“We wanted to score on the power play, more for me on the confidence of the power play and it won us the game so it worked out. I thought we were pretty patient and showed a lot of good restraint today. We didn’t retaliate and that was good.” -- Coach Bruce Boudreau

THE RESULT:  The Washington Capitals ended the Philadelphia Flyers sixth game winning streak in front of the 68th consecutive sellout crowd at Verizon Center on Sunday night.  The game went to overtime and Mike Green scored the winning power play goal to give the Caps their tenth win of the season with the 3-2 victory over the Flyers.

A couple of changes in the standings. The Washington Capitals are now on top in the Eastern Conference for the first time this season and Alex Semin is now the team leader in goals with nine.

Braden Holtby got the nod tonight for his first NHL start.  Getting a start is big, however, starting against a rival on a hot streak is even bigger.  Holtby seemed to handle the pressure well. “It’s definitely huge, but on a team like this, if a goalie just kind of gives the team a chance to win, they usually are going to pull through some goals. It definitely gave me a lot of confidence coming in.”

Holtby gave up his first NHL goal to Nikolay Zherdev in the first period. “I knew it was going to happen sooner or later, that they were going to score on me. I came into the game hoping for a victory and I knew I wasn’t going to get a shutout in my first game. [I] Came in and just tried to get the victory and work my way up.”

Coming into this game, the Flyers and Caps had basically the same record at 9-4-1 and 9-4-0 respectively.  The Caps may have had a small advantage in that they were off on Saturday night while the Flyers played and the fatigue showed on the ice. Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger said, “Not our best hockey, but there was a lot of stuff we did well and a lot of stuff we can work on. To get three points out of four is pretty good.”

Eric Fehr scored his third goal of the season and the first of the night for the Caps that went to the upper right-hand corner of the net. John Erskine and Tyler Sloan were credited as the helpers. "We expect that third line to be able to chip in" said Coach Boudreau. "When Eric is shooting and scoring, it certainly makes a big difference."

The Flyers had three times as many penalty minutes than the Caps, however, it wasn't until the middle of the third period that the Caps took advantage of the power play.  Nicklas Backstrom picked up an Alex Ovechkin rebound and passed to Alex Semin who easily got the puck past Sergei Bobrovsky. The goal was Semin's ninth of the season and the fourth game in a row in which he scored.

Neither team scored in the third period.  The Flyers O'Donnell took a boarding penalty at the end of the third while tied up at two so it was 5-on-3 for 18.1 of third period since Pronger was still serving his time for double-minor high sticking penalty.  This meant more power play time in overtime for the Capitals.

It only took twenty-nine seconds for Mike Green to score the winning power play goal assisted by Backstrom and Mike Knuble. "Everything felt stable out there," Green said. "It felt composed and there was no panic. In the past we've got into situations where we panicked and there was confusion and I think tonight we were pretty stable."

The Capitals have four games in the next week. Neuvrith and Holtby may each get a few starts with the grueling schedule ahead, especially now that Boudreau is comfortable with Holtby in front of the net. “In the first two periods I thought he looked a little nervous, but once they started getting some shots in the third period I thought he made a great game-saving save there in that flurry, moving from side to side. So, I think he handled himself overall really well for his first complete game.”

“We’re in the mix. Not saying we’re better or worse, but we’re in the mix that we can compete against the better teams" said Boudreau. "Next week is no different… this whole league is good.”

We saved the bad news for last (well, hopefully it is not serious).  Coach Bruce Boudreau announced in post-game presser that Brooks Laich is out with "upper body injury." Brooks wanted to play, but doctors kept him out as a precaution.

INTERESTING NOTES AND STATS FROM CAPS: 

