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The Washington Capitals (1974-), Eastern Conference, Metropolitan Division - Moved from Capital Centre in Landover to Capitol One Arena in Chinatown, 1997 - STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS 2017-2018


Pool Boy

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Since I wrote the post above, Stick has been pushing in the pucks.  All the lines are really starting to gel now, and the 4th line with Winnik and Beagle is so much fun to watch and has become quite the threat to score shorthanded on a penalty kill.  Last night they crushed the Blue Jackets to the point where, looking at the CBJ team, I wondered how they had accomplished such a winning streak.  

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And so it begins, another run for the Cup.  A much harder-won President's Trophy this season than last, but the team looks deeper, grittier, hungrier than last season's as well.  We should beat the Leafs in 4, possibly 5.   Happy to see Pens and Columbus battling each other in the first round.  Pens are a pretty beaten-up team this time around,lots of injuries and Letang is out for the season; Columbus hasn't looked as good in the last 6 weeks as they did earlier in the year.  I'm not sure who I want to win that series, as it looks like it could go all 7 games, and whoever is left standing is going to be even more beat up at that point, so do I hope Pittsburgh comes out on top so we vanquish the Pens to get that niggling doubt wiped out going forward, or do I hope that CBJ wins that series because I think we've got their number?

Either way, I'm planted in front of a TV somewhere for the game on Thursday night.  Go CAPS!

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On 4/9/2015 at 0:03 PM, Pool Boy said:

I am hoping the Caps make a go of it (the playoffs) to go deeper than before in this Ovechkin era. Looking forward to playoff hockey, period. :)

Well, you've got it: The first game of the first series starts tomorrow night, Thursday, Apr 7, at the Verizon Center.

"Capitals vs. Maple Leafs Playoff Preview" by Tom Gulitti on nhl.com

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Penguins beat Columbus 3-1 last night, even with the Pens' starting goalie being a last-minute scratch.  I watched part of that game and all I can say is CBJ needs to keep beating up the birds b/c they looked really good in last night's game, and if the Pens win that series, we want them as bruised and bloodied and slow as possible before we meet them.

Rangers won, Bruins won, and an OT win for Edmonton over the St. Louis Blues.  

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13 hours ago, weezy said:

Penguins beat Columbus 3-1 last night, even with the Pens' starting goalie being a last-minute scratch.  I watched part of that game and all I can say is CBJ needs to keep beating up the birds b/c they looked really good in last night's game, and if the Pens win that series, we want them as bruised and bloodied and slow as possible before we meet them.

Rangers won, Bruins won, and an OT win for Edmonton over the St. Louis Blues.  

Little correction:  The Minnesota Wild beat the Blues in OT.  The San Jose Sharks beat Edmonton in OT.  (As an aside, this is Edmonton's first time in the playoffs since the 2005-2006 season, when they lost in the Stanley Cup final in 7 games to Carolina; Connor McDavid of the Oilers, this year's Art Ross Trophy winner for the most points scored in the regular season with 100, turned 9 in January 2006.).

Now onto the game currently underway:  Not a good start for the Capitals, but they've calmed down and it's now tied.  An 8th-ranked team shouldn't be a problem on paper but they can be dangerous.  I've seen a few 8 beats 1 situations.  As for how they seed things these days (top three from each division plus wild cards, then they reseed the teams in the next round)...grumble.

Addendum:  Clearing attempt by the Leafs is knocked down by Wilson, who proceeds with a nice wrist shot on the short side to win it for the Capitals in OT.  His first playoff goal.  And the game is conveniently finished before Metro closes.

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9 hours ago, lovehockey said:

Little correction:  The Minnesota Wild beat the Blues in OT.  The San Jose Sharks beat Edmonton in OT.  (As an aside, this is Edmonton's first time in the playoffs since the 2005-2006 season, when they lost in the Stanley Cup final in 7 games to Carolina; Connor McDavid of the Oilers, this year's Art Ross Trophy winner for the most points scored in the regular season with 100, turned 9 in January 2006.).

Now onto the game currently underway:  Not a good start for the Capitals, but they've calmed down and it's now tied.  An 8th-ranked team shouldn't be a problem on paper but they can be dangerous.  I've seen a few 8 beats 1 situations.  As for how they seed things these days (top three from each division plus wild cards, then they reseed the teams in the next round)...grumble.

