It Took 56 Minutes for the Caps to Beat the Isles

So said @dani3boyz last night on Twitter. And she was right.

Nino Niederreiter scored his first NHL goal in Washington. That will be one he will remember forever.

Dwayne Roloson made his first start of the season and proved why Garth Snow inked the veteran netminder for a two year deal. There was no 1st period let-down for Roli. He had given up three quick goals in each of his exhibition games, but it wasn't until 18:15 of the second that Alex Ovechkin managed to get one passed him.

Blake Comeau's roughing penalty late in the third led to the game winner by Nick Backstrom. It was actually a lucky break for the Caps. And as the Islanders had done against the Rangers, when opportunity knocks, good teams take advantage of it.

There was a lot of chatter about Matt Moulson's missed breakaway. While it would have been great if he made it, that's not really Matt's specialty. I'll let him slide on that one.

All in all, the injury depleted Islanders gave the Washington Capitals and the superstar of the league a run for their money. There is nothing to be ashamed of in that performance.

Now, how hard can they make it for the Penguins on Friday?

As a side note: I didn't get to watch most of the game because I was at Hofstra last night. I got a look at the WHUR studios and was really impressed with the facility! It actually looks better than some more well known radio stations.

So when I left the campus, I turned on 88.7 FM and started to catch Chris King calling the game. The production quality was very good, but the tempo of Chris' side-kick could have been a little better. I found him a little slow on the up-take. The signal was loud and clear until I was all the way to Bay Shore on Sunrise Highway. Then I had to switch to XM radio to continue to listen to the game. Of course on XM it was the Capitals feed that was being broadcast.

What was the first thing I heard the caps announcers talk about during intermission? The lack of an Islanders fanbase. I screamed at the radio.

Dear Ryan Miller:

It's not your fault.

It was an amazing game. One that ended as most would have thought as soon as Canada scored the first goal; and then the second. Team USA trailed 2 - 0 until Kesler managed to put Team USA on the score sheet at 12:44 of the second.


The game was so fast, a few times I thought they were skating eight aside. It was just a blur of players. Even without the ability to drop the gloves, it was obvious this was not a gentleman's game. The hitting was big, the shoving ever present. The penalty calls, however, were inconsistent.

In the final minute, with Ryan Miller pulled from his net the coaching staff gathered the team at the bench to draw up the last big push, the joke in my house was "Just get the puck to Parise." That was the only plan. "Just get the puck to Parise."

That must have been the plan, because that's exactly what happened. With under a half minute to to, Zach Parise, the man who COULD have been an Islander, tied the score and sent the game from absolute loss to a possible win.

While waiting for the OT to begin, ex-Olympian Jeremy Roenick sounded as if he was going to cry. He was so excited over the game going into overtime and the fact that someone, some player on that ice would be a hero. Who would have thought that the hero would be the NHL's own poster boy, Sidney (freakin') Crosby.

In the seconds before that historic goal was scored on Ryan Miller, Dan blurted out "He smells hero." Dan saw it coming. I'm guessing Miller did too. But in the blink of an eye, the puck was in the back of Miller's net. The deal was sealed and Team USA was going home with Silver.

Much like the Women's team, the men were despondent. Unlike the women, they didn't break down in tears. Actually, they just looked angry. Even while accepting their Silver medals, Zach Parise looked as if he could have punched a wall. So the men's standings ended the same way the Women's did. Finland, USA, Canada. Interesting.

Brian Burke, without his jacket, tie loosened and shirt opened, and looking like every Irish baretender I've ever known, sat on the bench with his coaching staff and looked at his team. Something caught his eye and he went out onto the ice to talk to one of his players. I wish NBC had kept the camera on him so I could have seen who it was. Perhaps it was Burke being the father figure he is, or the GM he is, or both. During the handshake line, Ryan Miller and his Coach Lindy Ruff had a moment in line, it was heartwarming, but it didn't seem to do much to ease Miller's pain.

Even though you lose to get Silver, Team USA should be proud of their accomplishment. They came into this tournament ranked fifth. (Or so one of the articles said which was the reason the NHLPA scheduled their flights for this morning.) They came in second and it was a historic, hard fought game.

For a few hours today, Hockey was center stage in North America. Will it bring more people to the 30 NHL rinks? I don't know. Will it encourage kids to take up hockey as a sport? Maybe. Will that stunning Game Winner by Sidney Crosby earn him more fans? Yes. It will also earn him more detractors.

But one thing is for sure. That goal solidified the reason why Sidney Crosby is the face of the NHL and not -- Alexander Ovechkin. I'm just saying.

Travel safe Olympians. NHL hockey resumes tomorrow and the trade deadline is Wednesday. No time to rest or enjoy. Just get back to work!

