Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Fehr shines in OT thriller

It was the first time these 2 teams have met since the 7 game playoff series last year. The Capitals looked to be headed down the same road as last Wednesday when they were trailing 3-0 to the Bruins after one period. Instead the Caps showed tremendous maturity and overcame the lead for a 4-3 OT win. After allowing 3 goals on the first 9 shots Braden Holtby shut the door on Boston. Holtby had 30 saves in his 8th win of the season. Holtby couldn’t have done a lot in the first period, with all 3 goals being somewhat out of reach. One was a penalty shot, one was an unlucky scramble in front of the net, and final one being a PP goal where he was screened. Holtby isn’t making a lot of mistakes lately and the defense needs to do a better job of backing him up.
Mike Ribeiro would get the scoring started in the 2nd period with a great pass from Alex Ovechkin. 5 minutes later Tomas Kundratek lit the lamp for his 1st career NHL goal. Kundratek has played 20 games with the Caps this year and is cementing himself as a full time NHL defenseman. He also logged an assist in the game and had a + ice rating. Kundratek said after the game, "I definitely celebrated like winning goal in the playoffs. It's the first one, and I'll remember it for the rest of my life."
In the 3rd period Wojtek Wolski would score the game tying goal ending an 11 game goalless streak. Wolski played his season high in minutes tonight, after being a healthy scratch on Saturday in Winnipeg. Eric Fehr and Nicklas Backstrom assisted on this goal as well as Kundratek’s goal. It seemed to be their night as they started on the ice for OT. It only took 37 seconds for the pair to hook up for the game winning goal. Fehr split the defense after a nice pass from Backstrom and beat Tukka Rask top shelf as he was falling to the ice. Backstrom and Fehr both logged 3 point games tonight and had the top forward line for the Caps even without Troy Brouwer. Brouwer was out with an illness and should return to action Thursday.
One player that made a big impact in his 1st ever NHL game was defenseman Steve Oleksy. The Caps signed and recalled Oleksy yesterday because Mike Green was place on IR and Roman Hamrlik on waivers. He is a talented puck-moving defenseman who is very physical and isn’t afraid of the penalty box. Oleksy played very well in his debut logging his 1st career point assisting on the Ribeiro goal. He had a +2 ice rating and led the team with 3 blocked shots. It didn’t take him long to get acquainted after he threw a bone-crushing hit at tough guy Shawn Thornton. With Green and Orlov out we will be seeing a lot more of Oleksy and after tonight that won’t be a bad thing.
Overall this was a monumental win for Washington because they were resilient and didn’t give up against a very talented team in Boston. Also the Caps were missing Troy Brouwer for the first time this season as well as Mike Green, and players were able to rise to the occasion and fill those gaps. I’m calling this game the most important win of our season because of the confidence it will bring to this team. Alex Ovechkin hasn’t scored a goal in the last 4 games, but he has still been productive in creating chances. He also has logged a point in 4 of his last 5 games. Also cheers to John Erskine for dropping the mitts for the 2nd time this season to get the Caps going. This OT winner wasn’t as thrilling as Joel Ward’s game 7 winner, but it was still pretty awesome. The Caps are home again Thursday against the Florida Panthers who are without Jose Theodore for quite some time. Washington has to CAPitalize on these divisional games. Keep the Faith. Rock the Red. Unleash the Fury.
Player of the Game: Eric Fehr (1 goal, 2 assists, +3)
Stat of the Game: 3 assists (Nicklas Backstrom)
Unsung Hero: Steve Oleksy

Friday, March 1, 2013

Injuries, acquisitions, and the LW mystery

Since the embarrassing loss to the Flyers the Caps have made some changes and the injury bug seems to be inevitable for Mike Green. Mike Green played his first game Wednesday after sitting out 3 games and reinjured his groin, so that he will not be playing tomorrow against the Winnipeg Jets. We have seen this injury with Mike Green in the past and don’t turn out well for the Capitals. There is no timetable for his return. This means that Jeff Schultz or Roman Hamrlik will step in his place; my money is on Schultz getting the start. Brooks Laich, Marcus Johansson, and Dmitry Orlov remain sidelined with injuries too with no timetables. Johansson is the only one that is recovering and skating consistently with the Caps. Laich hasn’t skated since February 16th and Orlov is still out indefinitely.  
Yesterday the Caps picked up forward Aaron Volpatti off of waivers from the Vancouver Canucks. He is a tough left winger who isn’t afraid of dropping the mitts, but will not be an offensive threat for Washington. This season for the Canucks he has 4 fights in 16 games and 1 goal. George McPhee is obviously looking for a 4th line spark of some toughness and grit making this move. Adam Oates stated today that Volpatti will be in the lineup tomorrow against the Jets which means a LW has to be scratched. The rumors in the Caps media today seem to think it will be Wojtek Wolski who has 2 goals this season, and hasn’t scored in a month. Despite his recent struggles I would not scratch Wolski because he is due for a goal. We will see if Volpatti can help the Caps build some momentum in Winnipeg. He will be wearing #24 tomorrow.
The Caps also sent down goaltender Philipp Grubauer and forward Casey Wellman to Hershey yesterday. Michal Neuvirth is feeling better and the acquisition of Volpatti is the reason for the demotion of the two players. It is safe to say this will not the last we will be seeing of Grubauer at the NHL level after his short lived stint with the Capitals. He showed great promise and composure in net and will continue to succeed at Hershey until his time comes. Braden Holtby will make his 9th straight start tomorrow in net after being pulled mid-game on Wednesday. In my opinion 3 of the 4 goals he could do nothing about, so he should be able to bounce back in Winnipeg tomorrow.
Finally the mystery of the LW spot on the top line continues. As I had predicted Jason Chimera will no longer accompanying Mike Ribeiro and Alex Ovechkin anymore because of his lack of production. Adam Oates has decided to go with Matt Hendricks on the top line for this upcoming game. Nothing against Hendricks, but while he may have the speed and determination, he lacks the skill to be a top 6 forward. You would think that someone would want to step up and grab the spot with Laich and Johansson out, but a player has yet to prove worthy. Johansson, Wolski, Chimera, and now Hendricks are among the players who have had their shot with the top line this season. Maybe Hendy will prove us wrong.
4 Things to Look For In Winnipeg
·         Alex Ovechkin will tickle the twine for his 9th goal of the season. He’s been scoreless in the 2 games since his hat trick and the Caps will need him against this divisional foe

·         Aaron Volpatti will drop the mitts for the 5th time this season, 1st with the Caps to show them that he can bring some momentum to this struggling team.

·         Braden Holtby will get back on track for his 7th win of the season.

·         Eric Fehr will log some kind of point in his return to Winnipeg to show them what they’re missing.