SUNDAY MORNING: FLOATING ON A CLOUD CALLED VICTORY

For those who read this-Thanks for your patience while I was taking a little week off.

Instead of recapping a historical, amazing, and fun week I will get right to today-Game 2.

After a up and down game the Caps and Flyers face off again.

I think we will see a much different first period. While Friday night's first 20 was tighter and more reluctant, we shall see some back and forth drives early on.

I didn't think the Flyer's played "their game" even during the second period rout. I felt the Caps outworked and outhit them the whole game. I would expect the Flyers to focus on the hits, working the corners, and being a lot more aggressive with their forecheck.

TODAY'S STORY LINES

 

Was that the 4th or the 1st line?

 

The Steckel-Brash-Brad line or as I like to call the "Bradshel Line" was amazing. Not only did they contribute the regular energy, hard work, grit and hits, they were all over the scoresheet. 

 

Ovechkin's Playoff Cherry Popped

Contained for 40 minutes, Ovechkin broke out in the third getting Green the puck and then embarrassing the Philly defense while making Biron look silly to win the game. Was Ovechkin a little too nervous for the first 2 periods? Has he gotten over this? If so, watch out Little Marty.

 

Hip Hip....Sigh

What happened to Huet? Granted, every goalie has rough games and if you can still win when this happens, well who cares. But, hopefully this is not apart of a much bigger issue-goalies that choke in the playoffs. I am REALLY overreacting. 

• The first goal he could not see and our D must do a better job of clearing out the crease
  
• The second was a very nice shot by Briere that was 1x1...ok
  
• The third goal...yea you gotta get that.
  
• The 4th goal was not his fault.

Ok, I feel a little bit better.

The Secret is out

 

Mike Green is a freaking supa-star. But he is going to have to be a lot better today if he wants to score again. Why? Well if Philly wasn't watching him before, they will be now. And if anyone was worried about them headhunting Nicky B or Ovy, watch Green.

 

The pressure is huge on the home team to win Game 1. The pressure was on this team because they lack "playoff experience". They were able to come back from a 2 goal deficit in the third period and win it-something that is hard to do against a mediocre team in October; let alone a good team in the playoffs! If the Caps play their game and stop all the odd man rushes, they can and will win.

 

With a win today they hop on a bus up to Philly-a place where they won both times this year and where the journey called the Boudreau area began.

 

Rock the Red, Rock the Hawk, Unleash the Fury, Let's go Caps and so on with the obligatory cheers.

 

Is it 2 yet? Let's do this dance...And oh yea...Suck it NBC (really pointed towards Milbury)

 

NOTE: If you haven't seen Ted's post on Tony K-I demand that you read it right now.

ROCK THE RED

"We've been telling people, 'Be patient and we'll wake up one morning and have a good team...and I think that morning is tomorrow morning."

 -General Manager George McPhee

 

sweet Jesus...

PAYBACK TIME

At the beginning of the evening I thought I would be removing Tampa from my "crap" list. I saw they were starting Smith, I read Tortorella saying they wanted to play the spoiler role and I believed. Shame on me. Tampa was never a factor as Carolina scored 30 seconds in and pretty much never looked back.

The final was 6-2 when Halpern added his 20th goal of the year. Thanks for nothing. Tonight the Caps can pay Tampa back and keep on trucking towards HOPEFULLY their first playoff birth since 2003.

 

The other news around the league was pretty good. Tim Thomas pulls a hudini and Shane Hnidy goes for an Oscar as Boston gets a cheapy point. Dainius Zubrus scored on Tim Thomas to give the Devils the lead but because of inconclusive evidence, they said no goal. Thomas knew it was goal even Zubrus walked over and told Timmy (paraphrasing)  to "please tell the refs because we both know it's a goal."

 

In Pittsburgh it was a different story where the Pens took advantage of the powerplay to beat the Flyers 4-2. It was another chippy affair between these two teams. I'll be honest, it was torture watching these two teams that I hate so much. It was painful to cheer as the annoying high-pitched Steel Town horn would go off after the pens scored. But, I'm thankful.

 

So, here's the breakdown.

If Caps win out...

 

We need either Boston, Philly, Ottawa, or Carolina to lose one game in regulation. That's it. Out of 7 games, we only need one to go our way for the Caps to get in.

 

Keep in mind also that Friday night Boston plays Ottawa. If this game ends in regulation, that's all the Caps would need for a spot to open up. OTT and Boston both have 92 points. If Ott wins tomorrow night against Toronto they would have 94. If they lose Friday, they are done and the Caps would get the tiebreaker. If Ottawa wins tomorrow and wins Friday against Boston, they would have 96 BUT the max points Boston could get at that point is 94. The Caps would have the tiebreaker with Boston.

