By Tarik El-Bashir
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 14, 2007

When Mike Green checked his cellphone after Wednesday's game, about a dozen voice mails were awaiting the Washington Capitals defenseman. His agent, friends, family members and even some old acquaintances he hadn't heard from in years had left messages congratulating him on his career-best performance in a 5-4 victory over the New York Rangers.

Green had notched a beautiful winner in overtime, also had two assists and skated a career-high 30 minutes 5 seconds (without taking a short-handed shift). His goal was shown over and over on sports highlight shows in the United States and Canada.

"It was a lot," Green said of the number of calls he had received. "Probably 10 or 12 -- a lot more than usual after a game, that's for sure."

Given his play the past three weeks, some might say his cellphone isn't the only thing blowing up. Green's goal against the Rangers was his eighth, which gives him six more than last season and moved him into the league lead among defensemen (through Wednesday's games). It also put the offensive-minded defenseman second on the Capitals in goals behind Alex Ovechkin, who has 22.

"You just never know when a player is going to break through," General Manager George McPhee said, referring to Green, the 29th overall draft pick in 2004. "We thought it might be last year. But it seems to be happening this year."

More specifically, it has been happening under interim coach Bruce Boudreau, who forged a strong relationship with the 22-year-old in Hershey (Pa.) of the American Hockey League. Since Boudreau took over in Washington on Nov. 22, a span of 10 games, Green has five goals, a plus-minus rating of plus-8 and is a big reason the team is 6-3-1 in that span.

Green, a native of Calgary, could not have picked a better time to break out. He's earning $850,00 in the final year of his entry-level contract but stands to earn a significant raise -- in the range of $3 million to $4 million per year, or more -- on his next deal. The sides have not begun discussing an extension.

Green credits his offensive boom to an increase in playing time under Boudreau.

"As a player, the more you play, you get more confidence," he said.

Boudreau jokingly compared Green to the Incredible Hulk.

"The madder [the Hulk] got, the stronger he got," Boudreau said. "Greener is my Hulk, because the more he plays, the stronger he gets. He was skating faster at the end of the [Rangers] game than he was at the beginning."

That was never more apparent than on Wednesday. Green made a scintillating deke in the final seconds of regulation in the slot, nearly helping the Capitals avoid overtime altogether. But then in the extra session, he finished a pass from Brooks Laich on a two-on-one, firing the puck past one of the game's best goalies, Henrik Lundqvist.

Green still can improve in his own end, as is the case with most young defenseman. But he has been getting better there, too, as well as learning when to attack and when to get back.

"Now he knows what he can do and what he can't do," defenseman Tom Poti said. "He's learned that it's a lot better for offensive defensemen to join the rush rather than lead it. You can come late, get the puck, make plays and you can read when you should hang back or go.

"He's a big part of the reason we're winning. He's taking that next step. But I don't think he's as good as he's going to get."

Capitals Notes: Michael Nylander, who missed the past four games with a shoulder injury, is expected to return to the lineup tonight against the Buffalo Sabres. During yesterday's practice, the veteran center skated on the second line with Alexander Semin and Matt Pettinger. The first line was Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Viktor Kozlov. . . . Chris Clark (strained groin muscle) and Boyd Gordon (broken right hand) are on injured reserve and are out.