January 19 - Washington Capitals vs. Detroit Red Wings

Jose Theodore is a rock star. I have not seen a goalie performance like his against the Red Wings ever. The Wings ended up with 46 shots and only 2 goals in the Caps' unlikely 3-2 win. If not for Jose being a monster in goal, the Red Wings could have won that game at least five times over.

The Caps had 20-something shots. Ovechkin was held without a shot on goal and for the first period, the only Capital playing was Jose. The fourth line was on fire and both Matt Bradley and David Steckel scored and Nick Backstrom had a pretty Ovie-like goal and somehow, we came away with a victory.

Somehow = Jose Theodore. Not only did he make 44 saves, he also got an assist on one of the goals. Yep. An assist from the goalie. Amazing.

Neil, my mom and I attended the game and my mom, a Red Wings fan, wore a Capitals sweatshirt. :) I am not sure if she was REALLY hoping the Caps would win, but she seemed glad they did and announced that she thinks it's their turn to win the Cup. I have to agree.

I am hoping that Jose remains amazing and the rest of the Caps actually skate tonight against the Penguins. It's about 6 hours until game time and I'm already nervous.

January 12 - Washington Capitals vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (at Tampa Bay)

Meh. This was not the best, and also not the worst game of the year. But whenever an opponent scores 7 goals against the Caps, it's a little concerning. The final score, 4-7 was at least not of blowout proportions, but really, the Lightning trounced all over the Capitals and our two goalies.

Neuvirth was pulled after the first period when the lightning had 4 already. I don't think any but the last goal were he fault, though. The Caps were not playing defense. They let far too many people in black jerseys get way too close to the net. They just weren't skating.

Theo came in as relief goalie and ended up getting scored on three times and again, I didn't think it was all his fault. Both goalies also made some spectacular saves. The Lightning were just shooting machines and the Caps needed to shoot more, skate more and defend more.

Harumph.

The most interesting part of the game was in the final minutes when Tampa Bay tough guy Steve Downie started fighting with Ovechkin and Matt Bradley intervened. I was thrilled that Bradley prevented Ovie from hurting his precious hands, but that's probably because I am a girly sports fan who loves Alex Ovechkin and never wants him to get hurt.. I realize that to others, it might have looked a little bit like Bradley stole Ovie's fight. But surely all hockey fans realized the need to protect the MVP. The DC Sports Bog has an amazing play by play of the fight that made me laugh out loud and I really can't do better, so check this out if you know what's good for you.

Here's to a better game tonight!

December 26 - Washington Capitals vs. New Jersey Devils

Amazing game! We kept the Devils to only one goal. Ovie opened the scoring. Green and Backstrom also scored and Matt Bradley got a goal which is always an amazing sign for the game to come.

Michal Neuvirth made 29 saves and beat Martin Brodeur - the record-holder in shutouts and an amazing goalie. It was a really exciting game and a solid win over a team that beat the Caps in the three previous meetings this season. Whewh!

The Caps pr staff did a big thing about it being Hockey Night in Washington, which was pretty cute since it was Saturday night.

Even though the goals came mostly from the top players (and Bradley), it still looked like a solid team effort.

Beating New Jersey put the Caps back at the top of the eastern standings and secured a win over a team that they could very well face come playoff time.

A nice aside: Nick Backstrom (who was named to the Swedish Olympic team) got his 200th point of the night and was up on the big screen where Ovie and Semin were messing with him and waving their gloved hands in his face which was cute. Backstrom ended the night with 202 career points in 202 career games.

December 7 - Washington Capitals vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (at Tampa)

Caps are #1 in the NHL!

Ovie scored two goals!

Varly recorded a shut out!

The Caps have beat Tampa 12 times in a row!

Last night's 3-0 shutout was yet another convincing win for my Capitals. The game against the Flyers was a bit more entertaining, but 3 goals was plenty for last night. It was great to see Ovie back in action and with two goals. He's only one behind the lead in the NHL even with all the games he's missed this season. (I think it's 8 total).

Also last night, Matt Bradley and his wife had their first baby, a boy named Henry. Bradley skipped the game last night and flew home to be with his wife - good choice.

It's nice to be on top of the NHL standings, but the more important thing is for the team to keep up the strong team play and hopefully it will peak during the playoffs this spring.  There sure is a lot to love about the Capitals right now.

December 5 - Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers (at Philadelphia)

Question: What is even better than a strong win over a Southeast division opponent?

Answer: A complete and total walloping of the Philadelphia Flyers!

The Capitals triumphed over the Flyers 8 to 2. That's right eight goals for the Caps! It was pretty amazing to watch from my cozy couch after a snowy day here in DC.

The biggest headline of the game other than the phenomenal score is probably Dan Carcillo, a Flyer who sucker punched Matt Bradley, getting himself expelled from the game and giving the Caps a nine-minute power play during which the Caps scored three times. Carcillo was suspended for four games for the move, and rightly so. I don't recall seeing anything quite that egregious in any game I've watched. Luckily, after some (more) stitches, Bradley is apparently ok.

The rest of the game was pretty amazing. Fleishman and Green each scored twice. The other goals came from Laich, Backstrom, Clark and the final goal went to David Steckel who had yet to score this season. I was hoping he'd get one and in the final few minutes of the game, he finally did.

The Flyers were playing their first game with a new coach and have been having a tough time lately. Everyone expected them to be on fire for their first opportunity to show off for the new man in charge. Not so much. Any fire that was there was quickly extinguished by the Caps.

