Photo credit: Scott Audette

Happy Valentine’s Day, hockey lovers! I hate this stupid day, but I found a good way to pass the time. The Washington Capitals served the Tampa Bay Lightning to some offense-go-boom and peppered it with all the careless defense that makes Caps hockey both fun and infuriating.

Troy Brouwer executed a lovely passing sequence on the game’s opening power play, but Martin St. Louis evened the score with a series of swats at Holtby’s pads. Eric Fehr scored his second goal in as many games by going straight to the net, and then made it three with a rocket from outside in the third period. Jay Beagle reintroduced himself with the dirtiest goal ever scored by a half-human/half-hound. Teddy Purcell got one back with a zero-angle shot that probably went off a Caps skater’s boot, and Nate Thompson made it darn close with a breakaway that Holtby misread. The Caps survived a late-minute panic and earned the win.

Caps beat Lightning 4-3.

• 

  Bow wow wow yippee yo yippee yay

  Eric Fehr is possessed. After notching his first goal last game, Fehr followed up with two tonight: one crash-the-net tally, one sniper shot, plus some PK duty to even it out. I think Fehr should get some time with the top-6 forwards, perhaps winging for Backstrom and Ovechkin. The guy has the same instincts that led Knuble to moar goal success a couple years ago, and that’d be a good complement for 19 and 8, who seem averse to going to the crease lately. Wouldn’t hurt for GMGM to sign him for another year or ten as well.
• Big three-point night for Mathieu Perreault and now I eat crow since I was critical of him earlier this season. Fantastic work on the point of the power play, and he was instrumental in setting up both Fehr goals. He’s got his French Canadian mojo working. Unlike the Swedish Mojo, who is very much not working right now.
• The Caps have D problems. Holtby shouldn’t have to stop untrafficked wristers from the slot or deal with sustained volleys while the skaters amble around figuring out how to mark a man. I’m not sure I have a clear understanding yet of the forward’s assignments in their own zone and I’m generally unhappy with a couple of Caps defenders. I made the case last week that the Caps are gonna improve dramatically when the team defense starts clicking. They ain’t there yet.
• Braden Holtby was so much better than his defenders tonight. He stopped point-blank shots by Stamkos and Purcell and kept the defense alive when the rest of the guys looked necrotic. Going out to attack Thompson’s breakaway was the wrong play (and will attract more annoying Hextall comparisons), but it was a good game overall.
• The Caps offense looks terrific. They outshot the Bolts at 5-on-5 through two periods and utterly dominated the game’s first ten minutes. The team is still missing some connections (Wolsi, Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Ribeiro each had golden chances snuffed). With some more chemistry and a little bit of luck, this team’s offense can stay productive even once their shooting percentage drops below one-in-five.
• The Capitals power play is just insane-o right now. 8 for the last 15. If Troy Brouwer didn’t sweep that shot in, the tweeple woulda been saying “too cute” and “too much passing”– maybe we’re just impatient.
• The Caps did not commit a penalty in the second period. That’s actually bullet worthy.
• The Lightning are currently in 29th place in puck possession when the score is close. They didn’t even attempt a shot until about 7 minutes into this game, and that’s a big reason why they’re struggling. After starting out the season with some hot shooting, they’re going through a serious cool down, and that’s great news for a Caps team trying to climb the division standings.
• Since 2011, Martin St. Louis has become a Caps killer. I positively hate him, but he is an amazing player — great along the walls, resilient despite his size, and smart enough to know when to go to the net. MSL was knocking at Braden’s back door all night. #hockeyporn
• Seriously, I’ve been waiting to use beagle.jpg since January 6th.

Best game yet? Best game yet.

Joe B suit of the night

Despite some defensive wobbliness, these Caps look so terrifically familiar. Shot total near 40? Hell yeah. The teams that win most are also the teams that win big. Thursday’s Caps were the latter, and they’re on their way to becoming the former.

Great goaltending, perfect special teams, impassioned offense. Even when the Caps went up a couple goals, they kept pressing a la boudreau. And here I was worrying that I’d have to make some sad Valentine’s Day metaphor where I’d quote my favorite song by Drive-By Truckers.

