Very few sports excite me like hockey and, when combined with a Game 7, I reach one of those happy places of biblical lore. Tomorrow night, the Capitals and Rangers will play for a spot in the conference finals, one round away from playing for the Stanley Cup. The excitement and resulting anxiety drives rabid fans (and bandwagoners) to live in the 60 minutes of play. The same happens in basketball, but in hockey one goal in a Game 7 means so much. Clutch doesn’t begin to describe the necessary fortitude and strength to prevail in Game 7.
And yet, the game tomorrow night signifies a huge possible step for the Capitals franchise. Living in the days of Alex Ovechkin, I never understood the constant pessimism around DC regarding the Caps. I remember the heady days of Bondra, Juneau, Oates, Housley and Kolzig (if you can remember all those guys I give you a gold star as a real Caps fan). My first Caps game I sat behind the glass, in the front row (and learned more of the English language in 150 minutes than you might think possible). Two years later, the Caps reached the Cup finals after thrilling series wins against Boston (Brian Bellows winning OT goal) and Buffalo (Juneau goal in Game 6) before a rather unceremonious sweep by the Red Wings.
There you have it: the pinnacle of Caps hockey since the franchise’s inception in 1974. One conference championship, an exciting one no doubt but the result makes most in DC forget we ever got that far.
Current fans like to bemoan the team’s efforts in the playoffs now. I can’t blame them, but longtime Caps fans understand something my generation, including myself doesn’t: we’ve been here before. Between 1983 and 1996, the Caps made the playoffs every single year and advanced past the second round only once. Eliminated most often by the Islanders (four times in five years) and the Penguins (two straight years in the early 90s, one on a Game 7 loss at home), the Caps were the first franchise to ever give up a 3-1 series lead three different times (that number is now four). Many have asked me why I hate the Penguins with an abiding passion. The answer: they consistently overachieve to beat my underachieving team in heart-wrenching fashion. The Penguins have eliminated the Caps six times from the playoffs, and in four of those series the Caps held two game leads.
That’s how good this team was and the regular season results reinforce their success. In the last 27 years, the Caps boast 23 playoff berths. Not a crazy number, but if you look at the record of those seasons, Washington often played All-Star hockey and finished near the top of the standings. Don Beaupre, Rod Langway, Scott Stevens, Dino Ciccarelli, Kevin Hatcher, Dale Hunter, etc. all played for a team that should, by all rights, have made more than two conference finals in its history.
I don’t often ascribe luck to sports, but the Caps might be the unluckiest North American franchise in history. All the numbers I’ve thrown at you thus far give additional credence to that point, but the current series against the Rangers slams the point home. Bluntly, the Caps historically cannot win long overtime games. With the Game 3 loss in triple overtime, the Caps fell to 0-4 in games going that long. These games remain heartbreaking to watch whether it be the Easter Epic of Pat LaFontaine or Joe Juneau’s missed penalty shot against the Penguins before Nedved’s goal. One bounce of the puck the other way and history looks much different for this franchise. Consider if the Caps had won Game 3 this year and all other games repeat their pattern…we’re in the conference finals starting Sunday.
Playoff futility dogs this team. Either an opposing goalie gets hot or the team goes flat, but somehow the Caps find a way to lose playoff series. In the first round against Boston, I approached Game 7 expecting a loss. The overtime triumph looked magnificent mainly because that kind of series-clinching goal has rarely occurred for Washington since Hunter’s days as a player. To be scored by a role player made it much sweeter.
And that’s the key to the game tomorrow night. If the Caps as a franchise want to buck the playoff trend, they need to continue utilizing all four lines. Some of the best shifts in Game 6 came from Keith Aucoin, a perennial AHL call-up who somehow found a niche on this team. For so long, even before the days of Ovie, the Caps relied on offense to win games. Watch tomorrow night and you’ll see a different strategy: very little forecheck and clogging of the neutral zone. Like all games this year, Game 7 will be close. No doubt about it. Maybe some can’t take the tension.
But, this game matters so much to this franchise that all fans should tune in, regardless of location, spouse, or drunkenness. We need this game for reasons so many younger fans don’t understand. The only way to beat history is through surprise, by tipping the odds in your favor and hoping some element in the universe does you a favor. I think this team, not flashy or too exciting, can do it and go a long way towards erasing historical disappointment. I want the Cup (obviously), but for right now the first goal is to get to the conference finals and breathe a little bit of life into a historically despondent playoff franchise.
