Capital Spirit

(Reply to: Ted’s Take)

Mr. Leonsis:

It was not that long ago when a Caps game could be quieter than some churches I’ve attended. The first game I ever attended had an announced attendance that barely broke five figures. With the team rebuilding, losses were not uncommon, and discontent would be somewhat understandable.

It isn’t now. The Caps have a comfortable lead in the Southeast, are essentially 4th in the entire NHL, and just scored a touchdown on Florida with Ovechkin in the press box. There’s room for improvement: there always is, and there always will be. But there does come a point where the negativity seems to go beyond reason.

If Boston beats Pittsburgh Tuesday night, the Caps will have a game in hand, and will move into–wait for it–FIRST PLACE IN THE EASTERN CONFERENCE. No, regular season standings don’t mean much come April (just ask the Sharks.) But they’re a pretty good measure of a team’s ability. And if the Caps are within a whisker of the conference lead, I think it’s safe to say we’ve got ourselves a decent hockey team in the District.

I do agree that some of the negativity could stand to be dialed back a notch or three. It is admittedly somewhat incongruous to see the Caps in a high standing, but still read chatter that one would expect of a team standing much lower than the Caps. The Caps really are a good hockey team right now: it should be safe to Believe.

But I submit that it’s no fun at all to see the Caps lose, particularly when it looks like the loss was self-inflicted. When you care about this team as much as some of us do, it HURTS to see the men lose games by shooting themselves in the skate.

And yet, it’s that same level of caring, that level of passion, perhaps, which makes that loud building possible. Success on the ice means nothing if the fans don’t support the team (Columbus, I’m looking at you.)

Are some of us a little too passionate in our support? Perhaps. Do some of us wish success for our beloved hockey team so much, that we’ll say and do anything we hope will be of any help at all? It certainly can be argued. Have some Caps fans seen three decades plus of coulda-woulda-shoulda, and perhaps grown too accustomed to waiting for the other skate to drop? Maybe.

But that level of dedication is what makes that loud building possible. You’re not going to have a rink that rollicking unless you have thousands of fans in the building who are flat-out CRAZY supportive.

We all express that differently. Some fans lead the cheers; some fans email you a lot; some fans follow the team on the road; some fans contribute to Caps charities; some fans dress the part; and so on. What unites us all–despite our differences–is the one intention of seeing the Caps succeed.

We care about this team, Ted. A lot. Some of us, perhaps a bit too much. But without that level of dedication–without that much investment by all of us–without fans who are living and dying on every single play–Verizon Center would not be the arena it has become.

Is there too much angst among the fans? I think there might be, but I think it may go hand in hand with the level of dedication. If we were all content to just show up and watch the games, win or lose, we might very well hope for the best, but it wouldn’t hurt if we lost. There would almost certainly be fewer armchair GM’s, fewer naysayers, and fewer nitpickers. But there might also be no Horn Guy, no Goat, no “all your fault” chants, and good luck getting the entire arena to, with one voice, scream “Unleash the Fury!”

Yes, it can be said that some fans are too pessimistic, too micromanaging, too negative, too whatever. But you take the good with the bad, as the old saw goes. And if some cringe-worthy verbiage is what you have to put up with to sell out the season to an army of passionate Caps fans, I respectfully submit that it just might be worth the trade.

Keep up the good work, and know that there are a lot of us out here who care about you and your team. Some of us may sometimes care a bit too much, but we all want what you want–to see the Stanley Cup come to Washington.

Respectfully,
Capital Spirit

Let’s try this again.

It’s been a crazy first month around the NHL, with some teams surprisingly good (Colorado, take a bow), and some who are, to be diplomatic, underperforming (Carolina, I’m looking at you.)

My beloved Capitals, despite some ugly losses, and despite some serious UH-OH injuries, are still, somehow, in a dead heat with Pittsburgh for the official Eastern Conference lead. They aren’t doing so well on the Magic Numbers table: all those losses do add up to a lower top-line score. But the teams ahead of them won’t run the table, so the Caps have a shot at ending up on top of the heap at some point this season. Whether they can stay there remains to be seen. But if I’m yelling “Seven! All your fault!” with Ovechkin and Green in the press box, something tells me the Caps will do just fine over the course of the regular season.

Naysayers will dismiss it because it was Florida we were playing, and not anybody good. But we’ll see what the next week holds: the Caps have two should-win games at home, and one either-way contest up at the Rock next Saturday. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s look at the schedule for all teams. I’m going to re-format this a bit to make it easier to read.

Anaheim Ducks. ICS AT NJD WED, ONG AT CBJ FRI, NEW AT DET SAT. The Ducks have a couple of days off early this week before three games in 4 nights in the Eastern time zone. Eastbound travel tends to induce more jet lag than westbound, so travel stress may be a factor on top of the short schedule. And they’re not exactly going to Raleigh for any of these games, either. NJD Game 1 of 1. CBJ Game 2 of 4. DET Game 1 of 4.

Atlanta Thrashers. NEW AT NYR THU, ICS VS LAK FRI, ICS VS EDM SUN. I’m sure there are plenty of fans in Atlanta who remember the Rangers dismissing the Thrash in four straight a couple of seasons ago. Rangers fans, though, have probably forgotten that one already. The Kings, meanwhile, aren’t exactly in the cellar out West, and I’ve heard that Kopitar guy is above-average offensively. (Spare me the smore makers–I’m praising with faint damns.) Edmonton at home could be very easy, or very challenging, depending on which two teams show up. NYR Game 1 of 4. LAK Game 1 of 1. EDM Game 1 of 1.

