Caps beat the Blackhawks 4-2.

The Washington Capitals got their first win in the 08-09 season, by beating the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2. Things didn't start off good for the Caps, or Jose Theodore. Theodore let in a goal on the very first shot he faced, 26 seconds into the game. Things looked like they were going to be ugly, and it didn't get better. Jose gave up another goal before the end of the 1st period, and Chicago was winning 2-0. Theodore settled down, and Matt Bradley scored late in the first period on a nice pass from David Steckel. Going into the 2nd period it was 2-1. MVP Alex Ovechkin scored 5 mintues into the 2nd period, it stayed that way until the 3rd period, when Brookd Laich scored a goal. Laich scored on a scramble play infront of the net. Ovechkin sealed the deal with a goal with 1:30 left in the 3rd period. That's how it ended 4-2.

I thought the Caps offence was great again. Every line was playing really good. The Brashear-Steckel-Bradley line was great on the forecheck, and was probably the best line of the game. Fleischman also showed his skills with a couple of nice dangle's. I didn't really notice Backstrom, so I hope he picks his play up. Fedorov is such a veteran. Everything is calm when he has the puck. I thought the defence was shaky in the first period, but they settled down in the last 2 periods. Jose Theodore also was shaky in the first, but played very, very well in the final 2 periods.

Here's the Caps post-game coverage, and he's the stat page.

10-11-08 Washington vs. Chicago, 7:00 p.m. Home opener

Washington's record-0-1 Chicago's record-0-1


Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals started the season off on the wrong foot, with a 7-4 loss to the Atlanta Thrashers. The Caps offence looked good scoring 4 goals, and 2 of them on the power play, but Washington's defence and goaltending was, to say the least, terrible. Atlanta scored 3 power play goals on 9 chances. Bruce Boudreau wasn't happy with anybody's performence last night. Hopefully Washington gets back to playing they way they did at the end of last year. Jose Theodore is expected to get the start in goal tonite. The game is sold-out and the crowd will be rocking the red. This should be a huge boost for the Caps tonite.


Chicago Blackhawks

Chicago started off the 08-09 season with a loss to the New York Rangers. Christobal Huet gave up 4 goals on 29 shots. Chicago did score 2 goals last night. The Blackhawks were 0-3 on the power play last night, and killed off all 3 off New York's power play chances. Chicago is a very young team this year, but they are really talented. They are a lot like the Caps from last year. I don't know who will start in goal for Chicago tonite


Washington's top 3 goals

1. Mike Green-2 goals
2. Alexander Semin-1 goal
3. David Steckel-1 goal

Washington's top 3 assists
1. Alexander Semin-2 assist
2. Mike Green-1 assist
3. Sergei Fedorov-1 assist


Washington's top 3 points

1. Mike Green-3 points
2. Alexander Semin-3 points
3. David Steckel- 1 point


Washington Capitals line-up

Alex Ovechkin - Nicklas Backstrom - Viktor Kozlov
Brooks Laich - Sergei Fedorov - Alexander Semin
Tomas Fleischman - Michael Nylander - Chris Clark
David Steckel - Boyd Gordon - Matt Bradley


Shaone Morrisonn - Mike Green
Tom Poti - Milan Jurcina
Jeff Schultz - John Erskine


Jose Theodore
Brent Johnson

Players to watch- Jose Theodre, Alexander Semin

Chicago Blackhawks line-up

Andrew Ladd - Jonathan Toews - Martin Havlat
Patrick Kane - Patrick Sharp - Dustin Byfuglien
Kris Versteeg - Dave Bolland - Jack Skille
Adam Burish -Colin Fraser - Craig Adams


Niklas Hjalmarsson - Brian Campbell
Duncan Keith - Brent Seabrook
Brent Sopel - Jordan Hendry


Christobal Huet
Nikolai Khabibulin


Players to watch-Dustin Byfuglien, Patrick Sharp


Key to Caps victory


The defence has to be better. So does the goaltending. The Caps can't score 7 goals a game, the defence has to step up and make some defensive plays. Erskine and Jurcina need to be more physical and Green needs to not be lost in the defensive zone. We also can't take 9 penalty's like last night. That's unacceptable. I'd also like to see Alex Ovechkin get on the board and score a goal.

ROCK THE RED

Caps lose 7-4

The Thrashers won the opening game of the year 7-4. Atlanta scored 3 straigh goals to make it 3-0 early in the 1st period. Semin scored for Washington to make it 3-1. The Thrashers and Caps both exchanged goals and it was 4-2 with Steckel getting a short-handed goal. Then Mike Green scored 2 goals late in the 2nd period to make it 4-4. Going into the 3rd period it looked like the Caps had the momentum, but Atlanta scored 3 goals in the 3rd period to finish the game.

Jose Theodore was pulled after Atlanta's 4th goal. The Caps outshot the Thrashers by 10 shots, but Kari Lehtonen was great tonite. The Caps goalie's looked shaky all-night long, giving up soft goals. Towards the end of the game, it got a little rough. Erskine, Brashear, and Bradley all got into fights.

