The Home Stand That Was: One Goat's Opinion Home Game 19 - December 15, 2010

And the beat(ing of the Caps) goes on.
(I was gonna put a picture of Sonny and Cher, with Ovechkin's head in place of Sonny Bono…
… but I got worried about lawyers.)

Were there some bright spots? Sure. Were there some improvements over the last week or so? I guess so. Did the Caps win? Nope. And that, in the end, bums me out. As a man who puts together an entertaining and eclectic four-hour block of music each week might say: "Yuck! With a hand gesture!" But was it all bad?

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I Kinda Want To Be A Christmas Wizard

Seriously, I would like to be a Christmas Wizard for some reason.

I love Community.
I love schmaltzy, over the top Christmas specials (to a point, that is).
I love clever digs, even at things that I also happen to love.

Therefore, I was destined to love the December 9th episode of Community: "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas." It was produced in purposely lo-fi stop-motion animation and told the story of a mildly delusional Muslim boy and his group of friends (among them a devout Christian, a Jehovah's Witness, and at least one atheist) searching for the true meaning of Christmas at Santa's workshop at the North Pole. All along the way, they take some friendly shots at the conventions of classic Christmas specials, among other things.

(They even managed to add a bonus piece of the puzzle to my quest for resolution with a certain TV show).

If you're still tracking with me, and you enjoy having a few giggles check out the episode below.

I would love to see more TV comedies do things with such blatant disregard for the homogenizing standards behind a lot of today's 30-minute sitcom fare, as Community does (along with a handful of others) on a near-weekly basis. It's also nice to see some prime time exposure for the handiwork of Dino Stamatopoulos, who had a big hand in bringing this episode to the screen. No surprise, considering his resume so far.

Photo credit: NBC

The Home Stand That Was: One Goat's Opinion Home Games 15–18 - December 4–11, 2010

They finally did it. My first in-game beer. Ever.

I don't even know where to begin with this last stretch. Suffice to say that I have been wearing out my self-protective "Pre-Season Until January" mantra since last Saturday night against Atlanta. Nothing seemed to go right for the Caps, at least in the "results" category, and the high point of the homestand was a 3-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. That last bit pretty much sums up the level of despair generated on Verizon Center ice last week. At least nobody in the stands caught the flu from the team, as far as we know.

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The Home Stand That Was: One Goat's Opinion Home Games 13–14 - November 26–28, 2010

Just one of Varlamov's denials over the weekend.

I had to shake off the remnants of the previous day's food coma and get down on F Street as the Caps continued their quest to fully rebound from a rather hideous game on 11/22 against the Devils. The first steps of rebounding took place on Wednesday in Carolina. Were the next ones coming on the ice in DC?

On The Ice

Friday night's drubbing of the Lightning made Caps history, being the first game in which the Capitals have scored five or more goals and also blanked their opponent. Unless hats being thrown on the ice bother you to the degree that you feel the need to complain about it, it's pretty hard to find a negative from Friday night. The best shared observation of the night is that when the Caps took their feet off the gas on offense, they put the hammer down on defense. Nice to see!

Sunday looked a bit like we might be getting a repeat performance, even with the newly-shuffled lines (which seemed to baffle all observers) and newly-swirled trade rumors going around (which baffled no one). Then Cam Ward really buckled down and stymied the Caps after spotting them a 2-0 lead. Would have been nice to see Mr. Steckel win that draw at the end of regulation, but hey, they picked up the extra point in the gimmick.

In The Stands

Friday evening's game was very well attended, considering the odd start time and the holiday hangover. Apparently, as a way to make up for the absence of The Horn Guy, it became "Pant Ants Giveaway Night" at the F Street Arena. That is to say that there was a pretty hefty amount of foot traffic in the aisles, regardless of the action on the ice. But while folks were in their seats, they were good and vocal.

Speaking of not having a Horn Guy, I tried my best to fill in for my buddy, but those are some big shoes to fill. I would like to thank the Caps for having things very well in hand for the third period, letting me take it easy. Heh!