Boston Bruins. NEW VS PIT TUE, NEW VS FLA THU, ONG AT PIT SAT. A visit from the Panthers interrupts a home-and-home with the defending champs. I’m not quite sure what happened to the Bruins who cruised to first place in the East last year, and I’m sure fans in Boston feel the same. Still, every team is going to work harder when the champs are on the other end of the ice. Re the Panthers game, the Bruins need to avoid playing down to a (as of Sunday) 13th-place team. I’m sure the Caps would be happy to tell the Bruins how that usually works out. PIT Game 1 AND 2 of 4. FLA Game 1 of 4.

Buffalo Sabres. ICS VS EDM WED, ICS VS CGY FRI, ONG AT PHI SAT. Two Canadian teams from out West play their only scheduled games against the Sabres this season, right before the Sabres head to southeast Pennsylvania to try and even up the season series with the Flyers. Edmonton doesn’t look like it should present that much trouble for the Sabres, but Calgary is red-hot, and the Flyers almost always play chippy. This doesn’t look like an easy week for the Sabres going in. EDM Game 1 of 1. CGY Game 1 of 1. PHI Game 2 of 4.

Calgary Flames. END AT MTL TUE, ICS AT BUF FRI, NEW AT TOR SAT. All East, all week for the Flames, who can win the series with Montreal with anything other than a regulation loss. Buffalo is a strong team, so that will be a competitive game. Toronto looks like a cupcake when you look at where these teams are in the standings, but you know what I say about games where they don’t sing “The Star-Spangled Banner.” MTL Game 2 of 2. BUF Game 1 of 1. TOR Game 1 of 2.

Carolina Hurricanes. ICS VS LAK WED, ONG VS NYI FRI, ICS VS MIN SUN. The Hurricanes only have to worry about the Kings once this year–thank goodness, if you live in Raleigh. The Islanders and Wild are in the same general area in the standings, so those games could go either way. Carolina really needs to win at least two games this week, if not all three, if it doesn’t want to be booking its postseason tee times in February. As of posting, they have no wins, no leads, and only one even series. While this Caps fan would love to see one less contender in the Southeast Division, I have to confess that I would feel very bad for the ‘Canes fans who welcomed us so warmly the past two seasons. LAK Game 1 of 1. NYI Game 2 of 4. MIN Game 1 of 1.

Chicago Blackhawks. NEW VS LAK MON, ONG VS COL WED, ICS VS TOR FRI, NEW VS SJS SUN. A brutal week for the Hawks, as they’ll be facing three of the top four teams in the West this week. Toronto could prove either a welcome respite, or one more nightmare in a really tough week. Chicago is currently 9th in the West, and this week will definitely be one to watch in the Windy City. If the Hawks can handle the best of the West, they could climb back into the top eight. A bad week, however, and it could be gut-check time. LAK Game 1 of 4. COL Game 3 of 4. TOR Game 1 of 1. SJS Game 1 of 4.

Colorado Avalanche. ONG AT CHI WED, ONG VS VAN SAT. Oddly enough, the Lanche are even with both of their opponents this week. The game at Chicago will be the third game of 4, and will go a long way in deciding who ultimately wins the series. As for the Canucks, there will still be three more games to go after Saturday night’s contest, but it’s much better to have “23″ as a lead than as a trail. CHI Game 3 of 4. VAN Game 3 of 6.

Columbus Blue Jackets. NEW VS DET WED, ONG VS ANA FRI. A light week for the Jackets if you look at the standings, but not so fast. Detroit is Detroit, and you overlook them at your own risk. The Ducks, meanwhile, have cut their teeth on a chippy style of play. So not a lot of games–just difficult ones, standings or not. DET Game 1 of 6. ANA Game 2 of 4.

Dallas Stars. NEW AT SJS THU, NEW AT PHX SAT. Kind of surprising to see the Stars opening two separate division series in one week right after Veterans’ Day, but it is what it is. Phoenix is a 4-point game–the two teams have identical point totals–and San Jose is currently leading the Pacific Division. As with Columbus, not a lot of games, just big ones. SJS Game 1 of 6. PHX Game 1 of 6.

Detroit Red Wings. NEW AT CBJ WED, ONG VS VAN THU, NEW VS ANA SAT. Columbus isn’t a travel headache for the Wings, but with proximity goes passion, and something tells me these two teams don’t like each other much. Detroit can put a series win out of reach of Vancouver with a win in regulation: the best the Canucks could hope for should Detroit prevail in sixty would be a tie, and that assumes they run the table on the last two. Recent postseason bad blood could be a factor when the Ducks come to the Joe on Saturday night. CBJ Game 1 of 6. VAN Game 2 of 4. ANA Game 1 of 4.

Edmonton Oilers. NEW AT OTT TUE, ICS AT BUF WED, ICS AT ATL SUN. A cross-Canada game gets the Oilers underway for the week, as they continue a nearly two-week stretch away from home. All 3 teams are doing better than perhaps would have been expected coming in to the season. A bad showing this week would not do the Oilers any favors. OTT Game 1 of 2. BUF Game 1 of 1. ATL Game 1 of 1.

Florida Panthers. NEW AT BOS THU, NEW VS NYI SAT. Florida gets a couple of days to dissect their weekend sweep by Washington, before heading up to the other end of the Accela line to take on the Bruins. They then come home for their first appearance in The John Tavares Show. The Panthers do not need any more notches in the Trail column. BOS Game 1 of 4. NYI Game 1 of 4.

Los Angeles Kings. NEW AT CHI MON, ICS AT CAR WED, ICS AT ATL FRI, ICS AT TBL SAT. They’re the Kings of the road this week, as Los Angeles makes a stop in Chicago before an abbreviated tour of the Southeast. Kane vs Kopitar, Round 1, should make for an exciting Monday night game on Versus. Carolina should then be a good warmup contest for the Southeast, but Atlanta and Tampa Bay could surprise a few more teams before the season is up. CHI Game 1 of 4. CAR Game 1 of 1. ATL Game 1 of 1. TBL Game 1 of 1.

