11-9-1: My Kingdom For Some Shots

You kind of expected the Washington Capitals to defeat the New York Rangers tonight, what with Ovechkin coming back and the Rangers being so bad, but as they are apt to do, the Blueshirts tempted and teased before ultimately falling apart. Washington won 4-2 as Ovie made a triumphant return to the ice.

As good as he is - and he clearly didn't lose a step during his absence - the Rangers still could have won before a (surprise, surprise) Wade Redden defensive lapse allowed Matt Bradley to score what would be the game-winner. You can talk about scoring woes and reluctance to shoot as much as you want (and I will, don't worry) but sloppy defense lost the game.

And Wade had made a great defensive stop in the second period too ... what a shame. For eight million bucks this season, you would think we could at least get Tom Poti-esque level of play or even something on the degree of Igor Ulanov ineptitude but not Marek Malik-ish embarrassment. What a scale of suckitude we can build from our blueline this century. It's shameful. Everyone knows the cliche, defense wins championships and this franchise isn't winning anything with Redden - or Rozsival for that matter - wearing the colours.

Just got into the house and read the AP wire report over at Yahoo where John Tortorella had the nerve to blame the Bradley goal on Matt Gilroy not being able to catch up to Bradley from behind? Are you kidding me? What does Redden have to do to get a lashing? Sleep with Sather's wife? Keep blaming the kids Torts, they will still be here when you get rightfully fired at the end of the year.

*Discussing the match with Mr. X from the Blue Seats after the game, we agreed that the Rangers played a good 20 minutes - the first 10 and the last 10 before the Bradley goal. They skated hard, worked the puck to the net and battled for position in the offensive zone. It was just the over 40 minutes where they looked lost, bored and all-around awful.

*The Blueshirts were stuck on 11 shots for what seemed like an hour, even though there was a post hit inside that span of time. They let the Caps fill the middle of the ice and remained out on the perimeter, looking an awful lot like the Renney Rangers.

*Speaking of them, another friend of the blog (Eric) made the good call that Perry Pearn must have been back in charge of the power play. They made one pass too many too many times, allowing the Caps to close all of the lanes. Semyon Varlamov rarely had to make a good save while Hank was under siege much of the evening.

*You can talk about the penalty troubles - and Ovechkin's return on a national tv night certainly helps lend to a conspiracy theory - but the simple fact was that the Rangers didn't play smart hockey. Rozsival shouldn't be chasing a player around the defensive zone, because he can't keep up and will do something dumb.

*At the same time, an allowance should be made for the Sean Avery Rules as Aves was called for a soft penalty and spent half of his night getting knocked around. He still drew a penalty but if the Rangers pulled half of what the Caps did to, say, Ovie then there would have been several more penalties called.

*Avery played his most spirited match since the playoff benching but it still didn't get him anywhere. He would draw the defense, of course, but linemates never got the puck to the net and Avery never got through the coverage to slide into the slot and get one of his inyourface! goals. At least we saw Cally step up and defend Avery in a scrum in the first period; it is about time these guys stood up for each other.

*Lord knows Donald Brashear won't be the one to do it. The Neanderthal was useless as always and Jon Tortorella inexplicably put him out on the ice right after Washington scored to tie the game. Brash seems to get on the ice, circle a few times while watching the play before remembering where the bench is and taking his rightful seat upon it. It was comical to see him watching Voros fight Bradley, then go over to the penalty box when Voros sat down. What was the conversation like? 'Hey Aaron, you fight good.' 'Yeah Donald, I didn't stop too many punches with my face this time!' 'Me like fights.' 'I don't, but at least I can say I did something tonight - change things up a little.' 'You make him bleed. Blood gooooood. Fire baaaaaad.'

*Following a Frankenstein reference, where was Arty Anisimov? The kid has the amazing capacity to be invisible despite being over six feet tall. It is remarkable. You remember when he scored those two goals? Me too, too bad they were in preseason.

*To take a break from the badmouthing, Marian Gaborik is good. Very, very good. Unfortunately, as in Minnesota, he can score but he can't carry a team singlehandedly to victory. Damn shame right there, because we need him to.

*Let's get back to the bashing because it is so easy and so appropriate after yet another home loss. Ales Kotalik? Thanks for nothing tonight. Cally and Chris Higgins couldn't score either but at least they battled hard out on the ice. And, honestly, I think the Higgins-at-center experiment is working well as he has stepped up his game and playing smarter hockey. Let Drury stay away as long as he has to ... longer even so we can get his salary off the cap and get someone who can score onto the team.

