What does a Captain in this NHL need to be?
He certainly needs to be competitive.
He needs to have an excellent work ethic and morale.
He needs to hit.
He needs to skate...
pass...
shoot...etc...
But he also needs to lead!!! And to lead by example!!
To demonstrate to his team-mates the requirements of being a winner.
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Chris Clark is that man in Washington. A leader through and through. A leader that was never once going to succumb to any idea other than Winning is the Way. Clark leads by example and his ethic is visible in spades. A tremendous representative for his organization and for his team-mates, Clark is a great example of what it means to be a Captain, leading on and off the ice. The Caps have had some ups and downs in this early season and Clarky has been looking to get his game going, but his contributions as a leader never stop. A prime example of this is his role in promoting the Capitals new Courage for Caps charity foundation. Chris Clark is not a loud Captain, but a proud Captain. He makes his points and gets them too, and above all is certainly the right man for the job on Capital Hill.
...that's Capital Hill and not Capitol Hill of course...but hey! You never know!?!?!
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Captain Chris Clark showed up last night in a big way! CC's phenomenal play led the way as the Caps performed for 60 minutes, earning a 5-3 victory over division rivals, the Lightning. Captain Clark's grit was in full force and his nose for the net has evidently returned. Playing over 18 minutes on the top line with Ovie and Kozlov , the warrior brandishing the “C” for the Capitals netted 2 goals, including the game winner, + 2, 4 shots and a penalty, all while playing an excellent 2-way game. Clark's aggressive presence in front of the Bolts net and his back-checking set the tone for the Caps. His troops followed suit, improving their transitional play and defensive game while exhibiting excellent puck movement in the offensive zone.
It's nice to see the Caps take 4 wins out of their first 4 games within their division, yet slightly worrisome that they have yet to claim a victory outside of it. This hopefully will change as the Caps prepare to face the Vancouver Canucks in the 3rd contest of their current 4 game home stand. With a record of 1-2 so far, Clark, AO and the gang look to square their record at the Verizon Center on this current stand and get back over .500 for the season.
Semin
Alex Semin played 14:44 against the Lightning, getting a – 1. He still managed 5 shots and was his usual scoring threat self. His menacing shot is nothing to mess with, once his feet get going again his numbers will climb steeply. His rust was also evident at times during the game, as he bobbled the puck a few times on the blueline while playing the PP. Nothing to be worried about though, AS will be even more of a threat this year as he lines up with Nicklas Backstrom and Michal Nylander. Certainly a second line that any team in the league would be happy with!
Notes and Numbers
Brian Pothier was awesome last night. He was full value, getting 2 assists and + 3 in 22:56 of ice. Poti led the Caps with 24:20 of ice and AO was a + 1 with 1 goal, 2 assists and 6 shots leading all Caps forwards with 21:10. Kolzig was also solid last night stopping 26 of 29 shots, especially mid 2nd , when Clark and Jurcina ended up getting back to back penalties, putting the Caps on the PK for 4 straight minutes. The PP was unimpressive going 0-4. The PK on the other hand was perfect going 3-3, although allowing a SH goal by Ranger. The Caps did a good job keeping Lecavalier at bay, even managing to frustrate him, resulting in Vinny's 19 pm's. Richards and St.Louis did manage to tally a few points, but it was not enough as the Caps offense was excellent 5 on 5 and obviously superior to that of the Lightnings. 1st round of this 8 round series goes to the Caps!
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It is tough to get a feel for how the Caps will fare throughout this NHL season. We have seen the good, the bad and the ugly. But we have yet to see the truly great. Ovechkin is as incredible as ever and getting better with every shift he takes, but the rest of the team has yet to get their game into gear. Expectations are certainly higher, but as of yet have not been sufficiently met. It is a very long season and momentum is a difficult intangible to grasp in the early going, but with only 10 % of the season having been played, I am incredibly excited to see what 'greatness' we will get out of these Caps!
Washington Capitals Blogger • 
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