The irony of my interest in tonight’s NHL playoff Game 7 between the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers is that the Rangers got me interested in the sport, but I want to see nothing more than their painful demise tonight.

As I wrote a year ago, a cable channel showing the Rangers in 1979 sparked my hockey fandom. I have gone up and down in my interest in the sport, but after a year or two watching the rangers, I gravitated towards the Caps. I believe that you need a real connection to the team you support, and the Caps are the closest team to where I grew up. I got a chance to go see a handful of games in the early 1980s at the old Cap Centre, and followed them via the old Home Team Sports channel.

The arrival of Alexander Ovechkin and some playoff excitement from last season had me keeping an eye on the team this year. I have gotten more interested in this playoff series and plan on watching Game 7 tonight. I just hope we don’t have a repeat of last year’s playoff series against the Flyers.

If that happens, there is no way I am returning to following the Rangers. The thought turns my stomach. Let’s go Caps!