The Washington Capitals stormed out of the gates, going up 2-0 midway through the first period.  But the homestanding Montreal Canadiens scored three straight goals in the second and third periods and looked to be controlling the game. 

But Eric Fehr snuck a rebound attempt underneath Carey Price with 11.4 seconds remaining with the Caps playing six-on-four, and Nick Backstrom beat Price with a snap shot in the third round of the shootout to lift the Caps over the Canadiens, before a raucous, sellout crowd at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

Things got off to an encouraging start for the Capitals (15-5-6).  Fehr and Alex Ovechkin scored 1:12 apart in the first period to take a serious 2-0 lead, and minutes later, Ovechkin came in alone on a breakaway on Price.  The "Great 8" put a quick deke on the netminder and went to his forehand, but Price was equal to the task, keeping his team in the game long enough to get them started.

Montreal (12-12-2) answered pretty quickly in the second period.  With Jay Beagle in the box for a "light" tripping penalty, Jaroslav Spacek landed a blast from the point to cut the deficit in half at 5:40. 

Ten minutes later, Tomas Plekanec lifted a backhand past Semyon Varlamov (21 saves on 24 shots) after a scrum in front of the net.  Plekanec got behind Karl Alzner in the confusion, but it was a hiccup in the rookie's otherwise terrific game, just his second of the season.  In 16:57 of total ice time, he had an even rating, and assisted on Fehr's first goal.

Montreal took the lead at 5:34 of the third, with Travis Moen getting credit for a tip-in of Marc-Andre Bergeron's booming slap shot from the point.  The goal came at the end of a power play, one where the Caps played over a minute down two men.  They killed off the five-on-three, but long their energy just at the end of the shift to give up the big shot.

Things looked bleak in the dwindling minutes of the final frame.  Price came up huge on several occasions, but he himself almost made the fatal mistake.  With less than two minutes remaining, he tried to clear a puck along the boards, but sent it right to the tape of Brendan Morrison. 

The veteran pivot put the shot on net, but Price got just enough of it to push it out of the goal.

The Caps would get the last, best chance though.  With Varlamov off for the extra skater at the 1:30 mark, Washington got good pressure on the Montreal net.  At 19:44, Paul Mara was whistled for high-sticking, giving the Caps an offensive zone draw.

Nick Backstrom got tied up on the draw, but turned his body into Plekanec and kicked the puck back to Mike Green at the point.  He sent the puck across the rink to Ovechkin at the opposite point, who unleashed a blast that Price turned away.

But Fehr was in the right place at the right time, and slid the puck just underneath Price for the equalizer.

Overtime was scoreless, then both goalies stopped the first two shooters in the shootout.  Varlamov then stoned Plekanec after the Canadien went way wide and then tried to go short side, but the young Russian netminder got his left pad down to close the door.

Backstrom then got his chance, and he did not disappoint.  He went straight at Price, and fired a snap shot stick side that left the goalie defenseless.

The Caps now head down to Carolina to take on the Hurricanes Monday night at 7:00 pm.

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THREE STARS

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

2. R. Hamrlik - MON (Goals: 0, Assists: 2)

3. E. Fehr - WAS (Goals: 2, Assists: 0)

BOX SCORE//GAME SUMMARY//EVENT SUMMARY

Washington, DC -- Semyon Varlamov made the saves, Alex Ovechkin and Eric Fehr scored the goals, and the Caps' penalty killers put the clamps on in the third period, as the Washington Capitals shut out the Buffalo Sabres 2-0 before a capacity crowd at the house that Abe Pollin built, in the first hockey game since the Capitals' original owner passed away Tuesday.

The young goaltender made 25 saves for his first career regular season shut out, many in spectacular fashion, especially in the third period.

Varlamov needed to be on his game, as did the Caps penalty killers, in the final frame.  Their leader, Alex Ovechkin, drew a five minute boarding major, with the accompanying game misconduct that went along with it.

Ovechkin ran into Patrick Kaleta just 3:38 into the third period from behind, sending the Sabre into the boards face first.  The replay showed that Ovechkin hit Kaleta in the shoulder, but the hit was hard enough at full-speed to earn the call, much to the chagrin of the Verizon Center faithful.

"I just go take a hit and [Kaleta] just fell into the boards. ... Max, it's got to be 2 minutes," Ovechkin said.

"We just watched it a half a dozen times...Kaleta saw him coming," coach Bruce Boudreau explained after the game.  "It might have warranted a two minute minor, but I don't think it warranted anything more than that."

Regardless, Ovechkin would watch the rest of this one from the locker room.

