There's a tradition in hockey that players start growing a "playoff beard" as soon as their team qualifies for the playoffs. It's a symbol of unity and support for your teammates. The Caps (and other NHL teams) are taking the tradition one step further…asking fans, front office staff and media members to participate as well for charity.

The Washington Capitals "Beard-a-thon" benefits Caps Care, the team's non-profit arm.

You can learn more about Caps Care at this link.

To sponsor me, go to this link.

You can check out my progress, and check out the other participants as well at the main page.

Any excuse to grow a beard is a good one for me, but this one helps others too! Plus, I already have a head start!

Thanks for your support, and ROCK THE RED (BEARD)!!!

Starting Point

The Goal!

The Washington Capitals (48-23-8-104, first in Southeast, second in East) travel to Atlanta to meet the Thrashers (34-39-6-74, fourth in Southeast) looking to complete a home-and-home sweep and get the season-ending three-game road trip started on the right foot.

Washington needs to win two of their last three games to hit 50 wins for only the second time in franchise history.

The Capitals hold a two-point advantage over the New Jersey Devils for second seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Devils host Toronto tonight.

Washington holds the season record over Atlanta at three games to two, however, the Caps have been throttled in Atlanta this season, losing both games by a combined score of 12-5.

Alex Ovechkin continues his quest for a second straight scoring championship, entering play tonight with 106 points (55 goals, 51 assists), trailing Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin by just two points. Ovie has historically performed well at Atlanta's Phillips Arena (14 goals and 11 assists in 14 games), but has been held scoreless in the two games this season.

Washington has won three of its last four games while scoring at least five goals in each victory, so it seems they have regained their scoring touch coming down the stretch. The Caps netted six goals Sunday without Ovechkin, though he did assist on Keith Aucoin's power play goal in the 6-4 victory.

Secondary scoring was the key to Sunday's win, and it was something missing from the team's arsenal through March. Aucoin, Tomas Fleischmann, Michael Nylander and Eric Fehr all scored, in addition to Alexander Semin (31 goals) and Brooks Laich (20 goals).

Fleischmann has 18 goals for the season, but just three since mid-January. He broke a 14-game scoreless drought.

Aucoin, recently recalled from AHL Hershey, has changed the dynamic of the third line since his recall. His smallish stature belies his fierceness in forechecking, and he's brought some much needed energy. His play was rewarded with some power play time in the most recent contest.

Nylander, much maligned all season, perhaps played his finest game all season, playing with a determination that has seemed to be missing for long stretches.

Simeon Varlamov is expected to play tonight, giving Jose Theodore a much-needed day off. Varlamov is auditioning for the chance to back up Theo in the playoffs, as Brent Johnson inches closer to his possible return. Johnson practiced with the team yesterday in full gear and he hopes to be able to contribute come playoff time.

Donald Brashear is listed as doubtful and will probably miss his 12th straight game.

Atlanta is led by Ilya Kovalchuk (42-48-90, minus-12) and Slava Kozlov (26-48-74, minus-11). Johan Hedberg (13-11-3, 3.51, .885) is expected to start in goal.
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SPECIAL TEAMS

WAS: PP-2nd (25.3%, 83/328); PK-19th (80.3%, 74/375)
ATL: PP-12th (19.5%, 66/339); PK-29th (75.6%, 86/352)
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INJURIES

WAS: G Brent Johnson (Hip-IR); LW Donald Brashear (Knee-IR); C Boyd Gordon (Finger-IR); RW Chris Clark (Wrist-IR); LW Quintin Laing (Spleen-Out)

ATL: G Kari Lehtonen (Upper body-Questionable); D Anssi Salmela (Face-Questionable)

In an uneven but exciting affair, the Washington Capitals lost in overtime to the Buffalo Sabres 5-4. Needing a single point to clinch the Southeast Division championship, the Caps received just that.

But an overtime goal by Jason Pominville, off a turnover in his own end by future hall-of-famer Sergei Fedorov, ruined the celebration.

