So I Feel Kinda Bad....

Hello hello!

Sorry we haven't updated in about ten million years. I really want to start blogging but I R E A L L Y don't want to blog about the labor meetings... it's a tough world. Half of the hockey fans are saying that there won't be a season, the other half are saying there will be... who knows. Let me know when they finally come to an agreement, I say as I can't stop refreshing twitter when the NHL and NHLPA meet.

Both sides make me mad and they need to come to an agreement. That is how I see it.

Now can we talk about how both Backie and Ovi are going to be playing on the same team during the lockout? And how Ovi pressured Backie to sign with Dynamo Moscow? I would like to thank ESPN for showing KHL games, especially the Ovechkin Dynamos, because we might get to see our two stars play together.

We didn't even update when Sasha signed with the Canes. I feel awful about our lack of postage sigh.

We didn't even blog when we drafted another flawless Swede that will probably become another star in this league.

How will you all forgive us?

How about we start blogging more?

Sounds good? Good.

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SHIRTS!

Our friend Ian over at Russian Machine Never Breaks has come up with an Alzner's Amigos shirt design! (seen here.)

We have no idea what possessed him to decide to make this shirt design, but speaking for myself I'm ridiculously excited for it. I'm sure Kate will be too once she finally wakes up and sees it. I'm also running on the assumption that our incessant talk about Alzner's Amigos drove him to making it a thing.

And my god are we happy that its a thing.

Don't Stop Believing

Wow. So we did it. We really actually did it. Our seventh seeded Washington Capitals knocked off the defending Stanley Cup Champions in the first round.

Of course it was done in game 7 in overtime, because lets be honest, who expected anything less? With the way the series went, I was not at all surprised when Seguin tied the game up.

But the fact that we actually did it... we actually won in overtime, thanks to Joel Ward living up to his playoff hero status, still stuns me. I've always believed in my boys, but I was more afraid of the loss than anything. So, a few points to cover.

• How about our role players tonight? Man, did they shine. Hendy's goal was an unbelievable deflection. Papa Knuble blocked the shot that led to the 2 on 1, and set up Wardo's OT winner. Wardo scored the OT winner. Who needs stars to win a game, eh? 
• How about that Karl Alzner? This blog is for him, so of course we're going to talk about how well he played. Not just tonight, but all series. Bergeron had an open net in OT, and even if it was mostly his fault it didn't go in, I'm sure Alzner would have blocked it if he had gotten a good shot off. The point is, he was there.
• Braden Holtby. are there even any other words besides that? He is the sassiest of all the sassy players, and the amount of fucks he gives about the Bruins? Zero. Subzero. I told them, I TOLD the Bruins fans at the beginning of this series that you don't fuck with Braden Holtby. Did they listen? HAHAHA OF COURSE NOT. But who has the last laugh? Oh yeah, the girl who knew Braden all along. 

Look at that motherfucking sass.

via the-radio-dept.tumblr.com

• Braden is the hottest topic that everyone in the NHL is talking about nowadays. Now that our fabulous rookie has beaten out the Vezina, MVP, Stanley Cup winning veteran goalie, why wouldn't he be? His story is an absolute sensation and I'm so happy I can finally rant and rave about him and people understand why.
• His numbers were equivalent to the aforementioned Tim Thomas, which is far above what anyone had expected. Although many of us knew him much better than the rest of the NHL, I still think a lot of were surprised with his elevated play. I've known Braden could rise to the occasion, but even I was blown away by his ability to stop 44 of 45 shots on more than one occasion. Through seven games in this series, he had a .94 save percentage, and a 2.14 goals against average. I literally have no words for it.

 Everyone counted us out. The day it was set that we were playing the former Stanley Cup Champions, everyone assumed we were done. Hell, even going into game 7 there was chatter everywhere about our inability to complete the playoff series. Kate and I were at game 6, and everything I heard from the other fans around me after that loss was awful... I know its disappointing, but having no faith in your team? Absolutely no excuse for that.


And man, did they show all of you what they're capable of.


