DC Deadspin Pants Party

I don't know how many KHFC reader(s) also read that little site called Deadspin, but I nevertheless feel compelled to make you aware of the impending Washington DC Deadspin Pants Party, if only because my good friend and one-time collaborator, is organizing it. Also, because there will be drinking. Lots and lots of drinking. And I, for one, don't want to be the only hockey fan amongst this particular crowd of dipsomaniacs inveterate drunks.

So, you know, check your schedules and such, and do try to make it out to RFK on August 4. I mean, you were already planning on going anyway, seeing as how it's Thomas Jefferson Bobblehead Night.

Here We Go Again

If you're anything like me, and God help you if you are, the Caps' recent performance has probably caused you to become a fairly heavy drinker. Or not. Either way is cool.

The point I'm trying to make is that one week from today (Monday, March 12) you have a rather excellent opportunity to do some good old fashioned drinking with some fellow Caps bloggers at the fourth (and possibly final (for this year, at least)) Caps Bloggers Happy Hour, where we will be watching the Caps take on the Hated Atlanta Thrashers. This time around, we will be taking over the Grans Slam Sports Bar (because nothing says hockey like baseball) in the Grand Hyatt hotel at 1000 H St, NW in downtown DC. It's within walking distance of both the Gallery Place and Metro Center Metro stations, so there's really no excuse for you not to be there. (As per usual, I will be there early wearing my red-white-and-blue hat with Craig Laughlin's signature on it.)

And before you say anything, you are absolutely right. It was rather brilliant of me to schedule this on the day between Selction Sunday and the first day of the NCAA Tournament. It didn't happen through sheer coincidence at all. I swear.

I Hate Pittsburgh

Once again the Capitals played a solid game defensively and once again, the guys on offense let them down. The Caps have now scored just 17 goals in their last nine games (an average of 1.89 goals per game) since a 7-3 win over the Hurricanes on January 27. They are 2-5-2 over that stretch. For all the early-season talk of how much the defense needed to improve, it is incredibly frustrating watching them hold Sidney Crosby in check yet again yet still fail to convert it into any points in the standings. What's worse is I can't even figure out exactly what is wrong with this team's offense (Okay, that's not true, the problem is that the Alexes are slumping and the Power Play is for shit. But how do you fix that?) At this point, I really don't see them turning it around, which means the Caps are likely to finish at or below where they finished last year in terms of the standings.

As for the game itself, I thought the Caps, at the very least, played it dead even with the Penguins. The problem is, when one team is hot and the other is slumping, guess which team is going to get the lucky bounces that decide close games? I give Evgeni Malkin a ton of credit on his goal late in the second period because it was a fantastic shot to the top corner from a bad angle, but I doubt he could do that again if you gave him fifty tries. Likewise, when Alexander Semin beats a goalie that badly, 99 times out of 100 the puck ends up under the crossbar (his overtime game winner against Atlanta being the best example of that) instead of ringing off of it. Once again, if this loss were an isolated incident, everybody involved would simply shrug and say "It just wasn't our night." Unfortunately for the Caps, it hasn't been their night in quite a long time.

Recaps From People That Matter:
-Bleatings From a Caps Nut
-Off Wing Opinion (1st Period, 2nd Period, 3rd Period)
-Puckhead's Thoughts

Caps Bloggers Happy Hour Version 3.0:
Once again, the Caps Bloggers Happy Hour was a roaring success. Which is good, because for a while there it looked like the whole thing was going to consist of me sitting in a corner by myself. The attendees this time around included yours truly, Mr. and Mrs. DC Sports Chick, A View From the Cheap Seats (plus guest), Capital Fanatic (plus guest), and Gustafsson (plus Mrs. Gustafsson and Gustafsson Jr.) and pucksandbooks from On Frozen Blog. We also had some verious non-Caps bloggers show up: William F. Yurasko (and guest) who was joining us for a second time, as well as Ah, Bugger and As Smooth as Sandpaper. Which brings the grand total of attendees to... fifteen! For those of you who are keeping count, that is a 50% increase over v.2.0. I bet you feel really stupid for not showing up, don't you? But don't worry, you have one more chance when the CBHH will be taking over the Grand Slam Sports Bar in the Grand Hyatt downtown at 10th & H St, NW on March 12. If you miss that one, you'll never forgive yourself.

