About the Capitals - 10-16-08

A preview of the Capitals.

Record: 2-1-0

Leading Scorer: Alexander Semin, 6 points (3 goals, 3 assists)

Last Game: 5-1 defeat of the Canucks at Washington, Monday.

Last Game against the Penguins: 4-2 loss at Washington, March 9.

Capitals Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Really, how do you ever go against Alex Ovechkin (right)?

Ex-Penguins: Matt Bradley, RW.

Useless Capitals Trivia: Two one-time Penguins, Kevin Hatcher and Yvon Labre, served as the Capitals' captain at one point in their careers.

Best Capitals YouTube Video We Could Find: It's a Capital feeling:

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGJdRhZ8Pe8]

Notes:

-Goaltender Jose Theodore is expected to start tonight for Washington. No word yet if he's still looking for his water bottle he lost in the 2005-06 season while with Montreal:

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4n-MTvcx8o]
 
-Our live blog begins at approximately 6:30 p.m. Please tune in.

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-Sidney Crosby stinks.

-How many points do you think Crosby will finish with? Vote on it here.

-Why was Mike Zigomanis so easy to pick up?

-Matt Cooke is questionable for tonight.

-The rivalry between Crosby and Ovechkin has been rather one-sided in terms of wins and losses.

-Former Penguins forward Kris Beech signed with a team in Sweden. No word yet if the Penguins are considering bringing Mario Lemieux out of retirement to overcome that loss.

Atlantic Division

-A funeral for late Rangers prospect Alexei Cherepanov was held yesterday. Former Penguins forward Jaromir Jagr (right) was in attendance.

-Rangers defenseman Paul Mara went off on Sabres forward Patrick Kaleta last night.

-Islanders defenseman Brendan Witt is fine after injuring his head Monday.

-The Islanders recalled forward Mitch Fritz from Bridgeport of the AHL.

-Flyers forward Simon Gagne seems to have bounced back from his concussion problems last season. He has three goals in three games so far this season.

Northeast Division

-Alex Tanguay's debut at home with the Canadiens went well. His shootout goal gave the Habs a 4-3 win against the Bruins. It was Montreal's 12 consecutive regular season win against their alleged rivals.

-Former Penguins goon Georges Laraque made his Canadiens debut last night. He dropped the gloves with Boston's Shawn Thornton:

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVVZcFLwBa4]
 
-Thomas Vanek had two goals and led the Sabres to a 3-1 road win against the Rangers. The loss was the first of the season for the Rangers.

-The Maple Leafs want forward Ryan Hollweg to stop being stupid.

-Hollweg actually blamed Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo for getting hit from behind.

-Senators coach Craig Hartsburg said goaltender Martin Gerber needs to quit giving up bad goals.

Southeast Division


-Tampa Bay's high-prices free agents, including former Penguin Ryan Malone (above, left), aren't earning their paychecks as of yet.

-The Lightning has not officially signed free agent defensemen Marek Malik yet.

-Hurricanes forward Eric Staal has been racking up mad ice time.

-Carolina goaltender Cam Ward is good people.

-The Thrashers are having problems with their power play.

Central Division



-Martin Havlat had a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks in a 4-1 defeat of the Coyotes. It was Chicago's first win of the season.

-The best way the Blackhawks can win back fans is to win games.

-Chicago forward Jonathan Toews is already showing why the Blackhawks made him a captain.

-The Blue Jackets put forward Jared Boll on injured reserve due to "head/neck issues." To replace him, forward Nikita Filatov, the team's 2008 first-round pick, was recalled from Syracuse of the AHL.

-Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg is dealing with a groin injury.

-Detroit defenseman Chris Chelios claims he would've shoved Def Leppard's Joe Elliot for putting the Stanley Cup upside down.

-Just what we need; Two 70-year-old men who haven't been relevant since the 1980s beating each other up.

-Former Predators forward Alexander Radulov talked about possibly playing for the Predators again.

Northwest Division

-Mathieu Garon made 33 saves and helped the Oilers edge the rival Ducks, 3-2. Anaheim is off to an 0-4-0 start.

-Goaltender Andrew Raycroft will make his debut with the Avalanche.

-Folks in Denver don't seem to as excited about the Avalanche as they were in the old days.

-Minnesota defenseman Marek Zidlicky was put on injured reserve.

-Having dealt with Marian Hossa last season, Thrashers general manager Don Waddell knows what the Wild is going through with Marian Gaborik.

Pacific Division

-Rookie forward Fabian Brunnstrom (right) showed what all the hype was about. The much ballyhooed rookie became the third player in league history to record a hat trick and helped the Stars top the Predators, 6-4.

-The other two players to pull off that feat were Montreal Canadiens Alex Smart (1948) and Real Cloutier (1979).

-New Kings coach Terry Murray is no stranger to California hockey. He used to be a member of the Oakland Seals.

-We'll go well out of our way to drop an Oakland Seals reference in EN by the way.

-Ducks prospect Steve Kampfer, a defenseman at the University of Michigan suffered a fractured skull and neck after being attacked on campus Sunday. Michigan football player Mike Milano is a suspect in the attack and has been suspended from the football team indefinitely.

Smythe Division

-The political ambitions of former Winnipeg Jets forward Thomas Steen have hit a road block.

(Photos: Ovechkin-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Jagr-Nikolai Krivich/Associated Press; Malone-Reinhold Matay; Associated Press; Havlat-Brian Kersey/Getty Images; Brunnstrom-Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)