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It's a Brand New Dance Called "The Ovie"

Sometime Blogger/Most Time Slacker Scott Morath drops by to give us his expert hockey analysis into the trades made yesterday by the Washington Capitals as they make their run toward their 1st Stanley Cup title:


I LOVE the trade deadline moves by the Capitals yesterday. Here's my quick and dirty breakdown of the players acquired...

Scott Walker (RW from Carolina) - gritty veteran who can be the agitator that the Caps have lacked since Matt Cooke left for Pittsburgh following the 2007-08 season. Walker isn't afraid to drop the gloves, and he has some skill as well (as evidenced by a few 20 goal seasons on his resume). Last year he scored the OT winner in Game 7 of the conference semifinals versus Boston. Definitely worth the 7th round pick it cost to acquire him.

Eric Belanger (C from Minnesota) - a versatile 32 yr old who will improve the Caps' penalty kill (a glaring weakness for several years now). Also very good on faceoffs. Will probably center the 3rd line, but has the skill to move up to the 2nd line if need be. Acquired for 2nd round pick.

Joe Corvo (D from Carolina) - mobile D-man who can eat up minutes and generate offense from the blueline. Has a booming shot from the point and will improve an already lethal power play. Price was steep to acquire him as a rental, but he's a definite upgrade over Brian Pothier (another pending free agent who went to Carolina in the deal). Given the depth of the Capital’s farm system, the 2nd round pick and the prospect (Oskar Osala) that also went to the Hurricanes will not hamper the team in the future.

Milan Jurcina (D from Columbus) - Jurcina returns to Washington after the Caps traded him away (along with Chris Clark) to acquire Jason Chimera a few months ago. The cost was very reasonable (6th round pick), primarily because Jurcina has a sports hernia injury, and the Bluejacket’s season will almost be over by the time he's ready to play again. When healthy, Jurcina provides a much needed physical presence on D, and may wind up being a key player come playoff time.

GM George McPhee did a tremendous job, and it helps to know that two of the acquired players (Corvo and Belanger) played for head coach Bruce Boudreau in the minors when they were in the L.A, Kings system. Most importantly, McPhee didn't take on any contracts that run into next year (which is critical with Nicklas Backstrom and some of their other young players due significant raises after the season). He also didn't part with any first round draft picks, or any of the Caps' top prospects. They still have 3 promising young goalies (Semyon Varlamov, Michal Neuvirth and Braden Holtby) plus 2 top prospects on defense (Karl Alzner and John Carlson) waiting in the wings. The future looks bright in Washington, and after these latest moves, so does the present.


Scott Morath is an occasional contributor to My 2 Cents, specializing in hockey coverage and analysis.

Capitals Round 2 Preview

At least the Caps don't have to worry about this guy this year.

By Scott Morath

(2) Washington Capitals versus (4) Pittsburgh Penguins– NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman’s dream come true, as the league’s marquee players, Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, meet in the conference semifinals.

Offense – Both teams prefer a wide open game, and there is no shortage of firepower on either side.  The Pens feature the league’s top point getter in Evgeni Malkin (35 goals, 78 assists), plus the third leading scorer in Crosby (33 goals, 70 assists).  While both players tallied 4 goals each in their six game opening round series win over Philadelphia, they are primarily playmakers, rather than pure goal scorers, and thus have a greater reliance on their linemates to put the puck in the net.  The Capitals top guns have no such concerns, as Ovechkin and his Russian countryman, Alexander Semin, combined for 90 goals during the regular season (and might have hit the century mark had Semin not missed 20 games due to injury).  Factoring in center Nicklas Backstrom and defenseman Mike Green, Washington has a wider array of elite scoring talent at their disposal, though Pittsburgh counters with an advantage in depth, with veterans Chris Kunitz, Bill Guerin and Petr Sykora all quite capable of denting the twine.  Edge: Even

