Pre-cap: Capitals vs. Senators

Remember it's Toys for Tots night so bring your AO action figure to the phone booth and get an Alex Ovechkin poster.

The Capitals poached the roaring Bruins and now turn their sights on the Ottawa Senators.

The Capitals swept the Sens in their season series last year, but this season they lost the first meeting 2-1 in November.

With Semin, Poti and possibly Fedorov back in the line-up, the Capitals are beginning to get back to full-strength.

Will the Capitals suffer any more injuries? Are the Senators trying to exact revenge for last season's bouts? Will Semin trip over himself signaling a return to normalcy?

Pre-cap time bayyy-beee.

Washington Capitals (16-10-3, last game 3-1 win over Boston)
vs.
Ottawa Senators (10-11-5, last game 2-0 loss to Chicago)

The story so far...
Semin, Poti, Fedorov and possibly Green are back. If that isn't a story enough for you, then you have Johnson's incredible play as of late coupled with the Capitals power play clicking. If the Capitals can avoid injuries, get consistant play from BOTH goalies and continue to pummel foes with the power play, the Caps could pull away with the division like they were supposed to early this week. Carolina dropped a 5-1 lead over the Flyers last night, losing in the shootout, so with a win tonight, the Capitals can move to a seven point lead.

Key Players
WSH: Brent Johnson
Oh boy, here we go. The term "goalie controversy," is common vernacular among Caps fans again after Johnson stone-walled the Bruins , Maple Leafs and Islanders in his last three starts. Nothing gets the wheels of controversy started like great saves and despite aggravating a hip injury, Johnson did just that. Johnny has a career mark of 4-1-1 against the Sens, with a 1.89 GAA. With back-to-back game this weekend, one could wonder if we might see a motivated Jose in net Saturday night trying to dispel any rumors.
OTT: Daniel Alfredsson
What's it all about Alfie? Well 2 assists in the last meeting between these teams appearantly. Alfie is the corner stone of the Sens offense, leading the team in plus minus and assists. When your lined up with Dany Heatley, it's safe to say the defense will have it's hands full. Alfie has 29 goals and 24 assists in 44 games with the Capitals.

Goalie Controversy part 2
Theo's last five: 1-3 L to Car, 3-5 L to Fla, 3-0 W over Mon, 5-3 W over Atl, 3-4 L to Min
Johnny's last five: 3-1 W over Bos, 2-1 W over Tor, 5-2 W over NYI, 0-3 L to Col, 2-7 L to SJ

I'm not sure at this point if you want to call it a controversy, obviously Johnson is playing well and recently has been the better of the two. This weekend will be the true litmus test of if there is any "controversy," as Johnson will start against the Sens and Theo will try to re-produce his shutout against the Canadiens.

Speaking of Canadiens
No Habs No! Senators fans are awarding a cash bounty to anyone who defeats the Montreal Canadiens. The player who scores the game winning goal receives a dollar and a written letter courtesy of the Sens army. Check it out here and scroll down to see Tomas Fleischmann's letter!

It's all part of the grind
Brooks Laich hasn't scored much these days. Not to worry, he's still as awesome as ever according to this piece from the Washington Times Laich had a career year last season and earned the admiration of fans for his heart and soul play. Tonight would be a great night to see the team annointed "ladies man," light the lamp (or is it biscuit in the basket?).

[Insert special teams header here]
It's a battle of giants as the Capitals now 6th ranked power play meets the Senators 4th ranked penalty kill. It will also feature the Capitals 23rd ranked pk against the Sens 17th ranked pp.

It doesn't get old
Hilarious video of the Sens playoff opening speech. 100 points to anyone who spots the lines he's reading from!



Re-living the 65 goal season
The Senators played a big part in Ovie's season, as Ovechkin scored six goals against the Sens last season. Four of those goals came in one game, let's re-live it shall we?



Punching the time-card
Rookie Karl Alzner has skated 20 mins or more in seven of his eight games on the big club. He has a goal and three assists to show for it, and his pairing with Jurcina has been one of the more solid lines during the injury plague. Sometimes it's all about finding the right players to work together and in Alzner/Jurcina's case, it's looking good. Ted if you're reading, never send Alzner down again. Please?

LET'S GO CAPS!