November

The Washington Capitals in November are 4-1-1. They started out the month with a 5-0 shutout loss to Buffalo and an overtime loss at Ottawa. The offense was sputtering and the defense was committing too many turnovers. The only saving grace was the play of netminder Brent Johnson. The Capitals had all the fans wondering if the ghost of Novembers past were back.

The Capitals returned home from Ottawa to face division leading Carolina, last Thursday. Down 2-1 with under three minutes to play, the magic of last years playoff run seemed to creep back into the lineup and Verizon Center. Alexander Semin and Ovechkin combined to tie it up. They struck again with ten seconds to play and the Capitals stole a win and at least a point from Carolina. The Rangers rolled into Verizon Center on Saturday, and the Caps continued to roll, shutting down the Rangers 3-1. The magic didn't stop there. Olie Kolzig in his return to Washington with the Lightning was welcomed rather rudely, allowing two goals on the first two shots. Kolzig took the loss in Washington, 4-2. Then, last night with first place in the Southeast Division on the line, the Caps played their most complete game of the season, thumping Carolina 5-1.

The Capitals already have more wins than they did last November, when they went a dismal 3-11-1. Since the 5-0 loss in Buffalo, the Caps top line has gotten hot. Ovechkin has two goals and six assists, Semin has five goals and six assists, while Backstrom has one goal and five assists. One has to imagine the Capitals will go only as far as this line goes. Defensively, the Caps have been lead by Mike Green who has two goals and two assists since the Buffalo game and Tom Poti who has two goals and an assist. Brent Johnson has continued his strong play stopping 149 shots out of a 157 faced for a 94.9% save percentage and a just above two goals against a game average. During the stretch, since the Buffalo game, he has gone 4-0-1 as a starter.

Since March 9th of last year, the Caps are 12-0-1, and look to continue that streak at Verizon Center against New Jersey, the only team to beat them at home during the stretch, tomorrow. I will have more later.

GO CAPS!!!!

-Bagasome