Caps Postgame – Friends in Cold Places

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough Caps Win 4-2

The Capitals visited Denver, Colorado and a familiar face in Semyon Varlamov Friday night in the first of their back-to-back games. The team was one Swede short after an announcement came earlier in the day that Nicklas Backstrom would be sitting out due to an upper body injury. In his place was Stan Galiev who…. Caps were coming off a tough SO loss to Philadelphia and the Avs were in fight mode as they try to clinch their own playoff spot. The combination of these made for an exciting game.

First Period: Lots of Pipe

The speed of the first period is something we like to see from the Caps on a regular basis. Within the first two minutes Marcus Johansson made an excellent attempt on Varlamov that unfortunately hit the pipe, Richards would do the same thing not long after. Justin Williams would head to the box at 4:43 for a tripping call on Avs Blake Comeau. Caps managed to limit the bad guys to 1 shot on the PP while Jay Beagle had a great breakaway that yet again hit the pipe next to Varlamov. Jay Beagle headed to the box for a Hi-Sticking call against John Mitchell at the end of the first, Avs would have a power play going into the second. Varly faced a whopping fifteen shots, while Holtby faced only seven. End of period score: 0-0

Second Period: All the Goals…

The fourth pipe hit came from TJ Oshie at 3:31. Shortly after, Tom Wilson laid a hard (legal) hit on Nikita Zadorov that left the defenseman down for a few minutes but he ultimately left the ice fully coherent with the help of trainers and teammates. Varlamov continued to be stellar in goal for Colorado; robbing Johansson with a sprawling save. All the shots finally pay off when Jay Beagle sneaks one past Varly with no helpers for his eighth of the season and first since March fourth at 8:50. Blake Comeau received a hooking penalty after a hook on Jason Chimera. Not long after the boys show they still got it when Ovechkin scores his 45^th of the season via Johansson and Kuznetsov. And with the third goal of the night just two minutes later Jason Chimera scores his 19^th of the season with help from Richards and Carlson. The second period ended same as the first with a penalty call against Matt Niskanen for hooking on Gabriel Landeskog. The power play for Colorado resulted in a goal from Jerome Iginla his 20^th on the season. Shots continued to be lopsided with a final shot count of 30-13 Washington. End of 2^nd score: 3-1 Caps.

3^rd period: That’ll do Caps, That’ll do.

The third period began with just as much speed. Colorado defense were on top of their game; saving a puck that nearly crossed the line after a series of shots the pulled Varly out of his crease. Chris Bigras heads to the box for a Hi-Sticking call on TJ Oshie. Not for lack of trying, Caps could not get one passed the Avs killer defense and seasoned goaltender. With the FIFTH pipe of the night, Carlson just misses. Gabriel Landeskog makes it a one goal game with the help of Soderberg and Comeau. This was Landeskog’s 20th goal of the season and his 100^th career NHL goal. To no avail Colorado pulled Varlamov at 2:19 for the extra man. TJ Oshie scores on the empty net to put the nail in the coffin. Your final shot count is 47-19 in favor of the Caps. Final Score 4-2

And your Washington Capitals win another one. That’s another record in the books with 55 wins in a season. Braden Holtby is now just one win away from tying Martin Brodeur for most wins in a single season (48).

Next up:

Tomorrow night Caps will take on the Phoenix Coyotes at 10:00 PM on CSN

Sunday will be a day off and the team will return to Kettler for a 10:30 am practice on Monday morning.

Depth Scoring Helps Caps Defeat Pens

This was the first of two make-up games from January. The Pittsburgh Penguins came to Verizon Center to play the league-leading Washington Capitals. Defenseman Mike Weber also made his debut as a Capital.

First Period: Another Slow Start

The Penguins scored first on 2-on-1. The Caps first shot on goal came at 8:53 in the first. Tom Wilson drew the first penalty of the game, Chris Kunitz for tripping. Unfortunately, the Capitals could not convert on the man advantage. Defenseman Karl Alzner went to the penalty box for cross-checking but 31 seconds later Kessel went to the box as well. The Capitals ended the period better than they started.

