Capitals: Rolling Deep

Ever since Shawn Germain quit the club in September, the Edinburgh Capitals have been a man short on D.

But the arrival of American defenceman Sean Perkins has eased the pressure on the other defencemen.

The improving Capitals are now ranked eighth in the Elite League and Tuesday’s 4-2 victory against Basingstoke pushed them five points clear of the Bison.

“Bringing in guys like Sean Perkins and Roman Nesrsta has given us a bit more depth,” Christiansen told skysports.com.

“Rolling with four defencemen is a tough way to play in this league and Sean’s a player coming in off a championship team. He knows what it takes to win and will be important for us down the stretch.”

Perkins, 22, moved to Scotland after a stint with the championship-winning Cincinnati Cyclones in the ECHL and has joined a blueline that features two-way D-men Taylor Christie and Joe Dustin.

“Sean’s a skilled player who skates very well,” Christiansen added.

“I think on the Olympic sized ice he’ll do very well for us. He can distribute the puck and join the rush. We want him to come over and excel.

“I spoke to him about the opportunity to play here and have more ice time than he was getting at home. He’s come in and started well so I’ve got nothing but good first impressions of him.”

Here one minute, gone the next

Well, at least Jeff Hutchins had time for a cup of coffee in Edinburgh.

Six games and eight points later the Hutchins era in Murrayfield is all over and now he's back on Tyneside, where Lee Ryder of the Evening Chronicle thinks he'll get a cold reception:

"And, in another twist, the return of unpopular (skater) Jeff Hutchins will also prompt a mixed response from season ticket holders."

After Hutchins' quick move to the Vipers, Capitals player-coach Doug Christiansen remained philosophical.

“I’ve absolutely no ill will towards him and I told Jeff that I wouldn’t hold him back,” admitted Christiansen, in an interview with skysports.com.

"I’ve know him for 10 years and he came up here to do a job to help turnaround our season and we won three of the games that he started. So he helped us out a lot but on the other side of the coin it’s disappointing that he’s going to a team that we’re trying to catch like Newcastle."

After elite hockey today recently reported that the Capitals had put goalie Michel Robinson on two weeks notice, Christiansen said he was considering further transactions to improve the Capitals’ roster.

“What we do now depends on financial constraints,” he said.

“We’re going to do our absolute best to put the best team on the ice and it’s my job is to rebuild the team as quickly as possible.”

Robinson squashed

The goalie carousel has grinded to a sudden halt in Edinburgh...

In an interview with skysports.com, Caps player coach Doug Christiansen revealed that Michel Robinson has been given two weeks notice.

The Capitals have replaced Robinson with Finnish goalie Pasi Raitanen, who played in Thursday’s 4-1 win over the Newcastle Vipers.

Edinburgh have used three foreign netminders this season, including backup goalie Jacey Moore.

“Pasi is signed with the club and Michel Robinson has been given his two weeks notice,” Christiansen confirmed.

“Michel will be here for the next two weeks and he and Pasi will be working on the goaltending duties. Moore has been de-activated.”

Raitanen’s performance on Thursday gave the Capitals their first win in October and moved them off the bottom of the Elite League table.

Raitanen, 37, has won two out of three starts for the Capitals this season, including a huge upset in the season opener against Sheffield, and Christiansen believes that his presence will give the struggling Scottish club the boost they need.

“It’s a big lift for us,” Christiansen added.

“Things didn’t go well for Robinson at times and he struggled, but a lot of times we struggled in front of him. It wasn’t just him it was our team defence. Sometimes there isn’t a rhyme or reason, but Pasi’s done well when he’s played and we’re looking forward to going forward with him in net.”

Raitanen has played for a host of teams in Britain and has also spent time this season working with former Edinburgh netminder JF Perras in Coventry.

Christiansen, who added import forward Jeff Hutchins to the Capitals roster this week, said that he was still considering making further changes to the squad.

“Right now we’re going to see how things go,” Christiansen said.

“You don’t want to change everything overnight but there could be a couple more transactions. There are a lot of good players and good characters on this team and we’re feeling better going into this weekend’s games.”