Your savory breakfast links:
- Previews of tonight’s gambol in Gotham from Vogs (plus game notes), NHL.com, NVC and Peerless, and check out MSG Network (and again) plus our SB Nation buddies at Blueshirt Banter for the other side of tonight’s match-up.
- The bright lights of Broadway (and the many assorted ghosts of postseasons past) bring a playoff atmosphere to games at the Garden. [WaPo]
- The Tale of the Tape: Eleven years of Alex Ovechkin vs. Henrik Lundqvist . [MSG Network]
- NYR centerman Derek Stepan returned to active duty on Friday after ten games off to rehab some broken ribs. Here’s a scouting report. [SNY, NYPost]
- The Blueshirts have not been playing well lately, with a record that reflects that fact, and the long knives are out in the NYC media. [NYPost (and again), Full Tilt Rangers (and again), NYDN, SNY]
- News and notes from yesterday’s practice out at Kettler:
- In general. [Monumental video (Trotz, Holtby, Alzner, Rinkside Update/Oshie)]
- Ovechkin left practice early, but Coach sez he’s playing today. [WaPo, CSNMA, NHL.com]
- Pix from pracky from a long-lost Capsblogger. Winning team > losing team, and more fun to write about too. [Homer McFanboy]
- A few leftovers from #CapsBolts:
- Postgame notebook. [Dump-n-Chase]
- “We’ve got so used to Braden Holtby being so strong for us that we tend to be a little loose sometimes… [h]e’s been erasing our mistakes. I was making a statement: enough’s enough. He’s been our MVP from game one on. Why are we doing this to him?” [RMNB, CSNMA]
- Matt Niskanen made a hockey play. ‘Nuff said, sez he. [RMNB]
- Three takeaways from Bolts media. [Lightning]
- Making the case for labeling the Caps “the best team in hockey”. [CBS DC]
- Similarly, making the case that Holtby has been better this season than Carey Price was in his 2014-2015 Vezina/Hart season. [Fox Sports]
- Tom Wilson reached out to make sure Curtis Lazar was OK following the tough hit late in the Capitals’ 2-1 victory Wednesday. “My first world junior summer camp, he was there, so I am familiar with him,” [Lazar] said. “I told him, ‘No hard feelings.’ I’m glad there was no supplemental discipline.” [Ottawa Citizen]
- Gingerbread Zambonis! [Chocolate Hockey]
- Finally, happy 25th birthday to Alexander Urbom, and happy 65th to Bill Clement.