The Washington Capitals came into hostile territory and went home with a point against the Flyers in Philadelphia last night, losing 6-5 in overtime.  But after squandering a third period lead on an "own goal", having the game-winner batted in off a rebound, and being on the wrong end of nine minor penalties, to a man the Caps must feel like they let one get away from them last night.

"You take [nine minor penalties] in a game, you're not going to win that game, and we took six in one period," Coach Bruce Boudreau said. "That's how four goals get scored against you. It's something that's unacceptable."

The teams played scoreless hockey though one period, and it looked like it would be a nail-biter in the sold out, orange-bathed Wachovia Center.  It turned out to be a donnybrook, as 11 goals would fall in the resultant two-plus period, with the game-winner potted by none other than thorn-in-the-side Danny Briere with 1:08 remaining in overtime.

The Caps had the opportunity to avoid the extra play, but could not take advantage.  Brendan Morrison had a puck bounce off his skate into the Flyers net to take a 5-4 lead with 10:28 left in the third period.  But six minutes later, Boyd Gordon was whistled for holding. 

The Flyers power play unit, which had scored twice already, took the ice.  Scott Hartnall, locks flowing, fired on net, and Jose Theodore -- who replaced a shaky Semyon Varlamov in the second period -- made the save.  But the rebound skipped straight to defenseman Tom Poti, who was in position but just couldn't play the puck with his stick.  It bounced off Poti, back into Theodore, and then into the net for the equalizer.

"Tonight we were our worst enemy," Morrison said. "We came back and took the lead in the third, and that's a game we should have seal down and win. Tonight it was our penalties. We just couldn't stay out of the box. We have to learn this lesson quickly if we want to be a good team, not a great team."

The nine minor penalties were mostly crimes of laziness, including three holdings, two hookings and two interference calls.

A bigger, more long-term concern, was the play of Varlamov.  Heralded as the goalie of the future, last night showed he still has a way to go to prove his mettle as he allowed four goals on 25 shots in just under 34 minutes, including three to Flyers captain Mike Richards.

"Varlamov has to be more mentally tough to play," Boudreau said. "One thing that's reared it's ugly head right now is they score in bunches on him. I think he gets down on himself, and we have to get him out of that."

"I thought there were some soft goals."

The Alexes -- Ovechkin and Semin -- took care of the first four goals, each netting a pair.  But on this night, scoring goals wasn't the problem.  Preventing them, and the bad situations in which they were scored, was.

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SCORESHEET

1ST PERIOD

None

2ND PERIOD
01:37 Power Play - Mike Richards (3), Snap Shot. Assist: Carle, Pronger
02:44 Alex Ovechkin (4), Wrist Shot. Assist: Bradley, Backstrom
04:33 Kimmo Timonen (1), Slap Shot. Assist: Carle, Gagne
07:33 Alex Ovechkin (5), Wrist Shot. Assist: Backstrom
12:26 Alexander Semin (3), Wrist Shot. Assist: Green, Morrisonn
13:49 Power Play - Mike Richards (4), Wrist Shot. Assist: Carle
14:07 Mike Richards (5), Snap Shot. Assist: Carle

3RD PERIOD
08:18 Power Play - Alexander Semin (4), Snap Shot. Assist: Backstrom, Ovechkin
09:32 Brendan Morrison (2), Tip-In. Assist: Bradley, Laich
15:45 Power Play - Scott Hartnell (1), Backhand Shot. Assist: Coburn, Timonen

OT
03:52 Danny Briere (1), Snap Shot. Assist: Timonen, Carter
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THREE STARS

1. M. Richards - PHI (Goals: 3, Assists: 0)

2. A. Ovechkin - WAS (Goals: 2, Assists: 1)

3. D. Briere - PHI (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)

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NOTES

 

Matt Carle set a Flyers record for mosts assists by a defenseman in one period, helping with all four Flyers goals in the second period.

