Caps/Bruins Game 1 recap

With the initial sting from last night finally subsiding, I think I can provide a pretty good analysis of things. Obviously, it kind of felt like we deserved to take that one, after battling through 60+ minutes and weathering all of the storms the Bruins threw at us.

• The first period was just plain out scary. I was hoping that once the game started, I myself could calm down, but with a period like that? Oh my god as if. Boston was all up in our zone, we couldn't get a shot to save our life, and the only reason shit didn't completely hit the fan was because of Braden Holtby.
• Boston came out hitting, too. We knew that was going to happen. But my god, was I screaming at my TV for us to hit back. We NEEDED to hit back. They pretty much walked all over us in the first period.
• But in the second, all hell broke loose. We got into penalty trouble, and Boston was outshooting us heavily. It was nasty, but it was exciting as anything. Braden stood on his head, stopping every shot that got through our boys and to him. And he took a roughing penalty. Now THAT is the Braden we all knew would show up for this game, isn't it?
• John Carlson. It would be nice to say that he knows to peak at the right time, but its only been one game, so we can't say that exactly yet. But he did well last night, and watching him jump in to protect Holts? Best thing I've ever seen in my life.
• Joel Ward. Anyone else notice that his game picked up significantly last night? Not just him, but our whole fourth line pretty much carried the offense. Can I just mention the fact that our fourth line is unbelievably talented? Aucoin-Perreault-Ward. Tell me those guys aren't some of the most talented fourth liners in the league.
• Seems like Dale Hunter did another one of those inspirational/yelling speeches during the second intermission. We came out dominating the third period, and all the chances had me screaming on the floor and eventually in a fetal position because we were SO CLOSE. 
• Holtby's game. Nothing else really needs to be said, and you'd understand what I mean right? I knew the kid had this kind of game in him. The question now, is whether or not he can keep it going. As Peter pointed out with stats, a .967 save percentage wins cups. Rounding up, that's 97%, which is fucking ridiculous.
• Holtby faced twice as many shots as Thomas did. He stopped 29 of 30 shots, while Thomas stopped all 16. So anyone who thinks Thomas saved this game would be incorrect. The reason the Caps didn't win this game was because of shots. If we had tested Timmy more than we did, I've convinced we would have won. He was giving up more rebounds, their defense was floundering more in front of the net than we were. The main thing I took out of this game was that the Caps lost it for themselves with lack of offense.
• That being said, we played a fantastic game and we're finally doing what you need to do to win a playoff series; stifling defense and shot blocking. Poor Marcus Johansson sacrificed his face on more than one occasion tonight, the little Swedish warrior. Ovechkin was throwing his weight around, and was up to the challenge of the physicality without whining about it. That's the kind of effort we need and if we keep this up, and add offensive pressure, we will be unstoppable.

There was a lot of praises singing Holtby's name last night. My last point to go over involves him. I've seen this kind of thing happen after his game against the Wild; suddenly everyone is a fan of him and everyone wants him in net all the time.

Guys, I want you all to remember that he's still a young, developing goaltender. I've always known that he can stand on his head and steal games, but I've also always been there for him when he's had a bad game. This kind of thing, all the noise of everyone shouting about how he's jesus and our savior or whatever, is only going to last as long as he's playing like this. And if you expect him to have a nearly 97% save percentage every game, you should probably adjust your expectations.

I'm not saying he's not capable of it, but he does have some pretty dramatic highs and lows. And as soon as we have a low stretch, I hear people saying things like "I'm convinced he's going to lose the game for us." and "We need Neuvy in net! God I miss Vokoun!" That kind of thing. 

So just remember, he can be unbelievable, but cut the guy slack if he lets in one bad goal or two. I know him, and I know he's pissed at himself for letting that game winner in. I know he can step up, and I just hope he continues to do so because if he does, he can steal this series from right under the Bruins feet with a little help from the offense.

