Photo credit: Sean Kilpatrick

The Washington Capitals started something with their first win on Sunday and sought to keep that going against the Ottawa Senators. The Caps brought a sense of coherence and confidence to their game that we haven’t seen in a long time, but the game’s back half started sagging and one bad penalty cost them everything.

The Capitals gave Troy Brouwer his second goal of the year, a net-crashing backhand set up by some hardworking hockey from Wojtek Wolksi and the Caps D-corps. Matt Hendricks deflected Jay Beagle’s wide-angle shot into the net to give the Caps a 2-0 lead. The Senators got on the board with a Condra shot deflected off of Jim O’Brien. Milan Michalek tied it up with a tricky backhand off the faceoff that eluded Neuvirth. Former Cap Sergei Gonchar got the game-winning goal on an undeserved power play in the games final minutes.

Sens beat Caps 3-2.

• The Caps were on a roll in the first period. They played strong possession hockey (even-strength shots were 13-6) and savvy defense. It was their strongest period in months– perhaps their best since the Boudreau era. It didn’t last. The third period saw scarcely any even-strength shots.
• Joel Ward had a bad time with late-game penalties last spring, but he didn’t deserve the repeat of it tonight. The high-sticking penalty is not supposed to be applied when the stick is following through on a shot or pass, but that’s exactly what happened– called by a distant zebra.
• Alex Ovechkin‘s first shot on goal came in the third period, a long bomb from center ice. The captain’s other cotnribution to the game was a slashing penalty with the score tied in the third. I don’t think you can chalk that up to his grinding linemates  in Jay Beagle and Joey Crabb.
• Actually, Ovi did attempt The Move, then fell, and then bowled into Senators goalie Craig Anderson. Ovi wasn’t penalized, and I’m not sure he’s even physically capable of embarrassment.
• To be fair, Ovechkin nearly had a perfect repeat of his PPGWG from Sunday late in the game, the shot nudged away by Anderson. That was typically B.A. A.O., but I’d like to see alot moar of it.
• I love Sergei Gonchar. We’re happy to see him contributing to his team, but not like this. Not like this, Sergei.
• Hey, here’s a rule I’m still learning: concealing the puck. Nick Backstrom got called for it early in the first, turning a piping hot power play into a tepid four-on-four. Two power plays were neutralized in the first period– the second was when Kyle Turris was called out for pratfalling on a mild infraction from Mathieu Perreault.
• Can we talk about Big John Erskine? I’ve been dying to talk about John Erskine. Guy got oodles of ice on Tuesday. He hauled his grizzled behind around with some alacrity, laughed off a dance invitation from Chris Neil (whom he could have eaten, digested, and returned to the game once he used the facilities), and even helping out with one monster (blocked) shot.
• Not hockey: did you read our story on Wes Johnson? Really moving stuff.

Joe B suit of the night

I’m not really sure what to make of this one. You’re gonna have to help me out.

The Capitals played one or two fantastic periods. The hockey they played in those first two periods could beat most teams in this league, but the third was lacking in offense and made it all too easy for Ottawa to even it up.

The game-winner from Gonch? That’s just what happens when games are officiated by humans. I guess we’re supposed to keep our chins up and hope that bad calls will one day swing our way as well, but bitterness outstrips benevolence right now.

C’est la vie seems like the wrong notion, particularly after a loss in French Canadia. This is a short season, and every point is a bit more precious as a result. The Capitals played winning hockey (or at least OTL-ing hockey) and still came out losers.

So what do we make of that?

After midnight came and went, hockey’s biggest league is now out of order and NHL stars are free to sign contracts withh Russia’s KHL. Free from their contractual obligations as of now, players can sign with teams overseas (though some leagues, such as Swedish Elitserien (SEL), don’t allow temporary contracts).

Earlier, the KHL announced requirements for players signing temp deals. A single team can sign no more than three players and only one of them can be non-Russian (though teams are not obligated to dress more than five foreigners to games). They don’t count against the salary cap, but they can’t be signed to contracts worth more than the 65% of their NHL deals’ annual value.

