New Year, Same Result Caps

So the Washington Capitals season ended yet again with a whimper.  After rallying from 30th in the league to win the Southeast Division, the Caps fell to the New York Rangers in 7 games after leading the series 2-0.  It was just another failure in what has become a regular occurrence with the Caps.

The Caps were shut out the final two games of the series.  There was very little offense.  Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Johansson, the Caps top line, were virtually non-existant in the last 2 games.  Braden Holtby was good in net at times, but at others let in some very soft goals. 


Here are my player grades for the playoffs.

Holtby:  B-.  He played well in games 1, 2, 5, and 6.  He was less than stellar in games 3, 4, and 7.
Green:  B-.  Green had flashes of brilliance and his play led to the GWG goal in game 5.  His defense was lacking at times.
Alzner:  B-.  Nothing good or bad to say about Alzner.  He quietly did his job.
Fehr:  C.  Played hard, wasn't rewarded for his good play.
Wilson:  C.  The experience is good for him.  Just didn't get a lot of ice time to try much.
Ovechkin:  C-.  Scored in game 1, hit plenty of Rangers, but looked terrible in games in NY.  Needed to be a better leader for the team.
Beagle:  D.  Didn't do much.
Hillen:  D.  Meh.
Olesky:  D.  Meh as well.
Hendricks:  D-.  Probably gone in the off season.
Backstrom:  F.  Completely disappeared in the playoffs.  Very disappointing.
Brouwer:  F.  Talks the big talk, but didn't deliver.
Johansson:  F.  Aside from game 1 goal, terrible.
Carlson:  F.  Terrible series.  "Captain America" did not play well at all.
Erskine:  F.  Several gaffes and lack of speed led to goals for NY.
Erat:  F.  I hope mortgaging the team's future was worth it.
Chimera:  F.  Looks like he's lost a step.
Ward:  F.  Aside from his game 5 goal, was pretty much invisible.

I guess it's til next year.  There are a lot of questions to answer.  My predictions:

1.  Caps will not re-sign Ribeiro.  He will get a decent pay day.
2.  Brooks Laich will return healthy.
3.  Tom Poti will retire.
4.  Jeff Schultz will start next season in Hershey.
5.  Johansson will not get a significant raise.
6.  Ovechkin will lead the league in goals again.
7.  Caps will trade at least one of their goalies.  My guess is Neuvirth.
8.  Matt Hendricks will sign elsewhere.
9.  Joel Ward will be bought out or released by using one of the amnesty releases.
10.  Tom Wilson will start the season in Hershey but be with the Caps by December.



Until next year, Caps.

Boston

Now almost two weekends ago I went to Boston with my hockey team to play in a tournament.  With the events of the week prior we figured everyone would be on edge.  I was hoping for a fun weekend. 

I had volunteered to drive up equipment bags and sticks for guys that were flying.  I rented a van Thursday, somehow managed to get eight bags in without killing anything or anybody, and drove to my place in NY for the night.  Friday morning I got up and drove towards Mass, picking up 3 guys from the airport, checking into the hotel, and then heading to the rink. 

Our first game was against a team from Quebec.  It was evident in the first two minutes this was going to be a very long tournament.  They were definitely faster, stronger, and just all around better hockey players.  But they were very cordial.  They respected us and the game.  We lost to them 8-2.  With only 2 hours between games, we settled into the cafe at the rink for some beverages and light snacks.  Game two wasn't much better.  We were dead tired already and playing a team that hadn't seen the ice yet that day.  We ended up losing 9-1.  We headed back to the  hotel, which was 45 minutes away, and proceeded to dinner.

Saturday we got up and headed to the rink around 11.  We played a team from Ottawa.  They were definitely good, but we seemed to be better matched against them.  We lost 6-2.  With five hours between games, we settled outside the rink for beverages, food, and relaxation.  We ended up chatting with the team we had just played for a while, then headed to a pub for some food and beverages.  I ended up getting one of the biggest chicken pot pies I'd ever seen.  After eating as much as I could stomach, we headed back to the rink for game four. 

Game four was a nightmare.  By the end of the first period, it was 5-0.  We were getting shelled.  It was clear  this team was way out of our league.  After playing 3 games in 24 hours, we were bushed.  During the 2nd period, I had cleared the puck out of our zone, and was forechecking, when the defender I was chasing skated into his own zone, and deliberately put the puck in his own net.  Since I was the last one on our team to touch it, I got credit for the goal.  I was not happy.  After a few more goals against, my line found a way to score a 2nd goal, which I was credited with an assist.  The game ended 10-2.  We were officially eliminated from the tournament.  Somehow we didn't mind.

We went out Saturday night, first to the Barking Crab, then to Cambridge Brewing Co.  Both places were excellent. 

Sunday morning the guys I was driving around decided to change their flights to the morning, so after taking them to the airport, I decided to go down to Copley Square.  I had mixed feelings about going.  I wasn't sure it was proper, since it was the site of the bombings just two weeks earlier.  Part of me felt bad, but part of me decided it was part of history and I wanted to go pay my respects.  I'm glad I did.  It was a perfect day in Boston, people were out, and people were busy paying their respects.  The memorial was amazing.  Notes of encouragement were left from cities all over the world.  News crews were still doing reports.  Strangers were comforting each other.  It was definitely a sight to see.

All in all, it was a fun, good weekend.  It was exhausting, but it was worth it.  I had a great time with my teammates.