Caps 6 Thrashers 4

Someone needs to make a tape of the 3rd period of today's game and play it before every Caps game from here on in. Whoever shows that tape needs to tell the team, "THAT is what you guys can do if you consistently bring it."

The Thrashers had no answer for the Caps in the 3rd period, as the boys in red seemed to come in waves, one right after another. They made Atlanta's defense look foolish, forcing a myriad of bad turnovers. Of course, the next question is, "Why can't they do that for 60 minutes?"

Third period aside, it was yet another listless effort through two. If my old coach Marc Felizzi was coaching this team he would be freaking out behind the bench telling the players "NO BLIND PASSES UP THE MIDDLE!!!!" Sergei Fedorov did it against Buffalo on Friday and it cost the Caps an extra point. Alex Ovechkin did it today and it cost them a goal. Just inexcusable stuff. These guys have been taught since Mites not to throw blind passes up the middle and they've done it two games in a row. As much heat as Jose Theodore takes in the clueless mainstream media, without Theo in the first period, the Caps might have been on their way to another stinkbomb against Atlanta.

But, oh that 3rd period. It truly is a pleasure to watch this team when they play like that. When they work and forecheck the crap out of the opposition, they are impossible to stop. The team that skated the 3rd period could win the Stanley Cup. The team that skated the first 40 minutes could get swept in the first round. That's the freakin' tightrope this Caps team walks and until they figure out a way to bring that 3rd period for 60 minutes, it's going to be a turbulent ride through the playoffs.

The Hangar's observations:

- Keith Aucoin was the best player on the ice today. He had a goal and an assist and you could see coach Bruce Boudreau get more confidence in him as this game rolled along. If Aucoin isn't taking a regular shift in the playoffs, well, somebody's got to lay off the peyote. Along with Brooks Laich and Dave Steckel, Aucoin is just the sort of guy who the Caps are going to need.

- Finally, Tomas Fleischmann scored a goal, temporarily ending his own personal nightmare of a 2009.

- The goal Colby Armstrong scored, Atlanta's first, is all on Tom Poti. He's got to step up and meet Armstrong a lot higher than the top of the slot. By that point, you're at the mercy of the shooter at the NHL level.

- I don't like that Milan Jurcina-Jeff Schultz defense pairing. They would get murdered in a 7-game series, especially against a speedy team like Montreal or Carolina. I know Brian Pothier was scratched to make room for Juice, but I'd rather see Pothier, Mike Green and Poti as at least half the defense in the playoffs. then have some combination of Schultz, John Erskine, Jurcina and Shaone Morrisonn.

- How did the Caps not score on that first period power play when TWO Thrashers broke their sticks?

- Speaking of the PP, it wasn't the best of days for the NHL's 2nd ranked unit. They gave up a shorthanded goal in the 2nd after Ovie's turnover (Repeat: NO BLIND PASSES OVER THE MIDDLE!) Too much Danglefest 2009 for the first few chances. But things did turn around when Aucoin was put out there. He slammed home a great feed from Ovie for his PP marker and in the 3rd, the Caps put on a puck possession clinic, even though they didn't score.

- Since the Caps are playing the Thrash again on Tuesday night, here's a tip: Do NOT let Ilya Kovalchuk have room. If he gets any space, he's deadly.

- I liked the combination of Eric Fehr, Michael Nylander and Brooks Laich. Nylander played a strong game, and got that 3rd period barrage rolling with his knucklepuck that eluded ATL goaltender Johan Hedberg. Fehr put the Caps ahead for good by going relentless towards the net. Fehr needs to take a page from my old teammate Derek Russ and don't venture more than 5 feet from the goal. Good things happen for him there.

- The Thrashers defense was brutal on Fehr's goal but they were worse on the next goal, a brilliant piece of tic-tac-toe passing between Aucoin, Fleischmann and Alex Semin. That goal was gorgeousness and gorgeousity made real (bet you won't find a "Clockwork Orange" reference like that on any other blog.) The passing and puck handling was great but the Thrash just looked clueless out there defensively. To the Caps credit, they FORCED Atlanta into that with hard work, quick puck movement and heavy forechecking. If they do that all the time they're going places (are you sensing a theme with this wrapup?)

- The Caps scored 6 goals today, none of them by guys named Ovechkin, Green or Backstrom. They're going to need that secondary scoring in the playoffs. Let's hope this game was just the beginning of more balance in the Caps lineup.

- Ovie did get two points today, drawing him closer to Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin for the league scoring title but this wasn't one of his better games. He had that bad giveaway on Jim Slater's shorthanded goal and seemed to give up a lot of good looks instead of trying to score goals. That's more like Nylander than Ovechkin.

- I praised Jose Theodore earlier this post, now I come to bury him. Jose- What the fuck were you thinking? He looked like he was trying to score a goal in Atlanta's empty net but whiffed and gave it right to Slava Kozlov. It was the best pass Kozlov's probably had all year.

Anyway, enough of my rambling, here's the highlights from NHL.com.


With this win, the Caps go back up two points on idle New Jersey for the 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. As mentioned before, the team will make one more stop in Atlanta before closing out in Florida against Tampa Bay and the Panthers. So until then, let's call this one more...for the good guys.

