Your savory breakfast links:
● Programming note: Game 6 will start at 3:00 (well, a handful of minutes after three, but you know what I mean) Sunday.
● Previews of today’s Game 5 with the Bruins from Vogs, NHL.com, WashTimes, CSNW (video), PHT (video), Peerless, Puck ‘N Hockey and RtR, and be sure to check out our SB Nation partner Stanley Cup of Chowder for more coverage from the other side of today’s match-up and throughout the series.
● Notes and assorted whatnot from yesterday’s optional Caps practice:
○ In general. [Caps365 video (Rinkside Update, Hunter, Ovechkin, Holtby, Backstrom, Brouwer, Wideman), WaPo, WashTimes, CSNW (video), 106.7 The Fan DC, Examiner, CRtC, mkpanda78 (pics)]
○ Alex Ovechkin and Dale Hunter say all the right things about the captain’s reduced ice time in the third period of Game 4. [WashTimes, WaPo, DCEx, CSNW, NHL.com, PHT]
○ Jay Beagle talks about his big block. [WashTimes, with more on the shot-blocking at CSNW (video)]
○ Michal Neuvirth is ready to back up Braden Holtby, so Dany Sabourin has been returned to Hershey. [WashTimes, DCEx, CSNW]
● Notes from the B’s end of the ice:
○ Holtby has taken up residence in the Bruins‘ collective cranium. [CSNNE]
○ The big guns haven’t fired yet… [NESN, CSNNE]
○ … so they’re changing up the lines. [CSNNE, WEEI, Patriot Ledger]
○ Rich Peverley has been good, so there’s that. [CSNNE]
○ Zdeno Chara, too. [NHL.com]
○ And one from the funny pages. [NESN]
● The Caps may have the B’s right where they want ’em. [WaPo, with the view from the other side at the Boston Globe]
● Today (and yesterday) in Holtby gushing. [WashTimes, NHL.com (and again), DCEx, Capital Games, Grantland, DCist, Globe and Mail, Capitals Center, HomerMcFanboy, OFB, KOL]
● Big John Erskine definitely made an impact in Game 4 (just ask David Krejci). [WaPo, WashTimes]
● Gary Bettman talks about the Caps talking about what Brendan Shanahan had to say about what Nicklas Backstrom did. I know, no one cares. [WaPo, PHT]
● Brooks Laich on the first line? Not bad. [Sick, Unbelievable]
● Beagle outs Mathieu Perreault as high-maintenance. [WaPo]
● Hey, did you know that Keith Aucoin is from just outside Boston? Maybe you’d heard it mentioned a time or twelve. [BHerald]
● Observations from a couple of Boston legends. [Peerless]
● The Bruins’ broadcast partner wants your best “Photochop.” Alrighty then. [NESN]
● Handing out awards to our friends at CSN Washington? Sure, why not. [Action on the Ice]
● The Owner’s doing his part to take over Massachusetts, it seems. [Inquirer and Mirror]
● It’s beginning to look a lot like D.C. for Evgeny Kuznetsov. [RMNB]
● The Bears dropped Game 1 of their first-round series and will look to even things up tonight. [Patriot-News]
● On this date in 1994, Joe Reekie scored two goals in a game for the only time in his 953-game career and it was twice as much offense as the Caps needed to take a 2-1 series lead over Pittsburgh. [Capitals]
● Here’s your daily call to beardly charitable action.
● Finally, happy 35th birthday to Miika Elomo, happy 42nd birthday to Stew Malgunas and happy 55th birthday to Mark Lofthouse.
