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The Washington Capitals beat the Florida Panthers, gaining themselves their first NHL Stanley Cup playoff berth since the 2002-2003 season. Along with getting in at the third seed in the Eastern Conference, they are now this season's Southeast Division Champs. The last time they owned the division crown was at the end of the 2000-2001 season. Officially, it was Fan Appreciation Night, which included the "Shirts Off Our Backs" on ice ceremony after the game. Unofficially, it was also Capitals Appreciation Night. The overjoyed sellout crowd was so loud, they might want to check Verizon Center for structural damage.
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The Capitals started out a little tight in the first period. The Panthers were going all out, hoping to spoil Washington's post season plans. One of the Panthers probably couldn't remember which end of the ice he was heading for, when Donald Brashear knocked him out of the Capitals zone and into the neutral zone. At about six minutes into the game, netminder Cristobal Huet almost helped them out. He seemed to space out for a second. After settling the puck behind the net, he appeared to hand it off to one of the Panthers. Nothing came of it, as he quickly got back in front of the goal. Other than that unfortunate incident, he was very solid. Florida's Craig Anderson was also excellent guarding the net. But, it was the Cap's who got on the scoreboard first. Brooks Laich put some pressure on Brett McLean at the sidewall to the right of the Panthers' net, causing a turnover. Tomas Fleischmann grabbed the puck and headed straight for the net. When he got close, he fanned on his shot while going around a defender. But, he got his own rebound as he skated around the top of the crease. While being intentionally tripped by Anderson, he made his second try count. You better believe that got one hell of a reaction from his team and the rabid fans. The Capitals seemed much looser after that. However, even with two 5 on 3 power play situations, they couldn't get another one past Anderson, in the first..
The Panthers got their only goal of the game in the second period. It was a power play goal by Kamil Kreps that went unnoticed at first. Kreps' shot sent the puck behind Huet rolling on edge along the goal line, and then the puck banked in off the far right post. The referee had his hand up, waiting to call the delayed penalty on Washington. Along with a little confusion about Sergei Fedorov's slashing penalty, video review showed the puck crossing the goal line. After that, the Capitals started playing a little more aggressively. At 15:03, Fedorov put them back ahead by one. Mike Green sent an outlet pass to Alexander Semin, who was by the sidewall right on the center stripe. He immediately sent a perfect backhand pass to Fedorov, who he saw waiting at the blue line. Sergei entered the zone and sent a seriously hard slapshot past a completely helpless Anderson.
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Early in the third period, the Cap's were cycling the puck in the Panthers' end. Steve Montador blocked a Sergei Fedorov shot, but the puck went right back to Fedorov. He sent the puck to Nicklas Backstrom near the end wall. Backstrom passed it to Semin in the high slot. Semin banged the cross bar with a top shelf PP goal, putting Washington ahead by two. While Mike Green was congratulating Alexander Semin, Alex Ovechkin skated over and leaped into the air, bowling over Green and Semin. Then Backstrom piled on, followed by Fedorov. What a fantastically entertaining and joyful sight. I could watch the replay over and over again. As a Cap's fan, you couldn't help but be filled with pride and confidence at that point. But, the silly officials insisted the other 17:39 left in regulation be played out. The Panthers weren't exactly ready to give in yet, either.
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The rest of the game was also exciting. There were more big hits, including Branislav Mezei sending Tom Poti corkscrewing through the air and Ovie plastering Jay Bouwmeester. John Erskine got decked behind Washington's net, without a penalty being called. Then Erskine made the mistake of getting caught giving Nathan Horton a little shove. This time, the mood for actually calling the penalty struck the ref. Then, the ref's swallowed their whistles for the second half of the period. Just before the thirteen minute mark, Brooks Laich took a shot to the inside of his left leg. He had to hobble through traffic and all the way across the ice before reaching the Cap's bench. Yeah, that's going to leave a mark. The final minutes were full of cheers from the fans. The M-V-P chants for Ovechkin which had also been heard earlier, increased again. Another standing ovation, as Ovie headed to the bench at the end of a shift. About two minutes before the final horn, everyone was on their feet for good. The final seconds ticked off and the biggest celebration you've ever seen erupted, on and off the ice.
Eventually, head coach Bruce Boudreau met up with Comcast SportsNet's Lisa Hillary on the ice for a short interview, heard over the PA system. About his players, he said "These guys are the coolest guys in the world, man". The fans think you're pretty cool too, Bruce. Remember, this team was at the bottom of the league when he took over on Thanksgiving Day in November, 2007. They were 14th in the East at the midpoint of the season. To finish on top of the division with 94 points and be headed for the playoffs, is amazing. That is a feat that has never been done before. There are so many great things about this game and the second half of the season, that will leave smiles on Cap's fans for a long time.
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All Photos - Nick Wass / AP
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