Flipping through the games notes for tonight's Capitals v. Sabres matchup, a couple stats stuck out to me.
First, Washington is 7-0-3 when Alexander Ovechkin scores. That they have 17 of 20 possible points when he scores is notable in and of itself, but so too is the fact that he has 16 goals in 10 games...that's more multi-goal games (6) than one-goal games (4).
Second, you may have known that the Caps have held the lead in all 24 games so far this season, but more specifically they've had the lead in the second period or later every game. Makes those 11 games they lost in regulation or overtime stand out a lot more. Even moreso is the fact that the Caps are 4-0-2 when allowing the first goal, which means they're only 9-5-4 when scoring first. Speaks a lot to Washington's resiliency when behind, but also the way they tend to let up when they have the lead.
Third, Buffalo and Washington are two of three NHL teams who have yet to score a short-handed goal this season, the other being Edmonton.
Being in first place in the Southeast and tied for first in points in the Eastern Conference is fantastic, don't get me wrong, but that's a ton of lost opportunities for points.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Gabby: Confessions of a Hockey Lifer
One of the pleasant results of the recent economic downturn has been a greater appreciation of free public amenities in the community. When Bruce Boudreau and Tim Leone's long-awaited Gabby: Confessions of a Hockey Lifer was finally released a few weeks ago, rather than immediately purchase it I put in a request with my local library for their copy.
Last week it was finally my turn, and I excitedly picked up my copy and devoured it in the better part of two days. I thoroughly enjoyed it...Bruce Boudreau has more than a few book's worth of stories to tell and Tim Leone did a great job organizing a compelling story while preserving Boudreau's voice.
Personally I found Gabby amusing, engaging, and a great insight into a man whom, granted, I have slightly more insight than your average fan.
(As an unrelated aside, I have Sportscenter on in the background as I type this and ESPN just showed a clip of Bill Belichick's press conference today. After spending two years covering Boudreau, and to a lesser extend ex-DCU bench boss Tom Soehn, I cannot imagine having to repeatedly sit in press conferences with such an absolute moribund personality as Belichick.)
However, I do have a complaint about the book that, depending on the audience, could be minor or major. Originally my intention was to let my girlfriend read Gabby after I finished with it.
She is a huge Caps fan, but knows practically nothing about the NHL outside of Washington, D.C. She knows most of the Caps, if there's a player on the ice she doesn't recognize she knows they're probably a Hershey call-up, and can match most NHL team names with the appropriate city. She doesn't follow the team outside of watching games on TV and possibly reading front-page articles at washingtonpost.com.
For readers plugged in to the hockey world, not just the present but the past as well, Gabby is a rewarding journey through the life of a true hockey personality. For casual hockey fans or readers new to hockey, Gabby amounts to short snippets of Boudreau's humor and philosophy amidst large swathes of meaningless name-dropping.
All the minor-league cities, all the players and coaches of the 70s, 80s, and early 90s...for me they conjure up a lively world of hockey glory. For my girlfriend...absolutely nothing. The same, I'm sure, for my dad, for whom I was considering buying Gabby as a gift.
This isn't to say it's a bad book. I figure I'm the target audience, and I really enjoyed it. And Gabby could very well be a great holiday gift for the hockey fan in your life. All I'm suggesting is to consider what type of fan the intended recipient may be, to make sure they're the type of person for whom Boudreau's great memories truly resonate.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Don't you...forget about me
My apologies for the lack of content lately. As some of you may know, covering the Capitals is something I do in my spare time when I'm not pursing my doctoral studies in Art History at the University of Maryland.
The past few weeks I've been hard at work, but instead of focusing on this Alexander the Great and this Czech athlete...
...I've been reading up on this Alexander the Great...
...and these Czech athletes...
I've hit a lull right now so more Caps content is coming, specifically quarter-season
grades in the next couple days.
Ovechkin/Fleischmann image courtesy of espn.com.
The past few weeks I've been hard at work, but instead of focusing on this Alexander the Great and this Czech athlete...
...I've been reading up on this Alexander the Great...
...and these Czech athletes...
I've hit a lull right now so more Caps content is coming, specifically quarter-season
grades in the next couple days.
Ovechkin/Fleischmann image courtesy of espn.com.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Observations from Caps-Islanders
[I'll update this post once the related video clip is online.]
A lot is made of Alexander Semin and his skill set. Gorgeous wrist shot, powerful slap shot, fantastic skater...when he tries.
Many of the same critiques are levied at Mike Green. Great shot, great vision, but the effort isn't always there.
One major difference between the two (other than position) that I've noticed lately, particularly in tonight's game against the Islanders, is how strong each player's fundamentals are. With apologies to Don Cherry, Green is by far the more unorthodox player while , despite all his dangling and fancy footwork, Semin is really fundamentally sound.
