Photo: Len Redkoles
The photo above is from a Caps-Flyers game in December 2009. It was Peter Laviolette’s first game as head coach of the Flyers. With the score tied in the first period, Philadelphia’s Dan Carcillo suckerpunched Washington’s Matt Bradley. Bradley was hurt, but the Capitals responded as they thought best.
They won 8-2.
I think of that game a lot. I think of how the team was done wrong and they found justice in the form of goals. Tons of goals.
RMNB started publishing the next week.
I’m done with thrown bracelets. I’m done with unruly fans. I’m done with penalty minutes you measure in hours. Done with late hits, working the refs, and ghost bears.
I’m done with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Tonight the Capitals will join me in this notion. With a win, the Caps can secure their first ever four-game sweep and advance to the next round.
Puck drop at 7 PM on CSN-DC.
| Team | Record | Possession | PDO | Power Play | Penalty Kill |
| Washington Capitals | 56-18-8 | 52.0% | 101.1 | 21.9% (5th) | 85.2% (2nd) |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 41-27-14 | 50.1% | 100.5 | 18.9% (11th) | 80.5% (20th) |
Neuvy in Net!
Finally. It’s Braden Holtby vs Michal Neuvirth, two former teammates, only one of whom accused RMNB of fraud. (Hint: It’s the same guy who saved .867 against the Lightning in 2011.)
Fun thought experiment Masochistic exercise: Would the Caps have a Cup already if Holtby were ready in 2011?
Projected Lineup
Chorney is in for Orpik. Holtby is fine.
Ovechkin – Backstrom – Oshie
Burakovsky – Kuznetsov – Williams
Chimera – Richards – Johansson
Winnik – Beagle – Wilson
Schmidt – Carlson
Alzner – Niskanen
Chorney – Orlov
Holtby
The Mixtape
Don’t stop now. Turn it up. This weird freaking playlist you made. You guys are so weird. I love you.
Storylines
- Mason is benched, Neuvy is in play.
- Holtby is healthy. Holtby also eats food, so definitely click this link because it caused like 73 food arguments among the RMNB crew.
- Orpik is out. Chorney is in. (Weber is not). Schmidt should get more PK work, which he’ll be excellent at.
- There are many thoughts about the Caps PP dominance. Our own Spenser points to excessive passivity by the Flyers PK. Broad Street wants Philly to stop double-manning. (I think the only good way to stop the Caps PP is in neutral, choking the centers and Johansson before the blue line.)
- Kuzy thinks the Flyers are like school in the summertime: no class.
- Ovi thinks that individual records are dumb right now.
- Bellemare has been suspended one game for boarding Orlov. I think he should’ve been suspended for the rest of the season. Here, I’ll let you finish that joke in the comments.
- No more stories. Win now.
Thank You
Yesterday was our biggest traffic day ever, surpassing the meteor day by about 50 percent. That’s wild. While we work hard and we’re very lucky, I think the most important factor in our success has been this community. Thanks for reading, writing, retweeting, sharing, contributing, making funny videos, sending care packages, picking on Chris from the Comments, and everything else.
Now let’s win a damn hockey game.
p.s. Watch the CSN postgame show please. 😉
Full RMNB Coverage of Game Four
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