Hurricanes Downgraded In Shoot Out Loss to Caps

Last night Hockey Mom and her hockey boys were in the house to witness the Caps' victory (albeit a bit sloppy defensively at times, guys) shoot out victory over the Carolina Hurricanes - who are still clawing for a playoff spot. It was actually a historic moment for my boys as they saw their first live shoot out. And what a shoot out it was as Alex the Great netted a SO goal in our end!

Speaking of Alexs, what about Alex Semin? The Caps' own young gun had a goal, three assists plus a shoot out tally! So maybe we can forgive him for that silly hooking penalty in the second period. All four of the "young guns" got on the scoreboard last night with goals from Ovie, Semin, Backstrom and Green. But Carolina's own young guns weren't going to make this one an easy win on the boys in red and saw two goals from Eric Staal (of the fabulously talented Staal brothers) - one of those assisted by his old pal Erik Cole. Cole recently returned to his former Hurricanes team in a trade from the Edmonton Oilers. Those two are a dynamic duo indeed and the Caps will be making a visit to their house next Saturday.

Jose Theodore had another magnificent game as well. The French-speaking couple next to me were cheering for opposing teams (he for the Canes and she for the Caps) and the lovely young lady cheered on Theo in Jose's native language. Her cheering sounded much more sophisticated than HM's as she yelled out "allez" at every puck drop or hit!

So even though the Caps got the "v", looks like they still need to do some tightening up on the defensive front. And the other teams on the hunt in the Eastern Conference race keep rolling as well. Most specifically the New Jersey Devils, whose superman goaltender Martin Brodeur made history last night by matching Patrick Roy's record for most wins with his 551st regular season victory. With Roy in attendance, Marty won the historic game against his hometown team, the Montreal Canadiens. Even though I am a die-hard Caps fan, HM has to propose a toast to Brodeur for his accomplishment - the guy is still amazing to watch, especially after returning to prime form after being out months following elbow surgery!

Up next for the Caps, a St. Patrick's Day meeting with the blue Atlanta Thrashers and Ovi's pal Ilya Kovalchuk. Stay tuned....

Call in the Hanson Bros: Caps Take on Flyers

So it's no secret that the Philadelphia Flyers are one of the most thugmongering teams in the league (and you thought Nashville was bad). They are also one of the scariest offensively as Jeff Carter boasts 38 goals on the season. Their offense may get a little stronger tonight as Daniel Briere may see a return to the action after suffering another groin injury.

Tonight's game at loud and rude Wachovia Center in Philly is bound to be a biggie with playoff energy and lots of leftover animocity from the previous meetings (think last season's Playoff Game 7) between these two teams. And as HM mentioned before, the Flyers have buffed up their thug factor even more with the addition of Daniel Carcillo from the Phoenix Coyotes. This young bad boy has even more penalty minutes than Scott Hartnell (of the Ronald McDonald mane - you can't miss him), Arron Asham, and Riley Cote with a total of 195 PIM so far!

Unfortunately, the Caps look like might be without the services of Riley Cote's favorite dance partner, Donald Brashear, who tweaked his knee during his bout with Wade Belak the other evening. And Matt Bradley has a pretty banged up face from taking a head butt from Jordin Tootoo. That Tootoo doesn't seem too bright anyhow - he was noted for dating brainiac Kellie Pickler of American Idol fame.

HM has a pal who she successfully converted to hockey fandom last season, who I'll call "Feds Fan." Now Feds Fan doesn't like violent movies, boxing or any of the craziness that takes place in cages on the Versus Network, but she loves a good hockey fight! She was so excited about all three bouts that took place in the Predators game - it was hilarious! With all the debate going on at the NHL's General Managers meeting regarding fighting, HM will be touching more on that subject very soon.

In the meantime, big game tonight as the Flyers are only one spot behind the Caps in the Eastern Conference standings and will be pumped playing in front of their raucous, orange-clad home fans.

