The NHL just announced that an outbreak of the novel coronavirus will keep the Dallas Stars off the ice until at least Tuesday, January 19.
Six Stars players and two staff members tested positive for the disease forcing the NHL’s decision. The NHL says in a release that the team’s training facilities were closed and will remain locked down for several days while testing and contact tracing continues.
By Ian Oland 2 weeks ago
The Anaheim Ducks made a surprise move on Friday.
The team put 2018 Stanley Cup champion, Christian Djoos, on waivers along with seven other players.
By Ian Oland 2 weeks ago
Bruce Boudreau and his wife Crystal are returning to Hershey and they’re bringing a competitive hockey team with them.
The beloved former Capitals head coach has purchased a Tier III Junior A team in the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL). The Boudreaus also own the USPHL Premier Division’s Minnesota Blue Ox. Brady Boudreau, Bruce’s son, serves as an assistant coach there.
The Hershey club will play at the historic Hersheypark Arena during the 2021-22 season. The arena, which sometimes gets foggy during hockey games, first opened in 1936 and was the Hershey Bears’ home until 2002. The venue is the same place where NBA Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain had his 100-point game in 1962.
Henrik Lundqvist announced on social media Friday that he is recovering from open-heart surgery. The procedure, which occurred on Wednesday, took five hours to complete and fixed Lundqvist’s aortic valve and aortic root.
“Surgery went really well,” Lundqvist wrote. “About 5 hours to get it all taken care of. Really appreciate the great staff here at the Clevland Clinic. Last few days has been pretty crazy but feel like I’m in really good hands. Every day is a step in the right direction.”
The Capitals goaltender also shared a photo his daughter Juli drew of him.
By Ian Oland 2 weeks ago
There weren’t many highlights from the Washinton Capitals’ first scrimmage of training camp on Thursday as players grappled with a new system, new linemates/defense partners, and an awkward offseason of training due to the pandemic.
The best play of the scrimmage came late in the second (and final) period by the team’s second line: Jakub Vrana, Nicklas Backstrom, and TJ Oshie.
Backstrom and Oshie combined to force a turnover at the blue line by prospect defenseman Lucas Johansen. Oshie then carried the biscuit down the ice on an odd-man break and the three skill players got down to business.
Days after winning silver with Team Canada at the 2021 World Junior Championship, Connor McMichael will make his way to Washington DC this weekend to begin quarantine ahead of training camp. It’s unclear when the Capitals’ top prospect will complete protocol, but he could begin skating with the team as soon as next week.
The news was first reported by The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir.
NBC Sports Washington is airing the Washington Capitals’ first intrasquad scrimmage on their Facebook page.
You can watch it below.
Former Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau is returning to the fold. Sort of. Boudreau will contribute to NBC Sports Washington’s coverage for the upcoming season.
The last nine months we’ve struggled through a global pandemic and extreme political divisiveness. This period in life has been difficult, fatiguing, scary, and unending. I know that I, like many of you, felt optimism on New Year’s Day. I felt lucky that I survived through 2020. I said to myself, there’s an end in sight to the global pandemic that has upended our lives and taken so many people away from us. 2021 had to be better. There are vaccines! Maybe we could get back to normal soon?
I had hope and then yesterday happened.
I just can’t in good conscience continue writing today until I say a few things.
Washington Capitals fans will be able to watch the team’s first scrimmage of training camp online Thursday.
The Capitals announced in a release that the team will carry the game live on the Monumental Sports and NBC Sports Washington’s social media channels. The radio team of John Walton and Ken Sabourin will have the call beginning at 3:45 PM.
