(ed.--two mintes after posting this article Damien Cox reported Semyon Varlamov would be the starter for the Cpas tonight)

Sometime very soon we will know who is starting in goal for the Washington Capitals tonight in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals at Centre Bell in Montreal this evening.

At least we'll know by 7:00 pm.

It's well documented that Theodore did not start any of the four games the Caps against Les Habitents in the regular season.  And it's widely suspected that should Theodore get the nod, he'll be subjected to loud, constant chants of "Tey-O" by the Centre Bell faithful.

But he should get the start.

Folks have been debating since he was pulled about who should get the nod for Game Three.  I've got three reasons they should stick with Theodore.

1)  Though the first goal was soft, the second was legit.  Boudreau had to pull him more for momentum than anything else.

2)  He was good in Game One.

3)  If you change now, you remove the option of changing later.

Boudreau said the other day he plans on playing both goalies during the playoffs.  But this is more about confidence in the veteran that has carried you all season.  It's true Boudreau abandoned Theodore in last year's playoffs, but he played much better this season than he did late last season.

And again, he played well in Game One.

This team has won all season with Theodore as the main goalie.  Boudreau should stick with him here.

Now, about getting Green and Schultz to stand someone up at the blue line...

Not quite eight minutes into Game Two of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinals matchup with the Montreal Canadiens, Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals found themselves two goals down in their own barn.

After dropping Game One 3-2, it was not how the Caps wanted to get out of the gate.

Throughout the game, they found themselves down 3-1, 4-2 and 5-4 to an opportunistic Canadiens attack.

It mattered not.

Nicklas Backstrom scored 31 seconds into overtime for a 6-5 Caps win, sending the series to Montreal tied at two.

The overtime winner completed a hat trick for the 22-year old Swede, his first of this season and his first career playoff hat trick.

It was a fairly non-descript wrist shot that just seemed to fool Montreal goalie Jaroslav Halak.

"[I was] a little bit [surprised it went in], but if you are going to score, you have to shoot, right? I was trying to get it on the net and I was lucky it went in."

Backstrom also assisted on the goal that sent the game into overtime, a John Carlson blast that sailed just under the glove of Halak (31 saves on 37 shots).

The play started in the defensive end, as Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin (one goal, three assists) started a breakout, but was slashed by Montreal forward Michael Cammilleri, triggering a broken stick and delayed penalty call.

The puck ended up on Backstrom's stick, and he carried through the neutral zone.  Carlson joined the rush and Backstrom dropped the puck near the blueline for the streaking defenseman.  Carlson collected and utilized the Montreal defenseman and Backstrom as confusion and screen for the shot, which tied the game with 1:21 remaining in regulation.

"There's just something about him.  I mean, glory follows him" Coach Bruce Boudreau said about his 20-year old defenseman.  "Some guys get that.  I've said it before, they come up in the ninth inning with the bases loaded and they're the ones that do the damage.  I think John Carlson in his career is going to be like that."

This game did not start out happy for the Caps, though, and the ramifications could linger throughout their playoff run.

Starting goalie Jose Theodore allowed goals on his first two shots faced.  And though they were both tough attempts, Coach Bruce Boudreau needed to change the momentum and went to backup Semyon Varlamov.

The first was a long shot from Brian Gionta that Boudreau called a "knuckleball", and on the second Mike Green and Jeff Schultz kept retreating, which allowed Andrei Kostitsyn to walk into the slot and beat Theodore glove-side.

Not quite eight minutes in, the Caps were down 2-0 and pulling a goalie that had not lost in regulation in three months.  Things looked bleak.

Eric Fehr halfed the lead a but later, as he took a long breakout pass from Tomas Fleischmann and beat Halak with a quick wrist shot on a breakaway.  The first period ended at 2-1 Habs, and all things considered, things didn't look too bad.

But Montreal scored the next two goals (both by Kostitsyn, completing his own hat trick) to take a 4-1 lead with just 2:16 to go in the second period. Again, bleak.

But that's when the Caps' stars, Backstrom and Ovechkin, went to work.

Less than a minute later, Backstrom collected a rebound from a Joe Corvo shot and unleashed a slap shot from a tight angle that somehow managed to get through a Mike Knuble screen and past Halak.

Ovechkin drew the team to within one less than three minutes into the third period.  Carlson kept a clearing attempt in the zone and fired toward the Montreal goal.  The puck deflected off Matt Bradley and onto Halak, but the goalie could not handle the puck cleanly. 

Ovechkin jammed his stick between Halak's pads and rammed the puck home for The Great 8's first goal of these playoffs.

The first tying goal came at the 9:47 mark, with Backstrom knocking in a cross-crease pass from Ovechkin from the corner.

But the celebration would be short-lived, as Tomas Plekanec would surface again.  Mike Green tried to clear the puck from his own end, but put the puck right on Plekanec's stick.  He fed Michael Cammelleri, who either shot or passed back to Plekanec, who tipped it behind Varlamov to regain the lead, 5-4 with just over five minutes remaining.

CAPS NOTES:  The Capitals are now 16-22 all time in playoff overtime games, and won their first playoff overtime game at home since a 3-2 OT win against Buffalo on May 25, 1998, ending a five-game losing streak in home overtimes.

Alex Ovechkin added three assists and now has 34 points (16 goals, 18 assists) in 25 career playoff games. With four points in the contest, Ovechkin established a playoff career high.

Ovechkin finished the game with eight hits, two shy of his regular-season single-game high.

Semyon Varlamov, who started 13 of 14 games in last year's postseason, made 22 saves on 25 shots to pick up his eighth career postseason victory in 14 games. Varlamov has three wins in three games played against Montreal in the regular season and postseason combined.

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.

The Washington Capitals got goals from Alexander Semin, Tomas Fleischmann and Mike Green--and 34 saves from first star of the game Jose Theodore-- to defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2.

The win is No. 51 for the season for Washington, setting a franchise record.

Theodore improved to 18-0-3 with a 2.70 GAA since Jan. 13, extending his own record for decisions without a regulation loss.

The Caps added to their franchise record for points in a season (114) and set a new mark for road wins (23).