HM won't be able to watch the whole game as the boys' have another sporting engagement (I know - hard to believe, huh) this evening but I'll be racing to catch as much as I can.

I was thinking - with Brash being a "maybe" for tonight, does anyone have the phone number for the Hanson Brothers? Anyone? Anyone?

If you get in touch with them, tell them Hockey Mom will bring the matchbox cars. Let's Go CAPS!

Caps Meet Hot Western Preds

Maybe they are fueled by the spirit of Elvis himself, but the Nasvhille Predators have are a mighty hard team to beat at home (especially with some of country music's hottest stars cheering them on)! Be that as it may, the Capitals hoped to stop the music in a rare meeting with the Western Conference Preds.

Hockey Mom missed the first few minutes of this one as I was at the boys' house league Pee Wee championship game. Both teams played with tremendous energy (wish the Caps had channeled some of it in their last few losses) and the twins' team scored the winning goal with less than 40 seconds left! Congrats to both teams for an outstanding season and exciting championship game...

So as the NHL's General Managers meet in Florida to discuss such issues as fighting and hits to the head, tonight's contest saw plenty of fisticuffs in the first period! HM was surprised that this game got so chippy so quickly but then again, the Preds have some pesky agitators in the form of Shea Weber, Jordin Tootoo and Wade Belak. Belak threw down with "The Donald" early on in the first period and I swear that was one of the few times I've ever seen Brash taken down. Shortly thereafter, Matt Bradley did the waltz with Jordin Tootoo (who removed the tape from his hands prior to giving Brads a bloody schnozz). Unfortunately, the big man Brashear did not return to the game (and we'll need him when the boys face the thugnoxious Flyers on Thursday).

Shaone Morrison had a brutal hit on Preds star Jason Arnott, who also did not return to the ice. Despite losing one of their key players, the Preds got on the board first with a Ryan Suter goal.

I don't know what's up with the flu bug biting NHL goalies (maybe they need to use some of HM's Purell), but Nashville's Pekka Rinne was ailing and replaced by backup netminder Dan Ellis, who did a pretty stellar job against the visitors. He was helpless to stop the beauty from Nick Backstrom which tied the game at one apiece in the second period. Tomas Fleischmann thought he'd netted the second goal of the evening for the Caps, but it was ruled as no goal due as the officials decided it may have been kicked in.

Dadgummit, just when HM has to go to bed (boy's early power skating clinc tomorrow), this one goes to overtime! In a fabulous finish, Sergei Fedorov netted the game winner and the Caps hope to get back to their winning ways. Way to go guys!


Final from Music City: Caps 2 - Predators 1

And in case you haven't already seen it, here's some hilarious video of Ovi's recent Eastern Motors commercial shoot:



Hockey Mom, like many other Washington area residents, has that darn Eastern Motors theme song stuck in my head. D.C. Sports Bog has more info on how the Great 8 became another notorious Eastern Motors spokesman. Ovi - we love ya, but it's a good thing you have a day job! Nice dance moves though...

Rivalry Weekend: Caps Face Hated Penguins

So Hockey Mom sold her lovely club-level seats for today's battle against Cindy Crosby and his new and improved Penguins pals in anticipation that the boys' team would be playing for the League championship today. The good news is that their team won the regular season championship but the bad news is that they dropped the game after taking a pretty significant lead in the first period. The most disappointing part was that even though the opposing team had some incredibly talented kids on their team, some of their parents exhibited embarrassingly bad behavior in the stands. During our last game against this team, one guy ranted and raved at the refs to get a delay of game call as our coaches skated one our injured players (who suffered a broken collarbone for pete's sake) off the ice. Makes it really hard to wish a team well if those are the kinds of lessons and behaviors some kids' parents are teaching them (to win at at all costs). Now I get as fired up as anyone else but in the end I realize that it is just a game and the kids need to learn that you win some and lose some and sportsmanship is key on and off the ice.

