Capitals prove mortal against Blue Jackets

Deja-vu all over again.

The Capitals went into last nights game hoping to keep to streaks in tact. Firstly, the club was going for it's tenth straight home victory, which would tie the record set by the 2000-01 team.

Secondly, Jose Theodore was vying for his 7th straight win which would tie his all time record which he set in the 2001-02 season.

Neither statistic was achieved as the Caps were blanked for the second time this season by Calder Trophy front runner Steve Mason.

Mason warded off all 45 shots he faced, notching his 14th win and 6th shutout of the season.


The 20 year old Oakville, Ontario native leads the NHL in GAA (1.74), SV% (.938) and shutouts (6)

Meanwhile the Capitals had Sergei Fedorov and Tomas Fleischmann return to their line-up last night, both of whom had rather pedestrian outings. Jeff Schultz is back on the shelf as he is still struggling with his broken finger. Tyler Sloan was recalled for yesterday's game, and will suit up again tonight in Montreal.

Washington has not lost in back-to-back games since their injury riddled western road trip in November when they dropped games to Los Angeles and San Jose.

Let's hope that this streak continues. As they say, "one outta three ain't bad."

Roster Shake-Up for tonight's game.

As predicted, Jeff Schultz was placed on LTIR today and Sami Lepisto was called up in his place.

However, there was more juggling that followed as team captain Chris Clark was also placed on LTIR with a forearm injury.

This also allowed the Capitals to call up Karl Alzner, Chris Bourque and Graham Mink.

Tonight's rosters will look like this:

Forwards
Ovechkin-Backstrom-Kozlov
Fleischmann-Nylander-Fehr
Bourque-Laich-Bradley
Brashear-Steckel-Mink

Defense
Sloan-Poti
Alzner-Jurcina
Lepisto-Morrisonn

Goalies
Theodore
Johnson

FEAR THE WEAGLE will be shutting down for American Thanksgiving and would like to wish their American readers a safe and joyful holiday.

The Walking Wounded return to D.C.

Just when things couldn't get much worse for the Capitals in terms of injuries, they did.

Closing out a five game road trip that saw the club go 1-3-1, including losing the last three in a row, Washington suffered their biggest blow last night in Minnesota, losing three more players in a 4-3 loss.

Jeff Schultz, Boyd Gordon and John Erskine all left the game due to injuries. Schultz suffers from the most serious ailment, breaking a finger which will sideline him for 4-6 weeks.

Gordon and Erskine are now both listed as day-to-day, joining fellow teammates Mike Green, Alexander Semin, and Sergei Fedorov.

Both Green and Semin should be ready to return to the line-up for either Wednesday or Friday's games, while Fedorov is still uncertain.

The loss of Schultz is particularly concerning, given the total lack of cap space and healthy defenders. It is rumored that he will be placed on LTIR (Long Term Injury Reserve) where he will join Brian Pothier who is suffering a career threatening concussion.


Being placed on the LTIR would mean that Schultz must remain out of the line-up for both 24 days and 10 games, slating his return for late December.

It is likely that Erskine will play through his soreness as Sami Lepisto is the likely candidate to be called up from Hershey to fill in for Schultz.

The Capitals now return home to face the Atlanta Thrashers in the hopes of breaking a three game regulation losing streak, the longest in Bruce Boudreau's tenure as coach.

More information on the Capitals injury bug can be followed on Tarik El-Bashir's blog, an excellent source for up to date team news.

Pre-Game Thoughts: 10/21/08 Washington Capitals at Calgary Flames

For 27 year old defenseman Tyler Sloan, Hollywood itself could not have delivered a better script. The rugged Calgary, Alberta native has been a career journeyman through the ECHL and AHL ranks, not yet having a chance to suit up for NHL action, excluding preseason.

Until tonight.

And what better way for Sloan to get his first crack at the bigs than in his home town in front of his family and friends.

"I didn't think it was going to be this soon, but I'm ecstatic," Sloan said of the call-up. "I'm going to Calgary, my hometown, you can't ask for any more than that."

Sloan will indeed have his work cut out for him, joining a depleted defensive corps who is without the veteran leadership of Tom Poti. Poti is sidelined with a groin injury and will not suit up for tonight's game. This will give Sloan an opportunity to see ice-time both at even strength, and most probably on the penalty kill as well.

Sloan will not be the only home town boy in a Capitals uniform tonight fellow defensemen Mike Green and Jeff Schultz also hail from The Stampede City.

Washington will be taking on a Calgary Flames club that hasn't quite lived up to their standards so far this season. A team that prides itself on defense has yet to find a way to put it all together, sputtering out to a 1-3-1 start to their year.

However the off-season acquisitions of Todd Bertuzzi and Mike Cammalleri seem to be paying off as they are both producing at a point per game status.

It will be important for the Capitals to perform as they did against Vancouver, in regards to using their offense as their best form of defense. In that game they held the Canucks to only 10 shots on goal, and coasting to an easy 5-1 win. Given the injures to not only Poti, but Viktor Kozlov and Donald Brashear, Washington will have to use their strong fore check and team play to cover for their lack of man power.

So far this season, Jose Theodore has paralleled A Tale of Two Cities, a Charles Dickens classic to many a Caps fan. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." That has essentially summed it up for the French Canadian net minder who has shown flashes of brilliance, but also hasn't erased the memories of the last three seasons of the Olaf Kolzig era (1995-2008). His play has been indicative of his confidence, which seems to fluctuate as the game progresses. It will be interesting to see if he can put in his first well rounded performance of the season tonight.

For the Flames, word is that Curtis McElhinney may get the start tonight, but that has yet to be confirmed nor denied, so for the time being we will assume it will be Mikka Kiprusoff in the pipes.

Here's hoping Tyler Sloan writes himself into the record books in a very special way.

Opinion: Bourque and Alzner will make the team.

After closely following the Capitals preseason, it is of my opinion that both speedy winger Chris Bourque and rookie defenseman Karl Alzner will both be on the teams opening night roster.

The 22 year old Bourque is having a tremendously proficient preseason statistically, notching 2 goals and 3 assists in 4 appearances. Last night he tallied a primary assist on Tomas Fleischmann's power play goal and at only 5'8", he was a noticeable force making plays all over the ice.

Alzner was drafted 5th overall in the 2007 draft and his play thus far should have Los Angeles Kings fans questioning the selection of Thomas Hickey, who was picked 4th overall. Though Alzner has been held off the stat sheet, he has been very effective defensively. His calm and cool demenaor with the puck allows for a smooth up ice transition and he rarely turns pucks over. He has a very long reach and is extremely effective with his stick against the oncoming rush. Last night he showed some grit against Philly, getting aggressive with Flyers forwards in the corners. His passive nature on defense had some comparing him to Jeff Schultz, but last night he proved he can get physical. In 4 preseason games he has logged on average 19:35 minutes a game and seems to have chemistry with Capitals veteran Tom Poti. Also, Jeff Schultz has proven so far that he is able to play independently on the blue line and not rely on his partner to bail him out, which benefits Alzner.

Of the two, Alzner is more likely to make the club as it seems to be a numbers game at forward. Both players are waiver exempt and risk being assigned to Hershey so the Capitlas don't have to expose another player to waivers. Also you would have to consider the fact that Washington is teetering up against the salary cap and it will be a difficult task to fit both these players in their lineup. However, no matter what happens, both these young prospects will be first call ups when the time arrives.