(Quick note to those of you in the playoff pool. Line-ups for the first week are due by noon on Wednesday.)
This could be a long one because I'm going to do the whole Eastern Conference at once just so it all gets done before the playoffs start. (Do I really need to say, "This could be a long one?" Is it at all shocking when I talk for a really long time?)
1. MONTREAL CANADIENS
I dig the Canadiens. There's no one on their team who I hate and there are even a few people who I really like (Saku Koivu and Mike Komisarek being the big two). Classic jerseys. A real hockey tradition. And I love their crowds. It can be annoying when you're on the other side but I love how quick Montreal crowds are to express themselves and I'm not going to lie, I love the "Ole Ole" song. I find myself singing along even when they're playing against the Sabres. The Canadiens are also really, really fun to watch. I love their fast back-and-forth style and I'm in awe of their powerplay. Going into the playoffs, the Habs are my favorite on the Eastern Conference side. We'll see if it sticks.
2. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
I was born in Pittsburgh and raised by Pittsburghers. Every childhood vacation involved Pittsburgh and I still have family there. The Mario Lemieux-led Penguins were the first hockey team I was really aware of. Heck, my first jersey was a Penguins jersey (Ron Francis #10). When all is said and done, I probably should be a Penguins fan right now. Even though fate stepped in and steered me toward the team and city that has no pro sports championships instead of plenty of them (thanks, fate!), I do still have a soft spot for Pittsburgh and I do mostly like the Penguins. Now that I've managed to dig through the media hype I think Sidney Crosby really is the cat's pajamas. And I'm totally in love with Evgeni Malkin. I'm amazed at how he just took over while Crosby was out and I love his silent, slightly embarrassed smile. Part of me hopes he never learns to speak English. (Part of me believes he speaks perfect English and just chooses not to) Really, do we need to hear "We're just going to take it one game at a time" from yet another player? I think Crosby has that covered. I am decidedly pro-Penguins.
3. WASHINGTON CAPITALS
Remember how Kevin Sylvester kept saying, "All hockey fans would be happy to see the Caps in the playoffs" and other similar things? Kevin forgot to poll me. I fully acknowledge that Alexander Ovechkin is an amazingly gifted player and barring a career-ending injury or a total collapse will be one of the best players of my lifetime. But I'm just not sure how I feel about him. There are times when I get a kick out of him and there are times when I feel like he's veering awfully close to showboating. And again, while I fully acknowledge that the NHL could use a good kick of personality, that's never been my thing. I hate running backs who start dancing before they're in the end zone and defensive players who celebrate a tackle like they just won the lottery. I hate baseball players who stand at home plate and watch the ball soar over the fence. I also hit Ovechkin Overload weeks ago. And now he's dragged his team into the playoffs? The hype is about to go off the charts insane. I don't know if I can handle it.
The good news for the Caps is that I don't find the team itself particularly offensive and I don't outright hate anyone on the team. And the good news for Ovechkin (because you know he's weeping at the thought that I don't like him) is that once upon a time I refused to like Sidney Crosby because of the endless hype and adoration and what finally changed my mind was watching Sid in the playoffs last year. So I'm not completely closing the door on the Caps but right now it doesn't look good. This one could definitely go either way.
4. NEW JERSEY DEVILS
This is another team where blogging rears its head and influences my opinion. I've spent many an hour lounging around Interchangeable Parts and emailing Pookie and Schnookie, the ladies who run the joint, so I know a lot about the players on the Devils and have even come to like a few of them. If I didn't talk to Pookie and Schnookie so much I would probably never have given the Devils a second thought and might outright hate them after all the stupid shootout losses this season. But I like them okay and I love Marty Brodeur so I'll cheer for the Devils in the right situation. They're not the most exciting team to watch but I fear the Eastern Conference is going to end up being a battle of the lesser evil.
5. NEW YORK RANGERS
If this season ends with Chris Drury hoisting a Stanley Cup - and Kate and I have had endless discussions about how that might be the only way this season can end - I'm building a bunker under our apartment building. Then I'm digging underground tunnels that connect the bunker to the parking lot at work. And then I'm constructing a bubble to live in during those times I have to interact with the outside world. I'm cutting myself off from media of all kind - newspapers, magazines, sports radio, message boards, and 99.7% of the blogs I read. I will do all that and somehow, some way I'll still end up hearing about Chris Drury and how his Little League triumph prepared him for this day when he would lead the New York Rangers to the Stanley Cup and I'll still end up hearing about how the Buffalo Sabres have doomed themselves to a history of defeat and despair and Bucky Gleason will call it the Curse of Captain Clutch and in thirty years I'll be the haggard od woman with no teeth and a swarm of cats who stands at the corner outside the arena all day yelling, "CAPTAIN CLUTCH NEVER WON US NOTHING AND WASN'T VERY CLUTCH IN THE FACE-OFF CIRCLE AGAINST JASON SPEZZA!" and "THE SABRES WANTED TO MATCH BUT CAPTAIN CLUTCH WANTED TO BE A DIRTY RANGER!" and people will point and laugh and throw things. I would hope that this is a future we all want to avoid.
