Here's an article on the Winter Classic I thought you all would enjoy per my cousin Jillian Gardiner. On Frozen Blog happens to be one of the best Capitals blogs around. I'm working on posting my own--it's written, but Blogger wont publish it.

Anyways, enjoy.

http://www.onfrozenblog.com/2011/02/01/plundering-western-pa-with-a-reversal-invasion.html

USA Flops in Semi-Finals

It's been quite a 10-day span for hockey. The World Junior Championships are in town, the Winter Classic was a success (well it was for Washington fans), and the IIHF got their dream match-up. Team USA and Team Canada have a deep-seeded rivalry like none other, and now they get a chance to face off, albeit, in the semi-finals. The winner of this game will get a chance to play Russia for the glory and the gold, the loser playing Sweden for the bronze. Though it cannot hope to match the significance of the last three North American games (USA/Canada Olympic bracket game, Olympic Gold Medal game and last year's WJC Championship game), it had intensity in its own right. Despite having the international tournament in Buffalo, New York, the game got under way in a mostly red building.
Team Canada got it started early with a goal from Curtis Hamilton. Storming the slot, Hamilton easily put the puck past USA goalie Jack Campbell who was far too aggressive on the play. Drawn out of his crease, he left the net wide open. Canada's Quinton Howden scored again with 6 minutes left in the first period on a nice tic-tac-toe play. Though physical, Team USA looked jittery and unsure of themselves, especially after the second goal. Campbell played at the top of his crease for much of the period, and was slow from post to post.
The United States got a chance to try out their second ranked power play at the start of the second period, but scoring no goals. With one second left on the penalty kill, Canada was given a chance to test out their power play, with a 5 on 3 for two minutes. With 35 seconds left, Canada scored a third goal. Jack Campbell made a few big saves, but often enough it looked as though he was out there playing alone. The last half of the period, Team USA began to get a few quality shots, however none went in.
The third period brought a breakout goal from Zach Kassian, making it 4-0 Canada. It took Team USA nearly 50 minutes to get a goal. Forward Chris Brown went upstairs on the Canadian goalie, giving Team USA a glimer of hope.
Sadly enough, USA wasn't able to pull through. Look for them to play Team Sweden on Wednesday at 330 on NHL Network. Team Canada (oh what a bitter taste that leaves in my mouth) will be playing Team Russia the same day at 730. Who besides me is hoping for a Russian victory?

The Winter Classic: A New Year Miracle

Large and imposing, bright lights lit up the sky as I caught my first glance of Heinz Field, looming high above the mouth of the three rivers from which it gets its nickname. A little voice, which I had been suppressing all week broke through--this is it, I thought. The months, weeks, and days of waiting were over; only a few short hours separated me from what might be the most intense game the Washington Capitals have possibly ever played in.

Walking the short half mile from the parking garage to the stadium, I passed thousands of tailgaters sporting jerseys from both teams. The air was filled with the smell of hot dogs, coca-cola and mustard, and the sounds of small children running in between cars playing street hockey and corn-hole. The sun was setting, turning the overcast sky seven different shades of pink and purple. Joining the crowd, I was swept along Art Roony Boulevard toward the front entrance of Heinz Field. A police motorcade drove down the street, flashing their lights. A bus rolled to a stop behind them. Suddenly everyone wearing blue or black started to sprint toward the bus, while the people in red continued walking at a normal pace. Shouts of "It's them! It's them!" added to the already noisy street. I reached the bus in time to see the back of the last Penguin disappear into the stadium.

Being two hours early, I walked around to see what all the NHL event had to offer. There were large blow up jerseys representing each team, and a colossal hockey player whose face was so gruesome that it could only be a rather large, inflatable, cartoon Ovechkin. There was a small rink set up, complete with boards, glass and penalty boxes, behind large merchandise tents. The whole street was blocked off, and with all the tents and food booths, it had all the appeals of a carnival.

Walking into the stadium was a jaw dropping experience. As we climbed to the upper decks, the rink came into view for the first time. The untouched ice glimmering under the lights had a mesmerizing effect. It added a whole another level of intensity to an already intense game.

