Here are the highlights, quotes, and analysis of the Caps sixth home win in six tries this season (1st time in Capitals franchise history):

- How good were Saku Koivu (1 goal, 1 assist, +3) and Teemu Selanne (2 goals, 2 assists, +3) in the game’s first 30 minutes?! Those two seemingly ageless hockey players made the Caps defense, particularly Roman Hamrlik (-3 and on for all four Ducks tallies), look silly. I’ve seen several Anaheim games this year and it looks like the 41 year old #8 could play another five years the way he moves on the ice. What a great player! Caps Coach Bruce Boudreau felt that the Ducks were flying early but he was also smart to keep rolling all four of his lines and that paid off over the second half of this contest as Washington wore down Anaheim.

“It’s really difficult to keep up the pace they had in the first 30 minutes. It was like, ‘Whoa, are they fast?!’ We just stayed close enough. I thought when they got the fourth goal it might be something. It says a lot for the resiliency of the team. The third goal that we got (by Troy Brouwer), which might have been a bit on the lucky side, it sort of bouyed the guys up again and reinvigorated them. After that they thought they were going to tie it, they believed they were going to tie it,” said Boudreau on his club, who out shot Anaheim 40-15 in the game, including 31-9 over the last 42:18.

- The third line of Laich-Ward-Chimera continues to be Washington’s best through the first 10 games. That lunchpail crew is big, skates well, and are tireless workers. They were a combined +9 and had 7 points among them. Credit Boudreau for deciding to put that unit out with Backstrom with the goalie pulled late instead of using Alex Ovechkin(1 assist) or Alex Semin. Both the Gr8 and #28 were not getting it done, particularly Ovie, who just seemed to fight the puck all night. When he carried the puck, he should’ve been passing or dumping it, and vice versa, but over the course of 82 games those things will happen. The good thing though was that when his number was called in OT, he went to the front of the Ducks net and distracted Jonas Hiller (35 saves), allowing Backstrom to pot the winner. Some people will look to villify Alexander the Great for being sat on the bench late in regulation but when his coach put him on the ice in OT, he did what he could to help his team win the game. That’s leadership in my book.

- Those who’ve followed this blog know that I have been praising Backstrom’s play in the early going particularly pointing out his improved strength and conditioning. #19 seems to have his upper body strength back after a bad shoulder injury that he suffered against the Canadiens in the 2010 playoffs. He also is a step quicker then he was last season. The result is four goals and 10 assists in 10 games.

“I thought Nicky was going to do something. I didn’t know about the overtime thing though,” added Boudreau on his player decisions late in regulation.

- The Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Bobby Ryan line is arguably the best in the NHL but tonight they were a combined -6. Perry drew a penalty on Vokoun and then scored on the ensuing power play to make it 4-2, but overall he was neutralized well by Washington. Size doesn’t seem to hurt the Capitals defense but they have been having some issues with speed lately, especially with Mike Green out of the lineup. The good news is #52 practiced on Tuesday and will likely do so again on Wednesday. So there is a strong possibility he will be back on the ice on Friday in Raleigh.

- John Erskine returned from shoulder surgery allowing the Caps to ship d-man Sean Collins back to Hershey. For his first game this season #4 was outstanding with an assist and a +1 rating. In addition, Cody Eakin received his first NHL start and he skated well also nearly scoring on a couple of occassions. He did weaken late but for his debut in “The Show” he more than passed the test.

“With John I was really, really pleasantly surprised. He looked like he didn’t miss a beat. He’s probably pretty tired right now, but I thought he played a great game. Considering he’s been off for so long and hasn’t even had a meaningful scrimmage yet,” said Boudreau on the left handed defenseman.

“He handled himself quite admirably…You can see he can skate with these guys…I thought he was going to score on his first shift,” started Boudreau on Eakin, who also pointed out that #50 did get nervous in the third period and had a bad giveaway.

- In summary, tonight’s game once again proved that this Capitals squad is not a one line team. They are very talented up front and when playing five on five hockey are very hard to beat. They are big and can wear opposing teams down when they stick to the coaches game plan of getting pucks deep and working the cycle. The special teams were off in this one as the Ducks scored on their only power play while the Caps went 0 for 3 with the man advantage. A big part of the issue on special teams is the absence of Green, but other guys need to pick up the slack. At the end of the night Boudreau, who sometimes does not get the credit he deserves, pushed all of the right buttons in this thrilling comeback victory. He stuck to his game plan, changed up his d-pairs when Hamrlik and Wideman were struggling together, and he went with the right four forwards when the chips were down late. Those moves played a role in the win and should not be overlooked at all.

Notes: Karl Alzner unsuspectingly went +3 on the night in 18:02 of ice time. #27 is so smooth sometimes you don’t even notice him…Wideman (1 goal, 1 assist, +1) played well after struggling early when paired with Hamrlik…Anahiem won 30 of the 56 draws with Marcus Johansson the best Capital at 10-7. Backstrom only won 6 of 18 face-offs…Brouwer got hit awkwardly into the right wing boards late in regulation and did not return. It could be a right shoulder injury so stay tuned.

Overall, one has to be pretty happy with this team. The off-season additions GM George McPhee made bringing in Troy Brouwer, Joel Ward, and Jeff Halpern has given Capitals Coach Bruce Boudreau four really good lines that at five on five have been quite dominant. On defense, free agent Roman Hamrlik has played very well with Mike Green when they’ve been paired together. In net, the steal of the summer, getting Tomas Vokoun for $1.5M, has been the biggest difference maker and despite a shaky first period last night, he is still 6-1 with a .932 save percentage.

Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom are off to decent starts and the Gr8 has five goals and four assists while #19 has two goals and 10 assists. In addition, the Capitals power play is clicking at 25.7%, third in the NHL, and this is with top rearguard Mike Green missing the last two games, which no surprise have been losses (more on that in a minute). The addition of Hamrlik, not to mention that Caps Coach Bruce Boudreau was finally able to put both Green and Dennis Wideman in the lineup for the first time since #6 was acquired at last February’s trade deadline, has allowed Boudreau and assistant coach Dean Evason to move Ovechkin off of the point on the power play, for the most part. Alexander the Great already has two power play goals, both coming in the slot, and his presence down low has opened up lanes for other Capitals to score goals in man advantage situations. This is definitely a big development that could bode well for the remainder of the regular season and in the playoffs.

