Awesome

From the NHL.com homepage after the Caps 4-3 win over the Bruins on Saturday afternoon:

Bruce Boudreau and the "empty tank"

When Bruce Boudreau was fired on Monday morning and replaced by Dale Hunter, Capitals General Manager George McPhee told reporters at Kettler, "I think Bruce came in here and emptied the tank. He gave it everything he could and did a really good job, but the tank was empty, and when that happens you get a new coach where the tank is full and see what happens."

It struck me as honest and heartfelt, but I didn't think much more about it until today when I was in the midst of a lively email discussion about the value of NHL coaching experience. In the email exchange, my brother wondered aloud (...in text?), "I wonder what the average number of years of coaching experience is for Cup-winning coaches over the last 10 or 15 years."

Naturally I had to look it up, and what I found was not that interesting when looking at total NHL coaching experience, but far more interesting when looking at the number of years the coach was with their team before winning the Cup. For the "Fire Bruce" crowd it would provide significant ammo if, you know, the Caps didn't already fire Bruce.

Basically what you need to know is that, in the last 20 years, coaches who didn't win a Stanley Cup in their first four years with a team never ended up winning one with that team. And in that same span, only one coach tenured more than 4 years has won a Cup, and that was Scotty Bowman (twice). Boudreau was in his 5th season as the Caps' bench boss.

So it would seem that a coach only has 2-4 years of gas in the tank with any given team.

Here's the proof:

YEAR	TEAM	COACH	NHL EXPERIENCE	YEARS WITH TEAM AT TIME OF CUP WIN
2011	Bruins	Claude Julien	8 years	4th season in Boston
2010	Blackhawks	Joel Quenneville	13 years	2nd season in Chicago
2009	Penguins	Dan Bylsma	<1 year	1st season in Pittsburgh*
2008	Red Wings	Mike Babcock	5 years	3rd season in Detroit
2007	Ducks	Randy Carlyle	2 years	2nd season in Anaheim
2006	Hurricanes	Peter Laviolette	4 years	2nd season in Carolina
2004	Lightning	John Tortorella	4 years	4th season in Tampa
2003	Devils	Pat Burns	13 years	1st season in New Jersey
2002	Red Wings	Scotty Bowman	30 years	9th season in Detroit
2001	Avalanche	Bob Hartley	3 years	3rd season in Colorado
2000	Devils	Larry Robinson	5 years	1st season in New Jersey**
1999	Stars	Ken Hitchcock	4 years	4th season in Dallas
1998	Red Wings	Scotty Bowman	26 years	5th season in Detroit
1997	Red Wings	Scotty Bowman	25 years	4th season in Detroit
1996	Avalanche	Marc Crawford	2 years	1st season in Colorado***
1995	Devils	Jacques Lemaire	4 years	2nd season in New Jersey
1994	Rangers	Mike Keenan	9 years	1st season in New York
1993	Canadiens	Jacques Demers	9 years	1st season in Montreal
1992	Penguins	Scotty Bowman	20 years	1st season in Pittsburgh
1991	Penguins	Bob Johnson	6 years	1st season in Pittsburgh

*Bylsma coached the last 25 games of the 2008-09 season
**Robinson coached the last 8 games of the 1999-2000 season
***Those who were hoping the Caps would hire Crawford should look up what he's done since

Breaking it down further, over the last 20 years the average tenure at the time of winning the Stanley Cup is 2.6, and the median is 2.

As for the NHL experience factor, the average years of NHL coaching experience for Stanley Cup winners over the last 20 years is 9.65, which is skewed heavily by Bowman's 20, 25, 26 and 30. The median is 5.5.

As this relates to Dale Hunter, 8 of the last 20 Stanley Cups have been won by coaches in their first year with a team (40 percent!), but Bylsma's the only one who was in his first year as an NHL head coach. Five Cup winning coaches in the last 20 years have done it in their first NHL head coaching gig: Bylsma, Randy Carlyle with the Ducks, Bob Hartley with the Avalanche, John Tortorella with the Lighting (unless you count his 4 games as interim coach of the Rangers in 1999), and Ken Hitchcock with the Stars.

To look at it another way, my friend Will saw this data and immediately said, "So Buffalo is really f***ing up with Lindy Ruff."

Apparently.
 

The annual Center Ice debate.

It was nice to see Game Over Green working his magic in the first game of the 2011-12 season after a disappointing 8-goal season in 2010-11. And I got to see the game thanks to a free Center Ice preview, which they run every year to try to entice me to shell out $170+ for every game in every city.

