On Sunday night I blogged about the Washington Capitals trying to find some consistency after an uneven opening nine game stretch that still saw them win seven of those contests. Tonight, against the Anaheim Ducks, the Caps continued their “Clint Eastwood” version of hockey as they were both bad and ugly in the game’s first 30+ minutes to fall behind 3-0, before the good came in waves en route to a 5-4 overtime victory. Nicklas Backstrom tied the game with Tomas Vokoun (11 saves) on the bench with 42 seconds left, then he won it 2:18 into overtime on a great pass from Jeff Schultz. Washington got a superb performance from their third line of Joel Ward, Brooks Laich, and Jason Chimera while the Ducks rode the Saku Koivu, Teemu Selanne, and Andrew Cogliano unit for the first part of the game. The win improves the Capitals to 8-2 heading into Friday night’s tilt in Carolina against the Hurricanes.

Here are the highlights, quotes, and analysis of the Caps sixth home win in six tries this season (1st time in Capitals franchise history):

- How good were Saku Koivu (1 goal, 1 assist, +3) and Teemu Selanne (2 goals, 2 assists, +3) in the game’s first 30 minutes?! Those two seemingly ageless hockey players made the Caps defense, particularly Roman Hamrlik (-3 and on for all four Ducks tallies), look silly. I’ve seen several Anaheim games this year and it looks like the 41 year old #8 could play another five years the way he moves on the ice. What a great player! Caps Coach Bruce Boudreau felt that the Ducks were flying early but he was also smart to keep rolling all four of his lines and that paid off over the second half of this contest as Washington wore down Anaheim.

“It’s really difficult to keep up the pace they had in the first 30 minutes. It was like, ‘Whoa, are they fast?!’ We just stayed close enough. I thought when they got the fourth goal it might be something. It says a lot for the resiliency of the team. The third goal that we got (by Troy Brouwer), which might have been a bit on the lucky side, it sort of bouyed the guys up again and reinvigorated them. After that they thought they were going to tie it, they believed they were going to tie it,” said Boudreau on his club, who out shot Anaheim 40-15 in the game, including 31-9 over the last 42:18.

- The third line of Laich-Ward-Chimera continues to be Washington’s best through the first 10 games. That lunchpail crew is big, skates well, and are tireless workers. They were a combined +9 and had 7 points among them. Credit Boudreau for deciding to put that unit out with Backstrom with the goalie pulled late instead of using Alex Ovechkin(1 assist) or Alex Semin. Both the Gr8 and #28 were not getting it done, particularly Ovie, who just seemed to fight the puck all night. When he carried the puck, he should’ve been passing or dumping it, and vice versa, but over the course of 82 games those things will happen. The good thing though was that when his number was called in OT, he went to the front of the Ducks net and distracted Jonas Hiller (35 saves), allowing Backstrom to pot the winner. Some people will look to villify Alexander the Great for being sat on the bench late in regulation but when his coach put him on the ice in OT, he did what he could to help his team win the game. That’s leadership in my book.

- Those who’ve followed this blog know that I have been praising Backstrom’s play in the early going particularly pointing out his improved strength and conditioning. #19 seems to have his upper body strength back after a bad shoulder injury that he suffered against the Canadiens in the 2010 playoffs. He also is a step quicker then he was last season. The result is four goals and 10 assists in 10 games.

“I thought Nicky was going to do something. I didn’t know about the overtime thing though,” added Boudreau on his player decisions late in regulation.

- The Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Bobby Ryan line is arguably the best in the NHL but tonight they were a combined -6. Perry drew a penalty on Vokoun and then scored on the ensuing power play to make it 4-2, but overall he was neutralized well by Washington. Size doesn’t seem to hurt the Capitals defense but they have been having some issues with speed lately, especially with Mike Green out of the lineup. The good news is #52 practiced on Tuesday and will likely do so again on Wednesday. So there is a strong possibility he will be back on the ice on Friday in Raleigh.

- John Erskine returned from shoulder surgery allowing the Caps to ship d-man Sean Collins back to Hershey. For his first game this season #4 was outstanding with an assist and a +1 rating. In addition, Cody Eakin received his first NHL start and he skated well also nearly scoring on a couple of occassions. He did weaken late but for his debut in “The Show” he more than passed the test.

“With John I was really, really pleasantly surprised. He looked like he didn’t miss a beat. He’s probably pretty tired right now, but I thought he played a great game. Considering he’s been off for so long and hasn’t even had a meaningful scrimmage yet,” said Boudreau on the left handed defenseman.

“He handled himself quite admirably…You can see he can skate with these guys…I thought he was going to score on his first shift,” started Boudreau on Eakin, who also pointed out that #50 did get nervous in the third period and had a bad giveaway.

- In summary, tonight’s game once again proved that this Capitals squad is not a one line team. They are very talented up front and when playing five on five hockey are very hard to beat. They are big and can wear opposing teams down when they stick to the coaches game plan of getting pucks deep and working the cycle. The special teams were off in this one as the Ducks scored on their only power play while the Caps went 0 for 3 with the man advantage. A big part of the issue on special teams is the absence of Green, but other guys need to pick up the slack. At the end of the night Boudreau, who sometimes does not get the credit he deserves, pushed all of the right buttons in this thrilling comeback victory. He stuck to his game plan, changed up his d-pairs when Hamrlik and Wideman were struggling together, and he went with the right four forwards when the chips were down late. Those moves played a role in the win and should not be overlooked at all.

Notes: Karl Alzner unsuspectingly went +3 on the night in 18:02 of ice time. #27 is so smooth sometimes you don’t even notice him…Wideman (1 goal, 1 assist, +1) played well after struggling early when paired with Hamrlik…Anahiem won 30 of the 56 draws with Marcus Johansson the best Capital at 10-7. Backstrom only won 6 of 18 face-offs…Brouwer got hit awkwardly into the right wing boards late in regulation and did not return. It could be a right shoulder injury so stay tuned.

The Washington Capitals had the Tampa Bay Lightning right where they wanted them heading into period three with a 3-2 lead. But the Caps seemed to forget everything they thought they learned this season and were totally outworked in the final stanza for the third straight game and lost, 4-3. Only some brilliant saves by Michal Neuvirth (26 saves) down the stretch gave the Capitals any hope as the Bolts outshot Washington 15-5 in the final frame, scoring two goals in 24 seconds just over five minutes into period three off of some terrible giveaways and defensive breakdowns. The Capitals now trail this best of seven series three games to none and if they lose on Wednesday night their season is over.

Here are the highlights and analysis of a game that saw some terrible efforts from a handful of Capitals:

- Tampa outworked the Caps in period three, plain and simple. They came out flying and Washington couldn’t match their surge. The Bolts repeatedly got to the loose pucks while the Capitals seemed to play like they were skating in quicksand. In every game in this series, the Bolts have dominated the last frame and you have to give Tampa Coach Guy Boucher credit for that. He makes sure his team sits back in their 1-3-1 for 40 minutes to conserve energy and then he lets his outstanding forwards loose in the final frame. The recipe has worked to perfection while Caps Coach Bruce Boudreau has been unable to get some of his players to match the compete level of the Lightning skaters.

