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...

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 29 - Washington Capitals vs. Florida Panthers

And the winning streak is at 9 in a row with the Capitals outstcoring the Florida Panthers 4-1. This was a good game with a few low points including an apparent knee injury to Mike Green and a subsequent three-game suspension to Green for elbowing in the head. I didn't see him elbow anyone, but there were several hits between Green and Michael Frolick. Apparently, they don't like each other much. This is Green's first suspension of his career and hopefully the upsied of it is that he'll have time to let his body heal up.

Meanwhile, the Caps will go for # 10 this afternoon and I'm off to get ready for the game. Go Caps!

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!

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.

The Caps are in Canada

The Capitals play in Vancouver tonight - really late!

Apparently, it's quite a scene around Ovechkin while he's in town. The Washington Post beat reporter said he couldn't get near Ovie after practice yesterday to hear what he was saying and the Vancouver ran an entire photo gallery today of Ovie at practice. They also ran this great article about Ovie and the Caps. I love the anecdote about the Vancouver player's son who is a huge Ovechkin fan.

It's been way too hockey-less in DC this past week or so. Sadly, I will be missing the game next week on the 23rd against Buffalo. If any of my blog readers want to buy the tickets, leave a comment with your email address and I'll get back to you. We need to sell them before our flight leaves tomorrow evening (hopefully it does leave and we don't get stuck in the blizzard).

Meanwhile, David Kochi was not suspended for his hit on Mike Green, which is pretty surprising given how much the league is cracking down on head shots and how they have been handing out other suspensions this season. Eh hem. Fortunately, Green says he's ready to play tonight... but the video of him with his black eye and stitches did not look good.

I'll be trying to stay up to see the game tonight and posting some overdue photos later on too. Go Caps!

December 15 - Washington Capitals vs. Colorado Avalanche (at Colorado)

Well, THAT was convincing. The Capitals beat the Avalanche 6-1 last night in Denver in a fantastic game, marred only by Mike Green being hit from behind by David Koci and having to leave the game at the end of the second period. Hopefully Green will be ok and Koci will get a suspension for one of the dirtier boarding hits from behind that I've seen.

I love this story from the Denver Post. Awesome writing and very complimentary to the Caps. (How could it not be.) My favorite excerpt from the story:

"Washington came to the Pepsi Center — its first visit since Oct. 25, 2006 — and cut through the Avs with the swiftness and precision of one of Alexander Ovechkin's skates through the Pepsi Center ice, departing with a 6-1 win over Colorado.

"If this was one of those 'measuring stick' games, then the Avs are still Danny DeVito in comparison to Washington's stature."

Amazing.

Another highlight of the game was Jose Theodore's play. He allowed only one goal and had 26 saves on 27 shots in his old arena against his old team. Way to go Jose! Some of the saves he made were quite spectacular and I was a little sad he didn't get the shutout he deserved.

Looks like the boys can play at high altitudes. A couple more West Coast games coming up this weekend. I'll be in the Pacific Time Zone for at least one of them because my nephew Reuben Isaiah Harper was born last night and we're going to Oregon to meet him. Thanks Caps for winning on Reuben's birthday. His parents aren't hockey fans, but I think he could use a little Capitals onsie... Don't you?

December 11 - Washington Capitals vs. Carolina Hurricaines

The Caps won off a Mike Green game winning goal in overtime, but this game was intense! I think the Caps were tired, because the team that's first in the NHL should be more impressive against the team that's last in the NHL, but that just was not the case. This was one of those games where I was sitting on my hands and trying not to bite my nails the whole time.

On the way in, I saw a guy in an awesome hat. I am not sure why he wears it, but he told me he's asked to pose for photos frequently. I suppose it is cold in the arena... but I think my head would be hot under that woolly monster.

It was also kid's night at the game so there were tons of mascots running around acting silly. After the game we saw Elmo rocking the red (like he can help it).

