So from what I hear, the Caps have a pretty big game tomorrow or something. They are going through practice right now. The lines are the same as they've been the past few days. David Steckel was out there before practice skating in full gear, minus a glove over his right hand. His index finger is still wrapped up pretty good.

There are many different scenarios for the Caps to get into the playoffs, but it is pretty simple. They need to win the next three games and get to 94 points. Also, one of the teams in front of them (Carolina, Ottawa, Boston and Philly) must lose twice. Ottawa has to lose twice in regulation, while the other three can earn one extra point in an overtime/shootout loss.

UPDATE: Bruce Boudreau said David Steckel will be getting the pins out of his finger today and expects him to be able to practice tomorrow (at the morning skate). It would seem that if there are no setbacks we can assume he might be availble against either Tampa Bay or Florida or both. He also said Cristobal Huet will be in net, which isn't really a surprise of course.

There was a pretty common theme with the players in the room after practice. It doesn't matter if they are young, old or in between, there is a lot of anticipation and excitement about tomorrow night. Brooks Laich laid out the scenario pretty well, saying if they win tomorrow there is a good chance they will make the playoffs, but if they don't it will be awfully, awfully tough.

There are only a few guys on the ice right now. One of them is Brent Johnson ... in normal skaters' gear. Bruce Boudreau said he wasn't sure about any lineup changes, but that it will likely be Cristobal Huet in net tomorrow night.

If Huet does start against the Panthers, it will be his sixth start in seven games.

"He's won five in a row and he hasn't played a bad game since he's been here," Boudreau said. "As much as I'd like to play Olie too, if I do that you really open yourself up to criticism for an unnecessary reason."

Olie Kolzig has also played well in the past month, but Boudreau is riding the hot hand. Kolzig is sitting on the wall at the Caps benchin full gear talking to goalie coach Dave Prior while the other guys are skating. Nothing is certain from day-to-day with the Caps goaltending situation, but if I were a betting man, I'd say there is more than one chapter left in this saga.

- Corey Masisak

Mathieu Perreault, the Caps' sixth-round pick in the 2006 draft, has signed a three-year entry-level contract. Perreault has shredded the Quebuc Major Junior Hockey League the past two seasons. Last year he finished with 41 goals and 119 points in 67 games and was named the league's MVP. This season he added his first 'Q' scoring title, racking up 34 goals and 114 points in 65 games.

He clearly has loads of skill, but the reason he was a sixth-round pick and the caveat with Perreault is he is, well, small. Listed generously at 5-foot-9 and 166 pounds, he will have to overcome his size or lack thereof. When he was in camp this summer, the thing that stuck out the most about him was his tenacity on the forecheck. He was always buzzing around, getting his stick on outlet passes and picking opposing players' pockets. There have been other diminutive dynamos in Canadian junior hockey, especially in the free-flowing 'Q', that have never panned out at the NHL level, but Perreault certainly has a chance.

His team, Acadie-Bathurst, is currently playing in the first round of the league playoffs and the best-of-seven series is tied at two. When his season is done, I would expect Perreault to join the Hershey Bears, but I'm going to ask to talk to GM George McPhee to confirm that. Perreault is one of a few Caps properties who are set to graduate from juniors, and several of them could be reinforcements for the Bears and their playoff push. Others include defensemen Josh Godfrey (already signed) and Karl Alzner and forwards Francois Bouchard and Luke Lynes. The Caps can sign these guys right now, and they can join Hershey or South Carolina for the rest of their seasons, or they could wait until this summer to make a decision. Another player to watch on the professional contract front is North Dakota defenseman Joe Finley. He is a junior, but could consider skipping his senior season to sign with the Caps.

