No cool picture on this one (JP has that covered), just a bit of text:

Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Washington Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau captured the 2008 Jack Adams Award as the top coach in the league as voted by the NHL Broadcasters’ Association on Thursday.
Boudreau edged Montreal head coach Guy Carbonneau, 31 first-place votes to 24 and 208 points to 196.

He took over behind the Capitals’ bench on November 22 when Washington was 6-14-1 and at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. From there, he led the squad to a 37-17-7 mark and the Southeast Division title. Washington was seeded third and lost to Philadelphia in the first round of the playoffs.

By now many Capitals fans have undoubtedly heard of both Nicklas Backstrom’s place amongst Calder finalists and Alex Ovechkin’s place among Hart (MVP) finalists.

Today brought more accolades for members of the Capitals organization, as Coach Bruce Boudreau was announced as one of the finalists for the Jack Adams Award (coach of the year) and top prospect Karl Alzner laid claim to both the Western Hockey League’s Top Defenseman and Player of the Year honors.

The significance of Boudreau’s nomination can measured in part by his competition: the other finalists for the Adams Award are Mike Babcock (Detroit) and Guy Carbonneau (Montreal). Babcock’s Red Wings finished with 54 wings and 114 points, both tops in the NHL, and Carbonneau’s Canadiens finished with 104 points, the most in the East.

Alzner, the fifth overall pick in the 2007 Entry Draft, captained both the the WHL’s regular season Eastern Conference champion Calgary Hitmen and the gold medal winning Canadian team at the World Juniors tournament. Past winners of the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy (WHL MVP) include Cam Ward, Eric Fehr, Steve Konowalchuk, Joe Sakic and Jarome Iginla. Past winners of the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy (WHL’s best defenseman) include Dion Phaneuf, Brendan Witt, Jason Smith and Chris Phillips.

Capitals 2, Maple Leafs 3

It’s nice to beat the best team in the Conference in their own building, but it’s hard to feel too good or build too much momentum when you come back and lose to the 12th ranked ream in your own building.

Capitals fans are of course keenly aware of this and the wake has led to a lot of scapegoating. Here’s who’s being blamed:

Olaf Kolzig. Who knew Capitals fans were of such a “what have you done for me lately” variety? Kolzig has become the number one scapegoat for the team this season and while I think that he certainly has not played all that well he deserves better than what some fans want, including one who wanted him sent to the AHL in order to “make a statement” (note: for Kolzig to be sent to the AHL he would have to clear waivers, which is unlikely to happen. Kolzig, a class act for many, many years would likely be lost on waivers to essentially punish him for being human and having his skills decline with age and would simply be a classless act, and a P.R. disaster, for the organization). The numbers suggest Kolzig can’t play every night at his age - he put up save percentages of .860 or so in December and January when Bruce Boudreau was riding him heavily but had a .922 save percentage in February once Brent Johnson started to see more playing time. Kolzig is fine as a backup. As for last night - he wasn’t exactly a sieve but the Mats Sundin goal should have been stopped - a shot with no traffic and from that angle always should be.

Bruce Boudreau. I’ve seen more than one person suggest Boudreau should have started Cristobal Huet last night rather than Kolzig. That criticism has some merit, but given how Olie had been playing of late and the fact that the Caps were playing on back-to-back days, in different cities, it was not unreasonable to play Kolzig last night.

George McPhee. Huh? Yeah, doesn’t make enough sense, but I’ve seen people doing it, faulting McPhee for letting Kolzig play (not his decision), picking up Fedorov (who was fine) and failing to pick up a better defenseman at the trade deadline. I have to this: anyone who thinks McPhee is doing a poor job either (1) is taking their cues on the difficult of being a GM from a video game (2) is looking for reasons to be grumpy and be upset at McPhee because they’ve been scapegoating him for so long and/or (3) has no appreciation for how difficult it is to be a general manager in the NHL. I’m sure there are constructive arguments that can be made criticism McPhee’s ability as a GM…but I haven’t heard any yet.

Ted Leonsis. Another head-scratcher to me, but there are people faulting him for the fact that Olie got the start…because we all know it’d be better to have an over-involved Dan Snyder or Peter Angelos type owner, right?

Tomas Fleischmann and Alexander Semin both missed good chances last night.

Team Effort. This seem to be the go-to excuse any time a team loses a hockey game, but the fact that it’s the once Boudreau cited makes it carry a little more weight in my mind. Still, although I think the Capitals effort could have been better for portions of the second period, yet I don’t think it cost them the game.

