Capitals
Washington
![Golden Knights' Stanley Cup win was eerily similar to their championship loss five years ago](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.deadspin.com/tr:w-1200/85da7fae1d5e36c97ede41ff0dc48538.jpg)
Golden Knights' Stanley Cup win was eerily similar to their championship loss five years ago
As much as the party never stopped outside of T-Mobile Arena, the Las Vegas Golden Knights got to celebrate on The Strip with a Stanley Cup of their own. In Vegas’ inaugural season, a team lifted the Cup in Paradise and it wasn’t the NHL’s 31st franchise. It was the Washington Capitals, who the Gold...
![Capitals chose logic over emotion with Spencer Carbery hire](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.deadspin.com/tr:w-1200/452fa435eb1401fc34f8f4b9f8955be8.jpg)
Capitals chose logic over emotion with Spencer Carbery hire
As the NHL’s regular season ended, the coaching carousel opened up. Just like in every other recent instance in every sport, trendy names pop up. Some latch on, some don’t. In college football, it was Brent Venables for a while. In the NFL, Eric Bieniemy will be that guy until he’s a head coach. And...
![Jeff Halpern needs to be the Washington Capitals' next head coach](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.deadspin.com/tr:w-1200/e07572858e91bb1fcea0cc60cc223af6.jpg)
Jeff Halpern needs to be the Washington Capitals' next head coach
Five years since the Washington Capitals’ Stanley Cup victory. Zero playoff series won since. Two head coaches, one internal promotion, and an experienced outsider since becoming champions didn’t pan out. And with one of the oldest cores in the NHL, combined with the rest of the league outpacing the...
![American hero T.J. Oshie’s time in the nation’s capital should come to an end](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.deadspin.com/tr:w-1200/4f00e67c0e1452e4ea31e5f89e0b75a7.jpg)
American hero T.J. Oshie’s time in the nation’s capital should come to an end
As the Washington Capitals exited last year’s playoffs in the first round against an upstart Florida Panthers squad, it felt like the end of an era. The core of the team stayed together from their 2018 Stanley Cup victory but hadn’t won a playoff game since and was only growing grayer. And if being ...
![Alex Ovechkin’s leave of absence does little to change his chase of Gretzky [Updated]](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.deadspin.com/tr:w-1200/1e4b9aa0deb3010df4dbc9e365b5cd20.jpg)
Alex Ovechkin’s leave of absence does little to change his chase of Gretzky [Updated]
Alex Ovechkin has transcended hockey since he entered the league officially in 2005. He had to wait an extra year because of that pesky canceled season after he was drafted the year prior. He also missed three months due to another lockout in 2012. Not to mention the coronavirus pandemic disrupting ...
![Alexander Ovechkin, the 'GR8 One'](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.deadspin.com/tr:w-1200/61ebdda9cc4b854ece735ed7444b21ad.jpg)
Alexander Ovechkin, the 'GR8 One'
Alexander Ovechkin is the best pure goal-scorer in NHL history. That’s not up for debate. The longtime Washington Capital hasn’t been hockey’s best player for years, but his ability to put the puck in the back of the net is nearly as good as it was 15 years ago when he scored 65 goals during the 200...
![Failure to capitalize: Washington out in first round for fourth-straight season](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.deadspin.com/tr:w-1200/510264889060d53f879075e41d6df896.jpg)
Failure to capitalize: Washington out in first round for fourth-straight season
The Washington Capitals just pissed away their first-round Eastern Conference series against the Florida Panthers. The President’s Trophy winners were on the ropes in three straight games. And the Panthers won all three of those postseason contests in succession, two in overtime and one after traili...
![How every team will lose in the 2022 NHL playoffs](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.deadspin.com/tr:w-1200/b76821099b55b48621653e5a94683976.jpg)
How every team will lose in the 2022 NHL playoffs
As the chase to the Stanley Cup begins, the Eastern and Western Conferences have completely different outlooks. Colorado or Calgary look the part to be the Western Conference champions, and I’m not sure there’s anything the rest of the field of six can do about it. The Eastern Conference is as wide ...
