I didn’t make the rules. If the refs don’t want to use them and the league doesn’t want to have them enforced properly, that’s fine. Get them off the rulebooks.

Not analagous. In the Tampa game, the Caps guy put the Tampa guy into the goalie when the puck was nowhere to be found. In last night’s game, the Caps defenseman was hit *immediately* after playing the puck.

“Thanks Caps fans, for “getting itâ€?.”

What part of throwing beer on the ice is “getting it”?

The Caps/Flyers was a great series. Lots of exciting hockey. The Caps had plenty of chances towards the end of the game but didn’t bury their opportunities.

If you’d asked me in Nov about the playoffs, I never would have envisioned this.
As such, I’ve seen too many Caps games over the years to have completely embraced the “I believe”. I’m more of the “I want to believe but I’m still skeptical” (but I’m coming around more). That doesn’t mean I still don’t make a whole heckuvalot of noise.

As for the officiating:
The league needs to be willing to criticize publicly (which they will never do) the officiating of a game. There need to be repercussions for glaring problems (in calling or in omission).
The only things I’m going to say on the matter at the moment:
Straight from the NHL rulebook (#67.c.):
A minor penalty shall be imposed on an attacking player who deliberately checks a defensive player, including the goalkeeper, who is not in possession of the puck.

I didn’t know the rule exactly, but I KNEW it was covered in the rulebook and I was ranting about it during the intermission.
(Or use use that incidental contact crap that the Caps got nailed for against Tampa.)

As my brother pointed out, if Toronto is set on reviewing all goals, they’ll need to find a resolution to Flyers goal #2 before they get burned in a game where the Stanley Cup is on the line. (Brett Hull anyone?)

Flyers fans get a bad rap. And for the most part justifiably so. Some of my best friends are Flyers fans, and for a matter of about six hours, some sort of devolving takes place. Yes, they’re not complete jackasses. Just as not all Caps fans are saints. (Walking down the stairs after the game last night, I even told one I had his back when some dumbass Caps fan tried to pick a fight because the guy was in a Biron t-shirt yet hadn’t said a single word in taunting.) But the stereotype exists for a reason, even if it’s a broad generalization. and many of the Flyers fans I know are indeed proud of that stereotype.

Still it was a great run and a fun series of hockey. It’s been a long time since I felt any sort of anticipation like that.
Now I have to figure out who I’m cheering for (or against) for the rest of the playoffs.

I’ve vented plenty about the refs elsewhere but a big thank you to all the bloggers and commenters that made this season so special. I was at the phone booth in ‘98 when Detroit won the cup and this season, strange as it is to say, is the one I will remember forever. It’s the end of the beginning, and I am positive that the Caps team next year will be the best we have ever had the pleasure of cheering for.

You’re on…we can drink on OrderedChaos’ tab!

Thanks again, everyone on OFB, for a great season.

I’m sorry that stereotypes encompass everyone “related” to a team or city. I’ve always thought that sterotypes are there for a good reason, however obviously the Flyers have some fans that get it also.

Thanks for being a fan of hockey and not just a fan of a team …

Well said. I’ve been following this team for almost as long as you have, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team this exciting to watch on the ice and this full of promise for the future.

I’m sure at some point I’ll be able to put this season in perspective, but right now the loss is too fresh in my mind. This one stings something awful…

One thing I know for certain - as a Caps fan located in Denver Colorado, it’s traditionally been hard to find others who share my allegiance to the boys in red. Thank you to all of you here at OFB for creating such a solid online community. Go Caps!

A bit of garbage on the ice is certainly something to be discouraged, but it can be worse. A Buffalo fan got punched in the face last year in Ottawa. (Don’t care what was said, that ain’t cool.) And, in case anyone missed it, Montrealers tore a small part of their city apart on Monday night…after the Habs WON. Not lost. Won. Figure that one out.

I will also say, for the record, that I wore my Ottawa jersey at the Verizon Center last season and had no problems. (Might be because a bought a round in the bar between periods, but…well). The atmosphere may have been different in the playoffs, sure, but I found the Phone Booth to be pretty civilized, all things considered.

Don’t hold this one against the Flyers - they did what any team, including the Caps, would have done in those same situations. The blame is on the zebras, and I hope that sh*tty call haunts Devorksi for the rest of his life.

All in all, I’m glad that their fate was not earned by choking, but by the NHL’s perpetually shoddy officiating. We the fans, and the boys in Red, White, and Blue can hold our heads high after a run that was utterly unthinkable just 5 months ago.

1) As lots of you on here know, I’m a Sens fan, which means that this season I watched my team start off strong and implode into nothing. You just watched the Capitals do the exact opposite. Its a disappointing end to your season, that’s for sure, but you can hold your heads up in a way that is very, very tough to do in Ottawa right now.

