No posts = Happy blogger

I think the Caps success is inversely proportional to my stress level. i.e. Caps play well and will make the playoffs and I'm a happy dude. Play poorly and look like poo; I'm sending posts from my bed via the phone at 3:00 am.

Ergo, I'm not posting too much. The Caps look pretty good. They still lose their focus for a period or two at a time against teams like Los Angeles and Ottawa making those games much tougher than they should be but overall I'm pretty happy.

However, my stress level will be on the rise here for the next couple of weeks as the trade deadline approaches. I'm of the opinion that there are better options out for a big shutdown D-man than Sha-Mo. His struggles this year have been pretty well documented and will be replaced next year by a less expensive candidate including Tyler Sloan or Sean Collins. If he were to be packaged up for a rental D with a pick, I'd be ecstatic.

Caps 5 - Rags 4 - Timeline of events

Tuesday - December 23, 2008

11:31 am - FeedReader RSS reader alerts me from Capitals Insider, Tarik El-Bashir "Johnson Sick; Theodore to Start".

11:32 am - I get in my car to go to Publix to buy more beer.

11:35 am - I realize that 8 beers is probably enough and change headings to ABC for bourbon.

Noon - 5:15 pm - Some nervous pacing/semblance of work transpires.

5:15 pm - (a.k.a beer:30) pssshhht.
5:30 pm - psshhht.
5:45 pm - psshhht.
6:00 pm - Remember that I need to make dinner for my wife. Heh, heh.
6:15 pm - psshhht. Put nurishment in body.
6:30 pm - psshhht. XBox to ease the mind until 7:00 start.
7:00 pm - Game at MSG commences
7:15 pm - 0-1 Rangers. Send first of many, "I told you so" text messages to JT believers.
7:20 pm - 0-2 Rangers. Sulk. Psshhht.
7:21 pm - 0-3 Rangers. Practice my George McPhee voice while figuring out how to get in touch with Ray Emery's cell phone number.

"Ray, this is George. We'd like to have you be a goalietender..." Try again.

"Mr. Emery. Are you available? err... Not personally but as a
goaltender, professional-ly. As a professional goaltender..." Try again.

"Agent E? This is HQ. The plan that we discussed in Antwerp over the summer is in effect. Repeat: It's gone 100% off the reservation. We're instituting Plan B. Operation: HOLY GOALIE. Return to Washington for reassignment." I like that one.

7:30 pm - Calmness ensues as Brett Johnson, with shaking and tremors visible on camera, stops all the pucks. (Then barfs in ice bucket next to Zamboni).

8:00 pm - JT resumes his netminding duties. Pssshhht. Locate the bourbon and put the 2-Liter Coke on stand-by.

8:05 pm - 0-4 Rangers. Screw the Coke.

8:15 pm - I'm heavily into my drink and playing Vexed on the phone with one eye closed when Alex changes the game in his next three shifts.

1. Caps kill a penalty at the 9 minute mark. Oveckhin steps on with Backstrom and Kozlov and have a nice tic-tac-toe to Ovie down low where he knocks it off Lundquist's blocker/shoulder. He bolts back to the net as the whistle blows. Takes a cheapie by Stall and butt ends him to the gut. He starts a scrum. I smile.
2. At the 12 minute mark, he takes a shift that's a minute and thirty seconds long. He enters the zone twice in control of the puck then shoots. The team loses the zone but he nails Redden in the corner. Rangers defense and Kozlov change but the Sloan pushes the puck right back to Ovie now with Fehr and Backstrom. Staal and Roszival both follow Backstrom into the corner leaving Zherdev to cover Ovie. He spins and fires a fluky goal that deflects off of Roszival. There is half-hearted much-rejoicing Pythonesque, "And the good guys score, yeah." On the next shift. Laich, Kozlov, and Fleischmann turn up the intensity and get a couple more shots off. Sam Rosen remarks that the momentum in the game has shifted. I put away my phone.
3. At the 15 minute mark, #8 resumes his terror. He blasts around/through Redden then later in the shift outmuscles Mara and Kalinin to get to the front of the net for a deflection. Gets the rebound, takes it around the net with Mara slashing him. Punches the puck to Backstrom who gives it to Kozlov in the slot. Kozzie rips a shot that deflects into the netting as he gets hit by Mara. Ovie steps between Mara and Kozlov at the whistle then turns to camera as it breaks for commercial and yells "Fuck" loud enough for MSG and all its microphones to pickup. I start to drink water.

