Pregame Notes: Washington Capitals at. Buffalo Sabres

 Tomorrow will be a busy day for me so I'm doing this the night before. Tomorrow night the Caps head to Buffalo to play the Sabres for the second time this preseason. This will be the last road preseason game. Here are the list of players expected to play tomorrow.


Forwards:

20 Troy Brouwer
21 Brooks Laich
23 Chris Conner
24 Kris Newbury
25 Jason Chimera
42 Joel Ward
48 Casey Wellman
50 Dane Byers
65 Andre Burakovsky
76 Garrett Mitchell
90 Marcus Johansson
92 Evgeny Kuznetsov

Defense:

4 John Erskine
27 Karl Alzner
38 Jack Hillen
56 Patrick Wey
58 Conner Carrick
61 Steve Olesky
74 John Carlson

Goalies:

31 Philip Grubauer
70 Braden Holtby


What to Watch:

* Braden Holtby will look to stay perfect this preseason, again we will have to wait and see if Barry Trotz is going to have to goalies rotate or if one of them gets the entire game.

*From Twitter Marcus Johansson has been skating on the 4th line while Andre Burakovsky is moving up the depth chart as he was skating with Brooks Laich and Troy Brouwer.

*The 7th defensemen battle is heating up, will a young guy like Conner Carrick make the team? Or a vet like Steve Olesky.

*From what I have heard Tom Wilson and Dmitry Orlov will not be ready for the Opening next Thursday.

*The game was picked up by CSN, so we will be able to watch it. Game Time 7 p.m

Postgame Recap: Caps 2 Canadians 0

 The Caps improved to 3-2-0 with a solid 2-0 win in Montreal on Sunday. The two team were scoreless for most of the game till Joel Ward scored late in the 3rd, and Brooks Laich would add a empty net goal to secure the win. Justin Peters started the game but Braden Holtby finished it and remained perfect this preseason.




Caps/Habs Highlights (French Commentators):

Notes:

* Eric Fehr got a chance to play on the top line, I have always wanted to see him there but we will have to see how long it lasts.

*Brooks Orpik played with John Carlson, and Karl Alzner was paired with Matt Niskanen.

*Andre Burakovsky got an assist on the Joel Ward goal, he has played a lot with Ward and Chimera.

*Brooks Laich got shaken up after being boarded by Tom Gilbert, however stayed in the game which is a good sign for someone who has had health problems.

*Penalty kill did much better has the Canadians was 0 for 6 on the powerplay.


Whats Next: at. Buffalo Wed Oct. 1st 7 p.m and it has been picked up by CSN.

Pregame Notes: Washington Capitals at. Montreal Canadians

 The Caps are in Montreal to take on the Canadians for their 5th of 8 preseason games. Here is who is expected to play, note I am not sure who will be a scratch on the list of forwards.


Forwards: 

8 Alex Ovechkin
16 Eric Fehr
19 Nick Backstrom
21 Brooks Laich
23 Chris Conner
24 Kris Newbury
25 Jason Chimera
42 Joel Ward
65 Andre Burakovsky
67 Chris Brown
79 Nathan Walker
83 Jay Beagle
87 Liam O'Brien
90 Marcus Johansson

Defensemen:

2 Matt Niskanen
27 Karl Alzner
44 Brooks Orpik
61 Steve Olesky
74 John Carlson
88 Nate Schmidt

Goalies:

35 Justin Peters
70 Braden Holtby


What to Watch:

* For the first time this preseason Matt Niskanen and Brooks Orpik will be on the lineup together tonight. Will be interesting to see who plays with who on the back end.

*Also Holtby and Peters will team up for the first time, will Trotz start giving goalies full games or will they split again.

*Big game for Andre Burakovsky as the 2nd line center job is wide open, though I heard that Barry Trotz is moving Brooks Laich to center.

*Game is not on TV so I will do my best during the post game notes and look on Twitter to see how the game went.

Caps make more cuts

The Caps have sent Chandler Stephenson, Cam Schilling, and Tomas Kundratek to Hershey for their training camp. 

