David Steckel celebrates goal on Jaroslav Halak with Brooks Laich.
Canadiens 0 - Capitals 3
Jose Theodore earned his first shutout as a goaltender for the Washington Capitals, when the Caps beat his original NHL team at home last night. The fact that almost half the team now consists of AHL talent callups from the Hershey Bears didn't keep Washington from blanking the mighty Montreal Canadiens.
Montreal only managed six shots on goal in the first period. It wasn't until 8:43, that Alexie Kovalev found the net with a long range wrist shot. One of Washington's nine shots on goal in the first was a close range wrister from Tomas Fleischmann that not only found the net, it found the back of the net. The play started with an incredibly bad choice by Canadien Francis Bouillon, when he tried to send off an outlet pass from behind his own net. Fleischmann got a stick on it near the front of the net and passed the puck to nearby Michael Nylander. Nylander sent the puck back to Flash, who put it past netminder Jaroslav Halak for his ninth goal of the season.
Montreal outshot Washington 13-9 in the second period, with neither team managing to score a goal. One of the more interesting things that happened in the middle frame was another Montreal mistake. It happened when Higgens missed his intended hit target. Instead, he plowed into a linesman, sending him into the Canadiens' bench. The linesman was fine and was helped back onto the ice without any stoppage in play. These funny little incidents happen from time to time.
Alex Ovechkin celebrates goal with Nicklas Backstrom.
Less than four minutes into the third period, Nicklas Backstrom passed the puck from the sidewall in the offensive zone to Alex Ovechkin in the corner. Ovechkin collected the puck and drove to the front of the goal, where he sent it in for his 13th goal of the season. At 8:46, David Steckel deflected a long range shot by Sami Lepisto for the third and final goal. Also assisting on number four of the season for Steckel, was Brooks Laich.
Both goalies were solid in net throughout this game. Both teams have injured regular players at the moment, but the Capitals have twice as many out of action. With that, most weren't expecting much and have to be pleased with the way the replacements have done in their absence. Ovechkin now has at least a point in 10 straight games. That's currently the longest streak in the NHL. The Caps are the first team to shut out the Canadiens this season. Hopefully, the AHL callups can keep up their good play for a few more games, while some of the injured regulars get closer to being ready to come back. The Capitals will face the Blue Jackets in Columbus, Ohio tonight.
November 28, 2008 Photos by Nick Wass / Associated Press
2 comments:
Dan: Nice post, I only caught the last 10 minutes but they and the post game highlights were great to watch. Next up Rick Nash, Derick Brassard and the Blue Jackets.
LETS GO CAPS!!!!
Thanks Mark. It was a good game to watch. No fights to speak of (darn it) and only three penalties a piece. It certainly wasn't a high scoring game, but thats fine with me.
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