Caps v Panthers (Apr 5th)

Tonight was yet another big, must win, call it what you like, game.  Basically, it was a big deal.  Guess what, the Caps actually showed up!  Neuvy went down with what looked like a really bad knee injury and that puts our playoff prospects in doubt for the future.  However, tonight the Caps won the game and clinched a playoff spot so its time for celebrating.  There will be plenty of time to look ahead tomorrow.  Check out how the CSN crew did in the last CSN game of the season:

3rd Star (1 pt):

Chick Hernandez. A surprise for the postgame show, Chick clearly wanted to make sure he finished the season on the positive side of zero in our standings. Didn’t wear any red, but gave us a solid wrap-up of the PHI/BUF game and made us chuckle when he pointed out that Rob Carlin was probably the happiest man in the studio. Why? Because if the Caps lost, Alan May would have been angry. And being stuck in a studio for postgame with Angry Alan would, I imagine, be a very intimidating experience indeed.

2nd Star (2 pts):

The Jenkins. Capped off a season that saw him grow from awkward “old Jenkins” to solid “new Jenkins” with a performance that basically showed off all the good stuff he’s been doing in the latter part of the season. Pulled double duty tonight, covering both the first and second intermissions. Came out with a dark red tie (though personally we were really hoping for a bright red vest tonight, but red is red), and both times immediately dove into the Buffalo/Philadelphia highlights, the outcome of which had huge implications for the Caps’ playoff chances (BTW, we clinched :D). Did a solid job with the highlights, and in the second intermission, also gave us a clip of Stamkos scoring on the Leafs and mentioned his quest for 60 goals. Double-kudos for that, as it’s probably the largest non-playoff-related story in the league at the moment. Well done.

1st Star (3 pts):

Alan May.  The man who lead the race all season long finishes on top.  Alan May has been a man on a mission, and that mission is to provide high quality analysis and hard nosed realism about the Caps all season long.  Tonight he was alongside his usual partner Rob Carlin.  Everything you expect of May he deliver tonight.  The highlights were Chick mentioning how the Caps victory will make Carlin the “happiest man alive” because May won’t kill him now.  Everyone fears May, with the possible exception of Locker, and everyone knows it.  During the post game show Carlin was forced to give Alan May “due credit” for correctly predicting that the Capitals season would come down to tonight’s game against Florida.  Apparently May predicted it some time ago too, so good on him.  The rest of the post game had May talking about our goalie situation moving forward and the importance of Saturday’s game against the Rangers to set the tone for the playoffs.  All post game May couldn’t help but smile, something we have almost never seen him do.  It was adorable.  In the way a bear smiles and you think it is cute, but you still fear for your life.  Yeah kinda like that.  May also gets points tonight for not jinxing us, like so many of his esteemed colleagues attempted to do.    

Last Star (-1 pt):

Chuck Gormley.  Chuck was back to give us a swan song in the last CSN game of the season.  Awkwardness?  Check.  Providing no information what-so-ever? Check.  Last place? Check.  Chuck let us know that he interviewed all the Caps players and asked them what they thought of the season.  He told us that they all used the same word to describe it.  I highly doubt that, especially since he didn’t even tell us what that word was.  I really don’t know why Chuck showed up tonight as he added absolutely nothing to the proceedings.  Maybe he wanted to make sure his last place finish was secure.  Well Chuck I have news for you, that was never in doubt.

Fact checked:  Alzner and Chimera described the season as a Roller Coaster. Brouwer did not. No quotes from anyone else.  Nicely done Chuck, nicely done.

So that is all we have for you tonight.  It was a great season here at AOTI and for those of you who stuck it out with us we can't thank you enough.  Check out the final standings on the right side and get in some last minute poll votes for your fan favorite.  We will be posting about the playoffs as they are happening and some point next week look for our big awards presentation extravaganza!  Check out the preview here, http://actionontheice.blogspot.com/2012/03/season-awards-preview.html  , and we will see you then!

Caps v Sabres (Mar 27th)

So I am back from my vacation and decided to watch the game tonight in the midst of return to school work.  Boy did I pick a good game to come back and watch.  By that I mean I picked the worst game possible.  We really could of used a win tonight against the Buffalo, the team we are tied for 8th place with.  At the very least we needed to show that we were a playoff caliber team.  Instead we got absolutely blown out in our own building.  While the Caps aren't eliminated by any stretch, this playoff race is going to go down to the wire and we refuse to make things easy on ourselves.  Good news, Backstrom might be back soon.  A few notes on how the CSN crew did tonight below!

3rd Star (1 pt):

Joe B.  Joe had a strong game as always and was really showing his team spirit by wearing a bright navy blue suit and red tie combo.  To bad that didn't inspire our team to victory.  Also had a funny comment about being "obligated" to give out a player of the game.

2nd Star (2 pts):

Julie Donaldson.  I haven't seen Julie in awhile (like I said, was on vacation) so I was happy she was on in her normal Tuesday spot.  She had a awesome purple dress outfit on (or maybe a shirt) and like always made me feel a little bit better about the Caps horrendous performance on the ice.  She also provided some Nicky news after the game which was better then talking about the game.

1st Star (3 pts):

The Jenkins.  He has been on an absolute tear of late.  Not making any mistakes.  Not being creepy.  Having genuinely funny moments without coming off as corny or forced.  Rocking the team colors with an awesome tie.  With such a crazy turn around its almost like he reads this blog.  Hmm....

Last Star (-1 pt):

Locker.  Locker had two major blunders that went against him tonight.  First, he said the Caps were in playoff mode and we all know what that means...we are going to choke.  Lo and behold we did just that tonight.  Besides that least we forget that way back in September Locker counted Buffalo out of the playoffs.  Looks like you might have been wrong about that one Locker...  