The Caps killed the five minute major, and was given a brief reprise as Craig Rivet took a two-minute tripping penalty in the middle of it. 

"You lose the most prolific scorer on the planet Earth, which is tough," defenseman Brian Pothier said. "But you have to kill a five-minute penalty. As Ovie's skating off the ice, we're telling him, 'We've got this one for you.' He does so much for our team. Every night, he bails us out. We could sure do it for him."

They also killed a two-minute delay of game penalty on an especially lazy play by Mike Green behind his own net, as he lofted the puck off the ice.

Behind the killers, Varlamov was rock solid.  He was tight on the posts and even made a couple of nice glove saves as the time ticked away.

"Varly was solid," Boudreau said. "It was like he was saying, 'I'm not going to let this happen to me again in the third period.'"

Ovechkin opened the scoring in the first period, taking a puck between the Caps' circles, carried into the offensive zone, skated across the high slot, and flung a wrist shot past Sabres goalie Ryan Miler (22 saves).  It was his 17th of this campaign.

Eric Fehr got the insurance goal at 13:38 of the third.  Brendan Morrison won an offensive zone draw back to Mike Green, who slapped a pass to the end boards, where Morrison gained control.  The pivot then skated the puck behind the net and found Fehr standing on the doorstep, unmolested by Sabres defense. 

Fehr banged the puck past Miller for his fourth goal of the season.

But the 21-year old netminder was the biggest story of the game.  He is 4-0-2 in his last six games with a goals against under 1.50.  He seems to have wrested the mantel of No. 1 goalie from Jose Theodore, who was not playing at the top of his game even before his recent sabbatical.

Varlamov, through an interpreter, was succinct in his assessment of his performance, "I've gotten over being nervous."

Music to Caps fans' ears.

BOX SCORE//GAME SUMMARY//EVENT SUMMARY

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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THREE STARS

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

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

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

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NOTES

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

BOX SCORE//GAME SUMMARY//EVENT SUMMARY

John Carlson making his NHL Debut

Photo © 2009 Cheryl Nichols. All Rights Reserved.

With 19 seconds remaining in the game and trailing by one, Mike Green hit the right post flush and the puck gently came to rest underneath Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price, and the Washington Capitals best chance to tie up a game they struggled in was whistled dead. 

Two ensuing faceoffs provided no more help, and the Caps (13-5-4) fell 3-2 before a capacity crowd at the Verizon Center Friday night.

Washington played the final 1:52 on a power play, and much of the time played with a six-to-four man advantage.

"There was a lot of red out there," Price said about the last two minutes to the media after the game.  "Especially when I lost my stick. I've got six players against four with no stick. That makes it pretty tough."

Tough, but obviously not impossible.

The Capitals found themselves down 3-1 midway through the third period due to an uneven, sometimes sloppy performance.

With several players wearing jerseys numbers in the 70s and 80s, Washington resembled a traveling pre-season squad.

Missing from the lineup were such regulars as Alexander Semin, Mike Knuble, Boyd Gordon, Quintin Laing, Milan Jurcina, Shaone Morrisonn and Jose Theodore.  In were 21-year old Michal Neuvirth, 19-year old John Carlson and others that started the season in AHL Hershey, such as Mathieu Perrault, Jay Beagle.

Michal Neuvirth started at Goalie.  Photo © 2009 Cheryl Nichols. All Rights Reserved.

It's no wonder the Capitals looked like a different team in the first period of the game.  They are a different team.

"It's easy to rip on your players when you lose to a team that's below you in the standings," Washington coach Bruce Boudreau said, "but I thought Montreal played a strong game. The biggest thing was I didn't think we were ready at the start of the game. "

Regardless, you have to play with what you have, and tonight the Caps just weren't ready out of the gate, despite taking the early lead.

"We got the sense of urgency in the last two periods," he added. "Sometimes it's too late when the other goalie is on top of his game."

Eric Fehr struck with the only goal in the first period.  After good forechecking by Perrault and David Steckel, Fehr beat Price with a rising wrist shot as Steckel skated right in front of the Montreal goaltender.

But Les Habitents registered the next three tallies, including two goals in 2:47 in the second period.  There was a deflection and a bounce off a Capitals player, so youngster Neuvirth (19 saves) can't really be faulted too hard one either.

"He did what a starting pitcher is supposed to do," Boudreau said of the goalie, making his first start of the season.  ""He kept us in the game. And we didn't take advantage of it."

The Canadiens' last goal was a rocket by Mike Cammilleri on a questionable power play midway through the third period.