Minnesota Wild. ICS AT TOR TUE, ICS AT TBL THU, ICS AT WSH FRI, ICS AT CAR SUN. Here’s another team that’s making an inter-conference call on the Southeast. Minnesota has done surprisingly well against the East so far this season, and they’ll get a chance to prove that early success was no fluke. Toronto has come on as of late, Tampa Bay has gotten better this year, Washington is currently leading the Southeast, and Carolina has an Eastern Conference Finals appearance that it has yet to re-prove. Travel will be a factor: 4 games in 6 nights is one thing, but add over 2,000 miles in the air on top, and Carolina might actually win a game before it’s all said and done. TOR Game 1 of 1. TBL Game 1 of 1. WSH Game 1 of 1. CAR Game 1 of 1.

Montreal Canadiens. END VS CGY TUE, ICS AT PHX THU, ICS AT NSH SAT. A cross-Canada series comes to a close before the Habs take off for a duel with the desert dogs. From there, it’s on to the Music City, and I would so pay money to hear a Nashville singer perform “O Canada” in French (the mind reels…) Montreal needs to decide which way their season will go; perhaps some time out west will do some good. CGY Game 2 of 2. PHX Game 1 of 1. NSH Game 1 of 1.

Nashville Predators. NEW AT SJS TUE, NEW AT STL THU, ICS VS MTL SAT. A trio of first meetings for the Preds, one of which is also the last. The Sharks will be a handful, but the Blues and Habs could prove beatable. SJS Game 1 of 4. STL Game 1 of 6. MTL Game 1 of 1.

New Jersey Devils. ICS VS ANA WED, ONG AT PIT THU, ONG VS WSH SAT. All three of these games could very easily go either way. Anaheim likes to play chippy, Pittsburgh is a division rival, and Washington would certainly love to make a statement at the Rock on Saturday night. They’d better–the Caps Fan Club is taking a bus trip up there to watch. ANA Game 1 of 1. PIT Game 2 of 6. WSH Game 3 of 4.

New York Islanders. ONG AT WSH WED, ONG AT CAR FRI, NEW AT FLA SAT. It’s all Southeast, all week for the Fishermen, as they play at Washington on Veterans’ Day, and then play two games in two nights between Raleigh and Sunrise. Washington will no doubt be a tough test; Carolina and Florida, perhaps not so much. WSH Game 3 of 4. CAR Game 2 of 4. FLA Game 1 of 4.

New York Rangers. NEW VS ATL THU, ONG AT OTT SAT. The Rangers haven’t played much against the Southeast; they’ll get a look at only their second Southeast opponent when the Thrashers come a-callin’ on Thursday night at the Garden. New York could put a win out of reach for the Sens with a regulation win on Saturday night. ATL Game 1 of 4. OTT Game 2 of 4.

Ottawa Senators. NEW VS EDM TUE, NEW AT PHI THU, ONG VS NYR SAT. A very middle-of-the-road week for a middle-of-the-road team. Not much I can say here. EDM Game 1 of 2. PHI Game 1 of 4. NYR Game 2 of 4.

Philadelphia Flyers. NEW VS OTT THU, ONG VS BUF SAT. The Flyers get a few days off before hosting surprising Ottawa on Thursday, followed by Buffalo on Saturday night. I would not want to be in Wachovia Center on Saturday–I shudder to think how Flyers faithful treat the traveling Sabres hooligan contingent. OTT Game 1 of 4. BUF Game 2 of 4.

Phoenix Coyotes. ICS VS MTL THU, NEW VS DAL SAT. The team that was once the Winnipeg Jets takes on the Habs in the teams’ only meeting this year. Somehow, I doubt the history will be much of a factor. Dallas, however, is another matter entirely–any game where Texas plays Arizona is usually worth looking in on. MTL Game 1 of 1. DAL Game 1 of 6.

Pittsburgh Penguins. NEW AT BOS TUE, ONG VS NJD THU, ONG VS BOS SAT. The Penguins get the tougher assignment in this interrupted home-and-home. Boston gets Florida on Thursday, while the Penguins get to host New Jersey. But hey, they’re the champs, they’re up to it, right? BOS Games 1 AND 2 of 2. NJD Game 2 of 6.

San Jose Sharks. NEW VS NSH TUE, NEW VS DAL THU, NEW AT STL SAT, NEW AT CHI SUN. Four more series getting underway for the Sharks, and so far they’ve been doing just fine, thank you, in most of their series. Nashville should be theirs to lose, but division rival Dallas, and last year’s other Western Conference Finalist, may want to see the Sharks losing well before April gets here. Add in a St. Louis team that wants to do better than it has, and you’ve got quite a week ahead in San Jose. NSH Game 1 of 4. DAL Game 1 of 6. STL Game 1 of 4. CHI Game 1 of 4.

St. Louis Blues. NEW VS VAN TUE, NEW VS NSH THU, NEW VS SJS SAT. A trio of get-acquainted games fill the Blues’ docket this week, as the Blues see every Western division within a span of five nights. VAN Game 1 of 4. NSH Game 1 of 6. SJS Game 1 of 4.

Tampa Bay Lightning. ICS VS MIN THU, ICS VS LAK SAT. The Bolts get a light schedule this week, starting with several days off before a home game against Minnesota. Hope they pass out No-Doz at the St. Pete Times Forum for that. The Kings should be a bit more entertaining for a Saturday night. MIN Game 1 of 1. LAK Game 1 of 1.

Toronto Maple Leafs. ICS VS MIN TUE, ICS AT CHI FRI, NEW VS CGY SAT. The Leafs? Eh, whatever. MIN Game 1 of 1. CHI Game 1 of 1. CGY Game 1 of 2.

