Devils Vs Capitals February 23, 2013 Game Review

Capitals players celebrate Alex Ovechkin hat trick against Devils in Washington, DC on February 23, 2013.
Photo © Alex Brandon / AP Photo.

Washington Capitals 5 Vs New Jersey Devils 1 = Home Game Win

The Washington Capitals bounced back into winning form, in a big way, on Saturday afternoon - February 23, 2013. Facing the New Jersey Devils at home, for the second consecutive time, the Capitals' offense came alive.

The offense of superstar winger Alex Ovechkin definitively came alive. Though he had been starting to create scoring chances more often in recent games, he had "only" five goals in the first 16 games of the -2012--2013 NHL season.

Ovechkin scored his sixth goal, the first of this game, five minutes into the second period. He would then go on to score another at the beginning of the third, and then yet another goal about five minutes before the end of the game. The hat trick, the eleventh of Alex's NHL career, is his first since January 22, 2011. It's also the first time he has scored a hat trick on home ice in over three years.

Capitals center Mike Ribeiro and forward Jason Chimera assisted on the first goal of the game, while forward Matt Hendricks and defenseman Jeff Schultz helped out on the next one. Ovechkin's eighth goal of the season came about with the assistance of Ribeiro again, along with fellow centerman Nicklas Backstrom.

Ovie's three goals (on seven shots) would have been enough to beat New Jersey's lone goal, which came from the Devils' own superstar forward Ilya Kovalchuk, but Washington also got a nifty wrap-around short-handed goal from Eric Fehr (RW), early in period three. About three minutes before the end of the game, Alex Ovechkin and young Caps defenseman Tomas Kundratek combined to help Troy Brouwer (F) score the fifth and final goal for the Capitals.

Special-teams came up big for the Caps, at both ends of the ice. Not only did they get a shorty from Eric Fehr (RW), while killing off a penalty, but the last two goals came while on power-plays. In the end, Washington killed off four penalties in all, while scoring on two of their three power-play chances.

While the Capitals were blasting Devils goaltender Johan Hedberg, they kept the Devils to only one tally, and minimized their opponents scoring chances overall. Washington outshot New Jersey 26 to 22. The Caps had been outshot in 11 of their first 16 games. They had also lost 11 of those games. Maybe there's a connection, well with most of those games, anyway.

Braden Holtby was excellent in net, for the Capitals. He only failed to stop one shot, out of 22, including a penalty shot by Steve Bernier (RW). After a shaky season start, much like last season, he seems to be well settled in now.

Mike Ribeiro may be the current scoring leader in Washington, with (6 G, 15 A) 21 points, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Alex Ovechkin (8 G + 6 A = 14 points) catch up with him real soon. Meanwhile, offensive defenseman Mike Green, who missed his third straight game with a groin injury, would surely like to just get back in play.

This was the last time the Capitals and the Devils were scheduled to meet, for this regular season, anyway. That's really too bad, since this win marks the only time Washington has beaten a top eight, playoff contending team this season.

Game Highlights: New Jersey Devils At Washington Capitals On February 23, 2013

Caps Postgame Locker Room 02/23/13: Caps players Braden Holtby, Nicklas Backstrom, Troy Brouwer and Joel Ward address the media after a 5-1 win over the New Jersey Devils.

Alex Ovechkin Postgame 02/23/13: Caps captain Alex Ovechkin addresses the media after scoring a hat trick in the Caps 5-1 win over the New Jersey Devils.

Adam Oates Postgame 02/23/13 Caps head coach Adam Oates addresses the media after a 5-1 win over the New Jersey Devils.

Capitals Vs Lightning February 14, 2013 Game Review

Capitals celebrate second period goal by Eric Fehr against Lightning in Tampa, FL February 14, 2013.
Photo © Mike Carlson / AP Photo.

Washington Capitals 4 Vs Tampa Bay Lightning 3 = Road Game Win

The Washington Capitals hockey team that played in Florida against the Tampa Bay Lightning on February 14, 2013 was a very different group of guys than the bunch that played there in the -2012--2013 NHL season opening game last month. Technically, it was pretty much the same roster, but they were a good bit more disciplined, physically fit, generally focused and tighter unit this time around. Well, for about fifty minutes, anyway. Well, maybe for 45 minutes. Well ... most of them.

