Tag Archives: washington capitals

capitals hockey, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Ovechkin’s OT winner sends Caps to the top of the East

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‘ovi en fuego…’
courtesy of ‘choofly’

Alexander Ovechkin scored the game-winning goal with 1:41 remaining in overtime to give the Washington Capitals a 5-4 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres in a weird and wild game Saturday night at the Verizon Center. The win moved the Caps to the top of the Eastern Conference by one point over the idle Philadelphia Flyers, though Philadelphia does have a game in hand.

However thrilling the win was to the 18,398 fans who made up the 100th consecutive sellout crowd for a Capitals home game, Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau was in a less-than-celebratory mood at his postgame press conference.

“I’m concerned with the process of how we played,” Boudreau said, “I thought it was way too close to looking like last year.” Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Caps top Blue Jackets, suffer on the blue line

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‘IMG_4634.jpg’
courtesy of ‘bridgetds’

The Caps want to start tuning up for the playoffs. After grinding out an 4-3 overtime victory against the Blue Jackets on Thursday at Verizon Center, they have 101 points, eight points more than the Lightning in the division with four to play (six for Tampa).

Washington trails the Flyers by a point for the top overall seed in the Eastern Conference and home ice through to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Presidents’ Cup is out of reach as the Canucks have it all but mathematically wrapped up. So, the Caps are more or less looking at a No. 2 seed heading into the playoffs with a possible No. 1 and it is time to fine tune the program so as to vanquish the ghosts of playoffs past.

Or so you would think.

Bob McKenzie, one of the elite reporters in all of hockey, tweeted during the Caps game on Thursday that defenseman Dennis Wideman was in the hospital with a hematoma on his leg that developed after an awkward hit from Carolina’s Tuomo Ruutu on Tuesday.

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capitals hockey, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Hurricanes Batter Caps, 3-2


Semyon Varlamov faced a penalty shot.
courtesy of PackaPucksPics

The Caps couldn’t muster enough energy last night to play a complete hockey game, falling to the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 in a shootout. “I feel like at some points in the game we were just coasting a little bit instead of pushing the envelope and that’s what bit us in the end,” said rookie defenseman John Carlson, probably the best player on the ice in red last night. “We gotta be able to compete and beat any team that’s going to come hard because everyone is going to be fighting for their lives in the playoffs.” Let’s hear it for rookie leadership.

Indeed, the Hurricanes were five points out of the playoffs coming into last night’s game and will likely have to win all of their remaining games to qualify for the playoffs, so the intensity was high. And after resting some key players during a recent road trip, the Caps lineup last night looked remarkably like a playoff team. Continue reading →

capitals hockey
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Caps Dump Flyers, Look Ahead to Playoffs as Ovechkin Rests

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Mike Knuble scored his 20th goal of the season against the Flyers.
courtesy of ‘bridgetds’

Boy it’s fun to win in Philadelphia.

In an entertaining battle of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference, the Capitals outlasted the Philadelphia Flyers last night to win 5-4 in a shootout in Philadelphia and clinch a spot in the playoffs. In their first game this season without scoring leader Alex Ovechkin, the Caps took advantage of their early chances to jump out to a 3-0 lead after just 22 minutes.

When Philadelphia changed goalies, the momentum swung the other way as the Flyers out-hustled and out-muscled the Caps to score four unanswered goals. “Our biggest problem in the second period was turning the puck over,” said coach Bruce Boudreau. “The first period, we didn’t have any turnovers. We got it out, we got it deep. In the second and third period they were putting more pressure on us but we were turning the puck over.”

With five minutes left in the game, the Caps looked thoroughly beaten. But Mike Knuble, who had a dominating night with a goal and two assists, set up Marcus Johansson for a one-timer to force overtime. After a scoreless overtime, Alexander Semin scored the game winner in the shootout to seal the deal. Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Features
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Capitals revamped defense: Stanley Cup worthy?

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‘IMG_6246.jpg’
courtesy of ‘bridgetds’

Nine straight games.

Pretty good for a team that folk said was in complete disarray and out of the Stanley Cup picture three months ago. The Caps current streak now exceeds its lowest point of the season, the eight-game losing streak in December that led up to the Winter Classic. The highest high is now greater than the lowest low.

And Washington is looking to get higher.

The questions have been about the offense. Why haven’t they been scoring? What is wrong with Ovie? Traditionally though, with this group and this coach, scoring has not been a problem and the Caps are showing signs of getting out of the doldrums that plagued them throughout the middle of the season in the scoring department. The defense this year has been surprisingly competent in front of young, solid goaltending. Through the nine-game win streak, Washington has given up 13 goals for an impressive 1.44 goals against per game.

