"I just said, quite frankly, I hope they realized how important this period is to our season." Coach Bruce Boudreau, on what he told his team at the second intermission.

Nick Backstrom and Marcus Johansson help John Carlson celebrate his power play goal. (C.Nichols/Caps News Network)

THE RESULTS: The Washington Capitals, struggling for six weeks now scoring goals, found themselves trailing 1-0 to the travelling Ottawa Senators after two slow, plodding -- dare we say boring --periods of hockey. 

But last night, before another capacity crowd at the Verizon Center, the Caps finally found enough energy in the third period, scoring three goals in 6:16 span to secure their 25th win of the season and once again pull into a tie for first in the Southeast Division with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The goal that started things was not a flash of brilliance, rather the effort of hard work. 

Mike Green dumped the puck around the boards, and Ottawa defenseman Erik Karlsson went to retrieve.  A hustling Alex Ovechkin slammed Karlsson into the boards as the Swedish defender tried to play the puck back behind his own net.  His partner, Chris Phillips, was rushed by forechecking Marcus Johansson and made a bad pass, trying to spring Senators' captain Daniel Alfredsson up the middle.

But Phillips didn't have time to settle the puck and it bounced on Alfredsson, right to Brooks Laich who was streaking into the slot.  Laich, alone, calmly flipped the puck over Brian Elliott's right shoulder, and tied the game at one.

Laich described the play from his locker stall after the game.  "Ovi was the first hit then Marcus went into the other corner -- my job is just to track through the middle. A lucky break, I guess.  A puck bounces over their stick right on to mine and I was able to make a good shot. You say "It's a lucky break' but it comes from hard work, it comes from your linemates doing the right job and just being in the right position.  Sometimes good things happen."

"Forechecking.  That's what it was," Boudreau said in his press conference. "We just looked at [the replay] again and Ovi goes in and takes the guy and then all of the sudden Phillips is trying to hit Alfredsson in the middle of the ice and he rushes the puck a little bit, bounces over his stick and Brooks is in perfect position and that's why he got the goal."

Just 45 seconds later, following a cross-checking call against Milan Michalek for slamming Karl Alzner awkwardly into the boards, Nick Backstrom won an offensive zone draw straight back to John Carlson at the point, who buried the one-timer past Elliott, and the roof came off the Verizon Center.

Then a few minutes later, Jason Chimera banked a shot off Elliott's back from behind the goal line that sent the Senators back to Ottawa with their hats in their hands.

Jason Chimera used a move on Brian Elliott that he said he practiced on Stretch Leonhardt during Caps practices. (C.Nichols/Caps News Network)

It was the first time in a long time the Caps looked like The Caps.  Ovechkin skated past defenseman to the outside to put pressure on Elliott.  The forecheck came to life and really started to smell the blood in the water.  The defense, shaky on the Sens lone goal, tightened up and gave Michal Neuvirth (25 saves) plenty of room to see the puck and the rookie goalie was calm and focused.

It was a big win, as the Caps set off on a three-game roadie, starting Tuesday night in Philadelphia, with stops on Long Island and in Toronto.  Taking a four-game winless streak into Philly was not what anyone with the organization wanted to see. 

The players took matters into their own hands in the third, shaking off a dreary start to show that they still have it in them.  Now, they need to bottle it up and take it with them on the road.

THE GOOD:  The Caps were 69 percent in the faceoff dot last night as a team.  Boyd Gordon won all eight of his draws, Backstrom won 13-of-19, Steckel 6-of-9 and Mathieu Perreault 7-of-11.  Only Johansson (4-of-9) was under 50 percent.

THE BAD:  I hate to beat a dead horse, but Jeff Schultz is now minus-8 in his last six games.  He was caught under his own goal line, badly behind the play, on the Senators only goal of the night, just 1:15 into the game.  He was minus-1 for the night.

THE STATS: Brooks Laich (9) unassisted at 7:15 of 3rd.  John Carlson (5) from Nicklas Backstrom (30) at 8:00 of 3rd (PP).  Jason Chimera (6) from David Steckel (5) and Karl Alzner (5) at 13:31 of 3rd.

NEXT GAME: Tuesday at 7:00 pm at Philadelphia Flyers.