As the Sabres collected on the Verizon Center ice to celebrate, um, something, the Caps headed to the locker room with slumped shoulders, knowing that they left a needed point out on the ice tonight. New Jersey beat Tampa by an identical 5-4 overtime score, so the Caps find themselves just two points ahead of Satan's minions with four games remaining.

Oh by the way, three of which are on the road due to the VC being overrun with the legions of fans of Bemidji State University.

Fedorov had a heck of a night, scoring twice on big, booming slap shots. But he also took a lazy hook which led to Buffalo's third goal in addition to the turnover in overtime.

Actually, the real score of tonight's game was Caps 7, Buffalo 2. Three of Buffalo's goals touched a Caps player last, and the second goal was a thing of beauty for Viktor Kozlov, redirecting a Clarke MacArthur pass past a sliding Simeon Varlamov like he meant to.

Varlamov, making his fourth start, looked sharp at times and shaky at times, something one would expect from a rookie playing in a playoff atmosphere. He is a much better skater and puck-handler than Jose Theodore, so much so the comparisons are drastic.

But he found himself out of position and scrambling every single time the puck was behind his own net. He's a tremendous athlete, that much is certain. And his athleticism allowed him to recover from mistakes several times tonight. But he still has some growing to do before he's an NHL regular.

Alex Ovechkin scored his 55th of the season, keeping alive the possible 60-goal repeat. Brooks Laich made a nifty backhand pass through the crease allowing Ovie to deposit the puck into a mostly open net.

And Ovie's running mate, Alexander Semin, registered his 30th of the year. That gives the Caps three players with 30-plus goals, and with Fed's pair he cracks double digits, giving the Caps nine players with 10 or more goals.

Washington plays their last home game Sunday against the suddenly resurgent Atlanta Thrashers at 3:00 pm.

Fans should celebrate back-to-back division titles. But the team has bigger goals, and leaving the extra point behind tonight was disappointing.

Enjoy the slideshow. Uncle Ted spoke to season ticket holders before the game, so some shots of that are in there as well. The big news from the chalk talk is that Uncle Ted thinks they'll have to have a waiting list for season tickets next year. Caps fever, catch it!

The Buffalo Sabres (37-30-9-83, third in Northeast, 10th in East) enter tonight's game against the Washington Capitals (47-23-7-101, first in Southeast, second in East) in a position all too familiar to Caps fans.

Currently, Buffalo is in tenth place in the conference, six points behind eighth place New York Rangers, with six games remaining. They actually have two games in hand over the Rangers, but the Florida Panthers are in the mix as well, in ninth place with 87 points. So every point is crucial for the Sabres.

To make matters worse, Buffalo embarks on a three-game road trip where they will face the Caps, New Jersey tomorrow night, and Detroit on Monday. Their fleeting playoff hopes could be over at the end of the weekend.

Washington, on the other hand, knows that they'll be playing into mid-April, just not against whom. With the Southeast Division sewn up, the Caps have the conference's second seed in sight, and currently lead the aforementioned Devils by three in that race. The Capitals are 28-9-2 at home this season, and would like nothing more than to achieve home-ice advantage for as long as they can in the playoffs.

The season series between the two teams favors Washington, two games to one. The Sabres spanked the Caps 5-0 in Buffalo on Nov. 1, with the Caps taking a pair of one goal games in the span of four days in December.

The offense seems to be heating back up for the Caps, as they've registers 14 goals in their last three home games, all wins, after a disappointing four-game home losing streak.

The Caps are led, as always, by Alex Ovechkin. The Russian Machine has four goals and three assists in his last three games and has reached 100 points for the third time in his four NHL seasons. With 54 goals, he still has an outside shot to reach the magical 60 goal mark, though he needs six goals in five games.

Want to challenge him?

Defenseman Mike Green reached a lofty achievement himself in the Caps 5-3 win over the New York Islanders Wednesday night. He broke the mark for team power play goals by a defenseman, with 19, and scored his 30th goal of the season, a feat accomplished by just eight defensemen in NHL history, and first since Washington's Kevin Hatcher in the 1993-94 season.

