What Can the Capitals Expect from Mike Green?

 Green's production will be a wildcard for the rest of the year.

As soon as Derek Stepan hit Mike Green last month, everyone inside Verizon Center and everyone watching the broadcast knew it was not good.  Green went right down to the ice, his head in his hands, before rolling over and slowly getting to his feet.  After Steve Eminger had scored on the ensuing turnover caused by the hit, Green skated woozily over to the Capitals bench, thew his helmet, and walked straight down the tunnel.  I groaned.  You probably did too.  And for good reason.  The Capitals signature defenseman, their fan favorite and perennial Norris Trophy candidate, had likely suffered his second concussion in just under three weeks.  After the game, our fears were confirmed when Green was ruled out for the Islanders game the next night.  Then, on Monday, George McPhee made the announcement that Green had indeed suffered another concussion, and was expected to miss several weeks "at a minimum."
Concussions are tricky.  Unless you live under a rock, you know that there is a certain superstar in Pittsburgh who suffered what was thought to be a minor concussion in the Winter Classic, but hasn't played since January 5th.  As a result, some people, such as NBC Sports' Bob Duff, think that Crosby will never be the same again because of how poorly the Penguins managed his concussion (he finished the Winter Classic, played in the Penguins' next game, and flew to Montreal before being put on IR).  Before you start freaking out, please realize I do not think that Mike Green is done as an elite NHL defenseman.  The Capitals did NOT make those same mistakes with Green.  He passed every single baseline test he was administered after being hit in the head by that shot.  He played in the Sharks game, and played the full game without any issues.  He accompanied the Caps on their west coast swing, and despite his "inner-ear trauma," there was never any significant fear that Green would be forced to miss a big chunk of time.  George McPhee even said he could have come back earlier than he did, in the Pittsburgh or Buffalo game.
And yet, here we are, one not-so-aggressive check later, with Green on the sidelines for an extensive period of time.  Green isn't supposed to play until the middle or the end of this month. By that point, new acquisition Dennis Wideman will be acclimated to running the Capitals' power play and playing heavy minutes in all situations (which he was in Florida); in essence, being Mike Green's doppelganger.  When Green does return, that means that there is going to be alot of pressure taken off him because Washington won't be relying on a rookie, John Carlson, to be their best guy on the back end, and Green won't have to be a savior.  So, what can we expect Mike Green to bring when does return to the lineup?
Which brings us back to point A - concussions are tricky. In such an unforgiving sport such as hockey, it is almost impossible to predict when one can occur. What makes Mike Green so great is his ability to skate up ice and enter the rush to create scoring opportunities. Even though his numbers are way down this year, he still generates chances, and I would still take him over most defensemen in the league.  This year, he has even buckled his defensive play up and has been the Capitals' most valuable defenseman not because of his scoring capability, but his defense.  When you have a history of concussions, as Green does, you hesitate.  I've had concussions from playing sports, and you don't do what you used to do with your same abandon, because you're afraid for your head.  As a result, I don't think we will see Mike Green back to his old self when he comes back, even if he is supposedly at "100 percent."
Obviously, Bruce Boudreau is not going to play his star defenseman for only 15 minutes a night, but Green is likely not going to be a game changer upon his return, outside of the mental aspect of the team having their defensive leader back. He definitely could be, working a point on that power play with Wideman, but I don't think so.  Not right away, at least.  It is going to take time for Mike to recover fully, time that may extent into next season, if not longer.  Concussions are a very scary thing, besides being hard to predict, and their wrath can last two weeks just as easily as it can last two years (Brian Pothier, cough).  And if Sid the Kid serves as any model, the Capitals are going to be beyond careful with Green.  As they should be.

Practice: Mar. 2

The Capitals were on ice this morning at 11 AM today at Kettler Capitals Iceplex for a practice following last night's thrilling come from behind win over the Islanders (recap here).  Some personnel notes from Ballston:

Michal Neuvirth, Semyon Varlamov, Alexander Semin, and Jay Beagle were all absent from practice. Neuvirth and Semin took maintenance days, while Beagle is still suffering from an upper-body injury, and Varlamov is still sidelined with what is believed to be a knee injury; there is no current timetable for his return to practice.  To compensate for Semin's absence, Bruce Boudreau did some line shuffling, and the forward units were as follows: Ovechkin-Backstrom-Knuble, Laich-Arnott-Fehr, Chimera-Johansson-Sturm, and King-Hendricks-Gordon-Bradley.  Of the biggest note is that Eric Fehr took a full practice with contact; he looks like he is nearing a return to the lineup rapidly, certainly good news for the Caps.
Tom Poti, as has become his ritual, skated by himself before practice before joining his teammates in the non-contact portion of the skate.  Poti left the ice about 20 minutes into the full practice, so he is clearly nowhere near coming back from his groin injury.  Mike Green, who is still in Calgary, will stay there until this weekend, at which point he and his father will make the trip down to Florida and meet the Capitals there for their set of games against the Panthers and Lightning. However, Green is not expected to play in either one of those games.

That's all for now.  Check back later.

Thanks to Sky Kerstein for some information in this post.

Rapid Rewind: Back From Ex-Isle

Wahoo! I'm getting really good at this 'screen shot' thing.

The Washington Capitals pulled off a miracle tonight, defeating the New York Islanders in thrilling overtime fashion by a final score of 2-1.  After being shutout for the first 59 minutes by a very poor goaltender, the Capitals finally broke through on their 39th shot with 48 seconds to play on a Brooks Laich goal before Alex Ovechkin won it 1:55 into the extra frame.  With the win, the Capitals drew within three points of the Lightning for the Southeast Division lead; the Bolts, however, hold a game in hand.  More importantly, they kept the Canadiens, who beat the Thrashers tonight, three points back of them for fifth place in the Eastern Conference, a huge boost for them.

