I spent fifteen minutes cutting-and-pasting all of my obviously wrong predictions about the Capitals' playoff chances this season, only to click the wrong part of the screen and shut the window. Oh well. Suffice to say, I was wrong.
Of course if you have to respect the streak, maybe I should go on record now as saying there's no way we go all the way; they've had to play too hard at the end of the season, they'll run out of gas. And c'mon, some of these wins have been desperate gasps against teams that didn't make the playoffs. And anyway, the West is gonna eat the East for lunch.
Yeah, yeah, I'll say that.
But I'll also say, I've never seen a team change the way Washington did this season. It was like watching time-lapse photography of players maturing.
I am very happy. But I also had tears in my eyes tonight. I'm a little embarrassed about it, actually, that I'm so emotionally wrapped up in the fate of a guy whom I've met only in passing maybe three times, but there it is.
I have zero issue with Boudreau starting Huet every game right now. The Hot Goaltender phenomenon is a force, and you don't screw with it. It's nearly impossible to go deep in the playoffs without it, but with it, teams that make you say "Huh?" are hoisting the Cup.
For some weeks this season, the Caps blogosphere (not fond of the term, but it's late and I don't have a better one handy) was full of people calling for Kolzig's head...he's old, he's slow, he sucks, he's responsible for every loss. And yeah, a guy approaching 38 is not as agile as he was at 28. But while the shaky defense was learning how to clear the zone, he kept them in a lot of games.
I can think of one way these boys can thank him. I'll be damn grateful if they do.
Posted by Nic at April 6, 2008 12:22 AM | TrackBackA man's work is practically nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, via the detours of artwork, these two or 3 excellent and easy photographs in whose existence his coronary heart 1st opened.
Posted by: Theo Dobrinski at February 16, 2013 04:17 AM