Photo credit: Scott Levy

Okay, the subject line is a joke, but some people are being silly about Derek Stepan‘s game-winning goal last night. They’re saying it was Alex Ovechkin‘s fault– that his laziness on defense is a problem.

Here’s how it really went down.

After a long shift in the defensive zone, Marcus Johansson failed to clear the zone and pass to Alex Ovechkin, who was skating toward Lundqvist at center ice. A scramble for the puck ensued, and Stepan scored from the weak side. Ovechkin skated lazily towards Stepan as it happened.

Bad visual, but that’s all.

Deadspin’s headline for the play is Alexander Ovechkin Would Prefer Not To Play Defense because it fits cozily into a pernicious media narrative, but it’s not actually true. Recall if you will minutes earlier that same game when Ovechkin’s defensive backcheck was so enthusiastic it turns Martin Erat’s wrist into kindling.

Here’s the very first frame of the video of the play:

Ovechkin is hauling ass away from the play because he’s expecting a breakout pass so that he can enter the offensive zone on a rail and score the game-tying goal. He’s expecting competence from his linemates, which was the real tragic error here– not some dubious distaste for defense.

But that doesn’t stop media folks from using this an opportunity to lambast Alex Ovechkin for the same old thing. Media is a business– I get that, but let’s be honest: those writers and pundits are serving an agenda, not informing their audience.

Photo credit: Chris Gordon

Steve Oleksy played in 14 playoff games in professional hockey before tonight: with the Idaho Steelheads, the Lake Erie Monsters, and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. He had never played in an NHL postseason game, because, until March of this year, he was little more than an AHL role player.

Thursday though, he set up the game-winning goal in the Washington’s 3-1 victory over the New York Rangers to open up the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. And it was awesome.

Dat pass. (GIF by welshhockeyfan)

Seven minutes after Alex Ovechkin tied the game with — guess what — a power play goal in the second period, Oleksy scooped a loose puck in the defensive zone. In one slick move, Binky spun around and fired a beautiful 75 foot pass to Marcus Johansson, who was waiting at the far blueline. With a few strides and a wrist shot, the Caps had a 2-1 lead. Forty-six seconds later, it was 3-1.

24 minutes and 53 seconds after that, the home team held a 1-0 series lead.

“I was able to calm it down a little bit and get my head up,” Oleksy said after the game. “I waited an extra second to let him get going a little bit, allow him to get into stride.”

“He did a great job finding a lane there and giving me an opportunity to make that pass,” he added. I think they kinda lost him there for a second and he did a great job finding the spot. It allowed me a take a chance to make that pass. It was him that finished, he did a great job getting that shot away and scoring.

Since being called up as a relatively unknown dude from Hershey who likes to punch people in the face sometimes, Oleksy has become a pretty important player for the Caps, settling in to the team’s third pairing alongside Jack Hillen and getting a three-year contract with the organization. He only became a full-time AHL this year.

Steve’s been doing it all year,” Jason Chimera said of his play. “He’s been surprising a lot of people, but it’s not surprise to us.”

“It took a while for somebody to realize it,” added Karl Alzner. “It’s nice that they did figure out he could play. Obviously he’s stepping up the challenge right now. He’s got a good head on his shoulders. He’s a smart kid so he knows how to play — I shouldn’t say kid, he’s older than I am. He’s a smart guy.”

Video via @DCSportsBog

Oleksy also showed how tough he is too. Despite perpetually getting his face bloodied and bruised, Oleksy doesn’t miss shifts. Late in the second period Thursday, the defenseman took a shot to the jaw, crumbling to the ice in pain. He stayed on the bench and by the third was back on the ice. The dude has more guts than you, but after the game Oleksy downplayed the incident.

Screengrab by @dcsportsbog

“It’s part of the game,” he said. “It’s been a lot worse. I skated away pretty fast. I was excited. I figured I was in for about 20 stitches the way I cut.”

Photo credit: Greg Fiume

Oh god. Oh god. Oh. God.

I’m a bit wrapped up in the Washington Capitals this year. I thought I’d be cool, analyzing the game with the sober distance of an expert, but I’m not that at all. I’m a basket case, and I bet I’m not alone. It’s the gosh-darn playoffs, and the Caps are off to a hot start.

