Russell and I are back in prime time with a new episode of Japers' Rink Radio tonight at 9 pm Eastern!  Crack open a cold one and join us, as we welcome back to the show our good friend Corey Masisak, editor and writer for NHL.com, who was out at Kettler today, to discuss the early news from Washington Capitals' training camp. 

We'll also feature an interview I conducted with Caps' forward Jay Beagle, wherein we discuss his expectations for the season, what skills he can offer to a stacked Caps lineup in 2011-12, and his role in implementing the "team toughness" mandate going forward into the new campaign.

Also, tune in live to participate in a bit of a trivia contest to be revealed on air.  The winner will receive a sweet JRR tee-shirt.

The call in number to chat with us live is (917) 388-4003 and we'll take your questions and comments @japersrinkradio. 

And if you're in a band based in the DC or Baltimore metro area and would like your music used in future episodes of JRR, email us at japersrinkradio@gmail.com.

Rookie camp for your Washington Capitals kicked off yesterday, and Russell and I begin to preview the Caps' Southeast Division rivals, and what to focus on during division matchups in 2011-12. The Winnipeg Jets will be the last SE team that the Caps will face for the first time -- on November 17th -- in the new campaign, but the first that we'll preview.

Tonight at 9 pm Eastern we welcome Ed Tait of the Winnipeg Free Press to the show, to discuss how the Jets might match up against the Caps in their six tilts this season, the status of recent ex-Cap Eric Fehr and, uh, heavyweight D-man Dustin Byfuglien, how the Jets team plans to manage its brutal travel schedule, the franchise's new identity, and more.

Do waves of nostalgia have you excitedly awaiting that first Caps game in the 'Peg? (Perhaps you're even planning a road trip up there this year?)  Do you have any memories of this game? Or are you ambivalent about the new Jets, simply thinking about your team's increased travel burden?

The call in number to chat with us live is (917) 388-4003 and we'll take your questions and comments @japersrinkradio. 

And if you're in a band based in the DC or Baltimore metro area and would like your music used in future episodes of JRR, email us at japersrinkradio@gmail.com.

To ease the end-of-a-holiday-weekend dread, returning to the daily grind, Russell and I bring you an all-new episode of Japers' Rink Radio on Labor Day Monday at 9pm.  Fetch that last cold beer at the icy bottom of your backyard picnic cooler and join us.

We welcome to the show Dmitry Chesnokov, regular contributor to Yahoo!'s Puck Daddy, to discuss the prospects of Messrs. Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin this season for the Washington Capitals.  Of course, we'll delve further into the merits of those recent comments by ex-Caps Matt Bradley and David Steckel about former teammate Semin and the compatibility of the team's level of "leadership, commitment, and discipline" with ultimate playoff success.  And what of the Captain's "special announcement" to be made next Tuesday? 

We'll also have an exclusive interview with Caps' F D.J. King, who's got his work cut out for him this season in playing for another contract.

The call in number to chat with us live is (917) 388-4003 and we'll take your questions and comments @japersrinkradio. 

And if you're in a band based in the DC or Baltimore metro area and would like your music used in future episodes of JRR, email us at japersrinkradio@gmail.com.

The new Director of Broadcasting for the Washington Capitals, John Walton, has spent quite a lot of time with Caps' bench boss Bruce Boudreau over the years, and witnessed first-hand a dramatic rise in the fortunes of the American Hockey League's Hershey Bears, and not too many lows, under Gabby's command of the Bears.  Given his unique perspective, we asked John on our latest episode of Japers' Rink Radio about Boudreau's reputation as a "players' coach" (and specifically whether he might be "too chummy" with the team), his ability to make adjustments at the highest level and, ultimately, whether he can be the coach to deliver a championship to Washington, and not just "set the table."