 

Matt Bradley fought Ian LaPerriere in the first period.

 

Philly out shot Washington 37-35.

 

Washington has scored 15 goals in three games and given up 11.

The Washington Capitals got six goals from five different players, as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead, and cruised home with a 6-4 victory over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs before a capacity crowd at D.C.'s Verizon Center.

It was Washington's eighth consecutive home opening victory.

"You felt like you were in a piranha fish tank," Toronto coach Ron Wilson said. "We were getting quality scoring chances, without a doubt, but you can't trade chance for chance with a team like that."

Alex Ovechkin, back-to-back Hart Trophy winner, started the scoring 1:17 into the game.  Ovie took a long pass from Nicklas Backstrom, took Toronto's blue line, then used the defenseman as a screen as he flicked the puck glove-side past Vesa Toskala, who had a rough period and was replaced for the second period.

"It's unbelievable," said Toskala, replaced in net by Jonas Gustavsson at the start of the second period. "It seems everywhere they go, the puck is following them."

Mike Knuble scored mid-way through the period, and Brooks Laich scored his third goal of the campaign on a breakaway four and a half minutes later.

"It was a nice play by Juicy [Milan Jurcina].  He made a nice stretch pass and I was able to slip behind the D-man."

"It was nice to get a fancy one, so to say, for once."

Three more second period goals, two from Alexander Semin and one from Brendan Morrison, pushed the lead to 6-1.

Goalie Semyon Varlamov was outstanding in the first two frames.  He made several solid kick saves and held his own when the outcome was still in doubt.  He made 27 saves in the game, and was not faulted by couach Bruce Boudreau.

Defensive letdowns led to three unanswered Leafs goals, and had the Caps not killed a late penalty it could have gotten ugly.  Boudreau was satisfied with the performance, but wanted to use it as a teaching tool as well.

"I told the guys, it was a great win, it was a great start, but we have to learn to how win six-to-one... and not think we're going to win nine-to-one."

"Hopefully this was a cheap lesson for us."

Washington is off until Tuesday night, when they face the Flyers in Philadelphia at 7:00 pm.  Philly is off to a 2-0-0 start, beating Carolina 2-0 Friday night and New Jersey tonight 5-2.

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SCORESHEET

1ST PERIOD

01:17 Alex Ovechkin (3), Snap Shot. Assist: Backstrom, Semin

09:12 Power Play - Mike Knuble (1), Wrist Shot. Assist: Clark, Ovechkin

13:53 Brooks Laich (3), Wrist Shot. Assist: Jurcina, Morrison

2ND PERIOD

04:23 Lee Stempniak (1), Wrist Shot. Assist: White, Mitchell

05:27 Alexander Semin (1), Wrist Shot. Assist: Erskine

10:42 Brendan Morrison (1), Backhand Shot. Assist: Green, Laich

16:02 Alexander Semin (2), Backhand Shot. Assist: Ovechkin, Backstrom

3RD PERIOD

02:04 Alexei Ponikarovsky (2), Wrist Shot. Assist: Finger

05:18 Mikhail Grabovski (1), Tip-In. Assist: Schenn, Ponikarovsky

17:57 Niklas Hagman (1), Snap Shot. Assist: Grabovski, Kaberle

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THREE STARS

1. A. Semin - WAS (Goals: 2, Assists: 1)

2. A. Ovechkin - WAS (Goals: 1, Assists: 2)

3. B. Laich - WAS (Goals: 1, Assists: 1)

Welcome from the press box, high atop the Verizon Center, as we get set for the home opener between the Washington Capitals and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Caps come off Thursday's season opener, where they handled the Boston Bruins 4-1.  The team looked sharp, gave up only 20 shots, and had their way on the power play.  The Leafs lost their opener Thursday to thier arch-rival Montreal Canadiens, 4-3, with less than 30 seconds remaining in overtime.

