We found out this morning that Caps News Network was nominated as "Best Sports Journalist on Twitter" in D.C.

We are truly honored to be included with such good company.

We have the utmost respect for all of these folks and count many of them as personal friends.

Please visit the link to check out the poll, and please visit the websites of all the nominees.  They all do tremendous work, covering the teams and sports we love.

Thanks to TBD.com for including us among the nominees.

Jason Chimera, right, taps in game-winner for the Caps (C.Nichols/Caps News Network)

“Sometimes when we get a lead so early we kind of settle in instead of keep pushing the pace and that was a classic example of what we did tonight."  John Carlson

You got the sense, after a first period where the Washington Capitals took a 1-0 lead and outshot the out-of-the-playoffs Columbus Blue Jackets 15-4, that if the Caps could score the next goal, the Jackets would roll over and the Caps could finally have a game where they could put away an opponent, rather than put things in jeopardy and have to squeak out another one-goal game.

You would have been wrong.

Only a fantastic play from a trio of Caps in overtime kept this game from following Tuesday's script, where the Caps got a lead, coughed it up, and ended up on the losing end via shootout.

Instead, Jason Chimera tapped in a rebound from Brooks Laich, who was fed a tasty pass from John Carlson, exactly halfway through overtime to give the Capitals a 4-3 win. 

“It went to the net soft," Chimera said.  "It kind of went off their defenseman and it kind of ended up right on my tape so it’s hard to miss those ones but those are nice. Especially nice against your old team. It was a good night.”

The two points drew the Caps to within one point of Eastern Conference leading Philadelphia, 1-0 losers to Atlanta at home Thursday night.  The Flyers have one game in hand over the Caps, but at 4-2-4 in their last ten games, Philly is not playing their best hockey of the year.

It also give the Capitals 101 points, marking the third straight year the Caps have eclipsed the century mark. 

A late first period fight between John Erskine and Jared Boll -- one that would end Erskine's night early -- got both teams going in a game that had gotten a little stale, but Columbus seized the momentum better. 

The second division squad found themselves in the second period, and when Antoine Vermette banged home a loose puck in the crease, with Matt Bradley and Boyd Gordon watching, Columbus decided they would put up a fight.

The game went back and forth from that point, with both teams scoring twice in the middle frame.  The Caps were matching Columbus on the scoresheet, and a lucky bounce behind the Columbus goal led to Marco Sturm hitting a wide open Jason Arnott for the go-ahead goal.

At that point, the Caps went into their "New Jersey Devils" mode, clogging the neutral zone and falling into a defensive shell.  It didn't help that for the second game in a row the Caps found themselves with just five defensemen, as Erskine took just one shift in the second period after the fight. 

But there's a big difference between playing defensive hockey and passive hockey, and last night the Caps fell into the latter.  You got the feeling that if Columbus got a lucky bounce, the game would end up tied.

They did.  It did.

The Capitals failed to clear a puck that was bouncing around between the circles, and Michal Neuvirth (23 saves) might have relaxed a little bit.  Scottie Upshall beat the young Czech glove side, and the Caps were in a dogfight.  The teams traded scoring chances down the stretch but needed the extra frame, where the Caps -- finally -- were able to find the game-winner.

"Tonight we had a lot to learn," Boudreau said after the game.  "We talked about it before the game, that it was an important thing, playing away from the puck.  And I thought that we weren't that good at it.  Hopefully it will be a learning session tomorrow looking at the video."

WIDEMAN HOSPITALIZED

A report surfaced during the game from TSN.ca's Bob MacKenzie that D Dennis Wideman, injured in Tuesday's loss, was hospitalized for a hematoma in his leg. After the game, the Capitals indeed confirmed that was the case. 

Mike Knuble went even further, as he told reporters that Wideman had emailed him pictures of the injury, which he termed "grotesque."  Knuble described how Wideman's leg had been cut to drain blood and relieve pressure from a condition called "compartment syndrome", where blood and pressure collect and could lead to tissue damage.

Wideman's injury is not thought to be quite that severe, however, he appears to be out indefinitely.  The offical team information has Wideman listed "week-to-week".

ERSKINE DOESN'T RETURN

John Erskine, by all accounts, won his title bout with Columbus' Jared Boll, but the Caps might end up the biggest losers of the tilt. 

Erskine skated just one shift after the fight and did not return after that.  Boudreau confirmed after the game that the rugged defenseman did not injure his hands in the fight, but would not elaborate further, except to say Erskine was day-to-day and was held out in the second and third periods as a precaution.

