Sometimes I Hate Being Right, Game 7 and Series Reaction

I may not have been right about game 7, which I thought the Caps would win, but I was definitely right about the importance of game 1 and 2. Before the series began I said that if Washington lost either game 1 or 2 they would not challenge for the Cup this year. I was not expecting to be that right, but I was right. The reason I said that is because the Capitals were the best team in the league and Montreal was the worst team in the playoffs in either conference. Sometimes top seeds lose at home to bottom seeds, but in a series with a team that has been so dominant this could not be the case. If the Caps could not win their first two games at home against such an outmatched opponent, then I felt they were not mentally prepared for a deep playoff run. They lost game 1 and now find themselves out in the first round. I'm not trying to take anything away from what Montreal accomplished, it was a tremendous upset, but if the Capitals were firing on all cylinders and playing to their full potential then this never would have happened. Montreal just doesn't stack up.

What this series also showed was the importance of finishing a team off when you have the chance. Montreal had their backs against the ropes in game 5 and neither team played particularly well. The third period was especially terrible as the Caps played with zero sense of urgency, knowing they still had a game 6 and 7 to close it out. Game 5 should have been an easy win. Had they stepped up, we would be talking about game 1 against Philadelphia right now instead of wondering what if.

Jaroslav Halak, of course, played incredible...for two games. People should study this series as an example of why you win when you have the chance. The Caps didn't seem to have any trouble with Halak in the beginning of the series as he was pulled in game 3 and did not even play in game 4. He only got hot in game 6 and 7. When goalies gain confidence, they can go on these kind of streaks even if the goalie himself is not a superstar talent. I'm not saying Halak is not a great goalie, I'm just merely pointing out that sometimes goalies can overachieve in the playoffs and then fall off next season (anybody remember JS Gigeure?). Whether Halak can continue playing at this level remains to be seen.

Game 7 itself got off to a great start. Again, as in game 6, the Caps came out and dominated the play. Alexander Semin had a great opportunity in the first period to take the lead and end his scoreless streak. In a 3 on 1 opportunity Brooks Laich skated on the left and chipped it over to Semin passed a helpless Halak. Semin had an empty net and tried to deflect the pass in, but it hit the post. Frustrating, but it still semmed as if the Caps were in control until late in the period when Mike Green stepped in. Now I like Green, he has superstar talent. This postseason, however, he has been the worst player on the team. Some will argue that Semin was worse, but Semin was not detracting from the team in his frustration. He led the league in shots in the postseason and it really seemed like it was only a matter of time before he put one in. The bounces just were not going his way. Green was clearly frustrated with his inability to score and it really affected his play. He was widely criticized after game 2 when he was directly responsible for 2 of Montreal's 5 goals. His poor defensive play really affected the team. His frustration also put him into penalty trouble as he had 6 penalties in the series including 2 in game 7.

Towards the end of the first period during 4 on 4 play, Green had the puck and skated into the offensive zone. He lost the puck and it trickled to his right. Standing in front of him away from the puck was defenseman Andrei Markov. Instead of going directly for the puck Green skated forward, cross checked Markov, then turned and got the puck. It was an obvious penalty and a big time mistake. Montreal's offense is at its best when its on the powerplay and a 4 on 3 penalty gave them a lot of room to work with. Marc-Andre Bergeron made the Caps pay and Washington went into the locker room down 0-1 after dominating the period. In the third period Montreal dumped the puck into the Caps' zone. Green was the closest man to it, but did not seem to be in much of a hurry to grab the puck. Seeing that Green was taking his time, Hal Gill sprinted after it, beat him there, and chipped it behind Green to a waiting Dominic Moore who beat a helpless Semyon Varlamov to give Montreal a 2-0 lead. This was an easy mistake to avoid and one the Caps could not afford.

While Green remains one of the best offensive defensemen in the league, his defensive play constantly comes into question. It has kept him out of the all star game, off the Canadian Olympic team, and has cost him a Norris trophy. The fact that he puts so many points on the board shows me he has great offensive instincts. He knows where the puck is going and where he needs to be. He has yet to translate those instincts to his defensive play. If he knows where he needs to be to score, he should know where the opposing forwards are going to go. Being a defenseman, he needs to be thinking defense first, offense second. It was clear, however, that his lack of offense was weighing heavily on his mind and it really took away from his defensive play.

