SB Nation - Jose Theodore

Recap: Caps 6, Avalanche 1

Becca H — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 06:01:39 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

[AP Recap - GameCenter - Game Summary - Event Summary]

Tonight's game featured two of the best teams in the League right now - and yet there was little to no hype leading up to it, few (if any) mentions of it being a Cup Final preview, and more than a couple of empty seats scattered throughout the Pepsi Center.

Still, the Capitals and their fans didn't need any of that to understand the importance of this game. The first of three games against the Western Conference, on the road, facing a team with more familiar faces behind the bench than on it...this was a test.

And the Caps passed with flying colors.

Ten more notes on tonight's game:

Making his NHL debut probably would have been enough of a birthday present for Kyle Wilson, who turned 25 today. Two hard-working assists, the game's third star and a Caps win? Icing on the birthday cake - and enough to likely give him a slew of new fans among the Caps' faithful. Welcome to DC, kid.
Of course, on the end of those two assists was some good net-crashing work by Tomas Fleischmann, who picked up goal #12 and 13 on the year tonight. Coming into this season, Flash had just two career two-goal games; he's got four already this season.
When this team is clicking, everyone's involved. It was, and they were, as four of the six goals came from the third and fourth lines.
Jose Theodore made a triumphant return to Denver and came oh so close to blanking his former team, turning aside 27 of 28 shots and keeping his composure while being run more than once. Just the kind of game he needs to get back on track.
At the other end of the rink, however...yikes. Craig Anderson has gotten a lot of credit this year for leading the Avs back to respectability, and rightfully so, but he was less than sharp tonight. To put it nicely. Very nicely.
Going into this game, the Caps had nine - nine - defensemen on the roster. By the end of the night only four of the six who dressed remained in the game, with Green getting taken out late in the second (more on that in a minute) and Morrisonn mysteriously absent. And let's not forget the fact that Erskine spent a good chunk of time in the sin bin.
The shortage of able-bodied men on the blue line led to Brooks Laich stepping in as a defenseman for the third period - and did a nice job of it, too.
The Avalanche did a pretty good job of doing the impossible - making Alex Ovechkin seem invisible. Of course, they forgot about his two talented linemates, who each picked up a goal. And the other three lines. Six different guys had multi-point performances tonight, and not one of them wore #8.
It's hard to say that the Caps weren't working hard, because they were, or that they didn't win the little battles, because they did. So it's a little puzzling that they only managed to draw one minor penalty. Less puzzling? They took five of their own. It happens.
The David Koci / Mike Green / John Erskine incident has riled up the debate once again that the Caps need an enforcer so other teams will stop running our players. I'm of the (somewhat unpopular) opinion that it's not necessary, nor is it a deterrent - guys like Carcillo and Koci aren't going to be deterred by "threat of punishment" because this is the way they play. Furthermore, few if any enforcers kicking around the league today can be had for cheap, and few if any know where the line is between defending teammates and becoming a liability by acting stupid.

Of course, GMGM gets the final word. Discuss.

Controversy and debate aside, this was nothing short of a statement game.

The Caps rolled four lines, allowed just one goal in a stunning display of solid defense and goaltending, and threw six goals at the home team. They did all of that despite Alex Ovechkin being neutralized and despite losing a third of their defense. They did it with the help of secondary scoring and a few more reinforcements from Hershey.

It was the epitome of a team game. They finally showed a killer instinct, and they did it all in a dominant, explosive way that serves as a reminder of just how good this team can be - when they want to be.

Game highlights:

Game 36 Preview: Capitals at Avalanche

David Driscoll-Carignan — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:00:28 -0000


Washington Capitals	7:30 MT / 9:30 ET / 2:30 GMT	Colorado Avalanche
20-7-6	December 14th, 2009	19-10-6
46 pts	Pepsi Center	44 pts
1st in East	Denver, CO	Ahead of Calgary

Okay, folks, fun time is over. We spent yesterday thoroughly enjoying the win against Calgary, especially the part where Curtis Glencross was an incredible tool. But those clowns are gone now and a new circus has rolled into town. The Avs will have to take on the giant, happy, funball that is the Washington Capitals. As of this writing (as Tuesday's games are just getting underway), the Caps have the best record in the NHL (that will have changed if the Kings - the KINGS - defeated Vancouver). That's all daunting and stuff, but our hapless Avalanche are just two points behind Washington, clearly because the NHL rewards blatant dives.

Craig Anderson has been rock solid in net since his return from Keith Ballarditis, and the Avs defense has been excellent the last few games. They will be tested tonight, though, as the Capitals have the league's best offense and most potent powerplay. The Avalanche will need to play a disciplined game and stay out of that penalty box.

Capitals goalie Semyon Varlamov has been outstanding this year. But, he's injured and it's likely that the Avalanche will face old friend Jose Theodore in what will be his first game in Denver since leaving via free agency. This would be the point where you start chuckling and getting all confident and stuff. This would also be the point where I would punch you in the arm and remind you that we were shut out this year by Andrew Raycroft.

Capitals vs Avalanche coverage

Japer's Rink

Tailor Arnason update

Arnason's team won the battle of the Dinamo as the Riga Dinamo shut out the Minsk Dinamo 2-0. No points for Arnie, but Riga pulled into 8th in their conference. The KHL is now on a break until December 22nd.

Tale of the Tape

(note that all stats are from before last night's games)

Washington			Colorado
1st	46	Points	6th	44
1st	3.48	GF/G	11th	2.86
16th	2.79	GA/G	12th	2.69
1st	23.9	PP%	18th	18.4
22nd	78.6	PK%	16th	80.8
5th	32.3	S/G	30th	26
13th	30.1	SA/G	25th	32.1
5th	52	FO%	29th	46.6
4th	10.5	PIM/G	14th	13.3
Ovechkin / Backstrom	37 pts	Top Scorer	Stastny	34 pts

Tuesday Caps Clips: Caps @ Avalanche Game Day

J.P. — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 11:42:42 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y. Huh - AP

"The birthday candles... bring them to me so I may blow them out!"

