Over a 75-minute period late Monday evening I fielded a dozen-plus phone calls from family, friends, and media, all waxing euphoric over an “It’s ordained in the heavens” sense that Tuesday night was to be all about partying for Caps’ fans.
The euphoria is understandable. Where this Caps’ team is this morning is magical, miraculous, and marvelous. The sense that Uncle ‘Mo is with the Caps is irrefutably accurate. The analysis that suggests that it’s much better to be the Caps than the Flyers right now is spot on.
But there’s this tempering thought:
Because what we’re dealing with on April 22, 2008, at Verizon Center is a Game 7 of the Stanley Cup playoffs, none of the preceding variables matter.
None.
If you think this Flyers’ team is busing down I-95 in perfunctory fashion to play the patsy to our party, you’re in for a rude awakening around 7:15 Tuesday evening. On this blog over the weekend we talked about a reversal of pressure, from an advantage for Philly toward one for the Caps. It reversed itself again around 9:30 Monday night. For the past three games the Caps have been the hunters. Beginning tonight, they’re the hunted. And Alexander Semin’s wrists and Alexander Ovechkin’s new-found confidence, I’m loathe to report, don’t mean a heck of a lot in the matter.
In a very real sense, the heart of the matter is articulated best by Flin Flon, Manitoba’s, Donnie Schultzhoffer, television commentator for the big game in ‘Mystery, Alaska,’ when asked to sum up the small town’s chances against the New York Rangers:
“This isn’t exactly rocket surgery. Now send the kids out of the room. I don’t care how fast a skater you are, if you don’t play this game with a big heart and a big bag of knuckles in front of the net, you don’t got dinky-doo.”
From this blogger’s perspective, there was a whole lot of dinky-doo in the doings of the Caps Monday night, particularly when down 2-0 in the second period amid the Philly frenzied, but there’s also no guatantee it’ll be back Tuesday.
But to take a step back — and an important one — Washington this spring deserves what’s arrived here tonight. What will take place tonight at Verizon Center represents the summit of sports’ hold on our culture. This is neither the file nor the forum (right now) for an elaborate debate about Game 7s in hockey versus those in other sports. They all have their virtues. But hockey’s hold the greatest quotient for unpredictability.
They often deliver remarkable feats of heroism. When we learned that the Caps would be playing the Flyers two weeks ago we posted a video file of Dale Hunter scoring a Game 7, series-ending goal in overtime, against Philadelphia. It occasioned an outpouring of reminiscence here. To no surprise to us.
Incidentally, this spring marks the twentieth anniversary of that goal.
Often, Game 7s are scintillating in their drama. Moreso than any other sport’s single night’s sudden deaths they raise us out of our spectating seats precisely because every single rush of the puck carries such magnitude.
And Washington this spring, however accidentally and or fortuitously, has embraced hockey in all its culture and trappings. And so it should experience this rare vintage of a Game 7 sporting drama. And savor it.
Nothing that precedes Game 7 means that much — not 20,000 maniacs in red, not the momentum earned just 24 hours before up the Interstate. Line matchups don’t matter that much. Who’s home, who’s away is virtually irrelevant.
And as such that is their elemental and enduring appeal. These games — and they occur rather rarely — are their own islands, with their own tides, winds, and storms. That the Caps — the Cardiac Caps — should be involved in one this spring, and against an arch-nemesis of playoffs past, perhaps should be no surprise at all.
We are so lucky to host one.
18 Comments
Well said! Tonight is an event that is a culmination yet stands alone. And the excitement…overwhelming! I am wearing my red today of course, all the way down to my unmentionables. Let’s brace ourselves and enjoy the rush!
Well said. I believe Peerless has a quote from Gabby stating, roughly, “We haven’t won anything,” and he’s right. If the Caps lose tonight, Ovie’s goals, the tic-tac-tic-goal from Nicki, Semin’s rebound and near-killing as they celebrated…all of them will have meant nothing.
One down, one to go.
(And I wish to whatever diety you prefer: This is NOT a team of “destiny” and I pray everyone stops saying that. This is a team that has worked hard to dig themselves out of an incredibly deep hole; hard work isn’t “destiny.” Hard work is hard work and that makes the rewards that much sweeter. They’ve got to play the hardest 60 minutes of their lives tonight, and if it works out the way it should–they get a brief moment of statisfaction before they get to do it all over again.)
Pens fan here, and I have to say something.
The morning after watching playoff hockey I could go to ESPN.com, NHL.com or FOXSPORTS.com and read the box scores and recaps.
However, I come here first, and the article I just read by Pucks is why.
Good luck tonight and enjoy it.
