It’s long been known that Alex Ovechkin has a love for basketball. He played in a charity tournament and was coached by his mother, Tatyana, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, and can be found at Wizards games fairly often.
Monday morning, Ovi was shooting some hoops before the morning skate, and drained a three from distance.
With all the injuries the Capitals have racked up the last few days, their lineup is once again scrambled for their bout Monday night in Montreal.
Thanks to the inimitable Isabelle Khurshudyan from the Washington Post, we know that Pheonix Copley starts his fourth straight game and that TJ Oshie and Evgeny Kuznetsov are still out. They’re also unlikely to start on Wednesday against the Chicago Blackhawks
The special Stanley Cup Championship magazine spreads keep coming!
Alex Ovechkin is featured on the recent cover of #FlyWashington Magazine, the official publication of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
On the cover, Ovechkin is posing with some special hardware including the Prince of Wales Trophy, the Stanley Cup, the Conn Smythe Trophy, and the Rocket Richard Trophy. Ovechkin covers a variety of topics in the interview including what his favorite moment of the Stanley Cup celebrations was, his favorite spots to visit, his hopes for other D.C. franchises, and more.
Last week, upon Tom Wilson‘s return from what was effectively a 16-game suspension for injuring Oskar Sundqvist, his fourth suspension in roughly a year, I published a story in which I tried to articulate the moment with a bit of theatricality. It’s my belief that any argument about Tom Wilson’s value as a player gets obscured by his dangerous hits, which have escalated in severity and frequency in the last year.
Now that he’s back, Wilson, in an interview with Chris Kuc of the Athletic, admits that he must be smarter about his hits.
I expect that phrase to become a common refrain: the solution to Wilson’s problems is for him to play smarter. Wilson is right about this. He’s been right about this for a long time.
The Capitals’ number one goalie, Braden Holtby, is nearing his return from injury. Holtby has been out for two games with an undisclosed upper-body injury.
Holtby hit the ice for full practice with the team Sunday morning at the Bell Centre. Head coach Todd Reirden said that Holtby may start against the Canadiens Monday night.
On November 13, the Washington Capitals announced that 2016 fifth-round pick Axel Jonsson-Fjallby was loaned back to Djurgårdens IF, his Swedish Hockey League team. The move officially ended Jonsson-Fjallby’s season in AHL Hershey after tallying three points (2g, 1a) in 15 games.
The move was hardly a surprise considering an early October report by hockeysverige.se stating Jonsson-Fjallby had decided he wanted to come home. “After two matches in the AHL, Jonsson-Fjällby is ready for a return to Djurgården,” the article wrote. “The forward has a clause in his contract which allows a return to Europe in the absence of NHL games, a clause that will now be used.”
Thursday, Jonsson-Fjallby made his season debut for Djurgården and recorded a primary assist in the second period.
After the game, he spoke to C More Sport and was asked about that hockeysverige.se report.
Philly residents turned out in scores Saturday morning to protest the white supremacist group the “Proud Boys” rally, and they brought Gritty with them.
The Flyers’ orange wild-eyed puppet-monster mascot has been embraced not just by hockey fans, but by anti-fascist activists and movements.
The Capitals went on a road trip this past week, and so did their families. But instead of heading to Winnipeg and Colorado, a group of the players’ families took the kids to slightly-sunnier Miami Beach.
The people present included TJ Oshie’s wife Lauren and their daughters Lyla and Leni, John Carlson’s wife Gina and their sons Rudy and Lucca, and Nicklas Backstrom’s partner Liza Berg and their daughter Haley and son Vince. Former Capitals defenseman Mike Green’s wife Courtney brought their son, Axel.
This isn’t the first time that Caps and former Caps reunited over a break. The Oshies have vacationed with Karl Alzner’s family, and so have the Backstroms and the Greens.
Here are some of the highlights of the photogenic and adorable bunch!
Friday night in Hershey, Shane Gersich scored two goals in the Bears’ 6-1 drubbing of the Cleveland Monsters. Gersich scored his second and third goals of the season on the power play in the third period.
The Bears jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first period and looked like the better team the entire night. Nathan Walker, Jayson Megna, Michael Sgarbossa, and Riley Barber scored the Bears’ other four goals.
A banged up Washington Capitals team, missing three of its roster’s biggest pieces, went into Colorado and got the job done even despite those injuries and some shoddy officiating. The Caps took down their former pal, Philipp Grubauer and his new Avalanche teammates 3-2 in overtime.
The Caps out-shot the Avalanche 29 to 26, but were slightly out-attempted by the Avs at five-on-five 45 to 43.
