Tampa Bay’s Ryan Malone recently lectured Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin on being more modest. Tonight, the Caps face the luckless Tampa Bay Lightning at Verizon Center. They will welcome Tampa coach Rick Tocchet, who suggested his team should have started fights with the Capitals in protest of Alex Ovechkin’s three-second celebration of his 50th goal of the season, which he scored in Tampa last week. Ovechkin put his stick down after the goal and mimed…

Two games after we suggested the Washington Capitals were trying to lose games for better draft position, the team has won back to back games against teams fighting for playoff spots by a combined score of twelve goals to two. In home games on Friday night and Sunday afternoon, the Caps cakewalked over the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Tampa Bay Lightning, and climbed from twenty-seventh place all the way back to twenty-fifth in the…

With the NHL Trade Deadline approaching, the Capitals had better make up their minds pretty quickly whether they’ll be buying or selling. With starting goaltender, team leader and future saint Olaf Kolzig on injured reserve for three weeks with a torn ligament in his knee, the team is undoubtedly thinking “sell”, if not thinking about reaching for the cellar of the league standings and getting into the lottery to draft Angelo Esposito. However, the…

This post was written by DCist contributor Jesse Rounds Last Wednesday night the Capitals visited the Panthers in Florida and played them close. Excellent touches in the offensive zone led to goals, however, defensive breakdowns and a lack of discipline hobbled the Caps in the end. Most of the first period was hockey the way it should be, fast and without much stoppage in play. Over the next two and a quarter periods the game…

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…