Per Detroit Red Wings social media, Steve Yzerman’s squad has acquired Alex Biega from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for David Pope. David Pope, a 25-year old left winger, was Detroit’s 2013 4th round pick, drafted 109th overall. Biega, a 31 year old defenseman, split the last 5 seasons with the Canucks and their AHL affiliate the Utica Comets. In 179 career games he’s earned 36 points with a -14 rating.
*Feature image courtesy Detroit Red Wings Twitter
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Washington Capitals (2-0-0) v. Carolina Hurricanes (1-0-0)
| Â | Predicted Goaltender | Record (W-L-OTL) | GAA/SV% |
| Washington Capitals | Braden Holtby | 1-0-0 | 1.90/.909% Â |
| Carolina Hurricanes | Petr Mrazek | 1-0-0 | 2.77/.917% |
This is it. The night Capitals’ fans have been anticipating for months. The Home Opener. Although this is the third game the Washington Capitals will have played thus far, the Home Opener is the first opportunity for fans to watch their favorite team play at home, which always has a special feel to it. Last season, the Capitals raised their Stanley Cup Champions banner, made us all cry, and shut out the Boston Bruins 7-0 on the night of their home opener. This time, the boys in red are looking to Rock the Red and to defeat the team that knocked them out in the first round of the playoffs this past April; Rod Brind’amour and his Carolina Hurricanes.
Last night, the Washington Capitals beat their former bench boss Barry Trotz and his New York Islanders, 2-1 in regulation. Ilya Samsonov, in his NHL debut, and first NHL win, proved that he is indeed NHL caliber, and the future of Capitals goal-tending. The young Russian net-minder stopped 25 of 26 shots faced, and remained calm, cool, and very collected between the pipes. Samsonov did not let the rambunctious and passionate Isles hometown fan base distract or divert his attention away from the task at hand. Jakub Vrana scored his second goal of the season halfway through the first period, but one fluke of a goal two minutes later tied the game 1-1. TJ Oshie would ultimately score the game-winning goal on the Capitals’ power play late in the second. The Capitals played extremely well, sans a couple of bad passes, and extended defensive zone play early in the third period. Playing two games in as many nights is certainly not an easy feat, and the Capitals will have to dig deep tonight to come out with a win for the fans, and to downgrade a gritty, dirty Hurricanes team. As tonight’s game will be the second game of a back-to-back, Braden Holtby is expected to start for the Washington Capitals.
The Carolina Hurricanes won their first game of the 2019-20 season on home ice at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. Lucas Wallmark put Carolina on the board first, and rookie Martin Necas gave the Canes a short-lived 2-0 lead. Montreal would score 3 unanswered goals in the second period, but former Vegas center Erik Haula managed to tie the game at three goals apiece early in the final frame. In a nerve-wracking 4-3 shootout win over the Montreal Canadiens, it was Dougie Hamilton that would set off the Storm Surge in Raleigh. Through two preseason games, the Hurricanes actually out-shot the Capitals 45-43, but lost both, separated by just a single goal. Carolinas’ Dynamic Finnish Duo of Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen scored a combined 51 goals and tallied 108 assists for a total of 159 points last season. The two also led the team in short-handed goals with 4 from Aho, and 1 from Teravainen, and finished the season with +/- ratings of +25 and +30, respectively. Last season, versus the Capitals, Aho scored 3 goals and tallied 3 assists, and Teravainen, 1 goal and 1 assist (Sebastian Aho)(Teuvo Teravainen). To say that these two can, and have, done damage against the Capitals in recent times is definitely an understatement, but man, are they fun to watch (as long as they aren’t playing the Caps). Goaltender Petr Mrazek, in his second season with the Carolina Hurricanes, stopped 33 of 36 shots he faced, and is expected to get the start for the Canes in tonight’s contest (TheScore, Mrazek).
