Monday, January 18, 2010

January 17 - Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers

Woo! There are few teams I dislike more than the Philadelphia Flyers and it has been immensely satisfying to see them solidly beat by my Capitals twice this season on home ice.

I went to yesterday's game with my friend Erik, who is a great hockey companion and jumped up and cheered with me for all five Caps goals. This game had it all. At the beginning there was some suspense as the teams traded goals. Then there was the thrill of Brooks Laich's short handed goal of beauty, the kick-ass-ness of Tom Poti's goal tending on a Jeff Carter shot (that's right, Tom Poti's goal tending), the comfort of Jose Theodore's strong performance and finally, the amazingness of Alex Ovechkin converting his first career penalty shot with a skillful deke.

Every time a Capital put a good hit on a Flyer, I felt a bit of joy. Each time the Caps scored (in spite of what some may call uneven refereeing that gave the Flyers lots of power plays) I was elated. When Flyers fans began leaving the arena in droves in the last half of the third period, I was overjoyed. (For such hardcore and often mean fans, they sure did abandon their team in a time of need.) Few things are more satisfying than watching the Caps beat the Flyers.

A funny from the Capitals Insider that needs repeating here:
With a 5-3 win over the Flyers this afternoon, the Caps regained first place in the Eastern Conference by recording five or more goals for the fifth time in their past six games. When they do that at home (and they've done so three times during that stretch) it means fans can redeem their ticket stub for 10 free wings at Glory Days.
Which leads me to the quote of the season. After converting his first career penalty shot (on his sixth attempt) Ovechkin told reporters: "I just wanted to give the fans free chicken wings."
 Amazing.

Here's a post-game photo of me and Eric. I am  looking happy to be victorious and Eric is making his "I'm a bad-ass in my borrowed Caps shirt" face.

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