Washington Capitals

Your savory breakfast links: It's been a long, bumpy road behind the Caps bench, and Mike Green sums up what Adam Oates means for the team: "Stability is everything. We've had four coaches since I've been here. With each year we didn't know what to expect and with Adam it's so consistent. I know exactly what I need to do to prepare myself for next season and that's key." Hear, hear. [CSNW] The year in review for the crew that held down the blue line (most of the time) this season... [WaPo] ...and for one of their top minute men... [GM on a Couch] ... and for their most-pleasant surprise. [Peerless] Despite a third period surge, the Reading Royals fell short of completing the sweep as they take on the Stockton Thunder in the Kelly Cup Finals. Game 5 is tonight in Stockton. [ECHL, Caps Outsider] With no awards show this year, there could be a potentially awkward (or really annoying) moment when the Hart Trophy is announced prior to Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals. But hey, no Nickelback this year. So there's that. [CSNW, Puck Daddy] Ryan Zimmerman's annual "A Night at the Park" event raised $300,000 for his ziMS Foundation Thursday night... with the help of some friendly Caps faces. [WaPo, WashTimes] And some friendly Caps faces were back at the park the next night to watch their Nationals pals pick up a Curly W against the Phillies. [@Nationals, @recordsandradio (and again)] Wanted: Executive Assistant to the General Manager, Vice President of the Washington Capitals. Gee, that title sounds familiar... [Indeed] Finally, happy 56th birthday to Robert Picard.

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Steve Oleksy“Diligence is the mother of good luck.”-- Benjamin FranklinHe does not have a fancy hockey pedigree, having grown up north of Detroit, Michigan. He did not attend a hockey powerhouse, his Lake Superior State Lakers skating to a 42-59-18 record in his three years at LSSU. He was not drafted, catching on with the Las Vegas Wranglers in the ECHL. Then it was the Toledo Walleye, followed by the Port Huron Icehawks and the Idaho Steeheads, which was then followed up by stints in Lake Erie with the Monsters, back to Idaho with the Steelheads, and then to Bridgeport with the Sound Tigers.Oleksy played 50 games in Bridgeport in the 2011-2012 AHL season, then was signed as a free agent by the Hershey Bears for the 2012-2013 season. He made an impression. In 55 games with the Bears he displayed a combination of the occasional offensive contribution (2-12-14, plus-5) and the frequent physical presence (151 penalty minutes, 52 of which were earned against the archrival Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins). When Mike Green went out of the lineup with a recurrence of groin problems, Oleksy was called up. He was never sent back down. Playing the last 28 games of the regular season for the Caps, Oleksy tied for third among Caps defensemen in points (nine), tied for third in plus-minus, was second in penalty minutes (33), and was third in hits (58). And, in the “announcing his presence with authority” file, he recorded an assist in his first NHL game, two more in his second game, then his first NHL goal in his fourth contest on his way to a 1-8-9, plus-9 finish.There was something of a good luck charm quality to Oleksy’s play. Most of Oleksy’s ice time at 5-on-5 was spent with Jack Hillen (30.7 percent) and Karl Alzner (24.9 percent). Both of these players realized better GF20 (goals scored by team per 20 minutes of ice time) and GA20 (goals scored against per 20 minutes of ice time) when paired with Oleksy than when playing apart from him (numbers from stats.hockeyanalysis.com).There was a certain “adrenaline rush” aspect to his game, too. In his first 15 games he was 1-5-6, plus-4, 17 shots on goal, and 29 penalty minutes, 15 of them coming in three fights. In his last 13 regular season games he was 0-3-3, plus-5, eight shots on goal, and four penalty minutes. More disciplined, or did the rush wear off?Odd Oleksy Stat… The Caps were 11-3-0 in games in which Oleksy did not register a shot on goal, 8-5-1 in games in which he did (only six of those wins coming in regulation).Game to Remember… March 14th vs. Carolina. The Caps were in a tough spot on a mid-March night in Raleigh. Mike Green was out with a groin injury. Tom Poti was playing in just his third game after missing the better part of two seasons to injury. Tomas Kundratek would play only 3:14 in this game before goingout with a leg injury. Guys had to step up on the blue line. Oleksy did. He logged 27:55 in ice time (his high for the season, the game after getting just 11:50 in ice time against these same Hurricanes), and while he did not record a point, he had two shots on goal, two hits, a takeaway, and four blocked shots. More important, Carolina did not score a goal when he was on the ice. The Caps won, 3-2.Game to Forget… March 16th vs. Boston. Wouldn’t you know it, in his next game, Oleksy was the guy burned whenever he was on the ice. The Caps were missing Mike Green and Tomas Kundratek on the blue line, so Oleksy got a ton of ice time again (24:01). And he was more active in the offensive end than in his previous game – eight shot attempts, four of them on goal. But he was on ice for Boston’s first three goals, and on each of them, he was the closest Capital defenseman to the goal scorer. It was a 4-1 win for the Bruins.Post Season… The Caps used only six defensemen in the post-season, and as one might expect, Oleksy had the lowest average ice time (15:09 per game). Then again, only Karl Alzner was on ice for fewer even strength goals (two)