*I like P.A. Parenteau and think he put in a good effort but, correct me if I'm wrong, he didn't take a single shot all night. For an AHL scoring ace, you would think he would understand that you have to shoot to score.

*Can you imagine what the final result would have been if Mike Knuble and/or Alex Semin had played? I was so thankful to see Semin scratched and figured that would be a big boost for the Blueshirts. I was wrong.

*But on that same note, when will Brooks Laich get some recognition outside of Washington? This nobody is racking up the points this year and making the big Caps injuries not hurt nearly as much as they should. Watching him just enhances the hurt that tis he Rangers secondary scoring or lack thereof.

*The Garden brass made the massive mistake of going to Dancing Grandma during the regular Dancing Larry television timeout. Not only did she get booed and have the fans chant for Larry, but the Caps came out of the break and scored. The next stoppage Larry was allowed to do his thing but by then it was too late. Redden's disgrace had taken the air out of the building and nothing outside of Gabby completing his hat trick could have put it back.

*Redden and Rozy may be doing their best to disappoint night after night but I still hate you Poti!!!

*PHW Three Stars
3-Matt Bradley - one goal.
2-Marian Gaborik - two goals.
1-Alex Ovechkin - one goal.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Hank - Gabby's two goals were big but Hank held his ground as the Rangers let the Caps come at the crease in waves. Sure he gave up three goals but he gave the team a chance to win the game, something they certainly didn't deserve. Eleven shots in a period and a half against a team with Tom Poti on defense. Pathetic.
2-Ovie - Is there anything he can't do? I love that he is finally getting booed every time he touches the puck, shows his level of stardom.
1-Matt Bradley - As depressing as it was for us Ranger fans, it was just impressive that this guy skated off the ice bleeding after getting his ass kicked in the first period and came back to score the game-winning goal.

3-1-0: Pass The Pepto

It has been mentioned in this space several times already this season - the Rangers are a high risk/high reward team that are going to have back and forth games. I know that, I acknowledged that. But still, actually experiencing it is something else. The Blueshirts have edge-of-the-seat, ulcer inducing play that can actually culminate in victories, and tonight was one of them. The Rangers defeated the Washington Capitals in a wild (I am going to have to hit the thesaurus hard this season for that word) 4-3 win at the Phone Booth in Washington.

*Marian Gaborik is good. Perhaps not Alexander Ovechkin good, but certainly in the same stratosphere. First the game-tying goal on the nice give-and-go and then the conversion of a great feed up the ice from MDZ for the winner. Hopefully we will see that combination a lot over the next five years.

*I can admit, I was wrong about MDZ. The kid is showing some great confidence out there and, as long as management keeps using him smartly, he is definitely worth keeping around. Sure there are mistakes, but Hobey Gilroy is making them too - part of the learning experience and it is well worth it.

*Now on the other side of the coin, we finally saw some indication of coach Tortorella's accountability (against someone other than Sean Avery). After Rozy's horrific performance - including the turnover that led to the first goal of the game and a bad penalty - Rozy spent a lotta time on the bench.

*It will be interesting to see what he does for next game. Will he keep Rozy in the lineup? Better question, will he keep Aaron Voros in? With Grachev up, it makes sense to sit Voros. After figure skating his way around the Caps zone, he took a bad penalty in the third period. The Caps converted on Backstrom's second goal of the game and Torts yelled at Voros when he got back to the bench. The best part was that MSG caught it on camera, "sit the f--k down!!!!!!!!!"

*They didn't catch any response to Brasher's idiotic penalty though. Brash opened the door for the Caps to tie the game with five minutes left by taking a lazy trip at the end of a long shift. I don't want to say I told you so, but I told you so.

*The Blueshirts got lucky that the Caps power play was, frankly, horrific. Prior to the game I had heard that the Backstrom/Ovechkin/Semin line was called the Care Bears because they are too cute for their own damned good and this game proved it. Sure they accounted for all three of the Caps goals, but they missed a dozen more chances and their power play went 1-9.

*Some credit must be given to the Rangers killers, who did some solid work. They killed off two five-on-threes and Ryan Callahan essentially scored a shorthanded goal, even though it won't go down as such as it happened two seconds after Rozy's holding penalty expired. It was a great breakaway goal by the alternate captain, and it made up for the empty net he missed in the first period.

