Earlier today, those on the Washington Capitals mailing list received a message saying that those in attendance of the Capitals' February 5 home game against the Toronto Maple Leafs would receive a Nicklas Backstrom gnome. I'm not sure what occasion warrants the giveaway of a miniature gnome, much less one that is supposed to be a Swedish center, but I digress. I wouldn't give this thing to my kid (if I had one). It's a bit creepy.
The NHL regular season started January 19, but the Washington Capitals waited eight days to earn their first win. After dropping their first three games to the Tampa Bay Lightning, Winnipeg Jets, and Montreal Canadiens, the Caps took the New Jersey Devils to OT, only to be done in by a Kovalchuk slapper. Read more here.
Here at Hockey Shopped we pride ourselves in providing a hockey analysis that is a cut above the rest. From this point moving forward before every game we will be providing you the results of a mega-expensive and advanced method. Using algorithms and pixels, we present to you our MEGA HOCKEY SHOPPED VIDEO GAME SIMULATION (working title). In a test on our system, we pitted New Jersey against the Capitals in Breakaway 99. The result was a shutout by the Devils, 3-0 (which was the exact amount of goals they scored to win against DC). With this new and cutting edge method of analyzing the match-ups, we will be providing a crystal ball view into what to expect in that specific Capitals game. Click more to see how this game played out!
Buffalo is in town against a team that is ready to break out and start winning. Earlier on Saturday during practice at Kettler, players all sung the same tune that things are starting to gel. The game against the Devils saw more heart and production than the previous 3 games, relatively speaking. The Capitals face a team that has lost their last 2 games, both being against Carolina, and could potentially start be in a rut.
The stage was set for the Capitals to rebound from an abysmal loss against the Jets in the home opener as a team in constant search to find what works and land on the correct recipe that would sell tons of tickets. In front of 18,000+ fans a new system, a brand new coaching staff and a reasonable amount of new faces tried to work a new cohesive winning gel that fell short yet again.
With Montreal (1-1-0) here in town to play the Capitals (0-2-0) in the 2nd home game of the year, we must introduce you to something that could kill a man that hails from Montreal. Poutine (pronounced poo-tine with a fake French accent). The greasy, gravy sogginess of this supposed Quebec delicacy should make your arteries squirm*. Its origins aren't readily known but some say this dish came about in the 1950's as a comfort food and has been a French Canadian mainstay ever since. Read more, for signs and more!
(Photo by Brendan Sheridan/HS) Tuesday night’s home opener against the Winnipeg Jets couldn't have had a better start. The Caps, who seemed out of rhythm Saturday against the Lightning, looked to have bounced back well and were playing head coach Adam Oates’ new system perfectly. They were creating turnovers, moving the puck up the ice, and getting scoring chances. It culminated in a hard shot from the point deflecting off of Matt Hendricks’ skate, then knee, then stick, finally coming to rest in the back of the net. That would be the highlight of the game for the Capitals. The problem was there were still fifty minutes of playing time left. The Caps took a penalty midway through the first period, and much like last game, they looked confused and out of place. It didn't take long before the Jets capitalized and tied the game. Another penalty followed by a goal and the Caps...
The Capitals won’t have much time to brood over losses or wins this season. With a tight schedule and multiple back-to-back games, they’ll have to fix problems and learn quickly from mistakes without dwelling too much on failures or resting on successes.
In discussions with Capitals players and coaching staff surrounding Saturday’s 6-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lighting, one thing you’ll find in common is the acknowledgement that they need to do a better job of preventing teams from screening their goalie, and probably more practice with their penalty killing unit, despite getting a workout against the Lightning. Read more here.
Joel Ward, even though he isn’t from Maryland, has followed the Baltimore Ravens for quite some time.
How does a guy from Toronto become a fan of a team from a city he’s never visited?
“I was a big Ray Lewis fan,” said Ward. “Forever.”
Ward said what attracted him to the Ravens was their defensive style of play, reminiscent of his own on the ice. “I consider myself a defensive-style forward and I took a liking right away to their defense and the way they play over the years,” Ward said, “and I just kind of followed them more and more.”
With the Ravens winning, it looks like there is a debt to be paid. Joel Ward is a HUGE Ravens fan while John Carlson is a tried and true fan of the Patriots. Recently, we learned that there was a bet last year in the locker room that was never paid by Mr.Ward as the Ravens were routed by the Pats in the AFC Championship game a year ago. Here's Carlson's twitter feed before, during, and after the game. Here's Ward's twitter feed before, during, and after the game. As a Redskins fan, I must say one way to get someone to never listen to you about sports ever again is to say "We beat the Ravens! #HTTR". So let's get behind Joel Ward (who already has 2 goals on the year which is 1/3rd of last years goal production) and cheer for the Ravens, hon'
