My defense has this guy.

My skate is definitely against the post.

I'm definitely not getting traded to Colorado.

The puck is definitely in my glove.

This guy is just trying to dump it in.

It’s this last assumption that routinely gets goalies time on the "Not Top-Ten Plays" list.  A rushing puck carrier gains the red line, winds up to seemingly fire the puck hard around the boards and, at the last second, redirects his aim towards the net. Sometimes it’s intentional; sometimes the seams in the boards/glass/other players do it for him.

Enter ‘Awkward, confused goalie with a red light behind him.’

Unfortunately for the Caps, this has happened to three different red-sweatered goalies over the last seven games; once each to Michal Neuvirth, Tomas Vokoun and Braden Holtby. Is there something about the Caps’ defensive system or strategy that is leading to these type of goals, or is it just plain horrible luck? First, let’s take a look at where the change of direction occurs.

Read on.

Give me a ping, Vasili. One ping only, please.

The game of ice hockey is like a game of poker.

In poker, there will be moments when you lose a hand that you deserve to win.  You may have the better cards, but are forced to fold your hand because of a bet that you cannot match.  There will be moments when you win a hand you do not deserve to win because it is you making large bets with the poor cards.  When you bluff.  It happens.

Over the course of the entire game, however, the best poker player usually wins.  The player with the best strategy, who picks their spots, usually has the most money by the end of the night (or afternoon/morning, if that is your thing).

In ice hockey, over the course of any given season, odd bounces and bad luck abound.  Goaltenders steal games, playoff series, even, that their teams have no business winning.  Goals that have no business going in go in.  And it goes both ways.

But hockey, like poker, has a constant: in the end, more often than not, the best team comes out on top and wins the Stanley Cup.  That does not mean the team that was the best in the regular season, or the best team with the most offensive firepower.  It means the best team.  Often, it is the team with the most depth and the better strategy.

Of course, you need good cards to win in poker.  No matter how good a player you are or how well you pick your spots, if you don’t get the cards, you will lose eventually.  But you don’t need the best cards.  The same goes in hockey.  You need talent to win the Stanley Cup, but you don’t need the most talent.

Right now, the Washington Capitals are sitting at a poker table with the other 29 teams in the NHL.

Read more here!

It was an innocent Sunday morning. My wife, my two year old son and I managed to sleep in a bit before heading down to Chinatown to grab brunch before the 12:30pm Caps game against the Boston Bruins on Super Bowl Sunday. After stuffing ourselves on cinnamon buns and breakfast pizzas, we headed over to wait in line to enter the Verizon Center. We played with Backstrom's gloves in the team store and pointed out every Weagle we could see. Also, did you know Mike Knuble's sticks weigh twice as much as anyone else's? It's true.

Getting to the game early means being able to take our son down near the glass to watch warm-ups. It's a blast for him to see the players that closely. It’s also a great test of patience (his and ours) as the players don’t step onto the ice for a good 30 minutes after doors open. We played all sorts of games to kill the time: “watch the guys move the nets”, “look at all the Caps fans on the other side of the ice”, and “smile for the guy with the camera.” One puck was thrown onto the ice to look at, so we played the "point at the puck" game too. Then all hell broke loose.

For those who have never ventured down to the glass, the seats near the ice sit atop movable, aluminum bleachers. Unfortunately, these bleachers end about one inch from the boards, leaving a nice gap, like those found in many older elevators. It’s a gap just large enough for things to get dropped into, never to return. A game program. A cell phone. Car keys. A #68 jersey (just a suggestion).

Read more about pacifiers.

These things = gold.

The Washington Capitals are at a crossroads heading into tonight's game against the first-place Florida Panthers.  They have a veteran-laden roster that has underachieved thus far.  They are sitting in 9^th place in the conference and 2^nd place in the division, just a couple standing points away from being in the playoffs, and they are just a few weeks away from the NHL’s trading deadline.  This is not a finger-pointing, blame-game exercise; injuries have taken their toll on the roster and moves made over the summer that seemed like a good idea at the time haven’t worked out as anticipated.  The real question becomes what George McPhee will do at the trade deadline in 20 days if the team falls out of the playoff picture.

