The Capitals couldn't close the deal against Boston, the Nationals were rained out and Chris Pontius led D.C. United to a big win in the grudge match with the New York Red Bulls. more ›

Late last week, Alex Ovechkin was accused of using steroids by a columnist in Pennsylvania. Yesterday, he responded. more ›

I may not know much about hockey, but I do know this: Alex Ovechkin is about as close to a hometown sports hero as we have. So when he gets accused of using performance enhancing drugs, it better be well-sourced. more ›

Last night, the Washington Capitals defeated the Anaheim Ducks in a dramatic game which featured the team coming back from a three-goal deficit in the second period and eventually winning in overtime. But all everyone wants to talk about is Alexander Ovechkin's potty mouth. more ›

Yes, it's hockey season again. more ›

Alexander Ovechkin: the man with a slap shot so powerful, it could be used as a boastful metaphor for the purportedly wide network of Capital One banks in the Washington, D.C. region! more ›

Several tipsters emailed us this morning to let us know that there was a film crew, "replete with police cordons and director's chairs," putting images to celluloid this morning on R Street NW between New Hampshire Avenue and 18th Street NW in Dupont Circle. So who was it? Were there any big stars in the area? Don't get too excited: D.C. Office of Motion Picture and Television Development spokesperson Leslie R. Green informs DCist that the filming was just for a D.C. Lottery commercial -- and nothing incredibly exciting, like Alexander Ovechkin shooting pucks off the roof of a local Capital One Bank.
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This weekend, the best players in the NHL gathered in Raleigh, North Carolina to celebrate the league's All-Star weekend, in which hockey players come together to not play defense, show off various skills to paying fans and deliver awkward interviews during a faux red carpet ceremony. In short, the kind of stuff that Capitals megastar Alexander Ovechkin was born to do. more ›

If you were on Jeopardy, your response to that headline would surely be "what is the recipe for a hilarious YouTube clip?" (Or something far, far, far more disturbing that you should totally keep to yourself.) more ›

With a tip of the cap to Russian Machine Never Breaks, here's footage of commercial star, noted feminist and goal-scorer (though not so much of late) Alexander Ovechkin, exhibiting some of his finest dance moves, many of them at Club Glow. If you're at all offended by truly awful dancing, this will be nearly as graphic to you as those Missy Reilly Smith advertisements. more ›

Washington Capitals megastar Alexander Ovechkin does not suffer for attention from the ladies -- this much we already knew. But in a profile in the November issue of GQ, Ovechkin delivers the most backhanded of all compliments, calling D.C. "a quiet, calm family town" -- while at the same time delivering some rather pointed remarks on the difference between Russian and American ladies. more ›

I have to admit, I didn't expect to be writing this story in April. As a crowd of reporters waited outside the Capitals locker room for post-game interviews following last night's Game 7 loss, it felt like waiting for the dentist. We could hear the cheers from the Montreal Canadiens as they celebrated their 2-1 win on their way to the dressing room. more ›

During a second period Saturday that Nicklas Backstrom called "embarrassing," the Washington Capitals found themselves down 4-1 against the Montreal Canadiens and waiting for a referee review of an earlier play. Eric Fehr, who had the only Capitals goal at that point, said after the dramatic win that it was the moment when the game changed for his team. more ›

No power play goals, no shots on goal by Alex Ovechkin, and some uncharacteristic moves from Nicklas Backstrom: not much else needs to be said about the Washington Capitals' 3-2 overtime loss to the eighth-seeded Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. more ›

Capitals 6, Penguins 3: Never has deja vu been so exciting. The Caps beat the Penguins 6-3 for the second time this year on Mellon Arena ice and completed a four-game regular season sweep of the Pens. Though most will say it really doesn't mean much until the Caps prove they can beat Pittsburgh four times in this postseason, the sweep should help the Caps' mindset as they head to the playoffs, which, as we all know, ended last year in a Game 7 nightmare against Crosby & Co. more ›

Canada 7, Russia 3: You win this round, Crosby; but the war isn't over. Let's be honest, though: is Russia losing to Canada a problem for Capitals fans? Hardly. In fact, there are plenty of positives to it. Alexander Ovechkin, turned away from the gold medal by his fiercest rival, will certainly come back for the rest of the season with renewed vigor and head into the playoffs hungrier than ever. Ovechkin, Alex Semin, and Semyon Varlamov will return from Vancouver with an extra week's worth of rest and two fewer games on their odometers than the organization probably expected. Perhaps most importantly, no one was injured. Even better: hockey fans in the nation's capital can now devote all our precious energy to rooting on the U.S. team. more ›

Capitals 5, Penguins 4 (OT): It's quite possible that this was the biggest regular season NHL game in years -- a nationally-televised matinee on Super Bowl Sunday, featuring the two (three, if you include Evgeni Malkin) best players in the game and the defending champs versus the hottest team in the world. And the Capitals won, scoring four unanswered goals to push their winning streak to 14 straight. A game like this deserves a few toasts. Shall we? more ›

Capitals 5, Ducks 1: Alexander Ovechkin must have been jealous. Seven goals on Tuesday and not a single one to his credit? No problem; it only took Ovie all of 36 seconds to get on the board against Anaheim last night at the Phone Booth. more ›