The third period was blissful. Ovie hit anything that moved and Theodore stopped the puck. Then the Caps came back and won. After the game, I sat in disbelief with chills staring at the Center Ice "Good Night" message and listening to the porn soundtrack for a solid 10 minutes.

I wanted to write about this game but I didn't think writing after that many beers was productive (it shows I still had some sense about me). Realizing I had the DVR running, I give a big smile, and remark to my wife that this is in the top five of the 1000's of Caps games I have ever seen. Then, I went to bed* and had glorious Caps dreams.

*Editorial note - This last part is not true. Before bed, I set up the motion detector on my webcam to figure out which dog is pissing on the patio. This, of course, failed miserably when the battery died around 2:00 am because drunk ass forgot to plug in the A/C adapter. Secretly, I fear that I'm the one doing the patio pissing and subconsciously "forgot" the power supply. Going immediately to bed just sounded better than having to explain my vain attempt to delay the inevitable realization that I'm in a territorial pissing contest with a husky and a rottweiler. Never let the truth get in the way of a good story, eh?

Between the Pipes/Between the Ears

There are three main points to take away from the Flyers debacle of Saturday.
1. The Caps can generate some offensive chances
2. Great goaltending is pretty special to have on your side
3. The Caps are in need of a third line agitator/middleweight

Problem #1:
Having a lotta "O" is not really a problem. Even with Semin and Fedorov on the shelf for much of the season, the Caps can generate many offensive opportunities. This is a point, not a problem. I'm an idiot.

Problem #2:
This is THE elephant in the room. On Frozen Blog put up a link to some video stating that the Caps are actively looking for goaltending. Yesterday was a painful reminder of the importance of timely goaltending. Johnson has outplayed Theodore for most of the year but has the knock against him that he can lapse. I've seen arguments that even elite goaltenders have off nights, but Johnson has rarely been called elite so he needs to prove himself night after night. In regards to their goaltending, tt seems the Caps have the following choices at this point:

a. No changes and ride Johnson and Theodore. Risks: .792 save percentage at exactly the wrong time. Advantages: No further expenditures
b. Keep the goaltending and upgrade the defense. Risks: This assumes that your goaltending is Chris Osgood good and you're stating that your goaltending doesn't need to be great if your overall team defense is bad to the bone. Currently, I'd say our team defense is bad to marrow which is very different than the bone. When the #1 pairing is a 20 year old rookie and Milan Jurcina (a.k.a. the playoff puck coughing up machine), you've got issues. Advantages: Caps have a considerable number of offensive players and prospects. If a palatable package could swing a genuine minute munchin Top 4 d-man, it could make the goaltending more attractive.
c. Give up on Theodore and bring up Varlamov. Risks: Ruining the kid, a la Jim Carey. Advantages: By waiving Theodore, the Caps could rid them of his contract (let's be realistic). I think the Caps are a much better team with a Johnson/Varlamov pairing then with Theodore. He's just not good.
d. Trade for another #1. Risks: We may have to give up some valuable assets for an aged starter like Dwayne Roloson. Plus who knows how bad the defense will make the next guy look? Advantages: We could shed some salary (ahem... Nylander).
e. Call Ray Emery's cell phone. Risks: heh, heh, heh Advantages: No doubt he is a competitor that may relish another kick at the can. With a performance laden contract... its just crazy enough to work.