If the team can stay in the playoff hunt, McPhee is likely to make some moves to solidify his team for the playoffs.  It was this time of year in 2008 when the Capitals had clawed their way back into the playoff picture under a new coach but were just muddling along in February.  They were lacking a #2 center, had injuries to key players, and needed key upgrades.  McPhee went out and acquired a #2 center from Columbus for a prospect, he picked up a #1 goaltender for a draft pick, plus he exchanged a spare part roster player for another team's spare part.  The moves worked out beautifully and the Caps won the division and came within a lucky bounce of defeating the juggernaut Philadelphia Flyers in the first round.

Much of what will influence the direction of the Capitals is the status of 3 of the 5 players this team has been built around since 2007:  Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green, and Brooks Laich.  It is telling that the only other players left from that first season under Boudreau are two key forwards, Alexander Ovechkin and Alexander Semin, and two defensemen, Jeff Schultz and John Erskine.  The Capitals cannot realistically expect to compete for a championship without Laich, Backstrom, and Green, and it is a stark possibility that at least two of them will miss a large part of the remainder of this season, damaging the team's playoff chances.  These five key players will not be traded, as the team can realistically expect to win the division title next season if they can stay healthy.  The variety of supporting casts they’ve had over the years can attest to that.

Other players that will be wearing the Caps logo for training camp in the fall are defenders John Erskine, Karl Alzner, John Carlson, Dmitry Orlov, and Tomas Kundratek, plus forwards Troy Brouwer, Jason Chimera, Matt Hendricks, and Marcus Johansson.  Other likely names to be in D.C. next fall are Yevgeni Kuznetsov, Cody Eakin, Jeff Halpern, and Jay Beagle.  The other player I fully expect to be wearing the Capitals red next fall is Tomas Vokoun, a must considering how poorly the team plays without him, and he will be making in the neighborhood of $5 million.  The rest of the players on the team have the potential to get traded or become free agents between now and then, and McPhee may choose to do trade players now while he can still get something in return, either to salvage this season or prepare for next season.  Since missing the playoffs this season is unacceptable and signing key free agents this summer is crucial, he will likely do both. 

Who will be in a new uniform? Read on!

(John McDonnell - THE WASHINGTON POST)

Top Ten things overheard at the Verizon Center as Brooks Laich hobbled back to the bench during yesterday’s Caps game against the Boston Bruins:

10. Somehow, Ovi’s gonna get suspended for this…

9. Do we start yelling ‘Ref you suck!” now, or wait a bit?

8. Damn. It’s hard enough stalking Green and Backstrom at home. Anyone have Brooksie’s address?

7. OH GOD! HE DIDN’T GET HIT IN THE FACE, DID HE!?

6. I think Tim Thomas hurt him somehow. You know how he hates those left wing and center types…

5. I can’t tell who it is… all I see is a ‘2’. Please be Aucoin. Please be Aucoin. Please be… dammit!

4. OH GOD! HE DIDN’T GET HIT IN THE GROIN, DID HE!?

3. It’s ok, it’s Brooks. He’ll probably change someone’s oil on his way to the locker room.

2. Quite the interesting dance Brooks is doing there. Beat Dat Beat!

1. Would anyone like to buy some non-refundable playoff tickets!?

The Washington Capitals are in dire need of a hero at the moment.  When Sheriff Shanahan rounded up the last Young Gun who was on the loose by slapping Alexander Ovechkin with a 3-game suspension, the Capitals suddenly went from a star-filled, talent-laden roster to one without a rudder.  Alexander Ovechkin is the team's captain and emotional leader, not to mention the best goal scorer.  He was the driving force behind the Capitals getting a point out of Sunday's loss to Pittsburgh, posting two assists and the go-ahead goal in the third period.  He used to be the most fun player to watch in the league, but lately he looks like he is being dragged down by the "C" on his chest and the public persona change that happened when he signed with IMG.  He has been a shadow of himself for over a year.  Even so, he has set up or scored 5 of the team's 8 goals over the past 5 games, he anchors the powerplay, and he is the most dangerous player on the ice.  Without him for three games in seasons past, the Capitals would buckle down and find ways to win.  Now, a 3-game absence for the 100 million-dollar man on the heels of his first 3-point performance of the season means the Caps aren't likely to make much of an impact on the score-sheet.

