Tonight's Lineup

LETS GO CAPS!!!!!!!

In other news, the Devils got WAY older...

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Brendan-Shanahan-is-a-New-Jersey-Devil-again?urn=nhl,133490

I wish CSN would broadcast the away games in HD.

Come on boys! Let's go Johnny!

wow.. right off the bat, the habs came out strong.. but we can beat them!!

wow, Johnny makes another nice save!

I agree with Joe B, this tempo is crazy.

McB1981: Me too, but I like that the non-HD games are 16:9 this season, at least. It's a step in the right direction.

woww that was wayyy too close!

Tempo beyond crazy...this is SICK!

(A little Ovie lingo, there)

Miiiiiiiiike Greeeeeeen!

GREEEENNN !!!

score on this PP and run the rest of this game.

come on.

Well it was the guy some folks wanted to trade...

I cannot believe this!! our D is playing so sloppy

Whoops. Well, let's see if we can't get a PPG and retake the lead...

flash looks terribly slow

okay this is far from over, we can do this!!

Go CAPS!

@ewwsombra

Thanks for the heads up on the trojan viruses on the adthe web link. Scanning pc now as I was watching the game there. Thanks again dude.

That was a horrendous power play!

Bears update: Albany leading 1-0 at the end of the 1st.

semin!

Come on Juice!

And Milan Jurcina with the brainfart.

This is like, the twilight zone week in hockey.
Brainfart, indeed!

Well hey, a 1-1 game at the end of 1 ain't all that bad for the 2nd game of a back-to-back. Let's hope for a stronger 2nd and 3rd, though!

Any word on Steckel?

Actually, I rephrase that, this whole season has been like the twilight zone.

Well, you don't see the puck in closed hand delay of game combo every day.

Oh yea, how 'bout them Ravens?

was steckel hurt?

Wow. Don Cherry could not be a bigger d%@k.

Ravens win baby!!!
Obtw LETS GO CAPS!!!

the answer is no: don cherry could not be a bigger DB

Steve, I haven't ever seen a closing the hand on the puck ever. I've know seen it, what, four times? And then you've got the Sundin and the Shanahan and the Avery and the Brodeur. Its all just weird.

I must agree, Don Cherry is a donkey.

Don Cherry is right though...I don't like the guy, but you can't ban fighting, it's part of the game. It's a contact sport, and a violent one at that, and it's just the risk you take. Sanderson's own father doesn't want to ban fighting and it hits him and his family the hardest. I don't like Don Cherry, but you can't take fighting out of hockey. Sorry, it will always be there. I'm done...GO CAPS!!!

What did Don Cherry say?

i would never want to ban fighting, but don cherry sucks at life

Hockey without fighting... Anyone seen the Slapshot sequel? Don't, if you haven't, but for those who have. *shudders* Its like the Icecapades. Or the All-Star Game.

i actually have seen slapshot 2 with stephen baldwin, terrible just terrible

He went off on writers and people in the press who don't know hockey, and think that anyone that plays hockey is a meatstick thug because of the fighting. You might as well take away hitting; people might get hurt...

_stevo, then you know exactly what kind of hockey I'm talking about. Its the fear of every hockey fan.

Don Cherry is right though...I don't like the guy, but you can't ban fighting, it's part of the game. It's a contact sport, and a violent one at that, and it's just the risk you take.

I'd agree with him a little more if he didn't, you know, get on the soapbox at the kid's funeral.

exactly

Anybody else surprised Alex didn't wave at the goal cam?

jmu: I was half expecting to see that gap-toothed grin!

Bears update: End of the second-- Bears leading 3-2. Goals by Perreault, Giroux, and Wilson. Machesney in goal.

Agreed, 117. It's not what he said it's how he says it. I mean he sounds like he's trying to drive fans away. It's like, "We know what we're doing, and if you're not in our club then shut up and take a hike hoser." A-hole.

