Caps @ Ning 3-20-2010 Wrap Up

Caps "Magic Numbers" (Caps Points Earned+Lost by team named) to clinch:
Playoff Spot: Clinched 3/11
Southeast Division Championship: Clinched 3/11
Eastern Conference #1 Seed: 5 New Jersey and Pittsburgh (Caps cannot win the tiebreaker against these teams, hence the extra point added 11 of 14 eliminated)
President's Trophy: 13 Chicago (Detroit eliminated 19th of 29)


The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post.  Caps.com.

The Neutral Observers:

NHL.com.  AP Wire.

The Other Side:

St. Petersburg Times: not enough, more responsibility.  Tampa Tribune: further back, marketing madness, farm and other reports.

Final Thoughts:

We ran some quick and dirty numbers but with two wins in the two games this week and a little bit of a help, the Caps can wrap up the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference, before any other team in the NHL wraps up a playoff spot.  That should give you an idea of how badly the Caps have lapped the field here, especially in the Eastern Conference, and why we've often heard from other teams that they played a great game but still couldn't get within one goal of the Caps on their home ice.

And what is really scary, now the every other night run of 9 games in 17 days is over.  Bruce Boudreau is going to have plenty of practice time now to improve the systems play which according to Boudreau, what he needs to get this team playing as well as it can.

72 down, 10 to go.