Capitals (5-7-0) - Flyers (3-8-0) Game Preview

The Washington Capitals wrap up their 5 game road skid when they battle the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday night at Wells Fargo center.  Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00pm.

The Flyers are coming off of a loss to the Anaheim Ducks in which they gave up 2 straight goals in the 3rd period for a final score of 2-3.  They have a less than desirable record at home of 2-5.  New addition Vincent Lecavalier is hot with 4 goals in the last 2 contests including a hat trick on Oct 26th against the New York Islanders.

The Flyers executed a trade Thursday which sent Maxime Talbot to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for forward Steve Downie.  Steve Downie was drafted by the Flyers in the 1st round of the 2005 NHL draft and with his arrival, he is interestingly tied atop the Flyers squad with 7 points.

The Washington Capitals are coming off of a 2-3 Monday night loss to the Vancouver Canucks and are hoping to improve from the matchup.  The loss worsened the Capitals record on the road to 2-4.  They started the game off strong but gave up a 1 goal lead in the 3rd period to the rallying Canucks.  Alex Ovechkin was injured in the 1st period of play (although he finished the game) and will not be making the trip to Philadelphia for the team's Friday night matchup.  Adam Oates has described it as an "upper body" injury and his recovery time is listed as "day to day." Perhaps the rookie Tom Wilson could get some top line minutes.  

The third line of Chimera, Ward and Grabovski has been arguably the hottest line for the Caps as of late.  In the last three games, Chimera has scored a goal in each and the 3rd line has combined for 5 goals and ten total points.  They are excellent at winning board battles and creating scoring chances in all zones of the rink.  With Ovechkin out of the lineup, the Flyers should be anticipating a heavy dose of the 3rd line.

Neuvirth was strong against the Canucks (besides one puck that squirted from his glove for a goal) and is making his case for being marked down as the starting goalie.  The decision will be tough, but given Oates' track record, I expect he'll give the nod to Braden Holtby.

 Zach's Three Keys to the Game:

** Score on the power play- The Caps power play has been quite non-existent the last three games and has dropped from 1st to 5th in the league.  Without their leading goal scorer in the lineup, they'll need to capitalize on special teams.

** Defense- The defense has had a slow start this season and it's time to prove that the amount of talent these players have is capable of showing on the ice.  It's time for Green to lead by example and show the critics he isn't being paid roughly $6 million a year to QB a power play. 

** Line 4- This line hasn't done much this season.  Hopefully, they can throw a point or two on the board and get more aggressive.  Hit people hard, wear out the defense, get some zone time, and throw some pucks on the net.

Thanks for reading,

Zach

Nationals officially name Matt Williams as manager

 

 

     Thursday morning, General Manager Mike Rizzo released what earlier reports suggested, the next manager for the Washington Nationals will be former Arizona Diamondbacks Third Base Coach, Matt Williams.

 Rizzo had a conference call with local reporters today. Here is some of what he had to say about the decision. 

"Matt's performance, first of all his presentation, his communication skills, his knowledge of the ball club, the league, the division, his presence and some of the character traits he possesses were really the difference between he and other very qualified candidates".

Williams and Rizzo go back to 1999 when Rizzo was a scouting director for Arizona and Williams was finishing up his career. Rizzo suggested that Williams wasn't a favorite going into the interview process, which included favorite and current Bench Coach Randy Knorr, Third Base Coach Trent Jewett, Padres front office official Brad Ausmus and Blue Jays Bench Coach DeMarlo Hale. 

"I knew a lot of candidates, and like I said before, they were all terrific interviews and the process went great," said Rizzo.

"It was a very difficult decision, but Matt, we felt, possessed all the characteristics of a successful manager and a guy we think can take us to the next level...We had several internal candidates that were extremely good candidates, we just felt that Matt's message, the way he communicates the message and his demeanor and character was kind of the difference maker, for me."

Shockingly it seems like the coaching staff, for the most part, will stay in tact. Bench Coach Randy Knorr looks to stay put as well as Pitching Coach Steve McCatty. 

