WHOOPS! (USA Today)

The Washington Capitals lost for the first time in the month of April on Thursday night in Ottawa, falling 3-1 at the hands of the Senators at Scotiabank Place.  DC didn’t seem to have their legs from the start, being outmaneuvered and outbattled along the boards and in open ice against a team still missing their two best players in Jason Spezza and reigning Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson.  Ottawa took the lead in the first period on a soft goal against by Braden Holtby and though Mike Ribeiro tied the game later with his 13^th, another misplay by Holtby gave the Sens the lead off the stick of Cory Conacher.  The Sens would seal the deal with an empty-netter late in the third.  The loss drops Washington to 24-18-2, two points up on the Jets for the Southeast Division lead and two points clear of the eighth spot that would mean they make the playoffs regardless of if they win their Division.

Braden Holtby was good for most of this game, with the exception being the very soft goal he gave up to Kyle Turris and his glaringly poor clear pass that led to a Cory Conacher marker (each following a stretch of very nice saves, I must add).  As has become a regular occurrence during this charge by the Capitals up the standings of late, Holtby made saves continuously that thwarted Ottawa chances and kept the Capitals in the game (for the most part).  I’ve said it before and I will say it again: this is his net, despite the obvious talent of Michal Neuvirth.  He’ll get another chance to try and carry the club to glory come playoff time.  He’s the man.

Martin Erat is nice.  This trade is nowhere near decided in terms of “who wins,” but Erat has played very well when he has been able to dress for this club, both in terms of appearing on the score sheet and playing well when he does not appear on the score sheet.  He is a top-six winger who is playing like one with some good fellow forwards and will help the Capitals’ offense in their drive for the playoffs and what they do in the dance.  But there is no doubt that he will help them “win now.”

The team was bound for a “stinker.”  They weren’t going to win out and they were due to lose a game after winning eight games in a row.  They didn’t have their usual fire or aggressiveness in any aspect of the game and, as has been custom recently, relied on Holtby to keep them in the game on the defensive end.  When the goaltending started to struggle and not make every save, they lost the game.  It was rather predictable and though that doesn’t mean it’s time to panic, it just means that you should have seen this coming a bit.

One thing that should cause panic: Nicklas Backstrom left the game midway through the third period after being hit by a Mike Green shot in the arm and did not return, the team classifying his ailment as an “upper-body” injury.  Backstrom is the Capitals’ best all-around forward and their best center, and his absence will throw off the lines and hurt the entire lineup from top to bottom in a way that the absences of Brooks Laich and Joel Ward do not.  Get well soon, Nicky, the Capitals doing anything of significance this year hinges on your health.

Washington is next in action on Saturday night in Montreal.

Harry Hawkings is a college student credentialed to cover the Capitals for RtR.  Follow him on Twitter here for all your news needs this season.

Ahahaha is bestttt!!!))) goal!!!! (TWP)

The Washington Capitals won their eighth consecutive game on Tuesday night, mauling the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-1 inside Verizon Center.  Getting goals from Jack Hillen, Alex Ovechkin, Troy Brouwer, Marcus Johansson, and Martin Erat, the Capitals jumped out to a big lead against the opposition for the second game in a row but unlike Saturday night against Tampa, Washington buried their opposition with strong play in the final period and another solid performance in goal from Braden Holtby, who made 29 saves.  With the win, the Capitals are now 24-17-2 and have virtually locked up a playoff spot, with the Southeast Division championship being their most likely outcome in terms of seeding.

Alex Ovechkin was great on Tuesday night once again, dominating play the entire game and adding another goal to boost his league-leading total to 27. He added an assist to get another point and climb closer to the NHL scoring lead, continuing to drive forward in one of the most improbable individual player turnarounds in recent memory. He's probably going to win the Rocket Richard Trophy and may win MVP, and though this recent run has been aided by a ton of shooting luck, he's still earned his chances and shots with great all-around play.  It continues to be a joy to watch, as crazy as this whole thing seems. Here's to the shooting luck hanging around.

Read on for more analysis here.

