Michael Nylander has cleared waivers.  There are several sources reporting that he is heading to Russia, however, we have not seen confirmation.

Tarik tweeted about 1:15pm today that the "Caps say they don't expect an update on Michael Nylander's status today."

Photo © 2008 Cheryl Nichols

BOX SCORE//GAME SUMMARY//EVENT SUMMARY

The Washington Capitals, looking for someone to provide a spark in the absence of two-time defending Hart Trophy winner Alex Ovechkin, got the complete opposite last night in a 3-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils (9-4-0).

Four third period penalties proved costly, as the Devils netted two power play goals, and held on to give the Caps (8-3-4) their third loss in a row, though just their third regulation loss of the season.

Coach Bruce Boudreau expressed his frustation to the media after the game, "Guys didn't come to play," Boudreau said. "Whether they are feeling sorry for themselves because Alex is not in, I don't know."

In particular, Alex Semin -- the one player on this roster that has talent that can approach the "Great 8" -- looked completely lost.  In addition to ineffective play, he took three penalties total, and two of the four third period infractions that kept the Caps on their heels instead of attacking.

Semin had as many penalties as shots.

Nine seconds after Semin went to the box for a hook, Niclas Bergfors (two power play goals) put a slap shot behind Semyon Varlamov (29 saves) for break a 1-1 tie.  So instead of stepping up, Semin let his team down, and Boudreau was cognizant of it.

"Not only did some of them not stand out, but they cost us the game," Boudreau said. "It's a tough one to swallow."

"They're automatic penalties," said Boudreau, of the third period mistakes. "If you go behind the net and you put your stick on a guy you're going to get a penalty. Brendan Morrison has been in the league for 10 years. Alexander Semin has been in the league for five years and it's just dumb penalties."

Tyler Sloan (1) and Tomas Fleischmann (3) tallied for the Caps.  Mathieu Perrault, making his NHL debut, assisted on both goals in just 10:30 of ice time.

But the theme of last night's game was lazy, ineffective play, something the Caps are not going to get away with while their goal-per-game superstar mends from his upper body injury, believed to be a left shoulder strain.

"We need to take leadership and take ownership of the dumb things we're doing," said Washington forward Mike Knuble, who has now taken a foul in the third period the last two games. "We have to stop it."

None of Washington's "Young Guns" played particularly well Wednesday night.  Semin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green were all held without a point, and Green even deflected one of the New Jersey goals into his own net.

What might be the most troubling comment of all came from veteran New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur, when asked about the Caps missing Ovechkin.  "The excitement level that he brings, the energy that he brings to the table, that wasn't there.  You can tell."

"You can tell."  Not words that Bruce Boudreau wants to hear.

Washington gets a day to think about it as they travel to Florida for the first of a home-and-home with the Panthers this weekend.

They better hope Ovechkin proves to be a fast healer, as he has in the past.  If Wednesday night was any indication, this team needs Ovechkin more than they anyone realizes.

For the second game in a row, the Washington Capitals fell in overtime at home to an opponent they should have dominated.  Sunday afternoon, in a strange 5:00 pm start, the Caps fell to the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-4 when R.J. Umberger scored a power play goal, his second of the game, 1:45 into the overtime period.

What was worse was the goal, and the situation that led up to it, that allowed the Jackets to tie the game.  Raffi Torres tipped in a cross-crease pass just as a slashing penalty to veteran Mike Knuble expired...with 23 seconds remaining in the game.

"Well, we took a stupid penalty, and that's what happens when you take stupid penalties," coach Bruce Boudreau said about Knuble's slash.  "It was a selfish penalty, and they cost you all the time."

It's unfortunate the way things sorted out, since the team really rallied after losing their leader, Alex Ovechkin, to an injury mid-way through the second period.

About six minutes into the second period, the back-to-back Hart Trophy winner collided with Torres and fell awkwardly to the ice.  He managed to get to his feet and skate off on his own, but he did not return.

Coach Bruce Boudreau did not have much to say about anything in the post-game press conference, but did managed to say Ovechkin was day-to-day with an upper body injury.

The play the caused Ovechkin to leave came a few shifts after a fracas along the boards where Ovechkin tangled up with Jason Chimera and Jared Boll.  Ovechkin had laid out Chimera earlier in the game, and the two started to mix it up a bit and Boll came to the aid of his teammate.

Ovechkin was coy with the media after the game.

"It was just a moment of the game. Nothing happened. [Chimera] hit me, I hit him. It was a little battle over there but nothing happen. I can't tell you how I got hurt."

Columbus' two late goals and the injury overshadowed a back-and-forth contest that was disjointed, penalty-filled, and frankly, downright ugly.