I will post today's roster for the game in Montreal tonight 

Highlights from Caps 5-4 OT win against Boston

Ovechkin Goals:

Steve Olesky Fight:

Troy Brouwer OT Winner:

Caps Make Second Round of Cuts

The following players will be heading to Hershey:

Stan Galiev
Caleb Herbert
Tim Kennedy
Jon Landry
Mike Moore


Going Overseas:

Jakub Vrana
Vitek Vanecek

Postgame Recap: Caps 5 Bruins 4 OT

  The Caps improved to 2-2-0 with a 5-4 overtime win over the Bruins Friday night. The Caps scored first with a quick powerplay strike when Mike Green set up Alex Ovechkin on a one timer. The Bruins PP would get it back when Matt Fraser put a rebound past Philip Grubauer to tie the game at 1. Next a Turnover by Matt Niskanen would lead to a Seth Griffith goal to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead.
  The Caps would have another powerplay where Alex Ovechkin would fire a puck past Nicklas Svenberg to tie the game. However, Seth Griffith would get his second goal and a Cam Schilling turnover would lead to a Lindblad goal and the Bruins would make it 4-2. Then that's when Liam O'Brien would take the game over, a strong forcheck and beautiful pass to Michael Latta who put the puck in the net to cut the lead to 4-3. O'Brien wasn't done, Matt Niskanen shot a puck from the point and O'Brien would but the puck in the net to tie it.
  In overtime the Caps would win it when a turnover lead to a Troy Brouwer slap shot and the fans at the Verizon Center would go home happy.

My Thought:

*Liam O'Brien made a huge impression along with Michael Latta. O'Brien had an early fight, was forchecking and hitting Bruin defensmen. He sparked the Caps comeback. With the chemistry he is developing with Michael Latta, he is making a case to be on the Caps 4th line.

* From Twitter it sounds like Barry Trotz is not happy with his second line center options. I agree, Evgeny Kuznetsov was silent basically all night.

* I thought Mike Green played a solid game, played well on both ends of the ice.

* Grubauer started the game, Justin Peters finished it.

* Chris Conner played with Backstrom and Ovechkin on the first line.

* The penalty kill is still struggling a bit, so we will have to see if they can get that taken care of before the opener.


What's Next: Sun Sept. 28th at. Montreal 6 p.m (not televised)

Pregame Notes: Washington Capitals vs. Boston Bruins

 The Caps and Bruins meet again, this time at the Verizon Center for the Caps fourth preseason game. No word on what the lines will look like however here are the players expected to be in tonight.


Forwards:

96 Liam O'Brien
92 Evgeny Kuznetsov
19 Nicklas Backstrom
18 Chander Stephenson
67 Chris Brown
83 Jay Beagle
21 Brooks Laich
46 Michael Latta
8 Alex Ovechkin
23 Chris Conner
20 Troy Brouwer

Defense:

38 Jack Hillen
52 Mike Green
45 Cam Schilling
61 Steve Olesky
27 Karl Alzner
2 Matt Niskanen


Goalies:

35 Justin Peters
31 Philip Grubauer


Pregame Notes:

* Alex Ovechkin and Nick Backstrom make their second apperances of the preseason, if they are on the same line tonight which I believe they will be it will be interesting to see who their linemate is.

* Jay Beagle will make his preseason debut after missing the first three.

* Justin Peters and Philip Grubauer will team up again, we will have to wait and see how Barry Trotz is going to use both of them.

* Brooks Laich will play his second game tonight as well, skated real well in his first game Sunday against Buffalo. We will see how he progresses.

*With the second line center job up for grabs Evgeny Kuznetsov will need to have a good night with Burakovsky and Johansson sitting this one out tonight

* Gametime 7 p.m, and the game will be aired on CSN

Caps Make First Cuts

With the Hershey Bears training camp about to start the Caps made their first round of cuts. The following players will be in Hershey to join new coach Troy Mann for training camp.

G Branden Anderson
G Pheonix Copley
D Michal Cajkovsky
D Garrett Haar
D Wade Epp
F Burgdoefer
F Spencer
F Cornet
F Joel Broda
F Braden Pimm
F Diamond
F Dustin Gazley


Also the following players have been returned to their junior teams.

