The Washington Capitals continue impressive play on the road winning their fifth out of their last six outside the District with a 5-3 win over division rival Carolina.  The huge road win pulled the Caps into sole possession of second place in the Southeast and to within just two points of division leader Winnipeg.  With the New York Islanders winning tonight, the Caps will remain 3 points out of the 8th playoff spot.  They will take the Isles win though, since the Isles defeated Winnipeg. 

The Capitals were fueled by three very familiar producers.  Alexander Ovechkin and Mike Green each scored 2 goals apiece while Nicklas Backstrom added four helpers in the five goal onslaught.  Ovechkin's two tallies gives him 20 goals on the season and moves him into third overall in the NHL. Backstrom's four assists moves him into third overall in helpers in the NHL with 29.  

Ex-University of West Virginia QB Pat White will visit the Washington Redskins as he tries to revive a football career that was thought to be dead and buried.

White was scheduled to meet with the New York Giants, who could use a player like White to help their defense prepare against division opponents like Robert Griffin III of Washington and Michael Vick of Philadelphia, but White reportedly cancelled that meeting in favor of visiting the Redskins.

White was a super-mobile quarterback drafted in the second round in 2009 by the Miami Dolphins, who were then running a wildcat offense scheme. However, White was not effective in Miami and the team lost interest in him. White sued the NFL over concussion injuries, but otherwise seemed to have abandoned the sport as he tried to start a baseball career. However, White recently dropped his lawsuit and CBS Sports is reporting  White is "very likely" to sign with the Redskins. 

The move makes sense for the Redskins. White will be cheap and if he does not work out, the team can safely cut him with no real cap impact. White is, as noted above, very mobile and with the Redskins now using a read option offense, there could be a place for him in Washington. There is no way White could be a starter in Washington -- or anywhere, probably -- but if he doesn't mind the backup role he could be useful. At the very least, the Redskins could use White to run the read option during the preseason when Kirk Cousins will be getting the starts and Robert Griffin III will still be rehabbing his injured knee. 

Entering tonight’s NIT semifinal vs. Iowa, Maryland (25-12) has matched its most wins in a season since also winning 25 games in 2006-07. The Terps will be heading back to New York to tip off the 2013-'14 season.....

The University of Maryland men’s basketball team will face the University of Connecticut in its 2013-14 season opener on Nov. 8 in Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. It will be the first meeting between the schools since March 24, 2002, when the Terrapins defeated the Huskies 90-82 in the NCAA East Regional on the way to their first national championship. UConn holds a 3-2 edge all-time in the series.

“We’re looking forward to returning to Barclays Center to play a quality opponent in Connecticut,” said head coach Mark Turgeon. “This will be a great experience for our players and fans.”

The Terrapins played Kentucky in the opener last season in front of a sold out Barclays Center crowd. Last month, Maryland signed a multi-year agreement to continue play at Barclays Center.

UPDATE:

The Caps have made another minor trade.  The Caps acquired LW Dane Byers from Edmonton in exchange for D Garrett Stafford.  Byers was a second round raft choice of the New York Rangers in 2004 and has appeared in 6 NHL games.  This season in the AHL, Byers has 58 games, scoring 6 goals and adding 4 helpers.  The Caps send another career AHL player to Edmonton in return.  Stafford accumulated 21 points in 48 games for the Hershey Bears this season. 

UPDATE:

The Capitals have resigned D Jack Hillen to a two year contract extension.  Hillen joined the Caps this season and has played in 10 games and posting 1 assist.  Hillen was injured early in the season and missed the last two weeks of January and all of February before returning to the lineup on March 16. 

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While the Pittsburgh Penguins fortified their roster for a Stanley Cup run and the Boston Bruins acquired Jaromir Jagr, the Washington Capitals sit idly by making minor moves that give no indication of any direction the franchise make take tomorrow at the trade deadline.  Would we expect anything different from this front office?

The Capitals made a minor league trade that will have absolutely no impact on a playoff push this season.  The Caps dealt F Matthew Clackson to the Phoenix Coyotes for physical F Joel Rechlicz.  Rechlicz will make Hershey a more physical team and played for the Caps in three games last season before departing to the Coyotes in the off-season. 