Washington bombarded NYR goalie Henrik Lundqvist in the first period, but the Rangers somehow got the early lead anyway. The Caps didn’t change their style though and responded with three goals in the second period. Holtby withstood an enfilade in the third and earned a wonderful game-one win.

Caps beat Rangers 3-1. Caps lead series 1-0. Boom!

• The Caps owned early. They peppered Henrik with shots and kept the Rangers without one of their own until darn near the 10-minute mark.
• After 14 or so minutes of Caps domination, the Rangers untilted the ice with a fruitless power play. Then Carl Hagelin locked up possession after a Caps icing and then used John Erskine‘s skate to put NYR on the scoreboard.
• Alex Ovechkin took the Capitals franchise lead in playoff goals with his second period power play scoar. Ovi sunk it after a deliberately wide shot made its way into his wheelhouse. Never let it be said Ovi doesn’t show up in the postseason. The man is a rock.
• Joe Beninati made a point of touting Martin Erat‘s playoff experience in Nashville, which is an odd thing to say this year as the only action Nashville is seeing right now is between Rayna and Deacon. Hell yeah, I watch that show.
• Marcus Johansson got the lead, beating Lundqvist after a sweet stretch pass from Steven Oleksy. Who was that blog all down on Marcus Johansson? Surely wasn’t us. Jokes aside: Unlike in January, Johansson is healthy and pulling his weight like a good little Swede.
• 46 clicks later, birthday boy Jason Chimera connected for goal number three. I predict a Jason Chimera goal pretty much every game, and recently I’ve been right more often. Of all Caps players, I think Chimera has the most Druce potential. Tell me I’m wrong
• Steve Oleksy did the rarely seen and even-more-rarely recommended cheek shot-block at the tail end of the second period. He went down to the ice like a pile of hot laundry, but came back out soon after because hockey. Because. Hockey.
• The Capitals’ power play yielded one very important goal, but for the most part it was uglier than Oleksy’s beat-up face. The Caps gave up mucho shorthanded chances, and if not for the wall-like qualities of Braden Holtby, this would’ve been baaaaaad. On the other hand, the usually disciplined Rangers surprisingly committed a big ol’ bucketload of penalties– giving the Caps plenty of chances to workshop those shorthanded chase-kills.
• Braden Holtby was nigh perfect. That goal against in the first period was a freak accident– a thing made purely out of happenstance. Every goalie is gonna give up a goal like that– a flukey cross-crease pass that bounces off a friendly skate. Holtby was unfazed by it and proceeded to stop 35 shots, many of them coming in furiously dense bunches– including a weird one with four minutes left that the boys in Toronto had to peep. He’s a pro. He’s a cucumber. Basically what I’m saying is this: 2013 Braden Holtby looks a lot like 2012 Braden Holtby, and there is no better news than that for Caps fans right now.

Joe B suit of the night

Uhh… HELL YEAH.

I had some anxiety about how the Caps would perform against a stout team like New York and after a billion day layover, but Alex Ovechkin set those anxieties at ease with that pretty PPG. But this wasn’t a star thing (except for the hairy guy in net); this was a team effort. Jason Chimera, Mathieu Perreault, Eric Fehr, and The Wagon all contributed to this win in significant ways.

As much fun as it would be to see a hat trick from Ovechkin or Nick Backstrom raking up points, a solid team win like this is even more encouraging for the rest of the series. If the Caps play as well as they did tonight, I think they can win all seven games!

Saturday morning (on *groan* NBC) will be big time stuff. Let’s all be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for moar net crashing.

p.s. I’m still not over Fred Weasley.

Photo credit: Patrick McDermott

Sooooooooo… I was wrong about the Capitals. And I’m sorry.

Early in the season, I waved away the Caps’ struggles, citing some strong puck possession numbers. But as those numbers eroded and the Caps kept losing, I hedged my bets. The Capitals were giving up too many penalties, performing poorly on the kill, and were not really tilting the ice. By the middle of February, I became wary. Cut to early March, when my last ounce of pollyannaish pluck was depleted. I said the Capitals weren’t headed for the playoffs, that their possession was debilitating, and that a turn of good luck wouldn’t be enough to turn their fortunes around.

I was wrong all over. My bad.

Photo credit: Patrick McDermott

So how did I get it wrong? How did the Capitals make the playoffs?