My worst fear was that we would emerge from the escalators and find our seats close enough to touch the sign saying section 526. Thank God we weren't that high up; our seats were perfect. The ice had been built on a platform, leaving those in the 100 level sections unable to actually see onto the ice. Though we were probably sitting as close to heaven as you could get in the stadium, we could see onto the ice as well as everything else going on on the field. Blue and red melted together as everyone stood to sing the national anthems in an Olympic-like opening ceremony. Flashes of cameras other than my own shone like flashing stars throughout the stadium. Excitement and tension built up in the stadium, encouraging every fan in the stands to hoot, holler, and cheer for their team. The noise rose to a peak, and then the puck dropped and the game got underway.

The first period was gut-wrenching. The 0-0 tie was enough to send the butterflies in my stomach into a frenzy. Erskine's fight with Rupp halfway through the period sent energy through the stands, even though it was a pretty even draw.

Evgeni Malkin's goal in the second period was perhaps inevitable. It came off of a bad line change by the Capitals. Pittsburgh fans stood and pointed in our faces and laughed. But about five minutes later we got to jump up and cheer and laugh at them as Mike Knuble put the puck past Fluery. Discernable groans came from the Pens fans as 8 minutes later Eric Fehr scored, and the Caps left the ice a goal ahead. There was a hit behind the play at the end of the period, and Dave Steckel ran into Sidney Crosby, who was according to the Pittsburgh press, "seriously injured". It began raining half way through the second period, and continued throughout the game.

Eric Fehr put another one on the board before the game was over. The atmosphere had an electric feel as the clock winded down. The caps started celebrating with .6 seconds left in the game. Caps fans all over the stadium exploded in chants and applause, and it was really amazing to see how many of them had actually come to the game.

With all of the hype surrounding the Winter Classic, I feel like there should have been a trophy awarded after the game. The NHL did its best to turn this into a "Superbowl-esque" event. And let me tell you, it had all of the components of a big league championship game. To me, this felt like more of a play off game than many that I've been to.

I thought that Pittsburgh's reaction to the loss was completely classless. The pens skated off the rink, ignoring Washington lined up at center ice. As I mentioned in my short post last night, I was completely outraged, as were many other Washington fans I spoke to. Again, I place the blame on the coach, and the Captain Sidney Crosby, for certainly it was a fault in leadership. The poor sportsmanship was a thread we saw through the fans, whose only (and quite unoriginal) post-game chant was "c-u-p-s, we have more!" And you can bet that sitting on the street corner for two hours while waiting for the car, I was the subject of much taunting. The media coverage was much whinier than anticipated. The general consensus was that the Winter Classic had been spoiled by Washington and that it was in no way fair.

But that's okay. I got my revenge on some penguins fan's car. In his carefully painted Pittsburgh emblem on his back windshield, I traced "lets go caps" with my fingers. I wouldn't change any part of this weekend for the world. This was an amazing experience from the tailgaters all the way through to the waiting in the parking lot at 2 am. The NHL had a task at hand to create a game worthy of these two powerful rivals, and they certainly did a tremendous job of it. A small suggestion for next time, if you're going to go to all of the trouble to make it such an event, then make it feel less like a penguins home game. Also, Washington, trod out those retro jerseys more often. They're better than the uniforms we have now!

I would definitely recommend going to an NHL event like this if you get the chance. It's an experience that you won't soon forget!

So Classic.

Oh man, what a game. You can say it was not as much of a spectacle as the previous Winter Classics because of the weather, but to me, that made it all the more special. Cate was at the Winter Classic, so I will let her handle how the atmosphere of the whole event was in greater detail, but just from watching on the television I could tell that it was probably awesome to be there, no matter how much water was being dropped from the sky. The thing that pleased me the most was the mass amounts of red that I saw in the stands. Pittsburgh fans are a proud bunch and usually you do not see many of the opposing fans in their seats, but tonight was a much different story. The many loyal fans who were "Rockin' the Red" were just as loud and supportive as the fans in black and gold (oh, and blue for some reason). Pittsburgh fans are known for following their fans around, but we showed that Caps fans can do just the same if not better.

