Photo credit: Chris “Effing” Gordon

Brooks Laich threw a strike.

That’s kind of his modus operandi. Ever reliable and always competent, Laich excels at pretty much everything he does. And before throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at the Baltimore Orioles game on Monday, Laich gave time to the media on a variety of issues. He nailed that too.

In the interview, Brooks speaks at length about his fan allegiance (split between the Orioles and Expos), how his struggles in the postseason extended to youth baseball, and his totally appropriate adulation of Cal Ripken.

We know you love baseball. You have an unusual first name in every part of the country but this one.  How did you get to be named Brooks?

So my dad said when he was younger, he used to take his radio into school and listen to the ballgames. He was a huge baseball fan.  And he became a huge fan of Brooks Robinson.  He liked Brooks’ approach to the game. My dad really appreciated the defensive aspect of the game and Brooks brought that. He liked the name. That’s the story, but it’s pretty cool.

I got a chance to meet Brooks. And that was a very, very special day for us.

Watching Brooks play, did that teach you anything playing hockey?

You know what? Probably indirectly.  My dad was a very good baseball player, good defensive baseball player.  He was a catcher and I’m assuming he took some of that from watching Brooks play.  When I grew up playing hockey, he always stressed the defensive side of the game to me, maybe indirectly because of Brooks.

It’s really neat I got to meet him. He was incredible, humble, and genuine. These are all things people always said about him and I got to tell my dad “this is who I met.” It was an awesome experience.

You grew up a long way from Baltimore.  It would seem that maybe you’d have somebody from the Minnesota Twins or Toronto Blue Jays as your hero.

I watched the Blue Jays growing up. I was a fan of the Blue Jays.  But as far as meeting your namesake, obviously, I have a vested interest in that.  A couple years ago, I was able to get a Brooks Robinson signed baseball and a Brooks Robinson signed photo and I gave those to my dad as a gift.  So I had hopes that one day we would cross paths. Certainly being in the area I’m an Orioles fan and [I] also say [I'm] a Nats fan too. I cheer for them both equally.  I’m pretty excited to be here to watch the game.

Are there any kids named after you?

When I met Brooks, he said that he and his wife keep a list of all the Brooks who are named after him and I thought that was a really good idea, that’s incredible. And then the other day, a lady approached me and said I have to show you my friend who named her son after you. She asked me, “Have you ever had that happen before?” I said,”I’ve had it two or three times that I know of.” People have contacted me and said, “We named our son after you” and it’s an amazing, humbling honor. It’s really sort of shell-shocking to hear. But maybe I should start a list. I don’t know. It’s a pretty cool thing. I really don’t know how to describe it.

You said your father played baseball. How big was baseball in your household compared to hockey?

Baseball and hockey growing up were pretty equal. I mean we played baseball in the summer and hockey in the winter. My mom always wanted me to be a baseball player, because she wanted to sit outside. She was like, “I want to sit outside in the sun and watch the games.” Our rinks in Canada are very cold. You have to dress very warmly to watch the game. And I said, “Mom, the rinks I’m going to be playing in are very warm. You’ll be alright.” I always loved hockey. It was number one. But in baseball we won the division title twice. We lost in the final twice. And our town had very [a] good baseball [team], but we could never win it in hockey. Nine boys in our class was all we had and they were all very good baseball players but just SUCKED at hockey. It just drove me crazy.

What position did you play?

I was a pitcher, catcher and shortstop.

Not a third baseman though?

Nope I played maybe one or two games at third. Terry Bako used to play third base for us. Curtis, my friend standing next to us in the blue, he was our second baseman. He was also a pitcher. We were very good at baseball growing up.

When did you stop playing baseball?

I moved away from home at 16 to pursue hockey and then after that, my summers were consumed with summer hockey and training. I wasn’t able to make all the games and all the practices. I sorta had to sacrifice it. Every time I see Curtis, he brings his ball and glove and we play catch all the time. It’s a game I will love forever. If I couldn’t be a hockey player, I’d probably be a baseball player.

Are you one of the guys that play catch before Capitals games?

No. I don’t do that. Some guys do. I don’t know how many of those guys were ballplayers. They might tell you they were. I don’t know if they were or not. I might step in and throw some every now and then.

