Capitals (24-2-8) vs. Redwings (23-19-11) - Game Preview

The Caps will wrap up there 5 game road trip when they face the Redwings tonight at Joe Louis Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30pm. After the matchup, both teams will travel back to DC's Verizon Center to play again on Sunday.

The matchup is the second of a back-to-back set for the Caps. I will waste no time in saying, the Caps performance against the Bluejackets last night was probably the worst of their season. The final score was 5-2. Green sustained an injury to his head or shoulder (or maybe both) but did travel with the team to Detroit and will be evaluated today. Mikhail Grabovski is expected to miss another game with his lower-body injury.

Michal Neuvirth will start in the net for the Caps tonight and it is a welcoming change since Holtby has given up 9 goals in two contests since shutting out the Montreal Canadiens. On the season Neuvirth has a 3-5-1 record with a 2.70 GAA and a .915 Save%.

The Redwings are coming off of a 0-5 loss to the Flyers. The injuries are piling up for them. Against the Flyers, the Redwings played without Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Franzen. Tonight, chances are high that the Redwings will get their leading scorer in Zetterberg back. Datsyuk will be out of the lineup again with a lower-body injury.

Jimmy Howard will get his first start since sustaining an injury on Jan 20th. On the season, Howard has a 9-12-8 record with a 2.64 GAA and a .916 Save%.

Zach's Three Keys to the Game:

*Last night's performance made this simple for me, IMPROVE EVERYTHING!!

Zach Hart
Shades of Red

Capitals (24-21-8) @ Bluejackets (26-23-4) - Game Preview

Capitals look to make it three in a row against Columbus

         This is the fourth and final meeting between these two division rivals. Washington won the first two meetings at Verizon Center. Columbus won the most recent matchup at Nationwide Arena.

         Washington is on a two game winning streak looking to make it a third game in a row tonight. Columbus on the other hand, is on a three game losing skid and they’re looking to change that against Washington tonight.

         If Washington happens to win against Columbus, it would be their first win against a Metropolitan Division opponent since December 27 (New York Rangers). Both teams have 56 points, but Columbus has more regulation and overtime wins, so they are ahead of Washington in the standings. This game plus a game against the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena wraps up a five game road trip before the Caps face Detroit again on Sunday at Verizon Center.

         What’s hot: Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin had four points (2 goals, 2 assists) in a 5-4 overtime win against Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday.  In his past five games, he has five goals and three assists and is leading the NHL in goals with 38. Columbus defenseman James Wisniewski has had at least one point in his seven of his last 9 games.

Starting Goalies:

Braden Holtby will start for the Caps and has a 15-12-2, 2.94 GAA, .912 Save%

Sergei Bobrovsky (our projected starter) for the Bluejackets  17-13-2, 2.61GAA, .913 Save% 

         Injuries: Caps forward Mikhail Grabovski (ankle) missed Tuesday’s game. Jack Hillen (tibia surgery) skated Monday. He is hoping to return before the season ends. Jackets right wing Blake Comeau left Tuesday’s game with a knee injury, but played one more shift. Marian Gaborik (broken collarbone) has been skating but not shooting.  David Savard (illness) missed Tuesday’s game. Jared Boll (bruised left foot) is on IR.

 

By: Sarah Park

Capitals (23-21-8) vs. Sabres (14-30-7) - Game Preview

The Capitals will travel to First Niagara Center for the 3rd game of their 5 game road swing, against the Sabres on Tuesday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30pm.

Last in the Eastern Conference, the Sabres are playing the Caps in the 2nd game of a back to back set. Before getting shutout by the Penguins last night, the Sabres beat the red hot St. Louis Blues on Saturday which ended the Blues 8 game winning streak. The Sabres have lost 6 of their last 7 matchups. Although Ryan Miller has been excellent against the Caps this season, he played last night against the Pens so he may receive a rest. If he does, the Caps will face Sabres backup goalie, Jhonas Enroth. On the season, Enroth has a 1-10-4 record with a 2.67 GAA and .910 Save %. If the Sabres decide to go back to Miller due to his two excellent performances against the Caps this season, he has a 13-20-3 record with a 2.61 GAA and a .926 Save %. Buffalo has won both games against the Caps this season in the Shootout and in both matches combined, Miller has stopped 77 of 79 shots and hasn't given up a single shootout goal. Who would you play if you were the Sabres coach? (HA!)

