Nylander wants out?; Plus other Capitals notes.

After being scratched from the Capitals line-up for last nights game, Michael Nylander vented to Capitals Insider Tarik El-Bashir about the situation.

"I feel good on the ice, but it doesn't matter. We'll have to see what we can do, what happens."

When I asked him if his struggles were the result of his playing style not meshing with Boudreau's, Nylander said: "I don't know. I am not the coach. What can I say? This is the way he wants to do it. I just have to figure a way around it."

"I know how the system works," he added. "I don't have a problem with the system. The system is quite easily played."

His comments may hint at the fact he wants to be traded to a team that uses him more effectively and give him more ice time.

Nylander is in the second year of a 4 year term, and his $4,875,000 contract could prove difficult to unload at the trade deadline.

Also of note, Bryan Helmer, Karl Alzner and Daren Machesney were all returned to Hershey today. It is likely that Alzner could return to the Capitals line-up after the All-Star festivities have ended.

Also, Nicklas Backstrom will fore go the All-Star Young Stars game citing that he "felt like it made more sense to give someone else that opportunity and use this time to rest and prepare for the second half of the season with the Capitals."

He assured the press that his decision is not injury related.

Finally, Capitals prospects Michael Neuvirth and Travis Morin took their part in the ECHL All-Star game tonight in Reading, PA. The American All-Stars (Morin, Neuvirth and co.) topped the National Roster 11-5.

Morin finished the game with 2 assists while Neuvirth stopped 19 of 20 shots in the third period of the contest.

Ovechkin chips in as Capitals break losing streak.

Nothing remedies a losing streak better than a six goal outing. Tonight the Capitals were able to break out of their recent funk, notching a 6-3 victory over rival Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Capitals continued the trend of falling behind early as an Evgeni Malkin power play marker had the Pens take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

It didn't take long for the Capitals to cut the deficit, as Viktor Kozlov scored his 10th of the season 1:06 into the second frame. Miroslav Satan and Alexander Semin traded goals through the midway point of the period, as both clubs hit the locker room knotted in a 2-2 tie.

However it was in the third period that Alexander Ovechkin took over.

Ovechkin marked his 27th goal of the season midway through a Capitals power play early in the third. Soon after Pittsburgh had tied the game again, he provided the primary assist on a Tomas Fleischmann goal that turned out to be the game winner. And for an encore, he scored once more off the skate of Pittsbugh defenseman Brooks Orpik to give Washington a comfortable 5-3 lead.

Jeff Schultz would later mark a short-handed empty net goal, his first on the campaign.

For the most part, Washington's defense was able to keep the duo of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin silent, as they managed only 3 points combined in a losing effort.

Crosby left the game twice with an apparent leg injury.

Jose Theodore was sharp, stopping 26 shots in the victory, including some clutch saves on a Pittsbugh man advantage in the third.

Nicklas Backstrom tallied three assists while the afformentioned Tomas Fleischmann finished with a goal and an assist. Brooks Laich also had a productive game, registering 5 shots and 2 assists.

The Caps next action is set to take place Saturday as they will clash with the Eastern Conference leading Boston Bruins at the Verizon Center.

Backstrom and Green get All-Star snub.

As usual, Fear the Weagle is late to the party. But this topic - which has been churned over the course of the day in Capitals Nation - was just too juicy to pass up.

So here's the short of it: Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green have been left off the Eastern Conference's All-Star roster, the only Capital to be named to the squad was superstar Alexander Ovechkin - a "gimme" of a pick.

Apparently someone at the NHL's head office didn't get the memo regarding the Capitals being one of the leagues elite teams this first half, not to mention the individual success of both Backstrom and Green.

This is just another prime example of how badly the NHL mismanages the way they market their game, and how it prohibits them from gaining any points in the popularity column in their attempts to win over new fans.

