Capitals Playoff Watch

GSPODS · Post by **GSPODS** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 9:27 pm

Another Caps Win
Ovechkin for the Hart Trophy
Nice 137' empty net goal by Poti to ice the game.

Doesn't look like a Senators loss tonight.

Sir_Monk · Post by **Sir_Monk** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 9:44 pm

Doesn't look like a Senators loss tonight.

I thought the Leafs had a good shot at winning that game until the cheep shot by Green woke up the Sens.

Steve Spurrier III · Post by **Steve Spurrier III** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 2:18 am

Another awesome game. What do we think about this Ovechkin guy - is he any good? The Caps don't get the help they need, but at least for one day, they're in the top eight.

Friday, April 4

Updated Standings:

Code: Select all

 # Team           Pts  GR

 1 Canadians (N)  102   1- clinched Northeast
 2 Penguins (A)   102   1 - clinched Atlantic
 3 Hurricanes (S)  92   1 - magic number: 2
 4 Devils          97   2 - clinched playoffs
 5 Rangers         95   2 - clinched playoffs
 6 Senators        94   1 - magic number: 1
 7 Bruins          92   2 - magic number: 3
 8 CAPITALS        92   1 - magic number: 3
--------------------------
 9 Flyers          91   2 - elimination number: 3

Today's Games

Panthers at Hurricanes; 7:00
Bruins at Senators; 7:30
Devils at Flyers; 7:00

If the Hurricanes or Flyers lose, OR if the Bruins/Sentaors game ends in regulation, the Capitals gain control of their own destiny. We're in pretty good shape, all things considered.

GSPODS · Post by **GSPODS** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 5:22 am

News & Notes

Alexander Ovechkin broke Luc Robataille's single season record for goals by a left wing with his 64th and 65th of the season last night versus the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Goaltender Cristobal Huet is 10-2-0 since being acquired by Washington at the trade deadline. He’s won eight consecutive decisions, the longest winning streak for a Washington goaltender since Pete Peeters won nine in a row from Jan. 28 to March 3, 1987.

Alex Ovechkin’s game-winner was his League-leading 22nd power-play goal, tying the team record set by Peter Bondra.

The Capitals have won six in a row — their longest winning streak since Jan. 8-19, 2000 — and 10 of their last 11. They also notched their 17th comeback victory under coach Bruce Boudreau.

Sir_Monk · Post by **Sir_Monk** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 9:46 am

Updated Playoff Scenarios

Capitals Win Southeast Division

1) Capitals win final game (two points) AND Hurricanes lose final game in regulation or overtime (one point or less).

2) Capitals lose final game in overtime (one point) AND Hurricanes lose final game (no points).

Capitals Get In Over Bruins

1) Capitals win final game (two points) AND Bruins split their final two games OR lose both in overtime (two points).

2) Capitals lose final game in overtime (one point) AND Bruins lose one game in regulation and one in overtime (one point).

3) Capitals lose final game (no points) AND Bruins lose both games in regulation (no points).

Capitals Get In Over Flyers

1) Capitals win final game (two points) AND Flyers win one game and lose one in overtime (three points).

2) Capitals lose final game in overtime (one point) AND Flyers split final two games or lose both in overtime (two points).

3) Capitals lose final game (no points) AND Flyers lose one game in regulation and one in overtime (one point).

4) Flyers lose final two games in regulation (no points).

Capitals Get In Over Senators

1) Capitals win final game(two points) AND Senators lose final game (no points).

NC43Hog · Post by **NC43Hog** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 11:00 am

Sounds really familiar to Redskins playoff scenarios, just change the team names.

GSPODS · Post by **GSPODS** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 9:35 pm

Thank You Florida Panthers

The Caps Win and they take the #3 Seed

JansenFan · Post by **JansenFan** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 11:12 pm

Or tie

GSPODS · Post by **GSPODS** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 5:55 am

Saturday, April 5

Updated Standings:

Code: Select all

 # Team           Pts  GR

 1 Penguins (A)   102   1 - clinched Atlantic
 2 Canadiens (N)  102   1- clinched Northeast
 3 CAPITALS        92   1 - magic number: 1
 4 Devils          97   1 - clinched playoffs
 5 Rangers         96   1 - clinched playoffs
 6 Bruins          94   1 - clinched playoffs
 7 Senators        94   0 - clinched playoffs
 8 Flyers          93   1 - clinched playoffs 
 9 Hurricanes (S)  92   0 - elimination number: 1

Today's Games

Panthers @ Capitals 7:00 PM ET
7:00 PM ET HD NET CSN-DC (HD) XM 207

Steve Spurrier III · Post by **Steve Spurrier III** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 2:15 pm