Don't stop believin', Caps fans. The next game comes faster than you'd expect, just pick it up and move on. And if it helps, go watch Florida get thrashed by New Jersey in the first round.

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals: A Preview

Well, we suck with the recaps. Here's what happened: we were all at the Panthers game last thursday, and then for the Rangers game on saturday we were partying it up at the Front Page with our friends over at Russian Machine Never Breaks.

So for a good weekend we hadn't exactly realized that we'd be facing the Bruins in the first round, and were still blissfully ignorant of it until the week started. At least that was me.

Hope y'all like my writing, cause you'll likely be seeing me through this series.

As many of you know, my dear co-writer Kate is also a Bruins fan. So she pretty much is on the verge of suicide during this whole series.

And its ugly for all of us. In general, Caps and Bruins fans get along. We both hate the Habs, and the Pens. Boston gets us. But as much as we can generally live amongst one another, as soon as we are pitted against each other shit is going to hit the fan. We all know it, and we have two more days to prepare for it.

I've already seen Bruins fans talk crap, well before the series has started. Let's face it; we don't like Bruins fans when we're playing them. Hell, I'm already at the end of my rope. Let's just say if my boys get personally attacked, I'm snapping back. Its going to be nasty, but you know why its going to be nasty? BECAUSE ITS THE CUP. You all saw that coming.

Okay, so lets move on to the actual game rather than the fans. Nearly every expert is picking the Bruins winning in 6. Once again, underestimating us and basing things on the past. Which by the way, is a logical fallacy; assuming the past is going to resemble the future but there is actually NO proof that that's guaranteed to happen.

Yes, technically we are a 7th seed in this, but our boys have been heating up in the last month, like they always do. I don't know about you, but our last two games looked a lot like the boys we had in October, no?

We went 3-1 against the Bruins this year, Mathieu Perreault scoring his first career NHL hat trick against this team. We took both games at the TD, the last one in dramatic fashion as Matt Hendricks frustrated the hell out of Tim Thomas, which was quite a show. And we did all of this without Nicklas Backstrom, our number one center.

How important is Nicklas Backstrom? Well you tell me. He's one of the most underrated players in the league, and in my opinion one of the best first line centers in the league, on par with the likes of Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Toews. I know that's putting him higher than a lot of people think, but these people seem to forget that he was drafted 4th overall and many of them do not see inside our organization.

We were shown how important Nicky was during his injury. I can't count how many times I personally was shouting "NICKY COME BACK!" during some games. He is the backbone of our team and it was easy to see with him out. So having him back? Yes, I believe that makes us much more dangerous than we were before, especially since he's only been here four games and is getting his groove back.

That being said, Caps fans know all too well that the regular season doesn't mean anything. Take for example, the Montreal series in 2010. (ouch, that hurts). In the playoffs, its like a clean slate again. the seeds are nothing but a tribute to the regular season, and the 7 next to our name simply represents our struggles all year. Personally, I'm not afraid of it. What has a high seed done for us in the past? Absolutely nothing. I believe we're better off in a lower seed, where there is less expectation. Need I remind everyone of the 2010 Flyers being a 7th seed? You wouldn't have known by the end of May.

And that leads us into our goalie situation. Oh dear sweet lord, our goalie situation. The Bruins have Tim Thomas, and we've got... Braden Holtby...

...

Our goalie tandem as of right now is the Hershey Bears goalie tandem. Okay, that is scary. We'd be perfectly healthy if our goalies didn't keep breaking their lower bodies (coughVOKOUN YOUR GROINcough). We've all seen what Neuvy can do in the post season, and I'd be happy with having him there. But Braden Holtby is a whole different animal.

Let's talk about him for a minute. He's still very young and is still being developed, so he hasn't been static with his play. Its been all over the place really, with amazing play that makes everyone scream and praise his name, followed by a game that's less than spectacular. He's made a few mistakes, like the Giroux poke check, but I still feel the need to remind everyone that he's still in development. He can't exactly be goalie jesus if he's still learning. So basically, have realistic expectations with this guy.

