Around the internets

Tarik talks up last night's game (if there is anything to talk about):

"It's not a matter of not caring or not trying," Coach Glen Hanlon said after the team dropped to 2-6 at home. "There was likely some nervousness out there. They're looking at it as everything is on the line. It was almost a tale of two different teams, the team that started the game and the team that ended the game."

Hanlon became the target of a group of disgruntled fans, who late in the second period began booing and chanting, "Fire Hanlon." Hanlon has been behind the bench since December 2003 and presided over some lean times for the franchise.

Corey on last night:

"I'm sick of being asked about coaching changes," Kolzig said. "That is the furthest thing that needs to happen here. How many shocks do you need?"

And ESPN:

Goalie Olie Kolzig, still sitting in his pads about 15 minutes after the game, made it clear he didn't think the Capitals need a coaching change.

"It's not a lot of fun right now," Kolzig said. "Guys were just being a little too tight. we just need to relax and Glen stressed that after the second period. Guys need to lighten up, loosen up -- it's a hockey game -- and when we did that you saw how we played in the third."

I havent been able to make it to a game in a while, due to work travel. After hearing the same from the Caps locker rooms for the past couple weeks about not scoring goals, I was hopeful that being on home ice would break the dry spell a bit. The Caps did score three goals, but still lost the game. And more then that, they were pretty messy out there. There were some brutal plays, and some flat out lazy plays. Not to mention, checking seemed to have disappeared from the Caps play for a couple periods.

Some thoughts:

- Jeff Schultz and Nicklas Backstrom need to gain some weight and start hitting people. I have consistently seen Schultz getting shoved around a bit this season, and not doing a whole lot back. Its more understandable with Backstrom, but he needs to start throwing his weight around more.

- Alex Semin...I should cut him some slack, since its his first game back. So I wont go on about how he looked lazy out there for the first two periods.

- Caps defense - - there were definitely way too many breakdowns out there. I stopped counting how many times I saw Olie with one side not covered by a defensemen, but with a Panthers player standing there.

- I am not part of the "Fire Hanlon!" group. I think he has done the most that he can with what he has....but if the Caps dont pick up the pace, they might be seeing their "players coach" go out the door