No Regrets.

[This was originally posted on my Flyers blog.]

I have no regrets. The boys should be proud of what they did. They defied the odds numerous times and it only eluded them that final time. No regrets. Not one.

They were the 7th seed, decided on the last day on shootout. They battled past severe injuries and defied the will of both commentators and higher ranked teams. Definitely no regrets.

The only thing that saddens me has to do with me being an extreme hockey fan. I used to cheer for the Hawks when they weren't playing the Flyers and I can say with confidence that will never happen again. The lack of respect shown by the media and their fans was disgraceful and insulting to the sport of hockey. I will not endorse it. Not ever. So Hawks you have lost all my respect and that's a tough thing to do. Chicago has lost my respect too. I don't care if you are an original six. If your media can act like a tabloid and you let them, you disrespected the greatest sport on the planet and I wash my hands of you.

I will shed not 1 tear over this loss. The Flyers should be extremely proud. What they should remember is that we cheered them after the loss. While I'm sure they could hardly hear anything outside of their isolation, we cheered them b/c we have nothing to be ashamed of. We have no regrets and neither should they.

Thanks for one hell of a ride boys. I'm so thankful that you took us along. I will never forget it.

No regrets.

The Crowded Crease

First and foremost a big welcome back to the NHL to Semyon Varlamov even though it was far from a picture perfect return. (And boy did Coach B let the press know it.)

With Varlamov’s return the crease is suddenly a little crowded in Washington but it won’t be for long as I don’t see Boudreau holding onto 3 goalies for too much longer. I expect Neuvirth to go back to the starting goaltending duties in Hershey as soon as the Olympic break begins.
Neuvirth will continue to collect wins in Hershey and build his confidence knowing that he did a great job backing up Jose Theodore during Varlamov’s injuries.

Varlamov is rusty and a looked a bit shaky during the 6-5 loss to the Senators. Honestly I expected him to look a little out of sync but I think the organization made a terrible decision bringing him back so soon. Don’t get me wrong, I think Varlamov is an amazing up-and-coming goalie, I just think he should have been given more time in Hershey to play and return to form in order to avoid exactly what happened against the Senators. Now is the true test: how he responds.

Jose Theodore had a tremendous run during the Caps’ amazing winning streak. He looked at the top of his game and he pulled off some beautiful saves. But his cap hit is high, and while the Capitals can afford him, I’m not sure that they should want to.

Do the Capitals sink their cap space into goaltending or defense? I feel that they should go with procuring a shutdown defenseman. Tightening up the back end won’t leave everything hanging on the goalies and I honestly think the Caps have a good young core in Varlamov and Neuvirth. Sure they are young and need more confidence and experience, but if you bolster the defense in front of them the confidence will come quicker.

So the crease will temporarily disperse by returning Neuvirth to Hershey, but as the summer approaches it looks crowded again. Is the tandem of Varlamov and Neuvirth ready to handle a full NHL season? I believe they are. If the Capitals organization thinks the same, you can expect them to go after defensemen instead of resigning Theodore with his bigger price tag.

And That's 14.

The Capitals had another terrible first period today putting them down 2-0.

Ovechkin looked to be bringing his team back into the game as he scored first in the second, but two Jordan Staal goals in between Ovechkin and Fehr’s left the Caps down 4-2 at the end of the second.

But living up to his normal ability to pull the team together and rally them for a win, Ovechkin netted two more in the third for the tie.

It took Mike Knuble to finish the Pens off in OT; final score 5-4 WAS.

So that’s the game recap but it doesn’t do today’s game any justice.

The first period was frustrating and hard to watch as the Penguins dominated and the Caps looked to be struggling to find any chemistry. At times I thought Boudreau’s head was going to explode. I can imagine his frustration as the Caps have been a little shaky on first periods as of late. (Then again I always think of them as a team that likes a good 3rd period push.)

I will be the first to admit that I didn’t think naming Ovechkin captain was a good idea. Today he proved me wrong and I’ll admit it. While everyone knows that he’s the face of the team, he really does seem to be their heart as well. His fight, determination and skill snapped the Caps awake and took them to overtime. And isn’t that really what a Captain is supposed to do? Put the fight back into the team and right the ship when the path has become skewed?

And while Ovechkin and Crosby lived up to the hype, it wasn’t just about them. There were a lot of other players on the ice and you knew it with all the pushing, shoving and fighting going on today.

The thing about the Caps during this 14 game winning streak, and this season for that matter, is that they possess the ability to make an impact in the playoffs. They do not let falling behind stop them, when the big guns get shut down the supporting casts fills in, and no matter how many goals they have scored in a game, they want more.

Drive, determination and perseverance is what is allowing this team to succeed. And I for one am glad that they pulled up from behind to win this one. It showed their grit and determination. And most importantly it showed that they can control the outcome of their games.

(This appears on www.crashthecrease.com)

Neuvirth Rising

Anyone who reads my twitter feed knows I like Neuvirth, and last night everyone in Washington got the opportunity to see why.

Sure he potentially looked a little shaky at the beginning of the game. What 21 year old AHL goaltender getting called up to netmind during the hottest NHL streak since 2001 wouldn’t? The true test of his character was that he stuck with it and persevered (even after Alexander Semin deposited himself and the puck into the net).

