Enjoying Hockey, if nothing else---reCap vs. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

Just some Administrative stuff to take care of before I get into the post....in a previous post I mentioned the Arthritis Foundation as a worthwhile cause.  I would be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that here in Maryland, my very own wife and ex-wife are also doing what they can for the cause.  They are both participating in the annual Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis this weekend.  More information can be viewed here and as always, donations are greatly appreciated.


"It wasn’t anything special.  I was just going out there and playing like I do every other game. Most important thing is for the team to win and that’s what happened tonight.”

--Alexander Semin after his 3-goal, five point night against the Lightning


So maybe that's the key.  Just keeping things simple and enjoying what you do.  And keeping the big picture in mind.  If only it were that easy.  The Washington Capitals certainly made it look that way last night.  Except for allowing an alarmingly high number of shots (41) they did almost everything else very well last night.

I usually try to find something they can improve upon.  Other than the obvious shot stats, for the life of me, I can't.  What impressed me most was their play in the 3rd--their body language said it all.  No panic and pure enjoyment in what they were doing.  Especially Semin.

For those familiar with advanced hockey statistics, this didn't exactly make their Fenwick and Corsi numbers look too good either.  But there's no need for me to get into that when more astute observers such as Japers Rink and Red Line Station do it so much better than I can.  No sarcasm at all, just telling the truth. Red Army Line already covered this as well, but Teddy Purcell is a beast. Watch for him, he'll be a star.


But did they get down after falling behind, pulling ahead, then allowing the Lightning back in it?  Nope.  Not even after losing Boyd Gordon, a unheralded yet valuable contributor to the team's success.  That's probably the characteristic I like most about this team so far this year--you just know that, no matter what, they have a legitimate chance to win the game.

Lately, the Caps have been relying on the sublime talents of one Alexander Semin to pull ahead and stay ahead in their games.  However, if you look at the list of game winning goals for the team you will see that in their 12 wins, eight different Capitals have game-winners.  That means they don't necessarily have to have their first line (or whoever's on it at the time) bail them out when they fall into their nasty habit of falling behind.  This is never a bad thing.

So why all the sunshine, lollipops, and roses from me?  Well it's because I have to have something to be happy about and why not my hockey team?  After all they are at the top of the standings, just as they were for most of last year.  Yes I do happen to remember that it ended up not meaning much come April.  But you have to admit that, as much as my fellow fans and I have been worried about this team getting it done, they have been...well...getting it done.  So, for now anyway, there may not be much to worry about after all.

And here is where I will go into the hellacious reality that is my own life.  I have to announce that I may have to cut back on my workload here at the Powerplay Point because of a profound change in my schedule.  My night job of delivering news materials has decided to end its run, certainly not by my choice.  This is forcing me to figure out how to replace that income.  Without going into too many details, that will probably mean more hours of me doing whatever work I can find (no thanks to our still rotten economy) instead of following my team.  In turn, I won't be able to spend as much time on the blog.  I'm going to do my best to at least pop in maybe once a week or something like that, but until I know what's going to happen I can't promise anything.  I will make a concerted effort to stay involved, though.

Of course, there are far more important concerns for me than maintaining a blog.  I won't lie and try to convince anybody that I'm not just plain scared about how I'll be able to keep paying the bills. Not going to wallow in self-pity (at least not here anyway), but if anyone reading this has any ideas, can help in some way, or knows someone who can, I would greatly appreciate hearing about it through the comments at the bottom.  Basically I'm looking for any overnight work in the Baltimore area. I've already begun looking myself and I'm hoping that it might just work out one way or another, but the more minds and hearts help me on this one the better I'll feel about it.  Thanks for reading and I do appreciate your allowing me to vent.  Continue to Rock the Red, my fellow Caps fans and I'll be in touch....