Kuznetsov Update!

Who knows where the Caps would be if former 1st round pick Evgeny Kuznetsov, had joined the team years ago. If his skill level transitions to the NHL quickly, the Caps could have that second lethal scorer they've been looking for to compliment The Great 8. His arrival brings many options to this club. I can't stress that enough. He comes in and immediately makes another player with a large cap hit expendable. Especially Brooks Laich and Troy Brouwer. Kuznetsov's cap hit will be low for awhile so that gives Mcphee the ability to spend that money to improve another area of the squad. You might be thinking to yourself, "but what if he doesn't come" or "what makes you confident enough to write these things." Well let me explain...

 

Evgeny Kuznetsov has broken all [contract extension] negotiations with Traktor Chelyabinsk. He recently obtained his US Visa and he has reiterated that he will NOT be staying in Russia.

 

“It’s been decided for a long time now, there should be no questions. I won’t even stay for $10 or $15 million," Kuznetsov said.
“People have been waiting for me, writing and coming here for three years. I’m a decent man and I will keep my word.”

 

The director of Traktor still stands by his statement that he's "200% sure he's leaving [for Washington] once the seasons over."

 

I think it's a lock Caps fans. Kuznetsov will finally be coming to the Caps. Now we ask ourselves, is it possible we could see him in a uniform before the seasons end? Let's break it down.

 

The KHL season ends on March 3rd. They have two conferences and the 8 best teams from each conference make the playoffs. Kuznetsov's team (Traktor), is currently in 8th place of the Eastern conference which makes them the final seed, if the playoffs were to start now. The two teams in 9th and 10th place behind Traktor, are within two points of stealing that 8th and final playoff spot.

 

If Kuznetsov's team doesn't make the playoffs, his season and contract with Traktor would be played out, two days before NHL's March 5th trade deadline. If the Caps have a legitimate chance at making the playoffs when that time comes, Kuznetsov could come over and provide some much needed scoring depth. It would keep McPhee from having to trade someone for a rental player and would allow him to focus on making a trade (top 4 defensemen maybe) that will help the club's future seasons. We would also get a sample of what to expect from Kuzya and what part of his NHL game he needs to work on during the offseason.

 

But also, theres a very strong possibility that Kuznetsov will stay in Russia and focus on getting all of his ducks in a row for his move to North America. He would get a fresh start on a new season (2014/15) and a full offseason under Capital's coaches before beginning his NHL career.

 

No matter what happens, Caps fans should be excited!

 

 

Zach Hart
Shades of Red

Oleksy on Waivers, Grubauer to Hershey

The Caps have sent Grubauer back to Hershey after the potential up and coming star was pulled from two games. Oates' said he told Grubauer after being reassigned that he had "improved a lot" and to "keep working on his game." He also stated that his being yanked early in two recent games "wasn't necessarily his fault" but after a slight decline in his game, Oates said the team had "lost the spark in a sense." The move gets the Caps back to a sense of normalcy with their two regulars Holtby and Neuvirth getting back to it. Now the question will be, which goalie will step up and be the #1? Neuvirth has had two pretty good outings and Holtby didn't play "too awful" in his last two relief efforts. It should be interesting to see what happens moving forward.

In another roster move, Steve Oleksy was placed on waivers by the Capitals on Monday and if he's not claimed by another NHL team (we suspect he will with his high level of player enforcement) will be sent to Hershey as well. This could be good news for guys like Connor Carrick and Dmitry Orlov who have been in the lineup as of late and are looking for as much NHL ice-time as possible.

Theres no doubt more roster moves will be made in the next day or two as two roster spots can be filled in case someone were to get injured. Seems as though Mcphee and Oates are cleaning up the roster a bit and they'll surely be busy throughout the Olympic break figuring out what options are available on the trade market and in their affiliate teams. Some have suspected Andre Burakovsky (if he can recover from his concussion) could see some time with the Caps soon. Most likely filling the spot of a guy named Martin Erat.

Let us know what you think of the moves and keep following Shades of Red!

Zach

Identifying the Caps' Problems

The Caps have lost 10 of their last 12 matchups and their chances of making the playoffs are on the decline. With 12 games left to play before the Olympic break, and 36 total games left in the season, the Caps will have to find solutions to the problems that have plagued them since game 1, quickly. Lets take a look at some of these problems.

