head coach: Ron Wilson

roster: C - Adam Oates, Dale Hunter, Andrei Nikolishin, Michal Pivonka, Jan Bulis. LW - Andrew Brunette, Joe Juneau, Steve Konowalchuk, Jeff Toms, Todd Krygier, Mike Eagles. RW - Peter Bondra, Richard Zednik, Craig Berube, Kelly Miller. D - Phil Housley, Calle Johansson, Brendan Witt, Sylvain Cote, Sergei Gonchar, Joe Reekie, Ken Klee. G - Olaf Kolzig, Bill Ranford.

injuries: Pat Peake, rw (torn ankle tendon, indefinite); Yogi Svejkovsky, lw (sprained ankle, indefinite); Chris Simon, lw (shoulder surgery, out for regular season); Calle Johansson, d (sprained knee, day-to-day); Mark Tinordi, d (stomach/groin, 2 weeks); Mike Eagles, lw (broken right foot, 4-6 weeks); Sylvain Cote, d (bruised knee, day-to-day).

transactions: Recalled Stewart Malgunas, d, from Portland (AHL). Assigned Stewart Malgunas, d, to Portland. Assigned Yogi Svejkovsky, lw, to Portland. Placed Mike Eagles, lw, on injured reserve.

standings:

Eastern Conference - Atlantic Division   
Team         GP   W   L   T   PTS   GF   GA     
New Jersey   56  34  16   6    74  158  110
Philadelphia 55  29  17   9    67  160  123
Washington   56  26  19  11    63  156  143
NY Rangers   57  17  24  16    50  140  154
NY Islanders 57  20  29   8    48  148  158
Florida      57  18  27  12    48  138  160
Tampa Bay    56  10  37   9    29  104  185

game results:

1/28 Pittsburgh       T 2-2
1/31 at Philadelphia  W 3-2
2/01 Detroit          L 4-2
2/04 at Pittsburgh    T 2-2
2/07 Tampa Bay        L 4-3

team news:

by Jason Sheehan, Washington Correspondent

Selected Caps Enter Nagano with Pride

Washington Capitals coach Ron Wilson has already begun to spin his one-liners in preparation for the Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

When Wilson thought referee Mark Faucette was favoring the Pittsburgh Penguins in a road game Feb. 4, he called a linesman over to his bench and asked him to send an English lesson to Faucette.

"Go over and ask him who wrote 'The Iliad' and 'The Odyssey,"' Wilson told the linesman.

The linesman quickly relayed the message to Faucette, who interestingly enough attended Providence College, the same school Wilson attended in his youth.

Wilson easily read Faucette's lips. "Homer?" Faucette said. Then the referee truly understood the disgruntled coach's meaning and repeated, "Homer!" The linesman then skated to Wilson with a smirk on his face and said, "I think he got your point."

Wilson will be approaching his coaching stint with Team USA in much the same fashion, with his cheek firmly pressed against his tongue. He has already proven his superiority over the world by winning the World Cup of Hockey in 1996. That win left the Canadians in a state of disarray.

"In Canada, some people think we're stealing their game," Wilson told The New York Times. "I don't know if the players view it that way. But Canadians view this politically more than we ever would."

It would be easy to think having only three days of preparations and practices with Team USA would thwart its chances at winning the Gold Medal. But Wilson and Team USA general manager Lou Lamoriello have gone to extreme lengths to make sure their team is a familiar one by keeping the remnants of the 1996 team intact.

Wilson has said it's important not to "over-coach" and will rely on a simple game-plan in Nagano.

"Keep it simple," Wilson said. "It's like the condensed version of Readers Digest with the big print. You get the condensed version of the story, and then you use your imagination. That's what these guys have to do. They're the talented ones."

Among many players returning from the World Cup team are goaltenders Mike Richter and John Vanbiesbrouck; defensemen Brian Leetch, Kevin and Derian Hatcher and Chris Chelios; and forwards Keith Tkachuk, John LeClair, Mike Modano and Bill Guerin.

A sample of newcomers playing for Team USA include defenseman Bryan Berard and forward Jeremy Roenick, the latter of which was chosen to play for the World Cup team, but was a contract holdout in Phoenix and opted not to participate.

Team USA opens play Feb. 13 against Sweden, LCS' favorite to win the Gold.

No Capitals were chosen to play for Team USA. Left wing Steve Konowalchuk, who played in the World Cup alongside the Americans, will be spending about a week away from the rink before he returns to a minicamp headed by Capitals assistant coach Tim Hunter, and strength and conditioning coach Frank Costello.

The Capitals, though, will be well-represented in the Olympics. Skating for their respective countries are goaltender Olaf Kolzig and farmhand Jan Benda (Germany); Peter Bondra and Richard Zednik (Slovakia); Calle Johansson (captain of Sweden); and Sergei Gonchar, who was a late addition to Russia after Rangers defenseman Alexander Karpovtsev injured his wrist.

Unfortunately for Kolzig, his worst fear came true when his squad was knocked out of Olympic competition after suffering a crushing 8-2 defeat to Belarus Feb. 9. Kolzig had feared he would be forced to board a plane back to the states after his 17-hour flight touched down in Tokyo.

Dreams, and nightmares, apparently do come true, but Kolzig will have the opportunity to watch his country play a meaningless game against France. These two countries have been bitter enemies since World War II, which leaves one unanswered question. Will there be a carryover effect?

