Ok ... so I watched this last night, after the Faceoff Hockey Show: Christmas Edition. I'm hoping I took in all that I saw at 11pm, but will certainly update this later (once I watch it for the second time).
The first thing I took from this episode ... George McPhee is the [expletive deleted] man. He's amazingly cool, calm, and collected as he's taking the losing streak in stride. That's not to say he's not feeling the pressures of it, it's just that he's not showing it to us and especially not showing it to the players/coaching staff of the Capitals. I think I like Matt Hendricks more than I did before. He's been great for this team, and filled a role that needed to be filled. It was good seeing the behind the scenes stuff again ... as this show really should be all about. It was good to see the Capitals happy, for the first time since this show started shooting, and better to watch Karl Alzner and John Carlson try to dance (to the Unofficial Victory Anthem of the Capitals. Absolutely amazing. The Penguins pieces of this week seemed to be toned down a bit. Maybe the 2 game losing streak changed the mood, or maybe it was the way the show was cut. It's good to see Malkin playing well, and not injured, it's interesting to see the trials of Jordan Staal, and it was cool to see Mario put down the chicken fingers and get back on the ice. I've never been a huge Lemeuix fan, but you can't deny the fact that he has amazing hands and could finish. He still looks like he skates just as fast as he used to also. Matt Cooke is a(n) [expletive deleted] (insert whatever expletive you want to really), but the jokes he played on Biznasty were kindof funny. I wonder how long it took him to get those pieces of bubble gum from the gloves lol. The best Penguins part of the two shows so far has been the player evaluation meetings after games. How Tony Granato doesn't have a head coaching job somewhere is beyond me. There's a wealth of riches when it come to that Penguins coaching staff.
24/7 has been great for any casual sports fan and the hardcore hockey fan alike. The amazing thing about the show, is that I fully expect it to get better in the last 2 episodes. Tonight's Caps/Pens game will be awesome, with about 16 HBO cameras descending on the Verizon Center. This will certainly be the most coverage that one hockey game has ever gotten. I almost wish they could do a whole hour show just on tonight's game. Maybe that'll be in a DVD form in the future. Then you'll have a bit more filler for next week before the crescendo into the Winter Classic. 2 Caps/Pens games within 10 days is perfect for HBO, viewers of the 24/7 series, and hockey fans alike.
I know I'm excited for the next 10 days of my life.
UPDATE: How did I completely forgot about Arturs Irbe? Man it's good to see that guy, and hopefully he brings some stability to the Caps goaltending. It's great having a goalie coach that played in the NHL for so long, and can communicate quite well with the Capitals young goaltending tandem.
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