penalties in two periods of play (four in the first, five in the second), it kinda went with the theme of the evening. One of those penalties, a Troy Brouwer hook, led to Edmonton’s game-winning goal. Goodbye, 82-0 season. Haha.

“You have to adjust when you’re out there,” a remarkably calm Bruce Boudreau explained after the game. “You have to know who the ref is. If they’re calling it loose… okay. But if they’re calling every little thing, it’s up to the players to be able to adjust to it. In the rulebook, they’re penalties. Some people call it. Some people don’t. You get to know pretty early if they’re calling it and who’s going to call what.”

Sure, I guess. Well, with the power of photo and video, let’s take a closer look at some of Auger and O’Halloran’s — um, brilliant — work from last night.

Karl Alzner’s Groin Gets Two Minutes For Holding The Stick

Karl Alzner probably squeezes his legs together a little at the end there. But is this really something that gets called while the the Capitals are already killing a penalty? Alzner took issue with the holding-the-stick call after the game and even admitted to The Washington Times that some of the penalties really got under the team’s skin. “I think we got a little bit too worked up there, yelling and screaming about the calls when there’s nothing you can do about them once they’re [made].”

Mojo Catches Puck, Underhand-Tosses it 60 Feet Down the Ice

Okay, so this was totally a penalty. Marcus Johansson closes his hand on the puck and then chucks it down the ice Jennie Finch-style. “I think some calls, like my call, was a stupid call,” he told Stephen Whyno. “At least some of us think some calls shouldn’t have been called, either. But it’s his decision, and we just didn’t have the bounces or the refs with us today.”

Maybe Marcus doesn’t completely understand the rule. One of his teammates admitted something similar a few weeks ago. At least his toss wasn’t as egregious as Alex Semin’s was four years ago. Back in a game against the Leafs, Sasha Minor actually tried to throw the puck into the net for a goal. Don’t believe me? There’s video. Look! He even went behind-the-back! Only Sasha…

No Call: Tomas Vokoun Gets Trampled During Oilers’ PP

Photo credit: Andy Devlin

After the Capitals managed to kill off one of Edmonton’s power plays in the second period, both Eric Belanger and Ryan Smyth fell on top of Tomas Vokoun in the crease. The puck was getting cleared out of the Capitals’ zone and had no impact on the game, but if the officials were calling everything, why was this ignored?

No Call: Alex Semin’s Stick Slashed In Half

[UPDATE: Readers dispute that the uncalled slash was against Backstrom. Can anyone confirm with --like-- evidence?]

RMNB commenter Joey G. has the floor: “The [refereeing] was absurd. Call it both ways. The slash on Semin’s stick shoulda put us up 5-3, with a pulled goalie 6-3. A definite goal. I give no credit to Edmonton for ‘Holding On.’ Caps took those kids on a roller coaster and well they didn’t throw up… this time.” Food for thought.

There were a few other penalties that bugged me– like the Matt Hendricks dive and the Semin hook. I didn’t fact-check this, but I’m sure Hendy has never taken a diving penalty in his life, and he certainly didn’t embellish falling to the ice last night. On Semin’s hook, he simply tapped a guy on the glove with the blade of his stick. While he should know better to have his stick there, it still was a nit-picky call.

Anything else I missed? And what is going on with NHL officiating right now?

Special thanks to Peter Robbio, who hooked us up with the video. Check out his hockey blog, Chirps From The Ledge. We’re regular readers, and you should be too.

Khabibulin vs. unsatisfactory soup (Photo credit: Andy Devlin)

On their first long road trip of the season, the Washington Capitals encountered some trouble from the Edmonton Oilers. With a perfect record so far, there was a lot on the line in the Canadian wilderness.

Karl Alzner opened it up with a wicked wrister from beyond the circles. Then, on the second 4-on-3 of the first period, Taylor Hall snuck one in from the back door. Jordan Eberle took  a powerplay rebound and turned it into a goal. That’s it. Oilers end the Capitals streak 2-1.

