So, where shall we begin?

Ultimately, the only thing about this game that matters was the final score, with the Washington Capitals defeating the New York Rangers 4-3 more than halfway through the second overtime period to take a three games to one lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference Semi-final matchup.

But man, how they got there?  That will be the stuff of legends and lifetime memories.

In the second extra stanza, with legs getting heavy and shifts shortening, Jason Chimera collected a drop pass from Player of the Game Marcus Johansson at the blue line and flicked a shot toward veteran goalie Henrik Lundqvist that was blocked by defenseman Bryan McCabe but still made it to the top of the crease.

But as Lundqvist (49 saves) went to cover, Rangers forward Marian Gaborik tried to deflect the puck behind the net instead and wound up hitting Chimera right in the chest with it. Once the puck fell to the ice, the speedy winger jammed it home behind a prone Lundqvist to end the Capitals fifth longest game in their 37-year history.

That goal ended a remarkable comeback that was necessary because of a period of incredible futility and ineptitude, followed by an equally amazing period of hard work, perseverance and dedication.

After playing to a scoreless tie in the first period, which amounted to little more than a "feeling out" period for both teams, the Caps played their worst period of hockey since the days of the December losing streak in the second period, allowing three straight Rangers goals -- the last two coming seven seconds apart -- and looked for the world to be beaten, broken and defeated.

Washington was completely overwhelmed by the Rangers physicality in the frame, and by the time the period was over, the Caps looked like they were standing around waiting to be hit again.

But whomever gave the speech in the locker room during the second intermission certainly said all the right things.

With just 2:47 gone in the third period, Alexander Semin used great anticipation to intercept a poor clearing pass from Ryan McDonagh, fired on a surprised Henrik Lundqvist, and jammed home a loose puck the normally sure-handed goalie should have covered, triggering an epic third period comeback that included a pair of Marcus Johansson goals and forcing a stunned and tiring Rangers team to overtime.

It should be noted that three of the four Capitals goals came with the goal scorer having at least one foot in the paint, and the other was a deflection off the goal scorer's body camped in the crease.  Greasy goals.  Playoff goals.

Both teams had golden opportunities in the first extra frame, most notably Alex Ovechkin breaking in on Lundqvist alone, only to be stoned, and Marian Gaborik's wrister from the high slot that was calmly gloved by Michal Neuvirth (36 saves).

No, one overtime was not enough.  A comeback that stunning needed the drama of the second overtime period.

It shouldn't have come to that.  The Rangers had the Capitals right where they wanted them after the second period, on the scoreboard, on the ice and in the stands.  The raucous Madison Square Garden crowd was having a field day with Caps coach Bruce Boudreau, who earlier in the week had some pointed comments about the quality of the accommodation at the fabled arena, and some not-so-veiled jabs at the legions of Rangers fans, saying "It's not so loud in there."

Well, the chants of "Boo-dreau" and "Can You Hear Us?" were plenty loud enough, prompting Boudreau after the game to say that maybe he should have kept quiet about matters not directly related to the game.  But three third period goals silenced the MSG faithful, and after the dagger in the second overtime, you could hear the plaster dropping from the leaky ceiling in the dilapidated building that will be undergoing a $900 million face lift the next couple of years.

Momentum is a funny thing.  Had the Rangers held on to win and even this series, the Caps would have had to limp home and think about the nauseating way they allowed an inferior team to take control of things after achieving a two-games-to-none lead and then frittering it away.  Instead, after the ridiculous comeback-to-win-in-two-overtimes thriller, it's the Rangers that will brood for two days, mulling what could have, should have been.

The Capitals now have an opportunity to exorcise so many demons at once on Saturday, in front of their home crowd, on a night where the Verizon Center should tremble with excitement. 

Boudreau's message to his troops for Game Five should be simple: Take nothing for granted, earn everything, go to the net, work hard.  Just like in the third period of Game Four.

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CAPS NEWS NETWORK THREE STARS

3. Marco Sturm.  Plus-1, six hits.  Thought he played his best game as a Capital.

2. Jason Chimera.  Game-winning goal.  His speed was a force in overtime when Marc Staal and Dan Girardi were noticeably gassed.

1. Marcus Johansson.  Two goals. Should have had an assist on Chimera's game-winner.  Plus-3.  Only drawback was in face off dot (6of-17).  But he was the best player on the ice last night.

CAPS NOTES:  Alex Ovechkin was minus-2 for the night, and was not particularly effective for long stretches of this game.  He had four shots on goal, but missed on four and had six blocked.

John Carlson was also minus-2, and was a spectator on the second and third Rangers goals.  But he fired the shot from the point that deflected on Johansson to tie the game and as poorly as he played in the second, that's how good he was in the third and overtime.

Alexander Semin led the Caps with seven shots on goal and really was a presence every time he had the puck.  Matt Bradley was credited for seven hits in just 10:59 to pace the Caps in that department.

The two teams combined for 120 hits and 92 shots on goal.

Um, allow me to catch my breath.

When noted antagonist Daniel Briere completed the comeback for the Philadelphia Flyers, taking a 4-3 lead with just 5:45 left in the game after his team trailed 3-0 just into the second period, the collective soul of the Washington Capitals -- and their fan base -- had every right to be crushed, dejected and exhausted.

