The Washington Capitals needed a game like this.

Before another capacity crowd, the Capitals finally looked like, well, the Capitals, unleashing a 5-0 shutout on the unsuspecting Edmonton Oilers, winning their sixth straight game in the process.  It's the first time since Jan. 14 the Caps have won by more than one goal.

Rookie Braden Holtby, making his tenth NHL start, blanked the worst-in-the-league Oilers on 22 shots.  The quirky rookie, a fan favorite, ran his record to 6-2-2 for the Caps this season.

Alex Ovechkin scored twice, as did Eric Fehr, making his return to the ice after missing 22 games with an injured shoulder.  Alexander Semin also scored, giving him goals in three straight games.

Washington's six-game run matches its longest of the season (Oct. 30-Nov. 11). The Capitals also have won three straight at home, their longest such streak since mid-November.

It was a night of milestones.  In addition to Holtby's first NHL shutout, Ovechkin notched his 600th point on his first goal.  The Great Eight passed Michal Pivonka on the team's all-time list to take sole possession of third in team history, behind Peter Bondra (825) and Mike Gartner (789).

Jason Arnott's assist on the play was his 900th career point, and defenseman Dennis Wideman's assist on Semin's goal was his 200th career point.

Washington went 2-for-5 on the power play, a good sign as the season winds down that maybe, just maybe, the Caps are pulling out of their team-wide scoring doldrums.

The win keeps the Caps (38-20-10, 86) just two points behind Philadelphia (who beat Edmonton Monday night) for the top spot in the Eastern Conference and two points ahead of Tampa Bay for first in the Southeast Division.  The Lightning defeated Chicago Tuesday in a shootout to keep pace with the Caps.

Some people are never happy though.  In the aftermath of the win, among the jubiliation of free wings there were also plenty of comments on Twitter and other message boards that this was "only the Oilers", the team with the fewest points in the league.  But let's not make light of what happened at Verizon Center last night.

The Capitals soundly defeated a lesser opponent that find themselves in the middle of a road trip.  They did it -- at home -- with dynamic scoring, success on the power play, stingy defense and solid goaltending.  It's  recipe that we've seen bits and pieces of this season.  But rarely -- if ever -- have we seen the complete package.

Regardless of the opponent, the Oilers are still an NHL team, and nothing comes easy in this league.

The Caps are now 8-2 in their last ten games, and appear to be on a serious roll with 14 games left until the playoffs.  There's room for improvement, but all the one-goal wins look conspicuously like "Playoff Hockey".

It's taken a while for the Caps to adjust to playing a more defensively-oriented game.  Having now found success with that style, if they can add few of the elements that made them the highest scoring team in the league last season they could still fulfill the destiny that so many Caps fans, the owner, and the players themselves assumed they would when they reported for training camp in September.

And maybe even the doubters will enjoy it finally.

CAPS NEWS NETWORK THREE STARS

3. Eric Fehr.  Welcome back Fehrsie.  Two goals, giving this offense a boost it needed with Nick Backstrom sidelined.

2. Alex Ovechkin.  Two goals, including a power play marker from the post.  Sweet.

1. Braden Holtby.  We have a rule around here: Shut out = First Star.  It's a rule.

CAPS NOTES:  Mike Green (head/ear) was placed on LTIR and is not eligible to return until March 22.

Nicklas Backstrom (hand) missed the contest, breaking his consecutive games played streak at 341.

Washington is 32-0-3 when scoring at least three goals.

I'll post the preview for tomorrow's game in the morning, but with the off-day today, and fighting a cold, I don't have the energy for an original post. So, enjoy a few photos that Cheryl took at the Edmonton game. My favorite is the one she got just before Fleischmann scored his sweet breakaway, one of the few highlights of the night.

For the second time in a week, a Western Conference team that does not travel well came into the Verizon Center and reduced the Washington Capitals to lofting shots from the point and a series of 1-on-2s or even 1-on-3s, as the Edmonton Oilers won for the first team in D.C. (or Landover, MD, for that matter), since Jan. 26, 1997.

Eight of the Caps 14 losses this season have come against Western Conference teams and they're 1-3 against the Northwest Division.

The 5-2 final was not as embarrassing as the 3-0 shut out Columbus hung on the Caps last week, but just as demoralizing. Washington has dropped three in row and now travel to Pittsburgh to try to stop the bleeding.

