Capitals Playoff Watch

by **Steve Spurrier III** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 11:39 pm

The Capitals are currently 10th in the Eastern Conference with 76 points. Standing in their way for the 8th and final wild card is Philadelphia (79 points) and Buffalo (77 points). So the Caps would need a little help to sneak in.

But the Capitals are also five points behind Carolina in the Southeast Division. Washington has two games remaining against the Hurricanes, so if the Caps were to win both those games in regulation, they would make up four points. And since the Capitals have ten games left (as opposed to Carolina's nine), the Capitals have the opportunity to gain an additional two points. So despite our spot in the standings, we do control our own destiny.

It's the home stretch - Go Caps Go!

edit - proofreading

by **Steve Spurrier III** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 1:24 pm

Saturday, March 15

Standings going in:

Code: Select all: # Team Pts GR 1 Devils (A) 88 11 2 Senators (N) 87 10 3 Hurricanes (S) 81 9 4 Penguins 87 11 5 Canadiens 87 10 6 Rangers 83 11 7 Bruins 80 11 8 Flyers 79 11 -------------------------- 9 Sabres 77 10 10 CAPITALS 76 10 11 Panthers 76 9

Relevant Games:

Flyers @ Bruins - currently underway, tied at 1 in the 2nd
Sabres @ Maple Leafs - 7:00

by **Sir_Monk** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 3:07 pm

The game tomorrow vs Boston is critical, but I think it is just to much ground to make up after last weekends two heart breakers.

If we make the playoffs or not, I am still very pleased the Caps are playing meaningful hockey this late in the season and with a better start next year, I think we have a team that is ready to compete for the Eastern Conference.

I hope we can resign Huet and Cooke for next year.

by **Steve Spurrier III** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 5:12 pm

I agree it's an uphill battle, and I also agree that regardless of how this all turns out, it's been a fun season.

But we do still control our own destiny. In a lot of ways, it reminds me of the Redskins position this season.

by **Steve Spurrier III** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 11:38 am

Sunday, March 16

Yesterday's Relevant Results:

Bruins 3 Flyers 2 OT
Sabres 6 Maple Leafs 2

Standings going in:

Code: Select all: # Team Pts GR 1 Devils (A) 90 10 2 Canadiens (N) 89 9 3 Hurricanes (S) 81 9 4 Penguins 87 11 5 Senators 87 10 6 Rangers 83 10 7 Bruins 82 10 8 Flyers 80 10 -------------------------- 9 Sabres 79 9 10 CAPITALS 76 10 11 Panthers 76 9

Today's Relevant Games:

Flyers at Penguins - currently underway on NBC, 2-0 Penguins in the 1st
Capitals at Bruins - 3:00
Senators at Hurricanes - 3:00
Thrashers at Panthers - 5:00

by **Bob 0119** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 10:46 am

It only get's tougher from here. After a nerve racking shoot-out victory over Boston, we are on the road for the next 5 games.

Huet played great, but he also had some good D in front of the net to help clear up his re-bounds.

I got no regrets on this season. They have been fun to watch, but I don't think we are a cup contender...yet. Maybe if we had some of our injured guys back at 100% (Clark, Nylander, Steckel) but as is, I'm proud of them for doing as well as they have done so far, and anything else (post-seasonwise) is just gravy!

by **Steve Spurrier III** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 11:09 am

That was a tough win over Boston - the Capitals haven't had the best luck on shootouts, so it was nice to see one go the other way. I hate the 3-point games though. No help from Ottawa, which was disappointing.

