The Dale Hunter Game, or the end of the Mike Keenan Era in only 66 minutes

by Bob Herpen
Phanatic Hockey Editor

"In...Howe...SCOOOORE!!! Bullet Shot!"

That was Hall of Fame broadcaster Gene Hart calling the action on Channel 57,  a Saturday night, April 16, 1988. Game 7, Patrick Division Semifinals, at Capital Centre in Landover, MD.

One second shy of the three-minute mark of the second period, and Mark Howe's trademark wrister, which blew over the shoulder of Washington goalie Pete Peeters, gave the Philadelphia Flyers a seemingly-insurmountable 3-0 lead over the Capitals.

''I know I was shaking my head when it was 3-0,'' said then-Capitals coach Bryan Murray. ''They had everything going for them. We had nothing. I knew somebody had to do something exceptional.''

There appeared to be no more thought of this proud franchise wasting a three-games-to-one series lead. No talk about the psychological scars of losing a Game 7 in Edmonton 10 months ago having an effect. Another chapter added to the grit, guts and glory of Philadelphia hockey in the 1980s. 

What followed was one of the most infamous collapses in franchise history, or the most dramatic come-from-behind victories in franchise history, depending on your perspective.

If you're a Capitals fan, to this day, 25 years later, you celebrate the Dale Hunter trade with Quebec, reminisce about how Washington scored five of the last six goals in the game to win -- with Hunter getting the final two including the iconic playoff-series clincher. 

"He is a player who will absolutely do anything to win,'' said Washington defenseman and captain Rod Langway, a veteran of five seasons of Capital collapses to that point. ''He sacrifices his body, his person. Look at him, he's got stitches and cuts everywhere. But he knows how to give it, too.''

If you're a Flyers fan, you mutter under your breath with multiple colorful metaphors describing Hunter. You lament the fact that Ron Hextall couldn't pull his teammates back from the brink again, and that Mike Keenan, after four years of whipping his kids into contenders, had finally lost the room for good.

Hextall did everything but snap his spinal column in two during the five minutes and 56 seconds of overtime which preceded Hunter's game winner. He stopped seven shots, most of them dead-on quality chances, helped kill off a penalty to Howe -- the club's most valuable player in any situation, and did his best to calm his teammates despite waves of Capitals rushes on every shift.

But there it is, in black and white. Hunter scored the most famous overtime goal in Capitals history, on a breakaway no less, giving the 14-year-old team its first-ever taste of true playoff success, and doing it against a rival which blocked their ascension to the top of the division and to the NHL's elite.

It washed away the bitter taste of losing the four-OT Easter Epic at home to the New York Islanders one year prior, when the Caps held a 3-1 series lead and blew it thanks to a Pat LaFontaine seeing-eye shot in Game 7.

It was the first time in 21 years that the Flyers blew a 3-1 series lead, and one of only two instances to this day it's happened.

It also was the second time in Hunter's career he won a playoff game in OT against Philly, with the first coming in a 1981 quarterfinal with Quebec which forced a deciding Game 5.

Below is the final portion of the extra session, plus the immediate celebration, with soon-to-be Flyers play-by-play voice Mike Emrick pulling duty for ESPN:


The Flyers' train started coming off the tracks almost as soon as the sirens blared inside the Cap Centre.

Three weeks after the loss, Keenan was shown the door by GM Bob Clarke. Aiding in the decision were the voices of several key veteran personnel who never felt Keenan eased up on the team as a whole over his four-year tenure, plus his obstinate decision to stick a flu-ridden Hextall into the nets to start Game 6 (a 7-2 home loss) after front office personnel urged him to give the start to the healthier Mark Laforest -- who had spelled a weakened Hextall in Games 4 and 5.

Three weeks after that, Paul Holmgren, an assistant for the previous three years under Keenan, was promoted to the top job.

Despite key injuries throughout the season, plus the loss of their leading goal producer for 66 games, the Flyers under Keenan went from one period removed from a potential Stanley Cup title to out in the first round via spectacular failure.

