Vitek Vanecek, the Capitals starting goaltender last season, was tragically snatched up by the Seattle Kraken in the Expansion Draft on Wednesday. Vitek will form a battery in net with Chris Driedger (FLA) and Joey Daccord (OTT).
During the night, tributes poured in from Vitek’s former (sigh) Capitals’ teammates.
By Ian Oland 2 years ago
Daniel Sprong is one of Washington’s good, young, restricted-free-agent forwards. Wait a second, he’s Washington’s only RFA forward.
By Peter Hassett 2 years ago
Despite the Capitals running out of gas against the Boston Bruins and losing their third consecutive first-round series, general manager Brian MacLellan is hesitant to commit to a youth movement for next season.
Speaking on Wednesday during Capitals’ Breakdown Day, GMBM was asked about who would take the next step among the organization’s top prospects. There was only one prospect who graduated and is currently slated for a full-time role with the Capitals in 2021-22. That player is left-handed shooting defenseman Martin Fehervary.
By Chris Cerullo 2 years ago
One of the biggest discussions on social media during Game Three was Peter Laviolette’s decision to bench Daniel Sprong in favor of Daniel Carr.
Sprong scored 13 goals and tallied a career-high 20 points in 47 games, carving out a full-time roster spot for himself, while Carr spent most of the season on the sidelines (6 games) as a taxi squad member.
By Ian Oland 2 years ago
As the Capitals returned to the ice at Medstar Capitals Iceplex, Tom Wilson and Justin Schultz rejoined the team for morning skate prior to hosting the Philadelphia Flyers Friday night. Alex Ovechkin, who is still nursing a lower-body injury, was not in attendance.
Wilson missed the last two periods of Wednesdays WWE matchup hockey game against the New York Rangers due to a reported upper-body injury. Schultz, who did not play in the game on Wednesday, has been dealing with a nagging lower-body injury.
By Cara Bahniuk 2 years ago
Washington Capitals forward Daniel Sprong will miss tonight’s Caps-Rangers game due to illness.
The Capitals say it’s not COVID related.
The Washington Capitals are 4-0-1 this season without their captain, Alex Ovechkin, in the lineup. A big reason why is because the team has gotten timely contributions from their depth player.
Daniel Sprong… or should I say, Daniel Sprongvechkin, has been the latest player to step up. Sprong replaced Ovi on the left wing of the first line, which, by the way, is not his natural position, and has scored three times in the last two games.
Tuesday against the Islanders, the Dominating Dutchman scored one of the quickest goals of the Capitals season in the first period.
Vitek Vanecek will start his 27th game of the season against the Buffalo Sabres, Friday.
Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette announced the news in his pregame press conference two hours before puck drop.
The Washington Capitals are the oldest team in the NHL this season. The team is contending for a championship and has chosen not to develop any young forward or defense prospects at the NHL level this season. Journeyman Daniel Sprong, despite those headwinds, is making his case on why he should be an everyday player in the lineup – even after Tom Wilson returns from suspension next week.
Sprong is producing at a high level offensively despite having limited chances and being the youngest skater on the Capitals roster this season at age 23.
By Ian Oland 3 years ago
Daniel Sprong scored four minutes and 40 seconds into Saturday’s game against the Flyers. But by the end of the night, he was demoted and moved off the second line.
After having 2-0 and 5-2 leads over the Flyers, the Capitals hung on to win 5-4 over the Flyers and narrowly avoided collapsing.
Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette threw some subtle shade at the second line after the game. The trio of Daniel Sprong, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Jakub Vrana was on the ice for two second-period Flyers’ goals.
By Ian Oland 3 years ago
