On Frozen Blog

Trevor Bruess on the Board; Andrew Gordon Headed to HNIC

2009-11-21T18:46:37Z

Late last night Hershey Bears’ General Manager Doug Yingst rang Andrew Gordon and ordered him to the airport, destination YYZ. He’ll be joining the Capitals for their Saturday night date with the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre. Andrew has a penchant for being called up for big stages — his first NHL game, last season, took place in Madison Square Garden.

But back in the American League, it was also a memorable night for first-year center Trevor Bruess, signed by the Caps’ this past spring out of Minnesota State. He scored his first goal as a pro last night in Hershey’s 5-2 triumph on the road in Binghamton. John Walton had the call:

Click for John Walton’s call of Trevor Bruess’ first AHL goal

The Habs Spoil a Wonderful Family Reunion

2009-11-21T14:04:05Z

It was very much a family affair at Verizon Center on Friday night. The Red Army family endured a rare evening of frustration and torment from the home team’s missed opportunity after missed opportunity, culminating with the Capitals’ 3-2 defeat to Montreal, but the home arena family also welcomed its newest members: the brother, mother, and father of John Carlson. Mom and dad came in from New Jersey while ’bro flew in from Boston to see John’s NHL debut. It was a bit difficult to miss mom at the rink last night – hers was the overwhelmed visage high up on the high-definition screen at center ice, her eyes flush with tears. It was difficult for me to absorb too much disappointment from Friday’s outcome while pondering the experience the Carlson family surely must have enjoyed. I tried to recall: had I ever been in a big-league rink and been witness to a player’s mother so overcome with shock and joy at her son’s dream come true that she openly wept before nearly 20,000 around her?

There were lots of shots of mom on that screen Friday night. Appropriately so. When it comes to expressions of affection up there, we’re used to the warming and high amusement associated with Kiss-Cam — of young boys on dates kissing their girls, of silver-haired couples smiling and offering up quick pecks, the awkward and feigned ignorance when the camera hones in on colleagues instead of couples, and of course, most amusingly, the out-of-town supporter uniformed as enemy and seated beside his same-sex, same-uniformed mate. We have to have some fun at their expense! But Friday night’s big-screen affection of a mother for her player son was my favorite to date in the Capitals’ 12-year run at their Chinatown home. And I don’t see a moment trumping it any time soon.

John, while disappointed like the rest of his teammates by the outcome, acknowledged in the postgame locker room that Friday night was “a dream come true.” He took quick notice of the abilities among his new teammates: “These guys up here are amazing,” he said.

The most amazing among them, Alexander Ovechkin, wasn’t so much on Friday, and in light of the fact that he managed just one shot on goal in Madison Square Garden Tuesday night, the newly repaired Russian, many media thought, wasn’t quite at full his fullest powers just yet. Bruce Boudreau in his postgame remarks agreed. “I didn’t think he was on top of his game,” Gabby confirmed. The coach however was impressed with his new defenseman.

Carlson’s five hits led the team Friday night, and his first few were real beauties along the boards. He really plastered a couple of Habs in the early going. I was surrounded by some new media friends watching him play for the first time. I told them that the reason so many have become so excited about this kid over the past year is that he’s not a one-dimensional defenseman — he plays both ends exceptionally well. In the final minute of the first period he made a marvelous switch to the left side of the ice in instantaneous reaction to partner Tom Poti getting caught a bit out of position with a swarm of Habs hard after the puck, and his instincts and mobility then perhaps preserved the Caps’ 1-0 lead at the intermission. He blasted a point shot off the pipe behind Carey Price in period two. He made plays all night. And in losing his partner to injury, Gabby noted, the new blueliner was thrust into a five-man rotation – unenviable duress in a debut. ”I thought he played with a lot of poise,” the coach offered, “his shots from the point were accurate.”

