The Washington Capitals have not played since Sunday and since then, the team has gotten healthier.
Richard Panik, who’s on longterm injured reserve due to an upper-body injury that he suffered on October 16, returned to the ice Tuesday for practice and shed his no-contact jersey. Meanwhile, Nic Dowd is nearing a return after suffering a lower-body injury against the Leafs on October 29.
The Washington Capitals recalled Liam O’Brien from the Hershey Bears on Friday morning.
O’Brien is in Washington to possibly spell Nic Dowd or Evgeny Kuznetsov after the two centers were ruled ruled as day-to-day following injuries against the Toronto Maple Leafs Wednesday.
By Elyse Bailey 2 weeks ago
Liam O’Brien is having the best Training Camp of his career as a member of the Washington Capitals.
And Friday against the St. Louis Blues, O’Brien showed off his leadership skills dropping his gloves with Jordan Nolan after a listless Capitals squad gave up two consecutive goals to start the second period.
The spirited fight, however, knocked O’Brien out for the rest of the game.
Brooks Oprik announced his retirement through a Capitals release on Tuesday morning.
During his time in Washington, the hulking defenseman left an indelible impact on his teammates. From his big goals to his big hits, Capitals players looked up to Orpik as a leader, role model, and friend. On social media and in statements released through the team, the Capitals showered Orpik with praise and thanked him for his time in Washington.
“Batya was a great leader in our locker room and was so important for us to win our first Stanley Cup,” Alex Ovechkin said.
“He is a terrific person and a friend,” TJ Oshie said.
“Thanks for always looking after me on and off the ice,” Andre Burakovsky said. “You have been a true friend and role model for me.”
Hockey players can sometimes be inarticulate. This is not one of those times.
By Ian Oland 5 months ago
The Washington Capitals announced on Monday that they have signed forward Liam O’Brien to a one-year, two-way contract for $700,000.
The 24-year old O’Brien signed with the Capitals as a free agent in 2014, and has since played five seasons with the Hershey Bears, where he served as an alternate captain in the 2018-19 season. O’Brien accumulated 108 points and 555 penalty minutes in 311 AHL games. He was a member of the Bears team that reached 2016 Calder Cup finals and has 13 points (eight goals, five assists) in 44 AHL playoff appearances.
The Halifax, Nova Scotia native has played 17 career games with the Capitals, though he was not called up to the Capitals in the 2018-19 season. Last season, O’Brien recorded 28 points (15g, 13a) in 74 games for the Bears, including three power play goals and four game-winning goals.
By Elizabeth Kong 5 months ago
On Saturday the Hershey Bears recorded their first shutout of the season in a 2-0 win over the Charlotte Checkers. Vitek Vanecek made 25 saves in goal as the Bears handed the Checkers their first loss of the season.
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By Alex Hayes 1 year ago
The Capitals and the Blues met in St. Louis on Tuesday night for the first of two preseason meetings, with the Capitals ultimately winning with a 4-0 shutout.
It was an intense game, with plenty of heavy hitting, Capitals goals, and feisty fisticuffs. I had a front row seat to the action on the ice and in the penalty box.
Here are some of the highlights that didn’t make it onto the Instagram story during the game.
By Brennin Weiswerda 1 year ago
The Washington Capitals won their first game of the preseason on Tuesday, but the Blues’ physicality took a toll. The Caps lost Michal Kempny to injury and fought twice in the game.
After watching Hershey teammate Nathan Walker get hit high, Liam O’Brien finally had enough, asking Patrick Maroon to get these hands 13:05 into the second period.
The Big Tuna didn’t win the spirited bout, but O’Brien’s participation left NBC Sports Washington’s Craig Laughlin mightily impressed.
“That’s one of the best (fights) I’ve seen in the last couple of seasons, toe-to-toe,” Locker said.
On Saturday, the Capitals took to the ice at Medstar Capitals Iceplex for the second day of training camp. With the camp roster and invites split into three group, each group spent time doing on-ice practice, off-ice training, and video review.
Although the roster has gone through their first cuts, such as sending first-round draft pick Alexander Alexeyev back to his junior league team, Saturday’s practice featured everyone. Alexeyev, who had an impressive training camp, was in Group White with Caps vets Braden Holtby, Nicklas Backstrom, and TJ Oshie. Group Red paired goalies Pheonix Copley and Ilya Samsonov, both of whom are in the running to be number two in the net behind Holtby this season. Group Blue featured Alex Ovechkin and the Caps’ Russians, who along with Tom Wilson were on the celebratory end of a competitive two-on-two drill–Ovi was jumping up and down on his skates celebrating the win.
By Elizabeth Kong 1 year ago
Friday afternoon, the Washington Capitals announced that they have re-signed forward Liam O’Brien to a one year, two-way contract.
O’Brien had filed for arbitration, but ultimately settled with the Capitals prior to his arbitration date on July 23. His contract carries an AAV of the league minimum, $650,000.
By Rachel Cohen 1 year ago
