Photo credit: Patrick McDermott

The Washington Capitals emerged from the trade deadline a more dangerous team. Facing the New York Islanders in a pivotal game, they didn’t muster much offense, but they mustered enough.

A sleepy start allowed the Caps an early lead, but the Isles surged in the third and tied it up in the waning minutes. Thanks to some superior work in the Holtbestiary, the Caps made it to OT and all the way to the shootout.

SHOOTOUT MADNESS, HERE WE GO: Hendricks failed to paralyze. Nielsen couldn’t find the five hole. Ovechkin scored backhand. Boyes deked Holtby but lost the puck. Ribs got poked. Tavares denied. CAPS WIN! TAKE THE SOUTHEAST DIVISION LEAD!

Caps beat Islanders 2-1 (Shootout)

Bullets coming… but first…

Welcome back, Enrique. BAILAMOS, PEOPLE!

When you write the recaps, you can put a Nats meme in.

• The first period was pretty darn sleepy until the final minute, when Mike Green beat Evgeni Nabokov to secure his fifth goal in four games.  What’s different about Mike Green lately? Shot volume. Of course I say that, but he scored on his first shot of the game tonight. Whatever.
• Hey, what if everything I’ve ever said about the Caps is wrong? What if coaching and systems and age and defensive adjustments were just the factors that claimed credit or took the blame when the real problem was just Green, Backstrom, and Ovechkin not being truly healthy? I still kinda doubt it, but seeing Nick Backstrom set up Green for that goal was a flashback to 2008 for me, and 2008 was a damn good year. For me at least. How was it for you?
• So Brooks Laich went down at the beginning of the second period and everyone got a serious case of teh feels. The puck seemed to hit Brooks in the ankle, forcing him to crawl to the bench. Laich retreated to the locker room, and then came out a few minutes later as if nothing happened. Laich didn’t play in the last ten minutes of regulation.
• Making his dramatic return to the red #10 uniform, Matt Bradley put in a stirring perf— wait what? Okay, who is Martin Erat and why didn’t anyone tell me? Like I said on deadline day, Erat is a solid player who consistently drives play and eats tough minutes, He should be able to do great things with the top line when he inevitably gets promoted. While I wish we had a clearer view of the team’s long-term strategy, having more top-end talent on the team is terrific.
• Big props to Jack Hillen for completely shutting down John Tavares tonight. Tavares had one shot on goal and no significant possession tilt.
• Matt Hendricks caught a roughing penalty for sticking up for Fehr, who was being accosted by four Islanders during a post-whistle scrum. I guess refs have to punish stuff like that, but pretty much everyone watching thought it was awesome. Like that time Martin Erat jumped into Alex Ovechkin’s fight in that blowout loss to the Lightning a few years ago. Wait what?
• The Caps didn’t seem to feel any stirring compulsion so the shoot the puck tonight, but then again, neither did the Isles. The game was kind of weird like that: lots of 5 on 5, not a lot of whistles, goaltenders filling their bottles with Four Loko to stay awake.
• RIP Alex Ovechin‘s scoring streak. Ovi still attempted a good bit on Thursday, but didn’t find the net nearly enough to score. Two shots on goal. You know what: screw it. We’re houseruling him a goal for that shootout tally.
• Mike Ribeiro was the Caps’ worst player with a staggering minus-10 differential on non-blocked shots. Not so hot when he isn’t scoring on every fourth shot.
• The Caps almost got hosed on a nonsense delay-of-game penalty. Green’s chip clearly hit the glass, but the refs would have none of it. The Caps killed the penalty and survived to OT.

Joe B suit of the night

The Capitals are the best in the Southeast, and they freaking know it. Braden Holtby had to block some serious rubber to secure this win, but he did it.

So I didn’t see this coming. The Caps have certainly earned this, and I hate to be a wet blanket, but look at the division. The Jets have (or are about to) lose five in a row. The Canes just got blown out. The division is weak, and after this year it evaporates. Next year is gonna be a gauntlet.

Oh who cares. It’s freaking April.

Yeah, you’re right, italics. The deadline has passed and we need to keep ourselves ensconced in the present tense, where the Caps lead their division and everything is right in the world.

Crash the net.

