Coffee with the Caps, Friday April 7

Good Friday morning Caps fans. Sorry we missed you Monday morning but we trust you were still digesting Sunday night’s match and didn’t mind our absence too much.

We are about 24 hours out from Vancouver’s tango with Montreal Impact Club de Foot Montreal tomorrow. And while our Quebecois foes may have a new name, the rivalry has taken on a new dimension in recent years and it should be a fun clash.

The re-invigoration of the matchup comes in large part because of the sheer quantity of times the two teams played last year, as well as a couple of ill-timed red cards. It re-awakened the echoes of one of a rivalry that had a lot of juice pre-MLS but due to geographical alignment has had much less flare.

That’s a shame — the two teams are much more alike than they are different and with a core of Canadian players on both sides things should stay interesting for some time going forward.

This match is another key one for the Caps — you always like to pick up points against your Eastern Conference rivals, especially ones who are weak on paper. The fact that it is a home match and start of a three-match week (with the other two games coming against likely playoff teams) makes it all the more important to put in a strong performance.

We’re keeping things short and sweet today but have plenty of links for your consideration. Without further ado...

Shameless Self Promotion

A nice profile of Lucas Cavallini’s skillset from Caleb, as he looks how the Caps can best utilize it in a post-Fredy Montero world. And be sure to get your lineup predictions in for Saturday!

Best of the Rest

Hear from Kam Habibullah on what it was like to make his MLS debut (hopefully the first of many firsts for the youngster)

How Andy Rose has quietly been doing a job for the last season after Caps fans left him for dead

CFM has had a solid start to the season — powered by a strong defense. Get a rundown here.

Toronto FC had a pitch invasion during practice — from an alligator. The upshot of training in Utah!

It was a typical MLS flameout in the CONCACAF Champions League — though Philadelphia Union still have a puncher’s chance