The Capitals got off to a great start, pressuring the Islanders in their own end from the drop of the puck and getting chances right away.  Alex Ovechkin fed Marco Sturm on a breakaway just over two minutes in, but he was stopped by the leg of rookie Nathan Lawson for New York.  The Capitals continued to dominate the offensive zone early, but Lawson was excellent on separate chances from both Scott Hannan and Jason Arnott to keep the Caps off the board.  But the period continued to be all Caps, and Washington spent long stretches of time in the Islander end, but simply could not beat Lawson.  Inside 10 minutes, the Islanders got a little break for their first shot, but Michal Neuvirth was there to calmly swallow the puck up, and the top unit of Sturm, Ovechkin, and Backstrom established another dominant cycle with more chances, but could not get through Lawson again.  But at 15:01, John Erskine took a dumb interference penalty along the wall to send Washington a man down.  The Islanders power play then took their turn dominating the Capitals, who had many a tense moment during their shorthanded time, but were able to keep New York at bay.  Soon after the expiration of the penalty, the freshly released Erskine committed a horrible turnover at the blue line, allowing Frans Nielsen to walk in on an odd-man break; but Nielsen fumbled the puck at the crease and the Capitals cleared away the danger.  Inside one minute, both teams got excellent breaks up ice, but nothing materialized and the first period ended tied at 0.
The Islanders got off to a good start, establishing solid zone pressure within the first 30 seconds of the frame, and being rewarded at the 47 second mark when Mike Knuble took a tripping penalty to give New York their second power play. Again, the Islanders established good pressure on their power play, but could not break through Neuvirth.  As the period wore on after the expiration of the penalty, the Islanders began to control at even strength as well, and pressure the Caps in their own end.  After the Capitals broke out of their own zone on a counterattack, Jason Chimera missed a wide open net and a chance to put the Capitals up, and Matt Bradley did the same thing two minutes later.  Right after the missed chance by Bradley, the Islanders broke up ice on an excellent rush, but were kept at bay by a great defensive play by Karl Alzner.  After John Carlson collected the loose puck, he was pickpocketed by John Tavares moving up ice, and Tavares fed Matt Moulson for a wide open look; the winger buried it for a 1-0 New York advantage at the 10:08 mark.  Soon after, Moulson was fed on a breakaway, and it took another great recovery by a Capitals defender, this time John Erskine, to keep the Islanders from widening their lead.  But the Caps got a power play soon after at 12:08, and got some good open looks, but Lawson was great again to keep them off the board.  As the period wore on, Michal Neuvirth had to be on top of his game, making two nice saves, to keep the Islanders from extending their lead again.  The Isles continued to dominate the frame inside five minutes, and the Capitals showed no interest and lackluster play as the middle stanza ended with the New York up 1-0.
The Capitals tried to get off to a good start inside one minute when Alexander Semin used some of his great moves to get an open look, but he was denied by the toe of Lawson.  Jason Arnott came close too, but Lawson again somehow found a way to answer against the Capitals.  Then it was the Islanders' turn to get some chances, with several good looks on Neuvirth, but the Czech saved the Caps' bacon again, making two huge saves on the Islanders.  With about 6 minutes gone by in the frame, Brooks Laich fed John Carlson wide open in front, but Carlson got barely anything on his shot, and Lawson came across to stop it. The Capitals were then awarded a power play at the 7:19 mark when the Islanders were called for too many men, but their man advantage was again beyond awful, generating no zone time until there were fewer than 20 seconds left.  After the expiration of the power play, the Islanders took over.  The pressed Michal Neuvirth like crazy, and he had to be exceptional a number of times to keep the Caps in the game.  After Nicklas Backstrom took a holding call at 13:19, the Islanders cranked the pressure up, getting great looks inside the bottom of the circles.  But Neuvirth stood tall once more, making more amazing saves in close to keep his men in it.  But after the Caps killed of that penalty, Backstrom took another with 3:55 left, putting Washington in truly dire straits.  However, the penalty killing unit was maginificent once again, setting the stage for an improbable and miraculous comeback.  With Michal Neuvirth pulled, the Capitals tried to get a cycle going down low, but had the puck stolen and almost cleared. Alexander Semin dug in and won a board battle, and the puck ended up down low on the stick of Jason Arnott, who dished beautifully in front to Brooks Laich for the equalizer at 19:12.  The Caps almost won the game 30 seconds later, but the clock wore down, setting the stage for overtime.
In OT, Brooks Laich got an early chance, but Lawson again was there with his pad, keeping his poise admirably.  After the Islanders got a rush up ice but was stopped, Alex Ovechkin collected a rebound and began a bull rush up ice. Cutting to the inside, he demolished Frans Neilsen while maintaining control before stopping on a dime and roofing a backhand over Lawson for the game-winner. Pandemonium ensued.

Observations:

Michal Neuvirth was simply unreal.  Not much more can be said.  He had no chance on the goal he allowed, and made amazing save after amazing save late to keep the Caps in the game and give them a chance to do what they did.  He was deserving of the first star in my opinion, and will start against the Blues on Thursday.  Not that it needed any confirmation.  Props to Neuvy.

Alex Ovechkin's goal was a true "Ovie goal" that only he could have pulled off.  It was vintage Ovechkin in all regards: cutting to the middle, demolition of a player on the way to the cage, and pure explosion in his stride down the wing.  A thing of beauty, and it could not have come at a better time.  He played very well overall, too, and I think he is back to his "old" self.  He has that unbelievable energy back, and he's celebrating like he just scored for the first time again.  Very niiiiice.

The new guys played well.  Sturm didn't do anything real noticeable, but I liked what he did on the top line.  He did not seem out of place, and he kept up with his linemates well, stretching the ice for them and nearly cashing in on breakaway earlier in the game.  Wideman was not special either, but he played with composure and led the team in ice time by a wide margin; look for that to become a regular occurrence while Mike Green is out.  Arnott had the best game.  His pass to Laich for the game winner was great and it was made under pressure; that thing goes a couple of inches in either direction, it likely exits the zone and the Isles win.  Overall, a good game for them as a group.