14 different Capitals players have scored a goal and a big reason for that is the depth of this team combined with a handful of forwards who have no problem going to the crease area to create traffic in front of opposing goaltenders. Brouwer, Ward, Ovechkin, Brooks Laich, Mike Knuble, Matt Hendricks, and even Mathieu Perreault have paid the price to get Washington the type of goals that help a team advance in the post season.

The good has clearly definitely outweighed the bad and the ugly combined, but if you asked anyone around the team, they would likely tell you that there are plenty of areas where this team can improve. Consistency is the word you’d hear most from the coaches and players as to what is needed, especially with a tough three game stretch this upcoming week (Anaheim at home on Tuesday then road games in Carolina and on Long Island on Friday and Saturday, respectively). Throughout the course of the opening nine games this team has tilted the ice on their opponents on several occassions, but when they’ve struggled it has mostly been due to penalty trouble and mental mistakes. Here are some of the things the team might be concerned about and looking to correct:

• In the current two game slide the Capitals have allowed four power play goals in 13 opponent attempts and the Canucks game winner came just seconds after Ovechkin’s interference minor expired. First off, the team is taking way too many penalties. Yes, some of those likely were incorrect calls, but in Edmonton the Caps didn’t adjust their game when the zebras repeatedly called stick infractions. Without Green, the Washington defense is far LESS mobile. The absence of the “One Man Breakout” leads to more turnovers plus it puts slower players like Jeff Schultz and AHL call up Sean Collins on the ice more often. Green also had some nice chemistry going with Hamrlik and #44′s play has regressed with #52 out. The two time Norris Trophy finalist, who also does a decent job killing penalties, is hoping to return next weekend from an ankle injury.
• As Alan May (@MayHockeyCSN) has diagrammed on Comcast a few times this year, the Capitals have been vulnerable to being beaten on the back side of their defensive zone coverage. On Saturday in Vancouver, the second Canucks goal illustrated that perfectly as John Carlson found himself totally out of position on the PK. #74, with his d-partner Karl Alzner battling along the boards, was all the way over at the faceoff dot instead of being closer to the front of the net. That gave Chris Higgins the ability to receive the puck below the goal line, skate out in front of Vokoun, then gather his own rebound for an easy marker. The Caps last year were a better shorthanded team because they went to shorter shifts and became more aggressive, but they also played smart. Too many times this season, and even in pre-season, defenseman have been leaving their goalie “hung out to dry” with poor positioning.
• Alexander Semin was arguably the Caps top forward in the first five games of the season but in the last four games he has one point (an assist), is -3, and has taken a penalty in each contest. #28 needs someone to get him the puck so that he can unleash his great shot but he also can blame himself for his poor play over the last 10 days or so. Semin has shied away from contact and his compete level has dropped off as evidenced by a total of five shots on goal in those last four tilts. The Caps need balanced scoring and they will not be a consistent team without #28 contributing. The loss of Green also hurts Semin’s production because he is a rearguard that opens up room for offensive players. It will be interesting to see if Bodureau changes things up and puts Semin with a new center this week, perhaps Perreault (5 points in 7 games and +6)  instead of Marcus Johansson? That isn’t to say that MJ90 has not been productive, he has three game winning goals, but for some reason he and Semin have not formed the necessary chemistry that a second scoring line needs, at this juncture.
• The Caps are currently sitting at 27th in the league in faceoff percentage at 47.9%. Backstrom, Laich, and Johansson are the top three guys taking draws and they are 43.9%, 44.8%, and 38.5%, respectively. Halpern is fourth on number of face-offs and he is winning 65.2% of them so that is why you’ll often see him taking key d-zone draws. When you lose a faceoff, your opponent has the puck so that forces the Caps to go get it. I am sure Boudreau and company would much rather start with the biscuit so it will be interesting to see if those stats change as the year progresses.

In summary, the Caps are off to a good start at 7-2 and the Green injury played a large role in the two losses. Green earns an average of $5+ million a year for a reason but it is imperative that Washington find a way to prevent such a dropoff in their level of play when their leading d-men is out of the lineup due to injury. The work ethic wasn’t the big problem on this recent road trip but execution and hockey smarts were and those are controllable. Fortunately we are only one month into a six month regular season journey so there is plenty of time for the team to improve and make adjustments. More importantly, this team is much stronger on paper than it was last October 31st so there is a huge potential upside if the club works hard and sticks together.

Here are the highlights and analysis from a contest that saw the Capitals whistled for seven straight minor penalties:

- The Capitals dominated the opening 15 minutes of this game using their superior talent to grab a 1-0 lead on a Karl Alzner point blast. #27 was able to get his first marker of the year because Joel Ward did a great job of screening Khabibulin. Washington could have been up at least another puck in the early going but the Bulin Wall, who had only allowed six goals in six games coming into this tilt, was once again looking like he did in Tampa in 2004.

- Things started to get crazy towards the end of period one when referees Dan O’Halloran and Stephane Auger decided they were going to be the show and proceeded to call a dive on Matt Hendricks, who does not have a reputation for doing that, and then a shaky stick infraction on Hamrlik late in the period. With an Oiler in the box and John Carlson off for a delay of game, Edmonton had a 4 on 3 and their young talent capitalized as Jordan Eberle slid a sweet cross crease pass to 2010 1st overall NHL pick Taylor Hall for a tap in at the right post. The second period would be even more bizarre as the Caps were sent to the box five more times and a Troy Brouwer hooking penalty would allow the game winner. This time it was Eberle who got the goal on a rebound tally. Shawn Horcoff was screening Tomas Vokoun (17 saves) and the Corey Potter (2 assists) point shot bounced off of the goalie’s pad where #14 deposited it into a vacant cage. Edmonton would then get a 5 on 3 after that but the Caps did a super job of not allowing the Oilers to get many shots. In fact, after two periods the Caps, despite the manpower advantage at that point being 8-1 in favor of the Oilers, were still outshooting Edmonton 16-13.