The psychology of the personalized hockey sweater for a fan is something that’s long fascinated me. Why would fans — admittedly in relatively small numbers — choose to have an expensive authentic sweater personalized for Matt Bradley instead of a star play like one of our Alexes, or say Mike Green? I’ve seen a few of them among the best sellers moving about in Chinatown over the years. As I walked to the rink last night however I thought that this particular Friday night was a special one for the wearers of that grinder’s sweater. Their guy, from my vantage, entered Capitals’ lore with his heroic showing on Tuesday night on Broadway. I thought that this game had to be particularly special for those fans — a special sort of homecoming for their guy. This subset of fans — the supporters of the unsung — they are a special family within our larger family, I think. Brads had a quasi breakaway last night, and had he potted it I might have purchased his sweater.

“Boxing out” is a term most typically associated with basketball, but it applies to hockey as well, and it most definitely applied to last night’s game. “They did a great job of boxing us out,” Eric Fehr said afterward. Gabby, too, noted the effective “box” Montreal deployed. “We didn’t have any second shots,” he said. “Good goalies are gonna make the first save.” Against the Rangers on Tuesday, one or two Caps’ forwards were almost always in front of Henrik Lundqvist creating traffic and disruption. On Friday night, Carey Price saw almost every Capitals’ shot clearly, and his skaters in front of him reliably cleared the puck out of harm’s way before the Caps could pounce.

There are some aspects to a hockey game no one in media or the stands can ever be privvy to. Just seconds before the start of the second period last night Ovi skated rather near Carey Price and said something to him as the goalie, in a stretching crouch and gliding toward his cage, passed. The goalie certainly took notice of Ovi’s remarks, cause he turned his head to acknowledge them and seemed to offer a rejoinder. Then Ovi turned back to face Price and flexed a few ghost wristers right at the goalie. Wouldn’t you just love to know what gamesmanship remarks Ovi authored in that moment?

Did you think that John Erskine’s successful dance with Georges Laraque in the first period benefitted at all from a bit of quick start by the Capitals’ rearguard? They were jawing at each other, and both knew I think that the gloves were gonna drop, but John shook his off more than dropped them and in the same motion delivered the first round of blows with his fists. Given Laraque’s distinguished heavyweight status relative to Erksine’s, I’m not sure we would have seen so favorable an outcome absent that quick draw. I walked the long Verizon Center corridor from the team locker rooms to the arena’s exit ramp alongside Laraque. John Erskine is a big guy, Milan Jurcina even bigger, but neither instill the sense of physical marvel that Laraque does. “Sculpted pain” was the association I made in that moment, watching Laraque’s massive form move in a slow shuffle toward departure, and as funny as it sounds, I was actually careful not to engage him in eye contact, as if he’d somehow mistake me for some threat and forearm me into oblivion. But that’s how physically imposing a specimen he is. And to put an exclamation point on my silly sensibilities, as we rounded a corner toward the Habs’ bus a handful a Habs’ fans with VIP tickets screamed out his name, he smiled widely, and stopped to sign for his supporters.

Montreal hockey and the media that follows it: a Habs player was riding a stationary bike outside the visitor’s locker room, rather hard, in the postgame, and at least a dozen members of the Montreal press had cameras, mics, and recorders shoved in tight on his exercise space, pestering him with queries. Such exercise is quite common in postgames, but every other media contingent I’ve seen affords players the courtesy of carrying off their workouts then without distraction. I guess in that market, there is no reprieve from the queries.

Hockey ‘n Heels: The Next Generation

2009-11-21T01:21:45Z

Last night, I attended Hockey ‘N Heels at Kettler Capitals Iceplex with my partner-in-crime, Hockey Mom. The event, by all accounts, was a huge success. When tickets went on sale in October, they were gone in half an hour. Over 300 women were in attendance.

Fehr's past meets his present

Gabby signs a copy of his book

Jay Beagle, Mathieu Perreault, Eric Fehr, and Tyler Sloan were there to assist with the on-ice demonstrations, but Peter Bondra was the guy everyone wanted to see. “I’m so glad to see him out there,” one woman said to me. It really was great to see Bondra out on the ice again in a Capitals jersey.

