WASHINGTON: For the Washington Capitals, it has been a season of ups and downs.  But over the last two weeks, the Capitals have started to round into form under new coach Dale Hunter's system, and over the last four games, the results have been there.  Tuesday night, these changes manifested themselves again as Alex Ovechkin recorded his fourth consecutive multi-point game, Nicklas Backstrom had three assists, and Tomas Vokoun made 18 saves as the Caps defeated the Calgary Flames 3-1 inside Verizon Center, Washington's fourth consecutive victory.

"Everybody's buying in to everything, and working very hard," said forward Marcus Johansson, who had two assists. "That's the most important thing, is that no one is taking it easy, everybody's working, working their hardest every night, and that's going to play a big role in this."

The Capitals got off to a blazing start, with Alex Ovechkin converting on a power play just 71 seconds in to the game with a slapshot from the top of the circles, the fourth consecutive home game that the Capitals have scored first in.  Not coincidentally, they have won all four.  "It's so important," said Hunter.  "You see the record when you score first, and to come out, score a power play goal right off the hop...it's a good way to start."

That opening power play strike was also the third consecutive game Ovechkin has scored a goal.  "He's working," Hunter said.  "Sometimes the puck doesn't go in, sometimes it does, but if you keep working, good things will happen. He's getting rewarded for it right now."  Said the Captain, "I just feel very good, you know, about my game," he said.  "My shot, and how I control the puck, (on the power play) you can see how my partners find me and it's very important to find open space up there."

Washington continued to carry play through the first twenty minutes, though they could not get another goal past Miikka Kiprusoff.  The second period, however, was an entirely different story, at least from the start, as Calgary owned most of the chances and established a good cycle on the Washington defensive corps.

But after a penalty call on Chris Butler gave the Caps another chance to extend their lead, they pounced on it.  Troy Brouwer, in front of the net, slammed home a rebound from an Alex Ovechkin point drive to double the lead.  "It's kind of scary, playing there with Ovi taking those shots," the winger said.  "But Dale told me if I want to play on the power play, that's where I'm going to be.  I have a big body, I have to use it."

Calgary would not lie down, however.  After Jason Chimera was hauled down in the neutral zone without a call, Jarome Iginla fed Curtis Glencross in front to cut the lead in half with 6:09 left in the period.  Washington bent, feeling the heat of the attack, but did not break, and true to form, got the goal right back with another vintage play from Nicklas Backstrom.

Backstrom carried the puck around the goal and fed a cutting Dennis Wideman in front, who pounded home the third tally on a one-timer with 2:59 left in the frame, restoring the two goal advantage and easing pressure on the home side.  "Nicky's a great playmaker," said Hunter.  "He sees the ice, and you know, you can't teach that.  It's just God given ability, even when he can't see him, he just sort of senses people around him."  Marcus Johansson added to that sentiment.  "He's pretty good.  He's got such a good eye for the game.  You always find the puck on your stick with him...he's pretty good."

The Flames pushed hard in the final period, including two late power plays, but could not get anything past Vokoun, who made several outstanding saves on odd-man rushes and on the penalty kill to help preserve the win.  "Our goalie played unbelievable," said Ovechkin.  "He made some great saves and gave us a little breathing room."

And though the Caps have now won four in a row, there is still work to be done.  "As a coach, you're never satisfied," said Hunter.  "One game at a time here.  We won a few, but Tomas still had to make big saves.  We have to tighten up even more."

If they do, it could certainly be a very fun spring.

NOTES: Forward Nicklas Backstrom, who was named the game's first star, did not play in the final 3:19 after taking an elbow to the head from Flames winger Rene Bourque.  Bourque was assessed a two minute minor for elbowing on the play.  "We removed him from the game as a precaution," said Hunter.  "He's getting evaluated tonight.  We'll know more tomorrow." Backstrom took one more shift after the initial hit...With his goal and assist Tuesday, captain Alex Ovechkin now has four consecutive multi-point games, the first time he has done that since February 4-10, 2010...Mike Green, playing in his first game since November 11th, skated 15:43 and recorded three shots on goal.  Said the defenseman, when asked if he is where he wanted to be: "Not even close.  (I need to) get the rust out of my game.  I'll be back to normal soon, but it will take some time."

