Knuble and the Caps Catch the Hawks in OT

photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images

I don't usually do game notes, but it was too exciting a game to stay silent. A couple of notes on the overtime win over the Blackhawks:

• This was by far Jason Chimera's best game of the season. He was showing off his speed and he had more chances than usual. It wasn't just Chimera though; the Chimera-Laich-Fehr line was the best of the day, generating a ton of scoring chances, and scoring the third Capitals goal. Eric Fehr fed Brooks Laich a great pass in front, and Corey Crawford had no chance to save it.
• Mike Knuble's overtime goal was beautiful; dirty, but beautiful. Knuble's forehand-backhand-forehand dance around Crawford's crease was the best his hands have looked in a long time. Marcus Johansson's pass to Knuble was picture-perfect.
• Speaking of Johansson, he was a force on the ice today. He led the team in shots on net with seven. The penalty he took late in the third period was dumb, as it led to the tying Blackhawks goal, but his pass to Knuble in overtime seemed to make up for it.
• Braden Holtby looked a bit shaky in net today. The Blackhawks' first goal was a soft one through Holtby's five hole, and their second was a bad angle shot that squeaked through seven hole, and bounced off his back into the goal. You can bet that Arturs Irbe will be working with him on situations like the second goal in practice.
• NBC seemed to be crediting everyone but Jason Arnott for Alexander Semin's reawakening. Semin also had a good, hardworking game today. His work ethic for the past seven games since Arnott entered the lineup has been consistently strong. I was in the locker room yesterday after practice, and when Arnott and Semin came in, they were chatting away. It was funny to see Arnott trying to figure out what the heck Semin was saying, but he was talking. Of all the times I've ever previously been in the locker room, I've never heard Semin say a single word. There's no doubt in my mind that Arnott is responsible for Semin's inspired play.
• Who knew that Boyd Gordon had such a cannon on him? I definitely wasn't expecting him to bomb a shot from so far away - and have it go through Crawford's pads. This is why the Caps keep Gordon around; he is essential to the penalty kill.

Overall, the game had all the intensity of a playoff game. Both teams were running on all cylinders and playing their best hockey. Considering that the Caps came away with the win, it speaks favorably to their playoff hopes. With Montreal, Detroit, New Jersey, and Philadelphia coming up, hopefully the Caps can keep up the excitement.

JWHL All Stars Show Their Star Quality

Walking into Kettler this evening, I didn't quite know what to expect. My experience with women's hockey starts and ends with my high school girls' hockey team. We were terrible; since there were only three high school girls' teams in the area including us, we were regularly beaten by embarrassing margins by boys in peewee leagues.

But once warmups began for the JWHL All-Star Game, I knew that this was on a whole different level.

Simply said, these girls are good.

The teams were divided into Team White and Team Dark. One team wore their individual team's white jerseys, and the other team wore their team's alternate jerseys (which were red, black, green, dark blue, depending on the team). The game was just two periods long for the sake of scheduling, with a very short intermission between the two periods.

Three of the four Challenge Cup participants that were part of the IIHF world women's U18 championship gold medal-winning Team USA were in the All-Star game (the fourth is on a team that has not yet arrived in DC). Despite an attempted comeback by Team Dark in the second period, Team White was victorious over Team Dark 5-4.

Though gold medal-winning goaltender Megan Miller finished up the game for Team White, it was Brittney Brooks, who played the first period, that made an impression to me.

Brooks, playing for the Colorado Select, is 6-4-2 this season with the Select, with a 2.63 GAA and .893 SV%. She reminds me of Semyon Varlamov; she's quick with her lateral movement in the crease, has great reflexes, and benefits from her flexibility (she made one save in the splits during the game). She allowed one goal, early in the game, and faced 13 shots.

In terms of forwards, when I signed up to cover the tournament, I was told about Haley Skarupa, a native of Rockville, MD. One of the scoring leaders in the IIHF Women's World U18 Championships, she is also the Captain of the hometown Washington Pride and has 33 goals this season -- in 18 games. Playing for Team Dark in the All-Star game, Skarupa racked up four assists (assisting on all Team Dark goals) and was awarded third star of the game. She's fast, a very smart skater, and puckhandles like a pro.

