Time To Earn Their Red Wings...

2009 Stanley Cup Finals: Pittsburgh Penguins versus Detroit Red Wings
The clash for Lord Stanley’s Cup features a rematch of last year’s championship, which saw the Red Wings triumph in six games. NHL Golden Boy Sidney Crosby seeks his first Cup, while Detroit (aka ‘Hockeytown’) guns for their fifth title in the last twelve seasons. Interestingly, this marks the first time in twenty-five years that the same teams have met in the finals two years in a row.

Offense – Crosby and his supremely talented running mate Evgeni Malkin have been lighting it up in the post season, each registering 28 points in only 17 games. Crosby leads all playoff scorers with 14 goals, and Malkin’s rare combination of finesse and power has proven unstoppable at times.

While Pittsburgh’s dynamic duo has been counted on to shoulder the bulk of the scoring load for their team, the Wings boast considerably more depth up front, with snipers Marian Hossa, Johan Franzen, and Henrik Zetterberg joining key role players Daniel Cleary, Jiri Hudler, Mikael Samuelsson and Tomas Holmstrom. Not to be forgotten, Detroit’s superstar center Pavel Datsyuk missed the last 3 games of their semifinal series against Chicago with a foot injury, and his status is up in the air for the finals, which begin this Saturday night in Detroit. Datsyuk is a finalist for the Hart Trophy as league MVP, and excels at both ends of the ice, so it will be a HUGE loss for the Red Wings if he’s unable to go. Edge: Even (Detroit would have a slight edge, if not for the brilliance of Crosby and Malkin thus far, and the uncertainty surrounding the health of Datsyuk).

Defense – The Wings have an incredibly deep blueline, led by their captain, Nicklas Lidstrom, a six-time winner of the Norris Trophy (awarded to the league’s best defenseman). Lidstrom missed the last two games of the Chicago series due to injury, but is expected to be ready when the puck drops on Saturday night. Brian Rafalski, Niklas Kronwall and Brad Stuart round out Detroit’s top four on defense, and grizzly 47 year old Chris Chelios may also be among those tasked with the unenviable task of trying to slow down Malkin and Crosby. Pittsburgh’s backline is led by smooth skating Sergei Gonchar, who has bounced back admirably from a knee injury suffered in the second round. Veterans Brooks Orpik, Rob Scuderi and Hall Gill provide a strong physical presence, and after successfully shackling Carolina center Eric Staal in the semifinals, they will be counted on for a similar effort against the Red Wings’ top guns. Edge: Red Wings

Special Teams – Detroit’s penalty killers have struggled in the playoffs, allowing 15 power play goals, contributing to a paltry 73.7% success rate. Fortunately, their power play—which was the league’s best during the regular season—has held up their end of the bargain, clicking at 25.7%. The Penguins’ special teams have been solid at both ends of the ice in the post season, and will need their power play to continue producing in order to offset the advantage that the Wings are likely to have at even strength. Edge: Penguins

Goaltending – A duel between young and old, as Detroit’s 36 year old Chris Osgood faces off against the Pens’ 24 year old Marc-Andre Fleury. Osgood was the recipient of a fair amount of criticism during the regular season, with pundits declaring the team’s goaltending to be their Achilles’ heel, but he’s already backstopped the Wings to a pair of Stanley Cup triumphs, and has turned it up a few notches in the post season, to the tune of a 2.06 GAA. Fleury is clearly the flashier netminder, and should be moving into his prime years, but has been inconsistent at times during these playoffs, and was outplayed by Osgood during last year’s series. Still, Fleury is the goalie who is more capable of getting hot and stealing a few games on his own with his raw athletic ability. Edge: Even

Intangibles – Perhaps the biggest intangible belongs to Pittsburgh, if the referees continue to give them the benefit of the doubt on penalty calls. Conspiracy theorists whisper that commissioner Gary Bettman and the NHL powers that be want Crosby to win the Cup and cement his status as a cornerstone of the league’s revival, and the way the playoffs have been refereed thus far may lend credence to this view. The Penguins have been granted a league-high 83 power plays in the playoffs, but have only been shorthanded 61 times. By comparison, during the entire 82 game regular season, Pittsburgh had only 13 more power plays than shorthanded situations. Hmm…

Detroit’s prime intangible, of course, is their experience. They have a host of players who have been here before, and should draw confidence from defeating the Penguins last year (although the Pittsburgh roster has undergone significant roster changes since). They also play a puck possession game similar to that of the Washington Capitals, who gave the Pens their biggest test to date before succumbing in seven games in the second round. The area where the Capitals were most vulnerable (defensive zone play) is a strength for this Detroit squad. The Wings are banged up, however, and the league’s decision to avoid an eight day layoff and start the series with back to back games on Saturday and Sunday this weekend hasn’t gone over well in ‘Hockeytown’.

Another interesting storyline is that of Hossa, who played for the Penguins last season, but signed a one year deal with Detroit in the offseason, declaring that they offered the best chance for him to win a Cup. Needless to say, there will be plenty of folks on the Pittsburgh bench who will be looking to prove him wrong. Edge: Penguins

Outlook – I expect this to be a fabulous series. The Pens were clearly outclassed in last year’s go round… they just didn’t have the experience or depth to match the Red Wings. Depth may still be an issue, but youngsters Crosby and Malkin have both elevated their games considerably in the playoffs this year, and if Fleury is able to do the same they will have a shot. The health of key players for Detroit will also be a big factor, and though I still think that Bettman will be handing the Cup to Lidstrom and his mates when all is said and done, this one should be MUCH more competitive than last year’s battle, and it will likely go right down to the wire. Fasten your seat belts…

Red Wings in 7.

The Chaaammmmpeeeooons

Pep, Pep, Hooray!!!

Obviously this has to be all about the “Super Bowl” of soccer. A great night in Rome as Barcelona completed their treble with rookie coach Pep Guardiola besting the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson.

Some thoughts after a few hours and drinks:

- Much of the blame in the media is falling on Sir Alex’s shoulders. It’s a somewhat rightful criticis, but to me not as much tactically -- there were faults there, to be sure -- as much as for not having his players ready to play. To be honest, the team looked as flat as D.C. United looked for much of last season. They clearly were unhinged by that early goal, which was as one friend texted me “the classic definition of against the run of play,” and rarely threatened from the run of play. Aside from not having his boys raring to go, the inclusion of both Ryan Giggs and Anderson in the starting lineup left me scratching my head. I can see one, but not both. The team has done well with a number ten by committee over the past two seasons, but when Ronaldo was nullified there was really nowhere else for the offense to turn. The answer wasn’t to throw on every striker available and SAF couldn’t make changes to regain control of the midfield.

- One question I have is how does that game change if Edwin van der Sar makes the save on Eto’o’s early shot? ManU surely doesn’t fall apart as quickly and maybe finds a way to go in front. On that goal specifically, though, Vidic was abused in a way that a serious candidate for Player of the Year in the EPL should never happen -- no way Eto’o can go to the middle there. And sure it was a tough save for the aging Dutch ‘keeper to make, but I say he has to on that stage that early in the game. Tim Howard makes it, right?

- Xavi was named Man of the Match, at least according to the JumboTron during the celebration, but Carlos Puyol has to get some thought on that level. (Yes, it pains me greatly to agree with Tommy Smyth here.) The captain was not only solid playing out of position at right back, but flew up the flank like you expected Patrice Evra to do opposite him. Or Danny Alves, the guy Puyol replaced. It was interesting to see Guardiola tell Puyol to sit back and keep defensive shape in the waning moments as he wanted to make a run, only to see the Spaniard fly forward seconds later to nearly score -- even if he did get injured seconds later by a diving EvdS.

- Going back to tactics, it was interesting to see United play basically a 4-2-4 in the final minutes and still not generate chances. For me it seemed like there was too much individual play from Ronaldo, but with as invisible as teammates were you can understand the reigning FIFA Player of the Year trying to put the game on his shoulders. Unfortunately the Portuguese talisman has a tendency of not showing up in big games, aaand for the most part didn’t in this one. Can’t say he was necessarily bested by Lionel Messi, but the Argentine has to win the award this year, no?

- Something that won’t get enough press is the job the man in the middle did. Great refereeing on the biggest stage, just as we wanted. You know Michel Platini had to offer plenty of thanks to him after the final whistle to avoid controversy like he dealt with after Barça-Chelsea. Granted, it was a relatively “easy” game, but kudos to you Massimo Busacca.

- One last word, congrats to Thierry Henry. As my boy Kevin pointed out he’s got pretty much everything at this point. He’s won a World Cup and a Euro Championship. He’s won league titles in England and Spain, as well as France. He’s won the FA Cup and Copa del Rey. Was runner up twice for FIFA PotY. I hear he scored a few goals along the way. And, after Wednesday, he’s won Champions League, and against an old foe at that. Now he seems set to come to MLS (probably in a few years) and win nothing else with New York.

Other stuff:

- Bob Bradley named 24 guys to a group that will train in preparation for a pair of Cup qualifiers as well as the Confederations Cup. The biggest surprise might be the inclusion of Benny Feilhaber, though I’d probably go with Sacha Kljestan who hasn’t shown well with Chivas this year (at least Feilhaber can blame injuries for his lack of form). As always there’s a lack of options up front and we can only hope Jozy Altidore’s big toenails hold up so we’re not subjected to more Brian Ching than absolutely necessary. But with Frankie Hejduk injured, again, we could be seeing Marvell Wynne being thrown into the fire quite a bit in the Confed Cup.

Oh, and don’t sleep on these next two qualifiers. I wouldn’t be shocked to see the seemingly invincible Yanks come out of a trip to Costa Rica and hosting Honduras in Chicago with just a single point. Not saying it will happen, but if the odds were right (and available) in Vegas I’d put a few bucks on it.

- According to SoccerByIves, Peter Nowak will be named Philadelphia’s first coach on Friday. Interesting choice and one I didn’t expect, as it seems a step backward for the former D.C. boss who was thought to have European aspirations -- perhaps even the Polish national team? He certainly fits into the blue-collar ethic from Philly teams though, so that works. And you have to think Freddy Adu is cracking a smile heading to camp next week.

- There’s gotta be an MLS coach fired by the All-Star Game, yeah? For me it should be Schellas Hyndman in Dallas. But his contract is too big and too long -- Bushman claims to have that problem all the time -- for the frugal Hunt family to can. Juan Carlos Osorio should also be on the hot seat, but he at least makes it to the Everton game. Bruce Arena still has enough pull to make it through the season and keep rebuilding post-Golden Balls. Robert Warzycha was probably on the hot seat, but a mid-week win in San Jose probably is enough to keep him on for most of the year (again, back to the frugal Hunts).

However, that came at the expense of Frank Yallop whose San Jose side now has just 5 points in 10 games. And there’s no sign of getting better. Unless another Darren Huckerby-type signing can infuse the team in the second half, that’ll make three straight failures for Yallop following gigs with the Canadian national team and the Galaxy.

- Pat Walsh

Weekend Roundup

I took Memorial Day off from my normal Monday writing, so here are we on a dreary and rainy Tuesday here in DC. Lots of soccer this weekend, and I actually attended 3 matches. Unfortunately, I missed the best one (Richmond/Crystal Palace), as you can see from Richmond's Kelvin Jones above. Nice little gash from what players and coaches described to me as a war (photo credit courtesy of Suz Kitsteiner).

1. DC United/Real Salt Lake - First chance I've had to watch United in person this year, and I picked possibly the worst game I've seen this year. DC had a few chances in the first half, but both teams seemed to bunker in (although Tom Soehn claimed it was only Real who did so). Gotta say I was impressed w/ DC's back 3, plus GK Josh Wicks. He made the saves when he needed to, including back to back gems midway through the 2nd half to preserve the point. And any talk about Bryan Namoff losing a step (that might have been me before the season started) can get off that bandwagon. His speed is fine, his positioning is better, and he's become an obvious leader on the field.

One more thing; I was looking forward to seeing RSL's Javier Morales play. After Saturday, I'm in no rush to see him again anytime soon. He resembled Carlos Ruiz more than anything else, with all of the diving, whining, and just not looking like the guy who took over games last year. No wonder the team hasn't scored a goal on the road this year.

2. Freedom/Sky Blue FC - Still not getting the Sky Blue thing (especially when they wore orange jerseys), but this was actually a much better game than the 2nd one of the evening. Even without Abby Wambach, the Freedom created several scoring chances and had some nice finishes, including a corner from Sonia Bompastor to Cat Whitehill. Cat is quickly becoming my favorite player, and she can make a case as the best defender in the league. She stripped Natahsa Kai and Rosana on multiple occasions, sometimes making a risky tackle inside the 18 and winning it cleanly. In addition, GK Erin McLeod has without a doubt supplanted Brianna Scurry as the Freedom starter, and Sonia Bompastor was a joy to watch. She was probably the most exciting player on the field.

3. The USL-2 Craziness Continues - So previously unbeaten Wilmington goes into winless Western Mass. and loses, Bermuda wins again, Charlotte loses again and has given up a league-high 15 goals, and Richmond and Crystal Palace play to a standstill. The 1-1 draw in Richmond Stadium was the 4th consecutive home tie for them. They've got a heavy home schedule for the first half of the season, so they need to start picking up some points on the road to assure themselves a spot in the top 5 to make the playoffs. As I mentioned earlier, I got texts from players and coaches after Saturday's war, and learned there were 8 yellow cards and 10 minutes of stoppage time...in the 2nd half! And there I was sitting in RFK joking with my fellow journalists as to how bad the MLS game was...

