The fine folks over at DC Pro Sports Report asked us to participate in a pre-season roundtable, discussing the upcoming season for the Washington Capitals.  We were asked a series of questions, as were a host of respected Caps bloggers.

You can read the complete panel discussion here. 

Some of my answers got truncated for space issues on the panel, so below are my complete answers (in bold) to the panel questions.  It comes off as a predictions column, so I guess I'm now on the record with all of this.

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1. Do you think the Washington Capitals will repeat as Southeast Division champs? What about Eastern Conference champs? Who do you think will be closest to the Caps in the SE Division?

Yes on both counts. The Caps are the class in the East. I don't think anyone in the Southeast will be within 20 points of the Caps, so I'll say Carolina out of habit. You could really pull all their names in a hat and draw one and that would be just as good as any educated opinion.

2. Regarding the goal tending situation, how do you see that working out? Do you see the Caps starting out in a shared situation between Varlamov and Neuvirth or do you think one will be named starter and stay as starter as long as they play well?

I think they will get fairly equal playing time, keeping both fresh (and hopefully healthy) and the competition will keep both focused throughout the season. I don't see Boudreau getting stuck on naming a "starter", and I honestly don't think they'll go outside the organization to acquire a veteran backup.

3. Regarding the final few roster spots, given the three, Mathieu Perreault, Marcus Johnansson, and Cody Eakin, which if any do you see cracking the roster?

Well, Eakin got sent out to Swift Current today (Sept. 30). I've said since beginning of camp that Johansson was the best player on the ice during development and rookie camp, but I don't see him breaking camp with the team without some other player movement or injury. Perrault is your third line center. Won't be long for Johannson to be back with the big club though.

4. Do you think John Carlson has a realistic shot at the Calder Trophy?

Absolutely. He's going to have every opportunity to succeed on a high-profile team that puts goals on the board every night of the week. It helps that he seems to have a flair for the dramatic as well.

5. Project the stats of Alexander Ovechkin.

66-58-124, +45, 74 PIM. His career year.

6. Given the first round exit of the Capitals last season, the pressure this season will most certainly rise. Assuming you believe the Caps are a playoff lock, give your projection on how far they go this season?

Stanley Cup Finalists. In my opinion, only poorly-timed devestating injury could derail the Caps this season. I'm not going to predict a Cup championship because I'm superstitious like that. But they should contend for the title this season.

7. Who wins the Winter Classic 2011?

Washington, 6-2. And Caps fans, especially those that are making the trip.

8. Finally, who are you two teams in the Stanley Cup and your Stanley Cup Champ this year?

I've already predicted the Caps in the finals, so the Western Conference rep will be...the Vancouver Canucks. They are too deep and too talented and will get past Chicago and Detroit this season. What a series that would be! Again, I won't make a prediciton on the winner cause I'm superstitious, but you can probably figure out that my superstitions have nothing to do with the Canucks.

THE RESULT:  Eric Fehr had two goals and an assist, Alex Ovechkin had three assists and Mike Green had two helpers, and the Washington Capitals ran their pre-season record to 5-0 with a 5-3 win over the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets before an announced 17,496 at noticably chilly Verizon Center.

Brooks Laich, Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin added goals for the Caps.

The game was chippy from the get-go.  Two minutes in Nathan Guenin put his shoulder into the chest of Matt Hendricks, knocking the Caps forward into next week.  As the dazed Hendricks lay on the ice, Tyler Sloan went at Guenin, mixing it up in front of the Columbus bench.

The rough stuff continued all game, as Columbus' roster was made up of players that were trying to make a name for themselves, but most will be fighting for time with their AHL team this season.

Even the big guns got into the act.  Nick Holden took a run at Mike Knuble in the third period, hitting the veteran up high with his stick.  The next man in was none other than Ovechkin, throwing several punches in Holden's direction.  Mind you, this was at 11:16 of the third period of a meaningless pre-season game.

"It doesn't matter it's pre-season or not," the Capitals captain said after the game.  "We have to stay together as a team.  Hockey is a physical game. They want to show their character. They’re a pretty good team and a young team, so they want to prove something.”