Washington were penalized eight times in that first game, but only three times in this game. Now, Tampa Bay also dropped their penalty count from five down to two, but the Capitals scored the only power-play goal. That PPG came two minutes and fourty seconds into the game.

It was the seventh goal of the season for Troy Brouwer (F), making him the goal scoring leader of the team, for now. Centers Mathieu Perreault and Nicklas Backstrom notched the assists on the play. Just under six minutes later, Martin StLouis (RW) answered back, with a goal for the Lightning.

Eric Fehr got his second goal of the season about five minutes into the second period, after some solid forechecking. Mathieu Perreault had the primary assist on this goal too, while the secondary came from Joel Ward (F).

When Eric Fehr (RW) scored his second of the game for Washington at the beginning of the third period, it was Mathieu Perreault again, who got the puck to him, earning Matty a three point night. This time, defenseman John Carlson was credited with the other assist.

What would turn out to be the game winning goal, would come from a wrist shot by forward Jay Beagle, that found it's way past Lightning netminder Mathieu Garon. Defensemen Jeff Schultz and Tomas Kundratek teamed up to help Beagle get his first goal of the season.

Up until this point, most of Washington had played a very good game, but Tampa Bay wasn't giving in. In the last eight minutes of period three, the Bolts backhanded the puck by Caps goaltender Braden Holtby twice. This brought on an uh-oh moment for Caps fans. We were probably all thinking, "I thought we were done with this kind of -shit- (I mean) breakdown". Thankfully, the boys were able to clamp it down, the rest of the way.

Things had looked so bad a couple weeks ago, but now Caps fans are once again hopeful. Still at the bottom of their conference, they've got a bit of a ways to go. Recently though, Washington's offense has really started to pick up.

In eight games played, Perreault has two multi-point games. Within all fourteen games played, the Capitals have four players with at least five goals each, and also four players with points in double digits. They are only four standing points away from the final playoff spot. Washington have just won three straight, and thoughts of an entry draft lottery spot are starting to fade.

Game Highlights: Washington Capitals At Tampa Bay Lightning February 14, 2013

Caps Postgame Locker Room 02/14/13: Caps players Eric Fehr, Mathieu Perreault and Braden Holtby address the media after a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Adam Oates Postgame 02/14/13: Caps head coach Adam Oates addresses the media after a the Caps 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Panthers Vs Capitals February 9, 2013 Game Review

Braden Holtby (G) and teammates celebrate win over Panthers - Washington, DC February 9, 2013.
Photo © Nick Wass / AP Photo.

Florida Panthers 0 Vs Washington Capitals 5 = Home Game Shutout Win!

It was like someone flicked a switch, turning on the real Washington Capitals. They did pretty much everything right, shutting out the Florida Panthers on February 9, 2013. Washington has had a history of beating Florida at home in Washington, DC, and they continued with a similar result on Saturday night. Everything was working well for them.

Goaltender Braden Holtby played his best game of the -2012--2013 season. That's not saying much with those outings being mediocre to poor, but it is when you can also say it was Holtby's best performance since last season's playoffs, when he did amazingly well. Braden held the Panthers scorless, with 27 saves.

The Capitals did a better job defensively, keeping the cats from developing a lot of quality scoring chances, than they had been doing against most other teams so far this season. Any shots that did get through to the cage, weren't penetrating the backstop.

At the other end of the ice, Florida netminder Jose Theodore wasn't getting much help from his teammates. Though Washington didn't score until a couple minutes before the end of period one, the goal by forward Troy Brouwer was just the beginning, for him personally and the team as well. Brouwer deflected in a slap shot from defenseman John Carlson. Shortly after, George Parros (RW) tried to get his team going by engaging in a punch-up with Caps big guy, John Erskine (D). This did not work.