So enough about that and onto the big news of the day which is the final regular season meeting of uber-rivals Capitals and Penguins. Fans and the media waited in anticipation to see how quickly the fireworks left over from the game would reignite into fisticuffs between Ovi and Crosby.

The boys in red definitely came back and played with the fever they've been missing the last few games and the hitting was off the charts. Tom Poti was dressed to help the defense, who've been fizzling as of late. And of course the Caps' faithful showed up in force, sporting pacifiers, Kleenex tissues and "No Diving" signs to express their dislike for the Penguin's famous Captain. Much to our dismay, it was Cindy that lit the lamp first for the dreaded Pens.

Alex Semin would have none of that and tied it up with a fabulous stick move made while balancing on one skate - another highlight reel goal for sure! His fellow countryman and former Capital Sergei Gonchar made his contribution to the physicality and intensity of this game, going to the sin bin twice in the first period alone for roughing and cross checking, respectively. But he emerged in the second period with a slap shot goal on Theo to give the Pens a 1-goal lead. New Penguin and former Islander Bill Guerin lit the lamp a third time for Pittsburgh, giving them a 2-point advantage.

The "Comeback Caps" did just that in the third with nearly back-to-back goals from Ovi and Brooks Laich to tie it at three each. And this one got even more exciting as we went into OT. Jose Theodore had some spectacular saves on both Crosby and Malkin yet despite having almost a 10 shots on goal advantage, the Caps were never able to "unleash the fury" as they did in the last meeting. This game was a heated battle until the bitter end and HM is shocked that there wasn't any throwing down the gloves, despite the exchanges of pleasantries following practically every whistle.

So this baby went into a shoot out - leaving Cap's fans at the edge of their seats. Semin, Kozlov and Ovi were all stopped at the gate by Pens' goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. Theo then denied an attempt by shoot out wiz kid Kris Letang of the Penguins. But in the end, it was the highly disliked Sid the Kid who got the better of the Cap's net minder and won the game 4 - 3 for the visitors. Tough weekend for all of HM's teams - I feel like I need a Calgon moment.

Next up for the Capitals is a road game against the Nashville Predators - who recently schooled the Detroit Red Wings with a score of 8-0 (big ouch)!

In closing, Hockey Mom would also like to join hockey fans around the world in extending my condolences to one of the greatest hockey moms and ambassadors the game has ever known: Colleen Howe. The wife of Red Wings legend Gordie Howe (also known affectionately as "Mr. Hockey") passed away on Friday. Her contributions as a mom, wife, business woman, community activist and to the wonderful game of hockey, will never be forgotten.

Caps Aim to Rake Away the Leafs: HM in the Press Box

As the Toronto Maple Leafs pay a visit to Verizon Center this evening, they've gained some talent and lost some (Nik Antropov and Dominic Moore along with former Capitals Olie Kolzig and Jamie Heward as a result of the Tampa Bay Lightning's salary dump) from yesterday's trading activity. The Leafs were also without their star d-man Tomas Kaberle.

But the big news tonight is the absence of Alex Ovechkin, who is still feeling the stinging effects of a slapper off his foot. So coming off a string of yucky losses to lesser S.E. Conference teams, the rest of the boys are going to have to step up and step up big....

And even though her boy wasn't on the ice tonight, Ovi's Hockey Mom was in the house cheering the rest of the guys on!

Better health news for Jose Theodore, who seems to have made a speedy recovery from the flu or whatever was ailing him earlier this week and is minding the Caps' net. On the opposing end, the Toronto goal is being guarded by Martin Gerber in his first outing representing Leaf Nation. Gerber was also dealt yesterday by his former team, the Ottawa Senators.

