Tonight's Lineup: Caps at Flyers

makes perfect sense to start Varlamov. it will be intense and rowdy. let's see how the kid responds. i say 4-2 caps.

Varly will be great - and, with Schultz out there, he'll most likely need to be.

It's going to be painful to watch our third defensing line trying to play hockey - man that's the worse possible defensive pair that I can imagine.Let the force be with Varly!

Seriously - talk about throwing Varly to the wolves!

Posted by: govtimbo

Seriously - talk about throwing Varly to the wolves!

------------------------
If he survived being thrown in to the Playoff last season. This just pales in comparison.

the key to games like this are the skill players for each team - the top lines etc. The grinders and checkers will always play their parts well. When you play tough teams in tough buildings, your skill players need to perform with more of a "grinder" mentality. I don't want to read in tomorrow's paper "we were too cute, we have to stop being so cute" etc. In games like this, our skill players sometimes tend to wander off and fancy it up too much.

Last I heard, Jurcina did well during the playoff run, actually using his size to lay some smackdown on the ice. You people have such short-term memories. Jurcina will be fine. It's Schultz that appears to have something to prove.

Would you guys give it a rest.

Umm does anyone know where I can watch the game on the net since I am still at work and I only have Directv here

Give it a rest indeed. Jurcina has been juicing opposing players right and left and making smart defensive plays, while Sarge too showed his size and skills throughout the pre-season. If that Caps play team D like they did in the first 5 periods of the season they will be just fine. I'm looking forward to seeing this pair in action.

[sarcasm] why is Nylander scratched? [/sarcasm]

does anyone know where I can watch the game on the net since I am still at work and I only have Directv here

@ hockeyfarmer and every other caps or hockey fan

www.adthe.net best free online source for hockey games. until it's get sued by the NHL like last yr, it will have every game, I LOVE IT!!!

Philly's line-up tonight (from http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/frequentflyers/Knuble_Returns_Tonights_Lineup.html)

As always, lines subject to change (note the scratches)...

Forwards:
Hartnell-Carter-Briere
Pyorala-Richards-Gagne
Van Riemsdyk-Giroux-Powe
Carcillo-Betts-Laperriere

Defense:
Pronger-Carle
Timonen-Coburn
Parent-Syvret

Starting goalie:
Emery

Scratched: Cote, Asham . (Both healthy)

Also, Center Ice free preview is still going. Leafs/Sens and Lightning/Canes @ 7pm, Habs/Flames and Ducks/Wild @ 9pm, Stars/Oilers @ 9:30, and Sharks/Kings @ 10:30

Oops, no feed for Lightning/Canes. Woulda liked to have taped that one to see how our divisional rivals are looking so far. Ahh well...

honestly im most nervous about this game bc its philly's home opener... LETS GO CAPS!

LEAVE NYLANDER

I hate being stuck in class and only seeing the nhl stats, but only one shot on goal in an early powerplay, not crazy about that. How did it look?

F*** Laperierre!!!!!!!!!

nice job brads answering the bell against a much better fighter

honestly i dont like how its looking so far... philly looks more in charge and their D are really swarming us. then again we are about to have our second power play so lets see if we can capitalize!!

and im quickly reminded why i hate philly so much, they always seem to just be playing to injure

that was a BS call

BS...our last two penalties (ovi Sat, now clarkie today) are goaltender interference. Both times they were pushed into the opposing goaltender. You knew a call was coming for Philly. BS.

Live blog of the game over on Hockeybuzz:

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Eklund/COVER-IT-LIVE-BLOG-FROM-THE-FLYERSCAPS/1/23465

Need some Caps fans on there! Just give a screenname and you can comment!

yea but thankfully our pk is off the hook, even tho philly seems to be dominating (IMO) caps did a great job shutting them down

Nice kill. Looked a little too easy. How sick was Ovi's last rush?

Philly dominating? IMO the puck has been in the Flyers zone much more. It's there as I type, about a minute straight. So long the Caps just drew a penalty.

another power play.... good past couple mins with lots of scoring chances...

I hate how good the Flyers are this year. :(

i would say philly has been better the past 10-15 mins... caps are waking up now. at first we were just chasing them and getting trapped on the wall

mrszilla: Kind of surprised you are saying Philly is dominating. They only sustained pressure they had in the Caps zone was on their PP. Otherwise it has been a quick rush, a shot, and an effective breakout by the Caps. If not for Emery it would be 1 or 2 nothing right now.

Game is pretty evenly matched so far, but Flyers will eventually be made to pay for their lack of discipline.

