Tuesday morning at 7:25, former Capital Alex Semin got his wake-up call courtesy of Elliot in the Morning. EITM’s resident mama Diane quarterbacked the call, gently chiding Semin for sleeping through morning practice. After a few monosyllabic grunts, Semin hung up. Twelve hours later, he set up Joe Corvo for the game-winning goal. #BlameEITM.

Artist rendition of Semin answering the phone.

Elliot’s escalating apologies for Semin’s name are maybe the best part. Diane and Semin finally speak at the 4:45 mark.

Semin: Allo’

Diane: Sasha!

Semin: Whaddup.

Diane: Sasha?

Semin: Whaddup.

Diane: Hey, man. You’re late for morning practice! Are you going to get up?

Semin: Who’s that?

Diane: Serena.

Semin: Who??

Diane: Serena. From the front office. Come on. We need to get ready for the morning skate. Did you forget to set your alarm ahead because of the time change?

[Breathing, audible confusion]

Diane: Are you there?

[Semin hangs up]

After conferring with expert Russian person Igor Kleyner, we have concluded that Semin spoke no Russian. That was all English or possibly some kind of glottal-snap-and-grunt-based language that Sasha speaks only among his confidantes.

It probably didn’t achieve the intended outcome, but valiant effort. Way to go, class.

GIF via welshhockeyfan

Late in the first period of Friday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Big John Erskine got himself into some trouble. Skating up the ice, Erskine connected with Philadelphia’s Wayne Simmonds, drawing blood but no penalty.

As you can see, Erskine’s elbow makes contact with Simmonds’ face. The question Brendan Shanahan will be asking is whether or not Erskine was putting himself in a defensive posture– or whether there was a suspendable intent to injure.

Matt Hendricks had to answer the bell for the hit. Before the next faceoff, Zac Rinaldo summarily beat Hendricks in a bout. Both players recieved game misconducts.

Nice Canada hoodie, Elliot! (Video)

Wayne Simmonds stuck a tampon up his bloody nose before retreating to the locker room with Philly’s trainer.

When it comes to sports, Kayleigh and Nick have just one thing in common: the Washington Capitals. The Caps are the only team in any sport that the couple can agree on, and going to Caps games has been a big part of their relationship for the last four years. When they get married next summer, Kayleigh and Nick have found a way to get the Caps involved.

Presenting the Caps-themed garter belt: the final frontier for the red to be rocked.

It’s a fitting ritual for the couple. Kayleigh’s day job at Elliot in the Morning has her interacting with the Caps every once in a while, hosting celebrity bartending parties at Front Page Arlington and the like. A longtime fan, Nick still remembers with sadness the Capitals’ Stanley Cup Finals loss to the Red Wings in 1998. Together they’ve attended a bunch of games up in the nosebleeds, usually stopping by the Irish pub Fado before filing into Verizon Center. When watching from their home in Frederick, it’s all rowdy cowbells and Rock the Red towels.

Not lately, of course. The NHL’s ongoing lockout has put a damper on hockey-related celebrations. The Caps players have fled, Chinatown is comparably empty on what should be game nights, and the closest approximation to Caps hockey is two hours up the road in Hershey.

But in spite of a lockout that leaves more and more fans cynical and dejected, Kayleigh still found an intimate way to get the team she and her husband-to-be love so much involved in their big day. Using the wonder that is Etsy, Kayleigh found and ordered the customized garter, scheduled to be flung into the air in June.

I’d consider it an added bonus if the happy couple get to watch a couple Caps games between now and then.

Congratulations and best wishes to Nick and Kayleigh from us at RMNB!

As the final seconds of the third period ticked away, Karl Alzner retreated behind the Capitals net and held onto the puck until time expired. It was a thrilling moment, and 18,506 roaring Caps fans rose to their feet to salute the team for the achievement. After struggling through most of the season, the Capitals finally clinched a playoff berth, ensured by a backhand goal from Alex Semin.

So how did it feel to be on the receiving end of that ovation?

“Want me to be completely honest?” Karl Alzner asked DC101′s Elliot Segal.

I was thinking, ‘there’s a couple seconds left, I could maybe get my second goal of the season [on Florida's empty-net],’ but I knew if I messed that up it would be pretty bad. The backlash wouldn’t be worth it. So I was just sitting here thinking, ‘You know what? This is awesome right now.’ It’s nice that we’re able to do this and prove to everybody that we can battle back the way we did.

