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Lyla Celebrates TJ Oshie’s Hat Trick, Holds Hands With Papa Leaving Game

Photo: Monumental Sports Network

I know this might sound crazy, but TJ Oshie’s daughter Lyla set the tone for the Washington Capitals ahead of Game One. The Tiny Osh was recorded by her mother kicking the crap out of a Penguins poster, which, according to Dan Steinberg, was left at the family’s doorstep by a neighboring Pens fan.

The clip, which was posted by Lauren Oshie during an Instagram takeover of Ted Leonsis’s Monumental Sports Network, went viral.

Lauren also captured many other precious moments, such as Lyla celebrating her father’s second period breakaway goal at Verizon Center.

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NHL Fines Tom Wilson for Kneeing Conor Sheary

Knee-on-knee.

Once again, Tom Wilson is being talked about for all the wrong reasons. On Friday afternoon, the NHL fined Wilson $2,403.67, the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for kneeing Pittsburgh’s Conor Sheary.

Sheary missed a few shifts after the hit but stayed in the game.

Speaking before the fine was levied by the Department of Player Safety, Capitals head coach Barry Trotz admitted Wilson should have avoided the hit, though he described it as “shin-on-shin.”

“We’ll leave it up to the league,” Trotz said. “Whatever they decide, I think we’re fine with it. That’s what their job is. You gotta respect. Player Safety with the NHL has done, I think, a good job.”

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By Chris Gordon On April 29, 2016 0 Comment

‘I’m Useless Right Now’: Jay Beagle on Becoming a Hockey Unicorn

Washington Capitals center Jay Beagle played great in Game One of the Second Round against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The fourth liner skated 15 minutes and 17 seconds, topping Washington’s third line in TOI. He and partners Daniel Winnik and Tom Wilson were hard on the forecheck, forcing turnovers and tiring out Pittsburgh’s forwards. Beagle also won 63 percent of his faceoffs, including some key ones against Evgeni Malkin, whom he bested 75 percent of the time.

After the game, Beagle and I exchanged our usual fist bump for a job well done, but no one in the locker room wanted to ask him about about his performance. Instead, Beagle’s adventures with Kris Letang’s stick, which got stuck between his helmet and visor, was the topic du jour for the national media assembled at Verizon Center.

“I definitely knew there was a stick in my visor,” Beagle said. “I just couldn’t believe that it was stuck. I tried to pull it a couple times just so I could continue with the play, but it wouldn’t come out. Then I figured I might as well get to the bench, I’m useless right now. I can’t see a thing.”

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By Chris Gordon On April 29, 2016 0 Comment

Hate-Spewing Caps Fans Outside Verizon Center Embarrass Us All

The lasting image of Game One should be TJ Oshie getting lovingly mauled by his teammates or a horde of Caps fans bursting out in song at Metro Center.

But there’s also this, so let’s talk about this. (Warning: Bad language below.)

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By Peter Hassett On April 29, 2016 0 Comment

‘Mistakes Like That Can’t Happen’: Dmitry Orlov’s Missed Check May Cost Him a Lineup Spot

Lovejoy celebrates his goal (Photo: Rob Carr)

Capitals defensemen Dmitry Orlov went for the big hit, hoping to take Penguins center Nick Bonino out at the blue line. Instead, Orlov missed, colliding with Nate Schmidt. Bonino was left with an unfettered path to the net. He shot the puck on Braden Holtby before Ben Lovejoy cleaned up the rebound at the midway point of Game One on Thursday, tying the score at one.

Orlov, who, like Schmidt, is playing in his first postseason in the NHL, didn’t see the ice for the rest of the game, save for a brief 25-second shift early in the third period. He finished with less than six minutes of time on ice.

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By Chris Gordon On April 29, 2016 0 Comment

Caps Beat Penguins 4-3: Numbers for the Morning After

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Photo: Patrick Smith

Riding a trick of hats from TJ Oshie, the Caps grabbed a 1-0 series lead Thursday night with a 4-3 win over the Penguins in overtime. The game’s pace and intensity was noticeably up a notch over the Caps first round matchup against the Flyers. The Penguins are also obviously a more skilled opponents.

The most important thing is the Caps got the win. But there are things the team can improve upon moving forward. Some of the matchups gave the team fits and there were prolonged periods of the game where the Pens carried the play.

In the end, it was, objectively, a great hockey game and the Caps are up 1-0. Let’s take a look at the numbers 5-on-5 numbers from the game.

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By Patrick Holden On April 29, 2016 0 Comment

Fans Were Cheering ‘Let’s Go Caps’ at Gallery Place Metro After Thrilling Overtime Win

The Washington Capitals have lost 7 of 8 playoff match-ups all-time against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Late Thursday evening, TJ Oshie cut through all of that bad history and juju. Oshie scored a hat trick, which included the decisive goal in overtime, giving the Caps a 1-0 series lead over the Pens.

Naturally, Caps fans lost their shit.

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By Ian Oland On April 29, 2016 0 Comment

TJ Oshie Scores Clutch Hat Trick, Dispatches Penguins in Overtime of Game One

Earlier in the morning, Lyla Oshie kicked the crap out of a Penguins poster, throwing the Oshie family feet first into the Caps-Pens rivalry.

Later Thursday night, Lyla’s father TJ had the game of his life, scoring a hat trick and dramatically dispatching the Penguins with a wraparound. The goal was reviewed but stood up as the overtime game-winning goal.

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By Ian Oland On April 28, 2016 0 Comment

TJ Oshie’s Big Night! Caps beat Pens 4-3 (OT)!

Washington Capitals vs Pittsburgh Penguins for the first time since 2009, first time in the RMNB era. (Is that a thing? Can we say that?) We knew this series would be entertaining, but I don’t know if I was truly prepared for Game One being the seventy-minute, end-to-end, goal-filled, goat tornado that it was.

Scoring was opened with Swedish aplomb by prom king Andre Burakovsky, popping in a loose puck with a one-timer in the first period.

In the second, the Penguins struck back with two goals in 60 seconds: Ben Lovejoy’s goal after Orlov and Schmidt wrecked one another and Evgeni Malkin’s nifty top-shelf shot. Olli Maata’s blue-line giveaway freed TJ Oshie for a breakaway goal, tying the game at 2 after 40 minutes.

Oshie did it again in the third period, giving the Caps the lead with a backhander to Murray’s five hole, but Nick Bonino got a fortunate bounce off Schmidt’s stick to tie it again. That score got us to the end of #rego and into overtime.

TJ OSHIE WON IT WITH A WRAPAROUND! HAT TRICK PLAYOFF OVERTIME GAME WINNING GOAL!

Caps beat Pens 4-3 in overtime!

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By Peter Hassett On April 28, 2016 0 Comment

Nicklas Backstrom Airbends Beautiful Pass to Alex Ovechkin

The only reason Caps-Pens Game One went to overtime is because Alex Ovechkin didn’t finish off this golden chance set up for him by Nick Backstrom.

This pass is unbelievable.

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By Ian Oland On April 28, 2016 0 Comment

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