His thoughts on Boudreau's system tinkering from our chat last Saturday:

The one thing that Bruce Boudreau is so good at, in my mind, are the adjustments to the game.  Coaching is, at its core, it's communication.   [In reference to the switch to a more defensively-focused system last December], that's a difficult thing to do midstream . . . a lot of people at the NHL level that I talked to last year say 'It's amazing to see a team change that much when it didn't involve a coaching change.'  That was a quote that I heard from a number of people, and I think that speaks to Bruce's strength about being able to communicate with his players about what he wants to see. 

On many Caps' players redoubling their summer workout efforts:

You just have a feeling in the air that says, 'Ok, last year was disappointing and the year before didn't go the way we wanted,' but you see guys ramping up already.  It's funny, we talked at the opening of the interview today about, 'Hey it's hockey in August,' and maybe for some people, they're not quite thinking in hockey terms yet.  But the principals in play here are.

Listen to our entire interview with the new play-by-play voice of your Capitals for his thoughts on these questions, which of the Caps' two young goalies he prefers, Mathieu Perreault's future, and much more here.

We're back!  Russell and I fire up the studio once again (and I emerge from early fatherhood delirium), readjust the headsets, and enliven the interwaves with Washington Capitals chatter in the middle of August, with an all-new show this Saturday at 10am.

And while you have all no doubt suffered deeply and palpably our prolonged summer hiatus, we ask your forgiveness and also this:  Have the wounds opened again by the second round sweep at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning finally healed?  While that collapse may have left you scarred to rival the mark on Lightning bench boss Guy Boucher's cheek, did the considerable free agent haul last month directed by Caps GM George McPhee to welcome, among others, forwards Troy Brouwer, Joel Ward, defenseman Roman Hamrlik, goaltender Tomas Vokoun, and welcome back center Jeff Halpern, to Washington, assauge your frustration, and rekindle your Caps fan spirits?  It did ours.

But what also provided a spark to reignite the engines for me was the announcement that John Walton will become the new radio play-by-play voice (and apparently much more as new "Director of Broadcasting") for the Caps.  John's game calls are sure to transform even a lackluster mid-season Caps match against an uninteresting opponent into an event worth your undivided attention.  So we're thrilled to welcome John back to the show to chat about his new gig, the continued importance of radio in delivering our great sport of hockey, the evolution of Bruce Boudreau's coaching style throughout Gabby's time in the Caps' organization, and his early thoughts on this renovated Caps team.

In lieu of a question for this week's show, call us up during the broadcast and share your most vivid memories of listening to Caps games on the radio, during any era.  The call in number is (917) 388-4003 and we'll take your questions and comments @japersrinkradio. 

As before, if you're in a band based in the DC or Baltimore metro area and would like your music used in future episodes of JRR, email us at japersrinkradio@gmail.com.

Well, friends, the games are over for our Washington Capitals for another spring.  This time around, the collapse was swift and linear, rather than how playoff exits tend to unfold for Les Capitals.  So it is again the season of our discontent as fans, many of you having already suffered through quite a few agonizing, abrupt, traumatic playoff series defeats over the decades that an NHL hockey franchise has headquartered its business in the D.C. area.  This time around, are you incredulous?  Infuriated?  Or perhaps numb, despondent.  Resigned.

Listen to Russell and I take to the interwaves again for another episode of Japers' Rink Radio at 4 pm tomorrow.  Call in and share your emotions.  We're here for you.  We can get through this one too, like we always have before.  One hour of therapy, free of charge.

But we also intend to sharpen our knives and steady our hands to perform the autopsy on the 2010-11 Capitals season.  And who better to guide us through a frank post-mortem on our beloved team than CSN Washington analyst and legendary former Cap, Alan May?

We'll talk coaching.  Will Coach Bruce Boudreau really return behind the Caps bench -- as opposed to, say, one of another team -- for the start of another campaign?  Should he?  How much of the blame for falling right into a sinkhole in round two should sit on the shoulders of General Manager George McPhee?  Every player suffers from ailments during the post-season, but did the injuries to the blue line provide a legitimate excuse this spring?  Are the Young Guns truly a Cup-capable corps?  A supremely talented and relentless group like those that, we've recently witnessed, led their teams to ultimate glory in Chicago and Pittsburgh?  Which free agents-to-be should the club retain?  What type of personnel overhaul is required?  And, we also should ask, for what system?

