GREAT win last night for the Caps in their home opener. They got down early 3-0 in the first period. They pulled Holtby for Neuvy and things changed from there.
In the second period, Connor Carrick took a BAD penalty. I like the kid but he is raw and he has committed a couple of bad penalties already. However, he made amends as once his penalty was over, he exited the box behind all the Calgary defenders and MoJo found him for a great head man pass allowing for a breakaway. He made some nifty moves and got his first NHL goal against Ramo. Problem was a couple of minutes later, Calgary got a cheapie goal on a puck misplayed by Neuvy making it 4-1. After that it was all Caps.
Ovi got two goals and Backstrom got the equalizer with about 6 minutes left. Went to OT and Grabovski and Ovi netted their chances and Neuvy shut the door to win it. HUGE come from behind win.
Again, I really like this team. I think we have a lot more speed and there is less pressure on these guys as expectations are not has high as in previous seasons. That coupled with the maturity of the core players makes for what could be a very interesting season.
A couple of other notes:
1. The Power Play is almost automatic. These guys were number one in PP last season and there is no sign of a let up. In fact, it seems more powerful than ever and you almost expect a goal every time they get a PP chance. I thought they would lose something with no Ribeiro as he had great stick handling and patience but they haven't missed a beat. Not sure what their percentage is but it's got to be something like 75% right now. Of course, it's skewed having played only two games but still in those two games they have like 4 PP goals.
2. No Ribeiro, no problem. I was a disappointed to not bring back Ribeiro as he was a good player and seemed like a good teammate. However, I did very much understand that the Caps just didn't (and shouldn't have) signed the guy for what he was asking. Enter Mikhail Grabovski. This guy has been unbelievable so far. A hat trick in game 1 and then nets a shootout goal last night. He plays with a fire and speed that fits well with the team. He seems like a gritty guy that is looking to prove he is a very good player in this league. Hopefully he will continue and hopefully we can resign him.
3. What's up with Holtby? He started out last season rocky and seems to be doing the same thing this year. He's made some good saves but he has let in some that he definitely should have had. Against the Blackhawks, the game winning goal was a shot going well wide and he tried to glove it and ended up sweeping it into his own net. On the other side, Neuvy was very sound yesterday. He had the one big mistake but otherwise played a great game. There is no doubt Neuvy can play but what I like more about him this season is that he seems MUCH more mature and willing to accept whatever role he is given as long as it's in the best interest of the team. In previous years, he sulked if he didn't start and was pretty immature and selfish and even outspoken in his beliefs that he was the best goalie on the team. I don't see that anymore and if he plays it smart, he may very well end up being the #1 goalie. Will be interesting to see who starts for the Caps on Saturday.
Finally, too bad for Jack Hillen last night. I like the guy and it looked like he suffered a pretty serious injury last night. Hopefully he will make a fast recovery. The good news is that we still have Steve Oleksy that can fill the spot and we just picked up Alexander Urbom for depth.
Really looking forward to this season.
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