The Washington Capitals were on ice in Raleigh Tuesday afternoon for a practice following their humiliating 5-0 defeat at the hands of the Hurricanes on Monday night.  Some updates from down south:

Alex Ovechkin did not partake in the skate because of a "maintenance day."  However, Ovechkin's absence, when coupled with the fact that he was visibly limping after Monday's game, begs the question of whether or not the Captain is injured.  I guess we will have to wait and see.

With the absence of Ovechkin, the lines were as follows: Chimera-Laich-Brouwer, Hendricks-Perreault-Semin, Knuble-Johansson-Ward, and Beagle-Halpern.  All eight defensemen skated, including Dmitry Orlov, who missed Monday's game with an illness, and Mike Green, who seems to be doing well in terms of health following his surgery a little less than five weeks ago.

Washington plays in Ottawa on Wednesday night in what has become the biggest game of the season for them.

That's all for now.

If you are George McPhee, how can you look at what happened on Monday night and consider yourself a buyer?

On Monday night, the Washington Capitals had a great opportunity.  After getting some help from the Bruce Boudreau-led Ducks, who beat Florida Sunday, Dale Hunter’s men could climb back in to playoff contention with a win over the Carolina Hurricanes.

The fifteenth-place Carolina Hurricanes.  Who had Justin Peters in goal and were missing two of their top six forwards.

Recipe for success, right?

Wrong.

The Capitals were utterly humiliated Monday evening, getting blown away by the Hurricanes in a game that they needed to win.  They were shut out by Justin Peters.  I repeat.  They were shut out by Justin Peters.

It was a terrible game from the beginning, with a missed chance by Mike Knuble after less than three and a half minutes telling you just how bad a night it was going to be.

On the same play as that missed Knuble chance, Roman Hamrlik took an elbowing penalty.  Carolina converted on that man advantage almost immediately and added another 90 seconds later to chase Vokoun.  And just like that, the rout was on.

Washington would allow another goal with less than a minute remaining in the first period before conceding two more by the time the game was over, including a shorthanded goal early in the second period.  It was just an ugly, horrendous game.

Quite simply: a rout, an embarrassment, a roasting, a hammering, a mauling, a devastating night for Washington.

The Capitals are missing their best player.  That is unfortunate and it undoubtedly has something to do with their pathetic performance over the last month.  But Mike Green is back in the lineup now, so the Capitals don’t have that excuse anymore.  Alas, in Green’s two games, he has been on the ice for six goals and the Capitals have been outscored 7-1.

I’m as big a Green fan as any; I think he’s a tremendous player, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t expecting more from him. He was supposed to be a shot in the arm for this team.  He hasn’t been; in fact, it’s only gotten worse.

Which brings us back to the beginning of this post.  If you are George McPhee, how can you possibly spend assets to try and improve this team?

Yes, I understand they are only a point out of a playoff spot.  I understand that they are only two points back of first in their Division, though Florida has a game in hand.  But anyone saying that this team is close is kidding themselves.

Their play on the ice indicates a team so far away from anything of substance that it hard for me to put into words.

The goal of this team is not to make the playoffs anymore.  It hasn’t been for awhile.  Their goal is to win the Stanley Cup.  And no matter what you want to think, that’s not happening this year.  Not without Nicklas Backstrom and at least one more very good center.

Why would anyone in their right mind spend organizational assets to try and improve a team like this?  The Capitals are in complete and utter disarray.  Antoine Vermette isn’t solving this problem, and that seems like the best the Caps are going to get at this point.

Trading away young players and draft picks to add players to a team that isn’t going anywhere is irresponsible and it’s not intelligent.

It’s not me being overly negative and it’s not me overreacting.  It’s just me being realistic.  What we saw on Monday night at the RBC Center probably could have been beaten by an AHL team on a good night.

Sooo, who’s excited for the draft?

The NHL trade deadline frenzy is fast approaching.  While the floodgates haven't opened fully, some trades are trickling through as the dominoes start falling on the markets for various positions and players, limiting teams' options, but also increasing the pressure for the remaining teams to try to acquire whoever is left.  The real question on everyone's minds is what dominoes have to fall before the Capitals start making some moves.  George McPhee has stated his desire to not be a seller at this year's deadline, that he only realistically has $1 million in cap room to work with, and that he is going to wait until he knows for sure about Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green to make any bold moves.  He may have said he's not particularly interested in trading players off the roster, but he reserves the right to do whatever he thinks will make the team better.