"There's not going to be a whole transforming of the coaching staff," Rizzo said. "We're going to try to keep some consistency. But we're not at the point yet where we can announce what the coaching staff consists of." 

Tune in to 106.7 for the official press conference tomorrow afternoon. 

WF

Shades Of Red

2013-14 WASHINGTON WIZARDS ROSTER PREVIEW

With the preseason over and a game in less than 24 hours, the WASHINGTON WIZARDS seem to be poised to actually have a descent season(we hope).
Compiled this season is a team with a nice mix of savvy veterans, young hopefuls and a couple, maybe a few potential stars.
 I'd like to go over each position, player by player and review some statistics and projections from a fan's point of view. Still with me? Good. Let's dig into this roster starting with the front court...

CENTERS

Marcin Gortat- 6'11" 240 lbs. The Wizards traded Emeka Okafor and a conditional 1st round draft choice for this big hunk of meat. His numbers were fine last season in Phoenix with 11 points per game and 8.5 rebounds per game, but if he can in any way duplicate his 2011-12 season where he averaged 15 ppg and 10 rpg, we'll be thanking Grunfeld for making this move and possibly paying him for a few more seasons.

Kevin Seraphin- 6'10" 278 lbs. In his last 3 seasons, he's done nothing but progress, especially in the paint. But you may see a decrease in playing time from this kid if Nene and Gortat stay healthy.

Nene- 6'11" 250 lbs. A very productive F/C in this league for awhile now, the focus on his season will definitely be HEALTH. He's always in line to average 11-13 PPG and around 7-8 RPG. In my opinion his rebounding and scoring capabilities are on the decline and could be on the cusp of Seraphin taking some of his minutes away this season, barring he's even healthy.

FORWARDS

Trevor Ariza- 6'8" 220 lbs. Coming off the bench for 41 games last season and starting 15 for the Wiz, Ariza was a solid backup forward posting 9 PPG. His role will increase to start the season I'm sure, which may lead to an increase in point chances. He's an asset to this team by his resume and basketball IQ, so if he duplicates 9 points and 3 rebounds per game, thats all we can ask for.

Trevor Booker- 6'8" 235 lbs. This guy is ferocious and loves blocking shots. His 5 PPG and 5 RPG should remain about the same but this kid could possibly get 50 blocks this season.

Al Harrington- 6'9" 245 lbs. Veteran Harrington joined the Wizards this offseason and I got excited. Not because of his 5 PPG but because of his ability to work with Booker and the other young forwards and hopefully make them better. His many seasons in the NBA speaks for itself. Get that money big Al.

Otto Porter Jr.- Being a huge Georgetown basketball fan, you'd imagine how far my pants flew off when the Wiz took this kid with the 3rd overall pick in the draft. He reminds me so much of Teshawn Prince, it's pathetic.With a lingering hip flexor that has cost him to not step foot on the court with his teammates this preseason, he's missing an extremely valuable amount of time. How effective he'll be in his first season(if he ever gets healthy) has remained to be seen, but as long as he waits to come back until he's 100%, I love the compliment he gives to Wall and Beal.

Chris Singleton- 6'8" 228 lbs. His 4 points and 3 rebounds per game is probably about what you'll see again from him.

Jan Vesely- 7'0" 242 lbs. Oh Jan Vesely...The 6th overall pick from 2011 has only shown so far that he was not deserving of his draft status. Grunfeld drafted him and compared him to Dirk. Well, so far he's playing like dirt. 2 points and 2 boards a game? I guess you can only improve those numbers, right?

Martell Webster- 6'7" 230 lbs. Had a career year last season while starting 62 games for the Wiz. 11 points and 4 rebounds a game to go along with his 17 blocked shots is pretty productive. Also, Martell became a good free throw shooter last season. Always around 70-something percent from the line, last season he jumped into the 85% range. Looking for another productive year like this from him is not unrealistic.

GUARDS

Bradley Beal- 6'5" 205 lbs. Beal, though his season was cut short due to injury, showed us how great of a shooter he can be. A great 1-2 punch with Wall, he averaged 14 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists a game in his rookie campaign. Look for him to improve all of these numbers as he's now fully healthy and added more to his game in the offseason. Beal is a potential all-star.

