When .... It's ...

Helloooo out there fellow Caps fans!  Today we're going to play the "when ... it's ..." game in honor of the slight roller coaster we Caps fans have been on the past couple weeks.  From December 4th through January 7th the riding the "Caps Train" was all honey and butter, really great fun like listening to Aretha Franklin belt out her best tunes on Soul Train in the 70's.  But then starting with the Caps-Flyers game on January 8th, even though the "four game losing streak" didn't start till a week later on January 16th in Smashville, watching the Caps, while still mostly fun for us fans, starting to get to be a bit of an emotional roller coaster.  Games were tight and the play by the Caps was at times, tentative so we started to get a bit tense and at times "reactive" - perhaps we were really channeling the teams own feelings from closer to "real time" then they or we would have preferred.  But as the team heads into tomorrow's game in Montreal to take on the once again, very "hot" Montreal Canadiens, the Caps are seemingly back to riding a wave of confidence after empathically breaking their recent loosing streak and besting the Pittsburgh Penguins by a score of 4-0 on the friendly tide of solidly played home cooking at Verizon Center on Wednesday night.  Thankfully, they aren't going into Bell Center on the tail of Tuesday's game in Columbus and so the game of "When .... It's..."

Let's start the game with the big picture ....

1)  "When after the All Star Break, your NHL hockey team of choice is on pace to finish the regular season with 100+ points and 40+ ROW, It's time to start saving your shekels to be able to afford to go watch some playoff hockey."

2) "When four of the seven Canadian NHL franchises are on track to make the playoffs at the All Star Break, It's pretty pointless to even worry for one second what the US-Canadian exchange rate might do to the salary cap since unless they are criminally mismanaged the Canadian franchises are likely to remain incredibly financially healthy."

3) "When immediately after the All Star Break, despite having one of his worst seasons ever, Sidney Crosby is still "just" fifth in the entire NHL in points/scoring and on track for his fifth straight 100+ point season, It's tragically ironic and funny to listen to media wonder aloud "What's wrong with Sid this year, etc." and as a Caps/Ovechkin fan very easy to imagine Ovi calling Sid and opening a conversation with: "Hey Sid, Ovi here, I don't know why they decided it was your turn for them to talk stupidly about, but you know what I'm not gonna say I'm sorry it's someone else in the League's turn, make sure when you pass it along it's to somebody like Sequin or Giroux, or better yet that cocky little "B" Kane,  and not back to me, okay?"

Now onto the more micro picture of the Caps to finish out today's game ....

1) "When the Caps play like they did on Tuesday evening against the Blue Jackets in Columbus; It's really, really easy to get down on them and be very, very concerned that once again you and they might be spending more time on the golf course than you'd prefer. After all "it" happened just last spring."

2) "When the Caps play like they did on Wednesday evening against Pittsburgh at Verizon Center; It's really, really, really easy to foolishly not worry about anything with this team or even how deep they might go into the playoffs and start having "champaign wishes and caviar dreams" that might even extend past say ... May 2015.  But that too would be really, really foolish, I mean remember the 2009 - 2010 team and how great they looked before the second season started?"

But fear not and hey enjoy the ride while we all can since ...

1) "When your concerns in life are centered on how "your" NHL team is really doing and is really positioned for the playoffs and run for "The CUP" are problems you have tome to consider/worry; Its really "all good" as those are truly "just and solely" what I call "first world problems."  As if to drive that point home we Caps fans can proudly point to our Team Captain for reflecting that, behaving in a manner that was pretty fun for all NHL fans to watch during the All Star Break and then have it turn around/out that he used the stage to do something good for some youngsters and families that have real, everyday challenges and generally approach them in a manner that is just a great example and model for us all.  I know to some talking about this is getting old and tired, however every time I think about it, I feel good about being an NHL fan instead of taking even a second to talk about the right amount of pressure an NFL football is supposed to be inflated to, etc. 

2) Finally, tomorrow... When we Caps fans pump out a tweet that bemoans the fact that only Ovechkin as opposed to say Ovechkin, Backstrom and Carlson were selected for the All Star Game: It's probably a good idea to look at the other team and think how ironic it is/was that the only Montreal player selected for the All Star Team was Carey Price instead of Price, P.K Subban (2012 Norris Trophy Winner), and the team's leading scorer Max Pacioretty.   I mean at the break the Canadiens only had 61 points in 45 games played and a top five record in the league while Columbus, with three all stars somehow was/is struggling out side of the playoffs and in appearing to be getting ready to make a run at the "McDavid" Sweepstakes.  My point is while I love the All Star Game, it's an NHL marketing event on par with the best, most well orchestrated sports marketing ever.  Thinking about it any other way and trying to fret about where somebody goes in the "mock draft" or something like that is pointless.  Every player selected, even some guy who got the most votes because he's the only guy in the league from Latvia  "really, really good at hockey."  Follow Ovechkin's example have fun with it, and hey wouldn't it be really, really great if the entire NHL turned at least some of the fun and benefits it generates into some good action and awareness raising for good causes.  I say let's make it one big "ice bucket challenge, car give away for great causes."  I'm even down with making sure the total goals increase - as long as we ditch that friggin' cannon.

In the meantime I'm hoping for a 4 - 1 win by the Caps tomorrow against the Habs.  I say LETS GO CAPS!!!! Wire to wire, never trail or be tied after the first goal and score the final fourth goal into an open net late in the third to ice it. Realistically do I think that will happen, probably not, but if the Caps play tomorrow at Bell Center like they did Wednesday evening at Verizon, I know it's possible, and hey if you're going to dream, why not dream big, "it don't cost any more."

So .... When this Blogger is wrapping up a post .... It's time to loudly proclaim:

LETS GO CAPS!!!!

Caps Defeat Senators at Home 2-1 Look to Extend Streak at MSG Tonight

Well Caps fans as Barry Trotz noted last evening after the Capitals had a two point night at Verizon Center sometimes you win a game you might not really have deserved to and sometimes you loose a game you clearly did everything to earn two points from and come away empty - that's hockey.  Last night the Caps got two points, primarily on the back of their goaltender Braden Holtby against the Ottawa Senators, tonight they face the Rangers up in Manhattan, to extend their streak I think the recipe will need to continue to include a 0.920+ save percentage from #Holtbeast but it will also likely need to include some additional shooting and scoring across a broader spectrum of the lineup. But let's give credit where credit is due for last night's two point victory - THANK YOU and MERRY CHRISTMAS to BRADEN HOLTBY and FAMILY!

Tonight is the first meeting of this season for the Caps and Rangers - Metropolitan Division foes currently fighting for third place in the tightly contested awkwardly named "Metro."  The Rangers come into the game  looking to extend their current winning streak to seven (7) games and 8-2-0  (0.800) in their last 10 games, to say they are "hot" right now would be understatement at it's finest.  The Caps come in looking to extend their current winning streak to four (4) and are 7-1-2 (0.800) in their last 10 and also playing very solid hockey.  Both team's current good fortune is a function of solid goaltending, 200 foot hockey, and a balanced offense led by dynamic left wings and solid centermen. The Rangers have given up just 17 goals against whilst scoring 33 goals for in their last ten outings, while the Capitals have given up 27 goals while scoring 34 goals.  During their last ten games Rangers Goalie Cam Talbot has two (2) shutouts and Henrik Lundquist has one "perfect game." While over here in "Capitals Land" Braden Holtby has had one shutout and three games where he allowed just a single opponents goal.  Goal scoring for the Rangers is led by dynamic wing Rick Nash with 20 goals and 13 assists in 31 games played, seven other Rangers have 5 or more tallies so far this season as well.  Our Capitals have goal scoring led as usual by Alex Ovechkin with  15 goals and 12 assists though the points leader on the team is his line-mate Nicklas Backstrom with 11 goals and 25 assists; also with 10 goals are Joel Ward and Troy Brouwer.  Additionally the Caps have three other players with 5 or more goals and three others with four goals so far this season. 

Whats that all mean?  I think it means tonight's first game of the season between these two division rivals is going to be a knock down, drag out battle royale and a heckuva game to watch.  I'm not making any sort of scientific analysis based prognostication, as I've said occasionally in the past I'm a Capitals fan through and through so I'm calling this one for the Caps and looking for a breakout night for Capital's stars and grinders alike.

LETS GO CAPS!!!!

Capitals Hockey 23.2% Into the 2014 -15 NHL Season: Life On The Bubble Exemplified

Well Caps fans our Washington Capitals completed their 19th game of the 2014-15 Season in Denver, CO last evening and achieved a two (2) point regulation win over the Colorado Avalanche.  It was their eighth (8) ROW (Regulation/Overtime Win) of the season.  they are now on pace for a total of  90+ points and notable 34+ ROW.  If this were last season that would place them again "just" on the wrong side of the bubble as they finished last season with 90 points as well but only 28 ROW due to having earned 14 "looser" points which so far this season they've only gotten 3 and are on track for just 12 loser points.  That's the bad news, the good news is "the trend is our friend" and while living life on the bubble trends are everything When last season ended the two "wild Card" teams aka "Winning Bubble Teams" were Columbus with 93 points of which 38 of their 43 wins were "ROW" and they had only 7 "loser points" and Detroit who also had 93 points of which they had 34 ROW and 15 loser points.  That means that in Columbus' case 92+% of their 93 points were "2 point games" while in Detroit's case ~84% of their points were "2 point games."

