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Tag: Brett Connolly

  • Game Recap – 11/7/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Florida Panthers

    Game Recap – 11/7/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Florida Panthers

    Washington Capitals (11-2-3 25pts) v. Florida Panthers (7-3-4 18pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    In Florida the Washington Capitals look to extend their winning streak to five against the Panthers, and the Capitals would strike quickly as John Carlson would strike to make it 1-0 for the Capitals, but the Panthers would respond a little over a minute later as Frank Vatrano would score his fourth of the season to tie the game at one. The Capitals would get a powerplay opportunity, but would fail to convert. Then the Panthers would strike late in the first as Brett Connolly would score his sixth of the season against his former team to take the 2-1 lead.

     

    Then in the second period the Panthers would strike again as Aleksander Barkov would score 27 seconds into the period to grow their lead to two. However, Brian Boyle would get called for slashing sending the Capitals to another powerplay, and this time the Capitals would strike as Alex Ovechkin would score his 12th of the season to cut the Panthers lead to one. Then six minutes later after killing back to back penalties, Ovechkin would strike again to tie the game at three. The Capitals would get a powerplay opportunity, but were unable to strike on the powerplay, and then would get into penalty trouble themselves as on their second penalty Evgenii Dadonov would strike to retake the lead for the Panthers heading into the second intermission.

     

    Then in the third period it would be Tom Wilson getting the Capitals back on the board as he would tip an Evgeny Kuznetsov shot to tie the game at four 44 seconds into the period. Both teams would trade powerplay opportunities, but neither would be able to capitalize thus sending the game to overtime. Then in overtime Braden Holtby would make a huge save and the Capitals would turn it around as Tom Wilson would score his second of the game to win the game 5-4 11 seconds into overtime.

     

    Lineups:

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Carl Hagelin — Lars Eller — Garnet Hathaway

    Brendan Leipsic – Chandler Stephenson — Travis Boyd

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov — Radko Gudas

    Jonas Siegenthaler — Nick Jensen

    Braden Holtby

    Ilya Samsonov

    Scratched: Tyler Lewington

    Injured: Richard Panik (upper body), Nic Dowd (lower body)

     

    Florida Panthers:

    Jonathan Huberdeau — Aleksander Barkov — Evgenii Dadonov

    Mike Hoffman — Brian Boyle — Brett Connolly

    Frank Vatrano — Denis Malgin — Mark Pysyk

    Dryden Hunt – Dominic Toninato — Colton Sceviour

    MacKenzie Weegar — Aaron Ekblad

    Mike Matheson — Anton Stralman

    Keith Yandle — Josh Brown

    Sergei Bobrovsky

    Sam Montembeault

    Scratched: None

    Injured: Noel Acciari (lower body), Vincent Trocheck (lower body), Jayce Hawryluk (upper body)

     

    First Period:

    WAS Goal – :25 – John Carlson (8) from Michal Kempny (7) and Alex Ovechkin (9)

    FLA Goal – 1:55 – Frank Vatrano (4) from unassisted

    FLA Penalty – 2:22 – Aleksander Barkov 2 minutes for Interference

    FLA Goal – 14:26 – Brett Connolly (6) from Anton Stralman (6) and Brian Boyle (2)

     

    End of 1st

    11-07 at FLA.png

     

    Second Period:

    FLA Goal – :27 – Aleksander Barkov (3) from Evgenii Dadonov (3)

    FLA Penalty – 5:38 – Brian Boyle 2 minutes for Slashing

    WAS PPG – 6:13 – Alex Ovechkin (12) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (7) and John Carlson (17)

    WAS Penalty – 7:03 – Tom Wilson 2 minutes for High Sticking

    WAS Penalty – 8:59 – Garnet Hathaway 2 minutes for Slashing

    WAS Goal – 12:14 – Alex Ovechkin (13) from Dmitry Orlov (6) and Nicklas Backstrom (11)

    FLA Penalty – 14:13 – Keith Yandle 2 minutes for Slashing

    WAS Penalty – 16:42 – Dmitry Orlov 2 minutes for Hooking

    WAS Penalty – 18:37 – Lars Eller 2 minutes Tripping

    FLA PPG – 18:59 – Evgenii Dadonov (7) from Jonathan Huberdeau (10)

     

    End of 2nd

    11-07 at FLA-2.png

     

    Third Period:

    WAS Goal – :44 – Tom Wilson (6) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (8)

    FLA Penalty – 6:00 – Dryden Hunt 2 minutes for Tripping
    WAS Penalty – 8:59 – Michal Kempny 2 minutes for Tripping

     

    End of 3rd

    11-07 at FLA-3.png

     

    Overtime:

    WAS Goal – :11 – Tom Wilson (7) from John Carlson (18) and TJ Oshie (5)

     

    End of OT

    11-07 at FLA-4.png

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (12-2-3 27pts) v. Vegas (9-5-2 20pts)

    Florida (7-3-5 19pts) @ New York Islanders (11-3-0 22pts)