But a little over two minutes later, a young Swede that's growing up right before our eyes took matters into his own hands, rifling a shot past backup goalie Brian Boucher from the high slot to force overtime.  After a scoreless five minutes, Washington scored on all three of their penalty shots and escaped one of the toughest places to play in the league with two points -- which they were definitely fortunate to earn.

The win puts the Caps just a single point behind the Flyers for first place in the Eastern Conference, six ahead of Boston for second, and seven up on Tampa Bay -- losers at home to the Islanders -- for first in the Southeast Division.

This is a tale of three games rolled into one.  The first game consisted of the Caps beating Flyers starting goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky, like a drum.  The Russian rookie was shaky from the get-go, allowing three goals on nine shots, before being replaced by backup Brian Boucher after the third goal at 1:22 of the second period.

Not to take anything away from the effort of the Caps on the scoring plays, but two of the three goals against Bobrovsky were definitely preventable.  Nick Backstrom's snap shot trickled between Bobrovsky's blocker arm and his body for the Caps first tally, and he gave up the near post on Mike Knuble's close range stuff on the second.

Dennis Wideman sent "Bob" to the showers with his shot from the point at the start of the second period.

At that point, the second game commenced, as the Caps were content to sit back and let the Flyers dictate play, as if they were daring them to erase a three goal lead.  Enough said.

Michal Neuvirth had more problems with his own defense backing into him and screening him than he really did with the Flyers offense.  Philly outshot the Caps 11-7 in the second and 11-5 in the third, and completely dominated play to the point that it looked like the home team had a two period power play. 

The goals were inevitable, as Neuvirth had to contend with the screens and physical play from the Flyers up front.  There was a noticable lack of contact from the Caps defense for most of this contest, with the Flyers roughing things up -- and chirping -- with impugnity once they got on the board.

Neuvirth could do little on either of Philly's first two goals, the first bouncing in off defenseman Dennis Wideman's skate; the second came on a botched clear, with Andreas Nodl drawing the defense -- and Neuvirth -- before hitting an unchecked Claude Giroux on the doorstep.

Three Caps defenders were marking center Jeff Carter, leaving Giroux and his lethal shot all alone to fire into the open net.

The emboldened Flyers just picked up the pace even more in the third.  Midway through the frame, on a hard forecheck, Jeff Schultz coughed the puck up into his own slot, where Nodl gathered and buried it past a dazed Neuvrith, and the game was tied.

Later, after Flyers won another yet faceoff (Caps 44 percent for the night) Briere tipped a shot from the point by Kimmo Timmonen that was destined for the back board behind a screened Neuvirth, and things looked bleak for the Caps.

Washington picked up its play a bit after the goal, and at 16:41, Mike Knuble (goal, two assists) dug the puck out of the offensive left wing corner, carried aliong the boards, and found Johansson, who had slipped into the high slot undetected. 

Johansson called for the shot like a veteran and pounded it past Boucher to send it to overtime.

Neither team took any risk in the extra frame, and when it was unsettled after five minutes of four-on-four, the gimmick was invoked to award the extra point.  

Matt Hendricks used his nifty stutter step to get Boucher on the ice and slipped it past him backhanded, Nick Backstrom got a quick snap shot through, and Alexander Semin finished Boucher and Flyers off stick side for the game winner.  Neuvirth tripped up Carter with his stick, keeping the prolific scorer off the board, and the win went to the visitors.

As John Carlson tweeted after the game, a win is a win is a win.  Especially in Philadelphia.  The Caps didn't do themselves any favors retreating into a shell after taking a 3-0 lead.  Despite earning the extra point tonight, the Flyers have to be emboldened by the fact they shredded the Caps now vaunted defense after falling into such a hole.

But the Caps, too, take something away from this one.  First, they took a big lead over one of the East's best in their own building.  They showed resiliency to not quit after allowing the fourth goal.  And they found some toughness late that was missing early, with Scott Hannan putting  himself in harm's way to block a shot with two minutes left, and Carlson FINALLY dumping a Flyers forward in the corner after getting ridden roughshod most of the game.

And the Caps did all this, missing the services of Alex Ovechkin, Jason Arnott, Mike Green, Tom Poti, and Eric Fehr, who mysteriously missed all but one shift in the third period.

All four games in this series this season went to overtime.  Heaven help us all if these teams meet again in the playoffs.

CAPS NEWS NETWORK THREE STARS

3. Nicklas Backstrom.  The senior Swede had goal, assist, shootout marker.

2. Marcus Johansson.  Goal and assist, plus-2.  When Arnott gets back, he gives the Caps a dangerous playmaker on the third line. Can't be undersetimated in playoffs to be able to roll three lines with confidence.

1. Mike Knuble.  Pops had a goal and two assists in his old haunt, and really showed his veteran leadership -- on the ice.

Every game the rest of the regular season is going to present the Washington Capitals with a chance to move up or down in the Eastern Conference standings.  But no team in hockey is on more of a roll, as the Caps won their ninth straight game overall -- and a team record sixth on a row on the road -- in a 4-2 win over last year's playoff nemesis Montreal Canadiens before a raucous crowd at the Bell Centre.

