After the first day of Caps training camp, several of the players spoke to the media. Alex Ovechkin was near the end of his comments when Nicklas Backstrom and Brooks Laich decided to give Ovi a shaving cream pie in the face for this 26th birthday! And apparently, teammates had already given Ovi one in the locker room so this was the second one of the day. 

Here are photos of the fun, including the reactions from Nicky and Brooksy who were thoroughly enjoying themselves. It was obvious that this was a tradition because Backstrom said, "This was payback!" It is nice to have the boys back in town!

"This was payback!" - Backstrom

All Photos by Cheryl Nichols/CapsNewsNetwork

Caps 365 Video:

The Washington Capitals announced today that they re-signed forward Brooks Laich to a six-year deal, reportedly worth $27 million.  It's a bold move to retain one of the hardest-working players in the game, an integral part of this team and organization.  While the cap hit of $4.5 million per season is steep for a second-line player, he would have been one of the more attractive free agents available on the market had the Capitals allowed him to test the waters.

With the acquisition of forward Troy Brouwer, GM George McPhee signalled that he wants this team to be tougher.  Re-signing Laich, one of the players on staff that does do the dirty work, furthers those goals.

The size of Laich's salary immediately had fans contemplating other moves within the organization to create space under the league's salary cap.  The Capitals have several other restricted free agents, including Karl Alzner, Semyon Varlamov, Mathieu Perrault  and newly acquired winger Troy Brouwer.  The team made qualifying offers to each of those players (and minor leaguer Francois Bouchard), so the Caps retain the rights to the players and the right to match any contract offer made to them after the players officially receive their RFA status at noon Friday, July 1.

"We are very pleased to have Brooks Laich continue his career as a Washington Capital,” said GM George McPhee via team press release. “Brooks has excelled as one of the League’s finer two-way players and is just entering his prime. His combination of size, speed, versatility and leadership makes him a valuable part of our club."

"I’m thrilled to make the commitment to remain a Capital,” said Laich. “It is a wonderful organization with terrific fans and I’m very happy to continue to call Washington home for many years to come.”

The 6’2”, 215-pound center set career-highs in goals (25), assists (34) and points (59) during the 2009-10 season and scored 20 or more goals in three straight seasons from 2007-2010. In 475 career regular-season games, Laich has recorded 237 points (100 goals, 137 assists) and is a plus-14. In 37 career playoff games, he has tallied seven goals and 16 assists for 23 points.

The Wawota, Saskatchewan, native is second among active Capitals players in franchise games played (474), fifth in points (237), third in goals (100) and fifth in assists (137). Laich is 15th amongst his 2001 draft class in points but is one of only three players in the top 15 to be drafted later than the third round.

Both Laich and McPhee will be available to the media later today.

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.

"It's extremely disappointing to lose it in the last 47 seconds.  We battled so hard for 59 minutes.  To come away with just one point in unacceptable."  --New York Islanders goalie Nathan Lawson, who came into the game with a save percentage under 89 percent.

The Washington Capitals got out of the gate early and dominated the first ten minutes of the game with a lineup infused with three significant additions brought in by General Manager George McPhee at the trade deadline.  At one point they led in shots 10-1.

They looked like a different team than the one we've seen slogging their way through the schedule since Dec. 1.

But when they couldn't find the back of the net after the early onslaught, the Caps fell back into the same bad habits that have them looking up at four teams ahead of them in the Eastern Conference:  bad passing, sloppy turnovers, avoidance of the opposing crease, and the nauseating habit of being satisfied with pelting the other team's goalie with 30 foot slap shots without any traffic to speak of.

For that 49 minute stretch, the Caps played as bad as they have all season against a young, underwhelming Islanders team and rookie goalie that, despite his quote of bravado above, is not even in the same league talent-wise as his opponent.

But then, with 48 seconds remaining, it all changed.

Newly acquired center Jason Arnott collected a puck behind the Islanders' goal and fed Brooks Laich where he makes his money, and with a simple flick reversed the Caps fortunes, sending the game to overtime.

"He [Jason Arnott] just threw it in front and found the guy [Brooks Laich]," Lawson said. "I don't know if he was tied up or not but he just put it over my pad."

"I saw Brooksy going to the net and just tried to slide it to him," Arnott said.  "It went to him and he made a great play and put it in."

It really was that simple.

At that point, all that was left was for Alex Ovechkin to do what only he can do, racing the length of the ice, twisting Franz Neilsen inside out twice, and backhanding a shot past Nathan Lawson to send the Verizon crowd into hysterics.

It was Ovechkin's ninth game-winning goal this season.

So coach Bruce Boudreau, was this game important for your team's morale?  "I thought it was very important.  We scored one goal in 11 periods at home [the last four games].  It's important to get the idea that teams can't come into this building and win so easily."

