Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Washington Beats Philly, Dallas...IN THE SAME DAY



Tricked ya! The Redskins don't win games anymore. This post's title refers to professionally operated franchises in DC, namely the Capitals and Wizards, who beat the Philadelphia Flyers and Dallas Mavericks, respectively, on Tuesday. Two wins for DC in the same day? The last time that happened, fat guys were stealing lunch money from Dan Snyder, instead of the other way around.

The Caps played a solid game for nearly 60 minutes, which has happened only 4 times by my count in 11 games so far. Ovechkin's late empty-netter sealed the 4-2 win, and Backstrom led the way with 1 G, 3A. The Caps are now 7-2-2, off to their best start in 14 years, and haven't even played their best hockey yet. Winning games with overwhelming talent...imagine that.

Good signs included: Semin back and healthy, whipping a filthy wrister over Emery's shoulder for the GWG. Team defense locking it down in the final minutes. Theodore playing outstanding, with 39 saves on the evening. Ovechkin destroying Mike Richards along the boards in the second period.

Meanwhile, out Texas way, the Wiz looked damn good for 48 minutes in handling the Mavericks 102-91. Flip Saunders relied heavily on an 8-man rotation featuring a lot of Gilbert (29 Points, 9 assists), who appears to be a man on a mission. The thought of a determined and focused Agent Zero has me absolutely giddy.

Other good signs included: not-sluggish offense. Good ball movement. Steady and solid contributions from newcomers Mike Miller, Randy Foye, and Fabricio Oberto. Blatche looking dominant (20 points, 7 rebs, 2 blocks, 0 turnovers). The head coach calling the plays.

It's early, and rationality is not my strongest suit, but the way these two teams are looking, and being led by their respective stars, we just might have a veeeerrry interesting spring on our hands. Please, dear sporting gods, let this not be a tease.

[Images via ESPN.com]

4 comments:

  1. Don't forget a Wizards defense that actually looked functional for the first time in about five years.

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  2. or that we had players on the bench that could come in and score 20 and 19 points?? I love it when Gilbert and Foye are on the floor at the same time.

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  3. Never bet against a slighted Gilbert Arenas.

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  4. This was Caps 3rd complete game.

    Others wins over Sharks and Bruins.

    Not to mention the toughest schedule in the league to start and still be 7-2-2. Wait till we play the lesser competition.

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