All Over for Ovechkin, Caps

Amazing stuff in Washington as the Canadiens led by Jaroslav Halak pull off the unthinkable- holding on for dear life in a hard fought 2-1 win in Game Seven stunning Verizon Center. Halak makes 41 saves including 18 in a wild third that saw two goals wiped out correctly. In the final three games, he stopped 131 of 134 shots, permitting a goal in each Hab win as they rallied from 3-1 down upsetting the heavily favored President's Trophy winners.

It probably amounts to the greatest upset since the Sharks stunned Detroit in 1994. There's only so much that can be said about Halak, who was the one reason I felt Montreal had a chance. Even if remote. I also liked the Habs countering speed and that proved crucial. But who ever would've predicted how well their D played, blocking shot after shot, flustering Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and invisible duo Alex Semin and Mike Green? Amazingly, Les Habitants blocked 41 shots. By comparison, the much more attacking Capitals had only 11. Well, they did outshoot their grittier opponent 42-16.

Somewhat fitting was that with Marc-Andre Bergeron's first period four-on-three PPG holding up, the Habs got huge insurance when one-time Ranger Dominic Moore abused Green before beating Semyon Varlamov for the nail in the coffin with 3:36 left. Good thing because a diving Brooks Laich banged home a rebound slicing it to 2-1 with 2:26 left. Both Ovechkin and Semin assisted to make the final portion of this memorable series a classic finish.

A Ryan O'Byrne hi-stick gave the Caps their third power play. With 1:44 remaining, Bruce Boudreau pulled Varlamov for a six-on-four. It didn't matter. Halak wasn't going to allow another puck to beat him, getting just enough of a dangerous Ovechkin chance to push it wide. The Caps, whose power play was such a strength during the regular season, couldn't get it together to save their fans from ultimate embarrassment. A Habs clear wide of the net along with hustle wound time down. A desperate Ovie tried to get the puck in for one last shot but failed, with the buzzer sounding as the Habs mobbed Halak jumping up and down. Remarkable scene.

Even more so, after sports best tradition in which Andrei Markov had some words of encouragement for an emotional Ovechin, the electrifying Russian superstar still saluted the crowd with his stick- showing a ton of class. That had to hurt. Bottom line. They ran into a hot goalie and a team that did the little things well enough to pull it off. There will be a lot of soul searching in D.C. For as much focus as there's been on the Devils' craziness on and off the ice, just imagine what's in store for the Caps. A year in which they led the league with 121 points and 318 goals is down the drain.

Should Boudreau pay? Every series he's ever coached has gone seven and now, the Caps have three times been eliminated on their own home ice. The first year against a more experienced Flyer club who went to the Conference Final before losing to the Crosby Pens. Last year after beating the Pens in Pitt forcing the second round series back home, they were embarrassed. Now, the indignity of being KO'd by an inferior team who just squeaked into the postseason, scoring 101 fewer goals.

How is it possible? In NHL playoffs, anything can happen. Especially if you face a hot goalie along with a team that believes they can get it done. Despite being severely outplayed after the Game Two collapse, Jacques Martin's club still believed with even players saying how they played well in the first two and could win at Verizon. But they did it twice, stunning the Caps who became the first team in franchise history to blow a 3-1 series lead. This in a year where they went for it, thinking this was the team that could deliver the club's first Stanley Cup. Now, they'll have to play golf and rent Tin Cup.

Much credit goes to Martin who severely outcoached Boudreau, devising a great defensive game plan. Even if shots were lopsided, they made Ovechkin and the rest of the skilled Caps earn it. Also, the Canadiens never backed up in their end, instead aggressively getting in the lanes which was why so many shots never found their destination. To think he went to Carey Price in a Game Four loss before going back to Halak is probably the most amazing aspect of this upset. The way Halak responded was incredible, supplying the kind of heroic netminding necessary to shutdown the league's best offense. Their power play was abysmal, connecting only once in 33 chances.

Green got victimized at even strength with awful reads and even worse defense, not fitting of a Norris candidate. It was his ill advised offensive zone penalty that led to Bergeron's tally. And there was Green again out of position chasing instigator Max Lapierre for a meaningless hit while Moore snuck through and beat Varlamov for the crusher. He's a great offensive D but has he not learned anything about the playoffs? John Carlson showed much more composure and Tom Poti was severely missed tonight. Sadly, Green and Jeff Schultz were the worst Washington blueliners in the series. Something which couldn't happen. But then again, did anyone really see Semin not scoring one goal. True, he floats. But come on. When they signed Semin to that extension, I said they should package him and a No.1 for Ilya Kovalchuk. Even though he and the Devs came up short against the Flyers, the former Atlanta star played with much more passion. Think he wouldn't have helped Ovechkin? Instead, the Caps are going home much earlier than anyone expected.

Finally, it's hard to blame the goalies for this debacle. Varlamov was good after replacing Jose Theodore. He certainly wasn't at fault the final three games. It was the Cap offense that disappeared. They refused to get dirty. And by that, screen Halak. He saw too many shots. If you face a goalie in the zone as the talented Slovak is, he's likely going to stop shots he can see. Even with vet Mike Knuble having a solid series, there weren't enough guys in red who got the jersey dirty. Tomas Fleischmann was reduced to a healthy scratch while Scott Walker (6:47) barely played. Eric Fehr was one of their most effective players in the series notching three goals and an assist. So, why only 10:48 with it on the line? Even Laich had a quiet first round despite getting his second marker.

It's obvious that the Caps must take a hard look at what went wrong and make changes. More grit is needed up front and on D. They'll also need a better goalie to help Varlamov. Nothing against Theodore who overcame so much in losing his son which should earn him the Masterton but he just isn't reliable. His $4.5 million salary does come off. What will they do? Big names Evgeni Nabokov and Marty Turco are available but both will cost. What about a cheaper option like Chris Mason, Dan Ellis or Johan Hedberg? Whatever is decided, they can't go into 2010-11 with Varlamov and Michael Neuvirth.