Turnovers:
The Caps have consistently made bad decisions with the puck this season. Being smarter when moving the puck and not making passes that could potentially lead to a breakaway or an odd man rush could go a long ways towards getting wins.

Defensemen getting caught in the zone:
In Adam Oates' system, the defensemen have full permission to enter the O-zone and help the forwards cycle the puck or help out by providing some extra offense. But they have to anticipate when it's ok to gamble like that. It absolutely helps out the forwards and strengthens our chances at scoring, but if it's not done carefully, it helps the opponents chances of scoring as well. We have seen WAY too many odd man rushes for the opposition this year.

Penalty Kill:
They started the season off near the top of the league when on the PK. But they have lost the touch. The Caps now rank 18th in the league when they're a man or two down. They have to get better on the penalty kill. When they have the chance, they need to clear the puck. They're letting opponents cycle the puck around until one line is completely out of energy and the puck ends up in the back of the net. Shotblocking, clearing the crease and getting into passing lanes would go a long way towards improving the PK. Their PK has been the main reason for some of their recent tallies in the loss column as of late.

Discipline:
The bottom line is, when your a man down, your losing time in which you could be focusing on scoring goals. The penalties have to stop. How many times in the last 12 games have we seen someone clear the puck over the glass for a delay of game? How many penalties have we taken in the last 5 minutes of the game. Just like when the Caps thought they had the game won against Buffalo after scoring on Ryan Miller late in the 3rd only to have the goal washed out due to a Backstrom penalty. These guys are professionals and they need to start focusing on avoiding the dumb penalties. Its dragging them down.

Shotblocking:
I saved this for last because I think it's single handedly, the worst problem the Caps have had ALL season long. They're the 3rd worst team in the league when it comes to shots on goal against, giving up an average of 34.1. This is absolutely horrific! If the Caps are going to turn this thing around, someone besides John Carlson needs to start stepping in front of pucks. Shotblocking is key in this league! Seriously, how many blocked shots do we see a game? Barely any... The Caps beat the defending champion Bruins in a playoff series with Dale Hunters shotblocking style and I don't understand how NONE of that stuck with these guys. Shotblocking can steal a game just as much as an incredibly good goalie can. It's just too important to not utilize at this level. The worst part is, it's like they haven't realized they're giving up all of these shots and are just placing the responsibility on the shoulder of the goalie. I have not seen Calle Johansson try to make any adjustments to help limit the opponents shots on net. We obviously lack one or two shutdown defensemen, so shotblocking is the key to the puzzle. If they start sacrificing their bodies, we could very well see a dramatic turn around for this team.

With the right adjustments, I do believe this team is capable of making a deep playoff run. Last game in Pittsburgh, the Caps were coming off a late OT loss the night before and the Penguins were coming off a three day break but we still controlled much of the game. Sure we have lost to the last place Buffalo Sabres, but we have beat some really good teams as well. I think this team is better then what their record suggests. They need to find a way to limit their mistakes and 90% of those are coming from their defensive game. You'd better believe that Mcphee knows and sees exactly what we do and we could be sellers AND buyers at the March 5th trade deadline. This defense could use a shake up and I see that happening in the near future.

LETS GO CAPS!

Zach Hart
Shades of Red

Capitals (22-16-8) vs. Penguins (33-12-2) - Getting Ready for the Game

For this week's "NHL's Wednesday night rivalry," hockey fans around the nation will tune in to see the Capitals and Penguins battle it out at Pittsburgh's Consol Energy Center. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 8:00pm.

The Caps face a daunting task in trying to beat the Eastern Conference leading Penguins in the 2nd game of a back to back set. The Caps have struggled to get wins as of late, and have lost 8 of their last 11 games (including 5 OT losses.) They're in dire need of points, and how they perform between now and the Olympic break, could very well define their season.

Adam Oates recently shuffled the lines around a bit and what he came up with was quite brilliant. The change should pay off as the players build chemistry with their new mates. Oates moved Ovechkin down to line 2, to play with the "North/South" game of Grabovski and Fehr who has been heating up. Brouwer and Laich have had struggles scoring this season, so he puts one of the best set up guys in the league in Backstrom, right between them on line 1. Lastly, he adds even more speed to line 3, sending speedy Johansson down to play with Ward and lightning quick Chimera. Pittsburgh's defensemen could have their hands full if all 4 lines are rolling. 