Defense – Green struggled during the Capitals’ first round series, and it remains to be seen if he is nursing an injury, or was suffering from the flu (as was reported).  Regardless, he needs to play better for Washington to win this series.  John Erskine and Brian Pothier played surprisingly well as the Caps bested the offensively challenged New York Rangers in seven games, but they will be severely tested by the more skilled Penguins forwards.   Meanwhile, ex-Capital Sergei Gonchar missed much of the regular season while recovering from shoulder surgery, but his return was a huge boost for Pittsburgh down the stretch, and he’s chipped in five points in the playoffs thus far.  The key to the series for the Pens may turn out to be the play of Brooks Orpik, a highly physical defenseman who will likely be matched against Ovechkin whenever possible.  Undoubtedly, the biggest difference when comparing the blueline corps of the two teams is experience.  The Penguins’ top six defensemen account for 263 Stanley Cup playoff games in their careers, compared to just 116 playoff games for the Capitals’ top six.   Edge: Slight advantage to the Penguins based on their experience.

Special Teams – It was rather shocking to see the high-powered Penguins finish 20th in the regular season on the power play (17.2 percent), and they’re coming off of a pedestrian 4 for 33 performance in round one versus the Flyers.   Again, I think this goes back to the fact that Malkin and Crosby favor setting up their teammates to putting the puck in the net themselves.  The quarterbacking ability of Gonchar will help, as will the physical presence around the net of a veteran with over 400 regular season goals on his resume like Guerin (who was acquired at the trade deadline for this very purpose).  Meanwhile, Washington’s power play tallied 6 times against New York in the opening round, despite the Rangers boasting the top ranked penalty kill in the league.  While it’s reasonable to expect them to convert on a good number of their chances against the Penguins, it will be just as critical for the Caps that their recently improved penalty-killing unit continues to get the job done when they are down a man.  Edge: Capitals

Goaltending – Rookie Simeon Varlamov, barely twenty-one years old, was outstanding against the Rangers, allowing only seven goals in six games after getting the nod over inconsistent Jose Theodore.  Pittsburgh presents a MUCH bigger test, however, and how Varlamov bounces back after allowing 3 or 4 goals (not unlikely, given the pace this series is likely to be played at) bears watching.  At the other end of the rink, netminder Marc-Andre Fleury is among the top ten in the NHL between the pipes.  While capable of taking over a game with one eye-popping save after another, he’s also more susceptible to soft goals than Henrik Lundqvist, the goalie who stymied the Capitals at times in round one.  Still, it’s tough to go against a guy who backstopped his team to the Stanley Cup Finals last year, as Fleury did.  Edge: Penguins

Intangibles – Though he’s played very well, Ovechkin has not really caught fire yet in the playoffs, despite scoring one goal in each of games 4, 5, and 6 versus New York.  Having watched him for four seasons now, it seems that those relative lulls are usually followed by an explosion, so I look for Ovie to turn it up a notch in this next round.   I also think it plays to the Caps’ advantage that they now have less pressure, having won their first playoff series in eleven years.  The Penguins, on the other hand, made it to Game 6 of the Cup Finals last year before falling to Detroit, so their season will be considered a failure if they don’t make an extended run once again.  Additionally, don’t underestimate the impact of coaching in this series.  Pittsburgh’s Dan Bylsma is just thirty-eight years old, and only five years removed from playing in the NHL.  His promotion from the Penguins’ AHL affiliate when Michel Therien was fired in February, sparked the team, and they’ve been on a 22-5-4 run since.  Hockey is generally a game of streaks and momentum, however, and it will be interesting to see how Bylsma reacts if that inevitable downturn comes in this series.  Keep in mind, he was in his first year as a head coach at ANY level when he was summoned from Wilkes-Barre a few months ago.  Washington’s Bruce Boudreau doesn’t have much more experience at the NHL level, but has seventeen years of overall head coaching experience under his belt, including a couple of championships in the minors.  Edge: Capitals

Outlook – Regardless of who comes out on top, this one promises to be a thriller.  While many are expecting an offensive shootout, don’t be surprised to see a few tight checking 2-1 or 3-2 games in the mix as well (particularly if Fleury and Varlamov are on top of their games).  I really think the Penguins are due for a letdown, and the Capitals (3-0-1 against Pittsburgh during the regular season) may be getting them at just the right time.  I expect the Caps to play more relaxed now that they’ve won a series and further energized their fan base.  Even if things don’t go their way early on in the series, they can draw confidence from the manner in which they rebounded from a three games to one deficit in defeating the Rangers.  Plus, the surprising emergence of Varlamov has suddenly turned a weakness into a potential strength, and while this series may come down to overtime in the final game (and remember Washington has home-ice advantage), the Capitals will prevail in the end.  Capitals in 7.