 For the Capitals thus far this season , 85.7 of the 21 points they've accrued to date are a result of "two point nights."  Additionally, they find themselves in third place in the Division and "on the right side" of the bubble right now because with the exception of the Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators they've played no more games than the other Eastern Conference "bubble teams".  Additionally 0.550 (4-3-3) at home and 0.5556 (5-4-0) on the road thus far this season.  The Caps, surprisingly find themselves in need of making Verizon Center a harder place for opposing team's to play when for the majority of the past 5 seasons Verizon has earned a reputation of being a hard place to play and beat them and last season the Caps had a 0.598 record.  if the Caps stay on track for a 0.550 road record and raise their game at Verizon back to 0.598, they will end the season with 94 points and at least 35 ROW which should put them "on the right side of the bubble."  Given the trends and what we've been seeing from the Capitals the 5-4-1 record they have thus far in November, should they string a couple more wins together before the end of November, of the remaining four (4) games this month, clearly the "home and home" against the New York Islanders are most important.  However as long as the Capitals win three of the next four games (6 of 8 available standings points) they should close the gap with either the NY Islanders or Pittsburgh Penguins by at least two points before the month of  December starts.  That will give the Capitals 27 points in 23 games - on a 0.587 pace for the season, on pace for a 96 point season and securely in third place in the Metropolitan Division - avoiding the "Wild Card Sweepstakes" altogether.

The Islanders have six more games to play the remaining 10 days this month - including back to back home and home against Pittsburgh this weekend and a home and home against the Capitals bracketing Thanksgiving Day.  In addition to those four games against Division Rivals, the Islanders face the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday (11/24) and the Devils on Saturday the 29th. Truly this last week of November is a key time for the Islanders fortunes and a groups of tough games stacked together, the only break in it is that four of those six games will be home games for them.

The Penguins have also have six games over the last 10 days of November, the back to back home and home against the Islanders this weekend, followed by the Bruins in Boston on Monday and hosting the Maple Leafs on Wednesday before having another back to back home and home against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Pens last six games of November are evenly split between 3 home games and 3 away games though four of the six are played on back to back evenings.

Those are the guys in the Division ahead of the Capitals, but the Devils, Rangers Bruins, Senators, Maple Leafs, Panthers and even the Flyers are all likely to end the season on the bubble with the Capitals.  Looking at the rest of the Metropolitan Division Teams who are on or around the bubble and their schedule the rest of November here's how thing look.  The Rangers have 20 points in 19 games played as of tonight.  They have four more games in November: Montreal at MSG on Sunday, the Lightning on Wed. the 26th in Tampa, the Flyers in Philadelphia on the Friday 28th and then the Flyers again 24 hours later at MSG on Saturday the 29th.  So that's not going to be an easy road for the Blue Shirts.

The Devils start  three game road trip through Western Canada tonight in Edmonton, followed by a back to back tomorrow night in Calgary against the Flames before facing off against the Canucks in Vancouver on Tuesday on the 25th.  They then come back to Newark and play the Detroit Red Wings on Friday the 28th and then finish the month playing the Islanders in Uniondale on Saturday the 29th.  Another bubble team with five tough games to finish the second month of the 2014-15 season.

The Flyers have five more games to play in the month of November starting tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets at home in Philly.  They then travel to Long Island to face the Islanders on Monday evening, then host the Red Wings at Wachovia Center on Wednesday the 26th before finish the month with a back to back/home and home against the Rangers on the 28th and 29th.

Columbus has been struggling recently but as they get healthier they too could threaten other bubble teams.  They have four more games in November, only one of which tomorrow against the Flyers is against a Metropolitan Division opponent. Their other games in November are against Winnipeg, Vancouver and Nashville.

So as you can see the final week of November features a lot of Metropolitan Division games for every team in the  division with the exception of Columbus plays at least as many games against Division rivals as they do against teams in other divisions during the rest of this month.  That might put a little separation between teams in the division (given either Pittsburgh or the Islanders could finish the month with 35+ points and on track for 110+ point seasons) but it could also bunch things up even more.  For the Capitals the key will be winning at least three out of four and not giving any "loser points" to the Islanders in those two games, assuming they can win them.  If the Caps continue to find their grove and capture all eight points available to them in November they'll also be on track for a 100+ point season, that would be a significant step off the "right side" of the bubble compared to where they were just two weeks ago.

All that said you have to play the games on the ice, one game at a time.  The only thing certain about all this is it's going to be an exciting final week of November for fans of NHL Teams in the Metropolitan Division.

For the Caps, next up are the Sabres tomorrow night at Verizon Center.

LETS GO CAPS!!!!

Establishing A Baseline For The Start Of The Dale Hunter Era Which Is Tomorrow Night

Tomorrow night is when I think we'll see the real start of the "Dale Hunter Era" for the Washington Capitals. Tomorrow's game against the Philadelphia Flyers comes as the first game since Dale Hunter took over as coach of the Capitals that they have had a couple of good practices in a row between home games. It will be the first time we'll get to see a Hunter coached Capitals team that may have had adjustments made that take more than an hour to practice. It also will be a game that is against a team that was a rival to the Capitals teams that Hunter played on. So we have an important game against a big rival at home after the Caps have had time to practice a few things and should be well rest. Thus the beginning of the "Dale Hunter Era" says me. mark it on the hockey calendars everywhere December 12, 2011.

So let's take a look and baseline the NHL on this day, the day before the Hunter era begins - December 11, 2011. The Washington Capitals are in second place in the Southeast Division; eighth place in the Eastern Conference; and seventeenth place in the league as we await the dawn of the Dale Hunter Era. How did the Capitals get here you might ask, we could debate the points and issues leading up to Bruce Boudreau's replacement till the cows come home and nothing we'd say really matters. We don't need to talk about or debate those things the only thing we need to do is to baseline where the Capitals are and where the teams that matter to them are around them as regards the NHL standings as of today. That way come April 7, 2012 the last day of the Caps' 2011-2012 regular season we'll be able to judge how far they've come from where they sunk to on November 28, 2011. In this week's NHL power rankings the Capitals rank a lowly 16th - the lowest you can be and still be in the rankings but hey at least over the last 10 games the Capitals are now 5-5-0 and playing 0.500 hockey, the comment in the rankings voices the question all of Cap probably shares with me - "Have they turned the corner?" We'll see, we'll see as we measure the progress against the current baseline.

So where do things stand today with the teams that matter to the Capitals?

The first team that matters to the Capitals this season is the Florida Panthers. Formerly the lowly Florida Panthers and now the Southeast Division leading Florida Panthers. The Panthers had been historically one of, if not the worst, teams in the NHL for the past decade. They haven't reached the playoffs since 2000, and haven't won a playoff game since 1997. They haven't even finished higher than third in the Southeast Division since the 2000-01 season. But thanks to a drastic overhaul by GM Dale Tallon, the Panthers have quickly emerged as one of the better and more exciting teams to watch in the League. Today they sit atop the Southeast Division with 37 points, third in the Eastern Conference and tenth in the League. In this week's power ranking the Panthers also rank tenth despite having a record in their last ten outings of just 5-3-2 (0.600 hockey). So far this season the Panthers have proven to me they are real, they have a respectable positive goal differential of +5 and they've played 0.616 hockey over 30 games; 0.667 over 12 home games and 0.556 over 18 away games. These guys are for real. That's really all that matters to us Capitals fans, that and the fact the Capitals really, really should work really hard to NOT loose any more "four point games" to the Panthers. Right now the Capitals are two games ahead of the Capitals and have played 0.554 over the 28 games the Caps have played this season. The Panthers are on track to finish the season with between 94 and 105 points. To catch and pass the Panthers I estimate the Capitals will need to ratchet up their own "game" ~20% and play 0.657 hockey to finish with 102 points; that's a pretty big delta but it could be achievable if the Capitals find their stride now and have a good "run/streak" between now and February 28th. It's also interesting to note that while the Caps and Panthers will face each other three times between now and March 1st, all three of those meetings occur in the month of February and with any luck for we Caps fans will be the most epic and important meetings between the two teams in at least a decade.

The next team that matters to the Capitals is the Eastern Conference lading Philadelphia Flyers - the same Flyers who the Capitals will face off against tomorrow night. If the season ended today, the Capitals would find themselves in the first round of the playoffs facing the Flyers. Over 28 games the Flyers have been playing 0.696 hockey and are on track to finish the season with between 108 and 120 points this regular season. The Flyers are 7-3-0 in their last ten outings and on a 5 game winning streak and they are doing it in spite of average goaltending from their net-minders (2.9 GAA last ten games), and a final and yet is they have a positive goal differential of +20 over 28 games to date (101 GF - 3.607 GF/Game and 81 GA - 2.893 GA/Game). Making up any of the four (4) full games the Flyers are ahead of the Capitals even over the 54 games remaining between now and April looks to be a daunting task. However tomorrow's match up is a four point game in that challenge and all the more reason to look at the game and increase it's importance in the Capitals minds.

The Boston Bruins who are now in first place in the Northeast Division and second place in the Eastern Conference are important to the Capitals. Between now and the end of the season the Caps still have all four of their match ups with the Bruins remaining and if they can manage to pass Florida, they will likely be battling the Bruins for the second seed in the opening round of the playoffs. The Bruins have played 0.661 hockey so far this season and have a whopping and league leading +35 goal differential. The Bruins are on pace to finish the regular season with between 102 and 111 points so it's very likely the Caps will need the Bruins to filter some in order to pass them in the standings even if the Caps can finish with 102 or 103 points. The Bruins are currently ranked atop this week's NHL power rankings.

The fourth place New York Rangers are another team, that even if the Caps have turned things around will still matter and come into play for the Caps this season. the Rangers have played 0.704 hockey over 27 games this season. They are as strong or stronger a team as either the Bruins or the Flyers and have a team goal differential of +23 and a 7-3-0 record in their last 10 games including a 6-1 blowout win over the Florida Panthers in their last outing. The "Rags" are on track to finish the regular season with between 106 and 118 points. They are currently ranked third in the NHL's power rankings.

The fifth place Pittsburgh Penguins are the next team that are highly relevant to the Capitals this season. The Penguins have played 0.633 hockey over thirty games this season despite Sidney Crosby's injury issues which unfortunately for hockey fans everywhere continue with no foreseeable end in sight. The Penguins have a +19 differential and 96 and 106 points. If the Caps have indeed turned things around and can finish with 102 points when they head into the playoffs there is a fair chance their road to Lord Stanley's Promised Land for the Capitals could well once again be through Pittsburgh.

