Your savory breakfast links:
- Breaking down how a couple of recent top liners have drawn success – or ahem, lack thereof – alongside the powerhouse duo of Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. [Rink]
- What a long, strange trip it’s been for Eric Fehr, from first-round power forward to clutch scorer. [Rink]
- Previews of tonight’s final (regular season) battle with the flightless fowl from Vogs, NHL.com, AP, Peerless, WaPo, CSNW, and from the banks of three rivers, the Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and be sure to check out our SB Nation pals over at Pensburgh for the other side of tonight’s matchup.
- The Penguins have had a bit of a power-play resurgence of late, and are hoping to keep it rolling against the Caps. [Post-Gazette]
- Because this is a must-win for them. [Post-Gazette]
- A look at the marquee matchup – Sidney Crosby vs. Ovechkin, by the numbers. [The Sports Mecca]
- Marc-Andre Fleury wants to play the Caps in the playoffs. History’s obviously on his side… but it’s still pretty funny for Fleury of all people to note that regular-season success has no bearing on the playoffs. [CSNW]
- News and notes from yesterday’s practice:
- In general. [Monumental video (Trotz, Ovechkin, Niskanen, Backstrom, Green, Rinkside Update/Orpik), Caps OT pics (Trotz, Orpik leading stretches)]
- Braden Holtby has gotten the lion’s share of work so far this season and is on pace to crack 70 games – but neither his coach nor his team are worried. [WaPo]
- After years or searching, perhaps the Caps have found their identity. And it involves some bruises. [Talk the Red, Pressbox DC]
- They’re also getting a balanced scoring attack, something that not many expected when Barry Trotz took over behind the bench. [Puck Daddy]
- Speaking of Trotz, he took to the airwaves yesterday and, while praising his captain, also perhaps threw one of his predecessors (or maybe more than one) under the bus. Boom. [Sportsnet (original interview), CSNW, The Score, Stars and Sticks, RMNB, PHT]
- And speaking of Ovechkin, is he now the leading candidate for MVP? [WaPo]
- For all the talent on the roster right now, the Caps still have a pretty bright future, as well. [HF]
- The deadline draws closer…
- With just a handful of days to go until the trade deadline, a few dominoes have fallen… but this is still the calm before the storm. [Yahoo!]
- Would one of those future dominoes involve Philadelphia sending Kimmo Timonen to Washington? [CSNW]
- Hard to tell, since the Caps are still trying to “get a read” on their roster. Clock’s ticking, fellas. [WaPo]
- A couple of the Caps (and a feathered friend) took to the ice with some deserving TAPS families yesterday… [Caps OT pics (Niskanen x2, Hillen, Slapshot)]
- …while Jay Beagle skated with some youngsters out in Laurel, MD. [Caps Outsider]
- Updates from Hershey:
- The Bears have had a number of season-ending injuries already, with Patrick Wey unlikely to be back this year and Nathan Walker set to have knee surgery. [Patriot-News]
- That infamous line brawl against Bridgeport the other night is making waves – and headlines – around the hockey world. [CSNW]
- Unfortunately it also resulted in Liam O`Brien getting a couple of games off after leaving the bench during the fracas. [Patriot-News]
- Finally, happy 44th birthday to Byron Dafoe, happy 64th to Andre Peloffy, and happy 29th to the ol’ double nickel himself, Jeff Schultz.