We don't know who we're facing next. Either the Rangers, Flyers or Devils. I don't have a preference on who we play, because after beating the Stanley Cup Champions, I honestly believe we can take anyone on and have an equal chance of winning.


This team is great. This team has what it takes to win. This team is going to do great things. And right now, we're all along for the roller coaster ride with them. But the most important thing from all this is that we know that our boys are having the time of their lives, and they deserve it.


Its our motto here, but always remember Caps fans, don't stop believin'.

Caps/Bruins Game 6 (Pictures)

Roxy and I went to game six. I took some pictures so enjoy!

Thoughts on NHL Disciplinary Action

This is a guest post written by a very good friend of mine, Allison. If you like her writing, you can follow her here.

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The most hated man in the NHL can change on a daily basis. It could be a player, referee, or coach on any given night. When he failed to make the right call with Shea Weber’s WWE move on Henrik Zetterberg, Brendan Shanahan officially because the most despised man in the league. Tonight’s decisions and Raffi Torres’s monstrously horrendous hit on Marian Hossa cemented this status.

Our memories of the regular season are basically wiped clean once the playoffs start. Records, seedings, and games won/lost go out the window because, as we all know, anything can happen in the post season. What I’m coming to discover is that Brendan Shanahan’s work during the regular season flew out the window, too. Shanny was thoroughly consistent with doling out punishment during the regular season. There were enough suspensions and fines for punishable offenses that it seemed the new Department of Player Safety had gained control of the discipline issues in the league. We all expected it to carry over into the playoffs. Why change what isn’t broken? We were wrong.

I have never seen the entire National Hockey League fanbase unite like this before. We are all appalled at the complete and total inconsistency of Mr. Shanahan’s rulings. It doesn’t matter which team you cheer for or which team you want to eat dirt during these playoffs. The fact that player discipline is being smeared when it should be tighter is incredibly baffling. 

Let’s go through exactly what has happened during these playoffs. It all started with Shea Weber. Shanahan failed to suspend Weber for what was a hilariously illegal and dangerous move. When the commissioner of the WWE is complimenting slamming another player’s face into the glass TWO TIMES you know you’ve gone too far. Weber merely received a $2500 fine. This set off alarm bells in everyone’s head, wondering what was going through Shanny’s head. Next, Byron Bitz receives 2 games for boarding Kyle Clifford and Carl Hagelin receives 3 games for elbowing Daniel Alfredsson. Both appropriate suspensions. Seems fair for the offense. 

After that it gets dicey enough for me to want to apply for Shanahan’s job. Matt Carkner gets 1 game for punching a defenseless Brian Boyle about 3 times in the back of the head. ONE. GAME. That would be about 4-5 games during the regular season. Andrew Shaw gets 3 games for charging Mike Smith in the trapezoid. 

Then the Flyers-Penguins game. Holy. Mother. The wounds are still fresh from these suspensions and as a Flyers fan I’m a little biased. But for now I’ll just state the suspensions. Craig Adams gets 1 game for a game misconduct in the final 5 minutes of the game. James Neal gets 1 game for charging Claude Giroux. I’m really trying to hold back right now… Arron Asham gets 4 games for crosschecking Brayden Schenn. Finally, Nicklas Backstrom gets 1 game for his game misconduct in the final 5 minutes of the Capitals-Bruins game on Monday.

Where do I begin? Honestly, I’m so worked up right now that I probably shouldn’t be blogging or writing anything on the topic period. But it’s not stopping me. I am just beyond livid that Craig Adams and Nicklas Backstrom are receiving the same amount of games for an automatic suspension as James Neal. Not only did James Neal have 2 (TWO) conferences with Shanahan today for his hit on Couturier and his charging Giroux, but he only came out with ONE GAME. James Neal had intent to injure on his plays and it’s evident by him leaving his feet to give a blindside hit on Couturier and then seconds later going head hunting for Giroux. However, that’s not what he told Shanny. He told him and the media that he had no intent to injure, just cutting through the neutral zone. Shanahan didn’t believe him thank the hockey gods. But he left his feet on the play and with INTENT TO INJURE. Yet he still only gets 1 game?! There was no injury on the play. BULL-FREAKING-SHIT. Inconsistency, I can’t say it enough. 