Since we're either going to be the three seed or not in the playoffs at all, who would we want to be the six seed? I believe the six seed can only either be Boston, Ottawa or Philadelphia.

vs. Boston
1/3 Bruins 2 Caps 0
3/3 Caps 10 Bruins 2
3/8 Bruins 2 Caps 1
3/16 Caps 2 Bruins 1 (SO)

vs. Ottawa
11/8 Caps 4 Sens 1
12/29 Caps 8 Sens 6
1/1 Caps 6 Sens 3
1/15 Caps 4 Sens 2

vs. Philadelphia
11/2 Flyers 3 Caps 2
11/23 Caps 4 Flyers 3 (OT)
1/13 Flyers 6 Caps 4
2/6 Caps 4 Flyers 3

Personally, the last team I want to play is Philadelphia, simply because we will end up with a lot of Flyers fans in the Verizon Center, compromising our home ice advantage.

The Capitals have owned the Senators all season, and they've been in a free fall lately, so they really look like our best match-up, no?

To face the Senators, we need a Boston regulation loss and a Philadelphia loss.

If Boston wins, they're the six seed. If they lose in overtime, a Flyers win will give them the six seed.

Sir_Monk · Post by **Sir_Monk** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 3:34 pm

The Capitals have owned the Senators all season, and they've been in a free fall lately, so they really look like our best match-up, no?

To face the Senators, we need a Boston regulation loss and a Philadelphia loss.

If Boston wins, they're the six seed. If they lose in overtime, a Flyers win will give them the six seed.

and a Caps win

GSPODS · Post by **GSPODS** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 4:18 pm

Steve Spurrier III wrote:Since we're either going to be the three seed or not in the playoffs at all, who would we want to be the six seed? I believe the six seed can only either be Boston, Ottawa or Philadelphia.

vs. Boston
1/3 Bruins 2 Caps 0
3/3 Caps 10 Bruins 2
3/8 Bruins 2 Caps 1
3/16 Caps 2 Bruins 1 (SO)

vs. Ottawa
11/8 Caps 4 Sens 1
12/29 Caps 8 Sens 6
1/1 Caps 6 Sens 3
1/15 Caps 4 Sens 2

vs. Philadelphia
11/2 Flyers 3 Caps 2
11/23 Caps 4 Flyers 3 (OT)
1/13 Flyers 6 Caps 4
2/6 Caps 4 Flyers 3

Personally, the last team I want to play is Philadelphia, simply because we will end up with a lot of Flyers fans in the Verizon Center, compromising our home ice advantage.

The Capitals have owned the Senators all season, and they've been in a free fall lately, so they really look like our best match-up, no?

To face the Senators, we need a Boston regulation loss and a Philadelphia loss.

If Boston wins, they're the six seed. If they lose in overtime, a Flyers win will give them the six seed.

The Caps didn't have a losing record against any of these teams, and some of those games were before Bruce took over the reigns. I'll take a Caps win and anyone who dares to challenge them in the playoffs.

GSPODS · Post by **GSPODS** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 9:26 pm

#3 Seed - Your Washington Capitals

Jake · Post by **Jake** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 9:34 pm

WAY TO GO CAPS! :rock:

Sir_Monk · Post by **Sir_Monk** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 9:48 pm

C
A
P
S
CAPS CAPS CAPS!!!!!!!!!!!!! SE Division Champs!!!

Steve Spurrier III · Post by **Steve Spurrier III** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 11:35 pm

Irn-Bru · Post by **Irn-Bru** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 12:51 am

, SSIII

GSPODS · Post by **GSPODS** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 6:31 am

Less than six months ago, the Washington Capitals had the worst record in the Eastern Conference at 6-14-1, a performance that prompted General Manager George McPhee to replace coach Glen Hanlon with lifelong minor-league bench boss Bruce Boudreau.

Thirty-seven wins later, the Capitals are Southeast Division champions.

Needing just one point to claim the title following the Carolina Hurricanes’ 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers on Friday night, the Caps got two. Sergei Fedorov and Alexander Semin each had a goal and an assist, and Cristobal Huet made 25 saves as Washington’s improbable run to the division title came to fruition with a 3-1 win over the Panthers at a raucous Verizon Center on Saturday night.

The win was the Capitals’ seventh straight, as they ran the table to capture the division crown. Washington, which was in last place in the Southeast as late as Dec. 30, has not been on such a tear in 15 years. It’s also the first time the Caps have reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2003.

Remarkably, they also became the first NHL team to make the playoffs after sitting at 14th or 15th in the conference at the halfway mark.