One more that deserves a mention is Amanda Pelkey, another member of the gold medal-winning Team USA. She is Jason Chimera-fast, no joke. Imagine Jason Chimera with Alexander Semin's puckhandling and you've got Pelkey. She is fancy on the skates, and is not only fast but incorporates her skillful skating with her keen ability to control the puck on her stick. It's no surprise that with her skill set, she was tied for first in scoring in the IIHF tournament.

After having seen the level of talent these young women have, the tournament should be an exciting one. Be sure to check the schedule and get to some games this weekend.  You'll be pleasantly surprised.

The View Behind the Bench

Johansson on the bench just after scoring his first NHL goal (photo by me)

The best seats I've ever had for a Caps game were still in the days of the Student Rush promotion, when I sat sixth row in section 112 or 113 for a November 6 game against the Carolina Hurricanes.

My friend's fiance is a season ticket holder, and while she usually accompanies him to games, I tag along if she's unable to go. So I was planning to be at last night's game against the Bruins anyway. But turns out, through some miracle twist of fate, he managed to snag glass seats behind the Capitals bench.

It was an unbelievable experience sitting right there. I couldn't see much of the action due to Bob Woods being parked in front of my face for 2/3 of the night, and Dean Evason for the other third, but it was interesting to watch the players interact on the bench no more than two feet from where I was sitting. So here are some random observations of the evening, since my night was near limited to watching the guys on the bench.

• No one seemed more excited for Marcus Johansson's first NHL goal than Alexander Semin. Off on the other, small bench where the backup goaltender usually sits, Johansson joined Semin there after coming to the bench from his goal shift. Semin gave the rookie a huge hug.
• Speaking of Semin, he had a great game. In one shift, he picked up at least three giveaways that his linemates gave up and singlehandedly kept the puck in the offensive zone. He also was very in tune with what was happening on the ice while he was on the bench. He jumped to his feet and protested a questionable penalty call on the Capitals (I believe it was when David Steckel was taken to the box for tripping in the second period).
• The guys who ask the most questions to coaches on the bench are David Steckel and John Carlson.
• Michal Neuvirth must have really been sick, because not only did I not even see him leave the ice, but he never returned back to the bench.
• The smell of sweaty hockey equipment does get pretty rank as the game goes on, but for me it just brought me back to my days of playing hockey and smelling like crap.
• A big chirper on the bench is Jason Chimera. I'm not sure who the Bruins player was (it was quick, it may have been Brad Marchand), but as he skated by the Caps bench, Chimera said something to him and the player responded, "Hey, f**k you." That's hockey, folks.
• Matt Hendricks is a creature of habit and has OCD tendencies worse than most goalies. I've noticed that when the guys get on the ice for the game, he instantly starts stretching his arms and shoulders using his stick. Sitting behind the bench, I discovered that after every single shift, he takes a water bottle and douses the back of his neck. Every shift. Without fail.
• I situated myself at the tunnel as the guys came down to take the ice for the first period. Getting the glove bumps from several of the players was awesome.
• For my first appearance on the Versus telecast... I was busy tweeting. Quite fitting, really. (on second look, I may have actually been taking a picture)

My photos from the evening are on flickr. Despite the loss, I think it was a pretty hard-fought game from the Caps.

Focus on... um... Dudes Traded to the Caps

I've admitted that I have a weakness when it comes to the Western Conference - basically I don't (edit: can't without Center Ice which I can't afford) really watch much of it or know all the players.  But I definitely wasn't the only Caps fan saying "Who?" when it was announced that the Capitals traded (Ed. note: *sniffle*) prospect Stefan Della Rovere to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for D.J. King.  So for all those Caps fans who were wondering who the heck this D.J. King is, I've compiled some information, much in the style of my "Focus on Prospects" posts.  Just to help Caps fans get acquainted and know what to expect.  Here we go...

photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Name: Dwayne "D.J." King

Position: LW
Shoots: Left
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 230 lbs
Birthdate: 1984-06-27

Hometown: Meadow Lake, Sask.

Based on popular opinion, there's no question over what King's role is on a hockey team: he's a fighter.  A Donald Brashear 2.0 if you will - obviously younger than Brash at 26, but big, tough, and willing to drop the gloves with the toughest guys in the league.  In fact, he's already dropped the gloves with, well, all the toughest guys in the league.  Blues fans have pointed most often to his regular bouts with Derek Boogaard pretty much every single time the Blues met the Wild (and now with Boogaard also joining the East as a New York Ranger, their bouts can continue).  A notable fight with Boogaard is below, and is one of the longer hockey fights I've seen, as well as covering about half the ice:
 

He's also regularly matched up with Ducks tough guy George Parros (three times alone in the 2007-08 season).  King has even traded blows with... John Erskine?  In the 2003 preseason (a year after King was drafted), Erskine was with the Dallas Stars.  In a preseason game against the Blues, King and Erskine got into it, and King dropped Erskine with a heavy right hook.

