A New Era Begins

I posed the question yesterday about the prevailing logic of giving Olaf the nod against the Leafs after such a strong showing from Toronto by the French Wall that is Cristobal . After sifting through the reams of responses that were posted.... (ahem.... crickets) I'VE looked into the crystal ball (crysto-ball?.. heh, heh, nevermind) and discerned Boudreau's thinking:

1. Don't disenfranchise the franchise man -- The message was "You're still important, Olie. We need you. You are our rock. We are nothing if you are not something." [sniff] I think I'm going to cry.


2. It's Toronto -- How many times have the Caps played the backup this year as the opposition sees the game as a chance to rest the #1? Did we take the Leafs too lightly? Does Semin take a hooking penalty every second time he makes a turnover?


3. Back-t0-back games -- A chance to rest after Friday's stellar performance and make Olie fight for playing time.

During last night's game, while the team lacked desperation for an appreciable amount of the game, Olie looked panicked throughout. On easy saves, he fumbled several into the air and would flail to knock them out of harm's way. If he was out of position, he was made frantic dives to get back into the net. At one point in the third after a puck had been deflected up and over his head, he threw his arms into the air while looking at a retreating defenseman as if to say:

"I don't know where it is."
"I'm not at fault here."
"You can't blame me if I get scored upon because you deflected it someplace I can't see it."

Olie made several key stops up close including a mini breakaway by Tucker and then an uptight stuff on Tlusty. However, when the Leafs scored some of the blame falls squarely on the goalie. The Antropov deflection was impossible to stop. The onus of deflections have to fall on the D for not clearing out. The second goal could have been stopped but wasn't. I'm not saying it was a soft goal, but Sundin's bullet was a rising shot over the glove hand and Olie was on his knees. The third goal was riddled with problems but the mishaps began with Olie shooting the puck hard into the boards. It ricocheted off Morrisonn into the slot. Green and Fedorov playing Keystone cops didn't help the recovery. I chalk 1.5 goals against to the D and 1. 5 to the goalie.

A more appropriate title to this post may be, "The End of an Era". Whatever the title, the message is the same: Olie is now the #2 in Washington. It's the coach's job to put the players on the ice that give his team the best chance to win the game. I just don't see Olie fitting the definition of "starting goaltender" any longer.

Cats/Caps Recap-- plus Melvisdog live from the SPTF

While wearing my Ovechkin jersey, I will attempt to send live blogging reports directly from my scalped seats someplace from inside enemy territory. My wife, father-in-law, and myself will be making the journey across Central Florida, risking death...er peril.... er ridicule...um, bad thoughts and glances maybe to bring you the most-up-to-the-minute coverage of the Caps v. Tampa 2/16/2008 from the St. Pete Time's Forum.

This should be a good game as Tampa is 6-3-1 in their last 10 while the Caps are 5-4-1. The Caps have lost two in a row for the first time since November which should make them play a pretty feisty, no-holds-barred game (Note: this is not an endorsement to Shaone Morrisonn to hold people whenever possible...coughatlantacoughgame). I expect a good tilt all the way around as the Caps will clutch to their precarious 3rd place while the 'Ning try to pull themselves up.

We, hopefully, will see the premier of Sami Lepisto and the return of the Donald. I'm not sure who they will sit for him, but judging from last night's performance in Sunset, there are many choices. Laing played a physical, drive-the-net, block some shots game that I love to see; Bradley played pretty well in the same mode. Ovie was double-teamed giving Fleischmann a chance to shine, which he did nicely. Backstrom continues to amaze me with his forecheck and puck possession. His game last night was mostly a north/south affair which makes me think he's wearing down a bit not looking to make some of those hard cuts. Semin NEEDS a center to get him the puck in an open space to make him effective. I thought he did well with what he was given.

On the opposite site of my favor were Matt 'Perimeter' Pettinger. The man can absolutely fly out there but he runs so fast around the outside of the play with the puck that its a given that a nudge will make him wipe out. He's definitely lost that driving confidence that made him an in tight scoring threat in the last couple of years.

Eric Fehr's skating is so haphazardous he reminds me of a clothed, newly-born horse whose clothing has been lit on firej and must be taken off while he skates. It amazes me that he doesn't get a high-sticking penalty on every shift. I like his speed, grit, and determination but there's a ton of wasted energy out there.

Gordon, Laich, and Steckel had solid, unspectacular games. I thought Laich could have generated a little more with his speed towards the end of the game. Steckel and Gordon's defense-first mentality is a harbinger for no goals every time they touch the ice. Kozlov was a non-factor which is a shame considering his play of late.

On the defensive side, I thought Schultz played very well. Green was everywhere but took some shortcuts to conserve energy. Eminger was effective in his limited role. Erskine looked overmatched against the top line. Morrisonn was left alone far too much in the defensive zone as his partner raced up ice leading to scoring chances and goals. Somebody needs to buy Jurcina some of those new heated skate blades to get his feet out of the quicksand that seems to immobilize him on some nights.

My conclusion? (Does anybody care?) Start Flash up with the 1st line but be prepared to put Kozlov up there after the first. Bruce needs to find two hard forechecking lines that can get behind Tampa's young defensive core and score some ugly ones. Make Green play defense, conserve energy, and give him orders NOT to challenge beyond the opposing blue line unless he can see only the goalie. He can feign offense but then give Lepisto the 'Go' signal. Once they start paying attention to Lepisto then send Green later in the game. That's the O-Plan. On the D side, Morrisonn should punish Vinny and throw him off. He's very effective when he does this. Limit St. Louis and Prospal to the outside with a fleet of foot 2nd d-man ... i.e. Green who is playing real D. Keep their other lines to the Pettinger...um perimeter, and voila, it's in the bag.

More from Tampa after I get to my seat...