CAPS NEWS NETWORK THREE STARS

3. Michal Neuvirth.  After being hung out to dry by his defense 1:12 into the game, Neuvy was perfect.

2. Alex Ovechkin.  Didn't score, but his big hit on the forecheck started sequence that led to the first goal.  He insinuated himself into the play tonight, especially in the second half of the game.

1. John Carlson.  Real.  American.  Hero.

THE RESULT:  Up until 31.1 seconds remaining in overtime, Pascal LeClaire, the Ottawa Senators' goalie, had played a terrific game.  He'd made several quality saves in a close, tense contest.

But with just half a minute left, Alex Ovechkin took a pass from John Carlson, broke in on the right wing, gave a quick feint that defenseman Chris Phillips bit on, and sent a low, not terribly hard shot toward LeClaire right along the ice.

And LeClaire whiffed.

The puck went right between his legs, his paddle raised in front of him.

It's a save that NHL goalies make 99 times out of 100.  But not tonight.

LeClaire wasn't screened.  He wasn't looking at a cutting winger.  He wasn't distracted in any way.  But he failed to make the save, and the Washington Capitals escaped with a 3-2 overtime win, before an announced crowd of 18,398 at Verizon Center.

In the post-game interview, Ovechkin was asked what he saw on the goal.  The charismatic winger chuckled and said, "Actually, nothing.  I just tried to shoot the puck because I played a minute already and I was kinda tired, just want to shoot the puck and go change.  It was a lucky goal and a good win."

Ovechkin had an uneven game, as he had more minutes in penalties (4) than shots (3).  But the captain got the job done when it mattered most.

"Only Alex can play like he did and score the overtime goal and be the hero. Go ask him how he played. He'll tell you: Not so good," Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said. "But he got the overtime goal and that's what superstars do. That's why he's out in the last minute, because he's got the ability to win you a game."

THE GOOD:  Michael Neuvirth.  The young goalie was very strong again for the Caps, and while the Caps penalty kill remains perfect for the season, Neuvirth is a big reason for it.  Boudreau remarked in the post-game about Neuvirth's strong play.  "Really good.  He keeps getting better every game.  That's a good sign for a young goaltender.

THE BAD:  Tyler Sloan.  The stats don't really show it (he was +1 for the night), but he played poorly.  He got turned around several times by forwards skating right past him, and on two distinct occasions he looked around like he didn't know where he was supposed to be. 

I know it's harsh to pick on a No. 7 defenseman pressed into duty due to an injury to a second pairing D-man (Tom Poti nursed an undisclosed lower body injury), but Sloan looked uncomfortable out there tonight.

THE UGLY:  Matt Bradley only got 3:23 of ice time, leaving the game with an undisclosed "lower body tweak" according to Boudreau and is listed as "day-to-day".  The Caps might be able to afford to miss Bradley against the Sens and the Islanders coming up, but he's an integral part of this team's energy.

THE STATS:  Semin (1) from Laich and Fehr.  Fehr (2) from Hendricks and Gordon.  Ovechkin (3) from Carlson and Schultz.  Neuvirth: 29 saves, 2 GA.  Penalty kill went 0-for-5, allowing six shot son goal total.

NEXT GAME:  Wednesday at home against the New York Islanders, who beat the Rangers 6-4 at home tonight.

CAPS NEWS NETWORK THREE STARS

3.  Matt Hendricks.  He had four blocked shots and the primary assist on Eric Fehr's goal.

2.  Eric Fehr.  Goal and an assist.  He keeps getting into the right places at the right times.

1.  Michael Neuvirth.  Your best penalty killer has to be your goalie, and again tonight he was.

Matt Hendricks mucks it up along the boards. (C. Nichols/Caps News Network)

Matt Bradley, in one of his few shifts tonight. (C. Nichols/Caps News Network)

Ovi spent much of the night off-balance.  (C. Nichols/Caps News Network)

BOX SCORE//GAME SUMMARY//EVENT SUMMARY

The Washington Capitals, as they have so many times this season already, dominated through two periods, taking a 3-1 lead into the final frame against the Ottawa Senators Monday evening.

What followed was "a collapse by 20 guys and I don't know how else to sugarcoat it," according to coach Bruce Boudreau after the game. 

