Fight fans rejoice!

Fans of fistacuffs (and players short on skill but long on toughness, grit and determination) will be pleased to hear that Matt Bradley has been signed to a 3 year contract extension. He'll make a million bucks a year, and earn every penny of it the hard way.

Learning to win

It's all well and good when your team can come out, score five or six goals, and come out with a victory. But in the NHL that is far more often the exception than the rule. Most nights games are decided in the trenches, with the team that makes the fewest mistakes coming away with the victory.

Yesterday, the Caps showed that they can play a solid defensive game without two of their best defensemen, and two men known far more for their physical play than their scoring touch tallied goals that will never be seen on anyone's top 10 goals of the week. And while the Avalanche were able to hold the Caps top two lines scoreless, they still left the Verizon Center without a point.

In the past couple weeks, the Caps have shown us that they can win pretty. Last night, they showed us they can win ugly, too. And though it may not have been the most beautiful game to watch, coming away with two points in the standings certainly makes it feel a little more pretty.

The Caps defensive corps was solid but unspectacular, which is all they needed to be against Colorado's depleted lineup. Short of one poor decision by Shoanne Morrison (which allowed Marek Svatos to skate in alone and beat Olie Kolzig with a tremendous wrister) the defense played a strong positional game, and got some serious physical play from an unexpected source. Oft scratched defender Steve Eminger was a sight to behold last night, throwing his body around with vigor and purpose.

It's safe to say that Eminger would not have been scratched for almost the entire first half of the season if he had shown that hard edge last year. If he keeps playing the body like he did last night, at very least he should be rotated into the active roster on a regular basis. I'd go so far as to say that he should be starting in place of Jeff Shultz at this point, who has been overpowered by opposing forwards in front of the net for most of this season.

Brooks Laich's breakaway was certainly no thing of beauty, but his one timer off a great pass by Matt Bradley sure was. Despite the fact that the goal was eventually credited to Donald Brashear, Brooks should be commended for his strong effort on the night.

Even though Colorado's power play has been awful without Joe Sakic and Ryan Smyth, the Caps penalty killers cannot be praised enough for their tremendous effort and willingness to give up the body to block several Colorado shots from the point. Quinten Laing in particular deserves kudos for keeping the Avs from getting the puck deep by sacrificing his body.

And even though he faced only 19 shots, Olie Kolzig came up big when it mattered most, making two strong saves in the last minute to preserve the Caps victory.

A coach's night to remember

Bruce Boudreau certainly won't forget last night, will he? First he gets the interim label removed from his title by the organization then his team goes out and puts together a gritty performance in securing two points in regulation and a 4 point swing in the Southeast Division by beating the Tampa Bay Lecavaliers 3 to 2.

Coach B saw his team survive a shaky start by Olie Kolzig and yet another amazing performance by Vinnie Lecavalier, who right now is delivering on the promise that lead most scouts to label him the heir apparent to Gretzky and Lemiux while Sid the Kid was still in grade school. And when Tampa's new goaltender Karri Ramo did his best Nikolai Khabibulin impersonation, robbing the Russian Machine and Tomas Fleischmann (twice) from point blank range, the Caps finally got the offense they were hoping to see out of their checking line.

Quinten Laing, David Steckel, and Matt Bradley were by far the Capitals best line on the night. Aside from scoring two of the Caps three goals, they logged major ice time against Tampa's top line, playing strong in the defensive end while holding the puck well and making a wonderful mess in front of Ramo's crease. It seems unfair that Laing will sit tonight against the Pens after such a strong performance (thanks to the return of Boyd Gordon), but if he can string together a couple more performances like last night's he'll get more of his fair share of games in before season's end.

One oddity from the organization... even though the "interim" label has been removed from Coach Boudreau's title, he's still up for review (and possible replacement) at season's end. I suppose the Caps just wanted to let him know he wouldn't be replaced this season. Whatever.

Tonight, the Caps look for another pair of points in Pennsylvania against the Flightless Devilbirds and Sid the Submarine (diving puns are harder to come by than you think after a couple seasons). Game time is 7:30.

Frustrated incorporated

Very tough loss last night to the Panthers. The game itself was not wildly entertaining, but did provide a microcosm of the Caps struggles this year. Both Good Brad Johnson (who made an amazing right-to-left toe kick save to force overtime) and Evil Brad Johnson (who allowed a fluttering pee wee level wrister over the shoulder to let the Panthers back into the game) made an appearance. Captain Clarke scored his 30th goal of the season, the last 3 of which came by way of pinball style bank shots of Sasha Semin shots on goal. But, as they say, they all count the same on the scoreboard, so congrats to the Capitals captain.

