So Long, Sudsy

Per the horse's mouth, the Capitals have traded Brian "Granite Chin" Sutherby to Anaheim for a second round pick in the 2009 entry draft.

Gordo = no go?

Per Tarik, Boyd Gordon is out for tonight's contest (and probably until next Thursday's game). Gordon sustained an undisclosed injury in practice earlier this week.

With Gordon out, Granite Chin Sutherby will see his first action of the season tonight.

Eminger, Sudsy sign on the dotted line

Per the team, the Capitals have re-signed defenseman Steve Eminger and center Brian Sutherby. Financial terms were not disclosed. Both are one year deals.

Eminger has shown flashes of offensive ability in his time in DC, but has been maddeningly inconsistent throughout the last two seasons. Hopefully, a veteran presence on the back line will help him mature into a legitimate, consistent top six NHL defenseman.

Sutherby, as we have noted before, has displayed grit, determination, and a chin of absolute granite in his time here in DC. While not what one would call an offensive powerhouse (21G, 26A in 2 seasons) he has always been willing to stand up for his teammates through physical play and, when the situation demanded it, his willingness to drop the gloves and get down to business.

It's likely that both will be in DC to start the season, but if the right offer comes along, one or both might be available, since both are young players whose contracts ($ not disclosed) are probably very reasonable.

Just what the doctor ordered

Ahhh... now that's more like it. After Friday, the Capitals destiny seemed written in stone. The Southeast Division was too strong. Carolina and Atlanta had too much talent, Tampa matched up too well with us with their offensive skills, and the team kept on giving points away to Florida. The Capitals just didn't quite have enough talent to compete.

And then Saturday happened. Like the first beam of dawn after a terrible storm, the Capitals game reappeared. They stormed Carolina from the outset, pressuring in all three zones, forcing turnovers, and absolutely BURYING their scoring opportunities. They scored on the power play, they scored shorthanded, they scored at even strength. They scored and scored and scored some more. And at the end of the day they stood strong, still in the thick of the playoff hunt.

Congrats to Eric "I only score big goals" Fehr for scoring his first NHL goal which, to no surprise, ended up the game winner. If he keeps playing a strong offensive game like he did Saturday, I don't think the folks in Hershey, PA will see him again for a long, long while. Fehr is ready for the big time, and he needs to cut his teeth at the NHL level for him to be ready to assume some serious offensive responsibility, either in the playoffs this year or next season.

The Russian Scoring Spree continued, with Semin netting 2 goals and Ovechkin one. I'm really liking the way these two continue to perform, especially since it seems to have raised the competitiveness in Semin. It seems like he wants to be a part of the Battle for Russian Supremacy, and the Caps can only benefit from a little friendly competition between their two best offensive players.

Lost in all the offensive output was another stellar game from Olie Kolzig, who was a wall when the team needed him most in the second and third periods. It's been said over and over again, but it bears repeating (and repeating again): This team would be absolutely lost without Kolzig. I only hope the team improves enough to get him another deep playoff run before his time playing in the NHL is over. It would be a shame otherwise.

On another note entirely, someone needs to call Dale Hunter and have him come in and work with Sutherby on his faceoff technique. He got positively owned in the circle against Brind'Amour (which isn't surprising) but he also struggles against lesser opposition. And NOBODY in Caps history won more big faceoffs than The Big Game Hunter. Now if someone upstairs can just find his number...

So what did last night show us? That the Capitals are ready to compete. That they CAN take on the best their division (and the league) has to offer. And that it's far too early to know just about anything else.

What's defense got to do with it?

Okay, so Coach Hanlon (and apparently Tarik) want the Russian Machine to work harder in the defensive end of the rink. Fair enough. But lets not get ahead of ourselves here.

Yes, Alex needs to develop into a better two way player. That's fine. But he also harbors the burden of carrying nearly the entirety of the Caps offense. Until Backstrom comes over to work with Semin, it's still going to be the Alex and Alex show, with Ovechkin asked to carry most of that workload.

Lets not try to turn him into Steve Konowalchuk just yet (although turning Sutherby into a Kono type... but I digress). Simply put, the Caps need Ovie to be free to create in the offensive end. If that means he's late backchecking that's an exchange the team needs to be willing to make... THIS year. A bit of a tug on the reins is fine, but any more than that before the rest of the team is ready to step up and take more of the offensive load off him would be a mistake.

