With every pre-season game that passes, the Washington Capitals have turned up the intensity a little bit each time.  Last night against the Buffalo Sabres, before a not-quite packed house at Verizon Center, they did so again in beating the Sabres 4-3 in a six-round shootout.

Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green and Matt Hendricks all scored in regular time and Tomas Vokoun made 21 saves on 24 shots to lead the Caps to their second pre-season win.  After a scoreless overtime, the game went to a shootout, where the normal three rounds just weren't enough.  Backstrom beat Ryan Miller on the Caps sixth try and Vokoun stopped Luke Adam to finally secure the victory.

The Caps played loosely in their own end in the first two periods, with all three sets of defensemen breaking down, leading to scoring chances.  But in the third period the Caps played with more intensity and attention to detail, limiting the Sabres to just three shots in the final frame.

"Even though we were faced with some adversity there in the first couple periods, we didn't give up," said Mike Green from the victorious locker room.  "We showed our character."

Green thinks the gradual transition in intensity is an inherent thing.  "I think it's natural.  I think now we're starting to wind down to our roster and guys are getting ready to actually play and get focused on the season. I feel like training camp is one thing, once the season starts you change your mind-frame."

Matt Hendricks agrees with his teammate on the natural progression.  "I think what helps is that we're getting a little more comfortable with what we're doing with each other.  I think when you're hesitating you're thinking too much out there.  The game doesn't seem to be as fast as you kind of get that underneath of you.  You start picking up the speed, things start to get more physical and I think that was evident tonight."

Coach Bruce Boudreau chalked much of the uneven play of the first two frames to miscommunication as a result of having most of his regulars on the ice together for the first time this pre-season.  But talking things out in the second intermission seemed to lead to the better focus, especially on defense.

"I thought the energy and the forechecking in the first two periods was pretty good," Boudreau said.  "We got the results in the third period, but I think a lot of it was we worked hard in the first two periods.  But it was consistant for 60 minutes, which we hadn't done [thus far]. In the previous five games, in Chicago we were good for forty minutes, in Columbus we were good for the last 20 minutes, and you can go on and on.  We were good for portions of the game but it was important I think for us to get 'game legs' and game shape for 60 minutes."

The Capitals face Chicago again for the pre-season finale on Sunday at 5:00 pm at Verizon Center.  It's the last tune up before the games start to count next Saturday, when the intensity will surely be much higher than any of these pre-season games.  After training camp and a seven-game pre-season, the players, coaches and fans are all ready to get things going for real.

The best thing to say about the Washington Capitals 2-0 loss to the Nashville Predators at the Baltimore Civic Center 1st Mariner Arena, is that no one got hurt due to the ice surface.

By all accounts of those that witnessed the event in person, the ice was soft, cracked, and pooling with water all night long.  The new voice of the Capitals, radio play-by-play man John Walton, remarked at every opportunity how poor the playing conditions were and how the pooling water and slush made stick-handling near impossible.

Of course, those conditions favored the plodding Nashville squad, who try to slow the game down at every opportunity regardless the conditions.  But the outcome really isn't the story coming out of this one.

I certainly understand the Capitals desire to reach out to the Baltimore community, and it's a nice gesture playing a game up there for loyal fans to see their team without having to schlep down to D.C. for once -- even if it's for just a meaningless pre-season game.  But if you're going to host a National Hockey League game, you darn sure should be required to provide an ice surface that neither impacts the game nor is potentially injurious, and the 1st Mariner Arena staff failed miserably by all accounts.

It's not like the game was played outdoors in a steady rain, or anything.

The Caps will get a chance Wednesday to shake the sting off this one off, as a squad will travel to Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets at 7:00 pm.  The team has not announced at the time of this post who will be part of the travelling team.

THE RESULT:  The Washington Capitals went to 2-0 in their pre-season schedule, beating the Natsville Predators 2-1, before 15,218 at Bridgestone Arena.

Mike Green and Jay Beagle scored for the Caps, while Michael Neuvirth stopped 13-of-14 shots, and Dany Sabourin was perfect on 11 shots.

Nicklas Backstrom and Francois Bouchard assisted on Green's first period goal, and Keith Aucoin and Green helped on Beagle's marker.  Aucoin's feed to Beagle was particularly note-worthy, setting up the winger for a one-timer into an open net for the game-winner.

There were two fights in the game:  Steve Pinizzotto mixed it up with Kelsey Wilson and Grant McNeill tussled with tough guy Wade Belak.

Nashville outshot Washington 25-23.

THE GOOD:  The Caps killed all six minor penalties assessed.

THE BAD:  They took six minor penalties, including a poor holding penalty by Matt Hendricks with 41 seconds remaining in a one-goal game.

THE UGLY:  48 shots combined made for a slow pace,and I think we'll see a lot of teams borrow Montreal's strategy of packing it in and counter-punching against the Caps prolific attack this season.  The Laich-Johansson-Fehr line combined for two shots on goal.

NEXT GAME:  The Caps play their first home pre-season game Tuesday night at 7:00 pm against the Boston Bruins.

The Washington Capitals raced out to a 4-0 lead and held on in the third period for a 4-3 victory over the New York Rangers in the final pre-season game for both teams.  The Caps open Thursday in Boston against the Bruins.

Brooks Laich had a goal and an assist for the Capitals as they built a 4-0 lead after two periods. Washington also got goals from Alexander Semin, Chris Bourke and Mike Knuble. Semyon Varlamov stopped 28 shots.

Artem Anisimov, Evgeny Grachev and Donald Brashear scored for the Rangers in the third.  New York out shot the Caps 31-28, including a 20-4 advantage in the third.

