Photo credit: Kyle Mace

Andrew Gordon won two Calder Cups with the American Hockey League’s Hershey Bears in four seasons.  He played nine games with Washington last season, scoring his first career NHL goal on future hall of famer Martin Brodeur, a feat he celebrated by kissing assister Marcus Johansson on the bench. But Andrew left the organization over the summer to hazard the free market. After a promising performance at Anaheim’s training camp, Gordon was added to the team’s roster (and then cheated on us in Finland with another blog).

I caught up with the notoriously well-spoken Andrew Gordon after the Ducks’ painful 5-4 overtime loss to the Capitals on Tuesday. We talked about California weather, competing against his former teammates, and the enduring adoration of Washington’s fans.

Ian Oland: So Andrew, what’s the move been like from Hershey and Washington to Anaheim?

Andrew Gordon: It was different going in. California’s a lot different from the East Coast cities I’ve played in and grown to love. It’s good. Everywhere you go in hockey, it’s the same sort of thing. A lot of good hockey players. A lot of good guys who came up through the same system and had the same coaches and everything. The guys [at Anaheim] are great, and they’re easy to get along with. Plus, you leave the rink, and it’s 85 degrees everyday. Nothing to complain about there. It’s a much different lifestyle up there though. It took a little bit of an adjustment.

Gordo during warm-ups. (Photo credit: Kyle Mace)

Ian Oland: What was it like playing your old teammates tonight? In the first period, you almost checked John Carlson through the boards.

Andrew Gordon: No, I know. I just tried to make sure that I wasn’t thinking about it. That was the main thing. You know, in practice, you go out there and you don’t really finish your checks as hard as you would. These are guys I practiced with and against for years and years and years. I really tried to make sure that I didn’t treat it like that. I tried to make sure that I treated it like a game situation and ‘do what I do.’ There was a lot of good players out there that I know a lot of their tendencies and stuff. At the same time, it’s a quick game out there. It’s a fast game. Guys with that much skill can beat you. You gotta remember when you’re out there who’s on the ice with you. [The Capitals] have so much skill — no matter if you’re friends with the guys or not — they’re going to try and go out there and beat you. It was fun leading up to the game, but it wasn’t the result I wanted. I’m not too keen on how tonight ended.

Ian Oland: During your years in Hershey, you were a jack of all trades. You started your career there as a bottom-six forward. Later on, you played on the first line and was always out there on the power play. So far in Anaheim, you’ve mostly played on the third line and when the team’s shorthanded. What has the transition been like to concentrate so much on offense to now being a bottom six guy again?

Andrew Gordon: Well, you have to find a role out there. You know, guys like Perry. Guys like Getzlaf. Guys like Bobby Ryan, Selanne, Koivu. These are the guys that have been putting up numbers for years and years and years. We have guys that can score goals. We have guys that are going to play those offensive minutes, those powerplay minutes. So they’re starting me off on the PK. It was something I used to do back in Hershey a few years ago. It was something I used to do back in college quite a bit. So I’ve been taking that really seriously and have really been trying to contribute on that end of the ice. A team is made up of 20-25 guys and not everyone is going to score every night. When you’re not scoring — as I’ve been struggling with lately — you have to make sure you’re contributing in other ways every night. Our PK was pretty good, but [the bottom six guys] have to find a way to chip in. Like I said earlier, change is inevitable when a team starts struggling like this. Managers and coaches aren’t going to put up with losing. So everybody’s gotta find a way to dig ourselves out of this. Everybody’s got to find a way to do their jobs a little bit better. For me, that’s keeping up with this PK and not giving up anything while I’m on the ice. And also finding a way to contribute offensively.

Photo credit: Kyle Mace

Another fan's sign dedicated to Andrew. (Photo credit: Kyle Mace)

Ian Oland: What did you think of the warm reception you got from Caps fans during warm-ups? There certainly were a lot of signs…

Andrew Gordon: It was really nice. It was wonderful. Yeah, it was good to see a lot of people from Hershey, some familiar faces. It’s a community that’s embraced me and I really grew to love during my time here. To see that I haven’t been forgotten quickly, that really means a lot to me. It’s really a unique situation here in Washington and Hershey. The fans and the media, they don’t mind that short two-hour drive ‘down the street.’ It’s sorta like one big community whereas with a newer organization — the teams are split up by cost and country — and you don’t really hear what’s going on in the minor leagues. Even though I played about 95% of my career in Hershey, it was like I was a member of this Washington Capitals family for a long time. It was great to see how some of the staff and some of the fans welcomed me back. It was much appreciated.