The game last night was as disjointed as one would expect of two of the lesser teams in the East, but the Caps opened up with a very pretty tic-tac-bounce-off-the-toe goal by Jakub Klepis. As Craig Laughlin put it, "That was a European style goal." Not surprising considering all 3 forwards on the ice (Novotny, Klepis and Flash Fleischmann) WERE European.

Matt Bradley appeared to score late in the 2st to solidify the Caps lead, but his goal was waved off by the referee and not overturned (which it appeared it should have been) on replay. And that is the difference between Matt Bradley and a player like Semin, Ovechkin, or even Clark. You can bet that if any of those three had scored the goal, the deliberation would have been much more thorough. But since Bradley is not a superstar but a hard-nosed, hard working grinder, the off-ice officials looked at exactly ONE angle (which was the inconclusive overhead shot) and declared that there was no definitive evidence that he had scored, even though the puck was shown to be clearly over the line in a camera shot taken from the right offensive board. Just another tough break in a season full of them for the Caps.

Tonight, the Caps take on a Tampa squad that sits 6th in the East, 3 points out of first in the division but also 3 points away from missing the playoffs entirely. Here's hoping the Caps play spoiler and put the Light Breeze closer to the outside than the top. Game time is 7:30.

Also, in case you missed it, big poppa Ted is offering up 2 for 1 tickets to Tuesday's game. Just don't take my seats in 411... waiting until payday is a pain!

Matt Bradley makes his return to the lineup tonight, part 700

Okay, I'm serious this time. Tarik has reported that Bradley will make his return to the ice tonight against Philly. I can finally repost my nearly month old comment on him. So, drumroll please.....

"The checking line should get a boost from the return of Matt Bradley, who had been sidelined with a hand injury. I happen to think Bradley is one of the most underrated forwards on the team. Although not particularly big or fast, he plays great positional hockey and his all around game is strong."

Just to add a personal note, when I was at a game a couple weeks into last season I told my brother that if I had to pick a jersey to buy from that particular Caps team, I'd go with Bradley . I probably still will. It's not that I wouldnt' wear an Ovie or Clark or Semin jersey. It's just that I like to collect jerseys of players that reflect the way I think I play (though at a much, much, much, much, MUCH higher level than I). Well, that and my brother has an Ovie jersey and my father has a signed Captain Clark Clarkson University jersey (which Clarkie was kind enough to sign for my brother and I after a practice before we gave it to pops for his birthday).

So welcome back Matt.

The return of Bradley will probably see Jakub Klepis scratched from the lineup. Klepis has very good offensive potential and should one day make a fine second line offensive forward, but he's young and still has a tendency to 1) play too soft and 2) get absolutely CREAMED once a game (much like Gonchar used to). Until he learns to read how defensemen are playing him in the neutral zone, that's going to continue to be a problem.

I'll be spending part of tonight's game with folks who donated blood to the Red Cross a couple weeks back, and a part with Barra Brava and the Screaming Eagles. Should be a party and a half. Don't miss it.


Late Edit: Need another reason to like Matt Bradley? Read this.

Tonight: Caps v. Devils

Tonight at the V, the Caps take on the New Jersey Devils. Random note: Shouldn't the Devils be forced to wear their Christmas tree jerseys for the holidays?

The Caps are still pretty banged up (man, that welcome back Matt Bradley segment is looking more foolish by the day). Both teams enter the game playing better than .500 hockey in their last ten games, which should make for a good scrap tonight. With Erskine out and Big Daddy Donnie Brashear a game time decision, the Caps will have to depend on their offense to express their anger over last game, rather than pummeling the opposition physically.

On a related note, tonight should be a good opportunity for our brass to get a close look at free-agent-to-be Scott Gomez. The Devils won't have the cap space to re-sign him, and we all know the Caps have the room to make a legitimate offer. He makes a perfect fit for the Caps lineup, and would represent a huge upgrade at the pivot. Gomez' skill and willingness to play a physical game would match the team's style of play well. He is also a proven winner, with two Stanley Cup rings. That would give the Caps 3 quality centers (assuming Backstrom is even half as good as advertised), as opposed to the one we have now.

Okay, enough of touting one of the opposition's players.

My pick: Capitals 4, New Jersey Lesser Daemons 2.