2016 NHL Playoff Preview - Western Conference

Yesterday I went through the Eastern Conference matchups, declaring my apparent love for Florida-based teams. Today's topic: California love.

CENTRAL DIVISION

(1) Dallas Stars vs. (WC) Minnesota Wild

Who would've guessed that this year would give us the battle for the legacy of the Minnesota North Stars? Well, it's not really that big a deal, nor is it that odd an occurrence, so I probably won't mention it again, but I'm sure other people will.

The Stars are an offensive juggernaut that's been playing a more effective defensive game recently. The Wild are also a playoff team. While Minnesota has had a nice run to get into the playoffs, they're still a whole tier below Dallas and the other Central Division teams. I'll still give the Wild a shot because of the way they've played in high-leverage games this year, but I would say this is the series I'm least hopeful of going 6 or 7 games.

Pick: Dallas

(2) St. Louis Blues vs. (3) Chicago Blackhawks

If you've been paying attention to the Blues recently, you know that this group has come up short in a big way in recent years. And if you've been paying attention to the Blackhawks recently, you know that they've been accumulating championship hardware on the regular. So who in their right mind would pick the Blues to come out on top this series?

Well, I don't know if I'm necessarily "in my right mind," but I'm picking the Blues. The way Tarasenko has exploded this season has been incredible, and the Blues (when healthy) might have the best top 10 (top two forward lines, top two defensive pairings) in hockey. When their best players are on the ice, not many teams can match up.

Chicago is obviously strong as well, and they paid a tall price in future draft picks to shore up their forward depth. But future draft picks don't play in the playoffs, so the 'Hawks are in decent shape. This series should probably go seven games, and I'd venture to say this will be one of the best series in recent memory.

Pick: St. Louis

PACIFIC DIVISION

(1) Anaheim Ducks vs. (WC) Nashville Predators

I think this is a tough matchup for the Ducks. They're a big, bruising team that makes you work for every inch, but Nashville is one of the few teams that can match that physicality and intensity. I think it's going to be a closely competed series, but I think it might be a little frustrating to watch. The rink is going to seem awfully small.

This entire series is going to come down to Pekka Rinne's performance. Yes, I just provided the most obvious analysis possible: goaltending will be important. But Rinne has had such an up-and-down season, the Predators' fate will be closely tied to his ability to steady the ship.

In the end, I'll take the hotter team, and the team with Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf, guys who have been dominating the ice for the better part of a decade.

Pick: Anaheim

(2) Los Angeles Kings vs. (3) San Jose Sharks

While some other series have history, there's something about Kings/Sharks that has another level of mystique. And by "mystique," I mean straight up loathing.

Kings fans hate the Sharks, but that's nothing when compared to the vitriol that Sharks fans feel for the Kings. If there's a team out there that has the same consistent feelings of disappointment as my Capitals (at least in recent years), it's the Sharks. And the Kings have been the focus of their frustration.

But all that buildup only matters to commentators. Once these two teams get onto the ice, it's going to be a hockey series just like any other. When looking at the rosters, the Kings have a slight edge at the top with all-world players like Doughty and Kopitar. I'd give the Sharks an edge in depth, particularly among the forward group. Overall, they're evenly matched.

Ninety-nine percent of the time, when things are even, you go with the team that has the better intangibles. Coaching, playoff experience, home ice, etc. All of that stuff favors the Kings...

...so, naturally, I'm going with the Sharks. While there's no historical proof in favor of this thought (and in fact, there may be proof against it), I think the Sharks are due for a turnaround. It's purely an emotional choice, but I'm pulling for Jumbo Joe Thornton.

Pick: San Jose

2016 NHL Playoff Preview - Eastern Conference

I'm hopeful that I'll be able to coordinate a playoff preview podcast before the games start, but in case I'm not, I wanted to make sure that my loudmouthed opinions get out into the world before I have a chance to pretend I didn't think them.

So, here are my takes on each of the Eastern Conference matchups. My Western Conference matchup evaluations will be coming tomorrow. I used to include the number of games as part of my predictions, but nobody cares about that. Right or wrong, that's all that matters.

METROPOLITAN DIVISION

(1) Washington Capitals vs. (WC) Philadelphia Flyers

At the beginning of 2016, I would not have guessed that the Flyers would be the Caps' first round opponent. They've heated up over the last couple months, and managed to oust the Boston Bruins from the playoffs. I had said nice things about Boston, so of course they collapsed and will watch the playoffs from home.

Luckily, I haven't said anything nice about the Capitals, so we should be in good shape.

But seriously folks, this should be an entertaining series. The Caps have been on coast mode for about six weeks, and only on Saturday did they seem to turn the energy back up at all. I think the schedulers helped them out a little bit though, as they finished with games against Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Anaheim. All three of those teams have legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations, so it was a good opportunity for Washington to test themselves against the very best.

This series is going to come down to how well the Caps are able to negate Philadelphia's incredible top line of Giroux, Simmonds, and Voracek (assuming Philly keeps them together). That line gave everyone in the NHL problems this year, but with how lean the rest of their forwards are, it'll be interesting to see if Dave Hakstol elects to split up his best guys to try to match the Capitals' depth. If he did, I think the Caps would win in five, but I think he'll make the right call. Philly will likely give Washington all they can handle, but a Presidents' Cup winning Caps team won't get upended in the first round twice in the same decade...right?

Pick: Washington

(2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (3) New York Rangers

This is absolutely going to be the series to watch. The Penguins are the hottest team in the NHL, cruising into the playoffs on a forty-six-game winning streak. Okay not exactly, but they're rolling. The offense is running on all cylinders, and it looks like they'll get Malkin back before too long. The one thing that could be a problem for Pittsburgh is that both of their goalies have endured injuries over the past couple weeks. One or both might be available for game one, but one or both might also not be available for game one. Having to turn to a third-string goaltender in the playoffs isn't an ideal scenario.

That said, this might be a circumstance where that doesn't even matter. Sidney Crosby is once again playing like he's the best player in the world, the paper-thin defensive corps is somehow keeping up with the best forwards in the league, and the new coach seems to have everyone on the same page.

The Rangers, meanwhile, have Henrik Lundqvist.

Seriously, that's it. Could be enough. But I'll take the team over the goalie, this time.

Pick: Pittsburgh

ATLANTIC DIVISION

(1) Florida Panthers vs. (WC) New York Islanders

In a surprise to literally no one, the Islanders managed to lose their game on the last day of the season and will avoid Pittsburgh in the first round, instead facing the upstart Panthers. I can't say that I blame them; the Panthers look more beatable than the Penguins, though they do present their own set of challenges.

Florida's strength is in their energy, their youth, and a style of play that minimizes quality opportunities against Roberto Luongo. The Islanders' strength is...I actually have no idea what the Islanders' strength is. John Tavares would be one, I suppose; he's probably the best player that nobody talks about. But as far as what makes this team dangerous, I'm not really sure.

Florida, despite a minimal amount of playoff experience on the roster, should be able to squeak by the Islanders. I give New York a shot, because I give every hockey team a shot. But if Florida is able to stay healthy, I think they move on to the second round.

Pick: Florida

(2) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (3) Detroit Red Wings

So Detroit managed to hang on to a playoff spot by the skin of their teeth, extending their string of playoff appearances to 25 consecutive seasons. The Lightning, while not boasting quite so long a streak, made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals last season, and were a preseason favorite in the east.

This is actually a rematch of last year's first round series, but without any of the bluster of the Rangers/Penguins series. I don't think many people are giving Detroit much of a chance this time around, and that's probably appropriate. The Red Wings have some good players, but in the end, the Lightning are too strong all the way around, in spite of all these "injuries" people keep talking about.

Pick: Tampa Bay

Easy, Lambert

So two days after the NHL Trade Deadline, Ryan Lambert wrote this. He apparently disagreed heartily with the moves (or lack of moves) that many teams made last week. That's totally fair and totally his right; he's a sportswriter for Yahoo, which indicates that he's generally going to be more knowledgeable and more tuned-in than I am.

