On Frozen Blog

During business travel the past two days I had ample airport time to consume an indulgent volume of coverage of our game 7 from Tuesday night. I thought I’d highlight briefly here what stood out to me. Look at this magnificent sentence from Tarik from Wednesday morning:

“What awaits the Capitals in the second round amounts to a dream matchup for the NHL, its broadcasters and Washington fans with strong stomachs: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the Pittsburgh Penguins, the team that has cut short so many Capitals postseason runs in the past.”

Also Wednesday morning, the Times’ Corey Masisak and Ryan O’Halloran published some choice reflection from Capitals’ General Manager George McPhee. One of the things I appreciate most about McPhee is his awareness of hockey’s standing in this region. He’s a vested member of our community, having made it his home for a decade now. He has a talented young son playing youth hockey here. He played a pivotal role in landing us the Frozen Four. Anyway, this is what he told the Times this week:

“We really needed this [win]. The way our community has embraced this team and what’s going on in this marketplace is unbelievable. I never believed it could be this good. To have the kind of buzz that’s around this team, I thought that could only come if we won a Cup, but this market has really responded. It feels great to see what’s going on here.” 

Yes it does. McPhee is very sincere in his enthusiasm for Washington as a hockey town. During the week of the Frozen Four, when he was chatting with media out at Kettler Capitals, he actually said that Washington was as good a hockey market as any in the league. Understand that we are just at the dawn of hockey’s ascendancy here. This Capitals’ club hasn’t really won anything of significance yet. Its core players are not yet in their prime. And yet right this moment, it is impossible for you to purchase a ticket to any regular season hockey game for next season — they’re all gone! Think about that for a moment. Hockey with a waiting list for tickets . . . here? That’s the next phase of the Revolution. 

No surprise, but Peerless authored poignancy in the immediate aftermath of Tuesday night:

” . . . we stood there at the end during watching the handshakes, silently
appreciating the effort on the part of the New York Rangers. The
Rangers are an offense-challenged team that doesn’t have a finisher
worthy of the name. They don’t have a real stopper on defense, although
Marc Staal could grow into that role one day. They have some
underachievers and guys who don’t look like they fit.

“But they have some guys on that team – and behind the bench, for that matter – who are nothing short of warriors.”

A special serving of schadenfreude arrived yesterday from the Islanders blog Islanders Independent. How couldn’t it? I adore the way Isles’ and Rags’ fans go at one another. Kind of like the sparring that takes place between the hockey supporters in Pittsburgh and Washington. I hadn’t seen this blog prior to yesterday, but I was mighty glad to find it. “No playoff loss and antics might warm the heart more than a cantankerous John Tortorella, Droopy Drury and MSG’s overpaid underachievers finally Capsizing,” the Independent observes.

And: “The Rangers fall into the off season with major cap issues and major leaks. Torts might have done his job to get the team into the playoffs. He might have even let himself be a controversial focal point, removing pressure for his team in game 7. But, how will he overcome management’s mistakes of personnel and contracts?”

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There is so much hockey to watch in the playoffs’ first round, and I never get to watch all that I want to. This was especially true with the Carolina-New Jersey series. By about the fifth game puck experts were tabbing it a classic, and it sure finished in classic fashion. Those of us in Verizon Center Tuesday night consumed with capturing images and reflections from the victorious Caps and the crestfallen Rangers were largely oblivious to the drama unfolding in game 7 at the Rock. In fact, just as Sergei Fedorov exited the makeshift press room one reporter who was refreshing an electronic device for updates blurted out for all to hear, “The ‘Canes scored two in the last to minutes to win it!”

The entire press pack was stunned.

I’ve read some opinion suggesting that that game offered the greatest finish to a playoff series in league history. For those of you who followed the series more faithfully than I, how good was it for you, and how memorable was that entire game 7? 

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Tomorrow both the Caps and Hershey Bears will commence their respective second-round series, meaning, both parent and farm club will be playing high-stakes hockey in the month of May. This hasn’t happened since the organizations re-established their affiliation in 2005. I think it’s a big deal. And having Pittsburgh’s parent and farm oppose Washington’s adds delicious and fun intrigue. These should be two very special weeks of hockey for our two very special hockey communities.

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First the Flyers, then the Rangers, and now the Penguins in three postseason series in the past 12 months. I see a sign from Hockey Heaven. I hope the commissioner does, too. (I’m not holding my breath, however.)