The Caps are coming off of a 5-0 win against the Montreal Canadiens, which saw them break a 7 game losing streak. Goals were scored by Ovechkin, Erskine, Wellman, Carlson and Beagle. The Caps have recalled Center Ryan Stoa from Hershey and it makes us wonder what the status is on Brooks Laich who is coming off of a "Maintenance Day" (although Laich did skate this morning.) The Caps will once again be without Center Mikhail Grabovski who is out with a lower-body injury.

As reported by Katie Carrera of Capitals Insider, Caps lines at this mornings skate were: Johansson-Backstrom-Ovi, Erat-Laich-Brouwer, Chimera-Beagle-Wilson, Fehr-Volpatti-Wellman-Stoa and Ward as a group. One would wonder why the world Erat is still in the lineup considering he has no goals on the season and only 1 total goal in his Caps career.

It is unkown if the Caps will start Holtby or Neuvirth although we project Holtby to get the start after blanking the Canadiens his last game. For the season Holtby has a 14-12-2 record with a 2.90 GAA and .913 Save %. Neuvirth has a 3-5-1 record with a 2.79 GAA and a .915 Save %.

Time for the Caps to start racking up some points. Believe it or not, their only 3 points out of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot!

Zach's Three Keys to the Game:

Power Play goals: The Caps great powerplay has been awful as of late. They've only converted 1 of their last 32 attempts. If Miller is in net, the Caps are gonna have to make use of the man advantage and find a way to get some goals.
Discipline: The Caps need to stay out of the box in this one as their penalty kill has been rough recently. There's no excuse for losing to the Eastern Conferences worst team for a 3rd time in a row. Hopefully playing some disciplined hockey will help lead them to a W.
Secondary Scoring: We saw a flash of what the Caps can do last game when 5 different players scored goals against the Canadiens. They have to find a way to keep this up! Score Score Score!

SoR Writers Discussion - Skins Front

Shades of Red writers talking about the Redskins:

Zach: So there's alot to talk about on the Skins front already. I have to start by asking, what do you guys think of the Jay Gruden Hiring?

Brian: There's definitely a lot to like about the Redskins hiring Jay Gruden. He seems to be more of a "players coach" then Shanahan, and has already made strides to get on the good side of the media. It's a fresh start for an organization who has seen the promising hire of a veteran head coach wither away, and their franchise qb mismanaged and thrown under the bus. As offensive coordinator of the Bengals, Gruden saw three straight playoff appearances. And it doesn't hurt that he has already stated that RG3 is the teams QB, no questions asked. But the real question is, What do you think about the decision to retain Jim Haslett as defensive coordinator?

Will: God awful decision! Haslett has literally never had anything better than a mediocre defense in his entire NFL coaching career. Whether it's a 3-4 or a 4-3, doesn't matter when your defensive play-caller can't make adjustments. His track record speaks for itself. In 2000 in New Orleans, the defense under Haslett ranked 8th in yardage allowed and 10th in points allowed. That's pretty good. Since then, his defenses haven't ranked highter than 14th in the league with some dead last and second to last. He's obviously not a good coordinator. There has to be some kind of hidden reason why he continues to be hired. We know he coached with Gruden in the UFL so that's why he was retained. Merely for a reason of helping the new coach get "comfortable". But is that REALLY a justifiable reason?

Zach: I can't decide if I like or dislike the Gruden hiring. I don't know much about the guy really but I do know the Bengals games I've seen the last few seasons, it seems like all he did was run the ball or air it out to AJ Green. I just didn't think his playcalling was the game-winner in Cincinatti. He failed in the playoffs making no offensive adjustments at halftime this past season. But we'll see. As for Haslett, the fact that I'll probably have to scream at him through my television for another season while throwing my foam Redskins bricks around my house every game is not what I'd like to call an exciting future. I truly hope with this free agency money to spend, they can bring in a couple of studs to change this around. What positions do you guys think are the most dyer for an upgrade in free agency? Any possible suitors in mind?