*All of the great saves that Hank made in the game and in his career surely outweigh the Backstrom goal from the red line but damn, was that embarrassing. Maybe it is a Swedish thing? But, that goal aside, the King was solid and he stopped nine shots from Ovie. Nine.

*Where Torts used his timeout against the Devils to wake the Rangers up, he used it in this one to give them a rest. After a long shift and an icing Torts used his break to get a breather for the boys and they were able to hold on to a 2-1 lead through the end of the period.

*Poor Chris Higgins. Higs had at least two great chances to score and was foiled each time. Sooner or later the parts are going to click into place and he is going to start converting on these opportunities.

*For the Caps I was impressed (as always) with Brooks Laich. I thought Quintin Laing was quite good as well. Mike Knuble was quite underwhelming. Mike Green was just as bad as he was in the playoffs against us. And Tom Poti was just as bad as he always is. Boooooooo Poti.

*Yay Wade Redden. No, not really. Relax. But Redden didn't suck. So that's a plus. He had a quiet game, as did Matt Gilroy but that wasn't a bad thing.

*Ales Kotalik had a team-high three giveaways but he did have a goal. And it was pretty. Fierce forechecking by Enver Lisin got the puck and then he fed it to Arty for a shot. It deflected to Kotalik and Jose ThreeOrMore couldn't stop it.

*It really is amazing how Jose could go from looking like the unstoppable force who was so proficient that he was able to land Paris Hilton off the ice to acting like the heiress, letting everyone go between his legs. How embarrassing.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Marc Staal - no points.
2-Nicklas Backstrom - two goals.
1-Marian Gaborik - two goals.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Ovechkin - Poor Backstrom is so underrated that I don't even pick him when he scores two goals. But Nik wasn't the constant threat - both offensively and physically - that Ovie was. He really is the best hockey player on the planet.
2-Dan Girardi - Quiet and capable, Girardi played his best game so far.
1-Staal/Callahan/Brandon Dubinsky - The benefit of being able to make my own rules - I can pick all three. All three performed above and beyond in battling the Caps. All three killed penalties. All three pressed the action. And all three deserve letters on their jerseys as the core of this franchise.

Hockey Happenings

Seeing as there haven't been any games, any big trades, any reports of Gaborik injuries, I will just throw some news and thoughts out there:

*If you want to see a positive, Blueshirt-coloured look at the Rangers, a kid over at HFBoards had lunch with Adam Graves today. Gravey, of course, is high on all prospects and high on the team's chances this coming season. I think if he wasn't, he would get fired but still, I agree that there are reasons to be excited. Check out what he said here.

*The Rangers signed Enver Lisin, the kid they got for the Korpedo. Terms weren't released but you have to figure it was around a mil or so for two or three years. Meh, whatever. As I said when we dealt for him, Lisin has skills but honestly, if he scores more than 15 goals I will be surprised.

*The Ranger home page is finally giving some respect to the tradition of the franchise with a History Lesson. It is definitely recommended reading - as is Frank Boucher's book "When The Rangers Were Young." You can see how one of the pillars of the league was built and see what it means to be a Ranger. And see why I often call for the current crop of Rangers to honour and respect the jersey.

*Semi-related, at least in my head and for obvious reasons, I have to mention that former Ranger Jed Ortmeyer signed with the Sharks. Go Jed! I am an unashamed fanboy and am quite pleased that he found a NHL gig. Even better, if he survives camp, he will finally make a return to the Garden on Monday, October 19th. The last time we saw him was Game 6 against Buffalo two years back when Renney let him rot on the bench. Boo Renney, yay Jed!

*The Islanders kicked their radio guys to the curb. They will simulcast their tv guys, which makes sense considering that today's current crop of broadcasters talk so damned much. Perhaps it is an ego thing that makes today's personalities feel obligated to talk the entire time - it makes you wonder if they get paid by the word or something. English football soccer broadcasters understand that the atmosphere at the event is worth listening to. Perhaps on national games the talent should talk a lot, as they are hoping to expose and inform some people about a sport they don't already know. But regional casts should let us fans enjoy the games as they are - get a feel for it instead of hearing the misguided meanderings of Micheletti.

*We'll get to see how good of a GM I am over at Cycle With The Sedins as I have the reins of the Rangers in James' re-draft of the NHL. A clean slate with which to build the Blueshirts ... oh baby. We are still working out how the teams will compete - either simulated in a video game or a season-long fantasy league. I get the 20th pick overall so a lot of the top stars will be gone but I think it will help build an all-around stronger team.

