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)

———————-

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?

All Photos Copyright Getty Images

If you love great hockey, then most of this first round has been riveting. We had one Game Seven tonight between Original Six Northeast rivals Boston and Montreal. Thanks to another Flyer-esque collapse, there will be a couple of more deciding series later tonight!

Had the Bruins completed the comeback from 3-1 down against Les Habitants for the first time in franchise history, it would’ve been a no brainer to lead with that. However, that didn’t transpire as a more focused top seeded Montreal squad had what it took getting splendid netminding from rookie Carey Price and inspired play by the Kostistyn brothers and Alex Kovalev to eliminate Boston 5-0 before an electric Bell Centre towel waving crowd.

More on this later.

For much of the first round, the Flyers had bottled up Alex Ovechkin limiting the league’s leading scorer to just one goal. The 22 year-old Russian responded by ratcheting up his physical game helping the Caps stay alive the other day with a 3-2 Game Five home win. Having been shutout four consecutive games, Ovechkin finally came through when his desperate team needed it most tallying twice in the third period putting an exclamation point on four unanswered goals by his team in a 4-2 Game Six win before a stunned Sea of Orange at Wachovia Center.

The Flyers built a 2-0 lead thanks to power play goals from Mike Richards and series leading scorer Daniel Briere. Down a couple, the third seeded Caps never panicked. They started to carry the play in the second and got rewarded. First, rookie Nicklas Backstrom finished off a nifty passing play from Alexander Semin to slice the deficit in half with 10:26 left. Less than nine minutes later, Semin tied it at 18:03 when he easily put home a John Erskine rebound.

With the Flyer crowd becoming a little more edgy, (wouldn’t you be given their recent history?) their worst fears were realized when Ovechkin beat Martin Biron on a clean breakaway 2:46 into the third. The deciding tally was made possible by some excellent defensive work by <gulp> Viktor Kozlov. The lanky Russian enigma broke up a good Flyer opportunity and then made a perfect stretch pass to spring Ovechkin. He broke in from the Flyer blueline and went to his bread and butter deking Biron going forehand top shelf to give his team their first lead.

“All year I didn’t have a chance to score on a breakaway,” the 65-goal regular season scorer told the AP.

“I probably had one goal on a breakaway, I did what I always do and thank God it worked.”

“It’s Hollywood here and the script said he wins the game,” pointed out pumped Caps owner Ted Leonsis.

Philly tried to get back in it but ex-Hab netminder Cristobal Huet was solid turning aside all eight of their shots to finish as the game’s Second Star with 33 saves. An undisciplined Flyer bench minor for too many men proved costly when Sergei Fedorov and Brooks Laich combined to setup a laser of a one-timer from Ovechkin which made it 4-2 with 9:19 to go.

From there, the Caps would hold on to force Game Seven which is Tuesday night back in the nation’s capital. Washington will attempt to become the 21st team to rally back from a 3-1 deficit. Oddly enough, the only time in franchise they history they turned the trick was 20 years ago against those Flyers back when each was in the Patrick Division with Dale Hunter netting an OT goal.

That can’t be too comforting for Flyer fans.

“We just got away from our game,” Richards lamented . “Now, tomorrow night’s desperation time.”

“There is still another chance,” a philosophical Briere noted. “We have to forget what happened and leave it all on the ice over there. We know we can win there, we did it earlier in the series. That is all we have to think about.”

The Flyers will try to have short memories later tonight in the first of two Game Sevens which concludes the First Round. The Sharks will play host to the Flames in the second game which decides who moves on and who books tee times.

As for the Bruins, they tried hard but just couldn’t find that first goal on Price which might’ve made all the difference. Despite a decided edge in play (11-8 SOG edge), they trailed after 20 minutes 1-0 on Mike Komisarek’s goal 3:31 in from Kovalev and Saku Koivu which deflected off a Boston player past Tim Thomas.

Price thwarted attacking Bruins including a crucial stop from in close on Phil Kessel which kept his team ahead. He got more support from Mark Streit in the second when the two-way threat made Boston captain Zdeno Chara look like a traffic cone before opening up Thomas five-hole for a two-goal Habs’s lead more than halfway thru.

It only got worse for Chara who took a penalty which led to Andrei Kostistyn’s tally from in close as the big defenseman stepped out of the box. Taking a tough pass from brother Sergei, he was able to get his shot off between two defenders beating Thomas for 3-0 at 15:13.

