Down the Frozen River

Tag: Dmitry Orlov

January 31 – Day 104 – A real test
I hope you enjoyed your All-Star break, because we’re back on the hockey circuit and won’t stop until April 9.

I tried to make that sound as bad as possible, but I think all I did was make hockey fans more excited.

We get back to action with a bang, as all but two teams are fighting for two points tonight. As usual, the action starts at 7 p.m. when four games (Washington at the New York Islanders, Columbus at the New York Rangers, Nashville at Pittsburgh and Philadelphia at Carolina) drop the puck, trailed half an hour later by another quartet of contests (Buffalo at Montréal [RDS], New Jersey at Detroit, Boston at Tampa Bay [SN/SN1/TVAS] and Ottawa at Florida [RDS2]). Winnipeg at St. Louis gets underway at 8 p.m., followed 30 minutes later by Toronto at Dallas. 9 p.m. marks beginning of two matches (Minnesota at Edmonton and Los Angeles at Arizona), with Colorado at Anaheim (SN/SN1) waiting until 10 and tonight’s nightcap, Chicago at San Jose, dropping the puck at 10:30 p.m. All times eastern.

Short list:
- Washington at New York: It’s rivalry night in Brooklyn.
- New Jersey at Detroit: Kyle Quincey was drafted by the Wings and spent eight seasons with the club over two stints.
Sorry Quincey, but since Doug Weight has taken control of the Islanders, they’ve been playing as well as anybody. This rivalry cannot be missed tonight, as it will show a lot about New York‘s potential for the rest of the season.

Yes, the Isles have gone 4-0-1 since Weight has taken over, but they have yet to face the likes of the 33-10-6 Capitals. Then again, there’s not many that can claim to be as good as Washington either, as they have a three-point lead over the second-best team in the league.

The reason for their success? Their defensive prowess. The Caps have allowed only 102 goals this season, the fewest in the league.

As it does with every defensive team, it all starts with the goaltender: 24-8-4 Braden Holtby. Last year’s Vezina winner has a season .93 save percentage and 1.96 GAA, the second-best effort in the league among the 45 goalies with at least 19 appearances.

But Washington doesn’t simply rely on one of the best netminders in the game – they also play impressive defense. Led by Karl Alzner‘s team-leading 97 shot blocks, the Capitals allow only 28.2 shots-per-game to reach Holtby’s crease, the seventh-best effort in the NHL.

As you’d expect from a defense of that caliber, opposing power plays don’t find very much successes against the Caps. Washington is the home of the fourth-best penalty kill in the league, stopping 85.1% of opposing man-advantages dead in their tracks. Once again, Alzner leads that effort. as his 27 shorthanded blocks both top the team and tie for second-most in the league.

After reading that, fans that follow the 21-17-9 Islanders closely are already a little bit concerned, because they know where, even if they are riding a two-game winning streak, their team has struggled this season: on the offensive end.

He’s no Mike Bossy, but the Islanders offense is, for the third-straight season, all about Captain John Tavares. Once again, he leads the club with 40 points and 19 goals, but the big issue this year is that there is no more than one other major offensive threat. Beyond Anders Lee and his second-most 17 tallies, there is not another scorer on the team with more than 10 goals. In comparison, the Capitals have five players that have lit the lamp 13 or more times.

This is no more apparent than when New York is on the power play, as they’ve only converted 14.6% of opponents’ penalties into goals – the fifth-worst rate in the league. It’s the same folks leading this effort, as Tavares’ 11 power play points are tops on the team, as are his and Lee’s five power play goals.

That all being said, it seems Weight, himself a successful center during his playing days, is working to resolve that. Since he’s taken command of the ship, his team has scored a combined 16 goals over five games (3.2 goals per game), well above their season average of 2.87. That includes their last two contests when they beat the likes of Sergei Bobrovsky and Carey Price with seven total goals.

One thing not entirely in Weight’s bailiwick is the penalty kill, which has also been a liability this season. New York is 10th-worst on the season when down a man, yielding a goal 19.9% of the time even though Calvin de Haan has done all he can to keep pucks off net with his team-leading 24 shorthanded blocks. Since Weight has taken over the Islanders, the penalty kill has performed well 81.8% of the time, which ties for 11th-best over that stretch.

