Playoff Picks 2013

48 games in the books. Normally that would be a look at the halfway point in the season, but this year, the abbreviated season makes for an abbreviated prognostocation of the playoff race that is not.. abbreviated. I would do Western Conference picks up to the Conference Champs one day, and the Eastern picks the next. This year, why not put it under one roof. Also it's late and I am tired.

Western Conference Quarterfinals

#8 Minnesota Wild vs. #1 Chicago Blackhawks - Does anyone really think the Hawks are going to have the season they had to drop a playoff series to the Wild? As much as I like seeing the underdog take out the number one, the Wild haven't had enough consistency to get it done this season, even with big time summer signings. Sorry, but Hawks in 5.

Blackhawks defeat Wild in 5 games

#7 Detroit Red Wings vs. #2 Anaheim "Mighty" Ducks - New lease on life, the Ducks under the direction of Bruce Boudreau have proven to be a power house in the Western Conference. But, wait, where have we heard this tale before? The Red Wings are a sleeper team this year, and if they can finally put it together, you really can not count them out. Wings wake.

Red Wings defeat Ducks in 7 games

#6 San Jose Sharks vs. #3 Vancouver Canucks - The goaltender drama of the Canucks certainly caused an early stir for the Canucks, but the pair have put together a great backstopping tandem that added stability to Vancouver. This will be a great series, one for the record books. But the Sharks are playing well of late... so there.

Sharks defeat Canucks in 7 games

#5 Los Angeles Kings vs. #4 St. Louis Blues - A rematch of the Conference Semifinal a season ago, the Blues look to exact revenge against the reigning Stanley Cup Champions. Should be a good match up full of twists and turns and some pretty good hitting. Underdogs again, the Kings looked poised to make another deep run, not much the Blues can do about that.

Kings defeat Blues in 6 games.

Western Conference Champs

Yada yada yada, so on and so forth, bottom line is the Blackhawks make this post season their personal coming out party. So yea, Chicago wins the West.

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals

#8 New York Islanders vs. #1 Pittsburgh Penguins - If any team sort of "over did" it to load its team with talent full of rentals to make the playoffs, then the Penguins are the mid-life crisis buyers of the NHL. Bringing in the big guns that included the stealing of Jarome Iginla from Boston, the Penguins are poised to push for the Cup even with out Sidney the first round or so. Islanders would be a fun underdog to watch though.

Penguins defeat Islanders in 6 games

#7 Ottawa Senators vs. #2 Montreal Canadiens - A team on the rise, the other stumbling into the playoffs. This was a hard one to dissect. Senators get Erik Karlsson back from injury and it should provide a short boost for the injury-riddled team. The Habs are a pretty fast talented team that could out talent the Senators.

Canadiens defeat Senators in 6 games

#6 New York Rangers vs. #3 Washington Capitals - I will break down this matchup in due time (we don't start until Thursday for Pete's sake). Caps playing stellar hockey down the stretch, Rangers sort of hanging around until a final push late in their season. Sorry Rags fans, no Ilander/Ranger series this year.

Capitals defeat Rangers in 7 games

#5 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. #4 Boston Bruins - For a team that going into the third period was a lock for the win, the Bruins have fallen into "no lead is safe" territory. The Maple Leafs are just begging to make an example out of them. Couple of interesting story lines with Phil Kessel returning to face Boston in the playoffs.

Bruins defeat Leafs in 5 games

Eastern Conference Champions

Everything points to the Penguins making it out of the East. They have the most talent that could include the return of one Sidney Crosby. But the road they have to traverse is full of teams that don't have the pressure they have to make it to the Finals. I don't think this team can plug all the holes in time. The Habs or Bruins are also favorites, but unless something extreme happens, Pens should take the East crown.

Stanley Cup Champs

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Chicago Blackhawks

Picking a winner between two teams that didn't face each other in the short season. But to quickly make a decision, Blackhawks are far to good of a oiled machine for the patch work Penguins.

Blackhawks first team to repeat Cup champions since the '05 lockout.

There you go Chicago, you are welcome. Breaking down the Rags and Caps up next.

First Round Winners And Losers

The first round of the NHL playoffs had just about everything. And age old rivalry, some new foes in post season play and more game sevens than you can shake a hockey stick at. This is what the playoffs should be, right? Some games have been whoppers of games, while others have been snoozers.

So let's get to it, the first round winners and losers:

The Winners

Stanley Cup Fearless Predictions: Western Conference

Before we go into the Caps/Rangers Series A, let's take a look at the big picture and go through what will be some dynamite series as we roll to the 2011 Stanley Cup Final. Before I have done the Eastern Conference before the Western. This year I am flipping it. As always, you can leave your thoughts below in comments.

In the Western Conference things took a while for the final 8 to settle into their final series places. In fact it took the very last game of the season between the Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars to see if last year's champs even make a return to the post season (they did with a Star loss). This Conference has been ultra competitive, but one team has walked away from everyone. The Canucks may not want such a distinction given the fact they are facing a very good Blackhawk team in the first round.


Western Conference Quarter-Final

#1 Vancouver Canucks vs. #8 Chicago Blackhawks

The Canucks won the President's Trophy for most points in a season. They have the top point getter, most wins by a goaltender and an assist leader to give them a power house team that took their conference by storm. But I don't think they wanted to take on the Cup champs from last year in the first round. While the Hawks have had their bumps in the road, they have played well down the stretch to sneak in on the very last day. With some hard work and a little luck, the Blackhawks look to repeat with the same lack of respect they showed in last season's run. This should be a war of a series.

Vancouver sneaks past Chicago in 7 games.

#2 San Jose Sharks vs. #7 Los Angeles Kings

I really like the Kings this year, if for nothing else they have just wanted their wins more this season. If their goaltender Jonathan Quick can stay on top of his game and the Kings show that never say die attitude they could be a handful for the Sharks. But the Sharks have been bitten by the Cup bug shaking some old demons that have plagued them in post seasons past. The Sharks have shown some offensive supremacy against the Kings at times, but the season series is tied at 3 games a piece. If the Kings can make the score tight, they have a very good chance.

San Jose defeats LA in 7 games

#3 Detroit Red Wings vs. #6 Phoenix Coyotes

It's round two for these two teams from a year ago. Only this time, the Red Wings have home ice advantage. The Coyotes lean heavily on their goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov. He has the opportunity to steal a series for them and they will need him against the Detroit powerhouse. The Red Wings do have a weakness this season. Jimmy Howard is the go to guy with no serious back up to, well.. back him up. It makes these two teams a lot even than you might think.

Detroit defeats Phoenix in 5 games

#4 Anaheim Ducks vs. #5 Nashville Predators

This should be an interesting series. Neither team really has a history playoff wise to speak of. The Ducks are coming off their best second half of the season in some time. It helped them secure a playoff spot early and they are looking to return to the promise land. The Predators are still inexperienced at this whole playoff thing, but their emotion and some smart goaltending should help them steal a series from the Ducks.