Troy was back at the well again three-and-a-half minutes into the second period, for his fifth goal of the season. This time his long and quick feed pass actually came from an alert Braden Holtby (G), on a Caps power-play. A couple minutes after the midpoint of the game, Joel Ward (F) got his fifth of the season, with the help of forwards Mathieu Perreault and Eric Fehr. Ward's goal put Washington ahead by three, for the first time in any game this season.

About a third of the way through the third period, Alex Ovechkin scored goal number four in the game. It was also goal number four of the season for Ovechkin. Assisting this time were winger Jason Chimera (6) and center Mike Ribeiro (10). Finally, halfway through the third period, Perreault scored his first goal. Credited with the helpers were Jeff Schultz (D) and Joel Ward (F). Florida were obviously feeling pretty down and out, and were pretty lackadaisical the rest of the way.

In the end, four Washington Capitals earned their first points of the season. Three Caps had a multiple-point game. It was the first time the team had scored more than three goals in a game this season. It appears that the Capitals' offense has finally been awakened.

This is no time to get too excited though. The Florida Panthers are not a very good team so far this season. This wasn't a really big test of improvement. Still, this commanding win can only boost the Capitals players' confidence, and that can't hurt. It will be far more meaningful if the Caps beat the Panthers again, when they visit their house for a game on Tuesday.

Game Highlights: Florida Panthers At Washington Capitals February 9, 2013

Caps Postgame Locker Room 02/09/13: Caps players Jason Chimera, Joel Ward and Troy Brouwer addresses the media after a 5-0 win over the Florida Panthers.

Adam Oates Postgame 02/09/13: Caps head coach Adam Oates addresses the media after a 5-0 win over the Florida Panthers.

Junior's Reading And Viewing List: January 29, 2010

Last Update - January 30, 2010 at 1:44 AM EST

The following is another collection of links, with a little peak at what's awaiting you, for a sampling of available items of interest. It's the 'Reading And Viewing List' for January 29, 2010.


January 29, 2010

Beninati: Win Streak Continues
By Joe Beninati - Capitals Play-By-Play at CSN - Washington, DC

For the first 45 minutes on the air tonight, I was getting the feeling that the Caps long win streak was going to be in jeopardy. The Panthers executed their game plan very well, and the home team was not as crisp as we’ve seen them recently. Even with a one-goal lead early, the Caps were giving up quality chances by the bushel, and thankfully, Michal Neuvirth bailed them out...


Florida Panthers At Washington Capitals Highlights & Report
Posted at Comcast SportsNet - Washington, DC

Right click on video to choose full screen option.

Bruce Boudreau Speaks To Media After Win Over Florida Panthers
Posted on Caps365 at WashingtonCaps.com

Washington Capitals Players Speak To Media After Win
Over Florida Panthers
Posted on Caps365 at WashingtonCaps.com

J.D. Salinger And Captain America: Where 'Catcher In The Rye' Meets Comics
By Joel Hanek at MTV's Splash Page

Many are still mourning the loss of "Catcher in the Rye" author J.D. Salinger, who passed away yesterday at the age of 91. Even though the enigmatic writer was beloved by filmmakers and the entertainment industry in general, none of his works were ever officially sanctioned for adaption into film...

Oh My Gosht: Rock In India Unveils Dal Line-Up
By mdome at Classic Rock

Indian rock and metal fans are spitting vindaloo after the promoters for Rock In India booked two surprising acts to headline this year’s events in Dehli and Bangalore on February 20 and 22, respectively...

From Pavel Lysenkov's blog
Posted by tj at Alex Ovetjkin

All the comments are translated from Russian...
*Dan, Jr. / Junior's Eyes Note: Contains several videos
and pictures of the Washington Capitals - Locker room, practice, "Unleash The Fury", etc.

Game Day: Caps and Cats
By Hockey Mom at Musings Of A Hockey Mom

The Capitals play host to the Florida Panthers tonight at Verizon Center and hope to continue on their red-hot win streak! Meanwhile, the Cats' play of late has brought up the age-old question of whether or not the feline species really does have nine lives...

Lou Reed Gets Noisy On UK Tour
By mdome at Classic Rock

Lou Reed is to use his controversial 1975 album Metal Machine Music as the basis for his spring UK dates...

