SB Nation - Christopher Bourque

Sunday Caps Clips: Five In a Row

J.P. — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 14:46:20 -0000

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Your savory breakfast links:

Recaps and other assorted musings on last night's cakewalk (déjà vu) from Corey (blog, article), Tarik (blog, article), Vogs, Joe B., Ed Frankovic, Peerless, Puck Daddy (where five points isn't star-worthy), OFB and Fight For Old DC.
The Top Ten reasons Dan Carcillo sucker-punched Matt Bradley last night. [Peerless]
"The Caps and [Alexander Semin's] agent, Mark Gandler, haven't held talks since the eve of the season, when it's believed an offer from the team was rejected. The RFA-to-be is also generating much interest in his native Russia, but the Caps will give this another go before the season is out." [ESPN]
Speaking of contract negotiations, George McPhee is Puck Daddy's eighth-best general manager of the decade. A strong argument could be made that he he should be higher (of course, then there's Michael Nylander). [Puck Daddy]
Great Varly shot. [TTT Hockey]
Welcome back to the organization (and the Caps' AAAA affiliate), Chris Bourque. [Patriot-News]
A look at the Caps' ECHL prospects. [Hockey's Future]
And speaking of kids, a look at the Caps' World Juniors participants. [OFB]
Per the HHoF, on this date back in 1987, "Washington's Scott Stevens set a club record with five assists as the Capitals won 10-3 over the visiting Los Angeles Kings."
Finally, happy 48th birthday to Chris Valentine.

Saturday Caps Clips: Caps @ Flyers Game Day

J.P. — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 15:00:15 -0000

More photos » by Michael Perez - AP

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Your savory breakfast links:

Previews of Game 1 of the Peter Laviolette era in Philly from Vogs, NHL.com, Peerless, CSN Washington and CSN Philly, and be sure to check out our SB Nation partner Broad Street Hockey for coverage from the other side of tonight's match up.
Taking joy in Philly's turmoil. [OFB]
It continues not to suck to be Alex Ovechkin... [D.C. Sports Bog, NHL Network Online (video)]
... Even if some blowhard thinks it "would be fun to see" him "meet a couple of fourth-line enforcers down the road." [CBC]
Speaking of idiocy, a nice collection of responses to a prime example of it... [D.C. Sports Bog, Ted's Take, FanPost]
... But we should be fair and let the author defend himself. Here's Jim Kelley on The Mike Wise Show... [106.7 The Fan... at least it should be here soon]
... And we'll give Caps Senior Director of Media Relations Nate Ewell the last word on the matter: "All lies. This interview is making him look even more deceitful, dishonest, biased and wrong." Game. Set. Match. [@nateewell]
Several Caps have stepped it up in AO's absence... [Washington Times]
... As the team rallies around it's superstar. [NHL.com]
The sore wrist that sidelined Alexander Semin for seven games "may ultimately require surgery." That's the first I've heard the "s" word used, which likely means it came from the player (or more likely his agent), which seems an odd thing to be putting out there in a contract year. [Globe and Mail]
Speaking of Semin, "He's a great guy in the locker room, a supportive guy to everyone. He's a big part of the team, and I hope he stays here." So says someone whose opinion probably matters. [Washington Post]
Some (inter)national attention for what Brendan Morrison has done for the team so far. [NHL.com]
One for the ladies... and those who appreciate fine photography. [TTT Hockey]
Btw, TTT Hockey photos would make for truly special holiday gifts. [TTT Hockey]
Several Caps talk about their first times... scoring an NHL goal, that is. [CSN Washington]
You thought you'd seen all the "Free Alex" pictures that were out there? Think again. [Peerless]
Mike Knuble goes toy shoppin' for charity. [Hockey Mom]
Elliot in the Morning tells Florida's Mike Duco he's number one. [TwitPic (via @OnFrozenBlog)]
A preview of Junior Seau's day as shooting target/equipment manager for the Caps. [NHL Network Online (video)]
FiOS subscribers will want to read this. [Mike Holden's blog]
"Hall of Famer Olaf Kolzig" has a nice ring to it, even if we're just talking ECHL. [CSN Washington]
In case you missed it, the Penguins waived Chris Bourque yesterday. [@TSNBobMcKenzie]
Sticking with Pittsburgh, Brent Johnson's worst Civic Arena memory? This game. [Empty Netters]
The juxtaposition of an Habs fan reaction to Eric Fehr's late game-tying goal from last weekend and Led Zep's chill "Going to California" is fantastic, but certainly NSFW for language. [YouTube (h/t YNC)]
Finally, per the HHoF, on this date back in 1997 "Jeff Toms scored at 3:32 of OT to give the Capitals a 3-2 win over the Panthers, in the first NHL game played at the MCI Center in Washington D.C."

