Washington Capitals

John Erskine“Success, remember is the reward of toil.”-- SophoclesWhen the 2013 season started, the Washington Capitals had a depth chart for defensemen that might have looked like this…Mike GreenKarl AlznerJohn CarlsonRoman HamrlikDmitry OrlovJack HillenOne of the odd men out in that scenario was John Erskine, who between assorted injuries (shoulder, lower body) and healthy scratches was coming off a 2011-2012 season in which he played in only 28 games.Erskine’s 2013 season was not much different from his 2011-2012 season with respect to the injury bug – he missed 12 games in March due to an upper-body injury – and he missed another three games in February for elbowing Wayne Simmonds of the Philadelphia Flyers. But he did dress for 30 games, and by the end of the season, with Hamrlik waived and off to the New York Rangers, Orlov injured and trying to rehabilitate his game with the Hershey Bears in the AHL, and Hillen injured in the first game of the season and trying to work his way back into the lineup after missing 25 games, Erskine found himself by year’s end on the second defensive pairing with John Carlson.For Erskine it was a productive year, in the technical sense of the term. While his 0.10 goals-per-game was modest, it was the best such mark he posted over an 11-year career. His 0.20 points-per-game was his best since posting a 0.24 points-per-game mark in in first year with the Capitals in 2006-2007. He was plus-10 over 30 games, a plus-27 pace over 82 games, also a career best. His 32 shots on goal in 30 games was the only season in his career in which he averaged more than a shot per game. The problem for Erskine was, as it has been in so many of his seasons with the Capital, injuries. In seven years with the Caps, Erskine has missed 121 games to injury or illness (tsn.ca), including the 12 he missed in the 2013 season due to an upper body injury. Although the games played did not change much for Erskine this season – 30 this year, 28 last season – the ice time did. Befitting his partnership with John Carlson on the second defensive pairing (78 percent of his 5-on-5 ice time was spent with Carlson), Erskine’s total ice time jumped from 12:05 per game to 18:27, and his even strength ice time jumped from 11:33 per game to 16:13. It amounted to more than one extra shift per period per game (17.5 shifts per game in 2011-2012 to 21.9 shifts per game in 2013). The thing is with that pairing is that Erskine’s influence – or at least his presence – had a salutary effect on Carlson. When on ice together, Carlson’s 5-on-5 goals for were better (0.939 GF/20 vs. 0.824 GF/20 when apart), the goals against were better (0.692 GA/20 vs. 0.733 when apart, numbers from stats.hockeyanalysis.com). There was not a lot of ice time with these players spent apart, but in terms of even strength outcomes, Erskine did not appear to be a liability. Of course, that also might be tempered by the fact that the top four forwards with whom Erskine shared 5-on-5 ice time ice time were, in order: Mike Ribeiro, Alex Ovechkin, Troy Brouwer, and Nicklas Backstrom.Odd Erskine Stat… John Erskine scored three goals for the Caps this season, all of which came at Verizon Center, and all of which came in noteworthy games. His first of the season put the Caps ahead to stay in what would become Adam Oates’ first win as head coach, a 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on January 27th. His second goal came on February 26thin a 3-0 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, which spoiled Alexander Semin’s first game in Washington since leaving the club in free agency after the 2011-2012 season. His third goal came on March 7th in a 7-1 win against the Florida Panthers. His goal, the first of the contest, set in motion a four-goal barrage in 6:12, the second-fastest four-goal start in team history.Game to Remember… April 23rd vs. Winnipeg. John Erskine was the emergency goaltender of sorts on the evening on which the Capitals clinched the Southeast Division

