Your savory breakfast links:
- Previews of tonight’s long-anticipated Game 1 against the Canadiens from Vogs and NHL.com, and be sure to check out our SB Nation partner Habs Eyes On The Prize for coverage from the other side of tonight’s match up.
- Notes from yesterday’s practice (short version: Nicklas Backstrom looks good to go, Jose Theodore should be after getting a stinger in practice and Tomas Fleischmann is your second-line center). [WaPo, Dump n’ Chase, CI, Caps In Pictures (pics), Caps Snaps (pics)]
- Absolute drop-everything must-read: Is Alex Ovechkin Maurice Richard reincarnate? [EOTP]
- Do the Caps have to change their game to be successful in the playoffs? [WaPo]
- On the pre-series chirping. [Gazette]
- The Caps are ready to prove doubters wrong. [QMI]
- Tough not to look past the Habs? [WaPo]
- What being the favorite means (or, more accurately, doesn’t mean). [WaPo]
- “[L]ingering in the backgroud for powerhouse Washington is the disappointment that [Theodore] still has the starting job.” Ouch, baby. Very ouch. [Damien Cox]
- The anatomy of Alex Ovechkin‘s awesomeness. [Corey Masisak]
- How the Caps were built. [WaPo]
- Keys to the series. [RMNB]
- AO loves Montreal… [NHL.com]
- … and the feeling’s somewhat mutual (for now). [D.C. Sports Bog]
- I can’t imagine any hockey fan not appreciating Mike Knuble. What an acquisition. [D.C. Sports Bog, WaPo]
- Mike Green is one to watch this spring… [ESPN, FanHouse, DCEx]
- … he’s also “most absurdly maligned great player in the NHL.” Agreed. [FanHouse]
- Don’t bench Eric Fehr. Ever. Quintin Laing or John Erskine, on the other hand… [TSN]
- John Carlson is ready to make his NHL playoff debut and break some more Canadian hearts. It’s kinda what he does. [Ryan O’Halloran]
- A closer look at the season series between the two teams inside the face-off circle. [A Capital Offense]
- Predictions: Ed Frankovic, WaPo, Puck Daddy, Justin Bourne, Joe Pelletier, Eric McErlain, OFB,Allan Muir, Hockey or Die, FanHouse, On the Forecheck, Ice Hockey Metrics, MD Pro Sports, Hockey Independent and Kurtenblog.
- A preview of the series from a familiar voice. [View from My Seats]
- These goalies are wee men… [Four Habs Fans (language NSFW, unless you work on the docks or in trucking or something)]
- … the Caps’ D? Less so. [Four Habs Fans (again language NSFW)]
- An anything-out is really less impressive when you have to dress the fans. [CK]
- What to love, hate and expect from every Cup contender. [SB Nation, Hockey Independent]
- A look back at when Montreal traded Rod Langway. [D.C. Sports Bog]
- More history, this time that of Bruce Boudreau. [EOTP]
- On superstitions and beards, respectively. [RtR, RMNB]
- Alex Ovechkin wins yet another Kharlamov Trophy. [TSN]
- I have no idea what “murdered out” means, but I’m told it applies to Ovi’s ride. [D.C. Sports Bog]
- The Caps love throwing cards. [Cake Poker (possibly NSFW as a gambling site)]
- The team has released an iPhone app, which would be even better if you could get a data signal inside the Verizon Center. [Capitals]
- Breaking down the scoresheet, Part II – good primer for newer fans. [Scarlett Caps]
- This isn’t really Caps-related… or is it? [Lifehacker]
- Today in Caps playoff history:
- 4-3 loss to the Rangers in Game 1 of the 2009 Eastern Conference Quarters, Rangers led series 1-0
- 6-3 loss to the Flyers in Game 3 of the 2008 Eastern Conference Quarters, Flyers led series 2-1
- 4-3 OT loss to the Lightning in Game 3 of the 2003 Eastern Conference Quarters, Caps led series 2-1
- 2-1 OT loss to the Penguins in Game 2 of the 2000 Eastern Conference Quarters, Penguins led series 2-0
- 3-2 win over the Devils in Game 6 of the 1990 Patrick Division Semis, Caps win series 4-2
- 3-1 loss to the Islanders in Game 3 of the 1984 Patrick Division Finals, Islanders led series 2-1
- Finally, happy 33rd birthday to Brian Pothier – wish you were here. Sorta.