*Speaking of that league, the first pick in the draft went to the Flames and they took Ovechkin so I did a little photoshop - check it out.

*Related to Ovechkin, as he will carry the flag for Russia in 2014, Wysh brought up the Olympic debate today. Personally I worship Olympic hockey but would have no problem with the NHL bowing out after Sochi '14. Simply said, it hurts the NHL product and puts extra wear and tear on the top players in the league. The answer isn't to move it to the Summer Olympics but to follow the Olympic soccer model and make the competition open to players 20-and-under. Considering that the World Juniors is pretty much a Canadian property nowadays, why not have them take a hiatus every four years? The best young talent in the world could get the biggest stage. It would also serve to boost the NHL as people would want to follow these kids as they grow up - when most other Olympic athletes are one-and-done, someone who falls for a player's story of woe or his skills could carry their fandom to the NHL ... it isn't like the other small sports where interest only comes every four years.

Well, I hope this helped quench some of your interest. While Sochi is a ways away, the NHL season is right around the corner. At least, that's what I keep telling myself to get through these summer days.

Bronx Blueshirts?

Anthony J. SanFilippo of the Delaware County Daily News reported that sources confirmed to him that the Flyers are set to play the Bruins at Fenway for this coming season's Winter Classic (h/t Puck Daddy).

Wyshynski wrote that "Alexander Ovechkin will have to wait for Yankee Stadium or an outdoor date with the Pittsburgh Penguins (one imagines)." It is certainly no surprise that NBC and the NHL would love a Ovie/Crosby Classic but is it necessary? Does the outdoor match really need that extra layer of appeal? Would the ratings for that be that much better than a red, white and blue Winter Classic at one of the most famous sports venues on the planet?

Rumour has it that NHL lobbied for the Caps to play the Bruins this year but NBC was reluctant considering the first round ratings of Caps/Rangers. Those playoff games, however, weren't played in Yankee Stadium. I had the pleasure of going to cover a Yankee game last week and the new building is an amazing tribute to capitalism and greed. If it's not perfect for Gary Bettman, then I don't know what is.

With all of the other rumours of a major move by Glen Sather in the works, perhaps an improved Ranger squad - one that can score goals - could advance past the first round next year and become enough of a draw that NBC approves. At the end of the day, it is (sadly) all about NBC and, unlike James Dolan, the network cares about the on-ice performance of the team as it has a direct relation to ratings (however screwed up that measuring system is). So that leaves the ball back right where it has always been: in Sather's hands.

Who thinks he is going to fumble it?

R1, G4: Three Down, One To Go!

"That's why we showed up for 40 games, for nights like these. Best game of the year." - Mr. X From The Blue Seats

I don't think I could have said it better. Wednesday night's 2-1 win over the Caps was the best game of the season. It was utterly astounding, utterly frustrating and utterly rewarding. To be honest, I still haven't been able to relax (maybe that was because I had to crash some sleep and run to work, but still). The last period was so on the edge of your seat insane that it will take at least until Friday to finally unwind - just in time to get all wrapped up again in a possible season ender. But first, there was this one and What. A. Game.

Let's get right into it:

*It doesn't happen often that one of the best moments of the game was a time out called outside of the final minutes but John Tortorella's decision to use his break on an icing call after a penalty kill helped decide the game. All of the momentum was with the Caps and the quick breather was enough to give the Blueshirts on the ice a chance to battle back.

*Then again, all of the credit due for that play was completely washed away by his call to put Sean Avery on the ice with four minutes left. There was absolutely no reason for it. Yes, Avery was one of the most energetic skaters and he maintained his composure for two periods. Yes, he is a loose cannon with a ginormous target on his back. Now, according some MSG guys, he did indeed lose control of his stick and deserve the high sticking. But it shouldn't matter as he shouldn't have been on the ice in the first place.

*The officiating left much to be desired. And this is coming from someone basking the glow of a stunning victory. There were dubious calls and a good number of noncalls - including a a penalty shot that wasn't called. Paul Devorski should be ashamed of himself for such a poor effort. One of the few 'names' left officiating, he did a terrible job and actually made me miss Kerry Fraser. Seriously. Ugh, I feel dirty.