Unfortunately, I did not get to watch the game, so please visit one of the excellent blogs in the blogroll to the right of this story for analysis of the game.

The Washington Capitals found themselves in familiar territory Tuesday night, trailing 3-1 after the first period to a lesser opponent.  It's almost become habit, as they have now been outscored 9-1 in their last three games.

The league's highest scoring offense started hitting some home runs and managed to steal the lead in the third period against a somewhat shocked Ottawa squad.

But, in what might actually be more troubling than getting down 3-1, the Caps could not hold a one-goal lead in the third period, coughing up the tying goal just five minutes after finally taking the lead. 

Eventually, Alexei Kovalev would score for Ottawa in overtime with 19 seconds remaining to put the final dagger in the hearts of Caps fans in sold out Verizon Center.

Both the tying and winning goals were scored while the Caps were killing a penalty.

It's the Caps' third loss in a row, and they have now won just two games in regulation in their last 11 games.  The league's No. 1 offense mustered just a season-low 20 shots on goal.  They were outshot 12-4 in the first period alone.

Coach Bruce Boudreau tried to talk away the rough start in the post-game press conference, instead opting to give praise to the evening's opponent.  And while it's true that Ottawa did block quite a few shots, Boudreau's defense let his squad down again, time after time.

Goalie Jose Theodore made 26 saves, but again did not look sharp.  He allowed another goal from a sharp angle, perhaps confused by defenseman Jeff Schultz' not-quite committed laying out to block the on-coming shot.

But Theodore was hung out to dry on several occasions not of his own making.  Shaone Morrisonn, playing in reduced capacity due to removal of four wisdom teeth, was part to blame on the first two goals of the game.

On the first, Morrisonn went for the big hit on the board and while he did make good contact, was left out of position on the play and could not get back to guard Peter Regin, who backhanded past a defenseless Theodore.

On the second goal, Morrisonn checked an Ottawa screener into Theodore, knocking him to the ice, and Jason Spezza tipped in a shot from the point without any resistance.

There were high points, though.

Alexander Semin had two goals, including a "how'd he do that?" shimmy, and he also finished a terrific stretch play with Nicklas Backstrom throwing the Hail Mary to Alex Ovechin, who slid the puck around two defensemen to hit Semin breaking in all alone.

Spark-plug Mathieu Perrault notched his second goal in as many games since his recall, and defenseman Mike Green hit a bomb for his 18th goal of the season.

But Boudreau can't like how his team is playing down the stretch--much like last season, when they apparently took their lesser-ranked opponents lightly.

"The difference between last year and this year is last year we were playing teams that were out of the playoffs, so our level of play came way down," Boudreau said.

"I think the teams we're playing [this season] are fighting for something. That was a hard-fought game. That wasn't a go-through-the-motions-type game. You had two teams wanting it. I don't think our level of play will be dropping, like it was last year."

Even as Boudreau spoke the words, it seemed more like he was trying to convince himself than the assembled media.

Coach Bruce Boudreau succinctly summed up the entire story of the Washington Capitals 2-0 win over the New York Rangers tonight, when asked what he thought of goalie Jose Theodore's performance.

"I thought he was by far our best player," Boudreau said.

Theodore was challenged all night by the normally anemic Ranger attack, and New York managed to get 30 pucks on net.  On the few occasions was Theodore forced to work especially hard, and he was up to the task all night.

Theodore's biggest save came in the second period with the Caps clinging to a 1-0 lead at the time. 

Shaone Morrisonn accidentally sent the puck right to New York's Brandon Dubinsky in the slot, and Theodore neatly turned away the backhander.

Theodore was surprised, but was in good position to make the save.

"Sometimes [things] happen pretty quick out there.  Next thing I knew [Dubinsky] was all alone.  I was able to get a pad on it and keep it out of the net."

"As a goalie, there is not a better feeling than when you bail one of your friends out of trouble like that.”

"That was definitely a turning point," Boudreau said. "Any time they were putting pressure on us, Jose would get it, and he would stop it, and he would not let a rebound go tonight. And that's, I think, the key to his game. He's brimming with confidence. We hope he can keep it."

General Manager George McPhee made four trades at the deadline, but none to acquire goaltending help.  He took criticism in some circles for the decision, but Theodore is, apparently very quietly, putting together one of his very impressive runs.

Since Jan. 13, Theodore has been simply excellent.  His record is 12-0-2 with a 2.38 GAA and .929 save percentage. 

"During the break, we were taking a lot about playing solid defensive hockey," Theodore said.  "In the playoffs that's how you win games."

Other Highlights:

• Eric Fehr scored the first goal of the game, his second in consecutive games, giving him 17 on the season.  Asked about the influx of new players, he said, "You gotta contribute if you want to stay in."
• The second goal was scored by newcomer Eric Belanger, who centered Alexander Semin and Brooks Laich tonight, sending Brendan Morrison to the press box.  "I've been in the league nine-ten years now," Belanger said.  "I know there's going to be a lot of different line combinations and hopefully we can find one where I fit well."
• Belanger's goal was set up by a beautiful cross-ice, no-look pass from Semin to Laich, who then hit a cutting Belanger.
• The win stretches the Caps club-record home winning streak to 13 games.
• Alex Ovechkin continued his scoring drought, now up to six games.  Nicklas Backstrom has a five-game scoreless streak.
• Joe Corvo had an assist and logged 2:14 of ice time.
• For Theodore, the shutout is the 29th of his NHL career and his first since March 17 at Florida. Saturday’s shutout was the first of Theodore’s career against the Rangers.
• The Caps are now 25-3-3 on Verizon Center ice this season.
• Washington was 1-4 on the power play and killed both penalies against.
• The video board played tributes to former Caps all night, celebrating the franchise's 35th anniversary. The Caps wore 35th Anniversary patches on the red jerseys and were auctioned after the game.
• It was also "Pick-a-Stick" night for charity.  For $65 fans were able to pick out a stick and the autograph was revealed. There were 200 sticks, however, there were at least 800 people in line by 6:15pm. $13,000 was raised for Caps charities.

