The season hasn’t exactly started the way the Washington Capitals had hoped. When the team signed head coach Adam Oates over the off season the buzz in D.C. was electric. Ovechkin heaped praise on the former New Jersey Devils’ assistant in saying he felt he would be less reigned in than he was under Coach Hunter. What Alex and his team, didn’t know was that a half-season long lockout would delay their starting to learn the new coach’s new system and eliminate the entire pre-season. That lost time was much more valuable to a team with high turnover like the Caps than it is to other teams in the league. More here.
It all starts with a diamond chip being dragged slowly across the stone of a cutting wheel. That wheel is then drawn down the length of a steel blade, creating a groove, or a hollow. This creates two distinctive edges, one outside, and one inside. This is what makes skating possible. These two edges allow players to weave in and out of defenders, come to an abrupt stop, and spray snow shavings into the face of a goalie before finally putting the puck in the back of the net. Read more here.
It has become a familiar story for the Washington Capitals: they need a win, but come up terribly and embarrassingly short yet again. This time it was a loss to a once-bitter rival, the Pittsburgh Penguins, in front of a national audience on NBC. But now, the rivalry is all but gone. It’s a distant memory, much like Alex Ovechkin’s 50-goal scoring seasons. Nevertheless, rivalry or not, games between these two teams never fail to be interesting.
Pittsburgh comes to DC to revive it's Super Bowl match up against the Capitals, who have played on Superbowl Sunday for 25 years. In order to commemorate this joyous event in Caps fandom, we created some, shall we say, less than PC signs* for you to use today.
On any given night, in ice rinks all across North America, you will find a group of guys suiting up and playing a game of shinny hockey. Tonight, at a sold out Verizon Center, in front of fans who have been starved for professional hockey for so long due to the latest labor dispute lockout, the Washington Capitals came out and played no better than so many of those late-night pick-up players. The skill was, of course, much better but that’s where the differences ended.
Everyone needs someone to blame. Especially in sports. We blame the quarterback, the coach, the goalie, the defense, and the referees.
Anything to make a loss or a devastating injury a little less painless, from a fan’s perspective. Think of it as the spoonful of sugar that makes the medicine go down easier, just like Mary Poppins said. Was it Mary Poppins? Well, whatever. Someone said it.
But what about placing the blame on an unbiased, impartial party? One that is simply there to present the facts and has no personal stake in the event itself?
Ready to rebound from a tough loss in Ottawa on Tuesday, the Capitals came to Toronto in desperate need of a win. In a shortened season, a slow start can doom a team come playoff time. Now is the time to start picking up points when you can, even though it’s still early in the season. Three-point (loser point, looking at you, ’11-’12 Panthers) games will have greater importance and impact on playoff standings more so than ever before. Yeah, this season is gonna be weird, to say the least. Read more here.
According to a press release, the Capitals have acquired forward Casey Wellman from Florida in exchange for Zach Hamill. Hamill was acquired by the Boston Bruins in May of last year for Chris Bourque. Wellman, 25, has recorded 23 points (seven goals, 16 assists) in 37 games this season with San Antonio of the American Hockey League (AHL). He ranked third in points on San Antonio at the time of the trade.
Brooks Laich skated with the rest of the Capitals today in Toronto for the first time this season since training camp in early January. Laich has been sidelined with a groin injury he sustained while playing for the Kloten Flyers in the Swiss League during the NHL work stoppage. (What is it with this team and groin injuries?) He is listed as a non-roster player, but the team can activate him whenever he's ready to play, which might not be any time soon.
Take out that Game Boy Color, shake out all of the dust in that cartridge, and let's play some NHL 2000! The Capitals are in Ottawa which what could be a very good barometer against a Canadian club. Let's get right into our video game simulation. Click more to see how this one shakes out!
