Despite missing Ovi, Kuzy and Tom Wilson just to name a few, the Caps are back in 1st place thanks to some unsung heroes and gutsy performances. Nick Ashooh and JJ Regan discuss the upcoming goalie competition between Ilya Samsonov and the surprising Vitek Vanacek, plus who needs else needs to step up once they return. And in case you missed it our Players Only segment, two great Bruce Boudreau stories, and we'll take a look at the East Division through the early stages of the season.

In this special "Headstrong" edition of Capitals Talk, Ted Leonsis joins Chris Miller for an in-depth interview about the issues of mental health and suicide awareness in light of the current environment we're all living in, particularly with today's athletes and those who play for his teams. For more of NBC Sports Washington's series on men's and mental health, "Headstrong", go to nbcsportswashington.com/headstrong.

The Caps got 6 of a possible 8 points on their season-opening road trip, but how should they be judged after 4 games? Karl Alzner joins Nick Ashooh and JJ Regan after his first game on the other side, as an analyst on Caps Pregame and Postgame Live, to discuss Tuesday night's OT loss to the Penguins plus: Tom Wilson's emergence into a legit star, Bruce Boudreau's unique approach to "analytics", and the problems we're all facing with technology these days.

Roundtable discussion breaking down the biggest storylines around the East division heading into the 2021 season.

The Caps closed out 2020 with the stunning signing of former Norris Trophy defenseman Zdeno Chara. JJ Regan is joined by Joe Haggerty of BostonHockeyNow.com, one of the foremost experts on the Bruins and Chara, to break down just what the Caps are getting from the soon-to-be 44-year-old defenseman - as well as what this means for the Bruins, a team that the Caps have dominated over the years and will face 8! times this season!

Breaking down the 2020-2021 Caps schedule plus conversations about Conor Sheary and a potential move for a veteran netminder.

Hockey is back (!!) and we break down all the details on this episode of the Capitals Talk podcast with Alexa Shaw, Nick Ashooh and Alexa Shaw.

Henrik Lundqvist will not play in 2021 so the Capitals Talk podcast looks at what the options are to back up Ilya Samsonov in net.

An interview with former Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner.

An interview with legendary hockey play-by-play voice Doc Emrick on Ovechkin's career, why the 2021 Capitals are in a good place to compete for the Stanley Cup and Doc's new memoir "Off Mike."

Hershey Bears video coach Emily Engel-Natzke discusses her new job and what it means to break through the glass ceiling as the first female coach in the history of the Washington Capitals organization.

Olie Kolzig and Byron Dafoe reminisce about their part in a November 22, 1998 brawl, hit on what to expect from Ilya Samsonov and Henrik Lundqvist between the pipes this season and much more.

Nick and JJ discuss the latest around the NHL's plans to start the season, the return of the Screaming Eagle jerseys and the Holtbys' delayed entry to Canada due to their two pet tortoises.

Nick and JJ discuss all the latest news surrounding Alex Ovechkin's desire to end his career in Russia plus why Daniel Sprong should be in the opening day lineup.

Voice of the Hershey Bears Zack Fisch joins the podcast to break down all the prospects in the Capitals pipeline.

Dan Rosen joins the pod to talk about Henrik Lundqvist's mindset in coming to Washington plus where the Caps stack up in the Metro and the latest news on the season.

Nick Ashooh and JJ Regan got together to discuss the Caps free agency period so far and give their thoughts on the worst kept secret coming to fruition with Henrik Lundqvist signing with the team. After the discussion you will hear from Henrik as he talks about what made him pick Washington as his next team. The guys finish up the podcast discussing how else the Caps can increase their title chances for next year as well as take a look around the league to see what other teams have been up to...

On a special edition of the Caps Talk Podcast Alexa Shaw, Nick Ashooh and JJ Regan first got to sit down with Washington Captials 1st round draft pick Hendrix LaPierre to talk about being selected by the Caps, his Twitter exchange with Alex Ovechkin and how he sees himself fitting into this group of guys. The crew also sat down with Samantha Pell from The Washington Post and Ben Raby from Caps Radio to discuss some of the teams key needs in free agency and to see if their is any truth to the...

Nick Ashooh and JJ Regan are back again for another podcast, this time the NHL season is officially over and we have crowned a champion, the Tampa Bay Lightning defeating the Dallas Stars 4-2 in the series to take home the Stanley Cup. The guys discuss what they saw from this Lightning team that lead them to a cup, how similar it was to what the Caps went through before finally breaking through in 2018 and what next season might look like now that we have gotten through the bubble...

Nick Ashooh and JJ Regan got together to discuss John Carlson getting edged out by Nashville's Roman Josi for the James Norris Memorial Trophy, which is given to the years top Defenseman. John Carlson, who led all defensemen in scoring with 75 points and was on pace to be one of only 10 Defenseman in NHL history to reach 89 points, was a deserving candidate but Josi was considered to be the better all-around defenseman. The guys will get into if they thought Carlson was snubbed in favor of...

The Capitals search for their new head coach is finally over. Peter Laviolette was named the new head man in Washington. Laviolette has 18 years of experience as a head coach most recently with Nashville for five and a half seasons, leading them to a Stanley Cup Final in 2017 before being fired in January. He has also won a Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 and lead the Flyers to a championship game in 2010. For this episode of the pod, Nick Ashooh and JJ Regan first get into some...

Nick Ashooh and JJ Regan got together to do the only thing we as Caps fans can do this off season... speculate about who the next coach will be. Will MacLellan bring in the controversial hire in Mike Babcock or the highly sought after Peter Laviolette? Could it even be former Las Vegas head man Gerard Gallant? The guys will give thier opinions on which direction the team should go then Nick will bring in Senior Hockey Writer for Sportsnet Chris Johnston to talk about the possible candidate,...

Jordan Giorgio, JJ Regan and Nick Ashooh got together for another edition of the Caps Talk Pod to talk about possible head coaching candidates for Washington's vacancy. The crew also looks ahead to what the Caps might possibly do in free agency this off-season. After the discussion Nick got the chance to sit down 1-on-1 with former NHL right-winger now NBC Sports hockey analyst. They discussed who Anson thinks should get the Caps head coaching gig, if he thought the Rierden firing was...

3 days after losing their playoff series to the Islanders and former Head Coach Barry Trotz, the Capitals relieved Todd Reirden of his coaching duties. Reirden's firing comes on the heels of back to back first round playoff exits after winning the Stanley Cup in 2018. Jordan Giorgio, JJ Regan and NBC Sports Washington Play-by-Play voice Joe Beninati react to the news. They also get into potential head coaching replacements, what to do with Braden Holtby and if the age of the team will have...

Jordan Giorgio, JJ Regan and Nick Ashooh got together one more time to finish out this 2020 Caps season and to discuss the Islanders 4-0 domination of the Caps in this game and throughout the series. With the season over the crew also looks to the off-season and what that might mean for some of the veteran players. Following that discussion Todd Rierden gives his final press conference of the 2020 season and discusses if he will be here or not next year.