Washington Capitals

WASHINGTON -- A little more than 18 minutes remained in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals last night, but by that time the Detroit Red Wings had overpowered the Washington Capitals and their fans had taken over MCI Center.As the Red Wings put a finishing exclamation point on this championship sweep with a brilliant two-on-one power-play goal by Doug Brown that emphasized the Red Wings' power and might with 1: 32 gone in the final period, their fans drowned out the Capitals' faithful with chants of "Vladi, Vladi".

WASHINGTON -- A little over 18 minutes remained in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals, but by that time the Detroit Red Wings had overpowered the Washington Capitals and their fans had taken over MCI Center.As the Red Wings put a finishing exclamation point on this championship sweep with a brilliant two-on-one power-play goal by Doug Brown that emphasized the Red Wings' power and might with 1: 32 gone in the final period, their fans drowned out the Capitals' faithful with chants of "Vladi, Vladi."

WASHINGTON -- The nature of playoff hockey is such that many more times than not it comes down to goaltending. Them that have win and advance; them that don't go home.Going home, that's about the only positive the Ottawa Senators took away from their second straight loss to the Washington Capitals in their second-round Stanley Cup matchup last night.Worthy adversaries during the first half of the game when their defense held the Capitals rushers at bay, the Senators fell easy prey once the home team's gunners drew a bead on goalie Ron Tugnutt.

WASHINGTON -- The Detroit Red Wings had celebrated a Stanley Cup before. They'd put away the frustration of 42 long years. But last night, even before Game 4, the final game in this sweep, was in the books as a 4-1 victory and the second Cup was in their hands, the emotion of all they had overcome to get back to this pinnacle swelled up and overpowered the Washington Capitals. And the Red Wings' fans took over the MCI Center.As the Red Wings put an exclamation point on this championship with a brilliant two-on-one power- play goal by Doug Brown that emphasized their dominance, with 1: 32 gone in the final period, their fans drowned out the Capitals faithful with chants of "Vlady, Vlady."

Four of the six teams in yesterday's pro-celebrity two-man scramble tied for first place with scores of 2-under-par for six holes in an event held in conjunction with the State Farm Senior Classic at Hobbit's Glen Golf Club in Columbia.Peter Bondra of the Washington Capitals, paired with Ed Dougherty, won it for his side when his 50-foot pitch shot from above and left of the hole was hit far enough left to take the break and roll down a slope to just past the cup.The other teams in the playoff were Dana Quigley-Lydell Mitchell, Bob Eastwood-Jeff Uhlenhake (Washington Redskins)

WASHINGTON -- Adam Oates was worried. He wanted to shoot high on his breakaway. And he thought to himself, "Don't mess this up."Oates didn't mess it up. He shot low at the last possible moment, slipping the puck into the back of the net and starting the Washington Capitals on their way to a 4-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series."

WASHINGTON -- The Washington Capitals may want to study the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and emulate them from here on in this Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings.The Maple Leafs lost the first three games of that series to Detroit, but came back to win the Cup.So far, only those Maple Leafs have been able to pull off such a feat in the Finals.If the Caps are to win this series, they will have to be the second team in NHL history to do it, because last night, Washington lost its Game 3 comeback bid, 2-1, on a goal by Sergei Fedorov with 4: 51 to play.

WASHINGTON -- It hit with the force of a flying puck.Overnight, this city has turned itself into a hockey town. For years, the Washington Capitals were a source of derision and apathy, not pride.No matter. As the team fought its way this week into the Stanley Cup finals for the first time in its 24-year history, new fans, along with old loyalists, joined the cheering squad for this team faster than you can say "bloody nose.""It's the Stanley Cup -- you've got to be excited," said Andrea Min, 25, a systems analyst from Arlington, Va. "Everyone here is following the team, even if they didn't care before."

WASHINGTON -- A little over 18 minutes remained in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals last night, but by that time the Detroit Red Wings had overpowered the Washington Capitals and their fans had taken over MCI Center.As the Red Wings put a finishing exclamation point on this championship sweep with a brilliant two-on-one power-play goal by Doug Brown that emphasized the Red Wings' power and might with 1: 32 gone in the final period, their fans drowned out the Capitals' faithful with chants of "Vladi, Vladi".

The Washington Capitals had hoped not to come to this place, to the brink of losing the Stanley Cup Finals in a sweep to the Detroit Red Wings.They had hoped that their age, an average of 30 years, would help them avoid the jitters and euphoria that had doomed younger NHL teams that had made surprise appearances in the Finals.But yesterday, with Washington behind in this best-of-seven series 3-0, Brian Bellows, himself an old warrior at 33 and one of four Capitals to have won the Cup with other teams, explained that nothing prepares a team for the Stanley Cup experience except actually being there.