So that's all I have for you tonight.  It's good to be back, just wish it could of been on a more winning note.  With the end of the season fast approaching be sure to look for our end of the season awards ceremony posts where we will be highlighting a variety of the CSN crew and their work over the course of the season.  Then be sure to check in during the playoffs and off season for random hockey related posts.  Thanks for reading!
-Dru
 

Caps v. Flyers (Mar 22)

I'm not entirely sure what to write about tonight. On the one hand, a close-fought game against a team looking waaay down at the Caps in the standings to finish off a road trip in which the Caps took five points in five games is worth celebrating, to a certain extent. On the other, well, at this point in the season, wins are at a premium, and to watch a game as close as this one slip away hurts. On the plus side, Holtby was solid-to-studly in net for the second game in a row, so file that one into the "hope for the future" column, even if he does need to work on low glove side, as both Flyers shootout goals beat him in the same spot. Anyway, onto the crew!


Third Star (1 pt):





Alan May. May listed his “Keys to the Game” in the pregame show: Force Bryz off his game, check the Flyers D to their backhands, and control and slow the Flyers’ top line of Giroux, Jagr, and Hartnell. Well, despite the fact that the Flyers’ only goal was Giroux from Jagr and Lilja, well... the Flyers’ only goal was Giroux from Jagr and Lilja. Any time a team only gives up one goal, they put themselves in a good position to win, so I’ll give May credit for getting this one right. However, the Caps pretty clearly failed to force Bryz off his game. Maybe if they would have, they’d have been able to score more than one goal themselves. Which only serves to illustrate what we already know: When the Caps listen to Alan May, they win hockey games.


Second Star (2 pts):





Craig Laughlin. Locker was spirited tonight, heaping praise on Ovie’s play of late from the very beginning. He also was pretty liberal with the accolades to Holtby (though pretty much everyone was), and in response to Carlin’s comparison of Holtby to Hextall, countered with one of his own: Jim “Ace” Carey. But most importantly, Locker gave us not one, but TWO BONUS telestrations in the middle of the second and third periods. That was awfully generous of him, though admittedly his “Hold it Here” count ran a little high tonight as a result. He also condemned the Canes as “out of it,” and said if the Caps beat WPG tomorrow, WPG will also be “out of it.” We'll see, Locker... We'll see.


First Star (3 pts):





Rob Carlin. Carlin and Smokin’ Al switched places tonight, with Koken working pre- and post-game duties with Alan May and Carlin taking Koken’s usual position Inside the Glass. Free of Alan’s rather intimidating presence (and despite May’ s wish that a Philly fan “pummels Rob Carlin into submission”), Carlin actually did a remarkably solid job providing factoids and interviews at various points throughout the game. He spoke to Keith Aucoin, Brooks Laich and Karl Alzner tonight (pre-game, first, and second intermissions, respectively) and got along well with all three. Told Aucoin that he was “an easy guy to root for,” and bonded with him as a fellow sleep-deprived parent of recently-arrived twins. During the first period, he hit us with an anecdote about comparisons between Holtby and Hextall, specifically their stickhandling, and how Holtby was honored to even be mentioned in the same breath as a legend like Hextall. Continuing in that vein, he asked Alzner during the second intermission what it was like playing in front of Braden. Alzner responded that it was “like having a sixth skater out there,” and his puckhanding abilities were such a boost for the defense in front of him. Good questions, good rapport, good job all around for Carlin. Seemed to make the most of his chance to get out of the studio. He must really be terrified of going back in with Alan.


As far as last star goes, fuck it. If the editor can go on vacation, I can skip out on a last star. The only other participants tonight were Al Koken, Julie Donaldson, and Michael Jenkins, all of whom did perfectly adequate jobs in their respective roles tonight. As far as intermission reports go, Donaldson is probably the strongest when it comes to calling hockey highlights, and a pretty drastically-improved Jenkins is working his way up to second best. Though neither of them wore red tonight, at least Julie had a blue dress on. Jenkins' outfit was just boring despite the vest. All dark and drab colors. Wear some red, it makes you score higher.

Anyway, I'll see you all tomorrow (or today, by the time most of you read this), where the Caps play a Jets team whose playoff hopes might very well rest on the outcome of tomorrow night's game, at least according to Locker. Hopefully the Caps are up to the task.

Caps v. Habs (Feb 24)

I swear this hockey team is like Jekyll and and Hyde at home and on the road. After laying two major eggs in Carolina and Ottawa that had me convinced this team was toast, they went out and relatively dominated the (admittedly weak) Canadiens on the back of a 2-point night from Chimera, a beautiful one-timer from Ovie, a meeting of preparation and opportunity for Perreault, and a strong goaltending performance from Neuvirth with his parents in attendance. I love watching this team win, but I can't help but be a little bit worried this is going to convince McPhee he doesn't have to sell on Monday (which he absolutely should, regardless). Anyway, onto the scores!



Third Star (1 pt):
Carol Maloney. Loved Carol’s first intermission report on Evgeny Kuznetsov’s potentially devastating injury during a KHL game today. Liked the fact that we got a prospect report instead of highlights, especially because I’d been waiting for an update on Kuz’s status since the news of his injury broke earlier today. Carol informed us that preliminary MRIs came back negative and the injury didn’t look that serious, so thanks for that. She probably could have scored higher, but she struggled a bit going over the Devils/’Nucks highlights in the postgame show. Hopefully that’ll improve as she covers more hockey in the future.



