Great Expectations – My Reality Check

Upon further review of recent events by the Washington Capitals, I find it necessary to give my great expectations a little reality check.

Caps vs. the New York Islanders: Yes, that was a total stinker game, a shit show if I may be so bold. Caps looked like they either couldn’t care less or couldn’t get their shit together. While it was a train wreck to watch, I especially felt bad for fans at Verizon Center who didn’t even get to see one goal from our boys. Shutouts are even harder to watch then losses; shutouts feel like the team didn’t even show up to play, while a loss, hopefully, usually includes some viable effort. So, while it would have been nice to see at least one goal in that game, maybe the team wasn’t into it because they didn’t feel the need to be into it. My reality check: Maybe the team was thinking “Which is more important; we beat the Islanders or we beat the Habs?” I heard all the interviews after the game. Everybody saying how badly they played, etc., etc., etc. But what if  they were just focusing too much on the next game in Montreal? Not fair to the fans but certainly feasable. Dunno for sure, but a little reflection made me change my mind. A stinker is still a stinker though.

Caps vs. Montreal Canadiens: Much better effort here. So much so that the Habs fans were the ones feeling the disappointment of a shutout. But, at least they got to see their team fight and claw to the bitter end. But my reality check here concerns the desire to mete payback for the hit to Nick Backstrom by Rene Bourque on January 3rd. Hubs and I were betting on Erskine to dole out the punishment, but Matt Hendricks answered the call instead. We all knew Bourque would be expecting it and at the end you may say he prevailed, but payback was completed. My reality check: It’s a hockey game, not a 10 round title fight. Additional payback; while desired; is not reasonable. Yes, I have a high regard for Nicky and want to see retribution for those who hurt him, but if another member of the team had tried to punish Bourque again after the “bout” with Hendricks, we would have looked like a bunch of goons. But it does kind of validate my reality check from the previous paragraph.

Nick Backstrom’s injury: I seem to recall Nicky saying that he felt ok after that elbow to the head from Rene Bourque. I did hear that, right? So why is he still out? While concussions are no laughing matter, if he feels great, let him play is the common theme from some fans. Yes, concussions should take precedence, but what if there were more to the story? Could Nick also have an undisclosed injury that needs time for recovery? Many a time we have heard after-the-fact of players playing with an injury during the post-season. Naturally, these injuries would not be disclosed until later since opposing teams would obviously try to take advantage of them when a player does return to the ice. My reality check: IF the aforementioned WERE true, what better time to give Nick a chance to recover from an undisclosed injury while leading everyone to believe that his scratches are concussion related. Furthermore, we all know of Nick’s migraine problems, so let’s add this to the list of possible problems as to why he isn’t back in the game. As much as I miss Nick in the game (and I think the team misses him as well), if he needs to sit, he needs to sit, no matter the reason given. Get well Nicky and come back when you are 100%. (While I was writing this post, an interview from Sweden with Nicky was translated by Malin for Japers Rink. Frustration and headaches were mentioned, go read it if you haven’t already.) Have to admit, though, I am grasping at straws just a bit.

Player scratches and call ups: We’ve all seen it since Dale Hunter has become the coach. Certain players are being scratched game after game after game. Yes, I am talking about Jeff Schultz in particular. I jump to the conclusion that because he was obviously one of Boudreau’s boys from Hershey, he isn’t appreciated the same way now that Hunter has the reins. Ever since Hunter has arrived, we’ve seen the team try to become more physical, which I certainly appreciate. I’ve been asking for bodies against the boards for ages, so it’s great to see this addition to the Caps style of play. But if you’ve watched Jeff Schultz play, he isn’t a huge checker. And without Green to be paired with, he looks like he’s a little lost out there when he does get a chance to play. When Orlov and Kundratek got called up, many fans asked why, since we already had Erskine and Schultz. My reality check: I have absolutely no clue the exact reason why players are getting healthy scratches. Maybe that's ok. It is possible they just aren’t Dale’s or Jim’s cup of tea; it is possible they are having difficulties adjusting to Dale’s system, and it is possible that it’s none of the above. When it comes to Schultz, jump to the conclusion of a possible trade if you must, you could just be right. Since Jeff is technically tied up by contract for a couple more years, I’d bet on a trade by the end of February. (Since I’m terrible at gambling, don’t lay any actual bets on that statement, I’ve been known to be wrong.) This reality check is more of a shoulder shrug/meh/whatever for me.