Ian Oland: Some of my friends have been nagging me, so of course I have to ask: when’s the Twitter hiatus going to end?

Andrew Gordon: ::laughs::

Ian Oland: Is it because you’re superstitious or maybe waiting for a certain something to happen this year?

Andrew Gordon: I just wanted to make sure I was focusing on the right things. There was no single event that triggered it. I just wanted to make sure I was thinking about the right things out there. Focus a little bit harder. But you know, I should definitely switch back soon. I haven’t scored a goal since I quit! I think with Movember coming up, I’m going to do some promotion and generate some money for that organization. I’m sure you’ll see me back on there pretty soon.

Image of Hiller’s mask via The Goalie Guild.

Ian Oland: What did you think of Hiller’s mask by the way with you on there? What did you think of your portrait?

Andrew Gordon: ::laughs:: Oh man, I don’t know. That’s more stache’ growth than I’ll probably have for my whole life! It was pretty cool. He first brought the mask in when we were in Minnesota. Everyone got a good laugh out of it. It was pretty creative. He did a great job on it that’s for sure!

Ian Oland: So big question. What were your feelings when you made Anaheim out of camp? Last year with the Caps, you were one of the final cuts, one of the final three not to make the team.

Andrew Gordon: I mentioned this to someone earlier in the day. It wasn’t like one day the coaches called me into the office and said ‘congratulations.’ Just no one told me I wasn’t on the team. It was a no news is good news kind of thing. So as long as they haven’t talked to you, then they can’t really be too upset by the way you’ve been playing. That’s been the case for me so far. I don’t know — whenever you’re a rookie or a guy that’s constantly on the bubble — nothing’s guaranteed. You have to earn every practice. You have to earn every game. You have to earn every minute you get out there. So for me, it’s not like I made the team yet. It’s a 365 day tryout I’m on now. I gotta make sure I bring my ‘A’ game every day, and unfortunately I don’t know if today was it.

Gordo gives a hug to a fan in a Hershey Bears jersey before warm-ups. (Photo credit: Kyle Mace)

Ian Oland: We talked about this earlier, so you know what should be coming. Tell me something great about Teemu Selanne.

Andrew Gordon: What’s NOT great about Teemu Selanne would be the better question. Growing up he was my favorite player. In fact, there’s still some of my old posters of him up at my parents’ house that I see when I come home for the summers. My dad’s from Winnipeg, so I used to watch [the Jets] religiously all the time. He turns out to be one of the best guys in the game. You find that nobody in the world has a bad thing to say about Teemu Selanne. I think his character and personality is what brings him above all the other superstars. You know, if you look, and there’s an article written about him, you’ll look and see the comments below and they’ll say, ‘I hate the Ducks, but I love Teemu Selanne.’ Nobody has anything bad to say about the guy. He’s a guy that gives back to the community. He welcomes young guys. He’s really the face of this franchise. He’d probably be the face of the NHL if he was a little bit younger. The personality behind this great player and this great skill set is something that stands out to me and makes him above the rest. He’s an unbelievable guy and I’m really fortunate to play with him.

Ian Oland: Awesome. Well good luck with the facial hair. It was obviously very nice catching up with you.

Photo credit: Ethan Miller

Wednesday was a night of hardware in the NHL as the league’s annual awards show took place in Las Vegas. The night’s biggest winners? Corey Perry of the Ducks picked up the Hart, Ryan Kesler of the Canucks hoisted the Selke, baby-faced Jeff Skinner of the ‘Canes took home the Calder, Stanley Cup champion Bruin Tim Thomas won the Vezina and Washington fan favorite Disco Dan Bylsma of the Pens presented with the Jack Adams Award.

So how did the Capitals fare?

Alex Ovechkin was named to the NHL’s second all-star team while John Carlson was honored with a spot on the all-rookie squad. Via Nate Ewell, this is the first time in five years Ovechkin has not held a spot on the first-team, ending his record streak to start a career.

As for the trophies, Brooks Laich finished 11th in Selke voting as best defensive forward (0 first-place votes, 1 second, 2 third, 4 fourth, 7 fifth); Bruce Boudreau placed sixth for the Jack Adams as top coach (2-3-7); Carlson (3-3-16-12-21) and Michal Neuvirth (0-0-0-1-1) were fifth and 14th respectively for the Calder as best rookie; George McPhee finished sixth for GM of the Year (2-4-3); Mike Green was edged out by the Kings’ Dustin Brown for the NHL Foundation Player Award for charitable work; finally, Ovechkin came in 15th for the Hart as MVP (0-0-0-4-7).