- Corey Masisak

UPDATE (12:21)

McPhee is not here, so I probably won't be getting an update from him. Also I forgot goaltender Michal Neuvirth when talking about guys who could sign contracts and turn pro soon. He might not be done with his season anytime soon though. Neuvirth was awesome for Oshawa in their first-round sweep of Ottawa in the OHL playoffs. He turned aside 142 of 148 shots in the four games, including a 46-save shutou in Game 3. With all of the firepower in front of him, including '07 second-rounder Brett MacLean (who led the OHL with 61 goals), probable '08 first-round defenseman Michael Del Zotto and of course the next Next One in John Tavares, this team will be disappointed if it doesn't make it to the Memorial Cup.

Also, Brampton has been eliminated from the OHL playoffs, so Luke Lynes can sign and join either Hershey or South Carolina at any point. As for other player updates, Godfrey's Sault Ste. Marie club swept its way into the second round as well. Bouchard and Baie-Comeau are down 3-1 to Rimouski in the 'Q.' Alzner's Calgary Hitmen are up 3-1 in their first-round matchup.

They just turned the bright lights on here at BankAtlantic Center, but we're not sure if or how many guys are going to skate today. There is going to be a team meeting here in a few minutes, and the practice afterwards is optional.

The Caps will soon suit up for game No. 78, so it is time to lay out the playoff scenarios. (here's a link to the conference standings from NHL.com)

Washington has 84 points, which is two behind Boston for the eighth spot, four back of Philly for the No. 7 seed and Carolina for No. 3. The Caps could be in trouble if there is a tiebreaker situation, so it would be best for them to pass somebody. Here are the tiebreakers:

1. Games won (They can't catch Carolina in wins and be tied in points; they have one less win than Philly and the same number as Boston.) If they have the same number of wins it goes to. ...

2. Greater number of points in the season series between the two teams (This is the killer. The Caps went 2-2 against both Philly and Boston, but both of those teams went 2-1-1, picking up an extra point in the series via an overtime or shootout loss).

The Caps can run the table and get to 94 points. If Carolina, Boston and Philly reach 95, Washington is out. If Carolina gets to 94 (without the very implausible scenario where the Canes go 0-0-5 and the Caps go 4-0-1), the Caps cannot win the division. If the Bruins or Flyers finish with 94, the Caps need to have more wins (which is actually pretty plausible).

Here are all of the reasonable scenarios for the Caps, but the reality is they just need to keep winning:

TEAM WAS BOS PHI CAR

W-L* 5-0 4-2 3-2 2-2-1

W-L 4-0-1 3-2-1 2-2-1 2-3

W-L 4-1 3-3 2-4 1-3-1

W-L 3-1-1 2-3-1 1-3-1 1-4

W-L 3-2 2-4 1-4 0-4-1

W-L 2-2-1 1-4-1 0-4-1 0-5

* If the Caps finish this way, this is the best the other team can do for the Caps to make the playoffs

- Corey Masisak

Caps practice is just underway. There is news today. The Caps sent defenseman Sami Lepisto back to Hershey and signed Bears forward Jay Beagle to a two-year contract.

Lepisto has been a healthy scratch of late and a clean bill of health for John Erskine means Lepisto can go back to playing big minutes with the Bears. Beagle was in camp this summer and has been playing with Hershey on an AHL contract.

Matt Cooke and Eric Fehr have switched places, but that move was made during the game last night. Bruce Boudreau is looking for a guy to go get the puck in the corners on the second line. I think Fehr has been playing pretty well the past couple games, but Cooke does add a little more fiestiness to the second unit.

Alex Ovechkin and Sergei Fedorov are not practicing, and neither is Chris Clark. The goalies are Olie Kolzig and Brent Johnson, which could mean Cristobal Huet would be in net tomorrow night for the fifth time in six games.

Here are the forward lines:

Laing (in place of Ovechkin)-Backstrom-Kozlov
Semin-Cooke
Fleischmann-Laich-Fehr
Brashear-Gordon-Bradley

In the drill going on right now the 'D' pairings are:

Morrisonn-Green
Schultz-Poti
Erskine-Jurcina
Eminger

- Corey Masisak

Caps coach Bruce Boudreau just dubbed today's slate of NHL games Super Tuesday because of all the games involving potential playoff teams in the Eastern Conference.