If you ask me, he should have tried. Alzner continued:

When they showed the score of the Buffalo/Philadelphia game and everybody went wild, that was a pretty neat moment. And at the end of the game, that was pretty unbelievable. That’s what we really, really like to see. That [noise] really helps us more than all the fans really understand. It’s a pretty important part of the game for us.

Alzner went on to talk about how proud he is of the Capitals’ current play, how hurt Michal Neuvirth actually is, and who he thinks would be the emergency goaltender if Braden Holtby got injured.

You can hear Karl’s full interview with Elliot in the Morning here.

Early Monday morning , DC101′s Elliot in the Morning interviewed Brooks Laich. Before practice, Laich talked extensively about Dale Hunter, the system he’s bringing to Washington, the firing of Bruce Boudreau, and the awkwardness surrounding Dennis Wideman’s almost-hat trick.

Below the jump, I’ve transcribed a good chunk of the two’s talk.

On Wideman’s hat trick goal

When Dennis shot the puck, I knew it hit my shin pad and went in. Obviously, you can feel it. I knew it would have been his third goal so when we went to the huddle — you know, when we’re celebrating — I wasn’t going to say anything. But right when I got there, [Dennis] goes, ‘Nice goal, Brooksy!’ I went ‘Ahhhh,’ because it would have been his hat trick. You know, there’s 18,000 fans gunning down hats and everybody’s celebrating or whatever. I wouldn’t of said anything. Then I got back to the bench and some of the guys went, ‘That hit you didn’t it?’ I didn’t really know what to say.

They gave it to Dennis and he had a fantastic game. Kudos to him. He was the one who insisted that it get changed. I have a lot of respect for a guy who does that. He could have just taken the hat trick and moved on. I have a lot of respect for him for asking them to change it.

Did Wideman really petition the league to change the goal?

Yeah. That’s why I have a lot of respect for a guy who would do that. After the fact he knew it wasn’t his goal, so he contacted our PR guy to ask the league to look at this. And that’s a very unselfish thing for Dennis to do. I owe that guy lunch or supper or something for doing that.

But that happens quite often on deflection goals or little subtle changes of direction of the puck sometimes they’ll give it… Actually, his second goal, he blasted it from the point and they gave it to Nicky Backstrom originally. So sometimes they mess it up, but they get it right in the end.

Is it nice to have a few off days before your next game to more fully institute Dale Hunter’s system?

Yeah, but I think we’re pretty much adjusted anyways. Practice is so key. I don’t think people talk enough about how key and important practice is and preparation is. You know we’ve had [the system in place], actually now for six games, and everyone here is a professional hockey player. They should be able to adapt or change or tweak this or that. Learn very quickly and pick it up very quickly. You’re still getting used to it a little bit, but that’s not a crutch or an excuse or any reason why you should not be doing this or that or not winning hockey games.

Does Brooks personally like the changes Hunter has instituted?

I do actually. People are always asking me, ‘What’s the new guy like? What’s the new guy like?’ He’s a very smart man. Hockey wise, [he's] very smart. He has us going north/south for pucks, hitting everything that moves. He wants us to be hard to play against. He coaches — you know I didn’t get to see him play too much as a player — but he coaches like his reputation as a player. Which is great for us, because if you talk to people who played against him, he was feared and guys hated playing against him. So I definitely think his attitude as a former player is definitely going to rub off on us.

On Hunter wanting the team to play more physical.

He says, ‘hit everything that moves. Dump it, get on the forecheck, and be tough to play against.’ The one thing that he’s said since he’s come here is, ‘we’re not going to score a lot of rush goals. Against good teams in the playoffs, you don’t score those easy, rush goals. You have to work for your goals, you have to be physical. You have to forecheck. Score your goals off the cycle. If you watch playoff hockey, that’s how the goals are scored.’ And I think he’s trying to mold our team that way.

So you’ll see a lot more chipping and chasing. Getting in races. Strength along the boards. Battles along the boards. That sorta stuff. And not as much tic-tac-toe passing through the center of the ice. Huntsy’s been great. He’s a tireless worker. He’s cutting video. He’s talking to guys. And everyone just absorbs everything he says. He’s a very respected man. And like I said, I think he’s going to be great for us.

