All Entries Tagged With: "Backstrom"
Blackhawks No Longer Perfect
CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) -The Blackhawks came close to staying undefeated but give the Minnesota Wild credit.It wasn’t as if the Wild dominated the contest but the Hawks could not find a way to score in the final forty minutes of regulation. Once a game goes into overtime and then a shootout, anything can happen. [...]
Hawks Show Up In 3rd Period To Stun Sharks
Those who recorded Sunday night’s Hawks’ game and haven’t watched it yet, take my advice: Fast forward to the third period and don’t waste a second watching the opening 40 minutes. Many of the 21,456 who were in attendance would agree most of this contest was forgettable. Fortunately, the ending was great, as the Hawks [...]
Mission: Stanley Cup. Is this the year?
Is this the year the Washington Capitals put the doubters to rest? Four years in succession of playoff failure has left many in the hockey community wondering if the Caps will ever be able to reach the next level. We won’t get the answer to this question until next spring, but this is the best Caps team [...]
Matt Bradley opines on the culture in D.C.
The dog days of summer are among us, and the hockey world has a thirst for some legitimate hockey news. Thankfully we have newly minted Florida Panther Matt Bradley to help us along. The former Washington Capitals’ winger took to the airwaves in Ottawa and was asked about the Capitals troubles in the postseason and [...]
Brooks Laich inks six year contract
The already weak unrestricted free agent market took another hit today as the Capitals announced the signing of Brooks Laich to a six year contract. The contract will pay Laich an average of $4.5 million per season over the course of the contract, totaling $27 million. The contract also contains a limited no trade clause [...]
The void at Center returns.
It’s funny how things can change in just a matter of weeks. The Capitals were able to acquire Jason Arnott at the trade deadline in late February; coupled with the miraculous maturation of Marcus Johansson; and suddenly the Capitals were about as deep down the middle as any of the Cup contenders. Prior to the [...]
The Capitals fooled us again
The Washington Capitals are now four years into a decade long plan of being an elite team in the NHL; decorated with multiple Stanley Cups. To this point, the organization has failed to deliver on that promise after yet another post season meltdown. The Capitals were swept by the Tampa Bay Lightning in their conference [...]
Second round ticket – punched.
In the dressing room following the Capitals 3-1 win over the New York Rangers, the message was clear – the Capitals have not yet accomplished anything. With just one round down and three to go, the Caps can bask in the joy of victory for just a moment. They will be back to work on [...]
The journey begins: Capitals v. Rangers
The real season begins Wednesday night for the Washington Capitals. We have seen this movie before; winning the Eastern Conference and entering the playoffs as a legitimate contender to win the Stanley Cup. A season ago the Capitals were in a very similar position to the one they find themselves in this year. Suffice to [...]
George McPhee: the Capitals’ only hope
The fate of the Capitals’ season rests in the hands of George McPhee. McPhee has just under two weeks to right the ship that has been veering off course since the beginning of December. No pressure, right? Since breezing through the first month and half of the season, the Capitals have been walking a path [...]
The Capitals best defenseman? John Carlson
John Carlson’s claim to fame is scoring the gold medal winning goal in the 2009 World Junior Championships against Canada. He is now referred to as the “Real American Hero”. Well the Real American Hero made his NHL debut a season ago. And despite being just 19 years of age, Carlson made an instant impact on the [...]
Capitals Musings: Cause for concern?
In this latest installment of my Weekly Musings series, where I speak to the general nature of the Washington Capitals over the last week, it will be awfully difficult to point out any positives. The Caps have now lost four games in a row and have looked dreadful in all four of those losses. Losses [...]
Capitals Weekly Musings
This will be the first post in a series of posts that will come once per week at Hockey Indpendent. The goal here is to provide some insight and analysis on aspects of the Capitals’ season that are trending in both a positive and negative way. I will go ahead and answer the obvious question. [...]
Selanne Sets Record in Finns Win
On Friday night, Finland continued its quest to steal away the number one seed in Group C from the 2006 Olympic Gold Medal winning Swedes. It would come in a matchup against the defensive team Germany, lead by Marco Sturm and Jochen Hecht. It was Finland’s powerplay that buried the Germans in this outing, scoring [...]
GameDay: Caps @ Kings | New Year = New Tests
Nicklas Lidstrom became the first player to captain a team to a Stanley Cup who was not from the US or Canada.
If the Caps are on their way to raising a Cup, it would certainly be a nice vision to behold the GR8 Eight hoisting the Stanley Cup for the fans at the Verizon Center with “C” elegantly emblazoned on his chest.
But is he ready for that much more of a challenge?
Home From Western Canada. Bring on Buffalo.
The Caps finally made it home from their latest three game road swing that took them through the Northwest division. All in all I would call this trip a success. It is tough to name two rinks harder to play in than GM Place in Vancouver and Rexall Place in Edmonton. Throw in the Pepsi Center and you have yourself one difficult task. The Caps finished this trip with a 2-1 record. Here are some of the good aspects of this latest road trip, as well as some areas for concern.
Headed to the Great Northwest
The Washington Capitals are about to embark on their toughest three game stretch through the first two months on the season. The Caps will play their next three games in hostile territory, this time in a tour of the Northwest division. Starting tomorrow night against the Colorado Avalanche, Friday night against the Canucks, and finally in a HNIC showdown against the Edmonton Oilers.
GameDay: Caps Vs Canes – First versus Worst
The league-best Capitals welcome back Mike Knuble as they host their divisional foes, and current league-worst, the Carolina Hurricanes tonight at the Verizon Center. Read on for game preview as well as game notes…
Gameday: Caps Vs Sabres | Alzner Answers SOS, 2 Desperate Teams
The Caps returned John Carlson and Andrew Gordon to the Hershey Bears and recalled Karl Alzner in order to shore up the blue line. Washington has lost 3 in a row, but are still hanging onto a tie for 1st in the Eastern Conference. With a win tonight, they could vault into sole possession of the top spot.
Gamdeay: Caps @ Sens | Battle of the Nations Capitals
Washington Can Snap Mini Slump versus Senators Backup It will be Brain Elliot starting in nets for the Ottawa Senators tonight as the Capitals pay a visit to the National Capital of their neighbours to the North. Washington, currently mired in a mini slump since they crossed the border, will be seeking to re-ignite their extremely [...]