Capitals head coach Todd Reirden still hasn’t forgiven, and probably won’t, Canes head coach Rod Brind’amour for his inappropriate and childish exchange from the Canes bench with Caps’ hard hitter Tom Wilson last Sunday. Reirden did not miss his chance to express his discontent, despite the Hurricanes’ head coach making a bee-line for the dressing room following the final buzzer (Brandt). Wilson ultimately received a 10 minute misconduct penalty, and an additional two minutes for roughing, in an already-penalty heavy scrappy preseason game. Between both clubs, 44 penalty minutes were tallied, and 48 hits were committed. It should be noted that 71% of those hits were made by Capitals’ players (TheScore, WAS v CAR). We expect tonight’s match-up to be just as physical, with lots of bad blood between the former Stanley Cup Champs and a team that made the playoffs for the first time in 10 years last spring. We firmly believe that those recent interactions will serve as a strong motivator for the Capitals.
Coverage of the game begins at 6:00pm with Caps Faceoff Live, followed by Caps Pregame Live at 6:30pm, all on NBCSN/NBCSWA, with puck drop shortly after 7:00pm.
Sponsored by:
Brandt, C. (2019). Todd Reirden still fired up at ‘Canes coach for ‘unprofessional’ exchange with Tom Wilson. Retrieved from https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/capitals/todd-reirden-still-fired-canes-coach-unprofessional-exchange-tom-wilson.
NHL.com. (2019). Sebastian Aho Stats. Retrieved from https://www.nhl.com/player/sebastian-aho-8478427.
NHL.com. (2019). Teuvo Teravainen Stats. Retrieved from https://www.nhl.com/player/teuvo-teravainen-8476882.
TheScore. (2019). Petr Mrazek. Retrieved from https://www.thescore.com/nhl/players/2204.
TheScore. (2019). WAS v CAR. Retrieved from https://www.thescore.com/nhl/events/23099.
Washington Capitals (1-0-0) v. New York Islanders (0-0-0)
| Record | Predicted Goaltender | |
| Washington Capitals | 1-0-0 (2019-20) | Ilya Samsonov |
| New York Islanders | 5-2-0 (preseason) | Semyon Varlamov |
*Full disclosure: this might give you a headache at first, so bear with me on this one.
Washington Capitals’ newest back-up goaltender Ilya Samsonov is getting his first regular season NHL start against former Washington Capitals’ net-minder Semyon Varlamov, who now plays for former Washington Capitals’ head-coach Barry Trotz. Say that five times fast, and let me know if you can still remember who’s who.
The Washington Capitals crashed the party on Wednesday, where they played the reigning Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues on the night of their combined Home Opener-Banner Raising. After falling behind two goals to none, just eight minutes into the contest, the Capitals made a comeback in what played much like an actual Stanley Cup Playoff game. Veteran netminder Braden Holtby allowed two soft goals, one just 53 seconds into the game, and a power play goal just short of the eight-minute mark. However, a goal from none other than The ‘GR8’ Alexander Ovechkin and a 2nd period power play goal from Dmitry ‘Scorlov’ Orlov got the good guys back in the game, and it took overtime for the score to be settled. Jakub Vrana, perhaps one of the best skaters of the night for the Capitals, would be the one to break a 28-minute tie in overtime with a perfectly calculated shot that Blues’ net-minder Jordan Binnington probably wishes he could get back. 19-year old Slovakian rookie defenseman Martin Fehervary made his NHL debut, but was able to handle the pressure as good as anyone could have hoped. Mistakes were made, which are to be expected, but Fehervary proved to us all why he deserves a roster spot. And hey, if the Capitals’ coaching staff are excited about him, well we are too. A little birdy told me that Fehervary received the iconic “hard hat†after Wednesday nights’ game, which coincidentally is a Nationals’ batting helmet (Tarik_ElBashir).
Tonight, the New York Islanders will be playing in their home opener at the Nassau Coliseum, one of 27 games to be played on Long Island this season. The Islanders are currently transitioning to play the majority of their home games at the Coliseum, as opposed to Barclays Center, which has been ‘home base’ since 2015. In the meantime, work has just begun on the Islanders’ new arena, to be built at Belmont Park, Elmont, Long Island, New York. Fans are thrilled to bring Islanders hockey back to the Island, and to a considerably more commuter- and home-town fan-friendly location than both the Coliseum and Barclays Center. Last season, the New York Islanders found themselves in the playoffs for the first time in 17 years, and stunned fans from around the league when they swept the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round, only to be swept themselves by the Carolina Hurricanes in the second (yes, those Hurricanes). Over the summer, the Isles lost goaltender Robin Lehner to Chicago, who had played a pivotal role in the teams’ success during the 2018-19 season, but held on to Thomas Greiss, and acquired Semyon Varlamov from the Colorado Avalanche through free agency. Drafted by the Washington Capitals in 2006, Varlamov played 3 seasons in Washington (2008-2011), and in 2009, helped the Capitals advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 1998. In 2011, Varlamov was traded to the Colorado Avalanche, where he played for 8 seasons, and given struggles with poor performance and injuries, the Russian goaltender maintained a 183-156-38 record, and averaged a .915 SV% (NHL.com).
