For the second time in three years the Washington Capitals open the NHL postseason against the New York Rangers, an old Patrick division rival. Of the first five playoff series Alexander Ovechkin and the rebuilt Caps since first qualifying for the postseason together in 2008, four have come against old Patrick foes.
Correspondingly, those bitter rivalries have been freshly renewed by the showdowns. That’s how hockey hatred is developed. In the sorta old days, you first had to best your Patrick foes in divisional play before advancing toward Eastern conference supremacy. There is a bit of that feeling to all these Patrick division springtime reunions, albeit spread out over a couple of seasons.
Last night’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Carolina Hurricanes was summed up best by Matt Hendricks when he described it as one that got away. The team had ample opportunity to capitalize on some key chances but were never able to finish. It was that inability to see a play all the way through that ended up costing the Caps a win.
Capitals General Manager George McPhee has made some absolutely gorgeous decision this season. Whether it be the trade for Scott Hannan, picking up Marco Sturm off waivers or acquiring what appears to be the team’s new locker room leader, Jason Arnott, for almost nothing, GMGM should be in the running for GM of the year. To bad his most recent decision, to send Braden Holtby back to Hershey, is his worst of the year and one that could really hurt the Caps in just a few weeks.
In the interest of hockey, making fun of ourselves, and just promoting good diplomatic relations up north, OFB was pretty stoked when one of Detroit’s hockey blogs, The Production Line, reached out last week and suggested doing a Q&A between the two blogs in honor of the Caps/Red Wings showdown on Wednesday. TPL is run [...]
The Hershey Bears (39-21-1-4) dropped a shootout decision in Portland, Maine, last night. Let’s just hope their bus driver is fresher than the skaters he’ll convoy through week’s end. When John Walton told me last weekend that beginning Saturday night the club was embarking upon a seven-games-in-nine-day stretch, I didn’t quite believe him. I actually [...]
No. 1 defensman already out. No. 1 netminder knocked out early from a laser to the ‘noggin. No. 1 center shelved early on as well. No problem. There were about 30 compelling reasons to expect the Tampa Bay Lightning to deliver an inspired performance with first place in the Southeast on the line in Monday [...]
Also filed in Alexander Semin, Braden Holtby, Eastern Conference, George McPhee, Hockey hearts, Michal Neuvirth, Morning cup-a-joe, National Hockey League, Nicklas Backstrom, Shootouts, Southeast Division, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals
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Friday night we saw something that’s been in conspicuously short supply this hockey season in D.C. : passion. Also, 60 minutes of quality play. The result was perhaps the Caps’ finest road showing of the season, relative to the caliber of opponent, and the Caps will lace ‘em again on Super Sunday against their most [...]
It’s still an odd sensation to walk out of Verizon Center without one Capital finding the back of the net. When a team loses a game 1-0 in overtime like Washington did Tuesday to Tampa Bay and its new goalie Dwayne Roloson, the Achilles’ heel probably wasn’t your goalie, or the defense, and Caps coach [...]
Yes there’s a big game here tonight — first place in the Southeast is on the line — but all the Capitals’ digital community is talking about today is a brand new TV commercial featuring Alexander Ovechkin. He’s made a few good ones this season in his pitch work for CCM. But his latest is [...]
Can a legitimate Stanley Cup contender lose any hockey game by a touchdown — and to a middle-of-the-pack outfit at that? “Unfamiliar territory” is where the Caps are these days, according to the head coach after Sunday night’s preposterous 7-0 humiliation at the sticks of the New York Rangers. Incredibly, the Rangers had merely 20 [...]
