Game #35 Recap: Caps 3 Ottawa 2

The Capitals Win! From the reaction of the players on the ice following the game you would have thought they had won something big. In a way, I think they have. In the overall scheme of things, none of this will matter but hopefully the experience has taught the team that the final result is all that matters. The Caps tried to give away the game in the first period once again when they went down 2-0 in the first 15 minutes. Washington rallied at the end of the period and scored a goal in the last minute only to have it disallowed as the replay showed the puck entered the net a couple tenths of a second after the horn sounded. In the second the Caps came out flying. They finally started making their own bounces. Mathieu Perrault scored the Capitals first goal after the puck deflected of Brooks Laich at the top of the crease to Perrault, who was in perfect position at the side of the net. The Second goal came off some hard work along the wall. Alex Ovechkin flicked the puck out of the right wing corner to Eric Fehr who slide the puck under the Ottawa goalie to tie the score. With the Capitals on the power play, Perrault again parked at the side of the net connected on almost the exact same play as his first goal. The puck defected through the front of the crease where Andrew Gordon was banging away and Perrault cashed in with the eventual game winner. The Caps, in an effort to make things harder, gave the Senators 4 power attempts after taking the one goal lead. The penalty killer were up to the task and the Capitals broke their 8-game losing streak with a 3-2 come from behind win.

Of Note:

• Mattieu Perrault returned to action after missing Saturday's game with the flu. It was his second 2 goal performance of the year.
• Eric Fehr played on the number one line with Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. He was all over the place and picked up 1 goal, 1 assist and led all shooters with 7 shots on goal.
• The Caps 3 goals came from a combined distance of less than 10 feet from the goal line. That is called crashing the net.
• Ovechkin, Brooks Laich, and Mike Knuble each had 1 assist on the night.
• Michael Nuevirth stopped 22 of 24 shots and came up big in the third to collect his 13th win of the year.
• After being bounced from the top spot in the SE Division, this win puts the Capitals back into first place.

Official Recap
Game Summary
Event Summary