23 May, 2012

Category Archives: Brooks Laich

The Final Note on Caps’ 2011 Preseason

3 October, 2011

Sunday night was the Capitals’ last preseason game before their home opener Saturday against Carolina, and the Caps managed a 4-1 win against a Chicago roster that left off several of the Blackhawks’ best players. Some notes on the final game and where it takes the Capitals going into the regular season: –Boudreau said overall [...]

Also filed in Mathieu Perreault, Michal Neuvirth, Washington Capitals | Comments (1)

Dissecting the Caps’ Style: Tilting the Ice

19 September, 2011

Scotty Bowman emphasized speed for his Stanley Cup winning Montreal Canadiens. Herb Brooks preached conditioning for his 1980 Olympic gold-medal USA team. Up until last season, we thought we knew the playing style blueprint for Bruce Boudreau hockey clubs. But in about the middle of last season, while mired in a prolonged losing streak, Boudreau [...]

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No Slackers Here: One Capital’s Grueling Offseason Training

11 August, 2011

It’s 6:45 am, and the few people in the gym where Brooks Laich trains back in Saskatchewan have been known to throw odd glances at the NHL player being put through the paces by his trainer.  Laich has been up since 5:30 am, and he’ll be at the gym from 6:45 till 10:45, working through [...]

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Caps Like Laich

28 June, 2011

Per the official press release: The Washington Capitals have re-signed center Brooks Laich to a six-year contract, vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today. In keeping with club policy, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. “We are very pleased to have Brooks Laich continue his career as a Washington Capital,” said [...]

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Brooks Laich’s Summer Chill

8 May, 2011

For a certain type of personality, brooding too much over a loss is just as counterproductive as taking it too lightly. Brooks Laich perhaps  found that out the hard way this year, and he’s considering fixing the problem this summer by doing something that most people don’t think twice about: taking a vacation. “I think [...]

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It’s Just the Second Round, but the Caps This Spring Are Standing Tall

29 April, 2011

There are eight teams left vying for hockey’s grand prize, and this morning, it’s interesting to reflect on the relative status of our Capitals. Put bluntly: have the Capitals ever looked quite as formidable and buzz-worthy relative to their remaining competition in the final eight as they do this spring? “Everything is falling into place [...]

Also filed in Alexander Semin, Bruce Boudreau, Dennis Wideman, Michal Neuvirth, Morning cup-a-joe, NHL Network, Southeast Division, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals | Comments (5)

The Quest for Lord Stanley Begins in the Weight Room

11 April, 2011

“To get through four rounds in the Stanley Cup, playing for the Cup, becomes a matter of survival, and who deteriorates the least.” That’s the outlook of Capitals’ strength and conditioning coach Mark Nemish, who is preparing his team for another run at the hardest trophy to win in all of sports. Part of the [...]

Also filed in John Carlson, Mark Nemish, Morning cup-a-joe, National Hockey League, playoff hockey, Washington Capitals | Comments (1)

Again She Makes Us Proud

8 April, 2011

Our Elisabeth Meinecke patiently waited for professional press to finish questioning Brooks Laich after the Caps’ 5-2 win over Florida the other night, went at him with her own queries, got really strong reflection from him, and wrote up a terrific account of the power forward’s move to the point on the Caps’ power play. [...]

Also filed in Eastern Conference, Hockey blogging, National Hockey League, New media, Washington Capitals | Comments (0)

Memo to the Revisionists: It Was a Tale of Two Seasons

8 April, 2011

How will you remember the 2010-11 Capitals’ regular season? I ask because at least one prominent person in town – the team owner — thinks that to date I’ve judged his team too harshly on the campaign. My critique began near the end of last summer, when I observed management execute a largely passive approach to roster improvement in the offseason, while East rivals Pittsburgh and Philly aggressively improved. Not that I’m a throw-mad-money-at-free-agents kind of guy; never have been, never will be. But if you’ve just been vanquished in round one, as the Caps were last April, and you sit on your hands all summer, rest assured your conference peers will gain ground on you.

Through about 50 games into 2010-11, there was plenty of ground-gaining, you’ll recall. For instance: the Caps, having won the Southeast division title just a year ago by 40 points, trailed the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Southeast in late February. That’s ground-gaining alright. And it’s not as if Tampa in the offseason acquired Bobby Orr and Mr. Hockey in their prime.

Also filed in Alexander Ovechkin, Bruce Boudreau, Dennis Wideman, Front Office, George McPhee, HBO's 24/7, Jason Arnott, Marco Sturm, Marcus Johansson, Mike Green, Mike Knuble, Morning cup-a-joe, National Hockey League, Scott Hannan, Ted Leonsis, Washington Capitals | Comments (16)

New Role Fits Brooks Laich’s Style

7 April, 2011

There’s a general perception among Washington writers that forward Brooks Laich is one of the team leaders on the Capitals roster. So his new on-ice responsibility seems a natural fit: helping orchestrate the power play from the blue line.

“I don’t know – we’d been struggling, just not getting a lot of chances,” Laich said of how he wound up on the point. After a recent injury to defenseman Dennis Wideman, Laich said, “Bruce asked me if I’d like to go back there, and I said I’d give it a shot.”

Also filed in Bruce Boudreau | Comments (7)

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