Daily Washington Capitals news and notes: The Caps’ winning streak ends at five as they fall to the Stars, pondering the “what ifs” of the Gr8 Chase (TM), examining the Carlson-Gustafsson pairing and more.
Your savory breakfast links:
- Alex Ovechkin’s glorious career has had some stops and starts that were out of his control. Without them, would he be closer to – or even past – Gretzky? [Rink]
- Once sort of disastrous, the John Carlson-Erik Gustafsson pairing has turned the page and is now sort of… good? [Rink]
- Recaps and other assorted musings on last night’s loss from us, Vogs, Caps video (Laviolette, Sheary, Orlov, Lindgren, recap), NHL, AP, WaPo, NBCSW, Dallas Morning News, WHN, NoVa Caps, and RMNB.
- An otherwise solid return home was spoiled by a bad, frustrating minute in the third. [NBCSW]
- Go behind the scenes of the magical night that saw Ovechkin hit 798, 799 and 800. [Caps video]
- There was a lot of good about that 800th goal – but it was missing the call of the hometown broadcasters who know Ovechkin goals better than anyone. [WaPo]
- With 800 in the rearview mirror, Ovechkin is taking things day by day. [WHN]
- Projecting if/when Ovechkin could break the goal record set by one Wayne Gretzky. [Yahoo Sports]
- It’s not completely wrong to say there are others who could hold the mantle of greatest DC athlete – it’s even a debate worth having. But maybe not now, eh? [WashTimes]
- Ovechkin’s legacy is not something he’s ready to talk about until he’s ready to hang up the skates, but it’s probably going to be a complicated one. [WaPo]
- The Caps have had a resurgence of late, last night’s ultimate outcome notwithstanding; how sustainable is it? [TFP]
- Updates from yesterday’s morning skate, where Lars Eller was back, Sonny Milano was absent with an illness, and some of the team’s injured crew took the ice. [WHN, NoVa Caps]
- Rankings of power with a mention of recent draft successes for each of the 32 teams. [Sportsnet]
- Happy 35th birthday to Mike Weber, and happy 45th to Eric Belanger!
- Finally… this is adorable.
.@Caps_Slapshot and Sergei Ovechkin have the goal counter ready 8️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ pic.twitter.com/XGZpkVKKkg
— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) December 16, 2022