The Hockey Thread, *DTPC*

Caps are losing to the Rangers and stupid Jagr (ok, "stupid" is about the nicest thing I've ever said about Jagr. the rest can't be printed here)

I can't go to Saturday's home openner because Mr. RB's sport-hating mom and grandmom will be here. Grrrrrrr.

Nabby>Olie

Vesa>Olie

SHARKS FTW!!!!

Nearly gave me a heart attack, though...

*cries*

The sharks fell apart in the second round. AGAIN

*weeps piteously*

Wings win! Wings Win!

2007-2008 HOCKEY SEASON IS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Guess who is picked to make the playoffs this year? And guess who has tickets for tomorrow's home opener? Yes, tremble before the mighty power of the Capitals!

Spee? com'on, say it with me: C-A-P-S CAPS CAPS CAPS!

C-A-P-S CAPS CAPS CAPS!!!!!!!!!!!

So excited...

we're 3-0-0 so far! very exciting season. Olie is the man.

I'm really hoping to get to a couple of games this season...I didn't get to any last year. I used to go all the time with my sister and her husband when they lived in the area, but they went traitor--moved to Durham and became Hurricanes fans I hope they were watching the game very closely on Saturday...go Caps!!!!!

That was a good game because the 'Canes look bad and the Caps looked soooooo good

PS-I have several discounted ticket offers for specific nights (mostly weeknights). drop me a line if you're interested. Also, student rush nights are Thursday and Friday and are $10 and $25 with ID

bump bumpity bump bump bump, for all my new-found hockey friends

Where's Spee when I need her? C-A-P-S CAPS CAPS CAPS!

*raspberry*

BOO!!! *hisses at the Caps*

So...

Not a Penguins fan, eh Birdie?

I can't argue, I mean they aren't a great team in general but I like Crosby quite a bit and I'm surely a fan of Marc Andre-Fleury...

Malkin's fun, too, and Gonchar doesn't suck. I have, however, been massively disappointed in Jordan Staal.

Washington HATES Pittsburgh. Even now that they moved us to a different division, we still hate Pittsburgh. And Crosby's overrated!

Love,
Ovechkin is a Better Fighter

But really, yeah, I've always had a deep-seated loathing for the Penguins, and thus for Jagr, and him coming to Washington and being a total prima donna crybaby only made things worse, whah whah whah, trade me trade me, whah whah whah! So now I also hate the Rangers by association. Yes, sometimes we get tickets solely so I can insult the manhood of certain players. Its fun.

My husband, a Detriot fan, has this great idea that the Red Wings should go after Olie so Olie can get his ring (and hey, why not go after Ovie at the same time?!). This has created some martial DISharmony in the Bird House.

Most entertaining thing about being a Caps fan? Watching Brashear attempt to handle the puck! I don't come to watch his skills, I come to watch him put some guy on the ice!

Wait, best part is Mites on Ice!

This post has been edited by RedBirdie on Dec 27 2007, 09:05 AM

Crosby is most certainly not overrated; he's produced in every way he's been asked and has matched his hype. I mean come on, don't be silly; he had 102 points as a rook, 120 last year and he's paced for his 3rd straight 100+ point season this year. He's an excellent passer, a fine scorer and generally an awesome player.

Also, Ovechkin being a better fighter is pointless; as a star player, he should be letting his enforcers do that stuff.

Jagr definitely needs some tissue, I'll give you that.

I do agree about Brashear.

um, ok. The whole thing is, I'm a rabid Caps fan (there isn't really any other kind. You either are and you have a deeply held desire to kick penguins, or you aren't and don't care about hockey at all), and therefore must tear down the Penguins and their players at every chance. That's what Caps fans do. otherwise, we might start crying uncontrollably.

And yes, part of it is I'm sick of "Sid the Kid! Sid the Kid!" everywhere. Ovechkin is just as good, and has been asked to do more with far less. Its irritating.

Hmm... just as good?

No, no that's not true.

That implies they have comparable talent levels across the board.

What you MEAN to say is that Ovechkin is much more dangerous as the lead scorer of a team, but doesn't really measure up as a playmaker. It's a stylistic difference and they might have comparable value but they are not really "just as good."

Overchkin isn't the same kind of passer.

