I've had my hockey spirit revived a bit in the last day or two, despite the fact that the Caps continue to hang on tight to that last place spot. I'm starting to feel weirdly optimistic that they can snap out of this and I have no idea why, but I'm also just remembering why I love hockey. It's amazing what a night of good, intense, Canadian hockey will do for your outlook on life, isn't it?
For starters, I got to watch an absolutely hysterical Habs-Bruins game last night, one that started out as a well-played, evenly matched game and dissolved into a march to the penalty box. I know, I know, fighting isn't hockey and it's the downfall of the NHL and blah blah blah...but it was funny, and anyone who watched it can back me up.
At one point the Montreal coaching staff was alerting the refs to their "unhappiness", and Carbonneau actually physically pulled Kirk Muller back so he wouldn't say enough to get a penalty...or so he wouldn't sock the ref in the mouth, it was hard to tell. Muller and Claude Julien then began yapping at each other a la Hartley and Hanlon last season, which made me laugh for a number of reasons. Montreal finished the game on a seemingly endless power play (thanks to Chara being...Chara) and won 7-4. Good stuff.
After the Habs came my other secondary team, Calgary, taking on the mighty Oilers in round three of the Battle of Alberta. These games are always fun despite the standings, with the energy and excitement you would expect out of a division matchup (not the kind you see when the Caps and Panthers face off).
The first period alone was played at a breathless pace, and the whole game was great - made even greater by the fact that my Flames pulled out a win and looked confident and tight doing so. This is a team that was recently mired in a 5 game losing streak, folks. Things can turn around just that quickly, don't lose hope.
And then comes the news out of practice today that Alexander Semin is reportedly 100% and will be in the lineup tomorrow night barring any unforeseen circumstances. Is he the magic tonic that will heal this team and propel them back to the top of the pack where they belong?
...probably not. But his return should hopefully spark a little offense, which, let's face it, could use more than a spark - it could use a bonfire.
I'm not going to lie, I absolutely adore Alexander Semin and can't wait to see him back out there. I know that there are many around here who don't get that and who question my sanity, but I can't help it. I love the way he plays. I love his slapshot, his wrister, his backhand...his ability to dance through defenders like they were standing still and his inability to complete a pass...his feistiness and his laziness...the way he follows Ovechkin around like a puppy dog...all part of the Alex 2.0 that I love, and I don't think I should have to apologize for that. Glad to see him healthy and ready to go.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
A Return to Optimism
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Game Diary: Caps-Flames
Caps @ Calgary 10/30/06
Capitals 4-3-4, Flames 3-6-1
In goal: Olie Kolzig (WSH), Miikka Kiprusoff (CGY)
Tonight’s Drinking game: Six Degrees of Calgary
Watch along at home
This will be my first foray into the boredom-induced attempt at injecting a little hockey into the long and painful summer. I hope to provide you, the lucky reader, with a snapshot of what it's like to watch a game with me, the crazy blogger. What follows is a combination of my usual thoughts and the things I would say out loud during your average game, so like I said before, be afraid...be very afraid. Proceed at your own risk.
This game marks the last game of the Caps’ west coast road trip, which they finished with a record of 2-1-1. After playing Calgary they don’t leave the Eastern time zone again for the rest of the season. Not that it helps them at all.
Some things to watch for: 1) The Z’s. No, not sleep...Zednik and Zubrus, who actually put together decent games and 2) The Calgary Connection. Every player on the Caps has some connection to Calgary, Alberta, or the Western Hockey League, if you listen to the announcers. Hence tonight’s drinking game – drink whenever they name-drop!
FIRST PERIOD
19:51 An early flurry by Ovechkin/Zubrus/Clark finishes with Green shooting the puck...directly at Ovie. He’s down, he’s up, play continues and we have our first forehead-slapping moment.
19:33 Apparently Greenie is a former Saskatoon Blade and Calgary native...I sense a trend coming on.
18:49 Laich starts the rush up ice but forgets the puck. Oops. I think we may have pinned down our little lack of scoring problem.
18:05 Hey, it's Jeff Friesen! Why’d we let him go again? I ponder this as he leads the offensive rush into the zone and promptly turns the puck over at the line. Oh, that's right. I remember now.
17:59 Phaneuf lines up Beech, who wisely flies through the air out of the way. Maybe the last smart move made by Beechie last season.
17:49 Shane Morrisonn? No. Shaone. “Sean”. Check your pronunciation guides, boys.