However, I disagree whole-heartedly with his execution.

Take a gander through most of Lambert's comments (at least up to #8 on his list) and I think you'll agree, they're pretty incendiary. Many of them are downright insulting. And while his tone obviously is intended to express the ferocity of his disagreement, there are ways to do that without burning the house down.

If you've got a short attention span, that's okay. Lambert led off with his most brutal salvo for Kris Russell. In the first paragraph of the story, he said "Russell is terrible," and "He was the worst defenseman on the Calgary Flames." Then in his section on Jim Benning, he calls the Canucks' GM "clueless" and "not a good GM."

Then he offers this priceless statement regarding the Colorado Avalanche GM, Joe Sakic:

This was a dumb deadline day for Sakic. Bye.

It was around this point that I realized that I was reading something special. I don't know if someone ran over Lambert's cat, or if his girlfriend dumped him, or he was just really hungover and angry about the lack of movement on deadline day, but this article was the sports equivalent of a takedown piece. He lined up whoever he felt like sniping and took a shot, all the way down the line.

Then he predictably lauded the Blackhawks, because the whole goddamn hockey world does that.

Well, so be it, that's what he wanted to do, and he did it. But doesn't it just tell you exactly why people hate the analytics community?

The whole idea of analytics vs. old school reporting is that traditional journalists have to foster relationships with players/coaches/team officials in order to do their jobs. Analytics proponents will argue that reporters will withhold information that teams might not want to get out in order to preserve/build a relationship with that team. That's a perfectly valid concern. However, there's another side to the coin: civility.

It's possible that all of Lambert's claims are valid, all of his concerns are legitimate, and all of his condemnations are justified. But it should come as no surprise to Lambert that the people he's annihilating in this article are, you know, people.

When he says, "good lord the lack of effort here is astonishing" about Jim Benning's failure to complete a deadline deal involving Dan Hamhuis or Radim Vrbata, that's not a difference of team-managing opinions. He's declaring nothing less than his opinion that Benning is being negligent in his duties as general manager. He's not just saying that Benning is bad at his job; he's saying that Benning isn't doing his job.

That's beyond rude. I don't know what's three steps up from rude, but that's what it is.

What's perhaps most frustrating is that he even takes the time to acknowledge the potential reasons for a lack of a deal. He mentions the no-movement clauses in play, and that the word is that Vrbata wouldn't approve a deal to any team that approached Vancouver about a deal. Lambert shows that he understands that there are nuances, and then says, "I don't care."

I don't know Ryan Lambert's life. I don't know what he does outside of writing for Puck Daddy. But I can say this with confidence: If he finds himself in a situation where he's looking for another job in the hockey world, or even just any job where you have to deal with people in other organizations, this article isn't going to do him any favors.

I agree with Jeff Marek's assessment that there's an opening for a new star in the hockey journalism world, for an analytics expert who can speak plainly and intelligently about advanced metrics. But whoever that person is, they're going to have to interact with players and hockey professionals on a regular basis. Being rude and dismissive of half the league won't fly.

I doubt Lambert was seeking that kind of position, but he sure as shit isn't going to be getting it now.

PS: I strongly disagree with his comments about the Bruins' moves, but I think a big part of that is based on my opinion that their moves pushed them into a position where they can compete to make the conference finals. So I really just disagree on a purely predictive level, which isn't what this post is about. But seriously, watch out for the Bruins.

We Have to Talk About Dennis

Here's what we're talking about, for reference:



The moment I saw the above clip showing Dennis Wideman pummel a referee from behind, I knew this was a thing.

Let's review what happens in the incident.

1. Mikko Salomaki (#20 on Nashville) gives Wideman a check along the boards.
2. Wideman spins as a result of the hit, his head pounding into the glass.
3. Wideman begins to skate back to the bench, visibly affected by the hit.
4. The linesman, #91 Don Henderson, skates backwards in front of the benches, watching the play come back down the ice.
5. While the puck is played just a few feet away, Wideman beelines towards the bench. He shoves Henderson in the back, pushing him violently to the ground.
6. Wideman skates past the fallen Henderson and enters the bench area, seemingly oblivious to what just happened.

We got some additional information after the fact. First, the concussion spotters in Calgary relayed to the Flames' bench that they believed Wideman may have endured a concussive hit, and recommended that he be evaluated. Wideman refused this evaluation and remained on the ice for the rest of the game. Afterward, Wideman was diagnosed with a concussion.

No shit.

I don't really understand the people who don't believe that Wideman was affected by a concussion when he made that inexplicable, unprovoked, out-of-character act. He doesn't have a history of overly aggressive play, and his behavior was not the behavior of someone who had his wits about him.

I've heard people say that they've never had a concussion, so they can't speak to the actual experience. That is, of course, incorrect. Have you ever been injured? Or nauseated, whether due to excessive drinking or stomach bug? Of course you have. And when you were, did you feel like dealing with people? No. You were rude and single-minded, and perhaps downright aggressive in trying to get wherever you needed to go (probably to the bathroom). When you're not feeling like yourself, especially when it's due to discomfort or pain (both of which are perfectly reasonable to assume Wideman was experiencing), you can be an asshole. I don't play hockey, but I can imagine that in a realm where you're used to checking people, checking another person when you're feeling crappy and trying to get to your bench as fast as possible seems like a reasonable possibility.

So, if Wideman were concussed, his actions make some sense. If he weren't concussed, he'd have to basically be a supervillain, which I don't think he is. As a result, I'm confident in saying that he was concussed during the incident.

With that as an established fact (for the purposes of this blog post), Wideman deserves a twenty-game suspension for his actions.

Whaaaaat?!?

That's right. Wideman had an opportunity to play by the rules, and he chose not to. When he refused to be examined for a concussion, he was accepting responsibility for anything that might've happened as a result of his concussion, namely, the hit he laid on a linesman.

"That's not fair," you say, hands on hips. "How is he supposed to have the wherewithal to make the decision to have himself checked for a concussion, especially if he himself has a concussion?" Well, go ahead and slide those hands off of your hips and turn them into thumbs-ups, because you're absolutely correct. Dennis Wideman, or any concussed player, can't be expected to make that call.

How fortunate, then, that the NHL pays people specifically to do this for them. The NHL provides two concussion spotters, one for each team, for every single game. Teams are allowed to provide their own spotters (and usually do), but there is always at least one person whose sole job is to take that responsibility away from the players.

Except, just kidding, the teams don't have to listen to spotters at all. As I mentioned above, Wideman refused to be evaluated for a concussion, and that was the end of his concussion "process" that night.

The Flames' trainer has the authority to pull a guy out of the game, and if the trainer has trouble with a player, it behooves him or her to inform the head coach, to ensure that players are protected from themselves.

I listen to The Hockey PDOCast regularly, and about a week ago they had Eric Young as a guest on the show. Young is a professional wrestler who said he's had multiple concussions, though he was careful to not mention any in particular. Among other parts of a very interesting interview, Young said that he thinks that, if given the choice between taking on the full risks of hockey in its current state and just passing on hockey, most players would choose to take on all the risks.

When I consider that information, and all that I know about hockey players from working at an ice rink, I know that if players can get away with staying in a game despite a concussion, they will, without a doubt, try to stay in the game. I have to believe that people who get paid to be in the NHL business know this as well. That means you have to take the choice away from them. Concussion spotters need to have some level of authority, as they do in the NFL.

But that's big picture stuff. Let's focus on the specifics of this incident.

The NHL suspended Dennis Wideman for 20 games as a result of the hit, and Gary Bettman upheld the suspension as the first level of the appeal process. The second level takes the question to an arbitrator, and we'll see what they think. But I think both sides have been arguing the wrong battle here.

The NHL's position is that Wideman was not experiencing concussion symptoms, and is thus responsible for his actions. Wideman says he was concussed, and thus not responsible for his actions.