Enjoy that, everyone. (RNO)

The Washington Capitals won their sixth game in a row on Thursday night, defeating the Carolina Hurricanes by a final score of 3-1 inside Verizon Center.  After a poor start that saw them down 1-0 early, the Caps got goals from Troy Brouwer, Mike Green, and then Brouwer again to seal off a victory.  Braden Holtby made 43 saves in his return to the crease, helping to steal a win.  The Caps’ record is now 22-17-2, good for 46 points, which has them in the Southeast Division lead by two points with a game in hand.  Their playoff chances are now about 85%, according to SportsClubStats.

This game got off to a very slow start for the Capitals, who were badly outplayed, outshot, and out possessed in the opening frame.  They were shut out in shots early for the first ten minutes or so while allowing the Hurricanes had 11.  But Holtby, after allowing an early goal, shut the door and allowed his team to climb back in to the game and then hold the lead for a big two points.  Slow starts are bad, but recovering from them like this is very good indeed.

Ovechkin celebrates a PP goal, one of the main ways Adam Oates has rejuvented the $100 million man. (Clydeorama)

"As the pressure on Ovechkin continues to mount, how he responds to it will be key.  He can either work to be better all around, like Ilya Kovalchuk, or wallow and burn out, like Pavel Bure.  It is his decision, and his alone.  How bad does he want it?" - Offseason Evaluation, Alex Ovechkin: June 20, 2012

He wanted it bad.  What a turnaround.

When I wrote those words early last summer, Alex Ovechkin was, at an individual level, facing the biggest challenge of his professional career.  He was coming off a regular season with 65 points, the lowest of his career; the Capitals were not at the level of regular season dominance that he, his teammates, and the fans were accustomed to; and another trip to the playoffs had resulted in another early exit.  Dale Hunter, his former coach, had cut his ice time to all-time lows, and in Ovechkin’s own words, made the Captain a “plumber.”

Many, myself included, doubted Ovechkin’s ability to ever return to the pinnacle of the sport offensively for variety of reasons.  A very good, above-average, goal scorer, certainly.  But be the best of the best again?

I was wrong.

Alex Ovechkin is once again at the pinnacle of the sport offensively.  He is tied for the NHL lead in goals at this moment, putting the puck in the back of the net 26 times so far this season.  He scored again on Tuesday night in Montreal during yet another Capitals win, an absolute beauty of a goal in which he abused Michal Ryder to create space for himself and ripping a shot past Carey Price.  It was a retro “Ovi goal,” one in which he wowed everyone in the arena with his sheer ability.  Ovechkin now has eight goals in five April games and since the morning of March 7, when he had eight goals, he has scored 18 goals in 19 games.  He is incredibly hot, hotter than he has been in recent memory.  And he’s probably going to win the Rocket Richard Trophy, something very few people thought he would ever do again as late as a week ago.

Read on for the reasons of the remarkable turnaround.

Joel Ward celebrates his goal Sunday (TBT).

The Washington Capitals won yet another game on Sunday night, beating the Tampa Bay Lightning by a score of 4-2 inside Verizon Center for their fourth consecutive win.  After falling behind twice, the Capitals got goals from Alex Ovechkin (twice), John Carlson, and Joel Ward to come back and top the Bolts.  Michal Neuvirth made 28 saves in a rare start, but was superb in net for the Caps.  With their win, the Capitals are 29-17-2 on the year, and now have over a 70% chance to make the playoffs according to SportsClubStats.

Alex Ovechkin was magnificent, following up his three-goal, four-point night against the Panthers on Saturday, Ovechkin with two more markers that put him in to the league lead with Steven Stamkos at 25.  As I have always maintained throughout my nervousness with Alex over the last year, we all knew that Ovechkin had extended periods of dominance in him still despite his statistical decline over the last 18 months or so.  Ovechkin is in one of those stretches now, and he has been absolutely otherworldly for a month and a half now, rejuvenated after a series of Adam Oates adjustments at even strength and the power play.  If what Adam Oates has done can get Ovechkin to produce like this for a full 82-game season, it will be one of the best individual rejuvenations in league history.

Michal Neuvirth looked good, making 28 saves and filling his new role as Braden Holtby’s de facto backup very well.  Neuvirth still has awesome talent and he showed it with this game as some of his saves were spectacular, especially with the team training in the first and second periods.  This net belongs to Holtby for the rest of the season barring an injury, but Mikey can still get the job done and has been a victim of circumstance this year again.