Maybe Lawson was thinking about how easy his first 38 saves were to concentrate on the last few.

The Caps leaned heavily on Arnott, their new second line center.  Just in his first game tonight, you can see he's a leader, in the words that he uses and the way he plays.  And though Boudreau said there was no extra significance that Arnott and Laich took the first shift in overtime, dismissing the question by saying, "I'm not that deep," it certainly meant something to Arnott.

"It was great, with our firepower, to go out there first," Arnott explained.  "It showed a lot of confidence in us and we had a chance to score, so it was good."

"We found a way tonight.  We had way too many turnovers.  We allowed them to come in and if it wasn't for our goaltending it would have been a different story."

He's right there.  All too often, Michal Neuvirth was left to fend for himself. "Every turnover, they had an odd-man rush.  That's the game I don't like to play, but that's what it is sometimes."

"I'm just focusing on my game and trying to stop every shot and hoping that the guys are going to get one  or two in and that's what we did tonight," Neuvirth said.  "It's a huge win for us.  It's good to win for our fans."

Those demanding fans that booed as loud as they have all season at the floundering power play erupted twice in a period of a few minutes as Laich tied the game and Ovechkin sealed the deal.

But the Capitals this season are a game-to-game process, and we'll all just have to wait until Thursday night against the St. Louis Blues to see which Caps team shows up.

CAPS NEWS NETWORK THREE STARS

3.  Alex Ovechkin.  His own coach thought he "looked lethargic", but the last goal was "vintage Alex" and that he "rose to the right moment."  Scored the game winner and assisted on the tying goal.

2.  Jason Arnott.  In the right place at the right time all night long. He's a huge addition to this club.

1. Michal Neuvirth.  The Caps simply would not have been in this game were it not for their No. 1 goaltender.  There, I said it.

PHOTOS

Marco Sturm in his Caps debut. (C.Nichols/Caps News Network)

Jason Arnott in his Caps debut. (C.Nichols/Caps News Network)

Jason Arnott taks a draw against the Islanders. (C.Nichols/Caps News Network)

Dennis Wideman in his Caps debut. (C.Nichols/Caps News Network)

THE RESULTS: The Tampa Bay Lightning put a Matt Bradley quote about this being the Washington Capitals' biggest game of the year up on their white board in their dressing room in motivation for last night's big Southeast Division showdown.

It didn't help much.

The Caps roared out to a 3-1 lead mid-way through the second period, and added two more goals in the third to inch a little closer to the division lead with a 5-2 win before over 20,000 at the St. Pete Times Forum.

Better yet, the Caps top line of Alex Ovechkin, Nick Backstrom and Jason Chimera combined for four of the five goals, and Brooks Laich knocked in the other, just his second goal in his last 20 games.

Ovechkin's goal came on the power play, the first time he's gotten a marker with the extra man since he got two against Calgary Oct. 30, a span of 40 games.  Unreal.

The win is welcome relief from the struggles of the offense so far in 2011.  The Caps had scored just three goals in their last three contests, and five goals are the highest total so far in the new year.

Bradley's remark might have been good bulletin board material, but make no mistake, this was a very big win for the Caps.  It pulls them within three of division-leading Tampa Bay, who is also second in the Eastern Conference.

Lest no one convince you otherwise, the Capitals still see the Southeast as their turf, and winning the division is still a big deal to them, especially now that all five of the teams have a legitimate shot of making the second season.

The Caps even tried sending messages, wtih Matt Bradley and Matt Hendricks both fighting in the first period, trying to set the tone.

It's also a big deal considering Washington's next opponent: the Pittsburgh Penguins on Super Bowl Sunday.  It will be much easier to prepare for a marquee matchup without being pestered for 48 hours about falling to a division opponent on the road.

The Caps have spent all season mixing multiple rookies in and out of the lineup in all phases of the game.  They've also dealt with long-term injuries to several veterans.  They've been scratching their heads trying to figure out "What's Wrong with the Washington Capitals."

They've needed their best players to play like it, and that's been missing for the most part since the first of Decemeber.

Last night was the first time in a long time that this team looked like itself:  pressuring on the forecheck, getting quality shots on goal, following up those shots with rebound attempts, and their best players playing like it.

Dedicated.  Involved.  Having fun.

How far they'll go the rest of the way depends on their willingness to following that formula.

THE GOOD: Other than the obvious goodness of Ovi, Nicky and Brooks all lighting the lamp, the Caps also had a very strong night in the dot, winning 60 percent of the faceoffs.  Of particular note: Marcus Johansson (7-of-8), Jay Beagle (7-of-8) and David Steckel (6-of-7).

THE BAD: No shots on goal from the second or third line centers, Johansson and Mathieu Perreault.

THE UGLY: Steve Downie.  That's all.

