Caps vs. Avalanche 2-20-2009 Preview

Washington Capitals (37-21; 79 points; 1st Southeast Division, 3rd Eastern Conference, 5th Overall) vs. Colorado Avalanche (27-31; 55 points; 5th Northwest Division, 15th Western Conference, 25th Overall):
Caps Game #59, Home Game #29, NHL Game #871

Verizon Center, Washington, DC. 7:08 pm. Washington TV: Comcast Sportsnet Mid-Atlantic. Radio: WFED 1500-AM. Colorado TV: Altitude Network 2 Radio: KCKK-1510AM. NHL Center Ice, Comcast Sportsnet Mid-Atlantic feed, Altitude Network 2 feed.

Tonight the Caps play their last game at home against a Western Conference team this season when the Colorado Avalanche pay a visit to the Phone Booth. The Caps have won three in a row and four of their last five but are 5-3 against the Western Conference on home ice this season and 7-9 overall with just 1 win against the Northwest Division. The Avalanche defeated the Ottawa Senators at home 3-2 in overtime on Tuesday night and are starting a six game East Coast road trip. Colorado has won their last two games after a four game losing streak.

What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com AP Wire.

Open Source Intelligence:

Denver Post: doing better somewhere else, on their way back. Rocky Mountain News: aiming to return, getting closer, job security.

What Do We Expect Tonight?:

With Colorado being the fourth worst defensive team and the Caps being the fourth best offensive team in the NHL; this game tonight should be over pretty quickly. But if we've learned anything about this Washington Capitals team, it is that they rarely if ever do things the easy way, especially against the lesser teams in the league. At least Colorado is in the bottom of the Western Conference as the middle-of-the-pack Western teams have given us the most problems at home this season. The hardest thing for the Caps tonight will be keeping their focus on tonight as Sunday's nationally televised showdown with the Penguin Scum looms on the horizon. We admit that we find Sunday's game much more interesting than tonight's but two points is two points and right now it could be the difference between and 2nd seed and 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference.

Caps Nut Official Prediction:

Caps 6
Avs 2
Winner by Semin

(3-0 on the season)