Sunday's game featured a few more prolonged bits of silence than I really like. Of course, watching an officiating performance like that will tend to have that effect, I guess.

Both games featured a couple of post-Thanksgiving pageant participants with quite the festive get-ups. At least one of the headdresses made it onto the broadcast Friday night after the hat-trick.

After the game, I ran into a couple, originally from the Czech Republic, up from their home in North Carolina just to see the Caps. I hope they made it to either Lyon Hall or the Front Page and got to meet a player or two. (Actually, I wish I could have made it to the Front Page last night, but it just wasn't in the cards.

And finally, kudos to the gang in "The Corner Bar" (sections 107 and 108) and the successful conclusion to their "Trade Flash" campaign.

Above Our Heads And Beyond

One abbreviation sums up the best thing about this homestand's in-game entertainment advancements: PIP. The picture-in-picture to keep live action on the big screen while replays are being shown is a fantastic development. I assume this opens the door for more and more replays. Well done, gang!

Speaking of opening the door, there were some good gaps for crowd noise during stoppages in play on Friday night. I like that we took advantage of them to make said noise. And in case you were wondering, yes, I was a bit bummed that there was no "Bustin' Loose" for the sixth goal. Heh!

This Week's Bonus Public Plea

Just one thing I ask of those attending games in the future. If you are getting up to go to the concession stand, please wait for a whistle. Barring that, at least have the discussion about what you and your friends want before standing up to go. If you don't, and someone behind you asks you to sit down (and I do mean "asks," not "tells" or "demands") after standing up for ten seconds right in front of them while the game is going on, just give a quick "my bad" and sit down. The alternative course of action doesn't seem to end well.

And So…

Things seem to be back on track, with the customary few kinks left to iron out (well, except for Friday night). With a new piece in the mix, things could get interesting in the next couple of weeks. Fingers are crossed. See everybody on Saturday!

Photo credit: Stewart Small / Facebook

The Home Stand That Was: One Goat's Opinion Home Game 12 - November 20, 2010

At least the "Monster Nachos" were pretty good.

Saturday night on F Street and the Broad Street Bullies were down from Philly to take on the Caps. It's always usually an interesting game when these two teams get together. Whether it's good or not is often up for debate, and could depend on who you ask afterward.

On The Ice

It really looked a lot like the Caps spent a lot of tonight perfecting their dual identities of late. Strong one moment, and somewhat clueless the next. Of course, they weren't exactly helped out by the guys in stripes during one of the most oddly-officiated games that I can recall seeing on F Street in a while, or by the insane amount of posts that they hit both early on and at the bitter end.

The Caps' ability to fall behind 3-1 after scoring first was aggravating. On the flip side, their ability to storm back from a two-goal deficit entering the third was the kind of thing that makes you wonder just how scary they could be if they found the right rhythm and consistency from night to night. Nicklas Backstrom's and Jason Chimera's goals in the third combined to be my highlight of the night. The other two Caps goals were no slouches either, just for the record.

My "Lowlight of the Night" was easily the third goal for the Flyers, scored by Jeff Carter as he just skated through the gaps left between the entirety of the Caps team and lifted a wrister past Neuvirth. I was shocked on the big screen replay to see just how easy of a time he seemed to have skating right on in.

The ship could use a little tightening. Hopefully there's a bit of a practice waiting for them in the next couple of days before heading up to Jersey.

In The Stands

Also in the category of "continuing recent trends" was the amount of Flyers fans in attendance tonight. There was a bit more orange and black apparel than the home game on the 7th, as well as the recently usual amount of no-shows, especially early. However, it was still a strong home crowd that had some great volume right out of the gate. I think a decent visiting team's fan presence tends to help stoke the fires.

Particularly impressive is the emotional tenacity that a lot of the crowd had, even as the Caps almost let the game get completely away from them. When the fury was unleashed in the third, the noise was robust, and the place went wild when Chimera scored the tying goal a few moments later.

Notably in attendance tonight, over to my right in section 106, was NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly. I couldn't quite tell if the referees were getting so involved in the action in the second period just to show off for him or what. What I do know is that at least one fan caught up with him during the second intermission to give him a piece of his mind about the officiating performance up to that point. Let's just say it wasn't exactly a rave review.

