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Tag: Braden Holtby

  • TXHT Podcast Interview with Sam Walther of the Metropolitan Riveters

    TXHT Podcast Interview with Sam Walther of the Metropolitan Riveters

    Ladies and Gentlemen the TXHT podcast is back for the 2019-20 season and we kick it off with Metropolitan Riveters goaltender Sam Walther.

     

    Audio:

     

    We speak with Walther on a number topics including her hockey career, her time with the Connecticut Whale last season, why she decided to sign with the Metropolitan Riveters for the 2019-20 season, why she wears the number 70 and why Braden Holtby should wear her shirsey, and so much more.

     

    Walther Holtby Shirsey.jpg

     

    Walther will receive 15 percent of revenue from apparel sold with her name on it. You can purchase Walther’s Shirsey by clicking here, and Walther’s Jersey by clicking here.

     

     

     

    Opening Music:

    “Modern Guns” by Eyeshine

     

    Sponsored by:

    DerpyCon_General Ad.png

    IMG_20190905_104656

  • TXHT Opinions – The Case of Not Going to the White House

    TXHT Opinions – The Case of Not Going to the White House

    With great accomplishments comes great acknowledgments.

     

    With the Washington Capitals Stanley Cup victory last season they earned the greatest accomplishment in their franchise’s 44 year history, however, they won the Stanley Cup during a time that everything around us is very politically charged. For those that try to stay out of politics like we do, you can’t help but know what is going on in the world today thanks to social media and the reach it has. Unfortunately here in the United States we have a President who has been very divisive and hateful and has churned up the political angst around us.

     

    During the Stanley Cup Finals the press asked Capitals forward Devante Smith-Pelly, now with the Hershey Bears, if he would visit the White House to which said he would decline the opportunity to go if given the invitation to attend. After the Stanley Cup was won forward Brett Connolly made it known that he would not attend either as he stood behind Smith-Pelly and respected the decision to not attend the White House if/when invited.

     

    Then late last week it was announced that the Capitals would attend a private ceremony at the White House hosted by President Donald Trump on Monday, March 25th. Many have questioned why so late into the season for this with the Capitals getting ready to start the playoffs in two weeks. Some conspiracy theories have stated because of Smith-Pelly being on the team and because of what has happened with the NFL, NBA, and WNBA these past two years in dealing with this current Presidency that he was the source of the issue, and that the timing of Smith-Pelly’s demotion to Hershey paved the way for this to happen.

     

    However, something that no one expected was on Friday Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby, who is the team’s LGBT-Inclusion Ambassador, announced that he would not be attending the White House ceremony citing that he needs to stick to his moral values, which is something we can all respect.

     

    Now with the knowledge that both Connolly, who doubled down and stated that he will not attend, and Holtby that they will not be attending the White House with the team many on social media have gone on the attack with tweets and Facebook posts lambasting the two. Critizing them for not being American, both Connolly and Holtby are Canadian, or for not wanting to use the opportunity to discuss their differences with the President, which is not the time nor the place to do it when in a push for the playoffs.

     

    Should these issues be discussed and done in an open forum so we can bridge a gap and make progress to a better society? 100% yes we should, but we must always remember that there is a time and a place to do so. Also we must always remember that we live in a country that we have the right to choose what is best for us, no matter whether you agree or disagree with the decision or opinion of the other person.

     

    Both Brett Connolly and Braden Holtby decided that they would not attend the White House ceremony for the Capitals 2018 Stanley Cup victory, and we here at The Xperience: Hockey Talk support both Connolly and Holtby for decision, just as we support the rest of the team for their decision to attend the White House ceremony despite our personal opinions on the matter.

     

    **We will be keeping the comments open for this article, however, if we feel things are getting too toxic we will shut comments down on this specific article.

  • Game Recap- 3/8/2019 New Jersey Devils v.s. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap- 3/8/2019 New Jersey Devils v.s. Washington Capitals

    New Jersey Devils (25-34-9 59 pts) v.s. Washington Capitals ( 40-21-7 87 pts)

    Game Recap:

    The Washington Capitals are back home after a short 3 game road trip against Metro Division rivals. Tonight the Caps square off against another division rival in the New Jersey Devils. The Devils are coming into this game having a very depleted lineup with eight of their regulars out due to injuries or illnesses. The Caps scored early with a 5 on 5 goal from Andre Burakovsky. Each team had power play chances and neither team could convert on the man advantage. The second period was a very tight and defensive one. There were a few grade A chances on both sides with neither team being able to convert. In the 3rd period, the Caps were able to add another goal on the Power Play courtesy of Nicklas Backstrom. Lars Eller put the icing on the cake with a short handed empty net goal at the 19:02 mark. The Capitals are currently on a 6 game winning streak.

