Caps vs. Panthers 4-5-2008 Wrap Up

The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post: comeback complete, real life fairy tale, Red Reign. Times: job well done, permagrin, resurgence. Caps.com.

The Neutral Observers:

NHL.com AP Wire.

The Other Side:

Miami Herald: falling short, helping hand. Raleigh News & Observer.

Final Thoughts:

And finally a special note to the nattering nabobs of negativism. You know who you are. You are the ones who have called Ted Leonsis a fraud and wanted him to sell the team to somebody who will move them out of the market "to take out of our misery." You are the ones who have bashed every move made by General Manager George McPhee and have called him incompetent from day one. You are the ones who swore up and down the street that the incessant losing would drive A.O. out of town the first chance he got combined with Ted being cheaper than Dishonest Abe Polin ever was. You are the ones who famously and proudly refused to renew your season tickets last year because the prices went up after back-to-back 70 point last place finishes and you weren't consulted ahead of time. You are the ones who moan that when McPhee does make a move to improve the team, he didn't make it soon enough. Where is Ilya Bryzgalov right now folks? (Let me guess, we would be winning the President's Trophy if Glen Hanlon had been fired at the end of last season and Bruce Boudreau had been coaching this team from the start of the season right?) You are the ones who never saw the direction this team was going and never believed that things would turn around. You are the ones that thought this franchise would be consigned to Arizona Cardinals/L.A. Clippers status forever. You don't deserve to celebrate this Southeast Division Title. You don't deserve to be a part of the Playoff Run about to start. We know you're disavowing your words right now. We know you're running away from what you were saying before this run happened. We know you are acting like you've been behind this franchise all along when in reality, you were only behind them when they won. You are the ones who have to live with your consciences and we're never going to let you forget what you've said and done. Sure we thought our progress would be slower than it has turned out to be, but we never doubted the direction this team was heading. We just thought it would be coming next year, not this year. We had faith in the direction and leadership of this franchise. We've stayed behind this team for these past five years and won't be jumping off the bandwagon should we go out in the first round.

Sorry folks, the bandwagon is full...

Myself and Myself alone

82 down, Round 1 to go.