This Time Caps Win in Overtime 6-5!

By Rodger M. WoodThe Caps suddenly start playing their kind of hockey after the Canadiens went ahead 4-1 in the third period of Game 2 of the playoffs.They started passing the puck and skating up middle ice, played hyper aggressively in the offensive zone, and put heat on and wore down the elder Habs defensive crew of Hamrlik, Bergeron, Gill, and Spacek.In rapid succession, Backstrom, Ovechkin, and Backstrom again beats Montreal goaltender, Jaroslav Halak on high shot goals to tie the game up 4-4.After the Canadiens went ahead 5- 4 late in the 3rd period, the Caps didn’t let up. 20 – year old Caps defensemen John Carlson scored the equalizer with less than 3 minutes to go in regulation and at 31 seconds of sudden death overtime, Niklaus Backstrom won the game with a hat trick goal, 6-5.Hey Montreal soothsayers! Do you still think you should bring your blooms to the 4th game Wednesday because you’re not going to sweep our young Caps in 4 games like you predicted. And I always thought Montreal writers and fans were the expert hockey folks, but now I am having second thoughts. See ya Monday in Montreal!

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Caps Lose Game 1 in Overtime 3-2

By Rodger M. WoodThe Caps ran into the worst of all possible playoff scenarios tonight against the Montreal Canadiens in Game #1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.They faced a hot goalie, Jaroslav Halak who stopped over 50 shots, a couple big tough veteran defensemen, Hal Gill and Roman Hamrlik, who held their top goal scorer, Alex O, to no shots on net, and a forward, Tomas Plekanic, who feasted on them all season and scored the cheap winning goal from near the blue line to win the game in overtime.Caps defenseman Joe Corvo tied the game up 1-1 in the first period, Niklaus Backstrom put the Caps ahead in the third period, only to have savvy vet forward Scott Gomez score the tying goal to force the game to overtime.The game script wasn’t supposed to end this way, but until the Caps forwards figure out how to shoot high on Halak, play better offense between the blue lines, and get faster breakouts from their end, the result will be the same.But the Caps have rebounded from bad games all season so let hope they do it again.

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Caps Drop Rock The Red, Return To Puck Power Slogan for Playoffs

In a surprise announcement today, the franchise announced that they would be changing the "Rock the Red" slogan for the playoffs back to the 1970's "Puck Power" slogan. The undisclosed reasoning was the good luck it brought the team back in its heyday. :-)

All Things Presidential

By ThomWith Southeast Division officially wrapped up, the Capitals are track for their best season ever. For some fans this is as expected and a great achievement, but there is one achievement that many of us may not have considered. With the bulk of the season behind us and a team that simply refuses to throw in the towel, one possible distinction has been lurking in the back of my mind... The President's Trophy.Yes, I said it and it likely prompted you to fall from your feet screaming "jiiiiiinx," but it is a real possibility and one many fans may clamor to see. I can imagine fans having the opportunity to chant for the President's Trophy and MVP in the final days of the regular season. I can even imagine myself in a sea of red at the final regular season game chanting with a fervor... or can I?Ultimately, the Stanley Cup is a team's goal, but why wouldn't anyone cheer for an honor such as the President's Trophy? It is awarded to the team with the most regular season points and has been around for just over two decades. It is one of the leagues highest distinctions and has been claimed 23 times by 13 different teams. One might venture to guess that it should be a sure path to Lord Stanley's Cup, but the statistics present a whole different story.Might I say, the Curse of the President's Trophy? Much like the Sports Illustrated Jinx or the Madden Curse from the cover of the EA Sports video games, this trophy presents it's own conundrum. Take for instance the modern Detroit Red Wings. Six time owners of the trophy in the last fifteen seasons and just two Stanley Cups during that run. Not bad, but not six.  Of the twenty-three winners since the trophy was created in 1985, only seven of those trophy winners won the Stanley Cup, with only two others moving to the finals. The rest of the teams were doomed to a summer on the links.It's possible that the trophy winners spend too much effort in the regular season or the pressure of playoff expectations weight too much on them. It really could be any number of variables, but superstitions aside, I suspect that Capitals' fans would be first in line to see it handed to the Caps after one of the most exciting and accomplished seasons to date. Ok, preferably with a drink from the cup too. Do you believe in curses?Oh, and lest I forget, the trophy comes with home ice advantage for the entire playoffs. Do you care about curses?On Another presidential Note: As our catch phrase states on The Capital Power Play, "the best power play in town is on ice, so join us in supporting the RussianMachineNeverBreaks.com and sign the petition to get our Nations President to come to a Caps game.

