First Matt Bradley.  Then David Steckel.  Who's next, Andrew Gordon?

Reporters caught up with David Steckel this morning, who was at Kettler getting some skating in with former teammates.  While Stecks didn't really add anything to Bradley's comments of a couple weeks ago criticizing Alexander Semin, he certainly didn't disagree with anything Bradley said.  “It's not like he went out and told lies,” Steckel told the gathered media.

I didn't find Steckel's comments to be inflammatory, not in the nature that Bradley's were.  Steckel was prompted by whatever media were present to comment on the situation and he gave an honest appraisal.  He could have simply said, "No comment," but the people that are roasting Steckel on the message boards and on Twitter this morning for saying anything probably would have roasted him for saying nothing.

For me, this is what it amounts to: nothing.  Everyone -- the team, fans, media, league, his national team coaches, everyone -- knows who Alexander Semin is.  He's the great enigma, able to dominate or disappear from games seemingly at whim.  He also brings a lot of criticism on himself by not talking to the media, and when he does so only in his native language, sheltered from harsh questioning by the language barrier. 

It's entirely possible the wall Semin surrounds himself with is contributing to the new-found criticism by former teammates as well.  It might even be a subconscious thing, but it's a lot easier to make comments about a guy you know won't defend himself.

The Capitals remain convinced that Semin's talent and production is worth the expense and effort to reveal that talent.  Maybe that opinion will change some day.  But what appears certain won't change is Alexander Semin.

The Washington Capitals earlier today traded for puck-moving defenseman Dennis Wideman, formerly of the Florida Panthers, in exchange for minor league forward Jake Hauswirth and their 2011 third round pick.

Wideman, 27, has 33 points (9 goals, 24 assists) this year for the Panthers in 61 games.  He will wear No. 6 for the Caps.

The veteran defender gives the Caps another two-way defenseman and shores up a depleted blue line, with Tom Poti still unavailable for play and Mike Green out at least another week with his head/ear injury and now back home in Calgary attending his grandmother's funeral.

Asked if Wideman was acquired because of those circumstances, Coach Bruce Boudreau replied, "It means we don't know and this is the last day [for trades]," Boudreau said. "Even if we have both of those guys, [General Manager] George [McPhee] makes a great pick in getting Dennis."

_________________

PRACTICE UPDATES:  D.J. King has cleared waivers, but his status is still unknown.  Boudreau said the team had "no plans" at the time to send him to AHL Hershey should he clear waivers, but with the team over the cap limit for now with the addition of Wideman, there still has to be some moving parts as we quickly approach the 3:00 pm trade deadline.

F Eric Fehr participated fully in today's practice, testing out his injured shoulder.  He is taking things "practice to practice", and still does not have a timetable for his return.

C David Steckel left practice early triggering speculation, but team sources said he "tweaked" something and his status is uncertain.

"They don't like us. We don't like them.  That's the way it should be." -- Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau

THE RESULT:  The Washington Capitals dominated their arch-rivals on defense, shutting out the formerly high-scoring Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0 on Super Bowl Sunday.  It was Washington's eighth straight win on "Super Sunday" and improves their career line to 14-3-1 on the big day.

Caps goalie Michal Neuvirth made 22 saves for his second shut out of the season and forwards Brooks Laich, Marcus Johansson and Mike Knuble each scored to lead the Caps to victory.

Neuvirth didn't forget comments Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma made about him during HBO's 24/7 leading up to the Winter Classic, calling the rookie goaltender "shaky."  

“Of course," Neuvirth said.  "I watched every episode, but this is hockey. It didn’t really bother me. But now I’m really happy that I shut them down. It’s even better for me right now.”

"Before the game, I remembered when he said that and I kind of looked at him during the warm up and told myself that I got to shut these guys out tonight.”

The Capitals dominated the suddenly offensively struggling Penguins on defense, clogging up the passing lanes, shutting down their power play, and blocking 18 shots.

"That's all about commitment," Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said.  "A commitment to winning.  It's what it is.  You block shots, you get in the way, one of your teammates goes down another one picks it up."

But the real stories of this game ended up being nothing about the game, and more the extra-curriculars that always seem to be associated with the Caps and the Pens.