Read on.

This was a game that the Washington Capitals had to win.

And for the first time in awhile, the Capitals came up with a win in a "must-win" game, defeating the Florida Panthers by a 2-1 score inside BankAtlantic Center on Friday night.

Riding goals from team Russian Sniper, Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin, in the third period, and 22 saves from Tomas Vokoun, who was fresh off a bout with the flu, Washington got done what they needed to get done in a tough building.

The game did not start out very well for the Capitals, who gave up power play opportunities often in the first period.  Washington eventually got some momentum back from some shots on goal, but it was the Panthers who drew first blood, as former Capital Tomas Fleischmann was left unmarked near the top of the circles and beat Vokoun clean for a 1-0 lead.

In the second period, the Capitals absolutely dominated the shot marker.  Washington was controlling the pace of play, forechecking well, and getting good chances from their fourth unit.  However, Jose Theodore stood tall, making some great saves with his glove; the Caps also just missed the net on a few occasions.  With less than a minute left in the period, it appeared as though the visitors had tied the game, but the goal was waved off because of interference on Mike Knuble.

The final frame finally saw the fruits of the Capitals' labor be revealed.  Earning a power play early in the frame, Alex Ovechkin equalized with a long power play strike, energizing his team, especially after such a bad ending to the middle frame.  After Ovechkin's goal, Washington continued to pressure their opponents, and finally got their go-ahead goal from Alexander Semin with just over five minutes remaining in the game.

It was a white-knuckle finish, with the Caps hanging on until the very end, but eventually Dale Hunter's men were able to eke out an enormous road win, a game that they had to have.

This game should put to rest the whole Neuvirth-Vokoun conundrum.  Vokoun has now allowed one goal in three games against his former mates and was great all night.  Maybe if Hunter had had the sense to start him the other two times against the Panthers, the Caps would be in a different situation right now.  But no time to cry over spilled milk.

A big game from the Russians.  Both Semin and Ovechkin were very good, particularly at the end.  The $17 million men were worth it for a night.  Here's hoping they can do it again Saturday night against Tampa, because we all know how badly the Caps need that game too.

And on top of all that - maybe, just maybe - the Caps are warming up to Dale Hunter.  Maybe.

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

Don't Panic. These are the first two words in "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," and they should be the first two words that come to mind about this season's Washington Capitals.  The Caps haven't been performing as well as anyone expected after the reeling off 7 straight wins to start the season.  Injuries have certainly played a large part in that, with the long-term ailments of #1 center Nicklas Backstrom and #1 defenseman Mike Green being the most painful.  Another big factor was the exchange of cheap, home-grown talent who had played together for years in favor of older, more expensive veteran free agents and trade acquisitions, which has affected the chemistry in the locker room.  Of course, the biggest hiccup was the mid-season coaching change that brought in first-time NHL Head Coach Dale Hunter and immediately put him under the microscope.  While it was necessary both for the team to move on and for the Bruce Boudreau to re-discover himself, coaching changes and system changes still take time to adjust to.  None of these factors make for an ideal regular season, but none of them are cause for panic, either. 

The bad news is the Caps would not be in the playoffs if they started today.  The Hockey News picked the Caps to win the Stanley Cup this season, but they have only won 3 of their last 11 games.  The coach has made decisions about scratching players or dressing players that seem puzzling on the surface.  These moves, combined with the losing, have cerated quite a bit of tension around the team, tension that erupted in the form of two players speaking to the press about their unhappiness, the associate goaltending coach criticizing the team captain, and said team captain getting into a scuffle with a teammate in practice.  After these kinds of issues, it would be easy for fans to panic and start throwing in the towel, but that would do no good.  If Capitals' General Manager George McPhee is anything, he's a frood who really knows where his towel is, that is to say, a guy who's really amazingly together.  He has a plan heading into the trade deadline over the next 10 days, and that plan is for the Capitals to not only make the playoffs, but advance deep into spring. 

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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 Washington Capitals were on ice Thursday morning for a practice as they prepare to head out on a four-game road trip that will likely define their season.  Some updates from Kettler Capitals Iceplex:

Dale Hunter kept pretty much the same lines as from Wednesday's skate, with the exception of adding Keith Aucoin to the fourth line.  The units were as follows: Ovechkin-Johansson-Brouwer, Chimera-Perreault-Semin, Hendricks-Laich-Knuble, and Ward-Halpern-Beagle, with Aucoin rotating in.