I’ll tell you right now that it’s not possession. The Capitals are still in the bottom third at even-strength shot attempts when the score is close, but then again Toronto made the playoffs too– and they’re the second worst team in the league at that same statistic. So maybe puck possession is a scam and geeks should turn their gaze elsewhere.

No, that’s not it. Puck possession is still the best predictor of future success we’ve got, but a shortened season has given those deterministic factors less time to take effect. Instead, we’re seeing a lot more statistical noise than we might’ve thought.

If you add up a team’s shooting percentage and save percentage, you can get a decent idea how statistical variance has lifted or sunk that team. We call it PDO, a meaningless acronym that is sort of a proxy for dumb luck. Halfway into the season, the Capitals were the ninth most unlucky team in league. Now they’re the ninth most lucky. I think that a good chunk of that improvement isn’t due solely to regression, but rather to an improved team defense that helped Braden Holtby play like a stud  again. Holtby, who has taken the lion’s share of starts this season, deserves oodles of credit for pulling his team out of a deep hole.

And then there’s Ovi.

The best statistical projections estimated that Alex Ovechkin would score 31 goals and 68 points this season. But that was for a full 82-game season. We’re not even done 48 games yet and Ovi has already tied that goal total. He’s done that by way of a few factors, but the fastest way to explain it is this: Adam Oates.

Oates rescued Ovi from the possession charybdis that is Mike Ribeiro and reunited him with setup man Nick Backstrom. Oates moved Ovi to the right wing, where he was forced to modify his stale tactics. Oates reformulated the power play, positioning Ovechkin as a one-touch goal machine. And, perhaps most importantly, Oates convinced Ovechkin to trust his linemates to carry the puck more, freeing him to focus on finishing rather than playmaking. As I said the other day, the Caps’ fortunes improved exactly when Ovechkin’s performance did. And while I repeatedly spoke aspirationally about this exact thing happening, I never relied on it to make predictions. For a player that so many people said had been “solved” and had grown predictable, Ovechkin’s greatest trick was becoming unpredictable again. Heh.

There’s a lot of other factors that I underestimated, but none more than Marcus Johansson. On February 4th, I wrote a lengthy item detailing Johansson’s wretched season, blithely unaware that he was suffering from a concussion. Soon after, Johansson was benched, and when he returned, he was changed. Sure, he had better linemates, but Mojo should be applauded for transforming from a lowly 38% possession player into one that is decisively driving play.

But that’s kind of true for everyone. Robert Vollman’s indispensible player usage charts help us visualize how the Caps went from meh to whoa. The bottom-right quadrant means sheltered deployments and top-left means tough, two-way play. Red bubbles means negative possession, and blue means driving play. The bigger the circle the more positive or negative those possession stats are.

Capitals Usage, March 9th

Capitals Usage, April 19th

It’s pretty much global improvement. Again, Johansson is transformed from a liability to an asset. Alex Ovechkin is both more optimized and more productive. Joey Crabb is gone. And the team’s reliable role players– Fehr, Perreault, Backstrom, Carlson, and Alzner– continue to hold the team together. (Ribeiro is still a problem at even strength, but you probably already knew that.)

This isn’t the story of the team’s captain singlehandedly hoisting his team on his back and carrying them into the postseason. Ovechkin absolutely led the effort, but Adam Oates tended to the whole garden.

But there’s one more factor– one more thing I was wrong about, and it’s the big one. Exactly one month ago, I looked at the Capital’s chances of making the post season and I was not enthused. I predicted they’d lose a big chunk of these final games, and I was super duper wrong.

That was certainly a surprise– but even that is not why the Capitals made the playoffs.

Here is why the Capitals made the playoffs:

I wrote that playoff story around game 32. The Carolina Hurricanes were already 7 games into a pronounced losing streak at that time, but Winnipeg was still a few days out from their own implosion. The Jets then lost five games in a row– opening a window for the Capitals to take the division title.

The Capitals turned their season around by themselves, but that herculean effort would have been meaningless without the unimaginable incompetence of the Southeast Division.

While I wasn’t the rainiest of rainclouds this season, I wasn’t a ray of sunshine. And I was wrong. Errr… kind of. Each time I filed one of these miserable and under-read stories about the Caps’ woes, I mentioned how they might turn it around– how they might pull out of the tailspin and soar again.