Is Boudreau to blame? He certainly will get tons of criticism for not having his team ready to close out the Habs earlier. Will he be fired? Tough to say. Regardless, the offseason just got a whole lot more interesting.

Playoffs Day Four

Day Four already! While it still feels a little odd minus my team, these playoffs have lived up its billing. To quote my favorite Bruce Willis The Last Boy Scout character Joe Hallenback, "And then some."

What great action we're seeing. Every underdog has demonstrated they belong. What. With even Les Habitants stunning the Caps on Tomas "Jagr" Plekanec's OT winner in a Game One upset where most notably, they silenced Alex Ovechkin, who had no shots. Shocking. He attempted some but they just never reached its destination. Jaroslav Spacek was responsible along with Andrei Markov for this. Imagine what our Buffalo contingent thinks. It'll be interesting to see how Ovie and Co. respond in essentially a must win tonight. ... Mean time, LOTCB's Sabres look to go two-for-two against the Bruins this afternoon with Game Two set for 1 ET on NBC. Or if you live in Long Beach, Cali like him, 10 in the morning. Fire up the eggs and coffee! We always kid or at least he does that times are always catered towards the West Coast, referencing late October baseball, March Madness, etc. Hopefully, they'll win. ... The late game features the Kings and Canucks at 10 here on Versus. If it's anything like Game One, wow. In what looks like the best series, it didn't disappoint. Great back and forth puck between two teams that don't care for each other. Jon Quick had himself a nice playoff debut even if it was a losing effort. Roberto Luongo though shaky saved his team's bacon in sudden death sweeping the puck off the goal line. Eventually, some Sedin magic led to Mikael Samuelsson's winner. Sick is how we'd describe it. Henrik Sedin showed why he won the Art Ross and probably should get MVP. Eerily reminiscent of that long classic over Dallas three Springs ago almost to the day. Will this be another classic?

Haircut for me and the bro.We'll review last night's wild action in a bit.

NYR at Wsh Preview: Auld in tonight

The Rangers play their third game in five days since the break. With a fourth in six tomorrow versus Buffalo, waiver pickup Alex Auld gets the call giving Henrik Lundqvist a rare day off. It's a tall order as the well traveled 29 year-old vet who's now with his seventh team (Van, Fla, Bos, Phx, Ott, Dal, NYR) has to deal with Alexander Ovechkin and the rest of the explosive East-leading Caps.

This should be fun. A team that boasts Ovie, the most underrated superstar in the game Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Semin, Mike Knuble, Mike Green, Tom "Orr" Poti, Brooks Laich and Tomas Fleischmann usually gives us fits. Take the wild 6-5 loss a month ago. A game the Rangers led 2-1 and 5-3 before wilting. That also was Olli Jokinen's Ranger debut if memory serves correctly. He had a goal and assist. Since the club acquired him and Brandon Prust from Calgary for rejects Chris Higgins and Ales Kotalik, the Jokester has tallied two goals and five assists over seven games which the Blueshirts have gone 4-2-1 in.

Not bad. By comparison, the Devils are 3-4-1 since acquiring Ilya Kovalchuk (3-5-8) and Anssi Salmela (1-2-3) However, there's a huge difference with the Devs as usual ahead of the Rangers in the standings and a virtual postseason lock depsite their slump. Meanwhile, an inconsistent team that can be dictated to in its end as was the case the other night (55:16) will continue to struggle just to qualify for the Spring a fifth straight time. Hard to believe. They're currently tied with Atlanta and Montreal for the final spot but rank ninth due to more games played than the eighth Thrashers who visit Tampa Bay tonight. Oddly enough, Hotlanta has been fine without Kovy losing just once in regulation (4-1-2) while Niclas Bergfors (4-2-6) and Johnny Oduya (0-3-3, +4) have been fine.

None of that bodes well for the Rangers who at least get back Marian Gaborik (groin). How effective he'll be remains to be seen. They should be careful in terms of overplaying their meal ticket. This isn't exactly a Cup contender. That should be taken into account. Facing the Caps in the nation's capital might be a nightmare. Especially since they were very active at the deadline adding Joe Corvo, Eric Belanger, Scott Walker and reacquiring Milan Jurcina to further bolster the roster. Figure Ovechkin to be fired up with rival Sidney Crosby surpassing him in the goalscoring race with two today (43, 44). In other words, yikes.

We'll see what the Rangers come up with.

Stay away from angry Ovie

A lot was made out of Alex Ovechkin not discussing Wednesday's Russian humiliation to the mainstream media. What really could he have said other than, 'We sucked?' After a performance like that in the national spotlight, I probably wouldn't care to talk either. Word to the wise. Too many journalists out there think they're entitled to everything. Bottom line: The Great Eight had a miserable night and one he'd rather forget. Just watch his snarky reaction to a Russian camerawoman who screams, "No. No. No. Please! Please," exiting Canada Hockey Place courtesy of PetePRose:

Angry Ovie Makes Quick Getaway

Judging from the looks of his female entourage, it seems Ovechkin had something entirely else on his mind. Sometimes, it's hard to remember that these athletes are human (insert cheesy Human League 80's music here). In other words, even Ovechkin can have a bad day. You don't think he was embarrassed along with his mismatched KHL Russian teammates? That look on Ilya Kovalchuk in an entry yesterday spoke volumes. Still can't believe the audacity of Joe Micheletti asking Ovie how he felt. How was he supposed to feel?!?!?!?!?! His team didn't even show. Between Mich's homeristic Ranger work on MSG and this, what a major league buffoon!