"A lot of people tried to be helpful by asking me to let up, but I was insecure," Keenan said in Full Spectrum. "A few kind words from time to time would have been just what the doctor ordered. I didn't have to show the intensity I did. I could have delivered the same message without saying a word and probably been more effective. But I started out knowing that I wasn't a former player...I wanted my career to last a long time so I pushed. I always felt I had to prove myself."

Doug Crossman, who had an open dislike for Keenan and whose play reflected that opinion late in the 87-88 season, was beaten by Hunter up the middle on his milestone tally. He drew more fan and organizational heat for not doing more to stop the chance, and was shipped out to LA before the next season commenced.

From a Flyers perspective, the pain was only temporary. Hunter couldn't save the Caps as the upstart New Jersey Devils took Washington to seven games, at home in the second round, and won a one-goal contest to reach the Wales Conference Finals.

Washington finished atop the Patrick for the first time in 1988-89, and Philadelphia only managed to end up fourth. The memory that lingered from the previous Spring was washed away when the underdog Flyers dispatched the Caps in a six-game first-round shocker in Holmgren's playoff debut behind the bench.

*     *     *

You'd think that a terminal game in a best-of-seven playoff series between two of the best teams in the NHL over the past half decade would be a roller-coaster ride from the start, but it wasn't.

The Capitals blew four straight power-play chances in the first period, and totaled only four shots. The Flyers mustered just six in a tentatively-played opening 20 minutes. It would have been a total snoozer, if not for the fact that Grant Ledyard speared Rick Tocchet in the groin during a Flyers advantage, and an attempted cross-crease centering pass from Tim Kerr to Brian Propp fell through the crook of Peeters' arm and into the net for the game's first score. 

Propp then converted a Kjell Samuelsson rebound at 1:35 of the second period, and after Howe's score, confidence was high for the visitors.

But then, the Capitals began to do what they had all series long, and started to cruise the Flyers' crease to disrupt Hextall's rhythm. Kevin Hatcher was the primary suspect in most of the strafings, but his presence wasn't necessary when Garry Galley's right-point drive slid home at the 6:42 mark to put the hosts on the board. Nonetheless, Hextall raged to anyone who would listen that he was interfered with on the shot.

The tension and excitement from 18,130 in attendance was finally ratcheted higher when the Caps won a left-circle draw and kept pushing the puck towards Hextall, until Kelly Miller's swipe found some space under his pads and in only 80 seconds later.

Hatcher's blast tied the game with 2:06 left before the second intermission, and if there was any doubt the tide turned in Washington's favor for good, Hunter emphasized it just six seconds into a Samuelsson penalty when he cut down a Garry Galley point shot in the left circle and beat an over-committed Hextall to the far side at 5:19 of the third for a 4-3 Capitals lead.

The delirium lasted all of 1:02, however, when Peter Zezel won a left-circle draw back to Brad Marsh, and his low shot zipped by traffic and Peeters for his final playoff goal in his Flyers career to tie the game once more.

In overtime, Howe was forced to drag down Mike Gartner to prevent a breakaway. Samuelsson smothered a Dave Christian chance with his goaltender out of the crease, then Gartner hit the junction of the crossbar and right post with Hextall on his backside and Hatcher put the rebound over the net.  Hexy later came up with a sprawling save off a 2-on-1 by Peter Sundstrom after Gartner curiously elected to pass, but was somehow caught unawares on Hunter's shot choice.

"Hextall is standing there and I'm waiting. He's got to do something before I can do something. Or at least that's what I'm figuring," said Hunter. "But he didn't do anything. I made a little deke because I just didn't see any room to shoot. Finally, he opened his legs and it was just enough room for me to put it in."

BTW, the player who breaks his stick in two on the top of the net in the video is Greg Smyth, most famous here during his one season in Orange and Black for his out-of-control play and mohawk haircut.