In what can only be described as two acts of cowardice, the Penguins looked to get retribution for the New Year's Day collision between David Steckel and Sidney Crosby. 

The play, which was ruled by the league office to be incidental contact, could very well have left Crosby with a concussion, though Pittsburgh team doctors allowed him to return not only to that game, but play in the next one as well until an innocuous hit by Tampa Bay's Victor Hedman sent Crosby to the dressing room. 

Crosby has not returned to the ice since.

The Penguins have incessantly discussed in the media how they though Steckel's hit was dirty and intentional, and since this was the next occasion for the two teams to face each other, it was logical that either Matt Cooke, Michael Rupp or Deryk Engelland -- Pittsburgh's tough guys -- would mix it up with Steckel early in the game, get it out of the way, and play the hockey game.

That didn't turn out to be the case.

Instead, Bylsma waited until the 7:52 mark of the third period of a close game to send out Tim Wallace, just recalled from AHL Wilkes-Barre, to challenge Steckel -- the league's top faceoff specialist -- at an offensive-zone draw for the Caps.

It was Wallace's first game of the season for the Penguins and he had skated just seven shifts to that point in the game.

"I certainly thought he did a good job of stepping up and fighting Steckel," Bylsma said, as if Steckel was the one that initiated the clearly staged bout. 

Then, when asked if he was surprised that Wallace -- a player that has 27 goals in the minors this season and wasn't even on the roster for the Winter Classic -- took up the role, Bylsma referenced the Crosby incident again saying, "We all watched the game I think, whether we were there or on TV."

As if that wasn't bad enough, with less than four minutes left in the game with Alex Ovechkin trying to get the puck out of the Caps end, veteran cheap-shot artist Matt Cooke ran Ovechkin, intentionally sticking his knee out as the Great Eight sped by, sending Ovechkin down in a heap, and immediately raised his hands in the air with his palms up as if to ask, "What did I do?"

Ovechkin bounced up and he and Nick Backstrom descended on Cooke, both getting shots in to Cooke's head before the ensuing scrum.  Cooke was awarded just a two minute tripping call, when it very easily could have been a kneeing major or game disqualification.

"I just tracked the puck and he tried to cut back on me," Cooke said. "We clipped skates."

Said Bylsma: "I didn't think much contact was made. Maybe their skates get wound up together."

Take a look at this replay and you decide whether their skates made any contact. 

Remember, Cooke is the player that blind-sided Marc Savard of Boston, ruining Savard's career.

Matt Bradley was willing to take up the cause against Cooke when the winger left the penalty box, but according to Bradley, Cooke declined.  "He made his choice, he went to the bench and that's fine and all.  But he would have done the same thing if it was the other way around.  He runs at our best player, we're gonna retaliate."

Boudreau was irate after the game about both incidents.

"It was Matt Cooke. Need we say more? It's not like it's his first rodeo," Boudreau said. "He's done it to everybody and then he goes to the ref and says: 'What did I do?' He knows damn well what he did. There's no doubt in my mind that he's good at it and he knows how to do it. He knows how to pick this stuff. We as a league, we still buy into this [idea] that, 'Oh it was an accidental thing.'"

As for the Wallace-Steckel duel, Boudreau said, "I've coached [Steckel] for eight years and he's never done it once," Boudreau said. "So if they want to use [the New Year's Day collision] as a motivating tool, go ahead. But they send out a guy they called up [to fight]. And Mike Rupp, who is a fighter, knowing Dave never fought, challenging him. To me, it was crap."

It's a real shame a tense, well played game by both teams should end up being remembered for these two incidents instead of the hard work the Capitals did on defense, or the redemptive shut out from Neuvirth, or the beautiful backhanded, short-handed goal from Johansson, or even Laich's second goal in as many games from "The Bakery."

Instead, we're left to dwell on these two cowardly acts and the potential for further retribution down the road. 

THE GOOD: Play by the second and third line centers.  Mathieu Perreault and Marcus Johansson both had very solid games Sunday.  Perreault did tremendous work on Laich's goal, picking the pocket of a Penguins defenseman and feeding John Erskine for a shot from the point that Laich cleaned up on the rebound.