Game. Set. Match. Sure, Claude Julien’s Bruins had exploded for eight goals (four each) in the third of the past two wins to extend this series and give themselves a 21st shot at finally coming back triumphant from a 3-1 hole.

But any rational person knew that wasn’t happening before rabid Habs fans who I’m told by my good Montreal buddy rioted in the streets. Apparently, one series win did a little too much to their brains.

Goals by both Kostistyns late in a game they dominated put the stamp on Montreal’s 5-0 deciding game victory. The top seeds live for another round getting quality performances from all their best players including Chris Higgins, who despite no points was a beast along the walls on a reconstructed line with Koivu and Kovalev. They had chemistry because they played together last season. The Kostistyns worked with Tomas Plekanec, who notched a primary helper on Sergei Kostistyn’s third with eight seconds left.

The Kostistyns combined for three goals, two assists and a plus-four rating. Kovalev, who also was quiet last game with a minus-three responded with two helpers and a plus-two rating in improving to 6-0 lifetime in Game Sevens.

Price recorded his second shutout of the series stopping all 25 Boston offerings. Now it’s onto Round Two.

With the Caps and Flyers going seven and Montreal winning, the Rangers will play either the Canadiens or Penguins in the Eastern Conference Semis which won’t get underway till Thursday or Friday.

If Washington wins, then all three top East seeds advance which would setup another Original Six battle between the Canadiens and Rangers. The Caps would start on the road at second seeded Pittsburgh.

However, if the sixth seeded Flyers prevail tonight, then they’d visit Montreal leaving an all Atlantic battle between the fifth seeded Blueshirts and No.2 seeded Pens.

Get all that? We’ll see how it plays out later tonight.

All Photos Copyright Getty Images

There were three other playoff games last night which bared watching. So, while there was an intense Game Two between the Hudson rivals, the other trio of games on Night 3 of the NHL postseason all had exciting and unpredictable finishes. That’s our main point of emphasis in this totally random Spring edition:

-Great game in the nation’s capital between the Flyers and Caps last night. It’s unfortunate that I couldn’t really get into it due to Rangers-Devils but just from catching the highlights, this looked like an unbelievable first game between two evenly matched teams. The Flyers led 4-2 after 40 minutes on the strength of a pair of goals from Daniel Briere and Vaclav Prospal. Trailing by a couple, the Capitals rallied back with three unanswered including two straight blueline blasts from the deadly Mike Green which tied it up.

For most of the game, the Flyers kept Alexander Ovechkin in check but the league’s leading scorer sprung to life when his team needed it most making an unreal play which resulted in the winner. In his first NHL playoff game, the 65-goal sniper forced a turnover stripping the puck away from Lasse Kukkonen. The electrifying 22 year-old Russian then patiently outwaited Martin Biron before wrapping the puck past the Flyer netminder for the deciding tally with 4:32 left. The certain Hart winner’s heroics helped the Caps overcome a two-goal deficit as they outshot the Flyers 12-3 in a dominant third to take a 1-0 series lead in what shapes up to be a great first round match-up.

-Another fun conclusion took place at Mellon Arena where the Pens withstood a good challenge from the Sens, getting a late Ryan Malone power play tally along with an empty netter to pull out Game Two 5-3- allowing the East’s No.2 seed to take a 2-0 series lead.

Early on, it looked like it would be just as easy as their dominant 4-0 Game One victory the other night. The Pens cashed in on a five-on-three when Evgeni Malkin setup a Sergei Gonchar bomb to go up 1-0. Another nifty passing play which saw Sidney Crosby and Malkin combining to setup Petr Sykora for a second power play goal 5:22 into the second. The dynamic duo hooked up yet again on an even better Malkin feed with the ex-Devil not missing for his third of the postseason.

Three goals down, the Sens could’ve packed it in. Instead, they came right back less than a minute later when Shean Donovan tallied in front to cut it to 3-1. A Cory Stillman PPG off a nice Dany Heatley pass gave them life headed to the final stanza. When rookie Cody Bass finished off a play in front, the game was suddenly tied at three with 11:09 remaining.

Discipline had been an issue all night for the Sens and came into play when Martin Lapointe hooked down Jarkko Ruutu with 1:14 to go in regulation. It took the Pens just 12 seconds to make Lapointe pay as Crosby and Marian Hossa helped setup Ryan Malone’s wraparound at 18:58. Malone also iced the game firing into an open net with seven ticks left.

