Your savory breakfast links:
- The Olympic dream was more like an Olympic nightmare for the Caps who headed to Sochi. [Rink]
- Now that the Olympics are over, though, it’s time to put the last two weeks in the rearview mirror and focus on the road that lies ahead for the Caps. [Dump ‘n Chase]
- News and notes from an (almost) full team practice out at Kettler yesterday:
- In general. [Monumental video (Oates, Ovechkin, Backstrom, Grabovski, Erat, Ward, Chimera, Carlson)]
- The boys are back in town, and back on the ice. [Monumental video, Capitals Overtime, CSNW]
- Both Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin have been through a lot in the last few days; the Caps will need them to put it behind them as the team gets ready to resume the regular season. [NHL.com, WaPo, WashTimes, Reuters, RMNB]
- For his part, Ovechkin is ready to bounce back from yet another disappointing Olympics and his dad’s health scare… [Rinkside Update, WaPo, CSNW, AP]
- …while a noticeably upset Backstrom gave his side of the story after being pulled from Sunday’s gold medal game. [Rinkside Update, WaPo, CSNW, NBC4, GP.se, Svenska Dagbladet, Sydsvenskan, Aftonbladet]
- It’s not all sad faces in the locker room; proud papa Martin Erat logged many miles to get from Sochi to DC to Nashville, where his wife and newborn daughter were waiting for him. [CSNW]
- Defenseman Jack Hillen continues to be on the mend and was assigned to Hershey for a conditioning stint yesterday, which is a great sign. [WaPo, Patriot-News]
- Ovechkin is always one to watch, but he’s one of fourteen to keep an extra close eye on down the stretch. [NHL.com]
- And down the stretch will be all uphill for the Caps, who have a tough road ahead of them. [RtR, DSP]
- More on Backstrom:
- A timeline of the events of last Sunday as they unfolded for Backstrom and Team Sweden. [Expressen]
- Meanwhile back in Sweden, the team’s doctor is blaming himself and may be stepping down, while the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation chair places the blame on Backstrom. [DN.se, GP.se, Svenska Dagbladet, Aftonbladet]
- Swedish GM Tommy Boustedt continues his anti-IOC rampage, and wants an apology. [DN.se, Aftonbladet]
- The IOC is attempting to close the book on things after Backstrom’s B-sample (taken the same day as the initial positive test) came back positive. [DN.se, Aftonbladet]
- But questions remain about how they handled the situation, particularly after allowing a second test in a similar situation four years ago with Lubomir Visnovsky. [DN.se]
- So what exactly is the difference between the allowed dosage of pseudophedrine and the amount found in Backstrom’s sample? [Aftonbladet]
- Pseudophedrine is a pretty commonly-used drug in hockey locker rooms. [BHS, Svenska Dagbladet, Expressen]
- Swedes on bikes. [RMNB]
- Taking a look at the race within the Metropolitan Division. [Blue Jackets]
- Hey, that’s right, the trade deadline is coming up! Take a look at the top 25 trade targets as the clock starts to wind down… [ESPN ($)]
- …and the perfect deadline fix for every team in the Metropolitan Division. [ESPN ($)]
- The “Ryan Miller to the Caps” rumor just will not die, but looking at every single Caps even-strength goal-against this year (!) shows why that would be a silly move. [F Street Faithful]
- A final assessment of USA hockey – men and women – at the Olympics. To summarize: pbbbbtttthhhhh. [USoH]
- Oh, good, Patrick Roy is still talking about Ovechkin “disappearing” in the Olympics. [WaPo]
- Nothing like flipping through old Caps’ media guides for some rare finds. Horrible hairdos, tight turtlenecks and the jorts… oh the jorts! [WaPo]
- Check this list and make sure you’re following the most prominent, intelligent, brilliant people in the hockey Twitterverse…sure, low bar, but we cleared it with millimeters to spare! [Sporting News]
- Local reporter goes out to talk to people of the DC area about a sad story. Finds Karl Alzner. Apparently doesn’t know who Karl Alzner is. Hockeytown!!1 [WaPo]
- Finally, happy 62nd birthday to Larry Bolonchuk.
Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images