Johansson was a presence on the perfect penalty kill, and his goal was a pretty as it gets.  Marc-Andre Fleury never flinched, so Johansson let the shot go at the precise time when Fleury's defenseman was screening him, and Steckel cutting to the net at the same time might also have distracted the Penguins goalie.

THE BAD: Mike Green took a puck to the side of his head on a shot by Brooks Orpik as time expired on the first period.  He did not return.  After the game he spoke to the media and said he had a headache, but other than that he was fine. 

He had several stitches in his right ear and still had a little blood on the side of his face and neck.  Boudreau called him day-to-day, but I'd be surprised if he wasn't in Tuesday's lineup.

Mike Knuble took a stick to the face late, opening a cut on his right cheek that will probably take a couple of stitches as well.  The refs ruled that Knuble got his with a "follow through", according to Boudreau, and no penalty was called on the play.  Knuble stayed in the game and got his revenge with an empty net goal.

Knuble has scored a goal in all seven of his career games with the Capitals against Pittsburgh.

THE UGLY: Matt Cooke's kneeing of Ovechkin -- and his lame defense by both him and his coach -- are gutless and inexcusable.  Those types of plays are what keeps the NHL a fringe sport.  The "wink-wink" of his defense is pathetic and cowardly.  Do not expect discipline from the league on an obviously intentional play to injure.

THE STATS: Brooks Laich (11) from John Erskine (7) and Mathieu Perreault (6) at 18:22 of 1st.  Marcus Johansson (7) from Jeff Schultz (7) at 3:58 of 2nd (SH).  Mike Knuble (13) from Matt Hendricks (9) at 19:16 of 3rd (EN).

NEXT GAME: Tuesday, Feb. 8 at 7:00 pm against San Jose Sharks at Verizon Center.

CAPS NEWS NETWORK THREE STARS

3. Matt Hendricks.  Gets the nod for team D with three blocked shots. 

2.  Marcus Johansson.  Played one of his best games of the year.  We've seen in flashes how good he's going to be.

1.  Michal Neuvirth. Shaky on the first couple of shots, but settled in real well.  Second and third handled the few scoring chances Pittsburgh had with ease.

***Thanks to Alex Caudina from WTOP Radio for audio of visiting coach's press conference.

All Photos 2010 © Cheryl Nichols Photography/
Caps News Network. All Rights Reserved.

Go here and look at it for yourself.

It looks to me like Crosby stopped skating and was looking for the end of the period, not at where he was on the ice.

It looks to me like Steckel is leaning forward skating hard to get back into the play.

It looks to me like Steckel even tried to avoid the collision altogether, as he is left arm is away from his body for balance before the contact is even made.

Yes, Sidney Crosby got hit in the head by David Steckel's shoulder.  That much we can all agree on.  I think neutral observers will agree though that this was incidental contact and not the dirty play that several of the Penguins are insinuating it was.

In fact, if it hadn't involved Crosby, we probably wouldn't be talking about it at all.  These kinds of collisions happen in every NHL game.

Maybe they should look at the replay instead of blindly defending their captain.

I guess D.J. King will get a sweater Feb. 6.

"One game like that does not a season make." David Steckel, on the team's encouraging defensive effort in the third period.

THE RESULT: Playing what Matt Bradley called "playoff-style hockey" in the third period, the Washington Capitals held on to a precious one-goal lead and defeated the Buffalo Sabres 4-2, before an announced sellout crowd at Verizon Center.

All the tickets might have been sold, but there were just enough empty seats -- and Buffalo fans -- to give the building an less-than-raucous aura for the mid-week affair.

The Capitals won their seventh straight game at home and improved to an NHL best 14-4-1 on the season.

As has been the case so often in this recent stretch of winning hockey, the Capitals jumped out to an early lead, controlling the play against a game, but undermanned, Sabres squad. Washington got a five-on-three power play goal and two tallies from the energy line, and looked comfortably strong for most of the first half of the game.

Then, at 12:07 of the second, cracks in the armor showed.

