Just moments ago a final buzzer rang in Gallery Place, a clarion call signaling the Washington Capital's' berth into the second round of the NHL playoffs. It took five games -- two more than the past five playoff series since 2008 -- to move past the New York Rangers 3-1 at the Verizon Center. Until most of the way through the third period the Caps were up 3-0, thanks to an Ovechkin second period goal in the second period and a series of third period saves by Neuvirth. The Rangers were able to throw up a single tick on the score board with a sixth-man goal with 31.5 sceonds remaining. more ›

For all the criticism out there about Caps left wing Alexander Semin's fighting style, we'd like to point out that New York Rangers defenseman Marc Staal is equally bad at curl and drag fakes, nifty stickhandling moves and goal scoring. While the big lumbering defenseman may fight in a more traditional hockey style, we like Semin's originality in the above video from this weekend's Caps victory. Yes, Semin might be the first NHL player to attempt a series of overhand slaps, but he comes out on top. The supposedly tougher Staal has to hug himself for safety on the ground after losing his balance and falling over. What good is being big and tough in ice hockey if you can't stand up on ice skates? more ›

Former Capitals coach Bruce "Butch" Cassidy (who famously wrote his plays on napkins, and then brought the napkins to practice) has just been fired by the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League after they lost six straight games. The firing from the junior team confirms the suspicions of many Caps fans who remembered the 2003-2004 season and though the coach might have been slightly less than qualified for the NHL. Cassidy joined the Capitals... more ›

One of the best things about covering hockey is that you get the summer off. Just ask USA Today's Gary Graves, TV Analyst Darren Pang or the anonymous Western Canadian hockey experts on this conference call. All of them are really excited to watch what happens when Alexander Ovechkin plays with newly signed free agent center Michael Nylander. But as Ovechkin kindly told these vacationing reporters when they asked him how he felt about it,... more ›

In anticipation of 2005 4th overall pick Niklas Backstrom's arrival from Sweden, the Capitals had already signed marginal Swedish defenseman (and former Capital) Josef Boumedienne to a one-year contract to interpret at the airport and through training camp. Therefore we have to try to look at the signing of Swedish center (and former Capital) Michael Nylander, to a four-year, nineteen and a half million dollar contract, as a hockey move. We said, "try." Nylander initially... more ›