The chalk talk by Lisa Hillary and Alan May seemed to go well. May was discussing his hockey experience, and mentioned, “I was in the league when Jagr started to play…” and it was encouraging to hear a chorus of boos. Brett Leonhardt led the equipment session, where ladies were able to try on all the gear.

By far, one of the best sessions was the video analysis with Bruce Boudreau. Gabby was his ever-garrulous self, seamlessly blending entertainment and information. He showed a typical pre-game video session and described its use, even though the players might not always remember what they’ve seen. “On the power play, guys want to score, so they don’t retain this.” Some great quotes came out of that session. When one woman started to ask him a question but backtracked a bit, Boudreau quipped, “Typical woman, they can’t make up their mind.”

Fox5's Lindsay Murphy takes a shot

Boudreau explained the value of the video sessions: “We know before the game what they’re gonna do, and it’s a chess game to see what they’re gonna do and when they do it. The guys should- if they’re on their game- stop them before the blue line. When we hit a lot, we tend to win the game. This morning, we showed three minutes of video from Tuesday’s game forechecking the crap out of the Rangers.”

He took questions and comments at the end. One fan said, “This is the year!” and Boudreau answered, “For what?” After the crowd laughed, he went on to talk about the team’s potential. In fact, he said, “I met with the Slovakian coach today, who asked how we play. I told him, but I have no concerns about it, as their memories are short.” Gabby cemented his reputation as king of the one-liners.

Bet they don't see this very often

Overall, the event went more smoothly than the previous ones. Feedback from the other events was incorporated into the planning, and consequently, attendees didn’t feel rushed through the on-ice demonstrations. One new addition was the merchandise table, which showcased a significant number of different clothing options for the ladies. I was pleased to note that all of the shirts, hats, sweatshirts, etc. were in team colors, and pink was noticeably absent from the table. (The ubiquitous sparkles were still there on some of the shirts, but hey- it’s a start.) “We recognize that most women want to wear the team’s colors,” said the woman behind the table.

As always, the Capitals organization put together a fantastic evening. They’re obviously learning from each event, and taking participants’ feedback seriously. Ladies, if you haven’t attended a Hockey ‘n Heels yet, I highly recommend it.

No pink here!

The Hockey Theme to get closer to the heart?

2009-11-20T21:02:43Z

Interesting news from Darren Dreger’s twitter account:

Rush’s Neil Peart to Record New Version of The Hockey Theme for TSN.

Chris Clark: The Long Road to an Important Return

2009-11-20T15:15:11Z

His return has been long in the making. After a career-year three years ago, Capitals’ Captain Chris Clark fairly faded into obscurity. Two groin pulls, a wrist injury, and a demotion to the third line later, the captain has finally made his return from the abyss to become a critical part of Washington’s team yet again.

Three seasons ago, in just the second year of his tenure with the Capitals, Clark had been placed on the same line as the league’s brightest young star, Alexander Ovechkin. The 6′0” South Windsor, Connecticut, native put together the most impressive year of his entire career. In 74 games that season Clark scored 30 goals, had 24 assists, and fired an unprecedented 164 shots on goal.

While the Caps didn’t make much noise in the league, finishing fourth in the Southeast division, Clark’s performance gave hope for the future. They had their franchise player, a captain who looked like a reincarnation of Steve Yzerman, plenty of promising young prospects, and therefore seemed a franchise poised to make a turn around from the basement of the Eastern conference. Washington ended up doing just that, but that turn around happened laregly without the on-ice help of their captain and leader.

Clark sustained a groin injury not even a quarter way through the following season. It took him several months to return from the painful and year-killing injury. Once it had healed and everything looked good to go, Clark took the ice against the Philadelphia Flyers, but barely made it through one shift. Number 17 stepped on the ice and promptly re-injured the same groin muscle, ending his season.

