What Losing Streak?
“We just showed those two guys who got in a fight and a little bit hurt, that we’re willing to work hard for them. We wanted to show to them that we are a team. So we kept plugging away, plugging away and we were able to score.”
- Sergei Fedorov
“We knew they went to war for us, so our guys took it upon themselves to go to war for them.”
- Bruce Boudreau
“This team win is for Brash and Bradley and Erskine. That got in those tough fights. That was huge.”
- Nicklas Backstrom
“This was a great character, courageous game.”
- Bruce Boudreau
Notice some key words in there, some common themes? Work. Team. Plugging away. War. Character. Courageous.
For about 45 minutes on Sunday, that’s the kind of game the Caps returned to – get rid of the individual aspect of the game in favor for a tighter, team game. Get in the playoff mindset now. Forecheck. Play defense. Win the battles. It’s what allowed them to comeback from two goals down and salvage a point against the Penguins, and it definitely carried over into last night’s slump-snapping overtime win.
Those first 50 seconds were pretty ugly; it’s hard not to agree with Boudreau that it was probably one of the worst shifts of hockey the Caps have played in a long time. That being said, there was the potential for that early goal to deflate the Caps and allow the Predators to become yet another defensively minded team to roll over them.
It didn’t. They didn’t.
Instead the Caps proceeded to play an almost perfect road game, with good team defense and a ton of shots on goalie Dan Ellis. That the final score wasn’t as lopsided as the ice surface seemed to be was a testament to Ellis’s acrobatics and the Caps’ continued unwillingness to create any kind of screen in front of the net – but of course, in a winning effort it’s hard to really take issue with that.
Other thoughts:
- Alexander Semin is having quite the stretch of games right now. It’s hard to say if we’ve seen him play this well ever, but his game is improving nightly. He’s had tons of shots and takeaways, minimal penalties and very few turnovers. He’s playing well defensively. He’s making some breath-taking passes. Does he at times get a little too cutesy? Sure. But it’s hard to blame him when he is just that talented.
- Jose’s been admittedly a little rough lately, but that Nashville goal was hardly his fault – and it was lights out after that. Shades of post-Ranger meltdown Theodore for sure. He certainly wasn’t tested as much as his Nashville counterpart, but he made the big saves when needed and kept the Caps in the game after that early first strike.
- There’s plenty to be said about not parking someone in front of a goalie who is stopping everything he can see and seeing everything, and you can bet Boudreau will be saying it. Again. All they have to do is look at how the Preds got on the board, with a shot that went through at least 236 bodies (I rounded up). If someone doesn’t basically camp out in the crease tomorrow night in Philly those two points will be much harder to get.
- But credit where credit was due – with the 44 shots the Caps put on net, Ellis made some huge saves. He was the difference-maker, a very worthy first star selection in a game that featured so many. He also had some very efficient help from his teammates; 25 of the 48 shots taken by the Caps that didn’t hit the net were blocked. Ouch.
- The best home penalty killing unit in the league made one of the league’s most dangerous power plays look downright silly in their minimal time with the extra man. Of course, it’s not like the Caps needed their help; rough night for the power play, even in limited capacity.
- Two minor penalties taken by the Caps? Only two? Must have been a mirage – especially with “The ‘Stache” wandering around out there.
- Major penalties, of course, were another story. I can’t remember the last time the Caps had more fighting majors than minors. Consider that the Caps take the third fewest majors in the league and it gets even stranger. That being said, good job by all three for getting their noses dirty (and bloody); Erskine’s in particular was a pretty good bout, capping off another fairly decent game for him.
…yeah, I said it.
- It is a little troubling that most of the offense lately is being generated by the top line; still, it does explain the lack of “dirty” goals the Caps have been getting lately. If anyone’s going to go to the net, it’s going to be someone like Steckel, Fehr, Gordon or Laich. They did have a lot of chances last night, though, so it’s only a matter of time.
- Those of us here in DC didn’t see Bradley’s blood-covered face during the game, but they did show it during the postgame highlight reel and…ew.
- Those of us here in DC didn’t see half of the faceoffs because Comcast often considers them meaningless, but we can see Backstrom’s faceoff percentage for the night and…ew.
- The game itself wasn’t that pretty, but both Backstrom’s goal and Fedorov’s goal were quite nice, as were the plays that set them up. They also seemed to be pretty similar in that each had to wait out the goalie – and it’s still amazing to see the patience of Backstrom, a 21 year old kid, at the level of someone like Fedorov, 18 years his senior.
So we knew that the losing streak couldn’t go on forever. In fact, we knew it had to be coming to a close sooner rather than later given the way they played for most of Sunday’s game. And we knew that it would take a workmanlike effort and the added bonus of being away from DC to do it.
Still, going through the first four game losing streak since the Hanlon era did make the heart beat a little bit faster, didn’t it? On to Philly to continue our brand new winning streak. 14 games and counting, folks…
i love that everyone stated the win was for the fighters, it shows how close this team is.
semin has been playing unbelievable lately and definitely hasn’t been taking the bad penalties that he can often take. but on the opposite side of that, he is not getting ANY calls when he is hooked, held, and tripped. i think the caps should send a tape of all the missed calls on semin to the nhl to show this. it’s done under the radar and i know the lightning did it in their stanley cup year and afterwards they got more calls because of it.