The Blue Jackets held a 2-1 lead after two periods, and the Caps (8-2-4) needed someone to step up in Ovechkin's absence.  That person was winger Brooks Laich.

Laich scored twice in a little over two minutes in the third as Washington retook the lead at 10:23.

But the lead would be short-lived, as Torres converted a wrap-around backhand to beat a stickless Jose Theodore, who seemed to be stiffening up late in the game, using several timeouts to get down on the ice and stretch out.

Quentin Laing banged home a nice pass from David Steckel, who collected a shot from the point by Matt Bradley, to re-take the lead at 16:34, and the capacity crowd at Verizon hoped that would be the straw that broke Columbus' collective back.

"We wanted to prove this team isn't about one guy, it's about a team, and we wanted to show people we can come back," Laing said in the quiet Capitals locker.

But then the veteran Knuble took a retaliatory hack at a Columbus defender with 2:30 left, and the complexion of the game changed.

So the Caps lost their leader and lost a game.  They have taken one point apiece in home games against the New York Islanders and Columbus.

Washington is 6-0-3 in their last nine games, but they have shown the frustrating inability to close out games.  You have to think they feel like they've left two points on the table the last two games.

And if Ovechkin misses any time, or Theodore's back is flaring up, they will have to do more than rally.  They will have to find a way to finish off these weaker opponents -- especially at home.

Brendan Morrison said it best after the game. "We rallied and did a lot of good things offensively, and then we just go and shoot ourselves in the foot. It is frustrating because it was a game we should have won."

Washington does not want those words to become a familiar phrase.

BOX SCORE//GAME SUMMARY//EVENT SUMMARY

It was another one of those games again, the game sthat are driving Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau slowly crazy.  On the road, the Caps came out against a wounded Atanta Thrashers squad and dominated through about 35 minutes.

Unfortunately, they once again took their foot off the gas and watch as their opponent scratched its way back into a game they had no business being in.  Time ran out before Atlanta come complete their comeback, though it was not for lack of effort.  At least, not lack of effort by Atlanta.

It's tough to be so negative, as the win marks Washignton's sixth straight, and they sit atop their division and near the top of the conference.  But against tougher foes, this now-common recipe isn't going to cut it. 

Boudreau told the assembled media following the game, in no uncertain terms, what he thought of his team's performance in the second half of the game.

"I thought with about seven minutes to go in the second period, we thought this was going to be easy," Boudreau said. "And then we stopped skating and stopped playing. But I knew once [Atlanta] got one goal, just like last time, they would be flying. It's not like a faucet. You can't turn it on and off when you want."

"We need to be able to finish teams off when we have the chance," he said. "We need that killer instinct and we haven't had that killer instinct. We let teams right back in the game."

 

The bad taste left from an almost-comeback spoiled what should have been a game worth celebrating.  Alex Ovechkin scored twice in the first period and Brendan Morrison added a power play marker four minutes into the second period. 

 

Almost immediately following, you could see the adrenaline leave the bodies of the Capitals, signaling Atlanta to put pressure on goalie Semyon Varlamov (38 saves on 41 shots), who was outstanding in place of Jose Theodore, given the night off in preparation for the game Friday night against the New York Islanders.

 

"I wasn't happy for Varly," Boudreau said. "He plays an outstanding game and ends up with three goals on him. Nothing he could do. He kept us in the game in the third period. It's ridiculous how we just let up and let the other teams back into the game. It's very frustrating."

 

Altanta (4-4-1) out shot Washington 33-19 in the final two frames, despite missing leading scorer Ilya Kovulchuk, out serveral weeks with a broken foot.  It was the second consecutive game the Caps surrendered 20 shots in the third period, and over 40 for the game.

Atlanta got three third period goals, two by Zach Bogosian -- the last coming with less than one second on the game clock.  As it turned out, Mike Knuble's empty net goal at 19:07 turned out to be the game-winner. 

That's a margin that is much too close, especially on a night that started with such dominance.

Washington hosts the Islanders (2-4-5) at 7:00 pm at Verizon Center tonight.  The Isles beat the New York Rangers Wednesday night 3-1, but lost their three previous, including a home 3-2 loss to the Caps Oct. 24.

________________________________________________________

THREE STARS

1.  Alex Ovechkin (Goals: 2, Assists: 1)

2.  Zach Bogosian (Goals: 2, Assists: 0)

3.  Semyon Varlamov  (Saves: 38, Save Pct: .927)

________________________________________________________

NOTES

Tomas Fleischmann was activated for the game and played surprisingly well.  He logged 16:07 of ice time, was credited with three shots, including a close on against Thrashers goalie Ondrej Pavelec.   "Every shift I felt more comfortable on the ice," he said. "He made one really good save on me. I should have scored that one. It will go in eventually."

