The Washington Capitals have recalled G Semyon Varlamov from Hershey.  Varlamov has been out with a knee injury since December 7th.  He made a rehab start in Hershey this weekend, recording 26 saves in a 5-4 Bears win over Adirondack.

The Washington Capitals have benefited from a dynamic duo of veteran Jose Theodore and rookie Michal Neuvirth between the pipes during this incredible 14 game winning streak.

Now Varly makes his return.  Varlamov has posted a 12-1 record this season with a GAA of 2.21 and a save percentage of .920.  The interesting question looming here is, how does Varlamov fit into the current chemistry between the pipes?  Does Neuvirth, despite sensational play in the Net, return to Hershey?  Should he?  If not, how does HC Bruce Boudreau balance three goalies playing time, particularly with veteran Jose Theodore playing the best net minding of his Washington Capitals tenure?

One thing is clear, between Varlamov, Neuvirth, and Hershey's spectacular goalie Braden Holtby, the Caps are loaded at young talent between the pipes.  It will be interesting to watch how this turns out.  There is no doubt, the success Neuvirth has had during Varlamov's injury most certainly ramps pressure up on #40, both from a play perspective and a staying healthy perspective.

Enjoy Coach Boudreau.  Dicsuss it.

Make it 13 in a row.

The Washington Capitals continued their winning ways tonight defeating the Atlanta Thrashers in the midst of a huge Noreaster bearing down on Washington, DC.  Michal Neuvirth, called up today from Hershey, took to the net for the Caps and stopped 43 of 45 shots to lift the Caps to their 13th straight win.

After Atlanta took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Tobias Enstrom, Alexander Ovechkin scored his NHL leading 39th goal to knot the game at 1-1 in the first period on a huge blast from the point.  It was Ovie's 10th power play goal of the year and extended his scoring streak to 7 games.

Nicklas Backstrom scored his 25th in the second period to give the Caps a 2-1 lead.  Backstrom would not return in the third period.  The early word is Backstrom did not return because of a headache.  He left an earlier game this season because of a migraine.

Washington went on to out score the Thrashers 3-1 in the third period. Close to the 4 minute mark, Alexander Semin scored his 26th of the season to put the Caps up 3-1 on a sweet 2 on 1 charge and pass by Brooks Laich for an open netter for Semin.  A little over a minute later, Jason Chimera scored a beauty to put the Caps up 4-1.  It was Chimera's 12th of the year.  Rich Peverly scored for Atlanta, well not really, it was more like Semin slid in an kick the pucked in to give the Thrashers the goal and draw Atlanta to within 2.   Mike Green put the icing on the cake flicking the puck the length of the ice for the empty net goal and his 13th of the year.

The story here was the glove of Neuvirth.  The simple way to put it is, Neuvy was simply on his game, period.  He was sharp with the glove and movement in the net, stifling the Thrashers on several scoring chances.  Oner thing is pretty clear, the Caps are getting some outstanding net play during this awesome winning streak.  The tandem of Jose Theodore and Michal Neuvirth have been nothing short of excellent between the pipes.

Witht he 13th win in the bag, we say, enjoy the snow!

Multi-Point Scorers:

Nicklas Backstrom, 1 goal, 1 assist

Alex Ovechkin, 1 goal, 1 assist

Alexander Semin, 1 goal, 1 assist (plus an Atlanta score)

DCPSR Player of the Game:  MICHAL NEUVIRTH

Discuss it

The Washington Capitals have recalled G Michael Neuvirth.  Neuvirth was sent down a few days ago to ensure he would be able to play in the AHL during the Olympic Break. My assumption is, the call up today is for Neuvirth to start against Atlanta tonight?

Track all the Caps transactions on our Transaction Tracking Thread.

The 2009/10 Washington Capitals have re-written franchise record books, beating the 1983-84 franchise win streak two nights ago, winning their 11th straight game, defeating Boston 4-1.  Tonight, the Caps take on the Rangers in New York to try and make it a perfect dozen.

If this is any indication, TV ratings for CSN will be good tonight.  Check out the article from our ever great blogger at the Post, Dan Steinberg at the DC Sports Bog.

Tuesday night's Comcast SportsNet broadcast of the Caps-Bruins game, in which Washington won 11 straight for the first time in franchise history, received a 3.24 average rating in the D.C. market, which translates into about 76,000 households. That was the second-best rating for a regular-season game in the network's history

Through the 52 games it has broadcast on CSN and CSN+, the network is averaging a 1.4 rating in the D.C. market. That's 24 percent higher than through the first 52 games a year ago, and 153 percent better than through the first 52 games of the 2007-08 season, which obviously started with a lot of losses.