Back when we started this whole hockey-blogging folly, Twitter ran on steam and Internet video was reserved for senators and people who owned horses. Now it’s 2013, and my very funny friend Steven Freitas is livevlogging entire hockey games from his sweet-ass seats in Verizon Center. Using Vine, an app that grabs and publishes video in 6-second snippets, Freitas shared his POV of the Washington Capital’s tragic 3-2 loss to the New York Islanders.

It’s a totally novel and immersive way to share experiences, and if that is too buzzwordy for you, buckle up, because Vine is going to be shifting paradigms and leveraging user-generated content to create new vectors for lean-back, two-screen experiences. Yeah. I just did that.

Seriously: these videos are pretty cool, and while it’s a shame they come from a loss, I think you should check it out. It’ll only take you 42 seconds, but it’s a bit resource-intensive. And oh yeah: follow @SteveFreitas!

Anthem, “O!”, and “Red!”

Laich Hit Into the Boards

Brouwer Dumped Along the Boards

Goal Celebration

Aaaaaalmost

Unleashing the Fury

And Goodbye

There’s a lot more on Steve’s timeline, so go check it out.

Photo credit: Patrick McDermott

As the Washington Capitals returned home to face the New York Islanders, they were likely pondering the 6 points out of a total 8 they earned on their recent road trip. That pondering may have led to some absent-minded play in the first period, but the Caps recovered in the second to put forward one of their strongest possession games of the season. But possession was exactly what Mike Green didn’t have when his goof-up allowed the GWG for John Tavares.

Islanders beat Caps 3-2.

• The Islanders grabbed an early lead off goals by Michael Grabner and Josh Bailey. Both of those goals were due to some hard work by the Isles along the boards– plainly outworking the Caps. The Islanders took Verizon Center out of the game early, a palpable blow to a big homecoming game.
• In general, the Capitals aren’t a strong possession team when they’re behind on the scoreboard. Tonight was different. The second period Caps worked their way back, establishing a plus-11 even-strength shot attempt differential after 40 minutes. And, oh yeah, two goals.
• The first came from Mike Ribeiro, who doesn’t shoot until he sees the whites of the goalie’s eyes. Ribs caught a really smart pass from Troy Brouwer that created space and speed for the scorer. Ribeiro is scoring on more than a quarter of his shots on goal, which is laudable. No player has a bigger incentive to win games right now than he, so it makes sense.
• The second goal was a (possibly tipped) shot by John Carlson, who was moving laterally along the blue line like Oleksy is so wont to do. Yeah, Oleksy appears to be rubbing off on the tactics of others. Is that more awesome or weird? I can’t tell.
• Al Koken says “Literally!” more than Chris Traeger.
• Dmitry Orlov does not shoot enough. He’s been on the ice for over 75 minutes this season and has put just one puck on the net. Deliberately wide shots have their time and place, but Orly can make a real career for himself if he makes like Carlson and takes Oleksy’s lead: shoot early and often!
• The Capitals expertly killed Matt Hendricks‘ interference penalty in the third. As Hendy escaped the box, he drew a penalty from the Isles. A good turnaround of fortune, but the ensuring power play was shotless– despite some Ovechkin solo heroics.
• Late in the third, Mike Green lost track of the puck between his skates. Matt Moulson got that loose puck to John Tavares, who transmogrified it into the game-winner.
• Alex Ovechkin‘s point streak hits 6 games. His 32 on the season is more than Mike Milbury got in all but his two best years– when he played 70-80 games.

Joe B suit of the night

That was disappointing. Rough start, big comeback, and then one innocent goof costs the Caps the game. That was a very valuable pair of points the Caps let go. When the final standings show a margin of one or two points, remember how they bobbled off the blades of Mike Green back in late March. And then reach for an adult beverage.

But don’t get down on the Caps though– this was a well-played game lost by a slim margin. That’s hockey, the sport we usually love but tonight we hate.

P.S. Joe B and Locker in plaid over there sorta has an “early days of Monday Night Football” vibe to it, right? Only thing missing is, well, fedoras, scotch, and seething misogyny.

Totally not a picture of Grubauer btw. (Photo credit: Bruce Bennett)

The Washington Capitals had a great chance to jump up the Southeast Division in Saturday’s game at the New York Islanders. For awhile it looked like the Caps could do it, but then two rotten, late-game penalties by Mike Ribeiro and Jeff Schultz put it out of reach. A great opportunity, squandered.

