Welcome to the DC Backcheck. All Caps. All The Time.

Washington Capitals beat reporter Sammi Silber launches a new newsletter featuring her work from The Hockey News, along with original analysis, updates, chat features, a revamped podcast and more.

Hey, Caps nation. Sammi here.

When I was 19 and going into my junior year of college, I started covering the Washington Capitals, the team I grew up watching, as a credentialed reporter. Since then, it’s been a heck of a ride.

From humble beginnings at The Hockey Writers to working with The Hockey News, I’ve strived to provide the best coverage out there of the Capitals, a team with heart and so many different storylines.

As I continue to look for a full-time job in hockey, I figured I’d expand my Capitals coverage and create a newsletter, chat and revamped podcast that provides all Caps news, all the time, from a reliable, present source. That’s why I’m so proud to launch DC Backcheck, which features the best of my work for The Hockey News, a revamped podcast in That’s DC Hockey and, of course, original analysis and updates.

I’m for the people, truly, and because of that, I won’t put this completely behind a paywall. We’re all hockey fans, and the sport shouldn’t cost a pretty penny to enjoy.

That said, if you do kindly subscribe, it helps me continue being able to fund my coverage of the team, and also gives you access to features like live chats, exclusive additional content and much more

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Here’s some of the latest coverage to look out for, and some notes ahead of Game 5.

• The Capitals have their backs against the wall as they face elimination. How do they save what’s been a storybook season? My latest at The Hockey News.

• Lineup changes are happening. Connor McMichael has been moved to the center for Lars Eller (caught up with both at practice), and Anthony Beauvillier is back on the top line.

The new combos we’ll likely see for Game 5:

Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Anthony Beauvillier

Aliaksei Protas-Pierre-Luc Dubois-Tom Wilson

Andrew Mangiapane-Connor McMichael-Ryan Leonard

Brandon Duhaime-Nic Dowd-Taylor Raddysh

Rasmus Sandin-John Carlson

Jakob Chychrun-Matt Roy

Alex Alexeyev-Trevor van Riemsdyk

Logan Thompson

Charlie Lindgren

• Logan Thompson will start, with Carbery calling him a “safe bet” that’ll put everything on the line in that final game.

A lot more is coming, so stay tuned. With that, I’m excited to continue providing top-tier coverage of this team and grateful to have the opportunity to share my work with you all.

Read on!

- Sammi “Silbsy/Silbzini” Silber