- Alexander Ovechkin (1 goal, 1 assist) certainly gave his all tonight, although he made some mistakes. However, if Alexander Semin (1 assist, -2) had competed like the Great #8 did, Washington probably wins. It was the wrong time for #28 to have one of his worst games of the season. Nicklas Backstrom continues to be missing in action. I have no idea how his play has fallen so far off but he looks nothing like the confident, powerful forward from the last few seasons. Marcus Johansson (-2), who did draw an important penalty that helped the Caps grab the lead in the middle frame, had an off night and for the most part he looked tentative and out of position. But MJ90 is a rookie and he’s been great so far so he can’t shoulder the blame that several of the Washington blue liners deserve. John Erskine was absolutely awful as was Jeff Schultz. The slow duo was -2 and -1, respectively, and just could not keep up with the speed of several Tampa forwards. Mike Green (1 assist, -1) was weak in his own zone and ended up leaving after one shift in period three due to a lower body injury (h/t @SkyKerstein). Losing #52 certainly hurt Washington’s chances of winning down the stretch.

- Despite being on the ice for the fluky game winning goal, Karl Alzner and John Carlson were the best d-pair (both +1) and even though the Caps season is pretty much over, there is future hope with those two on the back end. The loss of Dennis Wideman has really hurt this run but he is under contract next year as well, but so is a slow Schultz and an oft-injured Tom Poti. Green will be in the last year of his contract too, so something has to give on the back end.

- In summary, this is nearly as low as it gets for a Washington team that seemed to have high hopes coming out of round one of the Stanley Cup playoffs. They had several days to rest and heal while the Lightning had to keep playing. The Caps could never get their momentum, and more importantly, their confidence back in these three games. The 3-0 hole looms large and I just can’t see the Caps coming back at all, especially if Green is out again on Wednesday.

Notes: Washington outshot the Bolts 27-15 through two periods, but only led 3-2 due to terrible mistakes on the backend…the Caps were +1 in the special teams department for the first time in the series but their PP only tallied on a 5 on 3 advantage. For the series, the Capitals are 1 for 16 on the power play. Tampa went 0 for 4 in game three…the Caps correctly had a first period goal wiped out due to too many men on the ice. Clearly there were some guys who suffered from a total lack of focus in the most crucial game of the season.

For over 50 minutes on Wednesday night at the Verizon Center, many probably thought they were watching a repeat of last season’s playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens. The Rangers were leading 1-0 and the Caps, who carried much of the play in this contest, hit the iron three times, had Nicklas Backstrom stopped on a breakaway, and generated several other quality chances that were thwarted by New York’s outstanding goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist (31 saves). But this year’s Washington Capitals team is more experienced and resilient, and Alexander Ovechkin scored a gritty goal to tie the game with 6:16 to go in regulation and then after Jason Arnott intercepted a Marc Staal clearing attempt and fed #28 the biscuit, Alexander Semin (1 goal, 1 assist) rifled a one-timed laser by Lundqvist to give the Caps a 2-1 victory 18:24 into overtime. The Capitals jump out to a quick 1-0 lead in this best of seven game series with the second tilt scheduled for Friday night at the Verizon Center at 7:30 pm.

“It was an important game for everybody, I think. I think we started well, we have a couple opportunities to score goals, I hit the crossbar two times, we missed a breakaway, but we make one mistake in our zone and they use it. It’s playoffs and [we] don’t give up, we play hard and we score some dirty goal, but it is what it is,” summarized the Great #8 when asked about the importance of this victory.

Below are the rest of highlights, quotes, and analysis of the 102nd consecutive home sellout for Washington:

- As has been chronicled fairly well, the Capitals changed their system in December to be better able to handle playoff hockey. After their first post season outing, suffice it to say that this team is significantly better than last year’s crew despite narrowly squeaking out a win. The Caps didn’t panic when Matt Gilroy scored from the slot after John Erskine and Mike Green were both beaten behind the Caps cage, which allowed Wojtek Wolski to slide the puck to #97 for a goal that Washington goalie Michal Neuvirth (24 saves) had little chance of stopping, just 1:56 into the third period. Shortly thereafter, Caps Coach Bruce Boudreau felt that he needed to switch the lines up to get the equalizer and he put Ovechkin out with Semin. After a super feed from Green from Washington’s own end, Ovechkin took the puck to the cage bowling over Blueshirt defensemen Dan Girardi en route, and that allowed he and Semin to whack away at the biscuit until it slid through King Henrik’s legs. Because Staal knocked the net off right after the puck went in, there was a lengthy review but the goal stood and a nervous and somewhat quiet Verizon Center erupted.

- This was exactly the type of game I was expecting to begin this series. There wasn’t much room out on the ice and both teams worked hard to minimize any defensive breakdowns. Both squads back checked well with the Capitals doing an outstanding job of not giving the Rangers forwards time and space. They had the one breakdown on the Rangers goal and the only other big gaffe came in period two when Marian Gaborik was all alone at the top of the crease but Neuvirth came up with a timely save to keep the game scoreless. Other than that, the two players who are highly skilled on New York, Gaborik and Vinny Prospal, didn’t have opportunities to hurt the Capitals like they’ve done in the past. These type of games are highly competitive and stressful but you can bet that every one from here on out will likely be played the same way.

“I think it’s going to be games like that the whole series,” added Ovechkin on the style of play.

- The Rangers are a very physical team and Coach John Tortorella does an excellent job of getting his players in the right spots to pressure the puck. A team that is weak up the middle of the ice likely would crumble but since the Capitals acquired Arnott to play second line center they have drastically improved their club. Backstrom, #44, and Marcus Johansson played a major role in this victory by helping out the Caps blue line in getting pucks out of Washington’s own zone and then moving it in transition. #19 hounded the puck all night and even though he didn’t get a point, his strong play helped wear out the Rangers defensive crew, particularly their top pair of Staal and Girardi, who logged 33:48 and 32:50, respectively. Those two guys were very tired and fatigue leads to mental mistakes. That is what caused the Staal giveaway to Arnott on the game winning sequence.

- On the Washington blue line, getting #52 back makes a huge difference as the Capitals have someone else, along with the John Carlson-Karl Alzner duo, to move the puck up the ice quickly. Green played a very solid 26:30 in his first action since February 25th, when he was injured against the Rangers. The Caps blue line is deeper than New York’s and as a result, the highest ice time of any defender for Washington was Scott Hannan at 28:39. The rest of the defensive crew had pretty balanced time on ice with Jeff Schultz at 27:49, Carlson with 26:19, Alzner logging 23:42, and Erskine playing 19:18. This was one of Sarge’s (#55) best games of the season and he blocked six shots. #27 led Washington with eight blocks in another strong outing. The fact that New York relied so heavily on one defensive pair while Boudreau was able to spread the wealth bodes well for the Caps as we move to game two.