  • Game Recap – 1st Rd. Game 6 – Washington Capitals v. Carolina Hurricanes

    Game Recap – 1st Rd. Game 6 – Washington Capitals v. Carolina Hurricanes

    Washington Capitals v. Carolina Hurricanes

    Capitals Lead 3-2

     

    Game Recap:

    The Washington Capitals enter Game 6 looking to earn their first road win of the postseason as they also look to close out their series against the Hurricanes in Carolina. The Capitals would not need long as Brett Connolly would net his second of the playoffs when he would recieve a behind the night pass from Lars Eller, and Connolly would move to the front of the net area and roof over Petr Mrazek’s glove to make it 1-0. Then after a failed powerplay attempt, the Hurricanes would take advantage of a bad line change by the Capitals as Warren Foegele would score his fourth of the playoffs to tie the game at one. However, the Capitals would regaim the lead as Alex Ovechkin would dangle past a sliding Jaccob Slavin then rip the puck past Mrazek to make it 2-1 going into the second intermission.

     

    Going into the second period the Hurricanes would force the play in the Capitals zone, and after slashing Jonas Siegenthaler in the hands Sebastian Aho would do a nice dish to Teuvo Teravainen who would score his second of the playoffs to tie the game at two. As the period went on the Capitals would get two powerplay opportunities, but poor entry decisions would cost the Capitals on both powerplays.

     

    In the third period the Capitals would try to force the rush, but the Hurricanes would suffocate the Capitals and with the puck bouncing around in the slot area Jordan Staal would get the puck past Bradem Holtby to give the Hurricanes the lead for the first time in this game and also create the first lead change all season. Then the Capitals wouldvforce some good pressure to where they thought they scored, however, the goal would be waved off due to Alex Ovechkin’s contact with Petr Mrazek that pushed the puck in the net. Shortly after Justin Williams would tip a point shot from Brett Pesce past Braden Holtby to increase their lead to 4-2. Then on a very moronic decision by head coach Todd Reirden, Dougie Hamilton would score an empty net goal to ice this game and force a Game 7 with a 5-2 victory.

     

    Lineups:

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Carl Hagelin

    Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Chandler Stephenson — Nic Dowd — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Jonas Siegenthaler — John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Nick Jensen

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Christian Djoos, Travis Boyd, Dmitrij Jaskin, Parker Milner

    Injured: Michal Kempny (torn left hamstring), T.J. Oshie (clavicle)

     

    Carolina Hurricanes:

    Nino Niederreiter — Sebastian Aho — Teuvo Teravainen

    Brock McGinn — Jordan Staal — Justin Williams

    Warren Foegele — Lucas Wallmark — Jordan Martinook

    Saku Maenalanen — Greg McKegg — Patrick Brown

    Jaccob Slavin — Dougie Hamilton

    Brett Pesce — Justin Faulk

    Calvin de Haan — Trevor van Riemsdyk

    Petr Mrazek

    Curtis McElhinney

    Scratched: Haydn Fleury, Clark Bishop

    Injured: Andrei Svechnikov (concussion), Micheal Ferland (upper body)

     

    First Period:

    Capitals Goal – 5:06 – Brett Connolly (2) from Lars Eller (2) and Andre Burakovsky (1)

    Capitals Penalty – 8:30 – Nic Dowd 2 minutes for Hooking

    Hurricanes Goal – 10:35 – Warren Foegele (4) from Dougie Hamilton (3) and Jaccob Slavin (6)

    Capitals Goal – 15:12 – Alex Ovechkin (4) from Dmitry Orlov (3) and Matt Niskanen (2)

     

    End of 1st – WAS – 2       CAR – 1

    Shots              07                15

    Faceoffs         11                14

    Hits               18                  20

    PP                 0/0                 0/1

     

    Second Period:

    Hurricanes Goal – 1:56 – Teuvo Teravainen (2) from Sebastian Aho (3)

    Capitals Penalty – 2:36 – Tom Wilson 2 minutes for Slashing

    Hurricanes Penalty – 7:58 – Justin Williams 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Hurricanes Penalty – 15:36 – Nino Niederreiter 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Hurricanes Penalty – 19:29 – Jordan Martinook 2 minutes for Holding

    Capitals Penalty – 19:29 – Dmitry Orlov 2 minutes for Unsportsmanlike Conduct

     

    End of 2nd – WAS – 2        CAR – 2

    Shots               13                 24

    Faceoffs          17                 26

    Hits                 37                  30

    PP                   0/2                  0/2

     

    Third Period:

    Hurricanes Goal – 3:51 – Jordan Staal (2) from Brock McGinn (2) and Justin Faulk (3)

    Capitals Penalty – 6:15 – Chandler Stephenson 2 minutes for Tripping

    https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1120502427227127809?s=19

    Hurricanes Goal – 11:58 – Justin Williams (1) from Brett Pesce (1) and Jordan Staal (3)

    Hurricanes ENG – 16:54 – Dougie Hamilton (3) from Jordan Martinook (2)

    Capitals Penalty – 18:52 – Alex Ovechkin 2 minutes for Slashing

    Capitals Penalty – 18:52 – Alex Ovechkin – Misconduct

     