If Erskine can't return for Saturday's game with Buffalo the Caps will have to recall at least one blue-liner from Hershey, since Wideman, Mike Green and Tom Poti are all still on the shelf and the team is down to five healthy defensemen.

CARLSON'S BIG NIGHT

John Carlson played his 100th NHL game and had himself a big night.  He played almost 26 minutes, scored the game's first goal and assisted on Chimera's game winner. 

Carlson now has 35 points (seven goals, 28 assists) on the season and is two points shy of matching the club record for most points in a season from a rookie defenseman, currently co-held by Robert Picard (37 points in 1977-78) and Greg Theberge (37 points in 1981-82).

CAPS NEWS NETWORK'S THREE STARS

3. Brooks Laich.  Two helpers, two hits, three takeaways.  Really insinuated himself in the action.

2. Marcus Johansson.  Didn't figure into the scoring, but man, this kid is playing well right now.

1. John Carlson.  Goal, assist, PP, PK, whatever.  Great game from young stud defenseman.

PHOTOS (Click photo to enlarge.  All photos (c) C.Nichols/Caps News Network)

John Carlson's Goal

After Chimera's game winning goal!

Erskine's fight

Neuvy first off the ice for warmups

“I thought at times it was a very lackluster game. If you don’t play with emotion, it’s tough.” -- Coach Bruce Boudreau.

There are no shootouts in the playoffs, but the way this game went, it should not have gotten that far anyway.

Rookie All-Star Jeff Skinner threw a harmless looking shot toward Washington Capital goalie Semyon Varlamov 1:46 into the third period which inexplicably escaped the young Russian, bringing the Carolina Hurricanes to a two-all draw.

Skinner said, "I was just going to dump it in [but] there was just a little bit of space there so I just took it in and just tried to put it on net and luckily it went in.”

After going through the motions for the rest of the third period and overtime, the Caps predictably lost in the shootout on home ice, falling to a more desperate Hurricanes team, 3-2.

Washington was unable to muster the intensity needed after the soft goal that trickled though Varlamov.  It's both easy and hard to hang the loss on a goalie in a battle to lead his team into the playoffs.  To say that was a goal he wished he had back would be an understatement. 

But Varlamov had his moments in this one too, stopping a penalty shot and making a spectacular kick save to keep a 2-1 lead intact, until his lack of concentration did him -- and his teammates -- in.

Coach Bruce Boudreau didn't really address Varlamov's play in his post-game; rather, he was philosophical when asked about the soft goal.  "“I don’t want to get down on our goalies – they’ve been very good. They’re allowed to have a bad goal. We should be able to pick them up if that’s the case.”

But there was no one to pick up Varlamov Tuesday night.

Defenseman John Carlson was one of just a few Caps players that spoke to the media in a very somber dressing room after the game and spoke about the intensity of the game. 

"We [have] to be able to compete and beat any team that’s going to come hard because everyone is going to be fighting for their lives in the playoffs. I feel like at some points in the game we were just coasting a little bit instead of pushing the envelope and that’s what bit us in the end.”

Coming off a lengthy road trip -- one that was broken up by two home practices -- the Capitals should have had no problem with fatigue or motivation to play well for themselves and the home crowd.  But the sloppy, penalty-filled match was filled with turnovers and passes to open spaces, though the Caps had the advantage on shots and chances over the less-talented Hurricanes squad.

But just like in the playoffs, lesser teams can win when their intensity isn't matched by a higher seed.

"We're a little bit down in this room right now," Matt Hendricks explained.  "We really wanted to play our game against these guys and come home after a successful road trip.  To come up with only one point tonight, we're not too happy."

Do you think you let one get away?  "I think so," Hendricks replied frankly.  "We had our opportunities, didn't score on a few of them. But that's the way she goes."

Such was the case last night, in a game that should not have gone to overtime.

GOOD SASHA, BAD SASHA

Both in full force last night.  Alexander Semin scored a goal only he can, beating Canes goalie Cam Ward top shelf in a space of maybe four square inches between the goalie's head, shoulder and crossbar.  It was the only space Ward gave Semin and he took it.

However, Semin's first pass would have been his only pass of the night, often skating into traffic and coughing up the puck.

