I Love You, Coach Boudreau

...or: Why the Caps Might Turn Things Around. Okay, maybe that's not best title, but I really like those 'or' titles, you know? Like Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb.

Anyhow, per Tarik at Capitals Insider Brian Pothier will be watching tonight's game from the press box. Boudreau is no joke - he clearly expects the team to win and man, is it refreshing. I still think Hanlon did a great job when he was here but his "Aw, shucks, it's okay, we all make mistakes, let's just go out and try to do better next time" attitude, which was perfect for a rebuilding team, wouldn't suffice for situations like this. Boudreau has clearly brought a little instant respectability with the way he holds players accountable, demands they play their best and expects to win.

Hanlon's buddy-buddy attitude and constant encouragement were great for a team full of players trying to find their way in the NHL who needed to go out and play relaxed every night. Now, the team is not so young and most of the players have enough NHL experience that they ought to be able to step up and have more expected of them without "gripping the stick too tight" as the expression goes.

-DMG
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Caps Lose in Newark (no word on whether any were mugged coming out of the arena)

Capitals 2, Devils 3

The Devils just had to pick the game against the Caps to have Scott Stevens night, didn't they? And they just had to have the first image of Stevens in the tribute video be him on the Capitals bench didn't they?

I don't know how much of it was aired on the Caps broadcast, but I was getting Devils feed from Center Ice and I would have to say it was a nice little ceremony. The only part that was a little weird was when they showed Stevens' famous (infamous?) hit on Lindros. It might be his most notable check and it sure is a hell of hit but it's just unsettling to me to see the moment that one of the most exciting players to come into the league in the last twenty years had his career effectively ended (or at least diminished). Classy on Stevens' part to thank both the Capitals and the Blues in his Hall of Fame introductory speech (which was shown as part of the ceremony), but the most interesting part was when Stevens thanked Lou Lamoriello for making New Jersey his home. Think that's the first time that's ever happened?

I also think this is worth mentioning: the Devils commentary team was as woefully prepared as I've ever heard any broadcast team be in any sport. And I've seen this. And this. And I watch the World Cup on the broadcasts with American announcers. But these guys were a whole new level - they referred to Backstrom and Zubrus as teammates from last year, stumbled over their own notes and at one point confused Mike Green with Jeff Schultz. How do you even do that? I mean, yeah, they're both Capitals defensemen but Green is right handed and is about 6'1'' and 190 pounds (I know what he's listed at, but there's no way he's over 200) and Schultz is left handed and 6'6'' and 225.

As for the game:

What an atrocious first period, full of stupid plays on the Capitals part. Stupid, unnecessary penalties on Schultz for tripping and Laich for tackling holding. The crowning moment (of stupidity) was Pothier's pass right up the middle of his own zone that lead to Vishnevski's goal and put the Caps behind 1-0. Anyone, anyone, down to grade-school kids, who's been playing or following hockey for more than a month can tell you that you never make that play unless there are acres of free space in front of you. Especially bad when your team is trying to play a tight defensive game against a defensively sound opponent who has won eight straight.

The stupidity continued right up the very end, with Green's hooking penalty with a minute left in the third. There's not way to blame that call on the refs either. It was a clear hook and just....well, stupid on Green's part.

The frustrating thing for fans (and for the team as well, I'm sure) is that other than their momentary lapses (Pothier's pass, Green's penalties) and bad breaks (Ovechkin having his shot off the post go out; Travis Zajac's goal) the Capitals played well, and if the Devils don't have Martin Brodeur in net, I'm not sure so they win that game. Considering the Capitals were missing their captain (Clark), their number one center (Nylander) and their best defensive forward (Gordon), they played very well for most of the game.

Regular readers know you're not going to make it through very many of my write-ups (for this season at least) without a mention of the bad luck the Capitals have faced and here it is: The Devils third goal, scored by Zajac is the latest example of horrible luck for the Caps: guys getting tied up; mixed up down low and the puck comes both right in front of the wide-open net and right onto the offensive player's stick. That's only happened against the Capitals this year; it doesn't happen for them.

The unfortunate reality, I think, is that this just isn't that Capitals year. They can't get bounces, can't get calls, can't even get the ice to freeze at Verizon Center and have been dealing with injuries to key players since training camp. The bad news is that it may be time to accept the team's fate of another year out of the playoffs, another lottery pick and another season of crowds of 13,000 at the Verizon Center for Caps games.