THE STATS: Nicklas Backstrom (13) from Alex Ovechkin (33) and Mike Green (16) at 9:09 of 1st.  Brooks Laich (10) from Mathieu Perreault (5) and Jay Beagle (1) at 6:38 of 2nd.  Alex Ovechkin (20) from Nicklas Backstrom (35) and John Carlson (17) at 8:25 of 2nd (PP).  Nicklas Backstrom (14) from Alex Ovechkin (34) and Jason Chimera (11) at 12:22 of 3rd.  Jason Chimera (8) from Alex Ovechkin (35) and Nicklas Backstrom (36) at 19:22 of 3rd (EN).

NEXT GAME: Super Sunday at 2:00 pm v. Pittsburgh Penguins at Verizon Center

CAPS NEWS NETWORK THREE STARS

3. Semyon Varlamov. Only called on to face 25 shots, but made several key saves in the third before the insurance goals that sealed it.

2. Alex Ovechkin.  Goal.  Three assists.  Ten shots on goal, four hits.  Looks like the All-Star Game loosened him up a little.  Happy Ovi = Good Ovi.

1. Nick Backstrom.  Two goals, two assists, five shots, 52% on draws.  Where has this guy been?

Jose Theodore made 28 saves, Alex Ovechkin had two assists, and Brooks Laich banged home the game winner in overtime as the Washington Capitals defeated the desperate Boston Bruins 3-2, in what could have been a preview of the first round of the playoffs.

The Capitals entered the game as the newly crowned winner of the President's Trophy, presented to the team that totals the most regular season points.  It assures the Caps home-ice advantage for the entirety of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Bruins, on the other hand, came in fighting for the final spot in the playoffs, the eighth seed. 

Boston gained a point, by virtue of taking the game to overtime, and moved into seventh place with 85 points. Montreal is sixth with 86 points and Philadelphia is in eighth place with 84 points.  Any of the three could still end up in the eighth seed and face the daunting task of trying to unseat the Capitals.

The game was suited to Boston's strength much of the game.  It was a slow, plodding game for much of the affair, with scoring chances coming from rebounds and bouncing pucks instead of laser shots and dipsy-dos.

The game-winner from Laich, still wearing the full cage as a result of the facial injury sustained a couple weeks ago, was an "ugly" goal.  On a 4-on-3 power play in the extra frame, courtesy of a Dennis Wideman high-stick on Tomas Fleischmann, Alexander Semin wound up big from the left wind circle on Boston goalie Tuukka Rask (27 saves).

Semin misfired and the puck came up into Laich's midsection.  Laich knocked the puck to his feet and slapped it past the out of position Rask to end the affair.

It was a fitting ending, and the outcome was made possible by the stellar goaltending by Theodore.  He controlled his rebounds all night, and was sharp on pucks coming through traffic.  He made two consecutive highlight reel pad saves on Michale Ryder in the slot, the second of which was an old school double stack laying on the ice.

Coach Bruce Boudreau praised his goalie after the game.  "It's hard to say which was his best. He's made some great saves to keep us in. He's had his couple of a bad games [and] now he's back in the groove I hope. He was real good."

Boudreau rested his star defenseman in this one.  Mike Green was given a night off in preparation for the playoffs. Despite missing their top D-man, the Caps killed all thre penalties assessed on the night.

There's no rest for the weary though, as the Capitals travel to Pittsburgh tonight for a matchup with the Penguins.  The Caps are trying to sweep the Pens, having won all three previous meetings this season.

Despite Brooks Laich's first NHL hat trick and another three-goal third period, the Washington Capitals saw their franchise record 14-game winning streak fall to the Montreal Canadiens, 6-5.

Montreal's Tomas Plekanec scored with less than eight seconds remaining in overtime, putting a dagger in the longest winning streak in the Capitals 35 year history.

That the Caps were playing in overtime at all was surprising, as Laich completed his hat trick with 18.4 seconds left in regulation.  Montreal forward Glen Metropolit took a late penalty with 2:32 left and while the Caps failed to register on the power play, they lifted goalie Jose Theodore (21 saves on 25 shtos)  for the extra attacker as time wore down.

When Laich solved Canadiens goalie Carey Price (33 saves), the Caps had to feel like they'd won the game, stealing a point in a game they once trailed 5-2.

Overtime was back-and-forth, and when the Caps couldn't convert on a rush with less that 30 seconds, it looked like the game was going to penalty shots.  But Sergei Kostitsyn carried deep into the offensive zone, and found Plenkanec behind defenseman Jeff Schultz for the tap in on Theodore.

It was a brutal ending to a fantastic comeback.

Washington played it's way into the three-goal deficit.  There were blown defensive assisgnments, lack of concentration by goalies Theodore and Michal Neuvirth (who left the game without explanation early in the second period), and lazy stick penalties by forwards Alexander Semin and Brendan Morrison, the latter resulting in a Montreal power play goal, and another one just 12 seconds after that.