• Read this out loud: Matt Hendricks whistled for diving. Just sounds wrong, doesn’t it?
  

  All we're talking about

• Let’s break down those late first period penalties. First, Semin hooks (I know, I know) at 15:23. One minute later, Ryan Smyth slashes Johansson, so it’s 4-on-4. Four seconds later, a freak deflection earns John Carlson a delay of game penalty, so it’s 4-on-3. 45 seconds later, Bad Sasha escapes the box, ending a successful 3-man kill for the Caps. But after just 20 seconds of 4-on-4, Roman Hamrlik gets called for hooking. Half a minute later, Taylor Hall scores. And then a few seconds later, Smyth finally leaves the box. “Let the boys play,” my Old Bay-powdered behind.
• The second period found FIVE penalties, all of them called against the Capitals. Breaking it down would be tedious. Some came from lazy play, most from referee strabismus. There’s a lot of naughty words in the English language; just use whichever springs to mind.
• One penalty not called: goalie interference. Your boy Tomas Vokoun was bowled over and roughed up a bunch tonight, stopping a respectable 17 shots on the way to his first loss with the Capitals.
• Halfway through the game, Andy Sutton bullied Marcus Johansson with three big hits behind the net. No whistles on those, nor were there any Caps players available to step in. At least there was a call when Ladismav Smid elbowed his head in the third. Poor Mojo.
• Andy Sutton was finally called for hitting Matt Hendricks right in the face… with one minute left to go.
• Brooks Laich caught a puck with his pretty face in the third period. After some stitches on the bench he returned to action. If you recall, Laich received a pair of high sticks to the face last week. The lesson here: WEAR A FLIPPIN’ VISOR, BROOKS.
• More importantly, the third period contained the Capitals’ most potent offense of the season. 18 shots were loosed, but Nikolai Khabibulin bested all of them.
• Count 6 shots on the score sheet for Alex Ovechkin, who looked ferocious in pursuit of the elusive tying goal.
• Edmonton’s Eric Belanger dove face-first to block a Dennis Wideman shot. How much can one man hate his own teeth? Luckily, he was spared this time.

Finally, Joe B’s suit of the night is so sad, it deserves to be full size:

Crash the net.

Some things: they’re easy to hate. Cancer. James Mitchner novels. The Fanny Pack Family and their adorable moppets blocking the wrong side of the Metro escalators. Other things, it’s tougher. Like puppies. Or Canadians.

The Low Down: Seriously, it’s kinda hard to lay the h8 against our drunken, fur-trapping in-laws to the north, no? Geez, they’re just so gosh-darned cute, what with their doughnuts and whale-blubber lamps and huge land mass and commitment to human rights and all? Ah-DOR-able. Eh? But then there’s the Edmonton Oilers (4-2-2, 2nd in Northwest Division).  For them we’ll make an exception.

The Legacy: If you’re under the age of 25, go stand in the corner and Google “Oilers 80′s.” Of course, that was then; the era of Sather and Gretzky and the rest winning the cup five times are long gone. These days the Oilers don’t so much strike fear in the hearts of opponents as they do sadness. So far this season, Edmonton is alone at the bottom of goals per game (1.7) of all NHL teams. And, until Tuesday at least, it looked like they couldn’t win a game in their own division.  Of course, not all is bitter tears for the Oilers.

What Makes Them Hot

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. “Rookie phenom” is a dumb phrase lazy sportswriters like to haul out of their trick bag, in part because it’s fun to write. But in Hopkins’ case, it’s probably apt. The 18-year-old 1st round draft pick is having a great NHL debut, already rocketing to 8th in the league in goals, with 8 points in as many games. According to the Edmonton Daily Dump or whatever, Hopkins has quickly become a fan fav; he’s also a third of the “Kiddie Line” of Taylor Hall, Hopkins, and Jordan Eberle, which has been generating a lot of pucks on net lately. Oh, and he’s kinda cute… but who isn’t at 18? When we hear “RNH,” we can’t help but think “NPH.”  We now think we have a crush on both.

