Today, with great pride and pleasure, we bring you the second and final part in our season review of the tragedy known as the 2006-07 Washington Capitals. Yesterday we looked at the team’s sticky relationship with elite offensive star Alexander Semin, their odd choice of a ten million dollar free agent with almost no NHL experience and the team’s pattern of hiring capable but downtrodden goaltenders to help them plummet through the standings into the…

Tomorrow night the Washington Capitals’ season comes to a merciful and optimistic end. Continuing to excel in meaningless situations, the Caps have climbed all the way back up to 26th place. If the season ended today, they’d be one spot outside of lottery contention for the first overall draft pick. Winning two straight games and three of their last four home games, the Capitals have shown great commitment to their team and given fans hope…

Tonight the Capitals face the Buffalo Slugs, the new team of former Capital Dainius Zubrus. Zubrus was traded away because he did not agree on a contract with the Capitals before the trade deadline, and this summer he will be an unrestricted free agent. From our perspective, it looked like the Caps’ hopes of luring him back this summer were entirely dashed when he told the Buffalo press that he was thrilled to join a…

When DCist talks, the Washington Capitals listen. We’d like to thank the Caps for taking our suggestions to heart at the trade deadline. We’ll certainly have more advice for them this summer, when free agents become available. Now if they can just slide down two or three spots in the standings, they’ll be one of four teams in the lottery for the first-overall pick. They’ll have a great chance to avoid picking up a couple…

With one week left until the trade deadline, and the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference, the Capitals are doubtlessly looking to make trades and receive value for players who aren’t planning to return next year. Their biggest commodities are forwards Dainius Zubrus and Richard Zednik. Both players are big, strong veterans who can chip in a fair number of points. Both have also been to the Stanley Cup Finals, which is something teams look…

Written by DCist contributor Eli Resnick The Capitals are on a “mostly winning streak.” Why? How? What’s a “mostly winning streak?” Who cares! They’re doing good. But first there’s some bad news: Alexander Semin left the ice late in the third period doubled over with pain. A possible shoulder injury could make it painful for Semin to shoot. We don’t want to see Semin’s shots dribble weakly to the crease, do we? No! We want…

This post was written by DCist contributor Jesse Rounds Since dropping 8 in a row two weeks ago, the Capitals have gotten strong team play and timely individual excellence. They’ve also picked up 10 points from 7 games. Washington’s first stop on their short road trip to Canada ended in a difficult loss to the Montreal Canadiens. The Capitals were tied with the playoff bound Habs late into the game. A poor puck-handling decision by…

This entry was written by DCist contributor Jesse Rounds Good news has been in short supply for the Washington Capitals lately. They have lost four of the last five, with their only win coming against the up and down Toronto Maple Leafs. In the home game against the Leafs the Capitals looked strong, shutting down the Leafs offense and playing the penalty kill very well. However, back-to-back 5-0 loses to the Tampa Bay Lightning and…

This entry was written by DCist contributor Jesse Rounds For the first time in the last 28 attempts the New York Islanders beat the Washington Capitals in New York, thus keeping the Caps from failing to capitalize on their win against the Tampa Bay Lightning earlier in the week. The 5-3 loss was more a result of a foolish penalty late in the third period than a poorly played game. Prior to the third period…