That being said, I believe he can rise to the occasion. He plays a very in-your-face game, and likes to play physical. Meaning if Lucic tries to recreate a Miller situation, Holts is NOT going to take any of that. I think he could thrive with the physical game the Bruins play, and that it could up his game as well.

I also find it rather ironic that we acquired Vokoun for the post season, and it still looks like we're ending up with the Neuvy-Holtby tandem anyway. Bizarre twist of reality, no?

But besides that, we need other guys to stop up. Joel Ward, who has been less than spectacular all season, needs to step it up now. We acquired him for his post season experience with Nashville last year, and we could really use more secondary scoring from him and the other guys.

Everyone needs to step it up. The entire city of Boston is underestimating our team, and so is everyone else in the hockey community. We're already hearing the jokes about choking, and the Bruins fans trying to downplay us as a team. We have to show the world that we're better than that, and we deserve their respect.

Its time for us to shut everyone else up, go out there and kick some ass. Say hello to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Caps/Bolts recap

No recap for the Montreal game because I was in attendance, and Kate had just gotten back from Long Island and the Bruins/Isles game.

This is going to be short because I'm on suicide watch. Here's what happened.

• Sasha pisses us off, then proceeds to throw a heat seeking missile at Roloson that probably would have decapitated him if he stopped it. We all rejoice.

• Fucking Teddy Purcell. FUCKING TAMPA POWER PLAY. WHY CAN'T WE HOLD A LEAD.

• 25 SECONDS APART. ARE YOU KIDDING ME. CAN'T HANDLE IT.

• Chimmer scores, we all scream and cry and the world suddenly seems brighter.

• Fucking Steven Stamkos. ONE MINUTE LEFT, HE SCORES WITH ONE MINUTE LEFT. AFTER WE HELD HIM OFF ALL GAME.

• If that's not enough, he scores an empty netter and gets two. like I said, FUCKING. STEVEN. STAMKOS. We all look like this:

• Immediate post game reaction:

• Reaction after stabbing our eyes out, directed at everyone and everything.

• once the anger fades, its followed by depression.

• you at 2 am when you can't sleep because Washington Capitals:

It hurts. It hurts A LOT. But, we can't be out of the running until saturday. Take the night to panic, collect yourselves, do something to relieve the stress, and get ready for thursday. Its a routine we're all familiar with at this point.

All in favor of severing Florida off of our country and sending them floating out to sea raise your hand. But before that, who's up for a road trip to hunt down Steven Stamkos and wipe out Sunshine while we're at it?

EDIT: So my fellow Caps fans reminded me of a point I forgot here. We've got a shot at the playoffs, Tampa doesn't. In other words, enjoy golfing Stamkos, your 58 goals will be meaningless in about a week!

Caps/Bruins Recap

Oh hey guys, you get me again today because the Bruins are Kate's other team, so I'm taking this one off her hands.

• Being a Caps fan is such a burden sometimes. Starting out with total elation, followed by total despair, ending with total elation. Although it could have ended in total despair then you'd all be off attempting to commit suicide. Trust me, I totally get it.
• But no, we pulled out the 2 points in this one thank god. 
• Wideman scores a beauty, courtesy of a great pass by Marcus. God bless that goal I can't even fathom how loud I screamed. That goal meant EVERYTHING after the scoreless first two periods.
• Two on one, Ovie and Marcus. YES, A TWO GOAL LEAD, THIS IS GOOD.
• Oh look, the hockey gods hate us, and ridiculous deflection and the Bruins are on the board. Of course this is the Bruins we're talking about, so everyone feels a sense of impending doom.
• For good reason. Another rediciulous deflection and its all tied up. Overtime.
• Scary overtime. Ovie should have scored, and didn't. Neuvy makes the save of the game, and we're off to the shootout.
• The Bruins were scary in the shootout. 8-2. TALK ABOUT NERVE-WRACKING. Krejci misses, god bless, Hendy goes next, everyone shits their pants and loses their mind over how fucking amazing he is. You know, the usual.
• More stuff, Ovie and Semin miss, Seguin is a bastard, you know.
• Here comes Brooks Laich, flawless player who swoops in and saves the day! Caps win 3-2!
• Literally in the middle of the third period, my brother, dad and I were talking about how Brooks Laich is the root of our team, and I brought up that time he was almost injured. Scary time for us. Seems fitting he'd be the one to save all of us from the absolute despair and oblivion.