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Caps vs. Panthers, January 29th
By The Peerless at The Peerless Prognosticator

...And today we have a special treat. I don’t know how many readers of this space have sent me e-mails asking, “Peerless, how do you crank out these posts day after day after day...”...

Perry to Cornell: ‘Do You Want To Join Aerosmith?’
By gbarton at Classic Rock

Following Classic Rock’s exclusive news that both Paul Rodgers and Billy Idol were sounded out by guitarist Joe Perry to be Aerosmith’s new singer, we can reveal the name of another star who Perry believed could replace Steven Tyler: Chris Cornell...

Rink Side Radio Official Anouncement!
By Joe Fortunato at From The Rink

...Let me start by saying that SBNation strives bring all of you the best information out there, in a welcoming, open and interactive environment. One of the ways we plan to do that here is to have an official From the Rink radio show, through blog talk radio. The show's name is Rink Side Radio, and it will air live...

Islanders Vs Capitals 04/01/2009 Review

Mike Green celebrates goal number 30 of the season on April 1, 2009.
Photo by Alex Brandon / AP Photo.

Islanders 3 - Capitals 5

After a very weak effort in the first period, the Washington Capitals got a little physical in the second. Then in the third period, defenseman Mike Green scored two power play goals, putting the Capitals ahead of the New York Islanders for the win.

Once again, Washington spent the first 20 minutes making a lesser team look real good. They seem to like to toy with bottom dwellers, allowing them to gain the lead and become over confident, before pouring it on for an exciting comeback win. Personally, I could do without the nerve wracking start, followed up by a late winning surge scenario. However they do it though, a win and two more points are always good.

It was clear that the Caps needed a spark to get them going after falling two goals behind, and at 1:40 in the second period, defenseman John Erskine provided that spark via a good old fashioned hockey fight with New York's Joel Rechlicz. While Jeff Schultz will never be the tough guy that Erskine is, he joined the effort, getting into his first NHL fight shortly after. His opponent was Islander Tim Jackman. The rough stuff seemed to be the right kind of fuel to get the Capitals' scoring engine running. At 5:37, Alex Ovechkin banged in his NHL leading 54th goal of the season past netminder Joey MacDonald, after getting a nice from behind the goal pass from Sergei Fedorov. Fedorov, who was actually playing defense on that particular shift, had collected the puck sent deep by Mike Green. Recent call up and AHL leading scorer with 94 points, Keith Aucoin scored his first goal as a Capital about four and a half minutes later. It was also his first NHL goal of the season.

Richard Park put the Islanders back ahead early in the third period. The unassisted goal versus Caps' goalie Jose Theodore made the score 3-2. With the help of Alexander Semin and Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green scored his 29th goal of the season at 10:55, while on the PP. One minute and twenty-three seconds later, on the power play again, he scored his 30th unassisted. Green is only the eighth NHL defenseman ever to score 30 or more goals in a single season. It's an accomplishment that hasn't been done since the 1992-1993 season. Green currently has a seven game scoring streak going. About a minute before the end of the game, Nicklas Backstrom scored his 22nd of the season. Backstrom got the unassisted empty netter after taking the puck away from NY defenseman Jack Hillen just inside the offensive zone.

The win gives Theodore 30 on the season for the third time in his career. It also means 101 points for the Capitals, who are now just 7 points behind the Eastern Conference leading Boston Bruins and 3 points ahead of the third place New Jersey Devils.

Capitals Vs Penguins 01/14/2009 Review

Washington's John Erskine checks Sidney Crosby into the boards.
January 14, 2009 Photo by Gene J. Puskar / Assiociated Press.

Capitals 6 - Penguins 3

The Washington Capitals stopped their recent losing streak at three games by beating the Penguins in a great momentum building effort last night in Pittsburgh. The Capitals kept their focus on winning and left all the media's semi-fabricated bickering hype behind them, off the ice.