GOALS: Evgeni Malkin scored his 24^th of the season (assists: Carl Hagelin and Brian Dumoulin)

PENALTIES: Chris Kunitz (tripping) Karl Alzner (cross-checking); Phil Kessel (slashing)

SCORE: Caps trail 1-0

Second Period: Penalties Galore

The Caps started the second a little off. Patric Hornqvist doubled the Pens lead. But Mike Richards got the Caps on the board. Kris Letang hooked Jason Chimera and they both headed to the box because it was deemed that Chimera embellished his fall. Shortly after, Ian Cole hooked Dmitry Orlov but Orlov, like Chimera, was called for embellishment. The referees seemed to lean to one team over another. Orlov got called for tripping but the Capitals PK was successful. Evgeny Kuznetsov tied the game not long after.

GOALS: Patric Hornqvist scored his 16^th of the season (assists: Olli Maatta and Sidney Crosby); Mike Richards scored his second of the season (assists: Nate Schmidt and Jason Chimera); Evgeny Kuznetsov scored his 20^th of the season (assists: Justin Williams and Andre Burakovsky)

PENALTIES: Kris Letang (hooking); Jason Chimera (embellishment); Ian Cole (hooking); Dmitry Orlov (embellishment); Dmitry Orlov (tripping)

SCORE: Tied 2-2

Third Period: Nis-cannon!

The Capitals continued to play their heavy game into the third. Both teams traded chances early in the period. Alex Ovechkin and T.J. Oshie collided mid-way through the third period. The net hit Braden Holtby and he fell to the ice but no harm no foul. Holtby even made a jumping save shortly after. Capitals had a power play with 7:15 remaining and defenseman Matt Niskanen scored the eventual game-winning goal. Holtby with a great glove save on Carl Hagelin with 32.8 seconds left. Capitals defeat the Penguins 3-2.

GOALS: Matt Niskanen scored his fourth of the season (assist: Nicklas Backstrom)

PENALTIES: Evgeni Malkin (high-sticking)

SCORE: Caps win 3-2

The Capitals rebounded from the Blackhawks loss. The Capitals are now 46-12-4 for a total of 96 points. They still have not lost two consecutive games in regulation. There is a good chance the Capitals reach the 100-point mark before the end of the week.

We also wish to extend our congratulations to Taylor Chorney on the birth of his son earlier today.

What’s Next?

Practice: No morning skate due to back-to-back games

Game: The Capitals will face Brooks Laich and the Toronto Maple Leafs tomorrow, Wednesday, at Verizon Center at 7pm.

I Like It, I Love It; Caps Best Preds in Smashville

On Tuesday night, the Washington Capitals took on the Nashville Predators. Andre Burakovsky was celebrating his 21^st birthday and Mike Ribeiro was celebrating his 1,000^th NHL career game. Marcus Johansson was finally back in the line-up, while Stanislav Galiev was a healthy scratch yet again. Brooks Orpik and Jay Beagle are both still out due to injury.

PERIOD 1- Whistle while you work…

This period seemed to start out very similar to the last couple games. The Caps were called for a few penalties, as were the Preds. The Caps scored first and on just their third shot of the game. Preds had some great opportunities, but ever the awesome tendy, Braden Holtby kept them at bay.

GOALS-Jason Chimera scored his 14^th goal assisted by Tom Wilson

PENALTIES-Nate Schmidt called for holding, Mike Fisher called for tripping, Justin Williams called for hooking, Craig Smith called for tripping, and Marcus Johansson called for hi-sticking

SCORE-Caps lead, 1-0

PERIOD 2-Penalties can kill

This period started out quietly, and stayed that way until about five minutes in. The Caps scored and seemingly took the crowd out of it. At least until the Preds got one past Holtby on the back to back power plays caused by too many men on the ice. There goes the shutout. It started to get pretty heated in the last few minutes but nothing amassed past one goal each.

GOALS-Tom Wilson scored his 5^th goal of the season assisted by Marcus Johansson, and Filip Forsberg scored assisted by Craig Smith

PENALTIES-The Caps were called for 2 consecutive bench minors of too many men on the ice (Burakovsky and Marcus Johansson served the penalties)

SCORE- Caps lead, 2-1

PERIOD 3- Mojo magic

The Caps were testing Pekka Rinne early, but he stood tall and kept the Caps off the board until a lucky bounce gave them a two goal lead. A beautiful save by Rinne gave way to another Caps goal as a rebound was put in past the Nashville netminer. A couple of deflections past Holtby gave the Preds some life. A late PP gave the Caps the victory as an empty net goal was scored when Nashville pulled the goalie.

