Jason Chimera, right, taps in game-winner for the Caps (C.Nichols/Caps News Network)

“Sometimes when we get a lead so early we kind of settle in instead of keep pushing the pace and that was a classic example of what we did tonight."  John Carlson

You got the sense, after a first period where the Washington Capitals took a 1-0 lead and outshot the out-of-the-playoffs Columbus Blue Jackets 15-4, that if the Caps could score the next goal, the Jackets would roll over and the Caps could finally have a game where they could put away an opponent, rather than put things in jeopardy and have to squeak out another one-goal game.

You would have been wrong.

Only a fantastic play from a trio of Caps in overtime kept this game from following Tuesday's script, where the Caps got a lead, coughed it up, and ended up on the losing end via shootout.

Instead, Jason Chimera tapped in a rebound from Brooks Laich, who was fed a tasty pass from John Carlson, exactly halfway through overtime to give the Capitals a 4-3 win. 

“It went to the net soft," Chimera said.  "It kind of went off their defenseman and it kind of ended up right on my tape so it’s hard to miss those ones but those are nice. Especially nice against your old team. It was a good night.”

The two points drew the Caps to within one point of Eastern Conference leading Philadelphia, 1-0 losers to Atlanta at home Thursday night.  The Flyers have one game in hand over the Caps, but at 4-2-4 in their last ten games, Philly is not playing their best hockey of the year.

It also give the Capitals 101 points, marking the third straight year the Caps have eclipsed the century mark. 

A late first period fight between John Erskine and Jared Boll -- one that would end Erskine's night early -- got both teams going in a game that had gotten a little stale, but Columbus seized the momentum better. 

The second division squad found themselves in the second period, and when Antoine Vermette banged home a loose puck in the crease, with Matt Bradley and Boyd Gordon watching, Columbus decided they would put up a fight.

The game went back and forth from that point, with both teams scoring twice in the middle frame.  The Caps were matching Columbus on the scoresheet, and a lucky bounce behind the Columbus goal led to Marco Sturm hitting a wide open Jason Arnott for the go-ahead goal.

At that point, the Caps went into their "New Jersey Devils" mode, clogging the neutral zone and falling into a defensive shell.  It didn't help that for the second game in a row the Caps found themselves with just five defensemen, as Erskine took just one shift in the second period after the fight. 

But there's a big difference between playing defensive hockey and passive hockey, and last night the Caps fell into the latter.  You got the feeling that if Columbus got a lucky bounce, the game would end up tied.

They did.  It did.

The Capitals failed to clear a puck that was bouncing around between the circles, and Michal Neuvirth (23 saves) might have relaxed a little bit.  Scottie Upshall beat the young Czech glove side, and the Caps were in a dogfight.  The teams traded scoring chances down the stretch but needed the extra frame, where the Caps -- finally -- were able to find the game-winner.

"Tonight we had a lot to learn," Boudreau said after the game.  "We talked about it before the game, that it was an important thing, playing away from the puck.  And I thought that we weren't that good at it.  Hopefully it will be a learning session tomorrow looking at the video."

WIDEMAN HOSPITALIZED

A report surfaced during the game from TSN.ca's Bob MacKenzie that D Dennis Wideman, injured in Tuesday's loss, was hospitalized for a hematoma in his leg. After the game, the Capitals indeed confirmed that was the case. 

Mike Knuble went even further, as he told reporters that Wideman had emailed him pictures of the injury, which he termed "grotesque."  Knuble described how Wideman's leg had been cut to drain blood and relieve pressure from a condition called "compartment syndrome", where blood and pressure collect and could lead to tissue damage.

Wideman's injury is not thought to be quite that severe, however, he appears to be out indefinitely.  The offical team information has Wideman listed "week-to-week".

ERSKINE DOESN'T RETURN

John Erskine, by all accounts, won his title bout with Columbus' Jared Boll, but the Caps might end up the biggest losers of the tilt. 

Erskine skated just one shift after the fight and did not return after that.  Boudreau confirmed after the game that the rugged defenseman did not injure his hands in the fight, but would not elaborate further, except to say Erskine was day-to-day and was held out in the second and third periods as a precaution.

If Erskine can't return for Saturday's game with Buffalo the Caps will have to recall at least one blue-liner from Hershey, since Wideman, Mike Green and Tom Poti are all still on the shelf and the team is down to five healthy defensemen.

CARLSON'S BIG NIGHT

John Carlson played his 100th NHL game and had himself a big night.  He played almost 26 minutes, scored the game's first goal and assisted on Chimera's game winner. 

Carlson now has 35 points (seven goals, 28 assists) on the season and is two points shy of matching the club record for most points in a season from a rookie defenseman, currently co-held by Robert Picard (37 points in 1977-78) and Greg Theberge (37 points in 1981-82).