Are you not quite sure what the appeal of golf is? Seems kind of absurd or quite baffling? It’s time for you to understand the sport – you will actually find it fun! Below you’ll find some excellent advice about golf to get you started in your education on the sport. You can improve your swing by using your entire body. There is a common misconception that all of your power comes from your arms, yet it is actually all about position and form. Put the momentum of your whole body behind every swing for maximum distance. Don’t take yourself, or the game of golf, too seriously. Mistakes will happen and you need to have the ability to laugh about them or about yourself, and this will lead to you relaxing, which will help you overcome the mistakes. By doing this, you will be better able to find the stance that is best for you. Standing properly is vital dependent upon your size, gender, and height. Once you find the right stance, you will immediately notice the benefit in your swing. Golf clubs have a point known as the “sweet spot.” If the ball is hit at this point, it will fly true. Work with each of your clubs to find this “sweet spot.” Once you do, contact the ball with the club’s sweet spot right at the end of your downswing. Focus on how you will proceed with the next shot. Don’t be distracted by your last bad shot or a water hazard on the next hole. Anxiety about earlier poor plays can really have an effect on your game, so do your best to push them from your mind completely, rather than dwelling on them. For this reason, stretch before you play and drink plenty of water. Giving proper attention to your body will help you make improvements in your golf game. Before you spend a few hundred on a new set of clubs, ask a professional what sort of clubs might work for you. Golf professionals can help you find the perfect set of golf clubs for you. In addition, if there are new clubs that just went on the market, professionals may know about them before the general public does and can advise you as to whether they are worth the money. If you’re going to be a golfer, take the time to learn how to properly fill out a scorecard. Because golf scores are often used as a way of judging a player’s skill level, it’s important to understand them. Every time you hit the ball, you want to count that in your total for that hole. Each hole is different and has different pars for it as well so make sure you take that into consideration as well. The basic idea is that you want as few strokes as possible for each hole. As stated in the beginning of this article, golf can be quite confusing if you have never played before. You now have the information that you need about golf. Judge the sport on your own terms and give it a try, to see if this is a sport that you could get into!

From the earliest days of training camp, Coach Adam Oates made it clear that his system was designed for the protection and involvement of the defensemen. Ideally, blueliners will have the extra time to make the proper play to get … Continue reading →

Japers' Rink Player Card (click for hi-res version; a glossary of terms used in this post can be found here; data via Behind the Net, Hockey Analysis, CapGeek and NHL.com; h/t Habs EOTP): Carlson and his most frequent partners: 2013 Capitals 5v5 Defenseman Usage, via Hockey Abstract: Carlson's Past Four Seasons (via Hockey Analysis): Previous Rink Wraps: 2011-12 (5.52 rating)2010-11 (8.13 rating)2009-10 (8.50 rating) Key Stat: Carlson was the only defenseman on the Capitals to average more than two minutes per game on each special teams unit. League-wide, he was one of only 13 players to average over 2:45 on the penalty kill and over two minutes on the PP. Interesting Stats: Carlson had 11 points at home and 11 on the road, but all five of his power-play points came away from Verizon Center, while five of his six goals were scored there. The Good: There is a strong argument that John Carlson was the Caps' most important defender this year. He didn't have the most points (at even-strength or on the power play), and he wasn't the best at keeping the puck out of the net, but (as noted above) he was a huge factor in all three phases. Up a goal or down a goal, power play or penalty kill, there was a good chance Carlson would be on the ice. He generally isn't a flashy player, without the kind of personal highlight reel that so many of his teammates have, but he showed up every day (playing in every Caps game for a third-straight season), faced tough assignments (by both Quality of Competition and Zone Starts), did the little things (third in the league in blocked shots, two behind the league-leader) and managed to out-perform his teammates and opponents. In addition to serving as a key component of the D corps in all three phases, Carlson also set a career-best in goals-per-60 and points-per-60 at five-a-side, all while facing the most difficult competition of any Caps defender. While the Caps had mediocre possession numbers on the season as a team, Carlson managed to be near even in both Corsi- and Fenwick-for percentage (regardless of partner), and had a strong Corsi-Relative compared to the rest of the team. And, lest we lose sight of the big picture, we would be remiss if we didn't point out that despite raw Corsi and Fenwick numbers that tread water at best, 60% of the goals that Carlson was on the ice for ended up in the opposition's net. You could argue that the on-ice-shooting% that Carlson got this year is not sustainable, but 10.6% is also not completely off the charts. At the end of the day, when you face the top offensive players on the other team and you manage to out-score them by 50%, you've done a solid job. How the Separation of Alzner and Carlson Strengthened the D Corps Adam Oates sliced through the conjoined hip that was Karl Alzner and John Carlson, and got the results and flexibility he had in mind when he did so. Perhaps most notable in Carlson's 2013 season is that for the first time since he and Karl Alzner became full-time NHL players, Carlson spent more time over the course of the season skating with another defensman than he did with Alzner - in fact, Alzner was just fourth on the list of Carlson's most-common partners, as detailed in the chart above. Separating Carlson and Alzner - a somewhat bold move, given their comfort level with one another (though not given their rough start to the season) - allowed the Caps to ice a deeper defensive corps, providing the coaching staff with more options. That Carlson was out-performing the defenders who faced easier assignments speaks volumes about the work he put in this season, and it's easy to question whether the Caps could have dug out of the early hole they dug and won the division if Carlson wasn't able to carry a shutdown pair by himself (and we do mean "carry," as he spent most of the season with John Erskine). It's hard not to wonder what John Carlson could do with a stronger defensive partner, similar to all t

