Powerplay Point Podcast Show #7

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Here it is, our first season and playoffs wrap up.  Have an opinion?  Agree or disagree?  Let me hear you, hockey fans!

Howling Mad, Royally....

Watching the Stanley Cup playoffs this year, even when my team hasn't been involved has been incredible.  There's been much to like, a lot to be enjoyed, and we still have just over a round to go.  When you're not watching your team play, generally you want to see a good game.  And you want to see the best team win and have the players decide it--preferably within the rules.

Well that's not what you got for an ending if you saw last night's Western Conference Final with the Kings skating away with the series win.

And why?  Because the referees could not be bothered to do their job. Missed calls aplenty on both sides.  Drew Doughty of the Kings was called for interference when it was his stick that was held on the play.

Then there was the ridiculousness where goalie Mike Smith lost his glove and the refs acted like: "Don't look at us, we don't know what to do!" Never mind they could have legally whistled the play dead.

Don't even get me started on Slava Voyanov and how he threw the puck over the glass. The damn refs have been so quick to call this one all year long.  How could they miss it this time?  This is taking the time-honored rule of not calling penalties in overtime to a ridiculous extreme.

But of course there was one act that was worse than all that came before it.  I think most of you know what I'm talking about.  If not, read on....

Dustin Brown is a dirty, dirty player.  I don't want to read a single article complaining about Alex Ovechkin anymore now that this guy has shown what he's all about on a national stage.

There are those out there, and I admit there are a lot of them, who say Brown is not guilty of anything illegal.  But the damning evidence is the reverse angle of the replay.  If you throw out the whether or not the hit is late, what you have left to question is the legality of the hit.  Again, take a look at the reverse angle of the replay and tell me you don't see what I see.

While you're watching, bear in mind this little piece of information--straight out of the Official NHL Rulebook:

50.1 Kneeing - Kneeing is the act of a player leading with his knee and in some cases extending his leg outwards to make contact with his opponent.

Here's my point...despite the officials taking a nap for the whole game I was actually enjoying what was arguably the best game in the playoffs up to that point.  Because the game ended not thirty seconds later when the Coyotes were all discombobulated and lost one of their best puck moving defensemen.  And before anybody says anything, Shane Doan was absolutely right in giving Brown an earful in the handshake line.  As much as I respect that tradition that no other sport has, I believe Doan was perfectly justifed.  Anybody calling this whining needs to shut up and think of what it's like to be a leader of a team.

So to close, I would like to extend a personal thank you to the referees of last night's game--Kevin Pollock and Brad Watson.  You two gentlemen absolutely ruined what was shaping up to be the best game of the playoffs.  Thanks so much!

Hunter Rides Off into the Sunset.....

So the inevitable happened and it became appropriate for Dale Hunter to make his call.  His call was to go back to the family farm in Petrolia, Ontario.  Back to his ultimate dream job of running his team, his way.
I said it was inevitable for a reason.  No one should be surprised by any of this.  After all, if you think about it Hunter was helping out an old friend in need.  And it just so happened that Hunter might have harbored thoughts of plying his trade in the big time, having already proven himself in the Canadian Junior leagues.  Even so you got the feeling from the off that this was going to be a temporary arrangement at best.  And so it was...by Hunter's choice as it turned out.

It was the media that assumed when Hunter first took over he was on a short leash.  Oh how wrong they were.  Oh how I'm enjoying how wrong they still are.  Because you see if it's one thing I admire it's someone who does things their way...and never apologizes for it.  Hunter not only pulled that off, he also walked away on his own terms.  But it doesn't matter what the cynics in the hockey media choose to believe, Hunter accomplished what he set out to do.  He changed the culture and the psychology of the team.  We saw a completely different team both on the ice and in the locker room as a result.

Never mind that the problem with the team is whether or not that change of mindset sticks through next season and beyond.  Never mind even that the transformation took almost too long to take root. He may not have even been the right guy for the time--there were certainly more qualified, accomplished, and experienced coaches available.  But none of that matters now.  Because for once this team has been shown what it can do if they believe they are greater than they are as individuals, and their best player led the way.

It wasn't pretty, it wasn't always eye-catching, and it certainly didn't make anybody go ooh and aah--unless you saw someone take a blocked shot in the tenders.  But for a month and a half, it worked.

And now whoever remains on the team needs to follow the example, pull themselves up by the jock strap, and carry on.  Because it only gets harder from here.  But then if the Cup were easy to win, it wouldn't be worth winning, would it?  Of course not.

Godspeed, Mr. Hunter.  And it wouldn't surprise me one damn bit to see you chewing gum behind an NHL bench again someday.

Recap 5/12 Game 7 vs NY Rangers

Rangers  2
Capitals  1
Game and Series Winning Goal--Michael Del Zotto
Three Stars--Henrik Lundquist, Brad Richards, Michael Del Zotto

There is no shame in losing when you give it  your absolute best effort and you leave it all on the ice.  There is shame, however if you don't go into the most important game with the utmost intensity and effort.

I will give you three guesses which of those were how the Caps approached this Game 7 and the first two don't count.

If you haven't figured it out by now, they lost because they just plain didn't show up.   Again.

To come so far only to have it end this way is the ultimate kick in the groin.  Especially when one considers how many times this team had its collective back to the wall again and again and came out stronger every time. Or so we were led to believe.

So many factors that happened in this game and all the other losses in this series....

Dennis Wideman's overall sloppy play and minus 7 rating.
Alex Ovechkin getting knocked off the puck for the eventual series winning goal.
Alexander Semin disappearing once again in a second round playoff series.
Joel Ward's four minute minor in Game 5...you know the rest.
Braden Holtby's momentary loss of focus in Games 1 and 7.
The power play once again tanking when it was needed the most.
The whole team running out of gas in triple OT in Game 3.
Umpteen kerjillion shots that either hit posts, crossbars, and other such ridiculousness that for some cosmic reason resulted in their never reaching the back of the net.

All of the above were only parts of the reason they lost.  But it wasn't for any one reason.  Just like it wasn't because of any one player.  While it's true they rode the hotness of Holtby's puckstopping and the exuberance of Ovechkin's leadership...for fourteen games they lived out the ultimate credo:

Win as a team, lose as a team.

Which brings us to the flip side--how this team got this far.  They played better than the sum of their parts and became better than 23-plus individuals by the end of the ride.  Just as Dale Hunter said, they figured out exactly how they needed to play in order to win in the playoffs.  And they were one win away from the Conference Final.  After that, anything could happen.  You can't help but think this team is one final piece away from putting it all together.

Or are they?  They may not be, but that's for a later discussion.  Now is a time to reflect on what was accomplished.  The Washington Capitals didn't get there going the usual way.  They looked simply awful at times to be honest, but the point is that they did indeed finally get there.  They can be proud of what they did--eliminated the defending Cup champs and put the regular season Conference champs on the brink.  It was a hell of a playoff ride and fun to watch.

Yes they fell short once again, but as always, they made life very interesting for all of us who call ourselves Caps fans.  Here's to next year, whatever it may bring...even if it's another heartbreak.