Per team rules, not being present for the morning practice forced head coach Barry Trotz to pull him from the evening game.

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.

Photo by afagen. Who is Evgeny Kuznetsov? A lot of D.C. publications will ask this question in the next few weeks, but we won’t. Okay, sure, he’s a six foot tall, 172 pound kid who was born in a time when Courtney Love was a legitimate feminist icon and global superstar. But it’s not when he was born, what he eats for breakfast, what kind of music he listens to, what he believes in…

Image by clydeorama Tonight at 7 p.m. you can watch the first round of the NHL draft on Vs. In a week where the Caps have received some of their annual propers with one of two available MVP awards (Alexander Ovechkin), comeback player of the year (former Capital Jose Theodore), and first team NHL all star nods (Ovechkin and defenseman Mike Green), this is just one more reliable sign that summer is here and…

Photo by Ghost_Bear. On a night when the Caps nearly came from behind to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, the team did something else to help cement their identity as a D.C. institution. With 8:35 remaining in the third period, and both teams readying for a faceoff in the Capitals’ defensive end, the team’s sound crew played Chuck Brown’s “Bustin’ Loose” over the arena speaker system. Predictably, there was almost no fan reaction. After…

Photo by Ghost Bear.In a contest of teams built from the ground up by the two best general managers in Washington Capitals history, the Caps beat the Nashville Predators 3-2 last night at the Verizon Center. The two men — former GM David Poile and current GM George McPhee — have worked together in the past, when Poile made the best offer for his disgruntled former employee, Brendan Witt. Right now, the Capitals enjoy…

Rapper, producer, and D.C. Ambassador Wale made an appearance on ESPN morning-squawker First Take this week to talk hockey — or as he calls it “professional wrestling, minus the professional wrestling” — and heap some much-deserved praise on Caps star Alexander Ovechkin. Now, whether Ovechkin is actually “seven-foot-seven,” I’m not sure; but I’m prone to take Wale’s word for it. Wale knows enough to know that Ovechkin is LeBron James on ice, which is more…

The Washington Capitals signed NHL MVP Alexander Ovechkin to hockey’s first hundred million dollar contract last season, so the Capitals once again boast the league’s leading scorer. Welcome back fast-skating, obscenely talented left winger Ovechkin, who likes to warm up for games by playing soccer in Crocs, falls to the ice with joy when he scores, and ignores jellyfish postings when he goes for a swim. Even casual fans know by now that the…

Yes, earlier this week the Caps blew out the Vancouver Canucks by a score of five to one. Yes, they set a team record by only allowing their opponent to take ten shots in that game. But that doesn’t mean the Caps are a great team this year, because, as the Vancouver Sun reports, the Vancouver Canucks “weren’t, obviously, ready.” No. The real test of greatness for the Washington Capitals will be, as it has…

Tonight is the NHL’s annual awards show. Alexander Ovechkin, who has won both of the NHL’s scoring titles, is nominated for both of the league’s most valuable player awards as well. Two other Capitals could be honored tonight. Bruce Boudreau is up for Coach of the Year, and has a slim chance. Nicklas Backstrom is nominated for Rookie of the Year, but the honor is predicted to fall upon Chicago’s Patrick Kane. Ovechkin’s fellow nominees…