Hot and Cold for the Week of February 14!

Ok, I'm trying to get back to running this on Sundays like I originally intended, so let's see what's cooking and what's chilling in the NHL this week!


Hot:

1. Jaromir Jagr - I hate you like a cancer. Because you are one. But you pulled off your 1500th career point this week, and that's commendable. You may not have any heart. You may not be any type of leader. You may be a bigger baby than everyone of the Muppet Babies combined. You do have talent, and for that, I commend you.
2. Rick DiPietro - Has a GAA of 1.5 in his last 5 starts. Unfortunately, the Islanders have only won two of those games. If that team makes the playoffs, it'll be entirely up to the Rick.
3. Calgary Flames - Taking over first in the NW division makes them hot. Their logo makes them flaming.
4. Bryan Murray - Closing in soon on 600 wins, this former Capitals, Red Wings, Panthers, and Ducks Coach, and current Senators coach is also rapidly closing in on his 6th career playoff win.
5. Dallas Stars - The Fallopian Tubes (no really, they used to use that logo) are climbing up on the rest of their division contenders, the Sharks and the Ducks. Of course . . .

Not:

1. Ladislav Nagy - Why does one acquire someone underachieving this horribly in a contract season? Isn't their any concern his moodiness will throw off the rest of the team? I know they were desperate for scoring, but wasn't Petr Nedved on waivers just a month ago?
2. The NHL Schedule - Weeks with one game are boring. Why does a team have 4 games in 7 days, and then one game in 7 days? This is my way of shifting the blame for a lack of updates.
3. Anaheim Ducks - Going 3-7 in their last 10 makes one wonder if they should go back to being "Mighty?"
4. Red Wings Goaltending - Osgood? Injured. Hassek? Injured. So they've got two guys in there that have less experience than your average 15 year old. Do I need to link to another pic of the Muppet Babies, or do we get the point?
5. Olie Kolzig - A knee injury has him out for three weeks. Caps fans officially cancel parade that they never really got around to start planning.

Let's be honest about a couple of things . . .

The Caps beat two solid teams this past week in Dallas and Buffalo, but let's try to keep our feet on the ground. Both teams had played games the previous night while the Caps rested. Dallas had to travel to DC from Chicago, and Buffalo traveled from upstate New York after an extended game against the Rangers.

This upcoming week the Caps play the Senators on Wednesday. The Caps will be resting while the Senators play on Long Island on Tuesday night. On Friday the Caps play the Ducks, who are now only mighty when one is describing their play. The Ducks also play Wednesday, but then have to fly across the country, and those of us that travel know how much fun it is to travel three time zones East.

The point is, a lot of Caps fans are patting themselves on the back saying "these are the types of games playoff teams like to win." I'm here to say these are the types of games that playoff teams have to win. When you catch a tired opponent, you put them away early, and don't let them in the game for a second. That's what the Caps have done against Buffalo and barely did against Dallas. Will this trend continue when a hot Ottawa team rolls in on Wednesday? We'll see. I doubt we'll see a repeat of the last time the Sens were in town.