Canes vs Capitals.
The Canes can clinch the Southeast Division, and the third overall seed in the East with a win tonight at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC.
Who would have thunk it?...back when the Canes were sailing through October and early November, and the Capitals could not get out of their own way, that the Southeast division would come down to this, the 80th game of the 82 game schedule. But such it is.
Washington's rise since the sacking of Glen Hanlon and the promotion of longtime minor league coach Bruce Boudreau has been well documented, but is nonetheless amazing. The team has gelled around the spectacular play of Alexander Ovechkin (he would get my vote for league MVP hands down - if I had a vote of course) a stellar cast of young players, most of whom spent time with Boudreau at Hersey in the AHL, and a smattering of veterans. Trade deadline deals for the likes of Sergei Federov, Cristobal Huet and Matt Cooke added some much needed experience and grit to help put them over the top. Federov brings a championship pedigree to the team and has developed into a dependable two way player late in his career, after being known as one of the most proficient offensive players in the league for over a decade. He also serves as a wise mentor to fellow Russian phenoms Ovechkin and Alexander Semen. Huet has been stellar since arriving from Montreal, and has all but supplanted longtime Capitals mainstay Olle Kolzig between the pipes. Cooke has provided depth and toughness on the forward line. Youngsters Mike Green on defense, and rookie center Nicklas Backstrom have had breakout years as well for the Caps, who have won 12 of their last 16 games, including a 5-1 record on their recently completed 6 game road trip, to put themselves into playoff contention.
The Canes have also been playing great hockey since the All-Star break. Despite an incredible rash of injuries, with the likes of Rod Brind'Amour, Justin Williams, Chad LaRose, Matt Cullen, Ray Whitney and David Tanabe missing from the lineup for months at a time. Whitney and Williams are both likely to return to the lineup tonight (a simply amazing feat for Williams, who returns from an ACL injury that most thought would have him sidelined well into a playoff run, if he returned this season at all!), and LaRose made his comeback from a broken leg last week in Atlanta.
The Canes have maintained their lead in the Southeast division with a stellar run of hockey since the All Star break, with Eric Staal leading the way. Since winning the MVP at the All Star game, Staal has stepped up his play in Brind A'Mour's absence, and taken the leadership of the team on his shoulder. His play over the last two months is rivaled by only Ovechkin's throughout the league. Also contributing to the Canes success have been some incredibly shrewd moves by Canes GM Jim Rutherford. On January 8th he snagged Sergei Samsonov off re-entry waivers from Chicago. Samsonov had been languishing in near obscurity with the Blackhawks, his once great promise assumed by many to have been wasted. Since joining the Canes Samsonov has flourished, scoring 13 goals, and tallying 21 assists to revitalize his career. Rutherford also pulled off a deal with Ottawa a week ahead of the trade deadline to bring in Joe Corvo and Patrick Eaves. Corvo has been a hit on the Carolina blue line, providing much needed offensive punch, especially on the power play. Eaves has been injured, but has contributed when healthy, and looks to be a good pick up for the future. At the trade deadline, Rutherford also pulled the trigger on a deal with the Blackhawks to acquire Tuomo Ruutu, whose aggressive and hard hitting style of play immediately made him a fan favorite, and who has shown his offensive skills over the last few games. The Canes gave up some productive and very popular players in these deals - Mike Commodore, Corey Stillman, Andrew Ladd - all veterans of the Cup run in 2006, but all of the moves seem to have worked to perfection so far.
And one cannot forget the contribution of the River Rats. AHL call ups Keith Aucoin, Ryan Bayda, Wade Brookbank, Tim Conboy and Joe Jensen (also acquired in a minor league deal with Pittsburgh earlier in the season) have all made major contributions over the last few months. Not to mention the likes of Casey Boer, Brandon Nolan, Joey Mormina and Michael Leighton, all of whom came up at one point or another this season and acquitted themselves nicely.
It's been an amazing season full of ups and downs. But the Canes have been nothing if not tough and resilient. Tonight in Washington they can lock down their third Southeast Division crown in 4 years (ok, 5 if you count the lockout). And even should they lose, there is still a chance that they could make the playoffs - a regulation loss would leave them tied with Washington with two games to play, and they do hold the tie-breaker. Still, the way things were looking when Brind A'mour went down in a heap against Pittsburgh, I'm amazed they are still in this position at all. I thought it was all over.
Win or lose tonight I could not be more proud of my team.
That said, let's go take care of business and kick some Caps ass!
GO CANES!!
-m
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