4. FC Fredericksburg/NoVa. Royals - A solid PDL matchup between the regional rivals. Shaka Bagura nets a pretty goal early in the 2nd half for the 1-0 Gunners win. A typically brutal game for both teams as numerous yellows were distributed, and a few more which would have resulted in red weren't called. I like the way the Gunners are playing so far. They possess well, their outside backs are good at making knifing runs and clearing space for the attackers, and they're solid in the air. The good news for this team is that they've been missing some guys who should step right in and contribute, giving this already good team some depth. Big test this weekend as they play Reading, who are going to the U.S. Open Cup and have been manhandling opponents so far this year.

5. Champions League - Won't go into all kinds of depth about this game. The matchups are being broken down by every other soccer writer, blogger, or tv commentator. I'll give just my (usually unreliable) prediction; United will start out tentative to see what Barca brings at them. With the Barca defense playing shorthanded due to yellow card suspensions (another silly rule that FIFA should really look to change), Ronaldo will score on a fantastic counterattack and go into the break at 1-0. Barca will push forward in the 2nd half, and United will double the lead on another counter, this time by Wayne Rooney. Barca will get a late goal but it won't be enough, and United will repeat as Champions of Europe.

By the way, I have to work on Wednesday and will have to tivo the game and watch when I get home. That means, do not call me, text me, or email me. I will stay off Facebook and any other channel that even has the slightest chance of showing the result. I'm even skipping the gym in the evening because I know something will be on the tv. You've been warned; leave me alone!

Look for Pat's column later in the week, hopefully breaking down the Champs League Final on Thursday for us.

Also, with the Stanley Cup Finals all but matched up with Pittsburgh and Detroit, we'll try to get something from Scott Morath, our hockey expert, and break the series down and give his prediction.

Where’s The Kiddie Pool?

Hmm, I probably shouldn't be looking that way for the ball...

If you look at around MLS, perhaps the biggest negative change between the present day league and the early days is a lack of young American goalkeepers. If Paul Simon wrote songs about soccer, he might be asking “where have you gone, Brad Friedel?”

Of course the answer to that is England where the USA’s 2002 netminder helped Villa earn their first ever Europa League berth. (Like how I did that? Sure, the Europa League will be born this fall so everyone is going for the first time, but that fact sounds that much better than qualifying for Europe again.) Friedel’s also mentoring the most recent American ‘keeper, Brad Guzan, to head to Europe.

But El Guzano’s departure was really the last hope. At least for now.

There are four keepers in MLS currently allowing less than a goal per game. Three of the four are relative surprises. The foursome is all-time MLS GAA leader Pat Onstad (Houston), Jamaican Donovan Ricketts (Los Angeles), former U.S. international Kasey Keller (Seattle), and MLS journeyman Zach Thornton (Chivas). Onstad’s always going to be in this mix, but that Ricketts is backstopping a previously porous Galaxy backline, Keller as an MVP candidate in leading expansion Seattle to second in the West, and Thornton making save after save for injury riddled Chivas USA are all bigger shocks than Orlando stealing game one in Cleveland last night.

Of the two Americans, Thornton’s the relative youngster at 35. So what are the up and coming choices around the league? Let’s take a look:

Nick Rimando in Salt Lake? Chris Seitz is the better long-term prospect, but while the Maryland product is a good shot stopper, he isn’t a complete keeper -- he doesn’t control his box and his positioning is questionable at times -- as he showed before going down with an injury putting RSL in dire straights.

The Danny Cepero/Jon Conway duo in New York? Please. Matt Reis and Brad Knighton are another duo up I-95, but one’s on the downside of his career while Reis is old.

As a quick aside, a question often posed by my boy Kevin, how much better would Matt Reis’s career have been if not for Kevin Hartman? Reis was behind the Golden Bleached Blonde Boy at UCLA and with the Galaxy before finally moving to a starting role with the Revs. Add another five years of fulltime MLS experience and he might be considered the best all time in the league.

As for others currently in the league: Jon Busch in Chicago? Ray Burse, Jr. in Dallas? Matt Pickens in Colorado? Hartman in Kansas City? Joe Cannon in San Jose? They all have issues with the latter two not having age on their side.

William Hesmer is probably the best answer. But he doesn’t seem as much of a lock as Guzan or Howard was. You have to wonder how much of last season’s success was based on the solid defense playing in front of him; this year the defense has suffered injuries, and thus, so have Hesmer’s numbers.

On the national team level this isn’t a problem with Tim Howard the long-term answer for Bob Bradley. I’d say either Keller or Friedel should get a call if T-Ho went down with a major injury. But this is akin to Brazil not producing a young goalscorer like Pato. “The Duck” may not star at South Africa in 2010, but you know he will at Brazil ’14 and beyond. Who is that keeper for America?

No, Guzan isn’t the answer. Neither is former D.C. backstop Troy Perkins up in Norway. And I don’t think that guy will come from MLS, unless Stefan Frei gains a U.S. passport. There are other options abroad with Dominic Cervi getting new life at Celtic and Quentin Westberg in France’s Ligue 2.

But what was once a position of strength and incredible depth -- just as Jurgen Summer -- is now fairly shallow.

Other stuff

- Gotta give props to my new favorite Bundesliga player. Sorry Steve Cherundolo and Michael Bradley. Hertha’s Pal Dardai bought beers for all those in attendance for the season closer against Schalke after more than 55k showed up for five straight games. Kenny Cooper could offer the same deal if more than 7,500 showed up for five straight at Pizza Hut Park. (Thanks to DuNord for the link.)

- Speaking of beer in Dallas, apparently the newly coined Red Stripes -- apparently Hoops wasn’t selling the team, so they changed to improve attendance, or something like that -- are offering $1 beers at a happy hour prior to this weekend’s game. Well, this is a step up from 10k free Drew Carey glasses. Which makes me think a better tie in for Drew Carey would’ve been $1 beers and $5 lap dances.

- The boys over at The Original Winger bring up a good point. Cristiano Ronaldo is set to re-up with Nike. Does that make his chances to stay with Man U better than a move to adidas sponsored Real? As a commenter notes, Becks adidas deal helped him move to Madrid, and I’m sure it had a wee bit to do with MLS becoming all adidas just before his arrival in America. Smart business from The Swoosh. Though I’d love to see CRon in La Liga and what Sir Alex would do to replace him. Franck Ribery is the obvious answer, but I don’t see him impacting games in the same way (both positively and negatively).

- Kudos to United for getting into the U.S. Open Cup proper. A 5-3 shellacking ended New York’s chance at their first real trophy -- winning a conference, specifically one you aren’t in, doesn’t count -- and showed a vast difference in depth between the two sides. Well, at least attacking depth as apparently neither side really played defense.