Edmonton forward Eric Cole had a had trick (including an empty net) and goalie Dwayne Roloson made 34 saves in the effort. Defenseman Steve MacIntyre scored his first NHL goal, a shot from the top of the slot that Caps goalie Jose Theodore never saw.

For the Caps, defenseman Mike Green had a goal and assist, and Tomas Fleischmann had a highlight reel goal, but it was not enough. Not close.

The Caps were fairly manhandled by the Oilers, limiting the Caps to long, easily brushed aside shots, or individual odd-man attacks that, other than Fleischmann's daring-do, were quashed over and over again. Though Washington held a 36-23 advantage in shots, Edmonton actually had more quality chances and took advantage of those chances.

Over the last three games, the Caps have been outscored in regulation nine to three despite outshooting their opponents 115-80.

Coach Bruce Boudreau played with his lines most of the night, trying to find the right combination, to no avail. The Caps played disjointed and unorganized all evening long.

There was no further evidence of that than early in the third period when Alex Semin stepped out onto the ice and proceeded to trip over--and fall on top of--Green, who had been knocked to the ice a moment before.

The last three games have seen the Caps play deteriorate into a series of bad turnovers, lazy passes and overall malaise.

Perhaps a trip to the Igloo will be enough to wake them up tomorrow night.
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SCORESHEET

WAS: Fleischmann (14) from Green and Nylander (2-7:40); Green (11) from Semin (3-16:51-PP)

EDM: MacIntyre (1) from Grebeshov and Brule (1-12:59); Cole (9) from Souray and Visnovsky (1-14:10-PP); Brule (2) from Brodziak (2-2:15); Cole (10) from Brodziak and Potulny (3-3:19); Cole (11) from Gilbert (3-19:02-EN)
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THREE STARS

1. D. Roloson - EDM (Saves: 34, Save Pct: .944)
2. E. Cole - EDM (Goals: 3, Assists: 0)
3. G. Brule - EDM (Goals: 1, Assists: 1)
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NOTES

Fleischmann's goal, his 14th of the season, is a career high.

Washington killed a four minute power play in the second period after Fleischmann took a high stick.

D John Erskine returned to the lineup after missing 22 games with a concussion.

Washington went 1-for-5 on the power play against the Oilers, ranked 28th in the league in penalty killing. The Caps are 4-for-26 in the past six games with the extra skater.

The Washington Capitals (27-13-3-57, first in Southeast) face the Edmonton Oilers (20-18-3-42, fifth in Northwest) in the only meeting between the two clubs this season, at 7:00 pm from Verizon Center.

The Caps look to get back on the good foot, suffering embarrassing defeat in their last two contests. Saturday night, Washington dropped a 5-4 decision to Montreal on a goal with 22 seconds remaining, and Friday lost at home in regulation for only the second time this season, shut out by Steve Mason and Columbus, 3-0.

Washington has beaten Edmonton six straight at home, a streak that reaches back to 1997. The Oilers have not won in Washington once since 1990.

Edmonton is expected to be without their leading scorer, Ales Hemsky, who has missed seven straight games because of post-concussion symptoms and is listed day-to-day. He did travel with the team, though.

Lost in the bitter disappointment of defeat in Montreal was the re-emergence of forward Alexander Semin, who scored twice and looked, for the first time since returning from injury, like his old self. Semin, despite missing 18 games this season, is third on the team in scoring (16-20-36, +21) and second in goals.

Also, the team is getting healthier, as John Erskine will return to the lineup tonight and should be paired with Mike Green. Jeff Schultz and Sergei Federov both will dress as well. Boyd Gordon (back) and Eric Fehr should be the scratches, unless someone has a problem in warmups. Tom Poti is eligible, but will not yet return, from Long Term Injured Reserve.

Tyler Sloan and Sean Collins were reassigned to Hershey (AHL).

Jose Theodore (14-7-2, 2.89, .895) is expected to face Dwayne Roloson (12-8-3, 2.64, .917) in net.
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SPECIAL TEAMS

WAS: 6th (22.5%, 40/178); PK-24th (79.5%, 41/200)
EDM: 14th (18.2%, 34/187); PK-28th (74.9%, 45/179)
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INJURIES

WAS: D Brian Pothier (Concussion-OUT); D Tom Poti (Groin-IR); RW Boyd Gordon (Back-OUT)

EDM: RW Ales Hemsky (Nose/concussion-IR); RW Fernando Pisani (Ankle-Out); LW Robert Nilsson (Undisclosed-Questionable); RW Zack Stortini (Knee-IR); D Jason Strudwick (Wrist-Questionable)