Washington Capitals Battle Buffalo Sabres 2-0 in Memory of Abe Pollin
By Pete Silver
OffWing Opinion
WASHINGTON D.C. (November 25) — Semyon Varlamov, the Washington Capitals 21-year-old goaltender, recorded his first regular-season shutout by making 25 saves against the Buffalo Sabres in a 2-0 victory Wednesday night that was completed without the Capitals’ star Alex Ovechkin, following a third period ejection for a hard shoulder check called boarding and resulting game misconduct at 3:38.
Defenseman Mike Green (#52) cuts off a pass from Buffalo Sabres’ forward Michael Grier (#25). (Pete Silver/OffWingPhoto.com)
“You lose the most prolific scorer on the planet Earth, which is tough,” said Capitals’ defenseman Brian Pothier. “But you have to kill a 5-minute penalty. As Ovie’s skating off the ice, we’re telling him, ‘We’ve got this one for you.’ He does so much for our team. Every night, he bails us out. We could sure do it for him.”
Ovechkin put the Capitals up 1-0 at 6:24 of the first period, his 17th of the season. Shots came slowly, both teams playing aggressive, trapping defense. There were no penalties in the first two periods.
Alex Ovechkin (#8) scores in the first period to put the Capitals up 1-0 over the visiting Buffalo Sabres. (Pete Silver/OffWingPhoto.com)
Eric Fehr scored the Capitals’ second goal with 6:22 in regulation, redirecting Brendan Morrison’s centering pass.
Foward Eric Fehr (#16) scores at 6:22 of the third period, sealing the Capital’s 2-0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. (Pete Silver/OffWingPhoto.com)
Prior to the singing of the National Anthem, there was moment of silence in memory of Mr. Abe Pollin, Capitals owner from 1974 to 1999, who used his own money to build Verizon Center and revitalized the Washington D.C. Chinatown area, along with numerous other real estate improvement projects around the District. Pollin died Tuesday at the age of 85 from a rare brain disease. Funeral services were held Friday and a public memorial service is scheduled on Decemeber 8th at Verizon Center.
Click below for a slideshow of images from Thursday night’s game and more from OffWing Photo.
Caps Lose Heartbreaker In OT
Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrates following his game winning goal against the Washington Capitals during game five of the NHL's Eastern Conference Semifinal. (Photo by Allen Clark/OffWing Photo)
The Washington Capitals lost a heartbreaker on home ice against the Pittsburgh Penguins in overtime of game 5 of the NHL’s Eastern Conference Semifinal.
For more on the game please visit Eric McErlain’s post on NHL FanHouse.
Capital Fans Rock The Red
Enjoy the slideshow of pics from Game 5.
Capitals Over Rangers In Game 5
For the story of what went down at the Verizon Center, you can catch OffWing Editor and FanHouse blogger, Eric McErlain over at Fanhouse.
- Story of the game and the play of Capital’s Matt Bradley.
- Rangers head coach John Tortorella and flying water bottles.
Of course you also just stay here and enjoy the pretty pictures. Click on below for a slideshow of pics from the game.
Caps Fall To Rangers In Game 2
Ryan Callahan of the New York Rangers scores against goalie Simeon Varlamov of the Washington Capitals during the second game of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs.(Photo by Allen Clark/OffWing Photo
The Washington Capitals gave the Rangers a new look today by putting in Simion Varlamov in the goal. Despite a valiant effort, it only took one goal today by the Ranger’s Ryan Callahan in the first period to seal the victory against the Washington Capitals in game 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Coach Boudreau liked what he saw in Varlamov saying, “I thought he played well. I didn’t think there was anything that could be done on the first goal. He made a really good save about three minutes after that. I was happy with his game.”
The story is also about the play of the Rangers and their goalie, Henrik Lundqvist, he was stellar today stopping 35 shots on goal. Lundqvist summed it up this way, “We blocked a lot of shots. A lot of guys blocked shots and sacrificed their bodies in a series like this. We had a lot of blocks in the first game –especially on face offs. Tonight, again, a couple of blocks where they had pretty good shots. We did a lot of good things. I think theses first two games have been really focused, and we minimized our mistakes. And that’s been the difference.”
With it being the playoffs and the fact that we are playing a NY team the Verizon Center has been inundated with press and photographers. You might notice that angles of our shots are a little different today. We bounced around the rafters, and the floor. At first I was not excited but as I shot I realized that I had got into a bit of a rut shooting at ice level (I can hear the empathetic moans from everyone now).
