Gameday: vs. Toronto, Dec. 9

Crash the net. Crash it, I say!

The Washington Capitals will welcome the Toronto Maple Leafs to Verizon Center this evening as they try to continue some of the momentum picked up in their wild 5-3 win over the Senators on Wednesday night. The Caps, who even with their win Wednesday are 4-6 in their last ten games, enter tonight's game at 14-12-1, which gives them 29 standings points in 27 games.  Those 29 points place them second in the Southeast Division, seven off the pace of leaders Florida, and in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, one point out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the East.  Toronto, who got off to a blazing start, have slowed down a bit recently, but are still at .500 over their last ten and 15-10-3 overall.  They have 33 points, which gives them sole possession of second place in the Northeast Division and fifth place in the Eastern Conference.  This is the second of four meetings between these two clubs this season; the Leafs put up a touchdown on the Caps in the first game, winning 7-1.

Former Caps coach and current Maple Leafs boss Ron Wilson is likely to give the call in goal to his number one man, James Reimer.  Reimer has missed most of the year with a concussion, but nonetheless a very good goaltender even though his current numbers may not support it: a 4-1-2 record, 2.81 GAA, .902 save percentage, and one shutout.  Toronto will also get a boost tonight as winger Colby Armstrong will return from an ankle injury, but the Leafs are still without Mike Komisarek, Matthew Lombardi, and Mike Brown.  They are near full strength, and own two of the NHL's top five points scorers in Joffrey Lupul and Phil Kessel.

Tomas Vokoun will get the start in nets from Dale Hunter, his second consecutive start.  Vokoun made 31 saves on 34 shots in his last outing, that win against the Senators on Wednesday, and is 11-7-0 on the year with a 2.74 GAA, .909 save percentage, and one shutout.  On the injury front, the Caps are still without Mike Green (groin) and Jay Beagle (concussion), who are out long term.  Matt Hendricks will miss tonight's game with a knee injury, which means that Mathieu Perreault will keep his place in the lineup.  Roman Hamrlik will feature in the lineup for the first time in a little over a week, which means that Jeff Schultz will be scratched.

Puck drops for this one 7:09-ish.

Gameday: at Ottawa, Dec. 7

Oh look, how it feels to win a hockey game.

The Washington Capitals are in Ottawa, Ontario, this evening to take on the Senators as they look to shake off their month long string of poor performances and get some momentum.  The Caps, losers of seven of their last ten and 11 of their last 15, enter tonight's game 13-12-1 following a loss in Florida Monday night. They have 27 standings points in 26 games, which places them second in the Southeast, seven points behind the Panthers, and ninth in the Eastern Conference, two points behind the Senators for the eighth and final playoff spot.  Ottawa, winners of six of their last ten, have 29 standings points in 27 games, having won their last game over the Lightning on Monday night.  This is the third of four meetings between these two clubs this season; the Capitals have won both, including a 3-2 overtime win last Saturday.

Craig Anderson will get the call in goal once more from Paul MacLean following his strong performance against the Bolts, in which he turned aside 31 of 33 shots. On the year, the veteran goaltender is 12-8-2 with a 3.36 GAA and .896 save percentage, but still has the ability to steal a game.  The Senators are not expected to be affected by injuries much for this game, either.  Defenseman Flilip Kuba is day to day with an upper body injury and may not play, but other than that, only fourth line center Peter Regin is on IR and will not play.  Swell.

Dale Hunter will go with Tomas Vokoun in nets following another exceptionally poor performance by Michal Neuvirth on Monday in Florida.  Vokoun made 33 on 35 shots saves in his last outing, a loss last Tuesday in Pittsburgh, and on the year is 10-7-0 with a 2.72 GAA, .909 save percentage, and one shutout. Washington needs a huge performance from him not only tonight, but for the rest of the year if they are going to get back on the horse and get some wins.  On the injury front, the Caps are still without Mike Green (groin), and Jay Beagle (concussion), as those players are on IR.  Roman Hamrlik (upper-body), who has missed the last three games, and Alexander Semin (shoulder), who has missed the last two games, are both questionable.

Puck drops for this one 7:08-ish.  Check back later.

Practice: Dec. 6

The Washington Capitals were on ice Tuesday morning as they work towards building consistency following another poor showing Monday night against the Panthers.  Some updates from BankAtlantic Center:

Matt Hendricks missed practice with an undisclosed lower-body injury.  Per a team spokesman, he is day-to-day; he only played 4:22 last night and did not see the ice at all in the third period.  As such, Dale Hunter had to shake up his lines: Ovechkin-Backstrom-Semin, Brouwer-Johannson-Halpern, Chimera-Laich-Ward, and Eakin-Perreault-Knuble.
Roman Hamrlik skated again; he has missed the last three games with a lower body injury.  No word on whether or not he will be able to play Wednesday night in Ottawa.

That's all for now.
Information from Steve Whyno was used in this post.

Gameday: at Florida, Dec. 5

Time to build a little momentum...

The Washington Capitals are in Sunrise, Florida, this evening to take on the first-place Panthers as they look to continue their momentum from Saturday night's shaky but exciting 3-2 overtime win against Ottawa.  The Caps enter tonight's game with a 13-11-1 record, having won their last game, but are still 3-7-0 in their last ten games and have played poorly for more than a month now.  Their record gives them 27 standings points, which places them second in the Southeast Division, five behind Florida, and in the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Panthers, who won in San Jose on Saturday night, are 14-8-4 and winners of six of their last ten.  Their 32 standings points slot them first in the Southeast and third in the East by virtue of their status as Division leaders.  This is the second of six meetings between these two clubs this season; the Caps won behind a Tomas Vokoun shutout in the first game in mid October.

Former Capital Jose Theodore will get the call in goal from coach Kevin Dineen after yielding his last start to Scott Clemmensen.  Theo made 24 saves on 26 shots in his last outing, a loss in Los Angeles, and on the year is 10-5-3 with a 2.28 GAA, .924 save percentage, and one shutout.  He did not play during the first game between Florida and the Caps.  Elsewhere, Matt Bradley (upper body), Scottie Upshall (hip), and Mikael Samuelsson (hernia), are all on injured reserve and have not played in over two weeks.  Samuelsson and Bradley, however, are not considered locks to miss the contest and may return to the lineup.  It is not known who would sit should they play.

Dale Hunter seems likely to give the nod to Michal Neuvirth in nets following his nice performance Saturday against the Senators.  Neuvy stopped 32 of 34 in that game for only his third win of the season, and on the year is 3-4-1 with a 3.60 GAA and .878 save percentage.  On the injury front, Mike Green (groin) and Jay Beagle (concussion) are both out and will not play, while Alexander Semin (shoulder) and Roman Hamrlik (lower body) were questionable heading up to the morning skate but will not play because of their ailments.  That means that Dmitry Orlov and Cody Eakin will keep their respective spots in the lineup.

Late start tonight...puck drops for this one 7:37-ish.   Check back later.

Rapid Rewind: Filibuster

Read my RtR game recap here.