Did the players have a talk inside the locker room after Boudreau was fired?

Well that was before the change was made. There’s great expectations around Washington. Stanley Cup expectations. If you’re not winning hockey games, something is going to be changed. Whether that’s a coach, whether’s that a player… They could get up and trade me. I don’t want to be gone. They could trade a good friend of mine and a teammate of mine that I don’t want to leave. Something’s going to happen if things aren’t going well. You’re obviously aware of that when you’re losing hockey games or in a bit of a funk or whatever. We’re not dumb guys. We’re aware of what the situation is and what the possible fixes are. I certainly think it wakes guys up a little bit more when you make a coaching change. But after that, there’s only one place you can go, and that’s the players. I feel bad for coaches because they don’t play the game. The players that should be blamed or are responsible for it should be, but that’s not the way it goes.

On Boudreau’s quick hiring in Anaheim.

Good for him. And you know what, I was talking to my mom last night. She was wondering how things were going and I said, ‘Ten years from now — Bruce might not have won a Stanley Cup in Washington — but ten years from now, we’ll look back, and that man might be a hero.’ The first couple of years here, there were 7,000 – 8,000 fans in the stands. Then Bruce came on board and hockey’s now the coolest thing in Washington [Ed. note- emphasis ours]. He was a huge part of that. You know, the young guns and the offensive style, growing the game in Washington. I think he’ll forever be remembered as a huge part of that.

Kolzig smiles during his first press conference in D.C. as a coach (Photo credit: Chris Gordon)

Last Thursday, the Capitals’ new associate goaltending coach Olie Kolzig joined Elliot Segal on DC101′s Elliot In The Morning. The former fan-favorite goalie spoke favorably about his new gig and dished out plenty of interesting information in the interview, including Phillipp Grubauer’s potential landing spot next season, Braden Holtby’s tough situation, his thoughts on free-agent signee Tomas Vokoun, and much, much more. Check it out below the jump!

Elliot – Welcome back! It’s good to have you back in town!

Olie Kolzig - It’s great to be back, bud.

Elliot – In terms of the whole thing coming together, what happened with Arturs Irbe? I spent some time with him last year, he seemed like a really nice guy, and then came that story that he just kind of wanted to get away from things and spend time with his family. Is that true or is that just a nice story?

Olie Kolzig - No, that’s about the gist of it. I know Archie just a little bit from playing. I obviously have a lot of respect for him. He’s a really good guy. The situation was that his son was over here with him. Apparently, it was getting to be a little bit too tough — with the son being away from his mother. So he wanted to get closer. You know, back to Latvia. For some people it works. For some people, the family issues are a pretty big deal.

Elliot – So Dave Prior gets the job. As he was putting his staff together, when did you get involved with the whole process?

Olie Kolzig - It was shortly after. Dave came up with the idea of maybe having two people on staff. He’d overlook the Caps, and the scouting part of things. He’d deal with the junior kids that the team has. He just thought it’d be a great way to introduce me back to the league and see if it would be something that I’d like to do. I was approached a couple years ago about possibly being a goalie coach here. At the time, I didn’t feel I was ready. I had just retired. I wanted to spend a little time with the family. So at that point, I just wasn’t willing to commit myself to doing it. So I had two years off. I started to get the itch again. Obviously, I have a great relationship with Dave. We kept in touch. He introduced the scenario and offered me the position. Or felt i’td be a great idea to pitch to the organization. So, George called me and offered the position. And I was ready to take it. Just being here the last four or five days, I’m really starting to enjoy the teaching and coaching part of it.

Elliot – Hey Olie, you mentioned that they had brought it up to you once before. Was that immediately after you announced your retirement did they reach out to you and say that they liked you to come back and work with the goaltenders?

Olie Kolzig - So I retired in what was it? 09? September of 09. Then I was approached in the Summer of 2010. Or was it 09? I don’t know. The time just seems like it’s flying by. It was two or three years ago when I was approached. So it wasn’t too long after I announced retirement.

Kolzig speaks to the media on Monday (Photo credit: Chris Gordon)

Elliot – Were those two years awesome though — where you were just sitting around doing nothing?