- In the final stanza the Capitals stormed the castle and did a lot of good things but it was the former Stanley Cup winner’s night. Washington had three power plays in the final 20 minutes as a result of being all over the Oilers but they could not convert. Dennis Wideman hit the pipe late in the game and Brouwer had a glorious chance from the slot but he hit Khabibulin in the Oiler logo.

- Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom ended up having Brooks Laich on their line in the third period and they were all over the ice. It is clear that both the Gr8 and #19 are in much better condition this season than last. If there was a big complaint tonight, besides the uneven and at times nauseating officiating, it was Washington’s power play, especially late in the game. The point men were unable to get shots through. I’ll give the Oilers some credit there and also the absence of Mike Green, who missed the game due to an ankle injury he suffered last Saturday night, played a big role in the lack of productivity. Washington also struggled with their breakouts without #52, who also came into this season in outstanding condition.

- In summary, it was a fun streak to start the season and it was clear that the Capitals players did not want it to end. They played hard but they need to adjust their game when the zebras start over focusing on stick infractions (although some of those calls were totally bogus, like the holding call on Alzner). Caps Coach Bruce Boudreau will see several things he will like on the film from the first part of the game and the last period. I would have liked to have seen Washington do more cycling of the puck down low, because when they did that they generated chances, but it was hard for them to do that when they spent nearly the entire second period in the penalty box. When the Caps play 5 on 5 hockey they are the best team in the league, but tonight the guys in the striped shirts didn’t want to see that. Oh well, on to Vancouver.

Notes: Alexander Semin had his second straight poor outing. #28 shied away from contact and just looked out of sync…Edmonton went 2 for 8 on the power play while the Caps were 0 for 4…the Capitals won the faceoff battle 29-24 with Jeff Halpern going 6-1 and Backstrom winning 11 of 17 draws…the attempted shot tally was 76-38 in favor of Washington…Sean Collins was recalled from Hershey and took Green’s spot in the lineup.

Here are the quotes, highlights, and analysis from a contest that saw 14 different Washington players get at least a point:

- As everyone knows, goaltending is huge in hockey. Vokoun was outstanding again while Ty Conklin did not fare well for the Wings. However, it is much harder to stop pucks when players are constantly in your face and that is what the Capitals did on Saturday while Detroit, who were missing Tomas Holmstrom, did not do in return. Therefore, it is natural that the Caps goalie had a better game. Conklin likely would want the fourth goal back, which came from Mathieu Perreault after the Wings net minder allowed a long blast from Matt Hendricks to trickle through his pads, but other than that one, he didn’t have a lot of help. Troy Brouwer (1 assist) continues to pay dividends going to the front of the net and he was screening Conklin on both of Green’s power play tallies.

“I’m sitting behind the bench and going that’s one fantastic team. The first 10 minutes, it came at you in waves. They are so fast and they know where everybody is. The difference was our goalie was better than their goalie tonight. I think they just ran out of steam, with their second game in two nights, in the second period,” said a humble and complimentary Caps Coach Bruce Boudreau afterwards. However, when he watches the film, I think he’ll see that his club paid the price in front of the net much more than Detroit and that is a good reason why his goalie performed better.

- As Boudreau mentioned above, the Wings did come out fast and they are a great skating team. But given that they played the night before, if Washington was able to weather the early storm, then I thought they would have a huge advantage being the fresher team. Detroit nearly scored first when Henrik Zetterberg set up Pavel Datsyuk for a great chance in front but when #13 made an extra move to try and tuck the biscuit by Vokoun, either the puck hit the skate of the Caps goalie or the Wings Dan Cleary. It was a break for the Capitals and they took advantage of that because I felt like they carried the play for the last 15 minutes or so of the opening stanza. That first period ended with Washington up 2-0 and Mike Knuble hit the post with three seconds left on the power play otherwise it would have been three-zip.

- Speaking of the power play and special teams, the Caps went 2 for 4 on the man advantage and that aspect of the game continues to get better for Washington. Boudreau and assistant coach Dean Evason seemed to have gotten the players to buy into a more simple approach by getting the pucks to the point and firing away with traffic in front. The addition of Brouwer really helps that and moving Alexander Ovechkin (2 assists, +1) off of the point has improved things too. With the Gr8 down low, either in the slot or on the half wall, the opposing team is paying more attention to him and that is opening up more point shots for the Caps. With both Green and Dennis Wideman in the lineup plus capable d-shooters Roman Hamrlik and John Carlson who can man the points, the power play is becoming much more dangerous. Besides Brouwer and Ovechkin the Caps have used Knuble and Laich in front as well. This also creates more room for Nicklas Backstrom (1 goal, 1 assist) to make plays and #19′s saucer pass to Green on the game’s first tally was a highly skilled thing of beauty.

- Detroit had their chances to get back in the game in the middle frame when Washington got into penalty trouble. The Wings only tally came on a 5 on 3 power play and shortly thereafter the boys from Motown received another 38 second five on three situation. However, Vokoun made a huge save at the side of the net and Detroit didn’t get any other opportunities since the Caps did a great job of keeping the Wings to the outside. It was some superb penalty killing by the Capitals that pretty much sealed the Wings fate in that second period.

“I thought the penalty killing was extraordinary. Even though it doesn’t show up, it was 1-for-4, and those two 5-on-3’s were difference makers. We took four penalties in about eight minutes there and it could’ve very well been 3-3 in a heartbeat,” said Boudreau about a critical stretch in period two, when Detroit was trying to get back in the game after trailing 3-0.

- The Perreault tally with seven seconds left in period two was the nail in the coffin for the Caps and the Wings pretty much mailed it in for the final 20 minutes. #85 had another super game and he scored his second goal, Washington’s sixth, from the slot right off of a faceoff win. Jeff Halpern and Hendricks (2 assists) got the helpers on that one. If Perreault can continue to provide energy and stay healthy, then he can be very effective playing 10 to 12 minutes a game for Boudreau and company.

- The final shot tally will say 33-25 in favor of Detroit but I thought that Washington, except for the opening five minutes and a 10 minute stretch in period two when the Wings had four power plays and generated six shots on goal, dominated the contest. The Wings are fast but the Caps, with speedsters like Marcus Johansson (1 goal) and Jason Chimera, were able to generate speed through the neutral zone and create many scoring opportunities. Yes, Vokoun was good, but this was a team effort and if the Capitals keep getting bodies to the front of the opposing cage while keeping the shooting lanes clear for their own goalie, then they are going to be a very difficult team to beat.