Nashville upsets Anaheim in 6 games

Western Champs: San Jose Sharks

Just about every pundit has the Canucks coming out of the Western Conference with flying colors. But just looking down the line they have to play a tough team in Chicago in the first round then face teams like San Jose or Detroit down the stretch. I just don't see that happening. The Canucks are already limping into the post season as it is. I think the Sharks have the best line to make it to the Western Conference Final and a chance to actually play for Lord Stanley's Cup.

Stanley Cup Fearless Predictions - Western Conference

The Western Conference wasn't as much of a log jam as they use to be in seasons past. In fact the West was decided pretty early, with about 3 or 4 games left in the season. Not bad. From the previous year's conference winner that looked all but out of it pre-Olympic break to a team that surprised everyone owned by the league, the West is definitely wild.

Western Conference Quarter-Finals

#1 San Jose Sharks vs. #8 Colorado Avalanche

Everyone thought the Avalanche were going now where this season. They lost Joe Sakic to retirement and the team basically blew up their roster going with youth with a few vets sprinkled in. Bottom line, they really were not suppose to do much this year. But Craig Anderson and rookie Matt Duchene made this team competitive and the Avs are sitting pretty in the playoffs. The Sharks will have a pretty motivated, feisty team on their hands.

San Jose defeats Colorado in 6 games.

#2 Chicago Blackhawks vs. #7 Nashville Predators

A Central Division showdown, the Preds made a run in what may be the toughest division to play in. Led by Patric Hornqvist, the Predators just fell two points shy in the standings of best Detroit for the first time in their franchise's history. They draw a tough opponent in Chicago, who are hungry for more after making it to the Western Conference Finals and fell to the Red Wings. If the Blackhawks get some consistent goaltending, Nashville shouldn't be a problem.

Chicago defeats Nashville in 5 games.

#3 Vancouver Canucks vs. #6 Los Angeles Kings

The Canucks are riding a heck of a season led by Art Ross Trophy winner Henrik Sedin. With gold medal winner Roberto Luongo in net, they look to be on paper a shoe in against a younger, less experienced team. But don't count out the Kings. They have a 24-14-3 record just on the road, while the Canucks have only managed 19 wins away from home. If Ryan Kesler plays like he did during the Olympics and the Kings fall into a slump or have injuries, Vancouver shouldn't have a problem. But I think they have a problem.

Los Angeles upsets Vancouver in 7 games.

#4 Phoenix Coyotes vs. #5 Detroit Red Wings

For a team that doesn't have an owner, the Coyotes are showing some gumption this season. They nearly made a successful run in their division by besting the Sharks, but they couldn't keep up with San Jose and instead settled on 4th in the Conference. Ilya Bryzgalov has been their savior in net for the 'Yotes and they made some important moves at the trade deadline to help with some injuries. They, however, drew a tough first round against Detroit. The Red Wings have been on a tear since the Olympic break. Two upsets in a row, wow.

Detroit upsets Phoenix in 6 games.

Western Conference Semi-Finals

San Jose Sharks vs. Los Angeles Kings

I don't see the Sharks having much of a problem with the Kings. But stranger things have happened. Joe Thornton will be trying to shake the playoff monkey from his back and try to help the Sharks move along. Getting some good goaltending in Evgeni Nabokov doesn't hurt either. The Kings will have to rely on a lot of inexperienced players like goaltender Jonathan Quick to help them move to the next round. But the Sharks are just too talented for them.

San Jose defeats LA in 5 games

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Detroit Red Wings

Last year's Western Conference Final is this year's Semi-Final. The Hawks are a much more experienced team this time around and the Red Wings will have to lean pretty hard on rookie goaltender Jimmy Howard. It should be a wide open, high scoring affair between the two. If the Blackhawks don't get the consistent goaltending they need, they will be ending the post season prematurely.

Chicago defeats Detroit in 7 games.

Western Conference Final

San Jose Sharks vs. Chicago Blackhawks

Now this is a series to watch. The Sharks and Blackhawks will have to do with some pretty hefty travel in this series. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews against Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Danny Heatley. The names make it sound more like an All-Star game rather than a Western Final. The Blackhawks need to rely on their speed and scoring strengths, while the Sharks come in the bigger team and need to take up some space from the Hawks. Goaltending will be key again for both teams.

Chicago upsets San Jose in 6 games for the Western Conference crown.

Stanley Cup Final Fearless Prediction

Washington Capitals vs. Chicago Blackhawks

Two young teams going head to head and there is already drama between the two. Alex Ovechkin's little push from behind that sent Brian Campbell into the boards should be enough motivation for these two teams to be on less than civil terms. And with the Stanley Cup on the line as well. If you want scoring, you got it. Both teams can play a wide open, shoot-0ut style game. So defense will be key. If Campbell returns to the line up by then, he will be the Hawks rally cry. For the Capitals, they will have to depend on Tom Poti and Mike Green on the back end to keep the high powered Hawk offense at bay. Their goaltending will have to be spectacular for them to down an original six team and their franchise's first Stanley Cup. It all comes down to home ice advantage.

Washington defeats Chicago in 7 games for the Stanley Cup.

Okay, I know what you are thinking, "He is a blogger for the Capitals, of course he is going to pick them all the way!" Well, your right in some respects. I think the two best teams should meet in the finals, and right now those two teams happen to be Chicago and Washington, in my opinion.

For the Capitals, a lot of things have to go their way. They need the best out of Jose Theodore to make it to the Finals and they need goal support for their top line. If they can get both, they shouldn't have a problem getting to the Finals (as long as they don't play down to their competition in the early going).

I really like the Hawks coming out of the west. They surprised everyone last year by getting to the finals, but I don't think that was a fluke. They post some size and grit in their line up and if Cristobal Huet or Antti Niemi can get hot down the stretch, I don't see why they can't overcome the West.

If anything, I don't want to see another Pittsburgh/Detroit final. Nor really do other fans out side of Pittsburgh and Detroit. This predicted final would boost the NHL's image as the two have a history from the regular season and both are in good markets.

A Thriller At The Phone Booth

Capitals 3, Red Wings 2
Game Summary

It didn't start they way the Capitals had hoped. It was over ten minutes into the game until they had their first shot on net, they were badly out shot in the first period 15 to 3. It would take a super goaltender performance just for the Caps to stay in the game. They got that from Jose Theodore. He turned away a whopping 44 shots as he helped his team to a 3-2 victory over last season's Western Conference Champion Detroit Red Wings.

Jose Theodore performed outstanding from the very first moments of the game when Tom Poti turned the puck over in the neutral zone. Todd Bertuzzi had a semi break away and Theodore waited him out to make the save. From that moment on, Theo was rock solid. If it were not for Theo's heroics, Caps would easily been down 3-0 or 4-0 into the first intermission. It would take a broken play in the second period that had the Caps' goaltender laying flat on his back.

The Caps would answer that goal with a beautiful stretch passing play that started with Mike Green finding Boyd Gordon on the opposite boards while the Red Wings were changing. Gordon made a nifty back hand pass to a breaking Matt Bradley who beat his defensive counterpart. Bradley made a nice cut in front of the net and put the puck up and just past Chris Osgood's out stretched glove and into the net for the tying goal.