Slovak's Bondra and Zednik's participation in Nagano also depends on their countries success in the preliminary round. Slovakia plays a do-or-die game Feb. 10 (Feb. 9 in North America) against Kazakhstan with a berth in the championship round on the line. Before you fall down laughing, please e-mail LCS: Guide to Hockey if you discover Kazakhstan's location. That could be LCS' next mystery.

Getting back to Olympic play, Slovak head coach Jan Sterbak faces a tough decision for the decisive game. Most of Slovakia's NHL contingent, which also includes Zigmund Palffy, Jozef Stumpel, Robert Svehla, Miroslav Satan and Pavol Demitra, will not be allowed to participate against Kazakhstan.

Why? Feeling the Slovaks would have no problem earning a berth in the next round, Sterbak decided to keep just two roster spots open in the preliminary round. He has said Svehla will fill one of those spots against Kazakhstan.

We, at LCS: Guide to Hockey, do realize this game has already been played, but deadlines are deadlines. This article was written approximately five hours before the opening faceoff.

Caps Struck by Powerless Lightning

Even though the Capitals recently put together a seven-game unbeaten streak and have climbed to fifth in the Eastern Conference, and third in the Atlantic Division (26-19-11), three points behind the second place Philadelphia Flyers and 11 points behind the Division-leading New Jersey Devils, Washington is the laughing stock of the league until play resumes Feb. 25.

And the reason for all the jokes is simple; the Capitals lost at MCI Center to the Tampa Bay Lightning, who coming into the contest had a 16-game winless streak and hadn't won a game in the 1998 calendar year.

Until now.

That all changed Feb. 7 when the Lightning finally did something right for a change. The Capitals aided the Lightning by taking an early vacation, allowing Tampa Bay to become the last team in the NHL to win its 10th game.

"We had some guys already checked out on vacation," Wilson said. "We didn't show any real fire at the right time. We had some great play from some individuals, but we had too many people who mentally weren't here tonight. We had seven or eight guys who were pretty good out there, but that's not enough in this league. You need 17-18 guys.

"I'm really disappointed. And for some people, it's a lack of effort. You don't expect this every night, but some people showed where their hearts are tonight to me, not in the right place. It's a game that we may look back on later and say, 'that was a game that cost us home ice [in the playoffs].' That's why I'm disappointed."

After the game, the Capitals heading to Nagano had to grin and bear a beautiful ceremony, where each Olympian was given his country's flag.

The aches and pains of floundering began early for Kolzig when his German flag was carried onto the ice surface upside-down.

Bondra, meanwhile, said he would be thinking about his team's poor effort on the long plane-ride to Nagano.

"The game was disappointing, I'll be thinking about it on the plane," Bondra said. "We have two to three weeks to think about it and get back. Hopefully, we'll play strong the rest of the way and through the playoffs."

Brunette and Caps Set Team Record for Wins in January

No one in the NHL had a better month in January than Washington. The Capitals, who went 9-2-2 last month, tied team records for points (20), highest winning percentage (.769) and fewest losses (2). The Capitals also tied the club mark for the best home record in club history for the month of January, 7-1-1.

The excellent play of left wing Andrew Brunette was a key reason for Washington's success. Since his recall from Portland Dec. 28, Brunette has been one of the most potent players on Washington's roster. He finished second in Player of the Month voting to Anaheim's Paul Kariya, but took home a consolation prize by being named the AHL Graduate of the Month for January. He also has been selected to participate in the AHL All-Star Game. In the 20 games he's played, Brunette has 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists).

"I am very honored to have been selected CCM AHL Graduate of the Month," said Brunette. "My time in Portland gave me the foundation I need to be successful in the NHL."

Skating on the "BOB" line (Brunette-Adam Oates-Bondra), Brunette also has posted one of the season's most remarkable streaks by scoring in each of his last 10 games. In that span, Brunette has tallied 15 points (5 goals, 10 assists). Brunette's line has scored approximately 70 percent of Washington's goals since his arrival.

Brunette's greatest assets are his nose for the net and his great hands. Most of his points have been hard-fought ones near the blue area surrounding the goaltender's crease. Not bad for a player whose slow skating makes his coach wince.

Caps Get Team Plane

AbeAir has landed! AbeAir has landed!

For the first time in team history, the Capitals have their own plane, although they do have to share it with the NBA's Washington Wizards.

The new plane, which was purchased by owner Abe Pollin, is a Boeing 737-200. On the exterior, the plane has a white top and blue belly, separated by single black and bronze stripes. Each team's logo adorns the tail and cockpit.

On the interior, the plane is fully loaded with reclining leather seats and electronic footrests. The plane also includes a training room, as well as three televisions and two videotape players for coaches and players to review game footage.

Washington is only the fourth NHL team to own a plane. However, when the Wizards need it, the Capitals will have to travel the old-fashioned way... by charter.

Preview of Upcoming Report

When NHL play resumes, the next issue of the Washington Capitals team report will feature the hatred fans have developed for the MCI Center. It appears that canned music, a lack of knowledgeable hockey fans, and Washington Sports have gotten on the nerves of longtime Capitals fans.

Phone calls will be placed to Washington Sports, specifically Susan O' Mally. Comments are welcome from our loyal readers. Please e-mail your complaints regarding MCI Center to Caps12@hotmail.com.

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