What about the other guys in the East who could make the playoffs you might ask: Toronto, Buffalo, New Jersey, Montreal and Winnipeg.

Well Toronto at 5-4-1 in their last ten games and 13th in this week's NHL Power Rankings looks to be the real deal and could very easily finish the season as high as in 5th place and as low as 7th place with between 88 and 98 points for the season. In other words the Maple Leafs could very easily be the Capitals opponent in the first round of the playoffs, if the Capitals turn things around find a way to either win the Southeast or finish in fourth in the Conference.

The Buffalo Sabres are ranked 15th in this week's NHL Power Rankings, have played 0.552 hockey through 29 games, and have an even team goal differential to date. The Sabres are 3-5-2 in their last ten games and have a less than 0.500 record at home so far this season, while playing 0.727 hockey on the road. This team is an enigma to me but will likely remain battling Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, and Ottawa "on the bubble" assuming the Capitals can move forward on their current path and get off the bubble themselves. If that happens the Capitals likely won't be seeing anyone who finishes seventh or eighth in the Eastern Conference before the Conference finals, if at all.

So the as far as turning things around in the "Dale Hunter Era" the Florida Panthers may well have caught the spirit of things when they were billing the game between the Panthers and the Capitals as a battle for first place in the division and an important bout between the two.

So next up the Flyers at Verizon Center Tuesday Night - Be There or Be Square.

LETS GO CAPS!!!!

Well Two Weeks Since My Last Musings Blog And What A Lot Has/Is Happening

First off what a lovely spring we are having excepting of course all these tornadoes - wow - it's clear "weather watchers" that Jim Cantore, you remember him, well it's clear to me that he must be walking around with a constant case of, well no other "politic" way to say it, a case of serious wood for the last three or more days. Me, my heart and prayers go out to all who are being or have been affected by these natural disasters/severe weather events of the recent few days. Some of these statistics that Cantore and others in the meteorological related media are talking about, are nothing but truly scary. This whole 2011/2012 thing just has to simmer on down - that's all I'd like to see.

Now on to mindless diversions for a few minutes before I actually get some work done and then take a break to watch the #Caps - #Rangers game three (3) from Madison Square Garden (#MSG). Yes it's official, in addition to being very busy lately, another reason for fewer blog posts of late is I've become "one of those" - you know I'm a #tweep - someone who #tweets on #twitter. It's really a lazy man's way to "put yourself" and "your views out there", IMHO. I say this because you really don't have to completely decompose your ideas and thoughts because you can always fall back onto the reason you are limited to 140 characters for each idea/thought you put up on line. It's a good excuse for why your ideas might not be fully distilled or backed up in some cases. However, when you do get a great thought or idea (aka: musing) fully distilled into something totally cogent down into 140 characters or less it's pretty darn powerful. That's why the #twitter form of social media is so seductive to me, well actually that's the biggest of several reasons, another is it's really easy to access and get - sort of like, no not sort of, it is, IMO, the "crack" of social media. It's also very fast and furious, if Blogging is the Baseball game of social media; then Twitter is an Ice Hockey game where the Ref's and Linesmen decided they were putting the whistles away.

So the regular season of the NHL ended on schedule last week and the playoffs started. A few teams, well the New York Rangers and the Chicago Blackhawks, pretty much had to hold their breadth and hope they made it in to the post-season. Others like the Capitals, the Flyers, the Sharks and the Canucks, and actually the rest of the Western Conference playoff teams, didn't know who they'd be playing in the first round until the season's final games were played and over. All in all that made for some interesting things to follow and track the last week of the season. To me that's all good since it kept fan interest up throughout the league pretty much until either the 81st or 82nd game of the season for all thirty teams. Now the playoffs are underway and that's the focus of most of my hockey related musings but I've got one hockey related musing to put out there before I turn to the playoff series in process around North America.

Here it is, another NHL season ends and we once again have a controversy involving should the Phoenix Coyotes stay in Phoenix next season or do they get moved so Winnipeg gets their team back? I say why not do both? You see I agree. I agree with everyone about every aspect of the debate between the NHL, the City of Glendale, the Goldwater Institute, the fans in Phoenix (yes there are NHL fans in Phoenix), the fans in Winnipeg, and even Matthew Hulsizer and Darcy Olsen. Now that I've got you scratching your head, if you care about this issue at all try on these ideas and tell me what you think. Here's the dots I've fashioned and I'll connect: a) Government should NOT take on debt "for the public interest" that doesn't serve truly broad, deeply rooted public need OR doesn't make straight business sense any more lightly than "businessmen" do it in the private sector. b) The basic business deal that surrounds the Coyotes and the Arena in Glendale today has a lot of hair on it - not because it can't be made to work, but because the original deal was poorly thought out and those original numbers probably "never worked." In other words in business terms it's a "turn-around" and/or "work out" situation. To think or say otherwise is in business parlance - doing nothing other than "putting lipstick on a pig". c) Any NHL expansion right now ought to be centered in and around Canada - those are the markets screaming most for teams and with the strength of the Canadian Dollar, and the presence of NAFTA likely to keep the Canadian Dollar strong well PAST the foreseeable future that makes business sense for the NHL in all aspects, except for a National TV Deal here in the US. d) A national TV deal for the NHL here in the US isn't likely to be much better than what the NHL has until all this sort of chaos about team locations, etc. settles down. Further a team in Phoenix is a good thing for such a deal and a league without a team there is even further away from such a deal. So think about this "solution" to make everyone involved with this deal "happy".

1) Expand the NHL by two teams. Locations: Winnipeg and either: Quebec City or Hamilton. Use the proceeds from the sale of the new franchises for the NHL to provide the relief and/or guarantees that Mathew Hulsizer feels he needs to live with the risk of the turn-around of the Coyotes financially, other than the rework of the lease with the City of Glendale. Bottom line for/to the Goldwater Institute (GWI) and the City of Glendale on the lease terms is simple - the real estate market and the economy has cratered in case you haven't heard and all landlords who are over-extended (and you guys in Glendale are) are being compelled to rework your leases, etc and extend the payback of your investments, adversely affecting your Returns On Investment. That's why Darcy Olsen and the GWI are right when they don't want to sink more public monies into that investment and they are wrong if they resist the rework of the lease to the point of driving away a team. It's also why the City of Glendale is willing to rework the lease, they know a property without a marquee tenant is an asset worth even less than the current value of the asset they own. It's simple business. However, the NHL and the ownership old, current (the NHL) and new (Hulsizer) all need to a) bear some responsibility for the current situation, and even more importantly need to have as much if not more "skin in the game" for this deal, "turn-around" to work. Turn-around deals that don't ensure the principles have more skin in the game then the financial institutions/resource sources backing the deals, all too easily, fail with the new principles walking away after the "can has been kicked down the road a while longer." It's pretty simple. So for the NHL and some of the folks who wanted the deal to happen to be pissed about the GWI raising the questions they are just doesn't make sense to me. Surely on both sides of the debate, the people who were backing the deal - basically the public taxpayers - had advocates and foes. If the GWI as a watchdog organization didn't raise questions, there would have been other organizations asking these questions. Here's the situation, in business terms as I see them: a)The NHL doesn't want to own the Coyotes any longer than it has to, makes sense but b) the NHL does own the team, if they didn't want to further participate in this turn-around they've have numerous chances and still do not to continue to do so. c) The City of Glendale was greedy in the original lease, either knowingly or unwittingly setting up part of the reasons for issues. d) The incoming prospective owners (Hulsizer, and others before him) have all looked at the conditions and business side of the situation and felt compelled to either plan on exiting Glendale or getting lease concessions - i don't think that's an idle threat or bad business on their parts.)

The answer is some level of "owner (e.g. NHL) financing" for the deal. Where better to get the monies to back the NHL's part of the deal than from the ready pool of buyers who want to put a team in other viable markets. Also bottom line is a 32 team league works as well or better from a scheduling perspective than a 30 team league. Further whether we American Hockey fans want to admit it or not, Ice Hockey IS the Canadian National Sport for all intents and purposes, so one more team each in Western and Eastern Canada isn't going to do anything but strengthen the league. Further, the reason I personally like Quebec more than Hamilton is the jurisdictional/market area issues with Hamilton's overlap with both Toronto and Buffalo are legally problematic AND the idea of reviving the inherent French-Canadian rivalry between Montreal and Quebec is great from a marketing perspective IMO. Okay now to my musings on the 2011 playoffs.

Well first off on this years Conference Quarter Final match-ups, all I really have to say is: WOW! Great hockey is getting played, eh? The match-ups in both conferences all have drama, rivalries, and feature teams playing well. Starting in the West:

1) Vancouver vs. 8) Chicago:
The President's Trophy winning Canucks against the reigning Stanley Cup Champs who have had their way with Vancouver in recent playoff history. No drama or undercurrents there. Seriously these two teams bring it all to the table, and now two games into the series with the Canucks leading 2-0 heading to Chicago, the stage is set for even more exciting hockey. The games or parts of games/highlights I've seen clearly showcase the Sedin Twins are playing "lights out hockey." For those not familiar with my use of the term - lights out anything - means FLAWLESS execution that is done in a manner that exhibits such flow and confidence you just shake your head in disbelief as you watch but you know the executor of the "lights out" performance has skill and can do what they are doing in their sleep. It's just a total joy to watch. That's what's going on from what I see and that's why I just can't see this series going more than five (5) games right now.

