Now that the thing I won't speak of has occurred...?

Ugh.... I know all too well of what you speak.

I haven't really decided yet either... you can look at it several different ways -- pull for the Caps (kind of makes me cringe, though) to keep the Cup in the Southeast division... pull for Ottawa because, as Bob said, we've got some Hurricane representation up there (although I'm not a big fan of Ottawa)... but basically, who would you mind least winning the Cup? I'm asking myself that...

***I also agree with Joe, the Flyers wouldn't be a bad team to root for! And I'm a closet Briere fan anyway...

You know what? I have no pity for the Canes. I do feel bad for you as a fan, but the Canes blew it plain and simple. Instead of getting mad at the caps and rooting against them, why not be angry at the Canes for letting you (an obviously avid fan) down in the clutch.

As someone who lives in the D.C. area, I've been well aware of the situation for the past two months or so, and I've gotta say... every night the caps played like it was their last shot to win a game... If you are going to keep your spot over a team like that, you have to play with that same desire, and the Canes just couldn't do that.

There were two games that the caps lost due to completely ridiculous scenarios... they lost to Boston because Brashear got a TRIPPLE MINOR that resulted in two powerplay goals (the game tier and winner) in the last 5 minutes of the game... Then a couple of games later Backstrom put the winning goal into his own net in the closing minutes.

Those were two games that were lost by the caps within the last month. Those were opportunities that the Canes could have capitalized on and didn't. Don't hate the caps... they had their lumps too. Hate the Panthers if you want... hate your team for letting you down... but don't hate on the team that played their butts off and made for one of the most spectacular playoff races in recent memory.

EDIT:

Awesome Bill (PB magnet) - Are you serious? Washington has been in the NHL since there were only 18 teams. They joined in 1974-75 and played in a division (initially) with the Detroit Red Wings, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Montreal Canadians, and the Los Angeles Kings.

FYI... Carolina joined the NHL in 1997-98. So um... yeah... you're ignorant.

The thing you won't speak of occured a while ago for my team. So do what I do, and root for any team that is playing against the team you extremely dislike. In my case, I am currently on the Devils bandwagon.

I know I'm sad too the Canes are out of it. But I am going with the Caps now that the Canes are out. They must really want it bad to do so good in the last month and put our Canes out of it. I know it goes against our rivalry with them and the way we Boo them when they come to the RBC center. But at least if they win we would keep the cup in the South Eastern division. I'm really with you on the unspeakable. The RBC center had already mail my playoff tickets to me. Was really looking forward to the whole playoff run again.

Carey Price won the World Juniors and was MVP! the very next year he won the Calder Cup and was MVP! the very next year his NHL team was the # 1 seed in the east... and don't forget about Kovalev, Markov, Higgins, Koivu, and Kostopolous! a far superior team may run into a few bumps on the way (washington, pittsburgh) but it'll be a fun ride on our way to 25. If we make there.

I am not giving you a reason because that thing you are talking about effects me too. I have no reason to root for any other team because our team went down sorry i mentioned it but I can't give you another team unless someone gives me one.

I'm like you now that the thing has occured i had to choose a team to root for.

even though i am upset with washington i decided i would root for them and pittsburgh because washington has ovechkin and he is so fun to watch and they are representing the southeast division plus almost all of there games come on tv where i'm at. also pittsburgh because well they are good and i like alot of the players on their team.

Yea i was pretty pissed off at "the goalie" against "the team", he played pretty bad (what a game to start not doing good, eh?). I'm rooting for San Jose because they are neutral to "your team" and they have two of my favorite players:

Nabokov - a shire-fire Vezina winner; and

Joe Thornton - most assists in the league and one of the few players with a great personality.

One reason is all you need to cheer for the Avs: Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg together again, trying to ride off into the sunset with one last Stanley Cup.....what's not to love here?

btw, Forsberg has 11 pts. in his last 4 games and 14 pts. in 9 games overall. Sakic has 7 pts. in his last 4 games. So they are playing well at the right time too.

Root for the Flyers.

~They are, for the most part, an up and coming young team.

~They play a tough, gritty brand of hockey.

~They are going to be underdogs going into every series

~They get little respect from the average hockey fan.

~Rod Brind'Amour has his obvious Philadelphia ties

~Sami Kapanen is a former Hurricane/Whaler.

~Keith Primeau a former Hurricane/Whaler had an outstanding career skating for both organizations.

~Joe, Bob, Bill, Dave and I will all welcome you onto the bandwagon for our playoff run regardless of how short it is.