Foreign KHL players must meet one of the following criteria:

• Play in more than 150 NHL games in the previous three seasons;
• Have KHL experience;
• Be a Stanley Cup winner or finalist;
• Be a winner of one of the NHL’s annual awards;
• Play for their national teams on the 2010 Olympics, one of the last two World Champs or one of the last two World Junior Champs.

These rules don’t apply to the KHL teams representing countries outside Russia.

Below the jump, we give you the blow-by-blow of the KHL’s version of a free-agent frenzy.

• The Pittsburgh Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin and the Ottawa Senators’ Sergei Gonchar have signed with Metallurg Magnitogorsk, their official site announces. Malkin is Magnitogorsk-native and Gonchar played there during the 2004-05 lockout. Malkin left the club with scandal in 2005.
• The Flyers’ Ruslan Fedotenko and the Winnipeg Jets’ Alexei Ponikarovsky have joined Donbass Donetsk, according to their official site. Two of the NHL’s three Ukranian players will now play for the only Ukranian team in the KHL.
• New Jersey Devils’ Ilya Kovalchuk will play for SKA St. Petersburg, as per the official release. His agent Yuri Nikolaev said in an interview with Sportbox.ru, his client has been talking with SKA for two years and had obligations with them.
• Ottawa Senators’ Kaspars Daugavins will join Dinamo Riga, Dinamo’s official site reports. Daugavins is a Riga-native.
• Toronto Maple Leafs’ Nikolai Kulemin has become a member of Metallurg Magnitogorsk, his hometown team, according to their official site. With Malkin, Gonchar and Kulemin, Metallurg has used their limit of temporary contracts. So, no Crosby.
• Ak Bars Kazan has released an official statement saying that they will not sign temporary contracts. Ak Bars was one of the most agressive clubs during the 2004 NHL lockout, but it didn’t work out well for them in the playoffs. This fall, they’ve been linked to Pavel Datsyuk and Alexander Burmistrov.
• Dinamo Minsk‘s official site has announced that they’ve reached a verbal agreement with Minnesota Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom. The signing makes sense, because Backstrom once played under their goalie coach Ari Hilli.
• The Calgary Flames’ Jiri Hudler and the Philadelphia Flyers’ Jakub Voracek have signed with Lev Praha, according to the KHL’s website. It’s an aggressive move for the Western Conference leading Lev, who is in its first year of existence in the KHL.
• Barys Astana‘s official site has announced that the club has come to agreement with Nik Antropov of the Winnipeg Jets. Antropov, the best Kazakhstani player in the NHL, will join a Barys team which is currently tenth of twelve teams in the Eastern Conference.
• Pavel Datsyuk will play for CSKA Moscow, his agent, Gary Greenstin, told SovSport. It was officially confirmed earlier that Datsyuk’s hometown team, Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, was kicking tires to acquire the Detroit Red Wings’ center.
• Anton Khudobin of the Boston Bruins has signed with Atlant Moscow Region, according to the team’s official site. Khudobin, who was considered a back-up goaltender on the Bruins’ depth chart after Tim Thomas announced his hiatus, played for Metallurg Magnitogorsk before coming over to play in the Minnesota Wild organization.
• Vladimir Tarasenko of the St. Louis Blues will return to SKA St. Petersburg, according to their site. The news over the last few days showed a lot of hesitation – the young forward, who is considered one of the Calder Trophy frontrunners, had to choose between the AHL’s Peoria Rivermen and coming back home.
• New York Islanders’ defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky has joined Slovan Bratislava, KHL site reports. Visnovsky played for Slovan (then of the Slovak Extra League) before coming to the NHL.
• Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov has signed with CSKA Moscow, per their official site.

Craig Anderson watches one go by. (Photo credit: Andre Ringuette)

Doug Johnson of Puck Buddys offers this pregame dispatch. Follow Puck Buddys on Twitter.

The Pre-Game: We hear through the Twitters that perhaps we went just a weee bit overboard with our preview of Saturday’s Ottawa game, and shameless self-promotion of teh PuckBuddy’s Big Gay Night Out. Whoops! Curiously: among the critics was Donald Trump, who should know a thing or two about the line between gleeful self-promotion and villainous sociopathy, so we take that to heart. So that, plus Peter’s epic stat-tastic data set analysis matrix (or whatever) have convinced us today we’re going to play it down the line.Yup, right… directly, down that… unbending line. Directly… forward, in a non-curvilinear fashion. And that’s as close as we’re ever going to come to saying it, so get over it.