D Tyler Lewington
F Miles Koules
D Madison Bowey
F Elgestal
D Chrisrian Djoos

Post Game Recap: Bruins 2 Caps 0

  The game was not televised last night but I will do my best to describe what happened from what I have read. The Caps fell to 1-2-0 in the preseason in a low scoring battle in Boston. The game was scoreless for more than two periods until Zdeno Chara scored on the powerplay with under 6 minutes to go in the game. Simon Gagne would add an empty netter to finish the Caps off.




Notes:

* Braden Holtby remains perfect in the preseason, he has played 4 periods and I believe he is 46 of 46 when it comes to shots faced. Pheonix Copley played the third period.

*Evgeny Kuznetsov had a solid game in the faceoff circle winning 6 of 8. While Marcus Johansson was only 4 of 16 and Andre Burakovsky was 3 of 11.

*Burakovsky was named third star of the game with leading the Caps with 4 shots on net.



Next up: vs. Bruins Friday Sept, 26th 7 p.m (believe its on CSN)

Pregame Notes: Washington Capitals at. Boston Bruins

  Preseason game #3 is just a little over an hour away. Now unfortunately it is not on TV tonight so I will just have to post the scoring summary and some thoughts on that.

Players Playing tonight:

Forwards:

13 Tim Kennedy
16 Eric Fehr
20 Troy Brouwer
24 Kris Newbury
42 Joel Ward
48 Casey Wellman
49 Stan Galiev
50 Dane Byers
64 Jakub Vrana
65 Andre Burakovksy
90 Marcus Johansson
92 Evgeny Kuznetsov


Defensemen: 

4 John Erskine
26 John Landry
44 Brooks Orpik
52 Mike Green
56 Patrick Wey
58 Connor Carrick

1 Pheonix Copley
70 Braden Holtby

What to watch for:

* Brooks Orpik will make his Caps preseason debut tonight, will be interesting to see who he plays with tonight

* The second line center battle continues tonight with Johansson, Kuznetsov, and Burakovsky playing tonight. After the first two games I have no clue who has the leg up on that race.

* It will be interesting to see how the goalies will be used, maybe Copley gets a chance to play more. He has looked good in rookie camp and in is first preseason game against Buffalo.

* The game is not on TV. However, you can listen on caps.com and the Caps mobile app.

Caps Unveil 2015 Winter Classic Jerseys

Today the NHL held its annual press conference that centered around the city of Washington D.C hosting the 2015 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic. Here is a picture from todays conference.

Postgame Recap: Flyers 5 Caps 4

 The Caps started quick in Philly last night after Eric Fehr and John Erskine scored to make it 2-0 pasted the midway point of the first period. Late in the period the Flyers would get one back as Jakub Vorecek would shoot a puck off of Caps defensemen Steve Olesky past Justin Peters to make is 2-1 after the first period.


Caps vs. Flyers Highlights: 

  Then the wheels feel off again for the Caps in the second period as there was a parade to the penalty box. Marc Streit would score on the powerplay followed by a goal by former Cap/Bear Andrew Gordon to make it 3-2 Flyers. Brayden Schenn would score on a deflection on a 5 on 3 and it was 4-2 after 2.
   In the third the Flyers would get their 4th powerplay goal after Vinny Lacavalier deflected another one past Philip Grubauer. Thought the Caps would try to come back with goals by Troy Brouwer and Michael Latta, the damage was done. The Caps were unable to tie the game and the loss dropped the Caps preseason record to 1-1-0.

My Thought:

   I actually believe the Caps had a solid game 5 on 5, but the penalty kill gave up 4 goals. So, that is a huge negative even though they have not had a chance to work on it much. Justin Peters started the game and I thought did very well. Both goals he gave up really weren't his fault. I didn't think Philip Grubauer played his best game.
   Guys that stood out to me starts with Eric Fehr, who had a goal and assist, was all over the ice and worked hard. Also, I believe Garrett Mitchell did well too. Mitchell got an assist on the Erskine goal in the first period by fighting for the puck along the boards.
   The second line center competition between Evgeny Kuznetsov and Marcus Johansson was on display last night too. However, I don't think that Kuznetsov held his own on faceoffs. I think Barry Trotz will have to see both of them play alittle more before deciding on that.