As for Mad Mike who foolishly referred to the Ryccku's effort as "Eurotrash," it is what it is. In this space 24 hours ago, we advocated firing him. But as Battle originator Steve Lepore noted in a well thought out PuckTheMedia entry, that would be overreaction. In retrospect, Mike Milbury should face fine/suspension from NBC. At least they sent him home early after his harsh words even left Jeremy Roenick speechless. I'll just echo what's been said about his controversial persona which emulates Don Cherry. FanHouse's Adam Gretz and Puck Daddy's Seah Leahy had even more on Mad Mike, who even had a run in with a Caps' Blog Box blogger who crossed the line following a Milbury dig at Ovechkin in a game he came back to score a hat trick in defeating Sidney Crosby's Pens in overtime.

 PensHead's Allison has a different outlook entirely on the Russian defeat to host Canada.Who can blame her? She's a Pengwhine's fan. ;-)

Although i was cheering for Russia last night i really hoped they wouldn’t win gold. A few days back i shared my point of view with MouthFullOfTang and today i will share it with you. So why if i was cheering for Russia i wished them no gold? Well, as a wise man once said … “I did it for the Pens!”

With today's semifinals starting at 3 ET with Team USA taking on Finland while Canada battles Slovakia in the night cap, can we put the other night's chaos behind us already? It's time.

Did you say Super Bowl?!?!?!?!?!

Who needs the Super Bowl when you got the best two players in the sport and their respective teams going at it in what was a classic. Or as Doc Emrick justifiably noted along with NBC sidekicks Pierre McGuire and Mike Milbury, this was a playoff game played between the Penguins and Capitals who didn't give an inch. The amazing aspect of Alex Ovechkin's Caps' riveting come from behind 5-4 overtime win over Sidney Crosby's Pens is I only caught the tail end after missing the opening 40, signifying how special both were and how truly blessed we are to have these guys playing our game.

I'll readily admit that I thought it was a bit much with heavy snow making travel so hectic for the Pens that they had to alter plans just to get there so the NBC noon game could go on as scheduled. However, big props to the NHL for getting this one right because this was spectacular. On Super Bowl Sunday, I just wonder how well they did ratings-wise. It's the kind of game that can really attract new fans, scoring big for the league. If only hockey drew better than their beloved golf which they immediately cut to following the exciting conclusion that saw a nicked up Ovechkin rifle one off the post that Mike Knuble swept home for the winner that extended Washington's win streak to 14. Three shy of the league mark ironically held by the Pens (March 9-April 10, 1993).

How well are the Caps playing? Against the defending champs who ended their season last year, they climbed out of a 4-1 hole to keep the streak alive. The Pens built the lead thanks to a first period pair from Crosby, who with No.'s 38 & 39 matched his career high set back in his rookie year ('05-06). Sandwiched around Jordan Staal's deuce, Ovechkin scored the first of three. Despite missing nine games, the electrifying Russian leads the league with 42 goals, 86 points and a +41 rating. Entering his fifth season, he was only a career plus-19. As great as Sid The Kid is playing along with Henrik Sedin, it looks like Ovie could become the first player to win the Hart three straight years since The Great One, who won a record eight straight ('79-80 thru '86-87). Wayne Gretzky owns a record nine MVPs. Amazingly, Super Mario won just three.

Still trailing late in the second, one of the Caps' role players Eric Fehr put home his own rebound slicing it to two. Ovechkin took over from there scoring twice and setting up Knuble's power play decider. He started it by whistling a backhand rebound past Marc-Andre Fleury at 6:51 from Tom "Orr" Poti and best kept secret Nicklas Backstrom. With the crowd going nuts as furious action went end to end, Ovechkin took an innocent hit to the hip that bothered him. With Emrick and Co. noting that something was wrong after he limped off the bench for a shift, Alexander The Great silenced the trio by getting his hat trick off a faceoff, sending a plethora of hats onto the ice.

Following the delay which probably irked Crosby (flashback reference), an absolutely dreadful call by ref Tim Peel- who somehow confused a composite plastic stick break into a Jeff Schultz phantom slash- handed the Pens a power play. However, they couldn't take advantage of the break thanks to a couple of big saves from Jose Theodore and some strong penalty killing, especially Matt Bradley. Pittsburgh still got momentum off it generating a few chances with Evgeni Malkin dangerous. Theodore quietly made a few timely stops to force OT.

In it, nothing was decided until Brooks Orpik foolishly high-sticked Alexander Semin, handing the Caps the only chance they needed to end it. Off a faceoff win, Backstrom patiently passed to Mike Green who dished across for an Ovechkin sizzler which rang off the post and right to Knuble, who earlier took a Fleury whack but still steered home his 21st with 2:21 remaining. It sent the packed home crowd into a frenzy and touched off a celebration as Washington continued to roll. Their 41 wins and 88 points pace the league. Three better than West-leading San Jose. The only question is can they bring home the franchise's first Stanley Cup with Theodore (31 saves) sharing the load with rooks Semyon Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth. While Varlamov remains out, both Theodore and Neuvirth have held down the forte. What happens when he returns? Guess that's for Bruce Boudreau to decide. Regardless, they're going to be a handful to beat in a seven-game series.

The Super Bowl is a couple of hours away between the Saints and Colts. But at least in our book, the real one already took place. America. Please take note.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Mike Knuble, Wsh (PP OT winner, assist, 17 PIM)
2nd Star-Sidney Crosby, Pit (2 goals-38th and 39th tie career high)
1st Star-Alexander Ovechkin, Wsh (hat trick-league leading 40, 41, 42 plus assist)

Kovalchuk madness overshadows wild Ranger loss to Ovechkin Caps

It would be impossible not to start what was a bizarre night at The Garden featuring 11 goals including the latest Alex Ovechkin magic trick without mentioning the Ilya Kovalchuk madness that took place during the first period. While the high flying Caps and new look Rangers were keeping fans out of their seats in one of the most unpredictable games ever, there was the much discussed Kovalchuk about to be traded out of Hotlanta to the sweepstakes/madness winner Devils. Something I was keeping track of over on Twitter while trying to pay attention to a game Washington came back to take 6-5 for their 12th straight win.