17:30 They say Heward spent a number of years in Calgary with the Canadian National Team. Fascinating stuff, isn't it? I don't miss Joe B. and Locker at all. (And drink.)
17:18 Gordon, former Red Deer Rebel. Drink.
15:59 There is some discussion of Brian Pothier’s name, and I quote: “It’s an English [sic], Pothier, you can trace his roots back to England.” “Vermont, I believe, correct?” “Yes.” Huh? Right, that charming English village of...Vermont.
15:43 Pettinger, former member of the Calgary Hitmen. Drink.
15:03 Zubrus shoots the puck in the slot and actually hit the net! Kipper makes the save, though – damn goalies, always getting in the way.
14:55 Zubie draws two flames and makes them run into each other instead of him. Heeee...okay, I'm going to miss him a little.
13:53 Oh, I forgot, this is when Clymer was still on defense. Ouch. No. Just...no. Ben, you know I love you but defense? Not so much. Stick to the wing like a good boy.
13:12 Laich turns over the puck for the second time. And then the third.
12:07 Semin with a sick move to set up Beech (former Hitmen – drink)...and naturally Beech shanks it.
11:41 Shocking – Zubie takes a hooking penalty. We are informed that this is penalty minute 21 and 22 for Zubie, which surprisingly leads the team. Surprising, sure, but only if you don’t watch him play on a regular basis.
8:38 Semin rifles the puck towards the net but shoots it way wide. Aaaand Kipper just soiled himself a little.
7:56 At the faceoff, a Flame does a weird pencil roll move out of the circle and two Caps seem unable to get out of each other’s way. Hilarity ensues.
6:11 Laich takes a hooking penalty – he’s having a rough first period, poor little Brooksie. Meanwhile on the bench Hanlon (former WHL goalie, drinkity-drink) goes from 0 to pissed in 2.3 seconds but I have no idea why. I'm just waiting for him to break out the chicken dance.
4:42 Hey, there’s that Shane Morrisonn guy again. Yeah, that’s going to bug me.
4:03 The penalty expires and then a bad change by the Caps leads to another Calgary flurry during which Muir tackles Olie. What play did they diagram for that move? "Hey, Bryan - when the Flames start to create chances just tackle your own goaltender...it'll really freak 'em out."
3:20 Ovie moves around Amonte as though he were standing still. Which, let’s face it, he probably was.
1:34 Somehow Heward ends up leading the offensive zone attack. All I can think is, for the love of god, Jamie, pass it to someone else and get back! He hears me and wisely looks to do just that...oops, wrong team. Well, red jersey, white jersey, they all look the same.
0:00 Pretty even period, neither team looks spectacular. Could it be the lack of intensity created by the weird scheduling? Naaaah.
SECOND PERIOD
18:49 Dion takes down Zed, who sits down on his rump rather gracefully to draw the penalty. Questionable call, but I’ll take it.
16:49 0 for 1. Who says our power play needs work?
16:38 Clymer on D. Ouch again. I had blocked it out but it all just came screaming back.
13:59 Pettinger takes his favorite (and my least favorite) shot from the circle and Kipper as always makes the save. Matt, crash the freakin’ net – those shots never go in for you!
13:11 Huselius makes it 1-0 with a goal from the high slot. Laich skates right by him, Clymer is motionless in front of the net...*sigh* rough night for two of my faves. This goal prompts the “duh” moment of the night from the Calgary commentator: “The Washington Capitals defensively aren’t as good as they are offensively."
I’ll let that insightful comment sink in for a moment...and we’re back to live action.
12:23 Just as the play by play guys are complimenting the second period play of the Friesen-Nilsson-Amonte line, Friesen shows off his defensive prowess by slashing Clarkie’s stick. Power play Caps.
12:10 Kipper does a backbend over the top of the goal to snag a Pothier dump-in out of the air. Okay, I guess he’s a fairly good goalie.
11:59 But not good enough – Zubie collects the rebound from a point shot, curls and drags it around the fallen Kipper, and just like that it’s 1-1. Ovie almost pushes Zubrus through the boards with his celebratory hug.
11:39 First shift after the goal and Hanlon puts out the 4th line for some reason, Brashear-Gordon-Zednik. Ooookay. Result? Zed takes a holding penalty. Way to carry the momentum for exactly 3.2 seconds, guys. Just absolutely beaming with pride over here.
10:24 Calgary gets a shot on goal on the power play. Only took them three tries.
7:15 Huselius flips over Zubie’s back at center ice. The play by play guy thinks its Ovie – “that’s what is neat about this young guy, he is as physical as he is talented with the puck.” True. But that was Zubrus – not sure that statement would work the same way.