What has been amazing is the success they have had, by spreading the scoring around, utilizing an effective power play, solid defense, in most cases, and when the Caps fell flat, like Detroit and Boston, goal tending rose to the task.  The Caps has not been perfect, but when one aspect, such as defense falters a bit, another rises.  A good sign for these a Caps heading into the Olympic Break.

Alexander Semin and Mike Knuble have really turned the offensive throttle up during this streak.  Semin has a 10 game scoring streak that includes 6 goals and 11 assists with 30 shots on goal.  Knuble has 9 goals and 3 assists in 25 shos on goal during this streak.

The Capitals’ second line has been hot. Semin, Tomas Fleischmann, and Brooks Laich have a combined 14 goals and 21 assists over the last 11.

It helps too that confidence on this team is at an all time high. And one thing is pretty clear, none of these guys is going to take sole credit.

" It's really a team thing," said goalie Jose Theodore, who made 41 saves in Tuesday night's 4-1 win over Boston. "The goalie has to be solid, the defensive play has to be there, and the special units. If you look back, some games the power play was the difference, other games the goalies made the big saves and other games it was the PK."

Game Preview:  Official Caps, NHL.com, CBS Sports, Yahoo Sports, WashingtonCaps Blog,  Caps Nut

A look at some numbers:

*  The Washington Capitals are an impressive 14-1 under Captain Ovechkin.

*  The Capitals have won 11 consecutive matches.  During those 11 wins, the Caps have won 7 straight at home and 4 straight on the road.

*  Capitals lead the Eastern Conference by 10 points over second place New Jersey and lead the Southeast Division by a whopping 25 points over Tampa Bay.

*  Alexander Semin has a current NHL high 10 game scoring streak.  During that stretch, he has put 30 shots on goal, scored 6 goals and added 11 helpers.

*  During the streak, the goalie tandem of Jose Theodore and Michal Neuvirth has stopped 351 shots of 369 shots on goal for an impressive save percentage of .951.  Want to be more impressed?  Over the last 6 games, they have stopped 188 of 193 shots for a whopping save percentage of .974.  Over the past 6 games, they have allowed 9 goals, a mere average of just 1.5 goals per game.

Caps Reads:

Knuble:  A force in front of the net (DC Examiner)

Do not mess with Alex Ovechkin (Sporting News)

Ted's book in Kindle Edition.  (Teds Take)  By the way Ted, just got the book deleivered from Amazon.com that I ordered on pre-order.  Any suggestion on time to read it?

Caps Clips from Japers' Rink (Japers' Rink)

Here is some on Gabby's book. (Love the Game, Don't like Puck Bunnies)

How high will the Caps soar? (Storming the Crease)

The Washington Capitals embark on a Olympic break compressed brutal schedule, playing 5 games over the next 7 days, including 3 homes games and 2 road games.  Tonight they face the Florida Panthers at the Verizon Center in the midst of a 8 game winning streak. As for the Caps and Alexander Ovechkin, winning 9 in a row is just fine with them.  And don't expect any line up changes.

"We're really just trying to play our own game and not change things," said Caps forward Eric Fehr.

There's no reason to right now. Washington has won 11 of its last 12 games with a lineup that has proven remarkably stable under coach Bruce Boudreau -- known for his penchant for line juggling. All four forward lines have stayed the same since a Jan. 5 game against Montreal. That's 10 games and 25 days.

Game Previews:  Official Caps, NHL.com, Miami Herald, Wash Post, Caps Nut,

Goaltending . . . Michal Neuvirth will likely get the nod tonight as Jose Theodore continues to recover from a hip flexor.  There is no announced starter yet, but we are betting on Neuvy.  Theodore appears to be set from the injury as the Caps optioned Braden Holtby back to Hershey.  As for Theo himself, he is ready to roll.

"I'm really happy with how today went," said Theodore, who has six straight wins. "I worked really hard. I'm going to talk to the medical staff and let them know how I feel and see what they think. I felt better quicker than I thought. Today was a good test. Hopefully I'll be able to back up tomorrow, or play."

Caps Streaks:

*  Capitals have won 8 straight games and 7 in a row at the Verizon Center.

*  Alexander Semin has a 7 game scoring streak and a 3 game goal streak.

*  Brooks Laich has a 3 game scoring streak.

*  Nicklas Backstrom has a 2 game scoring streak.

* Mike Knuble has a 2 game scoring streak and a 2 game goal streak.