Ottawa scored twice in the third to tie and Mike Fisher, the NHL's No. 3 star of the week last week, batted home a centering pass from Chris Phillips past Semyon Varlamov (33 saves) in overtime to seal Washington's fate.

The Capitals (13-5-6), tied for the lead in the Eastern Conference with Pittsburgh, lost for the fourth time in five games (1-2-2) during a very trying time on the schedule, and with the accumulation of injuries across the team.

Missing again from the lineup were Alexander Semin, Milan Jurcina, Boyd Gordon, Shaone Morrisonn, Tom Poti, Mike Knuble and Quintin Laing.

No one wants to blame injuries and the schedule for the recent troubles, but reasons are different than excuses.

"I don't think the problem was physical," center David Steckel said. "I just think mentally we shut it down."

"It's a tough loss. I still can't really believe that we let it slip away," said Jay Beagle, who registered his first NHL goal to give the Caps a two-goal lead.  "I scored but at the same point you're disappointed with the loss so it's kind of a bitter feeling."

Washington has allowed a power play goal that has tied or been the go-ahead goal in the third period eight times this season, and unfortunately the trend continued.

Three penalties in the third period made playing with the lead more dangerous than it should have been.  Ottawa tied it up with Alex Ovechkin in the box for a questionable roughing call.  "I think he just go low and I just hit him," Ovechkin said. "But I don't take a penalty."

The Caps could do nothing with a gift later in the period, as the Senators were whistled for too many men on the ice.

"They wanted it more.  We take three dumb penalties, they get the momentum, they get the crowd into it and we leave our poor goalie out to dry," Boudreau said.

"What happens a lot to us is that we go two periods without a penalty and then all of a sudden it's, well, 'We got to call something on them.' And you get a cheap one. But at least two of them were deserved."

Washington outshot Ottawa 25-15 through the first two periods of play, but the table was reversed in the third, as the Sens dominated, beating the Caps in shots 18-3.

The Caps got first period goals from Chris Clark (2) and Brendan Morrison (8) to take the early 2-1 lead, and Beagle got his first in the second period, which should have made things comfortable in the third period.

But it seems like lately, when things should be comfortable, that's when the Capitals have their most trouble.

The Caps are off until Wednesday night, when they host the Buffalo Sabres at 7:00 pm at Verizon Center.

____________________________________________________

THREE STARS

1. M. Fisher - OTT (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)

2. P. Regin - OTT (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)

3. M. Green - WAS (Goals: 0, Assists: 1)

____________________________________________________

NOTES

Mike Green assisted on Morrison's goal, extending his point streak to seven games.

Alex Ovechkin scored three times in the first two periods, leading his Washington Capitals past the struggling Ottawa Senators, 7-4, before another sellout crowd at the Verizon Center.

The "Great Eight" increased his league-leading goals total to 36, after scoring five goals in the two afternoon games over the weekend. For a player that notoriously dislikes the early games, even Ovechkin himself can not argue with the results.

After the statement win over Detroit Saturday, the Caps could have been in for a let down against Ottawa, disappointingly mired in the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

But coach Bruce Boudreau's charges came out from the first face-off, playing with determination and brilliance, to quell any thoughts the Senators had of pulling off the upset, despite allowing Sens' captain Daniel Alfredsson to open the scoring just over three minutes into the game.

Washington (32-15-4-68, first in Southeast, second in East) followed that goal with two of their own in the first, both in spectacular fashion on the power play.

Defenseman Mike Green (15) blasted a slap shot past goalie Brian Elliott just seconds after an Ottawa hooking penalty. Less than a minute later, with another Ottawa player in the box, Green found Ovechkin in the left wing dot, who made no mistake with the puck.

The two plays took a total of seven seconds. Credit goes to Niklas Backstrom and Sergei Fedorov for winning the offensive zone face-offs, who each drew their face-offs directly back to Green at the point.

The Caps scored four times in the second period, including a breakaway from Alexander Semin, who made a nifty move on replacement goaltender Alex Auld, faking him to the forehand and then lifting the backhand past him once Auld was on the ice. The play was set up by Green, who lobbed a long pass to a breaking Semin.

Boudreau called the play a "Hail Mary" in honor of Super Bowl Sunday.

"A highlight pass," Boudreau said. "That was a sick pass by Mike Green."