The Powerplay. The Caps were 0-5 with the man advantage and it seemed like the Leafs actually gained momentum by taking penalties and killing them off.

That there are many suggested causes (scapegoats?) for this loss leads me to think it was a case of “just not enough”. The Capitals offense just couldn’t quite convert on their chances, the defense just couldn’t quite bottle the Leafs attack and Olaf Kolzig wasn’t quite good enough to pick up his teammates. No one was terrible, but a lot of guys were mediocre and when no one steps up and carries the team on their shoulders, that’s just not enough to win.

Coach Bruce Boudreau wasn’t pulling any punches when he talked to the media after the Caps 4-2 loss to Florida last night:

“I thought when we were up 2-1, we looked like we were controlling the game pretty well. But I thought [defenseman Mike Green] was very lackadaisical on the second goal…”

At the moment the quote of the day goes to Bruce Boudreau, who said of Tomas Fleischmann:

“His first year with me [he weighed] 170. This year he is 180. I would think he could be at 187 or 190 next year. If he can keep the same speed — and I do not think that will affect his mindset — I think it will only benefit him.

Fleischmann is listed by the Capitals at 192 pounds.

I know sports teams have a tendency/reputation to fudge guys heights and weights, but 12 pounds?

The Washington Post will be hosting a chat/live discussion with Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau on Thursday, February 7th at 1:30 PM. Link.

…or: The Capitals Better Win Tonight.

According to Tarik, Boudreau had this to say after last night’s game:

“I’ll find out about a lot of guys [tonight]. Is it a, ‘Hang my head, woe-is-me crowd,’ or a ‘Let’s be determined and turn it around again’” crowd?

Honestly, right now I think it’s the latter, with the way this team has been playing under Boudreau.

Either way, there’s no doubt the Capitals should win tonight. They’re better than Tampa, should come out hungry after last night’s Kolzig inflicted frustrating loss and Tampa is struggling with injuries.

Not too long ago I would have said a team would be fortunate to face the Capitals after a game they had last night because the Caps would likely be discouraged and frustrated and come out with an uneven effort. Now it’s just the opposite - I expect the Capitals to come out aggressive, focused and determined to get the two points they should have had last night.

…or: Why Mike Green Should be an All-Star

Capitals 6, Thrashers 3

“Wow, the Capitals working very hard here in the first period. They must have gotten a very strong message last night, even beyond Pothier sitting out.”

So said one of the Thrashers television commentators a little more than halfway through the first period, with the Capitals up 2-0 and buzzing around the Thrashers’ zone.

The first period in tonight’s game was the complete antithesis of the first period against New Jersey is almost every way - the Caps came out with a snarl, looked energized and aggressive, and finished the period with a two goal advantage. The most notable improvement was the forechecking, as the Capitals put pressure on the Thrashers’ players every time the puck was in their zone. Not only does aggressive forechecking yield the commonly talked-about advantages of wearing out the other team, keeping the puck out of your own zone and generating more scoring chances, it helps you to draw penalties as the opposition gets tired and frustrated, something that’s especially true in the post-lockout NHL. That Capitals saw that first hand tonight, drawing five penalties in the game’s first twenty-five minutes (one was waived off due to Schultz’s goal).

Why, why, why does it feel so good to beat the Thrashers? Their ugly uniforms? Their whiny, poutey, superstar who can’t control his temper (and who once grabbed Chris Clark by the facial protection Clark was wearing after breaking his palate bone and pulled)? Retribution against Don Waddell for ruining the U.S. Olympic team? Because I live in Atlanta? Whatever the reason, this was a very satisfying win.

One question I’m toying with is this: was the game closer than the score or not as close? On the one hand the Capitals controlled the play most of the game and the Thrashers’ last two goals came late enough that they weren’t really a threat. On the other hand the Capitals only outshot the Thrashers by one (27-26) and had at least one lucky goal (Ovechkin’s), one caused by the Thrashers’ player running over his own goalie (Pettinger’s) and one that where Kari Lehtonen just should have made the stop (Green’s second).

