According to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, the Columbus Blue Jackets have traded center Antoine Vermette to the Phoenix Coyotes for goalie Curtis McElhinney, a 2012 second-round and a 2013 fifth-round draft pick.

Vermette has a cap hit of $3,750,000 and had been projected as a possible option for the Caps themselves, likely because he has a pulse and the letter “C” in his player bio, but we’d remind you that there is certainly another center on the Blue Jackets that seems to be very much up for grabs. Vermette will instead now be providing center depth to a team filling holes for the postseason, while Columbus will presumably gain some breathing room in net from the acquisition of McBackup McElhinney.

We don’t want to jump to conclusions, but this may be an indication that the  Blue Jackets aren’t going to try to make a run for the playoffs this year.

Haven’t seen many of these lately. (Photo credit: Greg Fiume)

"Nick, Dennis, you do know I like my job, right?" (Photo credit: Greg Fiume)

Lauri Korpikoski picked up the puck at center-ice after being awarded a penalty shot and skated in on Capitals goalie Tomas Vokoun. With a quick flick of the wrist the puck was in the back of the net, and the Caps down 2-0. Bruce Boudreau — possibly fighting for his coaching life — turned his back is disgust and slammed into the plexiglass to his left with fervor. It was a new low this year for the Caps, who were coming off a horrendous 7-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs Saturday night and in the mist of the skid that saw them lose six of seven and four straight. But after hitting rock bottom, the Caps finally got back up — with a lot of luck and maybe a little help from a certain red balloon.

It was a mere 53 seconds after Korpikoski’s short-handed goal when Washington got one back. The goal scorer was John Carlson, who unleashed a blast from the point that deflected off a Phoenix stick and past Coyotes netminder Jason Labarbera just as the Caps power-play expired. Three minutes later, child prodigy Cody Eakin got in on the action when his wrist shot dinged off yet another opposition skater and into the back on the net, tying the game.

For a team struggling to put anything together, finally seeing the red light go on and, maybe more importantly, hear the home fans behind them was what finally lit the fire.

“That’s what you need to kind of jump start us. You saw after that we had the spark and momentum, everyone seemed to be going,” Carlson said of Eakin’s marker.

Matt Hendricks, who tried to do his part late in the first period with a bout against Kyle Chipchura, agreed.

“We talked about it earlier yesterday and today about keeping the game a little more simple for us and getting pucks to the net. Look at what happened: Eakin’s goal off a couple sticks, it goes in the net; Carly’s goal off their D’s stick, it goes in the net. Just shooting the puck right now and eventually they’ll find the back of the net.”

The Caps searched for more, but for ten minutes the going was fruitless. Less than two minutes in the third frame, however, Nicklas Backstrom gave the Caps something they haven’t had in 114 minutes and one second: a lead.

With a Brooks Laich insurance tally (which, true to its name, protected against Korpikoski retaliatory strike in the remaining minutes) Washington held on for their first victory in 10 days. In case you haven’t heard, that’s more than a week.

The Caps were gleeful afterwards, breaking out their theme song for the good ol’ days of 2010, the esteemed DJ Pauly D’s “Beat Dat Beat.” The “song” was promptly cut off when reporters entered the locker room to the boos of players.

“I think there’s a little bit of sarcastic energy in this room,” Carlson said after the game. “But we know that tomorrow we got to get back to work and we got to continue what we’re doing, because as we’ve seen if we let off the gas peddle then teams are too good to [just let us] squeak by anymore.”

While the players were certainly relieved, there is no denying that no one needed this game more than Boudreau. It’s been four years to the day since he took over behind the bench after a period of listless play by an underachieving but talented team. Since then, Boudreau has racked up wins — well, at least regular season ones — at record pace, newly surpassing the docile Don Cherry to become the fastest head coach to reach 200 wins in NHL history, taking just 326 games. But with playoff failures and pathetic play lately, he was still managed to find himself on the hot seat lately in eery territory. And while the Caps 2011 are much different than their counterparts of 2007, it still doesn’t make for a comfortable comparison. But now — well at for the 48 hours until the Caps’ match-up against the Jets — the foul-mouthed general can put it off the talk of his departure.

“It’s one win,” Boudreau said. “I mean, it’s against a good team and I think they hard, but when you’re getting out — or hopefully getting out of a little funk — it doesn’t go from low to high, it takes little steps. Hopefully on Wednesday we’ll be better than we were today.”

