Washington Capitals Thumbs Up Thumbs Down (CMigrator copy 6)
Washington Capitals 3-0 Montreal Canadiens
Washington Capitals 0-3 Carolina Hurricanes
Washington Capitals 3-4 Pittsburgh Penguins (OT)
Boston Bruins 3-5 Washington Capitals
Thumbs Up:
Mathieu Perreault: It was an eventful week for the diminutive Caps forward, who has stepped up big time in the absence of Swedish center Nicklas Bäckström. Perreault, who stands at around 5'8", 170 pounds, took 10 shots, recorded a +5, spend four minutes in the box, scored four goals, added two assists, averaged over 13 minutes of ice time, recorded his first NHL hat-trick, and even managed to high-stick Zdeno Chara, who is a good 13 inches taller, in the face. That has to be worth a thumbs up...
Roman Hamrlik: Defenseman Roman Hamrlik continued his impressive play under Dale Hunter. Having been starved for points so far this season, Hamrlik added two assists to his totals and was a +2. He continues to help carry the burden of having Mike Green out of the lineup, and is rapidly becoming an invaluable member of the Capitals team.
Alexander Semin: While fans continue to call for the Russian to be traded, winger Alexander Semin is beginning to rack up some pretty impressive numbers. Semin, who has been nothing short of phenomenal of late, scored one goal and added three assists to go along with a plusminus of +3, adding another very good week to what has been an incredible month-and-a-half.
Thumbs Down:
Jason Chimera: Chimera started off the season as the team's most deadly goalscorer, but has recently relapsed into more of the kind of player Caps fans expected him to be: an offensively limited third-liner with the occasional burst of speed and flair. Chimera, who has 14 goals and eight assists through his 48 games this season, recorded no points this week to go along with a -1 and four penalty minutes. Chimera now has just one goal in the past month.
Brooks Laich: The $6-and-a-half million man, or, as he is perhaps better known, Brooks Laich, scored his ninth goal of the season and recorded a single-game career-high 27.57 of ice time against the Penguins, but unfortunately the negatives of the week outweighed the positives. Not only was Laich was the man who left Evgeni Malkin open to score the overtime winner in the Pittsburgh game, but was also -2 with no points beyond the goal. Laich needs to be better.
