UNIONDALE, NY -- What does a Stanley Cup contender do when nothing is working, their feisty underdog of an opponent is giving them fits and they're down 2-0 with 15 minutes left in the game? To hear the Washington Capitals tell it after coming back to beat the New York Islanders 3-2 on Saturday night, a few things.
UNIONDALE, NY -- Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau came to the defense of Alex Ovechkin on Saturday morning, after the superstar forward was fined $1,000 for his alleged "slew-foot" of Atlanta's Rich Peverley on Thursday.
After the first two games of the Washington Capitals' season, Alex Ovechkin is on pace to score approximately 123 goals (hurray for small sample sizes!).
BOSTON -- On the first day in October, more than eight months before the Stanley Cup is rolled out to center ice, the Washington Capitals demonstrated in NHL Game No. 1 in Boston on Thursday night why they may be the Eastern standard.
These Capitals are not just Alexander Ovechkin, but a team constructed with precision from top to bottom.
Early last week when ESPN's E:60 aired a segment on the fast life of Washington Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin, it was hard not to be struck by a brief and absolutely incongruous appearance by LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers. As my friend Greg Wyshynski wrote at the time, it seemed to be something of a reach, even for the WWL, as if they needed to include a clip of James in order to interest any NBA fans who might be watching.
Ovechkin and James met up the last time the Cavaliers were in town to play the Wizards, and Ovechkin took the opportunity to present James with one of his jerseys. At the time, James was a bit chagrined that he didn't have one to give Ovechkin in return, but that oversight was corrected Friday when Caps owner Ted Leonsis strode into the team's practice facility in Northern Virginia with one of the NBA wunderind's jerseys in hand, complete with a personal autograph: "To Alexander the Great: Keep up the good work. King James."
In other news, Sidney Crosby's LeBron jersey is still on back order from Mitchell and Ness. Just like mine.
When a team earns home-ice advantage for a first-round NHL playoff series, the expectation is that they'll win at least one of the first two games. That leaves you in position to take control of the series on the road.
However, if you lose those first two home games, and then face up with two straight games in the underdog's building, what does that mean? The Washington Capitals and San Jose Sharks are about to find out, and the facts might not be what you expect.
Most NHL teams have to get creative to entertain fans during long television timeouts. If you go to games, you'll see goofy animations on the scoreboard, activities where fans are encouraged to behave like they've been drinking even when they haven't, and advertisements for future home games and promotions, among other things. In Atlanta, the Thrashers produced a mock PSA for Tuesday's game against Washington, which pokes fun at Alexander Ovechkin'sspot for Eastern Motors. Enjoy.
With 11 shots (tying his third-highest single-game output of the season) in Sunday's 6-4 win over Atlanta, Alexander Ovechkin became the second player in NHL history to top 500 shots in a season. With 507 shots on the year, Ovechkin needs 43 more in the Caps' final three games to tie Phil Esposito's record of 550, which he set in 1970-'71. Esposito scored 76 goals that year, so Ovechkin better catch up. Slacker. [Capitals Outsider]
If you're like me, you've always wondered what star athletes from different sports talk about when they meet each other. Thursday night, folks in Washington got a chance to find out.
After the Cleveland Cavaliers had their long winning streak broken by the lowly Wizards, basketball's best player had a chance to chat with hockey's best player, as mentioned earlier today. LeBron James, meet Alexander Ovechkin. Alexander Ovechkin, meet LeBron James.
Last week, as you may remember, Washington's Alexander Ovechkin came under fire from members of the hockey world -- the most well known voice being Don Cherry -- for his wild celebrations. The tipping point came when he scored his 50th goal of the year against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Tonight, the Capitals are in Toronto to play the Maple Leafs and as you might expect, the Toronto media had a field day with Ovechkin sitting in their laps. Actually he was sitting in a visitng locker at the Air Canada Centre, but you know what I mean. For Ovechkin, it was a great chance for him to speak his mind to the media and give the man credit because he did just that. But what else would you expect from the most charismatic player in the game today?
Early last week when ESPN's E:60 aired a segment on the fast life of Washington Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin, it was hard not to be struck by a brief and absolutely incongruous appearance by LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers. As my friend Greg Wyshynski wrote at the time, it seemed to be something of a reach, even for the WWL, as if they needed to include a clip of James in order to interest any NBA fans who might be watching.
When a team earns home-ice advantage for a first-round NHL playoff series, the expectation is that they'll win at least one of the first two games. That leaves you in position to take control of the series on the road.
If you're like me, you've always wondered what star athletes from different sports talk about when they meet each other. Thursday night, folks in Washington got a chance to find out.
Last week, as you may remember, Washington's Alexander Ovechkin came under fire from members of the hockey world -- the most well known voice being Don Cherry -- for his wild celebrations. The tipping point came when he scored his 50th goal of the year against the Tampa Bay Lightning. 
