Stingrays Advance, Bears Live to Fight Another Day

The South Carolina Stingrays jumped out to a 2-0 lead, then held on for dear life to advance to the next round of the ECHL playoffs, the South Division Finals.

Late in the 1st period Matt Scherer tallied his 1st goal of the playoffs to put the Stingrays on top. Then in the 2nd period Capitals' prospect Travis Morin notched his 6th goal of the postseason, on the power play, to give SC the worst lead in hockey, a two goal lead. Goaltender Davis Parley made it stand up though, despite the fact the Gwinnett Gladiators outshot the Stingrays 20-6 in the final frame, they could not beat the 25-year old netminder. Parley had his 1st shutout of the postseason, his 5th of the season, and South Carolina survived another game 5 for the second straight series. They will face the winner of the Texas-Columbia series which is surprisingly enough, headed to a game 5 even though the Wildcatters finished the regular season with a 38 point lead over the Inferno. I guess that is why they play the games, right?

The Hershey Bears got some help from a familiar face in Eric Fehr on their way to 3-2 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Fehr, who had just returned to the Bears following the Capitals playoff exit, provided two helpers, including the game-winner, 20 seconds into overtime on Alexandre Giroux's 2nd goal of the game. The Bears will now head back to Wilkes-Barre for game 5 with their backs still against the wall trailing the Penguins 3 games to 1.

"Don't Stop Believin"

Biron Dead-On, Series Tied 1-1

If only Alexander Semin's shot doesn't hit the post and finds it's way in, and if only Matt Cooke converted his two chances wide open chances in front of the net, then maybe the Caps find to way to win again and take a 2-0 series advantage into Philly. But that didn't happen, a combination of bad luck on the offensive side and great goaltending on the part of Martin Biron led to a Flyers shutout win and a series now shortened to a best of five. (Photo by Len Redkoles/Getty Images)

Heading into Tuesday night's contest, the Caps main focus needs to be on converting their power play chances, controling the puck on their way into the offensive zone, and preventing the home run pass on the defensive end.

As a result of today's events, a couple of lineup questions to ponder:

Jeff Schultz made his first career postseason appearance after missing game one and was clearly rusty. With as well as Steve Eminger played while Schultz was out, does Boudreau put Eminger back in the lineup for game 3? Might be a good idea.

A lineup change I would definitely like to see is Eric Fehr taking the place of Tomas Fleischmann. Fehr size and play in the corners would be a good matchup against this physical Flyers team.

Overall, the main thing the Caps have to do is just relax. This is going to be a long and tough series. Nobody expected them to win this series in four. One thing is for sure, this team will definitely be prepared for game 3, and having won both contests in Philly during the regular season, they should know what to expect from the Philly faithful.

Boston Wins Physical Contest in Repeat Manner

The Bruins Beat The Caps For The Third Consecutive Time This Season By The Same Score
Boston Bruins 3, Washington Capitals 2 F/SO
Boxscore
(Photo courtesy of Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

No this was not a rerun. But for some reason the Caps and Bruins have played each meeting this season to the same 3-2 score. Each game has seen the Bruins come away the victor. And for the second time the Bruins were able to win in shootout fashion.

It was the third consecutive solid defensive effort for the Capitals whose only blemish through 40 minutes was a quick goal following a Danius Zubrus faceoff loss. Defenseman Steve Eminger failed to step up and cover Brandon Bochenski who wristed the shot past Kolzig before he was set as the Islanders broke the scoreless tie 5 minutes and 6 seconds into the second period.

The game was physical from the start as Ben Clymer found himself in the middle of two scrums within the first nine minutes of the opening period. Clymer, who was a healthy scratch on Sunday missing his first game of the season, returned to the lineup re-energized. He dropped the gloves with Bruins defenseman Bobby Allen just 2:20 into the game. The two were only able to throw a few punches before being separated and as the aggressor, Clymer was assessed the extra roughing minor in the process. Just six minutes later though he would find himself a true sparing partner in the Bruins Jeremy Reich, who was recalled before the game by Boston to provide the team with a physical presence. Reich had 105 penalty minutes in 46 games this season with Providence of the AHL.

