Wow, how about that Gold Medal game, all except for that last minute and final score. First let me say I now have a big time "man crush" on Zach Parise. I text'ed one of my friends who is a long time (as in since 1983) Devils fan and season ticket holder and asked him if he thought Lou L might take any two or three Caps, except Ovechkin and Backstrom for Zach. Talk about a guy who never gives up...
The ending of the game was just horrible from my personal perspective. My initial feelings were totally in synch with the exasperation and disappointment Ryan Millers reaction to the goal expressed. Before I spout off once again about Sidney Crosby, let me admit the guy has a way of making a different no matter what and he is a great hockey player. That said the Gold Medal game, at least the first 61 minutes of it were clearly NOT his best hockey ever played. Also just as so many fans who don't like Ovechkin would have made this point, I'll make the point that if it weren't for those final 60 or so seconds he spent on the ice, many, many, many folks would have been all over about how he didn't make a difference and rise to the occasion this game. Instead somehow the bloody guy manages to score what is probably the most important hockey goal scored by a Canadian Player in at least the last 8 years. Ugh, so cruel to those of us who feel the guy is already excessively deified by far too many hockey fans and pundits. Unbelievable...makes me root against him even harder but you know what I'm pretty sure he never cared and I know for sure now he doesn't have to care about nor no matter what will he ever.
Give it to both teams though it was a great game and it could have gone either way to use the cliche'. It did go to Canada and you have to congratulate them all, even Sidney bleepin' Crosby. The guy is uncanny, but does he have to be so perfect when he's interviewed so he always sounds so scripted? It's like watching a 21st century version of Leave It To Beaver but in a Bart Starr Athletic Level Talent's body.
Also in the vein of admitting I was wrong, as long as he doesn't do anything monumentally stupid, Patrick Kane can be on the next three or four Team USA's at the Olympics as well. If he wants to go out partying call me I'll fly to Buffalo and be his designated driver if he doesn't want to spend cab fare and he doesn't have to tip me. I just want to make sure neither I or anybody that matters ever feels the need to question having him represent our nation at Ice Hockey, the guy has rockets on the end of his legs.
Now with all that said it's time to get back to the last ~20 games of the 2009-2010 NHL season. Tonight the NHL returns to action with Detroit at Colorado in just 15 minutes and then tomorrow it's a full slate of games - 12 in all. The Caps return to action on Wednesday evening in Buffalo...there they all will be looking to make sure they return to the winning ways they were enjoying during most of the time since the New Year and looking to wrap up the regular season in fine form.
Some good blogs today by Tarik El-Bashir on Capitals Insider, first from this morning and then later this afternoon... as we all wonder about will the Caps be active here before the trade deadline...
LETS GO CAPS!!!
Showing posts with label 2010 Olympics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2010 Olympics. Show all posts
Monday, March 1, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Wow - Finland Makes Up Two Goal Deficit And Takes Bronze
Until tonight no team that had trailed by two or more goals had come back to win in this Olympics. However the Finns scored four unanswered goals (including an empty net insurance goal at 19:49) to take the Bronze Medal with a 5 - 3 win over Slovakia. So right now, by my reckoning, the only current or former Washington Capital wearing a Vancouver 2010 Medal is - can you believe it - Sami Lepisto. Lepisto has also been having a reasonable year for the Phoenix Coyotes as well.
In any case, it was a very well played, exciting game, I'm not and never have been an Olli Jokinen fan but he had a great game tonight, especially in the third period. In the end, for whatever reason Slovakia got into penalty trouble and couldn't hold onto the lead. So Finland follows up on their 2006 Silver Medal performance with a Bronze in 2010 and a couple of guys on the team move into Olympic History. Congrats to Teemu Selanne and his teammates who captured their fourth Men's Ice Hockey Medal in a row. I was of course rooting for the Slovaks since Milan Jurcina and Richard Zednick were both players I really liked while they were wearing Capitals uniforms. Maybe tomorrow night I should root for Sidney Crosby and Team Canada the way things have been going for the teams I'm pulling for in this event.
In any case, it was a very well played, exciting game, I'm not and never have been an Olli Jokinen fan but he had a great game tonight, especially in the third period. In the end, for whatever reason Slovakia got into penalty trouble and couldn't hold onto the lead. So Finland follows up on their 2006 Silver Medal performance with a Bronze in 2010 and a couple of guys on the team move into Olympic History. Congrats to Teemu Selanne and his teammates who captured their fourth Men's Ice Hockey Medal in a row. I was of course rooting for the Slovaks since Milan Jurcina and Richard Zednick were both players I really liked while they were wearing Capitals uniforms. Maybe tomorrow night I should root for Sidney Crosby and Team Canada the way things have been going for the teams I'm pulling for in this event.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Olympic Hockey: Men's - USA vs. Canada Redeux For The Gold; Women's - You Can't Be Serious That A Few Beers and Cigars Are An Issue
Before getting into today's short blog, I just want to say my personal thoughts and prayers today are with those affected by the huge earthquake in Chile earlier this morning and with those around the Pacific regions who now may be affected by Tsunamis.
On a lighter note and as regards 2010 Olympics Hockey ... For the men's side it looks like it's a rerun, or at least we Americans hope it'll be a rerun of USA Vs. Canada prelim in the Gold Medal game for men's ice hockey. In the first semi-final game Team USA came out fast and had a 6-0 lead at the end of the first period, then held on for a 6-1 victory over Finland to advance easily. In the second game Team Canada held on through an attempted comeback by Slovakia for a 3-2 win to set up the rematch for the Gold. To be fair the Canadians held the edge and despite being in a close game, pretty much controlled things through the first two periods. Then the Slovaks scored two goals early in the third period and turned a good game into a great game to watch, though a nail-biter for Team Canada fans. So the Bronze Medal game is between Finland, who some MSM reports say is embarrassed by their loss to the USA and Slovakia who now has to feel if they had only turned things around 10 minutes earlier in the game they might be playing for Gold. In the Gold Medal game, it's a rematch between USA and Canada and it ought to be a really great game. Who knows what will happen in these two games except I'm pretty sure of one thing for all four teams - they will all be motivated to leave it all out on the ice.