Alexander Semin needs one goal for the 30-goal mark, and Brooks Laich has 19 goals, just one short of a milestone as well.

Coach Bruce Boudreau expects to have Simeon Varlamov in net tonight. He is 3-0-0 in four games with a 1.74 goals against average and a sparkling .939 save percentage.

Buffalo should counter with Ryan Miller (31-16-8, 2.52, .918), traditionally a Caps-killer, with a lifetime 8-3-0 record and 2.53 goals against average when facing the Caps.
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SPECIAL TEAMS

WAS: PP-2nd (25.2%, 79/314); PK-20th (79.9%, 73/364)
BUF: PP-7th (21.5%, 72/335); PK-10th (82.7%, 54/313)
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INJURIES

WAS: G Brent Johnson (Hip-IR); LW Donald Brashear (Knee-IR); C Boyd Gordon (Finger-IR); RW Chris Clark (Wrist-IR); LW Quintin Laing (Spleen-Out)
BUF: None listed.

Mike Green scored a pair of power play goals 1:23 apart in the third period to lead the Washington Capitals over the league-worst New York Islanders 5-3 before 18,277 at Verizon Center. It's just the eighth time in history the 30-goal mark has been reached by a defenseman.

Once again, the Capitals (47-23-7-101, first in Southeast, second in East) found themselves playing down to lower competition through much of the first half of this contest, trailing New York--the lowest scoring team in the NHL--by two goals until 5:37 of the second period, when Alex Ovechkin registered his league-leading 54th goal of the season off a nifty feed by veteran center Sergei Fedorov.

But a funny thing happened on the way to that goal. Jeff Schultz got into a fight. No, really. It was Schultz' first career fighting major, and it came after Green launched himself at unsuspecting Islander Andy Hibbert along the boards. Honestly, it was mildly surprising Green did not receive more than the two minute charging penalty he was assessed.

Regardless, Schultz was involved in the fracas following, and somehow got tied up with Tim Jackman, the Islanders rugged winger. While Schultz spent the better part of the fight avoiding getting hit, it was apparent that the shot of adrenaline woke the Caps out of their early-game stupor to take control of the contest.

John Erskine got the rough stuff started a few minutes earlier, as he tussled with Joel Rechicz as the undercard to the Schultz-Jackman main event.

Green's first goal was a one-timer from the wing off a feed from Alexander Semin, who seemed to be sleepwalking though much of the rest of the game, with multiple turnovers and lazy skating. That goal tied Green for first all-time among Capitals defensemen with 17, a record he would hold for his own just moments later.

The second goal was a long, soft wrist shot from the point that managed to escape Islanders goalie Joey MacDonald, though the goalie was distracted by Tomas Fleischman, who was in the general vicinity.

Green now has 30 goals on the season, the first time an NHL defenseman has hit that mark since the Caps' Kevin Hatcher in the 1993-94 season. Green is only the eighth defenseman in NHL history to eclipse the 30-goal mark.

Keith Aucoin scored his first goal as a Washington Capital and Nicklas Backstrom added an empty net goal to cap the scoring.

With the win, the Caps will clinch first place in the Southeast with any other win or Carolina loss. They also took a three point lead over New Jersey for the second seed in the Eastern Conference, as the Devils suffered their sixth straight defeat, losing to Pittsburgh 6-1 last night.

Washington faces the Buffalo Sabres Friday night at Verizon Center at 7:00 p.m.
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SCORESHEET

1ST PERIOD
14:04 Power Play - Kyle Okposo (18), Wrist Shot. Assist: Nielsen

2ND PERIOD
37.0 Frans Nielsen (8), Tip-In. Assist: Tambellini, Okposo
05:37 Alex Ovechkin (54), Wrist Shot. Assist: Fedorov, Green
09:54 Keith Aucoin (1), Wrist Shot. Assist: Fehr

3RD PERIOD
02:12 Richard Park (13), Backhand Shot, Unassisted.
10:55 Power Play - Mike Green (29), Wrist Shot. Assist: Semin, Backstrom
12:18 Power Play - Mike Green (30), Snap Shot, Unassisted.
19:04 Nicklas Backstrom (22), Empty Net, Unassisted
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THREE STARS

1. M. Green - WAS (Goals: 2, Assists: 1)
2. J. MacDonald - NYI (Saves: 38, Save Pct: .905)
3. N. Backstrom - WAS (Goals: 1, Assists: 1)
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NOTES

Defenseman Brain Pothier was named as a finalist for the Masterson Trophy, awarded to the player who best personifies hard work and dedication to the game of hockey.