Many Caps’ fans, just like Ilya Samsonov himself, have been anticipating this very moment for a quite a while now; the first chance to see the other Russian net-minder snag the back-up goalie spot for the Washington Capitals. Samsonov, a 2015 1st round draft pick by the Washington Capitals spent last season in the AHL with the Hershey Bears, and showed lots of promise through two preseason games, both of which were tallied as wins. On September 18th, where he split a win with Vitek Vanecek, versus the St. Louis Blues, Samsonov stopped 12 of 13 shots faced, and in a stand-alone win on the 21st versus Carolina, allowed two goals on 15 shots (TheScore, Samsonov). Alex Ovechkin, with one goal through one game thus far, is by default, on pace to score 82 goals this season. We’d be satisfied with another 50-goal season, but if a goal-a-game is what it takes to win another Rocket Richard Trophy in a league with so many prolific goal-scorers, (and maybe another Art Ross… or Stanley Cup), whatever it takes, right?
Some good news on Caps’ defenseman Michal Kempny. Per Isabelle Khurshudyan, Kempny did in fact practice yesterday morning with the Capitals in a full-contact jersey, but head-coach Todd Reirden did in fact rule the blue-liner out of today’s line-up versus the Islanders (ikhurshudyan). It is to be determined if he will play in the Capitals’ home opener on Saturday, October 5th.
Finally, last year’s back-up goaltender Pheonix Copley cleared waivers, and has been loaned to the Hershey Bears.
Coverage of the game begins at 6:00pm with Caps Faceoff Live, followed by Caps Pregame Live at 6:30pm, all on NBCSN/NBCSWA, with puck drop shortly after 7:00pm.
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Ikhurshudyan. (2019). Kempny is out tomorrow. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/ikhurshudyan/status/1179813315058556928?s=20.
NHL.com. (2019). Semyon Varlamov. Retrieved from https://www.nhl.com/player/semyon-varlamov-8473575?stats=career-r-nhl&season=null.
Tarik_ElBashir. (2019). Here’s #Caps Coach Todd Reirden casually revealing that the team hard hat is a #Nats batting helmet. It went to rookie Martin Fehervary after Wednesday’s season opening OT victory in STL. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/Tarik_ElBashir/status/1179630138461478912?s=20
TheScore. (2019). Ilya Samsonov. Retrieved from https://www.thescore.com/nhl/players/7675.
Washington Capitals (0-0-0) v. St Louis Blues (0-0-0)
| Pre-Season Record | Predicted Goaltender | Stanley Cup Champions | |
| Washington Capitals | 5-1-0 | Braden Holtby | 2017-18 |
| St. Louis Blues | 4-3-0 | Jordan Binnington | 2018-19 |
It has been a long off-season for Caps’ fans, but we’re finally here. Does anyone else find it slightly more than coincidental that the two previous Stanley Cup Champions are facing off on the first day of the 2019-20 season? I know, I know, the schedule was made before the Blues won the cup, but raise your hand if you think that had something to do with the end result. The Capitals and Blues played each other twice during the preseason, splitting the games with one win a piece. Both teams won by just a single goal in each victory.
