Washington Capitals - Articles - Zimbio

Capitals to Face Predators Without Ovechkin

Mon, 28 Oct 2008 19:29:45 GMT

posted by tatiana
Forward and assistant captain Alexander Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals takes a shot in the second period during the game against the Atlanta Thrashers at Philips Arena on October 10, 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images North America)

After appearing in 203 straight games Alex Ovechkin will miss Tuesday's night's game against the Nashville Predators.

"We know he won't be here tomorrow, but we don't know beyond that." - Capitals Spokesperson Nate Ewell
The NHL's reigning MVP has returned home to Russian to visit his sick grandfather and the Washington Capitals say he'll be gone for sure Tuesday, but they're unsure when he'll return.

"We know he won't be here tomorrow, "the team's spokesman Nate Ewell said. "But we don't know beyond that."

Ovechkin apparently talked with Caps general manager George McPhee Sunday night before deciding to make the trip home.

"He had to go and he wanted to be near his grandfather," coach Bruce Boudreau said in a press conference. "But if you know Alex, he doesn’t' want to leave his teammates. So that's always a struggle, but in the end he knows what he needs to do -- and that's family first."

Last season Ovechkin led the league in goals and points, making him an obvious choice for MVP.

After Tuesday's game, the team will face off against the Buffalo Sabres, Saturday night.

More Photos:

Image Source Getty

Your Presence Is Requested - 2008-09 Washington Capitals Schedule

Wed, 17 Jul 2008 16:20:05 GMT

posted by OnFrozenBlog
(c) OnFrozenBlog - http://www.onfrozenblog.com/ -

The NHL released the regular season schedule for all 30 teams today. The NHL will open its 91st season in Stockholm, Sweden and Prague, Czech Republic with a pair of games between the Rangers and Lightnigh in Prague and the Senators and Penguins in Stockholm on October 4th and 5th.

The Capitals begin the season on the road in Atlanta on Friday, October 10th with the first home game the next day against Cristobal Huet and the Chicago Blackhawks. Olaf Kolig visits the Phone Booth for the first time on November 10th.

This season’s schedule is under a new matrix that has each team to playing six games against each team in its division (24 games), four games against the non-division teams within its conference (40 games), and 18 non-Conference games — at least one game against each club in the other conference (15 games) and three home-and-home series against non-Conference teams.

Some schedule notes:

All thirty teams will be in action on the same day on Saturday, October 25th.

The 2009 Winter Classic will take place on January 1st at Chicago’s Wrigley Field with the Blackhawks facing the Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Redwings.

The NHL All-Star Game will be held in Montreal’s Bell Centre on January 2tth. Montreal will also host the 2009 Entry Draft on June 26th and 27th.

Hockey Day In Canada returns to its all-Canadian lineup on Februay 21st with Ottawa at Montreal, Vancouver at Toronto, and Calgary at Edmonton.

[Full Capitals Schedule after the break.]

