Traffic snaked into the Giant Center here, an arena usually accustomed to hosting Hershey Bears hockey games, on the last Friday evening in May, with lines of vehicles packed tighter than the Beltway at rush hour.
Perhaps the early struggles and late run to the playoffs should have been predictable for a rookie head coach, especially given the lockout and shortened training camp. In looking back at his first season running a team, Adam Oates might take all summer to hone his craft for next year and beyond.
Twenty-eight regular-season games with the Caps complete, Oleksy will play his first in the Stanley Cup playoffs this week against the New York Rangers. It's fair to say no one saw this coming.
General managers have voted to approve hybrid icing — racing to the faceoff dots instead of the puck — as one way to prevent injuries, but it's hard to find a consensus on the best way to handle the situation.
John Erskine hopes to play by the weekend. Tomas Kundratek could be close to returning. Soon the Washington Capitals could have just about a healthy blue line again, which could require some roster juggling.
A pair of concussions delayed Orlov's 2013 NHL debut, but his teammates know from last season what the young defenseman can do.
No more summer commutes for Eagles players to Bethlehem.
With Cameron Schilling joining Tomas Kundratek and Steve Oleksy in the lineup, half the Caps' defense corps was with Hershey when the NHL season began.
From a starting field of nearly 1,500 aspiring opera singers across the country, it came down to 10 _ three sopranos, one tenor and six deep male voices _ on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House.
In moves made over the past week, they've gotten much tougher. First they claimed Aaron Volpatti off waivers and then signed Steve Oleksy, adding two fighters and altering the dynamic of the roster.
The goaltender has three shutouts among nine straight starts, going 6-3 with a 2.11 goals-against average and .934 save percentage in that time.
The defenseman is by far the Caps' leader in ice time, averaging 26:33 a game before the injury. In the meantime, the team leaned heavily on John Carlson.
The Caps have trusted Holtby to be their No. 1 goaltender, beginning with last year's playoff run and continuing this season. And he has been better than his 5-6 record, 3.37 goals-against average and .896 save percentage indicate.
Green, who appeared to suffer the injury late in Thursday night's victory at the Tampa Bay Lightning, skated just 15 minutes Saturday and was not on the ice for Sunday's morning skate at Madison Square Garden. Asked about a time frame for Green, coach Adam Oates said he didn't know but was hopeful the No. 1 defenseman would miss just the Rangers game.
After a bumpy ride during his first four full NHL seasons, Eric Fehr was a healthy scratch for the Washington Capitals, then a fourth-liner. When given the opportunity with more minutes and an increased role, Fehr took advantage, scoring three goals in the past three games.