Rookie center Marcus Johansson, bouncing between the first and second lines due to injuries to Nicklas Backstrom and Jason Arnott, scored twice, notching his second two-goal game of the season.  Johansson's development this season has been impressive and he seems to be getting better as the season goes on.

And that's good.  Because with Arnott's "week-to-week" injury, Johansson is going to have to shoulder the load for a couple weeks that he looked ill-equipped to handle the first half of the season: that of a play-making second line center.

Johansson certainly looked the part last night, and has on occasion this season looked brilliant.  He's a terrific skater and decent defender, but at time on offense he's looked timid and deferential to the veterans on the team. 

But the young Swede banged home an awkward bounce off the back boards into an empty net for the first goal of the game, and got the game winner in the third, putting a backhander in against Carey Price (37 saves) off a nice pass from Alex Ovechkin.  Ovechkin had beaten P.K. Subban to the loose puck behind the net and got the puck to an open Johansson cutting to the goal.

Mike Knuble added a one-timer blast with 3:07 left to seal the victory, aided by a pretty saucer pass from Marco Sturm, who had just left the penalty box after taking a bad hooking call.  Brooks Laich got his 16th of the season -- and 100th NHL goal -- earlier in the game by beating Hal Gill to the outside, cutting across the crease and slipping the puck past a sprawled Price.

Price was tremendous in this game, and he defied logic and gravity at time keeping his Canadiens teammates in this one.  But time and again his defense let him down, committing costly turnovers and bad passes through the neutral zone.  And when the Montreal offense did manage to set up, Braden Holtby was there, making 24 saves in his fifth consecutive win.

Holtby looked shaky early, and made a huge error, playing a puck behind the net and not getting back to his crease quickly enough.  Travis Moen collected the puck along the boards below the circle and fired a short-angle shot, beating the goalie to the net.  Montreal's other goal was a nice wrist shot that beat Holtby glove side.

But the rookie netminder was again solid in the third period, turning away all eight Montreal shots in the final frame to help carry the Caps to victory.

The win came with a price, though, as Eric Fehr left the game in the second period and did not return.  After the game, coach Bruce Boudreau said Fehr suffered an "upper body injury" and would be re-evaluated in the morning.

It was a big game and a big win for the Capitals in Montreal last night. The Bell Center can be a house of horrors, and no Caps fan will soon forget how last year's series turned out with "Le Blue, Blanc et Rouge."

But this year's version of the Capitals are coming into their own as the second season approaches.  They still haven't lost since the trade deadline, and are playing the tight-checking, close to the vest style of hockey that many around the league refer to as "playoff hockey". 

They proved again last night they can go into a tough building and come out with two points.  Nine wins in a row in has vaulted the Caps back into the conversation about the top seed in the East, and as play begins Wednesday Washington finds themselves just one point behind Philadelphia for that top spot, though the Flyers have two games in hand over the Caps.

As the road trip continues through Detroit and New Jersey, next Tuesday's matchup with the Flyers looms.

Can you blame a guy for looking ahead a little bit?

CAPS NOTES:  Jason Arnott did not make the road trip with what the Capitals are calling a "week-to-week" undisclosed injury.  He will miss at least the first three games of the road trip.

Nickals Backstrom (hand) did make the trip and skated before the Montreal game, but was held out again.  He could very well make his return Wednesday in Detroit.

Jay Beagle got a sweater for the first time since Feb. 26.  He took 15 shifts and recorded one shot on goal.

John Carlson played his best game in a while, recording six shots and blocking two.  He had an assist and was plus-2 for the night.

Matt Hendricks had a goal waived off after a scramble in the crease.  The video replay judges ruled the on-ice officials either had or were in the process of blowing the play dead and upheld the ruling on the ice of "no goal."

The power play went 2-for-5, but failed to score on a 1:25 five-on-three to end the first period.

"We had to persevere if we were to succeed." Coach Bruce Boudreau on tough 2-1 win over Buffalo.

THE RESULT: The Washington Capitals have been getting outscored lately in the third period of games, but they reversed that trend Sunday afternoon, as a late tally broke a 1-1 tie and gave the Caps a road victory over the Buffalo Sabres, 2-1 before 18,690 in HSBC Arena and an NBC national television audience.

The Capitals have entered the third period tied in four of their last six games, losing each of the three contests.  Courtesy of a solid -- if unspectacular -- effort this afternoon, a familiar story had a much happier ending.

"We talked about, going into the third, that we had to have the will to persevere and and the confidence to do it," Boudreau said when asked if the effort in the third period was a confidence boost for his team.  "I thought they dug deep and they blocked shots and did what they had to do tonight.  It was a hard-earned two points."

With the win, Washington inches to within three points of division-leading Tampa Bay.

Marcus Johansson deflected a Mathieu Perreault shot midway through the third period to lift the Caps past a struggling Buffalo squad.  Not only was it the game-winner, but it was also a power play marker, a precious asset the Caps just haven't had enough of this season.

Alex Ovechkin set up the goal, driving down the right wing drawing much of the Buffalo defense.  He got off a shot that Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller brushed aside with his blocker, but the rebound went straight to Perreault, who lifted a shot back at the cage.  Johansson, crashing the crease, tipped the puck as it went by and into the net.