The lineup for the Caps will be the same tonight as it was yesterday in practice. Eric Fehr moves to the second line and Donald Brashear is back in the lineup in place of Quintin Laing. Boudreau said John Erskine is ready to go and could play Thursday, but he hasn't decided when he will put him back in the lineup. Steve Eminger is in and Sami Lepisto is out in the final d-man slot. Cristobal Huet will be in net for the fourth time in five games.

- Corey Masisak

After a much-needed day off (for me anyway) the Caps are back at practice. Alex Ovechkin is not on the ice, and Chris Clark was out there before the drills started but has since exited. John Erskine, who hasn't played since the game against Calgary at Verizon Center, is going through the workout. Here are the lines:

Laing-Backstrom-Kozlov
Semin-Fedorov-Fehr (before the first line went nuts in Atlanta, Fehr was one of the team's best forwards against the Thrashers)
Flesichmann-Laich-Cooke
Brashear-Gordon-Bradley

-- Corey Masisak

UPDATE (12:26 p.m.): Cristobal Huet will start in net tomorrow night against the Hurricanes. Alex Ovechkin was just resting. Donald Brashear will be back in the lineup. The Caps got a glimpse of what playing without Brashear and John Erskine was like against the Thrashers. That team was a lot more physical in the first two periods than it had been in any of the previous seven meetings. Erskine will not play tomorrow but will go on the trip. Bruce Boudreau said Sami Lepisto won't be sent back to Hershey today, but wasn't sure if he would be with the team for the whole road trip.

It is safe to say that the consensus in the room is they must beat Carolina tomorrow night, or the Hurricanes will pretty much wrap up the division title. The Caps are winless at RBC Center this season, and two of the games have not been close.

My flight home was delayed and I wasn't able to get back in time for practice, but fear not there will be a story about that Ovechkin guy in the Sunday paper. The Caps will be off tomorrow, and after spending today helping out with NCAA basketball stuff at the Phone Booth, I will be looking forward to the extra sleep. They'll be back at K-Plex on Monday to get ready for Tuesday's big showdown in Raleigh.

Maybe by then I will have processed what has transpired since about this time yesterday and I will write about it on here. There has certainly been few dull nights this season.

The Caps are going through the morning skate right now. It would appear there are a couple of minor tweaks to the lineup. The top two lines remain the same from Chicago, but Brooks Laich and Boyd Gordon have been flopped and Eric Fehr is in green with the third line.

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Kozlov
Fleischmann-Fedorov-Semin
Cooke-Laich-Fehr
Brashear-Gordon-Bradley-Laing

The area around the arena here is pretty crazy. It is easy to tell a tornado came through here last week. There are windows missing from hotels (the Westin is the most prominent-looking hotel in the city and it is weird to see one side look normal and the other like a checkerboard from all the missing windows). I had to walk around the Olympic Park to get from one side of the CNN building to the Philips Arena entrance. There are these large columns that encircle the park that look kind of like Olympic torches and two of them fell down from the storm. One of the buildings across the street from the park looks like someone took a knife and cut half of it off. It is some scary-looking stuff for sure.

- Corey Masisak

The Blackhawks are expecting a full house for Tony Esposito Night at United Center. Fans are getting facsimile Tony O masks (it is essentially posterboard on a popsicle stick) and he will be honored with a ceremony before the game. After a quick twirl on the concourse, I can report there are a ton of people here already and it should be quite the night. The best thing in the fan store (aptly named Fandemonium considering the traffic) was not for sale. It was an extremely detailed model of old Chicago Stadium on display in the front window, complete with the fire escapes on the outside of the building.

