This past weekend’s NHL Draft was a busy time for the Washington Capital’s General Manager George McPhee and the scouts. The day began with 11 draft picks spread throughout the 2 days/7 rounds, but after a quick trade of Cody Eakin that included our 2nd round pick for Dallas Stars center Mike Ribeiro, George McPhee still had 10 picks to go. Ten picks is still nothing to sneeze at, and the resulting acquisitions helped fill out a nice roster of prospects for the team. Here is a brief breakdown of the players drafted:

Round 1/Pick 11 was Filip Forsberg (as Joe B would say “No relation” to retired NHLer Peter Forsberg). Rated as an excellent pick that was expected to be snatched up long before the 11th pick, the talented center still has one year left to play in Sweden before coming to the Caps, but he’s an effective two-way player with good puck handling skills.

Round 1/Pick 16 was Canadian forward Tom Wilson. Many reporters are calling this pick “The steal of the draft”. Based on his performance with the Plymouth Whalers of the OHL and on the scouting reports, it looks like Tom is going to bring some body-checking physical contact and intimidation to the ice as a tough power forward when he gets here.

The Round 2 pick on Saturday was part of the trade of Cody Eakin for Mike Ribeiro.

Round 3/Pick 77 went to WHL player Chandler Stephenson (18), listed on the draft report as left wing and center, and played with fellow Caps prospect Garrett Mitchell in 2010-2011

Round 4/Pick 100 was USHL center Thomas Di Pauli (18)

Round 4/Pick 107 got us Notre Dame right wing Austin Wuthrich (18)

Round 5/Pick 137 resulted in USHL defenseman Connor Carrick (18). All three of these players were from the 2010-2011 USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program.

Round 6/Pick 167 was for right wing Riley Barber (18), another USHL player who won the USHL Clark Cup championship in 2010-2011

Round 7/Pick 195 went to Swedish defenseman Christian Djoosck (17), who was a teammate of first round pick Filip Forsberg on the Swedish Under-18 World Junior Championship team

Round 7/Pick 197 resulted in WHL defenseman Jaynen Rissling (18). Fun fact about Jaynen, his uncle Gary played 37 games for the Washington Capitals in 1978

Round 7/Pick 203 is when we picked up Russian goalie Sergei Kostenko (19). Interestingly enough, Sergei, who is a friend of Caps defenseman Dmitri Orlov, was unranked for the 2012 draft. GM McPhee and his team had to request his qualifying listing before they could pick him; but apparently, Sergei had been on the Caps radar for a few years now.

Do not expect to see any of the 2012 draftees in the ice at Verizon Center this upcoming season. If they don’t have a year left on their current teams, they will be back in college when autumn rolls around.

So, what’s up for the rest of the summer? Lots! Development camp starts in two weeks. The team is still in need of a coach; expect an announcement any day now. Mark July 1 on your calendars as the day free agency starts. And The National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) is meeting this week to discuss the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the players and the league. Brooks Laich is the player’s association rep for the team, but I hear that Ovechkin and Brouwer are also present. Keep your eyes on the Washington Capitals website as well as the Caps Twitter (@washcaps) and Facebook account for up to the minute news all summer long.

Stanley Cup Playoffs: Round 1-Eastern Conference Quarterfinals: Washington Capitals vs. Boston Bruins

After a strenuous end to the regular season, #7 seed Washington began its first round series against the #2 seed Boston Bruins on Thursday April 12^th. Biggest news of the series: AHL goaltender Braden Holtby slated to start his first Stanley Cup playoff appearance between the pipes due to injuries to both Tomas Vokoun and Michal Neuvirth.

Here’s how it all panned out.

Game 1 – 4/12/12: Caps 0 @ Bruins 1 in Overtime

Even though this game seemed to be more about hits than it was about goals, rookie goaltender Braden Holtby keep the Bruins scoreless through the regulation 3 periods, saving 29 shots on goal during that 60 minutes of play. Line matching by Bruins coach Claude Julien played a large part in this game, as well as lots of time killing penalties, keeping the Caps’ shots on goal down to only 16 during regulation.  Overall, a tough shutout start to the series, but certainly one that was used by Hunter to make adjustments going forward.

Game 2 – 4/14/12: Caps 2 @ Bruins 1 in Double Overtime

Strong offensive play helped the Caps win over the Bruins in game 2, as well as another stellar performance from Braden Holtby. The game was loaded with gritty play and attempts at greasy goals. If you thought the 47 shots on goal in game 1 was on the low side, game 2 really amped it up with 39 shots for the Caps and 44 shots for the Bruins. The game also showed a shift in defensive play by the Caps with lots of shots blocked and by outhitting the Bruins 41-36.

