Your savory breakfast links:
- Kris Letang was suspended for tonight’s game after his hit on Marcus Johansson Monday night. [Rink, Puck Daddy, THW, The Score, AP, AFP, WaPo, WashTimes, CSNMA, Post-Gazette (and again), Tribune-Review, RMNB, NoVa Caps, and Pensburgh]
- Letang was one of a couple of things we were talking about yesterday. [Rink]
- A lot of people are talking about the influence of injury on League-mandated suspensions, and why that perhaps shouldn’t carry as much weight. [WaPo (and again)]
- As for the consistency of those League-mandated suspensions, well… [RMNB, StarsandSticks]
- Caps fans are known for their conspiracy theories and insecurities about perceived League bias. Guess what? Their hired mouthpieces don’t help. [RMNB]
- On the bright side, your Craig “Locker” Laughlin Drinking Game is here! [NYC Caps Crew]
- Previews of Game 4 from Vogs, NHL.com, AP, FiCP, and as always, the good people of Pensburgh have the bad side covered.
- They may be down 2-1 in the series, but the Caps aren’t even close to out of it and can get back into it by doing what comes naturally. [ESPN]
- They’re actually feeling pretty good about their play right now, even with Monday night’s loss. [Tribune-Review]
- A series that was supposed to showcase some of the most skilled and entertaining players in the League has devolved into a battle of cheap shots and dirty hits. [WaPo, Tribune-Review]
- But hey, at least the discourse surrounding it has been civil. Er… [WaPo]
- You be the judge on whether a guy stating that, in another era, he’d drop the gloves with Letang means the series is off the rails. [Sporting News]
- In fact, that Tom Wilson is saying he can’t seek retribution is part of a team-wide focus to avoid further playoff retaliation. [WashTimes]
- The focus instead is on “pounding the rock”, aka carrying over the momentum from a strong game Monday night. [CSNMA]
- Alex Ovechkin is imposing his will on the Penguins, and his team is following his lead. [NHL.com, CSNMA (and again)]
- He’s also very close to a breakout game. [StarsandSticks]
- A few leftovers from Game 3. [Dump ‘n Chase, Tribune-Democrat, Post-Gazette (and again), Pensblog]
- What worked, what didn’t. [Rink, Peerless]
- Their dominant performance helped the Caps make a little bit of recent history. [Rink]
- Five other stats to help understand the loss. [CSNMA]
- A tale of two passes, including the one that ended up leading to the game-winning goal. [RMNB, Pensburgh]
- Rank ’em! [Rink]
- This team has been searching for the key to playoff success for years; perhaps it can be found in front of the net. [WashTimes]
- News and notes from yesterday’s practice:
- In general. [Monumental video (Trotz, Alzner, Beagle, Wilson, Niskanen, Backstrom, Rinkside Update/Oshie]
- Johansson sat out practice with what the team is calling an upper-body injury. [THN, WaPo]
- Letang isn’t the only one missing tonight’s game; Bryan Rust sustained a lower-body injury on Monday and leaves another hole in the lineup. [Tribune-Review]
- The Pens have called up Tom Sestito and old pal Steve Oleksy as back-up for their increasingly depleted roster. [Pens, RMNB]
- Penguins’ goalie Matt Murray has performed well and as a result has a pretty well-known backup: Marc-Andre Fleury. [WashTimes, Tribune-Review, Post-Gazette, Sporting News]
- Murray has been good, but he’s beatable. [WaPo]
- It’s been a long, painful, horrible, heartbreaking, disappointing history for the Caps against these Penguins. Y’know, in case you forgot. [BlueJackets Xtra]
- It hasn’t been clicking much of late, but the Caps still have a lethal power play. [TSN]
- Yeah… yeah, we want to see him win a Cup, too. [Puck Daddy]
- The Bears get their series against the (baby) Penguins underway tonight; check out the comprehensive preview from our Pensburgh pals. [Pensburgh]
- The Stingrays find themselves in a similar situation to the Caps after falling behind 2-1 in their series with Adirondack. [Caps Outsider]