The dancing started pretty early on in this one as Matt Bradley traded fists with Brad Ondrus and both took a seat in the sin bin. While we're on the subject of fighting, the Philadelphia Flyers just got a little more thugnasty as they added more fist factor (as if they needed it) to the roster by acquiring tough guy Daniel Carcillo from the Phoenix Coyotes. Donald Brashear is going to feel like he's back at the prom the next time the two clubs meet with Carcillo and Riley Cote on his dance card! And more former Flyers gone wild - Steve Downie just got a 20 game suspension for deliberately hitting a referee. Very nice - maybe it's Downie's turn to go to Russia's KHL with all the other former NHLers who have anger management issues...just a thought.

It looked like the Leafs got on the board first but HM threw the flag down before the men in stripes made the call. It was plain as day that Toronto players interfered with Theo's ability to deflect the puck as they were laying on top of him. So Cap's fans were treated to some sweet words from the officiating crew - No Goal Toronto! The Capitals were not able to score on the power play that ended the first period with goose eggs for both teams.

I was headed back to my seat during the break and got caught in an Ovi traffic jam as Alex emerged from one of the broadcast booths and was swarmed by reporters. The start of the second period wasn't very kind to the Leaf's Jeff Finger who took a puck to the face - insert Hockey Mom public service announcement for wearing a visor here.

Just as I was going to say the second period was getting a little (yawn) boring - Jose Theodore made a phenomenal stop on a Leaf's power play breakaway attempt by Mikhail Grabovski. But overall, the boys still seem to lack the luster we've become accustomed to seeing. And with Cindy the Diving Captain Crosby and his retooled Penguins coming to town on Sunday, the Caps better bring it!

The start of the third period saw 4 on 4 hockey and a brief Toronto power play as Alex Semin took a seat for "surprise" - high sticking. Mike Green had a nice defensive shift and the boys were successful in staving the Leafs off this time.

Alas, the Leafs lit the lamp first on a goal by Lee Stempniak as Michael Nylander (who's been scratched from the line up for the past few games - maybe there's a reason?) seemed to lose the puck in his skates right in front of Theo's crease. Urrgh!

Mere minutes later, the Maple Leafs' Pavel Kubina's goal gave the northern visitors a 2-point lead. Double urggh! With the shots at 8:49 favoring the Caps 35 - 23, the boys can't seem to get on the board. Even Ovi's mom looked flabbergasted...

Alex Semin netted one in the waning seconds to get the boys back in but it was not enough.

Final score: Caps 1 - Leafs 2

The good news is that during the post-game press conference, Coach Boudreau said that he felt it's not panic time and that he feels that AO should be back against Crosby and pals for Sunday. He also noted the string of losses that the Detroit Red Wings experienced last season (though the Wings had a solid lead in the standings) and that every high-ranked team goes through this at some point. That said, he did not make excuses for tonight's loss even though he felt the overall effort was better than in games past and we fans have to hope that the guys return to their game on Sunday....

Canes Blow into D.C. as Trade Rumors Swirl

The day before the NHL trade deadline, Caps fans waited with baited breath to see if there will be any player movement by GM George McPhee and filed into the seats of the Phone Booth for a stint with the Carolina Hurricanes. If you were one of the thousands rocking the red at Verizon this evening, you got to see several of my twins' Pee Wee team mates accompany the Caps as honorary flag bearers on the ice this evening. Nice job representing boys!

These guys have worked hard all season and won the 2008-2009 CBHL Pee Wee A Regular Season Division Championship on Sunday! HM had to sell her tickets to see Cindy versus Ovie (Round Two) this Sunday as the boys will playing in the CBHL Playoffs in Yorktown. They'll definitely be facing some tough competition. Speaking of working hard, check out this story about another local player who is playing for the prestigious United States Air Force Academy. Not only is Matt Fairchild talented on the ice, he is an exceptional student as well - you have to be to attend one of our country's great service academies. HM wishes him continued success as a member of the AFA's Falcons team and as he serves our country in the future as an Air Force officer!