Yeah, Bruce Boudreau is blossoming all over in California, but the Capitals are not withering on the vine. This is a team in ascent. Three wins over division teams– scoring more than three goals in each. They’re no longer relying on sheer luck, instead they’re burying the other guy in pucks — because that’s what wins games. Committing fewer penalties and looking in control when they’re killing em off– all good news.

Now imagine what happens when they get their D together.

The Caps have taken six point from their last three games– all off of Southeast division teams. But now the training wheels are off. It’s Rangers and Devils next week. No goofing around.

Have a great weekend, everybody! Way to survive Valentine’s Day. Proud of ya.

Photo credit: Scott Audette

Welcome back, everybody! After 250+ days, we’ve finally got new Capitals hockey to watch and kinda enjoy. I say kinda because these Capitals, whom those not dissuaded by cliché might call the new-look Caps, didn’t have their act together on Saturday. Opening the season in Tampa, the Capitals had troubles with even-strength offense and all kinds of special-teams stuff.

Eric Brewer scored the first anti-Caps goal of the year with an outside shot that caught Holtby screened by his own defenders. Joel Ward tied it up with a first-period powerplay goal assisted by Tom “Iron Groin” Poti. That tie was shortlived, as Vincent Lecavalier exploited a defensive breakdown by Holtby & co. to score an easy one.

Joel Ward recorded a second goal to tie the game early in the second period, but Martin St. Louis restored the Tampa lead with a powerplay sweep-in a few minutes later. Wojtek Wolski ingratiated himself to Caps fans with a crucial four-on-four goal late in the second, knocking a rebound past Anders Lindbäck.

Martin St. Louis got his second of the night, a heartbreaking  shot from outside during a third-period 5 on 3. Cory Conacher scored the first goal of his career, also the night’s proverbial dagger, on a 3-on-1 breakaway. Ryan Malone scored on the powerplay to make it painfully obvious that the Caps were gonna lose.

Bolts beat Caps 6-3.

• The good news: Tom Poti, just now returned from extended injury, recorded an assist in his first game back in the bigs. Poti had limited service since Oates dressed seven defenders, but I’d say it was a successful outing for the guy, who last played NHL hockey against Tampa two seasons ago (Poti had the team’s best plus-minus that postseason, btw).
• The bad news: special teams, in general. The Caps had plenty of opportunities with a man-advantage, but converted on just one. On the other hand, they allowed Tampa to score three powerplay goals.
• After much discussion, Alex Ovechkin actually served on the penalty kill. I think this is a wretched idea. We need Ovechkin optimized, not comprimised. I agree he needs more ice time, but I want that ice time spent in the offensive zone. Ovi needs to take more faceoffs in the offensive zone during even-strength and see fewer circumstances that ask him to block shots with his goal-scoring bones.
• We now have anecdotal evidence that Joel Ward was not used effectively last season. In a modest amount of ice time, Ward record two goals, one-third of his 2011-2012 total. If Saturday was disappointing overall, Ward’s performance should give us some degree of hope.
• New guy Jack Hillen took a bad hit behind the net from Tampa creep Vincent Lecavalier. The hit reminded me of the Brian Campbell-Alex Ovechkin hit a few years ago that led to one fractured clavicle and one suspension. Here’s hoping Hillen fares better than Campbell.
• Braden Holtby fell to earth as we knew he would eventually. Holtby surrendered a goal on the first shot of the night and stopped just 9 of 12 at even strength. He needs to be better, but that’s true of the whole team. Delay panic.
• Alex Ovechkin got busted for embellishment in the second period, and I think it was the right call. Ovi has a bad habit of appealing to the refs with a bit too much melodrama. It’s one small piece of his game I’d rather see gone.
• On the other hand, the hard-hitting side of Alex Ovechkin will always be appreciated.
• Wojtek Wolksi made his presence known in his first game in a Capitals sweater. Wolski’s goal changed the complexion of the game, and his intermission interview introduced us to a thoughtful, articulate player. I really think some big top-six minutes will pay dividends.
• Martin St. Louis : Washington :: Knuble : Pittsburgh.