One notable moment that stands out to me was the reaction from Bruins goalie Tim Thomas when Nicklas Backstrom crashed the net just minutes before the end of the third period, and he swung at Backstrom’s face with his blocker. Anger and/or frustration seemed to be a juggernaut for Thomas and the Bruins in this game.

After 60 minutes of regulation ended in a 1-1 tie, it wasn’t until 2:56 into double overtime that Backstrom scoring the game winning goal. Reminds me of a certain adage about paybacks!

Game 3 – 4/16/12: Bruins 4 @ Caps 3

Caps finally get home to Verizon Center in game 3. This game seemed more about provoking to produce penalties, although this was the highest scoring game yet in this series. Looking back at the 2 previous game, penalties played a much bigger part in this game. Game 1 had a total of 7 penalties for 16 minutes (PIM), game 2 – 5 penalties for 10 minutes (PIM), but game 3 was a whopping 15 penalties for a total of 30 total minutes; not including the 10 minute match penalty for cross-checking imposed on Backstrom for what was considered a deliberate injury to Rich Peverley after the buzzer ended the game. Not a fond memory.

Game 4 – 4/19/12: Bruins 1 @ Caps 2

Game 4 saw the 1 game suspension for Backstrom’s match penalty in game 3 and the return of John Erskine and Mike Knuble to the lineup. Both teams went back to gritty play with few penalties assessed, so power plays and penalty kills were not as much of a factor in this game when it came to scoring in this game, even though the first penalty of the second period seemed to spur a revival in attempts on net by the Caps. Holtby’s  44 saves and snap shot goals from Johansson and Semin were enough to pull off the win to tie the series 2-2, but let’s not forget the stopped clock at the end of the third period. Most notable thing about that stopped clock was the explanation given by the NHL; “The off-ice officials were not able to attract the attention of the referees or linesmen despite sounding the horn, which was not audible due to crowd noise, and the puck was dropped.” Way to go Caps fans! I guess you could say time stood still with this win by the Caps.

Game 5 – 4/21/12: Caps 4 @ Bruins 3

Game 5 sends us back to Boston with a nail-biter of a game and the return of Michal Neuvirth as back up to Braden Holtby. Line matching from Hunter played a significant role in this match up, although many fans questioned the tactic at first.  Jay Beagle scores his first Stanley Cup playoff goal and both Caps that are former Stanley Cup winners – Mike Knuble and Troy Brouwer – scored to keep Washington alive in this series by taking a 3-2 lead.

Game 6 – 4/22/12: Bruins 4 @ Caps 3 in Overtime

In what could have been a series finishing game, Boston did not seem to want to go quietly into that good night.  Unfortunately, game 6 seemed to be a game of missed opportunities for the Caps and they were unable to get any lead in this game. An interesting note from this whole series to date; for the first time in NHL history, 6 games in a series have been decided by one goal. On the plus side, Mike Green scored his first goal of the series. And even though a late goal from Ovechkin in the third period tied the game to send it into overtime (again!), Boston scored to tie the series once again. So, just when you think your heart can’t take anymore without going into cardiac arrest, we move on to game 7.

Game 7 – 4/25/12: Caps 2 @ Bruins 1 in Overtime

Joel Ward OT GWG. (There really isn’t anything else to say!)

So, congratulations to our Washington Capitals! Everybody get some rest before Round 2 (against “opponent TBD”)!

After the shock of being swept in the first round of the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Washington Capitals and their fans were looking forward to starting with a clean slate in 2011-2012.  During the long offseason, the team acquired Tomas Vokoun, Troy Brouwer, Joel Ward and former Capital Jeff Halpern.

The Capitals opened the season on the right foot, earning a place in NHL history for becoming one of 10 teams to win their first seven games.

But the rest of the season quickly turned into a rollercoaster ride for Caps’ faithful, with the defense struggling and a string of ugly losses at the hands of the Jets, Maple Leafs, Rangers and Sabres. The blowout in Buffalo on November 26 turned out to be the last stand for popular coach Bruce Boudreau, who was immediately replaced with Capitals legend Dale Hunter of the OHL’s London Knights. Within a week, Boudreau had a new home as bench boss of the struggling Anaheim Ducks.

