Photo by Examiner

The Washington Capitals will be in Tampa, Florida Saturday evening as they kick off the 2013 season with a game against the Southeast Division rival Lightning.  The Capitals finished last season in seventh place in the Eastern Conference before losing in seven games to the Rangers in the Conference semifinals under the jurisdiction of Dale Hunter.  With Hunter now gone and Adam Oates in charge, Washington begins their quest for the franchise’s first Stanley Cup with act one of a furious 48-game sprint to the finish before the playoffs begin.  It should be one hell of a ride.

Third-year coach Guy Boucher, who many believe to be on the hot seat heading in to this year, will give the nod in goal to summer acquisition Anders Lindback.  Lindback posted a 2.42 GAA and .912 save percentage last season for the Predators in a backup role and will be relied upon to be the force in goal that the Lightning lacked last season.  Outside of the goal crease, Tampa is not suffering from any injuries to their regulars and expects to field their full lineup.  That includes summer signing Matt Carle on defense, who will run the power play.

After his stellar playoff run for the Capitals last season, Braden Holtby will get the call in nets from Oates.  The Lloydminster, Saskatchewan native posted a 2.49 GAA and .922 save percentage in 7 regular season games last year, but upped those to a ridiculous 1.95 and .935 in 14 playoff games.  Holtby has earned this start, but what will be interesting is how Oates responds when the inevitable drop-off comes.  The Capitals will be without jack-of-all trades Brooks Laich up front, who is out while recovering from a groin injury he sustained in Switzerland during the lockout.  Eric Fehr and Joey Crabb will be the healthy scratches up front as the Capitals go with only 11 forwards.  Defenseman Tom Poti will make his return to active duty following a two-year injury layoff tonight, and will skate alongside Jack Hillen and Jeff Schultz as Washington goes with 7 defensemen; this means that John Erskine is a healthy scratch.  Fellow rearguard Dmitry Orlov is out with an upper-body injury and did not make the journey to Florida.

The game can be seen locally on Comcast Sportsnet.  Puck drop is 7:07-ish.

Harry Hawkings is a college student credentialed to cover the Capitals for RtR.  Follow him on Twitter here for all your news needs this season.

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The Washington Capitals were back on ice Wednesday morning of another day of training camp as they continue to work towards Saturday night's opener in Tampa Bay.  Some notes from Kettler Capitals Iceplex:

Following the practice in the morning, forward Tom Wilson was sent home to Plymouth of the OHL to continue his development this season.  Though Wilson was impressive in camp by all accounts, there never really was a chance that he would make the team, and Otherwise, the Caps' forward lines remained the same: Ovechkin-Backstrom-Johansson, Wolski-Ribeiro-Brouwer, Chimera-Beagle-Ward, and Hendricks-Perreault-Crabb/Fehr.  This is how you have to expect the opening night lineup to look, especially as the injured Brooks Laich did not skate.

In other roster-related news, coach Adam Oates annoucned when asked that he would "absolutely" contemplate playing Alex Ovechkin on the penalty kill this year.  At once terrifying and a bit exciting, it brings to mind the change that Ilya Kovalchuk made in his game last year and brings some hope that Ovechkin that can do the same.

That's all for now.

Harry Hawkings is a college student credentialed to cover the Capitals for RtR.  Follow him on Twitter here for all your news needs this season.

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Last Sunday, General Manager George McPhee announced that the Washington Capitals signed right-wing Eric Fehr to a one-year, $600,000 contract.

During the lockout, Fehr played with HPK of the SM-liiga in Finland and recorded 25 points (13 goals, 12 assists). In the 2011-2012 NHL season, Fehr had two goals and one assist in 35 games with the Winnipeg Jets, missing much of the season due to recurring shoulder problems.  Fehr had surgery on his shoulder in October 2011.

Caps fans should know Fehr, as he played with the team from 2005-2011. Fehr was also part of the Hershey Bears (the Caps AHL affiliate team), where he was a member of the team that went on to win the 2006 Calder Cup.

Source: http://capitals.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=650156

Follow Tara Colison on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/TaraC_RtR

 

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The Washington Capitals returned to the ice Monday morning for their second training camp practice under new head coach Adam Oates.  Some news and notes from Kettler:

First off, defenseman Tom Poti was hot on the comeback trail Sunday night, scoring a power play goal for the Hershey Bears in his first competitive game in two years.  Poti will play again Wednesday night if he feels good and could be back by the end of the week.

The Caps' forward lines remained unchanged, so they went like this: Ovechkin-Backstrom-Johansson, Wolski-Ribeiro-Brouwer, Chimera-Beagle-Ward/Wilson, and Hendricks-Perreault-Crabb/Fehr.  The injured Brooks Laich skated before practice, according to Katie Carrera of the Washington Post, but is still not ready to join the team.  On defense, the top two pairs of Carlson-Alzner and Green-Hamrlik were unchanged, but Jeff Schultz was bumped to the scratch line with Cam Schillng, while Jack Hillen skated with John Erskine.  That's not good!

That's all for now.

Harry Hawkings is a college student credentialed to cover the Capitals for RtR.  Follow him on Twitter here for all your news needs this season.

