Highlights and Lowlights

 

I attended my first Caps game of the year last night and I haven’t blogged in a while, so here’s a long overdue post and some highlights and lowlights to the game:

Overview: The Caps won 3-1 at the Prudential Center against the Devils. The arena wasn’t very full and there were plenty of fans in Caps gear. I like that for sure and the Caps fans were loud and cheering all night long, even if it took a while to find something to cheer about. Before I get to Caps specific highlights and lowlights, let me just say that as a visiting fan, I appreciate the Prudential Center and Devils fans. They are gracious – by far fewer Devils fans yelling curses and insults at visiting teams fans compared with other places (such as Madison Square Garden). So thanks Devils for having a place that welcomes visiting fans (I’m sure there are the occasional problems, but not nearly like say with Rangers fans who are typically have a significant amount more rude and crude fans yelling obscenities at the visiting fans). On to the game…

Highlights:

• Tomas Vokoun did a great job with rebound control. The Devils had very few opportunities to poke at rebounds and get juicy second opportunities from prime scoring areas throughout the game. He was confident and aggressive and did well to keep the Devils from having easy scoring chances. The lone goal he gave up was a laser from wide out. He might have been a little too aggressive, but it was a great shot and nothing he should be ashamed of for sure.
• On Vokoun, his second period skate save was brilliant. I had a great angle on it and it was one of the better saves I’ve seen in a while and in a huge moment. In one of the few scrambles of the night around the goal, he came up huge and that added a lot of confidence to the team for sure. Find the highlights and watch it again because it’s a world-class athlete working solely on instincts and pulling off something nearly everyone else in the world could only imagine doing.
• The Capitals defense did an excellent job clearing the space around the net to help Vokoun avoid giving up juicy rebounds. They also kept the Devils from crashing the nets and creating screens for Vokoun. The goalie was able to have solid sightlines and clear vision on shooters. The Devils shots largely came from outside scoring opportunities and the Caps defense helped with that.
• Jason Chimera – wow what a pretty shorthanded goal. He’s so fast it’s just amazing to watch him skate. He made multiple people look foolish and finished with soft hands and a goal-scorer’s touch. His touch and accuracy this year has been great. He looks like he’s made huge strides since last season where I’d often cringe as he missed so many opportunities. Even if it’s been a few weeks since he scored, his energy and his ability to create with his speed is now being rewarded because he’s more accurately finishing those plays this year.
• Ovi’s goal is great. Yes, it was a lucky bounce, but he’s scoring from in close and crashing the net. More net crashing from Ovi is a good thing. If players are just going to step up and play the body when he tries to enter the zone, he’s gonna have to score from around the net and him being there for a lucky bounce is fine by me.
• The penalty kill. I know it has struggled through much of the early season. But the Caps did a good job and actually outscored the Devils while the Devils were on the power play.
• Coach Boudreau practicing what he preaches and benching Semin when he took another … yes another … offensive-zone stick infraction penalty.

Lowlights:

• Semin’s play for the handful of minutes he was on the ice. Maybe the stick infraction wasn’t a great call but he still needs to play harder. Stick infractions are a sign of laziness. Use the body, be aggressive, move the legs and skate and the stick infractions disappear. I hope the benching lights a fire under him. And I wonder if GMGM is already starting to look to make a deal. Despite the up-and-down play, he could still draw quite a haul for the team if GMGM thinks he’s got enough other pieces around.
• The Capitals work in the corners and trying to clear the defensive zone. For as good as the defense was keep the front of the net clear and helping get rebounds out from in front of the net (which was certainly part of Vokoun’s rebound control and rebounds were ending up near defenders, but I believe that was in part on purpose). The Caps struggled in the corners, losing battles consistently and regularly, particularly in the first period. And when they had the puck in their own zone they struggled to break out or even clear the puck into te neutral zone. The defense definitely needs some work because a better team than the Devils goes to town if they win so many corner battles and keep the puck in the Caps’ zone so much.
• The first period. After a bad game against Dallas and a 2-4 record over the past six, it would’ve been nice to see them jump out and be real aggressive early. They weren’t and they were probably told about it very clearly during the first intermission.
• Mike Green’s legs. He is so vital to this team and he really is one of the best defensemen in the entire NHL. I truly believe he has turned into a top defensive player to go with his offensive prowess. The Caps need him on the ice. He makes the power play infiinitely better and he can shut down the opponents’ top players if necessary. He’s also great at helping clear the defensive zone, something the Caps struggled with mightily. A healthy Mike Green is integral to this team being successful throughout the season.
• The power play. It didn’t do much at all with a handful of opportunities. Very few good chances on the man advantage.

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