I’m inclined to say that the game really wasn’t quite as close as the score. Yes, Ovechkin and Pettinger scored goals that were at least somewhat lucky but they were also good plays by the Capitals. Plus, on the Thrashers’ last two goals Olaf Kolzig didn’t look too great - they weren’t scored as the result of the Capitals being clearly outplayed

That note brings me to another question mark: Kolzig’s inconsistent play in this game (one goal on eighteen shots through periods one and two; two goals on eight shots in the third). Early on Kolzig looked like a man on a mission, not surprising as his career success, veteran status and competitive nature probably meant he was upset about being called out by Boudreau, and hence indeed was a man on a mission. Still, those third period goals were pretty weak. Here’s hoping they were just the result of a 37-year-old playing on back-to-back nights getting tired in a game that was already decided.

All things considered, a stellar effort for the Caps and much of the credit must go to Coach Boudreau. This team could easily have shrugged off last night’s loss against the Devils as a decent game and the result of bad luck and come out flat again against Atlanta. Instead the team came out flying, playing like they were hell-bent on winning and, just as importantly, like they expected to win. Quite a change from the Hanlon days when the team looked like they were merely hoping to win.

SportsSouth aired a brief pre-game interview with Boudreau in between the first and second period. As part of it Boudreau said (this is a little paraphrasing):

We won’t accept mediocrity and we shouldn’t accept mediocrity. There might be guys who want to look at it as ‘oh, well we lost by one goal to New Jersey and we outshot them in the last two periods’ and think that’s enough. That’s not enough.

and then went on to talk about how what mattered was winning, essentially giving a roundabout explanation as to why there are no moral victories at this point for the Capitals.

Boudreau’s approach is quite refreshing after Hanlon’s. With Hanlon the impression was that if the Capitals came out and outshot the other team and were the better team for the last two periods it would be considered a successful night. There was nothing wrong with that approach initially; in fact it was the right one while the Capitals were more concerned with developing their young players than their win-loss record. The problem was that attitude had carried over into this season, where the emphasis is on the win-loss record. With Boudreau behind the bench it’s not going to be okay to play fifty-five good minutes out of sixty, and wins and losses are measured by the final score alone. Boudreau has said several times that it’s his job to prepare the team to the point where they think they will win every night. I can’t speak for the team, but his attitude has me believing they can pick up two points any and every time out…and unwilling to accept less.

DMG’s 3 Stars
(1) Mike Green - 2 goals, +3
(2) Nicklas Backstrom - 1 goal, 2 assists, +3
(3) Alexander Ovechkin - 1 goal, 1 assist, +3, 5 shots

Quick Hits

• The Caps first penalty of the game, to Erskine was painful for two reasons. First of all, what’s happening in this league when you can’t even hit a guy as the puck is getting to him? Secondly, if the refs had called intereference like that in Jersey on Friday the Caps would have spent 40% of the game on the powerplay.
• The wave at a Caps game? I can’t remember the last time I saw that!
• Garnet Exelby should have been called for kneeing Kozlov in the second period. It wasn’t intentional, but it was still a knee and needed to be called.
• Speaking of Excelby, he’s a tough one on the blue line. Imagine if Atlanta had him and Dion Phaneuf patrolling back there. Could have happened if Don Waddell hadn’t decided to pick Braydon Coburn with the eight overall pick, leaving Phaneuf for the Flames at #9.
• Speaking again of Excelby, how did he make it through the game without being beat down by Brashear?
• Man, from the goals he has scored it seems weird to me that Nicklas Backstrom was only shooting 5% coming into Saturday’s game.
• Three Capitals had three hits: Brashear, Erskine, Ovechkin and Jeff Shultz (!) (bet you didn’t see that one coming).
• The Thrashers’ announcers were pretty adamant Holik didn’t hit Matt Pettinger from behind, or even from the side, in the second. Didn’t look that way to me.
• Fantastic decision to pinch by Green on the play that led to his first goal.
• Does anyone get more excited when their teammates score than Alex Ovechkin?
• Marian Hossa had a very quiet night - I didn’t hear his name until 10:45 had gone in the third.
• Milan Jurcina had one play in the second where he cleared the net by putting a guy right on his butt and a big hit on Chris Thorburn (who drew a retaliatory penalty) in the third. Quite different from when Jurcina tried to explain a holding penalty by saying the Capitals wanted him to play physical. I guess he’s getting things figured out.
• I really wish John Erskine were a decent skater because it’s great to have his attitude in front of the net.
• Against New Jersey he was zipping around the ice, drew penalties and scored a nice goal. Against Atlanta he drew at least one more penalty, picked up an assist and broke Kari Lehtonen’s mask with a wrist shot. Alexander Semin looks like he’s finally back.
• And now for the unsung hero section - Quintin Laing. Late in the second the was not only tough around the net, he tried to goad Ilya Kovalchuk into a fight. Laing is the prototypical NHl fourth-liner: hustles every second he’s on the ice, fights for puck, blocks shots. At this point I’d like to see him in the lineup over Bradley if the Caps ever get healthy enough that they have to make that decision.