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Capitals Insider reports this morning that forwards Keith Aucoin, Alexandre Giroux, and Brandon Sugden and defenseman Karl Alzner did not practice with the team, leading to speculation that they are four of the five players that need to be removed from the roster prior to 3 pm Wednesday, the deadline for final opening day roster cuts.

Chris Bourque, Quintin Laing and Tyler Sloan all skated with the team today at practice.

The fifth cut could very well be Michael Nylander, potentially being traded or transferred to an overseas team, or Michael Neuvirth, who "tweaked" an undisclosed body part Saturday morning at practice and was unavailable for the Sunday game.

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The first Capitals Convention was held Saturday at the Gaylord National Convention Center.  The Caps took over parts of two floors and offered panel discussions, autographs and pictures with current and former players, plenty of merchandise for sale, and interactive games for kids, both big and little.

Overall, the convention was a huge success.  With any first-time endeavor, there were a couple of things that could have been better or run a little smoother, but Ted's already on it. 

Here are a few pics.  We'll have a more elaborate slideshow available soon.

The Washington Capitals bounced back from a somewhat dreary affair Monday night against Buffalo to sparkle in a 6-2 victory over the Chicago Black Hawks.  The Caps are now 3-1-0 in the pre-season.

Alex Ovechkin and Mike Knuble each had two goals, with Nicklas Backstrom and Tyler Sloan picking up the other markers.

Goalie Semyon Varlamov stopped 26 shots in net. The Caps out shot the Hawks 30-28 and went 3-for-6 on the power play.

Knuble was cited by coach Bruce Boudreau for his good play.  His first goal bounced off his leg, and the second one he skated around a defenseman and beat goalie Corey Crawford from the high slot.

"He's a meat-and-potatoes guy," Boudreau said. "Coaches love guys like that. It's an element we haven't seen around Washington in a while."

The team travels to New York tonight to face the Rangers at MSG at 7:00 pm.  The travel squad information was not available at the time of this post.

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THREE DAY SCHEUDLE

Thursday, Sept. 24

10:00 a.m.: Morning skate/Practice, Kettler Capitals Iceplex

7:00 p.m.: at New York Rangers, Madison Square Garden, New York, N.Y.

TV: MSG.  Radio: WashingtonCaps.com

Friday, Sept. 25

Day Off

Saturday, Sept. 26

10:00 a.m.: Practice, Kettler Capitals Iceplex

9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.: Capitals Convention, Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center

After the Caps minor leaguers and players returning from injury beat the regular Chicago Black Hawks Saturday night, the home crowd tonight will get to see the pre-season debut of Washington's top line.

According to Capitals Insider, Alex Ovechkin will team with Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Knuble on the No. 1 line tonight as the Caps host the Buffalo Sabres, a team they beat last week in both squad's pre-season openers.

Missing from the lineup for the third straight game will be center Michael Nylander, the subject of trade rumors since last season's all-star break. Nylander is in the last year of an inflated contract, and neither he nor the team is happy carrying him on the bench, as he was most of the playoffs last season.

Eric Fehr and Tomas Fleischman both will watch as well, still recovering from injuries.

Jose Theodore will start in goal, his first pre-season game action. "We'll see how Theo plays tonight," coach Bruce Boudreau said. "He's practiced really well. I'm hoping he has a great game."

In the win over the Hawks, Chris Clark and Kyle Wilson both had a goal and an assist, and Mathieu Perrault scored at 4:48 of overtime to send the Caps home with a 2-0-0 pre-season record.

Washington out shot Chicago's regulars 30-26.

Michael Neuvirth went the distance in goal, registering 24 saves.

 

THREE DAY SCHEDULE (courtesy capitals.nhl.com)

 

Monday, Sept. 21

10 a.m.: Morning skate

11:15 a.m.: Practice (non-game players)

7 p.m.: vs. Buffalo, Verizon Center

Radio: Caps Radio 1500 and 820 AM, WashingtonCaps.com

Tuesday, Sept. 22

10:30 a.m.: Practice, Kettler Capitals Iceplex

Wednesday, Sept. 23

10 a.m.: Morning skate

11:15 a.m.: Practice (non-game players)

7 p.m.: vs. Chicago, Verizon Center

Radio: WashingtonCaps.com

Alexandre Giroux, Mike Knuble and Jay Beagle scored for the Capitals in regulation, and Brian Pothier netted the game winner in OT to give the Caps a 4-3 win against Buffalo in their first pre-season game.

Pothier's goal came on a 5-on-3 advantage in the extra frame after Mike Weber boarded Brendan Morrison, knocking him into the boards from behind. Morrison stayed down for a couple minutes, but was described as "fine" after the game. Pothier added and assist on Knuble's goal earlier in the third period.

Semyon Varlamov stopped 17 shots in the first two periods, but surrendered three goals on six shots in the third. "I think Varly was outstanding the first two periods," Coach Bruce Boudreau said. "They got [three] in the third, but I thought he was really good."

Washington won 62 perfect of their face-offs, with Beagle (70 percent), Brendan Morrison (68 percent) and Nicklas Backstrom (63 percent) leading the way.

"There were a lot of good things," Boudreau said of the game. "In the third period, even though they got three goals, we were the dominant team, which was good."

NOTES: Defenseman Tyler Sloan finished with five blocked shots.

The Caps out shot Buffalo 33-23. Backstrom led the team with five shots, Beagle had four.

Backstrom assisted on Knuble's tip in and the game-winner. Morrison and Chris Clark assisted on Giroux's goal and Andrew Gorgon got the helper on Beagle's tally.