Semin! Welcome back! :)

semin = dirty dog

tess, haha, yeah, same here. Thanks for the update. Let's go Bears!

Whatever, Cherry is a d-bag but the guy knows hockey. Most fans that don't really understand hockey and "the code" see those comments by writers that think fighting should be banned and it gives the NHL really bad press. It was really unfortunate what happened, and I do agree that Cherry was insensitive, but I agree with everything that a-hole said.

Collins not having his best night.

How in the world is that diving?!!!

That's dumb. If it's a hook, how is it a dive? If it's a dive, how is it a hook?

This is gonna be 2-2 real soon with all these dumb penalties.

Johnny looks good.

"Kyle" Alzner. Man, I'm starting to really dislike Canadians.

one thing i noticed in the last game in montreal is that they have the seamless glass behind the net. with all the talk of head injuries, etc, i think the league should ban that behind the net in the high impact zone. stuff has no give. just listen to the sound of the puck when it hits it.

I'm digging that redhead sitting behind Boudreau.

Well, Semin seems to be showing the Montreal fans first hand why they should've made him an allstar.

And OV did embellish that. I'm betting it's a hook and only a hook if he didn't jump like he did.

This is why we miss Poti.

that was a bs penalty and goal

The Montreal fans elected this officiating team online.

Good freakin Lord. Ugh.

Ugh. Well, there's still 17+ minutes left...

"The Montreal fans elected this officiating team online."

Hilarious

whyy do we have to take so many stupid penalties??

Blech.

I could see that coming. BAD blatant penalties will kill you against Montreal. We need a point to send Boudreau to the All-Star game; I say the Caps play for that.

HUGE!!!

reesem37, FLASH! Screw that, let's stick with two points.

Beauty,

welcome back mr. flash

woohhooo

SON OF A BISCUIT. Okay, there's still fifteen minutes left.

Agghh!

haha...

This is like a 3rd period from some other game...Im checkin my remote...somethins not right

idiots

Fehr sucks!!!!

Nice back check Fehr!

bruce is going to have a field day after this

Bears update:
6:29 left in the third, tied 4-4

plenty of time to tie up!!! come on boys!!

PP!!

This just in...we arent used to being good...teams are coming at us like never before... our record says we have rarely if ever been this good...coaches need to coach, players need to play

Hahahahaha

Jurcina from behind the blue line and Halac winced in pain afterward. The ref even went over to see if he was alright...

Let's go boys! Do it on this PP!

WOOOHOOOOO

Nyls standing in front!!! F Yeah!!!

YESS!!!

can we insert theo for the shootout???

Nylander, of all people, in front of the goal. What are the odds of that ever happening again?

Good job Mats. That's what we were missing last night!

Correction: Good job Michael!

Traffic in front of the net?! Goal as a result of it? What a concept!

........ *sigh*

holy son of a biscuit :(

les hab e taunt

Johnson better be sitting for a while now. An awful game by him really.

could this game have been more painful?

this one hurts

Come on.

Lovely from all around

Well, at least Bruce will have a nice vacation

last two games, Alz and Juice combo has been victimized

lets hope johnson takes awhile on the bench

Well that fing sucked

Way to go Johnny and Juice. Hell of a game boys....

You know, it might not be a terrible thing for Karl to head back to Hershey for a little while. He's been terrible the last two games.

Well that was super-frustrating. Hopefully they'll give us a better result on Tuesday against Edmonton.

*sigh*

What a joke

Hope that corrects all the "Alzner is God and make Juice look awesome" talk. Two game in a row where they each looked bad.

just saw the replay, Johnson lookin at that last one like...."I hope that one goes wide, cuz im not savin it"

how is johnson not ready for that? 21 seconds left and you are in freakin lala land

Oh well fitting that Ovechkin will be the only representative at the All-Star game. Very disappointing that we couldn't pick up atleast a point there. Whenever I hear that Ole Ole Ole chant I feel like I should be watching a soccer game.