John Carlson scored a goal tonight, the sixth marker of his 2013 campaign.  The Caps’ young stud two-way defenseman has come under criticism recently because of a short run of bad play, but has proven with his overall play this season just how talented he is and how good he has the potential to be.  The guy is still young and will continue to work his way though his development.  Fear not.

The Capitals are going to make the playoffs.  Take it to #TheBank.

That’s all for me tonight, school commitments make it a short recap.  The Caps are next in action on Tuesday against Montreal.

The Verizon Center will be host to the 7^th Annual Washington Capitals College Hockey Fair on Saturday, April 13^th, from 12:30 p.m. To 5:00 p.m. This is a yearly event that aims to provide an opportunity for young players and their parents in the Maryland, Virginia, and D.C. Area to meet and learn from coaches in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA). There will are be representatives from Division I, II, and III hockey teams, prep schools, and junior conferences available for questions.

The Hockey Fair will have panel sessions from NCAA and ACHA coaches and hockey executives that will focus on different varsity and club programs available. University executives will also discuss admission, financial aid, and NCAA compliance guideline information. In addition to the panel sessions, a keynote address will be made by a Capitals executive, along with an overview from Mike Lichtenberger, ACHA Coach-in-Chief.

Although there is no fee to attend the event, registration is limited to USA-Hockey-registered youth hockey players. You can register to attend at http://capitals.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=42932.

Source: http://capitals.nhl.com/index.html

Another goal from Mike Green helped the Caps continue their surge. (AP)

The Washington Capitals kicked off the Martin Erat era on a high note Thursday, beating the New York Islanders for the first time all season by a final score of 2-1 in a shootout.  After Mike Green scored his fifth goal in four games to put the Capitals on top very late in the opening frame, the following 35 minutes were characterized by little pressure by either team.  The Islanders came on strong late in the frame and managed to tie the contest with a Kyle Okposo one-timer, but both teams were able to draw out the game to get to overtime and then a shootout.  Alex Ovechkin scored the lone goal in the shootout and Braden Holtby completed a sublime performance by shutting down the door to get the Capitals above the .500 points mark at 18-17-2 for the first time all season.  With their win, the Caps now lead the Southeast Division based on games played, and have their playoff chances at 55.3%, according to SportsClubStats.

First thing’s first on new acquisition Martin Erat – though he was in the middle of an almost 20-hour day, he looked good.  He was fast, tenacious, and his offensive instincts were apparent in his just over 14 minutes of ice time, though his rather empty stat line would not indicate it.  It will take him some time to adapt to Adam Oates’ complex system and get used to having more offensive freedom than he did under Barry Trotz, but I certainly liked what I saw in terms of helping the team create offensively if the organization is going to go in to the full “win now” mode.

Read on about this impressive win.

Was this move worth its potential pitfalls? (Flickr)

Wednesday afternoon, as 3 PM and the NHL’s trade deadline came and went, it initially appeared that the Washington Capitals had stood pat on deadline day for the second year in a row.  Soon after, there were rumblings that the Capitals had made a big deal.  The rumblings grew louder until they were confirmed, but nobody knew what the deal was.  What followed was almost two hours of the Capitals having a captive audience, with many people staring at a Monumental Network live stream and many more waiting with bated breath on Twitter.  And when the dust settled, we learned that the Capitals had traded arguably their top prospect, Swedish forward Filip Forsberg, to the Nashville Predators for Martin Erat and prospect Michael Latta.

When the news of the deal broke, I didn’t want to believe it.  Continually beating the drum that the Capitals should look to the future all year, it seemed unfathomable that George McPhee had traded away such a talented and young player for a 31 year-old winger in an attempt to win now, ignoring the very clear indications in front of him that this team needs more help than the addition of Erat can bring.

Read on for more analysis of this deal.

The Washington Capitals today announced they have acquired winger Martin Erat from the Nashville Predators along with C Michael Latta in exchange for prospect Filip Forsberg.  Erat, 31, is a veteran of 723 NHL games, all with Nashville, and has produced 163 goals and 481 points.  He also has produced 8 goals and 23 points in 46 playoff games.  Erat had a full no-trade clause, but waived that to be moved to Washington.  He has 2 more seasons on his contract at $4.5 million per season.  This sends a clear message to the team and the fan base the Capitals are trying to win now.  It also adds scoring depth at the wings with the injury to Eric Fehr and the mysterious disappearance of Wojtek Wolski from the lineup. 

