Our guide to tonight’s AHL Showcase between the Hershey Bears and the Norfolk Admirals at Verizon Center in Washington, DC is simple. It’s in the tweet below and we hope you’ll spread the word. There are downtown businesses and arena workers affected by the NHL lockout that could use the dollars. Enjoy the hockey! And please pour a little money into the local economy too if you can.
Going to @TheHersheyBears tonight at Verizon? Spend at area bars/restaurants before & after. And tip arena workers big. #Caps #NHLLockout—
BrooksLaichyear.com (@brookslaichyear) December 06, 2012
One more thing: As tweeter @Sdunn2984 pointed out today, there is a toy drive for the Salvation Army at tonight’s game. “The Capitals will be accepting donations at the F Street Entrance to Verizon Center starting when doors open at 6 p.m.,” according to the team’s website. “The first 1,500 fans to donate will receive a commemorative Adam Oates Hall of Fame poster. The Capitals, GEICO, Comcast SportsNet and The Salvation Army urge all Caps fans to donate at least one new, unwrapped toy for a deserving child this holiday season.”
This is going to be a quick post, with a few tweets and thoughts on what seems to be the sports story of the day in DC and beyond: Alex Ovechkin’s ice time in Game 2 versus the New York Rangers last night.
A few of mine from this morning…
They don't put individual player stats (including ice time) on the Stanley Cup. I'm fan of DH32 doing whatever it takes in each game to win.
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Mike Holden (@mikeholden) May 01, 2012Odd how people felt inmates ran asylum w/ Bruce & Ovi's shifts were too long etc, yet now DH manages bench differently & people fuss. #Caps
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Mike Holden (@mikeholden) May 01, 2012@pfholden It deserves attention (though Ovi isn't only Young Gun who saw less ice time), but I don't find it to be a big issue if it works.
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Mike Holden (@mikeholden) May 01, 2012One from Mike Vogel after the game last night…
Eagerly awaiting stories on Backstrom's reduced ice time, lowest of 45-game SC playoff career. I'm sure everyone asked him about it. Right?
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Mike Vogel (@VogsCaps) May 01, 2012And a couple of mine from after the game…
@BradenOwen_92 only DH32 knows for sure but likes to linematch, is playing defensive grind-it-out system & 8 is defensive liability at times
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Mike Holden (@mikeholden) May 01, 2012@BradenOwen_92 one of the upsides is this keeps him more rested for those times when you do need to lean on him more.
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Mike Holden (@mikeholden) May 01, 2012One way to look at this: it often feels good when you don’t need to go to your closer to win a baseball game, knowing he’ll then be better rested the next time you need him. If the Caps get involved in another long series or make a deep playoff run, keeping your players from getting too banged up is usually a good thing.
See the chart at the bottom of this article from The Globe and Mail for a look at Ovechkin’s minutes for every playoff game he’s played:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/globe-on-hockey/alex-ovechkin-the-role-player/article2418893/
Ovechkin’s ice time last night is an interesting story, but I don’t see it as an issue right now.
This morning on Twitter we asked how Caps fans are feeling after the Game 1 loss to the Rangers. The answers:
@brookslaichyear Still optimistic.
— Katie Brown (@callyourbluff) April 29, 2012
@brookslaichyear completely and utterly let down but hoping second game will be a win!
— Strong Fit Soon (@StrongFitSoon) April 29, 2012
@brookslaichyear just warming up, their goal post was the # 1 star with four saves, smh…
— Lauren Williams (@lwstuff) April 29, 2012
@brookslaichyear still think you all can win the series. Just bought tickets to game 3 and I’m from california.
— Robin Horwitz (@robinhorwitz) April 29, 2012
@brookslaichyear it’s only game one. We are adjusting. Next game we’ll look better (especially if green is scratched he hasnt done anything)
— Hugo Гузман (@LAICHaBOSS21) April 29, 2012
@brookslaichyear excited. #caps were buzzing yesterday, a post here, a post there, henrik was lucky yesterday. #caps take game 2
— Mike Behrens (@mrbehrens) April 29, 2012
@brookslaichyear Same as before the game. Need to escape New York with a split.
— Ben Mellott (NBN) (@NBNStudios) April 29, 2012
@brookslaichyear I’m pretty upset.
