Will A New Coach Turn the Capitals Around?

Some of us were having this discussion back in April when we thought that coach Bruce Boudreau would be out as the Capitals coach after losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in a four-game sweep. Well, his run as a Capitals coach ended today.

Bruce Boudreau was finally fired by the Capitals after struggling through this portion of the season that finally let the Capitals management. He was the fastest coach to win 200 games in modern-league history but his problems in the playoffs and recenty stumblings were the ones that got him ousted.

Boudreau will be replaced by former Capitals captain Dale Hunter, who will make his debut Tuesday night when the Capitals face the St. Louis Blues, starting a three-game homestand.

"This was simply a case of the players were no longer responding to Bruce. When you see that, as much as you don't want to make a change, you have to make a change," general manager George McPhee said to media reporters earlier today. "Bruce came in here and emptied the tank. He gave it everything he could and did a really good job, but the tank was empty," he laer added. "When that happens, you get a new coach, where the tank is full and see if it makes a difference."

Hired on Thanksgiving Day almost four years ago, Boudreau went 201-88-40 in the regular season but has a somewhat dismal 17-20 record in the playoffs. This season, he tried a new approach, a new way of getting things to the point where he could actually win a Cup. Unfortunately, that technique has now left Alex Ovechkin in bad shape in terms of performance and he has not produced as much as he had last season.

The Capitals had a great start to the season, with a 7-0 record, but it went downhill quickly, losing six of their past eight games, and Ovechkin has only a goal in those eight games.

Well, it was about time. People across the league, mostly analysts, who have been calling on Bruce Boudreau to get fired at the end of last season. Management, however, kept him on. Now it's goodbye and it's time for a change.

I was one of those people who was skeptical about Boudreau's performance this season, after what happened in last season's playoffs. That 7-0 record, I thought, might have kept Boudreau his job, but it was that slump that the organization looked at and determined that a change was necessary.

Now with Boudreau gone, the Capitals promote Dale Hunter from the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. A former Capitals player himself, Hunter knows what the general manager McPhee is looking for. A team that can win the Southeast Division, but most importantly, win the Stanley Cup. He was very good in the OHL, where he became the fastest coach in OHL history to reach 300 and 400 career wins.

But now, can he bring success to Washington? The key here is Alex Ovechkin. If he can get back into form and score some goals, then there's a chance that Hunter is the right man for the job. It's going to take some time, though. This is not something you can bring in and ultimately it works, but after a while, I think Dale Hunter will be the right man, and the Capitals needed this change, because this team is underperforming and underachieving. They can go all the way, but they just need a coach that has the mindset and the strategies to get them all the way there.

For anybody who wants to see that MLS Cup 2011 recap, here you go:

The LA Galaxy are the 2011 MLS Cup Champions!!

It was a good, good night last night, and for the LA Galaxy and fans, it could have been one of the best games of their lives.

The Galaxy won their third MLS Cup by beating the Houston Dynamo 1-0. Landon Donovan scored the only goal of the contest and thus was awarded the MLS Cup MVP.

When Beckham raised the cup among and amidst the confetti surrounding him, the Galaxy accomplished what they were set out to do in 2007 when Beckham came and that was win the Cup. Beckham lifted Donovan off his feet after the final whistle of the game, thereby sealing another championship in the long career of David Beckham.

"I've wanted to be successful for the Galaxy for five years, and tonight, I have that," Beckham said.

Even if the 36-year-old hasn't decided on whether he'll play another year, he would like to have the chance to play for the Galaxy for at least another season. Galaxy fanatics in the Angel City Brigade supporters' section chanted "We want Beckham!" This might bring Beckham back to the Galaxy, but then again, it is his choice.

"It's been the most enjoyable time of my career in America over the last year, and this just tops it off," said Beckham, whose also played with Paris Saint-Germain and a handful of British clubs. "I've said before, I need to sit back and relax and enjoy this moment, and then I'll figure out what I'm going to do next year. I might talk in the past tense sometimes, but that doesn't mean I'm leaving. It's been an amazing five years."

Los Angeles had the most expensive and eye-catching roster in MLS history, but the Galaxy got what they wanted out of their three highest-priced players, particularly in these playoffs. Beckham's assist last night was his fourth of a stellar postseason, while Donovan scored in each of the Galaxy's final three playoff games. Keane was a constant offensive threat despite flying across the world in his spare time on Irish national team duty.

It was Beckham though, who put a stylish finish on the best season of his five-year stint with the Galaxy, finishing second in MLS with 15 assists. After the game, Donovan revealed Beckham strained his hamstring during training earlier in the week, while coach Bruce Arena said Donovan has been struggling with undisclosed injuries for several weeks. That didn't seem to matter, as they both produced this game.

The Houston Dynamo are going to be the ones who will be haunted by this game for a while. They had no Brad Davis who was lost to torn quadriceps in the Eastern Conference Championship and made it harder for the Dynamo to compete on the Galaxy's home stadium.

"It's a well-balanced team," Houston coach Dominic Kinnear said about the Galaxy. "They've been the best in the league from Day 1 to now. They are a deserving champion. ... We gave ourselves a chance. It took one goal to win it, which is sometimes what finals are about."

This championship had been the Galaxy's to lose since early in the season. Los Angeles dominated the league and won the Supporters' Shield with the second-best regular-season record in MLS history, but the Galaxy didn't disappoint in these playoffs after losing in last year's conference final.

The MLS Cup is the Galaxy's. Congratulations from a very avid fan (me!) and I hope you soccer people enjoy your offseason. For others, if you are soccer fans who are going back to hockey during this offseason, it has already been a good one. If you're a Kings fan looking at this, you should be more than happy about what the Kings have done so far this season and are currently 1st in the Pacific. But that's off the point. Enjoy the offseason, soccerheads, and see you in March.