What Losing Chris Bourque Really Means

J.P. — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:00:25 -0000

via daylife.com

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Before we get carried away about the loss of Chris Bourque who was claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Penguins this afternoon, let's get clear on what exactly the Caps lost, namely an under-sized 'tweener of a forward with modest upside and a marketable name (had the Caps put "Chris Smith" on waivers, perhaps he'd have cleared), who, in five years since being drafted, couldn't break into the organization's top-12 (or 13, or 14) forwards (and who made it all the way through the dregs of the League and to Pittsburgh before being claimed off waivers).

But what's troubling about the transaction (besides the lightning-quick "Hey, kid, you made it/Sorry, kid, you've been cut" aspect of it) is twofold, as it demonstrates relatively rare asset mismanagement on the part of the Caps' front office and it foreshadows just how little personnel flexibility the team will have this season.

On the first point, regardless of how good Bourque is now or may become - he's probably more Martin St. Pierre than Martin St. Louis - what the Caps had yesterday and, more importantly, all summer, was a 23-year-old former second-round pick who was a 20-goal/50-assist player in the AHL last year. And they got nothing for him. Not even the fifth-round pick they got in return for Sami Lepisto (who makes just $27,500 less than Bourque) earlier this summer. After investing a decent amount in Bourque over the course of his entry-level NHL contract, having nothing to show for it at this point is disappointing.

Perhaps more importantly, though, Bourque was a victim of the salary cap, and was replaced on the roster post-claim by AHL veteran Boyd Kane. In other words, the $77,500 difference in 2009-10 salary between the two players made the difference in allowing the team to squeeze under the $56.8 million salary cap. With that in mind, ask yourself how this team's going to make that key deadline deal, or handle a rash of short-term injuries. It doesn't take much imagination to see how it can get awfully dicey, awfully fast.

At the end of the day, if the Caps had wanted to keep Chris Bourque, they'd have found a way to have kept Chris Bourque. His absence won't make or break the 2009-10 Caps. But what could very well break them is a lack of roster flexibility, and no one player is to blame for that. Point fingers instead, if you must, at a front office that seems to be operating under the assumption that its biggest financial headache will somehow simply disappear. Until it does, it's apparent that there was, and is, no Plan B.

Pens claim Chris Bourque off waivers, lose Paul Bissonnette to Phoenix

Hooks Orpik — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:58:22 -0000

More photos » by Dean Duprey - AP

Couldn't fit the upper half of Mike Weber's body in this picture. Bourque is generously listed at 5'8, officially.

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Chris Bourque is a 'tweener -- very good at the AHL level but hasn't established himself as NHL'er. It appears he'll get the chance in Pittsburgh. The writing was on the wall yesterday when the Penguins waived all of their bubble players. And it makes sense: Bourque is years younger than Chris Conner or Ryan Bayda and could potentially be a contributor at the NHL level.

Over at Japers Rink there will be a lot bitterness they'll show at losing Bourque for nothing....And losing him to Pittsburgh on top of that! Whether the Pens have picked the Capitals pocket for a significant piece to the puzzle remains to be seen, but Bourque could be effective for the Pens. Aggravating a rival is nice, but "CBo" is a legitimate guy to play for the Pens this season -- his cap hit of $578,000 is nice and he's young.

If you've never seen Bourque play, he's almost a mix of a Max Talbot/Tyler Kennedy smallish player that works very hard and is a very fast skater. He'll hit, he'll run around a lot out there and he'll do what he can to help the team. Obviously Bourque has some limitations in size and skill, but given the choice he's a better player and has a lot more potential than a Bayda or Conner.

