If the Flyers take down the Pens this afternoon (at home), they'll snag the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and a date with the Caps. Anything less than a win and the Caps will face the Sens. A brief recap of the season series with each:Ottawa
- Capitals 4, Senators 1 (11/8/07)
- Capitals 8, Senators 6 (12/29/07)
- Capitals 6, Senators 3 (1/1/08)
- Capitals 4, Senators 2 (1/15/08)
- Flyers 3, Capitals 2 (11/2/07)
- Capitals 4, Flyers 3 (OT) (11/23/07)
- Flyers 6, Capitals 4 (1/13/08)
- Capitals 4, Flyers 3 (2/6/08)
So what say ye? Would you prefer a beat up and rudderless Sens team or the Flyers squad against whom this whole run started back on the day after Thanksgiving?
30 comments:
gimme ottowa
Common sense would say Ottawa - they've nosedived this spring and if it weren't for the Canes losing to Florida, the Caps would have bumped them out of the playoffs entirely. Their defense is porous, their goaltending unreliable, and Alfredsson and Fisher are injured. On paper, it's not even a competition.
But everything starts fresh in the playoffs, so you can throw that all out the window. They made it to the Finals last year, and the team could figure out how to do it again.
As a Caps fan, I'd rather beat the Flyers of course, but they're a bit scarier.
The only team that "Scares" me is Detroit. I think the Caps can take anyone.
I'd rather Philly. I've friends who are Philly fans, and it's time for some bragging rights to be resolved.
Ottawa. Just to keep all those Philly thugs (and their hockey team) out of our building.
Ottawa - for obvious reasons regarding the sens, but also I'd rather see the Pens and Flyers beat each other up in the first round.
Without getting too far ahead of ourselves: can someone remind me how the 2nd round is seeded again?
OTT. As good as the Caps have been from late November on, the Sens have been bad.
Ottawa. The Flyers are probably the team in the East with the best shot of taking down the Pens, and I'd love for it to happen in the first round. I know the Caps won't be able to steamroll the Sens like we did during the season, but at least the guys will have confidence going into the games.
My preference is Ottawa for two reasons:
1) We have confidence against the Sens which gives our young squad an early mental advantage.
2) After wathcing the game between the Pens and Flyers, there's a good chance the Flyers would be looking to take out OV via cheap shot. Let them slug it out with Crosby, et. al.
I say ottawa only because I'd like to see, as someone mentioned, philly and pittsburgh take everything out of one another and ruin each other physically. I hate 'em both, so seeing them tear each other down and making all the easier for the next team would be great.
Also, what ted said. Philly started off the season cheap shotting people left and right and haven't let up any. Pass on that shit.
And to be totally honest, I think this team has the capacity to steamroll anyone. Not at all saying it's going to or even likely to happen. But I know they have talent just oozing out of every orifice, and while every team has their share of talent, I think we have more than any other team right now. All the more reason ottawa would be a good first round team, I think we've got the capacity to just dogpile 'em.
neither will be an easy matchup, especially missing Mo and Schultz--OTT, even without Alfredsson, has great team speed and still has two guys who can fill it up with Spezza and Heatley. We match up well vs. their centers.
Philly has good size and is playing pretty well right now. We have more speed and skill on the wings, and we can handle the physical teams pretty well.
The biggest difference is in the net, where we have a huge advantage over both...despite the season sweep vs. OTT, I like our chances against Philly better
Ottawa. For a few reasons:
-- Their fans are, at the very least, human beings. Not some rancid and festering . . . well, best not to go there. Plus they have to come from a bit further away to torture and annoy us.
-- The Sens are reeling a bit and might be ripe for the plucking. And our boys will have some confidence in their prowess vs. the Sens.
-- Ditto what everybody else said about the Gweens and Fly-droppings beating each other up. A shame one or the other of them will survive it.
-- The cool my capital vs. your capital bit. Kinda cute.
Another point about Ottawa - they don't travel to D.C. nearly as well as Philly does. If it's Caps/Sens, Verizon will be all Caps fans. If it's Caps/Flyers? Not as much.
Ottawa, I don't want to see Flyers in the first...
