Next Season's Most Intriguing Games

Next season's schedule has been out for a few weeks now. I took a few minutes the other day to browse through the various match ups and was particularly drawn to the following five games. I initially created a list of 10 games but have since then boiled it down to five. Here they are.

Oct. 6 Capitals v. Flyers
The Caps will be flying right out of the gate.....pun intended. It is a rare occurence to see the Caps take on the Flyers this early in a season. This budding rivalry will take on a very different look this year. Flyers made a big time addition in Chris Pronger which was without question a move to hamper the likes of Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, and Evgeni Malkin. Afterall, if the Flyers hope to make a run to the finals they will most likely have to meet one or two of those players in a playoff series. This game also marks the return of Mike Knuble to Philadelphia. He was loved by the Philly fans but we all know that Philly fans have memories of about 5 minutes. What have you done for me lately?

Nov. 17 Capitals v. Rangers
Not to much difficulty is making this pick. This will also be the second meeting between these two teams, but the first in the big apple. Still fresh in the minds of Rangers fans is last year's playoff series in which the Rangers squandered a 3-1 series lead. This team is vastly improved in my opinion from last year. Plenty of player movement included acquiring oft-injured sniper Marion Gaborik, Ales Kotilik, Chris Higgins, and now former Cap Donald Brashear. Leaving the Rangers was Scott Gomez who was traded to Montreal. Scoring should be improved for the Rangers and they have the best goalie in the world; Henkrik Lundqvist

Jan. 21 Capitals v. Penguins
It would be an understatement to say that the Capitals are still bitter about how last season ended. No excuse losing a game 7 at home, but that is exactly what happened. Oh yeah, and it was in blowout fashion. This game will be the first of four between this bitter rivalry. Ovechkin v. Crosby is always a marquee match up. Now that Crosby has a Cup, the stakes are even higher for Ovechkin to perform. Make no qualms about it, Ovechkin wants to be the best player in the world, and perhaps he is, but greatness is measured by the number of rings you have. I think we are only seeing the beginning of this rivalry which seemed to have taken a few years off prior to Crosby and OV entering the league. We will be treated to four match ups in the last half of the season. Should be exciting.

Mar. 25 Capitals v. Hurricanes
Never lacking entertainment are match ups between the Hurricanes and Capitals. This is especially true when a possible division championship is at stake. The Caps will not have a cake walk to the division title this year. Coming off a trip to the conference finals, Carolina will pose quite a challenge this year for the Caps. Eric Staal will continue to put up 40 goals and 80-90 points. Roles players like Chad LaRose, Tuomo Ruutu, and Joe Corvo seem to give the Caps fits on a regular basis. Their goalie Cam Ward is possibly the most underrated goalie in the NHL. Carolina always plays well in big games, and since this is the last meeting of the season with division title implications, it should be a dandy.

Apr. 11 Bruins v. Capitals
The last game of the season. Ideally both teams will be resting their star players in preparation for the playoffs. But if your a hockey fan and not partial to either team, you are hoping these two teams are tied for the conference lead with home ice advantage on the line. This is a definite possibility. The Bruins are coming off a season in which they strolled into the playoffs with home ice advantage with relative ease last year. This team is loaded with dynamic forwards, gritty defenseman, and an all-star in net. Zdeno Chara is sure to give OV fits in this match up which may give the Bruins an advantage. This will be fan appreciation day at the phone booth so I expect a win for the Caps in this game. If a conference title is on the line, this very well could be the best game all year.

These are my picks for top 5 games this season. Tell me what you think. What games are you looking forward to?

Go Caps!