While the big Devil acquisition played out as had been widely speculated, the game on the ice was as much an enigma. Olli Jokinen's Ranger home debut had a bit of everything ranging from his first point 8:58 in on Ryan Callahan's power play redirect to his first goal as a Blueshirt in a roller coaster second period that saw each club score three times while also earning a hat trick of minor penalties with the potent Caps burning the Jokester twice. While the loss of discipline put a damper on things, the 31 year-old big pivot acquired from Calgary still had a good home debut that saw him pace everyone with seven shots plus the goal and helper.

“It’s disappointing,” the new Ranger said while donning his trademark No.12. “We’ve got to find a way to stay out of the penalty box. That was the difference. Our power play was good. We scored five goals at home. We should be able to win.

“Everybody knows where we’re at in the standings. We’ve got to treat every game like a playoff game.”

In his first game- a 2-1 loss to the original team that drafted him LA- Jokinen centered the top line with Marian Gaborik and Vinny Prospal. Last night, he played on the second line with Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky, who had success together. Perhaps the keystone coach will even use common sense and keep them in synch. Don't count on it.

The Rangers came out strong getting 10 of the first 11 shots, testing a shaky Jose Theodore who still made a couple of nice saves from in tight keeping it scoreless. For some reason, his team looked discombulated getting outplayed severely and outshot 18-6. Normally, a power play means nothing for our team. But on this night, they made it count connecting on four-of-six. As I tweeted, it wasn't a misprint. It didn't take long for Callahan to get position in front and steer home a Jokinen drive for his 14th, giving the Blueshirts a rare lead. Dubinsky netted the secondary. Despite getting just six shots, the Caps put one by Henrik Lundqvist when Boyd Gordon finished off a mad scramble to tie it. But before the goal was announced, 10 seconds later Gaborik set up Prospal for the first of two, restoring the lead. Marc Staal added a helper padding his career best total to 22 points in Year Three.

Meanwhile, Twitter was nuts with everyone confirming that Kovalchuk was going to New Jersey. By 7:30, I'd pretty much told our whole section with of course some expected cynicism of whether it was really true. Who would the players be going back? All we knew was Johnny Oduya and Nicklas Bergfors were definites with the other half centering around a prospect and a first round pick. The original rumor started by of all people Denis Potvin produced quite a thread on NJDevs. For a while, the prospect seemed to be Nick Palmieri but when a deal of this magnitude gets completed, you had to figure that aspect could change. Hasan's completely right about all the different scenarios tossed out about who it was, ranging from Swedish tandem Jacob Josefson and Mattias Tedenby to even David Clarkson's name being mentioned as part of the trade. By the second period, it turned out to be troubled center Patrice Cormier, who if he overcomes his discipline issues could evolve into a good two-way player.

As a Ranger fan, I couldn't help thinking how Lou had done it again. Holding onto his best two prospects with last year's first rounder Josefson making Cormier expendable. It's a great deal for the Devils but a little odd in that for as lethal a finisher as Kovalchuk is, he's also known to take shifts off and forger the defensive side. Vital components under Jacques Lemaire. Will it work? Only time will tell. It sure bolsters the Devs' offense and power play. Imagine a series against the Caps. Yowser.

While a wild second ensued with the teams combining for six goals, so much of the discussion centered around Kovalchuk winding up on our hated rival. What did the Devils give up to could Kovalchuk fit in and is it enough to vault them over the Caps, Pens and Sabres. Hell. Ottawa won again. So, they won't be any picnic either. Don't discount the Flyers but it's extremely odd that they weren't in on Kovy. It was almost like the stars were aligned for the Devils to swoop in and get the Atlanta superstar because the Bruins, Kings and Rangers all dropped out. As those thoughts were floating around, a flying Ovechkin got the scoring fest started by skating around the net to groans at Michal Rozsival for not hitting him (seri---ous---ly) with the electrifying Russian helping set up Mike Knuble's 20th with Nicklas Backstrom also assisting for one of his five points. For as much as we talk about Ovie, man is Backstrom impressive. He absolutely owned in this game, eventually netting the power play winner.

The first of three Jokinen minors (a slash) resulted in Ovechkin releasing a halitzer over Lundqvist's frozen left glove for his 37th tying Sidney Crosby for second. Backstrom got the lone helper for the Caps' first lead. A loss of discipline though nearly derailed them handing the Rangers three straight power plays including a near full two-man advantage. First, Jokinen connected for his first in our colors rifling one by Theodore to tie it. Prospal and Mike Del Zotto assisted. A delay of game and trip three seconds apart led to Prospal slamming home his second of the game from Callahan and Gaborik 40 seconds after they'd tied it. Things got worse for the Caps when Alex Semin went to the box for a trip. Astonishingly, the Blueshirts made them pay again when Dubinsky backhanded a Matt Gilroy rebound past Theodore for a 5-3 lead with 72 seconds left in the period. Even the MSG personnel downstairs couldn't believe they scored three in a row to surge in front by two.

Perhaps it also left John Tortorella in shock because he foolishly stuck out Rozsival and Wade Redden for the period's final shift against Ovechkin. How clueless can you be? Of all the baffling decisions including the ridiculous five forwards on a power play in a scoreles game that allowed LA to tally shorthanded two nights prior, this was the most illogical move he's ever made. And then he has the gall afterwards to talk discipline and how what resulted turned the game around. Get the hell out already! Can't we just have a normal coach? What transpired was one of the most amazing plays by such a physically gifted player. Taking a pass just outside the blueline from Backstrom, here came Ovechkin spinning around Rozsival who was just abused and then seemingly off balance while falling to the ice, he onehanded a shot off Lundqvist's pads and over his shoulder for a stunning goal that made it 5-4 with 8.5 ticks left. They'll be showing it on highlight reels for quite a while. In a nutshell, it demonstrated how pathetic our D is and also again sadly showed Henrik allowing a backbreaking goal. I like our goalie and he is good but read the difference between what he said and Bruce Boudreau concluded:

“It’s easy to start questioning your game when you let in six goals, but I don’t think I played that bad. It was just a really tough game. They find ways to create big scoring chances. They don’t shoot that much, but they find openings.”