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Your savory breakfast links:

Go west, young men! (And you too, Knuble.) Previews of Jose Theodore's return to Colorado from Vogs, Peerless and NHL.com, and be sure to check out our SB Nation partner (and another personal fave) Mile High Hockey for coverage from the other side of tonight's match up.
The Avs are likely to be without Milan Hejduk and Marek Svatos tonight. [@adater]
Avs frosh Matt Duchene is looking forward to playing against the two-time reigning MVP. [Denver Post]
The Caps will spend this week trying to represent the Eastern Conference, which is getting its brains beaten in in inter-Conference play. [From The Rink]
When the Caps get to Vancouver, they'd better be ready to try to shutdown the League's hottest line. [Orland Kurtenblog]
Further coverage of the Michael Nylander transfer from the WTimes, the WaPo, the WashEx and OFB.
"You notice when you watch games on TV, certain guys show up game in and game out and that’s the kind of guy I want to be." - Karl Alzner. [CSN Washington, with more on Alzner at Washington Examiner]
Being in first place is pretty sweet... and pretty rare in these parts. [D.C. Sports Bog]
Fresh power rankings, with the Caps holding at second at Sporting News, down one to second at The Hockey News, up two (huh?) to second at ESPN, down one to seventh at CBS Sports, and down seven (look out below!) to eighth at TSN.
Some interesting Caps nuggets in Elliotte Friedman's weekly must-read. [CBC]
Bob McKenzie has Stefan Della Rovere and Cody Eakin making Team Canada for the WJCs. [TSN]
Eakin likes the role of checker, and has a heck of a good attitude. [Regina Leader-Post]
SI's All-Decade page-view generator is in full swing, and there's plenty of Alex Ovechkin all over it, including in the All-Decade Team, the decade's signature moments, the decade's signature play and most colorful player. (Surprisingly, he got edged out at SI for "biggest villain.")
Jeff Schultz may not hit opponents often, but when he does, they tend to be shorter than him (duh). [Behind the Net]
BREAKING: Ted Leonsis supports Ovechkin. [The Hockey News]
Speaking of The Boss, he's "more than satisfied" with Kettler Capitals Iceplex. No kidding. [Sun Gazette]
Caps fans know how to use the Internet. [D.C. Sports Bog]
Boyd Gordon actually practiced yesterday. Nice. [Washington Examiner]
From the "It's an honor just to be nominated" file, Mike Green is not your Rogers Sportsnet Canadian Athlete of the Year. [Edmonton Sun]
More Nylander-related rejoicing. [Fight For Old DC]
Bear Tracks! [LDN]
Vote or die. [NHL Arena]
Finally, happy 25th birthday to Kyle Wilson, who is likely to make his NHL debut tonight.

Capital Ups and Downs: Week 11

J.P. — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:00:16 -0000

by Chris O'Meara - AP

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Our weekly look at individual Washington Capitals' ups and downs:

Goalies	Trend	Notes
Michal Neuvirth		Didn't get much help Saturday night... and needed an awful lot the way he played. Now an ugly 0-2-0/4.56/.845 on the (NHL) season.
Jose Theodore		He'll need to be better than 1-1-0/2.97/.872 in Varly's absences, whenever they are.
Semyon Varlamov		Followed up a 26-save shutout - his second whitewashing in four starts - with a trip to the IR. On the plus side, the Caps have the luxury of being extra cautious with him... for now.

Defensemen
John Erskine		The wear and tear is wearing and tearing Erskine down to the point where he seems nearly worn and torn out.
Mike Green		The return of "Game Over" Green Friday night couldn't save a week full of turnovers and blown assignments... with Team Canada no doubt watching.
Milan Jurcina		After a minus-eight stretch in his previous six games, an even week (with a scratch thrown in) may qualify as a "good week," but the Caps need more out of Juice.
Shaone Morrisonn		Returned from injury with a zero-point, one shot on goal, minus-one week in which he averaged under 18 minutes of ice time. Sounds about right.
Brian Pothier		On injured reserve with a rib injury. It's a shame, as he was coming off a three-goal, four-assist, plus-11 November.
Tom Poti		Minus-three for the week (and that includes a plus-one in Tampa), and on the ice for six of the 12 goals the team allowed for the week.
Jeff Schultz		A plus-two week has him fourth in the League in plus/minus, and three four-block games speak further to the blueliner he's becoming.

Swingman
Tyler Sloan		Scratched twice, Sloan's NHL time is running out with Laing's pending return and perhaps a recall of Karl Alzner for the blueline.

Forwards
Keith Aucoin		His most recent recall was short and relatively unproductive, which, fittingly, makes it the Keith Aucoin of recalls.
Nicklas Backstrom		Two goals, two assists, plus-four and an epic OT shift against Carolina, the "wow" moments are coming with greater frequency with each passing week.
Matt Bradley		A happy and healthy new baby gets an up arrow, especially when supplemented with a great interview.
Chris Clark		If the captain isn't contributing on the scoreboard, he's gotta be doing other things... like not letting his team put up three poor efforts in a row (including a pair against the League's two worst teams).
Eric Fehr		A goal in Tampa followed by three point-less games, Fehr will look to go from scorching hot to cold to just plain consistent.
Tomas Fleischmann		Another Cap forward looking for consistency, Flash posted a goal and three helpers this week and now has seven points in his last six games (after picking up just one in his previous six).
Alexandre Giroux		If it wasn't for Nylander's departure, Giroux being returned to Chocolatetown would qualify as great news. As it is, it's merely very good news.
Boyd Gordon		In the past two months, Gordo has played 5:55 of hockey. Sigh.
Mike Knuble		Off to a slow start since returning from the IR with a minus-three rating in two games. No doubt it takes some time to get back to game speed, but a finger injury shouldn't inhibit one's ability to crash the net.
Brooks Laich		Like his new-found mentor Knuble, Laich had no points and was minus-three for the week... but he played all four games.
Quintin Laing		Q's getting closer to returning, but when he comes back, who sits?
Brendan Morrison		No points, three shots on goal and a celebration on a puck he shot wide... ouch.
Michael Nylander		Hasta la vista, baby.
Alex Ovechkin		Returned from suspension with three multi-point games (seven points overall) and 23 shots on goal in four games.
Mathieu Perreault		Food poisoning sidelined him in Buffalo and one point in his last ten games might sideline him a little more frequently going forward. Update: Perreault has been returned to Hershey.
Alexander Semin		Two goals, three assists, plus-four and 20 shots on goal in three games, a "passenger" in the fourth. That's our Sasha!
David Steckel		Followed up his first goal of the season with no points, a minus-two rating, two shots on goal and diminishing ice time (less than ten minutes per game for the week) in four games. The face offs are still there, though (67.4% for the week).