*The Blueshirt blueline basically had pairings 1A and 1B. Staal and Girardi kept up their top notch work while Redden and Rozsival managed not to screw anything up. Ok, ok, ok. Rozy played his best defensive game in over a season, perhaps his best as a Ranger. I was impressed. As for Redden, whatever. He wasn't bad. That is about as nice as I will get. And I yelled at him less than I yelled Tom Poti, so that is a plus (even if it wasn't by much).

*And it hurts to say this but damn, Alex Ovechkin truly is a hockey god. You knew he would score sooner or later in this series and he did in fine fashion with a stellar shot into the upper corner - who woulda thought, if the goaltender plays half the game on his knees, then a shot under the bar will go in ... Now the shot that hit the post may be the shot heard 'round the world. The sound of the puck hitting iron rang louder then the bell of Big Ben. That was incredible, how it didn't shatter the puck or bend the iron is beyond me.

*Anyone know what happened to the pane of glass behind the net in the third period? From 329 we couldn't tell if it was cracked from an errant shot or dislodged with a hit ...

*A hit that certainly didn't come from Nik Zherdev. Z saw seven minutes of ice time - none of which was in the third period. Unlike Colton Orr, who actually made the most of his limited action, Z was invisible. As I said last game, all he is doing now is ensuring exit from the NHL. He may very well turn into an Alexei Morozov-like star but he simply doesn't have the heart to play the North American game.

*Talking heart - Bettsy, Sjo, Cally and Dubi. All four were incredible, as they have been most of the season. While we expect it of the first three, Dubi is finally putting the pieces back together that made him so dominant back in October. He won 15 of 17 faceoffs, played on both special teams and collected an assist.

*These guys, along with Staalsie and Girardi, did a stellar job shutting down Nick Backstrom. One game after he was so dominant, he was virtually invisible. Ovie and Semin were still threats but Backstrom couldn't do anything. Neither could Mike Green, but that mohawked dork has fallen flat on his face thus far in the series - I love this picture - he is looking the wrong way!

*I'm sure there is more but I'm still basking in the glow of victory. If there is anything else, don't you worry, I'm not shy.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Chris Drury - one goal.
2-Alexander Ovechkin - one goal.
1-Henrik Lundqvist - 38 saves.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Dru - Among the other fans I spoke to, several said that Markus Naslund deserved a heap of credit but I won't give it to him just because he decided to show up and play for the first time this season. Dru - the guy I said should be scratched if he was so hurt - played well in limited action. He didn't get his usual 18, 19 minutes (just 13 and change) but he got in the action, put his body in the line of fire and went to the net. So this is how he earned that clutch reputation, huh?
2-Ovie - What can be said that hasn't been already? Ovechkin is the modern Gordie Howe with a fun streak. It was just nice to see him sad rather than jumping around like a fool.
1-Hank - Unless something outrageous and unforgivable happens, Hank will be a Vezina finalist again this season. And if the Rangers advance then he will add a Conn Smythe to it. There is no one more valuable to their team then he is. Look at the team in front of him ...

R1 G1: Well, A Win Is A Win ...

The Ranger 4-3 win over the Washington Capitals to open up their playoff series may have been one of the worse playoff games I have ever seen. The penaltyfest had whistle after whistle on nickle-dime calls while big stuff went unpunished. This was an early season game where the officials wanted to make their presence known. I was annoyed to the point of boredom just waiting for the next stoppage.

The Ranger defense was mediocre, the offense was weak and the goaltender gave up three goals but thankfully, Jose Theodore was horrendous. The Washington netminder looked like a ShooterTutor out there with all of the wide open holes. But as terrible a game as it was, at least the Rangers got the needed result - a road win.

*The Ranger offense was quite weak - taking silly penalties, making terrible passes, missing checks - but Dubi's game-winning goal was fun to watch. He took a bad pass, set Jeff Schultz spinning like a top and put yet another intensely stoppable shot between the near post and swiss cheese Theodore. Maybe Schultz caught a rut, maybe he just couldn't keep up with the streaking Ranger, maybe Staalsie looked just as bad later, who cares - Dubi made Schultz look like an amateur and his goaltender couldn't bail him out. It was awesome.

*All four goals by the Blueshirts were stoppable by a good goaltender. Their best shot of the game was by Cally and it hit a post. Gomez one-on-one blows the puck by Theodore with a wrister that hit maybe 65 mph, Borat's open shot sailed over his shoulder and the former MVP waved at Markus Naslund's shot as it went by him.

