Tag Archives: washington capitals

The Daily Feed
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Ovechkin Who?

Photo courtesy of
‘00065085’
courtesy of ‘Keith Allison’

Suffice to say, “Ovechkin who?”

The Caps pulled out a thriller last night over the Islanders without their top winger, taking the game to 11 rounds of shootout madness before Chris Clark tagged the twine and the win. The goal capped a massive comeback from a 3-1 deficit.

Semin, Fleischmann and Fehr all knocked in goals on the night (Semin had two) and Semyon Varlamov carried the team through after Jose Theodore let in three goals on five shots in the first period. Semin’s first goal actually tied the team record (set by Gaetan Duchesne in 1987) for the fastest goal at the start of a game, only 8 seconds in.

The Caps have won three games in a row now without Ovechkin; Boudreau has indicated that the Great Eight’s recovery is going better than expected and the team could possibly see Ovie back as early as this weekend. The Caps play the Minnesota Wild here at home on Friday and are off to New Jersey on Saturday.

Downtown, Essential DC, Penn Quarter, Sports Fix
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Sports Extra: Capital Preview

Photo courtesy of clydeorama
Four Caps, No Waiting For Love, courtesy of clydeorama

Thank goodness, it’s almost Hockeytime.

No, seriously. I get the Redskins, people. Really. But I’m not a football fan. It’s all about sticks, pucks and skates – and the cool Zamboni ‘race’ between periods.

Hockey. Where the men have more gaps in their teeth than West Virginians. (I kid! Ok, not completely.)

And yes, Ovechkin, I’m lookin’ at you. Continue reading →

News
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Capital Frenzy

Photo courtesy of clydeorama

Wow, busy week across the NHL. Lots of moves with the July 1 Free Agent Turkey Shoot, and the Washington Capitals are right in the thick of it.

McPhee managed to re-sign Mike Green on Monday, June 30, effectively sealing up a potential weak spot and relieving many diehard Caps fans. So one less headache to worry over when Tuesday hit.

And hit it did.

Biggest news? Smoking-hot goaltender Christobal Huet bolted for more money and a suddenly very dangerous team in the Chicagoland area. Can’t blame the Blackhawks there – missing the playoffs by three points with an average goalie squad made any potential FA goalies legitimate targets.

Unfortunately, it forced McPhee to take a Vegas-sized risk by approaching – and signing – Avalanche goalie Jose Theodore for a more-than-modest two year deal worth $9M. BIG risk. HUGE. Now, if this was 2003, then it wouldn’t be a big deal (ok, maybe it would be, considering his lackluster play the next few years) – but despite his sudden transformation from mediocre back to the old Hart and Vezina winner with the ‘lanche last season, it really remains to be seen which Theodore the Caps got on this deal.

The goalie situation really is crucial to the Caps’ success in the next year. With Huet bolting for more lucrative waters and Kolzig “bolting” to Tampa (for what will probably be his final year or two of his career) as a mentor for the Lightning’s fresh-faced netminders, the play of Theodore is going to either sink or rocket Capital play. All the offense in the world isn’t going to matter if the goalie position is leakier than Montgomery County’s water lines.

There’s still more signings and moves to be had, for sure, as McPhee is still faced with UFAs Cooke, Fedorov, Bournedienne, Arsene, Riazantsev, Stana, Morgan and Werner. It will definitely be an interesting summer on ice.

Green Winds Up, courtesy of clydeorama