Caps vs. Panthers 1-19-2008 Wrap Up

The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com.

The Neutral Observers:

NHL.com AP Wire.

The Other Side:

Miami Herald: rally falls short, exciting start.

Final Thoughts:

And so ends the crucial five game homestand with the Caps posting a 4-1 record and earning 8 of the possible 10 points. The Caps head out for two road games with a three game winning streak and now find themselves on the edge of the playoff race. Not in the playoffs, but on the edge of it as the Caps are 5 points out of eighth place with no games in hand this morning. Bruce Boudreau is right when he says "we've officially reached mediocrity." Now the crazy thing is that the Caps are only 3 points behind Carolina for the Division lead and have three games in hand on the Canes. After last night's game, the Caps have 14 games left in the Division and 7 of them are the last seven games of the season. The first place Canes lead the last place Ning by only 7 points and the Ning have two games in hand on the Canes. Division games are going to become extra important down the stretch as winning the Southeast Division is the Caps best chance for making the playoffs this season. I figure that the Caps will need to win at least 9 of the 14 remaining Divisional games in regulation in order to have a real chance at making the playoffs. Otherwise, I just don't see how we can climb past the teams ahead of us in the Eastern Conference without the benefit of an insane hot streak.

47 down, 35 to go.