Caps 5 Lightning 2

Pretty easy win for the Caps tonight over the banged-up and hapless Tampa Bay Lightning. The game was close after two periods but Washington was able to turn this into a laugher with yet another strong 3rd period.

The real concern right now is the health of Mike Green who went down awkwardly with the Bolts' Steven Stamkos and came up favoring his left shoulder. It looked like Stamkos pulled Greener down by his arm as Stamkos was falling to the ice. Whatever it was, let's hope Green isn't injured too badly. Losing a potential Norris Trophy winner would be disastrous for the Caps playoff chances.

Other than that, like I said, the game was fairly workmanlike. The Caps are clearly a much better team than Tampa Bay and with Mike McKenna in goal, there was no way the Caps were going to see the same caliber of netminding they did from Kari Lehtonen in Atlanta on Monday.

Of course, the big story tonight (besides the Green injury) was Alex Ovechkin getting his 50th goal. It was a classic Ovechkin goal: darting down the wing and unleashing that lethal wrist shot of his past McKenna. Then he pulled out a celebration that Don Cherry will surely object to Saturday night. Ovie put his stick on the ice and put his hands out like he was warming his hands on a fire. Clever, although a bit awkward looking at first. According to Ovie's 1st intermission interview, Green and Nicklas Backstrom put him up to it. I can just see Cherry now bemoaning this one as the death of "The Canadian Way" of hockey. Yes, we need less of Ovie celebrating and more of Chris Simon slashing guys in the face with his stick. Ovechkin also added two assists tonight.

"You will lose."

Besides the injury, Green had a monster game with two goals, including the game-winner that really seemed to get the Caps into soul-crushing mode. It was also good to see Michael Nylander get a goal, or even shoot the puck. Seriously though, Nyls has been a major whipping boy this year but he's actually played a lot better since he got back into the lineup. Another guy it was good to see get one was Professor Matt Bradley. Professor Matt is like the poor man's Brooks Laich, a guy that is all heart minus Brooksie's skills.

Also, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the solid work turned in by Simeon Varlamov. The youngster looked composed, calm and cool in net. If he can learn to stay out of the trainer's room, he's going to be a good one. If he's not already.

So that's it for this recap. Let's hope Greener is OK and its just a stinger or something. As easy as this game was, things will get a lot tougher Saturday night against The Former Hartford Whalers. Until then, let's chalk up one more...for the good guys.

Some small links...

Get it? Sometimes I just kill myself! Anyway, here's your usual batch of links at a much later hour than usual, keeping you abreast of what's going on in the world of the Ravens, Caps, Orioles, THE Towson University Tigers, sprinkled with a liberal dose of pop culture. Can you count, SUCKAS!


- Jersey Joe Flacco made the rounds today at the Entertainment Steeler Programming Network (that's ESPN for those who can't figure your acronyms). The Sun has all the details. Of course, the Unibrowbomber was asked about one of ESPN's favorite butt boys, the recently released Terrell Owens, and whether the Ravens would have any interest in him. Quick answer: Absolutely, 100 percent fucking NO! As is his wont, Joe Cool (that's three Flacco nicknames in one segment. Impressive Ryan. Most impressive) deflected these queries with his usual Joe-speak. Do any of these ESPN guys remember how Terrell pretty much told the Ravens to go fuck themselves when they traded for him in 2004? Or how he mocked the recently re-signed Ray Lewis' pregame dance after scoring a touchdown against the Ravens in 2004? Or trying to justify his actions by saying he wasn't so bad since he never faced double murder charges like Ray? Or how in his book, Owens accused Ozzie Newsome of being a closet racist? I think Oz would rather do this...

...than sign Owens to play for the Ravens.

-By the way, Big Mike Preston has been on a roll this off-season. I love this idea, even though Ozzie would never do it.

- New Raven Matt Birk is happy to be in Baltmo. Glad to have you too Matt.

- O's win again in exhibition play with a 5-2 win over the Florida Marlins. Last year's first-round pick Brian Matusz looked impressive. A very good sign for the O's future pitching prospects.

- Caps try to get off the schniede (lost 3 of 4 at home) tonight against the bottom-dwelling Toronto Maple Leafs at the Phone Booth. Tank El-Bashir is reporting that Michael Nylander will be back in and Alex Ovechkin, Tom Poti and Jose Theodore are all expected to play.

-Not Caps related but a worthy read from Deadspin on ex-Flyer and current Tampa Bay headcase Steve Downie.

"You ain't got no future Steve! You're a A-1 nutboy, Grissom knows it."

Non-Sporting Links:

-Our resident movie reviewer Greg "Snake" Maki has his take on "Watchmen."

-Per The Big Lead and Vanity Fair. This a long but fascinating read from Michael "Moneyball" Lewis on the collapse of Iceland's economy. And here I thought Iceland was only known for this...


-Finally, today's YouTube clip to swing your heavy metal hair to is "Jesus Christ Pose" by Soundgarden (it does have a short Chris Cornell interview at the beginning with Spanish, I think, subtitles!). If this clip doesn't give you an epileptic seizure, I don't know what will.