Second Star (2 pts):
Michael Jenkins, wearing a vest. Jenkins came on for the second intermission wearing a snazzy vest and an awesome red-and-blue striped tie. Rocking the Red AND Blue? That’s above and beyond the call of duty right there. Ran through the Devils/Canucks highlights with enthusiasm. Solid performance and excellent style choice lands Jenkins the second star.



First Star (3 pts):
Al Koken. Smokin’ Al was a busy man tonight, rocking 5 interviews (that I saw, anyway). Also doesn’t hurt his case that he interviewed my three favorite players. During the first period, he did his “Bite of the Night” with Jim Johnson, who always has a good quote. Spoke with AotI favorite Mathieu Perreault during the first intermission, and opened with a joke about how “Scoring with your stick is better than scoring with your face,” and asked about the importance of scoring first. For the second intermission, Koken spoke with a rather winded-looking Ovechkin, who seemed out of breath while he answered Smokin’ Al’s questions. Koken asked him whether the Caps were having more fun out there, and that was helping their game. Ovechkin responded that there was no fun before the game because they needed to focus. After the game, Al interview Michael Neuvirth and discovered that Neuvy’s parents were in attendance tonight. Also sparked a cool moment when he asked Neuvirth how important the home crowd was to the team. Neuvirth gave the fans a shout-out, saying that the team appreciated our support and needed us to bring it every night, which of course evoked a roar from the crowd. Koken topped off his night by interviewing Jason Chimera in the locker room. Chimmer talked a mile a minute, so I didn’t really catch any of it, but Koken did make sure to ask him about the fun-factor of tonight’s game, and Chimera responded much the same way Ovie did.



Last Star (-1 pt):
Surprise, it's Chuck Gormley! I actually turned on the game a little late tonight, so I missed Chuck's bit. So, since I didn't get to see it firsthand, I'm going to go ahead and let the commentariet over at the Japers' Rink Gameday Thread take it away for this one...

"Can someone with strep throat go visit Gormley?"
-wickedwitch

"The awkward is back with Gromley"
-BetterOffWith28

"I can’t believe I unmuted my TV to hear Gormley. Bad timing on my part."
-bathwithtoaster

"Chuck Gormely is the worst sports announcer in front of the camera, ever."
-Brainumbc

So there you have it, folks. It's not just us.

We'll be back tomorrow when the Caps take on the Leafs at Air Canada Center. Still not sure if I want the Caps to win. On the one hand, well, I'm a fan, so I want them to win. On the other, I don't want anything that can possibly make McPhee think this team is okay to happen before Monday. G'night.

Caps v Canes (Feb 20)

In about as close as you can get to a must win at this point in the season the Caps came out uninspired and with no energy and got waxed by the Canes in a 5-0 thumping.  Terrible game all around for everyone.  Read about how the CSN crew did on a night when the hockey team they cover was clearly not interested in playing hockey:

3rd Star (1 pt):

Locker.  The third spot tonight goes to Locker by default.  That isn’t to say he didn’t do a quality job providing color commentary, he just didn’t have all that much to commentate on.  His telestrations were both terrible plays for the Caps and there were no players available for him to interview during the intermissions.  There were also zero Caps highlights that he could talk about.  Its a little funny that he wanted Mike Green to be the deciding factor in tonights game and Green was on for most of the Cane’s goals.  I suppose he DID play a factor in the outcome though.  At the end of the game Locker let us know that the players on the bench would be feeling really terrible about tonight and said that everyone just wanted to go home.  Yes indeed Locker, yes indeed.         

2nd Star (2 pts):

Michael Jenkins. Jenkins got stuck covering both intermissions and postgame tonight. Opened the first intermission showing highlights of the Senators manhandling the Islanders to the tune of 6-0 earlier today, which made us feel slightly better because it could be worse, we could be Islanders fans. Showed Sens/Isles highlights again during the second intermission. Didn’t have the same cathartic effect the second time around, but then, there was no other hockey to talk about today. Made a plea for the Caps to score a bunch in the third as he signed off, which we couldn’t really argue with. When he came on right at the end of the game to set the table for Sportsnight, he didn’t even mention hockey. Normally we’d probably knock him for that, but fuck it, we really didn’t want to be reminded of the Caps tonight. Covered the basic high(or low?) lights and moved on to other topics as quickly as possible, which again was an act of mercy tonight. Course, it wouldn’t have been a Jenkins showing without at least a little creepiness showing through; we’re pretty sure we saw him wink at us as he signed off the second intermission. Still though, Jenkins sounded interested and engaged in all the highlights he covered; props for staying upbeat and not phoning it in like the Caps did during that clusterfuck. That, plus the fact that he didn’t dwell on painful moments during postgame, gets him the second star.

1st Star (3 pts):

Joe B.  Tonight was unbearable to watch and Joe B knew it.  Most nights when the Caps struggle Joe looks on the bright side of things and tries to keep us upbeat.  Well not tonight.  His utter disappointment in the team tonight was audible in every call he made.  He said it was the worst night of hockey he could remember, and that is saying something in a season that has seen the Caps lay some pretty big eggs.  Joe didn’t get any Caps goals to call, he didn’t get any highlights to show us, and he got 2 ½ fights to talk about that weren’t even that great.  The team gave him absolutely nothing to work with tonight and despite that he managed to be the most entertaining portion of the broadcast.  His constantly taking shots at the team and his self deprecating humor helped me struggle through this game when honestly I just wanted to tune out (maybe catch the Wiz over on CSN+).  The only moment tonight that made me smile came courtesy of Joe B when he said, “he’d never waive his no trade clause to leave Locker” during the 2nd intermission.  It was nice of him to remind me what a genuine smile felt like.  To cap off his performance, Joe B gave the player of the game to Hendy.  That’s right, tonight kinda fighting a dude twice and getting an even +/- rating qualified him as the player of the game.  Thank you Joe B for your work tonight and I’m so, so sorry you had to suffer through that.  (Joe B also let us know that Julie Donaldson and Chick will be at the Laughing Man Tavern this Friday to watch the Caps game!  So that’s pretty cool.)
  