All right, so the guy can fight.  Anything else?  Well, not really.  But that's why he's a fourth-line guy.  King started out his career playing in the WHL with the Lethbridge Hurricanes.  While there, his stats very much mirror Matt Bradley's current NHL stats - usually averaging around 12 goals a season.  He hasn't scored much more than 1 goal a season since being in the NHL, though that's not his job.  Hockey's Future says he can be a "fourth-liner in the NHL when his team is in need of some muscle."  He doesn't have much of an offensive prowess but can "bang in the occasional goal."  Not that we would need another power forward with the likes of Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Semin.

And "muscle" is something that the Capitals need - the Caps have been without a proven fighter since the departure of Donald Brashear, aside from the occasional fights courtesy of Matt "Paper Skin" Bradley, and to a lesser extent, Jason Chimera.  This has been a bit of a weak spot for the Caps - without a tried and true enforcer, guys like Mike Green, Alexander Semin, and Nicklas Backstrom have had a target on their backs (targets that have gotten Green and Semin injured in the past).  It's important to note in the above video that in the scrum, King seems to be coming to the defense of his teammate Weaver, who was boarded a bit after the whistle.  Case in point: after the trade, King was told about Max Talbot's recent comments on Ovechkin, and King responded:

"Wow. I guess that’s not going to be happening too much longer, I guess."

In summary, King is huge, physical, and protects his teammates.  While he's not exactly a 2C or the defensive defenseman that the Caps still need, he is filling a role that has been missing in the past.  He's had major problems with injuries, but seems to be recovered from his latest, and is fresh off a conditioning stint in Peoria.  He should be right at home on a tough forechecking line with Bradley and David Steckel.  It's tough to say how well he's going to do in an offense-loaded system as is typical to the East, but let's just say that training camp should be very interesting.

What's Wrong with the Caps?

 photo by Jonathan Newton/the Washington Post Photo

The Caps have tied Montreal in the series at 1-1, but they have played notably poorly in their first two games.  What do the Caps need to do in order to win this series?  Here are my very own "keys to the game."

Solve Halak

Luckily, we already know how to solve Jaroslav Halak, but now the Caps need to actually do it. Eric Fehr's breakaway goal is a perfect example of where Halak is weak - high blocker side.  When Halak goes into the butterfly on lower shots, he's near unbeatable.  The Caps need to avoid shooting so low and shoot higher in order to best him.  Both Carlson's and Backstrom's goals were high glove side.  We solved Henrik Lundqvist last year (remember high glove side?) so Halak can be solved too.

Solve the Habs D

Especially after the first two games, it's become abundantly clear that the Habs D is, well, really freakin' good.  Hal Gill is a) enormous and b) leads the league in blocked shots in this postseason (he blocked 9 shots in Game 1 alone).  Jaroslav Spacek was a major problem for the Caps in Game 1.  Andrei Markov has also been excellent thus far.  This one is a little bit tougher to solve, but at least in the case of Hal Gill, he's not very fast.  Bruce Boudreau may want to consider putting speedy guys like Jason Chimera and Éric Bélanger on the ice against Gill.

Caps Goaltending

While José Théodore was outstanding in Game 1 with some sparkling saves, he allowed 2 goals in the first 2 shots last night.  The first goal was embarrassing, and you could chalk up the second goal also to some poor defensive moves.  Pulling him in favor of Varlamov was absolutely the right call, but who to start in Game 3?  Theo has been solid all year, but many are saying start Varlamov, who has a great playoff record but was shaky during this regular season.  Coaches will want to keep an eye on both in practice and definitely rotate the goalies to keep them fresh.

Top Line Must Improve

This definitely improved last game, as Nicklas Backstrom notched a hat trick in OT.  Ovechkin had a goal and a helper, but Bruce may want to consider putting Alexander Semin on the top line instead of Mike Knuble.  Both Knuble and Semin have not been effective so far in the playoffs, so shaking up the top line might benefit both of them.  Obviously Ovechkin-Backstrom-Semin can get too cute, but other times, they're outstanding.  It could be worth it to try out the line combination and see if it can spark the offense we all know they can produce.

