[Gameday Preview]

Welcome to an abbreviated "Sunday Morning Coming Down" edition of the Roundup (last call at the Rink was a bit late last night).

The local beat writers are back to work covering the Caps today. The WaPo has an article about the Caps' third period meltdowns (the same topic, coincidentally, that I touched on Saturday). The WTimes discusses the Caps veteran leaders and their, um, leadership.

Tonight the Caps welcome the defending Cup champs to the MCI Center (gametime 6:00). Andrew Cassels (ankle) is expected to play, Bryan Muir (groin/lack of talent) is not.

Elsewhere around the League:

• The Pens are still winless, and it's wearing on the fans, who for some reason are surprised that Sergei Gonchar has the worst plus-minus rating in the NHL. But Caps fans know better. They know all too well that asking Gonch to play defense is like asking the kid behind the counter at Taco Bell to cook the steak for your chalupa "medium-rare" - you can ask all you want, beg even, but it just ain't gonna happen. What you see is what you get. Enjoy!

Daily Awards

• Hart: Patrick Marleau (2G, including the game winner, A)
  
• Ross: Vinny Lecavalier, Mike Van Ryn, Patrick Marleau (tied with 3 points)
  
• Norris: Mike Van Ryn (3A, +1)
  
• Vezina: Miikka Kiprusoff (33 save shutout)
  
• Richard: several players tied with 2 goals
  
• Calder: Henrik Lundqvist (W, 28 saves on 29 shots against)