    End of 3rd – WAS – 2         CAR – 5

    Shots              25                   36

    Faceoffs        28                    38

    Hits               45                     38

    PP                 0/2                    0/4

     

    Next Up:

    Game Seven – Series Tied 3-3

     

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

  • Game Recap – 1st Rd. Game 5 – Carolina Hurricanes v. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap – 1st Rd. Game 5 – Carolina Hurricanes v. Washington Capitals

    Carolina Hurricanes v. Washington Capitals

    Series Tied 2-2

     

    Game Recap:

    The Washington Capitals return home for Game 5 looking to regain their series lead against the Carolina Hurricanes, and things would get chippy right away as Saku Maenalanen would take an ill advised roughig penalty when he would go after Tom Wilson after the whistle. After the Capitals failed powerplay attempt Carolina would get one of their own, but would lose it when Lucas Wallmark would be called for high sticking. On their second powerplay opportunity Nicklas Backstrom would would collect his own rebound and shoot it between Petr Mrazek’s legs to give the Capitals the 1-0 lead.

     

    In the second period the Capitals would get themselves into penalty trouble as they would take three consecutive penalties (though the one on John Carlson for goaltender interference was laughable), however, the Capitals would be perfect on the penalty kill, and after they killed off the third penalty the Capitals would turn on the offense as Alex Ovechkin would come charging and throw a perfet pass to Nicklas Backstrom for his second goal of the game. Then minutes later brett Connolly would net his first goal of the playoffs to make it 3-0.

     

    Going into the third period the Capitals would start with the continuation of their powerplay from the end of the second period, and the Capitals would continue their pressure and Tom Wilson would get Evgeny Kuznetsov’s rebound and get it past the defender and into the empty net with four seconds left on the powerplay to make it 4-0. Then on a breakaway Nic Dowd would be fouled and awarded a penalty shot which he would score on to make it 5-0. Then Lucas Wallmark would take a slashing penalty to which the Capitals would only need two seconds as Alex Ovechkin would rip it right off the faceoff to make it 6-0.

     

    Lineups:

    Carolina Hurricanes:

    Nino Niederreiter — Sebastian Aho — Teuvo Teravainen

    Warren Foegele — Jordan Staal — Justin Williams

    Brock McGinn — Lucas Wallmark — Saku Maenalanen

    Aleksi Saarela — Greg McKegg — Patrick Brown

    Jaccob Slavin — Dougie Hamilton

    Brett Pesce — Justin Faulk

    Calvin de Haan — Trevor van Riemsdyk

    Petr Mrazek

    Curtis McElhinney

    Scratched: Haydn Fleury

    Injured: Andrei Svechnikov (concussion), Micheal Ferland (upper body), Jordan Martinook (lower body)

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Carl Hagelin

    Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Chandler Stephenson — Nic Dowd — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Jonas Siegenthaler — John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Nick Jensen

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Christian Djoos, Travis Boyd, Dmitrij Jaskin, Ilya Samsonov

    Injured: Michal Kempny (torn left hamstring), T.J. Oshie (upper body)

     

    First Period:

    Hurricanes Penalty – 1:08 – Saku Maenalanen 2 minutes for Roughing

    Capitals Penalty – 4:41 – Brett Connolly 2 minutes for Hooking

    Hurricanes Penalty – 5:42 – Lucas Wallmark 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Capitals PPG – 7:33 – Nicklas Backstrom (4) from John Carlson (4) and Tom Wilson (2)

     

    End of 1st – CAR – 0       WAS – 1

    Shots              06                10

    Faceoffs         07                12

    Hits               14                  19

    PP                 0/1                 1/2

     

    Second Period:

    Capitals Penalty – 4:18 – Evgeny Kuznetsov 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Capitals Penalty – 7:56 – John Carlson 2 minutes for Goaltender Interference

    Capitals Penalty – 12:02 – Jonas Siegenthaler 2 minutes for Hooking

    Capitals Goal – 14:21 – Nicklas Backstrom (5) from Alex Ovechkin (3)

    Capitals Goal – 16:11 – Brett Connolly (1) from Alex Ovechkin (4) and Nicklas Backstrom (2)

    Hurricanes Penalty – 19:07 – Sebastian Aho 2 minutes for Tripping

     

    End of 2nd – CAR – 0        WAS – 3

    Shots               21                 17

    Faceoffs          24                 25

    Hits                 22                  31

    PP                   0/4                  1/2*

    *3rd powerplay in progress

     

    Third Period:

    Capitals PPG – 1:04 – Tom Wilson (2) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (4) and John Carlson (5)

    Penalty Shot Goal – 8:57 – Nic Dowd (1)

    Hurricanes Penalty- 10:12 – Lucas Wallmark 2 minutes for Slashing

    Capitals PPG – 10:14 – Alex Ovechkin (3) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (5) and Nicklas Backstrom (3)

    Capitals Penalty – 17:29 – Nick Jensen 2 minutes for Hooking

     