Sadly, none of the Capitals were in Vegas leaving us unable to critique their red carpet photos. Yes, none of this this year. No awkward tension between Sid the Kid and the Great Eight either, though Bobby Ryan and Ryan Getzlaf filled the void. Since everybody loves “comedian” Jay Mohr, we leave you with one of his few funny moments of the night.

Photo credit: Mark J. Terrill

Let there be hats! (Photo credit: Mark J. Terrill)

[Ed note: This post is by the Carroll County Times' Brandon Oland, Ian's very own flesh and blood. Since he's accustomed to staying up until 4am, we figured he could fill in for us tonight. Take it away, Brandon.]

Doubts were creeping in. Could the Washington Capitals score enough goals to keep up with Anaheim’s freakishly talented top line? Could the Caps steal a pivotal road win against one of the NHL’s top teams? Could the underperforming Alexander Semin regain his finishing touch?

Yes, yes and yes.

Semin scored three goals, including the game-tying and game-winning tallies to lift the Capitals to a thrilling 7-6 victory in one of the most captivating back-and-forth battles in recent team history. That is, unless you are a fan of defense.

Semin notched his fourth hat trick of the season and seventh of his career. He also finished with a tidy plus four, officially breaking out of the longest goal-scoring slump of his career (17 games) in explosive fashion.

The goals came fast and furious in this defense-purely-optional imitation of the NHL All-Star game. Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf got the scoring started with a way-too-easy power play tally set up by a brutal interference penalty on Tyler Sloan. Getzlaf’s goal came with 15:50 to go in the first. Alexander Ovechkin responded six minutes later on a breakaway sparked by a tremendous outlet pass by Nicklas Backstrom. Brooks Laich gave the Caps a brief 2-1 lead with 3:53 left in the first frame, capitalizing on a horrible turnover by Teemu Selanne. After Saku Koivu worked past two waving Capitals defenders, Selanne redeemed himself with a nifty redirect just a few minutes after his lazy pass to tie the contest up. Toni Lydman gave the Ducks a 3-2 lead with 30.7 seconds left in the first, thereby ensuring Bruce Boudreau wouldn’t let Semyon Varlamov see the ice in the second.

The Capitals power play continued its recent struggles in the second period. Corey Perry scored on a breakaway short-handed goal with 13:39 to go in the second to put the Ducks up by two. The goal was set up, in part, because Ovechkin got caught being too aggressive from his point position. But, the Capitals’ blue-collar checkers would come to the rescue. David Steckel scored in front after a nifty centering feed from Boyd Gordon, making it a one goal game. The Caps would then tie it at four on Semin’s first goal since Nov. 28. He needed a 3-on-1 break to make it happen with just less than 10 minutes to go in the second period. Alas, the Ducks took yet another lead just four minutes later. Lubomir Visnovsky, who probably deserves some Norris Trophy consideration, scored on a wacky deflection to give the Ducks a 5-4 lead with 6:42 left. At this point, I contemplated offering my resignation to Ian, who owes me a Chipotle burrito for all this effort.

But after drinking some Sun Drop (it’s a poor man’s Mountain Dew!), I soldiered on.

After killing a penalty, the Capitals scored quickly to tie the score one minute into the third. Mike Knuble, doing his best Ovi imitation, deked his way past Anaheim goalie Curtis McElhinney (who was absolutely terrible) on a breakaway to make it 5-5. After the Capitals seemed to have momentum, Ryan scored in transition during a wacky series that started with the goal behind McElhinney becoming dislodged. The officials allowed play to continue on, leading to the Anaheim goal with 14:05 to go. The Capitals bench wanted an offsides call on the play. They didn’t get it. No matter. The Capitals tied it AGAIN on Semin’s second goal of the night, a backhand swat from close range. Credit Scott Hannan for pinching up and creating the opportunity. Semin’s game winner came with just fewer than two minutes to go on a goal that McElhinney absolutely should have stopped. The Ducks desperately need to figure out what is wrong with starting goalie Jonas Hiller (fatigue) because they can’t win a Stanley Cup with McElhinney back there. Yuck. Caps beat Ducks, 7-6.

