Game started at 1.00 PM.

2-2 with about 12 minutes left.

Goals :

'Canes: Cole (PP) and Whitney (ES).
Caps: Heward from Muir and Ovechin (PP), and Clymer from Zednik (SH).

Whitney scores again, at even strength. 3-2 'Canes with 10 minutes left.

Staal scores! 4-2.

Final score.

Caps are 3-2-1 in preseason.

WASHINGTON Capitals

Ovechkin Beech Clark
Semin Laich Zednik
Brashear Sutherby Fata
[Brashear] Gordon Giroux

Clymer Eminger
Green Morrisonn
Heward Erskine
+ Muir

Kolzig
(Johnson)

The Staal parents must have had something in their cornflakes.
Mommy and Daddy must be proud of their offsprings .

Live update (I left at 2-0 in the 1st, on the Green penalty):

Clymer sucks on D (at least he did again today)..... bad turnover right in front of Olie, to give the Canes a scoring chance very early on, and then the holding penalty..... back to wing, guy. Stay there.

Ovechkin looked fine in practice, stick-handling a puck through all the loose pucks, but once the bell rang, very lethargic in my eyes.... waiting for the real thing, I hope.

Semin with some good moves early. He looks like he's ready.

Olie with some good saves.

The rest of them, it's pre-season, and it shows.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/01/AR2006100100543.html

Game recap in Monday's Post.

Beech had two goals and Klepis is 1-4-5 in 4 games. Considering the fact that we're looking for a passer (we already have goal scorers, and we only miss passers), I believe that Klepis stays.

Fata and Giroux will probably play in Hershey. Contracts are not a concern, said McPhee. With Pettinger and Zubrus out, one of them could stay for a few games, though, if someone is put on the IR.

Barring injuries, it could be:

Ovechkin Zubrus Clark
Semin Klepis Zednik
Pettinger Sutherby Bradley
Brashear Laich Gordon

With Zubrus, Klepis, Pettinger and Bradley out, we'd have to keep everyone in town:

Ovechkin Beech Clark
Semin Laich Zednik
Brashear Sutherby Gordon
Fata [Laich] Giroux
(with 7 d-men)

About Clymer: he'll make mistakes, of course, but as long as we don't pay all of them by a goal against, it's alright, because he'll score goals, too. I'll give him 10 games.

Giroux to Hershey and Pettinger on the IR, today.

Pettinger to be evaluated "weekly" :

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/03/AR2006100301161.html?nav=rss_sports/capitals

Doesn't sound good.