Joe B suit of the night

Game one of an abbreviated 48-game campaign is in the books. The lesson, in short: The Caps still have a lot of work to do. At even-strength, on the power play, while a man down, the Caps are not yet at the performance level we need them at. And considering this season is more of a sprint than a marathon, there is no shortage of motivation for them to get their acts together.

Adam Oates is a smart guy, and this is a talented hockey team. I think they’ll get it done. What do you think?

On a personal note, thanks for coming back to RMNB for another season of hockey jokes and more hockey jokes. I fully intend to write about games that are won, and those might be kinda funny. So stick with us. We’re in it together now.

Photo credit: Greg Fiume

This final game of the homestand, a division face-off between the Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning held the highest of stakes. A win would keep the Capitals competitive in the playoff race. A loss would make things bleak. How did it go down?

Well, Keith Aucoin scored the game’s first goal, a very lucky deflection off Karl Alzner’s shot. Ryan Malone evened it up with a power-play skate deflection. John Carlson delivered the own-goal for Purcell to give Tampa a lead going into the third.

With less than five minutes to go, Marcus Johansson nabbed a bad clear and beat the rookie goaltender. Tie game. Into overtime, which was OV time. Caps beat Bolts 3-2.

• Tomas Vokoun returned to play after a longish service by Neuvirth. Vokoun spent much of the game on his knees– scrambling for pucks that his team couldn’t clear. Despite the disadvantage, Vokoun was excellent through and through and had a perfect game at even strength.
• I sang Mathieu Perreault’s praises for a responsible shift last game. Tonight’s lazy high-sticking penalty was the exact opposite. Rather than move his feet… like at all.. Perry kept still as a statue and whacked a Bolt up high. Just a dumb move.
• The Capitals had very little offense in the second period and went almost 17 minutes without a shot on goal. That’s just mystifying. A loss in this game means the team’s postseason chances go from meh to nu-uh, and it seemed like Caps didn’t care through the that entire middle frame. At least they woke up in the third period.
• In the interest of fair coverage, the Lightning got just 3 shots on goal in the third. But they’re trap-playing fiends and we spit at them.
• Despite having only 3 shots in the second period, the Caps still reached 32 on the game. They’ve been under 30 just twice in the last 8 games.
• Mike Green sent an elbow into the head of Brett Connolly in the second. Connolly was vulnerable, he didn’t return to the game (CORRECTION: Yeah, he did.), the head was the principal point of contact, and Green has been suspended for this before. It’s a Shanahan superfecta. Suspension bets, anyone? I’m gonna say… 3 games– would have been more, but Connolly was hunched over.
• Ryan Malone‘s power play goal should be mortifying, but I’m not sure the Caps are capable of shame anymore. Malone was left utterly unchallenged up in Vokoun’s paint. A more aggressive penalty kill would have made this a shut out.
• Keith Aucoin has points in two straight games, but he was hardly involved in either. Tonight it was a lucky bounce that beat the goalie. It was the kind of “just put it on net and hope” goals that you see a lot in the AHL. Which is where he Aucoin should be. #FREEKNUBLE.
• Thank goodness for Alex Ovechkin and Dmitry Orlov. Those sneaky little Russians and their overtime winner kept this team’s hopes alive and gave me a newfound respect for humanity. BRB. I’m gonna go ahead and un-drown that bag full of kittens.
• That makes 12 OVOTGWGs (Ovechkin overtime game-winning goals).
• Featuring Tom Bosley as the voice of Martin St. Louis.

Are you guys coming to our party?!?!?! Saturday, April 7 at Front Page Arlington!

Joe B suit of the night

The Capitals of the second period… what can we even say? They were lazy and disorganized. They were disinterested– with Alex Semin skating laps around the Tampa net without ever mustering a shot on goal. They were dirty– both Wideman’s and Green’s hits were unacceptable (the latter much worse than the former). That’s not a team I want to write about. That’s not a team I want to be a fan of. (That’s not a preposition I want to end a sentence with.)

