Before the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver took place, I was a bit nervous for the pro hockey team in Washington. Its phenomenal 14-game win streak was snapped in one-goal downers by two teams in Canada (Montreal and Ottawa) and one in St. Louis, Missouri.
The Capitals' defense was a mess, and the entire squad went on a funky, mildly chaotic three-game losing streak, where their penchant for committing minor-penalty infractions was put on full blast.
Thereafter, Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, and Semyon Varlamov left Verizon Center, the Kettler Iceplex in Alexandria, VA., and the NHL to represent Russia in western Canada, as did Tomas Fleischmann and Niklas Backstrom for the Czech Republic and Sweden, respectively.
With 41 wins and 90 points before the Olympic break, the Caps were still near, if not at, the top of the NHL standings. But with Ovechkin and company out for two and a half weeks, there were concerns about the team's second-half efforts, even before the Olympic closing ceremonies signed off with the billionth rendition of the lugubrious national anthem O Canada.
The questions persisted:
Would ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by K. D. James
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March 4th, 2010 by K. D. James Leave a reply »
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