2) San Jose vs. 7) Los Angeles:
"The Battle of California" or at least one of them and the only one being played this round. That's drama in and of itself. Further after last night the series is tied 1-1 as it heads to Los Angeles, so the Kings have done what they needed to do to obviate the Sharks' home ice advantage. Can they hold on? Will the Sharks finally break through and deliver on the promise they seem to show ever regular season of late but fail to deliver on in the post season? Will the Kings break through and ascend to the the throne of West Coast Hockey Excellence and reach the end of the path they have now been on for the past three seasons? Will Batman finally put the Riddler away for good? Will going to Kings games became as much a celebrity spotting event as Laker games? Well only the shadow really knows so tune in to this one folks since in the first two games each of the teams playing has looked very, very different in each of the first two games. After last night's game though and with the Kings having taken one from the Sharks in San Jose, I'm calling this one - Kings in six games.

3) Detroit vs. 6) Phoenix:
Well unfortunately for the Desert Dogs so far this series has almost been entirely the Red Wings. Fortunately for Coyote fans their team did manage to get things together and make a run at game two after falling behind so all isn't lost yet. However, the Red Wings head to Phoenix with a 2-0 series lead, inspiration watching Johan Franzen play through face bashing injuries, and a wealth of playoff experience up and down the lineup, as well as at least a few guys thinking: "It sure would be nice to hoist the Cup one more time before I retire." So I expect that this series will be split 2-2 when it comes back the Joe Louis Arena just in time for the Red Wings to win it in 5 games; of course if for some reason the Coyote's play of the last two periods of game 2 are how they choose to play the rest of the series, I'd say all bets are off.

4) Anaheim vs. 5) Nashville:
This series heads to Nashville for game 3 at 5:00 PM today with the Ducks needing to win at least one in "Smashville" to recoup their home ice advantage as it's now tied 1-1. Full disclosure here - for some reason that I really don't consciously understand for the past three seasons, I really like the Predators and I root for them. I think it's because I feel like they are "the little engine that could." With that said, the Predators won game one of the series in Anaheim 4-1, even though they didn't really play their game that well because Pekka Rinne turned in a 0.964 SV% on the 28 shots he faced. The Predators lost game 2 by a score of 5-3 because a) they continued to be drawn in to playing undisciplined hockey by the Ducks thus took too many penalties and Rinne turned in a lackluster 0.852 SV% on the 27 shots he faced while the Ducks netted 4 goals - two of which came in the first six minutes of the game while the Ducks were on the power play; oh and Ray Emery turned in a 0.912 SV% in his first playoff game "in a while." This series is now too hard to call in my opinion. While the Ducks are the higher seed, I'd like to think that if the Predators play their game they should win it in 6 but I wouldn't bet on this series at all. The only thing I will say is the likely physicality of it makes every one of these games worth watching.

In the East:

1) Caps vs. 8) Rangers:
So I'm superstitious so no predictions here on either today's game or the series. We all know what I want to see and who I'm rooting for. The Caps play today at MSG at 3:00, they left for New York leading the series 2-0; they know they have a lot of hockey and work left to do to win the series. The sooner they do that, the better - I'm sure in their view and in all of we Caps fans views. MSG hasn't been a hospitable place for the Capitals this season so far, but the Caps are playing differently than they were the last time they were in NYC so here it goes:

LETS GO CAPS!!!! How about y'all kick some Ranger Butt today, please.

2) Philadelphia vs. 7) Buffalo:
This series heads to sunny Buffalo for game 3 on Monday evening, tied 1-1 by virtue of a Ryan Miller shutout in game 1 in Philly. Game 2 was to Game 1 as Dr. Jekyll is to Mr. Hyde. Game one was a tightly played, disciplined hockey game, decided by just one missed save by Flyers rookie goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky at 5:56 of the third period. the Flyers played excellent disciplined hockey the entire game taking only 2 minor penalties to the Sabres 6 but they still ended up loosing 1-0 nothing. it was truly a game that Miller stole from them - he can do that, and will probably do it at least once more before this series is over. Game 2 was a melee - all around. The Sabres got out to a 3-2 lead before Flyers coach Peter Laviolette pulled the rookie they call "Bob" in favor of the vetran they call "Boosh" in Philly. That seemed to wake up the Flyers and they decided they needed to return to form and show why, for much of this season, they've been "Beasts of the East." The Flyers in front of Brian Boucher for the next 47:30 played like what they were - a very talented, very determined hockey team and the came back to win the game 5-4 in regulation, evening the series up as they go to Buffalo for games 3 and 4. Based on what i saw during the last 47:30 of game two, the Flyers should win this series, they can and will likely just overpower Buffalo. The wild card is discipline. As wilds as game 2 was - 9 goals and a total of 24 penalties, once again Buffalo took more penalties than Philly. If Philly's power play ever sorts things out and gets more effective this series will be even shorter than my prediction. of course given the Flyers took 11 penalties in game two - if the Sabres get a little more disciplined and also get a little more effective with the man advantage then this is a different series too. I'd take the Flyers in six (6) games in this series right now. regardless of who ends up playing goal for the Orange and Black.

3) Boston vs. 6) Montreal
Well this is nothing but a storied rivalry where right now the "underdogs" are on top two games to zip as they return to their home ice where so far this season, they've been twice as hard to beat as when they are on the road. What is there to say, lots of drama this series the whole Chara hit on Pacioretty controversy from the regular season between these two Original Six Division rivals, then the fact the Habs basically took the Bruins by storm the first two games in Beantown with stellar performances by their Captain Brian Gionta and their own star goaltender Carey Price has only made for even more drama, yet. Now the series goes to Montreal where, from what I saw in game 2, unless Zdeno Chara can come back into the line-up AND the Bruins get more offense from ALL their forwards, it's hard to see this series seeing another game played in Beantown. Since it's the playoffs and "anything can happen" I'll predict this series Montreal in five (5) games.

4) Pittsburgh vs. 5) Tampa Bay
This series is tied 1-1 and in game 2 Pittsburgh finally looked like most have been expecting them to look in light of the injuries they've had to play through the entire second half of the season. Right now, (i.e. following game 2) it's clear that as Marc-Andre Fleury goes this series goes for the Penguins. It also clear from where I sit, that in many ways, the Tampa Bay Lightning could well be the scariest team in the Playoffs in the East, at least when they are "on" like they were in game 2 in Pittsburgh, a 5-1 victory for the Bolts. I'm thinking that after Game 2 Lecavalier, St. Louis, Gagne, Malone, Stamkos, and the rest of Tampa Bay have the depleted lineup of Pittsburgh skaters figured out and should win this series. I'm thinking it will be the Lightning in no more than 6 games.

So now we head on over mentally to the Caps - Rangers game three; again all I have to say is two (2) down - fourteen (14) to go.

LETS GO CAPS!!!!

Capitals 3 - Devils 0; Has The Bell Tolled In New Jersey?

Well last night at Prudential Center in Newark, the Capitals "out-deviled" the New Jersey Devils, winning a game that was likely more important for the Devils that the Capitals by a score of 3 - 0. It wasn't a pretty win. It wasn't even all that fun to watch, However it was two important standings points and an important win at an important time of year. The game was the Capitals 73rd and the Devils 71st of the season; at the start of the game, the Caps were in first place in their Division and 2nd place in the Eastern Conference and the Devils were in 4th place in their Division and 12th place in the Conference - at game's end the standings hadn't changed. In fact, the only difference in the standings at the end of the night was the Caps are now six (6) points ahead of Tampa Bay in the Southeast Division and the same distance ahead of Boston who sits in Third Place in the Conference. So what was so important about last night's game? Two things: a) "runway" - as in something New Jersey, which has been on a tear since changing back to their old coach, is likely to run out of now before the season's end before they leap over the four teams they need to pass to make the playoffs in their remaining 11 games; and b) pride - something the Capitals needed to ensure they continued to demonstrate and grow in the game they are playing leading up to this years post season. The Caps needed to demonstrate pride as mush or more than the Devils last night for two reasons. Firstly, they needed to "bounce back" from their prior game loss to Detroit in order to make sure they stay out of the habit of loosing two games in a row between now and when they are forced to hang up their skates at the end of this season's playoffs. Secondly, the last time these two teams met in New Jersey, things looked a lot differently for both of them and the Caps left "The Rock" on the wrong end of a 5-0 beating.

So how'd the Caps do? Thanks to smart, disciplined play by the entire team, and some EXCELLENT goaltending by Michal Neuvirth, the Caps did very well last night, thank you very much. In a game that was well played by both teams, the Capitals showed they could be as disciplined and patient as any team coached by a guy named Jacques. In a game that was important to win, and was just two night's after loosing to the perennial NHL benchmark that is known as Detroit, "Neuvy" out played "Maarty" - as in future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur - stopping 33 shots and turning in a perfect SV% of 1.000 on the evening to Brodeur's 9 of 12/0.750 performance. The three stars of the game chosen by the local New Jersey media were: 1) Neuvirth (no arguments there); Mike Knuble (2 goals - no arguments there); and 3) Alex Ovechkin (2 assists and all over the ice - deserving for sure but hey NJ MSM didn't you get the memo?). The memo I'm talking about is the John Carlson memo of course. "Captain America" went all out for last night's game apparently. First he had Mama Carlson cook a really good New Jersey Italian meal at his boyhood home in Colonna for a bunch of the guys on Thursday night, then he bought 45 tickets for friends and family to the game, and then he played a superb game both defensively never being out of position, and offensively notching two assists of his own last night. I guess in order to edge out Ovechkin in that voting he should have given them some home cookin' too. Well even though according to the twtter "tweets" of the teammates who attended the dinner at the Carlson's no one left hungry, I'm okay with John Carlson still being hungry or at least a little so, the next time the Caps go to the "Rock" or the "Garden" to play either the Devils or the Rangers.