Comment by passerby — March 11, 2009 @ 12:10 pm
i totally agree with passerby. what’s it going to take to get some equality for our guys with the officiating? yeah, i saw that walrus wandering around the ice, and thought that sasha was going to have a very very long night.
Comment by spinner33 — March 12, 2009 @ 5:37 am
Agree completely. I’m not usually one for complaining about the officiating, but it’s hard to overlook the fact that a lot of refs have been looking the other way rather than give the Caps a power play this year.
Regarding Semin, unfortunately part of the problem there is that he has developed a reputation as a diver over the last few years. And it was certainly a well-deserved one for awhile there, I think we all know that. So despite the fact that he really doesn’t seem to do it much anymore, it’s going to take him a little longer to build a good rep back up.
…that being said, the speed he gets through the neutral zone and the moves he pulls out in the attack zone have led to him being hauled down multiple times – legitimately – this season without a call. I feel like he’s been much steadier on his skates, so they really have to give it some more oomph and yet still pay no price! Amazing.
Comment by CapsChick — March 12, 2009 @ 11:44 am
yeah i try to let the missed calls go when semin falls because of his reputation, but lately it has been the highsticking, the holding, the hooking all of those stick infractions that happen right in front of the refs. he doesn’t fall on those.
capschick: do you know if there is a site that has the stats for penalties drawn by a player shown for the season? not just the end total, but a breakdown of it maybe per game or per month. i want to see if there is a certain time that it changed because i don’t remember it happening this often in the beginning of the season. thanks.
Comment by passerby — March 12, 2009 @ 2:36 pm
I actually don’t know if there is – my guess is if you can think of a stat that could be calculated, someone has a site to record it. You might consider emailing JP at Japers’ Rink – he’s always up on random stats like that, he’d be a good resource. And if you find out, come back and post it because I would actually be interested to see that too.
Comment by CapsChick — March 12, 2009 @ 4:18 pm
ok thanks. maybe i won’t be lazy and i will look for it myself.
Comment by passerby — March 12, 2009 @ 4:22 pm
at the site Behind the Net, they have Semin down for 17 drawn penalties (but they do not have it broken down by games)
BUT i did find a game-by-game breakdown of penalties taken:
-before semin’s comments he had taken 3 minors in 11 games for a .273%
-after he has taken 22 minors in 38 games for a .579%
it is a small sample size but it definitely has increased (i also didn’t go through to take out any delay of game penalties)
and just to see a full season, last year semin took 27 minors in 63 games for a .429%
i was just curious, but again after tonights game it is obvious semin is not getting the penalties drawn against him. he was cross-checked from behind without the puck near him and no call. so maybe another reader will have the drawn penalty breakdown.
Comment by passerby — March 12, 2009 @ 9:07 pm
Very interesting site. Hope it will always be alive! lethal dose amount of valium
Comment by 15mg phentermine — August 26, 2009 @ 5:21 am
I want to say – thank you for this! tramadol during early pregnancy
Comment by 90 count phentermine overnight shipping — August 26, 2009 @ 6:22 am
I bookmarked this link. Thank you for good job! tramadol sadness
Comment by can woman take cialis — September 9, 2009 @ 1:43 am
Perfect work! cialis addiction
Comment by on line cialis — September 9, 2009 @ 2:09 am
Great. Now i can say thank you! buy phentermine no prescription
Comment by faq phentermine great prices established source — September 9, 2009 @ 2:35 am
Perfect work! medical arts adipex
Comment by tramadol canine effects — September 9, 2009 @ 3:01 am
Perfect work! adipex no prior prescription needed
Comment by discount phentermine without physician — September 9, 2009 @ 3:27 am
It is the coolest site, keep so! wholesale adipex no prescription
Comment by tramadol seventy online — September 9, 2009 @ 3:53 am
It is the coolest site, keep so! tramadol withdrawal symtoms
Comment by buy here so tramadol — September 9, 2009 @ 4:18 am
Very interesting site. Hope it will always be alive! tramadol with no prescription
Comment by tramadol lead investigator — September 9, 2009 @ 4:44 am
Very interesting site. Hope it will always be alive! discounted cialis
Comment by tramadol hci effects depression — September 9, 2009 @ 5:09 am
Perfect work! side effects of cialis
Comment by tramadol testicle pain — September 9, 2009 @ 5:35 am
buy Female Viagra, 0282478598,
Comment by Female Viagra — September 15, 2009 @ 1:46 pm
Female Viagra, :-OOO,
Comment by buy Cialis Super Active+ — September 15, 2009 @ 9:42 pm
cheap Levitra Professional, 47181,