Nikolai Khabibulin.  “Cute” is not a word that comes to mind when contemplating the Oilers’ 38-year-old goalie. “Talented” likely is. Khabibulin boasts a save percentage of .963, which may not be Vokoun good but it’s still pretty scary good. 35 saves against a team that was last year’s runner-up in the Cup finals? Yeah, they’ll take that.

“Reverse the Curse.” A lot of fans in a lot of cities go through a period when they think their team is cursed. A lot of fans are wrong.  But maybe not so fans of the Copper and Blue. After dominating the league in the 80′s, the Oilers have wandered in the wilderness for two decades, which sounds downright biblical. Sure, they challenged a bit back in the mid-90′s on something like a comeback, but so did the B-52s – and where is Fred Schneider these days? Still, there’s nothing like a team and a fanbase that remembers the glory days and wants to take another shot at greatness.

What Makes Them Not

Facts. Facts are stupid, aren’t they? Some argue that the Oilers are actually a better team than their current 2nd place division standing behind the Avs. Fourth overall in penalty kill? First in goals against? Not too bad, eh? As mentioned before, they clearly need to do a much better job moving the puck, but “facts” would seem to say that the Oilers are for real. So why aren’t they? It’s sort of like climate change. The facts are pointing in one direction, but Edmonton is stubbornly holding out against reality and refusing to behave like they’re real. Let’s hope this denial keeps up– at least until Friday.

Youth. Young people, ugh. Amirite? Huh? The Oilers are very much a young team, which means they’re much more likely to be flukey. The stats suggest as much so far, but as the cliché-generator reminds us, only time will tell. So young may equal inconsistent play… but on the other hand, hawt!  (Sorry. Had to.)

Canadian hockey fan

Corporations. No, we’re not getting all #OWS here, but stay with us on this. We’re really not ones to complain about corporate names on arenas, but Rexall Place? I’ll take associating my rink with phone service over dental floss and laxatives any day. But it isn’t just the name. According to no less an authority than Brooks Laich, a number of Canadian arenas are largely dead during games precisely because so many of the seats are controlled by corporate suits. As in: company robot takes prospective client to game, both spend all their time poking at their BlackBerry, nobody cares about the actual play on the ice, the end. Blech.

What To Watch For

We’ve all had a nice, long rest since the Red Wings blowout last weekend. Everyone comfy? That’s probably not the greatest thing ever. Time off is no doubt a wonderful thing for the players who get a chance to relax, recuperate, practice, carve pumpkins, or just do whatever. It just makes us a little nervous. One other factor worth considering – during Locker’s victory lap during the Red Wings post-game show, he commented on the Edmonton sheet, “They better sharpen their skates!” he boomed. Word has it that the Oilers have one of the better, slicker playing surfaces in the NHL. For those players prone to sudden losses of balance (:cough: Alexander Valerievich Semin :cough:), the sheet could prove to be another variable.

Photo credit: Greg Fiume

I was in attendance the other night when Braden Holtby made NHL history. You see, the Washington Capitals are now the the only team to have three goalies — all 22-years old or younger — to pitch a shutout in the same season. It was electric. The Phone Booth was chanting “Holt-by! Holt-by! Holt-by!” Unfortunately, as the three stars were about to be announced, all I could think was: does he really deserve a star?

Before this gets off on the wrong foot, I realize that a NHL shutout is a great accomplishment. Since the lockout, there have been only 491 of them in regulation, and as I said before, no team has ever seen so many from such young tenders before. I also know Holtby is a talented goalie. After all, we here at RMNB have been referred to as the world’s foremost authority on the young netminder. But let’s put this in a little perspective.