To be fair I'd guess the media picked Ovechkin over Carlson because Ovie was +3 on the night while Carlson was "merely" +2; and the Cap's first line was the best set of players when they were on the ice all evening long. Ovie was Ovie, MoJo90 was very good, and I don't know who was wearing the 22 sweater last evening, but if it was Mike Knuble he certainly didn't play like a 38 year old man. In fact, Knuble has been playing very well, even better than usual, and with a lot of energy the last couple of games. Is he making the case/trying to determine if he wants another year before he hangs up his skates? or is he playing harder to make sure he goes out with the best year possible sometime after the end of April this year? Stay tuned, hopefully it won't be until sometime in June we bring this discussion up again; and hopefully we all get a lot more chances to see just how awesome he can be between now and then. In any case Knuble scored his 18th and 19th goals of the season last night and is looking like he will probably put up the eighth (8th) 20+ goal season of his 15 year/14 season NHL career. The old man of the Capital's team certainly isn't looking like he is slowing down anytime soon and that's a great thing for we Caps fans to get to see/watch, especially this time of the year. It's yet another one of those things that is making me relish this spring even more than last. Michal Neuvirth, last night's game, one word - AWESOME. That performance, as I think back to the game, I have those silly, long drawn out movie lines going through my head like: "heeee'ssss baaaaaccccckkkkk". etc. Pretty cool. The Capitals do indeed have three young goaltenders, who are all playing very well when they are healthy. But based on Neuvy's last two outings - Detroit and New Jersey - I'm more than happy to say right now and for the rest of the season, the 22 year old Czech with the 23-11-4 record, 4 shutouts, and funny look on his face on his team headshot is the #1 goaltender. Neuvy's season long SV% is 0.916 and his GAA is 2.42 and he looked great last evening against New Jersey - especially when they were "swarming."

Did the Capitals really "out devil" the Devils last night? Hard to say when you look at every aspect of the scoresheet, except one - "the bottom line" - Caps 3 - Devils 0. Oh and the fact that Ovechkin, the third star of the game had ZERO shots on goal, yet had two assists and was +3. Against the Devils that's something. Usually when the Devils shutdown an opposing team's star they do it more effectively than that. If there is just one game we can all point to that demonstrates just how much more important team results are to Ovie this season then ever before, and just how much more mature a player he is now than say two seasons ago, last night's game should likely be "that game." When it comes to the question of out-deviling the Devils - sure the Capitals were out shoot by the Devils 33 -12 and still won the game 3-0. However it's the other aspects of the score sheet that show the Caps out mastered the Devils "at their own game" or perhaps more accurately "at Jacques Lemaire's game": a) faceoff wins: Caps 31 - Devils 28 (even with Jason Arnott out, nice to have you back Nicklas Backstrom!, oh and Knuble was a perfect 1-0 here too); b) Capitals PK unit - perfect - killed 8:00 of Devils power play; c) Capitals: 4 takeaways and 2 giveaways, New Jersey 7 takeaways and 15 giveaways; d) Caps 21 shots attempted 57% on goal. Every other place on the scoresheet the Caps are very close to the Devils as well, so yeah to me it looks like the Caps "out-deviled" the Devils last night. It wasn't all that fun to watch but hey, I liked the results and I love the looks on the faces of the hockey pundits on TV when they talk about this team. I don't really care that the Caps may be scaring other teams when they think about having to play against the Capitals in the playoffs. Nope, what I care about is I truly believe this team is constructed to and ready to make a run deep into those same playoffs.

Speaking of which next up for the Caps 72nd game of the season are the Flyers in Philadelphia on Tuesday evening. That should be a good game and it's nice to see the Caps now have three days to sort some things and/or get healthier.

LETS GO CAPS!!!

Sunday Regular Season Finale Finally Brings Resolution To A Number Of Questions

When we awoke this morning the mark for the Art Ross Trophy had been set by Vancouver's Henrik Sedin at 120 points after the H version of the Sedin Twins had a four (4) point night last evening, gathering 4 assists including 3 while setting up the D version (brother Daniel) for a hat trick, during the Canucks' final game of the regular season, a 7-3 pasting of the Calgary Flames.

Despite the fact, 14 of the NHL's 30 teams finished their regular season before this morning, the Capitals first round playoff opponent was still unknown as well - would it be the Montreal Canadiens or would there be another rematch against the New York Rangers. That would be determined during today's game in Philadelphia, both the Rangers and the Flyers started the day with 86 points, the winner would have 88, the same total as the Canadiens finished their season with last evening, and continue on to the playoffs. The loser would fall just short and their season would be over. The "play-in" has so many undercurrents, sub-plots and story lines around it, being between division rivals whose overall season results were generally below pre-season expectations, that it was actually hard to know what to expect. In the end ... the match ups in both conferences are now set.

In the East:

1) Caps vs. 8) Canadiens

2) Devils vs. 7) Flyers

3) Sabres vs. 6) Bruins

4) Penguins vs. 5) Senators

In the West:

1) Sharks vs. 8) Avalanche

2) Blackhawks vs. 7) Predators

3) Canucks vs. 6) Kings

4) Coyotes vs. 5) Red Wings.

We started the day with the Caps still having one game to play, against the Bruins, at Verizon Center, on National TV - NBC's Sunday Game of the Week. Both the Caps and the Bruins were in the playoffs, and their seeding was set. The Caps started the day with a league leading 120 points and their first President's Trophy already on their mantle this season. Boston started the day entrenched in 6th place in the Eastern Conference with 89 points. Regardless of the score at the end of this afternoon's game against the Capitals, the Bruins would finish the day in 6th place and face either Buffalo or New Jersey depending on how those teams finished the day during which who of those two would be in 2nd and who would finish 3rd in the East. In the end ... the Bruins took the Caps all the way to a shootout ending regulation and overtime in a 3-3 tie before the Bruins won the "gimmick" leaving the Caps with a season long record of : 54-15-13 and 121 points and poised for the start of the playoffs against the Canadiens.

... and the NBC coverage was very even handed. It's been a long time since I've watched a game covered by NBC as a Caps fan and didn't have at least two or three issues with commentary made by the NBC broadcast team, so I feel obligated to give some kudos on this one. First there was actually some love shown by both Pierre McGuire and Mike Milbury for Mike Green's game and skills BOTH Defensive and Offensive skill. Milbury's assessment of the Caps strengths and weaknesses during the first intermission was low key and I felt even handed. He mentioned real legitimate stats, the PK#, the GAA, and the OT record, that show where the Caps need to tighten up the team defense and why people focus on that and the goaltending as to why the Caps might be beatable in the playoffs. He didn't make any sort of stupid, sensational, emotional statements, like say a certain winger who currently plays for a non-playoff team domiciled in the State of Ohio.

Last night's results meant that at least 9, possibly 11, teams in the league would finish the regular season today with 100 or more points. That total is, by far, the most teams over 100 points ever and, IMO, is clear evidence of the combined effects of the introduction of the three point game in conjunction with the increasing parity throughout the league as a result of the salary cap and free agency as regulated under the current NHL CBA. At the end of the day ...eleven (11) teams did finish with 100 or more points, four (4) in the Eastern Conference and seven (7) in the Western Conference.

All that said, the day started with several Alex Ovechkin still clearly fighting for the Rocket Richard Trophy as well as having a third Art Ross Trophy within reach, and several other Capitals still working towards some milestones. Alexander Semin started the day with 39 goals, Semin had never reached the 40 goal plateau. Mike Green started the day with 19 goals, back to back 20+ goal seasons for a defenseman was a notable accomplishment to be shooting at. Mike Knuble started the day with 28 goals, the 37 year old veteran has reached the 30 goal plateau only two other times in 13 NHL seasons. So the game between the Bruins and the Capitals was not without items of interest. In the end... Semin tallied the game's first goal while the team's were even strength at the 2:23 mark. That score was number 40 on the season for the talented winger from Krasnojarsk, Siberia; his first 40 goal season, though likely not his last.

Knuble tallied one of the two goals he needed but finished the season with 29 goals. Green played a great game notching an assist and going +2 for the day, but finished the season with 19 vice 20 goals. Ovechkin ended the day with no additional points, last year's Vezina Winner Tim Thomas robbed him several times today to keep the Capitals Captain off the board today. So the following three guys should all be sending their thanks for the help cards to the Bruins 'tender: Ross Trophy Winner Henrik Sedin, Rocket Richard Trophy Co-Winners Sidney Crosby, and Steven Stamkos.

So what's next? The first round of the playoffs, you know that "second season" - the one that really counts. For the Washington Capitals it starts at Verizon Center, when they take on the Canadiens. If your like me, you've been anticipating this year's playoffs for about 9 months. Seriously, I've been expecting the Capitals to return to the playoffs since last August. Now we'll see how much better, mature, and focused this Capitals team is then any prior one. Personally, I know this is exactly what all of us who lived through "the rebuild" as Caps fans and Season Ticket Holders (STHs) were hoping and rooting for. Hopefully, this is just the beginning.

LETS GO CAPS!!! C-A-P-S, CAPS, CAPS, CAPS!!!!

Caps Best Rangers 2 - 0; Theodore Gets First His Shutout of Season

It was a two point night for the Capitals, in fact tonight they earned their 95th and 96th point of this regular season. That's two more points than they totalled the entire 2007 - 2008 season when they won the Southeast Division with a total of 94 points; last season of course the Caps finished the regular season with 108 points, we'll come back to that later. In 2005-2006 and 2006 - 2007 the Caps totaled 70 points each season, for the entire 82 game season, aside form last season, the last time the Capitals were on anywhere near this pace or this good was a decade ago the 1999 - 2000 season which they finished with 102 points. As of tonight they have 96 points, lead the Eastern Conference and currently lead the NHL having captured 73.84% of the standings point they have competed for this season and they are on pace to capture 120+ points at this juncture. To put into perspective just how good this team is playing, the last team to capture 120 or more points was the 2005-2006 Detroit Red Wings with 124 and they are the only team to have done so since the lockout. Prior to the lockout, and the implementation of 3 point games only 10 teams, in the post expansion era have achieved anything like the Capitals success so far this season:

1) the 1976-1977 Montreal Canadiens with 132 points in 80 games,
2) the 1995-1996 Red Wings with 131 points in 82 games,
3) the 1977-1978 Montreal Canadiens with 129 points in 80 games,
4) the 1975-1976 Montreal Canadiesns with 127 points in 80 games,
5) the 1970 - 1971 Boston Bruins with 121 points in 78 games,
6) the 1972 - 1973 Montreal Canadiens with 120 points in 78 games,
7) the 1971 - 1972 Boston Bruins with 119 points in 78 games,
8) the 1985-1986 Edmonton Oilers with 119 points during an 80 game season,
9) the 1983-1984 Edmonton Oilers also with 119 points in an 80 game season,
10) the 1981-1982 New York Islanders with 118 points in an 80 game season.