Derek Roy (wouldn't he look good in Red come trade deadline) flipped a shot past Michal Neuvirth with Mike Green in the box and just 48 seconds later, Jordan Leopold snapped an even-strength wrist shot past the screened goalie, cutting the lead to 3-2 and sending shivers down every Caps spine.

Neuvirth then faced a barrage of shots and, frankly, was lucky the score was not worse. He looked unsure on a couple of stops, and at least twice Buffalo shooters missed wide open nets.

But the Caps regrouped, killing an Alex Ovechkin delay-of-game penalty without a shot on goal, and seemed to gain momentum from the big kill.

In the third, the Capitals really buckled down and clogged the defensive zone. It was probably the best concentrated 20-minute defensive effort the team has put forth all season long. Buffalo got 10 shots on goal in the frame, but Neuvirth was up to the task.

Coach Bruce Boudreau spoke about his young netminder's strength in the final frame. "I think, for him, it's his experience having to go through two championship rounds in the playoffs [for AHL Hershey]. He knows when to really buckle down and he's protected the lead for us really good this year."

"He's growing up right before your eyes."

Boudreau said his team never panicked and he didn't give some big motivational speech between the second and third periods.

"I told them to stay the course because they were doing a really good job."

On a night Boudreau picked to play around with his forward combinations, the Capitals best line this evening was the one composed of grinders: Jason Chimera, David Steckel and Matt Bradley. Both Bradley and Steckel scored, with Chimera providing the primary assist to both. The plays were similar as well, with Chimera feeding a cutting teammate in the slot from behind the Buffalo net.

Bradley actually led the team in shots with five, ahead of Alexes Ovechkin and Semin by one each.

"When we try to be fancy and do things we shouldn't, that's when we get in trouble," Bradley said. "We're just playing a simple game. That's what we did tonight."

Steckel spoke of the chemistry on the newly-formed line. "Chimmer got in there and made some great plays and Brads and I just kind of mucked it up and we were in the right spots. If you do the right stuff and are working hard, it's easy to play together."

Boudreau offered praise for the trio. "They were really good I thought tonight. It's the first quarter of the season and you're trying to find things that are really gonna click that you'll leave them there. So we're doing a little bit of experimenting with the lines."

Steckel -- who was awarded tonight's hard hat -- echoed his coaches words on the Caps' effort, and perhaps made the best observation of the season: "With the exception of the two minutes in the second period, we played really well. We talked about it before the game and we came out and executed it. We need to build off it. One game like that does not a season make."

Indeed.  But it's a good place to start.

THE GOOD: Not enough can be said about how well the 25-39-10 line played. They were far and away the best line on the ice for either team, and really controlled the puck in the offensive zone, cycling and looking for opportune scoring chances.

Michal Neuvirth was strong again, except for those few moments in the second period. He turned away 31 shots - including all 10 in the third period – to improve to 12-3-0 on the season.

THE BAD: Eric Fehr was invisible. He had the least amount of ice time (14 shifts for 10:55) and was minus-one, managing just two shots on goal. No hits. No takeaways.

THE UGLY: Not really all that ugly, but I was not a big fan of the reconfigured lines tonight. Marcus Johansson is just not ready to center Ovechkin and Mike Knuble. He looked tenative with the puck on several occasions, once opting to pass backward from inside the faceoff circle with an open lane to the net.

THE STATS:  Backstrom (6) from Semin (11) and Laich (8) PP at 12:31 of 1st.  Bradley (2) from Chimera (4) and Alzner (2) at 17:04 of 1st.  Steckel (3) from Chimera (5) and Bradley (4) at 2:45 of 2nd. Semin (14) unassisted EN at 19:56 of 3rd.

NEXT GAME: At Atlanta Thrashers Friday at 7:30 pm.

CAPS NEWS NETWORK THREE STARS

3.  Michal Neuvirth.  Despite a shaky two minutes in the second, he was a stone wall in the third when the Caps needed him to be.

2.  Jason Chimera.  Both passes were things of beauty.

1.  Matt Bradley.  Goal and assist.  Led the team in shots and was very strong on the forecheck all night.

CAPS NOTES: Alexander Semin scored an empty netter with four seconds left in regulation and added an assist on Nicklas Backstrom’s first period power-play goal to extended his point streak to nine games (nine goals, eight assists) and surpassing Alex Ovechkin for the longest streak by a Capital this season (eight games). Washington improved to 11-1-1 when Semin registers at least a point and 10-0-0 when he scores a goal.

