Your savory breakfast links:
- Recaps and other assorted musings from last night’s loss to Montreal from us (with quotes), Monumental video (Oates, Ovechkin, Green, Brouwer, Ward, Erat), NHL.com, AP, WaPo, CSNW, Peerless, Frankovic, DSP, RMNB, and from across the border, the Habs, Montreal Gazette (and again), Hockey Inside/Out, and our SB Nation pals over at Eyes on the Prize.
- Adam Oates tends toward the more even-keeled approach in his dealings with the media… so the fact that he called out his veterans after last night’s game is pretty telling. And hopefully effective. [WaPo, CSNW]
- Sometimes games feature staged fights between two experienced enforcers; rest assured, the scrap between Troy Brouwer and P.K. Subban was not one of them. [Caps Outsider, RMNB]
- Previews of tonight’s Hockey Night tilt with the Leafs from Vogs and NHL.com, and be sure to check out our SB Nation BFFs over at Pension Plan Puppets for the other side of tonight’s matchup.
- Usually reserved for Alex Ovechkin, the Canadian media focus ahead of tonight’s game is on Mikhail Grabovski as he makes his return to Toronto. [Toronto Sun (and again), CP, WaPo]
- One quarter of the season down, three-quarters to go. Find out what we think of the events that have transpired thus far. [Rink]
- More on the woes of the “second” line, as Adam Oates instructs them to work a little harder and smarter. And, y’know, score some goals. [WaPo]
- The more things change, the more things stay the same for the Caps… so could it be time to break up the Caps’ core? [WaPo]
- Former Caps’ coach Bruce Boudreau believes that Alex Ovechkin can score 70 goals… and that was before Ovechkin picked up another two tallies last night. [NHL.com, RMNB]
- One major trend for the Caps this season? Allowing far too many shots-against, which isn’t doing them any favors  (besides helping to boost their goalies’ save percentages a bit). [NHL.com]
- Down on the farm:
- After missing three games with a lower-body injury, Mike Green returned to the lineup last night – which means it’s back to Hershey once more for Dmitry Orlov. [Caps, Patriot-News]
- Caps’ prospect Cameron Schilling is starting to establish his identity as a defensive defensemen with the Bears. [Patriot-News]
- The Metropolitan Division and Ray Emery’s unpunished beatdown of Braden Holtby both make the list of some of the season’s biggest disappointments thus far. Hooray! [Puck Daddy]
- Ovie the Bulldog continues to hound his namesake for an autograph. Get it? Hound? Because he’s a dog. [Caps Outsider]
- Steve Oleksy: Cover Boy. [RMNB]
- Finally, happy 26th birthday to Nicklas Backstrom, who has a history of scoring goals on his birthday…