May 23, 2018

Washington Capitals Game 66 Recap: After 65 minutes of championship-level hockey, Caps beat Ducks in shootout

March 8, 2016 by

OSHIE, BACKSTROM SCORE IN SHOOTOUT TO LIFT CAPS OVER DUCKS

The Washington Capitals started a grueling west coast swing with a matchup against the only team in the league that’s been hotter than them since Christmas. After 65 minutes of exhilarating hockey, the Caps and Anaheim Ducks needed a shootout to settle the score.

T.J. Oshie and Nick Backstrom scored in the shootout and the Caps edged the Ducks 2-1. As was pointed out on social media throughout, if this was a Stanley Cup finals preview, not a single hockey fan could complain.

The win marks the Caps 11th straight one-goal game and ups the season record to 49-13-4, 102 points. Braden Holtby (27 saves) earned his 41st win, tying himself (’14-’15) and Olie Kolzig (’99-’00) for most wins in a season. [Read more…]

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Washington Capitals Game 58 Recap: Richards nets first goal as Caps top Coyotes

February 22, 2016 by

RICHARDS AND OVECHKIN SCORE 26 SECONDS APART IN THIRD PERIOD, CAPS WIN 4TH STRAIGHT

(Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)

(Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Washington Capitals have given up the first goal in 12 of their last 15 games. They’ve lost three of those games, took a loser point from one, and won the rest. On Monday night, they added another to the win column beating the Arizona Coyotes 3-2 for their fourth consecutive win.

The Capitals are the first team in NHL history to win 44 games through 58 games.

Leading the Caps in “almost but not quite goals” and “he has to score soon right?” Mike Richards  finally broke his 27-game scoreless streak and netted his very first goal as a Cap. After numerous shots, including a nifty breakaway short-hander that he took end to end with some dazzling stick work, it was a dirty grinder goal from a rebound off Coyotes netminder Louis Domingue that finally gave the blue collar player his due.

“I was assuming with my luck that it would be disallowed,” Richards said of his goal “It has been awhile since I have scored a goal of any importance. It was nice with the standing ovation and pretty special too.” [Read more…]

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Washington Capitals Game 52 Recap: Caps survive lazy affair, dump Preds on the road

February 9, 2016 by

BURAKOVSKY EXTENDS POINTS STREAK TO EIGHT GAMES, KUZNETSOV EARNS 100TH POINT

The Washington Capitals have been playing slow first periods of late. The trend continued Tuesday night in Nashville against the Predators, but instead of the Caps finding that second gear, the pace remained sluggish throughout the affair.

Regardless, the Caps found enough offense in spurts, and Braden Holtby was his usual rock for the team, and the Caps came away with a 5-3 win over the Predators at Bridgestone Arena.

The Caps got on the board first, in the first period. Tom Wilson picked off an errant pass near the Predators blue line, carried back into the zone along the right wing, and found Jason Chimera crashing the net. The pass was threaded through the slot to Chimera’s tape, and the speedy, veteran winger tipped it past Pekka Rinne for the 1-0 lead and his 14th goal of the season. [Read more…]

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Washington Capitals Game 50 Recap: Caps beat Devils in nail-biter shootout

February 6, 2016 by

PAUL CAREY’S FIRST NHL GOAL FORGES LATE TIE, CAPS PREVAIL IN SHOOTOUT

(Photo by Andy Marlin/NHLI via Getty Images)

(Photo by Andy Marlin/NHLI via Getty Images)

With their power play continuing to struggle, the Washington Capitals looked to an unlikely hero to notch their league-leading 37th win: Paul Carey.

Carey’s goal late in the third period tied it at two, then after a scoreless overtime played mostly at four a side due to a carryover penalty, the Caps got shootout goals from T.J. Oshie and Alex Ovechkin to steal the extra point from the stingy New Jersey Devils, winning 3-2 at Prudential Center. [Read more…]

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Washington Capitals Game 47 Recap: Rusty Caps downed by Flyers in overtime

January 27, 2016 by

OVECHKIN TO MISS NHL ALL-STAR GAME WITH LOWER-BODY INJURY

Hello Neuvy. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Hello Neuvy. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Jakob Voracek’s second goal of the game came in overtime, lifting the Philadelphia Flyers over the Washington Capitals 4-3, in the Caps first game in what feels like weeks.