Caps must win every game/all the time: Come on, really? Time for you to get a reality check if you really think that.

Since math really hurts my brain there are no stats to back any of this conjecture up, just a few reminders to myself that a good dose of reality makes watching the Caps a little easier at times. So, that being said; what color is the sky in your world?

Thank You, Love Caps Girl

Feeling grateful; so some shout outs of thanks…

First and foremost: a huge thank you to everyone who has ever clicked a link to this blog. Even though inspiration is sometimes lacking on my part; every reader, follower and comment is truly appreciated.

Secondly, some very nice people who have taken the time to link this little blog and send huge numbers of hits: all the folks at @JapersRink and @TedLeonsis. Just the fact that you took the time to read and decided a post was worthy of a link brings heartfelt gratitude.

Thirdly: all the fellow bloggers who have listed me on their blog rolls, most especially the Washington Capitals and Monumental Sports. I blush every time I see my blog listed on your sites. (Really)

I started this blog over two years ago, with no grand scheme other than to bitch and moan and sometimes share a few laughs along the way. From this, I have been able to further my own hockey education and hopefully further a few reader’s hockey educations as well. So, speaking of educating, I’d like to thank some experts who have helped educate me with their insight and by answering some sometimes stupid questions: @VogsCaps, @JohnKeeley, @ODPllc, @EdFrankovic, @CapsExaminer, @emcerlain , @pckhdsthghts , and @TedStarkey. Even though I’ve only met a few of you in real life, I owe you all at least one beer for sharing your wealth of knowledge with me.

I’d also like to thank some of my partners in crime: Leslie (@hockeymomva), for co-blogging on Scarlet Caps and fun shenanigans at brunch along with Liz (@DCSportsChick); and my fellow gchat snarkers: Dana (@YoCalleJo, who also shares Caps tickets cuz she’s just awesome that way), Katelyn (@dorcov), Stephy (@carrotbazooka), Julie (@dimickj), and Beta (@itsabeta), it’s always fun to be around these ladies.

Finally, thank you to everyone who follows and interacts with me on Twitter. I’ve said it before; I have the best Tweeps! Yes, I tend to get a little sappy at the end of the year, so thank you for indulging me, putting up with my blondness and shenanigans, and making 2011 such a great year. I love you all.

The Annual Caps JibJab Christmas Card

Cause we all need a little cheering up after a loss:

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

The Art of the RT

Time for another Social Media rant. And it’s about the one thing that puts most Twitter users’ teeth on edge, the “retweet” (or “RT” for those in the know). I briefly covered this in a previous Social Media post, but I guess nobody paid attention to it or forgot.

Some of this rant will be directed to my tweet stream as a Washington Capitals fan in particular, but I’m sure it can apply to every Twitter user, as the majority of Tweeps usually follow a certain topic/theme/interest. So, let the ranting begin.

Dear Tweeps,

Please use RT’s with care. It is not necessary to RT everything tweeted by the @washcaps account. They are followed by almost 70,000 people, so you can be pretty much guaranteed that everyone who follows you has already seen the news they just tweeted. The same can be said of any tweets or blogs posted by @TedLeonsis (who may only have 20,000+ followers, but that’s enough to ensure that most fans are already seeing the original). Maybe you think you are providing a service to your followers by doing this? Yes, that is so very nice of you. But you aren’t paying attention, are you? I just told you, I can pretty much guarantee that all of your followers have already seen the news. So, as nice as that seems; in truth, it is very annoying to those of us that follow both you and the team. We follow you for your own personal musings, not to see the same information regurgitated over and over and over.

Which brings me to bloggers and media type Twitter users. I know it’s tough to compete. Some of you make your living by being actual sports journalists, and that’s why we follow you; for actual sports news. Bloggers, your job is to put your own spin on that sports news. But how many times have we seen the same thing tweeted by both? Too many. You might as well just RT them, but then you'd piss people off then too. We are on to you; you really want to be professional journalists, don’t you? Well, until such time as you get hired by an actual media outlet and make the big bucks, please stop posing. Put your own spin on your tweets, we’d rather see you than some clone of someone else. That is why we follow you after all. And, this seems to be a good place to thank all of the bloggers who do this correctly; you make me want to click your links.

