The Washington Capitals are parting ways with former KHL star Sergei Shumakov.
Shumakov was placed on unconditional waivers Thursday morning. The news was first reported by Chris Kuc of The Athletic.
The NHL’s Board of Governors and representatives from Seattle Hockey Partners met in Sea Island, Georgia to give approval for the NHL’s expansion to Seattle.
The expansion was approved, officially making Seattle the 32nd NHL franchise.
Following the Capitals 6-3 win over the New Jersey Devils Friday night, the Caps defended Tom Wilson for his hit against Brett Seney.
The Devils voiced their displeasure with the hit. Seney had to undergo concussion protocol and thought he may have been clipped in the head.
In the second period of the Capitals’ Metro division battle against the New Jersey Devils, Tom Wilson hit Brett Seney from behind on a back check.
The Capitals defended Wilson in the locker room, stating that the hit wasn’t to Seney’s head and that it wasn’t on purpose. “Any other player, it’s an interference call maybe,” head coach Todd Reirden said.
After undergoing a full practice yesterday, Evgeny Kuznetsov has slotted back into the lineup centering the second line, and it looks like he’ll be ready to go for tonight’s game against the New Jersey Devils.
Alex Ovechkin, Michal Kempny, and Devante Smith-Pelly, all of whom took maintenance days this week to deal with injuries, were also inserted into today’s lineup. Ovi is on the top line with Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson, while DSP is slotted into the third line and Kempny is on the top defensive pairing.
After participating in a full practice yesterday, captain Alex Ovechkin is taking a maintenance day and did not participate in practice.
Ovechkin is using the day to tend to an upper-body injury, and in Ovi’s absence, Travis Boyd has filled in on the top-line left wing slot. Boyd also filled in on Ovechkin’s spot on the first power play unit drills, which is a likely indication that Ovi will play tomorrow.
When the Montreal Canadiens took on the Vegas Golden Knights on November 10, the game marked Tomas Tatar‘s first matchup against the team that benched him in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. But it was a fan’s pronunciation of his name, not his goal, that went viral.
Sportsnet showed Habs fan Dérek Toulouse in the concourse during the game. The Habs fan pointed at the camera and pronounced Tatar’s name–but his Québécois accent gave it a meme-worthy quality. And thus, Tomas Tatarrrrr Guy was born.
The Capitals are trying to stave off another injury bug.
Both Devante Smith-Pelly and Michal Kempny are taking maintenance days instead of practicing with the squad. DSP blocked a shot with his right leg in the game against the Islanders and did not return to the game after the second period. It’s unclear what Kempny’s ailment is.
Heading into tonight, the Capitals had a five-game win streak. The Islanders had back-to-back wins. One of those win streaks ended tonight, and fortunately, it was the good guys that pulled out a win.
Valtteri Filppula went full hands team and scored a nifty backhander 36 seconds in. #TopLineTom tied it with wrister that beat Thomas Greiss five hole. After a wild first few minutes, both teams settled in and traded a few chances. Alex Ovechkin took a cross checking penalty to start the second period, and Matt Niskanen saved a would-be goal before the net came off its moorings. After being unable to get the puck out of their zone for what seemed like most of the period, the Caps had a jail break, and Nic Dowd beat Greiss glove-side off a Dmitrij Jaskin between-the-legs drop pass. In the third period, the Islanders sustained pressure, but Braden Holtby shut down every chance in time for the Caps to snag a 5-on-3 opportunity, and #TopLineTom served up a one-timer from the TJ Oshie bumper position. The Islanders pulled Greiss with 2:30 to go, but Alex Ovechkin grabbed an empty-netter.
Caps win 4-1!
Entering Monday, the Capitals geared up to face the New York Islanders and former head coach Barry Trotz. Trotz resigned from the Capitals this summer to join the Isles on a 5-year, $4 million per year deal.
When asked about facing his former team, Trotz said tonight’s reunion would be “awkward” and “weird.”
Before puck drop, the Capitals presented Trotz and former assistant coaches Lane Lambert and Mitch Korn with their Stanley Cup rings. The coaching troika were unable to join the team when they gave out the rings in October.