Olie Kolzig - Yeah. You know what, it wasn’t bad. I talked to a lot of friends and a lot of people that were pretty envious of me of what I was doing. At the same time, you feel sorta unfulfilled. To be retired at 40, it just doesn’t seem right. I mean, I was busy. I was actually busier than when I played. It’s just, I was away from the game that I had been playing my whole life. I got some gratification working with my Junior team last year. And I think that’s what got the wheels turning and me thinking and me coming back to the pro game. I really enjoyed coaching the kids and seeing how they take what you teach them and apply it to a game. And then seeing them have success from it. It’s pretty gratifying. I think that’s what drives coaches and makes them want to do it. Just seeing the people they work with get better. So yeah, it was time for me to get out of retirement. Most guys come back and play. But my body wasn’t going to allow me to do that. So this was the second best thing I could do.

Elliot – Did that thought ever cross your mind?

Olie Kolzig - No, no, no. You know what, the last couple years of my career my body was starting break down. I had a couple of major injuries my last two years. So for me, that was the way of saying it’s time to shut it down. I didn’t want to be Dominik Hasek or Brett Favre and be wishy-washy. Once I made my mind up, that was it.

Elliot – Hey Olie, let me ask you this. You keep saying working with the kids. Does that mean you’ll be splitting time between DC and Hershey?

Olie Kolzig - For the most part this year, I’ll be working with the guys in Hershey and in Charleston, South Carolina. There’s gonna be times when I’ll be up in Washington when Dave’s out scouting or when he can’t make it into town. For me it’s kind of a slow progression and slowly getting me into the routine of being a coach, what to look for, how to work with the goalies. So it’s something that’s perfect for me. I don’t come in here blind and all of a sudden there’s this overwhelming pressure to work with the NHL team. You know, it’s like some golfers. They are great golfers but they don’t know how to teach the golf swing. And then there’s guys that didn’t make it in golf, but they know how to teach someone how to swing flawlessly. I’m trying to make that transition from player to teacher. This is just a great way to slowly get into it.

Elliot – Down in Hershey, the big goaltending star there is obviously Braden Holtby. Have you spent much time talking with him? The reason I ask is because in a 24 hour period — once Varly was dealt to Colorado – I read somewhere where George McPhee had come out and said, “You know what, we’re fine with that. The job is going to be Neuvirth and Holtby. And they’ll compete. We’re very comfortable with two young goalies.” Then 24, 48 hours later, whatever it was, he signs Vokoun. It was a great signing, I have no problem with that. But then Holtby goes from having a shot of splitting of time or winning the starting job outright, to probably spending the bulk of the season in Hershey. Is he all right with that mentally?

Olie Kolzig - I haven’t talked to him. The only time I’ve ever talked to Braden was at the AHL All-Star game. You know what, as a young guy that’s just the world of the NHL. I don’t think the plan was to have a guy like Tomas Vokoun here. But you know, on the second day of free agency when no body had signed him and there really wasn’t any teams out there that needed a goaltender – it was just too good of an opportunity and for the amount of money they paid for him, to pass up. Here you got a veteran guy, who I think is one of the top goalies in the NHL.

Elliot – He’s really, really good. He’s just been stuck playing for a crap team.

Olie Kolzig - Exactly. And when the pressure’s on, at the international stage for the Czech Republic, he’s always shined. This guy can play under pressure. And like I said, he’s a veteran. To me, I think it’s just a great tandem to have a veteran and a young guy. And Michal Neuvirth – obviously, with what he did last year – is an up-and-coming star. Then you have a guy like Braden Holtby who is going to be a star in his own right. But at the same time, Michal Neuvirth went through the rigors of the East Coast league and the American league and he had a lot of success at the American league. And was able to translate at the NHL. Now Braden Holtby only had one year last year. Yeah, it stinks. Because you see one of the three studs traded to Colorado and this guy has the ability to step in and play in the NHL this year. In his eyes, it might look like a setback. At that age, you need to play and there’s still development. It’s a process. It’s not a given that you should be given a position. You need to continually get better as a goaltender. So I look at this as a positive for him. You play a lot of hockey and he’s gonna get an opportunity this year. With the rigor of the NHL, there’s always injury. He”ll get a shot again. If he stays patient, he’s good enough. Eventually he’ll play. He’s just gotta bide his time.

Elliot – There are some people who were saying that Holtby’s the best of the three.