Brian: While Rg3 needs some weapons to thrive, I think the most important positions to address are on the defensive side. The secondary specifically. With players like Reed Doughty and Josh Wilson starting, It's very apparent the defensive backfield needs work. One name that pops out to me is TJ Ward out of Cleveland. He led the team in tackles and had a stellar year. The safety position is in need of an addition to help our corners play more one on one and be confident they have good help over the top. And you know what? Another name that stands out... Orakpo. I think It's necessary to bring him back. He had his best season yet, and if they don't pay him, someone will. And he will be just another player the Skins develop then send off to prosper elsewhere. The Redskins have their work cut out for them this offseason. But can the Offense be successful without bringing in a big name reciever for Griffin?

Will: Sure it can. Look no further than 2012 to understand how good an offense can be with Griffin under center and Morris in the backfield. Pierre Garçon is no slouch either, after breaking the franchise record for catches this season. It's my opinion that available "big name" receivers are mostly only big names with no justification. How often do teams let go of an elite, young reciever? Yes, hardly ever. So you might fall in love with your own version of "potential" when it comes to a free agent reciever, but obviously if they were helping their respective teams, they'd usually stay put. Besides quarterbacks, the reciever position is the next important skill position in football. These two make each other famous. But a committee of good receivers is much better than 1 elite one. Look at Peyton Manning's whole career. He's never had one elite reciever and a bunch of scrubs. He's always had a group. So has Brady. Dang, I feel like I took the dirt road on this topic and got off track. All in all, I feel like the most money this offseason should be spent on a right tackle and a defensive back.

Zach: Bruce Allen says the team will be "very active" in free agency but I truly hope he strongly considers Morocco Brown's opinion on who should be signed. Allen with final say on football operations is a little scary considering his lack of experience (and maybe knowledge) in this area. But as far as what positions are most important to address in free agency, my top 3 would have to be Free Safety, Right Tackle and Wide Reciever. The Skins have badly needed a free safety since the passing of Sean Taylor and I think they should spend high for this position. I personally think Jarius Byrd could fit the bill. As for a right tackle, Polumbus is just horrible. If Gruden wants to help Griffin develop, he should be lobbying for help on that O-Line because Griffin will not excel if he's taking hits every snap. Not to mention the possibility of injury. Lastly, outside of Pierre Garcon, theres no other WR's to strike fear into defenses. In fact, outside of Garçon, no other wide-out topped 380 yards...definite problem there. Moss almost got to 500 in the slot but he might not be back (if he isn't I like the idea of Robinson in the slot.) There will be quite a few WR's on the market who would be definite upgrades. I'm excited to see how it plays out.

Brian: I think its safe to say that regardless of what pans out this offseason, the glimmer of hope of a fresh start and new look to the organization is a positive for fans. Coming off of the season the Redskins had, it cant get any worse right??  *Knocks on wood*  Win or lose, I want to see a team and staff that does things the right way. Discipline, fundamentals and consistency. If they lose to a team that is better than them, so be it.  But coming out blowing leads, stalling drives with mindless penalties and turnovers, and dropping passes just won't cut it. Good teams don't do that. Teams that expect to compete game in and game out dont do what we all cringe at and expect from our team. We need change. We need new direction, and I think we made a good choice in Gruden. Anyone but the red lobster!

Will: Yes indeed, B. Good riddance to the Red Lobster and his son the Crawfish! 

The rookie combine starts next month, so time to nerd-it-out and hope we land some kind of young golden goose! 

Zach: Shades of Red out!

Caps problems accumulating

All fans know the Caps have been struggling bad as of late. In this article, another writer (Will F.) and myself (Zach H.), are going to discuss what we believe the team's biggest issues are and some realistic solutions.

 

Zach: Ya know, the Caps have taken too many penalties throughout this losing stretch. Not only are they taking penalties, they're taking dumb penalties. There's just no excuse for stuff like clearing the puck over the glass, when your a goal down in the 3rd period. When their penalty kill is performing as awful as it is right now, it may be a good idea to stay disciplined on the ice. That kind of thing isn't, and shouldn't have to be, coached at the NHL level.

 

Will:  I agree with that. But I'd also like to add, a long standing problem with this team is their reliance on Alexander Ovechkin. When your star player goes on a cold streak, you mean to tell me nobody else on the team can step up and get hot? Backstrom is the exception mostly because he's predominantly on the same line as the Great 8. I don't know, it's just frustrating...