He returned next year in the team’s new red, white and blue colors, looking to the put the past of painful injuries and a painful season behind him. The pain was just beginning however, as Clark would miss a majority of the season yet again, playing in only 31 games because of a bad wrist.

The wrist would plague him through the rest of the season. While he would return for the Capitals second-round playoff battle with the Pittsburgh Penguins, he was offensively ineffective and was pushed to third line duty.

Perhaps more important than his return in the postseason was the vote of confidence Head Coach Bruce Boudreau gave him during their first round playoff tilt with the New York Rangers. After being asked whether or not Clark would lose the captain’s ‘C,’ Boudreau responded by reaffirming Clark as the captain, their leader on and off of the ice. It is quite the endorsement, considering that Clark had been one of the least productive players on the squad.

Clark finished the playoffs and still had the ‘C’ on his jersey.

Last summer he took the blows and demotions like a true leader thinking of the team first. Training camp began this September and it came out that Clark had agreed to be moved to the third line, also known as the retirement home for formerly skilled players. There was one problem with that, though: Clark decided he didn’t want to be confinced to the team’s third line.

Maybe Chris Clark isn’t quite a candidate for comeback player of the years award, but his is still a strong story of a leader’s perserverance. In November alone he had a four-game point streak that helped the Caps take five out of their last seven, and he capped that off with the winning shootout goal in a wild 11 round tilt against the Islanders.

While yes he has been clutch in several situations, and yes he has finally returned to the top line with Ovechkin, it is what he has meant to this team that is more important than his offensive firepower. Young stud Mathieu Perreault has come up from Hershey and been an absolute delight. He has made a playmaker’s precision passes, scored a couple of goals, and even doled out some hits. Much of the youngster’s poised play must be credited to his natural talent, but what we can’t overlook is the line he was put on. Perreault had Clark on his flank, and the captain certainly helped the young and nervous French Canadian get acclimated to the league.

It is just another demonstration of how much Boudreau actually trusts Clark. He knows that it doesn’t matter how many points Clark has on the season – he is in some sense a thread that holds the team together. He is the true meaning of leader.

On top if those leadership abilities, Clark also has the real ability to become a serious X-Factor. Recently he returned to the top line with former linemate Ovi and center Nicklas Backstrom and was +1 with an assist. Staying healthy is going to be key if Clark is to have a stellar season. The skills are clearly still there — especially the grit and warrior’s will in traffic — but the health is the only thing left in doubt.

Regardless of whether he stays true to form on the top line or falls back to the third, it will be Clark that will play a pivotal leadership role for this team on toward the playoffs, as he is the heart and sole of Washington Capitals hockey.

Tara Terrific She’s Now Called

2009-11-20T14:56:45Z

OFB inspiration and muse, Tara Wheeler

A motivating factor for my writing for the Canadian media site fadoo.ca this hockey season is my belief that HockeyWashington has so many terrific stories to tell, and I want them exported. With ‘Hockey’s Biggest Heroes Sometimes Come in the Smallest Packages,’ I’ve shared with our Canuck cousins to the North my favorite story of 2009: Tara Wheeler.

And so I begin: “We’ve a hockey hero in Washington who doesn’t go by the name of Ovechkin. In fact, coming in at 5’ 7 and barely 115 pounds, she’s seriously lacking in the body checking department. But she possesses a pretty good glove hand, and there can be no questioning her hockey heart.”

Those of you who began following OFB prior to 2009 know that I happened upon Tara and her terrific story most accidentally. She’s been the best accident I’ve ever had. Here is the heart of my case for this special hockey heart as I made it to the Great White North earlier today:

“From the moment she was crowned Miss Virginia in 2008 Tara made it priority no. 1 in her life to champion the cause of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation and the Children’s Miracle Network. She put thousands of miles on her car each month visiting Virginia elementary schools and most especially the cancer wards of hospitals where hairless children undergoing chemotherapy treatments bravely fought one of life’s toughest battles. Tara had a special message to deliver to those children: beauty is as beauty does.