Olie Kolzig - It’s hard to say. Yeah, he has that skill where he handles the puck and he has a great, competitive demeanor. Last year, he got called up early and struggled a little bit. Then, he came up later and had success. He’s gotta have that consistency when he’s up there.

I know, coming back to the American league after having a successful stint in the NHL is a little bit of a downer. Again though, it’s a process. You’ve gotta develop consistency – and I’m not saying that he doesn’t have that – but It’s just something to continue to work on. You’re going to have highs and lows. It’s how you deal with it. The bottom line is to just play hockey. Sometimes you can’t control what management or the coaches do. You just control what you can do and let them make a decision.

Elliot – It must be weird to hear yourself talk like that. As a player, at times, you were emotional and a hot head.

Olie Kolzig - It was probably what kept me from playing so long! As a player, you’re totally different. You’re in the heat of the moment.. In all honesty, having that emotion that I had, yeah it might have hurt me early on in my career, but I think it’s what kept me going for so long. I’ve always had passion when I played the game. I wore my emotions on my sleeve. Like I said – sometimes that got me in trouble. I learned throughout my career to channel it a different way. By playing so long and by having Dave as a goalie coach so long, you’re able to understand what they’re saying. Now I’m on the other side of the fence, I can relate those issues to the younger guys. Tell them about the experiences I went through and how I was able to channel my emotions in the right way to have more success on the ice. But it does sound weird. Now all of the sudden I’m a philosopher instead of a goalie.

Grubauer stops Mattias Sjogren in a shootout (Photo credit: Chris Gordon)

Elliot – I was reading about prospect camp which is going on right now. Isn’t there a German kid that’s in the system that’s supposed to be doing well right now?

Olie Kolzig - Phillipp Grubauer. Most likely he’ll end up in South Carolina and that’s strictly because of the numbers. I think the kid can play in the American League level. It’s only been three or four days — the kid hasn’t played for about five months because of mononucleosis so he was out for a while —  but this kid looks to be really good.

Elliot – Would you say he’s the second best goalie of German descent?

Olie Kolzig - I’d be comfortable with saying that.

Elliot - Is the family moving back [to DC]?

Olie Kolzig - No, we’re actually going to move to Tampa. We’re going to be based out of Tampa. With me going to South Carolina and having lived there for two years, the kids were at a great school there and had a ton of friends, it just makes for an easy commute.

Elliot – The kids are doing well, I assume.

Olie Kolzig - Yeah. The kids are doing really well. They’re all excited about the move and maybe having daddy not around quite as much.

Elliot – You’re going to have a place at DC and in Hershey? Dude, the parties at Kolzig’s are going to be awesome!

Olie Kolzig - Well, the place in Hershey might be the Hershey Lodge Hotel.

Elliot – Oh, awesome. That’ll be be great.

Olie Kolzig - Yeah. I’ll bring the chocolates!

Elliot – I hear you were back a couple of weeks ago. We talked to Halpern once he re-signed and I guess you were at his wedding. How awesome is it that he’s back?

Olie Kolzig - It’s fantastic. I actually texted him because I think he was on his honeymoon when he actually signed the contract. I texted him, “Congratulations. They’re putting the band back together.” I think it’s a great fit. I think the guy can still play. Great centerman. Just a great guy in the lockeroom. Such a smart hockey guy. Obviously, it makes sense with the DC-born kid coming back. I think it’s fantastic for the team.

Elliot – I loved our moves during the off-season…

Olie Kolzig - I think they addressed some things and I think they improved the leadership in the dressing room. You know, the Caps go as Ovie, Semin, Backstrom and Green go. So if they can bounce back and play to their true form, this team should be the favorite going into the regular season again.

Elliot – Are you going to the convention again or as a coach are you staying away?

Olie Kolzig - Nope. I’ll be there!!

Elliot – You’ll be up there in one of the forums called “Coaches Clinic.” That’ll be what you’re doing now. The players get to be mad at you now. Aw man, I love everything about this transition.

Olie Kolzig - I wasn’t told about that. I may have to reconsider then!

Elliot – It’s great to have you back, my friend.

Olie Kolzig - I’m happy to be back.

