Devante Smith-Pelly

Todd Reirden starts Devante Smith-Pelly against Chicago after racial taunts nearly a year ago

Capitals forward Devante Smith-Pelly started Sunday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks. And for a very good reason.

The last time DSP was in Chicago on February 19, 2018, the right wing faced racial taunts from Blackhawks fans while in the penalty box. Those four fans were later banned from ever coming back to United Center.

According to Capitals’ senior writer Mike Vogel, Todd Reirden wanted DSP on the ice for the national anthem. The forward started the game on the first line.

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Capitals annual Better Halves basket auction features Stanley Cup Champions buckets, survival gear, and salami

Grab your digital bidding paddles, Capitals fans. The Better Halves are back once again, auctioning off their annual themed gift baskets. As always, the baskets include autographed Capitals memorabilia, from jerseys to commemorative Stanley Cup championship merchandise, but also a few weird and wonderful surprises.

So if you’ve ever felt a desire to own signed fishing gear from Pheonix Copley, a signed four-person tent from Matt Niskanen (you’ve got to be prepared for the desert island, after all), or even some signed salami from Jonas Siegenthaler, then this is the auction for you.

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By Donya Abramo On January 15, 2019 0 Comment

Devante Smith-Pelly invites hockey team who faced racism to Capitals game. ‘Don’t let those people try and bring you down.’

The Metro Maple Leafs youth hockey team has been through a lot this season. One of their players, 13-year-old Divyne Apollon II, was subjected to racist insults by opponents during a hockey tournament.

Apollon’s teammates’ reaction was inspiring: they stood up for their teammate and created anti-racism stickers to put on their helmets. “One thing that kind of stood out was how his teammates had his back,” Smith-Pelly said in an interview before the game. “Guys on my team always have my back too. I thought it was good to recognize the team as well for standing up for their teammate.”

After hearing about the story, Capitals defenseman John Carlson approached his teammate, forward Devante Smith-Pelly, with an idea. They could invite Divyne, his coach, and his team to the Capitals game against the St. Louis Blues at Capital One Arena. Together they made a video inviting the Metro Maple Leafs to the game.

During the first intermission, Divyne and coach Brad Howington were interviewed by Al Koken for Caps Intermission Live.

“I thought it was pretty great that they did that,” Divyne said, “and that they actually cared.”

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By Brennin Weiswerda On January 14, 2019 0 Comment

Andre Burakovsky and Madison Bowey slot back into lineup against St. Louis Blues

After serving brief stints out of the lineup and fighting to get back in, both Andre Burakovsky and Madison Bowey will make their returns to the ice tonight against the St. Louis Blues.

Burakovsky has missed two games and last played on January 8 against the Philadelphia Flyers, while Bowey has missed five games since January 3.

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By Julia Karron On January 14, 2019 0 Comment

Andre Burakovsky and Devante Smith-Pelly debut acting skills in new Paisano’s Pizza commercial

Oh, boy. Okay. Paisano’s Pizza has released a new commercial advertising their “Big Time BOGO” pizza special on Sundays. The ad stars some familiar faces in an unfamiliar role.

May we present Andre Burakovsky and Devante Smith-Pelly … “acting?”

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By Brennin Weiswerda On January 12, 2019 0 Comment

Capitals invite youth hockey team to game for standing up to racism

Earlier this year, a 13-year-old hockey player named Divyne Apollon II faced racist taunts from opponents. The defender for the U14 Metro Maple Leafs hockey club was called the n-word and told to “go play basketball.”

His teammates stood up for him during the game and after by creating patches with a hockey stick crossing out the word “racism” that they wore during games.

Wednesday morning, the team got a video from Capitals players Devante Smith-Pelly and John Carlson inviting the team to Monday’s game against the St. Louis Blues and to a meet and greet after.

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By Julia Karron On January 9, 2019 2 Comments

Devante Smith-Pelly offers to pay so fan follows through on Brett Connolly tattoo

Tuesday, longtime Capitals fan Tyler Duchaine went over 1,000 retweets on a crowd-sourced Twitter post, locking him in on getting a tattoo of Brett Connolly… eating pizza… while getting a tattoo. And because the internet is just the best, Duchaine even got a retweet from Caps forward Devante Smith-Pelly.

Tuesday, before the Capitals suited up against the Philadelphia Flyers, Smith-Pelly spoke to NBC Sports Washington’s Alan May about Duchaine’s tattoo.

He really wants to see it happen.

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By Ian Oland On January 9, 2019 1 Comment

Matt Niskanen and Dmitrij Jaskin return to the lineup against the St. Louis Blues

After taking a scary hit into the boards and being scratched for five consecutive games, both Matt Niskanen and Dmitrij Jaskin will be back into the lineup against the bottom-feeding St. Louis Blues.

For Jaskin, this is a chance to get revenge against the team who waived him this past fall.

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By Julia Karron On January 3, 2019 1 Comment

Elementary schoolers sent Devante Smith-Pelly letters saying he was their hero. He surprised them with a visit to their school.

Alejandro Diasgranados teaches second and third graders at Northeast DC’s Aiton Elementary. Known as “Mr. Dias” to his students, the 26-year-old teacher is a young rising star in the DC public school system. He recently won a $10,000 grant to create a laundry center for the school, where over 90 percent of students come from low-income households and many without access to washers and dryers.

Many of the students have been forced to face adversity early in their young lives. The school is less than a mile from the Northeast DC neighborhood where, earlier this year, four men jumped out of a car and fired more than 70 bullets into a crowd, killing 10-year-old Makiyah Wilson. A recent feature on Diasgranados in Washingtonian magazine described the “complicated” lives of these eight-year-olds –kids who have been recently placed in foster care or had the electricity cut off in their homes still being able to improve academically in Diasgranados’ classroom.

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By Elizabeth Kong On December 28, 2018 1 Comment

Here are the best GIFs from the Capitals’ Christmas card video

Last year for Christmas, the Caps gifted fans a butchering of their favorite holiday songs.

This year, the Caps have produced another album in the form of a Christmas card video, and this one features puns about winning the Stanley Cup sprinkled in.

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By Julia Karron On December 24, 2018 1 Comment

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