Over in the world of Women's Ice Hockey the big story is ... wait for it ... was the celebration by the Canadian Women improper or non - Olympic like. Are you serious? Look at the pictures - there was pretty much no one around. They went out and took a few pictures, smoked a few cigars and had a couple of beers or glasses of champagne. The furor and up-roar is ridiculous in my opinion. If it was the men it wouldn't even get mentioned. There is nothing in these pictures that speaks to any untoward behaviour, and the controversy about an 18 year old having a beer after winning a Gold Medal since she's under the legal drinking age in British Columbia ... that's at least a little bizarre to me. Everyone is of course entitled to their own opinions but that's mine on this non-event, what about yours?
On a lighter note and as regards 2010 Olympics Hockey ... For the men's side it looks like it's a rerun, or at least we Americans hope it'll be a rerun of USA Vs. Canada prelim in the Gold Medal game for men's ice hockey. In the first semi-final game Team USA came out fast and had a 6-0 lead at the end of the first period, then held on for a 6-1 victory over Finland to advance easily. In the second game Team Canada held on through an attempted comeback by Slovakia for a 3-2 win to set up the rematch for the Gold. To be fair the Canadians held the edge and despite being in a close game, pretty much controlled things through the first two periods. Then the Slovaks scored two goals early in the third period and turned a good game into a great game to watch, though a nail-biter for Team Canada fans. So the Bronze Medal game is between Finland, who some MSM reports say is embarrassed by their loss to the USA and Slovakia who now has to feel if they had only turned things around 10 minutes earlier in the game they might be playing for Gold. In the Gold Medal game, it's a rematch between USA and Canada and it ought to be a really great game. Who knows what will happen in these two games except I'm pretty sure of one thing for all four teams - they will all be motivated to leave it all out on the ice.
Over in the world of Women's Ice Hockey the big story is ... wait for it ... was the celebration by the Canadian Women improper or non - Olympic like. Are you serious? Look at the pictures - there was pretty much no one around. They went out and took a few pictures, smoked a few cigars and had a couple of beers or glasses of champagne. The furor and up-roar is ridiculous in my opinion. If it was the men it wouldn't even get mentioned. There is nothing in these pictures that speaks to any untoward behaviour, and the controversy about an 18 year old having a beer after winning a Gold Medal since she's under the legal drinking age in British Columbia ... that's at least a little bizarre to me. Everyone is of course entitled to their own opinions but that's mine on this non-event, what about yours?
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Wild Wednsday Concludes; Caps Fan Can Be Glad "Their Guys" Will Head Home Healthy and Motivated To Excel Through June
Great news Caps fans, our Olympians are all on the way home and save for a pinched nerve in Ovechkin's hand, all five are completely fit, healthy and likely equipped with more than a bit of surliness and motivation to end the NHL season - on their terms vice their opponents.
So I guess I'm rooting for a Gold Medal game of USA vs. Slovakia....
Well in reverse order from my previews and quarterfinal prognostications let's review in short order since I got so many of the "Wild Wednesday" game predictions so wrong.
Russia vs. Canada:
It was a "go big or go home game" - unfortunately for the Russians and for hockey fans outside of Canada, as well as some inside, apparently nobody explained to the Russians that phrase was meant to be taken literally AND to be applied from the second the puck dropped. The Russians seemed to come out thinking the first few minutes of this game would be a cautious, feeling out sort of thing for at least 5 if not 10 minutes. Unfortunately for them, Team Canada had markedly different ideas. Before the first period was half over Canada led 3-0, the home crowd was wildly behind their team and the Russians never mounted a serious come back. Frankly Evgeni Nabakov never saw the freight train that ran over him, but it was clear after the third Canadian goal his aggressive style of play was not only not going to cut it, it was going to be the Russian's undoing. Nabakakov should have been pulled in favor of Ilya Bryzgalov with the score 3-0 however it probably wouldn't have mattered and he wasn't pulled until the Canadians were up by five goals in the second period. There's tons of stuff all over the interwebs about this game, all of it negative about the Russians and in my opinion all but possibly one item well deserved. The one item I take exception to is the characterization of Dan Boyle's slew foot of Alexander Semin as deserved because his hit on Boyle was "dirty" or "dangerous" etc. I say this for two reasons, after considerable self-examination because I know I am a Semin fan: a) Watching the game and hit by Semin, it sure looks to me that Boyle is skating with his head down - something you learn not to do at about age 5 if you are a young Canadian boy destined for NHL fame. b) I'm from the school of "two wrongs don't make a right" thanks to 8 years of schooling by the Sisters of Perpetual Punishment and a mother whose stern German decent roots would come out and pound the phrase in my head at times like this. It is International Hockey so I won't argue Semin didn't deserve a penalty, under International rules there is no argument he did deserve one and he got one. I will argue that Boyle's retaliation i) cost his team a power play opportunity, and ii) was far more intentional and dangerous to Semin than Semin's hit on Boyle, it was clearly retaliatory and for that under the rules Boyle should have been tossed and he risked suspension from the tournament. In any case, I won't even go into how wrong I was on this one about the Canadians' defensive selections and this game. However, being me I'm still rooting that they don't medal and they see the error in their ways and their assessment of Mike Green's talent, suitability, and readiness to wear Team Canada's colors in the Olympics. I know it's a "hater" kind of thing and I should probably seek some counseling or whatever to get over it but hey, it's a free country so please leave me in "my own private Idaho" here for a while longer on this one.
USA vs. Switzerland:
Well folks Jonas Hiller and his mates made a solid run at an upset but fell just short. The USA had just too much for the Swiss and they made sure they didn't look past them. In addition in the goaltending department Ryan Miller did Hiller "one better" and that one was enough to ensure USA is into the medal round. To all those out there that point to the narrow margin of victory as a likely "chink" in Team USA's armour, I'd say four words - Sweden, Czech Republic, and Russia. What? you ask. In reply I point out that in the win or go home part of the tournament there are only winners and losers and the margin of victory is a meaningless thing to look at. The USA is the only team in the Quarter finals that won a game they should have won based on seeding coming out of the Prelims, they look just fine to me and they have no worries about being over confident at this point and abandoning their game plans.
Sweden vs. Slovakia:
Probably the best game of the four yesterday, too bad I fell asleep during the second period with the score tied 2-2. Also Caps fans take note, Milan Jurcina now of Columbus is having an excellent tourney and once again looked solid last night, at least during the first two periods. My shock on this game was the first two quick goals yielded by Henrik Lundqvist, especially Slovakia's second goal. Slovakia has now bested two of the four favorites in this tournament and have to be regarded as the real sleeper in the final four. Team Canada will have their hands full and will need to stay focused on the upcoming game with these guys before even beginning to talk about playing in the Gold Medal game. Caps fans can console themselves with the knowledge, center Nicklas Backstrom played well in the entire tournament, and I'd suspect he and a few other young guys on this team will carry the Tre Kroner torch in Sochi.
Finland vs. Czech Republic:
A classic goaltender's duel won by Mikka Kiprusoff over Tomas Vokoun. The surprise here is the Czech Republic's forwards couldn't solve either Kipper or the Finns defense. Ultimately it was the Czech's penalties that cost them the game in a "straw that broke the Camel's back" but the Finns defense and Kipper never yielded either. Team USA now has to gear up to face another hot goaltender in their first medal round game, the biggest threat to success in a win or go home format.
Today it's the women's medal round and both should be good games. It will be interesting to see the game plans and how the USA vs. Canada Gold Medal game are played and end up. No predictions from here on out, I'm a proud American so I know who I'm pulling for from here on out.
U-S-A ... U-S-A ... U-S-A
So I guess I'm rooting for a Gold Medal game of USA vs. Slovakia....
Well in reverse order from my previews and quarterfinal prognostications let's review in short order since I got so many of the "Wild Wednesday" game predictions so wrong.
Russia vs. Canada:
It was a "go big or go home game" - unfortunately for the Russians and for hockey fans outside of Canada, as well as some inside, apparently nobody explained to the Russians that phrase was meant to be taken literally AND to be applied from the second the puck dropped. The Russians seemed to come out thinking the first few minutes of this game would be a cautious, feeling out sort of thing for at least 5 if not 10 minutes. Unfortunately for them, Team Canada had markedly different ideas. Before the first period was half over Canada led 3-0, the home crowd was wildly behind their team and the Russians never mounted a serious come back. Frankly Evgeni Nabakov never saw the freight train that ran over him, but it was clear after the third Canadian goal his aggressive style of play was not only not going to cut it, it was going to be the Russian's undoing. Nabakakov should have been pulled in favor of Ilya Bryzgalov with the score 3-0 however it probably wouldn't have mattered and he wasn't pulled until the Canadians were up by five goals in the second period. There's tons of stuff all over the interwebs about this game, all of it negative about the Russians and in my opinion all but possibly one item well deserved. The one item I take exception to is the characterization of Dan Boyle's slew foot of Alexander Semin as deserved because his hit on Boyle was "dirty" or "dangerous" etc. I say this for two reasons, after considerable self-examination because I know I am a Semin fan: a) Watching the game and hit by Semin, it sure looks to me that Boyle is skating with his head down - something you learn not to do at about age 5 if you are a young Canadian boy destined for NHL fame. b) I'm from the school of "two wrongs don't make a right" thanks to 8 years of schooling by the Sisters of Perpetual Punishment and a mother whose stern German decent roots would come out and pound the phrase in my head at times like this. It is International Hockey so I won't argue Semin didn't deserve a penalty, under International rules there is no argument he did deserve one and he got one. I will argue that Boyle's retaliation i) cost his team a power play opportunity, and ii) was far more intentional and dangerous to Semin than Semin's hit on Boyle, it was clearly retaliatory and for that under the rules Boyle should have been tossed and he risked suspension from the tournament. In any case, I won't even go into how wrong I was on this one about the Canadians' defensive selections and this game. However, being me I'm still rooting that they don't medal and they see the error in their ways and their assessment of Mike Green's talent, suitability, and readiness to wear Team Canada's colors in the Olympics. I know it's a "hater" kind of thing and I should probably seek some counseling or whatever to get over it but hey, it's a free country so please leave me in "my own private Idaho" here for a while longer on this one.
USA vs. Switzerland:
Well folks Jonas Hiller and his mates made a solid run at an upset but fell just short. The USA had just too much for the Swiss and they made sure they didn't look past them. In addition in the goaltending department Ryan Miller did Hiller "one better" and that one was enough to ensure USA is into the medal round. To all those out there that point to the narrow margin of victory as a likely "chink" in Team USA's armour, I'd say four words - Sweden, Czech Republic, and Russia. What? you ask. In reply I point out that in the win or go home part of the tournament there are only winners and losers and the margin of victory is a meaningless thing to look at. The USA is the only team in the Quarter finals that won a game they should have won based on seeding coming out of the Prelims, they look just fine to me and they have no worries about being over confident at this point and abandoning their game plans.
Sweden vs. Slovakia:
Probably the best game of the four yesterday, too bad I fell asleep during the second period with the score tied 2-2. Also Caps fans take note, Milan Jurcina now of Columbus is having an excellent tourney and once again looked solid last night, at least during the first two periods. My shock on this game was the first two quick goals yielded by Henrik Lundqvist, especially Slovakia's second goal. Slovakia has now bested two of the four favorites in this tournament and have to be regarded as the real sleeper in the final four. Team Canada will have their hands full and will need to stay focused on the upcoming game with these guys before even beginning to talk about playing in the Gold Medal game. Caps fans can console themselves with the knowledge, center Nicklas Backstrom played well in the entire tournament, and I'd suspect he and a few other young guys on this team will carry the Tre Kroner torch in Sochi.
Finland vs. Czech Republic:
A classic goaltender's duel won by Mikka Kiprusoff over Tomas Vokoun. The surprise here is the Czech Republic's forwards couldn't solve either Kipper or the Finns defense. Ultimately it was the Czech's penalties that cost them the game in a "straw that broke the Camel's back" but the Finns defense and Kipper never yielded either. Team USA now has to gear up to face another hot goaltender in their first medal round game, the biggest threat to success in a win or go home format.
Today it's the women's medal round and both should be good games. It will be interesting to see the game plans and how the USA vs. Canada Gold Medal game are played and end up. No predictions from here on out, I'm a proud American so I know who I'm pulling for from here on out.
U-S-A ... U-S-A ... U-S-A
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Well Today's Olympics Hockey Games Will Be Good Ones...
Yesterday, despite some close games and scares by "almost Cinderella teams" especially Latvia, there were no upsets in the Qualifying Game of the Medal Round in Men's Ice Hockey. So that sets up some really, really good games today. Frankly the truth is everyone of these is a too close to call game but we'll try and do it anyway. Before that I have to point out my prognostication on the Belarus - Switzerland game was wrong and once again despite a shaky start Swiss Goalie Jonas Hiller led his team to victory. Canada basically just all out over-powered Germany as everyone thought they would, the only score was the Germans didn't start getting blown out until after a full period of hockey was played - good on them. The other three games were all decided by one goal - two went to extra innings but in the end the higher seeded team won.