The Washington Capitals got goals from Jason Chimera, Mike Green and Boyd Gordon, and Jose Theodore outdueled Olympic hero Ryan Miller, defeating the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 before a sellout crowd at HSBC Center in Buffalo.

Theodore made 23 saves in the win, as the Caps outshot Buffalo 40-24 in a choppy game that at times resembled an early season contest where the two teams were just trying to find their game legs.

After the two week break for the Olympic tournament, it's not surprising that the teams would show some rust.  In this one, the Caps showed less rust, and kept their legs longer in the match, as Buffalo seemed to run out of steam in the third period.

Jeff Schultz had two assists in the contest.

The game marked the return of Ryan Miller to the Buffalo lineup and he played admirably, especially in the first period.  But the Caps had their own hero this night in Theodore. 

"When you play against a guy like Miller, you know he's not going to give up too many goals," Theodore told the media after the game. "It was a real tight hockey game, and I'm really happy with the way we got the win."

"He makes the saves, and that's what wins you the big games," Washington coach Bruce Boudreau said. "That's what Miller does for them, and that's what we got from Jose."

The win marked the culmination of a busy day for the Capitals, as GM George McPhee made four deals to bolster the team for the stretch run and the hoefully long playoff drive.

The Caps acquired D Joe Corvo, RW Scott Walker, C Eric Belanger and re-acquired former D Milan Jurcina from Columbus just six weeks after trading him there with Chris Clark.

McPhee completed the deals by surrendering just one player off the big league club, defenseman Brian Pothier, who goes to Carolina in the Corvo deal, and one player from AHL Hershey, winger Oskar Osala, who went in the same deal.

The rest of the compensation involved draft picks in the 2010 and 2011 drafts.

So a busy trade deadline day followed by a big win over a top-notch goalie.  Just another day in the office? 

Not quite, but it does signal a return to work for the league's top team.

The Washington Capitals won for the twelvth consecutive game, defeating the New York Rangers 6-5 at storied Madison Square Garden.

Those words, however, don't do the game, or this team, justice.

Alex Ovechkin scored two goals and had an assist, and Nicklas Backstrom had a goal and four assists, leading the team's offensive output.

With three points, Ovechkin reached 500 points for his illustrious career.  It took the 'Great Eight' only 373 games to reach that lofty record.

Jose Theodore had as good a game as anyone that gave up four goals, making 33 saves.  None were more critical that with just under 12 seconds, as a shot came in from the slot and bounced up in front of his eyes. 

Theodore made a quick swipe with his catching glove and covered up, wresting away the Rangers last, best shot at tying a game they led on several occasions, once by two goals.

New York scored four power play goals en route to their biggest offensive output in weeks.  The Caps responded in kind with two power play goals of their own in the third period.

Tom Poti sent a wrist shot toward Henrik Lundqvist less than a minute into the third that seemed to confuse the stellar goalie.  It might have been tipped or been deflected, but Poti gets credit for the goal.

Less than five minutes later, Nicklas Backstrom fired a shot from the high slot that beat Lundqvist cleanly. 

The goal capped a tremendous effort from the entire team after spending a good chunk of the game defending -- poorly -- on the penalty kill. 

The second period was a bizzare, back-and-forth, pond hockey type of affair.  Washington took four penalties in the second, New York three, where the two teams exchanged six goals.

But the frame ended with the captain, Alex Ovechkin, making a bull rush toward the Ranger net.  He put the puck between the defenseman's legs, and -- one handed -- flipped the puck over and past a sprawled Henrik Lundqvist to draw the team within one.

The goal, with seven seconds remaining in the second, broke the Rangers momentum and steered it back in Washington's direction.

In what is now becoming habit, the Caps then steamrolled in the third, as the Rangers themselves couldn't stay out of the box, taking five penalties against the league's No. 1 power play.

So the win streak runs to 12 games, and the Capitals race the impending snowstorm home to face the Atlanta Thrashers Friday night.  The Thrashers will be a shell of their former selves, as they dealt their leading scorer, Ilya Kovalchuk, to the New Jersey Devils today.

Should the Caps get lucky 13 on Friday, it'll set up a marquee matchup on Sunday -- weather permitting -- on national television with arch-enemy Pittsburgh.

It's all any Caps fan could ask for.

Jose Theodore was tremendous in goal, leading the Washington Capitals over the hosting Boston Bruins, 4-1, setting the franchise mark for consecutive victories with eleven straight.

It was Boston's eight straight defeat.

The Capitals broke the club record set from Jan. 27-Feb. 18, 1984 and have the NHL's longest winning streak since the San Jose Sharks also won 11 in a row from Feb. 21-March 14, 2008. During their 11 wins, the Capitals, who lead the Eastern Conference, have outscored opponents 51-22.

Theodore was really on his game tonight, and he needed to be, especially in the first period, when the Caps took four penalties and was shorthanded for a good chunk of the frame.

The veteran goalie finished with 41 saves, including one on Blake Wheeler where, from the ice, he reached back with his stick to sweep the puck off the goal line.

It was another sparkling effort for Theodore, who won his personal-best eighth consecutive game.

"It's fun to be part of franchise history. Getting that 11th win, and beating the old record, it's great," Theodore told reporters after the game.

"Not bad," Boudreau said of Theodore. "He was in a complete zone today and I hope he stays there."

Theodore needed to be in the zone, as few of his teammates played up to his level for the first couple of periods.  It didn't help that the Caps took four minor penalties in the first and another in the second, three against winger Alexander Semin.

Semin was plagued with games like this early in his career and earlier this season.  He took two hooking calls, resultant from lack of effort and determination.  He was fortunate that the penalty kill is playing so well, mitigating the damage done from his infractions.

Washington got balanced scoring once again.  Mike Knuble tied the game in the second period, and Brooks Laich, Boyd Gordon and Alex Ovechkin all scored in the third period.  Tom Poti had two assists on the evening.

So the win streak goes to 11 games, and it's on to New York to face the imploding Rangers Thursday night.  If you've been a Caps fan since the beginning, picked it up during the playoff years in the '80s, or joined the Red Army after the lockout, it's a proud night to be a Capitals fan.

