DON'T FREAK OUT!

Okay, so our mighty Capitals, the President's Trophy Winners of yesteryear by absolutely dominating the league, just got dismantled twice in a row by the boys from Beantown. Were currently sixth in the East and 11th in the league! We did win four straight but they weren't blowouts and two went to overtime! WHAT IS GOING ON?

Before anyone goes and has a heart-attack, heed these words: Its early. Its VERY early. They've only been playing for two weeks. There are 75 games to go. One loss came against a fired-up Atlanta team on their home ice on opening night, who were fighting for a fallen teammate, and ultimately were probably underestimated. The other two losses came against a Bruins team that was led by a machine of a netminder with a number 30 on its sweater and the name Tim Thomas. Take Game 4 for example. Going into Game 4, Thomas had a .979 save percentage and was allowing 0.67 GOALS A GAME. Then he goes out and makes some ridiculous saves. Brooks Laich and Mike Knuble should have both had 2 goals to their credit by the end of this. None of the Bruins four goals came against a full strength side. Three were on the power play (the Caps had killed ALL of their penalties in the previous 6 games, so you can't ask for much more) and one was against a Caps line that was out on the ice way too long. The Caps don't meet with Boston again until November 5th, so they have time to get a little scoring punch going before they meet with the mighty Thomas once again, and by then, maybe Thomas, who is 36 years old, cools down a bit, a la Halak in the Eastern Conference Finals last year. Our next five games are against Atlanta at home, three road games against the Hurricanes, Minnesota, and Calgary, and then back home against Toronto before Boston comes to town. If the Caps can shape up before that suddenly big match-up, they can easily hand it to the boys from Beantown.

On a slight side note, the one thing fans can worry about is penalties. The Caps are 7th-worst in the league with a 105 penalty minutes. So far the PK unit has been near perfect (minus that blip in Boston), but it wont stay like that. The boys in red, white and blue need to be a bit more disciplined.

Weekly Round-Up

Hey there everyone, unfortunately we won't be on the air tonight (field hockey takes priority over our show). We should be on the air as scheduled next week--Friday 5-6 pm, so tune in there for more updates! But until then, here's a little bit of what we would have gone over on the show:
---Caps through the first four games: How do you think they look? Certainly we're happy with the 6 points that we've picked up, but there are a few facets of the game which could use improvement. First of all, they've scored on 2-17 power plays. Compared with the overwhelming success of last seasons power play unit, this is a big difference. While they have 78 games left to make it click, gathering points now will be a big easement come spring time when the inevitable injuries start to plague the team. Brooks Laich agrees, "we want to distance ourselves from .500 as much as possible, as early as possible. Last year we got off to a great start. And it means in the second half of the season--if you do have some injuries or suspensions or something goes a little wrong--that you already have points in the bank that you can count on. You don't want to be scrapping in February, March, and April just to get into the playoffs.
And while power plays are not the only way to earn points, they certainly helped the team through a few games.
---John Carlson: The youngster has unrealistically high expectations. After excelling in every league it is only natural to expect great things from the 20-year-old, but it is also more than unrealistic. Carlson has been a bit spotty through the first four games, but that is something that we should be expecting from him at this point. It's his first time as a full-timer for the big team, a little nerves are nothing to worry about. He'll be great in time, but I don't know if I would hand him the Calder just yet...
---Semyon Varlamov: What's your prediction for Saturday? Dressed and playing, or dressed and sitting? Rumor has it that Varly has been practising with the team, and will dress for the game in Nashville. I got a text from Tim in class today, saying, "Varly is healthy and on the ice at practise right now. Might make his season debut tomorrow versus Nashville..."
That's all for now, check back here through the week more more updates, and catch us on the air next Friday!

Gordon Back With the Bears

Okay, so in a complete and total attempt to avoid doing homework, I found myself thinking about Andrew Gordon, and wondering whether he had cleared waivers. (If you missed the show last week, I spent a good few minutes ranting about the team's decision to cut him from the roster in the first place). A quick search on google turned up several results, including a twitter post from CSNwashington.com writer, Corey Masisak, saying that Gordon did indeed clear waivers. This is exciting news for the entire Capitals organization; they have yet another talented young forward that can be trusted to play at the NHL level whenever necessary. Good Luck Gordo!

Happy Birthday Mike Green

Happy 25th Birthday to Washington Capitals Defender Mike Green! We look forward to another fantastic season on the blueline.

Rough and Tough Capitals?

The Caps showed that not only can they pack a powerful offensive punch, but they can also pack a pretty powerful fighting punch as well. During the third period of the 7-2 onslaught of New Jersey on Saturday, the Devils started to become a tad "chippy", but the boys in red, white, and blue responded well. Jason Chimera, Matt Bradley, Matt Hendrix, and even MIKE GREEN got in tussles with Devils' players, and there was even a big scrum after a New Jersey player targeted 20-year old young gun Marcus Johansson (Green and recent rich boy Ilya Kovalchuk more or less skated in a circle, but hey, it counts). This was an early test of toughness against a Capitals team that has not been known for their toughness in recent history, and they came out and proved themselves to not only the Devils but the rest of the teams in the NHL looking for some way to slow down the Caps. I personally hope this is a thing we see more often with the team, although maybe not with guys like Green (leave the fighting to the fighters). Comment and let me know what you think.