The Naughty and Nice List, Part 1

Oh noes, it being the season of interminably pointless culture battles over decorated trees and shopping mall greetings, we’re compiling a list of who’s being good, and who isn’t, on the Caps bench. We know: all this is old and nobody cares.

But someone cares. And his name is Santa. Our Elfalicious list begins with:

Naughty: Toss up here. Michal Neuvirth, who we genuinely like, turned in a crap performance Monday. Yo it happens brah, we get it, but (at least if the numbers are to be believed) it’s happening a tad too much with you, and you canNOT blame the Sunrise mess only on lack of D. But then there’s two other guys we really like, who seemed to go out of their way to be idiots: John Erskine and Karl Alzner. Erskine’s punch-down of Bracken Kearns (which we swear is not something you studied in high school biology) seemed pointless – he’s a shrimp, nobody needed the up, and you got tossed out of the game for a butt-load of time. Not smart. Speaking of not smart…ugh, Alzner, we really really like you. But that last-minute boarding escapes us. Did you think ‘Gorsh, nobody’s a-lookin’!‘, or were you thinking at all? Lump of coal goes to: Neuvy.

Nice: Nicky’s clearly aiming for the Junior Red Ryder BB Gun, as he is just the utility fix-it down there. He’ll get his wish soon enough. Today, our candy cane goes to Coach Hunter, who had the balls to stick by Neuvy after a crap 1st period, and keep him from getting even more rattled. Teams like s**t like that.

The Puck Drop

Oy Gevalt, what, weren’t we just here? Like so much has changed, you need something said? Like a prophet I should be?

Look, we pretty much stand by everything we wrote last time. Go look it up for hot Sens pics and searingly brilliant analysis. Except we want to add a few thoughts:

Milan Michalek

• Taste of Honey: last time out we were singling out the players who counted – Alfredsson (son of Batman’s butler), Zach Smith (rly? Zach?! Nice parents) and Sergei Gonchar top among them. And these were the guys that figured…in Monday’s battle against Tampa Bay. Us? We got Erik Karlsson (or Karl Eriksson) who at 2G, 21A and -2 is helpful but not someone who should have been a top-line threat. Oh, and Milan Michalek, 16G, 6A and -2 is someone who actually did figure (and we warned about.) The point is that some of these kids were really sweet against us, while the “stars” (to the delusion that there are, actually, stars in Ottawa) weren’t so much. Perhaps we should watch for what we’re not expecting.
• Home Dull Home: Yes, we get to shamble on up to the Venice of the 50th parallel – Ottawa! Trust us, there’s not enough Molson in Canada to make Ottawa appealing. Still, we’re there, and they’re home. Which we generally don’t pay attention to, except while they’re 7-4-1 at home (compared to our whompin’ an’ a stompin’,) while we are 4-8-0 on the road. Only Anaheim (*coughJigglescough*) and the hilarious Blue Jackets stink worse. So there you go! Let’s beat the Ducks!  Hahah, oh wait, don’t.
• The “Bobby Brady” Effect: Yes, there’s actually a thing social psychologists measure called the “Bobby Brady Effect.”  Take our word for it.  Don’t get all stupid and start looking it up. Anyway, the third of a series can often be a little…well, Bobby Brady. Look, we’re sure that Mike Lookinland (we’re so confident we’re not even looking it up) is a perfectly nice fellow and not some meth-binging, butt-tatted loser living in a Reno trailer park. But “Bobby Brady”? Our point is that we’ve beaten up on the Sens twice, but both current stats and house odds say our number has to come up. Caps: do NOT count on showing up to play the third Brady (i.e., pushover) child Wednesday. Play like you’re playing Greg!

Erik Karlsson (Photo credit: Andre Ringuette)

The OT and Shoot Out: The entire NHL proposed re-alignment has us all in a muddle. It’s like moving into a new neighborhood where all the kids at school are a-holes. We can’t process.

