Game #58 Recap - Capitals 2 Thrashers 3 (OT-SO)

The Capitals put on a great effort last night but were forced to settle for 1 standings point. Atlanta's goalie Kari Lehtonen stopped 39 of the Cap's 41 shots and both of the Cap's shootout attempts. Olie Kolzig was excellent in net for the Caps stopping 26 of 28 shots on goal. Viktor Kozlov started scoring in the second off a rebound of an Alex Ovechkin shot. Following two 2nd period Thrasher goals, the Caps finally responded at 18:39 of the 3rd when Mike Green made a nice outlet pass to Nicklas Backstrom who directed the puck to Ovechkin who buried a wrist shot from the left wing circle to tie the game. The Caps poured 6 shots on Lehtonen in the overtime but the game went to the shootout. The Thrashers scored on their first two attempts and Alexander Semin missed the Caps first attempt and Boyd Gordon was stopped on the second attempt.

Of Note:

• Ovechkin was kept in check for most of the game but still managed a goal and an assist.
• Boyd Gordon must be feeling shell shocked as he was robbed twice in the game by Lehtonen and then again in the shootout.
• The Caps were atrocious in the face-off circle winning just 21 of 60 draws.
• Nicklas Backstrom recored assists on both Capital goals and now has 47 points on the season.
• Mike Green had an assist and was a +2 for the game. He and Ovechkin led the Caps with 6 shots on goal apiece.
• Capitals defensemen Tom Poti left the game in the first period with an injury.
  
• Just a bit of a rant here but I feel like Washington always seems to get the shaft in other buildings when it comes to the three stars of the game. In a 3-2 overtime, shootout win the three stars all went to Atlanta. Why can't the Washington media take the hint and boost our own players for a change. For instance the gave Sean Avery of the Rangers the third star in the Caps last victory on Sunday. That's ridiculous. I know it doesn't make that much difference in the big picture but I don't like seeing our guys get the cold shoulder. The were at least 4 or 5 Caps that should have been considered one of the 3 best on the ice last night and I want them to be recognized.
  

Official Recap
Game Summary
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Shootout Details

Game #58 Washington Capitals at Atlanta Thrashers

Where: Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA

When: February 13, 2008, 7:00 PM

History:
Caps Record on this Date: 4-7-2-0
Caps Game 58 Record: 15-14-1-1
All-Time vs. ATL: 22-16-5-4
Last Season vs. ATL: 3-3-2
Last Meeting: 2/2/08, WAS 0 ATL 2

This Year:
WAS Record: 27-25-5
Standings Points: 59
Division Rank: 2^nd
Conference Rank: 10^th
Last Game: 2/10/08, WAS 3 NYR 2 (OT)
Streak: Won 1

ATL Record: 27-27-4
Standings Points: 58
Division Rank: 3^rd
Conference Rank: 11^th
Last Game: 2/9/2007, ATL 2 TAM 1
Streak: Won 1

Game 1: 10/5/07, WAS 3 ATL 1
Game 2: 11/6/07, WAS 1 ATL 2 (OT)
Game 3: 11/21/07, WAS 1 ATL 5
Game 4: 1/15/08, WAS 6 ATL 3
Game 5: 2/2/08, WAS 0 ATL 2

Probable Line-Ups:
Washington
Forward Line 1: 8 OVECHKIN, 19 BACKSTROM, 25 KOZLOV
Forward Line 2: 28 SEMIN, 21 LAICH, 43 FLEISCHMANN
Forward Line 3: 53 LAING, 39 STECKEL, 10 BRADLEY
Forward Line 4: 87 BRASHEAR, 15 GORDON, 14 FEHR
Defense Pair 1: 26 MORRISONN, 52 GREEN
Defense Pair 2: 23 JURCINA, 3 POTI
Defense Pair 3: 4 ERSKINE, 55 SCHULTZ
Goalie: 37 KOLZIG
Back-up Goalie: 1 JOHNSON