And as far as "doing more with less," well, neither of these guys has done anything of significance, really, not on a team scale. And the nature of your team is a truth of hockey, not something you can control.

I agree though, the Caps definitely need to have some better material at hand. Kolzig is solid but Pothier is the only guy on your defensive line with a +/- that isn't below 0 (of course, even Ovechkin is only +1, so take that for what it's worth) and all but one of your defensemen have double-digit penalty minutes, which isn't helping your case any.

Washington's problem is that their young guys besides Ovechkin aren't all ready yet (although Backstrom looks nice) and the vets, such as they are, aren't that much help.

I don't know anything about your cap situation though. Pittsburgh's definitely got a more generally favorable situation with the amount of talent they have but silly fan tricks leading to resentment of another team have never made sense to me.

Unless it's the Knicks; everyone can be improved by hating the Knicks, now and for always.

fine fine fine, whatever. see it however you want.

Once Jagr's off the payroll, lots of cap space will open up.

Well then you've got a reasonably bright future, no?

I mean, the Caps don't have huge draw but I imagine the thought of playing alongside Ovechkin has to be worth at least SOMEthing, given how freaky he is as a scorer.

Let's go Sharks!

How the hell are we leading the lead in GAA?

Also, Ovechkin seems less dynamic now days. Seems to only score on slapshots

*Throws in her two cents*

Go Sharks!

Ovechkin, to me, is no less dynamic. His skating skills, as hard as this is to believe, seem to have improved! (Remember, I get the chance to watch him in person 6-10 times a season. Watching him on TV and watching him live are two totally different experiences.) But, even if he loses a little bit of the edge, I'd still take Ovie for two reasons:
1) These is a joy to his game I've never seen before. He's always celebrating, not just his own success, but the rest of the team. When the Caps managed to kill that insane 5-on-3 overtime powerplay in Pittsburgh the other night, Ovechkin made it a point to congratulate those three players on their outstanding effort to get the Caps to the shootout. Every time someone scores, his the first to celebrate with them. And his own excitement at scoring is well known
2) His leadership. Undoubtedly, Olie is the Caps leader on and off the ice, regardless of who wears the C. But Ovie (and Clark, who is just a wonderful person, btw) worked hard to earn his A. Like I said, he's ALWAYS the guy there for his teammates. He's always the first guy on the ice and the last one off. He never slacks off (Semin.....)

I was speaking to the Post's beat writer for the Caps (nice guy!), and we were discussing Caps' fans' hatred of all things Crosby. He said, look, I get that y'all HATE the Penguins, but he really is an outstanding player, one of the best, you've got to stop dismissing him simply because he's a Penguin. (At which point he confirmed that people in Pittsburgh dismiss Ovechkin simply because he's a Cap.) Washington hockey fans have a wicked inferiority complex. We've been the butt of league jokes for years and years. It takes its toll. We never felt like Olie got his due (despite a Vezina). We very quickly got sick of the Crosby love. And this year we're none too thrilled that Greenie got passed over for an All-Star spot (and ticked that Ovie isn't starting). so understand that I speak as a life-long capitals fan, and the chip on my shoulder is about the side of Capitol Hill. Its my birthright.

Anyways.......very exciting time to be a Caps fan, though. Green is a monster, and Backstrom is turning out better than I could have hoped. And there's a lot of really good young talent coming up. Laing is impressing me, and Bradly....well, gotta love a guy who just hops over the boards to take a shootout round because he really doesn't want to back-up goalie to get a turn before he does!

Good news in Caps-landia this morning! (Besides the Caps only being 1 point out of first in the Southeast, of course). Everybody's favorite enforcer, Donald Brashear, re-signed! As Mr. RB said when I sent him the news "Yay! Another year of fights!"

I went to the Beanpot Party last night My dad won a jersey signed by the entire Northeastern team (which is where he did his undergrad). AND I have tickets to that Caps-Rangers game on Sunday, where I can yell me second favorite cheer ever:
JAGR SUCKS!

My delight at the Caps winning in overtime (and boo Jagr repeatedly) is tempered by the fact that former Cap Richard Zednik suffered a potentially life-threatening injury yesterday when is carotid artery was accidentally cut by Olli Jokinen's skate. Luckily, surgery saved his life, and Zednik is reportedly stable in a Buffalo hospital.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=3240651