After a huge overtime win against the Baby Penguins in W-B, the Hershey Bears are on their way again to an Eastern Conference Final to face either the Providence Bruins or the Manchester Monarchs. It appears the Bears are a tough team to play in the AHL. What's more exciting is this experience should translate to more wins in the NHL.
Just how soon remains to be seen. Capitals fans are turning impatient, the club is losing money and the owner is looking for change not just in jersey color. The Caps could lose a few develop players to trades if they decide the free agent route isn't working. But there has to be a point where the Caps stop trading talent and look towards the future.
What bothers me more than any of that drama is Alex Ovechkin's play of late. We haven't seen those streaks of brilliance we witness in his rookie season. It seems teams have sort of figured Ovie out. And it's just going to get harder.
Ovie only scored one goal and two assists for Team Russia in the IIHF World Championship. Nine other Russians had more points than Alex Ovechkin. If that is his experience in games that have a playoff type atmosphere, the Caps may have more to worry about than finding free agents.
So while Hershey waits for it's next opponents, Caps' fans wait for a team that can pull it together again, for a season like the one in '98.
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