Thursday Caps Clips: Breaking the Rules

Your savory, protocol-following breakfast links:

• The NHL has slapped the Capitals with a hefty $100,000 fine for violating the league’s health and safety protocols. [Rink, NBCSW, AP, Reuters, ESPN, PHT, Yahoo, The Score, Sporting News]
• The reason? A maskless hotel gathering between Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov and Ilya Samsonov - all of whom are now on the COVID-19 absences list. [WaPo, NBCSW (and again), NHL]
• Statement from the team:

• And from Alex Ovechkin:

• The Caps may have gotten away with a point in each of their losses to the Pens - but they should have had two wins, and they’re leaving points on the table. [Rink]
• A few leftovers from Tuesday’s overtime loss in Pittsburgh. [Caps, NBCSW, RMNB]
• Four games into the season, the Caps are still looking for some consistency to their game. [WashTimes, THW]
• Power rankings, plus a rundown of the biggest surprise for each team after opening week (...which, we should note, was written prior to last night’s revelation). [ESPN]
• The taxi squad will be on hand to help the Caps, but it’s taking away from the Hershey Bears’ depth as they prepare to open their training camp. [NoVa Caps]
• It’s possible that Connor McMichael could join that squad once he completes his stint in quarantine - or he could simply join the Caps. [RMNB]
• Finally, happy 71st birthday to Ron Anderson, and happy 54th to Ulf Dahlen.