Backstrom ranks fourth in the league in assists this season with 33. Sorry NHL fans, but he won't be displayed at this event. Instead you can enjoy the underwhelming play of Carolina Hurricanes center Eric Staal who is on pace for a less than astounding 64 points, which would be his lowest output since his rookie campaign, when he marked 31.

Yep, he's an all-star folks. Granted he's all Carolina has to offer in terms of sheer talent, wouldn't it be better to give the spot to someone more deserving?

This brings us to Mike Green.

Green comes into the midway point ranked 3rd in Eastern Conference defenseman, tallying 26 points in 28 games. His 10 goals are good for 4th overall in the NHL. Well again, our apologies, but you'll have to make due with Mike Komisarek, the epitome of a defensive defenseman (albeit it one of the best in the NHL). Komisarek will undoubtedly put on a show in this exhibition, as his 3 points in 20 games speak volumes for his gifted offensive game.

Please.

The NHL needs to stop these nonsensical tactics, allowing the fans to pick their starting line-up. Time to give the vote to the coaches of the NHL who ice rosters much more flattering in showcasing what the NHL has to offer. Montreal fans only managed to get one starter right, defenseman Andrei Markov who is having a stellar year for the Habs.

Saku Koivu? Honestly? He's hardly a second line center on his own team let alone an All-Star starter.

Carey Price? Well excuse me but Tim Thomas and the stat book beg to differ.

In the NHL, the stats don't always tell the whole story, but rarely do they lie (exception being +/- in a handful of cases).

Hopefully fans of the NHL will enjoy watching the Montreal Canadiens, plus Sidney Crosby take on the best of the Western Conference, because I for sure will not.

But hey, hopefully George McPhee will be able to use this as leverage when negotiating contracts and awarding bonus incentives.

Be that as it may, Jose Theodore was able to put it best:

"The league really should review the system, especially for the starting lineup," he said. "Ovie not in the starting lineup takes away from the selections. The league needs to do something about it."

I think all fans of the game can agree with that. This has gone way past a popularity contest and is now bordering on a new definition for sad.

Enjoy you stuffed ballot Habs fans.

Caps down Habs 2-1.

It wasn't pretty, but I'm sure that if you asked the Washington Capitals, they wouldn't have much to complain about in Saturday's victory.

The Capitals entered a hostile environment on a national stage and were able to gut out a 2-1 victory over an ailing Canadiens team, facing the same ordeals which plagued Washington up until Friday.

Washington was first on the board as Nicklas Backstrom netted a power play goal mid way though the first. They finished 1-4 on the mad advantage for the night.

Montreal meanwhile could not get things going offensively throughout the first part of this game. Stars like Alexei Kovalev, Alex Tanguay and former Cap Robert Lang were largely ineffective - especially on the man advantage - going 0-8 on the night. Montreal's power play has struggled greatly, and is now ranked 26th overall in the league, a unit that has been a league leader the past two years, now stagnant.

Les Habitants tied the game late in the second period on a Patrice Brisebois rocket which beat rookie goaltender Simeon Varlamov over his shoulder.

The game would remain deadlocked until the final five minutes of the third period when a slumping Michael Nylander potted his third goal on the year, and his first in 26 games off the left pad of Jaroslav Halak.

Varlamov went on to stop 32 of 33 shots in his NHL debut.

Notes:

-Nicklas Backstrom, Tyler Sloan and Sergei Fedorov all left the game with injuries. Backstrom seemed to be ailing from migraines, something he has had in the past, which is believed not to be serious. The status of Sloan and Fedorov is uncertain, and should be updated tomorrow.

-Simeon Varlamov looked rather impressive in his first National Hockey League game, and personally left me wishing I would be able to see more from him. He has a very aggressive style of play as he likes to get way out of his crease to challenge shooters and it worked like a charm last night as he was named the games first star. I was taken aback by the calm yet intense demeanor that he displayed, playing in arguably the toughest arena to start a professional career in, not to mention the most important night of the week in Canada. Nothing fazed him, most notably in the third period when he stopped all 14 shots he faced. The future seems bright for this young net minder.