2008-09 Washington Capitals Schedule

October
Fri., Oct. 10	at Atlanta	7:30 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 11	Chicago	7 p.m.
Mon., Oct. 13	Vancouver	7 p.m.
Thurs., Oct. 16	at Pittsburgh	7:30 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 18	New Jersey	7 p.m.
Tues., Oct. 21	at Calgary	9:30 p.m.
Thurs., Oct. 23	at Phoenix	10 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 25	at Dallas	9 p.m.
Tues., Oct. 28	Nashville	7 p.m.
November
Sat., Nov. 1	at Buffalo	7 p.m.
Tues., Nov. 4	at Ottawa	7:30 p.m.
Thurs., Nov. 6	Carolina	7 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 8	N.Y. Rangers	7 p.m.
Mon., Nov. 10	TampaBay	7 p.m.
Wed., Nov. 12	at Carolina	7 p.m.
Fri., Nov. 14	New Jersey	7 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 15	at New Jersey	7 p.m.
Wed., Nov. 19	at Anaheim	10 p.m.
Thurs., Nov. 20	at Los Angeles	10:30 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 22	at San Jose	10:30 p.m.
Mon., Nov. 24	at Minnesota	9 p.m.
Wed., Nov. 26	Atlanta	7 p.m.
Fri., Nov. 28	Montreal	7 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 29	at Columbus	7 p.m.
December
Tues., Dec. 2	Florida	7 p.m.
Thurs., Dec. 4	N.Y. Islanders	7 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 6	at Toronto	7 p.m.
Sun., Dec. 7	at Carolina	5 p.m.
Wed., Dec. 10	Boston	7 p.m.
Fri., Dec. 12	Ottawa	7 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 13	at Montreal	7 p.m.
Tues., Dec. 16	at N.Y. Islanders	7 p.m.
Thurs., Dec. 18	St. Louis	7 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 20	at Philadelphia	1 p.m.
Tues., Dec. 23	at N.Y. Rangers	7 p.m.
Fri., Dec. 26	Buffalo	7 p.m.
Sun., Dec. 28	Toronto	7 p.m.
Tues., Dec. 30	at Buffalo	7 p.m.
January
Thurs., Jan. 1	TampaBay	7 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 3	N.Y. Rangers	7 p.m.
Tues., Jan. 6	Philadelphia	7 p.m.
Fri., Jan. 9	Columbus	7 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 10	at Montreal	7 p.m.
Tues., Jan. 13	Edmonton	7 p.m.
Wed., Jan. 14	at Pittsburgh	7:30 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 17	Boston	7 p.m.
Mon., Jan. 19	at N.Y. Islanders	2 p.m.
Tues., Jan. 20	at Ottawa	7:30 p.m.
All-Star Break
Tues., Jan. 27	at Boston	7 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 31	Detroit	12:30 p.m.
February
Sun., Feb. 1	Ottawa	12:30 p.m.
Tues., Feb. 3	at New Jersey	7 p.m.
Thurs., Feb. 5	Los Angeles	7 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 7	Florida	7 p.m.
Wed., Feb. 11	at N.Y. Rangers	7 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 14	at Tampa Bay	7:30 p.m.
Sun., Feb. 15	at Florida	5 p.m.
Wed., Feb. 18	Montreal	7:30 p.m.
Fri., Feb. 20	Colorado	7 p.m.
Sun. Feb. 22	Pittsburgh	3 p.m.
Tues., Feb. 24	Philadelphia	7 p.m.
Thurs., Feb. 26	Atlanta	7 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 28	at Boston	1 p.m.
March
Sun., March 1	Florida	3 p.m.
Tues., March 3	Carolina	7 p.m.
Thurs., March 5	Toronto	7 p.m.
Sun., March 8	Pittsburgh	3 p.m.
Tues., March 10	at Nashville	8 p.m.
Thurs., March 12	at Philadelphia	7 p.m.
Sat., March 14	Carolina	7 p.m.
Mon., March 16	at Atlanta	7 p.m.
Tues., March 17	at Florida	7:30 p.m.
Thurs., March 19	at Tampa Bay	7:30 p.m.
Sat., March 21	at Carolina	7 p.m.
Tues., March 24	at Toronto	7 p.m.
Fri., March 27	TampaBay	7 p.m.
April
Wed., April 1	N.Y. Islanders	7 p.m.
Fri., April 3	Buffalo	7 p.m.
Sun., April 5	Atlanta	3 p.m.
Tues., April 7	at Atlanta	7 p.m.
Thurs., April 9	at Tampa Bay	7:30 p.m.
Sat., April 11	at Florida	7 p.m.

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“Philly-Washington is going to be downright ugly”

Mon, 8 Apr 2008 04:00:54 GMT

posted by OnFrozenBlog
(c) OnFrozenBlog - http://www.onfrozenblog.com/ -

Yesterday, the NHL held a media conference call with several big name broadcasters, Don Cherry of CBC’s “Hockey Night in Canada”, Mike Emrick from VERSUS and NBC, Pierre McGuire from TSN and NBC and Mike Milbury from NBC and TSN. Each broadcaster started the call with a few words about a series before they took questions. Pierre McGuire spoke of the Caps/Flyers matchup.

PIERRE McGUIRE: Well, I’d like to talk a little bit about the Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals. I think this series has a chance to have the most bloodshed of all the series, and the big reason why is because of the targeting that’s going to go on. Whether you talk about going after Alex Ovechkin or even challenging a rookie like Nicklas Backstrom, I think that’s going to be real tough for Backstrom who’s never played in an NHL playoff game.

I think when you look at the Philadelphia Flyers under John Stevens, he brought back a little bit about what made the Flyers good in the 1970s and that’s intimidation. It’s not easy to do now with the way games are being called, but I expect you’re going to see players like Braydon Coburn having an impact on the series Philadelphia is going to win. I think you’re going to see Steve Downie and Scottie Upshaw potentially have an impact if Philadelphia is going to win.

But the thing that Alex Ovechkin does, like any superstar in the NHL, is he attacks the people that are trying to attack him. He will not be intimidated. He’s yet to show that in his three years in the league, so I expect it’s going to come down to a goaltending situation, and who’s going to be the better goalie. And right now neither one of those goalies has won a playoff round in their NHL history.

I think right now Huet has probably got a little bit of an advantage, but I think the MVP of this entire thing is George McPhee, the general manager of the Washington Capitals at the trade deadline. One of the reasons they are in the playoffs is he got Fedorov, he got Matt Cooke who’s been a tremendous energy player for them, and obviously Huet. What they’ve done with Bruce Boudreau is they’ve cultivated talent like Mike Green to put them in a position where they have a chance to succeed.

But when you play against Washington, the most underrated part of their game because everybody focuses on the skill of Kozlov, Fedorov and Ovechkin, they’ve got powers upon powers on defense. Shaone Morrisonn is a big body. They lean on you. They’re not intimidated. This will be a long, physical bloody series and I think the Washington Capitals will win it, but I think they’re going to win it under severe physical duress.

With the storybook season of this year’s Caps — along with the Caps and Flyers being two of the most improved teams this year — a majority of the questions focused on the Caps and Flyers. Here they are:

Q. Pierre, a lot of buzz about Ovechkin as MVP this year. Why beyond statistics do you feel he would be a candidate?

PIERRE McGUIRE: Because he can do it by himself. A lot of guys need other players around him. He can make himself great and make this team win because he is so overwhelmingly dominant because of the physical nature of his game.

The one thing that he does, and Don and Mike coached against him and obviously Mike played against him. Teemu Selanne was great but he needed Andy McDonald with him or another career type of player to do that. Alexander Ovechkin doesn’t need that. You give him a stick and a puck and he doesn’t even need gloves. He’s virtually indestructible. I would call him a cyborg.

When you look at it, he is without a doubt the MVP of the league, and whoever has a vote that doesn’t vote for him should have that vote rescinded. He’s the MVP of the league.

Q. Mike Milbury, you’ve seen a lot of players in your time. Is there anyone that Ovechkin reminds you of, or is he kind of his own man?

MIKE MILBURY: He’s taken it to another level that I haven’t seen. When you see him jumping up against the glass and the enthusiasm that he demonstrates with his teammates, whether it’s him scoring a goal or not doesn’t seem to matter to this guy. There’s no question he’s as electrifying a player as I’ve seen when you put him in that category. Crosby last year was in that similar vein, but I think Ovechkin may have knocked it up a notch. It’s hard to believe that he can, but this is as improbable a run as you’d want to expect from a team that was down and out until Boudreau comes along and turns them into just a fantasy that’s hard to believe. It’s great for Washington and they’ve waited a long time and it looks like they should be good for a lot of years to come.

DON CHERRY: I think George McPhee did a great job. I heard him on the radio, and he said, yes, well, we all knew that Boudreau was a great hockey mind. That’s why he left him in the minors for 17 years I guess it was, and he named him interim. Who’s kidding who? He was there just until he found another coach, and all of a sudden he pulled a little magic out and now he’s staying.

But make no mistake about it, when he first went there, he was just cannon fodder until he found another coach.

MIKE EMRICK: One last thing on Ovechkin, the last time I checked he was tenth in the league in hits, and he’s the scoring champion.

Q. First of all, just a quick point of clarification. Was it Pierre or Mike that gave that great summary on the Caps and Flyers?

PIERRE McGUIRE: I did the Caps-Flyers. It’s McGuire.

Q. That was awesome, and it sounded like the Eagles and Redskins were going to play.

PIERRE McGUIRE: This is one of the most underappreciated match-ups in the league because a lot of people don’t pay attention to Washington and now they are because of Ovechkin, and Philadelphia had a bad last year last year so people kind of forgot about them. But there’s been a lot of bad blood between those teams for a long time because of geographic proximity.