Atlanta
Forward Line 1: 13 KOZLOV, 12 WHITE, 8 RECCHI
Forward Line 2: 36 BOULTON, 16 HOLIK, 18 HOSSA
Forward Line 3: 17 KOVALCHUK, 11 PERRIN, 27 THORBURN
Forward Line 4: 9 DUPUIS, 23 SLATER, 29 LARSEN
Defense Pair 1: 77 ZHITNIK, 22 KLEE
Defense Pair 2: 2 EXELBY, 28 HAVELID
Defense Pair 3: 39 ENSTROM, 5 MCCARTHY
Goalie: 32 LEHTONEN
Back-up Goalie: 1 HEDBERG

Injuries:
Washington – 17 CLARK (groin) DTD, 92 NYLANDER (shoulder) IR, 2 POTHIER (head) IR
Atlanta – 20 RUCCHIN (concussion) IR

Caps Milestones:
Donald Brashear needs 2 Points to reach 200 for his career
Viktor Kozlov needs 1 assists to reach 300 for his career
Matt Pettinger needs 2 Points to reach 100 for his career

Preview:
With a win over the Rangers on Sunday the Capitals reclaimed the Division lead and now embark on a three game road trip to Atlanta, Florida and Tampa. All three are Southeast Division teams and the Caps need to put up some wins if they want to distance themselves from the rest of Division. The Thrashers are one point behind the Caps and are coming off of a victory against Tampa. They are led by Ilya Kovalchuk who is second in the league in goals scored. He is currently trailing Alex Ovechkin by 8 goals. Look for the Caps to score early. A task they have not accomplished lately as they have scored in the first period only 3 times in the last 9 games. They also need to keep scoring on the power play. They recorded 2 power play goals in Sunday’s win. This one should have a playoff type atmosphere.

Joe’s prediction: Caps 4 ATL 3

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Capitals Recall Defenseman Sami Lepisto

This from the Capitals' official site:

"ARLINGTON, Va., – The Washington Capitals have recalled defenseman Sami Lepisto from the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL), vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today.

Lepisto (SA-mee LEH-pihs-toh), 23, has played in 37 games for Hershey this year, posting 29 points (2 goals, 27 assists). He leads all Hershey defensemen in scoring and ranks 14th among AHL defensemen in points. His +25 rating leads the Bears and ranks second in the league, first among defensemen. Lepisto has an eight-game point-scoring streak with Hershey, recording one goal, 12 assists and a +12 rating in that time. He has seven assists in his last three games.

Lepisto was selected by the Capitals in the third round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, 66th overall, and becomes the fourth member of the 2004 draft class on the Washington roster (joining Alex Ovechkin, Jeff Schultz and Mike Green, who were all taken in the first round). Lepisto spent four seasons in the top professional league in Finland before making the move to the United States to play for the Bears.

The 6-foot, 176-pound Espoo, Finland, native, has never played in a regular season NHL game."

Update: Per Tarik, Lepisto was returned to Hershey because John Erskine is good to go from his injury suffered in the Carolina game.

Game #57 Recap - Capitals 3 Rangers 2 (OT)

Mike Green's slap shot 23-seconds into overtime lifted the Caps past the Rangers 3-2 and back into first place in the Southeast Division. It was the second power play goal of the game for the Caps and the 15th goal for Green on the season. The team did not make it easy on themselves as they had to kill off 6 New York power plays. In his 700th career game in goal Olie Kolzig came up huge. He stopped 31 of 33 shots and shutout the Rangers in the 2nd half of the game setting the stage for Green's dramatics. It was the 9th 1-goal decision in the last 12 games for the Caps. The team is 7-2-0 in those decisions. The Caps now head out on an important road trip as they face Southeast Division foes Atlanta, Florida, and Tampa this week.

Off note:

• Alex Ovechkin scored his league leading 47th goal on a first period power play. He also assisted on the game tying and game winning goals. He continued his assault on the Caps record book tying Guy Charron for 22nd place in All-Time Points with 274. He is one goal shy of tying Steve Konowalchuk for 12th place on the Caps All-Time goals list.
  
• Boyd Gordon scored the game tying goal, his 5th on the season. He was rewarded with the game's second Star.
• Alex Semin played some inspired hockey. He assisted on the goals from Gordon and Green.
• The Caps were out shot (33-24) and out drawn (23-33) but were the more physical team with a 22-12 edge in hits.
• Eric Fehr and Nicklas Backstrom assisted on Ovechkin's power play goal.

