Comcast SportsNet pulled big numbers last night for the Capitals vs. Penguins game. We were rated at a 3.3 household rating with a 6.5 rating with men in the 25 to 54 age range.
Kudos all around. Go Caps!
Tag Archives: Pittsburgh Penguins
3 in 5
We beat the Penguins last night 6-3. It was only the first of four games we will play against them this season. We shouldn’t get too excited. But good for us. It was a fun game.
We played well. We can score a lot of goals. We are a better team than last season.
This was a tough week. We beat Philly. We beat Detroit and we beat Pittsburgh. We beat three rivals in five days. That stretch showed how mentally and emotionally tough and developed we have become. It is really difficult to “get up” for so many big and tough games in a row.
Fifty games played – 70 points garnered – 191 goals scored to date.
We are a work in progress.
This may be the best Caps team – in the regular season - in our history. We are having our best year at the gate and off the ice.
But we want to be the best team in our history and we all know what we have to do to prove that out.
Hence, I am proud of the team and of our fan base but warn everyone that we should not get hyper excited. We are focused on one goal. We have work to do. It is still early.
We are allowed to enjoy the journey though. We are given permission to be happy moment by moment so kick back and smile. We can start to worry about a letdown for Saturday’s game later tonight. Until then – Go Caps! Thank you.
Red Alert – Caps vs. Pens Game on Feb. 7
The Capitals vs. Penguins game on February 7th at Verizon Center will now start at 12:00 noon. We will be a national TV game and a great counter programming stunt on Super Bowl Sunday. Heads up on the time change!
Odd Scheduling
The season is more than half over and tonight is the first time we play the Penguins. While we all look forward to the game, it has been hard to get hyped up for it this week. We played the Flyers on Sunday before a full house then we went on to play Detroit before a really loud and proud crowd. We were fortunate to get two wins so far this week.
Tonight we play the defending Stanley Cup champs on the road. On Tuesday we played the former defending Stanley Cup champs at home. And on Saturday we play the much improved Coyotes at home. Four games all in a week with some travel thrown in. Tough scheduling. All are games against very good or great teams. I wish this game had some breathing room and was spotlighted on a weekend instead of landing in such a tight space of the 3rd game out of 4 games in the same week.
Every game is competitive. Every game is a mini drama. Every game is worth two points in the standings.
We all want to win tonight but we need to put these regular season games in perspective. If we win, we won’t celebrate too much. If we lose, we won’t be down too much. We play yet again on Saturday night.
Hockey’s Dream Series
Nice to see Time Magazine mention the Caps vs. Pens series last season as one of its Top 10 sports moments. We won the game; we lost the series; and the Pens went on to win the Cup deservedly so. Check out this article.
Those playoff games seem so far away. So long ago.
We are in the midst of reinvention, a new season and a long road trip. More injuries are piling up. Yuck.We got done to us last night what we did to Tampa on Monday night. We were shut out. We didn’t take advantage of our opportunities to score and their goaltender was on top of his game and was the difference maker. Buffalo was the better team last night. Our six game winning streak is over. Back to work. See you all Friday night at home against Carolina. You can’t win them all. Sorry about that.
What Does the Penguins’ Win of the Stanley Cup Mean for Us?
Many fans and members of the media have reached out to me to ask my opinion of the Penguins win of the Stanley Cup; what it means for the Caps; and my thoughts as to how well we played against them in our series.
And here is my answer: It means absolutely nothing to us. This year’s version of the Penguins was the best team in the NHL. They proved it outright and they deserved to win the championship. That we played them well in our playoff 7 game series offers me zero solace. We lost and they won. Next slide. There is no consolation prize in sports. We don’t get graded on efforts just on outcomes. We want to win a Stanley Cup. We didn’t get it done. The Penguins won the Cup and deservedly so.
Torch was Passed
As noted in my blog twice this series, the Pittsburgh Penguins are the better team and they deserved to win the Stanley Cup. The torch has been passed from the Red Wings to the Penguins. They are the class of the NHL. They are the champs and they deserve everyone’s respect and congratulations.
They are a great set of core young players and they have a great franchise; great fan base; great ownership and coaching. We all have our hands full now. They came back from two game deficits in two different series. They won two Game 7′s on the road. They are worthy Stanley Cup winners. That kind of determination has never been shown before in NHL history. Youth must be served. Kudos and congratulations to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Two Great Series Continue
The Stanley Cup Finals have been as advertised - with great skill; lots of star power and truly competitive - the best the NHL has to offer.
The two teams that are still competing have set the bar quite high for us to jump over. They are both strong in goal and have strong and mobile D that scores and gets pucks on the net; lots of depth; great strength down the middle; and forwards that back check, crash the net, draw penalties and can score.
This has been a showcase for great hockey and it has been a joy to watch.
The Importance of Discipline
Here is a very smart piece on officiating in the NHL playoffs and how important it is to stay out of the penalty box. And how important it is to capitalize on your opportunities with a man advantage or be efficient in the penalty kill. This article also offers a good analysis on the officials and who calls what.
I was not surprised to see that we had the worst efficiency rating in power plays to penalty kills in the league during the playoffs and that the two finalists, the Penguins and Red Wings, are ranked number 1 and number 2. When you see we are last in terms of differential - we had 13 less power plays than penalties against - it is a wonder that we went to game 7 in Round 2 in the playoffs, isn’t it? Twenty-six minutes of being purely short-handed is a lot of time in the playoffs.
They Are What Their Records Say They Are
The Red Wings vs. the Penguins rematch in the Stanley Cup Finals will be great theater.
They are the two best teams in the NHL.
They both play a high tempo aggressive game. Both teams are filled with star players and have very good D; great centers; strong goaltending; great special teams play; and are well coached and have experience throughout the lineups.