-Washington will head to Long Island on Tuesday for their next game with the Islanders. If you are a fan up in Canada (like me), the game will be available on TSN2.

OBS: A Recipe for Success

OBS. If you were to describe the acronym, words like dazzling, sensational or maybe just sick.

Ovechkin, Backstrom, Semin.

Last year it was known as the OBK Line (Ovechkin-Backstrom-Kozlov) which was leaned on heavily for offensive production in the second half of the season, and were large in part the reason that the Capitals won the Southeast Division.

However early on in the season, OBK was not generating the success that it saw last year. Ovechkin was off to a slow start, as was Kozlov. As for Backstrom, there were extended periods where you were unsure if he was still in the line-up.

Merely a few weeks ago, Kozlov went down with an injury, Ovechkin was returning from a trip to Moscow and Backstrom was demoted to third line duties. When very little seemed to be working offensively, coach Bruce Boudreau decided it was time to put all his eggs in one basket.

Before Sergei Fedorov went down with an injury, he was given the duty of centering the first line. But with him out of the line-up, Backstrom was given a chance at some redemption.

So far the decision has been paying huge dividends, and is making Boudreau look like a genius.

Alexander Semin has been a monster this season. With 13 goals and 14 assists (27 points) in only 15 games this season, is well on his way to surpass his 43 point season last year. He has been leaned on almost exclusively to fashion points for the Capitals as they found ways to win tough games. Since being united with Backstrom and Ovechkin 4 games ago, he has 5 goals and 5 assists.

Semin, however is not the only one benefiting from the new line combos.

Alexander Ovechkin is back with a vengeance. He has scored goals in back to back games, and seems to be getting back on track with his offensive production, marking 2 goals and 6 assists with his new line mates.

Most impressive however has been Backstrom who has been stagnant early on this season. Being moved to the third line seemed to have lit a fire under him as he has put up 1 goal and 5 assists in his last 3 games, most notably a four point showing at Carolina on Tuesday.

It seems that the Capitals are an entirely different team with the newly assembled OBS Line, and Washington has been putting together complete performances from top to bottom, something which has been lacking to this point.

Tonight the potent OBS Line will take on the Martin Broduer-less New Jersey Devils, which has the Capitals fan base eager to get this one started.

Alexander Ovechkin: Image of the Invisible

Since his 2005-06 rookie campaign, no one in the NHL has scored more goals than Alexander Ovechkin. The only player who comes close to the Russian superstar is Dany Heatley of the Ottawa Senators, and there is still a gap between the two.

The fact of the matter is that each year Ovechkin has set his sights on a higher goal and a new standard for himself. Last season he broke Luc Robitaille's record for goals in a season, finishing with 65, which eclipsed the previous mark of 63 set by the long time King. Those 65 goals also won him the Maurice Richard Trophy.

Alex has proven that neither the hype, nor the pressure the pressure, or even the opponent can stand in his way as he has been a one man wrecking crew for as long as he has been a Capital.

That's why his start to this season has been so disappointing.

Ovechkin has played in nine games so far this year, putting up a modest five points (2G, 3A). His two markers came in the same game versus the Blackhawks in the second game of the year.

The team has sputtered out of the gates, and the lack of production from number eight is largely the reason for their 5-4-2 mark.

Lets be honest, Nicklas Backstrom, Chris Clark and Viktor Kozlov haven't been the best line mates this year, however that's never stopped Alexander in the past. Dainius Zubrus and Jeff Halpren are still thanking him for the payouts they received in the free agent market due to their inflated point production with Ovechkin.

There is no reason why he shouldn't be able to succeed despite those around him, yet he is. He's shooting less. He's driving the net less. Sometimes you can go a few shifts without noticing him at all.

