Your savory breakfast links:
- Recaps and other assorted musings on last night’s win from us (with quotes), Monumental video (Oates, Ovechkin, Carrick, Neuvirth, Johansson, Laich), Vogs, NHL.com, AP, WaPo (and again), WashTimes, CSNW (gamer, blog), Puck Daddy, PHT, Peerless, Frankovic, RMNB, Stars and Sticks, THW and F Street Faithful, and from the great white north, Flames Nation, Calgary Herald, Slam and the Calgary Sun.
- Before the game, the 2012-13 Southeast Division banner was lowered into the rafters. Boy, just when you think there’s no room for another banner up there… surprise! [Capitals OT, Caps Outsider]
- The Caps fell behind early to the Flames and then suffered another blow, losing Jack Hillen to a lower-body injury for “the foreseeable future” after a hit from Calgary’s Lance Bouma … [Talk the Red, WaPo, CSNW]
- …who then had to be Tom Wilson‘s dance partner in Wilson’s first NHL fight. Decision: Wilson, and it’s not close. [Caps Outsider, RMNB]
- It wasn’t the only first in this one, though – congratulations to Connor Carrick, who scored his first NHL goal on a beautiful post-penalty breakaway (and later got the traditional shaving cream pie… hat?). [RMNB]
- Your Capitals Minute for today. [Capitals Voice]
- We discuss the possibility of re-signing Mikhail Grabovski, the potential ramifications of a permanent spot on the fourth line for Martin Erat, and more in this week’s Mailbag. Keep the questions coming! [Rink]
- News and notes from game day:
- The Caps picked up Swedish defenseman Alexander Urbom off of waivers from the Devils…[Caps, Rink, CSNW (and again), Peerless, In Lou We Trust, NJ.com, Fire & Ice]
- …a move which pushed the Caps’ roster to 24 and required the team to send center Michael Latta (who is waiver-exempt) down to Hershey. [Dump ‘n Chase, Patriot-News, SHOE]
- Connor Carrick was eagerly awaiting his second game in the hope that he could bounce back from a pretty awful first one – between you and me, I think he succeeded. [WaPo]
- Meanwhile Tom Wilson continues to evolve every day, and his coach has noticed. [WaPo]
- Hey, these two 19-year-olds might be worthy of discussion – enter Two Dudes. And beer. There’s always beer. [Rink]
- Alex Ovechkin is one of a handful of players that could steal Sidney Crosby’s Hart Trophy… although if Ovechkin won it last season, isn’t it his to lose? [Puck Daddy]
- An anonymous poll among NHLers spoke to a number of questions, and names Nicklas Backstrom as one of the NHL’s more underrated players. But we already knew he was. [ESPN]
- Oh, hey there snazzy new NHL.com power rankings. [NHL.com]
- It’s only been two games, but Mikhail Grabovski is already thriving in a new role and with new responsibilities. [TSN.ca]
Grabovski being awesome (Rob Grabowski / Getty Images)
- The addition of Grabovski isn’t just beneficial to the team’s even strength performance; he’s also giving the power play a new look. [NHL.com, CSNW]
- Fantasy hockey enthusiasts, be sure to snap up Grabovski before he’s gon-…oops, too late (and you might want to pick up Mike Green, too). [Puck Daddy, NHL.com]
- The Caps have all the makings of being a contender, but they’ve played that joke on us before – now they have to prove it, so sayeth Mike Wise. (No kidding, so sayeth me.) [WaPo]
- Previewing the Caps’ forwards as the first week of the regular season carries on. [THW]
- Debunking the myth that a move from the Southeast Division to the new Metropolitan Division will somehow prove fatal to the Caps. [RMNB]
- Making the radio rounds on Opening Night:
- Adam Oates checked in with Lavar and Dukes… [106.7 the Fan]
- …as did goalie coach Olie Kolzig… [106.7 the Fan]
- …owner Ted Leonsis… [106.7 the Fan]
- …and some of the voices of the Caps. [106.7 the Fan (Joe Beninati, John Walton, Mike Vogel)
- Meanwhile Brooks Laich checked in for his weekly chat with the Junkies, being very Laich-ian. Laich-esque, even. [106.7 the Fan, Bog]
- More previews of the Hershey Bears 2013-14 season:
- Checking out the free agent arrivals and departures for the Bears. [Patriot-News]
- One major arrival, of course, is that of Mike Haviland, who landed in Hershey with a firm belief in positivity. [Patriot-News]
- 10 things to watch for this season with Mike Haviland’s new-look Bears. [Patriot-News]
- Goaltender Matt Tendler chats about his time with Hershey last season and his experience as a camp invitee this fall. [Patriot-News]
- During these tough times of government furloughs and tight budgets, 106.7 The Fan is giving away Caps tickets to locked-out workers three times a day. Very cool. [WaPo]
- There is nothing like a live NHL game, and there’s really nothing like a live Caps game at Verizon Center – especially on opening night. [Caps Outsider]
- Semi-old news, but worth revisiting: former Caps’ bench boss Bruce Boudreau got into a bit of a tussle with new Avalanche coach Patrick Roy the other night, and chaos (and hilarity) ensued. [RMNB, Peerless]
- A study finds that fans of losing teams have a tendency to drown their sorrows in junk food. And yet somehow DC isn’t one of the nation’s fattest cities, strange. [CBC]