- As a follow up to something I finished with a couple of weeks ago, the idea of athletes from other sports playing soccer, it’s really best served (pun intended) as a bar debate. Certainly not a full-blown column. Though can you imagine adding Dwight Howard to our goalkeeping pool?

-- Pat Walsh

Weekend Roundup

Sorry I haven't updated as much as before. I'll try to do better, as will Pat, who is also slacking...

Lots of happenings this past weekend between MLS, USL, WPS, and action abroad. Let's get to it:

1. Manchester United Wins EPL - And the winner is... Hull City? Yep, they've got to be pretty happy that United have clinched with a game to go. With City in a battle for relegation in the last week of the season, and United playing Barcelona next Wednesday in the Champions League final, how many regulars do you think Sir Alex will put on the field this Sunday? Granted, United's reserves could defeat a majority of the other teams in the world, but City have to like their chances a bit better than before this past weekend.

2. DC United - The comeback kids strike back once again, coming from 2 goals down to get the tie on the road against MLS' best team, Chivas. Both DC and Chicago have 6 draws apiece after 10 games. I don't expect it to stay at 60%, but does anyone know the record for the number of ties in an MLS season? Yes, I could look it up, but I'm too lazy.

3. Other MLS Action -

A. Has Tony Sanneh learned nothing from Claudio Reyna's World Cup debacle against Ghana when he tried to dribble past the guy although he was the last man back? Sanneh did the same thing yesterday and was OWNED by Schelotto, who stole the ball and deposited it past Donovan Ricketts. Only Eddie Lewis' golazzo in injury time saved a point for L.A.

B. Houston has a man advantage for 55 minutes against New York, finally scores to go ahead, only to give up the tying goal 2 minutes from the end. That's a bit of a letdown.

C. Josh Wolff - The guy is making waves after netting 2 more goals as Kansas City wins at the ultra-tough Rio Tinto Stadium in Salt Lake City. Maybe he's trying to see if Bob Bradley could use another striker? I'm just sayin,' that's all...

4. WPS - Okay, again I have to jump on the announcers on FSC. Christian Miles, her name is Amy Rodriguez. I don't care if all of her teammates, coaches, and friends call her A-Rod, but YOU need to call her by her name. If not, why not refer to all WPS players by their nicknames? There are some pretty good ones out there. Besides, the only A-Rod I know of doesn't exactly have the greatest of reputations right now...just something to think about, buddy.

5. What's Going On In Richmond? - Their 3rd straight 1-1 draw at home. Charlotte does absolutely nothing all game, gets a free kick in the 85th minute (albeit a questionable call), and Diego Martins buries it into the upper corner, leaving goalkeeper Ronnie Pascale no chance. They've outshot their opponents by a tremendous amount but only have 6 points through 5 games. The Kickers are just not closing out teams the way they've done in the past...why? Assistant Coach Jesse Myers had these telling remarks after the game:

"Total lack of passion and individual willingness to win games...we've got the talent, but we've only got 1 yellow card in the past 4 games. That's nearly impossible to do at the professional level. We need to be stronger and tougher in the individual battles, and that's not happening."

I tried to get a comment from Coach Cowlishaw after the game, but he headed straight for the locker room after the final whistle. I've been covering this team for more than 10 years, and I have NEVER seen that, folks. Ouch!

In their defense, the players were not happy either, and all said they need to do the little things better. We'll find out this weekend when they host Crystal Palace, a critical game for both squads.

Pat will be back later in the week with his take on things, and I'll actually try to do more than 1 column this week.

Bob Your Head

"All I have to do is shake him and he's my yes man."

Seeing as Bushman didn’t really recap the MLS weekend yesterday, or the weekend abroad for that matter, I was all set to do that today. However, thanks to Comcast not showing D.C.’s game and an overwhelming urge to not sit on the couch and watch soccer all weekend, I didn’t see too much soccer aside from a few minutes of the Steven Gerrard show at Upton Park and the second half of the Galaxy-Sounders slugfest (yet another West Coast rivalry being born?).

Instead, I bring you this gem that arrived in my inbox late Sunday night. For those of you unfamiliar with my old radio show, this is resurrecting the Munk and the Mick XI, which served as a finale to our interviews by asking players random, mostly non-soccer related questions. The always-accommodating Jimmy Conrad, the most recent MLSer to have his own bobblehead (see above), hooked this one up for me, so thanks as always to JC. To avoid repetition, “yeah” was deleted from the start of every answer.

Munk and the Mick XI

1. How often have you wanted to go “all Pepe” on Carlos Ruiz? (just for clarification, this is in reference to Real Madrid defender Pepe kicking that dude after he dragged him down, video here)

Jimmy Conrad: I think Ricardo Clark from the Houston Dynamo took care of that impulse for all of us a few years back when he actually did go all “Pepe” on Carlos Ruiz. And if I remember correctly, Ricardo got a 10 game suspension so I don’t think I would be helping my team out by going that route.

2. Has Seattle really eclipsed all others as the toughest atmosphere to play in?

JC: Not yet. I still believe that Toronto has the edge but Seattle is not too far behind.

3. Have you thought about getting a headset to be able to talk to referees during the game?

JC: I have thought about it, yes, but I doubt they want to hear running commentary about their performance from me or anyone else. Those guys get verbally pelted from all sides for 90 minutes and I’m not sure why they decide to show up week after week.

4. What would you do for a Klondike bar?

JC: Just about anything.

5. Who in MLS would be the best entrant on the Celebrity Apprentice? Who would you want to see get fired?

JC: Preki would be the best entrant because he’s the most competitive person I have ever met and he would most likely win because he would do whatever takes to make that happen BUT it would be fun to see him get fired to hear him offer up excuses as to how that could possibly happen.

6. What new band can you suggest to keep your indie rock cred?

JC: Well, I could name a few to solidify my indie rock credibility, however, I’ve been listening to The Airborne Toxic Event and I was reluctant to like them at first but they’ve won me over because their debut album is very, very good.

7. How many pop culture references are lost on your younger teammates?

JC: Well, I guess it depends on how far back I go. To use video consoles as an example, if I throw out any Nintendo or Sega Genesis references, then they look at me like I’m the same age as their grandpa, which is funny and sad for me at the same time.

Bobblehead related

8. Be honest, how many full conversations have you had with your bobblehead?

JC: Since the Jimmy Conrad bobblehead is the only (ceramic) person in my life who takes the time to LISTEN to what I have to say and tell me EXACTLY the answer I want to hear, then I’ll be honest and say that we have conversations on a daily basis. It’s quite cathartic.

9. Who was really the model for the Jimmy Conrad Bobblehead?

JC: Brad Pitt.

