Searching for Bobby Luongo
It’s fair to say that the Caps’ first game of the season was a little shaky. The second one started out almost as badly although the team did gradually get stronger with every period.
But despite allowing a goal on the Canucks’ first shot of the game, the Caps were able to turn on the engines and simply dominated – in the offensive zone, in the neutral zone, and especially in the defensive zone, where that first shot became only one of two in the opening frame. It seemed like finally, after two games of somewhat inconsistent team defense, the boys decided to remember how to play Caps hockey.
Most notable about last night was the lineup, or rather the changes to the lineup. Fedorov was more than capable on the blue line as he replaced John Erskine, and not only did he have an assist and end up +3 – but he also seemed to raise the level of play in defensive partner Milan Jurcina. Jurcina capped off his best game in a long while with his first goal of the season and racked up four shots on goal, finishing +2 on the night. Boyd Gordon’s regular season debut was equally impressive, as his hard work seemed to rub off on everyone around him and he was a key reason for at least one of the Caps’ goals.
Last night also marked the continuation of Alexander Semin’s evolution as bona fide sniper. He was 
absolutely one of the best players on the ice – helped, no doubt, by the fact that Willie Mitchell was focusing his superior shutdown efforts on Ovechkin, but still. Semin’s two goals were nice, giving him six points on the young season for the team lead…but what was even better is the way he continued to work hard on every shift. His sloppy passes and lazy penalties have diminished considerably and you could tell that the Canucks were having a hard time keeping the wheeling winger contained.
It’ll certainly be interesting to see what happens if he continues to play this way. Teams will now legitimately have to concern themselves with shutting down two, maybe three scoring lines…and face the threat of an occasional point from the grinders on the fourth as well. Let’s not forget that Steckel and Bradley have both already tallied this year. And that’s not even mentioning the defense – Mike Green’s goal last night gave him three already.
Earning the coveted red hardhat last night for his efforts was Nicklas Backstrom, who looks to finally be breaking out of his early season doldrums with a solid game of his own. I’m convinced that his injury before camp hampered his start a little; not that he’s still feeling effects of it, but that he has had to play catch-up with guys that had an extra week or two to get into shape for the season. A well-deserved hardhat winner for sure, on a night when any number of guys could have laid legitimate claim to the title.
And of course, congratulations go to Brent Johnson for earning his 100th win of the season – nice to hear the great reception from the almost 17,000 in attendance when the milestone was announced. It may not exactly be the toughest win of his career…but I’m sure he’ll take it.
So that’s that! A solid 5-1 win over a team that had scored 11 goals in its first two games (on national-ish TV, no less) and a few days off before traveling up to Pittsburgh for the first meeting with the Pens on Thursday.
For the first time since Calle Johansson was around the Caps have a Swedish presence on the roster in rookie Nicklas Backstrom and slick veteran Michael Nylander – and its just in time to take on one of the more Swede-heavy teams in the NHL. So to honor the Scandinavian influence that will play a key role in the battle on ice tonight, let’s look at some famous Swedes who helped make the world what it is today…