    Lineups:

    New Jersey Devils:

    Kenny Agastino-Travis Zajac-Kyle Palmeiri

    Stefan Noesen-Blake Coleman-Drew Stafford

    Nick Lappin-Michael McLeod-Joey Anderson

    John Quenville-Blake Pietila-Kurtis Gabriel

    Andy Greene-Damon Severson

    Will Butcher-Connor Carrick

    Egor Yakovlev-Steven Santini

    MacKenzie Blackwood

    Cory Schneider

    Scratches:

    Nico Hischier (upper body, day-to-day); Jesper Bratt (lower body, week-to-week); Nathan Bastian (upper body); Miles Wood (broken ankle, skating); Pavel Zacha (upper body, practicing, no contact); Kevin Rooney (illness) Mirco Mueller (shoulder); Sami Vatanen (illness/upper body)

    Injuries: Taylor Hall (knee surgery)

    Suspension: None

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin-Evgeny Kuznetsov-Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana-Nicklas Backstrom-TJ Oshie

    Carl Hagelin-Lars Eller-Brett Connoly

    Andre Burakovsky-Nic Dowd-Travis Boyd

    Michal Kempny-John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov-Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik-Nic Jensen

    Braden Holtby

    Phoenix Copley

    Scratches: Dmitry Jaskin, Christian Djoos,Chandler Stephenson

    Injuries: None

    Suspensions: None

    GameDay:

    First Period:

    Washington Goal- 2:40 Andre Burakovsky (11) assisted by Michal Kempny (16) & Travis Boyd (15)
    Washington Penalty- 8:49 Michael Kempny, 2 minutes for tripping
    New Jersey Penalty- 11:36 Kurtis Gabriel, 2 minutes for charging
    New Jersey penalty- 11:48 Blake Coleman, 2 minutes for tripping
    New Jersey Penalty- 13:58 Nick Lappin, 2 minutes for too many men on the ice
    Washington Penalty- 19:18 Jakub Vrana, 2 minutes for interference

    End of 1st –

    End of 1st – NJ – 0       WSH – 1

    Shots              10                11

    Faceoffs         6/17          11/17

    Hits               9                  7

    PP                 0/2                 0/3

     

    2nd Period:

    Washington Penalty- 5:06 Matt Niskanen, 2 minutes for Holding the stick
    Washington Penalty- 10:44 Nic Dowd, 2 minutes for Interference

    End of 2nd – NJ – 0       WSH – 1

    Shots              20                24

    Faceoffs         14/29          15/29

    Hits               17                  12

    PP                 0/5                 0/2

    3rd period:

    Washington Penalty- 30 seconds Jakub Vrana, 2 minutes for Hooking

    New Jersey Penalty- 13:44 Kyle Palmieri, 2 minutes for Slashing

    New Jersey Penalty- 3:23 Kenny Agostino, 2 minutes for tripping

    Washington Goal- 4:35 on the Power Play- Nicklas Backstrom (17) assisted by John Carlson (49) & Evgeny Kuznetsov (43)

    Washington Penalty- 18:18 TJ Oshie, 2 minutes for tripping

    Washington Goal-19:01 Short Handed & Empty Net- Lars Eller (unassisted)

    End of 3rd – NJ – 0       WSH – 3

    Shots              25                36

    Faceoffs        24/48          24/48

    Hits               23                  16

    PP                 0/6                 1/5

    Next Up:

    New Jersey Devils (25-34-9 59 pts) vs New York Rangers (27-28-12 66 pts)

    Washington Capitals (40-21-7 87 pts) vs Winnipeg Jets (40-23-4 84 pts)

  • Game Recap – 2/12/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Columbus Blue Jackets

    Game Recap – 2/12/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Columbus Blue Jackets

    Washington Capitals (31-18-7 69pts) v. Columbus Blue Jackets (31-20-3 65pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    The Washington Capitals would come out flat against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and put themselves into penalty trouble as the Blue Jackets dominated the Capitals in the first period. However, Braden Holtby would hold down the fort and keep this a 0-0 game.