The storyline for the Caps this season, in addition to prolonged injuries to key players Mike Green and Nick Backstrom, was inconsistency. Working to adapt to a new coach under a more defense-centric system, the team vacillated hot and cold with commanding wins and lackluster losses to lower ranked opponents through mid-season.  The Caps lost Nicklas Backstrom to concussion in early January – the result of a high and dirty elbow from former Calgary Flame Rene Bourque. Backstrom was out of action for nearly three months but his recent return has sparked the Caps going into the playoffs and he notched his first goal since returning in the final regular season game.

Both Alex Ovechkin and Dennis Wideman were voted onto the NHL All-Star team in late January but Ovechkin forewent the festivities as he was serving a suspension for a hit on Pittsburgh’s Zbynek Michalek on January 23.

The Capitals fought their way into the 2012 playoffs at the final hour by soundly beating the division champion Florida Panthers.  After a season of unpredictable stops and starts, the Capitals know they have their work cut out for them as they look forward to meeting the reigning Cup champions when the playoffs start later this week.

Click here to view some photos of the event!

This will be a great time to purchase merchandise for you and your friends and family, hang out with other Club Scarlet members, and enjoy some wine and cheese. Also, you can watch some of the Caps vs. Bruins game and cheer for the Caps as they continue their Drive for the Playoffs powered by Constellation Energy.

We will also announce the winner of the Scarlet Referral Contest, who will receive two tickets to the March 31 game vs. the Canadiens and participate in the Jerseys Off Our Back ceremony after the game. If you haven’t already participated, see the contest info below.

Don’t miss this great event and your chance to save on Caps gear. Click here to RSVP now!

By now everyone knows that GM George McPhee decided to stand pat with his current roster at the trade deadline on Monday, rather than “sell the farm” of talented youngsters and upcoming prospects for a potential rental who might help the team in a playoff push.

It’s certainly shaping up to be an extremely tight race to the finish – as of this writing, the Caps are only 3 points behind Florida and Winnipeg trails Washington by one measly point. This year’s trade deadline turned out to be much ado about nothing with rumors of blockbusting trades rapidly dissipating as the clock ticked closer to 3 p.m.

While Caps fans waited with baited breath to see what, if anything, the team would do, several of our conference mates did do a bit of wheeling and dealing right up to the deadline.  The Florida Panthers haven’t made the playoffs in 12 long seasons and they are fighting tooth and nail (make that, claw) to make sure that drought ends in 2012. Meanwhile, the rejuvenated Jets are still enjoying their hockey honeymoon while giving their hometown fans plenty to cheer about in the battle for the eighth seed.

The Lightning made quite a few moves – they are currently five points out of the playoffs and without the services of Vinny Lecavalier indefinitely. They picked up feisty veteran defenseman Mike Commodore, recognized throughout the League for his out-of-control curly locks. The Bolts were focused on their blue line as they also picked up Keith Aulie from Toronto and Brian Lee from Ottawa. In the words of Craig Laughlin, Aulie is quite a “big rig” who adds more size and grit to the defense corps, but Steve Yzerman had to let go of prized prospect Carter Ashton in exchange.

Florida did not make any actual moves on deadline day but acquired a pair of forwards over the weekend. Forward Wojtek Wolski was acquired from the Eastern leading New York Rangers on Friday and has already contributed a goal and an assist in less than a week with his new club. The Cats also picked up center Jerred Smithson from the Nashville Predators.

Meanwhile, in hockey-crazed Winnipeg, the Jets moved a defenseman while acquiring a new face for their blue line. Former New Jersey Devil, Johnny Oduya, was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a second- and third-round pick in the 2013 draft. Traveling in the other direction was Grant Clitsome, who was traded from the Columbus Blue Jackets. He previously played under current Jets’ coach Claude Noel in Columbus.

Like the Capitals, the Carolina Hurricanes stayed the course with no trades going down on the big day.

With no huge names dealt within the conference, we’ll be seeing some old, familiar faces in the sprint to the finish line. The Caps face Tampa Bay two more times this season, while they’ll meet the Jets twice in March. And of course we expect a physical game as they finish out the last week of the regular season against the Panthers on April 5.

by Caps Girl

If you watched the Caps game against San Jose on Monday, you may have noticed two occurrences that were a little out of the norm for a regulation NHL game. One that seemed to take forever and one that happened in the blink of an eye.

The first was the goalie interference penalty against Joel Ward that was delayed for almost one minute of play. Here’s how it began: Two minutes into the first period, Joel Ward crashed into the Sharks goalie Thomas Greiss. (Speculation from Caps fans was that Ward was actually pushed into Greiss by Sharks center Logan Couture; at least it looked like that to the Caps faithful watching the replay.) So, at the 18:00 minute mark on the clock, the ref raises his arm to signal a penalty will be called. So, why didn’t he just blow the whistle then instead of waiting until the 17:03 mark? Here’s why.

