Meltdown Avoided, Third Time's The Charm: Caps 5 - 3 Bruins

Photo Credit: Nick Wass / AP

For the most part the Washington Capitals played a very solid game last night. Outplaying the Boston Bruins in the first period, but coming away with nothing to show for it. It seemed like it was going to be another night of frustration for the Caps as they just could not solve Boston goaltender Tim Thomas, even with a two man advantage and outshooting Boston 8-3. The period would come to an end scoreless.  The second period would prove to be  much the same. Washington had the decided edge in play, and in shots, and finally would break the game open, not only scoring first, but scoring 3 goals while keeping Boston off the board all together to take a 3 to 0 lead into the second intermission. The Caps opened the scoring early in the period, scoring just 59 seconds in and would keep the pressure on for the remainder of the period getting goals from Tyler Sloan, Mike Green, and Alexander Semin.  Semin's goal was a particularly brilliant play catching the Boston defence off guard while they were on the power play by breaking up a pass at the Washington line and springing himself and Mike Green for a 2 on 1 break. The two had a nifty give and go exchange deep in the Boston zone and Semin whipped  the return pass from Green past Tim Thomas for the shorthanded goal to make the lead 3-0.

Photo by Clyde Caplan, clydeorama.com

The Caps and their fans were feeling good going into the third period having chased Boston's top man between the pipes in favor of backup goaltender Tuuka Rask. However the 3-0 lead the Caps had built going into the third period would soon disappear and it looked like Washington was on its way to another monumental meltdown. This was the 2nd straight game the Caps would blow a multiple goal lead allowing Boston to score twice on the power play in less than a minute. Caps coach Bruce Boudreau had seen enough and used his time out to attempt to settle things down, but it appeared it was not going to do any good. though as just under 6 minutes later Boston come back to tie the game at 3 all, and chase the Caps NHL Rookie of the month goaltender Michael Neuvirth. This the second straight game that the Caps would allow the opposition to score 3 straight however The Caps 3 goals in the 2nd proved to be enough, where as the previous game against Toronto the lead was only two. Only this time the Caps would have the answer in regulation.  Enter defencemen John Carlson who at 13:25 of the final period would put the Caps back in the lead for good, scoring what would become the game winner with a blast past the Boston backup. Boston decided to lift their goaltender for the final minute and a half or so of the game but could not get much going. Boston became trapped in their own end with defencemen ending up playing goalie but that could not keep the Caps from scoring as Alex Ovechkin would eventually find the empty net at 19:-08, putting the game away for good. The Caps outshot the Bruins a whopping 39 to 18 for the game.  All I have to say is *PHEW*!   A great two first periods all but completely undone in the third by some lazy penalties and possibly some overconfidence, but the Caps were able to pull this one out. The Caps are now 6-1 on home ice, and have finally solved Tim Thomas and beaten the Bruins for the first time in 3 tries. Here are Bruce Boudreau's thoughts after the near meltdown turned win:

The B's Are Back In Town! The B's Are Back In Town! | Caps Look For First Win Against Bruins In Third Meeting

GAME 13: Caps VS Bruins
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WHEN: 11/05/2010 - 7PM EDT 
WHERE: Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.

TV: CSN-DC /HD, NHLN - US HD

RADIO: Caps Radio 1500 AM  <-- click to listen live
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8-4-0 (16pts)


VS


7-2-0 (14pts)



The Capitals will be looking for a way to solve Boston Goaltender Tim Thomas tonight when the Boston Bruins pay thier 2nd visit to Verizon Center in what will be the two teams 3rd meeting in 13 games. The Caps are winless against Boston in 2 games this season having been outscored a combined 7-2, scoring only once in each contest while Tim Thomas has stopped a combined 73 shots. Thomas has gone 7-0-0 so far this season and leads the NHL with a 0.72 GAA, allowing just 5 goals to date.  The Capitals are going to have to find a way to put pucks past Thomas, its that simple. Alex Ovechkin is going to have to find space to create, and will likely have to deal once again with Bostons top defencemen Zdeno Chara attempting to shut him down for the entire game. The Caps must also be better defencively if they are going to stop Boston's top line of Milan Lucic, David Krejci and Nathan Horton, have combined for 29 points in nine games. Having Mike Green back for this game against them should be of some help at both ends of the ice. The Capitals are going to have to want this game, and play like it's a playoff game if they want to stay ahead of Boston in the Eastern Conference standings.  If they come out and play a game like that did on Wednesday against the Maple Leafs, they are probably going to have big problems getting a point, let alone winning the game outright, making for a long night for them, and the red clad Verizon Center faithful.