But we can process what appears to be happening with Coach Hunter and the Caps. They’re building trust and confidence in each other. We’re no Pollyanna Princess Pony when it comes to reality: we get where we’re at exactly like everyone else does. But we’re just sayin…sorta like that tattoo you have and are embarrassed of, or that shite boyfriend (or two) you once had, or that can’t-lose Nigerian check transfer scheme, you probably feel worse about your mistakes than the rest of the world.

We’re thinking: we’re probably feeling a little worse about our season so far than the rest of the world. It’s not as bad as it seems. In fact, we think it might just be getting better. But perhaps not exactly just yet.

Puck Buddys’ Doug Johnson takes full responsibility for this post. Twitter: @PuckBuddys. 

The Pre-Game: Interesting fact: did you know that the North American Otter (Enhydra lutris) has to eat roughly 25% of its body weight in food every day just to survive? True! Like, how many Dippin’ Dots would that be? AND that in the ancient Zoroastrian religion, that otters were considered holy beings?! So Wow, I mean like…

Oh. Oh, it’s the Ottawa Senators. Oh lolz! If you could see my face blushing.

Actually, we have enough blush, and not in an endearing way, left over from Thursday night. Although we cautioned, and predicted moments, we didn’t – and simply never ever will – go on the record predicting a Pens victory over the Caps, despite our well-shared worries. Sure, it wasn’t a blow-out. Yeah, Erskine earned himself a pelt off one of the birds, in just payment for Beags (IMHO.) And yes, even hobbled offensively as we are (and whyis that, exactly?) and with all the turmoil and blah blah go freaking tell your shrink because I don’t give a damn we kept them to one point. Whoot!  A loss by only one point!

Which says a lot about where we’re at. Too much. Too, too much, if you ask us, girlfriends.

So you leave us no choice. We didn’t want it to come to this. But frankly, Washington, you’ve given us little recourse.

The PuckBuddys are pulling the Tim Gunn Emergency Alarm, and setting the Caps rescue in motion. This Saturday, it’s ALL GAYS ON DECK!

The Puck Drop

Whoop! All menz on hand! Whoop whoop! And all womenz! Oh Snapz, it’s Rainin’ Menz N’ Wymnz! Yes, Washington, this is what you have forced us to. Teh gays are swooping in to bolster and lift up our sagging Caps, simply because nobody else seems able to help.

#Self-Promotion Alert! The PuckBuddys, makers of mischief, brittle observations, and vituperative comments this Saturday are throwing a party at Verizon Center and you’re all invited! All Caps fans & friends are welcome, but particularly the GLBT…or is that LGBT…or is it LTBTgG?…ugh, whatever, the rainbow of all of us and their friends are encouraged to come to Verizon and show off their Red! And Purple, and Pink, and Lord knows what else. Just show up in a splash of pink or purple, and get ready to get rowdy with the party boys up in 411.

Leaving us no better cue for…

Why They’re Hot

Mary, have you seen that team? Ottawa is where blah goes to die. Or at least live out its retirement on the Rideau canal. But if we must…

Daniel Alfredsson

1: “Slutty, slutty, slutty!” Oh LordaMighty, before we were even really playing, or before we stopped really playing, we met up with the Sens in early October. We largely stick by our earlier comments then. In sum: Sens = pheh. Frankly we’ve seen less gay teams in “300,” and by gay we mean G-A-Y, jerks. They’ve got some skillerz, among them (as we mentioned) Sergei Gonchar (a Backstrom-like 2G-15A, plus-3), Milan Michalek (15G-6A, minus-2) and Alfredo-son, or whatever (with a little white sauce at 5G-6A, minus-4.) Then there’s Jason Spezza (9G-14A, minus-5), a real mixed bag, but what a bag! Not like the other guys are all that mixed, if you get my drift.

Yeah, pretty much everything today is going to be a gay joke. So boo-hoo, strap in and get going, crybabies. And don’t act like you don’t enjoy it.

2: “I’m Concerned.” At 12-11-2 overall, and 6-7-1 on the road, the Sens are, like we said, pheh. There are a couple pockets of talent on this team, good for you, but we’re concerned by how many goals they give up on average, 3.4 per game. For anyone not conversant in hockey, that’s a lot. We actually think Paul MacLean can bring this team together, a la the Detroit Lions of late. But it ain’t happnin Saturday. Or, at least, let’s not let it start.