Last Star (-all the points, hopes, and dreams):

Well that's all we have for tonight.  It was a brutal game to watch from start to finish and we salute anyone who managed to make it. Thanks for reading and as always feel free to follow me on twitter @dru90, comment below, and vote in our poll.

Thanks again,

AOTI

PS. For those of you who do follow me on twitter you may have seen I teased a new blogging project that'll run during the NHL off season.  AOTI will still be posting, but less frequently, and I will be putting stuff up on Fantasy Town, USA as well.  It's still in the planning stages but feel free to hop on over there and check it out. -Dru

Caps v. Jets (Feb 9)

So tonight had all the makings of a good Caps win: The Caps came out, outshot the Jets, and basically dominated every aspect of the game for the first two periods. The second period ended 0-0 thanks to some studly work by both Tomas Vokoun and Ondrej Pavelec, but in the third, the Caps finally broke through in a big way. The first goal came courtesy of the Captain, who's finally starting to look like he's regaining his old form, burying a back-door no-angle shot on the power play. The second came as a result of a beautiful missile of a pass from Ovie (who would also add a shootout tally to cap off his awesome night) to Semin, who tapped it in, also on the PP. And at this point, everything looks golden. Of course, Joe B and Locker couldn't sit and enjoy the success; they had to call out the Jets offense. Repeatedly. And guess what, their insistence on jinxing us proved to be the Caps' undoing as the Jets managed to win the game in a shootout.

Tonight was just one of those nights where we simply didn’t have enough last stars to go around. So, because we’re cool like that, we decided we’d flip everything around tonight and give out three anti-stars for being terrible and one gold star to theone performer who was on top of his game tonight.



Only Star (3 pts):
The Jenkins. On a night where Gormley did what he does best (and then some) and a new guy was all around uninspiring and sucked Jenkins managed to slip into a scoring spot. Yes he did have some issues during his intermission highlights but those seemed to be more on the technical staff at CSN. Hell, at least Jenkins showed some NHL highlights unlike his partner. He also wore red, unlike his partner. Sure he messed up, but he was able to laugh at himself and that helped to make it less awkward. He ended this intermission break with a “Come on Caps” so that was awesome and the first time I have heard him do something like that. He had a really, really nice post game spot that made me do a double take to see who was speaking. It was downright good. Jenkins did enough tonight to be better than the hopelessly lost Gormely and the newbie. He also didn’t jinx us like some other people. For that Jenkins, we salute you. Keep up the excellent work.



Last Star (-1 pt):
Greg Toland. He was a new guy. He wore a blue tie (Jet’s color) instead of red. He talked about boxing. He talked about Tiger Woods. He talked about the Wizards. He talked about the winter classic being in Michigan. No highlights. No Capitals to speak of. All of that was bad enough but what really ensured he would land here and the last spot...he messed up saying the word “part”. Its four letters. Four letters and he couldn’t manage it. Lucky for him there were some other, much worse performances from the CSN crew tonight so his night will probably be largely overlooked.



Worse Star (-2 -1 pts):
Chuck Gormley. So Chuck came on for his usual spot tonight and said he talked to Mike Knuble and got his reaction to potentially being traded. Our editor was skeptical, so in the interest of journalistic integrity (yes, apparently we do have that here at AotI. Who knew?), I decided I’d take a look at Gormley’s blog and see (and yes, I apologizing for giving it hits). Well, turns out Gormley did apparently talk to Knuble, but there’s no evidence in the article that he actually discussed the possibility of being traded with Knuble. Instead, he discussed Backstrom’s Super Bowl party, his concussion, and how Knuble thought it was wise of the team to protect its investment by being cautious with Backstrom. At the very end, there’s a passing mention of what effect Backstrom and Green’s absence may have on McPhee’s deadline moves, but nothing of real substance and nothing about Knuble personally being traded. That, Mr. Gormley, is false advertising, and that is just not cool.

EDIT: So, apparently I wasn't thorough enough in my digging last night; the article I mentioned does not, in fact, appear to be the article to which Gormley was referring. I've since been linked to the correct article, which is mostly about Knuble's healthy scratch and struggles this season. However, at the end of the article, there is a single sentence, which contains the quote Gormley mentioned in his TV spot .So, in the spirit of that whole journalistic integrity thing (because apparently it has to work both ways), I'll be giving Gormley a point back. Because while he was just as boring and robotic as always, at least he didn't lie to us.




Worstest Stars (-3 pts):
This one is a package deal tonight. Joe B and Craig Laughlin both finish dead last for doing their damnedest to jinx the Caps, and eventually succeeding. Joe B started the snowball in the second intermission, saying that Vokoun was “doing it again, for 100+ minutes now.” I could perhaps have overlooked that one, but they really ramped it up during the third period. Joe pointed out that the Jets powerplay was 0-17 lately, and Locker took it a step further by saying that the Jets basically couldn’t score a PPG on the road. Later in the period, Joe B pointed out that WPG was having offensive struggles, only scoring 7 goals in their last 7 games. So guess what happened? The Jets scored two goals. In twelve seconds. One of which was on the power play. And then won the game in a shootout. Way to be, Joe and Craig... Everything you mentioned them being bad at, they managed to do. Good game. NOPOINTSFORYOU!

