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Saturday, March 26, 2011

Game #75 Recap: Caps 0 Ottawa 2

Things just didn't in Washington's favor at all on Friday. To begin with, Michal Neuvirth was scheduled to start in goal but got sick and couldn't go so Semyon Varlamov got his first start and action since coming off the injured list. The rust was evident on Varlamov as gave gave up a few too many rebounds but he played well enough. In the first period the Capitals thought they were going to get an extended power play when Matt Hendricks had his face cut open by an Ottawa high stick but apparently the officials didn't see what really happened as the Senators' player was sent to the box only to be pulled out and no call was made on the play. Throughout the game the Capitals just looked off. I don't know if too many things were going against them but they just couldn't connect. One of the things going against them was Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson. He was definitely hot as the Caps had some really good scoring chances, especially on the power play, only to be foiled by Anderson. The second period saw another call go against the Caps. A centering pass in front of Varlamov appeared to be kicked towards the net. Varly made the initial save but the Ottawa player continued into the crease and the puck again struck his skate as he crashed into Varlamov with the puck landing inside the net. It took 3 minutes of review time but the goal stood and the Caps were down 1-0. After that point the Caps really couldn't get anything going. The Sens went up 2-0 early in the third and went into lock down mode. The Caps put 12 shots on net in the third period but no real quality chances. Late in the third Matt Bradley made what looked to be a good open ice hit in the Ottawa zone. His shoulder on shoulder hit sent the Ottawa player hard into the boards and Bradley was given an inexplicable boarding call. On top of that, Zack Smith instigated a fight with Bradley which ended with Bradley's head being cut open as the two players fell to the ice. In the end the Caps pulled the goalie but couldn't dent the twine on this night. Good thing for them they get a chance to rebound tonight with a game in Montreal.

Of Note:
  • Brooks Laich was all over the place in the game. He recorded 7 shots on goal along with 3 hits and 1 blocked shot.
  • The Capitals were obliterated in the face-off dot. They won only 19 draws while losing 32. Boyd Gordon was the only bright spot winning 8 of 15 while Nicklas Backstrom and Marcus Johansson combined to win only 8 of 30.
  • Varlamov took his 9th loss of the season stopping 21 of 23 shots but did appear to get better as the game went along with several acrobatic saves.
  • The Caps penalty killer continued their string of excellent work as they killed off all three Ottawa extra-man advantages. The power play, however, failed to score on their three attempts.
  • The Caps are still playing without the services of Mike Green, Alex Ovechkin, Jason Arnott, and Tom Poti. 
Official Recap
Game Summary
Event Summary

Game Highlights:

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