Mike Green

With eight games remaining in the regular season, the chance of Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green returning from a concussion in time for the playoffs is uncertain, Coach Bruce Boudreau said Thursday. Green has missed 18 of the past 20 games since he was hit in the head by a puck on Feb. 6 against Pittsburgh, and he hasn't taken part in a full practice since he suffered another concussion when the Rangers' Derek Stepan hit him in the head on Feb. 25. The good news, Boudreau said, is that Green...

This is more than a concern, more than a beat-down in a win-or-go-home game. This is a fear, and the fear is this: Alex Ovechkin , Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green are going to wake up one day and realize they look more like old maids than young guns, and their NHL careers are going to be a monument to unfulfilled promise. They can write some of this Game 7 eyesore off to a superior goalie, and Henrik Lundqvist was every bit of that, repelling every point-blank puck rifled at the goal, twice in 48 magnificent hours.

The Washington Capitals grew accustomed to playing without defenseman Mike Green early in the 2011-12 season, but on Monday they learned that they will be without the two-time Norris Trophy finalist until at least late February. The team announced that Green will undergo abdominal surgery and is expected to miss four to six weeks, with the later timeframe projecting to around the NHL's trade deadline on Feb. 27. Green missed 23 games and 2 1 / 2 months after suffering a right groin...

NEW YORK — Hours before the puck dropped at Madison Square Garden for Game 3 on Monday night, something didn't sit right with Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby . He was concerned that his team, with a two-games-to-none lead in its Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the New York Rangers , might be getting a little too "loose. " "It's still playoff time and you never want to get comfortable," he said after the morning skate. Perhaps Holtby's...

In addition to the usual preparations during a three-day stretch between games, the Washington Capitals also readied their contingency plans in case they must move forward this week without top defenseman Mike Green . It's a routine the team has grown quite familiar with in recent years as Green missed a combined 80 regular season games during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons with various injuries. With Green questionable for Thursday's contest against the New Jersey Devils — and possibly longer —...

On March 20, Mike Green sat in the visitors' dressing room at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh after the Washington Capitals ' practice, insisting he was ready to play. He said he was ready to return from his latest malady — a nagging groin injury — stay in the lineup, and hopefully rediscover the form that made him one of the best offensive defensemen in the league earlier in his career. "I feel like it's hard to be productive when you're in and out of the lineup and suffering...

As the Washington Capitals step on the ice in Buffalo on Monday evening they will do so with a much too familiar vacancy on their defense. The game against the Sabres will be the 20th consecutive and 26th of the season without Mike Green in the lineup. Over the past two seasons, Green's absence from the lineup has become a new normal for Washington and a trying time for the two-time Norris Trophy finalist. Dating from Feb. 8 of last season, Green has missed 52 of the past 62 regular season contests...

Between periods of a Capitals - Penguins game back in December, Pittsburgh Coach Dan Bylsma had a simple message for his players: "Keep hitting Green . " Bylsma's words, picked up by HBO cameras filming the "24/7" television series on the two teams , revealed what to many around the NHL has long been known as a primary strategy to counter Mike Green , Washington's free-wheeling defenseman. Hit him early, and hit him often. "We are physical with him and I think...

Over the next few months, the Washington Capitals will have to answer a tough question about Mike Green 's future: re-sign the No. 1 defenseman in the hopes he can stay healthy, or go in another direction? When Green is 100 percent, he's rushing the puck end to end, making precise outlet passes, scoring on the power play and igniting capacity crowds at Verizon Center. But the two-time Norris Trophy finalist can only have an impact on a game when he's in it. And over the past two...

The Stanley Cup playoffs are more often a test of will and patience than of sheer skill. Games often hinge on the slightest mistake, and the anticipation for that game-altering play can make even the most grizzled spectator sick to his stomach. Game 2 of the first-round NHL playoff series between the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers at Verizon Center on Saturday afternoon was one of those games. Every gaffe contained devastating potential and every shot...

The Stanley Cup playoffs are more often a test of will and patience than of sheer skill. Games often hinge on the slightest mistake, and the anticipation for that game-altering play can make even the most grizzled spectator sick to his stomach. Game 2 of the first-round NHL playoff series between the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers at Verizon Center on Saturday afternoon was one of those games. Every gaffe contained devastating potential and every shot represented a...

As the Washington Capitals embarked on a run of success in the final 19 games of the season that led to their sixth consecutive playoff berth, there were sights familiar to anyone who's watched this team in recent years. From Alex Ovechkin leaping full force into the glass after scoring a how-did-he-do-that goal, to Nicklas Backstrom creating scoring chances with perfect passes, to Mike Green walking the blue line for a booming slap shot destined for the back of...

As the Washington Capitals made their push for the playoffs in the final month of the season they had the benefit of an element that has been absent far too often in recent years — a healthy Mike Green . There's no equivalent or substitute for a fluid-skating, booming slap-shot shooting Green in the Washington lineup. He controls the pace of a game and patrols the point on the power play unlike any other player on the roster can and Saturday...

OTTAWA — The Washington Capitals arrived here the hottest team in the NHL, unbeaten since the calendar turned to April. They were overflowing with confidence, displaying both defensive acumen and offensive prowess. Thursday night, for the first time in several weeks, the Capitals played without the precision that helped them race up the Eastern Conference standings. From the start against the Ottawa Senators , Washington struggled to complete simple plays and appeared a...

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...

On March 20, Mike Green sat in the visitors' dressing room at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh after the Washington Capitals ' practice, insisting he was ready to play. He said he was ready to return from his latest malady — a nagging groin injury — stay in the lineup, and hopefully rediscover the form that made him one of the best offensive defensemen in the league earlier in his career. "I feel like it's hard to be productive when you're in and out of the lineup and suffering...

Until the 2010-11 campaign, Mike Green had never experienced a year of his professional career so wrecked and ravaged by injury. First it was his shoulder, his knee and a pair of concussions that limited him to only 49 regular season games. When he finally returned in the playoffs, a hip-flexor injury forced him out again. The Washington Capitals ' flashy defenseman, fresh off two consecutive Norris Trophy nominations, hardly had a chance to develop any kind of rhythm. "It was just a frustrating...

Frequent absences from the lineup have taken a toll on Mike Green's play this year , preventing him from developing consistency and prolonging his assimilation into the Washington Capitals' new system. But now that the 47 games he missed with injuries and a recent three-game suspension are behind him, there's evidence the 26-year-old defenseman has rediscovered his confidence and is finding his role under Coach Dale Hunter. "I'm completely, mentally, in a good state...

RALEIGH, N.C. – It was a scene that had unfolded so many times before in recent years for the Washington Capitals . A two-on-one with Nicklas Backstrom on one side, Alex Ovechkin on the other and an opposing defenseman in the middle with an unenviable task. Backstrom put the puck on Ovechkin's tape with a saucer pass, and with a flick of his wrists the star winger beat Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Justin Peters on his glove side. The goal gave the Capitals a lead...

In addition to the usual preparations during a three-day stretch between games, the Washington Capitals also readied their contingency plans in case they must move forward this week without top defenseman Mike Green . It's a routine the team has grown quite familiar with in recent years as Green missed a combined 80 regular season games during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons with various injuries. With Green questionable for Thursday's contest against the New Jersey Devils — and possibly...