It's Only Been Forever Since We Posted...

Hey, it's the off-season for us as well! However, when Hubs brought home the master list of the games we'll be attending this year (Caps, Bears, and Royals), it became abundantly clear that hockey season approacheth. So, with that in mind, some random thoughts to kick off the 2008-2009 season:

* I remain unconvinced that Jose Theodore is the answer to the Caps' goaltending questions, even short term while the Caps' prospects are developing. Granted, the market was such that there weren't really any better choices available (I would have loved to keep Huet, but his manager screwed that up; and Ray Emery certainly was not a good choice), but I'm in the 'I'll believe it when I see it' line for liking Theodore.

* Come on, Caps/Bears, sign Josef Boumedienne already!!! We need a skilled, experienced defenseman on the Bears, and he's already proven 1) leadership skills and 2) a great chemistry on the ice with Sami Lepisto. Had Josef not been injured in 2007/2008, his numbers would have been exceptional, particularly in the assists category.

* I think Georges Laraque was a great pickup for Montréal... I've thought for a while that where the Habs were sorely lacking was in the muscled, strong, intimidating player department. Sure, Komisarek is fabulous, but we needed more muscle - and Laraque provides that.

* I'm disappointed to see Shawn Collymore leave the area... Shawn, if you're out there, we'll miss you here in central Pennsylvania!

* Is it October yet? :-)

One of Hershey's Own Makes Good!

Congrats to Sami Lepisto, who scored the winning goal for Finland in overtime against the US last night at the World Championships - way to go, kid! Bears and Caps fans are very proud of you! :-)

(For info, go here.)

Props to Boomer

Hershey fans should check out the latest issue of The Hockey News, which features a piece on Josef Boumedienne.

(Note to Bears and Caps management: you need to resign Boomer!)

Sore Loser

Even with a crazy schedule this week, it's been difficult to motivate myself to blog about hockey, with the Capitals losing at every turn and the Habs being blown out on Thursday night by the Bruins, not to mention the Hershey Bears losing to Wilkes-Barre in overtime on Wednesday night. BAD hockey week.

The Capitals are in a must-win situation now; if they come out flat today against the Flyers, they are done. They need to come out with physical and aggressive play and shoot the puck - stick to basic hockey and focus on shooting rather than attempts at fancy passes.

More later...

Afraid to Come to the Party

Yesterday the Caps delivered a thoroughly disappointing performance in their second playoff game... as the game progressed, I think everyone in our section (excluding, of course, the significant contingent of Flyers fans) grew increasingly frustrated with the missed passes, failed attempts at fancy plays, and most of all the seeming reluctance to shoot the puck at the net. It was as if a completely different team showed up, one intimidated and cowed by the big, bad Flyers. Where Friday's team came out hitting and playing assertively, Sunday's team looked afraid.

Props to the Flyers and especially Martin Biron for great play Sunday, of course; but the Caps also failed to play the way everyone there knew they could, and that was perhaps the biggest disappointment. I wouldn't have minded the loss nearly as much if the team had been on their game, but that wasn't the case. (This is why I'm disappointed in the Canadiens' loss to the Bruins, but not disheartened. A streak can only last so long, for one thing, and I thought the Habs looked fairly sharp. The Bruins were motivated by the lengthy string of losses to the Habs and they really wanted the monkey off their backs.)

The Caps statistically come back with a solid performance after a poor one, so I'm hopeful that Tuesday's game will be a much better showing. They will have to come out firing and hitting like they did Friday night, though, in order to regain the momentum, and they need to stick to basic hockey rather than trying to make the flashy plays. I'd rather have pucks hit plainly into the net than swishy moves that result in a turnover to the Flyers.

The Decision Point

At the second intermission last night, the Caps were at the decision point... they were down 4-2, and they could pull themselves back or roll over. With the help of 18,277 of us screaming at the top of our lungs, they showed the heart of champions and came back to win the first game of the playoffs.

The atmosphere was as you might expect - live, loud, and passionate. After the game, dozens of us honked our way down 9th Street and Constitution in DC, with bemused tourists looking on and probably wondering what had caused this sudden insanity on the part of so many people.

Mike Wise's Washington Post column describes the insanity well. What I hope is that the hordes who have swarmed to the Verizon Center over the past few weeks will stick around regardless of the playoffs' outcome; in other words, I hope this is a long-term relationship and not just a momentary crush. It's past time for Washington to be a true hockey town and not simply a collection of other teams' fans.

Capitals Coverage

The Washington Post has a couple of great articles:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/

article/2008/04/10/AR2008041003923.html


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/

article/2008/04/08/AR2008040803547.html


From the Washington Times:


http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/

20080411/SPORTS04/447294200/1001


http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/

20080410/SPORTS04/84840049/1005/SPORTS