Caps v Kings (Jan 9)

Well that sucked.  Had to stay up late to watch a poor excuse for a hockey game.  The players didn't seem to want to play and really didn't give the CSN crew much to work with.  Still accountablitly must happen and its not going to be pretty.

MINUSES ALL AROUND!

JENKINS! Just are creepy as always.  Being forced to handle both intermission breaks was just too much Jenkins for one night. (Even one is too much).  He also didn't even mention hockey during the 2nd intermission so not scoring any points on that one.  Don't feel to bad tonight Jenkins, you got company at the bottom. 

LOCKER! Said the key to the game was for the Caps to score first.  It wasn't.  Not even close.  Also talked about the Kings PP sucking.  It didn't.  Showing an old highlight of him scoring a goal for the Kings did not save Locker. 

JOE B! Talked about Mike Green being hurt a lot and how much the Caps suck in California.  Thanks captain obvious, are you trying to make up for Gormely not being on?  Sorry, that was a low blow.  You didn't do a good job of keeping me awake so your still not getting a pass.

Participants:
Locker: 11
Joe B: 7
Jenkins: -3

Well so much for that.  Caps come home to face the Pens on Wednesday.  That'll be a national broadcast so no CSN crew!  Look for the next post to come Friday as the Caps take on Tampa.  Its a home game so expect a full CSN crew, plenty of hot sexy Gormely action, and a better effort by the Caps, the CSN crew, and myself!

P.S.  Keep Tebow and Tebowing out of hockey!

See you Friday,
@dru90

Caps v Sabres (Dec 30th)

Tonight was a game against Buffalo, a team that has been struggling this season except when they play the Caps.  Buffalo has jumped all over the Caps early each time but tonight was a different story.  The Caps scored early and went on to a 3-1 win over the Sabres.  Good game, good win.  Here is your 3 CSN stars from the night.

3rd Star (1 pt):

The third star is going to Joe B tonight.  He had a typical performance that you come to except from him.  There were a few stand out moments that pushed him into a scoring spot.  First, his game intro was all about blood.  It was filled with blood and medical puns.  In a night where Joe B clearly had violence on the brain the Caps did not disappoint.  There were a ton of scrums during the game and a few fights erupted early on, so clearly Joe B was onto something.  Joe B goes on to let us know that Green could be back next week, which was good news.  He gets in a nice burn about some fans stupid looking mohawk and also invades Locker's telestrating room.  This may be a CSN first, so needless to say when I saw Joe B jumping up and down behind Locker during the telestration I was pretty excited.  Finally, in the postgame Joe B threatens to "punchout" Alan May over a comment May made about his glasses.  Points for bravery Joe, but that is a fight your not going to win.  

2nd Star (2 pts):

Rob Carlin.  Kind of a surprise here considering Carlin started off the night poorly.  He tried to make fun of Alan May for the millionth time and was shut down.  When will he learn.  After that slight blunder during the pregame the best thing about Carlin was his candy cane tie.  However, he really got his act together during the postgame.  He is really excited about the Cap's victory and it doesn't seem fake or forced.  He points out the importance of the fast start and sets up May to talk about the importance of the early goal nicely.  Carlin also makes sure Voko gets his due as he points out that without his stellar performance in net the Caps would not of been able to pull out the win.  Carlin ran through the game highlights tagteam style with May and they had a nice pacing and back and forth with each other.  Even when they brought Joe B and Locker into the discussion Carlin was able to hold his own and didn't make himself look like an idiot.  Every time I see him I like Carlin more and it really seems like he is learning more and more about the sport of hockey. 

1st Star (3 pts):

Alan May.  A return to form tonight for the great Alan May.  Started out with a discussion about concussions in the NHL this season.  His suggestion to cut back on them was to allow heavy hitting in little kid hockey to prepare them for the pros.  Classic May answer.  Rob Carlin tries to make a joke about May still suffering from a few concussions and May tells him to spot talking.  Carlin quickly shuts up.  May breaks down what hasn't been working with the offense and wants the Caps to keep the puck off the boards and use their speed.  Doesn't seem to like this new dump and chase style and I gotta agree with him.  Alan then gives a shout out to Semin and his recent hot streak.  All of the broadcasters would make reference to Semin's recent upswing in production but May was doing it before it was cool.  Total hipster.  In the post game May has a lot of good things to say about the Caps performance.  He runs through the highlights with Carlin without missing a beat.  My favorite part of his work tonight was when he proposed a race between Chimer and Johansson to see who was the fastest Cap.  This is an awesome idea and something I want to see happen.  Nice work tonight Alan.  

Other Participants (0 pts):
Jill Sorenson: Did a brief rink side spot about the team looking for revenge.

Al Koken: Bites of the Nites and interviews.  Nothing spectacular.

Locker: Lost some points for coming up with "Tic-Tac-double big Toe" when describing the Backstrom goal.

Chris Miller:  Was pretty okay tonight.  Lost all chance of scoring a point by being paired off with Jenkins though.

Chuck Gormely: I know, I know.  But he talked about Kuznetsov tonight and  that made me think for a second.  Do I think he knows anything about Kuznetsov? No.  Does he have the personality of cardboard? Yes.  I believe he is now under the "Sarah Palin" effect.  He has set the bar so low that when he does throw up all over himself I consider it a win.  He did have some help from Jenkins though...

