Best Game of the Season
The Washington Caps had the best game of their season last night. They blew a two goal lead and lost 4-2. So how could it have been the best game of their season? Simple. They showed that they weren't going to take crap from anybody. Since about mid-point last season, I had mentioned to some fellow fans that it seemed to me the Atlanta Thrashers were the dirtiest team in the league, and somehow got away with it all. They agreed. Maybe it was just us? No, Caps goaltender Olie Kolzig confirmed that in an interview and went on to say they hate that team. After Holik, Sutton, and other players continually getting away with slashes, elbows, and other various dirty plays, finally the last straw came with a little under two minutes left. Sutton purposefully (anyone who watches video of it cannot deny it was purposeful, if they would, they are a homer and a complete moron to the sport of hockey) hit 21 year old rookie defenseman Mike Green up high with an elbow. Ben Clymer decided it was the last straw and went after him. After the refs cleared it up, I was interested to see how Hanlon would handle this. On the ice for the now 3 on 3 play stepped Donald Brashear, Matt Bradley, and John Erskine.
From this point on, the Caps laid a physical beating, leaving Vitaly Vishnevsky bloody. Sutherby and Heward then got into fights of their own on the next two shifts. Dainius Zubrus looked as if he was ready to go. As he was talking to the official, Kovalchuk was talking trash from the bench. But oh, Kovalchuk is real tough. That can be proven. When Clymer came in to protect Green, Kovalchuck jumped in there for his team like any player should. Yet, Chris Clark came to pull him away. This is routine in a hockey pile-up. So Kovalchuck turns around and starts punching an injured Chris Clark (who is wearing a face protector that comes down around the jaws infront of the chin and mouth). This is the definition of toughness. Attacking an injured player. Clark was ready to fight back despite his injury, however things started getting separated by officials. Zubrus was furious and his face was red, as he and Kovalchuk screamed at each other, probably in Russian.
At the end, Mellanby purposefully went after Jaime Heward, who is not a fighter, instead of Matt Pettinger who willingly would fight a guy if needed, and has. Players know who the fighters in the league are. Mellanby is real tough for going after a non-fighter. What leadership. If you haven't detected my sarcasm, either you are an Atlanta fan who is blind, or you just never catch sarcasm. Coaches Hartley and Hanlon were yapping away at each other as well. Then in the post-game press conference, Hartley has the nerve to say he has no idea why the Washington Capitals would do what they did. Yet Hanlon stated the reason and said his team has tough players and he does not apologize for that. This Atlanta team has pulled BS like this before. They are dirty and dispicable. They got what they had coming, a physical beating. This was a night where you forget the score, and show them and the reast of the league that you don't f*** with this team. And I am onboard with Coach Hanlon. I am proud of them as well. Best game of this season for the Caps, as a team.
Watch out for when the Caps face the Thrashers next in Atlanta on December 15th.
The Washington Caps had the best game of their season last night. They blew a two goal lead and lost 4-2. So how could it have been the best game of their season? Simple. They showed that they weren't going to take crap from anybody. Since about mid-point last season, I had mentioned to some fellow fans that it seemed to me the Atlanta Thrashers were the dirtiest team in the league, and somehow got away with it all. They agreed. Maybe it was just us? No, Caps goaltender Olie Kolzig confirmed that in an interview and went on to say they hate that team. After Holik, Sutton, and other players continually getting away with slashes, elbows, and other various dirty plays, finally the last straw came with a little under two minutes left. Sutton purposefully (anyone who watches video of it cannot deny it was purposeful, if they would, they are a homer and a complete moron to the sport of hockey) hit 21 year old rookie defenseman Mike Green up high with an elbow. Ben Clymer decided it was the last straw and went after him. After the refs cleared it up, I was interested to see how Hanlon would handle this. On the ice for the now 3 on 3 play stepped Donald Brashear, Matt Bradley, and John Erskine.
From this point on, the Caps laid a physical beating, leaving Vitaly Vishnevsky bloody. Sutherby and Heward then got into fights of their own on the next two shifts. Dainius Zubrus looked as if he was ready to go. As he was talking to the official, Kovalchuk was talking trash from the bench. But oh, Kovalchuk is real tough. That can be proven. When Clymer came in to protect Green, Kovalchuck jumped in there for his team like any player should. Yet, Chris Clark came to pull him away. This is routine in a hockey pile-up. So Kovalchuck turns around and starts punching an injured Chris Clark (who is wearing a face protector that comes down around the jaws infront of the chin and mouth). This is the definition of toughness. Attacking an injured player. Clark was ready to fight back despite his injury, however things started getting separated by officials. Zubrus was furious and his face was red, as he and Kovalchuk screamed at each other, probably in Russian.
At the end, Mellanby purposefully went after Jaime Heward, who is not a fighter, instead of Matt Pettinger who willingly would fight a guy if needed, and has. Players know who the fighters in the league are. Mellanby is real tough for going after a non-fighter. What leadership. If you haven't detected my sarcasm, either you are an Atlanta fan who is blind, or you just never catch sarcasm. Coaches Hartley and Hanlon were yapping away at each other as well. Then in the post-game press conference, Hartley has the nerve to say he has no idea why the Washington Capitals would do what they did. Yet Hanlon stated the reason and said his team has tough players and he does not apologize for that. This Atlanta team has pulled BS like this before. They are dirty and dispicable. They got what they had coming, a physical beating. This was a night where you forget the score, and show them and the reast of the league that you don't f*** with this team. And I am onboard with Coach Hanlon. I am proud of them as well. Best game of this season for the Caps, as a team.
Watch out for when the Caps face the Thrashers next in Atlanta on December 15th.
posted by Old Time Hockey Fan at 8:06 AM
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