Next up: at. Boston Wednesday Sept. 24th 7:00, I do not think its being televised but will have an update if I find out.

Pregame Notes: Washington Capitals at. Philadelphia Flyers

  Hello everyone tonight is preseason game #2 as the Caps try to improve to 2-0 as they visit Wells Fargo Center to face the Flyers. Tonight there will be a different group of players then we saw last night. I have had no word on what the lines are but I will list the players expected to play in Philly tonight.


Forwards:

16 Eric Fehr
20 Troy Brouwer
23 Chris Conner
24 Kris Newbury
46 Michael Latta
50 Dane Byers
64 Jakub Vrana
67 Chris Brown
76 Garrett Mitchell
87 Liam O'Brein
90 Marcus Johansson
92 Evgeny Kuznetzov

Defensemen:

4 John Erskine
36 Tomas Kundratek
38 Jack Hillen
61 Steve Olesky
74 John Carlson
88 Nate Schmidt

Goalies:

31 Philip Grubauer
35 Justin Peters

Things to watch:

* I read on Twitter that right now the second line center competition is between Marcus Johansson and Evgeny Kuznetsov. So, we will have to take a hard look at both of those players tonight.

* What will the defense pairing look like? Still no Brooks Orpik but we will see a good mix of vets and young guys tonight.

* I am almost positive that we will see Justin Peters and Philip Grubauer split time tonight.

* He probably won't make the team but it will be interesting to see how Jakub Vrana will respond to his first real taste of the NHL playing in Philadelphia.

* Game starts at 7 p.m on CSN

Andre Burakovsky's goal from last night

Postgame Recap: Caps 1 Sabres 0

  The Caps began their preseason tonight against the Buffalo Sabres, and behind Pheonix Copley and Braden Holtby they were able to shutout the visitors from up north. The only goal in the game came at the 13:14 mark of the first period when Jason Chimera found Andre Burakovsky who fired a wrist shot to the top corner. That would prove to be all the Caps would need to get their first win of the 2014 preseason.

 My Thoughts:
 
   First I thought the guys were a little rusty at times with their passing being off, however that is understandable for a first preseason game. Andre Burakovsky had a nice bounce back performance after not having a great game in the rookie game. I liked him centering Ward and Chimera. There was one scary moment as Alex Ovechkin hustled to beat out an icing call and fell into the boards and left the game. I do believe he is fine but I will keep posted on his status.
   Overall the effort was good, Brooks Laich looked to have his skating legs tonight which is a good sign for us Caps fans.



Up Next: at. Philadelphia Tom. 7 p.m CSN

  The boys are back the ice tomorrow as I'm sure there will be another group on the ice tomorrow. I will post the lineup when I get word on who will take the trip to Philly.

Pregame Notes: Washington Capitals vs. Buffalo Sabres

 Hockey is back! The Caps will hit the ice in just a few minutes to start another season. Pheonix Copley will start in net but we are expected to see Braden Holtby at some point.




Lineup:

8 Ovechkin-19 Backstrom-48 Wellman
25 Chimera-65 Burakovsky-42 Ward
21 Laich-17 Stephenson-? Kennedy
79 Walker-46 Latta-? Spencer

45 Schilling-2 Niskanen
27 Alzner-55 Bowey
6 Moore-77 Lewington

1 Copley

Rookie Game Recap: Flyers 3 Caps 0

  The Caps rookies took on the Philadelphia Flyers rookies at the Flyers practice rink this afternoon. The game started with the Flyers getting the better of the play in the first period. However, Pheonix Copley would keep the Caps in the game. Copley, a free agent from Michigan Tech looked very impressive and stopped all the shots he faced in 30 minutes of ice time.