But the Caps still didn't seem to coordinate following the goal. Alex Semin turned the puck over inside the zone. The Red Wings jumped on the puck and caught the Caps scrambling in their zone. Brian Rafalski, the game's third star, exploited Theodore's five hole to give the Red Wings the lead back.

The Caps' power play had stalled up to their last 3 chances, not even getting a shot on net. The Red Wings were doing a superb job of keeping the Caps outside and closing down on shooting lanes. But when Nick Backstrom found out he was one on one with Brad Stuart, he made a smooth deke around the defender and scored the game's only power play goal. It tied the game with over six minutes left in the game.

Some good luck saved the Caps less than a minute later when Karl Alzner dropped the pass to Semin who took the shot. The puck was deflected by the Red Wing defender's stick and arched towards the net. David Steckel got his stick on it to deflect it past Osgood and gave the Capitals the lead for good.

Special teams was key for the Capitals win. They killed all five minors they took, thanks in part to Theodore. When the Caps did have defensive breakdowns, it seemed Theo was there with the save. He controlled his rebounds, squared up to the shooter and made his home about 3 to 4 feet from the top of the crease.

The Caps keep their assault on the Eastern Conference by earning another 2 points. Next up is another tough challenge as the Caps will take on the Eastern Conference Champs Pittsburgh Penguins at the igloo. The Pens are just 3 points behind the Caps in the conference standings. A win would stretch that lead as well as put the pressure on the Devils and Sabres to play catch-up.

While the result was favorable, the Caps need to shore up their break out and neutral zone play. It was a problem for them against the Red Wings tonight, it will be more difficult against a team that perfected it against the Caps last post season. The power play needs to have more movement and the passes have to quicker.

Caps Notes:

• The Capitals is the first team in the NHL to have three 20 goal scorers. Alex Ovechkin (30), Alex Semin (20) and Nick Backstrom who scored his 20th goal on the power play.
• This is only the third time in Ovechkin's career that he has been without a shot on net. He had four shots blocked and 2 shots that missed the net. He did have an assist on the Backstrom power play goal.
• CSN's Lisa Hillary reported that Semyon Varlamov will not be going to Vancouver for the Olympics. He is still nursing a sore knee (MCL). He has been skating on his own, not with the rest of the team.
• In AHL news, Alex Giroux scored the tying goal sending the AHL All Star game into a shoot out where Team Canada beat Team PlanetUSA. The Bears were represented by four players, Giroux and Andrew Gordon for Team Canada and Keith Aucoin and John Carlson played for Team PlanetUSA. Aucoin scored a goal while Carlson and Gordon were held pointless. Michal Neuvirth was supposed to be in net for Team PlanetUSA but due to Varlamov's injury, he was on the bench backing up Theodore against the Red Wings.

Odds and Ends

As The Nylander Turns

The Micheal Nylander drama that is starting to turn into the Capitals' "What not to do with a contract you not happy with" took a turn for the weird yesterday when they sent him to the minors for a conditioning stint. Send him to Hershey? Oh no, the Caps don't want to risk the playing time of their young prospects (I mean, they sent a first round pick back to Sweden to play a second tier team because he wasn't cutting it). Instead, they sent Nylander to Grand Rapids, the Detroit Red Wings' AHL affiliate.

This is not a trade, the Caps are still on the line for Nylander's salary and he still takes up a spot on the roster. Think of it as a young girl looking for the right prom dress, she has to put it on in the fitting room to see if she likes it. Nylander has to play so that teams in the KHL or other teams in the NHL have a chance to evaluate him. But why Grand Rapids?

Well if you ask anyone in management, on or off the record, they are pretty tight lipped about the move. A KHL team may have had some interest in taking the 37 year old forward off the Capitals' hands. But that interest waned when Nylander didn't see the line up. Whether George McPhee is keeping him off as to not hurt him, or McPhee and Bruce Boudreau can't stand it when he is in the line-up (or Hershey's line-up either) remains unclear.

If Nylander's presence is such a nuiscence, why are the Caps so hard pressed not to take a pitiful pick in return? Why not place him on waivers (not sure if that is stipulated in his contract)? Why not buy him out of his contract and take the hit (They are still on the hook for buying out Ben Clymer, remember him)? OR, why not just play him if other team's want to see his conditioning? No one really knows the answers to those questions but McPhee, and thus far his moves have been a quandary.

This move to send him to Grand Rapids could be a precursor to him being traded here or sold overseas. But at this point, who really knows.

Nylander's contract drops from $5.5 million down to $3 million next season.

Bank On Aucoin

Due to Alex Semin feeling a bit under the weather (hope it isn't H1N1), the Caps have recalled Keith Aucoin. Aucoin is quickly becoming a favorite of the Caps in call ups (mostly because Chris Bourque is a crutch they can't go to anymore). He shows flashes of brilliance at the NHL level and if given the time to work up some chemistry, I believe he could help the Caps' third line get a little offensive punch.

Back In The Southeast Division

Tonight marks the first time this season the Capitals will play a team from their division. The Caps head to HOT-lanta to face a Thrasher team that is off to one of their better starts. It looks more like a match up between friends rather than divisional foes. Head coaches from both teams shared a friendship in their AHL days (that still continues to this day). Star players from both teams also share an off ice friendship. But when the rink door closes, neither team seems to like each other.

The dislike stems from a Andy Sutton's high hit on Mike Green in 2006, although it could have been brewing way before that. Sutton's dirty antics set off a parade of Thrashers and Capitals to the penalty box with roughing and fighting majors sentences to serve. Ask any player on the Caps' squad and they will tell you that there isn't much love for Blueland.

The Dizzy Birds are 4-1-1 through their first six games of the season, hot on the heels of the Caps in the Southeast Division trailing by only one point (Caps 10, ATL 9). This should be a statement game for the Capitals who look to repeat as Division champs, otherwise the Thrashers could leap frog them for the lead in the division.

Caps Fall To Red Wings

Capitals 2, Red Wings 3
Scoresheet - Times - Post - Exam

The Capitals answered their coach's desire to play better team defense, but it was bad penalties that give them fits again. The Red Wings took advantage of some free stick work by the Capitals beating them at the Joe 3-2. The Capitals drop their third straight game.

Matt Bradley opened the scoring with a tough angle shot that beat Chris Osgood. Brendan Morrison also scored on the power play to tie the game early in the third. But the lack of offense hurt the Caps in this one as Alex Ovechkin was held to an assist and Alex Semin and Nick Backstrom were left off the goal ledger all together.

It was penalties that led to the Caps demise once again. The Red Wings took advantage of the last two power plays to take the lead, the last one for good. Alex Semin and Mike Green were both called for penalties that lead to Red Wings' goals. It's been a carry over problem the Caps had from last season.

"It's the same culprits from last year," Bruce Boudreau said of the players that were in the sin bin. "We got to make them understand somehow that they can't do that."