Both teams started off looking a little sloppy at first, but play tightened up as the game moved along. Washington netminder Jose Theodore wasn't looking to be at his best early on, even though he made some good saves in the first period. The referees weren't at there best either, calling a four minute double minor high stick penalty on Washington's Donald Brashear, when his stick was clearly not the one that made contact. The offending stick may even have been one of Kris Letang's teammates, from within traffic in the area. Pittsburgh scored on the power play with a slap shot by Evgeni Malkin at 5:45, for his 18th goal of the season. Malkin managed a couple hits on Alex Ovechkin, which thrilled the Penguins fans. They weren't terribly thrilled when he got whistled for interference at the 16:00 mark, after smacking Ovechkin in the head with his stick. Everyone became concerned shortly after, when Rob Scuderi blocked a hard shot by Mike Green with his face. He did not return to the game.

Things looked a little brighter for Caps fans, when Viktor Kozlov sent the puck through Marc-Andre Fleury's catching glove for his 10th goal of the season about a minute into the second period. At 8:13 however, Miroslav Satan put the Pens back ahead by one goal. A few minutes later, the Capitals answered back with Alexander Semin netting his 17th of the season. Tomas Fleischmann got the puck from the side wall to Sergei Fedorov, who sent a perfect saucer pass over a defender's leg to Semin. As Semin reached the other end of the crease, he batted the flying puck into the net. The two Capitals goals, along with increasingly confident and physical play by Washington, were starting to get to Pittsburgh, including their goaltender.

The Caps went ahead for the first time in the game, when Ovechkin potted his own rebound from the edge of the Pens goal crease. Pittsburgh then scored their third and final goal via a slapper from the point by Ryan Whitney, after Sidney Crosby sent the puck to him on a nice rink wide pass. Just after that, a temporarily rattled Theodore got nicked with a delay of game penalty. He misplayed the puck, then unfortunately swatted the biscuit out of the playing area. Luckily, he straightened out afterwards. Pittsburgh's Petr Sykora lost his cool right after a draw, and smacked Fedorov on the helmet with his stick (seems to be a common behavior by the Pens). Washington's Tomas Fleischmann scored his 15th goal of the season on the PP opportunity. He sent Ovechkin's rebound in for the game winner with a wrister, while lunging through the air toward the goal. By this point, Fleury was completely flustered, and his mates were losing it as well. At 11:27, Ovechkin banked the puck off of Whitney's skate, scoring his 29th goal of the season and second of the third period. About a minute before the end of the game, Caps defenseman Jeff Schultz ended his 72 game goalless drought. He cleared the puck from Washington's crease, and it went all the way across the ice surface and into the empty net at the other end. That made it 6-3 for Washington, adding insult to injury. Injury including Pittsburgh's Rob Scuderi, Maxime Talbot and Sidney Crosby.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Capitals throttle the Penguins. It was just icing on the cake to see Washington's players taking turns crunching both Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. A totally frustrated and shaky Marc-Andre Fleury is a good sight for Caps fans too. Perhaps the most special moment of the evening was when Crosby tried to check David Steckel into the side wall during the third period and almost completely missed his mark. Unfortunately, that's when he also got hurt. Hopefully, the injured foul get the necessary repairs soon. I don't wish serious injury on any of them, much as I hate them. The first two games versus the Penguins this season have both been wins for the Capitals in Pittsburgh. The last two will be on Washington's home ice. I'm looking forward to the Capitals taking those games as well.

Devils Vs Capitals 10/18/2008 Review

Alexander Semin scores goal in Period 1.

Devils 4 - Capitals 3 SO Loss

The Washington Capitals hosted the New Jersey Devils in last night's shootout loss. As in their last game versus the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington's power play wasn't clicking. Unlike in that game, it proved to be fatal in this close one.

The Capitals were on the scoreboard first, with another goal by the very hot Alexander Semin, who came into the game with 4 goals, 4 assists and a plus-5 rating. They seemed to be playing their run and gun style of play, which is very unusual against the trap master Devils. At 12:48, New Jersey's rookie left winger Petr Vrana scored his first NHL goal with his very first shot.

Alex Ovechkin skates the puck up the ice.