"He gave us the opportunity to win it," said Flyers captain Dave Poulin to the Washington Post. "In overtime, the Capitals should have scored three, maybe four times before they did. He gave us a chance. I don't think the finger will ever be pointed at Ron." 

In the closing minutes of the postgame segment, Hart delivered some poignant words regarding the Flyers' playoff fate:"It has been an unusual decade of the 1980s, in which the even-numbered years have been particularly cruel to Philadelphia....out in the first round in '88, eliminated in the first round in 1986, eliminated in the first round in 1984, and in the (first) round in '82. Otherwise, it's been feast or famine, making the Finals in 1980, '85 and '87."

In a quarter century, the Flyers have lost only two Game 7s, and just one of those on the road: in 2004 at Tampa Bay. The other one, at home to the Devils in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals of 2000, also kicked off a period of sweeping change for the on-ice product after a 3-1 series edge evaporated.

Neither carried the sneering, snickering, snarling feel of defeat like the one Dale Hunter provided.


 

Erskine suspended three games for Simmonds hit

New York, NY  -- The National Hockey League issued a three-game suspension to Washington Capitals defenseman John  Erskine on Saturday for his actions in Friday's game against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Erskine was punished for his hit to the head on Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds late in the first period of a 3-2 Capitals victory. He was not given a penalty on the play, while Simmonds left the game and did not return.

Below is the video explanation for the ruling, given by Brendan Shanahan:





Erskine, a first-time offender, will forfeit $24,324.33 in salary, which automatically goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

He will be eligible to return to action when the Caps host the Florida Panthers on Feb. 9.

Flyers ship Marshall to Caps

In what can only be described as a depth move, the Flyers sent AHL defenseman Kevin Marshall to the Washington Capitals in exchange for AHL forward Matt Ford on Thursday. Ford was immediately assigned to Adirondack.

From the Flyers' release:

Ford, 27 (10/9/1984), has appeared in 39 games this season for Washington’s AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, where he posted 10 goals and 18 assists for 28 points. He appeared in 76 games with the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters last season, where he scored a career-high 26 goals and added 16 assists for a career-high 42 points. Ford has recorded 50 goals and 50 assists for 100 points in 190 career AHL games with Hershey, Lake Erie and the Hartford Wolf Pack. He was also the MVP of the 2009 ECHL All-Star Game while a member of the Charlotte Checkers.

Prior to turning pro, Ford played four years at the University of Wisconsin, where he was a member of the school’s 2006 national championship team. He was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the eighth round (256^th overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

Marshall, 22 (3/10/89), appeared in 10 games for the Flyers this season, including his NHL debut on November 21 vs. Carolina. He recorded two goals and three assists for five points in 32 games for Adirondack this season.

Hunter about to get captured by NHL game

by Bob Herpen
Phanatic Hockey Editor

Dale Hunter was brought to the Washington Capitals prior to the 1987-88 season in a trade with the Quebec Nordiques in order to bring the successful but playoff-failing club some badly needed heart and muscle.

One season after blowing a 3-1 series lead to the New York Islanders and losing in an epic four-overtime Game 7 at home, the move paid dividends. Hunter tallied the final two Washington goals in a home Game 7 against the Philadelphia Flyers -- including the breakaway game-winner 5:57 into overtime -- giving the Caps a 5-4 decision that clinched a seven-game triumph after trailing 3-1 in the set.

But that was April 16, 1988. Hunter did not do anything so epic as that for his remaining 10-plus years with the franchise.

Check that -- he did. Except it was all over Pierre Turgeon's back five years later and garnered him an epic suspension.

And now, after more than a decade as head coach of the London Knights from the Ontario Hockey League, Hunter gets the call to sit behind the bench of the team for which he's apparently morphed into some kind of mythic figure.

Given his gritty hockey background, Hunter may turn out to be more King Canute than Red-robed Messiah, but it may not serve him well as he steps into the pressure cooker that has become the Washington Capitals.