In a night that was all about Sid the Kid vs. the Great 8, how awesome was it that a player who even casual Caps fans don't know ends up being the hero for the boys. Eric Fehr scored two goals in last night's game. It was only his second multi-goal game, the first coming in 2009. The first goal came off a Marc-Andre Fleury "assist" and the second on a breakaway shot that Fehr did not mess around with. Instead of trying to deke out the super quick Fleury, he simply wound up and put it top shelf to help seal the deal for the boys in Red, White, and Blue. Just as a final note, if you listened to the very first episode of our show, I picked Eric Fehr as the breakout player of the year. Loos like someone has a good eye for talent ;)

The biggest aspect of this game was the weather. Shout out to the weather man working for NBC who said the rain would only last "another five minutes" midway through the second period. Way to keep the reputation of the weatherman ALWAYS being wrong alive, sir. Anyhow, the rain did seem to play a major factor in the game. By the start of the third period, the puck had a wake trailing behind it, and players were constantly falling on the ice for no reason. The rain seemed to enhance the rough and tough game that the Caps and Pens always seem to play when the rivals clash. Ovi broke the glass by hitting a Pens defender into it in the first few minutes. Erskine and Rupp scrapped to (in my opinion) an even draw in the first period, and from there, the hits kept on coming. With .6 seconds left on the clock, the Pens kept preventing the faceoff from happening by starting mini-scraps. It seemed as if they could not accept the fact that they had lost a sixth straight to the mighty Capitals in Pittsburgh.

The weather conditions definitely affected the goalies the most, and on this night, the man with the blue number one on his sweater rose to the occasion. Varlamov saved 32 of 33 shots and spearheaded a group that killed off 4 power players for the Pens. The more important thing, however, is that he did not make the key mistake. The same could not be said for Marc-Andre Fleury, who consistently came out of the crease and misplayed the puck. One of those mistakes ultimately led to the loss, as Fleury lost the puck to Marcus Johansson, who then gave it up to Eric Fehr for the easy goal. From all of us Capitals fans, I would like to thank both goalies for their efforts (mishaps?) in the Capitals' win.

One negative that came from this game was not a fault of either team or the weather. It was the NBC camera crew. The camera angles that were being shown to the viewing public were horrendous. I don't know if they got confused on whether or not it was a hockey game or football game or what it was, but they could not figure out that all the fans wanted was the simple side view. Granted, most of the game was presented in this format (as it should be), but they spent much of the game with weird canted angles from far away that made it impossible to see what was going on on the ice. Dumb it down a bit, NBC.

Those retro jerseys were amazing. The white with the red helmet and pants were awesome. I hope the Caps take a note from their rivals and use those jerseys in more games this season and in following years

Final note. Just a shoutout to the crew I watched the victory with and followed that up by beating the beat up and Applebees. Drew and Amy Hallman, Mike, Ryan, and Matty Brown, John Welsh, and Adam "Lucky Retro Jersey" Artuso. With this huge win, the Caps have officially gained their swagger back.

Stuck In The 'Burgh

I just spent the last two hours sitting on a street corner in the rain, waiting for my dad to get our car out of the casino parking garage. Therefore, I am rather cold and tired, and I will be writing a much more detailed post tomorrow. But before I turn out the lights, I would like to say that I am extremely disappointed in the Penguins for skipping out of the ceremonial post-game handshake. Washington was lined up at center ice, and the Pens just skated away. It's not an official rule, but it's tradition from peewee all the way through the pro's, and I blame that specific lack of sportsmanship on the head coach as well as the captain Sidney Crosby. Stay classy Pittsburgh.

Rivalry Recap

I was going to wait until tomorrow to write this because I thought I would need a little more time to cool off after that tragic loss, especially because I am one who takes his sports way too seriously, but I felt like I should get all my thoughts and opinions out there while the taste is still bad in the mouth and the ideas still fresh in the head. Since Catie just wrote a lovely post recapping the game, I'll try and just do a opinionated version of what I thought about the game. So as I step back a bit, let me just throw out some brief thoughts before I get into the analysis...