Shutouts are based on three things:

1. The quality of a goalie.
2. The quantity of shots against
3. The quality of shots against.

Holtby is a quality goaltender. Since his second call-up in January he has gone 4-0-1, giving up only 3 goals against and posting an outstanding .977 save percentage.

The quantity of shots he faced against Edmonton, 22, was about average, but the quality of the shots was relatively low — only eight of those 22 were scoring chances. The good news is that not only was that the number I had, but also the number Dennis of MC79 Hockey independently had as well. The bad news is that the Caps have seen more chances against in 16 individual periods of play this season than Holtby saw during the entire game.

Why bring this up? It’s important to keep expectations realistic with young goalies. While Holtby has done well since his most recent call-up, I think it is a tad premature (barring further injuries) to have him in the discussion as a potential starting goalie during the impending playoff run.

Apparently, Ovi wants you to have a new desktop wallpaper every other day now. (Photo credit: Greg Fiume)

Braden Holtby smiles while holding the puck commemorating his first career shutout. (Photo credit: Greg Fiume)

Entering tonight’s game with the Edmonton Oilers, the big story on everyone’s mind was that Alex Ovechkin’s main running-mate for the past four seasons, Nicklas Backstrom, would be sidelined for the first time in his career due to a fractured left thumb he re-aggravated Monday against the Lightning. As Backstrom’s impressive consecutive games streak ended at 341, the big unknown was if it would have a negative effect on the Capitals suddenly surging offense.

Despite their impressive play of late, the Capitals’ last eight victories have been by only a one goal margin.

Uh, not anymore.

After a fast-paced first period saw the two teams combine for 22 shots on goal with no tallies, the second period opened with a frenzy. At 5:38 during the Capitals’ second powerplay of the game, Jason Arnott found Alex Ovechkin wide-open in front of the net. Ovechkin one-timed Arnott’s slap-pass home, which gave the Caps a 1-0 lead. Five minutes later, Eric Fehr, playing in his first game since mid-January, converted during the Capitals’ next man advantage. The Winkler, Manitoba native knocked in a pin-balling puck that found his stick after Nikolai Khabibulin couldn’t corral a booming John Carlson slap shot. Edmonton coach Tom Renney would then call timeout.

Renney’s timeout would only stop the bleeding until the third period, where Ovechkin would strike again. Ovi, clearly energized after meeting Ryan Rowlinson of the Make-A-Wish Foundation earlier today, forced a turnover in the offensive zone, played tic-tac-toe with Marcus Johansson, and then roofed home his second goal of the night, his fourth multi-goal game of the year. It was another spectacular, highlight-reel goal for Ovechkin, who has been bringing his A game for the last several weeks.

Fehr would score his second of the night after Khabibulin unwisely vacated his crease, and Alex Semin would then win the fans some wings after some pretty passing with Marco Sturm. Caps beat Oilers 5-0.