Price / Halak - The Stats - November 2009

Chris Boyle — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:13:39 -0000

What a difference a month makes.

Thirty days ago the Canadiens were in the middle of a goaltending controversy. Jaroslav Halak's agent was NITWITTERING Carey Price's won/loss record, the fanbase had placed the bus in reverse and were attempting to leave a fresh set of treadmarks on Price's back and the Canadiens were plodding through their schedule at .500.

Outside of the Canadiens still flirting with the .500 mark, the attitude regarding the goaltending situation has changed dramatically. Since this article is a retrospective on November, it is heavily weighted towards Price. Halak's one start didn't offer enough of a sample to legitimately track his monthly progress. What began as an even split in October, turned into a clear separation as Price started 11 of 12 games in November, almost rendering the title of this article, and its point, moot for at least the time being. A solid performance by Halak in Ottawa suggest that the busy month of December may tell a different story.

Surprised by the turn this has taken, maybe you shouldn't be. This has been typical of the story that Price has written over the first two and a half seasons of his career. Somehow, instead of the fanbase observing the roller coaster ride from afar, recognizing that as the roller coaster descends, a peak exists for it to climb, they jump on the roller coaster eyes closed screaming for dear life on its mad descents only to extol the virtues of the ride when they disembark.

Should Price struggle in February again, it is likely that the fresh imagery that exists in everybody's minds right now will once again dissipate in a mad panic

Panic in Montreal is generally followed by the rewriting OR ignoring of history. Even with Price's strong November this controversy is not over, it will continue to bubble just below the surface. Should Price struggle in January, the detractors who are silent right now will re-emerge with the same arguments, their memories will once again be wiped clean. While the starting goaltender in Montreal is one of the most heavily scrutinized positions in sports, the easiest may be the backup goaltender in Montreal. The backup's flaws are always concealed under the their baseball caps, their past transgressions completely ignored. This will never change.

At Eyes On The Prize, we continue try to look past the surface level blame and analyze what is really going on. This month we will compare Price's performance in November to October and also look back and try to clarify the factors that contribute to a team based stat like a win / loss record and how it relates to Price and Halak.

One of the main arguments against Price in October was his inability to win games. With Halak sporting a 5-2 record and Price at 2-5, the most simplistic argument was "Price doesn't make the big saves when he needs to" and "Halak wins games". That argument ignored plenty of factors, most importantly that wins are a team based stat.

While perusing the internet I came across an interesting perspective at Brodeur is a Fraud. While trying to debunk the myth of Brodeur's career, he came up with an interesting statistic that he refers to as Win Threshold. It essentially projects out what a goaltender would have had to do to earn a point (.500) by including the teams performance in front of him. In a 3-1 victory, the assumption would be that to earn a point the goaltender would have to allow no more than 3 goals. Inversely, in a 3-1 loss the goaltender would need to have allowed no more than 1 goal.

We can calculate what I'll call the "win threshold" for the goalies on each team by taking (shots against - goals for) / shots against. This gives us the save percentage that would result in the team ending up with an equal number of goals for and goals against over the course of the season. If the goalie's save percentage is above that number, the team is likely to win more than the lose, while anything below the threshold means that the team should end up sub -.500 (or sub -.550 in the shootout era).

This simple statistic beautifully illustrates the career of Chris Osgood AND his playoff run that allowed the media to begin the "Chris Osgood is a Hall of Famer" nonsense.

In 2008-09, Detroit's win threshold was .873, which was the lowest in the league. The Islanders' win threshold was .928, which was not only the highest mark in the league but also the highest of any team since the lockout......Naturally, comparing win totals on goalies playing on the Islanders to goalies playing on the Red Wings is completely senseless.

Using this as a starting point, I compared how this statistic affected goalies on the same team. Was the Canadiens offense responsible for Halak's inflated win total, or was it his superior goaltending? What would Price have had to do to compensate for the woeful offense in front of him? Was it that Halak was receiving an easier ride?

(Let me preface this by stating that this is judging wins and wins alone. If a goaltender was fantastic and had a .960 SV%, but only needed to produce a .895 SV%, it is not devaluing his performance, only stating that his margin for error was very high. I also understand that early saves can keep a team in a period. Teams play to the score and loosen up when they are up big and that some goals are scored late in a game and alter the margin for the threshold. It is obvious that providing replacement value will never replicate the actual performance that history has provided. This theory is being used only to illustrate that wins are a team statistic and that they are heavily influenced by not only what you save, but what offense your team provides).

To put this in perspective, the league average in save percentage is .910.

In order for Price to gain the majority of his wins, he has had to offer above average goaltending.
His margin for error was slim and when he failed to balance on the high wire, he was open to criticism.
A .915 save percentage is currently good to place 20th in the league.

Halak on the other hand was allowed to navigate with a greater margin of error. He only needed to offer a save percentage of .865 to register his 5 victories. Vesa Toskala's save percentage on the season is .863. So any goaltender slightly more competent than Toskala MAY have registered a similar number of victories as Halak.

Both goaltenders would have had to provide Hall of Fame type performances to avoid the majority of their losses.

How would those statistics translate if you offered up average replacement value? If Jimmy Howard and his .910 SV% replaced Price and Halak, the Canadiens would be in deep trouble. The Canadiens would likely be in the hunt for Taylor Hall, not talking about the importance of their December schedule.

Looking at Price's losses below, it is unlikely that an average goaltender makes any impact on his losses, hell, it's unlikely that Roberto Luongo would have made much of a difference.

Price's threshold in his 11 losses is a SV% of 0.944 and a GAA of 1.69. Numbers that would place him above Ryan Miller as the number one goaltender in the league. Six of those starts would have required a .940+ SV% just to procure a shootout. If the team continues to struggle offensively to this capacity, then it is going to require Jose Theodore 2002 MVP type performances to drag them into the playoffs. With Price and Halak entering their RFA season, THAT is a scary and expensive thought.

