Daily Washington Capitals news and notes: Potentially exciting news on the Nicklas Backstrom front, the Caps announce a new initiative for girls and women in hockey and more.
Your savory breakfast links:
- A trio of Western Conference foes await the Caps this week – see what that entails in this week’s Snapshot. [Rink]
- The Big News of the day yesterday was Nicklas Backstrom’s full participation in practice – taking line rushes, getting power play time, etc. Might he be back… tomorrow?? [NHL, WaPo, NBCSW]
- …sorry, going to need a moment to celebrate that:
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- Hear from the man himself, along with his coach and blueliner buddy, after yesterday’s practice. [Caps video (Laviolette, Backstrom, Carlson)]
- Evgeny Kuznetsov’s return to brilliance in Backstrom’s absence has been a huge reason why they’ve soared to the top of the Metro standings. [Caps]
- How cool is this – the Caps kicked off a new ALL CAPS ALL HER initiative, aimed at providing access to all facets of hockey to girls and women around the DC area: [Caps, WTOP]
ALL CAPS ALL HER recognizes and supports female players, coaches, referees, parents, advocates, students and leaders in the community. Events, programs and content will provide various levels of entry into hockey for women and girls of all ages, offer leadership, business development, and networking opportunities and highlight influential women and families in the community.
- Despite making the Caps’ opening night roster and playing nine NHL games, Hendrix Lapierre was cut from Team Canada’s WJC camp… but don’t panic, it’s part of the journey. [THN]
- There’s just no quit in Alex Ovechkin’s game. [Clutchpoints]
- So far the Caps have avoided lengthy losing streaks, and that’s a good sign for a postseason run. [THW]
- See where the Caps fall on an assortment of rankings of power. [NBC Sports, Edge, THW]
- Finally, happy 55th birthday to Bill Ranford and happy 60th to Peter Sundström.