And soar is exactly what the Capitals did. I’m filled with gratitude that I was around to watch it. Bravo to Alex Ovechkin, who reclaimed his title as the world’s best hockey player. Bravo to Adam Oates, who enlightened his team with a professorial eye for detail. And bravo to George McPhee, who built the playoff team he said he would.

Now onto the playoffs.

Photo credit: Patrick McDermott

Looking to extend their season-high seven game win streak, the Washington Capitals hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night. In a match-up of possible first-round opponents, the Caps came off a shaky ending to their last win and played a game that was anything but against a tired Leafs team.

Jack Hillen scored (when doesn’t he?), Nicky got boarded, the Caps got mad, Erat got his first in red, the Brouwitzer a nice backhand shot was unleashed, Ovi had a scoar, and MoJo hacked one in. Caps smack Leafs 5-1.

• In a nice gesture, the Caps held a pregame moment of silence for the victims of yesterday’s bombing in Boston. There were long lines outside the arena as increased security slowed entrance into Verizon Center.
• Jack Hillen, man! The Minnesotan scored his third goal since his second son Knox was born just 10 days ago. The dude tallied just two goals during the entire year last season with Nashville. It’s been a remarkable stretch for Hillen, one which is certain to continue indefinitely.
• Jay McClement did a bad thing. Late in the first, the Toronto center boarded (though it went uncalled) blonde beauty Nicklas Backstrom. Nicky’s face slammed into the top of the Leafs bench while Ovi hugged McClement super hard to show how mad he was. In the final minute of the frame, not always mild-mannered Jason Chimera dropped the gloves with Nicky’s aggressor. Given what happened with Rene Bourque, you can understand why Washington didn’t approve of McClement actions on Backstrom.
• Congrats to Martin Erat on his first goal with the Capitals. The Czech winger crashed the net and made a sublime deflection on an Ovi shot from the circles. Craig Laughlin even named him the player of the game. “Why not give him a steak from the Palm?” Laughlin asked viewers.
• Nice game for Troy Brouwer, who continues his superb season. In addition to his forehand, backhand, five-hole undressing of Ben Scrivens, Brouwer also ringed a cannon of a shot off the post. He now has 17 goals in 42 games. He had 18 tallies in 82 games last year.
• It wouldn’t be a Caps game without an Alex Ovechkin goal. The Great Eight rocketed a one-timer from the circles for his league-leading 15th power play goal and — wait for it — league-leading 28th overall. Two points and five shots on the night for the Russian Machine. #OviforHart
• Braden Holtby‘s shoutout was ruined by a third period goal by Mikhail Grabovski. Luckily, the Caps didn’t do their whole let’s be completely awful at the end of games shtick.
• In fact, they actually scored a goal in the third (!) when Marcus Johansson knocked in a Mike Green shot that bounced off the end boards and into the crease. Ian was thrilled!
• Karl Alzner had five shots on goal and Steve Oleksy had four. They do not normally have that many shots on goal.

Joe B. Suit of the Night

Eight in a row! Granted, the streak will end sometime, but this team is bound for the playoffs and peaking at the right time. How’s that for a change?

The Caps will take on another plausible first-round opponent when they head to Ottawa on Thursday. Peter will be back with you and I’ll be on United Flight 897 to Beijing.

Stay safe, everybody.

Photo credit: Greg Fiume

This photo is smoldering with sex appeal. (Photo via welshhockeyfan)

A few weeks ago, Mike Ribeiro got in his first NHL fight– against Brad Marchand. It was a site to behold: the teams’ two tiniest players wildly throwing haymakers at — or maybe just near– each other. The bout was more cute than vicious, and on Thursday night we got another adorable dust-up a lot like it.

With a a minute left in the third period and the Caps clutching to a 2-1 lead, John Erskine shoved the living shit out of Eric Staal, just to let him know that he didn’t appreciate the Canes’ captain swinging his stick at him like he was Chris Davis or something. Staal pushed back, and then all 10 players on the ice converged in an sweaty swarm of hockey hate.

Photo credit: Evan Vucci

There were headlocks. There were punches. And then Marcus Johansson entered the fray, and it got even nastier. (I can’t believe I just typed that.) Johansson manhandled Jeff Skinner, who was teaming up with Jordan Staal to pick on John Carlson. Mojo isolated and retaliated.

Not so neutral now, eh? Wait, that’s Switzerland.