Harry Hawkings is a college student who covers the Caps for RtR. Follow him on Twitter here.

The Washington Capitals were on ice Monday for a practice as they prepare to take on the Calgary Flames Tuesday night at Verizon Center. Some updates from Kettler Capitals Iceplex:

Alexander Semin was absent from practice, as he was given a "maintenance day."  Despite this, Dale Hunter would not commit to Semin playing against the Flames tomorrow.  In addition, according to a Caps spokesperson, Semin is not suffering from a cut on his arm, despite reports otherwise this morning.

As such, the lines were as follows: Ovechkin-Laich-Brouwer, Johansson-Backstrom-Knuble, Chimera-Halpern-Ward, and Perreault-Hendricks-Beagle.  Mike Green, who skated for a full practice again Monday, is still progressing and could play tomorrow.  He said that this is the best he's felt since suffering his injury over 50 days ago and a determination on his status would be made after the morning skate.

That's all for now.

Alex Ovechkin recorded two goals for the second consecutive game, Dennis Wideman collected three points in three minutes, and Tomas Vokoun made 35 saves Saturday night as the Washington Capitals put together a brilliant third period comeback to knock off the Columbus Blue Jackets inside Nationwide Arena.  Down 2-0 after two periods, the Caps got four goals in a span of six minutes in the final frame to complete a New Year's miracle of their own in one of their biggest games of the year.  It was huge, after two great wins, that the Caps did not let a game against a beatable opponent get away from them, and earned their first three game winning streak since October under their belt.

The game got off to a relatively slow start, with neither team getting any good chances until five minutes had passed.  Alex Ovechkin created a rush by himself and set up Roman Hamrlik in front, but Steve Mason made a great save to deny the defenseman and Ovechkin's follow up effort.  Washington kept up their attacking ways as the middle of the period came and went, but again Mason made some nice saves to keep the game scoreless.

With about seven minutes left in the opening period, play began to open up a bit, with both teams garnering opportunities not h through steady offensive pressure, but through odd man rushes.  But eventually the Blue Jackets did establish a forecheck, keeping the Caps on their heels a bit and forcing Tomas Vokoun into some nice saves.  Columbus also came very close twice in the final ten seconds, but the period closed deadlocked at zero.

The second period started with more of the same, as neither team could get any offensive momentum going, though Alex Ovechkin and Derek Dorsett did get in a bit of a tangle that created four on four hockey a little less than three minutes into the frame.  As the period continued through its middle stages, the Blue Jackets really began to pick up play, forcing Vokoun into making several nice saves in order to keep the scored tied at 0.

Read on.

WASHINGTON - Finally, it all seems to be coming together.  Alex Ovechkin scored two goals and Tomas Vokoun made 25 saves Friday night to lead the Washington Capitals to their second win in a row, this time 3-1 over the Buffalo Sabres inside Verizon Center.  In doing so, they also extracted some revenge on a team that had flattened them the last two times they met by a combined score of 9-3.  "In the locker room, we just said we owed them one," said Ovechkin.  "We just had to have a great start, and we had a great start."  To no one's surprise, that has been a recent recipe for success.

The Caps got off to a good start, earning a power play after only 27 seconds following a boarding call to Mike Weber.  And in the exact opposite of what happened on Monday in Buffalo, it was Washington who capitalized right away, as Alex Ovechkin roared down the wing and had his centering pass deflected past Ryan Miller for a 1-0 lead.  Buffalo was given a man advantage of their own right after the goal, but several nice blocks by the Caps' penalty kill unit kept the momentum with the home side in the early stages.