What prompted this was the observation that Semin always stands out on the ice, even away from the puck. He takes up more physical space than his lithe 6'2" frame would suggest, and the reason is simple: he always had two hands on his stick.
Semin succeeds in the most basic of fundamentals that youth hockey coaches spend untold hours impressing on their players- always keep both hands on your stick. That way you're always a split second away from catching a pass or taking a shot (especially after the follow-up lesson, 'always keep your stick on the ice).
On the other hand, Green's skating fundamentals are a little off. I won't critique him for the poor passes he made tonight, since Semin made some equally-poor decision, but sometimes it's surprising he stays upright while skating. On the play leading to Semin's second goal, Green carried the puck down the right wing and behind the net.
Notable about Green's skating was that he glided about 80 feet along the boards on just his outside foot. Sure, it looks pretty, but all it takes is a simple tap to knock you over in that situation. Green gave himself no opportunity to cut inside or otherwise make a move- he was stuck in that glide.
Food for thought, since Green gets positive attention for his smooth skating while Semin gets no credit for anything, basically, other than his shot.
A lot is made of Alexander Semin and his skill set. Gorgeous wrist shot, powerful slap shot, fantastic skater...when he tries.
Many of the same critiques are levied at Mike Green. Great shot, great vision, but the effort isn't always there.
One major difference between the two (other than position) that I've noticed lately, particularly in tonight's game against the Islanders, is how strong each player's fundamentals are. With apologies to Don Cherry, Green is by far the more unorthodox player while , despite all his dangling and fancy footwork, Semin is really fundamentally sound.
What prompted this was the observation that Semin always stands out on the ice, even away from the puck. He takes up more physical space than his lithe 6'2" frame would suggest, and the reason is simple: he always had two hands on his stick.
Semin succeeds in the most basic of fundamentals that youth hockey coaches spend untold hours impressing on their players- always keep both hands on your stick. That way you're always a split second away from catching a pass or taking a shot (especially after the follow-up lesson, 'always keep your stick on the ice).
On the other hand, Green's skating fundamentals are a little off. I won't critique him for the poor passes he made tonight, since Semin made some equally-poor decision, but sometimes it's surprising he stays upright while skating. On the play leading to Semin's second goal, Green carried the puck down the right wing and behind the net.
Notable about Green's skating was that he glided about 80 feet along the boards on just his outside foot. Sure, it looks pretty, but all it takes is a simple tap to knock you over in that situation. Green gave himself no opportunity to cut inside or otherwise make a move- he was stuck in that glide.
Food for thought, since Green gets positive attention for his smooth skating while Semin gets no credit for anything, basically, other than his shot.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
New-look Capitals power play
Watching the Capitals-Devils game and writing this as the Capitals are on their first power play of the game. With Alexander Ovechkin out the PP defense pairings are going to be Mike Green with Tom Poti and Brian Pothier (I have no idea who the second PP point is...were I a betting man, I'd say there isn't a second). Interesting that instead of setting up at his usual right defense spot, Green is lining up at the left point...Bruce Boudreau has not changed his power play scheme at all to reflect the change in personnel, but has simply inserted Green into Ovechkin's role as primary triggerman. Green will certainly make as much of his chances as Ovechkin did but it will be interesting to see whether Poti picks up Green's shooting tendency or looks down the right boards for Alexander Semin more.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Alex Ovechkin Post-game
Sunday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets Alexander Ovechkin suffered an 'upper body injury,' probably to his left shoulder and/or arm, and left the game in the second period.
Ovechkin came out to speak with media after the game, and was brief in his comments. From his words and demeanor it didn't seem as though he was too concerned with the injury, although that could certainly be illusory. Here's a transcript of his comments. MH is Michael Hoffman of Examiner.com, TED is Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post. I didn't catch the identity of the TV guy.
Edit 8:56 pm: Video is on Capitals Outsider (Thanks to Philip Van der Vossen for taking/posting the clip!).
TEB: What happened there along the boards? It seemed to me that Chimera was angry from the hit in the first period and he kind of bumped you.
AO: Yeah, it was just a moment in the game, so nothing happened, he hit me and I hit him. It was a battle there, but nothing happened.
TEB: Did someone grab you? How did you get hurt?
I can’t tell you how I get hurt. But it’s day-to-day, but you know just in case I can go back on the ice.
TEB: So you don’t think it’s very serious?
I don’t know.
TV: What is it?
[laughing] You think I’m going to tell you?
Can you tell us kind of where it is?
No. Can’t.
Left, right, top, bottom?
Upper body.
MH: Before you left, what did you tell the team?
I just said to a couple guys ‘good luck'...[Edit 8:56 pm: According to Michael, Ovechkin said he was with Greg Smith (the trainer) and then came to the locker room]...you know it’s a tough game…
TEB: Are you made at all with the way Chimera bumped you and then Boll came over…?
