Photo credit: championat.com

During the early afternoon in Moscow, the Russian National Team played their second game of the Channel One Cup, taking on the Czech Republic. And boy was it a beatdown.

Pavel Datsyuk had a hat trick and Alex Ovechkin followed up his goal Thursday with a sick assist on Sergei Mozyakin’s power play tally. Russia would cruise to victory, 6-0.

Now let’s see this helper!

Ovechkin’s assist begins at the 2:18 mark.

As the Capitals captain winds up to shoot, he instead quickly dishes to Mozyakin on the doorstep. Mozyakin then takes his time and rifles the puck past Winnipeg Jets goaltender, Ondřej Pavelec, top-shelf. Alex Radulov and Evgeny Malkin would also add goals in the win.

Russia will play their third and final game of the round-robin tournament tomorrow against Finland and it sure looks like they’re going to win the Channel One Cup. After humbling Sweden and the Czech Republic by a combined score of 11-1, they merely need to win against Finland to be champions.

So, hey, at least Ovi’s winning a cup in his free time.

Photos

Photo credit: championat.com

Photo credit: championat.com

No, Ovi! Stay on your feet! (Photo credit: sportbox.ru)

Photo credit: championat.com

Additional reporting by Fedor Fedin.

Joel Ward screens Ondrej Pavelec (Photo credit: Mitchell Layton)

The Washington Capitals summoned the Winnipeg Jets to end their residency at Verizon Center. It was supposed to be a pitched battle for alphabetical inferiority, another explosive game that Dale Hunter would compare to the playoffs. Instead we got a flurry of neutral-zone skirmishes and perfect moments by both goaltenders for 50 minutes and sheer insanity for 10.

The game’s first period was sleepy and scoreless, the second the same. But 10 minutes into the third, Alex Ovechkin sent a puck acutely netward during 5-on-4 play. Ovechkin hooked up Semin for another PP tally a few minutes later. Somebody on the other team scored, and we didn’t care. Then Dustin Byfuglien got a weird bounce to knot the game 12 seconds later.  Overtime came and went. Jets beat Caps 3-2 (Shootout)

 How tight was this game? Let’s ask Ferris.

• Zounds, this was not the playoff-type game we were promised. This was an often-sleepy game that we might’ve expected from two expansion teams meeting in October rather than rivals jostling for the division lead in February. Still, the Capitals tapped into bursts of intensity before kinda falling apart late in the third.
• But Tomas Vokoun was exemplary each time his team demanded it of him… mostly. When defensive mistakes and broken breakouts mounted up in the third period, Vokes was a sieve. Unless a sieve is a bad thing, in which case he was most definitely NOT a sieve.
• Listen. A sieve is a thing that lets some things through and other things not through. It’s an awful way to describe a bad goalie. It’s an awful to describe anything. See? Aren’t jokes so much funnier once they’re explained?!
• So Vokoun was perfect for like 117 minutes. And another 60 minutes a few games back. But then he gives up 2 goals in 12 seconds, one of which I could have stopped while sick with the flu. This is why we can’t have nice things.
• At least the Caps’ power play was stunning. The first opportunity was full of smart positioning with a couple of doozies on Pavelec’s net without result. Alex Ovechkin rang iron on that one, but scored on the next– quickly. Ovi hooked up his buddy Alex Semin for the game’s second PP goal. The Capitals probably have the best home power play in the NHL right now.
• But Dustin Byfuglien, what the hell, dude? A nonchalant dump-in from center ice takes a weird bounce and beats Vokoun. What a scam.
• Brooks Laich played another game, but was a tad bit ginger on his knee, which is apparently not 100%. Brooks recorded only 7:25 TOI, so perhaps Brooks would benefit from a game off? Put another way, wouldn’t another player benefit from a game on?
• No blame on BL21 for that sucky penalty. Brooks didn’t seem to know his stick had been broken just before he played the puck.
• The Capitals squeaked by with a possession win against a tea, whose offense has disintegrated since the new year. But more importantly: the Caps cracked 30 shots again– for the second time in three games (and second time in the last 27 games as well). Somebody call Angela Bassett, this team may finally be getting its groove back.
• The Jets committed two penalties in the last 20 seconds of overtime. Nothing you can do about that, I guess, but it feels like you can get away with murder that late in the game.

Joe B suit of the night

The Florida Panthers will probably win tonight as well, so the Caps lost some important ground in the playoff race. Looks like a virtual tie for the division lead, which due to the tiebreaker rule means we’re back in 9th place. Dammit.