As soon as they killed off the minor, Washington was right back on the attack, peppering the Buffalo net with shots and earning another power play just past the midway mark of the frame when Alexander Semin was hooked moving up the far boards on a breakout.  Unlike their first power play, the Caps got no puck movement, and the good Sabre penalty kill knocked off the disadvantage easily.

Washington's strong defensive play continued after their man advantage, keeping their visitors without their first shot until seven minutes remained in the period.  They also continued to carry play up in their offensive zone, getting numerous chances off of a cycle and very good zone entries that stretched the Sabres' defensemen and forced Miller into some great saves.  Despite their pressure, they could not get another, and the period ended 1-0.

In the second period, it was Buffalo's turn to start hot, buzzing Tomas Vokoun's net and forcing the veteran goaltender to make some nice saves.  But the Caps broke back and were able to double their lead quickly, as great passing between Roman Hamrlik and Alexander Semin gave Nicklas Backstrom a tap in from the middle of the slot that the pivot made no mistake with after only 3:52.

Read on.

The Washington Capitals were on ice for a practice Thursday morning as they prepare to meet the Sabres Friday night at Verizon Center.  Some updates from Kettler Capitals Iceplex:

The lines were the same as they were for Wednesday night's win over the Rangers: Ovechkin-Backstrom-Semin, Ward-Laich-Chimera, Johansson-Halpern-Brouwer, and Knuble-Hendricks-Beagle-Perreault.

Mike Green also took his third consecutive full practice as he recovers from a groin injury, taking full rushes with his fellow defensemen and not looking like he was hesitating very much at all.  After skating, green said that he could be back this weekend but a more realistic timeline would be next week, ideally Tuesday against Calgary.

That's all for now.

WASHINGTON - For one night, at least, the Washington Capitals looked like the team everyone knows they can be.  Alexander Semin scored two goals for the first time this season, Alex Ovechkin recorded two points in a game for the first time in 23 contests, and Tomas Vokoun made 31 saves in his first start in over two weeks, as the Caps romped to a 4-1 win inside Verizon Center.  "It was a very important game for us, especially after losing like that in Buffalo," said captain Alex Ovechkin.  "I think everybody was concentrated and we just did an unbelievably good job.  All lines, offensively and in the neutral zone too."  Funny, how that works.  Play a complete game, you might just win a few of them.

New York owned most of the opportunities early, occupying the Washington zone for long stretches through a very good forecheck.    The Caps attempted a push back with a nice shift from their third line, but Brooks Laich, left open in the top of the slot, missed the top right hand corner with his effort.  But the Caps got a lucky break when a bad clearing pass by the Rangers stalled at the blue line, allowing Jeff Halpern to walk in and take a shot on Marin Biron.  Biron could not control the rebound, and Marcus Johansson was there to bang it home at 8:18.

The Caps’ good fortune took a nosedive three minutes later however when an awful turnover by Karl Alzner led to a great scoring chance and a penalty against the defenseman.  Washington was able to kill off the penalty, but John Erskine was called for tripping soon after taking down Mike Rupp in the defensive zone.  Again, DC killed the penalty, but gave up the equalizer after a Ryan Callahan shot block gave the Rangers a two-on-one that Brandon Dubinsky finished cleanly over the glove of Tomas Vokoun.

Washington got a power play with 1:41 left in the frame, and set up very well with puck movement that gave them several golden chances, most notably a puck that floated over Troy Brouwer’s stick when he had a wide open net on the doorstep, but could not convert.  The period ended tied at one.

The Rangers knocked off the remaining 20 seconds on the DC power play to begin the period, and again began cycling the puck in their offensive zone for long stretches, to which the Caps had no answer.  Slowly, the Caps began to break the pressure, and with 13 minutes left in the frame began a concerted attack that generated a few nice chances.  Dmitry Orlov came very close to his first NHL goal during that sequence with a few cannonading slap shots from the point, but Biron held firm.