(Also, Jaromir Jagr? Sean Avery? Scott Gomez? It's like someone decided to dump the very douchiest of douchebags on one team. No one with a soul could possibly cheer for the Rangers.)
6. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
In the battle of Former Sabres Lost in the Last Calendar Year, Daniel Briere is the one I'd be the most okay with winning it all if you put a gun to Mark's head and made me pick one. (I asked Mark what he would say if someone put a guy to my head and told him to choose Drury, Briere, or Brian Campbell and he said, "I'd tell them to shoot you," and then attempted to justify it with, "You wouldn't want to live in a world where any of those guys won a Cup!" I can't decide if that's really sweet or really disturbing.) I think Bucky and Co. would still go crazy but maybe not quite as crazy and I like Danny enough that it wouldn't make me throw up.
That said, it's the Flyers. I wasn't in Buffalo for most of the Buffalo-Philly history but even I hate the Flyers. And even if we just go by this year, how can you cheer for the the Flyers? The gooning it up? The stupid suspensions? The horrific mishandling of concussions? How many years has this franchise taken off Simon Gagne's career already? No, I'm afraid the Flyers are unacceptable.
7. OTTAWA SENATORS
I don't hate Ottawa the way some Buffalo fans do but I don't love them enough that I don't think this whole season has been pretty hilarious. With apologies to the Senators fans who I do know, like, and respect, this season has been a delight to watch. From the day the puck dropped against the Islanders I think Sabres fans knew we were going to be in for an up and down season. The Senators went something like 15-2 to start the season. Everyone was ready to hand them the Conference title if not the Stanley Cup. Even the most pessimistic and cautious fan had to be feeling pretty good about that kind of record. And then the team just fell apart. Gloriously and spectacularly. And now they get Pittsburgh in the first round? Without Daniel Alfredsson and Mike Fisher? Oh, Ottawa. You're toast. You're toast and yes, I think it's pretty entertaining. There is some small part of me that wouldn't be opposed to the Sens winning (with Mike Fisher) some year but if they pull it off this year it'll be way too much of a feel-good story. ("The struggling Sens pull off a first round upset in the name of their fallen captain!") This year I'm pulling for the collapse to be complete. The Ottawa Senators are a living example of why maybe it was better to just miss the playoffs instead of squeaking in.
8. BOSTON BRUINS
I can't think of any players on the Bruins who really disgust me (I kind of like Zdeno Chara) but I've had my fill of them for one year. The only thing the division heavy schedule really accomplished for me was making me hate them. And not in a "I love to hate them" kind of way. More like in a "I hate them and would rather pull my toenails out with tweezers than watch them for another second" kind of way. I do not want to see this team, playing this kind of hockey win anything. Ugh.
Official picks:
MONTREAL vs. BOSTON - Montreal in 4
PITTSBURGH vs. OTTAWA - Pittsburgh in 5
WASHINGTON vs. PHILADELPHIA - Washington in 6
NEW JERSEY vs. NEW YORK - New York in 6
Showing posts with label washington capitals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label washington capitals. Show all posts
Monday, April 7, 2008
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Grow Up to Be Strong and Straight (The Title Has Very Little to Do With the Post and Nothing To Do With the Game So Don't Think About It Too Hard)
First, something I meant to include in my off-topic post a couple days ago and forgot: I want to kill every single person in that Scrabble-ROTFL commercial. The grandmother, the mother, the kids. Every. single. person.
On to the game:
- The Sabres were clearly a team missing a) their best defensive forward and b) their best defensive d-man, both of whom usually line up across from Alexander Ovechkin. Jochen Hecht and Henrik Tallinder are exactly the kind of players who get overlooked by people outside of Buffalo - if not by people in Buffalo sometimes - but when they're gone, they leave a hole. Overall I think Andrej Sekera did really well considering what a big job he had and how much time he's had at the NHL level (not much) but holy moses, what was with all the breakaways? If you take away the breakaways it's a different game. Unfortunately, you can't take away the breakaways and good for the Caps for capitalizing on them eventually. We sure gave them enough opportunities to do so.
- Ryan Miller needs to have that third goal. He kept the team in the game up to that point but he really needs to have that third goal.
- Jochen Hecht looked really dapper and handsome in his in-game interview, all decked out in his suit and tie, but if he and/or Hank don't come back soon, I'm jumping out the window beside me as I type this.* We need them badly. It's like the man says: Injuries like these can decide the playoff race. I realize I'm kind of repeating myself here but I'm that stressed about these two guys missing much more time.
