This past week saw the Hershey Bears suit up against the Texas Stars for the first two games of the AHL's Calder Cup finals at Giant Center, and walk away with nothing to show for it. Both losses in Chocolatetown were decided by 1 goal (Thursday’s final score was 2-1, Saturday’s was 4-3), and were riddled with penalties and poor play.  As Washington Capitals fans can agree - after watching a team fly through the regular season breaking record after record, it’s difficult to watch them struggle so excessively in the finals.

Tonight the Bears kick-off a (hopefully) three game stint in Texas with the hopes of winning enough to turn it around.  So what do they need to do to turn things around?

How can the Bears keep from being tripped up tonight? Keep reading!

It seems that Anton Volchenkov, the Ottawa Senators' blue-line shot-blocking machine, is the object of many teams desire as they look to bolster their defensive corps as the pending free agent period approaches. Possibly near the top of this list are the Washington Capitals, as fans and bloggers have been clamoring for a true defensive-defenseman after seeing the repeated post-season ineffectiveness of Mike Green and Jeff Schultz - including us, who threw out an invitation back in January of this year.

Tarik El-Bashir of Capitals Insider reported Thursday that "two sources have told me that the team does not, in fact, plan to pursue [Volchenkov]" if he were not resigned by the Senators. Tarik also opined that his pending increase in wage would be out of the Caps' price range and that adding him "doesn't really work given the Caps' salary cap situation." A situation, the extent of which is not fully known at this moment as the fates of several members on the Capitals' roster have not been decided yet - including d-men Jeff Schultz, Shaone Morrisonn, and Milan Jurcina.

Being aware of who re-signs with the Caps is important, but so is knowing if John Carlson and Karl Alzner will start the season with Washington or in Chocolatetown. Both have earned their keep at the NHL level, so I'm assuming Carlson and Alzner will join a re-signed Schultz and the existing defensive corps of John Erskine, Mike Green, Tom Poti, and Tyler Sloan - leaving room for signing (or re-signing at a discounted rate) a UFA from the pool. But with Volchenkov "out", who's left? Here are 3 blueliners that should be at the top of GMGM's list.

Pylon? No. Strong D-man? Yes. Make the jump to find out who fits the bill.

Note:  This story was originally published on "A Capital Offense."

On paper, Marcus Johansson doesn't stand out in any particular way.  The Washington Capitals prospect nicknamed "Mackan" in Sweden is not the biggest player at 5'11 and 190 pounds and he doesn't have flashy numbers.  Even scouts who see him play will say that he doesn't have any particular facet of his game that stands out [Hockey's Future, NHL Draft Scouting Report, Scouting Report, Draft Story].

Marcus Johansson on draft day

Rather, it is his all-around game that is his strength.  A left-shooting forward, he can play center and left-winger equally well.  He is a smart, fast player adept at both offense and defense and he usually comes away with the puck in the corners.  He likes to play with the puck and can usually find the open man with a pass, but he also has a nice shot selection he needs to use more often.  He has good stickhandling skills and good hand-eye coordination, skills that serve him well when he often plays in the heavy traffic areas.  He can be physical but doesn't usually seek contact, which is not surprising considering his 3 concussions, though there have been exceptions:

Late last night, Capitals Insider spread the word that the Washington Capitals' trade deadline acquisitions Joe Corvo and Scott Walker will not be made an offer to remain with the team, per the Caps' General Manager George McPhee.

Walker suited up for only 10 games for the Capitals, largely due to injury and the Caps' depth at the forward position, and finished his tenure with 2 goals and 1 assist to his credit. Corvo, presumably brought in to spell the oft-over skated Mike Green, played in 18 regular season games and in each of DC's 7 games in the playoffs. He was able to add 2 goals and 4 assists with a -4 rating during the regular season, 1 goal and 1 assist with a -2 rating during the playoffs, and this awesome photoshop.

Here is how the rest of the Capitals' free agent class looks as we inch closer to free agent signing period which opens on July 1st.

And so it begins.  After a brief hiatus due to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the AHL's finals finally kick off at Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania tomorrow as the Bears look to take on the Texas Stars.  This is what fans of the Chocolate and White - and fans of Washington Capitals - wait all year for: the chance to take home a league-record 11th Calder Cup.

Following eighty regular season games and two months of uncertain, tumultuous playoffs, the season has come down to this- hockey in June.  As far as I'm concerned, it's best kind of hockey there is.  Gone are the snow-boots and parkas sloshing across the wind-plain of a parking lot, hurrying to the warmth of the arena. They've since been replaced by flip-flops and shorts, strolling across the warm summer asphalt, seeking the refuge of the A/C.  Is there anything better?  Yes - four wins in June.

Apparently ESPN thinks so. This advertisement, found on their website, suggests that the Washington Capitals' Captain has an IQ of 132, which ranks him slightly higher than former president Abraham Lincoln (128) and just short of "The Ugly Duckling" author Hans Christian Andersen (145). Ovie is a mere 28 points shy of the brilliant minds of Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein, whom each clock in with an IQ of 160.

To put this in perspective, the intelligence quotient was developed in 1912 to determine intellect and is derived from standardized tests and ranks from "definite feeble-mindedness" to "immeasurably genius," with an median value of 100. Only approximately 1% of the people in the world have an IQ of 135 or over.

While I am not aware if the Great 8 ever sat down to take the NFL-required Wonderlic Test, or if his quotient was affected by off-ice actions, so I will defer to Tomas Fleishmann for his assessment of Ovechkin's IQ: "He’s a big guy, he’s fast and he’s got a real great shot... and he’s got hockey sense. It’s all packaged together. That’s why he’s the best.”

Near genius? I'd say so.

We've been talking for some time about rumors that the Washington Capitals would be a participant in next year's Winter Classic...and those rumors have been confirmed. Merry Christmas to all! Unfortunately, you won't be able to Rock The Red in the Washington area, as the game will be held at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. The league has given assurances however that the Caps will host the Winter Classic sometime in the next few years, which...my deductive mind has noodled, means the Caps are already queued up for a second appearance.

This will be the second appearance in the short history of Winter Classic for the Penguins, which I won't even get into.

While I may not make it to the game, since I'm frightened of all Pennsylvania cities (and their fans), I may have to shell out some bucks for a replica of the Caps sweaters for the game. According to Mike Vogel, Reebok has already been working with the team to create a throwback jersey for the event. Maybe something with some stars across the chest?