Backstrom scored his sixth goal of the year on a two-man advantage with 7:29 remaining in the first period. Backstrom, who is riding a four-game point streak (two goals, five assists), has collected 21 points (six goals, 15 assists) in 19 games this season.

Washington upped their record to 10-0-0 when scoring a power play goal.  For the season, the Caps rank seventh in the NHL at 21.9 percent.

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

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

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

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

As for the others?

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Washington Capitals had won 12 games in a row against Southeast Division foe Tampa Bay.  But Tuesday night the Caps could not match the Lightning's energy, and that lofty streak, along with a three-game winning streak, fell in a 7-4 loss.

Not only was the game filled with goals, but the third period was filled with heavy checks, fisticuffs, and The Professor stepping in for The Russian Machine in a fight.

The Caps got down early as they were dominated in the first period by Tampa Bay, and the frame ended with the Caps on the wrong end of a 4-1 count.  Michael Neuvirth surrendered four goals on 15 shots, though he could hardly be fully faulted for the performance.

Two of the goals were power play markers by Steven Stamkos, and the defense was fairly invisible for much of the frame.

Coach Bruce Boudreau mercifully switched goalies at the intermission, going to veteran Jose Theodore, and Theo was solid for the most part in the second, giving Washington the opportunity to claw back into the game.

Mike Green scored twice on the power play, and Eric Fehr lit the lamp with a sharp snap shot to draw things even.

But Martin St. Louis answered with less than three minutes remaining in the period to break the tie, in what would be the eventual game-winner.

The third period saw Tampa register two more goal to put things out of reach, then all hell broke loose.

Alex Ovechkin slammed Steve Downie with a clean shoulder, Downie took exception, and the two mixed it up a bit, each receiving two minute roughing penalties.

On their way out of the box, Downie slashed Ovechkin and the two exchanged words, eventually agreeing to dance.  The two discarded their gloves and helmets and brought up their dukes.  But flying across the ice was The Professor, Matt Bradley.

Bradley swooped in and saved Ovechkin from a fight, and he was hit hard by the officials.  He got an instigator, fighting, misconduct and leaving the bench.  He can probably also expect a call from discipline executive Collin Campbell in the next day or so.

Two minutes later, David Steckel and Zenon Konopka jawed at each other at the dot awaiting the faceoff.  Once the puck fell, the two went at it.  Steckel got a quick shot in to Konopka's beak, but was quickly overmatched. 

Konopka happens to lead the league in penalty minutes and fighting majors this season, and Steckel had exactly zero fights...until tonight.

But Stecks stood up for his team when they needed him, which turned into the theme of the evening for the Capitals, since the result on the scoreboard went so hard against them.

The Caps have little time to recover from getting bruised and bloodied, however, as they continue their jaunt through the sunshine state against Florida Wednesday night.

According to Capitals Insider, goalie Jose Theodore has left the team and retuned to Washington for "personal reasons".  The Caps recalled Michael Neuvirth to back up Semyon Varlamov tonight against the New York Rangers.

Also, Jay Beagle was recalled in case David Steckel can't go.  Steckel took a puck off the foot in yesterday's practice and was limping around afterward.

More details about Theodore's situation as they become available.

Photo © 2009 Cheryl Nichols. All Rights Reserved.

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 :-)

Ovechkin 3 - Crosby 3.

David Steckel 1 -Rest of Penguins 0

What a remarkable display by the two "faces" of the NHL. Crosby banging three home from the doorstep. Ovechkin unleashing three lasers from the outside. Just remarkable.

The building, once again, was electric. The cheers for Ovechkin's second goal were loud; for the third goal: explosive. And hats came raining down from everywhere.

The Caps were a little fortunate though to still be in this one by the time Steckel knocked a bouncing puck between Marc-Andre Fleury's legs at 15:49 of the second period.