Game Three is not till Monday in Ottawa.

-Perhaps the best game was Game Two between Northwest rivals Colorado and Minnesota. The two teams had battled hard in the first game with the Wild forcing sudden death only to see Colorado clutch captain Joe Sakic add to his playoff record with an eighth career goal in playoff overtime.

Jacques Lemaire’s club needed to level this series and found a way to do it requiring more than 60 minutes again with it going their way. Peter Forsberg got the Avs on the scoreboard first with a beautiful vintage finish off a Jeff Finger feed, wristing one by Niklas Backstrom at 17:06 of the first. The Wild cameback to knot it in the third when there was a Pavol Demitra sighting. A rarity this time of year as the Slovak fired a perfect wrister past Jose Theodore for a PPG 1:37 into the middle stanza.

It looked like all of St. Paul would celebrate a regulation come from behind win when Mikko Koivu stole a puck and then wired one past Theodore with 1:51 left. But the Avs drew a late power play and got even when Ryan Smyth deflected home a John-Michael Liles point shot with 44 seconds to go. The goal was credited to Milan Hejduk.

Either way, the same two teams once again went overtime but before I could get back to see it, it was over quickly thanks to out of all people Keith Carney. Off a broken play with some excellent grunt work by Koivu, who was the Wild’s best player, the American-born vet got to a loose puck and beat Theodore cleanly with a slapper from the left wall at 1:14 of sudden death.

Not surprisingly, it was Carney’s first ever OT winner. Good for him.

The series shifts back to the Rocky Mountains Monday and Tuesday for Games Three and Four.

-Maybe the Sens can build off a strong night in goal by Gerber, who made 49 saves. We’ll see what they’re made of starting Monday when the series shifts to Kanata, Ontario.

-That reaction by first-year Devil coach Brent Sutter where he slammed the stick after a dreadful icing call against his club was classic. He had every reason to be upset. Loved the intensity.

-He’s annoying to no end but Sid the Kid is still a great hockey player as evidenced by his four secondary assists. If he and Malkin are both in high gear, the Pens are going to be very tough to stop. Especially if they’re getting the benefit of the stripes as Ottawa coach Bryan Murray asserted to some missed stuff on Pittsburgh last night.

-Watching Forsberg in the first couple of games between Minnesota and Colorado, it becomes evident just how brilliant he really is. Even with all the injuries and foot problems, Peter The Great is still looking like an elite player. And if that’s the case, the Avs should be heard from this Spring.

-From listening to Lemaire about his young club after a vital OT win, you can tell how much the former Devil coach who guided that franchise to their first championship enjoys coaching his players. That enthusiasm is still there. He definitely seems to be having more fun these days which tells you he was a great hire a few years back for that franchise.

-They also have great fans. Boy. Do they make a lot of noise.

-Guess Jacques Martin just couldn’t push the right buttons to get it turned around in Florida.

AP Photo Courtesy Getty Images by Karl B. DeBlaker 

There stood a loose puck in the left slot 35-40 feet away. A streaking Alexander Ovechkin got to it with the back of his No.8 jersey facing Carolina netminder Cam Ward and in one motion fired a turnaround slapper which blew past the stunned former Conn Smythe winner’s glover into the top right portion of the net.

Caps 4 Canes 1 with 3:36 left at a packed loud Verizon Center the other night.

Ovechkin’s league leading 63rd goal and point No.110 was the icing on the cake of another huge win for Bruce Boudreau’s surging club which got a step closer to its first postseason in five years. Their fifth consecutive win was the longest streak since 2001.

The Capitals have won nine of 10 entering tonight’s crucial home tilt against Vincent Lecavalier and the last place Lightning. They know what’s at stake. Win and they move past the idle Flyers into eighth in the conference. Lose and suddenly, their outstanding play down the stretch could mean little.

These Caps aren’t just about Ovechkin, who should be a virtual lock for the league’s MVP unlike what the Devil homeristic Dumb and Dumber tandem of Ken Daneyko and Stan Fischler think. Could these two clowns wave the Marty Brodeur pom poms anymore? Chico Resch just protested.

Truth be told, Ovechkin’s closest competition in the Hart race will come from Russian comrade Evgeni Malkin, who has carried the Penguins to an Atlantic Division crown and possibly the East’s top seed depending on what happens between the Canadiens and Sabres later tonight north of the border.