No, it’s just a game. It’s just a game. Hits happen, if it wasn’t hurt, if it wasn’t injured, like I’m just playing then no one would think about it, but it is what it is.
TEB: So no practice tomorrow, but will you try to skate on your own?
They’re off, so no skating.
Ovechkin came out to speak with media after the game, and was brief in his comments. From his words and demeanor it didn't seem as though he was too concerned with the injury, although that could certainly be illusory. Here's a transcript of his comments. MH is Michael Hoffman of Examiner.com, TED is Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post. I didn't catch the identity of the TV guy.
Edit 8:56 pm: Video is on Capitals Outsider (Thanks to Philip Van der Vossen for taking/posting the clip!).
TEB: What happened there along the boards? It seemed to me that Chimera was angry from the hit in the first period and he kind of bumped you.
AO: Yeah, it was just a moment in the game, so nothing happened, he hit me and I hit him. It was a battle there, but nothing happened.
TEB: Did someone grab you? How did you get hurt?
I can’t tell you how I get hurt. But it’s day-to-day, but you know just in case I can go back on the ice.
TEB: So you don’t think it’s very serious?
I don’t know.
TV: What is it?
[laughing] You think I’m going to tell you?
Can you tell us kind of where it is?
No. Can’t.
Left, right, top, bottom?
Upper body.
MH: Before you left, what did you tell the team?
I just said to a couple guys ‘good luck'...[Edit 8:56 pm: According to Michael, Ovechkin said he was with Greg Smith (the trainer) and then came to the locker room]...you know it’s a tough game…
TEB: Are you made at all with the way Chimera bumped you and then Boll came over…?
No, it’s just a game. It’s just a game. Hits happen, if it wasn’t hurt, if it wasn’t injured, like I’m just playing then no one would think about it, but it is what it is.
TEB: So no practice tomorrow, but will you try to skate on your own?
They’re off, so no skating.
Some Praise for Rick Nash
If Rick Nash played for Toronto, Montreal, Boston, or at least a dozen other NHL franchises, we would be talking about him in the same breath as Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, and the other young superstars that have reinvigorated the post-lockout NHL.
Instead, Nash is a gem of a player who thrills those who see him but is largely unknown to the casual fan. He’s not a nobody, by any stretch of the imagination, but he certainly does not get the respect and acknowledgement of a player of his caliber. That makes him all the more thrilling for those who do know about him.
Nash has a couple of strikes against him. First, obviously, he plays in Columbus, which is a newer franchise, in the Western Conference, playing in a division that has been dominated by the Detroit Red Wings for a decade. He played two seasons in the NHL before the lockout, thereby completely stripping him of that new player smell from those who joined the league in the 2005-06 season or afterwards.
Furthermore, Nash has been a one man show for much of his career in Columbus. Not until Steve Mason asserted himself as a rookie last season has Columbus had another player really worth paying attention to, talent-wise. Since his rookie season Nash had led the Blue Jackets in goals five of six seasons and points in three of six seasons, and has worn the captain’s C since 2008. He’s been their only All-Star representative since the 2003 game and was one of three players from the roster to take part in the 2006 Winter Olympics.
Few players have scored at the consistency of Nash in the past four seasons. He has 202 goals in 453 games (coming into today’s game). Twice he’s been in the top 5 in goal-scoring, sharing the Rocket Richard trophy in 2003-04.
Unlike Ovechkin, however, scoring stats aren’t the only place Nash excels. A much more apt comparison to Nash isn’t Ovechkin, but fellow Russian Pavel Datsyuk. There’s a reason Nash averages over two minutes a game on the penalty kill, and it’s not because Columbus Coach Ken Hitchcock likes having a scoring threat on the PK (though Nash has 11 shorties since 2007-08 including 2! on 3-on-5 situations.
No, Nash kills penalties because he’s a damned good penalty killer. He’s not just offensively gifted, he’s defensively responsible and hustles over all 200 feet of the ice (unlike some first line skaters in Washington). That is a learned skill for Nash…in his first three seasons he played 1:02, 3:36, and 7:18 over the course of each season, or just under 11 minutes total through 208 games before demonstrating that his special teams talent extended to both ends of the rink.
When he does score, though, man does Nash score pretty goals. He is very similar to Ovechkin in that both are what commentators love to call “big rigs.” Nash is listed at 6’4” and 218 pounds, and if you’ve ever seen his promos for the NHL Network you know he’s carrying at least 230 on that frame.