3 pp's and no goals, i hope the Caps are due to get one past emery
then again, philthy may be do another pp

Gotta do a dump and chase on the PP from now on. Not going to be able to walk the puck in against this PK.

@MetalCapsFan

Sure hope so (in Flyers paying for lack of discipline).

14 shots on goal, not bad

haha Caps and Flyers fans united in their hatred for Crosby over on the Hockeybuzz live blog

I was wondering what that goaltender interference call was. Apparently it was Emery punching Clark in the back of the head. Next time duck so you don't get a penalty Clarkie!

Laich donked that stuff off the great feed from Semin on the 1st PP. Can't score them all. 2nd and 3rd lines were dominating in the Philly zone. Sorry but it hasn't been Philly that's had the run of play after the first few minutes. Drew 2 penalties from sustained pressure, and a stupid one on whoever thought he was Roy Williams and horse-collared Green.

I love how we go with goalie interference penalties. I won't argue almost any of our stick infractions because we are very bad at being disciplined as far as those go but the calls we get for "goalie interference" are a thing of wonder.

VS crew just played the Clark penalty clip and said by the way, this is not goaltender interference. At least we know we're not watching the game through red colored glasses.

fanohock1 - I agree. I think our D is doing pretty well back there. Philly is getting a chance or two but our boys seem to be hopping on the puck fairly quickly and sending it the other way. Not much sustained pressure by them.

Nylander says today in a Swedish newspaper that he has no plans to play in Russia. And he plans to play in NHL some more years.

http://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/hockeybladet/internationellt/nhl/article5915677.ab

Varly a little out of position and a nice feed

green can't take that penalty

ovieeee! :]

YEAH OVIE

There we go. Nice interception in the neutral zone. We have to stop taking penalties.

I would say we have started picking up but compared to toronto the flyers are wayyyy better at shutting down our offense. im honestly not loving how we are playing... sorry guys, im usually not the pessimist here! hopefully the rest of the game will re-covert me to optimism :)

maybe im just tired from work haha

Nice work by gordo and stecks. This feels like a playoff game.

Erskine with a hand deflection goal. Pretty... :-/

OVIE is better than everyone

Disgusting

OVIE BABY!

Ovi is a monster. He got a piece of the outlet pass to even keep the puck in the zone. We are so lucky to have talented players like Ovi and Backs.

ovieeee! :]

This is getting rediculous. Should be interference on Van Reim...whatever. He was holding Jurcina off from getting to the puck so he team mate could get there first. BS call.

What a wacky period!

OV IS THE MAN!!!

The Phallers strike again.

how was that a penalty????

haha someone said I was a bit optimisitc to assume ovie, backie and semin could keep up the pace...hm...i think I was just right in m thinking. ovie and backie still red hot!

Living dangerously with all these penalties

refs are making the caps look like bad a$$es... goalie interference, fighting... we are goons all of a sudden :)

amazing goal!!!

HA! SOB line going cold!

The boys have lifted my spirits hahahaa

That move was disgusting. You don't see moves like that in pick-up at your local rink. That's why Ovi said Semin has the sickest hands in the league.

semin: "hey coburn"
coburn: "what"
semin: " tell me how my as* tastes"

OMG... if they call laich on that im going to scream

that is a freaking outrageous call. wow, just wow, that was terrible

another penalty?!?!

another goalie interference?

are you kidding me?

What is with these calls. That was a ridiculous goal by Semin.

I'm sure it's on Laich. Home ice advantage and all. Sorta like when clark hit the bottom of Emery's stick. or was it the other way around? :/

Ref fail.

C'mon now. How was that a penalty on Brooks?

>;[

That was total BS....Refs suck a** !!!!!!!!

bad call, varly has to save that

I am totally sick of all the penalties we are taking. All progress we make is wasted with each new penalty. I am very frustrated.

I HATE VERSUS DIRECT TV WHO EVER IS INVOLVED IN ME HAVING TO GAMECAST THIS GAME TONIGHT! GIVE ME SOME DEETS!!!!!!

i mean really. w. t. f.

Refs are making this game almost unwatchable. Let the teams play.

WTF !!!!!!!!!!!!!

PLEASE!

Whoa! What just happened. Can someone explain to me why Richards scored a second one?

varly.... come on now

i think we know who the starter is from now on

grrr these penalties are making me thirsty

one more BS penalty and I'm changing the channel.

Looks like lots of philthy head lice on the ice..

i guess the refs decided they didnt want to get stomped by the philly fans in they lost in the home opener...

Bad clear, bad glove by Varly. Call timeout and wake the boys up. No reason for this to turn into this kind of game.

