Tied For First
Washington just defeated Carolina tonight in an impressive 4-1 beatdown in which the Caps outplayed Carolina in every aspect of the game. Its clear that the moves Washington made at the trade deadline will go down as some of the best in history. Bringing in Sergei Federov has brought veteran leadership, savy, and face-off skills (he won 75% of them tonight). Matt Cooke has added a grit, tenacity, and timely scoring. Cristobal Huet has given them one of the top five goalies post-strike in the NHL. And you can see it rubbing off. Look at Brooks Laich and Alexander Semin, both off to rough starts but are now thriving. Especially Laich. He's always been long on talent but the Caps have never had a stable, positve group of veterans to help bring him along. Federov and Cooke have brought that.
This is not a team that anybody in the Eastern Conference wants anything to do with because they aren't what the same team they were two months ago. They have a superstar, a top tier goalie, veteran leaders, young horses, and solid role players. They will do some damage when they get into the playoffs.
Sweet!
Posted by: Spank That Donkey | April 01, 2008 at 11:56 PM
Listened to the game on the net last night and what was striking was hearing the M!V!P! chants of the crowd over Kolbe's call after Ovechkin scored to make it 4-1. Electrifying!
I know the Caps don't technically control their own destiny, but if they win these final two games there is no doubt Washington will make it.
Posted by: George Templeton | April 02, 2008 at 02:01 PM