Here's the stat sheet from tonite's game.

10-10-08 Washington Capitals at. Atlanta Thrashers

Washington's preseason record-5-1-1 Atlanta's preseason record-1-5

Washington Capitals

Washington dominated the preseason play this year, with a 5-1-1 record. The Caps defence was ranked 2nd in the preseason, only behind Detroit. Jose Theodore played 2 full games, and stopped 40 shots in the final game of the preseason. Overall the Caps looked pretty sharp. The biggest issue coming into this season is Jose Theodore. He's a huge question mark. Can he continue his strong play from last year? or will he play terrible like in 05-06? The Caps are hoping he can be a steady goaltender who can get the job done. Theodore won't have to win that many games by himself for the Caps this year. The offence will do that. Another question is, can the Caps continue there winning ways from the end of last year.

Atlanta Thrashers

Obviously by looking at Atlanta's record, you can tell that they didn't do to well in the preseason. 1-5 is never any good. It's really not good, when you have a new head coach. Atlanta's new head coach is John Anderson. John Anderson and Bruce Boudreau are best friends. They've know each other since they were 14 years old. Anderson is the god-father of Boudreau's youngest son. Anderson isn't the only new face in Atlanta this year. Atlanta added free agents Ron Hainsey, and Jason Williams. These new players will have an impact but Atlanta didn't adress their biggest need, which is a top line center for Kovalchuk. Atlanta also added Mathieu Schneider from Anaheim. Atlanta added offence on their blue-line, but they are still very weak defensively.

Washington Capitals line-up

Alex Ovechkin "A" - Nicklas Backstrom - Viktor Kozlov
Brooks Laich - Segei Fedorov "A" - Alexander Semin
Tomas Fleischman - Michael Nylander - Chris Clark "C"
Donald Brashear - David Steckel - Matt Bradley

Shaone Morrisonn - Mike Green
Tom Poti - John Erskine
Jeff Schultz - Milan Jurcina

Jose Theodore
Brent Johnson

Players to Watch-Alex Ovechkin, and Chris Clark

Atlanta Thrashers line-up


Ilay Kovalchuk - Todd White - Jason Williams
Slava Kozlov - Eric Christanson - Colby Armstrong
Eric Perrin - Marty Reasoner - Brett Sterling
Eric Boulton - Jim Slater - Chris Thorburn

Nicklas Havelid -Tobias Enstrom
Garnet Exelby - RonHainsey
Zach Bogosian - Matheui Schneider

Kari Lehtonen
Johan Hedberg

Players to Watch-Ilay Kovalchuk, Zach Bogosian

Key to Caps victory

I think the Caps have to attack the Thrashers defenceman. Atlanta's defenceman aren't great defensively, so the Caps will have to put pressure on them and forecheck and create turn-overs. Also games in the past have gotten rough, and the Caps need to stay out of the penalty box. A team with Kovalchuk is always deadly on the Power Play.

Video's

Caps-Thrashers brawl



Highlights from last meeting



Unleash the Fury



Caps season highlights



Is this the year?

Caps team photo

Here's the video from the Caps website.



Something to note from that video is, that Chris Clark has the "C" again(no surprise). Ovechkin has an "A", and the other "A" belongs to Sergei Fedorov. Last year Brashear wore the 3rd "A", but Fedorov gets it this year.

Also, here's a quote from Laich about why Clark is the captain.

"I think it is undisputed that Alex is the face of the Washington Capitals and a leader on this hockey team. Chris Clark is a veteran that has been around and knows how to handle a hockey team and how to be a leader. Alex is a superstar. We all know that, but [Clark] has a great relationship – as does Alex – with all of the players. [Clark] has a bit more of a calming presence and we missed him last year. We missed him dearly. I don’t think either of those guys are worried about titles and who has the ‘A’ or who has the ‘C.’ Those guys are both leaders and they just want to win."

Collin McKinney's story

Onfrozenblog has a great story about Caps fan Colin Mckinney. He's one of the biggest caps fans, and I suggest you check the story out. Part 1 Part 2. It's a really good story.

Bourque, Alzner and Laing sent to Hershey

I'm pretty upset that Bourque and Alzner didn't make the team because wavier status, and money. The Caps are trying to win the Stanley Cup this year. Alzner was one of the best 6 defenceman in camp, so he should have a spot on the team. Bourque out-performed a lot of the forwards, and he proved he can be a good NHL player. With that said, here's you 2008-2009 Washington Capitals.

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Kozlov
Laich-Fedorov-Semin
Fleischman-Nylander-Clark
Brashear-Steckel-Bradley
Fehr, Gordon

Morrisonn-Green
Poti-Jurcina
Erskine-Schultz

Theodore
Johnson

Boudreau's new job.

Yeah...Boudreau should stick to coaching the Caps.



Looks like his 3 second role in Slapshot didn't help his acting. Seriously Bruce, leave the acting to Ovechkin.