Q. Absolutely, there’s no question that they don’t like each other in any sport they play, let alone hockey. But one quick question to the panel, and that is with regard to all that has been said, is this the kind of team, the Capitals, that is built to be a contender for the Stanley Cup playoffs, or is this a team that’s going to hopefully get experience that they will draw on further down the line?

CHERRY: Well, I’ll jump in. You have to look at when they have a year when they got in that they don’t think they can win the Stanley Cup. That happened to me in my second year with the Bruins. We did so well to get in the Finals. This might be an awful letdown going into the playoffs, and I really don’t think they’re built for the playoffs to tell you the truth. All the other teams have to concentrate on Ovechkin. But we’ll see how it goes.

MCGUIRE: Yeah, I think that there’s going to be a learning curve here. You look at the Pittsburgh Penguins last year, going out in five games to Ottawa. They had to learn how to win, too. They’re all as a group in Pittsburgh talking about we’re not going to let that happen this year. We were kind of throttled by the Ottawa Senators. So they’ll be more prepared for it.

Even though it’s easier to say, Fedorov’s Stanley Cup experience brings a lot to that dressing room, especially for two of the better offensive players, Ovechkin and Semin because he can talk to them in their native language and calm them down. He was a huge influence during the last six or seven games of the season when they had a chance to lose their focus. Fedorov wouldn’t let that happen.

Quite frankly I think they’re still a few years away from being a competitive team for the Cup but this has been a huge stroke of genius by George McPhee.

He had a guy Glen Hanlon who was doing a pretty good job accumulating losses and wanting to make the team better. As you know from all your years in the American Hockey League, Boudreau finally got his chance.

I think the Washington-Philly match-up is intriguing. Neither one of those teams made it last year and the series doesn’t get started until Friday. They’ve got a few days off to celebrate and then clear their heads. I think for both Philadelphia and Washington it’s a great opportunity to learn so much about what kind of team they have, and you don’t really know how good you are until you get to the playoffs. And in this case somebody is going to have a whole bunch of experience under their belt moving onto the second round, and whether they go deeper has been that or not, it’s going to bode well for both franchises and certainly the winner as they start to move ahead and look forward.

Q. Pierre, you mentioned earlier about Philly’s physicality this year. As far as playing a physical game against Washington and in particular Ovechkin, do you give them a shot? Do you think it’ll be good enough to win the series?

PIERRE McGUIRE: I do. They have Jason Smith who’s a proud guy who comes over from Edmonton, he’s got to be a factor, Braydon Coburn is going to have to be a factor, Mike Richards. I’m talking about the physical dimension. I’m not talking about the scoring dimension. Those are three, Richards, Jason Smith and Braydon Coburn, are going to be very important.

Scott Hartnell, we saw on Wednesday night Pittsburgh versus Philly what he tried to do to Sidney Crosby. He got his nose broken and he was a bloody mess but he was still there to the end. They need that kind of championship effort out of all their players to have a chance. I think this will be one of the bloodiest series. Everybody is focusing on San Jose and Calgary Flames and they should because that’s going to be mean spirited, but I think this Philly-Washington is going to be downright ugly.

The J & P Show at the Capitals-Panthers Game

Sun, 7 Apr 2008 00:41:00 GMT

posted by jennthebenn
Around a quarter to six last night, a fire truck turned onto 7th Street and passed the snaking line of hockey fans awaiting entrance into Verizon Center. "Man, everyone's into this 'red out'", I chuckled to Patrick. A second later, my joke was split straight down the middle when the driver bellowed out, "LET'S GO CAPS!"

That's what the regular season finale between the Washington Capitals and Florida Panthers meant to the fans, be they diehards (a fan since '96, myself) or bandwagon jumpers. Thanksgiving Day of 2007 the Caps ranked dead last in the entire league, provoking a change in head coach (from Glen Hanlon to Slapshot alumni Bruce Boudreau). A win (or overtime loss) in their final game would secure a playoff spot as Southeast Division champions. The game environment would most assuredly resemble that of a game 7 rather than a game 82.