I BELIEVE
Win tonight. This is business. Go out and win.
As I feared, dreaded, and carried on about in a previous post, the dreaded other shoe is dangerously close to dropping for my beloved Flyers. This is a bunch that, when up two goals midway through a potential series clinching game absolutely panicked when the score was brought to within one. This is a team that, as much as it pains me to say it, does not deserve to move past the first round of these playoffs.
I don’t want to make it all doom and gloom here and spend a great deal of time uttering the words that so enrage me when I hear them come from opposing teams and their fans. “We let this one get away.” “We shot ourselves in the foot.” Statements like these are only partially true. It takes two to tango and right now the Caps are all about dancing. I have to tip my cap (I think I used this pun before, but forgive me). If the Flyers had the heart of your Caps, this situation would not have been even remotely close to coming up.
I’ll be agonizing over game 7 tonight…desperately hoping the FlyGuys find some of the guttural moxie they need to finally wrest this series by the horns. I won’t hold my breath.
Good luck. After all, you guys at least deserve it.
Funny that you went for the Mystery Alaska drop in this post. After last night’s game, I was so wound up, I couldn’t sleep, and ended up watching Mystery Alaska on one of the cable movie channels.
Dan, euphoria-insomia-ed like you, I DVD’d it.
Pete, fans like you, whatever your allegiance, honor and magnificently augment this forum. It’s so been a spring to follow spectacular hockey, and spectaular hockey hearts — many of them brand new readers — have joined us here for the following. Hope you stick around a while.
I’d like to echo pucks’ comment. Pete and radbytrade, your comments have enriched this blog by providing insight from the opposition in a genuine, rational, and RESPECTFUL manner. No matter if the Caps or Flyers win this evening, we hope that both of you continue to read AND COMMENT.
We have little to no tolerance for trolls, but embrace this kind of exchange. You both have set the bar by which our opposition commenters will now be measured.
Now, let’s get the next nine hours over with.
What a great post. Best of luck to you tonight and here’s to a potential second round meeting between our teams.
It wouldn’t be spring if we didn’t play the Capitals in a 7 gamer.
As my wife, youngest son, and I watched the final seconds tick down I remembered of the times when I was a young cap fan and would watch the Caps in those brutal series with NY OR Philly…When I was 10….My son is feeling the same heart pounding intense love for the game that I had. Whatever happens tonight…My son, wife and I will be glued to the TV watching (what we hope) the Capitals Win…I want to thank everyone in here for a way for us to vent, show love, and just plain Cheer for a great team….As I said earlier…. IT’S NOT OVER TILL THE FAT LADY SINGS…SO…DON’T LET HER IN IF YOU SEE HER!!!!!!!!!!
GO CAPS!!!
Not sure how many of you noticed, but right around 10pm last night, guess what was showing on Starz movie channel last night?
Yep, Mystery, Alaska.
That’s a movie that I can’t turn off, but last night… There was something kind of spooky about it being on right after our win in Philly. As tired as I was, I watched that whole damn movie… And the quote pulled for this post wasn’t lost on my, either.
It might be a stretch, but there’s something about our youth and underdog nature that really worked for me while watching that movie.
“Anybody tired in here!!!???”
I’m not sure if you can equate the Caps’ stretch run to “skating the river,” but I’m going with it…
The only aspect of the analogy that simply won’t work for me is the ending… We’re going to rewrite that part of the script.
Step 1) take care of business in Philly in game 6.
Step 2) Forget Monday night and put all focus and energy on Tuesday and game 7.
Step 3)Dominate in game 7. Be strong, and rock the Red.
Great post, Pucks. I got chills looking at the similarities between Ovie’s goal last night and Hunter’s goal 20 years ago. I wasn’t at the game 20 years ago because I had just given birth to my hockey player and fervent Caps fan. But I’ll be there tonight and hoping for the same outcome as 20 years ago. (As a long-time Caps fan, I don’t look forward to playing the Pens, but I’ll take a Scarlett O’Hara approach to that because tomorrow is another day.) We go game by game. Let’s Go CAPS!
Phone Booth sold out yet?
Rather than the rabbits foot, you should have Dorothy’s ruby red slippers…”There’s no place like home..”
I’ll be there tonight..in my red Caps sweater. Rock the Red! Shaibu Ovie!
The maturation of Laich, Semin, and Backstrom in just the past six games is amazing. It is scary how good this group could get. Good luck to all the Caps in game 7.
Ken summed it up best.
Regardless of what happens tonight I would have to say that this crazy down and up season and this team are the funnest I’ve ever followed the past 18 seasons.
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