Your savory breakfast links:
- Reflecting on the first seven years of Alex Ovechkin‘s long-term commitment to the Caps and the city of DC. [Rink]
- Previews of tonight’s clash with the Flyers from Vogs, Caps Today, NHL.com, AP and Peerless, and be sure to check out our SB Nation pals over at Broad Street Hockey for the other side of tonight’s matchup.
- The Flyers will be without defenseman Braydon Coburn, injured in their lopsided win over Tampa, but luckily they have a hardly-used Carlo Colaiacovo just sitting on the shelf. [NJ.com, Philly.com]
- The Caps, the Flyers, and the worst Philly trade that you’ve never heard of. Well… we’ve heard of it. Thanks again, Holmgren! [THW]
- Look ahead to tonight with today’s Morning Drive. [Capitals Voice]
- Elliotte Friedman checks in with his 30 Thoughts, including a handful on Braden Holtby, shot blocking, Barry Trotz and “devil music”. [Sportsnet]
- Holtby is just a bundle of volatility. [CBS Sports]
- News and notes from yesterday out at Kettler:
- In general. [Monumental video (Trotz, Holtby, Johansson, Rinkside Update/Ward)]
- The Caps are doing little things right, including finding a balance of aggression and restraint when the other team pulls their goalie… even if they can’t always hit the net. [WaPo, CSNW (and again), WashTimes]
- Sure, tonight’s game is big, but Friday’s may be bigger for a lot of reasons – and Barry Trotz talked about some of those reasons yesterday. [Monumental video]
- Poor Nate Schmidt. It’s official, he’s out 6-8 weeks with a fractured shoulder blade. [Patriot-News]
- To fill his roster spot, the Caps have called up Steve Oleksy from the Bears. [Caps, Patriot-News, WashTimes]
- Braden Holtby chats with Jill Sorenson about his time in the minor leagues and how it made him who he is. [CSNW]
- After a somewhat slow start to the season, Evgeny Kuznetsov is becoming more confident, and it’s starting to show on the ice. [WaPo (and again),
- He’s also improving in faceoffs, thanks in part to Jay Beagle. [RMNB]
- Speaking of on-ice results and Jay Beagle, how about Jay Beagle and his goal scoring? [Pressbox DC]
- Continue along on the journey as a scrappy little bulldog named Ovie makes his way to the Winter Classic. [Caps Outsider]
- Time to hand out some mid-season awards for the Caps! [Stars and Sticks]
- A few leftovers from Monday’s win over the Avalanche. [Dump ‘n Chase]
- Check out Clyde’s always awesome pics from the game. [Rink]
- The fourth line was really good against the Avs, picking up a goal and drawing some key penalties. [WaPo]
- To say that Patrick Roy merely voiced his disapproval with the officiating after the game would be an understatement. [Mile High Sticking]
- Great job, Caps fans – Monday’s Puck Surprise raised over $18,000 for Monumental Sports and Entertainment Foundation. [Caps]
- It was a whirlwind trip to the bigs for Caps’ prospect Pheonix Copley, but one he relished nonetheless. [News-Miner]
- Pressing questions for the NHL’s second half, including the pressing question everyone insists on asking about a certain Caps’ blueliner. [USA Today]
- Is it really a bold prediction to say the Caps will lose in the first round of the playoffs? Not so sure. [CBS DC]
- Troy Brouwer and Marcus Johansson are fantasy streakers! …that is not nearly as dirty as it sounds, we promise. [THW]
- Relive the worst season in Caps’ history. [Stars and Sticks]
- Searching for Olie Kolzig: South Africa through the eyes of a hockey fan. [Leader Post]
- Finally, happy 45th birthday to Eric Charron, and happy birthday to our pal Alan May, who hits… well, he still looks just like he did in his playing days!