March of the Penguins

I'm glad I was able to make it to the game yesterday -- oddly enough, I made it because my Subaru WRX was "snowed out" of my neighborhood since I went to the game on Friday night and stayed overnight in DC. It turned out to be an excellent battle between the two teams. I'm also glad the Caps won, because the trials and tribulations of getting to and from the game were, in a word, unacceptable.

My brother came from Hagerstown in his own Subaru. I-270 was, in his words, "a disaster." He had to drive all the way to Bethesda to the closest Metro station, Medical Center, where he then waited 30 minutes because he'd *just* missed the departing train. Metro neglected to post anything about only running trains every 30 minutes on their website, otherwise, he would have just tried to drive into DC and park in a garage. It took him nearly three hours to arrive. Meanwhile, because I had his tickets in my hand, I, too, missed the entire first period because I waited in the Green Turtle for him.

And Mr. Leonsis, while all of "your" employees may have shown up for the game, not all of the Verizon Center staff was present. That much was clear when I entered during the opening minutes of the second period, even if I hadn't already received a text message telling me that the concession lines were ridiculously long because more than half of the stands were not open. My brother and I sprinted to our seats, and respectfully waited for a stop in play to enter the actual seating area despite no usher being present (not sure if the usher was taking a quick break or if they, too, couldn't make it due to the weather). One of the season ticket holders next to me missed the *entire* second period waiting in the concession lines. There may have been enough staff present to "run" Verizon Center, but it was very obvious to anyone there that not "all" of the arena staff was present.

I understand the need to hold the game, Mr. Leonsis, and if both teams were there and the officials were there, I would have been sorely disappointed to not be able to see it. What does disappoint me is that part of the justification for hold it (from a previous blog entry) was that the NBC crew was there, and then telling people who were there that the ends (the win and a majority of seats being filled) justified the means (Pittsburgh's players on busses for 5+ hours in conditions that were, at best, treacherous; thousands of people -- including "super fans" such as Sam "The Horn Guy" and the announcer Wes Johnson -- making borderline insane trips to get to the arena). Please don't tell us things that we could see with our own eyes weren't true either (that "all employees" were there). You may not have had a vastly different game experience than you usually do, but many of the rest of us definitely did. To belittle our journeys and our experiences by dismissing them out of hand is insulting to those of us (Caps and Pens fans both) who went to, literally, fanatical lengths to see this team play.

For the record, my brother sent me a text at 8:14PM last night. We'd departed the Irish Channel after a late lunch at 4:15PM. Four hours for him to get home, and he said that I-270 was even worse going northbound. But, as a true, diehard Caps fan, he said it was all worth it.

Losing Bets

Gambling is bad, mmmmkay? I say that as I stand here in front of a room of 20+ students who are snickering at a person who they know is a staunch supporter of the Washington Capitals... and she's wearing a very over-sized CCM Pittsburgh Penguins jersey, adorned with the despised #87.

Yep, I made an ill-advised wager on the outcome of game seven. At least it's only my pride that's damaged, and not my wallet.

In the meantime, I'm starting to get psyched for the WRX build. I saw the AST 5200 coilovers in person on Saturday; they are gorgeous. I hope they work as nice as they look. External reservoirs and crazy adjustments... I'm gonna be clueless with shock setup when I take the car out for the first time. Hopefully, that "first time" will be next weekend at the NASA-X autocross at Virginia Motorsports Park.

Pictures forthcoming -- of the shocks, and hopefully not of me in the black and gold! :)

Going Out With A Whimper

What a terrible way to end one of the most hyped series ever in the NHL.

What a depressing way to finish off an epic season.

Welcome to Caps hockey. Some things never seem to change. :(

Until September comes around again...

Cinco de la Serie (or Игра пять)

When playing the Pittsburgh Penguins in the playoffs, game five has never been kind to the Capitals. Never. Nada. Not once have the Capitals won a game five against the black and gold.

But then again, not once had a team in the NHL been DFL in the league at Thanksgiving, yet come back to win their division. Never had an NHL defenseman scored a goal in eight straight games. The number of Capitals teams in franchise history to score 108 points? Nada, until this year.

Under Bruce Boudreau, the impossible always seems possible with this group of mostly young men. Yes, they screw up at times -- sometimes the screw up is more like "epic fail" -- but overall, this is most certainly the best Capitals team the NHL has ever seen.