Enjoy it.  Then get ready for Thursday.

BOX SCORE//GAME SUMMARY//EVENT SUMMARY

Alex Ovechkin broke a 2-2 tie with six and half minutes remaining in yesterday's game, and the Washington Capitals withstood a late flurry to hold onto a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning at sold out Verizon Center.

Both Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom had a goal and an assist, and Brooks Laich added a goal, leading the Capitals to a franchise record tying tenth consecutive victory, originally set Jan. 27-Feb. 18, 1984.

"I told the guys it's something that you might go your whole career again without getting again, and so enjoy it," coach Bruce Boudreau told reporters after the game.

Ovechkin's reaction to the streak was certainly in keeping with his personality, "It's kind of fun and it's kind of good.  But we don't want to stop."

And why should they?  During the streak, they beat both of last year's finalists, other contenders, and division opponents alike.  They've won in blowout fashion, and in nailbiters.  Everybody's scoring, as their longest individual scoring drought is Boyd Gordon's 10 games.

And they are getting quality play in goal.  Yesterday, Jose Theodore returned from a lower-body injury to record 25 saves for the win.  Theodore went 8-1 in January with a 2.28 GAA and .930 save percentage.

Whether it's been Theodore, the veteran, or Michal Neuvirth, the rookie, they've been getting the job done between the pipes.

You know a team is comfortable in the standings when they decided they can send their rookie backup (Neuvirth) down to AHL Hershey so he can get enough games in to qualify to play there during the Olympic break.  It leaves the team with another rookie, Braden Holtby, backing up Theodore for the time being. 

Holtby, who started the season at ECHL South Carolina, has yet to make his NHL debut.

The team hopes to get Semyon Varlamov, yet another rookie, back soon from the knee injury that has had him sidelined since early December.

This team is the first in the Capitals 35 years to reach the 80-point mark before February.  It's the first to record 13 wins in January.  And with 26 total points in January, Washington tied its single-month franchise record set in Dec. 1984.

They currently hold a 23-point lead in the Southeast Division, and an eight-point lead in the Eastern Conference.

It seems on a daily basis, players are reaching personal milestones as well.  The latest was yesterday, as Nicklas Backstrom notched his 23rd goal of the season, passing his career season high set last season.

This team is firing on all cylinders right now, and there are only two questions that separate this team from true greatness:

1)  Are they peaking too early?

2)  How will the Olympic layoff effect the team?

These are both questions to be answered as we play out the rest of the season.  For now, Caps fans, enjoy the ride.

The Caps have road games against offensively challenged Boston and the imploding Rangers, then home against Atlanta in the coming week. 

It's not hard to imagine a 13-game streak heading into the Super Bowl Sunday matchup with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the rest of the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

Bruce Boudreau would tell us not to get ahead of ourselves.  And I'm SURE he telling his players not to.  But the way the Caps are playing and winning, it's hard not to.  Especially with the juicy nugget of the Pens game looming on the horizon. 

BOX SCORE//GAME SUMMARY//EVENT SUMMARY

The Washington Capitals scored seven goals last night for their seventh straight victory, defeating the New York Islanders 7-2.

The remarkable thing is that with all that scoring, Alex Ovechkin and Mike Green were held off the scoresheet.

Alexander Semin scored two unassisted goals, giving him 23 on the season.  And of all people, John Erskine had a two point night, with a goal and an assist.  The Caps also got goals from Brendan Morrison (11), Mike Knuble (15), Jason Chimera (11) and Brooks Laich (14).  And Eric Fehr added two assists.

Erskine ended a 109-game scoring drought, dating back to Jan. 19, 2008.

"I don't get them too often, so I wasn't even sure what to do when it went in," Erskine said.

But there was bad news, on both sides of the ice.

First, the Caps' streak of penalty kills was broken at 14 straight, as Rob Schremp tallied in the first on the power play for the Islanders.  It was little solace for New York, as starting goalie, 40-year old Dwayne Roloson gave up four goals on 12 shots.

Backup Rick DiPietro, who has missed most of the last two seasons with knee injuries, didn't fare much better, giving up three goals on 21 shots, including Erskine's goal that snuck through his pads.

"It was just a bad game all around," DiPietro said. "When we don't play our game, things like that happen."

New York lost D Jack Hillen in the first period, after he was struck in the face by an Ovechkin slapshot.  Blood pooled on the ice where Hillen laid after taking the brunt of the shot.  He was assisted my medical staff, but eschewed a stretcher and left the ice under his own power.  Both benches acknowledged his toughness, tapping their sticks on the ice in hockey's ultimate show of respect.

"I was worried for the young man," Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said. "You could see all of our guys went over to see if he was OK, too -- Alex being the first guy. Everybody on our bench was standing up when he got up, as well as their guys.

The Caps have their own injury to worry about though.  Goalie Jose Theodore did not return to the ice after the second period, and was even absent from the bench in the third period, with what the team is describing as a day-to-day lower body injury at this point.

Michal Neuvirth came on in relief and stopped all 11 shots he faced in the third period.

This morning, the Caps recalled Braden Holtby from AHL Hershey, and sent D Karl Alzner back down to make room on the roster for the young netminder.  Holtby is 15-2-1 with an AHL-leading 1.82 goals against average and .935 save percentage.

The Caps turn right around and host Anaheim tonight at Verizon Center.  The Ducks are 3-8-0 on the road since Dec. 23, scoring two or fewer goals in seven of those contests.  They are also 0-for-12 on the power play in their last three games.

The Caps record is now 34-12-6-74 and have won nine of their last ten games.  They are first in the Eastern Conference by five points over New Jersey.  Anaheim is 24-22-7-55, fifth in the Pacific Division, but are 7-3-0 in their last ten.

________________________________________________________________

THREE STARS

1.  Alexander Semin (G: 2, A: 0)

2.  John Erskine  (G: 1, A:1)

3.  Jason Chimera  (G: 1, A: 1)

For most of the season, the Washington Capitals No. 1 goalie position has been a revolving door.  Really, since Semyon Varlamov took over for Jose Theodore in the first round of the playoffs last season against the New York Rangers, the position has been open.