*My how things have flipped around for Naslund. He used to be able to get a hat trick of goals and take one penalty; in this game he got one goal and three penalties. When you jam on the gas as hard as you can, the car goes a little out of control. Nazzy is emptying the tank with the pedal to the metal and he just needs to keep his hands on the wheel for just a few more weeks before he rolls into retirement (hopefully).

*All of the credit that I gave to Gomez for his interview the other day was completely obliterated in this one. How the smug bastard can sit and rip on the journalist deigning to speak to him during a game of such magnitude is petty and immature. I thought he had grown up after the classy interview during the Flyer game; instead he reverted back to this. It's not funny, it's rude and unprofessional.

*Now you want comedy, Tom Poti confronting Sean Avery after a whistle was priceless! What is Poti going to do, hit him with his purse and call him a big meaniehead? You brute!

*The Viktor Kozlov goal to make it 3-2 was a perfect redirect after he slipped past Staalsie. Sadly it came after a clear elbow slipped past the officiating. Green took a page from Chris Pronger and nearly decapitated Freddie Sjostrom on the boards but there was no elbowing, no boarding, no nothing. Sergei Fedorov cross checks Avery from behind after a whistle, in front of the ref and no penalty. And yet the stripes saw an infraction 20 seconds into the game when Dan Girardi touched the Capital with his loose hand.

*MSG - I like Amstel, really, I do. I drink quite a lot of it. But every commercial break? Surely there are more ads available in the inventory?? Dadadadapdadadadadap. Damn do I hate the Fratellis (the group who wrote the song). Maybe that will be the next poll - what is more annoying, that commercial or the damn Geico campaign with the stupid money with eyes?

*And you guys laughed at me for being a Blair Betts fanboy for all those months! Let's see, 7:41 of his 12:20 of ice time was shorthanded and he was fantastic. Five blocked shots! Hard work pays off kids ... too bad Nik Zherdev isn't listening.

*With the NHL's insistence of secrecy on injuries, we have no idea what kept Chris Drury out. So, of course, I will think the worse. He is just a weakling who wanted a night off. What ever happened to hockey players as warriors? He was able to skate in warmups and you are telling me he wasn't well enough or motivated enough to take up that stellar three minutes that Aaron Voros got? When Drury got his Cup, Peter Forsberg finished a playoff game with a burst spleen!

*During the postgame Maloney said that the "much-maligned" defensemen Michal Rozsival and Wade Redden were incredible. No, they weren't. But they weren't bad. Sure, Rozy turned away from some hits, Redden fumbled the puck a few times and made two or three bad passes but neither one took stupid penalties or abandoned their posts in the defensive zone. Amazing how good they can look playing average games after they've set the bar so very, very low.

*Stat of the night: I could go with the obvious - 11 power plays in a game that really didn't have much violence (a few hits but not a whole lot of venom) - but instead 30%, the amount of power plays that the Rangers won. They lost 46 of the 66 draws, allowing the Caps to dictate the action.

*How much pressure do you think there is on Brent Johnson to get better? The injured netminder was better than Theodore before undergoing hip surgery and would be huge in this series if he was 100%. He is a streaky netminder and if he was to get hot, he could play just as good as Hank. Good thing he is still cooling off on the IR.

*Many thanks to Allen at Off Wing Photo for all of the pics used with this post. Some great work dude.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Brandon Dubinsky - one goal.
2-Scott Gomez - one goal and two assists.
1-Alexander Ovechkin - two assists.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Hank - The King was fantastic. The first goal against was tipped, the second was on a power play and the third he had no chance at stopping. Every time he had to make a big save, he did and unlike Theodore, he gave his team a chance to win.
2-Cally - The most motivated Ranger, Cally again threw his body around making hits, blocking shots, clearing pucks, pressuring puckholders, taking shots, hitting posts - an incredible effort.
1-OV - He really is a hockey god. I mean, he was everywhere. Everywhere. OV lost his helmet, finished a tough shift, took a rest for a few seconds, grabbed someone else's helmet and got right back into the fray. Wow.

NHL Four-cast: Washington Capitals

1 - Why is this team worth watching? AO. When you have a player who can do this, and this, and this, and especially this and enjoys it this much, you have it made. Ovechkin's enthusiasm is infectious and a true pleasure to watch.