The 2011-12 season started out with so much promise for the Capitals.  The team had a lot of new, veteran faces and they were loaded for bear to march all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.  For the first 7 games, nothing could go wrong.  Even when the team looked out of sync and disjointed, they found ways to win.  That's the mark of a great team, the ability to win games even when you're not at your best.  Not coincidentally, those 7 wins, plus one more on November 11, are the only games the four core players this team has been built around have played together this season.  Since then, the Capitals have been a patchwork quilt of overpriced veterans, minor-league call-ups, and spare parts.  The entire team got put through the wringer when Bruce Boudreau was fired as head coach.  New coach Dale Hunter is an excellent replacement, but the team still needs to adapt to his coaching style and establish the identity he wants to stamp on them.  Hunter is getting the most he can out of this line-up, but the spokes on the wheel can only do so much without the hub. 

Hunter has the ball rolling in the right direction, but until he gets Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Mike Green, and Nicklas Backstrom in the line-up at the same time, hopefully in the playoffs, we won't get a true sense of how good this team really is.  General Manager George McPhee hates overpaying for anything, but he will pay to keep these four players together as long as he thinks they can win together.  Money can only take the team so far, though, if the players aren't in the lineup.  As Capitals' owner Ted Leonsis said in his rebuttal to Ovechkin's suspension, one-third of the team's payroll is tied up in Green ($5.25M), Ovechkin ($9.5M), and Backstrom ($6.7M).  In real money terms, the 20 players who suited up for opening night counted $59.6 million against the salary cap.  The 20 players expected to suit up for the Caps tonight combine for $39.3 million, just under 66% of the opening night roster.  Considering the salary cap floor is $48 million, don't expect too much from the Caps tonight as they face the defending Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins. 

Read on.

The Washington Capitals annoucned Monday that All-Star defenseman Mike Green, who has missed 33 of the team's 43 games this season, will be out four-to-six weeks as he undergoes abdominal surgery.

Green, who has been out for the majority of the last three months with a groin injury, has led the Capitals to a 9-1-0 record while he is in the lineup.  Washington placed him on long-term injured reserve earlier in the week, which would have meant that the earliest he could re-join the team was February 1st.  He will not be able to play now for at least two weeks beyond that, and probably much longer.

The abdominal surgery does have the goal of fixing Green's groin problem; this is not believed to be a surgery that is the direct result of a new injury.

The Calgary, Alberta native has three goals and three assists in his ten games this year.

Harry Hawkings is a college student who covers the Caps for RtR.  You can follow him on Twitter here and get his practice and game updates.

Though the Washington Capitals have won games more often than they have lost them recently, especially on home ice, the victories have not come without nerves.  In four of the Capitals' last five games, they have scored the first goal, an act that often breeds success for Washington.

Three of those four games, the Capitals have won, which, obviously, is the desired result.  What has not been desired, however, is the fashion in which they have won those games; Washington has established a lead before waiting back and playing defense instead of attacking with the same vigor than they do at the start.

Predictably, this has allowed other teams to gain momentum and generate a large number of scoring chances.  During Friday night's win against Tampa Bay, this recent trend came to a head, as after falling behind 3-0 in the game's opening 25 minutes, took advantage of the Capitals' passive play to score three of the next four goals, including two in the final three and a half minutes, and almost steal a win.

"We miss how many goals in the last five minutes?," asked Tampa Bay coach Guy Boucher following that game.  "You outshoot your opponent 32-20 in their barn?  Can't do much more than that."

For a team that has sky-high expectations, both within the organization and in the fan base, that is not the desired way to win hockey games.  In the short-term, the two points is what matters, but allowing teams to fight back into the game is a disturbing trend that the Capitals themselves are eager to buck, because Stanley Cup playoff games are not won like the Caps have won their last two contests.

"When we have the lead there, we sit back a little bit," said Matt Hendricks after the Tampa game.  "We shouldn't."  Dale Hunter ageed, saying: "You always like to close them out, be sound defensively.  When they score late, nobody's going to be happy.  It's a win, but everybody wants to be sound."

