The mood was light out at the Iceplex on Friday. After a long flight home from Boston – mechanical trouble, of course – the Caps pushed practice back to noon and kept things simple during a 45-minute skate. No reason to push it with the home opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs set for Saturday night. Some topics of interest…
» The Caps scored twice on the power play in that impressive 4-1 win at Boston, making the Bruins pay for some questionable penalties. Star defenseman Zdeno Chara took one when he leveled Alex Ovechkin as the second period expired. Ovechkin had just done the same to Boston forward Mark Recchi, a clean hit that still drew the ire of the Bruins.
“I think we scored at the right times in the game,” said Caps center Nicklas Backstrom. “It was 1-0 and then 3-0 at the beginning of the third period. Those are important goals.”
» Backstrom says there is a ton of buzz back in his native Sweden about tonight’s NHL game between the Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues in Stockholm. The Red Wings, of course, have eight Swedes on their roster and the Blues have one themselves.
“Those guys are getting mobbed everywhere they go,” Backstrom said.
Could the Caps be on the docket next season? Alex Ovechkin holding court in his native Moscow for a few days would be over-the-top fun.
» Caps D John Erskine got into a scrap with Bruins F Shawn Thornton late in the third period on Thursday. He’ll have to get used to that with enforcer Donald Brashear plying his trade now on Broadway with the Rangers. But with the Caps up 4-1 and just 10 minutes, 17 seconds left, Erskine would have rather passed on a bout.
“I didn’t even want to fight. They scored that one goal shorthanded [in the third period] and got the crowd back into it. Then the next shift – I had hit [Thornton] a few times before – and then he just dropped the gloves and grabbed me and I still had my stuff on. He’s like ‘C’mon Ersk, let’s go, let’s go, let’s go.’ I was like whatever – fine. I think there’s a time and a place when to [fight] and last night it probably shouldn’t have happened. Because if I lose bad it can really get their team going. But at the same time you have to protect yourself, too.”
» Caps coach Bruce Boudreau again said rookie G Semyon Varlamov would start in net on Saturday against the Maple Leafs. He declined to detail his reasons. But it’s doubtful that Jose Theodore’s fine performance on Thursday – 18 saves on 19 shots, including a handful of quality stops early in the game – will be enough to change Boudreau’s plan. Just a guess – but it makes sense if Boudreau doesn’t want to start the 21-year-old Varlamov on Tuesday at Philadelphia.
» It also seems unlikely that D Jeff Schultz or D Tyler Sloan will play on Saturday. Both were healthy scratches against the Bruins along with F Michael Nylander.
» F Brooks Laich got his season off to a rocking start with a pair of goals Thursday. He played left wing on the second line, but over the last two years has shown a versatility unmatched in the Caps’ lineup. Boudreau will eventually have a decision to make when F Tomas Fleischmann – himself a 19-goal scorer last season – returns from a blood clot later this month.
“Flash’s injury was a major part of [Laich moving up to the second line],” Boudreau said. “But at the same time Brooks is the kind of guy I feel comfortable I can use him in any situation and he’s going to do an outstanding job. Whether it be fourth-line center or third-line left wing or second-line left wing, left “D” on the power play as we did a few times in training camp. I just feel I can use him there and feel comfortable that you know he’s going to give anything he’s got and he’s going to pay attention to what you’re asking him to do.”
But when asked if it will be a tough decision to keep Laich on the second line or drop him down, Boudreau deferred.
“I haven’t come to that bridge yet. It gives us a different element when [Fleischmann] and [F Eric Fehr] both come back. Those are two pretty good offensive guys so we’ve got to wiggle some things in.”