Both of these positions are idiotic.

First, if Wideman was concussed, he's still responsible on some level for his actions. If he had robbed a 7-11 while concussed, he'd still be held responsible for the robbery. And as for the NHL's position, get serious. Clearly Wideman was concussed. The people who want to see Wideman fully punished argue that he had his full faculties, but I don't think that's necessary.

I think that you can suspend Wideman 20 games and say, "The player was given the opportunity to be evaluated for a possible concussion. When he refused, he indicated that he was not suffering a concussion, and had full command of his faculties. As a result, we have no choice but to defer to the player's own judgment in determining his culpability in this infraction."

The best source for Dennis Wideman's state of mind at the time is Wideman himself, in that moment. And at that moment, Wideman said he was not suffering from the effects of a concussion. Enter that into evidence.

Case closed.

Hockey Season Starts This Week! (or It'll Be Months Before the Caps Break My Heart Again!)

The Washington Capitals open their 2015-2016 season this Saturday night against the New Jersey Devils. I'll be in attendance, and maybe I'll post some pictures on my Twitter account (@GoodPointJoe). I'm very excited for the season to start; I work in an ice rink, so I have endless opportunities to talk hockey with co-workers and customers.

But as I get back into an NHL mentality, I can't help but remember how last season ended for the Caps: up three games to one against the New York Rangers, unable to close the deal, losing Game 7 in overtime on a rebound that found Derek Stepan uncovered and undefended.

It was the most brutal turnaround since...just kidding. It was classic Capitals hockey.

Same Old Same Old

Grantland posted an article before the most recent fateful game seven that explored the insane frustration that haunts Capitals fans (and presumably players, but we've been here longer). I won't rehash the whole thing, though there are a couple of quotes that spoke to me:

Despite being heavy underdogs, the Caps went into Pittsburgh and won the opening two games, returning home with a 2-0 series lead. “What could possibly go wrong?” asked Washington fans while pouring paint thinner into a whiskey bottle.

The lesson: Life is horrible and you should never care about anything.

The Washington Capitals have a unique ability to not just excite their fans, but excite them in the first or second rounds to the point of fervor. Think about it. Alex Ovechkin hasn't been to the conference finals in his entire career, but the heartache we've felt seems nigh unbearable. Can you imagine if we'd found ourselves closer to the promised land, only to fall short? I can, and it's a living nightmare.

Once again, however, we've managed to convince ourselves that this year will be different.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

We've parted ways with Mike Green, who while a strong offensive player generated just as many scoring opportunities in the other direction. In this year's final game, Green's final game with Washington, he took two penalties early in the second period, the second of which resulted in a game-tying power play goal by Kevin Hayes, and 30,000 Caps fans shouting, "Every goddamn time, Green!" In case you forgot, in that Game 7 against Montreal, Green was also in the penalty box when the Canadiens scored the first goal of the game.

We've also added a couple of right wings, shoring up a position that's been a relative weakness since Alexander Semin left town (don't kid yourself, Semin was extremely talented). Justin Williams has a trio of Stanley Cup championships, and figures to slot in on the right side of the second and third lines. The hope is that he'll bring a killer instinct that's been lacking when the time has come to close out an opponent.

The bigger-name acquisition was T.J. Oshie, a skilled scorer and Olympic "hero" (as much as you can be a hero when your team doesn't actually win anything). He's looked good in preseason, and he'll enter the season as RW1, on a line with Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov (until Nicklas Backstrom returns from injury).

I wonder, though, if the team might be better served by swapping Williams and Oshie. Ovechkin has helped and been helped by grittier right wings in the past; Mike Knuble comes to mind. And a second line of Kuznetsov, Oshie, and Marcus Johansson would be prolific, and would demand attention from opposing defensemen and coaches. The best teams are those that can run out multiple lines that opponents have trouble defending.

In the end, while the acquisitions will be important, I think so much of this season's potential success relies on three young players and their development: Kuznetsov, Andre Burakovsky, and Tom Wilson.

Three Musketeers or Three Stooges?

Kuznetsov showed flashes of brilliance last season, and has extra professional experience from his time playing in Russia. Particularly during the Islanders series, he was cool and collected, playing like a veteran. If he takes another step forward, the Caps will finally have the 1-2 combo of centers that they've been seeking for years.

Andre Burakovsky had a two-goal game against Henrik Lundqvist in Game 4 of last season's playoffs, though his scoring the rest of the season was sporadic. He's got enough skill to be a contributor, though he strikes me as more of a Brooks Laich-type player: solid two-way forward who doesn't necessarily excel in either facet. I'd love to be wrong and for him to have greater upside than I think he does, but it would be a surprise.

Tom Wilson is a player who almost everybody hates, and who almost everybody wishes was on their team. He's a true agitator, he checks hard and answers the bell if the situation calls for it (and sometimes when maybe it doesn't). We've been told for a couple years now that he's also got offensive upside, but we haven't seen much of that. Partly because he's been cutting a rut to the penalty box, but plenty of guys take a lot of penalties and still score. The dream is that Wilson can grow into a Scott Hartnell kind of player; gritty, unpleasant, and opportunistic offensively.

Oops, I Did It Again

Naturally, after spending this much time talking about the Caps and thinking about how good our players could be, I'm all-in once again. This is totally our year. All of those years of frustration and disappointment have been leading up to 2015-16, when we'll finally break through. The NHL pundits have been picking the Capitals to excel this season, and it makes perfect sense. The stars are aligning.

Sigh. Here we go again.

How the Caps Looking This Year?

In reviewing my previous posts, I noticed that while I did a lot of speculation and evaluation on potential moves the Washington Capitals might make, I never gave my opinion on the roster changes they actually did make. I'll split it up into each different transaction, and give my thoughts on how the move impacts the team.

We'll start with the new players, since those happened first.

Acquired T.J. Oshie in exchange for Troy Brouwer, Pheonix Copley, and a 3rd round pick
This was the Caps' biggest change this offseason. Brouwer has been on the team for several years, often playing a key role both offensively and defensively. He's got a good reputation around the league, but from what I saw last season, especially during the playoffs, he seems to have lost a step. Maybe he'll prove me wrong, but I think he's a 4th line player at this point.

Oshie, however, doesn't excite me as much as he does other people. I know he's famous for taking all those penalty shots in the Olympics a couple years ago, but he hasn't scored 60 points in any season, and while he's got some skill, I have to think that there's something about his game that's been left behind. Hopefully playing with dynamos like Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom will unlock his greater potential. Regardless, Oshie is definitely an upgrade over Brouwer for me, and Copley was years away from mattering anyways. I'm happy with the deal.

Signed Justin Williams - $3.25 million/year for 2 years
To me, Williams replaced Troy Brouwer, and he's actually a little bit cheaper this year than Brouwer. Williams is a veteran with a solid scoring touch, and he's got three rings to Brouwer's one. Williams was also a far more vital part of the Kings' championship than Brouwer was for the Blackhawks'. Regardless, I think it's probably about a push, with Williams rating slightly higher and being slightly cheaper, so it's a good move to me.

Signed Zach Sill and Taylor Chorney - $1.275 million total, both on one-year deals
Depth moves, I like that they're cheap. A friend from Pittsburgh says Chorney is decent, which is good enough for me.

Re-signed Evgeny Kuznetsov - $3.0 million/year for 2 years
I was at game 7 against the Islanders when Kuznetsov scored the biggest goal of his NHL career so far on a total composure play. He knew the right move, and skated from circle to circle to drag Jaroslav Halak out of position, finally opening up a chance to score the game-winning goal. That was basically the point at which I decided that the Caps should open up the pocketbook a little bit for Kuznetsov. He may not ever top that moment, but the potential is there for him to be a great player as he continues to develop.

Re-signed Braden Holtby - $6.1 million/year through 2020
You basically had to give Holtby something. The Caps' "backup" plan was Justin Peters (who's best spot is backing up a guy who plays 73 games a year) or Philipp Grubauer, who's probably okay, but I don't want to find that out just yet. Holtby was a horse last year, and has been a top 10 goalie for a few years now (accounting for the dark days of Oates). I'm comfortable with Holtby going forward, and it was going to cost about this much to keep him short- or long-term, so I'm fine with the resulting contract. It's possible that Grubauer will be very good, but when you've got a guy, I think you keep him.

Re-signed Marcus Johansson - $3.75 million for 2015-16
The Caps' offseason acquisitions left Johansson a player in flux. The top two lines seem to be set, with Ovechkin/Backstrom/Oshie up top and Andre Burakovsky/Kuznetsov/Williams on the second line. But the reality is that while Burakovsky has some ability and coach Barry Trotz seems to really like him, Johansson has been a productive offensive player for years for the Caps. He's proven himself enough to warrant being on that second line. And at least for one year, I prefer it that way. Let Burakovsky continue to grow with Tom Wilson and Brooks Laich, that sounds like a dynamic third line to me.

2015-2016 Prediction: Stanley Cup Champions

I mean, it could happen right? I think the Caps are strong on offense, defense, in goal, and behind the bench. What else is there? Maybe the Caps don't have the mystique of the Red Wings or Bruins, but you only get that mystique by winning Cups. So let's start now.

Podcasts: Is there anything they can't do?

Several weeks ago, I decided to watch the Acquisitions Incorporated series from the beginning up to and including the most recent content. For those of you unfamiliar with the series, it's a quasi-celebrity game of Dungeons & Dragons. The core group of players consists of three online comic writers: Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins, and Scott Kurtz, the writer for PvP. They have rotated in a few other "nerdy" celebrities, including Wil Wheaton of Star Trek fame, fantasy author Patrick Rothfuss, and former G4 host Morgan Webb.

As a guy who likes humor and D&D, this is basically right in my wheelhouse. I discovered it by accident some time ago while skittering around YouTube, and I was immediately enthralled. Obviously I enjoy the role-playing and fantasy aspects of the game, but what was most appealing about it was the way the players were able to play off of each other, and create not just a player-character but a true character in their roleplaying. And of course, these are all really, really funny people, so the humor is nigh-transcendent. I find myself laughing out loud more often watching/listening to them than with almost any TV show or movie I've ever seen. It's really, really exceptional.

Anyways, while I could go on and on about how great Acquisitions Incorporated is, there's a second part to this post. Acquisitions Inc. started out as a series on Wizards of the Coast's D&D podcast. The game was/is DMed by Chris Perkins, a longtime D&D creator and all-around nerd badass. So, in order to listen to these podcasts, I downloaded them through the Podcasts app on my iPhone.

Now, I've never been much of a "podcaster," or whatever the appropriate term would be for someone who listens to podcasts. There was always a lot of searching and file management involved, and I didn't want to to spend all that time and then find out whatever podcast I chose sucked. I am, by nature, very risk-averse. But now I had found a podcast that I already knew I would most likely enjoy, so it opened up my willingness to do the necessary work.

When I say "work," I mean such considerable tasks as finding an aux cable for my car, or searching for podcasts on my phone while I'm already sitting on my phone. You know, really challenging stuff.

So now we're circling back to the actual reason for this post: what podcasts am I listening to now? Well, there are four main ones I'm listening to somewhat regularly. Here they are.

Marek vs. Wyshynski
Hockey Talk

Every year, when the Capitals are eliminated from the playoffs, I find myself hungering for hockey discussion. As the playoffs progress, you get more and more invested and focused on what's going on, and then suddenly, when your team is eliminated, you're left with all of this focus and nowhere to direct it. I always end up diving into the upcoming offseason, looking at potential signings, releases, and trades that could fix whatever that year's "one big problem" was. This year, it was "skill right-winger," but that's not really important.

What's important is that there's a vacuum in my attention span, and a hockey podcast is the right thing to fill it. Local sports radio is 90% Redskins, 9% Nationals, and the remaining 1% is split between the Capitals and Wizards and whatever else is convenient that day. Marek vs. Wyshynski is a Yahoo-produced podcast that's run by a couple of die-hard hockey fans who manage to get some high-end guests to join them for reporting and discussion. It's a national show, but that's okay. I like to know what the national take is on the Capitals, and this is a perfect way to get it. They're fairly funny and pretty self-deprecating, a good entertainment combination.

The Dungeons & Dragons Podcast
D&D Talk

This was obviously going to be the first podcast I had exposure to, since it's the one where Acquisitions Incorporated could be found. But the reality is that D&D is one of the things in the world that draws my attention the most. It's cooperative, it's creative, it's got swords and spells and traps and dragons. There's a stigma out there, sure. But I'd venture to say that, with the success of the Lord of the Rings movies, Harry Potter, Felicia Day, YouTube, and Game of Thrones, we're entering a "golden age" for D&D. Or at least, that's what I like to believe.

Either way, it's got a fan in me. The D&D Podcast offers a behind-the-scenes look at all aspects of Dungeons and Dragons. Obviously this includes stories about the development of the game, the evolution of rules and classes, and general tips on DMing. But it's also got information about miniatures, marketing, cross-product integration, related products, and any other sort of secondary concept you can think of. As someone who likes the idea of board games in general, it's a great window into the minds of the people who made the world's greatest board game. It's very informative, and fairly entertaining.

Geek's Guide to the Galaxy
General Nerdy Media

I actually listened to a couple episodes of GGttG a while back, but forgot I had subscribed to it on my phone. Eventually, I had some update come down and my phone said, "You don't have enough storage space to download this update." After some searching, I realized I'd been downloading every episode of this podcast for like two years. So I went through and deleted the ones regarding topics in which I have little-to-no interest, and kept the ones that piqued my interest.

Anyways, the podcast. It's run by two authors who I know nothing about. They apparently do mostly short stories and anthologies, with some other composition mixed in there. They seem to have read most books between them, and obviously there's a lot of overlap as well. They're definitely nerds, and they have a style of laughing and talking that's somehow both awkward and condescending at the same time. It's like if you were to walk into a darts tournament and there were a couple of darts aficionados hamming it up for the general darts fans. It's like, okay we get it, you know a lot about darts. Maybe scale back the insane talk about release angles and whatever.

Anyways, while the guys are a little bit smug on certain topics, the topics themselves delve into a lot of content I love hearing about. From Game of Thrones to Star Wars to Left 4 Dead, there's a lot of stuff that's both nerdy and mainstream, and I enjoy hearing people tackle it. They are able to make a lot of nerdy references, many of which I get, and because it's a podcast, they can approach topics from creative angles if they choose. Overall, I do enjoy the podcast, though I think I'd enjoy it more if it were run by gamer guys instead of book guys.

Drive to Work
Mark Rosewater's Magic the Gathering Podcast

After I started listening to the other podcasts for a while, I knew there was one that I wanted to check out. Spoiler alert, it's this one. Many of my fellow "Good Point Bros" have mentioned the podcast in the past, and now that I was listening to some, it was finally time to check it out.

And I love it.

The basis for the podcast is that you're basically riding with Mark Rosewater (head designer of Magic the Gathering, basically the king of Magic) on his drive to work. He records the podcast literally on his drive to work, so every episode is about thirty minutes. Rosewater's passion for Magic is evident with every sentence, and his gift for working his passionate creativity into the structure of acceptable Magic cards has got to be one of the most important pieces of why Magic has grown so much over the years.

The content of the podcasts (at least so far, I've only listened to a few) focuses on Magic sets and concepts from the past, and talks a lot about the evolution of that particular set/mechanic/card. The second episode (which is when I knew I was hooked) was a quick run-through of the creation of Zendikar, possibly my favorite set. Rosewater talks about the original idea of the set ("lands matter"), and how that idea evolved into Landfall, full-art basic lands, Ally cards, and the specific equipment in the set. It's just amazing fun to hear the process from a guy who was there firsthand, and as someone who dabbles in game development, I find it inspiring.