GOALS-Justin Williams scored his 17^th of the season assisted by Evgeny Kuznetsov, Marcus Johansson scored his 14^th of the season assisted by Justin Williams, Roman Josi scored assisted by Calle Jarnkrok, Filip Forsberg scored his second of the night assisted by Mattias Ekholm, and Alex Ovechkin scored his 31^st goal of the season, an empty netter assisted by Nicklas Backstrom.

PENALTIES-Mattias Ekholm called for tripping, and Matt Niskanen called for interference

SCORE-Caps win, 5-3

Caps are now 39-9-4 with 82 points. The third line has been fantastic! Tonight was no exception. With the re-entry of Marcus Johansson, that line showed why they must be feared! They are fast, feisty and can score. The Caps are showing more and more why they are a team to be taken seriously.

UP NEXT-the Caps next game is Thursday against the Minnesota Wild at 8pm on CSN.

No home practices until they return home this weekend.

Happy 21st Birthday to Burkie and Congratulations to Kuzy on 100 NHL career points!

Written by : Ashley Reid

Photos by: Brittney Marcum

Caps Send Sens Home After Historic 7-1 Win

Celebrate good times, COME ON!

Everybody celebrate!

The Washington Capitals came back home from a nail biting overtime victory in Madison Square Garden to take on the Ottawa Senators at the Verizon Center. After a beautiful save from Braden Holtby in conjunction with Nate Schmidt, Alex Ovechkin was all too happy to end the game on his own terms and bring the Caps home with the victory and 2 points. After scoring goals 498 and 499 in New York, everyone knew how important this next game could be to Ovi and Capitals history.

In the chase…
On the edge of his milestone 500th NHL goal, Ovi was shooting pucks galore! He had 7 shots on goal in the first period alone. However, he just could not get the puck into the back of the net. Caps fans did still get to celebrate, though. Here is how the first period shook out:
-Justin Williams scored his 13th goal of the season, assisted by Andre Burakovsky. Not to be outdone, TJ Oshie got one past Andrew Hammond for his 15th of the season. Oshie converted on the powerplay thanks to an assist from Evgeny Kuznetsov.
-Bobby Ryan was the first to be called for a penalty, being whistled for interference. This penalty would end up leading to the Caps second goal of the evening. During a face
off, Tom Wilson and Max McCormick get matching unsportsmanlike conduct penalties with McCormick getting an addtional two minutes for roughing. Dmitry Orlov would also be called for a cross-check and Ovi got caught hooking.
-Caps lead 2-0

Oh Captain! My Captain…
With a few seconds left on the Ottawa powerplay, the Caps started the second period a man down. Just as the penalty to Ovechkin expired, Nicklas Backstrom got the puck and tossed it up to Ovi who was exiting the penalty box. As the crowd rose to their feet, Ovi shot the puck and PING!! He hit crossbar. A few more penalties were committed by both sides. The last infraction was by Mark Stone, who was called for tripping. Caps to the powerplay! You can feel it. This is it! In front of his home crowd, Alex Ovechkin blasted one past Hammond. There it is. NHL career goal number 500. The Verizon Center erupts!! Alex is swarmed by his teammates as the entire Caps bench empties onto the ice, nearly crushing a referee in the process.

History has been made. The Great 8 becomes the 43rd player in NHL history to score 500 goals and also the 5th fastest player to do so. You can breathe now…
Here is how the rest of the second period looked:
-Mike Hoffman got Ottawa on the board with his 20th goal of the season, unassisted. Zach Sill collected his own garbage to get his first goal as a Washington Capital and second of his career. Dmitry Orlov got his 4th of the season, assisted by Nate Schmidt. Closing out the second period was Alex Ovechkin and his 500th NHL goal. This was also Ovi’s 25th goal of the season.
-Dmitry Orlov was called for holding and Mark Stone was called for tripping.
-Caps lead 5-1

TOUCHDOWN, CAPITALS!!

