Photo: Bill Smith
The Capitals goalie hasn’t had a lot to smile about since October 26th. The Capitals’ five-game losing streak came to an end on Friday night. Stopping 38 shots from the Chicago Blackhawks, Braden Holtby was instrumental in securing the win and ending the slump.
So let’s celebrate.
Freaking great GIF by @myregularface
The Chicago Blackhawks were wayyyyy better than the Washington Capitals for the first half of Friday night. Like, it wasn’t even close. It was like David and Goliath except if Goliath mercilessly beat David to death with a club. But then the Caps herded a little big mo’ and got the bounces that had been eluding them for the last two weeks.
It was ugly at first. Get this. Marian Hossa beat Matt Niskanen along the boards and set up Brandon Saad for a lovely goal on a two-on-one. Then, Duncan Keith got a rebound for a power-play goal from the Ovi spot to make it 2-0.
Okay, now get THIS, ’cause this all happened inside five minutes. First,Andre Burakovsky called his own number on a breakaway late in the second, scoring with a dart to the high corner. Then, Marcus Johansson tied it up with a spinny shot that took some bounces. Finally, Matt Niskanen release a long b0mb from the blue line that had plenty of support up front– namely Joel Ward, who tipped it in.
The third period was all Hawks as the Caps played prevent defense in the same manner as your parents played prevent defense about nine months before you were born. Except this time it worked.
Caps beat Hawks 3-2! THE CAPITALS HAVE WON A GAME!
By Peter Hassett 5 years ago
“Stay tuned” is what the Capitals told us when we asked when and how fans could buy the team’s nifty new Winter Classic toques. We are too impatient for that.
Based on a scorching hot tip from reader @Maggles330, we sent Ian Oland out on assignment. He hit the road during the first intermission of Friday’s game and headed to Dick’s Sporting Goods, now open on Buckeystown Pike in Frederick. The good people at Dick’s even agreed to take a photo holding the toques.
Boom.
By Peter Hassett 5 years ago
Photo: @SergeyKocharov
The Washington Capitals-designed Winter Classic toque is everywhere tonight. Players were wearing it after practice and on the ice during warm-ups. Hell, even Joe B and Craig Laughlin were rocking them during the telecast.
Unfortunately, these toques are not currently for sale to the public (at least I don’t see them anywhere online). But I’m sure they will be available some day in the future at which point I will be buy 30.
Photos!
Elite defenseman. Elite toque. (Photo: Caps Instagram)
October 25th. I remember it well. It was a simpler time, back when the Caps still won hockey games, children spoke only when spoken to, and women knew their place.
Since then everything has gone wrong. Personally, I blame Congress.
(And volatile shooting percentages endemic to small sample sizes, particularly for a team that is not sufficiently aggressive during 5v5 when leading.)
Alright. Road game against the Chicago Blackhawks, who might be the best team in the league (Neil has them fourth in his power rankings). After losing to the Coyotes and the Flames, it would only make sense for the Caps to beat these guys. right?
Late game. 8:30 PM on CSN Plus. Grab a beer and watch with me. From your couch. Alone. Forever alone.
| Team | Record | Possession | PDO | Power Play | Penalty Kill |
| Washington Capitals | 4-5-3 | 54.4% | 97.8 | 29.3% | 79.1% |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 7-5-1 | 56.1% | 99.5 | 18.9% | 92.7% |
By Peter Hassett 5 years ago
On any given night, there’s a fanboy somewhere, watching a hockey game and saying “Well, we shoulda won that, it was just a fluke we didn’t.”
Caps fans have been saying that a lot lately. Weird puck squirts. Dominating play but no points. Mystical karmic forces aligned against Washington until its NFL team changes its name, or some such.
Point is, if you find yourself resorting to the fluke argument too often, chances are pretty solid you’re really not talking about flukes, but something else. Fixing that something else is starting to become an issue now, and seeing as we’re going up against our Winter Classic rivals tonight, this game needs to provide clues as to what, exactly, needs fixing.
Chicago is a dominating team with a corps of dominating players, despite some of their early going this season. I’d like to say something rude about all those young punks like Toews, Kane, Van Riemsdyk (which always makes me think of hipsters with funny little beards), and even some of the elders, but I can’t. They’re just that good.
Chicago itself is another story.
By Doug Johnson 5 years ago