Bit #1 – Where is Dale Hunter’s wife?
Not to pigeonhole my many(?) male readers, but let’s face it your girlfriend or wife knows how to dress you better than you do. That’s true almost the world over.
So why does Dale Hunter continue to wear the same thing to Caps games. Either he owns a limited wardrobe or has the shortest laundry cycle since Ace Ventura. A dark charcoal suit and red tie adorn his white shirt, which never fits him and seems to accentuate the constant red in his face. Do you all remember the mustache he brought to Washington? Thankfully someone encouraged him to shave it, since that thing didn’t look like it had touched the ice or any other form of water for at least 5 years. Come on, Dale, these are the playoffs. Bring your A game on the ice and behind the bench. Apparently you leave Hershey kisses on the pillow of Mrs. Hunter. All I ask is you consult your wife and give the kisses as payment for better clothing advice than the homeless man currently telling you how good you look every day when you walk into work.
Bit #2 – How will history view this year’s NBA champion?
Bill Simmons of Grantland wrote an interesting piece last week about the most “footnoted” NBA champions of all time. He tried to find champions that got some seriously lucky breaks during the postseason to win (shockingly, very few of them were Celtics teams) and mentioned the jury might still be out on this year’s champion due to the Derrick Rose injury.
After watching the Bulls lose last night to the lowly Sixers, I think the champion this year will need to prove their dominance to avoid footnote status. Whether it be Durant or LeBron, the Bulls at full strength would cruise through the Philadelphia 76ers. With Derrick Rose down, the team changed complexion, giving the ball to guys not accustomed to a starting role. Sure, John Lucas played some during the regular season, but the playoffs create a whole new atmosphere where all bets are off. If the playoffs continued regular season trends, the Knicks would have won in six. Add in the injury to Joakim Noah and the Bulls couldn’t muster enough to win. A Bulls-Celtics series might have been good, but the Celtics, in Year 5 of a Three Year Plan, would not have done well against the Bulls over seven games (too much quickness for the aging C’s).
Admittedly, not beating the Sixers might expose the Bulls as not that good. But, consider if a healthy Rose plays in that series. Should be a short time to consider.
Bit #3 – Get off Josh Beckett’s back
Last week, the Boston Red Sox skipped Josh Beckett in the starting rotation due to muscle tightness. The next day, an off day for the Sox, Beckett went golfing with fellow pitcher Clay Buchholz. Yesterday, after pitching a dud, Beckett told the media to quit asking about his private life on off days, sparking a serious firestorm from the Boston media, who want to vilify him for not caring enough.
24/7 media covers sports really well but occasionally assumes since its 24/7 then it should have access to athlete’s lives 24/7. Nothing could be further from the truth in a journalistic sense. Yes, Beckett makes tons of money for poor performances and yes, he should care enough about the team to take his health seriously, but plenty of pitchers have bad days, some more so than most recently. I firmly believe what he does on an off day is his business and, if he continues to make the wrong decisions, the team can step in. Plenty of pitchers also play golf when not pitching and I’m sure those who golf can have bad outings from time to time. A golf outing is not an extramarital affair or some other poor life choice that will affect all daily life. As usual, his remarks yesterday imply he doesn’t care about the team for Boston media outlets, very few of whom seem to have considered poor word choice does not have to signal an attitude shift.
Bit #4 – Pacers-Heat should be good
I predict the Pacers driving the Heat to a six game series. For one thing, the Pacers run a deep bench full of young guys who, when on, can play with the best teams in the league. While Danny Granger provides little value to a fantasy team (I can attest), he doesn’t need to be the only one to perform. The Heat, on the other hand, don’t have that kind of depth, playing 7 players where the Pacers play 9 consistently. Also, watch for the matchup between David West and Chris Bosh to be pretty good. West has played surprisingly well with the Pacers and should do some damage down low.
On top of all that, Indiana coach Frank Vogel labeled the Heat “the biggest flopping team in the NBA” which will arouse some emotions on both sides. The Heat drew the third most charges this year and with star players will likely receive some officiating benefits as a result. That said, Vogel’s comment clearly have a deeper agenda to let officials know he will be watching those calls with a keen eye. Should be a physical series.
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