I've attended numerous sporting events: all four "major" sports and even a college football game up at Penn State back when Ki-Jana Carter looked like a future NFL power back. Every one was a regular season matchup with no palpable implication. Really, prior to Saturday night, the most "important game" was the Vikings-Redskins one that opened up the 2006 Monday Night Football season (on the fifth anniversary of September 11th, no less).

The reality of the Caps game simultaneously thrilled and chilled me. It's one thing to sit in front of the television to watch as your favorite team runs from the face of greatness like it resembled the visage of Large Marge. But to actually be in attendance? To have the dread unfold in front of you? Ugh. I wasn't sure I could handle all that.

Two games had been played at Verizon, with the team encouraging fans to take part in a "red out". Not only is red the primary color of the Caps home jerseys, it's also a hue that research suggests can give the winning edge to competitors. I don't exactly buy into this superstition, but since red also happens to be my favorite color and my wardrobe thus doesn't weep for lack of it, I donned a red Gap sweater. Patrick came up with a Sleater-Kinney and red flannel, possibly the only band shirt of the evening.

Around 6 PM, fans were let into the Verizon Center. Patrick and I briefly checked out merch then went to find our seats in Section 100. This is where the experience became officially chimeric.

Several weeks ago we had purchased tix through Ticketmaster's "Ticket Exchange" program, where fans resell their tickets, some at just above face value, some well above. Patrick found a pair of seats in Section 100, Row C, for just a little over $100 (not much of a markup from their original value of 95 bucks). We knew these would be sweet perches, but uh...

Right behind the Caps bench? Lovely. If you have ever wanted to sit mere inches from a group of people separated only by plexiglass and understand nothing they are screaming to each other, behind the bench at a hockey game is the place for you. (Okay, not entirely true; I did hear an assistant coach tell Donald Brashear to sit down.)

The venue didn't quite have the imposing majesty of, say, the Calgary Flames' famous "C of Red", but it was damned impressive. Fans not only showed up with Caps regalia, but I also spotted jersey and shirts representing the Red Wings, DC United, the Red Sox, the Nationals, the Redskins and the University of Maryland. The Washington Post on Sunday also reported a Hagerstown Bulldogs shirt sighting, which I am beyond peeved went undetected by my radar. I think I may have gone apoplectic at that.

A handily-wielded machete would have been required to mow down the tension which virtually vibrated throughout the building. When the Capitals got on the board first, thanks to an outstanding effort by Tomas Fleischmann, the relief was so great you'd think 18,000 people just got word back from the doctor that the surgery went perfectly and their mothers will be fine. My bottle of Budweiser tasted that much better right afterward.

Then of course Florida tied it up on a goal that had to be reviewed by the judges "upstairs". This ruling came down just as a penalty was called on Sergei Fedorov, and a great deal of air escaped the luft balloon. We could all sense the tide about to turn at the worst possible time. Unless...no!

Don't stop believin'. Hold on to that feelin'. Streetlights. People. Whoa oh oh. Which is all very nice and inspirational but you remember how The Sopranos ended, right? I'm just sayin'. And am I the only one who's noticing Semin on the power play? You don't wait for the perfect shot. Any shot you can get off is the perfect shot, especially when you're close enough to smell the goalie's cheesesteak breath.

The single bottle of beer was crucial to insuring I didn't turtle up and I ended up acting much like I do watching games on TV. Chatty, but not loud; opinionated, but not omniscient; nervous, but not pessimistic. My eyes split time between the action on the ice (name a sport better to watch in person than hockey) and the action as shown on the overhead scoreboard. Patrick would watch the 'board when Florida was in the Caps zone, and avert his eyes back to the rink when the Caps were threatening. Both of us vociferously participated in the chanting throughout, and were--guaranteed--among the most excited fans in the place when Washington went ahead on a textbook Fedorov goal in the second period.

The second intermission was jotted with the jitters.

"One more goal, Patrick, I think a two goal lead is the key here. We can do it. Wait, not we. We're not doing shit. It's them out there. We're just lucky enough to be here."

"If we get on KissCam I'll totally slip the tongue."

And at the beginning of the third period: "Where's Ovechkin? I don't see him out there."

"He may be way down on the other end o' the bench. Damn, he really is MVP. Most Vanishing Player!" (Lamentably, Patrick missed my grand comedic flourish. At least I lament it.)