I realize they were playing their 2nd game in 2 nights on the road, but to give up 4 goals on 8 shots is inexcusable.

Terrible loss for so, so many reasons. Caps are still a little too loose in the neutral zone and in their own end. That late goal is absolutely demoralizing. Caps, in all honesty, haven't really looked great in their last five or so games, including the Tampa game, which they won. They need to tighten up a little bit. Good thing they have a couple of days off before their next one. Good time for some rest and regrouping.

Defense in this game was waaaay to loose.

Yes, I think Johnny has had better nights. But the D was pretty awful too.

Bears update: Final-- Albany wins 6-4.

Is Bruce trying to send a message about Alz?

Now I know how it feels to be rap*d by a Zebra. Someone please explain to me why the "hooking" call was made against Sloan on the PK?

I'm angry right now.

True, Jurcina has been awful for two straight, and Johnson AGAIN gives up a ton of goals. He should've stopped three of those five tonight.

Johnson simply HAS TO make that save. TOTALLY INEXCUSABLE....

@CDon

Dude..totally agree with you...very loosy goosy hockey and defense over the past 5-6. No me gusta. They need to get there ship in order. For those that say we won some of those is ignoring that there have been problems creeping in recently.

There's no way Johnny could've known when or from where that shot was coming. It came out from a pair of sticks and two pairs of legs, one pair of which was revolving around the puck. Give him a break.

Awww, the Caps lost, "terrible" loss... haha! Are you all the same people that emailed Ted after last night's loss and told him to trade this player and trade that player. They were do to lose, that's the way it goes. Relax - the Caps are still 10 points ahead of Carolina. They didn't look good against Tampa??? They dominated and then played like sauce after they were up 3-0 thinking it would be an easy win. The Caps were due for a couple of losses... that's just the way it is. Stop crying about it and trying to find a solution like you know or think there is a problem.

Exactly, ralCapsFan. They've been getting some wins, but they haven't been quality wins. Not the dominating kind of hockey we had been seeing. The wins against Tampa and Philly were particularly bad. This team has some holes it needs to plug. They've played great hockey over the majority of the season, but there are still some issues they need to correct if they want to be Cup contenders. I think it's time, first of all, to make Theodore the primary goaltender and let him play his way out of a job.

Actually, I'm going to step up and say that Johnson should have been pulled after goal #4 by Montreal. Sure, it was a give away which led to a great look, but Johnson over committed and was out of position on the shot. He actually was over-committing all game. Given that goal 3 happened on a bad rebound, that he let a softie in on the 1st goal, and that we'd just lost the momentum again, Boudreau should give Johnson the hook.

Our goalies are streaky, which is a positive if we get on the right end of a streaky goalie in the playoffs. Johnny just needs to get hot like Theo has been recently.

How many of you would like to see a healthy version of Feds back on the blue line?

i know that bruce has decided to go w/ the "hot hand" but i think i would rather have johnny play yesterday and jose today.
he hadn't played since 1/1. *sigh
also, doesn't montreal have ENOUGH people at the ASG already?!

I think it's ignorant to look at this team's last few games and not think there are some holes to plug. Yes, the Caps dominated that Tampa game early, but what happened after that. They got loose and gave up bad goals. And guess what? Great teams don't loosen up that much and let bad ones creep back in. This team will win the Southeast, and it may finish second or first in the East. I think they're that good. But they have some things they need to fix. Will they do it? I absolutely think so. But we have to realize there are a couple of things they can correct.

Well the points....
Caps:57
Habs:56
Philly:55
They need to start looking behind them

Raber, agreed. Johnson was overcommitting most of the night. That Lang goal is another example, although, it's hard to stop a 5-on-3.

i would rather see poti or erskine over feds on the blue line

I imagine getting Erskine back will the give the Caps something of a boost.

Like the rest of you, I'm really hoping for Poti to return--sometime before March.

