Flipped Script was the Same Old Story

 A 2-15 record has to make any coach start jumping at sudden noises and look behind him. The hammer finally fell for Flip Saunders Tuesday afternoon as Ted Leonsis still had his firing hand still warm from November. The Wizards managed two wins against teams with impressive records but the system didn't work with skilled veterans, there was no way it was going to do much better with a young team not experienced enough to know much better than to do as they're coached to do. So they trade a coach with a 51-130 record in for one with a 100-207 record. A Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Monday stretch will show if the change made any impact.

Congrats to Matty Perreault for his first NHL hat trick. The team still looked disjointed and it was not surprising that the young guys carried the shooting/goal scoring weight in the game. I'm still not convinced that Vokoun wants to be a goalie the way he races to handle the puck, not always cleanly, behind the goal and looks skittish as he tries to find the puck at close angles, but it hits him enough that he seems to be successful.

And the best birthday present: Prince Fielder is not going to be a National. He never struck me as a good fit to the team and the though of being burdened with him and a lengthy/costly contract was taking the shine of anticipating the new season. Detroit was a smooth marketing move and they're welcome to him.

Back to the Ice

The morning skate on Tuesday seemed disjointed and unfocused. If I had known that feeling was going to last all day for the Capitals, I would have watched Glee instead, so let's just look at the pictures:

A panoramic view of the Kettler Capitals Rink-

Ovie and Dale-

Troy Brouwer and his sign-

California Dreamin'

I wrote out this piece early on Wednesday afternoon full of pessimism regarding Vokoun's start against the Penguins and what else could happen but I was proved wrong, but still here is my thoughts from then.


 If only it were a dream. I have never been further west than Knoxville, Tennessee in my travels (thought I have been as far as Pakistan going eastward) so I don't know about the concept of jet lag, but it would seem to me that it would be hard for men who have been working on the same activity for approximately twenty years to forget how to do same activity because of a change in time zones. Still, in two games out in the golden state, the Caps lost 5-2 to San Jose and then to Los Angeles by the same score.

 That's nine goals given up by Vokoun in two games. (Neuvirth took over  in the third vs LA). In three of the four goals given up on Monday, they were the result of not moving side-to-side quick enough, a complaint I've had here since Day 1. On the Comast television broadcast, Craig Laughlin noted that Vokoun's new pads were harder, causing more of a rebound. Not the best strategy I would think for someone who cannot react quickly and has defensemen that seem to hinder more than help.

So logic dictates he's the starter tonight against Pittsburgh- a game on the newly minted NBC Sports Network against big time rivals? I'd love to know what brewing in the coffee pot at Kettler b/c I'm not seeing what they seem to be seeing. The net is going to be guarded by a man whose style is somewhere between a butterfly and the breaststroke? Even without Penguin big guns, I don't feel too confident about this one.

Renewal of the Jinx?

I posted positively about Tebow and then he loses three in a row. I posted positively about the Wizards and they have yet to win. The Capitals aren't much to write about, and while the Hershey Bears won the last two, they lost the high-profile Outdoor Classic. Doesn't seem to be much to write about at the time. Here's hoping that Prince Fielder doesn't come to town to rock the crowded first base boat.