By Elaine Donnelly
Extending sexual misconduct to combat units
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
It started almost two decades ago with a $20 hockey stick once wielded by a forgotten player for a string of mediocre teams.
Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin knows full well that his playoff failures are adding up.
The Montreal Canadiens are down a game and a key player early in their series with the Ottawa Senators.
After a victory late in the regular season that included two goals by Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom was asked if it felt like the "good old days" when the franchise cornerstones powered a high-scoring team. "It depends how it is in the playoffs," he said. "And we weren't that successful in the playoffs in the past."
The Chicago Blackhawks may have peaked in late January, the entire month of February or early March when they went the first 24 games of the season without a regulation or overtime loss. They made history, but the Presidents' Trophy winners don't want this to be just the year of the streak.
Since their horrid 2-8-1 start, the Caps are 23-10-1. They could clinch the Southeast Division and corresponding No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference as soon as Tuesday. And they believe they can beat anyone.
Now years and thousands of miles removed from his own glory days with the Washington Capitals, all Bruce Boudreau can do sometimes is prepare and hope. He has Anaheim in the playoffs in just his second year behind the bench, but he knows a regular-season turnaround like he authored in Washington isn't enough.
Nicklas Backstrom also scored for the Capitals, who had an eight-game winning streak stopped in Ottawa on Thursday but rebounded with their 13th win in 16 games.
Beating up on inferior division opponents helped put the Caps on the verge of making the playoffs, but right wing Troy Brouwer hopes this streak proves something bigger.
The Caps have won 11 of their past 13 games, a stretch that turned up the likelihood of playoff hockey in the District this spring. But the final six games are all against teams in the hunt, including five vs. those in playoff position.
It was Montreal's first loss to a Southeast team (11-1-0) in 2013, but the Capitals always play well at the Bell Centre, where they are 6-0-1 in their last seven visits.
Pittsburgh acquired Jarome Iginla, Brenden Morrow and Douglas Murray to bolster its Stanley Cup hopes, but could adding veteran players to an established group create problems? Recent history in Washington suggests loading up at the trade deadline isn't a fool-proof plan.
Pittsburgh acquiring Iginla from the Flames, left wing Brenden Morrow from the Dallas Stars and defenseman Douglas Murray from the San Jose Sharks seemed like an embarrassingly strong haul for a team already atop the East and riding a winning streak.
Before Mike Ribeiro played a single game for the Capitals, he knew he wanted to stay in Washington for the long term. He moved to the area with his wife and three children after getting traded here from the Dallas Stars last summer, spending the balance of the NHL lockout putting down roots.
Montreal Canadiens forward Rene Bourque will be out indefinitely with a concussion.