It's not like the Caps played poorly, in fact they were much better at playing team defense. A problem against the Rangers on Thursday night. Bradley's goal early on gave the Caps some life early. The Red Wings tied it up by crashing the net and sneaking the puck past Jose Theodore. Then the penalties started to hinder the Caps. They were able to kill off the first three calls, but when Semin was called for interference late in the second period, the Wings took advantage with a boom from the slapshot of Jason Williams.

The Caps would get the game back to a tie early in the third on the power play carry over from the second period. Patrick Eaves crashed the net and was hit by Green and knocked the Caps net from its moorings. The Referee did not blow the whistle as the play went back down the ice and Ovechkin found Brendan Morrison in the slot. Morrison shot it passed Osgood and the Caps tied the game at 2.

Washington seemed to get a momentum swing from the goal, but Green took a lazy hooking call late in the third. He got his stick up into Ville Leino who didn't have the puck and was covered by Brooks Laich as he cut into the middle. There was just no justification for him to get his stick up like that. Green's penalty was answered by the Red Wings with a power play goal and the game winner.

Detroit badly out-shot the Capitals 37-24. The Caps only registered 4 shots in the third period.

The Caps played well all game long in a tough building to play in. But it was small mental mistakes that cost them the game. Jose Theodore deserved a better fate as he made 34 saves on the night and kept the score close for the Caps to claw back. They would pull the goaltender and get a chance late, but the damage had been done.

When Boudreau was asked about what is attributing to the Caps taking bad penalties, he shrugged. "It's just going bread dead, I don't know, I wish I could get inside their heads. It's not like they are raw first year guys doing that."

"We played a hell of a game tonight," the Caps head coach summed up. "And two bad penalties cost us."

Caps Notes:

• Ovechkin had a great night, just didn't score. He had 4 or 5 great chances to score and Osgood was there with the save. He finished the night with one assist, 9 shots on net and 10 hits.
• Bradley had a heck of a first period. Not only did he score, but he blocked a big point shot on the penalty kill and drew a penalty himself.
• Green led all skaters (both Caps and Red Wings) with 26:50 of ice time.
• A big thank you to CSNWashington.com for having me as a Guest Chatter on their live chat during the game. It was a lot of fun, even if there were not too many there. You can catch the replay of the chat here.
  

Caps face New Jersey on Monday night.

Chat Stew

The following is an embellishment of my email conversation about doing a live chat for CSNWashington.com.

CSNWashington.com: Will you host a live chat on our website during the Caps/Red Wings game?

Me: Sure. I would be happy to.

CSNWashington.com: We will need a really big pic of your ugly mug.

Me: Uh, talk to my wife, she has more than a few.

CSNWashington.com: Great! See you tomorrow night.

Me: Sweeeet.

CSNWashington.com: Joe B. will say your name during the game too.

Me: *Passes out

So in short, follow a live chat with moi tomorrow night during the Caps/Red Wings game on CSNWashington.com.

Go West, Young Man, Go West

Players in the Western Conference can breath easy knowing that they have dominated the Stanley Cup Finals in over a decade. The West have beaten the east 8 of the last thirteen finals. Those odds are pretty good and are only getting better as many of those teams have youth maturing.

Ranking the Western Conference is no easy task with teams on the rise and other teams in such turmoil. But there will be a lot of familiar faces back in the playoffs when the 82 games schedule comes to a close. Let's start with the bottom and work our way up.

15. Phoenix Coyotes: Three words, off ice drama. That is what keeps this team from moving forward. As far as player personnel are concerned, the 'Yotes had a busy off season. The signed goaltender Jason LaBarbera, forward Vernon Fiddler and defenseman Adrian Aucoin in free agency. They resigned Scottie Upshall to a one year deal and worked the trade route to acquire Lauri Korpikoski and Radim Vrbata. They seem like the right moves, but with ownership in question and a new coach to boot, there is a lot of chemistry questions to deal with. A team with this much turmoil up top is going to hinder this group through out the season.

14. Colorado Avalanche: Things in Denver are not good. With the departure of Joe Sakic over the summer, the team has lost its prolific leader and fallen from the elite grace they enjoyed just a few seasons ago. With a slew of veterans on their last year of their contracts, this looks more like a shopper's paradise for teams looking to beef up their line-ups come the trade deadline. Players afraid of being traded through out the season very rarely play their best. It is rebuilding time in Colorado.

13. Edmonton Oilers: They made a play for Danny Heatley, but in the end they couldn't pull the forward their way. The Oilers did however get a good goaltender in Nikolai Khabibulin. It is pretty much the only positive to come out of the off season for the beleaguered Oilers. They spent too much time on trying to get a deal done with Ottawa, there is not much improvement on this team from a season ago. They are going to have to rely on the players that gave marginal performances last year. It's a tough spot to be in.

12. Los Angeles Kings: Every time the Kings get some good news, something happens that dissolves it. But they may have some hope after signing Rob Scuderi in the off season and trading for Ryan Smyth to give them some leadership. What gives this team hope and heartache is youth. Jack Johnson, Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown make up the core of the Kings youth movement. If they can show some more mustard early in the season they could finish higher than 12th. But their goaltending is still marginal and they still need a super-star to make the big plays when they need it most.

11. Minnesota Wild: With the departure of some good talent late last season, the Wild replaced it by signing Martin Havlat, Greg Zanon and Shane Hnidy in the off season. The Wild are under new management though, getting a new GM and coach to lead the team in a new direction. It may take a season or two for the organization to get out of some old habits. They do have the pieces to possibly make the playoffs, but it remains to be seen if the Wild can pull it all together this season.

10. Nashville Predators: Nashville let a few players walk in the off season. They were able to keep Steve Sullivan and Joel Ward, but it may not be enough to make the playoffs. Part of Nashville's problem is the small amount of fans and money to work with. The management have failed to pull a team in around Sullivan and team captain Jason Arnott. The Preds still have a good core of defensemen and the combo of Dan Ellis and Pekka Rinne should steal a few games this season.

9. Dallas Stars: This team made some smart moves in the off season, and it should show in the standings. Will they make the playoffs? They could, but it will depend on how well the changes at management and coaching affect the team. The big D signed some good defense in Karlis Skrastins and Jeff Woywitka. Jere Lehtinen resigned for another year and the Stars have a better back up in Alex Auld who was acquired in the off season. Low expectations may hinder the Stars this year, but if they grow in the right direction, they could knock off someone on the next list.

Playoff Bound

8. St. Louis Blues: On the verge of something good, the Blues have to build on their experiences from a season ago. But they have to be careful, they are also in a division that highly competitive. One bad stretch could be doom for this young team on the rise. Veterans Keith Tkachuk, Jay McClement, Mike Weaver and Brad Winchester were all resigned and goaltender Ty Conklin should be a capable back up. Head coach Andy Murry has to get the youth of his team to start to believe in themselves. Once the kids start to buy in to the system, the Blues will have a good team on their hands.

7. Anaheim Ducks: The Ducks are a shell of their former selves. Chris Pronger, Rob Niedermayer, Francois Beauchemin and Brett Hedican all left for greener pastures. What saves the team from total breakdown is what they got in return. Saku Koivu, Nick Boynton, Steve McCarthy were signed in the off season and Joffrey Lupul, Luca Sbisa and Ryan Dingle were acquired in the Pronger trade. The Ducks should make the playoffs again.

6. Columbus Blue Jackets: After making the playoffs for the first time in their franchise history, it is understandable that they might have a bit of hangover when teams start taking them more seriously. Lucky for the fans, the Jacks resigned Rick Nash. They also added Sammy Pahlsson to add some punch at center depth. But the BJ's need consistency in the division they are in. If they can build on what they started last year, this team should find a comfortable spot in the post season and will look for their first playoff win.

5. Vancouver Canucks: The Canucks shed some big contracts in the off season. Some of that shedding will hinder them, and maybe they won't win their division. But with Roberto Luongo in net and the Sedin Twins signed on for another go, there is no reason this team should miss the playoffs. They took advantage of San Jose's roster shedding by getting Christian Erhoff and Brad Lukowich in exchange for some prospects. They also pulled Mikael Samuelsson from the Red Wings pool. The Canucks should have a good year, but they have to grow some tougher skin to get further in the playoffs.

4. Detroit Red Wings: How can the Red Wings not win their division but still get home ice advantage? Because they are the Red Wings. Whether fans show up to the games or not, the Wings is a hard team to beat night in and night out. A few support players found spots on other teams, but the core of Johan Franzen, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, the Wings will be okay. Their hold on goaltending greatness in Chris Osgood may prove their downfall if Osgood is not playing his best.

3. Calgary Flames, Northwest Division Champion: Theo Flurey certainly created a lot of buzz in camp this off season, but his comeback was dealt a huge blow when he was released a week before opening night. It was a distraction for Flames' fans, but the real excitement will be the arrival of Jay Bouwmeester. Acquired in the off season, Bouwmeester's arrival bolsters Calgary's defensive squad that is already beefed up with Dion Phaneuf and Robyn Regehr. If the Flames can score, their defense should hold up fine, and they will win their division.

2. Chicago Blackhawks, Central Division Champion: This team is riding a good vibe right now and it should carry through to another playoff run. There are few messy ends for the Hawks, the change in GM after Marion Hossa was signed to a ridiculous contract and the release of Martin Havlat and the NHLPA filing grievances with the team after they resigned a bunch of their young talent. The core of Chicago's youth is really is what is exciting about this team. Patrick Kane and Johnathan Toews make this team an offensive juggernaut. Solid defense led by Brian Campbell and good goaltending by Cristobal Huet can make this team a dangerous Conference foe.

1. San Jose Sharks, Western Conference Champion: The Sharks have been a tough team to play in the West for quite some time. But getting over that first playoff series seems to give the Sharks fits. San Jose did change up their look a little bit by shipping off Jonathon Cheechoo and Milan Michalek to Ottawa for Danny Heatley. The Sharks are looking for that certain something to push them over the edge. They should win the West again, but it still remains to be seen if they can do any real damage in the playoffs.

The Sharks have the talent to top the West again, but they need to show their stuff in the post season to really get any respect. I like the Blackhawks despite their off season shenanigans. They have now the experience and the coaching to help them win games, it will be hard to count them out come spring. The Coyotes are in trouble, which is sad since hockey did take root in the desert for a few years. I just don't see them coming out with a whole lot of get up and go when their coach was forced out and the league is fighting with a billionaire over their future.

Tomorrow, the Eastern Conference preview.

A Double Cup Friday

Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Penguins on winning the Stanley Cup. You can call it sweet revenge as the Pens defeat the Detroit Red Wings on their ice a year after they lost the Cup on their ice. Boy, did Marion Hossa turn out to be a bad penny. Evgeni Malkin wins MVP honors (the first Russian to do so), although they should have given it to Max Talbot for his clutch goals in the finals or Rob Scuderi for his goaltending prowess.

However (and even more importantly), congratulations to the Hershey Bears on winning their tenth AHL championship last night. They beat the Manitoba Moose on their ice 4-1 to close out the series 4 games to two and hoisting the Calder Cup. Again, the Capitals top development team wins a championship, their second in four years.

Michal Neuvirth earned MVP honors as he posted a 16-6 record with only a 1.19 GAA, a .932 save percentage and four shutouts in the playoffs. He was the big reason for the Bears' championship run, not bad for a player that started the season in the ECHL with the South Carolina Stingrays. In game six he made 24 stops on 25 shots by the Moose. Neuvirth makes the Capitals extremely deep in the goaltending department with Semyon Varlamov, Jose Theodore, Brent Johnson (if the Caps decide to resign him) and a few other prospects.

The Bears got off to a great start in the first, putting the Moose up against a wall with a 3-0 lead in the opening period. Goals by Andrew Gordon, Chris Bourque and Alex Giroux. It was Giroux's playoff leading 15th goal, 28th point. The Moose were able to get a goal in the second, but the Bears held their 3-1 lead through half of the second period and through the third, eventually icing the game with an empty netter scored by Keith Aucoin.

The tandem of Stephan Kronwall and Dean Arsene lead to both players getting a +3 on the game, the Bears' best. Bourque had a goal and an assist as well as the game's number one star. Kyle Wilson had a pair of assists and also was the game's number 3 star.

The last time the Bears won the Calder Cup, many of those players went on to make the Capitals' squad: Mike Green, David Steckel, Eric Fehr, Brooks Laich, Tomas Fleischmann and Boyd Gordon (you could include Jakub Klepis in that list before he went off to play in the KHL). The Bears beat the the Milwaukee Admirals 4 games to two in that series as well. In their game 6 they also jumped up to a 3-0 lead in the first period and went on to win the game 5-1.

Bob Woods, rumored to be in the hunt for Jay Leach's old job, took the Bears to the promise land in just his second year at the helm. He also lead them to a Eastern Conference best 53-22-2-3 record finishing with 111 points.

Highlights of the Bears record breaking tenth AHL championship can be found here. Bryan Helmer, the Bears' captain accepted the Calder Cup along with assistant captains Aucoin and Quintin Laing.

The state of Pennsylvania has to be beaming with pride as they have won two hockey championships (Penguins: Stanley Cup, Bears: Calder Cup), a NHL championship (Steelers) and a MLB championship (Phillies). Pretty impressive in the same year. Now can we stop with all the "Boo hoo, PA teams never win" crap.

Cup Crazy... Take 2

At least one Cup will be awarded tonight. Both the NHL and AHL have games in which the Stanley Cup will be awarded and the Calder Cup could be awarded. Unlike last time, it will not happen in the state of Pennsylvania.

The Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins will battle it out at Joe Louis Arena in a series deciding game seven. At this point this game is a coin flip, the Penguins have a little momentum after keeping the Red Wings from lifting the Cup in their building for the second straight year. But the visiting team has had trouble getting the win, which favors the Red Wings. Either way, what a series!

What looked to be another domination effort by the Red Wings, the Penguins have done all they could to stay alive for a game seven. This entire post season we have seen some of the best hockey in the new NHL (since the new CBA).