— Danielle (@VeggieTart) April 29, 2012
@brookslaichyear all they need is to win 1 road game to win the series.Another chance tomorrow
— The Dugs DC Sports (@TheDugsSports) April 29, 2012
Washington Capitals arena announcer Wes Johnson pumped up the crowd for the playoffs at the end of the RMNB Party 4 at Front Page Arlington, following the Caps 4-1 victory over the New York Rangers in Game 82 of the 2011-12 season.
My brother and BrooksLaichyear.com sidekick, Pat Holden has his outfit all picked out for the RMNB Party 4. If you don’t know what that is, it’s a viewing party tomorrow at Front Page Arlington for the Caps final game of the year, hosted by Caps bloggers russianmachineneverbreaks.com. Click that RMNB Party 4 link and we’ll see you there. Look for Pat in the shirt below — I’m pretty sure the shirt was mine first, by the way, and I handed it down to him. I bet I looked awesome in that and my neon laced roller blades.
Looking for a sign to take to tonight’s Caps game, in the wake of Caps players asking for a “Scratch Hunter” sign to be removed Tuesday night? Here’s one…
Free sign! No purchase required!
Download the PDF for printing here at this link: Ignore this sign
Let’s Go Caps! Win. This. Game. One solid shift at a time.
[Laich] has played more games (531) in a Capitals sweater after the lockout than any other player.
– read more at Dump ‘n’ Chase
Last week, I noted unusually low ticket prices for a Caps game, as they were facing the Winnipeg Jets Thursday night at Verizon Center and 400 level tickets had dropped to $15 that afternoon on StubHub. I waited until just before 5 p.m. that night and ended up getting tickets for $8.99 each; this was for 400 level tickets that had a face value of $55 a piece. So I basically got five seats for what one would cost at face value—it’s not often you can do that for a Caps game. Granted, the team hasn’t been playing well lately and is missing some star players, but this was two days after the team had reclaimed first place with a big win at home over Florida, and before the recent losses to the Rangers and Sharks.
Looking at the team’s upcoming schedule on StubHub*, the current prices and the inventory available there, there could be some more bargain nights ahead for Caps fans looking to attend a game without spending as much as it usually takes. It’s highly unlikely you’ll get $8.99 tickets when a team like the Flyers come to town next month but—if you’re willing to go on a week night and see an opponent that’s either not near the top of the standings or a Southeast Division team that the Caps face multiple times a season—there will likely be some deals to be had. There were even some tickets available this past Monday afternoon for under $20 on StubHub for that night’s game against the San Jose Sharks, a good team that doesn’t come to town that often.
In order to get the best possible prices, keep an eye on the list of Caps home games on StubHub and wait it out until the day of the game if you can. On game day, prices can drop quite a bit as people look to dump their tickets for whatever they can get. The day of the Caps-Jets game last week, the lowest priced ticket on StubHub went from $15 at around 4pm down to $8.99 when I bought them just before 5pm. If you’re going to try this approach, it’s important to note that StubHub stops sales two hours before game time.
Here are the upcoming games that look like they have a chance at getting fairly inexpensive:
On Tuesday, February 28, the New York Islanders come to town. There are a little over 1,700 tickets available on StubHub and the cheapest seat is currently $21.
The Carolina Hurricanes visit on Tuesday, March 6 and tickets start at $27 right now on Stub Hub, with more than 2,000 available.
For Thursday, March 8, there are more than 2,000 tickets available on StubHub when the Caps host the Tampa Bay Lightning, and the cheapest tickets are currently $29.
There could be some other games to keep an eye on after that, like when the Jets visit again on March 23, though that’s a Friday and those games sometimes don’t get as cheap as Tuesday games, for example. The Sabres visit on Tuesday, March 27 and then Florida comes to town on Thursday, April 5. That’s the final home game of the year and tickets are only $26 right now. Whether prices for that game against the Panthers go up or down from here could depend a lot on what the playoff picture looks like as that date gets closer.
* I don’t mention the Capitals TicketExchange because there seems to be a floor below which a ticket’s price can not be sold there. From what I’ve seen, it appears buyers looking for the lowest overall price are better off using StubHub.