After the game, the team announced that Alex Ovechkin, elected as captain of the Metropolitan Division in the upcoming All-Star Game, will miss the event due to a lower-body injury. Buy rule, he’s required now to sit out the Caps’ first game after the break,  Feb. 2 against Florida.

The Caps (35-8-4, 74 points), befitting of all their time off lately due to snow cancellations, were rusty for a lot of the game. And it showed, big time. [Read more…]

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Washington Capitals Game 46 Recap: Caps shrug off slow start, pound Blue Jackets

January 19, 2016 by

KUZNTESOV WITH 4 ASSISTS, ALZNER TIES TEAM GAMES STREAK

(Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images)

(Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images)

If there are any concerns about how the Washington Capitals go about their business, it might be how they seem to have developed a knack for starting games slowly. It happened again Tuesday in Columbus, where the Caps were thoroughly outplayed through the first eight or so minutes of the game.

But as they have so many times in the past, they got going. And once they got going, man, they were tough to stop.

Nicklas Backstrom scored twice, Evgeny Kuznetsov had four assists, and the Caps pasted the Blue Jackets 6-3 at Nationwide Arena.

Braden Holtby became the first goalie to 30 wins, with 32 saves. [Read more…]

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Washington Capitals Game 39 Recap: Caps get back into win column, edge Bruins

January 5, 2016 by

HOLTBY EXTENDS PERSONAL POINT STREAK TO 19 GAMES

(Photo by Steve Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)

(Photo by Steve Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Washington Capitals stemmed a very modest two-game losing streak — their first of the season — edging the Boston Bruins on the road, 3-2.

Andre Burakovsky, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Marcus Johansson all scored goals, and Braden Holtby made 25 saves to top the struggling Bruins, who have lost two in a row and are 4-5-1 in their past 10 games.

The Caps (29-7-3-61) are 8-1-1 in their past 10.

Holtby extended his personal point streak to 19 consecutive decisions (17-0-2), the longest such run in the NHL since 2010-11

Kuznetsov was once again the star of this game, non-Holtby edition. He had a goal and an assist, has nine points over his last eight games and has 37 points on the season — matching his total from last season. [Read more…]

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Washington Capitals Game 36 Recap: Kuznetsov shines as Caps beat Sabres

December 30, 2015 by

CAPITALS WIN NINTH IN A ROW; BACKSTROM, BEAGLE INJURED

(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

After a physical game on Monday in Buffalo, everyone expected more of the same Wednesday night at Verizon Center in the rematch. Those looking for physicality weren’t disappointed, but Evgeny Kuznetsov and Jack Eichel showed the potential for the next generation of skill players, as both players registered a pair of assists.

In the end, Alex Ovechkin scored a pair of goals, Marcus Johansson added a goal and assist, and Braden Holtby made 25 saves as the Washington Capitals dispatched the Buffalo Sabres for the second game in a row, this one by a 5-2 margin.

The biggest story line, though, could turn out to be undisclosed injuries to Nick Backstrom and Jay Beagle, who both left the game to not return, and the status of John Carlson, who missed his second game in a row. [Read more…]

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Washington Capitals Game 9 Recap: Caps take gritty win over Columbus

October 30, 2015 by

NEWCOMERS OSHIE, WILLIAMS SCORE FOR CAPITALS

New team, same ego, as John Tortorella returned to the Verizon Center as newly-appointed coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets. In a messy affair devoid of much offensive cohesiveness, the Washington Capitals were able to scratch out a 2-1 win over Tort’s troops.

Maybe the ghosts of Halloween came out a bit early to haunt the Caps. Looking slow, sloppy, and even a bit tired for the first half of the game, the Caps played a less than stellar outing against the struggling Blue Jackets. [Read more…]

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Washington Capitals Game 5 Recap: High-flying Caps douse Flames

October 20, 2015 by

OVECHKIN’S SECOND PERIOD GOAL IS 900TH POINT IN HIS ILLUSTRIOUS CAREER

The Washington Capitals kicked off the season with a nice 3-1-0 homestand. But in the second full week of the season, these Caps were sent out on the road to travel across the plains of Western Canada, out to the coast, and back again on a three-game swing.

The Capitals got off on the right foot, as Nicklas Backstrom scored twice and the Caps routed a poor-showing Calgary Flames squad 6-2 at Scotiabank Saddledome, with five different players and all four lines scoring. [Read more…]

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