     

    In another lackluster period for the Capitals, the Blue Jackets would get the lone goal on a 3 on 1 break against the Capitals with Anthony Duclair scoring his 11th of the season. Capitals would be dominated in almost every aspect of the game. Blue Jackets through 40 minutes have held the Capitals to 7 shots and 9 faceoff wins.

     

    The Capitals would play a better third period, but Sergei Bobrovsky would be lights out as he would shut out the Capitals surge, and the Blue Jackets would get goals from Nick Foligno and Artemi Panarin to seal the deal for the Blue Jackets.

     

    Lineups:

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Chandler Stephenson — Nic Dowd — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Christian Djoos

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Madison Bowey, Dmitrij Jaskin, Travis Boyd

     

    Columbus Blue Jackets:

    Artemi Panarin — Pierre-Luc Dubois — Cam Atkinson

    Nick Foligno — Boone Jenner — Josh Anderson

    Anthony Duclair — Alexander Wennberg — Oliver Bjorkstrand

    Markus Hannikainen — Riley Nash — Lukas Sedlak

    Seth Jones — Ryan Murray

    Zach Werenski — David Savard

    Scott Harrington — Markus Nutivaara

    Sergei Bobrovsky

    Joonas Korpisalo

    Scratched: Dean Kukan, Eric Robinson

    Injured: Brandon Dubinsky (hip)

     

    First Period:

    Capitals Penalty – 8:33 – Evgeny Kuznetsov 2 minutes for Hooking

    Capitals Penalty – 15:36 – Tom Wilson 2 minutes for Tripping

    Blue Jackets Penalty – 15:36 – Artemi Panarin 2 minutes for Holding

    Capitals Penalty – 18:38 – Michal Kempny 2 minutes for Hooking

     

    End of 1st – WAS – 0       CLB – 0

    Shots              04                11

    Faceoffs         06                09

    Hits               04                  07

    PP                 0/0                 0/1

     

    Second Period:

    Blue Jackets Goal – 6:31 – Anthony Duclair (11) from Oliver Bjorkstrand (9) and Zach Werenski (21)

    Capitals Penalty – 8:24 – Bench (Ovechkin) 2 minutes for Too Many Men

     

    End of 2nd – WAS – 0        CLB – 1

    Shots               07                 24

    Faceoffs          09                 19

    Hits                 08                  10

    PP                   0/0                  0/3

     

    Third Period:

    Blue Jackets Penalty – 3:24 – Riley Nash 2 minutes for Holding

    Capitals Penalty – 4:52 – John Carlson 2 minutes for Slashing

    Blue Jackets Goal – 16:13 – Nick Foligno (14) from Seth Jones (28) and Ryan Murray (25)

    Blue Jackets ENG – 19:50 – Artemi Panarin (22) from Josh Anderson (10)

     

    End of 3rd – WAS – 0         CLB – 2

    Shots              20                   32

    Faceoffs        18                    33

    Hits               14                     15

    PP                 0/1                    0/4

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (31-19-7 69pts) @ San Jose (34-16-7 75pts)

    Columbus (32-20-3 67pts) v. NY Islanders (33-17-6 72pts)

  • Game Recap – 2/5/2019 – Vancouver Canucks v. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap – 2/5/2019 – Vancouver Canucks v. Washington Capitals

    Vancouver Canucks (24-23-6 54pts) v. Washington Capitals (28-18-6 62pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    The Washington Capitals would start off hot as they would force the play in the Vancouver Canucks zone early as TJ Oshie would charge the net for the Nicklas Backstrom rebound to get the Capitals the first goal of the game. The goal would also be assisted on by Alex Ovechkin who would be come the highest scoring Russian player in NHL history.

    However, 39 seconds later Evgeny Kuznetsov would be called for hooking, but the Capitals would kill of the penalty. The Capitals would get a powerplay opportunity as well, but could not convert on it. The Capitals would dominate the period which featured them out shooting the Canucks 18 to 5.

     

    This was a lackluster period. Not a whole lot really to talk about this period outside of the penalty shot opportunity for Bo Horvat, but Braden Holtby was up to the task to shut Horvat down to keep the 1-0 lead.

