Arggghhh, Part II

Lightning 6, Capitals 4.

The good news first...the Caps revamped power play unit with Semin, OV, Zubie, Zednik and Pothier made 2 goals in 3 tries so that's a huge improvement on the PP.

The bad news. The 2nd period was a complete disaster with too many penalties, bad officiating and 1 goal that never should have made it past Olie. The other bad news was the barely visible fan base at Verizon Center. It was a Saturday night game, the Redskins stink, the Nationals season is done and the Wizards are in the pre-season so why not root for the home hockey team? I was disappointed at all the empty seats. Home ice advantage doesn't count for much if there aren't enough fans to make enough noise to get the players pumped up.

I know, I know, DC isn't a "hockey" town, so maybe it's time to teach non-hockey fans why they should become hockey fans and, of course, Washington Capitals fans. Hockey is a fast moving and exciting game to watch. So, for all of you non-hockey fans here are 6 reasons why you should go to a Caps game:

1. Alexander Ovechkin - 2005-2006 rookie of the year who scored 52 goals. One of OV's goals last year was so memorable that it will forever be known as "the goal". Search for it on the Internet and you'll be amazed at the moves this talented hockey player can make.
2. Ted Leonsis - a sports team owner that cares about the fans, loves the game and has a plan to turn the Caps into champions.
3. Alexander Semin - another Russian forward, like Ovechkin, who has already put up 8 goals this year after returning to the Caps from a 2-year hiatus playing in Russia. He's been fun to watch.
4. Ticket prices - you don't have to take out a loan to pay for a game.
5. Hershey Bears - Like baseball, hockey teams have farm teams and the Hershey Bears are the Caps farm team. They won the Calder Cup championship last year in the American Hockey League. Some of those players are already full-time Capitals - like Mike Green who is doing well as a young defenseman for the Caps and others will be future Caps. These players have learned what it takes to bring home a championship and that's important for the Capitals development.
6. The Redskins season is pretty much done so why not support the Capitals. And, as an added bonus, I doubt Tom Cruise will ever attend a Capitals game.

The Caps head out West for a road trip this week with some late night games so I'll be watching as long as I can stay awake. Let's go Caps!