Isles beat Caps 5-2.

• I still suspect that neutral-ice possession is intended to be the centerpiece of the Adam Oates system, but turnovers — like the one Alex Ovechkin surrendered leading to the Isles’ second goal — seemed to be all the rage on Saturday afternoon. The Islanders were surprisingly feisty in neutral and on the forecheck, which revealed how shaky the Caps really are setting up their offense. Miles to go before the Caps sleep.
• The Islanders really do have some talent on their team. It makes you wonder what they could do if their ownership weren’t a joke.
• John Erskine skated two shifts worth 1:18 in the first period before the leaving the ice with an upper-body injury. That left the Caps with 5 D for the bulk of the game, putting increased pressure on guys like…
• Steve Oleksy, who had another hard-hitting game. I don’t know if he’s actually contributing to the game events that correlate to winning, but I enjoy watching him do his thing. For example, if two Islanders lay a simultaneous hit on him, and they’re the only guys who fall down, that’s good times.
• Mathieu Perreault continues an impressive season. He’s not scoring on every fourth shot like last year, but he’s still a very strong shooter with good numbers underneath (though he is sheltered in his deployments). Perry’s line was the best today, creating all the best swarms around Nabokov’s net.
• Nicky Backstrom has been eerily quiet this season– with just two goals before today, and both at home. His tying goal in the third period– a blistering one-timer capping off a tight passing sequence– was his way of reintroducing himself to the league’s goalies. It’d be great to see like 10-15 more like that before the season is out.
• Philipp Grubauer earns a big stinking L in his first NHL start. He did face a ton of shots, but he performed pretty much exactly where you’d expect a replacement player to be– roundabouts .886 save percentage. File under not ready for primetime.
• Jason Chimera is not gonna score if he is forever cycling behind the net. I think he needs some tactical adjustments to shake the slump.
• Mike Ribeiro has been rehabilitating his reputation as a hothead this year. That campaign is on a backslide recently, as Ribs’ third-period unsportmanlike + high-sticking double-minor penalty cost the Capitals this game. I count three penalties assessed to Mike for mouthing off so far this season, which is also three too many.
• That goes for Jeff Schultz as well. The Giraffe’s high-sticking call immediately followed Ribs’ and made a win impossible for DC. John Tavares scored (his second of the day) on the first half of that penalty. The refs missed that goal– causing the Caps to have to serve two more minutes shorthanded before the call was reversed. That PK time was added back to the clock, and a weary Caps team had to keep working.
• Nothing kills a late-game rally like a prompt shorthanded goal. Guhh. So this game sucked.

Joe B suit of the night

The Capitals are gonna have to shake this one off. They have to get over the slow start, the dumb penalties, the bad attitude. Not to mention the stench of Long Island in general.

Caps at Rangers tomorrow at noon thirty. Gird your loins, Caps fans. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a pair of milestones: Alex Ovechkin’s 700th career point and Jason Chimera’s first goal since the late 80s.

Have a good Saturday, y’all.

Photo credit: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

[Ed note: PuckBuddy, and hockey's own Hemingway, Jason Rogers, is back to praise where it's earned and taunt where it's needed. Tweeter him now.]

Morning Skate: Don’t look now, but the Caps have won five of their last six, and eight of eleven over the last month. The good guys from DC sit within spitting distance of – dare I say it? – the playoffs. The Capitals, like a port-a-potty with a wayward push, have begun rolling downhill.

This Saturday afternoon, like a matinee at the movies, the Caps’ opponent will be a poorly directed, over-budget flop starring nobody. Yes, the Gortons Fishermen roll back into their harbor fresh from Long Island (Excuse me: Stron-Gisland) to welcome the Caps, and if Uncle Ted has any sense he’ll scotch-guard the locker room.