''There was never a word of 'We couldn't' or 'We won't' or 'We can't,''' said Boudreau, who will likely be a candidate for the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s top coach. ''It was always pushing through and believing in ourselves. I just hope I wake up tomorrow and look and 'We are in.' This whole season's been a dream.''

Happy Birthday – To Capitals goaltender Olie Kolzig, who celebrates his 38th birthday on Sunday.

GSPODS · Post by **GSPODS** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 9:24 am

Steve Spurrier III wrote:

Now, all they need to do is to have "I'm On The Outside, Looking In" playing on the main page of their website.

Sir_Monk · Post by **Sir_Monk** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 10:35 am

Dialed In for the Long Stretch

By Thomas Boswell
Sunday, April 6, 2008; Page D01

A Capitals story that shamed most hockey fairy tales, a dream that seemed almost too silly to speak for months, came true in the pandemonium of Verizon Center last night. A team that was the worst in the NHL on Thanksgiving day, but climbed and clawed for months, finally reached the playoffs on the last day of the season with a 3-1 victory over Florida.

This Story
Coming All the Way Back
Game Summary: Capitals 3, Panthers 1
Thomas Boswell: Dialed in for the Long Stretch
D.C. Sports Bog Excerpt: Scarlet Fever Breaks Out Among Playoff-Bound Caps -- and Their Fans
View All Items in This Story
View Only Top Items in This Story
For 134 days, the Capitals fought to have their playoff destiny in their hands. For months, they slowly crept up the standings until finally this Washington team found itself in a place it had imagined for so long yet always wondered if it could actually reach. On the 135th day, before a sellout "red-out" crowd of jubilant hysterics, what once seemed the stuff of fiction suddenly became the reality of the moment: Win and you're in, lose and you're out. Convincingly, decisively, they won.

"We just saw history. To push that hard for that long when you had to keep winning, week after week, that's the greatest thing I've ever been around in hockey," said Capitals General Manager George McPhee, shaking his head just moments after the Capitals' 11th win in 12 games as Verizon Center shook with cheers.

"We'd win and feel good for an hour. Then we'd look up and we hadn't gained any ground. We were still alive, but not in. It was like that for I don't know how many weeks," said McPhee, who fired coach Glen Hanlon, who started the season 6-14-1 and hired minor league coach Bruce Boudreau on Thanksgiving, then traded for goalie Cristobal Huet, brainy center Sergei Fedorov and left wing Matt Cooke before the deadline.

"When Bruce arrived, nobody believe in us -- a done team, no future. But he believed," said Alex Ovechkin, who will now almost certainly be voted most valuable player after his 65 goals have translated into team success. "Now, everybody knows we are a very good team. My dream was to go to the playoffs. Right now, we're there. But it's only one step. We don't have to stop. It's only the beginning for this team."

Certainly, the Phone Booth faithful have caught the playoff fever for more than two months. With four minutes left to play, they began booming, "M-V-P" for Ovechkin. A minute later, they took up the chant for Boudreau, bellowing "Bouds" over and over. To his credit, Boudreau had no clue at first that the cheers were for him, reacting as though he had missed some crucial action on the ice which the crowd had seen. Never did he crack a smile, wave or show that his heart was swelled with pride after 33 pro years, most of them in bush league towns.

Is Boudreau basking in the glory? Hardly. "I just stay in the house," he said afterward. "If I see myself on TV, I turn it off. Like a lot of guys, I wish I could lose 30 pounds. Give the credit to the players. I'm happy to be here. That's my reward." His reward should also be in the words of his players who appreciate the way he allowed the team to open its playing style, be more aggressive and creative, and make the most of Ovechkin's vast ability.

"First of all, Bruce is a great guy," grinned the gap-toothed Ovechkin.

Just as important, with so much ground to make up and so many disappointments, so many temporary missteps along the way, Boudreau has kept his team's focus narrow -- one game at a time or even one shift on the ice.

"Keep simple things simple and go from there," said Fedorov, who was the best player on the ice in this clinching game, scoring a slap-shot goal but also checking and passing as if he were 10 years younger than his age of 38. "We took one game at a time, otherwise, we would have been thinking about everything that all the other teams might be doing. Then you don't have any energy left. Bruce kept us focused. When a team gets into good habits, everybody wants to keep playing exactly that way. It becomes addictive."

Even Boudreau admitted he had never seen a team at any level of hockey maintain a playoff push for such an incredible length of time, much less finish that run with an 11-1 streak when nothing less would suffice.

"I kept telling tem, 'Don't add pressure by figuring it all out. Just keep winning,' " Boudreau said. "But, no, I've never seen anything like this -- not this long at the end of the year."

And right down to this one last season-ending contest: win-and-in, lose-and-you're-out.