In the AHL the Hershey Bears will try again to win the Calder Cup still up in their series 3 games to two against the Manitoba Moose. The Bears would have liked to have lifted the Calder Cup in their own building, but will have to win now on the road as the final two games in the series are in Winnipeg. This has been a goaltenders series as both the Moose goaltender Cory Schneider and Bears' Micheal Neuvirth have been outstanding for their teams.

The AHL series has also broke attendance records for the finals in both Hershey and Winnipeg. Through five games, just over 62,000 fans have watched the Bears and Moose duke it out. At tonight's game, the number will break the record set in 2003 in the series between Hamilton and Houston.

The Stanley Cup will be awarded, the Calder Cup might be. It is almost sad to see it all come to an end.

In the DC area, game seven in the Stanley Cup Finals will be on NBC channel 4. The Calder Cup Finals will not be televised here, but you can watch on line by going to B2TV.com and pay the "small" fee. Those in central PA will be able to watch the game, check your local listings.

Cup Crazy

Tonight could be a night when both NHL's Stanley Cup and AHL's Calder Cup could be awarded. The Detroit Red Wings can do away with the Pittsburgh Penguins at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh and the Hershey Bears can win their 5th championship over the Manitoba Moose at the Giant Center in Hershey. That leaves the possibility of both Cups awarded on the same night in the same state; you wonder if the universe might be collapsing in on itself with such an event.

The Bears series could be done in 5 games after they had split the games in Manitoba and then won two straight at home, including a game three shutout by Micheal Neuvirth. The Red Wings are a bit behind the curve as they are only ahead in their series 3-2. A visiting team has yet to win in the other's building in the Wings/Pens series, a stat that will have to change if the Red Wings wish to win.

The Stanley Cup Finals can be seen on NBC channel 4 locally with a puck drop at 8:18 pm. Good luck trying to find the Hershey Bears game, it will not be shown locally here in the DC area like it had two years ago when they won the Calder Cup. You can however spend a few bucks and watch it on B2TV.com online. Puck drop is at 7:15 pm.

If both teams lose their chance to win a Cup, the Bears will have to travel back to Manitoba will have to try to win it on the road. While the Red Wings will have a chance to beat the Penguins at home in an all important game seven.

Now, We Have A Series

On the brink of a possible sweep, the Pittsburgh Penguins finally woke up at home and get back on track in the Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings. They even showed signs of dominance that we saw with Carolina and Washington with their aggressive forecheck.

In fact, this kind of feels like the Washington series in a lot of ways. Down two games to none, the Penguins looked like all the luck had run dry. Then they just got lucky and started playing with more and more confidence. That is a scary prospect if you are a Red Wing fan.

What may be even more important, the series is now long enough for NBC to pick up the awarding of the Cup. If the Wings won game three and then win again in Pittsburgh, there was a good chance that Versus would be showing the series clinching game, not NBC. Hence, some upteenth million households would miss out completely the completion of the Cup finals. That would have been the real shame.

NHL Notes

• Jim Balsillie (besides having a silly name) is dead set on buying a NHL franchise and moving it to Hamilton, come hell or high water. The league has been fighting him every step of the way even when he seems to play by the rules. His plan is to purchase the struggling Phoenix Coyotes and he made no falsehoods about moving the team. Which is a shame, since hockey was starting to grow in the desert.
• Apparently the GM position for Jacques Martin in Florida was just too much. He jumped at the first chance to become head coach with the Montreal Canadiens. Hmm, trade Guy Carbonneau for a guy that couldn't coach the Panthers with the talent they had. I am just saying, Habs' fans might be waiting awhile to win.
• The NHL loves concussions. They love it so much, that they won't even consider a hit to the head rule to prevent them. The GMs met in Pittsburgh just before game 3 at Mellon Arena to discuss a possible hits to the head penalty. But nothing came of it. I guess they figure if we dumb down the players, the next CBA will be easier to handle.
• Finally, Comcast may offer the NHL Network on its Classic Digital Channels lineup. Good news for some of us that have to pay extra for the network. Finally, Comcast doing something good for a change.
  

What NHL Did Right

The NHL sometimes does some head scratching moves that confuses its fans and makes lives for teams a mess. It is a work in progress of course, things are done then changed when it is done wrong. For the most part the league has done its best to create a competitive sport that is enjoyable to watch for everyone of its thirty franchises.

There are somethings I can live with out in the NHL. The trapezoid behind the net (hey, let the goaltenders be great assistmen), the instigator penalty (I just think there has to be a better way rather than fining coaches) and official inconsistencies (but that is an arguement for another day). But lately, the league has been doing some good.

First of all, the Stanley Cup Playoffs could have been held off until June 5, but the decision to start it over the weekend with back to back games on the weekend was nothing short of near brilliance. While it may have been hard on the players and the teams, the short turn around built momentum for the casual fan.

They also made the times consistent through out the Finals series at 8 pm. The start time helps our friends on the west coast to at least can wait another hour at work before they take off early to catch the game. It is nice to see the "east coast bias" folks have to stay up a bit later for the good of the entire country (both U.S. and Canada) to enjoy round two between these teams.

Second, the league was quick to react to the allegations made in Florida against the Capitals. In fact some NHL suits were in town yesterday (according to Tarik) to investigate the matter. They asked questions of the Capitals' staff, coaches and trainers. Better to be proactive in a situation like this than reactive, a position Major League Baseball seems to be stuck in.

There is still alot of trouble woes for the league however. KHL, Players Union (year-round drug testing), Olympics, Phoenix all are still problems that need attention. As long as the NHL keeps their fans in mind when making such decisions, then it can't be that bad. Can it?

NHL Notes

• The Red Wings take a two game lead in the series. So much for young legs in back to back games. History repeating? Penguins starting to lose focus and looked like they whined everytime things didn't go their way. The Malkin/Zetterberg fight was worth the price of admission though.
• Speaking of the fight, Evgeni Malkin should be suspended... but oh... wait... superstars are immune to such suspensions! Oh what Donald Brashear must be thinking right now.
  
• Joe Nieuwendyk will be the new GM in Dallas. I think they would better benefit him on the ice the way things are going there. First order of business? Get thee a goaltender, get thee a goaltender! So ends the co-GM duties of Brent Hull and Les Jackson.
  

That's all I got, have a nice Monday.

Say What?

On Tarik's blog is the correct pronunciations of our Russian brothers in Capitals sweaters. I believe Puckhead is not translatable to Russian. But, that is a conversation for another day. I am working on my Russian with out saying comrade or Bolshevik. Impressive, I know.

I have just watched the game two marathon between Anaheim and Detroit that went to 3 overtime periods. The game started at 2 pm and nearly went the distance to connect to the evening game between Bruins and Hurricanes at 7:30 pm on Versus. The long game also saved us from watching ponies on Channel 4 (apologies to those who like ponies, like every little girl I knew in first grade).

Spoiler alert:, Ducks won just 1:15 into the sixth period. Todd Marchant (which is correctly pronounced Todd Mar-CLUTCH) scored the winner off a wrister that found its way through two defenders and beat Chris Osgood (correctly pronounced Chris NOT-az-good) high glove, top corner. The Ducks' netminder Jonas Hiller (not sure if you pronounce that any differently) was spectacular. He stopped 59 shots after his team was out shot by the Red Wings in the extra frames, 29 to 15.

