The Washington Capitals played the New York Rangers yesterday. Or, at least, they were scheduled to play them. Instead the Capitals got played. Maybe it was a Thanksgiving turkey hangover. Maybe it was replacing the morning skate with shopping for doorbusters at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex. Maybe it was that I forgot to wear my lucky shoes. Maybe it was that my mother was in the building for the first time since…it was built? I don’t know. I don’t really need to know. But someone needs to know.

What I do know is that Alex Ovechkin was doing some cool things, like laying down to block shots, bouncing pucks on his stick as he started a rush from center ice. It made me think of when Sidney Crosby did it in Buffalo in the first Winter Classic. Except Ovechkin ended with a roughing penalty. Remember when Ovechkin used to do stuff like this and score. Like, every night? At least we got to see another marginal Alexander Semin stick penalty. I don’t know.

I was part of a combination family reunion and merging of the tribes kind of thing in a suite and a few of cycled through some front row seats. The family thing was fun. The watching the game things was not so fun. Bizarre connection time. Someone in my family that was not at the game (because he’s not in town) was in a television ad on Thursday that aired during the football games. He didn’t have any lines in the English language version (he just sat there), but had an English line in the Spanish version: “Did that just happen?” How many of you found yourself saying that multiple times on Friday afternoon?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Diim90ig1xo

If you want to read more not-so-fun-stuff about Friday’s game, check out On Frozen Blog, Japer’s Rink, Russian Machine, Ed Frankovic, and the others. I think I got some cool photos this time. See them below or on flickr. Of course, when I was able to sit on the glass, the Caps could barely get the puck into the zone…and then couldn’t keep it there. Sigh. At least we get to see the throwback Winter Classic-like jerseys tonight. On TV. Not in person. Sigh. I’m not helping myself. See you on Wednesday after the game against the Blues.