He added: “I would have traded 199 of those for that one today.”

Before I let you go, I’ll give you one more quote. This one from our friend Matt Hendricks, the guy who stuck his face in front of Chipchura’s fists in an attempt to spark an inert team:

“We’ve got a lot of leaders in this room. A lot of guys say the right things, it’s about getting on the same page and doing the right things. You can talk about things as much as you want, but until we go out and execute we’re not going to get the results.”

That, more than anything, is what the Caps need to internalize. Because next time they might not get the bounces to go their way, and they have far too much talent to go on long losing streaks every year. It sounds cliche but it’s worth repeating.

Just win, dammit.

RMNB’s New Rally Balloon T-Shirt. Click here to view all colors and sizes.

LaBarbera swipes at the Rally Balloon. (Photo credit: Ann Heisenfelt)

The Rally Balloon. It turned a struggling team– who had lost four straight, with one star benched and another under scrutiny, with an embattled head coach and a bunch of grumpy fans– into winners.

When the Capitals were down 2-1 in the second period, an unassuming red balloon floated out from the crowd. It hovered ominously twenty feet over Jason LaBarbera’s head. The annoyed Coyotes goaltender swiped at the ‘loon before knocking it up in the air with his stick. No biggie, right?

The Capitals promptly scored three inspired goals and defeated Phoenix 4-3.

First star of the game? Among fans it’s the #RallyBalloon. There’s now a RallyBalloon Twitter account, a rollicking Rally Balloon hashtag, and now our Rally Balloon T-Shirt.

Check ‘em out here.

Here’s Video of the Rally Balloon in Action

After a disastrous road trip, the Washington Capitals hoped to snap their four-game losing streak by walloping the Phoenix Coyotes. It wasn’t a wallop truly, but let’s just be thankful for the win.

John Carlson’s turnover on the power play set up Radim Vrbata for a shorthanded breakaway and the game’s first goal. Lauri Korpikoski converted the penalty shot he earned from another shorthanded breakaway. John Carlson deflected off a Coyote to get the Caps on the board.

Then a red balloon floated eerily above the ice like an angel of mercy.

Cody Eakin scored the second goal of his career with another flukey deflection, and we were tied. Early in the third, Nick Backstrom scored the kind of greasy goal you could lubricate an engine with– 3-2. On a 5-on-3, Brooks Laich scored, screened by Troy Brouwer, to snap the Capitals’ power play drought. Korpokoski got an ugly rebound to keep it interesting. Caps beat Coyotes 4-3.

UPDATE: You knew it was coming. We’ve got a rally balloon shirt.

• WIN!
• Up in Pittsburgh, Sidney Crosby had a 2-goal, 4-point night in his first game since early January. Crosby is only five goals behind Alex Ovechkin, who had another frustrating night despite earning an assist.
• Sorry about the bullet, guys, but if you don’t think that’s the story of the night, you crazy.
• 

  Hendricks vs Chipchura (Photo credit: Ann Heisenfelt)

  Dmitry Orlov played the first NHL game of his career, a win. Orlov had 0 shots, an even rating, and 11:56 ice time. Subbing for big John Erskine, Dima at least brought speed to a blueline that has dearly missed it. Yeah, there’s the small matter of that bad late-game rebound goal against, and he didn’t take any shifts late in the third, but still: he played in the NHL!
• Mike Knuble has logged a lot of time on the 4th line of late, and he’s acquitted himself well. He’s a role player, whatever the role. Promoted up to the top six, Kanoobs was all over the ice tonight. Per usual, he exhibited superior effort along the boards in his 20:08 ice time, the most among forwards and second only to Wideman.
• The Capitals held the Coyotes to two shots on the penalty kill, but surrendered goals against on their first two power plays. As the man advantage soared up to a staggering goalless streak of 28, Brooks Laich finally gave children a reason to smile again. There is indeed joy in Mudville once more, as the power play streak has been done broked.
• Good to see our old bud Boyd Gordon. Gordo took 16 faceoffs, only 4 on forward ice. Classic Boyd move. Gotta bet his foot is still all gross too. Just like old times.
• In the enemy’s net was Jason Labarbera, the lastest of many backup goalies burned by the Caps this season. It’ll be a really special night when Washington beats a first-stringer.
• And finally, this game marks Bruce Boudreau’s 200th career win, a mark that took him five attempts to hit. Congratulations, sir. We never doubted you for a second.