No one knows what Bruce Boudreau and the Caps might do, but they can't continue playing as they are right now and expect to move on in the playoffs.  Game 3 is tomorrow night at Bell Centre in Montreal.  We'll see what happens.

Focus on Prospects: Dmitry Kugryshev

 photo by russianprospects.com

Name: Dmitry Kugryshev

Position: RW

Shoots: Left

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 187 lbs

Birthdate: 1990-01-18

Hometown: Moscow, Russia

When it was announced last week that Dmitry Kugryshev was signed by the Caps to a three-year entry-level deal, fans were excited.  Anyone who attended development camp knows that he looked to be a promising young player from the land of Alexander Ovechkin.  The Moscow-bred 20-year-old is now eligible to play with the Hershey Bears once his Québec Remparts season is over.

Dmitry first came into the hockey public eye in the 2008 World Junior Championships.  He had 4 points (including a goal) in 7 games, and helped the Russians toward a bronze medal.  His 2008-09 rookie season with the Remparts was a great entrance into North American hockey.  That season, he scored 40 goals and notched 54 assists, and won the Michel-Bergeron Trophy, awarded by the QMJHL to the Best Offensive Rookie of the year (an award that Sidney Crosby won in 2004 with Rimouski Océanic).  Drafted by the Caps in 2008 (2nd round, 58th overall), Dmitry showed excitement about his drafting team, especially considering the Russians on the team at the time - Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Viktor Kozlov, and Sergei Federov.  On his visit to Washington after the draft, Dmitry was invited to dinner with Ovechkin, his parents, Semin, and Federov.  On his blog (H/T to On Frozen Blog), Dmitry was pleasantly surprised by his selection:

I was extremely happy – to be picked at all, and to be picked by them. There are a lot of Russians on the team, and the team itself is really good. Went there for the training camp. Loved everything: the City, the Team. Honestly, everything was awesome.

Now into his second QMJHL season with the Remparts (of which he's considered the star), his numbers have improved still - in 66 games played, he's scored a whopping 87 points (29 goals and 58 assists).  Hockey's Future currently ranks him #10 on their list of Washington Capitals prospects - one spot above Cody Eakin, who was signed by the Caps earlier this season.  Hockey's Future offers the scout's perspective on Dmitry's skills.  He's called a "solid winger" and especially talented along the boards "where he uses his technique, balance and toughness to win most of the battles also thanks to his resilience to opponent’s physical play."  His passing still needs work, but some work with the Bears' A-line (Giroux, Aucoin, and Gordon) should definitely help his passing play.  He's a very dedicated and passionate player, but doesn't "over-rush his play to impress the coach or the scouts."

His Remparts coach Patrick Roy agrees.  In an interview with Dmitry Chesnokov in June 2009,  Kugryshev said:

Patrick told me that I have everything to play in the NHL. But he also told me that I shouldn’t stop working on improving myself and turn my good hockey skills into even better ones. He is very interested in me realizing my dream of playing for the Capitals as soon as possible.

With his current numbers and provided his improvement in some areas (which is certain in a system like Hershey), Kugryshev is poised to become the next Nicklas Backstrom (although Kugryshev says he gets inspiration from Semin's play).  But knowing how valuable Backstrom is to the team, the eventual addition of Kugryshev to the lineup will be a very good move for the Capitals.

Update:

I enjoy this interview that Kugi did with sportsandmoore.com earlier this season.  His English has improved by leaps and bounds since his first training camp.

Russia falls to Canada, controversies ensue

 photo by SovSport

The Russians are being sent home after last night's 7-3 loss to Canada in the Olympic quarterfinals. A disappointing loss to be sure, but in the last two minutes, everything exploded.

This video (from Mediaite and Puck Daddy) covers all the bases:

Let's address the two issues here one at a time. 

#1 Boyle v. Semin

Anyone who knows me knows I will defend Alexander Semin to the death. And even looking at Semin's hit on Dan Boyle as objectively as I possibly can, I see nothing wrong with it. Eddie Olczyk, during the game, called it a "high, late hit," but I don't see anything other than a clean check along the boards. Semin doesn't hit like this all that often, so I considered it to be, frankly, awesome.

