February 5 - Washington Capitals vs. Atlanta Thrashers

Best sign I saw at this game read "We Beat The Snow for 13-0".

And 13-0 it is!

The Caps beat the Thrashers 5-2 in an exciting game that started when you could see DC's streets and ended with several inches of snow on the ground. Part way through the game the announcer came on to warn people that DC's buses were stopping at 9 and the metro was ending above-ground service at 11. What was most impressive was how full the arena was in spite of the terrible weather. All of DC has been panicking about this storm for several days, the grocery stores are empty,  and yet, Caps fans showed up.

Michal Neuvirth had 43 saves and an amazing performance. Ovie scored a sweet goal on the power play. Green had a great, nearly full-rink empty netter. Backstrom scored another beauty and Semin and Chimera scored 68 seconds apart in the beginning of the third period. But the victory was really due to Neuvirth.

The majority of the crowd stayed through the end of the game and left the arena to find some significant snow on the ground.

Neil in the middle of F Street as we began our walk home

 

 The hockey fans heading out into Snowvechkin.

 

Trees on our walk home. (This morning some of them had broken limbs that were weighed down by the snow.)

The Penguins' arrival in DC is in question. I still want to go see the game tomorrow at noon,  but it's looking like that may not happen.

Meanwhile, as the snow continues to fall this morning, the awesome cover from yesterday's Washington Post is still on display in neighborhood newsstands.

 

  

Aahh.. Snowvechkin...

January 31 - Washington Capitals vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

Ten in a row! Ten in a row! The Caps tied a franchise record today by winning their tenth straight. It wasn't as thrilling a win as many of the last nine, but it was still a win.

Ovie's game-winning goal was pretty awesome and I loved his celebration. The Caps won 3-2 with the other two goals from Backstrom and Laich.

The Caps looked a little tired today and Neil and I were tired too after walking around Alexandria all morning and racing back to get to the game. It was encouraging that the team still pulled out a win in spite of being a little low energy. (Perhaps equally encouraging was the fact that Neil and I stayed awake until the end of the game.)

The man with the crazy red head featured in my blog earlier brought what looked to be his son and his head was also painted terrifyingly red. The younger red head won Clydes Fan of The Game. I am still perplexed about how they turn themselves so shiny and red. It's not your regular face paint. I also wonder things like, does it clog pores? and what would I look like red? I hope to run into one or both of them at a game someday so I can ask.

This was Green's first game of suspension and Tyler Sloan filled in. He hasn't played for a while because the team has been doing so well with the lines that were playing. I thought Sloan played really well. If he's trying to prove he deserves to play more, today was a good step in that direction.

Two games on the road this week. If they win against the Bruins on Tuesday, this Caps team will have a franchise record for wins in a row. Here's hoping they can pull it off!

Best Souvenir Ever

My husband Neil went to monitor elections in Ukraine a couple of weeks ago and he came back with the best souvenir ever. In some little shop in Kiev a shopkeeper was selling Russian nesting dolls and look at what Neil brought me:

 

  

Words can't describe how amazing I think this is. Sure, the faces look nothing like my Capitals, but between this and my Capitals Mr. Potato Head, I'm the luckiest Caps fan on the planet.

January 21 - Washington Capitals vs Pittsburgh Penguins (at Pittsburgh)

The only thing better than the Caps winning a game against the Flyers is the Caps winning over the Penguins and last night's game was fantastic. Not only did my Capitals win, they did so convincingly.

Pretty much every player had a great game, even Jose Theodore who gave up a really weak goal at the beginning of the game, bounced back and put in a solid performance with 34 saves. Ovechkin came away with two goals, an assist and a great defensive move - awesome. Knuble did another pound in of an Ovie rebound and scored another great goal. Backstrom had a fancy falling-down goal in the crease, Eric Fher scored on a lucky bounce combined with great positioning on his part and the most beautiful goal was the game winner by Tomas Fleishman with a truly sensational pass from Alex Semin.