The Caps were down and out with twenty minutes left, but the kind of hockey they played in third was the kind that saves seasons and wins cups. This team isn’t quite ready for the Cup yet, but we know we can never count them out.

Still, the standings are sobering. It’ll be an uphill battle.

We’re scared, honestly. It’s a grave time in Caps town. It’ll be hard to cheer us up right –

Oh. Okay. That did it.

Doug Johnson writes for Puck Buddys. And because we have the microfilm in a safety deposit box somewhere, he writes for us as well. Follow @PuckBuddys or we start executing hostages.

The Pregame: Hey now; any you guys see that show on the teevees, “Doomsday Peppers” or something? You know, the one where seemingly pleasant enough, if overwhelmingly white people happily share their crackpot theories of why the world will end any minute now and how they’ll survive by stocking their compounds with bullets and pig dung? Good times.

Meanwhile we in America’s Hockey’s Capital are not so much having da good times of late. I’m thinking closer to the pig dung. Or better – remember those snobby nuclear scientists with their finger-waggling about nuclear Armageddon, bringing us down during the happy heydays of Ronald Reagan and “Family Ties” with their elitist Doomsday Clock? (Kiddies: go look it up while we drink our Metamucil.)

Yeah. Sitting here, looking at Thursday’s game and the remainder of the season, it feels like five minutes to midnight…with the clock ticking. And here’s us, without a stockpile.

Want more feel good snuggles?  Keep reading.

The Puck Drop

The team looks (and increasingly sounds) sullen as they simply have not been able to get their act together in their own zone. That, and we keep re-learning how apparently absolutely essential Nicky 19 was to smart offense, PP success, speed off the dot and, it seems, keeping our Captain in good humor and peak performance. And how much we miss Papa Arnott.

“Oh sure, that sounds like fun!” was how we responded to writing pregamers for our Ruskie overlords. “Heck, laud the Caps and laugh at our opponents – sign us up!” Well, it’s all fun and larfs while the rented magician and margaritas keep flowing, but when things dry up, well you begin to realize how tough times can get.

Who’s Hot, And Why We’re Not

Context is for the weak.

#1: Home again, home again. Jiggity jig, said the fat cow to the little fat pig. Right before they both got slaughtered. (Don’t bother correcting us, this is what we learned on the farm.)

Our five home-game run here was supposed to raise our spirits and our standings, and it’s done neither. In fact, it has arguably sunk them both. Worse than three losses at home in a row (don’t dare call it a streak) is two shutouts – at home – in a row. And against lesser teams! Except that, well, they clearly beat us those nights.

Still, numbers – 21-10-3, just about as good as any other good team – argue there’s still some Phone Booth Magic left. We’ve downed the Bolts before, we can do it again.

Obligatory.

#2: John Carter, White Courtesy Phone. OK straighter than straight men’s men, we see through you. This whole “John Carter” yakka-yakka movie? Totes just a chance for you to go oggle stupidly beautiful men while assuring yourselves you’re really just there for the action. Admit it and get over yourselves.

Speaking of, let’s just admit that Stamkos, St. Louis (of the pee-wee pedigree,) Lecavalier and Bergeron are total he-men on the ice this season. They really are. Yet this does not make us any less of a collection of he-men on the ice. What we’ve seen from Troy-Boy, Ovie, Sasha, Knubs and others recently provides proof. Where we want to see a little more muscle flexing is from Alzner, Carlson, Schultz, HAMRLIK, and a few others.

Guys, we know you got it. Just do it.

#3: Just Win, Boys. Just win. And Sasha, keep up your huggy ways.

The Zamboni

Eagle-eyed PuckBuddy Craig noticed that Thompson Creek Windows and Hadeed Carpets have both apparently pulled their ads from airing locally during the Rush Dimbaugh Program. We can’t imagine why!

While Thompson appears to have made the smart long-term investment in Smokin’ Al, Hadeed is showing a knack for picking today’s “It” boy just as he turns a little stale (we still love you Carly!) Still, both firms are showing remarkable acumen for, well, basically not wanting to pay for the Oxycodone shakes of a foul-mouthed vulgarian by pulling their financial backing from Limbaugh’s show.

