After losing their fourth preseason game to the Canes 5-1, the Capitals were given Saturday off to rest. That didn’t mean they stayed off the ice.
TJ Oshie and John Carlson were both at MedStar Capitals Iceplex with their children. Jakub Vrana and Andre Burakovsky skated with youth hockey players.
The Washington Capitals celebrated their Stanley Cup win in epic style. While many of the players joined their teammates to celebrate their Cup days together, not all of the Capitals kept up on each others’ activities – despite a chattier than usual team chat room, according to Tom Wilson.
Darren Haynes, a sportscaster with WUSA9, visited the Capitals during Training Camp and played a guessing game with Alex Ovechkin, TJ Oshie, and Braden Holtby. The premise was this. Haynes showed the players pictures of their teammates, obscured and silhouetted, with the Stanley Cup and asked them to identify who was in the photo.
The result was local sports TV magic.
The cuts keep coming as the Capitals have announced they have reassigned eight players to AHL Hershey.
Alex Ovechkin’s slap shot is already in midseason form and so is Braden Holtby’s fiery temper.
Friday night in Carolina, the snarl of the Holtbeast made its return after the formerly-furry goaltender got bumped in the crease.
It was the third time in the first period that Holtby had a visitor in his den and he had an ingenious solution to solve the problem.
The Detroit Red Wings are currently 2-0 in exhibition play, and they’ve been doing it without their recently retired captain Henrik Zetterberg.
But they’ve also been doing it without former Capitals defenseman Mike Green, who has been sidelined with fatigue. A recent blood test revealed he had a virus that’s attacked his liver.
According to the Detroit Free Press’s Helene St. James, the Red Wings are shutting Green down and the 13-year-pro will miss the start of the season.
During a press conference on June 18, deputy commissioner for the NHL Bill Daly announced that third jerseys were making a return to the league for the 2018-19 season. They were temporarily discontinued when Adidas took over jersey production from Reebok.
“We are bringing back third jerseys next season,” Daly said. “I can’t tell you the number exactly, but about a third of the teams will have a different one.”
Though it was rumored over the summer that the Capitals were one of the teams expected to release a third jersey, the Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan confirmed the news on Friday.
Thursday morning, the Hershey Bears announced their schedule for training camp. Like the Capitals, all practices are free and open to the public. The Bears’ 2018-2019 regular season begins on October 6th.
The Bears, who missed the playoffs last season, will focus more on player development this season, giving more opportunities to younger players. With the Capitals returning almost the entirety of their Stanley Cup-winning roster, prospects are fighting less for a roster spot and more to be first in line should a player be called up.
Capitals prospects Lucas Johansen, Jonas Siegenthaler, and Tyler Lewington could all be on the initial training camp roster, which will be released in the coming days. Veterans Logan Pyett and Adam Morrison were signed recently.
Capitals fourth line winger Devante Smith-Pelly lit up the playoffs, scoring seven goals and snagging one assist en route to a Stanley Cup.
But Smith-Pelly has been held from preseason action. Capitals head coach Todd Reirden clarified that the reason is “in house.”
The Washington Capitals are down in Raleigh, North Carolina’s PNC Arena to face off against the Carolina Hurricanes for their fourth preseason game and second exhibition in consecutive nights. Thursday, the Capitals lost to the Montreal Canadiens 5-2, falling to 0-3 in the preseason. Alex Ovechkin scored his first goal since Game Five of the Stanley Cup Final.
Russian forward Sergei Shumakov will make his highly-anticipated preseason debut, Friday. Shumakov led CSKA Moscow with 40 points (17g, 23a) in 47 games over the course of the 2017-18 KHL season. Shumakov will play alongside Lars Eller and Chandler Stephenson on the second line, with possible deployment on the power play.
Your 2018 Stanley Cup Champions will be getting the red carpet treatment as they arrive at Capital One Arena for their banner-raising Opening Night game October 3rd.
For the fourth consecutive year, the team will be hosting a “Rock the Red Carpet” event prior to their season-opening game against the Boston Bruins. From 4-5:30. the entire 2018-19 team, escorted by pre-selected fans, will walk the red carpet to the arena, taking photos and signing autographs with fans.
