- I had a comment from Victor earlier today about the recent increase in PIMs for the Caps since the Thrashers game and whether that would lead to the Caps being perceived as goons. I started to respond but it got really long, so I figured it was worthy of opening it up to discussion as a post.
This is actually something I was thinking about recently - the fact that there seems to be a fight per game since that Atlanta game is very strange if you look at the numbers from the first part of the season and then stats from recent games. Fighting majors have dramatically increased; when even Ovechkin has one (as trumped up as it was) you know something is different.
However, it’s hard to say that they’re going to be seen as goons just because of that. If you think about it, the Thrashers game is really a benchmark for the team chemistry that has been building up all season. Events like that, as many of the players commented afterwards, can only serve to bring a team closer together. As a result they’re quicker to jump to a teammate’s aid - I would say that a good portion of the fights since then have been caused by guys sticking up for one another. Let’s face it, you don’t get someone like Brooks Laich dropping the gloves just for the heck of it.
The problems are the fights that start for no apparent reason, and a buildup of those can lead to being perceived as the second coming of the Charlestown Chiefs.
Take, for example, the fights in the Anaheim game last week. There were two in the first period – that between two teams who really have no history, no bitterness (with the exception of the AHL playoffs last year, but considering the combatants I doubt that was a factor). But this was rare for the Caps – almost every other fight before and since was started in defense of a teammate, and I have to admire that.
And to me, the teams that I see as tending towards the ‘goonish’ are teams that not only fight for no reason, but also take a lot of cheap shot penalties – your boarding, charging, cross-checking, elbowing calls. These are usually common among bigger, slower teams that have no other way to catch up with or shut down the faster teams in the league other than to take someone's head off.
If you look at a breakdown of the Caps penalties, the majority of them are your garden variety penalties usually taken to prevent a scoring chance or as part of a scramble for the puck along the boards – hooking, holding, the occasional slash, etc. Mix in a couple of assorted favorites such as too many men or delay of game and you have the Caps penalty scorecard. Mild-mannered as they come...unless you take a run at one of their teammates, that is.
Hopefully the refs will remain objective and not pin a label on the Caps just yet – after all, in my opinion they’re simply taking care of what many times the officials did not. Thoughts?
- If you haven’t already read it, be sure to read the great Pettinger profile on WashingtonCaps.com. You know, somehow I forgot that Petty’s only been up with the big boys for a short time, really just two full seasons. For some reason it feels like he’s been around a lot longer, which I think speaks volumes to his role on the team. Regardless, it’s no secret that I loved his performance last year and have been over the moon with what he’s done this year (minus that brief adjustment period after his injury). He’s a player I would love to see in a Caps uniform for years to come and I thought this was just a great look at a great player.
Ah, Mike Vogel strikes again...see, he has the resources (and, y'know, the talent) to do really interesting things when the schedule lags. All I can do is link to his work and wait for gameday...
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Goonies Never Say Die...Neither does Matt P.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Don't Believe the Hype
Earlier today I stopped by Southeast Shootout and watched the little YouTube clip about the Caps-Thrashers game, which kept cutting off with about 10 seconds left. So, assuming it was another fan creation, I laughed it off and went on with my day.
After returning home, I found an e-mail from the Atlanta Thrashers (I had signed up as a Blueland Insider or whatever their registered content is called) heralding the match:
There is no love lost between the Thrashers and Washington following Atlanta's 4-2 win last month. In a closely contested game, tensions erupted in the final minutes resulting in ten fighting majors, seven game misconducts, and three suspensions. The Thrashers are 4-0 against the division rival this season, but the physical battles have required overtime twice and a shootout once. Don't miss a play as the action heats up on Dec. 15 [...]It also shows a video player which when you click on it, takes you to their website...where I found the YouTube clip. By the way, if you haven't seen it, it'll definitely want to make you go out there and smack some Thrashers around yourself - very "Thrashers are angelic, Caps are evil" vibe going on.
So this is how they sell tickets down south? Mr. Bettman won't like that. What's more, if the SeSo gang is correct in their assumption (or if I am) this could even constitute as false advertising...
Bad little Thrashers. Get 'em, Gary.
Friday, December 08, 2006
Lunchtime Musings
You have to love the unbiased coverage (yay, opposite day!) and crazy hype that is leading up to the Caps-Pens showdown Monday night, or as I'm sure Mr. Commissioner would like me to refer to it, the Ovechkin-Crosby showdown.
Take this into consideration - the Caps play two games between now and then, one of those against the best team in the league right now. The Penguins also play once more, Saturday night against the Thrashers (there's a battle between evil and evil if ever I saw one...). Of course, I'm not complaining - any coverage of Ovechkin is good even if it's hyping a game against Cry-Baby and the Evil Ones...
