Your savory breakfast links:
- Previews of tonight’s throwdown with the Islanders from Vogs, NHL.com, AP, Peerless, NoVa Caps, and be sure to check out our SB Nation pals over at Lighthouse Hockey for the other side of tonight’s matchup.
- The rest of the world continues to discover the magic and wonder that is Evgeny Kuznetsov. [ESPN (and video)]
- Great story about Mike Richards and his pre-Caps beer league days back in Ontario. [WaPo]
- Check out a cool new way to visualize puck movement on the power play, and the use of one-timers. [Special Teams Project]
- Tracking solo rushes, the passes that spring them and the shots that result from them. [McKeens]
- News and notes from yesterday’s practice:
- In general. [Dump ‘n Chase, Monumental video (Trotz, Ovechkin, Richards, Rinkside Update/Niskanen), Friends in Cold Places]
- Alex Ovechkin makes his return tonight from a League-mandated one-game suspension; what if it had been several games? [WaPo]
- Meanwhile, Brooks Orpik continues to skate with the team and is inching closer to a return. [NoVa Caps]
- Fellow blueliner Taylor Chorney left Tuesday’s game with flu-like symptoms (…awesome); if he can’t go tonight, the Caps will send for reinforcements. [WaPo, CSNMA]
- Ranking the NHL’s top 10 left wingers… and the top spot might surprise you. No, really. [Sportsnet]
- A few leftovers from Tuesday’s loss against the Panthers. [Dump ‘n Chase, Litter Box Cats]
- The Caps have a lot of questions to answer in the coming weeks about where their forwards fit in a soon-to-be crowded lineup. [Stars and Sticks]
- Should the Caps attempt to pull off a trade for Dustin Byfuglien? [NoVa Caps]
- More on Andre Burakovsky and his ongoing development. [NoVa Caps]
- Here’s hoping the Caps make a trip like this again with the whole team – and perhaps a big, shiny trophy – sometime next season. [Monumental]
- Checking in on newly-healed forward prospect Jakub Vrana. [Stars and Sticks]
- Finally, happy 72nd birthday to Gary Smith, happy 47th to Joe Sacco, and happy 30th to Steve Oleksy.