Brent Johnson did an excellent job in goal for Washington, frustrating the Devils several times. The Caps finally scored on a PP in the second period, something they hadn't done in the previous 115 minutes and 42 seconds of play. After Alex Ovechkin shanked a slapshot, Brooks Laich sent the puck back to Mike Green, who snapped in their only PP goal of the game during the two man advantage.

The next two goals were scored by New Jersey just after the middle of the third period. The first one of those being the Devils only PP goal. With 5:11 left in regulation, Washington knotted the game at 3-3. Defenseman Jeff Schultz collected the puck behind the Caps' net and passed it to defenseman John Erskine. Erskine went coast to coast, sending his shot wide while losing his balance after getting in the offensive zone. Semin banked the puck off a New Jersey defenseman and past Martin Brodeur. It was Semin's second goal of the game, but it wasn't enough to end it.

Zach Parise's Shootout Goal.

Overtime came and went with neither team having any success. Only one guy was able to score in the shootout, and it wasn't a Washington Capital. Zach Parise was first up for the Devils, and the only one able to send the puck into the net.

The Capitals were outshot. They went 1 for 8 on power plays, including a couple 5 on 3's. That makes it a little tough to come out with a win. On the bright side, they did kill off four penalties. Semin's two goal night, gives him a total of 6 goals and 4 assists for 10 points in five games. He now also holds a plus-6 rating. Brent Johnson made 34 saves on 37 shots, not counting the shootout. Nicklas Backstrom is starting to play much better than in the first couple games of the season.

All October 18, 2008 Photos - Luis M. Alvarez / Associated Press

Maple Leafs Vs Capitals 01/24/2008 Review

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Maple Leafs 1 - Capitals 2

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It was the Toronto Maple Leafs' first visit to the home of the Washington Capitals this season. After losing to the Leafs on the previous evening, the Capitals were determined to beat Toronto in this third meeting of the four game season series. They did it too. With Brent Johnson in net and a resigned forward Donald Brashear skating the ice.

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About 8 1/2 minutes into the game, Washington's Alexander Semin got his usual first period penalty out of the way with a holding call. The penalty came with a freak accident, as Darcy Tucker was innocently skating by (well, as innocently as Tucker can anyway) and got clipped in the face by Andy Wozniewski's stick as he was being held by Semin. It was the Capitals who would score the game's only Power Play goal though. With one second left on the man advantage, Brooks Laich redirected an Alexander Ovechkin rebound in at 13:05. That makes Brooks' 8th goal of the season, which came during his 200th game as a Washington Capital, and his 201st in the NHL.

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Nobody scored in the second period, as both the Leafs' Vesa Toskala and Caps' Brent Johnson continued to turn away all shots fired on net. Johnny was playing particularly well. The game was looking like it would be a second consecutive low scoring game between these two teams, and it was.

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The Capitals had some good scoring chances in the first few minutes of the third period, but it was the Maple Leafs who got on the board about five minutes in. Boyd Devereaux deflected a long range Pavel Kubina shot, and Johnson had no chance of keeping it out of the net. But, just 36 seconds later, Viktor Kozlov got his ninth goal of the season. He was right in front of the net, when another Alex Ovechkin shot rebounded right to him. Toskala wasn't able to recover in time to block it, as Kozzy put it in the wide open short side. It's great to see him starting to score goals regularly. No more goals were needed for the Cap's to win this one. Throughout the rest of the game, with a little questionable officiating (as usual) aside, some good defensive play by Milan Jurcina (that's right!), Jeff Schultz (I swear!), and the rest of the guys, Washington held on for the win. .

The win makes three home games in a row for Brent Johnson, who handed his game stick over the glass to a Caps fan, after the game. He was so on in this game, I'm anxious to see the next game with Johnny minding the net. The Caps go into the All Star break, just one point out of first place in the Southeast Division. I don't usually like this team to get too much time off, but it will give them all a chance to heal. We Capitals fans, can celebrate a little while we're waiting for the next game.