• The Capitals won their fourth straight game and improved to 5-0 in overtime games this season. The win lifts Washington into a tie with Philadelphia atop the Eastern Conference and snapped the Flyers’ six-game winning streak.
• Mike Green, tonight’s first star, scored his fourth goal of the season 29 seconds into the overtime session and is currently riding a four-game goal scoring streak and a five-game point streak (four goals, four assists). The Capitals are 4-0-0 when Green registers a goal.
• The overtime goal was the fifth of Green’s career, tied for second in Capitals history with Peter Bondra and Kelly Miller. Only Alex Ovechkin (8) has more career overtime goals for the Capitals.
• Braden Holtby, in his first NHL start, became the third straight Caps’ goaltender to start his career 2-0-0. He turned away 25 shots, including all eight he faced in the third.
• Tonight's goaltenders are the two youngest to start games in the NHL this season (Holtby, 21, and Sergei Bobrovsky, 22).
• Eric Fehr opened the scoring for the Caps and recorded his third goal of the season with 2:31 left in the first period. Fehr has scored all of his six points (three goals, three assists) this season at Verizon Center. The Capitals improved to 3-0-0 when Fehr scores a goal and 5-0-0 when he registers a point.
• Alexander Semin scored his team-high ninth goal of the year – a power-play goal - at 8:54 into the second period. Semin extended his goal and point streak to four games (four goals, three assists), his best since notching his career-best six-game goal streak from Feb. 26 to Mar. 8, 2009. The Capitals are 7-0-0 when Semin scores a goal and 6-0-0 when the team records a power play goal.
• Alex Ovechkin extended his point streak to six games (four goals, six assists) when he assisted on Semin’s tally in the second period. Ovechkin has 18 points (eight goals, 10 assists) through 14 games to lead the team and is now tied for sixth in Caps history with 547 career points in 410 GP (matching Mike Ridley).
• With Semin’s nine goals and Ovechkin’s eight, the Capitals are the only team in the league with two eight-plus goal scorers. The duo has combined for eight goals and 16 points in the past four games.
• David Steckel was 80% at the faceoff dot tonight, winning eight of the 10 faceoffs he took.
• Semin recorded a game-high seven shots on goal tonight.
• Green skated a game-high 30:26 in ice time tonight, the fourth time this year he has surpassed 30 minutes of ice time.
• Washington posted a 3-0-0 record during this homestand, and is now 7-1-0 at Verizon Center – the best home record in the NHL (through the end of tonight’s game).
• The Capitals have won five straight overtime games for the second time under head coach Bruce Boudreau (also won six in a row from Jan. 5 to Feb. 10, 2008).

NEXT GAME: Tuesday, November 9, 2010 at NY Rangers

Philadelphia Flyers (9-4-1-14, 1st AE) v.

Washington Capitals (9-4-0-14, 1st SE)

5:00 pm  Verizon Center, Washington DC

_______________________________________________________________

The Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals are evenly matched on paper and add in the long-time rivarly, Sunday early evening should prove to be a great game in America's Hockey Capital.

After Saturday morning practice, Eric Fehr said, "It's one of our biggest rivalries for sure and both teams are pretty hot right now so its looking like its going to be an intense game."

Flyers center Danny Briere is eligible to be back on the ice on Sunday after serving a three game suspension by the NHL for a hit he made on the Islanders' Frans Nielsen last Saturday's game.

"It's tough to match their physical play so we have to do what we do best, that's all," stated Coach Bruce Boudreau.

Washington's defense was strong on Friday and will need to repeat that performance, however, extend to a full sixty minutes.  Tyler Sloan added, "Having Mike in the lineup obviously exudes confidence in all of us."

It is expected that Michal Neuvirth will be in the net for the Caps. 

Tonight's matchup, the first of four with the Flyers, should be an exciting. 

Center Marcus Johansson was assigned to Hershey and will playing in Charlotte on Sunday.

___________________________________________________

LEADERS

PHI:  RW Claude Giroux (7-7-14, +2), LW Ville Leino (2-9-11, +5), G Sergi Bobrovsky (7-2-0, 2.23, 234, .921)

WAS:   LW Alex Ovechkin (8-9-17, +2), Alexander Semin (6-5-11, +5), G Michal Neuvirth (8-3-3, 2.41, 287, .914)

INJURIES

PHI:  D Matt Walker (Hip), RW Ian Laperrier (Concussion), C Michael Leighton (Lower back strain)

WAS:  D Tom Poti (LBI-OUT), C Marcus Johansson (hip-QUE), G Semyon Varlamov (groin-QUE)

STATS

PHI: GF/G: 3.07 (3rd); GA/G: 2.21 (23rd); PP: 18.5% (11th); PK: 87.3% (7th)

WAS:  GF/G: 3.31 (4th); GA/G: 2.46 (19th); PP: 18.4% (12th); PK: 86.2% (10th)

**Quotes in this story were pulled from various sources, including NHL.com and AP

From Caps Press Release:

The Washington Capitals have assigned center Marcus Johansson to the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL), vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today.

