Two weeks ago, Alex Edler left Game Five of the Vancouver Canucks’ first-round series against the St. Louis Blues with a scary injury.
Edler was cut in the face by Jordan Kyrou’s skate blade and did not return to the game.
The injury would set in motion one of the most ridiculous storylines of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Hours after the NHL officially announced it had postponed two days of playoff games due to the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Western Conference players held a 20-minute press conference from inside the Edmonton bubble explaining their decision.
Black players Ryan Reaves of the Colorado Avalanche and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare of the Colorado Avalanche were joined at the podium by the Avalanche’s Nazem Kadri, a Hockey Diversity Alliance member whose family is from Lebanon and identifies as a Muslim; the Stars’ Jason Dickinson, who kneeled with three other players during an August 3 game; and Bo Horvat, the captain of the Vancouver Canucks. The five speakers were joined by dozens of their mask-wearing teammates who stood behind them in unity. In a league that has always sported predominantly white athletes, it was a powerful and unprecedented moment against systemic racism.
The players explained that the movement was organic and started by the league’s white athletes. Players wanted games canceled on Thursday and Friday so that they, along with NHL fans, could reflect and educate themselves on racial injustice and make changes moving forward.
By Ian Oland 1 month ago
The Vancouver Canucks are one win away from advancing to the second round, and perfect human Jay Beagle is leading the way there.
By Peter Hassett 1 month ago
The still walking wounded Capitals had the pleasure of hosting the Vancouver Canucks for the first time since that crazy comeback victory from earlier in the season. This time did not go so well for the good guys, as they fell 2-1 in a lengthy shootout to Jacob Markstrom and the Nucks.
By Chris Cerullo 10 months ago
The Washington Capitals and Vancouver Canucks gave us a hotly contested goalie duel on Saturday afternoon, which is a polite way of saying I wanted more goals and wild stuff to happen.
Jakub Vrana gave us an early, lonely goal, but Elias Pettersson answered on the power play to tie it up in the first period. The remainder of rego gave us no more goals as Markstrom and Holtby put on a clinic. The Caps got beaten down during overtime but got a few chances of their own before the buzzer. Those chances amounted to nothing, so here we go:
Shootout bullets:
Caps lose in the shootout.
By Peter Hassett 10 months ago
Here’s a disappointing development: Vancouver Canucks forward and DC fan favorite, Jay Beagle, will not play in today’s game.
By Peter Hassett 10 months ago
The Washington Capitals are still all kinds of banged up for their Saturday afternoon match against the Vancouver Canucks.
Puck drop at 12:30 PM. Here’s the bloody list.
By Peter Hassett 10 months ago
The Washington Capitals are still kind of a mess — what with their bazillion injuries and Garnet Hathaway’s loogiecrime. Nonetheless, they must play host the Vancouver Canucks for a matinee game at Capital One Arena.
The game starts 12:30 PM. Join me after for the recap.
By Peter Hassett 10 months ago
The Washington Capitals were down 5-1 to the Vancouver Canucks with exactly 20:01 left to play in regulation. I’m here to tell you that those same Capitals beat the Canucks 6-5 in a shootout.
The Canucks out-shot the Caps 34 to 29 and out-attempted them at five-on-five 48 to 41.
By Chris Cerullo 11 months ago
The Washington Capitals wanted to quickly put their late collapse against the Oilers in the rear view and had an opportunity on Friday night to do so against the Vancouver Canucks. Also go Nats!
Evgeny Kuznetsov was the benefactor of some Canucks scrambling to kick things off. Brock Boeser grabbed the goal back soon after and Tim Schaller slotted another home shorthanded. Elias Pettersson sniped one home to give Vancouver a two goal lead, Schaller got his second out of mid air, and Virtanen made it five for the Nucks.
Kuznetsov put away a buzzer beater, Lars Eller got his own shortie to bring the Caps even closer, and Michal Kempny blasted two home soon after to tie things up.
Shootout bullets!
Caps beat Canucks 6-5!
By Chris Cerullo 11 months ago
