Monthly Archives: November 2009

Our First Blowout Loss

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That is a fact. Last night was the first game this season where we were down three goals to an opponent. It was an odd game in that we jumped on them 2-0 to start the game.

Twenty games in and one loss of magnitude. It happens.

We seemed tired. We seemed short-handed. We didn’t draw a single power play for a long time last night either.

New Jersey is playing great team oriented hockey. They are the hottest team in the NHL. They deserved the win.

We have lost to them twice without Alex Ovechkin in the lineup in the last two weeks.

We have to regroup now.

Injuries are piling up on our end. Jurcina. Gordon. Knuble. Ovechkin.

It is a long season. It is a grind.

Back to back games are tough. We get a couple of days off before our next game against the New York Rangers perhaps reinforcements are on the way. Here’s to better health. Go Caps!

A W and an L

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A win is a win, another two points garnered in the standings column and we are still first in the East. We did it without Alex Ovechkin and without Mike Knuble. His loss will also hurt a lot.

Injuries can’t be planned for and you can prepare somewhat and have depth in the lineup but taking away Alex Ovechkin and now Mike Knuble - at some point - is going to hurt.

I am very proud of our team. We are playing with a gang-like mentality, buzzing the net with everyone pitching in and doing their part.

But tonight, that will be tough.

We play back to back. We travel to NJ. They are second in the East.

We are missing key components. They have Marty and the team is pretty healthy. No excuses. As Belushi says in the film clip, ”Let’s do it!”…

Thanks for the great turnout last night. We are so appreciative of your support. Go Caps! Ted

A Tough Weekend

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We have back to back games at home tonight against the Wild and then back to NJ against the Devils.

The Devils are playing great and it is a shame that we will have played them two times in two weeks without the services of Alex Ovechkin. Or maybe Alex will play - one never ones - but I don’t think he will but maybe, maybe not? Four weeks? Two weeks? This weekend? Stay tuned.

As noted, we are positioned well. We only want Alex to come and play when he honestly feels 100% and has no lingering issues. Patience is a virtue for all of us here and our issue is keeping Alex from being so revved up that he demands to play when he is only 90% recovered. It is a long season. We are winning games with Alex in the press box. We will always be conservative when it comes to the health of Alex Ovechkin.

See this blog post about the Devils vs. Pens last night.

The Wild play like the Devils too with a heavy D oriented system playing tough against your own turnovers and hoping to score on the power play. It should be interesting match-ups. See you all tonight. Rock the Red! Go Caps!

Thanks for Honoring the Vets

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Last night there was a rousing standing ovation for our Veterans and service people at the Capitals game. Thank you. It was a wonderful tribute.

But now life goes on and the issues that haunt us regarding our Vets remains and should be forefront in our thoughts.

Here is a moving film on one veteran. He is homeless and he is in need.  When I Came Home is a very moving film about an unpopular subject. Watch it. Honor our Veterans. Help us all do something about this issue. Thank you.

Just for One Minute

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One second. Don’t send me that email. :-) Wait for a day to complain. Chill for the moment. Smile. Laugh. Enjoy. Have some fun!

Caps are in first place in the East after last night’s win.

We aren’t undefeated this season so we have room to improve.

We haven’t played up to our own standards - let alone many of your standards - we have work to do.

We aren’t a great team yet. We understand.

We score lots of goals - 14 more than the next best team in the NHL East – but we let in way too many goals. We know that and we take too many penalties. We understand.

Continue reading →

A 6th Round Pick

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Not a bad pick in the 6th round, huh?

Another player drafted, developed and inculcated with the right habits and culture down in Hershey and another young prospect helping us immediately once he steps on the ice.

We have depth. We have a system that is taught everywhere and adhered to and we have many talented prospects that will push our veterans for ice time. They are hungry. They deserve the chance to play and make an impact and make their dreams of playing in the NHL come to fruition.

We love youth. We embrace giving everyone in our system a chance to play and show us what they can do. We believe this is also a show of loyalty by letting our own young players get a chance to contribute and rewarding them for their efforts in the AHL on our behalf instead of taking a chance on someone else’s vet player. This is a part of our philosophy and plan.

I am proud of Mathieu Perreault. I am proud to be associated with the Hershey Bears. Go Bears! Keep ‘em coming our way. Go Caps! Read this article.

Caps, Microsoft and the USO

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Volunteering and giving back, it makes us all happy.

Thank you Microsoft. You organized and sponsored a great day where we all showed teamwork as we stuffed 5,000 care packages in an afternoon to send to our troops overseas.

The USO is a very meaningful and important NGO. Anything we can do to show support to our brave country men and women that help to keep us safe is of paramount importance.

We are also working with Microsoft to support the Wounded Warriors program and Microsoft will host many of the heroes at our game tonight against the Islanders.

Kudos to the volunteers and to the USO. Thank you again Microsoft for caring so much.