Tonight in Washington D.C., a place where five years ago hockey was a rumor or perhaps a myth, the Capitals will host the Penguins in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs’ second round. I don’t need to tell you that it will be one of the best sporting events of this (or any) year. I can all but guarantee it.
Honestly, tell me another sport — other than an NFL playoff game, but even those are influenced by injuries, weather, weird bounces, blowouts, etc. — where you know you’ll be getting what you’re paying for tonight.
It’s 3-3. The teams clearly don’t like each other. The penalties have been lopsided in the Penguins direction. The “one name” stars are all out — my man Jim Williams of The Examiner wrote about the incredible worldwide audience for this game — Ovechkin and Federov, Sidney and Malkin.
Who’ll win? The pesky Capitals who have been outplayed dramatically but have been incredibly resiliant and realiably cardiac over the past three weeks certainly have a shot. They are the NHL team with nine lives at this point.
A home crowd of 20,000 red maniacs, taunting Sidney Crosby and Segei Gonchar not to mention Marc-Andre Fleury all night.
For all of the initiated, don’t worry about all of the strange pronunciations and rules and icing and penalties. Don’t focus on “I can’t see the puck” anymore.
Just watch the action. And the passion. And the flow of the game. And the intensity of the crowd.
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Unfortunately “scheduling” has cost me an opportunity to be at the Verizon Center tonight acting like a fool. But instead, you can watch me flip out in a red Skipjacks jersey tonight and participate in the idiocy and intensity of Game 7.
We’ll be at Donna’s Tavern in Dundalk for the Coors Light King (or Queen) of Baltimore Sportstalk competition at 7 p.m. We have 12 contestants (Jay Trucker has unfortunately had to withdraw) each doing a few minutes of live, mystery radio.
Our competition will end well before 9 p.m., which means a post-competition party with 3rd period, Game 7 nuttiness as a dessert for the evening. We might even have a few Coors Lights.
And, as important as the competition is, we DO have a game to watch tonight. Drop by Donna’s and support some of the amateurs and Rock The Red with us!
Orioles go for the sweep. Caps go for a Game 7 win. And WNST has some fun with some real Baltimore sports fans in Dundalk with celebrities, cheap beer, great food and all on a Wednesday night, no less!
Game 7 is the best, isn’t it?
Today is gonna be a great day!