This might not be substantial enough for a fanpost, but I couldn't get the formatting to work well as a post in a Clips thread.... Hockey reference has lists of the players who have most often led the league, finished top-3, top-5, etc in various statistical categories. I pulled a couple of the goal scoring lists, but then also looked at the age at which those players last accomplished the feat, just for some context on Ovi's potential future at the top of the league in goals. Leading the NHL in goals: Rank Name Times Age Last 1 Bobby Hull* 7 30 2 Phil Esposito* 6 32 3 Wayne Gretzky* 5 26 3 Gordie Howe* 5 34 3 Maurice Richard* 5 33 3 Charlie Conacher* 5 26 7 Babe Dye* 3 26 7 Teemu Selanne 3 28 7 Brett Hull* 3 27 7 Pavel Bure* 3 29 7 Mario Lemieux* 3 30 7 Bill Cook* 3 36 7 Alex Ovechkin 3 27 Mean Age Last - 30Median Age Last - 298 out of the 13 led the NHL while older than age 27. Top-3 in the NHL in goals: Rank Name Times Age Last 1 Gordie Howe* 12 40 2 Bobby Hull* 10 33 3 Maurice Richard* 9 35 4 Phil Esposito* 7 32 4 Mike Bossy* 7 29 6 Mario Lemieux* 6 31 6 Babe Dye* 6 28 8 Alex Ovechkin 5 27 8 Frank Mahovlich* 5 31 8 Charlie Conacher* 5 26 8 Cy Denneny* 5 32 8 Guy Lafleur* 5 27 8 Teemu Selanne 5 36 8 Wayne Gretzky* 5 26 8 Roy Conacher* 5 32 8 Nels Stewart* 5 34 8 Howie Morenz* 5 28 8 Jaromir Jagr 5 33 8 Jean Beliveau* 5 28 Mean Age Last - 31Median Age Last - 3115 of 19 finished top-3 in the NHL while older than 27 Also notable that every single player on these lists who is not an active player is in the Hall of Fame. This might not be substantial enough for a fanpost, but I couldn't get the formatting to work well as a post in a Clips thread.... Hockey reference has lists of the players who have most often led the league, finished top-3, top-5, etc in various statistical categories. I pulled a couple of the goal scoring lists, but then also looked at the age at which those players last accomplished the feat, just for some context on Ovi's potential future at the top of the league in goals. Leading the NHL in goals: Rank Name Times Age Last 1 Bobby Hull* 7 30 2 Phil Esposito* 6 32 3 Wayne Gretzky* 5 26 3 Gordie Howe* 5 34 3 Maurice Richard* 5 33 3 Charlie Conacher* 5 26 7 Babe Dye* 3 26 7 Teemu Selanne 3 28 7 Brett Hull* 3 27 7 Pavel Bure* 3 29 7 Mario Lemieux* 3 30 7 Bill Cook* 3 36 7 Alex Ovechkin 3 27 Mean Age Last - 30Median Age Last - 298 out of the 13 led the NHL while older than age 27. Top-3 in the NHL in goals: Rank Name Times Age Last 1 Gordie Howe* 12 40 2 Bobby Hull* 10 33 3 Maurice Richard* 9 35 4 Phil Esposito* 7 32 4 Mike Bossy* 7 29 6 Mario Lemieux* 6 31 6 Babe Dye* 6 28 8 Alex Ovechkin 5 27 8 Frank Mahovlich* 5 31 8 Charlie Conacher* 5 26 8 Cy Denneny* 5 32 8 Guy Lafleur* 5 27 8 Teemu Selanne 5 36 8 Wayne Gretzky* 5 26 8 Roy Conacher* 5 32 8 Nels Stewart* 5 34 8 Howie Morenz* 5 28 8 Jaromir Jagr 5 33 8 Jean Beliveau* 5 28 Mean Age Last - 31Median Age Last - 3115 of 19 finished top-3 in the NHL while older than 27 Also notable that every single player on these lists who is not an active player is in the Hall of Fame.

The Washington Capitals, contrary to what some may say, do not have a culture of losing. This organization has made the playoffs six straight seasons despite having four different coaches over that span, including three in the past two seasons. … Continue reading →

