Gameday: at Tampa Bay, Apr. 2

Three games to go.

The Washington Capitals are in Tampa, Florida, this evening to take on the Lightning as they continue to make their push for a playoff spot.  The Capitals, winners of two in a row, are 5-3-2 in their last ten games and 40-31-8 overall for 88 standings points in 79 games.  They are therefore second in the Southeast Division, three points behind the Panthers, and eighth overall in the East, two points up on the Sabres for the final postseason birth in the Conference.  The Lightning, on the other hand, are an even 5-5 in their last ten and 36-35-7 overall for 79 standings points in 78 games.  That places them fourth in the Southeast Division and eleventh overall in the Eastern Conference.  This is the sixth and final regular season meeting between these two clubs this season; the Capitals are 3-1-1 in the first five games.

Dwayne Rolson will get the call in goal from Guy Boucher for this evening's contest despite being lit up for six goals the last time he played in a game. Roloson is 11-16-2 on the year with a 3.76 GAA, .884 save percentage, and one shutout; he lost the last time he faced the Capitals but has been a thorn in their side since he became a member of the Lightning.  Outside the crease, the Lightning will be without defensemen Marc-Andre Bergeron (back) and Mattias Ohlund (knee), while also having center Dana Tyrell out of commission because of an upper body injury.

Michal Neuvirth will start in goal this evening after an exceptional 39-save shootout win against the Canadiens on Saturday night.  Neuvirth is 13-12-5 on the year with a 2.85 GAA, .902 save percentage, and three shutouts this season; he has yet to face the Lightning this season.  On the injury front, defenseman John Erskine is on injured reserve because of a lower body injury and will not play.  Expect Dale Hunter to keep the same lineup that won Saturday's game intact, which means Jeff Schultz the healthy scratch among defensemen and Joel Ward, Jeff Halpern, and Cody Eakin all up in the pressbox among forwards.

Puck drops 7:38-ish.  As always, follow me on Twitter here for news and updates.

Man, These Teams Really Don't Like Each Other

So, this afternoon, the Penguins and Flyers played each other on national TV. And, at the end of a 6-4 Flyers win, well, this happened.


HEY, NOW! Hey to the now.

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Gameday: vs. Montreal, Mar. 31

Your #1 goalie...for now.

The Washington Capitals will welcome the Montreal Canadiens to Verizon Center this evening as they play a critical game to try and keep their playoff hopes alive.  The Capitals are 5-3-2 in their last ten games and 39-31-8 overall for 86 standings points in 78 games.  That places them second in the Southeast Division, four points back of the Panthers, and eighth overall in the Eastern Conference; Washington has the same amount of points as the Sabres but hold the tiebreaker for the final playoff spot.  The Canadiens are 4-3-3 in their last ten games and 29-25-14 overall for 72 standings points in 78 games.  They are therefore last in the Northeast Division and last in the East. This is the fourth and final regular season meeting between these two teams this season; the Capitals have won all three contests so far by a combined 10-1 score.

Randy Cunneyworth is expected to roll with backup Peter Budaj in nets after Carey Price lost last night in New York. Budaj is 3-7-3 on the year with a 2.90 GA and .905 save percentage. Outside the crease, the Canadiens are decimated by injuries.  Captain Brian Gionta (pectoral), center Scott Gomez (concussion), winger Mathieu Darche (inner-ear infection), winger Travis Moen (upper body), and defenseman Raphael Diaz (lower body) are all on injured reserve and will not play.  Forward Ryan White (illness), defenseman Yannick Weber (knee), and defenseman Tomas Kaberle (upper body) are all questionable.

Michal Neuvirth will get the call in goal from Dale Hunter after picking up the win in Boston Thursday following Tomas Vokoun's groin injury. Neuvirth is 12-12-5 on the year with a 2.89 GAA, .900 save percentage, and three shutouts; he made 30 saves on 31 shots in a win against the Habs the last time he started against them.  On the injury front, star center Nicklas Backstrom will return to the lineup after a three month absence because of a concussion.  Backstrom will resume his customary spot on the top line alongside Alex Ovechkin and Troy Brouwer. Backstrom's return will bump Cody Eakin to the press box as a healthy scratch along with Jeff Halpern and Joel Ward.  John Erskine will remain sidelined with a lower body injury and Jeff Schultz will remain a healthy scratch in back.

Puck drops 7:08-ish.  As always, follow me on Twitter here for news and updates.

Alexander Semin and the Need for a Second Line Center

Regardless of how this season ends for the Washington Capitals, this offseason is going to be a very interesting one.  For the first time in several years, the Caps have a large number of their key, big name players becoming free agents of both the restricted and unrestricted variety.

Among those is winger Alexander Semin, who has spent his entire NHL career with the Capitals and will, barring a contract extension, become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.  Semin is a player who has faced a lot of criticism over the last three seasons, some of it undeserved, some of it not.  He doesn’t score enough.  He doesn’t play defense.  He’s not versatile or consistent.  He “doesn’t care.”
But the bottom line is that Semin is a player who does make the Capitals better.  He has been steady, if unspectacular, for the last 40 games he has played this season in terms of point production.  He has the second highest even-strength Corsi rating among Capitals forwards who have played more than 40 games at 5.73, and he is one of only three Capitals forwards that has played 40 or more games to have a Corsi rating above zero at even strength.  In other words, he helps to possess the puck for the Capitals even when he’s not scoring.
Nevertheless, this is not, sadly, a post that is going to rattle off Semin’s valuable contributions to this Capitals team.  For that, read this piece by Neil Greenberg of the Washington Post.
In that post, Greenberg suggests that he would sign Semin this offseason for two years at $6 million per season.  As I noted above, I agree fully that Semin is a valuable player, and his contributions on both sides of the puck cannot be ignored.  However, for a salary capped team with a lot of its space tied up in one player, Alex Ovechkin, is Semin really worth $6 million per year, especially because the Capitals have such a desperate and apparent need for a second premier center?
I don’t believe he is.
Read the rest of this post here.


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Practice: Mar. 30

The Washington Capitals were on ice Friday for a practice following their heart-stopping 3-2 shootout win over the Bruins on Thursday night. Some updates from Kettler Capitals Iceplex:

Only ten players were on ice for the optional skate: Braden Holtby, Michal Neuvirth, Nicklas Backstrom, Jason Chimera, Jay Beagle, Cody Eakin, Joel Ward, Jeff Halpern, Jeff Schultz, and John Erskine.
Backstrom is continuing to recover from his concussion and looked good, going hard and skating with near full exertion.  He was battling with Jay Beagle along the boards for long stretches, too.  After practice, he said that he has no target date, but it sure seems as though he could be back for Saturday's game against the Canadiens.
Tomas Vokoun did not skate after exiting Thursday's game late in the first period with what is assumed to be an aggravation of his groin injury.  He is day to day.
Jason Chimera will not receive any supplemental discipline from Brendan Shanahan for his hit to Adam McQuaid in Thursday's game, as first reported by Brian McNally of the Washington Examiner.  Chimera was assessed a five minute major and a game misconduct for charging on the play.

That's all for now.  As always, follow me on Twitter here for news and updates.