     

    The Capitals would start off the third period the same way they way started the game by crashing the net, this time with Brett Connolly banking in the shot to give the Capitals a 2-0 lead. However, the Canucks would respond with their first goal of the game when Markus Granlund would tip in a Antoine Roussel pass past Holtby. But the Capitals would respond in kind as the Capitals would create more chaos in front of the Canucks net to get the puck past Jacob Markstrom to make it a 3-1 lead. The Canucks would dispute the goal claiming it was hit with a high stick, but the referees declared it a good goal by Jakub Vrana after further review. Elias Pettersson would score with 8 seconds left in the game with the goalie pulled, but it would be too little too late for the Canucks as the Capitals hold on to win 3-2.

     

    Lineups:

    Vancouver Canucks:

    Tim Schaller — Bo Horvat — Josh Leivo

    Nikolay Goldobin — Elias Pettersson — Brock Boeser

    Antoine Roussel — Brandon Sutter — Jake Virtanen

    Loui Eriksson — Jay Beagle — Tyler Motte

    Alex Biega — Christopher Tanev

    Ben Hutton — Troy Stecher

    Derrick Pouliot — Erik Gudbranson

    Jacob Markstrom

    Michael DiPietro

    Scratched: Markus Granlund

    Injured: Alexander Edler (face), Sven Baertschi (illness), Thatcher Demko (lower body)

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Dmitrij Jaskin — Travis Boyd — Brett Connolly

    Andre Burakovsky — Nic Dowd — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Dmitry Orlov — John Carlson

    Michal Kempny — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Jonas Siegenthaler

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Chandler Stephenson, Madison Bowey

    Injured: Christian Djoos (thigh), Lars Eller (lower body)

     

    First Period:

    Capitals Goal – 3:00 – TJ Oshie (16) from Nicklas Backstrom (40) and Alex Ovechkin (21)

    Capitals Penalty – 3:39 – Evgeny Kuznetsov 2 minutes for Hooking

    Canucks Penalty – 11:59 – Nikolay Goldobin 2 minutes for Goaltender Interference

     

    End of 1st – VAN – 0       WAS – 1

    Shots              05                18

    Faceoffs         11                11

    Hits               07                  07

    PP                 0/1                 0/1

     

    Second Period:

    Capitals Penalty – 3:45 – Michal Kempny 2 minutes for Hooking

    Canucks Penalty Shot – 12:53 – Bo Horvat – Save (Jonas Siegenthaler – Hooking)

     

    End of 2nd – VAN – 0        WAS – 1

    Shots               18                 22

    Faceoffs          18                 19

    Hits                 16                  13

    PP                   0/2                  0/1

     

    Third Period:

    Capitals Goal – 5:47 – Brett Connolly (10) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (34) and Jakub Vrana (15)

    Canucks Goal – 8:02 – Markus Granlund (9) from Antoine Roussel (16) and Ben Hutton (13)

    Capitals Goal – 12:13 Jakub Vrana (16) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (35) and Tom Wilson (11)

    Canucks Goal – 19:52 – Elias Pettersson (24) from unassisted

     

    End of 3rd – VAN – 2         WAS – 3

    Shots              32                   31

    Faceoffs        25                    28

    Hits               23                     20

    PP                 0/2                    0/1

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (29-18-6 64pts) v. Colorado (22-22-8 52pts)

    Vancouver (24-24-6 54pts) @ Chicago (21-24-9 51pts)

  • Game Recap – 2/3/2019 – Boston Bruins v. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap – 2/3/2019 – Boston Bruins v. Washington Capitals

    Boston Bruins (27-17-7 61pts) v. Washington Capitals (28-17-6 62pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    For the first five minutes of the game the Washington Capitals would get their skating legs moving and create some opportunities in the Boston Bruins, but then a questionable hooking call against Dmitrij Jaskin would give the Bruins their first powerplay opportunity. The Capitals would hold the Bruins to one shot as they would kill off the penalty, but then Evgeny Kuznetsov would be called for slashing giving the Bruins another opportunity on the powerplay. The Bruins would generate four solid scoring opportunities, but Braden Holtby would shut the door. The Capitals would gain their first powerplay opportunity when Patrice Bergeron would be called for holding, but the Capitals failed to generate a single scoring opportunity on the powerplay. The Capitals would be held to six shots all period, while Holtby would be stellar stopping all 15 shots faced.

     

    After a very boring first half to the second period, the Capitals would draw another powerplay, but it would be the Bruins who would shut them down, and as the penalty expired the Bruins would force the play in the Capitals zone as Torey Krug would set up David Krejci for the first goal of the game to give the Bruins the first lead of the afternoon. The Capitals would continue to struggle in the second period, but Holtby would stand on his head to keep the game a one goal game going into the intermission.