Is Detroit a great team? Pitt came back from 3 goals in the 3rd period to win the game in OT. All I am saying is... YOU CANT WIN THEM all. all of a sudden, the Caps lose two and then there are problems. Where were you commenting when the Caps were winning and their 'holes'. Bottom line, there is nothing any of the fans can do about it. You just have to let them play, be supportive and see what happens. For people to complain about everything or anything that goes wrong is ridiculous.

The Caps are still in great position and I don't think that there's much to be worried about. They are gonna win their division, ad just need to get it right come play-off time. Right now, the Caps really miss Poti, even if Pothier made it back this year he'd be a tremendous help. If they start reelin' off bad losses near the end of the season, that's when you should start to worry. Caps need to rest up and put this weekend behind them, and above all, get healthy.

I don't know how much Erskine helps, really. He's pretty slow footed. But I guess he'd be better than Collins or Sloan out there.

I say little rest, more work during the all-star break. Even in our victories we havent looked right for weeks.

828: I guess you are right about the Caps being due for a couple of losses. It just sucks that it had to be against a team we have beat so many times, especially on the heels of another loss. Goaltending and D were weak. At least Semin is back and Nyls is waking up.

BRUCE IS PISSED!!!

BB looks pissed! "Dumb hockey!" Juice...hope you're listening buddy.

ludeman95: Yeah, they need to start looking behind them. At the same time, Carolina is 10 points back, so they're only going to drop to 3rd when those teams catch up. On the even brighter side, Montreal is going to have to play Boston a bunch and the Flyers are going to have to play the Rangers and Devils a bunch.

We're still in good shape in the standings.

_828, when the Caps were winning, I was seeing some great hockey with some of the same problems. They just weren't as pronounced. (By the way, comparing Pittsburgh to Tampa isn't sufficient.) I still don't understand why we should think this Caps team is flawless. Every team has weaknesses, and all of them attempt to correct those holes. Nothing wrong with acknowledging that and working to get better at it. I'll support the team through thick and thin (always have), but I think the argument that we can't be critical is absolutely ridiculous. This is a top four team in the Eastern Conference, no doubt about it. I'd like it to be the No. 1 team, and I think it can with a few corrections to some problems. So sue me for thinking this team can be better.

The good news about all of this is the Caps still maintain a 10 point lead in the division. Let's see what Boudreau has up his sleeve for Edmonton.

I think Boudreau needs to put someone on the 1st PP unit who will go to the net. (Nylander doesn't count.) I don't think it's a coincidence that the PP is struggling now that Semin is back. Too many fancy pants out there, no one giving the goalie a hard time.

that game showed why the western conference is winning the all stanley cups lately

Have not looked right for weeks? 18 wins out of 20 games... against professional teams? Yeah man, they suck... 18 wins out of 22 games - losers!

spacecadetkid, I was thinking after last night's bad PP showing that giving a Clark another chance on the unit might be worth it. Plant him in front of the goalie and see if he can't redirect some shots into the net. That might get this PP moving again.

If I had house money--and no cap concerns--I would add an agitator to the shopping list.

@Terptwin

Hope you're kidding. The lumberjack (Erskine) is slow as molasses. For those saying "We will win our division"...Get real...as the Caps shirts say "Good is not good enough" and a division win is NOT what this team is looking for. Good consistent hockey (like Detroit) starts during the season and not in playoff time. Get real....we want MORE!

CDon,
Okay CDon... who said this team isn't flawless? Until people realize there are a bunch of 20 year olds out there playing hockey... and they will make mistakes... let me rephrase that - they will make mistakes. I accept that. I am proud of the team I root for and will pull for them against any competition. I'm not happy about the loss, but I ain't crying either. The Caps are still in a good position. I'm not going to cry about it, nor am I going to find solutions to why some of these young guys are messing up from time to time. That's not my job, that's not what I get paid for. So, until they start sending me paychecks, I'm just going to continue to support my team no matter what happens.

That game made me sick.

