The Caps...

I had the opportunity to go to Game 7 last week, and have held my tongue, as I was so pissed off by the outcome...I thought long and hard as to the reasons we lost, and here are a few of my official thoughts...Let me note first, however, I do not want to point the blame at one specific player, or even the coach for that matter, as I think that the Caps were fundamentally missing 2 key ingrediants, that simply rear their ugly head during the playoffs. In no other sport, does the difference between the regular season and the playoffs so distinct. It is so true in hockey that offense wins games, defense wins championships. to that end. A hockey team can ride a hot goalie to the Stanley Cup:

• Mike Green and the rest of the defense did not lose the series for us. What lost the series was the lack of a "Stay at Home Defensemen" Did you really expect Mike and the gang to change their ways in the playoffs....the answer is simply NO.
• Mike Knuble is the only player on the team who is willing to crash the net (Brooks Laich is a close 2nd, but was not the same after taking a puck in the face after a practice a few weeks back). In other words our top 2-3 lines are made up of Easter Europeans and Russians, who play a finesse game, and prefer to shoot from the outside. The playoffs are won and lost in front of the net.
• I have no issue with our goaltending. I hope that the 3 guys come back next year, and if Theo is the odd-man out, best of luck to him. He is a class-act, and should be treated as such.
• The coaching was fine, and no changes should be made.
• As for transactions, let go of Fleishmann and Fehr, and get a hard nose, in your face winger who wants to get after it. The same goes for Brendan Morrison. On D, bring up Alzner and keep Carlson with the big boys, and send Shawn Morrison and Milan Jurcina on their way. Go get a Chris Pronger like player.

We will keep going at this, until Uncle Ted shuts it down. Maybe we need to get rid of George McPhee...

My 2 cents