READ ON HERE!

The Washington Capitals were on ice Tuesday morning for a practice as they prepare to try and right the ship against the Conference-leading Rangers on Wednesday night.  Some updates from Kettler Capitals Iceplex:

Mathieu Perreault, who left Monday night's game against the Sabres because of an upper-body injury and stayed in Buffalo overnight for observation, returned to the practice ice on a line with Matt Hendricks, Mike Knuble, and Jay Beagle.  The other lines were changed up too: Ovechkin-Backstrom-Semin, Johansson-Halpern-Brouwer, and Ward-Laich-Chimera.

Mike Green participated in practice for the duration of the skate for the first time since sustaining his second groin injury.  Previously, Green had been leaving practice when drills began after skating before practice began and with his teammates on ice before drills began.  The defenseman saw time on the power play during the skate.  Afterwards, he indicated that he is feeling much better, but is still day to day.  He seems a long shot to play against the Rangers at this point.

That's all for now.

The Washington Capitals were embarrassed, again, by the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night, falling 4-2 inside First Niagara Center.  Michal Neuvirth was pulled after half a period after allowing three goals, and Tomas Vokoun was solid in relief but by then the damage was already done.  Matt Hendricks and Alex Ovechkin made it look more respectable with goals well after the result was in any doubt, but the reality is that the Caps were humbled by a team struggling more than them.  And so, it's back to the drawing board.  Again.

The game got off to a disastrous start, with Buffalo striking on the power play after only 51 seconds after Roman Hamrlik took a delay of game penalty after nine seconds.  The Sabres extended their lead a little less than two minutes later off the stick of Matt Ellis, and the rout, as they say, was on.  The Caps steadied the ship slightly in the following six minutes, including earning a power play, but Christian Ehrhoff scored after 11 minutes to send Neuvirth to an early shower in a game he never should have started in the first place.  Alex Ovechkin took a penalty soon after Ehrhoff's goal, and Brayden McNabb scored his first off the season on that power play, basically eliminating any chance the Caps had to get a point out of the game.

In the second period, Joel Ward took an early penalty and the Sabres continued to bring the pressure; it was only the solid play of Vokoun that kept the Caps from being even more embarrassed.  Even when the Caps were given a power play of their own midway through the frame, they could get absolutely nothing going.  Finally, with less than 20 seconds left in the period, Matt Hendricks got DC on the board with a goal in front, and the period ended with Buffalo ahead 4-1.

In the third period, is was clear that Washington had accepted their fate, continually allowing the Sabres to gain momentum and get wide open chances at Vokoun's net.  Alex Ovechkin got himself a power play goal from the point at the halfway mark of the final period, but that was the only dent that the Caps could make in Ryan Miller.  The Sabres got two more power plays as the game wound down, but could not score and the Caps skated out of Buffalo beaten and humiliated by an inferior team.

Observations:

Michal Neuvirth started this game...why?  A loss in his last start, a GAA over 3 on the season and a save percentage under .895 on the season.  Granted, Tomas Vokoun has not been his best or even close to it, but he's been a lot better than that.  A really poor decision by Dale Hunter, and it may have cost the Caps a point; two of the goals Neuvirth let in were directly his fault.  Remember when the Caps were supposed to have one of the best goalie tandems in the league?

Alex Ovechkin was not invisible tonight.  An improvement.  But really, Ovi was better.  His goal was, of course, nice, but it's just not enough.  He is not enough.  He needs to be for the Caps to have a chance to break this funk and go far in the playoffs.  Or, you know, even make the playoffs.  I'm kidding.  Kind of.

Next up, the Caps have the Rangers on Wednesday.  The same team who lead the Eastern Conference and are beating teams down.  And beat the Caps 6-3 in November.  This is going to get worse before it gets better.  Puck drop for that one is 7:30.