Vancouver Canucks. NEW AT STL TUE, ONG AT DET THU, ONG AT COL SAT. Could be a big week for the Canucks, as they try to move up from the #8 spot in the West. Colorado on a Saturday night will be a very good indicator on just how good (or bad) the Canucks can be. STL Game 1 of 4. DET Game 2 of 4. COL Game 3 of 6.

Washington Capitals. ONG VS NYI WED, ICS VS MIN FRI, ONG AT NJD SAT. A couple of days off will serve the Caps well after a grueling home and home with the Panthers. The Islanders and Wild should (this Caps fan hopes) be easy pickings. Saturday’s game at New Jersey is a series elimination game: if the Caps lose, they cannot win the season series no matter what they do. They need to beat the Devils–preferably in regulation–to keep that series in play. NYI Game 3 of 4. MIN Game 1 of 1. NJD Game 3 of 4.

INTER-CONFERENCE SINGLES
Anaheim at New Jersey
Calgary at Buffalo
Edmonton at Atlanta
Edmonton at Buffalo
Los Angeles at Atlanta
Los Angeles at Carolina
Los Angeles at Tampa Bay
Minnesota at Carolina
Minnesota at Tampa Bay
Minnesota at Toronto
Minnesota at Washington
Montreal at Nashville
Montreal at Phoenix
Toronto at Chicago

POTENTIAL ODD GAMES OUT
New Jersey at Pittsburgh. Game 2 of 6; AT PIT Game 2.

POTENTIAL SERIES WINS/LOSSES
Calgary at Montreal. Final game. Calgary leads by 2. Montreal must win in regulation to clinch a series tie. Calgary wins the series on any other result.
Washington at New Jersey. Game 3 of 4. New Jersey leads by 3. New Jersey can clinch the series with any win. If Washington wins in overtime, the best they can do is tie the series. If Washington wins in regulation, it’s anybody’s series.

MAGIC NUMBERS OF NOTE
None this week, but if Carolina and Minnesota don’t figure out how to win pretty soon…

POTENTIAL CLINCHES/ELIMINATIONS
None.

Evidently, CSN put me on the feed a couple of times Saturday night at the Islanders game. I’ve seen some of the chatter, and I need to say a couple of things before I go to bed.

1. It’s a cloak, not a cape. Really. Go over to Half Moon’s website (also under Other Sites of Interest) and see for yourself.
2. Yes, I was traveling in full regalia. I did it in Philly and survived, so I figured (correctly) that the Island would be no problem. I’ve actually gotten more lip from Caps fans at Verizon Center some nights than I got at the Vet–sad but true.
3. I was with the Fan Club, not the Road Crew.
4. I intend to do future road games in full uniform. When you wear your colors with pride, treat your hosts with respect, carry yourself courageously, never–EVER–boo the home team, and accept victory and defeat with equal sportsmanship, host fans tend to respect that. Even in Philadelphia, judging from the two times I’ve been there.
5. I never, EVER forget, when on the road, that I represent a lot more than myself. I represent my team, the group I’m with, our fans as a whole, and our city. And if the worst thing they can say about Capitals fans is that some of us have no hockey fashion sense, then I’m probably doing something right–if I do say so myself.
6. I’ve said it before, and I’m going to have to keep repeating it, I guess. Every single piece of my outfit has a specific, symbolic, spiritual meaning. Does it look odd? Absolutely. But it’s that way for a reason.
7. One other thing my outfit does, is keep people at a distance. Most people who don’t know me see the odd outfit, think “weirdo,” and move on. I get a few questions here and there, I run a niche blog that doesn’t get much discussion, and I occasionally pop in on the message boards. But so far, no one I’m aware of has really tried that hard to get me to open up. I’m generally accepted, and mostly left alone–and that’s fine by me.

Think about this: as a verb, “cloak” means “to hide; conceal.” Make of that what you will.

Game against the Flyers was uneven, but Ugly W > Pretty L. And just think how good they’ll be once they start playing the full sixty.

CAPITAL SPIRIT
NEXT HOME GAME IS FRIDAY

Thanks to a long day on the road at the Islanders game on Saturday, and a whole lot of catching up to do on the charts today, I’m not going to do a season series preview this week due to time constraints. I will obviously still keep track of what’s going on. But I won’t be doing a preview write-up this week.

Not that it’s going to be missed, if my stats are any guide. And I’m having a difficult time justifying doing that much word crunching–and in my spare time, no less–for something that’s not being read as much as I’d like it to be.

CAPITAL SPIRIT
OH WHAT A WEEKEND

Ted pointed out that even though the Caps haven’t quite done as well as we all would have liked, they’re still 6-2-2 for 14 points, the division lead, and (not that he said it, but it’s true) striking distance of the conference lead.

Look, I don’t want to be accused of drinking Kool-Aid–I prefer Pepsi Max, thank you very much. But 14 points through 10 games is a 114-point pace.

And let’s not forget how much was written about how demanding the Caps’ first seven games were supposed to be. And despite some nail-biters that shouldn’t have been so close, come-from-behinds that shouldn’t have started out that way, a power play that shouldn’t be this iffy, and a four-game skid that had me wondering in print who the Redskins were playing, the Caps are somehow 6-2-2 through the first ten.

I’m not so sure about the Flyers Tuesday night–another Philadelphia at Washington game following Eagles at Skins on Monday night. Eagles fans should be on liquor, and Skins fans should be on Lexapro–somewhere out there, PT Barnum will no doubt be taking frantic notes. So that Flyers game worries me a bit. Return engagements with the Thrashers and Islanders, however, do not. I assume the Caps have learned their lessons from the past few days. So the Caps might make it out of a 13-game October with 8, or even 9, wins, and that’s nothing to sneeze at. The team’s evidently not as bad as it looked during that four-game skid, and the scary part is this: they’re only going to get better as the season progresses.

