Washington Capitals Schedule
Wednesday
9/22/2010
7:00 PM
Columbus Blue Jackets vs Washington Capitals PRE
Saturday
9/25/2010
7:00 PM
Nashville Predators vs Washington Capitals PRE
Tuesday
9/28/2010
7:00 PM
Washington Capitals vs Boston Bruins PRE
NEWS
By Bud L. Ellis
The Washington Capitals dominated the first season. But the second season is underway, and the President’s Trophy winners suddenly find themselves one game down in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Tomas Plekanec scored 13:19 into overtime Thursday night at the Verizon Center, sending No. 8-seed Montreal past the Caps in stunning fashion in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, 3-2.
This certainly wasn’t the type of start envisioned by the Caps, who ran away with the Eastern Conference regular-season title and top seed following a scorching second half of the regular season. But Montreal, which won a spirited battle with several teams for the final playoff spot in the East, took the fight to the heavily favored Caps all night long.
Now Washington has work to do.
Joe Corvo scored in the first for the Caps, and Nicklas Backstrom added a goal in the third period. Jose Theodore made 45 saves, but he gave up the game-winner to put Washington in a 1-0 hole.
Game 2 is Saturday night in Washington. The Caps will have to be better on special teams, after going 0-for-4 on the power play in the opener. It also would help for Alexander Ovechkin to get on track. The Caps’ superstar not only didn’t register a point in Game 1, he didn’t even get off a shot after Montreal’s defense.
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Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 10:40 pm by bud
Tags: Alexander Ovechkin, Joe Corvo, Jose Theodore, Montreal Canadians, National Hockey League, Nicklas Backstrom, Tomas Plekanec, Verizon Center, Washington Capitals
By Bud L. Ellis
Alex Ovechkin didn’t light the lamp, but he put the Washington Capitals in position to bounce back from a rare loss on home ice.
Ovechkin, fighting Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby for the NHL scoring title, did not score but dished out two assists Wednesday, and Tomas Fleischmann netted the game-winner in overtime as the Caps knocked off Carolina 4-3 at Verizon Center.
The win gave Washington 99 points on the season, tops in the NHL and good for a 14-point lead in the Eastern Conference. The win came two days after a shootout loss to Dallas snapped a 13-game home winning streak for the Caps (45-13-9).
Against Carolina, the last team to beat the Caps at home in regulation (on Dec. 28), Alexander Semin scored on a breakaway in the first period to make it 1-0. Mike Green netted the first of his two goals to make it 2-0. Carolina fought back to tie it 2-2 before Green scored his second of the game.
The Hurricanes tied it and forced overtime, but Fleischmann – who didn’t play Monday as the Caps begin resting some of their regulars for the playoffs – came through in extra time.
Jose Theodore earned the win in goal for Washington, which plays host to Tampa Bay Friday night. The Caps have earned at least one point in 15 straight home games.
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Friday, March 12, 2010 at 9:08 pm by bud
Tags: Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars, Jose Theodore, Mike Green, National Hockey League, Sidney Crosby, Tampa Bay Lightning, Tomas Fleischmann, Washington Capitals
By Bud L. Ellis
Jose Theodore slammed shut the door. Eric Fehr and newcomer Eric Belanger provided all the support. Roll it together, and it’s another win at home for the Washington Capitals.
The Caps made it 13 straight at home on Saturday, Theodore making 30 saves to whitewash the New York Rangers 2-0 at Verizon Center.
The win moves Washington to 44-13-8 on the season, good for 96 points and a 14-point lead over Pittsburgh for top honors in the Eastern Conference. The Caps lead San Jose and Chicago by five points each in the race for the Presidents’ Trophy for most points in the NHL.
Washington has not dropped a game at home since falling to Carolina on Dec. 28. The Caps improved to 25-3-3 at home, best in the NHL.
Fehr scored in the first period at the end of a 5-on-3 to stake the Caps to a 1-0 lead. Belanger, one of four players acquired by the Caps during the trade deadline this week, lit the lamp in the second period. That was more than enough for Theodore, who improved to 12-0-2 in his past 14 decisions.
