Washington -- New Jersey Devils F Zach Parise scored the lone goal in a shootout, and the Washington Capitals fell at home for the first time this season 4-3. Parise had a goal and an assist in regular time, as the Caps played tight and tense most of the evening.
Parise lifted a backhander past G Brent Johnson's glove hand on the first shot of the shootout, and Devils' G Martin Brodeur did the rest. Brodeur blocked Michael Nylander's attempt, stuffed Alexander Semin from short range, and forced Alex Ovechkin to shoot wide on the final attempt, sending the 17,000+ crowd home disappointed in earning only one point.
Alexander Semin tied the game at 14:49 of the third period, on a wrist shot from the point that somehow slipped past Brodeur. Semin simply collected a bouncing puck from John Erskine and flung it toward Brodeur, who had the puck deflected in front of him. Washington then received a power play a minute and a half later, as Bryce Salvadore took a tripping penalty. Despite several excellent chances, the Caps could not find the game-winner before the horn sounded.
Johnson and Brodeur each made several nifty saves in OT, sending the game to the shootout, Washington's first of the campaign.
The Caps were out shot 32-25, and could only muster five shots in the third period. They played much of the night without the urgency displayed in the home win over Vancouver or the third period comeback against Pittsburgh Thursday night.
Semin notched two goals for the Caps -- the first and last of the evening. He opened the scoring at 5:04 with a snap shot, assisted by Sergei Federov and Shaone Morrison. Federov played defense once again for the injured Tom Poti. The Caps other goal came from Mike Green, who buried a shot past Brodeur on a 5-on-3 power play in the second period. Brooks Laich and Ovechkin got the helpers for Green.
Parise lifted a backhander past G Brent Johnson's glove hand on the first shot of the shootout, and Devils' G Martin Brodeur did the rest. Brodeur blocked Michael Nylander's attempt, stuffed Alexander Semin from short range, and forced Alex Ovechkin to shoot wide on the final attempt, sending the 17,000+ crowd home disappointed in earning only one point.
Alexander Semin tied the game at 14:49 of the third period, on a wrist shot from the point that somehow slipped past Brodeur. Semin simply collected a bouncing puck from John Erskine and flung it toward Brodeur, who had the puck deflected in front of him. Washington then received a power play a minute and a half later, as Bryce Salvadore took a tripping penalty. Despite several excellent chances, the Caps could not find the game-winner before the horn sounded.
Johnson and Brodeur each made several nifty saves in OT, sending the game to the shootout, Washington's first of the campaign.
The Caps were out shot 32-25, and could only muster five shots in the third period. They played much of the night without the urgency displayed in the home win over Vancouver or the third period comeback against Pittsburgh Thursday night.
Semin notched two goals for the Caps -- the first and last of the evening. He opened the scoring at 5:04 with a snap shot, assisted by Sergei Federov and Shaone Morrison. Federov played defense once again for the injured Tom Poti. The Caps other goal came from Mike Green, who buried a shot past Brodeur on a 5-on-3 power play in the second period. Brooks Laich and Ovechkin got the helpers for Green.
Photos (c) Cheryl Nichols 2008.
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Scoresheet:
WAS: Semin (5) from Federov and Morrisonn (1-5:04); Green (4) from Laich and Ovechkin (2-12:18 PP); Semin (6) from Erskine and Schultz (3-14:49)
NJ: Vrana (1) from Elias and Oduya (1-12:48), Parise (3) from Langenbrunner and Elias (3-10:34 PP); Greene (1) from Parise and Langenbrunner (3-11:42)
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The Good, Bad & Ugly
GOOD: Alexander Semin. Someone's going to have to knock him out of this spot. Two more goals tonight, and really the only Cap to play with confidence on offense in this one.
BAD: Power Play. 1-for-8, including the gift with 3:32 remaining, just isn't going to cut it. The only PP marker came on the two-man advantage from Green.
UGLY: The team just looked disjointed tonight. New Jersey's trap can do that to anyone, but it seemed more so than that. They were beaten to loose pucks, whiffed on several shots, and even the checking wasn't particularly crisp. Backstrom is looking lost, and Ovechkin hasn't been able to do anything to help him right now.
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NEXT GAME: Tuesday, October 21 at Calgary at 9:30 pm EST.
RECORD: 3-1-1. One-game losing streak.
NOTES: Tom Poti, Donald Brashear and Viktor Kozlov all remained out with injury.
LW Chris Bourque, recalled Friday from AHL Hershey, made his debut. He was sent back out to Hershey following the game. His Hall of Fame father, Ray, was in attendance.
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