Your savory breakfast links:
- As the League’s stars (plus Zemgus Girgensons) make their way to central Ohio, and the rest of the players make their way to sunnier climes, it’s time to take stock at the season’s midpoint:
- Highs and lows from the first “half” of the season. [Pressbox DC]
- Are the Caps any better than a year ago? [CSNW]
- Lookit – the team’s new head coach and general manager are “on the same page”. [WaPo]
- Speaking of the new general manager, he’s got a plate full of pending free agents, both UFA and RFA, to consider:
- Dropping that game to Edmonton means the Caps can’t merely relax, but now must “regroup”. [WaPo]
- Advice on how to stop the bleeding when the team reconvenes… [Shadows on the Ice]
- … although the fancystats say the team just needs some puck luck and perhaps a break of a few days… [Stars and Sticks]
- … and here’s a logical fix – more Mike Green. Especially late in games, where Coach Trotz has had him stapled to the bench far too often. [Frankovic]
- All-Star Alex Ovechkin in the news:
- He makes an appearance in the well-regarded (and opening in theaters on January 31!) Red Army documentary film about the Soviet hockey program. [Caps Outsider]
- The linked article is about hockey players of faith, but there’s a nifty pic of the ginormous Ovi window cling being installed at Nationwide Arena. [Columbus Dispatch]
- The Nats introduced their new $210M pitcher today, and Max Scherzer has the Gr8 on his “wants to meet” list. [DC Sports Bog]
- Hershey update:
- Connor Carrick is having a very good season in Chocolatetown, and he now has an invite to the AHL All-Star Classic. [cumberlink.com, Patriot-News]
- Carrick was named first star of Wednesday’s game at Lehigh Valley, as he, Stanislav Galiev and Tim Kennedy each registered a goal and two assists in a 7-2 rout of the Phantoms. [Patriot-News]
- Add those seven goals to the team’s previous 19,987 goals and the Hershey Bears are due to tally their 20,000th franchise twine-tickler sometime soon. [Patriot-News]