Thursday Caps Clips: Backy’s Back, So Are OT Woes

Your savory breakfast links:

• Recaps and other assorted musings from last night’s Washington Capitals OT loss to the Chicago Blackhawks from us, Vogs, WaPo ($), AP, NHL, Caps video (recap, condensed game, Coach Laviolette, Backstrom, Oshie), ESPN, Yahoo, WHN, NBCSW (and again), NoVa Caps (and again), RMNB, NBC Chicago, and SB Nation pals Second City Hockey.
• Evgeny Kuznetsov entered the NHL’s COVID protocol list yesterday. [Athletic ($), NBCSW, NoVa Caps, RMNB, S+S]
• Notes from yesterday’s practice in regard to roster moves for the current road trip. [Caps, WHN, NoVa Caps, RMNB]
• If Alex Ovechkin catches up to Wayne Gretzky, there better not be any asterisks next to that milestone. [WHN]
• Speaking of Ovi, his underrated passing skills make him even better (which seems impossible). [Athletic ($)]
• The Caps needed Daniel Sprong to be great this season, and he is not quite meeting expectations. [THW]
• See where the Capitals fall in this week’s NHL power rankings from Kristen Shilton. [ESPN]
• The NHL is re-instituting enhanced COVID protocols into January in response to spiking cases across the league, including at 22 players entering COVID protocol yesterday. [ESPN, Sportsnet, TSN]
• And how are those increased COVID cases and stricter protocols affecting the NHL and potential Olympic plans? [ESPN]
• Finally, happy 44th birthday to Eric Belanger and happy 34th birthday to Mike Weber!