Make Lemons... » caps

Week 15: by the numbers siberian #tigersemin vs. selfish saskatchewanian

michelle — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:52:06 +0000

Halfway thru the season and heading into the All-Star Break….

Sasha – Paticipated in Hockey’N Heels – - I hear there was much #winking . Otherwise pretty quiet.

44 GP; 12 G; 16 A; +4; 21 Hits; 25 GvA; 32 TkA; 44PIM; 0% FOW

Laich – Stripped of the “A”… otherwise pretty quiet… well aside from being on the ice for a ton of Goals Against

48 GP; 9 G; 15 A; -9; 73 Hits; 14 GvA; 36 TkA; 12 PIM; 49% FOW

In conclusion Sasha seems to be on an upward trajectory and the parade to the penalty box has seriously done a 180….Laich… seems to have started the season strong… but now looks lost… I mean Minus 9???

Enjoy the break…. By The Numbers returns in 2 weeks

Week 14: by the numbers siberian #tigersemin vs. selfish saskatchewanian

michelle — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:23:45 +0000

How cute was Sasha jumping on Brouwer?

5000 pts of cute… thats how much.

Sasha seems to have turned the corner….rumors are picking up about a possible contract extension….
How lame is this Tee shirt that they are selling at Verizon? Minus 5000 pts

Numbers…

Sasha -

39 GP; 11 G; 13 A; -1; 42 PIM; 20 H; 22 GvA; 29 TkA; 0% FOW
Laich -

43 GP; 8 G; 15 A; -7; 12 PIM; 65 H; 12 GvA; 31 TkA; 51% FOW

Week 13: by the numbers siberian #tigersemin vs. selfish saskatchewanian

michelle — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:05:32 +0000

short and quick…. cause … west coast road trip means i am down on sleep.
Sasha missed the Calgary game with either a cut arm or sore neck. San Jose….had an assist and got ka-bonged but Ovi tackled the offender to stand up for him – LA – Sasha lead the team +2 and got an assist… woot

Laich – Flames – seemed invisible to me… did he play that game? San Jose – invisible to me and the score sheet… Ha! – LA – Invisible again? On the top line and can’t get the puck to Ovi? Seems like a problem to me.

So Laich had Nicky’s “A” while Backstrom missed the San Jose and Kings games…. And the Caps lost both games …co-incidence? I think not.

OK… decided to add stats….

Sasha :

36 GP – 10 G, 12 A, -2, 42 PIM, 20 H, 18 GvA, 26 TkA

Laich

40 GP – 8 G, 13 A, -7, 12 PIM, 59 H, 10 GvA, 28 TkA

Keep it up Sasha!

DC…. Hockey Town.

michelle — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 13:30:43 +0000

January 1st is notorious for being a big football college bowl day (well… it was until a few years ago when they started spreading them out over a week or two). Enter the NHL trying to horn in with the Winter Classic. Last year the Caps played and I hosted an awesome party (even though I had to keep moving the start time… due to the game being pushed back to 7pm from a 1pm start).

This year the game was moved to the 2nd because the 1st was a Sunday and apparently the NHL didn’t want to compete with the NFL. Though there were still some college bowl games being played. Friend and I decided to brave it and try to watch the game at a bar in DC. We eneded up at Penn Quarter Sports Tavern (PQST)…. arrived around 1:45 for the 3pm start time. PQST is 2 levels…. we walked in and the 1st floor was packed… so we headed upstairs….

We snagged 2 seats at the bar (after asking the bartender if he would put the hockey game on). We actually got him to put the NHL Network pre-game show on…. until 2 football fans showed up behind us and asked for some college game (though the bartender told him they could only have it until 3pm…….) BUT then we noticed the next TV over was playing the Ravens game from Sunday…. so we asked if that could be changed… since it wasn’t live. Score.

Then some Flyers fans showed up. Then some guys at another table asked for hockey to be put on the TV nearest them also….Then the football people behind us got pissed off and left… Ha! Then they put one whole wall of TVs on NBC for the #WinterClassic…….. and then… they turned on the sound… without us even having to ask. Awesomesauce.

Now can someone in this hockey town tell me what the hell is going on with Alex Semin and “The Cut” on his arm??

