Your savory breakfast links:
- Nicklas Backstrom is set to play in his 600th NHL game tonight, each and every one in a Capitals sweater. His NHL boxcars to date: 154 goals and 440 assists for 594 points, a lifetime +87 rating, and he has scored on 11.7% of his 1,316 shots. There is, however, no metric that can properly quantify how truly amazing he is as a person and as a player. Congrats, Bäckis, and thanks for all the dunder honung.
- Related: Coach Trotz is determined to get Backstrom that Selke award. You are on notice, National Hockey League and Philadelphia PHWA members. [CSNMA]
- Previews of tonight’s dangle with Detroit from Vogs (plus game notes), NHL.com, AP, Peerless, Kukla’s Korner, mlive, and be sure to visit our SB Nation pals over at Winging It In Motown for the other side of tonight’s matchup.
- News and notes from practice out at Kettler:
- In general. [Monumental video (Trotz, Niskanen, Ness, Rinkside Update/Burakovsky)]
- Injuries, the Caps haz them:
- Marcus Johansson and Karl Alzner both sat out practice and are questionable for the game. [WaPo, CSNMA, S&S]
- Brooks Orpik began practice with the team but left early, with some amount of discomfort, with a larger amount of frustration, and with a return trip to the medicos on his schedule. [@katiebhockey, CSNMA]
- Defenseman Aaron Ness has arrived from Hershey and skated in the third D pairing with Taylor Chorney. He’s been playing top-pair minutes for the Bears and, per Nate Schmidt, is a “heck of a skater.” [WaPo]
- Hot or not hot? Some players pulled their weight last week. Others, not so much. [S&S]
- Confident Nathan Walker is gaining confidence in Hershey. [Patriot-News]
- Say it ain’t so, Sasha. Alexander Semin is on waivers. Yikes. [NVC]
- With the arrival of Minnesota’s former high school standout Aaron Ness and Australia’s incoming US Ambassador, Washington DC now boasts two-thirds of the world’s Mr. Hockey strategic reserve. [The Conversation, MaxPreps (and ring ceremony photos)]
- Posterized! Caps mascot Slapshot pwned the mascot slam-dunk contest at G-Wiz’s birthday party on Saturday. Srsly – that dunk was legit. [S&S]