Photo credit: Chris Gordon

Over the summer, Swedish airbrush artist Dave Gunnarsson released photos of the new goalie mask he painted for Michal Neuvirth. It was a thing of beauty and something all Capitals fans could appreciate.

One side of the mask features images of Neuvirth’s hometown along with a portrait image of Czech goaltending great Jiří Holeček. On the other side there’s an action shot of Olie Kolzig, the franchise’s leader in wins, juxtaposed with the old Capitals dome logo and stars.

The gesture was not lost on Kolzig, now an associate goaltending coach for the Capitals and technically one of Neuvirth’s coaches.

Neuvirth shows off the mask to Mike Vogel.

During a trip to Reading, Pennsylvania in December, Philipp Grubauer — the Royals starting goaltender at the time — showed Kolzig photos of Neuvirth’s new bucket. “When I first saw the mask I thought it was pretty cool,” Kolzig told me over the phone on Sunday. “But then I realized ‘Wow, I’m getting old!’ You’ve got younger players putting former players on their masks. It’s a sign you’re really getting up there in age.”

Kolzig, who will celebrate his 43rd birthday in April, is five years removed from a career in which he won the Vezina Trophy, played in two all-star games, and broke almost all of Washington’s goalie records. “I wanted a goaltending legend from the Caps,” Neuvirth said. “So I had to pick Olie.”

“I think it was a classy thing that Michal did,” Kolzig told me. “Obviously, I was with the organization for so many years. It really was a nice thing for him to do.”

Mask design has grown as an art-form in recent years. In the early days, hall of fame goaltender Jacques Plante wore a simple, solid-grey fiberglass mask. Over time, paint was added into the formula, and the level of detail has since become extraordinary. Maybe too much for Kolzig’s tastes.

“It’s almost gotten to a point where masks have become a little too detailed for television coverage,” Kolzig said. “They’re really tough to pick up unless you see them up close. Back in the day myself, Curtis Joseph, Jocelyn Thibault with that Indian head dress on his mask, Hasek’s– they were great because they had a lot of color and personality, but they weren’t so detailed that you couldn’t see them from the stands.”

Kolzig is excited about the upcoming lockout-shortened season and the Capitals’ goaltending duo. While head coach Adam Oates has hinted at Braden Holtby starting opening night, Kolzig believes Neuvirth will still play a large part of the schedule.

“I’m a big Michal Neuvirth fan,” Kolzig said. “I really think he’s a talented kid and I think it’s fantastic that we have two guys with that ability especially this season where there’s such a premium on winning every night. You have two guys that can share the load — not only with their bodies but with a fresh mind too.”

Still, the question nags: will painting Olie on his mask get Neuvy any extra starts this season? “I hope that’s not why he did it,” Kolzig deadpanned. “If that’s the case, he should have put Dave Prior on there.”

Additional Photos

Photos by Chris Gordon

Backstrom after taking an elbow from Rene Bourque. (Photo credit: Clydeorama)

Did you think we were over this? We’re not.

Nick Backstrom has missed 22 games since absorbing Rene Bourque‘s elbow to his head on January 3rd. He has not skated in practice, and there is no timetable for his return. The Capitals have gone 8-11-3 without Nick Backstrom and are no longer among the east’s top 8. We’ve talked about Bourque endlessly and we even made a Punch-out style video about him, but hell no we’re not over this yet.

Neither is the team. Earlier this month, Brooks Laich told the Washington Post, “I don’t think our guys are ever going to forget what happened.”

The Capitals return home on Friday after a floundering road trip. There’s no reason to believe that any recent trends will magically reverse, so we’re encouraging this sideshow. And that’s why we’re debuting our new campaign for Rene Bourque: PUNCH THIS FACE.

Sure, Hendricks gave it a shot on January 18, but we weren’t satisfied. And it’s not like Backstrom sprang back into action as a result. We need to be sure it goes right this time.

Ehow.com offers indispensable advice on throwing a punch, including when to shout “yeehaw” or “bam”, how to exclude parents and bosses from your list of potential targets, and to always conclude the punching process by running away. Good tips if not immediately transferable to hockey.

Capitals Red Line contextualized fighting on an icy surface. The lower friction coefficient, we are told, makes even awesome-looking punches a bit less potent. Keep this in mind, whatever pugilistic Caps guy steps up, and keep your blades perpendicular to the punch vector.

The rest falls on us, the fans.

During Friday’s game, all Verizon Center attendees will boo loudly when Bourque touches the puck. He’ll be the dude in the white jersey, sporting number 27. If Bourque gets hit or goes to the box, it is required of you to applaud until you joy-puke.

And finally, Ian and Rachel have created these printable masks and accompanying posters for you.

Download the Mask	Download the Poster

Here’s what you do:

1. Download and print the Bourque face. It’ll fit perfectly on a standard page.
2. With safety scissors and under the supervision of an adult, cut out the face and eyes.
3. Using string, yarn, or shoelaces to fasten the mask to your noggin.
4. Download and print the Poster. It’ll also fit on a standard page.
5. Go to the game. Hold the sign up and wear the mask. Rock the red. Unleash the fury, but…
6. Don’t punch other people wearing the mask. They’re not actually Rene Bourque. It’s just a mask!

If you don’t wanna wear the mask, just grab this All-purpose Poster (pictured at bottom).

Feel free to make copies for your friends and neighbors. Pass ‘em out in Chinatown.

When our art and your leg work combine, there’s no way the Caps will miss their target. It’s like anti-social Captain Planet.

Crash the net.

Semyon Varlamov took to the ice this morning sporting a sharp-looking freshly painted goalie mask. You know, that one he purchased way back in January and wore in a rehab-stint with Hershey right before the Olympics. Well it appears Varly’s finally breaking it in for good this time for the upcoming season [Ed Note: Nope, bad assumption].  

Since I was at Kettler I decided to take a few photos the of the red mask which is a majority Capitals-themed, in contrast with his mask last year which was split between the Caps and Russian halves. The mask features Varly’s nickname on the chin with American and Russian flags, airbrushed eagles (single on the right and double on the left) and the word “Capitals” on the sides, a beautiful Weagle surrounded by red stars on a white background on the top, and a solid red back with several white stars.

Follow us past the jump for some more photos.

Click on the photos for bigger versions.  Enjoy!

What do you think?