Easy to take

As much as I'd love to crow about snagging an autograph or two from Washington's Alex Ovechkin during the Capitals' visit Thursday, one simple fact forbids me. For the second hockey-hounding campaign in a row, I didn't get a single one.

Want to know something? I'm not that disappointed. Not after the day enjoyed by Hockey Bay's Goofy Dudes of Hounding had, Ovie's autograph or not. It helped, too, that other Capitals, including such toughies as Sergei Fedorov, Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green and Jose Theodore, were more than willing to sign, especially at gametime.

Besides the pucks shown above -- signed by, from left, Mike Green, Michael Nylander and Simeon Varlamov as Washington's morning skate (yeah, we got in) wound down -- we closed out the visiting team campaign with another 38 autographs from the Capitals.

Signing cards were:

Top row: Matt Bradley, Mike Green and Viktor Kozlov
Bottom row: Brooks Laich, Brian Pothier and Simeon Varlamov.

Washington wingers Alexander Semin, left, and Tomas Fleishmann added to the Portland Pirates practice jersey:


Other highlights of the Capitals adventure:

~ Saying "Ovie who?" after Colin scored a stick from Alexander Semin just after the Capitals' morning skate;
~ Getting Nicklas Backstrom to sign the 330th, and perhaps final, puck of the 2008-09 hockey-hounding campaign;
~ Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau, winner of the 2008 Jack Adams Award as the NHL's top coach, signing an ECHL Mississippi Sea Wolves puck; and
~ Last, but not least, Colin running out of room on his team sheet.

And, let's not forget the Capitals photo gallery.