2011 Winter Classic Weather Report: 80% chance of rain on Saturday

With the NHL Winter Classic just two days away, we can now look at the weather forecast from a more serious standpoint than from earlier in the week. The two biggest concerns for officials is direct sunlight on the ice for a significant period of time and heavy down pours of rain. Yesterday, there was a 3-to-4 hour period of direct sunlight on the ice and the ice was characterized as “soft” and not ready to be skated on. Today, the weather is somewhat nasty in Pittsburgh. There is freezing rain (be careful on the roads) and forecasts are calling for 42 degree temperatures (AM Ice) with 30 percent precipitation and a low of 39 degrees, according to weather.com However,

Capitals struggles to deal with adversity highlights Part I of Penguins-Capitals 24/7

Part I of HBO’s 24/7 series Penguins-Capitals, the Road to the Winter Classic aired tonight at 10:00 p.m. The episode started with an early introduction and ran from Wednesday December 8th through Sunday December 12th, covering both teams inside and out The storyline for Part I was both teams going into different directions with the Penguins on a high and the Capitals facing severe adversity. The teams were broken into different segments. 1st Pens Segement In the midst of a long winning streak, Pittsburgh’s 1st segment starts right before their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Dec 8. In an interview, you get the sense that Sidney Crosby see’s this team as a special group, saying “he hasn’t seen

NHL: Capitals bolster blueline with addition of Scott Hannan

Capitals acquire defenseman Scott Hannan The Washington Capitals this afternoon bolstered their blueline, acquiring Colorado Avalanche defenseman Scott Hannan in exchange for forward Tomas Fleischmann. Hannan, 31, is in the final year of a four-year, $18 million contract he signed in 2007. In 23 games this season. Hannan has amassed six points and a plus 1 rating. Hannan has been somewhat of a disappointment during his 3-plus years in Colorado after being a hot commodity in the summer of 2007 as a free agent. Hannan though is the type of defenseman the Capitals have lacked for years. He plays a defensive minded game and immediately upgrades the Capitals blueline. The Capitals are first in the NHL with 36 points. Fleischmann

NHL Notes: Devils are an aging team

DePaoli on the NHL DEVILS FUNK: The New Jersey Devils are in disarray, off to a 2-7-1 start. Through ten games, the Devils have failed to develop any kind of momentum and things went for the worse last weekend. $100 million dollar man Ilya Kovalchuk was a healthy scratch on Saturday night against the Buffalo Sabres, after being a few minutes late for a team meeting and the Devils were later embarrassed on home ice, losing to the Sabres 6-1 and followed up that game with a 3-1 loss on the road to the New York Rangers Sunday night. An interesting side note on the Kovalchuk decision is that head coach John MacLean never consulted with management about the decision

NHL: Pens’ still kicking the tires on Torres?

Thursday’s NHL Rumor Rundown Movement of small market teams On Wednesday morning we touched base surrounding the next CBA talks. The biggest concern might not be the players association but the owners. There’s a group of at least 7-to-8 teams who are eyeing a significant reduction in the salary cap. The push from these owners is to have the cap at a set number in the low 50’s-to-high-40’s range. Capitals to remain quiet The Washington Capitals entered free agency with two pressing needs; Adding a defensive defenseman and signing a No. 2 line center. The team has not taking care of either need and surprisingly are believed to be done in free agency. Capitals GM George McPhee told Tairk El

Pre-game buzz: Umberger’s critical comments about Capitals resonating around the NHL

The playoffs are just over a week away and posturing is already beginning for the Eastern Conference leading Washington Capitals. “If we want to win anything, we have to go through Pittsburgh, ” Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau said today during the Capitals pre-game skate. With the Presidents trophy wrapped up, Boudreau is downplaying the importance of tonight’s game, indicating that tonight’s game has no bearing on a potential playoff matchup between the Penguins and Capitals. “Quite frankly, the game doesn’t really mean a lot to us, Boudreau said. “If we’ve got guys who are tired and banged up, let’s rest them. Today’s game is more important to them because they want to finish second.” The Capitals will rest top

Penguins battle in 4-3 shootout loss to the Capitals

Penguins gain valuable point in shootout loss The Washington Capitals scored three consecutive shootout goals and Mike Knuble scored the decisive goal in the fourth round of the shootout as the Washington Capitals defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 on Wednesday night at the Verizon Center. The Capitals (49-14-10, 108 pts) improved to 27-4-4 on home-ice and have won all three meetings against Pittsburgh, outscoring the Penguins 7-1 in the third period. Third period troubles against the Capitals date back to last season, where the Penguins were outscored 9-1 in the third period by the Capitals during the 2008-2009 regular season. Trailing 2-1, Washington struck again in the third period as Alexander Semin scored a short-handed goal with a great effort

Updated: Ovechkin suspended two games; Teammate says the star winger needs to be more careful

Updated: TSN is reporting that Alexander Ovechkin has been suspended for two games. Washington Capitals winger Alexander Ovechkin had a disciplinary hearing this afternoon with NHL officials. Ovechkin was ejected from Sunday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks after hitting Brian Campbell from behind in what has likely ended Campbell’s season as the veteran defenseman suffered a broken collarbone, broken ribs and a concussion.. Ovechkin felt his hit on Campbell was not dirty but a well respected veteran in the Capitals locker room believes Ovechkin needs to be more careful. “He has the reputation that he plays hard,” veteran forward Mike Knuble told the Washington Post. “But things seem to be happening around him. You would like to see him being