RiSeOnFiRe

Well Theo had himself a solid game last night. The Team looked pretty good, except for their breakdown at the end of the game. Theo had to make too many saves at the end. It seems like their best defense is when they're on the attack. When they ease up on the forecheck and let the other teams hit the blueline with some speed, they crumble. A lot of the forwards seemed to be spinning around. I'd like them to be attacking even at the end of the game just to see how it works. Im intrested in seeing how they look tonight with their new lineup against Tampa. Id assume Carlson is sent back down to make room for Corvo and Erskine is scratched for Juice. Also Fleishmann will be moved back to the wing to make room for Belanger. Taking a stab at the lines: OV-Backs-Knuble Flash-BMO-Semin Laich-Belanger-Chimera Bradley/Gordon-Steckel-Fehr The 2nd n 3rd line will be played with a little to find the best fit.

Not a fan of Richards, but he gets a little respect back for that one. This is why fighting needs to stay in the game. Instead of a cheap shot back at Richards, a little tussle and the score is settled. As for the goalie situation, here are the 2010 UFA via NHLnumbers: Turco, Marty 35 Nabokov, Evgeni 35 Theodore, Jose 34 Toskala, Vesa 34 Mason, Chris 35 Ellis, Dan 31 Emery, Ray 28 Biron, Martin 33 Budaj, Peter 28 Hedberg, Johan 38 Lalime, Patrick 36 Niittymaki, Antero 31 Johnson, Brent 34 Raycroft, Andrew 31 Leighton, Michael 30 The list is long, but very few are number 1 quality. Nitty, Theodore and Nabakov are the best of the group, and Johnson being an extremely good backup. Their best bet is to go for Theo whose making 4.5 this season. With Rathje coming off the cap hit, they might have enough to sign him for just under what hes making now. Maybe move a little salary around, because he is playing quite well right now in Washington. Or, give Emery one more shot... but that did't work out well this year.

I can't see the Flyers doing much damage in the playoffs with their cast of characters in net. I was shocked they didn't make a deal for one.

Uhh.. it IS Burke... lol. Not sure if you noticed or not but the mouth and words didn't match up.

Theo was scheduled to start tonight, but he got thrown into the game last night and let up 3. I hope Varly is ready to go tonight. He hasnt played since Dec. 7th or 2nd or something like that. It'll be interesting to see how the Caps play tonight. They just had their 14 game win streak snapped, so do they take a night off? Or do they take it personal and rip up Ottawa?

easy with the caps lock there bud. And seeing as Neuvy came off in the 2nd, i would wager Varlamov will be dressed tonight against Ottawa. Not sure if he will start or not though.

He hasn't already? *GMGM laughs and hangs up the phone*

How long do you go until a shakeup is needed? Some people are calling for Julien to be fired.

The craziest part is the advances in net. The goalies are bigger, more agile and have refined their skills. They are lightyears ahead of the netminders in the past. It's a great time to be a fan right now.

Pretty sure i called it a while back in this thread. They are mirroring Montreal, just delayed one year.

How does a combo of Hall/Seguin/Fowler sound?

Well, one streak or another has to end there. :) Unless it ends in Montreal first :P I hope not. The two longest win streaks since 02-03 head to head? Wow that'd be one hell of a game. That would be Stanley Cup level action.

12 in a row. No big deal. OV with the goal of the year. I wonder how long this can last? They play ATL on friday, seems like a win to me. Then Pitts on Sunday. What a game that will be. Montreal and Ottawa after that.

I thougth he was in some of the practice footage of Dion's first practice...I assuemd he may be close to returning...then I hear all this "season is over' stuff. When they said his spot on Team USA was in jeopardy, I assumed they meant becasue he would be out of game shape from not playing...not becuase the injury was so bad. I'm pretty sure its a shoulder injury, and that hes still been skating so maybe he was just practicing in all the drills except for the ones that involve contact. An article in the star said that Burke originally stated that Komi would have to play at least 5 games before the olympics in order to play. If he is able to play in this next, it will be four games instead and Burke said he'd make an exception to what he said. Apparently he was supposed to see the doctor today, so i guess his olympics are riding on what they say to him. Doc says done for the season. Him and Martin will be replaced by Whitney and/or Gleason on Team USA.

Make it 11 now. Franchise record. And uh oh, the Capitals are getting goaltending from Jose Threeormore. With Varly coming back soon they are really going to battle for that number 1 spot. I wouldn't be suprised to see them stand pat at the deadline. They have allowed 2 or less goals in the last 6 games. Its not just scoring, they are keeping the puck out of their own net too. Oh, and this little tidbit: With Ovechkin and their captain, the Capitals are 14-1.

This is probably true unless they start playing much better. The top 4 teams in the East and maybe Ottawa have all been consistently better than the 8 teams behind them. Im not sure im sold on Ottawa yet. Wash, Buff, NJ, and Pitt are defiantly a cut above the rest. Ottawa needs to keep this hot streak up over a longer period of time. After that, its anybody's guess who gets those final playoff spots. I don't watch the Bs enough to know if this is a trend or not, but no one on that squad jumped out at me. The whole team looked bland.

yeaaa... good luck with the Caps tonight. They're on a 10 game winning streak. Boston will be a 6-8 playoff seed, but I don't think they will do much damage in the playoffs.

I find it ironic that for a team with so much history and a fanbase with so much passion, they can't seem to keep it together. One controversy after another. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=307852 Markov tells Price, 'If you are not going to play with heart, stay home. We don't need you here.' Oh the love.

haha great article. Gotta say, being an Islanders and Capitals fan, i pull for the Penguins every time they play the Flyers.

He was well on his way to returning to NHL action before suffering a knee injury in Hershey. He hasn't started since Dec. 7th and given platoon of Theo and Neuvy, I don't see any reason for him to be rushed back. It could be a few days, or another week or two. To answer your question, no there seems to be no timetable.

LOL you missed our party with me, Neil, Jamey, Drew and David Perron. That was fun. Drew and I witnessed a guy last night rack up 82 kills in Domination: Terminal. Wasn't cheating. Its not hard to hit 60+ kills in that game type. Especially on Terminal. The highest kill total i got was 71 which happened to be on Terminal in Domination. Go figure.

Sooo, these refs might be the worst I've seen in a while. Where are all the calls? Staals blatant trip at the end of the 2nd?? Seriously refs, open your eyes. Both teams are getting away with a lot.

Plus resting them would have gotten them a 1-4 spanking last night lol. But i agree with Fireonice, if your going to rest players, do it against the weaker western teams. Or a spot in the schedule where there are multiple days off to let them recover a bit. Youth is not a substitute for rest. Despite their age they will be tired come playoffs if they arnt already. Doesnt mean they cant win the cup again, but it certainly does not help.

I dare the penguins to rest their players against the Islanders.

Isn't that his 1st of the year? ;)