10. Troy Dayak has a cowboy hat on in his bobblehead. Any thought of adding an accessory -- maybe the braces from the broken jaw -- to yours?

JC: I thought the perfect part in my bobblehead’s hair was its signature but upon reflection, I think making the head bigger to match the size of my ego would be the best course of action.

11. Are you surprised that my Taylor Twellman bobblehead still works and his large noggin hasn’t broken the spring yet?

JC: They must have “taylor-ed” his bobblehead to real-life dimensions to make sure that the spring would remain intact. If they had enlarged it to a normal bobblehead size, then the spring would’ve broke right after you took it out of the box. By the way, I haven’t spoke to him in awhile, is he planning on playing this season?

Thanks again to Jimmy, and be sure to check out his new site, JimmyConrad.com. I’ll be back later in the week with some more thoughts, though hopefully I’ll be bumped by Scott with a preview of the Caps in the Eastern Conference finals. Unfortunately, I’m not counting on that.

- Pat Walsh

Fredericksburg Outgunns Clarets

The Gunners Matt Lacey Keeps Cary's Zack Schilawski At Bay

(photo credit to Suz Kitsteiner)




The FC Fredericksburg Gunners got off to a great start to their 3rd season on Saturday by scoring a late penalty kick and defeating the Cary Clarets 3-2 at Fredericksburg Academy. The penalty was the result of a wild sequence of events.

With the game tied at 2-2 in the 80th minute, a Gunners shot had beaten Clarets goalkeeper Brooks Haggerty, and the ball had seemingly crossed the goaline before being cleared by a Clarets defender. The ball was played straight to one of the Gunners, who fired the shot into what was an open net, but the ball was clearly handled by a Clarets defender. After a brief discussion between the referee and linesman, a penalty was awarded to Fredericksburg, but amazingly, no card was show to the Cary player. The rules state that a clear goal-scoring opportunity denied results in a red card.

Regardless, Gunners Co-Captain Tennant McVea stepped up and calmly slotted the ball into the lower right corner of the net, giving the Gunners a 3-2 lead.

Despite being the first game for both teams, the pace of the match was fast and exciting for the fans in attendance. Cary grabbed the lead on a nice goal by Clarets Captain Zack Schilawski, who took a pass from the wing, made a left lateral run across the box, then fired the ball into the lower right corner past 'keeper Ken Manahan.

Fredericksburg got the equalizer just minutes later when a brilliant through ball from Co-Captain Matt Lacey sprung Shaka Bagura on a breakway. Bagura showed great composure in dribbling around Haggerty and putting the ball into the open net.

The Gunners took the lead in the 36th minute after a brilliant free kick by Lacey. He knocked his shot just over the wall in front of him and into the upper right corner, giving the 'keeper no chance at all to make the save.

"I've been practicing all year," said Lacey. "The ball was really flying today and I struck it well. I thought we were dangerous all day on corners and set pieces. I think we'll be able to do that all season hopefully!"

The Clarets drew level in the 40th after a line-drive corner was full-volleyed by Cary's El-Hadj Cisse. The ball was struck so cleanly that Manahan couldn't even react by the time the ball hit the net.

The 2nd half saw numerous chances at both ends before McVea's penalty sealed the win.

"We had a bunch of new guys in the back," said McVea after the game. "It's going to take a wee bit of time to get the partnership going, but we got the win and at the end of the day, that's what counts."

Despite having only two brief training sessions before their first game, Gunners Head Coach Cristian Neagu was pleased with the team's overall performance.

"I thought we were a little shaky in the back in the first half, but I was really happy in the 2nd. we were much more organized. We still don't have our full roster of players, so this was a great start against a really good team."

Other Notes

USL2 - So my early season predictions are a bit out of whack right now. Richmond loses their 1st of the year to Bermuda 1-0, while Wilmington destroys Charlotte 6-3. Looking at the results of the other matches from the weekend, the predictions from coaches and players that this will be the most competitive in the history of the league seems spot on.

Washington Capitals - If they can find a way to lose a game, this team can do it. Despite having leads on multiple occasions during the past 3 games, they've lost all 3 and find themselves in a serious hold going into Pittsburgh tonight. for some reason, even though they are pretty down, I think Bourdreau will get enough out of them to force a game 7 on Wednesday. For that game, I have no prediction.

Actually, that's all I've got. Was in travel for work last week in Phoenix (despite Walsh's claims that I was partying last week...I was, but it was after training, I assure you) and didn't get to see much other than the Champions League games during my lunch breaks (good timing on those, huh?)

Walsh will be back later in the week with his distorted view on things...

Wow! Just Wow!

Come back here, I'm gonna eat you!!!

What a couple of days in the Champions League. And a crazy finish between Real Salt Lake and the Galaxy last night. Oh, and United are atop the East. Let’s get to it.

Champions League

Arsenal slip up
Any doubts about the outcome vanished like Kieran Gibbs’feet from beneath him and Ji-Sung Park (does he even play in the EPL?) put Arsenal in a spot where they had to score thrice. Then Cristiano Ronaldo summons his inner Cristiano Ronaldo with a free kick that gave Manuel Almunia no chance. Game over. One more for good measure on a beautiful counter let fans leave The Emirates early. The only thing left for Sir Alex to do was take off Wayne Rooney and Patrice Evra (done and done) so he’d have everyone available, barring injury of course, for the final. And then Darren Fletcher summons his inner Paul Scholes and is sent off for a dumb foul. Despite protests about whether it was deserved -- it was -- Fletcher can’t be dumb enough to put himself in a position to be sent off. Robin van Persie took the penalty and didn’t injure himself, making it a successful night for the Dutch striker. All in all, the better team advanced to Rome.

Chelsea’s bus broke down
I can appreciate defensive soccer and was impressed by Chelsea’s display for shutting down a Barcelona side that exploded for six goals at the Bernabeu between these two legs for 180 minutes plus three halves worth of stoppage time. But then Andres Iniesta hit what was basically a buzzer beater to put Barça through to Rome. (A side note, I would have been greatly amused had Iniesta already been on a yellow when he took off his shirt in post-game winner euphoria and subsequently been suspended for the final.) Michael Essien’s first half wonder strike was worthy of winning the game itself, and Chelsea did attack in the first half even with the lead. But you have to think the soccer Gods punished Guus Hiddink for “parking the bus” last week at the Camp Nou.

The bigger story is, of course, the ref. And frankly, I’m tired of it. Look, refs are humans and have bad games, yet we expect them to be infallible. It ain’t gonna happen. Ever. And don’t talk to me about video replay. The red to Abidal was deserved -- why else would a defender move to the outside of a striker cutting towards goal except to try and “accidentally” trip him? Once Anelka went down it was a foul and automatic red. Chelsea should have earned probably two penalties, both in the second half. Gerard Pique admitted he handled the ball and Samuel Eto’o’s arm was in an unnatural position when he blocked Ballack’s shot. But stuff happens. Be grown men and don’t accost the referee and make me respect you even less Michael Ballack and Didier Drogba. As if I wasn’t pulling for Tim Howard’s Everton side in the FA Cup final already, now I’m hoping for a 4-0 thrashing.