Washington wasn't out shot like in Game One, but the Penguins played for shifts at a time in the Capitals end in the first and second periods, with Pittsburgh really taking play to the Caps.

It's a testament to their young goalie, and perseverance, that the game remained tied after two.

Alexander Semin let his emotion get the better of him, taking a double-minor that let to Crosby's first period goal.

There were 14 minor penalties in the game, including Milan Jurcina's cross-check with 1:41 remaining in the game.

Varlamov made 33 saves on 36 shots. The last goal went off the side of his helmet. But once again, he made some tremendous saves.

It's tough to say that he's making saves that other goalies that suited up for the Caps this season couldn't have made, but you just get a sense with this kid that he knows what he's doing, even when he's flopping around a little bit.

In the post-game press conference, Crosby had this to say when asked what he was talking to the referee about after Ovechkin's third goal:

"People kept throwing hats. I was just asking if he could make an announcement to ask them to stop. I mean, the first wave came and then I think they were all pretty much picked up, and then more started coming. So for us, we just wanted to make sure we kept kind of moving and kept the game going, wanted to try to get back in it. So wasn't complaining about anything."

No, he wasn't complaining about anything. Unbelievable. It's gotta be tough in a town known for Men of Steel to be led by a guy that cries about hats on the ice after a hat trick.

Photos 2009 © Cheryl Nichols. All Rights Reserved.

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)

Like it's predecessor, "The Phoenix Goal", the first period goal Alex Ovechkin scored to tie the game at one in last night's 4-3 shooutout win over Montreal will forever be immortalized, known simply as "The Self-Pass".

Ovechkin outraced Canadiens' defenseman Roman Hamrlik to a loose puck just past the Montreal blue line. Ovie backhanded the puck off the wall, deftly spun around Hamrlik and collected the puck, charging toward Canadiens' netminder Carey Price.

Forward Kyle Chipchura hustled back to haul Ovechkin down to the ice, but in a stunning display of concentration, the Great Eight still had the presence to beat Price short-side as his slid through the crease on his rear end.

Thus is born another YouTube moment.



"Normal goal. It's not sick," he tried to say with a straight face after the game.

And what about that pass to himself?

"You have to try something new."

The win keeps Washington (37-16-5-79, first in Southeast) in second place in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of New Jersey and nine points behind Boston. Montreal (30-21-7-67) slips to sixth in the conference, one point ahead of both Florida and Buffalo for the last spot in the East.

The Caps increased their Eastern Conference-best home record to 23-4-1, and are 7-1-2 overall in their last ten games.

But the game wasn't all Ovechkin. There was a matter of two points to be awarded, and the issue still wasn't settled after 65 minutes of often end-to-end hockey.

While no where near as pretty, David Steckel's tip in goal with 2:39 remaining was every bit as critical. Steckel won the offensive zone faceoff to Brooks Laich, who passed back to Tom Poti at the point. Poti slid to his right before unleashing the high shot, which Steckel redirected right in front of Price to knot the score.

It was the unheralded centerman's seventh goal of the season, and came at a time when the outcome was still very much in doubt.

Overtime saw both teams have excellent scoring chances, none more so than Montreal ringing a shot off the post past Jose Theodore. But Theo did make a quality stop on Christopher Higgins, who one-timed a feed after camping in the slot during the four-on-four overtime.

Price answered at the other end, getting a leg pad on Michael Nylander's attempt to stuff one past the All-Star goalie.

The shootout saw Alexander Semin and Niklas Backstrom beat Price with Washignton's first two shots, and Theodore blanking Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Markov. Backstrom (14) had a goal in regulation as well.