Official Recap
Game Summary
Super Stats

Game #57 Washington Capitals vs. New York Rangers

Where: Verizon Center, Washington, DC

When: February 10, 2008, 1:00 PM

History:
Caps Record on this Date: 5-5-2-0
Caps Game 57 Record: 9-16-6-0
All-Time vs. NYR: 81-74-14-4
Last Season vs. NYR: 1-3-0
Last Meeting: 12/12/07, WAS 5 NYR 4

This Year:
WAS Record: 26-25-5
Standings Points: 57
Division Rank: 2^nd
Conference Rank: 10^th
Last Game: 2/8/08, WAS 1 CAR 2
Streak: Loss 1

NYR Record: 28-24-6
Standings Points: 62
Division Rank: 4^th
Conference Rank: 7^th
Last Game: 2/9/2007, NYR 2 PHI 0
Streak: Won 1

Game 1: 10/12/07, WAS 1 NYR 3
Game 2: 11/1/07, WAS 0 NYR 2
Game 3: 12/12/07, WAS 5 NYR 4

Probable Line-Ups:
Washington
Forward Line 1: 8 OVECHKIN, 19 BACKSTROM, 25 KOZLOV
Forward Line 2: 28 SEMIN, 21 LAICH, 43 FLEISCHMANN
Forward Line 3: 53 LAING, 39 STECKEL, 10 BRADLEY
Forward Line 4: 87 BRASHEAR, 15 GORDON, 14 FEHR
Defense Pair 1: 26 MORRISONN, 52 GREEN
Defense Pair 2: 23 JURCINA, 3 POTI
Defense Pair 3: 44 EMINGER, 55 SCHULTZ
Goalie: 37 KOLZIG
Back-up Goalie: 1 JOHNSON

Rangers
Forward Line 1: 16 AVERY, 19 GOMEZ, 68 JAGR
Forward Line 2: 10 DAWES, 17 DUBINSKY, 24 CALLAHAN
Forward Line 3: 82 STRAKA, 23 DRURY, 28 ORR
Forward Line 4: 25 PRUCHA, 15 BETTS, 14 SHANAHAN
Defense Pair 1: 3 ROZSIVAL, 18 STAAL
Defense Pair 2: 51 TYUTIN, 5 GIRARDI
Defense Pair 3: 27 MARA, 34 STRUDWICK
Goalie: 30 LUNDQVIST
Back-up Goalie: 40 VALIQUETTE

Injuries:
Washington – 17 CLARK (groin) DTD, 92 NYLANDER (shoulder) IR, 2 POTHIER (head) IR
Rangers – 81 HOSSA (knee, face) IR, 8 MALIK (back) IR, 14 SHANAHAN (leg) DTD

Caps Milestones:
Olaf Kolzig will play in his 700^th career game.
Donald Brashear needs 2 Points to reach 200 for his career
Viktor Kozlov needs 1 assists to reach 300 for his career
Matt Pettinger needs 2 Points to reach 100 for his career

Preview:
The Caps were knocked out of 1^st place in the Southeast Division Friday night. They spent Saturday working on the power play that has been very ineffective lately. They have scored only 1 goal with the man advantage in their last 8 games. Look for the Caps to be more direct in their approach and take the puck to the net more. This is a big game for the Caps to keep pace with the other Southeast Division rivals.

Joe’s prediction: Caps 3 NYR 2

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Game #56 Recap - Capitals 1 Hurricanes 2

The young Capitals got a taste of what it means to be on top. The lesson they should have learned is to expect the oppositions best. The Capitals did not play particularly well but were still in the game till the end. They were done in by a couple of turnovers in the first period leading to both Carolina goals. The Capitals did learn how to get a goal against a hot goal tender as Alexander Semin scored on a great individual effort with about 10 minutes remaining in the third. Sometimes you need a garbage goal on a broken play. The power play continued to sputter as they went 0-7 on the night. The Caps will try and turn it around tomorrow against the Rangers.

Of Note:

• Donald Brashear recorded his 2,400th penalty minute. 238 of them coming as a member of the Capitals.
  