“I thought his first period might have been as good as he has played in a playoff game. I thought it was outstanding for a guy that hasn’t played in six weeks to come back in a game like that,” added Boudreau on the play of #52.

- #30 was superb in net. In addition to the big save on Gaborik, he made an early important one against Erik Christensen. Neuvirth, who is a fierce competitor as evidenced by his 14 for 14 playoff series record in North America, did a super job of not allowing rebounds and he was very good at covering the puck for a defensive zone faceoff when the Caps were near the end of a shift. Lundqvist was really good, but so was the young Czech goalie.

“He was fine. Very calm and very focused on the puck and in the game. In the second period, they have great opportunities to score goal and he made [a] huge save [to] keep us in the game after two periods. Again, I think both goalies played very well,” commented Oveckhin on the goaltending in game one.

- Semin (+2), who scored in the playoffs for the first time in 14 games (last one came in game 7 in 2009 vs. the Rangers), played like a man intent on showing how badly he wants to win. He logged 22:15 and never appeared to let up. Afterwards, Boudreau talked about how important #28 is to Washington’s post season success.

“For our team, well we are not getting anywhere without Alex Semin scoring. You just look at the regular season, Ovie got 32, he got 27, and Mike [Knuble] got 24 and then after that it drops off. We need him to go to create that other offensive threat and I thought the [game winning] shot, I could barely see it, and Arnott made a great play to keep it in, and [Semin] didn’t hesitate, he just shot it,” said Boudreau on Semin and the winning tally.

Ovechkin was asked afterwards what he said to his very good friend Semin out on the ice after he scored, but the Great #8 couldn’t get over in time to talk with Sasha. The reason for that was the quote of the night from the Great #8.

“Well, I was stuck on the bench, my laces were stuck. I tried jumping and I was stuck. It’s a huge goal for whole team. We are all happy for Sasha [Alexander Semin] because last year he was little bit upset he didn’t score a goal and right now it’s very important for him to score a goal, step-up and show his leadership. It doesn’t matter who score right now, it’s all about winning and character and see how good this group is right now,” concluded Ovechkin on the winning goal and the focus of the team he captains.

- In closing for tonight, the Capitals have an advantage in this series if they can continue to dump the puck deep and wear out the Rangers defense. New York is a hard working team but they don’t possess big speed issues for Washington, which is more vulnerable to that type of style with Dennis Wideman out for at least the first round. Getting Green back and unharmed was very important. Going forward the Capitals have to keep their focus, be mentally tough no matter the score of the game, and play one shift at at time. They stuck to the process in game one, now they need to do it again on Friday night.

Notes: Washington won the faceoff battle, 43-37. Brooks Laich was 13-5 and Boyd Gordon won 8 out of 12 draws…both teams went 0 for 2 on the power play. Ovechkin took a roughing penalty late in regulation but the Caps killed it, with Laich blocking a huge point shot on one sequence…the Caps outhit the Rangers, 35-31, in a physical hockey game.

In a year full of ups and downs, the Washington Capitals are finding themselves in a familiar spot with just two games to go in the regular season, Southeast Division champions (for the 4th straight year) and now once again first in the Eastern Conference standings. The Caps knocked off the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2, in the gimmick while the Ottawa Senators defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-2, to give Washington a two point lead on the Broad Street Bullies with just two games remaining. The Capitals (47-22-11, 105 points) control their own destiny for first seed in the East with a home and home series remaining with the Florida Panthers.

Here are the highlights and analysis of a contest that saw wily old veteran Mike Knuble score the only goal in the shootout on eight tries:

- Alexander Ovechkin (1 goal, 7 shots on goal in 17 attempts, 4 hits) was the best skater in this contest. The Great #8, who seems to love playing in the Big Smoke, dominated this game but the on fire James Reimer (39 saves), several broken sticks, and the post cost Ovie from racking up a bunch of points on this night. Alexander the Great logged 23:36, including 4:36 of power play time, and his laser with the Capitals on a five on three power play in period one tied this contest at a goal a piece. From there, it seemed like Ovechkin was going to match the hat trick he had at the Air Canada Center back in January but it just wasn’t meant to be.

- Reimer was the first star of the game. The puck seemed to continually find the Maple Leaf crest, which was the result of good positioning. The 2006 4th round draft choice, who reportedly started the season 5th on the Leafs goaltending depth chart, has stolen the hearts of Leafs fans and gave them crazy thoughts of a late run to qualify for the post season. But since the Buffalo Sabres knocked off the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night, Leaf Nation should now focus on the 2011 NHL Entry Draft and any parades planned for Yonge Street will wait yet another year. The Caps were only able to beat #34 three times, once on Ovechkin’s PPG, Knuble’s shootout winner, and John Erskine’s blast that was going wide and deflected off the glove of a Toronto defender into the cage. The kid put on a show for his fans on this night.

- As for the Capitals goaltender, Michal Neuvirth (19 saves) had a shaky start giving up two tallies in the first 22 minutes. The first one was on a Toronto power play by Nikolai Kulemin from the slot that #30 will want back. But the second was the result of poor defense. Scott Hannan was beaten wide down the left wing by Phil Kessel and he slid a pass to the far post that Joffrey Lupul, a long time Caps killer, tapped in. Standing next to #19 was Jeff Schultz, who made a terrible defensive play by allowing Lupul to get such an easy marker. After that though, Neuvy made several big stops, including some key ones in the third period to get the tilt to the extra frame. In my book, #30 didn’t do anything to give up his lead on the #1 goalie job for the post season, but there are still two games left. Either way, whether it is Neuvirth or Semyon Varlamov, the Caps are set in the cage for the playoffs.

- Without Mike Green or Dennis Wideman, Caps Coach Bruce Boudreau has gone with a power play configuration, that at times, employs five forwards with Ovechkin and Brooks Laich manning the points. The results have been good and the Great #8 tally gave the Capitals a streak of three straight PP situations with a goal. The remaining two man advantage opportunities saw tons of offensive zone time and only Reimer plus some shots that went wide, prevented more goals from the power play. This unit seems to be finding a groove at the right time of the season.

- On the other hand, the Washington penalty kill went one for two for the second straight contest and the defense is clearing missing both #52 and #6. The blue line is suffering from a lack of speed right now so it is imperative that either Green and/or Wideman get back for the post season. If Tom Poti’s groin finally heals that would be a boost as well. Despite only giving up 21 shots on goal, the Capitals defense was sloppy on several occassions and Toronto had its’ share of quality chances. With a slower blue line, it is really imperative that the Caps forward back check hard to close the gaps and not let opposing teams hit the late men when the Washington defense is in retreat mode.

- Still, a win is a win is a win. So it is back to DC on a late night flight and a Wednesday evening date at the Verizon Center with the Panthers (7 pm). Boudreau will likely go with Varlamov in goal in the back to back situation. One would also expect Alexander Semin to suit up for the contest. #28 stayed home to try to get rid of a nagging ailment but had this been a playoff game, he definitely would have played according to Mike Vogel (@VogsCaps) of the Washington Capitals.