Photos (c) C. Nichols 2009. Video courtesy of Caps365 on capitals.nhl.tv.
________________________________________________
SCORESHEET

1ST PERIOD
02:33 Power Play - Christopher Higgins (8), Snap Shot. Assist: Markov, D'Agostini
10:07 Alex Ovechkin (42), Wrist Shot, Unassisted.
13:42 Power Play - Nicklas Backstrom (14), Snap Shot. Assist: Fedorov, Green
17:03 Power Play - Andrei Kostitsyn (21), Tip-In. Assist: Markov, Schneider

2ND PERIOD
None

3RD PERIOD
08:57 Power Play - Tomas Plekanec (12), Slap Shot. Assist: Markov, Kostitsyn
17:21 Dave Steckel (7), Slap Shot. Assist: Poti, Laich

OT
None

SHOOTOUT
Alexander Semin (2), GOAL
Nicklas Backstrom (1), GOAL
________________________________________________
THREE STARS

1. A. Markov - MON (Goals: 0, Assists: 3)
2. A. Ovechkin - WAS (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)
3. D. Steckel - WAS (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)
________________________________________________
NOTES

Montreal went three-for-four on the power play, Washington one-for-three. Mathieu Schneider, acquired from Atlanta on Monday for a pair of draft picks, had one assist for the Canadiens. The Capitals have won 12 in a row at home against Eastern Conference opponents. Ovechkin has a 10-game point streak (11 goals, five assists). Viktor Kozlov missed his sixth straight game with a groin injury.

The Washington Capitals scored early and often, getting goals from seven different players, and handed the Tampa Bay Lightning a 7-4 defeat before a capacity New Year's Day crowd at the Verizon Center. It was Washington's fifth straight victory and 12th out of 14 games.

The game was not without incident, however, as play was delayed several minutes with 13:15 left after Lightning defenseman Jamie Heward was checked awkwardly into the boards by Alex Ovechkin, hitting his head and neck.

Heward was face-down and motionless while doctors attended to him, and he was eventually rolled onto a backboard and taken from the rink on a stretcher. He was taken to the hospital because of a concussion, but his eyes were open as he was leaving the arena.

Heward, who played with the Capitals from 2005 to 2007, sustained a major injury while with the Caps, as his face was sliced open with a skate. Many of the Caps, including Ovechkin and Matt Bradley, skated over to check on their former teammate.

As for the game, the Caps got balanced scoring and just enough saves from goalie Brent Johnson in a chippy, sloppy game. Johnson's biggest save was on a penalty shot by Adam Hall midway through the second period while the score was 4-2.

Tampa Bay goalie Mike Smith, however, was particularly sloppy, directly costing his squad several goals.

Washington took a 3-0 lead in the first period on goals from Sean Collins, his first NHL goal, Dave Steckel and Mike Green. Collins' goal was a wrist shot from the point that trickled through Smith's pads. It would not be Smith's last mistake of the game.

After Vincent Lecavalier and Ryan Malone cut the lead to 3-2 in the beginning of the second period, Matt Bradley answered 11 seconds later when Boyd Gordon intercepted Smith's pass attempt behind the net and slipped the puck between his legs to a wide open Bradley in the slot, who dumped it into a wide open net to extended the lead to two.

Lecavalier scored his second of the game with 16 seconds remaining in the period, though, making the score 4-3 and setting up a wild third period.

Gordon pushed the lead to two as Smith inexplicably left the net and misplayed the puck again, trying to pass out of the zone, instead putting the puck right onto Gordon's tape, who buried it as Smith dove head-first trying to get back into the net.

Mark Recchi responded at 12:22 of the period to get the Lightning back within reach, but Chris Clark netted his first of the season just 25 seconds later. It seemed like the Caps could just turn it back on whenever Tampa Bay would score.

Alex Ovechkin would put the icing on the cake, as he used defenseman Steve Eminger as a screen and whipped a wrist shot past Smith to cap the scoring late in the third period. Ovechkin had two helpers as well.

Washington has a day off tomorrow before hosting the New York Rangers Saturday night at 7:00 PM from Verizon Center.

Photo by Getty Images.
________________________________________________________
SCORESHEET

WAS: Collins (1) from Ovechkin and Morrisonn (1-3:58); Steckel (5) from Bradley and Jurcina (1-8:02); Green (9) from Ovechkin and Backstrom (1-18:29); Bradley (4) from Gordon (2-2:48); Gordon (5) unassisted (3-8:07); Clark (1) from Nylander and Green (3-12:47); Ovechkin (26) from Backstrom (3-18:14)

TBY: Lecavalier (15) from Prospal and St. Louis (2-0:58); Malone (9) from Halpern (2-2:37); Lecavalier (16) from Prospal and St Louis (2-19:44); Recchi (9) from St. Louis and Meszaros (3-12:22)
_________________________________________________________
THREE STARS

1. M. Bradley - WAS (Goals: 1, Assists: 1)
2. C. Clark - WAS (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)
3. V. Lecavalier - TB (Goals: 2, Assists: 0)
__________________________________________________________
NOTES

All 11 goals on the evening were at full strength.