Problem #3
It was pointed out by several that the Caps were exposed horribly for a lack of second tier of toughness in St. Louis game with no retaliation for the Backes cross-check to Semin. God bless Matt Bradley for getting his ass kicked every 7th game, but there needs to be another tier of toughness on the ice that can get sprinkled into the 2nd and 3rd lines. I think back to the Scrapitals of circa 1990 with a heavyweight (May) plus several middleweights (Hunter, Kypreos, Cicarelli). McPhee recognized this last year when he traded for Matt Cooke. Cooke may not have added much on the score sheet but the team was more aggressive when he played and less likely to back down when confronted with a hard checking team like Minnesota, San Jose, Boston, or St. Louis. I think with Sundin's addition to Vancouver, there may be a move to make two very dangerous lines making the feisty forwards of Burrows or Kesler expendable. Likewise, Kevin Bieksa is tough and would upgrade the backline. I like Laperriere and McLeod in Colorado, Carcillo in Phoenix, and Neil in Ottawa. Then there's always Ray Emery...

Friday musings...

A couple of notes about the Caps this morning...

1. Lepisto could benefit from greatly from pressure drills. You know like a drill where rushing forwards scream obscenities at him and throw ground beef at his feet while he tries to move the puck with a pair chopsticks.

2. The Caps keep getting burned by guys coming out of the penalty box.

3. If the Caps need to dish a forward to a team with some more proven puckhandling d-men, call Doug Risebrough of the Wild.

4. Steckel seemed to move his feet last night better than games past. He still took a hooking penalty in the 2nd but he was playing with some giddiyup.

5. Is a regular season pointless knowing that there's a juggernaut waiting from the West that pounds opponents, even when the play badly, like veal piccata?

Introducing your Washington Bears!

I guess there's a reason that defensemen spend a couple years getting seasoned in the minors, huh? I can't speak directly to how terrible that the blueline played last night against Florida, but can from different accounts see that some troubling trends are emerging from the Caps.

Most of their current woes are the result of the defense facing constant pressure and coughing up the puck on the forecheck. To alleviate this, the defense has been instructed to make safe choices and simplify their game. This leads to the second biggest problem which is... generating consistent offense. Currently the Caps are suffering from poor outlet passes being generated from our defensemen. Poti, Green, and even Fedorov in his limited duties have been stalwarts on getting the puck into the attack zone with speed. Currently, the puck gets to the neutral zone but loses momentum as our forwards have to fight to retain possession... let alone enter the attack zone under control.

The short term answer is to keep it simple and not make dumb mistakes such as delay of game penalties (i.e. Fehr), obstruction in the offensive zone (i.e. Nylander), and save the inevitable infraction for those that are really needed like getting caught flatfooted at the blueline (i.e. ALL CURRENT DEFENSEMEN). The longterm response is get better soon.

Playing with the 2008-2009 Roster

I built a spreadsheet with Excel and imported it into Google Spreadsheets to help calculate the 2008-2009 opening night roster and it's cost. Currently, the Capitals have 14 people signed for next season. This number does not reflect UFAs (currently with Caps and those not) and RFAs.

Directions to use the spreadsheet:

1. Choose to "Edit this spreadsheet" by clicking on the link at the bottom of the page (permissions should be open)
2. To add a player to roster place a "1" next to their name in the "On Roster" column
3. If you're adding an RFA or UFA, be sure to give them a salary that they're worth for next season.
4. Be sure the Roster total number equals between 20 and 23 with rightful position totals represented
5. Keep the salary cap as low as possible AND get the best team

Giving Green a conservative bump to $5.5m and keeping Huet at around $5m, I'm getting a number around $54m which is awfully darn close to the expected salary cap. Will GM be spending that high or will assets need to be "shifted"? It should make for an interesting off-season.

Have fun.

(Thanks to NHLSCAP for the salary data).