     

    The third period would be very uneventful, despite a couple good shifts for the Capitals. However, it would not be good enough as the Capitals would fall to the Bruins 1-0 ending their winning streak over the Bruins at 14 games.

     

    Lineups:

    Boston Bruins:

    Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak

    Peter Cehlarik — David Krejci — Jake DeBrusk

    Joakim Nordstrom — Trent Frederic — David Backes

    Sean Kuraly — Noel Acciari — Chris Wagner

    Zdeno Chara — Charlie McAvoy

    Torey Krug — Kevan Miller

    Matt Grzelcyk — Brandon Carlo

    Tuukka Rask

    Jaroslav Halak

    Scratched: John Moore, Danton Heinen, Zane McIntyre

    Injured: none

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Dmitrij Jaskin — Travis Boyd — Brett Connolly

    Andre Burakovsky — Nic Dowd — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Dmitry Orlov — John Carlson

    Michal Kempny — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Jonas Siegenthaler

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Chandler Stephenson, Madison Bowey

    Injured: Christian Djoos (thigh), Lars Eller (lower body)

     

    First Period:

    Capitals Penalty – 5:30 – Dmitrij Jaskin 2 minutes for Hooking

    Capitals Penalty – 7:37 – Evgeny Kuznetsov 2 minutes for Slashing

    Bruins Penalty – 9:52 – Patrice Bergeron 2 minutes for Holding

     

    End of 1st – BOS – 0       WAS – 0

    Shots              15                06

    Faceoffs         11                06

    Hits               08                  08

    PP                 0/2                 0/1

     

    Second Period:

    Bruins Penalty – 8:24 – Kevan Miller 2 minutes for Cross Checking

    Bruins Goal – 10:43 – David Krejci (11) from Torey Krug (30) and David Pastrnak (32)

     

    End of 2nd – BOS – 1        WAS – 0

    Shots               30                 13

    Faceoffs          17                 14

    Hits                 16                  28

    PP                   0/2                  0/2

     

    Third Period:

    Bruins Penalty – 12:30 – Charlie McAvoy 2 minutes for Hooking

    Capitals Penalty – 13:06 TJ Oshie 2 minutes for Hooking

     

    End of 3rd – BOS – 1         WAS – 0

    Shots              38                   24

    Faceoffs        33                    19

    Hits               26                     41

    PP                 0/3                    0/3

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (28-18-6 62pts) v. Vancouver (24-22-6 54pts)

    Boston (28-17-7 63pts) v. NY Islanders (30-15-6 66pts)

  • Game Recap – 1/18/2019 – New York Islanders v. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap – 1/18/2019 – New York Islanders v. Washington Capitals

    New York Islanders (27-15-4 58pts) v. Washington Capitals (27-14-5 59pts)

     

     

    Game Recap:

    The Washington Capitals , who are looking to end their three game losing streak, did not start well when Nicklas Backstrom would take a hooking penalty 10 seconds into the game. However the Capitals would kill the New York Islanders first opportunity. Then after some back and forth, Tom Wilson would draw a tripping call to give the Capitals their first powerplay opportunity, which had some good looks, but could not convert. Both teams would generate some good chances, but both Braden Holtby and Thomas Greiss would stand tall in net.

     

    To start the period, the Capitals would draw a penalty 57 seconds into the second period, however, they would not generate much with the opportunity. After a lot of back and forth, Nic Dowd would take a late tripping penalty, but with some key blocks by Brooks Orpik the Capitals were able to kill the penalty.

     

    The Capitals would start the period rocky as they had trouble maintaining the puck, and turnovers were a plenty. As a result Josh Bailey would tip in a Mathew Barzal point shot to get the Islanders the first goal of the game. Then not that long after, Cal Clutterbuck would score to make it 2-0 for the Islanders while on a 2 on 0 break. The Capitals, however, would never recover and drop their fourth straight game, and falling in the Metropolitan Division standings.

