Fiction: “I finish my hits all the time. There’s always motivation in these games. There’s always a little extra in the air, and that will be the case again tonight.” - Sidney Crosby talking to Tarik El-Bashir before last night’s game.

Fact(s): (click second image to enlarge)

By now you might be familiar with Sidney Crosby’s now- infamous attack on Boris Valabik of the Atlanta Thrashers. For those who aren’t, Crosby attacked Valabik from behind while Valabik was engaged with another Penguins player and punched Valabik several times in the groin:

During this afternoon’s 6-1 Penguins loss to the Florida Panthers Crosby showed marked improvement in the fighting department:

Hey, jumping a guy who’s looking at the ice right off the faceoff isn’t quite as bad as attacking another man’s testicles from behind, right? (am I really writing this?) Maybe Crosby will even face his next victim opponent and let him know he’s about to be attacked, provided that’s not too much to ask.

If you watched the second clip with the sound on, you probably heard how ecstatic the Penguins announcers were that Crosby had dropped the gloves to try and encourage the crowd and rile up his team. Call me crazy, but if I were the Penguins I’d want my team’s second leading scorer on the ice, rather than in the box for nineteen minutes for instigating a fight.

Capitals 4, Penguins 3

It’s not too often you’ll go into a third period trailing by two goals and come out on top against an NHL team. It’s even rarer that you’ll be able to do it against a team as talented at the current Pittsburgh Penguins squad. But then again, there aren’t too many team with the skill and tenacity of the current Washington Capitals squad, who rallied for three unanswered goals in the third period last night, outshooting the Penguins 21-6 in the game’s final frame

Of course such a dramatic comeback would not have been necessary had the Capitals not repeatedly shot themselves in the foot during the game’s first two periods, which saw a weak goal allowed by Jose Theodore, a too many men on the ice penalty, a puck-over-the-glass penalty (also known as the John Erskine special) while the team was already shorthanded, and three powerplay goals conceded, all while the Capitals managed to put only nine shots on Marc-Andre Fleury.

But give the Capitals credit: they could have cursed their luck, decided they just weren’t clicking as a team, and folded. And there’s a pretty good chance that they would have at this time last year. With that in mind, it’s nice to see that the Capitals still have the same kind of spirit they did last season and still have the ability to come back against the best teams in the league.

Here’s hoping they don’t have to do it all that often.

Caps Blue Line 3 Stars
(1) Alexander Semin - 1 goal, 1 assist, +2
(2) Tomas Fleischmann - 1 goal, 1 assist, +2
(3) Michael Nylander - 1 goal, 1 assist, +2

Quick Hits

• Alexander Semin was (again) the best Capitals player on the ice.
• Tom Poti left the game with a groin strain after eight shifts and Sergei Fedorov moved back to defense.  Meanwhile the Caps forwards who have been scratches this year performed well: Boyd Gordon notched the game winning goal and was +1 while Eric Fehr has two assists and a +2 rating.
• One more game out of this by Tomas Fleischmann and I’ll be a believer.
• Fleischmann goal, from Brooks Laich and Fehr, was a thing of beauty all the way around: Fehr’s play to keep the puck in the zone, Laich’s effort to get the puck to the front of the net, and Fleischmann’s poise to finish.  And the funny thing is, it was probably the Capitals’ third prettiest goal of the night.
• I think the Capitals/Penguins rivalry and the Ovechkin vs. Crosby angle affects Alex Ovechkin’s game. It seems like whenever the Capitals play the Penguins Ovechkin presses and ends up trying to do too much himself.
• Someone’s going to have to talk to these officials.  How is it possible that four hooking penalties, two slashing penalties, and ten minors were called in the first two periods and not a single penalty was called in the third?  Oh, right.
• Speaking of the officiating, how is it possible Hal Gill gets a roughing penalty for being the vicinity of Alex Semin and Sidney Crosby poking at each other when neither of those guys gets a penalty?
• …speaking of that little altercation: a Crosby/Semin fight would be worth the price of admission to me.
• …and speaking of fights, what was Matt Bradley thinking when he decided to go with Paul Bissonnette?  Don’t get me wrong, Bradley is tough customer and a solid middleweight pugilist but Bissonnette is a true heavyweight who logged 28 fights last year alone.
• The statistician at Mellon Arena must have a different way of computing hits than everyone else because Ovechkin was only credited with three.  Were they not counting ones on Evgeni Malkin?
• The Penguins were credited with an incredible26 blocked shots, eight of which were credited to defenseman Rob Scuderi.
• Of the Penguins 26 shots on goal, 14 were fired by either Crosby or Malkin.
  
