Well worth the sore throat.....

cheering and hollering through the pre-game ceremonies and the revisiting of last seasons accomplishments for the Washington Capitals. The raising of the 2007-08 South East Division champion banner is permanently etched as a night Washington will not forget.

Rockin' the Red at the Home Opener

First of all, a big thankyou to my boss Jon for letting me skip the last two hours of work on Saturday afternoon so that I could head down to DC for the opening home game for the Caps at Verizon Center. And what a night it turned out to be. The metro ride down from Shady Grove was a red-filled vessel of thirsty hockey fans ready to root for their team. And upon exiting the metro, F Street was alive and well. The doors were open early and the excitement level was high. Washington was a city ready to continue to rock the red once more!!!!

So after a 7-4 thrashing (no pun intended) on the previous evening in Atlanta, how would the Caps respond against a team touted highly as the 'dark horse' for this coming year? What adjustments would Bruce be making? How would the crowd respond to Theodore after his poor performance in Game 1? Many questions were there to be answered, and after the initial warm-ups, we were about to find out.

Props to the Caps organization for the great opening ceremony and raising of the banner. It was done in very good taste, and hopefully we'll get to see that happening on an annual basis!!! The chants of "Bruuuuuuce" from the crowd paid homage to our general who brought out troops out to battle once again - this humble Toronto native has the utmost respect from the fans throughout the building.

As for the game, things didn't start too well for the Caps, giving up a Chicago strike within the opening minute. Fans drew breath, fearing the worst every time the puck was within 10 feet of Theodore throughout the game. Admittedly, he made some phenomenal saves during the contest, and did redeem himself to some extent after Fridays performance, but it will be a while before the fans can honestly put their trust in this individual between the pipes. You can have the best offensive weapons in the world, but you still need somebody at home to mind the fort. A casual observer in my section summed it up best, literally finding religion every time a shot was taken at the net......Father Ted could have taken notes from this guy for his Sunday sermon.

Hockey is a 60 minute game, and the final 40 minutes were almost dominated by the Caps. After going down 2-0 in the first, the final horn saw the Caps leave with a 4-2 victory. How did they turn things around? What was said in the locker room after the first period? Unbeknown to me at the time, Al Koken from Comcast Sports Net mentioned that Bruce Boudreau reverted back to his traditional defensive pairings, and upon reflection, I can now see why the chemistry in the Caps zone was vastly improved. It may sound like a minor tweak, and of little importance, but to these guys, it made all the difference. And as much as I love Mike Green - Mike, please play a little more defense....yes, you can shoot, but you don't need to be 'the' lone playmaker when bringing the puck into the zone. However, this is just small criticism. The first period aside, this was a solid performance and a Caps game played just the way we like it. Can't wait for the next outing.......

One more thing: Way to go Hershey!!! A 3-0 start on the road. A win for Varlamov in his North American debut. Bob Woods has already started to silence the doubters........go Bears. Can't wait to see you on Saturday for the home opener against the Crunch!

Habs Need to Step It Up Against the Leafs

Now that the Habs have their first-game jitters out of their system, they need to step it up against the Leafs, who have already played spoiler once this week by defeating the Red Wings on opening night. I listened to the first two periods and was more than a little disappointed in their performance against the Sabres, but I'm going to wait to make any substantive comments until I can actually watch a game (hopefully online tonight - I'm writing from Bruin-land today).

I was also bummed by Theodore's performance for the Caps on Friday night - I've never been sold on him and his performance in the preseason game against the Bruins was fairly abysmal, with one or two exceptions. Martin will be at the game tonight so he should have some thoughts to share tomorrow about the game.

On the bright side, a great start for Hershey! It was pure pleasure listening to them walk all over Wilkes-Barre - the roster is pretty stacked and I'm excited about their potential.

SOOOO glad it's hockey season again!