Uh, that's YOU TOO Miller!

Ovechkin 2 - Isles 1, Witt -27

Yes, I ditched out of the blog during the third period to go sit with friends in another section. The period seemed to go quite fast. I looked up and it was at the 10 minute mark. I waited for a whistle that didn't come until there were less than 3 minutes left. I had to run back to the box and pack up the laptop.

So what did I see in the third period? I saw a lot of missed opportunities. I watched as either shots were going wide or were hit right at Theordore's chest. I watched Josh Bailey set up some good opportunities, that went unrewarded.

I watched Yann Danis make some really good saves, and one really dumb move that he managed to save by diving on the puck.

I watched Alexander Ovechkin play when he wants to. He sits back and waits for the right time. That's probably why he's so damn good. And then I watched the Islanders managed to tie the game with Okposo Nielsen and Streit gaining to their point totals. It was a five on three power play. If they couldn't score that way, they shouldn't be playing the game.

A point. They managed ONE point. I ran back to the blog box and watched the remaining minutes of the game. There was hope. Real hope to win this game. And all that hope disappeared as soon as there was a slashing call on Brendon Witt. Back in the box he went and back to the net went Ovechkin. Say goodnight Yann.

We waited in Press Room 6 for what seemed like forever. There was light snow falling outside and I was wondering if I could get home before it was dark. Stan Fischler was once again at the front of the pack asking the questions, but today Scott seemed somewhat more relaxed. He even told a few stories instead of cutting off his responses.

Perhaps he's getting used to the press corps, perhaps he read somewhere that he had thin skin (an observation I don't agree with), or perhaps he's just getting used to facing the crowd after a loss. This is becoming a habit. But he felt that since they were held to one goal in regulation, it was a good effort.

Interesting that when asked about the play of Yann Danis, Scott hesitated for quite awhile and said he'd have to review the tape. He admitted that he made some good saves but that he does have concerns. "if you're playing against a team that's that good, like a Boston or a Washington, you certainly can't give up the easy ones."

Gordon gave kudos to call ups Kurtis Mclean and Jack Hillen. He was quick to praise the work of Capuano to make sure the Sound Tiger call ups are ready to play on this team. The consistency is key. Finding the back of the net would be a better "key."

Once again, Danis was light hearted in the locker room with the cameras and microphones pressed into his face. "The puck went through me. I have to work on that." was his explanation of the first Power Play goal that #8 put right by him.

"It feels good for the point. There are positives to come out of this game. We're getting shots on net." Twenty-eight to be exact. He was asked if he felt any pressure about his play and he said he didn't put that sort of pressure on himself since he knows he doesn't have a guaranteed spot on the team. And then I wondered; who is chasing him? Mannino?

Kyle, the long goal scorer said they were trying to hard and that's why the shots were going wide. "We're not looking up. So focused on getting to the net. We have to keep working, We've been right in there. Our chances will come."

Mclean then entered the room to be grilled. "Keep it simple, get deep, get to the net." (Sounds simple doesn't it?) "Ovie -- he can shoot the puck. You gotta be right on him. Witter was tough on him."

Yeah, well, Witter was the Zebra's focus since he kept getting the calls. Ovechkin may have sold the last penalty that resulted in the game winner by playing up the broken stick. He contends Witt broke it. Many of us can't be sure.

And then I looked up to the door and noticed that Jon Sim was freshly dressed and leaving.... long before his team mates.

MLK Day at the Coliseum

3:32 pm: As usual the bright spot in the stands is Dina the Arena Hostess doing the movie trivia game in section 201. The contestant won.

With one minute left of the 2nd, the Islanders did pressure the caps in their own end, but we are still at 1 - 0. And that's how we'll start the third.

3:25 pm: well, no additional score yet, and only a few chances. Gotta say, it's pretty funny when Yann looks behind him to see where the puck is and then realizes, he made the save. Good for you Yann!

3:09 pm: Let's explore this. Hillen had a great shot but didn't score. Jackman is banging around the boards, so was Comeau whom I thought might have hurt himself, but he didn't. Martinek went to shoot the puck and somehow it acted like a boomerang and come right back at his face, and Sim was on the ice... I think.

We're still at 1 - 0. But it looks like it's getting to be a pretty physical game.

Oh, and Nassau County varsity ** won the Lighthouse Cup. Congrats to them. **Scratch that! It was a SUFFOLK COUNTY WIN! Thank you Katrina!

3:03 pm: Danis makes a save he didn't even know he made.





3:02 pm Start of the second with SOG at 14 - 11 and so far, no additional injuries. Ha ha. Oddly now that Jose Theodore is in the net that Danis was just in, the light is now off.





