“Perry, we did it! We actually score on power play!” (Photo credit: Rick Stewart)

After going 1-4 in their last five games — all against Western Conference foes — the Caps headed back to the friendly confines of the east coast on Sunday, hoping to right the ship versus Buffalo. Facing a hungry Sabres team in a nationally televised matchup, Washington was certainly up to the task.

The first period may have been scoreless but it certainly wasn’t uneventful. The Capitals managed 16 shots but Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller was fantastic, making big saves throughout the frame. Washington also had four power play chances in the period, including over a minute and a half on the two man advantage. However, the Caps PP continued their struggles, failing to convert as Miller remained strong.

Mathieu Perreault would finally break Miller’s streak in the second stanza. After an odd bounce in the corner, the puck kicked out to the front of the net. Perreault took advantage, putting the Caps up 1-0. However, after Brooks Laich was called for goalie interference, the Sabres would head to the power play. At 8:20 Jason Pominville converted on the man advantage, getting the puck past a screened Semyon Varlamov to knot the score at one.

Midway through the third, former Cap Shaone Morrisonn was whistled for interference, once again putting Washington on the power play. But this time, it actually worked. Alex Ovechkin skated the puck into zone before firing a shot on Miller who made the stop. However, the biscuit went to waiting Perreault. With a little help from Marcus Johansson — whose deflection awarded him the marker — Perreault put the puck in the back of net, giving the Capitals the lead. Buffalo attempted a rally but Varlamov stayed strong. Caps beat Sabres, 2-1.

• Our first bullet begrudgingly goes to the mighty-haired one, Ryan Miller. Miller was impenetrable as he stopped 16 shots in the first period, 17 in the second, and 37 for the day. Time after time he stood tall in the net. Perhaps his biggest save of the matchup was his robbery of Nicklas Backstrom in the first period. How he stabbed Backstrom’s point-blank shot we don’t know. But it figures he would get special powers on Hockey Day in America.
• As we mentioned earlier, the Caps managed to score a power play goal today — even more on that later — but they did themselves no favors early on, squandering four power play opportunities in the first period, included 1:34 of five-on-three time.  The Capitals may have ratcheted up their shot total during the two-man advantage, but the quality of the shots were poor.  Washington passively stood around the perimeter and created little havoc in the crease. Here’s an idea: we would love to see this team utilize the slap pass more. Opponents have heavily scouted the Caps power play and seem to know where the shots are going to come from. This would help open things up and keep PK’ers off balance.  And let’s make this simple: if you can’t score on a two man advantage you generally will lose the game.  The Capitals were lucky to overcome that.
• Once again, it was a less heralded Caps player that made the biggest difference. One night after having his jersey retired by Blaine High School, Matt Hendricks got a gift from the Hockey Gods in the first period as his dump-in ricocheted off the boards right to Perreault for the game’s first goal. Hendricks also drew an interference call on Morrisonn by working hard and keeping his feet moving in the offensive-zone.  That penalty led to Washington’s game-winning goal.
• The Capitals’ fourth line of Boyd Gordon, David Steckel and Matt Bradley brought the energy today and managed to create four scoring chances at even strength, including an ill-fated breakaway for Gordon. In comparison, the Caps first line of Ovechkin, Backstrom and Mike Knuble only managed three.
• Scott Hannan was on the ice for seven scoring chances and three against — one of which was the screen on Varlamov that led to Buffalo’s only goal of the game. Hannan has been steady in Mike Green’s absence but, dude, please try not to skate in Varly’s sightline when he’s trying to make a big glove save. Then we have to hear other Caps bloggers diss our favorite goalie. And that makes us sad.
• Speaking of Semyon Varlamov, he was потрясающий [English translation: tremendous]. Varly had 28 saves, many of the spectacular variety, and managed not to lose his under-garments when Thomas Vanek came in on a breakaway. As Sergey Kocharov said afterwards, “Varly made a difficult game look easy.” We couldn’t agree more.
• At Neil’s final count, the Caps out-chanced Buffalo 22-13 and 13-11 at even strength. Overall, Washington accumulated seven power play chances.

• 

  Teamwork. (Screencapture by @Caps_Grl)

  Finally, the Capitals game-winning goal (above) came from several excellent individual plays strung together. Ovechkin came into the Buffalo zone with a huge burst of speed, cut to the middle of the ice and slung a wrist shot towards Miller. Miller’s pads didn’t corral the rebound as the puck squirted to Perreault in the far corner. With the net yawning, Perreault made the decision to shoot. Miller would have recovered in time but Johansson was there to redirect six ounces of rubber into the net. Hard work, skating, shots from bad angles and rebounds. That’s how you score on the power play. You don’t just stand around waiting for something to happen.

This was a big win for Washington. Coming off their poor performances against Western Conference, this road-trip could have easily become a disaster. Now, the Caps will salvage at least four points. They can go above .500 for the journey when they face the depleted Pittsburgh Penguins Monday.

The curse is broken. The Capitals have won when I’m on recap duty. Feel free to rip up your hate letters. Caps versus Pens tomorrow. Catch you here afterwards.

