RMNB | Russian Machine Never Breaks

Cute Kids Artwork Reminds Us That Sunday We Are All Swedes

Ryan, 8, and Emily, 5, of Frederick, Maryland usually make signs for their favorite Washington Capitals players before games. But on Saturday night, the brother and sister traded their red crayons for yellow and blue ones. With Sweden set to take on Canada tomorrow, Ryan and Emily made adorable signs and pennants for Nicklas Backstrom and Marcus Johansson. Mom tells us they are going to hold them up during the gold medal game Sunday morning.

Tomorrow we are all Swedes.

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By Ian Oland 10 years ago

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Brouwer Rangers Give Troy Brouwer Giant Balloons in Honor of 100th Goal

Photo: Capital Hill’s @md_dc

Saturday morning was a time for ceremonial hockey hardware to be awarded. Team Finland beat John Carlson and the US to take home the Bronze Medal in Sochi. Also, Troy Brouwer received some ridiculous 100 balloons from the Brouwer Rangers. About that last thing: on February 8, Brouwer netted his 100th NHL with an empty netter against the New Jersey Devils. With the Caps back from the Olympic break, Troy’s fan club presented him with his gift.

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By Chris Gordon 10 years ago

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#TeemuForever: Teemu Selanne Wins Bronze (GIFs)

Photo: Andre Ringuette

Deep down, we’re all huge Teemu Selanne fans (even Peter). That’s why, even though John Carlson and the United States lost out on the bronze medal, seeing Selanne have one last hurrah in Sochi is one hell of a consolation prize.

Selanne scored two goals against the United States this morning and will leave Russia as the greatest Olympic scorer of all-time.

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By Ian Oland 10 years ago

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Olympic Hockey, Day Nine: America Blown Out by Finland, Shut Up, Just Shut Up

Photo: RIA Novosti

Defeated. Deflated. Enervated. Team USA went down in flames against a flashy Finnish team, losing the bronze medal in stunning fashion. 5-0.

Patrick Kane missed two penalty shots. The American penalty kill sucked. Jonathan Quick let five pucks past him. Tuukka Rask was exemplary with a light workload.

No medal for America. Everything sucks and so do you. Let’s talk about it.

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By Peter Hassett 10 years ago

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Evgeny Kuznetsov Feels Team Russia’s Pain, Talks About Going to North America

Photo: chelyabinskhockey.ru

While the best hockey players in the world are duking it out for gold in Sochi, the KHL — just like other domestic leagues — is shut down for the Olympic pause. With the break almost over, Traktor Chelyabinsk held their mid-season “preseason” game against Avtomobilist Ekaterinburg. After the game, future Capital Evgeny Kuznetsov talked to Oleg Savinkov of Chelyabinskhockey.ru about the Olympics and his departure for North America.

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By Igor Kleyner 10 years ago

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Jimmy Fallon Jokes About Alex Ovechkin Photo on The Tonight Show

After 42 years out in California, The Tonight Show returned to New York City on Monday. New host Jimmy Fallon didn’t wait long to make a joke about Alex Ovechkin. In his fourth Tonight Show on Thursday, Fallon introduced a segment called Olympic Thoughts and had some fun with a recently taken Ovi photo.

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By Ian Oland 10 years ago

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Olympic Hockey, Day Eight: Sweden vs Canada for the Gold, America Not So Much

Damn. I don’t even want to write this.

Two Caps players will vie for gold on Sunday, but they won’t be Americans.

Marcus Johansson and Nick Backstrom won with Team Sweden to make the finals. Canada vs USA was David vs Goliath except Goliath won, and don’t even come at me with that Malcolm Gladwell craptrap.

This sucks.

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By Peter Hassett 10 years ago

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John Carlson’s Canadian Caps Teammates Mess With His Locker Before USA/Canada Game (Photo)

Photo: @AdamVingan

Last week I solicited Sochi predictions from the non-Olympians on the Washington Capitals. It was apparent that the Caps locker room was united. Almost every player was Canadian.

“Canada all the way,” Brooks Laich told me then. “Canada’s going to lay a beat down.”

That’s why this morning, I was not surprised to see that some of John Carlson‘s teammates messed with his locker ahead of the Team USA/Canada game today. Above Carlson’s gear, there was a piece of tape that read “GO CANADA” with a maple leaf drawn to the side.

That’s great, but the story doesn’t end there.

Defenseman Connor Carrick, who recently represented the U.S. in the World Junior Championships, noticed what was going on, ripped the tape off, and threw it in the trash.

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By Ian Oland 10 years ago

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Nicklas Backstrom’s Assist Helps Lead Sweden to Gold Medal Game in Sochi (GIF)

Nicky celebrates his apple. (Photo: Andre Ringuette/HHOF-IIHF Images)

Backstrom (right) plays some pre-game soccer.

Washington Capitals forwards Nicklas Backstrom and Marcus Johansson will play for a gold medal at the Sochi Olympics. Team Sweden defeated Teemu Selanne and Team Finland 2-1 early on Friday morning (our time) to earn the right. Erik Karlsson scored the game-winning goal and Henrik Lundqvist made 25 saves.

While Johansson played only ten minutes and didn’t have much impact on the game, Backstrom certainly did – winning an insane 85% of his face-offs (16 of 19) and assisting on Sweden’s first goal of the night.

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By Ian Oland 10 years ago

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