As for Caps news, Quintin Laing will play with Boyd Gordon and Matt Cooke on the third line. Tomas Fleischmann moves up two the second unit with Sergei Fedorov and Alexander Semin while Brooks Laich will center the fourth group with Donlad Brashear and Matt Bradley.

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Kozlov
Fleischmann-Fedorov-Semin
Laing-Gordon-Cooke
Brashear-Laich-Bradley

Morrisonn-Green
Poti-Schultz
Erskine-Lepisto

And fitting an evening such as Tony O Night, Godzilla vs. the Boulin Wall in a matchup of classic goalie nicknames.

-- Corey Masisak

Not only is Quintin Laing returning to the site of his first NHL game (he played three with the Blackhawks, including his first here at United Center against Florida) he will also be returning to the lineup after sitting out the past four games as a healthy scratch. He said he didn't know who would be skating with, and Bruce Boudreau is not here at the arena (only a small group of players and the assistant coaches are here, in fact), so I won't find out who is out until 5:00 (or 6:00 or whatever, I've only been out of the time zone for two days and I am already screwed up). A few Blackhawks players stopped by the Caps dressing room to say hello to Laing, because he played with some of them at Norfolk, Chicago's AHL affiliate.

"No, it's not weird because I never really got use to that other dressing room," Laing said.

On his first NHL game:

"It was cool. It was nerve-racking. Putting the jersey on for the first game made me really nervous and not getting a lot of sleep made me really tired but I was really excited though. It was just the adrenaline that got me going."

On Dustin Byfuglien, one of the league's biggest surprises with 17 goals in his rookie season after shifting from defense to forward:

"You always knew with him that he had the talent to do it and it was just a matter of time. He just needed some time to get use to being a professional and he had some good coaches [at Norfolk]. You knew he was going to be good, although he was only on defense [when Laing was a teammate]."

Byfuglien [it is pronounced BUFF-LYNN, by the way] is one of several current Blackhawks that played with Laing, who spent parts of six seasons at Norfolf. Others include Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith, Rene Bourque, Dave Bolland and James Wisnewski.

He tried to downplay it, but I think it is easy to surmise that this is a big one for Laing tonight.

- Corey Masisak

Alex Ovechkin and the Caps are in the Windy City tonight looking for the franchise's first five-game winning streak in seven years. All 29 of the other teams in the league have one of at least five games since the Caps last had one.

While it is Ovechkin's first trip to Chicago, wrapping up his first-stop tour of all 30 arenas, he is not part of the spotlight matchup against the Blackhawks (unless he scores twice to hit 60, then he will be the story across the continent regardless of what happens).

For now though it is all about the kids (younger than Ovechkin) tonight at United Center. Washington's Nicklas Backstrom will be on the ice with possibly his two biggest competitors for the Calder Trophy, Pat Kane and Jonathan Toews. I am certainly excited to see Toews and Kane in person. That the Hawks have a future again is a great thing for the league. While Backstrom might lose votes from people who don't see him play and say, 'oh, he just racks up points because of Ovechkin,' he could prove he is the best rookie regardless of point totals tonight.

- Corey Masisak

The Caps are wrapping up the morning skate here at Sommet Center. Tonight's lineup will be the same as last game, which means no Chris Clark. He said he will likely skate tomorrow morning in Chicago even if the team does not and did not rule himself out for the Blackhawks.

"It is tough to say, but it is not getting worse, so that is a step forward, I guess," Clark said.

Olie Kolzig is still out on the ice with healthy scratches Quintin Laing and Steve Eminger (along with Brent Johnson), so expect to see Kolzig on the bench tonight backing up Cristobal Huet.

Many of the Caps have never played in this buidling and weren't with the team in 2005-06 when they played Nasvhille at Verizon Center. One of the team's new additions, Matt Cooke, has seen the Predators four times this season, so I enlisted his help for a scouting report.

"They are a different team at home than they are on the road," Cooke said. "They come out extremely hard and fast, trying to score a couple early and take the wind out of your sails. They are a fast, puck-moving hockey club."