Glen Rice Jr.- 6'6" 206 lbs. Rice has shown his scoring ability from the parimeter is something worth watching. Played in the D-League last season and showed well. I'm looking for about a 8-10 point average from him in his rookie year. If that happens, his future with the Wiz at the off-guard position will be more clear. Great upside if he does indeed have his head on straight.

Eric Maynor- 6'3" 175 lbs. A backup guard that will be used sparingly in rotation with Wall and Beal. I don't expect much production from him other than the 2-4 PPG and a few assists. 

Garrett Temple- 6'6" 195 lbs. Temple was productive last season but could possibly be used as the 4th guard on the depth chart and that in turn could bring his production down. Averaging 5 points, 2 boards and 2 assists last season, I'd expect about the same.

John Wall- 6'4" 195 lbs. Wall had a great stretch at the end of last season, averaging 18 points and 8 assists. Another rising star on this team and no doubt the leader of it. With a max contract now, Wall's future is here in Washington. I'd love to see him average 20 points and 10 assists but if he can just raise the assists a bit then I think the offense will be pretty good. Opening up shots for Gortat, Beal, and everyone else should be his focus because teams seem to key in him when they're looking to slow the offense. I'm predicting an All-Star season for Wall in the Eastern Conference.

Game is at 7:30pm tonight in Detroit. 

GO WIZ!

-Will

 

George McPhee - To Stay or GO?

 

I read A LOT of sports articles on the Washington Capitals.  At the end of every article, I scroll through the comments section and see what fans have to say about how the Washington Capitals are performing.  I'll see some comments that are very knowledgeable and others that make our huge fan base look foolish.  Seriously, people write some ridiculous things.  Stuff like, Ovechkin should be traded, and Oates is a horrible coach, and blah blah blah.  One that I've wrapped my brain around is the classic "GMGM needs to go" comment that I see more and more often.  I'm not here to say that GM should stay or go.  I'm simply here to state the facts and let you decide for yourself.

Is George McPhee really the reason the Caps have struggled to bring a Stanley Cup to our nation's capital?  Lets take a look at what George McPhee has done since being hired as the General Manager in 1997.

In McPhee's first season as general manager, the team executed throughout the playoffs and made it's first and only appearance in the Stanley Cup finals but were swept by the Detroit Redwings. He has put pieces in place for the Caps to qualify for the playoffs in 10 of his 15 seasons as GM.

Between 2003 and 2007, (one season cancelled due to lockout) McPhee spent some time tearing the team apart and rebuilding a contender.  He went about his rebuilding the correct way, utilizing the draft to push youth and talent into the lineup.  Some of the players he drafted were starters after their first camp and others were drafted and developed in the Caps affiliate leagues.  With the help of McPhee's drafts, the Hershey Bears made it to the Calder Cup championship four times in five seasons between 2005 and 2010 and won the Calder cup three times in that span.

McPhee had a shaky start at drafting in his first five drafts and only two of the players he drafted in that span became NHL regulars (Brian Sutherby and Matt Pettinger.)  Since then he's had a better record of recognizing NHL level talent.  He has drafted some impact players and a lot of NHL caliber guys. These guys would include: Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green, Eric Fehr, Boyd Gordan, Semyon Varlamov, Michael Neuvirth, Jeff Shultz, John Carlson, Marcus Johansson, Karl Alzner, Mathieu Perreault, Braden Holtby, Cody Eakin, Filip Forsberg, and Tom Wilson.  He has also drafted prospects that are playing in leagues around the world that are developing into NHL starters as well.  These guys include Evgeny Kuznetsov, Philipp Grubauer, Andre Burakovsky, Riley Barber, and Madison Bowey.  Kuznetsov has been a NHL top prospect for a few years and would be an incredible addition to the Caps if he would leave Russia. Andre Burakovsky has 9 goals and 18 points in 13 games in his first year in the OHL.  McPhee has had a few busts (Anton Gustafson is probably the biggest) but so have the other GMs around the league.