Now next year, when we'll have two legitimate scoring lines (Clark, Ovie, Zubrus* to go with Semin, Backstrom, Pettinger/Fehr), more can and should be asked of the Russian Machine. Until then, we need Alex's offense more than his defense. Again, I'm not suggesting that we have him dangle at the red line (yes, I'm looking at you Maxim Afinogenov), but just reminding folks that the offense without OV doing his thing would be, well, sparse.

*assumes we re-sign Zubie. If not, bump Fehr to line 1 with Pettinger at line 2)

Game recap by the Deuce

Grumpy Caps Fan 2 takes over last nights game recap. I was on the injured list (day-to-day, girlfriend duties).
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Semin would not be stopped last night. In fact, the one time Grahame made a glove save on him, it just pissed him off and on the next breakaway he fired another wrister IN THE SAME CORNER for a sweet goal (Even though jackass Grahame claims Semin only scored because he "slipped." RIIIIIIIIIGHT.

To quote Dennis Green, Boyd Gordon "[was] who we thought he [was]…HE [WAS] WHO WE THOUGHT HE [WAS]…OKAY?!" In other words, he worked his butt of, played great, had three or four TERRIFIC scoring opportunities . . . and . . . finished the night with . . . one second assist on Chris Clark's empty net goal. How do you spell "Backstrom?" (GC1 edit: I think you just did).

I think Olie decided before the game "There's no F-ing way we're losing this one tonight." He was unreal. Once again, without him, we lose that game 7-3.

Chris Clark, ex-Golden Knight, officially has a golden horeshoe up his ass right now. Two goals, neither of which would have been goals without the gracious assistance of Carolina players.

Brian Sutherby couldn't win a faceoff if his life depended on it. (Edit: But he can take a chin check from anyone, anytime)

Schultz didn't look TOO out of place in the limited action he saw out there. Except one time, when the Carolina forward put a move on him and he fell down again trying to pivot. He should be okay in a year or two. Once he adds 50 pounds.

I would just close by saying that Alexander Semin is now officially Russian Machine, version 2.0 (except, unlike the original, he breaks down occasionally). Just imagine what he would do with a real center who could actually set him up for some easy goals! As is, they are ALL unbelievable individual efforts (even though you gotta give kudos to the Donald for his sweet (blind?) pass to spring Semin on the breakaway for his second goal. (Edit: That's 2 fantastic passes by Big Donnie in this road swing. You think he's stepping up in response to the additional ice time?)

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My only addition to the recap is that it's nice to see the Caps finally score one on the power play (and not waste any time doing it).

I'm not so sure I like Sasha Semin getting the same nickname as Ovechkin, so we'll be taking submissions for a new one for him. Post your ideas in the comments section or send to wrldeatr at aol dot com. Best submission wins, well, credit and a post in this blog.

Caps sap Maple Leafs 3-2

The Capitals scored 3 goals on three stellar offensive plays, two set up by Alexander Semin (1, 2) and one from Dainus Zubrus. Two goals from Mats Sundin, one on a debatable penalty shot call, kept the Maple Saps in the game until the very end.

I would complain about the way officials always seem to come up with some suspect calls in Toronto, but seeing as the Caps were given ample power play opportunities and scored all three goals with the man advantage, we'll let this one slide.

The Capitals were able to grind through the third period and get 2 points on the road, and are now 1-1-0 in their murderous 7 game stretch. It's going to be important for the Alexes to continue their strong individual offense play as they work through the next five games, as even young legs will be leaden by the 7th game, and will likely need more of the kind of creativity exhibited tonight to win. One matter of concern was the Capitals inability to finish on their extended 5 on 3 late in the game, which could have put the game out of reach.

Kudos for the night go to Brian Sutherby, who took an absolute BOMB in a fight with Darcy Tucker but stayed on his feet and managed to land a few strong shots of his own. If Sudsy were to have gone down after the haymaker, the momentum would have swung completely in the Leafs favor. Instead, he muffled a potential rally with his granite chin.

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a merry Christmas and a happy holiday season. And thanks to the Caps for the early gift.