The Puck Drop: So really, why should you get up for a Caps-Islanders game? Besides getting to know your soon-to-be division rival, you ought to check out the conference standings, duh. Scroll all the way to the bottom. Now scroll back up a little. BOOM! No longer at the bottom of the food chain, the Caps are now at least a secondary consumer! Kelp no more, we have progressed to krill. But in more terrestrial terms, the Caps are currently five points behind the Rangers for the eighth playoff spot, and six points behind Carolina in the division, with a game-in-hand on the latter. That’s iron-sight range, people. That’s swinging distance, like a short gap under a long vine. We’re two games south of the season halfway point, and the fact of the matter is that there’s time to make this thing a race. Every game, Oates’ system is fitting them snugger and snugger, like an opportune Isotoner. The Caps have more track in front of them than behind them, and they’re trending in the right direction. So there’s that.

My second reason to watch is really less of a point and more of a stud. And that stud’s name is Eric Fehr. Our fehrweather friend is becoming before our eyes the guy we drafted him to be with our first pick in 2003, over Ryan Getlzlaf, Ryan Kessler and Corey Perry. Now, he’s not up there yet…but he’s a-climbin’. I was at the SIM Card on Tuesday when Fehrris Bueller played the hero in overtime, and my text conversation with PuckBuddys’ wunderkind Craig went a little like this:

Craig: Eric Fehr!
Me: F***. Yes. Eric. Fehr.
Craig: Ho-Lee F***!

Our Morgan Fehrchild is a real big man with some dirt nasty hands, and I’m loving watching him play hockey right now. OK, fehr enough. That’s the State of the Red as it currently rocks. Now, let’s move on to everyone’s favorite segment:

Liable to Libel: A Baker’s Dozen Lies About Today’s Opponent

Cry, Mike Milbury. Cry.

• Mike Milbury’s last words will be a whispered “DiPietro,” the name of his boyhood sled.
• Tim Thomas agreed to join the Islanders because Long Island was better zoned for his Unabomber-style shack.
• As per Long Island statute, Islanders players are paid in bulk-sized tubs of Ed Hardy t-shirts.
• Mike Milbury’s password on Instagram is “MikeyOvechkin8.”
• Like much of its trash, the city of New York is hoping to relocate the Islanders to a floating barge in the East River.
• Lubomir Visnovsky only decided to report to the Islanders after mistakenly believing Nassau Coliseum was in the Bahamas. He was sorely disappointed.
• The Islanders, much like the noble flounder, lurk around the bottom of the league standings each year to feed on the points missed by other more successful franchises. This is important to the NHL ecosystem.
• After every Islanders home victory, the Nassau Coliseum sprinkler system sprays a fine mist of bronzer down upon the home crowd.
• Much as the Montreal Canadiens require their coaches to speak French, the Islanders require their coaches to be named either Vinny, Mickey, or Legs.
  

  Long Island – Superfun(d)!

• The Islanders are one of the seven best pro hockey teams in the New York metropolitan area.
• Long Island’s official tourism slogan is “America’s Hangnail.”
• This replaced their previous official slogan: “We’re Just Awful.”
• In a recent promotion, the first one thousand fans to arrive at Nassau Coliseum got to go to a Rangers game instead.

Now let’s take a look at Saturday’s game. Like a bomb defuse code dropped under the fridge, here’s what you’re gonna wanna look for:

1. Self-Flagellation is So Passé: The Caps are whipping themselves by taking what I call “gotcha” penalties: hooks, trips, and holds that are the result of a forward just flat beating his check. Exhibit A: butch thespian John Carlson. When Johnny’s man gets past him, Johnny likes to little-bo-peep him back into reach with the toe of his stick, either around his waist or by his ankles. And then Johnny has to go to time out. But on Thursday night, a most remarkable thing happened: the Capitals played for nearly 50 minutes before taking a single penalty. And golly, would you look what happened? The Caps are still averaging nearly five penalties a game, which is five power play opportunities for their opponents. If they want to win for days, that has to stop.
   

