My family has left Verizon Center a lot happier than we did Sunday night following the Washington Capitals 3-2 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game Two of their NHL Eastern Conference Semifinal playoff series. We’ve also left feeling a lot worse (at least some of us). But this is the first time since Game Five of the 2009 Semifinal Series against the Pittsburgh Penguins that we haven’t known if it was the last time we’ll leave Verizon Center until the fall. I realized this as my friend Daniel that sits next to us uttered an expletive and hoped out of his seat and down the stairs before I had a chance to open my camera bag when Vincent Lecavalier scored the overtime game winner. I didn’t have the time to process that thought last night with the subsequent events of the evening, but it’s hit me pretty hard today. I have no fear. Alex Ovechkin said that the Capitals will win two in Tampa. Since I’ve got nothing else, I’ll take it.
More thoughtful thinking stuff can be found in the usual places like Japer’s Rink, Russian Machine, On Frozen Blog, and Ed Frankovic. I still can’t get enough of the Capital Outsider box score…it’s just missing “Fire, fire, fire.”
My photos are here and on flickr.