You would think with Halak's lack of activity in November, that his stat line would remain unchanged, but with only an 8 game sample, one strong start against the Flames resulted in an 11 point improvement on his save percentage and lopping 1/5th of a goal off his goals against average. In October, Price statistically lagged behind in all the major categories, but with a strong month has lessened the paper gap between himself and Halak. I made the argument in October that Price had a higher ceiling, but was prone to wild swings of inconsistency and the 2009 season has proven that out so far.

Through two months, what has been proven, is that the Canadiens goaltending is in good hands. With the transition of turning over half the team, and the numerous injuries to key personnel, the fact the team came through November at .500 is miraculous. At this moment, Halak's consistency offers the perfect compliment to Price, but due to the idiotic actions of his agent (Halak, Halak it a lot?), it is clear that Halak is eyeing a starting assignment, and will not likely find that in Montreal. You may be reading "Price / Sanford: the numbers" by ~~March~~ December. (note: as I am writing this, Sportsnet has reported that Halak has been placed on the trading block).

The fact that I can even mention a 2002 Theodore-like season is based on the strong November showing by Price. Playing behind an injury ravaged defense that produced roughly the same amount of shots as the previous month, from roughly the same areas, Price's numbers improved across the board. Price also managed to avoid a major meltdown like the Vancouver game, as well as producing a couple of 40+ shot gems against the Bruins and Predators.

With Halak pushing Price for the starting job in October, by all accounts Price responded to the challenge with hard work, which resulted in plenty of positive signs over the last month. With hard work Price's confidence level soared and his return to a hybrid style has allowed his athleticism to re-surface, because of this, Price managed to produce some miraculous saves during November. His patience has also been on display, particularly in shootouts and breakaways where once again he is using his huge frame to his advantage and refusing to commit before the shooter. With his gap control improving, he has been extremely hard to beat in 1 on 1 situations. This is a huge improvement on the tentative approach he used in late 2008-09. Add in his aggressive puck handling and his tenacity in battling to track the puck and the hope in Montreal is that Price has begun turning the corner.

Price's save percentage's also improved in almost every category in November, with his biggest improvement coming in shorthanded situations where his save percentage improved by over .200. His woefully low special teams percentage in October masked the fact that he was producing an elite level even strength percentage. With an improvement to mediocre powerplay standards, Price's statistics all experienced a significant jump across the board.

The question remains, what came first, the chicken or the egg? Did the Canadiens penalty kill improve in November because of Price, or did Price's numbers improve because of the penalty kill? Halak did not suffer the same special teams meltdown. Could that have had anything to do with the power of the opposition, or his own play?

With so many new faces and the loss of Markov, it is no surprise that the PK got off to a slow start. With the return of O'Byrne and Gill and the emergence of White and Pyatt, the October implosion by Price should be avoidable moving forward.

Interesting to note if Price had managed to produce an .878 powerplay SV% in October, his overall SV% would have improved from .889 to .920.

Price and Halak continue to get bombarded by shots and the Canadiens have once again regressed into becoming over reliant on goaltending to win hockey games. With the early season injury to the Canadiens best player (Markov in 2010, Koivu in 2002) and the continual 30+ shot barrages, this season is becoming eerily reminiscent of the 2002 season when Theodore needed to provide the difference every night.

With Price's numbers improving in November, the assumption would be that the Canadiens settled down and began to limit shots and scoring opportunities. The Canadiens actually surrendered an extra two shot attempts per game. Price still is averaging over a shot attempt against per minute on the ice, a trend that will either lead to a statistical regression or an MVP award.

In 8 of his 11 starts in November, Price faced 30+ shots, including a team record tying 53 saves against the Predators and a 42 save gem that was seconds short of his 1st shutout of the season. Only once in his 11 games did he have less than 50 shots directed at him. Price continued to excel on shots outside of 20+ feet as he only allowed 7 of 257 shots to beat him. His SV% below 20' feet drastically improved and is pushing towards the league average.

Price offered up plenty of spectacular saves in November, but also had some concentration lapses that resulted in some questionable goals, something that had been absent from his game in October (only 5 of 25 came in as questionable, with zero registering at fault). Although his statistics drastically improved over the month of November, with the Canadiens lack of scoring ability (25th in the NHL) and his unbelievably tough win threshold (see above), his margin for error was slim. This can be witnessed by his 0-4 record in the 4 games I credited a bad goal. In two of the games (Detroit and Atlanta) the margin of victory was one goal, the other two (Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh) were decided by two goals. As he matures, these goals should occur less frequently allowing him to become even more of a game changing player. He isn't yet ready to carry a team, but it seems the Canadiens have given him little to no choice in the matter presently.

Looking at the zones where Price has given up goals, his glove hand continues to be much maligned even though he has only been beaten high glove side 11 times through November (11/53). The reason for the questions lies in the amount of bad goals high glove side. Out of the 12 goals categorized as suspect or bad, 6 have been high glove side, making it much easier to understand AND defend the criticism.

Looking at his November chart also gives the impression that he is very vulnerable low stick side, but looking at the video below shows that a lot of those goals came as the result of cross ice passes in which Price was not able to square up and were the result of him in transition. A small concern for me through two months has been his vulnerability through the 5-hole, an area he has not been able to cover with his stick either in transition or static and squared up.

Goals deemed questionable or bad are marked in bold.

