The Capital Fanatic.com Show: Week in Review

Thanks to Kevin from The Kevin Hatcher Fan Club and Rebecca from A View From the Cheap Seats for joining me on the show today. We talked about the Chris Clark resigning and the roles that Steve Eminger and Brian Sutherby will have in the upcoming season. Plus Michael Wilbon's comment on hockey and even an interesting reference to Harry Potter by Kevin. The show finished with some Redskins talk thanks to a longtime Skins fan and a good friend of mine Matt Garin calling into the show.

To listen to the show you can click on the media player on the right side of the homepage, click on the link at the bottom of this post, or the show is also available on iTunes for download to your iPod or MP3 Player. Don't forget to tune in next Sunday at noon for another live edition.

Late Sunday Update: I just found this article from iGoBlogTalk.com, which provides a very well written synopsis about my show. Check it out, and as always I appreciate the nice feedback.

What Do Eminger and Sutherby Have In Common?

Besides the fact that they were both re-signed today, defenseman Steve Eminger and forward Brian Sutherby have more in common. They are both former 1st round picks who started their professional careers with great fanfare and promise, only to struggle so far to live up to expectations.

Eminger, the 12th overall selection in the 2002 draft, began his Capitals career later that year at the tender age of 19. He showed that he was clearly overmatched at the NHL level, so after failing to secure a regular spot in the lineup, and playing in just 17 games with the big club, the Caps reassigned him back to Kitchner of the OHL.

Here we are five seasons later and the talented but inconsistent Eminger has yet to secure a regular spot in the lineup. In fact he was a healthy scratch nine times last season including six consecutive games back in February. Eminger has always been touted to be an offensive defenseman ever since he tallied 19 goals for Kitchner back in '01-'02. The problem is he has never shown that offensive ability at the professional level totaling only nine goals combined in the NHL/AHL.

Even though he is still only 23 years old, with the abundance of young defenseman at the Capitals disposal Steve Eminger is running out of time to live up to his potential.

It may be hard to believe, but Brian Sutherby was the Caps 26th overall selection all the way back in 2000. Over the years he has excited fans with his ability to agitate opponents and chip in key goals along the way. But nagging injuries and inconsistent play have prevented him from reaching his full potential.

After spending the entire lockout season with Portland of the American Hockey League, Sutherby put up career highs in '05-'06 with 14 goals and 30 points in 76 games. But this past year the checking line specialist failed to build on those numbers, slipping back to only 7 goals and 17 points in 69 games.

With Boyd Gordon emerging as the team's top checking line center, what role will Brian Sutherby have with this team in the upcoming season? While the Capitals brass love the intangibles he brings to the game, the 25 year-old Sutherby will have plenty to prove as he looks to fight off a number of the Capitals young forwards that look ready to try and break into the lineup.

Other Capitals News: The team has announced that it has come to terms with center Jason Morgan who spend the past season with the Minnesota Wild organization. Morgan appeared in four games with the Wild and 57 games with their AHL affiliate, the Houston Aeros, talling 12 goals and 14 assists. He should provide the Hershey Bears with some quality depth at the center position as he is described by sportsnet.ca as a player who, "Posseses sound work ethic and leadership qualities."

Another Loss in the Standings and the Lineup

Center Kris Beech is Lost to a Leg Injury After Blocking a Shot in the Second Period
New York Islanders 6, Washington Capitals 2
Boxscore
(Photo Courtesy of Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

If there was anything worse than losing tonight's game in a blowout fashion, it was the realization that the Capitals lineup will be even further depleted following the loss of center Kris Beech. Coming into the game with 7 defenseman and only 11 forwards dressed the team finished up with only two healthy centers in Jiri Novotny and Brian Sutherby.

But even with Beech in the lineup for a period and a half the Capitals were no match for the playoff bound Islanders. The game was never in doubt as the team from Long Island jumped all over them from the get go. They scored their first three goals of the game on the power play thanks to goals from Mike Sillinger, Miroslav Satan, and Marc-Andre Bergeron. That was on the way to building a 5-0 lead before the Caps were finally able to strike back.

Goals by Brian Pothier, on the power play, and Brian Sutherby, even strength, just 34 seconds apart swung the momentum squarely in the their favor half way through the third period. For Pothier it was only his second goal of the season and his first since January 1st. Sutherby on the other hand, has been on a role as of late, notching his 4th goal in his last 7 games.

Even with Washington's late surge, the game was never really close and Ryan Smyth's 1st goal as an Islander with 2:54 remaining sealed the deal for New York as they won soundly 6-2.

Alex Ovechkin was held scoreless ending his three game goal scoring streak despite leading the team in ice time with 26:21. Alexander Semin was also held scoreless despite 25:28 in ice time. The increased ice time should only be a sign of things to come as the team's lineup keeps getting thinner due to injuries.

Game Notes:

Alexandre Giroux provided a nice spark to the lineup in spite of only playing 9:26.... Sutherby continued his good faceoff performance as of late winning 11 of 19 draws on the night.... Novotny also won 8 of 12 faceoffs.... Frederic Cassivi replaced Brent Johnson in net during the third period. It was the second time this week he's come into a game in relief.

Caps Lose Free For All in Shootout

Ovechkin Breaks Out of His Slump, But Team Falls to 1-9 in Shootouts This Season
Florida Panthers 6, Washington Capitals 5 F/SO
Boxscore
(Photo Courtesy of Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

Both the Panthers and Capitals came into tonight's matchup shorthanded following an active day at the trade deadline. This led to an interesting game as players found themselves playing in situations they are not normally used to being in.

