[Ed. note: Capitals During Wartime is a series analyzing Washington's struggles before the 2012 trade deadline. We've discussed weakness at center, a poor road record, and negativity among fans so far.] 

In the latest edition of Capitals During Wartime, I mused about how and why we discuss the negative stuff going on with Capitals right now. Concluding, in short, that our foremost responsibility is to the Truth, and not just Good Feelings, I promised not to shy away from D.C.’s ongoing hockey bummers– but also not to drench that analysis in hyperbole.

This article is a statistical rundown of the Washington Capitals through 54 games for the purpose comparing the tenures of Bruce Boudreau and Dale Hunter head to head. But I will not be offering any commentary. My voice is limited to the selection of statistics below. Any conclusions you make or narratives you perceive are your own. I have included traditional stats, some advanced stats, and some individual curiosities that we’ve discussed recently on the site.

So obviously there’s some author bias present in the figures I chose to present. I chose stats that I thought would be illuminating or provocative in comparing the two. The stats are not uniformly flattering of either coach, and the actual efficacy of the coach upon many of these numbers should be debated. But I’m not going to do that for you– because that would be far too depressing.

No, basically this is like what the editor at the The New Frontiersman says to the intern in that last scene from Watchmen: I leave it entirely in your hands. 

What do the numbers tell you?

Thanks to Ian for suggestions and Neil Greenberg for planting the seed. Check out Arctic Ice Hockey’s item on Alex Ovechkin’s possession and conversion under the two coaches for a similar digestion. 

Photo credit: Mitchell Layton

Some nights, watching hockey is fun. Other nights, it’s a gut punch and you wonder what you’ve done to make the hockey gods so mad. Tonight, the Caps got out to what seemed to be an insurmountable 2-0 lead, their second consecutive shutout well within grasp. Awesome, right? Then Brooks Laich’s stick freakishly broke on the PK and Winnipeg scored while up three men. 12 seconds later, Dustin Byfuglien rifled a slap shot from the red line that deflected off 10,000 people including Goat, Horn Guy, and Wes Johnson’s mic and bounced in. You gotta be kidding me.

The play that perhaps best summed up the night, though, was a hit that came with under a minute left in the game. You probably missed it. As Jeff Halpern dumped the puck into the Jets’ zone, everybody’s favorite Kazakhstani giant, 6’7” 245-pound Nik Antropov, left his feet and knocked Halpy head-first into the Winnipeg bench. Check it out below the jump.

Yikes. If that had been Alex Ovechkin, he would have been Shanabanned for life.

Stupid hockey.

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

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

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

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

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

Joe B suit of the night

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

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

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

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

Photo: Greg Fiume

The Washington Capitals reclaimed the Southeast Division lead with a thunderous victory over the Florida Panthers, who kind of sucked. It’s possible that the Panthers expected to play the doughy 2011-2012 Capitals. When the Caps came out all tumescent instead, the Cats were probably bewildered. Great game.

Mathieu Perreault scored on the games first shot, a plucky shut set up by Jason Chimera just 13 seconds into the game. Alex Ovechkin zipped past the Florida D to convert on the power play. Jason Chimera opened the second period with a shorthanded goal, his second of the year. 10 minutes later, Alex Ovechkin’s blazing fast wrister surprised Scott Clemmensen. No goals in the third period. Caps beat Cats 4-0.

Good win. Let’s rock out before we get to the bullets. Here’s a very appropriate new single by The Darkness, “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us.”

• Despite our panicked warbling, Brooks Laich is nigh-invulnerable. After taking what looked like a nasty hit to the knee on Sunday, BL21 dressed and played tonight– albeit with abbreviated ice time. If only Cal Ripken were at this game, we’d have two steely eyed iron men that can make even the straightest dude in straighttown go whoa.
• During this afternoon’s media time, Alex Ovechkin made a point of how much pressure is on him right now. His two goals and relentless pursuit of that hat trick put deed to those words.
• Betcha a shiny buffalo nickel that some schlub in the Canadian hockey media calls Ovi selfish for going after the hatty so hard.
• Tomas Vokoun was dialed in like a transcendental freak. He was sensing puck vibrations on the breeze or something, as he solved Kris Versteeg‘s line (which is awesome) at every turn. Vokes also got plenty of luck along the way; the Panthers missed a whopping 15 shots. This was Voke’s second shutout in the last three games. 42 saves.
• Jason Chimera‘s two shorthanded goals represent the entirety of the Capitals 4-on-5 conversions this season. Chimmer had two points, including a very smart pass to Matty Perreault on the game’s opening shift. He is good at hockey and deserves applause.
• #KnubleWatch: Mike Knuble recorded 0 shots in 10:07 of ice. Dude makes a little bit of money, but after going unused by Dale Hunter for so long has the Old Man finally given up the ghost?
• I know you guys don’t like him, but I think Jeff Schultz is awesome. Reasons: 1) he’s 8 feet tall; 2) Brittany spaniel named Riley; 3) nickname is Giraffe; 4) has played stolid defense since returning to active duty. You’re gonna say something about how he’s not physical enough, but if physicality were that important, Joel Rechlicz would be crashing in Ovi’s 10th guest bedroom right now. Tell me how I’m wrong.
• Matt Bradley didn’t fight anyone, so I didn’t have to cry tonight. Small victory on top of a big one.
• Feels weird to be on the right side of one of these blowouts, don’t it?