26. Rich Peverley feeds it in front and it deflects off Bryan Little by a moving Price beating him 5-hole. 10 ft.
27. Pass from behind the net to a wide open Peverley in the slot, snaps a shot by Price low-stick side. 14 ft
28. Point shot by Mark Popovic that knuckles by Carey Price beating him high glove side. 59 ft.
29. 5 on 4 PP. Cross crease feed to a wide-open Pavel Kubina who directs it pass Price into an empty net. 5 ft.
30. Kane cross crease pass to a wide open Colby Armstrong who beats Price low stick side. 8 ft.
31. 6 on 5. Point shot. Price makes the initial stop, Patrice Bergeron rebound beats Price low-stick side. 5 ft.
32. 5 on 4 PP. Scramble. Price makes 2 saves but cannot stop Ryan Malone as he beats him five-hole. 11 ft.
33. Price, big rebound and Alex Tanguay alone, chips it over Price beating him high glove side. 14 ft.
34. 2 on 1. Scramble. Wright beats Gorges to the puck and slides it into an empty net. 6 ft.
35. Price highsticked in the throat by Mara falls down leaving an open net. Robert Lang puts it top shelf. 15 ft.
36. Point shot wide deflects into an open net off Bissonnette's skate beating Price low glove side. 12 ft.
37. Price makes initial save, Steve Sullivan all alone finishes off his rebound beating Price 5-hole. 7 ft
38. 5 on 3 PP. Point shot stopped, Sullivan at the side of the net beats Price low stick side. 14 ft.
39. Odd man rush, cross ice feed to the slot. Brandon Sutter chips it over Price, high glove side. 14 ft.
40. 3 one 2, cross ice feed one timed by Jussi Jokinen beats Price low glove side. 32 ft.
41. Eric Fehr snaps a shot from the face-off dot beating Price high-glove side. 25 ft.
42. Morrison takes a pass in front and moves opposite to Price's momentum beating him low glove side. 6 ft.
43. 5 on 4 PP. Brad Stuart point shot handcuffs Price and trickles in. 55 ft.
44. 5 on 3 PP. Brian Rafalski point pass tipped home by Pavel Datsyuk at the side of the net. 12 ft.                         45. Nash behind the net finds Vermette who one-times it past Price beating him high blocker side. 11 ft.
46. 5 on 4 PP. Rick Nash centers it, Stralman cheating off the point beats Price low blocker side. 24 ft.
47. 5 on 4 PP. Antoine Vermette's shot stopped, rebound back to him, beats Price low blocker side. 20 ft.
48. Sidney Crosby snap shot from the top of the faceoff circle beating Price high glove side. 38 ft.
49. Bill Guerin from the corner. Price makes initial save, doesn't hold the post as he beats him 5-hole. 8 ft.
50. Crosby with a beautiful pass to a streaking Sergei Gonchar who beats Price 5-hole all alone. 8 ft.
51. Point shot deflected in front by Brooks Laich beats Price low blocker side. 18 ft.
52. Alex Ovechkin one timer from the top of the faceoff circle beats Price low blocker side. 38 ft.
53. 6 on 4 PP. Price stops a one-timer by Ovechkin, Fehr slides home the rebound beating Price 5-hole. 10 ft.

The November verdict: You have to be encouraged by the performance of Price and Halak through November and the improved penalty kill is a positive sign and a factor in Price's improved numbers. The volume of shots and scoring opportunities remain a major concern. In October I preached patience because of the integration of 10-12 players and the introduction of a new system. With injuries creating a revolving door of players it is likely that this team has still not properly gelled. The Canadiens have fallen into a pattern of struggling to produce offense and relying on Price and Halak to bail them out, and this is a dangerous game to play with developing goaltenders. They have been able to provide some fantastic results through November, but if this continues they will struggle to make the playoffs. To provide room for improvement moving forward, the goaltenders get a B+ for November.

To view the October Price / Halak analysis, click here.

Game Preview: Washington Capitals @ Buffalo Sabres

Rafal Ladysz — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:29:06 -0000

More photos » by Don Heupel - AP

17 days ago: Buffalo Sabres center Derek Roy, right, celebrates his goal as Sabres defenseman Henrik Tallinder, of Sweden, skates over during the first period of the NHL hockey game against the Montreal Canadiens in Buffalo, N.Y., Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009. Buffalo won 6-2. (AP Photo/Don Heupel)

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There's good and bad news for this Wednesday clash. The good is that Buffalo has twice bounced back from shutout defeats and are surely upset about this previous predicament coming on home ice. Lindy Ruff referred to it as an embarassment. The bad news is they're taking on the Washington Capitals, one of the teams that have blanked the Sabres, boosted by the return of Alexander Ovechkin but that's not the lone concern.

Forget about Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green for a minute because their abilities are well noted. Washington's offense is on the verge of prominence leading the league in goals (111) and in the standings with a 19-5-6 record. While much of that is purely because of two Russians, a Swede and a Canadian, there are others adding their names into the conversation.

Brooks Laich hacks and whacks at rebounds unconcerned with the abuse he's going to take. After a difficult season split between Anaheim and Dallas, Brenden Morrison found a solution by joining the Capitals. Tomas Fleischmann and Eric Fehr are both on track for career years. Despite Mike Knuble's injury, that's eight individuals the Sabres will have to shadow which is a lot to demand.

Without the services of Paul Gaustad and possibly Mike Grier, those assignments will be tremendously difficult to handle.

Five things to consider about both Washington and Buffalo:

Washington has lit the lamp 38 more times than Buffalo but the Sabres have allowed 20 goals fewer. It will be a matter of finding out which style stands out stronger: the desperate defense or the potent offense. The Capitals have picked up the slack on the back-end though conceding just six goals in the past four games. I get the feeling Ryan Miller's going to have to be exquisite again.
Derek Roy and Tim Connolly are averaging 0.77 points per game. Six Washington skaters have a better ratio so let's count them off: Backstrom (1.1), Ovechkin (1.45), Green (1.03), Semin (1.19), Laich (0.83) and Fleischmann (0.89). Morrison (0.76) and Fehr (0.75) aren't trailing far behind themselves. Knuble was at 0.78 before being sidelined. May the panicking ensue.
Back-to-back regulation losses aren't ordinary with Ryan Miller but Buffalo has one goal in two games. If that wasn't too negative, they didn't out-shoot New Jersey which is a positive we have taken from losses. No, they were out-hustled, out-gunned and out-worked by the Devils' 37-22 shot advantage. On a separate note: congratulations goes to Martin Brodeur for tying Terry Sawchuk's shutout record of 103.
Want more proof that Fleischmann and Fehr aren't in over their heads with these performances? The Czech native returned from a frightening blood clot which was in his leg to go on a nine-game point streak and now has five points in three games. Meanwhile, Fehr is on a seven-game run courtesy of five goals and five assists. Seems like the potential of these two early draft choices is being fulfilled.
Buffalo's richest salary owner, Thomas Vanek, has a goal in seven games or two in ten matches or three goals in the last 11 games. Half of his scoring came during the opening five contests in October. Any way you look at it, stability is unaccounted for in the Austrian. The 25-year-old had 20 goals at this checkpoint last season. Eight won't cut it whatsoever.
Ovechkin enjoys the city of Buffalo whether it be because of his constant success against them or executing cheap-shots into the boards. And Washington went on to win both instances after he was thrown out of the game. So much for taking hits for the team working out. Am I right Patrick Kaleta? What do you say Daniel Briere?
A sinking ship, the Sabres' powerplay has plummeted to 21st in the league. Penalty killing is excellent and it'll need to continue that way to protect Miller from the No.1 powerplay unit. The options they have are incredible and this is a moment where 60 minutes of non-stop work will be the only way out with two points.
Travis Zajac beat Miller with a shot that went through the netminder Monday night. There's a phrase we haven't been able to mention ~~weekly~~ monthly. As far as the pre-game rituals go, Miller is extremely focused and ready for showtime. With some of the game's finest stars coming his way, he'll have his hands full; not that it bothers him.
Indecisive recently, Buffalo's defense can't second-guess themselves because a glimmer of hesitation is the bread and butter of Washington's forwards. Turn-overs and odd-man rushes result in goals to this Capitals bunch unless Miller dives in. Tampa Bay played the puck, not the body on Monday and fell 3-0 to their Division rivals. Buffalo mustn't do the same.
Expected to start in goal for Washington is Jose Theodore but nothing has been confirmed.The former Canadien has stopped 72 of 76 shots in winning his last two. If Semyon Varlamov goes, he'll bring his 12-1-2 record and set his sights on shutting out Buffalo for the second time in two weeks. Note: Varlamov's first career NHL defeat came at the hands of the Sabres last April in a 5-4 overtime decision.

Buffalo must find their positional sense to fend off the Southeast giants. The saying goes "A-B-C, it's easy as 1-2-3." For the Buffalo Sabres, it's easy as stopping one (Ovechkin), two (Semin), three (Backstrom), four (Green), five (Laich), six (Fleischmann), seven (Fehr), eight (Morrison) and nine (Theodore/Varlamov). No room for blunders in this, a tall order.

Capital Ups and Downs: Week 10

J.P. — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:00:16 -0000

by Matt Slocum - AP

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Our weekly look at individual Washington Capitals' ups and downs (and yeah, we've used this picture before, but it's so nice it deserved to be used twice):

Goalies	Trend	Notes
Jose Theodore		After having not played in more than two weeks, Theo came back strong with a pair of road wins, a 2.00 GAA and a .947 save percentage for the week. The better he is this winter, the fresher Varly will be in the spring.
Semyon Varlamov		Seemed to lose his concentration a bit late against Florida, but 1-0-0/2.01/.929 keeps the train rollin'.

Defensemen
Karl Alzner		Was on the ice for four of the six goals the Caps allowed last week. With the blueline getting healthier, Alzner once again finds himself the odd-man out - and on his way back to Hershey.
John Erskine		A plus-four rating for the week and not on the ice for a single goal against in 51:38 of ice time, which included 5:37 shorthanded.
Mike Green		Five points and a plus-four rating in three games, including four power play points on a unit that has scored seven times in the last two games.
Milan Jurcina		How do you end up with a minus-two rating for a week in which your team outscored its opponents 17-6? By being on the ice for five of those six goals against.
Shaone Morrisonn		On the trip to Tampa, so perhaps his return to the lineup is near.
Brian Pothier		Plus-two against Carolina, scratched against Philly. Huh.
Tom Poti		Returned to the lineup against the Flyers with twenty minutes of ice time and a pair of assists.
Jeff Schultz		Plus-three for the week, Jeff Cincocinco has only had two minus games since October 17 and is now in the top ten in the League in plus-minus (and is 12th among NHL blueliners in the stat since the start of the 2007-08 season).

Swingman
Tyler Sloan		A penalty in each of this week's three games, two of which were coincidental minors and one of which occurred with the Caps on the power play.

Forwards
Nicklas Backstrom		Four goals, five assists and a plus-four rating in three games including a five-point game in Philly.
Matt Bradley		Scored his fifth goal of the season against Florida, equaling his goal total from a season ago, and took one for the team in a big way on Saturday night.
Chris Clark		A goal and an assist on the week, The Captain now has half as many goals and is one helper short of his production over the previous two seasons combined. Of course, that's not saying much... other than that Clark is finally healthy.
Eric Fehr		Five points in three games, a six-game scoring streak (multi-point games in three of four), and 13 points in 13 games since returning from injury.
Tomas Fleischmann		Three goals in his last two games, he now has eight tallies in games which AO has been out of the lineup and just two when the Great Eight has dressed. Solution? Scratch him when AO's a go. Just kidding. Sorta.
Alexandre Giroux		Ten shots on goal in the last two games, a plus-three rating and a helper in Carolina... but really, we've seen more than enough.
Boyd Gordon		Looking more and more like a lost season for Gordo.
Mike Knuble		Targeting a Wednesday return, but the way the team's playing, no need to rush.
Brooks Laich		Three points, including a couple on the power play as Laich became the fourth Cap to hit double-digits in goals on the season (no other team has more than three, and several teams don't have a single 10-goal guy yet).
Quintin Laing		Getting closer, which might spell the end of Tyler Sloan's time in D.C.
Brendan Morrison		Four points on the week and more points on the campaign than he had in 62 games for the Ducks a season ago.
Michael Nylander		If Nylander was a classic SNL skit, I'm pretty sure he'd be this one.
Alex Ovechkin		Just one goal in the three games the Caps played last week- anyone hear anything to explain why his production was so limited?
Mathieu Perreault		Seven games without a point (granted, his linemates haven't been the type with which skill pivots normally succeed), but he's still doing some things... little things.
Alexander Semin		Has returned to the lineup with six points in two games, including four on the red-hot power play. Key stat: the power play is 30.3% successful in Semin's twenty games played and at just 9.1% in the nine he's missed.
David Steckel		The monkey's off his back... now let's see some more.