Tonight is the rubber match between these clubs, as they both finished their last meeting with identical 2-2-0 records in the series. That game was on December 27, and the Isles used the energy of the filled-to-capacity Barclays Center to beat the visiting Capitals 4-3.

Some players to keep an eye on this evening include New York‘s Thomas Greiss (.928 save percentage [fifth-best in the NHL] for a 2.25 GAA [tied for eighth-best in the league]) and Dennis Seidenberg (+21 [tied for ninth-most in the NHL]) & Washington‘s Nicklas Backstrom (34 assists [tied for second-most in the league] among 47 points [tied for eighth-most in the NHL]), Holtby (six shutouts [most in the league] and a 1.96 GAA [tied for second-best in the NHL] and .93 save percentage [third-best in the league] for 24 wins [tied for fifth-most in the NHL]), Dmitry Orlov (+21 [tied for ninth-best in the league]), Brooks Orpik (+27 [tied for second-best in the NHL]) and Alex Ovechkin (23 goals [tied for fourth-most in the league]).

I know that the Islanders are rolling right now, but I expect Washington to be too good defensively to let New York break through. Obviously the goal is to win, but the Isles remaining competitive in this game will be a major indicator to see if they can overtake the Flyers for the eight seed before the season ends.

Hockey Birthday
- Camille Henry (1933-1997) – This center played almost exclusively for the Rangers over his 14-season career, and they were happy to have him. He was a three-time All Star and won the 1954 Calder and 1958 Byng trophies.
- Bob Turner (1934-2005) – Although this blueliner played only eight seasons, they were eight impressive ones. All but two of his campaigns were spent in Montréal, and he was awarded with just as many Stanley Cups as All-Star nominations: five.
January 31, 2017
Numbers Game: Top-5 Pending RFA Defensemen

By: Nick Lanciani

12:01 PM ET on July 1st (precisely) marks the start of the NHL’s free agency period, so of course, you’ve found yourself scavenging the Internet for the freshest hot takes and the best indications of where players will end up. Likewise, you probably just want to know who’s available out there (and I’m not talking about Tinder).

Well fear not, because I’m here to set things straight with a short series of posts about the Top-5 free agents in every category you can think of (UFA forwards, UFA defensemen, UFA goalies, RFA forwards, RFA defensemen and RFA goalies) in this latest edition of Numbers Game posts. RFAs are fun, RFAs are cool, but here’s the thing, other general managers will hate you forever apparently if you offer sheet one of their guys. Also, shouts to you if you’re still reading these. That shows commitment. And heart. And grit.

1. D Tyson Barrie (13-36-49 totals with the Colorado Avalanche)- $2.600 million cap hit, 24 years old

Colorado Avalanche general manager, Joe Sakic, is going to have quite the offseason to manage squashing the rumors about the Avalanche trading Tyson Barrie and whatnot. But hey, if you’re an opposing GM and you’re reading this, go ahead and give Barrie’s agent a call if Colorado can’t figure things out soon enough. I’ll wait. Barrie had a breakout 53 point season in 2014-2015 and is managing around the same stats and style of play. Hard hitting when you need him, depth scoring when you need it. Come to think of it, maybe I can get the rest of the DTFR guys here to submit an offer sheet (that’s how this stuff works, right?), I mean, why not?

2. D Rasmus Ristolainen (9-32-41 totals with the Buffalo Sabres)- $925,000 cap hit, 21 years old

Don’t let the Buffalo Sabres float under your radar in case there’s a chance things don’t work out for them and Rasmus Ristolainen (who doubled his points total this season from 2014-2015). Plenty of people would tell you the Sabres are doing everything in their power to keep him around and that’s a good thing, but if you wanted to be that guy, be that guy. The only thing that might weigh him down is his plus/minus (which is an outdated stat). In three seasons, it’s gone from a minus-15 to a minus-32 to, most recently, a minus-21. But then again, he plays for the Sabres.

3. D Hampus Lindholm (10-18-28 totals with the Anaheim Ducks)- $894,166 cap hit, 21 years old

This season was the first season, in his three career seasons with Anaheim, that Hampus Lindholm amassed less than 30 points. Although he only missed the mark by two. If you’re a fan of the Ducks and think they’re a good team, then you might suggest his numbers are inflated. But when a 21 year old comes into the league and upends Cam Fowler in his first three seasons, you know he’s legit for Anaheim. Lindholm is due for a big deal that’ll lock him up, however there’s always a chance some other team could meddle with Anaheim’s plans.

