The Washington Capitals have one rival they dislike the most, one rival they feel vengeance against, that rivals the Capitals face tonight — the Philadelphia Flyers. Not only did Philadelphia embarrass the Caps earlier this season, beating them 7-1, despite being outplayed, but the Flyers were responsible for ousting the Caps from the playoffs last season.
Forget the media manufactured rivalry between Pittsburgh and Washington. Forget the growing division rivalry between Carolina and Washington. It’s Philadelphia and Washington, period. That face off is tonight, 7PM, in the Sea of Red. Two teams, two young teams, two teams that simply hate each other, two cities that despise each other, two teams that will clash near the top for years to come. That’s what a rivalry is about. That is what the Flyers and Capitals have become.
No one was more honest about this rivalry than Caps head coach Bruce Boudreau.
“Where it falls is a) we don’t like them. But b) the importance is of continuously getting ahead of them,” said Caps coach Bruce Boudreau. “It’s either 52 [points for Philadelphia] — a three-point lead — or a seven-point lead. We want to be the first-place team [in the Eastern Conference]. So if we want that to happen we have to probably go through the Flyers.”
Another excellent article form the Washington Post on this growing, intense rivalry between Philly and DC.
But mention the Flyers around the Capitals’ locker room these days, and there’s no longer any doubt that Philadelphia has surpassed Crosby’s Penguins as enemy No. 1, even if only by a slight margin.
“We played them 11 times last year,” defenseman Shaone Morrisonn said. “It just seems the games against Philly are a little rougher. Pittsburgh plays more of a skilled game. Philly has skill, too; they are a great team. But Philly plays physical. It’s a different game than against Pittsburgh. Those two teams have both been big rivals, but right now I think Philly is the biggest.”
The Examiner also gives the injury report. Caps still have four players out: D Tom Poti (groin), D John Erskine (concussion), Serge Fedorov (ankle), and Tomas Fleischmann (ill). Caps are growing healthier as it appears, possibily by the end of the week, Poti, Flash, and Fedorov could make returns to the lineup.
Count Nicklas Backstrom as one of those fired up Washington Capitals, ready to seek revenege against Philadelphia.
“Our home record is pretty amazing,” Backstrom said. “It’s hard to say why. We have a lot of confidence when we hit the ice. We have great fans at home. It makes it easier to play with them behind our back.”
The Caps are second in the Eastern Conference at 26-11-3, and you could almost argue they’ve mostly done it under the radar. The Boston Bruins have hogged the spotlight with their amazing season, but it’s definitely time to point out another team in the East that’s going to be hard to beat.
“We’re playing with a lot of confidence,” said Backstrom, whose team has battled a huge injury list this season.
As for getting healthy, the bad part of it is, Sean Collins will likely head to Hershey, but I really don’t think that is the best move for the Capitals. Collins has been playing solid on the blue line and doesn’t commit stupid penalties you get from Erskine at times. Plus, when Erskine comes back, does that effect Karl Alzner? Can you really send Alzner to Hershey with the progression he has made this year? When you look at the darft strategy of GM Geoge McPhee, building a hefty defense weas paramount, but I don’t think they expected the glut on defense to arrive so soon, good news for the Capitals. And to think, they still have prospects on the way, such as Josh Godfrey, Joe Finely and John Carlson.
By now, as a Caps fan, you already likely feel robbed, as you should, with the Alex Ovechkin voting for the All Star team. Voted as the sixth all star, yet, most hockey analysts and media gurus hoist Ovie as the best player in the game, period. Everyone knows hockey is a great sport, if not the best, but no one said the fans are very intelligent.
And, the best part of it is, Ovie takes it in stride . . .
“It’s OK,” he said in an on-ice interview with Comcast SportsNet after Saturday’s game. “It’s always nice to be there. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a starter or not. I always have fun, and I think it will be a [great] time for me, I think.”
To be truthful, this is good, real good. Having Ovie play with a chip on his shoulder is even better. BUT, Washington fans share some fault. It needs corrected next season. You want a great hockey team, you have it. Now support it. We have supported at the ticket booth, but now is the time to take the extra step and correct this error next season by coming out in force for all start voting. Take it as a lesson learned.
Assisting Coach Boudreau for the week is guest coach and former Capital Bengt Gustaffson. Not only does Gustaffson like to stay involved with his former team because he is a former player, but his son, Anton Gustaffson, was the Capitals first round pick in last year’s NHL Entry Draft, and Gustaffson will be coaching Team Sweden in the 2010 Olympics. Gustaffson may very well be coaching current Capital Nicklas Backstrom on that Team Sweden.
Here is a MUST READ on our excellent Washington Caps owner Ted Leonsis. The article will continue I believe tonight, so link back here later and click on the further info link at the bottom fo the article.
Game Preview tonight …
USA Today
Philadelphia Daily News
Official Caps Site
Joe’s Washington Hockey Blog
JapersRink
Peerless Prognosticator
Puckhead’s Thoughts
Loading ...
FanSided
NFLMocks.com