Notes: Detroit won the faceoff battle 34-29. MJ90 was 7-5, Halpern was 6-3, while Perreault went 3-1. On the down side was Laich at 6-14 and Backstrom lost 8 of 12 draws…Green led the Caps with 22:09 of ice time. He left for stitches late in period one, but even still, #52 is having to play less minutes because this roster is very balanced…Nicklas Lidstrom played in his 1500th NHL game on Saturday and had an assist…The Caps are off until next Thursday when they play in Edmonton.

Here are the highlights and analysis of the Caps crushing win from the Philadelphia Greater Library Wells Fargo Center:

- Remember when the Washington Capitals were characterized as being a “perimeter” team? Not anymore. The off season additons of Troy Brouwer, Ward, and Jeff Halpern have helped give Bruce Boudreau more bodies to join Brooks Laich, Mike Knuble, and Matt Hendricks in front of opposing goalies and the work ethic of the new guys is rubbing off on the rest of the team. Oveckhkin scored the key goal in the contest by going to the net to bang home a Nicklas Backstrom (2 assists) wraparound attempt late in the first period and on every Washington tally they had players in front of Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov (23 saves). On Ovechkin’s PP goal to make it 4-1, the Gr8 moved to the slot beating his old name calling friend Max Talbot to the prime shooting position and he quickly fired one by Bryzgalov with Brouwer providing a great screen. That goal was sandwiched around two other tallies with traffic in front in a 2:25 span that would soon send Flyers fans to the parking lot.

- There were portions of this game where Philadelphia carried the play, primarily in the middle frame, but Vokoun was solid in net and the Washington defense did a stellar job of keeping Flyers forwards away from the front of the goal. Mike Green was outstanding on the backline and he and Hamrlik are developing some nice chemistry. The Karl Alzner and John Carlson duo turned in their normal solid performance and Jeff Schultz (1 assist) had his best game of the season paired with Dennis Wideman. The Caps were only credited with 12 blocked shots on this night but that was because they had the puck for the majority of the game and also because they were doing a good job positionally, which allowed Vokoun to make his saves look routine.

- I’ve been talking about the resurgence of Backstrom and #19 was outstanding on Thursday. He looks a step quicker this year and his upper body strength is much greater than it was in 2010-11. I am really liking Brouwer up on that top line as Ovechkin and #20 can pound opposing defensemen, which allows Backstrom to have more room and make plays.

- Alexander Semin didn’t have his best game giving away the puck in a 4 on 4 situation in the first period that led to Giroux’s breakaway marker. #28 was -2 with only 1 shot on net but the Caps didn’t need him in this one. #28 had been very good in the first five games this season but had an off night on Broad Street.

- Ovechkin was called for a questionable interference penalty when he blew up Talbot behind the Caps net shortly before Giroux’s goal and a Backstrom tally was also wiped out due to incidental contact by Ovie on the Flyers cage minder. In addition, Laich was blatantly cut up high twice but the zebras, Tim Peel and Kevin Pollock, only called one of them as a double minor. The good news on this night was that Washington was so good as a team they easily overcame a couple of referees who seem to be watching another channel, and I am being nice there.

- So what looked to be a tough tilt, and Bryzgalov has historically been trouble for the Caps, turned into a laugher for Washington. The Caps hopefully continue to learn that opposing goalies can’t stone you if you keep going to the front of the net. With the big, hard working forwards Caps GM George McPhee has assembled on this year’s club, the offensive numbers should go up after a down 2010-11 in Washington. This is a very good Capitals team that is coming together nicely. It is only six games in, and there are plenty of areas to continue to improve in (such as second period long line changes), but this start is unlike any other in Caps history. This team has three solid d-pairs and four good sets of forwards and that allows Caps Coach Bruce Boudreau to basically roll the lines, something that should pay dividends in the spring.

Notes: Halpern was 6-1 on face-offs while Hendricks was 3-0…#26 had the shot block of the night taking one right on the crest in the second period. Rumor has it Hendricks eats “Quarry” for breakfast…Perreault had a nice night with a goal and an assist in 12:01 of ice time. He was also 4-3 on face-offs…the Caps lost the face-off battle 31-28 (Johansson was 2-8)…the Caps were 1-6 on the power play and they were 2-2 on the penalty kill…Flyers center Bryaden Schenn, who belongs in the AHL at this young age, was -3…Jaromir Jagr was a total non factor in the game, perhaps he was thinking about his NFL picks this weekend?…Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Vokoun were the game’s three stars as chosen by the Philadelphia media.

Here are the quotes, highlights, and analysis of a victory over a team that had pummeled the Tampa Bay Lightning, 7-4, with 5 power play goals,  just one night earlier:

- The Panthers had to fly in late Monday night from Florida but that is how the sports schedule works out sometimes. Capitals Coach Bruce Boudreau and his team knew this and jumped all over the Cats early on. Florida didn’t have a shot on goal until after the 10 minute mark of the first period as Washington continuously got pucks deep and used their size to cycle the puck on a soft Panthers defense to generate numerous scoring opportunities. The Caps could have had at least three or four goals in the opening stanza but they either fired wide or the Swede, making his first NHL start, denied them with his large frame.

“I think we tried to do that. They were tired. They played two very emotional games against their cross town rival and had to fly here so we thought this was the perfect advantage for us in the scheduling. I’m sure probably somewhere down the road it will reverse itself. We got a break and if you don’t take advantage of the breaks, shame on us,” said Boudreau on how the NHL slate helped his team on Tuesday.

- It was encouraging to see the Capitals simplify their game and not get caught up in to trying to make the perfect cross ice pass. Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Ovechkin, and Troy Brouwer played smart hockey and were physical on a not so big Panthers defensive unit. Washington seems to play their best hockey when they play as a team and don’t get fancy. Their work ethic was outstanding on Tuesday and the score was much closer than the game actually was because at no point did I ever feel like Florida had a chance to win this contest.

“The first two lines got pucks deep, so that really helped. When we get in trouble we try to play too skilled. When we get pucks deep, it’s hard to contain big bodies like Ovi (Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin), Knubs (Capitals forward Mike Knuble) and Semin (Capitals forward Alexander Semin),” said Chimera on why the Caps were so dominant.