• Ha! At the stoppage the other play by play guy almost rubs in his partner's mistake – “pretty hard to tell, 9 looks like an 8.” Uh-huh. Black on white can be awfully hard to read, I agree.
6:28 Wait, wait! A good Laich-Clymer sequence! Laich wins a battle behind the net, gets puck to Clymer at the point, Clymer misses the net...but still, yay!
5:38 Semin and Ovie wreaking havoc. (Beech is out there too, but I think he was hanging out along the boards picking daisies.)
4:07 Zednik scores on a wraparound, his first of the season to make it 2-1 Caps. Wooo!
3:40 Tanguay takes a penalty for holding and on the power play Zednik makes a gorgeous between the legs backhand pass (I know, stop fainting) out to Zubrus, who shoots it while diving across the slot....clank. *Sigh* Zubie.
2:32 Warrener takes a cross-checking minor, 5-on-3 for 1:10. Where’s the timeout? Where’s the timeout? There we go. Thanks, Hanlon. (By the way, Dean Evason is a former coach of the Calgary Hitmen. Drinky-poo.) Pothier FIRES...and misses the net. He gets it back again, FIRES...clank. *Sigh* Potsy.
1:59 Pettinger does some excellent penalty killing work for the Flames by taking a charging penalty.
1:38 Kipper makes a fantastic glove save on a phantom puck. Too bad the real one grazed his glove and bounced into the corner. Hey, he fooled me for a second – how very A-Rod of him.
0:32 Shane’s back again. Can’t get rid of that guy.
• Wow. Andrew Ference. Hello.
...ahem. Where was I?
0:00 The Caps have a lead after two. What’s not to like?
THIRD PERIOD
19:46 Hey, Clarkie’s a former Flame? Who knew? (Driiiiink.)
18:40 Whoa, scary moment in front of the net – Olie didn’t know where the puck was and Muir was lurking. Hang on, I need to breathe into a paper bag...okay, we're good. Carry on.
• After some requisite bellyaching about the unbalanced schedule and lack of travel by the commentators, we resume play. (Uh...who just won the Cup? Yeah, that’s what I thought.)
12:55 The Flames start to buzz and naturally Semin goes off for hooking. Lazy ass.
12:36 Question - if Sutherby and Iginla line up for the faceoff...and you say that Sutsy loses the draw...is it necessary to also say that Iginla won it? Isn’t that just common sense? No? Okay.
10:29 Another faceoff with Zubie flopping around oddly on the ice at the faceoff dot. The man’s a born center, and don't let anyone tell you different.
9:38 That Shane guy blocks a shot. Zubie gets the rebound and breaks Zednik out of the zone, who scores his second of the night (and pushes Kipper into the net for good measure). 3-1 Caps.
• We are treated to some footage of Olie scoring a goal in 1989 with Tri-City. Apparently when he first came up to the NHL he got sent down a lot because he couldn’t control his temper, whacked guys with his stick, etc. Olie? Temper? Our Olie? Nah...
8:26 Zednik tries for the hat trick. You know, I think this may have been that elusive good game he had with the Caps. It’s like discovering the Holy Grail or something.
7:51 Bad defensive play (wha???) leads to an Iginla breakaway and obviously an Iginla goal. 3-2 and the Saddledome is rockin’.
7:16 Heward makes a great defensive play by hiding the puck in his jersey. Hope he taught that move to the youngsters before the Caps shipped him out to LA.
6:09 Hamrlik called for holding. Zednik draws the penalty. Fans shower the refs with chants of “Bullsh*t”. I heart hockey.
5:12 Three times now the play by play team has referred to “the young Russian” when both Alexes have been on the ice. I’m thoroughly confused.
1:15 Ovie gets open and blazes a shot over Kipper. You know, it’s funny – in Canada you get the feeling that the crowd is always torn between wanting to see Ovie do something spectacular and not wanting him to score on their team. These people really love hockey, folks.
1:05 Empty net
0:18 Clark with a tremendous individual effort to break out of the zone and takes out a defenseman, allowing Zubrus to collect the puck and score on the empty net. Dion angrily whacks at the puck and almost takes out the ref with his stick. Easy, boy.
FINAL SCORE: Caps 4, Flames 2
There you have it...how'd I do?
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Round 1 Playoff Pool Champion REVEALED
Now the moment you've all been waiting for - it's time to announce our first round winner in the 2007 Blogger Playoff Pool!