"Weber, Hamhuis and Zidlicky are all good players. They are good defensemen who are great offensively as well. Zidlicky is looking to go a lot like Green does. Up front, they have Radulov and Dumont who have been playing very well for them. Dumont is a power guy. Erat is pretty shifty. They also have a couple of good checking lines."

"[Tootoo] is guy who is going to finish his check, no matter how late it is. He hits hard, and I give him credit -- he plays physical. But you can catch him running around as well."

Obviously this is a big one for both teams. The Predators are four points back of eighth place in the Western Conference, and the Caps are just two shy of eighth in the East. Philadelphia hosts cap-sizing Atlanta tonight, but the Caps can put two points of separation between them and idle Florida, as well as pass idle Buffalo for ninth in the conference.

Chris Clark is going on the trip, and he said he would like to try to play at some point. He didn't want to commit to which game, but said he will see how he feels tomorrow morning in Nashville. Olie Kolzig said Cristobal Huet, who did not practice today, will start against the Predators and he will be in net against Chicago the next day. Kolzig appeared to hurt himself at the very end of practice, but said afterward he didn't think it was serious.

The Caps are leaving in a couple of hours for a six-game road trip, which is really a pair of three-game swings with a break at home in between. General manager George McPhee expressed some disappointment that those in charge of scheduling events at Verizon Center are forcing both the Caps and the Wizards to spend the next two weeks on the road because of the NCAA tournament subregional this week and the circus the next week. The Wizards do have one home game on Sunday, but it is in the middle of seven road contests.

This isn't the first time the Caps have had a trip like this near the end of the season, and they have been pretty successful in them. Two years ago Washington went 3-1-3 when forced out town by the circus in late March. They also had success on long trips in 2002-03 (3-2-1), 2001-02 (5-3) and 2000-01 (5-0-1). Tomorrow's game is the one in hand against Carolina, which is five points up in the Southeast Division standings. The Caps are also two points back of the Flyers for eighth in the Eastern Conference. Philadelphia is home for the next three (Atlanta, the Rangers and the Islanders).

-- Corey Masisak

The lineup is the same today, with Cristobal Huet in place of Olie Kolzig in net. Huet's career numbers against Boston + Kolzig playing two straight before = easy decision for Bruce Boudreau. Sami Lepisto is in place of an injured John Erskine for the second straight game. Zdeno Chara will not play for the Bruins, who will go with Alex Auld in goal. Auld played very well against the Caps in Boston, and Tim Thomas got lit up the last time here, so another simple choice.

The Caps are chasing the Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers, so yesterday's three-point game between the two teams did Washington no favor.

"You could see it coming because Philly had so many chances to put them away, and they didn't put them away," Boudreau said. "So I said something bad is going to happen, and unfortuntely it did."

It will be interesting to see where this game goes from a physical standpoint. The last one was very chippy in part because of the Caps' 10-2 win just a few days before. Now the teams have had a week to cool off, but this one is so important in the scope of the playoff chase that there could be more big hits and fights regardless of what transpired the past two games between the teams.

The District's St. Patrick's Day Parade starts at noon on Sunday, but it will make driving around the city difficult for a long time before and after that tipoff time. So keep that in mind when/if you're heading to Verizon Center for the game against the Bruins, which starts at 3 p.m.

Courtesy of the Metropolitan Police Department (with a hat tip to DCist), here's the info you need.

Between 5 a.m. and 3 p.m., you can't park on these streets. Also, these streets will be CLOSED to traffic from 11 a.m. until completion of the parade:

* Constitution Avenue NW, between 6th Street and 23rd Street, NW
* 7th Street NW, between Independence Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
* 14th Street NW, between Independence Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
* 12th Street NW, between the SE/SW Freeway and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
* 17th Street NW, between E Street NW and Independence Avenue, SW

Bottom line, Caps fans: Expect delays if you plan on driving to the game, and good luck finding a place to park. Plan accordingly.