Eric Fehr added his fourth goal of the season for Washington.

Washington rests until Tuesday night, when they travel to New Jersey to face the Devils at 7:00 pm. The Caps hold a one point advantage over New Jersey for second place in the Eastern Conference. The Devils have won eight in a row and nine of their last 10 games.

Photos (c) C. Nichols 2009.
________________________________________________
SCORESHEET

1ST PERIOD
03:31 Daniel Alfredsson (13), Wrist Shot. Assist: Heatley, Spezza
09:43 Power Play - Mike Green (15), Slap Shot. Assist: Backstrom
10:32 Power Play - Alex Ovechkin (34), Snap Shot. Assist: Green, Fedorov

2ND PERIOD
46.0 Eric Fehr (4), Slap Shot. Assist: Backstrom, Schultz
02:15 Alex Ovechkin (35), Wrist Shot. Assist: Fedorov, Kozlov
05:01 Daniel Alfredsson (14), Slap Shot. Assist: Volchenkov, Phillips
13:07 Alexander Semin (19), Backhand Shot. Assist: Green, Laich
15:31 Alex Ovechkin (36), Wrist Shot. Assist: Fedorov

3RD PERIOD
07:56 Antoine Vermette (6), Wrist Shot. Assist: Kelly, Fisher
11:28 Power Play - Dany Heatley (22), Tip-In, Unassisted.
19:36 Nicklas Backstrom (13), Empty Net. Assist: Green
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THREE STARS

1. A. Ovechkin - WAS (Goals: 3, Assists: 0)
2. M. Green - WAS (Goals: 1, Assists: 3)
3. S. Fedorov - WAS (Goals: 0, Assists: 3)
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NOTES

Green's 15 goals lead all defensemen...The game was the 14th sell out of Verizon Center this season and seventh straight, one game short of the Caps all-time record...It was Ovechkin's seventh career hat trick...The Game was delayed twice in the second period to adjust the Plexiglas panels behind the Ottawa goal after checks by Doanld Brashear.

When Alexander Semin took a blatant and needless tripping penalty with 3:17 remaining in the third period, the omen was as obvious as the foul. And when Brendan Bell collected his own blocked shot and sent the puck past goalie Jose Theodore, the result was like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The Ottawa Senators, 13th in the conference, scored three power play goals and defeated the Washington Capitals, 3-2.

For the second time in as many nights, the Capitals (30-15-3-63) played without energy or urgency against one of the bottom-feeding teams in the Eastern Conference. Unlike yesterday's victory over the New York Islanders, however, the bad penalties finally caught up with the Caps, costing them two points in their quest to catch Boston for first place in the East.

Semin's penalty was not the only costly infraction. The Sens' first goal came with defenseman Mike Green off for roughing, as he punched Ottawa agitator Jarko Ruutu in the face in front of the head referee. Ruutu embellished the face-wash a bit and was smiling on the bench after the call, but Green's poor judgment was worse than any amount of acting Ruutu may be accused of.

The second goal came with Sergei Federov off for hooking. Dany Heatley scored both of Ottawa's first two goals.

Ottawa out shot Washington 18-5 in the final frame, and 34-31 for the game.

The Capitals charged back in the second period, getting goals from Federov, a big slap shot from the high slot, and David Steckel, who tipped in a loose puck in the crease against Senators' goalie Brian Elliot, making his sixth career start.

Washington thus ends its modest three-game winning streak and enters the all-star break with 63 points. The Caps hold a 12-point lead in the Southeast Division over Carolina, and trail the Boston Bruins by eight points for first seed in the Eastern Conference.

Washington is off until Tuesday, Jan. 27, when they travel to Boston to face the first-place Bruins.

________________________________________

SCORESHEET

1ST PERIOD
08:11 Power Play - Dany Heatley (20), Slap Shot. Assist: Kuba, Vermette
15:54 Power Play - Dany Heatley (21), Tip-In. Assist: Vermette, Foligno

2ND PERIOD
37.0 Sergei Fedorov (5), Slap Shot. Assist: Semin
09:58 Dave Steckel (6), Backhand Shot. Assist: Fleischmann, Clark

3RD PERIOD
18:38 Power Play - Brendan Bell (4), Wrist Shot. Assist: Vermette

_________________________________________

THREE STARS

1. D. Heatley - OTT (Goals: 2, Assists: 0)

2. A. Vermette - OTT (Goals: 0, Assists: 3)

3. S. Fedorov - WAS (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)

_________________________________________

NOTES

Veteran center Michael Nylander and winger Eric Fehr were healthy scratches...Theodore made 31 saves in his fifth straight start.