![Obligatory 'Is This It For The Capitals?' post](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.deadspin.com/tr:w-1200/7c2a9fe07249e69a42361b05dd8f76d6.jpg)
Obligatory 'Is This It For The Capitals?' post
In a sport as random and silly, and at times downright stupid, as hockey, it’s oxymoronic to try and weave some overarching narrative from a playoff exit. Games and series are decided on a few bounces and deflections most of the time. Change any one variable, and you can get a completely different r...
![We can’t run from the Penguins and Capitals](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.deadspin.com/tr:w-1200/a8vezurjrvlybse29vxt.jpg)
We can’t run from the Penguins and Capitals
This will be the third standings system or alignment the NHL has used in the past decade. But no matter how they shake out the teams or decide how they get into the playoffs, it’s a safe bet that the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals will be at the top. Part of that is the NHL basically we...
![With Chara now in a Capitals shirt, here are some other guys who looked weird without Bruins jerseys](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.deadspin.com/tr:w-1200/pyzv5kx6vd8dde95t4uq.jpg)
With Chara now in a Capitals shirt, here are some other guys who looked weird without Bruins jerseys
Zdeno Chara hasn’t played his entire career with the Bruins. The future Hall of Fame defenseman started his NHL career with the Islanders in 1997, moved to Ottawa in the 2001 Alexei Yashin trade, and signed with Boston as a free agent in 2006. ...
![Heart condition sidelines Henrik Lundqvist for season](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.deadspin.com/tr:w-1200/xhleji5nejftf1lotdpr.jpg)
Heart condition sidelines Henrik Lundqvist for season
It was always going to be very weird to see a Rangers team without Henrik Lundqvist and a Capitals team with him this upcoming season, assuming the NHL and players can ever figure out when and how that will happen. Frighteningly, we will not see the latter scenario, as Lundqvist has announced he wil...
![This Year's Indy 500 Could Have Been Great](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.deadspin.com/tr:w-1200/mowpdr6pavzaaohwkbuo.jpg)
This Year's Indy 500 Could Have Been Great
The Indianapolis 500 was Sunday, something that would have gone completely without notice if not for the fact that digital channel guides exist, such is the state of IndyCar in general these days, and such is the state of the world because the pandemic knocked the race out of its traditional spot on...
![Do You Mind If We Dance With Your Dates? - NHL First Round Preview: Eastern Conference](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.deadspin.com/tr:w-1200/mp8rjottxivr4pfvwthe.jpg)
Do You Mind If We Dance With Your Dates? - NHL First Round Preview: Eastern Conference
In a bit of true hockey hilarity, the actual NHL bubble-ized playoffs will begin without either of the “hosts” on Tuesday. Both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers scheduled a date for their respective faces with the pavement, and hence will have to watch these modified playoffs take place i...
![Toxic Coke-Bro Brendan Leipsic Was Fired For Being Bad At Hockey, Not Caustic DMs](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.deadspin.com/tr:w-1200/ewtvzvteitbnjfui95mm.jpg)
Toxic Coke-Bro Brendan Leipsic Was Fired For Being Bad At Hockey, Not Caustic DMs
The Washington Capitals are getting rid of Brendan Leipsic after the journeyman winger’s Instagram messages were leaked this week, chock full of misogyny, gripes about current and former teammates, and “love” of “coke.”...
![Hey Brendan Leipsic, Do You Kiss Your Mom With That Mouth](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.deadspin.com/tr:w-1200/istlk1dzji7wuj7llup1.jpg)
Hey Brendan Leipsic, Do You Kiss Your Mom With That Mouth
Some shitty hockey player said shitty things about a bunch of people!...
![Apologies To This Hockey Child, But I Am His Mother Now](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.deadspin.com/tr:w-1200/powztz2xcmxpyievkdcp.png)
Apologies To This Hockey Child, But I Am His Mother Now
Whether or not to have a child is a complicated and morally questionable decision that each person must weigh carefully. It is a difficult question for most people except for me, because I have decided to adopt this small hockey boy and love him forever. ...