The Washington Capitals announced that head coach Peter Laviolette will not return to the team after deciding to mutually part ways.
The team made the announcement on Friday shortly after 5 pm.
By Ian Oland and Katie Adler 8 months ago
Buffalo Sabres goaltender Craig Anderson announced on Thursday night that he’s hanging up the skates after a 20-year NHL career. Though he did not formally confirm his retirement until after the game, the Sabres gave their goalie a proper sendoff in his last NHL start.
The former Capitals goaltender finished his career with 319 total NHL wins. He is one of only 39 goaltenders to win 300 or more games. Fittingly, Anderson’s final start came against the Ottawa Senators, with whom he spent 10 seasons.
By Katie Adler 8 months ago
Without Charlie Lindgren available due to injury, the Capitals were facing a conundrum heading into their final game of the season against the New Jersey Devils. The team is capped out and could not call up a goaltender from AHL Hershey to back up Darcy Kuemper.
So the team made a call to Curry College goaltender Reid Cooper and signed the student to an amateur tryout offer.
Cooper took the ice for the Caps’ morning skate on Thursday. In the locker room afterward, he said that the Capitals first made contact with him while he was watching The Bourne Supremacy — the second movie of the Matt Damon Bourne series — with his college roommates. He added that he was sitting on the couch, which feels like an important detail to note.
By Katie Adler 8 months ago
One of the biggest narratives surrounding the arrival of the Vegas Golden Knights to the NHL was that visiting teams could underperform playing against them due to the many distractions of Sin City.
For young, wealthy NHL players, there’s plenty to do in Vegas besides focusing on hockey including gambling, concerts, and nightlife. With all of that temptation, the media coined the phrase “Vegas Flu” in 2017 to explain the expansion Golden Knights winning six of their first seven games and off performances by away teams.
Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel was a guest on The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday and was asked if the Vegas Flu is a real thing and if he’s ever smelled liquor on an opposing player.
By Katie Adler 8 months ago
Tuesday night’s game against the Boston Bruins saw a reunion with old friends as the Capitals continue to close out their season. The Caps faced both Garnet Hathaway and Dmitry Orlov for the first time since the two were dealt to the Bruins before the trade deadline.
The two had the opportunity to catch up with their former teammates at the game. Hathaway did himself one better, scoring a goal to put the Bruins up 4-2.
By Katie Adler 8 months ago
After the Washington Capitals’ official elimination from postseason contention, they’ve had time to reflect back on the season and where it’s gone wrong. Nic Dowd discussed the reasons behind the Capitals’ decline in an interview with 106.7 The Fan’s Grant Paulsen and Danny Rouhier on Monday.
Dowd argued that no single problem sunk the Caps’ season. Instead, a host of problems have led to wider failure in the team’s systems.
By Katie Adler 8 months ago
Tom Wilson is frustrated after being a part of two controversial calls in consecutive games.
In Thursday’s matchup against the Montreal Canadiens, Wilson was issued 17 penalty minutes after fighting Michael Pezzetta and receiving a rarely-called instigator penalty. Two days later, Givani Smith threw a punch at Wilson from the Panthers’ bench after his shift had already ended. When Wilson responded from the ice, the two earned matching minors to keep the game at even strength.
By Katie Adler 8 months ago
The biggest story of Saturday night’s game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens had nothing to do with the score. University of Toronto goaltender Jett Alexander signed an ATO to back up Ilya Samsonov in net. Even better, Alexander got the chance to man the net himself, playing for the final 1:10 of the game.
After the Leafs ran up the score 7-1, Alexander got his moment to shine, earning a warm welcome from both his newfound teammates and Leafs faithful in attendance.
By Katie Adler 8 months ago
The Washington Capitals gave up a shocking six goals to the lowly Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night, including a hat trick for Joel Armia.
As I watched the hats rain down in the Bell Centre, I felt a sense of deja vu and asked myself Is it just me, or has this happened a lot to the Capitals this season?
So I asked RMNB Crasher and stats nerd, Alexander O’Reilly, if he could tabulate the numbers and help me out.
And in short, the answer is: yes, yes it has.
By Katie Adler 8 months ago
In an all-too-common turn of events, the Washington Capitals lost on Thursday night, this time falling to the division-worst Montreal Canadiens 6-2.
The Caps have now dropped five-straight games. The L also marked their first since they were officially eliminated from postseason contention on Tuesday.
The 6-2 shelling may have been even worse than the scoreboard indicates: two of the Habs’ markers came shorthanded, while Joel Armia scored a hat trick with his fifth, sixth, and seventh goals of the season.
Postgame, no one on the Capitals had much good to say about the performance.
By Katie Adler 8 months ago