Malkin should get a lot of votes considering that he elevated his level a few notches when last year’s Hart wihinner/ Sidney Crosby went down. So too should Calgary’s Jarome Iginla, who has done everything possible to help the Flames get within an eyelash of a playoff berth.

There are plenty of other worthy candidates who deserve mention such as Brodeur, Nick Lidstrom, Eric Staal, Joe Thornton, Alex Kovalev, Ryan Getzlaf and Mike Richards. It’s just that the three best ones have already been listed above and should each get the nod in what’s been a topsy turvy season.

Since inking that record extension back in mid-January, the exciting 22 year-old Ovechkin has been the game’s most dominant player doing what great players do by carrying his team back into playoff contention. At one point, the Caps looked like a dead team forcing a change behind the bench. Little did anyone know at the time that Boudreau could make such a difference.

The 53 year-old Toronto native had previously coached with AHL affiliate Hershey helping guide them to the Calder Cup two years ago and finishing runner-up a year ago.

The former NHLer who played for Original Six clubs Toronto and Chicago took over behind the Capital bench on Nov.22, 2007. At the time, the Caps were a pitiful 6-14-1 looking like they were headed for the NHL Lottery again.

It took Boudreau only a month to straighten out his team, being named pemanent coach on Dec.26. Suddenly, the style of the Caps changed. Instead of sitting back, they became much more aggressive utilizing their team speed. Along with Ovechkin was an underrated crop of forwards which included Calder hopeful Nicklas Backstrom, the overlooked Alexander Semin and Brooks Laich. Heck. Even Devil failure Viktor Kozlov flourished in Boudreau’s system.

If you have good speed, you can use it to your advantage to get the puck in and cycle the puck. It didn’t hurt that former No.1 pick Mike Green developed into a dangerous offensive defenseman. It also doesn’t hurt to have Tom Poti on the blueline. Wonder how Ranger fans feel about that. Remember when Poti for Mike York was a bad trade? Maybe Glen Sather really knew. It’s like admitting that former coach John Muckler was right about Manny Malhotra, who’s a much better fourth line center than most in today’s NHL. Actually, he’s a third who gets big minutes in Columbus.

The deadline deal for Cristobal Huet didn’t hurt the Caps nor did the key acquisition of the very experienced Sergei Fedorov, who knows what it takes to win at this time of year. The 38 year-old future Hall of Famer might not be as offensively gifted as before but that kind of intangible stuff can be invaluable to a young team trying to get back into the second season.

They host Tampa tonight and finish with Florida Saturday night. Win both and they’ll get to 94 points, which should be enough to get them in.

Under Boudreau, their current record is 35-17-7. That should be plenty good enough to get the first-year NHL coach a lot of votes for the Jack Adams. Though he might not win it probably going up against Wayne Gretzky, Boudreau’s done an outstanding job turning things around in the nation’s cap.

It was after the Capital camera zoomed in on an “O-V-I-E 63″ sign held up by a pumped up fan that the arena camera went to the serious proud man still coaching his players behind the bench. Where the fans knew that for that moment, they were tied for the Southeast lead with Carolina, who would respond with a blowout win over the Lightning Wednesday night.

And there you had it. A loud standing ovation for Boudreau. One which lasted a good minute even leaving Lepore’s favorite announcer Joe Beninati speechless.

Well deserved. It was extremely nice to see the Caps fans recognizing the work done by the man behind the bench. This was a welcome sight.

Their mission isn’t complete just yet.

Alexander Ovechkin’s season is getting plenty of recognition and why not. It’s not every year arguably the best player in the game loses his top center (Michael Nylander), inks a record contract and carries his team on his back from worst into playoff contention.

Good pal Greg Wyshynski of AOL FanHouse who covers AO down in D.C. has more on why the 22 year-old Russian deserves to win the Hart Trophy along with other possible candidates including Calgary’s Jarome Iginla fresh off a natural hat trick boosting his team’s postseason chances.

Yahoo’s Ross McKeon pushed the affable 30 year-old power forward for the award citing the obvious. That Iginla’s team will make the playoffs. Something which isn’t a given for Ovechkin and the Caps.

I’ve always been a big fan of Iginla’s and wouldn’t be opposed to seeing him get nominated along with the dynamic Russian duo of Ovechkin and Pitt’s Evgeni Malkin. The Calgary right wing has been on fire matching the color of his team’s jersey with 12 points (8-4-12) in the last seven.

