Washington Capitals Game 1 Recap: Caps fall to Habs in shootout 2-1

October 11, 2014 by Cheryl Nichols

Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

The Washington Capitals opened the 2014-15 season by hosting the Montreal Canadiens in front of a sellout crowd at Verizon Center. The red-rocking crowd was treated to all of the pomp and circumstance of a home opener and excitement until the end with a shootout. After a four round shootout, the Habs took the two points winning 2-1.

The Caps took the ice with energy and dominated the first period, out shooting the Habs 13-2. “We had the puck the whole time in the first period, we had them [Montreal] on the floor, but we couldn’t knock them out,” said Capitals Head Coach Barry Trotz after the game.

Andre Burakovsky, making his NHL debut, scored the Caps first and only goal 6:43 into the first period. “It was a great moment,” said Burakovsky after the game about his first NHL goal. “It would be so much better if we just win this game.”

Trotz smiled when asked about Burakovsky’s play. “I thought he was going to have the winner there for a long time. We were really playing quite well. They weren’t getting too many chances and the chances they were getting were mostly results of some zone time and on the face off.”

The Caps continued to lead 1-0 until Habs Tomas Plekanec scored half-way through the third period to tie it up 1-1. The Caps just couldn’t find the back of the net despite scoring chances and Canadiens had two goals disallowed.

Players from both teams were a little feisty. Each team had nine penalties, serving nineteen minutes and neither team scored during a power play. Caps outshot Habs 30-24 and outhit them 30-29.

Brooks Orpik made his Caps’ debut wearing the “A” on his sweater and immediately showed an impact. Fans on Twitter were professing their love for the new Cap as he showed he can hit and protect his goalie. “I’m just fortunate to have them in front of me. I think we’re going to win a lot of games based just on our defense,” said Braden Holtby. “It wasn’t as uncontrolled in our zone. It felt like all night we knew what was going on with who was supposed to go where at when. Very easy to read off for me. It showed on the scoresheet for our defense. “

See DSP’s Three Stars of the Game and photo gallery of the player introductions and 40th Anniversary ceremonial puck drop.

Capitals magnet schedule was given out to all fans at the Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Filed Under: Caps/NHL Tagged With: 40TH ANNIVERSARY, ANDRE BURAKOVSKY, BARRY TROTZ, BRADEN HOLTBY, BROOKS ORPIK, GAME RECAP, HOME OPENER, MILESTONE, MONTREAL CANADIENS, WASHINGTON CAPITALS

PHOTOS: Washington Capitals Home Opener 2014

October 11, 2014 by Cheryl Nichols

The Washington Capitals hosted the Montreal Canadiens for the 2014 home opener on Thursday night, October 9. The crowd returned to rock the red for a brand new season. The Habs ended up with the 2-1 in a four round shootout. See DSP’s Three Stars of the Game and game recap.

Enjoy the photos from the player introductions, ceremonial puck drop to kick off the Caps’ 40th Anniversary featuring four Capitals’ greats and the National Anthems.

40th Anniversary Logo – Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

INTRODUCTIONS TO THE 2014 WASHINGTON CAPITALS……

Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 – Caps waiting to be introduced (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Caps coaching staff and scratched players – Caps introductions before Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Matt Niskanen – Caps introductions before Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Eric Fehr – Caps introductions before Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Troy Brouwer – Caps introductions before Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Brooks Laich – Caps introductions before Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Jason Chimera – Caps introductions before Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Karl Alzner – Caps introductions before Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Justin Peters – Caps introductions before Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Jack Hillen – Caps introductions before Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Joel Ward – Caps introductions before Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Andre Burakovsky – Caps introductions before Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Chris Brown – Caps introductions before Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Braden Holtby – Caps introductions before Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

John Carlson – Caps introductions before Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Liam O’Brien – Caps introductions before Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Nate Schmidt – Caps introductions before Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Marcus Johansson – Caps introductions before Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Evgeny Kuznetsov – Caps introductions before Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Nicklas Backstrom – Caps introductions before Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Brooks Orpik (Caps Debut)- Caps introductions before Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Caps Captain Alex Ovechkin – Caps introductions before Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Caps introductions before Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

CEREMONIAL PUCK DROP……

Former Caps Captain Rod Langway – Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Former Capitals Rod Langway, Craig Laughlin, Sylvain Cote and Peter Bondra, wearing the jerseys they played in, to drop ceremonial puck before Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

All-time Caps goals leader, Peter Bondra – Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Caps Captain Alex Ovechkin skates to join former Caps for ceremonial puck drop – Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Former Capitals Rod Langway, Craig Laughlin, Sylvain Cote and Peter Bondra drop ceremonial puck joined by Caps Captain Alex Ovechkin and Habs Andrei Markov before Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Handshakes after ceremonial puck drop – Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

NATIONAL ANTHEMS……

Caleb Green and Bob McDonald singing the Canadian National Anthem (featuring the new closed captioning on scoreboard) -Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014