“We were getting it and getting it deep and moving it. I thought for the first time this year we could have had 7 or 8. We were missing nets and their goalie played pretty good. I thought it was a well rounded effort by us,” added Boudreau on the victory.

- Vokoun only had to face two shots in the first period but in the next two stanzas he stopped nine each. There were times when he had to make a solid save to bail out a poor defensive play but overall his team was solid in front of him, which allowed him to challenge shooters. The 35 year old on a $1.5M one year deal, since a shaky opening 60 minutes against Tampa, has been everything the Capitals have needed in goal and more.

“He’s pretty solid and when we did have breakdowns he was there to help us out. That is what you need,” commented Boudreau on his net minder.

- Special teams are so important in NHL games and on this evening the Caps were perfect in that department. They only took two penalties, both on Roman Hamrlik (although I thought the first one was a bogus call), and they stymied a highly skilled and dangerous Cats power play. Washington swarmed the puck and took away any space the Panthers had and on both occassions, they weren’t able to get much of a sniff of the net. The only power play the Caps received was quite effective as Johansson buried the biscuit after some solid zone time. The key to that power play was the work of Ovechkin in the slot, who was flanked by MJ90 and Backstrom with Mike Green and Dennis Wideman at the points. When all three Panthers converged on Ovie, Johansson had a lane to the cage and he slid the puck under Markstrom less than five minutes into the contest. Those who’ve followed this blog know that I much prefer Ovechkin down low (slot or half wall) on a 5 on 4 power play because he can use his size in front for screens or in getting to rebounds. With so many good shots on the point now, to include Green, Wideman, Hamrlik, and John Carlson, it makes much more sense for the Gr8 to be down low. I am okay with Ovechkin getting point time in 5 on 3 or even 4 on 3 situations because in those instances there will be more open lanes for his powerful shot to get through. But overall, putting Alexander the Great down low will likely lead to more power play goals for the Caps and Johansson’s marker tonight drives that point home.

- In summary, this was a total team effort, granted it was against a tired club. But the Panthers have some talent, although they appear low on grit. Just about every Washington player had a good game, but Green was superb despite getting slashed in the lower body region by Jay Garrison at the end of the second period. Semin was excellent as well and he’s been the best forward on the top two lines this season. Backstrom is off to a nice start too and #19 looks to be regaining the form he had in 2009-10. It’s only been five games, but the Caps have 10 points. Boudreau, however, knows you can’t win the Stanley Cup in October and he talked about that after the victory.

“When it comes to April and May I’m not going to be able to sit here and say, ‘Hey we were 5-0, we got that record, isn’t that great.’ It is not going to hold a lot of weight. It is nice, but it is just the process of getting where we want to get. Right now we’re looking toward an opponent like Philadelphia who is 4-0-1,” finished Boudreau, noting that the Capitals next game is the hated Flyers on Thursday night in Philly. That will be a can’t miss contest.

Notes: Washington lost the faceoff battle 24-22 but Jeff Halpern was 8-1. MJ90 was a dismal 1-6 from the dot…Matt Hendricks had a game leading six hits…Semin was +2 and had 4 shots on goal in 16:03 of ice time…Mathieu Perreault returned to the lineup and played 9:53 (even, 0 points)…Dany Sabourin was recalled from Hershey to be the back up goalie as Michal Neuvirth continues to struggle with a lower body injury…Jay Beagle is not practicing right now and DJ King was the other scratch at forward.

Here are the highlights, quotes, and analysis from the 109th consecutive home sellout:

- Vokoun once again bailed his teammates out, like he did on Thursday night in Pittsburgh. He continues to be solid with his positioning and make the big save despite still trying to figure out how his skaters are going to play in front of him. He still has had some adventures playing the puck and the communication with his defenders is not totally worked out yet. Still, if he isn’t in goal these last two games Washington likely loses. The Caps have to be encouraged by the 35 year old Czech’s ability to find ways to win games for his team.

“The one that he stopped on [Milan] Michalek – We have a great shift going and then all of the sudden the puck is sitting there. It’s nobody’s mistake, somebody thinks somebody’s taking it somebody else, and then he gets a breakaway. It’s not us playing badly…it was just a miscommunication and Tomas [Vokoun] came up big and he came up big in the last 20 seconds,” said Boudreau on his club and his goaltender.

- Washington outshot the Senators 14-8 in the first period and dominated the first 19 minutes of the contest. However, a terrible giveaway by Dennis Wideman in his own zone and then some poor play by Roman Hamrlik and the Washington forwards led to a goal for Ottawa with just over 25 seconds left in period one.  From then on out, the Senators seemed to have extra jump and in the middle frame they were all over the Caps outshooting them 12-4. The Capitals did too much watching and not enough skating in that period and an inferior opponent made them look bad, but fortunately for Washington, their goalie held the fort. In the third period, the Capitals had a little more jump but still, they were outplayed by Ottawa and outshot 14-8. Afterwards, Caps Coach Bruce Boudreau credited Ottawa for their hard work, and rightly so. But my issue is with the Caps play. It was unacceptable and if they can’t out work a team like Ottawa then there has to be some concern, especially when all we’ve heard the Washington players talk about since training camp opened was being the team that won the work ethic battle each night. In the last two games, including a tilt against hated rival Pittsburgh, the Capitals have been crushed in the effort department.

“They are not satisfied and that’s great. If we thought we were king of the world right now then it would probably be a little bit more difficult. It’s a tough league, whoever you play. You can say what you want about Ottawa, but they were a very motivated club tonight and they played very hard,” said Boudreau afterwards about a Senators team that responded well after being drilled 7-1 by Colorado in their last start.

- Ottawa came into this contest ranked first on the power play so a Capitals priority was to stay out of the box on Saturday night. The only penalty called on Washington was on Karl Alzner in the first period, and that was a questionable one, but the Caps killed it off. Washington received three power plays in the first 25 minutes scoring on their first one. Mike Knuble (2 assists) worked the puck out from behind the net, fed Alexander Semin at the left post, and #28 made a super cross crease pass to Backstrom for an easy tally. On the next two power plays, the Caps struggled to get things set up so they finished 1-3 on the night. It was encouraging to see Alexander Ovechkin off of the point on those three manpower advantages as Mike Green, Wideman, and Hamrlik manned the blue line in those situations. The power play still needs work but it is improving.