     

    Lineups:

    New York Islanders:

    Anders Lee — Brock Nelson — Jordan Eberle

    Anthony Beauvillier — Mathew Barzal — Josh Bailey

    Michael Dal Colle — Valtteri Filppula — Leo Komarov

    Matt Martin — Casey Cizikas — Cal Clutterbuck

    Nick Leddy — Johnny Boychuk

    Adam Pelech — Ryan Pulock

    Devon Toews — Scott Mayfield

    Thomas Greiss

    Robin Lehner

    Scratched: Ross Johnston, Luca Sbisa, Tom Kuhnhackl

    Injured: Thomas Hickey (upper body), Andrew Ladd (lower body)

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — T.J. Oshie

    Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Chandler Stephenson — Nic Dowd — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Jonas Siegenthaler

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Travis Boyd, Madison Bowey, Dmitrij Jaskin

    Injured: Christian Djoos (thigh)

     

    First Period:

    Capitals Penalty – :10 – Nicklas Backstrom 2 minutes for Hooking

    Islanders Penalty – 8:17 – Casey Cizikas 2 minutes for Tripping

     

    End of 1st – NYI – 0       WAS – 0

    Shots              11                07

    Faceoffs         10                07

    Hits               08                  08

    PP                 0/1                 0/1

     

    Second Period:

    Islanders Penalty – :57 – Adam Pelech 2 minutes for Holding

    Capitals Penalty – 16:13 – Nic Dowd 2 minutes for Tripping

     

    End of 2nd – NYI – 0        WAS – 0

    Shots               20                 15

    Faceoffs          20                 12

    Hits                 12                  13

    PP                   0/2                  0/2

     

    Third Period:

    Islanders Goal – 5:08 – Josh Bailey (11) from Mathew Barazl (31) and Adam Pelech (6)

    Islanders Goal – 7:34 – Cal Clutterbuck (4) from Casey Cizikas (9) and Adam Pelech (7)

     

    End of 3rd – NYI – 2         WAS – 0

    Shots              25                   19

    Faceoffs        25                    21

    Hits               18                     20

    PP                 0/2                    0/2

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (27-14-5 59pts) @ Chicago (4-1-0 8pts)

    NY Islanders (27-15-4 58pts) v. San Jose (2-2-1 5pts)

  • Game Recap – 1/10/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Boston Bruins

    Game Recap – 1/10/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Boston Bruins

    Washington Capitals (26-12-4 56pts) v. Boston Bruins (25-14-4 54pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    The Washington Capitals came into Boston looking to extend their win streak to three, but how they would start the game with an early Jonas Siegenthaler holding penalty would force the Capitals to kill the Bruins powerplay opportunity. Then after a strong kill the Capitals would get on the board when Jakub Vrana would score his 15th of the season off of a breakaway pass from TJ Oshie. The Bruins would put the pressure on the Capitals which would cause Michal Kempny to take a tripping penalty, but once again the Capitals would shut down the Bruins powerplay. Braden Holtby had a spectacular first period which saw him stop all 17 Bruins shots.

     

    The Bruins would start the period pressuring the Capitals, but then the Capitals would get a very good shift from their second line that would draw a penalty against Patrice Bergeron. However, the Capitals would not be able to do much with their first powerplay opportunity. Then Lars Eller would challenge Brad Marchand after being chirped at by Marchand, but Marchand would cowardly turtle when Eller dropped his gloves thus getting an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and another Bruins powerplay. The Capitals would kill the penalty, and then on a rush Alex Ovechkin would be tripped by Brandon Carlo to give the Capitals their second powerplay opportunity of the game. The Capitals would fail on the powerplay, and then the Bruins would take that momentum to tie up the game with Ryan Donato’s 6th of the season. However, it would not remain tied as Tom Wilson displayed great patience behind the net to find Ovechkin for his 31st goal of the season.

     

    The Bruins started the period with a powerplay due to a late penalty against Brett Connolly, but the Capitals would do a great job of killing the penalty. However, the Capitals would shoot themselves in the foot with a too many men on the ice penalty that would see David Krejci tie the game for the Bruins on the powereplay, but 69 seconds later Nicklas Backstrom would respond to retake the lead for the Capitals. Late in the third period the Bruins would pull goalie Jaroslav Halak, but then Ovechkin would nab the empty netter for his second of the game. The Capitals would end the Bruins 5 game winning streak and grow their win streak to 3 games.

