Tuesday Caps Clips: Capitals vs. Leafs Game Day

Your savory breakfast links:

• Previews of tonight’s quest for eight against Toronto from Vogs, NHL.com and Peerless, and be sure to check out our bestest buddies and SB Nation partners over at Pension Plan Puppets for the other side of tonight’s matchup.
• News and notes from yesterday out at Kettler:
  • In general. [Monumental video (Rinkside Update, Oates, Brouwer, Fehr, Ovechkin), Bears in Pictures]
  • Marcus Johansson left practice a little early with soreness (ruh roh) but should be okay to go tonight (whew). [WaPo, CSNW]
• The “Alex Ovechkin is the Best” party continues:
  • By proving doubters wrong, he may have the Caps poised to tear through the East in the playoffs (wha…?) [Globe and Mail, NHL.com (Melrose)]
  • …is great at cutting a swath of destruction through the neutral zone… [BHS]
  • …owes Nicklas Backstrom a huge debt of gratitude for his assistance (and vice versa, I’m sure)… [WaPo, WashTimes]
  • …but probably shouldn’t be considered for MVP. Oh, well. [SI.com]
• The red hot Caps may not be contenders just because of this hot streak (sorry, Barry Melrose), but they “have the hockey world on notice once again. And that’s exciting.” Darn tootin’. [THN]
• The Great 8’s not the only one putting up some points, as Troy Brouwer is taking advantage of a new role to smash some career numbers… [WashTimes]
• …and the blue line is getting some good offense from one of their blueliners. No, not this guy… or this one. Would you believe it’s Steven Oleksy? [Dump ‘n Chase]
• This team (to say nothing of its fanbase) has been all over the board this year with ups and downs, highs and lows, big wins and blown leads. In other words… same old, same old. [WaPo]
• Of course, there was one infamous year where the downs far outnumbered the ups. So how did that inaugural Caps team survive it? Laughter. Just like the rest of us. [Globe and Mail]
• The week ahead holds many a matchup against our neighbors to the north. Or should I say our neighbours tou the nourth. [Puck Buddys]
• Checking in with some farmhands:
  • The Caps announced that they have re-signed center Ryan Stoa to a one-year deal. [Caps, PennLive]
  • As the big club continues to fight for a playoff spot, some of their prospects are already in the midst of a postseason run. [CSNW]
  • While the Hershey Bears are still hoping to do the same. [SHOE]
• Fan picks on Mike Green on Twitter, Green fires back, fan prints out tweet, Green signs it, BFFs forever. Tale as old as time, my friends. [Bog, Puck Daddy]
• More from Brooks Laich on meeting his namesake, Orioles legend Brooks Robinson. [Bog]
• Finally, happy 50th birthday to Garry Galley.