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The Washington Capitals have recalled G Semyon Varlamov from Hershey. Varlamov has been out with a knee injury since December 7th. He made a rehab start in Hershey this weekend, recording 26 saves in a 5-4 Bears win over Adirondack.
The Washington Capitals have benefited from a dynamic duo of veteran Jose Theodore and rookie Michal Neuvirth between the pipes during this incredible 14 game winning streak.
Now Varly makes his return. Varlamov has posted a 12-1 record this season with a GAA of 2.21 and a save percentage of .920. The interesting question looming here is, how does Varlamov fit into the current chemistry between the pipes? Does Neuvirth, despite sensational play in the Net, return to Hershey? Should he? If not, how does HC Bruce Boudreau balance three goalies playing time, particularly with veteran Jose Theodore playing the best net minding of his Washington Capitals tenure?
One thing is clear, between Varlamov, Neuvirth, and Hershey's spectacular goalie Braden Holtby, the Caps are loaded at young talent between the pipes. It will be interesting to watch how this turns out. There is no doubt, the success Neuvirth has had during Varlamov's injury most certainly ramps pressure up on #40, both from a play perspective and a staying healthy perspective.
With many of their special teams units languishing near the bottom of league rankings, the Redskins hired an assistant coach to work the Special Teams Coach Danny Smith. Richard Hightower coached wide receivers for the University of Minnesota last year, but he will assist Smith on the Redskins staff in 2010.
"We knew we would need someone with a lot of energy to keep up with Danny Smith, and Richard is that coach," executive vice president/head coach Mike Shanahan said. "He has both youth and experience, and he will be a great asset to our special teams and our organization."
If you're wondering where the connection to Shanahan might be, look no further than the Houston Texans, where Redskins Offensive Coordinator Kyle Shanahan coached the past few years. Hightower was a coaching administrator [whatever that is] in 2005 and 2006 and a special teams assistant coach in 2007-08 before moving on to his most recent job with the University of Minnesota.
Hightower was a walk-on player at the University of Texas, where he played as a defensive back, wide receiver, and, of course, on special teams.
Hightower has no connection to Danny Smith that I can find, meaning he's a Shanahan guy, not a Danny Smith guy. In other words, it might be a good idea for Smith to improve the efficiency of his special teams; a replacement for his job is already on the payroll.
The amazing season of Alexander Ovechkin continues. He is on target to have his best season of his career; amazing, considering he missed 8 games.
Ovechkin now has 42 goals. He has as many points in goals scored as the entire Edmonton Oilers have in standing points.
He leads the NHL with 42 goals.
He leads the NHL with 86 points.
He leads the NHL in Plus/Minus with a +41.
He leads the NHL in Shots on Goal with 266.
He leads the NHL in road goals scored.
He leads the NHL in goals per game, with .82.
His is 3rd in the NHL in home goals scored.
He is tied for 4th in power play goals.
He is tied for 4th in power play assists.
Ovechkin is 18 goals shy of 60 goals for the season. There are 23 games left in the season. He is 23 goals shy of his career high (2007/08 - 65) and he is 10 assists shy of his career high (2008/09 & 2005/06 - 54). His 86 total points puts him 26 points shy of his career high in total points (2007/08). He is a +41 and is currently +13 higher than his career high (2007/08 - +28).
Currently, Ovechkin has a 7 game scoring streak. Over that streak, Ovechkin has scored 8 goals and 7 assists.
Ovechkin was suspended on DEC 1 on a knee to knee hit on Tim Gleasen. Since that suspension, Ovechkin has played in 30 games, starting on December 7th. In that 30 game stretch, Ovie has tallied 24 goals and added 32 assists with a +28 plus/minus rating. He has averaged 1.87 points per game.
Ovechkin was on a complete tear in the month of January racking up 9 goals and 17 assists with a +16 rating in 15 games. The question is, can he eclipse those monthly totals? Well, he is off to a sensational start in February. In 4 games, he has scored in each of the 4 games and has multiple points in 3 of the 4 games. For February, Ovechkin has tallied 7 goals and 3 assists and is a +6.