But a power play goal by Mike Green 16 seconds into the third got the Caps off on the comeback, and Laich tallied two more times in the stanza to send the game into the extra period.

Washington also had a goal inexplicably waived off in the second period.  Montreal defenseman Hal Gill had the puck at his feet in the slot in front of Price.  Alex Ovechkin lowered his shoulder into Gill, sending the large defender into his goalie, puck and all.  When the puck slid under Price and into the goal, the referee originally, and emphatically, signaled goal.

But after the play, the officiating squad met at the scorer's desk, and without replay, overturned the goal. 

Montreal came in short-handed, missing five regulars and top scorer Mike Cammalleri, and lost Josh Georges late in the first period when he went down to block a shot from the point by Green and took it off his right cheek.  Georges lay motionless for several moments in a pool of blood, but eventually left under mostly his own power and is listed as day-to-day for Montreal.

The Capitals seem to be getting banged up now too.  Jason Chimera missed the game due to a strained groin suffered in practice Tuesday, and Tom Poti missed much of the third period.  The Caps are expected to make a couple call-ups from Hershey today in case either player can't go tonight againt Ottawa.

BOX SCORE//GAME SUMMARY//EVENT SUMMARY

The Washington Capitals turned a tight, tense game with their arch-rival Philadelphia Flyers into a resounding victory, scoring three times in the final two periods to secure a 5-3 victory before a raucous, sellout crowd at the Verizon Center.

Brooks Laich scored twice, breaking a considerable drought, and captain Alex Ovechkin netted a penalty shot, his first successful such play, after starting his career 0-for-5.

It was Ovechkin's 30th goal of the season, the Caps' fifth and last goal of the game, and triggered the promotion for giveaway wings from a local establishment.

"We just want to give fans free chicken wings and give them free food, you know?" Ovechkin said wryly in the locker room after the game.

Free food aside, it was a spirited contest.  And though no fights erupted like the last couple of matches, there was plenty of good checking from both sides.

The win was the Capitals third in a row and sixth in seven games.  The offense has been on a tear during that stretch, scoring four or more goals in seven straight contests.  For the season, the Caps average 3.71 goals per game, far outpacing second-place Chicago. 

Tonight's output was no less stellar.

"Eventually it's going to stop," coach Bruce Boudreau said of the recent string of high scoring. "We're not going to score five goals a game. But it's nice while it's going on."

The one player that had not been so involved in the offense of late was Laich.

The coach pulled Laich aside after their morning skate-around, and the two had a serious film session, going over each of the gritty winger's shifts the past few games.

Boudreau stressed to Laich that he needed to play with more "sandpaper", insinuating himself into the play more.

"It kinda looked uninspired to me, the way I was playing," Laich said from his locker stall.  "[Boudreau] said, 'get back to being determined, skating, using your assets,going to the net and good things will happen.'"

Both of Laich's goals came from point-blank range tonight, his first on a rebound of a Tomas Fleischmann shot in the crease, and the second a breakaway backhander on a lazy breakout pass during a Flyers' power play.

“He is a very intense young man,” says Boudreau of Laich. “Sometimes he likes to do too much. We just looked over his video – his shifts, his goals – we saw if there was anything we could find that he was doing different. We had a good talk and I was so happy when he scored. You are never going to find a guy that cares more than Brooks Laich.”

Mike Knuble had the Caps' first goal of the evening, tying the score midway through the first period, against his former teammates.  Alexander Semin added his 20th goal of the season -- a power play marker -- and an assist.

Washington killed three of the five power plays Philadelphia was awarded.

The Caps had just 22 shots on goals against Ray Emery, making his first start since Dec. 5, when the Caps torched him for five goals on just 17 shots in an 8-2 win.

The win signals the end of the regular season series with Philly, with the Caps owning their former Patrick division rivals, 3-0-1 for the season.  Washington us now 30-12-6, and with 66 points have retaken the lead in the Eastern Conference.

Washington hosts the Detroit Red Wings Tuesday night at 7:05 pm.

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THREE STARS

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

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

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

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.

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

It was Washington's eighth consecutive home opening victory.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Hopefully this was a cheap lesson for us."

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

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SCORESHEET

1ST PERIOD

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

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

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

2ND PERIOD

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

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

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

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

3RD PERIOD

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

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

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

_________________________________________________________

THREE STARS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ovechkin made no mistake.

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

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

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

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

_____________________________________________________

SCORESHEET

1ST PERIOD

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

2ND PERIOD

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

3RD PERIOD

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

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

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

_______________________________________________________

THREE STARS

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

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

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

_______________________________________________________

NOTES

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

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

The Capitals are now one for their last one in overtime playoff games.

David Steckel is a new Caps hero, flicking a Brooks Laich shot past Marc-Andre Fleury for the game winner. Props to Stecks for for winning the faceoff and Bradley controlling the puck and feeding Laich for the original shot.

