Jay Beagle

Day Time Opponent TV Tonight 7:30 vs. Montreal CSN Friday 7 vs. Colorado CSN Sunday 12:30 vs. Pittsburgh WRC-4 ALL GAMES ON WFED (820 AM, 1500 AM) ONLINE COVERAGE Rookies Karl Alzner and Jay Beagle are sent to Hershey, Viktor Kozlov misses practice (again) and Brent Johnson talks to Capitals beat writer Tarik El-Bashir about his surgery. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitalsinsider

The stands at Verizon Center were already littered with empty seats, many fans already on the streets of Chinatown with the Washington Capitals on the cusp of a deflating 5-0 loss to the New York Rangers in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series Monday night. But more than eight minutes still remained in the third period and New York goalie Henrik Lundqvist wasn't ready to give Washington an inch. So when Capitals rookie Tom Wilson fired a power snap shot, Lundqvist stopped it....

When things were the most dismal for the Washington Capitals , when they were stuck in last place with seemingly few roads out, they would arrive at the rink the morning after an ugly defeat prepared for a lecture or scolding. But the verbal lashings never came. Instead, first-year Coach Adam Oates showed video clips in which the Capitals made the correct play. He focused on fostering improvement. "It was huge to learn the new system without being in fear of coming in the next day...

NEW YORK – The Washington Capitals spent so much time shorthanded in the first two periods Monday night against the New York Rangers that Eric Fehr could barely recall taking an even-strength shift with his linemates. "Just felt like the first two periods all we were doing was killing," Fehr said. "We have a really good team that enjoys playing all four lines. We have the ability to take over games as a unit, and we weren't able to roll over the lines, so it's tough. " Fehr's concern spoke to the greater...

The stands at Verizon Center were already littered with empty seats, many fans already on the streets of Chinatown with the Washington Capitals on the cusp of a deflating 5-0 loss to the New York Rangers in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series Monday night. But more than eight minutes still remained in the third period and New York goalie Henrik Lundqvist wasn't ready to give Washington an inch. So when Capitals rookie Tom Wilson fired a power snap shot, Lundqvist stopped it....

PITTSBURGH, May 8 -- With Eric Fehr hurting, Michael Nylander struggling and Donald Brashear serving a suspension, the Washington Capitals recalled rookie Jay Beagle from the minor league Hershey Bears. Beagle, an undrafted winger who made his NHL debut on Feb. 11 and appeared in three games with the Capitals, had another first on Friday night when he suited up for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Pittsburgh Penguins. "When I got told by [Bears General Manager Doug...

Jay Beagle's rise through the ranks was as swift as it was unlikely. In the past two years, Beagle's career has made stops in Alaska, Idaho and Hershey, Pa. Now he's on the verge of getting a shot in the NHL with the Washington Capitals. Last night, Beagle skated in his third game of the preseason against the Philadelphia Flyers at Verizon Center. Though he almost certainly won't start the season in Washington, the 22-year-old checking-line center has played his way onto Coach Bruce Boudreau's shortlist of potential...

MONTREAL — Buoyed by their success in recent weeks, the Washington Capitals looked forward to traveling to play the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night. After feasting on many of the lesser teams to propel themselves into playoff position, the Capitals were eager for a more telling gauge of their progress against an Eastern Conference power. Washington got precisely the tight-checking, nail-biting challenge against one of the East's elite teams that it hoped...

Twenty-six minutes into Saturday night's game at Verizon Center the Washington Capitals appeared unstoppable. In possession of a four-goal lead against a wayward Tampa Bay Lightning squad, the Caps were cruising toward their seventh consecutive victory. Then the Capitals lost sight of their game, let up, allowed Tampa Bay to score four consecutive goals and push a game that seemed like an automatic victory to overtime. Mike Green made sure the blown lead wouldn't...

Nicklas Backstrom stood outside the Washington Capitals' dressing room Thursday night at Verizon Center, leaning against a doorway in a charcoal gray suit. He caught up with his Swedish countrymen from that evening's opponent, and occasionally cracked just the slightest smile. For that moment, it seemed easy to forget that Backstrom remains sidelined indefinitely by a concussion, unable to play or even skate for more than five minutes over the past month. His plight is not...

