Thanks to back-to-back wins over the Carolina Hurricanes, the Washington Capitals now have 100 points and are a lock to make the playoffs. And it turns out that the opponent the Caps are most likely to face in the first round is. . .the Carolina Hurricanes.
By Peter Hassett 3 weeks ago
Loyal friend and slacker icon Brett Connolly‘s electrifying (contract-year) season continues unabated. Facing the Hurricanes on the road on Thursday, hockey’s oldest 26-year-old recorded the prettiest and smartest goal of the season.
Check out the big brain on Brett.
By Peter Hassett 3 weeks ago
The Caps played a tight, nearly mistake-free hour of solid hockey to down the Carolina Hurricanes at home on Tuesday night.
TJ Oshie started by scoring his 23rd goal of the season, taking a pass from Kuznetsov in the first period. In the second period, Dougie Hamilton evened the score with a slapshot from the blue line during a delayed penalty six-on-five.
Alex Ovechkin restored the Caps’ lead with a one-timer from the high slot to earn his 49th goal of the season. John Carlson chipped Dmitry Orlov’s slap pass to make it 3-1. Nicky Backstrom got the empty-netter (to deprive Ovechkin of getting 50).
Caps win 4-1!
By Peter Hassett 3 weeks ago
The Carolina Hurricanes today find themselves in the nation’s capital for a visit with the division leading Washington Capitals. The Washington Capitals could secure a playoff appearance tonight, while our Hurricanes need points to keep hold of their wild card spot.
Puck drops at 7 PM on the Washington Capitals’ home feed of NBC Sports Washington. The My Teams app has your game stream if a TV isn’t readily available. I will recap for you.
By Peter Hassett 4 weeks ago
Good morning, pals. The season’s winding down to a close, but we’re not quite there yet. Game 76 on the calendar brings the Philadelphia Flyers to town one last time. It’s a Sunday matinee game and the Flyers played yesterday, so who knows what will happen.
Puck drops at 12:30 PM. Put the My Teams app on your phone or whatever to stream it. Good boy Chris has recap duty and promises not to discuss college basketball.
By Peter Hassett 4 weeks ago
The Boston Bruins announced Saturday that they have signed a one-year contract extension with defender Zdeno Chara. Chara, the 2009 Norris winner and a critical part of the 2011 Stanley Cup champion Bruins, turned 42 earlier this week.
By Peter Hassett 4 weeks ago
Washington’s 2-1 loss to Minnesota was a low-key affair. Brett Connolly scored the Caps’ lone goal, his 21st of the season, in an otherwise light-on-highlights night.
But a stoppage in play in the third period gave us some levity. Helping call the game from between the benches, relentless troll and NBC Sports analyst Alan May did play-by-play for some rink maintenance.
By Peter Hassett 4 weeks ago
One more piece of late-breaking news for this busy Friday evening: the Washington Capitals have announced that Carl Hagelin will miss Friday’s game due to illness.
Missing Hagelin means Andre Burakovsky will be back on the third line.
By Peter Hassett 4 weeks ago
Last week, video game publisher Ubisoft released Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, a post-apocalyptic first-person shooter set in Washington, DC. The game features a lot of DC-ish landmarks, which is my way of saying there’s a bunch of oblique references to the Caps, and Capital One Arena is a major setting.
By Peter Hassett 4 weeks ago
The single toughest game of the Washington Capitals’ entire season did not disappoint. The Tampa Bay Lightning are a scary good team, but the tired Caps didn’t shrink from the challenge. This one’s a ride. Let’s go.
Lars Eller kicked off the scoring in the first period with a solo drive after Alex Killorn turned the puck over.
The Caps carried that lead into the second period, where everything went to hell (temporarily). Nikita Kucherov scored a power-play goal early in the period, then Steven Stamkos added another power-play goal a minute later. A total mess in front of the Caps’ net ended in an own goal credited to Anthony Cirelli. But wait! Carl Hagelin kept the third line white hot, then TJ Oshie worked for a power-play goal to tie the game. Kucherov notched a second goal as the Caps’ penalty kill panicked, restoring the Bolts’ lead.
Washington was relentless in the third period but could not beat Tampa goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy until Evgeny Kuznetsov threaded the needle to tie it and force overtime. The Caps played great in overtime, but Victor Hedman finished it.
Caps lose 5-4 in overtime.
By Peter Hassett 1 month ago
