Game 5 In The Books

I have to admit something here and I know I am not alone. It is very difficult for me to get into watching the playoffs when my team didn't even come close to qualifying. Today is June 7th, the last time the Capitals played was April 7th and for all intents and purposes, the Caps were out of the playoff picture sometime in February. So in short unless there is some sort of suspense involved in the game, it is very difficult for me to watch a hockey game right now between two teams I don't have any real strong feelings towards even though I'm developing a hatred for the Thug Ducks.

Especially a game like last night's where it was glaringly obvious that Ottawa was just not going to win that hockey game no matter what they did. Ottawa was even clearly aware of this fact. Clue #1 was what turned out to be the Cup winning goal credited to Travis Moen. When Chris Phillips and Ray Emery got their wires crossed and the puck ended up in their net without any pressure. You were only kidding yourself if you thought it wasn't over yet and if you needed any other evidence; Wade Redden's stick breaking on the point in the third period as the puck arrived and Antoine Vermette not even getting a shot off on a penalty shot were other glaringly obvious indications that Anaheim was winning the Cup last night.

That game was so in the bag for the Thug Ducks that the Hockey Gods did not feel at all compelled to punish them for having the Stanley Cup Championship banner already in the rafters waiting to be deployed. Is there a Caps fan out there that thinks the Caps could get away with this? I hope not because you're dead wrong to think so.

During Game 4 Doc Emerick mentioned that only four teams in the history of the NHL had ever won the Stanley Cup while leading the league in PIMs during the regular season. Anaheim becomes #5 and now we get to hear about this from the Ultimate Fighting on Ice fans for at least the next ten seasons. Though I do give Anaheim (and Ottawa too) full credit for not gooning things up once the outcome was decided.

So now we head into the offseason. Trade and Free Agent rumors now become stock and trade among puckheads until training camp opens in September. Live hockey won't be seen until then as well and we'll hear in about 3 1/2- 4 weeks who, where, and when we'll be playing in the 2007-2008 regular season.

Of course the draft is coming up in just two weeks; I'm not a draft geek for many different reasons and sorry, I don't care very much for draft day parties. As I've said before, I find them rather boring for the most part.

As for this site, things will keep going. Like I have throughout the playoffs, I'll post on the Caps when conditions warrant but mostly I'll shoot my mouth off on whatever interests me, especially if it involves the local teams. I also plan to do a site redesign in the coming months. I'll provide more links and try to have a decent organization of them. I'll also try some different things to see how they go so please don't go anywhere. Thanks!