In case you've been living in a cave for the past 24 hours or so, you know Donald Brashear was suspended by the NHL for 6 games for two incidents. 5 of those games for his hit on NY Ranger Blair Betts. Let's put aside whether the hit warranted suspension (probably) or the number of games (too high?) and focus on the task the Washington Capitals have at hand tonight.
Game 7 brings the Caps the momentum after defeating the John Tortorella-less Rangers on Sunday. As many experts say, home ice is not really important, except in Game 7. The loss of Brashear tonight will impact the team to the effect that the Caps don't have that enforcer they signed from the Philadelphia Flyers a couple of years ago. It's kind of like losing that 10th man off the basketball bench who usually comes in at the end of a half or end of the game to commit or draw fouls.
The defensemen will need to step up to fill the void. Given the Game 7 scenario, there will likely be lots of hitting and crashing the boards. It's a matter of whether the officials will give leeway or clamp up, giving us either a blood bath or a drawn out game with lots of open ice. Still the Capitals have home ice and coming back from a 3-1 series deficit shows they can and should win this game.
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For a second there I thought I was living in a cave, but then I remembered seeing a 5 second clip of the incidents on the local news. Amidst all the talk of home runs in the new Yankee Stadium, the Mets not being able to beat anyone but the Nats, and Mark Sanchez being the next Joe Namath, hockey doesn't get much press here in New York.