Which basically ensures that we will now exclusively use Hadeed for our carpet cleaning, and will call Thompson Creek to replace our windows that don’t need replacing. We encourage Caps Nation to follow suit.

The Fallout: 7pm home game on Comcast. Watch it. Your humble PuckBuddys have to go to some lame neighborhood meeting on development and blahblahblah we’re asleep already. The Caps began this 5-game home stand with a win. We are confident they will end it with one. Stamkos be damned: here come the Caps! Take that to the bank or call my bookie.

By the way: Tampa still smells like butt.

Meme of the Night:

Sorry, Puck Buddys fans. The dudes skipped town last night and didn’t even leave a phone number. They could be in Marrakesh raising an army horde of bonsai kittens or playing Stratego with Sherpas in Tibet. We. Just. Do. Not. Know.

So yeah, the Capitals won that bout with the Penguins, but was that not one of the weirdest meetings between the two you’ve ever seen? Neither team seemed too interested in the whole “shooting” mechanic of hockey, and Matt Cooke didn’t even curl his evil mustache or malevolently pet his shaved cat once. With that humble 1-0 win, the first half of the Capitals’ season ended. It was a mess of a type we have not seen since Glen Hanlon’s reign.

But there are 41 pristine games ahead of us, starting with… [checks schedule] aw dammit! Tampa Bay Lightning woeugfbwieugwe

Tampa Bay Lightning Fun Facts

• We expected the Bolts to give the Caps a little chase for the SE lead. Instead, the Bolts are in 4th place– 8 points behind the also-struggling-but-not-nearly-so-bad Capitals. They’re atrocious on the road with a 6-15-3 record.
• Victor Hedman is the Dave Steckel of the Tampa Bay Lightning. His boarding hit on Sidney Crosby on January somethingth of 2011 ended Crosby’s season and beyond. Hedman is now nursing a concussion that he caused by boarding himself. It’s like raaaaaain on your wedding day.
• Tampa’s best player by a mile is still Steven Stamkos, who is rocking a league-best 29 goals. He’s head and shoulders above the rest of his team.
• Martin St. Louis is my giant of Lannister. 10 goals and 23 assists for a guy we make fun of a lot, but who is actually a terrific hockey player that we wish were wearing Caps red.
• But he’s not, so he’s short and weird.
• We don’t even have grudging respect for Steve Downie, whose continued employment in the NHL is embarrassing.
• Friday night will be just the Capitals’ second meeting with this Southeast Division rival. The first match was in early October, a shootout win. Alan May called the Caps “thick and proud” that night. What an odd fellow he is.
• Starting on Friday, the Caps and Bolts will meet 4 more times this season, 3 times in Tampa Bay. Have you ever been to Tampa? It’s like taking a shower in reverse. You come in clean, and then within 5 minutes you smell like you’ve been playing handball in a sauna.

Here’s the best part: You remember Dwayne “The Stain” Roloson? He was the old guy in the cage who stopped 123 of 133 shots (a modest .925 save percentage) to end the Caps’ post-season campaign. At the age of 42, Rolo appears to have hit the wall. In 21 games, he’s rocking an .880 Sv% and a GAA of 3.76. He is killing this team. Please please please let him be in net on Friday.

Evil coach Guy Boucher is not happy with his team’s work ethic of late. Check out what he told the Tampa Bay Times:

It’s like Alcoholics Anonymous. Until you say that you’re an alcoholic you can’t make the steps. Players maybe felt a sense of entitlement, so it’s good it’s internalized. Before they were being told but it wasn’t internalized. Now they realize where they are.

Weird. Contrast/compare with this infamous Bruce Boudreau’s quote, spoken about a similarly sucky squad:

If I have to teach them how to be tough … well then I don’t know how to do that.

Man, now I’m all sad again.

Okay, all better.

There are a couple good Lightning peeps on the Twitters that we got to know during the playoffs. If you’re looking for their side of the story, follow these guys:

• Raw Charge, an SB Nation blog
• Damian Cristodero, long-time coverage for the Tampa Bay Times newspaper
• Erik Elrendsson, beat reporter for the Tampa Tribune newspaper

The puck drops at 7 PM on CSN+. Yeah: Plus. Apparently the four remaining Wizards fans who miraculously survived the mass suicide called dibs on CSN proper.