The whispers and chants can seemingly get louder. M V P.
It is one of those years, but yet, with Ovechkin, aren't they all? What better scenario could the Caps faithful have realized yesterday? Sidney Crosby strikes twice in the first period. In most cases, that is completely deflating (at least Mike Milbury thought so). Not at the Verizon Center. Caps faithful have seen all too often how Great 8 can single handidly turn around a game that appeared to be slipping from the Sea of Red.
With two periods of hockey to play, Alexander Ovechkin took control. Not only did the Caps faithful get to see Ovechkin pull the Caps back in from a 4-1 deficit, but they got to see the first Hat Trick of the season for the Caps, on home ice, with Sidney Corsby watching, on national TV, against the hated Pittsburgh Penguins. How does that get any better?
Lots of Mock Drafts updated this morning, over 25. We also added 6 new mocks to the database. The HUGE weekly mock munch will be posted on WED or THUR. But for now, let’s give you a sneak peak on the Top 9 based on the 21 mocks updated between 2/7 and 2/8. Whether these 21 latest mocks show movement or trends in the Top 9 picks is left to be scene in the bigger picture on WED or THUR.
But, here is the breakdown of these 21 mock drafts for Picks 1 through 9 . . .
"You can tell when he's having one of his days, and when he's having one of his days. Days when I see that his recovery rate is unbelievable. He sits on the bench for 30 seconds and I know he wants to go again."
WoooooHoooo! Make it 14 in a row, on National TV, with an Alex Ovechkin hat trick! And dammit, I was suppose to be there and never made it. But, I will take this beat down over the Pens with an Ovie hat trick any day. Folks, this game was Super Bowl worthy, period!
What a game it was, despite just awful, awful coverage from NBC. The NHL really has to put up and grovel back to ESPN, because NBC is simply horrendous.
The game did not start out all that well for the Caps as the NBC love-fest for everything Pens and Crosby got under way quickly 2 goals in the first period from Sidney Crosby. Even though the Caps out shot the Pens in the first period, the two Crosby marker sent the Caps to the locker room with a 2-0 deficit.
Alexander Ovechkin scored his first of three, his 40th of the year, at the 9 minute mark of the second period. It was a beautiful breakaway engineered by none other than Jeff Schultz, finding the open and streaking Ovechkin. Schultzie has had the knack this season of finding the breakaways and making the perfect passes. Then things went down hill, temporarily for the Caps, as Jordan Staal scored twice within 2 minutes of each, to give the Pens a stunning 4-1 lead. But, as we have seen many, many times this year, you can never, ever count the Capitals out of any game.
Eric Fehr scored his 14th of the year to pull the Caps to within 2 at the end of the second period, Caps trailing 4-2.
Count the third period as pure Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin scored his 41st goal close to the 7 minute mark to pull within 4-3. Later in the third period, Ovechkin took hard shot and look to be shaken up. He came back on the ice and pounded away the game tying goal on the face off to send the Verizon Center into pandemonium. It was Ovechkin's first hat trick of the year, the Caps first hat trick of the year, on National TV, and right in front of Pittsburgh's #87. Could it get anymore perfect than that. And to think, Crosby did not even cry to the officials to tell fans to stop throwing hats this year. Amazing.
Then in overtime, it was Ovechkin again, this time rocketing a shot at Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fluery, who let a rebound go and Mike Knuble, in front of the net, poked it in for the game winner.
Instead of just bashing Pittsburgh, let's instead say what we should say. This was an outstandingly impressive display of hockey, on National TV on Super Bowl day. It was a great game from start to finish, with both Superstar shining. It was a good day for the NHL. It was a great day for the Washington Capitals as they extended their impressive winning streak to 14 straight wins. BUT, even better, it was the greatest day for the Washington faithful who managed to get to the Verizon Center. Kudos to you all, we heard the loudness, we heard the Fury!
Great game again by Jose Theodore, by far, the superior goalie in Washington right now. Yeah he gave uyp 4 goals. But, this was Pittsburgh. He made some sensational saves that saved the Caps becaise of poor turnovers. It was not the best day for the Caps defense
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Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
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