The Washington Capitals are in Buffalo, New York, this evening to take on the Sabres in a Boxing Day clash as they attempt to gain some momentum heading out of the Christmas break. The Caps come into tonight's game having gone 5-4-1 over their last ten, including their last game, a 4-3 overtime loss against the Devils on Friday.  Overall, they are 17-14-2 on the year for 36 standings points, which places them third in the Southeast Division and tenth in the Eastern Conference.  The Sabres, so far, have had an equally disappointing season as the Caps have, and are 3-5-2 over their last ten and 16-15-3 overall for 37 standings points.  That has them in fourth in the competitive Northeast Division and eleventh in the East, one point behind the Caps.  This is the second meeting between these two clubs this year; the Sabres won the first leg 5-1 in what was Bruce Boudreau's final game behind the Washington bench.

Ryan Miller is expected to earn the nod from Lindy Ruff, despite losing his last three contests.  After a Vezina-winning campaign in 2009-10, Miller fell off a bit last year, and has continued that so far this year.  On the year he is 8-8-2 with a 3.11 GAA, .904 save percentage, and one shutout.  Despite his poor performance this year, he's still Ryan Miller, and he won that Vezina for a reason. Buffalo is also dealing with a rash of injuries, as defenseman Tyler Myers (wrist) and forwards Ville Leino (lower body) and Nathan Gerbe (concussion) are all out indefinitely.  Forwards Thomas Vanek (lower body), Brad Boyes (leg), and Tyler Ennis (ankle) are also all questionable for tonight's game.

Tomas Vokoun should start for Dale Hunter after a four game layoff and Michal Neuvirth's loss against the Devils.  Vokoun has underperformed vastly this year, and on the year is 12-8-0 with a 2.81 GAA .906 save percentage, and one shutout.  He was pulled from his last start, two weeks ago against the Flyers.  On the injury front, both Mike Green and Jay Beagle are out with groin and concussion injuries, respectively, and will not play.  In terms of healthy scratches, as of now there is no indication that Jeff Schultz will reclaim the role in the lineup that is rightfully his over John Erskine or Roman Hamrlik, but of course that could all change.

Puck drops 7:08-ish.  Happy Boxing Day!

For most of their professional careers, Capitals defensemen John Carlson and Karl Alzner have been attached at the hip.  Carlson, 21, and Alzner, 23, who were drafted two years apart, began their professional journeys with the Caps' American Hockey League affiliate, the Hershey Bears, developing alongside current Caps like Michal Neuvirth, Mathieu Perreault, and Jay Beagle.  There, the two of them played together often, and both were huge pieces of the Hershey teams that won back to back Calder Cups in 2009 and 2010.

When they both graduated to full time NHL duty last season, they made the transition very well, playing together for a big part of the season and quickly establishing themselves as the Caps' most consistent and best defensive pairing at the NHL level.  A lot of that, according to Alzner, was based on his familiarity with Carlson from playing with him in Hershey.  "We didn't really start playing that good of a defensive hockey until about halfway through the year," Alzner said in October.  "But we figured it out because we know each other.  There's little miscommunication.  It's nice to play with him, and we're very happy that we're still together."

There is one area, however, in which Carlson and Alzner will always be on opposite sides: international play.  Alzner was born in Burnaby, British Columbia, a suburb of Vancouver that is a mere 20 miles north of the United States/Canada border.  Carlson, on the other hand, was born in Natick, Massachusetts, a small town south of Boston.

As some of the finest young hockey players from their respective countries in their late teens, they were both selected to play in the IIHF Under-20 World Championships, colloquially known as the World Junior Championships, before they cracked the Capitals' roster.  The World Juniors are one of the most widely viewed and most hotly contested Junior sporting events in the world, especially in Canada.  And even though they never played against one another in the Tournament, it was an incredible experience for both of them as central members of Championship teams.

no comments