Photo: Nashville City Paper

Erat has been struggling offensively this season after the Predators were gutted in the offseason and have been missing key forwards for large chunks of the season.  With only 4 goals and 21 points in 36 games this season, Erat is well off his usual goal scoring pace, but is right on his usual 50-point pace.  He has posted at least 16 goals and 49 points in each of the last 8 seasons, with a career high of 58 points last year.  Listed as a left-shooting right winger, there is no reason to think the 6', 196-lb Erat can't pick his scoring pace up on the offesnviely-minded Capitals and help them advance deep into the playoffs.  He will likely line up on the left side of the line with Mike Ribeiro and Troy Brouwer. 

The other player in the trade, Michael Latta is a 21-year old center currently plying his trade with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL.  He was the Admirals' third-leading scorer with 9 goals and 35 points in 67 games this season.  The 6', 215-lb Latta has played in 122 career AHL games and has scored 23 goals and 63 points.  He was a third-round pick of the Predators in 2009 and was a top scorer with the Guelph Storm of the OHL.  He may not be a scoring center in the NHL, but he certainly has a high compete level and does the little things well, according to Hockey's Future.  He has one year left on an entry-level deal that has a cap hit of $773,333, but will pay him $65,000 in the AHL next year.  Latta obviously did not expect to get traded.

Filip Forsberg was a top Capitals' prospect and his departure has dealt a blow to the Capitals' future.  He was expected by many to be a top-3 draft pick at the 2012 draft last summer, but fell to the Capitals at the 11th pick. The Capitals had not done much pre-scouting on Forsberg and getting him must have seemed like found money for McPhee.  Also hampering the Capitals' scouting efforts was the fact that Forsberg has been playing in the Allsvenskan, the second-tier Swedish professional league, meaning he was not playing much against top competition.  Forsberg was projected to be a steady top-6 forward with an all around game and a top-end skill set, but he needs to fill out his frame a little more.  He will get the tougher competition if he stays in Sweden next season, as he helped Leksand advance to the top league, the Elitserien.  Best of luck to him. 

Follow Andy Green on Twitter.

The Washington Capitals made several transactions on the penultimate trading day of the season.  To recap them:

-The Capitals traded minor league forward Matt Clackson to the Phoenix Coyotes for former Capital RWJoel Rechlicz, who will report to the AHL Hershey Bears.  "Recker," he of the wooden stick, played 3 games for the Capitals last season.  This season, he has played 36 games for the Portland Pirates of the AHL, posting 0 points and 149 penalty minutes, but, as Katie points out, his impact on the Bears goes beyond the numbers: "Won't mean much for the Caps, although Recker was a suitable fill in when needed as a call up in DC in the past.  Recker is the epitome of the "team" guy.  He'll stand up for his teammates, fight when necessary.  Provides a spark.  Is a voice on the bench and in the locker room.  Rallies his team, ultimate cheerleader. Recker is a big part of what the Bears have been lacking.  It doesn't matter if he's only skating a few minutes a night, or even scratched.  He'll bring his teammates up when they're down and knock them down if they get too high."

-John Erskine was activated from injured reserve and played against the Carolina Hurricanes.  As a result, Dmitry Orlov and Tomas Kundratek were reassigned to Hershey.

-To make room on the Hershey blue line, the Capitals traded defenseman Garrett Stafford to the Edmonton Oilers for LW Dane Byers, who will also report to the AHL.  This season with Oklahoma City of the AHL, Byers has 10 points and 144 penalty minutes in 58 games.  In his career, Byers has played 14 NHL games over three seasons with the New York Rangers and Columbus Blue Jackets, plus has 249 points in 443 AHL games. 

The Capitals signed undrafted college free agent defenseman Nate Schmidt out of the University of Minnesota to a 2-year entry-level contract.  If that name sounds familiar, it's because he played at the Capitals' Development Camp last summer.  A 6', 195-lb offensive defenseman, Schmidt doesn't take a lot of penalties, but isn't afraid to drop the mitts when needed, either.  He could be a top prospect for the Capitals.  He is with the big team for the moment but will likely be assigned to Hershey soon. 

Follow Andy Green on Twitter.