Category Archives: capitals hockey

capitals hockey, The Daily Feed
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Capitals Squeak Past Canadiens, 3-2 (SO)

Photo courtesy of Garyisajoke
Caps/Habs (April 15, 2010) – 5
courtesy of Garyisajoke

Despite what, at times, seemed to be their best efforts to the contrary, the Capitals managed to beat the Montreal Canadiens Saturday night, winning 3-2 in a shootout, and, more importantly, securing control over the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Caps got some help in the standings as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Buffalo Sabres earlier in the evening, solidifying their grasp on the playoffs with three games left to play this season, even as the Caps seemed determined to waste an early lead.
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Sabres Cut Down Caps, 5-1


Photo courtesy of bhrome
Jason Chimera can’t beat Ryan Miller and the Buffalo Sabres.
courtesy of bhrome

In a game rife with playoff implications for both teams, the Buffalo Sabres humiliated the Washington Capitals at Verizon Center last night, handing the home team a resounding 5-1 defeat in front of a large contingent of boisterous Buffalo fans. Coming into the game tied in the standings with Buffalo for the eighth and final playoff spot, the Caps were out played at both ends of the ice and failed to mount a serious challenge.

With just five regular season games remaining before the playoffs begin, the Capitals are now on the outside looking in. The Caps face the top three teams in the Eastern Conference (Rangers, Bruins and Panthers) as well as recent playoff nemeses Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning. Washington will have to win nearly all of its remaining games and hope that some higher teams falter down the stretch. Continue reading →

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Caps Collapse in Loss to Jets


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Alex Ovechkin spotted the Caps to a 3 goal lead.
courtesy of clydeorama

It was a tale of two games: it the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of swiftness, it was the age of slacking off, it was the epoch of crisp passes on the tape, it was the epoch of sloppy clearing attempts, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, – in short, the third period was so far unlike the first period, that some of its noisiest fans insisted on the game being received in the superlative degree of comparison only. And they booed lustily.

With all apologies to Charles Dickens, thus was the Caps game last night. After jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first 25 minutes of hockey, the Caps utterly and completely fell apart, lost the lead – and eventually the game in overtime – to the Winnipeg Jets, 4-3. It was a demoralizing loss to a team immediately behind Washington in the standings. Two spectacular, highlight-worthy goals by Alex Ovechkin were for naught.

“This is a tough pill to swallow right now,” said Matt Hendricks after the game. “We had all the momentum going our way, then the next thing you know we lose in overtime.” Continue reading →

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Capitals Bag Up Maple Leafs, 2-0

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IMG_4761.jpg
courtesy of bridgetds

Desperation may be a stinky cologne, but, for one day at least, the Caps ended up smelling like roses. The Capitals faced the Toronto Maple Leafs in a Sunday matinee contest – their last home game for a while as they take to the road on their most important extended trip of the year. Although the Caps did not make up any ground on Florida, which holds a slim two point lead on the Southeast Division, they managed to tighten their grasp on the eighth (and final) playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, extending their lead over Winnipeg to four points.
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Caps Top Bolts in OT


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Ovechkin Takes To The Ice
courtesy of clydeorama

For the second time in five games, Alex Ovechkin scored in overtime to cap a comeback victory as the Capitals defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 last night at Verizon Center. The win kept the Capitals’ fragile playoff hopes alive.

