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Photo via @zeekcw
Braden Holtby has always been an aggressive goaltender. From stealing sticks of opposing players to jumping into scrums, the Holtbeast is not afraid to assert himself. Heck, he’s even slashed Evgeny Kuznetsov in the ankles. Well, two nights after jumping on top of Erik Condra, Holtby cross-checked Travis Moen into the air after the Canadiens forward skated just a wee bit too close to the net.
Ovi seems happy, no? (Photo credit: Alex Brandon)
During the first few weeks of the season when the Caps were in dead freaking last, it seemed like RMNB couldn’t go a day without getting a poopy comment about Alex Ovechkin: Ovi’s washed up this, Ovi should be stripped of his captaincy that. Suffice to say, those comments have completely disappeared.
Ovi’s scored 18 times in his last 16 games, taken over the league lead in goals, and helped push the Capitals into first place in the Southeast division. On Tuesday against the Leafs, Ovechkin continued his amazing play, scoring once, putting five shots on net, and doing countless other little things that didn’t show up on the scoresheet.
Photo credit: @WashCaps
If you searched Alex Ovechkin‘s name on Twitter the afternoon of March 27th, you witnessed several Capitals fans freaking out publicly.
“I was just within 10 feet of Alex Ovechkin,” @ChiSportsLife said. “No big deal.”
That beautiful March day, Ovechkin filmed a commercial for Verizon Wireless, where the script called for the Russian Machine to approach random people walking by Verizon Center and start up a pick-up hockey game.
Tuesday, the commercial was finally released to YouTube – and it is awesome.
Alex Ovechkin has been scoring a lot of goals lately — 17 in his last 15 games — making him the NHL’s league leader. At the Capitals’ season-ticket holder party at Six Flags on Sunday, he proved that his touch transcends hockey. Ovi for Hart whatever trophies soccer players get!
Photo credit: Nick Wass
Alex Ovechkin’s not the only player on the Washington Capitals who’s on an epic run right now. Mike Green has been too. Lately, he’s been partying like it’s 2009 all over again, scoring seven goals in his last nine games.
Saturday night against the Lightning, Green rescued the Caps from a potentially embarrassing loss, firing a slapshot from the point past Mathieu Garon to give the Caps a 6-5 win in oooooooooverrrrrtimeeeeee.
A thumbs up from Kirilenko is more lucky than a swimming pool full of horseshoes and four-leaf clovers. (Photo credit: @mkirilenko)
Photo credit: Patrick McDermott
That washed-up Russian, Alex Ovechkin, has scored 17 goals in his last 15 games. During that span, the Washington Capitals are an astounding 12-2-1, which has taken them from the cellar of the Eastern Conference to the top of the Southeast Division. I guess we really did forget to flush. The goals have made Ovechkin a MVP candidate again for the first time in years and literally the happiest guy on the planet.
Saturday night against the Lightning, Ovechkin punctuated a huge first period for the Caps with a beautiful semi-breakaway goal. As the Lightning prepared for Ovi to shoot from the circles, the Great Eight surprised everybody on the ice and went to his backhand, beating Ben Bishop to the right post. It would be Washington’s third goal of the period and the team’s 20th shot.
Let’s just forget about the two periods after that.
Tom Wilson knocks down Chris Bigras. (Photo credit: Plymouth Whalers)
Washington Capitals first round pick Tom Wilson recently missed three games with what OHL announcers described as a “minor ailment.” Wilson returned Friday night and had a huge impact in Game Five of the Plymouth Whalers’ playoff series against the Owen Sound Attack. In a 5-0 win that gave Wilson’s Whalers a 3-2 series lead, the Ten Train scored a power play goal and picked up six minutes of penalties — two coincidental roughing minors with Gemel Smith and Kurtis Gabriel and an unsportsmanlike conduct minor.
Fifteen years ago, former Capital Esa Tikkanen had a breakaway in game two of the Stanley Cup Finals. It could have iced the game for Washington and led them to the franchise’s first Cup. Instead, his shot completely missed the wide-open net and the Capitals were swept in four games by the Detroit Red Wings.
Caps prospect Evgeny Kuznetsov had his own painful playoff moment Friday. With Traktor Chelyabinsk trailing Dynamo Moscow in the KHL Finals 2-1, Kuzya had a chance to put Traktor in total control of game three, when he was sprung on a breakaway mid-way during the second period. At approximately 95 MPH, Kuznetsov performed his patented breakaway move where he fakes a forehand shot and then puts the puck waaaaaay on his backhand, trying to slip the biscuit past the goalie. It almost worked.
Photo credit: Paul Chiasson
Admit it: over the last few years you’ve given Alex Ovechkin some grief. From his not-so friendly communication with his coaches to skipping the All-Star game, The Great Eight has generated more heel heat than B.P. Richfield from The Dinosaurs. The dwindling goal totals haven’t helped either.
On Tuesday night, Ovi completed his epic return to glory, scoring his league-leading (for about an hour) 26th goal with his fanciest move of the season. After throwing the puck through Michael Ryder’s legs, Ovi wristed a shot just beyond the circles and past Carey Price. It’s the first time Ovi’s led the NHL goals since… um… how about the early 80′s?
Photo credit: Joel Auerbach
He’s been on the ice for less than 20 minutes in a Washington sweater, but the Capitals are once again without Martin Erat. In the latter half of an otherwise boring first period in Sunrise, the Panthers’ Erik Gudbranson decided to liven things up with a dirty hit on Washington’s new forward.
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