McPhee has done everything possible to get this team past the 2nd round of the playoffs.  He has traded draft picks and prospects and signed players with leadership and every style and skillset in the offseason and before the deadline to help get this team over the hump.  He has fired and hired coaches to apply different systems into this squad.  What else does he have to do?  He can't trade away the team and start over at this point.  He has great players waiting in the wings.

The defense is struggling and everyone should trust that it has McPhee's full attention.  This league is conducted as a business and there isn't a magic move that can put the big, physical defensemen that we need on the blue line.  Guys like that are few and far between.  Maybe McPhee's recent waiver pick up (Alexander Urbom) can learn this system and provide that presence.  The defensemen currently in the lineup have a ton of talent.  You can't knock McPhee for putting it there.  It's time for the talent to blend.  It's time for these players to play to their capabilities and help this team get what they've never gotten. 

It's time for everyone to realize the fact that George McPhee is only getting better as time passes.  He's helped this team win seven Southeast division championships and set a club record for wins and points in 2009-10.  When a Presidents Trophy winning team is put on the ice by a general manager, and they lose in the first round of the playoffs to an 8th seeded team, should the blame be placed on the general manager, or the players and coaches? 

When McPhee hired Adam Oates, he hired an ex player who is in the Hall of Fame.  The amount of respect between players and coaches is at a level it has never been before.  Let's hope George McPhee's recognition of this need is what the Caps will need to get their names imprinted on the Lord Stanley's Cup.  There's 70 games left to be played this season.  With the level of talent on this roster, I know I'll be watching.

Zach

Washington vs. Denver; A win that never was....

Again the inconsistency of the Redskins was on display for the entire Nation to see.  The flashes of brilliance shown by the defense were only matched by the complete inability to stop the deep pass.  Manning and the Denver Broncos overcame four turnovers and a two-touchdown deficit to score the last 38 points in what would be a 45-21 runaway over the former Denver coach's current team. 
Manning threw for 354 yards and four touchdowns and the Denver defense came up with a season-high five turnovers -- more than enough to overcome three interceptions and a lost fumble by the Broncos quarterback. 
After DeAngelo Hall returned one of Manning's interceptions 26 yards for a 21-7 lead, Manning began a meticulous run of football that saw the Broncos (7-1) use a total of 27 plays to go 75 and 83 yards for two touchdowns that tied the game.
 "It was like a blur," Hall said.  "Someone asked me, 'What went wrong, what happened?'  To be brutally honest, I don't remember.  I looked up one point, 21-7, felt good, everybody smiling.  Turned around and it ... was 38-21."
The Redskins have to get back to the basics.  RUN, RUN, RUN.... Alfred Morris had 17 carries for 93 yards and a touchdown.   Morris is averaging 5.2 yards per carry this season and is the answer to the Skins' offensive struggles.  As soon as the Shanahans realize that the answer to helping out a struggling RG3 is already in the backfield with him, the quicker the team will get back in the win column. 
RG3 isn't the savior folks, at least not yet.  He's a second year QB who is struggling to wrap his head around the complex defenses that the NFL offers week in and week out.  Get back to the bread and butter that won us a NFC East championship last year- the read option, and with that  change, comes success.

Was	Den
First downs	22	29
Total Net Yards	266	446
Rushes-yards	28-112	34-107
Passing	154	339
Punt Returns	2-36	1-10
Kickoff Returns	0-0	1-30
Interceptions Ret.	3-42	4-97
Comp-Att-Int	20-39-4	30-44-3
Sacked-Yards Lost	3-26	2-15
Punts	7-39.1	3-49.0
Fumbles-Lost	3-1	1-1
Penalties-Yards	1-5	6-57
Time of Possession	28:00	32:00

___

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING_Washington, Morris 17-93, Helu Jr. 5-11, Griffin III 5-7, Cousins 1-1. Denver, Moreno 14-44, Ball 11-37, Anderson 4-22, Holliday 1-7, Manning 4-(minus 3).

PASSING_Washington, Griffin III 15-30-2-132, Cousins 5-9-2-48. Denver, Manning 30-44-3-354.