- Dmitri Kalinin, you sure know how to make it tough on a girl. After I ranted and raved about him being the scapegoat too many times, he went and had a brutal game. Just brutal. I didn't really make a big point of it earlier but I told Mark part of the reason I didn't like Tri being the guy who got screamed at in public is because I didn't think he seemed like the kind of player who would respond well to that kind of treatment. Obviously, I'm just a fan and really don't know anything of the players other than what's presented to us but for tonight at least, I was right! Ha! (Remember that for next time, Lindy.)
- What was that goal review? The first angle was inconclusive with the puck disappearing - one of those "common sense says the puck probably went in but we can't go by common sense" things - but the second angle we got on MSG, one that was kind of from ice level was conclusive. Puck over the line. So why was it a no goal? Because the whistle blew? I was under the impression that Toronto didn't call for the whistle. And if the whistle blew why did we spend so much time reviewing the play in the first place? I'm not saying that was a difference maker because the Caps earned the goals they got, the Sabres were sloppy, and we still would've been down by a goal with only a couple of minutes left but I've found the officiating to be kind of baffling in the last couple of games. And sometimes in our favor so please no, "You're just saying that because the Sabres got screwed!" comments.
- Before any Caps fans who wander over here get upset about the next thing I'm going to say, they should check out the comments on the Buffalo News blog where people raved about Alexander Ovechkin. The same thing happened on sports radio. It was an all-day love fest for Alex. I am in no way representing anyone but myself when I say this: I am so tired of Ovechkin. He is an amazing player, he is fun to watch, he can totally take over a game. I would love for the NHL to turn the volume down about a hundred degrees on the hype machine. I had the same complaint about Sidney Crosby when he first showed up on the scene (and still do sometimes). I would enjoy watching these guys play a lot more if the machine would just shut up and let me enjoy them. And while I really don't have much of a problem with him taunting the crowd by putting his hand to his ear after scoring a goal, I seem to recall Ilya Kovalchuk getting really criticized for behaving in a similar manner when he came into the league. When he suckered Crosby into a penalty, scored on the powerplay, and then pointed at Crosby coming out of the box (which I thought was HI-larious), a lot of people nailed him to the wall. Is it really that different?
I certainly understand why Ovechkin is newsworthy. I just don't understand why he's the ONLY person who's newsworthy. I think when the NHL zeros in on one or two guys they do a horrible disservice to themselves because they're ignoring a lot of other very good players and stories.
- If anyone tells me that the Sabres lost that game because Brian Campbell is no longer in a Sabres uniform, I'm kicking them in the head. The only difference is that he's fast enough that he might have been able to catch up with the guys taking off on the breakaways. I'm not believing that he would have played them much different otherwise. Again, his absence hurts because it means Nathan Paetsch and right now, Dmitri Kalinin are in the line-up. It does not hurt because we're missing him defensively.
- Definitely a tough loss as far as playoff hopes go. We only have so many losses to give up and even then we might have to hope for a little help from a team or two above us which is really frustrating. It's not like I have any control over how the Sabres play but I feel even more helpless when I need some other team to win and/or lose.
- I feel like little Joey, yelling as Shane rides away only I'm yelling, "He'd never been able to score a goal if you'd seen him! He never would've even got a shot off, would he, Hank! Lindy's got things for you to do! And Toni wants you! I know he does! Haaa-ank! HAAAAAAAAAANK! COME BACK!"
*Don't worry. Our apartment is on the first floor so I'm not really going to do much damage jumping out the window as long as I avoid the left ankle. In fact, our apartment is really below ground level so I'd have to jump up to get out of the window in the first place. I'm pretty safe.
ETA: I don't imagine the Campbell highlight from tonight will get as much play as the spin-o-rama goal did. The one where Mike Fisher got past Campbell and Craig Rivet (his defensive partner) and Campbell pushed Rivet into Fisher with his stick, sending Rivet into Evgeni Nabokov (his goalie)? I hate to sound like I'm picking on Soupy but as long as I have to listen to people bemoan the loss of Soupy I'm going to remind said people that there's a reason the Sabres didn't want to fork over the big bucks and that reason is spelled d-e-f-e-n-s-e.
On to the game:
- The Sabres were clearly a team missing a) their best defensive forward and b) their best defensive d-man, both of whom usually line up across from Alexander Ovechkin. Jochen Hecht and Henrik Tallinder are exactly the kind of players who get overlooked by people outside of Buffalo - if not by people in Buffalo sometimes - but when they're gone, they leave a hole. Overall I think Andrej Sekera did really well considering what a big job he had and how much time he's had at the NHL level (not much) but holy moses, what was with all the breakaways? If you take away the breakaways it's a different game. Unfortunately, you can't take away the breakaways and good for the Caps for capitalizing on them eventually. We sure gave them enough opportunities to do so.