Today's line-up is of course:
1) USA vs. 8) Switzerland
2) Sweden vs. 7) Slovakia
3) Russia vs. 6) Canada
4) Finland vs. 5) Czech Republic.
Before talking about the surprise quarter-final game between Russia and Canada - surprise only because everyone thought this would either be a semi-final match up or probably the Gold Medal game - let's look at the other games any one of which is a toss-up in lots of ways.
4) Finland vs. 5) Czech Republic
First did the Finns catch a break? Will Jaromir Jagr play today or not? He left the qualifying game against Latvia in the second period with an upper body injury and didn't return. Does it matter? Not if the Czechs play the same way against the Finns as they did against the 12th seeded Latvians. However, consider yesterday the Czechs scare/wake-up call. Pretty much every one of the teams in the tournament has now had one - a wake up call that is. Also the OT winning goal by David Kreji and the solid 60 minute+ play by Tomas Fleischmann could well be signs of things to come. Finland is a great team with great goal tending so it's entirely possible we'll see a total goaltenders duel between Tomas Vokoun and Mikka Kiprusoff but I'm thinking Jagr returns, plays sparingly but inspires the Czechs and what we see is more like the Finns 3-0 loss to the Henrik Lundqvist and the Swedes then the Finns would like. As Washington Capitals fans know Tomas Fleischmann tends to be somewhat streaky and he certainly looked like he was on the uptick against Latvia. Further, I think the Czechs were caught looking a little past Latvia to Finland and this game; they won't be looking past the Finns today. One more qualifier/caveat - both these teams are great and evenly matched. It should be a close, great game - I'm just thinking yesterday';s injury in the second period to Jagr means the Czechs all now know for sure this is his last game. I feel they will use that for inspiration and that's the intangible I think pushes this game to the Czech Republic.
2) Sweden vs. 7) Slovakia
The Slovaks only beat Norway by one goal 4-3 in the qualifier - it wasn't their best game. Slovakia's goalie Jaroslav Halak only stopped 16 of the 19 shots he faced (SV% 0.842) while Norwegian goaltender Pal Grotnes stopped 36 of 40 (SV % 0.900) for his side. For the Slovaks to have a chance against the well rested, high -octane Swedes Halak must do much better. To be sure, Slovakia has a fair amount of firepower of their own as they proved with their 2-1 preliminary round victory over Russia. However, their victory over Russia means the Slovaks won't be sneaking up on anyone this time. Sweden has been and continues to be playing great hockey. Throughout the tournament they've played good, solid team hockey and I expect them to continue to do so. They are anchored by an experienced core of Gold Medal winners and world champions, and they have young stars as well. So while I expect Slovakia to raise their game from where they were yesterday against Norway, I think in the end, the Swedes will prevail, in fact I wouldn't/won't be surprised if the Gold Medal game is Sweden against any of the other possible opponents at this point. The Swedes have been relatively overlooked compared to Canada, Russia, and USA and I think they a) don't mind that and b) are using it for their motivation to repeat their Gold from 2006.
1) USA vs. 8) Switzerland
This is a game ALL about intangibles in my mind. On paper the USA is the much stronger team but today on the ice it's about drive, emotion and where the key players on each team's heads are. Switzerland has been a giant killer in prior Olympics and they will strive to be so today. Further this is the second meeting this Olympics between these two teams, they were in the same Group in the prelims and the Swiss played the USA hard though USA won that game 3 - 1. This is the game Jona Hiller could steal for the Swiss to get them into the Medal games; to be sure he and the others on his team will be using that for motivation and they will all likely play even higher than their solid talent level usually takes them. For Team USA it's all about forgetting - forgetting they have already beaten Canada once this tournament, forgetting they beat the Swiss once already to and realizing now it's "win or die" - "come big or go home." Forget the hype USA, realize you need to play one shift at a time - all out, every game you have to leave it all out on the ice or else you could well have regrets that last a lifetime. Team USA has indeed proven, they deserve to be thought of as one of the elite teams in this Olympiad, but to reach their goal they have to only think about THIS next 60 minutes of Hockey in Vancouver. It's not about the first miracle on ice in 1960; it's certainly not about "THE Miracle On Ice" in 1980 it's all about kicking Swiss butt or having "your" Olympics shortened by them. The Swiss have proven they can play with Team USA in their 3-1 loss. Hopefully, I am American after all, that means Team USA uses that as motivation to come out focused on the task at hand and playing hard. If they don't and fall behind, the crowd is very likely to get behind Switzerland and provide Hiller and his mates motivation in the hopes they extract some "revenge" for Team USA's earlier defeat of Team Canada. I don't see that happening though, I think Team USA is on as much a mission as Sweden and they too are playing pretty solid team hockey - no? For that reason I'm thinking, this game ends with Team USA advancing.
3) Russia vs. 6) Canada
Okay first off I'm totally biased and am rooting for Russia - four solid reasons: Alexander Ovechkin; Alexander Semin; Semyon Varlamov, and Mike Green. That's right, Mike Green. This is the game I'm hoping that shows Team Canada GM Steve Yzerman he got it wrong on the Mike Green snub. The quote I've seen from Yzerman on the selection of defensemen for Team Canada a couple of weeks ago was:
"I just think the defence we put together can generate offense almost to the same level as Mike [Green], yet be stronger in other areas. We just thought the seven we chose are a better fit for us."