Johansson received two minutes for roughing and the respect of every Capitals fan in the world.

Watch yourself, Skinner!

Early Morning Skate: So, the last time we were here, we were there. Filthy Philadelphia, needing a solid road win, and feeling optimistic to start. In fact, we were all, like, yay here we gowhattheflipwasthat?! and c’mon Holtbeast get it together and then yay Groooouuubsie and boooo Max Talbot grrr grrrr and ow that traffic-cone orange makes my soul weep and that was pretty much the best summary of that ugly mess of a game I can imagine.

Mmmm…tastes like Cheez Whiz

What exactly was it that happened that terrible, cold February night at the F-U Center? Where, exactly, were manimal Troy Brouwer and Captain 8 (despite being probably the best in Red on the ice that night) and John “Towelie” Carlson and the Millionaire and his wife and the nameless rest? Certainly not there to play hard, or at least battle back through a tough start. And why was it, exactly, the Lord Supreme in His wisdom didst create that dung-heap of a burg to begin with?

Now this is our idea of a hot Fly team. Really.

You see, I’d like to chalk up that bumbling bungle of a game simply to our visiting the giant spirit suck that is Philly and its moronic fans. Like to, but cannot. Yeah, there were a couple fluky puck bounces and what-not, but those things give as much as they take. No, what we saw was a failure to launch by the Capitals after a dis-spiriting start. It was not, in any possible permutation of the concept, ‘good.’

The Puck Drop: But it’s Spring, and Easter (for some) or Maru (for others) or Passover or Nowruz or we’re just going to stop this now. Traditionally, it’s a time for rebirth and renewal and rejuvenation and reloading and all that. For the Capitals’ flock, it’s once more the race to the playoffs.

For several years now, the Capitals have demonstrated fine mettle in April, much like the pale gossamer jonquils besotting the landscape, if those jonquils were angry, snarling, forechecking, glass-smashing monsters made of steel and laser beams.

In short, there’s two ways this ends. One: we leave Filthydelphia redolent of Whiz, covered in soot and chagrin; or two, you can eat me Peter Laviolette. No wait, that’s a given. Oh yes; or two, we bounce outta Barftown and kick it into grinder gear for the coming match-ups against the Canes and ugly Islanders (revenge want now) and be the team that showed up to rub Winnipeg’s nose in its own dark, dark shame. I know which one I’m hoping for.

So let’s git ‘er done.

Who’s Hot and Who’s Snot

• Let’s just get this out of the way: what is it with you and first names, Flyers? Maxime? Jody? Zac? Zac?! Fine if you’re a British boy band, but Zac? Ugh, sign two players named Herp and Derp and you’ve got a full house.
• There’s an old adage that goes ‘What comes up must come down’, which is patently untrue if you are helium or the Blackhawks or Lindsay Lohan’s legal bills. We prefer ‘What goes down stays down,’ which we just made up but will use to prove our point. The Flyers haven’t so much been stumbling of late as they have been losing, while the Capitals overall (let’s not quibble, shall we?) have been demonstrating real hockeytude across the squad. The Flyers must therefore lose, QED.
• The Flyers do have some genuine stand-outs – Jakub Voracek and Claude Giroux and a Schenn or something – who can be good deal sealers. But like we saw in their recent outings with cross-town rivals the Pittsburgh Flightless Stenchbirds, the energy and kick appears bottled up in just a few players, while the Pens (and oh how I hate myself for saying this) work well together across the squad, and that was before getting Iggy. We were suffering from this dread condition earlier in the season, too, but have at least mitigated it. Which is better: a few star talents and a bunch of mugs, or a more even distribution of skill? Capitalism or soshulizms? Hmmm?
• I have it on good authority that Jesus would particularly like a Capitals win today.
• To be “fair and balanced” – ha! – it is true that the Crapitals have some players who feel a little like large leaden weights tied around our ankles while we’re trying to swim. Marcus Johansson appears to be skating with one eye scanning for the door. Jeff Schultz (who is probably among the most decent people around, so, sorry) might as well be eating Doritos out on the ice, and Mike Green…oof, where to start. I’ve seen more spunk among members of the Whitehills Senior Center’s “Jeopardy!” fan club. (If you’re reading, Mr. Trebek, I love your show!) Is this a “Tale of Two Teams” moment? “It was the best of times, it was the blurst of times.”
• Conventional wisdom – which is never wrong I’ll have you know – has it that Adam Oates has at least one more good year here to show progress before GMGM hits the ejector button, while Coach Laviolette – which actually means “smelly cheese” in French, look it up – has but a few more games. Oooh, everyone’s getting a little snippy, aren’t they? I wonder what could be on people’s minds. I wonder…
• Rough trade. Is what’s on people’s minds, I mean. You know, like the trade deadlines? What…what did you think I meant? Ohhh…and on Easter Sunday, of all days. Hmmph. Oh, one last thing:
• JINX! Jinxjinxjinx. Doublejinx! There, you silly nannies, for those who believe in ‘jinxes’ we’ve just double-finger-crossed the jinx spirits and you can put your delicate little heads to rest now about the PuckBuddys curse, OK?