That third period may stand forever as the longest 20 minutes of my life. I don't think that would be a solitary sentiment, either, if anyone polled the crowd.

The Vikings blew it on the last game of the '07-08 season, the Nationals may or may not surpass .500 this year, but goddamnit, the Capitals will not disappoint me. I love this team. They put forth the effort. They want to win. Ovechkin is the new god of hockey and one day we will all go to Verizon Center and marvel at how much better his statue looks than that stupid Crosby one in Pittsburgh. Am I even appreciating this fully? Do the people in my row even realize we could be sitting mere inches from the greatest left winger in hockey history? A man who signed a $124 million dollar contract without an agent? A man who found his girlfriend on the Russian equivalent of EHarmony.com? Does anyone here tonight have any idea how godhead it is to find love over the Internet? Patrick and I got together through the Sonic Youth message board! Yeah! There, I admitted it! Thank you, Alex, for making the world safe for Internet-abetted love stories. You've made us feel infinitely less nerdy. ONE OF US.

Every shred of doubt, every dry gust of panic, every certainty that Bill McCreary was a douchebag with an IQ too cold for snow who would give the Panthers this game for sure vanished when Alexander Semin finally remembered that power plays are a super time to shoot that li'l rubber thingy with your stick thingy at that mesh thingy. The crowd became a busted tomato and an exuberant Ovechkin skated over and leaped up into his celebrating teammates, taking them all down with him in a dogpile.

Chants of "M-V-P" rained down, with the guy next to Patrick remarking that in Canada, fans would just chant "Hart! Hart!" Jesus how many Canadian hockey writers will just loathe putting Ovy in first place for the Hart? Oh well, fret not, TSN nation, you always have Sidney Crosby's Gatorade commercials. He didn't hurt his ankle doing those, did he?

In the frenzy, Patrick got his Ned Flanders on and yelled, "Yes, eat all of our shirts!" The dude next to him (you may recall him from such paragraphs as the one immediately preceding the one you are reading) turned around and laughed. Ah, when people bond over Simpsons quotes.

You know what rocks about sitting right behind the plexiglass? Banging the shit out of it when the game's over.

After was the traditional "Jerseys Off Our Backs", a giveaway on Fan Appreciation Night that allows randomly selected folk to take the ice across from the Caps players and receive one players game-worn jersey. Ovy's jersey went to a young girl who was already wearing one. I guarantee her parents are regretting that $200 they plunked down, for real. Every Cap handed over their shirt, even injured stars like Cap'n Chris Clark.

Slap Shot pointed at me and later, Patrick, as we took photos. This made us feel happy. Then, as the team skated off the ice, Ovechkin threw his stick up into our section, where it was caught several rows back without one drop of blood drawn. This made us jealous, but hey, the tickets did warn us: "At the end of the game, the best player in the world may throw his hockey stick into the audience. Please be alert." Seriously. Check the back of any Caps home game ticket.

The Mighty Mites, oh how I adore thee. Mainly because "Linus and Lucy" plays as they skate up and down the ice. Number 8 in the white kept diving all over the damn place. "Your number is 8, not 87!"

A very, very cool sign displayed by a couple in our row. A great concept executed wonderfully. And here we were wanting to make a sign that said, SLEATER-KINNEY HEARTS OVY. Ah well.

Two of the most infamous soundbites in modern sports history are Indianapolis Colts coach Jim Mora bleating in disbelief over a reporters query about his teams "playoffs?!" chances and then-76er Allen Iverson expressing his disbelief that such controversy had arisen over his decision to skip team practice. Why were these two fantastic rants were never remixed over a club beat? Or hell, even the "It Takes Two" beat? Missed opportunities.

Bloggers...seeking other bloggers.

Finally, a seat in the house where I can get a clear view of the Caps retired numbers! Dale Hunter starts fights at weddings and funerals.

As is natural, Patrick and I wanted to extend the ecstasy. A trip to the Greene Turtle proved too unnecessarily hectic (by our standards, anyway) so we walked out in search of a Latin-Japanese fusion place called Zengo that we had come across online earlier in the day when surfing for possible places to eat after the game. ("Suitable" meaning, no burgers or fries.) We circled the complex in search of this gastronomical Shangri-la, stopping only to let cars exit the public parking lots, horns blaring in celebration, and to extend our Ovechkin bobblehead boxes in triumph. When we reached the opposite entrance to the Glenmont Metro entrance, Patrick saw and immediately went to, a street directory. Gazing around a part of the area I had never set eyes on before, I noticed the complex next to the escalators, especially the neon letters that spelled out ZENGO. Success! It was totally a trend that night.