• An interesting statistic: Mike Green leads the Capitals in shots on goal with 21.

Washington Capitals at Pittsburgh Penguins
Thursday, October 16th, 2008, 7:30 PM
Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
TV: CSN

About the Opponent

Pittsburgh Penguins: 2-1-1, 5 points, 2nd in the Atlantic Division, 5th in the Eastern Conference

Team Leaders
Goals: Tyler Kennedy (2)
Assists: four way tie (2)
Points: tie Tyler Kennedy and Evgeni Malkin (3)
Plus/Minus: Evgeni Malkin (+2)
Penalty Minutes: Eric Godard (18)
Fights: Eric Godard (2)

Keys to the Game

Washington
Get ahead early. Pens fans will definitely be up for this one and a couple of quick Caps goals could take them out of the game. Plus it would let the Capitals focus more on defense - no small task against the Pens.

Pittsburgh
Get the puck in the Capitals end and keep it there by cycling. Jeff Schultz is a solid defenseman but not a particularly good skater. Milan Jurcina and John Erskine also don’t skate particularly well and have looked shaky (at best) in their own end this season. Plus the Capitals lines are a little muddled due to Viktor Kozlov’s injury. If the Penguins get the puck in deep and move it around they’ll have a chance to overwhelm Washington in their own end.

Players to Watch

Washington
Nicklas Backstrom - the last time these two teams played, Backstrom scored the winning goal - in his own net. Backstrom only has one point, an assist, so far this season but with his talent level and a desire to atone for his mistake last March, I’m picking him to have a breakout game. But then, I picked him as the “player to watch” before the game he scored in the Caps own net, so maybe I’m just jinxing the poor kid.

Pittsburgh
Miroslav Satan - he’s not even close to being the biggest name on this Penguins team but he’s going to play an important role in just how far the Penguins can go this season. To win consistently and to win big games you need secondary scoring; Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, talented as they are, can’t do it all.

Two news items of interest to Capitals fans broke yesterday, one good and one not so good.

The good news is that in all likelihood both Brooks Laich and Shaone Morrisonn will be back with the Capitals next season:

Tarik El-Bashir just reported that Brooks Laich and Shaone Morrisonn have filed for arbitration. While the arbitration process (pronounced “pro-cess,” of course, for the Canadians out there) includes evidentiary submissions of an often-contentious nature, this comes as welcome news.

By filing, Brooks and Shaone are no longer eligible to sign offer sheets from any other team. So we no longer have to worry about another general manager throwing the Capitals’ whole salary structure out of balance, signing up a fine player like Brooks to a Dustin Penner-style offer sheet, and forcing management to make a painful decision.

While neither Laich nor Morrisonn is likely to steal the show on a team like the Capitals, each brings more to the table that their respective hockey skill: Laich for his ability to play any of the three forward positions and to play in any role and Morrisonn is the anchor that lets Mike Green be the dynamic offensive force he’s capable of being.