And a happy birthday to Alex Semin - who had a fantabulous game (wish I could say the same for the rest of the guys - defense, anyone) with a terrific goal scored while sliding to the ice on his knees. Sasha will probably be waking up with a slight headache tomorrow, but unfortunately not from post-game birthday cocktails. He took a nasty head-first hit into the boards in the second period, drawing a blatant boarding call on the Cane's Joni Pitkanen.

Tonight's game was one HM would like to forget as the Hurricanes blew away our home team with goals from Eric Staal, Matt Cullen, Chad LaRose and two from Patrick Eaves. And of course, the Canes have a goalie that has already won a Stanley Cup in Cam Ward. Unfortunately, the Caps were without Jose Theodore (down with the flu) and Tom Poti (supposedly bothered by that recurring groin injury - hope his absence is not trade-related).

So the Hurricanes won this one handily despite a third period goal by Sergei Fedorov (assisted by birthday boy Semin) with a final score of 5 -2. This the second loss to a Southeastern Conference team on home ice in so many days and a hard one for Caps fans to swallow.

By this time tomorrow, we'll know if George McPhee has made any moves - of course we are hoping he'll do something to beef up the defense. The clock is ticking....

Cats Pounce Caps at Home: 6 - 2

For a few minutes in the first period, the Capitals were actually "in" today's game against the Southeast rival Florida Panthers in front of yet another sell-out Verizon Center crowd. Thanks to a quick power play goal courtesy of Alex Semin, the boys looked like they were on the right track from the get-go. Alas, it was all downhill from there as the Panthers went on an offensive rampage, due to defensive breakdowns and another revolving door in and out of the penalty box (7 times) on the part of the Capitals. Caps fans haven't experienced that kind of lackluster loss since the 7-1 fiasco at the hands of Filthadelphia and HM hopes we don't see another one for a long time.

Don't look now, but the N.J. Devils are moving fast and furious towards the top spot in the East as Marty's (Brodeur) back in net and has had shut outs in the 2 games since his return. Time to regroup and get their heads together for Tuesday's contest against Carolina (and to see if this week sees any trade transactions by GM George McPhee before Wednesday's deadline). Chris Pronger, anyone? That GMGM is a sneaky devil - it's always fun to wait and see if he has anything up his sleeve - kinda of like waiting to see what Santa Clause brought...

Of course the other big news was Don Cherry's rant against Alex Ovechkin's unorthodox celebrations and exhuberance on the ice during last night's HNIC. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out here, unbelievable:



Now we hockey fans know that Mr. Cherry speaks his mind and is a proud Canadian (which is wonderful), but who knew he had such a problem with European and Russian players in the league? Sorry Don, HM has to throw the flag down on this one. You are way off-base and way out of line. Yes, Sidney Crosby is a talented player but the kid is plain vanilla (and not even french vanilla, just plain ole vanilla). Ovechkin is a double chocolate-pistachio-cotton candy sundae with whipped cream and oodles of colorful sprinkles on top, whether you like it or not.

And as a hockey mom, I would LOVE for my kids to exhibit the passion and excitement for the game that Alex demonstrates night after night. And not only when he scores either. He is just as exuberant when one of his team mates scores - the ultimate display of team work and sportsmanship! HM listens to Hockey This Morning every morning on the way to work (helps keep me up to date on all the hockey happenings and a great distraction to prevent road rage) and I think HTM's Shawn Lavigne sums up this situation perfectly here.

And being the personality that he is, AO had this response to Cherry's not-so-popular opinion:

"Don Cherry?" Ovechkin said. "What I can say? He's a funny guy, old guy. He likes old-fashioned hockey, so he don't like probably my celebrations. He said a lot of stuff about [Atlanta all-star Ilya] Kovalchuk and me, so he ...I don't know. I don't want to talk about him. He's not interesting to me. He can say whatever he want. I don't care about him."

Read the rest courtesy of Tarik at Capital Insider. So there, Don Cherry - just take your pint of boring vanilla ice cream home and stop the madness!