Capitals outshine Devils for 3-2 win.

September 29, 2008   ·   Adam   ·   Jump to comments

Just got back from tonights’ preseason game.  I came prepared tonight with a notepad and no pen.  So I am writing this now while everything is still fresh.

Capacity tonight looked like 5,000.  Not bad for a preseason game with an out-of division opponent.

Anyways, on to the game…

This game sorta looked like a typical “Devils can’t get the puck in the zone and keep it there” kinda zone… the one Devils fans hate to watch as it’s annoying as hell.  But not to worry, half of the offensive lineup were made up of players heading to juniors anyway.

I won’t bother with a full game recap, so I’ll just get into the nitty gritty:

Andy Greene: WOW.  I thought he had an awesome game.  He played with excellent poise and made smart decisions.  Total 180 from where he was last season.  All the working out paid off as he is a bit “tougher” and still has his quickness.

Paul Martin had a great game as well.  He is showing why he should be considered at top-pairing defenseman.  He made some nifty plays carrying the puck and controlled the play at some points to settle things down and get into the zone.

Salmela had a somewhat average game.  He didn’t make too many mistakes, but he didn’t really shine either.  But with Corrente headed to camp, he may be the Devils’ extra d-man.  He has potential… that I will concede.

Petr Vrana is another player who stood out tonight.  He made some good passing plays and showed grittiness when in the corners while even putting the biscuit in the gift basket.  He seems like a ‘mini-Elias‘.  Is he NHL ready?  I don’t think so.  But this might be one of those things where he may need to be thrown into the fire of the big leagues to truely reach his potential.  Unfortunately… there may not be any room for him anyways.

Longassname-Leblonde, good fight with Brashier.  It takes some guts to tangle with the ice hockey equivalent of a T-rex.  But he held out and fought hard.  But I would give the tilt to the older gentleman as he seemed to dictate the entire affair.

Oh, and I hate to say it… but Sheldon Brookbank has not impressed me at all.  Two games already where his mistakes were very visible.  Didn’t someone send him the memo about how the D-situation was going to be crowded?  I mean shit, it was the same situation last year.  He has a few more preseason games… so we’ll see how he pans out.

Kevin Weekes, I won’t blame him for this loss too much.  I thought he played well and held his own.  But when your D lets the other team set up a BBQ on your front porch, you cant help but be distracted by that southern chili.  In other words… 2 out the 3 goals were due to poor d-coverage.  Yeah.

Lastly, props to Parise, Zajac, Langenbrunner, they come in with a lot of “never give up, never surrender” kinda fight that led to one goal.  And if they had the stamina to be out there for an additional 2 minutes (they scored after playing a full shift and came off) and control the play (instead of leaving it to the young guys), they might have carried that momentum to another goal.  Not to knock the young guys, but they panicked at the end, flopping around and basically having no-poise… they had a minute to lock it up, but they left the gate wiiiiiide open.  But hey, thats why they’re rooks. (Last second props to Pelley too.  He is shaping up rather well)

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On to the Capitals.  I’ll make this quick.  Ovy is Ovy, he is just damned good and fun to watch.  He is a beast that hits and scores goals and has a great time doing it.  The Caps are a young squad (Backstrom, Green) with a lot to prove and a lot to build on.  They stepped it up last year and can really move forward.

Michael Nylander showed some signs of post-Jagr life making some nifty passes and setting up 2 of the goals tonight.  Last season wasn’t great for him… getting injured kinda does that.  Will his age catch up to him?  Or will he find new life on a young team.

So what’s holding them back?  Goaltending.  Jose Theodore better not be their starter (let in both goals by the Devils).  And Brent Johnson?  I am starting to think he is a Devil-killer.  Last season when he started against the Devils, he played out of his mind and shut them down.  His success tonight may have more to do with the Devils lack of quality shots and chances.  But he did power through a few PKs and made it out with a personal shutout.  So the real question is… can he shoulder the goaltending load if Theodore cant?