Yes, It's That Time Again

This here blog may not be very good, but if there is at least one thing it is good at, it's uniting Caps fans with the lure of alcohol (also, hating on Dainius Zubrus). And so it is I'm pleased to announce the third edition of the Caps Bloggers Happy Hour. This time around, we'll be heading back to Bugsy's in Old Town Alexandria to take in the February 18th game between the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguin Scum (a.k.a. the Kansas City Penguins, Flightless Sea Fowl etc. Take your pick).

As has been the case previously, your truly will be there about a half hour before the opening face off wearing my red white and blue hat (like this one) with Craig Laughlin's signature on it. So feel free to stop on by. (Seriously, please come. So far the only people who have said they'll be there are myself and Mr. and Mrs. DCSportsChick. That's only three people.) (Not that there's anything wrong with that. They are both excellent people.) (Also, screw you J.P. Nobody challenges me in a contest of parentheticals because I always win.)

I Believe That's What They Call Progress

The title of this post it in no way a reference to the way the Capitals played tonight. Sure, it was better than Saturday in Florida, but the Caps could have out a team of untrained squirrels out on the ice and they probably would have played better than the team that showed up in Sunrise. I'm not even going to bother recapping this one.

Instead, I'm going to spend some time reminding you about just how much your life sucks if you didn't attend the Caps Bloggers Happy Hour. This month's attendees were: A View From the Cheap Seats, Bettman Hates Hockey!, Capital Fanatic, Gustaffson from On Frozen Blog, William F. Yurasko, 1/2 Asian Man and Random Reality Thoughts. And me. Obviously. It was a heck of a good time and, as always, everybody far surpassed my expectations. The bar was really nice, too. I had never been to Bugsy's (f.k.a. The Penalty Box), and I encourage you to check it out if you get a chance. Because, seriously, an entire bar devoted to hockey. It's pretty neat.

Next up for the Caps Bloggers Happy Hour Series: I'm not sure. I'm shooting for one of the Caps-Pens games in February. I'll keep you posted.

Caps Bloggers Happy Hour Version 2.0

Just wanted to remind those of you who may have forgotten, tonight is the second edition of Caps Bloggers Happy Hour. We're meeting at Bugsy's in Alexandria to watch the Caps take on the Senators. Look for me in my red-white-and-blue hat with Craig Laughlin's signature on it.

See you there. If you're there.

Here We Go Again

Okay folks, its time once again for what the Washington Post describes as "an unmitigated success", the Washington Times describes as "an obscene disaster" and the Kevin Hatcher Fan Club describes as "the new dance craze that's sweeping the nation": The Capitals Bloggers Happy Hour.

This time around, we're changing up the location, moving across the river to the town of Alexandria to watch the Capitals take on the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, January 16. We'll be meeting at Bugsy's Sports Bar at 111 King St. Hopefully, this will be a little easier for everyone as it seems that a majority of my fellow Caps bloggers live on that side of the Potomac.

The plan will be the same as last time. I plan on getting there around 6:30-6:45 wearing my red, white and blue old-school Capitals hat with Craig Laughlin's autograph on it. After that, we can all watch the Caps (hopefully) beat the snot out of the Senators and then go home happy.

As always, questions/comments/insults are welcome in the comments or direct them to kevinhatcherfanclub@gmail.com

Best. Rule. Ever.

With 1:19 left in what looked like a sure Thrashers win, J.P. Vigier hoisted the puck up over the glass, earning himself one of those newfangled delay of game penalties that the NHL stupidly brilliantly added to the rulebook after the lockout. After that, it was all Alex Ovechkin proving yet again why he is the best player in the NHL. Give me a clutch goal to tie the game followed by an overtime winner over a stat-padding one goal three assist night in a blowout win anytime. Since ESPNews seemed to be very much in a "Let's compare Crosby and Ovechkin since they both had big games tonight", I'd like to point out that for the month of December, their stat lines look like this: Ovechkin - 6 Games, 5-8-13, 2.16 PPG, 1 GWG; Crosby - 8 Games, 6-13-19, 2.375 PPG, 0 GWG. Their teams have records of 4-1-1 and 4-3-1 respectively.