CAPITAL SPIRIT
HOPEFUL

Consider this mandatory reading while I do a bit more prep work for some updates later tonight. More to follow as the evening progresses.–CS

It’s a fairly light work week around the NHL, with only two dozen games league-wide during the work week. Saturday, however, is a whole other kettle of fish: it’s another Super Saturday, with every team in the NHL in action somewhere. My monitor’s not set up to handle that many real-time scoreboards–I only have so much resolution, and you can’t re-size the real-time boards. What’s a hockey fan to do?! Anyway, on to the previews.

(Apologies for getting this up later than I would have liked, but I had to get out of the house a bit today for some me time.)

Anaheim Ducks: NEW VS DAL WED, NEW VS CBJ SAT. The Ducks kick things off against another Pacific Division foe, and host last year’s playoff heart-warmer on Super Saturday. Hey, I don’t even live in Ohio, and I was glad to see the Jackets make the playoffs. But that’s another story. DAL Game 1 of 6. CBJ Game 1 of 4.
Atlanta Thrashers: NEW AT MTL TUE, NEW VS WSH THU, ICS VS SJS SAT. The Thrashers are surprisingly hot this October. They have several games in hand, which gives them a pretty good standing in the playoff math as I write this. Yes, it’s October, but the Thrashers are no joke early. Montreal isn’t off to that great a start, Washington will want to do better than it did in its last game against Nashville, and the Sharks have not done very well against the East so far. MTL Game 1 of 4. WSH Game 1 of 6. SJS Game 1 of 1.
Boston Bruins: ICS VS NSH WED, NEW AT PHI THU, NEW AT OTT SAT. Good luck against Nashville, guys–the Preds gave us all we could handle Saturday night. Wachovia Center is not a fun building, and the Senators are a bit of a surprise early on. NSH Game 1 of 1. PHI Game 1 of 4. OTT Game 1 of 6.
Buffalo Sabres: NEW AT FLA WED, NEW AT TBL SAT. I can think of worse road swings than two games in Florida, especially with the weather in Buffalo the last couple of days. FLA Game 1 of 4. TBL Game 1 of 4.
Calgary Flames: ONG VS CBJ TUE, ONG VS EDM SAT. A couple of pivotal series games here. Calgary needs to win both of these–preferably in regulation–to keep these series winnable. A regulation loss to Edmonton would mean the series would be over on Calgary’s next regulation loss; a regulation loss to the Jackets, and the Flames would then lose the series on Columbus’s next point. The Flames can’t catch Edmonton, but they could even the series with the Jackets, as it’s not an odd game out. CBJ Game 2 of 4. EDM Game 3 of 6.
Carolina Hurricanes: NEW AT NYI WED, ICS AT COL FRI, NEW AT MIN SAT. The Hurricanes have been off to a rockier start than they should be, judging from last year’s postseason. The Islanders and Wild should help a bit–neither team is doing so well–but Colorado is surprisingly hot early on. NYI Game 1 of 4. COL Game 1 of 1. MIN Game 1 of 2.
Chicago Blackhawks: NEW VS VAN WED, ONG VS NSH SAT. A light week in the Windy City, as the Hawks host two of the three bottom teams in the West. A regulation win against the Preds would put the Hawks up 4 on Nashville, with 4 games to go; a regulation loss would square the series, with no odd games out. VAN Game 1 of 4. NSH Game 2 of 6.
Colorado Avalanche: NEW AT MIN WED, ICS VS CAR FRI, ONG VS DET SAT. The ‘Lanche kick off their series with the Wild in Minnesota. Given the standings, I’d normally say No sweat, but it’s a divisional game, so I’m not going there. Carolina comes a-calling on Friday night, in what could be billed as “The Battle Of The Natural Disasters!!!” A win against Detroit would increase Colorado’s lead in that series. MIN Game 1 of 6. CAR Game 1 of 1. DET Game 2 of 4.
Columbus Blue Jackets: ONG AT CGY TUE, NEW AT EDM THU, NEW AT ANA SAT, ONG AT LAK SUN. A busy week on the road for Columbus sees them visiting two teams they’ve already played and defeated at home. Regulation wins against Calgary and/or Los Angeles would guarantee at least a tie in those particular series. The Jackets need a win against the Oilers to stay ahead of them in the standings, and the Ducks may deserve perhaps more credit than their .500 points percentage would indicate. CGY Game 2 of 4. EDM Game 1 of 4. ANA Game 1 of 4. LAK Game 2 of 4.
Dallas Stars: NEW VS LAK MON, NEW AT ANA WED, ONG AT LAK THU, NEW AT STL SAT. Quite a week ahead for the Stars, as they get their first two games against the Kings. Both teams are smack dab in the middle of the West, so these should be entertaining contests. A visit to The Pond in the middle of that gives the Stars three games in four nights against southern California…before a trip to St. Louis to face the Blues on Super Saturday. LAK Games 1 AND 2 of 6. ANA Game 1 of 6. STL Game 1 of 4.
Detroit Red Wings: NEW AT PHX THU, ONG AT COL SAT. Phoenix is evidently out to prove their off-ice melodrama doesn’t mean a thing when the puck hits the ice. The Wings overlook this team at their peril (just ask Pittsburgh.) A regulation win against the ‘Lanche would give the Wings the series lead, but an overtime/shootout win would square the series with two games to go. PHX Game 1 of 4. COL Game 2 of 4.
Edmonton Oilers: NEW VS VAN MON, NEW VS CBJ THU, ONG AT CGY SAT, ONG AT VAN SUN. Two games against the Canucks bookend a home date with surprising Columbus, and pesky Calgary. Vancouver is struggling a bit, but these are two of those all-Canada games that really could go either way. A win against Columbus could have early standings implications–not that those ought to matter much in October, but you never know. A regulation loss to the Flames could put the series one regulation win away from being over. VAN Games 1 AND 2 of 6. CBJ Game 1 of 4. CGY Game 3 of 6.
Florida Panthers: NEW VS BUF WED, NEW AT PIT FRI, ONG AT PHI SAT. Two new series opening up for the Panthers, and both of them are against red-hot squads. The Panthers lead the Flyers by 2 with 3 games to go, so a regulation win Saturday would guarantee at least a season series tie. BUF Game 1 of 4. PIT Game 1 of 4. PHI Game 2 of 4.