Joe B suit of the night

But seriously: CRASH THE NET. It’s not just a cute slogan; it’s a flawless tactic that yields goals, smiles, and normal blood pressure. Three of the Caps’ four goals tonight owe themselves to net crashy-ness.

People. There was a red balloon on the ice. In case you weren’t sure about the absurdity of the Capitals, there was a freaking red balloon on the ice. It lingered for long minutes, just out of reach like an almost-sneeze. Once the balloon descended, punctured by a zebra, the Caps found their legs. Their newfound hustle was surely a testament to the deflated bag of gas, their goal-scoring panache was definitely a tribute to the bag of air. Their coach’s 200th NHL win owes its legacy to a latex sack powered by increased air pressure and lowered air density.

Which leaves us with one question: How many of you guys are gonna throw balloons on the ice on Wednesday?

The Capitals have a crazy Thanksgiving week. We’ve got the Jets  on Wednesday, the Rags on Friday, and a trip up to exotic Buffalo on Saturday. If this game were a loss, if there were no rally balloon, how miserable would this week be? But friends, there is hope. There is balloon.

The Pre-Game: Oh Lordy, we hate being wrong. Especially if it involves Canada. What happened Saturday was nothing short of a national pantsing of the Caps on the equivalent of Canada’s national holiday (that admittedly comes once a week, and with lots of beer). We suspected it would be a high-scoring affair, but completely misread in which direction. Blah blah they were disconnected blither blather they weren’t moving their feet twiddle twaddle they weren’t chasing the pucks and so forth. Not my job to pick over Saturday night’s turkey carcass; others have done that far better. Let others pile on our Mustardy Coach. We’re looking forward to what’s being cooked up tonight.

The Puck Drop

There once was an old couple, well into their nineties. And they always disliked each other; never could stand the sight of each other, really. Finally one day, they got divorced. And people asked: “Why did you wait so long?” And the couple said: “Well, we wanted to wait until the children died.”

Arizona and hockey combine like tin foil in a filling; just caustically bad. I’ll never be convinced Phoenix ever really wanted the Coyotes, or the NHL thought it was a bright idea to move to the land of retirees and peyote. But here they are, locked in a loveless marriage, waiting until the children die to admit their mistake. And now we have to deal with them as they come over for dinner. Happy Holidays.

The Coyotes (“Cai-yotes?”) are one of those teams no-one expects much from, thus rarely disappoint. They do, however, at moments perform like…well, not so much a polished puck-dominating machine (think Red Wings, glory days) as more like decent fellows who nonetheless know how to take advantage of a weakened partner. The Coyotes are the guys in Mexico your mother always warned you about that would slip a roofie into your drink if you were stupid enough to take it.

What Makes Them Hot

Taylor Pyatt

1:Sparks. In any universe, Paul Bissonnette (1-0-1) would be a star. So would Taylor Pyatt (2-4-6). But in this particular universe, they’re really not, ceding the ground to Radim Vrbata (8-7-15), Lauri Korpikoski (3-4-7) and Martin Hanzal (3-8-11), names that would probably be more at home in a Grimm tale*. Still, these three guys are at home on the ice, supporting and boosting the Yotes principal drives (along with defender David Schlemko, more on him in a minute) and pushing them up to a respectable 10-5-3. Controlling them is key. That said, there is nobody who has dreamier eyes than Taylor Pyatt, and you can quote me on that. He should be outlawed.

2: Synergy. Netminder Mike Smith (2.16 GAA), at 6’4″ yet another in the growing trend (har har) of monsters in the twine, is lately sporting a .936%, which puts him in the NHL’s top ten. (OK, top third, if you want to be jerks about it.) Yet it’s not just Smitty’s work in the net, but his fellow defenders as well who can take credit. Rusty Klesla and David Schlemko don’t just have two of the best names in hockey, but they’re some of the best D-men today, meshing with Smith in batting away opponents trying to move pucks to goal. We could take a lesson.

3: Heart: These sections have taken on a strange, 80′s band theme, which we’re stopping now. Still, you have to admit: we didn’t look like we had much heart on the ice in Toronto. Slumps are; laziness happens. Like we said, Arizona is a team just waiting to capitalize on a stronger team that’s acting inconsistently. They’re getting second efforts. They’re playing like guys who aren’t just going to work.