So here's what I think. [begin rant] I think Steve Yzerman's selections on defense lack the speed to keep up with the Russians for a full sixty minutes; I think Team USA exploited that weakness and I think Russia will too. Additionally, I think the Russians have the same ability as Team Canada to play a punishing, physical game for a full sixty minutes with the Canadians and this will be an awesome game to watch. In the end I'm hoping we see a couple of times during the game, particularly the second half of the game, where the Russians get odd man breakaways on the Canadians. Situations where Team Canada wishes they had the skating ability of the top ranked/top scoring defenseman in the NHL on their team. Finally, I think Yzerman's view is clouded by the way the game used to be and the way lots of hockey folks will think about it until the Capitals win a Stanley Cup playing the game using Bruce Boudreau's system - a system where the defensemen have to be as much or more a part of the offense as they are of the defense, the forwards have to be as much a part of the defense as the offense. [end rant]
Now further on this game, I think the Canadians are totally motivated after their loss to the Americans, but I think that game showed some weaknesses in Team Canada. Sure they were weaknesses that appeared remedied by the line changes Mike Babcock put in place against Germany, however Russia is a lot different team then Germany. The Russians are on a mission, they've mentally prepared for this game for months, the Canadians did too. My thinking, the Russians don't really care this is a Quarterfinal rather than Gold Medal game; the Canadians probably do. The Russians had a day of rest; the Canadians had to come out face their nation, win a game against the Germans, and then apologize to their nation for even having to play the game in the first place. Finally how "fixed" are things with Team Canada in any case; the 11th seed German Team they played in the qualifier scored 3 goals in their three preliminary games that's and average of 1 goal a game. Yesterday, they doubled that production and scored twice against a "fixed" Team Canada - think about that.
Look, I admit I really have no idea which of these two powerhouse, all-star teams will win. Each team is filled with guys, any one of which could swing the game entirely to their team at any given moment of the game. Has Team Canada been shaken out of their over confidence? Who knows, the pressure on them to win this is phenomenal. Have the Russians simplified things and fixed their under-performing power play? Who knows, there is certainly no logical reason for it's paltry production to this point. Is this a story about Luongo vs. Nabakov? If so will "BobbyLou" win it as so many others think? I doubt it's even the real tipping point of the game but again who knows. Here's what I do know, I'm a Washington Capitals fan and after watching so many games that Alexander Ovechkin has played in since he came into the NHL, I would never bet against him, especially in a BIG game. The same goes for a guy named Federov and finally I'm a real Alexander "Sasha" Semin fan and this could be the game he chooses to show the world why he regards Sidney Crosby as a good hockey player who is mortal. It could also be the game where a guy named Malkin chooses to ensure he's the Pittsburgh Penguin star with BOTH a Stanley Cup AND an Olympic Gold Medal. So me I'm predicting the Russians advance to the Semifinals, do I have any logical reason for it, no not really, it's what I'm hoping of though and I believe in karma so I have to be sending what I think are positive thoughts out to Vancouver.
Here's the final thought as we get ready to watch today's great set of games unfold. The combined NHL/KHL payrolls of Team Canada and Russia total over $300 million USD, to get to that number with a $56M salary cap you need 5+ NHL teams. So if you watch tonight's game and shake your head a few times at either some awesome move or play or the reverse why an NHL star on "your" team isn't seeming to be able to do some things you often see him do in a regular season NHL game, you might think back to that fact. For every one of the guys on each team, this is all about "go big or go home." It's also why it's a shame this is a quarterfinal instead of a semi or Gold Medal match-up...
Today's line-up is of course:
1) USA vs. 8) Switzerland
2) Sweden vs. 7) Slovakia
3) Russia vs. 6) Canada
4) Finland vs. 5) Czech Republic.
Before talking about the surprise quarter-final game between Russia and Canada - surprise only because everyone thought this would either be a semi-final match up or probably the Gold Medal game - let's look at the other games any one of which is a toss-up in lots of ways.
4) Finland vs. 5) Czech Republic
First did the Finns catch a break? Will Jaromir Jagr play today or not? He left the qualifying game against Latvia in the second period with an upper body injury and didn't return. Does it matter? Not if the Czechs play the same way against the Finns as they did against the 12th seeded Latvians. However, consider yesterday the Czechs scare/wake-up call. Pretty much every one of the teams in the tournament has now had one - a wake up call that is. Also the OT winning goal by David Kreji and the solid 60 minute+ play by Tomas Fleischmann could well be signs of things to come. Finland is a great team with great goal tending so it's entirely possible we'll see a total goaltenders duel between Tomas Vokoun and Mikka Kiprusoff but I'm thinking Jagr returns, plays sparingly but inspires the Czechs and what we see is more like the Finns 3-0 loss to the Henrik Lundqvist and the Swedes then the Finns would like. As Washington Capitals fans know Tomas Fleischmann tends to be somewhat streaky and he certainly looked like he was on the uptick against Latvia. Further, I think the Czechs were caught looking a little past Latvia to Finland and this game; they won't be looking past the Finns today. One more qualifier/caveat - both these teams are great and evenly matched. It should be a close, great game - I'm just thinking yesterday';s injury in the second period to Jagr means the Czechs all now know for sure this is his last game. I feel they will use that for inspiration and that's the intangible I think pushes this game to the Czech Republic.
2) Sweden vs. 7) Slovakia
The Slovaks only beat Norway by one goal 4-3 in the qualifier - it wasn't their best game. Slovakia's goalie Jaroslav Halak only stopped 16 of the 19 shots he faced (SV% 0.842) while Norwegian goaltender Pal Grotnes stopped 36 of 40 (SV % 0.900) for his side. For the Slovaks to have a chance against the well rested, high -octane Swedes Halak must do much better. To be sure, Slovakia has a fair amount of firepower of their own as they proved with their 2-1 preliminary round victory over Russia. However, their victory over Russia means the Slovaks won't be sneaking up on anyone this time. Sweden has been and continues to be playing great hockey. Throughout the tournament they've played good, solid team hockey and I expect them to continue to do so. They are anchored by an experienced core of Gold Medal winners and world champions, and they have young stars as well. So while I expect Slovakia to raise their game from where they were yesterday against Norway, I think in the end, the Swedes will prevail, in fact I wouldn't/won't be surprised if the Gold Medal game is Sweden against any of the other possible opponents at this point. The Swedes have been relatively overlooked compared to Canada, Russia, and USA and I think they a) don't mind that and b) are using it for their motivation to repeat their Gold from 2006.
