John Carlson may be tired, but he’s playing inspired hockey.
Carlson and wife Gina had a baby last night, a little boy they’re calling Junior for now. Shouldering his new responsibilities well, Carlson has been excellent in the first period. He put a monster hit on Jake Guentzel, but his best moment was opening up scoring for the home team with a glorious slapshot.
We have big news. The National Zoo is rooting for the Washington Capitals in Game Five and WANTS A PIECE OF PITTSBURGH’S NATIONAL AVIARY.
An hour before puck drop, the National Zoo’s official Twitter account got in a heated Twitter beef with the National Aviary about which species of bird is better.
Bird nerds, grab some popcorn because this is some unreal chriping.
Half past eight on a pleasant Saturday morning, Jay Beagle walked up to the glass entrance at Kettler Capitals Iceplex. Beagle waited at the threshold as a grade schooler in an oversized 83 jersey ran across the parking lot to greet him.
“Have a nice day, Beags.”
“I always do!”
There’s a second heart-warming anecdote, on top of the Carlsons welcoming their second son into the world, to get you through the afternoon.
In a couple hours, the Capitals will play a very important game against the winners of back-to-back Stanley Cups, the Pittsburgh Penguins.
This second round Eastern Conference series is a best-of-three now. Settle down and pass me some red wine. The puck drops 25 minutes past 7 PM. The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) will be televising the game coast-to-coast.
By Chris Gordon 5 years ago
There are more rally towels in the near future of Capitals fans attending Game Five on Saturday. First the towels were used to spell out “ALLCAPS,” with the DC skyline, for Game One, then “Rock the Red” for Game Two. Now, the lower bowl has been decorated with the silhouette of a hockey player, taking what appears to be a shot on net.
By Donya Abramo 5 years ago
“They’ve just got to be better.”
Those were the first words out of the mouth of Washington Capitals head coach Barry Trotz during his pregame gaggle with reporters on Saturday morning. Trotz was speaking about the Washington Capitals’ current first-line of Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Devante Smith-Pelly.
Tonight, the Capitals play the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Five of their second-round playoff battle. The series is locked at two games apiece. The Caps cannot afford the performance the top trio turned in on Thursday in Pittsburgh, a 3-1 loss for Washington that evened the series. But those three skaters will remain lined up together to start Saturday’s critical game.
“We have to be better everywhere,” Kuznetsov said after the morning skate.
By Chris Gordon 5 years ago
Current Washington Capitals head coach Barry Trotz has not changed his forward lines at morning skate before Game Five. After a disastrous outing in Game Four, the top line remains Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Devante-Smith Pelly.
By Peter Hassett 5 years ago