And, finally, with the 2010-11 regular slate having been billed as an 82-game preparation for, well, what we just saw, whither the 2011-12 regular season?     

Here's your question for tomorrow's show:

Which skater's post-season performance was most disappointing to you?  Positively surprising?

The call in number is (917) 388-4003 and we'll take your questions and comments @japersrinkradio. 

Let us facilitate your catharsis, and begin the healing. 

If you're in a band based in the DC or Baltimore metro area and would like your music used in future episodes of JRR, email us at japersrinkradio@gmail.com.

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Join Russell and me tomorrow morning at 10am for a special edition of Japers' Rink Radio, as we chat with none other than the "Secretary of Defense," Rod Langway!  We'll feature plenty of Caps playoff discussion, both past and present.

Rod's participating in a nationwide campaign to promote NBC and VERSUS playoff coverage and, as part of the effort, Zambonis branded with the VERSUS/NBC Sports logos -- as shown above -- will make stops in six locations nationwide from April 13-23, giving away prizes such as official team hats and shirts, autographed merchandise, team jerseys, gift cards, tickets to regular-season games next year and a VIP trip to the Stanley Cup Final.  One such prize-bestowing ice resurfacer will surface in Washington, D.C. tomorrow, at a location to be revealed on our show and tomorrow morning on the NBC Sports and VERSUS facebook page and twitter feeds. 

So tune into the show, check the network's facebook and twitter pages Friday morning to find out where the event will be held, and spend your lunch break in hockey playoff-style.

The call in number for the show, as always, is (917) 388-4003 and we'll take your questions for Rod in the comments to this post and @japersrinkradio.

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Can you believe it?  After months of worrying about playoff seeding and home ice advantage, the Washington Capitals are one point away, or a Flyers loss -- by any means -- away, from clinching [have, with tonight's Flyers loss to Buffalo, clinched] the Eastern Conference in consecutive seasons.   And it only took winning 15 of the last 18 (12 in regulation or overtime), and allowing 1.94 GA/G during that stretch, to get there.

The 2010-11 season that, even prior to its inception, was viewed as an 82-game tune up for the playoffs, finally wraps up tomorrow.  Did it go down as you expected?  We've seen remarkable progress and improvement on the blue line from the pair of John Carlson and Karl Alzner, and John Erskine, and some stagnation in the development of long term off-season re-signee Jeff Schultz.  How do the perceived weaknesses of this team now, the potential road blocks on the path to a Stanley Cup, compare to those discussed in September?  Will it ultimately come down to the ones over which the organization has no control -- injuries, officiating, and luck?  How long will be the leash for whichever goaltender starts Game 1 of the first round?  And how will the Caps deal with the pressure of the "home-ice trap," given the influx of veteran leadership?  

After a joyous (and overwhelming!) week off due to the birth of my son, Russell and I saddle up for a new episode of JRR tomorrow morning at 10am Eastern.  We welcome -- belatedly -- the new Capitals beat reporter for the Washington Times, Stephen Whyno, to get his views on all of the above, and look forward to evaluating how the Caps might match up with those teams that may still provide the opening playoff round's opposition.

Here's your question for tomorrow's show:

In the Caps' first round series, will we see more goals from (1) Alexander Semin or (2) the power play as a group?

The call in number is (917) 388-4003 and we'll take your questions @japersrinkradio. 

Have a bellini, or three, and join us.

We'll end this show with a track from Baltimore-based "industrial metal quartet," Dying Design.  If you're in a band based in the DC or Baltimore metro area and would like your music used in future episodes of JRR, email us at japersrinkradio@gmail.com.

Listen to internet radio with Japers Rink Radio on Blog Talk Radio