1) USA vs. 8) Switzerland
This is a game ALL about intangibles in my mind. On paper the USA is the much stronger team but today on the ice it's about drive, emotion and where the key players on each team's heads are. Switzerland has been a giant killer in prior Olympics and they will strive to be so today. Further this is the second meeting this Olympics between these two teams, they were in the same Group in the prelims and the Swiss played the USA hard though USA won that game 3 - 1. This is the game Jona Hiller could steal for the Swiss to get them into the Medal games; to be sure he and the others on his team will be using that for motivation and they will all likely play even higher than their solid talent level usually takes them. For Team USA it's all about forgetting - forgetting they have already beaten Canada once this tournament, forgetting they beat the Swiss once already to and realizing now it's "win or die" - "come big or go home." Forget the hype USA, realize you need to play one shift at a time - all out, every game you have to leave it all out on the ice or else you could well have regrets that last a lifetime. Team USA has indeed proven, they deserve to be thought of as one of the elite teams in this Olympiad, but to reach their goal they have to only think about THIS next 60 minutes of Hockey in Vancouver. It's not about the first miracle on ice in 1960; it's certainly not about "THE Miracle On Ice" in 1980 it's all about kicking Swiss butt or having "your" Olympics shortened by them. The Swiss have proven they can play with Team USA in their 3-1 loss. Hopefully, I am American after all, that means Team USA uses that as motivation to come out focused on the task at hand and playing hard. If they don't and fall behind, the crowd is very likely to get behind Switzerland and provide Hiller and his mates motivation in the hopes they extract some "revenge" for Team USA's earlier defeat of Team Canada. I don't see that happening though, I think Team USA is on as much a mission as Sweden and they too are playing pretty solid team hockey - no? For that reason I'm thinking, this game ends with Team USA advancing.
3) Russia vs. 6) Canada
Okay first off I'm totally biased and am rooting for Russia - four solid reasons: Alexander Ovechkin; Alexander Semin; Semyon Varlamov, and Mike Green. That's right, Mike Green. This is the game I'm hoping that shows Team Canada GM Steve Yzerman he got it wrong on the Mike Green snub. The quote I've seen from Yzerman on the selection of defensemen for Team Canada a couple of weeks ago was:
"I just think the defence we put together can generate offense almost to the same level as Mike [Green], yet be stronger in other areas. We just thought the seven we chose are a better fit for us."
So here's what I think. [begin rant] I think Steve Yzerman's selections on defense lack the speed to keep up with the Russians for a full sixty minutes; I think Team USA exploited that weakness and I think Russia will too. Additionally, I think the Russians have the same ability as Team Canada to play a punishing, physical game for a full sixty minutes with the Canadians and this will be an awesome game to watch. In the end I'm hoping we see a couple of times during the game, particularly the second half of the game, where the Russians get odd man breakaways on the Canadians. Situations where Team Canada wishes they had the skating ability of the top ranked/top scoring defenseman in the NHL on their team. Finally, I think Yzerman's view is clouded by the way the game used to be and the way lots of hockey folks will think about it until the Capitals win a Stanley Cup playing the game using Bruce Boudreau's system - a system where the defensemen have to be as much or more a part of the offense as they are of the defense, the forwards have to be as much a part of the defense as the offense. [end rant]
Now further on this game, I think the Canadians are totally motivated after their loss to the Americans, but I think that game showed some weaknesses in Team Canada. Sure they were weaknesses that appeared remedied by the line changes Mike Babcock put in place against Germany, however Russia is a lot different team then Germany. The Russians are on a mission, they've mentally prepared for this game for months, the Canadians did too. My thinking, the Russians don't really care this is a Quarterfinal rather than Gold Medal game; the Canadians probably do. The Russians had a day of rest; the Canadians had to come out face their nation, win a game against the Germans, and then apologize to their nation for even having to play the game in the first place. Finally how "fixed" are things with Team Canada in any case; the 11th seed German Team they played in the qualifier scored 3 goals in their three preliminary games that's and average of 1 goal a game. Yesterday, they doubled that production and scored twice against a "fixed" Team Canada - think about that.
Look, I admit I really have no idea which of these two powerhouse, all-star teams will win. Each team is filled with guys, any one of which could swing the game entirely to their team at any given moment of the game. Has Team Canada been shaken out of their over confidence? Who knows, the pressure on them to win this is phenomenal. Have the Russians simplified things and fixed their under-performing power play? Who knows, there is certainly no logical reason for it's paltry production to this point. Is this a story about Luongo vs. Nabakov? If so will "BobbyLou" win it as so many others think? I doubt it's even the real tipping point of the game but again who knows. Here's what I do know, I'm a Washington Capitals fan and after watching so many games that Alexander Ovechkin has played in since he came into the NHL, I would never bet against him, especially in a BIG game. The same goes for a guy named Federov and finally I'm a real Alexander "Sasha" Semin fan and this could be the game he chooses to show the world why he regards Sidney Crosby as a good hockey player who is mortal. It could also be the game where a guy named Malkin chooses to ensure he's the Pittsburgh Penguin star with BOTH a Stanley Cup AND an Olympic Gold Medal. So me I'm predicting the Russians advance to the Semifinals, do I have any logical reason for it, no not really, it's what I'm hoping of though and I believe in karma so I have to be sending what I think are positive thoughts out to Vancouver.
Here's the final thought as we get ready to watch today's great set of games unfold. The combined NHL/KHL payrolls of Team Canada and Russia total over $300 million USD, to get to that number with a $56M salary cap you need 5+ NHL teams. So if you watch tonight's game and shake your head a few times at either some awesome move or play or the reverse why an NHL star on "your" team isn't seeming to be able to do some things you often see him do in a regular season NHL game, you might think back to that fact. For every one of the guys on each team, this is all about "go big or go home." It's also why it's a shame this is a quarterfinal instead of a semi or Gold Medal match-up...
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
2010 Olympics Hockey - It's "Showtime"....
So for both the men's and women's hockey teams and brackets it's really showtime now.
On the Woman's side we are down to the two medal games - Canad vs USA for the Gold and Finland vs. Sweden for the Bronze. These will be two really good games between two evenly matched sets of opponents so they should be a blast to watch. I'm calling them as follows: Gold) USA; Silver) Canada; Bronze) Finland. My reasoning well between USA and Canada - I'm being a "homer" no logic or reasoning applied. Between Finland and Sweden - I thought Finland looked better against Canada then Sweden did against the USA... just simple application of who I think is the hotter team right now also in the prelims the Swedes gave up 15 GA while the Finns only surrendered 8; the Swedes had a goal differential of -5 and the Finns had a goal differential of -1.