I tossed out the question the other night: Other than a "different voice" from Bruce Boudreau, what does Hunter offer that will get his team to perform to expectations?"

The only answer came from Anthony Mingioni, now over at Sportsology. He unveiled a three-pronged response: Hunter's history with the organization, his ability to deal with "star players" in juniors, and his impressive record.

So let's deal with that, shall we?

Hunter played in Washington from 1987 until the end of the 1998-99 season, when he was shipped to the Avalanche to finish out his career. The man who apparently meant so much to the franchise only participated in two conference finals (1990, 1998), and his lone Stanley Cup Finals appearance ('98) came in his last full season with the team.

The Caps won one division title -- in 1989 -- and were promptly dumped in the first round by the fourth-place Flyers. They finished below .500 or less three times. Failed to win a playoff round five times.

While he was arguably the lifeblood which pulsed through the Caps' veins, Hunter wasn't chosen as captain until 1994 and he served that role up to his trade to Colorado. Just as a reminder, the Caps failed to win a game in that final series against Detroit, and by then, was it really his team even though he wore the "C?"

His decade-plus era was one, like that of Mike Gartner and Rod Langway before him, of elevated expectations never quite met. In spite of all the excitement he generated with his heart, desire and often illegal style of play, Hunter ultimately left America's capital empty-handed.

While in London, Hunter had the pleasure of molding future NHL stars like Rick Nash, Corey Perry, Patrick Kane and well...that's it. Doesn't that look like a very short list for how long he spent as head coach?

And of course, taking a Kane or Perry or Nash at ages 16 through 20 and guiding them into hockey players is a totally different animal than taking on Alex Ovechkin at multi-million dollars per season. If Bruce Boudreau's anti-systematic, but very much profane style of coaching could be tuned out by a roster which should be performing much better than it has, how can you argue that Hunter's style going to mesh well with adults in the long term?

On balance, so-called players' coaches have the same shelf life as the hard-asses and the candy-asses in the NHL, so what's the angle there? That Boudreau, who worked his way through the minors as a player and then as a bench boss, wasn't up to snuff and Hunter somehow magically will be?

What is he going to do to get the slumping captain, along with Alex Semin, going again to the point where they can carry the team as in years past -- point to his vicious elbow of Gordie Murphy in 1991 and say this is what I did to try and win for my team, you should too? Talk about finally getting over the hump against the Penguins in 1994 despite blowing a pair of 3-1 series leads to them in 1992 and '95?

After all, Hunter, unlike new Carolina head coach Kirk Muller, has not served his apprenticeship for any period of time in either the AHL or the NHL. While I think it's a noble concept, and a sharp public relations move to reveal that Hunter never wanted another post except that in Washington, the league is littered with men who came from Canadian juniors only to stumble in The Show.

At least in Muller's case, there are no serious expectations in Raleigh given the almost total roster turnover which stripped the team of its veteran core from just two years back. He'll have time to adjust on the fly, while Hunter goes directly underneath what's become an electron microscope from the drop.

But without those extra years of buffering, Hunter is less likely to turn out like, say, Ken Hitchcock or Bob Hartley.

Though his record is impressive: 431-184-17-30 as of the end of last season, there's one glaring fact: with all of that firepower and success year after year, there was just one Memorial Cup banner (2005 in a 59-win season, and no other title series appearances. If consistent regular-season success is what Ted Leonsis and George McPhee want, there it is. But if it's a shiny silver prize they're really after, they're looking past the regular-season record for something else.

Here's a short list of former successful junior coaches who haven't done/didn't do squat in their jump to the NHL: Brent Sutter. Craig Hartsburg. Dave King. Peter DeBoer. And the most notorious failure of all being Bill Laforge, whose club wore out its own goal light going 4-14-2 with Vancouver at the start of the 1984-85 season.

