The Smiley Smile Message Board

My two favorite teams are the chicago blackhawks and Washington Capitals!

Caps fan here.....

Stray observation about the Caps.  Until recently, I lived in a part of Baltimore City, heavily populated with hipsters.  A lot of those hipsters loved the Capitals.  Not so much Baltimore's outdoor sports teams the Orioles or Ravens, but they loved the DC indoor team. 

Didn't Baltimore have an AHL team for hockey at one point?

I guess hipsters needed something "interesting" to like in Baltimore.....

I think hipsters went for the Caps because hockey isn't as popular as baseball or football in Baltimore. 

Baltimore has had several minor league hockey teams.  The Clippers in the 60s.  The Skipjacks in the 80s.  Most recently, the Bandits in the 90s.  The Caps will usually play an exhibit game in Baltimore before the regular season begins. 

My Grandma used to get into fights at Clippers games.... >:D


But on a real Caps fan note, I go to 3-4 games a year....

KDS, if you get the team on the local cable package, they are fun to watch.

I'm not a hockey fan.   I tried to get into it around the mid to late 90s because I wanted to get into a sport between football and baseball seasons, but it's just not for me. 

Been around the game my whole life. Have to cheer for hometown Sens, but it ain't easy. Also a Devils fan!
It's exciting to see the progression of the game, Stateside. The development program is really paying dividends. Not to say it will ever be a big sport in USA. Regionally, yes, but some markets are a tough sell.

Oh nice, glad to see a true Ottawa fan keeping the faith with their wacky owner. :-\

The game really is bigger stateside with teams like Vegas shocking everyone this year....

Eugene is a lunatic. Seriously I could tell you some tales. We are in big trouble..no scoring, mediocre tending. The biz side is in need of major changes.
Incredible to see Vegas doing so well. Keep waiting for the bubble to burst but...

Reminds me of "dollar Bill" Wirtz, who ran the Chicago Blackhawks into the ground in the early 2000s before the glory years.....

I hope Ottawa is sold to an owner who cares about winning and proper management.

I agree


royal1688 (http://www.s4p4.com/royal1688/)

Opinions on trade deadline?

Any Cup predictions? Working up to be a very interesting playoffs, I think!

Hopefully the Caps pull it together! :hat

Western Conference is a dog-fight as usual!

Saw Florida play last night and was down at ice level. They can friggin move. If they sneak in, they could be disrupters!! I personally would like to see the Dev's get in though.

Agreed, they are a dangerous "sleeper" team that could steal a series or two in the playoffs. You saw them beat the habs?

 >:(

Whoops, I meant the Ottawa game last night.... ;)

Funny quote from famous "Canadian" Jack Kent Cooke on owning the LA Kings: 
“Now I know why they left Canada ... They hate hockey!”   

Ha! Well, to be fair, if all I had to watch were the LA Kings, I might hate hockey too.

Ya, Sens game.
Panthers are an interesting case study. I mean, so many nights where there is nobody at their home games. I guess the venue is profitable enough that the hockey revenue is inconsequential. But also a lot of lean years in terms of on ice success. If they win, will more people show up? Hard to say.

I would in a heartbeat, cool (60s) florida weather and hockey! :hat

The herd is thinning in the East. Devs or Panthers for last Wild Card.
Gonna be a foot race out West for a group of teams. Very tight.
If you don't come out swinging in October in this League, you are pretty much cooked!

Preds v Avs
Jets v Wild
Knights v Kings
Ducks v Sharks

Bolts v Devs
Bruins v Leafs
Caps v Jackets
Pens v Flyers

Here is who I would want. If history is any indication, I would bet on the opposite:

Preds v Avs = Preds - hope they win the Cup this year
Jets v Wild = Jets
Knights v Kings = ugh...a no-win situation for me but I'll go with the Knights. Shockingly great year.
Ducks v Sharks = see above. Ducks, I guess. Can't stand either team.

Bolts v Devs = Devils
Bruins v Leafs = This is a real struggle. Can't stand either team here either. I'll say Leafs though. Hope either team is out by round 2.
Caps v Jackets = Caps
Pens v Flyers = Pens for sure. Flyers are my least favourite hockey team.

Lol, yes nothing if unpredictable
Don't know why I can't totally get behind Preds..but I'm not an Av's fan
Ya I'll root for Jets. Wild deserve a deep run though.
Vegas has had an amazing run. LAK: it's a hard call to make on this team. Goaltending could be the deciding factor.
Ducks/Sharks..With you on this series...don't care for either squad

Pray for a Devs upset
I'll go with The B's
Could CBJ take down Caps? Might be Washington's year to squeak through
You can't count out the Pens, and it seems like they are building for another run.

In my view, Montreal trading Subban to the Preds for Weber goes down as one of the worst moves the Canadiens have made since trading Patrick Roy for Jocelyn Thibault and Chris Chelios for Denis Savard. What a history of buffoonery.

Caps over Columbus in six.