The physical play seemed to spark the Capitals as they controlled the action early on, tallying the games first six shots on goal and outshooting the Bruins in the first period 10-2. Despite all the shots, they were unable to beat goaltender Tim Thomas and the teams went into the first intermission scoreless.

Richard Zednik was stopped on a partial breakaway opportunity moments after Bochenski's goal as the Caps were unable to tally and trailed 1-0 after the second. The key moment in the period was the Capitals ability to kill off a double-minor thanks to an Alexander Semin high sticking penalty on Phil Kessel. The special teams effort meant the game was still within striking distance.

The third period had a completely different feel than the first two. The reason for it was the Caps ability to break onto the score sheet just 21 seconds in on a goal by number 21 Brooks Laich. Laich won the battle for the puck along the boards and found himself wide open in the slot. He rifled a slap shot and beat Thomas over his glove to tie the game at one. That goal rose the intensity of the game to a higher level.

Playing against his former team, who he has traded away from just a week earlier, Milan Jurcina provided the key save of the game at the 2:30 mark of the third period. After a shot had beaten Kolzig and was heading for the open net, Jurcina was able to get his right skate on it and deflect it off to the side keeping the game tied at one.

The Caps would later take their first lead of the game as rookie Eric Fehr put home his second goal of the season on a rebound following a Zednik slap shot from the slot. The goal was scored just five seconds after a Bruins penalty to Andrew Alberts had expired, giving Washington their first lead of the game. However, the lead wouldn't last as Boston took advantage of an Alex Ovechkin delay of game penalty to tie the game with 6:45 remaining on a beautiful slap shot by Patrice Bergeron. The goal was a result of some good puck movement on the Bruins power play that gave Kolzig no chance on Bergeron's shot following a nice cross ice pass from Marc Savard.

There was a scary moment during the overtime period as a powerful slap shot off the stick of the Bruins 6 foot 9 inch defenseman Zdeno Chara hit Ovechkin in the helmet on the side of his head while he was diving to block the shot. Ovechkin would lay on the ice for a moment causing the officials to stop play. Shortly after the stoppage, he jumped to his feet and skated off the ice and seemed to be okay.

In the shootout Alexander Semin got the Caps on the board first, just as he had done in Sunday's shootout win against the Islanders. But Ovechkin and Fehr were denied on their chances, and Boston's Patrice Bergeron and Phil Kessel tallied on consecutive attempts to give the Bruins the victory.

The result moved Boston into a tie with Washington for 12th place in the Eastern Conference. Both teams are currently nine points behind the Carolina Hurricanes for 8th and final playoff spot.

Game Notes:

Jeff Schultz led the Capitals in ice time with 23:51.... Alex Ovechkin was kept off the scoreboard for a career worst third consecutive game recording only 2 shots on the night.... Brooks Laich was the only Caps center with a winning faceoff percentage going 8 for 13 for 62%.... Ben Clymer returned to the lineup replacing Matt Bradley who was a healthy scratch. Kris Beech and Lawrence Nycholat joined Bradley as healthy scratches.... The Montreal Canadians placed disgruntled winger Sergei Samsonov on waivers today.

Sunday Morning Thoughts

A big win such as last night always makes for a beautiful morning. Not even the overcast, wet weather can dampen the good feeling Capitals' fans will wake up with. But first, let us not forget to thank who made this all possible, the overconfident Carolina Hurricanes. They drove into Washington last night riding high off their dominating win in Raleigh on Friday and thought that they could just show up and win. The Caps knocked them back down to reality, taking advantage of three turnovers to score three unassisted goals and never looked back. It's time for another feel good addition of morning thoughts:

• With his goal last night, Ovechkin not only extended his point streak to 11 games, but also put him into a tie with Atlanta's Marian Hossa for the league lead in goals with 31.

• Alexander Semin moved himself into 7th place in the NHL in goals after he recorded his 5th multi-goal game of the month last night. With his 29 goals on the season he is only 2 behind Ovechkin.