The Penguins were good, but really, unremarkable. The Caps kept them in check nearly the entire game. Aah the satisfaction of a 6-3 walloping against the NHL team I hate most. :)

Check back this weekend for photos of the amazing souvenir Neil brought me from Ukraine. (Yes, it's Caps-related)

January 19 - Washington Capitals vs. Detroit Red Wings

Jose Theodore is a rock star. I have not seen a goalie performance like his against the Red Wings ever. The Wings ended up with 46 shots and only 2 goals in the Caps' unlikely 3-2 win. If not for Jose being a monster in goal, the Red Wings could have won that game at least five times over.

The Caps had 20-something shots. Ovechkin was held without a shot on goal and for the first period, the only Capital playing was Jose. The fourth line was on fire and both Matt Bradley and David Steckel scored and Nick Backstrom had a pretty Ovie-like goal and somehow, we came away with a victory.

Somehow = Jose Theodore. Not only did he make 44 saves, he also got an assist on one of the goals. Yep. An assist from the goalie. Amazing.

Neil, my mom and I attended the game and my mom, a Red Wings fan, wore a Capitals sweatshirt. :) I am not sure if she was REALLY hoping the Caps would win, but she seemed glad they did and announced that she thinks it's their turn to win the Cup. I have to agree.

I am hoping that Jose remains amazing and the rest of the Caps actually skate tonight against the Penguins. It's about 6 hours until game time and I'm already nervous.

January 15 - Washington Capitals vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

Pardon the delay in posting. The View from 419 has suffered from lack of Internet for the past four days. Today is a big day - Internet is back and the Caps play the Flyers! 

I LOVED this game.

I brought my Canadian friend, Lia and my mom to the game with me. Lia is from Toronto and she had a rough night trying not to cheer for the Caps. Or more accurately, she couldn't make herself cheer against her home team, in spite of their abysmal performance.

I felt a little bad for Lia, but mostly I had a ton of fun being there with two of my favorite people and watching the Capitals kick butt.

Ovechkin's goal and four assists were incredible. Knuble's net presence is helping him get more and more goals and the new top line of Ovie, Backstrom Knuble is really working. Jose was outstanding and, really, I can't think of one Capital who wasn't outstanding. It was such a fun game to watch. I did feel a little bad for Toronto when they couldn't even convert on the long five on three at the end of the game... but they beat us this season and this game was good revenge.

Caps Video You Should Watch

First a video showing Michal Neuvirth's new mask. I like how it's got Caps logos on both sides. :)




And now, one of the most hilarous videos ever featuring Ovie as a reporter behind the scenes at the Verizon commercial shoot. I particularly love all his comments about Brooks Laich and then their body fat discussion at the end. How can anyone not love this guy? Enjoy!

January 9 - Washington Capitals vs. Atlanta Thrashers (at Atlanta)

Woo! Another convincing win! We watched the first period from our friend Lia's house as we wrapped up an epic game of Trivial Pursuit 90's edition, so we missed some of Neuvirth's outstanding saves, but I did catch Semin's great shorthanded goal.

After a taxi home during the first intermission, we paid more attention for the last two periods. In the end, the Caps had eight goals from Knuble (2), Semin (2), Backstrom, Steckel, Chimera and Poti. The Thrashers got one goal, just one. It was great to see Chimera score his first goal as a Capital. Sure, it was the 8th goal and not a real necessity, but I'm sure it was a confidence booster, nonetheless.

Wins on the road like this one are almost more exciting than when they thoroughly dismantle the opposing team in a home game. It's important to see that the Caps have what it takes to win in enemy arenas. (Though the Atlanta arena looked pretty empty last night)

Ovie had an assist on one of Knuble's goals, but was pretty quiet, otherwise. I am hoping he gets a bunch of goals soon so he can pull ahead in the most goals category. I think he's a goal behind first place in the NHL right now. Not too shabby.

The Caps have two more road games before they're home to play Toronto on Friday night. I hope they play just as confidently and effectively in Florida this week.