The Caps let a good lead slip and their goalie’s shutout vanish. Unacceptable.

And despite all of the good signs, I recommend restraint on the team’s overall prospects until they can look as good at even strength as they do when a man up.

Off to MSG on Sunday to play the league’s best team, supposedly. And look: we didn’t even mention Knuble once!

Photo credit: Jonathan Kozub

After Tuesday’s crushing defeat, the Washington Capitals hoped a trip to the frozen north and the Winnipeg Jets would bring good fortune. It was a tight one. A goalie’s duel. A game of inches.

We were scoar-less forever until Alex Ovechkin fired off Marcus Johansson’s tee-up. Caps beat Jets 1-0. Shut out for Michal Neuvirth!

• The Ovechkam was about as exciting as B-reel from the London season of The Real World. (Is that show even on anymore?) But Alex Ovechkin showed up in the clutch, killing Pavelec’s shut out and winning the game. 
  
• Michal Neuvirth was a sieve in net tonight. Unless sieve means he was bad. In which case, he was NOT a sieve.
• Guys, I don’t know what sieve means. Whatever, 26 saves and a shutout for Little Mikey.
• The Capitals had to kill three penalties in the front half of the game. Two of those calls– a Mathieu Perreault trip and a too many men whistle– were dubious. But with our little Quebecois firebrand shooting his mouth off at the refs, it’s understandable. The PK unit was perfect then and even better on Brooks Laich’s late-game holding penalty.
• The Caps were behind in shots 14-5 in the first period. I’m not sure if it was the Caps who turned up the heat or the Jets who cooled off, but those numbers settled down with the Caps ahead 28-26.
• Jeff Halpern, the Rock, won 9 of 12 faceoffs.
• Alex Semin played some exciting hockey and did not commit “Slasha”, but he did demonstrate one of the laziest forechecks in recent history. Chasing a loose puck behind the Peg’s goal line, Semin knew a hit was coming and sluggishly waltzed into it, absorbed it, and left the ice. Sasha don’t care.

Joe B suit of the night

This one is all Mikey. If goalie performance has been plaguing the Capitals season so far, it was their savior tonight. We’ll see Neuvirth again on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Mike Knuble continues serving his time on the 4th line. He pulled just 12:29 TOI, committed a penalty, and failed to shoot on a huge shorthanded chance. Nonetheless, Kanoobs is a guy we want to see more of.  Let’s get him back on the top line, right? Who’s with me???

We’re gonna see our ex on Saturday night: Semyon Varlamov. Aaaaawkward. Poor baby Varlamonster has an .898 Sv% (38th in the league) and 3.05 GAA (36th). Let’s see what we can do about that.

“Vote Knuble 2012″ by Ian Oland. Feel free to steal it and re-post it.

Puck Buddy Doug Johnson writes for RMNB. Follow @PuckBuddys unless you’re Sean Avery.

The Pre Game: I’m going to let you in on a secret. We people of the prairie have known it for decades, but as a group we tend to be Scandinavian, and so tight-lipped. We only pass it down– whispered– when there’s no other choice; as on those nights the wind shakes the windows and hope seems to extinguish in the pit of a cold, dead emptiness. And here it is: there is no darker, stranger place on this Earth than Winnipeg. It’s Canada’s sooty heart of darkness… and now, thanks to the NHL, we have to spend a night there.

You can spend a lifetime overnight in Winnipeg.

The Puck Drop

Oh, I know what you’re thinking. “But it’s Canada! How scary can that be?” Here’s how creepy: David Lynch won’t even go there. That’s how creepy Winnipeg is. Built at the base of a floodplain that sinks in summer and concentrates the winds into an arctic vortex each winter, Winnipeg is a place that sensible cultures would just abandon. Admit their mistake, move on, and leave it to future anthropologists to try and make sense of the debris: curling, BTO, and Guy Maddin.

Sure, some have escaped. Cody Eakin and Eric the Fehr among the more adorables. But let me ask you this: do you know anyone who’s been to Winnipeg? Didn’t they come back…changed?

Drama aside, perhaps our Caps could use a little change. Maybe get a little creeped out. Fight a little harder to survive. Get freaking pucks to the net. You know, that sort of thing.