***Quotes for this story were selected from muliple sources***

Washington Capitals (7-2-2, 16 pts, 1st in Southeast Division)

v.

Atlanta Thrashers (4-3-1, 9 pts, 2nd in Southeast Division)

7:00 pm from Phillips Arena

________________________________________________________

PREVIEW

This is the second consecutive Thursday these two teams meet, but both are significantly different teams than the last meeting, a 5-4 Caps win, Washington getting five goals from five different player, none names Ovechkin.

Atlanta now finds themselves missing their top player, Ilya Kovalchuk, who scored twice in last week's melee.  Kovalchuk will be out several weeks with a broken bone in his right foot.

The Capitals will be without shot-blocker extraordinaire Quentin Laing, who was diagnosed with H1N1 and sent home from the team.  Eric Fehr missed Thursday's win over Philadelphia with an "upper body injury", believed to be bruised ribs from blocking a shot the other night.

Returning for this contest, though, is Alexander Semin, who missed out in the fun in Atlanta last week while nursing an undisclosed illness/injury, and the possible return of Tomas Fleischmann, who was activated by the team yesterday in is return from a blood clot in his leg.

Alexandre Giroux was returned to AHL Hershey to make room for Fleischmann.

________________________________________________________

EXPECTED LINEUP

Forwards

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Semin

Laich-Morrison-Knuble

Fleischmann-Aucoin-Clark

Sloan (Fehr)-Steckel-Bradley

Defense

Morrisonn-Green

Poti-Jurcina

Schultz-Pothier

Goalie

Theodore

Varlamov

Scratches: Fehr, Laing

________________________________________________________

TEAM STATS

WAS: GF: 2nd (40/3.64); GA: 13st (31/2.82); PP: 21st (9/52, 17.3%); PK: 10th (10/54, 81.5%)

ATL: GF: 4th (28/3.50); GA: 14th (23/2.88); PP: 4th (9/32, 28.1%): PK: 3rd (5/36, 86.1%)_______________________________________________________

LEADERS

WAS: G: Ovechkin (11) A: Backstrom (12) P: Ovechkin (19) +/-: Ovechkin (+11)

ATL: Kovalchuk (9) A: Antropov (7) P: Kovalcuk, Peverley (10) +/-: Kubina (+4)

________________________________________________________

INJURIES

WAS: D John Erskine (IR-hand), F Boyd Gordon (DTD-back), Quentin Laing (DTD-Flu), Eric Fehr (DTD-Ribs)

ATL:  LW Ilya Kovalchuk (IR-Foot), D Boris Valabik (IR-Ankle), G Kari Lehtonen (IR-back), C Nik Antropov (QUE-groin)

BOX SCORE//GAME SUMMARY//EVENT SUMMARY

For moments in the second period, it looked like the Washington Capitals were not going to be able to match the Philadelphia Flyers intensity physically. 

Richards has Backstrom in a headlock, which was not called. 

An example of how the crease looked most of the night.

But after a television timeout, Jeff Schultz laid into a Flyers forward, and moments later Tyler Sloan did the same.  After that, what had been a sub-par defensive performance turned into a flurry of offensive activity, and the Caps rallied from two goals down to overcome and defeat the hated Flyers, 4-2, before a capacity crowd at Verizon Center Tuesday night.

Jose Theodore sparkled in net as well.  He stopped 41 of 43 shots he faced, even stopping a penalty shot.

He allowed just two power play goals during the second period of the game, when the Flyers were owning the Caps, physically and offensively.

Philly was able to keep the puck in the Caps zone seemingly at will for most of the period, often looking like they were running a power play, though the teams were even strength. 

Even a two-man advantage for 1:42 couldn't get the Caps to shake a leg.

But things changed during that TV timeout.  Whether coach Bruce Boudreau said something to his troops, or the players finally realized on their own that if they put out physically, things would finally open up offensively -- as it did -- is unknown.

But what is known is that as soon as the Caps stood up to their personal bully, they almost automatically found more room to operate.  And room to operate meant scoring goals.

"We got a little bit angry," Nicklas Backstrom said. "It was good for us."

Alex Ovechkin started the comeback with just under four minutes to play, snapping a shot past Flyers goalie Ray Emery (33 saves on 36 shots).  Two minutes later, it was his running mate, Backstrom, that one-timed a shot past Emery from the top of the circle on a power play, breaking the Capitals 0-for-14 skid with the man-advantage.

