Hunter leaves and look who's winning

Guess what boat the Washington Capitals are in again? They don't have a head coach, again, for the second time, this season. Dale Hunter decided to focus on his family and he wanted to go back to coaching his minor league team back in Ontario. OK, I can understand why he wants to go back, but really? At least he waited to make the announcement until after the Caps were out of the running for the Stanley Cup. I still understand that family is more important than any job out there. Over all Hunter did do a good job with the Caps but his work style really showed through in the playoffs. Even if at times I had a half a mind to give him a talking to about several things (keeping strong players off the ice is the main thing that frustrated me) he was good for the team.

However, one player apparently didn't like how they were playing. According to what I can find, Alexander Semin didn't like how Hunter focused on the defense and basically ignored the offense. I can see were Semin is coming from, he's one of the players who spent a lot of time on the bench during games. He'll be an unrestricted  free agent and from the sounds of it won't be returning to the team. Ugh, why must some many of the good players have big egos? Suck it up and play, even if it's not how you would like it. It's not about you, it's about the team as a whole group. I'm sure that there were a few players who had problems about how things were run, I don't think that there's a team out there where every one's happy. There are just to many egos and people to make everyone happy all the time. To be honest, I think that the team needs Semin and if he leaves the team just won't be the same.What do you think?

On to baseball. Has anyone besides me noticed that the Nationals aren't just having a little fluke, that they (hold on to you hats and socks if you're wearing them) are actually good this season. A shock, I know but you should have seen it coming. They have a strong roster of young players including one Bryce Harper, who has shown that he quite likes to make history in the baseball world. For example: He's the first teenager to hit home runs in back-to-back games since the 1990s, and he stole home plate. Not impressed? You should be. Another star player, Stephen Strasburg, has a bad game the other day. Here's the link to an article that sums it up pretty well.

Please tell me what you think of Hunter leaving and the possibility of Semin leaving.

A Win within a Defeat

It was a painful game to watch Saturday, with New York scoring first in the opening seconds of the game. But I do need to back up a few games.

In Game 3, it could have been called a endurance match. The Capitals and the Rangers played almost two whole games by the time the Rangers broke the dead lock. The players had to be giving their all in every period but thought three extra periods they must have been ready to drop. How they managed to play as hard as they did, even in the end, I don't know but it must have been a relief for everyone (players, coaches, management, staff, etc.) on both teams to just go home and sleep. Unfortunately, when the game closed the wrong team won. Final score 2-1 Rangers.

Games 4 and 5 could have been the same game played twice but with a different victor. Both ended 3-2, the Caps won game 4, the Rangers won the game 5.

Game 6, the pivotal match to decide if the Rangers would take the series in Washington or would the Caps force a final game in New York. The Caps came through and gave the Rangers some tough love. Final Score 2-1.

Back to Saturday's game. It was hard yes, painful yes, and caused many a Caps fan to try and find a silver lining in the hard loss that put the Capitals out of the running for the Stanly Cup this year. If anything these playoffs have shown us about the Caps is that for once they seem to work almost better in the postseason than in the regular season. Yes, it might have been hard at first for some of the players to change halfway thought the season to the new style of coaching brought by Dale Hunter. But it all seemed to come together just in time. The team worked in sync with each other to unseat the reigning champs and worked hard to put the Rangers out of the playoffs. Even if they didn't succeed with the Rangers they did prove to everyone (even if some won't admit it) that they still have a chance and still have what it takes. They may view it as a loss or failure but I don't think it was a complete loss. Being transformed into the gritty, grind-it-out-no-matter-how-long-it-takes type of team they were in the playoffs was no easy task. If they had beaten the Rangers and moved on to the 3rd round I'm confident that they could have beaten the Devils.

On a final note, for any skeptics out there still, why don't you try and do what those guys just did with a rookie (in the playoffs) goalie and a 'rookie' coach who they had to adjust to midway into the season and totally change how they play. Pretty good and I don't doubt it.

Dear Dale Hunter

First off, all Capitals fans reading this please take a moment to do a little party dance. Did it? Good. Moving on to the game. If you didn't know, the Capitals won game 2, 3-2, in New York, with foul curses raining down on. Speaking of foul language the Rangers fans need to have their mouths washed out with soap or something. All throughout the game they chanted Ovie *****(rhymes with pucks). Even under the wrath of the fans he manged to score the game winning goal. One thing that's still bugging me is the fact that Dale Hunter has kept one of his most power players off the ice for most of the post-season. Maybe if he lets Ovie on the ice more we could win these series more easily. For once it seems that the team as a whole is working together as one unit - supporting Holtby and getting on the board first. Not bad for a game 2, but we still have a long fight ahead if we want to go further.

P.S
Hunter, if you're reading this then I highly suggest that you put Ovie on the ice more.