Perreault also scored the first Caps goal in the second period, banging home a bad bounce off the boards past an out-of-position Miller (37 saves).

The late goal made for a happy ending.  But for much of the game, the Caps were following a all-too familiar script: not taking advantage of opportunities.

Washington went 0-for-4 on the power play in the first period, including 1:34 of 5-on-3 time.  They outshot Buffalo 16-8 in the first, including nine shots with the man advantage, but could not solve Miller.  On one particular save, Miller was down and Nick Backstrom had him dead to rights, but shot the puck directly into Miller's outstretched left pad for the save.

It's a play we've seen Backstrom bury countless times in his tenure, but just goes on a long list of missed opportunities this season for the young center.

Regardless, the two young pivots came through for the Caps today, once again showing glimpses of the potential both possess.  There will be a lot of talk with the upcoming trade deadline approaching about the Caps needing a quality, veteran second line center, and that talk is legitimate.  It's been an weakness of the Caps all season long.

We've seen flashes of brilliance from both Perreault and Johansson, but for all too brief periods.  The production over the long season just hasn't been there.

But for one afternoon, it was good enough.

So the Caps have taken four points through four games on this grueling five-game road trip.  A win in Pittsburgh on Monday would have to qualify the trip a huge success.

With the trade dealine looming so near, it's time to find out who these Washington Capitals really are.

CAPS NEWS NETWORK THREE STARS

3. Alexander Semin.  Gets the nod on the strength of one play, clearing the puck from the crease in scramble late in the game.  I think I've now seen everything.

2. Semyon Varlamov.  28 saves on 29 shots.  Solid positioning, only goal came on a screened shot on a power play.

1. Mathieu Perreault.  In the right place twice, scoring and getting the primary assist on Johansson's tip-in. We'll overlook his careless stick foul.

THE RESULTS: The Washington Capitals took too many penalties, went 0-for-5 on the power play, and was indifferent on defense too many times, as they fell behind early, rallied furiously, but fell in overtime to the Florida Panthers 4-3 before a sparse crowd in Sunrise, FL.

"If we're going to look this lethargic on the power play, that's where we are losing games," coach Bruce Boudreau said. "It's not 5-on-5, it's not the penalty killing, it's the power play. I keep putting the same guys out thinking eventually it's going to turn around, but it's not. We're going to have to do something to shake the power play up."

The overtime goal was a microcosm for the entire game.  A lazy clearing attempt by Matt Hendricks led to Mike Green taking a penalty, then the Caps surrendering their third power play goal of the night to a team that entered play as the worst power play unit in the league.

The Capitals surrendered a five-on-three goal in both of the first two periods.

A bright spot for the Caps was the play of rookie center Marcus Johansson, who had two goals - and almost a third -- in what might have been his best game of the season.

The Caps were atrocious in the first period, being outshot 20-7 and dominated in just about every facet of the game and were down 2-0 after the frame.  They allowed a third goal 6:48 into the second, and looked every bit defeated.

But just like that the Caps turned it on and took over play, reeling off three straight goals to force overtime and take a point they had no really had no business earning after 30 minutes of play.

THE GOOD: Coming back from three goals showed a lot of heart and effort on the road.  Salvaging a point in a game they could have easily stopped skating is a big deal as we enter the second half of the season.

THE BAD: Six minor penalties.  Two five-on-threes.  Folks can complain all they want, but I didn't see a call I would have strenuously argued with.

THE UGLY: The freaking power play.  How can a team with this much offensive firepower be so, what's the right word?  Pathetic?  Is that too strong? 

THE STATS: Marcus Johansson (4) from Brooks Laich (17) and Brian Willsie (1) at 10:10 of 2nd.  Mike Knuble (10) from Alex Ovechkin (30) and Nick Backstrom (28) at 13:30 of 2nd.  Marcus Johansson (5) from Matt Hendricks (8) and Mike Green (13) at 7:12 of 3rd.

NEXT GAME: Wednesday in a battle for first place against Tampa Bay at 7:00 pm.

CAPS NEWS NETWORK THREE STARS:

3. Brian Willsie.  Picked up an assist in his first game since 2005.  Good for him.

2. Michael Neuvirth.  Three goals allowed, yes.  But it could have been much, much worse.

1. Marcus Johansson.  Two goals.  A nice little breakout game.

Could Andrew Gordon be any happier? (D.Nichols/Caps News Network)

THE RESULT:  You've got to give Washington Capitals fans one thing: They know who's next on the schedule.

Mid-way through the third period, when this one was well beyond doubt, the chant started.

"WE WANT PITTSBURGH!"

It's certainly premature for the fan base of a team just two games removed from an eight-game losing streak to start taunting their fiercest rival, but there it was.  It was heard by a national television audience on the Versus Network.

And you KNOW they heard it in Western PA.

But the Capitals did exactly what they HAD to do tonight:  dominate a completely inferior opponent on home ice.

After the misery that was going through D.C. in recent days, the win was a hopeful sign to the fan base that their Capitals were back.  You'll have to forgive them for their exuberance.

