Friday Caps Clips: Where There’s a Williams, There’s a Way

Your savory breakfast links:

• The absence of Jay Beagle has been something of a blessing in disguise, as it made room for a pretty dominant top-nine group to emerge. [Rink]
• Recaps and other assorted musings on last night’s win from us, Vogs, Monumental video (Trotz, Ovechkin, Holtby, Niskanen, Williams, highlights), NHL.com, AP, WaPo, CSNMA, Frankovic, DSP, NoVa Caps, Friends in Cold Places, RMNB, Caps Outsider, StarsandSticks, Peerless, and from Brooklyn, NY Post, Newsday, the Islanders, and Lighthouse Hockey.
  • Harry Potter Evgeny Kuznetsov strikes again. [CBS Sports]
  • Some believe that the Islanders are just one small boost away from being able to keep up with the Caps. [Newsday]
• Braden Holtby has had a spectacular season overall, but recently he’s experienced a bit of a bump in the road. [Rink]
• Holtby’s recent rough run is probably nothing to worry about – but if it’s rest he needs, having Philipp Grubauer able to step in is a pretty nice luxury. [StarsandSticks]
• Rest will be pretty important for the whole team, and having such a big cushion in the standings might help them get exactly that down the stretch. [RMNB]
• Find out what some SBN hockey dignitaries had to say about the Caps’ ability to finally get over that playoff hump. [SB Nation]
• News and notes from yesterday’s pregame skate:
  • In general. [Dump ‘n Chase, Monumental video (Trotz)]
  • After playing the part of resident enforcer in his first two NHL seasons, Tom Wilson is taking on more responsibility. [WaPo]
  • They gave up a late game-tying goal last night, but the Caps remain undefeated in regulation when leading after two periods this year. [CSNMA]
  • Adorable Caps dads are adorable. [Friends in Cold Places]
• Taking a closer look at the pieces to the puzzle that is the Caps’ highly successful 2015-16 season so far. [Bleacher Report]
• Playing with Evgeny Kuznetsov and Justin Williams has (had?) Andre Burakovsky back on track. [NoVa Caps]
• The week in stats. [NoVa Caps]
• We are apparently (and not all that surprisingly) one of the most miserable fanbases in sports… [Fox News]
• …but perhaps not for long. Is this team “The One”? [CBS DC]
• Apparently earning the top seed in the League doesn’t mean anything and the Caps are not actually a basketball team from Oakland. [Mr. Irrelevant]
• Scoping out the potential first-round matchups for the Caps. [StarsandSticks]
• The Caps kicked off an initiative to bring street hockey to DC public schools with a visit by alumnus Alan May to Shepherd Elementary. [Caps]