Time to Drink a Beer and Chill Out

Flyers Series Recap
In retrospect, the flyers played a good series all the way around. I thought they were the more consistent team during the series and were the beneficiaries of the majority of the tight calls. A fan can whine about the calls and that's okay because its a defense mechanism much like the objects tossed on the ice are a sign of abject pain than a lack of respect for the Flyers (maybe with the exception of Briere). But I think once the pain goes away, you begin to realize that:

1. The Caps were seriously outplayed in the first three games yet stole one
2. The Flyers were too good to rollover for three straight games
3. Received stellar goaltending from Biron when it mattered most
4. Took advantage of mistakes; their Power Play was flawless

I think every Caps fan that knows the difference between a charge and a boarding call would take Mike Richards or Jeff Carter on the team in a Flash (heh, heh). If you ever listen to a player that has won the Stanley Cup, the three things they say that allowed them to prevail over other good teams are: consistency, team depth, and luck. Of those three, the Caps only had one in the first series. With better consistency next year, we'll make our own luck.

Sidenote: Capitals fans must notice the irony of game 1 of the Montreal-Philly game as the Flyers outplayed Montreal, but lost the game because of some perceived poor refereeing. Those that live in glass houses...

The End of the Season
Actually, now is the time when I don't need 5-6 beers per Caps game because quite simply, they don't exist. Now I can enjoy a single beer, relax, sleep easier and go about my day thinking about other things than Caps hockey. Some would find this peaceful and relaxing, I think it stinks.

I'm looking forward towards the draft, free agency, training camp, and opening night (in that order). Those dates are like vacations that seem so far away right now but you know will be here before you know it.

Decision Time
This offseason is perhaps the most important one in the club's rise from rebuild-to-juggernaut. Basing my figures from various sources such as NHLSCAP.com and the NHLPA, I figure the Caps paid out about $44M in salary this year (including Jagr). With the new contracts kicking in for Semin and Ovie, the Caps are already committed to $38M for next year before you factor in all the UFAs and RFAs on their current roster. Meaning that the $38M doesn't include a starting netminder (Olie or Huet), Mike Green, Brooks Laich, Boyd Gordon, Matt Bradley, Matt Cooke, Eminger, Morrisonn, Fehr, or Sergei Fedorov.

My quick take is that it's going to very difficult to sign everybody under the cap and have the requisite wiggle room that smart teams keep. This will lead to difficult decisions around the higher paid unsigned players such as Green, Fedorov, and Huet. My assumption here obviously is that Green will be one of the top paid players next year and should command a great deal of attention going into free agency if the Capitals do not get him under contract quickly. More on this later.

Game 7 - Viewing Location

We're going to the Smokey Bones on E. Colonial near the Executive Airport in Orlando and not the Ale House. HERE is a map to its location if you're not familiar with it. It seems an employee there is a Caps fan and has commandeered the back widescreen for the game and festivities tonight.

I haven't spoken with that person but I've invited myself along anyway. Woohoo! I'll be wearing the purple teddy, knee socks, and Caps baseball cap. Wait a sec... I wore that last night. Hmm, I'll wear a faded a red t-shirt, a black Caps hat, and my unshaven scruff (I'm a dude).

See you there.

Game 6 - Recap/ Game 7 - Tomorrow

On this game, there was no Lilliputian effort anywhere to be found on the Caps squad... except for the Flyer's second goal by Danny Briere. Anywho, the Caps resembled a band of giants as they came out of a scoring drought in the middle of the second and continued their strong play through the end of 3rd. The difference-maker was Huet's effort after the score was 0-2. He cannot be faulted on the two goals scored against, but he can be given great PROPs for the goals he stopped especially during the Flyer power plays during the second and third periods. He was simply superb.

I noted after the first, that Ovechkin needed to pull his head out of his ass. He was looking for goals in this game, no doubt. He frequently turned down passing opportunities to shoot, getting off 9 shots on goal in the process. However, he came up with his two biggest goals of the post-season so I can give him a free pass on his inability to dish the puck to anybody else... except the goalie... at 100 mph... whizzing by his friggin' ear. Okay, he's Ovie and he rules.