The Washington Capitals (30-14-3-63, first in Southeast, second in East) face the Ottawa Senators (15-21-7-37, fifth in Northeast, 13th in East) at 7:30 pm from Scotiabank Place.

The Caps have had a history this season of playing up--and down--to their competition, and yesterday afternoon against the league-worst New York Islanders was no exception. In a game defined by bouncing pucks and lacking energy, Alex Ovechkin hoisted his team on his back and scored twice, including the game winner 1:46 into overtime.

Ovechkin made up for a previous mistake, taking a delay of game penalty late in regulation, allowing the Islanders Kyle Okposo to tie the game on a five-on-three advantage.

The goals were Ovechkin's 30th and 31st of the season, and momentarily pushes him into the NHL goal scoring lead, one goal ahead of Philadelphia's Jeff Carter.

Washington has now won three games in a row and 16 of its last 21 games.

Ottawa has struggled this season, as their divisional last place status would attest to. Despite the struggles, however, this team remains dangerous and capable. Ottawa enters play tonight with a 2-0-1 record in its last three games, having scored 12 goals in that span.

The Senators are led by all-star Dany Heatley (19-22-41, minus-3) and former all-stars Daniel Alfredsson (12-28-40, plus-2) and Jason Spezza (18-19-37, minus-5). Filip Kuba is Ottawa's blue line leader, with one goal and 23 assists, and he is their plus-minus leader at plus-11.

Alex Auld is getting the lion's share of work in goal for the Senators. For the season, he is 9-11-8 with a 2.64 goals against average, and .907 save percentage in 25 games. The backup is Brian Elliot (2-1-2, 2.22, .921 in four games).

Washington coach Bruce Boudreau plans to start Jose Theodore (17-8-2, 2.80, .897) tonight, wiht recent recall Daren Machesney serving as the backup. Theodore notched his 200th career victory in the win over New York yesterday.

Michael Nylander and Eric Fehr will be healthy scratches tonight, with David Steckel returning to the lineup.
_________________________________________________
SPECIAL TEAMS

WAS: PP-5th (23.2%, 46/198); PK-22nd (79.6%, 45/221)
OTT: PP-15th (17.9%, 32/179); PK-14th (81.9%, 33/182)
_________________________________________________
INJURIES

WAS: D Brian Pothier (Concussion-OUT); D Tom Poti (Groin-IR); RW Boyd Gordon (Back-probable); Shaone Morrison (Lower body- Day to Day)

OTT: C Cody Bass (Shoulder-IR); RW Shean Donovan (Lower-body-Out); RW Chris Neil (Flu-Questionable); D Anton Volchenkov (Shoulder-Questionable)

The Washington Capitals (16-10-3-35, first in Southeast) face the Ottawa Senators (10-11-5-25, fifth in Northeast) at 7:00 pm from Verizon Center.

The Caps come off a big victory over Northeast-leading Boston Wednesday night, limiting one of the highest scoring teams in the league to just one goal in the 3-1 win. Despite a still-depleted blue line corp, the Caps managed to bottle up Phil Kessel (one assist) and the rest of Boston's high octane offense all night.

Washington is starting to see some of their walking wounded return to the line-up as well. Defenseman Tom Poti and LW Alexander Semin, the NHL's No. 1 Star for October, both played in the Boston game and assisted on goals. Poti's stability on defense really showed, while Semin's timing and energy still seemed a little off.

After this morning's skate, coach Bruce Boudreau speculated that D Mike Green and C Sergei Federov might return for this evening's tilt, though he would not confirm the news. Both skated in practice, as did Poti and Brent Johnson, who tweaked his sore hip making a spectacular save in Wednesday's game.

Johnson (8-4-3, 2.47, .918) was confirmed to start against the Senators.

Ottawa has been taking their lumps this season, as their last place standing would indicate. The Senators are dead last in the NHL in goal scoring with just 63 goals in 26 contests, certainly a departure from their high-flying team last season when they were second in the league in goals.