   Handsome like Craig, lethal like Putin

2. Steven Oleksy is Vladimir Putin and Daniel Craig’s Love Child: Seriously, look at this kid. He’s a handsome son of a gun, and plays like a vodka-soaked Kalashnikov. He blew up one of Boston’s Thorntons behind the net on Tuesday and made a hipcheck on Thursday that would have made Shakira cry fraud. Some (*ahem*, Chris) wondered why Washington would call up a guy from Hershey who was, essentially, a bruiser. But no matter how he got it done, the kid held his own against Boston and shut down Florida. He needs a little more polish before he’s ready to be a full-time NHLer, but it’s nice to know he’s ready down there next time there’s a bit of the Groin Flu going around the Washington blue lines.
3. The Perks of Leaving the Gate Open – Somebody’s Got to Do It: Until Jack Skille scored a Ralph Nader for Florida late into the third period and already down by six, the Capitals had scored ten unanswered goals dating back to Tuesday. That would be a good run in basketball, let alone hockey. Adam Oates is in the Hall of Fame for being one of the greatest offensive set-up men of all time. The transition, then, from play maker to coach seems to me to be a natural one. Oates could see plays devloping while dodging 200-pound projectiles. Put him safely behind a bench and give him a clipboard, and he should make horse meat out of the likes of Kronwall, Hedman, and Öhlund. From “muffins,” to Ribsy to Oates, this balanced offensive diet sure looks sexy on the Caps.

And so, family, I leave you to wait for the drop of the puck at 1pm in New York. Go Caps.

Photo credit: Bruce Bennett

The Washington Capitals began their epic road trip with a stop on the Long Island and its New York Islanders. The game saw the worst and best of the Caps, but it ended the right way.

Matt Moulson scored the game’s first goal, a fluke so dumbfounding I feel drunk trying to explain it. Matt Moulson scored a power play goal off of John Carlson. John Tavares notched another power play goal at the halfway point, but Dennis Wideman returned fire a few seconds later. Before a comeback could gain momentum, Tavares found the back of the net again.  Before the end of the second, Alex Ovechkin caught a rebound and turned it into goal.

Scoarlov.

Alex Ovechkin took three stabs at a puck from descending distances before beating Nabokov and tying the game. Overtime was not OV time, so we needed a shootout to make a decision. Matt Hendricks is your shootout hero! Caps beat Isles 5-4 (SO).

• FINALLY. After an eon of ringing post and side-eyeing goats, Mike Knuble finally met twine. And it was an important one, breaking Nabokov’s shutout. And it was a typical one– up front, taking hits, working hard for the point, which he stole off Dennis Wideman one might say. We love you, Kanoobs. Welcome back.
• After a week of folks talking up Jay Beagle, the kid fell back to earth. Jay absorbed an early shot off Milan Jurcina and committed three penalties. Yuck.
• The power play was a huge problem. The Isles spent 1/6th of this game with an extra dude on the ice and scored twice. The Caps had not a single opportunity. If you put those two flukey goals together and add the third one of the PP, the Islanders had all the breaks. It was like loaded dice out there.
• Just like we have never said, John Tavares is one of the best players in the NHL. His two goals surprise us not at all. We’re just grateful his first goal was later credited to someone else. DC Hat Trick.
• Dmitry Orlov wants to score, Dmitry Orlov scores. A very pretty net-crashy score at that. The kid’s got a bright future, so we won’t even mention the bit of weak sauce he was serving up in the first 40 or that choke during the shootout.
• Alex Ovechkin had 0 shots in the first period, but scored in the second and third periods. Captaincy. Capitanosity. Captaintainment. This was Alex’s 68 multi-goal game. And he got the DC Hat Trick. Respect.
• Three assists for Keith Aucoin. No jokes, just respect.
• Nassau Colosseum has the same acoustics and sound levels as my high school gymnasium. [joke redacted, but man you would have laaaaaaaughed.]
• Michal Neuvirth is a barbarian. No analysis. Just wanted to throw that out there.

Joe B suit of the night

Whoa. What a rollercoaster, right? Were you despairing after 20? After 30? After 40? It’s okay. We were right there with you.

But when Ovi got that goal late  in the second period, everything changed. The third-period Caps were terrific. They didn’t even need a power play to climb out of a deep hole. And that hole, we should add, was dug by flukey goals and lopsided reffing. Not that we’re complaining.

But we are.

This game was manic. It started like a nightmare flashback from January and ended like something… well… something we haven’t seen before.

That’s one game down on this odyssey. Think of the Isles like a mini boss, cause it’s only gonna get tougher from here.

In parting, what is cooler than being cool?

“What is this doing here?”

Halfway through the first period of Tuesday’s Capitals-Islanders game, Matt Moulson sent a shot towards Michal Neuvirth‘s net. Neuvy got his blocker on it — sending the puck flying into the glass.