Yet, at times, it seems as if they are playing against more than just the opposing team. Even Washington GM George McPhee commented on the officiating this past week after game three's 7-2 power play disparity, even while the players themselves kept their comments fairly neutral.

The emotions are running high, especially in light of the abuse rookie goaltender Simeon Varlamov has been taking in both the series against the Rangers and so far against the Penguins. It's understandable if it's difficult to keep retaliation off the mind, but frustration against constant penalty killing and lack of attack time shouldn't play into the game as much as it has. Game four was a bit more even in terms of calls, but still a lot of clutching and grabbing of the interference variety was ignored.

Game five starts in just about 200 minutes. Here's to overcoming obstacles and doing the impossible.

What the Hell is Wrong With People?

Some people take their sports a little too seriously. It's one thing to be riled up over the Capitals versus Penguins series, but to go so far as to actually claim that you are going to kill a rival team's player? And to say that you "know [you] will be arrested, but [you] don't care?"

Did this seventeen-year-old brainiac ever consider the impact of his words for just one second?

The worst part about this is the fact that, since he is a minor, this child will not even be properly punished for his actions, and therefore likely won't learn anything from it. Had the Pennsylvania troopers taken the Internet tough guy into custody and let him sit in jail until his parents arrived, maybe he would have learned an important lesson. But, having been around snark-tastic teenagers for the last fourteen years, I am fairly confident that the "talking to" he was given by the police is just fodder for the boy's Facebook status right now.

Hell, he is probably proud of the fact that he "scared" Ovechkin and the hockey world enough that the police were brought in. If, may the gods have mercy on us, the Penguins actually win tomorrow night, this child is going to believe that he helped by making the Capitals look over their shoulders instead of being focused on the game.

What ever happened to good old trash-talk between rival fans? When did watching hockey -- being a spectator -- become a life-or-death thing?

Seriously, when I first suggested that we go to Philadelphia for a Capitals game earlier this year, Pat was horrified by the idea. "We'll get killed!" he said to me. I bought tickets anyway, and he reluctantly joined me. He was even more loathe to wear his Brashear jersey; I all but forced him to don it. He really thought it would incite violence against us. I told him that I'd been to Philly by myself for games in the past (granted, in the early '90s), and emerged unscathed, so he shouldn't worry. And, in fact, we engaged in some trash talk with the Flyers fans around us, and we stood and cheered loudly when Brooks Laich scored the lone Capitals goal (yeah, we went on 12/20), and afterwards, the Flyers fans around us said we were cool, and that our team had played better than the score indicated.

In other words, everyone was an adult about the game.

Yet, when I was discussing my latest Flyers experience with one of the Capitals marketing guys at the ESPNZone viewing party in Baltimore during the Rangers series, he told me a different story about Flyers fans. Last year, during the first round of the playoffs, Ted Leonsis secured a suite for the Capitals' office staff and rented a bus to make the trip. During the game, there wasn't "friendly banter," or even mild "trash talking," but outright nasty discourse. Additionally, when the marketing guy was in line for food on the concourse, he said he was literally kicked in the shin by a child who was rooting for the Flyers.

What kind of parent allows their children to run wild at Wachovia Center, and more so, encourages that kind of behavior? Talk about someone the police need to visit...

At the first game of this second round series, after David Steckel scored to tie the game at 1, the man seated directly behind me got up to use the restroom. As he scooted past three Penguins fans seated towards the aisle, he said, "Penguins suck," in a conversational tone.

The response? One of the Pens fans elbowed him in the face, while another threw beer on him. This resulted in a fight, obviously, with one of the Penguins fans being escorted away by security.

What is wrong with a modicum of maturity these days? Sure, you might say the Capitals fan caused his own situation by what he said, but it wasn't an "in your face" comment, it was just stated, not yelled, and not to any of the Penguins fans, but just directly towards the aisle. Those fans decided to escalate things to violence instead of verbal banter.

On the ice on Wednesday night, the Capitals could have been like these immature, childish fans, and been out for blood in response to Chris Kunitz's hit on Simeon Varlamov. Judging from comments by Alex Ovechkin and Bruce Boudreau, I would not have been surprised to see a lot of excessive hitting and bodies encroaching on Marc-Andre Fleury's crease. Yet, that was not the case, not to the extent one would expect for retaliation.