On Sunday, the Washington Capitals rounded out their six-game preseason schedule with a tight 4-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. While many fans are hesitant about making associations between preseason performances the regular season, there are a couple of things we know for certain. Tom Wilson is about to have a heck of a year. In just 3 preseason matches, Wilson tallied two goals and an assist, including one short-handed goal against the Chicago Blackhawks. While Top Line Tom led the team in short-handed goals last season (2G), it is vital to remember he only played 63 games during the 2019-19 season. Setting a career-high of 22 goals last year, we anticipate he should set another personal record with at least 25 goals this coming season (TheScore, Wilson). Caps’ captain Alex Ovechkin is prepared to win himself another Rocket Richard Trophy this year, and has expressed his desire, and ability to have another 50+ goal season (Gulitti). By a margin of 236 goals, Ovechkin only needs 5 more seasons of 50 goals, or 6 seasons of 40 goals to bypass the all-time goals leader of the Great Wayne Gretzky (894G). With the final year of his contract looming in not-so-distant future, the Capitals front office have already begun playing out some possible scenarios that will need to be played out in order to keep the Great 8 a Capital until retirement. But perhaps the biggest what-if many Caps’ fans are trying to answer involves defenseman Michal Kempny, whom had his season cut short last year due to a hamstring injury he suffered in a March 20th match against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Many, including head coach Todd Reirden, hoped Kempny would be ready in time to make the Opening Night roster for the Capitals, but that is still to be determined, as the blue-liner was still practicing in a non-contact jersey as of September 28th (Khurshudyan). In 71 games played with the Washington Capitals during the 2018-19 season,, Michal Kempny led the team with a +/- rating of 24, tallied 6 goals of his own, and racked up 19 assists, as a defenseman (TheScore, Kempny). However, a number of mid- and off-season acquisitions by the Capitals including Nick Jensen (DET) and Radko Gudas (PHI) and will bolster the Caps’ roster and hopefully this season will play out as well in reality, as it should on paper.
The St. Louis Blues did not play their final scheduled preseason game due to a plane malfunction, but did beat the Caps’ on September 27 by a score of 4-3. For those not in the know, the St. Louis Blues won their first Stanley Cup Championship in team history this past June, similarly to the feat the Capitals accomplished in 2018. In true underdog fashion, the Blues went from worst, to first, in a matter of months. Was it the change in bench bosses? The puppy? The mid-practice brawls? Will the Blues fall victim to the infamous Stanley Cup Hangover? St. Louis elected to play eight preseason games (only played seven, see above), and managed to win 4 of 7, including one overtime win versus the Winnipeg Jets. Those 3 losses came resulted from a 2-3 loss to the Capitals, a 1-2 loss to the Dallas Stars, and an especially-embarrassing 4-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. Fellow Russian Vladimir Tarasenko (a.k.a. Vladdy) is expected to have a bounce-back season after a seemingly lack-luster 2018-19 season, where he managed to score 33 goals in 76 regular season games (NHL.com). While Tarasenko led the Blues in goals, and points, he has seen a downward trend in goal-scoring since the 2015-16 season, where he scored a career-high 40 goals, and tallied 34 assists. During the 2018-19 playoffs, he scored 11 goals of the teams’ 75 total goals, good enough for second most on the team, but accounted for just 14.6% of total goals scored (NHL.com).
While the St. Louis Blues and their fans are, of course, hoping to repeat their recent success, the Washington Capitals are out for blood (redemption) after a disappointing first round exit. It seems as though Caps’ PR is keeping on with the #ALLCAPS catch-phrase for this upcoming season, but #2Cups3Years sounds pretty good too.
Coverage of the game begins at 6:00pm with Caps Faceoff Live, followed by Caps Pregame Live at 6:30pm, all on NBCSN/NBCSWA, with puck drop following the Blues’ Stanley Cup Banner Raising at Enterprise Arena in St. Louis, MO.
Sponsored by:
Gulitti, T. (2019). Ovechkin talks 50-goal record, catching Gretzky, future with Capitals. https://www.nhl.com/news/alex-ovechkin-chases-wayne-gretzky-hopes-to-score-50-goals/c-308941324.
Khurshudyan, I. (2019). Michal Kempny doubtful for Capitals’ season opener at Blues because of hamstring injury. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/09/28/michal-kempny-doubtful-capitals-season-opener-blues-because-hamstring-injury/.
NHL.com. (2019). Vladimir Tarasenko. Retrieved from https://www.nhl.com/player/vladimir-tarasenko-8475765.
TheScore. (2019). Michal Kempny. Retrieved from https://www.thescore.com/nhl/players/5579.
TheScore. (2019). Tom Wilson. Retrieved from https://www.thescore.com/nhl/players/2592.