What Makes Them Hot

Evander Kane

#1: Fly-in. So the Jets have just landed this season from Atlanta, a place that shares nothing with Winnipeg except, perhaps, its smell. Look, save for some call-ups, the Jets are basically the Thrashers, but with less Coke and more coney dogs. OK, I kid…but neither team dazzled – the Thrashers the last several seasons, or the Jets so far this one. Ordinarily this would be a ‘Not’ more than ‘Hot’; but here’s the rub: hockey was as welcome in Atlanta as an anthrax attack on Olympic Park. Residents never took to the team, nor the team to the ice. It’s different now – and while fan support is clearly an intangible, any team worth their paychecks will play harder before an audience that really, really wants to see them. That’s new for the Thra-Jets, and game by game they just might start to respond. Remember, also, that the Jets are doing better at home so far than then Caps are on the road. Call me crazy, but this team might bite.

Jim Slater and Mark Flood

#2: Individuals. Nik Antropov (3-9-12), Kyle Wellwood (5-6-11), and Dustin Byfuglien (3-8-11); all these guys are performing at least as well as a dozen or more Caps (Sasha?) Sharp-shooters Jim Slater (5-1-6) and Evander Kane (6-5-11) both have five goals in about twice as many games. But I’m seeing less smart team play and more individual action. It’s like a bad stew: there hasn’t been enough time or attention for the flavors (players) to come together and play getting-to-know-you. But hot-shot players (SASHA?) still count for something: if the coaching squad can get it together, they might have a fine meal on hand.

#3: Trap Crap. Several of the teams the Jets have played lately, like the Bolts, are trap teams. The Caps are not. The Jets, with the exception of that last game, don’t do well with quick, fast play that unsprings the trap. Believe it or not, they might just have the right style in meeting the Caps.

What Makes Them Not

Ondrej Pavelec mysteriously collapsed during a game with the Caps last year. He’s fine now!

#1: It’s a Net Thing. Ooof. Neither Ondrej Pavelec (.895%) nor Chris Mason (.893%) are doing much in the net for Winnipeg this year. They’re sort of a mix, all over the place. That means pucks are landing all over the place, too. Caps have the upper hand here – unlike with Pekka Rinne. Which sounds like something I put on my pasta. And Ondrej Pavelec? Didn’t I order that for dessert in Paris? *lesigh*

#2: Faster Penalty Kill! Kill!: The Jets are simply sucking at PKs at 79%. Granted, the Caps aren’t much better at 83%, and unfortunately as we’ve seen a better motivated team can bend those stats and capitalize where data says they shouldn’t. The Jets aren’t quite stinking on PP (16%) so much as they’re middle of the road. Caps, again, may drive the car here (at 20%), but these numbers are not far apart enough to give me comfort.

#3: Enough: I’ve prattled on long enough without pointing to the obvious: the Jets are a middling team. On paper they should not defeat the Caps. Then again, if it were all just paper, we’d never race horses.

The OT

In closing I’m going to be uncharacteristically nice… in part because my contract with RMNB specifies I have to do so. But this one I mean: has anyone noticed the players on the Jets? I mean really, it’s a more diverse line-up of guys than I’ve seen in…well, just about ever. Even more so than may pans of the Caps fans benches. It may not change their play, but it’s one of the few nice things I can say about Winnipeg these days. Like the look of your lineups, Jets!

Your Sudden-Death Shoot Out

Ladies and gentlemen: I give you Winnipeg.

Here’s a picture of Ovechkin eating snow for the billionth time. (Photo credit: Scott Cunningham)

To all our friends stuck on the roads during this crazy #thundersnow storm, safe travels. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.

So the final game for the Washington Capitals before the All-Star break found them meeting the Atlanta Thrashers in the not-so-balmy temperatures of Georgia. It did not go well.

Nik Antropov settled a lucky bounce in the Caps zone, leading to an easy goal against Semyon Varlamov. That was it. No other goals. Shutout for Ondrej Pavelec. Thrashers beat Caps 1-0.