Seems that the players have better sense than those who are cheering them on. Maybe the fans need to take more away from the game than a simple win or a loss.

Teamwork Redux

One of the themes that has haunted the Capitals over the last few games is the propensity towards individual efforts instead of teamwork. Don Cherry (improperly) chided Oveckin on his goal scoring celebrations (even though Alex's celebrations are anything but individual), and Boudreau has mentioned the lack of teamwork in the team's 0-3 skid.

Teamwork wasn't the problem today against the Penguins. Steckel's beautiful pass to Laich for an early third period breakaway goal, and Ovechkin's first minute of the third period power play goal were perfect demonstrations of team play at work.

But what can be done when the one player letting the team down is the goaltender?

Unfortunately, that's what today's game against the Penguins came down to -- Fleury vs. Theodore. And Fleury showed why the Penguins are still a force to be reckoned with, whether or not they are flirting with playoff chances.

Alexander Semin continued his turnaround, showing good effort in front of the net, behind the play, forechecking and backchecking. He stayed out of the penalty box again, and put forth a first period goal that tied things at one. His effort was at least 100%. This is a far cry from the Semin who came back from the pinched nerve, and was tentative around checkers. While the current Semin is still prone towards looking for the "pretty" goal over just "a goal," he is grinding more and being less of a puck hog.

No, the problem comes at the opposite end of the ice. Jose Theodore may be a one-time Hart Trophy winner. He may have helped the Canadiens and the Avalanche in the playoffs. However, right now, he's showing weakness that isn't going to help the Capitals get past the first round.

Theodore has said in the past that he needs to feel tested during a game in order to be at his best. But good defensemen don't let their goaltenders get shelled either. Why should they? If the shots on goal are minimized, then the goal scoring chances are minimized, and if the team's offensive unit is producing (as today's was), the game should be won on defensive effort (including goaltending) alone. Theodore has proven time and again that the fewer shots he faces, the worse he does. It goes against all rational thought, but the proof is there in the pudding.

Today's effort? 1-7 in the first (that's a .857 SV%), 2-5 in the second (.600 SV%), and 0-8 in the third and 0-2 in OT, for a game total of 3/22 (.863 SV%). Anything below .900 is abysmal for an NHL caliber goaltender, and Theodore came into this game with a .900 SV%. Fleury, on the other hand, saw 50% more shots (32 total) and finished with a game SV% of .906.

If this was the first time Theodore had fallen down in the face of less than 30 SOG, it wouldn't be of concern. However, it's an ongoing problem. If the defense does their job, and limits the opposition's chances on net, Theodore routinely erases their efforts.

Yet, against the Bruins just over a week ago, Theodore had 34 saves in 37 shots (.919). It makes no sense.

The Capitals deserve a better effort from someone who allegedly wanted to play for them, and who needs to be able to carry this team past the first round of the playoffs. The defense can't be expected to lay down and just let players like Malkin and Crosby walk in and hope they don't deke in a goal. Poti didn't go out there with a touchy groin issue only to let Theodore let his efforts be all for naught.

Either Theodore needs to start being ready to play all the time, whether he's seeing 10 shots or 40 shots per game, or he needs to sit down and let Varlamov and Neuvirth take over now. Period.

Long Night

I missed watching the entire first period, as I was still at school, preparing my sub plans for tomorrow. I listened on the radio, but by the time I walked out of the building, Malkin had already scored on the power play.

It's so difficult to tell the tempo of a game from a radio broadcast. You can't see the fire in the eyes of the players, you can't see the interaction that leads to misplays, and stupid penalties.

Then, I made a stop on the way home, and when I get back in the car, I hear that Kozlov's scored to tie it up!

I get home shortly thereafter, and proceed to watch the Capitals slowly pull themselves out of that dark hole they'd fallen into. 1-2. 2-2. 3-2. 3-3. They are putting shots on goal, but not just winging a puck from the blue line. Laich's in the crease, mucking it up. The power play has some bobbles, but otherwise, things are looking a bit more solid, a bit more in control.

Then the breakout. 4-3. Theodore can be seen smiling through the grill of the mask while he takes a shot of water; when he's not confident, you don't see those pearly whites. 5-3. And the short-handed, empty-netter to finish it off.

And I have a sub for tomorrow. It'll be a good day. :)