Last Star (-1pt):

Michael Jenkins.  Jenkins what are you doing?  It was a home game which means I have already have written Chuck Gormely into this spot.  But you had to go and fuck that up didn't you.  Just to keep things interesting.  Maybe just to keep me on my toes.  Jenkins handled the first intermission tonight and he didn't do much.  He had no highlights to present, mentioned Kuznetsov (something Chuck had already covered), and then talked a bit about Tebow.  Wow, nice job Jenkins but I guess I should be happy you weren't creepy.  Jenkins is back from the immediate post game and he doesn't do any highlights once again.  All he does is "check in" with team USA at the junior world championships.  However, at this point it has already been well established that team USA was eliminated so Jenkins just comes off as a jackass.  I am also quite certain he doesn't know a thing about hockey.  Later when he was in studio with Miller, Miller refers to them as "team extreme".  This must of made Jenkins think he was part of some cool buddy cop style team cause he suddenly felt motivated to run through some highlights.  He crashed and burned cause he likes to try and sound excited and knowledgeable but came off as fake and stupid.  On a night where he was mostly just dead weight, his late performance really cemented Jenkins into the last spot.  Chuck should take you out to dinner this week as a thank you.      

Points to Date for Participants:
Locker: 10
May: 9
Joe B: 7
Carlin: 5
Smokin: 3
Jill: 3
Miller: 0
Jenkins: -2
Gormely: -3

Check out the complete standings in the top right!

It feels good to be back in the swing of things.  Unfortunately, I didn't realize that the Caps played a back to back and I am suppose to go out for New Years tomorrow.  I am trying to get someone to cover the game for me, but if I can't I apologize for missing another night.  Maybe I'll throw a post up about my New Years adventures instead. 

Thanks for reading,
@dru90 (Twitter)

Caps v Predators (Dec 20th)

In a game that I thought the Caps would struggle to score 1 goal, they put up 4.  Big win for the team at home.  Fair warning, I was driving home from College today and got stuck in traffic, so I missed the pregame!  Here is your stars for the night:

Third Star (1 pt):

Alan May.  May was back after his long absence from the broadcast during the road trip.  Paired up with his normal partner Rob Carlin, he handled the post game show.  In a night where everyone was talking about how great of a game the Caps played, May made sure to keep us grounded by pointing out how the team disappeared during the 2nd period.  In talking about Knuble's 1,000th game, Alan said he looks like a male supermodel.  Rob Carlin took that opportunity to take a shot at May, who was not amused.  Later in the show, Carlin made another bad joke when Smokin' Al's mic wasn't working and May gave him a death stare.  Big points for May's three keys to the game.  He said Ovie needed to score more and the powerplay had to produce.  Check and Check.  Does Alan May know hockey, or does he know hockey?

Second Star (2 pts):

Locker gets the nod in the 2nd spot tonight.  Good job color commentating, no stand out calls but no major blunders.  He was also back on the telestrator for the first time in awhile and he didn't miss a beat.  His "Hold it Here" count for the night is 9.  Keeping that in single digits is quite a feet for Locker so he definitely gets points for that.  Early in the game Locker told the fan's not to worry, "the goals will come".  Surprise, surprise a few minutes later Ovie buried the first goal of the night.  Four more would follow, with all the big stars getting in on the action so its safe to say Locker called it.  Locker was also wearing a big "22" button on his suit jacket, which was a nice show of support for Knuble.

First Star (3 pts):

Julie Donaldson.  Julie was back in championship form tonight.  She handled the first intermission and the intimidate post game show tonight in a really nice black dress jacket and dark blue shirt that said "I'm ready for business".  She ran through the highlights with emotion and precision.  She not only got the calls right, but it really seemed like she loves what she is doing.  People like Jill Sorenson could take a page out of her book on how to not seem like a robot.  (I'd say Gormely, but he is beyond fixing and may, in fact, be a robot).  Julie never stopped smiling all night and her sign off was "Go Caps".  Its always nice to see some team spirit.  With all the other Sportsnet anchors it seems like a job, but with Julie its feels like a passion.  She even had the ability to make me forget that Jenkins was her co-host, so I very much appreciated that.  Inspiring stuff tonight.

Other Participants:
Joe B:  "Hey. Hey guys. Guys. Guys, Guys, Guys.  Did you know it's Knuble's 1,000ths game?"

Carlin:  Stop trying to make jokes. May is not amused, will never be amused, and you are not friends.

Smokin': Does he spray tan?

Jenkins: Wearing a vest and pink tie without a jacket.  Had a "no that's not a roofie I put in your drink" look on his face the whole night.

Jill Sorenson:  Wore all black and stood in front of an all black background. Meet Jill the floating head.

Last Star (-1 pt):

Chuck Gormely.  Ehhhhh Chuck we missed you.  On a big night for Mike Knuble, Gormely decided it would be appropriate to make his segment about Knuble.  Good thinking Chuck, how could you screw that up.  Well bringing up Knuble's dead Dad was a good way to do just that.  Out of all the fantastic, hockey-related, achievements of Knuble's career Chuck decided to talk about his Dad who died when Knuble was 15.  He didn't even make an effort to tie it back into hockey.  Nope just dropped the "dead-dad" bomb and walked away.  He didn't even show a shred of what could be called an emotion.  Heartless.  Cold.  However, I did learn something new from Chuck's performance tonight.  I was so confused that he decided to talk about Knuble's father, instead of anything else about his playing career, that I asked myself, "how does Chuck Gormely do his research."  Well in the third sentence under "Playing Career" on Knuble's Wikipedia page it mentions his father's death.  Mystery solved.  Apparently all it takes to be an inside blogger is Wikipedia.  You may now refer to me as, Dru "Capitals Insider".