Down the lineup, the team played great. Bradley, Brashear, Steckel, Gordon, and Eminger were solid. Semin made up for his roughing gaffe with a 1G 1A night and Laich is becoming a go-to stud. I'm not new to his skills (20 goals is pretty sweet), but Laich is getting something going every game. His bouts of invisibility that plagued last season and first third of this season, are gone.
--------------------------------------------------------------
On to Game 7 and they just ran the greatest NHL commercial for Versus: "I am a ceiling..."
http://www.versus.com/nhlplayoffs_video?ID=7.

That sums it up beautifully. Tomorrow, watch for some crease-crashing Hartnell idiocy and a crowd in the VC that will be setting off those little earthquake meter/monitor counter dial thingies in Georgetown. You know, geiger counters for earthquakes. They're going to feel it in ... never mind.

By the way, a couple of us will be heading to the Orlando Ale House in Winter Park for the game if interested. Leave some here or shoot a PM.

7PM, April 22nd is a loooong 19 hours away, but let us thank all things good in the world that the game isn't played Wednesday. Good night and good luck sleeping.

Game 5 - Redux

We won. Sorry there were no posts but, I was abducted by Lilliputians and forced to listen to polka for two straight days. And as we all know, there's simply no blogging in Lilliput.

Game 4 - Recap

The Caps matched the Flyer's intensity in this one. It's the first game where they put forth an effort that was good enough to win, unfortunately, they weren't the recipients of any breaks. The referees fail to award two double-minors for highstick cuts to Semin and Bradley, then their momentum was destroyed at the end of regulation by having to PK Kozlov's imaginary goalie interference call.

A wise man once said, "A good team makes its own breaks." I'm far too lazy to Google the name of that wise man, but regardless I thought we were a good team when we killed Kozlov's imaginary. That kill seemed like a sign. To get a win, however, good and bad teams need sustained intensity and some luck to get a win.

Tomorrow will feel much worse being down 3-1 instead of tied 2-2... where's the Advil?

Game 4 - OT #1

It's hard to talk smack when the next goal wins. So no smack here except Danny Briere. A little known fact about Briere is that he was adopted. By a pair of infertile housecats. Really.

When is the NHL going to create a "The Cup Changes Everything Commercial" with Pat Thoresen.... oooh. Low blow.

Six beers and counting. 6:30 will come quickly tomorrow. I was talking with Peaker (remember him?) between periods and reminisced that back in "the day" 6 beers wouldn't have made it through pre-game.

Game 4 - Third Period

3rd period thoughts:

• Too many men? twice? It's like managing a team of 12 year olds. I guess it's a good sign that they want to be on the ice.
  
• Good/Evil, Matter/Anti-Matter... all positives are counterbalanced in this universe with an equal and opposite negative. Every time Briere scores a goal, somewhere a puppy dies of neglect.
  
• Had the Flyer's scored on Kozlov's goaltender interference call, Referee Hasenfranz would forever be removed from my Hanukkah card list. In fact, screw it, he's gone.

Game 4 - First 40 Minutes

I'm watching on Versus with Forslund, Bob Harwood, and Eddie O doing the color. The team has jumped ship and are counting the Caps out. Richards is suddently the second coming of Eddie Shore and Danny "Spearchucker" Briere is Mario Friggin-Lemieux. Oh well. I hope the Caps make them eat their human interest stories. Some thoughts thus far:

• I loved watching Briere leave the box after the PP goal
  
• Two double minors missed. Bradley and Semin's cuts have us looking like a M.A.S.H unit
  
• Twice in the second period Eddie Olcyk called for the Flyers to get more in the face of the Huet. Like they need encouragement? It's like counseling Charles Manson to get organized and start keeping 'to do' lists.