The Sens were shut out Wednesday by Cristobal Huet and the Chicago Black Hawks 2-0 and lost to Florida in OT Monday night 4-3. They were 0-for-6 on the power play in the shut out.

Stars Dany Heatley (14-14-28, +3) and Jason Spezza (12-10-22, +5) are having moderately successful seasons, and Daniel Alfredsson (7-18-25, +8) is making plays since his return from knee surgery early in the campaign. But the team has absolutely no secondary scoring, with the next highest goal scorers only at four tallies.

The Senators are keeping things close though with good goaltending. Both Alex Auld (9-6-7, 2.06, .924) and Martin Gerber (1-5-1, 2.86, .907) have been on their game with little to show by way of victories.
____________________________________________________
SPECIAL TEAMS

WAS: PP-6th (22.7%, 27/119); PK-23rd (79.3%, 29/140)
OTT: PP-17th (18.2%, 20/110); PK-4th (86.4%, 15/110)
____________________________________________________
INJURIES

WAS: D Tom Poti (Groin-Probable); D Mike Green (Shoulder-Probable); LW Alexander Semin (Back/Neck-Probable); C Sergei Fedorov (Ankle-Questionable); Tomas Fleishmann (undisclosed-Questionable); RW Chris Clark (Forearm-Out); D Jeff Schultz (Finger-IR); D John Erskine (Concussion-OUT); D Brian Pothier (Concussion-Out);

OTT: LW Dean McAmmond (Sore throat-Questionable)

Ottawa -- Center Mike Fisher scored his first goal of the season with less than 40 seconds remaining in overtime and the Ottawa Senators defeated the Washington Capitals 2-1 before 18,485 at Scotiabank Place.

Daniel Alfredsson carried the puck across the blue line uncontested, slid it to D Filip Kuba along the right side boards, who immediately fed it back to Alfredsson in the high slot. As defenders Shaone Morrisonn and Mike Green both pinched to the center, Alfredsson hit Fisher in stride coming down the left wing, and he made no mistake, snapping past Caps goalie Brent Johnson's blocker side for the game winner.

Johnson played a tremendous game, as did his counterpart, Alex Auld, for Ottawa. Johnson faced a season high 42 shots, allowing just the two goals. Auld saved 25-of-26 for the home team to earn the win.

Both teams played this one close to the vest, trying to keep the other's scoring lines from doing much damage. The game plan worked for both teams, as they entered overtime tied at just one goal apiece with both of those goals registered in the second period.

Dany Heatley opened the scoring for the Senators at 1:13 of the second. The Caps pressed hard on a forecheck and were beaten on a breakaway. Alfredsson dug the puck out of the corner to Fisher, who made a beautiful lead pass to a streaking Heatley, who had beaten Jeff Schultz into the offensive one. After a quick deke to the backhand that got Johnson leaning, Heatley flipped it back to his forehand and beat Johnson to the near post.

Washington answered two minutes later. Michael Nylander wrestled the puck from an Ottawa defender to hold the zone and he pushed it up the boards where Tomas Fleischmann collected it and tapped back to Nylander. The veteran center then passed to Alexander Semin at the top of the circle, skated into the slot, and found a cutting Fleischmann in front of Auld. Fleischmann waited for Auld to commit, then lifted a backhander past him for the equalizer.

The rest of the game belonged to the two netminders.

The Caps penalty kill did the job last night, as they held Ottawa scoreless in five chances. Washington received only one power play the entire evening.

Fisher scores past Brent Johnson in OT. (Photo by AP)
_________________________________________________________
SCORESHEET

WAS: Fleischmann (4) from Semin and Nylander (2-3:26).

OTT: Heatley (8) from Fisher and Alfredsson (2-1:13); Fisher (1) from Alfredsson and Kuba (OT-4:20).
_________________________________________________________
THE GOOD, BAD AND UGLY

GOOD: Brent Johnson. He made 42 saves, including a several highlight stops, one on a breakaway by Alfredsson. Quality job from a guy that coach Bruce Boudreau said "earned another start." We should say so.

BAD: Penalties. the Caps took five to Ottawa's one, including three for hooking. That's really just inexcusable. Hooking is the last bastion of players that have stopped skating, and Semin, Laich and Federov all got called last night.