So what does Dan Boyle do? Gets up, runs after Semin, and slewfoots him from behind while using his stick to take him down.

Excuse me?

The retaliation was a ridiculously irrational and dangerous reaction to a clean hit. Semin luckily was not hurt, but was definitely taken by surprise by the hit, and struck his head on the ice. And what does Boyle have to say about all this? According to the Seattle Times,

"It was probably a good hit," Boyle said of Semin's check. Then he shrugged, "That's hockey."

If "that's hockey" then no retaliation should be necessary. Just a thought.

Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau made an interesting comment about the situation after today's practice:

"[Semin's check] was a good check and if this were the NHL he wouldn't have gotten a penalty and Boyle would have gotten a three-game suspension. But it was on a Cap guy, so maybe nothing will happen."

Puck Daddy reports that an IIHF spokesman said "they normally do not review minor penalties in international play and it's unlikely they will do so in this instance, so don't expect Boyle to be suspended for Friday's semifinal."

#2 Mike Milbury

Of course the "American Don Cherry" would mix it up during this game. All of us were holding our collective breaths for the next JR v. Milbury showdown re: Ovechkin. But what popped out of his mouth after the final buzzer was not what I was expecting. A derogatory comment? Even Milbury, he of "Hey Ovi, I'm still your daddy" and "Crapitals" fame, has stooped too low.

The use of the word "Eurotrash" in this instance is offensive, disrespectful, and let's be honest, totally unnecessary. He could have said they played a bad game and he'd be absolutely right. But to say that they "brought their Eurotrash game" is too much, and an over-the-top slight on a team that just lost.

Some people are saying that those of us who are offended are making too much of it. But what if the shoe was on the other foot? What if the Canadians had played poorly and lost, and he used a derogatory term directed at Canadians? The issue is that the term was inappropriate for a national broadcast and especially inappropriate when you consider what the Olympics are supposed to be. The Olympics are about unity – the best of the world coming together to share their talents and learn new things from people of other countries. It is not about using slurs to describe competitors or how they play. As a commentator, Milbury is not even part of the game, and the language he used is unacceptable.

To borrow a quote from Puck Daddy, I think this about sums it up:

In this situation, Milbury tried too hard to bash the Russian's no-show in the one of the tournament's most highly anticipated games and went over the line.

Oh and Mike, when even Sean Avery thinks you've gone too far, it's not a good sign.

Tomas Fleischmann at ESPN Zone

photo by Ned Dishman/Getty Images

Last night, in one of those breaks between several back-to-back games, I headed down to the ESPN Zone in downtown DC with 2 friends to see Tomas Fleischmann speak and have an autograph session. Fleischmann is one of those players that rarely has primetime interviews and that you don't often see at these meet-and-greets. In his first full season with the Capitals, he had arguably been a secondary player – scoring every now and then, but for the most part not very noticeable on the ice.

Since then, he has surged to the forefront of the Washington Capitals team to become one of their most valuable players. Making the recent switch from wing to center, he now is part of the second line with powerhouses Brooks Laich and Alexander Semin – and he is making a name for himself even among talents like Semin, Laich, Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Mike Green. He has 17 goals so far on the season, whereas he had 19 in the whole of the 2008-09 season. He leads the team in shooting percentage with 21.5% - the next Capital who's even close is Eric Fehr with 16.9%. Clearly Fleischmann has settled into a groove on the team, and his skills are continuing to improve.

During the Q&A last night led by host Steve Kolbe, Fleischmann also proved that he was very humble, honest, and surprisingly witty. He noted that Bruce Boudreau "talks a lot" (no big surprise there for someone whose nickname is "Gabby") and that he's enjoying playing with his linemates. He's looking forward to playing in the Olympics as part of the Czech national team, but will be focusing on that only once the Olympic break begins. Once he gets to Vancouver, the Czech team will have only 2 days to practice together and try to establish some chemistry before playing on the international stage. However, he'll be in good company with talented players like Martin Havlat, Patrik Elias, and goaltender Tomas Vokoun.

He also said he definitely hears the fans in the Verizon Center during games, and is "very proud" to have such great fans.

It's obvious that Fleischmann not only has growing confidence, but also a sense of humor. When a young boy asked him, "How many goals do you want to get this year?" Fleischmann responded, "How many do you want me to get?" Kolbe told the kid to pick a large number, and he came up with 45.

Fleischmann then responded, "Well I'd better start tomorrow!"