Joe B suit of the night

The Washington Capitals now lead the Southeast Division. They’re back in the playoff picture.

They fired shots like crazy in the first half– and didn’t really need to in the second half. Finishing up with only 24 shots is below what we wanted, but it’s understandable given the blowout up on the scoreboard.

Nothing’s gonna stop us now. Jets, you’re next.

Doug Johnson, Puck Buddy. Twitter. Didja read their latest thing? It was terrific.

The Pregame: “Oh dear.”  Oh, d-d-dearie dear me. Gosh and darn it all.

Remember that funny little wiggly piglet from your childhood stories named…um, Piglet? The one who worried about everything x 2? Oh, the one who was really needy?  We do. Specifically, we remember that Piglet, for all his kindness, was prone to needless worry.

“SEO!” yell our overlords at RMNB (not really.) (Kinda.) “Optimize key items! Fast and tight! Key words! Search items for hits!”

“Caps Fail!” screech the bloglines. “Disaster!” “Pull The Plug”*

We’re ignoring both.

So, were we worrywarts or obedient pigs, we would start off this preview with something like “Caps Slide Southeast Conference Turmoil Panic Bench Hunter.” hahahaha. Which is sort of a funny headline, but just nothing we ever, ever, will write.

We prefer Piglet’s “You can’t stay in your corner of the forest, waiting for others to come to you; you have to go to them sometimes.”

That, my hockey friends, from a striped pocket pig is exactly the best advice anyone can raise about the Caps.

The Puck Drop

“You have to go to them sometimes.” Such a brave pig.

Stephen Weiss

Oh sure, we saw the last game (grch) and read Peter’s group dissection of what went wrong, which was brilliant. And more specifically, what it may presage (as in: glup slup Titanic HELP burgle snurf.) And yet, here is where we diverge.

OK. Everyone listen up. Tuesday’s game is serious. No more funz and gamez. We’re needing points, we’re far too loose of late, and we canNOT give up a point to the Panthers.  Meaning, they are our gatekeepers. We’re in the f&^kall position of chasing them, so not only do we need wins, we need them to lose.

How we do it is for the men on the ice Tuesday. We have a few ideas; all of them from coach Piglet.

Why They’re Hot

Tommy Flash

1: Playas Play: So ugh, of course there are those few/several/multiple Cats players who figure. Who always get a paw in the freakin’ bowl. Kris Versteeg (20G/25A, plus-7) is just about at the top of anyone’s list. A G against Winnipeg and an A against the Bolts (in that ugly vivisection) makes Steegs a pair of mitts to watch for. Trailing on his ice is shortie (6’1″) and former Cap Tomas Fleischmann (17G/21A, minus-2 but who cares) and Asst. Capt. Stephen Weiss (13G/25A, plus-8) who just registers a ‘wow’ on any meter.

2: Numbers Lie: So we’re five of the last ten with these gutter-felines. The last time we met the Cats we looked like we were asleep. Fine. The Panthers looked worse on Saturday. What is the verb to describe their laying down? Consult your sports dictionary.

What Makes Us Hot

1: Company = Distance. Ugh. We’re tied with the Panthers on key items: completely equal at the PK, although they lead at the PP.  We outshoot them this season, but not by much. Piglet’s sense is that the Caps have more flash in their firearms, but the Cats let loose what little they have.

2: Little Vs. Lottle.  Nicky. Greenie. Poti (we so wish you well.) And now Brooksie, and…we imagine before publishing…Dima. Meaning everyone needs to step double-time up to the line and do more than they were asked to do. We believe they will.

