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The Caps started out tonight's game with so much promise. Through two periods, they had gone over 100 minutes without surrendering a single goal. Their superstar lit the lamp for the first time in six-plus games and they hadn't taken a single penalty on the evening. Then the Achilles' Heel decided to rear its ugly head. Mike Green and Matt Bradley took successive minors in the first five minutes, allowing the Stars to get back into the game. Whether or not the calls were bad is irrelevant. What is relevant is how bad the Caps' penalty kill was, allowing the Stars to get screens in front of Semyon Varlamov to create goals on both third period opportunities.

Then it got worse.

Image Courtesy of ESPN.com

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Since returning from the Olympic break, somethat has seemed just a step off with the Caps' young guns. Nick Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin haven't had their usual goal scoring impact, but the Caps continue to find ways to win. Tonight, the story was another new guy jumping into the fray and a hot goaltender doing his best to secure the top spot heading into the playoffs. It's a winning formula, and Bruce Boudreau will like that just fine.

Ovi and Backstrom will come around eventually, but it's extremely encouraging to see the Caps getting production from their second and third lines. Their talent and depth are going to make them very difficult to beat in the postseason, especially if everyone contributes like they have since the start of 2010. Here are some thoughts on tonights (third straight) win:

The Bloguin Network released its monthy set of Power Rankings this week, and there's plenty to discuss. Feel free to check 'em out. Here's a quick review:

• The Capitals were the overwhelming favorite this month with an overall rating of 1.2. This is the first time they've taken the top spot in the rankings all season.
• Despite handing the Atlantic Division over to the Penguins, the Devils still sit in the top four. Pens' fans have a right to be frustrated with an 8.5 rating and their team down in the ninth spot.
• Unlike many of the other rankings out there, Bloguin splits their top sixteen evenly this month between the Eastern and Western conferences. Are we seeing a change in balance of power?
• Despite clinging to a playoff spot, the Thrashers get no love. They sit in 24th overall.

Image Courtesy of the Washington Post

Don't ever play poker with George McPhee. The guy just knows how to keep everything tight to his vest. At the 2008 trade deadline, he sent waves through the Captials' organization by acquiring Sergei Fedorov, Matt Cooke and Cristobal Huet. Last season, he decided to stand pat, acknowledging that he would have seriously overpaid to acquire any upgrades. On Wednesday, McPhee kept things reasonable, but brought in four players that should help the Caps in some way during the stretch run.

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March is not where hockey legends are born. March is not a time when players are known to battle through injuries and give gutty performances that define a season. However, March is a time for NHL teams to ramp up for deep playoff runs; a time in which they tune their special teams, tweak lines, and manage ice time.

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They looked a little rusty. The (recently) typical slow start seemed inevitable after the first five minutes, but the Caps bounced back and closed out their season series with the Sabres on the road with a win. Considering all the trade deadline hoopla, I'm going to keep this one short and sweet. I'll post some analysis of each pickup later on this afternoon, but let's hit some points from last night's win:

Image Courtesy of Reuters

During this Olympic Break, we Washingtonians are going through a bit of withdrawal. Some of us are having a difficult time deciding who to root for in men's hockey...forced into choosing between our country and our favorite player. Either way you look at the Olympics, you want to see Alex Ovechkin perform to his best ability. He's playing on an international stage and has declared several times just how determined he is to deliver a gold medal to his homeland.

However, those of us watching the games from the Washington D.C. area are apparently not the only group that's missing Alex's gap-toothed grin. Apparently, he's become nearly nonexistent (along with the rest of his Olympic teammates) in Vancouver outside of practice sessions and games. Ovi has basically ignored interview requests from anyone outside of the Russian media, and is gaining a bit of a bad reputation among the rest of the international media. In our day and age, one of the biggest players on that stage is ESPN. The Worldwide Leader has treated hockey worse than bowling and poker over the last decade, but finds it necessary to complain when the sport's biggest star won't come out to shine whenever he is called upon.

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I certainly had to end sometime, right? The Caps finally surrendered their lengthy win streak up in the summer-esque (kidding) conditions of Montreal. Hell, the weather is better there than in Northern Virginia. Anyway, the Caps played like a tired team for two periods, and weren't able to make up a three-goal deficit for the third time in a month. Brooks Laich sure as hell gave it his best effort, notching his first career hat trick, but it just wasn't in the cards tonight.

Entering this season, many people considered Semyon Varlamov the clear favorite to backstop the Capitals come playoff time. From the onset of the season, Varly didn't disappoint, posting only ONE regulation loss and some gaudy numbers along the way. Unfortunately, the biggest knock on the young netminder was his durability, and the expectation of injury ultimately turned to reality in early December. At the point when Varlamov injured his groin, he was either in or near the top ten of all major statistical categories among NHL goalies.

Bruce Boudreau was then asked to rotate an erratic veteran (with a confidence problem) with a rookie goalie (with a handful of starts to his name). While the Caps' offense has been outstanding at points (and downright historic at others), there was still a lot of concern about how well they would be able to perform with questions in their own net. The Caps went 5-6-0 in their first eleven games after Varly's injury, but bounced back with a solid stretch run that brought their record to 22-7 since December 7th.