January 7 - Washington Capitals vs. Ottawa Senators

My husband, Neil, had another hockey game to play so my friend Rebecca and I went to the game last night. The arena was a little emptier than it has been lately. I think the fact that it was a freezing cold week night must have combined with the fact that Ottawa isn't that popular here in DC. But it wasn't empty by any stretch. There was still a fantastic atmosphere in Verizon Center.

The Caps came out swinging again (thank goodness) and a great goal from Boyd Gordon (his first of the season) helped the team take the lead early. Goals from Knuble, Backstrom and Ovechkin followed. Backstrom got two goals and Ovie put one in the final minute and a half of the game. The top line of Ovie, Backstrom and Knuble was awesome and all the other lines, especially the fourth, looked great, too.

Perhaps the most important individual performance of the night, however, was that of Jose Theodore. This was his first game in quite a while and he looked fantastic. I have been feeling bad for Jose. Even though he really wasn't good in the last game when the Caps lost to Carolina, and he's had several shaky performances, I like him and I know he has the potential to be great. It has to be tough to be the most experienced guy and be continually passed up for 21-year-old rookie goaltenders. Last night was a great game for him and I hope for his sake, and the sake of the team, he can continue to play like that for many more games.

Overall, an awesome game last night. Such a solid and convincing win. Rebecca, who had been to only one other Caps game, seemed to have a lot of fun and even joined in on the cheering - a great sign of someone enjoying the experience.

The Caps are off on a road trip now and back in town next Friday to play Toronto. Can't wait!

December 26 - Washington Capitals vs. New Jersey Devils

Amazing game! We kept the Devils to only one goal. Ovie opened the scoring. Green and Backstrom also scored and Matt Bradley got a goal which is always an amazing sign for the game to come.

Michal Neuvirth made 29 saves and beat Martin Brodeur - the record-holder in shutouts and an amazing goalie. It was a really exciting game and a solid win over a team that beat the Caps in the three previous meetings this season. Whewh!

The Caps pr staff did a big thing about it being Hockey Night in Washington, which was pretty cute since it was Saturday night.

Even though the goals came mostly from the top players (and Bradley), it still looked like a solid team effort.

Beating New Jersey put the Caps back at the top of the eastern standings and secured a win over a team that they could very well face come playoff time.

A nice aside: Nick Backstrom (who was named to the Swedish Olympic team) got his 200th point of the night and was up on the big screen where Ovie and Semin were messing with him and waving their gloved hands in his face which was cute. Backstrom ended the night with 202 career points in 202 career games.

December 5 - Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers (at Philadelphia)

Question: What is even better than a strong win over a Southeast division opponent?

Answer: A complete and total walloping of the Philadelphia Flyers!

The Capitals triumphed over the Flyers 8 to 2. That's right eight goals for the Caps! It was pretty amazing to watch from my cozy couch after a snowy day here in DC.

The biggest headline of the game other than the phenomenal score is probably Dan Carcillo, a Flyer who sucker punched Matt Bradley, getting himself expelled from the game and giving the Caps a nine-minute power play during which the Caps scored three times. Carcillo was suspended for four games for the move, and rightly so. I don't recall seeing anything quite that egregious in any game I've watched. Luckily, after some (more) stitches, Bradley is apparently ok.

The rest of the game was pretty amazing. Fleishman and Green each scored twice. The other goals came from Laich, Backstrom, Clark and the final goal went to David Steckel who had yet to score this season. I was hoping he'd get one and in the final few minutes of the game, he finally did.

The Flyers were playing their first game with a new coach and have been having a tough time lately. Everyone expected them to be on fire for their first opportunity to show off for the new man in charge. Not so much. Any fire that was there was quickly extinguished by the Caps.

The Caps keep roaring through their games, even without Ovechkin. Ovie should be back tomorrow night when the team plays Tampa Bay. I hope Matt Bradley is back, too.

December 3 - Washington Capitals vs. Florida Panthers

Awesome game! Welcome back Alex Semin. The Caps demolished the Panthers last night with a final score of 6-2. Had the game ended 3:22 earlier, it would have been 6-0.