John Terry, as always, showed great class in going to Barcelona’s dressing room to congratulate the victors. I don’t like Chelsea or England, but I’ve long been a Terry fan.

The Final
Gotta say I’m happy its Barça and Man U playing in Rome. Well, really I wouldn’t have minded Arsenal-Barça, but this is the best matchup of the possibilities. It’s a shame Carlos “Wet Dog” Puyol will be the only first choice defender available for Pep Guardiola. But that could result in a high scoring affair. It will be interesting to see how much of Chelsea’s tactics Sir Alex takes in shutting down Barça’s vaunted attack (they’ve scored 100 goals in 34 games). Right now the edge goes easily to Manchester United, but there can be plenty of injuries picked up in three week’s time.

Major League Soccer

United are first
It wasn’t a pretty game to watch, but D.C. head home with smiles thanks to Rodney Wallace’s fortuitous goal. In all honesty, I didn’t United’s goal as I had flipped over to see the Caps game, but MLSnet.com didn’t crash my browser so I saw it on the highlights. When I was on Comcast I kept wondering if Lance “mini-Dirk Diggler” Watson was the best Curt Onalfo could do at right back. Wallace abused him all night, including on the goal, and with converted striker Josh Wolff in front of him any team with a decent left side will find easy going against that pair. Brandon Barkledge didn’t greatly impress in his first team debut, but he was no Rod Dyachenko either. Avery John was solid, as you’d expect from the vet and Craig Janicki was good in his return (as in he didn’t incur any head injuries from a teammate). As for Wolff’s goal, “Where’s the outcry for offsides,” says the man who defends referees.

Don’t Leave Early
Hopefully RSL fans took advice from the Barça win earlier in the day in that the game isn’t over until the final whistle. Real looked set for a 1-0 win at the 89th minute. Then a handball gave Landon Donovan a penalty, which was followed by Fabian Espindola drawing a foul -- not a make up call, Bruce Arena -- for a Will Johnson penalty, which was followed by a Mike Magee sighting as he capped a crazy five minutes by nutmegging Chris Seitz. Didn’t see the game, but you have to think Jason Kreis is not happy about giving away two points twice. Of course, it all would have been different had Seitz’s hand been able to block Donovan’s penalty instead of just taking off some of the pace en route to the back of the net.

Other stuff from a busy Wednesday

- Two WPS thoughts:

First, why is this league playing on international dates? This is even more ridiculous than MLS as ALL of its stars are international players. They can’t add a week or two on for these friendlies?

Second, I already mentioned Abby Wambach’s foul on Daniela. But the fact that Commish Tonya Antonucci apparently wasn’t happy with the League Disciplinary Committee’s decision that everything was hunky dory shows some naïveté from the league’s top brass. Yes Daniela, a star in the league, was hurt badly. But the challenge showed no intent to injure and was dealt with on the field. It wasn’t a tackle as nasty as the one that broke Eduardo’s leg last year. Just move on, there’s nothing more to see or do here WPS, though apparently my initial thoughts about a suspension may prove correct.

- All rumors are pointing towards Philly’s expansion team being named “Philadelphia Union.” Me likey. The always fab DuNord has the alleged team badge. A bit of “Don’t Tread On Me” in there that I also like. Now let’s just hope United are in D.C. long enough to build another good I-95 rivalry.

- To wrap up things, if you were a Caps and a Chelsea fan yesterday, you can’t like anyone with a whistle at this point. Again, I didn’t see the whole game between flipping, but the disparity in power plays (7-2 to the Pens) is pretty glaring. The Caps weren’t at their best, but to get just two penalties called against the Pens for the second time this series doesn’t bode well in their favor. Maybe a bit of crying in the press like Sir Sidney did after Game 2 is needed? I certainly hope not.

Oh, and explain to me how a “White Out” is supposed to intimidate the other team at all, let alone when that other team is wearing white. That makes as much sense as loving I.C. Light.

- Pat Walsh

CABbing in K.C.

Yeah, United is used to taking free kicks from second base too!

I was all set to bring you some amazing Champions League predictions yesterday. And then, to quote Aldous Snow in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, “I just kept on living my life.” I would’ve had Man U going through, but not in that fashion. But more on Champions League manana. Maybe.

Onto the random thoughts:

- D.C. United are in Kansas City tonight for a midweek clash. The Wizards must have pissed someone off in the MLS scheduling department with a two-game week followed by an off week followed by a two-game week. Sure, they have scheduling conflicts playing in a baseball stadium, but can’t one of the away games be moved to avoid the bye? Anyway, both teams will be raring to go with first place in the East on the line. United would do well to avoid leaving it for another late game comeback. Methinks Jaime Moreno won’t have gaping holes in the middle of the park again so United will have to work the flanks. Conversely, D.C.’s midfield hasn’t matched up with a competent unit since their trip to Salt Lake, which just so happened to be United’s lone loss this year. Best case for United is a draw, but I don’t see that happening at CAB where the Wizards are tough to score on. Kansas City wins 2-1

- The other midweek game has a Javier Morales-less RSL team hosting L.A. As I said on Monday, the Galaxy’s defense is much improved. Clint Mathis is going to have to continue his rebirth to help Real perfect at home. However, without Jamison Olave, who’s also suspended, Landon Donovan will have another influential night and give the Gals their fifth draw of the season. 1-1 tie

- Speaking of L.A., there was a piece over at my old stomping grounds, Goal.com, posted on Monday regarding the recent history of Bruce Arena. It’s a topic Bushman and I have discussed recently and I was once of the mind that Arena might be tarnishing his legacy a bit with the woes in New York and Los Angeles following a disappointing 2006 World Cup. But I’ve been coming around and, after reading this piece, have flip flopped in a way that John Kerry would be proud of.

Now, I will say that Arena built a dynasty at United in the days when MLS was much weaker than it is now. However, he also created the best all-time MLS side with the ’98 version of the Black-and-Red, winning the CONCACAF Champions Cup and Interamerican Cup that season. Internationally he overachieved with 2002’s quarterfinal run at the World Cup as had South Korea not beaten Portugal the U.S. wouldn’t have made the knockout stage. But they also stood toe to toe with Germany in the quarters and should’ve had a penalty to level the game. The following Cup was more realistic, albeit disappointing. But the game against Italy will be remembered for a long time and the Yanks were the only team other than France to not lose to the World Champs.

