Capitals 2, Rangers 1

It wasn’t all that long ago that Jose Theodore was pulled in favor of a noticeably ill Brent Johnson after giving up three goals on five shots to the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. It was the eighth time in nine appearances Theodore had given up at least three goals, and with Johnson playing well it seemed Theodore was destined to be relegated to a backup role - not to mention to be labeled one of the offseason’s biggest busts.

If Johnson hadn’t been sick that evening Theodore probably wouldn’t have found his way back into the net, but Caps fans should be glad he did. Since then Theodore has played 280 minutes and conceded only seven goals, stopping 116 of the 123 shots he’s faced, putting up a 1.50 goals against average and a .943 save percentage, numbers reminiscent of the netminder’s 2001-02 Hart Trophy season. Obviously Theodore’s hot streak isn’t going to continue for the rest of the season but what he has done is show what he is capable of and in the process made goaltending look much less like the vulnerability many feared it would be on opening night. With Karl Alzner’s recall and Milan Jurcina’s subsequent resurgent play the defense has also been substantially upgraded, which begs the question, ‘Does this team have any major weakness, and if not, what’s to stop them from being a legitimate Stanley Cup contender?’

Quick Hits

• It’s good that Chris Clark is showing the tenacity and attitude that made him a captain and fan favorite…but getting KO’d by Wade Redden still has to be embarrassing.
• Speaking of fights, after seeing Alexander Semin without his pads on you’d have an awfully hard time convincing me he’s within fifteen pounds of the 205 he’s listed at - even if he actually is 6′2”.  Nice bling though.
• Speaking of Semin, it may have been my imagination but he looked a little less willing to get hit in his first game back from injury.  Given how he’s played in the past, that might not be a bad thing.
• Eric Fehr looks like he’s about 90% of the way towards being a twenty-goal, fifty-point power forward.  His 2009-10 could be analogous to Tomas Fleischmann’s 2008-09.
• Did Craig Laughlin really say the Capitals were “arguably” the best team in D.C.?  Just to recap, the Nationals have the first pick in next June’s draft, the Wizards are 6-25, the United were 11-15-4 last season, and the Redskins finished at .500.  If there’s an argument that the Caps aren’t the best team is town, I’d love to hear it.
• Speaking of Laughlin, has anyone else noticed that he thinks 80% of goals go in through the “seven hole”?
• A quick lesson in “careful what you wish for”: Saved By Zero may be gone but those NetStar-1 ads where the guy distorts his face while imitated are race car are definitely worse.
• How good is Alexander Ovechkin?  He had a goal, nine shots, and six hits and he didn’t really seem to be any better than most night.