Senators. Philly's fairly injured, but they will most likely be determined to bang up whoever they face as much as beat them. I'd like to make it to round 2 as healthy as possible. Plus a Philly-Pittsburgh series could be one for the ages.
Forgot to ask;
I'm not very savvy on the playoff schedules, I barely even remember the playoffs. (I stop paying attention when the caps don't make it, I just don't care)
Anyone knows when we find out the playoff schedules?
@ Hazardous: We should find out tonight, but since the Wizards have a home game Wednesday night, it'll likely be Thursday or Friday for Game 1 and Sunday for Game two (Wiz play at home on Saturday).
I think the official schedule will come out tonight after the last game is played. But from what Leonsis said in an interview, the first game will be on Thursday due to a Wizards game on Wed. Logic what dictate that the second home game will come on Saturday.
On a side note. As a STH, I was giddy when I received my playoff tickets which include the Stanley Cup round. How sweet it is to already have those in hand!
Oops. JP beat me to the punch. Didn't know there was another Wiz game on Saturday too.
Sadly, I think who we get for a first round opponent depends on who the Pens want us to have. And I mean that.
Mouse,
The Pens have tremendous incentive to win today. If they do, they'll have home ice for the duration of the playoffs and will have a more favorable matchup in later rounds. I think they'd rather play to have home ice if they face Montreal than sacrifice it to watch Briere spear Ovy.
A lot of folks from the Canadian embassy turn out for the Ottawa games, so I'd expect some loyal opposition in the building if we play the Sens. Which is fine, and to me, much finer than the busloads of drunks from Philadelphia.
At 11 am, "best available" seats on Ticketmaster were in the upper rows of the 400s. I suppose it's too much to hope for that it was fans, not brokers, who sold out the lower bowl already.
I'll take anyone. Bring it. Obviously the numbers look a little better against ottawa (and they might be missing alfie & fisher). I don't care though. I'm reminded of a family guy episode when joe screams "BRING IT!!!!!". Thats how I feel
Hey JP! I know we have all been caught up in this push for the playoffs, but we have lost 2 D-men in the last 3 games? Can anybody get some info on this?
good arguments for OTT, all.
Have to think OUR biggest weakness right now is on D, and OTT is more capable of expoiting that with their wing play.
Plus, I want to see OV bury Briere, that little cheap shot bitch. I think there is a current account payable on that.
Ottawa all the way, but it won't be happening. Philly plays the Caps really tough - and that's not cool for a first round series.
I also hope big Ted tries to get Caps fans seating priority over what I regard as the most asinine fans in hockey. Or any sport for that matter, but anyway....
In prior posts here, I have given the Caps organization a lot of flak for not making the right moves this past off-season.
I'll gladly take them back now since they've made up for everything, starting with the Ovie deal and then putting "The Gremlin" behind the bench. I even wrote some small Capitals praise over on my non-hockey site today as well.
Getting Cooker, Feds and Huey at the deadline restored my complete faith in this season.
I just hope management doesn't sit on their hands this off-season...because I don't want to have something to come here and bitch about. With a couple more key signings, Verizon Center seats will continue to have butts in them - and not just the bandwagoners that have turned out over the past few weeks.
No matter what the playoff results are over the next few weeks or more, hockey has a real potential to become big in Washington again, and I'm very excited about it. I just hope the ball isn't dropped.
Go Caps!
Let's go Flyers!!
Flyers want no piece of this. How's that $7 mil/per Briere thing working out? Almost a point a game anyway, I guess that makes up for being -22. I guess.
Look for the Flyers to be their usual-"bush league"-selves, since the only thing they have success with are special teams.
Biron - LOL. Soft goal over/under is set at 4.
Gimme the flyers. We haven't seen 'em since the trade deadline. We'd lay back with Ottawa.
Pretty even match up on defense (even with Mo and Sarge missing). Offensively, even though Philly has more goals across 82 games, they certainly don't since the trade deadline. I really think that bigger is better. I just wanna watch us dig the puck outta the corner, and make them pay because their breakout game is too slow for our forecheck.
I could be wrong, but just my take on the whole thing. Let Ottawa go give someone else a hard time.
They will.
If we don't get our PP going we aren't going to make it far.
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