What Makes Them Not

Paul Bissonnette, @biznasty2point0

1: Rage At The Machine: This, and the above item, are admittedly not based on digits and numbers and tables and spreadsheets and everything else people use to try and convince themselves they can understand our unpredictable world. I respect the number crunchers, but have spent enough time around horse tracks to know that everyone’s got a scheme, a formula, a magic something that will predict the outcome of any contest. And, most of the time, they’re wrong. Sometimes a horse just has heart to run hard – or that competitive drive to want to kick dirt in their opponents’ face (yes, horses really do this.) What I’m sensing is an anger, a hard drive, starting to emerge among the Caps unofficial leaders, to spray a little more ice in their opponents faces. Nurture that rage.

2: Crowded House: Smarties will know this better, but watching a few Yotes reviews, their talent (see above) looks like it can tend to chase and crowd the puck, not allowing for good play and transitions between forwards. Given the Caps’ weakness of late in our zone, this may be something we can exploit – to keep away from the net, swipe from their control, and move aggressively on their goal. Then again, what do I know? (Enough to not wear stripes and plaid – SNAP!)

Lauri Korpikoski

3: The Fixx: OK, now we’re just making it up. Except for this: Coach Boudreau – for whom we have great affection and enormous respect – is up against it. He’s tried nice coach; he’s tried hard coach. Now he needs to be Fix-It Coach. Sasha needs to stop his bad behavior and start performing up to his potential – period (Sorry Sasha!) Green’s recovery can’t be rushed, but as soon as he’s able he needs to be back on the ice. Brooks, Ward, Wideman, Halpy are all performing well; Brouwer and Knoobs need more time at the net. Ovie needs to start waking the hell up. None of these things happens without a coach to make it happen. Coach B: Make It So.

Prediction: Ha ha! This is where you all get to laugh at me, yet again. Whatever, chumps; at least I’m taking a line. My line: Caps 3, Coyotes 1.

The Shoot Out

Our benevolent overlords at RMNB have graciously allowed us to pimp the latest PuckBuddys joint: Caps Night Out! This December 3 – Caps v. Sens – the PuckBuddys are sponsoring (Instigating? Occupying?) the first official/unofficial Capitals Night Out, when the organization specifically welcomes GLBT fans to the Phone Booth. We, and TeamDC, are already sold out of tickets, but we’re encouraging everyone so inclined to buy up tix, come to the game, and be out loud and proud that night. Well, every night, but that one in particular. We can’t promise Taylor Pyatt, but there might be a surprise or two that night. Whatever; just come and party with us.

*We so had another joke here, but in interests of international harmony and not being jerks, we went with the lamer “Grimm” gag.

Photo credit: Norm Hall

We’re reaching a key point in the season, as Capitals veteran winger Mike Knuble said after the loss to the Kings, “This road-trip could be great or it could be an absolute embarrassment.”

It seems like all year we’ve been waiting for Washington to just snap out of it and return to last season’s form. But at the start of their matchup with Phoenix, the Caps were fewer points away from being out of playoff position then they were of taking the number one spot in the east.

“If they’re waiting for some switch to magically appear, it’s not going to happen,” head coach Bruce Boudreau said after Saturday’s flop.

It’s time to wake up. And the Capitals certainly didn’t do that Monday night.

The first period was rather uneventful. Aside from an early power play, the Caps had limited scoring opportunities, registering just one even strength shot in the frame. But then in the second, the Caps decided to #CRASHTHENET, as Marcus Johansson used the patented bank it off Martin Hanzal’s foot move, putting Washington on top. However, Hanzal quickly redeemed himself, scoring just 49 seconds later, going five-hole on Capitals goaltender Michal Neuvirth. With less than two and a half minutes left in the period, Ray Whitney gave the ‘Yotes a 2-1 lead when his wrist-shot hit the back of the net. In the third period, Vernon Fiddler would push the Coyotes advantage to two when converted on a 2-on-1. Matt Bradley, however, would answer right back, cutting the lead to one under a minute later, getting a shot past Phoenix ‘keeper Ilya Bryzgalov. But that would be it for Washington. Coyotes beat Caps, 3-2.

