Wednesday Caps Clips

Your savory breakfast links:

• Before we dive in, the big news around here is that SB Nation is getting better all the time, and now has enhanced team and player pages, and a licensing agreement to use AP photos, like the one to the right. Super sweet. Check out PPP for more deets.
• In the least surprising news of the day, Brian Pothier has been nominated for the Masterton Trophy (and the WaTi uses a big word to announce it). [WaPo]
• Another story about how the Caps are selling a lot of tickets this season? Seriously? [WaPo]
• Matt Bradley: Mother Nature's Son. (but you already knew that). [Lethbridge Herald]
• Weekly power rankings, and now you get 'em with the associated snappy commentary:
  • CBSsports.com (down three to seventh): "The second seed is in jeopardy for the Caps who went only 6-5-2 in March."
  • ESPN.com (up two to third): "Capitals defenseman Brian Pothier's first goal since Dec. 27, 2007, against the Lightning on Friday was a special one in Washington's season that has been full of great moments -- and likely has more to come."
  • FOX Sports (holding at fifth): "Like every other week, Alex Ovechkin's scoring touch powered the Capitals. Washington picked up three of a possible four points last week thanks to Ovechkin's three goals and three assists in the two games."
  • The Hockey News (down one to tenth): "Ovie hits 50 goals and 100 points in three of his first four NHL seasons"
  • SI.com (down two to seventh): "How's this for a parting gift? Not one of their final six games is against a team currently in the playoffs. That doesn't mean the Lightning, Thrashers and Panthers will roll over -- they've got their pride, ya know -- but the schedule should allow the Caps to build some momentum heading into the postseason."
  • SportingNews.com (up one to fourth): "Alex Ovechkin, who has been pedestrian (by his standards) for a while now, is sensing the playoffs. He had his best game in a month with a four-point effort against Tampa Bay."
  • Sportsnet.ca (holding at fourth): "Alexander Ovechkin hits the 100-point plateau for the third time in his four-year career."
  • TSN.ca (holding at fifth): "There's nothing wrong with a 6-2-1 record in the last nine games, but the Capitals haven't exactly been tearing it up in March, going just 6-5-2 in such a crucial month."
  • Yahoo! Sports (down one to tenth): "Time to pile up points for the Caps. With the possible exception of Buffalo, Washington faces only non-playoff-bound teams in its final six games of the regular season."
• Bear Tracks (in which Keith Aucoin uses the word "great" not once, but twice to describe Alexandre Giroux). [LDN]
• Steven Pinizotto likes being an energy guy (I'm guessing he'd like being a 50-goal scorer even more, but you are what you are). [PennLive]
• Is Elena Alyonka Larionov the next Anna Kournikova? Did I type those two names solely for the Google juice? No and maybe, respectively. [Capitals Outsider]
• Here's an omen for tonight - from the Hockey Hall of Fame, on this date back in 1979, "Guy Charron became the first player in team history to score 100 goals as a member of the Washington Capitals, as the team recorded their first win over the NY Islanders, 6-4. The victory ended their 0-16-3 all-time record against the Isles."
• Happy 45th Birthday to nobody's April Fool, the always dapper Scott Stevens.
• Finally, thanks to you all, we killed it again in March, with visits and page views up another 17% apiece over February's site-record totals. Hopefully we'll be doing some meaningful blogging at the end of April and beat those numbers.