The Capitals will practice tomorrow at Kettler Capitals Iceplex as they prepare for their home game against the Blues on Thursday.  That game is scheduled for 7 P.M.

Updates From the Morning Skate

The Washington Capitals were on ice earlier today for their morning skate as they prepare to take on the New York Islanders tonight at Verizon Center.  Some personnel updates from Kettler Capitals Iceplex:

Semyon Varlamov returned to the ice today, just like George McPhee said he would, and practiced with the team for the majority of the morning skate.  Varly also left the ice early, which is usually an indication of who will start that night's game.  However, Michal Neuvirth confirmed after he came off the ice that he is starting tonight for the Capitals, which what was expected; the team is going to be very cautious with their young Russian goaltender.  As a result, the Capitals have recalled goaltender Todd Ford from Hershey of the AHL to back up Neuvirth tonight.
Alex Ovechkin did not skate, taking the morning off, but has no injury and will play tonight.  Neither did Jay Beagle, although there is no word on whether or not he is expected to play tonight; he has an upper body injury.  Tom Poti and Eric Fehr both took the full practice, staying until the end; although neither will play tonight, that they are well enough to stay on the ice for a full morning practice is good news.
All three of the new Capitals are expected to play tonight: Marco Sturm, Dennis Wideman, and Jason Arnott.  Wideman will skate with Scott Hannan tonight, and Arnott will play on a line with Alexander Semin and Sturm. That confirms that Tyler Sloan will be a healthy scratch tonight. Defenseman Mike Green is still in Calgary and will not be back with the team until Friday at the earliest, and then will continue his concussion recovery process.  There is no concrete timetable for his return to the Capitals lineup.

Another update on the Islanders end: Nathan Lawson is now expected to start for New York instead of Al Montoya.

Puck drops for this one 7:08-ish.  Check back after the game.

Thanks to Sky Kerstein for information used in this post.

Gameday: vs. NY Islanders, Mar. 1

Nick Backstrom won the Isles' last visit to DC - with his foot.

The Washington Capitals will kick off their March schedule this evening at Verizon Center, welcoming the New York Islanders to Verizon Center for the second leg of their home-and-home set.  The Capitals report for duty tonight with 76 points in 63 games, which places them second in the Southeast Divison, five points back of the Lightning, and in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, three points clear of the Canadiens.  The Islanders, on the other hand, have 54 points in 63 games, which puts them in last place in the Atlantic Division and 14th overall in the Easter Conference.  Despite this, however, the Isles have been playing much better of late, including their game with the Caps on Saturday. Washington leads the season series 3-0; all three games have been one-goal, hard-fought affairs.

Islanders interim coach Jack Capuano is expected to roll with goaltender Al Montoya for the fifth consecutive game tonight.  Montoya, who has played very well for the Islanders, made 19 stops on 22 shots in his last outing against the Capitals, and really only had a chance on one goal that he allowed.  He has compiled a 2.07 GAA, a .926 Save%, and one shutout since being traded to the Islanders midway through last month, and certainly has the potential to frustrate the Capitals.

Michal Neuvirth is expected to get the tap on the pads from head coach Bruce Boudreau for tonight's contest, his fourth consecutive start in the Washington blue paint.  After his horrid outing Friday night against the Rangers, Neuvy was forced back into action Saturday after Semyon Varlamov was injured, as was very good over the course of that 3-2 victory over the Isles, making 29 saves. Outside of the crease, all three of the Capitals' new shiny new acquisitions: Marco Sturm, Dennis Wideman, and Jason Arnott, are expected to make their debuts in red tonight.  That means that Tyler Sloan will be a scratch of the back end, but it remains to be seen who will sit in order to make room for Arnott (Sturm's place is cleared by the Caps trading Dave Steckel).

For more information and analysis on everything that happened in the world of Capitals hockey yesterday, including both trades, click here.
For the updates from today's morning skate, click here.