CAPS NEWS NETWORK'S THREE STARS

3. Brooks Laich.  Two helpers, two hits, three takeaways.  Really insinuated himself in the action.

2. Marcus Johansson.  Didn't figure into the scoring, but man, this kid is playing well right now.

1. John Carlson.  Goal, assist, PP, PK, whatever.  Great game from young stud defenseman.

PHOTOS (Click photo to enlarge.  All photos (c) C.Nichols/Caps News Network)

John Carlson's Goal

After Chimera's game winning goal!

Erskine's fight

Neuvy first off the ice for warmups

THE RESULT:  Eric Fehr had two goals and an assist, Alex Ovechkin had three assists and Mike Green had two helpers, and the Washington Capitals ran their pre-season record to 5-0 with a 5-3 win over the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets before an announced 17,496 at noticably chilly Verizon Center.

Brooks Laich, Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin added goals for the Caps.

The game was chippy from the get-go.  Two minutes in Nathan Guenin put his shoulder into the chest of Matt Hendricks, knocking the Caps forward into next week.  As the dazed Hendricks lay on the ice, Tyler Sloan went at Guenin, mixing it up in front of the Columbus bench.

The rough stuff continued all game, as Columbus' roster was made up of players that were trying to make a name for themselves, but most will be fighting for time with their AHL team this season.

Even the big guns got into the act.  Nick Holden took a run at Mike Knuble in the third period, hitting the veteran up high with his stick.  The next man in was none other than Ovechkin, throwing several punches in Holden's direction.  Mind you, this was at 11:16 of the third period of a meaningless pre-season game.

"It doesn't matter it's pre-season or not," the Capitals captain said after the game.  "We have to stay together as a team.  Hockey is a physical game. They want to show their character. They’re a pretty good team and a young team, so they want to prove something.”

"It was a little physical but it was a good game to play in," Fehr said from his locker stall.  "We want to play a physcial game, we don't want to back down."

Fehr had six shots on goal, leading the Caps offense.  "Last couple of games I didn't get a lot of shots on goal and Bruce [Boudreau] wanted me to work on that today so it was kinda the game plan.  The goals that I got were just kinda cheap goals in front of the net.  I'll take 'em any way I can."

"You get 50 of them, and a lot of people are going to pay you a lot of money," Boudreau joked during his press conference.

THE GOOD:  Fehr's first goal was a thing of beauty.  Marcus Johansson left a drop pass for Green, who deftly slid the puck through the crease to a streaking Fehr, who buried it past Columbus goalie Garon.

It was alose really good to see the players sticking up for each other so well tonight.  Columbus brought a bunch of minor leaguers looking to make names for themselves, and they were really throwing their bodies around.  The Caps gave back and stood up for themselves when they thought the Jackets were taking liberties.

THE BAD:  Washington gave up two power play goals and a short-handed goal.  Johansson went 0-for-10 on faceoffs.

THE UGLY:  Tyler Sloan took a total of 11 penalty minutes, including his five for fighting and three minors.

THE STATS:  Caps outshot Columbus 38-26.  Michal Neuvirth made 23 saves on 26 shots.

NEXT GAME:  Sunday at 12:30 hosting Nashville.

CAPS NOTES:  Hendricks did not return to the game, but Boudreau said were it a regular season game he would have. 

The sold-out Capitals Convention is tomorrow.  Click on the link for all the information you'll need.

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.

Steve Mason, the 20-year old rookie goaltender for the Columbus Blue Jackets, came into Friday night's game leading the entire NHL in shutouts, goals against average and save percentage. The only reason he was left off the Western Conference All-Star team had to be name recognition. If he keeps having games like he did last night against the Washington Capitals, name recognition will be the least of his worries.

Mason turned away all 45 shots he faced for his sixth shutout of the season, and the injury-depleted Blue Jackets beat the Capitals 3-0, before an announced, but not actual, sellout at Verizon Center.

If Tuesday's game with Philadelphia felt and sounded like a playoff game, then the feeling for this one was more of a pre-season game. The stands were barely three-quarters full, and what is usually a vocal Friday night crowd could only be described as subdued. The Caps did nothing to inspire the faithful.

Washington outshot and generally outplayed the Jackets, who were missing most of their top forwards due to injury, including leading scorers Rick Nash and Kristian Huselius. But coach Ken Hitchcock's trapping system kept the Caps from getting too many quality scoring chances, and when they did, Mason was in the way anyway.

Rookie defenseman Karl Alzner expressed the Caps frustration, "Their style of game is frustrating," Alzner said. "They're trapping and they're very tight defensively. If you don't get a goal quickly on them, they get a lot of confidence and get rolling."

Columbus got goals from R.J. Umberger, Fedor Tyutin and Jared Boll, with the second and third goals coming on the power play. Columbus had scored just four power play goals in their last 11 games.

The Jackets ended Washington's nine-game home winning streak.

