Brickwall Mason Strikes Again

Brick wall Mason stones 'em again. He stopped 45 shots in all, most of them routine. A few though were spectacular. Overall a lackluster effort by the Caps. I admit I missed the 1st Period picking up the kids and most of the 2nd cooking dinner but the rest of what I saw was a disappointment all the way around. Yet again the Caps played down to the level of their competition and this time they got bit. Hard. There were a few signs of life in the 3rd period but Mason was equal to each SOG and even got a few lucky bounces of the metal. I hope this was a wake-up to the team. Montreal won't be any easier tomorrow night. Carey Price may not play tomorrow so that's good, right? Until then.

Masterpieces & Legends Box Break

The only thing card related that I asked my wife for Christmas was a hobby box of Upper Deck's Lends and Masterpieces. Being the loving woman that she is it was no surprise when I unwrapped that box. I say it was no surprise but I'm sure I had a big 'ol happy grin on my face. My wife, the boys and my dad continued to open their presents, but all I could think about was what possibilities that box held. During my time in Spokane, earlier this year, I had purchased various packs through a hobby shop in the local mall. There were a few interesting cards here and there; Foster Hewitt, Lady Bing, and especially Rod Langway. I never pulled anything more than the commons and a brown border here and there.

So after the boys went down for the night (Christmas Eve) I pulled my wife into the kitchen to help me go through the box. She has slightly more than a passing interest in the cards I collect so I wanted to draw her in some more. We divided up the 24 packs and agreed to a point system. Capitals were worth 5 pts, jersey cards were 10 pts, autographs were 15 pts and each border color was given 2-10 pts based on scarcity. A card could be worth multiple points as well if it were say a brown bordered Capital. Oh, Penguins and Flyers were negative 5 pts!

After cutting through the wrapper and opening the box I was left speechless. My heart had to have skipped at least a few beats as well. Sitting right there on top of the packs was a double autographed 5 x 7 box topper of "The Golden Jet", Bobby Hull and "Mr. Hockey" himself, Gordie Howe! In one instant I had the absolute best card in the set. Nobody got any points for that since I didn't even expect to get a 5 x 7 with my normal luck. I'm sure you've already seen the picture above. Ain't it a beauty.

So we start to open the packs and I take an early lead with a brown bordered Glen Anderson jersey card and a Mike Foligno brown bordered autograph. Then I pull an autographed Ron Sutter (the Flyer brother)... still a good card but c'mon, one of the autos had to be a Flyer. Really!?! That was only the beginning of my bad luck. Next pack I pull a brown bordered Bobby Clarke. Another one. Great. She instantly counters with a brown bordered Bernie Nicholls jersey card and then a brown bordered Lanny McDonald 2 color jersey card. I didn't even know those existed. I couldn't recall seeing one on the 'Bay. I had to give double points for that one. We continued going through the last few packs until she went and did it. She pulled a black bordered Rod Langway. A 1 of freaking 1. And it's a Capital! My heart nearly couldn't take it. First a dual auto of two absolute legends. Then a 1 of 1 Rod Langway. All she did was look all cute and innocent and say, "What? Is this good?" If it weren't for the Flyers I pulled then I would say this was the perfect box for a Capitals fan who loves the history of the game. None the less it was the most amazing box I have ever personally opened. As of right then I told her she was the only one that was going to purchase boxes from now on.

A big thanks to Dave & Adams Card World for the box!!!

Overall, I love the artwork of the UD Masterpieces and Legends cards and the fact that they are producing cards of the heroes from years past. Not just the players either. Old announcers and various personalities that helped shape the league into what it is today are equally as important. If only Mr. Bettman would market the rich history of the game instead of being swayed by the lure of the all mighty dollar. Oh well, that can be for another post.

If you happen to be a Flyers' fan, or are interested in trades let me know. Thanks for reading.

Caps Vs. Blue Jackets

Game #42. Who better to start the second half of the season than a perennial doormat of the Western Conference, the Columbus Blue Jackets? Sure they have been playing a bit over .500 hockey the last two weeks. But, it looks like their leading scorer will be out of the line-up after a "lower body" injury sustained in their last game against Detroit. Surely his 39 points will be missed by the Blue Jackets.

So who else can score for them? Center Derrick Brassard has 25 points but will be out as well. Kristian Huselius then? Nope. His 25 points will be gone too. That leaves RJ Umberger and his 20 points as the leading scorer for the Jackets. Helping the "offensive" output will be Jason Cihmera, Frederik Modin, and Mike Commodore, each with 18 points on the season. Thanks Peerless for putting me on to this.

All looks well in Caps land as the injury bug moves on to another team. Hold on a minute though. There's more to this match-up it seems. Columbus has one hot goalie playing for them right now. Steve Mason has shown he is more than up to defending the goal this season. A GAA of 1.82 and a save percentage approaching 94% (.934) is nothing to overlook. That and he already blanked the Caps on their home ice back in November, 3-0.

So maybe this is a bit of a trap game then. The Caps have a nasty habbit of playing to the level of their opposition. This isn't the time for that. They have recently taken over the number two position in the Eastern Conference with 57 points. The Bruins won their game against the Sens last night so it will be important to keep pace.

Tarik, over at Capitals Insider, has reported that the Caps are getting healthy agian. Federov and Fleishcmann should be reporting for duty tonight. It even appears rookie D-man Karl Alzner will be hanging around another game or two. Let's see how GMGM works out the cap situation as the guys get healthy. Thanks again for the updates, Tarik.

So, what do the Caps have going for them. Ovechkin has been showing why he is a perennial All-star lately. He didn't register a point against the Flyers, although his presence was felt in other ways. Lets hope he gets another points streak going tonight. It has taken Theodore half a season but he is beginning to show a glimpse of his seemingly forgotten Allstar capabilities. He was the #1 star of the Flyers game for stopping 33 of 34 shots in regulation and all three shots in the skills competition. We can't forget about Green and Backstrom either. Both have been playing well of late and surely will be a bit fired up for their All-star snubs. Oh, and if that's not enough, it's Gabby's birthday. What better way to celebrate the man who helped engineer the resurgance last year then to win a home game against a team they SHOULD beat.

Given the Jacket's lack of offensive output I expect they will struggle to get a goal. It most likely will take a major miscue on the Caps' end to lead to a tally. However they do have Mr. Mason between the pipes, so that may limit the Caps scoring as well. But Washington does have the Russian Machine and a few non All-stars looking to prove a point.


Final Score: Capitals 4 - Blue Jackets 1


Image: Ovechkin from last years All-star Game from Icethetics

Post Numero Uno

Well, here it is. After months of reading many other blogs about the Washington Capitals, the NHL and card collecting I've decided to try my hand at it.

This blog will primarily focus on the Washington Capitals and hockey cards in general. While other sites go more in depth and break down the stats and storylines, I will strive to give a casual fans view of the Caps, from the other side of the country no less! That's right. I'm a transplanted Caps fan from Central Virginia now living in Southern Oregon. Keep reading this blog and I may tell how that happened someday.

As far as card collecting goes I plan to review newly released sets, help get the word out about Beckett, and further my Caps collection through trades. More to come!!!

-Card Image: '95-'96Pinnacle