Coming into training camp, Theodore stated it was his. 

Then, out of the gate, Varlamov wrested the mantel away, going 12-1-3 (2.21, .924) before injuring his groin, then injuring his knee while on a rehab assignment.  That was a month ago, and the young Russian has taken the last two days off from skating in his most recent rehab.

To hear him tell Sport-Express reporter Slava Malmud:

"Of course I am [frustrated]. I haven't played [in the NHL] for more than a month. How is this possible for a 21-year-old to get a nagging injury that won't heal? It's not the time in my career when I am supposed to get injury-prone."

is particularly disheartening.  His chance at Olympic glory now is in doubt.

The "other" kid goalie, Michael Neuvirth, took his turn at No. 1 for a couple of weeks, adding to Theodore's frustration.  But the team had no where else to turn at that point.

Theodore needed a day off earlier in the season for personal reasons, and it's really quite remarkable he hasn't needed more this season.  No one would wish the heartache of losing a child on anyone, as Theodore and his wife did over the summer, and it's pure speculation that the mental health day was centered around that.

Upon returning from the absence, Theo did not play well, prompting the move to Neuvirth.  And the 21-year old turned in several good performances, pushing Theodore further down the organization's depth chart and into an afterthought for many fans.

The nadir perhaps was after a Dec. 27 practice, when Theodore snapped a stick in frustration as he left the ice surface at Kettler Capitals Iceplex, and volunteered to reporters that he "just works here."

He was introspective the next day, as he told the Washington Post.

"We have three good goalies and if you want to play, the guy who is not playing up to the way he can, he's not going to play," said Theodore, who had not played in a span of four games at that point. "If I want play more games, I have to play really well. It's the same for all three goalies."

Neuvirth would be coach Bruce Boudreau's go-to man for a couple more weeks.  But back-to-back starts against Tampa Bay and Florida, where he surrendered four goals in the first 15 shots in both contests, left Boudreau looking for answers.

And he found them in the veteran he's had all along:  Jose Theodore.

Since taking over for Neuvirth in the second period of the Florida game, Theo has led the Caps to four straight victories, including shutting out Florida on 15 shots to allow his teammates to climb all the way back and win a contest they trailed 4-1 in.

Since, he's beaten Toronto, Philadelphia and, last night, Detroit.

Theodore was nothing short of superb against the Red Wings.  He stopped 44 of the 46 shots against him, many in spectacular fashion.

In his last four games, he has saved 117 of the 123 shots he's seen, a .951 save percentage.

After the game last night, Theodore said he's maintained his confidence throughout the whole ordeal.  "[My confidence] is pretty good, but I never try to get too high or too low on myself," he said after the game. "When I wasn't playing, my confidence was still pretty good because I was working hard, practicing hard."

So the veteran has played big, just when the team needed him the most.  One of the team's 21-year old prodigies can't get healthy and the other was lambasted in his last two starts.

And with Varlamov unavailable to his team for at least a couple more weeks, it's quite possible Theo will have to be the man up until the Olympic break, which then very quickly brings us up to the March 3 trade deadline.

Can the former Vezina and Hart trophy winner continue his recent hot stretch and be the goalie this team needs him to be?  Or will a regression--sometimes as simple as one bad goal--destroy the confidence Theodore's built, triggering new cries to GM George McPhee to find a capable veteran goalie.

It's an interesting conundrum, and the next couple of weeks will go a long way into giving us, and McPhee, the answer.

Washington, DC--The Washington Capitals, save for one player, were completely outplayed by the Detroit Red Wings at the Verizon Center tonight.  That they escaped with a 3-2 win is simply remarkable.

The one player that kept his mates in the game, goalie Jose Theodore, was the most important player on the ice.

"That's probably the best I've seen him," coach Bruce Boudreau said after the game.  "I'm watching him, going 'this must've been how he was when he won the Vezina and the Hart in Montreal that year,' because without him it could very well have been 6-0 at the end of the first period."

The embattled goalie made 44 saves -- some spectacular in nature -- to keep his team in the game until the rest decided to match his intenisty.

Theodore, for his part, said hs confidence hasn't wavered, despite at times being relegated to the bench by goalies much his junior this season.

"[My confidence] is pretty good, but I never try to get too high or too low on myself," he said after the game.  "When I wasn't playing, my confidence was still pretty good because I was working hard, practicing hard."

Through 53 minutes the Wings held a 2-1 lead.  But by all accounts, including Boudreau, it should have been five or six to one.  Theodore, making his third consecutive start, played quite simply his best game as a Washington Capital, time and again turning away Detroit's skilled players.

The Caps were sloppy, slow, and committing the biggest hockey sin, often were found watching the play.  On several occasions, Messers. Ovechkin, Green, Semin, et al. simply stopped skating while the play was still in action--notably in the offensive zone. 

Repeatedly the Caps would get a puck to the slot, or behind the crease, and they would wait for it to come to them, or for someone else to go chase down the puck.

It's a plague that occasionally affects individual members of the squad.  But tonight it took it's toll on most of the team.

Center Nicklas Backstrom admitted that the Caps had the play taken to them for most of the game.  "They outworked us, I guess."

Boudreau was particularly disappointed by the play in the first period.  "Well, today it was like men versus boys," he said.  "[Detroit] came out with a vengeance and I'm sitting here thinking this is what Stanley Cup champions that are desparate do.  And it's a bar we have to get to."

"It was just fortunate that our goalie was great in the first period."

But something happened here in the middle of the third period.  Detroit's Todd Bertuzzi took a tripping penalty at 12:40, and perhaps getting the man-advantage was enough to wake the sleeping giants.

For 35 seconds later, Nicklas Backstrom took a pass from his captain, Alex Ovechkin, made a hard move around a Detroit defender, and beat goalie Chris Osgood to even the score at two all.

From that point on, the Capitals joined the fight against a team that reached the Stanley Cup finals last season, but are fighting for their playoff lives, ninth place in the Western Conference.