Part of Neuvirth’s exceptional character is that he readily admitted that he wasn’t sharp in the first period. That didn’t stop him and he worked through the rough spots and improved.

Probably the greatest testament to his character is that he deflected the credit for the win, despite making some outright amazing saves throughout the game. It was Theo’s winning streak and he made sure the media know that he was just helping.

Neuvirth has a whole lot of skill to go along with his attitude and work ethic. That glove save that he made while falling into a seated position was picture perfect, as were many of his other saves.

He’s come a long way from his first call-up and he continues to impress. While I know Varlamov is coming back soon, and I will gladly welcome his return, I want everyone to take the time to appreciate the amazing goaltending that this youngster put forth Friday night against the Thrashers. He earned that first star.

While Varlamov’s return may signal Neuvirth’s reassignment to the AHL for the remainder of the season, I have no doubt that everyone in Washington is going to be seeing a whole lot of him next season.

(This appeared on www.crashthecrease.com)

What’s Got Into Green?

Green was a little feisty last week and I’m left wondering what’s going on? Don’t get me wrong at first I was tweeting that I liked it because he was showing some signs of life, but it rapidly boiled over.

He skated into and crashed over top of a goalie. Smacked at an opposing player after said crash. Wrestled with Bobby Ryan. And elbowed Michael Frolik in the head. All before taking a nasty knee on knee hit that took him out of Friday’s game.

That’s a pretty spirited week for Green. And quite out of character in my opinion.

As the week went on Green seemed to be showing signs of mounting frustration and I’m left slightly puzzled. His team is dominating the league and he’s having another phenomenal season. Where is this “anger” coming from? And why is it surfacing now when the team is on fire?

There is a fine line between playing passionately and taking things a step too far. The elbow to the head was absolutely over the line. Green deserved to be suspended.

The league’s punishment however is a little more for show. Green took a fairly hard knee on knee impact that took him out of the remainder of the game. Suspending him for 3 games was necessary to show that everyone is held to the same disciplinary standard, however this punishment seems to be allowing him time to heal instead of actually making a point.

What's Wrong with Assisting the Welfare Teams?

This post is going to be brutally honest but it needs to be said....

Welfare teams as I like to refer to those teams that cannot economically survive without outside assistance. They exist. Bettman coddles them. (I love hockey with every cell in my body, but one of my major peeves about Gary Bettman's NHL is how he assists the welfare teams.) The economically self-sufficient teams support them. But should they exist?

No. While the NHL is a sport it's also a business. And businesses cannot thrive if they continually pour money into failing ventures. It's just bad business sense.

I'm in no way disrespecting the players or their loyal fans. And perhaps they don't want it viewed this way but it has to be.

The league cannot survive the burden of supporting teams that are economically failing without risking the welfare of the league itself.

This leaves you with three options.

1. Move the teams to places where they will economically thrive and prosper. And, yes, in all likelihood this means Canada. (Deal with it.)

2. Revoke the franchises and contract the league. (Enough said there.)

3. Find a rapid solution to the financial problems and implement it immediately.

Do I think teams like Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Phoenix should have been or should be bailed out? No. Not at the expense of the league or to pro sport itself.

Sacrificing the whole for one franchise to exist in an economically hostile environment isn't just poor business sense, it's just plain stupid.

(Why do we keep going down this same road?)

Bettman, Refs, Golden Boys & The NHL

What's wrong with the referees in the NHL? I'm flat out saying that I don't think there is a conspiracy. What I do think is that there is bias; a bias that comes from a few places.

First and foremost: Gary Bettman. He's re-imaged the league and as far as I'm concerned it's for the worst. He took a failing Penguins team and created an untouchable one. Should he have? No, but that's a different article. The fact is that he did. And in the process he unconsciously conditioned everyone to bow down to them. No one wants to dirty the image of the chosen few so they get the benefit of the doubt when they shouldn't.

I distinctly remember a certain golden boy sliding feet first into a goalie allowing the puck to go past the goalmouth unanswered. No offense but it's sort of hard to catch a puck when you're bowled over onto your back. The goal stood. My point? Anyone else and it's waived off for goalie interference.

The problem lies in the fact that it's not an isolated incident. Just last week a Pens player cross-checked a Flyers player into the Pens goalie. The Flyers' Hartnell had to sit in the sin bin. (I'm using my team as an example, however, it applies across the board.) I’m sorry but Hartnell wasn’t the reason for the goalie getting knocked out, the goalie’s teammate deserved all that credit, but Hartnell sat instead.

Bettman has created the idea that the pens are infallible and that has settled into the subconscious of the refs. But is he alone? No.

The media is helping to throw wood onto the fire. The Broad Street Bullies haven't existed in decades yet every week the current team is called it. So the Flyers conjure up the idea of the bullies and dirty players. This constant repetition also helps to solidify the unconscious bias. Why would it be anyone but Hartnell's fault if the Pens goalie was run over? He's a dirty player and has done it before, therefore he must be at fault now.

It’s a vicious cycle of unconscious bias that threatens to cheapen the sport and the league.

Careful NHL you are treading on dangerous water. The worst part? You don't even know it (nor do you care).

(For my cousin since he asked for it....)