That should’ve been the end of that, but the puck bounced back over the net, as if being guided by Satan himself, and deflected off Neuvirth’s erogenous zone before going in the net.

Mobile-friendly version.

Not sure what exactly we did to spurn the hockey gods, but we apologize for it. Please accept this picture of Tom Hanks on a swing as penance.

Here’s Doug Johnson with your pregame report. Read PuckBuddys and then follow ‘em on Twitter.

“What Wha?” There are some things that just aren’t said aloud.

• Example #1: Oprah is a Fraud. Yeah, she could buy the Nepalese army to storm my house, or hot-wire the RMNB site for combustion, just ’cause I said it. Yet it’s true. Oprah Winfrey is, as we speak, today and into the future, a total fraud.
• Example #2: Our Politics are a Farce. Do we really need to gut this beast further to illustrate that point? Anyone who thinks our civic culture is robust, please hold your head underwater for five minutes. Questions?
• Example #3: Caps…Leading the Southeast?! Eighth in the Eastern? And *shudder* five points behind Ottawa? I’m not sure when we signed up to write fiction, but apparently that is now.

The Puck Drop

The PuckBuddys were lucky enough to have seats for Sunday’s game. You know, the one where we shut the Maple Leafs down? Where Sasha, Brooksie and Chim-dog – with Perrault and Ward and the rest – totally took down Toronto? Where Goofstafson Gustafson got tricked out of his net? Where the big oaf next to us spilled mustard down our jackets?  Yeah, good times.

Here’s where it’s at: 13 games left. Are you triskaidekaphobic? Then hide your head under your pillow for Tuesday night, ’cause we’re bringin’ it:

Why We, And Only We, Are Hot

1: New Vee. Or Neuvy! Or however they spell it in the land that brought us Bel Ami. Michal Neuvirth totally has Coach Hunter’s hot hand lately, and is responding in kind. First: we still believe Tomáš Vokoun is among the best in the NHL, whatever Coach Yelly thinks. (Hunter doesn’t so much yell, as punch in the throat.)  But Neuvy is responding like a champion. He’s been a little head-casey in the past, but we say he’s got it working.  And if he doesn’t, we have one of the best ever ready…if only Coach ThroatPunch will put him in. (HINT: PUT HIM IN.)

2: Who Cares? Funny thing, Sasha does. Once and for the last time, all you anti-Seminites, go stand in the corner. With a funny hat. Singing “I’m a little dorkpot…” Alexander Semin continues to stand up, helping his team and looking sharp on his toes. Who cares? Sasha does.

Why people should not have tattoos

3: R U Serious? Everybody, right now; everyone who didn’t see this video, just stop everything and watch right now. Now. Watch Now! We have nothing further to offer. Matty? Hendy? *sigh*

4: Stats Be Damned. We’ve lost more to the Fishsticks than we’ve won this season. They’ve out-shot us. Our powerplay is weak. Despite winning many more recently than losing, we still stink on the road. Blah blah blah. The PuckBuddys, having predicted accurately the last three games say pshaw to your stupid stats.

You know who they are; so do we. At this point we all know their weaknesses. There’s nothing left but to do it.

Mites On Ice

OK, of all the teams we love to hate, the Islanders are our favorite. And by favorite, we mean, easiest to loathe.

But… but our hearts of stone were melted the other night, watching mitey mite someone make a run down the ice to pop the puck in the net. He couldn’t have been six, and yet he was ever inch a hero.

Still hot with his shirt on

Capitals: be our heroes.

The OT: Haha! We didn’t include one shirtless hockey player photo!

Photo credit: Bruce Bennett

It was an unlikely game. The Capitals dominated the Islanders for most of the hour, but were without a goal until Troy Brouwer finally beat Nabokov in the waning minutes of the third. Brouwer pulled through again in the final minute of regulation, and then we were treated to a sight we haven’t seen enough of lately.

Alex Ovechkin, who extended his Washington Capitals OTGWG franchise record to 11, carried the puck across neutral, skated to the center lane, used New York’s Travis Hamonic as a screen, and scored the game-winner through Nabokov’s five-hole. Video is below the jump.

Here’s John Walton’s call of the goal.

This is a play Ovechkin has used frequently over the years — with starkly diminishing returns of late, but after surrendering two greasy goals to the Caps, Nabokov was not up to the task of stopping Mr. Rock Star.