The last time the Caps played the Pens, they allowed them to get 40 shots on goal compared to the Caps 18. With that being said, I feel confident in predicting that the performance and effort the Caps defensemen show up with could very well determine the outcome of this game. Crosby and Kunitz's line has been stellar and they will require full attention. The Caps should look to stuff the Penguins at their blue line and take away the outlet passing lanes. When they do get the puck into our zone, they should try to keep the game to the outside and challenge the Penguins on the boards. If they sit back and let the Penguins pass it around and create scoring chances, this game could get out of control quick. The Caps have had problems with turnovers all season. They need to make smarter decisions with the puck, and the defenders cannot continue getting caught in the offensive zone. Shotblocking and crisp passes out of our zone will be key!

This is a huge rivalry and Console Energy Center will be loud! If the Caps can get a good amount of zone-time and score early, they may be able to quiet that crowd down a bit. Look for Ovechkin, Brouwer, Wilson and Volpatti to lay down some hits early and often. The Penguins may have the energy advantage after coming off of a three day break but the Caps will have to find a way to match that. The forwards should look to create screens in front of Andre Fleury who shutout the Caps the last time these teams met. After every shot, we should see someone charging the net looking for a rebound to stuff in. The Penguins are an excellent team and we will need to capitalize on what opportunities are dished our way.

Both teams feature some of the leagues top scorers: 

The Penguins' Crosby, leads the league in points with 67 and is tied for 2nd in goal scoring with 25. Chris Kunitz has the leagues best +/- with a +24 and is 5th in goal scoring with 24 goals. James Neal is tied for 5th in the league with 8 power play goals. Although Kris Letang has missed quite a few games to injury, his 5 power play goals and 8 total goals are both good enough for the leagues top 10 in both categories (by defensemen.)

The Caps' Ovechkin is the leagues #1 goal scorer with 33 goals and has scored the most power play goals in the league with 12. Nicklas Backstrom leads the league with**** 23 powerplay assists and his 48 total points is good for 9th in the league. 

Both teams would be wise to stay out of the penalty box as they are tied for the leagues best powerplay %. They each score on the man advantage an average of 25.2% of opportunities. The Penguins have the advantage here as their penalty kill is the leagues 2nd best and the Caps is ranked 19th. 

The Capitals need all of the division wins they can get right now. Besting the Pens in this Metropolitan Division matchup would go a long way towards showing they're better then their record suggests. The Caps need a confidence booster and getting the win against their Eastern Conference leading rival would do just that.

GO CAPS!

Zach Hart

Shades of Red

Nats Corner

Nats Corner

 

By: Will Facciolo

Shades of Red

 

 

                Hello out there to all of you Nationals seam-heads, Shades of Red and Bristow Beat readers! Yes, I realize it’s mid-January, the Wiz and Caps are in the hearts of their respective seasons and you may think it’s too early for baseball news...Well, WE CAN AGREE TO DISAGREE! There are too many stories to get prepared for once spring training ramps up on Feb. 28^th (just a little over a month away) against the Mets. Today, I’m going to focus on the starting pitching staff, the bullpen, and the bench.

 

               With the acquisition from the Detroit Tigers, the Nationals have one of the best, if not, THE best 4-man rotation in baseball with Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez,Jordan Zimmermann and Doug Fister. Yet, as we know, you need a 5-man rotation during the season. The candidates for the 5^th spot are, LHP Ross Detwiler(2-7, 4.04 ERA, 71 IP in 2013), RHP Tanner Roark (7-1, 1.51 ERA, 53 IP), RHP Taylor Jordan (9-1, 1.00 ERA, 90 IP in minors) and Nathan Karns (10-6, 3.26 ERA, 1.32 IP in minors). The natural choice here would be Detwiler since he’s a guy that’s proven to win-you ball games and has been in the majors for a few years, but then you look at Roark’s numbers last season and you wonder why there’s even a debate that he isn’t the guy! Two very capable and professional pitchers in the running there and in my opinion, they will be dueling-it-out in spring training for that 5^th spot. Jordan was great in the minors last season, while showing flashes of brilliance during his brief call-up to the big leagues as well. Chances are strong he’ll start the season in AAA though and the same goes for Karns. Both Karns and Jordan could be major league-ready starting pitchers in their own right but this staff is crowded.