The other Western Conference battle between Chicago and Vancouver took an interesting turn. The youth of the Blackhawks does not seem intimidated by Roberto Luongo (that is pronounced LU-shut-out-ongo, weird I know). The Canucks have blown a 3-0 lead and a 2-0 lead in back to back games, losing the later. I am starting to really like this Chicago team.

Finally, I am waiting for the Boston and Carolina game to start tonight. The Hurricanes just didn't look like themselves in game one. They were a bit overwhelmed by Boston's offensive talent and Tim Thomas' goaltending. The 'Canes need a win badly or their series will be over before they know it. Let's hope you don't pronounce Eric Staal "Cha-OKE."

Unfair?

What is the difference between this hit...


... and this hit?


Five games apparently. Donald Brashear's hit on Blair Betts cost him a five game suspension (an extra game suspension for his pregame antics). Mike Brown's hit on Jiri Hudler, however, cost him nothing. Brown was just ejected from the game.

The hits are almost identical, both late and to the head. If I were Caps' GM George McPhee, I think I would be looking for an explanation and would appeal Brash's suspension.

Caps Notes:

• Thanks to Japer's Rink, there is a note of caution. The Caps have won seven of eight game ones against the Penguins all time, but only have won one of six series. We don't want to make the same mistake as some New Yorkers did just because of a win.
• Simeon Varlamov has been the talk of the league. His save has been called the save of the playoffs. He even took the number one top play on ESPN's Sports Center top ten plays. I doubt the Penguins did much to shake his confidence and the team is playing well in front of him.
• The best sign of game one by the Capitals fans was an image of a dollar bill with Bruce Boudreau in place of George Washington. Pretty funny, but I would think he would be worth more than just a dollar.
• The Capitals' AHL affiliate Hershey Bears took a 1-0 series lead against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last night. They won 5-3. Game 2 is tonight at 5 pm in Hershey. It is a full-on franchise battle!

Bring On The Cup '09 - Fearless Predictions Pt. 1

Can you believe it? It's playoff time, which means it is time to make some predictions. This will be the fourth straight year for PHT's fearless predictions and it's the most exciting due to the Capitals ranked second in the East and they wrapped up a playoff position two weeks before the end of the season.

There are a few newbies to the Playoffs from a year ago which makes this an exciting playoff season. Two Southeast Division teams find their way to the post season, the Blue Jackets get to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, the Blues not only sneak in but get get a good ranking on their last game and the Blackhawks look tough to beat. So much going on!

Let's start in the West where it was a wild finish. Eastern predictions to follow tomorrow morning.

Round 1

#1 San Jose Sharks vs. #8 Anaheim Ducks - It is an interesting matchup to say the least. The Ducks and Sharks do not really like each other, and going into playoff series with one another is not going to help the situation much. The Sharks however might be a tad too powerful for the Ducks this year, considering goaltending has been the Ducks weak point this season. J.S. Giguere could be the back up. The Ducks will play some tough defense and it should be a good test for the number one team in the league. But the Shark's solid goaltending should win out the day in Evgeni Nabokov.

Sharks win in 7 games.

#2 Detroit Red Wings vs. #7 Columbus Blue Jackets - Central Division rivals meet up for the first time in the playoffs. Actually every thing the Blue Jackets do will be for the first time, since this is their first trip to the post season in franchise history. The BJ's have a tough hill to climb if they are thinking of surpassing the Red Wings who hold the season series over them. The Red Wings are at the top, if not the first, in every category in the league. The Jackets are just trying to do well and they will behind phenom rookie goaltender Steve Mason. If Chris Osgood can keep it together that is.

Red Wings win in 5 games.

#3 Vancouver Canucks vs. #6 St. Louis Blues - Look who just crashed the playoff party, the St. Louis Blues. Hard work and determination do pay off. But it is going to be a short playoff series if the Blues can't stop the offensive juggernaut of the Vancouver Canucks while at the same time solving the arguably the league's best goaltender in Roberto Luongo. No easy task. I am afraid that the Blues venture into the post season might be short lived, Vancouver is just on too much of a roll these days to be stopped by a Blues team that has to keep up their intensity and strong forecheck if they want to be successful.

Canucks take it in 6 games.

#4 Chicago Blackhawks vs. #5 Calgary Flames - Proven leadership. That is what this series is going to be about. Jerome Iginla is the poster boy for leadership and he has lead this team to a finals already. Calgary's first test however will start on the road against a young and budding team that is not short on talent. The Blackhawks will have to depend on their goaltending here, Nikolai Khabibulin gets the edge in that department. His experience and tenacious play of late will help the Blackhawks do well. But I just think Calgary's leadership will help them through. Experience over youth.

Flames win in 7 games.

Round 2 (probable matchups based on Round 1 predictions)

San Jose Sharks vs. Calagary Flames - The Sharks offense will be just too much for Calgary unless Miikka Kiprusoff can put together a consistent effort. The Flames will need much more than leadership if they want to continue on. But these two are not strangers in the post season. It should be a dirty, down out fight. But with solid goaltending and an offense that is confident in themselves, San Jose just has an edge.

Sharks win in 6 games.

Detroit Red Wings vs. Vancouver Canucks - This should be a good match up. I imagine Luongo will be at his best against the best. The Red Wings must rely heavily on Osgood in this one and I am just not sure if he is up for that challenge. The Canucks' offense has found a groove. If they keep it up, the Red Wings will have their hands full.

Canucks squeak by in 7 close games.

Western Conference Final

San Jose Sharks vs. Vancouver Canucks - Ooo, a Pacific Division final. Who would have thunk it? Two of the best offensive teams in the west gear up for a show down. Travel shouldn't be an issue with both teams in the Pacific time zone. Goaltending will be the big show down, Luongo and Nabokov will go head to head for their teams. What will be the factor is how fresh the Canucks will be after their tangle with the Red Wings. Both teams seem to be evenly matched in offense, defense and of course in net, but I don't think the Canucks have the experience to take it the distance. Should be one heck of a series.

Sharks win in 6 games.

I really like San Jose coming out of the west. I have predicted it now two years in a row. The Sharks seem to have things going for them as well as the Canucks, but every time I count out the Red Wings, they end up in the finals, again. I don't think the newcomers are in a position to overtake the top teams, but how I have been wrong before.

Eastern Conference predictions and my prediction of the Stanley Cup winner will come tomorrow morning. Then it is game on, bring on the playoffs and bring on the Stanley Cup. We are more than ready.

Bring On Detroit Fans, I Don't Care

While a lot of Capitals' fans are getting annoyed at all the Detroit Red Wings fans in attendance at the game Saturday afternoon. Peppered through out the stands were the faithful of the red and white cheering on their team. It seemed to upset some fans prompting a response by Caps' owner Ted Leonsis. Per Ted's Take:

We didn’t sell any group tickets to any fan clubs from Detroit. We didn’t sell any tickets to any travel agencies from Detroit either.
We didn’t have to since we were sold out with fans from our own community. My goal is to start next season with 14,000 season tickets sold!

