Under normal circumstances, this would be a busy time for Caps general manager Brian MacLellan and his peers around the National Hockey League.

Two and a half months ago, the NHL paused its 2019-20 regular season while the nation, the continent and the world battled COVID-19 by social distancing and halting all large gatherings, including - obviously - large sporting events. On Tuesday afternoon, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman took to the NHL Network airwaves to announce the league and the NHL Players' Association's plan to return to play, a plan that could have NHL hockey back in our lives by midsummer.

As the Memorial Day weekend winds down, the good folks at NBC Sports Washington are teeing up the finale of their five-part Caps' Greatest Hits series tonight. The final installment takes a look back at Game 7 of the Capitals' first-round Stanley Cup playoff series with the New York Islanders from April 27, 2015.

Part four of a five-part Caps Greatest Hits series airs tonight on NBC Sports Washington. For tonight's contest from late in the 2007-08 regular season, former Caps bench boss Bruce Boudreau will join Joe Beninati and Craig Laughlin. That was Boudreau's first season as the Caps' head coach; he was hired - initially on an interim basis - four months before this beauty, a 5-3 Caps win over the Thrashers in Atlanta on March 21, 2008.

It's Monday again and the good folks at NBC Sports Washington are teeing up another edition of Caps Greatest Hits tonight at 7 p.m. This is the third installment of the five-part series, and tonight's featured tilt is the 2015 Winter Classic between the Caps and the Chicago Blackhawks at Nats Park on Jan. 1, 2015. Former Caps winger Troy Brouwer joins NBCSW's Joe Beninati and Craig Laughlin to take a longer look at this contest, played on a picture perfect day in D.C.; a red-letter day/red-sweater day.

It's Monday and time for another installment in NBC Sports Washington's ongoing series of "Caps Greatest Hits" games. Tonight, former Caps goaltender Olie Kolzig will join Joe Beninati and Craig Laughlin as they take a closer look at a contest from just over a dozen seasons ago, a Jan. 31, 2008 game against the Montreal Canadiens in Washington.

Beginning tonight and running for five weeks to May 25, NBC Sports Washington will air a special series of "Caps Greatest Hits" games. The one-hour specials will air at 7 p.m. on each of the next five Monday nights, and each will highlight a memorable Caps game from the past.

Earlier this season, we posted a lengthy piece on Alex Ovechkin's early years in DC and another shorter piece on Nicklas Backstrom's five-year contract extension. In the process of crafting those stories and talking to the subjects themselves and many others, we were reminded of how exciting and thrilling the 2007-08 NHL season was in these parts.

It stands as Ovechkin's career year, it was Backstrom's rookie year, Bruce Boudreau took over behind the Washington bench on Thanksgiving Day, and the Caps made the playoffs for the first time in five years, winning 15 of 19, 11 of 12 and seven straight at season's end to come back from a dismal 6-14-1 start to win the Southeast Division title.

That season and that run into the playoffs augured in the "Rock The Red" era of hockey in DC, the beginning of 11 playoff appearances in a span of a dozen seasons. At this time a dozen years ago, the Caps were in the midst of that wild run. With the NHL's 2019-20 season "paused" for the foreseeable future, we're going to spend the next month looking back at the day-to-day of that remarkable late-season run, revisiting some of our coverage at the time with some fresh hindsight mixed in. On the off days between games, we will revisit some events from earlier in that landmark season. Enjoy!

Earlier this season, we posted a lengthy piece on Alex Ovechkin's early years in DC and another shorter piece on Nicklas Backstrom's five-year contract extension. In the process of crafting those stories and talking to the subjects themselves and many others, we were reminded of how exciting and thrilling the 2007-08 NHL season was in these parts.

It stands as Ovechkin's career year, it was Backstrom's rookie year, Bruce Boudreau took over behind the Washington bench on Thanksgiving Day, and the Caps made the playoffs for the first time in five years, winning 15 of 19, 11 of 12 and seven straight at season's end to come back from a dismal 6-14-1 start to win the Southeast Division title.

That season and that run into the playoffs augured in the "Rock The Red" era of hockey in DC, the beginning of 11 playoff appearances in a span of a dozen seasons. At this time a dozen years ago, the Caps were in the midst of that wild run. With the NHL's 2019-20 season "paused" for the foreseeable future, we're going to spend the next month looking back at the day-to-day of that remarkable late-season run, revisiting some of our coverage at the time with some fresh hindsight mixed in. On the off days between games, we will revisit some events from earlier in that landmark season. Enjoy!

Earlier this season, we posted a lengthy piece on Alex Ovechkin's early years in DC and another shorter piece on Nicklas Backstrom's five-year contract extension. In the process of crafting those stories and talking to the subjects themselves and many others, we were reminded of how exciting and thrilling the 2007-08 NHL season was in these parts.

It stands as Ovechkin's career year, it was Backstrom's rookie year, Bruce Boudreau took over behind the Washington bench on Thanksgiving Day, and the Caps made the playoffs for the first time in five years, winning 15 of 19, 11 of 12 and seven straight at season's end to come back from a dismal 6-14-1 start to win the Southeast Division title.

That season and that run into the playoffs augured in the "Rock The Red" era of hockey in DC, the beginning of 11 playoff appearances in a span of a dozen seasons. At this time a dozen years ago, the Caps were in the midst of that wild run. With the NHL's 2019-20 season "paused" for the foreseeable future, we're going to spend the next month looking back at the day-to-day of that remarkable late-season run, revisiting some of our coverage at the time with some fresh hindsight mixed in. On the off days between games, we will revisit some events from earlier in that landmark season. Enjoy!