Less than a minute later, defenseman Karl Alzner won a puck at mid-ice and started into the offensive zone.  He dropped a pass for winger Alexander Semin, who fired a laser toward the crease.  Center David Steckel got just enough of the puck to redirect it past Osgood, and just like that, the Caps held a 3-2 lead.

Not known for his scoring, Steckel said, "I honestly thought it went wide at first until I looked back."

It was the only lead of the game, and they made it stand up, killing the final of five minor penalties assessed against as time wound down.

Steckel, who logged major minutes on the penalty kill tonight, summed up the effort playing a man down tonight, killing all five opposing power plays.  "It was huge.  Coach just challenged us because we haven't been that great lately."

"Theo was our best penalty killer."

Could one of this season's worst performances as a whole end up as one of the biggest wins of the year?

Matt Bradley, who scored the first goal for the Capitals, might think so.  "We were lucky to get the win tonight.  But it was still a win."

Notes:  The Caps have won four games in a row and seven of their last eight.

Washington sits atop the Eastern Conference with a record of 31-12-6 and 68 points.

BOXSCORE//GAME SUMMARY//EVENT SUMMARY

Washington, DC -- The Washington Capitals hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs in front of a Red Rockin' Caps crowd.  The weather may have felt like winter, however, it was fall in DC tonight -- The Maple Leafs fell.  Caps dominated entire game and won 6-1.

It took less than a minute for Alex Ovechkin to score a goal and start racking up the points.  The NHL MVP had a season high five point game.  Ovechkin also had a career-high four assists.

After Ovi scored the first goal of the game, Coach Bruce Boudreau thought, "Alex is on tonight."

Mike Knuble and Ovechkin were the fabulous duo.  Back-to-back Knuble goals assisted by Ovi.  Knuble seems to be back on track with five goals in this last five games and his broken finger is healing nicely.

John Carlson was recalled from Hershey this afternoon and arrived at Verizon Center at 6:30 just in time for warmups.  Carlson received a warm reception from the surprised Caps fans when he was announced in the starting lineup.  Fans thanked him for his winning OT goal in the gold medal game at the World Junior Championships when Team USA beat Canada.

"It's pretty cool when you get cheered on like that," Carlson said. "It's cool to recognized like that. But you have to make sure to stay focused on the game, so they're still cheering for you after the game, too."

Caps found yet another enforcer--Shaone Morrisonn.  With about six minutes left in the game, it appeared that Colton Orr took a cheap shot at Mike Green which left him lying flat on his back and Shaone Morrisonn took up the fight with Orr.  Morrisonn ended up with 2 min for instigating, 5 min for fighting and 10 min for misconduct.  Orr was only slapped with a 2 min interference call along with 5 min for fighting.  Coach Boudreau said during post-game interview that after looking back at video, Orr's hit on Green "didn't look like a vicious check."

"We don't exactly have the toughest team in the world," said Boudreau, but 'this group cares about each other and when one hits one, they hit them all."

Caps have had a season-high 13 penalties twice this year - in each of the last two games. 

Per Caps Insider, Jason Chimera will receive an automatic one game suspension because he was whistled for an instigator in the final five minutes of the game. Coach Bruce Boudreau also receives an automatic $10,000 fine because of Chimera's infraction.

Jose Theodore looked sharp in goal and will likely be in goal against Flyers. Coach Boudreau said, "I hope this gets him some confidence. He'll probably start on Sunday afternoon and go again. He's a competitor, a battler. He's done it his whole life being a small goaltender with the awards he won. So it's no surprise to me that he's gone in there and is saying, 'The heck with you guys, 'I'm going to be great.'"

Theodore gave Carlson the Hard Hat. "None of the Canadians were happy with me, it was pretty funny" said a smiling Number 74.

_______________________________________________________

SCORESHEET

1ST PERIOD
00:49 Alex Ovechkin (29), Snap Shot. Assist: Backstrom
17:51 Eric Fehr (12), Slap Shot. Assist: Ovechkin, Chimera

2ND PERIOD
04:03 Mike Knuble (11), Backhand Shot.  Assist: Ovechkin, Backstrom
06:48 Power Play - Mike Knuble (12), Wrist Shot. Assist: Ovechkin, Semin
18:37 Power Play - Tomas Kaberle (5), Slap Shot.  Assist: Kessel, Stempniak

3RD PERIOD
06:47 Power Play - Tomas Fleischmann (16), Tip-In.  Assist: Ovechkin, Green
11:06 Tom Poti (2), Wrist Shot.  Assist: Semin, Green

________________________________________________________

THREE STARS

1. A. Ovechkin - WAS (Goals: 1, Assists: 4)

2. M. Knuble - WAS (Goals: 2, Assists: 0)

3. J. Theodore - WAS (Saves: 28, Save Pct: .966)

For the second night in a row, Washington Capitals rookie goalie Michael Neuvirth gave up four goals in 15 shots, all in the first period.  And for the second night in a row, coach Bruce Boudreau called on veteran Jose Theodore was called on to relieve the youngster at the start of the second period.

Only on this night against the Florida Panthers, Theodore was excellent in net, holding the Panthers at four goals, allowing his talented teammates to chip away at opposite number Tomas Vokoun.

Theo stopped all 15 shots he faced in regulation, and was outstanding in overtime. On three successive odd-man rushes, including a one-on-one breakaway, Theodore came up big, steering away everything sent in his direction.

Eventually the Caps tied the game, sent it to overtime, and won on a seven-shot shootout, when Vokoun's Czech National teammate Tomas Fleischmann beat him to cap a tremendous comeback and steal the extra point from a stunned Panther squad.

Jason Chimera came up with a "Gordie Howe Hat Trick", with a goal, assist and fight, as he duked it out with Gregory Campbell in the second period.

Alex Ovechkin banged home the Caps third goal, 27 seconds into the third period, as the Florida D could not get the handle on a bouncing puck.  It's his 29th goal of the season, and break a little scoring drought for the two-time Hart Trophy winner.

Ovie's linemate, Nicklas Backstrom, tied the game midway through the third.  Defenseman Mike Green, who had a rough game against Tampa Bay Tuesday night, skated in from the point and directed the puck toward the net, where Backstrom got enough of his stick on the puck to flick it past a down Vokoun.