Los Angeles Kings: NEW AT DAL MON, ONG VS DAL THU, ONG AT PHX SAT, ONG VS CBJ SUN. Kings of the Frequent Flier club, perhaps? Los Angeles opens the week with a home and home against the division rival Stars, then tries to even series against the ‘Yotes and Jackets where they lost their first games. The Kings have more teams in the “Trail” column than the “Lead” one, and they don’t need any more where that came from. DAL Games 1 AND 2 of 6. PHX Game 2 of 6. CBJ Game 2 of 4.
Minnesota Wild: NEW VS COL WED, NEW AT STL FRI, NEW VS CAR SAT. As of this writing, Minnesota is the only team in the Western Conference which does not have a lead in any season series. Are those third jerseys so ugly that the hockey gods have now cursed their season? One wonders. COL Game 1 of 6. STL Game 1 of 4. CAR Game 1 of 2.
Montreal Canadiens: NEW VS ATL TUE, NEW VS NYI THU, NEW VS NYR SAT. A week at home for the Habs, as they host surprisingly Hotlanta, then get a double dip of the Big Apple. Thrashers could be intriguing, Rangers are off to a ridiculous start, and the Islanders…well…they’re the Islanders. ATL Game 1 of 4. NYI Game 1 of 4. NYR Game 1 of 4.
Nashville Predators: ICS AT BOS WED, ICS AT OTT THU, ONG AT CHI SAT. The Preds aren’t to the point of having to say, “Let us prey”–sorry, I know that was bad–but this week doesn’t look very promising. Chicago has already beaten them, and the Preds have yet to win a game against the East. Not having a home game until next Thursday night isn’t going to be much help, I should think. BOS Game 1 of 1. OTT Game 1 of 1. CHI Game 2 of 6.
New Jersey Devils: ONG AT NYR THU, NEW AT PIT SAT. Not many games this week for New Jersey, just monsters–the two hottest teams in the NHL, a Battle of the Hudson, a visit to the champs, and did I mention that the Devils are only 1 win above .500? Still, the Rangers and Penguins can’t keep winning all year, right? ….. Right? NYR Game 2 of 6. PIT Game 1 of 6.
New York Islanders: NEW VS CAR WED, NEW AT MTL THU, NEW VS WSH SAT. The Islanders aren’t leading a single series right now–being oh-fer the season so far will do that–which is a distinction they share with…wait for it…the (also winless) Toronto Maple Leafs. This Caps fan hopes they can get this winning thing out of the way before the Capitals hit the Island on Saturday. CAR Game 1 of 4. MTL Game 1 of 4. WSH Game 1 of 4.
New York Rangers: ICS VS SJS MON, ONG VS NJD THU, NEW AT MTL SAT. Quite a week for the Blueshirts–the defending President’s Trophy winners, followed by a Battle of the Hudson and an Original Six showdown at Centre Bell on a Saturday night. I doubt their win streak will be alive by week’s end, but stranger things have happened. SJS Game 1 of 1. NJD Game 2 of 6. MTL Game 1 of 4.
Ottawa Senators: ICS VS NSH THU, NEW VS BOS SAT. The Predators have been struggling badly as of late–could be an easy win at home. The Bruins are off to a surprisingly lackluster start, but I’m sure they’d love to whoop the Senators to snap out of it. NSH Game 1 of 1. BOS Game 1 of 6.
Philadelphia Flyers: NEW VS BOS THU, ONG VS FLA SAT, NEW VS SJS SUN. Two teams from the top of their conferences last year bookend a team that missed the playoffs last year on a head-to-head tie break. However, Florida’s only series lead right now is against the Flyers–think that’s going over well in the Flyers’ locker room? Meanwhile, Boston and San Jose seem to be doing game-conditions system adjustments or something–both of them are not where they were at the end of last season. BOS Game 1 of 4. FLA Game 2 of 4. SJS Game 1 of 2.
Phoenix Coyotes: NEW VS DET THU, ONG VS LAK SAT. If you had asked me before the season started which of these teams I thought would be leading their division, and who’d be 11th in the West, when Phoenix and Detroit met in Week IV, I would have gotten it wrong. If Phoenix can beat Detroit, the Western Conference may be on notice that the Desert Dogs are no joke this year. Meanwhile, the Coyotes could stretch their series lead to 4 points with a regulation win over Los Angeles. DET Game 1 of 4. LAK Game 2 of 6.
Pittsburgh Penguins: ICS VS STL TUE, NEW VS FLA FRI, NEW VS NJD SAT. St. Louis just lost a squeaker to the Pacific-leading Coyotes, and made the Ducks quack up (sorry) 5-0 Saturday night. Florida is off to a rocky start, but New Jersey has (as of Sunday) yet to lose a game on the road. This week won’t be a milk run for the Penguins. STL Game 1 of 1. FLA Game 1 of 4. NJD Game 1 of 6.
San Jose Sharks: ICS AT NYR MON, ICS AT TBL THU, ICS AT ATL SAT, NEW AT PHI SUN. The Sharks are getting a lot of their East Coast travel done early. They have one more game at Carolina on November 1, and then have no more Eastern Conference away games until they finish their Eastern road slate in the week before the Olympic break. NYR Game 1 of 1. TBL Game 1 of 1. ATL Game 1 of 1. PHI Game 1 of 2.
St. Louis Blues: ICS AT PIT TUE, NEW VS MIN FRI, NEW VS DAL SAT. The Blues will try to cool off the Penguins–lots of luck there–before coming home for two games in two nights that are battles of The Blue and the Green. (And man, do I hope somebody gets the reference on THAT one…) PIT Game 1 of 1. MIN Game 1 of 4. DAL Game 1 of 4.
Tampa Bay Lightning: ICS VS SJS THU, NEW VS BUF SAT. Both of the Bolts’ opponents this week are one point away from their respective division leads–and both just might want to take over those leads. SJS Game 1 of 1. BUF Game 1 of 4.
Toronto Maple Leafs: NEW AT VAN SAT. The Leafs could use a few days off to try to figure out how to keep their season from spiraling out of control. VAN Game 1 of 2.
Vancouver Canucks: NEW AT EDM MON, NEW AT CHI WED, NEW VS TOR SAT, ONG VS EDM SUN. A stop in the Windy City breaks up an all-Canada week for the ‘Nucks. No easy games here: Chicago is no joke in the Central, and any all-Canada game is by nature unpredictable. EDM Games 1 AND 2 of 2. CHI Game 1 of 4. TOR Game 1 of 2.
Washington Capitals: NEW AT ATL THU, NEW AT NYI SAT. The Caps finally open play against the Southeast Division, and Atlanta doesn’t look like the cupcake it was last year. Meanwhile, the Caps will try to take their first series lead in the Atlantic with a visit to the Islanders on Saturday. ATL Game 1 of 6. NYI Game 1 of 4.

