Take the day off to rest up and then start to send those ongoing good vibes our way.
We need them and they work! Thank you.
I thought we played smart playoff hockey yesterday on the road. We scored first and we built a comfortable lead and then held on tightly in the third period for a win all to force a Game 7 at home on Tuesday night. It was a great team victory with 5 different players chipping in with goals.
We had really dug ourselves a big hole falling behind 3 to 1 in the series but now the series comes down to one game. We must maintain our focus and continue to dictate the pace of play. I think our size and skill and speed are wearing on other teams and it is a long series. But tomorrow we face our highest risk, a one game playoff series clincher for the right to move on to the second round.
When I arrived in Manhattan yesterday, I took it as a positive sign that there was a big Greek Memorial Day Parade being held. There were blue and white flags everywhere with Greek music being played loudly. Yassou!
In regards to all of the swirl and noise that is being generated around the series, I am committed to keeping our team focused and we need to rise above it all and keep our heads on straight. I have learned a lot from playoffs past. It is important to have the team focused on a single goal and not get distracted with any hoopla or extraneous issues. We can’t generate any excuses for not being focused on the task at hand.
All that matters now is Game 7 Tuesday night at Verizon Center. That is the signal we must be focused on so we block out any and all distractions. We played hard all season long to claim home ice advantage and this is now our time. Put your game faces on. Wear Red and come out and enjoy Game 7 of the first round of the playoffs. What could be more fun than this? Onward. Go Caps and thanks for the support!
April 27 at 6:15pm
The Red Thunder Is Rumbling!!! Can you feel it? I SAID, CAN YOU FEEL IT!!!!! OH YEAH!!!!
Wrote this poem last night & had to share!
Tortorella smelled a smella,
What it was he couldn’t tella,
The Caps came along & rang his bella!
Game 6 he’s sittin’ in the Coach’s Cella,
Again he smelled that awful smella,
Turned out t’was him t’was the stinky fella!
Jonas, while it’s true that we need to dictate the tempo of the game, to me the biggest difficulty that the team has had to battle this year has been the big defensive mistake, which has seemed to consistently lead to goals by the opposition. To me, this series turned around on one play: After the Caps got the first goal in game 5, the defense got caught up ice again and the Rangers had a clear 2 on 1, but shot the puck wide. If that puck had gone in, as has happened on so many similar occasions this season, maybe that game is completely different and the series is over. But that time it didn’t cost them, and the Caps then started capitalizing on their dominant play from net to net.
Your comment about not needing to play a perfect game may or may not be true. If Henrik gets back to the way he was in games 1-4, one mistake absolutely can decide the series.
Teddy, I am Rocking the Red and I am loving “The Team”! WAY TO GO CAPS!!
ted…tell brucie a little crisper passing..a little more forecheck..could be key..to the win in game 7..great grind..varlamov is turning heads eh..the boys would not be playing game 7 if not for him…lets go caps…98caps
Ted: It’s unfortunate that Colin Campbell decided to suspend Donald Brashear for six games. I only wish he was more consistent in his discipline policies; it seems that he is more interested in the “result” rather than the intention. Intentional dirty hits happen on a routine basis but, if the opposing player does not have an injury “result,” nothing occurs from Campbell. No matter, Brash inspired the team to a great game six win.
As a loyal Georgeown University alum, you may have crossed paths with a Jesuit there named Brian Conley. He plays street hockey with us on Capitol Hill (we’ve nicknamed him “Father Hockey”). If you give him Game 7 tickets behind the Rangers bench, that’ll be a guarantee of courteous fan behavior(!). (He has no idea that I’m writing this.) By the way, my buddy Rob (a career journalist) was in the second row behind the NYR bench for Game 6, two seats over from the ‘incident.’ He saw the whole thing, in case the NHL or the Caps want to interview him.
Let’s go Caps!!!!!!!!!!!
When Pierre Maguire asked OV & Poti about “what did you learn from last years game 7 and what are you going to do differently this year”?, I thought it was a stupid question.
OV suggested coming home and having fans and energy would help and Poti said learning that one bad play can make/break you is important.
However, after I’ve thought about it some more, game 7 last year was a good learning experience. We’ve been there. We know what it’s like. We know a bad call or a communication break-down can not only end the game, but send you packing until next year.
While the temptation is to play a perfect game, it’s actually about making the Rangers play our game. We’ve imposed our will the last two, and we have to do it again tomorrow night.
Every player is getting on the same page, and believing in each other – you can see it. Maybe Varlamov helped make this happen, but it seems everyone is reading from the same sheet of music.
It doesn’t matter who plays tomorrow for Brash, it matters only that they play from the same play-book.
The VC will be electric tomorrow night and I’m looking forward to counting down the clock as we congratulate the team on advancing to round 2!
Let’s GO CAPS!!!!!!!!
Ted,
Wow!!! What determination and grit the team has shown in these last two games to even the series and bring it back to Verizon Center for Game 7. Go Caps!!!!! Rock the Red!!!!!
Let’s go CAPS!!! Game 7, and beyond!
Oh, and can we put up protective netting behind the Rangers bench? Apparently objects occasionally leave that area and go flying into the crowd…
The greatest event in any sport, Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Go CAPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Last Thursday, I was in NYC attending a conference at Columbia University. As I left the campus in the evening to catch the subway, I took a short cut down the hill on the east side. At the bottom of the hill I was greeted by a NYPD officer in a squad car who asked where I was coming from and why I didn’t use the path with lights (there was still a bit of daylight). After he admonished me about the potential threat from people in the bushes smoking “weed”, I walked on. Then I walked back to the car and said, “One more thing, I predict a Caps win in seven.” He immediately protested that the Rangers were up 3-1, that it would never happen — I just kept walking. So far, so good!
Ted,
I love how you have grown this hockey team around a core of young talent with a perfect mix of veteran leadership and experience. You made the right decision to tear down and rebuild from scratch, and I admire the way you have let your top-notch management team make a success of your plan and your vision.
While it’s a truism that Game 7 of a playoff can be a bit of a crapshoot, I have faith that Tuesday night is going to be the next step on the road to the Cup. We’ve got a great team and an incredible coach, with an excellent organization and an energized fan base behind them. We’re going deep this year, and 16 victories is achievable.
More importantly, the Caps are no one-trick pony. With the guys you have on board now, a bunch of talented minor leaguers nipping at everyone’s heels for future roster spots, great scouting, and a superb hockey operation, this team is destined for many years of playoffs to come.
Regardless of whether this season ends tomorrow night or with a Stanley Cup victory, you deserve the highest accolades for all the Caps have accomplished and for doing things the right way. You have made Washington, DC a real hockey town.
Rock the Red! Go Caps!
Can we hope that the AC is on in the phone booth this very moment? Can we make the ice a non-issue in game seven?
I’m going to be there on Tuesday with our 404 family. Nothing can stop us if we play our game.
Ticket in hand, voice and throat rested. Game on baby!
It comes down to Game 7 at the Phone Booth. This is Caps hockey. I can’t stop saying that this is soooooooo much fun. ROCK THE RED!