That Game was Capital!

Holy Cow! When did the future Stanley Cup champions finally decide to show up and play? It took them longer than Gilbert's knee did to recover, but they finally did, and my God did they look good. Everything finally seemed to click for a Caps team that came into this series looking flat, apathetic and destined for a first round exit. But now, sparked behind the incredible play of Russian rookie goalie Simeon "Voila" Varlamov, the youngest goalie to ever record a shutout at Madison Square Garden, the Capitals are back to form and seeking a birth in the Stanley Cup finals. Varlamov may be still be young enough to go to senior prom, but this 20 year old goalie played like a veteran last night. Recording 32 saves in as many shots and pitching the first playoff shutout for the Caps since Olav Kolzig did it in 2003, Varlamov made believers once again out of disenchanted Washingtonians. This kid was literally a brick wall, straight Wayne Gretzky Hockey '96 style for N64. He contorted his body on ways I didn't think possible, at one point literally stretching finger to toe across the length of the net to prevent a brief onslaught of goals during the middle of the 3rd period.

I think its safe to say that the future in goal is looking bright. After years of relying on Veteran goalies who were past their prime (Kolzig, Huet, Theodore), the Caps finally have a guy that is up and coming, oozing with talent, and who can be molded like playdough (or cookie dough...any kind of dough) as the team sees fit. Varlamov is capable of being the cornerstone Washington so desperately needed as their campaign to become an NHL dynasty lives on. With 5 star players under the age of 24, this team is certainly one that's looking for long term glory.

But it wasn't just Simeon Voila-mov that contributed to what was a huge statement game for Washington. It looked like everyone finally dropped the "shoot first" mentality and actually played like a team. Niklas Backstrom recorded a hat trick of assists, including a ridiculous backhanded pass right to Alex Semin for a score, Ovechkin added 2 of his own and Semin was one near miss away from a hat trick in goals. Ovechkin contributed heavily on both the offensive and defensive ends, connecting with a magnificent poke check to stop a breakaway in the 2nd period. Even role players got in on the action, with Tom Poti and Brooks Laich each scoring their first goals of the post-season and Brian Pothier recording an assist. It was a complete 180 from what we saw in the first two games of this series, with the Capitals "capitalizing" off of Rangers mistakes and missed chances, playing aggressive at the net, and keeping plays alive on the Ranger's end.

It also didn't help that the Rangers spent more time in the penalty box than these guys, with Sean Avery making 3 trips himself. You also can't count out the importance of the return of the original goon, Donald Brashear. Returning to action after missing the end of the regular season and the first two games of this series, Brashear provided the intimidation that was missing in the first two games. He didn't miss a beat either, attempting to start a fight minutes after entering the game for the first time. It looks like all the pieces are finally falling into place for this Capitals team and they are destined to be a bright spot in an otherwise bleak Washington sports scene for years to come.


I also wanted to take some time to talk a little about the Gator's spring game that took place this past Saturday. It was a coming out party for back-up quarterback John Brantley who looked like a young Tebow-in-training. Brantley finished with 265 yds passing and 5 total TDs (2 rushing, 3 passing) in the Orange and Blue game, as it looks like the quarterback position is safe in Gainesville for at least another 2 years. On the other hand, he was playing against a second-string defense the whole game, but there's no denying his ability to make good decisions in the pocket. What we can expect from the upcoming season is to see more of John Brantley. We can also expect to see Tebow taking more snaps from under center as the senior quarterback looks to improve his draft status for next year.

Another "big" (if you can call it that) question mark the team has heading into next season is whether or not there were any receivers who were capable of filling in for the NFL bound Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy. It looks like that wont be a problem either with red-shirt freshman Frankie Hammond Jr. (an astonishing 4 catches 131 yards and 2 tds), Deonte Thompson (four catches for 44 yards), Carl Moore (two catches for 49 yards) and T.J. Lawrence (five catches for 59 yards) all contributing more or less evenly in getting the ball spread out. Thats not even including returning receiver David Nelson who had breakout games in the SEC and National Championship games. If everything pans out like its supposed to, I would book your ticket to Pasadena right now because frankly I'd be shocked if the Gators done make it.

Other Notes:
The Nationals locked up 3rd baseman Ryan Zimmerman for the next 5 years, offering the young star a $45 million deal. The Nationals (2-11) look to continue their 1-game winning streak (longest of the season) as they take on the Braves in game 2 of a 3 game series tonight (7:05 EST) The Orioles got swept in Boston, losing the final game of the 4 game series 12-1 behind the shaky pitching of Rhadamiz Liz. They start their next series with the White Sox tonight (7:05 EST). Also the KG-less Celtics held off an amped-up Chicago team thanks to a Ray Allen trey in the waning seconds 115-112 last night. Ben Gordon had a breakout game scoring 42 pts, including 14 in the 4th quarter.

*Some statistics courtesy of espn.com

Stay tuned this week for more NBA and NHL playoff coverage, O's recap, and an NFL draft preview. Until next time...