Archive for April, 2009

After last night’s disappointing loss, I asked Matt Bradley if he had any comments on Sean Avery. Apparently there has been a bit of press on this Avery guy, but Matt still answered the question, “Everyone always talks about Avery, he’s a good player, he plays the game well. If you leave him alone, nothing happens. That’s basically what happened tonight I thought.” Then in the post game press conference, Bruce Boudreau was also asked about Avery, and he replied, “I didn’t know, was he out there?” So apparently the view from the bench isn’t as good as you would [...]

This photo was taken at the beginning of the third period. Not all of the fans were back to their seats yet, but I think you get the idea. The phone booth is a sea of RED tonight. This promotion of rocking the red which started during last year’s playoff run has been embraced by the fans, and carried through all season. Now with the playoffs starting, it has reached a new level. The Capitals have installed new red rope lights around the outside of the boards, and some additional red spotlights. And the fans? Well they keep buying jerseys, [...]

Puck Daddy and his band of merry mates are all over the playoffs with several feature articles. We’re going to focus on their content in relation to the Capitals, because honestly, who cares about those other teams. First up is the extensive series preview. Here are the highlights, obviously check the full article if you are literate: Season Series (Capitals won, 3-1) Forwards (Advantage: Washington) Defensemen (Advantage: Washington) Goalies (Advantage: New York) Power Play (Advantage: Washington) Penalty Kill (Advantage: New York) Coaches (Advantage: Even) Best Player Nicknames (Advantage: Washington) Home Ice (Advantage: Washington) Captains (Advantage: New York) Pests (Advantage: New [...]

Dan Steinberg has a great piece up on D.C. Sports Bog about “Unleash the Fury“, where he includes this image of fans with custom jerseys for the crowds favorite video clip. He previously covered the couple who wear the jerseys, check it out.

Now that the season is over, let’s congratulate once again Alex Ovechkin for another remarkable season. Sure, he only had 56 goals this year, as opposed to 65 last year, but he still led the league, thus earning his second consecutive Rocket Richard Trophy. However, with the difference in goals this year, he also had 7 more assists, which in total comes to a 2 point difference between this year and last year (he also played in 3 fewer games this season). As for Evgeni Malkin, who led the league in total points, he had 21 fewer goals, but 24 [...]

With 11 shots on goal Sunday against Atlanta, Alex Ovechkin became the second person in NHL history to surpass 500 shots on goal in a single season (Phil Esposito once had 550, the record). Ovechkin entered the game with 496. Only one thing. No one seemed to notice. No announcement. No mention of it in the locker room afterward or during the press conference. No ‘hot stick’ celebration. What’s the deal? Anyway, congratulations, Alex, for surpassing 500 shots on net.

I was standing on the metro elevator for the Caps-Thrashers game when I saw the guy in front of me wearing a shirt with the number ’00′ and the name “Leonsis” on the back. Sure enough, he had the hair and goatee to match. On the front of the shirt was a photo of Donald Brashear and the text “My #87 can beat up your #87.” No offense to all the people wearing their Ovechkin, Semin, Green and Backstrom jersies, but this guy, Matt Gorsuch, wins the creativity award. And Ted, if you’re reading, I encourage you to invite him [...]

In case you missed this one, following last night’s Wizards vs. Cavaliers game, two of the Young Guns, Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom had the opportunity to meet Lebron James. D.C. Sports Bog was all over this event with Photos, a transcript, and the video (after the jump). Ted Leonsis was also present, apparently arranged the meeting, and discussed it in a blog post, “Mutual Respect MVP to MVP”. I assume Ted is referring to Lebron’s MVP chances this season, as he has not previously won the award. However losing to the Wizards isn’t going to help his case.