Washington - -Wednesday night began with the Verizon Center pulsating to "Let's Go Caps," chanted by a capacity crowd at an eardrum-splitting decibel level. But by the time the game had reached the halfway mark, the building was motionless and silent, filled with stunned fans who couldn't believe what was unfolding. Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals were behind five goals to their most reviled rival en route to a humbling 6-2 defeat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

WASHINGTON - Sergei Fedorov scored with 4:59 remaining, rifling a shot past goaltender Henrik Lundqvist to send the Washington Capitals to a 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals Tuesday night. The victory catapulted the Capitals into the second round for the first time since 1998, when Fedorov's Detroit Red Wings swept Washington out of the Stanley Cup finals. "Experience sometimes pays off, and [Fedorov] knew what he had to do and when to do it," said coach Bruce Boudreau, whose team became the 21st to rally from a 3-1 series deficit.

The fortunes of the Washington Capitals might mean little to many sports fans in Baltimore, other than NHL enthusiasts, but the lesson of their season should not be lost on anyone who follows this town's teams - especially the Orioles. Incredibly, the Capitals won the Southeast Division over the weekend, which helped them land the No. 3 playoff seed in the Eastern Conference. The Caps accomplished this after finishing last in the division in the past two seasons and seemed to be on their way to a post-lockout hat trick through the first quarter of the current campaign.

NHL Panthers @Capitals 7 P.M. [CSN] Too much college basketball these days? Couldn't care less who's in the Final Four? Try this for a change: The Washington Capitals, winners of six straight and 10 of their past 11 games, can take another step toward the playoffs when they play host to the woeful Florida Panthers. The Caps' Alex Ovechkin has 65 goals, breaking Luc Robitaille's NHL record for goals by a left wing in a season.

NHL Flames@Capitals 7 P.M. [CSN, CSN+] The story line is that the Washington Capitals were in the midst of a surprising playoff run when they ran into a brick wall over the weekend, losing close games to the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins. The Caps need this one badly if they hope to have any shot at qualifying for the playoffs. Plus, on the CSN+ feed, there will be a special "OvechKam" feed, where a camera is trained on Washington star Alex Ovechkin while the game itself is on a split screen.

Wizards@Bulls 8 P.M. [ESPN, 50] This is not a stellar night for live sports. You have this game between mediocre Washington and pretty crummy Chicago, or the improving but still mediocre Washington Capitals against a good New Jersey Devils team starting at 7 p.m. on Comcast SportsNet. I'm tempted to watch the Arena Football League preview at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2. They start bouncing off the walls this weekend.

Alex Ovechkin agreed to a 13-year, $124 million contract extension yesterday with the Washington Capitals, working out the details himself in negotiations with owner Ted Leonsis and general manager George McPhee. The Russian star, 22, was in the final season of a three-year, entry-level deal. Ovechkin has led the Capitals in scoring in each of his seasons. He entered yesterday tied for second place in the NHL with 32 goals, helping Washington surge from the league's worst record to the fringe of the playoff race.

WASHINGTON -- The Washington Capitals got two goals, from Donald Brashear and David Steckel in the third period, and Olie Kolzig made 18 saves in a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche last night. The game was scoreless until Brashear scored 2:51 into the third period. Matt Bradley skated from behind the net and directed a pass to Brooks Laich, whose shot from the left circle was tipped past Jose Theodore by Brashear. With 3:59 left, Steckel tapped the puck off a Colorado defender and past an out-of-position Theodore, who made 21 saves, for a 2-0 lead.

WASHINGTON -- Guillaume Latendresse scored two goals and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Washington Capitals, 5-2, last night. Latendresse had the fourth two-goal game of his NHL career - the second this month. He has nine goals this season. His first of the game gave Montreal a 1-0 lead. He tapped in a pass from Saku Koivu at 18:15 of the first period - 13 seconds after Capitals defenseman Tom Poti went off for hooking. Latendresse's second goal gave the Canadiens a 3-1 lead with 2:54 left in the second period.

Leo Sloss can't cheer as loud for the Washington Capitals anymore. The 23-year-old Sherwood Forest native was hired last month by the sales department of the Atlanta Hawks basketball team and the Atlanta Thrashers hockey team. Former neighbor and longtime friend Keith Bradshaw worked for the company that owns the teams and help set things up for Sloss to get the interview and job before leaving to work with the Dallas Cowboys. Sloss cold-calls businesses in hopes of selling them ticket plans - often season tickets.