Steckel, Laich and Bradley. Again.

Steckel was 73% (11-for-15) in the dot. Boyd Gordon was 88% (7-of-8).

Rob Scuderi clanged one off the crossbar a minute earlier. Usually the type of dagger that kills the Caps in OT.

Big game for Victor Kozlov. Nice time to step up with a pair.

Big game from Alexander Semin. Not just the goal, but great several rushes that could have drawn three penalties, but got just one whistle. But the goal was spectacular. Shooting through Laich's legs to a narrow opening on a short angle. Exquisite.

Alex Ovechkin registered three helpers, plus-three rating, five shots and just two hits.

When do the Caps get a call? The Capitals continue to be on the short end of the whistles. Semin got hauled down twice with no call. And that last slash? How can that call be defended? I don't like to complain about officiating, but that last whistle was unconscionable.

Semyon Varlamov with another 38 saves on 42 shots.

Beagle got four shifts and 2:06 in ice time. C'mon Bruce, get OUR 87 back out there.

P.S. If you really love Game Sevens, Hershey earned a Gave Seven against the Baby Pens in Hershey tomorrow night. Go Bears! It's just a two-hour drive :-)

The Washington Capitals (50-23-8-108) clinched the second seed in the Eastern Conference with at 4-2 victory over the woeful Tampa Bay Lightning last night.

The win also gives this team the franchise record for most points (108) and tied for most wins (50), matching the 1985-86 team. The Capitals face the Florida Panthers, elimiated from the playoffs last night, on Saturday with the chance to become the winningest team in regular season in the history of the franchise.

Washington will have a home-ice advantage until the conference finals and will face the yet-to-be-determined seventh seed in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens are tied for the last two spots. Montreal hosts Pittsburgh Saturday night while the Rangers travel to Philadelphia on Sunday.

As for last night's affair, Brooks Laich had two goals and Mike Green added an empty net goal to go along with two assists to drop the injury-depleted Lightning. Dave Steckel chipped in with a goal as well.

Neither Alex (Ovechkin or Semin) registered a point and both saw a multiple-game scoring streak end. Ovechkin hasn't scored a goal in his last three games. He is now four points behind Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin for the scoring title. Malkin has played three more games than Ovechkin this season.

Goalie Jose Theodore allowed a goal on the first shot he faced, from Tampa rookie Steve Stamkos, but settled down and made 22 saves for the victory. For the season, Theodore is 32-16-9 with a 2.81 goals against average and .901 save percentage.

Former Cap Matt Pettinger scored the other Lightning goal. It was his first goal against his former team.

Defenseman Tom Poti sat last night to rest his injured groin. The team is being cautious with the veteran blueliner, an integral part of its defensive corps. Donald Brashear missed his 13th straight game with a knee sprain.
__________________________________________________
SCORESHEET

1ST PERIOD
36.0 Steven Stamkos (22), Slap Shot. Assist: Konopka, St. Louis
09:19 Power Play - Brooks Laich (21), Backhand Shot. Assist: Backstrom, Green

2ND PERIOD
05:37 Brooks Laich (22), Wrist Shot. Assist: Green, Nylander
06:08 Dave Steckel (8), Wrist Shot. Assist: Bradley, Aucoin

3RD PERIOD
12:53 Matt Pettinger (7), Wrist Shot. Assist: Szczechura, Mihalik
19:55 Mike Green (31), Empty Net, Unassisted.
__________________________________________________
THREE STARS

1. B. Laich - WAS (Goals: 2, Assists: 0)
2. S. Stamkos - TB (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)
3. M. Green - WAS (Goals: 1, Assists: 2)

In an uneven but exciting affair, the Washington Capitals lost in overtime to the Buffalo Sabres 5-4. Needing a single point to clinch the Southeast Division championship, the Caps received just that.

But an overtime goal by Jason Pominville, off a turnover in his own end by future hall-of-famer Sergei Fedorov, ruined the celebration.

As the Sabres collected on the Verizon Center ice to celebrate, um, something, the Caps headed to the locker room with slumped shoulders, knowing that they left a needed point out on the ice tonight. New Jersey beat Tampa by an identical 5-4 overtime score, so the Caps find themselves just two points ahead of Satan's minions with four games remaining.

Oh by the way, three of which are on the road due to the VC being overrun with the legions of fans of Bemidji State University.

Fedorov had a heck of a night, scoring twice on big, booming slap shots. But he also took a lazy hook which led to Buffalo's third goal in addition to the turnover in overtime.

Actually, the real score of tonight's game was Caps 7, Buffalo 2. Three of Buffalo's goals touched a Caps player last, and the second goal was a thing of beauty for Viktor Kozlov, redirecting a Clarke MacArthur pass past a sliding Simeon Varlamov like he meant to.