Nevertheless, the season is still young and Ovechkin does have a history of slower starts, and you also have to factor in that he spent a week in Moscow, Russia with his ailing grandfather.

His play may be lacking but his dedication should never be questioned. He has always played through adversity and has always played for his teammates above himself.

In his recent trip to Russia, he slept during the day and stayed up during the night so to not become jet lagged. That speaks volume for not only his character but also his love of the game.

Alexander Ovechkin is no Kevin Bacon in the sense that you'll never go a hour and a half without seeing him at all (see 90% of Bacon's terrible films, or Hollow Man). He will hit the score sheet more frequently as this season goes on and the Caps will benefit from it as he is still heavily depended on despite the insurgence of his counterpart Alexander Semin.

He will get the job done. It's only a matter of time.

Pre-Game Thoughts: 10/25/08 Washington Capitals at Dallas Stars

If there is a team that parallels the Washington Capitals early into this 2008-09 season, it would be the Dallas Stars. Both teams are entering this season with tremendous expectations on their shoulders, many of them involving hosting the Stanley Cup come June.

But if the first seven games of this season have shown us anything, it's that both these teams have failed to deliver on the pre-season hype.

This may be taken as an overstatement, and understandably so, considering the season is not even 1/10th completed, but with the buzz around these teams, their records thus far do not sit well with fans.

Lets also keep in mind that both teams are missing star players at key positions. Both Tom Poti (Capitals) and Sergei Zubov (Stars) are veteran leaders on their respective blue lines, and command crucial ice time in their teams pursuits of victory. Furthermore, both pivots are injured, Poti nursing a sore groin and Zubov out with a hip injury which has him sidelined until at least sometime into November.

If that wasn't enough add Viktor Kozlov, John Erskine and Donald Brashear to the list of Caps injuries, while noting the Stars are without the services of Steve Ott, Jere Lethinen and Doug Janik.

Suffice to say, both teams have gotten out to a sluggish start largely due to the holes in their line-up as they fail to ice a complete team.

Stars goaltender Marty Turco has not been able to get on track so far this year and limps in with a 3-4-1 record along with the third worst GAA (4.04) in the league. The only starter worse than him statistically is Martin Biron (4.50 GAA), who the Caps could not solve often enough last spring.

For Washington, their starting goalie has yet to be confirmed, but with back-to-back solid performances, I would give the nod to Jose Theodore. Theodore, like Turco, started off the season a tad bit rusty but is now beginning to regain his form from last year. Hopefully tonight the Capitals will be able to play well enough for him to earn his third win of the year.

Washington's song and dance this year has been the lack of consistency. Alexander Ovechkin has marked a quiet 4 points (2G, 2A) so far this year, and Swedish center Nicklas Backstrom has a measly two points (2A) this year, which puts him way off the pace of another 69 point campaign.

But also bare in mind that the Washington Capitals are historically a slow starting team, no matter what their expectations. Last year they were a feeble 6-14-1 before righting their ship en route to the Southeast Division Championship. Moreover, both Ovechkin and Backstrom had particularly slow starts to the year in 2007-08 as well, only to kick it in to high gear come the month of September, while Alexander Semin (6G, 5A and team leading scorer) was in and out of the line-up with an injured ankle.



Right now it's simply a case of players feeling sorry for themselves and squeezing the sticks too tightly. In their 2-1 loss to Phoenix on Thursday, the Capitals registered 31 shots on Michael Tellqvist in a losing effort. Most nights, 31 shots is good enough for three goals let alone one, but things will smooth themselves over in time.

If you are a fan of the Capitals, you have to believe that at some point, this team with gel and return to the form that dazzled fans last year. The key will be not to rehash last years struggles by repeating a 6-14-1 record through the first quarter of the season. As long as they are able to sit around .500, they will be in fine shape.

Hopefully, Boudreau can succeed where Hanlon failed.

In Bruce we trust.