Comment by buy abilify — September 16, 2009 @ 6:27 am
Beautiful site! cialis cheap prices
Comment by adipex from canada — September 16, 2009 @ 7:12 pm
Perfect work! tramadol hcl tabs
Comment by tramadol pain medication — September 16, 2009 @ 7:39 pm
Great work, webmaster, nice design! next day shipping tramadol
Comment by tramadol vs percocet — September 16, 2009 @ 8:07 pm
Great site. Good info. cialis sales uk
Comment by can i take valium naprosyn tramadol — September 16, 2009 @ 8:36 pm
Very interesting site. Hope it will always be alive! online pharmacies for xanax without prescription
Comment by phentermine ingriedients — September 16, 2009 @ 9:03 pm
Incredible site! lowest price cialis
Comment by buy adipex from us pharmacy — September 16, 2009 @ 10:27 pm
Very interesting site. Hope it will always be alive! search results wholesale mg xanax
Comment by tramadol withdrawals — September 16, 2009 @ 10:54 pm
Great site. Keep doing. phentermine no prescription needed phentermine
Comment by tramadol sobs online — September 16, 2009 @ 11:21 pm
Beautiful site! xanax online fedex
Comment by tramadol sales saturday delivery — September 16, 2009 @ 11:47 pm
Excellent site. It was pleasant to me. xanax for pulsatile tinnitus
Comment by adipex d order online — September 17, 2009 @ 12:15 am
I want to say – thank you for this! drugs lethal dose tramadol
Comment by tramadol vs hydrocodone — September 17, 2009 @ 12:42 am
Perfect work! phentermine watson
Comment by what is a yellow xanax bar — September 17, 2009 @ 1:08 am
Great site. Good info. tramadol hcl-aceta
Comment by cialis advertisement — September 17, 2009 @ 1:35 am
Great. Now i can say thank you! xanax effects
Comment by cheapest adipex c o d — September 17, 2009 @ 2:29 am
I bookmarked this link. Thank you for good job! what does a tramadol look like
Comment by phentermine online 3.75 mg — September 17, 2009 @ 2:56 am
I want to say – thank you for this! tramadol street value
Comment by tramadol apap opinion — September 17, 2009 @ 3:22 am
I want to say – thank you for this! tramadol use in pregnancy
Comment by adipex and bladder infections — September 17, 2009 @ 3:49 am
Perfect work! flexiril tramadol
Comment by tramadol black box warnings — September 17, 2009 @ 4:16 am
If you have to do it, you might as well do it right. cialis fedex overnight shipping
Comment by order adipex online overnight shipping — September 17, 2009 @ 4:44 am
Beautiful site! xanax dont take with
Comment by buy phentermine online pharmacy you — September 17, 2009 @ 5:11 am
I want to say – thank you for this! no rx adipex
Comment by tramadol recall — September 17, 2009 @ 5:38 am
Great. Now i can say thank you! does tramadol show on drug test
Comment by how to administer tramadol to pets — September 17, 2009 @ 6:05 am
I bookmarked this link. Thank you for good job! side effect of tramadol
Comment by tramadol cod payment — September 17, 2009 @ 6:31 am
It is the coolest site, keep so! phentermine blue and clear
Comment by phentermine 2007 — September 17, 2009 @ 7:02 am
Perfect site, i like it! phentermine adverse effects
Comment by medicine xanax dosage — September 17, 2009 @ 7:31 am
Great work, webmaster, nice design! tramadol vs vicodin
Comment by adipex or phentermine no prescription required — September 17, 2009 @ 7:58 am
Perfect site, i like it! tramadol hydrocodone
Comment by tramadol fever — September 17, 2009 @ 8:25 am
Beautiful site! generic ultram tramadol 50 mg
Comment by mp 717 tramadol percoset — September 17, 2009 @ 8:52 am
Beautiful site! levitra cialis viagra
Comment by lisinopril and cialis interaction — September 17, 2009 @ 9:19 am
Beautiful site! where can i purchase phentermine online
Comment by pad phd phentermine — September 17, 2009 @ 9:47 am
Perfect work! lexapro and tramadol
Comment by phentermine louisiana — September 17, 2009 @ 10:14 am
Incredible site! legal adipex
Comment by adipex — September 17, 2009 @ 10:45 am
Very interesting site. Hope it will always be alive! what is tramadol hcl-aceta
Comment by are adipex tablets time released — September 17, 2009 @ 11:16 am
It is the coolest site, keep so! purchasing adipex
Comment by can i take cymbalta with phentermine — September 17, 2009 @ 11:42 am
I want to say – thank you for this! difference between clonopin and xanax
Comment by buy tramadol online now — September 17, 2009 @ 12:09 pm
Great work, webmaster, nice design! phentermine testimonails
Comment by cialis low price — September 17, 2009 @ 12:36 pm
Beautiful site! xanax online 10 mg
Comment by tramadol hci problems — September 17, 2009 @ 1:03 pm
buy zyrtec, 142108917476,
Comment by tramadol prescription — September 17, 2009 @ 1:44 pm
fioricet, 913990456402,
Comment by buy fioricet online — September 18, 2009 @ 4:09 am
Great site. Good info. tramadol sizes and shapes
Comment by phentermine pill colors — November 25, 2009 @ 3:26 am
Hi
Super page
Comment by engikeveneazy — December 9, 2009 @ 10:26 pm
my alli, neuio,
Comment by buy abilify — January 11, 2010 @ 1:31 am