Zdeno Chara

Alex Ovechkin checks Zdeno Chara onto the Capitals bench

Alex Ovechkin is a big rig. And 6-foot-9-inch Zdeno Chara is nicknamed The Big Z.

So physics demands that when these two big humans meet, there is a lot of force involved. And that happened during the first period.

In the neutral zone, the two future Hall of Famers fought for a loose puck. Chara ended up in the Caps bench.

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Zdeno Chara feeds pigeons from his hand in tender Instagram video

Norris Trophy winning defenseman Zdeno Chara may be known for his blistering slap shot and his crushing hits. But he certainly has a soft spot as well.

The six-foot-nine defenseman showed off that tender side in an Instagram video he posted two days ago. In it, a pigeon is on Chara’s arm, eating bread crumbs from his hand.

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By Brendan Doyle On January 26, 2018 0 Comment

Zdeno Chara Must’ve Thrown a Black Cat Under a Ladder into a Mirror (GIF)

Zdeno sad. (Photo: Jared Wickerham)

The Montreal Canadiens pulled off an improbable comeback tonight, defeating the Boston Bruins 3-1 in game seven.

(Actually, I think I wrote that wrong. Let me try again.)

The universe decided it hated Zdeno Chara, so Montreal got ANOTHER fluky game seven win over a team way better than them.

(Okay, that’s better.)

Not kidding. Chara was bad. The 6’9” Norris trophy winner scored an own goal, committed two penalties, slipped on multiple invisible bananas, and had one particularly weird incident involving Brendan Gallagher and a temporary suspension of the rules of physics.

Let’s take a gander.

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By Ian Oland On May 14, 2014 0 Comment

Bruins beat Caps 4-3 (OT), We’re Going to Seven

Crash the net! (Photo credit: Mitchell Layton)

Three times in Game Six did the Boston Bruins gain a lead over the Washington Capitals. And three times did the Caps tie it up. But the Caps just couldn’t finish off Boston.

Rich Peverley was credited for deflecting Bergeron’s blue-line bomb past Holtby. Mike Green got that back with a slapshot from way out, bouncing off Greg Zanon’s lower body in traffic. David Krecji used his speed to convert a power play and restore the Bruins’ lead. Jason Chimera evened it up by finishing off a great setup from Nick Backstrom at the end of the second period. Tyler Seguin’s rebound made easy feeding for Andrew Ference, giving the Bruins their third lead of the day. Alex Ovechkin canceled that out with a laser-quick shot off the faceoff with just five minutes remaining.

Into overtime, which Boston dominated until Tyler Seguin got the game winner. Bruins beat Caps 4-3 (OT). We’re going to Game Seven in Boston.

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By Peter Hassett On April 22, 2012 0 Comment

Marchand Dives, Chara Loses Jock on Jason Chimera Goal

Photo credit: Patrick McDermott

With 42 seconds left in the second period, the Capitals tied Game Six up with a bizarre play that resulted in both Brad Marchand getting bloodied and Norris Trophy winner Zdeno Chara being faked out of his jock. Let’s review, shall we?

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By Ian Oland On April 22, 2012 0 Comment

Boston and the Bruins: Wicked Awful

This is what Swedish revenge looks like. (Photo credit: Mark Baer, US Presswire)

The playoff series gives Caps fans a chance to learn all about our rivals and the exotic places they come from. For the first of their Stanley Cup travelogue series, the PuckBuddys offer “How To Spot A Bruins Fan” and helpfully explain why living in Boston is worse than gargling with cat litter.

The Geography of Bad: Let’s just put a few things on the table. Some cities are horrible because of where they are. Tampa comes to mind. Not quite poor enough to be swamp trash, not quite rich enough to be coastal, it’s the worst of Florida compressed into one atomically fetid spot. Or take Winnipeg. God help anyone who has to go to Winnipeg.

Other places aren’t so much insufferable because of where they are, but because of who lives there. Philadelphia, for example, where entire generations have refined the art of being over-privileged and grating. Dallas, which is just about all we need to say about that hole. Or pretty much the entire state of Arizona.

That said, there’s a whole special category of wretched for cities that, were the Lord truly merciful, He would just dump into the ocean and pretend it never happened. Can you guess which blighted dung pile is featured in this week’s list of awful?

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By Doug Johnson On April 15, 2012 0 Comment

Caps beat Bruins 2-1 (OT), Backstrom Scores in Double OT

Photo credit: Charles Krupa

After Thursday’s disappointing overtime loss to the Boston Bruins, Dale Hunter’s Washington Capitals redoubled their efforts. The result: another excruciatingly tight hockey game at TD Garden, but with a heluva lot more offense.

Troy Brouwer crashed the net to score to the game’s first goal after 38 scoreless minutes. Halfway through the third, Benoit Pouliot tied the game with a backhand off a loose puck in the slot.

And the overtime. Nothing. OT2 ended in a blink… as Nick Backstrom beat Thomas over the shoulder. Caps beat Bruins 2-1 (OT).

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By Peter Hassett On April 14, 2012 0 Comment

The Capitals’ Shooting Problem and How to Fix It

Photo credit: Elsa

A few days ago in a post entitled “How to Solve Tim Thomas in the Playoffs,” I pointed out that the Capitals have had a tough time scoring on Tim Thomas in the regular season. When they did score in regulation, there was an obvious pattern:

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By Ian Oland On April 13, 2012 0 Comment

Dennis Wideman Assists in Team Chara’s 12-9 Win Over Team Alfredsson at the 2012 NHL All-Star Game

Not Alex Ovechkin. (Pic via capitals.com)

For those of you who like the All-Star Game, good news: this game was just as loose and ridiculous as you could have possibly dreamed. For those of you who dislike the All-Star Game, good news: it’s over.

We return to real hockey on Tuesday and thank goodness for that, but it was a nice weekend of rest for most of our team, and a nice weekend of dumb, mindless spectacle for hockey fans. I expect to see the rest of the Caps come back with suntans, and Dennis Wideman to come back with a smile on his face. As silly as most of the actual events of the weekend are, recognition is and always will be one of the best feelings in the world, especially for a guy like Wideman that rarely gets what he deserves.

It’s still official Dennis Wideman Day for the rest of Sunday, and then after that you can go back to your regularly scheduled Caps fandom.

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On January 29, 2012 0 Comment

Dennis Wideman Picked 29th Overall at All-Star Fantasy Draft

Screengrab via @CarrottBazooka

Since Alex Ovechkin has opted out of the All-Star Weekend (and has better things to do anyway), Dennis Wideman is now Washington’s lone representative in Ottawa. While Wideman is perhaps slightly less likely to don a hat and sunglasses and do trick shots, he’s a Capital, so we love him all the same. We’ll be covering Wideman’s foray into the glamorous life of an All-Star, so check back for updates, because let’s face it, you’re already bored without hockey.

Dennis Wideman was picked in the 15th round with the second-to-last pick that could be used on a defenseman, before only Canucks defenseman Alexander Edler. This means that we can get hipster now if we want and call him underrated. We knew Dennis Wideman when he wasn’t cool. Logan Couture was picked last overall and won a brand new caaaaarrrrr! Somehow it just wasn’t the same without Ovechkin there laughing and taking pictures.

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On January 26, 2012 0 Comment

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