    End of 3rd – CAR – 0         WAS – 6

    Shots              30                   28

    Faceoffs        30                    36

    Hits               32                     47

    PP                 0/5                    3/4

     

    Next Up:

    Game Six –  WAS Leads Series 3-2

     

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

  • 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 – 3/22/2019 – Minnesota Wild v. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap – 3/22/2019 – Minnesota Wild v. Washington Capitals

    Minnesota Wild (35-31-9 79pts) v. Washington Capitals (43-24-8 94pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    The Capitals tonight are playing the second of their four game home stand against the Minnesota Wild.  The first period showed this was going to be a tight and defensive game between the two teams as the Wild are desperate to get back into a Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.  The Wild struck first at the 16:33 mark on a drive to the net type of goal from Jordan Greenway.  The Wild would take a 1-0 lead over the Capitals going into the second period.

     

    The second period saw the same tight defensive period that was featured in the first period.  However, the Capitals managed to tie the game at 1-1 on a tip in goal by Brett Connolly off a Nic Jensen shot from the point.  Going into the third period, the game would be tied 1-1.

     

    In the third period, the Minnesota Wild took back the lead at the 12:25 mark on a Luke Kunin as he scored the game winning goal to seal the victory.  The Capitals continue their home stand tomorrow afternoon for a matinee game against the Philadelphia Flyers.  The playoff spot desperate Minnesota Wild take on the Carolina Hurricanes in their second of a back to back games on Saturday night.

     

    Lineups:

    Minnesota Wild:

    Zach Parise-Eric Staal-Kevin Fiala

    Ryan Donato-Luke Kunin-Jordan Greenway

    Jason Zucker-Victor Rask-Matt Read

    Marcus Foligno- Eric Fehr-J.T. Brown

    Defensemen:

    Ryan Suter- Jared Spurgeon

    Jonas Brodin – Brad Hunt

    Anthony Bitetto – Greg Pateryn

    Goalies:

    Starter- Devon Dubnyk

    Backup- Alex Stalock

    Scratches: Nick Seeler, Joel Eriksson Ek, Pontus Aberg

    Injuries: Miko Koivu, Matt Dumba

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Forwrads:

    Alex Ovechkin- Nicklas Backstrom- Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana- Evgeny Kuznetsov- TJ Oshie

    Andre Burakovsky- Lars Eller- Brett Connolly

    Chandler Stephenson- Nic Dowd- Travis Boyd

    Defensemen:

    Christian Djoos- John Carlson

    Dmitri Orlov- Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik- Nic Jensen

    Goalies:

    Starter-Braden Holtby

    Backup- Phoenix Copley

    Scratches: Dmitri Jaskin, Carl Hagelin (illness)

    Injury: Michal Kempny (Lower Body) 

     

    First Period:

    Minnesota Penalty-4:52- Kevin Fiala, 2 minutes for high sticking

    Minnesota Goal-16:33- Jordan Greenway (12) assisted by Ryan Donato (13) & Devon Dubnyk (2)

    Minnesota Penalty-18:46- Marcus Foligno, 2 minutes for tripping

     

    End of 1st – MIN – 1       WAS – 0

    Shots              6                       6

    Faceoffs         10/22             12/22

    Hits               3                     3

    PP                 0/0                 0/1

     

    Second Period:

    Minnesota Penalty-4:18- Brad Hunt, 2 minutes for slashing

    Minnesota Penalty-8:00- Jason Zucker, 2 minutes for roughing

    Washington Penalty-8:00- Brooks Orpik, 2 minutes for roughing

    Washington Goal-10:42- Brett Connolly (21) assisted by Nic Jensen (15) & TJ Oshie (26)

    Washington Penalty-19:51- Tom Wilson, 2 minutes for hooking

     

    End of 2nd – MIN – 1        WAS – 1

    Shots               21                       15

    Faceoffs          20/43              24/43

    Hits                 12                     7

    PP                   0/0                  0/3

     

    Third Period:

    Minnesota Goal-12:25- Luke Kunin (6) assisted by Zach Parise (33) & Ryan Donato (14)

     

    End of 3rd – MIN – 2         WAS – 1 

    Shots              27                   22

    Faceoffs        27/56               29/56

    Hits               16                     15

    PP                 0/1                    0/3

     

    Next Up:

    Washington Capitals (43-24-8 94pts) v.s Philadelphia Flyers (36-30-8 80pts)

    Minnesota Wild (35-31-9 79pts) @ Carolina Hurricanes (40-26-7 87pts)

  • Game Recap – 3/19/19 – Washington Capitals v. New Jersey Devils

    Game Recap – 3/19/19 – Washington Capitals v. New Jersey Devils

    Washington Capitals (43-23-7 93 pts) v. New Jersey Devils (27-38-9 63pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    The Washington Capitals conclude their four game road trip tonight as they travel to the Garden State to take on the New Jersey Devils.  The Capitals started the scoring early as Andre Burakovsky put his 12th goal of the season in the back of the net at the 2:52 mark.  The first period was an uneventful one until Kenny Agostino scored late in the period at the 19:59 mark.  After the first period, the game would be tied 1-1.

