Your savory breakfast links:

• Recaps and other various reflections on last night's loss from Vogs, Caps Video (Carbery, Vrana, Cristall, Rybinski), WaPo, THN, NoVa Caps, RMNB and The Cannon.
• While three of the team's four forwards are locked in, the coaching staff is still waiting for some of the defensive players to step up and secure one of the remaining spots. (WaPo)
• The Caps' preseason has been… lackluster so far. The good news is that it's just preseason and none of that matters (and by the way, they were 2-5 in preseason before winning the cup, so…) (ItR)
• 175 different goalies have fallen victim to Alex Ovechkin's shot over the years – and both are in awe of him and want him to break Gretzky's record. (AP)
• Speaking of “The Great One” (and “Gr8 One”), who have been the five best players in the NHL since Gretzky retired 25 years ago? (The score)
• The Caps have secured another piece of the future and signed Eriks Mateiko, who was called up for 2024, to a three-year contract. (capital letters, THN)
• Discover how the Capitals fare against the Carolina Hurricanes. (WHN)
• Happy 71st birthday to Doug Gibson!
• After all, Logan Thompson's new mask, which matches the Screaming Eagle's thirds, has no business being that great: