The Capitals' Exorcism Continues

The term, phrase, idea, or notion that the Washington Capitals have somehow exorcised their demons of playoffs past seems a bit dubious.  This season will mark the fourth time since 2007 that the Capitals have made it to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the previous three times they have been soul crushingly sent home.  Let's take a painful trip down memory lane:

2009: The #2 seeded Capitals found themselves down 3-1 to the Rangers in the first round, but a goalie change from Jose Theodore to Semyon Varlamov and some post season magic in Game 7 from an aging Sergei Federov gave the Capitals the improbable comeback victory in the series. Varlmov kept his hot streak going in the next round to give the Capitals a 2-0 lead on the Penguins, and everyone believed that it was the Captials' year to make a run.  But, alas, the Penguins would take the series seven games and crush the Capitals  6-2 in Game 7 on Verizon Center Ice en route to a Stanley Cup Championship.

2011: The Capitals would gain the best record in the Eastern Conference for the second year in a row, and in the first round of the playoffs they dispatched a Ryan Callahan-less Rangers in five games.  The Capitals would have a longer wait to face Tampa Bay in the second round, but everyone thought that the Caps would prevail based on their playoff maturity and the life lessons learned in the playoffs the year before against Montreal.  Four games later, The Lightning moved on to the Eastern Conference Finals while the Caps were on the business end of a brutal playoff sweep.

2012: Oh, Joel Ward.  Who will ever forget the goal he scored against the Bruins in overtime of Game 7 to push the underdog Capitals past the defending Stanley Cup Champions in the first round?  And you probably forgot that it was Joel Ward who took a double minor high sticking penalty with 20 seconds to go in Game 5 of the second round against the Rangers with the Capitals leading 2-1 in New York.  Brad Richards would tie it with 6.6 seconds left in regulation, and the Rangers would score on the second half of the penalty in overtime to take a 3-2 lead in the series.  The Capitals would force a Game 7, but when you put all of your Game 7 goal scoring in the hands of Roman Hamrlick you're in trouble.

There it is.  The Second Round History of the Alex Ovechkin era.  It is safe to say that no demons have been exorcised, and they never will be.  Not as long as the Capitals perpetually lose in the second round.  Not as long as the Rangers hold scoreboard on the Caps the past two playoff meetings.  Not as long as Les Habitants can still hold that 2010 series over our heads without any fear of playoff retribution. And not as long as the man who saved The Capitals from the depths of despair almost ten years ago leads The Anaheim Ducks inexorably towards a Stanley Cup Finals appearance.  The Capitals need to get out of the second round to exorcise the demons that have been plaguing their playoff progress.  The Capitals need to beat the Rangers in order to vanquish their newly found playoff nemesis.  They would love to defeat the Canadiens to exorcise the demons of 2010.  And the NHL would want nothing more that to see an Anaheim vs. Washington Stanley Cup Final if only for the story lines: Boudreau faces his old team, high flying offense vs. bone crunching defense, Perry vs. Ovechkin, Getzlaf vs. Backstrom, Trotz finally making it to the Finals.  It all starts on Thursday with Game 1 against the Rangers, where we will see if the Capitals demons still haunt them.

The Greatest? Eight

The season that Alex Ovechkin has completed this year has vaulted him into the annals of NHL lore that have been set aside for only the greatest players of all time.  This season saw him eclipse the 50 goal mark for the sixth time in his career (a feat only 6 other players have accomplished) and he won his third consecutive/fifth overall Rocket Richard trophy.  Add those accomplishments to three Hart Trophies, most goals scored by a left winger in a season (65), this goal, most points by a left wing/Russian born rookie (106), the only player to win the Art Ross Trophy (most points in a season), Rocket Richard Trophy (most goals in a season), Ted Lindsay Award (MVP as designated by the NHLPA), and the Hart Trophy (League MVP) in a career, plus he is the only player to win all four in one season (2007-2008 season), and all of this done in a Washington Capitals uniform.  Ovechkin has been the most accomplished and electrifying athlete in the Washington area over the last decade and this season has sparked the debate about whether or not he is the greatest athlete in DC Sports history.  Some were eager to give him this title after he broke the Capitals franchise record in goals, but once we all came down from that vicarious sense of euphoria given to us by Ovechkin on that night, we should have realized that there are two figures who still out pace Ovechkin as the greatest athlete in DC Sports history.  They are Darrell Green and Walter Johnson.  An analysis of their accomplishments compared to those of Ovechkin's will show that they are still ahead of Ovechkin for this title, but there is one title that has eluded Ovechkin thus far that could put him over the top come June.

Darrell Green's greatness lies in his longevity and dedication to this area.  He spent his entire 20 year career with the Redskins where he set NFL records for most consecutive years with at least one interception (19) and most games played/started at corner back (295/258) and most games played by a defensive player (295).  Those are also franchise records that, in this era of free agency, may never be broken by another Redskin player.  He also has the franchise record for most interceptions (54), and he is oldest player to record an interception in NFL history.  So why are we putting Green ahead of arguably the greatest NHL player of his era?  Because Ovechkin was supposed to be great. Ovechkin was drafted number one overall and expected to be the greatest in the world.  Darrell Green was drafted by the defending Super Bowl Champion Redskins with the last pick in the first round out of Texas A&I (currently Texas A&M Kingsville).  During his time in college he was known more for his ability as a Track and Field sprinter than a football player.  Green came out of relatively nowhere to become one of the best cornerbacks of his time and a four-time Fastest Man in the NFL champion (just ask Tony Dorsett).  That clip was from Green's rookie year, and he continued to play with that type of dedication throughout a career that would see Green anchor a defense that brought two Super Bowls to DC.  Ovechkin has yet to hoist the Stanley Cup.  Darrell Green continues to live in the DC area, and he continues to run his Darrell Green Youth Life Foundation within the DC area.  Ovechkin may have more personal accomplishments, but Green had an equal amount of athletic ability as Ovechkin and he put it on display for twice as long.  Ovechkin may be a victim of smaller sample size, but championships mean a lot to a city that has now had a generation of fans grow up without ever having witnessed one in a professional sport and Green has a 2-0 advantage over Ovechkin in that department.  Couple that with some of Green's records being in that "they may never be broken but only because it is a different era now but how can we condemn someone for their accomplishments in hindsight because we are trying to make a point" realm gives him a leg up on Ovechkin.  Different era or not, as long as Green has those records it will be forever tied with the DC area.  Water Johnson has been carrying that moniker for almost a century now, and it is hard to see how Ovechkin could ever overtake him.

Walter Johnson's greatness lies in nostalgia.  His entire 20 year career was spent with the Washington Senators where he was able to bring the only World Series Championship to the DC area in 1924.  He also holds the record for most career shutouts (110), a record that some say will never be broken.  The different era argument applies, but different era or not, every time someone references that record they will see "Walter Johnson: Washington Senators".  He was AL MVP twice in his career, and he had 7 seasons where is ERA was under 2.00.  Where Darrell Green could not say that he was the best at his position during his era, Johnson was arguably the best at his position during his time and some would say the best pitcher ever.  But Walter Johnson also has ties to this area that go beyond sports.  He retired to this area after his playing days were over, and even held elected office.  One of the first high schools in America to be named after a professional athlete is Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, Maryland.  For one of the greatest ball players of all time, Johnson forever resides in a quaint cemetery in Rockville, Maryland with no special marker other than his name.  I realize this is outside of the athletic realm, but these parts of Johnson's life will forever tie him to this area.  Even though two generations have come and gone since anyone saw Johnson play, his name continues to live in this area and he will forever be brought up as one of the greatest to ever play baseball.  What will happen when Ovechkin's contract expires?  What happens if he goes to some other team?  Will we have the same reverence for him in 90 years as we do for Johnson?  It is possible, but there is one thing Ovechkin can do to ensure his legacy in Washington lives on past the near future.  Win the Stanley Cup.

As previously stated, a generation of Washington sports fans has grown up never seeing a professional sports championship (the Terps in 2002 were awesome, but that was college).  Ovechkin has had the best shot at breaking that drought over the last decade, but he and the Capitals have been able to disappoint in so many different ways during the Stanley Cup playoffs in the past.  When the Capitals open up against the Islanders on Wednesday, however, Ovechkin will be captain of a team that some say is the best he has ever led into a Stanley Cup playoff.  If Ovechkin wants to be considered the Greatest Athlete in DC History he needs to eventually put the Stanley Cup in the trophy case at Verizon Center.  If he is unable to do so he will always be third fiddle in this area behind Darrell Green and Walter Johnson; and a century from now when Ovechkin is subject to the "different era" debate his stats will have nothing to back them up.