2 - Are they better or worse than last year? Worse. Yes Ovie and Backstrom and Semin all have more experience under their belts but they don't play defense. Letting Cristobal Huet go and replacing him with Jose Theodore is a definite downgrade, especially as Theodore stepped up his game purely to get a new contract, and he didn't even do that great in going 28-21-3 with a 2.44 GAA and .910 save percent. Huet, who went a remarkable 11-2 with a 1.63 and .936 in 13 regular season games with them, is still proving he is a top goaltender in the NHL and this team needs a star in net, especially with their poor defensive corps. Mike Green was a revelation last season with his offense from the blueline but there are no Rod Langways, Scott Stevenses or Brendan Witts back there to help out the netminder. Letting Ollie the goalie go is just depressing as he was synonymous with Washington for a long, long time. They still have the rock solid Brent Johnson as a backup but they had better pray that their offense can average at least four goals a game ... And I don't understand why they let Matt Cooke go to Pittsburgh, he added good grit to a pretty soft roster, especially with Chris Clark injury-prone.

3 - Who should YOU draft in fantasy? I had the first overall pick in one of my (many) leagues and picked Ovie. Backstrom and Semin should both be good for 70 points. Viktor Kozlov is still dangerous and good for 50 points, and Michael Nylander will get that number easily if he stays healthy. If. Mike Green had a spectacular year and a lot of people think it was his arrival. Some people also draft Tom Poti for blueline points but I want to punch those people in the face. I hate Tom Poti. A lot. And, as you could guess, I wouldn't put much faith in Theodore either. Keep an eye on the Caps depth chart because Brooks Laich had a strong finish to his season and if he gets on a scoring line, he may be able to keep the momentum. While I am a fan of Clark, with his injury and the progress of the other forwards, he may have lost his spot among the scorers so he isn't likely to bounce back to his 30 goal form.

4 - "Maybe next year the Stanley Cup?" Sorry Ovie, you can keep winning individual trophies but it doesn't look like your team will take the hardware this year - not unless they make a big trade at the deadline and get a 2002-esque performance from Theodore. I think they can in a few years, if Ted Leonis can accept a few seasons of first or second round playoff exits and keeps Bruce Boudreau around while prospects like Simeon Varlamov, Karl Alzner, John Carlson and Chris Bourque grow up. The first three will secure the Caps end of the ice while Bourque will be another sniper up front to help draw attention away from Ovie.

NHL Awards Wrap

I have to keep this brief as its past 7 a.m., I just got home from work, photoshopped the Vezina onto a picture of the fattest man on earth and want to wake up by noon to watch Romania beat on the Italians in Euro 2008. So, lets get right into what happened in Toronto last night:

*Nabby got robbed by Flabby.

*The NHL hates Swedes (Backstrom and Zetterberg should have won; Hank has to watch the Krispy Kream Krybaby win the Vezina; and Nick Lidstrom doesn't count since he sounds like he is from Grand Rapids at this point).

*Bruce Boudreau looks like Mickey Rooney.

*Alexander Ovechkin is a more endearing superstar than Cindy Crosby ever will be.

*Ron MacLean is not funny.

*Not being able to speak English is (thanks Pavel).

*Versus can't tell time.

*Dom Hasek is still bitter about losing his starting job to Chris Osgood, even if Ozzie got him another ring.

*Pat Kane has hot jailbait sisters and his teammates, who are all older than him, are all trying to mack on them. Perverts.

*Surviving a mild case of cancer that didn't stop you from doing something like, say, playing hockey deserves an award.

*The NHL is secretly in love with Sean Avery.

*Billy Smith and Mike Bossy on the same awards show. Where's Dennis Potvin? Probably still out hunting Ulf Nilsson.

*Adam Graves is a better human being than you.

*Mr. Hockey is old. Like, really old. So is Red Kelly.

*Seeing Evgeni Malkin crushed again as a loser doesn't get old.

28-24-7: Capitalized

After going period-by-period yesterday, I will just throw some random stuff out there for today's 3-2 loss to the Caps.

*Why is it that Callahan takes punches after the whistle, and Prucha gets boarded and yet no Cap is taken out in retribution? Speaking of Pru, when he goes out with an injury, you know its bad. As bad as he has been, he still gives maximum effort so his loss will hurt.

*Seeing Tom Poti still makes me angry, and seeing him skate through the Rangers in the first period (only to blow the shot) made me sick to my stomach. I'm still hoping to get his autograph someday - "Dear Scott, I hate you too, love, Tom Poti."

*Renney says the Rangers take too many penalties, especially early, so what happens? They take an early penalty then their usually tough penalty kill falls apart, leaving a loose puck for Ovie, the best player in the NHL. Not SMRT.