What Else Should I Listen To?

Obviously I've only begun to scratch the surface of what's out there. A friend recommended RadioLab, a science-ey podcast that touches on a wide variety of topics. Another friend (or twelve) immediately suggested Serial. I know it was a phenomenon, so I suppose I'll check out at least the first episode at some point. And my cousin Mike is always trying to get me to listen to Comedy Bang Bang. From the few clips he's played for me, it does seem pretty funny, so maybe now that I've got the whole setup, I'll finally give it a whirl.

What else should I listen to? If you've got any suggestions, I'm all ears. Leave notes in the comments section below!

Washington Capitals - 2015 NHL Draft and Preview of Free Agency

We're on the cusp of the opening of free agency on July 1st, and the Washington Capitals still seem like they'll be approaching it mostly from the sidelines...and I'm not sure that's necessary. But first...

The Draft

The NHL draft was fairly uneventful for the Caps. While the Bruins were shipping out top-end players and the Rangers were saying goodbye to Carl Hagelin and Cam Talbot, the Caps were drafting Ilya Samsanov, a Russian goalie who likely won't even be available to play in North America for another three years. Organizational goalie depth has been a strength for Washington for a while, from Varlamov to Neuvirth to Holtby to Grubauer and beyond, and with how expensive a high-caliber veteran goalie can be, making sure you have additional options is never a bad call.

After Samsanov, the Caps grabbed a trio of young defensemen, presumably planning for the eventual downfall of Brooks Orpik. It's not likely all three of them make the NHL (and it's possible none of them make the NHL), but again, depth is never bad.

There, that's it. Now that we're past the minimalist draft (the fewest pick the franchise has ever had in a draft), let's look at the other way you get new players.

Free Agency

The biggest salary that the Caps have to look at is Braden Holtby's. I'm on record (in a few conversations with friends) as saying that I think Holtby is probably a guy you just pay. He's been between very good and exceptional since he came into the league, and it seems like overall his game has improved during the playoffs, which is always a nice sign. I don't love the idea of the Caps paying two different backup goalies in Grubauer and Justin Peters, but they're both making less than a million per year, so you've still got plenty of room to pay Holtby and keep your overall goaltender bill at a reasonable rate. Expectations: The Caps definitely won't be acquiring any new goalies.

Nate Schmidt has already signed an extension and will likely slide into the bottom defensive pairing right away. If Dmitry Orlov can stay healthy, the Caps' six defensemen are all already on the roster, and it's a pretty strong six. But Orlov hasn't been able to stay on the ice, so at least one other defenseman is in order. I've mentioned that I wouldn't mind just bringing back Tim Gleason, who was a responsible if unexciting addition last season. Pairing him with Orlov or Schmidt gives either guy a security blanket to explore their offensive options. Expectations: They'll sign one modest veteran defenseman as a depth guy, probably spending no more than $2 million on the guy.

The Caps only have nine forwards still under contract from last season, although Riley Barber and Stanislav Galiev could slide into the NHL squad come the regular season. Joel Ward and Eric Fehr are unrestricted free agents, but the two really important guys to look at are restricted free agents Marcus Johansson and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Both have shown enough offensive potency to warrant salary increases, and Johansson especially is likely looking for a considerable contract, even if it's a short-term deal. Kuznetsov didn't have a great regular season, but his playoff performance has a lot of us excited about the future.

Obviously nobody's making lines just yet, but in general, I think this is how the lines shake out talent-wise at this point (only counting players under contract):

Line 1 - Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, ___________
Line 2 - Andre Burakovsky, ___________, Troy Brouwer
Line 3 - Jason Chimera, Brooks Laich, Tom Wilson
Line 4 - Michael Latta, Jay Beagle, ____________

If the Caps go ahead and re-sign Kuznetsov and Johansson, they'd slide in at 2C and 1RW, respectively. If they do that, I'd still like to see Washington pursue a skilled winger who can play on one of those top two lines.

I'm not 100% convinced that Burakovsky is ready for second-line minutes, and I'm not crazy about putting Brouwer on a line from which you're expecting goals. His hands are still pretty good, but he seems to have lost a step. We keep hearing that Tom Wilson has the potential to move into the top two lines, but he still seems to too sincerely relish the role of scrapper to be able to count on him as a scorer. MoJo doesn't figure to be much/any better than he was last year, when he set career highs in goals and points. Kuzy has tremendous upside, but it's still just potential.

What I'd like to see and what we will see are probably two different things. The Caps have $18 million to work with under the cap. After about $5 million for Holtby and $2 million for a depth defenseman, that still leaves $11 million to play with for forwards. That's not a small number. The numbers I've seen for the RFAs are $4.5 million for Johansson and $3 million for Kuznetsov. If those are roughly accurate, the Caps could take on about $3.5 million in additional salary. In this year's very weak free agent class, there's no top-two-line winger who'd cost less than that, so you'd either be looking at rolling the dice on a young unproven RFA (extremely unlikely), or an older player who might only have 1-2 more years in the tank and is willing to take a modest salary. The latter idea has some possibilities this season.

Guys who could fit into that category (assuming they don't retire and aren't looking for irrationally large contracts) would be Justin Williams, Erik Cole, Daniel Briere, Tomas Kopecky, Brenden Morrow, and...Joel Ward. Truthfully, working out a way to bring back Ward might be the best option the Caps have. Ward has been a workhorse, an effective playoff performer, and a popular player in the blackest city in America (not a huge factor, but not a non-factor either). We'll see how things shake out, and GM Brian McClellan keeps talking about the appeal of improving via trade this offseason, so there may be additional machinations at work that we don't know about.

I have to say, even though the Caps aren't likely to be very active in free agency, I'm still excited to see how the roster shapes up over the next few weeks.

2015 Washington Capitals Offseason - Who Should Stay and Who Should Go

Now that the hockey season is completely over, I can finally move on from the Caps' loss to the Rangers in the second round of this year's playoffs. It was a pretty epic series, lots of close games, and the Caps were so close to winning it so many times that the let-down was pretty severe. In Game 5, they were two minutes away from closing out the series before the Rangers sent the game into overtime, and after that, it all felt like fate.

That said, the team looked good at a lot of times throughout the playoffs (aside from all of the first periods). And hey, they were within a few minutes of getting into the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 1998, which is about 75 minutes closer than they've ever been, so we're making progress.

If you know anything about the Washington area, you know that we end up resorting to "winning the offseason" all the time. Still, I think the Capitals have an opportunity to tweak their roster, be even better next year, and take another run at the Cup. Here's a look at the personnel decisions that stand before the Capitals this summer.

Outgoing Unrestricted Free Agents

Forwards
Jay Beagle (2015 salary - $1 million)
Eric Fehr ($1.6 million)
Curtis Glencross ($2.5 million)
Joel Ward ($3 million)

Defense
John Erskine ($2 million)
Tim Gleason ($1.2 million)
Mike Green ($6.25 million)

Restricted Free Agents

Forwards
Marcus Johansson ($2.175 million)
Evgeny Kuznetsov ($900,000)

Goalies
Braden Holtby ($2 million)

So what will the Caps do with all these free agents? Tough to say. Let's go one-by-one (because I've got nothing but time):

Jay Beagle
Beagle was a great faceoff guy all year and in the playoffs, and it was a lost faceoff where the Caps ended up losing Game 7 against the Rangers. Beagle's not a prolific scorer, and he'll never fit at a top six forward slot. He reminds me of Matt Hendricks, who showed some two-way ability and then made a solid payday heading elsewhere. I hope the Caps can find a way to hold on to him as a bottom six forward for another couple years without breaking the bank.

John Erskine
I've always liked the scallywag tone that Erskine brought to the ice when he played. He loved to mix it up, but always with a smile. I guess he's the hockey equivalent of Hines Ward...except, you know, not even remotely as good. He dealt with injury all year, and I don't know if he's actually able to play, but if he is, I'd be happy to bring him back as a 7th defenseman. Any higher than that (in role or cost), and I think you have to let him go.