What I do see happening though now is this: Many season ticket holders are now selling off some key games against big rivals on ticket exchange services. They get a huge markup on their tickets that helps defray the cost of tickets for the rest of the season.

There were about 5 rows in front of me where there are usually a large group of season ticket holders that had sold their tickets to local Detroit fans. I may have to find a way to get first right of refusal on resell of our seats. :-)

Many fans that were rooting for Detroit are actually our season ticket holders. They are happy Caps fans and loyal customers and they root for the Caps always except when we play Detroit. When we sell out the bottom and top bowl, the club seats go on sale via Washington Sports and some of those tickets get sold as groups or online to Detroit fans.

It is obvious that we have made progress. Perhaps ten percent of the arena was rooting for Detroit at yesterday’s game. I won’t rest until we have 100 percent Caps fans in our building but I admire what Detroit has built in terms of fan loyalty. Thank you Caps fans for being loud and proud. We are building a Hockeytown right here in DC.

While it's been annoying to have those fans sitting next to you at the Verizon Center when the Caps were struggling, it is a tad more entertaining when the Caps winning. Much like it was on Saturday. When the Red Wings scored, we saw the normal yelling and hooting from the Detroit faithful. But when the Caps scored, especially Alex Ovechkin's first goal in the third, the look on their faces was picture perfect.

When Ovechkin scored on the power play to put the Caps up by two, it was even more fun to tease those red and white jerseys right out of the building. "Beat the traffic, beat, beat the traffic!" If the Capitals keep winning at the phone booth, I will take those opposing fans any day of the week.

To see those Detroit Fans not only leave disappointed that their team lost, they had to put up with Caps fans teasing and in a happy mood. That is worth the price of admission. It should be a warning for any opposing team's fans who decide to take a game in at Verizon Center, there is a good chance your team is going to lose and that $200 bucks you spent on a $90 ticket really wasn't worth it, was it?

So bring on the Detroit fans, the Penguins fans, Ranger fans, Carolina fans, Flyer fans. We can handle them, and they are just going to go home hurt and broke. Uncle Ted, your warning and actions are not really needed, we can handle them. Just like the Caps can handle any opposing team that takes to the phone booth's ice.

Boudreau Not Afraid To Mix It Up

The Capitals found themselves in an unique position coming into the game with the Detroit Red Wings, they had a full line up. Not since November 6th have the Capitals played with their opening night roster. It didn't look as it were the right time for Bruce Boudreau to start mixing up the lines just before taking on the defending Stanley Cup Champions, but it was.

The top line featured the Russian trio Alex Semin, Sergei Fedorov and Alex Ovechkin. Boudreau obviously wanted his firepower known on the front line. But this line would be broken up for another Russian trio in the third period.

Nick Backstrom dropped to the second line with Eric Fehr and Tomas Fleischmann. Backstrom's play has been stagnate of late, perhaps a line demotion would spark something for him. While Eric Fehr's promotion to the second line seemed to get him more chances to score.

Third line consisted of veterans Viktor Kozlov, Micheal Nylander and a demoted Brooks Laich. The last scoring line is sort of a left overs line that bumped both Kozlov and Laich down. And the checking line is pretty much the old staple of Donald Brashear, Dave Steckel and Matt Bradley.

The power play and penalty kill lineups pretty much stayed the same.

During the course of the game, Semin was demoted to the third line after taking yet another bad penalty late in the second period that lead to a game tying power play goal for the Red Wings. Kozlov made the jump up to the top line and it was his pass that was behind Ovi that lead to a pretty game winning goal.

Boudreau's mixing the lines seemed to stir the pot for the Capitals. It seemed to work as the Caps beat the slumping Detroit Red Wings who have now lost their last five games.

Notes:

• Looking back at the replay of the third period, both delay of game penalties actually weren't. Brooks Laich clearing attempt actually was a deflection after Brian Rafalski got his stick on Laich's when he cleared. Tom Poti's delay of game penalty was directly off a Dan Cleary's stick. Two phantom calls that the Capitals were able to overcome.


• Detroit's head coach Mike Babcock downplayed Ovechkin's effort against his team. "When you think of dominating a game, I don’t think Ovi did that tonight. They pay him to score and that’s what he did at the end." That's adding a bit of fuel to the fire.


• There were a lot of red and white Wing's jerseys at the phone booth, but they were quickly drowned out after Ovechkin's game winning goal. A long time Capitals' season ticket holder was seen wearing a Detroit sweater and cheering for the visiting team. When we asked her why she was suddenly a Red Wing fan she looked at us annoyed and said she was always a Red Wings fan. Which a friend of mine retorted, "You are buying tickets in the wrong building." She didn't talk to us for the rest of the game.

Caps Beat Defending Stanley Cup Champs

Capitals 4, Red Wings 2
Scoresheet - Wash Post

The Verizon Center hasn't been a house of horrors for the Detroit Red Wings or their fans. Anytime the Wings would be in town, the building seems always split in two. Red Wings fans even out numbered Caps fans for the last couple of years when the Wings were in town. And the Wings had no problems winning in the nation's capital with their last loss in DC was in 2000. That changed today as the Capitals keep their winning ways at home beating the Wings 4-2.

Alex Ovechkin, the game's first star, came up with two very big goals including the game winner. Mike Green also grabbed a goal and Viktor Kozlov scored after a Milan Jurcina shot ricocheted off his leg and past Ty Conklin. Jose Theodore snared 25 shots for his 18th win of the season.

The first two periods were tense filled chess battles that saw the Caps sometimes smothered in the Red Wing trap. The second period was not the Capitals' best as the Red Wings seemed to keep the Caps deep in their defensive zone. Both teams were able to answer goals scored against them.

Eric Fehr had better chances than most through the first two periods. Fehr matched Ovechkin in shots getting at least three golden opportunities in front of the net to score. He didn't score and Ty Conklin did make a couple of huge saves on Fehr. But Eric Fehr needs to start burying those goals.

In the third, Alex Ovechkin turned it up a notch. He even let Conklin know.

"I tell Conklin," Ovechkin told reporters after the game, "'It's coming, it's coming - and it's coming in the third period.'"

His game winning goal came off an errant pass from Kozlov, but Ovi wrangled it in from behind him, through his legs and got the puck from his back hand to his forehand sneaking the shot just under Conklin's glove for the tally. The goal broke a stalemate between the two teams.

The Caps got into a little penalty trouble late, although Tom Poti's late delay of game penalty was perplexing because the puck clearly hit a Winger stick. The Caps had to kill off a 5 on 3 in the final seconds and a lucky ring off the post they were able to keep Red Wings at bay to get their 31st win of the season.

The next game is another 12:30 pm start against Ottawa here at Verizon Center. The Caps have fallen to third in the Eastern Conference off of some bit wins by the New Jersey Devils who are making a late season push themselves. Boston also won their afternoon game to keep a 12 point lead for first in the East. The Caps have to walk a fine line of winning without wearing themselves out if they want to catch the Bruins.