• Forget about all the goals. The night’s most entertaining moment came when the Comcast Sportsnet cameras panned to the stands and spotted four rubes wearing presidential masks cheering on the Capitals. The Ronald Reagan mask was particularly hilarious for reasons I can’t fully explain.
• Huge props to John Erskine for immediately sticking up for Matt Hendricks following a blind-side blow near the boards by Andy Sutton. Erskine dropped the gloves and bloodied Sutton with a few haymakers. Advantage: Erskine. If you are counting at home, Sutton racked up as many penalty minutes (nine) as minutes played.

• Mike Green (inner ear) missed the game. Doubt we’ll see him against San Jose Thursday night. The Capitals desperately need him back.
• The Capitals power play continues to sputter. No power play goals tonight, and the Ducks managed an unacceptable short-handed tally in the second. Personally, I think it’s time to get Alex Ovechkin off the point and back up front. It’s worth a shot, eh?
• This seems odd to say in such a high-scoring affair, but Hannan played one of his best games as a Capital. He led the Caps in ice time (25:19), and played reasonably well against Anaheim’s crazy-good top line. Hard to believe the Caps got him for a forward who is now out for the year.
• Wait a second. They gave Corey Perry the number one star of the game and not Semin? That’s like throwing a party for Al Gore after he lost the 2000 election. Nice try. Good effort. Decent creativity. But a loss is a loss.
• Ian and I talked about it. We don’t think Semyon Varlamov deserved to be pulled. He wasn’t exactly conjuring up memories of Patrick Roy in his prime, but the Ducks were doing an outstanding job of blocking his vision. The Capitals, meanwhile, were doing a miserable job of just about everything defensively. What happened to the courageous, unselfish group that relishes blocking shots and playing it close to the vest? They’ve done it twice against the Penguins in 2011, but apparently they are merely picking their spots.
• 

  Joe B. Suit of the Night

  The Capitals matched a season-high with their seven goals tonight. They also scored seven against New Jersey (Oct. 9) and Calgary (Oct. 30). Here’s a shocker: The Caps are 3-0 when they score seven goals this year. Also, this was the most combined goals in any Capitals game this year. I’m pretty sure this is also the longest recap in Russian Machine Never Breaks history. What’s even more remarkable: I’m usually a concise writer. Just goes to show you how crazy tonight was.
• I’ll leave you with one final thought: Craig Laughlin likes his pizza with Canadian bacon and pineapple. Joe B does not. If they can’t share a pizza, can they truly be friends?

It’s off to San Jose. We’ll be back here tomorrow night, will you?

Additional reporting by Chris Gordon and Ian Oland.

Photo credit: Greg Fiume

Celebrating BL21's netter (Photo by Greg Fiume)

No jokes. Nothing cute. The Washington Capitals, deep into a slump, host the Anaheim adjective-less Ducks in a regular season game with a lot of additional gravity. Our hopes are high, our loins girded, our hearts full.

Here comes the arm.

Brooks Laich first marked up the board with a chip-in off of John Carlson during a first period powerplay. In the second, the oddly vowelled Joffrey Lupul put a bounce in the net– also while on powerplay. And it stayed that way until overtime, when Ryan Getzlaf escaped John Carlson’s coverage to wrist the game winner past Semyon Varlamov. Ducks beat Caps 2-1 (OT).

• Brooks Laich was the Caps best player by a mile. Scoring Washington’s only goal from within traffic, he led the offensive charge on every shift. He nearly scored the game-winner, a slow treacle from Hiller’s behind, but Ryan Getzlaf swatted it away. Laich’s 7 shots led the team, fitting for the player whose media quotes over the last few days were the hockey equivalent of FDR’s fireside chats.
• Alex Ovechkin‘s Russian Machine is not broken, but it may have been sabotaged. Ringing the post on a signature breakaway? That’s not bad luck; that’s cosmic malice.
• BBBB (Bench Boss Bruce Boudreau) did something odd tonight– matching the checking line of Laich-Steckel-Bradley up against Anaheim’s top line.
• Welcome back to the active duty, Mike Green. I see you’ve missed the game, as you were on ice for half of this one.
• The first period was a barnburner for the Caps, recording 17 shots on net. Those numbers are unsustainable perhaps, but it is certainly evidential of a focused team. The latter half probably suffered from lack of that effort.
• Who is at fault for the OTGWG: John Carlson; Scott Hannan; or Loki, the god of mischief? (Hint: we don’t care.)

Let’s not go crazy, everybody. We’re all bummed out, and Lord Voldemort is still up in the masthead creeping us out, but this will not last. This will not last. The Capitals were an offensive factory tonight, leading in shots 32 to 24 (We will update with scoring chances when Neil’s data are available), and soon you’ll see that effort manifest in a final score.