Notes: Washington lost the face-off battle, 38-36. Boyd Gordon was 12-9…Hannan and Schultz, 26:12 and 26:03, respectively, logged the most ice time for the Caps. #55 needs to avoid those big breakdowns in games that he seems to be having lately…Jason Arnott only played 14:01 and was -1 but he did have four shots on goal…Eric Fehr had three quality scoring chances early on in the first period but couldn’t convert. #16 played 13:40…Sean Collins was the 6th d-man and was +1 in 10:49 of ice time…Tyler Sloan, who was injured on Saturday night, made the trip but didn’t play…DJ King and Jay Beagle were the other Capitals scratches.

In what was not the most aesthetically pleasing game, the Washington Capitals found a way to get two points over the desperate Buffalo Sabres and move into first place in the Eastern Conference. Alexander Ovechkin scored his 30th goal of the season while trying to pass the puck to John Carlson at the right post to lead the Caps to a 5-4 overtime victory at the Verizon Center. Ovechkin (1 goal, 2 assists) now has 81 points in 76 games and appears to be peaking for the post season. Jason Arnott scored his 400th NHL goal with just 51 seconds remaining in regulation off of a rebound of a point blast by the Great #8. The victory improves the Caps to 46-22-11 (103 points) and Washington just needs two points, via points gained or lost by Tampa Bay, to clinch their fourth straight Southeast Division title. As for the Eastern Conference race, they have a one point lead on the Philadelphia Flyers, who have a game in hand.

Here are the highlights, quotes, and analysis of a win in front of the 100th straight sellout at the Verizon Center:

- Ovechkin was clearly the player of the game and Arnott was a close second for Washington. In addition, Nicklas Backstrom had three assists and was +2 on the night. The Capitals scored all five goals by going to the net and getting rebounds or creating traffic. This fact is very promising for the post season for a team that was criticized for being too “perimeter like” in the playoffs against Montreal in 2010.

- Michal Neuvirth got the win for the Caps but he would likely prefer to have back the first two goals after Washington raced to a 2-0 lead just under five minutes into this tilt. #30 gave up long range tallies and the first one was deflected in by Tomas Vanek while the second goal should have been stopped. But Neuvy came back strong and defensive lapses cost him on goals three and four. In fact, on the fourth Sabres tally, which came on the power play, Carlson got too aggressive while shorthanded late in the game and tried to generate a quality scoring chance when he should have been more responsible. We’ll call it a rookie mistake but Caps Coach Bruce Boudreau was not happy about it. In fact, the Washington bench boss was not thrilled with the play of his club throughout the entire contest.

“I’m concerned with the process of how we played {than the win}. I thought it was way too close to looking like last year,” said Boudreau.

Yes, it was not a gem of a defensive effort, but to be fair the Caps were playing without Dennis Wideman, Mike Green, Tom Poti, and John Erskine on the back end. In addition, Tyler Sloan got his “bell rung” in period two and left the game leaving Boudreau with Karl Alzner, Scott Hannan, Jeff Schultz, Carlson, and Sean Collins (recalled from Hershey) on defense for the last 20+ minutes. Collins had a solid game in his first NHL action since 2009 and Alzner led the club in ice time at 26:37.

- The injuries played a role and the fact that the Sabres are desperate to make the post season was a big factor in this contest. But Washington found a way to come out on top and you have to credit the top players like numbers 8, 19, and 44 for getting the win for Washington and moving them into the top position in the East, something that seemed unobtainable during that eight game losing streak back in December.

“Games like this happen. The best defensive teams in the league, every now and then, will have a game where they stop doing it right. Three of the goals we put in our own net. {But} I thought we did a real good job of coming back,” finished Boudreau.

- In summary, this was not a great game for the Caps but they took care of business. Washington did a solid job of going to the net and as a result they scored five goals from in front of the cage. Neuvirth (34 saves) deserves credit for maintaining his focus despite giving up some ugly tallies early. In addition, even though Carlson made a very bad decision late in regulation, he didn’t let it adversely affect him and he was a factor on the game winning goal by the Great #8.

Notes: Ryan Miller is injured for the Sabres and Jhonas Enroth (30 saves) received the start. The goals he allowed were all from in front of the net or on deflections so it is hard to fault him in the loss…the faceoff battle was tied at 38 all with Brooks Laich (1 assist) going 8-3… Washington went 2-2 on the power play while the Caps allowed one goal on two man advantage situations for Buffalo…the Hershey Bears rallied from a 4-1 deficit to win, 5-4, in Norfolk to come within one point of clinching second place in their division. Braden Holtby got the victory stopping 27 shots…next up for the Caps are the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Center on Tuesday night at 7 pm…NHL referee Bill McCreary officiated his last game tonight. He ranks second all-time in NHL regular season games worked (1,737) behind Kerry Fraser.

You know that sports story about the guy who was benched the game before coming back the next time out and being the hero? Well that happened on Thursday night at the Verizon Center as Jason Chimera scored the game winning goal in overtime to give the Washington Capitals a 4-3 victory against a scrappy Columbus Blue Jackets squad after being scratched in Tuesday’s shootout loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. #25 took the rebound of a Brooks Laich shot and potted it at the door step against his old club at 2:30 of extra time to improve the Caps record to 45-22-11 (101 points). This is the third-straight season the Capitals have reached the 100-point plateau and the only other time Washington has recorded three consecutive 100-point seasons was from 1983-84 through 1985-86. Tampa Bay defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins on this night so the Caps need any combination of points for or Bolts points lost that totals to four to clinch their fourth consecutive Southeast Division title. In addition, they pulled within one point of Eastern Conference leading Philadelphia, but the Flyers have a game in hand.

Here are the highlights, quotes, and analysis of a contest in which Washington played nearly the last 40 minutes or so with just five defensemen due to John Erskine’s injury:

- This game was an up and down performance by the Caps and they did do some good things, like forwards going to the net for the tough, in traffic tallies. All four Washington goals came from in front or in the slot. John Carlson scored first on a rebound of a Laich shot, the second marker came from Mike Knuble at the top of the crease after Alexander Ovechkin (1 assist, +1 in 20:51 of ice time) set up Nicklas Backstrom (1 assist, +1 in 21:42) for a shot in the high slot, Jason Arnott  then notched his 16th goal of the season by finding open space in the slot and burying a nice feed from Marco Sturm, and then you had #25′s tap in for the win.

- On the down side, the Capitals were sloppy in their own end quite a bit and two of the three goals allowed were from defensive zone breakdowns. Columbus’ first goal was the result of Matt Calvert beating Karl Alzner out of the corner and when Carlson went to challenge #11, Calvert banged the biscuit off of Michal Neuvirth (20 saves) and into the slot where Antoine Vermette beat Boyd Gordon to the puck and deposited it in the cage. The Blue Jackets second tally was aided by linesman David Brisebois picking Scott Hannan off while he was covering Tomas Kubalik in the left wing circle and that gave #33 time to find a charging Fedor Tyutin who put a point shot by #30 short side. That shot may have been tipped, which threw the young Czech goalie off. Finally, the Jackets tied the game with 5:37 left in regulation when Alzner and Sturm both seemed to think the other had Scottie Upshall in the right wing circle, and when #9 shook free he fired one past a seemingly stunned Neuvirth. The play away from the puck by Washington was something that Arnott commented on after this tilt.