“An interesting facet to the work of St. Baldrick’s spokespersons: they have this highly commendable habit of drawing attention to their cause by subjecting their locks to a heavy shearing – going bald. In September, Tara did just this. Little more than six months removed from walking a Las Vegas grand ballroom stage as a Miss America beauty, Tara had her hairdresser mother guide balding clippers through her beautiful mane to dramatize her message: beauty is as beauty does. No longer wearing her Miss Virginia crown, Tara desperately wanted to continue visiting cancer-stricken children in hospitals across the Washington region wearing a wig, flicking it off before their wide eyes, smiling, and telling them, “Aren’t we beautiful!”

“If you don’t believe that bald can be beautiful, you need to see bald Tara.

“I’m blessed to call Tara a friend. About a week after she shaved her head she and I took in a Capitals’ game together. She had to wear a wool cap to the game because it was so cold in the rink, but at one point I removed it, rubbed her peach-fuzzed crown, kissed it, looked her square in the eye, and said, “You inspire me, and you make me freshly proud to be a Washingtonian.”

“Miss America contestants tend to possess exceptional talent, and about two weeks later, with a bit more peach fuzz warming her head, Tara Wheeler walked out onto the ice at Verizon Center before a Caps’ game, capless, and belted out the most beautiful rendition of our ‘Star Spangled Banner’ I ever heard. Ever. I was standing in the arena press box that night, looking down on my hockey hero friend, tears filling my eyes.

“Tara is singularly responsible for raising more than $50,000 in the past year to fight cancer. She’s also made some sick children very eager to attend a hockey game just as soon as they get out of the hospital.”

Earlier this week I highlighted Tara’s appearance in the November issue of USA Hockey Magazine, and while it was true at the time that no link was available to that terrific file, it is now. Read Mark Miller’s profile of Tara and keep an eye out for more special work from Miller before the year’s out.

Capitals Call Carlson to the Bigs

2009-11-19T16:00:52Z

The Washington Capitals have recalled 6’3”, 208-pound defenseman John Carlson from Hershey. No word yet on whether Carlson will suit up when the Caps host the Montreal Canadiens Friday night, though with Milan Jurcina and Shaone Morrisonn both listed as day-to-day it seems Big John has a fair shot at hitting the ice.

For more on our early impressions of Carlson, read our assessment of his performance in the Caps’ first exhibition game this season.

Imagine an NHL Without Detroit . . . It Could Happen

2009-11-19T14:51:35Z

I watched Wednesday night’s Detroit-Dallas game on the NHL Network within a morbid context. On my commute home last night I read ‘Detroit: A City on the Brink,’ published last month in The Week magazine. I recommend it as must-reading for all hockey fans and every American.

The narrative in this piece is nothing short of harrowing. Most Americans I think have a general/vague notion of how tough times are in Michigan generally (the nation’s highest unemployment rate — by far) and Detroit most particularly. But I wonder how many know just how truly desperate times are in the Motor City? This is how the Week’s dissection of Detroit begins:

“Outside the city’s downtown core of office buildings, Detroit looks like a postapocalyptic nightmare. The collapse of the auto industry, political dysfunction, and epidemics of crime, drugs, and arson have battered Detroit like a slow-motion hurricane, leveling entire neighborhoods and causing a major chunk of the population to flee. Nearly 30 percent of the city, an area almost the size of San Francisco, has been abandoned to “urban prairie”—vast, depopulated stretches of high grass and shattered asphalt. An Asian plant species sometimes called “ghetto palm” sprouts from the remains of abandoned buildings, where wild pheasants are occasionally sighted. The torched skeletons of homes are commonplace. In the 1980s and ’90s, demolition permits outnumbered building permits by more than 10–1. Nearly 30 percent of the city’s remaining housing stock—more than 100,000 units—lies vacant.

Wild pheasants roaming downtown?

(To be fair, wild pheasants could be said to be governing our Metrorail system.)