One example of this was Brian Sutherby's promotion to centering the team's first line between Ovechkin and Brashear. In response, the Edmonton, Alberta native had a two point night and tallied the 1st power play goal of his career. He also won 12 out of 14 faceoffs, making a statement to the coaching staff that he deserves to see more playing time down the stretch.

Washington railed from an early 3-0 deficit to make a game of it. The bright spot of the night was none other than Alex Ovechkin, who took advantage of the free flowing game and finally broke out of his scoring slump notching 2 goals and 2 assists on the night. After losing his center and father figure Danius Zubrus earlier in the day to the Buffalo Sabres, Ovechkin responded and displayed the game changing speed and deadly shot that he has been lacking in recent weeks. His 4 point night was the 1st of the season for a Caps player and pulled him within 4 goals of the NHL leader, Vincent Lecavalier who has 41. He did this all while leading the team in ice time with 26:33 on the night.

Olli Jokinen led the Panthers attack recording a hat trick by the 3:29 mark of the second period. It was the third 3 goal game on the season for Florida's scoring leader. And he almost got his forth goal of the game as a game winning attempt in overtime beat Cassivi with a nice snap shot, but the puck clanged off the inside of the post forcing another dreaded shootout situation for both clubs.

If there is any team that has struggled more than the Caps in the shootout this season it is the Florida Panthers. They came into tonight having yet to win in the competition going 0 for 7 on the season. Goals by Jozef Stumpel and Ville Peltonen changed that luck however, finally getting the team into the win column.

Game Notes:

The Panthers made 3 trades before the deadline, dealing Gary Roberts and Joel Kwiatkowski to Pittsburgh, and Todd Bertuzzi to Detroit.... Frederic Cassivi saw NHL action for the first time this season, replacing Brent Johnson after he allowed 4 first period goals.... Following today's trades the Caps roster was short handed forcing Brian Muir back into the lineup for the first time since December.... Mike Vogel announced during the second period that the team expects Jiri Novotny to be in the lineup for Saturday night's game against Richard Zednik and the New York Islanders.

Poor Special Teams Play Dooms Caps in Montreal

Capitals Fall For the 7th Straight Time on the Road
Montreal Canadians 5, Washington Capitals 3
Boxscore
(Photo Courtesy of Ian Barrett/AP)

If the Capitals were going to find a way to snap out of their current road funk, this was the game to do it. The Montreal Canadians had lost 4 straight games at home, and found out today that they'll be playing the rest of the regular season without their All-Star goaltender Cristobal Huet.

But that didn't seem to matter tonight, and once again the Caps played an atrocious first period that saw them having to play from behind. They took penalty after penalty and the Canadians made them pay. With the help of 2 goals by Christopher Higgins and 1 goal by Michael Ryder, Montreal converted on 3 of 7 power play opportunities to take a 3-0 lead into the first intermission.

From the second period on the Caps looked like a completely different team. Their hard work shut down the Canadians attack and allowed them to generate an offensive attack for the first time in the game. Just 2:06 into the period, a slap shot from the point by defenseman Jamie Heward was tipped home by Brian Sutherby, past Montreal's rookie goaltender Jaroslav Halak, for his 4th goal of the season. It was Sutherby's first goal since January 9th.

Washington kept the pressure on and with the same lineup still on the ice they scored again 30 seconds later. For the second time Heward ripped a slap shot from the point, this time it was deflected off Maxim Lapierre's stick and through Halak's five hole to get the Caps right back in the game, 3-2.

Late in the period the Capitals special teams let them down again. This time though it was while they were on the power play, as Montreal notched their league leading 16th short handed goal of the season. Michael Ryder tallied his 2nd goal of the game and 19th on the year when he made a nice curl and drag move around Alexander Semin, who was forced into a defensive position because he plays the point with the extra man, and snapped a shot past Brent Johnson. Semin would atone for his defensive mistake on the same power play. He took a pass from Heward in the neutral zone and maneuvered his way up the ice, around defenseman Sheldon Souray, and roofed a shot off of the upper right corner in what was a beautiful one man effort. It was Semin's 31st goal of the season and gave his team some hope heading into the 3rd period as they once again only trailed by one, 4-3.

But the Caps could not get any closer and managed only 4 shots in the final period. A Garth Murray empty netter sealed their fate with 58 seconds to go as the Caps road record fell to 1-12-1 in their last 14 games.

It was a physical game from the start. Multiple scrums ensued after the whistles as Canadians' captain Saku Koivu was involved throughout the night. In the first period he and Milan Jurcina had a shoving match behind the Capitals net. Later in the third period Koivu and Matt Pettinger were both handed matching roughing minors after exchanging blows.

During the course of the game two Caps players left the ice with blood dripping from their face. Alexander Perezhogin elbowed Shoane Morrisonn in the first period and Matt Bradley was hit with a high stick by Christopher Higgins before a faceoff in the third period. Each player returned to action after receiving some medical care and their attackers were both given double minors for drawing blood.

The Caps will have a short time to recover from this game as they will host the San Jose Sharks Wednesday night at the Verizon Center. The team announced that all upper deck tickets can be purchased for 50% off of the normal price for this game only. The offer is limited to the first 500 orders.

Game Notes:

Kris Beech, Ben Clymer, and Steve Eminger were again the healthy scratches.... The Caps could only muster 18 shots on Halak as he won his second consecutive start of his NHL career.... Jamie Heward was originally credited with two goals on the night, but his first goal was later awarded to Sutherby. He would've had the fastest two goals in Capitals history for a defenseman.... Alex Ovechkin was shut out again and now has just 1 goal and 1 assist in his last 8 games.