My problem is that I still don't have enough ways to get all of the Caps-related news, observations, and miscellany out of my head. Lord knows the local network television outlets don't seem to know a snap shot from a colonoscopy and don't care enough to give the Caps the time of day. I mean, hey, nevermind the world class athletes playing their silly ice game - there's high school swim meets to cover! But I digress.
The superb and dedicated work of Tarik El-Bashir at the Post and Corey Masisak at the Times have been a breath of fresh air. On the pure blog side of things, I don't think that I will ever be able to rival the very impressive efforts of the team at On Frozen Blog and JP over at Japer's Rink, the wit and wisdom of The Peerless Prognosticator and CapsChick at A View From the Cheap Seats, and of course the professional and thorough coverage of Mike Vogel and Eric McErlain.
Even as I write these words I wonder what the bloody hell it is that I think I can contribute to the scene. Perhaps I'll figure out some little gimmick to differentiate me from the pack and give me some sense of purpose. Forming this blog just feels like the right thing to do. I'll work out the details later.
I can't guarantee that my sense of humor won't offend you, or that my opinions are in any way valid or well-founded, but I'll do my best to contribute as much as I can to the Caps' online community.
So here's to modest beginnings, a 3-0-0 record, and our beloved boys in the red, white, and blue.
Prost!
On to business!
An ugly win is still a win, and this one was about as pretty as Lyle Odelein in a tube top.
I don't know what sort of a harbinger of doom it might be that I started this blog on the day that the Capitals posted their lowest number of shots on goal in a win ever. But rest assured that if they continue to post a dozen or fewer SOG per-game, I'll shut this dog and pony show down faster than Kirstie Alley can down a glazed ham.
Regardless, they pulled it off. Olaf Kolzig continues to prove the gloom and doomers wrong by dominating in net. I can only guess as to what the reason behind their flat effort might have been. The Islanders are a hot team at the moment - well, as hot as a team can appear to be coming into the third tilt of the season - and they sure looked sharp enough to blow away the Caps this afternoon. The Isles came out of a home and away series with Lindy and the Whiners with two wins to open the season. Not too shabby for a team slated to be a basement-dweller this season, despite of the relative de-fanging that the Sabres received this past summer. Their top offensive line had been firing on all cylinders. No reason existed to think that they'd come out of the gate ready or willing to lose.
*A quick side note on the topic of "gloom and doomers" - I am not one of them. I would much rather sing the Caps' accolades and tout their superiority over any team in the league than scream about the falling sky and search for flaws to rant about. But I also believe in fair criticism. If they win on a lackluster effort, I'm going to call them on it, but I'm not going to call for GMGM's head on a platter over one game. As you were - *
Perhaps it was the stress of a busy first four days (though the boys from Long Island didn't seem to have that problem) or just a growing pain related lack of discipline and maturity that caused them to give up 31 shots while taking a mere 12 for themselves. I would feel confident in saying, however, that were this game held at the beginning of any of the last 3 seasons, the Isles would have had that game in the bag. The Caps managed to maintain composure in the face of a team that appeared to want it more, and were able to count on Olie being a brick wall in the net. These are things that make me feel good, despite having a knot in my stomach for the better part of the game.
The penalty kill remained impressive, neutralizing all 3 chances (on 4 penalties). It should be noted that the Caps have been shorthanded a grand total of 12 times in these first three games and have successfully prevented their opponents from scoring on each and every one of them. Not bad at all.
The power play is bothering me a bit. It's better than in years past to be sure, but they just don't seem to be gelling as quickly as they are in other aspects of the game. They've gotten away with it so far, but if they don't start clicking before the holidays, I'm going to go from "bothered a bit" to "rather concerned." A good power play unit is critical to making the post-season.
It is also worth noting that before this game, we had no idea how the retooled Caps would handle adversity. They had never been behind, never lost control of the puck for any significant amount of time, and had never had to rely heavily on Kolzig when things weren't going their way. The flashy, well executed games are great, but it's an 82 game season with some rough customers along the road. How would they respond to a gritty, grinding game against a hot opponent with a chip in its shoulder and a tremendous desire to put the Caps away?
This afternoon we got our answer.
The Capitals won.
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