The men's tourney moves to the single elimination phase with the top four teams: USA, Sweden, Russia and Finland getting first round byes. At this point the possibility that a hot goaltender could propel virtually any of the 12 teams past one of the others and even perhaps into the medal round cannot be ignored. The first round games are: 5) Czech Republic vs. 12) Latvia; 6) Canada vs. 11) Germany; 7) Slovakia vs. 11) Norway; and 8) Switzerland vs. 9) Belarus. Taking these match-ups one at a time:
5) Czech Republic vs. 12) Latvia - This should go to the Czechs and it's unlikely they will look past the Latvians given the large number of guys on the Czech team who play in the KHL. They know the Latvians will play team hockey as a cohesive unit, but the Czech's just have too much talent. They also have a pretty hot goaltender in Tomas Vokoun who only yield 5 GA in the prelims while they played a pretty tough group of opponents; in the prelims the Czech's beat the Latvians 5-2, I don't think the game will be that close this time, but that's why they settle things on the ice and not using computer models or video games.
6) Canada vs. 12) Germany - Perhaps even an easier choice on paper, but the big question is can the Canadians get over the fact they even have to play this game AND avoid looking past the Germans to the Russians in the Second/Quarterfinal Round? I think the answer to that is an unquestionable yes because throughout the tournament thus far the Germans have been unable to generate much offense at all. They were outscored in the prelims 12 - 3 or by an average of 3 goals per game. With just 5 current or former NHL'ers on their roster and anchored by an young AHL goaltender the Germans will be taking on a roster that has an NHL salary cap hit of $160+M in Team Canada. I'll be rooting for the underdog because ... well you just have to ... but that just isn't going to happen, especially not at Team Canada Place. The USA beating the Canadians in their last game may lead to both Germany AND Russia's worst nightmare....
7) Slovakia vs. 11) Norway - To me the Slovaks could end up being a sort of Cinderella team and get through the quarter-finals as long as they don't look past the Norwegians and I don't think they will. Despite being outscored 19-5 in the preliminaries, Slovakia will look to the 4-5 overtime loss that Norge achieved in their final game of the preliminary round to ensure they stay focused. The Swiss took Canada to overtime in their game 2 and the Norwegians took the Swiss to overtime in their final game of the qualifying round. The Slovakians can look at all that and know Norwegian goalie Pal Grotnes is better than the 14 goals he gave up against the USA and Canada might otherwise lead them to believe. In the end the Slovaks with guys like Zdeno Chara, Marian Gaborik, Marian Hossa, Milan Jurcina, Jaroslav Halak, a team that took the Russians to overtime and won, will make it through to the quarter-finals, if not beyond...
8) Switzerland vs. 9) Belarus. Here's where I wouldn't be surprised to see the one minor upset. With a core team built from the best players from the KHL's Dynamo Minsk complimented by the likes of Sergei Kostitsyn from the Montreal Canadiens unless Jonas Hiller has another excellent game in net for Switzerland, the Swiss "mojo" might well run out before they reach the quarter finals. In fact given the way the Swiss played against Norway and comparing that to how the Belorussians played in their bracket against Sweden, Finland and Germany, I'm predicting the boys from Minsk advance while the Swiss end their run.
If I'm right that means the second/quarter-finals will be:
1) USA vs. 9) Belarus
2) Sweden vs. 7) Slovakia
3) Russia vs. 6) Canada
4) Finland vs. 5) Czech Republic
... and wow those will be 4 really, really good games to watch, if they happen. Of course if a "Cinderella" team gets through the first round that will only make the story better and more interesting. I can't imagine why the NHL would ever, even think about not playing in Soochi, nor would I ever even think why NBC wouldn't make sure that all these games are covered both in their entirety live and in prime time replays on at least one of their cable networks as a choice for we hockey fans here in North America...
On the Woman's side we are down to the two medal games - Canad vs USA for the Gold and Finland vs. Sweden for the Bronze. These will be two really good games between two evenly matched sets of opponents so they should be a blast to watch. I'm calling them as follows: Gold) USA; Silver) Canada; Bronze) Finland. My reasoning well between USA and Canada - I'm being a "homer" no logic or reasoning applied. Between Finland and Sweden - I thought Finland looked better against Canada then Sweden did against the USA... just simple application of who I think is the hotter team right now also in the prelims the Swedes gave up 15 GA while the Finns only surrendered 8; the Swedes had a goal differential of -5 and the Finns had a goal differential of -1.
The men's tourney moves to the single elimination phase with the top four teams: USA, Sweden, Russia and Finland getting first round byes. At this point the possibility that a hot goaltender could propel virtually any of the 12 teams past one of the others and even perhaps into the medal round cannot be ignored. The first round games are: 5) Czech Republic vs. 12) Latvia; 6) Canada vs. 11) Germany; 7) Slovakia vs. 11) Norway; and 8) Switzerland vs. 9) Belarus. Taking these match-ups one at a time:
5) Czech Republic vs. 12) Latvia - This should go to the Czechs and it's unlikely they will look past the Latvians given the large number of guys on the Czech team who play in the KHL. They know the Latvians will play team hockey as a cohesive unit, but the Czech's just have too much talent. They also have a pretty hot goaltender in Tomas Vokoun who only yield 5 GA in the prelims while they played a pretty tough group of opponents; in the prelims the Czech's beat the Latvians 5-2, I don't think the game will be that close this time, but that's why they settle things on the ice and not using computer models or video games.
6) Canada vs. 12) Germany - Perhaps even an easier choice on paper, but the big question is can the Canadians get over the fact they even have to play this game AND avoid looking past the Germans to the Russians in the Second/Quarterfinal Round? I think the answer to that is an unquestionable yes because throughout the tournament thus far the Germans have been unable to generate much offense at all. They were outscored in the prelims 12 - 3 or by an average of 3 goals per game. With just 5 current or former NHL'ers on their roster and anchored by an young AHL goaltender the Germans will be taking on a roster that has an NHL salary cap hit of $160+M in Team Canada. I'll be rooting for the underdog because ... well you just have to ... but that just isn't going to happen, especially not at Team Canada Place. The USA beating the Canadians in their last game may lead to both Germany AND Russia's worst nightmare....
7) Slovakia vs. 11) Norway - To me the Slovaks could end up being a sort of Cinderella team and get through the quarter-finals as long as they don't look past the Norwegians and I don't think they will. Despite being outscored 19-5 in the preliminaries, Slovakia will look to the 4-5 overtime loss that Norge achieved in their final game of the preliminary round to ensure they stay focused. The Swiss took Canada to overtime in their game 2 and the Norwegians took the Swiss to overtime in their final game of the qualifying round. The Slovakians can look at all that and know Norwegian goalie Pal Grotnes is better than the 14 goals he gave up against the USA and Canada might otherwise lead them to believe. In the end the Slovaks with guys like Zdeno Chara, Marian Gaborik, Marian Hossa, Milan Jurcina, Jaroslav Halak, a team that took the Russians to overtime and won, will make it through to the quarter-finals, if not beyond...