Further if you look closer at the rosters of the teams that played and won those games you'll see rosters filled with depth and great names, many names who are in the Hockey Hall of Fame today. Caps fans, if you're not having fun watching games this season, you likely never will have fun at a hockey game.

Now about tonight, Jose Theodore - first star of the game and deservedly so, stopping 30 of 30 for his first shutout of the year, his third as a Washington Capital and the 29th of his career. Including tonight's game Theo is 22-7-6 with 1 shutout, a GAA of 2.79 and a Save Percentage of 0.910 in 37 appearances so far this season. Further in his last three games Theo is 2-0-1 and has better than a 1.90 GAA and better than 0.933 SV%. It would be great to see Theodore continue this level of performance until June, it would be a career year for him and it would mean a great year for the Capitals as well. Theodore played superbly the entire game tonight. Eric Fehr scored his 17th goal of the season on the power play in the first period and it was the game winner, although no one expected it to be at the time. Fehr scored by going hard to the net and roofing a nice pass from Tomas Fleischmann past Ranger backup goaltender Alex Auld. The third star of the game went to "new guy" Eric Belanger. For most of the game Belanger skated as the pivot between Brooks Laich and Alexander Semin and tonight he and his linemates looked very good the entire game. Belanger scored the "insurance goal" at even strength at the 13:38 mark of the second period assisted by both Brooks Laich and Alexander Semin.

Caps 6 - Rangers 5; That Makes Twelve (12) ...

Well the Caps and their dads had to have a lot to talk about on the plane ride home last night after the game against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. It was a two point night for the Caps and they extended their current club record winning streak. I doubt too much time was spent talking about the impending "Snowpocalypse II," though it may have come up if any of the Caps need bread, milk or toilet paper at their places.

You know as in say Mike Green to his dad: "Oh by the way Dad, you're not gonna believe this but, we're out of toilet paper back at the house and we're going to need to borrow some from the neighbors since, get this, in Washington, DC for some reason when it's going to snow the folks there feel the need to run out and buy every roll of toilet paper, every drop of milk and every loaf of bread in the supermarkets." ... "Yeah, I know it makes no sense, if we did that back home in Calgary every time snow was in the forecast, we'd have to build an extra room for all the TP, Milk and stale bread we'd have."

See, I'd guess the topic would quickly change to any one of the 11 goals scored by either team last night or the several amazing saves that Lundqvist, Theodore, or Ovechkin made. Wait a second --- save, Ovechkin? How's that work? you ask. Well, with the Caps up by one, eleven seconds left in the game, the Rangers with the goalie pulled for an extra skater, and Ovie on the ice in basically a checking role; the Capitals Captain made an awesome shot block in the crease that kept the Caps in front of the Blueshirts. It's probably, unfairly in some regards, the most memorable moment in a game that had many memorable moments. To me it's the most memorable because it was then and only then that I felt the Caps twelfth win in a row was going to "happen." Other key things the Caps likely talked with their fathers on trip home were, in no particular order:

- Nicklas Backstrom's five point night (1 goal, 4 assists) including a really awesome pass that set up Mike Knuble's goal.

- Tom Poti's great night. Poti led the Caps in ice time (26:36) and scored his 3rd goal of the season.

- Ovie's sick move on his even strength, second goal of the game at 19:51 of the second period to bring the Caps back within one and make the score Rangers 5 - Caps 4.

- The Caps inability to hold the Rangers' power play in check. The formerly anemic Ranger extra man unit went 4 for 6, moving the puck crisply and purposefully and basically scoring 4 tallies on which Jose Theodore had little to no chance to stop, no matter how many times someone gave him those four back.

- The fact that despite allowing the Ranger to score five goals during the first two periods, Theodore didn't have a horrible game. Even more notable was his play in the first period where the Rangers out shot the Caps 18 - 6 and if not for Theo the score could easily have been 4-1 Rangers at the end of that stanza. In the second period, the only goals Theodore allowed were three power play tallies. I've already mentioned, that for some reason changes to the Rangers' extra man unit, with the addition of Olli Jokinen, meant they were able to really move the puck around inside the Caps zone and set up excellent scoring chances, on which they capitalized with routine efficiency. In the third period, Theodore only did what he had to do - be perfect and stop all sixe of the shots the Rangers managed to put on goal. So while statistically last night's game won't help Jose's numbers - SV% 0.868, GAA 5.00, the one key stat that matters he got - the W to extend his own winning streak. He also won last night's goal tending duel with King Henrik. Lundqvists' numbers on the night: SV% 0.813, GAA 6.00, and he also didn't look nearly as poor as those numbers might lead you to think.

- The Caps scored three of their own power play goals during the nine (9) extra man chances the Rangers gave them. A power play effectiveness of 33.33% isn't too bad at all. It just didn't seem all that impressive because the opposing Rangers unit had an effectiveness of 66.66% on their six (6) extra man chances.

- Both David Steckel and Boyd Gordon were beasts in the face off circle. Steckel won 7 of 10 draws; while Gordon won an almost perfect 8 of 9.

- It was a physical game, the Caps registered 28 hits while the Rangers totaled 33 hits for the night.

- Ovie's 498th, 499th, and 500th NHL points.

Perhaps the biggest topic of conversation might have been how weird and different the game they played in/watched was from the picture the night's statistics would likely lead you to think. If you're a Rangers fan you have to be frustrated. It's not often the rangers score more than 3 goals in a game or have their power play unit execute with ruthless effectiveness, how both those things occur and your team looses is hard to imagine.

How did the Caps win last night? Well, Jose Theodore kept them in it during the first period so at the end of one stanza the score was only Rangers 2 - Caps 1. Next, during the second period, the teams kept pace with each other each scoring 3 goals so once again at the end of two periods the Rangers only led by one (Rangers 5 - Caps 4). Then in the third period, the Caps came out, settled down, taking only one penalty, and out played the Rangers, as well as out scoring them 2 goals to none so the final was Caps 6 - Blueshirts 5. Why did that happen, well first as undisciplined as the Caps were giving the Rangers 6 power plays, the Rangers were more so giving the Caps 9 power plays. Henrik Lundqvist was merely human last night and the Caps high octane offense was what it usually is - this season the Caps are averaging 3.93 GF/game through 59 games. That leads the league and is pretty good even compared to some of the most high scoring teams ever. But, through the last 12 games the Caps have scored 58 goals, an average of 4.83 GF/game. So far during the 12 game winning streak the Caps have scored five or more goals seven times, however this was only the second time they had to do so to gain the victory. The other two reasons the Caps won were a) they won the third period to close out the game, and b) they won the 5 on 5 game 3 - 1 - they did that simply because though the Rangers are a good team with lots of talent, right now the Caps are better, especially when Henrik Lundqvist decides to look human and Marian Gaborik also has a night which though solid was also just looking human. The Caps now lead the regular season series with the Rangers 2-1, and they don't see each other again until the Boys from Broadway travel to Verizon Center on March 6th for their final 2009-2010 regular season meeting.

Once again we find a lot of folks, this time my self included, saying this wasn't the Caps best effort but good teams find a way to stay in games and win. That's what happened last night. Tonight, Lord willing and the creek don't rise, the Caps face the Atlanta Thrashers at Verizon. Given the Thrashers now find themselves without their former Captain and number one scorer Ilya Kovalchuk who was traded to New Jersey last night, I'd say that probably evens out the fact the Caps are playing the second of two on back to back nights and the Thrashers will be coming into tonight's game fresh. Hopefully, the Caps will not get caught looking past the Bluebirds. It will be interesting to see if Braden Holtby gets the nod to mind the net as well. If the Caps keep their eye on the ball and do play it one game at a time, the Caps should win. However, for the superstitious, i need not reminding you, this is for lucky number 13.

Prediction: Caps 5 - Thrashers 2.

Lets Go Caps!!!

Caps vs. Rangers at Madison Square Garden Tonight

The Washington Capitals and their Dads will be at Madison Square Garden tonight to take on the New York Rangers. Between this being the annual Dad's trip, the Caps going for win #12, and the generation of drama the MSM is brewing in anticipation of this weekend's nationally televised match up between the Caps and Penguins, there's enough story lines going around to worry about possible distractions. That's where the fact tonight's game is against the Rangers is a good thing. After the last two years playoffs, along with the familiarity that comes from being Conference rivals, it's unlikely the Caps will look past tonight's game or be thinking about anything other than the need to play a focused, full sixty minute game against the Blueshirts.

