John Carlson shot a one-timer to Theodore’s far side that was tipped in by ample bottom of Troy Brouwer, the same gentleman who caught a monster saucer pass from Braden Holtby before unleashing a perfect slapshot on Florida’s Jose Theodore. Joel Ward capped off an offensive-zone takeaway with a snazzy goal from the slot. The Caps cracked the four-goal plateau for the first time thanks to a nifty one-timer by Ovechkin right after the faceoff. Mathieu Perreault earned his first of the year halfway through the third, chasing Jose Theodore from net in the process.
“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.
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.”
On January 22, 2013, In Guest Post, By Russian Machine Never Breaks
[Editor's note: When Mike Knuble was let go by the Capitals over the offseason, Knuble's Knights were temporarily without a player to worship. After some careful thought, they re-formed as a fan club dedicated to power forward Troy Brouwer and dubbed themselves the Brouwer Rangers. Nathan Burchfiel, the group's fearless leader, is now here to reveal the group's new spandex'd uniform and signs for the Caps home opener. The floor is all yours, Nathan.]
After the Caps lost their season opener to the Tampa Bay Lighting on Saturday, many Caps fans were weeping and gnashing their teeth about this Schultz or that Ovechkin. We, on the other hand, were busy experiencing something of an existential crisis.
As we struggled to squeeze into lycra suits and freshly painted motorcycle helmets during our first and only Brouwer Rangers “dress rehearsal,” the existential question wasn’t, Who are we and what are we doing with our lives? It was more, How are we going to pull this off without being arrested for indecent exposure?
As you may know, for the past three years, we’ve attended Caps games decked in plastic armor, shields and swords, and armed with an array mildly controversial but mostly silly signs in support of fan-favorite Mike Knuble. With Knuble’s departure – and at his encouragement – we knew we had to continue the tradition with a new victim muse player to cheer for.
There’s plenty floating around about why we picked Brouwer (and why we do this at all in the first place) so we won’t rehash it here. With the lockout still fresh in our minds, who really wants to dwell in the past anyway? Instead, the fine folks at RMNB asked us to provide a preview of what’s in store for the Brouwer Rangers during this shortened season. Our existential crisis has become, Can this possibly live up to the antics and adventures of Knuble’s Knights?
Thursday night at Verizon Center, the Washington Capitals held an open practice and offered free concessions to fans to say sorry for the NHL lockout. The free stuff was cool and all and yay hockey is back, but here’s the real story: Troy Brouwer did the Gangnam Style dance.
John Carlson’s hair at the Redskins game. (Via @DCSportsBog)
At 5:45 on Sunday morning, we learned that the NHL and NHLPA had reached an agreement on a new collective-bargaining agreement. Washington Capitals players took to Twitter, and yes, they were happy.
On November 17th, Washington Capitals first-line winger Troy Brouwer suited up for the Goals For Dreams hockey game, a charity exhibition that pitted the NHL Players Association against Winnipeg Police Patrolmen. In front of a sold-out crowd at the University of Manitoba’s Max Bell Centre, locked-out stars like Jonathan Toews, Shea Weber, and Mike Richards hit the ice again and raised over $80,000 for the Children’s Hospital Foundation and the Dream Factory.
Peter said it best a few weeks ago. RMNB has zero interest in covering the actual lockout. “Financial negotiations (and their public face) are all about posturing, tedium, and equivocation,” he said. “Whereas our principal interest in hockey has always been scoar, moar, and goals.” We have gone to great lengths to cover hockey and try to make things fun as possible while patiently waiting for the NHL to end the madness.
But now that Washington Capitals players are bickering with each other through the media, we feel compelled.
And unlike the last time, this does not involve adorable dogs. Instead: (presumably) adorable babies. That’s because Troy Brouwer’s wife Carmen has recently given birth to a little girl by the name of Kylie Marie.
Well things are about to get even better. CSN Chicago’s Tracey Myers is reporting that Brouwer’s beautiful wife Carmen is expecting the couple’s first child any day now.