 

Zach: It is frustrating! This club has been breaking fans hearts since they joined the NHL in 1974-75. I'm glad you brought up the point of "the rest of the team needing to step up". Ya know, you look at players like Troy Brouwer and Brooks Laich who have been solid in the past and who were expected to have big seasons, and they aren't producing goals and points. I personally thought Brouwer broke out last year and would be a 30-40 goal scorer this year. He averaged about a half goal a game last year, so who would have thought at this point he would only have 9 goals? Although Laich has looked better the last few games, he just hasn't been the same player he was before the ongoing groin injuries began.

 

Will: for sure. Laich and Brouwer should have stepped up. Laich always has that cliche "locker room leader" bit going on that it doesn't even matter when it comes to production. He's actually a guy I deem expendable! So what if you're loved by fans and teammates. Professional sports has a proper question, "what have you done for me lately?", so yea Brooks, what the ___ dude?

 

Zach: It looks like Kuznetsov (a KHL superstar), has decided he's coming to North America for next season. I think it's really gonna happen this time. It's a definite fact that he's broken all [contract-extension] negotiations with his KHL team, Tractor Chelyabinsk. I think he will provide the 2nd line scoring consistency we've been looking for. Grabo will most likely be extended, and him and Kuznetsov could be something special. Not too mention a powerplay booster.

 

Will: I can't pretend to know who that is. What position does he play? How do we know he'll play for Washington? You know I'm just a casual fan...

 

Zach: Well he was drafted by the Caps as a center, but he's played right wing for Traktor the last few seasons. Mcphee had 2nd line center in mind when drafting him, but with Grabo as a nice fit at 2nd line center, I'd expect them to play him at right wing. He has been known to have a bit of trouble on the faceoff dot, but he's been a top 5 NHL prospect per hockeysfuture.com since 2011. HAS had some injury issues, but his skill level is why the Caps haven't gave up on his arrival and traded his rights. He has yet to join the Caps in the NHL since being drafted in 2010 so they obviously still own his rights.
So, what do you think about this defense Will? Do you see anyone as possible  bait come the March 5th trade deadline?

 

Will: Wow that guy seems like a difference maker for sure. To me, there's two people I would bait to improve the Defense. It's Braden Holtby and Mike Green. As you know, I can't stand Mike Green. His defense is infuriating. When Oate's says in the media "I think Green could've laid down in front of that." It's obvious he isn't doing what he's supposed to be doing and what he's PAID TO DO! But I also understand his contract is hard to move. Holtby is also so streaky and up-and-down that I'd rather go with Grubauer and Nuevy. But that's just my two cents...

 

Zach: I totally agree with that. Holtby hasn't been as consistent as Neuvirth over there NHL careers. I think Holtby is having problems with positioning in the net. But as for the defense, outside of Carlson and Alzner, I feel like everyone is possibly expendable. Star players don't score very often against the Caps and the reason for that is Carlson and Alzner are good at shutting them down. Most of the goals scored against the Caps is from opposing teams second and third waves. Green and Orlov have been very risky with the puck and as a result we see a ton of odd man rushes. I know offensive minded defensemen are a new trend in the league but you need some guys in your lineup, who can play defense better then offense on the blueline. I think Mcphee is going to get that problem solved at the deadline.

 

Will: I hope so. The holes in this team are really obvious and you have to believe GMGM will make the proper moves. That does it for me, here's to a (hopefully) more exciting second half of the season! 

 

Zach: I think if the Caps can get a win or two, they can pull themselves out of this wreck. The trade deadline will definitely be interesting. Until then I'll be watching every game win or lose because I just love hockey and the Caps that much.

 

Thanks for Reading,

 

Zach Hart and Will Facciolo

Shades of Red

This article is featured in a weekly sports column for "Bristow Beat"

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Capitals (22-21-8) vs. Canadiens (27-19-5) Game Preview

The Caps will travel to Montreal Saturday January25th, to battle the Canadiens at Bell Centre arena. Puck-drop is scheduled for 7:00pm.

The Caps hope to break out of their losing streak against a Canadiens club who is struggling as well. The Candiens will play their first home contest after finishing a four game road trip that saw them go 1-3-0. They have dropped three contests in a row and have only scored one goal in each of their last two games. Their most recent loss, was a 1-4 trampling dealt to them by the Redwings on Friday night. They were clearly outworked in the matchup and will be coming out strong against the struggling Caps.