I'm not goaltending expert, but I don't like the way Varlamov has looked tonight, and I wasn't particularly impressed against the Leafs. He's too aggressive and thus over pursues shots and angles, which leads the net wide open. And his puck handling skills haven't improved a lick since last year.

Last two goals are on Varly from what I saw. He didn't collapse on the PP goal and he misplayed a puck on the last goal.

Can't wait to hear Bruce's comments about those goalie-interference calls... particularly the one on Laich. What a game changer it was. Keep the faith, though - bring it Caps!!!

Varly better figure this out quick or he is going to be a flash in the pan. Last 4 starts he's had 3 - 3 goal periods, and now so far a 4 goal period. I told my son this preseason that I wouldn't be surprised that after the dust settled on this whole goaltender that Neuvirth would be our man two years from now. Varly has some deamons to exorcise right now or it's chocolate town for him.

12 penalities in the first 35 minutes of the game. The refs are making this a power play competition not a hockey game.

Richards' second goal deflected off Poti's skate.

jose....

man oh man. what a weird period.

Bye-bye Varly, hello Theo

Seriously, these penalties are killing me. Call the real ones please.

I hate it when I'm right. It should be 3-2 Caps except we needed to test our rookie.

seriously, call more penalties... what the F?!?

shocker another penalty

I hate it when I'm right. It should be 3-2 Caps except we needed to test our rookie.

Posted by: rovingbandit | October 6, 2009 8:37 PM | Report abuse

Everyone would say the same thing if jose was in goal this entire game...

OH AND ANOTHER PENALTY.

The refs seem to not be watching Philly at all. They were all over Liach on that faceoff to keep him from getting to the D and now give Philly their 8th PP??

Last two goals are on Varly from what I saw. He didn't collapse on the PP goal and he misplayed a puck on the last goal.

Posted by: CDon | October 6, 2009 8:34 PM | Report abuse

The last one, definitely, but the one before appeared to deflect off a skate in front. Good move pulling him, though. Varly's a talent, but he still has some work to do before he's ready to be the number 1 guy.

*would say the same thing about jose....ie people are never happy no matter whose in goal

Does Varly look weak? 4 goals in a period; it may be time to pull the kid

The 4th goal is really the only one you can blame Varly. The first one was a one timer on a great pass. The second on was a screen where his D didn't give him a line of sight and the third goal deflected off a skate.

Varly gets rattled easily. Saw that in Hershey last year. He needs to learn to control his head. That's one thing that impressed a lot of us in Hershey about Neuvy during the Calder Cup run. Kid has ice water in his veins...seemed like nothing unsettled him.

"He's too aggressive and thus over pursues shots and angle's"

It wasn't aggressiveness that cost him, but befuddlement. He just didn't expect that goal and hadn's yet recovered from the previous one. And this is what worries me about him. He seems to have a breaking point--not often but it can happen at critical points. I like everything else about his playing.

Even so, it was the multiple penalties that have cost us this far.

Actually, three of the four are on Varly, and all of them were on shots from Richards.

Caps appearing sloppy tonight with all these penalties. They need to get their heads back in this thing.

And you know, I never liked BB's reasoning for playing Varly tonight. I wondered about that when I read it. He played Varly to see how he'd react in a tough game in a hostile environment? I'd rather he play the guys who give the team the best chance to win. Maybe BB really thought that was Varly. If so, fine. But say that.

Seriously, a rebound right on the flyers stick? and you're going to say an experienced goalie would do that?

CDon +1

Agreed. The penalties need to stop. The two goalie interference calls were ridiculous.

The refs obviously want some camera time tonight. Lots of borderline calls against both teams. Guess these guys aren't the "let 'em play" types. Joke.

Varly gets rattled easily. Saw that in Hershey last year. He needs to learn to control his head.

Posted by: tess2201 | October 6, 2009 8:41 PM | Report abuse

Hopefully, that will change with experience and maturity. If it doesn't, we've still got Neuwirth.

CDon how do you put three of them on Varly? Have you ever played goalie? He did everything right on the first goal. He was out chalenging the shot and got beat by a pass to an open player at the goal line who made a great shot. The third goal went off a skate in front or else Varly would have had it. He had no time to react to it going off his own guys foot. The final goal is on him.

@caraveli

I do think a problem is his over aggressiveness. We've seen him take extreme angles to pucks and then leave the entire net open as a result, making it difficult for him to recover. A lot of his 10-bell saves a result of him recovering just in time. The first Richards goal is an example. He took an extreme angle on the Flyer at the point, then dropped to make a save, even though the pass went to Richards on the other side. I know he was respecting the slapper from the top, but when he realized it was a pass, he didn't push, he seemed to stand up, scramble and then slide over.