"It was a little physical but it was a good game to play in," Fehr said from his locker stall.  "We want to play a physcial game, we don't want to back down."

Fehr had six shots on goal, leading the Caps offense.  "Last couple of games I didn't get a lot of shots on goal and Bruce [Boudreau] wanted me to work on that today so it was kinda the game plan.  The goals that I got were just kinda cheap goals in front of the net.  I'll take 'em any way I can."

"You get 50 of them, and a lot of people are going to pay you a lot of money," Boudreau joked during his press conference.

THE GOOD:  Fehr's first goal was a thing of beauty.  Marcus Johansson left a drop pass for Green, who deftly slid the puck through the crease to a streaking Fehr, who buried it past Columbus goalie Garon.

It was alose really good to see the players sticking up for each other so well tonight.  Columbus brought a bunch of minor leaguers looking to make names for themselves, and they were really throwing their bodies around.  The Caps gave back and stood up for themselves when they thought the Jackets were taking liberties.

THE BAD:  Washington gave up two power play goals and a short-handed goal.  Johansson went 0-for-10 on faceoffs.

THE UGLY:  Tyler Sloan took a total of 11 penalty minutes, including his five for fighting and three minors.

THE STATS:  Caps outshot Columbus 38-26.  Michal Neuvirth made 23 saves on 26 shots.

NEXT GAME:  Sunday at 12:30 hosting Nashville.

CAPS NOTES:  Hendricks did not return to the game, but Boudreau said were it a regular season game he would have. 

The sold-out Capitals Convention is tomorrow.  Click on the link for all the information you'll need.

I didn't know Brian St. Louis, but a lot of people I do know did.  One of them asked me to repost the link from Ted's Take with the letter from Beth Lenz, GM of KCI, concerning his untimely passing last week.

My friend also asked if I would post the information about the fund to aid his family.  I'm happy do to so.  Contributions can be sent to:

The Brian & Emily St. Louis Family Fund

c/o CRP Management Group

PO Box 1548

Ashburn, VA, 20146

Here are a few more links about Brian St. Louis, a man that made a difference in the Capitals/Kettler community.

Kettler Capitals Iceplex
Washington Little Capitals
All Things Considered
Tributes.com
TBD.com's Samuel Chamberlain
Musings of a Hockey Mom

Moment of silence at presason game v. Columbus Blue Jackets, 10/01/10

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 fine folks over at Kings of Leonsis asked us to participate in a roundtable discussion on some topics relating to the upcoming season.  It was the second installment of a series, you can see the first here.  We were only too happy to oblige.

Please click the link and check out the discussion.

Other panelists were Emily Bennett (Japers’ Rink) and Chris Gordon (Caps Snaps).

Thanks to Kings of Leonsis for including us!

The Washington Capitals announced today they signed goalie Michal Neuvirth to a two-year contract extension.  Terms of the deal were not announced.

Neuvirth, 22, is expected to compete with Semyon Varlamov for the goaltending duties with the Capitals this year.  He was 9-4-0 with a 2.75 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage in 17 games with the Capitals last season. He went 7-1-0 with a 1.75 goals-against average and a.914 save percentage at Verizon Center in 2009-10.

Neuvirth was 17-3-1 with a shutout, a 2.24 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage in 22 regular-season games with the Hershey Bears in the American Hockey League (AHL). During the playoffs Neuvirth was 14-4 with a shutout, a 2.07 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage in 18 Calder Cup playoff games en route to his second Calder Cup championship.

The team also signed goalie Brandon Anderson to a three-year entry-level contract.  He took part in Capitals rookie camp and played in the 4-3 win over the Flyers rookies on Sept. 16.

Post by Cheryl Nichols

The Washington Capitals sign Defenseman Tom Poti to a two year contract extension.

"I'm excited about the core group we have here and I think we have the ability to win a Stanley Cup. Not just this year, but year's to come....me and my wife love it here and I'm excited to be here for a couple more years."

Photo 2010 © Cheryl Nichols Photography/

Caps News Network. All Rights Reserved.

Tom Poti was willing to take less money because he has been in the league for twelve years and thinks that his best chance to win the Stanley Cup is in Washington with this team.

"Ultimately what I want to do is win." 

See video for more reaction from Poti.