And the inevitable stick foul came in a tied game with 3:19 remaining.  And this one was a doozy.  Semin lost the puck in the offensive zone and immediately put his blade into the Canes player's gut.  He tried a second time around the center ice line, and finally was successful in hauling the Carolina player down at the Caps defensive blue line.

(C.Nichols/Caps News Network)

As Boudreau said post-game, "He was our best offensive player.  But at the same time, he did the same thing he's been doing for five years, taking a dumb penalty with four minutes to go in the game.  The refs didn't want to call any penalties [with time expiring], but they have to call that one.  It's a bad hook in the neutral zone."

As if Boudreau's words weren't clear enough, his actions spoke even louder.  Despite being his team's "best offensive player" in the game, and winning the "Player of the Game" on the broadcast for his goal and assist, Boudreau did not send Semin out for a shift in the overtime.

REINFORCEMENTS RETURN

Alex Ovechkin (three games) and Jason Arnott (six games) returned from the various injuries they have been fighting.  The rust was apparent, with Ovechkin taking 13 total shots, but hitting the net on just five of them, including missing the goal in his shootout attempt.  Ovechkin was also credited with five hits, and came to the aid of Dennis Wideman, who appeared to be injured after a collision with Canes forward Tuomo Ruutu.

Both players took 19 shifts, with Ovechkin playing 19:20 and Arnott 14:13. 

"Alex and Arnie haven't really practiced too much, I was a little worried about that," Boudreau said.  "I thought [Ovechkin's] timing was off a little bit on some things.  He had a lot of energy.  He had a lot of hits.  But you can tell sometimes the timing is off."

"Arnie plays a different kind of game than [Ovechkin].  He's way more in control than Alex is, so it's harder to tell.  I think he uses his experience a lot more."

WIDEMAN HURT

Wideman did not return after the collision with Ruutu and the team listed him day-to-day with a lower body injury after the game. There were no penalties called on the play Wideman was hurt on.

Wideman appeared to be leaning away from the check, and appeared to have twisted his trunk or knee as he fell back to avoid the high -- but absolutely legal -- check. 

Regardless, the defenseman laid on the ice in apparent pain and Ovechkin confronted Ruutu in front of the Hurricanes' bench, leading to a scuffle with all the skaters on the ice.  No penalties were called either on the contact or on the fracas that followed.

POWERLESS PLAY

The Capitals were 0-for-3 on the power play, once again looking ragged with the man advantage.  They managed just six shots on goal on the power play, and gave up several short-handed scoring chances, including taking a penalty on a breakaway that led to Varlamov's save on Chad LaRose's penaly shot attempt.

On the other side, the Caps killed five of the six power plays Carolina had, including the silly penalty by Semin with under four minutes in the game. 

“I think we obviously took too many penalties and that got momentum for them," center Marcus Johansson (goal--13) said.  "And I think for our penalty kills it was hard. We [have] to stay five guys on the ice as much as possible and not take those penalties, hooking and stuff where you don’t have to. That’s a big part of the game we have to be better at.”

"I thought we took stupid penalties," Boudreau said.

 PHOTOS (Click photo for larger image)

(C.Nichols/Caps News Network)

(C.Nichols/Caps News Network)



(C.Nichols/Caps News Network)



(C.Nichols/Caps News Network)

 

(C.Nichols/Caps News Network)



Um, allow me to catch my breath.

When noted antagonist Daniel Briere completed the comeback for the Philadelphia Flyers, taking a 4-3 lead with just 5:45 left in the game after his team trailed 3-0 just into the second period, the collective soul of the Washington Capitals -- and their fan base -- had every right to be crushed, dejected and exhausted.

But a little over two minutes later, a young Swede that's growing up right before our eyes took matters into his own hands, rifling a shot past backup goalie Brian Boucher from the high slot to force overtime.  After a scoreless five minutes, Washington scored on all three of their penalty shots and escaped one of the toughest places to play in the league with two points -- which they were definitely fortunate to earn.

The win puts the Caps just a single point behind the Flyers for first place in the Eastern Conference, six ahead of Boston for second, and seven up on Tampa Bay -- losers at home to the Islanders -- for first in the Southeast Division.

This is a tale of three games rolled into one.  The first game consisted of the Caps beating Flyers starting goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky, like a drum.  The Russian rookie was shaky from the get-go, allowing three goals on nine shots, before being replaced by backup Brian Boucher after the third goal at 1:22 of the second period.