Addendum:  Clearing attempt by the Leafs is knocked down by Wilson, who proceeds with a nice wrist shot on the short side to win it for the Capitals in OT.  His first playoff goal.  And the game is conveniently finished before Metro closes.

thanks for correcting my mistake.  I was obviously typing faster than I was thinking.

Yeah, that was a pretty shot by Wilson, made even prettier by being the game winner.

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Interesting stat I read on the nhl.com site, that all of the Leafs goals in Game 2 were scored when one of the Caps players was without a stick.  Most of the time, sticks are lost due to slashing by an opponent, so it is highly likely that uncalled penalties factored into our double OT loss.

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Some beautiful hockey being played last night.  There was a time in the second period of probably 5 minutes without a whistle or stoppage of play and everything on both teams was fast, crisp and hard played.  Gorgeous to watch a game like that.  And even more beautiful was the win with a 5-on-3 penalty kill, a washed out goal due to a rotten call on goalie interference, and Wilson's dive into the net to save another goal.  

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23 minutes ago, lovehockey said:

The hip check against Ovechkin that was called for a tripping penalty...it was a clean hip check.  That being said, there are a lot of NHL players who want to make it illegal.

I can see why. If *that* is legal, then so should robbery using your fists instead of a gun.

Regardless, it was a bad-assed flip, and showed a little punk who the boss was. Damn that was awesome.

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Yeah, Don, like them or not, hip checks for the most part are entertaining to watch.  The backside-over-teakettle result is common.

That being said, the overwhelming reason the players want it to be made illegal is the injury risk.  As an example, do it wrong and you just gave the guy a knee injury.

For the record, this is the hip check against Ovechkin (and it was clean).  He came back later in the game.  Here is Ovechkin dishing one out.

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An unfortunate injury to Crosby from a bad but unplanned collision with Niskanen helped us win last night, together with a missed planned collision when Eller pivoted and took himself out of the way of Hornqvist who ended up annilhilating teammate Sheary.  But I'll take it. Bad hits and injuries happen in this game, and we well could have been without Oshie between the hits and accidents he absorbed.  Holtby looked stronger last night as well with some beautiful saves, but still weak on the glove side. That last 3 minutes of regulation was sad to see, but would it have worked out in the Pens' favor with Niskanen on the ice?  Don't know.  It's a win, and at least Shattenkirk redeemed himself from some stupid mistakes earlier in the game.

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1 hour ago, weezy said:

An unfortunate injury to Crosby from a bad but unplanned collision with Niskanen helped us win last night, together with a missed planned collision when Eller pivoted and took himself out of the way of Hornqvist who ended up annilhilating teammate Sheary.  But I'll take it. Bad hits and injuries happen in this game, and we well could have been without Oshie between the hits and accidents he absorbed.  Holtby looked stronger last night as well with some beautiful saves, but still weak on the glove side. That last 3 minutes of regulation was sad to see, but would it have worked out in the Pens' favor with Niskanen on the ice?  Don't know.  It's a win, and at least Shattenkirk redeemed himself from some stupid mistakes earlier in the game.

If Crosby isn't cleared for tomorrow's game (or worse) it's gonna get ugly in the early going.

The Caps so far have demonstrated that no lead is safe for them, but haven't put the same fear into their opponents.  All the talk of being choke artists is only talk until you fail to disprove it.  Again.  They need a statement win to bring this back to DC evened up.

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1 hour ago, TedE said:

If Crosby isn't cleared for tomorrow's game (or worse) it's gonna get ugly in the early going.

The Caps so far have demonstrated that no lead is safe for them, but haven't put the same fear into their opponents.  All the talk of being choke artists is only talk until you fail to disprove it.  Again.  They need a statement win to bring this back to DC evened up.

I saw some chatter on comment sites that Crosby was all winks & smiles leaving the arena last night, so a slight sign favoring that he'll return in the series.

And it's been pretty ugly so far.  At least no one has lost body parts yet.

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I don't want to say anything about us being up 1-0 after the 1st period, because I don't want to jinx things, so I won't.