Fast forward to New York where Arena never seemed happy in his return to MLS. He was persuaded to join the team much earlier than he wanted, but also fired before being given a true chance to turn the club around. Which isn’t a surprise at a club that goes through coaches quicker than Mark starts sweating in the Phoenix heat. In said article he claimed that he built the current New York club, despite the signing of Juan Pablo Angel as the only solid performer on the team that was brought in under him. By that logic, he also built the current D.C. United side as he brought both Jaime Moreno and Ben Olsen to the club. (I’d love to hear Kevin Payne’s take on that one.)

Now in LaLa land, he should have more time and I imagine these tough economic times must help as AEG will be more hesitant to pay his exorbitant salary should they go in another direction. Again, the defense is improving, which was a glaring issue with that team. But when you can’t start from scratch like Sigi Schmid had the luxury of doing in Seattle, putting your fingerprints all over the club takes time. Signing Eddie Lewis, Tony Sanneh (Hello, DCU ’98!), and Gregg Berhalter are all signs of that.

Arena knows to win you have to build from the back. That’s what Schmid has done so well in Seattle. Plus, Arena knows full well that the season is long and you don’t have to be at your best in April or May. That ’96 United team started slow, winning just one of its first seven games in regulation, but went on to win the double. Lets give the man more than 18 months on the job before his performance is judged. I think he’s earned that and more.

Non-Soccer stuff

- Please, please, please just go away Brett Favre. Talk about tainting your legacy.

- The Caps head to Pittsburgh tonight. I’m not expecting a win. But I am expecting to be stuffed from some amazing shrimp by the time the game is done. That and a 2-1 series lead will make for a good evening.

- I know it’s been said from time to time, I even wrote a column on the topic way back when at Goal.com, but can you imagine if LeBron James played soccer instead of hoops? After watching him again last night, the night he received his first (of many?) MVP awards my mind could only wonder. Of course with our diversified sporting landscape the beautiful game will never get all the best athletes in the country. But just for fun, why not break out a fantasy lineup of other sports’ stars should they have come to the dark side of soccer. I need some time to think about this so I’ll post it tomorrow. Or Friday. Start thinking about yours…

- Pat Walsh

The Bolivian Still Has It

(Photo courtesy of Goal.com)

While Mark’s away sipping Mai Tais poolside in 95°F weather -- it’s a dry heat! -- I’m taking over the blog this week. And not a better time for a Monday recap for me as I just saw D.C. United in person for the first time this year over the weekend.

No press credential for me, my attendance was merely as a fan. And it’s always nice to be able to drink a beer or two and clap rather than be serious and avoid annoying reporters in the press box. Plus, when tickets are free and you have a bird’s eye view of all three goals, things can’t get much better. Well, I guess the beer could’ve been free too, but that’s asking a bit much.

As I predicted last Thursday, United won. The goal they gave up was completely against the run of play, though a nice set piece from a corner kick. I jokingly wondered if Tom Soehn would blame Milos Kocic -- seeing his first MLS action in the nets -- for not coming off the line quicker.

But the story of the night was a virtuoso performance by 35-year-old Jaime Moreno. He was honored before the game for becoming the first 100-assist, 100-goal man in MLS history. Showing deft skills on both second half scores it would be hard to say when Moreno will be stop adding to those numbers.

A beautiful long ball from Bryan Namoff set up the first goal. The first touch by Moreno was magnificent, taking the ball down and allowing him to finish the play on his second. That’s a skill that is too often lacking in MLS as your typical striker at this level in that position would see the ball go anywhere except where he wants it.

If the first goal was masterful, the second was sublime. Christian Gomez, who entered the game minutes before, slotted a perfectly weighted pass for Moreno who only needed one touch to score again. The one touch was a deft chip of an onrushing Ray Burse Jr. and showed the poise of a veteran who was in that position for the 124th time in his MLS career.

Of course the porous back line of Dallas allowed Moreno to find those gaping holes and easily score. But the two goals weren’t the entire night for United’s captain as he also hit the post in the first half and nearly set up several other goals. Looking sharp a week after not even traveling to New York due to a heel injury, times will be tough for Soehn choosing his starting eleven every week.

The odd man out should everyone be healthy will likely be Santino Quaranta, who was not at his best Saturday night. The positive is no one can be complacent in his starting spot, a factor that seems to have plagued United in years past. Without the reserve division, these tough training sessions will have to serve as pseudo games for United’s bench players, unless more frequent loans can be worked out.

Overall it was a good night at RFK Stadium. Or “RKF” if you work for Goal.com. Details, details. With United now atop the East thanks to goal differential over Toronto -- or maybe it’s alphabetical, who knows in this league -- things are looking up for a team that was expected to miss the playoffs for the second straight year. Granted, that road would be a lot easier if they could play Dallas every week.

Other thoughts:

- I didn’t get to see the Freedom game -- more on that in a second -- but apparently I missed an entertaining 3-3 tie. The Freedom came from behind to earn the draw in the 90th minute, but the real story in the game was Abby Wambach’s tackle on Daniela just seconds after Washington pulled within one. From the replays it certainly didn’t look malicious, just a late tackle that wasn’t helped by the rainy conditions. Yellow to A-Dub seemed appropriate, and it was unfortunate Daniela was stretchered off. But from a physical player like Wambach, these types of tackles should be expected. It will be interesting to see if a suspension will be meted out on a foul that was dealt with on the field.

- The reason I didn’t see the Freedom’s game was because I was watching the Real Madrid - Barcelona game I didn’t get to see on Saturday. Wow! What a game!!! Madrid scored first and then Barça tore them a new one. I’m not sure that Pepe would have helped Real’s back line, or if he would’ve been so frustrated by the end that he kicked anyone in sight. But that’s the type of performance I expected against Chelsea last week in Champions League action, and after this showing even more kudos to the Blues for keeping the clean sheet. For all casual observers, though, an early goal from Barcelona will really make that an interesting game. With Henry and Messi scoring twice, should we expect Samuel Eto’o to be the hot one in the midweek game? It’s like throwing darts for fantasy purposes.

- After listening to GolTV’s broadcast, it’s apparent that if ESPN really wanted soccer to work in this country, they need a way to hire Andy Gray and Ray Hudson. Enough with trying to lure in casual fans by dumbing down broadcasts. Listening to Hudson, and Phil Schoen who is head and shoulders above anyone FSC throws out, made “El Clásico” that much more entertaining. Bring in those two colorful guys along with Derrick Rae and J.P. Dellacamera and they’d have two excellent broadcast teams. One of those two would become soccer’s version of John Madden and my bet would be on Gray while Hudson became soccer’s version of Harry Caray. And, yes, I know that the chances of Gray leaving England are as slim as Bushman being sober by lunch, but with enough money it could happen.

