#washington-capitals

#washington-capitals

Duhaime, in particular, was bringing a lot of good vibes a night after getting on all fours and barking like a dog for Capitals Canine Night. The video is below, as it's important context for this story. Duhaime, wearing a reindeer onesie on this evening, got very into making a gingerbread house with his new friend. The collaborative creation featured not only a house but also an ice rink, two Christmas trees, and a gingerbread man dressed as Santa.

If I'm lucky enough to get to that point, signing and joining Washington, I'll be super excited but probably super nervous too,

Scoring goals and our forward group, and an ability to create offense and finish, is always going to be our Achilles heel. It's just how we're built. And with a 40-year-old Alex Ovechkin and, you know, go down the list of our forward group, it's just always going to be something that we're going to have to continue to work on.

"I was extremely lucky when he offered it," Leonard said in April. "It's just a situation you can't really pass [up]."

Yeah, there is nothing good to say about that performance from the Capitals. They were utterly dominated by the Jets all night, recording just three five-on-five high-danger chances and allowing 13. The late power plays made their overall results look a lot better than they deserved. Some of the recent play is a bit concerning. They need to get back to the form they had earlier in the season.

It is a good point of, 'Osh is one of the greatest to ever do it. Why wouldn't we utilize that asset and resource if we could?' And we've been down that road...We had him come in and talk. Not in a group setting; it was more individual. (Capitals goaltending coach) Scott Murray was trying to connect with each guy that was going to potentially do a shootout, talk to them about their moves. TJ Oshie was brought in to consult with that process.

The 19-year-old winger, Moose Jaw's captain, has not played in a game since November 22. "Lynden Lakovic will miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season due to an upper-body injury that requires surgery," the Warriors tweeted. "The Moose Jaw Warriors thank Lynden for everything he has done for our organization and our community. Lynden, Moose Jaw, will be following your career as you move on to the pro level."

Another fruitless shootout results in a loss for the Caps, an update on Ryan Leonard, and more in today's Caps Clips. Your savory breakfast links: Recaps and other assorted musings on last night's shootout loss from us, Vogs, Caps video (McMichael, Dowd, Thompson), Canes, NHL, AP, WaPo, THN, THW, and RMNB. The Caps' shootout woes continue, and for Coach Carbery, last night may have been the last straw. [THN]

Midway through the third period of Columbus's 2-0 loss to the Washington Capitals, Gaunce was caught with a high stick from Caps forward Hendrix Lapierre in front of Washington's net. Lapierre, intending to lift Gaunce's stick, drilled the opposing centerman right in the mouth with the lower shaft of his twig. The rough blow bloodied Gaunce and knocked a tooth out, which he then found on the ice and carried back with him to the Blue Jackets bench.