But the waiver wire give-th and the waiver wire take-th as Phoenix has reportedly claimed Paul Bissonnette. Bissonnette had a wild ride in the Penguins organization -- few remember but he was actually one of the last cuts in 2003 as a defenseman. Then a couple years in junior and some middling years between the ECHL and AHL that saw him switch to forward and pickup a role as a fighter with the "Biz Nasty" moniker. After some outlandish behavior (like wearing a professional wrestling championship belt during pre-game warmups) Bissonnette fell out of favor with management and was actually sent hom from camp and wait for a trade. The trade never came because no one wanted him and somehow he got over that impasse and became a model player for Wilkes-Barre and Pittsburgh.

2009-10 Washington Capitals Season Preview

David M. Getz — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:42:03 -0000

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2008-09 Season Recap: What's really amazing about the Capitals' 2008-09 season is just how much went wrong. The new starting goaltender was inconsistent, finished with mediocre-at-best numbers in the regular season, and was pulled in the first playoff game. The three big free agent signings who had been brought in a year earlier to fill key spots in the lineup failed to make the kind of impact they had in their first seasons in D.C. as Tom Poti missed thirty games, Viktor Kozlov saw his production slip, and Michael Nylander became such a non-entity that he was relegated to the press box for most of the playoffs and sat out the team's final playoff game in favor of Jay Beagle. A largely inexperienced defense corps saw six of its members miss ten games or more due to injury, necessitating 93 man-games from defensemen who started the season in Hershey of the AHL. The second line center position - considered a strength at the season's outset due to the presence of Nylander and Sergei Fedorov - remained unsettled for much of the season. The team's secondary scoring was non-existent at times, and they went through long periods (a.k.a. February and March) looking disinterested and uninspired.

And, despite all of that, they finished with 50 wins and 108 points.

That kind of regular season success is incredible under any set of circumstances, and the fact that the Capitals could perform at that level with so much going wrong should be encouraging to Capitals fans, even in the wake of last year's Eastern Conference Semis Game Seven faceplant that unceremoniously ended the season. It should also put the rest of the NHL very much on its toes.

Make the jump for roster changes, strengths, weaknesses, the team's depth chart, and our predictions.

Who's In:

Mike Knuble, RW - Knuble wasn't the biggest name available this summer, nor was he the flashiest player or the most skilled. But what he was (and is) is the perfect fit for the Capitals - he provides a lot of what the team needs (net presence, grit, size, leadership) where they need it (right wing). Having his 6'3'', 230 pound frame in front of the goal will make things more difficult for opposing goalies during Caps power plays and should give his linemates more space to work with at even strength. And having a knack for collecting and depositing loose pucks around the net won't hurt when he's playing on a line with a guy who has registered nearly a thousand shots on goal over the past two seasons.
Brendan Morrison, C - Morrison is another veteran who was brought in not to change the dynamic of the team or become a go-to guy, but rather to fill a hole and compliment the team's existing core - which is perfect because at this point in his career that's the role Morrison's best suited for. He should provide solid defense on the second line while still being able to keep up with the likes of Alexander Semin, Tomas Fleischmann, Brooks Laich, and Knuble offensively.

Who's Out:

Donald Brashear, LW - There's a part of most Caps fans that will miss watching Brashear drop the mitts for the good guys, but the bottom line on Brash is that his production is going down, his salary is going up, and he isn't getting any younger. Couple those facts with the ability to put a more skilled player from either a defensive (Quintin Laing) or offensive (Chris Bourque) standpoint, and there's no reason to be the slightest bit upset about that fact that Brash will be wearing someone else's red, white, and blue this season... so long as the "team toughness" we've been hearing so much about is, in fact, real.
Sergei Fedorov, C - It's sad to see a legend leave both the Capitals and the NHL, but the reality is that Fedorov, while productive when he played, had durability issues, took too many penalties, and sometimes looked like he had trouble keeping up with the Capitals style of play. They team (some players more than others, no doubt) will miss his versatility and his veteran presence, but we have to think the team will be better off moving forward with a healthy Morrison as the second-line center. We'll always have Game Seven, though, won't we?
Viktor Kozlov, RW - A quintessential example of a player brought in to "bridge the gap," Kozlov was good in 07-08 and barely passable in 08-09 (flunking out of the Dainius Zubrus School of Statistical Inflation). We thank him for his contributions to those two teams (those two tallies in Game Six of the Penguins series were nice), and wish him well in Russia... but we'll gladly take Mike Knuble in his place.