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The Washington Capitals were finally on ice Sunday morning for their first formal skate after the lockout, as training camp for the 2013 season got underway.  Some news and notes from a packed Kettler Capitals Iceplex:

Defenseman Tom Poti, who is attempting a comeback following two years lost to injury, has passed his physical and has been sent to Hershey of the AHL for a conditioning stint as he tries to break the Caps' lineup.  If healthy, the stable, reliable Poti could be a big boost to a top-heavy Washington defensive corps.

Late Saturday night, TSN's Bob McKenzie reported that forward Brooks Laich is expected to miss the first week or two of the season because of a groin injury suffered while playing abroad.  This was confirmed by the lines, as Laich was absent.  The units were as follows: Ovechkin-Backstrom-Johansson, Wolski-Ribeiro-Brouwer, Chimera-Beagle-Ward/Wilson, and Hendricks-Perreault-Crabb/Fehr.

Defensive uberprospect Dmitry Orlov was also absent from camp, expected following George McPhee's comments on his injury earlier in the week.  As a result, the defensive pairs were as follows: Alzner-Carlson, Green-Hamrlik, Schultz-Erskine, and Hillen-Schilling.  Orlov is expected to miss the start of the season as well, meaning this is what the Caps could be forced to roll with at the onset of the season.

That's all for now.  More to come later.

Harry Hawkings is a college student credentialed to cover the Capitals for RtR.  Follow him on Twitter here for all your news needs this season.

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Photo by Chris Gordon

For almost four full months, as the NHL lockout wore on, Capitals fans and fans all over the League were asking one question: when would their teams take to the ice?  Early on the morning of January 6, that question was answered when the Board of Governors and the NHLPA agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement that will lead to a shortened, 48-game season that will begin on January 19.

But since that cold January morning, as players have begun to trickle in from their teams abroad and their residences away from Washington, more questions have arisen for the Capitals than answers.  Once again, as hockey makes its comeback, the Capitals must adjust on the fly to a new coach, a new system, and new players in less than a week before the games count for real.  Twenty-seven bullets:

1. First thing first – Nicklas Backstrom has got to stay healthy at all costs.  I wrote in this space in late October that though I was happy to see Nick playing and producing, the fact that he was doing it in Russia made me a bit uneasy.  It’s not because KHL coaches don’t care for players, it’s because he was away from Washington fresh off a season in which he missed 40 games with a concussion.  The Caps dodged a bullet when news broke Friday that Nick had been cleared and was on ice practicing, but as always, you never know with a concussion.

2. Backstrom, when healthy, is the best player on the Washington Capitals.  He is the engine.

3. Alex Ovechkin had quite the season in the KHL before coming home, with 40 points in 32 games for his hometown club in Moscow.  That in itself is obviously very encouraging, but I don’t think it’s a signal of a potential return to dominance for Alex in America.  He’s obviously still a good player and  a top-level goal scorer, but he’s not going to score something ridiculous like 35 goals and 70 points in 48 games.  Adam Oates’ biggest task is getting him as close to that as he possibly can.

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Although we are still awaiting for the players to ratify the CBA recently reached between the NHL and the NHLPA for official word, the Tampa Bay Lightning have made mention it will open the 48-game season against the Washington Capitals. The Caps were 3-2-1 against the Southeast Division opponent last season, including a 0-2-1 record at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.

Formerly a date only known in DC-sports lore for Sylvain Côté's birthday and the day Michael Jordan returned to the NBA as part owner of the Wizards will now be known as the day hockey officially returns.

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The National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players’ Association have agreed in principle to a new collective bargaining agreement Sunday, according to multiple reports.  The absence of a collective bargaining agreement prior to this point had resulted in the NHL’s third major work stoppage in the last 18 years, as well as the loss of more than half of the 2012-13 schedule’s games, including the 2013 Winter Classic in Detroit.  Though the document still has to be officially ratified, the agreement is very close.

According to reports by TSN’s Darren Dreger and Bob McKenzie, highlights of the new CBA include a change in the draft lottery system, new revenue sharing, a new pension plan, and new variations in player rights including contracting and free agency.  There will be a 48-game schedule beginning in the third week of January, with training camps opening this week.  Now, the fun begins, as teams scramble to get their rosters assembled and systems implemented.

Whoever you want to attempt to blame for this lockout – Gary Bettman, Don Fehr, rich people, whatever – the fact of the matter is that in the end, it was all about the players and owners as groups.  When they wanted to get a deal done, they were able to do so, and it wasn’t because of the meeting that was without union or League leadership.  It was because the pressure finally got to the breaking point, with reports that reaching the middle of January without an agreement would result in the cancellation of the entire season.  There was

But that is neither here nor there – it’s time for hockey.

Follow me on Twitter for all your news here.