Matt Bradley got a short handed goal (the first for the Caps this season), so I knew it was going to be a good game. As I have said before, when Matt Bradley scores, you know things are going to go well.

Fleishman, Backstrom and Morrison also scored and Semin notched two goals and two assists. Wow.

Sure the Panthers were tired and we're a better team, but a convincing win like this is always a great thing to see.

The Panthers were in the penalty box nearly the entire third period after one of their players was kicked out of the game and the Caps got a 7 minute power play. Seven minutes! It was nuts.

I actually went to the game on my own. Neil joined for the tail end of the first period, all of the second period and the very beginning of the third. I had a lot of anxiety about not being with Neil or a friend at the game, but it was actually completely fine because the guy who normally sits near Neil is friendly with us and we talked. Normally, I can't really talk to him because Neil is between us, but last night he kept me company. On the other side of me, there are two seats that are shared by a large group of people.

The guy who came to the game last night is someone I scared to death last year (on accident) when I flinched when he put his beer in the cup holder between us. I do not actually remember the encounter, but I am guessing it was a game or two after the guy behind me spilled beer on my head and my sweatshirt and jacket and was so drunk he didn't care. I became a little touchy about the stuff after that. Anyways, the guy who was scared of me always keeps his beer on his other side when he's at games. Last night, we talked and I apologized for whatever I did last year to scare him and it became friendly enough that every time there was a goal (for those of you who may have forgotten, there were 6) we jumped up and high fived.

In summary, going to games alone isn't really like going alone because I know the people who sit near us.

I am still annoyed about Ovie's suspension, but only one more game until he's back. He was apparently skating full speed at practice today and has cast aside the knee brace he'd been wearing. Yay! I am guessing he'll be on fire in his first game back. Just a theory.

November 30 - Washington Capitals vs. Carolina Hurricanes

The Caps won the game, which is great. Jose Theodore was outstanding. Backstrom scored twice and got one assist and Eric Fher continued his streak with a goal and an assist.

BUT, Ovie got injured and while there are no details yet, it looked pretty bad. He hit a Carolina defenseman knee on knee and definitely got the worst of it. Ovie got a major penalty again and was ejected from the game, but it didn't matter because he couldn't even use his leg when he was taken off the ice.

It's funny. I spend a good deal of my free time attending hockey games, watching hockey games on TV and thinking about hockey (hence, this blog). One of my major fears is Capitals players getting hurt, especially Ovechkin. Watching him hurt on the ice last night made me so sad. I worried about his health, the effect it will have on the team, etc. But maybe even more than that, it was sad because Ovie is like a DC superhero in a way. He's impossibly strong and fast. He's always saving the day in hockey games and as a fan, I want to believe he's indestructible. Of course, he is not. He's fragile and human just like the rest of us... and, don't get me wrong, I like his humanity, too. But if only he had a little more superhero in him last night when he hit his knee.

The team is supposed to release some information on Ovie's condition today after he's seen by the team doctor. I hope it's good news. I hope the injury is not as bad as it looked.

Right now, I am pretty sure that the collective Capitals fan community is holding its breath.

November 28 - Washington Capitals vs. Montreal Canadiens (at Montreal)

Whewh! This was certainly an exciting game.

In brief summary: The Caps took the lead. The Caps gave away the lead and fell behind by one goal. Eric Fehr scored a goal with an assist from Ovie when there were 11.4 seconds remaining in the game. Backstrom scored the only goal in the shootout. Caps win!

Neil and I, apparently still experiencing Turkey hangover, watched the game from our living room. We had flirted with the idea of driving the 10 or so hours to Montreal to go to the game since we had the time off for the holiday. However, the game was sold out and we weren't quite crazy enough to commit to 20 hours in a car for one hockey game. Maybe next time.

I will say, that it would have been a fun one to see in person. The second period, when the Caps stopped playing, would have been not so fun, but hey, it wasn't fun to watch that from home, either.

Ovie and Varly were both really on top of their games as was Eric Fehr, who scored two of the Caps' three goals. It was also nice to see Backstrom get an assist and then the shootout goal. He'd gone something like 8 games without getting any points.

