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.

Double Despair

 Last night was the first of the winter where the Capitals and the Wizards played on the same night at the same time. This had the potential to be a very busy and eventful night, but being the Capitals and the Wizards, it ended up being a double disappointment.

 The Capitals had a penalty and goal against before the Wizards got around to announcing their starting five. It didn't take long to see that making the switch over to standard definition CSN+ was not going to be worth the effort. The Wizards put up some strong numbers early- their largest lead was 21 points, but the play was sloppy and they would have been trounced by a better team than New Jersey.

 By the second half, the Wizards fell apart and let Kris Humphries have decent numbers. The man is a joke, following after the real shooters and putting up leftovers, plus he tripped up Andray Blatche who in turn knocked into Nick Young and put him in a lot of pain, even though he managed to come back limping toward the end. The game should have been easily dominated the whole time but there was a level of unfamiliarity and discomfort amongst teammates that was obvious and led to too many missed shots and awkward passes. Hopefully the shortened prep time is mostly to blame for this because they look like a determined group of guys and even Dallas is looking like crap this early on.

 What sucks the most is the negative comments by CSN Washington and their followers on Facebook. There was no positive comments the last time I looked and with titles like "new season, same Wizards" it doesn't seem like pro-team attitudes are encouraged. There is still building being done and it's different than when I bitch about the Caps. They are supposed to be "finished" by now and ready for success but it's not happening. There is a higher level of expectation. Fire Saunders? Maybe. Wasn't impressed with him last year, but let's see after more than one game.

Not on the bandwagon

 Even though I have no proof outside my own house, I have been pro-Tebow all season. I was glad when the Broncos were losing, hoping that would get him a chance. When my dad would complain about another Redskins loss, I'd tell him "Eh, my team won." Sunday is going to be a big deal here. From watching the Patriots barely beat the Redskins, I was not impressed with Brady. It looks like he gets flustered and then doesn't think things through, but he's going to get the calls. There's no way the officials are not going to try and influence this game- because find me one where they don't.

I'm putting it out here now- Tebow is going to take it but I hope he doesn't wait until the end. The receivers have to catch consistently and Prater better keep that leg cared for.

Catching Up

Illness and the holidays have taken days away from me and I realize that I never put up the pics of Jim Johnson's first day as assistant coach. I wasn't surprised to see Bob Woods let go in the aftermath of BB's firing and surely enough he followed him to Anaheim not much longer. The defense in the defense first system was flawed and there seems to be a marked change in the Caps now under Johnson.