Your S.Avery breakfast links:
- Previews of tonight’s Caps/Rangers game from Vogs, NHL.com and Peerless, and be sure to check out our SB Nation partner Blueshirt Banter and our good buddy Scotty Hockey for coverage from the other side of tonight’s match up.
- As of yesterday, Alex Ovechkin was a go for tonight’s game (Milan Jurcina, Boyd Gordon and perhaps David Steckel… not so much). [In The Room, Washington Times, Washington Post]
- Vogs with more, including the new line combos. [Dump and Chase]
- Put another way, “[T]he vacation is over. It’s time to go into battle.” [AO himself, via @dchesnokov]
- The Caps’ shot differential, broken down by game situation, shows a propensity for taking the foot off the pedal once ahead. [Behind the Net]
- Peerless takes a look at the second ten-game segment of the season for the team and the forwards.
- The Boss gives a State of the Team at roughly the quarter pole. [Ted’s Take]
- Ken Campbell recaps the Caps’ rebuild. Money quote: “[O]n the trades that mattered, McPhee knocked them all out of the park and his scouting staff completed the fine work by getting quality NHL players with the draft picks he acquired.” [The Hockey News]
- Bruce Boudreau was on HNIC radio with @JeffMarek yesterday. Really good listen (the obligatory Flash love comes at about the 20-minute mark). [CBC (audio)]
- Oh, fun topic: injuries! [CSN Washington]
- Arturs Irbe on coaching: “My motto is very simple: If I’m not good enough as a coach and my players don’t feel that I’m giving them enough, then why extend my stay?” That’s a simple motto? [CBC]
- AO continues to be an exception to most rules. [Vancouver Sun]
- Fresh power rankings are out with the Caps up a spot to third at The Hockey News and Sportsnet, down one to third at SportingNews, up one to fourth at CBC, up two to fourth at ESPN and down two to seventh at TSN.
- Peter Bondra on Alexander Semin. [OFB (with more discussion in this FanPost)]
- Bear Tracks! [Lebanon Daily News]
- Finally, happy 60th birthday to original Cap Gord Smith and happy 54th to Dennis Maruk (who is listed as being two inches shorter than Mathieu Perreault and holds the Caps single-season scoring record with 136 points).