After the Caps put the finishing touches on their second straight win, a 5-1 drubbing of the New Jersey Devils, the locker room as well seemed to have a different feeling.  Not of relief, per se, but of normalcy.

Washington regains first place in the Southeast Division by one point (20-12-4, 44 points) over Atlanta and remains two points behind Pittsburgh for second place in the conference.

The Caps got great contributions from recent call-ups from AHL Hershey in this one, as Andrew Gordon and Jay Beagle both chipped in with goals, and Jason Chimera broke his long scoreless streak with a goal, his 200th career NHL point.

John Carlson added a goal, assist, and was plus-4 on the night.

To say Gordon was excited about his first NHL goal is an understatement.  After tipping in a perfect crossing pass from the boards by Marcus Johansson, he found his Swedish center back on the bench and gave him a big kiss on the cheek, of course caught by the TV cameras.

“It’s a weight off my shoulders," Gordon said. "I came here wanting to contribute and show I could do it up here. I’ve had a couple opportunities the last few games but finally got a nice one to squeak through on a great pass.”

"The boys have been through quite a bit in the last few weeks and to get a couple wins in a row is always a good feeling.”

Video D.Nichols/Caps News Network

For his part on the play, Johansson just needed to beat a cheating defenseman to the puck.  “I was just hoping the puck would bounce over the defenseman’s stick at the redline and it did. I looked to the middle and saw Gordon had more speed than his defenseman so I just tried to hit him and it turned out pretty good.”

Pretty good, indeed.

Chimera's milestone came as a relief as well.  "It's nice.  It seems like I was on it for 85 games.  My three-year old made me goals scoring cookies today, so I think they helped out, so I'll give the credit to him."

"It's nice to get back-to-back wins, especially with all the questions about us, whether we're gonna play good or not.  We played pretty solid tonight."

Coach Bruce Boudreau remarked on the play of the recent call-ups after the game.

“I thought they all played great. They had lots of energy, they followed direction and they played with passion and enthusiasm. When you do that, usually, no matter what league you’re in you’re going to have success.”

And does adding a youthful outlook to the locker room alter the mood?  “I think winning rejuvenates guys too. I mean it’s a much happier locker room the last couple of games, so that’s good.”

The Capitals needed this one.  After squeaking out a 3-2 win over Ottawa Saturday night, they needed to come home and take care of business against one of the worst teams in the NHL, something they could not do two weeks ago against Toronto.

But with the Penguins looming Thursday, then again on New Year's Day, this team needs to find a semblance of efficiency and cohesion.

Perhaps the influx of talent from their very well-prepared minor league affiliate was just what the doctor ordered, starting with Carlson and Karl Alzner, then Johansson and Mathieu Perreault, now continuing with Gordon and Beagle.

Can a team whose best players aren't even at their physical prime yet already be ushering in another wave of "young guns"?

THE GOOD:  Going to the bakery.  Four of the Caps five goals were from close in, including Beagle's stuff from a nice Steckel move and pass and Mike Knuble's redirect of an entry feed by Tom Poti.

THE BAD:  Matt Bradley broke a finger and will miss two-to-four weeks.  He will also miss the Winter Classic.  We'll have more on this from practice Wednesday, but it's a huge blow to the soul of this team.

THE UGLY: Mark Fayne.  The New Jersey defenseman was victimized by Johansson on the first goal at center ice, and Chimera skated right past him on his goal.

THE STATS:

1st Period:  16:41 WSH Andrew Gordon (1) Tip-In - Assists: M. Johansson (3) & J. Erskine (5)

2nd Period:  4:56 NJD PPG - Patrik Elias (7) Tip-In - Assists: J. Langenbrunner (9) & T. Zajac (14)

10:00 WSH Jay Beagle (1) Wrist Shot - Assists: D. Steckel (4) & M. Bradley (6)

12:39 WSH Jason Chimera (5) Wrist Shot - Assists: A. Gordon (1) & J. Carlson (13)

16:31 WSH John Carlson (4) Slap Shot - Assists: A. Ovechkin (27)

3rd Period: 12:01 WSH Mike Knuble (7) Tip-In - Assists: T. Poti (5) & B. Laich (14)

NEXT GAME:  Thursday night at 7:00 pm against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Verizon Center.

CAPS NEWS NETWORK THREE STARS

3. Michael Neuvirth.  35 saves on 36 shots.  Kicked pucks to the corners all night long.

2. Andrew Gordon.  First NHL goal and assist.  And the kiss that sealed the deal.

1. John Carlson.  Goal.  Assist.  Plus-4. He's growing up right before our eyes.

PHOTOS (all photos C. Nichols/Caps News Network)



THE RESULT:  On Friday night, the Washington Capitals were beaten and embarrassed by a division opponent.  Saturday night, they rebounded against one of their biggest competitors for supremacy in the Eastern Conference, earning a point when it would have been easy enough to fold as they did the previous night.

Instead, they fought back from two third period defecits to the Philadelphia Flyers before falling in a shootout, 5-4, before another sellout at Verizon Center.

Down 3-1 midway through the third, the Capitals (14-5-2, 1st in SE) started the comeback with a Nicklas Backstrom power play goal off a scrum in front of the goal.  Jason Chimera tied the game at three just 28 seconds later, banging home his own rebound against Brian Boucher (33 saves). 