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Call me a pessimist. I've already come to terms with the loss of another NHL season, with hopes that there will be compromise and agreement in time to salvage a 2013-2014 campaign. Thinking in that mode saves me from disappointment and allows me to think of story lines from this coming summer, including the 2013 NHL Draft. One can assume that with the loss of an entire season, a lottery systems similar to the one used in determining how to give the Penguins Sidney Crosby the 2005 draft order will be implemented. For those who have forgotten how that process worked: -Each team starts with 3 ping pong balls -Subtract 1 ball for each playoff appearance in the prior 3 seasons -Subtract 1 ball for each #1 overall pick made in the last 3 drafts -Each team gets at least 1 ball Based on that simple process, the ping pong ball totals would look like this: 3 Balls: Calgary, Carolina, Columbus, Dallas, Minnesota, Islanders, Toronto, Winnipeg 2 Balls: Anaheim, Colorado, Florida, St. Louis, Tampa Bay 1 Ball: Everyone Else So, two Southeast Division teams have three ping pong balls in the hopper, while another two will have two balls. Poor Edmonton, despite not having seen playoff hockey in a long time, gets only one ball on account of winning the lottery in each of the last 3 seasons. Boo. Hoo.  So is this the best way of determining the lottery order? Maybe. It certainly takes into account recent upward or downward trends in the standings. But a team like Dallas, with several high-end scorers and tons of upside, receiving the same number of balls as Toronto or Columbus seems odd.  Let's take a look at the breakdown if you look at the league as a whole, with the overall top-16 teams in the league (regardless of conference) losing a ball: 3 Balls: Carolina, Columbus, Minnesota, Islanders, Toronto, Winnipeg 2 Balls: Anaheim Calgary, Colorado, Dallas, Florida, Montreal, Rangers, Tampa Bay 1 Ball: Everyone Else So Dallas and Calgary move down, while Montreal and the Rangers move up. Seeing as how I have problems giving either of those teams anything, I propose a simple twist to the lottery rules: Subtract one ball for EITHER a playoff appearance or top-16 finish in the overall NHL standings. That would take a ball away from Montreal and the Rangers, leaving a final draft lottery looking like this: 3 Balls: Carolina, Columbus, Minnesota, Islanders, Toronto, Winnipeg 2 Balls: Anaheim Calgary, Colorado, Dallas, Florida, Tampa Bay 1 Ball: Everyone Else Does this account for trends (the Caps dropping from a 1 or 2 down to a 7th seed, St. Louis' rise last season, Carolina's 'now stacked on paper' team)? No. But in the spirit of compromise, it's probably the best we can do.

Bear Bye-Friday after the AHL Showcase win in DC the Bears traveled to Wilkes Barre-Scranton to face the Baby Pens. The game was physical from the start and both teams ended up trading goals back and forth until the final horn had sounded with both teams at 4 goals. Overtime started out very cautiously as both teams didn’t want to make a mistake to give up an offensive rush but midway through, that is exactly what happened. The Bears forced a Pens turnover at the blue line and TJ Syner exploded through the neutral zone on the left side. Kevin Marshall skated down the right wing and took the pass from Syner low in the slot to beat Zatkoff for his first goal as a Hershey Bear and the OT winner. Saturday the Hamilton Bulldogs rolled into Giant Center to face the Bears. Ryan Potulny seemed to enjoy his goal on Thursday night and potted 2 more in this game. It would be the only 2 for the Bears this night. The Bears kept the pedal down and had some great chances but Hamilton fought back twice to tie the game and took the lead late in the second period. Hershey seems to be getting the shot situation worked out and keeping shots even in games but the power play seems to be the struggle right now.  The Bears have games on the Rock Tuesday and Wednesday at 6pm EST and a Saturday tilt back at Giant Center against Worcester.

 

 

Photo Courtesy of Carl Minieri

 

Banished Brothers-Another of the banished Patrick brothers returned to the Hershey lineup this past weekend. Patrick Wellar was recalled to Hershey with injuries to both Patrick McNeill and Dmitry Orlov. Wellar was a +1 on Friday with 2 shots and 2 penalty minutes. He went -1 on Saturday with a 5 minute fighting major. I thought he played solid defense and gave a little grit to the blue line. It was certainly good to see the familiar face back in Hershey. We will see what his status is this week as Patrick McNeill is very close to returning to the lineup.  

 

Coco goes Gagnum-One of the major complaints that came out of the 2011 AHL All Star Game in Hershey was that, compared to the other AHL mascots in the league, Coco was very conservative. Fans asked for a more energetic, humorous, and entertaining mascot in Hershey. Management listened and at the beginning of the season a new Coco was debuted. It seems Coco has been slowly working his way into the outgoing Bear. Recently he has been seen on the scoreboard more and certainly showing off some dance moves not even possible in the previous big costume. I would think by the end of the year the transformation into a very outgoing and exciting mascot should be complete.

 

 

Photo Courtesy of Carl Minieri

 

Steve Oleksy-22 games played for Steve Oleksy in a Hershey uniform now and he is making a name for himself around the Giant Center. 4 assists, a +6 rating, 21 shots, and 91 penalty minutes. His solid work on both of the ends of the ice is very evident and appreciated by Bears Fan. He also has no problem being the straw in the drink to stir things up a bit or defend a teammate. Steve looks to have a great deal of talent and hopefully things will continue to progress for him in the future. The future looks bright for this blueliner.

 

 

Go Bears.

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