Montreal on saturday. There's a chance I'll be at the game, so we'll see. For now, gotta keep looking forward. Four more games to decide our fate.

Rage Manifested into a Rant.

This is literally all I have to say about the game. In a video. nearly 12 minutes long. Yep.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-i7FsMX5ZU

O Captain, My Captain

What a game. We started off strong, faltered a little, Holtby saved our butts, and then we started scoring. And started putting the pressure on. But unlike the last couple of games, we didn't let up.

• Our powerplay was looking pretty... but there were no shots in the first period.
• Commentators kept ripping on Semin. Too bad they obviously were not aware that Semin has been our most consistent player this year. And then Semin has a great game and a fantastic assist on Chimera's goal and basically told NBCSN to suck it.
• I don't think I can put into words how great of a game Alex Ovechkin had today. He was on fire all game. His defensive play that saved a shortie? BRILLIANT. Not to mention Perreault scored on that powerplay. And then he scored in the third. Ovi chants rained down. All was well again. 
• Holtby had another lights out game. He deserved that shutout. I love watching him play because he acts like that net is HIS. He's big, he gets in the way, and doesn't take anyone's hoopla. 
• WE DIDN'T LET UP THE PRESSURE. It was so nice to see. Ovi was talking shifts with five minutes left to play. And as a result, there was a lot of time in the offensive zone. And resulting from that, we didn't let go of our three goal lead. What a beauty.
• Alzner had a great game. IT'S NICE TO SEE HIM GET APPRECIATED EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE.
• Dmitry Orlov played for the first time in a few games today. John Carlson didn't see much ice time. It worked out okay I think. It got a little hairy when Dima AND JCar were paired together. 
• Why don't I remember anything else about this game?? IT WAS FANTASTIC.

I loved this game. I want to marry it. Maybe not the first period, but the rest. We are back in a playoffs spot and control our own destiny. The game Tuesday is huge. We need the win.

So let's go out and get it.

Despite the OT Loss, Caps Still Have Successful Roadtrip

5 points out of 10. Not a great look, but its still technically a winning record and therefore the roadtrip is technically successful. And I would honestly rather take the point than lose in regulation. But then again SO WOULD EVERYONE ELSE.

• Ovie scores 26 seconds in. Who in the hell saw that coming? I wasn't even completely settled into game mode when this happened, so I kind of lost it and freaked my roommate out. Oops.

Bless you captain

• Giroux's steal (more on that later) ties it up, and Caps sit back in the third to force at least overtime. Controversial approach to say the least, and I'm not quite sure what my stance on this would be. But, its notable that they were not in an attack mode during the third which could have possibly been our downfall. Note, possibly.

Cute face Coburn.

• Can we take a minute to talk about Hendy's shootout goal? It was filthier than... I can't even come up with an analogy to describe how filthy it was. What CAN'T this guy do? His moves were the highlight of our shootout.

• Here comes the Holtby spiel. Y'all should have seen it coming. In general, I was very, very happy with how he performed in net. He was calm, cool and collected, and our Secretary of Defense even went on to say how his calmness gave the team a collective calm. Gotta admire that. If not for his one fluke, which I attribute to overconfidence, he played a great game. Although, I do request that he keep his five hole closed in the future. But still, this guy protected his net and gave our guys a chance to win. Keep your head up Holts, you're doing great.

Jets tomorrow. A paramount game, one that we NEED to win. Then we can hopefully finally shut them up. Collect yourselves and get ready for the challenge ahead.