It's once again Rink Wrap season, and with a slightly new format for 2013, here's a walk through what you're seeing. First up is our "Japers' Rink Player Card." Here's Karl Alzner's: So what's here? There are essentially five sections - self-explanatory biographical info at the top, stat totals below it, and then sections for the player's stats in each of three game situations: five-on-five, five-on-four power plays and four-on-five penalty kills. Each of the four statistical sections is comprised of three rows (metrics, data and rank), and the three game situations have a fourth row at the top detailing the player's most frequent teammates in those situations. Before we get into the acronyms and whatnot, a note on the "Rank" row. Each player is ranked among the Caps skaters at his position ("D" for Alzner), but only among those with sufficient ice time to be included in group - that's the number in parentheses. For the "Totals" section, that's just about everyone; for the "Game Situation" sections, that's .5 minutes-per-game in that situation. If a player doesn't qualify to be ranked (such as Alzner on the power play above), his data appears, but there's no rank for each stat. (Also, it should be intuitive, but all stats are ranked most/highest to fewest/lowest, with the exception of goals-against and penalties taken.) Still with me? Good. Here's the list of acronyms (left-to-right) for the "Totals" section, with notes where applicable: GP: Games played G: Goals A: Assists Pts: Points PPG: Power-play Goals PPA: Power-play Assists SHG: Short-handed goals SHA: Short-handed Assists GW: Game-winning goals SOG: Shots on goal S%: Shooting percentage MsS: Missed shots (these are shots taken that get through unblocked but miss the net) SO: Shootouts (goals-attempts) +/-: Plus-minus PIM: Penalties in minutes Hits: Hits. Duh. BkS: Blocked shots (that's shots the player blocked, not shots he took that were blocked) FO: Total face offs taken FO%: Face-off winning percentage ATOI: Average time-on-ice (per game) ESTOI: Even-strength time-on-ice per game PPTOI: Power-play time-on-ice per game SHTOI: Shorthanded time-on-ice per game Easy enough. Now for the "Game Situation" sections: TOI/60: Time-on-ice in that situation per sixty minutes of game time Production stats: G/60: Goals per sixty minutes of ice time in that situation A1/60: Primary assists per sixty minutes of ice time in that situation A2/60: Secondary per sixty minutes of ice time in that situation Pts/60: Points per sixty minutes of ice time in that situation IPP: Individual Points Percentage (the percentage of goals scored while player was on ice in that situation that the player had a point on... for more on IPP, here's some good reading) Scoring stats: GFON/60: Goals-for per sixty minutes of ice time in that situation when the player is on the ice GAON/60: Goals-against per sixty minutes of ice time in that situation when the player is on the ice Diff/60: The difference between those last two numbers... positive is good, negative is bad, of course Possession stats: SF%: Shots-for percentage; shots-for while a player is on the ice (not just those he himself takes) divided by the sum of shots-for and shots-against (SF/(SF+SA))... above 50% means more shots on the other goal than on the player's goal FF%: Fenwick-for percentage; calculated similarly as SF%, Fenwick adds missed shots to the calculus, so it's the sum of shots-for plus missed shots-for for divided by the sum of all shots that are on-goal or miss the goal ((SF+MsF)/(SF+SA+MsF+MsA)) CF%: Corsi-for percentage; same as above, except now we've gone and added blocked shots to the mix, so it's the sum of shots-for plus shots taken that are blocked or missed the net divided by the some of all shots on-goal, missed or blocked ((SF+MsF+BkA)/(SF+SA+MsF+MsA+BkA+BkF)) Corsi Rel: This is essentially the difference between a player's Corsi when he's on the ice

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): Alzner and his most frequent defensive partners: 2013 Capitals 5v5 Defenseman Usage, via Hockey Abstract: Alzner's Past Five Seasons (via Hockey Analysis): Previous Rink Wraps: 2011-12 (8.29 rating) 2010-11 (7.81 rating) 2009-10 (5.79 rating) 2008-09 (6.59 rating) Key Stat: Skated 156:08 in the playoffs (including 52:41 against Rick Nash at even strength) and was only on the ice for two Rangers goals - single five-on-five tallies in Games 4 and 7 to go along with 22:55 of spotless penalty-killing. Interesting Stat: Registered five shots on goal in a game for the first time in his career in his 282nd game (regular season and playoffs)... and then did it again a dozen games later in Game 7 against New York. 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. The Good: It's difficult, sometimes, to write about the thing that Karl Alzner does well because the things that Karl Alzner does well don't usually lend themselves to narratives. He plays big minutes, he plays tough minutes (as the usage chart above details) and he handles them, regardless of his partner (primarily Mike Green in 2013 after a couple of years of being virtually inseparable from John Carlson). And he always shows up for work. Like many of his teammates, Alzner rebounded from a rough start to the season (more on that in a minute) to salvage a pretty decent campaign. He blocked a lot of shots (somewhat contrary to orders, and in part because the Caps struggled with puck possession) and continued to defend effectively and cleanly - Alzner was one of 15 NHL defensemen this season to play more than 1000 minutes and rack up fewer than 15 penalty minutes. And while it's a far-too-small-for-our-liking sample, Alzner was superb in the playoffs (as noted above), shutting down Ranger big guns, excelling on the penalty kill and helping to tilt the ice at five-on-five - his individual Shots-, Fenwick- and Corsi-For percentages all led the entire team. The Bad: Karl Alzner is a thinker and, at times, an overthinker. That certainly seemed to be the case early on in 2013, as he and his teammates adjusted to a(nother) new coach, and he'd be the first to tell you so... repeatedly. Eventually, things started coming more naturally, but that start... yikes. In the first ten games of the season, Alzner was on the ice for 17 goals against (nine of which came on the power play). He hit another rough spot (20 goals-against in 14 games) for three weeks in March, and those two stretches - 24 games, half the season - accounted for more than two-thirds of the goals for which he was on the ice during the regular season. And you'd like to see a bit more from Alzner at even-strength, but given the game he plays, he's very much at the mercy of his teammates for stats both traditional and advanced. Oh, and Twitter lost a true superstar when Alzner hung up his thumbs during the lockout. The Vote: Rate Alzner below on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best) based on his performance relative to his potential and your expectations for the season - if he had the best year you could have imagined him having, give him a 10; if he more or less played as you expected he would, give him a 5 or a 6; if he had the worst year you could have imagined him having, give him a 1. The Discussion: Alzner is a restricted free agent this summer - what's he worth in dollars and term? Is he a legitimate top-pairing defenseman on a team that aspires to be a contender? What would it take for you to give him a "10" next year? More on Alzner's season: Peerless: Karl Alzner, By The Tens Poll How do yo