     

    However, the 2nd period saw a more offensive and dominate showing from the Capitals as they put three goals in the back of the Devils net.  Goals in the 2nd period by the Capitals came from Brett Connolly, Evgeny Kuznetsov, & Tom Wilson.  Brett Connolly scored his 20th goal on the season.  This is the first time Brett Connolly has scored twenty goals in his career and is having his best offensive season yet.  After a dominant second period, the Capitals would take a 4-1 lead over the Devils into the third period.

     

    In the 3rd period, the depleted and struggling Devils were completely shutdown by the more dominant team in the Capitals as they finished off the game for the 4-1 victory.  The Capitals return home tomorrow as they face the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second time in less than a week.  The New Jersey Devils are next in action on Thursday at home against the Boston Bruins.

     

    Lineups:

    Washington Capitals:

    Forwards:

    Alex Ovechkin – Evgeny Kuznetsov – Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana – Nicklas Backstrom – TJ Oshie

    Carl Hagelin – Lars Eller – Brett Connolly

    Andre Burakovsky – Nic Dowd – Chandler Stephenson

    Defenseman:

    Michal Kempny – John Carlson

    Dmitri Orlov – Matt Niskanen

    Christian Djoos – Nic Jensen

    Goalies:

    Starter – Phoenix Copley

    Back Up – Braden Holtby

    Scratches: Dmitry Jaskin, Brooks Orpik, Travis Boyd

     

    New Jersey Devils:

    Forwards:

    Blake Coleman – Travis Zajac – Stefan Noesen

    Kenny Agostino – Kevin Rooney – Kyle Palmeiri

    Drew Stafford – Blake Pietila – Joey Anderson

    Eric Tangradi – Michael McLeod – Kurtis Gabriel

    Defensemen:

    Andy Greene – Damon Severson

    Will Butcher – Connor Carrick

    Egor Yakolev – Steven Santini

    Goalies:

    Starter – Mackenzie Blackwood

    Back Up – 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, practicing); Pavel Zacha (upper body, practicing, no contact); John Quenneville (upper body); Nick Lappin (healthy)

    Injured: Taylor Hall

     

    First Period:

    Washington Goal – 2:52 – Andre Burakovsky (12) assisted by Nic Dowd (13) & Brett Connolly (22)

    New Jersey Penalty – 9:59 – Kurtis Gabriel, 2 minutes for cross checking

    New Jersey Goal – 19:59 – Kenny Agostino (6) unassisted

     

    End of 1st – WAS – 1       NJ – 1

    Shots              4                  7

    Faceoffs         9/19            10/19

    Hits               6                    9

    PP                 0/1                 0/0

    https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1108159930379448320

     

    Second Period:

    Washington Goal – 5:57 – Brett Connolly (20) assisted by Christian Djoos (7) & Carl Hagelin (10)

    Washington Penalty – 6:34 – Lars Eller, 2 minutes for slashing

    Washington Goal – 12:16 – Evgeny Kuznetsov (19) assisted by Jakub Vrana (23)

    Washington Goal – 13:28 – Tom Wilson (21) assisted by Alex Ovechkin (34) & Nicklas Backstrom (50)

     

    End of 2nd – WAS – 4       NJ- 1

    Shots               13                 12

    Faceoffs          21/40           19/40

    Hits                 12                  15

    PP                   0/1                  0/1

    https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1108174096293158914

     

    Third Period:

    Washington Penalty – 0:51 – Michal Kempny, 2 minutes for tripping

     

    End of 3rd – WAS – 4        NJ – 1

    Shots              22                   21

    Faceoffs        23/53             29/53

    Hits               15                     20

    PP                 0/1                    0/2

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (43-23-7 93 pts) v.s Tampa Bay Lightning (56-13-4 116 pts)

    New Jersey Devils (27-38-9 63 pts) v.s Boston Bruins (44-20-9 97 pts)

  • TXHT Podcast – 3/16/19

    TXHT Podcast – 3/16/19

    The TXHT podcast is back with Serious Hockey Talk for Serious Hockey Fans!

     

    Audio Version:

     

    This week on TXHT, Michael Lindenbaum is joined by TXHT’s Toronto Maple Leafs writer Steve Gardiner.

     

    Michael and Steve talk about an array of topics going on in the world of hockey including a preview of the NWHL Isobel Cup Championship Game between the Minnesota Whitecaps and the Buffalo Beauts.

     

    Also amongst the topics discussed on the show, Michael and Steve talk about the Morgan Reilly situation, and how poorly it was handled by the media and the fans. Plus they discuss the current states of the Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs, How Tom Wilson is doing, and the questionable decisions by the Department of Player Safety.

     

    This week’s episode was recorded on Saturday, March 16th, 2019

    Opening Music: “Human Chess” by Crimson Orchid

     

    Have a question you want answered on the show? Ask us! Comment on here or on one of our Social Media outlets, and we’ll answer it.