The most frustrating moment, perhaps of the series, came early into the third period. About 30 seconds in, Ovechkin finally managed to put one past Halak and tie the game. The goal, however, was immediately waved off by the referee who determined that Mike Knuble had interfered with Halak. Later on in the period, Montreal also had a goal waved off so it balanced out, right? Wrong. While I may be a die hard Caps fan, let me try to explain this as objectively as possible. The official rule on goalie interference according to nhl.com is "Goals should be disallowed only if: (1) an attacking player, either by his positioning or by contact, impairs the goalkeeper's ability to move freely within his crease or defend his goal; or (2) an attacking player initiates intentional or deliberate contact with a goaltender, inside or outside of his goal crease." So to be clear, players are allowed in the crease and contact itself does not necessarily constitute a goal being disallowed. In the Caps' goal, Knuble was in the crease next to Halak. He stood shoulder to shoulder with him (contact), Ovechkin shot, Halak went down in his stance in an attempt to block the shot, and it got passed him. Knuble's contact in no way impaired Halaks ability to defend the goal. It may have looked like Knuble's contact knocked him down, but he went down in an attempt to save the shot. Even if you felt Knuble's contact was illegal, which it was not, at best it was a 50/50 call. This is the third period in game 7 of a playoff series. You do not make game changing calls off of a 50/50 call that late in a game 7. There is no call for the "Bush Push" and there's no push off foul on Michael Jordan. Likewise, you do not disallow a goal in the third period of a game 7 because of a 50/50 call.

As for Montreal's disallowed goal, Varlamov had the puck, it was not visible, and the Montreal forward raised both arms and literally pushed Varlamov into the net. Sounds like "deliberate contact with the goaltender" to me. Watch the replay, no one could argue that it was not a deliberate push into the net. Had Ovechkin's goal been allowed, 30 seconds into the third period the score would have been tied at 1. This was a huge game changing decision, it was incorrect, and disallowing a Montreal goal that was clearly illegal does not compensate for such a terrible call.

Now, in the aftermath of a terrible upset, it's not time get drastic. Of course we are going to hear all sorts of criticism against Ovechkin and negative comparisons to Crosby and the Penguins, but let's keep things in perspective. I've already heard several criticisms against Ovechkin and the fact that he's a terrible leader and that's why the team is out. This is completely unfair. First, off, do not site the Olympics. From what I saw from team Russia, they were completely mismanaged by their coach. Just a quick example, Ovechkin played cleanup during powerplays, meaning he played in the center to screen the goalie and catch rebounds. This is a complete waste of his talent as he has the best shot in the world and you have him chipping in rebounds which any player can do. That's just a quick example, I could go on for days about why Russia's coach was laughably awful so the fact that Russia did not win a medal is more a result of their coach's terrilbe management more than it is a reflection of Ovechkin's leadership. The fact is that Ovechkin was named captain midseason and now people are using this as an excuse for the team's early exit. No one seemed to be question him in the regular season when he led the Caps to the best record in franchise history. While I will be the first one to say the Caps should have made it farther in the playoffs, to blame it on Ovechkin's leadership is unfair, especially when he was thrust the captaincy mid season with the unexpected trade of Chris Clark.

Also, to characterize Ovechkin as a Tracy McGrady or the Capitals as the next San Jose Sharks is a bit premature. While the last three postseason performances have been underwhelming, people are forgetting just how young this team is. Backstrom is 22, Eric Fehr is 24, Tomas Fleischmann is 25, Ovechkin is 24, Green is 24, Jeff Schultz is 24, and Varlamov just turned 22. Two years ago, I felt that while the Caps had home ice, Philadelphia was actually the favorite. Last season, we saw a huge rebound to defeat New York and make it to round 2. Yes with each year the expectations are raised as they should be and the Caps did not live up to those expectations this year, but this is a young team and this will be an experience that will help them in the future.

What does this series mean for the future? It really shows why the Caps need a defensive star. Granted, at the trade deadline they picked up Joe Corvo, who was fantastic in the playoffs, and Milan Jurcina, who had a sports hernia and has yet to play a game with the Caps since his return. Jon Carlson was one of the best players for the Caps in the series and looks to be a regular next season and Mike Green will undoubtedly rebound. The problem is that Corvo, Carlson, and Green are all offensive minded defensemen. The Caps' philosophy this season has been to outscore the opponent, not keep them off the board. As a result the team found themselves playing from behind a lot more often than they should have. Perhaps the game of the year was the 3 goal comeback against Pittsburgh on Super Bowl Sunday in which the Caps scored 4 straight to beat their hated rivals in OT 5-4. This kind of thing seemed to happen a lot to the Caps this season and as they kept winning, they began to develop bad habits. The Caps were either tied or losing at the end of the first period in EVERY game in the Montreal series. Coming from behind is MUCH harder in the playoffs as we all saw. The Caps also allowed a powerplay goal in 6 of the 7 games. Allowing a powerplay goal every game is not acceptable. Carlson and Karl Alzner do not provide a reasonable excuse to ignore the blue line this summer.

Finally, this series has given the Caps an important lesson in playoff hockey. The past two season have taught the Caps why it's important to start strong and this season is a lesson in finishing strong. It also is a blatant reminder of how much different playoff hockey is than regular season hockey. All important lessons for this team to keep in mind for next season's playoff push.

Hey Refs, Where is the Consistency?

The Washington Capitals extended their win streak to 9 games last night with a 4-1 win over the Florida Panthers. But the Caps walk away with a sour taste in their mouths because of a hit on Mike Green that sent the star defenseman sprawling.