2) I have to agree that Philly’s second goal should not have counted. We’ve all seen contact that was far more incidental than that get called as goaltender interference. And it was no mere bump–Huet was about seven miles out of position and totally unable to play the puck because someone got pushed into him. That is goaltender interference, full stop.

Rule 78 b) doesn’t say that contact has to be direct. It says that the attacking player can’t initiate contact:

“…If an attacking player initiates any contact with a goalkeeper, other than incidental contact, while the goalkeeper is outside his goal crease, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed.”

Seems clear enough to me. No goal.

I am honestly mystified as to why they let that one go.

3) However…the beginning-of-the-end tripping call on Poti looked real enough to me. That said, the zebras had clearly put away their whistles for a good chunk of the third period and most of OT up to that point, which just drives me up the wall. Why that particular penalty, and why then? Beats me. You can argue that Washington got screwed in that sense, too.

4) Biron did indeed steal the game for Philly. And that’s not a bad thing. That’s what # 1 goalies are supposed to to do. He did his job and did it well.

5) I’ll refrain from weighing into the debate on Philly sports fans, except to say that Philly is the only North American city I can think of that has ever had a judge doing bail hearings at NFL home games.

‘Nuff said.

6) I can only say this again…kudos to my friends at OFB and the rest of the Caps’ online community.

You are no fly-by-nighters. You are the real deal, and the quality of what you do reflects it. I tell anyone who truly loves hockey to check out OFB. Even those of us who don’t sleep in Caps pyjamas every night can get a lot out of this blog.

So congrats on a great season. Here’s one guy who’s looking forward to more.

I published my file a little after 7:00 this morning and thought about a Wednesday of much-anticipated rest. Then I got an email from Nate Ewell advising of Caps’ players’ availability at Kettler around noon. Guess where I wanna take lunch.

The Philadelphia Flyers, in the end, did not deserve to win this series. That they did doesn’t necessarily refute that fact. I feel it necessary though to defend ourselves, Flyers fans, for our perceived boorish behavior.

Philadelphia, as a sports town, has a terrible tradition of losing. We sit around glumly, watching sourly as our neighbors to the north soak up all the accolades, awards, and championships while we always sit on the doorstep, peering in through the windows on the celebration until someone inside has the decency to pull the blinds closed. The only team we’ve had to support that has continuously and without error built up a…a culture of winning has been our beloved Flyers. Just over 40 seasons in the league and since their inception they’ve accrued something ridiculous like the best winning percentage in the league and playoff appearances in every year save only a handful of seasons.

Out of all the cities in America that host teams in all the big 4 sports, Philadelphia has gone the longest without a championship. Within this decade, the Flyers had ALREADY coughed up a 3-1 series lead to the hated New Jersey Devils. We were up 3-1 on your Capitals, only to see that lead evaporate through not just through stellar play by our opponent, but panicked, rattled play by our Orange and Black. You bet we booed them off the ice. There is no reward for failure if that failure is realized through anything less than hard-nosed, smart play. If the Flyers were being beaten but still playing their hearts out, it would be different.

It’s the reason that, while thrilled to be moving on to the second round, I still cast a disapproving eye over my club. They stole one last night. The referees stole one last night (as they’ve done back and forth all series). Martin Biron…stole one last night. The TEAM…did not beat the Washington Capitals. A host of other circumstances played too much a part. Don’t judge us too harshly. Anything less than gritty excellence from the Flyers is unacceptable to us. Forgive me too for my vehement defense. I don’t abide my compatriots and I being lumped together in the category of “bad fan”.

Hold your heads high. Your Capitals played fearlessly…brilliantly. They’ll be back. Their inspired play coupled with the views expressed so well here on this blog would have forced me to, if the Caps had moved on, root for them the rest of the way…something I’ve never been able to bring myself to do for an opposing team.

Embrace the series for what it was despite its warts. Any 7-game series that comes down to overtime in the decider that YOUR team is involved in is an absolute gift…a gift many thought wouldn’t be coming to either of our teams as early as a month or so ago.

Between Tarik, OFB, the amazing photographs and work over at Off Wing, and all the other Caps blogs, you know the second half of this season probably resulted in more people developing a love for the game that hopefully will last them a lifetime. TV gets you the games, but seeing people come together like this over a team gets you the passion.

And while the team is resting, training, and preparing for next year, the hard-working guys in the blogging community will be doing the same, bringing us news of signings, trades, the free agent market, what Boudreau is going to bring to camp with a full summer to work, and how our injured guys are coming along.

Thanks to the teams of Caps Insider, OFB, Off Wing, and everyone else. The organization brought a team we can all be proud of, and you guys brought the team to us. I will never forget this season, nor what a large part you each played in it.

Thank you Capitals. It was a pleasure watching you guys go from individuals playing hockey to becoming a team. The future is very bright.

And I’d also like to thank OFB. AMAZING job you guys have done this year.

Thank You.

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