After a fiery speech by head coach Dale Hunter following a lackluster second period, the Capitals played the third period with urgency, grit and determination. Marcus Johansson tied the game at 2-2 with four minutes remaining in the game to force overtime. Continue reading →

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Capitals Crumble Against Flyers, 1-0

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Alexander Semin
courtesy of BrianMKA

Thanks to NBC Sport’s prerogative in scheduling some games for television, Sunday’s Capitals game against the Flyers was pushed back to 7pm. Unfortunately, it seems as though the Caps didn’t get their afternoon naps, and while they started well, they could not sustain the necessary fortitude to grin out a victory against one of the East’s tougher teams, and fell to the Flyers, 1-0.
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Ovie Scores in OT as Caps Come Back to Defeat Islanders 3-2


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Ovechkin Fist Pump
courtesy of clydeorama

Alex Ovechkin played a terrible game last night. His passes weren’t connecting, he was often out of position, and he turned over the puck repeatedly. He shot wide to the left. He shot wide to the right. But when the game – and perhaps the season – was on the line in overtime, Ovie scored a spectacular goal to win the game and vault Washington back into a playoff spot.

Troy Brouwer set up the overtime heroics by scoring twice in the last four minutes of regulation to lead the come-from-behind victory. New York netminder Evgeni Nabokov was a brick wall through 56 minutes of the game, turning away the first 30 shots he faced. But Brouwer took an aggressive approach, taking his body to the net and scoring both goals from within a few feet of the goal line. Continue reading →

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Capitals Devoured by Sharks, 5-3

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IMG_5055.jpg
courtesy of bridgetds

Down a number of players to injury and illness, the Capitals came into Monday night’s game against the San Jose Sharks desperately needing a win to stay relevant in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt. Unfortunately, despite getting several goals from unlikely sources, the Caps were easy dispatched by San Jose and fell further behind in the playoff race.
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Caps Fall to Jets in Shootout, 3-2

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Capital’s coach Dale Hunter
courtesy of photopete

Like many sports, hockey is a game of momentum and lucky bounces. As Caps’ coach Dale Hunter likes to say, “That’s hockey.” The Winnipeg Jets got a few lucky breaks last night to beat the Caps 3-2 before a sellout crowd at Verizon Center.

Ii was a wild ending. Four power play goals in the span of eight minutes late in the third period left the two teams tied at the end of regulation. After an inconclusive overtime, the Jets won the game in the shootout.

The Caps came out aggressively in the first period, peppering Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec with 12 shots on goal to the Jets 4. The Caps had another 13 shots that either missed the net or were blocked. Even though both teams play a “trap” style of defense, it was wide open hockey with fast rushes in both directions. It seemed like the clock had been turned back to the run-and-gun Caps of the best of the Boudreau years. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and to me it was a lovely sight. Continue reading →

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Caps Blank Panthers, 4-0

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Tomas Vokoun Makes a Pad Save
courtesy of clydeorama

The Caps scored early and often and rode a hot goaltender to a 4-0 win over the Florida Panthers last night at Verizon Center. With the win, the Caps vaulted past the Panthers into first place in the Southeast Division and a spot in the playoffs. Alex Ovechkin scored twice and Tomas Vokoun stopped 42 shots for his fourth shutout of the season.

The fans were barely in their seats when the Caps lit the red light for an early lead. Jason Chimera dug the puck out of the corner and fed a pass to Matthieu Perreault who slid the puck under Panthers’ goalie Scott Clemmensen just 13 seconds into the game. Continue reading →

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Bruins Beat Caps by a Field Goal, 4-1

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DSC_6231
courtesy of bhrome

Two weeks ago, the Capitals came into their game against the Boston Bruins on the hockey equivalent of fourth and long: reeling from consecutive losses and missing their captain, Alex Ovechkin. With the help of a hat trick from an unexpected source, diminutive Mathieu Perreault, the Caps hung on to beat the Bruins and set the stage for today’s Super Sunday rematch.
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Capitals Declaw Bruins, 5 -3

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With the team missing Alex Ovechkin (suspension), Nicklas Backstrom (injury) and Mike Green (injury), expectations for the Capitals’ Tuesday night tilt against the Boston Bruins were not high. In fact, most commentators expected the Bruins to steamroll the Caps like so much Boston asphalt.
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Islanders give Capitals a Rough Ride, win 3-0