Varly disappointed me tonight, but I'm more aggravated by the penalties. Not sure where some of their heads are at tonight, although I do think two or three of those calls were pretty poor.

Easy on Varly. All it took were a few stellar playoff games last year and he was a god. A couple of weak periods this year and the judgements begin. Look at Emery - some call him a head-case but he got off to 2 good wins and the pre-game talk was that he is in for a 40 win season. How can anybody be so certain with so few games in the books.

Alls im saying is people on this board hate it when Varly gets the start. And when Jose gets the start. You gotta have one and if you have three goalies fighting for two spots (assuming Neuvy is still on their radar) putting the kid into an early tough away game to test him out might actually be smart if you are looking at the season as a whole...

@fanohock1

On the penalty on Brooks.. they've apparently changed the rules this year on goal tender interference. If a guy crashes into the goal tender (whether accidentally or on purpose), it's an automatic penalty. Ovi was gotten by that rule in Game 1.

The first goal Varly dropped down to stop a shot that was actually a pass. He overcommited to the shooter.

@icehammer

Something seemed off in his technique on the first goal he allowed. Maybe I'm wrong. I'll readily admit that. Just something I saw. Third goal was a worm burner to begin with, and it didn't look like he was closing off the low shot at the start anyway. Again, maybe I'm wrong. Just my observation. He did seem to get rattled, though.

@mrszilla

Some of us have been consistent in saying Varly isn't ready and that's why we need Theo as the starter.

@fanohock1

On the penalty on Brooks.. they've apparently changed the rules this year on goal tender interference. If a guy crashes into the goal tender (whether accidentally or on purpose), it's an automatic penalty. Ovi was gotten by that rule in Game 1.

Posted by: CapsFan75 | October 6, 2009 8:48 PM | Report abuse

So they are supposed to sprout wings and fly over the goal? That's such a stupid rule..

Varly's out for the game. (I hope for the sake of us all, he won't be the next Jim Carey.)

Yes, I know it's early in the season but might Jose T. be our #1 Goalie by default. And then there will be a decision to make at the end of the season.

Neuwirth's injured at the moment.

My deal with the Caps goalies is that both concern me. My one criticism about this whole thing is how BB framed the reason for starting Varly. If he thinks Varly is going to give the team the best shot at a win, that's fine. Go with him. I'm not ready to make a decision about his future based on the last two games. But I do think there are some disconcerting signs that have shown up in the last two games plus a couple of preseason contests. Hey, Varly could turn out to be the No. 1 goaltender and play a steady brand of hockey the rest of the way. My whole thing was the reason behind starting Varly.

I think it was gamesmanship from BB, really. Wasn't Varly tested last season by starting playoff games in New York and Pittsburgh?

That was the single worst call in sports I have ever seen. Brooksie was clearly thrown into the goal. The puck was away from it, why in the hell would he throw himself into the goal!!! AND ITS CHANGED THE FREAKING GAME!!!

Oh, and yeah, those two goalie interference calls (against Clark and Laich) were pretty poor.

I thought Philthy was supposed to be the undisciplined team. Or at least they were in Period 1. And now they're perfectly disciplined and we're not!

If only we had scored on just one of our power plays in period 1. (BTW, is it time to rethink our power play units?)

Hey we are not playing against a bad team, give them credit for making the plays as opposed to just blaming a Cap.
Good game, but too many calls, although I think they are the product of two good teams going at it.
As for Varly. I think BB did well on replacing on him. Not because all the goals were his fault or weak ones, but because his confidence might suffer from it. In my opinion the only goal that I can maybe blame on Varly was the last one, that was because of a weak rebound.
I am waiting for another great period from both teams.

Semin's looking good in the early going this year. He seems stronger on the puck, and his goal tonight was beautiful.

IIRC Varly was the back-up to Nuevirth in Hersey last year. The reason he came up for the playoffs was Johnson's injury and the fact we wanted the best man in Hersey for a Championship there.

CapsFan75- You're joking, right?

@mrszilla

I agree with you. It's a stupid rule. My husband was yelling about it too.

Or as my husband says, maybe we should start pushing their guys into our goalie. Voila! Instant power play.

(Yes, it sounds counter intuitive and wrong.)

How do we grow wings, by the way?

Boudreau throws curveballs all the time. Nobody here knows his exact reasoning for his actions.

It'll be interesting to see the responses in here when Theo gets lit up at some point.

So far, Theodore has had one game against a Bruins team that couldn't even get more than 1 shot on goal in 5 PPs. He has yet to be tested.

@mrszilla

Some of us have been consistent in saying Varly isn't ready and that's why we need Theo as the starter.