 

              Early last season, the Nationals made a huge blunder by only having one lefty in the bullpen and another blunder by his name being Zach Duke(HA!). This offseason, General Manager Mike Rizzo made it a point to go out and acquire a left handed reliever for lefty-on-lefty matchups. He found his guy in Jerry Blevins( 5-0, 3.15 ERA, 60 IP in Oakland). Typically a healthy and well-balanced bullpen has 7 pitchers: a left handed long reliever(Xavier Cedeno or Ross Detwiler), a right handed long reliever(Ross Ohlendorf or Jordan/Karns/Roark), 2 right handed middle relievers(Tyler Clippard and Craig Stammen), a left handed middle reliever(Jerry Blevins), a setup man and a closer (your 2 best short men: Drew Storen and Rafael Soriano). The Nationals seem to have this covered on paper. There will be a little tweaking here and there, some pitchers may perform better or worse than expected…but the bullpen is about matchups and they have more than enough arms to provide many favorable ones. Look for the battle between Detwiler and Roark in spring training to determine who will be one of the long men.

 

 

             The bench for the Nats has basically 2 definite members: OF Nate McLouth and OF Scott Hairston. Infielders Jamie Carroll and Jeff Fontenot, SS/2B Danny Espinosa, 1b/LF Tyler Moore, C Chris Snyder, C Sandy Leon and C Jhonatan Solano all will battle for the 3 remaining bench spots with one of them reserved for a backup catcher. Some think Rizzo is still looking to acquire a veteran backup catcher via free agency or trade but he’s been quoted as saying that he’s “comfortable” with the in-house choices. I personally think Espinosa will be dealt by the start of the season because of his youth and potential as a power-hitting middle infielder that has great defensive capabilities. Also, you look at these bench candidates and you’re not seeing any power from the left-side. This may be another thing Rizzo addresses before the season. I guess we’ll have to wait and see…

Who's the trade bait? Neuvirth or Holtby?

At the mid point of the season, the Caps have an odd issue on their hands. They have three promising goalies in Grubauer, Neuvirth and Holtby who are all making a case to be starters. They can't continue to keep all three as it causes problems with ice-time, attitudes and...well there's only two nets on the ice for practice if you catch my drift. 

 

Grubauer was recalled from the AHL Hershey Bears on Nov 30th to serve as Holtby's backup after Neuvirth was injured. When Holtby began to struggle, Grubauer was given a chance to show his stuff and has taken full advantage of the opportunity. He has been a stud between the pipes for the Caps and has instilled confidence into this team. The defense seems to be playing better in front of a goalie they can count on to bail them out consistently. Grubauer is the hottest goalie of the three right now and he will most likely continue to get the bulk of the ice-time while he's hot. Since being recalled from the Hershey Bears, Grubauer has a 6-2-3 record with an impressive 2.27-GAA and .931 save%.

 

Holtby is in the midst of a very inconsistent stretch. He's giving up should-be saves and letting games get out of control quick. When that happens, the defense loses confidence and momentum and it clearly shows on the ice. Many will say the defense's poor play is the reason for Holtby's inconsistencies but the fact is, Holtby is their last line of defense. At the NHL level, goalies have to be good enough to make a few outstanding saves per game. Good goalies can single handedly steal games away from good teams. Remember the last game against Buffalo? Ryan Miller stole the win from the Caps after pushing aside 49 shots. Holtby has obviously been good in the playoffs for the Caps in the past but Neuvirth has been good in the playoffs as well. This season Holtby has a 13-11-2 record and a bit of a disappointing 3.08-GAA and .916 Save%. Holtby has to be better.

 

After missing time to injury and then spending time as a healthy scratch, Neuvirth made his first start since Nov 22nd on Friday against Toronto. He put up an incredibly solid performance for a guy who hasn't played an NHL game in 48 days. He pushed aside 34 shots in the 3-2 win and finished the game with a .941 save%. Neuvirth has been pretty consistent in his NHL career and has played better this season then what his 3-3-1 record would suggest. He's sporting a 2.72-GAA and .916 Save%. He obviously has what it takes to be a starter in this league (as do the other two.) After being a healthy scratch so long his agent recently requested for the Capitals to trade him. Neuvirth himself said he wanted out of Washington.

 

It has been widely speculated that Neuvirth would be the one traded because he's the one who asked out. But what Neuvirth really wants is ice-time and he deserves more. Is Neuvirth really the one the Caps should trade? Over their NHL careers, Neuvirth seems to be the more consistent of the two. If Neuvirth were traded and Grubauer suddenly cooled off, would you be confident Holtby could come in and lead the team to their goal right now? It's an extremely tough decision and it's disappointing that one of these talented players will have to go, but it's a decision that will have to be made. The only other option would be to send Grubauer back to Hershey. But the way Grubauer is playing right now and the confidence he instills into his teammates makes that option the first to be scratched.