- Ryan Miller needs to have that third goal. He kept the team in the game up to that point but he really needs to have that third goal.
- Jochen Hecht looked really dapper and handsome in his in-game interview, all decked out in his suit and tie, but if he and/or Hank don't come back soon, I'm jumping out the window beside me as I type this.* We need them badly. It's like the man says: Injuries like these can decide the playoff race. I realize I'm kind of repeating myself here but I'm that stressed about these two guys missing much more time.
- Dmitri Kalinin, you sure know how to make it tough on a girl. After I ranted and raved about him being the scapegoat too many times, he went and had a brutal game. Just brutal. I didn't really make a big point of it earlier but I told Mark part of the reason I didn't like Tri being the guy who got screamed at in public is because I didn't think he seemed like the kind of player who would respond well to that kind of treatment. Obviously, I'm just a fan and really don't know anything of the players other than what's presented to us but for tonight at least, I was right! Ha! (Remember that for next time, Lindy.)
- What was that goal review? The first angle was inconclusive with the puck disappearing - one of those "common sense says the puck probably went in but we can't go by common sense" things - but the second angle we got on MSG, one that was kind of from ice level was conclusive. Puck over the line. So why was it a no goal? Because the whistle blew? I was under the impression that Toronto didn't call for the whistle. And if the whistle blew why did we spend so much time reviewing the play in the first place? I'm not saying that was a difference maker because the Caps earned the goals they got, the Sabres were sloppy, and we still would've been down by a goal with only a couple of minutes left but I've found the officiating to be kind of baffling in the last couple of games. And sometimes in our favor so please no, "You're just saying that because the Sabres got screwed!" comments.
- Before any Caps fans who wander over here get upset about the next thing I'm going to say, they should check out the comments on the Buffalo News blog where people raved about Alexander Ovechkin. The same thing happened on sports radio. It was an all-day love fest for Alex. I am in no way representing anyone but myself when I say this: I am so tired of Ovechkin. He is an amazing player, he is fun to watch, he can totally take over a game. I would love for the NHL to turn the volume down about a hundred degrees on the hype machine. I had the same complaint about Sidney Crosby when he first showed up on the scene (and still do sometimes). I would enjoy watching these guys play a lot more if the machine would just shut up and let me enjoy them. And while I really don't have much of a problem with him taunting the crowd by putting his hand to his ear after scoring a goal, I seem to recall Ilya Kovalchuk getting really criticized for behaving in a similar manner when he came into the league. When he suckered Crosby into a penalty, scored on the powerplay, and then pointed at Crosby coming out of the box (which I thought was HI-larious), a lot of people nailed him to the wall. Is it really that different?
I certainly understand why Ovechkin is newsworthy. I just don't understand why he's the ONLY person who's newsworthy. I think when the NHL zeros in on one or two guys they do a horrible disservice to themselves because they're ignoring a lot of other very good players and stories.
- If anyone tells me that the Sabres lost that game because Brian Campbell is no longer in a Sabres uniform, I'm kicking them in the head. The only difference is that he's fast enough that he might have been able to catch up with the guys taking off on the breakaways. I'm not believing that he would have played them much different otherwise. Again, his absence hurts because it means Nathan Paetsch and right now, Dmitri Kalinin are in the line-up. It does not hurt because we're missing him defensively.
- Definitely a tough loss as far as playoff hopes go. We only have so many losses to give up and even then we might have to hope for a little help from a team or two above us which is really frustrating. It's not like I have any control over how the Sabres play but I feel even more helpless when I need some other team to win and/or lose.
- I feel like little Joey, yelling as Shane rides away only I'm yelling, "He'd never been able to score a goal if you'd seen him! He never would've even got a shot off, would he, Hank! Lindy's got things for you to do! And Toni wants you! I know he does! Haaa-ank! HAAAAAAAAAANK! COME BACK!"
*Don't worry. Our apartment is on the first floor so I'm not really going to do much damage jumping out the window as long as I avoid the left ankle. In fact, our apartment is really below ground level so I'd have to jump up to get out of the window in the first place. I'm pretty safe.
ETA: I don't imagine the Campbell highlight from tonight will get as much play as the spin-o-rama goal did. The one where Mike Fisher got past Campbell and Craig Rivet (his defensive partner) and Campbell pushed Rivet into Fisher with his stick, sending Rivet into Evgeni Nabokov (his goalie)? I hate to sound like I'm picking on Soupy but as long as I have to listen to people bemoan the loss of Soupy I'm going to remind said people that there's a reason the Sabres didn't want to fork over the big bucks and that reason is spelled d-e-f-e-n-s-e.
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