Maybe more later. Dunno. Four dead soldiers down after 2. Wife and neighbors much happier with my beery state. My playoff motto: A Numb Daddy makes for No Broken Furniture... It's not a real snappy motto, but I'm working on it.

Ay Carumba

At about the 8 minute of the 3rd period in tonight's game, the Caps suddenly woke up. They looked around all groggily-eyed and said a collective, "Holy S$it! We're in the playoffs." From that moment on, they played well and looked like they could complete with the Flyers in this series. Let's hope the doesn't hit snooze and goes back to sleep for the next two periods or they can remain asleep until October.

I won't go into detail on why they lost tonight other than a summary: lack of commitment and turnovers. Fehr looked good. Eminger will play again. Somebody got in a fight. Things are looking up.

Goodnight Caps nation.

Perfect Storm of Bluster and Blunder

On Sunday, I got a phone call about 5 minutes before Sunday's Caps/Flyers game asking me if I was ready for the game, from my mother-in-law. "Are you wearing red, painting your face and all that?", she asked. I chuckled. She's been following the Caps through my wife, myself, and even through this blog for the last couple of weeks giving me words of encouragement, asking about the team, etc. She's been very encouraging, not by supporting the Caps, per se, but instead by supporting the supporters of the Caps. Who else but a mother could be a supporter of supporters?

She finished by saying that she would be watching the game at her house. Wow. The most amazing part of all this was that she would be watching this game voluntarily. If she was visiting at my house, well, there's no question what she would be doing. She'd be watching the Caps. Or at least she'd be yelling encouraging things like "Kill the quarterback!" while watching me, watch the Caps. Instead she put aside her Sunday afternoon to watch the Caps herself. I may have a true convert on my hands. Then, of course, the Caps laid an egg and even worse, they seemed to be belittled by the broadcast team. As a long-time, my skin is admittedly thin and cannot be relied upon to form an unbiased judgement about a game, but many things about this broadcast in particular bothered me.

When I talked with my mother-in-law earlier today, she offered, "I think they were emotionally spent after the Friday victory. They'll be fine." Then I asked her what she thought of the broadcast. Without prompting, she asked, "What? You mean why were they so against Washington?"

Of the NBC broadcast on Sunday, the nicest thing I can say is that it did not paint the Washington Capitals product or organization in nicest of terms. To put a finer point on that statement, to an outsider like say, my mother-in-law, "It seemed like, for whatever reason, they didn't care for the Capitals." Funny thing is she didn't even hear Milbury's "Crapitals" statement. When I told her about the Milbury comment, she asked in disbelief, "That's inexcusable. How can NBC let that happen?"

Most of the time I can defend the sport to the uninitiated, but I could not defend NBC. Mick Kern defends Milbury by saying essentially, "Hey Don Cherry talks out of his ass all the time. Don't get your panties in a wad." That defense is not applicable because Cherry is a bigoted, walking lawsuit waiting to happen. His blood and guts, Swedish meatball, xenophobic rhetoric would never be tolerated in the States, so there's no reason to invent one with a Milbury. While in the employment of NBC, the statements of their broadcasters, unless clarified with an editorial caveat, represent those of NBC as a whole. Capitals owner, Ted Leonsis, wrote in his blog earlier today that Milbury called him to apologize. He accepted the apology and asked the fanbase to move on, but he should demand more of NBC as an organization.

The Caps were outplayed in most aspects of the game, so criticism was deserved. However, the NBC general tone was condescending and one-sided. If you look at the makeup of the broadcast team for this game, you can begin to understand their collective and individual bias. Milbury (Boston, NYI), McGuire (Pittsburgh), and Emrick (Devils) are more familiar with the Atlantic division and have treated their Southeast rivals as second-class organizations that should relocate to a more deserving hockey market.

Compare the Sunday NBC game to the Friday coverage from Versus. The Versus studio crew of Patrick, Engblom, Jones, and (recently) Manny Legace is not afraid to voice their opinion while remaining impartial to the play of the teams. They discussing in terms of do's and don'ts. They make their picks playfully as would a bunch of buddies playing in a fantasy league. They are respectful of each other, the game, and the teams they cover.