Zengo is a two-floor establishment with a bar occupying the lower level and the upper tier reserved for fine dining. It was only a 20 minute wait for our non-reservation-having asses on a Saturday night, not shabby whatsoever. 75% of said time was spent reading the menu, which was like reading a bizarro Encyclopedia Brown book--it didn't solve shit. Everything looked tempting. Even the dishes that had coconut in them.

Once led upstairs, our decidedly unstylish attire and still-unopened bobblehead boxes set us apart immediately. All the guys were either in suits or crisp button-ups while the women were supra-fresh stylee in fine spring tunics and cool boots, immaculately coiffed and confident. The service was as courteous and helpful as either of us has experienced in a restaurant (what up, Fernando), explaining to us the "give and take" concept of Zengo. The food is delivered to your table as it is prepared, allowing all party members to partake of the dish. Sharing, lest any of us forget, is caring. This is mind, we ordered sake sangria to drink, and Volcano sushi rolls, Won Ton Tacos and seared snapper.

The first two dishes best exemplified the restaurants concept. The salmon and blue crab sushi was a fantastic appetizer, with this wow-getting sauce atop each of the six rolls. Unlike our last trap to Sakura, the dish was split evenly between us.

The tacos intrigued us both the most, and ended up delivering the most as well. Charred ahi tuna, rice, pickled ginger and mango salsa in bite-sized shells atop guacamole so good that we left nary a half-bite on the plate.

Finally it was the dish I'd selected for us to share, the seared snapper. It came with plantain puree, chayote and green apple curry. If your face went kinda screwy at the curry, bust out the Phillips. One of the most delicious meals we've ever been fortunate enough to enjoy, and perfectly portioned as well. As I explained before, Zengo is a restaurant with a "concept" and as such one will pay out the ass for it. That said, it wasn't much more than I've paid to celebrate my German heritage with a meal at Schmankerl Stube here in Hagerstown.

We floated back home to discover that not only did Patrick's mother tape the game off Comcast SportsNet, she watched it all the way through and pretty much whenever they showed Coach Boudreau on the bench, there we were too. I got to see it for myself when the network reran the game tonight. Highlights include Patrick running off at the mouth for reasons now lost to time and me necking a Budweiser like the good country girl I remain no matter how many foreign films I am determined to watch or languages I am determined to learn.

Ladies and gentlemen...the 2007-2008 Southeast Division Champions...the Washington Capitals.

Thanks. To the team, to Ted Leonsis and George McPhee, to my fellow fans, to Patrick and especially to the people who just couldn't use their tickets for the final game of the season. Hope you still had fun, no matter what you were doing.

NHL Washington Capitals

Ovechkin Shopping for a Bigger Trophy Case

Wed, 1 May 2008 18:13:26 GMT

posted by OnFrozenBlog
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The nominations keep pouring in. Alexander Ovechkin has been named a finalist for the Lester B. Pearson Award. From the Washington Capitals press release:

ARLINGTON, Va. – The National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) announced today that Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin is one of three finalists for the Lester B. Pearson Award, which is presented annually to the “most outstanding player” in the NHL as voted by fellow members of the NHLPA. Ovechkin joins Calgary’s Jarome Iginla and Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin as the three finalists.

Members of the NHLPA submitted ballots for the Pearson Award at the conclusion of the regular season, with the top three vote-getters announced as finalists. The winner will be announced Thursday, June 12, during the 2008 NHL Awards Television Special, which will be broadcast live throughout the United States on VERSUS and in Canada on CBC from the historic Elgin Theatre in Toronto. The Pearson Award winner will assign $20,000 to the grassroots hockey program of his choice through the NHLPA’s Goals & Dreams fund, while the two finalists will each allocate $10,000. Launched in November 1999, the Goals & Dreams fund was created by NHLPA members to assist grassroots hockey, and has distributed more than $16 million worldwide to a variety of hockey initiatives.