When things were the most dismal for the Washington Capitals , when they were stuck in last place with seemingly few roads out, they would arrive at the rink the morning after an ugly defeat prepared for a lecture or scolding. But the verbal lashings never came. Instead, first-year Coach Adam Oates showed video clips in which the Capitals made the correct play. He focused on fostering improvement. "It was huge to learn the new system without being in fear of coming in the next day...

Twenty-six minutes into Saturday night's game at Verizon Center the Washington Capitals appeared unstoppable. In possession of a four-goal lead against a wayward Tampa Bay Lightning squad, the Caps were cruising toward their seventh consecutive victory. Then the Capitals lost sight of their game, let up, allowed Tampa Bay to score four consecutive goals and push a game that seemed like an automatic victory to overtime. Mike Green made sure the blown lead wouldn't...

MONTREAL — Buoyed by their success in recent weeks, the Washington Capitals looked forward to traveling to play the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night. After feasting on many of the lesser teams to propel themselves into playoff position, the Capitals were eager for a more telling gauge of their progress against an Eastern Conference power. Washington got precisely the tight-checking, nail-biting challenge against one of the East's elite teams that it hoped...

TAMPA — By the midway point of the third period at the Tampa Bay Times Forum on Thursday night, the Washington Capitals had built a commanding three-goal lead. As time ticked down, though, they would need every last bit of that advantage to fend off the explosive offense of the Tampa Bay Lightning . Tampa Bay scored a pair of goals in the final 7 minutes 58 seconds as the Capitals took their foot off the gas pedal. Washington made careless mistakes like failing...

TORONTO — Six games into the lockout-shortened NHL schedule, it's clear that the Washington Capitals ' evolution under new Coach Adam Oates won't take place instantly. The 1-4-1 Capitals arrived here ahead of their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday ranked 14th in the Eastern Conference. They showed signs of cohesion against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night, but not even their best performance to date translated into a victory as they gave up a two-goal...

The moment the referee raised his arm in the middle of a Washington Capitals penalty kill Friday night, disappointment surged through Jay Beagle. He had been whistled for tripping New Jersey Devils forward Travis Zajac and was headed to the penalty box. The infraction put Washington down two men and paved the way for an easy Devils goal. "We're halfway through killing that off and I take a stupid penalty and put our team down. It doesn't feel good," Beagle said. "You can't let them have...

The Washington Capitals did just enough Thursday to give optimists reason to believe this will be a long series. But they also struggled just enough to provide skeptics with ample evidence to build a strong case to the contrary. Let's start with what went right for Braden Holtby and his teammates . No one knew how Holtby would handle the pressure of his first NHL postseason start. But after the 22-year-old rookie made 17 stops in the second period of Game 1, including two on Rich Peverley...

OTTAWA -- Jay Beagle did what most young Canadian hockey players aspire to when he notched his first NHL goal Monday night. But the Washington Capitals' fourth-line center didn't get the chance to celebrate his achievement properly in the solemn visitors' dressing room at Scotiabank Place following a disheartening 4-3 overtime defeat to the Ottawa Senators. Beagle, an undrafted rookie who was recalled from the minor leagues last week as an injury replacement, intercepted a pass midway through the second period and buried his...

NEWARK — A day after Coach Adam Oates described his team as "fragile," the Washington Capitals finally found the ability to fight back. Instead of waiting for things to go their way, they forced circumstances to bend in their favor, but ultimately the result was the same. Mike Ribeiro and Mike Green scored in the final 7 minutes 15 seconds of regulation to tie the game and force overtime against the New Jersey Devils on Friday night, but the Capitals couldn't complete the rally.

Mike Ribeiro returned to the Washington Capitals ' training facility in Arlington on Monday morning for his first skate with teammates in several weeks. While he kept up a modest weight-training and running program during the lockout, the veteran center hasn't been on the ice all that much, except to skate with his 12-year-old son. "I've been pretty good," Ribeiro joked. "I've been gaining confidence skating with the kids, scoring on the goalie. " But Ribeiro, the Capitals' key offseason acquisition,...