The last game of the Caps road trip was suppose to be a showdown with last-year Cap Varlamov. Unfortunately that didn't happen. Also unfortunately the Caps didn't win. However, it was a strong game all around for the Sportsnet crew, which was working with a limited roster yet again. Highlight was a surprise breakout performance by tonight's number one star.
Third Star (1 pt):
Tonight the third star goes to Locker and Joe B. They both had solid games and neither really deserved to get the last star. Plus they look o-so-good side by side. Locker began the broadcast with a cool stat, only 149 out of 7,000+ games since 2005 have ended 1-0. He went on to have a solid night of color commentating and handled the intermission interviews once again. Matt Hendricks was a questionable selection for the 2nd intermission interview given that the poor guy had just gotten the crap beaten out of him; he still seemed a little out of it. Then again, maybe he just still hadn’t recovered from the shock of that softie Neuvy gave up in the first. Or perhaps it’s because the poor dude has infant twins at home. Regardless, hope Hendy gets a good night’s sleep tonight; he earned it. Apparently Smokin Al isn’t important enough to fly out on road trips. He made a bad joke about Varley’s back being injured from all the red lights in San Jose that nobody, including Joe B, laughed at. The highlight of his night was his ample use of the phrase “Knuckle-puck” during the 2nd intermission highlights. Guess he watched Mighty Ducks on the flight into Denver. Joe B had a solid night calling the game and was all about stating the obvious. He let us know on multiple occasions that Varley wasn’t playing goal, told us to have a happy holiday (alot), and made sure we remembered that other power play sucks. He was also really into trains for some reason. During the 1st intermission he said that the Caps had to get their “Choo-Choo” going, and he introduced the Coors Light Freeze Cam by saying “Chug-Chug-Chug” (maybe that one was about alcoholism and not trains).
Second Star (2 pts):
Jill Sorenson. Came out for the 2nd Intermission rocking the red, which is always a great way to score some brownie points right off the bat. Pretty businesslike while she ran through the highlights, but got through them without incident. She finally remembered to crack a smile as she signed off, presumably just to assure us she isn’t a robot. She led off the (very brief) post-game show. The best description she could come up with for McLeod’s goal was “It was floating!” after mumbling a bit of gibberish, but we’ll pardon her loss for words, because if we’re honest, we couldn’t have done any better.
First Star (3 pts):
Rob Carlin. Carlin was flying solo tonight and he looked pretty nervous during the first intermission break away from his normal partner Alan May. However, once the highlights started going Carlin started to shine. He handled some of the most difficult names in hockey without stumbling once. Carlin did better as an intermission host than he has ever done hosting along side of Alan May, which makes us think May might just intimidate him (who can blame him). With his performance tonight Carlin made a strong case to see more time as a intermission guy but if that happens who will replace him alongside of May? Hopefully Jenkins cause we’d love to see May eat him alive. Also of note, he pulled off wearing a light brown suit which is not an easy task.
So there you have it. Solid performances all around for a bare bones Sportsnet crew. If you came here looking for rage, fear not! Next game is at the Verizon Center and I have a feeling everybody's favorite Capitals Insider will be making an appearance. (See you Tuesday Chuck!)
Points to Date for Participants:
Locker: 6
Joe B: 3
Carlin: 3
Sorenson: 2
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