The bigger concern for Boudreau, however, has to be the poor play of his team in the first periods of the last two games.  The Caps have surrendered eight goals in the last two first periods, and only exceptional goaltending and elite goal-scoring skills rescued the game tonight.

For most of the season, the Caps have been able to dominate in the first period, outscoring the competition easily.  But against their Southeast Division foes the last two nights they just haven't been able to get out of the box.

Was it the result of starting a talented rookie who might have been suffering a confidence problem?  Could be.  Neuvirth looked outstanding in the 8-1 win over Atlanta, but confidence is a funny, fleeting thing.

Is this just a bump in the road?  The last two games of a three-game roadie might be enough to explain the sluggish starts.  The Caps play the next nine of their 11 at the Verizon Center, so that should be enough to cure that little problem.

Is it just something that happens in an 82-game schedule?  Most likely.

But if it isn't, Boudreau will get to the bottom of it.  This team is much too talented to struggle for long stretches, especially against their less-talented Southeast Division rivals.

Nicklas Backstrom is going a long way to prove that he is more than just Alex Ovechkin's caddy.  He had a two-goal night -- his fifth of the season -- to lead the Washington Captials to a 5-2 win over the Ottawa Senators, before a sold out Verizon Center.

Backstrom added an assist as well on Mike Knuble's first period goal and was simply dominant.  In addition to the scoring, he was 53% in the dot on faceoffs and part of a penalty kill that gave up just two shots in six minutes shorthanded.

Newly minted captain Alex Ovechkin had a goal (his 28th) and assisted on both of Backstrom's tallies, breaking a two-game scoreless streak.

The Caps got out to a quick 2-0 lead, courtesy of some good old-fashioned hard work.  The fourth line had several good shifts in the first period, but none better that the one that resulted in Boyd Gordon's first goal of the season -- his first in over a year.

David Steckel, Matt Bradley and Gordon cycled the puck in the corner against the Senators' defense, and Steckel twice went into the corner to dig the puck out.  Gordon got a wrister off that goalie Pascal Leclaire knocked aside but could not control. 

Bradley took a whack at it, drawing a backchecking forward, and the rebound snuck out to Gordon in the slot, who dumped in into a poorly defended net as he was knocked face-first to the ice.

Gordon has missed significant time this season dealing with back spasms, and his head coach was happy to see his determination and hard work pay off with a goal.

"You have no idea how big a relief it is, if you haven't played the game, to score a goal when you haven't scored," coach Bruce Boudreau said of Gordon. "He works so hard and gets so little credit sometimes, so it was nice to see him score a goal and feel good about himself."

"The so-called fourth line, when they got on they outworked the opposition and they were successful," Boudreau remarked after the game.

But Chris Phillips sneaked a bouncing puck past Jose Theodore with two and a half minutes left in the second period, and everyone wearing red in the building started to hold their breath.

Backstrom then picked the team up.  On the opening faceoff in the third period, the 22-year old took a feed from Ovechkin at the left wing circle and beat an out-of-position Leclaire near-side from a sharp angle, as Backstrom shot practically from the goal line.

Ten minutes later, the Swedish Olympian took a puck at center ice, skated through the defense, behind the net and wrapped the puck around the post, fooling a slow-reacting Leclaire, who did not have the best night facing 38 shots.

"[Backstrom] showed a lot of leadership because I thought we were floundering a little bit in the second period when it was 2-1," Boudreau said. "Then he comes out in the third period and gets two goals. He was just determined. That's what's making him one of the best."

Backstrom now has 17 goals this season, and nine in his last 11 games.

Goalie Jose Theodore, who was beaten for six goals his last start against Carolina Dec. 28, played well, turning aside 26 of 28 shots faced.  He played with a confidence that had been missing his last couple of starts.

"I thought Jose played good.  If he'd had any luck today he should have had a shutout," Boudreau said of his netminder.  "You can tell he's solid when he's controlling his rebounds and he really controlled his rebounds tonight."

"I'm really happy for him and I hope that gets his confidence going."

Theodore stressed the extra shooting he's taken during practice and work with goalie coach Arturs Irbe is making a difference in his preparation and concentration.

Win the win, the Caps raise their record to 14-3-3 at home, and Boudreau was quick to point out to the press that when they return from their three-game road trip next week, they will have played the fewest home games of anyone in the league, something that he hopes will help the team down the stretch to capture the Eastern Conference title.

Notes:  Quentin Laing and Tyler Sloan were healthy scratches.

Brian Pothier played for the first time in 11 games.  Washington is just 7-6-1 in games Pothier has not played this season.

Most of the Washington Capitals didn't hear about their captain being traded away until they reached Verizon Center for Monday night's game against the last-place Carolina Hurricanes. 

Once they took the ice, they played exactly like a team that had their heart ripped out, as they played sloppy, mistake-filled hockey for much of the first half of the game.  Carolina (10-22-7) scored the first three goals of the game en route to a convincing 6-3 win over the current NHL points leader.

Eric Staal had two goals and three assists to lead the worst team in the league to just their second road win of the season -- their tenth overall.

The Capitals traded captain Chris Clark and defenseman Milan Jurcina to Columbus in exchange for forward Jason Chimera.

The move surprised not just those left behind, but Clark himself.  "I'm shocked," Clark told the Washington Post. "But then you start looking to the team where you're going. So now I'm trying to put all my energy into who's on the team, how they're doing and where I'll be playing my next game."

Washington (24-9-6) played terribly flat early, and managed only four shots on goal in the first period.  Additionally, Nicklas Backstrom took a four minute high-stick, followed by Mike Green's hooking call, which resulted in a five-on-three for Carolina.

The Caps, including Karl Alzner, played tremendously trying to kill the 5-on-3, but seconds before it would expire, Tuomo Ruutu banged home a rebound of a Stall shot to break the ice.  Staal made it 2-0 less than three minutes later knocking a puck out of the air -- baseball style -- past a dazed Jose Theodore. 

