Washington Capitals

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...

Caps lose late again, 3-2 to Toronto

January 31, 2013

Carden Hedelt

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So let's talk about the ending. The Caps just lost 3-2 after leading 2-1 coming into the third period.

It's great that Alex Ovechkin scored again on the power play and for our own selfish purposes, it's fantastic that Joel Ward scored again. Wardwatch lives another day and we're all the better for it, every one of us.

It's great that the Caps were better on the penalty kill. They killed off all but one of eight penalties that all came in the first two periods.

But that third period.

That was bad.

It wouldn't have been so bad had the Caps not lost the previous game by the same score by giving up two goals in the third period.

You ...

Caps' Neuvirth the man in goal, for now

January 31, 2013

Mike Dusak

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When the Washington Capitals hit the road on Thursday night to battle the Toronto Maple Leafs, Michal Neuvirth will make his fifth-straight start in goal.

Since being beaten out by last year's spring playoff sensation Braden Holtby out of camp, Neuvirth watched Holtby get lit up for 10 goals in his first two starts to begin the lockout shortened season. While Holtby didn't get much help from his mates up front, the 23-year-old looked far from the breakout star we all thought we were witnessing last spring.

After a 4-2 loss in the home opener, first-year coach Adam Oates made the call to go with Neuvirth against the Canadiens in game three. While the numbers...

Caps beat the Sabres 3-2 for their first win of the season

January 27, 2013

Carden Hedelt

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Remember a few days ago after the Capitals lost 4-1 to the Winnipeg Jets and this writer told you to panic?

Hit the pause button on the painic.

The Capitals beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-2, their first win of the season.

It's the first win of the season for the Caps.

It wasn't a perfect win but a lot of things looked better.

Maybe the Capitals are understanding bettter what Adam Oates wants from them, the system that he runs.

The shortened training camp was always going to be a bigger problem for any team with a new coach.

One game doesn't prove that everything is all better, but a few things did improve from the first four gam...

Caps Fall 3-2 to the Devils in OT

January 25, 2013

Kenny Shackelford

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Well that was a bit better, right?

Entering tonight’s game against the New Jersey Devils, the Capitals were the only team in the NHL without a point.

Through the first 50 or so minutes, that didn’t look like changing anytime soon.

Stephen Gionta opened the scoring for the Devils with a wide-open look after some nifty moves by Jacob Josefson. Caps’ goaltender Michael Neuvirth didn’t stand a chance.

Patrick Elias added a goal from a 5-on-3 power-play in the 2nd period. The Caps have already given up four 5-on-3 opportunities, and have allowed goals during all of them. Not good.

The team again looked lost, c...

Tampa Bay Lightning Early Season Notes And Numbers

January 25, 2013

Bill Philp

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After three games the Tampa Bay Lightning are 2-1 with four points and are first in the Southeast division. While it is all but impossible to glean much information from such a small sample of games, the Bolts are buying into Coach Guy Boucher’s platform and are showing signs of improvement on defense and in the net. "It’s going to be defense first. That’s our mindset, because we’ve got the offense," said Boucher. (Photo/Susan Ferlita)

Tampa Bay opened the season at home on Saturday night with a well earned 6-3 victory over division rival Washington. Martin St. Louis and Eric Brewer each scored two goa...

4-1 loss to the Canadiens signals panic time for the Caps

January 24, 2013

Carden Hedelt

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It is now time to panic.

The Caps are 0-3 after a 4-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens.

More shocking than the record is the regression.

What was once a below average penalty kill unit is now a horrible penalty kill unit.

What was once one of the two best players in the league has become a shell of his former self.

What was once a young team, full of promise, now looks like a team of lost causes.

What was a team conceivably within one lousy penalty of the Eastern Conference Finals is looking awfully lost at the moment.

Losing isn't the problem. Teams lose all the time. Three-game losing streaks happen all the time.

Losing and looking this ...

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 ...