-- John Taylor

Well, not quite but there are a lot of people here.

Chris Clark is on the ice, and so is Sami Lepisto. Bruce Boudreau praised the young defenseman again after the game last night (that has been a trend every time he is up here, for what its worth). John Erskine isn't on the ice, so there is no hurry to send Lepisto back to Herhsey. Brooks Laich, Matt Cooke and Sergei Fedorov are also missing from practice, which could just be rest but we'll find out shortly. The forward combinations are the same from yesterday (and the past few days really) with Clark wearing a grey sweater to fill in for one of the missing second line guys.

A couple of notes from last night:

* When Alex Ovechkin scores a power-play goal, the Caps win. He has 10 extra-man goals since a Dec. 17 game at Detroit, and Washington is 9-0-0 in those games (he had two against the Flames).

* Olie Kolzig won game No. 301 last night, which ties him with Mike Richter for 23rd on the all-time list.

* The 12 shots allowed were the least for the Caps this season, besting the 13 yielded the last time Atlanta was at Verizon Center.

* This made the first-edition story, but not the second ... Atlanta has now gone 23 games without outshooting an opponent. And 37-13 wasn't the worst during this stretch. The Thrashers were outshot 49-10 on Long Island last month.

- Corey Masisak

UPDATE (12:50): Bruce Boudreau said Brooks Laich, Matt Cooke and Sergei Fedorov were just resting. It looks like Cristobal Huet will get the nod in net tomorrow against the Bruins. Huet has great career numbers against Boston, and he has been very good in his two starts against them in a Caps uniform. Chris Clark stayed out on the ice for a long time with Quintin Laing after everyone else and was going through some pretty heavy skating. He said it was probably the hardest skating he's done since re-injuring his groin, but he won't know if it is progress until he sees how it feels tomorrow.

For the past few days everyone has been focusing on two teams in front of the Caps in their chase for a playoff spot (Carolina and Philadelphia). Well, how is this for a weird twist: Caps fans should root for the Flyers tomorrow afternoon. Why? Because the team the Caps might be most likely to catch is now, in my opinion at least, the reeling Boston Bruins.

Starting with a 10-2 loss at Verizon Center, the Bruins are 1-4-2 in their past seven (Caps fans know all too well about the 1, of course), which includes losses to non-playoff teams Washington, Florida and Toronto and the worst of the lot, a 3-1 defeat to lottery-bound Tampa last night. Should the Flyers defeat the Bruins on Saturday afternoon and the Caps win tonight against Atlanta and then take care of Boston on Sunday afternoon, then all of the sudden Washington will be within two points of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with nine to play.

Sure, the Bruins could beat the Flyers and then if the Caps beat Atlanta and Boston it could actually put them within four points of seventh place, but two more losses by Boston would officially put them in a huge tailspin and maybe they don't recover. The thing that the Caps would fear most about the Boston-Philly game is overtime, of course. After that game Boston has two with Montreal, two with Ottawa, two with Toronto, two with Buffalo and one with New Jersey in its last nine games, or all teams still with playoff aspirations.

As for the Flyers, I've already written about their extremely tough closing schedule. After the Bruins, Philadelphia has 10 games left. In another interesting twist of fate, Caps fans will have to become, temporarily at least, Penguins fans. Philly plays Pittsburgh three times in those final 10, along with two against New Jersey, the Rangers and the Islanders and one next week against Atlanta.

To sum it up, the Caps must win the next two, but if they do a playoff berth will suddenly look like a much more realistic possibility than it did only three or four days ago. Then it would be time to write about a season-defining, six-game road trip.

As for actual Caps news, the team recalled defenseman Sami Lepisto from Hershey today. Bruce Boudreau hinted at this yesterday. Obviously, the team is not comfortable with John Erskine's health (he played only one shift after fighting Calgary's Eric Godard and it appeared that Erskine was on the recieving end of a couple of heavy overhand rights from the Flames tough guy) and didn't want to only have six healthy defensemen around.