If you're a transplanted fan like me, you probably have the same internal debate that I have around this time every year: Is Center Ice worth the money and time I'm going to devote to it? Is it really worth $170 to cheer in New York City when Ovechkin lights the lamp in Washington?

The first year I lived in New York (2009-10) I purchased the package and watched a good amount of hockey, but I noticed that a huge percentage of the Caps games that I was at home to watch were on NBC, Versus or NHL Network. So in 2010-11 I decided to skip Center Ice, and I still got to watch around 1/4 of all Caps games because the league or networks decided Ovechkin's Caps were a chic team worthy of national airtime along with the Penguins, Flyers and Red Wings. The one aspect of Center Ice that I missed was getting to watch the late games featuring Western Conference teams that I rarely get to see otherwise.

This season, a whopping 30 of the Caps' 82 regular season games are scheduled to be on national TV in the U.S., and they tend to be the times I can watch (Thursdays-Sundays). Throw in the free Center Ice previews they do a couple times a year, and it's probably closer to 35 games. So that pretty much ends that debate.

Although it feels weird to admit that I'm satisfied seeing less than 40 percent of the Caps' games, real life (and grad school, which I don't think counts as real life) dictates that I probably wouldn't get to see much more than that anyway.

See you in another year...

Correction: My brother brought up the fact that I left out all the games that are against the Rangers, Devils and Islanders that will also be on local TV where I live. That adds six more games that will be on TV in New York (the other 6 against those opponents are scheduled to be nationally televised).

Pre-playoff GTalk conversation...

Abram Fox: word is that Ovechkin and Backstrom are hurt, Ovechkin is definitely in on Thursday and Backstrom is questionable
so, that is bad

me: I will quote Aqua Teen Hunger Force
from the epic "Foreigner Belt" episode

Abram: haha
love that episode

me:
"WHO SET THIS TO 'HEAD GAMES'!??!?!"

WaPo piece on Langway's daughter doesn't sit right

My brother sent me an e-mail today with a link to Mark Giannotto's Washington Post article on Rod Langway's estranged daughter. I skimmed it when it came out last week, but once my brother asked for my opinion I decided to read the whole thing.

In the interest of full disclosure, I've been a Capitals fan since the Langway days. But I'm also a journalism professor so I would hope my fan status isn't completely shading my views here.

My issue with the article isn't really that it paints Rod Langway in a bad light, it's that there's no real story there to begin with. Well, maybe there is, but Giannotto doesn't find it. The "how" and "why" of the story are afterthoughts so it ends up just being venting space for a 16-year-old girl.

This, to me, was the whole story:

Langway and his wife, Teresa, say they have tried numerous times to bridge the gap between Hannah and her father, but that Sasscer refused to let Teresa be around Hannah, a stipulation Langway would not agree to.

"It hurt Rod and I couldn't even show him how much it hurt me," Teresa Langway said. "It's just a tragedy for Hannah. Everybody would have welcomed Hannah. We all would have loved her. We waited for years and years."

The Sasscers dispute this assertion. Sasscer said she is willing to allow Teresa to meet Hannah without her being present.

And? Expand on that. Is there some bitter tension there? Does Sasscer say "That's ridiculous I've invited Rod and Teresa to dinner numerous times?" What was Sasscer's reaction to Teresa Langway's "we all would have loved her" statement? We'll never know.

Those three short paragraphs are the entire "why" and "how," and they were buried on page three of a five page piece.

I'd be fine with the article if its focus was the conflict between Langway and mother Sasscer, even though it'd be a bit smutty. I'd also be fine if it was a personal profile of the girl or a story of her perseverance despite her family situation, but they glossed over both of those things, too. So really, what's the article about? Langway has an estranged daughter and she hates him. That's it. Is that really deserving of being in The Washington Post?
 

DC Sports Box: Game 7 recap

It was a tough game to watch, and I can assure you it was an equally tough recap to write. The Caps got outplayed in every facet (except goaltending until Wednesday) for much of the series, and that's why they're heading to the offseason and the Penguins are heading to the Eastern Conference Finals for a second straight year. And all I keep thinking is, "I can't believe that same Capitals vs. Penguins playoff script played out again." My recap is at DC Sports Box:

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Washington may have been a city in denial for much of the Eastern Conference Semifinal series against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Sure, the Capitals were getting outshot in every game and outworked in most, and they never seemed to be able to put together a full 60 minutes of solid effort, but somehow they had found a way to get to a Game Seven on home ice.

At worst, it seemed, Game Seven provided a coin flip: even odds that the Caps could come away with one more win and reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the third time in franchise history. After all, the series had been unbelievably close on the scoreboard for six games. Three of those games required overtime, and the Penguins were outscoring the Caps in the series by only one goal.

But those watching every game must have known, even if they didn't want to admit, that the Penguins were controlling too much of the play, putting too many shots on net and drawing too many penalties. Over the first six games, the Penguins outshot the Caps by 66 and had 11 more power plays, both signs that Pittsburgh was dictating the play even though the results weren't making that obvious.

In Wednesday night's Game Seven, the results did make that obvious.

Read the rest (with lots of depressing player quotes) at DCSportsBox.com.
 

Caps-Penguins Game 3 Recap...

Not that you want to read more about that game, but my article is up at DC Sports Box:

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Capitals goalie Simeon Varlamov stopped shots from every angle imaginable to keep his team in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on Wednesday night, but it was a deflection off his own player in overtime that did the Caps in.

Varlamov had already stopped 39 of 41 Penguins shots through 60 minutes of regulation and 11-plus of overtime when Pittsburgh won an offensive zone faceoff back to the blue line and defenseman Kris Letang fired a slap shot on net. The puck deflected off of Caps defender Shaone Morrisonn's leg, came up and clipped Varlamov's left side before finding its way just inside the goal post, sending the white-clad Pittsburgh crowd into a relieved frenzy knowing the Penguins had avoided falling into a near-insurmountable 3-0 hole in the series.

Instead, Pittsburgh now trails 2-1 and has the opportunity to knot the series up on Friday night with another home game.

Read the rest at DCSportsBox.com.
 

Recap: Caps vs. Penguins Game 2

My recap of Capitals-Penguins Game 2 is up at DC Sports Box.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – For anyone who was concerned that the Alex Ovechkin versus Sidney Crosby matchup in the Eastern Conference Semifinal series couldn't possibly live up to the hype and anticipation: You've been served notice.

Both young superstars scored hat tricks in Monday night's Game Two between the Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins, but only Washington could claim victory. With a 4-3 win, the Caps will take a 2-0 series lead to Pittsburgh for Games Three and Four.

"It was a battle of the two best players in the league tonight," Caps defenseman Mike Green said in the locker room after the game. "Sidney [Crosby] played outstanding. It's incredible how good he is around the net and ... he was carrying his team, but tonight we had the top gun."

Read the rest at DCSportsBox.com.
 

Caps-Penguins Previews: Article and Podcast

The preview that my fellow DC Sports Box beat writers and I wrote for the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals between the Caps and Penguins is now available online. Check it out here.

I think we have some interesting stuff on Ovechkin vs. Crosby, some of the matchups that AREN'T Ovechkin vs. Crosby, and the goaltending for both teams.

Once you're done with that, click over to the preview podcast. We've set an important standard with this one: that we're not going to re-record a whole podcast just because we keep flubbing Simeon Varlamov's name. That's right, my co-host, Abram Fox, and I are willing to make sacrifices. Namely, sacrificing quality for our own sanity.

Enjoy.
 

Some thoughts after Game Seven

First of all, you can read my recap for DC Sports Box here.

But here's some things that couldn't go in the legit piece:

I was 14 the last time the Capitals won a playoff series. A freshman in high school. That seems like a long, long time ago.

I was hoping the self-proclaimed Maven, Stan Fischler, would come out and say, "Wow we must not be all that good, because I spent the last two weeks saying how weak the Caps were and now we lost to them. Sorry!" But no...

Simeon Varlamov (Semyon next year?) tripped a little bit going out the door from the bench to the ice before the third period. I thought that was a bad sign, and remembered that when I was a goalie in high school and college hockey I would always get embarrassed when something stupid like that would happen and inevitably give up a weak goal. I guess that's why I'm clinging to memories of an adult league roller hockey championship and he's a 21-year-old dominating in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Text message from my friend Will right after the game: "Best 4 mil ever"

Is it odd that the only people I wanted to gloat to were the Caps fans who, after Games Two and Four, were saying things like, "Stick a fork in us, we are done."

When we found out about the Hurricanes' amazing comeback on the Devils, I was in the makeshift press room on the Wizards practice court sitting right next to "Puck Daddy" Greg Wyshynski, who is a Devils fan. Even in the celebratory atmosphere of Verizon Center I felt bad for the guy. Maybe because we've all been there at some point, but also probably because I have a soft spot for the Devils since my brother grew up a fan (he's since converted to the most exciting team in the NHL). That feeling vanished when I remembered that the Devils have been around eight less years than the Caps, yet they've been to six Eastern Conference Finals, four Stanley Cup Finals and have won three Cups. (The Caps, of course, are at 2, 1, 0 in those categories.) Also, let it be known that with the Devils up 3-2 with six minutes left, Wyshynski said something to the effect of, "Great, that just means Marty will give up another freaking goal with .2 seconds left." Ouch.