Side Note: All of this fighting went on WITHOUT DJ King, the enforcer signed by the Caps to give them a little toughness. He was scratched for this game, but everyone knows he'll be suiting up the next time these two teams take the ice.

Projected Lines

I was just on Japers' Rink, the Washington Capitals blog from SB Nation, and apparently the lines have been released for tonight's opener. They go as follows:

Offense:
8-19-22
21-14-28
25-90-16
26-39-10

Defense:
55-52
3-74
4-27

These projected lineups make King, Gordon, and Sloan the odd men out for today. Its also odd to see Alzner and Carlson, not on the same line, even though they won two Calder Cups together as a dominant pairing in the AHL. Maybe Coach Bruce Boudreau feels like each young gun needs a more experienced veteran next to him out there on the ice until they get some experience. Either way, it should be fun to watch. I'm also very excited to see Johansson does tonight.

Happy Hockey!

Varly on IR?

According to ESPN.com, Caps G Semyon Varlamov was placed on the injured reserved list. The story was broke around 5 PM on Thursday. The story was broke by Scott Burnside at around 5 PM on Thursday. This move set the 23-man roster for the Caps. This move opens the door for Michal Neuvirth, who will make the opening night start against Atlanta on Friday. Varlamov can be recalled at anytime during the season, and even Bruce Boudreau said that Varly still has a chance to start against the Devils in the home opener at the Verizon Center on Saturday. If Varly cant suit up for the weekend games, Dany Sabourin will suit up to back up Neuvirth. Apparently, changing your number to number 1 during the offseason DOES NOT guarantee you the starting spot. Varlamov and Neuvirth have been battling for the number 1 goalie spot all of camp, and because no one has really heard of any injury occurring to Varly during camp, it seems as if the coach has made his decision, at least to open the season. Last year, Neuvirth went 9-4 with a .914% save percentage and a 2.75 GAA, while Varlamov went 30-7-7 with a .911% save percentage and a 2.81 GAA. While it seems that Neuvirth has the better numbers, I have always personally been a Varlamov-guy, especially after his playoff performance two years ago (I still get chills watching that RIDICULOUS save on Sid the Kid in Game 1 of that Series). Plus, every game that I watched with Neuvirth in goal last season he seemed very very shaky. Maybe Boudreau feels that he needs to get the younger kid some experience, but even that seems shaky because Varly needs just as much time to learn as Neuvirth does.

I also hate switching out goalies on a consistent basis. The Caps seemed to do this last year and I was never an avid fan of it, because it never seemed as if the goalie was allowed to get in a groove. Cate was telling me when she was a field hockey goalie she hated when her coach would not tell her whether she would be starting or not. She said she'd rather be told in advance so she cant get her mind right. I feel as if its the same situation with these guys. If you want to start Neuvirth, great, that's fine, Boudreau knows more than any of us armchair coaches do. But stick with him, unless he REALLY falters, and then go make a change. By flopping goalies, your not boosting these guys moral and making them more competitive; your just ruining their confidence.

P.S.- Complete different tangent here, but HAPPY HOCKEY SEASON! The season officially kicked off tonight, and the Pens are all ready 0-1-0! It looks like its going to be a good year.

LORD STANLEY TO DC!

Welcome to Dropping the Gloves!

Hey there everyone. Like Tim I thought I'd do a brief introduction (mostly so he can start to post things, since I know that's why he keeps asking me). My name is Cate Kinlein, and I'm also a freshman at the Philip Merrill School of Journalism at the University of Maryland. I'm actually a double major, sports broadcast journalism and Russian.
As Tim mentioned, I'm a huge hockey fan, obviously the Washington Capitals. However, I'm trying, trying, to broaden my sports horizon. I would really, really love to work in somewhere in hockey--preferably with the Washington Capitals. So hopefully you'll see me there somewhere in the future.
Right now I am focusing on passing my freshman classes, and devoting as much time as possible to the show. I hope you all get a chance to listen to it. I'm sure that it's been mentioned before, and probably will be again, but the show can be found on WMUCsports.com or if you are local to College Park, Maryland, on 88.1 FM. The show airs on Fridays 5-6 PM. We'll see you on the air!

Hello!

So i thought i would start off this blog by introducing myself. My name is Tim Horsey, and I am a 18 year old freshman at the University Of Maryland, College Park. I am a massive sports nut, and my favorite teams are as follows: Baltimore Ravens, Baltimore Orioles, WASHINGTON CAPITALS, Miami Heat (pre-LeBron, I promise), Liverpool FC, and Ireland Rugby. I am a Journalism major, and I currently have a radio show with Cate on WMUC Sports Radio called Dropping the Gloves with Tim and Cate which airs on Fridays at 5-6 PM (ironic that the blog is named the same thing...). On the show we talk about the NHL and the goings-on in the league, but more specifically we discuss the times of the Washington Capitals, which is our favorite team. I will admit that Cate has been a fan much longer than i have been, but I am soaking in information like a sponge and will soon be just as knowledgeable as my lovely partner is. We will be updating the blog when we feel necessary (hopefully daily or darn close to it), and you can listen to the show at 88.1 WMUC FM if you are located around the College Park area or on iTunes by simply logging onto WMUCSports.com and clicking on the Listen Live link. So tune in every Friday from 5-6 PM, and give us feedback on the blog or e-mail us at dropthegloves10@gmail.com! We hope you enjoy!