OnFrozenBlog

If you thought Thursday’s Capitals vs. Jets game had one of the weirdest endings of any recent NHL game, you’re not alone. Four goals in the third period–one on a Dustin Byfuglien shot from center ice that deflected off Karl Alzner’s stick– sent a game that had been previously scoreless into overtime and finally a shootout (which the Capitals lost in three rounds; their shooters were Ovechkin, Semin, and Perreault, with only Ovechkin scoring). Yes, it’s disconcerting the Capitals blew a 2-0... Read Full Story

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The Capitals lost 4-1 to the Boston Bruins Sunday, and they also lost a key piece when center Brooks Laich went to the locker room game with an undisclosed injury that kept him out for the rest of the game (it looked to be either knee or ankle). In addition, despite actually outshooting the Bruins, the Capitals couldn’t solve the enigma of Tim Thomas in net. “Tim Thomas won a Stanley Cup playing like that last year,” said OFB TV guest Ed Frankovic. Watch Frankovic, Ted Starkey, and... Read Full Story

Watching tonight’s Washington Capitals game, and their recent victory over Boston, felt eerily familiar. The Caps’ roster was relatively devoid of superstars; they fought hard, beat a better team (vs. Boston) and lost a close one to a divisional rival (Tampa). Without Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Mike Green, this Capitals team is surprisingly similar to the Capitals of almost a decade ago… a hard-charging team that both delighted and frustrated its fans. How so, you ask? Read on... Read Full Story

In honor of Mathieu Perreault’s hat trick Tuesday against the Boston Bruins, we wanted to take a quick trip down memory lane. Here is an excerpt from an OFB post that introduced what we called the “Matty Diaries,” where Perreault chronicled for us the days and uncertainty leading up to last year’s Winter Classic: We first learned of Mathieu Perreault’s deep-rooted love affair with playing hockey outdoors when we interviewed him after an outdoor Hershey Bears’ practice last season. Other... Read Full Story

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Photo Caption: Photo by Clyde Caplan, clydeorama.com How much do NHL athletes and coaches rely on stats—versus their eyes and game film— to tell them about a player or his performance? The stats part of the question was alluded to a few weeks ago in a radio interview Capitals forward Brooks Laich did on The Sports Junkies, where they briefly discussed statistics and what Laich thinks of their application to the game. The hockey community in general has plenty of dissension about whether... Read Full Story

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About the only nice thing a Caps fan could say after Tuesday’s game against the Islanders was that the postgame weather was unusually pleasant— almost 60 degrees (heck, even January didn’t show up for the game). Losses like the Capitals suffered Tuesday—roughly 60 minutes of missed assignments and wandering aimlessly around the ice, everyone playing their own game instead of as a team—are difficult to report on.  The guys on the team are tired and know they played poorly. A few unlucky ones... Read Full Story

Early in the third period Sunday, Capitals forward Jason Chimera made a move up the left wing into the Carolina Hurricanes’ zone. Usually, his speed means he’s there by himself, but today, thanks to what seemed a more deliberate pace, there was company—Joel Ward on the opposite boards, and in the center rookie defenseman Dmitry Orlov, whose hustle ended up carrying him past Chimera and towards the net. Chimera shot. Cam Ward made sure he missed. But the rebound came out just in time for... Read Full Story