Shanahan is also punishing based on who is the offender and who is the victim. Carl Hagelin, who has never even had a major penalty in his NHL career, received 3 games for his elbow on Daniel Alfredsson. Byron Bitz is suspended for a play that is just as dangerous and receives a game less than Hagelin. The victim of that play? Kyle Clifford, a much less recognizable name. James Neal only receives 1 game and Shea Weber didn’t even miss a minute. I’m not sure if it’s intentional or what, but Shanahan is punishing based on one’s clout in the league. It’s not right. Whether you’re Sidney Crosby or Raffi Torres, you should be receiving the same punishment. There are very mixed messages being sent and Shanahan is being forced to do a lot of back-pedaling. 

Suspending to the injury isn’t an effective system at all. It’s hard to judge intent and a player is certainly not going to own up to wishing harm on another players. But when it is so blatantly obvious like in James Neal’s case, Shanahan cannot just sit by and say that 1 game is sufficient to get the message through. 

I am as frustrated as I’ve ever been with the NHL, yes, but I’m more appalled at the seeming lack of respect between the players. Bobby Clarke and Bill Clement of the Broad Street Bullies have both come out and said that what is happening right now would never happen when they were playing. Clement said there would never be hits like Torres’ or Neal’s during their heyday. There just isn’t enough mutual respect between players on the ice anymore. There needs to be an overhaul in the culture starting with the players. When they learn to treat each other better there will be less of a need for these suspensions. 

Matt Cooke changed because he was told if he didn’t he would never play in the NHL again. Why isn’t seeing Marian Hossa lying motionless on ice enough? Why isn’t seeing Nathan Horton with his arm reaching to the ceiling, struggling for breath enough? The day is going to come when a player is going to be lying lifeless on the ice. Will that be the end all, be all? It shouldn’t have to come to that. Suspensions can only go so far. It’s the players that need to take responsibility.

Caps Thoughts 4/18

First and foremost I want to apologize for not writing more. Roxy has taken the reigns of the blog for now, and probably for the rest of the series because well... I have a conflict of interests. I'm secretly a Bruins fan too. I know I know. Boo and hiss now. I have gotten enough of it already. I'll post about that later. 

Right now I want to talk about other things. 

The Washington Capitals, a seventh seed, are hanging with the Boston Bruins, the second seed. Each game is being won by inches and by which team makes the most mistakes. Game one, Wideman pinches down and can't recover and tips Chris Kelly's shot in overtime. Game two, the two Bruins defenders run into each other, Marcus Johansson grabs the puck, slings it to Backstrom and he puts it past Tim Thomas. Game three, the refs missed an offsides call and Harmlik tips Chara's shot past Holtby with two minutes left in the game. 

What I'm trying to say is that the Caps are very much alive in this series. The game Thursday is pretty much a must win and will be even harder because Backstrom has been suspended. But it's doable. The Caps did it three times in the regular season.

I just don't want fans to feel like this season is a complete bust if the Caps are knocked out of the first round (knock on wood). I am so completely proud of this team just for the way they are fighting with the Bruins. I had no idea what to expect in Game one. The game I saw excited me. They didn't win, but they were fighting. They were not going to let the Bruins run all over them like some people expected. There is literally no where but up with this team. They are finally responding to Hunter's system and realizing that it works in the playoffs. Our scorers are scoring. Ovechkin is smashing everything within reach. The Caps could win this series.

But what if they don't? Well then I think we have the start of something awesome. Their window isn't closing. All of their star players are young still. Hopefully we resign Semin. Semin under Hunter's system is money. 

I still say the Caps should win this series though. Thinking into the future is too much work.

Let's go Caps.

Playoffs Matchups Aren't Disappointing

I know this is a Caps blog, but bare with me here. Its the playoffs, a time where everyone is jumping to different teams and has an opinion on every matchup. It is without a doubt the most wonderful time of year, where former enemies become friends to unite against a common enemy. See for example: Flyers and Caps fans unite against the Pens fans. That's just one common theme we've seen so far these playoffs.