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All Photos - AP / Evan Vucci

Rangers Vs Capitals 12/12/2007 Review

Rangers 4 - Capitals 5 OT

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Tonight's "Eighties Night" game started off festive & ended very festive for Washington Capitals fans. I wonder if the New York Rangers knew they'd be traveling back in time before the red mulleted fans started pouring into the arena for this evening's contest. Maybe Henrick Lundqvist's save percentage was damaged while he was distracted by what was going on in the stands around him. The goal lights got a workout at both ends of the ice in this one.

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At 2:14 into the first period Protector Of The Realm Donald Brashear and Ranger's #1 Thug Colton Orr were awarded matching five minute majors for fighting. It was a beauty. Colton got in a few good rights, before Donald used his left to colorize Colton's face & blacken another eye as the Ranger went down hard. About a minute later, Olie Kolzig moving quickly from one side of the goal to the other, made a highlight reel save on a very good attempt by Martin Straka. And even though the final score doesn't reflect it, there would be a few more like that throughout the evening. At 12:10 though, it was the Rangers' Scott Gomez who scored the first goal off a Paul Mara pass. Less than two minutes later, Straka got that goal he was looking for earlier. It was a tic-tac-toe play that started with Brandon Dubinsky behind the net who sent the puck to Jaromir Jagr, who got it to the front of the net, where Straka was ready to launch it toward the net. The Rangers led 2-0. Shortly after that, play was stopped for a bit when Lundqvist stopped a hard Alexander Ovechkin shot with his nether regions. That slapping noise you heard at the time of impact, was every man in the arena slamming his "pads" together.

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Still in the first, Brashear pushed Dan Girardi off the puck & got it over to Brooks Laich, who passed it along to Joe Motzko. Motzko then sent it into the back of the net for his first goal as a Cap. At 18:12 Matt Pettinger thought he had tied it up. But, video review showed the puck riding along the goal line, never completely crossing it. The odd thing was that even though Referee Dan O'Rourke waived off the goal during play, he also blew his whistle, stopping play. If he could see the puck & it wasn't across the line, then there was no reason to stop play.

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About four minutes into the second, Ovechkin drove in toward the net & was taken down from behind in the crease, keeping him from scoring. Apparently, I was the only one who saw the take down. There was no call from the referee or announcers Joe Beninati & Craig Laughlin. Then, with about four minutes left in the period, Motzko got his second goal of the game. The middle stanza ended with the game tied 2-2.

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During the second intermission, as in the first, Comcast SportsNet presented some nice features in addition to the usual player interview. They have started showing a lot of old Caps game video footage between periods. Probably more so tonight, since it was Eighties Night. They also included some more Hershey Bears footage, which I really enjoyed.

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About four & a half minutes into the third period, Ovechkin redirected a Mike Green shot for his 22nd goal of the season. That put the Caps ahead by one & had a very excited Ovechkin jumping in the air. Right at the end of a Matt Bradley holding penalty, Straka took a pass from Brendan Shanahan & put it past Olie to tie it back up again. Then, at 9:31 Jeff Schultz got one in from between the blue line & the top of the face off circle. Caps ahead by one....at least for a little while. During a lot of traffic in Kolzig's crease, Olie thought he had the puck trapped with a leg pad. But, the puck squirted out. Instead of getting it back under Kolzig to freeze the puck & stop play, Nicklas Backstrom tried to clear the puck. The puck ended up on Shanahan's stick & he sent it behind a very surprised Olie Kolzig. There was no way he could have stopped that one. Olie was furious, none the less. Washington's Mike Green put on a puck contol clinic shortly before the third ended. He zig-zagged past a diving Shanahan & Gomez while driving to the net, but couldn't get the puck through Lundqvist. So at the end of regulation, all tied up at four apiece.

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In overtime, the Ranger's Chris Drury got his only real chance of the game. But once again, Olie mad a nice save. Then, future Hall Of Famer Brendon Shanahan stumbled while skating with the puck. Brooks Laich grabbed the puck with his stick & raced toward the other end of the ice. Mike Green caught up & Brooks passed the puck over to him. Green waisted no time & shot the puck into the net for the overtime game winner!

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That's three wins in a row now. The hopes & dreams of many Caps fans have no doubt been reignited. But they have not won three straight since they started off the season by winning their first three. They are going to have to have many more winning streaks of three or hopefully more to make it to the playoffs this season.