The Versus play-by-play was done by John Forslund, a Southeastern broadcaster from Carolina. Being from the Southeast, Forslund could match the correct Capitals to their numbers, knew player's names, pronounced them correctly, made great observations, and managed to make no disparaging remarks.

While I don't enjoy that casual fans cannot via "ESPN-ubiquity" accidentally stumble into a hockey game, I do truly enjoy the Versus product. Unfortunately, it took this load of NBCrap that passes itself as the echelon of our country's hockey coverage for me to realize how much more enjoyable a game on Versus truly is. If only I could get Versus in HD... my cable company gets my next call.

So, what we can learn from a game like this is that "national" broadcast teams, no matter how hard they may try, are never devoid of biases. Very few of the "talent" on Versus or NBC get their entire paycheck from the network and in some way are affiliated with local coverage somewhere. Maybe in the future, national broadcast teams should be comprised from different regions much like playoff referees are assembled in college football. Maybe if NBC wants to stock their coverage team with opinionated characters, they should keep a Bill Patrick handy to settle the fireworks. Maybe, now that the writer's strike is over NBC could pay a writer or two that can at least give some direction to their studio talent rather than letting Pierre McGuire and Mike Milbury "wing it" between periods risking lawsuit or the loss of a sponsor. Or, maybe NBC can put some quality control measures in place... like my mother-in-law. "You can't go broadcasting crap like that, you'll catch your death."

Recap: How Did We Get Here

Let's ask a question of you (oh wise beyond your years reader), how did the Capitals make it to this dance?

a. Did we squeak into the post-season on the brilliant play of Alex Ovechkin? Alex sold tickets, sold the refreshments, hired the band, was the emotional conduit, and was the emcee for the dance but he didn't break down the door.

b. Did we get to the post-season through our shutdown defense? Ha, ha. Not on your life.

c. Did we get into the playoffs because the team lost one game in its last thirteen? Did we get into the playoffs because Cristobal Huet has been unstoppable since the Backstrom own-goal? If you picked 'C', DING-DING-DING. You win a...well, nothing except a congratulations for your keen observations. (I'm not much for giving out prizes right now)

With that in mind, how the hell can you not defend Huet when Hartnell runs over the goalie and shoves his face into the ice?

I'm not the only one who noticed this treatment. From Philly.com this morning:

Bruce Boudreau is a little annoyed at all the traffic in front of goaltender Cristobal Huet, particularly Scott Hartnell, who drew a first-period penalty for goaltender interference. Hartnell steamrolled Huet and rubbed his face into the ice for good measure. "We know what they're doing," Boudreau said. "Sometimes you play a little safer in the playoffs. But we have to protect our own" . . .

Hartnell got two minutes for his work so it would have been a perfect opportunity for somebody to take him to task either with a couple of extra cross-checks or, god-forbid, a fight and take the instigator. As it was Huet was the only one giving Hartnell any extra abuse (and it was as lame as you may expect a goalie to dish out). Hartnell is a tough guy and admittedly, the personnel wasn't on the ice at that time that normally takes care of such things. However, there was a stretch in the second where Bruce matched up Brashear and Bradley against Hartnell line. The announcers were bemoaning the move as an advantage for the Flyers but they didn't understand Bruce's intentions. Nor, do I think, did Brashear and Bradley.

If the Caps continue to display such lack of grit, the series will soon be 1-3 and next Saturday our arena will be overrun with the Orange and Black goons from up the pike. They will serenade Hu-et, make derisive remarks about our ancestry, wear ill-fitting clothes, and be a general nuisance at the very least. At the very most, they will take what has become sanctified; our place of worship: a home ice that feels like home. Get it together fellas.

Long Wait Until Friday, In the Meantime...