Are you feeling any pressure with the first pitch tonight?

Absolutely none. People keep asking that, “Are you going to be nervous? Don’t bounce it!” I’m looking forward to it. It’s like passing a puck for me. I played growing up. I’m gonna grab it and I’m gonna whip it in there.

Have you thrown any first pitches before?

Nope, I’ve never done it, but I’m not going to be nervous. I’m excited. It’s something that’s going to be fun for me.

Are you going to try and outdo Ovi from last year? His pitch was high and kind of outside.

Did he? I’m just going to try and whip it in there. Like there’s going to be scouts in the stands. I want a minor league deal for the summer. It might be the only chance of my life. I’m gonna whip it in there!

So what’s this experience been like being on the field and everything?

It’s actually really awesome to be a fan. I mean we’re used to playing, we’re used to [focusing on our own] careers. But to be a fan… I’ve been to a Redskins game. Last night, we were at the DC United game. Being on the field here, especially after growing up playing baseball, there’s still a big part of me that’s a fan. My friend Curtis, he’s really enjoying it. He’s one of those big baseball people: come to the ballpark, get a beer, get a hot dog. I’m a kid in the candy store right now.

What jersey are you going to wear? Did you ever have a chance to find a Brooks Robinson jersey?

I haven’t. There’s still a little time before I go on. We’ll find a Brooks Robinson [jersey]. Huge, huge Cal Ripken fan as well. I have a signed picture of him. I have so much respect for that man. I respect consistency and a guy that plays everyday. And everyday the Orioles play, Cal Ripken was playing. That was a certainty. And I have so much respect for that: never taking days off or time off playing everyday. He must have had a huge, huge passion for this sport. I’m torn between a Ripken and a Robinson [jersey], but I have to go with the Robinson.

Maybe someone will throw you one down from the stands.

[Laughs] I’ll buy one. Curtis and I are going to go buy a jersey. I was hoping [Brooks] was going to be able to make it. I really hoping he’d be able to make it, but it doesn’t sound like he is.

Is there anybody on the field today that you’re really excited about meeting?

I hear JJ Hardy is a big hockey fan.

Jim Johnson is a big New York Rangers fan.

I don’t want to meet him then. [Smiles.]

It’s weird though. JJ was born in Tucson, Arizona and it’s odd for somebody to… I guess it’s odd for a Canadian to be a baseball fan. It’s neat. I really enjoy meeting the athletes of the other teams. Got to know a couple of Redskins guys, Nats guys, DC United guys. I really enjoy seeing them, meeting them, and leaving them tickets to come to a game. It’s pretty cool.

Photo credit: Patrick McDermott

The day after Christmas, Nicklas Backstrom was skating in a KHL game for Dynamo Moscow. Midway through the second period of a 1-1 game, Nick took a pass in the far corner. He attempted to spin around and take the puck behind the net. Instead, Backstrom was slammed into the boards by Milan Kytnár; his face hitting the dashers. Backstrom got up, clearly shaken. He left the game after one more shift.

Given Backstrom missed 40 games last year after being concussed by Rene Bourque, this was a scary blow. Dynamo, however, insisted that his brain didn’t take the beating. It was, they said, a bruised neck. Backstrom’s agent reiterated that. But then Alex Ovechkin said something funny when asked about his teammate’s injury: “Sometimes it’s not hard hit, you just feel a little dizzy.” Dizziness, of course, does not usually go along with bruises.

Backstrom ended up seeing a neurologist, Jeffrey Kutcher, who cleared him to play. Despite the early injury fears, Backstrom had a nice season, putting up eight goals and 40 assists in 48 games. He made his teammates better too — Ovechkin only became a Hart Trophy finalist once he was reunited with Backstrom. He also did some Geico commercials. All in all, it was another solid season for Nicky.

Backstrom did, however, get off to a slow start. I asked him if his injury in Russia had anything to do with that. He seemed to be taken somewhat off guard by the question, but then insisted that it didn’t harm his play.

“Yeah, I had that injury but it didn’t affect me anything to be honest with you,” he told me.

“I felt like I was doing alright over here,” Backstrom added. “I have no excuses — I will never have them.”

Caps General Manager George McPhee was questioned Wednesday about who was playing through injuries this season. He declined to give details.