INTER-CONFERENCE SINGLES
Nashville at Boston
Nashville at Ottawa
San Jose at Atlanta
San Jose at New York Rangers
San Jose at Tampa Bay
St. Louis at Pittsburgh

POTENTIAL “ODD GAMES OUT”
None.

POTENTIAL SERIES WINS/LOSSES
None.

MAGIC NUMBERS OF NOTE
None.

POTENTIAL CLINCHES/ELIMINATIONS
None.

This one’s coming a bit later than I originally had in mind. A while back, I was given some constructive criticism on another post, and I said I’d have more to say later on. Well, later on came a bit later on than I initially planned, and next thing I was thinking this might make a good “happy-birthday-to-me-here’s-where-I-stand” type of offering. Well, my birthday was last Saturday, so here we go again. I finally decided to thrash this out and have done with it–I’m curious, frankly, what its reception will be.

My spiritual background is…well…it’s complicated.

I was raised as mainstream a Christian as it gets. Because of my military upbringing, I never really had a church home until my teens, when my family settled in Harford County. Prior to that, whenever the boxes came out, there’d be a different church to go to, and…wait…I thought I understood that concept at my Dad’s last duty station. You mean I’ve had it wrong the whole time? Rinse and repeat all the way to age 13. I had a good knowledge of Scripture, but I had a lot of questions. The biggest question I had, which no one on Earth could seem to answer, was, essentially, “How come?”

All have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God, okay; the wages of sin is death, okay; so how come God bothered to redeem us if we’re so messed up? Well, He loves us. How come? Well, that’s just who God is. How can He love us that much? Well, that’s something you’ll understand when you get there–you can’t even imagine how much God loves you.

It wasn’t enough, and looking back from where I stand now, I understand why: the answers I was given were, essentially, abstracting God’s love. God’s love wasn’t concrete to me: it was almost theoretical. And so I spent a very, very long time not understanding God’s love in practical terms. With me so far? Okay, hang on to this thought, because I’m going to get back to it later.

So during my middle and high school days in Harford County, I was attending a Southern Baptist church. I was an active member of the youth group, eager to learn, eager to share, and man, was I eager to sing! Between the church and my high school, I had two different choirs to keep straight. I thought, coming out of high school, that my walk was going to be informed: God didn’t promise us Disneyland, but I had enough of a foundation that I could spread my wings and face the world.

As if.

I found out very quickly that I didn’t know what I thought I knew. The abstractions I knew weren’t worth much in a concrete world. All of a sudden, half a decade in my youth group didn’t mean that much. I was back to having too many questions.

And that’s when the war broke out. Or, perhaps, when I became aware of what had been raging around me the whole time. Not that knowing exactly when it began would have made any difference.

I’ve come to believe that there’s a war being fought for every soul in this world–mine, yours, and everyone we know. For reasons I may never understand, I found out firsthand just what was going on around me, spiritually–and “terrifying” is too mild a word by half.

All that spiritual warfare stuff I learned in my youth group proved remarkably ineffective: it had been too theoretical to do me any good. My church did all it could, but it wasn’t enough. I had to do something–but what?

At wit’s end, with no other idea how to proceed, I started researching angelology in the mid-90’s. That included picking up several different books on angel communication–maybe if I could just talk to the good guys who were doing the fighting, instead of just observing, I might get some peace.

When I finally got up enough courage to contact my guardian angel, I didn’t know what to expect. There was a lot of re-familiarizing I had to do. Eventually, I ended up talking straight to Archangel Michael about what was going on, and saying, essentially, “Um, help…?” That was all the invitation Michael was required to get from me, and things settled down very quickly thereafter.

As an aside, that particular show of force was one reason I was, frankly, scared to talk to Archangel Michael for a very, very long time. But that’s another story.

So, that took care of the parts of the war that I was aware of. I know it’s still going on: the spiritual wars over all of our souls never end. But I’m no longer being constantly reminded of/scared by it. Maybe there was something to dealing directly with angels.

