Move On

As far as I’m concerned, we need to move on, we’ve got a game tomorrow night, two games left in the season at home, we need to play well and we need to win ‘em both. -Erik Cole (post-game, Washington 4 - Carolina 1)

I could not have summed it up better myself.

The Cane's situation is simple...win two straight games on home ice and you are in the playoffs. One opportunity has been wasted. Two more await.

Tuesday night was not the Hurricanes finest hour, but despite those looking to jump off a ledge this morning, it wasn't the end of the world either.

The Caps out-skated, out-hustled, out-hit, out-shot (by a ridiculous margin of 39-22) and basically outplayed the Canes in a 4-1 win on Tuesday night in DC. It was a win that brought the Caps into a points tie (90) with the Hurricanes at the top of the Southeast division with 2 games left to play. Carolina holds the tie-breakers of total wins and overall record head-to-head.

Both teams finish the season with two home games, against the same teams - Tampa and Florida - with Washington having the slight advantage of getting the 'Ning and Panthers on the back-end of back to backs. The Canes get the 'Ning at home tonight, on the back end of a back to back.

It's really simple at this point. If the Canes beat the Lightning and Panthers at home, they are in the playoffs as the Southeast Division champs and will secure the third seed in the East. If they lose either game, and Washington wins their matchup, the Caps are division champs. Both Washington and Carolina are still in the running for a playoff spot (currently 1 point behind 8th place Boston), but to be honest I don't even want to think about that.

The Canes win two and they are in. If they don't they need help, and that's not an enviable position to be in. You work to have the puck on your stick to control your destiny, and the Canes have that. Now they just have to go out and take care of business at home against two teams who are out of the playoffs.

Notes from last night:

- The Caps took control from the start, dominated the game for the most part. The first 7-8 minutes werea blitzkreig, and only Cam Ward's stellar play kept the Canes in the game.

- Washington's first two goals - from Matt Cooke and Brooks Laich respectively - were both probably something the Canes would like to have another crack at. On Cooke's tally Ward gave up a juicy rebound off of a Mike Green blast from the point which fell right at Cooke's feet between the circles. And Laich scored on nifty forehand-to-backhand move in front of the crease that seemed to hypnotize both Ward and defenseman Tim Gleason.

-Cristobol Huet made a stunning save on a Scott Walker short-handed breakaway in the 2nd that would have tied the score at 2, and probably changed the entire complexion of the game. Instead, Washington scored later in the same power play (a 4 minute minor to Trevor Letowski for high sticking) to essentially ice the game.

-Much was made on the radio call-in shows last night and in the blogosphere this morning about the officiating in last night's game, and some sort of perceived conspiracy theories about the NHL wanting the Caps in the playoffs over the Canes.
To this end I would like to make a few points:

1) The officiating did not lose the game for the Canes last night. They were beaten by a team that played better and worked harder.

2) NHL officiating, on the whole, is indeed atrocious, but is usually atrocious both ways. My big beef with NHL officiating is that it is so inconsistent from game to game, period to period, shift to shift. Sometimes I could swear they are just making things up as they go along.

3) That said, the way a game is being played by the teams on the ice has a lot to do with how a game is being called...i.e. the Caps were contorling play for most of the game last night, setting the tempo and putting the Canes on the defensive. This naturally leads to the aggressive team getting the benefit of the calls. When the Canes are pressing the action, controlling the flow of the game I've seen them get the benefit of calls on many occasions.

4) Referees don't usually decide games, players on the ice do. Last night the Canes got rattled, started worrying about the refs and the calls instead of focusing on controlling the game on the ice. They were outplayed. This is why they lost.

5) Of curse the NHL would love to see the Caps/Ovechkin in the playoffs! Duh. But to somehow infer that they would actually, specifically, cheat the Canes to get them there is a bit out there. Just reaks of homer fan insecurity to me. Do you think the Canes would have ever met Edmonton in the Stanley Cup Finals if the league operated this way? And even if they had, don't you think the fix would have been in for more tradition laden Oilers in such a situation?

One other note on Alex Ovechkin and some perceived notion that he gets the star treatment...OF COURSE HE DOES...he is a star...stars get preferential treatment in every sports league known to man...Does he sometime cross the line from hard nosed and gritty to "dirty"?...ABSOLUTELY...but I would argue it is his willingness, as a player of exceptional skill, to even approach that line that makes him the world class hockey player that he is...and a joy to watch as long as it's not against your team...should he get called for leaving his feet on checks, or brings his elbow up on a check along the boards?...ABSOLUTELY...but until the pansies in the striped shirts do something about it, there's no deterrent...the only deterrent I see is some goon getting sick of it all and taking a serious run at Ovie...then the NHL can think about it while one of their superstars sits on the shelf for a month or so...that would suck...because I would love to have a guy who plays as hard and with as much skill as Ovechkin on my team any day...


Canes vs Tampa tonight.

Let's Go Canes!

And It All Comes Down To This...(Sort Of)

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

FAVRE to retire...

Dude I'm serious...no really, it's all over the news...why would I make this up?...I'm not even a NFL fan...dude, why are you crying?...