In the second period while pursuing the puck, Green was hit hard by Dmitry Kulikov in a knee on knee collision. Green looked up just in time to see Kulikov coming and tried to avoid him. Kulikov then reflexively extend his knee in an attempt to catch Green. The result was a scary hit that looked exactly like those that got Alexander Ovechkin into trouble. Green dropped onto the ice and had to be helped off by his teammates. He did not return. He says the injury is not serious and that he wanted to return, but he was kept out by the trainers who decided to err on the side of caution. His status for Sunday's game against Tampa Bay remains uncertain.

Knee on knee hits are considered very serious by the NHL because they can easily lead to very serious injuries. Ovechkin threw two similar hits earlier in the season and was ejected from both games. He was then given a two game suspension. The message was clear. You're not a dirty player, but you need to tone it down a bit. Since then, it has not been an issue. So what happened to Kulikov? Nothing. No suspension, as of yet, no ejection, not even a penalty. The result of the play was a minor penalty against the Capitals for retaliating. This was not a dirty hit, but it was serious one that deserved serious consequences. The most important part of officiating is consistency. Officials must make consistent calls. This no call was absurd.

Who doesn't remember the sudden outcry against Ovechkin? People all over the league questioned whether Ovechkin was a dirty player. Much of the criticism was completely unwarranted. Now there's no outcry at all. There's nothing. One reason of course is the fact that Ovechkin is the best player in the world, and Kulikov is not a big name. That fact is made irrelevant by the seriousness of the crime. Knee on knee hits are serious. That is the most troubling part of this. Inconsistency on minor penalties is annoying, but players are not in physical danger when another team is allowed to hold or trip at will. When a player can collide into another player's knee, especially against a player as prominent as Green, and there is no penalty at all, that's serious. Neither Ovechkin's or Kulikov's hits were dirty, but they were serious none the less. While Green's injury does not appear to be serious, it easily could have been. Will lesser known players be allowed these kind of hits until someone gets hurt? I am outraged that someone like Ovechkin can be called dirty, while Green can be sent flying without a penalty. If that's the way the officials will call the Caps then Ted Leonsis should give the trainers a raise and furnish the penalty box. We are going to see a lot of injuries and a lot of retaliation penalties as the refs continue to turn a blind eye.

Time for Mike Green to Become a Defenseman

Friday night, I went to the Washington Capitals game against Carolina and I was shocked to hear from the fans outright frustration and anger towards Mike Green. The 24 year old broke a record last season for longest consecutive point streak for a defenseman and amassed 31 total goals and 42 assists leading all defensemen. So far this season Green is third on the team with 32 points. Despite being immensely talented, Green was also the subject of much criticism last season during the playoffs with only 1 goal and 8 assists in 14 games. Green was clearly out of shape and his game suffered because of it.

Green focused on his conditioning in the offseason and came into the season in much better shape. Why all the criticism now? Because the one thing he doesn't seem to be improving on is his defensive play. On Friday, Carolina, the league's lowest scoring team, scored three goals. The first goal, Green took the puck from the defensive zone and skated deep into Carolina's zone. He made a bad pass that was intercepted and then he was sent sprawling with a huge hit. He got up slowly and Carolina managed an odd man rush to score. Later in the game, the Capitals had a 3-2 lead with a power play. Green skated around the point deeper into the zone and tried to pass over to the other side of the ice. The pass was intercepted by Tim Gleason who scored off of the breakaway. Green did manage to score the game winner in OT, but the game would not have gone into OT had he not allowed those two goals.

Green has a very offensive style of play. While this in its self is not a bad thing, it can be when Green leaves the team defensively shorthanded. The Capitals are the highest scoring team in the league by far, but they are only ranked 16 in goals allowed. Defense needs to be a higher priority for the Capitals as a whole. I'm not saying that Green needs to abandon his offensive ways. That would be stupid since that's what makes him such a great player. He has clearly, however, made a conscious effort to improve his offensive play and his conditioning. Now it is time to work on his defense. After all, he is a defenseman.

Already one can see a difference in his style of play. Last season he had 31 goals while this season he is on pace for about 15. His 32 total points, however, puts him on pace for 77 points, above even his 73 point mark last season. He may not be scoring as much, but he is contributing to the offense. This also shows that while he may still be caught out of position, he is not as aggressive as he has been. More importantly, it shows he can see plays developing. This makes him a potentially invaluable asset as a defensemen. The reason why a playmaker like Sergei Federov could play both offense and defense is because he knew how offensive plays develop. Green has this same ability.

The Capitals are the best offensive team in the league. What they need is consistent defensive play. With Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Niklas Backstrom, and the numerous other offensive playmakers the Capitals have, they will continue to put points on the board even if Green holds himself back. What would you feel safer with, Ovechkin alone up top or Jeff Schultz alone on defense? That's a no brainer.