Calm Down Caps Fans...

Three games into the season, the season is over.

The Capitals cannot score on even strength, the defense sucks, Braden Holtby is gonna choke, the division is too good, blah blah blah long story short we're toast.

Now that the mini-rant is out of the way, let's be a little bit more rational about things.

1. The Caps cannot score on even strength. That may be true, but coming into today, we have as many even strength goals as Boston, Columbus, Philadelphia, New York Rangers, Tampa Bay, Nashville, and Dallas, and more even strength goals than Los Angeles, Minnesota, Buffalo. They only have one or two fewer goals than most of the rest of the league. The Caps have to step up their even strength play, but they are not doing badly comparatively.

2. The defense sucks. Well, unfortunately I cannot argue with this. Only Edmonton and New York Rangers have worse goals against per game than the Caps, while Calgary has the same. Still, it is early.

3. Braden Holtby is gonna choke. Yes, he has been bad; only three goalies have worse save percentages than him. However, it is still early, and as RMNB (among others) has pointed out, Holtby usually starts shaky before doing well later.

4. The division is too good. Um, not really. Philly is worse than the Caps, NYR the same, and only Pittsburgh and NYI have been really good so far. In the division, Pittsburgh and NYI are the only teams with more goals than the Caps. Not bad for a team who can only score on power plays. Plus, defense-wise, we have allowed fewer goals than New Jersey and NYR, and only three teams (Pittsburgh, NYI, and Columbus) have better goal differentials than the Caps.

In the end, it is early. We are only three games in, and the Caps have not been bad. They have not played up to standards, but don't stick a fork in the Caps yet.

Let's wait until the Caps have played at least 20 games before we do that.

After a Brief Hiatus... Predictions for Tonight

First of all, sorry for missing the game on Thursday. I ran out of time before the game started.

But, I'm here today, so here are the predictions for today's match.

Me (0-1): 5-3 Caps. The Stars are an odd bunch, and are very different from their teams the last few years. Their goaltending is not sensational, but can get the job done with Kari Lehtonen. Their offense took a big hit when they lost Loui Eriksson and Brenden Morrow last year, and their D has not been all that great either. Tyler Seguin will be looking to make a big impact in his new environs, but with a red-hot OV and Grabo for the Caps, this game could be over already.

TI-84 (1-0): 6-5 Stars (SO). The TI picks the same score as it did against the Hawks. A bad omen? Eh. Probably not.

Magic Eraser (0-1): 4-2 Stars. This is why erasers do not have brains.

Enjoy the game, and let's hope for a solid outing like that one in Chicago.

Let The Games Begin; Last Minute Prediction for Opening Night

As you all know, the season begins for the Caps in a few minutes from now.

Per Katie Carrera, there are some surprises in the lineup, with all three rookies making their regular season debuts in Connor Carrick, Michael Latta, and Tom Wilson. Martin Erat will be on the 4th line for today, and Brooks Laich will play on the second line.

Some thoughts...

This game has been scrutinized for a while for some reason, and there has been a lot of excitement for the Caps' first foray into Metropolitan Division life with a good opening night match against the defending champs.

Some predictions:

Me: 3-2 Caps. People (those on Bleacher Report especially; looking at you Steve Silverman) seem to think losing Mike Ribeiro will absolutely kill the Caps and they do not have a chance against the defending champs. But the bottom line is, both teams played well against each other in the preseason with split squads. It will be interesting to see who wins, but I think the Caps come out on top.

TI-84: 6-5 Hawks (SO). Meh. He's a calculator. What does he know?

Magic Eraser: 4-3 Caps (OT). Don't judge me. Or him.

Well, not much left to say, except...

Let the games begin.