Screenshot 2017-05-08 at 8.27.42 PM.png

To all who have been trying to help me learn, it might put things in perspective that I had to Google what "PIM" meant. :mellow:

 

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18 hours ago, DonRocks said:

I don't want to say anything about us being up 1-0 after the 1st period, because I don't want to jinx things, so I won't.

Screenshot 2017-05-08 at 8.27.42 PM.png

To all who have been trying to help me learn, it might put things in perspective that I had to Google what "PIM" meant. :mellow:

To save others from the hassle, it's Penalties in Minutes.  While stats are kept on the number of penalties a player or a team has amassed, PIMs are also used because penalties vary in their length (the most common being the 2-minute minor, the 4-minute double minor, and the 5-minute major).  For example, in the graphic Don linked the Caps had 2 penalty minutes while the Pens had 4.  From that it's easy to say that during the 1st period 1 Capitals player had a 2-minute minor penalty.  However, for the Pens, that 4 minutes could mean 2 players with 2-minute minor penalties or 1 player getting a double minor that is 4 minutes in length.

But the solution to the 2 minors or 1 double minor question is given in the stat directly below the PIMs, and that is the number of power plays.  The Pens were 0/1 on their power play, which means that they didn't score during the time that the Caps player was serving his 2 minutes.  The Caps, however, were 1/2, which means they had 2 power plays and scored on one of them (in this case, when Crosby was in the sin bin).  Therefore, there were 2 2-minute minors against the Pens during the 1st period.

Also, when PIMs are totaled, the entire time assessed by the referee is counted, regardless of whether that actual time is served.  Going back to the Crosby penalty, he was released from penalty box after the Caps scored 45 seconds into the 2-minute power play.  However, the stats guys did not go back and subtract the 1 minute and 15 seconds not served.  This is why the PIMs say 4 minutes for the Pens instead of 2 minutes and 45 seconds (the full 2 minutes of the other guy's penalty plus the 45 seconds Crosby actually served before the goal). 

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"Capitals Eliminated Yet Again by Penguins, Face Uncertain Future" by Alexa Dettelbach and Matt Williams on espn.com

I know, I know, 1-9 against the Penguins in Stanley Cup playoffs is tragic, but I'm of the firm belief that, "You're either a playoff team, or not a playoff team," and once the playoffs begin, anything can happen.

1-9 doesn't exactly sound random, but *somebody* has to have the worst record, and 10 series, despite how terrible people feel today, isn't *that* big of a sample size. The Caps need to get over this psychological hump, and then they'll start winning closer to 50% of their series.

Again, I refer to the Buffalo Bills, who lost 4-consecutive Super Bowls in 1990, 1991, 1992, and 1993. The Bills, in my opinion, were either the best or second-best team in the NFL in the early 90s, and that's something to be proud of. I don't buy this "Winner Take All" mentality - the Caps had a playoff season, and hopefully next year, they'll do it again.

Yes, I know, it's easy to justify this attitude when you lose.

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10 hours ago, DonRocks said:

"Capitals Eliminated Yet Again by Penguins, Face Uncertain Future" by Alexa Dettelbach and Matt Williams on espn.com

I know, I know, 1-9 against the Penguins in Stanley Cup playoffs is tragic, but I'm of the firm belief that, "You're either a playoff team, or not a playoff team," and once the playoffs begin, anything can happen.

1-9 doesn't exactly sound random, but *somebody* has to have the worst record, and 10 series, despite how terrible people feel today, isn't *that* big of a sample size. The Caps need to get over this psychological hump, and then they'll start winning closer to 50% of their series.

Again, I refer to the Buffalo Bills, who lost 4-consecutive Super Bowls in 1990, 1991, 1992, and 1993. The Bills, in my opinion, were either the best or second-best team in the NFL in the early 90s, and that's something to be proud of. I don't buy this "Winner Take All" mentality - the Caps had a playoff season, and hopefully next year, they'll do it again.

Yes, I know, it's easy to justify this attitude when you lose.

I just hated the way we lost.  We didn't play our game last night, we let the Pens play theirs.  

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14 minutes ago, weezy said:

I just hated the way we lost.  We didn't play our game last night, we let the Pens play theirs.  

That's what happens when you play scared, or, play "not to lose."

