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. 

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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. 

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There has been much debate about whether the Capitals should sign center Mike Ribeiro to a long-term contract or if he should be traded at the trade deadline.  At 33 years old, Mike Ribeiro would be 38 at the end of a 5-year contract, which is his stated desire.  There is little debate about how good Ribeiro has been this season for the Capitals, sitting 17^th in NHL scoring with 35 points in 35 games.  He has been instrumental to the Capitals staying in the playoff chase; he truly has been the productive, veteran #2 center the Capitals have needed since Sergei Fedorov left in 2009, and players like him don’t come around too often, which means the Capitals should try to hold on to him. 

Most people don’t seem to be worried about the first 2-3 years of a potential Ribeiro contract and seem fairly confident that George McPhee’s initial contract offer of 3 years and $14 million was a fair deal and safe for the Capitals, even if a no-movement clause was included.  Ribeiro has averaged 20 goals and 65 points per year over the last 8 seasons on two different teams and has continued that high production on a third team. People are concerned that by the 4^th or 5^th year of such a contract that Ribeiro will not be performing at the same level he is now and won’t be worth the $5 million a season he is likely to be making.  The reason: most players experience a decline in performance when they reach their late 30s, if they are still playing at all, and such a big contract for a diminished player may hurt the Capitals' salary cap structure.  If people are sure that Ribeiro will be good for 3 years, why is it so harmful to give him a fourth and fifth year?  How far does his performance have to drop for a $5 million contract to not be worth it?  As long as Ribeiro does not have a no-movement clause after year 3, his contract isn’t nearly as risky as it may seem on the surface.  It also may be worth paying market value for three years for a couple of overpaid seasons, though McPhee can mitigate the risk and structure the contract to pay him less money after year 3. After all, Sergei Fedorov was pushing 40 when the Capitals acquired him, much like Igor Larionov and Ron Francis were elder statesmen when they met in the 2002 Stanley Cup Final.  It may be useful to see some recent examples of what players like Ribeiro have accomplished in their late 30s. 

Read on

Fang Finger is a Nashville-based blogger for the website Fang Faction.

Martin Erat is a skilled forward just past the prime of his career. The Czech Republican native is a great skater and has an excellent shot, when he decides to release the puck. Often in his career, Erat has been known to be a pass first, shoot second forward, which didn’t help in the Predators’ situation, but could do so in the nation’s capital. Erat will be able to feed players like Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Troy Brouwer and Mike Ribeiro, who are capable of scoring a large amount of goals in a season.

The 31 year old is an excellent skater and has good puck control. Erat is not a very physical forward, but can get rough if necessary. This season, he has played in 36 games posting 21 points (4 goals, 17 assists). “Marty should go in there and make the playoffs [for the team],” said General Manager David Poile. “That deal does it for them.”

Not too many people can give a scouting report on Michael Latta, except if they live in Milwaukee where the Predators’ farm team is located. Most of Latta’s professional career has been played with the Admirals, but he is only a step away from being NHL ready.

Latta has a big body and will throw it around. He could be an effective fourth liner for the Capitals during the playoffs, if the time comes. He was drafted 72nd overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, while with the Guelph Storm in the OHL, where he was most successful putting up 89 points (34 goals, 55 assists) in 68 games during the 2010-11 season.

His performance at the junior level promoted Latta to the Admirals, where he spent this season scoring 25 points (9 goals, 26 assists) in 67 games.

Wheeeeeeee! (@CapsGoalieLove)

The Washington Capitalse simply refused to die on Saturday night in Buffalo, New York, battling back from two two-goal deficits to beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 in a shootout at First Niagara Center.  The Sabres took leads of 2-0 and 3-1, but could not put away Washington, who got goals from Alex Ovechkin, Troy Brouwer, and then Mike Green to draw even with only 39 seconds remaining regulation.  Despite pressing for much of overtime, the Caps could not get another goal to win the game in 65 minutes, so needed to rely on the sootout.  Matt Hendricks and Ovechkin made quick work of Jhonas Enroth in the skills competition to give the Caps the two points and raise their record to 16-17-1, two back of the final playoff spot in the East and five back of the  Southeast Division lead.  According to SportsClubStats, their chances at the playoffs are now 32.5%.

As good as their final 25 minutes were, the Caps could not have had a worse opening 20 minutes.  Coming off a very poor loss against the Islanders in midweek, the Caps were outplayed, outhustled, and outscored in the opening period by a decidedly bad Sabres team, making them climb uphill to get the two points.  As great as this win was, the Caps can’t fall behind like that against bad teams and be considered real contenders to win any hardware.  They have to play consistent games for 60 minutes if they want to make the playoffs, let along win anything if they get there.  Still, the battle-back was impressive.

Read on for more analysis.