     

    Lineups:

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Brett Connolly — Lars Eller — Travis Boyd

    Chandler Stephenson — Nic Dowd — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Jonas Siegenthaler

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Andre Burakovsky, Madison Bowey, Dmitrij Jaskin

    Injured: Christian Djoos (thigh)

     

    Boston Bruins:

    Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak

    Jake DeBrusk — David Krejci — David Backes

    Sean Kuraly — Noel Acciari — Chris Wagner

    Ryan Donato — Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson — Danton Heinen

    Zdeno Chara — Brandon Carlo

    Torey Krug — John Moore

    Matt Grzelcyk — Kevan Miller

    Jaroslav Halak

    Tuukka Rask

    Scratched: Colby Cave, Steven Kampfer

    Injured: Charlie McAvoy (lower body), Joakim Nordstrom (fractured fibula)

     

    First Period:

    Capitals Penalty – 1:51 – Jonas Siegenthaler 2 minutes for Holding

    Capitals Goal – 6:38 – Jakub Vrana (15) from TJ Oshie (6)

    Capitals Penalty – 14:13 – Michal Kempny 2 minutes for Tripping

     

    End of 1st – WAS – 1       BOS – 0

    Shots              05                17

    Faceoffs         09                10

    Hits               10                  05

    PP                 0/0                 0/2

     

    Second Period:

    Bruins Penalty – 5:10 – Patrice Bergeron 2 minutes for Tripping

    Capitals Penalty – 7:43 – Lars Eller 2 minutes for Unsportsmanlike Conduct

    Bruins Penalty – 10:57 – Brandon Carlo 2 minutes for Tripping

    Bruins Goal – 14:11 – Ryan Donato (6) from Torey Krug (25) from Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson (4)

    Capitals Goal – 14:50 – Alex Ovechkin (31) from Tom Wilson (9)

    Capitals Penalty – 19:52 – Brett Connolly 2 minutes for Holding

     

    End of 2nd – WAS – 2        BOS – 1

    Shots               12                 28

    Faceoffs          15                 26

    Hits                 24                  17

    PP                   0/2                  0/3

     

    Third Period:

    Capitals Penalty – 3:58 – Bench (Ovechkin) 2 minutes for Too Many Men

    Bruins PPG – 4:37 – David Krejci (8) from Danton Heinen (7) and David Backes (8)

    Capitals Goal – 5:46 – Nicklas Backstrom (11) from TJ Oshie (7) and Jonas Siegenthaler (4)

    Capitals ENG – 18:25 – Alex Ovechkin (32) from unassisted

     

    End of 3rd – WAS – 4         BOS – 2

    Shots              22                   41

    Faceoffs        22                    42

    Hits               32                     25

    PP                 0/2                    1/5

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (27-12-4 58pts) v. Columbus (25-15-3 53pts)

    Boston (25-16-4 54pts) @ Toronto (28-13-2 58pts)

  • 2019 NHL All Star Teams are Announced

    2019 NHL All Star Teams are Announced

    The National Hockey League has announced the 2019 All Star Game rosters. Here is how the rosters are looking for each Division:

    Atlantic
    Photo Credit – NHL on NBC

    For the Atlantic Division, they will be captained by Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews, who will be joined by his Leafs teammate John Tavares. Also the Tampa Bay Lightning have two representatives with Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov. Both David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins and Thomas Chabot of the Ottawa Senators are both making their first All Star Game appearances.

     

    Central
    Photo Credit – NHL on NBC

    Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon will captain the Central Division and will be joined by teammate Mikko Rantanen. Both the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators also have two representatives with Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler, and Roman Josi and Pekka Rinne respectively. Dallas Stars defensive stalwart Miro Heiskanen, along with Scheifele and Rantanen will all be making their first All Star appearances.

     

    Pacific
    Photo Credit – NHL on NBC

    Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers will captain the Pacific Division as voted by the fans. McDavid will be joined by three members of the host San Jose Sharks Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns, and Erik Karlsson. While Karlsson will be making his first All Star appearance as a Shark, both Clayton Keller of the Arizona Coyotes and rookie sensation Elias Pettersson of the Vancouver Canucks will both be making their first All Star appearances.

     

    Metro
    Photo Credit – NHL on NBC

    For the Metropolitan Division, while fan selected captain Alex Ovechkin will not be participating, the Washington Capitals will represented by goaltender Braden Holtby, and defenseman John Carlson. The Columbus Blue Jackets would also have two representatives with forward Cam Atkinson, and defenseman Seth Jones. Along with Carlson, Sebastian Aho of the Carolina Hurricanes, and Mathew Barzal of the New York Islanders will all be making their first All Star appearances.

     

    Each roster will have one more player added that will be voted on by the fans in the 2019 NHL All Star Last Men In fan vote. The players eligible for this vote will be unveiled during the first intermission of the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers game on NBC Sports Network, and the Canucks and Senators game on Sportsnet.