• Atlanta didn’t offer a lot of pressure in the neutral zone, but they did an excellent job of pushing traffic to the outside in their zone and clogging the net when crashes were attempted. The Caps offense was stymied, so all the Thrash had to do was wait for a weird chance, which they got. Atlanta is still a playoff contender.
• Our nerd Neil Greenberg is stuck in the snow somewhere between BWI and his luxurious villa estate, so we don’t have reliable scoring chance stats for you. The Caps did fire 36 shots on Pavelec (and attempted another 30), but most of those were marginal opportunities. The net was crash-proof.
• The Caps power play continues to be an empty ritual with no actual impact on the game. Across two and three-quarters chances, the Caps only threatened Atlanta’s net a precious few times.
• The Capitals had 5:37 of 5v4 time. Mike Green attended to all but seven seconds of it.
• Of the seven Caps shutouts this season, five have come against teams from the Southeast division. Craig Laughlin has renamed it the “Southbeast”. Let us never speak of this again.
• Is anyone else sick of making every opposing goalie look like Patrick frakking Roy? Throwing low-quality pucks at guys like Ondrej Pavelec gives false confidence to those netminders. I would sell your first born child to see some timing plays and one-timers again.
• Brooks Laich, who is awesome, led the losing team with 7 shots, 3 hits, and a 2-for-2 faceoff record. Alex Ovechkin was right behind him with 8 shots and 2 hits, but Laich didn’t create excruciating turnovers at pivotal moments.
• After a third period power play, Alex Ovechkin got speared and generally roughed up. No whistle. He looked hurt after that, but he did return for more shifts. Wouldn’t it be a riot if he joins Malkin and Crosby in missing the ASG?
• Consolation/your-sister-is-your-prom-date award to Semyon Varlamov, who knocked down 23 shots. The one that got by him was an unfettered dart, so it’s hard to fault him for the loss. Then again, how would Braden “87-for-90″ Holtby have handled it? Just stirring the pot.
• Welcome back, Matt Bradley. You had a monster chance in the second period, but an unfortunate holding penalty in the third. Let’s get that rust off and reclaim your spot as The Greatest Player Ever (According to Peter).
• Once Alex Semin rejoins the ranks, who gets sent down: Jay Beagle or Mathieu Perreault? Neither had ANY offensive presence tonight, so we wish we could say both.

Joe B's suit of the night

At the beginning of the season, some thought the Capitals’ big problem would be their young defenders and goalies. I, an arrogant S.O.B., said the problem would be the psychological trauma inflicted after that offensively meek playoff series with the Habs. The Caps have now been shut out seven times on the season, but they’ve allowed only one goal against in each of the last four games. What’s up?

So here we are, pausing for a short intermission before the final run to the postseason. It’s time to summon all warm feelings, page all sports psychologists, and crash every damn net between here and May. We hereby declare the Capitals offensive slump over, and welcome with open figurative arms a blizzard of goals.

Stay safe, peeps. Catch you next week.

P.S. – Something about a Sputnik moment here.

It’s not like the Washington Capitals have a hard time getting pumped up for a intra-division game. Facing the Atlanta Thrashers at home tonight, the Caps put a season-high 46 pucks on net (with another 20 attempted). But Ondrej Pavelec stood like a giant in the Atlanta net, turning away all but one of those pucks. At least it wasn’t a shutout.

Rich Peverly deflected a monster shot from Byfuglien to create the first goal of the night.  Penalty engine Alex Burmistrov recorded the second goal, a brilliant chip shot from no angle. At the end of a long shift in Atlanta territory, Alex Ovechkin ended his nine-game goal drought with a one-timer assisted by the other Alex. After David Steckel took a controversial kneeing penalty, Andrew Ladd took only eight seconds to score the game’s final goal. Bummer. Thrashers beat Caps 3-1.

• 

  Ovechkin ends the slump (Photo credit: Luis M. Alvarez)

  If Ondrej Pavelec were a car, he’d be firing on all cylinders. Last time we saw a goalie this hot, we had to invent a word for it: Halak’d.

• That said, the 46 shots stat might be misleading.  The Caps took a lot of their shots from outside and were not helped by friendly traffic in front of the net. It was way too easy for that nigh-invulnerable goalie to swat away pucks without imminent rebounds. The PP unit can cycle the puck in their sleep, but they falter when it comes to shifting into the slot.
• Alex Ovechkin scoars, thank goodness. I know we were all “he’s a playmaking, Russian assist machine now; who cares if he doesn’t score!”, but c’mon. He needed this. We needed this. In an interview with CSN’s Al Koken during the second intermission, Alex said it best: “My job is to scoar goals.”  Then Do Work, Son. Crosby’s got a hefty lead on you.