Audio of Interview:

Before practice today, Capitals left wing Brooks Laich conducted a 16 minute phone interview with DC101′s Elliot in the Morning show. Among the topics Elliot and Brooks discussed include Laich’s lack of a preference on which team the Capitals play in the first round of the playoffs, Dennis Wideman’s injury and what he heard on the bench when it happened, and an insightful look into the leadership Jason Arnott brings to the team. The money quote: “He’s really united the whole group.”

Defenseman John Carlson turned 21 earlier this week. To celebrate, he and a few hundred of his friends gathered at RFD following tonight’s dismal loss to the Canucks. Though the mood was somewhat subdued, the partygoers report having a great time and RMNB readers’ Suzanne W. and Sarah M. have submitted the following as evidence.

Videos

John Carlson apologizes for tonight’s loss.

The RFD crowd sings Happy Birthday.

Carlson promises Elliot in the Morning that the next time that they stand together on top of the bar, they’ll be drinking champagne from the Stanley Cup.

Photos

Don’t we all?*

The Capitals (along with DC101′s Elliot Segal and Alan May) participated in the laudable Toys for Tots at Toys R Us, and there’s awesome video. File this alongside Caps-in-police uniforms, pouring beer for charity, and skating with kiddies: nice for the community, but severely undercutting the bloodthirsty, grandmother-kicking reputation we want for our team.

The visit also seems to have sparked a Twitter brawl between Alan May and Capitals video producer/warm-up DJ/only-guy-who-can-reach-the-top-shelf Brett Leonhardt. You need to see that.

More silly pics behind the jump.

Screencaps and Our Dumb Jokes

Penguin stomp: Alan May did the same thing to Jay Caulfield in ’91.

Season-ending injury.

To be fair, the penguin started it by high-sticking Jason Chimera.

Bieberama for BL21

Brooks Laich consults a manual on flipping the net over Varlamov’s head.

* NOTE: For the uninitiated, Fedor claims to look like Justin Bieber.

At this point, we all know how the story goes. First, the Capitals lose Game 7 and Mike Green – the man who had two miscues that led to two goals that night – avoids the media. Then on breakdown day, Greener magically disappears from Kettler and avoids doing interviews again.

Maybe it was guilt, or maybe it was a subtle nudge by his agent, but Monday, Mike Green finally broke his silence via Capitals Insider and a 1 on 1 interview with Mike Vogel. Green talked extensively about his total devastation after the loss, why he avoided the media in the first place and what he thought of his performance in the series as a whole.

But then this morning, Green further expounded on his woes to Elliot in the Morning during my commute to work. After hearing the whole thing live, I thought it was an extremely revealing interview and worth sharing with our readers. I really want you guys to hear all you that can from the players so you can get a better perspective on why this historic season turned so sour, so unpredictably.

Q - Hey Mike, let me ask you this, I feel like it’s been written a couple of places, and you’ll hear Joe B. talk about it occasionally during games and stuff over the course of the year, but they’ll talk about how some guys will deal with winning and how some guys deal with losing. And I feel like I’ve heard Joe B. say a couple times that Nobody is effected more by a loss than you and Brooks Laich. Is that pretty accurate?
A - Maybe, yeah. Yeah. I think we’re definitely the types of guys who take it personally. You know you lose games during the regular season and you get over it. But when it’s in the playoffs – and it’s life or death – at least it feels like it to me, it’s not an easy thing.

Q - So game 7 finishes and everybody kind of… I’ve got to imagine that it was… It was very quiet in our parking garage leaving, I’ve gotta imagine for you guys it was even worse. What do you do to deal with it, though?
A - Well I said this yesterday, I don’t turn on a TV or read a newspaper. That’s for sure.

Q - So you kinda just hole up in the Mike Green apartment and kinda layed low for awhile?
A - Yeah, I think you need to. You really need to reflect on, not only about the playoffs, but the whole season. And you know, how far we’ve come. And you know, it’s obviously disappointing with the way things turned out, but you just take a step back… and really realize how quick we’ve become a good hockey team and you know, we want this so bad and I know everybody else wants this so bad. And it’s gonna happen, it just takes time.

Q - Hey let me ask you this. I saw where you said you’ve gone back and watched some of the games from the playoffs. And I don’t know if you watched all 7. I don’t know if you saw part of em.’ But like, when you go back and watch the games, what do you see when you go back and watch them?
A - As far as a team?

