Poll Results: Caps First Round Opponents

Fantastic voter turnout for this one, and a pretty obvious preference indicated by Caps Nation.

Out of 144 voters, 74% do NOT want to face the Flyers (38%) or Canadiens (36%) in the first round of the playoffs. I can't say I disagree.

After last night's OT win over Boston - a game in which we benched Mike Green and no Caps forward saw more than 18:20 of ice time - it's pretty clear we have the mental edge over the Bruins as we near the postseason. Ditto for the Thrashers, and ditto for the Rangers (although perhaps less so than the others).

What's unfortunate is that the Flyers are slotted in that 8-spot right now and, despite serious recent struggles, might be there to stay. I know we can beat 'em, you know we can beat 'em, my cousin's dead blind dog knows we can beat 'em. It just might require a little more focus than your everyday first round fodder.

Who knows - maybe that's a good thing? Let's just say it is.

Poll Results: Crosby vs. Backstrom

About 76% of you believe Nicklas Backstrom will overtake Sidney Crosby in the points race - the race for third, that is, behind Henrik Sedin and Alex Ovechkin.

I might have been inclined to agree when the poll was posted over a week ago. However, it's looking less and less likely that our brilliant Swede will beat out you-know-who. Crosby is now sitting at 94 points with 6 games remaining, all of which will be vital to the Pens playoff seeding. Backstrom, at 91 points, is mired in somewhat of a slump and playing in games that aren't necessarily meaningless (see: President's Trophy), but at the same time aren't crucial.

If I was a betting man my money would be on Crosby, but what the hell do I know anyway?

Six games. Three points. Can Nicky do it?

Poll Results: Presidents Trophy

Among the 33 voters, 26 (77%) of you foresee a Presidents' Trophy in the Caps' future.

The other 7 (21%) of you must believe in the DCLS jinx, which makes the SI Jinx look like kiddie stuff.

Seriously. Never underestimate the karmic power of recreational sports blog.

Caps Trade Poll Results

Apparently most of our readers think the Caps are good enough to win the cup as is.

78 of 135 voters (57%) do not want GMGM to make a move before the March 3 trade deadline, which is fast approaching considering the February 12 - February 28 Olympic trade freeze.

While I agree that this team is good enough to win it all, I'd still much rather have the insurance of another big body on the blue line. Something tells me GMGM, after witnessing the team give up 4+ goals with unacceptable defensive efforts in three of the last four games, might be down for some tweaking.

Ovechkin v. Crosby - America's New Favorite Matchup?

Granted: ESPN.com polls are unscientific. Granted: the question is quite narrow. Granted: over 60% of voters chose a different matchup. Granted: A 1.3 overnight rating for NBC's Sunday afternoon Caps-Pens ridiculously awesome game is relatively small.

But still. Nearly 30,000 votes are in as of late Monday evening and the results are surprising, especially for ESPN readership.

Hooray for pluralities! Now, the voting map has few surprises:


But Arizona and Nevada!?!? Bettman, you see that? The gamblers want in!

Olympic Hockey Poll Results

About 59% of the vote was cast in favor of Team Alex Ovechkin Russia, with Canada (20%), the United States (12%), and Sweden (9%) distantly following.

To quote cleverly named "Anonymous" in the comments section of this post, "Poll results are showing that this blog is nothing more than a pinko commie rag..USA USA".

Guess I can't really argue with that right now, can I?

Caps Half-Season Poll Results

The majority of you put the Caps in the A/A- range, with a few of you none too pleased by their recent trend (see B, B-, and C), and one asshole who is clearly a Penguins fan weighing in with his unwanted opinion (F).

The average GPA they received from DCLS viewers was a 3.57, just below an A-. In consideration of DC's misery the past decade, anything resembling this type of performance the second half of the season would be a major accomplishment.

Assuming, of course, it precedes a Stanley Cup.

Tonight: Canadiens @ Caps, 7 ET