• Coach Hanlon changed up the lines again and just might have found two pairings to use for the long run. Eric Fehr jumped right in on the right side of Brooks Laich and Alexander Semin for a potent second scoring line. Laich acquitted himself well in his opportunity to capture the ever revolving second line center position. The other line that showed lots of potential was the shut down checking line of Pettinger, Gordon, and Sutherby. While they did not reach the scoring sheet, they had more ice time than Ovechkin and Semin and proved that they can silence their opponent's top lines.

With the Capitals off tonight don't forget to catch the AHL All-Star Skills Competition free on b2networks live at 7:00 PM ET. And tomorrow night the AHL All-Star game will also be available for free on b2networks starting at the same time. If you want to wait and watch it on tv, the game can be seen Wednesday, January 31st at 12:00 PM ET on Comcast Sportsnet. Unlike the NHL All-Star game, this will be a highly competitive game as players try to impress the many scouts that will be on hand.

I'm off to the Capitals practice this morning. I'll have a recap this afternoon.

Caps Return Favor

Avenge Lopsided Loss in Raleigh With An Easy Win In DC
Washington Capitals 7, Carolina Hurricanes 3
Boxscore

The Caps needed this type of game in a big way. After starting out the second half of the season looking like a team completely lost, they came out tonight a determined team and jumped all over the Hurricanes.

Newly recalled winger Eric Fehr started out the game doing his best Klepis impersonation, taking a pointless offensive zone holding penalty just three minutes into the game. But after the Caps killed off the penalty, they took control of the game. They scored three times before the Hurricanes even knew what hit them.

Alexander Semin led a two-on-one break with Brooks Laich and after holding the puck, debating whether or not to pass, ripped a wrist shot off the top right corner of the goal post and into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead. Ovechkin would follow that up with a power play goal after Carolina defenseman Dennis Seidenberg turned the puck over and it found its way right to the front of the net. Semin would complete the barrage of goals when he pick pocketed Erik Cole from the Caps blue line and streaked down the ice on a breakaway. He beat Cam Ward once again to the top right corner for his second of the night and 29th of the season. When will the goalies in the NHL learn that he loves to shoot to their glove side?

After the quick start though, Carolina looked to make a game of it by scoring twice within a minute to close the gap to 3-2 at the end of the first period. Justin Williams' 26th and Erik Cole's 22nd send the Caps to the locker room shaking their heads in frustration. But luckily, that would be as close as they would get.

A hard fought second period went scoreless until the 15th minute, when Semin stole the puck in the offensive zone and then Eric Fehr stole the puck of his stick and deposited it past Ward short side over his blocker pad. The goal was Fehr's first in the NHL in his 14th career game.

The third period was all Washington. On a delayed penalty call that gave the Caps a six-on-five advantage, Ovechkin made a tremendous individual move and Kris Beech was the beneficiary of his pass, rifling a shot past Ward for his 6th of the season and a 5-2 lead. Carolina would try to get back in the game, scoring on a power play goal by David Tanabe, his 1st of the season, to make it 5-3. However, that was as close as the Hurricanes could get as goals by Clark, his 21st, and Laich shorthanded, his 5th, made the final 7-3 before a raucous Verizon Center crowd of 16,924.

Game Notes:

Alex Ovechkin extended his point streak to 11 games, tying his career high set last season. He also has 12 assists in the month of January ranking him third in the NHL.... Brian Pothier missed his 3rd consecutive game.... Richard Zednik could return from the injured reserve list and play on Tuesday in Ottawa... Alexander Semin now has 5 multiple goal games in January. He has 17 points in his last 10 games.... The Hershey Bears gave up 3 third period goals and lost to the first place Norfolk Admirals 4-3.

TGIF Morning Thoughts

• Hopefully everyone took advantage of the week off and got away from the game a little bit and recharged their batteries so that when the Caps hit the ice tonight, they will resemble the hard working team we have come to know and love.

• It's funny how over the course of the past week defenseman Brian Pothier's status changed from being out with the flu, to being out with an upper body injury. But seriously, did anybody really buy that report from the beginning? We all saw Pothier hobble off the ice in Carolina last week doubled over. Sure didn't seem like a case of the flu just hit him all at once. Why the Capitals feel like they need to disguise injuries so much is beyond me. If this was the NFL they would be regularly fined by the league.
  