Q - Yeah just, I mean… People will point to a couple things and say you know what? We came out really flat in Game 5 and whether that’s attributed to the flight from hell getting back into DC… and being stuck in a plane until 6 in the morning, but coming out flat. Other games coming out and giving up goals early… When you go back and take a look at the games, do you see the system broke down? The system was right but guys didn’t execute? I mean, not to take anything away from Montreal, Halak played an unbelievable series and they did a really good job shutting things down…
A - No they did and that’s the thing too: I don’t think they got enough credit for how well they really played. You know, the thing is all season we were able to fight back and come back and score goals… and I really feel like it had nothing to do with our system. I feel like – I mentioned this yesterday – we were criticized all year about [lacking defense] and going into playoffs, you know, we thought we could score goals when we needed one. And it didn’t work out. We had never been in that position all season and it kinda flustered us. I think I watched Game 5, Game 6 and Game 7 and I felt like in Game 6 was our best game and we threw everything we could at them. And when that happens, you feel like You know, okay if we play like that next game, we’ll win. And we went for it and we played our hearts out, and it didn’t work. That was the frustrating part. Throughout the whole season we score goals and I think you change your mind frame going into playoffs, that you know, we need to be better defensively so maybe it takes away from our OHHHFENSE and it hurts us.

Q - I thought defensively, I thought you threw your body around pretty well. I thought when it came to… and I did hear you say you tried to focus a little bit more on being defensive minded. And I wouldn’t say it’s a criticism of you, I would just say it’s something that people say about you… where they think… obviously the points show that… you’re an offensive-minded – I wouldn’t even say “minded” defenseman. You’re an offensive talented defenseman. I mean, you score a ton of goals, you get a ton of assists. You’re out there on the powerplay… offense isn’t a problem. But defensively I thought you threw yourself around pretty well through the playoffs.
A - Well I think that’s one of the things I was concentrating on: playing solid and playing physical and blocking shots and doing the things that people say it takes to win a cup. You know… maybe my mind frame, you know I’m an offensive guy, I need to think Offense and I was thinking defense. And you know, in that sense, I take full responsibility for not doing my job. But I think at the end of the day, you just have to be yourself. You can’t be something you’re not. And you know, I’m not a stay-at-home defenseman. That’s not my job. My job is to get into the play and create and produce. And I didn’t do that this series.

Q - Do you feel like you tried maybe too much to be the defensive guy… that it does get into your head and prevent you from pinching at times or leading a rush at times?
A - Absolutely, absolutely. And with that being said, you don’t want to be the guy that jumps into the play and gets caught in playoffs. And with our team we’re so aggressive offensively, that if I do jump up I have to be the first guy back. And with playing Montreal, they’re a fast team and their transition game is good. And it was tough to get up there in the play.

Q - The crosschecking call in game 7, was that fair or did you think that was a little bit BS?
A - I thought it was a little BS. ::laughs:: I was, I don’t know if everybody else knows, I hardly pushed him. And he was about to get up and close the gap on me and give me a little push and he fell. I don’t know whether he lost his edge or was falling to begin with or what, but I was just trying to get an arm in the way so I could go to the puck.

Q - To me, going back and seeing that,… to me it didn’t look like you took the stick and went at him. It almost looked like your stick was coming up as he went down.
A - Yeah. And that’s what I didn’t understand. You know when you crosscheck somebody and you give em’ a whack. I felt like if anything, I was just trying to steer myself towards the puck, and you know, when he goes down like that, it’s at the discretion of the ref. But you can’t change anything now.

Q - Hey Mike, let me ask you this. When [newspapers and blogs] talk about… [you] not being able to score and it gets into your head and Halak gets into your head, is that a media thing? Or does it really start to frustrate you where it’s like how many shots are we going to have to put on this guy before – And by the way, they were going in earlier – what the hell is going on?
A - Yeah. Well, you know, I think the one thing with us is we relied so much on our powerplay all season. That’s how you win games at times. You score 1 or 2 powerplay goals and the other team doesn’t, and you win by a goal or two. And for us, the media was on us for the powerplay. And for whatever reason it wasn’t going… they shut down our top guys and their goalie played out standing. Really, he really did. You know, you have guys like Semin and Mike Knuble taking one timers in the slot that – I don’t even feel like we had those types of opportunities in the regular season and we’re getting them in playoffs – and this goalie is somehow stopping them when 9 out of 10 times they go in the net. We just had to adjust and we didn’t adjust quick enough.