  The wheels would fall off late in the second period when turnovers lead to two quick goals by the Flyers. First, a turnover lead to a Petr Straka breakaway where he would score on a backhand to beat Caps 2nd round pick Vitek Vanecek. Quickly after that Flyer rookie Nicolas Aube-Kubel attempted a wrap around, and Taylor Leier would be right on the doorstep to get the puck passed Vanecek.
  In the third the Caps could not put enough pressure on the Flyers goalie, their best chance came when free agent forward Cole Wilson pick pocketed a Flyer defender and then hit the post with his shot. Late in the period Troy Mann would pull Vanecek for six skaters. Andre Burakovsky would be be robbed on a shot in the slot and then Kevin Goumas would get an empty net goal to put the Caps away.

My Thoughts:

  I expected a little bit of a sloppy game but I thought the Caps had a rough time all game just getting any pressure on the Flyers. John Walton said on the broadcast that the Flyers had more pro ready players then the Caps and it looked that way. I was very impressed with Pheonix Copley who is my player of the game today. I also thought 3 defensemen stood out. First, the pairing of Madison Bowey and Christian Djoos had a solid game. However, I really liked the play of Michal Cajkovsky. The big man was solid in his own zone and had good wheels for as big as he is. He also had a first period fight against Austin Fyten.
  Overall I was not impressed with the forwards though Chandler Stephenson set up Nathan Walker with a good chance in the first period. As well as Burakovsky having a couple chances it looked like a rough game for the forwards.

Next up:

  The big boys are in town for their first day on Thursday. They will practice a couple days before they play the Buffalo Sabres at the Verizon Center on Sunday.

Pregame Notes: Caps vs. Flyers Rookie Game

  In a couple hours the Washington Capitals rookies will take on the Flyers rookies. Here are some notes for todays game which will be streamed live on CSN Washington and CSN Philly. UPDATE: caps.com is streaming the game as well.

Lineup (according to Chuck Gormley):

72 Caleb Herbert- 65 Andre Burakovsky- 64 Jakub Vrana
71 Kevin Elgestal- 18 Chandler Stephenson- 79 Nathan Walker
96 Braden Pimm- 15 Miles Koules- 34 Cole Wilson
87 Liam O'Brein- 28 Ben Woodley- ? Braden Christopher


29 Christian Djoos-55 Madison Bowey
47 Michal Cajovsky- 38 Garrett Haar
39 Wade Epp- 77 Tyler Lewington
60 Blake Heinrich

1 Pheonix Copley
41 Vitek Vanecek

Other Notes:

* Hershey Bears Coach Troy Mann (above) will be the bench boss for the rookies today.

* During an interview Troy Mann mentioned that Madison Bowey will wear the "C" today because of his poise and that he has captain written all over him. Bowey, is the captain of the Kelona Rockets.

* Puck drop is at 3 p.m.

2014 Training Camp: 3 Things to Watch

 Training Camp is set to start in just a couple of day, here are 3 things I will be watching.

1. Forward Line Combinations:

  Barry Trotz has a lot to work with, and recently said he is leaning toward putting Alex Ovechkin back on the left side. Which it will also be interesting to see who he puts at right wing on that line. I think that either Troy Brouwer or Eric Fehr can fit well there, though it could also be Brooks Laich. It also looks like Evgeny Kuznetzov will center the second line going into camp, that might leave Marcus Johansson to center Joel Ward and Jason Chimera.


2. Defensive Pairings:



Matt Niskanen:

  This is where I'm having trouble figuring out what the coaching staff is going to do. I don't think they will worry about lefty with a righty like Adam Oates did. Not sure that John Carlson and Karl Alzner are together this year. Also, where will Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen be paired. Maybe Orpik with Mike Green? I have no idea but we have eight preseason games to watch how thats going to play out.



3. Which Young Player will Breakout:

   This years team has a good mix of veteran guys and young bucks trying to make a name for themselves. I believe Evgeny Kuznetzov will break out this year and be a Calder Trophy candidate. It looks like he is going to center the second line to start the season but we will have to wait and see. The wild card is Andre Burakovsky, I have been hearing a lot of rave reviews on him and he will get his chance to make the team this year. I would like to also see how Tom Wilson does once he comes back from the leg injury he had during the offseason.