I won't spend too much time recapping the actual game. You probably saw it, and if not all the links you need are below. The only thing I have to add is my rant about Dainius Zubrus and his inability to convert quality scoring chances. By my count, there were at least three instances in last night's game where the puck ended up on his stick with a wide open net staring him in the face and I don't think he got a shot off on any of them.. If he converts just one of those chances, the Caps have a good chance of walking out of Atlanta without even giving them a point. (Yes, I am aware Zubie had two important assists. I don't care.)

I will, however, recap "Caps Bloggers Unite! (Beta Test Version)". Blogs in attendance included myself, A View From The Cheap Seats, The Bench Minor, DCSportsChick and 1/2 Asian Man. My goal was to manage to scrape together four people including myself, so I'm glad to say that the evening was an unmitigated success. Especially since, as it turns out, these people are just as much fun in person as they are on their respective blogs, if not more so. Heck, even ESPNZone didn't totally suck. Sure the service was lousy and we had to deal with the Wizards game being up on the main screen (apparently, people didn't realize that they could walk four blocks to Verizon Center and take in the game live). But they did have the decency to show two other hockey games, Islanders-Penguins and Maple Leafs-Hurricanes, both of which had standings implications for the Caps. And they didn't kick me out for throwing my hat. Twice.

So I can say with some confidence that the next version of "Caps Bloggers Unite!" will be even more fun, and you should mark your calendar now for January 16th and stay tuned here for more details.

Recaps From People That Matter:
-A View From The Cheap Seats
-Capital Punishment
-On Frozen Blog
-Puckhead's Thoughts

Caps-Thrashers Viewing "Party" Update

Okay, looks like everything is set to go. Word on the street is that we will have to settle for ESPNZone (11th & E St, NW, near Metro Center or Gallery Place metro stops). It goes without saying that I probably could have planned this out a little better, but this is what we get the first time around. (Hey, it would have been a lot worse if not for all the work CapsChick has also put into it. In fact, should you decide to show up, I would highly recommend buying her a beer.) I will try to show up around 6:45 (faceoff is 7:30). Wondering how you'll find us? Look for the red-white-and-blue baseball cap with the old-school Caps logo on it. The one with Craig Laughlin's autograph on it. That will be me.

Any questions, comments or complaints should be directed towards kevinhatcherfanclub (at) gmail (dot) com.

I realize, based on the comments under the original announcement, that many people wont' be able to make it due to the incredibly well-thought-out combination of last-minute notice and holiday-related obligations, and I promised that I would make sure this happens again sometime soon. I'd like to make this a monthly thing, if possible, and with that in mind, I've got a tentative schedule for future Caps Blogger Get Togethers:

Tuesday, Jan. 16 - vs. Ottawa @ 7:30
Tuesday, Feb. 20 - vs. Montreal @ 7:30
Monday, March 12 - vs. Atlanta @ 7:00
Wednesday, April 4 - vs. Atlanta @ 7:00

Obviously, this is all very tentative. Especially the February one. The Caps play the Penguins twice in February, and both are weekend day games that, as near as I can tell, won't be competing with any other big sporting events. So I might try to put something really big together for one or both of those games. Also, one of those dates might get replaced by a Blogger Get Together night at Verizon Center for a home game.

Caps-Thrashers Viewing Party

It is a true testament to my disorganized ineptitude that, in spite of the fact that this was my idea and I have been largely involved in trying to get it organized (with much help from CapsChick), Eric over at Off Wing Opinion still managed to beat me to it. I hope everyone else finds that as hilarious as I do. Moving on...

I am a big fan of meeting other bloggers. I've done it before on a few occasions, and it has never resulted in anything other than unending hilarity. And drunkeness. Bloggers like to drink, apparently.

So it is with that in mind that I extend this formal invitation to any of you Caps bloggers who would care to join me this Friday to watch the Capitals on the road against their heated rivals the Atlanta Thrashers. As of the writing of this entry, the actual location of such a gathering is still somewhat up in the air. I have a place in mind but there might be a band playing during the game, which is problematic. I'm shooting for a bar somewhere around U Street or Chinatown. But rest assured I will come up with something soon. Just, you know, make sure you're schedule is clear Friday night. And check back here. (Also, if you have any suggestions as far as a particular place you think might be a nice place to meet, send them along to the newly minted kevinhatcherfanclub (at) gmail (dot) com)