Toronto played a rough-and-tumble game against Montreal, and took three fighting majors, one each from Mike Kommisarek, Colton Orr and Jay Rosehill.  Matt Stajan led the way on offense, scoring twice, with Alexei Ponikarovsky picking up the other goal.

The Caps are led, naturally, by the Great 8, Alex Ovechkin.  The two-time Hart Trophy winner did not disappoint in Game 1, netting two goals and helping with another.  But Brooks Laich opened some eyes, scoring two power play goals from inside the crease.  Nicklas Backstrom had three assists, and Alexander Semin set up two goals.

Jose Theodore played well in net, but Semyon Varlamov gets the start tonight in a pre-determined set-up.  Coach Bruce Boudreau will have to balance the play of the two, resisting to always play the hot hand to make sure both players get enough work, unless and until one of them plays head-and-shoulders above the other.

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LINEUP

Forwards:

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Semin

Laich-Morrison-Knuble

Laing-Steckel-Clark

Kane-Gordon-Bradley

Defense:

Morrisonn-Green

Poti-Jurcina

Erskine-Pothier

Scratches: Nylander, Sloan, Schultz

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INJURIES

WAS: Eric Fehr (shoulders), Tomas Fleischmann (blood clot)

TOR:  Jeff Finger (oblique), Jamie Heward (concussion), Phil Kessel (shoulder), Jamal Meyers (head), Mike Vay Ryn (knee)

Alex Ovechkin and Brooks Laich each had a pair of goals, and Jose Theodore made 19 saves, as the Washington Capitals knocked off the Boston Bruins 4-1 before a capacity crowd at TD Banknorth Garden.

The Capitals played an almost flawless game against one of their main challengers for supremacy in the Eastern Conference.  They built a 4-0 lead, played terrific on the power play, netting two goals, and was stingy on defense the entire contest.

Washington definitely got into the Bruins heads, as they seemed to be talking to themselves in the game's latter stages, trying to pump each other up.  They were momentarily successful, when Patrice Bergeron tallied on a breakaway after a David Steckel turnover on the Boston blue line.

But that was Boston's lone strike, as Theodore brushed aside the few shots that made it through the defense.

The Capitals best players produced.  Laich had an assist to go with his two goals, Nicklas Backstrom had three helpers, and Alexander Semin had a pair of assists.

The first goal was early in the the first period -- a power play marker by Laich -- set up with nifty cross-ice passing by Ovechkin and Backstrom, who fed Laich right on Tim Thomas' (30 saves) doorstep.  Ovechkin's first of the night came in the second.  Backstrom took control of the puck along the dasher, fed Semin at center ice, and the talented Russian dropped a back pass for Ovie in the slot.

Ovechkin made no mistake.

Laich scooped up a loose puck just as Thomas was about to sit on it for his second goal of the night 16 seconds into the third period, and Ovechkin put a wrist shot past Thomas off a great cross-crease pass from defenseman Tom Poti to close the scoring.

The Caps out shot the Bruins 34-20 for the game, and 12-3 in the third period, as Boston was frustrated in their comeback bid.

Instead of scoring goals, Boston decided to fight in the third period instead, as Shawn Thronton mixed it up in a pretty fair draw with John Erskine.

The Capitals host Toronto, who lost 4-3 in overtime to Montreal tonight, in the home opener Saturday night at 7:00 pm.

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SCORESHEET

1ST PERIOD

17:15 Power Play - Brooks Laich (1), Snap Shot. Assist: Backstrom, Ovechkin

2ND PERIOD

09:31 Alex Ovechkin (1), Snap Shot. Assist: Semin, Backstrom

3RD PERIOD

16.0 Power Play - Brooks Laich (2), Wrist Shot. Assist: Backstrom, Semin

01:56 Alex Ovechkin (2), Wrist Shot. Assist: Poti

07:56 Short - Patrice Bergeron (1), Backhand Shot. Assist: Begin, Stuart

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THREE STARS

1. A. Ovechkin - WAS (Goals: 2, Assists: 1)

2. B. Laich - WAS (Goals: 2, Assists: 1)

3. N. Backstrom - WAS (Goals: 0, Assists: 3)

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NOTES

Washington's last regulation victory in Boston was Dec. 2, 2000. The Capitals went 3-0-1 against the Bruins last season.