Wow. What a hockey game. I mean, easily one of the best I've seen in a while, and that's hard for a guy like me to admit when my team was on the losing end. I do not have any huge hockey fans in my family (frankly I'm the only one) but my hatred for Pittsburgh is a long, deep one, especially because my number one team is still the Baltimore Ravens (sorry Cate), who clash at least twice a year with the boys in the black and gold during the long NFL season. In my eyes, Pittsburgh is the epitome of all evil. I still cannot fathom how people actually like teams from there, so you can see that although my cell phone was not being lit up like Cate's, I still felt that awful sinking feeling after Pascal Dupuis' shot beat Neuvy to win the game for the Pens.

With that being said, here are the key points I took away from the game.

1) To put some more emphasis on it, let me just say it again. What. A. Game. The thing that I enjoyed about it most were the hard hits that the two teams constantly exchanged throughout the entire game. It all started when Ovi absolutely destroyed fellow Russian Evgeni Malkin, and it continued throughout the entire duration of the contest. All the bruisers came to play tonight, and that's something you love to see in a rivalry game such as this. Personally, I love it when the players on rival teams hate each other and will do literally anything to prevent their enemies from winning, and this game definitely had that feel. I could feel the tension and electricity through the television set. I feel that as the years pass these type of classic rivalries have sort of diminished, but you can definitely tell that these guys really do not like each other, or at the very least do not want them to succeed on the ice.

2) Goaltending. Both goalies came to play tonight. I'll start with the man in the white sweater, number 29, Marc-Andre Fleury. Much to the Caps disdain, you could tell from the very beginning of the game that he was on point. Even Craig Laughlin, in my opinion one of the biggest "homers" in the sports broadcasting industry, could not help himself from complementing the opposing netminder. Fleury's glove was working all night, which makes me wonder why the Capitals kept trying to rifle glove-side shots at him in the shootout, but that's a topic I'll cover later. Not to be outdone, Michal Neuvirth also put up a goal tending clinic for most of the night. He saved 25 of 27 (Fleury was 32 of 34) including a beautiful save on Malkin when the big center got a chance on a penalty shot. In the end, Fleury played just a little bit better.

3) Special Teams. I talked about this after the Devils game so I will be brief, but the Caps have got to figure this out. Granted, they did score on one opportunity but last year's unit would have had at least one more goal given all the chances. I am not saying I know how to fix it, but it needs fixing. I put this as special teams and not just power play because I just want to touch briefly on the third period. There must have been early Christmas presents in the penalty box, because the Caps just couldn't stay out of it. You cannot give a good team that many chances, and although it did not cost us (we actually got a shorthanded goal out of one of the penalty kills) it will cost us if we keep playing sloppy like that.

4) Mike Green. Final stat line for the best player on the ice tonight: one goal on six shots and at least seven hits and five blocked shots in 34 minutes and 3 seconds of ice time. When Poti went out after some friendly fire by his blueline mate John Erskine, Green stepped up and started doing double duty on the ice. He got his first goal since November 14th on a blast that went top-shelf, and almost ended the game with a beautiful deke and shot that probably beat Fleury, but that the refs did not see. He was consistently involved in the play both offensively and defensively, and as one of his critics, I can say that I am more trusting of 52 then I was heading into the game. He stepped up and was the dominant force that he should be every time on the ice.

5) Controversy. I just have to talk about this because I noticed Cate did in her post. She's going to kill me for saying this, but the referees were right in not giving the goal to Green after the official review. You must understand this is a big step coming from a man who usually despises the zebras and disagrees with almost EVERY controversial call that they make. Their claim was there was no indisputable evidence to overturn the call, and they were right. The key there is overturn. I believe that if the refs called it a goal originally (based on the argument that Cate presented in her post that said you could see the black cross the line under Fleury's white glove) then it would have stayed a goal. It was just a tough break for the boys in the red, white, and blue.

6) The Shootout. I just have one question. Why in the world did the Caps keep trying to shoot past Fleury's glove, which was on point the whole night, instead of dekeing him out? Ovi, who is really not that great when it comes to shootouts, had an easy backhander off on the first shot. After that, only Semin, Green and Perreault made an effort to try and fake out the netminder after Ovi's score. I don't care how good Fleury was that night, it should not have taken seven Caps shooters to try and beat him.