• Does it feel like 2009-10 or is it just me?
• Several players reached milestones tonight. Let’s recap them all. First up, Jason Arnott. Arnott’s assist on Ovechkin’s first goal of the night, would be his 900th career point. Despite being in DC for only 10 days, Caps fans in attendance gave Arnott a standing ovation after his achievement was put up on the Verizon Center scoreboard. Arnott, participating in his 19th NHL season, responded by smiling and waving to the crowd.
• Next, Alex Ovechkin recorded his 600th career point on Eric Fehr’s first goal of the night. The only other NHL players to register 600-plus points in their first six seasons in the league are: Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Peter Stastny, Mike Bossy, Jari Kurri, Dale Hawerchuk, Bryan Trottier, Denis Savard, and Paul Coffey. Suffice to say, that’s a pretty impressive list to be included on. Ovechkin also now ranks third all-time in franchise points trailing only Peter Bondra and Mike Gartner.
• Ovechkin’s power play goal in the first also deserves a bullet by itself. Why? Because it was the first power play goal of the season he’s scored at home all year. Yes, in March.
• Dennis Wideman also registered his 200th career point on his secondary assist to Alex Semin. Wideman was once again very effective on the blue line, spending a whopping 23:34 time on ice, a game high. He also recorded three hits, seven blocked shots, and finished a plus-1.
• How about that Braden Holtby guy? Holtby, making his first start since January 24th (a shootout loss against the Rangers), stopped 22 shots in his first career NHL shutout. The Lloydminster, Saskatchewan native was impressive, full of poise, and challenged when necessary. I don’t know about you, but several more outings like this, and I don’t know how George McPhee can rationalize sending this guy back down to Hershey. Ever since Holtby was called back up for a second go of it, he has noticeably changed his game at the NHL level. In Hershey both this year and last, he’s played so aggressive that at times you could mistake him as either the team’s second enforcer or the team’s seventh defenseman on the ice. In Washington, he has found a way to calm himself down and be more subdued. As a result, he’s picked his spots better, his concentration level is at an all-time high, and he’s rarely been out of position. As for records, this was the first time ever that three different goalies all age 22 or younger have registered a shutout for the same team in the same season.
• Eric Fehr finally returned tonight and it paid instant dividends. Fehr, who was rewarded with the hard hat after the game, was at the right place at the right time all night long. He will be a first-line player someday if he can show some consistency. I’m sure he’s heard that before.
• On the opposite end of the spectrum, Mike Knuble still can’t buy a goal. Poor guy. Eventually, he will be rewarded for his hard-work or a goat must die. He finished the night with three shots, two takeaways, and a plus-1. He was inches away from a power play goal himself.
• What could possibly be better than Caps fans getting wings? The fact that they got to witness an “Alexander Semin Hat Trick.” Sasha Minor had a goal, assist, and an offensive zone penalty. Throw your borscht!
• Per Mike Vogel, tonight’s game ended a franchise record streak of 43 straight games without the Capitals scoring more than one power play goal in the same game. Wow.
• Finally, before the game, Mike Green was been placed on long-term injured reserve retroactive to February 25th. He will be eligible to return beginning March 22nd against the Flyers. As long as Green returns before the playoffs, I’m cool.

Joe B.'s Suit of the Night

With the win, the Capitals leapfrog the Boston Bruins into second place in the East. They also pull within two points of the first place Philadelphia Flyers. And despite the Lightning winning in their game tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Capitals still remain two points ahead of them in the Southeast Division. That’s great news. Let’s party.

Anyways, we’ll be back here again Friday night, as the Capitals take on the Carolina Hurricanes. Until then, take care!

Bonus! Here’s Braden Holtby’s post-game interview with Al Koken.

Mama, said knock you out!

All photos by Kyle M. of Sweetest Hockey On Earth.

In Hershey’s nail-biting 3-2 victory over the Norfolk Admirals Saturday, Sheldon Souray got in his second fight of the season, choosing Lightning defense prospect Vladimir Mihalik as his combatant. Mihalik, who stands in at a towering 6’8”, was still no match for the 6’4” Souray, a veteran of over 50 NHL fights.

SHOE’s Kyle M. has supplied us with the 100 pictures he took of the fight from the Giant Center’s photo-well. His pictures slow down the thirty-second altercation into a work of art, expertly capturing all the essential elements of a good fight: the grappling, the punches, the emotion, and the knock-out blow. Enjoy!

Several months ago, Sheldon Souray had a falling out with the Edmonton Oilers and General Manager Steve Tambellini. The conflict was so immense in fact that the Oilers spent the entire summer trying to dump the former three time All-Star and ordered him not to come to Training Camp. Unfortunately for Edmonton, there weren’t many teams who were interested in an aging 34 year old defenseman who is still owed $4.5 million over the next two years and has a cap hit of $5.4 mil.

To make matters worse, Souray also dealt with injury problems last year as he suited up for only 37 games. Um, go ahead and blame Jerome Iginla for that one.

After placing Souray on waivers twice and still finding no takers, the Oilers ended the drama this past Wednesday by loaning Souray to the Hershey Bears.

