The streak is over. We lost in an odd game in OT in Montreal. What a game, a 6-5 OT loss. The three “uncontrollables” were finally working against us.
- Luck. We hit the post twice and neither went in.
- Officiating. Glen Metropolit’s goal counted and Alex Ovechkin’s didn’t.
- Health. Our starting goaltender left early with an injury and Jose Theodore was hustled in and was scored on a lot during that second period. Jose then went on to play quite well in the third period and his work kept us in the game.
Once again, we played with great determination and showed grace under pressure. We came back from a three goal deficit to tie the game and force OT. We scored with less than 30 seconds left to tie it up. We scored three goals in the third period. We are never out of a game. Never count us out.
I am thankful. We got a point for our efforts. We end a winning streak at 14 games. We have points in 15 straight games. We now have 89 points, 14 better than second place in the east New Jersey Devils and two points ahead of San Jose for the best record in the NHL. We are 26 points up on Tampa in our division.
We have scored 239 goals. I did a double take when I saw that we have scored 49 more goals than the Penguins in the same amount of games. Only one other team has scored 200 goals and that is San Jose with 200 even.
The stats really piled up during the streak but the streak is over. I am thankful to the team, coaching staff, fans and media for the wonderful work and support during the month. This streak was a once in a lifetime body of work. It has only happened three times before in NHL history. I hope you were all entertained. I hope we cherish the moments and thank the players for their great work.
And now we seek some normalcy. Two more games until the Olympic break.
It is hard to believe that we go at it again tonight, back to back games, but when we come back from the Olympic break we will have only 20 games left to play.
Twenty games to get back to our system; play better team defense; time to improve and get ready for more playoff like hockey. We will focus on health. We will focus on getting injured players back into the line up. We will focus on the playoffs. We will focus on improving the team without upsetting team chemistry. The streak is over. I am thankful. We didn’t get too high with the highs. We won’t get too low with the lows.
Go Caps! Onward. Thank you.
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Mr. Leonsis, did you hear that the Habs game broke the CSN viewing record for a Caps game? Some 148,000 people in DC and Baltimore were watching that game… That is truely amazing sir.
http://www.csnwashington.com/02/11/10/Capitals-Canadiens-Earns-Record-Rating-/landing_09.html?blockID=179234&feedID=287
Love you and love the Caps, Ted, but you and Bruce are making the goalies do way way too much work. No goalie could block that many shots — when is the team going to provide some defense before the puck gets to the goalie? Adding some real D is what needs to be done before the trade deadline. We have the most explosive and exciting offense in the NHL, but we are not going to get all the way to the cup if the goalie is the only line of defense.
The D is scary bad right now….even in the streak we were giving up 30-35 shots and the goalkeeping was there…at the same time it was a great run….the last three games we should have dropped them all and if we didn’t have the best O in the game we would have…
With that being said the guys have no quit in them…it’s a great trait…but the announcers are saying it and everyone in the league is saying it….i just hope we’re at least keeping our options open when it comes to defensive options…I don’t think the answer is to do something just to do something and I’m not being one of those fans that says blow it up…we are the best team in hockey….agree. It will be very dissapointing to all when the playoffs roll around and other teams tighten up….we have to to….and I’m not to sure….
Go Caps and let’s tighten up in St. Louis…go out on the break on a good note.
14 game winning streak!! I remember back in the l days at Capital Center the Caps were lucky to win ten games a year. Late 70′s, the Caps played Montreal and tied them. The celebration was so loud, you’d think won the CUP. We are now light years ahead of the old days. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Frank
Georgetown, Foreign Service, ’63
Great run! I feel that a loss is better now than post-Olympics. There would be too many other factors to blame then; and now the guys can go and represent their respective countries without that monkey on their backs. Thank you and congrats to the entire organization. I am proud to be a Caps fan.
Time to begin another one.
The streak was great while it lasted. Now that it’s done, a good time to break for the Olympics and re-set for the last part of the season and the playoffs. Congrats to you and the team and Go Caps!
Teddy, I can handle the loss. It will keep us hungry! The goal, no goal call by the NHL official ticked me off but I loved the way Coach Bruceeee kept steady eye contact with the referee while discussing the situation. As I think about it, there were a couple of situations and its happened before! But the goal scored 30 seconds before the end of the game speaks to The Caps “RELENTLESS BRILLANCE”!
While the streak was a lot of fun, I’m fine to see it end. The physical and mental toll of trying to sustain such momentum would be better served when the post-season arrives.
What a fun ride January and early February have been — and definitely we fans — this one anyway!! — thank the players and coaching staff for letting us experience this. Well done! You and they will also be thankful to know that the streak has brought new fans to the Caps, who won’t go away because of this loss. As one of the players said on one of your videos in the past week anyway, you play the regular season to get ready for the playoffs. While I hate thinking of losses having silver linings, perhaps now the sole concentration can be on sharpening up play so that when the playoffs begin the team will be more than ready. (I just hope the two week break for the Olympics doesn’t have long term consequences for focus.)
Please keep the eyes on the Cup. The streak means very little without that.
The streak has been fun for sure. We’ve certainly had our share of luck during the streak, but last night the Habs seemed to have luck. Honestly though, that game was probably one of the most enjoyable losses I have ever watched. I just love watching this team.
One thing I wish is that Ted and Bruce would stop criticizing the refs so much when calls go against us, especially during the regular season. It does seem like we are on the wrong end of a lot of close calls, maybe its because we blame the refs so much? Maybe a little more respect for them and we would start getting the benefit of the doubt more.
All good things must come to an end – but wow, what a run. As a Canadian who typically watches a couple hundred games of hockey a year, I haven’t seen a hockey team play like the Caps did on this stretch since the London Knights won the Memorial Cup in 2005… and obviously much longer since an NHL team dominated like you have over the last month.
The loss is a godsend though, because this team needs to get a little ‘mental rest’ for the playoffs – the streak was becoming a massive entity unto itself and the Caps were enduring a playoff type atmosphere every night, just to keep the streak alive.
It served to put so much distance between Washington and the pack that now they can breathe a little, and get ready for a long and very successful run at Lord Stanley’s Cup.
Congratulations Ted.
Thank you – while a little sad that the streak is over, one cannot but be grateful for the fabulous 14-game ride. I do worry about the deteriorating quality of officiating — the NHL’s disciplinary system is also broken — and I hope you and GMGM will raise this in the off season, if not before. Officiating and very bad defensive zone play really cost us last night. The defensive zone play hopefully we can fix, and quickly — the officiating is another matter.
I know you and the team have to check your first amendment rights at the door in the NHL, but it is a serious problem.