Per the NHL rulebook: Should an infraction of the rules which would call for a minor, major, misconduct, game misconduct or match penalty be committed by a player of the team not in possession of the puck, the Referee shall raise his arm to signal the delayed calling of a penalty. When the team to be penalized gains control of the puck, the Referee will blow his whistle to stop play and impose the penalty on the offending player or goalkeeper.

What this breaks down to is this; when the penalty against the Caps occurred, San Jose was in possession of the puck, and upon review of the game footage, kept possession of the puck for another 57 seconds. It wasn’t until San Jose made an attempt on goal that was deflected by Braden Holtby and Roman Hamrlik, that the puck was finally no longer in San Jose’s possession. Yes, it seemed like the delay lasted forever. I actually rewound the DVR several times just to make sure my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me. So, while we all may disagree with the penalty itself, the delay of the penalty for 57 seconds was by the book. The NHL rulebook, that is.

The second out of the norm occurrence was the 10 minute misconduct penalty called on Joel Rechlicz. How can a guy who only played on the actual ice for 1:30 do something worthy of a 10-minute penalty? To explain that, you need the replay and a little history. Joel “The Wrecker” Rechlicz is a right wing on the Hershey Bears and is known for the enforcer role he plays. (He even dropped the gloves with Donald Brashear back in 2010 when Wrecker was playing for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers). Apparently, Coach Hunter brought Rechlicz up from Hershey for this Sharks game to keep Brad Winchester from being a factor in the game, as he had previously when he was penalized for charging on Alex Semin in January. Per Dale Hunter after practice on 2/14, “The Wrecker eliminated any effect from Winchester”; so, job well done.

But, as to the misconduct penalty, we really have to go back to the replay, because if you blinked – you missed it. At the 16:23 mark in the second period, Ovechkin is skating along the boards when he comes in contact with Ryan Clowe. “Contact” meaning the usual forceful body hit from Ovi that sends Clowe flying. A few seconds later, Clowe tries to return the favor by slamming Ovi into the wall along the Caps bench. Now, you have to watch really closely to what see happens next. While these two hits occur, you can see Rechlicz standing up from his seat on the bench. Just after the hit from Clowe, Rechlicz appears to take offense to Clowe’s hit and seems to be having words with him. Before you know it, the commentators announce Rechlicz and been removed from the bench for a 10-minute misconduct penalty, and nobody seems to know why.

So, what constitutes a misconduct penalty?

Per the NHL rulebook:

75.4 Misconduct Penalty – Misconduct penalties shall be assessed under this rule for the following infractions:

(i) Any player who persists in using obscene, profane or abusive language directed towards any person after being assessed a minor or bench minor penalty under this Rule.

(ii) Any player who deliberately throws any equipment out of the playing area. At the discretion of the Referee, a game misconduct may be imposed.

(iii) Any player who, after warning by the Referee, persists in any course of conduct (including threatening or abusive language or gestures or similar actions) designed to incite an opponent into incurring a penalty.

(iv) When a penalized player challenges or disputes the ruling of an official after he has already entered the penalty bench and play has resumed.

(v) In general, participants displaying this type of behavior are assessed a minor penalty, then a misconduct penalty and then a game misconduct penalty if they persist.

While fans may never learn the full story of what exactly transpired, we could probably assume (iii) was the reason why. But what may be more important here is the affect The Wrecker had on the game. Looking back, ten minutes in the locker room isn’t too big a price to pay to ensure the opposition knows who and what they are dealing with.

By Megan Eichenberg

Spencer Edwards’ mother, Stacey Edwards, describes her son as a talented skater with an interest in playing hockey. But a staple of many rinks frequently presents a challenge that prevents Spencer, a native of Germantown, Md., from playing the sport with his young peers.

“Most rinks play music and he’s very audio sensitive, so he can’t do it,” said Stacey. “You would think it’s no big deal, you’d just go ahead and do it, but he can’t because of his sensory problems.”

Through the Washington Capitals and children’s charity Dreams for Kids, the Edwards family recently discovered an outlet for Spencer to increase his ice time.

In February the Capitals and DFK, whose mission is to empower young people through leadership programs and life-changing activities, paired up to host the second consecutive Extreme Recess hockey clinic.

Designed for youth with physical and development disabilities, the session presented 70 local kids with the chance to not only observe a team practice, but also to partake in the sport alongside players from the team.

During the session, Capitals defenseman John Erskine and forwards Jason Chimera and Jay Beagle mingled with children – including Spencer – on the ice, sharing tips on puckhanding, stickhandling and passing for more than an hour.