With all of this said, if this game was any indication of how the annual outdoor game is going to be in a few days, then it will certainly live up to the title of Winter Classic.

Well, You Can't Say It Wasn't a Great Game.

I'm starting to come to terms with the fact that though I know that the Capitals are a better team, there are several of my family members who, for whatever reason, bleed black and gold--rather than red, white and blue. It adds a whole another level of perplexity to an already overly-intense match-up. Text messages and Facebook wars are all a part of the rivalry, and I'm sure they can be expected all the way through New Years, as I'll be joining the family in Steel City for the Winter Classic.
Sure enough, my phone lit up when there was a score. And there you have it, the answer to this week's poll: who will score first, Washington or Pittsburgh? Though it makes me happy that both the votes in the poll were for Washington, those who voted (aka Tim and me) were wrong. Pittsburgh started it off with a goal from none other than Sidney Crosby, the most hated man in the district, at least today at any rate. The Pens set themselves up for a strong first period. Marc Andre-Fluery looked sharp from the drop of the puck. Sometimes, if you're lucky, he can be shaken off his game and you can wring an early goal out of him. But, no early goals for Washington. In a quick moving first period, the Caps burned three power play opportunities, including a brief 5 v.3 and a prolonged 4 v.3. Pittsburgh struck just once, but it was enough to give them a lead for the whole period. The physicality of both teams resulted in several elbows, high sticks, and even a boarding or two that went un-called. Big hits were a theme of the game. Ovechkin on Malkin, Malkin on Ovechkin, Kennedy on Carlson, Letang on Ovechkin; as Capitals forward Jason Chimera says, "sometimes games are a little more physical than others, this is a big rivalry, so this is a pretty physical game". And so it was. An attendee in the penalty box was assisted off the ice to the Capitals medical room where she received twelve stitches in the temple after being hit by a stray puck. Tom Poti also disappeared into the dressing room after being clipped up high, and was not seen for the remainder of the game.
The second period was no less eventful than the first. Nuevirth stopped a penalty shot by Evgeni Malkin, and seemed to spark life into his team. Through two periods the Caps dominated the Pens with 25-12 shots, giving Pittsburgh only 5 scoring opportunities. The Caps second two man advantage came from a play that you're not likely to see again. Matt Cook cleared the puck from deep in the corner of the Pittsburgh zone, and lifted it over the glass above Michael Nuevirth's head. Luckily for the Caps, they were able to convert. Mike Green scored his first goal in fourteen games. Green's goal seemed to instill a new found sense of urgency in each team. Hits became more intense, shots more sporadic, and Marc-Andre Fluery looked like a Mexican jumping-bean turned loose.
The third period was a different story. Pittsburgh scored thirty seconds in, making it 2-1. Not a minute later, Pittsburgh got their second power play of the game. The last twenty minutes was a parade to the penalty box for the Caps, as they gave up more than two power plays in a span of seven minutes. The Caps looked absolutely exhausted, as they killed of several critical penalties. Mike Knuble scored short-handed, assisted by Brooks Laich, tying the game 2-2 with five minutes left in regulation. The last five minutes were some of the loudest of the game, with the chants of the crowd canceling out the whistles and at some points even the announcers, the game made its way to overtime.
It was run and gun hockey, and it came down to Mike Green and a spectacular individual effort. Weaving his way through the slot, he shot (and undeniably scored) the puck past Marc Andre-Fluery in what would have been certain high-light reel material. But, "upon further review" there was inconclusive evidence as to whether the puck actually crossed the line. (However, I would like to point out that Fluery's webbing is white, and in the video it's black when it's across the goal line. Just saying.) Ultimately it came down to a shootout. Ovechkin (who I always cringe when I see him in the shootout lineup) scored, then Letang scored nearly the same goal. Alex Semin missed, as did Crosby, Backstrom and then Malkin, forcing a second round of the shootout. Mike Knuble and Mark Letesto also missed. Exhaustion was apparent in both teams. Laich and Kunitz also missed. The puck trailed off of the stick of Perreault, letting the grudge match go on. Six men in, Kennedy and Green also missed. Pascal DuPuis won it for Pittsburgh as the fourteenth shooter. And once again, my cellphone is lighting up.