"It had to happen one day," Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said. "You get snakebitten. But good teams rebound from it and, hopefully, we're a good team."

Washington travels to Montreal Saturday night for a battle for second place in the conference and the honor to send their coach to the All-Star game.

Photo by Getty Images.

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SCORESHEET

WAS: None.

CBJ: Umgerger (12) from Voracek and Methot (1-9:27); Tyutin (4) from Malhotra and Boll (2-18:06-PP); Boll (1) from Tyutin and Malhotra (3-14:51)

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THREE STARS

1. S. Mason - CLB (Saves: 45, Save Pct: 1.000)

2. R. Umberger - CLB (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)

3. J. Boll - CLB (Goals: 1, Assists: 1)

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NOTES

Winger Boyd Gordon suffered back spasms during pre-game warmups and did not play. The injury occurred after the lineups were submitted, so the Caps were forced to skate a player down all game. He is doubtful for tomorrow's game against Montreal.

Sergei Federov and Tomas Fleischmann both returned from lengthy absences, so Eric Fehr and Michael Nylander were the healthy scratches.

Jeff Schultz re-injured his finger and was scratched as well. Tyler Sloan was recalled from AHL Hershey to take his place.

The Washington Capitals (27-11-3-57, first in Southeast, second in East), winners of their last seven games, host the Columbus Blue Jackets (18-18-4-40, third in Central) at 7:00 pm at the Verizon Center.

The Caps continue to be one of the hottest teams in the league. They are 14-2-0 since Dec. 4 and 18-1-1 at home this season. Washington looks to even the season series against Columbus, as they fell on the road to the Jackets 3-0 on Nov. 29.

In the previous loss, Rick Nash was the difference-maker for Columbus as he scored two of the three goals. Nash will miss tonight's game, however. Rookie goalie Steve Mason earned one of his five shut outs for the season that night, stopping all 26 shots he faced.

In fact, Mason has been the reason Columbus can still think about the playoffs. The 20-year old netminder is 7-5-0 with a 1.49 goals-against average the past month. Overall this season, his goals against is 1.82 and save percentage is .934, both tops in the NHL. Inexplicably, he was left off the Western Conference All-Star team.

Just as disappointing were the omissions of Niklas Backstrom and Mike Green from the Eastern Conference reserves. It is unfortunate the league could not find room for the seventh leading scorer in the East overall (Backstrom) and the number three scoring defenseman (Green), but that is what happens when the league allows unlimited computer voting and the "fans" vote two undeserving players to the starting lineups (Montreal's Alex Kovalev and Mike Komisarek).

Coach Bruce Boudreau's team must focus their efforts on a stingy Columbus team after their tense victory over Philadelphia Tuesday night, a 2-1 shootout win. His team is getting healthy at the right time though, with games against Montreal, Pittsburgh and Boston in the coming week.

Center Sergei Federov and winger Tomas Fleischmann both appear ready to make their returns to the ice, opening up all sorts of questions about line assignments, healthy scratches and cap issues. For Boudreau, having these types of questions is a luxury compared to earlier in the season when they had trouble finding enough healthy bodies to suit up (see: video producer Brett Leonhardt in goal).

Defenseman Tyler Sloan was recalled this morning from AHL Hershey, apparently due to an undisclosed injury to defenseman Jeff Schultz.
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SPECIAL TEAMS

WAS: PP-5th (23.2%, 39/168); PK-20th (80.3%, 37/188)
CLB: PP-30th (10.2%, 18/177); PK-18th (80.7%, 35/181)
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INJURIES

WAS: D John Erskine (Concussion-IR); D Brian Pothier (Concussion-OUT); D Tom Poti (Groin-IR); C Sergei Federov (Ankle-Questionable); Tomas Fleischmann (Pneumonia-Questionable); D Jeff Schultz (Undisclosed-Questionable)

CLB: C Derick Brassard (Shoulder-Out); LW Raffi Torres (Knee-IR); LW Jason Chimera (Groin-IR); LW Kristian Huselius (Upper body-Questionable); D Rostislav Klesla (Lower body-IR); G Pascal Leclaire (Lower body-IR); LW Rick Nash (Leg-Doubtful); C Jiri Novotny (Upper body-IR)

The Washington Capitals went into Columbus looking to build off Friday night's shut out victory over Montreal. What they found was a hockey team more desperate than they were, as Rick Nash scored twice -- once short handed -- and rookie goalie Steve Mason pitched a 26 save shut out of his own dealing Washington a 3-0 loss.

To make matters worse, Washington (13-8-3, first in Southeast) may have lost the services of rookie defenseman Karl Alzner for a while, himself a recent injury replacement. He was slammed into the side boards by Derick Brassard in the second period chasing after a loose puck and came up from the hit hanging his left arm at his side and did not play in the third period.

