The Toront-O Edition

The Hardest Working Man in Show Business: The Ovechcam operator last night.

Alex surfing a Blue wave: Toronto Star - Vince Talotta

It was a big TV night north of the border; solid numbers in the key demos and a sizable share, even though Caps fans in the DC viewing market had to hunt for the game.

Alex and Nicky Abelimages - Getty

The DVR here got a workout; we wanted to relive those many highlights and do our own slo-mo replays. (No pun intended).

The game evolved like many had hoped; an early lead, buttressing that edge with a few more goals, coupled with stunning displays of defense and net-minding.

A three-game road trip with six points on the line yielded five.  We like those numbers, even though the goal totals last night and on the Island were a little soft considering the weakness of the opposition.

Number 70 On The Ice, But Number One In Our Hearts: “And Holtby makes the Save!” “Another glove save by Holtby!”  “Pad save, Holtby!” 

Heart Throb Hot B Holtby: Darren Calabrese - AP

We never got tired of hearing that last night.  35 stops in all, 18 in the last frame – when it really mattered. 

Locker called it a “coming out party,” for the SK native.  What a troika of young goalies this team is blessed with.  Already there’s talk of the heathy returns of Neuvy and Varly and what it means for Braden’s near-term future.  Whether he’s in DC or Hershey, this kid gave us some nice memories this week and it’s comforting to know he’s just a phone call and a short ride away.  And speaking of eventual returns, when Sasha and Eric get back, there will be some more tough decisions to be made.

Enough is Never Phaneuf: The collective hope among Caps fans is that Alex is back. 

OV Nicky Carly Party Canadian Press - Darren Calabrese

It was quite a display from the Caps’ Captain last night: His first hat trick since last season, his 10th career and first multi-goal game since October.

He was all over the ice.  Sometimes it’s hard to get worked up over an empty-netter, but last night Alex had to work for that one as the clock wound down: he took a shot against the board, swerved around one Leaf then finally moved past Dion Phaneuf for the goal.

Man Bites Dog: Was that Matt Hendricks with the fake, curl, drag and score?  

After taking a shot to the nose from Leaftwit and noted gangster, Mike Brown, Matt later quieted the Air Canada Arena with a pretty sweet display of neutral zone thievery and scoring.

Hendy Score Abelimages - Getty

Dog Bites Man: The game-time tweeters who were monitoring the CBC brodcast of the game said Don Cherry was being a dick. No kidding. Some sharpies in Capsblogistan managed to pull this screen grab of a kid who really needs a better role model.

"I never met a TV test pattern I didn't like" Courtesy mkpanda78 via RMNB

The Boys In The Band(wagon): It was a whole team effort last night, one that everyone hopes will continue in the out weeks, starting with Monday’s game @ Verizon with the Rangers. Maybe the kinks are worked out and the new lines are working more seamlessly. Whatever the formula that has worked this week, the next few games may foreshadow where we are come springtime. 

First Things Last: Happy 32 to Number 23. 

The jokers at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue may be looking to make cuts in the nation’s defense budget, but the Capitals Defense looks mighty robust after we spirited Scott away from Colorado. Take the day off, dude. 

That trade meant we lost the Flash to the Avs and the news this week of his embolisms was tough.  Just recently, an ECHL player, Mitch Fadden, the Florida Everblades’ top scorer, was diagnosed with a blood clot in his leg.  He too, will miss the remainder of the year.  Speedy recoveries to both and we look forward to squaring off against you guys next season.

Speaking of D, happy 100th game to Karl Alzner.