We've been watching this movie for 25 years now folks...unfortunately the ending doesn't change

That was a line I put up on Facebook earlier in response to some folks telling me I “called” the Caps choke vs. Montreal tonight (after the Mike Green penalty lead to the first goal, I said it was over). I would have loved for Washington to have come back but I knew it wasn’t in the cards. After you sit through all of the depressing, pathetic chokes over the years, where you think it’s going to be different, but it never is, you start to get real cynical. I’m so bad, I stopped watching after the 2nd period. I couldn’t watch another heartbreak. In all the year’s I’ve jumped on the Caps playoff bandwagon (and that nonsense is into its third decade) they have given me one great moment in the face of failure; the Dale Hunter goal against the Flyers in 1988. Any other time they’ve gone up against any adversity they’ve folded totally and completely.

Now, I’m not going to lay blame for this loss, because frankly I don’t have enough hockey knowledge to do that. But, I will say this; it’s the worst loss in franchise history for a number of reasons…not just becoming the first top seed to lose to an 8 after being up 3-1, not just because this loss probably paves the way for another Penguins Stanley Cup win, and not just because their style of play was completely stymied when it mattered most. There are a few other reasons this one is going to sting…

1) Leonsis is going to buy the Wizards – it’s a done deal now and that was what Ted wanted all along (and the arena to make money off the luxury boxes and concerts and other events). He’s a basketball guy and Abe Pollin selling the Caps to him (with the intent to sell the Wizards after his passing) was just the way to get rid of the money loser. With their owner’s attention (and possibly money) diverted, will the Capitals run of success continue?

2) The Skins may be coming back – I’ve been telling everyone I know, “The Skins are going 8-8 this year”. It may be desperate optimism, but with the new leadership in place (and a guy that actually knows how to coach a modern NFL team – probably for the first time since Schottenheimer was here) things are going to get better in DC. Part of the Caps charm is that they are the anti-Skins, namely they are fan friendly and they win. If the Redskins start to win again, they will reassume their 800 pound gorilla status in this town

3) The Capitals are burning people out – this franchise had their original die-hard fan base that would guarantee the building would be about half full for home games (and progressively more full the bigger the game or the closer the city the other team hailed from). I still believe the folks who have been filling Verizon every night were jumping on the bandwagon with the hopes they’d be around for the eventual championship. The new Caps still look like the old Caps (the ones who would choke every year) despite their superior talent.

It’s really sad to see this team squander another chance (one that may never come again). With DC really a captive market until Skins training camp in July, the Capitals had it all to themselves…but they fell on their face, again.