What bugs me is the way it's being hyped. This may seem petty and small, and it probably is - but you have to understand how ultra super sensitive I am about this. I like to see balanced coverage, and in my ultra super sensitive mind, this ain't it:
- USA Today - Besides having quite possibly the least attractive pic of Ovechkin I've ever seen, this article comes across slightly pro-Crosby. Take this comparison:
Ovechkin is almost an old school player, leading his team is both goals and hits (65). Crosby has a Wayne Gretzky-like vision as a playmaker. "Ovechkin is a shoot-first kind of player. He loves to score goals," Olczyk said. "Sidney thinks pass first, but he has a (shot) release that is as quick as anyone in the league."
Basically Ovie is good, but Sid the Kid has it all...and what's with no quotes from Ovie in the entire article? I know he's not as well-spoken in English, but he's always quotable. - CBC.ca - Ah, those lovable Canadians. This one starts out better, with quotes from both sides...but that lovefest at the end with the "talented youngster rollcall" in Pittsburgh made me want to throw up a little. After all as Ovie points out, "[w]e have a couple of guys, too."
- NHL.com1 and NHL.com2 - These are actually pretty balanced, well done NHL. Even I can't find something offensive and biased here, and I can do that with almost anything. For a minute I was upset because Crosby was pictured first, but...yeah, I know. It's sad.
I know to the average fan these all may seem like nice little pieces - to me, though, I see the Crosby-love and it drives me up a wall. I've got my anti-Caps radar on heightened alert at all times, and it's my job to, well, make you hate Crosby and realize he's not as good as everyone thinks.
No, that's not true. My hatred of Crosby is merely on principle because he wears that damn bird on his chest. Even I know that talent like Crosby's is rare, whining and diving aside. Besides, having someone in the league like him can only be good for Ovechkin - with Ovie's talent it would be easy to become complacent (although I don't think Ovie could ever be lazy). This way he's always going to have someone to be compared to and that will make him a better player in the end.
And don't get me wrong - should Crosby take off for greener pastures (ahem, Montreal) I would be forced to dote on him like I do with Ovie. He'd have to kick that smug, whiny thing he's got going first.
For now, though...blech. Stupid overrated whiny cry-baby captain of the Canadian Diving Team - we'll see you and your smug face at the Phone Booth, Monday night, 7:00 pm.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
A Few Laughs, Some Mayhem, Some Carnage
We’ve seen it happen so much over the last two seasons – there’s a hit, a scuffle, a brawl ensues, line after line goes to the penalty box or the locker room, the ice is littered with gloves and other equipment...
Suddenly fans from both towns are frantically looking at their calendars, seeking out that inevitable rematch. Dates are circled in red. Tickets are purchased in bulk. The message boards virtually explode with fans talking trash about the other team, their fans, their uniforms – anything to get the bile flowing and the adrenalin pumping. We’re all thinking that obviously after such a hate-filled, intense, boxing match-like atmosphere, the next game is going to be nuts...there won’t be a player left on the ice!
...right?
It’s something that has obviously been on a lot of Caps fans’ minds lately, I’m sure. In the next two to three weeks the Capitals will visit Atlanta and Buffalo – one team that the Caps hate, one team that hates the Caps. Common sense tells us that these two games will be filled with fighting majors and followed up with possible suspensions and fines.
And yet in recent years, the actual odds of such a thing happening in reality have diminished. Take for example the faux playoff series between the Caps and the Canes that closed out last season. They met 5 times in 2 weeks – the first two games were fairly calm, but by game 3 it looked like things were starting to ramp up. There were 4 fights spread throughout the game and lots of chippy, physical play - a natural outgrowth of seeing each other far too many times in such a close period.
We all expected game 4 to be a big one, we waited expectantly for fights to erupt, and then...nothing. Nada. Zilch. Game 5, more of the same. Close games, both one goal affairs, but nothing out of the ordinary on the penalty sheet. Clearly the NHL spoke to both teams and told them to cool it or else...makes sense, since the whole reason for the tensions can be traced back to such a weird schedule created by the NHL.
To cut back on fighting, pit the same teams against each other every night for two weeks – brilliant!
But it’s not just in the ‘new’ NHL – I’m sure you all remember that infamous game between Ottawa and Philadelphia back in ’04. A record 419 penalty minutes were handed out as every line on the ice fought, including the goalies. By the end of the game, there were maybe 4 or 5 players on each bench. Everyone was certain that the next game would be the same way, but alas, it was not to be. Maybe it was because there was a month in between games, maybe the NHL stepped in there, too...I don’t know.
It just makes me wonder if the animosity that seems to carry over from game to game isn’t felt more strongly in the stands than it is in the locker rooms. I certainly hope not – it’s not that I want to see fighting every night, especially at the extreme level that some are predicting for these upcoming games. I just want to see a little passion, a little momentum – he hit your guy, now you go hit their guy...that’s hockey. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Until then I’ll hope for the best, so get out those red pens – December 15th, Caps visit the Thrashers. December 26th, Caps in Buffalo. To quote the message boards...is it too much to ask for a little mayhem and carnage?