It was really good to see the team pull together in the final minutes of the game and get that goal (in the final seconds). It was just the kind of comeback they needed and they made it happen. 

I can't wait for the team to get back to DC for their game Wednesday... All these away games are really making me crazy.

Happy Birthday Nick Backstrom

Today is Nicklas Backstrom's 22nd birthday. (Man, I'm old.)

In honor of one of my favorite hockey player's birthday, here's a photo of me and Nick at last year's Hockey n' Heels.

Happy birthday Nick!

I waited in a long line of women to meet Backstrom and have my photo taken with him. It was worth the wait. He was very friendly and he was wearing this cute Swedish sweater.

I hope the Caps make a turnaround tonight and win in Ottawa. My husband, Neil will be guest blogging about tonight's game because I'm going to go indulge another of my obsessions and see New Moon tonight. (Don't worry, I will check the score on my phone.) I hope my interest in Twilight does not take away any of my hockey blogging cred. I won't mention it again, promise.

October 27 - Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers

There are few better feelings than walking out of Verizon Center after the Capitals beat a team from Pennsylvania. Neil and I have a debate about which team we hate more, the Flyers or the Penguins. For me, I think it might be a tie, but the Flyers were the first team I hated as a sports fan and there's something a little special about that.

Last night's game was amazing. It started off as sort of a question mark. The first period was scoreless and the vibe in the arena was muted. I wondered if it was because of the rainy weather or the fact that the game was on a Tuesday. Normally at Flyers games, the Caps fans are amped up and out for victory. The first period, probably because there were no goals and lots of chances for us to be scored on, everyone was nervous. Some raucous Flyers fans started "Let's go Flyers" chants and Caps fans responded appropriately with "Flyers suck", but I was hoping some loud "Let's go Caps" chants would get going. They were few and far between.

Period two started out with disappointment. The Capitals continued to struggle on the power play and not score and the Flyers scored two goals. Now, I am the eternal optimist when it comes to many things in life and the Capitals are no exception. I always know they can come back. I always think they are going to win. I believe in them. But, when they didn't score on a 5 on 3 power play that was more than a minute long, I was feeling discouraged. Then, the magic began to happen. Ovie scored off a sweet pass from Backstrom, then Backstrom scored a convincing goal on the power play and the game was tied again.

The third period goal by Semin was a thing of beauty and made me very happy he's back from his injury/illness. The poor Flyers goalie slumped over in defeat when Semin scored and I had a good feeling about the outcome when I saw that. After gaining the lead, the Caps played hard and Jose Theodore sealed the win. I'm going to say it, Jose is one of my favorite players. I know he has had some spotty performances and isn't always the most popular, but I really can't think of many times when he's let us down terribly. He has real heart, he's fun to watch and last night he was a magician. He made something like 20 saves in the third period alone. AND he stopped a penalty shot. We needed the goals, of course, but Jose is the reason the Capitals won the game.

Of course, by the end of the second period the crowd at Verizon Center was into it and by the third period there was no hint of weeknight exhaustion or rainy day blues -  the arena was loud and you couldn't hear the Flyers fans anymore.  In 419, the cowbells were ringing and Neil and I were jumping up and down by the time Ovie scored the empty netter in the final minutes. 

Last night, the team I love played like the team I love and sent the Flyers home without any points. Awesome.

October 8 - Washington Capitals vs. New York Rangers

I suppose that if I had to miss a home game, this was a good one to skip out on. After tonight's game, the Capitals lead the league in goals scored and goals scored against. Naysayers always cite the goalies and the defense when they doubt the Caps' ability to win the cup and a statistic like that doesn't do anything to prove them wrong.

It sounds like Coach Boudreau was not happy after the game tonight. Hopefully he can inspire the team to step it up a notch and play like they know they can.

Meanwhile, I am enjoying visiting my family and I did a relatively good job of paying attention to them in spite of my absorption in the radio coverage of the game and then for the third period, ESPN's cell phone updates. Oh the resourcefulness of sports fans.

Bright spot: Backstrom's two goal game!