Perception is a huge part of any business. How your operation is perceived to outsiders can make or break your success. Today my perception of the Washington Capitals organization, which I’ve supported for quite some time is dismal at best. First came the firing of Bruce Boudreau on Monday morning. Granted, something had to give. Something had to change. It was obvious that there was limited player response – and since you can’t fire an entire roster, the coach is usually the one to take the fall. Questions loomed, arguments broke out. Was this Bruce’s fault? Was it the Captain’s fault? Were the players at fault? I guess the only ones who will ever really know the answer to those questions are the ones inside the locker room, and those of us on the outside looking in can only guess at this point.
Courtesy RMNB
The Washington Capitals were on ice Wednesday morning as they prepared for Thursday night's huge clash with Sidney Crosby and the Penguins. Some updates from Kettler Capitals Iceplex:
Mike Green was put through his paces by head strength and conditioning coach Mark Nemish on the ice for about 30 minutes before the rest of his teammates took the ice for practice. Despite the fact that he has now skated for four consecutive days, there is no timetable for his return to the lineup, even though he is "feeling better." Sigh.
As for the actual practice, the lines remained the same as they were for Tuesday night's loss to the Blues: Ovechkin-Backstrom-Brouwer, Semin-Johansson-Eakin, Ward-Laich-Chimera, and Hendricks-Halpern-Knuble, with Mathieu Perreault taking rushes with the fourth line. Why Mike Knuble continues to be banished to the fourth line on a regular basis despite his excellent play, even with a new coach, makes no sense to me. Ho-hum. On to the next one.
That's all for now. Check back later.
Information from Adam Vingan was used in this post.
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Per a team release, the Washington Capitals have named Jim Johnson a new assistaint coach, replacing Bob Woods. Johnson was the head coach of the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League in 2009-10, and had spent time as an assistaint coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning that same year. He is expected to work with the defense and penalty kill, Woods' roles with the team.
no commentsThe Dale Hunter Era, Part Deux begins tonight at Verizon Center as the former Washington Capitals team captain and all-around nice guy steps behind the bench for his former team. A lot has changed in Washington over the last few days, but behind the scenes even more consequences of the coaching switch are popping up in and around the Caps' locker room.
- Hunter will make Cody Eakin crank call Ron Hextall and ask if his refrigerator is running. When he says yes, Eakin has been told to respond ‘Well you better catch it before it runs through your 5-hole in OT of Game 7!’
- All banners featuring Hunters name, number or likeness will be removed from Kettler and the Verizon Center. New banners will be hung, emblazoned with just the number ‘3565’.
- Olie Kolzig will have to sit Hunter down to explain to him why yelling ‘Just put Bonzai on the top line!’ isn't going to inspire confidence in his fellow coaches.
- Hunter will have to put Sergei Gonchar on his ‘blocked callers’ list.
- "ROOKIE! GET ME MY SOCKS!" will be directed at Jeff Halpern and not Dimitri Orlov.
- Alex Semin will really regret choosing this season to admit he understands and can speak English.
- Hunter will call Matt Hendricks into his office and ask a simple question: “Are we related?”
- The staring contests between Hunter and George McPhee will be EPIC, as will those between Hunter and the picture of Rod Langway inside Kettler.
- Karl Alzner will be overheard saying ‘I don’t know why, but coach said he wants me to grow a mullet, start smoking and get a Harley.”
- All sticks, water bottles and coolers will be bolted to the bench to avoid being inadvertently thrown onto the ice. Unfortunately, Roman Hamrlik and Jeff Schultz will not be.
no commentsMatt Gajtka is a writer and co-editor (with Matt Shetler) for CityOfChampionsSports.com, a blog devoted to covering Pittsburgh sports. His day job is with the Muskegon (Mich.) Lumberjacks of the United States Hockey League, where he is the Communications Director and Broadcaster.
A team with high expectations had made a sudden plunge in the standings, causing many in the hockey world to wonder if their time at the top had come to a premature end. As a result, their successful head coach was fired and replaced by a man with zero experience managing an NHL bench.
The team I reference was the 2008-09 Pittsburgh Penguins, who relieved Michel Therrien of his duties with his team in an unforeseen slump following one of the best 20-game starts in franchise history. Dan Bylsma, who was in the midst of his first season leading an AHL club, was promoted to take the Penguins' reins. We all know how the story ended.
Of course, the first paragraph could also apply to this year's Washington Capitals, who canned Bruce Boudreau the Monday after Thanksgiving, the holiday that often marks the beginning of serious self-evaluations for NHL franchises. Much like Therrien, Boudreau had achieved great regular-season success after taking over in midseason years prior and instituting the oft-desired "culture change." Much like the Penguins of three years ago, the Caps began this campaign strongly at 7-0-0 and looked to be on track for another Southeast Division title. Much like Bylsma in February 2009, new Washington bench boss Dale Hunter has never donned the mantle of NHL head coach until his sudden elevation.