Just the eastern conference in itself has been a freakin' soap opera. Whether its ridiculously obvious contrast between the Flyers/Pens series and the Caps/Bruins series, the stupidly pestilent Florida Panthers winning their first playoff series in ten goddamn years, or the Rangers and Senators attempting to kill each other, its been a roller coaster ride. And that's just the Eastern Conference.

The Caps and Bruins play their third game tonight, and it'll be interesting to see if there is going to be any difference compared to the first two games. I'm still a little reluctant to assume Braden is going to be an absolute brick wall like he has been, but I certainly hope so. Of course, I'm still expecting to be in a fetal position, on the verge of puking up whatever I ate this afternoon while rocking back and forth and crying slightly. Wait... am I the only person that does that into double OT?

But that doesn't matter right now. The talk of the entire NHL at this point is the Pens/Flyers game yesterday afternoon. A total of 133 penalty minutes, all in 60 minutes played. That's more than twice the penalty minutes of actual game time played. Which is freaking insane.

• Matt Cooke emerged from the bloodbath with zero penalty minutes. You heard me, ZERO. The Mayans were clearly right about 2012 being the end of the world.
• Arron Asham is the scum of the earth. I challenge anyone to attempt to prove me wrong on this point. I think anyone who watched what he did to Brayden Schenn would agree so. 
• What the hell happened to Marc Andre Fleury? I know he can be streaky but this is taking it to a whole different level. And of anyone to feel sorry for in that organization, its him. I have a serious soft spot for goalies, and I'm sure he's disgusted with himself and his performance throughout this series.
• That being said, Bryz hasn't exactly been spectacular at his end. Goaltending as a whole doesn't exist, and they might as well both pull goalies and play 6 men instead, with the number of goals they're scoring collectively.
• Malkin has been held goal-less. Can someone explain to me, how in the HIGH HEAVENS has the NHL's lead point scorer been held scoreless in a series where all that happens is scoring and fights? DOES NOT COMPUTE.
• Speaking of fights, holy Crosby vs. Giroux. THAT was something I never thought I'd see. Crosby called Giroux a pussy, and was obviously projecting.
• Most of it all happened within the first period. Then in the third, the Pens came out to slaughter, proving that basically, they're the dirtiest team in the league and have stolen that so called "title" from the Flyers, according to most people.
• James Neal. Wow. I don't really have any words for what he decided to do. I'm really disappointed in him for going out there and head hunting like he did. Its just unbelievably unsportsmanlike and just shows complete immaturity.
• Speaking of unsportsmanlike and immaturity, Sidney Crosby. I cannot get over his childish behavior during the game. Personally, I don't like to complain about him being a whiner and such, but my lord did he want to prove me wrong yesterday. Absolutely despicable way to handle the game, coming from someone who is supposed to lead the team. Leading by example pretty well there, aren't we captain?

There is no other way to classify a game like that other than a complete and total shitshow. I think everyone can agree that the Pens lost quite a bit of integrity as an organization with that one. I also tend to place the blame on them for that game compared to the Flyers, who in my eyes were just doing things to protect their guys.

Obviously, these two franchises don't like each other, so they're more than likely to go at it. But that circus display yesterday, while entertaining, was something that shouldn't happen in the future. Even if teams hate each other, they should have mutual respect. The Pens should have taken the loss with more dignity, and they just showed the entire league that they will throw temper tantrums if they don't get their way. Its absolutely disgusting to do what they did, and any respect I had for them has virtually evaporated into thin air.

On a lighter note, its good to know my team can handle a loss with ten times more dignity than that, and that my captain isn't going to go out there and do what Crosby did. I don't like comparing Crosby and Ovechkin, but in this case when it comes to leadership, well I think its shown who has more composure in a certain situation. I don't recall Ovechkin running around like this in the second round last year just before we got swept by Tampa.

Even more drama to ensue tonight, and god knows what wednesday is going to hold. All I know is that I'm grabbing a bowl of popcorn and enjoying the show.