Andreas Nodl put a backhand through Michal Neuvirth (31 saves) after Tomas Fleischmann failed to clear the zone and both Mike Green and Jeff Schultz were left flat-footed to re-take the lead.  But with just 39 seconds remaining, skating six-on-four with Danny Briere in the box for high-sticking, Eric Fehr slammed a slap shot from 15 feet to knot the game and sent it to overtime.

After an exciting overtime period, Briere made up for his late penalty, registering the sole tally in the shootout to take the extra point in this big Eastern Conference matchup.

Both teams played hard in this one with something to prove.  The Caps were coming off an embarrassing 5-0 shut out and the Flyers were beaten 8-7 by Tampa Bay Thursday night.  It was apparent early that both teams would be physically and emotionally involved.

“Both teams were coming off games that they probably didn’t feel very good about themselves," Coach Bruce Boudreau said after the game. "I think two very proud teams wanted to get back and show that they could play.”

It's the type of game that Alex Ovechkin usually relishes, but the two-time Hart Trophy winner really didn't put his stamp on this one.  Playing the point on the power play, he misfired wide several times and just didn't insinuate himself into this one that much.

But as Coach Bruce Boudreau said post-game, the Caps had just about their worst week of the season, and still ended up .500 for the week, and took a point away against a top opponent.

Considering the beat-down they took in Atlanta and the hole they dug for themselves in the second period, the Caps should be happy with that.

THE GOOD:  Marcus Johansson.  Notchinghis second goal of the season, the young rookie played his best game so far this year on the third line tonight.  It's a much better fit for him than trying to center either of the top two lines.  Only won a third of his draws though.

THE BAD:  Alex Ovechkin.  Won't find his name here very often, but Ovi did not have a great game.  Managed three shots, but missed on six shots and had another five blocked.  The Great 8 is not firing on all cylinders right now.

THE UGLY:  Alexander Semin.  As well as he's played lately, he was that bad tonight.  Just two shots and three minor penalties, interference, slashing and tripping.  A trifecta of suck.

THE STATS:  Johansson (2) from Chimera (6) and Bradley (5) at 8:10 of 1st.  Backstrom (7) from Ovechkin (16) and Laich (9) at 11:03 of 3rd (PP).  Chimera (4) from Hendricks (4) and Fleischmann (5) at 11:31 of 3rd (PP).  Fehr (4) from Laich (10) and Semin (12) at 19:21 of 3rd (PP).

NEXT GAME:  Monday at 7:00 pm at New Jersey Devils.

CAPS NEWS NETWORK THREE STARS

3. Jason Chimera.  Goal and assist.  He's playing very well, using his speed and instincts to his advantage.  His assist between his legs on Johansson's goal was a beauty.

2.  Eric Fehr.  Had the game-tying goal, played physically, and was active down low.

1. John Carlson.  He was minus-1 in the stat sheet, but the dude was everywhere tonight.  Great positional defense, used his size along the boards, and jumped into the play on  the offensive end at the right times.  Four shots, three hits, four blocks.  That's having a presence.

CAPS NOTES

The Capitals scored a season-high three power play goals in the third period while the penalty killing unit only surrendered one goal on nine power play chances.

Marcus Johansson scored his second goal of the season at 8:10 of the first period. It was his first point since returning from an injury that saw him miss eight games and his first goal since Oct. 19 (vs. Boston). Johansson also registered three shots on net in 13:15 of ice time.


 David Steckel, who came into tonight’s game ranked third in the NHL in faceoffs (62.6%), won seven of nine faceoffs (78.0%) while also registering three hits in 10:26 of ice time.

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.

The Washington Capitals are struggling offensively right now.  They sit exactly middle-of-the-pack (15th) in the NHL in goals per game at 2.71, and if you factor out a seven-goal outburst in the home opener, well, the struggles are even more amplified.

One of the Caps biggest off-season concerns has now turned into a regular season nightmare:  center play.  Nicklas Backstrom is off to a fairly terrible start.  With one goal (credited when an Alex Ovechkin slapshot hit him and went into the net) and three assists, his production is well short of what is expected out of the Super Swede, coming off his career year last season of 101 points.

It's easy to look at Backstrom's slump and say "It's only seven games."  But it's worrisome that his minus-2 rating and woefully inadequate 6.3 shooting percentage isn't better just by accident.  Nicky is still winning his share of draws (57.1 percent), and Coach Bruce Boudreau can do nothing but hope that Backstrom will break out of his doldrums in a big way and in a big hurry.

Still, it's curious that he signed a huge contract this past off-season and then gets off to the worst start of his NHL career.

As for the others?

Currently, the center on the second line between The Enigma (Alexnader Semin) and Iron Man (Brooks Laich) is just-turned 20-year old Marcus Johansson.  The younger Swede has had moments of brilliance and is a slick puck handler and terrific skater.  But he is not strong enough physically right now to really compete on a daily basis with veterans in the NHL.  He is literally a boy among men.

