Game Recap

Game Recap
After watching last night’s 3-1 loss to the B’s one thing remains abundantly clear, Alexander Semin is either really good or really bad. If you’re Coach Bruce Boudreau all you can do is hope that the good Alexander Semin shows up more often than not or at the very least that the good Alexander Semin shows up when it matters most. If previous seasons serve as any form of indication as to what to expect from enigmatic Russian then know this, when the Caps desperately need production Semin will be harder to find than a snow ball in Kabul.

The thought of trading Semin is a nice one, unfortunately his subpar production in the playoffs makes him the least valuable 40 goal scorer in the entire NHL. His value to the Caps (still yet to be fully determined) is seemingly greater than anything another team would be willing to give up to get him. Last night’s performance by Semin was packed with lazy penalties, inaccurate shots, forced passes, and poor defensive posture.

Aside from Semin’s dismal play there were a few bright spots to take away from last night’s loss at Verizon Center. The PK remained perfect, even killing off a 53 second 5-3 in which Jeff Shultz and Brooks Laich completely neutralized a struggling B’s PP. Semyon Varlamov came on in relief for an ailing Nuevirth who left in the 1st period with the flu. Many questions have surrounded the Caps goaltending situation, a lot of people would believe that Nuevirth had all but sealed his fate as the Caps number one goalie. However, last night’s performance Varlamov reminded Caps fans that he is also a very capable young goaltender. He yielded only one goal, coming off of a well screened Matt Hunwick long range wrist shot from in the 3rd.

On a final note the Capitals continue to rack up the fighting majors. They are now tied as a team for the second most fights with 7 through 6 games. Matt Hendricks squared off with Gregory Campbell early in the first and Milan Lucic had a bout with John Erskine. This was Lucic and Erskine’s second fight, the previous one was a decisive victory for Big John. This fight was closer than the first go around, Erskine landed a few early but Lucic was eventually able to counter Erskine’s rather aggressive fighting style with a large bear hug. The two exchanged a few punches before Lucic was able to wrestle Erskine to ground.

The two teams meet up again on Thursday night to complete the second half of this home and home. Don’t expect to see Erskine and Lucic to go again, however a DJ King Shawn Thornton rematch could be a possibility. The Capitals had a total of 20 fights all of last season. At this rate they will surpass that number by early November. I expect the fight totals to taper out at some point, but for fun I’ll set 30 games for the over/under on surpassing 20 fighting majors this season.