Happy New Years

Happy New Year early! I hope everyone doesn't get too drunk tonight, and if you do, grab a cab or metro back home.

The Caps have closed out the year with a huge victory against the Senators. Let's hope that the momentum can keep rolling into '08. I may make the claim again that the Caps have a chance to get into the playoffs if they keep this up. It appears that everyone is working together well and they have been playing very sharp. I feel like January is going to be a huge month for the Caps and this month will determine whether they make the playoffs or not.

An Impressive Win

Tonight the Caps had an amazing performance in Ottawa against the league leading Senators. This game was one of the most enjoyable games I've watched this season regardless of the team. If you're a fan of the NHL these are amazing games to see. There was plenty of scoring and lots of action, not to mention a great fight by Brashear. I was a little concerned that Ovechkin might over do it with an injury in the previous game in Pittsburgh, but he had an outstanding night, a career best 4 goal game and 1 assist.

To me it's simply amazing watching the Caps play now. They have improved so much since Bruce Boudreau took the helm. Watching each game is electrifying now that everyone seems to be firing on all cylinders. I hope that this translates into more fans coming to the Verizon Center to watch some of the games in person, because they are missing some amazing hockey.

The Caps continue to play well but I've noticed lately that they tend to get lulled into a comfort zone when gaining a lead heading into the 3rd period. This was evident in their previous game against the Penguins on Thursday. The Caps were up 3-2 in the 3rd and allowed the Penguins to come back to score the tying goal and eventually surrendered the game in overtime, losing 4-3. Is this due to lack of conditioning, the goal tending situation, or mental errors of the basic fundamentals in the late stages of the game? Time will tell.