OK,
So ALL Caps fans KNOW that we have always been regulated to second tier status by the hockey elite. I’ve been following the Caps since 1974 when as a 10 year old, I would stay up late with an AM radio tuned into Ron Weber broadcasts of the Canadiens beating on my Caps like red – headed step children. Fast forward to 2010 and the Washington Capitals are without a doubt THE BEST TEAM IN THE NHL. The Versus crew working the studio between periods (Brian
Engblom, Keith Jones and others) treated the Capitals as though they could barely play, Pittsburgh had “tremendous energy”, etc. If I hadn’t known the score, by listening to those fools berate the Caps Tom Poti for 1 defensive zone breakdown that lead to a Sidney Crosby SHOT ON GOAL (THAT WAS SAVED!), I would have thought that Pittsburgh was giving us a royal beating
and the Caps were struggling to master the basics of the game. Funny thing was, when the studio crew started that crap at the 1st period intermission it was 3 -1 Washington. It continued at the 2nd period intermission (4 – 2 Caps!). Then, as Ovechkin STOLE the show with the 4 second power play blast and the 2 tenths of a second left empty netter that ripped the hearts from the Pittsburgh Penguin fans everywhere, the Caps became a non-news item as the Versus broadcast switched to Vancouver vs. Colorado. I kept the tv on to see what the studio crew would say during the 1st intermission of the second game – since they had advertised a complete breakdown of the Eastern Conference teams in action last night. Guess what? The Versus team covered in
great detail each and every game with Eastern conference playoff implications and DID NOT EVEN MENTION the fact that the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins, in desperate need of points, were crushed at their home by a Washington Capitals team who have nothing to play for and who were without arguably their best puck control/defense to offense breakout weapon – Mike Green. It’s like we don’t even exist. We are persona non grata, because our style of play confounds opponents and is not approved by old men wearing bad suits and too much hair gel. The Caps have got to win the Stanley Cup just to get the recognition they deserve for having
an amazing season by ANY NHL team’s standards. And enough of the Caps padding their point totals by playing in the Southeast. First) Southeast division teams have won 2 Stanley Cups in the last 10 years…pretty good with Detroit being the only exception. Second) The Caps play Southeast division teams exactly 2 more times each than any other eastern Conference team (6 times to 4) So how many points could they pad their stats by?? Third) We have gone 4 – 0 against the Stanley Cup champs this season and beaten them in fairly convincing fashion each time. I hope and pray that the Caps players - Ovechkin, too enigmatic, too Russian, Mike Green – not good enough to be on the Canadian Olympic team, take these slights personally and play with a controlled abandon and sweep through these upcoming playoffs – Unleash The Fury and send all these haters packing once and for all!
Rock the Red!
Aaron
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