Posted by: rovingbandit | October 6, 2009 8:50 PM | Report abuse

Wasnt saying you personally but i know a lot of people hate jose and think varly should be in. Personally I'm reserving final judgement until they both play more this season. Jose broke down last year, we've gotta see if he is consistent and the same goes for the kid...Plus Varly's only going to get more experience by playing

@gonchpup

What comment are you asking about in your "are you joking" comment?

The new goal tender interference rule which has bitten us twice this game (and once on Ovi in Boston)?

Or the fact that Theo may have earned the #1 goalie job by default?

@mrszilla

I agree with you. It's a stupid rule. My husband was yelling about it too.

Or as my husband says, maybe we should start pushing their guys into our goalie. Voila! Instant power play.

(Yes, it sounds counter intuitive and wrong.)

How do we grow wings, by the way?

Posted by: CapsFan75 | October 6, 2009 8:56 PM | Report abuse

Not sure about wings but maybe Cindy Crysby's diving coach can teach us some sweet swan dives to go over the goal..

rovingbandit,
Is that true? I can't imagine having the best player on the minor league when your team in the NHL has a chance for the Cup? Why not put the best man on the NHL?

I don't follow the Bears, and we do leave in Washington, a town that makes some crazy decisions on sports - reference JC and the Skins.

Hey we are not playing against a bad team, give them credit for making the plays as opposed to just blaming a Cap.
Good game, but too many calls, although I think they are the product of two good teams going at it.
As for Varly. I think BB did well on replacing on him. Not because all the goals were his fault or weak ones, but because his confidence might suffer from it. In my opinion the only goal that I can maybe blame on Varly was the last one, that was because of a weak rebound.
I am waiting for another great period from both teams.

Posted by: hock1 | October 6, 2009 8:53 PM

Agreed. Caps will still pull this out.

leave = live

another penalty????!

CapsFan75 - The comment about re-thinking our powerplay lines. We're only 0-3.....

another penalty shocker

I hope the kid (Varly) will be okay. Yes, the Flyers are a good team and this was a tough test.

I will worry more if Varly has a few more bad games in a row. Well, at least he's definitely better than Vesa Toskala.

We'll still make the playoffs, if for no other reason than the fact that there are so many incompetent teams in the Eastern Conference. (Look at the North Least Division, the South Least Division, and the New York Islanders for names.)

If the Caps are going to pull this out, they have to stay out of the box, esp. in Philly. You can't feed that super ugly crowd

Unfortunatly, our KLM line has shot blanks today. Shots off posts; etc. Yes, I call Knuble, Laich, and Morrison the KLM line. I can't think of a good acronym if I labled them from left to right (LMK).

ANOTHER PENALTY. by my scientific calculations if our pk wasnt redic amazing the score would be about 9-3

what..a Caps PP!!

You know, I would have also had confidence in a Caps' come back, except for the large number of penalties. This is their signature self-destruct mode, evidenced in the play offs. Things will be going well, as with Ovie's goals and Semin putting us ahead, and each time we will give away the advantage. This is so frustrating about this team. I also hope we don't have another goal-tending problem this year.

hey thatnks ref for realizing there are 2 teams taking penalties

Semin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SEMIN !!!!

yesssssssssssssssssssss

SEMIN!!!!!! The other alex.

never give up as long as ovie, semin and Baks play together.

Alex S, launches it!

I WANT WINGS!!!!!!!!!!! Wait, wrong arena...and I'm at home anyway. btw those wings I got after the home opener were good yummmmmmy!

glory, glory halleujuh

haha HOLY LASER BEAMS. Backstrom 3 points again, Ovie 3 points again, Semin 2 goals again. SOB LINE IS AMAZING!!!

yessssssssss

I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!

laich still needs 2 to stay on par with ov :)

Count it!

I think that the goal needs to be counted.

No "distinct kicking motion" goal should be good!

they keep saying that he was just stopping... not kicking... it should be a goal...

no kicking motion

yes yes yes yes

that should be a goal

yeah but the refs in this game......

Hey I'm not saying BMo didn't know what he was doing there, but there wasn't a distinct kicking motion. Philly may get the call though because it's their barn.

TominFL- I may have missed it but what are your thoughts of BMo? I think he's back and he's gonna have a great year. He's doing all the little things and goals and points will come.

stevo- hence my nerves..... the only hope really is the review in canada... not philly's call

Not the refscall. Refs on ice called goal

why is it not listed 5-4? on versus

GOAL!

GOAL !!!!

Goooooooal. They got it right.

Now time for Ovie to get his third of the night...come on Alex!