2:39 pm. "Boring period." Some chances but nothing really to speak of. But Katrina Doell from the Lighthouse project stopped by to chat. Always great to speak with her. Always make sure you check out her Lightpost blog for all the latest information on the project.

SOG are now 12 - 8 Capitals. But Yann has been making some good saves. It could be worse.

Josh just had a few really good set ups, but no one could capitalize on the caps net being WIDE open!


And the upper bowl is packed. Nice crowd for a day game.

Well, Trent Hunter is out with a lacerated hand giving Bridgeport's Kurtis McClean a turn on the Coliseum ice. Nice to see Jack Hillen back as well. Let's see if he has developed any under Capuano.

I've been asked for my prediction and all I could say was "loss." Day game. Not a good thing in Islanders Country. I also do not have my mouse with me so I will have a problem with this computer. But at least I do have the camera! And batteries. Hopefully the team's batteries are fully charged as well.

And there's Ovechkin just skating around at his leisure. Someone I know predicted Ovie hat trick by the second period. He looks a little lazy today. Maybe that won't happen.

Oh, I sadly couldn't hear Point Blank's Chris Botta being interviewed by CJ Papa for MSG Plus, but I'm sure he did the same excellent job for the Lighthouse as he did on his ESPN Hockey show with Don LaGreca.

At 13:49 of the first, Witt took a Penalty for taking down Ovie in the corner at 13:49 of the first, and just a few seconds later, Alexander the Great makes him pay for it by scoring his 30th goal of the season.

The Morning After the Caps win

I'm not really awake yet. The alarm clock went off at 5:50 am, and I hit the snooze button twice. I was dreaming about trying to find the address of my daughter's Karate school for someone and was tearing through my purse. I didn't find it. And oddly, my daughter hasn't gone to Karate school in six years.

Is my subconscious mind searching for something I can't locate, but still seek, to no avail? Probably. And that search is for TWO regulation points, not ZERO or ONE. (Granted, I agree with Scott Gordon who said "One is better than none.") But the search is becoming daunting.

The glimmers of hope the Islanders offered up last night during the game made IslesOffical Doug wonder if he needed to perform CPR on IslesNation Stephen. I didn't think they would be able to come back, but Stephen told me "Don't give up!"

He was right as Sutton brought the deficit to one goal at 11:19 of the third, and then miraculously Jon Sim tied the game at 17:47. Those in attendance became loud and excited. There was hope again. Loudville, which had been somewhat sparse, became a magnet and those in other seats joined them. The IceBreakers (AFL unemployed dance squad) joined them to get the rally going.

As the clock wound down, and the buzzer sounded, we knew it wouldn't be a pointless night. But as overtime started, we all said the same thing. "Watch Ovechkin! Don't leave him alone." And with 10.7 seconds left, the threat we had preached became a reality. The Caps celebrated in a wild huddle as Scott Gordon walked past them after his team had left the ice.

Some of the Blog Boxers opted not to go to the post game. Doug and I opted to hear Gordon out and then leave after that. The weather along with the loss made that choice for us.

The truth is, there are no more questions to be asked of Scott. They have all been asked, and answered. I found it interesting that as the four minute mark of the press session drew close, "Two more questions." the media was told. And the media fell silent. There was nothing left to say. Scott walked away from the podium and we all packed up.

As the press room is next to the shower room, it is normally loud and raucous and difficult to hear Gordon speak over the music and player chat in the next room. Last night there was only the sound of running water.

"Everything is desperate at this point." Gordon answered as Logan asked if the rally in the third period was a product of desperation. It's December, this was the seventh straight loss, and the are new injuries daily. I don't believe you can get more desperate than this.

The only thing to take away from the game is that Doug Weight is that much closer to his 1000th career NHL point. When it comes, we will all celebrate for him -- or about a nano-second if it is not during an Islanders regulation win.

On personal notes, my evening was wonderful because I was able to send a little time with IslanderQueen (which I hardly have time to do any more) and with Dina, who stopped by with that great basket of home baked goodies. She stopped to jump online and check out what was going on in the Live Chat. She would have stayed to blog awhile, but she WAS working, always monitoring the instructions in her ear from the crew.

I was so hoping that Bergeheim or Bailey would have scored. That would be a wonderful Christmas gift for Bailey. I hope he gets it.

The drive back home in the falling snow was tedious. I didn't expect this weather. But looking at the lights on the houses in the glistening snow always makes you feel good. My husband always calls me Mrs. Grinch at this time of year. He says I have lost the "Spirit of Christmas." He's probably right.

Recently I've been carrying the bell from the Polar Express in my pocket trying to regain the magic. You never know, there may be one or two Christmas Miracles out there, for each of us on a personal level and perhaps for the team we follow. We just need to believe