@spacecadetkid

Missing the point dude. There is more to just the Ws and Ls which you don't seem to accept.

@_828

...totally missing the point buddy. I get it though, tough losses, Im mad too.

said it yesterday and I will say it again today: Jurcina sucks! He needs to be replaced....... by anyone. Call a rook up from the Bears and let them sweat it out. Anybody is better than that clown!

@_828

With this quote "nor am I going to find solutions to why some of these young guys are messing up from time to time. That's not my job, that's not what I get paid for."

Why are you upset about fans input on what they see as how they can fix "the messing ups".

Believe me....we ALL want the team to improve and succeed!!!!

Also, I agree with Raber that "Our goalies are streaky." I just don't think that Johnson can get "hot like Theo has been recently." He has more limitations. We have two streaky goalies with one occassionally achieving bursts of "excellence"
at the right end of the streak, and the other starting to show periods of "brilliance."

I'm salivating at the prospect of a veteran defenseman more than ever. I already have trade deadline jitters.

ralCapsFan,
I guess I just don't see the point to complain... I'm not a complainer. I am a realist. But, that is just the world we live in. People want to talk about the bad things and never talk about the good. Hence why this board bounces when the Caps lose. Here is one of my fav quotes from this board: Some of the people here remind me of how my wife watches hockey.

She gets upset if we don't spend all 60 min in the offensive zone. Attempted shots against us drive her nuts, and any shot of ours that's not a goal is a complete failure.

Now, don't get me wrong, I want the team to succeed like no other, however, I know they are not going to win every game, I know they will lose some games. The Caps are still in a good position and they are a threat. But, there are a bunch of youngsters out there that are not going to be flawless - it takes time.

Rule number 1 of playing D - PLAY THE MAN, NOT THE PUCK!

Oi, well that loss sucked. Could be worse though. I'm frustrated but not worried.

@nicko

Have been wishing for that #3/4 solid Dman since last summer...GMGM you listening?!

So we lost, again, because of our defense.
The one thing that remains constant, ironically some of our lower goals against games have been with more Hershey players up because they commit to the system and play safe.
26, 23, 4, 55, are routinely the weaker links. BB made a comment after the game saying dumb hockey doesn't win championships. Alzner buys into the system and doesn't play stupid hockey (look at all the ice time BB is throwing at him).

Yes Johnny should have made a couple more saves, but the D lost the game tonight.

new line proposal for Edmonton

8-19-14
25-91-28
17-39-21
87-15-10 (if gordo is able to play)

Thoughts?

D is what it is unless it's March 4th and we find out some news that something has changed.

_828, I'm happy to talk about everything that's great about this team. But why is that you can talk about all the good things, but no one else can comment on what ails it? Sounds like a double standard.

@_828

Dude...thanks for the constructive feedback...Don't totally disagree. Please consider me 'venting' :) My buddy reminds me here and again that, correct, we will not win all the games. I totally agree. The defeats where where we could have won and where we see the consistent deficiencies are the ones that worry me that I hope the team corrects. Hence my comment on getting a solid #3/4 Dman which every hockey person agrees this team needs. Thanks for the good post.

_828: I agree with your comments about the fact that we're going to lose games. Yesterday's was a great example of a game we should have lost. Those are the games that teams like San Jose lose. Run into a hot goalie with a team that's got something to prove and you'll have a tough time.

Tonight was not a game where they beat us. We beat ourselves by playing sloppy D, not getting the goaltending we needed, and taking dumb penalties. Those are the games that teams like San Jose do not lose because they don't break down the way we did in the third period.

Not getting a point tonight is inexcusable. We're not in a bad spot in the standings, but that doesn't mean we get a free pass to play a game like tonight's.

@ejohnsto

Please have Juice read your post please...rule #1 of hockey which he (even his limitations have been limited by his pairing with Karl are still apparent) does not know!

It's not the end of the world. And that's all I'm going to say tonight, because I am exhausted, and I want to go sleep now, before I relapse my stupid head cold, or it turns into something worse.