Week 12: by the numbers siberian #tigersemin vs. selfish saskatchewanian

michelle — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 13:11:43 +0000

Could this be the start of a turn around for Sasha? Let’s hope so…. He had a great week last week….. 2 Goals against the Rangers…. 2 Assists against the Sabres, and a Goal against the Blue Jackets. Plus the mullet is back and better than ever

No real media stuff to talk about…. didn’t see anything great or stupid from either of them… so its strictly by the numbers this week….

Sasha -

GP 34 – 10 G, 10 A, -3, 40 PIM (No longer team leader), 0 FOW%, 20 Hits, 18 GvA, 24 TkA,

Laich -

GP 37 – 8 G, 13 A, -4, 12 PIM, 50.8 FOW%, 52 Hits, 10 GvA, 27 TkA,

Pretty similar…. Here’s to another awesome week for Sasha!

Week 11: by the numbers siberian #tigersemin vs. selfish saskatchewanian

michelle — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 17:32:44 +0000

Its like I’m in a bad dream that I can’t wake up from…. (Sasha did have a very good week….A goal, 2 Assists, and managed to basically commit two penalties and not get sent to the box for them!! He even showed up on the PK for about 30 seconds during last nights sh*t show with the Sabres…Yes I know Laich had a goal against NJ. Guess what …I don’t care! He also had a folksy schticky moment during that “what the Caps wish for Xmas” video… where 2 seconds after Nuevy said he wished for the Stanley Cup… Laich countered with “You don’t wish for the cup…. you earn it.” #Vomit

So this week I give you my 3 wishes for the Caps:

1) Semin back to regular PK duty. How else are you gonna get a shortie in a close game?

2) More Pearl Jam at Verizon Center (Bonus if Pearl Jam announces a tour where they have an actual date at VC this spring/summer or fall)

3) End 8-19-28. It apparently made another appearance at practice this morning. I HATE it…. get 22 off the 4th line and put him back with 8/19… and then put Sasha with 90/20… isn’t this the lines we had during the first 7 games?

Borrowed from RMNB

Guess who went to Newark and didn’t get shot?

michelle — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 14:15:57 +0000

Me!!

So way back late last summer a friend and I were in a bar and looking at the Caps schedule. Next thing you know we had tickets to the Dec 23 Caps v Devils game via StubHub (gotta love technology). The original plan was to drive up and then back right after the game, but after thinking about it … we opted to take the BoltBus and get a hotel.

So the Caps season started and December got closer and closer…. and well lets not talk about that ….

Finally… its the morning of the 23rd. I drove to Union Station (My 2nd drive into DC this year! Hooray!), met my friend and hopped on the BoltBus. Technically a 4 hour drive it took 5 with Holiday traffic. Hotel was right across the street from the bus/train station. So we checked in… I put on my Caps jersey (Alternate White Carlson) and we set off to find somewhere to eat and pre-game.

We ended up at a bar across from the Prudential Center (After we passed the Caps trainers and Smitty walking down the street… Haha). The bar was pretty empty so we grabbed two seats at the bar and settled in …

Over the next 30 minutes Devs fans started straggling in…but aside from an occasional “Oh Caps fans showing up early…” comment we were left alone………….. Until arund maybe 5:30… when a large and loud group of people came in….. Saw us and one guy immediately started yelling “Caps Fans suck!!!” Um Ok then… whatever. We just ignored them. They stopped for a bit…. Then maybe half an hour later one comes up to the bar, turns and starts yelling in my ear “Caps Suck! Caps Suck!” Stay Classy New Jersey! (Two of his friends later came over and apologized for the idiot and proceeded to show us video they had just taken of various Caps kicking around the soccer ball… and they seemed impressed when my friend pointed out which one was Erskine).

During all of this… I started freaking out that someone was gonna throw something on my white jersey… and was kinda wishing I had brought my red Semin with me instead… but the white remained untouched. Phew.