…or: Why the Caps Might Turn Things Around. Okay, maybe that’s not best title, but I really like those ‘or’ titles, you know? Like Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb.

Anyhow, per Tarik at Capitals Insider Brian Pothier will be watching tonight’s game from the press box. Boudreau is no joke - he clearly expects the team to win and man, is it refreshing. I still think Hanlon did a great job when he was here but his “Aw, shucks, it’s okay, we all make mistakes, let’s just go out and try to do better next time” attitude, which was perfect for a rebuilding team, wouldn’t suffice for situations like this. Boudreau has clearly brought a little instant respectability with the way he holds players accountable, demands they play their best and expects to win.

Hanlon’s buddy-buddy attitude and constant encouragement were great for a team full of players trying to find their way in the NHL who needed to go out and play relaxed every night. Now, the team is not so young and most of the players have enough NHL experience that they ought to be able to step up and have more expected of them without “gripping the stick too tight” as the expression goes.

Capitals 4, Flyers 3 (OT)

Well. That was encouraging.

Before anything else, let me say this: the Caps, as a whole, played well enough to deserve better than a one-goal overtime win. The first Flyers goal shouldn’t have happened - it should have been blown dead by the officials. The second Flyers goal shouldn’t have happened because Olie shouldn’t let that shot in.

The Capitals controlled the play most of the game, outshooting their opponents in every period and 35-25 for the game. But the most impressive stretch came early in the first. With Shaone Morrisonn already in the box, Jeff Schultz inadvertently sent a rolling puck over the glass in his own end, giving the Flyers a 5-on-3 for 1:45. The Capitals were able to kill off the entirety of the penalty and maintain their one goal lead, keeping their slim margin early in the game in the face of adversity and giving a significant boost to a team lacking in confidence.

But the story of the game for the Capitals really was aggressiveness. Boudreau had mentioned that several times leading into the game and it made all the difference. Rather than sitting back and play tentative the Caps forechecked hard, worked to beat the Flyers to the puck and outhit Philly 15-14 (that’s not as close as it looks - Scott Hartnell had six), and showed that they are indeed a good NHL team. The Caps have a lot of good skaters and they’re the biggest team in the NHL - if they are allowed to play aggressively and pressure their opponents they should generally expect good things to happen.

So what’s next? A home matchup this Saturday against Carolina where the Caps will try win two in a row for the fist time this season after their 3-0, and start a winning streak that will get them back into the playoff picture (they’re currently seven points out, pending today’s results). Is it just me, or do other people have more confidence that they’ll be able to do that than at any other point this season?

DMG’s 3 Stars

(1) Nicklas Backstrom (1 goal (the game winner), 2 assists, +2)
(2) Tom Poti (2 assists, 27:02 of ice time)
(3)Alexander Ovechkin (1 assist (a nice one on the game winner), +2, 4 shots, 23:06 of ice time)

* Note/Edit: Final T.O.I. differs slightly from what was posted here b/c I put this up shortly after the game’s conclusion.

Quotable

“It’s subtle changes, not like you’re revamping the whole thing. I just think the mind-set sometimes has got to change, and the culture’s got to change. They’ve got to believe that they’re really good players.”

Quick Hits

• I have no analytic data but I would venture to guess a good 30% of the goals against Olaf Kolzig this year have come through the five-hole.
• Thank you, Kimmo Timonen. Just as your team was really starting to get momentum, you took a stupid, obvious and unnecessary penalty to put the Caps on the powerplay.
• Even though his team lost, I’m sure Daniel Briere had fun today. Not only did he get to jam his stick between a Capitals player’s legs - he got a goal when he did!
• Seriously though, there were quick whistles all day - where were they on Briere’s goal?
• Horrible, horrible slashing call on Tom Poti with 2:18 left in the game.
• Either Nicklas Backstrom is really comfortable on the fourth line or he had something to prove, notching the game winner and two assists on his 20th birthday.