Braden Holtby

Caps struggle again, lose 5-2 to Pittsburgh

February 7, 2013

Welp. That was ugly.

The Capitals visited the Consol Energy Center Thursday evening struggling to get any momentum going this season. They did nothing to buck that trend.

The Caps came out of the gates strong. Mike Ribeiro continued his hot streak, scoring his fourth goal of the season in a sequence that saw Marc-Andre Fleury dramatically fall to the ice, losing his helmet in the process. The first period ended 1-0 in favor of the Caps.

Then the wheels fell off.

Caps hold on in third against Flyers, win 3-2

February 2, 2013

Carden Hedelt

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The Capitals aren't in the basement anymore.

With a 1-1 score at the start of the third period, the Caps scored twice on the visiting Flyers and managed to hang on to it for the first time in three games, with the final score 3-2 in the home team's favor.

The win took the Caps from 15th in the East to 13th. Although it's not a huge leap, not being last anymore is just fine.

This game, a home game against a rivalry team after two come-from-ahead losses was a must-win game early in the season. The Flyers had been struggling similarly in the first weeks of the new season.

Spots that were problematic for the Caps started to look a lot better.

The Caps...

Flyers Invade Nation's Capital in Hopes to Leave With A Win

February 1, 2013

John Russo

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An exhausted Capitals team hosts the Flyers after their 3-2 loss in Toronto last night. The Flyers are fresh after having two full days off. They will look to bounce back after struggling in Tampa and New York. What better place than in D.C. where the Caps are among the worst teams in hockey right now.

Jets soar over Caps, 4-2; Not time to panic yet

January 23, 2013

Carden Hedelt

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Tonight's game was the 154th consecutive sellout for the Washington Capitals in the Verizon Center, what turned out to be a 4-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets.

Nobody would want to watch what just happened.

On Comcast now all the players are saying things that they've said before--didn't make enough of their opportunities, didn't execute and the like. They say that because it's easier to say those things than what actually happened.

They didn't show up.

The worst was the penalty kill. Going on the kill 12 times in two ...

2013 NHL Eastern Conference Power Rankings

January 12, 2013

Bill Philp

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The 2013 NHL season is no longer an 82 game marathon, but instead is a 48 game dash to the finish line.

Will teams that had multiple players skating in Europe fair better? Will veteran squads win because they will have fresh legs all season long? Only the next few months will tell.

Here are my Eastern Conference power rankings.

1. Pittsburgh Penguins – A healthyEvgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby will lead Pittsburgh deep into the Stanley Cup playoffs. The addition of veteran goalie Tomas Vokoun gives Coach Dan Bylsma a solid option if Marc-Andre Fleury falters.

2. New York Rangers – With the ...

IceCaps drop crucial home-stand to Hershey Bears

December 12, 2012

Ed Veilleux

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All the IceCaps want for Christmas is a win.
After dropping both games to the Hershey Bears Dec. 11 and 12 at home, the St.John's IceCaps are now on the bad end of a 5-game losing streak.

Why an online petition is a pretty terrible idea for ending the NHL lockout

September 14, 2012

Carden Hedelt

1 Comment

Meet Becky.

She's the crying girl at the start of the video. Her name may or may not actually be Becky, but she seems like a Becky. Becky likes hockey and she has a big-time sad because she wants to watch the NHL this season, but the start of the hockey season is probably going to be pushed back because of a lockout, which starts at midnight on Saturday when the current collective bargaining agreement ends.

If you're any kind of NHL fan, Becky probably lives on the right side of your Facebook page, where ads live (it's nice to think that Becky and the girl in the "Meet Asian Singles!" ad hang out). Clicking on Becky's Facebook ad leads to a peti...

Alex Semin is gone; what now for the Washington Capitals?

July 26, 2012

Carden Hedelt

3 Comments

With a one-year deal worth $7 million, Alex Semin is headed to Raleigh to frustrate the living bejesus out of Carolina Hurricanes fans join Jordan Staal as part of a new-look offense for the Carolina Hurricanes.

It's a good deal for both parties. Semin, by hook (not the two-minute variety, with which Semin is very familiar) or crook gets his money and the team is only on the hook for one year. Not a bad deal for a boom-or-bust guy like Semin, even if he is coming off a bust season.

Now just where does that leave the Capitals?

They're not exactly up a creek with no paddle because it was pretty clear that Semin wanted to leave from season's end...

TCL Round 2 Staff Predictions: New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals

April 30, 2012

TCL Staff

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2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs - Eastern Conference SemifinalsNew York Rangers ( 1 ) vs. Washington Capitals ( 7 ) It's not surprising that the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals got to the second round, it's how the got here. The Rangers were taken to the bring of elimination against an eighth seeded Ottawa Senators team who, let's face it, probably had no business being in the playoffs in the first place. The Capitals were not favorites in their series against the Boston Bruins, and had their own troubles on their way to a 7th place finish in the regular season, but with the talent they had, and a ridiculous hot rookie goaltender in Braden Holtby they d...

Herculean Holtby leads Caps past B's 2-1, even series at 2-2

April 20, 2012

Mike Dusak

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For Caps goalie Braden Holtby, Thursday was just another day at the office.

That day at the office, by the way, included 44 saves on 45 shots by the Lloydminster, Saskatchewan native. It marked the second time in four games that Holtby made 40+ saves in the series, he stopped 43 of 44 shots in game two to steal a win in Boston.

Not bad for a guy with zero NHL playoff experience prior to his start in game one. Sure he had AHL playoff experience and some while playing for the Saskatoon Blades in the WHL, but not NHL playoff experience on the biggest stage in hockey.

The result: a 1.60 GAA (second among all goalies in playoffs...