When or if the Caps have a breakthrough, they'll start playing to win. In fact, they might start playing to win if they get pissed off enough at themselves for repeatedly playing not to lose: They either need a breakthrough playoff-series win, or to wake up, and say, "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore."

Think of all the teams that don't even make the playoffs, and don't have the playoff experience that the Caps do - they have further to go (in theory).

As you know, I'm no expert, but I know sports, and the Caps - from all I read - have a solid foundation, and have just one psychological hurdle to clear. They're solid contenders, and their opponents don't look past them - that's something to be proud of.

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17 hours ago, DonRocks said:

That's what happens when you play scared, or, play "not to lose."

When or if the Caps have a breakthrough, they'll start playing to win. In fact, they might start playing to win if they get pissed off enough at themselves for repeatedly playing not to lose: They either need a breakthrough playoff-series win, or to wake up, and say, "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore."

Think of all the teams that don't even make the playoffs, and don't have the playoff experience that the Caps do - they have further to go (in theory).

As you know, I'm no expert, but I know sports, and the Caps - from all I read - have a solid foundation, and have just one psychological hurdle to clear. They're solid contenders, and their opponents don't look past them - that's something to be proud of.

Or, in another scenario, you need the opponent to beat themselves.  The best example of this in my lifetime was the 1986 Stanley Cup playoffs.  Throughout the 80s it was said that the Calgary Flames would have done much better in the playoffs if they weren't in the Smythe Division.  In the majority of those years they had to get past the powerhouse Edmonton Oilers in the 1st or 2nd round.  In 1986, they won their series against the Oilers due to an Oilers' own goal (seriously, to this day I can't watch it).  That year the Flames won the Stanley Cup against Montreal, and that is the only Cup they have (they made it to the finals in 1989 and lost to Montreal but never played Edmonton because LA took care of them in the 1st round).

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1 hour ago, lovehockey said:

Or, in another scenario, you need the opponent to beat themselves.  The best example of this in my lifetime was the 1986 Stanley Cup playoffs.  Throughout the 80s it was said that the Calgary Flames would have done much better in the playoffs if they weren't in the Smythe Division.  In the majority of those years they had to get past the powerhouse Edmonton Oilers in the 1st or 2nd round.  In 1986, they won their series against the Oilers due to an Oilers' own goal (seriously, to this day I can't watch it).  That year the Flames won the Stanley Cup against Montreal, and that is the only Cup they have (they made it to the finals in 1989 and lost to Montreal but never played Edmonton because LA took care of them in the 1st round).

To carry this analogy over into the sport I know best (tennis), it takes supreme confidence and determination to "hunker down" and allow nothing on Earth to force you to make a mistake. Think of people like Björn Borg, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, or, if your knowledge runs deeper, Harold Solomon (who played for my high school - we had a better record when I was Captain :)), Eddie Dibbs, Kent Carlsson (not Kent Carlson!), and Thomas Muster - they'd hustle and run down *everything* until their opponents missed. Is this the natural way to play for the Caps? 

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First preseason game tonight!  A chance to get a look at the young blood vying for all the open spots on the roster.  Sorry to see some of the vets go due to expansion & salary cap constraints, but it's an exciting time to see who will be able to capture spots in the line-up.

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So last night clinched first place in the Metropolitan Division and we beat the evil flightless birds to do it.  Grubauer in goal has been exceptional.  This save was a thing of beauty (Video on nhl.com - best replay is at 39 seconds)

For a team that, at the beginning of the season, was said to have perhaps a shot at a wild card berth, to now top the division with 4 games left to play, is amazing.  

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Here we go again!  Grubauer in goal for the first game v.Columbus, and he's earned it.  Hopefully he remains the hot hand and they don't start ping-ponging between goalies if the wheels start falling off.

Caps fans, publicly:

"This is exactly where the team wants to be, coming off a season of low expectations yet winning the division without much drama.  Playing well and not coasting into the playoffs.  Momentum means something!  Without the weight of the numbers favorite this really could be their year to play loose and let the talent shine through.

Caps fans, privately:

giphy.gif

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The Caps are defeating themselves with stupidity, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.  