“Even though they took a lead, we knew we would score. Lundqvist didn’t look as sharp as he has against us in the past.”

If that isn't a ringing indictment, my name is Peter Pan. Was Lundqvist serious? He was awful. I get that he has no help in front of him but that is just weaaaaak. You have royally sucked lately and are killing my fantasy team. How about manning up. For the salary he gets which is sadly too much thanks to Savior, how about coming up with a momentum turning save to stem the tide for a change?

Following the second period six-goal bonanza that featured a combined 32 shots (Wsh-18, NYR-14) with four PPG, the better team finally won out scoring the only two goals in the third. Tom Poti, who absolutely sucked here, made like Bobby Orr, scoring the tying power play goal 59 seconds in even though I swear Tomas Fleischmann tipped it in. The period saw our team shorthanded five times, including a dopey penalty by Dubinsky that killed any hopes of a comeback. In between, a struggling Lundqvist flopped to the ice like a fish and never recovered allowing Backstrom to blast home the winner. Fleischmann and Knuble, who wasn't good enough to play here registered assists.

On a night where All-Star defenseman Mike Green served the final game of a three-game suspension, Poti shined even faking out out entire D with an Orr-esque end-to-end rush that he nearly completed. If not for a lunging Lundqvist with a helpless teammate forced to take a penalty, this would've been jaw dropping. The jokes I made about how he never could've pulled that off here or taken that open point shot were easy punchlines. Now, he's a world beater. Just wait till Rozsival leaves.

The Caps outshot the Rangers 8-6 with Theodore still making a nice lunging save in the last few minutes to preserve it. Our entire D stunk. Rozsival was dreadful but at least got a takeaway from Ovie before the predictable fall from grace. Redden was a turnover machine all night and almost got victimized by Matt Bradley again. But this time Lundqvist denied his backhand deke. Dan Girardi hardly competed. Can we please get rid of this guy? I know he is loved but god, he is so overrated. They should just trade him. Staal at least tried because he always does. Del Zotto was probably our best notching a helper and logging big minutes. But it's trial by fire for the teenager. And Matt Gilroy just sucks. Another Hobey jinx. Oh. He's a good skater with solid puckhandling skills who can jump in but he is really soft. What did they teach at BU? I know he used to be a forward but come on.

Aside from the abysmal night that badly exposed our blueline, I already trashed Lundqvist and the coach, who hardly used Sean Avery with Brandon Prust, Enver Lisin, Artem Anisimov and Brian Boyle glued to the bench. Tort's coaching is so puzzling. He insists on starting Drury on the fourth line but then switches it up anyway while hardly giving the secondary guys enough ice. That can kill chemistry because those are your character guys who probably can't comprehend what their roles are. I'm past the point already.

Yes, Sather sucks. Dolan blows. But Tortorella is not the answer either. I like that he at least doesn't pull any punches. But if things don't change, he must go. Case closed. And what is there to look forward to? Kovalchuk and Parise scoring at will against us Saturday with Devil fans cheering in our building. From zero goals to probably 10.Can they just end the season already? You know the stuck up security guard who barked at us like children to sit in our seats prefers that. How screwed up can you get? Ever hear of fun?
Well, at least Saturday assuming it doesn't snow will be regardless.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Vinny Prospal, NYR (2 goals, 2 assists for season high 4 Pts)
2nd Star-Tom Poti, Wsh (PPG, 3 SOG in 26:36)
1st Star-Nicklas Backstrom, Wsh (PPG, 4 assists for matching season best 5 Pts)

Marty's Accomplishment Disrespected

Another night. Another remarkable accomplishment for New Jersey Devil netminder Martin Brodeur, who turned aside all 22 shots in a 3-0 shutout at snowy Buffalo last night. Finally, MB30 had shutout No.103, tying Terry Sawchuk's once thought unmatchable record which will soon go by the wayside much like Patrick Roy's 551 wins.

That the three-time Stanley Cup winner, Olympic gold medalist and four-time Vezina recipient also recently became the most active goalie in minutes played and also soon enough games played demonstrates just how durable he has been throughout a Hall Of Fame 16-year career. When I think of Marty, one word comes to mind. Consistency. All the consecutive 40+ win seasons prove it along with the fact the ageless 37 year-old is still performing at a high enough level to wonder if Cup No.4 is coming back to the Garden State on what's a very good Devil team. Leave that debate for another day.

As someone who has had to watch the best No.30 provide many headaches, the man is a champion on and off the ice who handles himself the way another great player in the metro area does. No wonder they share so much in common except that the Devil franchise plays in obscurity, even if The Rock in Newark is a great arena. So, what if he doesn't play across the Path on Broadway under the spotlight. This is what has always driven Kool Aid drinkers nuts. For that reason, Brodeur has flown under the radar despite staking his claim as the all-time greatest player to play the most important position in the NHL. If you don't have a good goalie, you'll never win Lord Stanley. Ex. Philadelphia Flyers

We're not here to discuss the difference between playing in The Big Apple and the sister state where Lady Liberty really stands. Something proud New Jerseyans will remind you if you're from NYC. Perhaps it has to do with the face both the Giants and Jets have New York across their uniforms while playing at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford. So, can you blame them?

It shouldn't matter that Brodeur plays under the shadows for the Devils. Fact is they're one of the greatest current sports franchises on par with the Red Wings, Patriots, Steelers, Colts, Spurs and Red Sox. Notice the great company they're in. Only Detroit and San Antonio have won more championships. We left out the Yankees because they're still the best franchise, now having won five World Series since 1996. Of course, it's easy to point out that the Yanks play in the Bronx which ain't exactly paradise even if the brand new Stadium is a crown jewel. If you're a successful franchise, it shouldn't matter where you play. Try telling that to this town where if you make it here, you'll make it anywhere as Frank Sinatra once said.