• Rookie Jeff Schultz was recalled from Hershey and will be in the lineup for tonight's game. Schultz had an impressive couple games last week, and providing that he continues to display that same level of play, I believe he should remain in the lineup for good.

• I was a bit shocked when Jakub Klepis was recalled to the team earlier in the week. Let's face it, he has done nothing to distinguish himself this year at the NHL level. Klepis should stay in Hershey where he could play twenty minutes a night and get his game back in shape. If I were the GM, Eric Fehr would have been my call up. If you've had a chance to see a Hershey game as of late, he looks like a man playing among boys. He is playing with a lot of confidence right now and deserves a shot to earn a regular spot in the Capitals lineup.

• Keith Seabrook, Washington's second round pick in the 2006 entry draft, was named WCHA (Western Collegiate Hockey Association) rookie of the week. Seabrook, a freshman for the Universith of Denver, had 3 points, 7 hits, and 3 blocked shots in back-to-back games against #1 Minnesota last weekend. It looks as though another Capitals' prospect is developing quite nicely.

Down on the Farm:

The South Carolina Stingrays defeated the Texas Wildcatters 6-2 last night. Davis Parley returned to the team, following a one game stint with the Hershey Bears, and stopped 47 of 49 shots to record his league leading 20th win of the season. From Stingrayshockey.com:

“Parley was tremendous,” South Carolina coach Jason Fitzsimmons said. “Davis is a true professional. Goaltending was the difference and he has been a pleasure to watch. We spread around the scoring and it was a great way to begin a six-game road trip.”

Capitals' prospect and local boy Stephen Werner had a goal and an assist to improve the Stingrays record to 22-15-3, 47 points putting them only five points behind the division leading Gwinnett Gladiators. He currently has 5 goals and 3 assists in 8 games this season in South Carolina. After battling injuries earlier this season, look for Werner to return to Hershey once he gets a little more seasoning in him.

For those of you on the Capitals message boards who continue to post about Matt Yeats and want to know where he is now, look no further than the ECHL's Texas Wildcatters. He has played in 29 games so far this year, posting a 15-10-2-1 record.

The team will be in Texas again tonight for a rematch at 8:35 pm. You can catch all the action live via b2networks by visiting Stingrayshockey.com.

The Hershey Bears return to action tonight with a key game against the East Division leading Norfolk Admirals. It will be the first of a home-and-home series between the two teams that will go a long way in deciding who will take control of the division. The Bears are currently only one point behind the Admirals, who received a boost on their roster with the reassignment of Rene Bourque, the 2004-05 AHL rookie of the year, from the Chicago Blackhawks. In 24 games with the Blackhawks, the talented left-winger recorded 4 goals and 4 assists.

As announced by coach Bruce Boudreau, Daren Machesney will get the start in goal tonight. You can catch all the live action via b2networks by visiting the Hershey Bears official homepage. The game time tonight is 7:00 pm.

Hershey Lets One Slip Away

Bears led 3-1 before falling in Shootout to Bridgeport
Bridgeport Sound Tigers 4, Hershey Bears 3 F/SO
Boxscore

Hershey, in front of a large home crowd of 9,401, seemed to be in complete control of this game, getting on the board early when Eric Fehr put a loose puck past Sound Tigers' goaltender Wade Dubielewicz for a 1-0 lead just 2:20 into the first period. It was the 22nd goal of the season for the talented right winger. Jakub Klepis, playing in his first game since being reassigned to the Bears, missed a chance to put Hershey up by 2 when he failed to connect on a wide open net courtesy of a pass from defenseman Timo Helbling.

Bridgeport responded with a power-play goal by Brandon Nolen after Matt Hendricks was sent to the box for hooking. That goal, Nolen's 3rd of the season, tied the game at one.

Tomas Fleichmann quickly responded for the Bears, putting Hershey back on top just 43 seconds later capitalizing on a rebound off a Joey Tenute shot that Dubielewicz was unable to secure. With 1:44 remaining in the first period Fleichmann would put in his second goal of the game and 15th of the season. Alexandre Giroux, who had the primary assist on the goal, would immediately get into an altercation with Bridgeport's Tomas Melac before he was able to celebrate the goal. Giroux would make quick work of Melac knocking him to the ice with a quick right. Matching fighting majors would follow, but Melac would get an extra roughing penalty on the play.