Additional reporting by Neil Greenberg and Ian Oland.

Former Capital Mike Grier was honored before the game for playing in his 1,000th career game tonight. (Photo credit: Bill Wippert)

Sigh. Thomas Vanek scores the OTGWG. (Photo credit: Rick Stewart)

Without Ryan Miller, the Buffalo Sabres are not really daunting foes. The well-haired goalie had been convalescing with a hip injury for the last handful of games and returned to the Washington Capitals’ distinct displeasure. But with a stiff upper lip, the Caps entered the fray in nigh-Canada. Sort of.

Karl Alzner opened the game with a laser through traffic that found a wide swathe of net behind Ryan Miller. The second period was an unbridled embarrassment. The Sabres scored twice (a well-screened bomb by Montador and a fluke by Vanek). For their part the Capitals simply refused to play offense of any kind, offering only four shots across the middle frame. To qualify that, Jason Chimera spent four minutes in the box for a cross check that might have been overblown a bit, and Tomas Fleischmann also caught a double minor for a freak high sticking that carried no aggression.

Nicklas Backstrom allowed 7 minutes to escape the third period before equalizing with a high swat. Ten minutes later, a suspicious high sticking call earned Backy a double minor (the Caps’ third of the game). The Capitals survived another backbreaking penalty kill all the way into overtime. Things look liked they were headed towards the shootout until Thomas Vanek suckered Carlson and Holtby in sequence to score a sharp-looking OTGWG. Bummer, I know, but at least the Caps take a point home. Sabres beat Caps 3-2 (OT).

Bleh-lets.

• Kind of a bad game in general, eh?
• The Caps played the second period like it was the first. They producted only four shots to Buffalo’s 11, zero scoring chances to Buffalo’s 8. Why must there be one guaranteed bad period every game?
• While the Caps were struggling in the second period and the first half of the third, the grinders got short shrift. Matt Bradley and Dave Steckel in particular had far fewer shifts than usual.
• With Poti out (a worry of its own), Bruce Boudreau did as much as he could to limit any Tyler Sloan-related damage. Sloan trailed all defenders in ice time with only 13:20.
• 13:20 sounds like precious little until you consider than ersatz 2C Tomas Fleichmann played only 11 minutes and change. Which might be more than he deserved. Flash produced no chances at even strength. So did Eric Fehr, for that matter. Pitiful.
• The ice at HSBC Arena was wackadoodle. Mike Green and Buffalo’s Tyler Myers each lost skate edges, leading to Chevy Chase-style pratfalls.
• 

  Go High, Ovi! Ryan Miller calmly denies Alex Ovechkin coming in on a breakaway. (Photo credit: Bill Wippert)

  Nicklas Backstrom took eleven faceoffs. He lost ONE.
• Braden Holtby was the Capitals best player, a spastic puck wall until the final second overtime and that unfortunate poke check on Vanek.
• Alex Ovechkin had a prime breakaway chance against Ryan Miller in the first, but was bested. For the rest of the game, Ovi habitually bobbled the puck and whiffed on shots. To be fair, Ovi had only one offensive start in the entire game.
• All penalties are four minutes. It’s a new rule. Did you not get the memo?

Maybe the Caps play down to their competition to keep it interesting for us fans. That’s considerate of them, but they don’t need to go out of their way on our account. When the Caps found motivation in that final extending penalty kill, you’d think they had re-awoken their win-thirst. Naw. This was a snoozer.

Joe B's suit-of-the-night

At least we learned something. When Bruce Boudreau saw the same offensive inertia that you and I did, he tweaked lines. BB tried putting Tomas Fleischmann on the 4th, Johansson on the top, and Backstrom with Chimera and Semin. Only the last of those fiddles did anything of merit, but we learned that the the Caps’ chemistry may be more delicate than we previously thought.

A disappointing game and an undeserved point for an overtime loss. Here’s hoping the team that suits up tomorrow afternoon will have a bit more oomph than the team that played tonight.

Enjoy your Saturday nights, everyone.

Additional reporting by Neil Greenberg.

With Tomas Fleischmann’s arbitration hearing looming in the next few days it doesn’t look like the two sides will come to an agreement beforehand. GMGM moved pretty swiftly to avoid the courtroom drama with Fehr and Schultz indicating, at least to this writer, that the two sides are VERY far apart.

My guess is GMGM is taking the “show me you can do this again” attitude while Fleischmann is trying to cash in on what could be his peak season statistically. Either way, we are looking at arbitration. While it isn’t exactly Judge Judy, the player and team each propose a salary for the coming season and argue their cases at a hearing. The arbitrator, a neutral third party, then sets the player’s salary.

The evidence that can be used in arbitration cases:

• The player’s “overall performance” including statistics in all previous seasons.
• Injuries, illnesses and the number of games played.
• The player’s length of service with the team and in the NHL.
• The player’s “overall contribution” to the team’s success or failure.
• The player’s “special qualities of leadership or public appeal.”
• The performance and salary of any player alleged to be “comparable” to the player in the dispute.