Q - You know, they talk about adjustments and stuff. And we talked to George McPhee right after the series and he said that he felt like Boudreau had made adjustments, had gone over making adjustments with you guys, and you guys were doing that and it wasn’t going in. I mean – do you agree – did Boudreau try to make the necessary adjustments and it didn’t work?
A - Absolutely. You know, everyday, Bruce goes over gametape he analyzes everything and is really good at knowing what to do in situations like that. And we adjusted. We switched some roles around, you know with Ovie going up front and whatnot, and he was getting quality shots… and I mean… when Alex is limited to just one goal on the powerplay, it’s not a lack of effort. We all ::laughs in disbelief:: are trying to score and I feel like we got robbed a little bit with the goaltender. It was a bad time for us to run into a hot goaltender. That’s no excuse for our team. We need to be better but, um, it just sucks.

Q - Hey let me ask you this. You’re a professional athelete. You know how this works. The series ends and you know that people are going to go after people, do you feel like you, Semin and Fleichmann are being treated a little unfairly?
A - Well, if you look: Fleich had over 20 goals, Sasha had 40 and myself, we’re guys who are expected to produce. You know, when that doesn’t happen, that’s an easy target for the media. You know, you’re right. Being a professional athlete I’m used to this, but if we have to take the brunt of it, I’ll be responsible for my part and that’s that. You can’t worry too much about it but I’m definitely aware of what’s being said.

Q - Hey can I ask you something that goes back to the Olympics for a second? And I mean you’re from Calgary. You know what religion hockey is in that country. Is it – I don’t know if the word is frustrating, I don’t know if it’s a distraction – but there was a whole lead up to Team Canada announcing their team. Is it a bit surreal to know that literally an entire country is dissecting what you do every night?
A - ::laughs:: Yeah.

Q - I feel like – that wouldn’t get in the way but I mean, you know what that country’s like, that anytime it comes up, it was “How many defenseman are we going to take?” “Are we going to take Mike Green?” “Is he too offensive-minded to fit in?” And it’s literally an entire country, dissecting everything that you do. I just wonder if that gets distracting?
A - Well, yeah at times. You know, it’s something where you know as a player you feel like you can’t win. At the end of the day, you really can’t worry about it or care about what other people think about that. As far as the big picture and the way people feel and think in the media, I can’t win. You know, I try. ::depressingly laughs:: I try to be a complete player and with my role on this team, I’m really asked to be an offensive guy and create. You know, it’s tough to do both.

Q - And by the way, let me say that if that’s your job on this team, I feel like the job that they’ve assigned you I feel like you’ve done pretty damn well.
A - Well, I try. I really do. You know, I think they feel that way too that I’ve done a pretty good job. And the whole schemes of things of the media world in Canada… you know, Canada’s old school in the fact that the types of players that are liked and praised about are not necessarily just the OHHHFENSIVE types of guys. It’s different out there and I don’t fit into that category at times. And the thing is I feel like I’m more working towards being that complete player and have made a lot of strides from when I was younger. I still have that burden on me from the past.

Q - We talked about it this morning, we know that some guys are flying out and going to the World Championships. I know Brooks is going to play for Team Canada and we were talking about Ovechkin, Semin and Varlamov going to play with Russia, you are not going to play for Canada but that’s due to a hurt wrist, correct?
A - Yeah, I had an injury after we played Columbus at the end of the season. And it hadn’t gotten better and it still isn’t better. George felt that I needed to see a specialist and this isn’t a good time for me to go.

Q - So this isn’t going to be one of those lingering things… You’ll be able to take care of this in the offseason right?
A - Absolutely, absolutely. Yeah.

Q - Which gets me to, what are you going to do in the offseason?
A - Well, I’m going to go home and see my family and go back to Calgary and start training again and getting ready for next season.

Q - You’re allowed to have some fun during the offseason.You’ve earned that.
A - Hey, I have a nice place out in Calgary out on a lake so I’ll be alright.

Q - Are you going to go to the NHL Awards?
A - I am, yes.

Q - Good. You should win it this year, I feel like.
A - Well, we’ll see. We’ll see.