  • Game Recap- Washington Capitals v.s. Philadelphia Flyers 3/14/2019

    Game Recap- Washington Capitals v.s. Philadelphia Flyers 3/14/2019

    Washington Capitals (42-22-7 91 pts) v.s. Philadelphia Flyers (34-28-8 76 pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    The Washington Capitals continue their four game road trip tonight as they take on the Philadelphia Flyers. The first period began eerily similar to the previous match up against the Flyers as the Capitals started off with an early lead. Brett Connolly got the Capitals on the board first with assists going to Michal Kempny & John Carlson. Lars Eller would add to the lead and make it 2-0 with assists from Brett Connolly and Carl Hagelin. The period would end with Brooks Orpik being called for an interference penalty which gave the Flyers a power play that would continue into the 2nd period.

     

    In the second period, we saw each team score twice. Scoring from the Capitals would come from Brett Connolly (2nd goal of the game) & Tom Wilson who added his 20th goal on the season. For the Flyers, James Van Riemsdyk & Scott Laughton got the Flyers on the board. The Capitals would take a 4-2 leading going into the 3rd period.

     

    The third period featured three penalties called against the Capitals and one called against the Flyers. The Capitals would add an empty net goal by Evgeny Kuznetsov to seal the victory for the Capitals. The Capitals have won three of the four games against the Flyers so far with the final match up being on March 24th at Capital One Arena.

     

    Lineups:

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin-Evgeny Kuznetsov-Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana-Nicklas Backstrom-TJ Oshie

    Carl Hagelin-Lars Eller-Brett Connolly

    Andre Burakovsky-Chandler Stephenson-Travis Boyd

    Michal Kempny-John Carlson

    Dmitri Orlov-Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik-Nic Jensen

    Braden Holtby

    Phoenix Copley

    Scratches: Dmitry Jaskin, Nic Dowd, Christian Djoos

     

    Philadelphia Flyers:

    Oskar Lindblom-Sean Couturiere-Claude Girioux

    James Van Riemsdyk-Nolan Patrick-Travis Konecny

    Michael Raffl-Scott Laughton-Ryan Hartman

    Phil Varone-Corban Knight-Justin Bailey

    Ivan Provorov-Travis Sanheim

    Shayne Gostisbehere-Phillippe Myers

    Robert Hagg-Radko Gudas

    Carter Hart

    Brian Elliott

    Scratches: Andrew MacDonald, Samuel Morin, Cam Talbot

    Suspension: Jakub Voracek

    Inuries: Michal Neuvirth

     

    First Period:

    Washington Goal-2:53-Brett Connolly (18) assisted by Michal Kempny (18) & John Carlson (51)

    Washington Goal-9:30-Lars Eller (11) assisted by Brett Connolly (20) & Carl Hagelin (8)

    Washington Penalty-19:00-Brooks Orpik, 2 minutes for interference

     

    End of 1st – WAS – 2       PHI – 0

    Shots               11                  5          

    Faceoffs        7/9                 2/9

    Hits              11                    10

    PP                 0/0                 0/0

     

    https://twitter.com/Capitals/status/1106323526808678400
    https://twitter.com/Capitals/status/1106333932851789824
    https://twitter.com/Capitals/status/1106334979322204163
    https://twitter.com/Capitals/status/1106339151941648390

     

    Second Period:

    Philadelphia Goal-1:03- James Vam Riemsdyk (21) assisted by Shayne Gostisbehere (26)

    Philadelphia Penalty-5:06- Radko Gudas, 2 minutes for holding

    Washington Goal-8:43- Brett Connolly (19) unassisted

    Washington Goal-9:48- Tom Wilson (20) assisted by Evgeny Kuznetsov (49) & Dmitry Orlov (22)

    Philadelphia Goal-12:22- Scott Laughton (12) assisted by Ryan Hartman (12) & Robert Hagg (13)

    Philadelphia Penalty-19:00- Michael Raffl, 2 minutes for holding

     

    End of 2nd – WAS- 4        PHI- 2

    Shots              25                  14

    Faceoffs          9/21            12/21

    Hits                16                  18

    PP                   0/2                0/1

     

    https://twitter.com/NHLFlyers/status/1106344348885704704
    https://twitter.com/Capitals/status/1106348042385612802
    https://twitter.com/Capitals/status/1106349167931199488
    https://twitter.com/NHLFlyers/status/1106350495399067648
    https://twitter.com/Capitals/status/1106353764489924608
    https://twitter.com/Capitals/status/1106355009955000320

     

    Third Period:

    Philadelphia Penalty-5:57- Michael Raffl, 2 minutes for hooking

    Washington Penalty-6:33- Evgeny Kuznetsov, 2 minutes for tripping

    Washington Penalty-9:06- Nicklas Backstrom, 2 minutes for hooking

    Washington Penalty-11:41- Nic Jensen, 2 minutes for interference

    Washington Goal (Empty Net)-17:34- Evgeny Kuznetsov (18) assisted by Alex Ovechkin (33) & Michal Kempny (18)

     