The Caps Are Feeling The Sting Down 0-2 In The Series

For Capitals, the Onus Is On Boudreau Now

by Scott Morath

After all of the talk about goaltending in the aftermath of Wednesday’s series opener, it remains to be seen whether Bruce Boudreau can make the necessary adjustments to get the Washington Capitals back on track. The coach’s surprising decision to start rookie netminder Simeon Varlamov in Game 2 went well, for the most part, but despite outshooting the New York Rangers 70-45 through two games, the Caps have squandered home ice advantage, and have dug themselves a 2-0 hole in their first round playoff series.

Though the goalie switch didn’t backfire, as some feared it might, Boudreau has still been outmaneuvered thus far by his counterpart, John Tortorella. The Rangers have executed Tortorella’s system to perfection—conceding perimeter shots to Washington’s snipers, but clogging up shooting lanes and blocking an inordinate amount of pucks before they ever get to Henrik Lundqvist.

Meanwhile, after displaying a penchant for juggling his forward line combinations all season, it was rather shocking when Boudreau did little to shake things up as his team was being blanked at home on Saturday, falling to the Rangers 1-0.

Yes, Lundqvist was rock solid in net (as advertised), but his saves weren’t of the highway robbery variety. The stellar ones were few and far between, largely because the attack coming at him became so predictable.

All is not lost, however. With the proper tinkering, Boudreau can still salvage this series, beginning with tonight’s game at Madison Square Garden in New York. He must start by realizing that his superb center, Nicklas Backstrom, though only 21 years of age, doesn’t need to play with Alex Ovechkin in order to create offense. Hell, towards the end of the regular season Boudreau experimented with struggling Viktor Kozlov and Tomas Fleischmann as Backstrom’s wingers, and immediately both players came to life.

It is also important to keep in mind that Ovechkin plays the game at a frantic pace, favoring explosive forays down the wing, while Backstrom is very much the opposite… slowing things down… weaving through traffic and exhibiting tremendous patience with the puck as he looks for the open man. Perhaps the difference in approach is why the two young stars have seemed so out of synch in the playoffs—when opposing teams buckle down on defense, and the checking gets considerably tighter?

Granted, the Ovechkin-Backstrom-Kozlov line has had its moments over the last two seasons, but Caps’ faithful will recall that the team didn’t really find their mojo in the playoffs last year against the Flyers until Boudreau swapped Sergei Fedorov and Backstrom—moving the wily veteran Fedorov into the spot centering Ovechkin, and using Backstrom between Alexander Semin and Brooks Laich.

Look, it’s a given that Ovechkin is going to draw New York’s top defenders regardless of who he plays with (because he’s Ovie)—but he’s accustomed to it, and he’s still going to get his 6 or 7 shots on goal (again… because he’s Ovie!). By flip-flopping centers, the ‘second line’ would feature a pair of world class talents in Semin and Backstrom, plus a gritty presence in Laich to dig pucks out of the corners and create traffic in front of Lundqvist.

Boudreau did experiment with a ‘put all of your eggs in one basket’ approach with an Ovechkin-Backstrom-Semin trio for a few shifts near the conclusion of Game 2, but pretty goals aren’t going to get the Capitals back into this series. They need to score a few ugly ones, and the aforementioned combination often favors ‘cute’ plays—bypassing open shots and overhandling the puck—something their coach frequently lamented while playing the three stars together during the regular season.

Obviously, suggesting different line combinations is a favorite pastime for us hockey enthusiasts, particularly when a team is struggling. At this time of year, there are no trades to make, and shuffling different role players in and out of the lineup isn’t likely to cure what ails the Capitals in this series. Boudreau needs to find a way to get his young guns blazing again. He has made the proper adjustments before… now he just needs to learn from last year’s experience and do it again, and hope that it’s not too late.

[Editor's note: The usual Monday Morning soccer roundup will be put up on Tuesday, Pat Walsh's column Wednesday, and then (finally) my USL2 preview on Thursday...]

Playoff Fever...Catch It!!!

My2Cents would like to welcome guest columnist Scott Morath, who gives us his in-depth preview of the Caps/Rangers series which begins on Wednesday. We're hoping Scott becomes a regular contributor with his hockey columns, so give us your feedback and tell him to stay with us!

(2) Washington Capitals versus (7) New York Rangers– The Stanley Cup playoffs frequently boil down to a goaltending duel, which could spell trouble for the second seeded Capitals, who send erratic Jose Theodore between the pipes opposite the Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist—widely regarded as one of the top netminders in the world.

Offense – A considerable edge to the high octane Capitals, who rang up the third highest goal total in the league (272), while only four teams tallied FEWER than the Rangers’ paltry 210 scores. The Caps boast reigning MVP Alex Ovechkin (league high 56 goals), Nicklas Backstrom (66 assists), Alexander Semin (79 points, despite missing 20 games), and Norris Trophy candidate Mike Green (31 goals, only the eighth defenseman in history to reach thirty in a season). Conversely, the Broadway Blueshirts don’t have a single player with 30 goals, or even 60 points. Edge: Capitals

Defense – Outside of the dynamic Green, nobody on either blueline did much to distinguish themselves this season. Given his hefty price tag ($39 million over six years) , the Rangers were expecting A LOT more from free agent signee Wade Redden (3 goals, 23 assists). Twenty-two year old Marc Staal was a bright spot in a shutdown role, logging twenty-one minutes on the backline each night, but the youngster will have his hands full matching up against Washington’s snipers. Edge: Even

Special Teams – The series may hinge on whether or not the Rangers can stay out of the box, and how well their penalty killers fare when they don’t. The Capitals feature the league’s second ranked power play, which clicked at 25.2 percent during the regular season. Fortunately for Rangers fans, their team managed to kill off an NHL best 87.8 percent of opposing man advantages. On the flip side, New York’s power play was god awful (next to last in the league, 13.7 percent), and the Capitals’ penalty kill was middle of the pack (17th out of 30 teams). The playoffs are usually called pretty tight (see picture above), however, meaning plenty of power plays for BOTH teams, which should provide the Capitals with ample opportunities to squeeze a few pucks past King Henrik. Edge: Capitals (albeit a minor one).

Goaltending – Lundqvist versus Theodore… need I say more? Edge: Rangers

Intangibles – The game-breaking aura of Ovechkin is a HUGE intangible for the Capitals, but the Rangers have a few things going for them as well. Chris Drury is one of the all-time clutch players in playoff history, and definitely one to keep an eye on should any of the contests spill into overtime. Super pest Sean Avery salvaged his career with a successful return to Broadway, after Dallas kicked him to the curb on the heels of his infamous ‘sloppy seconds’ remarks. Avery is a master at getting under the skin of opposing players, and will try to goad Washington into taking bad penalties. Meanwhile, don’t underestimate the ‘Tortorella factor’. New York bench boss John Tortorella took over when Tom Renney was fired in February, and he already has a Stanley Cup on his resume, having guided Tampa Bay to the title in 2004. The Capitals’ Bruce Boudreau will be coaching just his second playoff series, having lost to the Flyers in seven games last spring. Edge: Rangers

Outlook – Conventional wisdom suggests going with the team with the superior goalie, but the Capitals have so much firepower in their arsenal (including the equivalent of the H-bomb in Ovechkin) that it will likely come down to Game 7 in Washington, where the Capitals are 29-9-3 this season. Capitals in 7.