3: “Pretty Can Be Boring.” Going out on the limb that all the H8Trs will sawz-all off here. The Senators aren’t incompetent. The coaching squad actually gets it. But, for some reason, the Senators this season, and most of the past ones, continue to play “good square” hockey. Meaning: unimaginative. Technically accomplished, but failing. Which reminds us both of boyfriends past – pretty enough, but just not quite there. A team needs a spark to ignite (can you hear us now, Alex?) just like a relationship of any lasting value needs sparks to ignite the fire.

The Senators just don’t have it. The Caps need to rediscover it.

We depart from our usual disparagement of the opponents to focus on what can make the Capitals winners. And thus we give you:

Why We’re Hotter

1: “Don’t Get Too Judi Jetson.” How many times do we need to watch the plum fruits of the NHL, juicily playing for the Capitals, get cute, arcane, dry and dead in the opponent’s zone? Pass, pass, pass, pass CRIMINY just SHOOT THE PUCK you want to scream. Or, perhaps like us, you have. Capitals: we get you don’t want to waste opportunities. (heart) you for that. But can you stop getting too cute by two halves? Nobody would wear Judi Jetson’s couture these days (save for the late Alexander McQueen) and we really don’t need to see such elegant play set-up without results now. Stop being cute and start shooting. Srsly, you really need games to look a little less like practice. Or, perhaps, you need practices to look a little more like games.

2: “Go, Go, Go!” Get off your flippin’ feet and go. Period. Done. End. STOP. Really tired of saying it. I’m not paid to move like lightening on the ice, and if I were, I wouldn’t be for long. You are. We get it. We love you for your talent. Now please, please, just move the freakin’ skates and get going. I’m an old man, but it wasn’t but one year ago I was wasting 25 year olds in fitness competitions. Just do it. Grr. Arrgh. What else do I have to say? In the word of Tim Gunn: Go Go Go!

3: “Make It Work!” Two words. Jason Chimera. Seriously, do you actually see the goals he gets? How many of you are left scratching your heads, asking ‘Really? Did that actually work?’ We HEART Chimmer, and wish him moar and moar in the season. And we bring him up because he, and a few other Caps, actually seem to get this basic idea: just make it work. I don’t care if it’s a silk organza strapless (I should know what that is, but I’m embarrassed to say I don’t) number, or a dump-chase-crash choreography on the ice, each of you really just have to invest in it and MAKE IT WORK. Don’t make a slender gay man holler at you: please just pay attention to what you’re doing, perform, and make it work.

The OT and ShootOut: While we’ve taken to flight from the RMNB net, the PuckBuddys on our own are one year after hatching. It began as a goof, and has become something so many people value. Which means we have almost everybody to thank. We’ve made so many friends, among them our overlords at RMNB who, for some unknown reason, tolerate us. We’re thankful to the entire Caps Commisariat, the Caps organization, and Uncle Ted for making us welcome.

Just imagine how much we’re going to piss you off in our next year!

We love you all. Come Saturday. Come say hi. Come give us a punch in the arm. We’re open and ready for a new year.

Mojo scores on the wraparound! (Photo credit: Ann Heisenfelt)

The Washington Capitals hosted the Ottawa Senators in Chinatown for a game that– INEXPLICABLY — ended after sixty minutes. After three games that went to overtime and beyond, this slow Saturday night snoozefest was welcome.

On the power play, Alex Semin sucked in a few defenders before feeding Nick Backstrom, who scored from the weak side. Marcus Johansson’s wraparound goal was a thing of beauty. Peter Regin exploited the top line’s laziness to make it 2-1. Then about forty minutes passed without anything important happening. Caps beat Sens 2-1 (NOT OT).