The end of the Devils-'Canes game wasn't shown on Versus in our area. I really want to find someone who was in the arena to confirm that Carolina's 3rd and 4th goals DID actually happen. Until I have this confirmation, a small part of me will always believe that the NHL made a call to the Prudential Center after the Caps won, and that there are 17,625 people wandering around North Jersey in a haze confused as to why all of a sudden the scoreboard clicked from a 3-2 Devils lead to a 4-3 Devils loss without anything happening on the ice.

My first reaction on finding out the Caps are playing the Penguins in the second round: "I don't think I have enough hate left in my body for a Pittsburgh series."

My second reaction: "NOTE TO SELF: DO NOT READ INTERNET COMMENTS DURING CAPS-PENGUINS SERIES"

Bruce Boudreau: "Welcome to the circus."

Why even play the games?

It's over. Read it and weep.
(h/t to Japers' Rink)

Clearly, the Capitals are "paper tigers" who can't hack it in postseason play.

Don't question it. This guy can't be wrong.

Just as clearly, Alex Ovechkin is staking his claim as the Alex Rodriguez of hockey. Sure, he's great at putting up gaudy numbers, but he's as un-clutch as they come. I know he led the league with 24 third-period goals, but he also led the league in empty-netters, and those five gimmes with the net yawning more than negate his 10 GWGs.

And boy did he have a major letdown last night. Just ask Mr. Fischler. Alex the not-so-Great got over 26 minutes of ice time and all he could manage were two lousy assists, 13 shots on goal and six hits? Weeeeeeeeeaaakkkkk. This clown'll never hoist a Cup if one of the league's best defenses can make him such a complete non-factor.

The scariest part is that the Rangers did all this without Chris Drury in the lineup. When Drury comes back, there's no way the Caps are ever within one goal of the Rangers, save for the opening faceoff. I mean, this guy put up almost identical numbers to BROOKS LAICH (except at the bank, where Drury destroyed Laich by $5 million this season). Can you imagine the Capitals even bothering to take the ice if Brooks Laich was out with an injury? No you cannot. Because they'd never do it. Good thing Laich has been healthy enough to participate in every game of '08-'09. But that's just proof of how tough this Rangers team is.

Meanwhile, Rangers head coach John Tortorella is working some serious wizardry behind the bench, making Bruce Boudreau's game plan look like a little kid's drawings on the paper table cloths at Rocky Run. MISMATCH. We're talking about the winningest American-born coach in history. A veteran with a stellar .517 points percentage for his career. How could greenhorn Boudreau ever have hoped to compete with those kinds of credentials? (Boudreau's .661 points percentage honestly doesn't mean jack because of the small sample size.)

I know Wednesday night was just one game, but it's a microcosm -- a 60-minute example of all that has gone wrong and is destined to once again go wrong for Washington's hockey team.

Stick a fork in this series, it's done. Sorry we had to find out this way.
 

Caps-Rangers Series Preview: Multimedia Style

My fellow DC Sports Box Capitals beat reporters have collaborated to do some serious previewing of the Capitals-Rangers first round playoff series that starts tonight.

The article is here as a set of mini-articles by myself, David Nichols and Abram Fox.

I covered the offense, defense and special teams numbers, David covered the goaltenders and Abram took on the player matchups, including Sean Avery vs. the Caps' young guns.

Once you're done reading that, load this up and listen to almost 33 minutes of me and Abram talking about the series and what we expect to see.

Or you can search for DCSportsBox in the podcast directory on iTunes and subscribe so you'll never miss another episode.
 

Not sure why I thought of this just now...

But if the Capitals were to ever, for some odd reason, end up with current Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference, I'm changing the name of this blog to "Two Minutes for AndrewFerence."







Get it? Two minutes for interference... interference/AndrewFerence???

Yeah. Sorry. It won't happen again.
 

Do Caps fans need to lighten up?

I just finished watching this video, as posted on Tarik El-Bashir's Capitals Insider blog on Washington Post:



And, naturally, it was followed by about three dozen comments from pissed off Capitals fans saying that Mike Wise is a jackhole and if he's going to be the one giving D.C.'s best team a spotlight, no thanks, we're happy over here in the dark.

Are people really taking this literally? Are we just so out of our element to have a Caps team legitimately contending that we can't let it happen without having something to bitch about? Clearly it's a spoof piece. The Caps are finally getting decent coverage in the Post and he's picking at something that we've whined about for years. That's funny. At least a few of the commenters got it.

So lighten up. Watch the video, have a good laugh, and enjoy that the Caps are finally deserving of some extra coverage.


By the way, I'm not fixing that.
 

Caps fans <3 the Steelers? No.

I was watching Joe B.'s intro to the Caps-Senators game today on Comcast SportsNet and saw this sign:



Don't speak for me, little kids. Thanks.

Penguins or Steelers, doesn't matter. Real Caps fans hate Pittsburgh. Rock the red tonight. Go Cards!
 

Disappointing sight at tonight's Caps game

I'm covering the Caps-Bruins game tonight for DC Sports Box, and sitting in the press box I see a woman who, by all apparent measures, is rooting for the Capitals tonight, yet she wore a Pittsburgh Steelers ROETHLISBERGER jersey to the game.

Maybe (likely) I'm oversensitive about this stuff, but why are you wearing Pittsburgh's black and gold to a game against the BRUINS. Ignoring the fact that you're wearing a football jersey to a hockey game, AND that the jersey represents neither city involved in the game ... you're supposed to be rocking the red, not pimping the opposition's colors just because one of your other teams has a game tomorrow. Ridiculous.

P.S. we hate Pittsburgh in the Verizon Center. Your Steelers jersey implies Penguin allegiances that just cannot be tolerated in our building.
 

Alexander Semin pretty much thinks Sidney Crosby sucks...

Greg Wyshynski, who I frequently see in the press box at Verizon Center and have talked to a couple times (NAME DROP NAME DROP NAME DROP ... I'm sure he couldn't pick me out of a one-person lineup) has posted an interview with Alexander Semin, from Russian to English by way of Sovetsky Sport's Dmitry Chesnokov.

And Semin didn't hold back when it came to everyone's favorite flightless fowl.

What's so special about [Crosby]? I don't see anything special there. Yes, he does skate well, has a good head, good pass. But there's nothing else. Even if you compare him to Patrick Kane from Chicago ... [Kane] is a much more interesting player. The way he moves, his deking abilities, his thinking on the ice and his anticipation of the play is so superb.

I think that if you take any player, even if he is "dead wood," and start promoting him, you'll get a star. Especially if he scores 100 points. No one is going to care about anyone else. No one is going to care whether he possesses great skill. Let's say you put someone in front of the net and let him deflect pucks in, and he scored 50 goals; everyone will say "Wow!" and then hand him a $10 million per year contract. That's what they like here.

Yeah that's also a pretty nice swipe at North American hockey and the NHL in general, but I think us Washingtonians are willing to look past that and commend Sasha Semin for throwing some message board signature material our way.

Read the full interview here. It's worth it.
 

Capitals 2008-2009 Season Preview: Multimedia Style

I'm not sure if this is the world's longest Capitals season preview or not, but at over 2,500 words AND a 25-minute podcast to boot, I think Abram Fox and I really came through with a thorough look at the Caps upcoming season for DC Sports Box.

Most of the message board posters and stat geeks and people trawling the Web all day for new Caps info aren't going to learn a whole lot, but there's plenty of info for the casual hockey fan or someone not really familiar with the Caps. And the podcast includes more opinion and even some predictions for the season.

Check out the preview article here:
Capitals Season Preview: High Expectations for '08-'09

And listen to the podcast here:
2008-2009 Season Preview podcast
 

Bruce Boudreau Mercedes Commercial

I'll give him credit in that it's better than the Eddie Jordan commercial (also for American Service Center) where the salesman, who somehow is a worse actor than either Jordan OR Bruce Boudreau, has to sell the Wizards coach on a Benz before the 24-second clock runs out.

For your viewing pleasure:


Is it bad that my first thought was, "We may be getting a little ahead of ourselves..."?
 

From Ted's Take: Ovechkin on ESPN The Magazine cover

Caps owner Ted Leonsis uncovered a gem for your hockey-thirsty eyes. It's Alex Ovechkin in an election-themed shot on the cover of the Oct. 6 issue of ESPN The Magazine.

I don't want to take eyes away from his blog by posting the image here (pissing off the owner of a franchise that you cover ... probably not a good idea), but let me just say it's definitely worth a click.

I especially like the teaser: "One man's plan to make Washington great again." We can save the debate over whether not the "again" part is warranted for a later date...

Check it out.

And BRING ON HOCKEY SEASON!!!