The work week is over. Kick off your shoes, crack open a tallboy, and then rove through the city like a pack of wild dogs scavenging for a TV that actually gets CSN+.

Crash the net.

Guy Boucher plots to kill 007 (Photo credit: Scott Cunningham/Getty Image)

Craig Brownstein of PuckBuddys writes for Russian Machine. You shall follow them on Twitter.

Banging out preview for Monday night’s game against the Bolts required us to go through some repressed playoff memories. Bear with us for some much needed catharsis; we’re still fragile.

Late last April, we embarked on a grand tour of European capitals just as Game 5 with the filthy Rangers was wrapping up. We were glued to the Blackberry as our readied for take off. Just before wheels up, word came through that the Caps bested the Rags, 3-1. We began our adventure by causing quite the raucous in the first class cabin with fanboy squeals, high-fives, and RED streaks of Russian curses– guaranteeing a date with aviation authorities upon landing across the Atlantic.

We did a blazingly fast tour of Amsterdam and then four days in Paris. We entrusted the care of PuckBuddys with two close friends, Big Dave and Michele, who managed the zoo and posted on the first game of the Tampa series. That loss didn’t much dampen our enthusiasm since we were riding high in Paris, taking in the sights: The Arc, Le Tour Eiffel, Pere Lachaise, and a metric ton of cassoulet. April in Paris, indeed (Hi Ella!).

We got back to DC and back to business– playoff business. The next three games went no better for our Caps. We were so traumatized by the Bolts’ dominating play that even the Bin Laden take-down didn’t cheer us up. The Caps best hope to beat Tampa Bay would’ve required Seal Team 6 on the two top lines. The season ended and like many Caps fans, we were numb.

(Photo credit: no one takes credit for this photo)

But eventually we shook it off. Like the off-season, Saturday’s game with the Canes found us at Nellie’s full of hope.  We may have gotten carried away with the hope-y thing when one of our revelers hoisted a bucket of beer over his head as if it were Lord Stanley’s chalice. “We want the Cup!” he roared.  We left the bar with a bounce in our step and the taste of blood in our mouths: First, we want Tampa.

Steven Stamkos

The Bolts arrive at the Booth after a dominating win over the Canes in their season opener, but they followed that up by getting thrashed by the champion Boston Bruins 4-1. When we look at the Lightning roster we can’t help but feel repulsed by two familiar faces: noted miscreant Steve Downie and repeat offender Victor “The Headhunter” Hedman. Perhaps the only Bolt we like is 21 year-old blond beauty, forward Steven Stamkos. Why do we like Stamkos, you ask? We like him because he likes to pose shirtless a lot. [Note: Pretty soon you’ll stop asking]. We’ll hold our fire on Tampa’s Tom Pyatt, because when we talk Pyatt brothers, we’re all about Taylor Pyatt of the Coyotes. We’ll gush plenty about that doll baby ahead of the Phoenix game on November 21 (if we still have a job here by then).

Twin peaks villain

But it’s a duo of Bolts players we’ve have the most fun with: the diminutive Assistant Captain, Martin St. Louis, and his towering Quebecois teammate, Captain Vincent Lecavalier. We do our best over-the-top, French-Canadian accents (which sound neither French nor Canadian), and shout, “San-lou-EEE” and Le-Cavalee-YAY.”  And we follow that up with a round of throaty and all-too-stereotypical braying, “HAW, HAW, HAW!!!”

It’s all in good fun; we really like the Canadians. Their names sound like Twin Peaks villains. We also have fun with the Bolts bench boss, the very handsome and very scary, Guy “Scarface” Boucher. When we introduced the Bolts coach to our hocke- noob PuckBuddys audience, we issued this reminder on pronunciation: “Bou-CHE rhymes with Dou-CHE.”