He is also -- despite his obvious skills -- not producing.  One goal, no assists, and just 34.0 percent in the dot isn't getting it done.  He's only put six shots on net.  He's getting beaten physically and positionally on defense.  Is giving on-the-job training to a 20-year old -- on the second line -- a luxury the Capitals can afford right now?

Next, we come to everyone's favorite whipping boy, Tomas Fleischmann.  I'm going to say this one more time: He is out of position at center.  He's got two goals and two assists and is tied for the team lead at plus-4.  But his faceoff percentage is as bad as Johansson's at 36.1.  Boudreau doesn't trust him, evidenced by his TOI/G at just 15:15 and the fact that Boudreau isn't giving Flash any defensive zone draws.

Fleischmann also is a bad defender.  He is pushed off the puck much too easily for a guy that's been around a while now.  He is constantly losing physical battles and seems indifferent to back-checking.

Further down the roster is David Steckel and Boyd Gordon.  Both have the reputation for being good faceoff men and stout penalty killers.  But Steckel hasn't really made much difference on the ice this season after not getting a sweater for opening night, and Gordon hasn't even been on the ice the last three games with an undisclosed injury, after at one point Boudreau calling him a "healthy" scratch.

In the last couple of game recaps I've alluded to the possibility of a roster shake-up if the Caps offensive woes continue.  It's not a stretch to think that the center position is the first place a roster tweak could happen, should GM George McPhee and Boudreau think that's necessary.

THE RESULT:  Well, it finally caught up to them.

The Washington Capitals played hard most of the night, but still not particularly well.  They had very little cohesion in their offensive attack:  missing passes, having trouble digging pucks off the boards and out of the corners, and generally losing physical battles all night to the bigger, stronger Boston Bruins.

Unlike the four previous games where brilliant bursts of individual talent carried the Caps to wins, the Caps came up empty tonight, falling to the Bruins 3-1 before 18,398 stunned Caps fans at Verizon Center.

"We're not terrible," Coach Bruce Boudreau said. "We had a tough game. I thought we outplayed them pretty good for the most part. They were opportunistic, and we get a chance to play them again Thursday."

As has been the theme all season long, the Capitals' vaunted power play unit went scoreless in four attempts, looking disorganized and listless.

Boston goalie Tim Thomas made 35 saves on 36 shots to lead the Bruins to their third win in four games.  Thomas has allowed just three goals in three games, all wins.

The Caps (4-2-0) came out firing in the first ten minutes, playing some of their most complete hockey of the season.  They just couldn't find the mark against Thomas.  Then, at 9:12, Boston scored their first goal and the tenor of the game changed.  When the Bruins got their second two minutes later, everyone in the building could feel it.

“We had good chances to score goals but we didn’t,” laments Ovechkin. “They used two chances in the first period [to take a lead]. We made mistakes in our zone, I made a mistake and we had a mistake when they scored the first goal.”

Ovechkin was a minus-2 for the night, scoreless for the first time this season.  Boston's first line was responsible for their first two goals, converting a 2-on-1 and banging in a big rebound in the slot as goalie Michal Neuvirth got out of position making a save.

Neuvirth left the game abruptly after the second goal, complaining of dizziness and a headache.  Boudreau indicated after the game the first he'd heard of Neuvirth feeling poorly was when the rookie netminder pulled himself from the game.

“After the second goal,” explains Boudreau, “he complained of dizziness and a headache. So the next whistle he came off.

“That’s the first I knew about it. If he wasn’t feeling good, we wouldn’t have started him. But we had no indication. He was feeling fine after the pre-game warm-up.”

Semyon Varlamov came on for his first action in 2010 and played well, stopping 13 of 14 shots faced, the lone goal coming through multiple screens on a shot from the blue line.  "He did a great job,” says Boudreau of Varlamov. “The goal that went in, he couldn’t see.”

Marcus Johansson converted a great pass from Chimera to cut the lead in the second period to 2-1, scoring his first NHL goal in the process.  But that would end up the lone tally for the Capitals in this match.

This team is going to score.  There's just too much talent here not too.  Right now, this team looks like it takes the ice expecting to win, and with all the pre-season talk about the Stanley Cup and avenging last season's first round playoff loss, maybe the doldrums of playing regular season games just doens't have the same panache.

But they were outmuscled tonight.  They lost physical battles.  They weren't manhandled, but it wasn't far from it.  "We had a tough time along the boards, but that happens against a good team like the Bruins," Jason Chimera said from a quiet locker room after the game.

Don't ya just once want to hear someone say that about the Caps?  During the second intermission, I reminisced with a fellow blogger about the "old days" of Kelly Miller and Mike Ridley, when the Caps were less skilled than the squad assembled now, but were very rarely outworked or pushed around.

The Caps are built for speed, not mucking things up.  You can't re-tool the entire roster -- nor should you -- when the formula was pretty good last season.  But Boudreau and GM George McPhee are faced with a dilemma:  How do you wake up a complacent, veteran -- though young -- team?  Where do you find a little more toughness along the boards?

Is it too soon to shake things up a bit?  Is it prudent?  I don't know the answers, but I suspect McPhee and Boudreau might be working on it already.