We believe this ship is not sinking. Pay no attention to the water at your ankles. Really, this ship cannot sink. And we will prove that.

PostGame Un-Called-For Umping

Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. “Pooh?” he whispered.
“Yes, Piglet?”
“Nothing,” said Piglet, taking Pooh’s hand. “I just wanted to be sure of you.”

Caps. We just want to be sure of you.

Prediction

Comcast Sports 7pm: Joe B will be downer, Locker will be helpful. Caps 3, Florida 1. There, I said it.

Piglet: “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”

Meme Of The Night

The Washington Capitals returned to Verizon Center for a matinee match with the Boston Bruins, their second game in 24 hours. Disaster.

Milan Lucic scored after a bad read by Dennis Wideman gave him an opening. Brad Marchand made it 2-0 after Karl Alzner and John Carlson funneled the puck to their own crease. Marchand set up Tyler Seguin for the game’s third– and the second in which Dennis Wideman lost his man. A gorgeous 200-foot series culminated in a goal by Marcus Johansson (or Ward, whatever) and the end of Tim Thomas’s Sovereign Shutout. Peverly got the empty netter. Bruins beat Caps 4-1.

• 

  Photo credit: Ann Heisenfelt

  During the second period, Brooks Laich chased a puck behind the Boston net with Dennis Seidenberg in close pursuit. Seidenberg apparently connected with Laich’s left knee. Brooks tried to crawl to the bench but needed help to get down the tunnel. He tried his leg out during a TV timeout, but quickly retreated back to the locker room.

• Brooks Laich isn’t a center, but he plays one on TV. Already weak at center and without Nick Backstrom, the Caps are… well… totally f#@&ed without him. Knee injuries are finicky things. If his MCL or ACL is torn, we’re talking months not days. If that’s the case, hope for a Capitals’ postseason becomes a refuge for the naive and scurrilous.
• Or maybe it’s just a bruise, and Laich will play him on Tuesday. We’ll find out, but we can’t pretend like we’re not completely distraught over this. [UPDATE: Via Stephen Whyno at the Washington Times, Brooks Laich is on crutches. He says he is okay and that his exit was precautionary.]
• After nearly 7 minutes without any offense whatsoever, Alex Ovechkin unleashed his fury with 3 shots in the first period. That’s two more shots than he took during Saturday’s entire game (and more than 20 minutes TOI). His 7-shot game is his best since December 20th.
• Keith Aucoin had his moment in the sun during a second period breakaway. His shot was so far off the mark, he might’ve been aiming for a net in Hershey. After Laich got sidelined, Aucoin got a shift or two centering Alex Ovechkin and Alex Semin, who are each 5 inches taller than he is.
• Dmitry Orlov took ANOTHER puck to the face. As you remember, a deflected puck bloodied his nose yesterday and required some tampon utilization. Poor baby might need some rhinoplasty.
• Blocked shots are a scam: when your count is high,  you’ve been playing in your own end too long. But Karl Alzner deserves the hard hat today for blocking a team-best-by-a-mile 10 shots. That’s one fewer than the entire Bruins team blocked. Alzner was partially at fault for Marchand’s goal, although his partner and quisling John Carlson was the one who directed the puck to the paint.
• Mike Knuble will break out of his funk eventually, but he’s gotta actually shoot first. 0 attempts tonight and only 6 shots in the last 7 games.
• The Capitals got more than thirty shots for just the fifth time since Dale Hunter took over– and for the first time since December 13.  The total was 36-30, meaning the Caps are on the right side of the shot differential for the first time in 14 games.

Brooks Laich’s status is unknown. Backstrom and Green are still on the shelf. But the worst thing for us to do right now is allow these injuries to mask the failure of this team– even when two of those three were healthy– to generate offense. We shouldn’t use the recent absence of Backstrom and now Laich as an excuse for Dale Hunter’s dysfunctional system. It shouldn’t continue once they return.

I know this looked like an awful game, and it really was. But there were bright spots that we must not ignore. Alex Ovechkin’s inspired-if-frustrated performance was his best since the new year, and the team mounted a  thunderous comeback attempt in the third.

The Capitals host the Florida Panthers at home on Tuesday and the Jets on Thursday. That’s two big division games. Even with today’s loss, they’re still within striking distance of the Southeast lead. You’ve seen how tough this schedule is down the stretch. They’ve gotta get points meow before it’s too late.

Crash the net. Save Brooksy.