“It was fun to see the smiles on their faces and to teach the kids a little bit of hockey,” said Chimera. “Being able to share stuff with them was a great experience.”

Glenda Fu, executive director of the Washington, D.C., branch of DFK, described the direct interaction with the professional athletes as a significant aspect of the program.

“The fact that the players want to also be on the ice with the children is such an important and integral part of these kids feeling empowered,” said Fu.

To see a video recap from the event, click below.

MIX 107.3 radio personality Chilli Amar kicked off the event, which ran from 6-9:15 p.m. The popular event, held exclusively for Club Scarlet members, featured instructional lessons and on-ice demonstrations targeted towards the Capitals’ female audience. More than 250 women attended the event, which sold out in a matter of minutes.

The evening was divided into eight sessions, with the popular on-ice demonstrations featuring instructions from Dmitry Orlov, Tomas Vokoun and Dennis Wideman. The two on-ice sessions included the ladies learning how to shoot the puck with defensemen Orlov and Wideman, and learning how to stop the puck in the net with Vokoun on the other end of the ice.

The third session was the picture station, a new addition to Hockey ‘n Heels this season. This event featured Alexander Semin taking pictures with each Hockey ‘n Heels attendee.

The fourth session was a question and answer sit down with former Capital and Comcast SportsNet analyst Alan May. He discussed the rules of hockey and took questions from the group. The fifth session featured Caps’ strength and conditioning coach Mark Nemish, who explained to the ladies what fitness routines the Capitals go through before running them through the routines.

The sixth session gave the ladies a tour of the Capitals locker room courtesy of head equipment manager Brock Myles. During the tour Myles explained the different equipment the players wear and how he arranges the locker room in order to get ready for a game.

The seventh and eighth sessions taught the ladies about the behind-the-scenes of Verizon Center. They had a tour of the event floor, including the family lounge and the press room. Finally, they learned how the arena transitions from basketball to hockey and got to take pictures on the Olympia Ice-Resurfacer.

“This was my first time doing anything like this,” Vokoun said. “It’s great because it’s obviously not just guys who go to our games; females are hockey fans too and this type of thing is fun for any sports fan.”

“It’s been a lot of fun tonight,” said Wideman. “It seems like everyone’s having a good time and we have a couple of good shooters here too.”

When the Washington Capitals played the New York Rangers on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011, Ryan Callahan’s shot at 7:59 of the third period appeared to go cleanly past Caps’ netminder Tomas Vokoun. The goal would have put the Rangers to within one of Washington, who was leading 3-1 at the time. However upon further examination, it was found that his goal was scored in an illegal manner.

As you can see from the video below, the goal looked legitimate – it did in fact cross the goal line.

If this was the case, then why was it called off?

From the angle in the second video, there’s a clear indication of why the goal was disallowed – Callahan kicked the puck in.

The Rule on Kicking –

In the National Hockey League (NHL), the official rule on kicking is as follows:

A puck can in fact be kicked in all zones, but an attacking player cannot use a distinct kicking motion to propel the puck into the net. Players are also not allowed to score a goal by kicking a puck at any other player, goalkeeper or official, which then deflects into the net.

Goals will be rewarded, however, if an attacking player doesn’t use a distinct kicking motion with his skate when the puck deflects into the net or when a puck is directed into the net by an attacking player’s skate when no distinct kicking motion is evident.

Further, a kicked puck that deflects off the stick of any other player (excluding the goalkeeper’s stick) or the stick of the attacking player who kicked it is allowed.

Callahan’s Case –

When the goal judge originally signaled Callahan’s goal, it was because the goal judge’s responsibility is to determine whether or not the puck completely crossed the goal line (in Callahan’s case it did). As soon as the goal judge confirmed that the puck crossed the goal line just before the midway mark of the final frame, the video goal judge was then required to review the goal – as is league protocol with every goal in every game.

The video goal judge then determined they needed to expand review. The video goal judge then slowed down the play from every angle possible, before play resumed, to determine if Callahan’s goal was legitimate.

In the Rangers, Caps case, it was determined that New York’s Callahan did in fact make a distinct kicking motion and was ruled as no goal. The score remained 3-1 and play resumed.

A Uniform Process -

There are other cases when a goal is disallowed: when a player is off-sides during a goal, when a player bats a puck in, etc., but the referees and off-ice officials must go through this process every time they determine if a goal is legal or not. Callahan’s kicking example can help breakdown the process for you now each and every time you witness a goal (or not) while watching the Caps play.