 

I'm not at all trying to criticize Holtby, I'm just trying to look at the facts. It's a shame that this horrible drought has hit Holtby at such a critical time. But the bottom line is, I want this team to get what they've never gotten. A Stanley cup!
I would love to hear everyone's take on the goalie situation in Washington. Please feel free to drop a comment.

 

Thanks for reading,

 

Zach Hart

Shades of Red

 

Caps John Carlson makes US Olympic Roster

With the Winter Olympics in Sochi just weeks away, the writers here at Shades of Red are excited to write about some of the selected Olympians from the United States. Especially Ice Hockey. Please check out our blog and Facebook page (links provided in footer) as well as the articles we write for Bristow Beat in the weekly sports column throughout the Olympics.

 

After the Bridgestone Winter Classic on New Years Day, the US Olympic Men's Ice-Hockey roster was announced. John Carlson, a defensemen from the Caps was selected and deservedly so. At just 23 years of age, the Massachusetts product's all around skill was too great to be ignored. David Poile, the US Men's Hockey Team General manager, told reporters a bit about why Carlson was one of the players selected on Wednesday: "This year his game has transitioned from somewhat of a defensive defensemen to a two way defensemen. He leads the NHL I believe in short-handed minutes with a team that's pretty good on the penalty kill and his offensive game has gone way up."

 

The Capitals coach, Adam Oates, was not surprised that Carlson was chosen to be a US Olympian and had this to say about his defensemen: "He's one of the best defensemen in the league. He plays a lot of minutes, plays physical, he's got an unlimited tank. He plays every situation and can do anything you ask of him."

 

Adam Oates is correct. Carlson has established himself as one of the top defensemen in the league. He's been given the responsibility of shutting down opposing team's top forwards every game and has faired quite well in doing so. Carlson leads the Caps in ice-time this season and is averaging over 24 minutes per contest. He is ranked sixth among defensemen in the league with seven goals scored and fourth among defensemen with four power play goals. On special teams, Carlson is averaging over four minutes a game on the penalty kill and almost three minutes a game on the power play.

 

Carlson is the 1st player in Capitals history to have made the US Olympic roster and his experience on the big stage fits the bill. He has played in multiple playoff series with the Hershey Bears and Capitals and even played for the US in the 2010 World Junior tournament. In fact, Carlson scored the game-winning overtime goal that won US the Gold medal in that 2010 tournament. He finished the World Juniors with seven points in seven games and was named to the World Junior All-Star team.

 

"It's obviously a huge honor to play for your country," Carlson said.

 

The United States is the only country who has released their Ice hockey rosters (men and women) but the deadline for all countries rosters is set for noon on January 7th. There's no doubt that there will be many more Capitals players representing their countries in the Sochi Olympics and we will talk more about that when the rosters are released. One thing that's known is every countries rosters will be packed with talent and this should be incredibly fun to watch. What else would we expect from the worlds greatest hockey players and athletes coming together for the greatest tournament known to man?

 

GO USA!

 

Here's the (quite impressive) US Olympic Men's Ice-Hockey Roster:

 

Forwards

David Backes, St. Louis Blues
Dustin Brown, L.A. Kings
Ryan Callahan, New York Rangers
Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
Ryan Kesler, Vancouver Canucks
Phil Kessel, Toronto Maple Leafs
T.J. Oshie, St. Louis Blues
Max Pacioretty, Montreal Canadiens
Zach Parise, Minnesota Wild
Joe Pavelski, San Jose Sharks
Paul Stastny, Colorado Avalanche
Derek Stepan, New York Rangers
James van Riemsdyk, Toronto Maple Leafs
Blake Wheeler, Winnipeg Jets

Defensemen

John Carlson, Washington Capitals
Justin Faulk, Carolina Hurricanes
 Cam Fowler, Anaheim Ducks
Paul Martin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Ryan McDonagh, New York Rangers
Brooks Orpik, Pittsburgh Penguins
Kevin Shattenkirk, St. Louis Blues
Ryan Suter, Minnesota Wild

Goalies

Jimmy Howard, Detroit RedWings
Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres
Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings

Thanks for reading,

Zach Hart
Shades of Red