After turning away 13 tough shots in the first period alone, Nabokov — who shut the Capitals out earlier this season– saw his perfect game slip away late in the third. His 31 saves on 34 shots earned him a .911 Sv%.

The Caps have now won three straight for the first time since mid-January, and sit in eight place in the Eastern Conference playoff race. What a night.

Additional Photos

Via bigbadrussian.tumblr.com

Photo credit: Bruce Bennett

Photo credit: Haraz N. Ghanbari

Photo credit: Bruce Bennett

Bonus: Video of a Russian Bear

Why not?

The Pregame: Strap in, ladies, because here we go. Good news and bad news. And you know which doesn’t come with fancy French nibbles. Radishes for you.

Life Post-Deadline

Ugh, here’s the bad. Over the next five+ weeks, 20 nights, every one of you will be simmered into a jersey jelly of slimy aspic. Demi-glacé, oui? You get it: a trebling, molten slop of hope and desire and fear and torment, exactly as smelly as that sounds, and with no escape possible, all watching on the stovetop that is the Capitals’ next 20 games. Stupid French chefs.

Think about that: 20 deals from the deck and you’re done. (Mopping sweat from brow…)

That’s the unending horror story that Uncle Ted, GMGM, Coach Hunter and the rest have lead us into. The Caps squad that you see – with every single flaw (some over-emphasized, we think) – is exactly the one we will watch, every night, jaws clenched and tweets angry, 20 times until the chosen few cross over to the Promised Land.

The good news: we’re released from our sentence in early April. Ha ha! We totes get that isn’t a release, but just a cruel, cruel bobble dangled in front of us. I mean: if we were serious, wouldn’t we have traded players? Umm…

Hot or Not, Puck Drop, and a Burrito Toss

If I could eat my own red carpet I would not ever again see the Islanders, or have to hear about the greatest real estate con in the history of forever, the swindling of Manhattan for trinkets and geegaws, ever.  News Bulletin: Long Island Still Sucks. We’ve tangled with them before…as in, before we had to go get the crabs shampoo…and we’ve still come out on top.

• We Can’t Win For Losing: meaning they stink. Look, we’re not at all happy about the benching of Knuble (Knights reside here) nor what looked like the ultimate release of Hamrlik (although he’s so not getting Valentine from Dale) or Vokoun or Wides. Dumb, dumb and dumb. We’ve got the guys that we have. Coach Dale’s style hasn’t gelled well here in DC – not, we say, because of the quality of the players, but because of the import of one style onto another.
• HEADLINE: Caps Have Quality Lines. Except Dale doesn’t foster it. Here, we’re saying it: Dale Hunter is a wrong match for what the Capitals need. Come punch us in the face if you dare.
• Sound, Fury, Signifying Nothing. We get it: Just what the flip has happened to our Capitals over the last 18 months? Lord Love a Duck, it’s just excuse me and pardon me and oops if you please and gosh may I…this is not the Capitals squad that we all know. Our story: boy with hopes grows up, takes dashes at authority…and then becomes enforcer of conventional wisdom. Coach: you are not playing to your team’s strengths. Stop what you are doing and do something else. Or trade yourself.
• Perspective, My Son: So enough of all your silly data and statistics. It really comes down to how you look at things. Pick something at random – say, your dinner tonight. Ours is cassoulet. Yummy delish warming meal, or flatulence landslide? That’s sorta what things come down to: how do you see the winning aspects and play them up, or dwell on the backside.

Coach Boudreau: seeing the winning upside. Coach Hunter: seeing the losses.We don’t speak for RMNB, or even ourselves at times in the PuckBuddys house. But here’s what we know: we believe in the quality of these Caps players. We know you’re not playing as a team. We expect it’s because higher authorities are telling you what sort of team you should be, rather than what you are.

Prediction

Oh, that. Caps win. Third win in a row. Islanders weep in their Long Island Iced Teas. The Islanders do not deserve a full preview or PuckBuddys treatment. They are, in the end, the worst team from the worst place in America. The Islanders define stink.

Okposo? Tavares? Moulson and Harmonic? We’re so not even looking your way tonight.

We are saving what’s important for what’s coming up. Tonight: Caps beat Fishsticks. Eat that with your slices of humble pie.