The Caps keep roaring through their games, even without Ovechkin. Ovie should be back tomorrow night when the team plays Tampa Bay. I hope Matt Bradley is back, too.

Mr. Capitals Potato Head! Seriously.

My friend Lia, a Canadian who understands my hockey problem, got me an amazing gift for my birthday earlier this month. In spite of all the attention I pay to Caps merchandise, I had no idea that there were hockey Mr. Potato heads.

Behold:

Here's Mr. Ovie Potato Head - missing tooth and all.

Here Ovie celebrates a goal.

And here's Matt Bradley looking tough before his fight in the Rangers game.

Thank you Lia, for the awesome gift, that, while it may seem frivolous, I clearly could not live without.

Someone Said It Better Than I Did Last Night

Check out this awesome post by Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post about Matt Bradley's amazing game last night. He's got some bloody pictures from Bradley's first period fight and some amazing quotes from Bradley and others about the crazy goal he scored that won the game for the Caps.

Clearly I was too tired to be so clever last night, plus, I didn't have game photos or players to get quotes from.

Enjoy!

November 17 - Washington Capitals vs. New York Rangers (at NY)

Woo! Great game! Neil and I watched from the comforts of home tonight and it was fantastic. Ovie is back and scored a goal, Coach Boudreau got his 100th NHL victory as a coach, Matt Bradley scored a sweet breakaway goal (and as I have stated before, I love games when Matt Bradley scores), and the Caps beat the Rangers in regulation in Madison Square Garden.

Unfortunately, Quintin Laing may have suffered a broken jaw when he blocked a shot. The Caps are really running through the injuries and Laing has some unfortunate luck. I hope he heals fast and is back in the lineup soon.

The game looked a bit like a playoff game with both teams playing hard and neither making many mistakes. It was really good to see the Caps pick up their defensive game and go crazy with the forechecking.

Can't wait till they come home again on Friday night. Man, I love this team.

October 22 - Washington Capitals vs. Atlanta Thrashers (at Atlanta)

Tonight's view was from a few blocks away from 419 on my couch. We ordered some pizza and hung out with the dogs in our red gear (yes, I own Capitals pj's). It was a very exciting game, but the Caps completely collapsed in the third in what is becoming a disturbing habit that I hope they break soon.

Matt Bradley scored, which is always fun and Jeff Schultz's goal from in front of our own goal was pretty amazing. He gets a lot of crap from fans and it's nice to see him play well. He also had two assists tonight! It was also really nice to see Eric Fehr playing well after missing the beginning of the season and being out all summer with shoulder surgery. It looks like Atlanta could be a dangerous opponent as the season wears on. I hope the Caps stay on their toes.

This stretch of first no games and now two away games is making me really miss in-person hockey. Next Tuesday night can not come fast enough!

October 15 - Washington Capitals vs. San Jose Sharks

This was an amazing night with one sad part.

First the bummer: Neil had a hockey game of his own and had to skip the game (which was sad on several levels - especially since it ended with a trip to the hospital - don't worry, he's ok, just a cut up finger - stupid puck).

The upside to Neil missing the game is that I invited my friend Mikah to join me. It was her first Caps game and you never know how someone's first game will go. She could have hated it, but, lucky for both of us, she got into the game fast and had a really good time. And what a great game for her to come to for her first game!

The intensity level was high all night and the Caps played fantastic. Ovie scored two goals in 28 seconds against the only team he hadn't scored on in the NHL. Matt Bradley had a goal (yay). The Sharks couldn't stop taking penalties in the first period which resulted in the longest string of power plays I can remember seeing (A low point in the Caps' performance is that they only scored one power play goal). Our goalies were fantastic. (Hopefully Jose Theodore will be ok after leaving before the second period with an injury). Most importantly, perhaps, is that the Caps beat a really good team and seem to have a bit of their confidence back.

Up in section 419, it was nice to have some girl talk mixed in with my hockey game.

After the game, on our way out of the arena, I saw some really cool dudes in matching all-red suits with red wing-tip shoes, red bowler hats and Capitals lapel pins. First I took a covert photo which captures the entire ensemble:

And then they noticed me. I tried to ask if they come to all the Caps games dressed in awesome red suits, but they seemed a tad too intoxicated to pay attention to my question, or maybe they were sober and couldn't hear me over the hum of the happy crowd? They did agree to pose for a photo, but then one of them moved:

And then (and here's where I think I embarrassed Mikah) one of the red-suited ones suggested I get in a photo. How could I refuse?

Clearly, I need to step up my red to compete with these guys (and perhaps I also need to step up my alcohol consumption?) I must say, I prefer this kind of all-red suit to the one I saw during preseason.

Walking out with the crowd was exhilarating. People were cheering, cars were honking three honks for "Let's Go Caps." The sidewalks were alive with Caps fans in spite of what has been a wet and dreary day in DC. When I got home, I learned from the post game show on Comcast that Ovie had never scored two goals so close together before. It's a great night to be a Caps fan!

Take that Baskman! ;)  (The aforementioned Baskman is an old friend of my father's and a San Jose Sharks season ticket holder)

October 10 - Washington Capitals vs. Detroit Red Wings (in Detroit)

I always love it when Matt Bradley scores a goal, but other than that and Jose Theodore's solid goal tending, not a lot to love about this game. I am still in NM, so I had to check updates on my phone and watch highlights after the fact. I hope the Caps work out all their issues soon. I'll be back in Verizon Center on Thursday and I think it's time to win. A win before I am back would be good too.