“We didn’t want to take any penalties against them and didn’t do that. We had some chances to break it open but we didn’t do it. In the clutch, we did what we had to do. Not every game is going to be beautiful and the other team wants to win too,” added Boudreau.

- Hamrlik has been mostly paired with Green and on paper should be an upgrade in the mobility department over #52′s old d-partners, Shaone Morrisonn, Jeff Schultz, and Scott Hannan. However, #44 is not as good of a skater as I first thought and has looked shaky in the last two games. He and Wideman, as mentioned above, were out of sync on the Ottawa tally. It is only October so hopefully the 38 year old Czech, who is -1 through four games but has been on the ice for 7 of the 11 goals the Caps have allowed (h/t  @JapersRink), finds his legs and improves once he gets more experience playing with Green and the other Washington defenders.

“The more you play, you get some confidence and you feel better out there. The other five defenseman on our team, they are good players; they can move the puck. I am getting used [to] the guys,” said Hamrlik following the game. #44 played in his 1,315th career NHL game, passing Bobby Holik for the most NHL games played by a Czech native.

 - At the end of the day, a win is a win and those two previous Capitals clubs that went 4-0 did have a lot of success, so that bodes well. One went to the Stanley Cup Finals (98) and the other blew a 3-1 first round lead to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Penguins in the first round following a super regular season. That was a very talented Capitals team that came very close to beating a loaded Pittsburgh club. Goaltending was the difference in that 1992 loss, but the Caps just might finally have a big game goalie now, like they did with Olie Kolzig in 1998.

Notes: Forward DJ King received his first start of the season with Jay Beagle being kept out for precautionary reasons after getting hurt in his fight with Arron Asham. King was pointless but even in nine shifts and 6:58 TOI…Johansson’s goal was a beautiful individual effort and the young Swede used his speed to sneak a wraparound tally by Alex Auld (24 saves)…Washington lost the faceoff battle, 33-28. Jeff Halpern was 3-2, the only Cap that was above 50%…next up for the Caps are the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night at the Verizon Center…Owner Ted Leonsis noted that the Caps are putting 400 individual tickets on sale online before each game to give fans who can’t afford season tickets access to the team for games. That is a great idea given that the team sold out all season tickets and now have a waiting list…the Hershey Bears had a chance to start 4-0 as well but lost in OT to the Norfolk Admirals, 6-5, in the home opener at the Giant Center. Braden Holtby made 22 saves in the loss. Keith Aucoin had four assists and Chris Bourque had a goal and was +1. Bourque had five points in a 7-5 victory in Norfolk on Friday night.

Here are the highlights and analysis of a game that saw the Penguins dominate most of the contest:

- Michal Neuvirth likely would have had this start given his recent success against the Pens, but when he came down with a lower body injury that forced the Caps to recall Braden Holtby from Hershey today and give Vokoun the chance to get wins in consecutive starts. The 35 year old Czech delivered, building on his great OT and shootout performance in Monday’s 6-5 victory over Tampa Bay. Vokoun didn’t have to be spectacular but he was very solid and didn’t give the Penguins many second chances. If the Caps can improve their play in their own end, and they were pretty bad tonight, just think how good this goalie could be for this team?

- Evgeni Malkin had an outstanding game for Pittsburgh. His two cross ice seam passes set up James Neal’s two tallies. One of the reasons #71 was able to make those plays is because the Washington players were not playing positionally sound or smart in their own end. On the first goal, both Alexander Semin and Marcus Johansson chase the puck carrier leaving the back side open. In the first three games we’ve seen opponents exploit the Capitals habit of over chasing and/or watching the puck carrier. The Capitals have to learn to play better without the puck in their own zone and clog the passing lanes and not over commit. I imagine Caps Coach Bruce Boudreau and assistant coach Blaine Forsythe will be showing lots of video on Friday to try and correct these d-zone breakdowns.

- The Capitals players have talked about being the team with the better work ethic in every game. Tonight they were soundly defeated in that category. The Penguins out shot the Caps 12-3 in the first period and 18-3 in the third. It was only in the middle frame that the Capitals had the upper hand, outshooting Pittsburgh, 11-9. I am not sure why the Capitals were so flat early on but one of the reasons for the third period letdown was the Arron Asham-Jay Beagle fight. Beagle had just coincidentally knocked off the helmet of Kris Letang, which would earn him a roughing penalty, and Asham took exception calling on #83 to fight. Beagle, who is definitely not a fighter, but as he told me on media day last Thursday knows he will need to do so at times, was floored with a couple of rights and went to the ice bleeding. He had to be helped off of the rink afterwards but that didn’t stop Asham from making a couple of classless gestures. Asham admitted after the game that he got caught up in the moment, but still, to celebrate after knocking out a non-fighter was totally uncalled for. The fight clearly negatively impacted the Capitals, who had played 25 decent minutes of hockey in a row, since they struggled mightily the rest of the way until overtime.

- Alexander Ovechkin, after a subpar opening two games, made a difference in this one. He deflected in Green’s point shot early in the third period to give the Capitals a 2-1 lead and he drew the only penalty officially called on the Penguins in the game. That came in overtime when he faked Jordan Staal out of his jock in the neutral zone and #11 tripped the Gr8. On the 4 on 3 power play Green hit the right pipe but on the ensuing rush Wideman took a nice feed from Nicklas Backstrom (two assists) and buried it past former Capitals goalie Brent Johnson (16 saves).

- When you are outworked, you normally will find yourself on the short end of the stick in total number of power plays. The Penguins received five while Washington only had one, although I do think the Pens got away with a few things, especially some goalie interference by Chris Kunitz. In addition, Tyler Kennedy did hit Backstrom in the head in the third period, similiar to the Beagle shot on Letang, although #19′s lid stayed on so maybe it didn’t look so bad to the blurry eyed zebras? (Note: the referees initially waved off Ovechkin’s goal, they thought it hit the cross bar). It is hard to argue about the calls against the Caps, they were of the lazy or not too smart variety. Brooks Laich’s cross check on Malkin came after a failed clear. What made that situation even worse was that Green already had lost his stick so what the Caps should’ve done was ice the puck.  Instead they got running around and eventually found themselves shorthanded. The last penalty though, on Troy Brouwer, might have been the worst. The Caps were up a goal and he needlessly hauled down a Pens player in the neutral zone. That one ended up allowing Neal to tie the game. Brouwer did make a nice play on Ovechkin’s goal, he was in front of Johnson battling with Zbynek Michalek providing traffic.

