Wednesday Caps Clips: Capitals vs. Bruins Cup Banner and Game Day

Your savory breakfast links:

• Previews of tonight’s season-opening bout against the Bruins from Vogs, NHL (and again, pluses/minuses), CBS Sports, Stats/TSX, NoVa Caps, and Peerless, and be sure to visit our SB Nation pals over at Stanley Cup of Chowder for the other side of tonight’s opening matchup.
• At last, after years of waiting and watching other teams celebrate... the Caps will raise their own Stanley Cup banner to the rafters tonight. [AP]
• Headed downtown tonight? Make sure to keep an eye which roads are closed ahead of the outdoor viewing party beforehand. [NBC4]
• Don’t miss a minute! Check out the full schedule of opening-night events, from red carpet to Cup banner. [Caps]
• No one has celebrated or been more joyful after the Cup victory than Alex Ovechkin - and that joy doesn’t appear to be fading anytime soon. [WaPo]
• It’s not just current players enjoying the win; the team’s alumni are a part of it, as well. [NBC Sports (video)]
• Somehow the Caps managed to keep the majority of their Cup-winning roster intact. So how did they do it? [WaPo]
• New head coach Todd Reirden has his work cut out for him, but he’s already putting his relationship-based stamp on the team. [WashTimes]
• The roster is set, and includes a last-minute surprise, as the Caps claimed forward Dmitrij Jaskin off of waivers yesterday. [Caps, WaPo, WashTimes (and again), NBCSW]
• In a span of about 48 hours, the Caps will have gone from collecting their rings to raising the banner and officially kicking off a new season. [Caps]
• It’s hard to know how to feel, as a player or a fan, when you prepare for a new season with a fresh championship in the books. [WaPo, NoVa Caps, NBCSW]
• Hear from some of the team brass and leaders on the eve of the season. [Caps video (MacLellan, Reirden, Holtby, Ovechkin, Backstrom)]
• Tom Wilson will once again face the Department of Player Safety today - this time in an in-person hearing. Whatever his punishment, he needs to take this as a wake-up call and change his game. [WaPo, Puck Prose]
• 3 bold predictions for the Caps ahead of the season opener. [NBCSW]
• If they want to repeat, the Caps will need to avoid the typical Stanley Cup hangover (and not the kind that can be cured with some water and a few aspirin). [WashTimes]
• Previews and predictions for the team, the Mettropolitan Division, and the League as a whole as we prepare to kick off the 2018-19 season. [NHL, Sporting News, THN, Yahoo! Canada, THW, Winners and Whiners, RMNB, Flohockey]
• Plenty of milestones could lie ahead for players around the League, including yet another for the Caps’ captain. [NHL]
• Check out where the Caps fall on the first Super 16 of the season. [NHL]
• Reasons to be excited for every fanbase heading into 2018-19. Yes, even Senators fans. [Vice]
• Grading the offseason moves (or lack thereof) for each of the Metro teams. [The Score]
• The Caps’ coast-to-coast five-game road trip in mid-February is one of the most grueling stretches of any team this year. [The Score]
• Apparently videos of the Caps’ celebrations this summer quickly went from amusing to alarming, and the team is way too drunk to even make the playoffs. Or something. [Toronto Sun]
• A Cup Final rematch just three games into the season - with the banner freshly hung in the rafters - is one to watch. [BayToday]
• Take a look at the top five best plays from a Stanley Cup run chock full of ‘em... [NBCSW]
• ...and at #3 on the top ten moments from the playoffs, when the Caps became Eastern Conference Champions. [FiCP]
• Bid to win a signed Nathan Walker Hershey jersey and give some money to a well-deserving cause. [Chocolate Hockey]
• Before taking on the challenge of defending their championship, the Caps were put through their paces by the media, first having to spell some of their teammates names... [WUSA9 (video)]
• ...and then diapering a suspiciously tiny baby doll. Spoiler: Andre Burakovsky is a natural. [NBC4 (video)]
• Everyone ready for the season? Let’s do it again.