Both Defencemen Tyler Sloan, and Marcus Johansson will be available to play tonight. We'll see which one will get the jersey for tonight's game. The Caps also reassigned defenceman Brian Fahey to the AHL's Hershey Bears as Sloan will likely take his place. Tom Poti will not play this weekend. NHL Rookie Of The Month for October, Michael Neuvirth should get the start between the pipes for Washington.

Caps Vs Bruins pregame interviews:

Michael Neuvirth Named NHL Rookie Of The Month

 Washington Capitals 22 year old goaltender from the Czech Republic, Michael Neuvirth has been named the NHL's Rookie Of The Month for the month of October, 2010, to add to back to back AHL Calder Cup Championships he already has under his belt with Caps AHL Affiliate Hershey Bears. Nicklas Backstrom  was the last Capital to take this honor back in December of 2007. Neuvirth is only the 3rd Capitals goaltender to win the honor in franchise history and first in 15 years, joining Jim Carey who won it in March 1995, and Bob Mason who won it way back in December of 1984.

Neuvirth took the honor  by earning 7 wins, with only 3 losses, a 2.15 GAA (goals against average), and a .926 save percentage in that span. He has allowed two or fewer goals in 8 of his last 9 games. Neuvirth is tied for first in the NHL in wins with Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick, and places 8th in both GAA and save percentage. Neuvirth has played the majority of the Capitals games this season while Semyon Varlamov has been recovering from a persistent groin injury. He has been particularly stingy with not leaving juicy rebounds for opponents to pick off and attempt a score, and is quickly becoming a fan favorite. Many of the goals that have been scored on him have been either deflections, or very poor defencive play in front of him, and have not been because of poor play in the net. If Neuvirth can keep up this level of play, and Varlamov can recover and return to his great form, the Capitals should be very tough to beat between the pipes for the remainder of the season.

CONGRATULATIONS MICHAEL NEUVIRTH! NHL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH!

This Time, Inconsistent Caps Find A Way. Caps 5-4 Maple Leafs (SO)

             photo credit: Susan Walsh - AP

The inconsistency that has haunted the Washington Capitals of late again made an appearance at Verizon Center last night. This time however, the Capitals found a way to over come that and came away from their game with the Toronto Maple Leafs with the full 2 standings points. This pulls the Capitals into a tie for the Southeast Division lead with Tampa Bay, and a 3 way tie for the league lead in points in the NHL with Tampa and  the Los Angeles Kings of the Western Conference. The Caps could not put together a solid 60 minutes of good hockey again last night, allowing the opposition to score first for the 9th time in 12 games. They also allowed Toronto to come back from a two goal deficit in the third period to take the lead. The Capitals played fairly well in the first in spite of allowing the early goal, and had a great second period, outscoring their visitors 3-0 and looking like they had this one in hand. The penalty killing also held off 4 Leafs power plays, and the Caps were outshooting the Leafs 20-12 until about the 18:00 mark of the 2nd. But, there was the problem; it was only the second period. The Capitals came out flat in the third, and Toronto took advantage,  exploding for 3 goals in just a 3:03 span to come from down 3-1 at the start of the frame to take a 4-3 lead by the 7:17 mark.

photo credit: Susan Walsh - AP

It looked the another Capitals let down was going to cost them another game, and another 2 points. However the Capitals power play has begun to improve, and that continued last night scoring twice in 3 chances getting two timely goals. The first was Washington's first goal of the game from Mike Green, and the second was just as timely by Alexander Semin at 4:14 of the third period to tie the game up, and ultimately for overtime. At least this time the Caps did not give away a point to a divisional rival. It is worth noting that after being absent for much of the season, the Caps power play seems to have finally found its grove and has now converted on 5 of 8 chances in the last 2 games. We hope that trend continues as the Caps are going to need it to come away from games like tonight's game with the full 2 points. In spite of having the man advantage for 2 of the 5 minutes of the over time period, the Caps could not finish off the Leafs in the extra stanza. What they could not get done in the over time period however, the Caps finished off in the shootout. Michael Neuvirth held off both Toronto shooters, while both Alex Ovechkin and Semin found the twin behind Maple Leafs net minder Jonas Gustavsson to give the Caps the shootout win in front of another sellout crowd at the Phone Booth.  The Capitals also got goals from Jason Chimera and Tomas Fleischmann. While victory is sweet, it will be short lived as the Capitals play host to the Boston Bruins on Friday night. As always, Caps bench boss Bruce Boudreau had plenty of thoughts on last nights performance, so here is his post game presser:

Sleeping Giant Awakens: Caps Turn Saddledome Into House Of Horrors For Flames: Caps 7-2 Flames

AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jeff McIntosh

Even after tinkering with the lines and reuniting the the high powered scoring trio of Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Semin, it once again, it looked like it was going to be a long night for the Washington Capitals and us Caps fans late last night. The Caps took on the Calgary Flames in a game that went well past midnight local time and it appeared as if it may not even be worth staying up so late to watch. Again the Caps allowed the first goal to the opposition, another early goal, this time only 44 seconds into the game, and were down 2-0 by the time the game was barely 11 minutes old. In the first period the Caps once again looked sloppy and lazy, and were lucky to find themselves down by only 2-1 by the end of the first period. Michael Neuvirth, as he very often has been, was once again the reason the Capitals still had a chance to win this game. Even though the Caps lone first period goal came from Nicklas Backstrom on the power play, the same old nagging questions kept entering into many peoples minds about the power play, the top line, Ovechkin, what was wrong..etc. They just seemed off. Not like the Capitals we had come to know over the past few seasons, especially last season.

The Caps came out to start the second period, and looked a bit more energized, composed, and skated with more of a purpose in their step. At just 1:54 the Caps would get a another chance to put the power play to work when the Flames took a bad penalty for too many men on the ice. Just 16 seconds later, the Caps would get the opportunity of the night. They finally took full advantage. Alexander Ovechkin exploded for two goals in just 12 seconds to put the Caps in the lead for the night. The Caps went on to explode for a whopping total of 6 goals in the second period, 7 unanswered in the game, effectively ending the game by the time the horn sounded after the first 40 minutes of play leading by a 7-2 margin which would hold to be the final score. Mike Green and Matt Bradley also scored a mere 13 seconds apart at 10:28 and 10:41 to really break the game wide open. Although Bradley's goal was more of a gift, since he actually didn't score the goal. Calgary defencemen Cory Sarich attempted to clear the puck from high in the slot, but in stead whipped a wrist shot into his own net. It was clear at this point that things were coming apart at the seems for the Flames.  The final Caps goal, and goal of the night came at 18:23 of the period with the Caps shorthanded. David Steckel was held, and hauled down on a breakaway by Flames defencemen Mark Giordano. The offcial raised his arm to make the call and after Steckel had slid  on his stomach almost into the goal, pointed to center ice signaling a penalty shot. It was David Steckel's first career penalty shot and he nailed it. All of the sudden, the Caps once again looked like the offencive juggernaut of last season that we all knew and loved. The Caps got goals from:

AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jeff McIntosh

• Nicklas Backstrom - 1 goal, 3 assists, 4pts.
• Alex Ovechkin - 2 goals,  1 assist, 3 pts
• Mike Green - 1 goal, 2 assists, 3pts
• Matt Bradley - 1 goal, 1pt
• Alexander Semin 1 goal, 1pt
• David Steckel - 1 goal, 1pt

The Caps power play finally seemed to be clicking, scoring on 3 of 6 chances. They just seemed to be doing everything right, where up until the end of the first period last night the seemed to be doing not much of anything right. Perhaps it was that Boudreau opted for a team meeting to show them just how ugly of a game they had in Minnesota, or perhaps he let the team have it in the locker room between periods. Whatever it was, the Caps need to show the NHL more of it this year. This is only the third game this season where the Caps have won by more than one goal, and only the second where the Caps have scored 4 or more. That said, it was a dramatic improvement, and one that we hope will finally continue. The injury riddled Caps will get a much needed and deserved 3 day rest as they are off until next Wednesday night when the finally return home to Verizon Center to take on their second straight Canadian foe, the Toronto Maple Leafs.

For now, I'll leave you with Bruce Boudreau's post game presser for last night: