It’s always good to talk hockey with Phil Esposito, but my conversation last week in Tampa with the Hockey Hall of Famer was even more enjoyable than usual. Unprompted by me, Espo lauded Alex Ovechkin for the Hart Trophy regardless of Washington’s postseason fortunes, or lack thereof.
I wrote up my case for Ovie on washingtoncaps.com, [...]
After six straight games on the road, it’s great to be home again. The Caps will close out the regular season with three straight at home, and the big house on F St. figures to be shaking pretty good on Tuesday when the Hurricanes visit with a chance to clinch the Southeast Division title in [...]
I think I can deal with hearing Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” another 20 times or so between now and the official start of summer. Musical tastes and preferences are a very personal thing, and I’m not much of a Journey fan. But the theme song has come to signify a Caps win and I’ve never [...]
The Caps today announced that they’ve signed center Mathieu Perreault to a three-year, entry level deal beginning next season.
Perreault, 20, was the most valuable player in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) in 2006-07 and led the QMJHL in scoring this year. A 5’9”, 166-pound native of Drummondville, Quebec, Perreault recorded 114 points [...]
In Raleigh tonight, the Capitals play their biggest game of the year against division rival Carolina, a team that gave them a 6-3 thumping on their last visit here on Feb. 23. A loss tonight ends any hope of a Southeast Division title for Washington.
They’ll face a Carolina team that has won four straight [...]
As the Caps’ team bus slinked its way through the late-night Atlanta traffic en route to the airport after Friday’s 5-3 win over the Thrashers, the unmistakable wail of James Brown’s “I Got You (I Feel Good)” loudly blared forth from the big vehicle’s sound system. While the song was playing, the bus passed the [...]
The Atlanta Thrashers have not been very good lately, and when they have, it’s often because of goaltender Kari Lehtonen.
Back on Feb. 2 at Verizon Center, the Caps outshot the Thrashers 36-13 but couldn’t beat Lehtonen and lost 2-0. Eleven days later in Atlanta, the Caps fired 18 first period shots on Lehtonen, but [...]
“I just think we had a real stinker. We stunk in the first period. When you’re getting outshot 18-3 at one point, everybody is playing bad. That’s what it was. You get to know a team after a while. They were lethargic, and the didn’t have any jump from [Alex] Ovechkin to [Donald] Brashear. There [...]
The Capitals’ happy traveling crew pulled into our Chicago hotel around 1 a.m. this morning. The Caps haven’t been in the Windy City in more than four years, and their stay this time will last less than 24 hours. As soon as tonight’s game with the Blackhawks is over, we’re off to the airport and [...]
They don’t call this place Music City for nothing. Last night, Paul Rovnak and I went out for dinner and found a great place with a wide array of microbrews. There was no live music at this particular establishment, but while we dined we heard Guy Clark’s “L.A. Freeway,” Slobberbone’s “Springfield, IL,” and Bob Dylan’s [...]