Morrison is looking like a very savvy signing. 2 goals so far :)

I love that Joe-Ted has been able to restore order for the Caps. He seems to be off to a great start this year...fingers crossed. It would be great if he could assert himself early this year as the #1 goalie.

Great tenacity from these guys all night. They've continued to play hard, and it's paid off in the third. It's always nice to know the Caps are never out of a game.

I think the biggest surprise of the season to this point is how well Theo is playing. I have to say I had ZERO confidence in him but wow he's been playing well. I just hope he can keep it up.

@gonch

Before the boys scored on the PP this period, I was ready for some tweaking of the lines. No, don't fire them. Just rearrange them a bit.

The KML line struck again! The go-ahead goal by Morrison

CDon - how right you are! I can remember many a Caps team not being able to hang in on games like this.

ohhhh come on!!!! "F-- me." No boyd, F the refs

Gordon couldn't have made that any easier for the ref to call. Bad penalty. Compounded by the fact that an important PKer is headed to the box.

another? who would have thought we would get more PIMS than philly

but yeah, that was pretty bad move by Boyd, dont do that in the flyers zone.

AHEM. Duh, Caps have penalty.

Bad penalty, and it cost us.

POTI IS KILLING US!!! STOP PUTTING HIM ON PK'S!!!

BB better tear these guys a new arse. The amount of penalties in this game is freaking unacceptable. Stop looking like a minor league team vs. a pro team. The fact that this game is tied is beyond me.

Here we go again, wasting our advantage with yet another penalty. I am switching channels.

Bozo Fartnell is a clown...He owes Poti for that one...

The freaking shots are even, even though the PPs are 9-4. How any of you can say this looks like a minor league team against a pro team is beyond me. You guys should change your name to Cheef. This is the Flyers home opener and we are right with them.

way to go Semin!!!! you earned that one!

great freakin pass

Theodore nearly handed the game away misplaying the puck behind the net.

Semin has been great tonight. Let's go, pp!

fanohock! -

Some of our fans are a bit weak at heart.

What a game! Great point for both teams!

@ Tmac

Yes but he did recover and keep the puck out...

Hey we got a point in a hostile environment. Starting OT on the PP. Remember that the Flyers had the lead coming into the 3rd. To come back on the road says a lot about this team. They have to work on their penalties, but dang it, these guys are good.

Come on gane, win in OT.

This game has been scary crazy.

Emery barley got his toe on that rebound off Ovechkin's shot. Otherwise, Laich spins and pots it off the backhand.

4 on 3. Lets go Caps!

ovie hat trick anyone? i dont care who scores, just as long as it is someone in white :)

So glad I had to watch this on a crappy Internet feed. Told my directv guy it's bye bye as soon as fios comes here

@rovingbandit

Theo has made a few nice saves. He's been tested.

Yes, he barely recovered on that one but he misplayed it badly initially.

I knew tonight would be a tough game to win regardless of how we played bc its a home opener with the flyers... but man what a game! I didn't like our start but there was a great rally! I feel like its a playoff game (including the massive amounts of penalties called!)

Bummer. Well, we got a point of it. Giving up too many goals. I am f'in sick and tired of watching Flyers celebrate. Especially a punk like Briere that was a non-factor up to that point. Oh well.

Damn! The only consolation is that we came away with 1 point.

Philly wins... not really happy with this game. Our two biggest weaknesses- defense and goaltending continue to be a problem. If not for Poti scoring for them we would've won 5-4 in regulation. This was a really badly played game and BB will NOT be happy.

Sloppy play in the defensive end there. Gotta clear the puck. Obviously.

And that fifth goal was on Poti. How many has he kicked in, knocked in or had carom off of him for goals while he's been a Cap. Not a great feeling after this one, and it's probably because the Caps took about 10 minors.

Poti and Erskine looked lost ....Oh well it's a point..Bring on the Rangers

3 goals for Poti, too bad it was for the other team. Oh well at least we got a point and SOB line was awesome. im ok with the OT loss

Sorry but IMO that was on Erskine. He played a pretty good game but why the heck he fell away and left Briere all alone is beyond me. Bad positioning. That sux.

What a game. Incredible energy from both teams. Joe B just said it's Briere's birthday--figures. Can't wait for the rematch at VC.

We've really got to stop taking so many penalties--they killed us tonight.

Theo played well. There were some bad bounces. We need to clear the puck out from in front of the net on first chances.

Too many penalties...

@fanohock1

Join the club. Well, I can say one nice thing about the Flyers. I like them a whole lot better than I like the Pens.

I never want to see the flyers celebrate ever again. Lets make them eat it when we play them in DC.

But still, great crazy game and a point.