The good news is that I don't think all that much has changed from the start of the season to now really. Were it not for injuries, bad luck and timely mistakes the Capitals could easily be in the playoff race. Alexander Ovechkin is still one of the best players in the game, Alexander Semin is still capable of scoring forty goals in a season, Clark and Matt Pettinger are still solid two way players, Gordon and Dave Steckel are still good shutdown forwards, Mike Green is going to be an all-star caliber player before too long, Tom Poti can log a lot of important minutes, if someone else can step up to play with Shaone Morrisonn the Capitals will have a very good shutdown defensive pairing and Boudreau seems to be doing an excellent job coaching the team thus far. Add that to the fact Karl Alzner, Chris Bourque and (very likely) a very high draft pick (Steve Stamkos?) will be ready to compete for roster spots and Jaromir Jagr will be off the books for the Caps and things still look pretty bright for next season.

Maybe it seems silly to be talking about next season three weeks before Christmas and maybe in some ways it's premature. After all, I'm not quite ready to call it quits on the 07-08 campaign yet (but I am very close). The point I was making is just that, although the Capitals have been very disappointing this year, most of the cause of the preseason excitement is still going to be around next year. This organization still has a wealth of young, talented players and that's not going to change. The Capitals will be a force in the Eastern Conference before too long.

As for the present: the Capitals are now 9-17-2, a full ten points out of a playoff spot and in need of a serious run, a Devils-esque (nine in a row) run in fact. If they're going to there's no better time to start than Saturday night: playing at home coming off a tough loss and facing the Thrasher who . . . you know, suck.

Quick Hits

• Eleven minutes into the first period shots were 4-1, Capitals. Five shots. In eleven minutes. For both teams combined. That's Devils hockey for ya, folks.
  
• The Caps were dominated in the physical game. Period.
• That said, the Devils were lucky the refs were fairly lenient. There were about a half dozen potential interference minors, none of which were called.
• Thank you, Alexander Semin, for reminding us just how good you can be.
  
• I was surprised to see Langenbrunner back on the ice after he went hard into the boards - from how he was favoring his right arm I was sure it was broken.
  
• Joe Motzko had a really nice play in the first where he cleared what would have been a sure goal out of the crease and into the corner. Great awareness.
• Credit where credit's due: David Clarkson did a great job frustrating Ovechkin in the offensive zone.
  
• At one point one of the Devils announcers said Jeff Schultz "low-bridged" David Clarkson. I'm pretty sure that for Jeff Schultz to "low-bridge" anyone they'd have to be about nine feet tall.

-DMG
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Cruisin Down the Freeway With the Hot, Hot Suns

Tonight the Washington Wizards play host to one of the hottest teams in the league. The Phoenix Suns (15-4) come into Verizon Center riding a four-game win streak and having won 12 of their last 14. Meanwhile, the Wizards (9-9) have won their last two, most recently a 105-86 blowout against Cleveland on Wednesday in D.C.

Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion and company will provide a much tougher test for a team that is starting to develop some consistency on the defensive end. That they've held four of their last five opponents below the century mark shows how far they've come after being one of the league's worst defensive teams a season ago. Tonight they'll likely be exposed for how far they have yet to go before they can be considered a legitimately talented defensive group. No one on Washington's roster can contain a point guard with Nash's penetration and passing ability. No one on the Wiz can handle a load like Stoudamire on the block. And no one on the team is quick enough to keep the human form of Gumby, aka the Matrix, off the boards and away from the rim.

Prediction

Don't bother looking for much defense at all in this one. The Suns gave up 123 to the Raptors in their last game and still won by 13. For the Wizards to keep pace, they'll need another 25+ point showing from Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison, a double-double from Brendan Haywood and lots of scoring off the bench. With the way they've played recently, a win certainly isn't out of the question for Washington. They'll just need to play a near-perfect game to pull off the upset. That said, I like the West's best offensive team by 12.

-- The Tar Heel

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Wizards Get A Measure of Revenge...Sort Of...

The Eastern Conference Champion Cleveland Cavaliers limped into the district last night without three of the role players who helped them to 2007 NBA Finals and riding a four-game losing streak. Ex-Wizard Larry Hughes, wily sharpshooter Donyell Marshall and the recently re-signed Anderson Varejao (who the Cavs only opened up their wallet for to prevent him from going to the Bobcats) were all out of the lineup as Washington hosted their newest rivals for the first time since last April's playoff series. Oh yeah...and that LeBron James character was in street clothes too.

But with the bitter taste of that first round trouncing still lingering, the Wizards (9-9) showed no mercy to their shorthanded opponents. Caron Butler and company used a 31-point second quarter and a dominant performance on the boards to chase the reeling Cavs (9-11) out of Verizon Center after a 105-86 victory.

Imagine that! A team that's favored to win a game against a shorthanded opponent actually following through on it. Hey Joey G., you seeing this?

