Hockey Night in Washington: Caps vs. Bolts, Early Edition

First it was the front page of last Friday's sports section of the WaPo, now it's local tv reporters interviewing coaches and players. For a Caps game. A Caps game on a weekday. Something is afoot in D.C. And while it admittedly helps to have the Redskins now planning their trips to Hilton Head instead of Miami, we'll accentuate the positive, and assert that the local media is covering the Caps with a renewed interest. Coverage of the morning skate and photos after the jump.

Caps skate:
* John Erskine does not skate.
* Several one-on-one and three-on-one drills run.
* Highlight of the practice: In a one-on-one drill, Coach Hanlon picks the puck clean from Ovechkin's stick. The smack is talked and the "ooohs" are everywhere. Hanlon kisses his stick. And then twirls it around, over and over and over again. On his next turn, Ovechkin loses an edge and falls in front of the goal while trying to score—on a drill.
* Laich/Zubrus and Sutherby/Gordon participate in faceoff competition. Laich and Sutherby are the victors.
* Zubrus takes 15-20 wrist shots from the left dot.
* Brooks Laich takes two penalty shots against Kolzig (1 for 2, scoring low, glove side on the first) and is the last to leave the ice. As Laich leaves, I compliment his performance during the tip drill from yesterday's practice at Kettler. "Eight in a row. That's just sick." Laich corrects me, "It was more like ten. It's some sort of record, I think."

* Post-skate press conference: Hanlon claims that the team "still has a long way to go," and insists that his team is "not on a playoff pace." Erskine's availability tonight will be a "game-time decision."


Tampa Bay skate:
* According to a TB print reporter, this morning's skate is optional. No St. Louis, no Tortorella. Given his infamous intensity, the absence of Tortorella on the ice is surprising, especially when considering that his team is 2-7-1 in its last 10.
* The practice is loosely structured and there are no skating drills. Most of the work centers on Holmqvist: traffic in front of his net and shots taken from the point.

* Ruslan Fedotenko was seen working intensely throughout the skate and was the last to leave the ice.

01:15 PM

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Posted by: at December 19, 2006 02:59 PM

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