The Caps are playing an unimportant game in Las Vegas today. There are no milestones coming up for any star players. There are no big narratives, and nothing for us to watch with rapt attention and white knuckles. There is only the return of a team to the arena where they became immortal.
Puck drop at 6 PM. I’m Peter, and I’ll be your host for recap-y things.
 |
 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Record | 28-24-8 | 37-16-5 |
| Shot Attempt % | 54.7% | 52.1% |
| PDO | 98.3 | 100.6 |
| Power Play | 21.8% (10th) | 20.5% (14th) |
| Penalty Kill | 78.4% (22nd) | 83.7% (4th) |
Projected Lines
Here’s a guess based on yesterday’s lines.
Ovechkin – Backstrom – Wilson
Vrana – Eller – Oshie
Hagelin – Boyd – Panik
Leipsic – Dowd – Hathaway
Kempny – Carlson
Orlov – Jensen
Siegenthaler – Gudas
Holtby
Re: Presidents
Happy Presidents’ Day. It’s my firm opinion that basically all presidents are bad because it’s impossible to both seek and wield so much power without it degrading your soul. Lincoln is my favorite, and even he was a complicated person who played fast-and-loose with some important ideas. Here’s a brief visualization I have made to characterize the American presidency:
😈👹😈👹😈
🤷💩👹😈👹
😈👹😈👹💩
🎩💩👹😈🕳
😈👹😈👹😈
👹😈👹😈👹
💩👹☢👹😈
👹😈👹😈👹
😈👹😈👹🤡
Quick shout-out to John Quincy Adams, the sixth President (“🤷”). He was ideologically pure: an abolitionist his whole life, he famously defended the people of the Amistad to ensure their eventual freedom. But in power, Adams was incompetent. That he had a public life at all was fait accompli because of his father. He was baffled by party politics (he was a federalist, a democratic republican, and a whig at different times), and he was way too meek to use his office to overtly end slavery. In every quieter effort to opposite slavery while in office, he was soundly defeated. But he did end the gag rule in the house after his presidency, which was a step in the right direction, if one miserably small and slowly taken.
Anyway, they’re all bad. I’m sorry.
Storylines
- Kuznetsov is still out, but he’s close to returning.
- Oh god it’s going to be on national TV again. Make it stop, Ovi. Please.
- Peter, who is me, thinks the Caps have systemic trouble.
- The Yotes game was boring.
- Chandler Stephenson is on fire with the Knights — thanks to some not-bad linemates.
Ovie Forever
Ovie The Bulldog, pictured above with some bedraggled drifter, is my close and personal friend. Today is Ovie’s final roadie, as he is retiring from travelling after tonight’s game. Please join me in directing your devotion, gratitude, and warm wishes at Ovie.
