When Japer’s Rink can’t even put together a recap, it’s telling of what kind of game the Washington Capitals played. Certainly not great, but perhaps not awful. Just…forgettable. (So forgettable that even Capitals Outsider didn’t do a boxscore!) It probably won’t be forgettable to the Carolina Hurricanes, though, who left their blood on the ice, showed plenty of guts and got the glory with a shootout win that keeps their playoff hopes alive for another day.

So, no Japer’s Rink, but Russian Machine had a little bonus (congrats, Chris! See the Backstrom photo below) and the new guy at the Times wrote another quality piece worth reading.  See my photos below (watch out for the Eric Staal photos if you don’t like blood) or on flickr.