But then something else happened, which both answered my biggest question, and raised even bigger ones.

It was a weekend in Harford County, Dad was out of town, and there was no one around but me, my PlayStation, and the heavenly host. Harford County had no mass transit to speak of at the time, and I was living in Riverside, just off Exit 80. Even today, there’s not much to do around there if you’re on foot. So I was talking with my guardian angel about I forget what, but it mustn’t have been a happy conversation. He asked me if I needed a hug, and I was kind of incredulous at the idea–you guys can do that? He told me to stand up, move away from my couch, and close my eyes. I did–and I was completely overwhelmed by a deep, personal, full-spectrum display of Divine love.

I finally understood, concretely, just how powerful God’s love really is. If that was just one of the messengers, how much more complete must be the love of He who sent him!

Finally, some of the biggest questions I’d had about Christianity were answered. Having experienced firsthand how totally God loves me, Christ’s sacrifice finally made perfect sense to me. If God loves me that much, sinner though I am, He wouldn’t want to just give up and leave me to my own lost way, to spend eternity apart from Him. He’d want to make sure I had a chance to know Him, to experience His love, and spend eternity with Him when my time comes–even if that meant sacrificing His own Son. Yes, God really does love me that much, and more. I got it–finally.

Then came the questions. Why hadn’t I been told about this? If that answer had been there the whole time, why hadn’t I been told about it? And I really didn’t want to ask this, but I had to: was there more going on than I was being told?

My spiritual life has been in flux ever since. I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable keeping God and the angels in the loop–having experienced the extent of Divine love, it doesn’t seem quite so trivial to ask for help in different areas of my life.

I’m also not as intimidated by certain angels. Michael used to intimidate me just because of his seniority, but now I actually enjoy working with him. He’s got a playful streak, and I always feel a lot happier when I know he’s around.

That’s more than slightly heterodox when you’re raised as a Southern Baptist, isn’t it?

So, quo vadis? I’ve seen enough, and been part of enough, that I doubt I’d fit in in any Protestant church these days. But I don’t think I’m entirely comfortable going the metaphysics route–even though I know that crowd would be a lot more accepting of the totality of my beliefs. For now, I’m still searching for a spiritual place to call home.

The ironic part is that I feel more comfortable with my beliefs in Section 417 than I am in some dedicated houses of worship. Hockey isn’t my religion, no. But the Capitals have made me feel more comfortable with my beliefs than some communities of faith.

Quo vadis? I’m not sure. It took me a couple of decades to find some community, any community, where I felt like I could be myself and not have to hide who I was. I don’t know if I’ll ever find a faith community which will do for my soul, what the Capitals community has done for my spirit.

Quo vadis? Hopefully, somewhere I can fit in. But where?

Quo vadis? Maybe someday, I can answer, “Home.”

CAPITAL SPIRIT
QUO VADIS?

It’s been said that if you write in anger, you’ll write the best work you’ll ever regret. And, now that the updates to my charts are done, I should by all accounts be calmed down. And I’m not.

I only have two questions after watching tonight’s collapse against New Jersey.

Number one: Who is John Galt?

And number two: Who are the Redskins playing this Sunday?!

Yes, it was that bad. The Caps have now found Redskinesque ways to give games away, and I do not use that comparison lightly (or gladly, for that matter). The other night in Detroit, it was a penalty by Mike Green which led to the game-winning power play (taking only four shots–FOUR!!–in the third period didn’t help much, either.) Tonight, it was going oh-fer on half a dozen extra-man chances, including one two-man advantage. Not to mention a long stretch in the third where the Caps could not get the biscuit out of their own end, could not change players, and could not stop the eventual goal. If the Caps think they can get outworked in their end, with only a one-goal lead, in the third period, in their own stinking building for crying out loud, and go on to win the Cup this year, they’ve got another think coming. This four-game skid will probably not mean much at the end of the year: it’s only October, after all. Perhaps this is experimentation, working the bugs out, refining systems under game conditions. But if this four-game skid had happened in May, the Caps would now be cleaning out their lockers and polishing their putters.

Going back to the Redskins for a moment. With the Skins, at least I’d be under no illusions that the team’s very good–they’re more than likely going nowhere this year, they’re more than likely going to lose more than they win, and they’re more than likely going to find some very bizarre ways to lose in the process (a la Carolina this past Sunday). But with the players they have, that’s just meh–another day at the office for the burgundy and gold. The Capitals have the defending repeat MVP, a Norris-nominated blueliner, and an excellent center who just might make a run for the Ross. Expectations for this team were off the charts when the season began. So how do they open the season? By dropping four of their first six–and did I mention that they play the Sharks on Thursday night?!

This Caps team can play much, much better than it has. It’s obvious in Section 417, it’s obvious on the message boards, and I daresay it’s obvious to every member of the Capitals organization. What is completely baffling, at least to this admittedly distant fan, is how this Capitals team can have so much talent, and be capable of so much greatness, and yet still leave a lot of fans feeling so much heartache at this point in the season.

It saddens me to see this team do this poorly. This is a team that has championship potential, a team that could be the best team in this city, a team that has fans ready to believe, and a team that–on a personal note–has done so much more good for me than they’ll ever know. And yet this, what we’ve seen these past four games, is their idea of a championship effort? I grieve…!

I wish I knew how to say more than this tonight, but I don’t. In the end, tonight is one insignificant loss that can, should, and probably will be forgotten. But right now, with the sting of a game given away still lingering, my words have run dry.

CAPITAL SPIRIT
DOLOROSA

The scratches for tonight, to judge from who stayed late at practice this morning, will be Nylander, Schultz, and Sloan. Varlamov will get the nod in net.