Sports Grid Montréal

Washington's two-game road trip to Nashville and Denver this week did not go at all as the Capitals had hoped. Winners of five of their previous six games as they left for Music City on Monday, the Caps are also embroiled in a tight race for positioning in the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference standings as the one-quarter mark of the 2017-18 season approached.  But slow starts in both cities proved to be too much for the Caps to overcome, and they dropped a 6-3 decision to the Predators in Nashville on Tuesday before falling down 6-2 at the hands of the Avalanche in Colorado on Thursday. It took the Caps only 17 seconds to fall behind 1-0 on Thursday night, and they were never again within a goal of the Avalanche once Colorado netted the game's second goal in the final minute of the first frame.  While the Caps were going pointless, some of their rivals were picking up points. Thursday's loss leaves the Caps in fifth place in the tightly bunched Metro Divis...

The Capitals' two-game road trip got off to a rugged start as they fell into a two-goal hole in the first period of Tuesday's game against the Predators in Nashville. Washington was in that two-goal crevice before it even recorded its own first shot on net of the night. Although the Caps came out with some jump in the second period and were able to pull even at 2-2 with a couple of quick tallies early in the middle frame, Nashville needed only 17 seconds with which to regain the lead, and this time the Preds kept that advantage for the remainder of the evening. Even after Nashville regained its two-goal cushion near the midpoint of the middle period, Washington responded quickly.  T.J. Oshie  finished off a pretty passing play as the Caps answered exactly 17 seconds after the Predators scored their fourth goal. But Nashville iced the two points with two more goals in the last six minutes of the second period. "It was a really back and forth," says Oshie. ...

The Caps close out their season's series with the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday night when the Oil makes its lone visit to the District this season. The Oilers are the first of Washington's 30 NHL opponents that they'll be finished with for 2017-18. The Caps earned a 5-2 over the Oilers in Edmonton on Oct. 28.  The Caps are 6-2-1 in their last nine meetings with the Oilers, and they've won four of the last five played here in Washington. Keep It Rolling -  The aforementioned win over the Oilers last month started the Caps on their current successful run. Heading into that Oct. 28 game against the Oilers, the Caps were sitting at 4-5-1 and they'd experienced a rather uneven start with some injuries, some new faces and a disjointed schedule.  A 6-1 win over Montreal and a 5-2 over the Devils in New Jersey were the highlights of Washington's early season, but there was also an 8-2 loss in Philadelphia and a 6-2 setback in Vancouver. The Caps surrendered fo...

Caps goaltender  Braden Holtby  made 27 saves to earn his fifth straight victory and the 200th triumph of his NHL career on Friday as Washington earned a 4-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at Capital One Arena. The victory is Washington's fifth in its last seven games, and it vaults the Caps to within a point of the top spot in the Metropolitan Division standings.  Holtby earned his 200th win in his 319th game, becoming the second fastest goaltender in NHL history to reach that milestone. Hockey Hall of Famer Ken Dryden earned his 200th victory in his 311th game for the Montreal Canadiens back in the 1970s.  Recap: PIT 1, WSH 4 03:18 •  November 10th, 2017 "It's a cool accomplishment, I guess, but it really doesn't mean anything in the end," says Holtby, typically nonchalant in regards to personal achievements. "It shows that I'm getting up there in years." Pittsburgh came to town as a co-occupant of the top spot ...