Interview

Tomas Kundratek Gets First NHL Point in Yet Another Washington Capitals Loss

On February 5, 2013, In Interview, News, By Chris Gordon

Photo credit: Patrick McDermott

The Caps have gone through a ton of defenseman this season — Jack Hillen got hurt, John Erskine was suspended, and head coach Adam Oates has looked for any possible combination to get the Caps out of their slump.

Since January 22nd, that has meant going with Tomas Kundratek, a 23-year-old Czech acquired in a minor league trade a little over a year ago, sometimes at the cost of guys like Roman Hamrlik. Kundratek was called up from Hershey after putting up 26 points with the Bears and being in the top five in goals among AHL defensemen.

“I coached him a little in Hershey and liked him and liked what I saw,” said Oates. “I think he’s done a great job when he’s been here so far.”

Tagged with: Tomas Kundratek

Sitting in Solitude: Braden Holtby Looks Lost After Last Year’s Amazing Playoff Run

On February 3, 2013, In Interview, News, By Chris Gordon

Photo credit: Greg Fiume

In the far corner of the room, Braden Holtby sat at his locker and stared at the ground. As the rest of the team spoke to the media, Holtby remained there, stoic and still in full gear. He didn’t look up. Finally, fellow goaltender Michal Neuvirth came over and gave him a tap on the pads. After a few minutes, Holtby got up and walked out of the room.

The Caps had just been smacked by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Holtby gave up six goals on 26 shots. At one point in the game, it was five goals on 14 shots. After coming into the season as the team’s tentative starting netminder, he has a save percentage of just .862. His goals against average is 4.52. Nothing, it seems, is going right for the 23-year-old from Saskatchewan.

“There’s been better days,” Holtby told reporters after he reentered the locker room. “The puck seemed to go in again tonight. I feel like I’m doing some right things and obviously a couple things I’d like to change but just one of those nights.”

Tagged with: Braden Holtby • Michal Neuvirth

Troy Brouwer on Gangnam Style Dance: “I Know Everyone Wants Me To Do It After a Goal”

On February 2, 2013, In Exclusive, Interview, Photos, Video, By Ian Oland

Brouwer conservatively celebrating. (Photo credit: Patrick McDermott)

A few weeks ago, Michael Wurman, Director of Game Entertainment and TV Production for the Washington Capitals, teased a special goal celebration for Troy Brouwer. During the Capitals open practice at Verizon Center on January 17, Brouwer busted a move and performed PSY’s Gangnam Style dance in skates. Wurman threatened that once Brouwer scores, that footage would be seen again.

“That song. Oy,” Wurman said. “But the people have spoken, they want it.”

On Friday, after Brouwer scored his third goal of the year with a perfectly placed shot over Ilya Bryzgalov’s right shoulder, Wurman gave the people what they wanted.

Tagged with: Dance • Gangnam Style • GIF • Goal Celebration • Michael Wurman • PSY • Troy Brouwer

How Caps PA Announcer Wes Johnson Lost 92 Pounds and Counting

On January 29, 2013, In Exclusive, Interview, By Ian Oland

A before and after shot of Wes with his health coach Elaine.

On December 6, 2012, while the NHL lockout was in its 82nd day, employees of the Washington Capitals game entertainment crew reunited for hockey for the first time in seven months. The Caps AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, played the Norfolk Admirals in front of a sold out crowd. Hours before the game, arena employees met near the Caps locker room area for a briefing.

As PA Announcer Wes Johnson entered the room, Michael Wurman, Director of Game Entertainment and TV Products, pointed over to the man that many referred to as “Big Guy.” “There have been quite a few changes over the offseason,” Wurman said with a big smile. “And one of them just so happens to be sitting over here: Wes.”

The room gave Johnson a round of applause. “It was very gratifying,” Johnson told me in a phone interview. “And a little embarrassing too.”

“You’re probably in the last five to ten years of your life”

During a winter day a few years ago, Johnson walked out the front door of his Virginia home to run a few errands. As he made his way to his car, the 51-year-old actor, voice-over artist, and comedian, slipped on a patch of ice in his driveway. Despite his five-foot, nine-inch height, Johnson took a big tumble to the ground, ripping ligaments in his ankle.

Tagged with: Elaine Rom • Medifast • Ted Leonsis • Wes Johnson

Muffins Are Greater Than Cannons: John Erskine Scores His First Goal Since May 2011

On January 27, 2013, In Interview, News, By Chris Gordon

Erskine (right) celebrates his goal. (Photo credit: Patrick McDermott)

Photo credit: Nick Wass

The Washington Capitals have won a hockey game. For the first time since April 9, 2012, the Caps defeated their opponent when they beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 at Verizon Center. It had been over eight months since the team’s last victory, a May 9 win over the New York Rangers in the second round of the playoffs. After the summer and the lockout, the boys got off to an awful start in 2013. They were blown out in their first three games and dropped Friday’s in overtime.

Another thing that hasn’t happen in just about forever also occurred on Sunday. John Erskine, known for his rough hits and bruising fights, scored. A goal. In a hockey game.

It was Erskine’s first tally since the team’s final game of the 2010-11 season, a 5-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. That’s 634 days for those who like a precise count.

“I wouldn’t say I was surprised,” Erskine, a defenseman, told reporters afterwards. “I just threw it at the net, and you never know what can happen. It can go off people and in the net. That’s the way goals are going in these days.”

“Whenever I score any goals, the boys get up and have a good little cheer,” he added with a wry smile.

Tagged with: Joel Ward • John Erskine

Troy Brouwer: “It Shouldn’t Be Difficult” for Alex Ovechkin to Play Right Wing

On January 27, 2013, In Interview, Opinion, By Chris Gordon

Adam Oates talks to Ovi during practice on Saturday. (Photos by Chris Gordon)

Alex Ovechkin has become a one-dimensional player. Once the league’s most creative and premier scorer, Ovi has been stymied by his apparent unwillingness to change — at least so far. His struggles at right wing in the first three games this season demonstrated that much. After just eight periods, the exercise ended. Ovi was back at left wing.

Ovi’s switch has been the story of the season so far for the Caps. But not everybody thinks it should be.

“Are we talking about Ovi again? That’s bulls—t,” forward Troy Brouwer told me when asked about Ovechkin’s play this season.

“It shouldn’t be difficult,” Brouwer said. “He’s a right handed shot, he should be able to play right wing. It should be hard to play your off wing.”

Tagged with: Adam Oates • Alex Ovechkin • Jay Beagle • Joey Crabb • Marcus Johansson • Nicklas Backstrom • Wojtek Wolski

Mark French on Dmitry Orlov’s Possible Concussion: “It’s Above My Pay Grade and Above My Qualifications to Say”

On January 25, 2013, In Exclusive, Interview, News, By Chris Gordon

Orlov catches up with Mike Green at Hershey’s Outdoor Game. (Photo credit: Kyle Mace of Sweetest Hockey On Earth)

Their defensive depth was supposed to be a strength. The plan for the Washington Capitals was to have nine blueliners with serious NHL experience at their deposal, ready to jump into to a game at any minute. It didn’t work out that way. The pair of Karl Alzner and John Carlson has struggled, giving up a majority of the team’s goals against. The other D-men haven’t been much better. Tom Poti has played three games in two years. Mike Green is scoreless. And then there are the injuries. Jack Hillen went down after playing less than four minutes. Dmitry Orlov has been out indefinitely. The Caps have been forced to call up Tomas Kundratek.

So what happened to Orlov, one of the team’s rising stars? While skating for the Hershey Bears in the AHL Showcase at Verizon Center in November, the young Russian absorbed a hit up high from Emerson Etem. He didn’t appear to be favoring anything when he attempted to play one more shift that night, leading many to believe he suffered a concussion. In an interview with RMNB’s Ian Oland, Bears coach Mark French did not confirm or deny that Orlov may have received a concussion on the hit.

“The only thing we’ve said so far — as far as my understanding — is that it’s an upper body injury,” French told Ian. “It’s above my pay grade and above my qualifications to say any more. It’s certainly an upper body injury.”

“Our hope is that once we regroup as a team following the All-Star break he would be able to skate,” said the coach.

Tagged with: Dmitry Orlov • Hershey Bears • Mark French

Karl Alzner and John Carlson: The Disaster Duo

On January 24, 2013, In Interview, News, By Chris Gordon

Photo credit: Rob Carr

Nothing is going right for the Washington Capitals right now. But one of the biggest problems is clear: the misfortunes of Karl Alzner and John Carlson. Of the 14 goals the Caps have allowed this season, Carlson has been on the ice for nine of them and Alzner for eight. Until they were broken up at the start of third period, this was the team’s number one defensive pairing. That’s not how you win hockey games, something Washington has demonstrated.

“I have no idea,” Alzner said when asked what was going wrong for the two.

“We’re not getting the bounces, plays that I normally would do, an easy poke check — it’s happening for the both of us,” he added. “We weren’t contributing anything good to the team.”

Tagged with: Calle Johansson • Carlzner • John Carlson • Karl Alzner • Washington Capitals

Unleash The Fury: Don’t Worry, It’s Still a Thing

On January 24, 2013, In Interview, News, By Chris Gordon

Tom Green unleashing the fury. (Photo credit: Katie Stansbery)

The Caps were not the only thing missing on Tuesday night. Some fans noticed the absence on a long-time staple of the video board: playing Unleash The Fury when the team is down late in a game. A few of you took to our comments to vent your fears, but according to Michael Wurman, the Director of Game Entertainment and TV Products for the Washington Capitals, there is no need to worry.

“I debated running it early, but I wanted to see how the second period played out,” Wurman told Ian Oland, referring to the 4-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets. “The game just didn’t dictate it in the third period.”

“The game always dictates how and what we run,” he added. “Unleash The Fury and the other pump up elements are never scripted.”

Tagged with: Michael Wurman • Troy Brouwer

Washington Capitals Welcome Fans Back to Verizon Center With Sloppy Play, Pepsi Products

On January 23, 2013, In Interview, News, By Chris Gordon

Alex Ovechkin high fives fans on the way to the locker room after warmups. (Photos by Chris Gordon)

Caps fans, finally back at a game, watch warmups.

At 7:12 PM on January 22 six ounces of vulcanized rubber hit the ice at Verizon Center for the first time in 258 days. It was May 9, 2012 when the Washington Capitals held their last home game here, a 2-1 win over the New York Rangers in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Since then, there was a Game Seven in New York, a long summer, and an even longer fall. The almost four month long NHL lockout kept fans across the continent away from the game and for some separated them from their second home.

“I’m overjoyed to be back at Verizon Center because I feel like part of me was missing when they were gone,” said Caps fan Melissa Blum of Germantown, Maryland. “I grew up watching hockey and it’s my favorite thing so when it wasn’t there that was unfortunate. Now that they’re back so I’m happy.”

“It’s going to take a little bit of time to knock the fan rust off,” William Stilwell, better known as Goat, said. “This time of year I’ve usually gotten some yelling callouses build up but tonight it’s like boom, right into the thick of it. I’ve been doing a lot of screaming in traffic, things like that.”

Tagged with: Goat • Joel Ward • Karl Alzner

Russian Machine Never Breaks

Tomas Kundratek Gets First NHL Point in Yet Another Washington Capitals Loss

Sitting in Solitude: Braden Holtby Looks Lost After Last Year’s Amazing Playoff Run

Troy Brouwer on Gangnam Style Dance: “I Know Everyone Wants Me To Do It After a Goal”

How Caps PA Announcer Wes Johnson Lost 92 Pounds and Counting

Muffins Are Greater Than Cannons: John Erskine Scores His First Goal Since May 2011

Troy Brouwer: “It Shouldn’t Be Difficult” for Alex Ovechkin to Play Right Wing

Mark French on Dmitry Orlov’s Possible Concussion: “It’s Above My Pay Grade and Above My Qualifications to Say”

Karl Alzner and John Carlson: The Disaster Duo

Unleash The Fury: Don’t Worry, It’s Still a Thing

Washington Capitals Welcome Fans Back to Verizon Center With Sloppy Play, Pepsi Products

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