Sure the Rangers play of late hasn't been very great. Sure there's now two new faces - Ollie Jokinen and Brandon Prust - that need to gel with the rest of the Rangers team. Jokinen and Prust were acquired in a trade with the Flames on Tuesday when the Rangers sent Christopher Higgens and Ales Kotalik to Calgary. Sure the Rangers haven't scored a power play goal in their last seven games and many times this season, the Rangers 5 on 5 offense have consisted of only one weapon - sniper Marian Gaboriak. However, the fact remains, the Ranger's lineup is loaded with talent. While for some byzantine reason the team hasn't really lived up to what would have, no should have been reasonable and justified high expectations, there are numerous familiar names of players any one or two of which could be the catalyst for a team to beat any other team in the NHL. That starts with Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist and then works it way from the Rangers net outward. King Henrik certainly has the demonstrated ability to steal one for his team from time to time, pretty much all on his own. The Rangers blueline has several name players, who despite having been underwhelming from time to time this season, also have the ability to shut down high flying offenses. Namelky Wade Redden, Michal Rozsival, and Marc Staal. Additionally that Michael Del Zotto "kid" has been showing he ain't too bad either all season long. One of the interesting things about the Rangers blueline is their size - they average 6'2". 205#. The smallest is Del Zotto at 6'1", 195. So they can "bring it" when they want. On the forward lines, in addition to Right Wing Marian Gaborik, the first line now includes Vinny Prospal at and Jokinen. This is the Rangers version of Ovechkin - Backstrom - Knuble, and it's not a far variation if they can now develop some chemistry as Jokinen joins the group.

Gaborik, with his 4th in the league 34 goals, is certainly doing his part on a team with a total of 156 goals for in 57 games. Prospal's 9 goals and 30 assists to date are also solid contributions on a team that has often struggled to generate offense this season. In his first game as a Ranger on Tuesday in Los Angeles against the Kings, Jokinen skated over 20 minutes on 21 shifts and had more ice time than any other Rangers forward except Gaborik. He brings both the usual play making abilities expected of a Scandinavian centerman as well as strong physical presence to the game. When/if this line gels it will be a force in most if not all of the Rangers remaining games this season. The supporting cast of second, third and fourth liners for the Rangers also still includes some pretty impressive names and weapons: Sean Avery, Bandon Dubinsky, Chris Drury, Ryan Callahan, Artem Asminov and Erik Christensen - not all big names but all solid, talented players capable of lighting the red light in the NHL.

So far this season the Caps and Rangers have faced each other twice and the series is tied 1 -1. Their last meeting was November 17th in New York - the Caps won that game 4-2. Their first meeting of this season was on October 8th, at Verizon Center - the Rangers took that one 4-3 in regulation. So, the Caps know this is a team that can beat them. They also probably realize the addition of Ollie Jokinen makes them stronger and the former Florida Panthers Captain is a talented guy who knows the Caps pretty well. If that doesn't help keep the Caps heads firmly on their shoulders and minds focused on the task at hand, they can always think back to the last two 7 game playoff series against the Rangers....

So the good news is tonight, the Caps will likely be taking it all "one game at a time." The better news ought to be it looks like they will continue doing so until they, hopefully, achieve their real goal. This quote Cap's Majority Owner Ted Leonsis, compliments of the Washington Post, keeps that in perspective: "Just want to win the Cup. That's all we are focused on as a franchise. We have removed all other obstacles and can now have a singular focus on our present and our future." See like I said a focused, relentless, march to a straightforward goal - one game at a time, but it is nice to see such clear statements as reminders.

Prediction: Caps 3 - Rangers 2, OT; GWG: Ovechkin

LETS GO CAPS!!!

A Two Point Night In The Big Apple For Washington..

So I watched tonight's game on Versus HD on the new 52" LCD Sharp Aquos that Mrs Mark gave me as an early Christmas gift - SWEET! The game I watched was pretty cool too. If you read this blog you probably watched the game as well but hey I gotta be me so my recap follows.



Ranger sharpshooter Marian Gaboriak put his team up 1 - 0 at the 1:16 mark. It was one of those where Semyon Varlamov would like to have the shot taken by Dan Giradi back so he wouldn't have to put the rebound right on to Gaboriak's stick at point blank range and a nice space between he and the post available to him so he could net his 14th goal of the season. In any case, as a sign to the continuing maturation of Varlamov, he shook that goal off and played solid very solidly the rest of the game. At the 13:17 mark Mike Green drew a tripping penalty on Ranger's "bad boy" Sean Avery that oput the Caps on their second powerplay of the evening. The Caps got things going for the night with a well played, smart power play goal by their young guns. Alex Ovechkin was on the point first he put the puck in to Tomas Fleischmann in the left side face off circle as both Brooks Laich and Flash were in front of the net. Backstrom didn't have a shooting lan so he put the puck back to Ovie, no shooting lane. Ovie dishes to Mike Green; Green moves in but has no lane, he makes like he is going to shoot pulling Henrick Ludqvist just a little to the right. Green instead of shooting put the puck back to Ovechkin in the perfect positoin for a one-timer. Ovechkin buries it in the basket just therough the small amount of space the lanky Ranger netminder gives him. Welcome back to the lineup Ovie, goal #15 on the season ties it up 1-1. From what I saw the Caps were playing their game and outplayed the Rangers the first period out shooting them 15-5 and if not for the Rangers super goaltender Henrick Lundqvist would likely have been up by at least a goal against a lot of other teams in the league. But as it was the team went into intermission looking ahead to a 40 minute game after they would come back onto the ice.



Hey wait a minute - what about the fight? What fight? The one between Matt Bradley and Aaron Voros. Oh yeah that fight well at the 10:35 mark of the period Brads and Voros dropped em. It looked for a while that Brads was going to win his first hockey fight of the season but then Voros came back and caught Brads with a right that cut him above Brads' left eye and I'd think youy'd have to say that despite probably winning the fight if this were real boxing based on points scored, since Bradley had to go to the dressing room and get cleaned up, you'd have to score this one for Voros. It did accent the grittiness of the game and help establish that the Caps weren't going to be pushed around tonight though, so once again you have to really like that both Bradley and Erskine were in the lineup tonight and they came to play.



The second perid, the Rangers took things up a notch but the Caps responded as well. During the second period the Caps out hit the Rangers 9-3 and the teams each notched 6 shots on goal. The difference for the period was penalties and penalty killing. The Rangers gave the Caps two power plays in the second period and the Caps only gave the Rangers one, better yet, assuming you are a Caps fan, the Caps capitalized on the second power play chance they were given during the period. Through the first two periods the Caps successfully held the Rangers power play scoreless on all three power plays they had to face. In fact the Capitals PK tonight was quite impressive. The one goal of the period by the Caps came at the 15:44 mark with the Caps on the power play. At 14:11 the Energizer Bunny Mathieu Perrault drew a hooking penalty on Ales Kotalik. After Boyle cleared the puck into the Capitals end, Mike Green brought the puck up ice and into the zone. As he entered the zone he ran into heavy traffic and passed the puck off to Alexader Ovechkin who threaded the needle over to Chris Clark in the right side circle. Clark then dished the puck back to Green who was driving the net. Green didn't have an opening as he skated past Lunqvist so he put the puck back to Brooks Laich who was trailing him to the net as well. Lundqvist stopped the pass to Laich but couldn't control the puck as Laich buried it into the net through his five hole for his 9th goal of the season. That goal put the Caps up 2-1 which is how the period ended.



During the third period the Caps and Rangers each got 3 chances to score with a man up on the power play. Unfortunately, during the Rangers second power play chance of the evening their Magician, Marian Gaboriak scored on a shot that I venture to guess only one other player on the ice could have taken and scored on with any regularity. It was one of those shots where goaltender Semyon Valamov had to make the percentage choice, he chose correctly but the sniper got it by him anyway - that type of goal that was discussed ad nuseum and intelligently just this afternoon over at Japer's Rink - how's that for irony. In any case it was a beuty, one of those goals where no matter how many times I watch the replay and shake my head and say how did he do that. It was a goal worthy of Ovechkin or Semin; it was a goal the likes of which are why the Rangers went and got Gaboriak from the available free agents this summer. The goal was Gaboiraik's 15th of the season, it tied the game at 2-2 and tied the Ranger Ace with OV for the league lead in goals. It was a tough tightly played period and the Caps hung in and played hard even though they were outshot for the period ( ) the Caps once again outhit the Rangers 14-8. Their determination was no better displayed then at the 15:09 mark Matt Bradley took the puck away from Wade Redden, got a step on him, then used his body to protect the puck and skate in on Henrick Lundvist. Lundqvist dropped his shoulder slight to square up on Brads and the gritty 31 year old winger from Stittsville, Ontario fired his 4th goal of the season into the top shelf of the net like a 50 goal scoring sniper. Brads finished the evening an assist shot of a Gordie Howe hat trick. The Rangers continued to challenge the Caps and tried to tie the game, pulling Lundqvist for the extra skater at the 18:53 mark. They pressed and had the Caps penned into their zone pretty well util the 19:43 mark when Brian Pothier lobbed the puck up to get some fresh bodies on to the ice and ended up getting his third goal unassisted by netting what is listed in the stat sheets as a 165 foot backhand for a goal. The game ended Caps 4 - Rangers 2.



The NY Media voted the three stars of the game as:

1) Alexander Ovechkin

2) Marian Gaboriak

3) Matt Bradley.



All in all not a bad set of Stars of the Game. With a stat line of 1 SOG, 1 Goal Scored, 2 attempts blocked, 4 misses, 7 hits, and 1 takeaway; Ovechkin certainly made his presence in the game felt during the 22 shifts where he logged 19:23 in his return to the lineup after a 6 game hiatus. As the only Ranger to find the back of the net there's no argument with Marian Gaboriak who 24:03 TOI during 27 shifts and led everyone except Mike Green on both teams in ice time tonight. Matt Bradley had 2/3RDs of a "Gordie Howe" including the game winner and also finished the game +1 and had 3 hits as well during his 13:23 TOI, that has to be looked at as a very good game for the 4th liner, I'd bet he got the hard hat tonight but several other guys also put in good nights. After starting out by yielding a goal, Semyon Varlamov out played Lundqvist turing in a save percentage of 0.900 stopping 18 of 20 tonight including a couple of tough saves to keep the Caps in the lead. Brian Pothier had 3 block shots in addition to his empty net goal and played well except for taking a High Sticking minor in the third period. Mike Green's 2 assists, +1, 5 shots on goal and 2 blocked shots in 24: 55 TOI was a solid night "for sure." David Steckel was once again a beast in the faceoff circle (winning 8 of 11); "Stecks" also had 3 shots on goal, 1 attempt blocked and 1 miss - including 2 that were close, it's only a matter of time before the pucks start finding the back of the net for Steckel. Mathieu Perreault won 5 of 7 draws and drew a penalty that resulted in a power play goal for the Caps in just 8:57 TOI.