• This bullet is dedicated to all the ludicrous saves Pavelec made. That desperate swat of the glove to turn away Mike Green should be criminal.
• Personnel notes: John Erskine missed tonight’s game after a bad bump sustained on Thursday. In his place was Tyler Sloan, who mostly paired with winless Scott Hannan. It should not go unsaid that this pair was on ice for Atlanta’s game winner.
• The faceoff dot was unkind to the Caps. Of the players who were not dismissed from the circle entirely, pucks seemed to go the wrong away too often. Most at fault here is Nick Backstrom, who had an uncharacteristic 5-for-17 faceoff record.
• David Steckel collided knee-on-knee with Tobias Enstrom. After the ensuing fight with Jim Slater, the referees retroactively imposed a penalty on Stecks for the original contact, but did not penalize Slater for the instigator. What’s the point of the instigator penalty if it’s never used?
• I hate piling up on the zebras, but there’s more. Either the Capitals’ faces spontaneously generated some attraction for hockey sticks, or the Thrashers knew they weren’t gonna get called for it. Mike Green can testify to that. So can John Carlson. Jason Chimera could tell us about that three or four times, and the nasty gash on his lip would be exhibit A.

Joe B's suit of the night

But let’s put the whining aside. Just like last game, poor officiating is not the reason the Caps lost tonight. The refs are not to blame for the paltry offense we’ve seen lately. You can define lately as either “this week” or “since April”. There’s a killer instinct, a Bodhi-like hunger for adventure that is missing from the D.C. forwards. Until the Capitals get back in that zone, feeding free wings to the fans at every chance, they’ll continue to lose marginal games like this one.

Catch you guys on Monday, when the Caps will undoubtedly put the hurting on the wallowing Toronto Make-Believes.

“Can you believe we won this???” (Photo credit: Greg Fiume)

Boulton and Erskine beat the tar out of one another. (Photo credit: Mitchell Layton)

This third meeting of the Washington Capitals and Atlanta Thrashers was not overshadowed by injury like the season-opener was by Ondrej Pavelec‘s collapse. Instead, we were treated to a cavalcade of slapstick puckery. The puck had a mind of its own tonight, and the game’s three goalies were none too happy about it.

Alex Ovechkin opened it up early with a lucky bounce knocked in by goalie Chris Mason. Mason had already bobbled an earlier shot; this one he knocked in all by himself. Mike Green piled on with a mustache-fueled power play goal hooked up by Eric Fehr and Mike Knuble. Atlanta’s Rich Peverly turned in what was either a world-class goal or a total fluke (we vote the latter). Tyler Sloan dove in front of a shot to lead to a turnover and breakaway for Alex Ovechkin. Ovie’s pass enabled Alex Semin to score a dazzling deke-and-goal that should humble the authors of the All-Star game ballot.

Like an out-of-control garbage truck full of terminally ill kittens, the second period brought destruction and woe to all in its path (i.e. the Capitals). Andrew Ladd scored one and Bryan Little scored two, the last of which was a shorthanded breakaway furnished by the careless puck control of our very own Russian Machine.

The third period languished on for 13 minutes before John Erskine– yes, that John Erskine– rocketed the game winner past relief goalie Ondrej Pavelec. Then David Steckel found the empty net as Capitals players are so eager to do.

Phew, that was exhausting. Caps beat Thrashers 6-4.

Conserve your bullets for the coming zombie apocalypse

• John Erskine: one assist away from a Gordie Howe. John Erskine: clashing titan with lightning-fast fists of concrete and clay. John Erskine: moustachio’d man’s man to whom Alan May is now erecting a statue. Big John: you were excellent tonight; we salute you!

• Here’s a bullet dedicated to John Erskine’s cataclysmic battle royale with Eric “Michael” Boulton. After a sustained exchange of heavy hooks, John shoved Eric into the boards and breathed his musky breath on Boulton as the linesmen pounced on them. Epic stuff by both warriors.
• Alex Ovechkin doesn’t get any such gushing congratulations. His assist on Semin’s goal was vintage Ovi and his first goal a happy accident, but that’s about it. His puck control was insufficient, and his cough-up to the Thrashers on that second-period power play was the low point of the night.
• That second period was awful, awful, awful. Unlike last night’s offensive absenteeism, this disaster period was plagued by bad turnovers and unlucky bounces. Why must the Capitals face a messy period like this once every game?
• Coach Bruce Boudreau is probably just as upset as we are. In reaction he favored his grinders: Steckel, Bradley, Hendricks. Each of those guys floated around 14-15 minutes of ice time tonight, while the top line stayed south of 20 minutes each.
• How smart was it to play those checking lines? Considering the dismal performances from Ovechkin and Backstrom (both minus-4 Corsi), pretty darn smart.
• Instead of 8 and 19, it was Mike Green and Jeff Schultz who had offensive gumption. Each had plus-7 even-strength scoring-chance differentials. Each was on ice for 11 Caps’ chances for at 5v5, season highs for any Caps skater. Objectively, the Caps defense is not outperforming the offense.
• Heartfelt sympathies go out to the goalies on both teams. Some prankster must have coated the pucks in flubber before the game. Demerits are in order. It’s ridiculous of us to expect Michal Neuvirth to stop a puck that crawls up his chest and hops off his helmet on the way to the net. You’ll get it back, Mikey. No harm, no foul.

