The Capitals closed out the Rangers in five games -- that was a nice change from the norm, wasn't it? -- and are waiting to find out who they will play next in the second round of the playoffs. Rested and ready, the Capitals are poised for a deep playoff run, according to the team's radio play-by-play analyst, Steve Kolbe, who said this year's team has learned from mistakes of playoffs past.
A year ago, the Capitals coughed up a 3-1 series lead to the Canadiens as they choked in the first round of the playoffs. But not this year. The Capitals allowed eight goals in the series and won two games in overtime as they made quick work of the Rangers.
"Defensive hockey wins come playoff time," Kolbe, a Baltimore native, said after speaking with me about the Baltimore Hockey Classic. "The Capitals knew they were going to have a challenge from the Rangers in this first-round series, but they were going to learn from their past mistakes. And last year, the Capitals had a great opportunity against Montreal and lost that 3-1 series lead and only scored three goals in the final three games of that series."
Kolbe said that the Capitals, who have finally figured out where the defensive end is, are the team to beat in the Eastern Conference.
"Michal Neuvirth has played so solid in goal for the Capitals," he said. "Offensively, when you've got Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green, I think this team is built for the long haul and maybe poised for a run that this area hasn't seen since 1998 when the Capitals made a run all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals."
Kolbe, who believes that Baltimore can support a minor-league hockey team if one were to come here, expects the city to really start rocking the red if the Capitals go on that kind of deep playoff run run.
"Everyone is geared up for the playoffs," Kolbe said. "I'm on a lot of local radio stations in Baltimore, and you can really start to feel the excitement build. … I think it's only going to get bigger."