*Watching Ovie play is an utter delight. He loves to play, he gets his nose dirty, and - oh yeah - he is really, really good. I wish we had a superstar on our team.

*I will meet some opposition on this one but I think Hollweg had a solid game. That call in the last minute was courtesty of some good acting by Mike Green so don't even throw that back up. Hollweg hit, was solid in the Rangers end, and even earned himself a few scoring chances.

*Interesting comparison: Vally vs Ollie the Goalie. Ollie is showing his age (that second goal was weak, great for the Rangers, but weak), while Vally is looking good playing the same type of stand-up/hybrid goaltending style to solid results.

*Interesting thought: why not try Blair Betts on the point on the power play? He can move the puck well and is exceptional defensively. Just a thought ... it isn't like our power play can get much worse, it went 0-6 today.

*Donald Brashear is an animal. He gives tough guys a bad name in the NHL. What a goon.

*How soon until the Garden faithful boo Jagr the way the MCI crowd does every time he touches the puck? In all seriousness, Jagr was actually pretty good defensively in this game. He just has no confidence in his shot. Washington doesn't have a big, good defenseman to hound him all game, he should have capitalized (pun intended).

*Why is it that while the Jagr power play unit has been positively useless of late, that Renney puts them on the ice with the game even at two with five minutes left in the game? And just the same, with just over a minute left in a tie game, why is the fourth line on? Are we that desperate for points? Nevermind, we are ...

*Say what you want, but I don't think that losing this game was a backbreaker. When we miss the playoffs, all of the losses to the Western Conference teams will be the real reason why. Going 0-7-2 with one to go is inexcusable, especially when you consider that Los Angeles, Phoenix and Edmonton are included in that.

*Jarkko Ruutu fought Steve Downie in the Flyers/Pens game ... there is just no one you can root for in that battle of dirty players. The Rangers fought in the Montreal, Anaheim and Philly games and walked away with two wins (they probably could have gotten the Ducks if Hank wasn't so terrible). So why didn't they play with the same physical edge against Washington? Fear of getting penalties? Yeah, that worked ...

*PHW Three Stars
3-Sean Avery - one goal.
2-Boyd Gordon - one goal.
1-Ollie the Goalie - 31 saves.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Cally - Best Ranger on the ice, Cally looked like the catalyst he was when he first came up last year.
2-Mike Green - I'm giving him a star because I can't award an Oscar. When Hollweg came near him he went down like a ton of bricks and earned the power play that won the game. Why can't Jagr learn from him??
1-Ovie - I said it before, I'll say it again, best player in the league, by far.

Ooo, ooo Dream Weaverrrrr

Larry Brooks wrote a column in the Post where he talks about how Alex Ovechkin will be a restricted free agent. Ovie will command a max contract, which I am guessing will be somewhere in the ballpark of $11 mil a year. Crazy, right?

Then, in another Post piece, Brooks also pointed out that it would be crazy for the Rangers to start next season in Prague because Jagr may not be a Ranger by then. There is a club option that only kicks in if "Jagr records 40 goals or 84 points and the Rangers win a playoff round." Or "if Jagr were to win the Hart Trophy, or the Art Ross Trophy, or the Conn Smythe Trophy, 2008-09 would become guaranteed."

Now, the way that Jagr has been playing, those statistics don't seem bloody likely. Nor do those awards. One would guess, the way that Hank is playing, if the Rangers get the Cup, he would be assured of the Conn Smythe - not Jagr.

Because of the deal with Washington way back when, the Rangers only take a cap hit of $5 million of Jagr's $8 mil-plus contract. Shanny, who we here at Scotty Hockey think should be the Captain of the Rangers and will be quite sad when he is gone, may be gone as soon as the end of this year with a one-way ticket to the Hall of Fame. According to NHL Numbers, Shanny also makes five mil a year.

So 5 + 5 = 10, just a million off of the number Ovie will get. That mil should be easily attainable with Straka's $3 mil coming off the books. Give two to Avery, the other one to Ovie and we have one of the three best players in the world.

Sounds well worth it to me.

Yes, Hank, Girardi and Toots will be due raises, but several mil can be culled from the removal of Mara and Malik from the books and I am sure Sather can massage the cap to spread around Ovie's hit. The offer sheet would cost four first round picks, but again, it sounds well worth it - especially with all of the young talent in the organization.

It makes for a very interesting proposition and, as Victor Hugo wrote, "there is nothing like a dream to create the future."