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Your savory breakfast links: Taking a look back at the season that was for Caps' forwards... [WaPo (Part I, Part II)] ...of which there may be too many next year, as roster decisions abound. [Caps Outsider] There are ways to fix that, of course, one of which is to send a player or two (or five) packing in exchange for some fresh blood. So which players have top value? [Angus Certified] The Caps' blue line put up offense at a rate unmatched since the 1995-96 version roamed the rink, and like most other things that improved this year, the credit goes back to the coach. [Dump 'n Chase] Rating the O-ffense. [DSP] A whole lotta stupid in the sports world this week - particularly here in DC - gives us all a break from a whole lotta Caps-centric stupid last week. Stupidity? In SPORTS?? Unpossible. [WashTimes] Brooks Laich: A fan of both local baseball teams. How wishy-washy diplomatic. And fraudulent, since we all know he prefers the Blue Jays. [RMNB] Finally, happy 22nd birthday to Cody Eakin.

Golf is both a sport and activity that is enjoyed by people throughout the world. Nothing is better than golfing on a bright, sunny day. It takes some hard work and effort to perfect your golf game, but it’s worth it! This article contains some great golf tips to help improve your game. You can determine the best golf stance for yourself by doing this. Your stance depends on your gender, size and height. Perfecting your stance is the first step to improving your overall game. Don’t use a golf cart to go from one hole to another. Walk instead. This is very beneficial to your health as you will be increasing your exercise on the course. Walking also keeps you loose and warms up your muscles. This helps you determine your best stance. It is so crucial for you to have a stance that works well with your individual build and style, but also accomplishes a good swing while allowing for precision. Your game will see significant improvement if you can find the proper stance. Get advice from a professional if you want to buy clubs. Take their advice, and always research the newest innovations and try a wide variety of golf clubs before deciding which ones to purchase. One of the first things you want to get down when learning golf is the proper grip for all of your clubs. A common mistake many players make is thinking that a harder club grip means they can power the ball farther down the fairway. Try to use a soft, but firm grip on your club to maximize your swinging potential. Hold your club as if it were a bird. If you are staring down a really long putt, then you should concentrate your focus on what speed you hit your ball with. Instead of aiming for the hole, read the putt and aim for an intermediate target. That way, you are less likely to either overshoot or undershoot, and your second putt is more likely to be a manageable one. Read blogs or ask an expert before you choose new equipment. This helps you out because they can help you find the perfect clubs, and they’ll also be abreast of the latest developments in new clubs. As we were mentioning, there is no other sport available with the qualities and mind-frame of golf; it is truly unique. It will take a lot of hard work to be a good golfer because, it is a very tough game to master. If you carefully apply the golf advice contained in this article, you will see huge improvements in your golfing abilities.

Our season review continues with a look at the forwards who finished the season on the third or fourth line, and the questions they face heading into next season. If you’ve missed any of the previous breakdowns, check them out … Continue reading →