Posts Tagged ‘washington capitals
2011 NHL Winter Classic
Pittsburgh will host the next Winter Classic and from the way the Capitals played the Penguins last year, I am pretty sure this will be a vibrant and exciting game. All we can hope for is snow flurries!!! This is the fourth outdoor Winter Classic in the US … and the second for the Penguins. Does that give them an advantage? Read all about the game over at NHL.com … more details to come!
Amazing NHL Saves and Post Season Observations
Over the past few days I have witnessed some of the hardest hitting, physically taxing and absolute amazing playoff hockey! I was talking to a buddy last night about the Varlamov and Luongo saves, and how this post-season has to be “The Year of the Goalie!” Every analyst will tell you goalies win playoff games, and every year there is that one or two goalies that stand out and own the playoffs. This year, there seems to be a greater number than two! Hiller in Anaheim, Thomas in Boston, Luongo in Vancouver and Osgood in Detroit have all been amazing! Now, add to that mix Varlamov in Washington!
The Washington Capitals struggled against the New York Rangers in the first round, and they delivered some amazing first round hockey and in the end came out victorious. I am very happy to see them playing the Pittsburgh Penguins this round for no other reason than to watch them win! Since the Sharks are no longer in the chase for the cup, I have to choose a new dog to hunt with – I have the teams I am cheering for in the current games (Carolina and Chicago) and then there is that Detroit / Anaheim round where I wish it was mathematically possible for BOTH teams to lose, but to no avail, ’tis not. So, I hang my hat on our boys in DC.
If you missed the saves here they are … keep reading because have another point I want to make in this post.
Varlamov’s Amazing Save (5/2/2009)
Luongo’s Amazing Save (5/1/2009)
Now, since Dawn has been in France over the past week, I have been able to watch many hockey games. In Washington’s recent play, and thinking back to their play all this season, I have noticed something that has brought them to round 2 and has been a big benefit for their team. They play with passion and emotion, they physically grind in the corners and take away the neutral zone – they play good solid text book hockey … however, their secret weapon looks to be their poise! I have noticed this especially with Alexander Ovechkin that when he misses a one-timer or does not hit a pass just right or his check comes up short, he does not get frustrated. He puts his head down and gets right back into the play.
Pay attention to the poise and frustration of players in the next game and you’ll see a big difference in how that simple, yet incredibly hard to handle emotion can have devastating results on a player. Joe Thornton in San Jose, better yet, the whole San Jose Sharks team fell victim to this killer. You could see every time the whistle stopped play in the Sharks/Ducks series how frustrated everyone was on the San Jose bench.
Hopefully, the Sharks can learn from this years melt down and at the same time I hope the Washington Capitals do not lose it – Frustration is a silent killer in Hockey and I think our boys in DC can continue this push and take it far this post season. What do you think, what are the strengths and weaknesses of the teams left?
Verizon Center – Washington DC – The Phone Booth
Dawn and I love Washington DC … we have not been there in a couple years and have talked about hitting up the nation’s capital on more than one occasion. On our last trip to DC, we found ourselves at a very classy chophouse … dark mahogany booths, dimly lit and the brewed their own beer! How could we NOT eat there? I was standing at the bar when a woman called out to the bartender “hurry up, I am heading to the game!” I noticed she was wearing a Washington Capital jersey and I asked “What game?” She looked at me like I had 3 heads on my shoulders and then said in a very snippy attitude – “Caps and Canes” … to which I stupidly responded with “HOCKEY???” She gave me one of those looks women give men when they just cannot understand how we can be so stupid but still have the motor skills to breathe! After she left, I turned and asked the bartender … Where do they play? To which he looked at me silly and said “Across the street!”