It was fun to be at a home game and to see Green get the game winning goal in overtime. After the game, the Caps headed off for a long stretch on the road. They'll be missed around DC.

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.

November 21 - Washington Capitals vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (in Toronto)

Tonight, the Caps lost against the worst team in the NHL. Blergh.

Fortunately, it was a shootout loss and the Caps came away with a point. Ovie was back on his game tonight and scored the only goal for Washington off great passes from Brooks Laich and then Mike Green. It was a very pretty play.

While last night, the Caps outplayed Montreal, I think they were outplayed by Toronto tonight. I am not sure the official shot count, but the only reason the Caps stayed in the game was the outstanding goaltending by Varlamov. He was incredible. Unfortunately, I think he psyched himself out in the shootout and we lost.

Carlson was good tonight again. We have a bunch of players from Hershey playing right now because of all the Caps injuries. The little guys are doing pretty well, but I would like the injured players to hurry up and get better. Right now we're missing: Knuble, Poti, Gordon, S. Morrison, Jurcina, Laing, Semin... I think that's everyone. Way too many players to have out at one time.

One more game on the road in Canada on Monday at Ottawa and then back to Verizon Center where I will be rocking the red, of course.

Close Encounters With Mike Green

Last night, Neil and I were walking around Chinatown before the Wizards game and we stopped at a corner for traffic when I saw a very cute sports car sitting in front of us with someone in it who looked a whole lot like Mike Green.

I turned to Neil and said, "I swear that's Mike Green in that car." At this point we were like four feet away from the car.

Neil said, "I thought it looked like him too." And then, because Neil is Neil, he yelled, "Green!" and Mike Green, of course, turned and looked at us. He looked slightly confused and all I could do was blush, wave and smile. He waved back and the car drove off.

I wanted to get a look at who was in the driver's seat, because it was a very nice car and it could have been Ovie. But, alas, no luck.

I hope Mike had fun at the game.

Update: Looks like that could have been Ovie driving.

My Favorite Video For The Moment

This video from Mike Green's site is amazing. Before you do anything else, watch it.

November 7 - Washington Capitals vs. Florida Panthers

This was a fantastic night. We brought my friend Andy to his first hockey game tonight. It started with the season ticket holder chalk talk with Ted Leonsis, which was really fascinating. Ted was very open and honest with the fans and it was great to hear him talk about the team with such passion. The Capitals are in very good hands.

After a quick stop at Chipotle, we made it back into the arena in time for the beginning of the game. Without Ovie, Green and Schultz, I was concerned that Andy wasn't going to be in for the most awesome first hockey game experience, but the Caps were fantastic. The second period was a low point, when Jose Theodore looked a little soft in goal and the defense got sloppy. But the third period was amazing. I am not sure when I have seen the Caps score 5 goals in a single period. It just doesn't happen. The final score was 7 to 4. And now, at least for the moment, the Capitals are first in the East.

During the first intermission, I turned around and noticed that Ovie was sitting in the press box right above us. It's definitely the closest he's ever been to section 419 during a game. So, I stared a bit and at one point Ovie stared back! I know I am not the best judge, but Andy is impartial and he noticed Ovie looking our way as well. Later, I snapped a couple paparazzi-style shots. It was cool to have him almost in our section, but I'd much rather watch him on the ice.

Not the most amazing photo, but I think he's smiling in this one.

And one more for good measure.

Andy says he enjoyed the game. Perhaps we have another hockey convert! Tomorrow, we head into enemy territory for non-hockey-related fun. But check back for my post from Pittsburgh!

Me and Andy.

November 6 - Washington Capitals vs. Florida Panthers (at Florida)

Simultaneously: Whewh, the Caps finally won (4-1)! and Yikes, I hope Green and Schultz feel better in a hurry.

I was not actually watching last night. We have a friend in town and were out to dinner, but I checked the score on the Blackberry repeatedly.