- In summary, the Caps were fortunate to win this contest and move to 3-0. Washington has been playing with fire by going to extra time in each tilt and they have had some very poor play in their own zone. The good news though, is they are getting balanced production in their lineup and Boudreau is not having to put his big guns out on the ice for extended minutes. Green has already seen a reduction in his ice time and that should only keep him fresher and hopefully injury free.

Notes: Steve Whyno of The Washington Times tweeted that Asham had 83 career NHL fights while this was Beagle’s first…the Caps lost the faceoff battle 26-23 but Jeff Halpern went 6-2…Mike Knuble scored the Caps first goal by crashing the net hard…Karl Alzner had another strong game and picked up his third assist of the season…the Penguins were without Sidney Crosby, although he has been cleared for contact effective today, and defensemen Brooks Orpik…Washington is now 11-0-2 in their last 13 regular season games against Pittsburgh (h/t @SkyKerstein of DC’s 106.7 THE FAN)…next up for the Caps are the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night at the Verizon Center.

Wow, that was one crazy hockey game and one that both coaches likely would call a nightmare to be involved in. The Caps only allowed 23 Tampa shots in 65 minutes and for the most part played well defensively but their goalie gave up some really bad goals, three of which were shot from below the goal line. Vokoun (18 saves) was really shaky and struggling to properly hug his post in regulation and the Bolts took the charity en route to a 5-4 late third period lead. But then Tampa made another terrible turnover in their own end and that allowed Chimera to rifle one by Dwayne Roloson (33 saves) with Mike Knuble screening on the door step with 2:44 to go and that paved the way for the Washington triumph.

Here are the quotes and analysis from this second straight Southeast Division win for Washington:

- During the peak of the Caps losing streak last December, Coach Bruce Boudreau basically called out the mental toughness of his club. Through two games, he has to be pleased with how far his team has come in that department. In each of the first two contests Washington has had moments where they’ve just dominated play and had nothing to show for it. Then to compound those situations, they have given up a goal via a bad bounce or mental mistake. But so far the club has answered the bell and recovered instead of slumping then eventually losing in those instances. Tonight his goalie didn’t allow a terrible first 60 minutes to prevent him from showing how good he can be in overtime and in the shootout to get a win. In addition, instead of his skaters shrugging their shoulders and saying “Our goalie doesn’t have it today, it’s not our night boys,” they just kept working hard to try and get the win. Of everything that has happened in these first two games, perhaps that mental toughness is the most telling part of the 125 minutes of hockey in this campaign.

“If you asked Tomas (Vokoun), he’ll be the first one to tell you that’s probably not the way he wrote the script. I guess if you’re trying to look at the big picture, it takes a guy with a lot of mental toughness to play like that. And then in the overtime when you’re having four-on-three against you and you make those three or four huge saves.  I got to believe if it was me, I would have been so mentally out of it… and he comes up and he makes those big saves and he makes the save in the shootout. It told me a lot about his character and it ends up as a positive thing even if he didn’t have a positive game for the most part,” added Boudreau on what stood out for him with Vokoun on Monday.

- Tampa’s 3rd and 4th lines really helped the Bolts win last spring’s playoff series against the Caps but Washington’s bottom six forwards, if you will, came through tonight. The Brooks Laich, Joel Ward, and Chimera line once again carried the play when they were on the ice and Mathieu Perreault, Hendricks, and Jeff Halpern were a big positive as the fourth forward unit. When the young guns fail to score, and the Washington top line was atrocious on Columbus Day, the Caps rarely win but that was not the case tonight.

“[We’re] just three guys working hard. We all really take pride in going against their number one line and playing really good defense. And mostly when you play good defense, it leads to good offense,” said Chimera, who was the game’s number one star.

- As bad as Vokoun was in the first 60 minutes he at least redeemed himself in the extra portion of this contest. It would have been nice if Alexander Ovechkin could say that as well but the Gr8 was downright awful in this one. He made mental mistakes and worse yet he had an atrocious shift in the third period after coming out of the penalty box that led to the Bolts fifth goal. Ovechkin had a chance to generate some offense on that shift but basically just gave the puck up in the Bolts zone allowing Tampa to come the other way and create the pressure that led to the go ahead goal. Ovechkin does not want to watch the videotape of that shift because it will show his total lack of effort in both the offensive and defensive zones. In addition, he and Mike Green didn’t think on a 5 on 3 and allowed Pavel Kubina to get a shorthanded breakaway when he came out of the box in the second period. Overall Alexander the Great was -2 with just three shots on goal in 21:47 of ice time. What makes this performance even more disconcerting is the team captain opted out of the morning skate. Unacceptable move and performance from the guy who is supposed to lead the team.

- Marcus Johansson was a major positive after being scratched on Saturday for the opener. MJ90 looked like he was shot out of a cannon on most shifts and he used his speed to create scoring chances and draw penalties. The young Swede worked hard and showed that he is physically stronger on his skates than last season when he was pushed around, at times, below the goal line. Johansson had a goal and an assist and really played well with Semin and Brouwer. On Brouwer’s goal he took a Ryan Malone stick in the mouth but he still played over 15 minutes and was +1. The only downside for Marcus in this one was his 3-10 faceoff total. His play was inspired, something Boudreau definitely liked and took note of.

“That’s absolutely what you’re looking for. Here’s a guy that sat out a game, he came out, he just said, ‘I’ll show them’ and that’s the kind of attitude you’re hoping for,” commented Boudreau on how the sophomore Swede performed against Tampa.

