Predatory instincts

If I didn't know better, I'd swear that someone on the team read my last missive on the Caps.  The last two games were probably the best two games of the season (certainly the best consecutive pair).

The D kept the puck moving, there was scoring from all over (in fact, a week or two ago, Carlson was the only defenseman currently on the team with more than one goal, and Schmidt was the only other with a goal), and the team has been able to sustain some pressure.

Lines were shuffled a bit more.  The first was untouched, of course.  The second has Fehr (playing his off-wing), Grabovski, and Brouwer.  The third has Chimmer, Erat, and Ward.  And the fourth seems to've settled in with Volpatti, Beagle, and Wilson.

I'm fairly pleased with these lines, although the elephant in the room w/r/t them is what happens with Laich, when he's healthy.  At this point, I'd plug him into Volpatti's spot, contract be damned.  I'd also rather have Latta than Beagle, but that's hardly a big deal either way.

Erat's line got the game against Nashville started off properly, with a strong forechecking effort that kept play in the offensive zone.  And that largely set the tenor of the game; the Caps solidly dominated play, especially while the score was still close.

And it didn't stay close for terribly long; Brouwer opened up the scoring in the seventh minute, pushing a rebound from between a defender's legs, and into the goal.  And the Caps didn't give one away right away; they maintained dominance of possession through getting their first power play chance thirteen minutes in.  That power play only lasted three seconds, as OV put everything he had into a slapshot from the point right off the clean win of the draw.

And, surprise of surprises, the Caps still kept up forceful play, and Alzner got a fluky one from the point three minutes later.  And there was still no immediate drop-off.

Really, the only disappointment from the entire game was the second Nashville goal being allowed twenty-three seconds after Washington's fourth.  But since that still left a two goal lead, it was a fairly minor disappointment.

And the defense was definitely contributing offensively.  I already mentioned Alzner's first of the season, but Schmidt's first career goal was the fourth goal (assisted by strong forechecking from Erat's line).  The Grabovski line also contributed strongly, with two goals and three assists among the three of them.  It should also be noted, beyond helping on Schmidt's goal, that the Erat line had a number of chances that they were unable to convert; they looked strong all game.

And although they didn't show up in the scoresheet, the fourth line also contributed with a number of strong cycling shifts in the offensive zone.

I've mentioned the defense a couple of times.  It's worth adding that they changed a little bit, with Dima back (finally) and Wey (shocker to me; he was replacing Strachan, but I didn't hear why) forming the third pairing.  They were a bit of an adventure, with some good hits and some not-so-good decisions.  Overall, though, not bad.

Wey did not look overmatched in his first career NHL game.  Actually, he was quite a surprise to me.  I've been hearing about him off and on for several years, but I was pretty much ready to write him off when he was sent down to Reading (ECHL) to start the season.  But he's played himself all the way up; kudos to him.

Anyway, that was the game that was on Saturday.  I'll post about Sunday's Rangers game separately.

The winds of change

What I alluded to, in the previous post, was the trade of Filip Forsberg for Martin Erat (from the Predators. As a side note, I am always amused by his last name because it means (in Latin) 'he was' and because David Eddings had a character pose as the Duchess of Erat in his book, Pawn of Prophecy).

Man, that was a mess, yesterday. They were supposed to announce it at 1530, half an hour after the deadline passed. But that didn't happen, and the announcement didn't end up being made until 1700. Very irritating, although apparently the problem is that they weren't able to find one of the players (presumably Erat; I doubt Forsberg would have been a priority, being overseas in a different league) to tell him before the announcement.

Anyway, we did, eventually, find out that it was Erat and a so-so prospect (Latta; supposedly a decent center with a lot less upside than Forsberg).

There's certainly something to like about the deal; Erat is a good left wing on a reasonable contract who does a good job of driving play. And, considering the offensive system he's been playing in, a pretty decent scorer as well.

But I'm not a big fan of the deal because a) this team is a bit old already, and a 31-yo Erat isn't helping that. b) His contract is perfectly decent, but will make it more difficult to re-sign Ribeiro next year. c) I was really looking forward to seeing Forsberg over here. And finally (and most damningly), this very much feels like a 'Hail Mary' pass, in that the odds of the Caps making noise in the playoffs seem very slim.

Unquestionably, this makes the team better this year (and probably next). It does improve the odds of the Caps both making, and making noise in, the playoffs (although not much for either; we're only talking about thirteen more games). But it's quite a long-shot. RMNB had an article yesterday or the day before, dissecting a McPhee interview, questioning whether he believed what he was saying. Well, this trade certainly proves that he believed it.

I'll keep my fingers crossed, but I'm not feeling very good about the deal, and it would take at least an ECF appearance to change my mind (along with re-signing Ribeiro to a non-crippling extension).

Be wehwy, wehwy quiet, we'h huntin' predatuhs

Tonight was another very uneven game for the boys in red. It got off on a high note, celebrating Knuble's 1000th NHL game. Then they proceeded to play a nearly perfect first period, one of the best they've played all year. After goals from Backstrom and Ovechkin (playing on separate lines), they went into the dressing rooms without allowing one in return. The power play even looked good; no goals, but four shots.

Chances were 8-2 in favor of the good guys, and Neuvy was looking excellent.

The second period saw the Caps outplayed by a fair bit, which wasn't helped by the quartet of minor penalties (two of which were very stupid, and another was a rare mistake by Alzner). They were especially out-hit, including one shift by Tootoo where he threw two Caps to the ice in impressive fashion. But they managed not to break under the pressure, with the PK looking especially good. Chances in this period were 4-2, bad guys.

The third period continued with very good play from Nashville, as they flat-out dominated the first half of the third period. They kept Washington penned in, and scrambling, and scored one to pull it back to a one-goal game.

But Washington broke out in the second half, triggered by Semin's beauty of a wrister from the left side ten and a half minutes in. It was a nice rush, with MarJo pulling the defense and leaving a drop pass for Semin. Semin skated in a little bit, then planted the puck all the way in the far side, top corner (really, he couldn't have placed it better by hand).

Brouwer rounded out the scoring with his first power play goal of the season three minutes later, tipping in a Wideman shot. That one also got MarJo his second assist of the night (no goals for his 100th game, but we'll take those assists any day).

In all, it was a very good game. Actually, what was depressing was that Locker said, right after Brouwer scored, something to the effect of it being their largest lead of the night. That was true, but the depressing part was thinking back to the last time they had a three goal lead. Now that I've looked, it was six weeks ago, against Carolina. Ugh.

Let's see if they can find a way to do it again on Friday, when they visit the Devils.