Eric Fehr
Fehr was an nice surprise coming back from Winnipeg after a somewhat disastrous trip out West. He dealt with injury and a lack of production in his time away from Washington, but since he came back to town, he's been better than ever. He even worked on his faceoff game and became a viable center option. His injury created a scoring vacuum that the Caps weren't really able to fill during the Rangers series, and they looked lost at times. I think Fehr's trip north of the border may have cooled him on chasing big dreams, and I think he's likely to stay in town for a reasonable fee.

Tim Gleason 
Gleason is basically the opposite of Mike Green. He came to town via late-season trade; it cost us a pick and Jack Hillen, who I always thought was decent, but I'm not unhappy with how it turned out. Gleason was a nice depth addition for the bottom pairing, and he was a suitable partner for Green because of his dedication to stay-at-home, responsible defense. Gleason's contract expired, but he had lots of nice things to say about the Caps throughout his brief tenure, and I could see him coming back on a short-term, cap-friendly deal to try to get over the hump next year. Time will tell.

Curtis Glencross
While acquiring him may have been a nice idea, Glencross was basically a non-factor in the playoffs, except in the worst ways. He stuck at the bottom of the depth chart, and never really looked like the kind of player who could've made a difference. And then his painful turnover in overtime of game 5 created the sequence that cost them the game. He may have played alright, but he'll forever be Scott Hannan 2.0 in Capitals' fans minds.

Mike Green
There's no question that Mike Green has more than his share of detractors, but there's also no question that Mike Green was a very productive player in 2014-2015. His playing time was scaled back to where he was a 3rd-pairing defenseman who came in on most power players, and it seemed to put Green into his wheelhouse. His scoring was back up, his health was generally good, and he made fewer obvious, terrible, game-losing mistakes...right up until game 7 against the Rangers. I think Green will get paid very, very well by someone this offseason, and it won't be the Caps. I wish him well.

Braden Holtby
I'm a little bit torn on Holtby. I like him a lot; I think he's as talented as Varlamov was (who I loved), and he's shown himself to be far more durable. And I'd be perfectly happy to see the Caps sign him to a 7-year, $35 million contract. But where I get concerned is if Holtby starts wanting $6 million a year. Or $7 million. Goalie is the most volatile position in hockey, and plenty of unexceptional goalies have had flashes of brilliance that led them into the promised land. So is pushing 10% of your salary cap into a single player with that level of volatility is something I'm not totally sold on. I want Holtby back, and I'd like him to sign long-term. I just don't want to see the Caps forgo the opportunity to sign some other complementary pieces to get all the way home.

Marcus Johansson
From basically day one, I've been the guy who's been least impressed with Marcus Johansson. I don't specifically dislike him, and I see him make some good plays now and then, but I just think his upside is nowhere near what Caps fans (and Caps GMs) have been proclaiming for the past four or five years. I think he's fine, and I wouldn't want to let him go for nothing, but if another team threw some money at him in an RFA offer, I wouldn't be against taking some compensation picks and moving on. In the end, I expect MoJo to sign a one-year deal with Washington, and get one more shot at taking his game "to the next level." Which I don't expect him to do.

Evgeny Kuznetsov
Kuznetsov was a streaky and minimally impactful player during the regular season, but he definitely ratcheted up his game during the playoffs. His game-winner against the Islanders in Game 7 was a thing of beauty. But he slipped back into the background during the Rangers series, an unfortunate turn of events at a time when the Caps really could've used a scoring spark. Kuznetsov is a restricted free agent, which means a team would have to provide compensation in order to sign him away from the Caps. That's not likely, but it's not impossible. I think the Caps will keep him, probably with a solid but unspectacular 2-year contract. And when that contract is up, who knows what happens.

Joel Ward
The Caps' biggest problem is still a lack of potent scoring forwards outside of Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. Joel Ward contributed moderately well to that end last season, but he wasn't the kind of player that "you have to account for" as an opposing team. I'd be fine with the team reacquiring him at a modest price, but he seems like the kind of guy who would get a big raise in a terrible free agent class. His big playoff goals and his overall useful play might push some team to pay him $4-$5 million a year, possibly for as many as six years. If that's the price, I think the Caps have to let him go.

2015 NHL Playoffs - First Round Part 2

The Capitals and Islanders have each won two games, which means each team is halfway to the second round. But they've both also lost two games, which means they're both half of the way to going home. That makes the next two (or three) games very exciting, matching the intensity level of so many of the other series in these playoffs.

Where exactly are the Caps?

It's hard to say what the Caps' situation is right now. They've won a pair of extremely close games, and lost a pair of games that weren't terribly close. There have been parts of each of these games when both teams have looked unstoppable. Sometimes the Isles seem to be inside the minds of the Capitals where they read every pass, and other times the Caps are three steps ahead of New York.

So my question is, where are the real Caps? When Washington is humming, they are able to use their size to their advantage and muscle themselves into favorable situations. And I'm not being a total homer when I say that, when Braden Holtby hasn't been sick, he's been sick. I'm hopeful that they'll be able to build upon their better play in games 2-4 and make the most of their home ice advantage (including myself, as I'll be attending game 5).

Rules? There're no rules here.

I remember watching the video of P.K. Subban slashing the hell out of Mark Stone, and thinking, "That's just completely illegal." He received a 5-minute major penalty as well as a game misconduct, sending him to the locker room. But it was pretty egregious, and I wouldn't have been surprised if he'd gotten another game suspension since it was so completely away from the play, and was clearly intentional.

Now we've got Calgary and Vancouver basically engaging in a WWF Royal Rumble (yes, WWF, the World Wrestling Federation; the WWE is an abomination). There haven't been any suspensions from their shenanigans either, despite the fact that a hundred guys could have been suspended.

Then was the worst play in the whole playoffs, when Dustin Byfuglien mashed Corey Perry right after Perry scored. That's a star player attacking another star player after the play was over, from behind. Utterly unacceptable. But the punishment? A two-minute minor for roughing.

Get the fuck out of here.

I'm a longtime advocate of attempts to reduce the number of fights in hockey. I've written about it before so I'll try not to repeat myself, but basically I don't like stopping a game to let people beat each other up because reasons. But the whole "value" of fighting that people keep saying is that fighting is a method of on-ice policing, to create repercussions for rough play.

You know, like when a guy slashes someone completely away from the play and breaks his hand. Or attacks your most prolific scorer after he scores. These are exactly the situations that demand justice, in one form or another. And the NHL had an opportunity here to lay down the law and prove that fighting isn't necessary to protect its star players and prevent aggressive, intentionally dangerous play. And they completely shit their pants and ran away.

I don't know how you don't suspend Byfuglien. It was a goon play, a dangerous play, and completely not what you want out of your premier event. I will never again presume to know what the NHL wants (though I will absolutely continue to declare what the NHL should want).

See you Thursday night, boys. Hope nobody gets killed.

The 2015 NHL Playoffs - Can the Caps Pull It Off?

As most of you know, I'm a big fan of the Washington Capitals. Now, I won't lie and say I grew up a hockey fan, because it's just not true. I didn't follow the Caps until they made the Stanley Cup finals in 1998, and I didn't really start to follow the Caps until they made the playoffs again for the first time under Bruce Boudreau. They went on a fantastic run to finish the season, then came back to win their playoff series against the Rangers with three straight wins.

Since then, I've been tuned in for hundreds of Capitals games, and have learned a great deal about the sport. I've also gotten a job working at an ice rink, which guarantees considerable exposure to hockey discussion, as well as actual, real-life hockey.

And this is the best Washington Capitals team I've ever seen.