After a barrage of goals in the second period, my 7 year old godson decided to be the peanut gallery stating that “Otto-pilot is just not working…” As the third period commenced, you could see that this was still the trend for the Senators. A few minutes into the third, Tom Wilson decided he wanted in on the action and ripped one past Hammond. Not long after, Ovi decided “Why stop now?” and scored his second of the night. As the final minute wound down, the Caps faithful cheered and stood for a standing ovation to salute their beloved team. A fairly quiet period (on the ice anyways), here is how the 3rd looked:
-Tom Wilson got his 3rd of the season, assisted by Jason Chimera. Ovi scored his 26th goal of the season, assisted by Backstrom.
-No penalties called. Refs decided to let the boys play…
-Caps win 7-1

On the end of their lengthy road trip, which was finalized with back to back games, the Caps kept up with their winning ways. They are now 32-7-3 with 67 points. The Capitals lead their division by 16 points, and their conference by 13 points. Ovi leads the league with 26 goals and we all know, he will not stop there. Don’t forget, half off Papa John’s tomorrow and FREE WINGS at Chili’s.

Up next, the Caps have a well deserved three days off. Their next game is at home against the Vancouver Canucks at 7pm.

By the way, it’s John Carlson’s birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CARLY!!

Written By: Ashley Reid

Photos By: Brittney Marcum

Thanksgiving Comes Early as Caps Overtake Jets

The Washington Capitals sent fans home Wednesday evening celebrating a third consecutive win. From the first goal coming just 1:12 minutes into the game, to the 5^th and final goal in the third period, it was a night of hits, penalties, and new milestones. Andre Burakovsky returned to the line-up, taking Stanislav Galiev out as a healthy scratch. Holtby was in the net and made it through warm-ups without incident (here’s looking at you J Will)!

The First Period started off with a bang as Justin Williams took a shot from John Carlson and converted into a goal (assists Carlson and Evgeny Kuznetsov). Jets Bryan Little would win the faceoff against Michael Latta, leading to the Jets first goal of the night. About seven minutes later the Jets Andrew Ladd would score their second goal, 1-2 Jets. Not to be outdone, Alexander Ovechkin made good on a power play opportunity from his office to end the second all tied up (2-2), with a little help from his friends, John Carlson and Nicklas Backstrom.

The Second Period began with the teams on even footing and a chance for either team to take the lead. At 6:24 into the game Tom Wilson was drawn into a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct with Jets player Anthony Pelusco. The penalty started 4 on 4 but would evolve to a 4 on 3 as Ovi was sent to the box for a hooking call. With Jay Beagle, John Carlson, and Chorney’s help, the Caps extinguished the Jets engines with no scoring. And then a thing of beauty happened: Nate Schmidt passed to Nicky who tipped it in for his eighth goal of the season. 3-2 Caps! Do you remember that player we used to love watch—you know Mathieu Perreault? Well Matty P said thank you to the Caps for the trade by scoring at the 13:53 mark for his second goal of the season tying the game up again (3-3). And then Kuzy did that thing of magic he is becoming known for as he rounded the net and dropped the puck to Orlov and just like that scored his third goal in a row! 4-3 Caps.

The Caps started The Third Period with a lead they were determined to keep. There was a lot of activity in front of the net with Washington outshooting the Jets. The Russian domination of the team showed through again as Kuznetsov backhanded a pass from Marcus Johansson to seal the deal. 5-3 Caps. The phone booth was roaring with excitement and nothing else seemed to matter after that. In fact, Holtby kept our company out of the net for the rest of the night. Even with an empty net and an extra man, Winnipeg couldn’t come back.

The visiting Winnepeg Jets did their best to steamroll Holtby but he was having none of that with 23 saves. The best part of watching the Caps play is the complete team effort to score and keep the lead. Coming up the Caps will need to find a way protect Tom Wilson from targeted fights and avoid giving the opponents the edge. That said, they are playing a physical game and the defensemen are clearly playing a more offensive game—compliments to Coach Trotz for steering them in a new direction. The fourth line continues to develop with Michael Latta, Tom Wilson, and Brooks Laich with a combined total of five shots on goal, plenty of hits, and scoring chances. We now have a winning streak as we prepare to face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday.

Tidbits

Ovechkin had seven of the Cap’s 15 shots on goal in the first period (NHL)

Backstrom has had seven points in the last five games. (NHL)

Holtby surpassed Henrik Lundqvist for NHL wins and is .01 behind King H in goals against average in the NHL.

Carlson surpassed the Rod Langway Caps record for points scored by a D-man (CSN)

Don’t forget to get your Caps Canine Calendar at the game Friday. Find them in the store and Section 104.

Special thanks to @capsYapp and @btwntheblueline for feeding us info while we are out of town. Photos by Brittney Marcum (IG: @bamitsbrittney93) It takes a Caps Community!!