In another move, the Caps have signed prospect  D Nate Schmidt to an entry level deal.  Schmidt has played the last three seasons with the Minnesota Gophers in the Big Ten.  In 40 games this season for the Gophers, Schmidt has scored 9 goals and added 23 helpers.  Schmidt was a free agent.  He signed a two year deal with the Capitals.  He will join the Caps for practice on Wednesday. 

Not for the first time, the trial of the Florida man charged with murdering former Washington Redskins defensive back Sean Taylor in 2007,  has been delayed. 

The Washington Nationals Player of the Game for game one in 2013 goes to two players: starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg and left fielder Bryce Harper. 

Stephen Strasburg:

7 innings pitched, 3 hits, 0 earned runs, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts, 19 consecutive batters retired, 20 of 22 straight batters retired.

Bryce  Harper:

2-4, 2 home runs, 2 RBI, 2 runs scored, youngest player in live ball era to hit two home runs in his first two at bats on opening day. 

You know Bryce Harper's legend is growing.  Becoming the first 20 year-old to smack 2 home runs in the season opener is just another mark Harper has made on baseball as a sport.  However, his legend is growing outside the District as well.  How can you tell when a player is so good that his legend has grown outside his home team area?  Easy, when the heated rival city has nothing to cheer about, so they choose to jeer instead.  

Although Harper is only 20 years-old, his hatred status in Filthydelphia Philadelphia is beginning to rival that of another sports' superstar that has seemingly crushed the Philadelphia fan base, Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby has obtained

You can find the poor souls here at Phillies Nation on Facebook.

Bryce Harper is 2-for-2 with 2 HR on Opening Day. The dislike level is off the charts. He's approaching Sidney Crosby territory.

DeAngelo Hall returns an interception against the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day 2012

The Washington Redskins have re-signed CB DeAngelo Hall, whom they cut last month in an effort to get under the salary cap limit by March 12, according to Grant Paulsen.

Source: #Redskins and CB Deangelo Hall have agreed on a one-year deal that will bring the veteran defender back to Washington.

— Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) April 2, 2013

The Redskins owed Hall about $8 million this year before releasing him and would presumably only bring him back at a substantially reduced rate. If true, this indicates the Redskins tried and failed to sign free agent CB Antoine Winfield, cut last month by the Minnesota Vikings.

I think this is unfortunate because Winfield at 35 is still a clearly superior player to Hall at 29. What's more, as he ages, Hall's physical ability will diminish and he will have to fall back on his technique, which is now and always has been poor. Hall graded out as one of the worst cornerbacks in the NFL statistically last year, though he was capable of having the occasional strong game, as he did against Dallas twice last year.

Former Washington Redskins head coach Jack Pardee has died.  Pardee confirmed a few months ago that he was diagnosed with  terminal gall bladder cancer.  Pardee was 76 years-old.

Pardee, a five time All Pro Linebacker, coached the Redskins from 1978 to 1980 and was replaced by Joe Gibbs, after finishing the 1980 season 6-10.  In three seasons with the Redskins, Pardee posted a 24-24 record and finished third in the NFC East each season.

Caleb Herbert finally found his form in March after a difficult start to the season.

Riley Barber

RW - Miami (Ohio) University – 19

No real surprise here, but Riley Barber, quite possibly the Caps top-performing prospect this season, had another sparkling month this March. The freshman appeared in eight games as the Miami University RedHawks closed out their regular season and enjoyed a solid but ultimately fruitless playoff campaign, recording one goal and four assists to add to his tally of 15 goals and 24 assists in 40 games. His -2 rating leaves him with +9 on the season. Barber ends the season as the top freshman scorer in the NCAA and Miami’s second-best point producer. He’ll return next season with expectation heavy on his shoulders as the go-to guy for the RedHawks, and should have a big role to play for Team USA at the 2014 World Juniors.

Greg Burke

C – University of New Hampshire (NCAA) – 22

The Caps’ sixth-round pick from 2008 has had his senior year with the University of New Hampshire Wildcats devastated by injuries, and once again did not manage to appear in a game this March after suffering a concussion earlier in December. He remains at three goals and two assists in 13 games this season. His Wildcats were eliminated from the NCAA tournament by UMass Lowell. He has until August 15 to sign a deal with the Washington Capitals.

Travis Boyd