If you watch any of his highlight-reel goals (and what is it about Phoenix and giving up impressive goals? They're on that list three times), though, it’s clear Nash skates more like a Mike Green than a Matt Bradley. I’ve never seen a player of his size as quick on his feet and pull such nasty moves. His slap shot and wrist shot velocity isn’t up to Ovechkin’s level, but then again whose is? He’s more of an analog to Brett Hull, using a quick release and pinpoint accuracy rather than brute force to beat the goalie.
Team captain, leading scorer, primary weapon on the power play, solid penalty killer, floats like a butterfly and hits like a freight train…Nash might be the closest thing to the mythical ‘complete player’ in the NHL today. A lot of that is out of necessity: as his team’s best player he had to fill in every role.
That, of course, doesn’t detract at all from the talent and poise of Nash, who is still just 25 years old. He had the option, as an impending UFA after last season season, to jump to a bigger market (like Toronto) or better team (unlike Toronto) but chose to remain in Columbus, recognizing the talent finally accumulating there (he’s one of only six players to have spent more than two seasons in a Columbus uniform) and the fact that he has not yet reached his pinnacle as an NHL player.
So while as a Capitals fan and reporter covering the team, I’ll never tire of watching Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Backstrom and Green in action, this afternoon if given the choice my eyes will be on one 61 for Columbus, to see the magic he can work.
Instead, Nash is a gem of a player who thrills those who see him but is largely unknown to the casual fan. He’s not a nobody, by any stretch of the imagination, but he certainly does not get the respect and acknowledgement of a player of his caliber. That makes him all the more thrilling for those who do know about him.
Nash has a couple of strikes against him. First, obviously, he plays in Columbus, which is a newer franchise, in the Western Conference, playing in a division that has been dominated by the Detroit Red Wings for a decade. He played two seasons in the NHL before the lockout, thereby completely stripping him of that new player smell from those who joined the league in the 2005-06 season or afterwards.
Furthermore, Nash has been a one man show for much of his career in Columbus. Not until Steve Mason asserted himself as a rookie last season has Columbus had another player really worth paying attention to, talent-wise. Since his rookie season Nash had led the Blue Jackets in goals five of six seasons and points in three of six seasons, and has worn the captain’s C since 2008. He’s been their only All-Star representative since the 2003 game and was one of three players from the roster to take part in the 2006 Winter Olympics.
Few players have scored at the consistency of Nash in the past four seasons. He has 202 goals in 453 games (coming into today’s game). Twice he’s been in the top 5 in goal-scoring, sharing the Rocket Richard trophy in 2003-04.
Unlike Ovechkin, however, scoring stats aren’t the only place Nash excels. A much more apt comparison to Nash isn’t Ovechkin, but fellow Russian Pavel Datsyuk. There’s a reason Nash averages over two minutes a game on the penalty kill, and it’s not because Columbus Coach Ken Hitchcock likes having a scoring threat on the PK (though Nash has 11 shorties since 2007-08 including 2! on 3-on-5 situations.
No, Nash kills penalties because he’s a damned good penalty killer. He’s not just offensively gifted, he’s defensively responsible and hustles over all 200 feet of the ice (unlike some first line skaters in Washington). That is a learned skill for Nash…in his first three seasons he played 1:02, 3:36, and 7:18 over the course of each season, or just under 11 minutes total through 208 games before demonstrating that his special teams talent extended to both ends of the rink.
When he does score, though, man does Nash score pretty goals. He is very similar to Ovechkin in that both are what commentators love to call “big rigs.” Nash is listed at 6’4” and 218 pounds, and if you’ve ever seen his promos for the NHL Network you know he’s carrying at least 230 on that frame.
If you watch any of his highlight-reel goals (and what is it about Phoenix and giving up impressive goals? They're on that list three times), though, it’s clear Nash skates more like a Mike Green than a Matt Bradley. I’ve never seen a player of his size as quick on his feet and pull such nasty moves. His slap shot and wrist shot velocity isn’t up to Ovechkin’s level, but then again whose is? He’s more of an analog to Brett Hull, using a quick release and pinpoint accuracy rather than brute force to beat the goalie.
Team captain, leading scorer, primary weapon on the power play, solid penalty killer, floats like a butterfly and hits like a freight train…Nash might be the closest thing to the mythical ‘complete player’ in the NHL today. A lot of that is out of necessity: as his team’s best player he had to fill in every role.
That, of course, doesn’t detract at all from the talent and poise of Nash, who is still just 25 years old. He had the option, as an impending UFA after last season season, to jump to a bigger market (like Toronto) or better team (unlike Toronto) but chose to remain in Columbus, recognizing the talent finally accumulating there (he’s one of only six players to have spent more than two seasons in a Columbus uniform) and the fact that he has not yet reached his pinnacle as an NHL player.
So while as a Capitals fan and reporter covering the team, I’ll never tire of watching Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Backstrom and Green in action, this afternoon if given the choice my eyes will be on one 61 for Columbus, to see the magic he can work.
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