Chew on a couple more Caps items:

• Canada.com profiles the last couple of games leading up to the Southeast crown.
  
• The Saskatoon Phoenix Star profiles Mike Green and his thoughts on Washington's end of the season.
  
• Helene St. James notes for the Detroit Free Press that Boudreau should win the Adams trophy.
  
• George Richards finds that the Caps are currently running 16-to-1 to win the Cup and 13-to-2 to win the East. He also says that the Caps are -150 and the Flyers are +120 for the first series. I have no idea what that means, but it means were favored. If anybody can 'splain that one, please go ahead.
• And finally, from the Phillynews.com, some thoughts from the Flyers about facing Ovie and Caps:

"They've probably been the hottest team in the league for a month-and-a-half.
It won't be easy," said Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen.

"There's no question they're a hot team," Flyers right wing Scottie Upshall
said. "They have the best player in the league over there."

"No. 8 - that guy makes them go," Timonen said of Ovechkin. "He likes to
shoot the puck. You can't give him too much open space. He doesn't need
much."

Happier, More Productive

That's the only to describe how I felt last night (I'd toss in the "Fitter" part too, but I'm my knee injury's got me packing on pounds like a bear getting ready for winter). I was pessimistic about our chances two weeks, it is true. I re-read my "Three Home-at-Homes" post yesterday afternoon and realized how screwy things can get. I theorized that our best chance was to catch Boston, and with a 5 point lead in 6 games, Carolina would take the SE.

I will apologize but first preface it by saying that I've been a Caps fan for a loooooong time; like 1974 "long". Like an hour and half in the car to Landover and back to see us get the crap kicked out of us "long". Like driving 5 hours back and forth from James Madison while in college to get my hopes dashed "long". Like 4 overtimes against the Islanders "long". So therefore you can imagine that "an-Esa-wide" and a "triple-OT-Nedved" later in life, that I'm calloused. Not jaded, but scarred and somewhat fragile. I try not to get my hopes too high or too low and just try to look at the facts.

Now that the regular season is over, however, I can be honest. I would have been mightily bereft had the Caps failed last night. I felt they had win to shed the sad-sack or choke dog monikers that have hung around the franchise's collective neck for the last decade or so. Last night was the culmination of 4 years of watching and waiting and hoping and nurturing for everybody involved and I'm so thrilled and relieved that I'm pinching myself today. It isn't quite as great a feeling as the Juneau goal in 98, but it ranks right up there. Corey Masisak wrote this morning that he got the best night sleep in a month and I can't agree more. Sleep came easy to the body. Rest has followed for the mind. Now it's time to just enjoy it.

I raise a glass to all and apologize for not believing. I've never been as happy for being wrong. Cheers.

Laptop Battery Dying, out of crack, but must get message to ...

...you. I must have been smoking crack again earlier today because I swear on a stack of Hockey Newses that Carolina lost to the Panther tonight. Lemme 'splain...

I had the Carolina/Panthers game on while cooking dinner on the off-chance that it would remain interesting. Afterall it was the game that could give the Caps the most direct path to the playoffs, with the best seed to boot. I imagined that I would have to switch over the Philly game and hope for a disaster to befall the Flyers, or over to the Ottawa/Boston where I would be bored to tears but could hope for a two point game. However, that never happened as the Panthers continued to amaze me with their gritty play. I've never seen a team play almost the entire game killing penalties yet win. When the horn sounded, I could not believe the Panthers won. I was stunned. I checked my pipe, and sure enough, I was out of crack.

Truth be told, the scenario that played out most often to me was both the Caps and Hurricanes making the dance. I liked this scenario best for a couple of reasons:

1. I like their team and coach.
2. Give some much needed street cred back to the Southeast as an entity.

Plus, I really hate the Flyers and Boston bores me to tears. However, beggars cannot be choosers so if the Caps can beat the Panthers, the third seed will be just fine.

Maybe now I can get some sleep. 7 PM will not get here fast enough.