The Capitals played a dominant game against the New Jersey Devils Saturday night. With three defenseman scoring goals, including two amazing tic-tac-toe plays, the Capitals at times looked like Harlem Globetrotters.
In the third period, Matt Niskanen gave the Capitals a friendly 4-1 lead, but the Capitals had six skaters on the ice when the goal was scored. Oops!
By Cara Bahniuk 6 years ago
The Caps defensemen have come to play tonight. With Matt Niskanen’s third period tally, three defensemen have lit the lamp against the Devils.
By Cara Bahniuk 6 years ago
Tom Wilson is playing the best hockey of his career, and Friday against the New York Rangers, the burly forward won the game for the Capitals in the final minutes of the third period.
A hardworking Wilson dove and knocked a loose puck in the crease to Matt Niskanen who whacked the biscuit home for the eventual game-winning goal. Later, Wilson took a pass and drove hard to the net, beating Henrik Lundqvist along the ice to give the Caps a 4-2 lead.
On the evening, Wilson had a goal, an assist, three shots, and six hits against the Rangers. It’s the second straight game the Capitals forward missed out on a Gordie Howe Hat Trick simply because he didn’t fight.
On Monday, the Capitals made their annual visit to MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. The visit coincides with Hockey Fights Cancer month, an initiative that unites the hockey community in support of cancer patients and their families.
Throughout the afternoon, the Capitals, wearing their lavender jerseys, interacted with children and their families while signing autographs and posing for photos.
“I think it’s important to give back,” John Carlson said to Monumental Sports Network’s Ben Brown. “When you set out on an initiative like Hockey Fights Cancer, you can’t just say it. You have to do it. It’s important to be there for people, and the kids who were in the unit I visited today really enjoyed having us there whether they were hockey fans or not. It’s all about being light and being fun and enjoying our time there.”
By Cara Bahniuk 6 years ago
The Capitals continue to get healthier. After the team saw Brett Connolly return to the lineup Sunday (concussion), the team’s best defender is back.
Veteran Matt Niskanen will play Tuesday night against the Western Conference Champion Nashville Predators after a thumb injury kept him out since October 13. Niskanen was sidelined for the Capitals’ last 13 games.
The Washington Capitals [furiously knocks on wood] are getting healthy.
Thursday morning, every injured Caps player skated during practice except injured forward Andre Burakovsky, who sat on the bench in street clothes anyway.
On Monday, the Washington Capitals participated in their annual canine calendar photoshoot with Homeward Trails Animal Rescue. Taking photos for the 2018 calendar, the Caps wore suits while the dogs dressed equally as fancy with bow ties and pearls. Some pups even wore, prepare yourself for this, scarfs.
Capitals players Nicklas Backstrom, Madison Bowey, Alex Chiasson, Christian Djoos, Tyler Graovac, Philipp Grubauer, Braden Holtby, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Aaron Ness, Dmitry Orlov, Devante Smith-Pelly, Jakub Vrana, Nathan Walker, and Tom Wilson were all photographed with dogs available for adoption through Homeward Trails. The dogs won’t be available for long after their day in the spotlight!
Jay Beagle, John Carlson, Taylor Chorney, Brett Connolly, Lars Eller, Matt Niskanen, Brooks Orpik, TJ Oshie, and Alex Ovechkin all posed with their own dogs.
Aside from the puppies (one of which Tyler Graovac tried to smuggle, or maybe even snuggle out in his pocket), Ovechkin’s two-year-old, 105-pound black lab Blake was definitely the star of the day.
While the official photos won’t be seen until the release of the calendar on November 20, we hope these adorable photos will hold you over until then.
By Cara Bahniuk 6 years ago
The Capitals were the healthiest team in the league during the 2016-17 season with only 49-man games lost due to injury. That luck had to end at some point, and it appears it has early this season.
Matt Niskanen, who is arguably the Capitals’ top defenseman, was placed on long-term injured reserved last week, while Lars Eller missed last night’s game due to the flu. Eller’s replacement, Tyler Graovac, only made it through the first period last night.
Although specifics of Niskanen and Tyler Graovac’s upper-body injuries have not been released, the Capitals team photos from the FBI Academy Wednesday may have given us the tiniest of updates.
By Cara Bahniuk 6 years ago
Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen left last night’s game early after a collision with Devils forward Jimmy Hayes. We now know more about the degree of Niskanen’s injury. The team has placed him on LTIR, which means Niskanen must miss at least 10 games and 24 days. To fill the spot, the Caps have recalled Madison Bowey from Hershey.
By Peter Hassett 6 years ago
If there’s one thing the Capitals can’t afford this season is an injury to one of their veteran defensemen. After losing Karl Alzner, Nate Schmidt, and Kevin Shattenkirk over the offseason, the Capitals are paper thin at defense.
Late in the second period, that worst case scenario played out when Matt Niskanen, arguably the team’s best defenseman, was forced to leave the game after an apparent hand injury.