When the highlights of the MLS Cup become available on YouTube, courtesy of MLSHighlights2011, I will post them on my next blog post.

Should Milan Lucic Have Been Suspended?

We've seen our fair share of hits on goalies, other players, and the like. Most of the time, they've resulted in fines and suspensions. How about the Bruins' Milan Lucic's hit on Buffalo goaltender and US Olympic hero Ryan Miller?

The NHL came out today saying it will not suspend Lucic for his collision wih Miller in the Bruins' 6-2 win on Saturday at the TD Garden.

Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli issued this statement: "We are satisfied with the NHL's announcement that there will be no suspension or fine for Milan, and we respect the process that the League took to reach this decision.

At practice on Monday, Lucic spoke about the situation and said that he had no intent to injure Miller on the play.

Miller did not take light to the hit as he verbally attacked Lucic after the game. "I just want to say what a piece of (expletive) I think Lucic is. Fifty pounds on me, and he runs me like that. It's unbelievable. Everyone in this city sees him as a big, tough, solid player. I respected him for how hard he played. That was gutless. Gutless piece of (expletive)." Whoa. That's pretty intense, isn't it?

Well, guess what? Miller has a concussion and will be out for a couple weeks, which is bad news for a Sabres team that actually looks like it could go to the Stanley Cup Finals this year. Unfortunately, that might be hard to do now that Miller is not there.

Here's the real question: Does Lucic deserve a suspension? Is it justified? No. He didn't mean to knock him out. I mean, he's right outside the goalmouth. If you want to step outside that, you need to be prepared to suffer some beating. You're a different player when you step outside that crease. Here's something that surprised me: The fact that no Sabres player went out and defended him that much. They didn't show Boston "Hey, don't mess with our goaltender." That's what you do when someone attacks your goaltender. You got after the guys and maybe get in a fight or two. At least that's what I've seen when an opposing player takes out a goaltender.

Well, so long for a while, Ryan Miller and it looks like the Sabres might have a tough road ahead. And for Milan Lucic, lucky you got away with one, but next time, Brendan Shanahan might come down hard on you. As for hockey, the sport goes on, puckheads.

Here's the clip of the hit from Saturday's game:

The Flyers-Lightning Game Was Ugly

Wednesday night hockey turned out to be one of the worst nights in hockey ever, and if you're a Philadelphia Flyers fan, you and your team should be more embarrassed than the others.

Wednesday night's game between the Flyers and the Lightning turned out to have a bizarre first period. Several times during the first period, Philly held the puck out in their own end, in attempt to get the Lightning to break out of its 1-3-1 defense.

Referees blew the play dead and explained to both teams that the puck needed to keep moving or it would be blown dead. But now, there's going to be debates as to whether a penalty should be imposed for inertia.

Those who were surprised to see the Lightning's 1-3-1 defense should go back to the last playoff's Capitals-Lightning series, where patience and timely scoring ultimately allowed them to sweep the Capitals in the series.

But going back to this game. The Flyers tried to use their defensive strategy in attempt to taunt the Lightning into getting out of the 1-3-1 system.

Oh, come on. I feel sorry for fans that were at the game last night. There was only one word for it: Ugly.

This game was a joke. I'm sorry, but it definitely was. The Flyers should be embarrassed by their tactics. You won't get the Lightning to break out of that defense. They beat you anyway in overtime. But that does not bring fans, it does not sell tickets, and I, say again, feel sorry for anybody that was at that game last night. This is not a tactic that should be used for any hockey game, because it's stupid, lame, and it does not promote good sportsmanship, in my opinion. You play the game and to not keep the puck moving is not playing the game. The NHL does not want this to happen, the fans don't want this to happen, and honestly, the media sometimes doesn't want this to happen. Even I don't like having it happen because it just ruins the game of hockey.

Let's hope the Flyers learned a lesson from this. Taunting does not get you want you happen. Sure, you may get a lead as they got here, but lost it in overtime. Other teams, don't do this. I hate these kind of plays and I hope you don't try to do something stupid like that.

Check out their scheme against the Lightning's 1-3-1 system.

Steroids in Hockey?

You could say something about steroids being commonplace back in the MLB old days. But could you say the same thing about the NHL old days?

Retired NHL enforcer Georges Laraque said in a new book that steroid use was commonplace for years in the hockey dressing rooms. He says it wasn't limited to just the NHL's bruisers, as stated in his book "The Story of the NHL's Unlikliest Tough Guy."

Laraque doesn't accuse any players by name in the book. He does, however, say that enforcers used it to gain weight before getting to the pros, and took Ephedrine to be desensitized before a fight.

Now, the NHL and the NHL Players' Association have not yet responded to these claims. However, back in 2005, the league and the union made it clear in the Collective Bargaining Agreement that testing for steroids was necessary.

Okay, so they missed something? I guess what I should say is that I'm not surprised. I mean, steroids is a pretty common thing among sports back then. Baseball was the biggest factor because players used it to build muscles and hit home runs, which gave them an advantage over players that didn't use them. But hockey? It sounds strange that hockey would use these, because it doesn't necessarily help the legs as much as the upper body. But Laraque is partially right. But is their proof that steroids did actually happen? Him saying it is not exactly solid proof that they did it. They need to investigate and see if it actually occurred. And if it did and if there are current players that were involved, there needs to be some sort of action. So until then, I can't believe what Laraque is saying. I'd believe it in baseball, just not hockey yet.