Carolina Loses Corvo and Game: Capitals 3, Hurricanes 2

Bob Harwood Waeghe — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 05:26:33 -0000

More photos » by Gerry Broome - AP

20 days ago: Carolina Hurricanes' Joe Corvo grimaces as he is assisted off of the ice following an injury during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals in Raleigh, N.C., Monday, Nov. 30, 2009. Washington 3-2. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

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Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Joe Corvo scored the first goal of the game, then was cut badly in the back of his leg after completing a check and was taken to a local hospital for attention as the Hurricanes lost yet another game, this time to the Washington Capitals, 3-2. Team officials did not release any specific information about the injury, but they looked grim talking about the ailment after the game.

Corvo not only led the Carolina blueline in scoring, he was one of the league leaders in average time on the ice. More information about his injury will be released on Tuesday.

The Canes had another scary moment later in the first period when Alex Ovechkin took out Tim Gleason with a knee on knee collision. Ovechkin lined up Gleason, but as Gleason made a nice move to avoid the hit, OV appeared to lead with his knee causing a nasty collision.

For awhile Carolina was playing with just four defensemen, but Gleason toughed it out and came back to the game. Paul Maurice said afterward that the blueliner knew the team was in a bad situation and came back and played as best he could, even though he was obviously hurting.

"He's going to be hurting tomorrow for sure" the coach said.

In the meantime, Ovechkin, who had to be helped off the ice himself, could be facing a suspension. The refs awarded him a five minute kneeing penalty along with a game misconduct. It's unknown how injured he might be.

The Hurricanes failed to score on the ensuing five minute powerplay, but keep in mind they had just lost two of their point men in Gleason and Corvo. Aaron Ward said that the team was still a bit shaken immediately afterward, facing the possible loss of two of their best defensemen and not knowing how serious the injuries were.

Regardless, the fact that the team failed to score during that powerplay was a momentum killer and the Caps took advantage by scoring shortly after the kill, taking a 2-1 lead. The home team ended up 1 for 7 with the man advantage.

In the second period, Nicklas Backstrom faked out goalie Michael Leighton and lured him out of the net. Then he did a spin and fired the puck into the empty net. No word where the Carolina defense was as the crafty Capital had all kinds of time and space on the play.

The score remained 3-1 until the very end when Matt Cullen would score a desperation goal with just 16 seconds left on the clock. The Canes out-shot and out-chanced the Caps in two out of three periods but could not solve Jose Theodore, who had an excellent game.

The team now has a few days off now and will wait until Saturday afternoon for their next game which will be against the Vancouver Canucks at the RBC.

Game Notes:

Joni Pitkanen had over 33 minutes of ice time but finished with a -2. He had four shots on goal and two hits.
Rod Brind`Amour only played seven plus minutes but also finished with a -2. He had zero shots on goal and one hit.
Aaron Ward finished with a -1 but had six hits and two blocked shots.
The Canes out-hit the Caps 45-21 and were led by Niclas Wallin with seven. Tuomo Ruutu had six.
Carolina had 40 shots on goal led by Eric Staal's nine. Staal has got to get unglued if the Canes are to have any viable success but he still does not seem 100% healthy.
Brandon Sutter, Jussi Jokinen, and Matt Cullen were the only (plus) players for the Canes. They each finished +1.
Tim Gleason picked up a game misconduct himself for pulling Tyler Sloan off of Eric Staal and challenging him to a fight. I didn't see any punches thrown, but the refs must of thought it was flagrant enough to deserve a "third man in" penalty.

There will be a lot of talk around the league on Tuesday about the latest Ovechkin transgression. Most outside of Washington seem to think it's time for some type of suspension, although many from the Nation's Capital have already come to his defense. The question is, how many of these types of hits does he get away with before someone really gets hurt?

If you have not seen the replay yet, here is the You Tube. There is some great followup on Puck Daddy here. If you look at the still frame of Ovechkin's extended leg in Sean Leahy's article, even the blindest of the MVP's fans should have a hard time honestly condoning that hit.

Poll

Should Alex Ovechkin be suspended by the NHL for the hit on Tim Gleason?

No, it was not that bad of a hit

40 votes

Yes, for 1 game

24 votes

Yes, for 2 games

71 votes

Yes, for 3 games

102 votes

Yes, for 5 games or more

127 votes

Don't know

3 votes

367 votes | Poll has closed

Recap: Caps 3, Hurricanes 2

Becca H — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 03:33:43 -0000

More photos » by Gerry Broome - AP

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[AP Recap - GameCenter - Game Summary - Event Summary]

The Capitals have notoriously played down to their lesser opponents, and they don't get much lower than the Carolina Hurricanes right now. It's the reason so many Caps fans were looking at tonight's game with a mixture of apprehension and fear, and there wasn't much in the opening few minutes to allay those fears. But the Caps eventually got it together enough to scrap out a gritty road win with a shortened bench and a cloud of potential injury hanging over them.

When all is said and done, when the dust clears and the sun rises, this will go into the books as just another win, just another two points. It was truly one of the more bizarre games the Caps have played so far this season, though, with everything from injuries to ejections to great individual efforts to funny bounces - and everything in between.

And in some ways that's fitting. Ten more notes on the game:

Let's get this out of the way right now - the Alex Ovechkin hit. Was it intentional? Probably not. Was it dangerous? Absolutely. This is now the second time in three games that Ovechkin has been ejected from a game (despite leaving with an injury anyway) and of the two, this was probably the more worthy of discipline. We'll see what the League has to say...but for now our biggest concern is #8's health and well-being. Ovechkin writhing in pain on the ice is not a sight we're accustomed to seeing.
The ongoing Ovechkin saga may get more media attention tomorrow, but it was the work of one man that deserves much more - and for only good reasons. Jose Theodore made his return to the net and put together what was simply an incredible individual effort. He turned aside 15 of 16 shots in the first period en route to a 37-save performance and kept the Caps in it early when they were reeling and late when the lead was at risk. Tremendous effort by Theo tonight.
If you're looking for another individual standout, look no further than Nicklas Backstrom. He scored the opening goal, helped Ovechkin off the ice and then simply took over the game. By the end of the night he'd picked up two goals, a beautiful assist on Fehr's goal, played physical, run the power play and even finished above 50% in the faceoff circle.
As Caps fans we have every right to complain about yet another injury - we've taken our fair share of bites from the injury bug in the first quarter of the season. But if the Caps have been bitten by the bug, the Hurricanes have been and continue to be absolutely throttled by it. Add the freak injury to Joe Corvo to the growing list of wounded in Carolina red.
Watching the first five minutes of this one was unsettling to say the least; the Caps were running around in their own zone, had already given up a power play goal and were relying on their goaltender to bail them out far too often. Luckily the tying goal came fairly quickly and seemed to settle the team down.
Alexandre Giroux has no place on the top line of the Caps. Or anywhere on the Caps. Or the NHL.
It's not unusual to see stats inflated for the home team, especially when dealing with a subjective statistic like hits. This time, however, it's not hard to believe that the Hurricanes racked up 45 hits. Whether or not all of them were the cleanest of hits, of course, is another issue. But then I guess we don't have much of a leg to stand on there (no pun intended).
Eric Fehr continues to have a nose for the net, picking up his 10th point in 11 games and showing no signs of stopping. His goal off of Backstrom's ridiculous pass on the 2-on-1 was a goal-scorers goal, all finish - and something that a certain #33 probably isn't capable of. Just sayin'.
Both goalies had a few issues handling the puck. Theodore's came late in the game, and his D bailed him out as the slow-dribbling puck was swatted away from a wide-open net by Jeff Schultz. Michael Leighton...well, he had a little less help. Backstrom's second goal was a bit of a gift (although still a pretty sweet backhand shot).
In just three games, Karl Alzner seems to have settled in nicely. He's making smart plays and has added more of a physical edge to his game. And while he still has the odd mistake or mental breakdown, he's better at recovering and has really been strong in his short time with the big boys this year. Can we keep him?

So a bizarre night for both teams ends in victory for the Caps - and despite the somewhat ominous and uneven start, it ends up being a pretty decent team effort on the backs of some more than decent individual efforts.

Eric Fehr continues to light the lamp, with confidence growing on every shift. Nicklas Backstrom continues to find his own groove, with and without Russian assistance. Jose Theodore continues to make life interesting in net, with a dominant performance in his own right. And the Caps may have to muddle on without Alex Ovechkin once more.

Game highlights:

Capital Ups and Downs: Week 9

J.P. — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:00:12 -0000

by Graham Hughes - AP

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Our weekly look at individual Washington Capitals' ups and downs (with special thanks to winterion for the icon set):

Goalies	Trend	Notes
Jose Theodore		Hasn't played a second since November 14 in Jersey; Gabby's got to get him back out there soon.
Semyon Varlamov		Varly went 2-0-1/2.27/.919 with a shutout this week but was probably even better than those impressive numbers would indicate.

Defensemen
Karl Alzner		The up arrow might be a little generous, but think of it more as "Alzner's an upgrade over some of the Caps' regulars on the blueline" rather than a direct comment on his two-game performance (which has been solid if unspectacular).
John Carlson		Held his own in his first NHL tour of duty.
John Erskine		Averaged 18:44 of ice time per game this week, which is too much time for a marginal NHL defenseman and may be why he's been looking so slow of late. Or maybe it's just that he's so slow.
Mike Green		Had the shift from hell in overtime on Monday night, but had nice assists on Monday and Wednesday. In other words, his offense isn't the problem... and never has been.
Milan Jurcina		Getting big minutes on a struggling penalty kill; six blocks and four hits in two games.
Shaone Morrisonn		Perhaps his absence is impacting his usual partner Green's play.
Brian Pothier		Adding a bit of physicality to a game that's really coming around nicely.
Tom Poti		Missed on the penalty kill.
Jeff Schultz		Assist, plus-two rating for the week. Ho hum.

Swingman
Tyler Sloan		Plus-two as a defenseman against the Sens, nothing as a forward against the Sabres.

Forwards
Nicklas Backstrom		As Ovechkin returns to form, so to does Backstrom (even if the numbers don't show it... yet). The big face-off win with 15.5 seconds left in Montreal and the shootout-deciding tally earn an up arrow.
Jay Beagle		Scored his first NHL goal in Ottawa, but took a bad penalty in Montreal. Decent short-term fill-in.
Matt Bradley		Not much to report - he must be in the "taking names" portion of "kicking ass and taking names."
Chris Clark		Scored in Ottawa, but is struggling a bit out there.
Eric Fehr		Three goals and an assist, a plus-three rating and ten shots on goal. Most importantly? His three goals totaled 63 feet from stick-to-goal line (and I'll take the under). Keep up the Knuble, Laich impression, Fehrsie.
Tomas Fleischmann		It's been a half-dozen games since Flash scored, and he's actually losing ice time (gasp!) to Fehr, among others.
Alexandre Giroux		Look at the Corsi. Look at the rate at which he's taking penalties. Tell me he's not the worst player to don the red, white and blue so far this season.
Andrew Gordon		A quick cup o' coffee and see ya later.
Boyd Gordon		No news ain't good news.
Mike Knuble		Skating again, which is a good sign (even if it is a finger injury).
Brooks Laich		An assist in Montreal, but only one shot on goal in three games for the week. Looking good, though, on a line with Morrison and Fehr.
Quintin Laing		Did an in-game interview on Comcast Sportsnet despite having his jaw wired shut. Seriously.
Brendan Morrison		Goal, assist, plus-three and 53.8% in the dot. In 50:02 of ice time for the week, he was on the ice for three goals for and none against.
Michael Nylander		Yawn.
Alex Ovechkin		A pair of goals, a pair of assists and a pair of penalized hits; AO's really got to be careful regarding that last number.
Mathieu Perreault		Pointless in five and only two shots on goal and a 38.7 win percentage in the dot for the week.
Alexander Semin		Caps offense scoring .74 fewer goals per game without Semin this season (but also giving up .68 fewer goals per game), and power play efficiency drops from 28.2% with Sasha to 10.7% without.
David Steckel		A 14/15 face-off performance against Buffalo saves the week for the snake-bitten Steckel, who is one of a half-dozen NHL forwards who have played 25 games this season without scoring a goal.