Washington plays host to Dallas on Monday.
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Sunday, March 7, 2010 at 1:19 am by bud
Tags: Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Star, Eric Belanger, Eric Fehr, Jose Theodore, National Hockey League, New York Rangers, San Jose Sharks, Verizon Center, Washington Capitals
By Bud L. Ellis
A dozen, the dirty way.
Down two goals late in the second period Thursday night, the Washington Capitals found a way to keep their franchise-record win streak alive.
In an up-and-down affair at Madison Square Garden, the Caps rallied from a 5-3 deficit, scoring three times in a 5:42 span to grab a 6-5 victory over the New York Rangers.
That makes 12 consecutive wins for the Caps (39-12-6, 84 points), pushing Washington’s lead over New Jersey in Eastern Conference to 12 points. The Devils made a big move Thursday night, trading for Atlanta winger Ilya Kovalchuk.
The Caps’ streak is the longest in the NHL since New Jersey won 13 in a row in 2000-01.
Ironically, the Caps go for No. 13 Friday against the Thrashers, in Atlanta’s first game without Kovalchuk.
The Caps had to battle back twice Thursday. Down 2-1 after one, Washington found itself down 5-3 with time running low in the second period.
But Alex Ovechkin, who scored twice on a three-point night and reached the 500-point career plateau, scored his second of the night with 8.5 seconds left in the period to make it 5-4 after two. Tom Poti tied the game at 5-5 with a power-play goal 59 seconds into the third period.
Nicklas Backstrom gave the Caps the lead for keeps at the 5:34 mark with a power-play goal.
Boyd Gordon scored Washington’s first goal with 3:20 left in the first, tying the game at 1-1. Down 2-1 after one, Mike Knuble’s goal 4:41 into the second tied it. Ovechkin’s first of the game came on a power play at 7:16, but the Rangers scored three times off Jose Theodore in a 6:29 span of the second to take a 5-3 lead.
Theodore made the 6-5 lead hold up, making 33 saves (and stopping all six Rangers’ shots in the final 20 minutes). Backstrom finished with a five-point night (four assists).
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Friday, February 5, 2010 at 6:33 am by bud
Tags: Alex Ovechkin, Atlanta Thrashers, Boyd Gordon, Ilya Kovalchuk, Jose Theodore, Madison Square Garden, Mike Knuble, National Hockey League, New York Rangers, Nicklas Backstrom, Tom Poti, Washington Capitals
By Bud L. Ellis
The calendar has changed. The Washington Capitals haven’t.
With Jose Theodore back in net Tuesday night and playing for the first time since ending January with a club record for wins in a month, the Caps pulled away for their 11th consecutive victory, downing Boston 4-1.
With the victory, the Caps set a new franchise record for longest winning streak, set during the 1983-84 season. It’s the longest win streak in the NHL since San Jose won 11 in a row two years ago.
The Caps (38-12-6) extended their Eastern Conference lead on New Jersey to 10 points, and moved one point ahead of San Jose for most points in the NHL (82 points).
Theodore, playing for the first time in more than a week, allowed an early goal but nothing more, making 41 saves. And the high-flying Washington offense, the runaway NHL leader in goals, brought the Caps back yet again.
Mike Knuble tied the game at 1-1 with a goal 2:04 into the second period. The Caps broke the tie 5:04 into the final period, Brooks Laich scoring off an Alexander Semin feed to make it 2-1.
Boyd Gordon pushed the lead to 3-1 at the 7:51 mark of the third, and Alex Ovechkin added an empty-netter in the final minute.
Washington goes for 12 in a row when it plays Thursday at the New York Rangers.
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Wednesday, February 3, 2010 at 5:58 am by bud
Tags: Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Boston Bruins, Boyd Gordon, Brooks Laich, Jose Theodore, Mike Knuble, National Hockey League, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, San Jose Sharks, Washington Capitals
By Bud L. Ellis
Just 65 seconds into Tuesday’s game, the Washington Capitals already were ahead. Twenty minutes in, the Caps enjoyed a 4-1 advantage.