Pre-season thoughts

In the world of pro-hockey, it is amazing the difference a year makes. The
level of excitement and expectation surrounding the Caps heading into the
2008-09 season is all around us. Fans are flocking in droves to practices
and scrimmages, rooting for the team that defied the odds last season and
took the Southeast division title. The same fans are happy to see a
relatively intact core of talented hockey players from last year, along with
a mix of great talent from the various farm teams all willing to work hard
and be noticed by Bruce and his staff. Media interest has been elevated.
Washington is being heralded as a Hockeytown - quite a feat for a city whose
hockey roots do not run too deeply when compared to the likes of Montreal,
Detroit and Boston. Bloggers like OFB have in depth insights from within the
Caps organization posted on a daily basis, and have a huge legion of readers
and contributors. The town is a buzz with hungry fans who are counting down
the days, hours and minutes to the start of the season. Clearly, after such
a dismal start last season, the Capitals have turned it around. Call it
good coaching; call it a refinement of team chemistry and mutual desire to
be winners - the bottom line is that this organization have their sights set
very clearly to not only dominate and win the division this season, but to
proceed much further into the playoffs and shoot for the cup. From Hershey
to DC, Bruce Boudreau has proven to be an effective general, leading his
armies into battle. He has a fantastic rapport with all of his players, his
assistant coaches and the media. The Jack Adams trophy was a just reward for
this gentleman, and it will be very interesting to see what this coaching
staff can do with the fine crop of talent they have on the bench this year.

Pre-season never really excites me. The results are meaningless, and
nothing matters until that first official game. At least that was what I
thought. Watching a scrimmage last week, I was amazed just how pumped up
and ready these players are to "bring their game". To see the guys from
Hershey, South Carolina, and afar all playing with a level of intensity more
associated with the home stretch towards the playoffs. Several prospects
have remained at Caps camp after the initial cuts, and all are for the right
reasons. Chris Bourque has demonstrated that he is ready for the transition
to the NHL. Mathieu Perrault has a burst of speed and agility that will
leave many defenseman wondering if a tornado just hit the rink. Karl Alzner
is a natural defenseman, with unbelieveable instincts and awareness of where
he should be. And it goes without saying that Simeon Varlamov is a standout
amongst all goaltenders in the organization, with his lightning reflexes and
ability to react to both a Sergei Federov slap shot, and the crashing of the
net when the puck rebounds off his pads. Sami Lepisto can bring his
experience from Hershey and also compete for a roster spot on the Caps D. He
has proven to be consistent and has a great shot from the point in a PP
situation. All of these talented prospects have youth on their side, and
have already shown me that they are both ready to play, and hungry to
compete.

And here we are. 3 preseason games already played, and 3 victories to show
for it. And once again, while the results have little meaning or impact on
the season, for players like Bourque, Perrault and Lepisto, this is their
chance to shine and leave that lasting impression as players primed and
ready when the Caps come calling to fill roster spots. Injuries are
inevitable, and it feels good for this Caps fan to know that the guys in the
wings are ready and raring to go, and possess a high degree of talent and
intensity to stamp their claims upon the NHL. Can't wait for the puck to
drop at the Verizon Center, and can't wait for the puck to drop at the Giant
Center. This season is going to be a blast!!!!!

Preseason Thoughts

Kudos to Chris Bourque for getting the first star in the Caps' preseason game against the Panthers last night... as much as I'd like to see him back in Hershey this year, I have a suspicion that we might be seeing him more at the Verizon Center.

On the Josef Boumedienne watch (note to Caps: you shouldn't have let him go!), he earned an assist in the Leafs' loss to Pittsburgh. We have this game on the DVR and only saw bits and pieces; we'll definitely check the rest of the game out.

I'm still not completely sold on Jose Theodore. Martin, who attended a day of training camp on Tuesday, says the two younger goalies look tremendously sharp. About Theodore, I'm just concerned that he'll be the Theodore of old and not so much the Theodore who carried the Avs last year.

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.)