The Capitals are up to 47 wins, a total they haven't eclipsed since 1983-84, and have 101 points, a mark they haven't topped since getting 102 in 1999-00.

Ovechkin's 33rd home goal of the season broke the team mark he set in 2007-08.

Washington's Donald Brashear missed his ninth consecutive game with a knee injury, but the team expects the enforcer to be available for the playoffs.

Washington outshot New York 43-27, dominating play in the third period with a 22-9 shot advantage.

Photo (c) C. Nichols 2009. All rights reserved.

The Washington Capitals (46-23-7-99, first in Southeast, second in East) host the New York Islanders, owners of the worst record in the NHL (25-41-9-59, fifth in Northeast) at 7:00 pm from Verizon Center.

The undermanned Islanders have lost all three meetings to the Capitals this season, being outscored 12-7.

New York ranks near the bottom of the league in goals per game (2.48) and have scored the fewest overall (189). Their leading scorer, All-Star defenseman Kyle Streit, has 55 points (16-39-55, plus-9), which would rank him fifth on the Caps. No other Islander has more than 36 points, a number six Capitals have eclipsed.

Streit has a sore groin and did not travel with the team for tonight's game.

Goalie Joey MacDonald (14-24-6, 3.21, .903) has struggled at times this season, but was sharp Friday night in a 2-0 shutout of Detroit. He made 42 saves in the effort against the defending Stanley Cup champs. Yann Denis (9-13-9, 2.66, .916) had started a few games with MacDonald nursing a sore knee.

The Caps have only played twice in 10 days, a shootout loss to Toronto last Tuesday and a fairly dominant win over bottomfeeder Tampa Bay, 5-3 on Friday night. The Caps now have three games in five days to wrap up the home schedule and create some distance between them and New Jersey, one point behind them for the second seed in the Eastern Conference.

Suddenly slumping New Jersey has lost five games in a row, including Monday's 3-0 shutout to the hands of the Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers.

With six games remaining, the no. 2 seed is not the only thing the Caps are playing for.

Alex Ovechkin needs seven goals to record back-to-back 60 goal seasons. Alexander Semin needs just one goal to break the 30 goal mark, and defenseman Mike Green needs two goals to achieve the same feat, something a defenseman hasn't done in 16 years.

Brooks Laich and Tomas Fleischmann both have the 20-goal plateau in their sights. Laich has 19 goals and Flash has 17.

Capitals Insider reports that Milan Jurcina will be a healthy scratch on the blueline tonight, while Jose Theodore will start in goal for the Capitals. Enforcer Donald Brashear will miss another game with a sprained left knee. Keith Aucoin will skate in his place on the fourth line.
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SPECIAL TEAMS

WAS: PP-2nd (24.8%, 77/311); PK-21st (80.1, 72/361)
NYI: PP-22nd (16.9%, 50/296); PK-12th (82.3%, 58/327)
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INJURIES

WAS: LW Donald Brashear (Knee-IR); C Boyd Gordon (Finger-IR); G Brent Johnson (Hip-IR); RW Chris Clark (Wrist-IR); LW Quintin Laing (Spleen-Out); LW Alexander Semin (Flu-Questionable)

NYI: D Freddy Meyer (Groin-IR); D Andy Sutton (Foot-IR); LW Sean Bergenheim (Groin-Out); RW Trent Hunter (Ankle-Out); RW Kurtis McLean (Leg-Out); G Rick DiPietro (Knee-IR); C Mike Sillinger (Hip-IR)