• We’re not gonna write about Arron Asham or Jay Beagle at all tonight. Promise.
• Nick Backstrom‘s powerplay goal marks his first tally at Verizon Center since March 22, when men were still men and women knew their place.
• DJ King played his first game in a Caps sweater this season. Recording almost 7 minutes of ice time, 2 hits, and a shot on goal, King probably met expectations. Well, what exactly were you expecting? No Zenon Konopka fight, which means we couldn’t use this reference in the recap.
• The Senators are not an explosive offense, and they’ve struggled this season. That said– they put 34 shots against our net tonight compared to the Caps’ 26.
• In his first back-to-back performance with the Caps, Tomas Vokoun blocked 33 of 34 shots and looked solid throughout. You don’t get the same kind of thrills from Vokoun’s hybrid style that you did from Semyon Varlamov’s more frenetic approach, but it’s novel and welcome to have reliability between those posts. Vokoun looked good, but Joe Beninati looked great.
• 2 points for #22, Mike Knuble. 
• 

  People actually looked like this between 1988 and 1996

  Non-Caps news, but I saw this on NHL.com and wanted to share: this day in history Wayne Gretzky broke Gordie Howe’s points record. He’d get another thousand before retiring. Not sure what year this happened in, but it was probably sometime during Full House’s TV run judging by the fan fashion.
• Sergei Gonchar, who used to be a beloved Capitals player before defecting to Pittsburgh, left the game early after taking a slapper to the foot. He did not return.
• Early in the third period, Alex Ovechkin had a 1-on-1 in the offensive zone. But it’s not 2007 anymore, so nothing cool happened. That said, Alex Ovechkin was on for seven scoring chances tonight — more than his first three games combined.
• NHL.com recorded hits as 31-24 Caps. No comment, we just wanna have a sip of whatever that guy is drinking.

Joe B zoot suit of the night

Let’s face it: this game was over after eight minutes, when Johansson’s wraparound made it 2-0. The Caps more or less checked out soon after, and then we fans had to sit through two periods of clock-burning. The Caps still have not delivered a 60-minute effort this season, and we didn’t get the fireworks or the hard work that we demanded, but a W is a W is a W. And the Caps have four of them in four games, only the third time in franchise history that’s happened.

Have a great Saturday night, everyone!

Additional reporting by Neil Greenberg.

Doug Johnson of PuckBuddys writes for Russian Machine. Tweet tweet.

Anyone who’s had the misfortune to spend time in Ottawa has had the quintessential Canadian city experience: clean, cultured, and quietly disappointing. All the maple doughnuts and Labatt’s in the world can’t hide the fact that Ottawa is as appealing as lap dance from Marcus Bachmann. Puzzlingly, everyone seems mostly OK with this… albeit in a polite, deferential way. Ottawantarians seem to take civic pride in their shared, outstanding blahness. Just look the Senators.

First, there’s that name. Senators. Yeah, it’s a hat-tip to the first Senators to hit the ice way back when, winning a raft of Stanley Cups before moving down to St. Louis (we’d rather live in Ottawa, thank you) and disbanding after just a year. But then was then: how many teams have the word “Knickerbocker”, or “Stockings”, or “Amalgamated” in their names lately? Only in Ottawa (and tiny, deluded pockets of Washington) do people equate the word “Senator” with youthful male athleticism.

Senator

Second, when we think of the Senators, the first people who come to mind are those who aren’t with the team any more. Like the infuriatingly brilliant Jacques Martin, who arguably built up a new team from near scratch and got them Cup-ready, only to be heaved out on his ass by management. Hooray! How’d that work out for you, Sens? Or Mike Fisher, the aging center who, while decent when with Ottawa, we remember mostly for being dreamy. (We hear he’s living with some banjo player down south or something now.) We would continue *cough DanyHeatley cough*, but it’s tedious.

Which brings us back around to the Senators. Boring may be the nicest thing we can say about them. We get that they’re in a rebuilding phase, and that things can get– well– embarrassing. (Like the Detroit Lions for the last… three decades.) Whatever! Being our frosty neighbors to the north, we want to be respectful. But they’re not making it easy.

Daniel Alfredsson

The Senators are off to a slow start this year; rather like the year before, and the one before that. Their home opener had moments of good hockey, and got them a W, but it’s their only W so far. (And Thursday’s collapse to the Avalanche? Someone get me a bucket.)