His torrid play has him now third in goals (48) and points (91) trailing only Ovechkin (60-46-106) and Malkin (44-58-102) entering tonight. Also boosting his candidacy is that his nine game-winners is tied for second in the league, just trailing Ovechkin’s 10.

The problem with just taking the top three scorers for League MVP is that there are other worthy candidates such as Detroit’s Nick Lidstrom (8-57-65, +40 in 70 GP) plus teammates Pavel Datsyuk (31-59-90, +39, 6 GW) & Henrik Zetterberg (40-45-85, +29, 15 PP, 6 GW) Ottawa’s Jason Spezza (31-55-86, +22 in 69 GP) plus linemates Daniel Alfredsson (38-43-81, 9 PP, 7 SH, 5 GW) and Dany Heatley (37-40-77, +31, 12 PP, 8 GW in 64 GP) along with San Jose’s Joe Thornton (21-64-85, +17).

Other players who deserve mention are New Jersey’s Marty Brodeur (40 W, 2.17 GAA, .920 Save Pct., 4 SHO), Vancouver’s Roberto Luongo (34 W, 2.22 GAA, .922 Save Pct., 6 SHO), Minnesota right wing Marian Gaborik (38-37-75, +15, 6 GW) Montreal forward Alexei Kovalev (33-44-77, +17, 16 PP), Anaheim forward Ryan Getzlaf (23-54-77) , Carolina’s Eric Staal (35-40-75, 7 GW) and Dallas pivot Mike Ribeiro (27-51-78, +20).

Had Flyer center Mike Richards (26-44-70, 5 SH, 72 PIM) not missed time, you could toss his name in there as well.

Maybe the best player not listed so far is Toronto franchise center Mats Sundin. In 72 games on a defensively challenged team hit with injuries, the veteran future Hall of Famer has 32 goals and 45 assists for 77 points along with a respectable plus-14 rating.

Too bad he plays on the Maple Leafs.

More on Ovechkin reaching 60:

FROM THE STAT WIZARDS AT ELIAS SPORTS BUREAU
Alex Ovechkin scored his 59th and 60th goals of the season in Washington’s win at Atlanta on Friday night. Ovechkin, who was 22 years, 186 days old when he did it, is the fifth-youngest player in NHL history to reach the 60-goal mark in a season.

The four players younger than Ovechkin at the time of their 60th goal were Wayne Gretzky in 1981-82 (20 years, 359 days) and 1982-83 (22-41), Pavel Bure in 1992-93 (22-11), Mike Bossy in 1978-79 (22-62) and Mario Lemieux in 1987-88 (22-167). 

AP Photo by Mark Humphrey

“I know it’s extra pressure, but I have to play the same. If you think of pressure, it’s hard for you. I have to play the same way — play more, play better.”-Washington superstar Alexander Ovechkin after signing record 13-year $124 million contract back on Jan.13

He takes his stride gliding on the ice like the wind making defenders miss one by one before snapping a lightning rocket of a shot past another helpless goalie who may as well be naked as it lands in the back of the net top shelf.

On many a night, that is an accurate description for Washington superstar Alexander Ovechkin. In only his third professional season, the former Capitals’ 2004 first overall selection has lit up opponents like a Christmas tree.

In his team’s latest big win- 5-3 of the comeback variety over Atlanta, the electrifying 22 year-old Russian sniper was at his very best scoring twice and assisting on two other goals in leading the Caps to their fifth win in the last six drawing them even closer to the final playoff spot now occupied by Boston. Washington trails the Bruins by two points with one fewer game remaining (six to Boston’s seven).

During this month, the former 2005-06 Calder winner has been on fire. In 11 March games thus far, the NHL’s leading scorer has already posted 12 goals and 11 assists for 23 points along with an impressive plus-14 rating. Just in case you’re wondering, AO has eight multi-point games this month and has also scored four power play goals and notched two game-winners hiking his total to a league best 10 for the season.

In the Mar.21 win, Ovechkin’s two goals gave him 60 in 2007-08 allowing him to become the first NHLer to hit that elusive mark since then Pens’ dynamic duo Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr did so in 1995-96 back when it was much easier to score. Especially when one considers how much better conditioned and coached the players are today along with a caliber of netminding which has never been seen before forcing the league to alter rules just to open up the game again. Seeing how the clutch and grab style is coming back, it won’t be long before we’re reevaluating things but that’s a rehashed topic for another day.