    End of 3rd – WAS – 5       PHI – 2

    Shots              32                    24

    Faceoffs        25/53             28/53

    Hits                22                    25

    PP                 0/3                  0/4

     

    https://twitter.com/Capitals/status/1106368019406688256
    https://twitter.com/CapitalsPR/status/1106369061259300865
    https://twitter.com/NHLFlyers/status/1106367987605561349
    https://twitter.com/Capitals/status/1106370840403292160

     

    Next Up:

    Washington Capitals (42-22-7 91 pts) v.s. Tampa Bay Lightning (54-13-4 112 pts)

    Philadelphia Flyers (34-28-8 76 pts) v.s. Toronto Maple Leafs (42-23-5 89 pts)

  • Game Recap – 3/6/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Philadelphia Flyers

    Game Recap – 3/6/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Philadelphia Flyers

    Washington Capitals (38-21-7 83pts) v. Philadelphia Flyers (32-26-8 72pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    The Washington Capitals would continue their road trip with a short train trip to Philadelphia to take on the Flyers, and in the early stages of the game both teams would share chances in a track style back and forth, but it would be the Capitals striking first as Alex Ovechkin would feed the puck to Tom Wilson while on his knees for Wilson’s 19th goal of the season. Then later in the period while going down the wing Brett Connolly would rip a shot past Brian Elliott that would seem to have hit the crossbar, but during the TV timeout the play would be reviewed in Toronto and deemed a goal as Connolly got the puck past Elliott and hit the goal cam with the puck completely crossing the line thus giving the Capitals a 2-0 lead going into the second intermission.

     

    To start the second period the Capitals would bring the domination as early in the period while on their first powerplay of the game it would be an Ovechkin snipe from the circles that would go five hole on Elliott. Then mere minutes later it would be Andre Burakovsky with a beautiful snipe to chase Elliott from the net and bring in Cam Talbot, but the Capitals would welcome him with that same domination as Nicklas Backstrom would net the first shot against Talbot to make this a 5-0 game. The Capitals would primarily control the play the rest of the period, but with 11.8 seconds left in the period Philippe Myers would score his first career goal to get the Flyers on the board.

     

    To start the third period it would be the Flyers to get on the board ten seconds into the period as Claude Giroux would net his 20th of the season. The Flyers would pick up the play after scoring their second goal and as a result the Capitals would start chasing the game to which would then lead to an Andrew MacDonald point shot to get tipped by Scott Laughton to make this a 5-3 game, and have the Flyers trail the Capitals by only two goals.

     

    Lineups:

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Carl Hagelin — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Andre Burakovsky — Nic Dowd — Travis Boyd

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Nick Jensen

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Dmitrij Jaskin, Chandler Stephenson, Christian Djoos

     

    Philadelphia Flyers:

    Claude Giroux — Nolan Patrick — Travis Konecny

    Oskar Lindblom — Sean Couturier — Michael Raffl

    James van Riemsdyk — Scott Laughton — Ryan Hartman

    Phil Varone — Corban Knight — Justin Bailey

    Ivan Provorov — Travis Sanheim

    Shayne Gostisbehere — Philippe Myers

    Robert Hagg — Radko Gudas

    Brian Elliott

    Cam Talbot

    Scratched: Samuel Morin, Andrew MacDonald

    Injured: Michal Neuvirth (lower body), Carter Hart (ankle), Jakub Voracek (lower body)

     

    First Period:

    Capitals Goal – 5:55 – Tom Wilson (19) from Alex Ovechkin (31) and Dmitry Orlov (18)

    Capitals Penalty – 7:43 – TJ Oshie 2 minutes for Hooking

    Capitals Goal – 14:16 – Brett Connolly (17) from Carl Hagelin (7) and Matt Niskanen (15)

     

    End of 1st – WAS – 2       PHI – 0

    Shots              14                07

    Faceoffs         02                10

    Hits               04                  08

    PP                 0/0                 0/1

     

    Second Period:

    Flyers Penalty – 1:49 – Sean Couturier 2 minutes for Tripping

    Capitals PPG – 2:32 – Alex Ovechkin (46) from Nicklas Backstrom (47) and John Carlson (48)

    Capitals Goal – 4:18 – Andre Burakovsky (10) from Travis Boyd (14) and Dmitry Orlov (19)

    Capitals Goal – 5:37 – Nicklas Backstrom (16) from Jakub Vrana (22) and Nick Jensen (14)

    Flyers Penalty – 10:30 – Robert Hagg 2 minutes for Slashing

    Flyers Goal – 19:48 – Philippe Myers (1) from Claude Giroux (52) and Sean Couturier (35)

     

    End of 2nd – WAS- 5        PHI- 1

    Shots               25                 16

    Faceoffs          07                 20

    Hits                 09                  20

    PP                   1/2                  0/1

     

    Third Period:

    Flyers Goal – :10 – Claude Giroux (20) from Oscar Lindblom (15) and Sean Couturier (36)

    Flyers Penalty – 2:29 – Scott Laughton 2 minutes for Interference

    Flyers Goal – 7:48 – Scott Laughton (10) from Andrew MacDonald (9) and Michael Raffl (11)

    Capitals Penalty – 10:23 – Tom Wilson 2 minutes for Roughing

    Flyers Penalty – 10:23 – Andrew MacDonald 2 minutes for Roughing

     