Orlov and Max Pacioretty fight for the puck. (Photo credit: Richard Wolowicz)

Way back on November 23rd, Dmitry Orlov registered his first NHL point in his second NHL game against the Winnipeg Jets. That night he also made his presence felt physically with two monster hits. On one, he hit Evander Kane so hard into the boards that his stick flew into the crowd. On the other, he laid out an unsuspecting Blake Wheeler with an open-ice hip check.

“I really like the physical element of the game,” Orlov told RMNB’s Igor Kleyner a few days later. “Always have, since I was a kid. One of the reasons I came to play here – there is more hitting. I like that.”

Well, here’s a hit you may not have even known happened. On January 13th against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Orlov caught Steve Downie with a hip check after the pest rifled a shot on goal. The hit flipped Downie end-over-end to the ice in hilarious spectacular fashion. Video is below the jump.

The animated GIF is even better.

When Dima was called up, it was assumed that the six-foot, 200 pound Russian defenseman would be more of a contributor on the offensive end. Yet, Orlov has found his niche as a rugged, puck-moving defender. This year he has dished out 50 hits, which ranks him eight on the Capitals despite playing in 18 fewer games.

While many NHL defenseman have taken the hip check out of their repertoire due to the high risk:reward nature of the play, we’ve seen Orlov perfect the art in his time with the Capitals. In a league that’s watching high hits closely these days, a well delivered hipcheck can be the best way to send an opposing player – legally – head over heels, and if Orlov keeps this up, it looks like teams facing the Caps in the future are going to get a taste of what Lars Eller did tonight.

Video courtesy of VazorProduction

S/T to @broflacco who initially posted the Orlov hit on Downie and inspired this post.

Photo credit: Francois Lacasse

On Saturday afternoon The Washington Capitals got to feed at the trough of the league’s sideshow, the Montreal Canadiens. That doesn’t mean this game was zany and fun or anything, just kind of sad.

Dennis Wideman scored off the faceoff, firing a weird knuckle puck that dropped behind Peter Budaj. The Caps held Montreal scoreless through a sloppy second period. Matt Hendricks swept in a goal on a yawning net to make it 2-0. Alex Semin drew a penalty shot and slapped home the three-spot goal. Caps beat Habs 3-0.

• Tomas Vokoun recorded his 3rd shutout of the year, but…
• The Capitals were outshot by second worst team in the east. 29-23.
• Returned hero Alex Ovechkin mustered up only 1 shot (from 36 feet out). Ovechkin used to average more than 6 a game. Maybe he’s getting the rust off, or maybe this is the New Normal and our expectations are all out of wack. Every day a few more fans jump from the former group to the latter.
• Dmitry Orlov caught a puck with his nose in the first period. The disc jumped off his stick, broke his visor, and made him bleed his own blood! Orly seemed okay afterwards and even delivered some of his patented hefty hipchecks. (Video courtesy of VazorProduction)

• Wow, this game was light on content. Let’s talk about things that DIDN’T happen. No one fought Rene Bourque, despite all the pageviews and ad impressions on articles that said otherwise. Also not happening: Nick Backstrom playing hockey, the poor Swedish baby.
• Hey, it’s snowing! Is it snowing where you are? Okay, back to hockey.
• Brooks Laich took 23 faceoffs. That’s a 2 with a 3 after it. In second place, MJ90 took twelve– which kinda tells you a bit about who Hunter trusts and doesn’t trust to start shifts.
• Two penalty shots. You don’t see that often. Errr… ever. CSN tells us this was the first time in history the Caps got two regulation penalty shots. Troy Brouwer blew the first one right into Budaj’s armored five-hole, but Alex Semin went weapons free from like ten feet out– releasing a terrific slapshot that hit the top shelf. Beautiful.

Joe B suit of the night

This game was dreary. The Capitals will be fighting for their postseason life from here on out, but they played disinterested for the full hour. Montreal’s hopes for the playoffs are probably already dashed, and they still dominated possession. “Domination” should be considered a relative term as few shots came from under 30 feet out.

But a win is a win is a win is a win is a win is a win. And a road win for the Capitals is even more precious as it helps adjust their crummy record away from Verizon Center.

Verizon Center, by the way, is where the team is heading now. Thanks to the Canadiens’ sad trombone version of hockey, the Caps will be delicately wafted into tomorrow’s nooner by a breeze both favorable and favonian. But waiting for them in DC will be the Boston Bruins, who are super duper mondo walloptastic this year.

But we beat ‘em last time– even without Ovi. We’re gonna do it again.