And speaking of following, let’s talk about #FF’s while we are at it. A lot of Twitter users like to give shout outs to Tweeps by giving them an #FF every Friday. People who receive these are usually very honored to receive the recommendation, as they should be. But by RTing that #FF recommendation verbatim to your entire follower base makes you come off as either lazy or egotistical. Let me remind you, when you RT a #FF recommendation to your tweet stream, you are sending it to people who already follow you! Yes, it’s possible that someone in the original #FF tweet doesn’t follow you, but those people already saw the recommendation for you when they were @’d in the first place! The correct response to a #FF directed towards you is a simple thank you.

Which brings me to people who ask for RT’s. How many times have you seen people either tweet a blog post, some silly or inane idea/comment or announce it’s their birthday and ask someone else for a RT? Yes, fortunately for them, some people they ask will oblige them. But in essence, what you are doing when you ask for the RT is begging for attention and validation. I feel kind of sorry for people who do this, how sad their meaningless little lives must be. (That is snark, people; don’t get your panties in a wad.) On the flip side, if you have a certain piece of information that you think would be beneficial to have RT’d for the greater good, such as a charity or cause, go right ahead and ask for the RT. This circumstance seems appropriate, and I hope that the celebrity who gets these requests consider actually following through with a RT. Now, that’s the way to use your powers for good!

So, like the earlier thank you to bloggers, I’d like to say thank you to all my Tweeps who do the RT the right way. You make it a pleasure to follow you all. To those of you who can’t seem to be Social Media savvy, you may have already been unfollowed for the sake of irritation alone, but you probably have no idea why. As for me, I expect to be unfollowed in 5….4….3….2….

Authors Note: Minutes after posting this with no linking to Twitter or Facebook because it really is just a personal rant, I was sorta retweeted by the @CapsBlogsRT. Yes, I am kind of embarrassed right now.

Stripping Ovi

I’m still amazed people want to strip Ovi of the “C”. I’ll grant you that the decision to make Ovechkin the Captain was made by GM George McPhee and Coach Bruce Boudreau, but it was reported that when this was in the works, the team was in on the decision. Let’s take a trip down Reality Road, ok?

First up; per NHL.com from 1/5/2010:

Boudreau said he had polled the team in recent days and Ovechkin was the unanimous choice.

"They were really happy when I told them (Tuesday) morning and this doesn't happen too often, but the group got up and cheered," Boudreau said. "I had talked to a lot of them in the last couple of days and they said Alex was the only choice, 'He's our leader and he's our guy.”

So, if the team wanted him, and the General Manager wanted him, and the Coach wanted him, how does that result in the idea he isn’t the right guy?

I’m also amazed that people say he doesn’t show leadership qualities and the job should be given to a more outspoken veteran guy.

Show of hands; how many people have actually been present in the locker room between periods that are NOT members of the Capitals team or staff? …Anyone? I thought so. Assumptions are being made that claim Ovi does not have what it takes to be the team captain.

Ok, let’s tackle the argument that he’s too young. How about a little look around the league?

Out of 30 teams, 13 of the current captains were born between 5/1/1984 and 4/29/1988, with the two youngest being Stanley Cup winners. (And, yes, #3 Andrew Ladd also won 2 Stanley Cups but he was not a captain on either team at the time they won.)

Jonathan Toews 4/29/1988

Sidney Crosby 8/7/1987

Andrew Ladd 12/12/1985

Alex Ovechkin 9/17/1985

Shea Weber 8/14/1985

Ryan Getzlaf 5/10/1985

Dion Phaneuf 4/10/1985

Ryan Callahan 3/21/1985

Dustin Brown 11/4/1984

Eric Staal 10/29/1984

Zach Parise 7/28/1984

Rick Nash 6/16/1984

David Backes 5/1/1984

How about the argument that Ovi is Russian and English is his second language? I call bullshit there as well. You and I know that Alex’s English is fine and he works hard to speak it and be understood.

Next up; Alex is a selfish player who is out for himself. Come on, really? The guy has tons of heart; one of his greatest wishes is to win a Stanley Cup. Naturally, you have to be selfish to do that and not support your team, because it’s an individual achievement. Yeah, right.

Have I covered all the main arguments? I hope so. The biggest issue is what it says about the team if they strip Ovi of the “C”. Like we need a vote of no confidence right now? Let’s get real. We have enough to complain about and it’s only November. Who is or should be Captain is not really an issue, it’s a diversion. As a fan base, we are concerned about our team. I get it, but let’s not get detoured down Reality Road.

Author's Note: Anyone who clicked the link expecting this post to be about something else...sorry, but thanks for reading!

