The Caps have not gone two games in a row without getting a point under Bruce Boudreau. Tonight's game presents a real threat to that. The Caps coming off of two inspiring wins over two top teams dropped a single goal decision to the lowly Maple Leafs.
It was a loss that was attributed to "getting outworked" and an extremely bad miscue from a defenseman. And now the pressure is on (more so then usual). All games are huge at this time of the year considering the position the Caps are in. But the fact is that the Caps with a loss tonight wake up tomorrow 5 points out with 1 game in hand. That's right, one of those 2 games in hand we have had for months will finally be "spent" tonight. As Olie said before, the games in hand don't matter unless you win them.
That brings me back to my original thought. The threat of a loss is very real tonight because Tim Thomas is coming to town.
The Bruins have always given us fits over the last 2 1/2 years. While on paper they were alwasy a team we "should" beat, we never could. The Bruins have won 8 of the last 9 games against us with the one win coming at the end of April 2006. It was an OT winner by Ovechkin.
But even worse, the Bruins come to town riding a 6 game winning streak and points in 8 straight. I guess the streak has to stop at some point...why not tonight?
WHO TO WATCH
THE TEAM- Does this team play different in front of Cristoabl Huet? I could not believe the difference in play from Friday to Saturday night. The team that shut down the Devils only allowing 18 shots and 2 in the third period was giving odd man rush after odd man rush leaving their goalie to fend for themselves. We know that some teams play better in front of different goalies. We used to see that with Kolzig over Johnson. Does the team play that different in front of Huet?
MATT COOKE- His game was invisible Saturday night. I'm assuming it was just his first game and he played on 3 different lines.
TIM THOMAS-Raise your hand if you think he's pumped about tonight's game? Yea, this guy to me is a mediocre goalie at best. I was pretty shocked he was on the All Star Team and if you watched him in that game you would be too. The Caps better have a game plan on this guy.
ZDENO CHARA-uhg...what are Ovy's chances of scoring number 50 on Versus tonight? Pretty slim considering Shaq will be wearing a Black and Yellow jersey tonight.
FOCUS
GIVE EM THE BUSINESS-Get some traffic in front of Thomas. Come out firing and throw him off his game. Put someone like Bradley on that second line to get in that crease and get dirty.
LINE COMBOS-Flash needs to be scratched. He had a terrible game Saturday night missing many oppertunies to tie it up. Put some grit on that second line. Someone who will do what I said above. Eric Fehr would be perfect for this second line or even someone like Bradley for this type of game.
BOTTOM LINE
The Caps have to win. They need to keep rolling along keeping Carolina in their site. They can not wake up tomorrow 5 points back with only one game in hand. With a win tonight, the Caps can put themselves in a great position come Wednesday night's game.
The Caps have an extremely tough week ahead. They have 4 games in the next 7 days and need to get no less then 6 of these points ( we really need all of them). They need to be prepared for this stretch mentally because the teams they play are ones that have owned the Caps over the last few seasons ( Buf, Bost, Pitt).
As always make sure to check out Caps Blue Line, JP, Cheap Seats, Peerless and the rest for their gameday previews!
Not Jacked up for tonight's game? Well watch this and try not to be.
NHL NEWS
- Oh! That's why you sucked as a coach. Got it...my bad
- Ovy and Fed-BFFL!
- Great Article on a terrible game
- I think the Caps would probally agree after Saturday night
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