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Devils Vs Capitals 12/10/2007 Review

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Devils 2 - Capitals 3

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That makes two wins in a row for the Washington Capitals. How many times has that happened this season? Yeah, I know. Sorry I brought that up. It also happens to be their first time with back to back wins at home. So, they officially have a win streak going for only the third time this season. With only one of those being for more than two games. And, after winning nine straight, the New Jersey Devils now also have a new streak of two losses. Washington's Brian Pothier has a two game streak of his own, as a healthy scratch. That's what those little flip it into direct danger passes get you, I guess.

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The first period scoring started off with the Devil's Brian Gionta passing from behind the net to John Madden, who shot the puck into the net while using Caps' John Erskine as a screen. A few minutes later, Nicklas Backstom answered back by taking the puck around two defenders & scoring a PP goal. Right at the end of the period, Tomas Fleischmann thought he had another goal for the Capitals, but it was waived off. The puck did cross the goal line, but the official apparently had already blown the whistle. To be honest, I think Kevin Weekes might have had a good case for goalie interference anyway. Period ends with the game tied at 1-1.

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Just 53 seconds into the second period, Jeff Schultz sent a wrist shot from just inside the blue line past two Devils & into the net. It was his second consecutive game with a goal. At 8:08, Quintin Laing banged home a rebound for his first NHL goal during his eighth game played. It turned out to be the game winner. Caps ahead by two at the end of period two.

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At 52 seconds into the third, another non goal. This time it was the Devils' Mike Mottau who was denied. The puck definitely went in off his skate. Although, I'm not so sure there was any kicking motion. As a Cap fan though, I'm not going to complain. Less than two minutes later New Jersey's David Clarkson snuck one past Olie Kolzig with a wrap around. So, after a game with a couple non goals & several non calls on Devils tripping & crosschecking Caps, final score Devils 2 - Capitals 3.

Thrashers Vs Capitals 12/08/2007 Review

Thrashers 3 - Capitals 6

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Now, that's how it's done. After playing a game the night before in a way that even Coach Bruce Boudreau said was "unforgivable", the Caps returned to the dominant style of play they started the season with. Somehow, in between Friday night's embarrassment & Saturday's game, Bruce was able to bring back their confidence. This was their third game this season against the Atlanta Thrashers, the same team they got their first win against in the season opener. Neither team's Head Coach was the same though. Both had been replaced after it became obvious they weren't able to properly motivate their teams anymore. As a matter of fact, it was after the Thrashers pummeled the Caps 5 - 1 in their last match, that former Caps' Head Coach Glen Hanlon was relieved of his duties.

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Nicklas Backstom took advantage of a bad pass by Niclas Havelid, scoring one on one against Kari Lehtonen for the games first tally at 8:12 in the first period. Exactly one minute later at 9:12, Jeff Schultz slapped the puck to the back of the net for the games second goal.

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Less than five minutes into the second period, Matt Pettinger banged home a rebound from an Alexander Ovechkin shot. Shortly after that, Atlanta's Todd White got his team on the scoreboard with a Power Play Goal. White had received the puck from a pass that went under the splitting Olie Kolzig. But, with 5:45 left in the period Ovechkin tipped in another, making it 4-1 Caps. Less than a minute later Tomas Fleischmann passed the puck from behind the net to Mike Green who's rocketing slapshot zipped past Lehtonen for the Capitals' fith goal. Donald Brashear had a few words with Atlanta's Steve McCarthy just before the end of the period. I don't think it was anything too serious. Probably just exchanging their favorite Holiday recipies, right?

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In the third, Green got his seventh goal of the season & also his second of the game with a short side wrister. White, later also got his second of the game off his own rebound making it 6 - 2 . Then, half way through the period, Bobby Holik got around Tom Poti & sent the puck five hole for the Thrashers' & the game's final tally.

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In this game, Kolzig's unbelievably excellent goaltending (again!) wasn't wasted, as the whole team showed up. The Capitals put in a great effort throughout sixty minutes & just plain dominated. Yeah, that is how it's done!