Brooks Laich and other Washington Capitals players acknowledged Tuesday night they were watching the out-of-town scoreboard, just taking a glimpse to see if the division-leading Florida Panthers were winning.
For so long Friday night, the Washington Capitals' top three lines couldn't do much. They were on their heels or forced to play dump-and-chase hockey and fight in the neutral zone.
Every point matters this time of year, and down the stretch, for the Washington Capitals. So in the final minute of the third period, they played for it.
As difficult as it is for visiting teams to play at HP Pavilion against the San Jose Sharks, the Washington Capitals were feeling pretty good Saturday night. They had just tied the score early in the third period and silenced a sellout crowd.
History might not matter to these Washington Capitals: 18 years without a victory in San Jose.
Jason Chimera wasn't just the Washington Capitals' overtime hero Wednesday night as he beat the Winnipeg Jets on a perfect backdoor play. With that goal, he became the team's leading goal-scorer.
When center Brooks Laich signed his new six-year deal in June, he just about wrote the Capitals' manifesto for this season. This year, he said "there's got to be a lot more accountability" — no matter a player's star status, salary or tenure in Washington.
It figured to reason that the Capitals could wear down the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks were playing their fifth of a seven games in 13 days road trip, and they rely for the most part on just two lines.
When the "new NHL" came about and there was a league-wide commitment to calling tighter games, the idea was to open the game up for more offense.
