Hockey is a funny game sometimes – never moreso than in the last few days.

Paul Branecky

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I thought the team played a more complete game last night than they had in either game against the Maple Leafs, but they came away with less to show for it.  It just so happened that the time they didn’t play well, although shorter, was disastrous.

The competition had a lot to do with that.  Alexes Semin and Ovechkin will make you pay for even the smallest lapses.  Semin, by the way, looked good.  Like, elite NHL player good.  He has the stats and NHL player of the month award to back that up, but I didn’t fully appreciate that until I sat down and watched him last night.  Yikes.

After losing the first game of a back-to-back set, people usually emphasize the positives of being able to go right back out there and make things right.  And with good reason, because it’s true.

“You kind of want to get out there and have a good game,” said Sergei Samsonov.  “It’s a frustrating way to finish last night, and you want to let the frustration out tonight.”

”Especially the way things ended last night, to get back out there and expend some energy and try to right a wrong, you get that opportunity and don’t have to wait for it,” said coach Peter Laviolette.  “I think that’s important.”

There’s some good news on the injury front, as Frank Kaberle, Joni Pitkanen and Brandon Sutter all took the ice this morning, joining Matt Cullen, who had been skating in the last few days after missing both of this week’s road games in Toronto and Washington.

Unfortunately, Laviolette said that none of them would be available for tonight’s game.  Rod Brind’Amour, who required stitches on both sides of his nose after Semin hit him in the face on the follow-through of his game-winning shot, should be in the lineup as usual tonight.

On a side note, we're having some issues with the top story panel of the site this morning.  Apologies if it says something out of the ordinary.

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