During his time at The Post, Tony Kornheiser wrote a lot about the “choking dog” Capitals come spring.
In 1987, after the Capitals blew a 3-1 series lead against the Islanders:
“Stop taking out ads celebrating what heroes the Capitals are because they went four courageous overtimes and lost in their own building. They had a 3-1 lead in five games. It should’ve never gotten to the seventh game. This is three years in a row. They choke. They say so themselves.”
In 1988, before the playoffs even began:
“With 10 games left in the regular hockey season, it’s getting near that time when we start hearing the dreaded p-word, “playoffs,” used in collaboration with the dreaded c-word, “choke.