Varlamov, making his fourth start, looked sharp at times and shaky at times, something one would expect from a rookie playing in a playoff atmosphere. He is a much better skater and puck-handler than Jose Theodore, so much so the comparisons are drastic.

But he found himself out of position and scrambling every single time the puck was behind his own net. He's a tremendous athlete, that much is certain. And his athleticism allowed him to recover from mistakes several times tonight. But he still has some growing to do before he's an NHL regular.

Alex Ovechkin scored his 55th of the season, keeping alive the possible 60-goal repeat. Brooks Laich made a nifty backhand pass through the crease allowing Ovie to deposit the puck into a mostly open net.

And Ovie's running mate, Alexander Semin, registered his 30th of the year. That gives the Caps three players with 30-plus goals, and with Fed's pair he cracks double digits, giving the Caps nine players with 10 or more goals.

Washington plays their last home game Sunday against the suddenly resurgent Atlanta Thrashers at 3:00 pm.

Fans should celebrate back-to-back division titles. But the team has bigger goals, and leaving the extra point behind tonight was disappointing.

Enjoy the slideshow. Uncle Ted spoke to season ticket holders before the game, so some shots of that are in there as well. The big news from the chalk talk is that Uncle Ted thinks they'll have to have a waiting list for season tickets next year. Caps fever, catch it!

Veteran goalie Curtis Joseph sat on the bench for 59 minutes of last night's game, a spectator like the rest of us. For the remaining minute of regulation, five minutes of overtime and the shootout, he was the only player on the ice that truly mattered.

And when he stuffed Alex Ovechkin's shootout attempt to give his last-place Toronto Maple Leafs a 3-2 OT victory, he was mobbed by his mates as if he's won game seven of the Stanley Cup.

Joesph made nine saves in six minutes, several of the highlight reel variety, and earned the first star of the game. Really. For six minutes of work. He was in the game only because starter Martin Gerber lost his cool after the Caps controversial tying goal and made contact with referee Mike Leggo.

Brooks Laich was credited for the tying goal, which came on a scrum in the crease after Alexander Semin's original wrap-around attempt was thwarted. Laich got his stick underneath Gerber and seemed to push the Leaf goalie, with the puck underneath of him, into the goal.

Referee Leggo ruled that Laich played the puck under Gerber and the goal stood. Gerber immediately rose and slammed his blocker pad on the top of the goal, then chased down and made a brushing contact with Leggo. After a brief discussion with his linesmen, Leggo awarded the goal and tossed Gerber.

Gerber was assessed a game misconduct and is expected to receive additional disciplinary action from the league office.

The tying goals was scored while the Washington (45-23-7-97, first in Southeast, T-2 in East) were playing six-on-five with 57 seconds remaining. The Leafs had pulled ahead at 17:52 on a power play goal by Pavel Kubina that slipped past Caps goalie Jose Theodore (27 saves).

Each team had a goal in the second period. Toronto defenseman Phil Oreskovic registered his first career NHL goal, which seems to be redirected at least once by a Capitals skate.

Alex Ovechkin scored his league-leading 51st goal of the season on a power play with 21 seconds left in the middle stanza. He took a pass from Niklas Backstrom at the blue line, weaved through the Maple Leaf defense, deked Gerber and easily deposited a backhand shot past the fallen netminder.

There would be no over-the-top celebration for Ovie on this night, a simple kiss of the gloves and point skyward before gathering with teammates.

The Caps also failed to capitalize on a Toronto penalty in overtime, playing the final 1:02 with an extra man. That mattered not to Joseph, who had the line of the night in the press conference post-game.

I've played long enough," the 41-year-old Joseph said. "Ovechkin is definitely the greatest player in the game right now, I would agree with that. But I've played against the likes of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux and guys like that."

Washington is off until Friday, when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning at 7:00 pm from Verizon Center.

Gerber going nuts. Photo by AP.
_____________________________________________________
SCORESHEET

1ST PERIOD
None

2ND PERIOD
09:04 Phil Oreskovic (1), Slap Shot. Assist: Ponikarovsky, Grabovski
19:39 Power Play - Alex Ovechkin (51), Backhand Shot. Assist: Backstrom, Green

3RD PERIOD
17:52 Power Play - Pavel Kubina (14), Slap Shot. Assist: Blake, Grabovski
19:03 Brooks Laich (19), Snap Shot. Assist: Semin, Ovechkin

OT
None

SHOOTOUT
Jeff Hamilton (2), GOAL
______________________________________________________
THREE STARS

1. C. Joseph - TOR (Saves: 9, Save Pct: 1.000)
2. M. Green - WAS (Goals: 0, Assists: 1)
3. P. Oreskovic - TOR (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)
______________________________________________________
NOTES

Donald Brashear missed his seventh straight game with a sprained knee. With two more goals, Mike Green can register the first 30 goal season by a defenseman in 16 seasons.

