April 01, 2008
Tuesday's Blogging Roundup/Caps vs. Canes
Christmas came early this year. Or late, I'm still not sure. But Eric just called me asking if I could step in for him at tonight's game. Hmmmm. The biggest game of the season. Let me check my schedule. Let's see...life-saving surgery at 6:30. Well we can push that to sometime later this week. Because tonight's game is automatically more important than anything anyone anywhere has to do - except for Eric, but I guess we can let that slide. As OFB puts it;
Incredible as it may seem,...the Washington Capitals tonight are playing their most important hockey game since the Stanley Cup finals of 1998. At home.
Both teams are hot. The Caps are 8-1 over their last 9, the only blemish a 5-0 loss to Chicago. The Canes are an equally impressive 12-3-1 over their last 16 games. The only thing that could tip the favor is that the Caps beat Carolina 3-2 just a week ago.
So lets see how the Caps and Canes stack up on the ice.
Goalies
While the Canes may have a goalie tied for 4th in wins, he is also 30th in GAA (2.72) and 33rd in SV% (.905). Japers', on the other hand, breaks down how the Caps are between the pipes.
Of course, Cristobal Huet gives the Caps a chance to win even if they do run into some discipline problems - he's 8-2-0 with a 1.82 GAA and .931 save percentage since arriving in D.C. But if the Caps can stay out of the box, it's likely game over for Carolina - Huet's GAA and SV% at even strength since coming to town are a staggering 1.04 and .954, respectively, as he hasn't allowed a single even strength goal against in half of his starts as a Cap and has allowed only nine even strength goals overall in ten games.
Edge: Caps: Huet has been lockdown since coming to Washington.
Forwards
Canes: Three of the Canes' top 5 forwards are out - although one may be back tonight - but the duo of Eric and Erik have been picking up the slack. Even Sergei Samsonov has been pitching in, although he has been cool of late with 1 point in 4 games. Beyond that they are getting a little help from guys like Scott Walker and Tuomo Ruutu.
Caps: Everyone knows the offense revolves around Ovechkin. He has elevated the play of those around him, and Nicklas Backstrom and Viktor Kozlov have been having huge seasons. There is a bigger disparity in scoring between Ovie and the rest of the Caps than there is between Staal and the rest of the Canes. But the Caps have been picking up their play late in the season, and Kozlov, new addition Federov, and Laich, among others, are playing bigger and better than their numbers indicate.
Edge: Draw. Washington is better at the top-end, but Carolina has a more balanced attack.
Defense
Carolina: has beefed up the offensive aspect to their D with the acquisition of Joe Corvo. He automatically became the biggest point-getter on the Carolina blueline. Frantisek Kaberle has also been a help on the offensive side of the puck. Corvo is also a plus-19 (with plus-6 coming with Carolina), while Bret Hedican is a plus-18.
Caps: Mike Green has emerged as a solid offensive defenseman this season. He is tied for the league lead in goals among defenseman, and is top-10 in points. His pairing with Shaone Morrisonn allows him to push up and not get burned, giving him the confidence to do his thing. Tom Poti and Jeff Schultz have been a solid #2 pairing, and Poti has improved his work on the powerplay tenfold since the start of the season. Erskine and Jurcina round out the D. While both have less than 10 points, neither have a plus-minus in the red.
Edge: Caps: Corvo and Green are the same type of defenseman, but the Caps have a little more depth. This allows them to choose the right pair depending on the situation.
Coaching
Canes: Peter Laviolette has led Carolina to a Stanley Cup, and has done a great job of getting the most out of his boys after losing leader Brind'Amour.
Caps: Everyone knows what Coach Boudreau has gone through to get here. And he has taken a team from last in the league to within reach of the Southeast Division title. He has rejuvinated a team left for dead at Thanksgiving. If the Caps make the playoffs there are several experts who agree that BB has a shot at winning Coach of the Year.
Edge: Caps: Boudreau has been a lifesaver for this team. It's questionable whether anyone else could have done what he has this season.
So when it's all said and done, it looks like the Caps have a solid advantage. But since the game is not played on paper, we'll have to wait until tonight to see if that translates into an advantage on the ice. The energy will be high, and the building will be electric. So don't forget your red, and LET'S GO CAPS!!!
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02:10 PM