While Souray didn’t answer any questions about his issues in Edmonton during his nine minute presser, he did seem extremely positive about his new digs:

“It’s been a long few months of kind of being in turmoil with my situation,” Souray said. “For me, it’s like a fresh start. I feel kind of re-energized. It’s going to take a little bit to show that on the ice and get back into that top game form. I just feel like a lot of the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders.

“I look at coming here as a positive thing for me to get in this environment, in a winning environment, in a structured and healthy environment, and just start a new kind of chapter in my life. I’m grateful for the opportunity that Hershey is providing. We’ll see what happens.”

Check out the entire press conference above and get to know your newest Hershey Bear, Sheldon Souray.

S/T to Kyle for the Video.

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.

Alexandre Volchokov. Hopefully the beard symbolizes maturity. (RMNB Graphic)

“Volchkov was a talented right-winger who put up impressive offensive numbers while playing junior hockey for the Barrie Colts. Washington management were well aware of Volchkov’s attitude issues, but decided that his talent overshadowed any potential problems. Offensively gifted, the enigmatic Volchkov never reached his potential as a pro due to his poor attitude. In one incident while playing with the Capitals’ minor league affiliate Portland Pirates, he walked out on the team during a playoff game.

Having had enough of his poor attitude and chronic underachieving, the Capitals traded Volchkov to the Edmonton Oilers on February 4, 2000, for a fourth round draft pick, but he never played with the parent club. Former Oilers’ GM Kevin Lowe, then the team’s coach, recalled his first training camp meeting with Volchkov in which the player insisted on being referred to as ‘The Volch-inator‘. After just twenty-five games with the Oilers’ minor league affiliate Hamilton Bulldogs, team management soured on his poor attitude, and he returned to play in Russia.”

Where’s The Volch-inator now? Surprisingly he’s still playing hockey! We had Fedor search through a bunch of Russian and Belarus websites. And this is what he found.

Let’s go back to 2003. After Alexandre Volchkov failed in North America, he came back to Russia and has since played for the following Russian teams: Sibir, Molot-Prikamye, Vityaz, Krylya Sovetov and Torpedo. Here’s part of an interview taken when he came to Mogilev to play in Khimvolokno of the Belarus League. His father, a pretty famous Soviet player, worked there as a coach.

Q: Your NHL career lasted only 3 games. What do you think. Why didn’t you make the Capitals roster?
A: Maybe, I didn’t have good luck. It’s an important factor in every sportsman’s life. I think, sometimes a Fortune’s smile can help more than years of practice.
[…]
Q: When you came back to Russia in 2003, did you lose any hope about having a successful NHL career?
A: I didn’t feel any doom about not playing in the League. I thought that my skill would translate well to the League’s requirements. But I didn’t have good contact with the coach and I wasn’t lucky. So when i signed with [Russian Team] Molot I tried to make myself more known. And maybe get another shot in the NHL.

I have a short comment on his words: His “Fortune’s smile” was his draft pick number. He had to work hard after that. He didn’t and it ended up being an honor he never deserved.

After Mogilev, Volchkov played for Yunost Minsk, a very popular team in Belarus. Then he came to HC Neman Grodno.

I found his name in news about Lada Togliatti (Russian Superleague), HC Dmitrov and HC Kapitan (Russian High League).

The next team he played for was Keramin-Minsk after the team traded for him. Here’s their ofiicial press-release from 25.09.09.

Finally, Alexandre signed with Beybarys Atyrau (Kazakhstan Republic League, don’t confuse with Barys of the KHL). Volchkov currently plays there. He’s only 32 and we’ll see, maybe his name will appear again in news about KHL or Russian Superleague. At least the Capitals now have a 4th Overall Draft Pick that actually worked out.