“We definitely need work. In our own zone, little things, panicking with the puck too much. It all comes with confidence and everything and we got a few key defensemen out right now that can move the puck real well and can skate. I think everybody’s just got to chip in a little extra for us. But our zone, we have to clean up our own zone and its’ starts tomorrow with the video and try and correct it and come out with a better effort to back our goaltender up,” added a straightforward #44, who has become a major team leader since coming over on NHL trade deadline day (February 28th).

“Tonight we had a lot to learn. We talked about it before the game that this was an important thing about playing away from the puck and I thought we weren’t that good at it. So it will be hopefully a learning session tomorrow watching the video,” said Caps Coach Bruce Boudreau when asked for his take on Arnott’s post game comments.

- The two blue liners that Arnott was referring to are Mike Green, who has been out since February 25th due to a concussion, and Dennis Wideman, who was injured on Tuesday night against the Carolina Hurricanes on a hit from Tuomo Ruutu. TSN’s Bob McKenzie tweeted tonight that #6 is in the hospital with a hematoma and the deadline day acquisition is out indefinitely. Knuble mentioned that Wideman had sent teammates some gruesome photos (h/t to Katie Carrera of The Washington Post) of the injury. Based on what I could gather from media members and then talking with a medical doctor there are A LOT of variables to this injury. A hematoma is basically a blood bruise and they are sometimes opened up to relieve pressure. Healing time depends primarily on how deep and large of an incision was made. The good news is that this is not a broken bone or ligament injury. In fact, Wideman could likely be able to work out with this injury once cleared and can stay in shape without contact. Given that the playoffs are two weeks away, it is highly possible he won’t play the rest of the regular season. It is far too early to tell if he will be able to play game one of the post season but again, the fact that this is not a bone or ligament issue is a good thing, according to the doctor I spoke with following the victory. As for #52, there was talk that he could take part in his first practice with the team on Friday. Green has been skating all week on his own before the rest of the Caps have begun their full sessions.

- Erkine got into a bout with Jared Boll, the player who injured Ovechkin on November 1st of 2009 . #4 pounded #40 but he only played one shift afterwards. Boudreau quickly dismissed any hand injury and said that the physical defenseman is day to day and was held out for precautionary reasons.

“It happens to everybody. Everybody’s got injuries. I’ve been on a lot of winning teams and they’ve had to fight with more guys being out than we have,” commented Boudreau when asked about the rash of injuries occurring this close to the post season.

- Jeff Schultz had a solid outing going +2 in 26:35 of ice time. #55 was very strong in the first period and was more physical than usual. With so many of the Caps top d-men out the club will need Sarge to get back to playing at the level he was at in 2009-10 when he lead the NHL in plus/minus at +50. Thursday night was an encouraging step for a d-man who has struggled, at times, this season.

- The Capitals top line was their best on the night, especially in the first two frames when the Caps had a 27-15 shots advantage. Ovechkin was buzzing all evening and narrowly missed notching his 30th goal of the season. I also thought Laich turned in a superb game. Alexander Semin was held off the scoresheet in 18:54 and he had a golden chance early in the contest and then kind of disappeared. He did get to take the first shift in the overtime period after being benched for the extra session on Tuesday following his bad penalty late in regulation. Washington has to hope that #28 ramps his game up in the post season. Too many times tonight he fumbled the puck or fell to the ice without cause or barely being touched. It is one of the reasons that he doesn’t draw as many penalties as he should, the referees see him going down so easy that sometimes they overlook when a penalty really is warranted.

- Speaking of penalties, there were only three minors called on this night and two of them overlapped. As a result this was mostly an even strength affair with the Caps having 41 seconds of man advantage time while the Blue Jackets logged 2:41 on the power play. Neither team scored during that time.

“That seems normal for us. I mean if you look, I think we’re, I didn’t look today, but I thought we had the second fewest power play opportunities in the league and in the upper third of penalties being called [against], so I think there is quite a discrepancy there,” added Boudreau when I mentioned that he didn’t get much time to work on his power play in the game on Thursday.

- At the end of the day, the Caps received a big two points but the injuries on the blue line are becoming a concern. Columbus plays a much more aggressive style under first year coach Scott Arniel, and as a result the shorthanded Washington defense struggled in numerous situations.

“Yes, and add to the fact that that is a really good forechecking team and they came at us and for two periods we only had five D and [that] didn’t help,” finished Boudreau when asked if his team struggled to move the puck out of their own zone versus Columbus.

Notes: Columbus won the faceoff battle, 32-26. Backstrom was 10-7 to lead the Caps…Hannan led the Capitals in ice time with 28:19 and was +2…Washington’s 4th line did not have one of their better tilts going -1. The holding call on Matt Hendricks, however, was pure nonsense and should have been a hook the other way…Tyler Sloan was -1 in 12:55 on the back line, not good, but Boudreau mentioned he was likely tired from lack of recent game time…Ovechkin led the team in shots with five but was not credited with a hit…the Caps are tied for second in the league in penalty kill percentage (86.2%)…next up for Washington are the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night at the Verizon Center at 7 pm. Buffalo is in a dogfight for a playoff spot.

Absolutely nothing went the Capitals way on Friday night in Ottawa. Craig Anderson made several good saves plus was a little lucky when he had to be, Washington made some huge defensive gaffes, and the officiating was downright horrible. When you add that all up it leads to a Caps shutout loss, 2-0, to the Senators. The defeat drops the Capitals record to 43-22-10 (96 points) but they still lead the Southeast Division by seven points as a result of Tampa’s 4-3 loss against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night.

Here are the highlights and analysis of a game in which the NHL Director of Officiating, Terry Gregson, should be pretty embarrassed about:

- Anderson (31 saves) was very good for the Sens but he was also the beneficiary of some overpassing by Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin on a Washington power play in the second period when the game was scoreless. In addition, rookie Marcus Johansson rifled one through #41′s pads in the third period but the puck just trickled wide and an Ottawa defender scooped it out of harm’s way. Still, the journeyman goalie, who recently signed a big four year contract ($12.75M total) to stay in Ottawa, was very solid and calm in net and was easily the game’s number one star.