  • Game Recap – 12/21/2018 – Buffalo Sabres v. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap – 12/21/2018 – Buffalo Sabres v. Washington Capitals

    Buffalo Sabres (20-10-5 45pts) v. Washington Capitals (20-10-3 43pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    The Washington Capitals defeat the Buffalo Sabres in a tightly contested game that saw Braden Holtby make 36 saves on 37 shots, and Tom Wilson clinch the game with the game winning goal 7 minutes left in regulation.

     

    Lineups:

    Buffalo Sabres:

    Jeff Skinner — Jack Eichel — Sam Reinhart

    Conor Sheary – Vladimir Sobotka — Evan Rodrigues

    Zemgus Girgensons — Casey Mittelstadt — Kyle Okposo

    Remi Elie — Johan Larsson — Tage Thompson

    Rasmus Dahlin — Zach Bogosian

    Lawrence Pilut — Rasmus Ristolainen

    Marco Scandella — Jake McCabe

    Carter Hutton

    Linus Ullmark

    Scratched: Brendan Guhle, Matt Hunwick

    Injured: Jason Pominville (undisclosed), Nathan Beaulieu (upper body), Casey Nelson (upper body), Scott Wilson (ankle)

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Chandler Stephenson — Nic Dowd – Devante Smith-Pelly

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Jonas Siegenthaler — Madison Bowey

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Dmitrij Jaskin, Travis Boyd, Tyler Lewington

    Injured: Christian Djoos (leg), Brooks Orpik (knee)

     

    First Period:

    Sabres Penalty – 4:32 – Jeff Skinner 2 minutes for Hooking

    Capitals Penalty – 8:28 – Tom Wilson 2 minutes for Hooking

     

    End of 1st – BUF – 0       WAS – 0

    Shots              09                08

    Faceoffs         07                09

    Hits               03                  10

    PP                 0/1                 0/1

     

    Analysis:

    This was a very fast paced and very even first period for both teams. Both the Capitals and Sabres are doing a very good job of taking care of the neutral zone and keep the the slot area clear for their goalies.

     

    Need to Do:

    The Capitals need to keep their feet moving and continue playing really good team defense against the Sabres. The Capitals also need to do a better job in reducing the amount of giveaways. They had 7 to Buffalo’s 4 in the first period.

     

    Second Period:

    Capitals Penalty – 2:37 – Jonas Siegenthaler 2 minutes for Tripping

    Capitals SHG – 2:50 – Chandler Stephenson (3) from Nic Dowd (9)

    Sabres Penalty – 7:12 – Evan Rodrigues 2 minutes for Holding

    Sabres Penalty – 9:38 – Casey Mittelstadt 2 minutes for Holding

     

    End of 2nd – BUF – 0        WAS – 1

    Shots               19                 16

    Faceoffs          14                 19

    Hits                 03                  19

    PP                   0/2                  0/3

     

    Analysis:

    This was another very good back and forth period between both teams. The Capitals were better than the Sabres on special teams as they held Buffalo shotless on their lone powerplay of the period, and the Capitals scored while shorthanded. The Capitals powerplay was buzzing on both opportunities and with some controversy to the first one.

     

    Need to Do:

    The Capitals need to continue playing strong team defense and limit the scoring chances for the Sabres. Also the Capitals need to cut down on their giveaways. They almost shot themselves in the foot a few times this game with their giveaways.

     

    Third Period:

    Sabres Goal – 9:01 – Johan Larsson (3) from Tage Thompson (3) and Rasmus Ristolainen (19)

    Capitals Penalty – 9:24 – Matt Niskanen 2 minutes for Tripping

    Capitals Goal – 13:00 – Tom Wilson (10) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (25)

    Sabres Penalty – 14:23 – Vladimir Sobotka 2 minutes for Hooking

    Capitals Penalty – 17:48 – Nic Dowd 2 minutes for Tripping

     

    End of 3rd – BUF – 1         WAS – 2

    Shots              37                   24

    Faceoffs        23                    28

    Hits               06                     19

    PP                 0/4                    0/4

     

    Analysis:

    A good solid period. Both teams scored hard earned goals, but it would be the Capitals penalty kill that would upset the Sabres and not allow them to get any quality chances on the powerplay.

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (21-10-3 45pts) @ Ottawa (15-16-4 34pts)

    Buffalo (20-11-5 45pts) v. Anaheim (19-13-5 43pts)