Well, it seems like it's official...and he means it this time...Brett Favre is hanging up his cleats/spurs once and for all after 17 seasons in the NFL. And it only took what, 5 or 6 offseasons of suspense? The official reason given for why Favre decided this was the year to pull the plug? He's "tired". Good enough for me. I would imagine he is a little sore as well. And I'm not trying to be a smartass. He's earned the right to go out on his own terms.

You can pretty much count on SportsCenter being unwatchable tonight unless you happen to hail from Wisconsin. Of course, SportsCenter is pretty much unwatchable in the first place. On his radio show this morning Dan Patrick (who is no longer affiliated with ESPN) was taking calls and reading emails from distraught Cheese-Heads who had to "pull their cars over and burst into tears when they heard the news". Egads.

Yahoo sports has coverage here.

While Deadspin will have "more about this later". I can hardly wait.


Of course, I get most of my football news from The Guardian (UK), and you can find their coverage here.


John Madden is now expected to announce his retirement from broadcasting sometime within the next few days. At which point he will perform hara-kiri with a turkey leg.

Seriously though, today marks the end of an amazing career. Favre will go down as one of the all-time greats for sure. A supreme competitor, fearless, with a cannon for an arm and one of the most durable players of all time at his position. Perhaps the last of the wild-west gunslingers in the NFL. He, and his wildly entertaining brand of football, will be missed by fans and foes a like. Multiple MVPs and a Superbowl ring assure that a late summer trip to Canton, OH will be on his itinerary in the not too distant future.

Let the Aaron Rodgers era begin in Green Bay!!


-m

Hey Boston...

Thanks for nothing...and by nothing, I mean NOTHING.

Capitals 10
Bruins 2

How's that save percentage looking now Tim Thomas?

Even before watching last night's debacle, I was wondering to myself how the Bruins, who the Canes managed to dominate this season even when they were playing at their worst, could have possibly won 6 straight games and climbed as high as 6th place in the Eastern Conference? Had they been playing in the AHL for two weeks? That's all I can figure after Monday's debacle.

All props to the Capitals for absolutely pummeling an opponent who obviously had no interest in playing the game on Monday. And they did not even have to break a sweat to do so.

If there is any justice, the hockey gods will reward the Bruins for their lack of passion and lack of effort with a 10 or 12 game losing streak.

I'm not sure if this game can be used as an accurate gauge of how much the Capitals have improved with their trade deadline acquisitions, but they looked pretty darn impressive to me...at least we know they can find the net early and often when there's no defense to oppose them.


-m

...and the kitchen sink

Random thoughts on a spring-like Monday:

- The Tampa papers are awash with stories on the Canes diving to get penalties on Saturday night. What is it about Florida and sore losers? The bottom line from the rafters: Did the Cane's get the benefit of the doubt on a few calls? Sure. But when you are dominating the game the way the Canes were in the 2nd and 3rd periods, you are going to get the benefit of some calls. The Lightning were out-skated, out-hit and out-worked for the majority of the game. I noticed the difference in penalty calls, and was looking for a few make-up calls in the 3rd to even things out. But the fact of the matter is, the 'Ning did nothing in the 3rd to warrant a call. They basically rolled over like a team playing out the string. Big surprise. And now they want to whine about it. Whatever. When they are on their game, no one gets the benefit of calls more than St Louis and Levcavalier. They just didn't do anything on Saturday to deserve it.

- I've been really impressed with the contributions of the newcomers over the last few weeks. Has there been a better waiver wire claim in recent history than Sergei Samsonov? The River Rats have been amazing. Corvo, Ruutu and Eaves all got on the score sheet Saturday night. The energy and edge have been fun to watch. Let's hope they can all sustain it on the road.

= I'm bummed that I was unable to buy playoff tickets this year, but since I don't have a job at the moment, I was unable to make the commitment. Thankfully my regular season ticket plan was paid for before I became a "man of leisure". Unfortunately, my bank account is quickly approaching "unemployed". Here's hoping I'll be able to buy some playoff tickets a la carte when the time comes.

- There was a little speculation on Lord Stanley's Blog today regarding Ray Whitney's injury and status. Apparently a rumor was going around that Raymond had been to see a specialist regarding a possible infection in his leg. Coach Laviolette discarded these rumors, but would only say that Whitney was day-to-day (then again, aren't we all?).

- If Whitney is unavailable in Atlanta on Wednesday, the lineup is likely to remain as it was on Saturday night. I liked the pairing of Ruutu with Staal and Cole, and Patrick Eaves seems to be getting more and more comfortable with every game, playing on a line with Samsonov and Cullen. I was a little surprised with the defensive pairing of Corvo and Kaberle. Seemed a bit odd, to me at least, to pair up your two most offensive defensemen, outside of the power play. Especially when you are working with the minimum six man rotation. But once again Laviolette proves himself smarter than me. Go figure.

- Eric Staal has continued to improve his all around game. He's really stepped up in all phases since Brind A'Mour went down. Saturday he was rewarded with a three point night (1 goal, two assists). It was nice to see, but even when he has not shown up on the scoresheet, his effort has been there consistently of late and it really has seemed to rub off on his teammates. This guy is going to be wearing the "C" someday for this team, and it's nice to see him growing into the role.

- Since his arrival, Sergei Samsonov is tied with Eric Staal for total points on the team with 21. He matched Staal's three point effort on Saturday against the Lightning, with 2 goals and an assist of his own.

-m