With Buffalo’s regulation loss to Pittsburgh the Capitals once again, uh, control their destiny. We have the same number of points, same number of games, and the tiebreaker of Regulation/OT Wins (aka wins without counting shootout, aka ROW).

Now the only trick is to win one more, just ONE, or even just OTL while the Buffalos lose in reg. We play Montreal tonight, which should be a gimme win except for the Capitals there ARE no gimme wins. Every win is a struggle, even when it’s a desperation scenario. Buffalo is playing Toronto, which is pretty much free points for them, unless they’ve locked into “unbeatable when it no longer matters” mode already. (Spoiler alert!)

(Digression: Living the hectic jetsetting lifestyle that I do, I was in the car driving to Massachusetts while the Bruins game was on. You can only catch the radio stream in a very specific area around DC, and I totally forgot about it until about the last 3 minutes of the game, when we were up 2-0.

Advice: Never listen to the end of a Caps game while you’re driving. No one can squander a lead like our boys in red, and there’s nothing quite like feeling that good ol’ Capitals despair while behind the wheel.

Also: shootouts do not translate well to the radio, though in practical terms this just means the heart attack is more sudden.)

But! Tremendous news! The CSN news alert text messaging system works even in Western Mass, and I was greeted this snowy (?!) morn by the most beautiful words in the world:

Nicklas Backstrom confirms he will return to the Caps lineup tonight against Montreal!

Thanks, 43803! Sign up for text alerts for the Caps, and get gratuitous Wizards alerts as well!

Obviously I am overjoyed. I know I make a big deal about goalies around here, and nothing can capture my heart like a netminder, but Nicky Backs was my first love, and seeing (or at least imagining) his flowing blond mane take the ice tonight is the best unsolicited present I could ever receive. (Too bad I only brought my Ron Francis Whalers jersey with me to New England!)

I could say that tonight is a big game, but really, every game until mid-June is a big game. We need every win until the playoffs, and once in the playoffs (knock on wood!), obviously every game is crucial [insert NHL promo here].

In other news, Vokoun’s groin is acting up again, so that’s worrying. The Habs have just fired their GM, which I’m not sure has any real effect on the players, but will definitely be a factor when everyone else writes their game previews, so I might as well mention it.

AccuScore on my phone is telling me we have a 66.7% chance of winning, which tears me in half. The stat geek in me says “Good, that makes me feel better!” and the bleak, pessimistic fan of The Wire in me says “This will just make our inevitable loss taste much worse.”

The winner, of course, is the Toronto Maple Leafs fan in me, who is shouting drunkenly and making obscene gestures at the Canadiens.

NO HABS NO!

I think I can be forgiven for deciding to watch The Wire instead of this hockey game tonight. Unfortunately I started a bit too early, so I was out of episodes by the beginning of the second period. On the other hand, we were up 1 already! Let’s see how long this lasts.
» Continue reading “Capitals Vs. Canadiens At Home”

So now we’ve got to figure which game was an aberration: against the Islanders or the Canadiens. I’m going to be honest here — I barely made it through the Isles game. After the first period I muted the TV and watched old-timey cop shows on my laptop. Let me tell you, it was more satisfying seeing Sgt. Joe Friday bust a gambling ring than watching the miserable product on the ice.
» Continue reading “Capitals Facing The Bottom Of The East, Faring So-So”

I am currently in Austria with no internet access and in a sort of hockey wasteland. (I know, I advocated an Austrian for the Calder and in fact can name three off the top of my head… though they may be the only three Österreicher in the league. I’m actually trying to hunt down a Vienna Capitals jersey, as they are my EBEL team.) Still, this means I have no idea what the outcome of the latest games are, and who the Caps will be playing. So here’s my outlook for all of them (links are to the Aerys Sports page).

Buffalo Sabres: I honestly don’t have a lot of fear for these guys (besides their requisite Austrian, of course). Their strongest asset is Ryan Miller, who hasn’t been at his peak lately. Obviously they are riding a sort of momentum, and right now the biggest thing to be scared of is their tenacity. They only have a few offensive weapons in Vanek, Boyes, and Stafford, and on the blue line we have last year’s Calder winner (Tie Domi) Tyler Myers and, uh, Shaone Morrisonn (oh yeah, I still remember how to spell that). They are also reasonably delicate, not in a fear of physicality but in a more practical, injury-prone sense. Jason Pominville is a recent casualty from the Flyers series, and we tend to dominate them physically regardless. Never mind!

Montreal Canadiens: Well, what really shut us down last season was Jaroslav Halak, whom the Habs promptly rewarded by trading to the Blues. Carey Price is also prone to hot streaks, but is not currently riding one. Their forwards are pocket-sized, which means they are all Chimera-quick but generally easy enough to physically intimidate. Also, our goalie has absolutely NO Canadiens-related head trauma (au revoir, Jose Theodore!). Our style of play is less susceptible to being shut down by a strong defence than last year, and our crew of secondary scorers this season are of a much higher caliber.

Tampa Bay Lightning: This would be a fun matchup (if I didn’t have my heart in my mouth for its entirety). Steven Stamkos vs Alex Ovechkin? Lecavalier and St Louis vs Semin and Backstrom? Roloson vs Neuvirth (now this is a vet-rookie showdown worthy of prime time television)? My mouth is watering to think of it. Add in Steve Downie pestering everyone, only to get utterly DESTROYED by Hendricks when he gets a little too up in Neuvy’s grill, and this deserves the NBC spotlight every week and would never ever get it because nobody outside the Southeast knows about the Bolts.

Pittsburgh Penguins: On the other hand, this will get the NBC spotlight every time, despite the fact it really lacks the fire it normally has what with the absence of Crosby and Malkin. Incidentally, Malkin hasn’t been nearly as interesting ever since Ilya Kovalchuk (remember him?) made Ovie and Zhenya kiss and make up. Remember when Alex would smash him every time they were on the ice together? That was great. Anyway, Fleury has the streakiness typical of French-Canadians, where it’s in fits and starts rather than the series of games typical of eastern Europeans. Their other major strength is Jordan Staal, who has assumed a lot more responsibility with the main offensive weapons gone. They also receive secondary scoring from the most remote places, mostly their crew of ragged Quebecers. Keep Matt Cooke (former Cap!) in the back of your head, whom, if we face the Penguins, every single pugilistically-inclined Capital will want a piece of.

I await our next opponent with bated breath — and more than that, I want to know if the Canucks pulled the most epic choke job since, well, us last year. Edit: Congratulations, Vancouver! You nearly embarrassed yourself there!