Posts by Patrick Holden

Home / Articles posted by Patrick Holden (Page 6)

About Patrick Holden (@russianmachine)

Not good enough: Panthers beat Caps 4-1

We’ve got Caps, we’ve got Cats, we’ve got Ovi (not Ovie), we’ve got face/offs, and we’ve got Saturday night hockey.

Connor Brickley put the Panthers up 1-0 before the game was even two minutes old, capitalizing on a turnover behind the net by Christian Djoos. The Caps had the better of the play for much of the period but couldn’t convert. With less than a minute to go, Evgenii Dadonov, who really does spell his name with two i‘s, scored on the power play to put the Panthers up 2-0.

Jumping to the second, the Caps continued their 2017-18 strategy of taking three bajillion penalties and it didn’t work out. Vincent Trocheck scored on a five-on-three to put the bad guys up 3-0. After some more penalties, Christian Djoos scored a beauty to pull the Caps within two, 3-1.

The Caps brought the heat in the third as the Panthers turtled  protected the lead but couldn’t break through. Aleksander Barkov added an empty netter.

Panthers beat Caps 4-1.

(more…)

By Patrick Holden 6 years ago

0 Comment

Read More



We’re raffling an autographed TJ Oshie stick and Caps tickets to support Parkinson’s research

Last year we raffled off a bunch of Caps stuff to raise money for Parkinson’s research. This year, the raffle is back and better than ever.

Here’s what the winner of the raffle will receive:

  • An autographed TJ Oshie stick
  • Two tickets to see the Caps on January 11  vs Carolina (Section 408, Row A; That’s first row of the upper bowl, behind the goal that the Caps shoot at twice)
  • A Caps fleece blanket

(more…)

By Patrick Holden 6 years ago

0 Comment

Read More

Not a disaster: Leafs beat Caps 2-0

The Maple Leafs came to town to battle the Caps for the first time since the guys in red disposed of them in the playoffs last spring. What an uneventful game, eh?

The Caps fought off an early push from the Leafs and managed to push back as the period went on, but the first ended 0-0.

Second period scoring? Nope. Still 0-0 after two.

Connor Brown finally got the first goal of the game a little over five minutes into the third to put the Leafs up 1-0. Nazem Kadri added an empty net goal to ice the game.

Leafs beat Caps 2-0.

(more…)

By Patrick Holden 6 years ago

0 Comment

Read More

Caps at Devils pregame: Double returns

It’s Friday the 13th, the DC baseball team suffered a crushing defeat on Thursday, and it’s an overcast day in the DC/Baltimore area. But fret not, friends as we’ve got hockey tonight to cure anything that may be ailing you.

Tom Wilson returns to the lineup for the Caps and Marcus Johansson will face his former team for the first time in the regular season. The former needs to stay out of trouble and do his best to help stabilize a third line and penalty kill unit that’s been bleeding shots against so far this season (he writes, not optimistically). We hope the latter has a wonderful season, but if he can stay off the score sheet tonight, that’d be great. Miss you, Mojo.

Young Chris Cerullo has the recap duties tonight so expect a lot of tweets about avocado toast and hotel room closets from one of my favorite millennials.

NBC Washington has your TV coverage for the 7 PM game.

(more…)

By Patrick Holden 6 years ago

0 Comment

Read More

Barry Trotz is right: Andre Burakovsky needs to hit the net

Through the first four games, the Caps line of Andre Burakovsky, Nicklas Backstrom, and TJ Oshie has been stellar. At 5-on-5, they’ve scored two goals, allowed none, and posted a 56.4 shot attempt percentage, all while taking the bulk of the work against the opponent’s top line.

Burakovsky hasn’t registered a goal yet in four games, which isn’t a big deal, but Barry Trotz has identified an issue in the winger’s game early in the season.

Trotz is right. Through four games, Burakovsky has been one of the worst forwards in the NHL when it comes to getting his shot attempts on net.