Mike Green practiced with the team for the second consecutive day, and will be on the road trip.  He "could" play on the road trip, according to George McPhee.

The General Manager also spoke to the health of Nicklas Backstrom, saying the Swedish center is currently working off ice but that there is no timetable of any sort for his return to game action.

That's all for now.

Information from Katie Carrera was used in this post.

The Washington Capitals were on ice Wednesday morning for a practice as they prepare for a critical four-game road trip, starting at the end of the week, which will make or break their season.  Some updates from Kettler Capitals Iceplex:

Mike Green, who had been skating apart from his teammates and not participating in practice since his surgery, finally joined the Caps for a workout Wednesday.  Green did not take many hits during practice, but did work on the power play, and a decision on his status for the road trip will me made after tomorrow's practice.

Outside of this very good news on Green, Dale Hunter showcased new practice lines to account for the demotions of Joel Rechlicz and Keith Aucoin.  They were as such: Ovechkin-Johansson-Brouwer, Hendricks-Laich-Knuble, Chimera-Perreault-Semin, and Beagle-Halpern-Ward.

That's all for now.

Information from Adam Vingan was used in this post.

With the massive disparity between the Home Team Washington Capitals and the Away Team Washington Capitals (see: Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson), there is the temptation to attempt to understand just why this unit can be two teams at once. Are they used to their Sertas at home? Is the team bus/train/plane/hotel uncomfortable? Do they miss the crappy ice at the Verizon Center? Are they intimidated by the opponents’ fans? Just what is the cause of a complete 180 in the performance of the powerplay AND penalty kill? Are the Caps practicing correctly?

Interesting. Ok, I’m listening…

We’ve witnessed for years this Caps team struggle with odd game times, watching them flounder and sleepwalk through many a 12:30, 3 or 5 pm game. Do they need to vary their practice times, starting some days at 8am and other days at 1pm? Skate for 30 minutes one day and 90 minutes the next? I’ve tried P90X… it’s about confusion in the workout routine. Perhaps the Caps need some confusion in their routine.

You've tried P90X? Sure doesn’t look like it…

Ok, fine… I've read about it. That’s not the point. Maybe some practices away from the perks of Kettler are in order. It’s the nicest training facility around… how can you not feel at home there? It’s comfortable and cushy. So many fans show up for a mid-week practice, it's like they're playing a game in Phoenix! Make them feel like the Indians in Major League. Throw them to the wolves back at Piney Orchard for a while.

‘The wolves’? Piney isn’t that bad…

Yes it is. Hell, even Cabin John is scummy compared to Kettler! Make things less familiar. Make it feel like the road. Then practice there. Have the Zam driver gouge the ice up and leave big chunks lying around. Maybe we Caps fans should show up in Rangers blue and taunt, jeer and heckle our beloved Caps in order to help them succeed. "CAN YOU HEAR US!?"

Rangers’ jerseys? That’s taking it a bit too far. Next you’ll be asking to pipe in the Madison Square Garden stink too…

WHY NOT!? Anything to jar these guys out of whatever is making them stink on the road. This team would be in much more familiar territory if they were simply an average road team. They're not, and now they're fighting FLORIDA for a playoff spot!? Unacceptable!

What about last night? What happened there? That was a home game...

It was the Sharks. We always suck against the Sharks.

Profound...

The Capitals were on ice this morning at 10am for the morning skate prior to tonight's game against the San Jose Sharks. Heavy minute players Alex Ovechkin, Dennis Wideman, and Marcus Johansson took the skate off, as did Brooks Laich, Roman Hamrlik, and Tomas Vokoun. Nick Backstrom was absent once again.

Mike Green took part in the skate and did not look limited in his skating or slap shots. He did look a little rusty at times, but he looks on pace to make a full recovery soon.

During the skate, Halpern's stick broke on a slap shot, so he borrowed Joel Ward's stick to finish the drill. When Ward got the stick back, he scored on Neuvirth in the drill. Ward has, of course, been mired in a lengthy scoring drought.

The last three skaters off the ice were Green, Knuble, and Orlov. It would not be a major shock to see the rookie Orlov sit a game after a rough showing against New York and GM McPhee likely shopping other defenders. Hunter said that Vokoun would be a game-time decision after not feeling well yesterday, but he felt confident that Michal Neuvirth would be ready to play after a strong showing against the Rangers.