Go Caps
Boy, talk about ups and downs. The first two playoff games have been rather intense, given that the Caps are supposed to have plowed through the Frenchies and be done with it already. Guess that's why they play the game!
Also, discuss what a huge nerd I am:
Odd to See
The Caps won their eleventh in a row last night.
You know what is really strange to see - something I have never seen before? This:
The underlining is mine. Weird.
What sucks is that they're really hot right now. We'd really rather them be hot going into the playoffs. You know, unless they can keep it together and rolling until the end of the season. With a two-week break for the Olympics. Color me unconvinced on that.
Eight in a Row
The last time the Caps won eight in a row, it was 1989.
And not just any eight in a row - eight in a row over good teams. Except Toronto.
Ouch.
On Frozen Blog › A New Level of Intolerable Violence Plagues Hockey.
The video at the link isn't for the squeamish.
I think people who play hockey explicitly for their cheap-shotting and cheap-hitting skills should be put on a one-way rocket to Jupiter with no life support.
Don’t Get Your Hopes Up
So the Capitals are first in the Eastern Conference now - truly first, in that the Devils were right behind them with a few games in hand. This is no longer true - we're out in first. This hasn't happened since 1999-2000, where the Caps ended up falling just short and finished with a number two seed in the playoffs, slotted against the goddamn Penguins, who ended up winning the series in five games, the final goal being scored by Jaromir Jagr off a bad deflection from Calle Johansson's calf. Not that I'm bitter.
They're solidly in first, and in serious contention for the President's Trophy. Anna, the President's Trophy is awarded to the team who has the best record in hockey at the end of the season. Usually the Sharks, who end up losing early in the playoffs - as that link states, only six teams with this trophy have ever gone on to win the trophy - so maybe we don't want it.
They just finished up a tough swing against the Flyers, Red Wings, Penguins, and Coyotes. Normally I wouldn't consider the Coyotes tough, but apparently they're playing pretty well, currently slotted fifth in the Western Conference.
I honestly don't know what to believe. Obviously, they're a pretty good team right now, and that's with them being banged up and missing a few players. Their goaltending is solid, while not excellent, and they're not playing the best defense - but they score roughly twenty million goals a game. That's a great formula for the regular season, and very entertaining to watch - but they're virtually the same team as they were last year, with a hint of wizening. Winning in the regular season is nice, because honestly, outside the top three seedings for the playoffs, I have no idea what is going on with the rest of the league. I'm not even going to look.
I don't want to think this is the year they could win a Stanley Cup. I'm afraid that as soon as I do start believing, the wheels will come off.
You know, because it matters what one single fan thinks. SHUT UP IT MATTERS
Miss It
It's weird that Caps games actually have fans at them now, fans like the Capstronaut.
And he got invited to the Uncle Ted's box to watch a game. Neat.
Costing Me Money
I think it's a pretty easy decision to name Alex Ovechkin your captain. He's the guy on that team, and will be for what... eleven more years? I don't think the organization or players could have picked a better captain, I don't think. I guess Chris Clark was OK - but it seemed like he was always injured, and was the captain from back in the mid 2000's were the Caps were pretty terrible. Thank you for your effort, but please don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out!
What's cool is that the team left themselves with about eight to ten million in cap space (ha) so they can afford to play at the trade deadline. If they don't pick up a puncher or some big defensemen, there will be a lot of unhappy Caps fans.
But, to the title of this post - by naming him a captain, they've made my jersey incorrect. Jerks.
Famous
Be aware, Craig and I will be on TV tomorrow evening at the Caps/Avs game out here in Denver, unless the Caps get shut out, which is always a possibility.
I'll probably rock the red, and CWJ will probably be in his old school (not oldest school) jersey. By old school I mean the white/blue/gold jersey.
Next Round
Haven't written about the NHL playoffs at all. Won't write much, either.
I didn't think we'd get past the Rangers, even when the series was 0-0. I thought this mostly because of goaltending - in the playoffs if you don't have a solid goaltender you may as well not be there. Jose Theodore was a pretty average goaltender, with major flashes of ineptness. For instance, you could pin game one's loss squarely on him. Routine saves weren't made.
Was nervous about the new guy too - still am. The Rangers don't have much of an offense, so all those rebounds and loose pucks that Varlamov allowed could come to bite him against a team like the Penguins.
And did I mention they're playing the Penguins? In the playoffs? I know how well that usually goes.
And you may say, "the Caps didn't lose to the Pens in the regular season!" And I will say, "they didn't lose to the Rangers, either!"
Luckily, they don't start up until Saturday. Give them some time to rest. The next series will be interesting - instead of a defensive minded, physical team, they're playing another team that focuses on offense and speed. So I guess you could say they're evenly matched!