THE GOOD:  The penalty kill.  0-for-4, including :53 of 5-on-3 time.  Guys are buying in, putting their bodies in passing lanes, blocking shots, picking up for their teammates.  It's not going to last forever, but six games without a power play goal against is pretty darn impressive from a team that "can't play defense".

THE BAD:  The first two goals were both because defensemen were caught out of position.  The first goal Karl Alzner was pinching up and did not get back in time to help Tyler Sloan, who then played the resulting 2-on-1 poorly anyway.  The second came on a big rebound off a dizzy Neuvirth where Jeff Schultz didn't play the body of the forward and paid for it.

THE UGLY:  The power play.  It's beyond problematic at this point.  0-for-4, with :24 of 5-on-3 for naught.  No cohesion, no urgency, no passion.  For all the success the penalty kill is having, that how badly the PP is failing.  Granted, the squad is missing Mike Green while he's out, but the Caps can't use that as an excuse. 

THE STATS:  Johansson (1) from Chimera (1) and Hendricks (2) at 7:42 of 2nd.

NEXT GAME:  Thursday in Boston at 7:00 pm.

CAPS NEWS NETWORK CAPS THREE STARS OF THE GAME:

3.  Semyon Varlamov.  13 saves and one goal against in emergency relief effort.
2.  Alex Semin.  10 shots, three hits, two takeaways.  Most effective forward on the ice tonight.
1.  Marcus Johansson.  Score your first NHL goal, win the first star of the game.

There were several bits of injury-related news to come out of today's practice.

First, and apparently most serious:  Marcus Johansson is "week-to-week" with a lower-body injury, believed to be a foot injury after blocking a shot in last night's 3-2 win over Ottawa.  Coach Bruce Boudreau indicated that Johansson would "definitely be out for the weekend."

Johansson, the just-turned 20-year old center, in pointless in three contests so far with a -1 rating, but has displayed tremendous skating and puckhandling skills -- as well as some questionable decision-making.  But the youngster is adjusting to the size, speed and skill of NHL play.

Boudreau also said that Tom Poti, who took the pre-game skate but did not play last night, and Matt Bradley, who left that game after three shifts, were both "day-to-day" with lower-body injuries.  Neither is expected to play Wednesday against the Islanders.

As for potential reinforcements, Boudreau was cautious.  "We've got enough guys here right now," he said regarding potential call ups from Hershey. "Eventually it might happen, but we're at home. If we were going on the road...it would probably necessitate something. We're hoping the other guys will be able to be back by Saturday, so it wouldn't happen."

Matt Hendricks skated at center between Jason Chimera and Eric Fehr at practice today, according to reports.

Two forwards, David Steckel and D.J. King, have both been healthy scratches the past two games.

Cody Eakin scored with a little over a minute remaining and Josh Godfrey scored twice, leading the Washington Capitals rookies over the Philadelphia Flyers rookies, 4-3, before a packed house at Kettler-Capitals Iceplex.

John Carlson, Jeff Schultz and other Hershey Bears & Caps watching GOAL!

Many of the Capitals varsity -- and much of the Hershey Bears roster -- stood at the far end of the practice rink watching the affair, with Caps coach Bruce Boudreau and General Manager George McPhee watching from the landing off the Caps offices.

Much of the first period was spent in the Caps' end, and there were plenty of bumps being thrown both ways.  But mid-way through, Marcus Johansson sent a backhand pass into the crease that was tipped, then stuffed under Flyers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky by Stanislav Galiev.

The second period started with Trevor Bruess keeping his word and getting into a scuffle with Zac Renaldo, and he took an extra two-minute roughing call.  The Caps killed that penalty, but the rest of the period was filled with Flyers penalties.  Unfortunately, Philly scored on the first Caps PP, as Ben Holstrom beat Philipp Grubauer on a shorthanded breakaway to tie the game at one.

Trevor Bruess

Brandon Anderson relieved Grubauer at the 9:19 mark of the second.

Brandon Anderson

With one minute remaining in the period, the Capitals broke the tie, as Godfrey got his first of the game, on a feed from Eakin in close.

The power plays continued for the Caps in the third, and Godfrey hit again, on a big slapshot from the high slot, off a feed from Dmitry Kugryshev, pushing the lead to 3-1 with 15 minutes left in the game.  Johannson picked up his second assist on the play.

Josh Godfrey

The Flyers made a game of it though, beating Anderson twice, on goals by Eric Wellwood and Marc-Andre Bourdon.

But with 1:16 remaining, Eakin gained control of a bouncing puck and snuck it past Flyers goalie Adam Morrison for the game winner.

Cody Eakin

CAPS NEWS NETWORK THREE STARS

*** Josh Godfrey.  Two big goals, lacks concentration on defense.

**   Cody Eakin.  Was all over the place in the offensive zone.  Gets knocked off the puck a lot though.

*     Marcus Johansson.  Easily the best player on the sheet today.  Makes passes none of the other rookies see or can handle.  Skating ability off he charts.

Honorable Mentions:  Grubauer played very well in his half-game and Stan Galiev was strong up front too.  Hat tip to Bruess for mixing it up after telling the media he would.  Joe Finley was invisible most of the day, and declined several offers to get physical.

Dustin Stevenson and Marcus Johansson

Anton Gustafsson

Philipp Grubauer

Full house!