Dwayne Roloson

We can’t preview the Bolts without a look at their number-one goalie. And when we say look, we mean a look at the historical record, the Pleistocene record. We aren’t sure exactly how old Dwayne “Actuarial-tables-say-I-won’t-survive-the-season” Roloson actually is. His true age will be determined when the carbon-dating analysis results get back from the lab, hopefully in time for our second match-up on January 13.

Until then, it’s work-work-work and a busy week ahead. We’ve got a Pens preview to draft, a trip with Slapshot to the manicurist for his annual talon sharpening, and a quick run to the jeweler for some emergency repair work. Don’t ask about that chore — suffice it to say that someone got their chain yanked Saturday night and we’ll leave it at that.

Photo credit: Greg Fiume

The hard part is over. Mathieu Perreault led the Capitals with five points in four preseason games and snatched the final roster spot from favorites Cody Eakin and Mattias Sjogren.

Last season he showed the ability to drive puck possession, finishing with the fourth best Corsi relative to the competition on the team, behind only Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Alexander Semin.

Consistency, however, was a bigger issue. He earned all fourteen of his points in just nine of his 35 games played and wasn’t able to claim a center spot that was up for grabs.

But it’s a new year, and with Boudreau giving Matty P some time up top with Ovechkin and Troy Brouwer– plus hinting he may center the second line, it’s now time to turn our attention to what we can expect from him in his third NHL season.

Using Perreault’s NHL stats to match him with players who had comparable production at the same age, we can then use the development of those peers to generate a projection for 2011-12. Stats are normalized to the 2010-11 season, so they can be compared on a level playing field despite being in different eras.

Although he is frequently compared to Tampa Bay Lightning forward Martin St. Louis because of his size, Perreault’s statistical peer group includes Joel Lundqvist, Milan Kraft, Patrick Thoresen, and even Patrick Sharp, among others. As you can see, the group is a decent match for Perreault’s sophomore season:

The development curve of these similar players show Perreault will get better in year three. The peer group saw more ice time, took more shots and increased their scoring by 47 percent, mostly by doubling their assist count.

That would make sense. Skating on one of the top two lines, which is most likely where Perreault will see a majority of his time, would make him more of a set-up man to one of the Russian snipers.

In games played, the projection is a bit more optimistic. It is doubtful Perreault suits up for half the season, but if he does, expect him to produce seven goals and 14 assists over 44 games. An improvement, but not enough to claim a full time role with a Cup-caliber team.

Balls. (Photo credit: Greg Fiume)

It’s been awhile since you’ve added a tally to your wins list, eh?

The Washington Capitals hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning to another night of hockey in the old Verizon Center barn. And it pretty much went just like the first one.

During a late first-period powerplay, Vincent Lecavalier deflated the crowd with a high dart to the back of the net. Brooks Laich crashed the net to tie it up, but Martin St. Louis’s deflection off Mike Green’s skate gave Tampa a 2-1 lead. With Neuvirth pulled, the Capitals fought the Battle of Roloson’s Crease to victory– with Captain Alex Ovechkin pitching in the puck from zero distance. In the biggest overtime of the season, the Caps started strong. But Teddy Purcell fed Vinny Lecavalier a puck right in front of Michal Neuvirth. Game over. Bolts beat Caps 3-2 (OT), but here’s the real kick in the teeth:

Bolts lead the series 2-0.