There simply is no slowing down this team. Not right now, as the New York Islanders experienced the hard way. Washington rode that fast start to its seventh straight victory, a 7-2 rout of the Isles that featured two goals from Alexander Semin, and a goal and an assist from John Erskine and Jason Chimera.
Washington improves to 10-2 in January, and pushes its Eastern Conference leading record to 34-12-6, good for 74 points and a five-point lead over second-place New Jersey.
Ahead 2-1 on a Brendan Morrison goal just 1:05 into the contest and a Semin tally nearly four minutes later, the Caps pushed down the accelerator in the final 1:47 of the first period. Mike Knuble and Semin both scored in that stretch to make it 4-1 after a period.
Erskine scored in the second – his first goal since Jan. 19, 2008 – at 2:36 of the second. Chimera scored later in the second and Brooks Laich closed the scoring in the third.
Jose Theodore earned the win in goal, but left with a lower-body injury after two periods. The Caps say he is day-to-day, and Michal Neuvirth played a flawless third.
The Caps now return home to close out January with a three-game homestand, starting Wednesday against Anaheim.
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Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at 5:52 am by bud
Tags: Alexander Semin, Anaheim Ducks, Brendan Morrison, Brooks Laich, Jason Chimera, John Erskine, Jose Theodore, Michal Neuvirth, Mike Knuble, National Hockey League, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, Washington Capitals
By Bud L. Ellis
It doesn’t erase the pain of last spring’s seven-game loss in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but that was then and this is now.
And the now continues to look very promising for the Washington Capitals.
The Caps made it five wins in a row Thursday night, and No. 5 was against a tough foe: the Pittsburgh Penguins. Alex Ovechkin scored twice, Tomas Fleischmann netted the eventual game-winner and the Caps stayed atop the Eastern Conference – and perhaps sent a little message to the Pens – with a 6-3 victory.
In the first meeting between the two teams since the Penguins bounced the Caps from last spring’s playoffs, Washington survived a rough first part of the game during which Jose Theodore gave up three goals in 30 minutes. But trailing 3-2, Ovechkin scored on a power-play to tie things with 3:35 left in the second period.
Washington, which leads the East by three points over Buffalo, took control in the third. Fleischmann scored on a breakaway at the 2:32 mark, and Nicklas Backstrom made it a two-goal Caps lead 53 seconds later with a power-play goal.
Ovechkin scored an empty netter with 26 seconds to go. Mike Knuble and Eric Fehr scored in the first period for Washington.
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Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 10:57 pm by bud
Tags: Alex Ovechkin, Buffalo Sabres, Eric Fehr, Jose Theodore, Mike Knuble, National Hockey League, Nicklas Backstrom, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tomas Fleischmann, Washington Capitals
By Bud L. Ellis
Jose Theodore hung on against an avalanche of shots, and David Steckel slid through the goal that mattered most.
That recipe cooked up another victory for the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, this one moving the Caps back into sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference.
Theodore stopped 44 of 46 shots, and Steckel banged home the game-winning goal with 5:59 left, leading Washington to a 3-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings at the Verizon Center.
The Caps’ fourth victory in a row, and seventh in their past 10, gives them 68 points on the season. Washington moves back into sole possession of the East’s top spot, as Buffalo lost 5-4 at Anaheim late Tuesday.
Washington downed Detroit without any offensive contributions from star Alexander Ovechkin. The Red Wings held Ovechkin without a shot, the first time in the brilliant Russian’s career he has not attempted a shot in an NHL game.
It didn’t matter on this night. Theodore, starting his third consecutive game for the first time in three months, was simply awesome. Despite being outshot by a 2-1 ratio (46-23), the Caps made their chances count in the third period.
Down 2-1, Washington needed just 46 seconds to flip the script. First, it was Nicklas Backstrom on the power play with 6:45 remaining. Then it was Steckel, who corralled a rebound and flicked home the go-ahead goal.
Washington fell behind 1-0, but tied it on Matt Bradley’s goal late in the second period.
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Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 5:57 am by bud
Tags: Alexander Ovechkin, Buffalo Sabres, David Steckel, Detroit Red Wings, Jose Theodore, Matt Bradley, National Hockey League, Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals
