FanHouse Brian Pothier

If you were looking for a more unlikely hero to step and save the season for the Washington Capitals, you'd have a tough time finding a better choice than right winger Matt Bradley. A plugger with a lot of heart who commands respect inside the Washington locker room for his work ethic, Bradley has never scored more than nine goals in a full season and only had five all season long.

But that didn't matter earlier this evening. With his team down three games to one to the New York Rangers and the season on the brink, Bradley scored a pair of first period goals that were all Washington needed on its way to a 4-0 win over the Rangers to force a Game Six on Sunday back in New York.

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One rumor we keep hearing in and around the Washington Capitals this offseason concerns the disposition of veteran centerman Michael Nylander. With the team almost $2.7 million over the cap after re-signing a passel of players and a logjam up the middle, it's hard for the folks who watch the team not to speculate as to what General Manager George McPhee might have up his sleeve to get under the cap by opening night.

Toss in the fact that Nylander's former agent, Mike Gillis, is now General Manager in Vancouver, and you have a pretty typical recipe for intrigue.

And here's something new for the mix: Our FanHouse colleague Jon "J.P." Press, with an assist from some of his readers, discovered that Nylander put his Potomac, Md. house on the market back on July 17. The discovery is just more fuel for the fire, as former goalie Olie Kolzig's departure from Washington was also presaged by a real estate listing for his home.

When you take a look at the numbers, it's clear that moving Nylander, who was imported from the New York Rangers as a free agent before the start of last season, would solve the team's cap problem in one fell swoop. Coming in at a cap hit of $4.875 million, trading the veteran center would take care of the overage and provide about $2 million in cushion going into the season -- just the sort of cushion that most GMs would like to have come the trade deadline.

But will the Caps need to move Nylander at all? The answer: It depends.

I really dig it when reporters explore religion in sports, not only because it usually produces a provocative reaction but because it can provide valuable insight to an athlete's motivations, personality and integrity (or hypocrisy, depending on the scandal). Looking back at when I interviewed Brian Pothier of the Capitals for a feature story last season, I regret not exploring his spiritual side: He is, or at least was, involved with a sports ministry called Champions for Christ, started by former Bruins sieve John Blue.

Today, Joanne C. Gerstner of The Detroit News has an interesting look at religion in the NHL, using the Red Wings as a case study. Pavel Datsyuk, for example, has a small religious shrine in his locker. But the interesting news come from Newark's unofficial crime czar, Barry Melrose, regarding hockey's private nature and one of the most feared brawlers in recent memory who's actually a Jesus freak:

"One of the most religious guys you could ever meet was Stu Grimson," Melrose said of the former feared enforcer, who played for the Wings and six other teams. "He didn't run around telling people about it, but he's one of the deepest Christians you can meet. The thing is, hockey's tradition is all about maintaining your privacy. Guys don't go around talking about religion, or a fight they had with their wife, in the locker room. It's like a zone that you respect that way.

"So I just don't think hockey's made it so a guy like Reggie White or a (Jon) Kitna would just show up declaring their love for Christ. But maybe that's why hockey doesn't get the attention like other sports. Maybe we are too private about everything."

H/T to George James Malik and his Snapshots blog.