THE TEAM
The Washington Capitals started off the season on a three-game winning streak for the first time since 2002-03. Former Ranger fan-favorite Michael Nylander scored the first goal of the year. They then went 3-14-1 before firing their coach for 80s AHL superstar Bruce Boudreau.
Somewhere along the line, they traded for a great mentor to their young superstars (Sergei Fedorov), traded for Cristobal Huet to give them a solid 1-2 punch in net (along with Olie Kolzig), and got Hart, Calder, and Adams Trophy candidates (Alex Ovechkin, Nick Backstrom, and Boudreau).
Somehow, at 43-31-8, they ended up with the exact same record as the Ottawa Senators, who were 16-4 at the same time Boudreau took over in the nation's capital (Ottawa also went 9-1 in October).
And somehow, they clinched the playoffs.
THE OWNER
They have an owner who cares about the team (as a Rangers fan, this befuddles me - an owner who CARES about games and actually GOES to them and doesn't just own them because he happens to own the co-existing basketball team?). Ted Leonsis, from what I know, went to Georgetown and started going to Caps games because tickets were deathly cheap in the 70s since nobody went. (The team won 8 games in their first year, so they had to do what they had to do to get butts in seats.) He fell in love with the game, and when he made a fortune on AOL, bought the team. He writes a blog (sometimes, several times a day) and answers every email he can. When Washington clinched the playoffs, he blew a kiss to the crowd. When the Rangers clinched the playoffs on Thursday, Jimmy Dolan probably got a text message Friday morning whilst on his private helicopter. In contrast, Leonsis even had a Capitals jersey on during post-game interviews.
Leonsis had a Fan Appreciation Week this past Monday-Friday where 5 people per day won team prizes, including autographed pictures, pucks, sticks, and each day, one fan won a game-worn jersey.
No word on how good the pretzels are at the Verizon Center, though.
A.O.
Last year, the Rangers played the Capitals in the first game of the season. I went down with my girlfriend to watch warm-ups on the Rangers side. Ovechkin was one of the first players on the ice for the Caps, he got a puck, turned towards us, and slapped a puck down that hit the glass right in front of my face.
If he spoke fluent English, Ovechkin would be the face of the game, not Sidney Crosby. What's great about Ovechkin is that he is trying to learn fluent English, which you wouldn't believe from the Versus commercial where he is the one guy who doesn't speak in English. His first year in the NHL, he asked to room with an English-speaking player so he could learn the language faster.
As a Ranger fan, my favorite goal celebration is the Sean Avery point-to-the-crowd, but the AO leap-into-whatever-is-there is a close second. He normally jumps into the plexiglass if no players are around. If you're reading this, go here and click WATCH! and view the highlights of the game. When Alex Semin slaps one home in the second period, AO is more excited than anyone and he leaps onto the pile, dragging everyone down in celebration. That's what this game needs.
When he learns this language fully, look for him to be the face of the game. ESPN will love him once they discover him.
I had been saying that Ovechkin (as well as Boudreau) should not win any awards if the team didn't make the playoffs. Well, today, that point is moot (mute?).
The City
Washington's one claim-to-fame as a hockey club was when they got slapdazzled (not a real word) by Detroit in the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals. All the fans came out for that and D.C. actually cared about hockey. Then came the downfall.
The next season, they didn't make the playoffs. For the next two seasons, Pittsburgh beat them in the first round both years. Then they missed the playoffs. Then they mailed in a performance against Tampa Bay in 02-03 and lost in 6 games. The year before the lockout, they were horrendous. They were so bad that they traded Jaromir Jagr for Anson Carter straight up. They were so bad that they won the first overall pick in the draft lottery.
The lockout came and went, and Alex Ovechkin became their brightest star. Last year, they got Donald Brashear to protect AO (results of that experiment are inconclusive, but GM George McPhee did bring him back for another year). This year, a supporting cast emerged (and in Fedorov's case, was traded for) and Boudreau changed to an offensive-minded system where he let AO run wild, bringing fans back to the arena (most of them paying and not getting free tickets).
The Conclusion
The Capitals asked the fans to all wear red this past week at home games. Looking at the crowd in the arena, I am impressed. 95% of the crowd is dressed in red and it seemed that 100% of them were standing and cheering as the Capitals beat the Panthers to clinch a spot in the playoffs, something Carolina could not do. (For the record, Carolina outshot Florida 46-17, took 0 penalties, had 9 power plays, and couldn't score a goal.)
The site of a sold-out crowd in Washington is awesome. The NHL needs big cities to have good teams (I'm talking to you, Blackhawks, Bruins, Kings), especially in markets where the NFL rules. People rallied behind a team who went from worst in the NHL to Southeast champions in 5 months. They went 9-1 in their final 10 (gaining 8 points on Carolina) and the fans came out.
When the players hopped over the boards as the clock ticked off, Bruce Boudreau did something coaches rarely do - he showed emotion. He was jumped, waving his arms, slapping players on the should pads.
I gotta tell you, the whole scene - the coach, the players, the fans - brought a tear to my eyes.
Win or lose for the Rangers in the postseason, I love this game.
Indeed, congrats to the Capitals. My hopes for this final weekend were that the Capitals would get in and that Ottawa would not. Well, at least one of those came true. Now, Washington could very well end up facing a free-falling Senators team in what could be a very good series. No matter who they play, it'll be great to see Ovechkin on this stage. It's about time the world sees what he's all about.
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