Would it kill the Daily News or NY Post to give MB30 his proper due instead of the same old same old recycled covers? Guess that's what happens when you play for New Jersey. It just doesn't have the same sex appeal. In the newspaper business, they're trying to sell papers. So, it's always going to be something over the top and usually from this city. That is unless there's a bunch of fluff like Tiger Woods' marriage on rocks due to incompetence. Does anyone really care about his personal life? But hey. It sells. So, we'll excuse the tabloids for eating it up.

What can't be ignored is how poorly this sport is treated by ESPN. At one time, they aired games for x amount of years, including a couple we provided stats research for the talent. When I worked there, all the employees involved in making it a great production put everything and more into it. Considering all the money they invested in hockey, it made plenty of sense. One thing about Bristol, Connecticut. If they cover your sport, expect them to give a yeoman effort. Even if it's resulted in butchering Monday Night Football. The best thing I've seen since 2002 was the 30 In 30 features, including The Trade of Wayne Gretzky, which was excellently produced. That's ESPN at its best. If you want it at its worst, watch Sports Center. A show that once was great as a kid now has zero imagination, even ticking off their own researchers that put in hard hours for ridiculous storylines that have little to do with sports.

That's what we're dealing with since Disney took over. If they cover your sport, you'll usually get great highlights and over analysis. See last night where Aaron Rodgers was treated like a Super Bowl winning quarterback. SC was basically football, football, FOOTBALL with a little AI, then more football, football, FOOTBALL. Sadly, the real King Of The Night- who deserved a lot more than the 11+ percent if most sportsfans weren't so brainwashed- was reduced to a small blurb showing 2 miniscule highlights of his 103rd career shutout that tied a significant record. Then, they went back to more football. If you caught our last post on the other server early this morning on our birthday, then you already know.

Since hockey is hardly covered anymore after Bristol passed on re-upping due to the lockout with it instead winding up on Versus, where DirecTV subscribers got royally screwed and couldn't catch one second of MB30's shining moment, it comes as no surprise that such a special night got lost in the ESPN shuffle. Sadly, it's worse than Phil's recurring events in Groundhog Day. Even the Rangers aren't this bad yet. Somehow, Barry Melrose and Matt Barnaby cash checks for zilch. John Buccigross, who's one of the best hockey people in The States, remains employed working SC. He wrote a damn good column over a week ago on Brian Burke's openly gay son Brendan. How unfortunate that we don't benefit from Bucci's enthusiasm for the sport.

Earlier this year, I pondered if a return to ESPN would be beneficial to the game. Sure. It would be more available to viewers and promoted better than what we get on Versus along with NBC, who has the NHL by the balls. But when I see how little it's covered along with the ultimate disrespect to a super special athlete who's much more likable than most of the pampered they push, it would be an exercise in futility. They don't deserve Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Nicklas Lidstrom, Evgeni Malkin, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Nicklas Backstrom, Zach Parise, John Tavares and Matt Duchene. Clearly, there's more talent on display than ever before.

We don't deserve to be treated like second class citizens. So, while they can continue showcasing the overrated and image conscientious LeBron, I'll take our gifted batch anyday with Mr. Brodeur the head of the class. Everything a real superstar should be. One of the best to ever play the game and a truly magnificent athlete. Even Derek Jeter and Peyton Manning would agree.

Ovechkin hits 50 in style

There are nights where you are lucky to be a sportsfan. For our sport, this was one of those special nights courtesy of Washington Capital sniper Alexander Ovechkin.

The 22 year-old league leading finisher entered yesterday's home contest against Boston needing one goal to reach the 50-goal mark for the second time in his already brilliant career. By the end of the first period, he already had a hat trick to become the third Washington Cap to reach 50 for a season joining Peter Bondra and Dennis Maruk.

It capped a terrific night for AO and teammates as they stormed the Bruins 10-2 putting up a touchdown in the opening stanza. After former Canuck Matt Cooke got the scoring started, Ovechkin tallied twice only 50 seconds apart to put his team up a field goal.

The electrifying Russian completed the first period trick when he skated in front and buried an Alexander Semin centering feed past poor Boston No.1 goalie Tim Thomas.

"Today, everything just went to the net,” a relieved Ovechkin explained to the AP of snapping a funk where he had only one goal in the last eight. “You are going to score (in) lots of games, and some you (won’t). I always tell myself not to think about goals and to just play how I can.”

It wouldn't get much better for the sixth ranked B's, who saw their six-game win streak end in humiliating fashion. They were outscored 4-2 in the final 40 minutes with Ovechkin adding two assists for a five-point night while rookie pivot Nicklas Backstrom notched a goal and three helpers.

For Ovechkin and teammates, the big game came just in time and allowed them to cut idle Southeast Division leader Carolina's lead to three with 15 games remaining (one more than the Canes).

“Just wait, we have lots of games left, and one game can mean nothing,” he pointed out . “We just have to continue to do what we did today, and try to play the same way on Wednesday.”

Amazingly, only three Caps didn't register a point including deadline pickup Sergei Fedorov, who somehow finished minus-one. Ovechkin's big night allowed him to pass fellow Russian Evgeni Malkin for the NHL scoring lead. He now leads the league with 90 points (52-38-90) while Malkin has 88 (37-51-88).

Devs a no-show in shutout loss to new look Caps

It wasn't much of a night for the first place Devils. With a chance to increase their conference lead, instead they didn't show up ready for hockey easily being shutout 4-0 by the new and improved Capitals at The Prudential Center.

