What an exciting time in Washington.
The Capitals ended a five-year playoff absence. The Wizards clinched their fourth straight postseason berth with injured Agent Zero back. The Nationals opened a new stadium. The National Harbor, Newseum and expanded Wilson Bridge are coming online. The cherry blossoms returned, a new president is pending.
Loserville is back on top.
The Caps gain the spotlight, though. They were six feet under ice entering 2008. Now Washington is Southeast Division champion after ending the season with seven straight wins. You think anybody wants a piece of Alex Ovechkin, Cristobal Huet and Sergei Fedorov nowadays?
Ovechkin is the NHL’s Most Valuable Player. With 65 goals and 112 points, he gets all the hardware. With the Caps in the playoffs, voters can’t deny the award.
Bruce Boudreau is Coach of the Year even if he missed the first quarter of the season. The Caps were 6-14-1 upon the Hershey coach’s arrival. They finished 37-17-7, including an 11-1 finish. He was phenomenal.
Let’s not forget GM George McPhee for a trophy, too. The Caps are 15-4 since McPhee traded for Huet, Fedorov and Matt Cooke. Everyone saw it as an ill-fated, desperate move when working the trade deadline, but McPhee loaded the Caps for the run.
And if there are any honors left, what can you say about Huet, who pushed aside long-time fan favorite Olie Kolzig from the nets to win nine straight games? “Hip, hip, Huet” became a rallying cry.
They must have been skating on dry ice because this is one smoking team.
Washington has become a town of late-season theatrics. The Nats finished last season by knocking the Mets out of the playoffs. The Redskins closed with one of the more inspiring runs in years. American awakened to reach the NCAA Tournament.
Who’s next — maybe the Caps?
But here’s the fear — did it take everything to just make the postseason? The Redskins were so hot entering the playoffs that many saw reaching the Super Bowl as a given. Instead, they were out in the first round. The key difference is the Caps are in a series, so one bad game doesn’t end the dream.
For now, this is a dream. The NHL is loving Ovechkin making the playoffs for the first time. The Russian is a great young player ready to blossom. A real gamer with a decade or more left on his resume. Fedorov is the old pro. Huet is the hot goalie that can make all the difference.
It has been 10 years since the Caps reached June. Somehow, the month doesn’t seem so far away nowadays.
Loserville? They must be talking about somewhere else.