Not to take anything away from the effort of the Caps on the scoring plays, but two of the three goals against Bobrovsky were definitely preventable.  Nick Backstrom's snap shot trickled between Bobrovsky's blocker arm and his body for the Caps first tally, and he gave up the near post on Mike Knuble's close range stuff on the second.

Dennis Wideman sent "Bob" to the showers with his shot from the point at the start of the second period.

At that point, the second game commenced, as the Caps were content to sit back and let the Flyers dictate play, as if they were daring them to erase a three goal lead.  Enough said.

Michal Neuvirth had more problems with his own defense backing into him and screening him than he really did with the Flyers offense.  Philly outshot the Caps 11-7 in the second and 11-5 in the third, and completely dominated play to the point that it looked like the home team had a two period power play. 

The goals were inevitable, as Neuvirth had to contend with the screens and physical play from the Flyers up front.  There was a noticable lack of contact from the Caps defense for most of this contest, with the Flyers roughing things up -- and chirping -- with impugnity once they got on the board.

Neuvirth could do little on either of Philly's first two goals, the first bouncing in off defenseman Dennis Wideman's skate; the second came on a botched clear, with Andreas Nodl drawing the defense -- and Neuvirth -- before hitting an unchecked Claude Giroux on the doorstep.

Three Caps defenders were marking center Jeff Carter, leaving Giroux and his lethal shot all alone to fire into the open net.

The emboldened Flyers just picked up the pace even more in the third.  Midway through the frame, on a hard forecheck, Jeff Schultz coughed the puck up into his own slot, where Nodl gathered and buried it past a dazed Neuvrith, and the game was tied.

Later, after Flyers won another yet faceoff (Caps 44 percent for the night) Briere tipped a shot from the point by Kimmo Timmonen that was destined for the back board behind a screened Neuvirth, and things looked bleak for the Caps.

Washington picked up its play a bit after the goal, and at 16:41, Mike Knuble (goal, two assists) dug the puck out of the offensive left wing corner, carried aliong the boards, and found Johansson, who had slipped into the high slot undetected. 

Johansson called for the shot like a veteran and pounded it past Boucher to send it to overtime.

Neither team took any risk in the extra frame, and when it was unsettled after five minutes of four-on-four, the gimmick was invoked to award the extra point.  

Matt Hendricks used his nifty stutter step to get Boucher on the ice and slipped it past him backhanded, Nick Backstrom got a quick snap shot through, and Alexander Semin finished Boucher and Flyers off stick side for the game winner.  Neuvirth tripped up Carter with his stick, keeping the prolific scorer off the board, and the win went to the visitors.

As John Carlson tweeted after the game, a win is a win is a win.  Especially in Philadelphia.  The Caps didn't do themselves any favors retreating into a shell after taking a 3-0 lead.  Despite earning the extra point tonight, the Flyers have to be emboldened by the fact they shredded the Caps now vaunted defense after falling into such a hole.

But the Caps, too, take something away from this one.  First, they took a big lead over one of the East's best in their own building.  They showed resiliency to not quit after allowing the fourth goal.  And they found some toughness late that was missing early, with Scott Hannan putting  himself in harm's way to block a shot with two minutes left, and Carlson FINALLY dumping a Flyers forward in the corner after getting ridden roughshod most of the game.

And the Caps did all this, missing the services of Alex Ovechkin, Jason Arnott, Mike Green, Tom Poti, and Eric Fehr, who mysteriously missed all but one shift in the third period.

All four games in this series this season went to overtime.  Heaven help us all if these teams meet again in the playoffs.

CAPS NEWS NETWORK THREE STARS

3. Nicklas Backstrom.  The senior Swede had goal, assist, shootout marker.

2. Marcus Johansson.  Goal and assist, plus-2.  When Arnott gets back, he gives the Caps a dangerous playmaker on the third line. Can't be undersetimated in playoffs to be able to roll three lines with confidence.

1. Mike Knuble.  Pops had a goal and two assists in his old haunt, and really showed his veteran leadership -- on the ice.

The Washington Capitals have decided to shelve Alex Ovechkin, their captain and leading scorer, for 7-to-10 days to rest an unidentified upper body ailment.  Ovechkin joins the ranks of Mike Green, Eric Fehr, Jason Arnott, Tom Poti and John Erskine -- stalwarts all -- on the Caps injury list.

It's no secret Ovechkin has nursed a wrist/hand injury all season long.  Back in early January, the Great Eight received a cortisone shot for the injury and continued to play, never missing a game, though coach Bruce Boudreau indicated that Ovechkin had been playing with discomfort "for a while" leading up to the cortisone treatment.