'Night folks.

The D is what lost the game. The D should be more concerned with taking the opponents offensive stars out of the game, instead of playing the puck and scoring goals (Green). If you take out the other teams offense, the scoring threat is lowered significantly. But whatever, they're pros and I'm not. Just a disappointing loss with lame penalties and weak D. GO CAPS!

CDon, guess I feel that people know that there are a bunch of young guys out there that will make mistakes. When they become veterans, then I can see people yelling at them. But, they are young and have done a great job out there. We lose two in a row and it's off with his head? How fair is that? As for the Caps dominating Tampa... well, last time I checked, Tampa Bay is a professional team. Anyone can win at any given moment. That's just the way it is. Look at the football game tonight. The score should be reversed, but Arizona is beating up the better team. But, if you feel the need to bash players or bash the team that is off to their best start in franchise history, then have at it!

That was a terrible game for Jurcina.

I also hope that Collins gets sent down, too.

i'm glad that we saw some vintage Semin, though.

Awful game defensively.

And Johnny's got to have goal # 4 -- he could see it, and it was a slap shot. Should have had it.

But oh well.

@_828

Dude...obviously with your last post you are missing the entire point. Good luck with the legos (watch out though, they do fall sometimes and you when you want to improve the wall...oh...never mind, I forgot).

haha, vent away! And yes, I agree, we should have got a point. Johnson probably should have made that stop and Juice should have played the man, not the puck. But, it's over... who knows, maybe I try to bring hope or try to justify the loss, who knows. I'm not too worried about it. Pens lost, Carolina lost, so today wasn't all that bad. Time to move on and let BB do his thing. I also try not to touch thing things I cannot control and right now, I can't control how the Caps play or whether they win or lose. Montreal isn't exactly a soft team and at the end of the day, we are still ahead of them in the standings.

@DrinkingPartner

Totally agree...Collins = Hershey

Just disappointing man. That's all. And it's probably magnified since I was at the game last night, and was looking forward to the game tonight to help erase my memory of last nights shutout. I agree we're still in good standing and am glad that Carolina and pitt lost. The only thing that matters is we get to the playoffs (and hopefully make it past the first round). Anything else is icing on the cake.

GO CAPS!

@_828

We are all hoping and rooting the boys on but...is this team PERFECT in your view to try to win the Stanley Cup? Can we improve? That is the point of some of the posts...as someone who has been a Caps fan for a long time...we want to go farther than before...Stanley Cup!

To all those people saying the defense was awful: I saw our defense clear the puck from the crease more often tonight than in the last few games. There were very few rebounds for Montreal to latch on to. That's progress.

And a game that's lost with 22 seconds left to go is not a bad loss. We played a lot better tonight than last night. But that's almost expected - we play better against more offensively minded teams.

As for Ovi diving: remember the cut he got on his face during the PP in the first period - the one that led to the short handed goal? He was looking around for the call when Plekanec took off down the ice with the puck. He probably felt the refs owed him one.

Brutal ending to a great game...
Did anyone see Semin climbing on Ovechkin's back? Hilarious.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGioYfPpnmg

I hate losing and I hate losing like that...but the Caps will bounce back and learn from this game.

Yeah, CBC showed the video clip. The announcer was saying how BB would go crazy if he could see his players taking such chances.

Did anyone see BB with his face in his hands after the goal at 19:38? I don't think he was thinking of the missed trip to the All Star Game ...

yeah that sucked. at the end of the week we beat the rangers and philly, so its still a good week in my book.

loved Semin's 2nd and flash's goals. Bradley with the setup?? that guy has bricks for hands...

Ovie's diving call was ridiculous - similar to Komisarek getting into the all star game over Green.

bottom line, we'll own the habs in a 7 game series.

Gaack. Long nights for Jurcina and Collins in particular. Johnny looked like a backup.
Anyone else think Caps are gonna drill the Oilers on Tuesday?