Caps practice update: power play the focus

A quick update before I start writing my story for the paper:

*Coach Bruce Boudreau sounded hopeful that both Shaone Morrisonn and Joe Corvo will be able to suit up tomorrow after skipping practice today with undisclosed ailments.

*Boudreau also spent the majority of practice working on the power play, which is 0 for 14 in these playoffs and a season-worst 0 for 21 dating back to the regular season. Today's units were: Brooks Laich, Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green and Alex Ovechkin; and Eric Fehr, Mike Knuble, Tomas Fleischmann, Tom Poti and Brendan Morrison.

The practice focused mostly on puck movement and positioning since there were no penalty killers (Boudreau doesn't want anyone to get hurt blocking a shot). But the session was also cut short when Coach Bruce Boudreau noticed one of Montreal's "head coaches" watching from the stands.

"There were other people watching and I didn't want to see what we were working on," Boudreau said. "I saw one of their head coaches on the other side. I don't know if he was watching, but you want to [practice the power play] when you're amongst your own guys."

"He was out there talking to someone else, not paying much attention to us at all," Boudreau added. "But it was brought to my attention that he was out there then I stopped ..."

It's not uncommon for a coach, or an entire staff, to watch the other team's morning skate from the stands. It's more rare for coaches to watch another team's practice in the NHL, though there are no rules prohibiting it.

"I don't even know when they practice or where they practice," Boudreau said when asked if he planned to have any of his staffers at Montreal's afternoon practice at Centre Bell. "We won't have anybody there."



*Alex Ovechkin had the line of the day today. Jose Theodore was speaking to reporters and drinking water from a bottle in the dressing room when the two-time MVP walked past. Ovechkin smiled and said, "Is your hand shaking?". It was, of course, a reference to his comment earlier this week about Jaroslav Halak and totally appreciated by Theodore, who cracked up.

*Speaking of Theodore, he seemed at ease this morning.

"The last 25 games, I didn't play more than 25 games in a row," he said. "He uses both guys and he felt he needed a change. So far it's been working. But I'm going to be ready because it goes both ways. It was like that all year and we finished first."

"Varly stepped in and is doing a great job," he added. "And when I'm ready, I'm going to do a good job."

*Varlamov declined to speak to the big media hoard, but he later relented and spoke to me in English in the hallway outside of the room. His English, by the way, has come along to the point where he's completely conversational.

"The first period was difficult for me and for the team because Montreal starting power[ful]," he said. "I had to play well."

Varlamov also said there was the silver lining to the groin and knee injuries that cost him two months this season was that it allowed him to work hard with the team's strength and conditioning coach to build up his core and leg strength while increasing his already impressive flexibility. That, he hopes, will help in guard against future injuries.