Monday, March 17 / Tuesday, March 18

Sunday's Relevant Results:

Capitals 2 Bruins 1 (SO)
Hurricanes 5, Senators 1
Penguins 7 Flyers 1
Panthers 3 Thrashers 1

Standings going in:

Code: Select all: # Team Pts GR 1 Devils (A) 90 10 2 Canadians (N) 89 9 3 Hurricanes (S) 83 8 4 Penguins 89 10 5 Senators 87 9 6 Rangers 83 10 7 Bruins 83 9 8 Flyers 80 9 -------------------------- 9 Sabres 79 9 10 CAPITALS 78 9 11 Panthers 78 8

Monday's Relevant Games:

none

Tuesday's Relevant Games:

Thrashers @ Flyers; 7:00 - Versus
Capitals @ Predators; 8:00 - CSN

If things break right on Tuesday, we'll be tied for the 8th seed with Philadelphia.

by **Sir_Monk** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 2:24 pm

Hopefully the Trash show up against Philly and don't mail it in like they did against us last week.

by **Steve Spurrier III** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 11:50 pm

It was a nerve-wracking win, but a win nonetheless. No help from Atlanta, but they'll get a chance to make up for it against Carolina.

Wednesday, March 19

Yesterday's Relevant Results:

Capitals 4 Predators 2
Flyers 3 Thrashers 2

Standings going in:

Code: Select all: # Team Pts GR 1 Devils (A) 90 10 2 Canadians (N) 90 8 3 Hurricanes (S) 83 8 4 Penguins 89 9 5 Senators 87 9 6 Rangers 85 9 7 Bruins 83 9 8 Flyers 82 8 -------------------------- 9 CAPITALS 80 8 10 Sabres 79 9 11 Panthers 78 8

Today's Relevant Games:

Capitals at Blackhawks; 8:30, CSN
Thrashers at Hurricanes; 7:00
Lightning at Sabres; 7:00

by **GSPODS** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 6:14 am

Alexander Ovechkin scored once and assisted on two others in Washington's 4-2 doubling of Nashville on Tuesday night.

Alexander the Great has certainly lived up to his nickname this season and throughout his short and brilliant career, as he has already become the first player in franchise history to record 100 points twice in a Caps' uniform. His empty-net marker was his league-leading 58th goal of the season and he now sits atop the NHL scoring race with a fantastic 102 points this season. In fact, Ovechkin has now amassed a ridiculous 300 points in just 237 career games, over the course of the past three seasons.

www.rotoworld.com

by **Sir_Monk** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 7:50 am

It seemed like the Caps were outplayed for much of the 2nd and 3rd period, glad we got out of there with two points!

by **Steve Spurrier III** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 10:00 am

I agree, we were lucky. Watching the end of that third period was brutal - it felt like one of those Redskin games where we get up 10 or 17 early only to watch the lead evaporate.

How sweet was Ovechkin's bank shot to seal the deal?

by **GSPODS** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 10:08 am

Steve Spurrier III wrote:I agree, we were lucky. Watching the end of that third period was brutal - it felt like one of those Redskin games where we get up 10 or 17 early only to watch the lead evaporate.

How sweet was Ovechkin's bank shot to seal the deal?

The Caps are due for some luck to come their way. They've been on the wrong end of so many shootouts this season that I've lost track of the number.

by **Bob 0119** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 10:19 am

I relaxed after the first period. Started cussing late in the second when it seemed like the Caps were trying to let Nashville back into it, and was on the edge of my seat for the last 6 1/2 minutes of the game.

I don't usually cheer for the empty-netters, but I jumped up from the couch on that one.

I know we've had some great players in the past, and I'm not taking anything away from those guys, but it's about time we finally had a genuine home-grown hero such as Ovechkin, who is arguably the greatest player in the league right now.

Huet put together another dazzling net-minding display. Every rebound he didn't gobble up himself, his defenders were right there to sweep away from him.

The biggest downside to yesterday's game was penalties. Stupid penalties. The officiating was crap admittedly, but we need to be more careful with the stick in these close games and try to avoid these high stick, and hooking minors. We also need cooler heads to avoid roughing minors...even when the other team starts it.

All in all, it was a great game for us, and a great win for the Caps!

by **JansenFan** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 10:23 am

We are three points behind Carolina and two behind the Flyers. If we win out (which would include two victories and a four point swing over Carolina) we are he four seed and in the playoffs where anything can happen. I just hope to avoid the Pens in the first round. They have been responsible for WAY too many early exits from the post-season in recent trips.