Johansson (YO-hahn-son), 20, has a goal in six games for the Capitals this season. He missed the last six games due to injury but took warm-ups with the team last night and has been cleared for game action. He will join Hershey in Charlotte for the Bears’ game there on Sunday.

The 6’0”, 197-pound center was Washington’s first selection, 24th overall, in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Photo 2010 © Cheryl Nichols Photography/
Capitals News Network. All Rights Reserved.

“I feel great about the fact that we played tremendous the first two periods, so I am not going to try to spin any negatives on this. This is a great team and we shut them down with 11 or 12 shots in two periods.” -- Coach Bruce Boudreau

THE RESULT:  The Washington Capitals played their best second period of the season in front of the 67th consecutive sellout crowd at Verizon Center on Friday night.  Caps won 5-3 over Boston Bruins.

The Caps have already played the Bruins four times prior to Friday's game.  Caps took the wins in both pre-season games and Bruins won the regular season games 3-1 and 4-1.  Both teams looked very different from that last two games. 

The Caps defense was strong throughout all of their lines and having a healthy Mike Green back has made a world of difference.  Coach Boudreau  expressed the value of Green back on the ice in his post-game presser. “He’s the best offensive defenseman in the NHL, which means he is probably the best one in the world. When you don’t have him, it’s a detriment - when you do have him, it’s a real bonus.”

Caps first goal of the game was scored by Defenseman Tyler Sloan, just one day shy of a year from his last goal.  Sloan's slapshot was his first ever goal at Verizon Center and the fourth of his NHL career. Three of them have come in November. "Yeah, I was excited. I haven't scored at Verizon [Center] yet. It was a great experience and it just happened to chip in tonight."

Sloan was part of the stellar defense tonight. “I thought the first was okay, it wasn’t great. But the second was tremendous; we just got to find a way to do a better job in the third period and continue to play like we do in the second period. We will learn, we will figure it out. I think everybody was happy overall with the whole effort tonight.”

Mike Green scored the second goal - a wrist shot with assists from Ovechkin and Backstrom.

Alex Semin continued his hot streak with a BEAUTIFUL shorthanded goal in the second period.  He ended up sliding on his belly on the ice, pounded the ice with his fist and smile from ear to ear. When asked about Semin's raised leverl of emotion after scoring, Boudreau said, "He's getting Americanized." (with laughter). "He loves to win. He loves to play."

The Caps were up 3-0 after two periods and Washington was clearly dominating the puck.  The Bruins pulled goalie Tim Thomas and replaced him with Tuukka Rask.  Bruins Head Coach Claude Julien wanted to change the momentum of the game.  "I understand," Thomas said. "Coach came and talked to me after the second period and told me what his thoughts were. And I said I understand and I agree."

Julien's strategy was working and all of a sudden the Bruins scored three unanswered goals and tied the Caps at three.  Bourdreau didn't think that Neuvirth looked good on the second and third goals.  "He might be a little tired. He's not used to playing under this kind of pressure."

So with about ten minutes remaining in a tie game against a tough team, Braden Holtby made his NHL debut.  It was a moment Holtby had thought about for twenty-one years. “Yeah, it’s pretty amazing. I was pretty shocked when [Coach] Bruce [Boudreau] told me, but it was kind of cool to go into a tight game. Definitely got the heart pumping, but [I’m] glad Johnny [John Carlson] could pull out a big shot for us and get the win.”

Holtby turned away all four shots he faced in the third period and was credited with the win. Holtby also received the hardhat after the game.

Photo 2010 © Cheryl Nichols Photography/

Capitals News Network. All Rights Reserved.

John Carlson got the game-winning goal with assists by Eric Fehr and Boyd Gordon and Alex Ovechkin got the empty-netter with :58 seconds left in the game. 

Mike Green expressed his thoughts on coach Bruce Boudreau making the goalie change. “I think so, yeah [he was trying to send a wake-up call to the whole team]. Maybe he was looking at what happen with them [Boston], they pulled their goalie and they were getting goals right away so, maybe he had a feeling or what not. It worked.”

Click here to see photos of pre-game warmups.

NOTES: 

• Ovechkin extended his points streak to five games (4 goals, 5 assists).
• Washington outshot Boston 39-18.
• Washington became the first team this season to score three goals on Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas.
• NEXT GAME: Sunday, November 7, 2010 at 5pm at Verizon Center hosting Philadelphia Flyers

RESULT:  Saturday night in Calgary, the Washington Capitals got a lead against a struggling, inferior team and buried them, on the road no less.  Wednesday night, in a 5-4 shootout win, it wasn't that simple.