Twitter is @Dru90. Next game on Friday in New Jersey.  See you then!

Points of Participants to date:
Locker: 8
Alan May: 6
Julie: 4
Joe B: 3
Smokin: 3
Carlin: 3
Jill Sorenson: 2
Jenkins: -1
Gormley: -3 

Caps v Jets (Dec 15th)

Tonight the Caps traveled halfway across the continent to face their south-east division rivals the Winnipeg Jets.  It was a hard fought game all around and Neuvy and Ovie came up big tonight to get the Caps a W.  It was a skeleton crew holding it down for the Comcast Sportsnet crew tonight, with only four people getting in on the action.  Decided to set up the list a bit differently, going form 3rd-1st star (Sources say that people like dramatic tension and build up.)  Tonight's coverage was a joint effort from both bloggers here at Action on the Ice, enjoy!  

3rd Star (1pt): 

Chick Hernandez made his first appearance during the second intermission.  He was sporting a pair of fresh looking new glasses that really took his “intelligent gentleman” persona to a new level.  However, his new hardware seemed to be throwing him off a bit as he seemed a half step slow throughout his highlight presentation.  Chick reappeared in the immediate post game along side the Jenkins and had ditched his glasses in favor of his classic look.  Chick did a nice job wrapping up the game in a sentence and then set up for the Sportsnet show with an endearing “buckle-up” turn of phrase.  However, he was about to be dragged down into the void that in Jenkins.  More on that later.  Overall, we liked Chick’s attempt with the glasses and think if he can work out the kinks with them it will really help take him to the next level.  Its worth noting that both Julie Donaldson and Chick Hernandez have seemed a little off in each of their last appearances.  Each normally stellar broadcaster was paired with the Jenkins.

Second Star (2pts): 

Joe started off the broadcast in his typically strong fashion with his game introduction that consistently borders on poetry.  As the game got underway, he caused us to pause for a moment when he described the Jet’s crowd as sounding like 150,000 people.  We thought back to those long hoary nights spent studying high school science and decided that there was no way it could be true.  Also during the first period Joe B scored some big points by talking about curling, which is basically one of the top three winter Olympic sports (Hockey, Curling, Gun-Skiing).  It is also a sport we think we could learn to play so that makes it even more  likable.  The second period was full of Joe B trademark moments.  He let us know that Cody Eakin is from Winnipeg, something he couldn’t tell us enough the first time we played the Jets.  He also let us know that Tom Poti is still on the team and still injured (lost in the woods/eaten by a bear?).  Finally, he descried Byfuglyen’s shot as “a flamethrower”.  This term STILL makes zero sense to us. Flamethrowers don’t fire projectiles...but they are cool (actually very hot) so whatever.  Joe B rounded off his second period performance by throwing out some Cap’s history about Konowalchuk who is one of our favorites forever, so that got him serious pointage.  In the third period Joe B stuck his neck out by jinxing the Caps...the first shot for the Jets happened within 15 seconds of him saying they had zero in the third.  But the team went on the win so we’ll let it slide.  Overall, Joe B had a typically strong performance, a snazzy suit and tie combo, and capped it off with two of our favorite things, Curling and Konowalchuk.  (Does Konowalchuck play curling now?  Please let it be so.)        

First Star (3pts):

 

It was a tough call between Locker and Joe B for the top spot on tonight’s broadcast, as both turned in their usual stellar performance calling the game. Despite several bad puns made at Blake Wheeler’s expense (calling him “18 Wheeler” in the pre-game show and describing him as “wheeling-wheeler” on a scoring chance), Locker’s strong performance during both interviews put him over the top and earned him the 1st star of the night, despite Joe B’s curling and Konowalchuk brownie points.  As mentioned at the top, it was a bare-bones crew tonight and Locker definetly handled a large portion of the workload.  His color commentary was sharp and his interview work also really showed off his range as he talked to Erskine (lumberjack) and Matty P (ultra-French).   He seemed to be trying extra-hard, perhaps because he didn’t get to telestrate tonight, which he apparently missed very much as he made a joke about it in his Network Hockey spot.  Maybe he was just really happy to be reunited with Joe B after having to call last game from down on the ice.  The only knock against him tonight occurred during the second period when he appeared to forget Jim Johnson’s name. Thankfully, good ol’ Joe B was there to remind him and spare him a possible faux pas.  Also, with Alan May missing-in-action tonight, Locker filled the all important position of resident hockey-guy expert and showed off his players-perspective knowledge by answering Joe B’s question about what to do on 2-1 breakaways.  Also dug his tie selection.

Last Star (-1pt):

After making some progress last game, awkward Jenkins was back with a vengeance. Though he did manage to make it through the first intermission alone relatively cleanly (aside from the creepy grin he sported the entire time he talked), the Jenkins train derailed and crashed in a spectacular fireball as soon as he came on with Chick for the post-game show. Initially, he simply stared intensely into Chick’s eyes, and I couldn’t help but wonder what tender thoughts he was feeling for his fellow anchor. Then, in a manner that can only be described as similar to a high school freshmen floundering to make conversation with that girl he likes, Jenkins dragged Chick’s “Buckle Up” comment out to the point where the moment was solidly ruined. Then, the cherry on top of the awkward sundae that was Jenkins’ night: He said he liked to call him and Chick “Eskimo Pie.” Is that racist? Just dumb? We’re not sure, and neither was Chick, as the show stopped dead in its tracks for a moment while everyone tried to wrap their brain around Jenkins’ comment. Dragged down an otherwise respectable night for Chick. Also, if you ever want to be able to look at Jenkins again, do not, under any circumstances, look up Eskimo Pie on UrbanDictionary.

