Your savory breakfast links:
- Previews of tonight’s homecoming game against the Predators from Vogs, NHL.com, AP, and Peerless, and be sure to check out our SB Nation pals over at On the Forecheck for the other side of tonight’s matchup.
- The Preds will be without stud goaltender Pekka Rinne, who was injured in Wednesday’s win over Vancouver and is out until at least February. [Tennessean, AP]
- Welcome to the “Barry Trotz returns to Nashville” extravaganza!
- It took half a season, but Trotz (along with fellow Nashville coaching alums Lane Lambert and Mitch Korn) is finally set to face his old team for the first time. [NHL.com, WaPo, CP, Tennessean (and again), PressboxDC]
- Turns out that waiting a half a season to come face to face worked out pretty perfectly for all involved parties. [WaPo, WashTimes]
- After 15 years as part of the Nashville community – hockey and otherwise – the welcome for Trotz will be a very warm one tonight. [Predators, NBC SportsWorld]
- …until puck drop, that is. Then all bets are off. [Nashville Scene]
- Interestingly enough, Trotz was actually happy to be fired by the Preds over the summer. We were pretty happy you got the ax, too, Barry. [Globe and Mail]
- Hear about all of it from the man himself in today’s Morning Drive, featuring John Walton‘s chat with Trotz. [Capitals Voice]
- Oh, and just another reminder from Trotz to the general public that Alex Ovechkin is easy to coach. Because he IS, damn it. [Yahoo!]
- This isn’t exactly breaking news, but Braden Holtby has been really, really, really, really, really good lately – especially against tough competition and tough shots. [Rink, Yahoo!, ESPN, Hockeybuzz]
- And yet he’s not an All-Star. So there’s that. [CSNW]
- Musings on Mike Green and whether the Caps will be able to retain the services of what could be a very expensive – and yet very talented – third-pair defensemen. [GM on a Couch]
- A few leftover snippets from Wednesday’s shutout win over Philly:
- Yes, we always say that Clyde’s game pictures are awesome – and they always are – but this week’s batch is particularly fantastic, so go take a look. [Rink]
- Ah, the rare, unicorn-like presence of the 1-0 Capitals win. So beautiful. So fleeting. [Shadows on the Ice]
- The Caps stifled the Flyers‘ offense that had unleashed seven goals on Tampa earlier this week, sending them to their first of two straight shutouts. [Yahoo!, THW]
- Everyone is still talking about that huge hit Matt Niskanen doled out to Scott Laughton in the second period, one that may unfortunately have put Laughton on the sidelines for a bit… [WaPo, CSN Philly]
- …but Flyers’ coach Craig Berube, no stranger to defending teammates with his fists back in the day, was fine with his team’s response (or lack thereof) to the hit. [NJ.com, MCall]
- Meanwhile Tom Wilson should be praised for his own lack of response, declining to fight in his new-found zen state. [RMNB]
- It’s not unusual for blood to be spilled when these two teams meet. It’s a bit more unusual for it to be the result of one’s own teammate. Twin-on-twin violence!! [WaPo (and again), RMNB]
- Nicklas Backstrom has dropped his appeal in his Olympic doping case and accepted a mild reprimand from the IOC, thus bringing a very ugly ordeal to an end – silver medal intact. [WaPo, CSNW, WashTimes, AP]
- Which teams are playing like Stanley Cup contenders so far this year? [CBS Sports]
- A look at three Caps who must improve in the second half of the season. [Stars and Sticks]
- Jack Hillen is an important piece in the Caps’ puzzle. But is he an edge piece or a middle piece? [Caps Outsider]
- At the halfway point in Hershey:
- With the season half over, the Bears have thrived with elite defense, but continue to search for more firepower. [Patriot-News]
- Some of that elite defense was provided by Steve Oleksy, and his recent call-up to replace the injured Nate Schmidt has left the Bears to try and fill the void. [Patriot-News (and again)]
- Handing out some midseason awards. [Patriot-News (MVP, most improved player, top defenseman, top forward, top rookie, unsung hero)]
- Here’s something you don’t hear every day: Wednesday night was a really fun night to be a DC sports fan. [WaPo]
- And actually, it’s been kind of a long time since both the Caps and Wizards were this good. Like decades. The same probably cannot be said of the reverse. [WaPo]
- I’m not sure I’d use the word “eensy” unless it were followed by “weensy” and “spider”… but this moment between Backstrom and a little Caps fan is adorable nonetheless. [RMNB]
- CSN hosts Chick Hernandez and Brian Mitchell ripped Mike Milbury for his unending criticism of Ovechkin and the Caps. Hooray! [Caps Outsider]
- While Nicklas Backstrom the hockey player is amazingly awesome, Nicklas Backstrom the sandwich? Perhaps not so much. [WaPo]
- And yet the Capitals Craze donut is red, white and blue deliciousness. Probably. [Caps, CSNW]
- Finally, happy 41st birthday to Todd Rohloff, happy 49th to Stephen Leach, and happy 55th to Scot Kleinendorst.