*  Jose Theodore has won 6 straight games.

More Caps Links:

NY Daily News puts Caps atop their power Rankings.  (NY Daily News)

Michael Nylander on his way to Finalnd.  (MLive.com)

Ovechkin and Kashirsky are buddies (Winnipeg Free Press)

LA Times recognizes Caps scoring prowess. (LA Times)

The Semin single bullet theory.  (On Frozen Blog)

Caps clips from Japers.  (Japers' Rink)

As alwasy, join in the discussion, JOIN our NEW Forums.

The Washington Capitals began a three game road swing through the Southeast Division with a 14 point lead.  First stop, second place Atlanta.  The Caps wasted little time in stamping down division superiority, routing the Thrashers on the road 8-1.  The Caps did it with power shooting, nifty passing, solid defens,e and excellent goal tending.

Mike Knuble scored the first tally for the Caps, a deflection off a bomb from Tom Poti.  It was Knuble's 9th goal of the season.  Poti's assist extended his point streak to 5 straight games, his longest since the 2002 season.  Alexander Semin put the Caps up 2-0 on a shorthanded goal, the second short handed goal for the Caps on the season and Semin's 18th goal overall.  Nicklas Backstrom rounded out the first period scoring, adding insult to injury, scoring on the power play with 19 seconds left in the period.  Despite Atlanta out shooting Washington 18-7 in the first period, the Caps took a 3-0 lead to the first intermission.

Knuble scored his 2nd of the game and 10th of the season in the second period.  Knuble deflected an Alex Ovechkin shot off his skate to lift the Caps to a 4-0 lead and chase Atlanta starter Johnan Hedberg from the game. Maxim Afinogenov would score later in the second period to give Atlanta their first and only goal.  Washington out shot Atlanta 17-15 and went into the second intermission leading 4-1.

Third period was all Caps.  Washington scored 4 unaswered goal in the third period to complete the rout of the Thrashers.  Semin started it out, whiffing on a rebound, but taking the puck back and blasting a strike right past Ondrej Pavelec for his 2nd of the game and 18th of the year.  Caps were up 5-1.  4 minutes later, Matt Bradley made a nice pass across the ice in front of the net and a lunging Dave Steckel put his stick out and deflected it past Pavelec for his 2nd goal of the season.  Later Tom Poti would ice off his fine night scoring his first goal of the year on the Caps power play.  Poti's goal finished off a 3 point night with a +2 rating.  Less than a minute later, newly acquired Caps Jason Chimera would score his first goal as a Washington Capital, his 9th of the season, and finsih off the 8-1 rout.

Michal Neuvirth had a sensational night in goal, making some terrific stops, at least two of them coming on Ilya Kovalchuck.  Neuvy ended the game stopping 38 of 39 shots to pull his record over .500 at 5-4 and pulling his save percentage over .900.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

Washington had a good night on the power play, converting 2 of 3 opportunities.  Backstrom and Poti added power play tallies.  The penalty kill unit was a perfect 3 for 3 including a short handed goal by Alexander Semin.  A good night the Caps special teams.

MULTI-POINT SCORERS:

Mike Green, 2 assists

Mike Knuble , 2 goals

Tom Poti, 1 goal, 2 assists

Jeff Schultz, 2 assists

Alexander Semin, 2 goals, 1 assist

DCPSR PLAYER OF THE GAME: (3 WAY TIE):  TOM POTI, ALEXANDER SEMIN, MICHAL NEUVIRTH

NOTES:

*  Caps remain a perfect 3-0 since Alexander Ovechkin was named team captain.

*  Tom Poti extended his point streak to 5 games, the longest on the team,a nd his longest since the 2002 season.

*  Nicklas Backstrom has a 2 game goal scoring streak. So does Mike Knuble.

*  Mike Green added 2 helpers extending his point streak to 4 games.

*  Tom Poti is off to a red hot start in January.  In 4 games, Poti has 1 goal and 5 assists and a +4.

*  Jeff Schultz is a +8 in January's 4 games.  He also has added 3 assists.

Busy, busy, busy night for the Washington Capitals, despite all the news coming out of Redskins Park.  The evening news started out with word the the Washington Capitals new team captain is none other than Great 8, Alexander Ovechkin.  We here at DCPSR couldn't be happier.  He is a locker room guy, best player in the NHL, and portrays himself well.  Better yet, he got unanimous endorsement from his teammates.  More so, there is no greater face in hockey, than Ovechkin.  Ovechkin has himself reinvigorated hockey in what was once deemed a 'dead hockeytown'.  OPvechkin himself understands his role.