It's unknown if that particular malady is affecting Ovechkin again, or if the Capitals simply saw a chance with the quirks in the schedule to get their best player a week off to heal up the bumps and bruises and get his legs fresh for the upcoming playoffs.  The Caps haven't played since Friday night's 3-0 win over New Jersey, and don't play again after today until this upcoming Friday against Ottawa.

In fact, Caps Media Relations wizard Sergey Kocharov indicated as much on Twitter yesterday afternoon.

Ovechkin to miss 7-10 days to heal up from a minor nagging injury. With 1 game in 6 days made sense for this to happen at this point.

It's disappointing that Ovechkin will miss the big game with the Philadelphia Flyers tonight, considering the Flyers hold a two-point advantage in the Eastern Conference and the fact the Caps can clinch their playoff spot.

But as with Arnott, the Caps feel it's better to get these players healthy than continue to run them out there with nagging injuries when their playoff spot, and perhaps No. 2 seed, all but assured at this point barring monumental collapse.

Entering play against the New Jersey Devils Friday night, the Washington Capitals led the NHL in minutes played by rookies this season.  It's not an insignificant statistic, as the Caps are now in a three-way tie for second most points in the league and preparing for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

It's fairly remarkable that a team that is relying so heavily on first year players -- and struggled so hard in the middle of the season -- is now enjoying the fruits of their labor.  Take, for instance, the No. 2 team in minutes by rookies this season, the last-in-the-league Edmonton Oilers.

The Capitals -- with the strong play of late from Marcus Johansson, John Carlson, Karl Alzner, Michal Neuvirth and Jay Beagle -- are being rewarded for their patience with these young players coming through for them on a nightly basis.

The Caps aren't "hiding" these players either.  Neuvirth has been the No. 1 goalie, playing in 43 of the team's 73 games.  And it's not like they have a veteran backup on the bench, as Semyon Varlamov (24 games) -- barely past rookie status himself, and third goalie Braden Holtby (13 games) have also been stellar when their numbers have been called.

Washington has rookies playing major minutes and contributing heavily on special teams.  Carlson and Alzner are the top defensive pairing, regularly matching up against the opponents top line night after night.  Johansson, who at the start of the season really looked like he could have used a year in the "A" to get used to North American hockey, was a plus-3 last night centering Alex Ovechkin and Mike Knuble.

All of them seem to be playing better as the season progresses, as opposed to hitting some sort of "rookie wall", wearing out under the rigors of an NHL schedule and the pressure of a playoff race.

Coach Bruce Boudreau spoke about how crucial the contribution has been from his rookies after practice today, a 45 minutes session of passing, skating and conditioning drills, little more than 12 hours after their latest win, a 3-0 shut out of the previously red-hot Devils in the swamps of Jersey. 

"It's been everything.  We've had five and six rookies [in the lineup] every night.  If they don't improve, then we wouldn't be in the position we're in.  So they have improved. 

They've gotten better and I think we've done a pretty good job as an organization in monitoring their ice time, especially up front from 10 minutes, you know, some of them start at seven minutes, nine minutes...now they're playing 15 minutes.  And playing them in important situations, I think, is probably the big key.  John [Carlson] and Karl [Alzner] have played in every big situation, Marcus [Johansson] kills penalties, is on the power play.  Beagle kills penalties.  All these guys are put into positions [where] we really need them to do well, and they've responded very favorably."

The importance of the development of the rookies hasn't gone unnoticed by the veterans on the team either. 

"It's been great," Matt Hendricks said about the progress the younger players are making.  "I think that their ice time, their minutes are going up, they're succeeding, they're battling and any time you get those types of guys that are here to buy into the team and the team only you're going to find a lot of success."

The most veteran on the team, Mike Knuble, discussed how integral the contributions from the rookies have been, and how vital to the team their progression has been. 

"I think we've all gotten stronger as the year's gone along and so have they.  It takes time to play in this league, and to be honest, you think with rookies there's going to be a drop-off instead of a steady climb up. 

The pace of the season, the grind, injuries mount up, the amount of practicing, the traveling and all that starts to get to you in February, even for the veteran players.  But it's hard on first year guys who haven't been through it before.  But they've steadily climbed in their play, and they've big big parts of our team.  And not only on five-on-five play, but killing penalties, Marcus has killed a lot of penalties, Jay Beagle's stepped in.  A lot of guys have helped out.  You know, without them we're not getting very far, either.