We’re gonna be alright, but we’ve got to power through the next few days of blowhard columnists and humorless humorists waxing assholic about our team. But Saturday will be on us before you know it. Up to Boston with us and onward to victory.

Adrian Dater had an interesting post naming the top 10 centers in the NHL. As you would expect with 30 teams, each with 4 centers, some big names were omitted. The ranking is also subject to much debate. Take a look:

1. Sidney Crosby, PIT
2. Pavel Datsyuk, DET
3. Henrik Sedin, VAN
4. Jonathan Toews, CHI
5. Mike Richards, PHI
6. Evgeni Malkin, PIT
7. Mikko Koivu, MIN
8. Joe Thornton, SJS
9. Nicklas Backstrom, WSH
10. Ryan Getzlaf, ANA

Nicklas Backstrom's favorite shirt: Your girlfriend loves wearing my jersey

You would think that Nicklas Backstrom being 9th out of all NHL pivots would be cause for celebration! Instead I am ready to fight for the guy – even if my girlfriend wears his jersey. Well, if I had a girlfriend. But that’s a post for another day.

So where should Backstrom rank in this Top 10?

The center position is one of the tougher positions to quantify: They are defensively responsible for two opposing wingers, they try to win faceoffs and they have to put points on the board. Then there is the burning question: How many Cups have they won?

We should also not limit ourselves to just one season. For this exercise I am going to look at the 3-year averages to help smooth the curve a bit.

Let’s start with the easy one: Did they win a Cup? Crosby, Malkin, Datsyuk and Toews have all kissed The Cup while Malkin and Toews have also won the Conn Smythe as Playoffs MVP. Without a ring, Backstrom still has some work to do to be the #1 center in the league.

Next we will analyze their offensive numbers.

I had a tweep remark: When Nick wins more faceoffs then you can bitch about him being #9. Well, here I am so . Seriously though, just because you don’t win faceoffs doesn’t mean you’re not helping your team’s offensive production. That’s why statistics like CORSI and others at Behind the Net are so valuable: They help put everything in context.

Sure he doesn't win all his faceoffs, but Nicky joined Sid and Henrik as the only three centers in the NHL last year to score over 100 points.

So yes, I agree Backstrom doesn’t win a huge amount of faceoffs. But he’s averaged 2.48 points per 60 minutes over the past 3 years (good for 6th on this list behind Crosby, Sedin, Malkin, Thornton and Datsyuk). He also was third among centers (behind Hart and Ross Trophy winner Sedin and 50 goal scorer Crosby) in points per 60 minutes in 2010.

Defensively only Mike Richards and Evgeni Malkin have averaged a negative CORSI ON, meaning more shots have been directed to their own net while they were on the ice. Richards has an excuse: He started only 46.8% of the time in his own offensive zone (next lowest was Mikko Koivu at 50.4%!), while playing with below average teammates against decent competition. Malkin’s poor play came despite starting a whopping 58.17% of the time in his OWN offensive zone. Only Toews (60.9%) and Backstrom (59.17%) were higher, but both of those players had positive CORSI’s.

Backstrom’s CORSI ON (17.18) is behind only Datsyuk (22.1) and Toews (18.38). Simply put, when Nicklas Backstrom is on the ice his team gets the puck to the net – a lot. And before we throw the “Of course he does, he plays with Ovechkin” argument out there, let’s keep in mind that both Toews and Datsyuk played with better linemates statistically over the past 3 years. So they too had help yet are ranked ahead of Backstrom on Dater’s Top 10. This means we can’t discount the play of Backstrom’s wingers if we are not ready to do so for the others.

If we look at Goals For and Goals Against differential as a defensive indicator, Backstrom shines here as well. He ranks second (1.31) in this group over the past 3 years trailing only Datsyuk (1.63) – who won the last three Selke awards. Last year, Backstrom led all centers (60+ games played) with 2.15.

To summarize: offensively Backstrom is middle of the Top 10 pack at 2.48 points per 60 minutes while defensively falling behind only Pavel Datsyuk and perhaps Jonathan Toews.

Now that we have the context settled: Where should Backstrom actually rank?

Some would say he is “still not [a] Top 5” center but they would be wrong. Without a Cup, sure Nicky takes a back seat to Crosby, Datsyuk and now perhaps Toews. But after that, it would be tough to argue that Nicklas Backstrom is undeserving of a Top 5 slot.