Red Out Weekend

After a disappointing loss to Boston this week, the Caps look ahead to a Saturday matinee game against the Detroit Red Wings. It's no secret that the Stanley Cup defending Wings are stacked with talent and sit 6 points behind the San Jose Sharks for the numero uno spot in the Western Conference.

But the Wings have been bitten by the injury bug and recently placed d-man Brad Stuart on injured reserve, calling up a pair of AHLers, Aaron Downey and Ville Leino. Wings star Henrik Zetterberg (who recently signed a big phat contract, making him a Red Wing for the rest of his career) also missed tonight's game against the Dallas Stars, suffering from back spasms.

The good news for the Caps is that Tom Poti will most likely return to the ice on Saturday after a lengthy injury. And the boys should be rested and ready to go after enjoying an outdoor practice today at a Maryland rink, bringing back memories for many of them of playing pond hockey in their younger days. Hockey Mom is bummed that I couldn't witness the fun but the boys' team had a fundraiser during the same time frame.

HM will be in attendance (with Red Wings fans no less - but I promise I'm louder than all three of them put together) on Saturday. It will take some serious carpool swapping and finagling to get to Verizon Center by the time the puck drops, but I wouldn't miss this game for anything! This will be a true test for the Caps and both teams are fascinating to watch. My boys have a 6:30 a.m. practice on Saturday a.m., followed by a game and then HM will be high-tailing it to the Phone Booth for the raucous red-out. Til then...