4. D Michael Stone (6-30-36 totals with the Arizona Coyotes)- $1.150 million, 25 years old

Tied with Danny DeKeyser on my list for the oldest pending RFA mentioned by yours truly, Michael Stone has improved by far in his first five career NHL seasons with the Arizona Coyotes. In 81 games during the 2014-2015 season, Stone had 3-15-18 totals. This season, Stone doubled everything with 6-30-36 totals in 75 games played. Need I say more if you’re interested in luring away talent for your blue line?

5. D Dmitry Orlov (8-21-29 totals with the Washington Capitals)- $2.000 million cap hit, 24 years old

In his first full season with the Washington Capitals, Dmitry Orlov had 8-21-29 totals. This season beat his 3-8-11 totals in 54 games in 2014-2015 and his 3-16-19 totals in 60 games played in 2011-2012. Nearing his prime, Orlov would be ready to move on from Washington if they don’t seem to have the room and someone else is interested in utilizing his services and time.

Honorable Mentions

D Danny DeKeyser (8-12-20 totals with the Detroit Red Wings)- $2.188 million cap hit, 25 years old

There’s not much else in the RFA defensemen outlet store, so sometimes this is what you got to get. Then again, the Detroit Red Wings should lock up Danny DeKeyser for as long as they can, while locking out Kyle Quincey from the Joe Louis Arena (and Little Caesars Arena, just to be safe).

D Cody Ceci (10-16-26 total with the Ottawa Senators)- $894,166 cap hit, 22 years old

I’ll be completely partial and throw it out there that I’m a fan of the underdog in Cody Ceci. In three seasons, his points have increased from nine in 49 games played in 2013-2014 to 21 points the next season, to 26 points this season. He’s only 22, so as long as you get him out of Ottawa, there’s a good chance there’s still hope with him. All joking aside, the Senators shouldn’t make the mistake of letting another quality, low cost, high reward defenseman get away too soon.

July 1, 2016
Michal Neuvirth’s HUGE Second Game in a Row Paired Ryan White’s Game Winning Goal Help the Flyers Force a Game 6.

The Philadelphia Flyers squeezed out a 2-0 victory over the Washington Capitals on Friday night IN Washington, D.C. The Capitals came into tonight’s game up 3 games to 1 in the 7 game series looking to finish off the Flyers. The Flyers had other thoughts tonight and played an average overall game, but thanks to underrated goaltender Michal Neuvirth, they escaped with the shutout win.

Washington wanted to forget about their disappointing Game 4 and start anew in Game 5. Once again the Flyers followed their gut instinct and went with Michal Neuvirth after his impressive performance in Game 4. He led the Flyers to a crucial win in a game that was win or go home and he looked to do the same tonight.

The first period started out as a wild one, with the two teams engaging in an early brawl just TEN seconds into the game. The brawl featured Philly winger Brayden Schenn and Caps winger T.J. Oshie. Both players fought for a good amount of time and both got a number of clean punches in but the fight ended in a clean tie. After this start to the game, you could tell that tonight’s match up wasn’t going to be an easy win for either team. The games first penalty went to Capitals vet Justin Williams just 1:08 into the game as he was called for a double minor (four minutes) for hi-sticking Philly defender Nick Schultz. Now the Flyers still struggling on the man advantage looked to score an early goal to get the crowd out of the game. Well, this didn’t happen, in fact, they only mustered three shots on net and with a stellar penalty kill by the Caps, their fans got loud with the kill.

Next, Paul Bunyan aka Radko Gudas took the Flyers first infraction of the game when he cross-checked Washington D-man Karl Alzner 5:45 into the period. This mistake sent the Caps to their almost unstoppable power play and the first of tonight’s contest. Philly was on lock down defense and only gave up 2 easy shots and killed that opportunity with comfort. Finally, almost 10 minutes into the game, Washington grabs the games first primal scoring chance. Surprisingly, Caps enforcer Tom Wilson grabbed the puck behind the Flyers net. He then spotted fellow enforcer Daniel Winnik in front and hit him with an amazing no look-back hand pass from behind the net. Winnik received the pass and fired a quick wrister on net and was kicked aside by Neuvirth’s right pad and made a miraculous save to keep the score at 0-0.

