Caps top Lightning, close January with perfect 10

By Bud L. Ellis

The Washington Capitals closed January by doing what they did so many times during their best month in franchise history.

The Caps finished January with a club record 13 victories, getting a game-winning goal from Alex Ovechkin with 6:26 left as Washington beat Tampa Bay 3-2 at the Verizon Center for their 10th consecutive victory.

It was the final brushstroke on a masterpiece of a month for the Caps, who now lead the Eastern Conference with 80 points. Washington closed the month 13-2, winning 12 of its final 13 games. Sunday’s win ties a franchise record for most wins in a row, tying the 10-game winning streak set in 1983-84. The 13 wins in January snaps the old club record of 12, set in December 1984.

After a scoreless first period, Nicklas Backstrom and Brooks Laich scored for the Caps in the second. Backstrom lit the lamp on a power play 57 seconds into the period, and Laich made it 2-0 at the 12:56 mark.

But Tampa Bay rallied with two goals in a 2:42 span of the third period. Ovechkin netted the game winner with 6:26 to go, and the Caps held on from there.

The Caps open a two-game road trip Tuesday at Boston. Five of their final seven games before the Olympic break are away from home.

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Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 6:04 pm by bud

Tags: Alex Ovechkin, Boston Bruins, Brooks Laich, National Hockey League, Nicklas Backstrom, Tampa Bay Lightning, Verizon Center, Washington Capitals