Washington was out shot 15-8 in the first period and were out-played and out-hustled from the very beginning. Goalie Brent Johnson survived the first period allowing just one goal, a slap shot from Raffi Torres, his first goal of the season. It's the only goal Mason would need.

Mason, 20, now owns a 5-2-0-1 record this season, making it difficult for coach Ken Hitchcock to return the player to the minors when their regular goalies get healthy.

The shut out sees Alex Ovechkin's 10-game points streak come to an end. He had scored 11 goals and 11 assists in those 10 games.

Columbus (10-13-3-23) captain Rick Nash had no such problems. He snapped a wrist shot past Johnson at 14:44 of the second period, and put the exclamation point on the victory with a short handed back-hander past Johnson mid-way through the third. It was goals 11 and 12 for Nash this season.

The Capitals now have a couple days to get players healthy. They once again played without a host of players, including October's player of the month Alexander Semin, veteran Sergei Federov, and blue line mainstays Mike Green, Tom Poti among others.

Washington hosts the Florida Panthers Tuesday, December 2 at 7:00 p.m. from Verizon Center.

Photo by AP.
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SCORESHEET

WAS: None.
COL: Torres (1) from Modin and Methot (1-8:01); Nash (11) from Umberger and Huselius (2-14:44); Nash (12) unassisted (3-13:37-SH)
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THREE STARS

1. R. Nash - CLB (Goals: 2, Assists: 0)
2. S. Mason - CLB (Saves: 26, Save Pct: 1.000)
3. J. Hejda - CLB (Goals: 0, Assists: 0)
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NOTES

The Caps are 4-8-2 on the road this season.

Washington's seven-game unbeaten streak against Columbus (6-0-1) was the Capitals' longest against any team.

The Capitals went 8-5-2 for their first winning November since 1999 and with their most wins in the month since getting nine in 1996.

Behind stellar goaltending from embattled netminder Jose Theodore, the Washington Capitals (13-7-3-29, first in Southeast) shut out his former team, the Montreal Canadiens (12-6-4-28, second in Northeast), 3-0 before a sell-out Friday night crowd.

Theodore easily played his best game to date as a Capital, stopping all 28 saves he faced. He played in control the entire game, looking very much like the all-star and MVP he was while wearing les blue, blanc et rouge of last night's opponent.

Theodore would not admit to revenge against a team that the last he faced surrendered eight goals in a loss while with Colorado in 2006, but completing the shut out had to be personally satisfying on top of providing a vital two points in the standings, on a night where four of his active defensemen were starters in Hershey (AHL) at the beginning of the season.

The team lost Tom Poti to a strained groin Wednesday in the Caps win over Atlanta, so Washington was forced to call up yet another minor leaguer to man their blue line, this time recalling veteran Bryan Helmer, to team with Tyler Sloan, Sami Lepisto and Karl Alzner as former Hershey Bears in the lineup for Washington against an offensively creative Canadiens team.

Tomas Fleischmann started the scoring for Washington when he snapped a shot past Montreal goalie Jaroslav Halak. Canadians defenseman Francis Bouillon played the puck behind his own net, trying to pass out to a wing, but Fleischmann intercepted the pass right in front of Halak. Fleischmann tapped the puck to Michael Nylander, who was forechecking as well, and Nylander gave it right back and Fleischmann made no mistake.

Alex Ovechkin added his 13th goal of the season in the third period, extending his scoring streak to 10 straight games. During that stretch, he has tallied 11 goals and 11 assists, and leads the NHL in scoring in November and is now tied for second overall.

David Steckel redirected a shot from Lepisto at 8:46 to cap the scoring. The rest was left to Theodore.

Washington travels tonight to Columbus to face the Blue Jackets (9-10-3-21, fourth in Central Division) at 7:00 p.m. from Nationwide Arena. Brent Johnson will get the nod in goal tonight for the Caps.

Columbus is led on offense by Rick Nash (10-9-19, +3), with Derick Brassard, Kristian Huselius and R.J. Umberger all adding eight goals apiece. Rookie G Steve Mason has not looked out of place in his six starts. He's 4-1-1 with a .913 save percentage and a 2.28 GAA.

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SCORESHEET

WAS: Fleischmann (9) from Nylander (1-11:03); Ovechkin (13) from Backstrom (3-3:42); Steckel (4) from Lepisto and Laich (3-8:46).

MON: None.
______________________________________________________
THREE STARS

1. J. Theodore - WAS (Saves: 28, Save Pct: 1.000)
2. A. Ovechkin - WAS (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)
3. T. Fleischmann - WAS (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)
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NOTES

Washington Coach Bruce Boudreau earned his 50th win as the coach of the Capitals. He becomes the fastest to 50 in the team's history, recording the win in 84 games.

The 36-year-old Helmer played in his first NHL game since April 2004 with Phoenix.