Steve Oleksy was only supposed be with the Caps for a day. But after Nate Schmidt’s brief sojourn to the Bears turned into a multi-month absence, Steve O is here for the foreseeable future. He just won’t be playing in many games, if any at all. Still, Oleksy has to be ready.
By Chris Gordon 8 years ago
Photo credit: Patrick McDermott
At this point, Capitals-Flyers games seem to devolve into elaborate displays of petty violence almost by habit. There’s no real point, but they do it every game. Sometimes, they even start punching faces. Last year, the Caps got into 18 fights with the Flyers, including the preseason. That accounted for a third of Washington’s fight total for the season.
“Not many guys on this side like them on that side and not many guys on that side like us,” Tom Wilson told me. “Last year there was a lot of high emotion.”
By Chris Gordon 8 years ago
Before Wednesday’s game, Jason Chimera, a man with a bunch of pride and a terrible possession score, reportedly said to Pierre McGuire that he doesn’t consider himself a fourth line player. He deserved more minutes, according to Pierre’s telling.
After Wednesday night, it’s hard to argue with him. Chimera scored the game’s only goal: a bizarre deflection in front of the net. And he played much of the game while bleeding from the face.
Photo: Chris Gordon
With the Caps/Flyers game on national TV tonight, we were denied the calls of the DC Sportscaster of the Year Joe Beninati and his loyal sidekick Craig Laughlin. That also means no Joe B suit of the night.
Hold that thought. RMNB’s Chris Gordon came through in the clutch post-game. Above, check out a relaxed Beninati, sans tie, kicking it in the bowels of Verizon Center.
Photo: Rob Carr
So ends a very successful home stand for the Washington Capitals. Defeating the Philadelphia Flyers in #rego, the Caps earned their seventh consecutive win at Verizon Center. It was all but decided in the first three minutes, but we went ahead and did another 57 minutes for fun.
When Jason Chimera notched a goal just three minutes into the game, we thought we’d have a goal-scoring bonanza on our hands. Instead, we went the distance without another entry on the scoresheet. I think we can all agree that’s okay.
Caps beat Flyers 1-0! Braden Holtby records his fourth shutout of the year!
By Peter Hassett 8 years ago
In the first half of the season, Evgeny Kuznetsov was a shadow of what he should have been. Learning to play a new position and adjusting to new tactics and a new language, Kuznetsov struggled. He sometimes looked lost in the new Caps system.
But in the last week Evgeny Kuznetsov has looked like a superstar in the making.
Behold these two passes authored by Kuzy in the second period.
Matt Niskanen, the Caps $40.25-million man, just unleashed one of the biggest hits of his career against the Flyers. As Scott Laughton attempted to curl and leave a drop pass for Wayne Simmonds, Niskanen read the play and laid him out.
Look at this. Shoulder to chest. 100-percent legal. Scott Stevens-esque.
Alex Ovechkin delivers a bunch of hits on a nightly basis. He ranks in the NHL’s top five– along with Caps defenseman Brooks Orpik.
In the first period against the Flyers, Ovechkin lowered the boom on Nick Schultz. No big. We’ve seen him check a million guys before.
This time though, Ovi hit a defenseman so hard that the plastic camera covering affixed to the boards fell off.
The Caps can’t stop winning. I’ve seen them try to stop winning twice in the last week, but they lost at stopping winning, so they won instead.
Maybe they’ll stop winning at tonight’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers, but they’ll probably blow it again.
Puck drops at 8 PM, so get some dinner beforehand. Maybe some pasta primavera? Your call. I’m not the boss of you. Game’s on NBC Sportsnet (boooo!).
| Team | Record | Possession | PDO | Power Play | Penalty Kill |
| Washington Capitals | 23-11-8 | 50.9% | 100.8 | 24.0% | 79.0% |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 17-19-7 | 48.4% | 100.3 | 23.3% | 74.0% |
By Peter Hassett 8 years ago