Russian Players Selected With High First Round Draft Picks:

1 Alexander Ovechkin (2004)
1 Ilya Kovalchuk (2001)
2 Alexei Yashin (1992)
2 Andrei Zyuzin (1996)
2 Oleg Tverdovsky (1994)
2 Evgeni Malkin (2004)
3 Alexandr Svitov (2001)
4 Alexandre Volchkov (1996)
4 Nikolai Zherdev (2003)
5 Darius Kasparaitis (1992)
5 Stanislav Chistov (2001)
5 Vitaly Vishnevski (1998)
6 Nikita Filatov (2008)
6 Viktor Kozlov (1993)
8 Sergei Samsonov (1997)
8 Nikita Alexeev (2000)

And then Alexander Ovechkin showed up. The world’s best hockey player and the man my girlfriend calls “Ovenchicken” performed a hero’s task in Edmonton last night, singlehandedly pulling the boys from F Street out of a two-goal deficit. After one determined stuff manuever and another sick Ovechkian angle goal off a rebound, the Caps had renewed life. Flash and Backstrom put the nail in the coffin, and all was right in the world again:  Caps beat Oilers 4-2.

• CSN+ has a terrible signal. The first five minutes of ice time were tinged Viagra blue, and this Caps fan couldn’t discern Laing’s 53 from Green’s 52 for most of the game. Over the airwaves, Joe Beninati‘s exotic tie patterns read like some kind of vomitous fever dream.
• Karl Alzner‘s masterful deflection into his own goal may be the punctuation at the end of his time in the NHL. His D pairing with Tyler Sloan (-1 plus/minus for the season) was particularly incompetent last night, but his kick into our own net was unforgivable. Hershey may be a better fit for his hijinx. Am I being unfair? Let me know in the comments below.
• I can’t single out Alzner, as the whole defensive effort was pathetic last night. The Oilers’ offensive tactics were eerily similar to Boudreau’s Caps, what with the dumping and chasing and moving behind the goal line. Our defense was unable to chase down loose pucks behind the blue and clear it out, and that made those two soft goals against Neuvirth possible.
• Jeff Schultz is on my list, too. His careless pass at center ice led to a breakaway goal for the Oilers – one night after this terrible miscue. At least when Mike Green pulled that same nonsense a few weeks ago, he had the good sense to follow it up with a make-up goal.
• Alexander Ovechkin‘s 3rd period illustrated everything we love about the caveman.  I don’t know what Bruce Boudreau said in the locker room at the 2nd intermission, but Alex definitely heard it.  His goals owed as much to grit as they did talent, and he pulled the rest of the team up with him.  Last night demonstrated once again why Capitals hockey is the most exciting hockey in the league.
• But Steve Staios is paste-eating crazy.  Several times the Oiler’s PK man jumped in front of Ovie’s lightning-fast slappers like he was the Edmontonian Quentin Laing or something. This guy deserves a lot of credit for neutering the Caps’ powerplay last night.
• Was the Caps top line (“The Tiger Beat line”) -2 in the first 40 minutes of the game? Yikes.
• Tomas Fleischmann‘s go-ahead goal was exemplary, but he followed it immediately with a lazy penalty. If that’s not a microcosm of the Caps fatal flaw, I don’t know what is.
• If your hockey team cannot convert 1:51 of 5-on-3 into a goal, you’re not worthy of Lord Stanley’s Cup. I attribute this failure to Edmonton’s fantastic PK unit as much as our own incompetence. Either way, this is the second time this season our boys have struggled with completion anxiety across multiple games. Let’s hope we get our groove back against Buffalo.
• Spongebob Squarepants Hilary Duff was at the game last night. For the record, Russian Machine prefers Miley Cyrus.

So I imagine by now the boys have landed in D.C. and are finding their respective homes buried under two feet of snow. If I hear about Mike Green or Alexander Semin spraining their backs while shoveling snow, I’m going to flip out. Stay mellow, watch The Jersey Shore, and drink a gingerbread latte. Three day’s rest is a fair reward for a successful trip to the tundra.