The Washington Nationals’ Racing Presidents didn’t really have much to do on President’s Day, what with baseball season not starting for another six weeks. So yesterday, the quartet of executive mascots lent themselves out to the New York Islanders for the fourth consecutive year.

Alex Semin was all over the ice Wednesday, helping Chris Clark andSemyon Varlamov push the Caps past the tricky Islanders. Photo by choofly. Welcome back, Captain Clark – with a little help from his trusty sidekicks Alex and Semyon, of course. Chris Clark was the eleventh Cap to take the ice in a shootout against the New York Islanders Wednesday night, and only the second Cap to score, but the captain’s tally was one…

Plenty of goalie Dwayne Roloson’s time was spent fixated on Alexander Ovechkin –but despite a goal from the Great Eight, Roloson’s side came out on top.(AP Photo/Nick Wass)Sometimes, when you have as much talent as the Caps’ roster, you get in your own way. Despite coming in on a six-game winning streak, facing a team that was 2-4-5, a hefty 40-28 advantage in shots, and a solid performance by Jose Theodore, the Capitals lost…

Whenever the dirtiest plays in hockey history are discussed, New York Islanders fans malign Dale Hunter’s hit on Pierre Turgeon. True, Hunter hit Turgeon from behind, without warning, as Turgeon raised his arms to celebrate a decisive playoff goal. True, Hunter separated Turgeon’s shoulder, earning a (then record setting) 21-game suspension. Regardless, Caps fans will no longer have to listen quietly as Long Island residents insult our good name. That’s because Islander Chris Simon has…

At 2 p.m. the Capitals head to Nassau Coliseum to break a seven way tie for second overall in the NHL. Both the Capitals and the New York Islanders have won their first two games of this fresh season. By the time you get out of work today, one of these teams will pass Ottawa (two wins, one overtime loss) for first overall, and the other will plunge to a respectable eighth. Making things more…

This summer the Capitals planned to add a defenseman a center and a right wing, all of whom should contribute to the team’s sub-par power play. Yesterday, on hockey’s first day of free agency, the Capitals signed defenseman Tom Poti and towering center/right wing Viktor Kozlov, both of whom just finished contracts with the New York Islanders. Poti, thirty and heading into his tenth professional season, is a medium sized defenseman who plays mostly…

This entry was written by DCist contributor Jesse Rounds. Last Friday the Capitals had a chance to win their “playoff” series with the Carolina Hurricanes. Once again their offense proved up to the task with three goals. However, they let the Hurricanes score three short-handed goals on their own powerplay opportunities to tie the game. That would be the story of the game for the Hurricanes. As Coach Glen Hanlon noted “We’ve said all along…

This entry was written by DCist contributor Jesse Rounds. On Monday night the Caps came home to the newly minted Verizon Center to take on the New York Islanders and attempt to turn around a post-Olympic slide. An impressive display by the Caps gave Olie Kolzig his 250th career win and Alexander Ovechkin his 40th and 41st goal. The teams were evenly matched through the first period but in a second period bookended by goals…

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…