Arghhhhhhhhh.......................

The Caps put together a resounding 4-1 win against the #1 team in the NHL, the Ottawa Senators last Thursday and then turned around and lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, 5-2. This pisses me off big time. Why? Because it shows that when the Caps feel like it, they can beat the best team in the NHL. When they don't feel like it, and they've rarely played 60 minutes of hockey during any game this season, they lose.

On the good news side (and there is very little of that), Alex Ovechkin is playing his heart out on both ends of the ice. He has 19 points, is on pace for 53 goals this season and, even more amazing, he's plus 3! After ending up -19 last year, Alex learned how to play defense and he's making other teams pay for it. Ovie is the primary reason I can still stomach watching the Caps play a hockey game because I get to watch him. His motivation to play with fire every single night makes me wish we could bottle that enthusiasm and give it to the rest of the Caps.

I, like many others, had such high expectations (if simply making the playoffs is considered "high" expectations) for the Caps this year and they are exactly nowhere and pushing themselves out of playoff contention quickly. Yes, you read that right, if the Caps don't turn around this season in the next few weeks, they'll be playing golf again in April.

And, injuries are not an excuse for this team's record. Every player on this team that isn't injured should be motivated to play hard and win every single night. They're far from it. That's the coaching staff's job and they're not getting it done.

The Caps play the Panthers on Thursday after another one of these stupid 5 game breaks in their schedule this year. I really think that is not helping the Caps situation at all. It's very hard for them to get ahockey rhythm going.

Let's go Caps!