In what can be looked at as a turning point in the game, Maxime Daigneault was shaken up 1:50 into the second period after Drew Fata broke to the net and ran him over after failing to convert on his scoring opportunity. Daigneault would finish the period but would then be replaced by backup Daren Machesney at the beginning of the third.

Bridgeport would take advantage of this shift in momentum by cutting the lead to 3-2 when Robert Nilsson capitalized on a two man advantage by scoring his 9th goal of the season. The Sound Tigers then controlled much of the action for the rest of the game. And despite a sound relief effort by Machesney, they were able to tie the game at 3 with 6:23 remaining in the game on a goal by Eric Boguniecki, his 9th of the season as well. That score would hold up through overtime leading to a shootout to decide the outcome of the contest.

For those of you unfamiliar with the AHL rules in the shootout, they actually have 5 rounds as apposed to the NHL's 3 rounds. Goals by Bridgeport's Peter Ferraro and Steve Regier put the Sound Tigers ahead 2-0. Hershey was able to respond however and after goals by Tomas Fleichmann and Matt Hendricks the shootout was tied up at 2 after four shots. On the fifth attempt Allan Rourke put the game winner past Machesney while Dubielewicz stopped Joey Tenute's attempt to tie. Wade Dubielewicz was outstanding for the Sound Tigers, stopping 51 shots in regulation and overtime plus 3 of 5 in the shootout for the win.

It was a disappointing outcome for the Bears who were looking to make up some ground on division leading Norfolk who lost earlier in the day.

Your Top 3 Stars of the Game:
1. Wade Dubielewicz, Bridgeport 51 saves
2. Tomas Fleichmann, Hershey 2 goals
3. Eric Boguniecki, Bridgeport Game-tying goal

Note: Defenseman Jamie Hunt, who was recalled earlier in the day to Washington and did not play when Mike Green dressed, was returned to Hershey and played in tonight's game.

Morning After Thoughts

First of all it feels a little like Ottawa this morning here in DC. What happened to our 70 degree weather? The arctic chill has set in, just as it has for the hopes of the Caps season. But not all is lost, let's take a look at the bright side of things.

• The Caps are 19-20-7, 45 points and technically only 1 game behind .500.
  
• Despite their resent struggles, they are only 5 points out of a playoff spot.
• We can't be anything but excited about the play of our superstar players Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin. They have proven that they are two of the most feared snipers in the game. And at the ages of 21 and 22 respectively, their game has no where to go but up.
• The Capitals have one of the best minor league teams out there in the Hershey Bears. They have followed up their Calder Cup Championship with a solid season proving that the future is bright for the Capitals young prospects.

On the other hand:

• The Caps have lost six straight games on the road, including three straight games overall.
  
• The defense has been anything but stellar as of late, allowing at least 5 goals in each game on the current road trip.
• Already missing defenseman John Erskine and Bryan Muir to similar injuries, it looks as though the Caps may have lost the services of another in Mike Green. He took a hard slap shot off his left leg and could be out for a while depending on the results of his x-rays taken after the game. Keep your fingers crossed Caps fans, we can ill afford to loose Green for any significant length of time.
• The Caps need to work on their faceoffs. Last night's stats proved this fact as the only centers above the 50% mark were Brooks Laich with a 75% success rate and Boyd Gordon with a 60% success rate. Kudos to you Brooks and Boyd. Now how bout helping out your fellow teammates. Here were the others' faceoff win percentages last night: Danius Zubrus at 45%, Brian Sutherby 37.5%, and Jakub Klepis 0 for 5 for 0%. Attention must be given to the little details of the game in order for the team to improve.
• If the Caps continue to side, they must then make room for some of their top prospects in Hershey. Eric Fehr and Tomas Fleichmann have nothing left to prove at the AHL level. Get them some experience this year so they would be ready for a full time position from the first day of the 07-08 season.

The schedule does not get any easier as the Caps head to Carolina on Thursday to take on the defending Stanley Cup Champions. This will be the first of 3 meetings between the 2 teams over the following 10 days.