- Special teams is something that every coach focuses on. After Saturday’s poor PK performance, the Caps were better on Monday and they had to be because they took two stupid too many men on the ice infractions. Washington’s shorthanded unit came up large, especially in the OT thanks to Vokoun, and forced the Bolts to go 0-4 in 5:20 overall of man advantage time. Now for the ugly of the ugliest on the night: the Capitals power play! It was just pathetic and reverted mostly to the mode of last season where the Caps would pass the puck around the perimeter to try and get one-timers. There was not enough of passing it to the point for slappers with traffic and net crashing for rebound goals. Too much young guns out there tonight, if you ask me, especially when Ovechkin and Green were on the points. I’d like to see more of John Carlson, Wideman, and Roman Hamrlik on the blue line with guys like Brouwer, Knuble, and Laich screening in front. It is not a hard concept and I hope the coaches hold the young guns accountable and sit them for a few power plays to show them how it should be done. Washington was a putrid 0-7 in 9:14 of power play time. They were so bad that they took themselves off of three power plays with their own penalties. Again, this is unacceptable!

- I railed on Ovechkin’s play tonight and Green (0 pts, -1) and Nicklas Backstrom (0 pts, -2) both had poor nights as well. But did anyone see Vinny Lecavalier or Steven Stamkos tonight? What about Steve Downie? Malone, other than his stick infraction to the face of MJ90? Nope, those guys all stunk in this one as well. As for Guy Boucher’s 1-3-1 system, the Caps pretty much hammered it tonight as Washington effectively used their speed to go around orange looking pylons on the Bolts defense named Kubina and Eric Brewer. My gut tells me teams will figure that system out quickly this year after having a summer to digest it on video.

- At the end of the day, the Caps are 2-0. When they play their system and think on the ice, they have shown they can be dominant. Mentally this club looks to be a lot stronger, at least through two games, but they need to clean a lot of things up going forward. Fortunately there are 80 more tilts to hone their game before the post season.

Notes: Tampa won the faceoff battle 34-32…Brouwer led the Caps and all Bolts with seven hits…Chimera had seven shots on goal, most of any player in the contest…Jay Beagle and DJ King were the forward scratches…next up for the Caps are the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night from the Steel City at 7 pm.

Since training camp opened Capitals players and management have talked about their work ethic and the need to ”bring it every night,” something they have not done consistently in the past. The acquisitions of skaters Joel Ward, Jeff Halpern, Troy Brouwer, and Roman Hamrlik has certainly helped with that so this is a different Washington club than last May, when the Bolts seemed to take advantage of every Caps miscue en route to wins in four close contests. On Saturday versus the Canes the Capitals work ethic was very good but they made several mistakes in their positioning and it nearly cost them the game. Assistant coach for video, Blaine Forsythe, was likely a very busy guy after last night’s game and today going over the errors with head coach Bruce Boudreau and the players. I don’t think energy or effort will be a problem on Monday night given the opponent but the key for Washington will be to play within their system and themselves.

Tampa, who missed making the Stanley Cup Finals by a game, has many of their key players returning in Steven Stamkos, Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier, Eric Brewer, Victor Hedman, and Dwayne Roloson. St. Louis, Lecavalier, and Roloson, however, are really starting to get up there in age so it remains to be seen how they handle another long season. I expect #26 to pass with flying colors but I have doubts about their goaltender and team captain. One of the players who absolutely killed the Caps last spring was the speedy Sean Bergenheim, but he was a free agent this past summer and took big money to play for the Florida Panthers. Bergenheim was part of a crew of bottom six forwards who made a difference in the series against the Caps, while Washington’s third and fourth lines struggled.

Caps General Manager George McPhee has rebuilt the third and fourth lines in the offseason and much has been made of the Ward, Brooks Laich, Jason Chimera unit. That crew was very good against Carolina but if the fourth line comes out right after that unit and continually lays an egg, then any momentum Laich and company generates is wasted. For one game, the fourth line of Jay Beagle, Matt Hendricks, and Halpern held up their end of the bargain in their roughly nine minutes of time on ice together. On media day last Thursday, I had a chance to catch up with Beagle and get his take on the new fourth line and what they are looking to accomplish each game.

“Personally I’m excited to help this team win every night and create energy out there and chip in where I can. In a couple of preseason games me and Hendy and Halpy were saying as that fourth line when we need a big goal in the third, I think we can do it. It’s going to be a gritty, grindy goal and that’s the kind we’re going to have to make and produce. It’s just an exciting time and to be playing with those two guys is awesome. They’re extremely good to play with, talk a lot, and just make the game easy on you. For me personally, they always say we’re not looking for you to put in a lot of goals and a lot of points but when you can it’s a big help for the team. I want to chip in and score some goals this year. I want to make a mark on this team and be a power forward. I got to get more physical and be more physical, fight when I have to, and just try and be an all around player,” said Beagle about what could very well be his first full season in the NHL after playing the last half of 2010-11 season with the Caps.

Vokoun should make his Caps debut against the Lightning on Monday night. Michal Neuvirth was a main reason Washington was able to find a way to win on Saturday but Boudreau prefers to rotate goalies this early in the season. The 35 year old Czech is still learning the Capitals system and given how many mistakes the Caps made in their own end on Saturday night, I expect it to take time for #29 to gel with his teammates and become the dominant netminder he is expected to be. Beagle provided insight into how that transition has been going for Vokoun with his new teammates.

“It’s been really good, he’s looked great in his preseason games and in practice. Every day he’s looking stronger and with the d-core that we have, we got a vocal d-core that talks a lot. As forwards we got to take pride in talking a lot too. If you talk you make the game that much easier, especially in the d-zone if you know where everyone is and if you can share the puck and get the puck out of the zone. Tomas has been doing great, he’s a great goalie, I know even just coming down and shooting on him, [there's] not many holes on him. He’s a very strong goalie in the net and he’s only going to make our team stronger,” finished #83 on the difference Vokoun can make for Washington.

Notes: According to Caps beat writer Katie Carrera of The Washington Post, Marcus Johansson will center the second line with Alexander Semin and Troy Brouwer while Mathieu Perreault will be a healthy scratch (Monday Morning UPDATE: Carrera is now reporting Perreault is in the lineup. MJ90 status is unknown)… Caps beat writer Steve Whyno of The Washington Times reported that Semin will not be suspended for his hit at the end of regulation on Saturday…the Caps have announced that 400 tickets still remain for Monday night’s game. It appears that Washington is making a big effort to make single game tickets available each contest giving that season tickets are sold out for the season.