- The Caps made some big mistakes in their own zone and it cost them on both Ottawa goals. On the first tally, Scott Hannan chased Jason Spezza the wrong way around the Capitals cage and that allowed #19 to put a pass in front to a streaking Colin Greening out of the corner. Greening badly beat Caps d-man John Erskine to the front of the net but the puck hit both of his skates and then he interfered with Semyon Varlamov (21 saves) as he knocked the puck in the cage with his skate for an Ottawa 1-0 lead at 12:25 of the middle frame. Referee Stephane Auger called it a goal but then huddled with the other zebra, Kelly Sutherland. After they conferred with the league in Toronto, the goal stood despite being obvious goalie interference, which apparently is not reviewable. On the second Senators goal, early in period three, Karl Alzner blindly throws the puck up the boards right to Milan Michalek, who feeds it to Erik Condra in the slot. #38 then slid one by Varly as he went down too late into the butterfly position. There were other poor plays by the Washington defensemen on this night that didn’t lead to goals. Overall I would grade the defense as “below average” in this contest. They only gave up 23 shots but they made some big mistakes that will cost them in the post season if they don’t clean it up.

- As for the offense, the Caps did have the 31 shots but there were not a lot from in front of the cage. The Capitals showed some very good puck movement on their first two power plays and Brooks Laich looked excellent on the right point, but Semin made several wrong decisions with the biscuit that prevented Washington from lighting the lamp. On one sequence #28 held onto the puck below the goal line and skated up the right wing boards when Backstrom was wide open in front. He also was a victim of too many moves and over passing on some down low two on ones with the man advantage. Backstrom also tried to force a pass when he had a great chance on Anderson with the game scoreless. The Capitals routinely didn’t get pucks deep and cycle the Senators defense, who likely would have tired having played in New York the night before. Simply put, this was a LAZY offensive effort by Washington, in my book.

- Varlamov, who started for the first time since winning in Buffalo on February 20th, was good in goal. He had to face some quality chances and he did fairly well. He’d probably like another shot at the 2nd goal but Alzner did help Michalek put that one on a tee for Condra. Michal Neuvirth was slated to start this game but came down with an illness and it is possible that Braden Holtby could be recalled for Saturday’s game in Montreal either to start or backup Varly.

- As for the officiating, it was definitely the worst Caps game I’ve seen called all season. I’ve already talked about the mistake on the Senators first goal, which was the result of goalie interference, but there were two other BLATANT mistakes made in this game. First, Matt Hendricks took a stick to the head early on but after an initial high sticking penalty was called on David Hale, and it should have been a double minor since #26 was cut, the referees took #36 out of the penalty box. Shortly thereafter Al Koken of Comcast interviewed assistant coach Bob Woods on the bench who told him that the referees thought that Hendricks was cut with a skate. If you ask me, not only were the four referees blind for missing that, but they are also stupid. If a skate was up that high around Hendricks head and caught him where he was cut, he likely would have lost his eye and bled pretty badly. The other big miss was on a clean shoulder check on Patrick Wiercioch by Matt Bradley above the goal line. Wiercioch went down hard and slid into the boards. Somehow the referees called it boarding prompting Hockey Night in Canada’s Jeff Marek to question that logic via Twitter. Bradley also got jumped for the clean check by Zack Smith and the Caps would have had a power play if boarding wasn’t called on #10. Finally, the game was also called very inconsistently with hits and holds not very clearly defined, which had to make it tough for the players to know what the rules were on this given night. After the game on Twitter, HNIC’s Cassie Campbell stated how bad the officiating was and referenced the no call on the high stick to Hendricks. Gregson and the NHL cannot let this type of officiating happen starting April 13th.

- The Caps are now 3-2 on this six game road trip and they once again played without Alexander Ovechkin, Jason Arnott, Mike Green, Eric Fehr, and Tom Poti. On Monday we should know more about the status of those five with Green’s injury being the most concerning. Saturday’s tilt in Montreal is the final meeting between the Caps and the Canadiens in the regular season (Caps are 2-0-1). Right now the Habs sit in sixth place in the Eastern Conference and both teams could meet again in the first round of the playoffs depending on what happens down the stretch.

Notes: Dennis Wideman led the Caps in ice time with 24:25. Laich led the Caps forwards playing 23:30…the Capitals were smoked on faceoffs, 32-19. Johansson went 1-9 and Backstrom was 7-13…Washington had five shots on net on their three power plays. They only gave up four shots while shorthanded on three attempts.

Big news out of Kettler Iceplex today as Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau stated that Alexander Ovechkin would be out for an estimated seven to 10 days to deal with an injury situation. Naturally, with the NHL playoffs just over three weeks away, the exact nature of the injury will not be disclosed, much like with the Jason Arnott announcement one week ago today. The Great #8 joins Arnott, Mike Green, Eric Fehr, and Tom Poti as key components who are out of the Washington lineup right now. While on the surface this might seem like a big blow to the Capitals Stanley Cup chances, in reality, it isn’t. In fact, being extra cautious with ailing players right now makes a ton of sense and could likely pay off over the next few months.

Washington is in pretty good shape to lock up their fourth straight Southeast Division title with a five point lead on the Tampa Bay Lightning and even if they did manage to lose that margin over their last nine games (the Bolts have 10 tilts left), would it really matter? Likely not at all, as the Caps are going to be in the post season and what happens then and beyond is all this team will be judged on. Since training camp opened we’ve heard the organization talk about the first 82 games not mattering too much this year. General Manager George McPhee told me on Media Day back in October that he “really didn’t care about the regular season, as long as [the Caps] make the playoffs.” One could argue that every decision since then, from the schematic switch from an aggressive offensive system to a more responsible defensive posture all the way up to the moves made on NHL trade deadline day have been about one thing – doing what is needed to increase the likelihood that the Capitals play their best hockey in the post season this spring.

As good as last season’s team was in a Presidents’ Trophy winning regular season, everyone witnessed the first round collapse and McPhee and Boudreau have been doing everything in their power to not let it happen again this season. Examining the club on paper, position by position, I don’t think there is any doubt that the 2010-11 Washington Capitals team, despite all of the criticism they’ve received this year, is a much better one heading into April than last year’s crew. With Arnott at second line center they finally have that big pivot man that is needed in the post season. #44 is a significant upgrade over last year’s second line center, Eric Belanger. In fact, add in rookie Marcus Johansson and the Nicklas Backstrom/Arnott/MJ90 trio is likely the best Washington has had up the middle in the Boudreau era.

On defense, the top five blue liners are Green, Dennis Wideman, John Carlson, Scott Hannan, and Karl Alzner. Boudreau can either go with Poti, if he is healthy, or opt for Jeff Schultz or John Erskine as his sixth defenseman, depending on the opponent. This is a major improvement over last year’s crew that included Joe Corvo and Shaone Morrisonn, two mediocore, at best, blue liners. Alzner didn’t even arrive on the scene in last year’s post season until game seven and by then it was too late. #27 is +15 in his first full season in the NHL.

In net, 2010-11 will be the first time in three seasons that the Capitals don’t have to start Jose Theodore in game one of the playoffs, thank goodness. Theo failed miserably in goal and whether Boudreau goes with the more NHL playoff experienced Semyon Varlamov or rookie Michal Neuvirth, who incidentally hasn’t ever lost a North American playoff series (h/t @JapersRink), it doesn’t matter, the goaltending should be better. Of course if both falter or are injured, rookie Braden Holtby, who won the NHL’s first star of the week on March 14th, is also an option.