Butler, who has been nothing short of MVP-like this season, posted another statistical gem scoring a game-high 27 points on 13-of-23 from the field with seven boards, four steals, two assists and a block. He's now averaging 23.2 points (10th most in the NBA), 6.7 boards, 3.1 dishes and 2.1 steals (9th) and 40.3 minutes (4th) per contest. And it's not taking Butler tons of shots to reach his totals either. At 53 percent, he's 17th in the league in shooting percentage (only two players ahead of him are not centers of power forwards who get half of their buckets on dunks) and for a guy who had no outside shot before this season, how good does 51 percent (4th in the league) sound? That's efficiency, a word the run and gun Wizards teams of the past few years never learned.

It's not only Caron who's getting it done either. Antawn Jamison is averaging a double-double (21.6 & 10.3), Antonio Daniels is running the offense smoothly, Brendan Haywood is simply giddy in his fortified starting role - averaging career highs in points (9.9) and boards (7.9) - and that Nick Young kid is really starting to wow people with his quick scoring ability from anywhere on the floor. Throw in the constantly-improving Andray Blatche, a reliable big man in Darius Songaila, a perimeter defender in DeShawn Stevenson, and role players off the bench like Dominic McGuire and Roger Mason Jr. and you've got a team that can win on any given night in the lackluster East. More importantly, you've got a team that is not only surviving, but is really starting to figure out how to get it done without it's marquee star. The belief is if the Wiz can hover around .500 until Gilbert Arenas returns to the lineup in three months, they'll make the playoffs. The way this team has played in it's last two games combined with how weak the East looks (yet again) after you get past Boston, Orlando and Detroit, Washington could conceivably be fourth in the conference when Agent Zero comes back.

There's no doubt the Wizards are a better team with their star on the floor, but in his absence, Butler and Jamison have delivered, Haywood has finally grown up and the Wizards are holding strong. Inconsistency has still plagued them at times, but look for this next stretch of home games - one that features a home match-up with Phoenix, followed by against conference bottom-feeders Atlanta (7-10), Indiana(9-10), Charlotte (6-11), Chicago (what? yeah, they're 5-11) and two each against Miami (4-13) and New Jersey (9-10) - to dictate the way this season will go. If they beat the teams they should beat - i.e. all of these duds - and take care of their home floor, the Wiz are set. Now they just have to do what they're supposed to do...or be who we think they are.

Noteworthy

• No one likes a guy who plays for stats. A few years ago Ricky Davis, then playing for the Cavs when they used to wear those light blue unis, notoriously grabbed a rebound in the waning moments of a Cleveland loss and promptly tossed it back off the backboard himself in order to tally a triple-double. Classy. Last night, Brendan Haywood clearly knew he had been sitting on nine boards for the last few minutes of the game. With the final margin already lit on the scoreboard, a Cleveland player drove to the basket for a lay-in. Brendan contested the shot and snatched the rebound out of the air faster than Steven A. Smith reaching for a cheese doodle. The buzzer sounded and Haywood sprinted to the locker room with a massive smile across his face. Yeah, double-doubles are inconsequential in the scheme of things, but you gotta love a guy who has finally become the aggressive force in the paint he was drafted to be actually playing like a 7-footer.
  

• The Wizards have been getting by without adding a body to their bench for over a month now. With Arenas, Etan Thomas and Oleksiy Pecherov still out, their 10-man roster barely gives them enough players to scrimmage in practice. One injury and Eddie Jordan is going to be suiting up in the layup line. Team president Ernie Grunfield has been reluctant to go over the luxury tax to give the team a little more depth and doesn't look like he'll budge on that unless an impact player becomes readily available. So for now, the Wiz will keep knocking on wood, but maybe it's time for Eddie to start getting back into shape. Never know when they might need him.

-- The Tar Heel

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Week 14: Redskins vs. Bears

I'm getting very tired of this Redskins team. I love our players, but when I see the amount of talent and time they are wasting week in and week out, it pisses me off. From the coaching staff, right down to the players they seem content to mail in their games, simply go through the motions. I think they expect their abilities to come through and save them when game time rolls around, forgetting that in the NFL every player has the raw talent to be there.
There is no fire in this team, there is no will to succeed, no intensity to carry them through close games. Jason Campbell is praised for his poise, but when does that kind of poise merely reflect an inner complacency? The Redskins have lost almost every single close game they have played this year and that has been the difference in their season.

There is no way they should have lost last week to a Buffalo team who ranks 30th in the league on defense and 29th on offense. Where is the passion? Where is that inner determination to beat down their opponent on every play? The best comparable example of the Redskins lack of desire is their game against the Patriots. Where the Skins laid down and timidly played to a 52-7 loss, a weaker but more empowered Ravens team actually showed up to play and was one or two plays away from defeating the so-called unbeatable New England team.