Despite a strong start by Marty Brodeur, the Devs couldn't muster much against ex-Jacket Sergei Fedorov and new Capital goalie Cristobal Huet. Instead, their power play fizzled firing blanks while finishing 0-for-3. Meanwhile, the opportunistic Caps cashed in on both of theirs including NHL-leading goalscoring D-man Mike Green, who whistled one past Brodeur off a nice Alexander Semin feed a little more than halfway through the scoreless contest.

Brodeur came up with what looked to be a large stop on a Tom Poti pointblank chance from 35 at the end of the second. Unfortunately, his teammates drew zero inspiration instead getting badly outworked and outplayed by a hungry Washington squad hell bent on catching the battered Hurricanes for the Southeast Division.

The end result was:

Caps 3 Devs 0

SOG: Wsh-13 NJ-2

Though the Devils again held league leading finisher Alexander Ovechkin off the scoreboard, the Russian still setup one-time Dev Viktor Kozlov's 17th just 43 seconds into the final stanza. They would tack on a couple of more with Semin notching his 20th off a Poti setup and then out of all people, Washington enforcer Donald Brashear got into the act.

Unchecked, the noted tough guy buried a Matt Bradley pass in the slot for his fourth to put the exclamation point on a stunning Caps' statement with 2:55 to go.


Notes: The Devils finished with only 18 shots and went only 20-for-47 in the faceoff circle. ... Fedorov registered his first point as a Cap with a secondary helper on Green's deciding tally in the middle stanza. ... Rookie pivot Nicklas Backstrom tallied two assists. Poti also had two assists as well. ... Deadline pickup Bryce Salvador logged over 20:00 in his Devil debut on the blueline finishing minus-one. ... Brodeur turned aside 25 of 29 in defeat.

Tops in the East on line in Montreal: The Devs will look to rebound when they visit the Habs up in Montreal with tops in the conference on the line. Usually, the Montreal native Brodeur shines in those. The Habs are coming off a 6-2 rout of Buffalo in which Tomas Plekanec notched a hat trick and leading scorer Alex Kovalev tallied four assists. We'll see what happens.

Brodeur stones Caps, Pens lose in shootout

It was a great afternoon for the Devils. In particular, All-Star netminder Marty Brodeur, whose 37 saves were the difference in a 2-1 overtime triumph over the Caps at Verizon Center.

With his team outshot 28-10 and outchanced by plenty through 40 minutes, the three-time Vezina and Cup winner stood on his head robbing Alexander Ovechkin and other Capitals including Alexander Semin and rookie Nicklas Backstrom point blank to keep the game scoreless.

The Devils finally came with a better effort in the third and were rewarded with the game's first goal when team captain Jamie Langenbrunner converted on a 5-on-3 power play just 39 seconds in for his 11th. Paul Martin and Patrik Elias notched assists.

However, the Caps finally found a way to beat Brodeur when Semin took an Ovechkin feed and went to the backhand for his 19th just 1:53 later to tie it.

If the Capitals were the superior team in the first two stanzas, then the same couldn't be said for the final 20 of regulation as the Devils got plenty of shots (18-10) and chances on Washington backup Brent Johnson. The former Blue was up to the task much like his counterpart earning his team a valuable point to get within five of the first place Hurricanes.

In OT, it would be mostly Washington as Ovechkin tried to stickhandle through every Devil. He also setup one quality opportunity for top defenseman Mike Green but a terrific pokecheck by Brodeur thwarted his backhand deke attempt keeping the extra session going.

Remarkably despite the Caps dictating the play, they got no total shots on Marty in the OT while the Devs finished with three including the winner.

Off a two-on-three, John Madden wouldn't give up the puck forcing a sharp angle shot on Johnson which rebounded out to Elias. The crafty left wing patiently waited before firing a shot off the post. A hustling Madden then slipped Shaone Morrisonn's check and backhanded one thru Johnson's five-hole for the winner sending FSNY basketcase announcer Mike Emrick into a screech of epic proportions.

Doc's a great play-by-play man but he sounded like an annoying child there. It was a great win for the Devils nonetheless and allowed them to grab the conference's top spot by a point over the idle Sens. According to the FSNY production truck team of Roland Dratch and Larry Gaines, it's the first time they've led the East at this point in seven years.

I'm not really sure what the significance is. Their team always wins the division and usually finishes at or near the top of the conference.

As a former researcher though, production teams love those kind of stats. So, it stands to reason why they used it.


Meanwhile, the Pens and Sharks needed a shootout to decide the winner. In it, all three San Jose shooters easily beat frustrated Pittsburgh netminder Ty Conklin. The best part had to be when Jarkko Ruutu slowly walked in before somehow going to the right hand to put the puck upstairs on Nabokov. For a guy who gets underneath the skin of opponents, he has some skill to go with it as I've never seen him miss in a shootout. No wonder Michel Therrien selected him over NHL leading scorer Evgeni Malkin and Petr Sykora.

It was all for naught as veteran pivot Jeremy Roenick made it three-for-three in the skills competition by easily picking the five-hole on Conklin to give the Sharks their second consecutive win of what's been a very tough Eastern road trip.

For the Devs, it meant they now lead the Pens by two points with each team having 19 games to go.

If the video of Brodeur's big game comes out, we'll be sure to put it up.

The Rangers aim for their second straight win as they host the Panthers now. Lenny did a quick preview. To any normal puck fan who read my drunken post last night, I apologize.

To the loser who posted under Anonymous because they have something stuck up their ass and have never made a mistake in their pathetic life, go to Hell! Anyone who can't put their name behind something is spineless and obviously doesn't have a lot going for them.


Enjoy the games people! See ya later.

Green's PPG gives Caps OT win over Rangers

Truthfully, the Caps were the fresher team and that's part of why they cameback to pull out a hard fought 3-2 overtime win over the Rangers earlier today in the nation's capital.

However, this was another one of those games the Blueshirts should've gotten two points in instead of the annoying brownie point. How many times can they outshoot opponents and not cash in on power plays? In case you're wondering, they took a collar finishing a deadful 0-for-6 on the man-advantage. Why not just decline it? That would make it easier for fans to watch.