- Elsewhere around MLS I was spot on in two games (Chicago and Seattle drawing at 1 and Chivas winning 1-0) and completely missed the boat in the others. Typical. I need to see L.A. sometime soon and how that defense is coming together. That’s just two goals conceded in four league games. But more importantly to Bruce Arena, they picked up their first win of the season. Granted it was against New York, who didn’t wait until second half stoppage time to give the game away this week, but a win is a win. And another may not come for the Gals until a trip to Dallas in three weeks.

- Finally, have to finish with the Caps. I didn’t see the whole game, but the last two periods were entertaining stuff from. There were plenty of Caps jerseys at the D.C. game Saturday night -- not a bad day for Washington sports fans as long as even the Nats won to improve to 6-17 -- and with the crossover between hockey and soccer you have to think that bodes well for the city as a whole. Now if the D.C. government could sugar coat a deal for United’s owners like Abe Polin got, we’d really be on to something. Game 2 is tonight, so keep on rocking the red!

- Pat Walsh

Capitals Round 2 Preview

At least the Caps don't have to worry about this guy this year.

By Scott Morath

(2) Washington Capitals versus (4) Pittsburgh Penguins– NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman’s dream come true, as the league’s marquee players, Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, meet in the conference semifinals.

Offense – Both teams prefer a wide open game, and there is no shortage of firepower on either side.  The Pens feature the league’s top point getter in Evgeni Malkin (35 goals, 78 assists), plus the third leading scorer in Crosby (33 goals, 70 assists).  While both players tallied 4 goals each in their six game opening round series win over Philadelphia, they are primarily playmakers, rather than pure goal scorers, and thus have a greater reliance on their linemates to put the puck in the net.  The Capitals top guns have no such concerns, as Ovechkin and his Russian countryman, Alexander Semin, combined for 90 goals during the regular season (and might have hit the century mark had Semin not missed 20 games due to injury).  Factoring in center Nicklas Backstrom and defenseman Mike Green, Washington has a wider array of elite scoring talent at their disposal, though Pittsburgh counters with an advantage in depth, with veterans Chris Kunitz, Bill Guerin and Petr Sykora all quite capable of denting the twine.  Edge: Even

Defense – Green struggled during the Capitals’ first round series, and it remains to be seen if he is nursing an injury, or was suffering from the flu (as was reported).  Regardless, he needs to play better for Washington to win this series.  John Erskine and Brian Pothier played surprisingly well as the Caps bested the offensively challenged New York Rangers in seven games, but they will be severely tested by the more skilled Penguins forwards.   Meanwhile, ex-Capital Sergei Gonchar missed much of the regular season while recovering from shoulder surgery, but his return was a huge boost for Pittsburgh down the stretch, and he’s chipped in five points in the playoffs thus far.  The key to the series for the Pens may turn out to be the play of Brooks Orpik, a highly physical defenseman who will likely be matched against Ovechkin whenever possible.  Undoubtedly, the biggest difference when comparing the blueline corps of the two teams is experience.  The Penguins’ top six defensemen account for 263 Stanley Cup playoff games in their careers, compared to just 116 playoff games for the Capitals’ top six.   Edge: Slight advantage to the Penguins based on their experience.

Special Teams – It was rather shocking to see the high-powered Penguins finish 20th in the regular season on the power play (17.2 percent), and they’re coming off of a pedestrian 4 for 33 performance in round one versus the Flyers.   Again, I think this goes back to the fact that Malkin and Crosby favor setting up their teammates to putting the puck in the net themselves.  The quarterbacking ability of Gonchar will help, as will the physical presence around the net of a veteran with over 400 regular season goals on his resume like Guerin (who was acquired at the trade deadline for this very purpose).  Meanwhile, Washington’s power play tallied 6 times against New York in the opening round, despite the Rangers boasting the top ranked penalty kill in the league.  While it’s reasonable to expect them to convert on a good number of their chances against the Penguins, it will be just as critical for the Caps that their recently improved penalty-killing unit continues to get the job done when they are down a man.  Edge: Capitals

Goaltending – Rookie Simeon Varlamov, barely twenty-one years old, was outstanding against the Rangers, allowing only seven goals in six games after getting the nod over inconsistent Jose Theodore.  Pittsburgh presents a MUCH bigger test, however, and how Varlamov bounces back after allowing 3 or 4 goals (not unlikely, given the pace this series is likely to be played at) bears watching.  At the other end of the rink, netminder Marc-Andre Fleury is among the top ten in the NHL between the pipes.  While capable of taking over a game with one eye-popping save after another, he’s also more susceptible to soft goals than Henrik Lundqvist, the goalie who stymied the Capitals at times in round one.  Still, it’s tough to go against a guy who backstopped his team to the Stanley Cup Finals last year, as Fleury did.  Edge: Penguins

Intangibles – Though he’s played very well, Ovechkin has not really caught fire yet in the playoffs, despite scoring one goal in each of games 4, 5, and 6 versus New York.  Having watched him for four seasons now, it seems that those relative lulls are usually followed by an explosion, so I look for Ovie to turn it up a notch in this next round.   I also think it plays to the Caps’ advantage that they now have less pressure, having won their first playoff series in eleven years.  The Penguins, on the other hand, made it to Game 6 of the Cup Finals last year before falling to Detroit, so their season will be considered a failure if they don’t make an extended run once again.  Additionally, don’t underestimate the impact of coaching in this series.  Pittsburgh’s Dan Bylsma is just thirty-eight years old, and only five years removed from playing in the NHL.  His promotion from the Penguins’ AHL affiliate when Michel Therien was fired in February, sparked the team, and they’ve been on a 22-5-4 run since.  Hockey is generally a game of streaks and momentum, however, and it will be interesting to see how Bylsma reacts if that inevitable downturn comes in this series.  Keep in mind, he was in his first year as a head coach at ANY level when he was summoned from Wilkes-Barre a few months ago.  Washington’s Bruce Boudreau doesn’t have much more experience at the NHL level, but has seventeen years of overall head coaching experience under his belt, including a couple of championships in the minors.  Edge: Capitals

Outlook – Regardless of who comes out on top, this one promises to be a thriller.  While many are expecting an offensive shootout, don’t be surprised to see a few tight checking 2-1 or 3-2 games in the mix as well (particularly if Fleury and Varlamov are on top of their games).  I really think the Penguins are due for a letdown, and the Capitals (3-0-1 against Pittsburgh during the regular season) may be getting them at just the right time.  I expect the Caps to play more relaxed now that they’ve won a series and further energized their fan base.  Even if things don’t go their way early on in the series, they can draw confidence from the manner in which they rebounded from a three games to one deficit in defeating the Rangers.  Plus, the surprising emergence of Varlamov has suddenly turned a weakness into a potential strength, and while this series may come down to overtime in the final game (and remember Washington has home-ice advantage), the Capitals will prevail in the end.  Capitals in 7.