It was at that time the Caps woke up, but it was too little, too late.

Washington got it's second goal off a terrific shot-pass from Green to Brendan Morrison, who then beat Price with a backhander as he skated through the crease, setting up the final two-minute flurry.

Despite the onslaught, the Caps never did get the equalizer.

There is no rest for the weary, though.  The team loaded up for their charter immediately after the game for a 7:00 pm road faceoff with the woeful Toronto Maple Leafs tomorrow.

Hopefully they find their legs earlier Saturday evening than they did Friday.

NOTES:  Carlson made his N.H.L. debut and acquitted himself well.  He led the team in hits and rang a shot off the post in the first period in a bid for his first goal.  "I thought [he] played well," Boudreau commented.  "He's going to be a good player in this league for a long time."

D Tom Poti left in the second period with an undisclosed upper body injury.  He is listed day-to-day, and Boudreau indicated the team will call up another player for Saturday's game, implying that Shaone Morrisonn, Milan Jurcina and Poti all will be unavailable.

BOX SCORE//GAME SUMMARY//EVENT SUMMARY

Matt Bradley was in the the right place twice last night in the Washington Capitals 4-2 win over the New York Rangers, and he made the right plays both times.

First, he took on Rangers tough guy Aaron Voros, trading wild right hand punches that left the smaller Bradley bloodied about his left eye, requiring six stiches.  Later, he gathered in a loose puck, shielded rookie defenseman Matt Gilroy, and beat Henrik Lundqvist high to the glove side to break a 2-2 tie in the third period.

Bradley, one of the team's unsung heroes, was typically nonchalant about the fight, which seemed to spark the entire Capitals team.  "It didn't bother me. I could feel the blood coming, but there is no pain or anything. It's just one of those things that is more annoying than anything. You have to go in and get stitches and you have to miss five minutes."

The game marked the return of Alex Ovechkin to Washington's line-up.  The two-time Hart Trophy winner had missed the previous six games with an upper body injury, and he returned with a flourish, banging home a one-timer from the point on a power play in the first period for his 15th goal of the season. 

Ovechkin also doled out several hits, so it appears the injury will not keep him from playing the physical game he is accustomed to.

Semyon Varlamov made 18 saves on 20 shots to earn the win, and joins a small group of goalies to win 12 of their first 14 NHL decisions.

And Bruce Boudreau hit the 100 win mark for his career, the fourth fastest in NHL history to reach the century mark.

But the game Tuesday night belonged to Bradley, the scrappy fourth line winger.  His fourth goal of the season lifted his team in the waning moments of a close hockey game, and kept them on top of the standings in the Eastern Conference.

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THREE STARS

1. A. Ovechkin - WAS (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)

2. M. Gaborik - NYR (Goals: 2, Assists: 0)

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

________________________________________________________

NOTES

Quentin Laing suffered a broken jaw blocking a shot with his face in the third period.  It's unknown how long the injury will keep him siddelined, but preliminary reports say it could be "weeks" before he can play again.

Tomas Fleischmann assisted on Ovechkin's goal, pushing his scoring streak to nine games, tying Mike Green for the longest such streak this season.

The Caps' power play went 2-for-4, and has scored at least one goal in all but four games this season. It's now up to 25.6 percent and is ranked third in the league.

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.

BOX SCORE//GAME SUMMARY//EVENT SUMMARY

Jose Theodore had a rough night in New Jersey.

Photo © 2009 Cheryl Nichols. All Rights Reserved.

The Caps are taking the day off in NYC tomorrow before returning to Prudential Center for practice on Monday and then game Tuesday night at Madison Square Gardens against Rangers.
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SCORESHEET

1ST PERIOD
04:15 WAS - [Power Play] T. Fleischmann (7), Slap Shot. Assist: Morrison, Green
05:02 WAS - M. Perreault (20), Wrist Shot. Assist: Green, Bradley
09:47 NJ - C. White (1), Wrist Shot. Assist: Langenbrunner, Zubrus

2ND PERIOD
05:44 NJ - [Power Play] J. Langenbrunner (4), Slap Shot. Assist: Murphy, Bergfors
14:40 NJ - Z. Parise (10), Wrist Shot. Assist: Zajac
19:04 NJ - M. Halischuk (1), Wrist Shot. Assist: Bergfors, Sestito

3RD PERIOD
03:23 NJ - C. Murphy (2), Tip-In. Assist: Zajac
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THREE STARS

1. Z. Parise - NJ (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)
2. J. Langenbrunner - NJ (Goals: 1, Assists: 1)
3. M. Halischuk - NJ (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)