- Corey Masisak

Chris Clark is out there on the ice. Alex Ovechkin and Sergei Fedorov are not, as well as John Erskine. After the fight he was in last night and the fact that he only played five minutes, Erskine obviously might not be healthy. Clark is wearing a red jersey and Quintin Laing is wearing a grey sweater (in place of the resting Russians) and Steve Eminger would replace Erskine if he is not ready tomorrow. The lines otherwise remain the same from yesterday.

UPDATE: Coach Bruce Boudreau said Erskine "was not feeling well" and he is not sure about his availability for tomorrow. He also said they might recall Sami Lepisto from Hershey for insurance purposes. He did not commit to a goaltender for the game against the Thrashers, but he did appear to be leaning toward Olie Kolzig. The Thrashers have lost 10 of 11 and haven't won a game in regulation since a 2-0 win in Washington on Feb. 2.

There were some interesting tidbits from practice that will be in the paper tomorrow. Kolzig talked at length about how not participating in the morning skate on days when he is starting has helped his performance. Guys expending a lot of energy during morning skates has always been a bit of a mystery to me.

Also, our chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association has nominated Quintin Laing for the Masterton Trophy, which is awared "to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey." Laing seems like a pretty perfect candidate to me.
-- Corey Masisak

Caps coach Bruce Boudreau said the lineup will be the same as yesterday's practice with Quintin Laing and Steve Eminger as the healthy scratches.

Chris Clark told me he probably won't be back on the ice for a couple of days. Bruce Boudreau had said yesterday he hoped to see Clark back on the ice today. Last week Clark seemed to be getting closer to returning, but he's going to need at least a few days of practicing at full speed without pain. Clark said the doctor he saw yesterday was the third he has seen for his groin injury, and the prognosis was to continue doing what he is doing to rehabilitate it.

-- Corey Masisak

The Caps are just getting going here. Michael Nylander was out on the ice before everyone skating. I don't see Chris Clark out there with the rest of the guys. Alex Ovechkin said he was fine after the game on Sunday, but coach Bruce Boudreau did say he thought he saw Alex wincing a bit toward the end of the game. He was one of the first guys on the ice today, but he was twisting and rotating his left shoulder a good bit.

If the first few minutes of practice are any indication, this is going to be a, um, vigorous workout. Boudreau also tweaked the lines a bit, so here they are:

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Kozlov-Laing (red)
Semin-Fedorov-Cooke (gray)
Brashear-Gordon-Bradley (white)
Fleischmann-Liach-Fehr (green)

UPDATE: Cristobal Huet said Olie Kolzig will start against Calgary tomorrow night and Boudreau confirmed it. Nicklas Backstrom talked about his gaffe at the end of the game Sunday.

"The only thing I can say is that I feel sorry for my teammates," Backstrom said. "I was surprised with myself. It is what happened, but life goes on. I don't know it can happen, but it happened and we have a game tomorrow.

"I thought I was further in the corner and I was going to put it behind the net. It happened, but I can't doing anything about it."

Tomorrow night will be the debut of OvechKam, the spilt-screen broadcast of the game on CSN+ that will feature a camera focused solely on Alex Ovechkin. Owner Ted Leonsis said he doesn't like it, but Ovechkin didn't seem to mind.

"It will be good," Ovechkin said. "It will be fun to watch after the game [to see] what I do. ... It will be new experience for me."

David Steckel, who had a soft cast on to support his broken right index finger, said he may be out longer than the 2-3 weeks the team had previously said.

"I hope so," Boudreau said when asked about getting Steckel back this season. "We don't want to be done at the beginning of April, and we feel he will at the beginning of April he will be ready."

Boudreau also said Chris Clark was not on the ice because he was seeing a doctor but expects to see him back on the ice tomorrow.

-- Corey Masisak