Well, let me clarify. The President's Trophy winning team from 2009-2010 was an offensive juggernaut, and probably a more impressive team than this one. But I don't think there's been a team in Washington that has appeared more capable of bringing home a Stanley Cup since Alexander Ovechkin came to town. The Capitals this year have been a tough team to play against, and yet they've got as much skill as they ever have (apologies to Alex Semin fans). Evgeny Kuznetsov has really started to grow as a two-way player, and his development has freed up Barry Trotz to mix Backstrom into a now-potent second line. On top of that, the defensive additions of Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen have really solidified an already skilled back end, and allowed Mike Green to be deployed more responsibly.

Offense, defense, and Braden Holtby can go toe-to-toe with any goalie in the league in a playoff series (and has). I'm excited for these playoffs to begin.

So...predictions!

WESTERN CONFERENCE

 St. Louis Blues vs. Minnesota Wild

The Blues have been circling around for a deep playoff run for a few years now. I've always been a huge fan of David Backes, and I think this might be the year they finally break through. Zach Parise is a fantastic two-way player for Minnesota, but I think the Blues are too strong top-to-bottom.

Prediction: Blues in 5

Nashville Predators vs. Chicago Blackhawks

Definitely the most interesting first-round matchup out west for me, the Blackhawks are perhaps the most skilled team in hockey if Patrick Kane can come back healthy. Meanwhile, the Predators turned in one of their best seasons in history in their first season without Barry Trotz at the helm. I do think that Nashville is a great squad, but I'm expecting Kane to come back, and if he does, there's too much firepower on Chicago for the Preds to handle.

Prediction: Blackhawks in 7

Anaheim Ducks vs. Winnipeg Jets

This is definitely an interesting pairing. Anaheim boasts three of the most disliked players west of the Mississippi in Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, and Ryan Kesler, but part of that dislike comes from those guys being really, really good. Perry in particular is a game-changer. The Jets are one of the darlings of the playoffs this year, but I don't think people actually expect them to, you know, win games. Me neither.

Prediction: Ducks in 5

Vancouver Canucks vs. Calgary Flames

After Mark Giordano went down, I'll be honest, I didn't think the Flames stood a chance in hell of maintaining a playoff spot. They fought tooth and nail down to the wire, though, and managed to hold off the defending champion L.A. Kings in securing a playoff berth. They actually had the best point differential in the Pacific Division, which includes these same Canucks. I don't expect the Flames to go deep into the playoffs, but I think Vancouver is primed for being upset...that they lose!

Prediction: Flames in 7

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Montreal Canadiens vs. Ottawa Senators

Montreal had a great season, and their reward is a first-round matchup with the hottest team in these playoffs. It's a fair bet that Andrew Hammond won't be able to keep up his near-perfect performance of the past month, but the Senators have nothing to lose here. They've been playing with renegade confidence, and Montreal's top scorer Max Pacioretty is day-to-day with a head injury. It's hockey, so Pacioretty will probably play, but will he be the same player? Tough to say. In the end, I'll favor the team with Carey Price, but this is going to be a scrap.

Prediction: Canadiens in 7

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Detroit Red Wings

People are calling this the Yzerman series, but these Red Wings are a long way from the transcendent squads that Stevie Y used to captain. I believe that Pavel Datsyuk is one of the greatest players of this generation, but he's always dinged up. And the Lightning can roll out two really dangerous lines, one of which includes maybe the best individual scorer in hockey, Steven Stamkos. I expect this to be a well-played series with a ton of skill, but I feel like Tampa's got the edge.

Prediction: Lightning in 6

Now for the two big ones.

New York Rangers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

This has got to be the most appealing series for the casual sports fan who wants to tune in and see some hockey. You have the best player in the game in Sidney Crosby, maybe the best goalie in the game in Henrik Lundqvist, two storied franchises, and two passionate fan bases. The only problem is that Pittsburgh isn't very good right now. They haven't played a lick of defense since February, and their legitimate scoring threats are limited to their top two lines. It's possible that Marc-Andre Fleury will stand on his head and take a game, or two, or even the series, but the smart money is on the Rangers getting past this round with relative ease.

Prediction: Rangers in 5

Washington Capitals vs. New York Islanders

I certainly wasn't pleased with the way the Capitals looked in their final game of the season, a 4-2 loss to the Rangers, but the liquid fire Columbus Blue Jackets did Washington a favor by beating the Isles in their final game as well, to give the Caps home-ice advantage for this series. The Isles are actually a decent matchup for the Caps; while they boast about the same skill level, they're still unproven when it comes to the playoffs, and their defensive corps is more built to score goals than to put the hammer down on opposing forwards. The Caps roll four solid lines, and Jaroslav Halak isn't an elite goaltender. The Capitals should be able to pull this one out.

Prediction: Capitals in 6

The 2015 Winter Classic

Coming into this Washington Capitals season, I was optimistic about the team's chances to make some noise, but I didn't really plan on going to the Winter Classic. My family has season tickets, so we were awarded two tickets as part of the season ticket package, and afforded the opportunity to buy up to 4 more (double the number of our season tickets), but to me, it seemed foolish to spend that money. Ticket resale was high, so I figured, why not just resell the tickets and make a little cash?

Well, time passed and time passed, and none of us made the call on what to do with the tickets. My one brother was adamant about going, and the other was interested if not quite so demanding. We had three pairs of tickets available, and the decision on what to do with them went unmade for far too long. Finally about two weeks ago, we finalized our plans: my cousin and I would join my two brothers at the game, and we'd sell the final pair. We ended up getting back a little extra for the pair, though it wasn't the windfall I had originally hoped for. Still, positive is better than negative.

And so, the four of us went to the game.

I remember going to Disney World for the first time, and that being the most "magical" experience I can remember. But there was something even more special about this experience for me.

There's a great camaraderie at any sporting event, but the Winter Classic felt like it reached a whole different level. I felt excited while walking up to Nationals Stadium with hundreds of other fans, enthralled while stepping to the railing in center field and seeing the scene, and a combination of frustrated and pleased while trying to navigate through a sea of thousands of fans in the concourse. The singing of the national anthem was done by an armed forces chorus, punctuated by a flyover by a pair of fighter jets, and that was probably the height of the non-hockey events for me. Just a really cool presentation.

The seats we had were center ice, though they were fairly low, which made it difficult to see all of the action. The big screen in center field provided a good view of the game when things got too muddled, but it was fantastic to see things play out on the ice level when I was able.

And the game was amazing. Eric Fehr's early goal on a breakaway was reminiscent of his similar goal at the Winter Classic in Pittsburgh. After Chicago tied the game at 2 in the second period, tensions were high throughout the stadium. Every penalty (and most of them were against the Capitals) created a chance for someone to break through, but the score remained tied through most of the third.

Late in the third, Matt Niskanen got called for a questionable boarding penalty, then a few minutes later, perhaps as a make-up call (which I hate, by the way), Jonathan Toews got called for something of a phantom hooking penalty. On the ensuing penalty, after Alex Ovechkin carried the puck into the zone...

...well, you really just have to watch it.


The crowd exploded after the goal, reminding me of playoff goals back when the Caps scored those kinds of goals. I also just love everything about how Ovechkin carried himself throughout the whole day. He was grinning almost every minute, and he pumped up his guys on every play.

The thing that struck me the most was that, for the first time since he got the letter sewn on his jersey, he really looked like a captain. Not a captain in the snarky, dickish way that some guys can be, but a guy who leads by playing his ass off and getting his teammates excited to compete for 60+ minutes. He may never get recognized as one of the great leaders in hockey, and maybe that's correct, but there's no doubt in my mind that Barry Trotz has helped Ovechkin to rediscover himself, and be a better version of himself.

I can't help it. I'm optimistic. This might be a really good year.

Top 5 "Sports-Watching Beers"

We're well into autumn now, and that means a few things:

1. the holidays are coming up;
2. it's time to put away the shorts for a little while; and
3. football and hockey are in full swing.