As for Hitchcock, he's living off his Cup win from 1999 and Stars clubs that were aided in no small part by no less than six potential Hall of Fame players (Hull/Modano/Nieuwendyk/Carbonneau/Belfour/Moog) at one time or another. Still, he'd been an assistant with the Flyers before this and coached in the IHL before getting the call to Dallas.

Hartley was also given the keys to the Lamborghini and told not to scratch it up, but still did and was axed less than 2 years after delivering Colorado's second Cup.

What Hunter needs to guard against the most is not how the opposition plans against his club, but how tangled the web of his mythos to the Capitals organization becomes with his actual performance on and off the ice. It will certainly become tangled at some point, once we find out just how he deals with the realities of NHL existence.

The guy who broke a playoff curse 23 years ago and gave the fans something to scream about in the old Capital Centre for years after that, is now a 51-year-old tasked with a tremendous responsibility with more on the line than he's ever experienced.

When you look deep enough, Hunter's bona fides suggest a rockier route than a star-spangled success story, but it does make for better headlines that a beloved former player has been called to the rescue and carried into town on a sedan chair, doesn't it?

Caps hand Flyers 5-2 defeat, important lessons

by Bob Herpen
Phanatic Hockey Editor

Maybe the Philadelphia Flyers thought they would all be like Tuesday's rout in Ottawa of the hapless Senators.

Whatever expectations were on the table, the Washington Capitals completely wiped them out. Bruce Boudreau's club featured better talent, a better gameplan, and most importantly, better execution on Thursday night.

The Caps extended their franchise-best start to 6-0-0 and sent the Flyers to their first regulation defeat of the young season behind 40 saves from Tomas Vokoun and a pair of scores from Alex Ovechkin.

Already up 2-1 entering the third against a home team showing signs of something -- whether it was lack of focus or fatigue or the unsettling realization that the visitors were a team to be reckoned with -- the Caps put home three daggers to lock up the contest.

First, it was veteran defenseman Hamrlik, whose left-point floater sailed by numerous bodies before settling in the net to Ilya Bryzgalov's left at 2:23.

Chris Pronger took a tripping penalty seconds later and Ovechkin made him pay with a rocket shot from between the circles off a Nicklas Backstrom dish that came with a Flyers defender draped all over his left side.

It was 5-1 for Washington 54 seconds later, as Joel Ward tallied his first goal of the season on a nifty deflection of a low point drive from Jeff Schultz.

Sean Couturier picked up his second tally in as many games in garbage time, though it was a gritty effort to tap the puck home through a mass of players atop the crease.

It might have been a slightly worse outcome, had the Capitals caught a break late in the second period.

Ovechkin drove the net after shaking off Matt Carle in the slot, and while trying to put home a Backstrom rebound, made contact with Bryzgalov's mask with his knee. Backstrom eventually followed the play as a trailer and managed to elevate the disc over the goalmouth scrum, but it was quickly waved off due to incidental contact.

That proved to be the lone bright spot for Washington in the middle period, as Vokoun was forced to make 14 stops.

On two occasions, a Flyers forward had the Czech goaler down along the ice to the right side of the crease and failed to elevate the puck high enough to hit the net.

It was a frustrating replay of many missed scoring opportunities over the last several seasons, when forecheckers rushed the net within a five-foot radius and tried to slide the puck into non-existent space.

Each side took well into the opening 20 minutes to feel each other out, and despite shots being even at 11 apiece, it was not a typical caution-to-the-wind start.

It did end with the Capitals ahead by a 2-1 count, but the Flyers got the jump thanks to some alert play in the defensive zone.

During a 4-on-4, Wayne Simmonds pressed Alexander Semin at the left point, and his poke check worked the puck loose into the neutral zone for a streaking Claude Giroux. Philly's leading scorer pulled Vokoun so far out of position on a deke that he had a half-open net to deposit his sixth goal of the season with 5:35 left.

But Scott Hartnell threw a pass right to Mathieu Perreault inside the final two minutes, and his shot slowed and changed direction off Braydon Coburn's stick and crossed the goal line inside the near post at 18:40.

