Notes at Noon: Mike Murphy Shines in Charlotte, Caps Lay Egg Against Bolts

Charlotte Checkers goalie Mike Murphy pitched a 44 save shutout as the Checkers held on for a 1-0 win over the  Wilkes/Barre-Scranton Pens at Time Warner Cable Arena last night.  The Checkers now have a 3-1 lead in the series. Chris Terry had the game-winner.

Wilson attended the game and will have a more detailed recap later this afternoon.

I will be attending the game tomorrow night and will have an open thread/live blog starting at 7. The game will be televised by Time Warner Cable.

In other brief news....

The Tampa Bay Lightning swept the Washington Capitals right out of the playoffs last night and they did it without the services of Simon Gagne and Pavel Kubina.  "Old Man" Dwayne Roloson performed very well in the series. 

It's hard to put your finger on what exactly is wrong with the Caps once they reach the postseason.  They obviously have talent, but it takes grit and a lot of desire to grind things out in the playoffs.  Bruce Boudreau seems to get out-coached in a series, but I don't think you can lay all of their problems on coaching.

It will be interesting to see what happens in DC this offseason.  

Caps owner, Ted Leonsis, posted a nice article on his blog this morning, which included a thank you and an apology to fans.   

Thank you for your support during this grind of a season.

Thank you for caring so much. I am so very sorry we let you all down.

There is nothing new to report that is hockey related over at "Karmanos Unplugged".  That's not to imply that Leonsis cares more about hockey than Karmanos, but the Caps owner is certainly a master of marketing himself, as well as his team, and that is something the Hurricanes could use more of.