As maddening as this season has been for the Caps and us fans, at least it's unequivocally clear that they are better than the Philadelphia Flyers, at least for one season. The Caps will finish no less than 12 points ahead of Philly, and convincingly swept them 4-0 in the season series (ditto for the Wizards v. 76ers as well I believe).
Flyers fans of course counter with "how many Cups ya got?" Yeah yeah yeah. That was what, 30 years ago? It's about as relevant as yelling "How many rings ya got?" at Charlotte Bobcats fans (the answer, by the way, is 0). How long do we need to stretch this argument? Should we start comparing more recent Cup appearances? Maybe take it to another level and compare Super Bowl rings? Nothing but semantics in an attempt to drown out the delightful "last place Flyers" (as opposed to "let's go Flyers") chants that serenaded Philly and their smattering of fans at Verizon Center after their 4-1 humbling on December 16. And really, what happened to all those Flyers fans that used to show up for every game in DC? At least we Capitals fans are consistently apathetic. There are 12,000 of us there every game whether this team racks up 100 standings points or 70.
Speaking of standings points, the boys can surpass their mighty total of 70 from last season with a win or OT/shootout loss (horrible rule, but this is a positive blog) against the never-whiny Lindy Ruff and the never-whiny-or-cheap-shot-giving Buffalo Sabres. Sure it doesn't seem like much considering the Caps were in 5th place in the East in early December, but it's something. Maybe.
The off-season quest for a #1 center is a little more difficult now that Pavel Datsyuk has been retained by the Red Wings. Still, it is not necessarily a world-ending development, so long as it doesn't push Caps management to pursue the King of the groin-spearing tools: Daniel Briere. 95 points or no, keep him away from here. Perhaps even look towards the Sabres' third-most-talented pending free agent center. His name is Dainius.
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