Down the stretch in 2009-10, the majority of the Caps headlines were all about the regular season dominance and individual statistics and trophies. Both Ovechkin and Green were positioned for post season hardware nominations while Alexander Semin was focused on a 40 goal season in an attempt to try and maximize his free agent earning power for the summer of 2011. During that closing stretch #52 took a slash to the arm in Columbus and was never right for the post season. Ovechkin also played out the string and after the series was over it was revealed he was banged up as well. Following that game seven loss, the mad dash for stats, trophies, and big contracts all seemed so futile.

Flash forward to now, especially since #44 arrived on deadline day, and we are reading about Ovechkin and Semin spending lots of time with Arnott picking his brain about what it takes to win in the post season (thanks @dcsportsbog). In my mind, #28 played his best hockey of the season when he was finally paired with a true second line center in Arnott, much like he did when Sergei Fedorov was here in 2008 and 2009. Semin re-upped for another year here and there is no more talk from him or his agent about “the dollars.” It seems that the two young Russians stars are on a mission to shut their critics up once and for all and that they just might have matured as a result of the Capitals past playoff disappointments.

Like I said earlier, on paper this team is better than last year’s at this stage, but that heavily depends on the health of Ovechkin, Arnott, Backstrom, Semin, and Green, as well as a few others. Therefore, the cautious approach to the last nine games of the NHL regular season that both McPhee and Boudreau appear to be taking makes great sense and hopefully will pay dividends for them starting April 13th and beyond, when health and the matchups will be huge factors in the quest for Lord Stanley’s Cup. It’s only 23 days away, but who’s counting?

Aint no Stopping us Now

We’re on the Move

Aint no Stopping us Now

We’ve got the Groove

On a night when logic dictated that the Washington Capitals eight game winning streak just might come to an end in Montreal given that second line center Jason Arnott was going to be joining Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green on the injured list, the Caps kept their groove going with a solid and impressive 4-2 victory over the Canadiens. Marcus Johansson continued his stellar play and tallied twice, including the eventual game winner, while Brooks Laich and Mike Knuble also scored for Washington to gain a victory in the very tough Bell Centre. Braden Holtby, who was named the NHL’s first star of the week on Monday, overcame a terrible early giveaway that led to the Habs first goal to stop 24 of the next 25 shots against him for his fifth straight win and the 21 year old rookie is 9-2-2 this season. The Caps ninth straight win runs their record to 41-20-10 (92 points) and puts their lead in the Southeast Division back at five points over the Tampa Bay Lightning, who have a game in hand.

Here are the highlights and analysis of a super Capitals performance in the first outing of a very difficult six game road trip:

- I’ve been talking about MJ90 taking his game to a higher level since the victory in Florida a week ago Sunday. Johansson, who has been steadily improving all season, performed at an elite level for the sixth straight game in my book. The 20 year old Swede looks like a 10 year vet on the ice right now and this club really needs it with both Backstrom (day to day) and now Arnott (week to week) out at center. Normally a young kid would likely succumb to the pressure of having to help carry this team but that has not been the case with Marcus. Instead of looking worn out in his first season in North America, he is actually getting stronger and he is not being knocked off the puck below the circles like he was earlier in the season. Johansson’s first goal was on a gift bounce off of the boards into an empty net but his second came from being in the proper position on the ice. MJ90 came down the slot late because he was being defensively responsible and took an Alexander Ovechkin (1 assist in 21:44 of ice time) pass on his backhand and put it by Carey Price (37 saves) 6:43 into the final frame. On the night the 20 year old rookie played 17:03 and took four shots on net.

- Price was great for Montreal and if not for him this game would have been over in the second period. The Caps dominated the play and had 35 shots on goal through two periods, many of which were in close and of the quality variety. Unlike last season’s playoffs, when Washington became more frustrated as the series went on, the Capitals would not be denied on this evening and they continued to crash the net. The Habs net minder could not be faulted on any of the tallies against him and he also appeared to get a gift when an apparent goal by Matt Hendricks in period one was wiped out due to what must have been an early whistle.

- On the Caps side of the house, the dynamic duo of blue liners, John Carlson and Karl Alzner, were phenomenal. Both guys were +2 on the night and Alzner’s perfect pass to Laich in the neutral zone set up #21′s goal in which he went around big Hal Gill like he was an orange road cone. #27 and #74 were flat out dominant in this contest and they logged 18:53 and 20:04, respectively. Alzner’s ability to hit players in stride with the puck as they go up the ice is often overlooked. He is a terrific puck moving defenseman who is almost always in the right place.

- Laich started this contest between Ovechkin and Alexander Semin but Caps Coach Bruce Boudreau switched it up when Eric Fehr went down due to an upper body injury (h/t @kcarrera of The Washington Post). #16 played only 5:16 of ice time and after that Johansson centered Ovechkin and Knuble while Laich played with Marco Sturm and Semin. It wasn’t one of Semin’s best games of the season, in fact, Sasha was lazy in his back pressure on the second Montreal goal by Andrei Kostitsyn. In addition, the Caps failed to get off a shot on net when he and the Great #8 had a 2 on 1 chance in period two. Semin was simply “too cute” for the first 40 minutes but in the final stanza he simplified his game and was very solid defensively once the Caps got a one goal lead. As for Sturm, he struggled for most of the game taking two minor penalties, but he delivered when he came out of the box with four mintues left and saucered a perfect pass to Knuble for the fourth goal and the nail in the coffin on Price and the Habs.

- On special teams, the Capitals penalty kill was a perfect three for three while the power play went 2 for 5. So that thing is fixed, right? Not so fast, the two PPGs were the MJ90 open net fluke bounce and the second was when Sturm came out of the box for a two on one with the Habs pressing late. In fact, without Arnott, the power play struggled and Washington wasted an 85 second five on three advantage late in the opening frame (7 seconds of it carried into period two). Too much passing and not enough shots was the story on that sequence (I know, you’ve heard that before).

- Overall, this was a superb way to come out and set the tone on a long road trip without some big guns in the lineup. With a flight to Detroit on Tuesday night and a lengthy stop likely clearing customs, the Capitals just might not have much left in the tank for the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night at “The Joe” at 7:30pm. So getting this win was so key for this club and right now the song must continue for another day, since the winning streak could come to a halt in Motown.

Aint No Stopping Us Now

We’re on the Move

Aint no Stopping us Now

We’ve got the Groove

Notes: Both Jeff Halpern (5:56 of ice time) and Tomas Plekenac (logged 11:03) left the game for Montreal early due to injuries…Tyler Sloan played on defense tonight with John Erskine out due to a cold (again h/t @kcarrera). #89 had two giveaways and took a penalty in 14:57 of ice time…the Caps won the face-off battle, 30-27, thanks to Boyd Gordon winning 12 of 16 draws (Dave Steckel who?)…with Arnott out, Jay Beagle returned after missing several games due to injury and he played 9:27 and had 3 hits (tied for second on the team to Ovechkin’s 4)…Matt Bradley fought Paul Mara just 1:48 into the contest…I expect Michal Neuvirth to get the start in goal for Washington on Wednesday in Detroit and he will have a tough task against Pavel Datsyuk and company.