Coach Bruce Boudreau knows Alexander Semin, who had a goal and three assists in the Capitals' 4-2 win over Phoenix Saturday, has been playing well recently. Boudreau told reporters after Saturday's game that he attributed it to a solid power play (the Caps lead the league in power play percentage) and the lines being able to stick together. more ›

Capitals 6, Penguins 3: What's up, NHL scheduling computer? It's kind of ridiculous that the Capitals had to wait eight months to get their first crack at their biggest rivals since last summer's epic but painful playoff series. But that wait was over last night: in a game overflowing with sex appeal, the visiting Caps blew the doors off the Mellon Arena in the third period, scoring three unanswered to win 6-3, and pushing their regular season undefeated streak against the Pens to five games. more ›

Alex Ovechkin was named captain of the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, and the team celebrated the occasion with a 4-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens. more ›

Our twitter timeline just about exploded a few minutes ago, when word broke that Alexander Ovechkin will be taking over as captain of the Washington Capitals. Ovechkin will be the 14th captain in team history, taking over for Chris Clark, who was traded to Columbus last week. The Caps had any number of legitimate contenders for the honors, but Ovechkin was the likely selection. On the opportunity, Oveckin told the Post that "[i]f the team's going to trust me, and going to let me, why not?" -- it should be a fun regime. more ›

Senators 4, Capitals 3 (OT): If you had cobbled together a team of professional hockey players from Eastern Canada and were looking for the opportune time to play the Washington Capitals, well, it's now. The Caps dropped their third straight game to a team from either Ontario or Quebec on Monday night, losing an overtime decision in Ottawa. The Capitals allowed three unanswered goals to let a two goal lead at the second intermission slip away. Chris Clark, Brendan Morrison, and Jay Beagle had scored to seemingly break the Caps two-game skid, but it wasn't enough -- Mike Fisher was left alone in front of the net to tip in the game winner just over a minute into overtime. more ›

Tonight the Capitals came from behind to beat the Florida Panthers 7-4. With Alex Ovechkin and Mike Green among a slew of injured players, Mike Knuble put up four points to spark the win. The total tied his personal best, from Valentine's Day, 2003. Asked what it was like to be a leader on this team, Knuble calmly dismissed the assertion. "It's just one game," he said, talking up the importance of hard work over a long season. more ›

Wizards 102, Mavericks 91: Something tells me that the Wizards are going to be a real interesting team this season: new coach, a whole host of new players, and old players returning with the grudge of last season's epic failure hanging over their heads as motivation. But for whatever reason, the Wizards' hopes seem to always rest on the back of Gilbert Arenas. And man, the old Gilbert was back last night: dishing dimes, driving to the hoop with strength and finesse, and reminding us of that guy whom you could have made an argument for as the best fourth quarter player in the league three years ago. Gil had 29 points and nine assists in the Wizards season-opening 102-91 win on the road in Dallas. Of course, it wasn't all Agent Zero -- new boss Flip Saunders has stressed defense during the offseason, and Washington held the Mavs to only 39% from the field. Andray Blatche, Randy Foye, and Caron Butler also chipped in double digits. Dirk Nowitzki (and his long hair) paced Dallas with 34. more ›

After last night's 6-4 victory over Toronto, the season the Caps are undefeated and scoring two goals for every one they give up. They have been defensively perfect from the start of any match until they have at least three goals of their own. Superstars Alexander Ovechkin and Alexander Semin have scored three points in each game. Both Caps starting goalies have won. The whole team is playing well. Everybody is doing their job to a tee and the fans are going crazy. more ›

Capitals 4, Bruins 1: It's been a rough few months for D.C. sports -- a summer of futility at Nationals Park, the Wizards' dreadful season, Georgetown missing the tournament, the Redskins losing to the Lions, and so on, and so on. Will the Capitals be the messianic force that leads us out of the dark times? If they play like they did last night in Boston all year, then they might just be such an answer to those prayers. Washington bossed the game against a pretty decent Boston hockey club last night, looking even better than the team that many thought could go all the way last season. Already up 2-0 after two periods, the Caps scored twice in the opening two minutes of the third period to put things out of reach. It was a fantastic game for the team's top offensive talent, as Alexander Ovechkin (two goals and an assist) opened his 2009-10 account with a big deposit, as did Nicklas Backstrom (three assists) and Alex Semin (two helpers). But the Caps also flexed their considerable muscle on the power play -- Brooks Laich scored twice with the man advantage -- as Boston looked undisciplined; a too many men on the ice penalty led to Laich's opening goal. All in all, it was a romping victory for a team which many are counting on to put something positive back into this town's sporting consciousness. more ›

By Eli Resnick and Elisabeth Meinecke With another hockey season upon us – the opening faceoff in Boston is mere hours away – it's time for the DCist hockey crew to look foolish and guess what the Caps will do this year. We'll take a wide turn of the stories heading into tonight's opener, offering our prognostications on the season to be along the way. more ›

By DCist contributor Hemal Jhaveri more ›

The Caps' roster may be leaner (six cuts Tuesday trimmed the roster down to 36) but it showed some serious muscle offensively and defensively in a 6-2 preseason win over Chicago Wednesday at the Verizon Center. more ›