Wait, wait, stop the drums. What is this I see? Two winners? That's unpossible!
And yet, that's what happened. You see, I had a tiebreaker built in for exactly this occasion, and...it backfired. Turns out I needed a tiebreaker for the tiebreaker. What are the odds, right?
Okay, kick up the drums again.
We kick off the second round tomorrow night and all 34 poolers' picks will be available right here for your perusal and general entertainment, so be sure to stop by and see everyone's predictions.
Oh, and for anyone who wonders if I tried to rig this thing in my favor...I finished 30th. Out of 34 players. Yay.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
What the...?
Seriously, where are the Flames? Where is that plucky team of guys that wouldn't be denied back in 2004? Where is the club that saw the Avs clawing away behind them and responded with a string of wins, including 4 straight on the road and even one in the shootout???
The team that has taken the ice for these first two games in the Joe is not the same team by any stretch. It's hard to pin down what the problem is - could it be that Iginla's leadership isn't igniting enough of a fire under their butts? Is it the lack of discipline and urgency in their game? Or is it just the fact that coach Jim Playfair looks like he's sleeping behind the bench.?
I'm going with the third option for now, only because it's the easiest place to point. And the fact remains that if Iggy isn't getting the troops fired up and the team has no urgency, lack of coaching could be the problem. Let's face it, the Flames just seemed to have a spark when Sutter was manning the helm, and they really haven't been the same since he stepped back to a purely GM role.
So. 51-15.
That's the shots on goal differential from this afternoon's Detroit-Calgary game. That brings the total shots through two games up to 97-35. 97-35 and we still have at least two more games to play. Honestly, Hasek has to be one of the most overrated goaltenders in the league and there's no need for the Flames to make ol' Grampa Simpson look better than he actually is. You don't shoot, you don't score. Period. (Thus endeth Hockey 101...)
Tuesday night the series swings to Pengrowth Saddledome, boisterously loud with the crazy, red-clad Albertans who will pack its stands. The Flames were dominant at home this season, winning 30 of their 41 games in the Dome including both games against Detroit. If the roar of the home crowd and the magic of being in Calgary doesn't pick this team up, the Flames' playoff run is going to be over faster than Heather Graham's sitcom career.
*Sigh* go flames go...
Saturday, April 07, 2007
High Hopes, Shattered Dreams and the End of the Line (Part 1)
I'm reeling a bit - my emotions have been all over the map today and its hard to rein them all in and focus them in such a way that other people know what I'm talking about. I feel like I've experienced almost everything there was to experience as a hockey fan in such a short span of time that my brain is struggling to comprehend it all.
First the Caps-related portion of our afternoon. Facing Buffalo, they not only lose but fail to score a single goal in their final game of the season. Not throughly unexpected given the opponent (and given the home team, for that matter) but I'll admit there was a part of me that hoped the Caps would pull out something spectacular as a sort of thank you - something that would resonate much louder than just a jersey or a signed puck.
The game concludes with the fan appreciation presentation, where the players express their thanks to the fans for sticking with them. It's something I always wait around for, because win or lose, playoffs or no playoffs, this is my team. I know why they struggled and I'm willing to show my gratitude for the effort they gave this season, no matter how often it may have fallen short. As the jerseys are presented I applaud each player in turn, from Bryan Muir to Alex Ovechkin and everyone in between.
I'm momentarily taken back at the apparent light mood among the players before I remember that their season has really been over for a while. Not only that, but you can see that these guys genuinely have fun together - and after all, it's just a game. Tomorrow they'll get up and go about their day, some returning to Hershey for the playoffs, others preparing for their trip to Moscow, and many more returning to their summer homes to relax and regroup. The sting of this season is probably overshadowed at this point by relief that it is over and next year can only be better - a sentiment I'm sure many of us fans share as well.
I'm always sad at this time of year. Inevitably the roster in place for the last game of the season will not match the roster for opening day in the fall, so I try and take it all in. The horn sounds announcing the end of the first period, then the end of the second, and suddenly there are only 20 minutes remaining in that season. The last playing of The Hockey Song, the final Mites on Ice game, one more swing around the arena with the Kiss Cam, and that's it. The jerseys are handed out and the speeches made, and the arena empties out for the final time until the fall.
Then there was the happy part of the day, and that was celebrating our up and down season with other Caps' bloggers, fans, guests, family and friends. [Special thanks to the boys at Japers' Rink for pulling this whole thing together in such a short time - great work, guys!]