“You really admire these players because they play through some things — all the players around the league do — and they don’t need a medal to do it,” the GM said. “They play through it and they don’t need any recognition or anything. They just do it.”

The next day, word of Ovechkin’s broken foot was leaked. You know, the thing Ovi called just a bruise.

Hendy high-fives fans as he walks down the tunnel to the Capitals locker room. (Photo credit: Patrick McDermott)

Matt Hendricks is a beloved player in Washington, but by no means is he an essential one. The Caps know that, and he knows that. With his two-year, $1.65 million contract expiring on July 5, he may have played his last game as a Cap. Hendricks, though, hopes that’s not true.

“I hope I don’t get to that date in July,” he said Wednesday at Kettler Capitals Iceplex as the team cleared out their lockers. “I hope I’m back here in Washington.”

“We’ve been in the negotiating process over the course of the season,” Hendricks added. “It’s a business. It’s a big part of the business. You want to get what you feel you deserve and what you feel is right.”

Hendricks’s agent Michael Wulkan, for what it’s worth, didn’t reply to a request for comment.

The Capitals don’t have a ton of room to work with as things stand now this offseason. Washington has about $5.6 million in cap space, but they also have Mike Ribeiro, Karl Alzner, and Marcus Johansson to sign — things they’ll likely be more focused on. Grinders, too, can easily be replaced through the organization and if necessary the free agent market. And Hendricks isn’t an integral player on the ice, however fond fans and teammates are of him.

So Matt Hendricks is done in DC, right? Perhaps not. As a reporters asked one Capital after another about the 31-year-old forward, the players continued to give the same answer: it’s not just about how he plays, it’s about how he makes others play. Hendricks, they say, is vocal in the locker room. He pushes his teammates to do better and, in turn, they do. He’s always out there, at practice or in a game, whether he just got hit in the face with a puck or not.

“He’s a total package player,” his friend and fellow fourth-liner Jay Beagle said. “You need those guys on your team, those role players.”

Of course, intangibles are hard to quantify — they are after all not tangible. But if Hendricks can make the people around him give more and play better, maybe that’s worth an extra hundred grand or two a year. How George McPhee feels about that, though, is unknown.

There is another thing that might help keep Hendy around: his wild symphony of exaggerated dekes and leg lifts when five minutes of overtime isn’t enough.

“He’s got that shootout move that not many guys can do,” Beagle said. “I’ve tried it, I can’t do it.”

Ribs salutes the fans after his overtime goal in game five. (Photo credit: Patrick McDermott)

For perhaps the final time in DC, Mike Ribeiro is #swag. (Photo credit: Chris Gordon)

The Washington Capitals have been searching for a second-line center for years. Last summer, they finally got one. In a shortened season with the Caps, Mike Ribeiro was excellent — even when his team wasn’t. He anchored Washington’s power play, turning Alex Ovechkin – a guy the Caps have invested $123 million in — into a lethal threat.  He stabilized the top six. He led the league in points on the man advantage, a huge source of the team’s scoring. He will soon be a free agent. The captain wants him back, though, and so does the coach.

“The most important thing is to re-sign Ribs,” Ovechkin told Slava Malamud. “It will be tough without him.”

“You all saw how valuable he was to our team,” Adam Oates added. “Hopefully the parties will work it out because we love him.”

After Ovi heaped praise on Ribs for his work this season, I asked Ribeiro what he learned by playing with the Russian. Seeing clips of him on NHL Network, of course, is different from sending him a cross-ice pass on the power play. Until this season, Ovechkin never depended on teammates. Instead, he’d take the puck into the offensive zone and try to create the play by himself. As we saw the last two years, that stopped working. Oates got him to change that, but in March Ovechkin demanded Ribeiro give him the puck in the neutral zone. Though Ovechkin is superstar, Ribs said no. By the end of the season, Ovechkin was a Hart Trophy finalist.

“He’s still a young player who has a lot to learn about the game and how to play it,” Ribeiro told me of Ovi. “He’s a powerful player.”

“His English was better than when I saw him on TV,” he continued. “Sometimes I was like ‘What is he saying?’ I used to be like that. Guys used to laugh at me the way I speak.”

Losing Ribs would be a difficult loss for the franchise, but it may be a necessary one. The team only has about $5.6 million in cap room for next season. While they could probably get Ribeiro for that, they’d have to shake up the roster a little or consider not re-signing RFAs Karl Alzner and Marcus Johansson. Considering Ribeiro is 33 and wants a four- or five-year deal, that’s a tough sell. (Ribeiro, for what it’s worth, said he “can only get better.”)

“It’s important to be hard on the merits and soft on the people and do it right,” Caps GM George McPhee said, before adding that he doesn’t talk about specific negotiations.

Still, Ribeiro reiterated that he likes the area and is hesitant to move his family again. He also wants to win. Until two weeks ago, he had missed the postseason in five straight years. That may have been justification to get the heck out of DC in February, but now it’s a reason to stay.

“Once you make the playoffs, you want to go back,” he said. “You see the potential that we have here.”

“I don’t want to be selfish by signing too much and not being able to get other guys here or re-sign guys here,” Ribeiro added. “If I stay here I want to have a chance to win. … You cannot just re-sign me and have the same kind of team. You want to improve your team.”

Soon, the Caps and Ribeiro will have to make their choices. On July 5, the center is no longer the team’s property. From the coaches to the media, everyone at Kettler Capitals Iceplex Wednesday morning knew they may be seeing him for the final time. Then, Ribeiro emerged. He strode to the podium outside the Capitals locker room wearing a fedora, a diamond earning, and a large chain. A reporter asked him about his opulent look.

“I’m allowed to do what I want to do now,” he quipped.

We’ll see if that includes staying in Washington.

It was mid-March and Karl Alzner was on the Internet. Like most twentysomethings, he looked up silly videos on YouTube to kill time. He stumbled across one from early last year — it was of Peter Dill, a basketball player for Seton Hall. Dill scored a single basket in his two years playing for the school, but he did get very excited when his team scored. Alzner played the clip for Mathieu Perreault.

“The guy would just go crazy, pretend he had Thor’s Hammer and he’d be smashing the ground,” Alzner told me Saturday afternoon. “Perry, I could just see his eyes, like ‘this is awesome!’”

“We should do that after we win games,” Perreault responded.

A couple weeks later, Alex Ovechkin put the puck past Jhonas Enroth during a shootout in Buffalo, ensuring a 4-3 victory for Washington. Perry followed through on his agreement with Alzner, letting out a primal scream, pumping his fists, and shaking on the bench. CSN’s cameras zoomed in, GIFs were made, and a meme was born — all within about 20 minutes.

“I didn’t know if he was gonna do it or not — but he did,” Alzner said.

“I get excited when we win!” Perreault added. “It’s just fun.”

A few days after Perreault’s inaugural freakout, the Capitals won another game in the shootout, this time over the New York Islanders, and Matty P. reacted with a manic windmill thing. The Internet took note again. But according to Alzner, he was also going wild at the time, doing some air-archery, a nod to one of Dill’s moves at Seton Hall. No one saw, though, and Alzner gave up trying to match Perreault.

“He’s doing it good — and I haven’t been,” said Alzner.

In the final game of the regular season, Perreault brought back his original convulsing celebration after the Caps beat the Bruins in overtime. Then, when Mike Ribeiro tallied nine minutes and 24 seconds into OT on Friday, Perreault went insane for the forth time.

“He’s a funny dude, so it doesn’t surprise me one bit,” Joel Ward, Perreault’s linemate, said. “For us that’s just a normal episode for him. He’s quite the character.”

There have been parodies, t-shirts, and perpetual replays, but the player at the heart of it has been largely oblivious of the reception the celebrations have gotten. Perreault’s not on Twitter and apart from a few videos, he was unaware it’d now become synonymous with him.

“I didn’t think it was gonna be that big of deal,” Perry said. “I mean, if people like it then it’s good.”

Alzner, though, knew he had something interesting from the start.

“I’m not too surprised,” Alzner said with a wry smile when asked for his reaction to the reaction. “I’m pretty happy about it actually.”

For Perreault, the celebrations are an illustration of his progression this season. It’s silly and it’s funny, but the scene would have seemed foreign back in February. The Caps were awful. Perreault was skating on the fourth line, only getting a few minutes of ice time a night. He hated it. As Adam Oates promised, though, Perreault got his chance. Now Matty P skates on the Washington’s superb third line, part of a Capitals team that hopes to win a Cup.

When that team wins, he celebrates more than anyone.

Photo credit: Chris Gordon

It’s been a crazy weekend for Tom Wilson. Friday night, he made his NHL debut in game 5 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Sunday afternoon, he’ll take the ice for his second big league game, this time at the famed Madison Square Garden. It’s a lot of pressure for a guy barely out of high school. How does he handle it?

“It’s unbelievable, a dream come,” he said before his inaugural game. “I’m really excited to hopefully get a nap in and just get to it.”

That plan, it seems, worked out for the 2012 first round draft pick.

“I was pretty nervous,” he said after the game. “I was at the rink and I wasn’t that nervous. Then I got back to the hotel room, had some down time, and it kind of set in, but I was able to nap pretty well so it was good.”

S/T to friend-of-the-blog Amanda for pointing this out to me.

Photo by Tom Turk | tomturk.com | piraticalphotography.com

Third line checker Joel Ward isn’t usually on the power play, but last night in the second period head coach Adam Oates played a hunch on the Capitals first extra-man advantage of the game.

“My name was called and I just went out there,” Ward said after the game. “I was excited to be out there. I just tried to pay attention to the details and get in my spot.”

He got in his spot, alright. After Nicklas Backstrom — at the right circle — passed to Marcus Johansson behind the net, the young Swede immediately dished to Ward for a one-timer. Tic-Tac-Joel, as Craig Laughlin lovingly put it.

It was Ward’s first playoff goal since his epic game-seven, overtime game-winner against the Boston Bruins last season that sent the Capitals into the second round.

To celebrate, Ward threw his hands in the air, giving off some sassy body language that translates to some form of “YESSSSSHHHHHHH.” Then Ward noticed something coming towards him out of the corner of his eye at high speed. He braced himself.

Alex Ovechkin, author of some of the most epic goal celebrations you will ever see in the NHL, was very, very excited that his teammate scored. Maybe too excited. Ovechkin jumped a few feet in the air as Ward tried to catch him like an over-exuberent puppy. Later, Ward admitted he was scared Ovechkin might injure him.

“Yeah, I just didn’t want to fall and hit my head on the ice or something,” Ward told RMNB’s Chris Gordon. “I was just trying to brace myself because [Ovi's] a big body over there.”

It wouldn’t be the first time Ovechkin’s celebrations scared his teammates. After Sergei Fedorov’s game-winning goal in game seven of the 2009 series against the Rangers, Ovechkin tackled the Russian vet to the ice with glee. “He was so excited”, Fedorov said of the celebration way back when. “When he jumped on me, I was like, Whoa, careful! But when we crashed into the boards, he absorbed most of the impact, so it was O.K.” The Ward situation was no different.

“Obviously, I was just excited to get one, especially on the power play and special teams,” Ward continued. “That’s the name of the game in the playoffs. He’s excited. I’m excited. Everybody’s excited.”

Yes, but let’s not hurt each other, you guys!

Photo credit: AP

Additional reporting by Chris Gordon.

Photo credit: Greg Fiume

Tom Wilson is barely 19 years old. Most kids his age spend their Friday nights drinking at parties in their precious time off from contributing nothing at all to society. Yeah, you know who you are.

Wilson, though, is bettering our world — he’s a hockey player after all — and he made his NHL debut Friday night. Granted, he skated a team low 6:24, but he threw a few nice hits and pushed some Rangers around after the whistle — typical fourth line stuff. His play wasn’t particularly interesting. The game it came in, though, was. The Caps won game 5 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals in overtime to take a 3-2 series lead.

“It was unbelievable — chills,” Wilson told me of his debut, repeating a version of that line countless times while standing in the far corner of the Capitals locker room at Verizon Center. “It was everything I imagined; it was a dream come true.”

Wilson, as you know, didn’t conceive himself a member of the Washington’s playoff lineup until a couple days ago. He played in juniors this year, registering 58 points in 48 games with the Plymouth Whalers, before they were cut down in the third round of the postseason by Dale Hunter’s London Knights. Wilson then moved on to Hershey in the middle of their playoff run. He played two games for the Bears, scoring in one. Ian was there at the time and exclaimed, “I would not be surprised if he makes the Capitals out of training camp next season.” Four days later, he was playing for the Caps, after Hershey was eliminated and Martin Erat’s arm smashed into the ice.

“I thought he did great,” head coach Adam Oates said. “Had a few hits, which is what we ask, skated well, fit into the line. It was great to see his enthusiasm.”

The Wilson family was freaking on Friday thanks to two rites of spring — playoff hockey and senior prom. His little brother Jamie was back home in Toronto along with his mother. Wilson’s dad and his older brother Peter, though, grabbed a flight down to DC. They landed just as Wilson had to leave for Verizon Center.

“I saw them, gave them a quick hug, and jumped in the car with Oleksy to come here,” Wilson said after the game. “It was a pretty special day for me and my family.”

By Saturday morning, Peter and his father Kevin were back on a plane to Toronto.

“I hope they had a great time,” Wilson said.

Photo credit: @davidb22307

Holtby leads the Caps on the ice for warmups prior to Game 2. (Photo credit: Chris Gordon)

It’s playoff time, which means we’re in for an inordinate amount of NBC coverage showing Braden Holtby getting all zen-like on the Capitals’ bench. But what, exactly, is going through the young goaltender’s mind in those moments?

“It’s just visualization techniques, breathing techniques,” Holtby, in a crisp suit with a purple pocket square, told me Sunday morning at Kettler Capitals Iceplex before the team’s flight to New York. “It’s just one of the things I do I try to do to get my mind in the same frame every night. It gets a lot of attention but a lot of guys do it, you just don’t see it.”

Holtby’s right about it being more widespread than some think.

“I came to the rink three hours early, I had a coffee, a stretch, and I did about 30 minutes of visualization,” Olie Kolzig told CSN Washington a few days ago. “That was the extent of my preparation.”

So we know Holtby’s visualizing; we’ve heard that a thousand times. But what does that actually mean? Well, Holtby says he almost playing a game in his head, imagining what the other team is doing and how he wants to react.

“You go over everything: certain plays, certain things you’ve been working on that you want to see yourself do correctly,” he said. “It’s just visualizing what you want to do. … Try to view yourself the way you want to be viewed.”

So there you have it: Braden Holtby spends his time before big games daydreaming.

Of course, Holtby’s pre-game contemplation isn’t his only idiosyncrasy. Braden’s Holtbyisms are well documented, but the goalie is rather terse when pressed on why, exactly, he does them. What he will concede, though, is that all his little moves (whether it’s spitting water through his teeth, tapping the posts, or flipping his water bottle into the air) help him stay focused on what’s happening on the ice in front of him and nothing more — especially during tight, stressful playoff games.

“It’s routines — everyone has them,” he said. “Everyone has their little things that they do in order to refocus and whatnot.”

“I try to approach every game the same no matter what the circumstances are,” Holtby added. “The biggest way to do that is just to focus on the task at hand and do my best to block everything out.”

Boom. (Photo credit: Greg Fiume)

Whether he’s riding a Vespa on 66, sporting hair that doesn’t make sense, or scoring an overtime goal, Mike Green is always cool. Even in some of the game’s most heated moments, he retains his composure. After Saturday’s one-time blast to put the Capitals up 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, he now has eight overtime goals in his career.

Because of his late-game abilities, his “Game Over Green” nickname is well known. But now, it seems, Greenie may have another one.

“He’s calm all the time with the puck in regulation, so when it gets to overtime and guys start to get the shakes a little bit, he’s still calm Mike Green,” defenseman Karl Alzner said. “We call him Casual Mike every now and then.”

For a guy with a hand tattoo and a orange white Lamborghini, Green is remarkably level-headed. He didn’t think his goal was anything special (“It was just a lucky one. It could have been any of us. … I just happened to be open”) and he was already looking towards Monday’s Game 3 in New York (“You can’t get too high or too low. It’s just about staying consistent.”)

Still, his late-game stats say enough. Saturday’s one-time blast was the 18th game-winning tally of his career. While his play dropped off the last couple seasons, Green was plagued by injury most of the time. He’s healthy under new head coach Adam Oates, and once again playing a system that suits goal-scoring, puck moving defensemen. But scoring or not, he’s always relaxed.

“You need guys out there that are calm and that’s one of his gifts,” said Oates.