 

And of course if Toronto wins tonight over Ottawa, it's win and your in for the Caps.

 

Many scenarios available, some likely. But it all has to start with a Caps victory tonight.

 

No preview needed today. If the Caps play their game they will win. Simply put. Tampa played last night and we should see Ramo most likely. The key for the Caps is to stay grounded (enter Boudreau and Fedorov) and not get over confident.

 

Let's go Caps fans-Red Out Part 2.

They Live to See Another Day

What an amazing night but how many times have I said that this year? The fans were out in full force, wearing their red and losing their voices. Our boys did not disappoint. A good tough team that had everything on the line and the Caps came out convincingly. 

 

The media is taking notice of DC and many covered the game and the Red out nicely last night.

 

I'm pretty exhausted, here are some quick thoughts.

• Thanks to Coach Peter for joining  the red out-that red face makeup was a nice touch.

• Semin went all-out tonight; he was physical and that goal was ridiculous. You could not question his effort or passion tonight.

• How great is Matt Cooke? The things he does go unnoticed a lot of time, but he was my first star tonight.

• AO seemed to be pressing a little hard early on with some unnecessary "fancy" moves. But, his goal at the end was spectacular.

• Backstrom can really dangle when he gets the chance.

• Huet was solid. It was another game where he easily could have had a shutout. He really should have because Laich was slashed like crazy before the goal. But, I won't complain :).

• That second Goalie Interference call was bull...oh well.

 
For those saying the Caps got the bulk of the calls their way...

Yes, they did. When you have a reputation for taking advantage of the refs ,diving, embellishing, and then you show the refs a constant lack of respect-you reap what you sow. The Canes had plenty of time and could not muster up more then one goal (and they barely got that one).

  

Caps' fans, lets enjoy this one and move on. We are still not in the playoffs and we have a stressful night ahead. Boston, Philly, and Carolina are all in action tonight. Let's hope Carolina is nice and tired from being slammed around Matt Cooke style and the Ning can pound on them. With a Carolina loss tonight, it's win and were in.

 

This is starting to get really fun...

The Most Important Game of the Season...Part 3

You know the deal...Caps and Canes...tonight...Red Out...at the Booth...Season on the line...a win gives us a nice shot at the division.

 

I can't really say anything about tonight's game. It's the most important game the Caps have played in 5 years. A win tonight does not guarantee anything except for a few more days of hope and a great shot at the Division Championship.

 

The Caps need to AND can win out. If 94 points does not get you a playoff birth, then I don't know what to say.

 

This team's journey from Thanksgiving day has been amazing to watch. As a fan, I can only be thankful for the dozens of great memories I will have after this season. No matter what happens tonight and this week, I can't help but feel excited for this team and what the future lies ahead.

 

But please Caps, destroy those Canes tonight.

• For a great scenario on what could happen, please click here.

• Canes are getting back Williams and Whitney...grrr.

• A great look at this week

Don't forget to wear your red tonight and in the meantime check out this sweet video.

 

I've got Good news and Bad news...

Well you can't ask for much more. The Caps ran the table and never gave the Cats a chance. Before I get into the bad news, a couple of thoughts

• Jurchina was the best D-man out there tonight. He had an attitude and I liked it.

• Kozlov was great tonight hanging onto the puck in tight situations, taking the abuse, and making it happen

• I can't believe Jokinen and Belak didn't get their faces readjusted by Erskine and Co.

• Good thing Green potted that goal because otherwise there would be a post about his sub-par play tonight.

• What else can you say about Huet. Gotta...Love...This...Guy

• Flash-So much fail for one man.
  

Onto the bad news.

Gerber remembers that he is terrible and the Bruins win 4-0. Islanders blow two different leads and Philly wins in OT. Surprisingly , the Canes lost to the Ning which sets Tuesday up for A MONSTER game.

Want the Caps in the playoffs? Here are the 4 options available. These are all based on IF the Caps win their last 3 games.

Boston

 

4 games remaining vs Buffalo 2x, Ottawa, and Devils.

Boston can not get more then 4 points. They have to lose 2 in regulation. It's feasible as the Sabres are decent, Ottawa should win, and the Devils are a better team.

Philly

 

They can only win one more game. Sounds rough but they play Pittsburgh twice and the Devils once. If Pitt takes care of business those two times, we can start putting our money down for round 1.

Rangers

 

This won't happen but if NYR lost 4 of their last 5 games Caps would sneak in.

Carolina

 

I didn't think this was feasible a week ago BUT if the Caps win out that means Carolina drops Tuesday's game obviously. Carolina can only get 3 more points at this point but they play Tampa and Florida. If one of these teams can pull an upset, that division title is ours.

Not impossible but still tough. And of course this is all assuming the Caps win out which would mean a 7 game winning streak.