Ok… time to head in for the game….. walking around we went to go in the main entrance. Staff member threw open the door and proceeded to say “Sorry … we’re all full.” Oh. Haha. It’s a joke. So in we go… and Prudential Center has fake snow falling on you as you go up the escalator…….. this may be the coolest thing EVER. Too bad I was so out of sorts due to Jokey McJokerson that I didn’t get my camera out to take a picture.

Went to our seats… they were pretty decent … right behind the net… 11 rows back. Hockey games right before Xmas are tons of fun… because people dress festive and this was no different. Too bad after 2 periods Caps were down 3-0….Somehow they scored 3 goals in the 3rd to tie it up… OT was scoreless… but Caps lose in SO (how you don’t send Alex Semin out to shoot 1st or 2nd I’ll never know … but whatever).

Games over… back to another bar….luckily we weren’t harrassed at all after the game.

Week 10: by the numbers siberian #tigersemin vs. selfish saskatchewanian

michelle — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 18:13:08 +0000

Another all around Ugh week.

But we got some highs and lows!

Sasha -

Scored a goal! Finally!! Plus 1000

Got feisty with Max Talbot – Plus 1000 ( Plus another 1000 if the exchange is shown tomorrow night on HBO 24/7)

Wasn’t traded before the Xmas roster freeze…….. Hooray!!!

Laich -

Scored the game winning goal for Colorado…….. oops. – Minus 1000

Week 8: by the numbers siberian #tigersemin vs. selfish saskatchewanian

michelle — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:27:30 +0000

Week 1 of the Dale Hunter era….. Changes are coming…but results still seem to be the same…

2 Losses to STL and PIT… Win against OTT… and a terrible game against FLA….

Sasha missed the last 2 games due to shoulder injury (Thanks Jordan Staal……. the only Staal I actually liked!)

last week was crazy busy…. so this will be short and quick….

Laich…

The horrific Window radio commercial seems to have been re-done and Laich’s voice got the ax!!! — Plus 5000

Sasha…

Someone ran a 15K race wearing a Semin 28 cap…. (yes it was me ) — Plus 5000

Its a DRAW!!!

Week 7: by the numbers siberian #tigersemin vs. selfish saskatchewanian

michelle — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 13:33:44 +0000

This week was crazy. Started with Sasha being a healthy scratch (I Know!) and ended with Bruce Boudreau getting fired.

So instead of doing the usual wrap up and comparison…. I will offer this instead:

A lot of people (bloggers, analysts (Hi Mike Milbury!), general fans) are laying BB getting fired at Ovi’s (and partially Semin’s) feet by saying they just stopped playing. And while I can agree that Ovi has looked disinterested for the last few weeks… if a guy’s (Semin) ass is sitting in the press box as a healthy scratch I don’t know how you can say he’s stopped playing … especially when he comes back the next game and has a really good game. And if Ovi really did stop playing … why didn’t BB just scratch him and let Laich lead the team to the promised land??

Anyway….I’m gonna throw this out there….

Last Season was Stay Angry… (and we all saw how well that worked)…. this season became “The Season of Accountability”….. why? Based on comments Laich made to the press after he signed his new deal the one that stuck out to me was “Assurances were made to me…..”. Assurances about what? Happy-go-lucky time is over? Bring on accountability… and fitness tests?!?!

So the season started and it seemed like life was grand… the Caps were winning… but Ovi was down on ice time… and Sasha was wracking up penalties like they were bedazzled t-shirts. And sadness started to set in. Then Ovi was benched during a game. Then Semin was benched during a game. Then scratched…. but what happened to the idiot (Laich) that was off trying to celebrate a goal he didn’t score which then led directly to the other team actually scoring a goal? Nothing. Not a thing? Why? Some say Gabby has his favorites (namely Nicky, Laich, and Green…) and these guys can do no wrong in BB’s eyes. Hmmmm.

The interesting quote I heard in GMGM’s presser yesterday was (and this is paraphrased) “There were some things I noticed in training camp that I didn’t like, but I let them go…”. Perhaps he noticed BB playing favorites and letting some people slide on things…. Perhaps not. Perhaps he noticed Ovi already tuning BB out… Perhaps not.

Just remember there are 2 sides to every story…. and the one thats usually true is a hybrid of both….

It will be interesting to see how the next few weeks play out…. and how different people respond to the new coach…