The Caps (8-4-0-16, T-1 in SE) used a three goal blitz in the second period to seemingly take control over the Toronto Maple Leafs.  But instead of notching a fourth goal and taking the wind out of the Leafs' sails, the Caps let a poor and stuggling club back into it. 

Once Toronto got their second goal, they played like their hair was on fire, scoring three third period goals, taking a 4-3 lead at 7:17.

Good thing for Alexander Semin.

The Enigma was in full force last night.  He had two offensive zone stick fouls.  He had four shots on goal.  He scored the game-tying goal at 14:22.  He also scored the clinching goal in the shootout.

The game-tying power play goal was something of a mucker's goal, with the puck bouncing and pinballing in the crease.  But it was that kind of night for Semin, as he was much more involved in the play, going to the net and being a presence in the offensive zone most of the night. 

“When he scored his goal on the power play, there aren’t too many guys in the National Hockey League that have hands like that – that can put it there that quickly," coach Bruce Boudreau said after the game.

In fact, all four of the Capitals goals were scored from in close, and Boudreau acknowledged the effort post-game as well. 

Another aspect that has been missing most of the season from the Capitals attack has been a strong presence from the third line.

Boyd Gordon, Jason Chimera and Matt Bradley not only combined for Chimera's third goal of the season, but regardless if it was Bradley or Eric Fehr on the line, the grinders were effective digging the puck off the boards, providing a physical presence, and buzzing rookie goalie Jonas Gustavsson whenever they were on the ice.

(Video D. Nichols/Caps News Network)

Much like the Capitals season at large, this game wasn't pretty.  There was some really good.  There was some pretty bad.  And again, there was strong goaltending, despite the four goals against.

Mike Green, who scored his second goal of the season on a nifty backdoor pass from Semin, spoke freely about the performance of his young goaltender thus far this season.

“He’s incredible. I don’t want to pump him too much but he’s been outstanding for us. As a defenseman I feel so comfortable with him behind us. There’s already a mutual bond that we feel even though he’s only been here a short period of time.”

The Caps dug down and found enough in the third period and in the shootout to scratch out a win against a team they really should have buried when they had them down.  It's become a familiar refrain in this campaign, but it sure beats losing these games.

As they proved in the win over Calgary, they are capable of dominating a team.  Until they find a way to show that instinct on a more consistant basis, they'll have to find satifaction in winning ugly as well.

THE GOOD:  The third line.  Chimera's goal was a direct result of three things:  getting the puck in deep (Bradley), winning a physical battle in the corner (Gordon), and driving to the net (Chimera).  For a hockey connoisseur, it was as pretty as anything Ovechkin, Semin or Green could have put together.

(Video D. Nichols/Caps News Network)

THE BAD:  Jeff Schultz.  He had a lousy night.  He doesn't have many of them, so if your best stay-at-home defenseman has a bad game in win you have to take it.  He was minus-2 on the night (Green was minus-3) and just couldn't get out of his own way tonight.

THE UGLY:  D.J. King.  Was a minus-2 in just eight shifts.  Had a turnover that led directly to a goal.  Got beat up in his fight.  You have to commend GM George McPhee for indentifying what he thought was a need in the off-season and going out and filling it.  It just might have been with the wrong guy.

THE STATS:  Green (2) from Semin (6) and Ovechkin (7) at 6:05 of 2nd (PP).  Chimera (3) from Gordon (2) and Bradley (1) at 10:35 of 2nd.  Fleischmann (4) from Carlson (6) and Laich (4) at 11:28 of 2nd.  Semin (7) from Laich (5) and Ovechkin (8) at 14:22 of 3rd.  SO:  Ovechkin; Semin.

NEXT GAME:  Friday at 7:00 pm against the Boston Bruins at Verizon Center.

CAPS NEWS NETWORK THREE STARS

3.  Jason Chimera.  Nice goal, brought the speed all night.  Plus-1.

2.  Karl Alzner.  The dude was in the right place at the right time all night long.  He and John Carlson were the only D-man with plus ratings on the night.

1.  Alexander Semin.  We'll forget, for a moment, the two offensive zone stick fouls.  But The Enigma was the best player for the Caps tonight.  Good pressure, full effort, and even did a little crease-camping for show. 