Where is the Redskins' fortitude? It's not enough in this league to deserve to win, you have to earn it, and at 5-7 this Redskins team hasn't done anything to earn anyone's respect. The Bears are drastically worse statistically, yet they have an equal 5-7 record and have capitalized on the few opportunities they have been given this season. Not to mention they have Devin Hester, a player so explosive the Redskins will need to take the time and game plan for. But this is something I don't think they've had the time or experience to do.

This Bears defense is not the vaunted or feared group of years past and Clinton Portis has historically showed that he can run on them. They also gave up over 150 yards and a TD last week to the Giants' Derrick Ward, so the Redskins could have success scoring this way on Thursday. Running the ball is something they have been unable to do in their four game losing streak and would give an all-around boost to the offense, but simply gaining yards hasn’t necessarily translated into points this year for the Redskins and I don't see that changing on Thursday.

This Skins team that has shown at multiple junctures this year that they can lose close games or fail to win the game when the ball is in their hands. It'll be another close one against the Bears but the Skins failure to put the ball in the end zone will again hurt their chances against the superior special teams play of the Bears.

Redskins 20, Bears 24

-The Hokie
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Nationals Deal for Mets' Milledge

In a recent deal the Washington Nationals sent catcher Brian Schneider and outfielder Ryan Church to the Mets for outfielder Lastings Milledge. In a statement, General Manager Bowden said they expect Milledge to develop into a middle of the order hitter and a good defensive outfielder. Milledge will be given the opportunity to compete for the starting spot in center but can and could play either corner spot as well. Bowden also said that "To get a young player of the potential that Lastings Milledge has, you have to pay a price, and we paid a steep price."

Now, while I fully support this move and commend the Nationals for cutting ties to underachieving and struggling players, I certainly don't think the Nats paid a steep price. As a fan who wants to see this team develop their own identity, I was afraid that the organization would cling to non-essential personnel out of loyalty to the past. But, in the past two seasons they have shown they are willing to do what is necessary in order to make the club better. Both Schneider and Church had used up their opportunities in Washington and it was important to reshuffle the deck and get a player like Milledge in return. A 22-year-old prospect, he still has the potential to develop into a power hitter and excellent all-around ballplayer.

Schneider, who is a great defensive catcher, has regressed the past two years offensively. His dead weight was carried when he exhibited a bit of power and showed signs of making more contact, but backward offensive steps made him obsolete towards the end of the 2007 season and coincided with the emergence of Jesus Flores. Flores will be given his opportunity to take the vacant starting catching job, but you should still look for the Nationals to pursue another catching option as Flores is still young and unproven.

Church has also been a disappointment as a National and many have looked towards his lackadaisical nature and poor work ethic as the contributing factor. As both a fielder and hitter, Church appeared to hit a wall and never took that next step that was expected to make him into a capable everyday player.

With the recent addition of Milledge and the previous addition of Elijah Dukes from the Tampa Bay Rays, it looks like the Nationals are content with their outfield potential for the 2008 season. Both players will compete for center and right field alongside Austin Kearns (although Kearns is on the trading block to interested teams). The final spot will belong to Wily Mo Pena, who I have criticized before, but as pure talent and physical attributes are concerned, this group is definitely stronger than the starting lineup of 2007 and that’s what is most important to take away from the moves made so far this winter.

The Nationals are attempting to grow their own talent and have really put the responsibility to win on Manny Acta's shoulders. Can he and his coaching staff turn these guys into professional ball players? Can they not only coach but teach them how to play, how to win and how to get better? I like the potential chemistry they are trying to assemble and while it's funny to think about big league players getting better or becoming more than they already are, it's imperative for every player to continue to grow and take positive steps.

The Nationals still need to add starting pitching to their roster and the Twins have been mentioned as potential suitors for Kearns and Felipe Lopez. In return the Nationals will expect a young but ready prospect and I suspect Kearns and Lopez will again be paired for a trade, this time out of Washington. With everything that has happened so far this winter, the 2008 Nationals could surprise some people and their success will be directly related to how fast their young talent develops. 2008 will be a different look than we've grown accustomed to, but that's a good thing.

- The Hokie
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Posts for the Off Days

Well Caps fans, the team finally has some time off. Five days total in fact, which means there probably won't be a ton of news coming out of the Caps camp in the coming days. Given this, I thought now would be an appropriate time to post several things I'd been working on:

Capitals
Stop the Panic! Ovechkin isn't going anywhere
Capitals Advertising Leaves a Lot to be Desired

NHL
Economics + Hockey = More Fights, Hold the Scoring Please

Capitals Videos
Caps Video Clips Post

-DMG
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