Since he inked that record deal to stay in the nation’s capital for the next 13 years, Ovechkin has been on a mission to prove that he’s worth every penny. At this point, who could argue with the results?

The Great Alexander (2007-08 season breakdown)

                                          GP      G       A    Pts   Pts/Gm   +/-   GW

Before 1/13 extension:   43      32     20    52   1.21          6        4

After 1/13 extension:     33      28     26    54   1.63       17       6

Since inking the $124 million record deal, he’s matched a season high with two five point games including his second four-goal game of the season notching the OT winner in an exciting 5-4 home win over now Eastern leading Montreal on Jan.31.

Ovechkin has posted at least two points or better in 18 contests after agreeing to the new contract. By comparison, he had 12 multiple point nights prior to a Jan.13 home defeat to the Flyers.

What I admire most about the Moscow native who already has 158 career goals along with 146 helpers for 304 points in 239 games is that he understands what his responsibilities are and seems to thrive even with all the extra pressure which comes with it.

“I don’t know. I don’t think about it. I just do my job,” the focused Russian superstar told reporters after reaching 60 goals in leading the Caps to their latest big win as they try to make the playoffs after at one point having the league’s worst record.

“I don’t think about personal goals. It’s just the team. We have to take every point we can get.”

So far, he’s more than living up his end of the bargain. With the remaining six games against the division with three more on the road starting in Raleigh at Southeast division leader Carolina Tuesday, Ovechkin must continue to lead his club if they’re to see their first postseason in five years. That’s a given. 

How great would it be for the NHL to have arguably the game’s best player in the playoffs along with Russian comrade Evgeni Malkin. Talk about a jolt for the Eastern Conference. We’ve already seen just how special Malkin can be on his own trailing Ovechkin by four points fresh off a three point night in a rout of New Jersey for the league scoring race.

There’s also that Hart race which is a pretty big deal as most likely, either player will become the first from their country to take home NHL MVP since now Ovechin veteran teammate Sergei Fedorov accomplished the feat with Detroit in 1993-94.

For now, the Ovechkin Show continues to go on for at least six more games. Hopefully, it will take it’s act to the Spring.

Sidney who?

The nation’s capital is now chalk full of Russians. Ah. Legendary Buffalo Sabres’ announcer Rick Jeanneret would be proud. The great caller of “top shelf, where Mama hides the cookies” is also the father of one of the most entertaining calls ever known to us all as, “It’s Russia Time,” which was a Yuri Khmlev hat trick which followed an Alexander Mogilny one in a home blowout of the Rangers maybe 15 years earlier.

In any event, the Capitals have become a team of Russian stars. Well sort of. They only boast the league’s leading scorer in Alexander Ovechkin plus countrymen Alexander Semin, Sergei Fedorov and Viktor Kozlov. A couple of them helped Washington come away with a huge extra point in a 2-1 home shootout victory over the Bruins, who with the guaranteed bullshit point tied the idle Rangers for sixth in the East.

A Chuck Kobasew power play tally in midway through regulation matched a Fedorov first period 5-on-3 blast to help force the pivotal contest to overtime. Only an Alex Auld great glove stop on OT specialist Mike Green (3 winners incl. 2 vs NYR) and a wide Dennis Wideman shot from 12 feet out late allowed it to reach the skill competition.

Remarkably, the Caps in their history had at least 20 losses in the shootout showing just how detrimental it can be to one’s playoff chase. However, recent history didn’t matter as a pair of wonderful moves by Semin and Kozlov allowed them to skate off with the two points, crawling to within two of the eighth seeded Flyers who got their asses handed to them on national TV in Pitt as discussed earlier today.

A Semin toe drag and top shelf shot beat Auld in Round One. Kobasew then tried a wrister for the stick side but was denied by Washington netminder Cristobal Huet, who finished with 39 stops altogether.

Following an Ovechkin miss, Boston shootout specialist Phil Kessel’s backhand deke just missed wide giving Kozlov a chance to win it. He sealed the deal with a quick deke and shot thru Auld’s five-hole to allow his teammates to get the important victory.

With the Panthers also winning at home over Atlanta to keep pace, here’s how the race for that final spot shapes up:

8.Flyers  80 Pts  35 W   9 GR

9.Sabres  79 Pts  34 W   9 GR

10.Caps    78 Pts  35 W   9 GR

11.Florida 78 Pts  35 W   8 GR

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.

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.