According to the pundits back in October, they shouldn't have even made the playoffs this season.  Watching these two games almost makes me wish they hadn't, when witnessing such idiotic penalties that handed the game over to CBJ.

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1 hour ago, weezy said:

The Caps are defeating themselves with stupidity, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.  

According to the pundits back in October, they shouldn't have even made the playoffs this season.  Watching these two games almost makes me wish they hadn't, when witnessing such idiotic penalties that handed the game over to CBJ.

The more things change ...

You have to give Columbus credit, though.  That Game 1 OT winner was a thing of beauty, and the winner last night was some combination of dumb luck and stunning, one-handed athleticism.  I was only able to watch the end (basically from Oshie's equalizer on), but at least they looked to be pressuring for most of OT.  It only takes one mistake.

Of course why they've even been to OT in either of these games is the point.

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19 minutes ago, TedE said:

The more things change ...

You have to give Columbus credit, though.  That Game 1 OT winner was a thing of beauty, and the winner last night was some combination of dumb luck and stunning, one-handed athleticism.  I was only able to watch the end (basically from Oshie's equalizer on), but at least they looked to be pressuring for most of OT.  It only takes one mistake.

Of course why they've even been to OT in either of these games is the point.

OT was stellar...well, except for the fact we didn't score.  The second period blew chunks.  Why the Caps can't keep the gas on and deliver a demoralizing defeat is beyond me.  As soon as they would get a lead, they would slow down, and a slow heavy game means that CBJ gets more opportunities, which they capitalized on.    

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Great game last night to tie the series, good speed, good decisions, no idiotic penalities all game long.  However, Oshie is looking likes he's playing more hurt than is typical for playoff hockey and I hope he can last through the series.  And as well as they played last night, I wonder if this level is good enough to beat the 2nd round teams?  Won't know until we get there.

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20 hours ago, weezy said:

Well, when we beat CBJ, we're going to have to face the Penguins.  I hope this old story gets a new ending.

Going 1-1 in playoff hockey isn't *that* bad!

Yes, I know about Pittsburgh in previous years, but this will all even out in the long run (says the Clemson grad, whose basketball team is 0-59 when playing at the University of North Carolina).

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With the Pens, it's not 1-1.  From Wikipedia

The Pittsburgh PenguinsWashington Capitals rivalry was an inter-division rivalry from 1993 to 2013, and intradivisional the other seasons.[42] In total, the two teams have met ten times in the playoffs. Despite trailing in 8 of the 10 series, Pittsburgh has won all but the 1994 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals where they were heavily favored. The teams first met in the 1991 Patrick Division Finals, when the Penguins defeated the Capitals in 5 en route to capturing the Stanley Cup. In fact, all five Stanley Cups won by Pittsburgh have included a round against Washington

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Fourth time's the charm (this era)? I've seen this story so many times before, and yet somehow there's always still hope...

Great series win though, the PK and Holtby were locked in. Just need to stay out of the box next round (extra challenging with the typical Pens series refs) and stay aggressive. The Penguins' D and goaltending are as vulnerable as I've ever seen them, but if we get the lead I'm terrified of the inevitable turtling and "bad luck" goals to follow. Just stay consistent and play your game boys. One of these days...

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4 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

This is where it all evens out over the long-term. The Penguins could easily win this year, once again, but that means nothing: It's playoff hockey.

I like taking the long view too, but the 9-1 all-time series record is pretty painful. Hoping this is the start of a really good 30 year stretch against them 😁

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13 hours ago, Shaho said:

Fourth time's the charm (this era)? I've seen this story so many times before, and yet somehow there's always still hope...

Great series win though, the PK and Holtby were locked in. Just need to stay out of the box next round (extra challenging with the typical Pens series refs) and stay aggressive. The Penguins' D and goaltending are as vulnerable as I've ever seen them, but if we get the lead I'm terrified of the inevitable turtling and "bad luck" goals to follow. Just stay consistent and play your game boys. One of these days...

I'm hoping they learned their lesson about turtling after the two home losses to CBJ when they got up 2 goals and still managed to lose.  It was great to see them keep their foot down and continue to be aggressive when they got the lead last night, although their puck clearing in the 3rd period was looking mighty weak against a desperate CBJ team even at 5 on 5, and of course worse when CBJ pulled Bob.

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