Image Courtesy of ESPN.com

Today is St. Patrick's Day, which means the weather is getting warmer, days are getting longer, and the NHL Playoffs are rapidly approaching. This year, Captials' fans find themselves in a new position heading into the postseason. As of last night, the Caps are 47-14-9, hold a seven-point lead in the President's Trophy race and own a sixteen-point lead in the Eastern Conference (keep in mind that some opponents have games in-hand, but those are impressive leads nonetheless). For fans of elite teams right now, nitpicking lines, defensive pairings, penalty kills and power plays is commonplace. We're all looking to see what strengths or weaknesses will affect our teams the most when the games really start to matter in the postseason. So why should I be any different?

One of the biggest knocks about the Caps franchise is not that it's been historically lousy. After a rough start back in the mid-seventies, the Caps have actually been quite relevant in the postseason picture, making the playoffs following twenty of their thirty-four seasons to date. Unfortunately, they've only advanced past the first round eight times and have only made it to the Stanley Cup Finals once. So the overwhelming chorus that Caps Nation has to hear from opposing fans is "it's the Caps, so they'll just choke when the playoffs roll around."

So what gives us hope that this twenty-first trip to the postseason will be any different?

The Pensblog (ok, go ahead and jeer, but they can be funny and pretty insightful) posted some interesting statistics earlier in the week about Eastern Conference teams in one-loss, overtime, and shootout games. Basically, they brought up the fact that the Caps' record in those situations is more average than you'd expect, and that it doesn't necessarily bode well for breaking the typical May malaise. I'm not here to say they're wrong. Rather, they bring up some good points about how the Caps have performed in tight games. Considering the Pens are 7-2 in one-goal games on the road, the Caps must learn to win some tight ones if they expect to advance past their rivals.

Image Coutesy of ESPN.com

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I think we can all draw the conclusion that the Panthers are basically in shambles now. With the Capitals' 7-3 victory last night (sans Ovechkin), they swept the season series against Florida, and all but destroyed the Panthers' playoff hopes for this season. Well-balanced efforts are the easiest to recap, so this should be quick.

In light of Alex Ovechkin's second suspension in the past five months, we're going to take the high road. Here are the top ten reasons that Ovi's two-game suspension is a good thing:

10. Mike Milbury's head might finally explode.
9. Tomas Fleischmann won't have to play center and lose 75% of his draws this week.
8. Ovi will have the opportunity to participate in Rock the Red's drinking game for the first time. More shots vodka please!
7. It's much easier to drive a cart around the Verizon Center underbelly when you don't have to play a game that night.
6. Tomas Vokoun can save his ego for one night.
5. It's not like we play Pittsburgh or Philly this week.
4. Matt Cooke can read TSN's homepage and laugh for a change.
3. Ted Leonsis has a buddy to help snag the Lays out of the vending machine again.
2. Quintin Laing and Tyler Sloan might get recognized on nacho runs if Ovi tags along now.
1. Sidney Crosby can have the Rocket Richard and Hart trophies this year, because Ovi can rest up for a Conn Smythe and a Stanley Cup this time around.

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There's plenty to complain about after a lethargic start and an ugly first two periods. The Caps came out today like a team that was affected by the time change, the early start, and just about every other excuse you can think of.

Luckily, they decided to start playing in the third period, and that meant trouble for the Blackhawks.

I'm growing a little tired of nit-picking the Caps' twenty-minute efforts, so I'm not going to be a jerk about it today. For now, I'll be happy with a win, and hope that Alex Ovechkin doesn't get suspended. Here are some more thoughts on the big comeback:

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To be honest, I really think tonight's post title sums up what we all had to sit and watch. With a healthy Jeff Schultz and John Carlson in the press box, Bruce Boudreau decided to give Erskine and Sloan some playing time before the play really tightens up heading into the playoffs. That was fun, right? No. Never again. Please.

Yawn. Looks like this one was made well ahead of time. Can we move onto one that really matters now?

FFODC is proud to announce it's first Caps viewing party in conjunction with new Bloguin partner RocktheRed.net on Sunday, March 14th at 12:30 p.m. We will be heading to Prime Time Sports Bar & Grill in Fairfax, Virginia to root on the Caps with food and drink specials galore! Come join us for possibly the best hockey game of the month, good fun, good food, and even some contest giveaways. Be sure to tell your friends, family, and even the Blackhawks fan in your life. We hope to see you there!

In case you all are particularly upset with our president, Mr. Barack Obama over his broken hockey promises to the nation's capital, you're in luck! Ian Oland and Russian Machine Never Breaks offers a new outlet for your frustration, and an opportunity to try and convince the POTUS to head on over to the Phone Booth to catch a good ol' hockey game. I try to stay politically neutral most of the time, but I've decided to take a stand and back Ian on this issue. I'm throwing my full support behind him! Please head over to his new site here to take a look around. He's got a nifty video, some cool photoshops and other clicks to convince Mr. Obama to come to Verizon. He's even got a photoshop contest that you're welcome to participate in as well. I know Ian worked long and hard on this, so let's make sure to back him up, and BARACK THE RED!

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Tonight's game would have been extremely frustrating if it resulted in a loss. Fortunately for the Caps, Tomas Fleischmann decided to build onto his newfound reputation as a clutch performer, and the escaped with a win.

It's still a little frustrating anyway.

While many Caps fans love to argue with opposing fans about the value of Mike Green, there are some nights that just make his detractors look smart. Tonight was definitely one of those nights. While Greener potted two goals on the power play and looked confident in the offensive zone, he made some extremely questionable decisions in his own end (one that led directly to a Carolina goal). Either way, it wasn't exactly the type of defense that you'd love to see from your first place team heading towards the playoffs. By no means is this reason to slam the panic button, but it certainly leaves the Red Army a bit uneasy.

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The Caps started out tonight's game with so much promise. Through two periods, they had gone over 100 minutes without surrendering a single goal. Their superstar lit the lamp for the first time in six-plus games and they hadn't taken a single penalty on the evening. Then the Achilles' Heel decided to rear its ugly head. Mike Green and Matt Bradley took successive minors in the first five minutes, allowing the Stars to get back into the game. Whether or not the calls were bad is irrelevant. What is relevant is how bad the Caps' penalty kill was, allowing the Stars to get screens in front of Semyon Varlamov to create goals on both third period opportunities.

Then it got worse.