The data about Detroit is more than damning — it’s jaw-droppingly frightening.

In July, the median Detroit home price was $7,000. “That’s not a typo,” the Week points out.

The Detroit public school system today is so bad that it is under emergency control of the state.

Detroit’s population in 1950 was 1.85 million. Today it is 770,000 — or about the size of Winnipeg.

Half of Detroit’s children live in poverty; one-quarter of the adult population didn’t graduate from high school. The median household income is about half the national average.

“This is a whole city that is poor,” says Wayne State University professor Robin Boyle.

Even the little good news in Detroit is bad. When the homicide rate dropped 14 percent last year, a mayoral candidate quipped, “I don’t mean to be sarcastic, but there just isn’t anyone left to kill.”

You may have seen the news of just this week of the sale of the Pontiac Silverdome, longtime home of the NFL’s Lions. It was built in 1975 for $55 million. A Super Bowl was played there. It sold on Wednesday for less than $600,000.

A colleague in my office yesterday pointed out to me a gross irony about Detroit’s demise. He asked me if I’d seen Clint Eastwood’s remarkable film ‘Gran Torino.’ I told him I had. He then asked me if I knew where it had been shot. I didn’t. The movie concludes with a white-knuckle, intergenerational, shoot-’em-up showdown. I won’t spoil it for you in case you haven’t seen it, but the film’s producers needed a neighborhood in which fantastic destruction could take place without anyone really noticing. They chose Detroit, and in point of fact the city has become a popular Hollywood destination for shooting similar destructive sequences – there’s no around to much care about the havoc.

Without injecting too much partisan political science into this tragic tale, does Detroit’s story give you any pause at all about one-party control of a large municipality, uninterrupted, for decades?

I’m not sure how much the NBA would miss the Pistons, the NFL the Lions, or Major League Baseball the Tigers, but I’m quite sure that the NHL would miss the Wings. They aren’t just an Original Six franchise, and the home away from home of Mr. Hockey, among numerous other hockey legends; in a very real sense the Wings are the flagship franchise of the league. But if a city is dying — and Detroit most assuredly is — how can anyone reasonably forecast a long-term future for any sports team there? Put another way: were Detroit with its existing population and poisonous socio-economic conditions today without a pro sports franchise, where among all American cities do you imagine it’d rank as an expansion candidate?

Professional sports teams lost in a city in our contemporary experience always suffered from egregiously bad management and or ownership, and so we had easy scapegoats, but today Harvard economists are at pains to forecast a when and how of a durable turnaround from the catastrophic economic constriction here of the past couple of years. Worse, it’s generally believed that the U.S. will lag behind the rest of the globe in the recovery. Sports in our culture has ever been a distraction from tough times; today it’s naive to think it can’t be caught up in them.

Dallas defeated Detroit last night at the Joe, 3-1. But that’s the least of this city’s worries.

Local Broadcaster, Goalie, and Cancer Fighter Garners Impressive Recognition

2009-11-18T18:54:36Z

Comcast Sportsnet’s Tara Wheeler is the subject of an outstanding feature in the November issue of USA Hockey Magazine, ‘Tara Terrific: Former Miss Virginia Is a Goalie with a Heart of Gold.’ Unfortunately, a link to the piece isn’t available, but it’s terrific to see Tara’s story circulating more widely within the hockey community. She’s receiving a great deal of excited and encouraging email about the piece, and on her blog at Comcast’s site she’s shared an account of what the magazine story meant to one young hockey player in Michigan, and in turn what that means to her.

A Warrior’s Will Wins It

2009-11-19T14:53:14Z

“Tremendous intensity to this game, right from the start,” Versus’ Joe Micheletti informed viewers. I remind: once upon a time this was a Patrick division rivalry game. And the intensity was not unlike what we saw twice earlier on Versus this season, in games against Philly, another Patrick division alum. The weekend before last, during a home-and-home with Florida, during either broadcast did you hear an announcer comment on the intensity of the proceedings?