8) Switzerland vs. 9) Belarus. Here's where I wouldn't be surprised to see the one minor upset. With a core team built from the best players from the KHL's Dynamo Minsk complimented by the likes of Sergei Kostitsyn from the Montreal Canadiens unless Jonas Hiller has another excellent game in net for Switzerland, the Swiss "mojo" might well run out before they reach the quarter finals. In fact given the way the Swiss played against Norway and comparing that to how the Belorussians played in their bracket against Sweden, Finland and Germany, I'm predicting the boys from Minsk advance while the Swiss end their run.
If I'm right that means the second/quarter-finals will be:
1) USA vs. 9) Belarus
2) Sweden vs. 7) Slovakia
3) Russia vs. 6) Canada
4) Finland vs. 5) Czech Republic
... and wow those will be 4 really, really good games to watch, if they happen. Of course if a "Cinderella" team gets through the first round that will only make the story better and more interesting. I can't imagine why the NHL would ever, even think about not playing in Soochi, nor would I ever even think why NBC wouldn't make sure that all these games are covered both in their entirety live and in prime time replays on at least one of their cable networks as a choice for we hockey fans here in North America...
Monday, February 22, 2010
Well How About That?
Yesterday was our anniversary so I still haven't watched either the USA - Canada or the Sweden - Finland game. The Russia - Czech game was awesome and I can't wait to see the recorded USA- Canada game. That said I never thought these two guys looked that much alike until now....
What do you think?
Sunday, February 14, 2010
The NHL's Olympic Break Will Be 100% In Effect Later Tonight...
The Caps finished their pre-Olympic Break game last night at ~11:15 EST in Saint Louis, however there are five more games today before the NHL is officially "on break." The Tampa Bay Lightning play the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden this afternoon in a game which could solidify the Lightning's resurgence into playoff contention before the break. Nashville plays Pittsburgh at the Igloo in a game between two solid teams though right now Nashville is on the Western Conference playoff bubble and needs the two points a lot more than the Penguins. Vancouver completes their 14 game pre-Olympic road trip odyssey in the Twin Cities where they take on the struggling Minnesota Wild. The hot Ottawa Senators take on the New York Islanders at Veteran's Memorial Coliseum on Long Island, and in what should be the final game before the break the Anaheim Ducks will be in Edmonton to take on the cellar dwelling Oilers.So while five members of the Washington Capitals: Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Semyon Varlomov, Nicklas Backstrom, and Tomas Fleischmann are making their way today from Saint Louis to Vancouver, ten NHL teams including a few of their upcoming weeks' opponents and teammates will be competing in the last NHL games before the Olympics hiatus. The Men's' Olympics Hockey Tournament gets underway on Tuesday. The Women's Tournament is already underway. The Men's competition is loaded with numerous teams that could win a medal. Everyone knows about the Russians, the Canadians and the Swedes, as well as the longer shot USA. But teams from the Czech Republic, Finland, Switzerland, Belarus and Slovakia are all also solid squads who will give the other teams a run for their money.
In fact the tournament starts with 12 teams in three groups of four for the Preliminary Round. Group A consists of: Switzerland, Norway, Canada, and USA. Group B consists of: Russia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Latvia. Group C consists of: Finland, Sweden, Belarus, and Germany. Following the completion of the 18 game preliminary round the 12 teams will be ranked and the qualification round will be held; the top four teams will get a bye and teams 5 through 12 will face each other in a set of elimination games leading up to the medal games. To be sure the four teams that are most talked about Russia, Sweden, Canada, and USA are all loaded with talent.
After all Canada is so loaded with talent they felt chemistry and style of play were important enough and they had enough talented blue-liners to choose from to leave the top ranked defenseman in the TSN.CA NHL Player Rankings off the squad. After all why should one put Mike Green for inclusion on the team, he was only a Norris Trophy finalist last season. He's only second in the NHL in +/-, behind not someone on the Canadian Team but his teammate and fellow Calgary native Jeff Schultz. In scoring Green leads the league in both all categories: goals, assists and points. Of course in old school hockey, we tend to value stay at home defensemen more than guys like Mike Green, after all we all know they score their goals by cheating on defense and that means they let the other guys skate freer and score more goals against their team. But wait, if that's so then why is it that Green has ratings that place him clearly into the top 15 defensemen in the league in all statistical measures of defense such as Corsi ratings, etc. as well. Also keep in mind that list of top 15 include numerous (at least 5) players who are ineligible for inclusion on Team Canada as they are already playing for other teams like Sweden (Nicklas Lidstrom); and some others that no one would suggest be included because they don't have the mobility required to play in this years Olympics. In the end, I know this is probably me being a fan, but to me, the biggest and most ill considered snub, all be it, an expected one is the exclusion of Green from the Canadian Olympics squad. Whether Green's exclusion has any negative impact on where Canada finishes the tournament or not remains to be seen and it may not matter given how many excellent players Canada has on their roster, but the pressure is on the home team to capture gold in this signature event.
The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming; wait the Russians are here. The Russian Olympic team is also loaded with NHL talent. In fact the squad is anchored by a mix of veteran NHL stars like Evgeni Nabakov and Sergei Gonchar, as well as several "young guns" including Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, and Alexander Semin. Like the Canadians, the Russians are basically, an NHL All Star Team. Those players who are not currently in the NHL are all well known international stars like Sergei Federov and there is no one on the team that can be taken lightly.
Often overlooked by we North Americans in this whole discussion is the defending champions aren't from North America or Russia, they are from Sweden. Isn't that weird? The Swedes are also loaded with NHL talent and have their own controversy over the snub of Johan Franzen buzzing around.
Team USA is fielding a team that probably has the best chance to medal in some time, but if the US has a legitimate chance to medal which they do, so do the Czechs, and the Slovaks, and that as we say is why the games will be played on the ice. this time in Vancouver, a beautiful city, I sure wish I could go and see some of these games live. If for no other reason than to see former Caps like Milan Jurcina and Sergei Federov in action....
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