The Late Line:

While intubated in the emergency room following the Hinckley assassination attempt, President Reagan scrawled a note to one of his nurses. Cribbing from W.C. Fields, it read “All in all, I’d rather be in Philadelphia.” It was touch-and-go, but he survived.

On the whole, I’d rather we not have to be in Philadelphia. There should be a law against having to travel there on a High Holy Day, or a birthday, or any day with a “y”. But here we are. At least Jaromir Jagr isn’t around anymore (tee hee.)

Flyers lead early, Caps battle back, 4-3, but close, kids.

Photo credit: Marianne Helm

The Southeast Division Farewell Tour kicked off with a battle between the Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets. The Capitals managed to continue their strong five-on-five play from Tuesday and convert it into two early goals. Big Buff and the Jets tried to mount a comeback, but the Caps stuck two more daggers in ‘em instead. And oh yeah: Braden Holtby had his fourth perfect game this year.

Caps beat Thrashers 4-0.

• I don’t want to tell you something you already know, but yeah: Braden Holtby rules. That is shutout number four on the year.
• Troy Brouwer kicked things off early with a goal well screened by returned hero Brooks Laich. I think Brooks might’ve gotten a piece of it, but I’m wrong about most things, so what is one more? Laich was great all over: driving play (plus-6 Corsi), screening goals, and threatening with some shorthanded chances.
• Steve Oleksy fought James Wright and it went a little something like this:

• I was gonna give Dustin Byfuglien credit for being Atlanta’s best player, but then he checked Mike Green into the boards after a whistle, so eff that noise. Mike Green is off limits, you guys. That goes for you too, Evander Kane, who gave Greenie a cheap shot in the final minute. We’re TPing their cars later, so let me know if you want us to pick you up in our Chinook. We gotta stop off at WaWa to pick up supplies first, so just text me.
• Regarding Mr. GreenLife52, he looked pretty solid in his first game back. He certainly wasn’t getting soft minutes (around 23 minutes), and though he didn’t join the O too much, he looked great when he did. Let’s hope he can stick around this time. He’s too good to lose so much of his career to injury.
• Gee, I sarcastically wonder if RMNB will have a post dedicated to that shift by Alex Ovechkin in second period where he unleashed a bunch of MonStar hits? Cause seriously– other than that, the second period was booooooring. And I say that as a fan of Downton Abbey and Infinite Jest.
• Speaking of Ovi, he was the agent of the Caps’s second goal– feeding Marcus Johansson at the back door. I made some crack about Johansson being lucky to have such a great passer setting up him, but on review it was clear that Mojo put himself in position, got his stick on the ice, and let Ovi know to hit him up. It’s a gift to be wrong about a player sometimes.
• I wrote a joke about the name of a Jets player, but then I deleted it for being borderline naughty. You can scan the roster and guess which one.
• The return of the DOG. Steve Oleksy scrambled for a puck behind the goal line, chipping it over the glass in the process. DOG, old friend. Good to see you again. Now go away forever. Srsly, there’s talk that the over-the-glass rule might get rewritten for next year.
• Alex Ovechkin twisted the dagger with a perfect power play goal from his favorite spot. In addition to being Ovi’s second point of the night, it was also Nicky Backstrom’s first primary assist on a PPG this season.
• Ack last-second  bullet: Nicky Backstrom got a sneaky one-timer from the high slot late in the third and yeah he’s great no time to check grammar.

