Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Alzner Recalled as Wings Fly into Town

The Capitals have recalled defenseman Karl Alzner from Hershey as the struggling (but still dangerous) Detroit Red Wings swoop into Verizon Center tonight. From the team's release:

The Washington Capitals have recalled defenseman Karl Alzner from the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL), vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today.


Alzner, 21, is a second-year pro who stands 6’3”, 206 pounds and has recorded four assists in 14 games with the Capitals this season. The Burnaby, British Columbia, native has played 27 games for Hershey this season and has one goal, five assists and only 10 penalty minutes. His +17 rating is tied for 10th in the AHL.

 Meanwhile, the Caps have a sizzling hot win record at home thus far, boasting a 16-3-3 record at the Phone Booth, and their three regulation home loses are the fewest in the league. The Red Wings lost some of their firepower in the off-season with the departure of Marian Hossa to the rival Chicago Blackhawks and Jiri Hudler to the KHL. And their locker room has been dessimated at times by the injury bug - their work horse, Johan Franzen (appropriately nicknamed "The Mule") has been down and out for quite some time with a torn ACL. When they face the red-hot Caps tonight, they'll be without the Mule, along with Tomas HolmstromJason Williams and Niklas Kronwall

Some naysayers are even going so far as to predict that the Wings might even narrowly miss the playoffs this season, while others are forecasting a surge towards regular season's end. Regardless of all the media chatter, the Caps can't take these guys lightly - Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard has pretty much unseated Stanley Cup winning net minder Chris Osgood and is the hot hand with a .928 save percentage. More from Hockey Mom later (after she crams three boisterous teeange boys and three hockey bags in the car for the rink run)- puck drops at 7 p.m.!

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