Caleb Green and Bob McDonald singing the National Anthem -Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014

Habs during the National Anthem – Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Caps during National Anthem – Washington Capitals home opener against Montreal featuring 40th Anniversary cermony, 10/09/2014 (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Filed Under: Caps/NHL Tagged With: 40TH ANNIVERSARY, ALEX OVECHKIN, ANDRE BURAKOVSKY, BARRY TROTZ, BLAINE FORSYTHE, BRADEN HOLTBY, BROOKS LAICH, BROOKS ORPIK, CAPS ALUMNI, CHRIS BROWN, CRAIG LAUGHLIN, DMITRY ORLOV, ERIC FEHR, EVGENY KUZNETSOV, FORMER CAPS, HOME OPENER, JASON CHIMERA, JOEL WARD, JOHN CARLSON, JOHN ERS, JUSTIN PETERS, KARL ALZNER, LIAM O'BRIEN, MARCUS JOHANSSON, MATT NISKANEN, MICHAEL LATTA, MIKE GREEN, NATE SCHMIDT, NATIONAL ANTHEM, NICKLAS BACKSTROM, PETER BONDRA, PHOTOS, ROD LANGWAY, SYLVAIN COTE, TOM WILSON, TROY BROUWER, WASHINGTON CAPITALS

A breakdown of the Washington Capitals 2015 Winter Classic sweaters

September 24, 2014 by Katie Brown

Washington Capitals majority owner Ted Leonsis took the podium at National’s Park on Tuesday afternoon, joined by other prominent names in the hockey world to reveal the jerseys the Capitals will wear for the 2015 Winter Classic.

“New Year’s Day used to be about college football. Now New Year’s Day is about the NHL,” said Leonsis.

A bold statement, as New Year’s Day is still mostly dominated by college football, but now cedes some of the spotlight to the NHL, since the Winter Classic series began in 2008. Leonsis says he knew he wanted one to be in DC since he watched the inaugural game with his family six years ago.

The wait for the Winter Classic sweaters, for fans, at least was perhaps more arduous than waiting for the venue to be announced. The Capitals’ opponent, the Chicago Blackhawks, was old news, and it seemed clear from the initial announcement at Capitals Fan Fest on September 21, 2013 that Nationals Park was the venue that made the most sense for the event (this was confirmed September 6 in a report by the Washington Post and later confirmed by the NHL).

But what would they wear?

Taking into account that the franchise is celebrating their 40th anniversary this upcoming season, it was expected that some type of retro design would be used. While teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens have been in existence since 1917, the Capitals comparatively don’t have the benefit of almost 10 decades to draw from.

Unlike the 2011-12 season, where the Capitals introduced a 1974-era third jersey similar to the one worn in the 2011 Winter Classic (essentially the same), the 2015 Winter Classic sweaters are not currently planned to be used as third jerseys, according to the Capitals’ senior writer Mike Vogel. It is always possible that these sweaters could eventually replace the current third jerseys at some point in the future, but that’s not in the plans right now.

Since the retro 1974-esque theme had already been done, the Capitals delved into the history of hockey in Washington D.C., namely the Washington Eagles, an Eastern Hockey League (EHL) team, who played where the Kennedy Center stands now, from 1939-1942. After the Eagles folded, a new team, the Washington Lions, was formed, and played in D.C. in different iterations from 1941-1957. The Lions were relocated to Cincinnati and became the Mohawks, but the Lions were resurrected and persisted until 1957, when their name was changed to the Washington Presidents, who hung around through 1960, when the Washington Chiefs entered the D.C. sports scene. The Chiefs were considered an independent team, and played from 1971-1976. The Capital Centre was built in 1973, and ushered in a new era of hockey in D.C – the Washington Capitals.

The NHL, the Capitals and Reebok designed the sweaters, according to a press release, and began the process about a year ago.

The design combines several The principal color of the jerseys is described as a “deep red”, technically a shade called oxblood, somewhere between bordeaux and burgundy (thanks, Pantone), a departure from the typical bright Capitals red, and gives the sweaters a vintage look. Stripes on each shoulder, the waist of the jersey, and the legs are meant to harken to the jersey of the Washington Eagles of the 1930s and ’40s.

The 1941-42 Washington Eagles. Image courtesy of http://icehockey.wikia.com/

The “Capitals” wordmark emblazoned on the front is in all capital letters (a clever touch, to be sure) and incorporates stars, a signature look present on Capitals jerseys throughout the years.. Underneath the stars, a large “W” in Prussian blue (also known as midnight blue) dominates the chest. But this is no ordinary “W”. The letter stands for Washington, obviously, but it contains a hidden message – the center of the letter is curved in such a way as to represent the shape of the Washington Monument. The “W” symbol is also present on the pants (which are also blue) the players will wear with the jersey.