I ran back to our table and told Dawn of my newfound knowledge, looking back I believe I sounded like the guy who first discovered fire! Lots of grunts, pointing involved and I was able to form the word “hockey!” This happened early in our dating relationship so Dawn was still in the “Let him do what he wants to do” phase … really, I don’t think part of Dawn’s idea of a “romantic” evening in DC involved a Hockey game! Either way, we informed our waiter and he rushed our order through. We walked up to the Verizon center ticket window and asked for two tickets, 3 minutes later we were sitting in the lower section corner behind the Carolina Hurricanes goal (the goal the Caps shoot on in the 1st and 3rd). Martin Gerber was in net for the Canes and by the middle of the second period we realized that the two rows in front of us were filled with his family. They were all so cute, waving their Switzerland flags, wearing their Gerber hats and shirts. Behind us sat a couple rowdy guys who were obviously drinking in excess and taunting Gerber’s family to the point I was embarrassed for them. During the second intermission security came by and escorted them elsewhere. Capitals won that game … but watching Martin’s family support him the way they did was by far a very fun and memorable experience.
The Russian Is Coming … And His Name Is Alexander Ovechkin
I am going to post this straight from tsn.com … You can read the article HERE! So … what I find interesting is the media hype around this kid. Either he has one kick ass agent … or he has one of those “friends of a friend” who has insane hook ups! So far … his team barely made it into the playoffs … lasted a couple rounds … He wins the MVP (Hart), Pearson, Rocket Richard and the Ross! Yea … that’s in the story too! He launches a new clothing line, and is given the Steven Tyler reception (serious Rock Star status!). I am a HUGE fan of Alexander the Great and I can not wait to take a trip to DC next season to watch him play … but DAMN does this kid have the Midas touch!!! Here is the story …
Red alert! A young Russian has free reign of the nation’s capital!
“Today is a big day,” said Alex Ovechkin, standing on the front steps of city hall. “I have a key for the city. And I’m the president this day in the city, so everybody have fun – and no speed limit.”
The crowd, of course, went wild. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty laughed and clapped and didn’t mind a bit, even though the hundreds of fans chanting “M-V-P!” would have been more than ready to elect the Washington Capitals star to any office of his choosing on the spot.
Ovechkin was feted like royalty in Washington on Friday, honoured as the city’s first MVP in a major North American professional sports league since Joe Theismann of the Washington Redskins in 1983. The 22-year-old left wing won both the Hart Trophy (MVP) and the Lester B. Pearson Award (most outstanding player) at the NHL’s annual awards show in Toronto on Thursday night.
That was in addition to the two pieces of hardware he’d already claimed this season: the Rocket Richard for a league-best 65 goals and the Art Ross for a league-high 112 points. Ovechkin is the first player to win the Hart, Pearson, Richard and Ross in the same year, and all four trophies made for an impressive display at the Wilson Building on Pennsylvania Avenue – two blocks from the White House – as the mayor presented yet another souvenir, the key to the city.
“Who said Washington wasn’t a hockey town?” Capitals owner Ted Leonsis said.
By his standards, Ovechkin dressed very conservatively for his meeting with the mayor and the District of Columbia Council. Although he looked as if he hadn’t shaved in days, he wore a collared shirt and pinstripe trousers – not a hint of the bright-coloured, outlandish fashion statements that prompted him to launch his own clothing line this week. The more casual celebrations were expected later in the evening at a Leonsis-hosted exclusive party at a downtown restaurant.
D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray praised Ovechkin as a “man who has raised hockey to a new level in the District of Columbia.” The Capitals’ improving fortunes this year – including their first playoff berth since 2003 – have energized their fan base in the halls of power, although Fenty did have to be corrected by Ovechkin himself when the mayor mispronounced the name of the Richard trophy.
The fans, many of them clad in Capitals red, also let out a cheer of “Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuce” at the mention of Washington’s Bruce Boudreau, who won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s top coach. Boudreau was hired on U.S. Thanksgiving, when the Capitals were mired in last place.
“Last night, we gained a lot of respect around the league,” Leonsis said. “What it says is that the team has come of age, and the expectations for us are higher. We want to trade all the individual glory for a Stanley Cup.”
Ovechkin, the first player to score 60 goals in a season since Mario Lemieux in 1996, earned 128 of 134 first-place Hart votes from the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. He joins Sergei Fedorov (1994) as the only Russian-born players to win the Hart and Pearson.
“I love that his first order of business was to say party all night and no speed limits,” Leonsis said.