Again, there was another penalty called just 1:53 later with Caps winger Justin Williams getting called for goaltender interference on Michal Neuvirth. This brace sent the Flyers to their second PP of the game, but just like the last one, they only threw two weak shots on net and it was killed off with poise. Now 5:28 later, a little scuffle ensued between Caps winger Jason Chimera and Philly defender Nick Schultz. This little brouhaha resulted in each player getting a two-minute penalty for roughing.

The second period started off edgy with the teams combining for 3 hits within the first 1:05. Then just 2:05 into the second period the Caps took ANOTHER penalty with Marcus Johansson roughing Flyers rookie Colin McDonald from behind. Philadelphia was sent to their third power play of the game, but this didn’t last as long as the Flyers hoped for. Just 1:35 into the Flyers PP, rookie defender Shayne Gostisbehere got called for two minutes for holding the stick of Capitals Daniel Winnik. The two teams played four on four hockey for the remainder of the two penalties.

Once again, there was another penalty for the Capitals. This time, it was Washington’s Justin Williams again for catching Flyers captain Claude Giroux with a hi-stick. Philly would then go on their 4th man advantage of the game and this time, they would cash in and grab the games first goal. As the Capitals penalty expired, Flyers defender Mark Streit moved the puck over to Flyers winger Sam Gagner on the left point. Gagner decided to let a one-timer clap bomb go towards the net. His shot hit Philly grinder Ryan White who was standing in front of Holtby’s net. The puck hit White and fell down right in front of him. White quickly jumped on the puck and fired it on net with his back still facing Holtby. The puck took a lucky bounce and hit Capitals defenseman Taylor Chorney who was standing at the side of the net. Unfortunately, Chorney was in the wrong place at the wrong time as the puck hit his skate and ricocheted into the wide open net to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead.

The Capitals would then grab the next excellent scoring chance with just 2:09 remaining in the second period. Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom, who was on the half board on the right side, located Caps superstar Alex Ovechkin in the high slot. Backstrom skimmed a pass to Ovi who had trouble with the puck in his feet. As he was being peppered from behind by Philly call-up Colin McDonald he was still able to get a wrist shot on net. Neuvirth was able to propel the puck out with his right pad but was not able to control the rebound as the puck scooted out to his right. Washington winger Marcus Johansson was able to reach the rebound, turn, and fire the puck on net. Neuvirth was able to push off to his right and absolutely ROBB Johansson of a wide open net and a sure goal with his right pad. This save was one of if not the best save of Neuvirth’s game and kept his team in the lead going into the second intermission. The Flyers were lucky to not have given up a goal because they were heavily outshot by Washington 16-2 in the second period alone. HUGE credit to goalie Michal Neuvirth for standing on his head.

Philadelphia started the third period fast obviously looking for that insurance goal. Only 2:30 into the final frame, Flyers D-man Shayne Gostisbehere had the puck at the point and shot a laser to the net that beat Holtby to the right but not the post and rang right off the cross bar. Philly would then get another scoring possibility with the Capitals taking their 5th penalty of the game 6:51 into the third. Caps right winger Jason Chimera dished out a huge cheap shot on Flyers stud Jakub Voracek and got two minutes for boarding. Philly would only manage one shot on this PP but gave up a great short-handed chance. Caps winger Daniel Winnik went streaking down the left-hand boards. He out waited sliding Philly D-man Shayne Gostisbehere and centered a pass towards streaking Caps enforcer Jay Beagle. Beagle lunged for the puck and tipped it on net but was stoned by Neuvirth who robbed Beagle with a huge left pad save to keep their lead intact again. Flyers Ryan White would then get a trip to the sin bin after interfering with Washington defender Nate Schmidt. The Capitals would look to find a way to tie the game on their sizzling power play. Well, the Flyers penalty killers were up to the task again and killed the penalty off while only giving up one small shot.

Washington would then get their best opportunity of the game with 6:34 left in the game. Caps superstar Alex Ovechkin came busting down the right-hand side of the ice. He rifled a wrist shot low far side that was easily turned away with Neuvirth’s left pad. The juicy rebound went right into the wide open slot just sitting there waiting for Washington defenseman, Dmitry Orlov to hammer it home, but Flyers D-man Shayne Gostisbehere had other plans. Right as Orlov was about to fire home the game-tying rebound into the open net, Gostisbehere dove and knocked the puck away as well as Orlov’s stick right out of his hand for a marvelous defensive play!