Joe B suit of the night

That was a terrific performance by your Washington Capitals. I’ll leave it up to you decide if it’s due in part to the return of Orlov, Green, and Laich. And while I’m still not keen on counting standings points, there’s no reason to be cranky about the Caps tonight. Big win over a divisional opponent, three-point night from Captain Alex Ovechkin, healthy roster for the first time since the Taft administration.

The best news of all: they get it to do it again tomorrow. A strange artifact of the lockout-shortened season: the Caps will play the Thrashers again on Friday night, right after JMU beats up on the Hoosiers. See you there? Naturally.

Ovi is having one hell of a game. Check NBC for highlights later. Surely you’ll hear about it.

— RMNB (@russianmachine) March 22, 2013

Nineteen seconds, one goal. (Photo credit: Greg Fiume)

The Washington Capitals and Buffalo Sabres are neck-and-neck in a battle for playoff position. The Caps are just one point behind the Sabres as the lockout shortened regular season begins to come to a close. One problem, though: the spot they’re fighting for is 13th place in the Eastern Conference.

This season has been pretty abhorrent for fans in Buffalo and Washington. The Caps, however, still have time to salvage this year. Playing in hockey’s weakest division, the Caps came into Sunday’s game nine points out the the Southeast-leading Winnipeg Jets with 21 games left to play. But if Washington want to be playing hockey in May, that drive has to start now. Maybe it did. Thirty hours after the start of their deflating but fight filled 4-1 loss to the Boston Bruins, Washington showed no St. Patrick’s Day hangover (I’m sorry).

Caps beat Sabres 5-3.

Nineteen seconds into Sunday’s game, Alex Ovechkin unleashed a quick wrist shot off the draw. His goal from the slot was the fastest tally to start a game for the Caps this season, putting a some life into an otherwise late arriving and somewhat inebriated Verizon Center crowd. They went back to sleep during the rest the lazy first period.

Speaking of asleep, Braden Holtby was the next tally. Just 12 seconds into the second frame, Holts let in a weak marker from Cody Hodgson from the circles. We’ll forgive him because he’s pretty good sometimes.

A little less than five minutes after Buffalo’s goal, the Caps pulled ahead once again. With the Sabres Tyler Myers in the box for holding, Troy Brouwer fired a shot past Ryan Miller. The marker was set up by a delicious pass from behind the goal line by Mike Ribeiro. Ribz backhanded it through the legs off a Buffalo defender to Brouwer, who was waiting at the hashmarks. It was pretty.

A few minutes later, it was Jason Chimera‘s turn. Yes, Jason freaking Chimera! Chimmer snapped a 486 year — err – 27 game goalless streak with his tally. Logically, this means Peter was entirely at fault for the dearth goals from #25. He should stay at that Drive By Truckers concert where he belongs. Forever. Seriously, Peter, don’t leave Rams Head. Not if you care about our oft-screaming bald brother.

Anyway, less than a minute after Chimera’s first of the century, another player who has struggled this season got on the board. Marcus Johansson executed an expert poke of the puck while Miller was playing beached whale, putting the Caps up 4-1.

The goal crazy second period continued when Washington’s defense completely disappeared for a play, leaving Buffalo’s Brian Flynn wide open in front of the crease as if he had an infectious disease. Flynn took the pass out of the corner from Marcus Foligno and popped it past Holtby. 4-2 after two.

The third period got off to a slow start, in that it didn’t start. With some of the lights out at Verizon Center, the beginning of the period was delayed for a few minutes. Despite the outage, the game finally got going again — albeit with a yellower hue.

Joe B. Suit of the Night

With the lights finally came back to full power, Buffalo got within one when Hodgson put a rebound off Holtby’s left pad right back where it came from for his second goal of the game.

In the waining minutes of the game, Mathieu Perreault got on the board with a beautiful goal that would make Ovechkin jealous — all alone and with a lot of weaving. Wings for everybody and two standings points!

The Caps have a lot of ground to make up and just six weeks to do it. I still don’t think they can make the playoffs. If they do, Washington is going to have put together performances like this against teams that don’t come into the game in 13th place. On that high note, Peter will be back with you Tuesday when the Caps head to big bad Pittsburgh!

Photo credit: Brian Babineau

The Boston Bruins are the best team in the East. I think they’re the East’s best chance at winning the Cup this year, but that doesn’t mean I’m rooting for them or that I didn’t want the Washington Capitals to crush them on Saturday afternoon. That didn’t happen though. The Caps struggled on defense, and their offense needed help to get the puck behind Anton Khudobin. The game got a little wild in the second and third periods, which is just how the Bruins like it.