Caps Rookie Camp Starts Tomorrow

  The Caps rookies are in town and they start their camp tomorrow. The camp runs till next Tuesday Sept. 16th when the rookies go up to Philadelphia to play the Flyers rookies in a scrimmage.  Here is the roster for this years rookie camp:

1 COPLEY, Pheonix

15 KOULES, Miles

18 STEPHENSON, Chandler 

28 WOODLEY, Ben 

29 DJOOS, Christian 

34 WILSON, Cole 

39 EPP, Wade 

41 VANECEK, Vitek 

47 CAJKOVSKY, Michal 

53 HAAR, Garrett 

55 BOWEY, Madison 

60 HEINRICH, Blake 

64 VRANA, Jakub 

65 BURAKOVSKY, Andre 

71 ELGESTAL, Kevin 

72 HERBERT, Caleb 

77 LEWINGTON, Tyler

79 WALKER, Nathan 

87 O’BRIEN, Liam 

96 PIMM, Braden

It's Official! Winter Classic to be played at Nationals Park

  Two days ago this leaked out and today it became official. The 2015 Bridgestone Winter Classic will be played on New Year's day at Nationals park. We knew it would be here in D.C between the Caps and Blackhawks. However, after it looked like Fedex Field and RFK Stadium were considered the decision was on Nats Park.

  My opinion is this was a no brainer because it is very easy for fans to get on the metro from all over the D.C area to get to the game. As well as the parking that is at the park to begin with. Fedex Field is too big and not in the city, and RFK is just getting old and falling apart. This is going to be a fun event that I can't wait to see.

Caps Resign Cameron Schilling

  A bit a news today in Caps world. It was reported earlier today that the Caps have resigned D Cam Schilling for one year. The contract is a two way deal. Schilling should spend most of his time with the Hershey Bears next year but is a good depth signing in case of injuries. 

  Last season Schilling appeared in only one game with the Caps last season and two overall. However, he enjoyed a solid season with the Hershey Bears appearing in 70 games and had a plus-14 rating. 

Caps Top 10 Prospects: #1 Evgeny Kuznetsov

  The Caps took Evgeny Kuznetsov with the #26 pick in the 2010 draft. Many people thought he was a top 5 talent but the fact he was playing in Russia made his draft stock drop. After he was picked I remember going to rookie camp and watching this guy just light up every scrimmage. Finally, at the end of last season Kuz would make his NHL debut. He would get his feet wet with 3 goals and 6 assists in 17 games.

My Thought:
  This guy is a star in the making. I truly believe he will be in the running for the Calder Trophy this season. I believe he will be on the Caps second line either at wing or center. The exciting thing is that he is finally here in the NHL. It was a long wait but I think it will be worth it. He has a rare skill set, he can score and can set up teammates. Once he gets completely acclimated to the NHL game I believe he will flourish. I can't wait to finally seen him in a full season with the Caps.





Evgeny Kuznetsov first goal:

Kuznetsov to Wilson Goal:

Caps Rookie Camp and More

  Quick update on what is going on in Caps world. The Caps rookies are reporting and camp will start Sept. 11th and will run till the 16th when they will play the Flyers rookies in a scrimmage. Then the vets should be reporting soon after that because the preseason opener is on Sept. 21st against the Buffalo Sabres.

   Rumors have been quiet of late as I continue to look to see if there are any rumors of trades. The most recent thing I saw was they are still interested in Paul Bissonnette. He did say on twitter he was talking to teams but was waiting on a trade to go through. However, I'm not sure that team is the Caps.
  One last thing is I saw tonight Chuck Gormley who covers the Caps on CSN Washington had his Caps preview tonight. He put up his projected lineup and had Kuznetzov centering the second line with Andre Burakovsky on LW and Troy Brouwer at RW. I'm not sure that actually happens but personally I would be interested to see that. As well as his projected third line of Ward-Johansson-Chimera. Which I thought is a good idea.
  Training Camp 2014 is almost here, Thank God hockey is coming back soon. I am happy to report that CSN is airing preseason games. When I was younger you never saw preseason games. The fact I only have to wait a couple more weeks makes me very happy. I will continue to look for rumors leading up to camp and continue to update. Hold tight hockey fans, we are almost to the beginning of another season.