The Capitals were down and out or so it would seem. The Wild were up 4-0 and Capitals had lost Jeff Schultz, Boyd Gordon and John Erskine to injury. But the one thing this team does not do is give in. In an impressive individual effort, Eric Fehr out battled a Wild defender all the way down the left wing and pushed a pass to Matt Bradley who somehow put the puck into the Minnesota net. Next Alex Ovechkin ripped a wrist shot through the five-hole and the Caps came storming back. Nicklas Backstorm scored a power play goal and they were within one. However, even with their net empty the Caps could get no more and fell to the Wild 4-3.The Western road trip is now complete with disappointing 1-3-0 record. With that it is easy to deride the team and call for heads but the one thing I saw was a lot of heart on this team. The team could have easily packed it in and went home but they battled hard and even though they didn't prevail they may have learned a little something about themselves. This may be too little too late for this road trip but they have another stretch of 3 games in 4 nights beginning tomorrow and maybe the confidence to turn things around.
Of Note:
- Alex Ovechkin scored his first career goal against the Wild. Ovechkin now has 25 points on the season tying him for sixth place in the NHL. He has scored points in eight consecutive games.
- Nicklas Backstrom's goal gives him points in nine consecutive games.
- Jose Theodore stopped 29 of 33 shots including a sweet glove save on a Minnesota 2-on-none breakaway.
- To help the ailing defense Brooks Laich was playing shifts on the back end and assisted on the Backstrom goal.
- Eric Fehr contributed 2 assists and Matt Bradley got his 3rd goal of the season.
- Tomas Fleischmann and Milan Jurcina picked up the assists on the Ovechkin goal.
Game Summary
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