The question becomes – can these new defensive dynamics lead the Caps to the Promised Land?

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Capitals look good against Blackhawks, still more work to be done

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‘IMG_2530.jpg’
courtesy of ‘bridgetds’

Everybody around the Capitals are starting to get a little bit antsy. Washington is a point back for the top seed in the Eastern Conference, it has won eight straight games and doing so in gritty style. The trade acquisitions are paying off and it does not seem to matter who is in goal, Washington is pulling out victories.

The Caps themselves do not seem to be antsy. If anything, a good adjective to describe them would be focused. Focused describes the surrounding media and fan base also, all looking towards the ice and seeing a team that is playing well and asking ‘what is it going to mean in the playoffs?’

Sunday’s 4-3 overtime matinee win against the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks was a showcase game. It was the NBC Game Of The Week and had a little bit of a “what-if” surrounding it. What if the Caps had not gotten run by the Canadiens in the first round? What if they were able to grind through and make it through the Eastern Conference to play in the Finals? What if the faced this same Chicago team last June for it all?

One thing is for certain … it would have been fun to watch.

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The Daily Feed
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Capitals gone streaking: Seven in a row as Holtby withstands Hurricanes

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‘IMG_6630.jpg’
courtesy of ‘bridgetds’

Things are really starting to go the Capitals way.

Seven wins in a row. A fresh young goaltender riding a hot streak. A string of victories in one goal games. And now they have retaken second place in the Eastern Conference within striking distance of the Flyers for the top spot heading into the playoffs.

Where has this team been most of the year?

Washington was good in the fall. They were mediocre in November, January and a good portion of February. They were terrible in December. Yet, with a scrappy, opportunistic 2-1 win over the Hurricanes on Friday, Washington controls its destiny in the Southeast Division and is within a game of where everybody thought they would be when the season got rolling in October.

On the top.

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capitals hockey, The Daily Feed
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Caps Blank Oilers, 5-0

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Holtby Save on Shorthanded Cogliano Breakaway
courtesy of ‘clydeorama’
The Capitals’ season-long retooling project took a strong step forward last night as an offensive explosion propelled the Caps to a 5-0 win and a shutout for rookie goalie Braden Holtby against the Edmonton Oilers at Verizon Center. The Caps rediscovered the wonders of the power play scoring two goals on the man advantage in the second period. Alex Ovechkin lead the fireworks with two goals and an assist, as Eric Fehr returned from an injury to add two more lamp-lighters.

The retooling effort that got underway in earnest in mid-November has aimed to play a style more suited to success in the post-season. This has included playing “responsible” hockey with a focus on defensive assignments and middle zone traps. After two years of ever-increasing offense firepower under coach Bruce Boudreau, the change has felt more like shock therapy. Continue reading →

Sports Fix
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The chain gang: Where did the Caps’ offense go?

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‘IMG_3758.jpg’
courtesy of ‘bridgetds’

A year ago, the Capitals were the high-flying, big scoring red machine that cut through the Eastern Conference regular season like scissors making a paper snowflake. They led the league in scoring with 313 goals and were buoyed by the best top line in the game in Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin.

This year has not been so kind.

The difference is striking, on the ice and by the numbers. Washington’s struggles on the ice have been well chronicles and denizens of the Verizon Center hope they have been remedied with the additions of another puck moving defenseman (Dennis Wideman) and a bona fide second line center (Jason Arnott) brought to D.C. at the trade deadline.

Let’s take a look at the numbers.

Last year the Caps scored 3.82 goals per game, more than half a goal higher than second place Vancouver at 3.27. The top line of Ovie, Backstrom and Semin tallied 3.93 points (goals and assists) per game. The top eight scorers on the team averaged 7.86 points per game. An amazing seven Caps scored more than 50 points with six of them above 20 goals.

Where has the production gone?

And why?
Continue reading →

capitals hockey, The Daily Feed
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Caps Rock the Blues, 3-2

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Jason Arnott Has Had an Immediate Impact
courtesy of ‘clydeorama’
The Capitals came from behind twice to defeat the St. Louis Blues 3-2 last night at the Verizon Center. General Manager George McPhee is looking awfully good this morning as newly acquired Jason Arnott scored the winning goal in the third period. Once nearly unbeatable at home, the Caps won back-to-back home games for just the first time since November. Sitting in second place in the Southeast Division and fifth overall in the Eastern Conference, the Caps are looking to move up in the standings with 17 games to go.

The Caps got off to another uneven start in the first period, playing aggresively but not wisely. Passes were not connecting, and there were too many turnovers and missed defensive assignments. The Blues had several excellent scoring chances with passes going through the slot or even through the crease, and one shot rang off the post. The Caps gave up numerous odd-man breaks, and finally a 3-on-2 turned into a 1-on-0 and Alex Steen beat Michal Neuvirth top shelf to make it 1-0. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Rangers demoralize the Caps … again

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‘IMG_2006.jpg’
courtesy of ‘bridgetds’

It has been a while since the fans at Verizon Center have seen a good show.

Well, that is if you weren’t at Lady Gaga Thursday night.

More specifically, Capitals fans have not seen a good show at Verizon in quite some time. Before the 6-0 shelling at the hands of the Rangers on Friday, the Capitals had lost their previous two home games by a combined score of 6-1 to the Kings and Sharks. The team then went on the road for much of the month of February, cruising the West Coast, New York and Pennsylvania for five games with varying results before returning home to lay an egg against New York.

The last time the red-clad denizens of Verizon Center got to celebrate a win was against rival Pittsburgh Feb. 6. A home win over the Penguins, because they are so hated in D.C., makes everything all right, doesn’t it?

Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Features
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From hockey to basketball at Verizon: A familiar routine

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‘Verizon Center change over’
courtesy of Max Cook

Last Saturday was a busy day for the bull gang at Verizon Center.

Then again, the operations crew working in the hub of Chinatown is always busy.

Yet, last Saturday was a little bit different. Verizon Center makes multiple switches every week from a hockey arena for the Capitals to basketball for the Wizards with modifications for both Georgetown and the Mystics. Normally, it goes from basketball to hockey, a familiar process for the crew. On Saturday it was a quick afternoon turnaround though from hockey to basketball as the Caps played an uncharacteristic early-afternoon matinee at 12:30 p.m. and the Wizards had a later-than-usual start at 8:00 p.m.

Both teams lost. Badly.

It turned out to be a marathon day for this reporter. It came to the point where our fearless leader, Tom, was set to dispatch a St. Bernard to the Verizon Center with one of those little casks tied around its neck as part of a rescue team. Being a working Saturday, I naturally told Tom to have the St. Bernard’s cask (in my mind I called him TimBo) filled with tequila. A working man has a powerful thirst, you know.

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The Daily Feed
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Caps caught napping again in loss to Kings

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‘IMG_7557.jpg’
courtesy of ‘bridgetds’

The message after the game was loud and clear in the Capitals dressing room on Saturday afternoon.

It is time to wake up.

“It is like we are waiting for something. I don’t know. Waiting for something,” forward Mike Knuble said. “We are entering the toughest part of our season right here and it is going to be a real indicator if we are going to be a serious contender or not, quite honestly.”

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The Daily Feed
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Sharks beat Caps on a day in February

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‘Alex and Alex’
courtesy of ‘jakarachuonyo’

Oh, the potential headlines seem so dramatic.

“Sharks take a bite out of the nation’s Capitals”

“San Jose proves to the NHL that Caps are not contenders”

“Silicon Valley switches the circuits of D.C.’s hockey team”

By now you should realize that the Caps lost to the Sharks, 2-0 at the Verizon Center on Tuesday night. Anti Niemi got the win for San Jose with 25 saves. Michal Neuvirth took the loss, making 34 stops.

Really, it was some classic February hockey. A hot team on a momentum gaining road trip coming to visit a smug team feeling good about itself because it just blew through its two primary rivals over the weekend and thinks that it can go toe-to-toe with anybody. The smug team comes out flat, can never gain traction on the ice and all efforts come in vain as things eventually start to unravel in the third period. The postgame interviews are short and redundant and everybody goes home to bed to wake up for practice the next morning.

Continue reading →

capitals hockey, The Daily Feed
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Habs Top Caps in Shootout

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Mathieu Perreault notched a goal and an assist.
courtesy of ‘bridgetds’
For the second straight game, the Washington Capitals failed to hold a lead and lost in a shootout, this time to the Montreal Canadiens, 3-2, last night at Verizon Center. Canadiens’ captain Brian Gionta scored two second-period goals as well as the lone shootout goal to win it for the Habs. The Caps have lost the last eight times when the game goes to overtime or a shootout.

On a night when Washington saluted former Capitals’ feisty scoring star Dino Ciccarelli, the Caps looked like they wanted to start where Dino left off 19 years ago. Washington came out with blazing hot sticks, shooting the puck and crashing the net. The defense was jumping into the action, and the Caps looked like the explosive offensive team of last season. Unfortunately, the Montreal Canadiens looked like the team that eliminated the Caps from the playoffs last year, too. The combination of suffocating defense and opportunistic offense paid off again for the Canadiens. Continue reading →

capitals hockey, The Daily Feed
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Caps Fall to Rangers in Shootout

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‘Matt Hendricks’
courtesy of ‘bridgetds’
A late fluky goal led to a shootout loss for the Caps, marring an otherwise strong defensive performance and a stellar evening for Matt Hendricks last night at Verizon Center. The Caps took a precarious one-goal lead into the third period against the New York Rangers only to let victory slip away. The Rangers managed to tie the game late in the period, then outlasted the Caps in a high-scoring shootout to win 2-1.

The last time these two teams faced off in Madison Square Garden on December 12, the Rangers handed the Caps the worst pounding of painful 8-game losing streak. This time, the Caps showed up ready to play … except they forgot to shoot the puck. The registered only one shot on goal in the first 12 minutes of play, and only 11 shots through the first two periods. “We’ve been passing up shots to create plays,” said coach Bruce Boudreau. “You score your goals by shooting the puck and going to the net.” Continue reading →

capitals hockey, The Daily Feed
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Ovechkin Crushes Maple Leafs with Hat Trick

Photo courtesy of
‘Alex Ovechkin’
courtesy of ‘Dan4th’

In Canada, the big sport is ice hockey, and it doesn’t get any bigger than “Hockey Night in Canada” in Toronto. Think Monday Night Football in Dallas or Green Bay.

The Caps arrived in town to face the Maple Leafs after a couple of shaky road games and with a minor league goaltender. Alex Ovechkin, who loves a big stage – led the Caps to victory with a hat trick, and rookie goalie Braden Holtby stopped 36 shots as Washington defeated Toronto 4-1 on Saturday night.

None of Ovechkin’s goals were the type of highlight-reel material that Caps fans have come to expect from the Great 8. He scored on a tip in, a rebound, and an empty net. But the common thread was Ovi’s hustle, positioning and discipline – characteristics that are becoming the defining features of the 2011 Capitals. “It’s the only way we’re going to win,” said coach Bruce Boudreau. “Grinding games out is what we’ve been doing lately. We’ll probably continue to do it. … It might not be the most exciting brand of hockey in the world, but everybody seems to like winning hockey these days, so that’s what we have to do.” Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Ovie, Greenie named NHL All-Stars – Semin snubbed?

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‘IMG_6120.jpg’
courtesy of ‘bridgetds’

This was predictable.

Alex Ovechkin and Mike Green are NHL All-Stars. Should the Capitals have had some more? Well, perhaps there is this one guy . . .

At one point this year it seemed like Alexander Semin was a no-brainer All-Star. Through November he was by far the MVP of the Capitals and it looked like in a contract year he was going to play motivated hockey. He was hitting, he was moving his feet and most importantly, he was lighting the lamp.

But then Bad Sasha showed up.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Capitals grind away Panthers, win 3-2

Photo courtesy of
‘IMG_6428.jpg’
courtesy of ‘bridgetds’

The Capitals are not playing pretty hockey.

But, when it comes to end results, it has been effective hockey.

The first period against the Panthers on Saturday night at Verizon Center was atrocious. Washington played a cute but ultimately inefficient style of hockey for the first 20 minutes before grinding through the final two periods to seal a 3-2 victory over Florida.

For most of the night actually, the Capitals were almost laughably bad. Drop passes turned into self-zone clears. Back passes turned into partial Panther breaks and rushes. Giveaways were rampant (12 on the night against the Panthers three) and play was overall sloppy. It was not one of the beautiful games.

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The Daily Feed
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St. Louis sparks Lightning over Caps, Tampa retains first place

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‘IMG_6289.jpg’
courtesy of ‘bridgetds’

The Capitals and Lightning battled for first place in the Southeast Division on Tuesday. Just about halfway through the season and both teams had 51 points and compare well to each other in prominent statistical categories. After Tuesday is there any doubt that Tampa Bay and Washington will battle for the division all the way down to the last week of the regular season?

It was Tampa that would triumph on Tuesday, taking home a 1-0 victory on a Martin St. Louis goal 2:54 into overtime at Verizon Center. The teams played a scoreless three periods, matching each other surge for surge, penalty for penalty, shot for shot. It was not playoff hockey but it was as close to the feel of postseason play that opponents can get in the first week of January.

“Half way through the game you could tell that it was one of those games that might be going to overtime,” St. Louis said. “The whole game both teams had their surges. Both goalies were tremendous and we needed extra time and we just, you know, got a bounce and made something with it.”

Continue reading →