• Though the Capitals showed a somewhat renewed sense of urgency, Phoenix kept Washington to the perimeter, blocking 20 of their shots while completely shutting them down in the final minutes of the game. Despite the fact that the Caps out-chanced the ‘Yotes 20-10, they had zero chances in final seven minutes of play. Not something you want when you’re down by just one goal. Would the Capitals of 2009-10 have come back tonight? I don’t know. But this team – at this moment – seems incapable of that.
• If Alex Semin‘s turnovers were paintings, Jobing.com Arena would have been full of Rembrandts tonight. The newly de-mulleted Brian Engblom said of Sasha Minor during the third period, “I don’t think he’s going to need a lot of ice bags tonight.” When you’re one of two guys who skipped the morning skate after a horrible effort at home against the Kings, that’s not exactly what Caps fans want to hear.
• Dmitry Chesnokov of Puck Daddy suggested tonight that Alex Ovechkin should stop shaving. While aesthetically we couldn’t agree more with him, do the statistics concur? Before Ovechkin signed his endorsement deal with Gillette on December 8, the Russian Machine averaged over a point per game, tallying 12 goals and 23 assists in 29 games. Since then, he has nine goals, 12 assists in 28 games. The Capitals were 18-8-3 with a bearded Ovechkin but are significantly worse with the clean-shaven one at 11-10-7. Someone hide his razors!
• After scoring on the power play late in the second period, Ray Whitney was selected for Versus’ intermission interview. He had some interesting things to say about the Capitals new style of play: “After playing against them the last five years in Carolina, eight, six times a year. It’s a totally different team. They still have the same skill level but you can tell they’ve made a conscious effort to play smarter defensively. Not really what I was expecting out of them but they’re certainly doing a good job of it. This is kind of our style of play. We’re kind of comfortable with it. To see them doing that is surprising, but I think they’re on to something. I think that’s what’s going to, as a group, maybe take them up to that next level.”
• Is it time to give up on the Ovechkin-Nicklas Backstrom-Knuble line? The trio didn’t register their first even strength scoring chance until the third period. Eric Fehr, who practiced today without a non-contact jersey for the first time since injuring his shoulder, cannot return soon enough for Washington.
• Even though Mathieu Perreault did not register a point, the feisty Drummondville, Quebec native was on the ice for six chances-for, and only one against. He brought energy all night and was rewarded with three minutes of power play time.

This can’t be stressed enough, this 5-game road-trip is huge for the Capitals. After their loss to the Coyotes, the Caps find themselves in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, making them look at lot more like pretenders than a team with serious Stanley Cup aspirations. We all know the Caps have the skill. It’s time for them for them to look in the mirror decide if they are going to do something with it. The coaching staff isn’t immune either. The general can’t just blame the troops for their poor effort. He must take some responsibility for their actions. If the Capitals keep up the status-quo, they’ll be on the outside looking in.

Additional reporting by Ian Oland and Neil Greenberg.

With only 12 games to go the Washington Capitals are within striking distance of another franchise first: The Presidents’ Trophy.

Along with the cash bonuses to the organization it ensures home ice advantage throughout the playoffs – a huge plus to a team with a 26-4-4 record at the Phone Booth and PK issues away.

It is a five horse race (Washington, Chicago, Phoenix, Vancouver and San Jose) and the Caps have the easiest road to the prize.

The Caps play their remaining games against teams with an average .464 Win %. The other four contenders all play teams that average .507 or above:

• WSH .464
• CHI  .507
• SJS .520
• VAN .528
• PHX .538

Looking at the Simple Rating System (SRS) of each team’s remaining schedule once again shows the Caps have the easy road:

• PHX .20 SRS for remaining opponents
• VAN .16
• SJS .13
• CHI  .02
• WSH -.21

An average team will have a rating of zero. An above average team will have a positive rating while a below average team will have a negative rating. Every team will have a rating that is the equal to their average point margin plus the average of their opponent’s ratings, so the teams’ ratings are all interdependent: the Caps’ rating depends upon the ratings of all their opponents, which depends upon the ratings of all their opponents (some of which are the Caps), and so on.

And finally, if we look at the Goals For and against for the remaining teams, the Caps play teams that give up an average of 2.94 Goals per game while only scoring 2.77, giving them the best Pythagorean Win % of the finalists at .527. Next best is Chicago with an expected win % of .505 with the rest sub-.500.

So to sum up: The Washington Caps should lead all NHL teams with 119 points and have all roads for the Cup run through DC.