102718 | RMNB

Alex Ovechkin gave a second stick away in Calgary

On Saturday afternoon in Calgary, Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin tossed his stick over the glass to a young Caps fan, making his day or possibly his entire life. Following the Capitals shootout win over the Flames, Ovi gave another twig away away.

Aydin, who greeted the victorious Caps with fist bumps, was visibly delighted when Ovi stopped, shook their hand, and then handed over his stick.

(more…)

New lines bring new life: numbers for the morning after

The Capitals debuted some new forward combinations in Calgary Saturday evening and those combos rewarded their bench boss with a pretty solid showing. Fittingly, with the very recent release of Red Dead Redemption 2, the Caps downed the Flames 4-3 in a good ole fashioned western shootout. Adios, western Canada.

The Flames out-shot the Caps 30 to 27, but were out-attempted at five-on-five by the good guys 44 to 38.

(more…)

By Chris Cerullo 4 months ago

0 Comment

Travis Hamonic told his daughter he’d score a goal for her during her first game. He kept his promise.

Calgary Flames defenseman Travis Hamonic and wife Stephanie brought their daughter to her first NHL game on Saturday. Eight-month-old Charlie was a good luck charm for her dad, who promised to score a goal for her –– and he did just that.

During the first intermission, Hamonic spoke with Sportsnet’s Ryan Leslie. “It’s exactly how you drew it up,” Leslie said. “You bring your daughter to your first NHL game, she’s here, it’s a good luck charm, you acknowledge her in the warm-up, and then boom: dad scores a goal.”

“I tried to promise her a goal,” Hamonic responded. “I’m not sure how often I can do that, but Charlie’s the love of our lives, my wife and I, Steph. And to have her here and to see that, I don’t score a lot of goals, so that’s something she’s going to hold onto forever.”

(more…)

By Brennin Weiswerda 4 months ago

0 Comment

Braden Holtby gets milestone puck for Pheonix Copley as goaltender celebrates first NHL win

Capitals goaltender Pheonix Copley made 27 saves and stopped three of four shots in the shootout (Matthew Tkachuk, James Neal, and Johnny Gaudreau) to give Washington a 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames. The victory marked Copley’s first NHL win.

The victory sent the 26-year-old backup goalie into a huge celebration; think a mite-on-ice celebrating as if he won the Stanley Cup. Copley skated towards the Capitals bench and received a massive 20-plus-player hockey hug from ecstatic teammates.

Braden Holtby skated the opposite way, but for good reason.

(more…)

By Ian Oland 4 months ago

1 Comment

With retooled top six, Caps beat Flames 4-3 in shootout!

The retooled Washington Capitals put together a respectable afternoon of hockey to down the Calgary Flames on the road, but it took extra time to decide the win.

Jakub Vrana, recently promoted to the top line, immediately proved his value with a goal in the first period, assisted by Kuznetsov. On the power play, TJ Oshie put a backhand on a rebound to make it 2-0, but the Flames immediately responded with a goal off Travis Hamonic’s foot and a power-play marker for Elias Lindholm.

The game was tied in the second period until Matt Niskanen scored from the point while Dmitrij Jaskin screened Mike Smith. With an empty net, Matthew Tkachuk deflects a shot to tie the score and force overtime. Overtime gave us nothing but palpitations so it’s time for our old friend…

Shootout bullets!

Tkachuk did not put the biscuit in the basket.
Oshie did not put the biscuit in the basket.
Monahan put the biscuit in the basket!
Kuznetsov put the biscuit in the basket!
Neal did not put the biscuit in the basket.
Carlson did not put the biscuit in the basket.
Gaudreau did not put the biscuit in the basket.
Backstrom put the biscuit in the basket!

Caps win 4-3 in the shootout!

(more…)

By Peter Hassett 4 months ago

2 Comments

Alex Ovechkin tossed his stick to an adorable Caps fan in Calgary. The kid’s reaction was priceless.

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin has always had a soft spot for his younger fans and Saturday in Calgary, the Russian machine basically made one kid’s life.

As warmups ended, Ovi tossed one of his CCM sticks into the crowd. And we’ve got breaking news: the adult who caught the souvenir actually gave the stick to the intended target. That has been a problem recently.

(more…)

By Ian Oland 4 months ago

3 Comments

Caps at Flames pregame: The Braden Holtby / Bradley Cooper nexus

Things went wrong in Edmonton on Thursday, but the Caps have made some tweaks to retool for Saturday’s early game against the Flames. Andre Burakovsky and Jakub Vrana are in the top six, and Christian Djoos has been relieved of his responsibilities for the night for some ungodly reason.

Puck drops around 4 PM. If you’re out enjoying this lovely autumn weather, you can still watch the game on the go using the stream. I got recap duty, so let’s close out October together.

(more…)

By Peter Hassett 4 months ago

0 Comment