Looking Towards the Near Future

Well the greatest regular season in the history of Washington hockey is winding down, and while I expect the Phonebooth to be raucous when the Pens come to town Wednesday, the end of the season is getting boring. The 09-10 Southeast Division Champ t-shirts have already been washed a few cycles, the Penguins and Devils have given up on trying to get home ice in the East and are just clawing to get the second or third seed, and the favorites in the West were thoroughly dismantled in Chicago just a week ago by an OV-less Caps. Anything can happen in the playoffs, but obviously this season is a failure without at least a Cup final appearance, and even a loss there would be somewhat disapointing. I say somewhat because this team has another decade, the Cup will come. But it would be nice to start the dynasty this year if that would be ok with the NHL front office this time around.

Bettman, Campbell, and their cronies can't take away the President's trophy, even though they have tried everything in and out of the book to get Pittsburgh in the mix. The Caps have an 8 point lead on the Sharks, and Boudreau has no intention of letting up, citing the Caps 6-4 record the last ten games of last year's regular season as a contributing factor to the 7 game Ranger and Pens series. He wants the President's trophy, which I find irrelevant other than having home ice. No one can remember who was the best in the regular season 10 years ago; it is irrelevant and almost a slap in the face if it is not standing next to Lord Stanley.

The Caps just need to 6 wins to clinch it, 4 or 5 might do it, but apparently Boudreau is not happy with that. He wants to crush the throats of the people that have tried to crush the hopes of DC fans since OV came to town. Thats why Boudreau doesn't have to buy his own beer at any bar in Chinatown. And no one really believes in the "President's Curse." Granted the Sharks won it last year and were knocked out in the first round, but look at the history. Since the 23 trophies have been handed out after 1985, the winner of the President has 7 cups, 2 more appearances in the finals, and 9 conference finals. The third seed has won 5 Cups since then as a statistical anomoly, and all of the other seeds have won the Cup twice or less. Home ice obviously has its advantages, and odds are the best team usually wins. But anything can happen in the playoffs; bad puck bounces, hot goalies, and especially if you are the Caps, the zebras.

But lets break it down in the East. There are three teams I don't want to play in the East if I want to get to the Cup the easy way: Pitt, Jersey, and Buffalo. In the midst of March Madness lets talk chalk, and pretend the top seeds win the first round. The Caps are playing either the Bruins or Thrashers first round: the Bruins are at 79 pts., Atlanta 75 and Rangers at 71 and slumping. The Canadiens, Flyers, and Senators are currently the 5, 6, and 7 seeds. Buffalo, New Jersey, and the Pens will come down to the wire to detirmine the 2,3, and 4 seeds. So if you go chalk, which seldom happens in hockey, we will be playing two of the three teams that are most dangerous to the Caps in the second and third rounds. (Assuming we win the first round, which I can't emphasize enough needs to be wrapped up in 5; history dictates that is intregal to any Cup winner in the last decade or so.)

I say good. I hope the Flyers drop down to that eight seed and the Caps take them out first. I hope it is chalk and the Pens get the fourth seed for a second round matchup before Jersey gets to them. (Jersey swept the Pens in the regular season, but the Caps lost to them last year in the second round despite going 3-0-1 in the regular season. I hope the Pens get every questionable call and no-call to go there way just like last year if this hypothetical series against Jersey happens because I want them.) I hate the Flyers, I despise the Pens, and I want Boudreau to burrow his proverbial heel even further into their larynxes on the way to a Cup, it will just be more satisfying. Long-time Washingtonians favorite Lombardi Trophy was the first, and not just because the first is usually the best in sports. The Super Bowl was almost anti-climactic after knocking out the Cowboys at RFK to advance. The Pens are reaching the level of hatred that the Cowboys garner, and stomping them like Dexter Manley did to Danny White will just make our first Cup that much sweeter. Furthermore, it would be spitting in the face of a league that tried everything in their power to keep the Caps from getting there. The Canadian offices have made it as difficult as possible for the Caps the entire year and we are still at the top of the heap. Why stop now?