The votes have been tallied, the people have spoken, and in our closest vote yet our winner from last week is… Tom Wilson‘s backward-sliding first NHL point:
Pretty tough act to follow, but this week featured a whole new batch of moments just ripe for the GIFing.
And away we go…
Marcus Johansson gets criticized by fans at times for being “soft”. Well, Tuesday night Johansson made sure to put on a show sufficient enough to silence those critics… at least for a little while:
Beast move. Rolling right along…
We’ve said it on occasion but it always bears repeating: Caps fans are a wonderfully strange and diverse group of people. We’re insane and crazy but fiercely devoted to the team and its players. And there’s no greater way to show that devotion than with facial hair, right? Observe:
Now that’s dedication. That’s loyalty. That’s… something.
From follicle-focused homages to one of our favorites – the bench celebration. This team has really stepped up its game this season when it comes to sharing their excitement with us (and with each other) after wins. There’s jumping, there’s hugging, there’s rally helmets and little hops and strange Hulk Hogan homages, just so many things. And somehow you almost always find the same wacky characters at the center of it all:
Wilson is truly focused on the task at hand. He has one goal, one mission… and that is to chest-bump Joel Ward. He must accomplish this, even if it means going through teammates to get there. MUST. CHEST-BUMP. WARD.
And… then get a healthy shove from Jason Chimera for his efforts. Well, he is still a rookie.
But enough with the silly stuff. This is hockey, after all – and why do we watch hockey? For the fights shootout beautiful plays, of course! Like, for example, this:
That poor Columbus defenseman. He’s actually doing everything just about right. He takes the body and almost separates his man from the puck. Almost… except his man happens to be Martin Erat, who muscles his way through the check and is still able to not only hang onto the puck but also drive the net and then make a perfect pass to John Carlson before wiping out. That is a stellar, stellar play.
Have to think this little guy agrees, too – so what did you think of that play by your dad, tiny Sebastian Erat?
…yup. Agreed. Wee fist-bumps all around.
That about wraps it up for this week – but before you go vote for your favorite, it’s time for some Flashback Friday moments from Caps-Red Wings history. And it’s almost impossible to think of past battles between the Caps and Red Wings without instantly thinking of this first moment. It was a pivotal, defining, moment in franchise history… and,like most defining moments in Caps’ history, so, so painful.
So let’s watch it on a loop, shall we?
Ugh. We all deserve some happy after that, so here’s bench boss Adam Oates showing the Red Wings who is boss (and reminding us all that some Caps can actually hit the net):
And there you have it. Now, go make your voice heard – which GIF gets your vote this week?