Anyone else happy to get a point? We got outplayed tonight and had 10 penalties (some questionable).

Thank goodness for the first line tonight. I'm starting to expect scoring 5 goals a game now.

Caps blew that 4-on-3 PP, as well. Too much passing, and the one shot from OV at the end of the PP was ill advised. He, Green and Backstrom passed up shots earlier in that power play.

And yeah, Poti knocked in the Flyers fifth goal, but Gordon can't take a stupid holding penalty at that point in the game.

Poti is a smart player but it seems like his reaction time is slow.

@tmac2yao

That's the truth. Except we can't fire all our guys who get penalized.

@pokerfaceI208

on erskine...come on. it was a gift bounce, the real problem was poti not getting the puck out of the zone in the first place

Is Poti on the Flyers payroll? If not, they should, at least, give him a kick-back. Could that help us on the salary cap?

Recap: "and on the power play flyers make it back"
"and on the power play flyers make it back"

It seems to me that Varly is not ready. He's now given up 3 goals or more in periods in both of his starts, and also in the preseason...

And everytime Poti is out there he knocks in into his own net.. it brings back horrific memories, like Malkin celebrating last year...

Time for me to go make a Black Russian (with Swedish vodka) to celebrate the SOB line's game at least. GO CAPS!!!

@rachel216

You'll have to wait for Neuwirth to come back from being injured.

Wait, I thought since Erskine was aggressive, his defensive lapses and penalties were supposed to be excused?

Well at least we'll know who will start at Goal next game....Varly was definitely not ready...gave up some soft goals

fanohock1- Same. Once I saw they scored I immediatly closed the atdhe thingy. I absolutely CANNOT stand watching those losers celebrate. I hate them so much.

@mrszilla

I can actually think of one time where I would like to see the Flyers celebrate. On the day they eliminate the Penguins in either the regular season or in the playoffs. Yes, my depth of hatred for the Pens is that strong that I'll even root for Philthy against them.

That being said, we'll pay the Flyers back later this month when they come to OUR house.

Rachel:

"Our two biggest weaknesses- defense and goaltending continue to be a problem." I agree. And also undisciplined play that resulted in tons of penalties.

I am very disappointed. With all the goals we scored we could have easily won if it wasn't for the constant penalties that disrupted the tempo and gave the Flyers constant opportunities.

I am also disappointed in the goal-tending situation, especially Varlamov. I thought we had that taken care of.

9 minor penalties. Wow... it's amazing we walked away with 1 point. I'd say at least 2 of those penalties were bad calls.

I believe Theodore will be the starter on Thursday. (That was the plan but I'm sure that's definitely happening now.)

yeah well schultz record playing is 0-1

if thought erskine wasnt aggressive than you are a moron...i usually respect what you have to say section117 but take erskine out and you will see what he brings to the table

I'm blaming this one on the defense pairing of Poti and Erskine. On one goal, Erskine not only blocks Varly's view but waves at and misses the puck (as a beach volleyball player, nothing worse than ball going through front row player's arms when in back row); on another, deflects of Poti's skate; the 5-5 goal, Poti kicks it in; and the OT winner, both #3 and 4 have their backs turned as Briere flips it into an open net.

I love watching this team, but they need a top-level, defensive defenseman to get deep in the Playoffs.

varly seems to give up goals in bunches.. that is not good. i'd rather have neuvy instead. technically sound rather than athletic. varly seems to be out of position a lot lately.

but whatever, it's just one game we're still 2-0-1 with 5 points.

Maybe we'll get lucky and find a solution to the Nylander situation so we can upgrade our defense before the trade deadline.

@wocoliz

I don't feel much like celebrating tonight's game. Just relieved they got one point. Save your Black Russian (with Swedish vodka) for a game we win.

if thought erskine wasnt aggressive than you are a moron...i usually respect what you have to say section117 but take erskine out and you will see what he brings to the table

Posted by: _stevo | October 6, 2009 10:00 PM | Report abuse

Wait, Erskine plays his position and isn't on the ice for 5 Philly goals? I beg to differ...

I saw Neuvirth look like a scared cat at one point last season. Every goalie goes through stretches like this. Let's not overreact to relatively small sample sizes. Varlamov made a number of big saves tonight and against Toronto. He's also made some mistakes. Theodore will undoubtedly have some difficult times. So will Neuvirth.

I hate Cindy more than the Flyers but Pens vs. Flyers I really can't stand either and consider them equally evil. Have horrific memories of playoff heartbreakers with both... I'll only be happy when we knock both of them out of the playoffs.

Will Neuvy be ready next year? Or are we going to be faced with the dilemma of whether or not to sign Theodore again?

