The Washington Post - 24.02.2020

KLMNO

SPORTS

monday, february 24 , 2020. washingtonpost.com/sports M2 d

auto racing

ryan newman reveals that he suffered a head injury at

daytona but avoided damage to his internal organs. d2

on the nba

lebron James’s clutch shot to beat the celtics is a sign

of progress for the lakers in an area of weakness. d3

high school basketball

georgetown Visitation wins its 14th straight isl crown,

and st. andrew’s rides a dynamic duo to a Mac title. d7

BY ROBERT KLEMKO | in homer glen, ill.

T he pads and jerseys he wore

through two stanley Cup seasons

are strewn across the concrete

floor in a dark basement closet.

The framed newspaper stories

chronicling his rise to the nhl

are down in the basement, too,

shrouded in bubble wrap.

This stuff used to hang in the

home of Daniel Carcillo’s grand-

father. But he died in 2015, before

Carcillo got to tell him how he had

been abused in hockey, how he

had been one of the abusers, how

there was no way his kids would

ever lace up skates. Carcillo re-

trieved them from his grandpa’s

walls and buried them down here.

The only place hockey lives in

Carcillo’s h ouse n ow is upstairs on

his laptop, where he runs a Twit-

ter account, @CarBombBoom13,

that has become a depository for

the sport’s darkest experiences

and a megaphone to demand

change across the sport.

since he retired from the Chi-

cago Blackhawks in 2015, Carcillo

has reinvented himself as an un-

likely advocate for hockey p layers

who have suffered concussions or

been physically or emotionally

abused by teammates and coach-

es. he started by sharing his own

stories of injury, hazing and

see abuse on d6

played probably in all three zones

in quite some time,” Capitals

Coach To dd reirden said. “There’s

still mistakes, and we still have to

get better in a number o f areas, but

this was a step in the right direc-

tion.”

With the score tied at 3 midway

through the third period, the mat-

inee yielded another classic end-

ing. Washington winger T. J. oshie

see capitals on d5

funk. That e xperience was evident

throughout sunday’s 5-3 win over

the P ittsburgh Penguins at C apital

one Arena, and even if it was just

for one game, the spark the Capi-

tals had b een searching for a rrived

at l ast.

“[There were] a few break-

downs that they were able to capi-

talize on, but for the most part i

would say that was the most con-

nected five-man game that we’ve

BY SAMANTHA PELL

The Washington Capitals have
been waiting for their break-
through. They have repeatedly
said they were not panicking over
losses or overly concerned with a
recent slump that exposed multi-
ple shortcomings. Finally, on sun-
day, a much-needed glimpse of
their long-dormant identity
emerged.
The team’s leaders were — and
still are — confident in the Capi-
tals’ core, pointing to their experi-
ence when asked how and why
they will shake out of their recent

Caps show signs of life in rivalry win

capitals 5,

penguins 3

BY EMILY GIAMBALVO

COLUMBUS, OHIO — For so long

this season and in nearly every

game, the m aryland men’s b asket-

ball team has been carried by its

star players — on the road and at

home, early and late, and most

importantly, in critical conference

matchups. But against no. 25

ohio state on sunday, the no. 7

Te rrapins couldn’t lean on Antho-

ny Cowan Jr. or Jalen smith, their

two best players whose off nights

coincided with each other.

The Buckeyes snapped mary-

land’s nine-game winning streak,

defeating the Terps, 79-72, at Val-

ue City Arena. The Te rrapins

inched within three points after

trailing by 14 in the second half,

but they never got any closer.

Cowan didn’t make his first

field goal of the game until 3:54

remained, a driving layup that cut

maryland’s deficit to 64-59, and it

proved to be the game’s most

pivotal play. Frustrated by a no-

call while lying on the court, the

senior point guard jolted his legs

in frustration in the vicinity of

ohio state forward Kaleb Wes-

son’s head. Cowan was issued a

technical foul, his fifth personal

foul of the game, and the Te rps

had to play without him the rest of

the way.

