[10-JAN-2010] Transition...
In the last two weeks, I have witnessed a transition.
With the trade of Captain Chris Clark and defenseman Milan Jurcina to the Columbus Blue Jackets for left wing Jason Chimera came a day of shock: the Capitals had traded their Captain.
Their first game without Captain Clark was a disaster, when the Carolina Hurricanes - bottom feeders of both the Southeast Division and the entire NHL - handed them a 6-3 loss at the Verizon Center. The Caps would lose their next two games as well, both in California, the first to the San Jose Sharks (5-2), and the second to the Los Angeles Kings (2-1). Then they came home.
The Capitals' first game with Captain Ovechkin - who will now and forever be "Captain Caveman" to me, thanks to an amusing post title over on Japers' Rink - brought a team hungry for the win to tear up the ice of the Verizon Center and win a resounding 4-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens; their second game was a 5-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators.
And then came tonight. With an 8-1 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers, the Capitals pushed their lead in the Southeast Division to 16 points, and they are poised for the Tuesday-Wednesday matchups with the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers, both of which I will be privileged to attend in person.
The Caps under Ovechkin's leadership have one major thing that they did not under Clark's: snarl. There is a growling beastlike undertone to the team now, one that is as gung ho as its on-the-ice leader. The Capitals, entering the third frame with a 4-1 lead over the Thrashers tonight, poured on the steam and kept pouring, finally humiliating the Thrashers 8-1. They kept their foot firmly on the Thrashers' throat. They are wolves. On both Tuesday night and Thursday night, everyone on the ice jumped to defend his teammate. They were undaunted by fists, unafraid to rough someone up for taking liberties. And they made both the teams from Canada pay for their trouble.
I am proud to witness this transformation. The Caps, to a man, want Lord Stanley's Cup, and they want it now. And I do not believe they will take "not this time" for an answer again.
NHL, beware: the Caps are coming. They are wolves. And they are hungry.
With the trade of Captain Chris Clark and defenseman Milan Jurcina to the Columbus Blue Jackets for left wing Jason Chimera came a day of shock: the Capitals had traded their Captain.
Their first game without Captain Clark was a disaster, when the Carolina Hurricanes - bottom feeders of both the Southeast Division and the entire NHL - handed them a 6-3 loss at the Verizon Center. The Caps would lose their next two games as well, both in California, the first to the San Jose Sharks (5-2), and the second to the Los Angeles Kings (2-1). Then they came home.
The Capitals' first game with Captain Ovechkin - who will now and forever be "Captain Caveman" to me, thanks to an amusing post title over on Japers' Rink - brought a team hungry for the win to tear up the ice of the Verizon Center and win a resounding 4-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens; their second game was a 5-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators.
And then came tonight. With an 8-1 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers, the Capitals pushed their lead in the Southeast Division to 16 points, and they are poised for the Tuesday-Wednesday matchups with the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers, both of which I will be privileged to attend in person.
The Caps under Ovechkin's leadership have one major thing that they did not under Clark's: snarl. There is a growling beastlike undertone to the team now, one that is as gung ho as its on-the-ice leader. The Capitals, entering the third frame with a 4-1 lead over the Thrashers tonight, poured on the steam and kept pouring, finally humiliating the Thrashers 8-1. They kept their foot firmly on the Thrashers' throat. They are wolves. On both Tuesday night and Thursday night, everyone on the ice jumped to defend his teammate. They were undaunted by fists, unafraid to rough someone up for taking liberties. And they made both the teams from Canada pay for their trouble.
I am proud to witness this transformation. The Caps, to a man, want Lord Stanley's Cup, and they want it now. And I do not believe they will take "not this time" for an answer again.
NHL, beware: the Caps are coming. They are wolves. And they are hungry.