• The Capitals have their backs against the wall. They have lost both games at home, squandering whatever advantage the regular season created. These back-to-back games in Florida could not come with higher stakes.
• Regulation scoring chances tell the story: tied at 4 in the first, 8-0 Caps in the second, 2-5 in the third.
• You can’t win a hockey game if you miss on six power play opportunities. You can’t win a Stanley Cup if you miss on eleven. But that’s the count through two games in this series. Ovechkin is still on the point, still fetching pucks. Is that really how you want to use the best offensive weapon in the NHL?
• Shots? 37-23. The Lightning have been outshot in every game of the playoffs, but they keep on winning. A testament to Dwayne Roloson?
• Humbly, I submit no. Just like they did with Jaroslav Halak, the Capitals are sending the pucks right to where the goalie is. Rolo is not that fast laterally and not that strong up high. If a handful of shots went a few inches higher or wider, these games would be blowouts. Instead, the 86-year old looks like Mecha-Roy.
• Brooks Laich was the player most able to counter the Lightning’s defense. He generated 4 scoring chances, including his own goal.
• Meanwhile, Alex Ovechkin had one measly chance until that almost-pivotal tying goal.
• Tampa’s dwarven thunder, Martin St. Louis, had a two-point night (goal and assist). He also took a nasty high sticking (no call) that loosened the same teeth first sundered in the Pittsburgh series. Also, I wrote a song about him during the second intermission.
• Jeff Schultz was on-ice for every Tampa goal. He’s outmatched, out of position, and gangly beyond reason. How’s Dennis Wideman feeling?
• The second-period Capitals are composed and forceful. They suffocated the Bolts’ offense. But when they went a goal down midway through the third, they played like decapitated chickens.
• Was the OTGWG offsides? Put on your tin foil hats, rules lawyers, and get ready to make your appeal to the dungeon master.

There’s a bunch of dire stats about how often teams with 2-0 leads win series. You’ve probably seen them; we’re not gonna repeat them. Here’s the truth: the Caps need to take both games in Tampa or else they’re just prolonging the inevitable.

It looks grim. The Lightning’s victories have been thanks to strategic superiority, or at least a superior effort in sticking to the coach’s strategy. The Capitals stars disappear for long stretches.

But they’ve still got heroes on the ice. Check out those wizardly shifts by Boyd Gordon, Matt Bradley, and Marco Sturm. No players rendered Roloson dyspeptic better than the “energy” line. If the rest of the squad can play with the same offensive fervor that this trio has, there is still hope.

So here’s the party line: just come back to us, boys. Steal one or two games on the road, and come back to Washington in style. No one said the road to the Cup was gonna be easy, and now they need to prove their mettle. In Florida. Which is America’s dong.

Still believe. Go Caps. Eff terrorists.

Additional reporting by Ian Oland and Neil Greenberg.

Written and recorded between the 2nd and 3rd periods.

The game’s only goal. Whatever. (Photo credit: Alan Diaz)

The Capitals will face the Rangers -- who won 5-2 Saturday -- in the first round of the playoffs. (Photo credit: Jonathan Klein)

The game that impacted the Capitals the most Saturday night didn’t involve Washington at all. In fact, it took place 13 hours away from them in Raleigh, North Carolina.

With the New York Rangers beating the New Jersey Devils 5-2 on Saturday afternoon, the Carolina Hurricanes had to get the victory Saturday night to tie New York at 93 standings points. By virtue of holding the tie-breaker Carolina would pick-up the eighth and final playoff spot, getting themselves a date with the Caps.

Well, they didn’t. Carolina started lifeless and never fully awoke, with the Lightning ending the ‘Canes’ season with a 6-2 victory. Dominic Moore, Vincent Lecavalier, Steven Stamkos and Brett Clark scored for Tampa Bay while Simon Gagne and Martin St Louis added empty net goals for the Lightning. Cory Stillman and Chad LaRose scored in vain for the Hurricanes.

Joe B. Suit of the Night

Meanwhile in South Florida, Capitals and Panthers were equally as snooze-worthy. It took 54 minutes to net the contest’s opening tally when Bill Thomas snuck one past Michal Neuvirth at 13:55 of the third period. That was it. Cats beat Caps, 1-0.

No bullets, but we’ll leave you with one note. This was 11th time Washington has been blanked this season, the second highest total in franchise history.

Washington will open the postseason at home against the New York sometime in the middle of next week. The Caps are just 1-2-1 against the Rangers this season, with N.Y. handing D.C. 7-0 and 6-0 shutouts. Yelp! The NHL will announce the playoff schedule Sunday night.

16 wins to go. See you tomorrow.

For those who jumped on the bandwagon a little late, this is what happened the last time the Caps faced the Rangers in the playoffs. And yes, that is our very own Rachel Cohen holding the sign.

Caps fans are hoping she can jump for joy once more. Man, what a corny way to end the regular season.