While the holidays are important, and I know you'll all miss my exposed sexy legs, the third item on the list is what I want to talk about. There's something purely human about watching sports and drinking a beer. Men and women, young and old, rich and poor, everyone can get on board with cracking open a cold one while reclining and watching a sporting event.

Not every beer is built for this sort of event. There are a lot of brews out there that are built on pretentiousness and expectation and basically anything hipsters think is so rad. But there are a lot of beers that encourage you to relax and just enjoy the damn game. My favorites are below.

5. Bud Light - Does Bud Light make my socks roll up and down? No, it does not. But I like it well enough, I can drink pretty much as many as I want, and it's fairly cheap. Sometimes when you're watching sports (at a bar, for example), you just want a beer you can forget about. For me, Bud Light is that beer.

4. Molson Canadian - The best thing about Canadian beers is that, almost without fail, they're all twist-offs. Who wants to waste valuable drinking time looking for a bottle opener? Also, Molson tastes good.

3. Honey Brown - There are a lot of "sweet" beers out there. Leinenkugel makes a few that are good, and plenty of companies make ones that aren't so good. Honey Brown sounds like it would be a sweet beer, and it's got a hint of sweetness, but really it's more hearty than sweet. It's a great chilly outdoor beer; if you're tailgating or at one of the NHL's outdoor games, Honey Brown is a good fit.

2. Killian's Irish Red - I didn't know this for a while, but apparently Killian's is a "value" beer. A year or two ago, I was in a county liquor store and was browsing their beer selection, and I noticed that Killian's was a sight cheaper than most of the other selections. As it was already one of my favorite choices, the price is a constant tipping point when I'm planning ahead and have time to chill the brews (liquor stores here don't sell cold beer).

1. Blue Moon - At first, I didn't think of Blue Moon as a winter beer; the crispness and freshness of it would make you think it's a summer brew. But for my money, Blue Moon is a beer for all seasons. The Blue Moon beer stand is also right at the concourse entrance where my family's Caps tickets are located, so it's even convenient. Win-win.

Honorable mention: Busch Light. In the words of Dave Chappelle, it'll get you drunk.

Rooting

I'm mostly a Washington sports fan. I root my ass off for the Capitals, I'm lamentably a Redskins fan, and the first sports ticket I ever bought was to a Bullets game. We didn't have a baseball team in the DC area when I was younger, so I took on the Baltimore Orioles, and I was totally stoked for this postseason.

That said, being a fan of my teams has been trying over the years. I became an official baseball fan in 1988, the year the Orioles set the all-time AL record for losing streaks when they opened the season 0-21. The game I went to, they actually won, which I didn't realize was a rarity that season. After the Jeffrey Maier bullcrap in 1997, my O's suffered 14 straight losing seasons. This season has already been a success, but things aren't looking great for a title run.

When the Redskins won the Super Bowl after the 1991 season, I was too young to realize it wasn't the kind of thing that happens all the time. And I don't remember watching any football games in between that Super Bowl and the previous Super Bowl, so obviously I wasn't much into sports. I think I was all about Nintendo at that point in my life (and 90% of all moments in my life since then). Since then, and particularly since Daniel Snyder purchased the team, Washington has been a black hole for football.

As I said, I liked the Bullets a lot when I was younger. I went to a few games, and was stoked when they acquired Chris Webber. I figured the combination of he and Juwan Howard was so successful in college, how could it not bring them deep into the NBA playoffs? Of course, I was wrong, but I've kept tuned in, and I'm hoping to reap the benefits of some solid seasons with John Wall, Bradley Beal, and the lot. I watch almost every NBA draft, even though I don't really know anything about college basketball anymore, just because it's a tightly packed blast of offseason roster updates.

The Capitals were a regular participant in the wide-open NHL playoffs by the time I started paying attention to hockey at all. I remember my friends Mike and Sergio assigning me teams every few days, usually in the form of, "Joe Joe Joe, what happened to your Nordiques last night?" It was enough to encourage me to catch a few games here and there. I watched each game of the Stanley Cup in 1998, which is to say I watched the Caps get pummeled by a team that was insanely, insanely better than them.

I've enjoyed their recent moments of marginal success, but the Caps' limited success seems to have brought every Penguins fan out of the woodwork. I can't wear a Caps shirt or watch a Caps game without some jag off Pens fan making some sideways (or sometimes straight-up-and-down) comment about how the Penguins are so much better. Like I'm unaware of how these teams have performed recently.

Which brings us to the meat of what I actually wanted to talk about in this post. People are fans of teams for a million different reasons. The majority of people just pick their home teams, presumably due to some combination of convenience and inborn patriotism, that desire to be proud of where you're from, and to share that feeling with friends and family. Others choose their favorite teams because of that team's success in their childhood, or a favorite player, or something as simple as an attractive uniform.

Are any of these "wrong" reasons to root for a team? Nope. Are any of these "more right" than others?

Yes.

It is more right to root for your hometown team than another team. Not insofar as you live a better life or you deserve praise, but because you're not abandoning a problem. Enduring the hardships together as a fan base gives you something to talk about with other people from your home town, and a sense of community is a good thing, even if you're a community with an experience mostly riddled with failure.

In my sports-watching adult life, I've endured as much disappointment as a fan of any city's teams, save perhaps Cleveland. While Cleveland has only three professional teams, they manage to pack a lot of despair into those three teams. And if you happen to like the Ohio hockey team (the Columbus Blue Jackets), you're not making up any ground.

Cleveland has sported a poorly run and poorly performing football team in the Browns, and since the mid-90s, the Cleveland Indians have wallowed in and around mediocrity. The Cavaliers have been to the NBA Finals, but The Decision, the departure, and the Heat winning a pair of titles have made that Finals trip ancient history. Cleveland is also noteworthy as the sporting home of "other Joe," my former partner in crime in the radio world. He's a guy who's known my pain for years and years, and while LeBron James' return means he's likely closer to ending his drought, we're mostly in the same boat.

Between Cleveland and Washington, we've got disappointment covered.

So why endure it? Obviously it's easier to pick individual teams with amazing players like the Pittsburgh Penguins or the Green Bay Packers, or a city with gobs of money and history like Boston or Chicago. You've got a better shot at a title, which means you won't have to deal with the shit that everyone else seems to enjoy throwing at people who choose to remain hometown fans. As a Capitals fan, I've not met a single Penguin fan in the DMV who resists the urge to twist the knife. And good luck finding a Cowboys fan in Maryland who doesn't exude glee whenever the Redskins falter.

Which brings us back to the question: why endure such pain? Wouldn't it be easier to just switch over to a better team, or a better city? Wouldn't you feel less disappointment?

Maybe.

But the whole idea of sticking with your team is that one day, it'll be worth it. I've ridden the Bullets/Wizards since I was a little kid. If they're ever able to win the NBA title, I'll celebrate my butt off. If the Caps are ever able to overcome history and raise the Stanley Cup, I can't even begin to imagine the relief and joy I'll feel. We stick with our teams because we have faith and hope that one day, they'll win. And we want to be around for it.

We see all these cities hosting parades and we think, "God, that would be amazing." We watch other teams raise banners and we think, "Someday that'll be us." We see guys like Trent Dilfer and Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady talk about their trips to Disney World, and we think, "There's no reason Robert Griffin or Kirk Cousins couldn't take that trip, right?" Some of it is delusion (the 'Skins may never win another game). Some of it is playing the odds (hockey has a great deal of parity in its playoffs; almost any team has a shot). And some of it is wishful thinking (Kevin Durant hasn't said he wouldn't come to the Wiz). And part of it is simple stubbornness. But at this point, no way am I changing sides.

The O's are still just four wins from the World Series!

NHL Jerseys Morphed Into Soccer Kits

I'm a big hockey fan. My friend Chip is a big soccer fan. A couple days ago, a guy named Matt McElroy basically brought Chip and I together to make something great: soccer kits using color schemes, logos, and sponsors from each of the 30 NHL hockey teams. The results are fantastic. As a preview, here's the Capitals version: