Category: Capitals

Caps, Defeating the Curse.

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Our Caps are once again favorites to win the Stanly Cup, and I can confidently say that this is the best team in the NHL. In past seasons, there has been a lingering lack of confidence entering the playoffs. However, this season, I don’t think it’s fair to let our franchise’s history cloud reality. It’s true we have the burden of disappointing playoffs, but we are deep at every position and I strongly believe we are good enough to overcome it.

My (not-so-bold) prediction: The playoff disappointment streak ends, and in my opinion, it doesn’t matter if they finish first in the Metropolitan Division or not; they are too ready, and too deep. The Metropolitan Division is home to three out of the four best teams this season. As of now, the Caps hold the first place spot, followed by the Pens, and then the Blue Jackets. For those of you who are not familiar with the playoff format, the league will force the teams that finish second and third in the division to play each other in the first round. So, that means one of the NHL’s best teams will have to suffer and early playoff exit. Washington can secure the top seed in the East if they beat Toronto, and Pittsburgh loses to Columbus.

If the season ended today, and the Caps secured the top seed, we would face the Ottawa Senators. This season we went 2-1 vs Ottawa, with Philipp Grubauer in net for our one loss. Grubauer is a great goalkeeper, but he’s no HOLTBY. I like our odds in the first round for sure, but we all know the second round is what really ails the Caps. As I said previously, the Caps are too deep and too ready this season; I wholeheartedly believe they overcome their previous playoff woes.

The Caps have an 8-1-1 record, and that’s tied for best in the league through the last 10 games. Never-mind the March stumble and the Arizona Coyote’s game hiccup, because the Caps are catching their groove at the perfect time. They have the players, the numbers, the motivation and the momentum to bring the first ever NHL championship to DC.

The more minutes we come across…

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Everyone has voiced their opinion about the NBA and resting players. It’s a touchy subject. The old school is saying the new class is weak, not to mention the science and trainers are pushing coaches to rest players. Really, the issue is the season is so long, it’s natural to try and find way to fight fatigue. If you want your team to perform come playoffs, sacrifices need to be made. There are plenty of ways to keep teams fresh and competition at a higher level, but let’s be honest…none are easier than resting a player.

Enter the NHL. Just like the NBA, the NHL has 82 games a season. Coach Barry Trotz has been “resting” his top line for most of the season. Yes, I am aware that playing 17 minutes instead of 19 is not the same as sitting a star player during a marquee primetime matchup, but the concept is the same.

The Washington Capitals are getting ready to fight it out for first place and secure 1st place in the Metropolitan division. Thankfully our coach had the foresight to rest his stars. Consideri the month of March; Ovechkin, Backstrom and Oshie are logging more than 19 minutes per game. This may not seem like a lot from their average of 18.30/game but it’s making a difference. Each one of those guys has been hitting the ice harder and their productivity and skills are shining through.

Tonight’s game versus the Blue Jackets is a pivotal Metro division clash. Entering Thursday’s games, the Caps have 102 points, the Penguins with 101 and Jackets clocking in with 100. A win tonight will give us some much needed breathing room. It would also help eith that whole playoff seeding format. A win tonight would help ensure dont face the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round. If you’re familiar with the Caps, you know we don’t like the penguins come playoff time.

Tonight’s game will be 4 out of 5 between the two teams. Last game we snapped the Blue Jackets 16-game win streak. Translation — tonight’s game won’t be a walk in the park. A division rival, a close playoff race, a bad taste in Columbus’ mouth, all with one more matchup come April 2. Thankfully our coach rested our players and can now play more minutes in these important games.

 

Caps Skid. Better Now, Than Later

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Caps fans have been comfortable on cloud 9 for the majority of the season. We were riding a franchise record, 15-game home win streak as we welcomed the Dallas Stars to Verizon Center on March 6th. Dallas came to DC, got out played, and outshot by our Caps, but left DC with a notch on the win column. The Stars’ victory isn’t anything new; Dallas has had a hex on the Caps for as long as I can remember. In fact, Dallas is the only team Holtby hasn’t been able to beat in his career. Following the loss, the Caps went on a west coast road trip, playing SJS, LAK, and ANA. They left the state of California with 0 points in the standings and watched their metropolitan division lead evaporate. The defense has been shredded, giving up 17 goals during the 4 game losing streak, and our superstar is in the longest goal scoring drought of his career (10 games). The Caps have taken 16 minor penalties during their 3-game California road trip and when a team gives up that many power plays, they are always chasing and cannot get into an offensive rhythm.

Nonetheless, championship caliber teams know how to fight through the adversity and can push through the tough times. Our Caps find themselves at a fork in the road, as they face the Western Conference leading Wild tonight, March 14th. The Caps have been a regular season powerhouse for the last decade, but can’t seem to get it going in the playoffs. Could this skid be exactly what we need now, rather than later?

Let’s back things up a little bit. D.C sports fans are always so quick to give up. Rightfully, we have been heartbroken and let down year after year, but lets take a quick look at the Caps with out our quick triggered emotion. The Caps outshot the 3 California teams, collectively, 116 to 102 at even strength. Washington has played 12 games, in 23 days; on the west coast, the Caps switched time zones by three hours, and played three games in four nights, including daylight saving Sunday, when the clock jumped forward one hour. Although Ovi isn’t scoring like he once was, our roster has ten, 10-goal scorers and four 20-goal scorers. We have one of the deepest teams in the league. Additionally, Burakovsky is close to return, and he skates with the third line consisting of Eller and Johansson. When the Burracuda returns, our third line will be lethal once again. Lastly, our newly acquired defenseman was suspended for the game against the Ducks (and will be for the Wild game). I’m not making excuses, just simply looking at it from a logical perspective.

All in all, this losing streak could be a good slap in the face. After dominating the majority of the season, a little rough patch might be exactly what we need to motivate us to get past the second round of the playoffs, and possibly a long sought after Stanly Cup. With 14 regular season games left, fans patiently wait as our beloved Caps, either fight through the adversity or fold and leave us right where we are most familiar.

A big day for DC

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Washington DC has a lot going on right now in the world of sports. Aside from the Nationals, every team has something noteworthy going on. Lets dive right into it and break it down.

Redskins:

The Redskins finally tagged Kirk Cousins. Some people were surprised it happened essentially a day before the deadline, some are surprised it was an exclusive tag. If you don’t know the difference between a franchise tag and an exclusive tag, it just means the Redskins earned themselves just a tiny bit of control. The major question now is what happens next? Can they turn this into a long term deal?  My belief is that the exclusive tag was the only move possible. San Francisco was not going to give up two first round picks, and really they shouldn’t have. They could essentially wait it out and see if they can get Cousins next year for even less. So no sweetheart deal was coming our way. Cousins bet on himself and won. If the Redskins are ever going to DEFEAT THE CURSE they need to get Kirk to commit to a long term deal now before he has yet another productive year and we get put between yet another rock and hard place next off season.

Capitals:

The Capitals can smell the silver polish of the Stanley Cup. They salivate at the idea of skating around the rink and hoisting up that massive trophy. They define success by the simple phrase their GM Brian MacLellan was quoted saying: “Winning a championship”. Enter Kevin Shattenkirk. Easily the biggest fish available at the 2017 NHL trade deadline. The Caps paid a premium, took a risk, and won out in a bidding war with the Pittsburgh Penguins to bring in one of the best puck-moving defensemen available. Why is this move so huge? The core is shifting. Alex Ovechkin is closer to the end of his career and on his way down. The Caps most likely won’t be able to retain TJ Oshie AND Karl Alzner. Its simple, the Capitals have the best team in hockey by a large margin right now, but that can all change next year. Hopefully this move will catapult us back into the Stanley Cup playoffs and allow our whole city to smell that damn silver polish.

Wizards:

The Wizards will face the Warriors tonight. Steph Curry went 0-11 from the 3 point range last night. That was not a typo, Steph Curry tanked all this 3-point attempts. This does not bode well for a Wizards team that lost their last two games and have had a slow start since the break. Tonight will be a true representation of where this team stands and will magnify any glaring weaknesses we have. It’s no mystery we need help off the bench, especially at PG so that Wall can get quality resting minutes. Maybe we bring in Brandon Jennings, who as of this post, has given a verbal agreement with DC. The goal tonight will be to stay sharp on defense, not to turn over the ball and to hope and pray that Steph is off his game yet again. Typically, that doesn’t happen. Lucky for us fans, the Wiz tend to play up to their opponents and impress in the phonebooth. #FilltheBooth

Since the All-Star Break

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It’s been awhile since we’ve posted at Defeating the Curse. I’d like to say the reason was because we were working on some really exciting things to bring to the fans; but we’ve just been quiet. (Cough… Redskins management…cough).

Depending on who you ask, a lot has happened since the NBA All-Star break. Right before, the wizards had a FANTASTIC win against the OKC Thunder. That game was in Washington’s control from the start. I like to use the phrase “statement game” a lot. This was not one. This was just the wizards living up to their hype and delivering when they needed to. And on a nationally televised game. From there we beat the Pacers, take the All-Star break and begin trade rumors. The trade deadline is today at 3pm ET. So far the Wizards are getting Bojan Bogdanovic and Chris McCullough and giving up Marcus Thornton, Andrew Nicholson and a 2017 first-round pick. Additionally Trey Burke is apparently in the trading block for a second round pick. If that goes through, you have to question who would play PG with the second unit. It is likely that more trades are in the works today.

The Capitals suffered a few losses while we were gone. One came to the Detroit Red Wings via shootout, the second to one of the more aggravating teams, the NY Rangers. Thankfully we crushed the Philadelphia Flyers, which is always a good feeling. With the bye-week behind them, the focus now is fully on Stanley Cup and playing their best hockey yet. This should scare every team. Especially in the East. As fans of our local DC hockey team, we also need to be keeping an eye out on the Tampa Bay Lightning. Having them sneak into the playoffs could possibly mean a rough road for the Capitals in the playoffs. No team wants to have to go through the Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins. Side note — The curse applies here. Who would really be surprised to see a sudden hot Tampa team knock out a Washington team in the playoffs?

On to the Redskins. The now awkwardly quiet Washington Redskins. At first I was proud of my team keeping silent, working behind the scenes and not making any insane splashes that we as fans are used to. Now, I’m concerned. Someone tell us SOMETHING. Are we signing Kirk? Can we Keep Pierre? All of a sudden DeSean said he likes it here and wants to play with a franchise QB…does that mean Kirk? Since the same timeframe as the NBA All-Star break, Redskin fans have had to deal with the Washington Post publishing articles that frustrate almost every Redskins fan. Click-Bait much? There was a small fire surrounding Chris Cooley claiming our GM was drinking again, and Pierre Garcon asking “Y’all hiring” on his Instagram, which is now where us fans are receiving most of their information. Couple all those things with reports leaking out that it’s looking more and more like Kirk will not be staying with the Skins and I’d go full boycott. Hey…at least Bruce Allen put up a new sign!