The Washington Capitals entered southern Florida intent on erasing a poor performance against the Atlanta Thrashers the previous evening. After a 19-save performance by Jose Theodore, the Caps (44-22-6-94, first in Southeast, third in East) walked out of BankAmerica Center with a needed 3-0 victory.

The shutout win was Theodore's second of the season, and 28th of his career.

Theodore was strong, but the Caps defense player much better than in recent games, and actually allowed zero shots in the third period. Coach Bruce Boudreau remarked afterward that he'd never been involved in a game where that had happened.

Brooks Laich and Viktor Kozlov scored for the Caps while the game was in doubt. Mike Green added an empty net goal with 1:27 remaining to send the moderate crowd home. John Erskine had assists on both Laich and Kozlov's goals.

Laich's goal was a short-handed goal. His wrist shot beat Tomas Vokoun, honored pregame for his 500th career game, from a short angle.

Alex Ovechkin, the NHL's leading scorer with 49 goals, was held once again without hitting the milestone. He did assist on Green's clincher, as did Alexander Semin.

Florida (34-26-10-78, third in East) lost their fourth straight game and second consecutive home game. The Panthers are among a group of teams fighting for their playoff lives, and trail Carolina by one point for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Caps continue their five-game road trip Thursday night in Tampa at 7:30 pm.
___________________________________________________
SCORESHEET

1ST PERIOD
None

2ND PERIOD
05:46 Short - Brooks Laich (18), Wrist Shot. Assist: Erskine

3RD PERIOD
02:36 Viktor Kozlov (12), Wrist Shot. Assist: Nylander, Erskine
18:33 Mike Green (25), Empty Net. Assist: Semin, Ovechkin
___________________________________________________
THREE STARS

1. B. Laich - WAS (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)
2. V. Kozlov - WAS (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)
3. J. Theodore - WAS (Saves: 19, Save Pct: 1.000)

Led by Alex Ovechkin and Jose Theodore, the Washington Capitals earned a hard-fought road victory over the Philadelphia Flyers, 2-1, before 19,728 at the Wachovia Center.

Ovechkin's goal, off a steal and feed from Alexander Semin, put the Caps up for good at 17:19 of the second period, and Theodore made the lead stand up the rest of the way, recording 35 saves.

On the forecheck, Semin picked off a lazy pass by Darroll Powe behind the Flyers goal and flipped it in front to Ovechkin, who stood all alone in front of Philly goalie Martin Biron (28 saves). Ovie one-timed the puck over Biron's catching glove and celebrated his league-leading 48th goal of the season.

Ovechkin is attempting to become the first Washington Capital with three consecutive 50 goal seasons.

The reigning Hart Trophy winner also assisted on the Caps first goal. On a power play, courtesy of an Aaron Asham hooking call, Niklas Backstrom made a cross-ice pass to Ovechkin, who sent the puck toward the Flyers goal, where Brooks Laich sat in the crease. Laich redirected the puck past Biron to give the Caps the early lead at 15:57 of the first period.

Philly tied it midway through the second. Mike Knuble converted a beautiful pass from Mike Richards on an odd-man rush. Simon Gagne started the play by finding the open Richards along the half boards.

Two defensive plays kept the score at 2-1.

The first was a highlight reel diving glove save by Theodore, robbing Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen. Timonen thought he had the goal wide open, but Theo, who catches right handed, dove head first to his right and snared the wrist shot out of mid air, just like a first baseman diving into the hole between first and second.

The second play came late in the third period, while the Capitals were on a power play. Mike Green turned the puck over in the neutral zone, allowing Simon Gagne a breakaway against Theodore. But Ovechkin, Green's partner on defense on the power play, rushed back and dove at the puck, knocking it cleanly away from Gagne before he could get a shot off.

Many of the Philadelphia faithful wanted a penalty called on the play, but replays showed Gagne went down clearly after the puck was knocked away cleanly by Ovechkin.

The game saw some strange plays as well. Two goals were waived off in the third period.

The Capitals thought they had extended their lead when Tomas Fleischmann beat Biron, but the referees ruled Michael Nylander had interfered with the goalie after incidental contact. No penalty was called on the play, but the goal was immediately waived off.

Philly hoped that they had tied the game a two just a little while later, but Mike Knuble caused a screen of Theodore with a cross-check of Jeff Schultz, and the officials arm was raised to call the penalty before the puck went into the net.

Washington has won five games on the road this season, their longest such streak since the 2000-01 season.