Alexander Semin, who returned from his mysterious illness/injury of the past two games, tallied third with a wicked wrist shot from the left wing circle that might have deflected of a shin pad on the way.  And Ovechkin capped things with an empty-netter, the first of the season for Washington.

Ovechkin now has 11 goals in 11 games, and Backstrom assisted on all three goals he did not score.

But the first star belonged to Theodore, who is playing some really inspired goaltending right now.  On several occasions he was the only resistance to the Flyers onslaught of shots, and he turned back very even-strength offering, including 20 saves in the closing period.

He was remarkably calm, putting his skate against the post to close the door on at least three occasions.  And he's perfecting that little snap-catch on the rebounds that pop up right in front of him.

"Theo kept us in the game," Boudreau said matter-of-factly.

Photo © 2009 Cheryl Nichols. All Rights Reserved.

So the Caps got scoring from their top line, strong goaltending and even some much-needed physical play when they really needed it.  They gave up 43 shots, and on most nights that's a cause for alarm, but with the way the Flyers were buzzing, it's a testament to Theodore that things did not get out of hand.

The Caps historically don't match up well with the Flyers, and it's because of the physical play.  Hopefully when they watch the tape of this one, they'll notice the timing of when the ice opened up for them late in the second period.  Because that's when they started to give as good as they were getting.

________________________________________________________
THREE STARS

1. J. Theodore - WAS (Saves: 41, Save Pct: .953)

2. N. Backstrom - WAS (Goals: 1, Assists: 3)

3. A. Ovechkin - WAS (Goals: 2, Assists: 0)

________________________________________________________
NOTES

Eric Fehr (ribs) and Quentin Laing (flu) were scratched.  Tyler Sloan skated at left wing with David Steckel and Matt Bradley, with ALexandre Giroux on the third line with Keith Aucoin and Chris Clark.

Philadelphia Flyers (5-3-1, 11 points, 4th in Atlantic Division)

v.

Washington Capitals (6-2-2, 14 points, 1st in Southeast Division)

7:00 at Verizon Center

________________________________________________________

PREVIEW

The Washington Capitals, winners of four straight, come home to host the rival Philadelphia Flyers.

The Caps have been winning, but it hasn't been very pretty, especially coming from behind in two road games in Atlanta and Long Island.

Washington's vaunted power play went 0-for-11 in those two games, not coincidentally the two games Alexander Semin missed with an undisclosed illness/injury.  The enigmatic winger should return to the top line for tonight's matchup, providing a spark to countryman Alex Ovechkin, who contributed a single assist on the two-game road trip.

Jose Theodore has played well in his return from back spasms that forced him to miss two games.  He mad 28 saves, sometimes spectacular in nature, in the 3-2 win over the Islanders Saturday night. 

Mike Green was the star of that overtime thriller, with a big booming slap shot for his second goal of the season, and a deft assist to Brooks Laich, streaming for the crease, for the OT winner.

The Flyers lost Sunday night to San Jose 4-1 at home, using backup goalie Brian Boucher.  Starter Ray Emery ought to be between the pipes for tonight's game though.  He is 5-2-1 with a 2.57 GAA this season, but has lost his last three games to the Capitals.

Philadelphia won the series opener Oct. 6 in Philly, 6-5.  Mike Richards netted three in regulation, and Danny Briere scored in overtime for the winner against a shaky Semyon Varlamov.  The game, of course, featured numerous penalties, a regular occurence when these two teams get together.

________________________________________________________

EXPECTED LINEUP

Forwards

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Semin

Laich-Morrison-Knuble

Giroux-Aucoin-Clark

Sloan-Steckel-Bradley

Defense

Morrisonn-Green

Poti-Jurcina

Schultz-Pothier

Goalie

Theodore

Varlamov

Scratches: Fehr, Laing

________________________________________________________

TEAM STATS

WAS: GF: 4th (36/3.60); GA: 15st (29/2.90); PP: 20th (8/48, 16.7%); PK: 8th (8/49, 83.7%)

PHI: GF: 10th (30/3.33); GA: 14th (26/2.89); PP: 9th (11/44, 25%): PK: 5th (6/41, 85.4%)

________________________________________________________

LEADERS

WAS: G: Ovechkin (9) A: Backstrom (9) P: Ovechkin (17) +/-: Ovechkin (+8)

PHI: G: Richards (6) A:  Carle (8)  P: Carter, Richards (10) +/-: Carle (+7)

________________________________________________________

INJURIES

WAS: D John Erskine (IR-hand), F Boyd Gordon (DTD-back), Quentin Laing (DTD-Flu), Eric Fehr (DTD-Ribs)

PHI: C Blair Betts (IR-Shoulder), D Ryan Parent (OUT-Lower Body)