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Ovi Suspended Two Games: O Captain! My Captain!

By ThomO CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done:The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won;The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:But O heart! heart! heart!O the bleeding drops of red,Where on the deck my Captain lies...Ok, so that is a bit dramatic, but the most recent decision by the NHL powers to suspend the Capitals captain leaves many fans and maybe some officials in a state of dismay. Not for the call, because we do understand the call. It was boarding. Whether intentional or not, it was boarding. I think not intentional, but that is me. It is unfortunate that it resulted in an injury. I think most fans wouldn't wish that upon any player, most bitter rivals or not.What is disconcerting is that the league appears to be inconsistent in the officiating and suspension of a player as a result of these so-called "reckless" plays. I have watched the replay over and over and I do believe that it was as the league calls it "reckless." I do believe that a penalty should have been called and if the rule states that it will be a 5 minute major due to the injury, then it is what it is. I won't quibble with that, but if the league wants bigger, stronger and faster players to play at full intensity, they need rules to protect every player and those rules need to be consistent for everyone. The Cookes, Downies and Adams of the league should be no exception.To conclude my rant, I leave you with a very relevant post by CapsBlog: Does This Look Familiar?Oh and the poem, Walt Whitman 1865: Oh Captain! My Captain!Capitalpowerplay.com images by woodsportsphotography.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Caps Rally To Down The Hawks Without Ovi in OT!

By Rodger M. WoodEven without their best player in the lineup, the Caps showed in an afternoon matinee that they could skate with a Western Conference team NHL soothsayers predict will play them in June for the Stanley Cup.

After Caps star winger Alex Ovechkin was banished to the dressing room on a questionable game misconduct for boarding at 12:16 in the first period, the Caps fell behind to the Black Hawks 3-0 by the end of the second period.Coach Boudreau must have said more between periods than “just go to the net” because the Caps came out fired up in the third period, scoring three goals and tying the game3-all in a matter of 2 minutes and 16 seconds.On Caps power plays, Brooks Laich scored first at 05:29 and Nicklas Backstrom second at 07:32. Eric Fehr tied the game up ar 3-3 at 07:45, with a well deserved assist going to David Steckel, who worked the puck out to Fehr from behind the Black Hawks goal.On a spectacular 3 on 1 play. Backstrom scored the game winner for his second goal of the game at 03:10 of overtime.Commentators, Pierre McGuire and Mike Milbury, who have been heard casting aspersions against our Russian Caps, admitted the Ovi’s boarding call wasquestionable, and at worse, maybe two 2 minute penalties.Milbury said NHL referees and players are “confused” by the inconsistent boarding and head shot calls this season.Just the same, our Caps showed they can beat the best even on a day when they are handicapped by the absence of our Ovi.Way to go Caps!Caps photos from the Carolina game Wednesday, March 10th are accessible to you here.Capitalpowerplay.com images by capitalpowerplay.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

All the Caps Back for Spirited Practice Sunday, except the Two Alexes

By Rodger The stands were filled at the Kettler Center Sunday to see the Washington Capitals practice for a couple hours.

Niklaus Backstrom, and Tomas Fleischmann, were back at practice but Captain Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin stayed over at Vancouver for Sunday night closing Olympic ceremonies.

It looked like all the Caps are healthy – during the three games preceding the Olympics, Jason Chimera, Shawon Morrison, and Tom Poti were injured and the Caps felt their absence, losing three games in a row.

Coach Boudreau worked the boys hard again, but did spend a large portion of the practice working on plays to clear out the puck out of the defensive zone.

After a pretty grueling practice, Brooks Laich, Bryan Pothier, Jeff Schulz, and Quintin Lang still had time to sign a bunch of autographs for a large number of admiring fans.

See more pictures here and here

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"The Capital Power Play” Celebrates the Caps of Today and Yesterday

By Rodger M. Wood

2010 was another first for me – I shot photos at the Tampa Bay Lightning/Washington Caps game last Sunday January 31st for the first time since the 1995 season...

The Caps made my day beating the Lightning 3-1 for their 10th consecutive win.  The Caps’ streak did not end with Sunday’s win, as they followed it up with an 11th straight win in Boston, 12th against New York in a wide open 6-5 shoot out at the new Madison Square Garden, 13th at home against Atlanta 5-4, and 14th against Sidney Crosby and the defending 2009 Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4.

