February 2 - Washington Capitals vs. Boston Bruins

11 in a row!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Neil, Andy and I watched most of the game from the Front Page in Arlington, right across from the Caps' practice facility. Neil had a 9:45 hockey game of his own at Kettler, so we wanted to be close so he didn't have to miss much of the Caps game.

When we arrived late in the first period and sat down at our table, I was concerned. The Caps had 5 shots to the Bruins' 13 and the Bruins had a goal. Not good. However, I had a feeling they would come back from the first intermission with a little something extra. I believe in these Capitals and, more importantly, they believe in themselves.

So it wasn't the Caps' best game, but that's almost silly to even say because they won 4-1. The victory was due in large part to the amazing play of Jose Theodore. If he keeps playing like this (41 saves!) the Caps are going to have to re-sign him for next season.

The Capitals goals came from Knuble, Laich, Gordon and an empty netter from Ovie. It's so fun to be a Caps fan right now. It must be out of this world to be a Capital right now.

The Caps are in NYC with their dads today and play the Rangers tomorrow night. I hope they make it 12, but even if they do not, I hope they remember what it feels like to win like this come Stanley Cup time.

Ovie Drives Slower - Thank God

Ovie talks to Bruins CSNNE reporter after the morning skate on February 2, 2010.

Alex Ovechkin was asked if he should have a special speed limit. "Right now I'm driving slow," he said. "It's bad weather. I try to drive safe."
Whewh!

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 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!

January 27 - Washington Capitals vs. Anaheim Ducks

Best headline I saw after this game was in the Washington Examiner and read "Caps Cook Ducks, 5-1".

This game was awesome. The Capitals took 49 shots on goal. Michal Neuvirth stopped 30 shots and only let one in. And the Caps just couldn't stop scoring.

Ovie got a fluky goal in the first period that he called "the easiest in my career". And after a slow second period, the Caps were on fire in the third.

One might think that it gets a little boring to head to the arena, sit up in 419 and see the Capitals outscore their opponents night after night after night. But, really, it doesn't. It's amazing. Especially when the teams they are playing are good and the Ducks are. The winning streak is extending and the Caps are climbing in the standings and as a fan, I couldn't be happier.

January 26 - Washington Capitals vs. NY Islanders (at NY)

Another amazing game. Another amazing win. Neil and I ordered the new, and surprisingly tasty Dominoes pizza and watched this one from home.

Final score: 7-2 including a goal and an assist from rugged defenseman John Erskine. He hadn't scored a goal in 109 games and his assists are few and far between.

It's not like the Islanders are a bad team this year either. This was an awesome and extremely convincing victory. Everything the Caps are doing is working and it's really exciting to be a fan.

Theo was hurt in this game an Neuvirth relieved him for the third period. All indications are that it's not a serious injury.