Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Knuble scrapped all night to beat the Panthers 4-1.(AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez) The Caps’ winning streak is getting ridiculous. They’ve won nine straight (something the Redskins haven’t done since 1991), and their most recent win — 4-1 Friday against the Florida Panthers — came against the goalie with the second best save percentage in the NHL. “I think every team wants to be the team that comes in and beats…

The Caps’ explosive offense left Florida Panthers winger Mike Duco so frustrated that hefelt the need to attack Caps left wing Alexandre Giroux. Duco was rightfully ejected,and the Caps won 6-2. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) The Capitals-Panthers game was less than 10 minutes old Thursday night when one fan was already shouting, “come on, [Alex] Semin, make us happy to see you.” By the end of the period, Semin — playing in his first game…

Florida defenseman Jay Bouwmeester. (Steve Mitchell/Associated Press) It’s not often in professional sports that the home team has the chance to keep the best player on the visiting team after the game, but that might be the case this afternoon if the Capitals can make the right impression on the Florida Panthers. Panthers defenseman Jay Bouwmeester is an emerging star. He plays defense well, passes the puck well and scores goals. All year, Florida…

This weekend the Capitals decided not to add a great goalie to pull them up from the dregs of the standings. After losing seven of eight games, the Caps were in last place. This gave them the first chance to pick up Ilya Bryzgalov, a goalie placed on waivers because he didn’t enjoy playing backup on the Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks. Two years ago, Bryzgalov posted one of the greatest playoff shutout streaks in…

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…

With one week left until the start of the regular season, the hockey world has been divided into two camps along the question of whether the Capitals will make the playoffs this year. The first camp consists of every Caps fan with a blog, up to and including team owner Ted Leonsis. All agree that the team can do it. The second camp contains every other fan and writer in the hockey universe, who agree…

Before last night the Florida Panthers had beaten the Capitals five straight times. In those five meetings, the Panthers were struggling to make the playoffs. Last night was Florida’s first game since their elimination from playoff contention, and their lack of motivation showed from the start. The Capitals, possibly by accident, capitalized on their lackadaisical opposition to claim a meaningless victory over their fellow non-competitors. Alexander Ovechkin scored his forty-fourth goal of the season on…

Tonight the Capitals will face the decisive game of their season. After weeks of injury troubles and youthful inconsistencies, the team finds itself in position to drop from twelfth in the East down to fourteenth, all in one night. The Capitals, who finished near the bottom of the league last season and retooled over the summer to perform better this season, are in a position to slip behind the Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins, who…

This entry written by DCist contributor Jesse Rounds At the end of a losing season, the Capitals are going to have to fight off ennui and frustration to maintain the camaraderie that the team claims will make them a threat next season. Their recent record isn’t helping any. Last Thursday the Capitals traveled to Manhattan to take on the playoff-bound Rangers and attempt to halt a three game slide. Washington stayed on pace with the…

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…