RECEIVING_Washington, Reed 8-90, Garcon 7-46, Moss 2-20, Helu Jr. 1-14, Hankerson 1-7, Morgan 1-3. Denver, D.Thomas 7-75, Moreno 6-89, Welker 6-81, Decker 4-42, J.Thomas 3-29, Dreessen 2-9, Tamme 1-15, Caldwell 1-14.

MISSED FIELD GOALS_None.

 

Lets look forward to a big win next week....

Rich Facciolo
Football Columnist
Shades of Red

Capitals vs. Canucks - Preview

The Vancouver Canucks (8-4-1) will host the Washington Capitals (5-6-0) tonight at Rogers Arena.  Puck drop is scheduled for 10:00pm.

The Caps are looking to improve their 2-3 road record and rebound from Saturday's 2-5 loss to the Calgary Flames. In the loss, Braden Holtby was yanked from the ice during the 1st period, after surrendering 3 goals on 14 shots.  Neuvirth allowed an additional 2 goals on 19 shots in his replacement role.  The two goals for the Caps were scored by Aaron Volpatti and Jason Chimera.  Ovechkin was held pointless for the 3rd time in 11 games this season but is still leading the league in shots on goal and is tied for most goals atop the league with Alexander Steen (St. Louis Blues) at 10 each. Neuvirth is getting the nod from Oates tonight.

The Canucks look to extend their 3 game winning streak and are playing their first game at home since wrapping up their 7 game road trip which saw them go 5-1-1. Roberto Luongo is expected to get the start in net and has a 2.30 goals against average in 33 games against the Capitals. The Canucks have dominated the Caps in their most recent matchups. They've won the last 3 and 8 of the last 9 games played.

The Caps are going to have to play at their highest level tonight to slow down the talented Canucks team coached by John Tortorella. Hopefully the defense can make some crisp passes out of the zone to eliminate the dump n' chase.  The Caps get more pucks to the net when they carry the puck across the blue line and look to set up plays and create.  The defense will be put to the test early and often.  It's time for the Caps to show they're better then their record suggests.

Note: Aaron Volpatti returns to Vancouver for his first time since the Canucks placed him on waivers last February. Canucks fans loved Volpatti's physical game and voiced their frustration to the Canucks GM Mike Gillis for giving the tough guy away. Let's hope Volpatti is in the line up and playing with a bit of a chip on his shoulder.

Zach's 3 Keys to the Game:

** Get on the board early- The Caps don't want to play "catch up" in this one. They should look to take the lead early, strip the momentum from this powerful Canucks team, and quiet their fans.

** Win the board battles- The battle of the boards could very well be the key to victory for the Caps. Look for Oates to deliver a heavy dose of the Chimera/Ward/Grabovski line. They are extremely good at winning the board battles and creating scoring opportunities from all three zones.

**Aggressive defense- The Canucks have a powerful/creative group of forwards. Our defense needs to hit hard and often and keep the puck to the boards. If they give Ryan Kesler and the Sedin brothers the center of the ice, the consequences could be deadly. Shot blocking will be key.

G O   C A P S !

Zach
.

Nationals to hire Matt Williams as Davey Johnson's successor

           Thought to be General Manager Mike Rizzo's top candidate, sources have confirmed that the Nationals intend to make Matt Williams the next manager of the team. Rizzo has given us a few hints that this was apparent, heres a quote: “You screwed up, Matt Williams put you in a locker. And that was end of it. Mark Grace, Matt Williams, Jay Bell, Luis Gonzalez — those were the guys who gave the fines, jump peoples’ asses, put a guy in a locker.”

             They also intend to keep bench coach Randy Knorr in the same position. Knorr was the favorite in the clubhouse and of most fans collectively based on the simple fact of keeping the continuity and spirit of the club together. The dilemma they're faced with now is the entire coaching staff. It's doubtful that hitting coach Rick Shu, pitching coach Steve McCatty, 3b coach Trent Jewette and 1b coach Tony Turrasco keep their jobs. Managers usually have their own people in mind when it comes to hiring a staff and full turnover usually happens in the case of hiring a manager outside of the organization. In any case, obviously keeping Knorr as bench coach is smart but will he take it? Only time will tell. -William