My love affair with the Capitals goes back to their inaugural 1974-75 season. With my sons Mark and Tommy, I saw their first ever win against the Chicago Black Hawks on October 16, 1974 and first ever tie game against the Los Angeles Kings two weeks later.

I was on the roll that season. Whenever I went to a game, they’d win or tie, which was pretty remarkable considering they won only 8 games and tied 5, while losing a record 67 games that season.

Growing up in Detroit, seeing Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay, Red Kelly, Alex Delvecchio, Sid Abel,  and great Red Wings teams of the 1950”s, it was difficult for me to be a Caps fan those early seasons. I used to get sick of seeing their lopsided losses in person or listening about them on Ron Weber’s radio broadcasts. But if the score got too bad, I would turn them off to listen to WBZ and Johnny Most talk about Bobby Orr and the Bruins winning ways.

The Caps didn’t start percolating until 1980 – 81, when Denis Maruk scored 50 goals, Ryan Walter captained the team, and defenseman Rick Green played the blue line well enough to make the games more competitive.

During the “1982 Save the Caps” campaign, I bought two season tickets, and shared two others to do my share in keeping the team here at the old Landover Capital Center.

In 1984, my daughter Aimee and I drove to Philadelphia to see the Caps win their first playoff series ever against the Philadelphia Flyers at the old Spectrum. I almost lost my life there when I jumped up to clap my handes boisterously, conspicuously and joyously to applaud Caps Darren Veitch’s dramatic goal in the second period of the third game clincher.

I saw the Easter Epic Playoff Game in 1987, which ended at 1:56 AM when Islanders Pat LaFontaine beat the Caps with a clutch goal in triple overtime.

I saw the Bruins sweep the Caps in four games in the 1990 Wales Conference Finals and the Detroit Red Wings sweep them in a 4 game sweep in the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals...

I shared two season tickets the Caps first season but bought my own two each season afterwards until the 1990 -1991 season. Even after giving up my season tickets, I continued seeing the team at least three or four or more games a season every season to the present.

In the early days of Caps hockey, I often thought I would have to climb the glass to help our poor defensemen, Ivan Labre, defend himself from various NHL hockey goons.

HOF defenseman, and two time Norris Trophy winner, Rod Langway was my hero because I felt he saved hockey in Washington when he came over to the Caps in the big trade with Montreal before the 1982-1983 season and was responsible for making the Caps instant big winners for the first time in their 10-year history.

I was pained when Scott Stevens went to the St. Louis Blues after the 1990 season, but loved seeing him win the Stanley Cup with New Jersey a few seasons later. Scott was one of those always smiling, big young tough players you liked even though he often played for the wrong team later in his career.

Defenseman Kevin Hatcher was awesome in the 1990-1991 playoffs, almost single handedly carrying the Caps to the Conference Finals against the Bruins.  I have never seen a more intense player than Dale Hunter, another one of my favorites, who reminded me of the old Montreal great, Rocket Richard, who I remembered flying down the ice with blazing charcoal eyes intent on scoring against Terry Sawchuck at old Detroit Olympia Stadium.

After beating Boston, Ottawa, and Buffalo in the 1998 playoffs, I thought there was a chance Peter Bondra, who scored 52 goals during the regular season, might lead our  Caps past the Detroit Red Wings in the finals for the coveted Stanley Cup at last.

I have seen lots of Caps games, I’d guess well over 500 games. During the 1987-88 season, I saw all 40 home games and all the playoff games. There have been lots of big wins, big losses, and a couple 10-game streaks in the early 1980s, but nothing; I remember compares with the 14 – game winning streak the 2009-2010 Washington Capitals pulled off.  Led by their captain, the awesome Alex Ovechkin, I think this year’s team won’t be stopped until they win our first ever Stanley Cup here in Washington, DC.

And when that happens, I hope some of the old fans from Landover will come back to enjoy the celebration for indeed, we have waited our entire lives for this glorious moment.

The "Capital Power Play” will be dedicated to that celebration of Caps hockey, and since the past is a prologue to future, we will also celebrate the feats of old Capitals players and the NHL greats they played against to get ready for this big moment. It will be a joyful time for this decade of NHL hockey will be indeed our time for “The Capital Power Play."

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No Break for Backstom

By ThomWhile most of the Caps are on an much needed Olympic break, Nicklas Backstrom is working his magic for his home as Team Sweden beats Belarus 4-2 today.  Read all about it on the Capitals Insider here.Above, Nicklas warms up before the Caps take on the Ducks on January 27th.Capitalpowerplay.com images by capitalpowerplay.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.