Above Our Heads And Beyond

OK, I know that the technology behind the CrowdWave games is legit, and that the software and hardware is still being tweaked. That said, two of the three sections in tonight's "Rink Race" must have been either empty or full of corpses tonight. I say that because only half of section 107 was even participating, much less waving their arms enthusiastically enough to win. Oh well, it's still a work in progress.

Great timing for "Unleash the Fury" tonight. Nice faceoff in the offensive zone, crowd ready for a comeback goal, and perhaps in need of a little extra push over the cliff. Nicely done.

Forgot about this one last night, but seriously, 92% of the people that sent in an answer thought that Rod Langway had won the Hart Trophy? For shame.

And So…

We saw promising bursts of talent and sticktoitiveness (two comebacks in the third) coupled with stretches of head-scratching breakdowns (the go-ahead goal after capturing all of the momentum with the previously mentioned comeback), punctuated with occasionally putrid officiating (really, a phantom hook for a full minute of 5-on-3 for Philly?). Somehow, out of all of that mess, the Caps managed to wring out a point. It wasn't a particularly satisfying point, but it counts.

That's the bright side. On the not-so-bright side, there are still some really important question marks looming over the Caps. Most of them don't look all that much closer to being answered now--just under two months into the season--than they did in September.

Invoking the "Essentially Pre-Season 'Til January" mantra again tonight, I'm not really going to sweat it too much. But I don't have to. I just hope that those who do have to sweat it are working on it.

Photo credit: Joe Roos / Facebook

The Home Stand That Was: One Goat's Opinion Home Game 11 - November 17, 2010

Another weeknight tilt, but this time against an emotional, if not divisional rival in the Buffalo Sabres. I had a pretty bad feeling going into this one, but it looks like I was (mostly) off-base. I think the Redskins "game" on my birthday was still throwing me off a bit. (Once again, I want to say bravo to Chad Dukes for his epic rant on Tuesday.)

On The Ice

Oh, Caps, is there any lead you can't try and squander?

I keed (a little bit, at least), as there was progress made last night over the recent pattern of letting those big leads slip away. They never actually relinquished the lead, and found a way to clamp down on a Buffalo team that had a lot of momentum in the second period. Seeing the Caps come out and play a solid third period, withstand a late flurry, and have it all punctuated by one of the prettiest empty-net goals ever from Alexander Semin felt good.

Now, to work on those mid-game lulls…

In The Stands

Wednesday nights in the regular season will never be known for regular electricity in DC, but usually the Sabres bring out a decent amount of passion in the Caps fan community. This Wednesday night seemed to bring out a lot of Caps fans dressed as either blue seats or Sabres fans.

Not sure what was blowing in the wind that resulted in, as one of my friends noted on Facebook, "the most opposing team's fans I've seen since we've been rocking the red," but it wasn't pretty. The Buffalo rally in the second really highlighted it. Hopefully it's not the shape of regular season things to come.

Above Our Heads And Beyond

Thankfully, there was no appearance on the big screen by "Drunk Bills Fan," or Otis Day and the Knights serenading us with "Shout" (a noted staple in the songbook of Buffalo sports fans). Whatever the reason, I am thankful for that.

However, during the very first stoppage in play, the organist let go with the rhythmic chant that those in blue and yellow could sing along to, in the form of the five-beat/five-clap chant. I understand that it's a good idea to mix things up instead of doing the same thing over and over and over. However, there are some nights where some things can just stay on the shelf, of only for the one game.

From a more positive perspective, I like the very high-quality look of some of the new video packages, especially the new second period intro and the "extremely letterboxed" video that played later on. Nice work, gang!

And So…

The streak continues at home. There can be nitpicks about the way things are getting done, and there very well should be, but the fact remains that the points are piling up in the standings right now. Since I'm still holding to my mantra of "pre-season until January," I'm OK with nights like this for now.

Let's just hope, after seeing what they're capable of in a loss against Tampa, the Caps can hold the Flyers to less than seven on Saturday night.