(more…)

By Patrick Holden 6 years ago

0 Comment

Read More

Penalties kill: Pens beat Caps 3-2

The Pittsburgh Penguins were in DC visiting a friend, so they decided to play a hockey game against the Caps while they were here. This was the first meeting between the two teams since the Pens eliminated the Caps from the playoffs last spring. The game also happened to be played on CFTC’s birthday, so the Caps had plenty of motivation to pull out a win.

Pittsburgh opened the scoring early with a power-play goal from Kristopher “Kris” Letang. About halfway through the second, Patric Hornqvist made it 2-0 with a power-play goal off of his skate that stood because it wasn’t a distinct kicking motion. Late in the second, Christian Djoos DID THE THING to pull the Caps within one.

The Pens started the third with a power play and, guess what, they scored and went up 3-1. The Caps made it interesting late. Djoos made an aggressive pinch, received a lovely pass from Nick Backstrom, and then fed the puck to Alex Ovechkin in front to make the score 3-2. The Caps floundered during 6-on-5 to lose their first in regulation.

Penguins beat Caps 3-2.

(more…)

By Patrick Holden 6 years ago

0 Comment

Read More

The Caps added a new wrinkle to their power play and it’s already paying off

The Caps have had one of the best power plays in the league for years. There are obvious reasons for the success, such as Alex Ovechkin’s booming shot. The Caps also have continued success on the power play because they periodically add new wrinkles to their plan of attack.

Two seasons ago, Jason Chimera racked up a bunch of goals with one such wrinkle: he’d abandon his position below the net and come out front to bank home an Evgeny Kuznetosv pass. There have also been times when Ovechkin has responded to being shadowed by positioning himself down by the goal line, off the the left side, essentially giving the Caps a mini 4-on-3.

This year, a slight adjustment has to do with where the slot player, mainly TJ Oshie, is positioned when the Caps have control of the puck in the zone.

(more…)

By Patrick Holden 6 years ago

0 Comment

Read More

The Caps are still probably one of the best teams in the league

The 2017-18 Caps are not as talented as the 2016-17 Caps. Gone are Justin Williams, Marcus Johansson, Daniel Winnik, Kevin Shattenkirk, Nate Schmidt, and Karl Alzner. Although some of the weaknesses on the current roster are a result of poor decision-making, it was inevitable that the Caps were going to return this season with a weaker roster than last season.

But not all bad offseasons are created equal. Yes, the Caps had arguably the worst offseason of any team, but they started the offseason with probably the most talented roster in the league. So, while the team is certainly weaker, there’s still plenty of reasons to believe this team is among the best in the league.

Let’s talk about some of the reasons we should be optimistic about the Caps.

(more…)

By Patrick Holden 6 years ago

0 Comment

Read More

The Caps should cut Taylor Chorney

Reader Jonathan Z. sent me an e-mail earlier this week spelling out why he thought Taylor Chorney should be cut instead of Christian Djoos or Aaron Ness. I agree with him. Here’s Jonathan in his own words:

The Capitals’ roster is down to eight defensemen, with one more cut expected before opening night. Matt Niskanen, Dmitry Orlov, John Carlson and Brook Orpik are locks. Madison Bowey is expected to make the team because he’s the only right-handed shot besides Niskanen and Carlson.

That means the Capitals need to cut Christian Djoos, Aaron Ness or Taylor Chorney.

Everyone seems to think it’s a foregone conclusion that Chorney will make the roster, but sending Chorney to Hershey while keeping Djoos and Ness makes sense for a few reasons, especially because Chorney has the biggest cap hit of these three players.

(more…)

By Patrick Holden 6 years ago

0 Comment

Read More

The battle for final roster spots isn’t over yet

The New Jersey Devils came to town on Wednesday night for another preseason battle with the Caps. For the Caps, their opening night roster is starting to come into focus. The lineup against the Devils is the closest thing to a full lineup we’ve seen from the team this preseason.

Wednesday night was a big chance for a few players fighting for the final roster spots to make a favorable impression.

(more…)

By Patrick Holden 6 years ago

0 Comment

Read More




Page 6 of 35