Odds and Ends...

The Conference finals are set after two more wild and wacky Game 7s in the NHL last night! The Bruins lost a heartbreaker on home ice in OT to the lesser-ranked Carolina Hurricanes. The B's have sat at the #1 spot in the East all season - just goes to show you that anything can happen in the playoffs.

And of course the defending champion Red Wings won against the aggressive Anaheim Ducks, scoring the GWG in the final minutes. So the stage is set for the young and inexperienced Chicago Blackhawks to meet the veteran Cup-holding Red Wings out West and the Carolina Hurricanes (with a hot handed Cam Ward in net) to meet the thorn-in-our-side Penguins in the East.

Of course it was hard as a devoted Caps fans to watch those two games go down to the wire last night. I couldn't help wonder what would have been harder: if the boys went out on a blowout loss (as was unfortunately the case) or if the loss would have been a one goal difference in OT? We are now finding out that several of our guys were playing with injuries, including the Great 8. But that is par for the course in the grueling run that is the NHL playoffs...

But those who rock the red can look forward to a bright future, as John Feinstein (another one of HM's favorite sportswriters) says it best.