Alexander Semin’s line didn’t have a single shot on goal the entire game in regulation,  but all it took was one in overtime. Semin worked a nice give and go with Marcus Johansson early in the overtime period and #28′s laser through the five hole on Panthers goalie Scott Clemmensen gave the Washington Capitals a 3-2 victory just 48 seconds into the extra frame. Goalie Michal Neuvirth (32 saves) was outstanding, including making a huge glove save on Marty Reasoner in the dying seconds, and he has put the Caps back into first place in the Southeast Division for the first time since January. Washington is now 36-20-10 (82 points) heading into Monday night’s 7:00pm 1st place battle with the Tampa Bay Lightning (81 points) on VERSUS.

Here are the quotes, highlights, and analysis from another one goal victory by Washington (Caps are now 19-7-10 in 1 goal games):

- Semin was once again playing with Jason Arnott and Brooks Laich and the chemistry those guys had in the first two games together just wasn’t there on this night. Perhaps it was simply the matchups, but a unit that created numerous quality scoring chances and had the game winner on Thursday night against the Blues just could not get untracked against a young, scrappy Florida club. But Semin delivered when he had to and his goal came with MJ90 and not any of his regular mates. That’s two game winning goals plus an assist on Arnott’s GWG on Thursday in the last four games for Semin, not too shabby!

- Neuvirth continues to make the case that he should be the Capitals #1 goalie come playoff time and his season record is now 22-10-4. He didn’t have a chance on either goal against since one was on a two on one break and the second was on a Panthers 5 on 3 power play from right in front. He continues to get better with his positioning and his rebound control.

- Johansson was my “Hard Hat” player of the night. The young Swede was all over the ice using his speed and he hustles. He is still learning where and when to pass and how to position himself, but he had it down pat on the game winner getting the puck in a perfect place for Semin to slam the biscuit home for Washington. MJ90 blocked a shot while shorthanded in period one by sprawling out on the ice and he had to go to the locker room favoring his right leg. It looked like a potential break or fracture but the smallish kid showed he is a battler and came back to play a strong final 40+ minutes. Without him the Caps don’t win. Way to go Rook!

- Boyd Gordon also had a superb outing and he was chosen as the official Capitals “Hard Hat” player of the game (h/t Mike Vogel, aka @VogsCaps). He threw his body around to block shots while the team was shorthanded and his work on the second Caps goal, which he scored, was yeoman-like. Gordon was only 8-9 on draws though.

- It looks like Nicklas Backstrom’s injured thumb is feeling a lot better because his tally, Washington’s first goal, was a super shot top shelf off of an even better feed from Alexander Ovechkin (1 assist) after the Great #8 outworked the Florida D behind the Caps net. It was Backstrom’s 17th marker of the season to tie the game up at one just over two minutes after the Panthers drew first blood. Given that he was 11-6 on face-offs, you can probably bank on the fact that he has put the dirty Kris Letang slash behind him physically.

 - The Caps didn’t play a very good first period, getting out shot 16-6, but they came on strong in period two and grabbed a one goal lead. In the third period they implemented the defensive system they have been working so hard on and it nearly worked. The Panthers didn’t have a quality scoring chance until they received a five on three power play late in the contest. Boudreau, for the most part, rolled his lines but the Gordon-Matt Hendricks-Matt Bradley unit seemed to get more ice than usual in that frame since they are really good at getting the puck to center and then throwing it deep in the opponent’s zone. It is a playoff type strategy that has been working well for Washington.

“Until we got two minors, I don’t think they’d had too many chances in the third period and we were understanding what we had to do and I thought we played a pretty solid period. We weren’t really trying to score,” commented Boudreau following the victory.

Overall, I like the defensive posture rather than playing barnyard hockey, like this team did a lot of last year, but there is one problem in letting off the gas totally on offense: you sometimes put the fate of the game into the hands of the referees, and that is not a good thing.

- As for the two clowns in striped shirts tonight, Ian Walsh and T0m Kowal, they were horrible and they played a part in both Florida tallies. On the first Panthers goal, Dennis Wideman has his shot blocked at the right point by Mike Santorelli. It was a clean block but #13 followed through and took Wideman out and instead of what should have been an automatic interference call, Michal Repik and Bill Thomas get a two on one break on John Erskine, which they bury. Erskine and the Caps would be victimized again by bad officiating as #4 was called for tripping when he went to the ice to block the passing lane and slid into the rear boards with just under four minutes remaining. Erskine never touches Keaton Ellerby, who jumps in the air and avoids the Caps defenseman but falls to the ice. The zebras incorrectly rule tripping and Florida gets a cheap power play. Then Wideman gets correctly called for slashing setting up the two man advantage that the Cats use to tie the game up at 17:24 and send the tilt to OT. What is more amazing is that Florida had six power plays to just one for Washington on Sunday after the Caps only had one power play against St. Louis on Thursday night. The imbalance is maddening and the Capitals bench boss was not thrilled about it afterwards.

“I’m glad we just answered, seven penalties to one, quite a discrepancy,” started Boudreau in his post game presser talking about winning the game despite the penalty imbalance, “Everybody complains about our power play and rightfully so, it’s not doing that well, but it’s really hard to get a consistency or momentum on it when you are getting one power play a game. I know we deserved some of those penalties but they deserve some that they didn’t get either and I don’t understand the discrepancies, it happens way too often,” finished the Caps coach on the disturbing trend.

I said this after Thursday’s contest and I’ll say it again, you want to really tell me that the Panthers only committed one stinking penalty all night??!! No way, and it is frustrating, especially when you see Ovechkin get dumped right off of the face-off down the stretch directly in front of the referee. The officiating continues to make no sense, and anyone who watched the Flyers-Rangers first period on Sunday knows what I am talking about. I have no idea why Brian Boyle was given an instigator in his fight with Jody Shelley today but I guess that is what you have to expect with the NHL zebras these days??!!

Notes:  The Caps lost the faceoff battle, 33-32…John Carlson (23:49) and Karl Alzner (23:03) led the Caps in ice time. Wideman (22:37) and Scott Hannan (21:54) were the next pair with the most playing time…Boudreau only played Ovechkin 16:53 and Backstrom 17:51 so it looks like he was saving his big guns for the big matchup with the Bolts on Monday. The lack of power play time diminshed their totals as well (thanks blind zebras!)…The Great #8 had four points in the last meeting between the two Southeast Division leading clubs in Tampa in early February…Tyler Sloan played 12:42 in place of a scratched Jeff Schultz. No word on if #55 is nicked up or if Boudreau didn’t like the matchup for Sarge against a faster Florida team in the first half of back to back tilts…the Caps only had 25 shots on net…special thanks to Comcast for running Boudreau’s post game presser which allowed me to re-publish his quotes.