The Washington Capitals had an excellent season, pushed to Game 7 twice, and tonight came up short, very short. They rode their rookie goalie for the entire post season, and tonight he finally succumbed to the pressure. Of course it wasn’t completely his fault, the team was flat, and they gave up too many odd man breaks and chances. Many fans left early, but many more stayed, and watched the entire debacle. In the last two minutes of the game, they stood and cheered the Capitals to the final horn. This is a fan base who has lived with disappointment [...]

ESPN in the House, Melrose is looking Orange

(Photo by Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
Just a few links to get you set for Game 7 tonight:

Who’ll Stop the Rain? (Japers’ Rink)
All Bad Things Must Come to an End (On Frozen Blog)
Crosby vs. Ovechkin: Who’s had the better series? (Puck Daddy)
Introducing the Comcast drinking game! (Rock The Red.net)
When the Caps Beat the Pens in the Playoffs (D.C. Sports Bog)
Bears beat Baby Pens (Ted’s Take)
What Would You Do For Game Seven Tickets? (Capitals Kremlin)
Morning Reading List (Capitals Insider)
Bring on Game Seven (Homer McFanboy)
Caps vs. Pens : There will be a Game 7 (With Leather)

Evgeni Malkin certainly earned the power play in overtime. He skated with speed through the neutral zone and caused the slower Milan Jurcina to take a tripping penalty. However on that Power Play, the Capitals were about 10 seconds away from killing it when a blatant interference penalty in front of the Penguins net was not called. Philippe Boucher leveled Boyd Gordon in front of the goal as a shot went wide around the boards. Within seconds, Evgeni Malkin was streaking down the wing again, beating Sergei Fedorov and throwing a pass across the ice which was deflected into the [...]

Sidney Crosby Mocked by Little Girl
After the jump is a collection of photos gathered pre-game for the Caps vs. Pens, Game 5. Thanks to all of the folks that posed for me. E-mail at CapitalsOutsider@Gmail.com if you’d like a high-res version of the photo.

Alexander Ovechkin featured on The Onion Sports’ Strongside / Weakside

Ovechkin Celebrates the Trick – (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Just a few links from the aftermath of Game 2, to get you set for Game 3 tonight:
What Happens with the Hats? (D.C. Sports Bog)
Samples from the Pittsburgh Whine Cellar (Peerless Prognosticator)
By the Numbers: Varlamov’s post season (Rock the Red)
More To Come? (Ted’s Take)
Years Hence, Thousands Who Weren’t There Will Say They Were (On Frozen Blog)
Uneven at Even Strength (Japers’ Rink)
Incwell Raps About The Caps (Capitals Kremlin)
Alzner talks 12-hour flu (Homer McFanboy)
Penguins fans win, then lose, free playoff tickets via text message (Puck Daddy)
Video: Penguins Voice Complaints (Capitals Insider)

Apparently Alex Ovechkin joined in with the crowd in a bit of a Maryland Tradition during game two. I just saw @dcsportsbog’s tweet about the TSN article mentioning the incident, and went looking on You Tube. Sure enough, here is a clip of Alex showing a bit of personality. Is this likely to make Sidney cry more?

I guess if you are going to import some video of Alex Ovechkin chanting “You Suck”, you may as well do it in HD. Well done, IHeartXenu. Quotes from TSN after the jump.