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DSC_7692
courtesy of bhrome

When the Capitals came into Tuesday night’s game against the New York Islanders at the end of an unusual homestand: every one of the four teams the Caps played had played within the previous 24 hours. Tuesday night, however, the Caps came out looking like the tired team and were shut out for the first time this season.
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Caps Outlast Lightning, Win 4-3

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Brouwer Skates Over Blue Line
courtesy of clydeorama

The Caps rode two early power play goals and a hat trick by Troy Brouwer to a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning last night at Verizon Center. Tampa Bay stormed back in the third period to draw within a goal twice. With the goalie on the bench for an extra forward, the Lightening pressed to the very end, scoring with 10 second remaining in the game, and nearly tieing the game as the final buzzer sounded. Continue reading →

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Caps Edge Penguins, 1-0

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Vokoun Moving in Crease
courtesy of clydeorama

A breakaway goal and solid goaltending was enough to beat the conference rival Pittsburgh Penguins, 1-0, last night at Verizon Center. Jason Chimera scored on a first period breakaway for the winning goal and Tomas Vokoun made 30 saves to earn the shutout. The game had consequences in the race for the playoffs for both teams as the Caps passed the Penguins in the standings to move into 8th place in the Eastern Conference.

The Penguins dominated the early going in puck possession and offensive zone time. The Caps came out looking flat, chasing pucks, passing into each others’ skates and shooting from long range. Only Brooks Laich and Troy Brouwer were able to take the puck and body to the net. A couple of rocking checks by Alex Ovechkin and Brouwer seemed to wake Washington out of their west coast fog and generate some energy from their Eco Watch health products.

The Caps got on the score sheet 15 minutes into the game when Joel Ward knocked the puck away from Evgeni Malkin to spring Jeff Halpern for a 3-on-1 break. Halpern saucered a perfect pass to a streaking Chimera who beat Marc-Andre Fleury high on the blocker side. Continue reading →

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Caps Top Rangers 4-1

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IMG_1661
courtesy of jennifer.walters

Following a demoralizing loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Monday, the Washington Capitals came into tonight’s game desperate for a win. Rumors floated during the day that a Caps loss would lead to drastic action (read: trades). In what might be called a “character win,” the Caps put in a (mostly) complete effort against the Rangers and were rewarded with two points, leaving them at 18-15-2 on the season.
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Caps Top Predators, 4-1

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Mike Knuble has played 1,000 NHL games.
courtesy of bridgetds

The Capitals honored 39-year-old Mike Knuble last night for playing in 1,000 NHL games, then went out and earned a hard fought 4-1 victory over the Nashville Predators before a festive crowd at Verizon Center last night. Riding goals from marquee players Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin along with some timely saves by goalie Michal Neuvirth, the Caps played as complete a game as we have seen under new coach Dale Hunter. Continue reading →

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Flyers Flatten Caps, 5-1


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Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov
courtesy of bridgetds

The Caps carried their resurgent power play and a two-game winning streak into last night’s game against Conference-leading Philadelphia Flyers. But they came undone through a combination of Philadelphia muscle and poor goaltending. A series of soft shots and deflections got past starting goalie Tomas Vokoun as the Caps fell to the Flyers 5-1.

In the first period, the Caps came out looking like a different team than a month ago. With a disciplined approach they took the action to the Flyers, maintaining the puck in the offensive zone for most of the period with strong physical play. The aggressiveness paid off when the Caps drew two power play chances. But the Caps failed to shoot the puck on the man advantage and were unable to score on Flyers’ netminder Ilya Bryzgalov. The Caps lost the momentum, and tide turned.

The Flyers, meanwhile, shot the puck at every opportunity. Scott Hartnell put Philadelphia ahead 1-0 when he beat Tomas Vokoun between the legs on a clear shot from the top of the faceoff circle after 16 minutes. “I don’t think we had that kind of energy and emotion we had before,” said captain Alex Ovechkin of the first goal. Continue reading →