Just how costly was it? In a game they controlled outshooting the Caps 33-24, their damn PP was the difference because the opportunistic Caps managed to go 2-for-3 including lethal defenseman Mike Green's OT winner just 23 seconds into the extra session.

To be quite frank, the Blueshirts have only one PP unit now. That would be the more North American one featuring leading scorer Scott Gomez, the sizzling Chris Drury (sixth goal in last seven) along with Nigel Dawes and defensemen Fedor Tyutin and Daniel Girardi.

The Euro-overpassing unit featuring non-leader Jaromir Jagr, Michal Rozsival, Martin Straka, Petr Prucha and Brandon Dubinsky was just brutal wasting precious seconds. It was pretty easy for the Caps to kill off time when clueless coach Tom Renney stuck them out there. Why bother making a change? Right.

And is it his novel concept to stick stonehands fourth liners Blair Betts, Ryan Hollweg and Colton Orr near the end of the PP? Geez. This team is run so ass backwards, it's no wonder they're treading water just trying to stay afloat and make a third consecutive postseason while lesser opponents such as the Caps and Bruins continue to work harder and netting impressive results.

If they do make the cut, it's only going to because the East sucks. Mediocrity is what Gary Bettman wanted and he sure is getting it. Call me a traditionalist but I'd prefer getting no points for losing in OT.

Why reward a loser? For the same exact reasons these brainwashed stripes waved off a perfectly legit tying goal by Wings' defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom with under a minute left in a whale of a game on NBC between the NHL's best and the Ducks.

Such is the nature of the rules. If you caught the couple of Ranger games this weekend, then you know exactly what I'm referring to. The soft calls which have no business being in the game. It's gotten stupid.

I'm embarrassed to be a fan of this sport. That's how much they've dumbed it down. It doesn't help that my team continues to underachieve with Jagr managing no points in the last seven games. How is that possible?!?!?!?!?! I got into a heated argument with some fans earlier this season about what No.68 has become. They didn't want to believe it and labeled me a "non-Ranger fan." LMAO...who's laughing now?

Sadly, no one is these days. Nobody feels sorry for this heartless team. I see Drury and Gomez putting a heck of a lot better effort in than Jagr or Rozsival, who suddenly is making me long for Marek Malik back in the lineup. Dawes and Dubinsky always put a good effort in and Ryan Callahan looks all the way back finally.

Is it the coach? Do they need a tougher one? There's only 23 games remaining. Less than anyone else. The next one isn't till the following Saturday which means teams are going to finally make up ground on our team who could be out of playoff position when they take to the ice again.

I haven't really said much about the game which they didn't play badly in. Problem was Alexander Ovechkin played for the opponent and once again impacted the game, factoring in on every Caps' goal. His hard work setup the tying Boyd Gordon marker with 15 seconds left in the second. AO also notched the primary assist on Green's 15th- a blast which unfortunately went off Marc Staal past a valiant Steven Valiquette, who in his second straight start finished with 21 saves.

Problem was Olie Kolzig was better garnering first star with 31 stops including highway robbery on Sean Avery, sliding across to rob the Rangers' first goalscorer of a sure second one in the third.

Congrats go out to Olie The Goalie for becoming only the eighth netminder to play in 800 career games. He certainly came up large in lifting his team back into first in the topsy turvy Southeast.


Props again to Lenny for providing some excellent coverage the past couple of days. All your hard work is very appreciated. I only wish our team could work just as hard and consistently as you do.

Ovechkin's four goals lift Caps over Sens 8-6

Alexander Ovechkin decided to join Russian comrade Ilya Kovalchuk in the 30-goal club this season. He just decided to do it with a vintage night Saturday against the East's best team up at Scotia Bank Place.

The exciting third-year 22 year-old from Moscow scored four goals and an assist in a high scoring 8-6 win over the Senators. It was his first career four-goal game.

Even more amazing was that he was coming off a leg cut suffered in an OT loss to the Penguins Thursday which needed stitches.

No matter as the former 2005-06 Calder winner pulled within two goals of league leader Kovalchuk who tallied once in a 5-0 Thrashing of Boston last night.

"Oh yeah, it was bothering me," Ovechkin later admitted to the AP. "It was a little bit of pain but it's OK, I feel pretty good tonight. My parents were here, they arrived from Moscow and I was excited. It was a great time."

No wonder he put on a show.

"What impresses me most is that he actually played tonight," Capital teammate Olaf Kolzig noted. "If you guys would have seen the gash on his leg and I know a lot of guys were, not begging him but leaning towards, 'Hey, you think you can play tonight?' He had a lot of courage and he put on a heck of a show."

The 14 total goals made for a tough night in net. Something Kolzig eluded to.

"It was definitely a ratings booster for the TV stations and I'm sure the fans got their money's worth, but I'm too old for these kind of games," he said. "It's going to force me to retire sooner than I want."

The game featured the first career hat trick for underrated Ottawa center Mike Fisher. He scored all three in the third period trying to lead a comeback from 5-2 down.

"It's frustrating to lose that one when we were kind of close and it was not a great game for us," Fisher said after tallying shorthanded, on the power play and at even strength to be tabbed as the game's 2nd Star in the loss. "That would have been sweet to be able to come back but overall we've got to be better. We can't put ourselves in that position."

Teammate Daniel Alfredsson also scored twice including on a penalty shot- becoming just the ninth shooter to beat a goalie in over 30 chances this season.

Caps' rookie center Nicklas Backstrom finished with a goal and two helpers as did Alexander Semin. Ex-Ranger Michael Nylander also scored twice in a wild game which saw nine players (Wsh-5, Ott-4) post multi-point nights.

It was Ovechkin's third career hat trick and first since Dec. 1, 2006 against Atlanta.

Here are the highlights:

Ovechkin's first career four-goal game