Westward Bound

The Capitals did it.  Braden Holtby pulled off his best Jaro Halak impression, slamming the door for almost 8 straight periods, helping the Capitals advance to their first Stanley Cup in 20 years.  Alex Ovechkin picked up a nifty game winner, too.

On to Vegas.

Capitals @ Lightning, Game 7, Eastern Conference Finals

It is finally here.  What we have been waiting for all day, checking the clock, waiting to run out of work like Fred Flintstone, grab a cold one, and settle in.

Game 7.  Eastern Conference Finals.  A chance at redemption, a last hurrah.  The most exciting time in sports.  The odds are against the Capitals, but no matter; all will be decided on the ice.

Prediction: Caps 2, Lightning 1.

Ovechkin and Kuznetsov with the goals for the Capitals, and Kucherov for the Lightning.

And then onto Vegas.

Let's go!

Jake Guentzel will not have hearing for his cheap shot on John Carlson

As expected, Jake Guentzel will not have a hearing for his cheap shot on an unsuspecting John Carlson. 

Had the roles been reversed, this probably would have been called a little differently.

No matter though.  A 5'11" rookie who has to hide behind the referees will get his sooner rather than later.  Further, the Capitals should pay it forward and spend all of game 6 pummeling Sidney Crosby - how effective can Guentzel be without Crosby feeding him layups? 

Win it for Willy continues tomorrow night, in what should be the last game of the series.

Tom Wilson suspended for 3 games

Tom Wilson received a three game suspension for hitting a Penguin.  Against anyone else, this might be one game if anything at all.

When was the last time a coach revealed the extent of an injury during the playoffs?  When Brooks Orpik injured Roman Polak last season, Mike Babcock didn't whine to the media about the injury.

But, in typical Pittsburgh fashion, that is exactly what Mike Sullivan did.  He was a whiner on the ice, and now as a coach, he has amplified his whining to new Pittsburghian heights.

Stay classy Shitsburgh.

Why the NHL messed up the Tom Wilson hit

According to rule 53.2:

A minor penalty shall be imposed on any player on the ice who throws his stick or any part thereof or any other object in the direction of the puck or an opponent in any zone, except when such act has been penalized by the assessment of a penalty shot or the awarding of a goal.

In throwing his glove at the Capitals bench, Zach Aston-Reese should have received a minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

It is yet another clear indicator of the NHL's pro-Pittsburgh bias that the penalty was not assessed.