Caps

The Washington Capitals provide a bright spot in what would otherwise be another horrific year for DC-area sports. With the Redskins out of the playoffs, the Wizards sucking dog-shit, and the MLS hopefully going bankrupt at RFK, the Caps are holding it down at number one. Winning five out of their last six and seven out of their last nine games, the Russian juggernaut is sitting comfortably in third place with a huge game against the Rangers tonight.

If you read the Washington Post or watch Comcast Sports Net (which I will assume you don't unless you are a Caps-faithful), you'll hear the following analysis as to why the Caps kick so much ass this year:

1) They have offensive firepower spearheaded by probably the best and most exciting player in professional hockey; arguably the world. That person is Alexander Ovechkin aka "Alex the Great." (Sidenote: since MJ, Tiger Woods, or Gretzky, I don't think we've seen such an electrifying player in professional sports. Doubt me? Watch the Caps for a few games and witness the way he plays the game -- it's pretty sick) Ovechkin, like all great players, exponentially improves his teammates so now the Caps get above-average goalscoring from Alexander Semin, Victor Kozlov, a renaissance Federov (when he's healthy), and others.

2) They have role players effectively stepping in for injured starters; back-ups to the role players playing past their expectations; and a strong AHL pipeline which now reaps countless dividends. Witness the rise of Laich, Alzner, Jurcina, Fleischman, and Boyd Gordon. With seven of the Caps starters out with injuries these young guns stepped in and filled the void. And when the Caps get healthy again, they will be even better than they've been so far....

3) Despite injuries, the team is not only surviving, but thriving under less than optimal circumstances. This is attributable to their coach who once made a cameo in Slap Shot and deserves a lot of the credit for keeping this team together AND winning. Thanks, Coach B.

4) Goal tending that is exceeding expectations and providing a pleasant surprise. Brent Johnson is emerging as the go-to-starter for the Caps, while the somewhat inconsistent Theodore still comes through with big saves when he's properly motivated. This is the biggest obstacle for the Caps when they get healthy: will their goaltending allow them to win playoff games this year?

I guess this means you should watch the Capitals if you get a chance during the holidays. I know the NHL doesn't have a major TV contract, but you could always get Center Ice or go over to Nick's house for a Whalers' game...wait, no you couldn't. (Final sidenote: the Caps' announcer is a Bowdoin College graduate for all you Polar Bears out there. His name is Joe Bennanati and I think he's class of '84, but I'm not sure; he also does play-by-play on Versus and he's very good)

Merry X-mas, everyone!

The Caps

I won't pretend to be a huge NHL or Caps fan, but 6-8 years ago, I certainly was. Back then the Caps were nasty, just like they are right now.

A very fond set of memories has me thinking of Ollie Kolzig and the Caps from 1998 to 2002. I didn't watch a lot of games back then, but I did attend a few and I did read about them in the Post each morning.

In fact, I remember their 1998 season which had them losing the Stanley Cup to the Wings after dispatching the Bruins, Sabres, and Senators in the playoffs. Unless you talked to Adam Oates, it was a very good time to be a Caps fan or player during this "era."

Fast forward to last night's game against the Penguins who are the reigning Eastern Conference champs. From 1999-2000, the Penguins killed us in the playoffs. And ever since then, including the lock-out, the Penguins have had our number, winning 8 of the past 11 games.

Last night looked like another Capital Capitulation to Sid the Kid and his evil Russian prodigy Malkin. Instead of trying to score and keep his team in the game, Ovie tried his hardest to decapitate Malkin, which of course is awesome, but won't win you any games. My favorite moment was when Ovie tried to hip-check Malkin into the Penguin's bench which subsequently led to the Mellon arena booing Ovechkin for the rest of the evening. I guess maybe Ovechkin thought that without Donald "the Veteran Enforcer" Brashear, he had take up the slack.

But instead of giving up, down three to nothing on the road, the Capitals came back and won, proving how much depth and offensive firepower this team has right now. The team found scoring from another Russian (Semin), an ailing youngster (Nylander), Fleischman and Gordon. And they beat the reigning champs without production from the best player in the NHL right now.

Beating the Penguins early-on bodes well for a Capitals team which will almost certainly face them in the playoffs. And when we have Ovie / Backstrom / Nylander / and Green scoring again, Kozlov back from injury, and Brashear ready to fight again, the league better look-out. Last year's Caps, which rallied 7 games to make the playoffs, may be consistently good this year and ready to make an assault on the playoffs.

That would kick a lot of ass.