We drank a toast to the Caps and promised each other that next year would be better. We picked out the free agents we wanted and made our playoff predictions. We chatted about hockey, the Washington Nationals, life in general...then waved goodbye, drained our glasses, and headed out into the chilly April day to resume our lives away from Verizon Center.
(I got a little wordy here, so - To be continued...)
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Burn Baby, Burn
I hope you don't mind if I take a moment to talk about another team other than the Caps this morning. I mean, let's face it - there won't be much to talk about regarding our boys until at least July 1.
Okay. They might win a game or two between now and the end of the season.
Meh. It could happen.
Anyways...don't worry, I'm not going to talk about the Habs, at least not right now. I get the distinct feeling that, from the lack of response I get whenever I talk about Les Canadiens, you all couldn't care less (although that's not going to completely dissuade me...you just get a reprieve for today). So instead l'll discuss a team that Washingtonians probably care even less about - the Calgary Flames.
I have kind of adopted the Flames as my third team in the last few years. I'll be honest, before their surprising 2004 playoff run I really knew very little about them. Yet I don't consider myself a bandwagon fan, not really. I remember being in Canada and watching their first round series against the Vancouver Canucks, and there was just something about this team. They reminded me of the kind of Caps team I loved watching - tenacious, hard-working, tight knit...just so much fun to root for.
That first series was one of those that becomes embedded in the memory for the complete playoff essence it carries with it. Every penalty is do or die, every shot dead on, every check followed through. I couldn't tell you who scored the second goal in the third game or who led each team in ice time in game four. I couldn't tell you what was the momentum-swinger for each match. I really could have picked either team to fall in love with for the pure grit and entertainment value that was brought to the ice each game. But I always had a soft spot for Jarome Iginla and I have an even bigger soft spot for underdog teams, so Calgary it was.
I didn't think they would win that round. No one thought they would win that round. But they did, and it kind of cemented them in my mind as my Western Conference choice. Bear in mind, that same year saw the Habs storm back to defeat Boston in 7 games, another upset, so I was flying high - in my little world of completely warped reality I envisioned these two underdog teams racing through the rest of the postseason, their run culminating in an epic battle for the Cup.
Well, it didn't exactly happen that way. Montreal lost to eventual Cup winners the Lightning in round 2 and just like that my entire focus shifted to a highly entertaining Flames team. The icing on the cake for me was their second round defeat of the Red Wings (but lets be honest, isn't any Red Wings defeat an icing moment?) and I was hooked. I loved Jarome Iginla, naturally, and was amazed by Miika Kiprusoff, naturally. But what I loved about that Flames team were the gritty, character guys that I love to this day - Conroy, Warrener, Regehr, and of course, our very own Chris Clark.
Watching them race through the Sharks in the Conference Finals, I had the feeling shared by every Flames fan across Calgary - they could really win this, the whole thing. It was possible. They played what still in my mind was one of the greatest Stanley Cup Finals I've ever seen, culminating in a breathtaking game 7 that unfortunately went the wrong way. But I didn't stop following the Flames when the season ended or when the lockout froze the hockey world in a kind of suspended animation. I watched them fall to the still-Mighty Ducks in the first round of the 2006 playoffs, and I've continued to keep my eye on them even while being completely absorbed in a Caps-Habs world.
It's been an interesting voyage this season, not unlike that of a Caps fan for all its ups and downs. The Flames, while dominant at home, have proven to be on par with our own homebodies in their lack of effectiveness on the road. Their inability to win in the shootout has also hampered their advance. Still, they've hung in there for most of the year, hovering among the middle to bottom of the Western Conference standings. The return of Craig Conroy and a few other trades have bolstered the lineup for the stretch run.
They've recently had a bit of a scare as Colorado has decided to start playing hockey right about the time everyone had counted them out, and the Flames are having to look over their shoulders a bit. A once gaping lead over the Avs has become a much slimmer margin that peaked at just 5 points, and they remain the only Western Conference team that has yet to clinch a playoff spot. They've responded well, though, winning four straight overall and two straight on the road including one elusive shootout win against Minnesota to regain a more comfortable (but still not cozy) 7 point cushion.
Tonight Iggy and the boys take on the Wild for the second half of a two game series and the final game of the eight between these division rivals. The Flames look to extend their road-winning streak to three games, their first such streak since March of 2004, and will be watching the scoreboard as the Avs and Coyotes battle later tonight in the desert. It's one of those storylines that, while not filled with as much intrigue or as many scenarios as the Eastern Conference playoff battle, is still thrilling to watch and could go down to the wire. Go Flames Go!
[Feel better, HG :) ]