Just 68 seconds later, Backstrom worked out of the right corner and stepped in front, fooling Bryzgalov -- who ended with 23 stops -- long enough to dish across for an easy score by Ovechkin.

Notes: Washington improved to 8-1-2 in its last 11 trips to Philadelphia...Ovechkin's pair of scores gave him 37 points (22G, 15A) against the Flyers in his six-plus year NHL career...Kimmo Timonen became just the third Finnish-born defenseman to reach the 900-game plateau in the NHL, joining Teppo Numminen (1,372) and Jyrki Lumme (985)...Former 2009 first-round pick of the Kings, Brayden Schenn, made his NHL debut on Thursday, finishing with a minus-3 in just over 11 minutes of ice time.

Flyers-Capitals preview

Once upon a time more than 25 years ago, the Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals battled for supremacy in the old Patrick Division.

The Caps were supposed to be the heir apparents to the fading Islanders (4 Cups/5 straight Finals berths) dynasty, but Mike Keenan had other ideas.

Washington featured established stars like Mike Gartner, Larry Murphy, Dave Christian, Bob Carpenter and Rod Langway, while Philly was stocked with a new crop of young kids sprinkled with some veteran presence and a European goaltender.

But Keenan was the engine that made it all perform at mega speed. He simply outclassed and outcoached counterpart Bryan Murray, and the Flyers took three straight division titles from 1985-87 with the Caps finishing second all three years.

During that era, the Flyers went 5-1-1, 5-2-0, and 5-1-1, respectively against the Capitals, winning virtually all significant regular-season meetings at the Spectrum and the Capital Centre.

Now, the script seems to be repeating itself, as Bruce Boudreau's 5-0 Capitals -- once again provisional Stanley Cup favorites with such luminaries as Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green and Mike Knuble -- take on the 4-0-1 Flyers, a young and uncertain roster flecked with veteran flair and led by Peter Laviolette.

Washington, for years a notoriously sluggish-starting club, has never before opened up with five straight wins in any season. Its previous record was 4-0-0 in both 1991-92 and 1997-98.

Philadelphia, on the other side, has gone unbeaten in a year's first five games since a 3-0-2 beginning in 2002-03. A win or loss beyond regulation will tie the 1995-96 squad, which started that campaign with five victories and a tie.

Last season, the Orange and Black went 2-0-2 against the Red menace, and all four matchups were decided beyond regulation. However, the Capitals are 7-1-2 in their last 10 games on South Broad Street.

Capitals blow three-goal lead, beat Flyers in SO; playoff berth clinched

by Bob Herpen
Phanatic Hockey Editor

Alexander Semin's goal in the third round of the shootout was the winner, as the Washington Capitals blew a three-goal lead but rebounded to beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-4.

After Danny Briere scored to even things to start the final segment, Semin walked in on Brian Boucher, pulled the puck back to avoid an unnecessary poke check, and lifted a backhander home to end the game.

Washington, which saw its lead in the Southeast Division increase to seven points over second-place Tampa Bay, wrapped up a playoff spot. It was less than a classic performance for the resurgent visitors, who also erased a one-goal deficit late in regulation.

Mike Knuble posted a goal and two assists for the Capitals, who shrugged off the absence of captain Alex Ovechkin to win for the 11th time in 12 outings.Ovechkin, the club's leading scorer with 29 goals and 77 points, was ruled out for the next 7-10 days by the franchise on Monday with a nagging injury that has yet to be disclosed.

Nicklas Backstrom and Marcus Johansson added a goal and helper each and Michal Neuvirth stopped 29 shots.

Andreas Nodl and Claude Giroux totaled a goal and assist apiece for the Flyers, who lost for the third time in five games but remained one point ahead of Washington (97-96) in the race for the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

Boucher ended up with 13 saves over the final 43-plus minutes. He bailed out starter Sergei Bobrovsky, who was yanked after yielding three goals on nine shots in less than 22 minutes.

