Your savory breakfast links:
- Previews of the fifth and final meeting of the season between the Caps and ‘Canes from Vogs, NHL.com, AP and Peerless, and be sure to check out our SB Nation pals over at Canes Country for the other side of tonight’s matchup.
- Today in “Alex Ovechkin Rulz” news, (which is just as repetitive but way more fun than “Alex Ovechkin Suckz” news):
- Ovechkin is once again great but it shouldn’t surprise us because he’s always been great except it won’t last. Or something. [WaPo, WashTimes, THN, TSN, Rotoworld, Blog So Hard Sports]
- Mike Milbury claims he’s never been against Ovechkin. Yeah, right. Next he’ll tell us he actually traded away Zdeno Chara for Alexei Yash-…oh. Wait. [WaPo, CSNW, PHT]
- As a child, we’re taught that sharing is caring… but now we’re adults and it’s every man for himself. Go get that trophy, Ovi. [NHL.com, RMNB]
- News and notes from a very optional practice yesterday out at Kettler, including plenty of updates on the walking wounded. [Monumental video (Rinkside Update, Oates, Erat, Fehr, Brouwer), WaPo, WashTimes (and again), CSNW]
- Martin Erat is just one of a number of players who has a history of concussions – and a history of his team glossing over it as an “upper-body injury”. [RMNB]
- And if you haven’t, be sure to check out Brooks Laich on the Junkies from yesterday for some, er, descriptive chatter about that errant puck in the Tampa game. [Bog]
- A few leftovers from Tuesday’s big win in Montreal, which amazingly was just another road win for the good guys. [WaPo, CSNW]
- If you hadn’t heard, some feel that the way playoff seeding is determined is unfair and the Caps are benefiting from it… but ask the Caps how much they care. (Spoiler: not one iota. Hey, neat, us too!) [Yahoo!, WaPo, WashTimes]
- But by all means, “experts”, please continue to dismiss the Caps as an easy out. Playing the underdog is such fun. [Homer McFanboy]
- The seven deadly sins of NHL roster construction.
And no, hiring Milbury isn’t one of them.[ESPN ($)] - There are any number of moments in this season that one could point to as being The Moment Things Changed for the Caps… but Braden Holtby‘s sounds about right. [NBCW]
- With about a million healthy bodies on the blue line – and one or two not-so-healthy ones – the Caps suddenly have an embarrassment of riches on D. [Caps Outsider]
- Speaking of blueliners, Karl Alzner popped in to chat with Jeff Marek and Greg Wyshynski on yesterday’s MvsW podcast… [Puck Daddy]
- …while non-blueliner Eric Fehr chatted with Hockey Night in Canada Radio. [CBC]
- If the NHL allows their players to go to Sochi, it could end up being a pretty pricey endeavor. So who pays? That and a few Caps goodies in this week’s 30 Thoughts. [CBC]
- Last night Joel Ward hosted a special screening of the Jackie Robinson biopic 42 (and was even nice enough to invite some teammates along). [CapsOT, @JRandalWard42, @WojtekWolski86, @EricFehr, @StevenOleksy]
- Got a catchy name for the Johansson–Backstrom-Ovechkin line? I suppose “the super freaking awesome amazing line” won’t work… [CSNW]
- Laich has some pretty cool ties to… the Baltimore Orioles? [RMNB]
- Unlike their parent club, it was all quiet on the Hershey front as the AHL trade deadline came and went… [PennLive (and more as GM Doug Yingst discusses their non-moves)]
- …with the eighth-place Bears looking to join the Royals and some of the Caps’ OHL prospects in playoff action. Go get ’em, boys. [CSNW]
- Catch up on all the previews and other college hockey goodness before tonight’s big semifinal games, as we head into championship weekend in the Frozen Four. [SBNation, NCAA, USA Today]