Monday Caps Clips: New Year, Same Ovi

Your savory breakfast links:

• Alex Ovechkin was named the NHL’s First Star of the Month for December yesterday, to no one’s surprise. [Caps, NHL, WHN, NBCSW, NoVa Caps, RMNB]
• Recaps and other assorted musings from Saturday night’s rout of the Montreal Canadiens from us, Vogs, WaPo ($), NHL, Caps video (recap, condensed game, Coach Laviolette, Ovechkin, Gustafsson, Lindgren, Johansson), WHN, NBCSW, NoVa Caps, RMNB (and again), S+S, and SB Nation pals Habs Eyes on the Prize.
• December was kind to the Washington Capitals, and here’s what we learned about them during the month. [NBCSW]
• Tom Wilson appears to be nearing his return to the Capitals lineup, and current Caps are reflecting on playing against him earlier in their careers. [WHN]
• A look at Washington’s stat trends over the last week. [NoVa Caps]
• Erik Gustafsson’s hot streak has come at just the right time. [NBCSW, NoVa Caps]
• Alex Ovechkin continues to make history, and he’s nowhere near done. [S+S]
• Ethen Frank scored twice in the Hershey Bears’ loss to the Providence Bruins this weekend. [NoVa Caps]
• Fortunately for the Capitals, reinforcements seem to be on the way soon. [NBCSW]
• Finally, happy 54th birthday to Rick Tabaracci, and happy belated birthday to hometown kid Joe Snively, who turned 27 yesterday!