Bruins beat Caps 4-1.

• I’m not sure who should catch the blame on the Nathan Horton goal. Matt Hendricks goofed on a dump-in, but Troy Brouwer‘s deflection gave Lucic the opportunity to pass it up the slot. And of course no one marked Horton at all. Horton had a clean one-timer from high in the slot, and he absolutely nailed it. David Krecji followed it up by sinking a loose puck. It was a bad way to cap off a pretty tight first period.
• So maybe next year the Capitals should put together an NHL-quality blueline. Jack Hillen and his unenthusiastic D was responsible for Krecji’s goal — perhaps expected after he sat so long on the shelf. Steve Oleksy was on-ice for both first period goals and Ference’s tally in the second.
• Marcus Johansson opened up the second period with a casual pass from behind Boston’s net. The puck was deflected through the slot by a Boston player and then deflected into the net by David Krecji‘s skate. lulz. That was Marcus Johansson’s second goal on the season (13 games played) and also the closing arguments of any essay about why puck possession is more important that goals when predicting future success.
• That wasn’t totally fair. Johansson really was the Caps’ best forward. He had 4 shots and possession score in the black (plus-7 Corsi, unlike most of his teammates). I’ve still got my eye on him, but even if his goal was unearned he absolutely deserves credit for a great game.
• Basically counts as a shutout for Anton Khudobin as far as I’m concerned. Tell me I’m wrong.
• Andrew Ference scored as four-on-four play expired with a wristshot that was not adequately covered by the Washington D (stop me if you’re detecting a theme).
• The Capitals– or really just Matt Hendricks– kinda got suckered into playing Bruins-style puck. Lots of scrums after the whistle, troll-y provocation, and ding-a-ling measuring going on. That doesn’t really seem to be a good fit for the Caps roster.
• But the Caps roster doesn’t seem to fit anything. Case in point: Aaron Volpatti, a waiver-signing who one week later finds himself skating with Ovechkin and Backstrom for portions of Saturday’s game. Volpatti got a sweater instead of Perreault and Wolski for reasons mysterious and got a spot on the top line because he has the correct dominant hand. Oates seems to summarily eliminate wingers from top-line eligibility for such a reason, regardless of how much they (and really we’re just talking about Eric Fehr) can drive play.
• Ian was so bored by this game that he read the CBA. It was that bad.
• Alright, let’s try to unpack the end of the second period. Alex Ovechkin gave Brad “Cupcake” Marchand some grief, but somehow Mike Ribeiro got pulled into a fight. A noble enterprise by Ribs, but maybe unwise considering he weights 110 pounds and had never been in an NHL fight before. Matt Hendricks was so moved by the bout (or pissed that it happened) that he attacked Nathan Horton. Hendy got the best of him there, though Horton did earn a Gordie Howe for his blood.
• Hendricks had to choose between Thornton and McQuaid for another fight in the third period. Hendy chose McQuaid, tearing his jersey and bloodying his hand. Thornton drew an unsportsmanlike for his role in the run-up. The Caps did nothing with the resulting power play.
• Jason Chimera? Hahaha no.
• The Bs needed all of 8 seconds to convert a third period power play (Hillen for slashing). The Caps PK is rotten, but no one seems willing to take out the trash.
• Usually the team behind in the score starts shooting more to try to come back. That didn’t happen. The Caps, who rank in the bottom 10 in possession while trailing, actually saw their offense decline. Mind-bottling.

Joe B suit of the night

The Bruins are a better team than the Caps right now. It hurts to say it, but it’s true by every measure. The only virtue in games like this is what lessons the team takes away. Hopefully, that means acuity in the dangers of signing and playing sub-NHL defenders, the continued and desperate need for linemates for Ovechkin who actually drive play, and the futility of playing the goon game against a goon team.

At least the Caps get to feed at the trough of Buffalo tomorrow. That team is scorched earth.

I think tonight is when everyone celebrates St. Patrick’s Day. Please be safe. The Capitals’ Mike Vogel called this holiday “Amateur Night,” and he ‘s totally right. Try to avoid the dummies and be careful on the roads. Make sure you’re here for tomorrow night’s game at home.