I just checked my FiOS lineup tonight (Howard/A.A.) and the game will be televised on the NHL Network as part of HNIC. That would be Channel 587 if you're up here in my neck of the woods (HoCo).  It will also be on channel 87 if you don't plan on watching in HD for some ungodly reason. Hope this helps, Go Caps!

I need 9 more words to post this, there!

Now I know what you're thinking.  Here it comes, the inevitable blast of Jeff Schultz...  but it's not.  Really.  I think Schultzy is getting better;  slowly but surely improving and becoming a player that we may someday look back on and laugh about the grief we used to give him.  Like when people in my section (GRANT!) yell, "Stop Sucking!". 

Usually that's aimed at the whole team, not just Schultz. 

Well, if someday we're going to look back and laugh, we might as well start here:

Seriously, I'm excited about his future...  no, really I am.  It's just that... well, ya know...  he's ...  funny.

Don't listen to me Sarge!  Go get em!

....Nylander

Followed a year later by the class of: Laich, Gordon, Semin, and Morrisonn

http://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/WSH/skaters.html

Isn't that sad?

Unless you guys can find someone else in there with an earlier start date. Sorry. I just discovered this site after the note about Varly being in 22nd place for the Caps in tems of wins.... and i'm obsessed with it now.

Other weird things I learned:

* After just BARELY one season, Theo's #8 in all time wins.

* JIm Carey (remember that guy) has more SO than Beaupre and played half the games

* Chris Clark has more short handed goals than anyone else actively with the Caps... .... .. WTF???

* Chris Simon had exactly 666 PIM's with the Caps. I might actually make a comment about how cool that is if Simon wasn't a douche sanwich.

* OV is a lifetime +28. Backstrom +30. Semin is -1

* OV has barely played 1/3 of Bondra's seasons as a cap (not just seasons but in games played) and it says his TOI is almost the same? That doesn't make any sense. Am I reading that wrong or is something with that stat a little messed up? (Maybe they didnt record TOI until halfway through the 90's??)

* Bruce's win% as a coach in the regular season is WAY ahead of anyone else by a landslide but has had (virtually) the same luck in the playoffs as anyone else

* McPhee should have grovelled to keep Gonchar... oh wait.. crap.. Sorry .. accidentally mixed in an opinion with the stats. Of course I don't really know the history about that. The year he left was the year I least payed attention to hockey.

Is it just me, or does it seem like the Caps have a record  of losing legendary D men right during their prime. Makes me fear if we're going to lose Greenie one day.

Call me selfish, but this post is either to support my thinking that I'm just being crazy, or dispell said fear and realize I'm in the company of other like-minded individuals.  What sparked this was a recent visit to @cmasisak22.

What I'm referring to is the game's reverence for it's end-of-year trophy.  We hear classic tales of players who refuse to touch it if they have not had their name on it.  Players who will bypass attention to lesser team awards (conference trophies, Boston not raising a division banner this year) with their eyes set on the prize.  Players treat the SC as an icon that one has to prove they are worthy to be in the presence of.  My question to Cap's Nation:  Are fans as "reverent" when it comes to the Cup? 

When I see references to the SC used in conjunction with the Caps (signs, fan-game-attire, advertisements, Corey's wallpaper on his Twitter page), I feel like something's out of place.  I'm crazy, right?

*sorry, had to add a poll option, just for BP

Hey guys, I play in the adult league over at the Dulles Sportsplex right off of Rt. 28 and we're in need of two players for next season.  It's a pretty competitive league and we're regularly one of the better teams - been to and lost in the finals each of the last two seasons.  It's a very run-and-gun league, averaging just short of 12 goals a game.

It doesn't really matter if you're a forward or defender because we've got enough guys that can play up or back.  Age isn't that big of a deal either - I'm the youngest player at 20 (almost 21) and the oldest is 34, although there are players in the league well over 40.  Most of the team is between 24 and 30 though.  If anybody is interested and would like to come out for a game or two to try it out or just would like to know more about the team, league, whatever then let me know.

Thanks guys.

I'm heading to the motherland of hockey this weekend.  I was wondering if any other Caps fans are travelling to Toronto on 11/21 to watch the Caps play the Maple Leafs?

I'm actually going to be there Friday & was wondering if anyone would want to meet up & game watch the Canadiens vs. Capitals game at a Bar somewhere in Downtown Toronto Friday night?

Another question, do I touch the Cup at the Hockey Hall of Fame... Dare I...

Thanksgiving is nearly upon us, and with it the official start to the Christmas shopping season.

To help prepare you to do your duty as a fan this season, I prepared a helpful list of gifts to give and gifts to avoid this year.

First up, it's the item that inspired this list. Despite this having been listed as a piece of Washington Capitals memorabilia on the site in question, I thoroughly recommend you avoid . . .

The Bill Guerin autographed Caps Killer picture!

via www.sportsmemorabilia.com

Instead, choose an autographed photo of a truly memorable goal:

via www.frozenpond.com

If you're tempted to choose something with a little Caps history, be sure to check your spelling carefully.

It's Jim Carey

via www.sportsmemorabilia.com

Not Jim Carrey

via www.authenticsportscollectibles.com

Kids love hockey cards. Just be careful not to confuse them.

So avoid cards which feature Dennis Leary discussing how much Sergei Fedorov loves soccer . . .

via www.beckett.com

And stick to cards of guys actually in their uniform

via www.puckjunk.com

When looking for wall art, choose something timeless . . .

via images.footballfanatics.com

Avoid things which may not age well, like oversize novelty tickets commemorating Jaromir Jagr's 500th goal (model sold separately)

via dsp.imageg.net

A game worn jersey is definitely a top notch gift, but older players get very expensive.

So avoid has-beens . . .

via akamai.edeal.com

And look to the future instead. 1500 posts can't be wrong!

via akamai.edeal.com

After such an epic night, no one (except perhaps for poor Quintin Laing -- but nobody wants to see that card) deserves to be enshrined in a hockey card more than Matt Bradley.  Yes, he tied (at best) his fight, but it's what it meant to his teammates, the fans, the guy who has to scrape blood off the ice, and Henrik Lundqvist that is what we should remember, and celebrate.  So I present...  the Matt Bradley Rejected hockey card:

(not up to my usual standards, but it's a rush-job).

Deciding to kill some time and being the GM at heart that I am; I wanted to know potentially what Semin's Next Contract could be with the Capitals.

With the help of CapGeek.com i went through a lot of forwards who are currently making around 5-7 Million and in addition to there Salary's; I located current career stats and projected there Avg Points per year.

As we all can agree, Semin is a highly skilled player who can be the best or worst player on the ice on any given night. As many people have discussed his goal scoring and stick handling skills could rival Ovechkin's but his Injuries, Costly penalties, and lack of motivation have cost us games.

The List of players after the Jump:

Continue reading this post »

There's no way that after a season like few defensemen have ever had that the Canadian Olympic team wouldn't include one of the fastest, slickest, and most offensive (wait, that came out wrong) player on their roster, Mike Green of your Washington Capitals...  would they?

I mean it seems beyond improbable that a Norris trophy finalist isn't good enough to play on your Olympic team, but here we are. 

And thus in honor of the possibility that Greener watches the Olympics the same way we all are going to (in a futon eating Funions and drinking Mountain Dew), I am going to leak the never before seen hockey card that was pulled at the last second!

"I support more Rink original works of art"  -Fehr and Balanced

You can thank F&B for this mess.

::Update::  Circles anyone?