Chemistry Shemistry - Handicapping the Lines

I've blogged this several times in the past, but unfortunately, this issue is still relevant; line juggling has to be as frustrating to play as it is to watch. 

I could relate this to just last night's game, but it goes much deeper than that. Bruce Boudreau has stated many times that he switches up the lines in accordance with the particular opponent they are facing. Break that down to mean the opponents have figured out the line in question and can beat them; so Bruce wants to throw them a curve ball. In the immortal words of Craig Laughlin: "Hold it here".

Yesterday, Boudreau decided to throw Cody Eakin onto the B line as a reward for a few good outings and to add a "little chemistry". By doing this, we saw an A line of Ovechkin/Johansson/Semin and a B line of Eakin/Backstrom/Brouwer to start the game, with veteran Mike Knuble being dropped back like a kid being punished in school. Now, don't get me wrong; I'm not ragging on Eakin per se; I'm questioning the thought process behind the "promotion" in general. (After all, isn't getting the call up a promotion and reward in itself?) In all honesty, that "reward" was more of a "lab experiment" then it was an addition of a "little chemistry". 

Does it really make sense to scramble lines on a minute by minute basis because you think your opponent knows all your moves? At some point, logic demands you give your lines a chance to prove themselves, continue to work together and overcome the opposition even if they do know your game. Don't second guess their already established chemistry, work on how that chemistry can adjust to the opponent. 

Look at the result of almost every pre-game lineup change and compare it to the actual lines at the end of the game. How often does that original pre-game line stay intact? How often do the lines get reshuffled back to the most common pairings? The "lab experiment" blows up like the Hindenburg and we are left with soot-covered goggles. The purpose of lab experimentation is to get satisfactory results. Are you satisfied? I'm not. Even though the team should be able to pair with anyone at any given time doesn't mean that it will work. 

So, how about the issue of benching players for poor performance? I'm totally in sync with accountability, but is the poor performance due to a change in the lines? Throw a donkey onto a team of horses pulling a wagon and the entire team either has to compensate for the donkey or the team just breaks down all together. (Yeah, I know, weird analogy). But, do you blame the donkey or the person who put him there in the first place? Where does the accountability lie? I’m not jumping on the “Fire Boudreau” bandwagon just yet, but if the entire team has to be accountable, that has to include the coach of the team as well.  

At this point, many of you will say "it's November, it's not like it's going to hurt to shuffle the lines right now". To a certain extent, I would agree, but only if there weren't a history of apparent crisis management preceding it. Continually switching the lines ultimately betrays a lack of confidence in your players' abilities. Last night I tweeted a thought from my husband, "Why isn't the team responding to BB? Think they might be done with him and they are sending HIM a message?" Is it possible that, even subconsciously, the team has said enough is enough? I suspect we'll find out the answer to that soon.

Editors Note: Interestingly, Boudreau was fired 11/28/11, only 8 short days after this was posted. Do not deny my psychic abilities!

Hockey 'n Heels in Pictures

Last night, I attended my first Hockey 'n Heels. If you've never attended before, this event is sponsered by the Scarlet Caps to further educate it's members on many aspects of hockey. Attendees were given the opportunity to learn to pass pucks (with Karl Alzner), shooting skills (with Alan May, Troy Brouwer, and Matty Perrault), and how to handle face-offs (with Assistant Coach Bob Woods). The informational panels were Chalk Talk with John Walton and Alan May, Bruce Boudreau's ever popular discussion on game preparation with film footage, and  Fitness and Conditioning with the Caps Strength and Conditioning Coach Mark Nemish. Attendees also posed for a picture with Nick Backstrom.

Bruce's panel was very entertaining. Great to see how the coaches use game footage to determine how to prepare for an opponent. Chalk Talk was a lot of fun. John Walton and Alan May were very informative while being extremely personable. As you may have guessed, the only panel I didn't attend was the Fitness and Conditioning one. Attendees were expected to do actual exercises, so that was not gonna happen, sorry Coach Nemish!

One bit of advise for anyone who has never attended the event but plans to: ice is slippery (duh!). While I didn't fall on my ass, it took a lot of careful manuvering out on the rink in flat boots. To those who wore actual heels to the event (and there were some), kudos to you!

Anyway, here's some pics. I have more posted on my Flickr account as well.

My thanks to the Washington Capitals Scarlet Caps for allowing me to tag along and to Sarah Kogod of NBC Washington for using some of the above on the Capital Games blog