Crash the net.

Photo credit: Scott Audette

After spending time on all four lines and becoming a regular in the Caps’ shootout line-up, Matt Hendricks was signed to a two-year deal worth $1.65 million last season. Coming into this year’s training camp, Hendricks’ singular focus was to hit double digits in goals. “I had nine my first year in the NHL with Colorado,” he told the Washington Post’s Tarik El-Bashir. “I played 56 games that year. Last year, I played in 77 games and had nine goals. I need to figure out a way to get over that hump.”

For a player that accumulated 110 points in 43 games during his prep career and was named a finalist for the 2000 Minnesota Mr. Hockey Award, tallying ten or more goals seems to be well within reason. Unfortunately for Hendy, the red light has come on less frequently this season. In fact, it took 30 games for the 6’0’’, 215-pound winger to score his first goal of the year. And another 15 to get goal number two.

But complaining about Hendricks’ goal output and continuing the negative story train on RMNB is not why we’re here. On Tuesday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Hendricks — full of determination — opened the game’s scoring with one of the most unlikely and beautiful goals of the season.

Let’s review shall we?

A Photo Recap of Matt Hendricks Goal

After a center ice face-off, Brooks Laich pressures Victor Hedman along the boards.

Hedman’s intended pass to Lecavalier deflects off Laich’s skate…

…springing Laich and Hendy on a 2-on-1.

But Bruno Gervais is going to get to the puck first! Time for the SUPERMAN DIVE!

It worked?

It WORKED!

Hendy aims high glove-side, which is where momma hides the cookies.

MONDO WHIFF!

Uhhh, now what?

Maybe the spin-a-rama will buy me some time here.

How about…

…a no-look backhander!

PING!

DOUBLE PING!!

That went in?!

Brouwer knocks the puck across one more time just in case.

Just how Dale drew it up.

Video of the Goal

BONUS: PTI Grades the Hendy Tally

Screengrab via @pikappkaz

Full audio via Caps’ Radio Announcer John Walton.

For transparency purposes, I enhanced the final few Hendy screenshots to make the puck easier to see.

Centers, centers, centers, everyone knows what the Capitals need right now, and Keith Aucoin is the latest attempt to fix the problem, or at least to temporarily plug the hole. Most of you should know a little more about Aucoin than most call-ups – he’s a lifetime AHLer, a future AHL Hall of Famer, and from what we’ve heard an all-around great guy. We haven’t seen him much in the big leagues, but he’s been part of the organization for awhile now. He’s not going to look nearly as flashy in the NHL as he does in the AHL, but you can bet that he will do his job.

Name: Keith Aucoin
How to Pronounce That: AH-COYN. Like a coin you put in a pinball machine.
Nicknames: Coiner
Age: 33
Hair: Dad hair.

In a Nutshell: At 5’8, Keith Aucoin is small for the NHL, but the other skills have always been there. He’s a sturdy playmaker who passes extremely well and can put it in the back of the net, though it’s doubtful that will be his role here.
Not His First Rodeo: Aucoin is pretty used to being an emergency fill-in. He’s even got 3 goals and 11 points in his 21 overall games with the Capitals, as well as five goals with the Carolina Hurricanes before us.
Why He’s Getting a Shot: Since the Capitals are have been struggling offensively, maybe the the AHL’s leading scorer and former MVP can lend a hand. Keith Aucoin leads the NHL’s development league with 70 points – his line mate, Chris Bourque, has 69, and the next closest player is Peoria’s T.J. Hensick with 53. Unfortunately, much like former teammate Alexandre Giroux, Aucoin is a tweener who’s size and lack of consistency will forever keep him from cracking an NHL roster full-time. That said, Aucoin will bring energy, skill, and a savvy that is sorely missing at center with Nicklas Backstrom out.

Unexpected: He’s not afraid to drop the gloves, even though he’s teeny. We are sensing a theme here.

Maybe Don’t Worry About: His size–at least not for this game. For the same reason that less developed players like Perreault and Eakin weren’t hassled too much when we last played Montreal, this is not a team that’s going to press the issue. The Habs’ lineup has gotten bigger overall but they still don’t play a terribly physical game, so Aucoin should do all right. With Perreault, Johansson, and Aucoin down the middle, though, the Caps now may have the shortest center corps in the league–stack them up, and they make one Nicklas Backstrom.
Awww: Aucoin’s wife is having a baby.

He’s On Twitter: Follow him, or just go say congratulations!
Question of the Day: Upgrade, or downgrade?