"This team has already played the equivalent of two playoff series. This was a Game 7 ," said owner Ted Leonsis, who blew kisses to the crowd with two minutes left to play. After a long brutal rebuilding process, which tore the Caps down to their foundations, Leonsis can now say of his fan support, "We've awoken a sleeping giant here. . . . I tried to give a UPS driver a $20 tip this morning and he gave it back."

Perhaps the most relieved man in Verizon Center was McPhee, the team architect whose future was on thin ice when this 135-day trek began. "It's tough to keep telling people to be patient, that there's a plan. . . . We looked for players who were talented, gritty, high character. . . . We can finally exhale. I've been telling people that some day we'd wake up and have a good team. I think that morning is tomorrow morning."

By every objective measure, that seems to be true, especially because, as Southeast Division champions, the Caps are suddenly a No. 3 seed with a first-round home-ice advantage.

Are the Caps now a team that has found its style, learned to maximize the abilities of its superstar and banded behind a balding humble and utterly authentic coach? Or, after such a sustained forced march, will they be out of gas in the playoffs?

For the moment, let that question pass. What the Capitals have accomplished deserves its own praise. In many arenas in many sports, the scoreboards play those sport-movie clips to get the crowd riled up. Every actor from Gene Hackman in "Hoosiers" to Al Pacino and Tom Cruise is invoked to scream and yell at some fantasy movie team. How ironic. No matter how decent the acting, it's all fake -- just Hollywood.

What Capitals fans have been watching since November, and especially in the last three amazing weeks, is the genuine article, the completely deserved and totally-real happy ending. After this victory, the Capitals lingered on the ice, taking in the cheers, preparing to give their game-used jerseys to winning fans in an end-of-season ritual. However, Boudreau was allowed the last word to the crowd.

"These are the coolest guys in the world," said the coach, who, fortunately, lacks an iota of cool in his entire sincere body. "We always believed, honest to God. Maybe nobody else did. But we did.

"In the playoffs, whoever we play is in for it. We're going to give 'em a tough battle."

After years of taking it, the Capitals may finally be ready to start dishing it out.

Sir_Monk · Post by **Sir_Monk** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 10:40 am

Now, all they need to do is to have "I'm On The Outside, Looking In" playing on the main page of their website.

Or they could change the Stanley Cup Playoff logo to read 2009. :lol:

EA7649 · Post by **EA7649** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 8:33 pm

The Flyers Capitals match up is going to be a good one. Obiviously facing the Capitals was the best case scenario no offense I think the Penguins are a little tougher than you guys and we would have been playing them in the play-offs if we lost to them today. Now since the play-offs are set in stone I believe this match up will go deep into the series because of your stud Ovechkin. The Flyers are more balanced team with 8, 20 goal scorers and stud Briere. The key to this series is

1) Marty Biron performace in play-offs (Just came off back to back shut outs to Devils and Penguins 2 highly ranked play-off teams.)

2) How Ovechkin plays with the spotlight on him.

3) Flyers power play has been horrible the need to improve that.

GSPODS · Post by **GSPODS** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 8:53 am

On Friday, the League’s top point- and goal-scorer Alex Ovechkin makes his NHL postseason debut as the Washington Capitals host the Philadelphia Flyers.

National network television coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs will be provided in the United States by NBC and VERSUS and in Canada by CBC, TSN and RDS.

NHL Radio on Westwood One will distribute live coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs to radio stations across North America. Every game can also be heard on XM Satellite Radio.

VERSUS begins its coverage Wednesday with a doubleheader featuring the Ottawa at Pittsburgh (7 p.m., ET) followed by Calgary at San Jose (10 p.m. ET).

NBC Sports will start its playoff coverage Saturday, April 12, featuring Nashville at Detroit (2 p.m., ET), and will continue coverage Sunday when Philadelphia travels to Washington to play the Capitals (2 p.m., ET). NBC will continue weekend afternoon coverage throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs in addition to prime-time coverage of the Stanley Cup Final.

GSPODS · Post by **GSPODS** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 9:19 am

Game 1 - Friday, 7 p.m. at Verizon Center (Versus)

Game 2 - Sunday, 2 p.m. at Verizon Center (NBC)

Game 3 - April 15, 7 p.m. at Wachovia Complex (Versus)

Game 4 - April 17, 7 p.m. at Wachovia Complex (Versus)

Game 5* - April 19, 1 p.m. at Verizon Center (NBC)

Game 6* - April 21, TBD at Wachovia Complex (Versus)

Game 7* - April 22, TBD at Verizon Center

* if necessary

Jake · Post by **Jake** » Fri Apr 11, 2008 7:12 pm

LET'S GO CAPS!!!! God I wish I was there right now!!!!