It’s an astounding statistic: the Caps have led in every single one of the 21 games they’ve played this season.

For the wrong reason there’s a can’t-avert-your-eyes quality to Matt Bradley’s fights, as he so often engages true heavyweights and thereby comes out on the worst end of so many of them, and this again happened in last night’s first period at Madison Square Garden. You watch Bradley’s battles and hold your breath that he doesn’t get hurt too badly. Bradley’s a middleweight, and he backs down from no battle, and I’d be one to suggest that his extraordinary sacrifice midway through the first period carried a significant bearing on the Caps’ play the remainder of the period and throughout the second frame. He departed the ice looking like a Halloween night massacre at the hands of Aaron Voros, and then of course came back and had strong shift after strong shift, capped by his brilliant play along the boards — directing the puck through the legs of Wade Redden, New York’s $8 million dollar man — before water bottling a beauty behind King Henrik. Officially Matt Bradley was identified as the game’s third star, but he was hands down no. 1 on my blog.

At the end of his engagement Bradley appeared to ask a linesman if he was bleeding! A Toro Voros lawnmower had ridden over his face. If you are newly conscripted in the Red Army and not quite fluent with the role that violence plays in our sport, I’d be one to suggest that the Caps may well not have prevailed last night absent Bradley’s aggregate sacrifices. Hockey requires warrior effort and sacrifice, particularly in a game between two evenly matched clubs, and last night the Caps got just that from Brads.

Beast (Bradley) and the Beauty: I was introduced to Charissa Thompson in high definition on last night’s broadcast. Youth movements well serve hockey teams, and apparently they do so as well for hockey television broadcast teams. No wonder Ovi wanted to get back in the lineup for this game — he was interviewed by her twice last night. It’s going to be a warmer winter than I imagined.

I call it Mike Green’s lateral ballet coiling action at the point, when the puck comes back to him with time and space and he begins his effortless, ever so agile hot-steppin toward a shooting lane, five defenders more or less helpless at that point. Sergei Gonchar was lethal on the pinch and especially on the weakside one-timer goalies never saw, but he could never butterfly across the blueline like Greener does.

Once again I liked what I saw from Mathieu Perreault, particularly in the faceoff circle. Did you notice how MP created a terrific scoring chance in period two while carrying the puck down the right wall, with two Rangers’ defenders perfectly positioned, with a simple saucer flick of his wrists that bounced the puck dangerously across Lundqvist’s crease and among his linemates? He can make something out of nothing, which premiere playmakers tend to do. Terrific feature on MP that ran on NHL.com yesterday.

photo by Bruce Bennett, Getty Images

Cheapshot punk Sean Avery sucker-punched Semyon Varlomov in the head in plain view of the Zebra 20 feet away, John Erskine responded as he should have, and our guy was banished to the box. A Brian Pothier penalty followed not long after, the Caps couldn’t kill both, and the game was unjustly tied. Which made Matt Bradley’s late-game heroics all the sweeter.

The scoresheet shows Ovi with just a single shot on goal (a successful one at that), but you’d have to label it a fantastic return performance. He had 7 hits that seemed like 70 ferocious ones against skaters in blue shirts. In fact, when the Rags were seriously pressing in the Caps’ end midway through the final frame Ovi went up the ice at last with the puck and made like the proverbial bull in a china shop, stalking Lundqvist with his powerful drive wide strides, swirling back again dangerously behind the cage, and then going on a one-man missile mission of hitting Rangers who’d taken the puck away from him. They were like bowling pins falling down. The shift reversed the game’s momentum.

A great road game by the Caps? You betcha. They weathered an early Ranger storm, seemed bolstered by Bradley’s bravado, carried the play for pretty much the game’s middle 30 minutes, overcame some third-frame zebra malfeasance, and perservered against a quality club.

Bruce Boudreau became the fastest coach to 100 wins in Capitals history, and the 4th fastest in NHL history. I hope he got interviewed afterward by Charissa.