Many might look at Matt Hendricks, a fourth-line grinder with just 17 points in the past two seasons combined, and think that the Capitals could simply replace him if they can’t come to terms with the impending unrestricted free agent. … Continue reading →

John Carlson“Life is about growth. People are not perfect when they're 21 years old.”-- Bill WaltonJohn Carlson struggled mightily in the last half of the 2011-2012 season. He was 4-8-12, minus-20, over his last 52 games. It was hardly the expected result of a promising former first-round draft pick who showed so much promise over his first 100 games. But when he turned things around with a solid playoff performance in 2012, much was expected of Carlson this season.Did he deliver? Well, yes and no. The start of his season looked a little too much like the start of last season. It seemed as if every time that an opponent scored a goal against the Caps, Carlson had a good look at it. He was on ice for 41 of the 82 goals scored against Washington over the Caps’ first 27 games. That ratio improved a lot for Carlson down the stretch. He was on ice for only 20 of the 48 goals scored against Washington over the Caps’ last 21 games.Carlson’s uncertain start and stronger finish not only looks a lot like last year’s performance, it looks a bit like that of his erstwhile partner, Karl Alzner. Carlson spent more time on ice at 5-on-5 with three defensemen other than Alzner (79:38), including Jeff Schultz (86:06), who played in only 26 games this season. Carlson spent 46 percent of his 5-on-5 ice time with John Erskine on what would be the Caps second defensive pairing by year end. Overall (and that is an important word here), Carlson had a better regular season this season than last. His goals/60 minutes at 5-on-5 were up (0.173 to 0.445). His assists/60 minutes at 5-on-5 were up (0.564 to 0.667). His shots were up (4.945 to 5.410), individual Fenwick (6.853 to 7.410), and individual Corsi (from 10.193 to 10.300, all numbers from stats.hockeyanalysis.com).These numbers are not unexpected, though, since he was often matched with superior offensive talent. Again, from stats.hockeyanalysis.com, the offensive quality of teammates was improved (from 0.5 to 12.9 on this particular measure, “HARO/QOT,” again from stats.hockeyanalysis.com), while the defensive quality of his competition was inferior (dropped from -11.2 to -24.8 on the “HARD/QOC” measure). And this is not a surprise, either, when you understand that the forwards with whom Carlson was matched most often at 5-on-5 in ice time were, in order, Alex Ovechkin, Mike Ribeiro, Nicklas Backstrom, and Troy Brouwer, all of whom Carlson spent more than five minutes per game of 5-on-5 time skating with this season.Odd Carlson Stat… This might become its own feature, but there is the matter of that “Southeast Division” effect happening here. Carlson was 3-9-12, plus-19 against the other Southeast Division teams in 18 games, 3-7-10, minus-8, in 30 games against everyone else. And for your bonus stat, Carlson scored three goals against the Southeast, all in wins, and scored three goals outside the division, all in losses.Game to Remember… April 23rd vs. Winnipeg. In Game 46 of the regular season the Caps had a chance to clinch the Southeast Division and a three-seed in the playoffs with a win over the Winnipeg Jets. The Caps had already blown a two-goal lead and were in jeopardy of blowing a one-goal lead in the third period against the visiting Jets. It was John Carlson on the ice in the last minute (with John Erskine) to protect that one-goal margin, and the choice worked for the Caps when Alex Ovechkin scored an empty-net goal to seal a 5-3 division-clinching win. Carlson had only one shot on the evening (no points), but he was a plus-3 in more than 20 minutes of ice time.Game to Forget… January 24th through January 27th. This is, as you might guess, a multi-game horror show for Carlson. The Caps had a stretch of three games in four nights against Montreal, New Jersey, and Buffalo. From the 3:47 mark of the second period in the first game of this set, against Montreal, to the 9:34 mark of the first period of the last game in the set, against Buffalo, Carlson was on ice