Four Strengths

Elite offensive talent - The Caps' "Young Guns" (Alex Ovechkin, Semin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green) all finished in the top 13 in the League in regular season points-per-game in 2008-09, with Green the only defenseman in the top-60. These kids - not one of whom is yet 26 years old - haven't even reached their respective primes yet. If healthy, the sky's the limit for the quartet.
The powerplay - Piggybacking off that last point, the Caps were second in the league in power play conversion last season when Green missed 14 games, Semin missed 20, and the team lacked consistent net presence (save for Laich). The unit could be even better this year (thanks to Knuble and hopefully healthy years from Chris Clark and Brian Pothier), but even if it's not, it will remain one of the most feared in the League.
Depth on the blue line - At the moment the Capitals have at least eight guys who are clearly capable of taking a regular shift in the NHL, with at least a couple more in Hershey. That doesn't change the fact the team could use another legitimate top-four guy, but it's also an organizational strength very few NHL teams have.
The third line - While we don't know who, exactly, will comprise the third line (especially with Fleischmann and Eric Fehr on injured reserve to start the season), we do know that it will be a strong unit. David Steckel will almost certianly be the center and the wings should be filled out by a combination of Laich, Clark, Fehr, and Bourque (sorry, Matt Bradley Fan Club - we don't see him filling that role long-term). The Caps third line should have everything you look at that spot in the lineup - size, grit, defensive skill, and the ability to chip in on offense - and should ensure the opposition can't afford to take any shifts off.

Four Weaknesses

Discipline - Last year's Caps team took far, far too many penalties that were either lazy, selfish, or unnecessary and, as a result, they were shorthanded as often as just about anyone anyone else in the league. The departures of Fedorov and Brashear should help, but the team still has a lot of guys who take too many bad penalties.
High-end defensemen - Mike Green's just as good as his Norris Trophy Finalist status suggests, and both Tom Poti and and Jeff Schultz are solid defenders who bring a lot of value as penalty killers. After those three, however, there's a pretty steep drop off that inherently results in at least one guy being given more minutes and more responsibility than he should be. The addition - or emergence - of one more top-four defenseman would make a world of difference for this team right now.
Goaltending - Granted, this could turn out to be one of the team's greatest strengths, given the trajectory on which youngsters Semyon Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth find themselves. But at the moment, those two kids have combined to play fewer NHL minutes (playoffs included) than incumbent starter Jose Theodore played either before or after last year's All-Star Break. Competition should drive each of the three to be at his best, but the question mark in goal is certainly real in October... which may or may not matter in April.
Enforcement - Bradley's always willing to throw if need be, but doesn't have the win-loss record to match his heart. John Erskine can certainly handle himself when the rough stuff gets going, but concussions have limited how often he's dropped the mittens in recent years. Enforcement, for now, has given way to team toughness. We'll see if that can last for 82 games.

X-Factor: Bob Woods. If the new assistant coach can overhaul the defense the way some people think he can, the Caps could become the team to beat in the East.

Depth chart:

Left Wing	Center		Right Wing
Alex Ovechkin	Nicklas Backstrom		Mike Knuble
Tomas Fleischmann	Brendan Morrison		Alex Semin
Brooks Laich	David Steckel		Chris Clark
Quintin Laing	Boyd Gordon		Eric Fehr
Chris Bourque	Keith Aucoin		Matt Bradley
Oskar Osala	Jay Beagle		Alexandre Giroux
	Mathieu Perreault		Andrew Gordon
Other
Michael Nylander
Defense
Mike Green		Tom Poti
Jeff Schultz		Shaone Morrisonn
Brian Pothier		Milan Jurcina
John Erskine		Tyler Sloan
Karl Alzner		Sean Collins
John Carlson
Goaltender
Jose Theodore
Semyon Varlamov
Michal Neuvirth
Braden Holtby

Predictions

David: In the summer and fall before the 2007-08 season (and before I was blogging) I was yammering to anyone who would listen about how excited I was about the Capitals off-season and how much better they could be as a team. When pressed on how good I thought they were (and could be) my stock answer wound up being that I thought they would be a team that bounced around the last playoff spot or two for most of the season and eventually made it in with a late season run because I expected them to get better as the season went on, that I expected them to lose in the Conference Finals in the next (08-09) season, and to win the Cup the year after that. While I won't be so bold as to predict a Capitals Cup win in September in a public forum, I will say that the team's progression has been even better than I expected. They might not win the Cup, but the Caps should at the very least be in the Eastern Conference Finals - and I expect them to bring the Prince of Wales trophy to D.C.