Wow. Does this win the record for longest RMNB recap or what?

Think about it this way: The Capitals played two uneven and clumsy games of hockey this weekend and still took away three points. It could quite easily have been none. The Caps keep snatching points in this still-early season, and they keep learning different ways to lose hockey games without actually losing. So there’s that.

Post script: We totally blew it. Can anyone hook us up with a picture of Joe Beninati in his (birthday) suit? Much appreciated.

Additional reporting by Neil Greenberg.

Just one of those nights. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Important stuff first: Atlanta goalie Ondrej Pavelec collapsed during a stoppage of play early in the first period. Medical staff rushed to the ice, as Pavelec remained motionless for ten minutes.  He was then taken to the hospital where he later regained consciousness. Panic, dread, and confusion filled Phillips Arena during the extended delay, but the stalwart audio crew in Atlanta made sure to drown it out with crass jock rock in the interim. We wish all the best to Pavelec.

The Caps opened this season much like they closed the last one: messily.  Through sixty minutes of scrambling, bad turnovers, and awkward attacks, the Capitals stumbled through tonight’s game with the Thrashers like a baby elephant learning to walk.  The Caps put 31 shots against Chris Mason and another 28 into various Thrasher players willing to block them.  While only Brooks Laich and Mike Knuble were each able to defeat the Atlanta defense once, the opponents found ways to score at every turn. Thanks to a penalty-shot goal from Johnny Oduya, a laser from Andrew Ladd, and a twofer from Evander Kane, the Atlanta Thrashers felled the Caps in the opening bout. Thrashers beat Caps 4-2.

The first bullets of ’10-’11 comin’ at ya.

• It’s been months since our last recap, and much has changed. But our anticipation has been mounting for weeks. Ondrej Pavelec‘s accident on the ice really swept the rug out from under us all. If anyone looked distracted tonight, it’s certainly understandable.
• Even though four tallies were marked against him, Michal Neuvirth looked pretty solid tonight. As is Caps tradition, the goalie was fed to the wolves tonight and suffered some unlucky breaks that he did not deserve. No blame.
• The Thrashers blocked 23 shots. The Thrashers blocked 23 shots. The Thrashers blocked 23 shots. Five of them were Ovi’s. I don’t even want to type the word, but I have to: Habs.
• Johnny Oduya’s penalty shot came from a dubious call. Mike Green allegedly covered the puck with in the paint before scooting it out. We couldn’t see the play with our own eyes, but if Craig Laughlin says it’s bullpuckey– darnit– it is.
• Marcus Johansson went 1 for 8 on the faceoff. I know he’s unfamiliar with NHL faceoffs, but this is just unacceptable. He does look nice skating around though…
• The power play seemed to give up shorthanded opportunities more often than it produced shots on goal. Something is profoundly wrong.
• Hey, at least Mike Knuble got a goal. He’s now on track to score 82 this season. Career-best year coming up- mark my words.

So that was an utter disappointment. The Caps lacked any semblance of composure on defense. They showed precious little deliberation on offense. No set plays, no explosive attacks on the net, no lightning-fast passes. Who were these guys?

The most infectious and exhilarating thing about the Capitals is supposed to be their unquenchable desire to win. Every single  game.  That team didn’t show up tonight. Maybe it was the scare in the opening minutes, maybe it was the same malaise that haunted the team during the pre-season loss to Predators.

The boys will fly home tonight, get a good night’s sleep, and put on their red uni’s tomorrow. They’ll wake up.

Readers, I wish we could have opened this up for you with fireworks and pomp, but that wasn’t what the night brought us. As a consolation, we offer you these two voicemails delivered by the voice of the Capitals himself, Wes Johnson:

• Brooks Laich scores!
• Mike Knuble scores!