Caps in Brief

Capitals are down to their final two games of the regular season, sitting in a division lead tie with Carolina, after thumping Carolina 4-1 last night.  Caps are also just 1 point behind both Boston and Philadelphia for the final playoff spot.  Here are the schedules:
BOSTON
4/2  @ New Jersey tonight
4/4  @ Ottawa
4/5  Buffalo
PHILADELPHIA
4/2  @ Pittsburgh
4/4  New Jersey
4/6  Pittsburgh
CAROLINA
4/2  Tampa Bay
4/4  Florida
YOUR CAPS
4/3  Tampa Bay
4/5  Florida
Injury Update:  From Tarik at the Washington Post, here is the status report on D Shaone Morrisonn

who left the game last night with a shoulder injury.

He went to the doctor this morning and is still undergoing tests for what the team is calling an “upper body” injury. Morrisonn won’t be available for tomorrow’s game against Tampa Bay, a team official said. I imagine that probably makes him doubtful for Saturday’s game with Florida, too.
It’s a pretty big blow for the Caps and Mike Green, who has thrived with Morrisonn as his partner. Morrisonn is averaging 20:16 per game, the third highest total on the team among defensemen behind Tom Poti and Green.

Coach Bruce Boudreau said he doesn’t anticipate calling up a replacement from Hershey, and will likely turn to Steve Eminger.

Ok, well, like Tarik pointed out, the Capitals are 12-5-1 when Eminger is in the game.  Morrisonn is a big blog, but the Capitals have adjusted without Chris Clark, Brian Pothier and Michael Nylander.
Newbies:  As the Capitals ride a super impressive 5 game winning streak and winning 9 of their last 10, can anyone doubt the impact the trade deadline had on the Capitals.  Cristobal Huet has to be the move of the trade deadline for the whole NHL.  With the Caps, he is 9-2 with a GAA of just 1.75 and save percentage of .933.  Huet has also netted two shutouts.  He has won 7 straight games, and need I say, without Huet, I am just not sure the Caps stand where they are right now.
Matt Cooke has been a force, both offensively and defensively.  He has been a boost of toughness and gritty play.  He has been a welcome to the Capitals penalty kill unit, an effective one at that.
Sergei Fedorov is doing exactly what he was asked and what we all thought he would do, play the role of Michael Nylander.  Pass and handle the puck.  Some of his assists have been the closest thing top beauty you see.
Of the three, i think Huet is a definite no-brainer as far as inking to a long term deal this off-season (3 to 4 years).  That will provide the Capitals with a super net minder while youngsters Michal Neuvirth and Semen Varlamov mature and gain experience.   I shutter to think what this team will be like in 2008/09, as well as they have played under Bruce Boudreau and with a full time Huet in the net.  Wow.
In the blogosphere and on the message boards, it is fair to say that GM George McPhee and Owner Ted Leonsis have received their share of criticism, but these trades, they deserve a big applause because of their sheer brilliance.   We gave up very little and got an awful lot.  That simple.
Ovechkin for MVP, Case Made!  At least Evgeni Malkin thinks so.

“I still have chances to become the MVP this season, however I am sure that Alexander Ovechkin is the best player in NHL this season and he will win this award.”

Hey, there is no doubt, Alexander Ovechkin SHOULD be the MVP.  There really is not any room for LOGICAL argument.
BUT … were glad to see recognition outside just Ovechkin.  Because this team is  more than just Ovie.

the Capitals are now demonstrating that they are about more than just trying to sneak into the No. 8 seed. They certainly are not just a team being carried on the back of a single man toward the franchise’s first playoff berth in five years.
Second, Ovechkin was there for the first 21 games under then-coach Glen Hanlon, and the club started 6-14-1 and looked headed for a lottery draft pick. Clearly, the tactics and decisions of Hanlon’s replacement, Bruce Boudreau, over the past 59 games has had an awful lot to do with the resurgence of the Caps.
Finally, GM George McPhee might as well take a bow now, for it appears that while other teams were busy landing bigger-name players, he made the best moves at the February trade deadline. In Tuesday’s crucial game against Carolina, the players McPhee acquired — goalie Cristobal Huet, winger Matt Cooke and center Sergei Fedorov — all played significant roles.
Washington, should it make the playoffs, could be one of those late-arriving squads that even the top teams in the conference wouldn’t want to have to face early in the playoffs. Ovechkin would be a major reason. But, gradually, people in the game are coming to understand there are many other reasons to fear the boys from Washington.

The bolded part is emphasized for a reason.  There is more to this story of a team that has gone from 14th place in the Eastern Conference to the doorstep of the playoffs than just Great #8.  Hey, let’s not  down play Alexander Ovechkin though.  He is the greatest hockey player in the NHL today (sit down Crosby, your just not close).  But give credit to the other guys that have been super in this resurgence, guys like, Huet, Cooke, Brooks Liach, Alexander Semin, Nick Backstrom, Victor Kozlov, Tom Poti, and more.  Look at the season Laich has had.  Anyone predict that?  Look at how much Kozlov has come on lately.
It is easy to get clouded in the Ovechkin MVP hype, certainly because he is so deserving and obviously because you have to go way back to 1983 and Joe Theismann since Washington DC has seen a professional MVP player in the city limits,  but, don’t forget to at least once in awhile, give the tip of the hat to the others guys, and even more so, Mr. Bruce Boudreau.
Oh, and I can remember wayyyyyyy back in October when we were arguing back and forth whether Washington DC could ever be a real hockey town.  We argued here, it can and will be, but the capitals just have to start winning.   This article agrees with us.

D.C. started to come back to life first at Thanksgiving, when Bruce Boudreau replaced Glen Hanlon as Washington’s head coach, and again at the trade deadline, when general manager George McPhee imported Matt Cooke, Cristobal Huet and Sergei Fedorov to patch some holes in the lineup in a desperate bid to make the playoffs.

With the team freed from Hanlon’s defense-first system, the team broke out of the 6-14-1 slump that started its season. Rookie Nicklas Backstrom rounded into the form that was expected of him, defenseman Mike Green emerged as a goal-scoring threat, and I’m sure by now you’ve heard of the soft-spoken Alex Ovechkin, who has only scored at a rate the league hasn’t seen in a dozen seasons.

Winning cures many ills.