For as much as I love hockey, I love the Washington Capitals even more. We Caps fans have seen it all: coaches fired and GMs hired, hard-fought overtime wins and tragic game seven losses. We have walked away from the playoffs far too early in the years when we were predicted to win, and we have seen champions grow (at you, Ovechkin and Holtby) and beloved players traded (I still miss you, Mike Green).
It’s been a hell of a year for those of us rocking the red. We won the President’s Trophy and are first in the Eastern Conference. Alex Ovechkin has had another 50 goal season. Verizon Center has been bumping.
And now we have home ice advantage against the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round of playoffs. Could this be the year, we ask? Is our waiting finally over?
Only time will tell. For now, I leave you with my five favorite ways to celebrate the arrival of Stanley Cup season, the most wonderful time of the year:
Crying
You will be doing a lot of this, so get excited! Whether your team has been crushed in the seventh game after a three-game lead turned into a disaster or you’ve just survived a nail-biter of an OT, you can count on running out of tissues halfway through the week.
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Cursing
Missed shots, dirty hits, lost fights, and penalties will guarantee the use of a few choice words. Try mixing them up and coming up with mean nicknames for your team’s rivals!
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Reminiscing
Maybe your team, like mine, has a sad playoffs history (we will never forgive you, Montreal in 2010). What better way to spend your time than looking back at goals that could have been and series that ended too early! Perhaps the series will be better this year.
Ruining friendships
You’re a Penguins fan? Goodbye. You like the Rangers? I have enough respect for you to fight you. Nothing says severed relationships like hockey rivalries!
Enjoying yourself despite the pain
No matter how your team does, the Stanley Cup Playoffs are a wild ride. The energy, the speed, the miraculous saves and daring OT goals all make the next few months of chaos worthwhile. So if you’re looking for a way to console yourself when your team loses, flip the TV over to the Caps game; you’ll be watching some damn good hockey.
Go Caps!