That is, of course, the long term goal.  Because the Capitals are still working into their new defensive system under Hunter, it's been difficult for them to put together full, 60-minute games.  The Capitals want to just play sound defensive hockey and keep control of the game, instead of allowing the other team to attack them while attempting to achieve that goal.

"You need to limit those chances," said Karl Alzner.  "But in doing that, you allow them to come at you a little bit.  It's hard to keep going with that aggressive style, because it can bite you in the end, you have to find a good mix.  We've done it in a couple games, but it's tough to do all the time."

Brooks Laich concurred.  "It's a very tough thing to do, in today's game, to hold leads," he said.  Even two and three goal leads, like we had last night (against Tampa).  There are a lot of factors that have to do with it, but we need to just keep getting the lead.  I think that's when we play our best."

With two home games coming up against teams below them in the standings before a tough road swing begins, the Capitals need to work out the kinks in their consistency and ability to keep the other team from dominating long stretches of play late.

Because although they may be getting wins out of teams like Tampa and a decimated Pittsburgh group, that won't fly when the Bruins come to town or the Capitals travel to Philadelphia later in the year.

They have the talent to do it.  The question is, when?

Harry Hawkings is a college student who covers the Caps for RtR.  Follow him here for all your game and practice update needs.

It's not often we here at Rock the Red get to toot our own horn about accomplishments, but there are a few topics we can't help but share. Sometimes it being featured on ESPN, other times it's writing about our blog winning awards. Our favorite, however, we couldn't achieve without the support of our readers. You see, we have a shirt shop that we started not long ago from which we donate all proceeds to Washington Capitals' charities. Whether it's Mike Green's So Kids Can or Jose Theodore's Saves for Kids, the whole "giving back" thing really gives us the warm-and-fuzzies. 

This time, we were able to donate $200.00 to Matt Hendricks' Hendy's Heroes, a faction of Defending the Blue Line which is a non profit organization created by soldiers. Through this donation, they will be able to keep the spirit of hockey alive for the children of our nations military heroes. That means that Rock the Red has been able to donate over $500 via the purchases made in our shop!!!

Again, a big thank you to all the readers (and bloggers) for all your support over the years. We have big things planned for this shop in 2012, so if you haven't checked it out recently please stop by and pick up a shirt (or three!)

Capitals' Nation held its collective breath last night after watching Calgary Flames forward Rene Bourque deliver a flagrant elbow to the head of Capitals' #1 center Nicklas Backstrom.  In an environment where even the mention of the word concussion can keep a player out of a game, a blow to the head on a player with a history of migraines was enough to give us pause.  In that instant, the reality many in hockey circles have conveniently avoided became painfully clear:  Alexander Ovechkin may be the best athlete and goal scorer on the team, but Nicklas Backstrom is the one player the Capitals cannot afford to lose.  Losing him would change the landscape drastically and would end the team's chances of winning anything meaningful this season.  For a team that has been plagued by inconsistency this season and has undergone a complete systems overhaul since the coaching change last month, Backstrom has been the rock the team could depend on every night.  If Backstrom's wasn't under consideration for the Hart Memorial Trophy as the player most valuable to his team before this incident, he should be now. 

Backstrom is no longer just Alex Ovechkin's set-up man, he is the true centerpiece of the Washington Capitals.  The general trend that began a few years ago became readily apparent on November 1. That was the night Bruce Boudreau benched Ovechkin as the Capitals were trying to force overtime against the Anaheim Ducks.  Backstrom, on the ice in favor of the goalie, started the play as Ovechkin's set up-man was put on the ice to take the face-off, and when he buried a rebound past Jonas Hiller with 42 seconds left in the game, he emerged as Nicklas Backstrom the clutch goal-scorer.  As a follow-up, Backstrom came through in the clutch in overtime, too.  He led the rush up ice with Ovechkin, motioned for Ovie to cross behind for a drop pass, then Backstrom flattened Andrew Cogliano with a counter-hit.  Backstrom then banged home a centering pass from Jeff Schultz to put the game away, cementing his status as the team's true game-changer. 

Read on.

Photo by Mitchell Layton/NHLI via Getty Images