On the defense front, I'd say trade Poti. No, I'm not just saying it because of tonight. I figure he's our most tradable asset in D so we can clear some space for the kids in D. I'm figuring they (Alzner and Carlson) will be ready next year. Yes, Poti is a classy veteran. And, for that matter, so is Pothier, whose contract expires after this year. But we'll need to clear space for the kids.

try a -2 and to on the PK...not great but pretty sure 2+2 equals 4 not 5

not his best game i agree, but seriously you want to take him out against a team like philly? you jump all over the lumberjack i havent heard you say anything about poti. ps he wasnt the only person taking penalties this game.....

One more thing - that's the worst game I've ever seen Pronger play.

@tmac2yao

I was there for the game where Neuvy looked like a scared cat.

ps and to was supposed to be spelled two

i agree with a lot of the posts that we looked bad on defense and in goal. On the flip side pronger was also average in this game. Phily gave a lot to get him and the stud looked ok. Not the shut down guy we all wish we had

@Capsfan75, that's why the drink is to celebrate the SOB (or BOSs, as they just called it on the radio postgame show)line. They, at least, played well. I break out better drinks when the Caps actually win. :)

@mrszilla

Trust me. I don't particularly like the Flyers either. I consider them a lesser evil compared to the Pens. Other teams I strongly dislike. New York Rangers. And. if they ever got good again, the New York Islanders. The only thing I can think of that's worse than Crosby on the Pens is Crosby on the New York Rangers. Can you imagine the hype that would have happened if that were the case?

My take on Varly. Okay, that wasn't the case today. But generally, he seems to be good early and then seems to wilt as the game goes on. (Or that has been the case this year.)

His problems should hopefully be correctable with time.

@wocoliz

I call them the OBS line (as that's what they are from left to right.) I work on a contract for an office with code OBS so I like that name. The blog "Fear The Weagle" has called them that originally.

To me Cindy is the greatest evil, so kind of defacto whatever team he's on it probably the one i hate the most. But flyers jerseys hurt my brain and my heart.

and green on the ice for 28+ minutes is too much

Will Neuvy be ready next year? Or are we going to be faced with the dilemma of whether or not to sign Theodore again?
Posted by: CapsFan75 | October 6, 2009 10:06 PM
---------------------------
CapsFan75:
Last season Neuvy spent time in Washington, Hershey, S. Carolina, and Czech Republic. Once he settled into the job in Hershey he came up HUGE in the playoffs. This current injury (strained hip flexor) is supposedly mild and he'll be back on the ice soon. A full season in Hershey will go a long way toward getting him ready to step into the job in DC next season if not sooner.

BTW, is anyone here interested in Caps tickets for next week? My seat neighbor has some tickets available. We're near the top of the lower section, behind the goal.

I think we need to realize that John Erskine is not very good. He looks good against teams with less offensive talent such as Toronto but when he faces quality opponents he is below average.

He had 4 penalty minutes and also had 2 penalty taken away because the Flyers scored with the goalie pulled. Then Erskine had the awful defensive play at the end of the game. He is a physical defender but he is slow and tries to make up for it by grasping and holding which leads to penalties. Maybe BB should've benched Erskine instead of Pothier.

Poti played bad also but is still a better overall defender than Erskine since he can handle the puck.

@tess2201

I'm glad you're more up on Neuvy's injury situation than I am. I think he'll benefit from some time in Hershey and be a real stud next year.

He was great in the Calder Cup run.

@_stevo

Agreed. Green just hasn't looked as sharp this year so far. Or is it just my imagination? He seems to be fine at clearing the puck from the D-zone but seems "off" in receiving the passes in the Offensive zone and power play.

@sgm3

I figure Oisk will probably be one of the scratches when Sloan plays next.

I also think Oisk probably played instead of Pothier today since we need a strong physical guy on the ice and with Pothier's history of concussions...

Capsfan75:

I may be interested in those tickets...could you please email me with dates and price... (oleegoalee at hotmail dot com)

Thanks!

Go Caps!

@mrszilla

Yes, I hate the Pens worse. In the playoffs, I was winner of the Pens/Flyers series to be so banged up so they would have nothing left against the next opponent. I was rooting for the series to go 7 games. Pens winning in 6 did not take enough out of them.

As a consequence for tonight's game, the Caps should be made to study the highlights of the Pens series against the Flyers. So they can learn how to counter that team for next time.

Well, I can say one nice thing about the Flyers. I like them a whole lot better than I like the Pens.

Posted by: CapsFan75 | October 6, 2009 9:50 PM

i actually dislike both teams - but we have the same view - i dislike the pens more than i dislike the flyers