In other news, Matt Cooke has signed a two-year, $2.4 million contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins, essentially to serve as a replacement for Jarkko Ruutu. While it has been taken as a given that Cooke would be playing his 2008-09 hockey elsewhere ever since Matt Bradley signed an extension with the Capitals, it’s worth nothing that Cooke will only be making $100,000 more than Bradley next season. Given that Cooke is probably a better penalty killer and has more offensive upside, would it have made more sense for the Capitals to dish out the extra cash and keep him instead of Bradley? Or does Bradley’s physical presence making him the better signing?

Pittsburgh Penguins at Washington Capitals
March 08, 2008, 3:00 PM 12:30 PM
Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.
TV: NBC
Last Meeting: 1/21/2008, Caps win 6-5 in the shootout.

About the Opponent

Pittsburgh Penguins: 38-24-7, 83 points, 2nd in the Atlantic Division, 4th in the Eastern Conference.

Team Leaders
Goals: Evgeni Malkin (38)
Assists: Evgeni Malkin (51)
Points: Evgeni Malkin (89)
Plus/Minus: Sidney Crosby (+16)
Penalty Minutes: Georges Laraque (113)
Fights: Georges Laraque (12)

Random Penguins Fact
In his final year in the QMJHL Sidney Crosby posted a +78 rating in 62 games for Rimouski Oceanic

Random Penguins Statistic
For all their offensive skill, the Penguins are 22nd in the league in shots on goal per game.

Keys to the Game

Washington
Unleash the fury. Actually I don’t really like that expression but if the Caps can funnel the anger and frustration over yesterday’s loss in to this game, the Penguins won’t stand a chance.

Penguins
Play defense first. With Ty Conklin coming back to Earth and Marc-André Fleury seeing more playing time, the Pens defensive situation is far from rock-solid; all the offensive weapons that the Pens have and they should generate enough offense. Concentrate on stopping the Caps and the rest should take of itself.

Players to Watch

Washington
Nicklas Backstrom - everyone’s going to talk about Alex Ovechkin vs. Crosby/Malkin, while perhaps mentioning Alex Semin as well. Backstrom might fly under the radar a little leading into the game but something tells me he wont be once the final buzzer sounds.

Penguins
Brooks Orpik - Orpik is the only member of the Penguins’ defense corps who can match up against Ovechkin, so the game may hinge on his ability to control The Great Eight.

From last night’s game:

Shots against/saves
Olaf Kolzig: 15/10
Danny Sabourin: 13/9
Ty Conklin: 17/16

Shots, by team
Washington: 30
Pittsburgh: 15

Goals, by team
Washington: 5
Pittsburgh: 5

Saves in overtime:
Olaf Kolzig: 1
Quintin Laing: 3

Capitals 6, Penguins 5 (SO)

It took “the gimmick” to do it but at the end of the night the Capitals had won their fourth in a row and snapped a seven game losing skid against the Penguins.

It was an ugly game for the Caps, but imagine this: Your team has just had a goal waived off and to boot it’s because a penalty was assessed. The other team has gone on the powerplay and scored to take the lead. Your goalie has stopped eight shots and let five get by him for the game.

Now that’s a discouraging hockey scenario if ever there was one.

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Washington Capitals at Pittsburgh Penguins
Monday, January 21st, 2008, 7:30 PM
Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Last Meeting: 12/27/2007, Caps lose 4-3 in overtime

Two days after finishing their homestand 4-1 and working their way back to .500 for the first time since late October, the Capitals head to Pittsburgh to face their rival the (now Sidney Crosby-less) Pittsburgh Penguins, who are 8-1-1 in their last ten games.

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As you may have noticed, had you read or seen just about anything about the NHL over the last couple days, Sidney Crosby suffered a high ankle sprain during the Penguins January 18th loss to Tampa Bay.

So just what are the ramifications of this injury? Are the Penguins still a playoff team? Does this affect the Capitals at all? What will they talk about in-studio on Versus now? Is this actually a good thing for Crosby and Penguins fans, giving him a chance to rest to help avoid a more serious back injury, the result of being asked to carry an entire professional sports league?

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