    End of 3rd – WAS – 5         PHI – 3

    Shots              35                   30

    Faceoffs        14                    32

    Hits               17                     25

    PP                 1/3                    0/1

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (39-21-7 85pts) v. New Jersey (25-33-9 59pts)

    Philadelphia (32-27-8 72pts) @ NY Islanders (38-21-7 83pts)

  • Game Recap – 2/26/2019 – Ottawa Senators v. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap – 2/26/2019 – Ottawa Senators v. Washington Capitals

    Ottawa Senators (22-35-5 49pts) v. Washington Capitals (35-21-7 77pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    The Washington Capitals host the Ottawa Senators as they close out the month of February and it would be the Senators who would get the first goal of the game when newly acquired forwards Brian Gibbons and Oscar Lindberg connect for Lindberg’s first goal with the Senators and Gibbons first point with the team to give them the 1-0 lead over the Capitals. Then on a Travis Boyd slashing penalty, the Senators would get a goal from another newly acquired forward Anthony Duclair on the powerplay  to give them a 2-0 lead. However, the Capitals would get back into it when they would take advantage of a poor line change by the Senators as the top line of Evgeny Kuznetsov, Alex Ovechkin, and Tom Wilson would play tic tac toe for Wilson’s 18th of the season, then 53 seconds late Lars Eller would rip one past Senators goaltender Anders Nilsson to tie the game at two.

     

    The Capitals started off the period flying and as a result they would get a powerplay opportunity when Chris Tierney would be called for tripping and the Capitals would make the most of their powerplay opportunity as it would be a John Carlson bomb from the point to give the Capitals a 3-2 lead, but then it would be back to back dirty goals by TJ Oshie and Brett Connolly to give the Capitals a powerful 5-2 lead. Then Oshie would get his second of the game in a confusing sequence as it would be Nilsson knocking the net off the moarings as Oshie shot the puck in the net, but a goal is a goal, and it is now 6-2 for the Capitals with the Senators pulling Nilsson for Craig Anderson.

     

    Going in the third period the Capitals would waste no time as Evgeny Kuznetsov would score 17 seconds into the game to make it 7-2 for the Capitals. The Capitals would control the play in the third to kill the clock and secure the victory.

     

    Lineups:

    Ottawa Senators:

    Brady Tkachuk — Colin White — Anthony Duclair

    Rudolfs Balcers — Chris Tierney — Mikkel Boedker

    Zack Smith — Jean-Gabriel Pageau — Bobby Ryan

    Brian Gibbons — Oscar Lindberg — Magnus Paajarvi

    Thomas Chabot — Dylan DeMelo

    Mark Borowiecki — Christian Jaros

    Ben Harpur — Cody Ceci

    Anders Nilsson

    Craig Anderson

    Scratched: Christian Wolanin

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Carl Hagelin — Nic Dowd — Travis Boyd

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Nick Jensen

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Dmitrij Jaskin, Chandler Stephenson, Christian Djoos

     

    First Period:

    Senators Goal – 3:16 – Oscar Lindberg (5) from Brian Gibbons (4) and Magnus Paajarvi (3)

    Capitals Penalty – 5:22 – Travis Boyd 2 minutes for Slashing

    Senators PPG – 7:10 – Anthony Duclair (12) from Cody Ceci (16) and Christian Jaros (7)

    Capitals Goal – 16:57 – Tom Wilson (18) from Alex Ovechkin (29) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (41)

    Capitals Goal – 17:50 – Lars Eller (8) from Dmitry Orlov (16) and Brett Connolly (19)

     

    End of 1st – OTT – 2       WAS – 2

    Shots              13                09

    Faceoffs         09                12

    Hits               05                  03

    PP                 1/1                 0/0

     

    Second Period:

    Senators Penalty – 2:00 – Chris Tierney 2 minutes for Tripping

    Capitals PPG – 2:38 – John Carlson (10) from Nicklas Backstrom (44) and TJ Oshie (21)

    Capitals Goal – 6:29 – TJ Oshie (19) from Brooks Orpik (5) and Nicklas Backstrom (45)

    Capitals Goal – 9:05 – Brett Connolly (16) from Andre Burakovsky (12)

    Capitals Goal – 10:33 – TJ Oshie (20) from Dmitry Orlov (17) and Jakub Vrana (21)

     

    End of 2nd – OTT – 2        WAS – 6

    Shots               18                 26

    Faceoffs          22                 23

    Hits                 11                  06

    PP                   1/1                  1/1

     

    Third Period:

    Capitals Goal – :17 – Evgeny Kuznetsov (17) from Alex Ovechkin (30) and Tom Wilson (15)

     

    End of 3rd – OTT – 2         WAS – 7

    Shots              23                   37

    Faceoffs        35                    30

    Hits               15                     08

    PP                 1/1                    1/1

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (36-21-7 79pts) @ NY Islanders (36-19-7 79pts)

    Ottawa (22-36-5 49pts) v. Edmonton (26-29-7 59pts)