Like I said, that was Washington’s last prime scoring chance of the game. They pulled goaltender Braden Holtby with 1:02 left in the game in the hope of a game-tying goal. Washington was only able to get one shot through on goal as Philly was blocking everything in sight. Then with 31 seconds left in the game, the Flyers would put the icing on the cake. Flyers 4th liner, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare stole the puck off the stick of Capitals winger T.J. Oshie and passed the puck over to Flyers fellow 4th liner Chris VandeVelde. He then would go in all alone on the wide open net and throw the puck into the goal to end the Caps chance at a comeback and make the score 2-0. This score held till the final buzzer for a huge win.

Philly won this game thanks to wonderful goaltending from Michal Neuvirth for the second game in a row. Tonight he turned away all 44 shots thrown his way for hist first shutout of his 2016 playoff campaign. On the other hand, Caps goalie Braden Holtby stopped 10 out of 11 shots faced for a .900 SV%. The Flyers 11 shots are a team record for fewest shots in a playoff game in franchise history.

The Capitals lead in shots (44-11), penalty minutes (19-13), faceoffs (38-34) and hits (35-17). The Flyers only led in blocks (18-6) and giveaways (5-4). Philly were a dreadful 0/6 on the power play while Washington was 0/2.

The Flyers once again staved off elimination and cut into the Caps series lead and now made it (3-2). Philly will now head back home to the WFC for Game 6 in the hope of forcing another Game 7. This game will be played on Sunday at Noon and can be seen on NBC, CBC, or TVAS.

April 23, 2016
Washington at Philadelphia – Game 3 – Ovi’s two goal night pulls the Caps within a win of the Eastern Semis

The environment for this game was incredible. All of Philadelphia seemed to be packed into the Wells Fargo Center, first to honor the late Ed Snider and then to try to propel their team to begin staging a comeback. While the Flyers were the first team to score this evening, it was the Capitals who won 6-1.

Philly looked like they might try to cause some trouble in this series, as Michael Raffl scored at the 57 second mark, assisted by Brandon Manning and Sam Gagner, to give the Flyers an early lead. Marcus Johansson and the Capitals leveled 3:46 later on the power play, assisted by First Star of the Game John Carlson and Third Star Nicklas Backstrom.

The Capitals took a lead they would not yield with Second Star Alex Ovechkin’s first goal of the night, a snapper at the 8:50 mark of the second period. He was assisted by Backstrom and T.J. Oshie.

It was the second period when things really started going south for the trailing home team. Although they were only down a goal, there was a noticeable difference in Philadelphia‘s approach to the game. Things peaked at when 8:01 remained in the period, when Ryan White absolutely smashed Brooks Orpik into the boards. Orpik did not return to his skates by his own power and had to be helped off the ice, and did not return from the dressing room. I am no doctor, but his eyes did not look clear at all, and given Orpik’s history of concussions, things may not be looking good for a quick return.

Before the night was through, Philadelphia committed a whopping 53 minutes of penalties. In fact, all four of the third period goals were a result of at least a one-man advantage, but many times the Flyers had a crammed penalty box, leaving Washington with 5-on-3 situations.

1:58 into the third, Evgeny Kuznetsov cashed in on a Brayden Schenn slashing penalty on Tom Wilson at the end of the second period, as his wrister, assisted by Justin Williams and Braden Holtby, set the score at 3-1. 5:39 later, Carlson extended the Caps‘ lead with power play slap shot that found the back of Steve Mason’s net, assisted by Ovechkin and and Williams. Washington struck again with 5:02 remaining in the game when Ovechkin found the net for the second time of the night with a slap shot from outside the left face-off circle, assisted by Carlson and Oshie. Jay Beagle closed the scoring line for the Capitals with 1:40 remaining with his second goal of the series, as his wrister assisted by Nate Schmidt and Dmitry Orlov set the score at the 6-1 final.

Holtby earns the win after saving 31 of 32 shots faced (96.9%), while Mason takes the loss, saving 21 of 27 (77.8%).