UGLY: Federov's Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty. It didn't come back to hurt them, but for a veteran to lose his cool and slam the puck into the boards after getting whistled is just unnecessary. It a sign of frustration that this team just isn't clicking right now.
_________________________________________________________
NEXT GAME: Thursday, November 6 against the division leading Carolina Hurricanes from the Verizon Center at 7:00 pm.

RECORD: 5-4-2-12, second in Southeast Division. Two-game losing streak.

NOTES: Alex Ovechkin returned after missing two games visiting with his ailing grandfather in Russia. He was held off the scoresheet and described as "tired" by Coach Boudreau. Ovechkin has two goals on the season, both in the same game.

With his goal, Fleischmann tied Mike Green for second on the team in goals with four.

Carolina defeated Toronto in overtime last night, and heads into Thursday's game winning three of their last four games.

After missing two games to be with his ailing grandfather, Alex Ovechkin returns to the ice with his Washington Capitals (5-4-1-11, 2nd in Southeast) teammates in Ottawa to take on the Senators (4-5-2-10, 5th in Northeast) from Scotiabank Place at 7:30 pm.

Washington swept all four games last year between the two teams, so Ottawa has incentive right off the bat, regardless of their less-than-inspiring start to the season.

The Caps have plenty of motivation of their own, considering their poor and lethargic play in a 5-0 loss to Buffalo Saturday night, and the resulting hard practices conducted by coach Bruce Boudreau since. Boudreau called out several of his star players by name after the poor showing in Buffalo, and several, including Mike Green and Jose Theodore, stood up to take responsibility for their efforts.

Theodore, in particular, needs to rebound from his inconsistent start. He's getting beaten way too often early in games and at the starts and finishes of periods. He needs to re-examine his concentration and preparation levels, or the Caps may need to lean on back-up G Brent Johnson a little more. Theodore's numbers (4-3-0, 3.44, .877) just won't cut it over the long haul. He's shown flashes of brilliance, but far too ofter has been sloppy with the puck, either allowing big rebounds or miscommunicating with his defensemen.

The defense itself comes into this game hurting. Tom Poti has returned from his groin injury and hasn't shown any lingering effects, but Shaone Morrisonn took a puck to the body Saturday and could not finish the game and his status tonight is questionable, though he practiced yesterday. John Erskine, however, is hobbled by lingering soreness in the calf he hurt originally in Calgary and he may be a game-time decision. Sergei Federov can cover for one of the defensemen, but it will be a major problem if neither can go, or can't finish.

Ottawa enters having won two of their last three games, defeating Buffalo 5-2 and Florida 2-1, but losing to Tampa Bay in a shootout 3-2 in their most recent game Saturday. Their offense is paced by LW Dany Heatley (7-6-13) and D Filip Kuba (0-12-12). RW Daniel Alfredsson had minor knee surgery earlier this season, but managed to miss just one contest. He has three goals and two assists in his last five games.

Ottawa's regular starting goalie is Martin Gerber (1-3-1, 3.39, .891), but he has been nursing a leg injury and is questionable. Alex Auld (3-2-2, 2.15, .931) is the capable back-up.

__________________________________________________

SPECIAL TEAMS

WAS: PP-21st (16.0%, 8/50); PK-18th (80.0%, 12/60)

OTT: PP-4th (25.0%, 13/52); PK-7th (86.3%, 7/51)

__________________________________________________

WHO'S HOT

WAS: Alexander Semin (8-8-16, +6); C Sergei Federov (3-5-8, +6)

OTT: LW Dany Heatley (7-6-13, -3); D Filip Kuba (0-12-12, +3); C Jason Spezza (5-7-12, -1)

WHO'S NOT

WAS: RW Chris Clark (0-1-1, -1, dropped to fourth line); Eric Fehr (healthy scratch last four games)

OTT: LW Nick Foligno (team worst -6); D Chris Phillips (0-1-1, -5); C Jesse Winchester (0-2-2, -5)

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INJURIES

WAS: D Brian Pothier (concussion-OUT); D Shaone Morrisonn (internal-QUEST); D John Erskine (calf-QUEST)

OTT: G Martin Gerber (leg-QUEST)