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Ovechkin's Powerplay Magic Sinks Flames
Capitals 3 Flames 2
Gunnar Benediktsson
February 20, 2008
It's been a while since Calgary visited Washington in their barn, and
this game was enough to make any fan long for more matchups against
Alexander Ovechkin and the Capitals. It was a back and forth game, with
both teams making it a spirited affair, complete with big goals, big
hits, big saves and a fight. Washington's playoff hopes may be
flickering for this season, but with the cast of characters they have,
the future should be bright for this franchise in the next few years.
In the meantime, they're fun to watch: they forecheck, they make plays,
and they play an up-tempo game that makes for great entertainment any
night of the week.
In the end, powerplay goals made the
difference in this game, with Alexander Ovechkin tallying the winner
late in the third with Owen Nolan sitting in the box for high sticking.
Calgary played well overall, but it seemed like the Washington
forecheck eventually got the better of the Flames' defenders; that and
a few costly penalties meant the Flames found themselves on the wrong
end of a 3-2 regulation loss.
On The Line
For once, not quite as much as in recent games. The two points are
huge--and it will be crucial for the Flames to put some space between
themselves and the 9th place Nashville Predators, especially in this
road swing against the NHL's weaker sisters. However, it seems clear by
now that the season will be made or broken during the last half dozen
games or so, in which 4 point games dominate the schedule.
The Flow
An early first period goal from Viktor Kozlov might give the impression
that the Flames forgot to set their clocks ahead for Eastern time, but
in fact the first period was an excellent road period for the visitors.
Jarome Iginla would tie the game late in the first, notching his 42nd
of the season on a two man advantage, and Washington would head to the
dressing room finding themselves still in a tie game in spite of having
been outshot 17-8 and outchanced by an equally fair margin. In the
second period Calgary opened with a go-ahead marker from Huselius
(again on a 5 on 3) and then spent the rest of the period in penalty
trouble, and were perhaps fortunate to be tied after 2 periods. In the
third, both teams showed up to play, with the Capitals perhaps enjoying
a slight edge in play, as the home squad did a good job of keeping
Calgary to the outside.
Three Stars
1 - Alex Ovechkin: This kid is the definition of "dynamic."
You can't help noticing him every time he's on the ice, and his
combination of pure skill with the attitude of a power forward makes
for a very entertaining package. He was excellent tonight, though one
has the feeling that this kind of performance is par for the course for
this young Russian. He finished the night with two goals, bringing him
to 56 on the season.
2 - Jarome Iginla: The captain was noticeable early, tallying a
goal and an assist on the evening and playing a generally strong game.
In truth, this nod could as easily have gone to a Capital--Backstrom's
timely assist on Kozlov's icebreaker comes to mind--but what can I tell
you? It's a Flames board.
3 - Miikka Kiprusoff: The job of a star goaltender is simple:
give your team a chance to win, even when they aren't consistently the
best team on the ice. Kiprusoff did just that tonight, dazzling the
crowd with a number of big saves, particularly in a second period that
saw the Flames in bigtime penalty trouble. The Flames didn't take
advantage of that chance, but it's not because Kiprusoff didn't give it
to them.
Big Save
During an early second period penalty kill, Miikka Kiprusoff flashed
the leather, robbing Mike Green on the blast from the point, after
having been down and out of the play just seconds earlier. Cory Sarich
may be the Flame who appreciates that save the most, having watched the
play from le chateau bow-wow after
a lazy holding penalty. It was one of many great saves in that period,
as Kiprusoff was by far the team's best penalty killer.
Big Hit
In the first period Dustin Boyd was absolutely labelled by John Erskine
as he crossed the Washington blue line. Erskine was rewarded for his
efforts with a beatdown courtesy of Eric Godard, but one imagines that
as Erskine pressed an icepack to his new shiner he consoled himself
with the memory of the satisfying crunch of a Dustin Boyd-wich.
The Goat
Discipline. Calgary's penalty killing contained Washington's dynamic
power play s best they could, on the strength of a number of big
bailouts from a certain recently-ornery Finn. However, the Flames just
went to the well too often, and at the end of the night Washington had
clawed their way back into the game on the strength of the man
advantage. Too many penalties in any league, but especially too many
against a powerplay that features Ovechkin, Federov, Backstrom and
Semin. The careless high stick by Owen Nolan with just 3:39 left in the
game was a particularly costly infraction, setting up a late
game-winner by Alex Ovechkin.
Mr. Clutch
l know I gave him a star already, but the nod for this has to go to
Alexander Ovechkin, who seems to have an unparalelled knack for turning
it on when the game is on the line. With his team down a goal, and
having been thwarted on a number of consecutive powerplays, Ovechkin
took the bull by the horns and fired a rocket over the shoulders of a
prone Kiprusoff. Without that goal, this game might have ended very
differently.
Odds and Ends
Washington's Comcast Sportsnet announcers were a bit of a gong show
tonight. Referring to Jim Vandermeer as "Vandermeen" and generally
showing that they know absolutely nothing about any Flames player not
named Phaneuf or Iginla. I realize the Flames are not frequent visitors
to Washington, but one imagines that a little background reading is not
beyond the capabilities of these broadcasters. Kinda makes you
appreciate the Jim Hughsons of the world even more.... With every game
I watch, I like the Jim Vandermeer acquisition more and more. I fail to
understand how this guy was run out on a rail from Philadelphia,
particularly since I recently had the mixed pleasure of watching
Philly's remaining D-corps from up close--and let me tell you, it ain't
pretty.
Next up
The Flames visit the hapless Thrashers to-morrow night; Sportsnet West
will supply the visuals, while the dulcet tones of Peter Maher will
call the game for the Fan 960.
Lines(variations of):
Huselius - Langkow - Iginla
Tanguay - Conroy - Nolan
Yelle - Lombardi - Primeau
Boyd - Nilson - Godard
Regehr - Sarich
Vandermeer - Phaneuf
Aucoin - Hale
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