I watched Georgetown lose to Old Dominion on television at our on campus arena. That was a bad omen. And unexpected. I was unhappy and surprised.
I then watched the Wizards get spanked by the Suns. That game wasn’t close. The Suns were running and gunning and the final score wasn’t indicative of the closeness of that game. The Wizard’s injuries seem to be piling up again as well. Yikes. What a tough schedule indeed. Now they have to try to fly back into DC. I hope they travel safe and sound.
And then the Caps were down 2-0 after two periods last night. I was worried about their flight home after the game with the snow storm. I was worried about our young goaltender and his psyche. I was worried about losing back to back games. Our team looked tired and frankly uninspired.
And then we came out in the third period and played hard. Alex Ovechkin played like the MVP that he is scoring less than a minute into the period and then tying the score up single handedly. That performance gave the team the lift it needed.
We won 4-2. We get the two points. We end a 5000 mile road trip in seven days. We are none the worse for wear. We go 2 and 2 on this trip which is pretty productive considering the travel and schedule.
We played well in 3 of the 4 games and we are now 7 and 3 in our last 10 games with 8 of the last 10 played on the road. We have finished a tough schedule segment. We now play a few at home then travel back out west for a very tough segment with San Jose and LA on the docket.
We have 50 points to date but we are now behind both NJ and Pittsburgh in the standings. We are by far the highest scoring team in the NHL even though our power play has gone zero for 8 in the last two games.
My Facebook friends voted to stay in the snow - which we did - and now we hope our team makes it back safely and the guys get some well deserved sleep, rest and recovery time. Go Caps!
Tags: Alex Ovechkin, Ted Leonsis, Ted's Take, Washington Capitals
Right on, Ted. Being challenged by Bruce as they were and coming back to play the way they did in the last period of what has basically an 8-game road trip was very impressive and another indication of the character of the team. It would have been very easy to just play out the string on getaway day. The team continues to find additional aspects of its identity. (A one-game stopover in DC, other than the crowd assist, is just like another leg of an ongoing trip)
What’s nice about recent Caps squads is that they know they can and should win on any given night, and can more often than not dig deep to find a reserve to get the W. Never say never, but this years squad should be in the playoffs, and needs to use the rest of the regular season to get ready for playoff hockey, which we all know is quite different than regular season hockey (and probably why President’s Trophy teams never win the Cup). Harder to give up two fluky goals and still win in the playoffs. That being said, a nice win on the road and I hope the squad gets home quickly and safely.
Teddy, It was a tough schedule and a lot of travel! So, the last game for this road trip was a sweet win. I know the oilers THOUGHT they had it in the bag but we knew better. Whatever words of inspiration Burceee offered at the end of the 2nd period, it worked. I guess our young goaltender’s psyche feels pretty good this morning. I hope the team got to sleep in. I did. Rock the Red!! Way to Go Caps!!!
Great win for the Caps. To fight back like that after such an arduous month shows tremendous character. I think this year’s team has intangibles that come with experience. I am very optimistic about the Caps prospects this year. Rock the Red!
On a different subject, if and when the purchase of the Wizards happens I would like to make a request. Please don’t change their colors to red, white, and blue. I always thought it was cheesy when the local indoor teams were color coordinated and my opinion hasn’t changed. I think it is a good thing that the Wizards and Mystics have their own brand and identity. Further, the Capitals and Nationals already share the same color scheme. We don’t need four teams in town with the same brand, it’s just overkill.
The Caps still haven’t hit their stride and are still setting franchise records … it’s easy to forget as a fan where they are and to want the Caps to earn every single point available in the schedule. That is completely unrealistic. Great road trip. We look forward to having the Caps home in DC in the coming weeks. Go Caps!