It's certainly starting to look like the Pred's got the better of the deal.
At face value though, you traded a premiere D for a premiere D. In spite of the fact that PK showed himself to be a leader on and off the ice in MTL, there was obviously something that wasn't working out. Was that PK's fault? Probably not entirely. But he's a different cat, and the hockey culture in Habs land is fairly conservative. From the beginning, he would have been a way better fit in another market.
You win on the ice, but you can lose just as easily in the dressing room. It cannot be overstated how important a happy room is for team success. (This is a major problem in Ottawa btw)
In 2 years, the NHL game has totally changed. Priority has completely shifted. You need speed up the middle, first and foremost. Then you need a puck moving Dman. If you don't have those two things, you're done..even more than having a solid Goaltender, though obviously still a key to winning..but not like it was.

We'll hold you to that! :old :old

I agree but I will also add that if the team couldn't get it to work with Subban, then there's something fundamentally flawed with the team and in my view that's true. I really think that trading him away kicked in the stomach to the spirit of the Montreal fan base. Count me as one Habs fan who feels that Bergevin has been the most crucial figure in turning that team into the disaster it is. Just to stay on the Subban/Weber trade, even if one were to potentially see it as a trade of equals, we still got loaded with a higher-salary, making obtaining another great player less of a possibility. I think that the decision of the last few years have been so poorly thought through that it genuinely comes as no surprise that this season ended up as it did.

Good thing my area sells molson during the nhl playoffs! ;)

I grew up and still live in Northeast Ohio. I started playing hockey in the late 1980s when there was no home state team to root for, so I need to look elsewhere. Being bred on Cleveland professional sports, I couldn't fathom rooting for the two perennial winners in the neighboring states (Red Wings and Penguins), so went for the next closest in Buffalo. Those late '80s and early '90s teams were great, with Pat LaFontaine, Alex Mogilny, Dominic Hasek and others. I quit playing in high school and strayed away as a fan, so of course the made it to the finals in 1999 and then Ohio got its own professional team in Columbus the next year.

The Sabres' 2007 run kind of lured me back, but it's hard to be a hockey fan in northern Ohio, especially when you don't have cable. It's rare to see any kind of game on network TV, and we don't even get much coverage of the Blue Jackets in the local papers. I try to keep up by reading online sources. I was really excited about Jack Eichel. There is some good, young talent on the team now. But holy cow was Buffalo terrible this year!

At least I can still root for my secondary. That is, until the Caps boot them in the first round.

CBJ aren't making it easy!

Goaltending is killing us between Grubauer and Holtby...

To be fair, Caps deserved game 2. A few bad bounces. I think Ovie had 10 shots!. Anyway, not over yet,but Game 3 is massive (as it always is)

Ovi was on fire last night!

NJ needs to win against TB tonight.

Dev's got the win..but that's a tall order to take series.
Sharks are rolling over the Ducks.

Caps in 6. Good prognosticating!!

As I figured, Columbus is knocked out in the first round. Now, I need to throw my allegiance behind someone else ... hmm.

Caps Vs. Pens, not even going to think this one out today....

Game seven of Boston vs. Leafs.....

Round 2 well underway

Bos v TB
Pens v Caps
LVK vs SJS
Win v Preds

Vegas slammed the Sharks in game 1. I just haven't had the chance to follow either team this year. Vegas continues to amaze. You wonder if such a drubbing will cause a big pushback fron San Jose? We'll see what they are made of.

The 'Peg' gets a win in game 1.. But Preds threw damn near 50 shots at them

You'd think Caps-Pens will be a long series.

Bos leading game 1 , after 2 as I write this.

Since my team is out, I think I'm throwing my support behind Vegas, even though the idea of hockey in the desert is absurd. Crazy how well they've done this year. Fleury has been great in net, and Karlsson has been a dynamo. And their pregrame ceremonies are ridiculous. They leaned hard into the Vegas glitz and theatrics.

They've got as much of a shot as anyone at this point. Normally I'd worry as whatever team comes out of Preds/Jets will be a beast, but VGK are at the point where they deserve to be respected.

Pens vs. Caps are going the distance like juice predicted...

Caps are moving on. They got a shot.

‍

Let’s go Caps!

Good to hear. Rooting for the Jets, should be a good one!

Woah, I'm out of touch. I hadn't heard of the Winnipeg Jets. Then again it's been a while since my Wayne Gretzky '98 days on playstation  :lol Okay, carry on.

Third Round Matches are set

Tampa versus Washington

Las Vegas versus Winnipeg

I can't really get a handle on either series. Vegas has rolled right along here. It seems ridiculous that a first year team could hoist the cup.

There has been some pushback from both TBay and Vegas. I think the long layoff didn't help the Golden Knights, 'rhythm over rest' in playoffs, they say.

Caps have struggled a bit at home these playoffs...think they are 3-4 on home ice.

Game 7! 8)

Caps vs Golden Knights in the final... :banana :old :psyche :rock :shrug :beer :ohyeah :banana :woot :psyche :shrug :beer :ohyeah :tiptoe :rock :poke
Ya gotta figure this is the Caps year. Vegas never stops rollin tho

It starts tonight...
Caps have to seize the day. Ovi should want this more than anyone on the ice. Holtby will have to stand on his head throughout.

One of the Preds told me that hands down, Vegas was the hardest team to play against this season. They get on you, and stay on you relentlessly.

Good luck to all participants!   >:D

Vegas takes the first one. :hat

Ovechkin is having a blast with the Cup! Congrats Wahington.

Let’s go Caps! I went to the parade on Tuesday!

That's awesome. Sounds like it was quite a party!

Such a relaxing summer as stanley cup champions...