On the negative side of things per Tariq's blog: "Coach Bruce Boudreau said he thinks Quintin Laing suffered a broken jaw when he was struck in the face by a Michal Rozsival shot in the third period. The team has not provided an official diagnosis yet, but Boudreau said Laing will remain in New York overnight for observation." Here's hoping all is okay with "Q."



Next up Montreal at Verizon Center on Friday evening. Tom has the tickets for that game so I'll be watching once again on the new TV here in Bristow.



LETS GO CAPS!!!!

Well Two More Games Tonigth ...Thinking About Saturday Night at the Phone Booth...

Well the 2009 - 2010 NHL Season Continues tonight with the NY Rangers taking on the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh tonight. Tonight should be an emotional game for the Penguins and their fans, the game will be the season opener for the Pens and this should be the first game of the last season to be played in Mellon Arena (aka The Igloo). Pittsburgh's arena is currently the oldest one in use in the NHL; it was completed in 1961. Next season (2010 -2011) should be the first the Penguins play in the new "Consol Energy Center. Adding to that emotional point is the fact the Penguins will be raising their third Stanley Cup banner to the Igloo's rafters tonight. It sure seems the only way the Rangers are likely to overcome that wave of good Penguin karma would be a stellar night by Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist aka King Henrik. Stranger things have happened but I don't think they will tonight. It still should be a good one to watch.

The other game in the NHL tonight has the Philadelphia Flyers traveling to North Carolina and taking on the Carolina Hurricanes at RBC Center. This should be a good, hard fought season opener. The Flyers will be looking to validate things for all those folks picking them to get to the Stanley Cup finals, while the Hurricanes will be looking to show everyone they like their division rival Capitals are "the real deal" once again this season.

Both these match ups have the potential for being solid, fun games to watch. The Penguins - Rangers game is available nationwide on the NHL Network both here in the US and in Canada.

A lot is being written in the blogsphere about last night's Capitals - Bruins game. It ranges across the spectrum in tone and tenor. For my two cents, it's 2 points, one game down and 81 to go to get to the playoffs. Really, nothing more, noting less. Solid efforts by the entire Capitals team, but hey there are indeed 81 more games left in the regular season, no need to get too high or low about anything.

Looking ahead to tomorrow evening's home opener for the Capitals leads me to point out the obvious. Our team's foe - the Toronto Maple Leafs are not the same team we played last year. They could end up being one of the most improved teams in the league though last night they failed to finish out the game with a win in regulation and then the totally revamped Canadeans won in overtime. The Maple Leafs have, in a relatively quiet fashion, revamped their team and gave the Canadeans a "run for their money" last evening. Now they will be looking to come in to Washington and take two points from the Capitals. That probably won't happen, but this leaf's team has the talent to do just that so our Capitals will need to "ring their "A" game.

LETS GO CAPS!!!!

One Down! - Three To Go ...

WOW - that was the only word I could think to express my feelings as a walked down "E" Street last night to get back to where I parked my car - WOW...

Last night's game was joyful, if you were and/or are a Washington Capitals fan. Unless for some odd, unfathomable reason reading this blog is your only connectivity to the outside world, you already know the Washington Capitals completed a comeback from a 3-1 best of seven series deficit against the NY Rangers last night. If you didn't watch the game at all you only know the final score was 2-1, you might not know the Rangers played an excellent game, executing the "dreaded" 4-1 trap flawlessly for the first two periods and fairly well for the final period of the game. If you didn't watch the game in person at DC's Verizon Center, you might not have any idea or appreciation just how fantastic a celebration of world class NHL playoff hockey the game was, or how loud and enthusiastic the sellout crowd was either.

Thanks to an early goal by the Rangers' Nik Antropov, setup by that pesky, nuisance Sean Avery drawing multiple Washington Capitals into a shoving match in the corner, the Rangers led or were tied in this game for all but the final 4:59. Thankfully for the Capitals, if your only going to lead a hockey game for less than 5 minutes, the last 4:59 of the third period of game 7 of a playoff series is the right time to do it though. So even though, by my estimation, Sean Avery had finally made a real impact on the Rangers - Capitals Series where it counts, on the scoreboard, the Caps comeback was completed. Interestingly from a scoresheet perspective 4 of the 5 biggest names on last night's scoresheet were Russians and the fifth was also a European. I am speaking of the 3 goal scorers and the two goaltenders. As already mentioned, Nik Atropov scored the Rangers only tally, while Alexander Semin and Sergei Federov socred the two goals necessary for the Capitals to advance to Round 2. In net for the Capitals Simeon Varlamov (pronounced var-LAM-ov) aka CZAR-lamov, made the victory possible with several excellent saves, including two at the end of the second period that were crucial. Rangers netminder Henriq Lundqvist stopped 22 of 24 shots, a save percentage of 0.917 last night and didn't give the Caps much to shoot at all night.

The Rangers executed the 4-1 trap flawlessly during the first period, limiting the Caps to just two shots on goal, fortunately one was a great one by Alexander Semin that found the back of the net at 15:34 of the first period to tie the game at 1-1. The rest of the first and remainder of the second periods were tough minutes for the Capitals, New York played measured, patient team hockey and executed a stifling trap. The Blueshirts play limited the Caps scoring chances but they did get a few. Howver, either good recoveries by relentless backchacking or "King Henriq" kept the few Caps scoring chances out of the Rangers net at their end of the ice. While at the Caps end of the rink, they too had tightend things up after giving up that first goal to Antropov at the 5:35 mark of the first period. Finally at about the 15 minute mark of the third period, veteran and future Hall of Famer Sergei Federov, playing in the 8th game seven of his illustrious NHL career, got his chance for glory on a breakaway after an outlet pass from Matt Bradley. The 39 year old from Pskov, Russia did not flinch or miss, after streaking down the right side of the ice, he saw his opening. The Swedish Monarch in the net for the Rangers moved quickly to the left side of the net, however, Federov must have sensed Lundqvist moving too far or too fast and he pulled up instantly putting the puck past him into the upper left side of net past the Ranger goalies' right shoulder. Fedorov is now tied with Hockey Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux for 15th place on the league’s all-time playoff scoring list. Fedorov now has 12 game-winning goals in Stanley Cup playoff competition, tied for 17th on the NHL’s all-time list in that department. To put Fedrov's career playoff accomplishments in perspective, last night was his 176th NHL playoff game, that's almost 3 full regular seasons without missing a game's worth of playoff experience and accomplishments. He is now one game shy of matching Hockey Hall of Famer Al MacInnis for 25th on the league’s all-time list in that department. How's that for WOW!

The moment when Federov scored is when an already loud Verizon Center crowd erupted and stayed so "rumbling the rafters" for the remainder of the game. To be sure, the Caps played excellent, dominating hockey for those last 5 minutes of play and the Rangers only managed to get Lundqvist to the bench for just two seconds as the puck was in their zone for much of the final minutes of play. The crowd noise was the loudest I have ever heard it during ANY professional sporting event of my life. However, from where I could see it the crowd was always in control, to be sure some additional precautions were taken in and around the Rangers bench and they seemed well thought out and advisable to keep in place for pretty much all games.

As for crowd behaviour, you can only pretty much speak knowledgeably about the conduct in and around your own seat. But I can tell you from my discussions with my seatmates, it seems my friend Gary brought a group with him and they managed to get a fair number of seats in and around section 103 for game 5. Per the folks who usually sit around me there were no untoward incidents then and it was clear the usual good natured chat between hockey fans of rival teams was all conducted in a civil manner. Last night two Rangers fans, a husband and wife, sat in front of Tom and I, we had several good conversations at breaks in the action, like the prolonged delay when the glass needed to be repaired and between periods. They were nice folks and I believe they would say the same about us. The only thing they probably didn't like about the game was the outcome but I'm not going to work to change that anytime soon.

Another big - WOW - story of the game and series was now just turned 21 year old Simeon Varlamov. He took over for Jose Theodore after game one and through the last six games of the series he's compiled a 4-2 record with a SV% of 0.952 and a GAA of 1.17 - WOW! CZARlamov's athleticism and flexibility proved to be a deadly combination to the Rangers 2009 playoff objectives. Other pleasant developments that are notable so far from this series - the elevated level of play of the entire Capitals line up and the mature, patient adjustments being made to the games by the Caps young stars to playoff hockey. You can't write about this series without mentioning the improved level of focus and play by the blueline corps, notably Erskine, Jurcina, and Poti. Sure Green, ShaMo and Pothier are all also playing excellent hockey as well but most pleasantly surprising to me has been the play of John Erskine. Once again another move by Caps GM George McPhee, the Erskine contract extension this season, looks prescient. The return to the lineup by Brian Pothier has also helped but right now the amazing thing to me last night was it seemed like during the third period almost any of the six blueliners could play together without miscommunication, miscues or hesitation of any sort. Tom Poti had a great, not good, but great series against the Rangers and you can't not mention that. Up front, "the grinders" especially Matt Bradley, Dave Steckel and Boyd Gordon seemed to be pushing for folks to stand up and take notice of them so here it is - great series guys - WOW!

Okay like for the Caps no time to wallow in self-aggrandizement, thanks to a third period comeback by Carolina last night, the Caps will face the Pittsburgh Penguins in the next round. WOW! That one should be a barn-burner. Pittsburgh bested the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2 in their opening round series. Now the Caps have to put this one behind them and understand as great as last night's victory felt, it was just one down, three to go.

LETS GO CAPS!!!!