Bruce Boudreau, the most successful regular season coach in Washington Capitals history, has been fired. Dale Hunter is the much anticipated new head coach of the Caps. He comes in with the resume of a champion, ready to win, and he is the right man for this team, not least because he used to play here and has already coached three of the team's players. Dale Hunter knows how to develop players, he knows how to get teams of stars to work together, and he has the hunger for the one thing that has eluded him in his illustrious career, the Stanley Cup.
The Washington Capitals were on ice Monday at 12 noon for a practice as they prepare for Tuesday night's game with the St. Louis Blues with newly minted head coach Dale Hunter. Some updates from a crazy Kettler Capitals Iceplex:
Mike Green skated before any of his teammates for about thirty minutes in full pads. There is no word on his availability for Tuesday's game, but it is likely in significant doubt. There is no timetable on his return to game action, per General Manger George McPhee.
Every other Capitals player besides Jay Beagle was present for the skate; Beagle watched most of the practice in a jumpsuit from the bench. There were no new lines to report, as Hunter spent most of the skate beginning to implement his new systems and such with a game coming up so quickly.
That's all for now. Check back later for a game preview.
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Per a team release, the Washington Capitals have parted ways with head coach Bruce Boudreau. Boudreau had been the head coach of the Capitals for just over four calendar years, winning over 68 percent of his regular season games to go along with four Southeast Division champsionships and a Presidents' Trophy. However, Boudreau failed to lead the Capitals to any postseason success, winning a total of 17 playoff games and blowing series leads of 3-1 and 2-0 during his tenure.
Dale Hunter, who had been coaching the London Knights in the Ontario Hockey League, has been named his replacement.
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BUFFALO - The Washington Capitals lost their second consecutive game on Saturday night, falling 5-1 inside First Niagara Center. Jason Chimera scored the lone Caps goal on a penalty shot in a game that Washington was thoroughly dominated in from start to finish and never had a chance in. Is this rock bottom? It could be close.
The Capitals got off to another poor start in this game, as Jeff Schultz was called for a penalty less than three minutes in. Washington's penalty kill was poor in terms of preventing pressure, but Tomas Vokoun bailed his mates out with a few very good saves to keep the score tied. Buffalo, however, kept their visitors on their heels with constant pressure, and eventually forced a mistake by Dennis Wideman along the boards that led to a Buffalo goal when Luke Adam potted a deflection from the corner halfway through the frame.
Buffalo continued to carry the play towards their visitors as the period continued past the ten minute mark. The Sabres constantly had the Caps pinned in their own zone, and Washington was unable to break the pressure for any stretch. Eventually, the hosts' pressure was too great, and after Tomas Vokoun failed to catch a point drive from Christian Ehrhoff, Jason Pominville was there to collect the garbage and double the Sabres' lead heading into the first intermission.
As poor as their pressure was to open the first period, the Caps were able to establish a forecheck to start the middle stanza. Washington eventually earned a power play out of all of their pressure when Alex Ovechkin was slashed on a rush in the slot, but were unable to convert. But Jason Chimera took matters into his own hands following the failed power play, using his speed to generate a penalty shot after he was hauled down while in the clear. Chimera made no mistake with his free shot, ripping it into the top corner to cut the deficit to one.
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WASHINGTON - The Washington Capitals' two-game winning streak came crashing down around them Friday afternoon, falling at home to the New York Rangers 6-3. John Carlson had two points, including a power play goal in the second power play period, and captain Alex Ovechkin tallied his first home goal of the campaign, but it was not enough as the Caps lacked punch from the start and paid the consequence dearly. As a result of their loss, Washington remains firmly entrenched in second place inside the Southeast Division.
The Capitals got off to a relatively good start, forcing Henrik Lundqvist to make several good saves early, including an absolutely ridiculous stop on Joel Ward along the doorstep off a great setup play by Cody Eakin. Despite an early power play, however, the hosts were never able to test Lundqvist after the seven minute mark, and the rest of the period was all New York. The Blueshirts were aided by three consecutive power plays, but could not put one past Michal Neuvirth, who was making his first start in almost a week.
But the Rangers broke the game wide open to begin the second period, scoring on a two-on-one break three and a half minutes into the frame after a giveaway at the offensive blue line by John Carlson. Cody Eakin took an offensive zone penalty soon after, and the Rangers made the Caps pay again with a goal off the stick of Artem Anisimov to double their advantage. Sixty-three seconds later, Ryan Callahan forced Marcus Johansson to surrender the puck right in front of Neuvirth's net, and Ruslan Fedotenko was there to clean up the garbage and silence the Verizon crowd.
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