For the Caps, I'll go ahead and say this right away: Ovechkin skated this morning and chances are high that he returns to the lineup tonight. When Ovechkin was asked if he would start, he said "I hope I'm going to be in, and help my team finally get a win."

Last night against the Devils, the Caps lost their 7th straight game. The Caps have scored only one goal since Ovechkin was sidelined with a lower-body injury. They've have had issues in just about all categories. They're taking unacceptable penalties way too often and their penalty kill has been horrible. Green and Orlov are making bad decisions with the puck and that's leading to multiple odd-man breaks per-game for the opposition. They're (near the top of the league) powerplay has lost it's scoring consistency which is really bad when they're having problems scoring 5on5. The second and third defensive pairs are getting caught out of position, not blocking shots, are losing the board battles and are making poor passes out of the zone. The goalie situation hasn't been what the Caps need it to be either.

If the Caps want to break out of this situation and make a playoff push, it needs to start tonight against the Canadiens. The defense HAS to start blocking shots! Good shot-blocking can win games alone and with the defense giving up the amount of shots they are, it has to start becoming a habit. As for the forwards, they need to start stepping up their game with more creativity.

What to expect for the Caps' lineup:
-Holtby is expected to get the start in net tonight. For the season he has a 13-12-2 record, a 3.00 GAA and a .911 save%. In his last 5 starts the net-minder has given up an ugly 15 goals.
-The Caps recalled forward Casey Wellman from the AHL and reassigned Defensemen Nate Shmidt. Let's all hope Casey Wellman fills in for the underperforming Erat tonight. With Nate Shmidt sent back down, we can expect to see Erskine in the lineup.

The Canadiens have yet to name their starting goalie for tonights matchup. But with Carey Price's recent struggles, we project that Peter Budaj will get the start. For the season Budaj has a 5-4-1 record, a 2.06 GAA and a .923 save%.

Zach's Three Key's to the Game:
Shot-blocking - As I said before, when your defense is struggling as bad as ours is, they have to put their body in front of every puck that's sent towards our net. It can be game changer.

Discipline - If we don't take the penalties we don't have to kill them. The Caps have to stay out of the box if they want to start putting marks in the win column.

Secondary scoring - This should just say "scoring" because as much as the lines have been switched around it's hard to pick out who should be singled out off the 1st line. But the bottom line is, we need to see more creativity from players like Backstrom, Johansson, Brouwer and Brooks Laich. Ovechkin can't do it all. Time to step up and play to your previously shown abilities!

LETS GO CAPS!

Zach Hart
Shades of Red

Capitals (22-20-8) vs. Devils (21-19-11) - Game Preview

Capitals look to end losing streak

          This is the first of five games on the road for the Washington Capitals. Tonight (Friday, Jan 24), at 7:00pm, they play the Devils at Prudential Center, tomorrow they travel to the Bell Center to face off against the Montreal Canadiens, Tuesday, they head to First Niagara Center to face off against the Buffalo Sabres, Thursday they will be going to the Nationwide Center to take on the red hot Columbus Blue Jackets, and finally on Friday, they will be taking on the Detroit Red Wings.

          This is the second of the four meetings between these two Metropolitan Division rivals. Andy Greene scored the overtime winner 43 seconds into overtime; the cause of the loss was by Washington blowing a 4-2 lead.  In their last 10 games, New Jersey is 4-3-3 while Washington is 2-5-3 in their last 10.  The Capitals are looking to change that tonight. Washington is on a 6 game losing skid (0-4-2); they were outscored 19-7 during that skid.

          Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin will be a likely game time decision tonight after missing Tuesday’s game against the Ottawa Senators where they were shutout 2-0 at the Verizon Center.  Ovechkin sustained a lower-body injury during the game Sunday against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.  Without Ovechkin, the Capitals are 13-9-2.

          What’s hot: In his four games before missing Tuesday with an injury, Ovechkin had three goals. As for the Devils, Cory Schneider is 3-0-2 in his previous five starts with a .966 save percentage and .96 GAA.  He ranks second in the NHL in GAA with 1.88.

          Injuries: Ovechkin (lower body) is listed as day-to-day, defenseman Jack Hillen (tibia surgery) is also out for Washington.  New Jersey forward Adam Henrique (hand) left Tuesday’s game from blocking a shot, but returned to practice. Defenseman Peter Harrold is almost ready to be activated off of the IR (foot).  

By-Sarah Park