Current Points Totals for Tonights Participants:

Locker: 5

Joe B: 2

Chick: 2

Jenkins: -1

Check out the complete standings in the top right of the blog!
As always, feel free to follow me on twitter @dru90 to learn when new posts go up.

Caps v Flyers (Dec 13)

The return of Jagr to Washington did not go like Caps fans had hoped. Rough game for the team but there were a few bright spots on the Comcast Sportsnet crew.  I don't have a firm time table of when I am going to get these things up after each game but, if you have a twitter you can follow me @Dru90 and I'll try and tweet once a post goes up.


First Star (3pts):

Alan May. He started off strong in the pregame. His partner Carlin and on-ice-reporter Jill Sorenson were talking about how good the Flyers are and that rubbed May the wrong way! Alan vented his rage on Carlin who he called out for wearing an orange and blue "Islanders Tie" and, when Carlin tried to come back with a snappy comeback about May's suit, Alan just stared him down and asked if that was the best he could do. Carlin quickly backpedaled and cut to commercial, presumably to grovel for forgiveness or get a good cry in. Most likely both. Postgame, May brought down the hammer as he called the Caps out for playing soft and letting the Flyers do whatever they wanted in front of the Caps net. Then, in a show of good will and generosity, Alan asks Locker a hockey question about defensive formations. Of course Alan knew the answer, but he likes to make his fellow broadcasters feel useful.  He is just that kind of guy.  May finished up the post game by talking about how Mike Green doesn't suck.




Second Star (2pts):

Craig Laughlin. Locker was down between the benches tonight and sounded a bit dishearten early on that he wasn't standing shoulder to shoulder with Joe B.  Or maybe it was the fact that the puck tried to kill him three times.  Who knows.  Either way, he began to loosen up and seemed to cope with his separation anxiety by trying to fight some old guy who was with the Flyers twice during the game.  That made for some good TV because honestly, who doesn't love a good old guy fight?  I was a bit disappointed that it took Locker till eleven minutes into the second period to call the puck a "biscuit" but, he made up for it with two pretty good on ice interviews with Knuble and Alzner. The thing that really pushed his performance over the top tonight though was his ability to call plays correctly. On the Flyers second goal, Locker repeatedly insisted that he saw it go off Matty-P.  On the Flyers controversial fifth goal, that went to the secret Toronto review bunker, Locker insisted that it went in. He turned out to be right on both occasions so he scores some major points there. Finally, he gets bonus points for awesome adverb usage during his description of the Flyers fourth goal: "The caps were good positionally defensively.”  Well said Locker, well said.



Third Star (1pt):

Julie Donaldson. Julie did the first intermission break and the immediate post game. She didn't quite seem to be herself tonight and I can't put my finger on why. Maybe its because she was wearing all gray which made her seem sad. Maybe it was because she was worried because the producers had stuck her in the studio with the Jenkins.  Can't blame her for that one.  She did a good job running through NHL highlights and showed off some real hockey knowledge by calling the Pens arena by its nickname, the "Igloo".  She also showed a clip from the Rangers game of a goalie getting completely destroyed in a collision and didn't even fuck it up with a stupid comment along the lines of "wow that must of hurt" or "that's gonna leave a mark".  During her her postgame highlights she didn't mention the painful Caps loss because she knew the wound was still fresh.  She knew we were in need of compassion and comfort after the beat down via the Philly so her sign off was accompanied with a really nice smile that made me feel a little bit better about the loss.  That was nice of her.  Even when she isn't 100%, Julie comes ready to play.



Other Participants (0 pts):
Micheal Jenkins: Wasn't THAT creepy. Maybe they told him to stop trying to act "cool".

Joe B.: Called a 90pt season for Backstrom.

Rob Carlin: AKA Alan May's Bitch.

Jill Sorenson: Like her haircut. Didn't like her apparent love for Jagr.

Al Koken: For a strange reason I keep picturing him as Wayne Newton.

Last Star (-1pt):

Chuck Gormely. Chuck, Chuck, Chuck. Why do we always run into each other here at the bottom of the list. I have a feeling it's because you are terrible at your job. Actually I'm positive it's because you are terrible at your job.  Chuck made an appearance during the first period and I got to say I was pretty pumped.  I could just tell from his empty void of a stare that he was really excited about bringing us some insider news. Then he screws up right off the bat by mispronouncing Dale Hunter's name as "Daal Hunter."  Come on Chuck.  You know Dale Hunter.  He is the guy who is our coach. He is our new coach whose name has been all over the media. Surely you have heard his name pronounced once or twice before.  Anyways, Chuck goes on to give us his hard hitting journalism of the night, which is something about Hunter being enemies to friends to enemies with a Flyers assistant coach. There is no context given to the statement and he delivers it in such a deadpan manner that I don’t care enough to investigate further. So good job Chuck.  I hope the server that supports your blog is ready cause I'm sure you just inspired a million people to rush on over....  Finally, Gormely almost lets out a laugh near the end of his time on camera despite not making a joke. If he had laughed it would not of been a joyful jolly laugh. Chuck's laugh is more of a soulless awkward laugh of a man that knows his life is meaningless and his career is a sham. I'm sorry for that last one Chuck. I'll cut you a break next game.

NOTE: Next game is on the road and Gormely doesn’t seem to ever appear during road games.

Points to Date of Participants:
Alan May: 5
Al Koken: 3
Craig Laughlin: 2
Julie Donaldson: 1
Chuck Gormely: -2

See complete standings in the top right side of the blog!