The Caps are off until Saturday night, when they host the Carolina Hurricanes at 7:00 pm. The Hurricanes are in second place in the Southeast Division, 12 points behind Washington
__________________________________________________
SCORESHEET

1ST PERIOD
15:57 Power Play - Brooks Laich (17), Tip-In. Assist: Ovechkin, Backstrom

2ND PERIOD
11:32 Mike Knuble (24), Wrist Shot. Assist: Richards, Gagne
17:19 Alex Ovechkin (48), Snap Shot. Assist: Semin

3RD PERIOD
None
__________________________________________________
THREE STARS

1. A. Ovechkin - WAS (Goals: 1, Assists: 1)
2. J. Theodore - WAS (Saves: 35, Save Pct: .972)
3. M. Knuble - PHI (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)
__________________________________________________
NOTES

Sergei Fedorov and Donald Brashear were scratched. Brashear injured his knee in a fight against Nashville Tuesday Night. Fedorov is suffering from an undisclosed illness.

Michael Nylander played for the first time in five games, and Alexandre Giroux was recalled from AHL Hershey to fill in for Fedorov. He was returned immediately after the game.

Ovechkin has a point in nine straight games. Semin has scored in eight straight.

Perhaps it was all the penalties. Perhaps it was the general ineptness of Atlanta's defense. It might even have been the two quick power play goals in the first period. But whatever the reason, last night's 4-3 Washington Capitals win over the Atlanta Thrashers didn't seem anywhere near as close as the score would attest to, as the Caps fairly dominated their cellar-swelling division rival.

Atlanta's defense is one of the worst in the NHL, evidenced by allowing the fourth most shots in the league and the highest number of goals allowed, and last night was no exception. In addition to the four goals surrendered, the Caps (39-18-5-83, first in Southeast, second in East) registered 40 shots on goal and controlled the puck for minutes at a time in Atlanta's zone.

For one 15 minutes stretch during the second and third periods, the Thrashers managed just four shots on net, and had seven total in each of the last two periods.

In addition to the shoddy defense work, Atlanta took eight minor penalties, and Washington cashed those in, scoring on three of the eight power plays. Shockingly, Alex Ovechkin was not part of the Caps' goal-scoring parade.

Alexander Semin started the parade with his 23rd of the season just 4:27 into the affair. With Todd White off for hooking, Semin took a pass from Sergei Fedorov just outside the blue line and split two Thrashers before putting a wrist shot top-shelf on Atlanta goalie Kari Lehtonen (36 saves).

Eric Perrin was called for slashing on the goal, so Washington went right back on the power play. Mike Green unleashed a slap shot less than a minute later which trickled through Lehtonen, and Brooks Laich slapped it home as it bounced toward the Atlanta goal for his 15th of the season.

"He [Laich] needs to get to 20 so I forgive him," Green said chuckling.

Atlanta got a power play goal to halve the lead by Ilya Kovalchuk, his 32nd of the season, with Ovechkin off for roughing. Ovie went after Rich Peverley, who hit Ovechkin in the face with his stick as Ovie was maneuvering though the Atlanta zone. Inexplicably there was no call on the play--which looked intentional--and Ovechkin took matters into his own hands.

Green added a power play goal on a laser that beat Kovalchuk high, and Eric Fehr added insurance in the third period. Atlanta got a late goal from Todd White, but Caps rookie goalie Michal Neuvirth, making his first home start, made the lead stand up.

Neuvirth made 21 saves, several on odd-man rushes, for his second victory of the season. "The goaltending looks like it's going to be OK in the future," said Boudreau, who noted that No. 1 goalie Jose Theodore will be in the net for Saturday's game at Eastern Conference-leading Boston.

_________________________________________________

SCORESHEET

1ST PERIOD
04:27 Power Play-Alexander Semin (23), Wrist Shot. Assist: Fedorov, Ovechkin
05:20 Power Play-Brooks Laich (15), Tip-In. Assist: Green, Semin
16:11 Power Play-Ilya Kovalchuk (32), Wrist Shot. Assist: White, Kozlov

2ND PERIOD
03:56 Rich Peverley (8), Wrist Shot. Assist: Havelid, Enstrom
12:25 Power Play-Mike Green (23), Slap Shot. Assist: Backstrom, Semin

3RD PERIOD
04:47 Eric Fehr (10), Wrist Shot. Assist: Morrisonn, Steckel
18:03 Short-Todd White (16), Slap Shot. Assist: Kovalchuk, Reasoner

_________________________________________________

THREE STARS

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

2. M. Green - WAS (Goals: 1, Assists: 1)

3. I. Kovalchuk - ATL (Goals: 1, Assists: 1)

_________________________________________________

NOTES

Mike Green scored his 16th power play goal of the season, breaking the mark set by Scott Stevens in 1984-85. Green also passed Tomas Vanek of Buffalo for the NHL lead in PP goals this season. With his assist on Green's power play goal, Niklas Backstrom extended his point streak to eight games. Viktor Kozlov returned to the first line after missing nine games with a groin injury. Fehr has seven goals and 12 points in the last 13 games. Michael Nylander and Staffan Kronwall were healthy scratches.