"If I need to say something, I will say something," Ovechkin said. "But I will show what I can do on the ice. It's a big honor for me. I'm going to do my best, but I don't want to concentrate on having a 'C' on my heart. I'm just going to play the same."

Caps beat Habs 4-2 . . . Second, and more importantly, the Caps took care of business on ice, ending a three game losing streak behind the stick of Alexander Semin and the glove of Michal Neuvirth. Caps and Habs felt each other out in the first period, skating to a 0-0 tie, even though the Caps out shot the Habs 11-3.

Tomas Fleischmann, starting at Center for the first time since junior hockey, scored the first Caps goal on the power play in the second period.  Flash scored his 15tyh goal of the year and was unassisted. After Josh Gorges tied it up for Montreal, Eric Fehr responded with his 10th of the season, a game after being a healthy scratch and drawing ire from HC Bruce Boudreau.

The final two goals came from the stick of Alexander Semin on two very wicked wristers that were so Ovechkin-like.  They were goals number 15 and 16 for the Caps.

Michal Neuvirth stopped 24 of 26 shots to earn the win, and improve his overall record to 4-4.  Neuvirth has now started 6 of the last 7 games and has looked pretty sharp.

Multi-Point Scorers:

Tomas Fleischmann, 1 goal, 2 assists

Alexander Semin, 2 goals

DCPSR Player of the Game:  ALEXANDER SEMIN & TOMAS FLEISCHMANN

Steckel signs extension . . . David Steckel has earned himself a contract extension.  Details are still fuzzy on terms and years.  Coming soon.  Steckel is currently first in the NHL in faceoff wins with a 61.9% success rate, .3% better than Paul Gaustad of Buffalo.

Injuries . . . Nicklas Backstrom returns tonight after missing two periods against the Kings.  Backstrom was forced to exit the game early because of a migraine.   Alexander Semin left practice yesterday but is not expected to be out tonight.

Varlamov injured again . . . The concerns that have been apparent on young net minder Semyon Varlamov since the day he was drafted, cropped up again.  Varly's problem has never been style of play, consistency, and adjustment to the NHL game, but more so, Varlamov's ability to stay healthy, his durability.  Varlamov won at Hershey on a conditioning stint in Hershey, stopping 28 of 29 shots and helping the Bears win an impressive 10th consecutive game.  However,m once again, Varlamov suffered what the Caps deem to be a 'lower body' injury and will likely be out for two weeks.   Varlamov last played on DEC 7 and will now not make a return at least until the third week of January. Little more read on the Varly injury (ESPN).

This has been an ongoing concern for the Capitals.  It is also precisely why Capitals fans should be thankful for the excellent young depth they have between the pipes, mainly, Michal Neuvirth and 2008 draft pick Braden Holtby.  Holtby made the ECHL all start team and has taken over for Neuvirth in Hershey and has posted a 9-1 record and a GAA of just 1.45 and a save percentage of .949.

It's the Habs and Caps . . . And we have you covered with all kinds of Game Preview links.  Caps Nut, Official Caps site, NHL.com, Sporting News, Bleacher Report, The Gazzette

Something the Habs need to understand tonight is the Capitals have lost three in a row.  Since Bruce3 Boudreau took over the Caps in mid-season 2007, the Caps have never lost 4 in a row.

During coach Bruce Boudreau's 184-game tenure, the Capitals have lost three consecutive games on four occasions. The important statistic is that the team has never lost four in a row on Boudreau's watch.

The Capitals, who lead the Atlantic Division, have had problems with their special teams. They've had a two-man advantage in each of their last four games, but have failed to cash in.

That's why Boudreau spent a good portion of yesterday's practice working on the power play.

"We've been getting away from our game plan," Boudreau said. "We want to shoot the puck, but guys are trying to make passes."

Caps Streaks:

*  Caps have lost 3 in a row.  They have lost 1 at home and 2 in a row on the road.

*  Alexander Semin has a 3 game scoreless streak.

*  Tom Poti has recorded an assist in 2 straight.

*  Shaone Morrisonn has not scored a single point in 15 straight games, including no points in December.

Articles for you to read . . .

Avert Your Eyes Away from Fresh Media Malfeasance (On Frozen Blog)

Caps Clips (Japers Rink)

Caps Schedule by the Numbers (January) (Rock the Red)

Helene Elliott's NHL Rankings (LA Times)

Power Rankings (Sporting News)

NHL Awards predictions (TML Fan Fury)

Complete Olympic Rosters (NHL Snipers)