One of the Capitals’ impending unrestricted free agents won’t be returning to Washington next season. Seldom-used winger Wojtek Wolski signed with Torpedo Nizhni Novgorod in the Kontinental Hockey League, the team announced Monday morning. Wolski’s departure is far from a … Continue reading →

If like many others, you are looking to up your golf game, consider the advice in the following article as a means of accomplishing this. Some improvements are slower to implement than others in golf, but with enough practice and play, you should eventually discover which ideas will offer you the most success. Give these suggestions a try when you next play a game of golf, and figure out which ones will help you improve your skills. There is no magic formula, so you will need to find out for yourself what works well for you. The key is proper stance, but it isn’t the same for everyone. When you find the proper stance for you, your game will improve. You may want to ask the advice of a golf pro when deciding which new clubs to buy. This is something you should know because a professional will be able to aid you in club selection and will know what types have been created lately. By doing this, you will be better able to find the stance that is best for you. Proper stance is key, but it can vary depending on your height, size, and even gender. Discovering your best stance does wonders for your game. Learn how to hold your club correctly from the first time you play. People often try to grab the golf club too hard, they think the ball will go much further. The optimal grip instead is to develop a hold on the club that is as soft as possible without losing good control of the club. You will have to find the right balance, like if you were holding an animal. A good golf tip is to relax, have fun and not be so serious on the course. Things are bound to go wrong from time to time, so you need to learn to laugh at your mistakes. This will help you recover more quickly and relax so you can get on with your game. As you putt, you should strive to keep your left hand in front of the ball. Hold this position as you swing the club, maintaining it throughout your stroke. If you do not incorporate this technique, you run the risk of having the ball bounce off of the club, greatly reducing your chances for an accurate putt. You can get a lot of help you in your golf game from your body. Your entire body–not just the arms–should be viewed as a major source of power. Let your body be one with the club. The added power will propel the golf ball further and lessen the strain on your arms. Because golf is a highly personalized game, not all of this advice will apply to your strategy, but surely you have found a few pointers that you can successfully apply to your style. Use some of these new techniques, change the way you swing or grip your club better, are just some of the things that will have you getting some good golf scores.

Your savory breakfast links: Programming note: our 2013 Rink Wraps start droppin' later this morning with Alzner, Karl, so be sure to check back later if for no other reason than to dig the new format. Speaking of Alzner, here's Peerless's take on his season. [Peerless] Adam Oates is a pretty big silver lining to a(nother) season that ended disappointingly. [WashTimes] More on what went right. [DSP] Expect the Rangers to show some interest in Matt Hendricks... because it worked out so well for them the last time they threw money at a Caps fourth-liner. [NYPost (with other delightful and well-measured thoughts on the Caps)] George McPhee's end-o'-season media availability, transcribed. [CSNW (Parts I, II, III and IV)] Breaking: a lot of hockey players like music I've never heard of. Also, get off my lawn. [RMNB] So, Steve Oleksy, time to dish on your 'mates. [CSNW] Interesting nugget: the Caps were the only team in the League not to ice the puck while on the power-play this year. #becauseitstheoffseason [On the Forecheck] Alternate title: Eat, Love, Rock the Red. [FanPost] Plenty of coverage from Game 1... [Patriot-News, Caps Outsider, Sports Lair, B?hance (super pics)] ... and Game 2 of the Kelly Cup Finals. [ECHL, Caps Outsider] Fire at Bugsy's! Fear not - everyone (and everything) is okay. [NBC4] Finally, happy 48th birthday, Bruce Cassidy.