• Viktor Kozlov recorded his 2,000th shot on goal. He had 4 in the game and 145 on the season.
• The Caps' Matt Bradley and John Erskine both fought in the first period.
• The Capitals power play has scored one time in the last 8 games going 1 for the last 24 attempts.
• The loss moved the Caps from 3rd to 10th in the standings.

Official Recap
Game Summary
Super Stats

Game #56 Washington Capitals vs. Carolina Hurricanes

Where: Verizon Center, Washington, DC

When: February 8, 2008, 7:00 PM

History:
Caps Record on this Date: 6-4-3-0
Caps Game 56 Record: 17-10-4-0
All-Time vs. CAR: 28-17-7-3
Last Season vs. CAR: 3-5-0
Last Meeting: 11/30/07, WAS 3 CAR 4

This Year:
WAS Record: 26-24-5
Standings Points: 57
Division Rank: 1^st
Conference Rank: 3^rd
Last Game: 2/6/08, WAS 4 PHI 3
Streak: Won 2

CAR Record: 26-26-4
Standings Points: 56
Division Rank: 2^nd
Conference Rank: 10^th
Last Game: 2/5/08, CAR 0 NAS 1
Streak: Loss 2

Game 1: 10/6/07, WAS 2 CAR 0
Game 2: 11/5/06, WAS 0 CAR 5
Game 3: 11/24/07, WAS 5 CAR 2
Game 4: 11/30/07, WAS 3 CAR 4

Probable Line-Ups:
Washington
Forward Line 1: 8 OVECHKIN, 19 BACKSTROM, 14 FEHR
Forward Line 2: 28 SEMIN, 25 KOZLOV, 43 FLEISCHMANN
Forward Line 3: 53 LAING, 39 STECKEL, 10 BRADLEY
Forward Line 4: 87 BRASHEAR, 15 GORDON, 21 LAICH
Defense Pair 1: 26 MORRISONN, 52 GREEN
Defense Pair 2: 23 JURCINA, 55 SCHULTZ
Defense Pair 3: 4 ERSKINE, 3 POTI
Goalie: 37 KOLZIG
Back-up Goalie: 1 JOHNSON

Carolina
Forward Line 1: 14 SAMSONOV, 17 BRIND’AMOUR, 26 COLE
Forward Line 2: 13 WHITNEY, 12 STAAL, 37 AUCOIN
Forward Line 3: 61 STILLMAN, 8 CULLEN, 24 WALKER
Forward Line 4: 16 LADD, 19 LETOWSKI, 51HAMILTON
Defense Pair 1: 22 COMMODORE, 6 HEDICAN
Defense Pair 2: 7 WALLIN, 42 GLEASON
Defense Pair 3: 5 KABERLE, 2 WESLEY
Goalie: 30 WARD
Back-up Goalie: 47 GRAHME

Injuries:
Washington – 17 CLARK (groin) DTD, 92 NYLANDER (shoulder) IR, 2 POTHIER (head) IR
Carolina – 11 WILLIAMS (knee) IR, 45 TANABE (concussion) IR, 59 LAROSE (broken leg) IR

Caps Milestones:
Donald Brashear needs 2 Points to reach 200 for his career
Donald Brashear needs 1 PIM to reach 2,400 for his career
Viktor Kozlov needs 1 assists to reach 300 for his career
Viktor Kozlov needs 4 SOG to reach 2,000 for his career
Matt Pettinger needs 2 Points to reach 100 for his career

Preview:
The Capitals take on division rival Carolina on Friday with first place in the balance. Brent Johnson will be making the start. Is Boudreau playing a hunch or are the winds of change in the air? We’ll have to wait and see. The offense has been more consistent the past two games with Eric Fehr playing on the first line and Viktor Kozlov centering the second line. However, the faceoff percentage has taken a hit, but it doesn’t help to win faceoffs if you don’t score. The Canes have been termed underachievers this year but this team cannot be taken lightly. They most likely will start Cam Ward who shutout the Caps earlier this year. Look for the Caps to come out hard and attack the Carolina net. They will try and get an early lead. If they do that, I have a feeling, they may run away with it but they have only scored 4 first period goals in their last eight games. If it’s close after one it’ll be a tight one.

Joe’s prediction: Caps 4 CAR 2

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