Bradley, Gordon, and Green all had a goal and assist. Niklas Backstrom had two assists. Martin St. Louis had three assists for Tampa Bay.

Washington out shot Tampa Bay 35-26.

After several weeks of playing short-handed due to multiple injuries, it finally caught up to the Washington Capitals in a 5-3 loss to the Florida Panthers last night, one of the lowest scoring teams in the league, missing two of their three top scorers themselves.

Washington was lethargic from the opening face-off, but managed to jump on the board first. After Donald Brashear did a great job drawing a tripping penalty with tough work down low, Nicklas Backstrom made the Panthers play for the transgression with his sixth goal of the season, a shot that redirected off Florida D Jay Bouwmeester.

Unfortunately, the Caps stopped skating after that goal, maybe surmising that one goal would be enough to stop the offensively challenged Panthers. That, obviously, was not the case.

Redirected pucks would be a recurring theme for the evening.

The second period was all Florida, and they got plenty of help from the depleted and inexperienced Washington blue liners. Ville Peltonen walked in alone and lifted a soft shot past goalie Jose Theodore to tie the game at 6:19, his fourth of the season. The next two goals were as strange as they were inexcusable.

With Alex Ovechkin off for goaltender interference, David Steckel attempted a cross ice pass in his own end, but instead of going behind the goal, he attempted it through the crease. The puck hit rookie Karl Alzner's skate and slid undetected between Theodore's pads for the go-ahead tally. The play was uncontested by Florida, so Steckel had no one to blame but himself.

Bouwmeester was the last Panther to touch the puck, getting undeserved credit for the "own goal."

Florida's second goal was a redirect as well, as D Bryan McCabe's power play shot from the point was deflected twice, off both Boyd Gordon and Shaone Morrisonn. The extra-man situation arose when Eric Fehr lazily lofted a clearing attempt off the ice for a delay of the game penalty.

Steckel and Fehr's poor plays were indicative of the Caps' performance last night. Despite the rash of injuries, until now the Caps have been able to hide the inconsistent and ragged play one would expect from a team playing without six to eight of their regular players. But there were enough turnovers, bad passes and miscommunication last night to make up for a week's worth of good play, and Coach Bruce Boudreau was not happy with the effort after the game.

The Caps added late third period goals from Viktor Kozlov (4) and Tomas Fleischmann (10) to draw within one, but an empty netter from Greg Campbell with one minute remaining sealed their fate.

Photos (c) C. Nichols 2008
__________________________________________________
SCORESHEET

WAS: Backstrom (6) from Fleischmann and Lepisto (1-15:57-PP); Kozlov (4) from Backstrom and Morrisonn (3-16:11); Fleischmann (10) from Ovechkin and Kozlov (3-17:02-PP)

FLA: Peltonen (4) from Radek and Dvorak (2-6:19); Bouwmeester (3) unassisted (2-7:28-PP); McCabe (4) from McLean and Frolik (2-12:09-PP); Dvorak (3) from Campbell and Peltonen (3-4:45); Campbell (5) from Skrastins (3-19:00)
__________________________________________________
THREE STARS

1. V. Peltonen - FLA (Goals: 1, Assists: 1)
2. R. Dvorak - FLA (Goals: 1, Assists: 1)
3. N. Backstrom - WAS (Goals: 1, Assists: 1)
__________________________________________________
NOTES

The loss was Washington's first regulation loss at home of the season and first in their past 16 home games dating back to last season.

D Sami Lepisto has a point in three of his four games played this season.

With a goal and assist, Fleischmann pulled into a tie with Mike Green as the team's fourth leading scored with 16 points (10 goals, 6 assists).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

_____________________________________________________
SCORESHEET

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

MON: None.
______________________________________________________
THREE STARS

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

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

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