Eight is a magic number in Baltimore-area sports. There’s Cal Ripken, Jr., Baltimore’s greatest to wear the number. Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin is rewriting the post-lockout NHL record books with the ocho on his sweater. Trent Dilfer led the Ravens to the Promised Land in Super Bowl XXXV wearing a big purple eight on his back. Hometown hero Michael Phelps, in the 2008 Olympics (Which began on 8/8), won eight gold medals.
So, with no. 8 Ovechkin captaining the high-flying Capitals into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, why worry? Well, in the NHL, the number 1 seed overturning the number 8 seed is far from a given.
Since the lockout 25% of the no. 1 seeds have been eliminated by their opponents who barely made the playoffs. Parity may not exist in the regular season, but in the playoffs, hot goaltending, a shutdown penalty killing unit, or a line combination that gets into a rhythm can beat long-term success in four out of seven times.
To be more specific, since the lockout, top seeds are 28-17 (60.7%) versus eight seeds. Now, to be fair, this method of thinking completely ignores the talent gaps between the teams. For example, last year’s Anaheim team that upset San Jose featured five legit world-class forwards (Ryan Getzlaf, Chris Kunitz, Corey Perry, Bobby Ryan, Teemu Selanne) and two of the most experienced and talented D-men in the league (Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer). The 2007 Islanders, another eighth seed, had…well…not those guys. So clearly we are not comparing apples to apples. Still, if you take a lineup like that of the ’09 Ducks, add it to the hot goaltending of Jonas Hiller, all of a sudden the Sharks are once again fishing before the end of April. It could happen to anyone.
But will it happen to the Caps? My heart, and my brain, tell me a very strong no. As Game 1 begins tonight against Montreal at Verizon Center, the Capitals have high expectations, while the Canadiens are playing with nothing to lose. Here’s a look at all of the 1-8 pairings since the 2004-05 lockout. You make the call.
Post-Lockout 1 vs. 8 pairings
(#1 seeds upset in bold)
2010
#1 seed Washington vs. #8 seed Montreal
#1 seed San Jose vs. #8 seed Colorado
2009
#1 seed Boston 4-0 #8 seed Montreal
#1 seed San Jose 2-4 #8 seed Anaheim
2008
#1 seed Montreal 4-3 #8 seed Boston
#1 seed Detroit 4-2 #8 seed Nashville
2007
#1 seed Buffalo 4-1 #8 seed New York Islanders
#1 seed Detroit 4-2 #8 seed Calgary
2006
#1 seed Ottawa 4-1 #8 seed Tampa
#1 seed Detroit 2-4 #8 seed Edmonton
Dave Gilmore can be reached at BaltimoreCaps@gmail.com and on Twitter @BaltimoreCaps.
"8" Orioles' losses….
"8 orioles losses… before the os turned it around and won al wild card" is what you meant to say.
Love the optimism!Unfortunatley the Caps just went down too.
excuse me! this is bsr, not dcsr lolol
Ha, as soon as B-More gets *another* pro franchise I'll be happy to cover them. (R.I.P. Clippers, Skipjacks, Bandits).
That's pretty interesting stuff…never realized how lucky 8 truly is…
David Gilmore… I am trying to reach you. Please email me at jkubin@washingtontimes.com. Thanks. Jacquie
8 maids a milking.
Andy Etchebarren also….
But if Ripken played 1st or 3rd his stats wouldn't be GREAT. Just average. Overhyped was what Ripken and his #8 was…
Right on Ravens2488- what exactly does that mean? Rip had so so numbers for power positions, but he was a role model at SS. The best thing about CalPie was Kelly.
Wilnut – Ravens of course, 24 was my number when I was playing (? amounted to 10 games) with the Atlanta Falcons, 8 for the amount of minutes I lasted on American Idol and the last 8 is for number of times you and I made out.
Hahaha.
2488 and Will-o…Great to hear about the two of you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GMZjkNW5b8
Carlos Lopez also wore #8 for the Orioles…
Dave Skaggs was #8 as well.
Nails –
Welcome back!
I had to try really hard not to make a Kyle Boller joke when writing this.
I can imagine. Good timing with the Ripken news.