Washington will attempt to complete the series sweep Wednesday at 7 p.m. eastern. That contest can be viewed on CBC, NBCSN or TVAS.

April 18, 2016
Carlson, Beagle and Co. Jump Out to 1-0 Series Lead Against Flyers

By: Nick Lanciani

Braden Holtby and the Washington Capitals shutout the Philadelphia Flyers, 2-0, in front of a rowdy crowd on home ice at the Verizon Center on Thursday night.

Holtby made 19 saves en route to the shutout victory, while Steve Mason made 29 saves on 31 shots against in the loss.

About midway into the first period, Brooks Orpik went on a string of taking penalties, including an illegal hit to the head of Nick Cousins, which the Flyers were unable to capitalize on. Philadelphia was leading 11-8 in shots on goal after twenty minutes of play, while failing to convert on three power play opportunities.

The second period saw the Capitals go on the power play early in the period as Flyers defenseman, Mark Streit, was sent to the box for holding almost three minutes into the second frame. Washington was unable to convert on the power play. At 8:50 of the second period, Dmitry Orlov was sent to the sin bin for tripping Philadelphia forward, Sam Gagner, putting the Flyers on the power play to no avail.

Philadelphia then took two penalties about two and half minutes apart, as Ryan White served a charging minor at 13:28 and Brandon Manning was sent to the box for delay of game at 16:02 of the second period. 19 seconds into Manning’s penalty the Capitals scored on the power play on a shot from the point by John Carlson. Marcus Johansson and T.J. Oshie picked up assists on what became the game winning goal by Carlson.

By the end of the 2^nd period, Washington was outshooting Philadelphia 22-15, limiting the Flyers to 4 shots on goal in the period.

The pace of the game picked up for the third period in both intensity and undisciplined play.

After killing a too many men on the ice bench minor, served by Ryan White at 2:30 of the 3^rd period, the Philadelphia Flyers were shorthanded once again after Sam Gagner took a 4-minute double minor for high sticking Brooks Orpik 5:28 into the final period. This led to a lenthgy penalty kill, which Steve Mason and the Flyers were able to kill off unharmed.

A little under eight minutes later, Wayne Simmonds and Tom Wilson dropped the gloves and squared off after Wilson boarded Flyers defenseman, Andrew MacDonald. Both Simmonds and Wilson picked up 5-minute major penalties for fighting. About a minute later, Shayne Gostisbehere and Andre Burakovsky had a little shoving match that resulted from an interference call on Gostisbehere and a slashing minor on Burakovsky.

At 16:36 of the third period, Jay Beagle sealed the deal for Washington with a shot that beat Mason and reached the back of the twine with help from Marcus Johansson. Trailing by two goals late in the third, the Flyers pulled Mason for an extra attacker, but it was to no avail. Holtby stood tall in goal and the Capitals pulled off the 2-0 shutout with an additional scrum after the sounding of the horn to end the game.

Jakub Voracek picked up a roughing minor, White received a 10-minute misconduct, while Beagle and Karl Alzner each received roughing minors at 20:00 of the third period.

The Capitals outshot the Flyers 31-19 after 60 minutes of play and also led in hits (29-27) and blocked shots (23-21). Philadelphia had a 31-26 advantage on the faceoff dot and led in giveaways 9-5. Washington was 1/6 on the night on the power play, while the Flyers 0/4.

Washington came into Thursday night as this season’s President’s Trophy winners with the best record in the NHL. This series is the 5^th Stanley Cup Playoffs matchup between these two teams and their first matchup since Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal on April 22, 2008. This year also marks the 38^th playoff appearance in 48 seasons for Philadelphia and the 26^th Stanley Cup Playoffs appearance for Washington in 41 seasons.

Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals split the regular season series with Claude Giroux and the Flyers this season, with 8 of their last 12 meetings having been decided by one goal (until Thursday night). Holtby went into the game with a 48-9-7 record on the regular season and a 2.20 GAA and .922 SV% in 66 games played.

The series shifts to Game 2 on Saturday night in Washington with the home team (the Capitals) in command of a 1-0 series lead at 7:00 PM EST on CNBC. The Flyers might be without the services of Sean Couturier, who suffered a shoulder injury in Game 1, while the Capitals are expected to be in full force on home ice at the Verizon Center.

April 15, 2016