Alexander Semin scores winner in shootout. (C.Nichols/Caps News Network)



Tomas Fleischmann lost his stick. (C.Nichols/Caps News Network)



Michal Neuvith makes one of his 24 saves. (C.Nichols/Caps News Network)

D.J. King had a rough go of it with Colton Orr. (C.Nichols/Caps News Network)




Toronto Maple Leafs (5-5-1-11, 3rd NE) v. Washington Capitals (7-4-0-14, 2nd SE)

7:00 pm  Verizon Center, Washington DC

___________________________________________________

The Toronto Maple Leafs, perhaps the second most storied franchise in all of hockey, got off to a tremedous start this season, winning their first four games.  But since that streak was broken in a 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Islanders, the Leafs have lost six out of seven, falling faster than the leaves on the trees as temperatures start to feel like hockey season in America's Hockey Capital.

To make matters worse, Toronto has been shut out in two of their last three games.

Toronto is led in scoring by wingers Phil Kessel and Clarke MacArthur, with seven goals apiece.  No other skater has more than two, and therein lies the problem.

"Well, it's dried up a lot," general manager Brian Burke described his squad's offensive drought. "Obviously, we're having trouble putting the puck in the net right now. I have nothing pending that might solve that. We're going to have to solve it internally for now."

Another handicap facing the Leafs tonight is their captain, Dion Phaneuf, will miss the game (and likely many more) with a laceration of his leg, incurred Tuesday night against Ottawa in the second period after getting tied up with Ottawa's Peter Regin along the boards.

Tonight's matchup, the first of four between conference rivals, pits the struggling Leaf offense against one of the hottest goalies in the league, Michal Neuvirth for the Capitals.  The 22-year old Czech goalie is tied for the league lead with seven wins, and his 2.15 goals-against average ranks second among goaltenders with 10 or more starts.

Neuvirth was named October's rookie of the month, becoming just the third goaltender in franchise history to earn the award, joining Bob Mason (Dec. 1984) and Jim Carey (March 1995) with the honors.

Neuvirth made 27 saves in Washington's 7-2 win over Calgary on Saturday -- the eighth time he's allowed two goals or less as a starter in 2010, cementing his hold on the No. 1 goalie spot over Semyon Varlamov, who has struggled this season with groin injuries.  Varlamov is expected to back up Neuvirth tonight.

The Caps broke out in a big way Saturday, getting big numbers from the re-vamped top line of Nicklas Backstrom, Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin.  All three had at least one goal and multi-point games in the breakout against Calgary. 

And the Caps power play, which has been ineffective all season, hit on three attempts with the extra-man, including one sequence where Ovechkin scored on a one-timer on a 5-on-3, then 12 seconds later did the same on the resulting 5-on-4 on the same set play.

Mike Green has returned to his regular patrol on the Caps blueline, even if his shoulder is still not 100 percent.  Green has been on the ice for just one goal against all season full-strength, which underlies his importance to the Caps.  But the defensive corps is still depleted, as Tom Poti and Tyler Sloan will both be inactive for tonight's game.  Brian Fahey was recalled once again from AHL Hershey and will dress for the affair.

The Capitals have a nice little homestand, with consecutive games against Toronto, Boston and Pihladelphia, to continue to progress offensively while staying strong in the areas that have them in the position they are now, namely goaltending and the penalty kill.

___________________________________________________

LEADERS

TOR:  LW Clarke MacArthur (7-3-10, +4), Phil Kessel (7-2-9, even), G Jean-Sebastien Gigure (4-3-1, 2.38, .905)

WAS:   LW Alex Ovechkin (7-6-13, +2), Alexander Semin (6-5-11, +5), G Michal Neuvirth (7-3-0, 2.15, .926)

INJURIES

TOR:  D Dion Phaneuf (leg-OUT), RW Colby Armstrong (finger-OUT)

WAS:  D Tom Poti (LBI-OUT), D Tyler Sloan (hip-OUT), C Marcus Johansson (hip-QUE), G Semyon Varlamov (groin-QUE)

STATS

TOR: GF/G: 2.27 (29th); GA/G: 2.36 (10th); PP: 12.8% (23rd); PK: 81.1% (21st); FO: 52.4% (7th)

WAS:  GF/G: 3.09 (7th); GA/G: 2.27 (T-4); PP: 16.7% (T-14th); PK: 90.2% (4th); FO: 49.8% (17th)

**Quotes in this story were pulled from various sources, including NHL.com and AP