With only nine games remaining in the regular season, it's hard to call these young players rookies anymore.  But it speaks volumes to the philosophy the organization of integrating youngsters into a mix of players entering their prime and savvy veterans looking for a chance at the Cup.

Their best players are still young, they are mixing in rookies with increasingly positive results, and there's more talent coming up through the system.

There were times this season when the Capitals legitimately struggled, searching for an identity among the assembled parts.  But as with the rookies, their patience is paying off.  They've committed to being more responsible on defense, have been the beneficiary of some terrific goaltending, and are peaking at the right time of the year.

Now, can we talk about the power play?

There are five elements of goaltending: 

1. Agility.

2. Glove.

3. Technique.

4. Head.

5. Health.

Michal Neuvirth used all of these elements to his advantage Friday night, shutting out the red-hot New Jersey Devils 3-0, giving them their second consecutive loss and just about killing any remaining hope for the team from the swamps to complete their dramatic comeback attempt for a playoff spot.

Neuvirth, who turned away all 33 shots faced last night, did most of the heavy lifting on defense himself, as the Devils were constantly in scoring position.  But it seemed like for every shot New Jersey got on net, they had an equal number that went wide, were deflected harmlessly away, simply misfired, or flat swung on and missed.

On the other end, the Capitals made good on three of 12 shooting; not great numbers if you're a three-point shooter in the NCAA tournament or a Washington National down at spring training, but tremendous for a hockey team.

Though I'm sure coach Bruce Boudreau would have preferred his team made things more difficult on Martin Brodeur (nine saves on 12 shots) overall,  it's hard to argue with the result.

Neuvirth, who looked a little rusty in Wednesday night's loss to Detroit, was anything but tonight.  From the very first shift of the game the Devils peppered him with shots, and he rose to each occasion. 

He made several remarkable catches with his glove hand, including Russian sniper Ilya Kovachuk on a breakaway with just under three minutes remaining, prompting the Devils most prolific scorer to slam his stick into the boards after the whistle in frustration.

As he's generally been all season long for the Caps, Neuvirth was their best player on the ice.

The young Czech netminder is solidifying his case to be the workhorse for Boudreau once the playoffs start in a matter of weeks.  I'm sure Semyon Varlamov is going to have a chance to play down the stretch, but Neuvirth has done everything asked of him and more.  His four shutouts are most for an individual for the Caps since the days of Godzilla and set a team rookie record.

As for the four elements above, Varly may have Neuvy beat on the first element when healthy, but Neuvirth tops all three of the Caps goalies on the depth chart on points two, three and four.  Someday Braden Holtby might enter the argument, but until he's channeled his quirkiness and led an AHL team to a championship, he'll have to be satisfied with being the third man in this trio of young, talented goaltenders.

It's time for Boudreau to hitch his wagon to his horse.

CAPS NOTES:  Mike Knuble had two goals and an assist, finishing a great fake-shot-slap-pass from John Carlson and making a beautiful wrist shot through an impressive clear and screen by Marcus Johansson. 

After the play, lip-readers were treated to Knuble patting the 20-year old rookie in the chest and saying "Good work kid."  The cross-ice pass from Ovechkin to Knuble was lovely, as was the defensive play Carlson (plus-2) made in his own end to shut the Devils' winger down, gather the puck, and spring Ovechkin up the boards.

Johansson was pointless, but finished the night plus-3, and really appears to be stepping up his game each night out.  Though he was only 3-of-11 in the dot.  I think we know what his point of emphasis is going to be over the off-season.

Jeff Schultz (plus-2) opened the scoring with a shot from the point through a screen that avoided Brodeur's glove.  It was his first goal of the season and first overall since Feb 11, 2010, a span of 81 games.

The penalty kill was again outstanding, going 3-for-3.  Particularly noteworthy was the four minute kill of a Matt Hendricks high stick that ended the second period and started the third in a 2-0 game.

Nicklas Backstrom returned from the hand injury that's sidelined him since March 7.  He centered Alexander Semin and Marco Sturm on the second line and went 13-for17 in the faceoff circle.

The Caps drew even with the Philadelphia Flyers, their next opponent next Tuesday, in points for the top seed in the Eastern Conference with 94, though the Flyers have three games in hand, including Saturday's game in Dallas against the Stars.