38-year-old fossil Daniel Alfredsson (2G, 1A, minus-6) may be a short guy, but he’s solid, and turning in some solid performances so far this season. And what does it say about your team when the old man is the hot one – both on the ice, and off. (OK, not everyone gets the whole ‘ginger’ thing.) Newbie Craig Anderson may not be all that in the looks department, but he’s doing alright in the crease. He’s not posting Neuvy numbers, but they’re still at the low end of meh (.853 SV%, 5.07 GAA, 4 GP). And it seems his groin is holding up, unlike Neuvy’s.

Nikita Filatov

Czech winger Milan Michalek has tallied 3 goals and 2 assists so far this season, all the while maintaining his Bel Ami-inspired hair. Chris Neil‘s (1G, 1A) another player to watch during the game, as would have been Nikita Filatov (although for different reasons)until he received his bus ticket to Binghamton, to play on the Sens farm team. Former Caps D-man Sergei Gonchar is in the mix, but he’s done nothing notable since leaving Pittsburgh.

There’s more players we could go over, but why bother? The Senators have just not been able to make it happen offensively (maybe it’s a Canadian thing?) and– as the Avs debacle demonstrated– they’re hardly better on defense. But I dunno, you do just feel for these guys. Perhaps it’s all the crying we hear coming from their locker room? Sorry– make that stifled Canadian sobbing.

So let’s do something Washington has never done before, eh? Let’s just make a lazy, over-paid, over-nourished group of failures feel un-naturally welcome and self-entitled while we watch and laugh at their buffoonish antics, all while being fleeced for the privilege. Unless you get enough of that on C-SPAN. Anyhow – after our first three games (frenzies) of the new season, we’re certainly due to invoke some Senatorial privilege.

The Capitals have ended their eight-game losing streak. Just take a moment to process that. Go ahead, put that dumb old grin on your face. We’ll wait.

…

There you go. Feel better? Me too!

The Sunday night tussle between the Ottawa Senators and Washington Capitals had no shortage of extra meaning. The team’s mental state and possibly even careers hung in the balance. Game on.

Ottawa’s Ryan Shannon delivered a bang-bang puck over Neuvy’s left side to make it 1-0. Chris Kelly plopped in a pass from Chris Neil to give the Senators a two-goal lead in the first period. The Capitals could have deflated at that first intermission like usual, but they returned for the second ready to do work, son. Mathieu Perreault waited all of 34 seconds to score the Caps’ first goal, an ugly one. Eric Fehr allowed almost an entire minute to elapse before recording the second, also ugly. A powerplay opportunity found Perreault scoring again with another homely tally. The Caps held off a late-game man advantage to snap the slump: Caps beat Sens 3-2.

• After going 18 days without a win, this is kinda emotional, ain’t it? No shame in it. Especially after going down 2-0 in the first period, coming back shows the exact kind of character we knew this team had deep down. Full hearts, right?
• That first period was a gut check of the first order. The Senators cycled the puck effortlessly and won battles in the corners. Meanwhile, the Caps couldn’t keep a puck on their sticks at all.
• Mathieu Perreault missed last night due to illness. Perry’s best games always seem to be his first game back, and this effort was totally representative of that pattern. Two nasty goals, terrific energy, and superb forecheck. He was on ice for 6 chances-for and only 1 against.
• My panic protocol was to do push-ups to change the team’s momentum. Worked!
• Eric Fehr‘s intense effort last night was rewarded with a spot on the top line beside Backstrom and Ovechkin. He scored the game tying goal, had one goal waved off after the buzzer, led the team in shots (7), and showed a plus-4 scoring-chance differential. Not bad for a guy could have been a scratch all weekend. Way to make opportunities count.
• Mike Knuble was fiending for a piece of Brian Elliott: 7 scoring chances for, 0 against. Knuble was begging for scraps underneath the table all game, and that’s right where we love him.
• BBBB showed some confidence in Andrew Gordon, giving him spots on both special teams units. He had some juice, but only found three scoring chances with the man-advantage. If Gordo can’t produce soon, he’ll be helping out the resurgent Bears again.
• A holding penalty against Jason Chimera with 2:45 left is responsible for your indigestion.
• The top line of Ovechkin-Backstrom-Fehr had 8 scoring chances, but only one goal. They’re going to break through huge any day now.
• Former Capital Sergei Gonchar is minus-19 in Ottawa? Isn’t that a statistical error? Tragic.
• How on-point was Neil’s file on two-day waits? “We could have to wait until the boys in red face Ottawa on Dec 19th before we see the Caps right the ship.”
• The Caps offense hit a groove in the second period. The blueliners dumped the puck in furiously and the forwards chased it down like a feeding frenzy. Moving that traffic up front made all the difference. Boudreau’s system: validated. Player confidence: restored. High five!