Pepper: Team toughness sufficient to win a Cup, with or without Brashear, has yet to be demonstrated. That nebulous quality means physical play and an increased willingness to drive to the net "Fred Shero style," but also relentlessness -- keeping the foot on the gas pedal. Too often last season the team would shock their opponents with their jaw-dropping skill and energy, and then coast for the remainder of the contest. And we've seen some of that dynamic in this pre-season already. Regardless of whether or not we see a repeat of that behavior in the 2009-10 campaign, the talent on this team is more than enough for it to cruise to another Southeast Division title.

But, as currently constituted (i.e., well before the March trading deadline), what I foresee as the team's undoing in the playoffs is the lack of a veteran defenseman who has deep playoff, if not Cup winning, experience. Someone who can clear the crease or tie up a stick looking for rebounds. Without that, they'll still likely win two rounds next spring, but falter in the Eastern Conference finals.

J.P.: I think the real challenge for this Caps team will be staying reasonably focused over the course of an 82-game regular season and not picking up some of the bad habits they developed in February and March of last year that carried into the playoffs. The talent is there in spades - if this team wants to win and is willing to do what it takes to win, there's no reason they can't, and no reason they won't. They'll win the East, and then anything can happen.

Poll

Where will the Capitals finish the regular season?

First in the Eastern Conference

549 votes

First in the Southeast Division, but not first in the Conference

501 votes

Not first in the Southeast, but in the playoffs

16 votes

Out of the playoffs

10 votes

1076 votes | Poll has closed

Making the Capitals, September 28 Edition

Stephen Pepper — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:30:39 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

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With no pre-season games remaining, all that's left are some difficult decisions by GM George McPhee and Coach Bruce Boudreau, evaluating the body of work performed by those on the bubble to determine, by 15:00 on Wednesday, who makes the opening night roster, and who will ply his craft elsewhere. While an early injury in season can quickly change the gameboard for one of these guys, there is unquestionably a certain prestige to having one's name on the roster come day one of the regular season. Here's a look at the remaining battles, and how each player is trending (to be updated as warranted):

Goalies	Trend	Notes
Semyon Varlamov	▲	Varlamov flagged a bit in the third period yesterday, but so did the entire team. With Neuvirth still not cleared to play as of yesterday, it seems a foregone conclusion that Semyon will be in the lineup against Boston. Whether he starts or sits on the bench is anyone's guess.
Michal Neuvirth	▼	The next "tweaking" for Neuvirth looks to be tweaking the Hershey Bears goaltending rotation to add his name to the front of it. But if he skates this morning, Coach says anything can happen.

Defensemen
Tyler Sloan	▲	Singled out as the best of the Sunday matinée on defense, along with John Erskine. Of course, there are still seven incumbents.
Karl Alzner	▼	Too many NHL-talented D in Washington right now. Simple as that. Update: Alzner has been cut.

Forwards
Keith Aucoin	-	Did just about all that he could do for his cause on Thursday night at MSG. Update: Aucoin has been cut.
Chris Bourque	▲	A goal and an assist, and an overzealous hit that led to a boarding call. Played with desperation yesterday.
Alexandre Giroux	▼	A surprise to see him out of the lineup yesterday. He'd have to clear waivers but, then again, other teams had an opportunity all summer to sign him. Update: Giroux has been cut.
Quintin Laing	▲	Brilliant again on the PK. Very effective fourth liner. Should be a done deal.

Making the Capitals, September 24 Edition

Stephen Pepper — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:00:25 -0000

It all comes down to a home-and-home versus the New Yawk Rain-juhz to settle the opening night roster. Who will have their names emblazoned on those precious few dressing room stalls that are yet unclaimed? Here's a look at the remaining battles, and how each player is trending (to be updated as warranted):

Goalies	Trend	Notes
Semyon Varlamov	▲	Acquitted himself well last night in DC, particularly in the second-half of the third. Coach said post-game, "I gotta believe he's got a good chance of being here [on October 1]." We do too.
Michal Neuvirth	-	Your final move, Neuvy. Or it is already "Czechmate," Varly?