Since I don't have a bunch of intelligent commentary on the game, I think it is time to let my readers know that my dogs are Caps fans.

This is Wiley in his new Capitals T-Shirt. (Thank you Julia!)

And this is Barbie (we didn't name her, I swear.)

They aren't exactly rocking the red, but they do cheer on the team on game days!

We're taking our friend Andy to the game tonight. It will be his first hockey game ever, so I am hoping they put on a good show and, of course, win again.

Tweet Tweet

It should come as no surprise that I follow Mike Green on Twitter. I am, after all, a Capitals fan. The embarrassing part of this is that I have my Twitter account set to send me tweets as texts to my phone for only Mike Green and Alexander Ovechkin. That's right, I don't get text tweets from any of my actual friends who I follow on twitter. I get them from two athletes.

Ovie only tweeted a little bit last year during the all star game but if he ever tweets again, I'll be alerted. Mike is becoming a prolific tweeter this fall. I would unsubscribe and save myself the text charges if his tweets weren't so entertaining.

He must be a little bored today while sitting around and waiting for tonight's game against Atlanta because he's sent three tweets already. One was particularly amusing: "You know when you think your getting sick but it's just in your head? Fucking swine flu"

Poor guy! I can imagine the whole team must be a little freaked out by the whole H1N1 situation. I'm not sure the profanity was necessary, but he is only 24.


For those of you who don't follow Mike on Twitter may I present:


Things I Have Learned From Mike Green's Tweets:
1. He watches Oprah (at least occasionally).
2. He has a girlfriend and he may have taken her to see a Cirque de Soliel production.
3. He enjoys naps.
4. He's a music fan. (U2, Michael Jackson, Jay Z, The Tragically Hip and someone named Wale)
5. He is trying to get feedback about his new website.
6. He is a fan of Washington, DC.
7. One day he ate at Source which is very close to my apartment. We didn't run into each other.
8. He purchased new sneakers on September 17th.
9. He's a bit of a hypochondriac.
10. He attends other DC sporting events.
11. He likes the Geico caveman.
12. He calls Atlanta Hotlanta even when it's not very hot out.


In all seriousness, I appreciate it when athletes, musicians and other public figures share a bit of their personal lives/personalities with fans. So Mike, keep tweeting, don't get H1N1 and kick butt tonight in Hotlanta.

Back in DC and Ready to Rock the Red

I have returned to the Southwest and am looking forward to tonight's game against San Jose. In the meantime, some observations.

First: There's a great story about Mike Green in today's Washington Post. I'm the kind of fan who just loves the players and doesn't like it when they get picked on and maligned by other fans. Of course, I noticed that Green wasn't playing well last year during the playoffs, but instead of getting mad at him, it just made me sad for him. I know the fans who get mad also just care about the team, but for me, the negative energy doesn't appeal. If a player isn't playing his best, odds are he's aware of it and is more mad at himself than any angry fan in a Mike Green jersey. Anyways, the article talks about how Green got back into good form and is finally feeling comfortable again.

Next: The Washington Capitals are known for being at the head of the league in terms of their web presence. They excel at social networking and online video and have a fantastic website with great content. This is why, when I saw their new "10 Burning Questions With..." feature I was excited.

The premise: someone on the Capitals staff is interviewing the players and asking them each 10 questions. The answers are featured every couple of weeks on the website and a link goes out in the fan email. The problem: so far, the players are answering these questions with one and two-word answers. The most hilarious part of the whole thing is the pull quote on the right side of the page. The designer was clearly under the impression that the gentlemen would be speaking in full sentences.

I think the title refers to the theme of this year's opening video which features lots of flames, but I am not sure that what a hockey player's favorite food is qualifies as a burning question. Somehow, the PR/Marketing department has overlooked this new feature, but I think they'd be wise to take another look. What makes the team so likable is that the people on it seem warm and intelligent and passionate. The answers to these survey questions convey none of those things and just further the stereotype of the inarticulate athlete.