Jussi Jokinen beat Theodore three minutes later, and the onslaught was on.

Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau did not want to use the trade as an excuse for the poor play, but it was was obvious the Caps were not on their game, after handling top-of-their division New Jersey and Buffalo their previous games.

"But I've been in that situation, and it can bother some people. I don't know if it did with our guys, even if it was a two great guys who were leaving."

"I don't know if [the trade] did or it didn't [bother the players], usually we're a lot better in the first period."

Goalie Theodore had a rough night.  In his first start since Dec. 18 he gave up five goals on 26 shots and several of the goals came on rebounds.  He made a couple of good saves in the opening minutes, but after the two early goals he looked like he lost focus, and ultimately control of the game.

"I thought he fought the puck a little bit at the end," Boudreau siad.  "Once the first two goals went by him, I thought his confidence [lacked]. But at no time was I thinking about pulling him."

This, after an episode at practice at the end of last week where Theodore broke a stick and said "I just work here" when responding to Michel Neuvirth receiving three straight starts.

The Caps got power play goals from Mike Green and Alex Ovechkin, and a fluky goal from Eric Fehr, where a Hurricane defensemen tried to play the puck with his hand and basically threw the puck past goalie Cam Ward (28 saves).

The loss is the first to a Southeast Division foe this season, putting the Caps' mark in the division at 8-1-0.

 

After the game, Washington loaded up to head out west, where they face San Jose on Wednesday night.  They expect newly acquired Chimera to accompany the team on the road trip.

Tomas Fleischmann scored twice, Jose Theodore allowed just one late goal, and the Washington Capitals cruised to a 6-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche before an announced crowd of 14,172, on the second game of a four-game road trip.

The Caps (21-7-6) were up 5-0 toward the end of the second period, when David Koci slammed Mike Green from behind, leaving the Caps defenseman face-down on the ice for several moments.  Teammate John Erskine stood up for his fallen teammate by going to-to-toe with the much larger Koci afterward.

Koci was penalized with a five-minute boarding major and both players received fighting and 10-minute misconducts.  Erskine took a two-minute instagator call as well.

Coach Bruce Boudreau was steamed after the game about the hit.  "Fifteen feet, he saw Green's No. 52, and it didn't stop him one iota from hitting him in the back and going for the head," Boudreau said. "So I hope they throw the book at him."

"To me that's just a bush-league hit," Boudreau added.

Green received stitches over his left eye, but pronounced himself fit to play Friday night in Vancouver.

Morrisonn also has a dust-up with Koci, and his status for Friday is "questionable," according to Boudreau.

With Green and Morrisonn out, Brooks Laich took a couple of penalty kills shifts in the third period with the team down to four defensemen.  At one point, Tom Poti and John Erskine were both in the box, leaving the team with just two defensemen, which prompted the promotion of Laich to the blueline.

Washington also recieved goals from Mike Knuble (6), Dave Steckel (2), Matt Bradley (6), and Nicklas Backstrom (11).  Kyle Wilson, recalled from Hershey and making his NHL debut on his 25th birthday, had two assists, as did Chris Clark.

Theodore made 27 saves in his return to Colorado, where he played for two season before joining the Capitals.  He played solid in goal, turning away everything that made it through to him until 11:21 remaining in the game, when Washington held a comfortable 5-0 margin.

It was the first loss for Colorado against an Eastern Conference team at home this season.

The Caps have a couple days off in western Canada before facing Vancouver on Friday night.

_________________________________________________________
THREE STARS

1. T. Fleischmann - WAS (Goals: 2, Assists: 0)
2. M. Bradley - WAS (Goals: 1, Assists: 1)
3. K. Wilson - WAS (Goals: 0, Assists: 2)

BOX SCORE//GAME SUMMARY//EVENT SUMMARY

The Washington Capitals were shut down by Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller and the rest of his defensive teammates, accumulating 35 shots -- but very few second chances -- and leave the snowy, windy city shut out for the first time this season, losing 3-0 before a spirited crowd of 17,982 at HSBC Arena.

The Capitals, in the midst of playing nine of 11 games on the road, showed it last night.  They played with little of the energy or enthusiasm that was evident as recently as Monday night, a 3-0 shutout win over division rival Tampa Bay.

In that one, goalie Semyon Varlamov was sparkling, but the young Russian sat this one out, with what the team described as a lower-body injury, widely thought of as a strained groin, sustained in the scrap Monday night.

In his place was Jose Theodore (L, 7-4-5 3.06, .902), and while the veteran did not have a bad night (25 saves), he did give up a goal from behind the goal line and gave up a huge rebound that the same player, defenseman Henrik Tallinder, followed up and beat him on.

The biggest factor in the game last night, though, was Buffalo's outstanding goalie, and potential U.S. Olympian Ryan Miller.  Miller has been outstanding all season long, and last night was no different, stoning the Caps throughout the night. 

Early in the game he robbed Brendan Morrison on the power play, and in the third period stood on his head on several occasions to keep the scoresheet clean.

Miller made a diving glove save on Morrison again in the third with about 13 minutes left, and flicked away a Nicklas Backstrom backhand from close range minutes later.

"Those were two jaw-dropping saves," defenseman Steve Montador, who scored a first-period goal, told the wire services post-game. "There were stretches in the third where we probably could have done a better job, but at that time of the game we had dominated and done a good job of limiting their top line."

The loss prevented the Caps (19-6-6) from continuing their winning streak, which had reached six games.

"You can get to six [wins in a row] and be satisfied and say, 'Hey, we're pretty good.' Or you can say, 'Listen, I want to be great and I want to push the envelope,' " Boudreau told the media.

"It was the effort on our part," Brooks Laich said. "We're the bigger team, the faster team, the stronger team and we got outworked. We knew they were going to bring a big effort tonight and we didn't respond."

The Capitals are off until Friday, when they host the Carolina Hurricanes at 7:00 pm.

________________________________________________________

THREE STARS

1. R. Miller - BUF (Saves: 35, Save Pct: 1.000)

2. N. Gerbe - BUF (Goals: 1, Assists: 1)

3. H. Tallinder - BUF (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)

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.