Evidence that is not admissible:

• The salary and performance of a “comparable” player who signed a contract as an unrestricted free agent.
• Testimonials, video and media reports.
• The financial state of the team.
• The salary cap and the state of the team’s payroll.

NHL Arbitration Explained

Tomas Fleischmann was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2nd round (63rd overall) of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. In February 2004 Flash was traded to the Capitals by Detroit along with Detroit’s 1st round choice in 2004 (which was used to draft Mike Green) and their 4th round choice in 2006 for Robert Lang.

As a prospect he was (aptly) described as a “flashy winger with great offensive tools” while being graded as “not quite good enough to play on the top line or pairing on a regular basis, but still possessing enough talent to contribute offensively.”

For the fourth consecutive season, Fleischmann improved upon his regular season goal and point totals but continued to fall flat in the playoffs (three goals and two assists in 22 career NHL playoff games) where he finally became a healthy-scratch in Game 7.

Despite his awful playoff numbers we can expect a significant increase to his cap-friendly $725,000 salary last year. JP from Japer’s Rink has already gone on record predicting an arbitration award of $2.9 million and that the Capitals won’t walk from any award under $4 million. Personally I take the “over” on the $2.9, especially with the Atlanta Thrashers being forced to walk away from a $2.4 million salary arbitration award to forward Clarke MacArthur and the comparables likely to be used in the Fleischmann arbitration.

To find comparable players I did a search at Hockey-Reference for players who were between the ages of 25 and 27, had seasons of 20 or more goals (Fleischmann had 23 in ’09-10) and fewer than 60 points (Fleischmann had 51).

Before we narrow down that list we should keep in mind the salary and performance of a “comparable” player who signed a contract as an unrestricted free agent is not admissible.

Forwards who have had similar seasons to Fleischmann’s 2009-2010 campaign
(69 games, 23 Goals, 28 Assists, 51 points):

Joe Pavelski, F, San Jose Sharks

67 Games, 25 Goals, 26 Assits, 51 Points

Pavelski, a 7th round pick in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft had almost no points after the first eight playoff games, but resigned with the Sharks for 4yrs/$16 million.

Alex Steen, F, St. Louis Blues

68 Games, 24 Goals, 23 Assists, 47 Points

The St. Louis Blues signed Alex Steen to a four-year contract extension (with an average value of $3.36mil) the summer after enjoying a bit of a breakout season with 24 goals last season.

Thomas Vanek, F, BUF

71 Games, 28 Goals, 25 Assists, 53 Points

Vanek was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1st round (5th overall) of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. While he has shown to be a much more prolific scorer than Fleischmann there is no denying that their ’09-10 campaigns were virtually identical on paper in the box score stats. Look for Evans to push the envelope and have his client ask for a near identical salary award to Vanek’s $6.4 million.

The average contract value of the list above is roughly $4.6mil. Now I am not suggesting that this is what Fleischmann is worth nor that this is the exhaustive list that will be used in arbitration. As a matter of fact, the page limit for evidence is 40 pages. Forty. Oh. So yea, there is going to be a lot of stuff thrown around. So think of this post more as a conversation starter until July 28th and let us know:

1. What do you think Fleischmann will earn?
2. Who do you think Fleischmann’s comparables are?

It’s finally over!

If you’ve stood by your computer constantly hitting refresh like I did, then you know I am talking about the Kovalchuk Sweepstakes, which is reportedly a 17-year deal with the New Jersey Devils. Yes, seventeen YEARS. Yeah, that is a loooooong time.

We're going to party like it's 1993

How long, Neil?

Well, seventeen years ago Ace of Base ruled the airwaves, and The New Mickey Mouse Club got some new members: Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera. So yeah, 17 years is a long time.

Time will tell if he’s worth it, but Kovalchuk has put up some serious regular season numbers in his career before his 28th birthday: 642 career points in 621 career games at the NHL level. Not bad for the the first overall pick in the 2001 NHL entry draft.

I will leave others to debate whether or not the contract is worth it or how it just laughs in the face of the current CBA, but you have to believe that at least one Russian in the DC area was intently watching these talks unfold: Alexander Semin.

With Fleischmann’s agent citing Plekanec as a comparable player for a salary increase, is it really far fetched to think Sasha’s agent will compare him to Kovalchuk this time next year looking for a similar deal? Probably not. And in a world where Derek Boogaard signs a four year deal at $1.65 million per year anything is possible.

A more appropriate comparable would be either Rick Nash (CBJ) or Thomas Vanek (BUF). Both have around 270 points in 300 NHL games since the lockout at the same age (25) as Semin’s 278 points in 275 games. Nash has 8 years left with a cap hit of $7.8 million while Vanek has 7 years with a cap hit of $7.1mil per left on his deal.

Either way, those type of cap hits would be more than the Backstrom deal – something I just don’t see the Capitals doing. That puts Semin in play on the UFA market and probably playing for another team either by free agency or via trade.

Will #28 still be in Caps red during the playoffs?  Stay tuned, Mouseketeers.