This was the best possible way to end the slump. The team got its collective hiney handed to it in the first period, but shook off the mental assault and played like they’ve been coached. Yes, it’s only one game, but it’s a game with a ton of meaning. Like HBO and Alan May have been saying, hockey has a rhythm. This was the go-go backbeat, the crescendo’s peak, the fortissimo punch that gets the team moving again.

It’s okay to celebrate. The Capitals and their fans went through hell for the last eighteen days. To the folks who stayed tough and kept the faith, you’ve been rewarded. You are the Brooks Laich’s of fandom, and your virtue earns you a place in hockey heaven. To the remainder, you will be welcomed back into the fold whenever you decide to rejoin the true believers.

Joe B's suit of the night

We’ve reset the site theme. RMNB is no longer dark: Ovechkin has dethroned Voldemort and reclaimed his spot on the BIG GRAY THING AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE. The Panic Protocol is officially terminated. You are free to rock the red, use letters of varying cases, and socialize with redheads again. It’s a long season, and there will certainly be other tough losses, but we’ve learned something. Nothing lasts forever, either good or bad, and it’s who you are during the bad times that matters. Remember that in June, cause I’m damn sure the Capitals will.

Devils on Tuesday, Penguins on Thursday. Presents on Saturday.

Additional reporting by Neil Greenberg.

Mike Green needs help (Rick Stewart/Getty Images).

This week, the Caps free agent picture became clearer as the organization announced they will not be renewing the contracts of defenseman Joe Corvo and forwards Brendan Morrison and Scott Walker, and Tarik El-Bashir reported that José Theodore‘s tenure with the Washington Capitals may be over.

All this leads to more speculation as to what the roster will look like next year. ESPN and the writers of Puck Prospectus have addressed the offseason needs for all 30 NHL teams and surprised no one by stating that the Caps need a shutdown guy on defense.

The Bruins signed defenseman Dennis Seidenberg to a four-year contract extension, taking off a likely target unrestricted free agent acquisition during the offseason and leaving only a few top four shutdown defensemen left in the UFA pool.

The Caps need as close to a sure thing as you can get. They can’t afford to let age (Sergei Gonchar) or injuries (Paul Martin, Willie Mitchell, and Mark Eaton) detract from the production of their top four defensemen during next year’s inevitable Cup run.

With Tarik El-Bashir reporting “the team does not, in fact, plan to pursue the Ottawa blue liner [Volchenkov],” that leaves just two defensemen that can fill a Top 4 spot. And more specifically, the top pairing with Mike Green:

Zybnek Michalek

Michalek has proven to be an effective shot-blocker in the NHL. His 14.2 Blocked Shots For, On Ice, per 60 minutes is more than both Mike Green and Jeff Schultz while playing against MUCH better competition.

Michalek earned $1.5 million last year, which makes him a very affordable option.

Henrik Tallinder

GMGM said both John Carlson and Karl Alzner will be full-timers in Washington next season so it would be nice to have a veteran with experience in helping rookies, similar to what Tallinder did for Tyler Myers in Buffalo.

Described as “more Poti-lite than like Poti” by Corey Masisak, Tallinder averaged over 20 minutes per game for the fourth time in the last five years. Tallinder would bring durability, shot-blocking ability and 36 games of playoff experience.

Tallinder made $3.25 million in 2009-10, which may be a tough fit financially, but having a defensive mentor for the youngsters may be worth the extra cash.

It’s true the pool of UFA defenseman is deeper than it has been in years past, but I think with Volchenkov reportedly off the table, the Caps’ needs are specific enough that there are not too many quality options available.

Now to find a second-line center…