Cowan was “not trying to kick

Kaleb,” maryland Coach mark

Turgeon said. “he’s looking right

at the referee and saying, ‘Call the

see terrapins on d3

Terps’

streak

stopped

at nine

ohio state 79,

Maryland 72

Simultaneous struggles

by stars insurmountable

Katherine Frey/the Washington Post

Forward tom wilson, left, scored the first of the capitals’ four

goals during the t hird period of sunday’s victory over the penguins.

Shining a light

on hockey’s

darker side

Carcillo, a former NHL enforcer, has become an advocate

for players who were physically and emotionally abused

charles rex arbogast/associated Press

BY CANDACE BUCKNER

CHICAGO — When Washington

Wizards guard Bradley Beal final-

ly walked off the court sunday

night, he didn’t look like a man

who had reached a pair of mile-

stones.

he pulled a towel over his face

and kept it there before covering

his legs, which had motored

around United Center for 39 hard

minutes. With 50 seconds re-

maining in the game against the

Chicago Bulls, Beal returned to

the sideline smoldering in frus-

tration but with 53 points, a new

career high, and the no. 2 spot on

the franchise’s scoring list behind

elvin hayes, having passed Jeff

malone. he was the last player

glued to the bench long after the

final buzzer. The expression on

his face said it all — the big

scoring night didn’t matter as

much as his team’s 126-117 loss to

the Bulls.

The Wizards’ effort not only

spoiled Beal’s individual achieve-

ment but prompted some of the

strongest criticism of the season

from Coach scott Brooks.

“We’re playing soft. it’s pretty

simple,” Brooks said. “We’re play-

ing soft. We’re playing just com-

fortable, and it’s disappointing.”

in two games after the all-star

see wizards on d3

Beal pours

in 53 points

as Wizards

falter again

Bulls 126,

WiZards 117

BY JESSE DOUGHERTY

WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. — The
Washington nationals had a
pitching plan, and soon they had
another one because the World
series and weather are out to
make this complicated. But even
with all that happened this week-
end — a rainout saturday, then a
split-squad scrimmage sunday —
there is an unchanged variable:
The nationals will ease relievers
sean D oolittle and Daniel hudson
into a ction. A nd this, they believe,
is critical.
it’s n ot that hudson and Doolit-
tle aren’t healthy. They actually
feel good, at least for spring, and
have thrown their share of bull-
pen and side sessions. But this
being the year after a deep playoff
run and the b ack h alf of the reliev-
ers’ injury-filled careers, the na-
tionals aren’t chancing it. how
their bodies hold up could very
well decide how the bullpen fares
this s eason.

The nationals added Will har-

ris, hope Ta nner rainey and Wan-

der suero make strides, and ex-

pect bounce-back years from

hunter strickland and roenis

elías. Yet the ninth belongs to

some c ombination o f hudson and

Doolittle, veterans who battled

right knee pain throughout 2019.

For Doolittle, 33, it led to arm

fatigue and a late-season trip to

the injured list. For hudson, who

turns 33 in early march, it made

for an uncomfortable title run.

so the plan, now and moving

forward, is to keep their knees

from throbbing and keep their

arms f resh.

“When you get knee pain, the

muscles on top of your knee shut

down,” Doolittle said. “The glute

shuts down. Your body is trying t o

protect it by saying: ‘Don’t use it.

We’re not going t o let you u se it.’ it

can lead to bad habits, and that’s a

slippery slope.”

hudson pitched with a strained

see nationals on d4

Nats have much riding on right knees of Hudson, Doolittle

John Mcdonnell/the Washington Post

reliever daniel Hudson pitched with a strained knee ligament in august, september and october.

bucks at Wizards

today, 7 p.m., nbcsW

Maryland at Minnesota

Wednesday, 9 p.m., big te n network

Jets at capitals

tomorrow, 7 p.m., nbcsW

caps acquire kovalchuk: Veteran

expected to add scoring depth. d5