October 7, 2007

Carolina Hurricanes at Washington Capitals, Home Opener Impressions

Kurt wrote this mid-morning:

This one I couldn’t miss: I bought a family pack of tickets a couple of weeks ago and dragged (okay, not so much dragged) my loved ones all up to D.C. from Maryland for the day.

My quick thoughts:

  • The first period had the Capitals coming out with something to prove; there was only 6:30 left in the first period before the Canes could get the puck, work it into the offensive zone, and get a shot on goal off, and shots in the first period were a fairly stunning 14-2 in favor of the Capitals.  This possession hockey style is really starting to pay off for the players and coaching staff; I’m surprised they didn’t move to it sooner, because even the players already on the roster are thriving under the new system.  Whether that’s because they finally have some centers who can skate the puck (ex. “Oh, there’s Nylander holding onto the puck… again”), or the blueline is a year older and a season more experienced and can ease the pressure on the forwards, I don’t know.
  • Cam Ward looked sharper than he did in their opener, and you can’t begrudge any goalie 2 goals on thirty-odd shots.  Still, if the ‘Canes are going to come out this lifeless every night, he’s going to have to get even sharper to keep them in contention in the Southeast.
  • The new Capitals home red jerseys look astonishingly sharp on the ice; the numbers are easy to read even from above the blimps, and they look fantastic in action.
  • The wasted 4-minute power play was a little painful; Poti should have kept the puck in at the blueline a little more often, but that will come as the chemistry improves on the power play.
  • The penalty kill looked great, especially in the first.  The Capitals are doing a great job of shutting down the lanes early in the game, although they seemed to be underpursuing a little in the third.  Again, this brings up the worrying prospect of a conditioning issue (although they didn’t look like they were sucking wind late).
  • Ovechkin has somehow spent the summer turning himself into a fantastic two-way player.  He’s still not going to be a replacement blueliner, but with his back-checking on Friday and his shot-blocking and hitting last night, he’s showing that this could be the season that he finally matures from premier offensive threat into the one player you have to watch all the time when he’s on the ice, no matter what the situation.
  • Speaking of Ovechkin, I was pretty skeptical at the beginning of camp that there was enough chemistry between Ovechkin and Kozlov to justify playing Kozlov at first-line center, but a few more games like that and I’ll be a believer.  The drop-pass to Ovechkin for his goal was a thing of beauty, and Kozlov can skate it around the zone when he needs to (although not as well as Nylander).

Coming out of this game seeing the Capitals with a 2-0-0 record, I’m a lot more optimistic than I was even after their first win over the Thrashers.  I’m still skeptical of Florida as a threat this year, so once the Capitals show they can bring the game to the Lightning and dominate them, I’ll be ready to start thinking of them as the team to beat in the Southeast.

* Filed under: Hockey

One Response to “Carolina Hurricanes at Washington Capitals, Home Opener Impressions”

  1. The Old Man Says:
    October 7th, 2007 at 11:10 am

    Yeah, it took little dragging as hockey is in the family bloodline. Multigenerational hockey fan history.

    My impressions:

    1) there’s a good pre-game atmosphere developing around the Verizon Center in downtown DC. Visible Capital crowds on the streets and in the restaurants and bars. Good efforts by the team to get the street scene going before the game with Segway promo and street dancing. Hope that lasts into the season.

    2) The pre-game and intermission activities (videos, youth hockey, etc) worked well. I don’t know if it’ll all get old, but also hope it’ll stay fresh into the season. The new center ice hi def screen was great.

    3) Caps played great hockey on all levels. I REALLY hope that lasts through the season!

    4) I think the Washington hockey crowd is developing some appreciation of the game. There seems to be acknowledgment of good hockey (PK kills, hustle etc) and not just good saves or goals. Reminds me a bit of a Canadian hockey crowd that wants to see good fundamental hockey.

    5) After the game, lots of folks on the streets wanting to know the score. A good sign……

    The Old Man

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