Backstrom managed to squeeze a shot between Bobrovsky's arm and body from just inside the blue line for a 1-0 Capitals edge at 7:52 of the first period.

The Flyers failed to equalize on an extended advantage shortly thereafter, and Knuble made it 2-0 with 2:14 remaining after finishing off a passing play between Johansson and Jason Chimera.

Washington went up by three on a power play at 1:22 of the second when Bobrovsky let another shot, this time from Dennis Wideman, slip through his armpit and Boucher was summoned from the bench.

Kris Versteeg banked his pass to the slot off Wideman's skate and in at 8:05, and it was a one-goal contest with 33.8 seconds to play when Nodl shipped a cross-ice dish to Giroux for a successful one-timer from the left circle.

Mike Richards hit the far post on a wrister with 5 1/2 minutes gone in the third, but a bad clear from the Caps wound up in their own net just before the midway point.

While the visitors chipped the puck around the end boards from left to right, the disc was intercepted by Giroux, whose quick tip pass found Nodl alone in front. He causally flipped his shot over Neuvirth's glove for a 3-3 tie.

Briere then tipped home a Kimmo Timonen point drive with 5:45 to go and the Flyers had their first lead of the contest, but Johansson drilled a long shot home with 3:19 left to deadlock the game again.

Both sides had quality chances in overtime but failed to end the contest.

Notes: The Capitals reached the postseason for the fourth straight year and for the 22nd season since arriving in the NHL in 1974...All four games this season between the clubs were decided beyond regulation...Prior to the game, the Flyers announced that forward Jody Shelley will miss one month after undergoing surgery to correct a fractured orbital bone around his left eye...The club recalled defenseman Danny Syvret from Adirondack of the AHL to fill the roster space...Briere's tally was his 100th with Philadelphia...Knuble hit the 20-goal mark for the eighth straight season. 

Capitals beat Penguins at rainy Winter Classic

by Bob Herpen
Phanatic Hockey Editor

Eric Fehr notched the go-ahead and insurance goals as the Washington Capitals downed the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-1, in a weather-delayed and rain-slicked 2011 Winter Classic from Heinz Field.


Originally scheduled for its traditional start time after 1 p.m. (et), the game was pushed back on Friday to an 8 p.m. faceoff after the NHL, both competing franchises, the networks which agreed to broadcast the game (NBC, CBC, RDS), the Pittsburgh Steelers and the NHL Players Association consulted about a forecast of rain for the region until Saturday evening.

While the rain was virtually absent at the outset, the precipitation grew steadier throughout the game and made the ice slushy in spots.

Mike Knuble netted the other score for the Capitals, who battled through the conditions to post their fifth win in their last six games.

Semyon Varlamov stopped 32-of-33 shots to earn his seventh win of the season.

Evgeni Malkin provided the lone offense for the Penguins, who have dropped three of four and remained tied with idle Detroit for the top spot in the NHL with 53 points.

Marc-Andre Fleury took the loss, responsible for all three goals on 32 shots.

Jordan Staal made his season debut after missing Pittsburgh's first 39 games while recovering from a foot infection and broken hand. He finished with two shots in nearly 15 minutes of ice time.

Washington moved ahead by a 2-1 count when Fleury's bad clear behind his net went straight to Marcus Johansson, who fed Fehr for a one-timer from the right circle at 14:45 of the second period.

A potential tying goal with just over a minute left in the second was wiped out when Penguins forward Michael Rupp tumbled into Varlamov and was whistled for incidental contact.

Knuble was sent off for shooting a rolling puck over the glass at the 7:28 mark of the third, and despite heavy Pittsburgh pressure, the game remained in a one-goal margin for the visitors.

Fehr then made it a 3-1 game for the Capitals with 8:01 left in regulation, when John Erskine moved the puck ahead to Jason Chimera, who hit Fehr in flight up the middle and the young grinder scored with a high wrister.

Fleury was summoned to the bench with 1:15 remaining, but the Capitals kept any quality chances away from their net.