Defensemen
Karl Alzner	-	No waiver worries may mean some more time in Hershey to better incorporate that new-found "aggressiveness" into his game.
Tyler Sloan	▲	Twenty three shifts of goodness, as good as any of the six D on the ice, a late second frame strike, and four more blocked shots last night.
Sean Collins	-	Sloan's gain is perhaps Collins' loss. For now.

Forwards
Keith Aucoin	▼	Anything you can do, Mathieu Perreault can do, well, just as well. And with more upside.
Jay Beagle	-	It's abundantly clear now which bubble players at center can win draws at the NHL level and which struggle at the dot. Good thing for him that Beagle's in the former category.
Chris Bourque	▼	Still day-to-day. When do we start "call[ing] it a concussion?"
Alexandre Giroux	-	Perhaps at least one more game to redeem himself from Monday. No room for further ringing-it-off-the-iron error.
Quintin Laing	▲	A couple of blocks, a couple of shots, a lot of energy. Looked real comfortable with Captain Clark and B. Gordon. Solid again on the PK. Gabby: "He's giving it a good chance to make the team."
Andrew Gordon	▼	Four preseason games, four sweaters. But don't read anything into that, says Coach. And precious few shifts or marks on the score sheet to make it all that interesting. Update: Gordon has been cut.

Making the Capitals, September 22 Edition

J.P. — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:31:04 -0000

photo: Tic Tac Toe Hockey (click to enlarge)

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While most of the Caps roster is more or less set, there are still some roster spots being competed. Here's a look at those battles, and how each player is trending (to be updated as warranted):

Goalies	Trend	Notes
Michal Neuvirth	▲	Very good in Chicago, but Varly hasn't stumbled.
Semyon Varlamov	-	Still his spot to lose.

Defensemen
Karl Alzner	▼	Alzner took responsibility for the second goal against Buffalo, and was on the ice for both.
John Carlson	-	Not quite there. Update: Carlson has been sent to Hershey.
Sean Collins	▲	Still very much a longshot, but Bruce Boudreau praised Collins after the Buffalo game.
Tyler Sloan	-	Wonder why he's only gotten one game so far...

Forwards
Keith Aucoin	▲	Aucoin scored the Caps' lone goal Monday (on a shot that was going wide), but it's still hard to envision a role for him right now.
Jay Beagle	▲	Received kudos after the Buffalo game, and has been winning a ton of draws.
Chris Bourque	-	Bourque had chances on Monday night, but failed to convert. Still, Boudreau seemed to be happy with his effort. Hopefully, getting his bell rung doesn't slow him down much.
Alexandre Giroux	▼	A double-minor in Chicago for an offensive-zone high stick followed by a mediocre outing against Buffalo may spell the end of the road (for now) for Giroux.
Quintin Laing	▲	When asked about Laing's performance in Chicago, Boudreau replied, "He did what he does, which is making coaches happy."

Recap: Sabres 2, Caps 1

J.P. — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 02:19:49 -0000

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[AP Recap - Game Summary - Event Summary]

There's a reason a phrase like "the most important shift is the one right after a goal is scored" becomes cliché - because it's true. After surrendering the game's first goal to Buffalo's Drew Stafford early in the second period, the Caps seemed to lose focus and found themselves in a 2-0 hole just eleven seconds later (similar to the last home game, eh?).

But the Caps got better as the game went on - to be expected with so many veterans making their pre-season debuts. Better, but not good enough.

