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

Photo credit: allhockey.ru

Over the last week, CSKA general manager and former Capital Sergei Fedorov has been a busy man, signing Ilya Bryzgalov, Pavel Datsyuk, and Mikhail Grabovski to lockout contracts. CSKA’s roster, which also includes former KHL MVP Alex Radulov, is much like the New York Yankees: they are rich, and they sign the best players.

Coming into Thursday’s game with Evgeny Kuznetsov‘s Traktor Cheylabinsk, it was obvious who the favorites were. But thanks to a stunning goal by Andrey Popov in the final minutes and a meltdown by Radulov, Traktor prevailed 4-3.

Highlights below.

We start with the game tied 3-3. Anton Glinkin skates behind the net, blindly passing to Popov in the crease. Popov turns his body and sends the puck home off his backhand. How in the world?

A few minutes later as CSKA tried to tie before the end of regulation, Traktor enforcer Andrey Vasilchenko shoved Radulov after a stoppage in play. You do not touch the Rads. Disdainful Radulov threw punches and shouted obscenities at the Traktor defenseman.

While both players seemed to deserve matching minors for roughing, the officials sure didn’t see it that way, only whistling Radulov for slashing. And that’s when Rads lost it.

For shoving the official, Radulov was immediately kicked out of the game and given two misconduct penalties. He finished with 34 PIMs.

Before you judge Radulov, it’s not like he has a history of this kind of behavior.

Oh, right.

Mathieu Perreault is the bright spot in this tough loss. (Photo credit: Mitchell Layton)

Colton Orr helps D.J. King with some facial redecoration. (Photo credit: Mitchell Layton)

Former Caps coach Ron Wilson brought his Toronto Maple Leafs to town looking for some redemption in their beleaguered season. The Washington Capitals meanwhile searched for the first win in their so-far unsuccessful extended home stand and switched up their roster to handle injuries from Sloan, Erskine, Steckel. With Hershey hotshot Mathieu Perreault (hereafter Matthew Perot) pinching in, it looked for a while like the goal-crazy Caps of seasons past had returned. But they leaned back in the third period, and… well, I don’t really have the heart to tell you.

Matty got on the big board on his first shift– less than three minutes into the game, deflecting a wrister off Tom Poti from the paint. Clarke MacArthur responded by shaking off John Carlson and teasing Neuvirth with a pause. It took two swings for Mike Knuble to earn a powerplay goal, the 249th of his career, and regain the lead. Perry struck back from the circles after waiting for a screen. Alex Ovechkin scored a whizzer of a wristshot to give the Caps an insurmountable 4-1 lead. Well, sorta. Mikhail Grabovksi, Tim Brent, and Clarke MacArthur each found their chances to exploit the snoozing home team, evening it up in the final 90 seconds. Overtime came and went. The shootout proved to be Mikhail Grabovski’s shining moment– as a spinarama escaped Michael Neuvirth’s pads. Leafs beat Caps 5-4 (SO).

• Let’s start on a high note. Mathieu Perreault is the very model of a modern second line center. Yeah, he’s teensy, but he’s also a rambunctious little puppy on the puck. Put together with Brooks Laich and Alex Semin, that second line becomes a volatile combo. Perry’s pair of goals should earn him an extended stay on someone’s couch in the region.
• Jeff Schultz caught a puck with his thumb. The fracture will keep him out past Christmas. Scott Hannon: game on.
• John Carlson fell far short of his nicknames tonight. He was on the ice for three Leafs goal and primarily responsible for at least one.
• Returned from a nagging crotch injury, Tom Poti distinguished himself with some offensive production. Poti had three assists, but might have been caught yawning on that final tying goal.
• D.J. King fought Colton Orr. Orr was antagonizing Ovi, so this fight actually had something to do with the game. We’re not gonna be jerks about it. Thanks, Deej!
• Check out Mikhail Grabovski‘s shootout goal. If you’re gonna get beat, get beat by a play this sweet.

• Alex Ovechkin rarely converts on those outside wristers, but he made it happen tonight. And that’s good thing since his standard moves between the circles are now routinely met by pokechecks from the other team. Is Ovi becoming cliché?

The Capitals blew a monster lead in the third period because they stopped moving their feet, they stopped attacking in neutral, they stopped giving a hoot. The defensive reads were off, and the Leafs had enough heart to make the Capitals pay for their carelessness. What should have been a return to form for the boys in red became a sobering lesson in workmanship.

Joe B's suit of the night

We are now 75% through the longest home stand of the Washington season. The Caps have lost all of those games so far. There are no hyperopic refs to blame to blunt the blow tonight. This one is all on the boys, and that totally sucks. With a parade of injuries weighing them down, a faltering offense and a seeming inability to play a full sixty minute hockey game, the Caps have a lot of problems to work out. Here’s a little motivation: just a couple hundred miles up the way, the Pittsburgh Penguins have just won ten in a row.

Make it happen, guys.