Both clubs came out flying in the first period, but the best chance for either side came when Pittsburgh's Mark Letestu rang a wrister off the post with less than six minutes to play in the period, and the Pens finished scoreless on 16 shots after 20 minutes.

The Capitals threw 12 shots on Fleury but he was equal to the task on each one.

Alex Ovechkin was foiled on a partial break in the first minute of the second period, then Fleury gloved down a sizzling Ovechkin drive and directed the puck to Kris Letang's lead pass for Malkin, who sailed in on a breakaway and scored between Varlamov's pads at 2:13.

The Capitals equalized on a power play with 6:54 played as Knuble managed to poke the puck through a pile of bodies in the crease.

Notes: The NHL's outdoor slate is not finished, as the Flames host the Montreal Canadiens at Calgary's McMahon Stadium on February 20 in the Heritage Classic, the first time the league has hosted two open-air games in one season...Pittsburgh sports icons Mario Lemieux, Franco Harris and Jerome Bettis dropped ceremonial pucks at center ice...Erskine and Rupp engaged in a fight just after the midway point of the first period after an earlier try by two potential combatants was broken up by officials...Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was held scoreless for the second straight game...Ovechkin also went scoreless and was on the ice during the home team's only goal.

2011 Winter Classic to have later start

Courtesy of the NHL

Pittsburgh – The National Hockey League announced today the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic will change the original 1 p.m. (ET) start time on New Year's  Day to 8 p.m. (ET).

The decision was based on the latest meteorological reports, which have advised an approaching front of potentially steady rain expected to fall through the afternoon and taper off by early evening, and after consultation with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Washington Capitals, national broadcast partners (NBC, CBC, RDS), the Pittsburgh Steelers, the National Hockey League Players' Association, and local officials.

We have been further advised that cooler and drier air conditions are expected in the evening with the passing of the front.  The NHL feels that it was important to make this announcement at this time so as to minimize the inconvenience to all parties associated with the event, especially its fans.

2011 Winter Classic show will go on, weather or not

Courtesy of ESPN

Pittsburgh, PA -- The ice is ready, but will there be hockey?

"We're going to play," NHL chief operating officer John Collins said Thursday at a news conference.

Weather forecasts for Saturday's Winter Classic at Heinz Field continue to be gloomy, calling for rain showers. Some forecasts Thursday lowered the probability of rain to 80 percent but other reports kept it at 100 percent.

Collins, the brains behind the Winter Classic, shrugged off the scary forecasts.

"Weather is part of the game's DNA," Collins said. "I mean, it's an outdoor game. Like the World Series, weather gets involved in it. We're going to play. We're planning to play at 1 o'clock. We've got maximum flexibility to do what needs [to be done] to get that game in on Saturday."

Should the game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals not be played Saturday, however, the league's Plan B is a game time of noon ET Sunday, still at Heinz Field.

But Collins made it clear every effort will be made to play it Saturday, even if it means playing through weather delays. They can play into the evening, if they have to.

"We'll gather as much information as we possibly can to make sure that we're taking into account the competitive integrity of the game and the safety of the players and obviously the convenience of the fans," Collins said.

Collins has studied weather reports for the city of Pittsburgh going back 30 years.

"I don't really want to be taken to task on this, but I'm not sure it's ever rained on New Year's in Pittsburgh," Collins said, smiling.

Hockey fans just have to adopt the mentality of baseball fans, Collins said. Weather may interrupt the game, but it'll eventually be completed. If it takes four or five hours, so be it.

"I think everybody associated with the game, from the broadcast partners to our corporate partners to our licensees and I think our fans, understand what they're getting into for this," Collins said.

The first Winter Classic in Buffalo was delayed for just a few minutes when Zambonis came out mid-period to resurface the ice in the midst of a snowfall.

This time, like baseball, it could be rain delays.

So be it.

"I can't see that we wouldn't be able to get this game in," Collins said.