Ten notes on the game:

The big number on the night? 13:00. The small number? 3. Those numbers represent the time the Caps spent on the power play on the night and the number of power-play shots they had, respectively. Not good, even if today was the first time the team practiced the power play.
John Erskine had a typical sandpapery game, including a big, clean hit on Jeff Cowan that prompted Paul Gaustad to seek revenge. I'll ask yet again - where's this stuff in "The Code"™.
Jose Theodore was much better than he was in the last game he started, and played well enough to win.
No Brooks Laich, no win. Know Brooks Laich, know win.
Due to the amount of time the Caps spent playing with the extra man, it's no surprise that Alex Ovechkin (10:41 of PP TOI) and Mike Green (10:24) had high average shift lengths, but 1:16 and 1:12, respectively, is still awfully high.
Speaking of Green, he's, um, not quite in mid-season form yet (peanut gallery: "No, that was post-season form"). No shots on goals, three giveaways and a minus-two rating. Time to focus, GreenLife52.
The top line sure has some nice chemistry, with Mike Knuble nearly scoring at least a couple of goals.
Karl Alzner's minus-2 couldn't have helped his cause. Alexandre Giroux's lack of NHL-caliber skills can't be helping his.
Jeff Schultz was second on the team in shots on goal with three and led the team (tied with Jay Beagle) with four hits. He may not be here "to impress the fans," but the smart ones took notice, as they always do.
Chris Bourque failed to cash in on a couple of quality scoring chances. If his name was Chris Smith, would the world care?

The Caps, as a team, were not good on Monday night. Individual Caps for whom the game mattered most were not particularly good either. But it's hard to get worked up over this loss. Unless, that is, you're packing your bags for Hershey when you get back to your apartment.

Monday Caps Clips: Sabres @ Caps Gameday

J.P. — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:42:09 -0000

via the shoebox next to my desk

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Your savory breakfast links:

Preview of tonight's game. [Capitals]
The Caps open the home portion of their preseason slate with a rematch of last week's win over the Sabres. Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Mike Green and Jose Theodore are all expected to make their respective preseason debuts.
Bruce Boudreau on cutting Anton Gustafsson: "The only thing I saw is that he needs work and we've got better players." Good reason to cut someone. [Dump and Chase]
Ryan Jasinsky also got cut. And while they may take away his Caps' sweater, they can't take away this photo. [TTT Hockey]
Chris Bourque, the subject of recent rumors (which he apparently refutes), is looking to stick in D.C. [New England Hockey Journal]
Avangard Omsk is no longer interested in Michael Nylander. That makes... everyone... [Examiner]
... which is hardly surprising, considering where he finished in our "Ranking the Caps" voting. [FanPost]
Only two men have worn a "C" for the Caps longer than Chris Clark has (and each of them has his number retired by the team). [Caps365 (video)]
The Captain was on the Mike Wise Show on Friday, answering bad questions as best he could. [CBSSports.com (MP3)]
The Caps think they've got enough team toughness on the roster, even with Donald Brashear gone, though George McPhee acknowledges that "there are probably five to 10 games a year where you can use an enforcer" and "If we feel we need [an enforcer] then we'll call someone up from [minor league affiliate] Hershey or something." [Washington Post]
To that end, Mike Knuble and Brendan Morrison bring a bit of sandpaper to the line-up. [Washington Times]
Hell, even Karl Alzner is willing to mix it up these days. [Washington Post]
Contra Nylander, having too many NHL-caliber players for an NHL roster is actually a nice problem to have. [Dump and Chase]
Are the Caps overrated? EA Sports seems to think so. [DC Landing Strip]
Scenes from Sunday's Caps practice, where Michael Nylander wore Green, as in "Green means go... away." [Peerless]
The Capitals were kind enough to ask me to be on a panel at Saturday's Capitals Convention, and I jumped at the opportunity. Here's their description of the "Covering the Caps" session: "You watch, read and listen to their coverage of the Capitals, but who are these broadcasters, reporters and bloggers? How do they approach their coverage and what can they tell you about your favorite Capital? Panelists include: local media – Joe Beninati, Steve Kolbe, Craig Laughlin, Corey Masisak, Jon Press and Lindsay Czarniak." Come see who has a face for T.V.... and who's a better fit for print or the radio. [Capitals (PDF)]
Brent Johnson on his transition to the dark side and the Caps' current goaltending situation. [Examiner]
On an administrative note, we've put up a link to the Japers' Rink Ticket Exchange in the "Home Team Links" blog roll on the front page.
Finally, happy 40th birthday to Curtis Leschyshyn, who was traded to the Caps from Colorado with Chris Simon for Keith Jones and a couple of picks on November 2, 1996, only to be flipped to Hartford for Andrei Nikolishin one week later.