The Caps were 2-for-4 on the power play.  Boston went 0-for-5.

The Washington Capitals and the Boston Bruins were the top two seeds in the Eastern Conference last season, and start the 2009-10 campaign facing one another again.  After an off-season that was spend in great anticipation for this very day, the start of the new hockey season, it's finally arrived.

And it has arrived with much fanfare and high expectations.  Never before in the team history has so much attention and press been dedicated to pucks in the off-season in Washington.  It's been non-stop, starting with last year's disappointing playoff ouster by eventual champion Pittsburgh, through the awards season, free agent period, then the start of training camp, and coming to a head at last weekend's first-ever Capitals Convention.

Good crowds showed for the home pre-season games, so much so it reminded of weekend games in the not-so-distant past.

But Washington has arrived as a "hockey town", and it's now time to drop 'em for real and get this show on the road.

These two teams join the Penguins and Philadelphia as the class of the East.  Boston has a very balanced line-up, and was second in the league in goals scored.  They welcome the return of Marco Sturm, who missed most of last season with a knee injury, but will miss their leading goal-scorer, Phil Kessel, who was traded Sept. 18 to Toronto after a contract dispute.

The Bruins return Norris Trophy winner Zdeno Chara and Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas as well.   They are coached by last year's Jack Adams winner Claude Julien.

"I think we've got to work our way to the top just like we did last year," Julien said. "There's nothing different except the challenge will be bigger, there's more respect toward our team this year."

Washington, of course, starts and ends with Alexander Ovechkin.  The two-time Hart Trophy winner (56-54-110 last season) came into camp with 20 pounds of extra muscle, so he's primed for a long season of bumping and grinding to go along with his dynamic scoring.

He'll get help up from his running mates, Nicklas Backstrom (3rd in assists) and Alexander Semin (1.3 points per game).  The team added reinforcements with Mike Knuble (27-20-47, +5) and Brendan Morrison, who was given a one-year, $1.5 million contract to prove he's healthy as a second-line center.

The Caps are loaded with young, but experienced, defensemen.  They are led by Mike Green, the NHL's leading defensive scorer.  Green finished with 31 goals and 42 assists despite missing 14 games due to injury.

Backstopping the Caps will be Jose Theodore and Semyon Varlamov.  Theodore had an up-and-down season last year, but did win 30+ games, while Varlamov was spectacular in the playoffs before finally wearing down in the Pittsburgh series.

Here are tonight's lines (courtesy of Captials Insider):

Offense:

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Semin

Laich-Morrison-Knuble

Laing-Steckel-Clark

Kane-Gordon-Bradley

Defense:

Morrisonn-Green

Poti-Jurcina

Erskine-Pothier

Boudreau did not announce a starting goalie as of this post.

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SPECIAL TEAMS

WAS: 2008-09:  GF:  3rd (3.27); GA-19th (2.93);

PP-2nd (50/177, 28.2%); PK-17th (34/184, 81.5%)

BOS:  2008-09:  GF:  2nd (3.29); GA-1st (2.32);

PP-4th (44/157, 28.0%); PK-12th (29/148, 80.4%)

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INJURIES

WAS:  Eric Fehr (shoulders), Tomas Fleischmann (blood clot)

BOS:  David Krejci (hip)

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NOTES

The team lost RW Chris Bourque to Pittsburgh off of waivers.  They recalled Boyd Kane from AHL Hershey to replace him on the roster.

Michael Nylander, who did not play all pre-season, will be a healthy scratch, as will Tyler Sloan and Jeff Schultz.