Category Archives: capitals hockey

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Caps Lose to Stars on Disallowed Goal

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‘20100202 Ovie getting chippy’
courtesy of ‘Dan4th’

The Washington Capitals lost to Dallas last night, the victims of a Texan robbery. With only 7 seconds to go, defenseman John Carlson’s shot looked like it would sent the game into overtime just as Stars defenseman Karlis Skrastins and Caps winger Alex Ovechkin got tangled up and plowed into Stars goalie Andrew Raycroft. The referee blew the whistle and waved off the goal, saying that Ovechkin had interfered with Raycroft.

Replay showed that the puck entered the net when Raycroft was already down; he’d not even seen Ovie. “All I saw on the play was Skrastins’ butt. I couldn’t see a thing. I didn’t see the puck go in.”

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Caps Exact Revenge With Win over Halak, Blues

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‘IMG_4829.jpg’
courtesy of ‘bridgetds’

Fitting that Semyon Varlamov was in goal last night as the Caps visited St. Louis. Across the ice was a remembered foe from last year’s aborted playoff run, goalie Jaroslav Halak. Traded over the summer by Montreal to a rebuilding Blues team, Halak has shown his new team that last year’s playoff stand in three separate series was not a fluke.

Nonetheless, the Caps came loaded for some personal revenge.

Coach Bruce Boudreau says he never mentioned Halak’s name in the locker room. “We didn’t have it on the board,” Boudreau said. “We didn’t care who was in the net. Last year was last year and we’re just looking forward to hopefully the rest of this year and see where it leads.” For sure, however, most every Caps player knew who they’d be facing on the ice. The question was, would the specter of April past derail a Caps team looking for their fourth win in a row?

Not a chance. Continue reading →

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Semin Strikes Again; Caps Zap Lightning, 6-0

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‘IMG_2566.jpg’
courtesy of ‘bridgetds’
Alexander Semin owns the Tampa Bay Lightning. At the Verizon Center last night, Semin scored his second hat trick in as many games against the Lightning this season. It was Semin’s third hat trick of the year, and the Caps went on to crush the Lightning 6-0.

The Capitals’ defensive corps also had an outstanding game, even with Mike Green out of the lineup. Three defensemen – John Carlson, John Erskine and Tom Poti – scored for the Caps. Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos, the NHL scoring leader, was held off the score sheet for only the fourth time this season. “We pay a little more attention to him,” said Erskine. “Especially on the power play. We try to take him away a little, and it seemed to work tonight.” Tampa Bay mustered only 17 shots in the game.

The Caps got off to a quick start scoring just three minutes into the game. Marcus Johansson won an offensive zone faceoff back to Carlson who one-timed it over the shoulder of Tampa Bay netminder Mike Smith for a 1-0 lead. Continue reading →

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Devils Torch Caps in 5-0 Shutout

DSC_8428

Would that the Washington Capitals could just play at home for the remainder of the season…

The Caps went to New Jersey last night with a paltry 4-4-1 road record, compared to their 10-1-1 run at home. And last night, the Caps continued to underwhelm on the road, losing 5-0 to a struggling Devils team and marking coach Bruce Boudreau’s third anniversary as head coach with a less-than-stellar performance.

The Caps lost their third straight game and have been outscored 14-4 over that same stretch; two of those games, the Caps have been kept off the scoreboard.

Braden Holtby, a surprise starter last night, has allowed 8 goals on 28 shots – but the fault lies with more than just the rookie netminder. “Everything has a trickle down effect from the forwards to the defense to the goalie to the coaches,” Boudreau said after the game. “If we fail like this, it’s everybody’s fault. We all have to pick up our socks and find out what’s gone wrong in these last three games. I know it happens, but it hasn’t happened to us and I don’t like it.” Continue reading →

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Flyers Edge Caps in Shootout

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‘Green Gets Powed #1’
courtesy of ‘clydeorama’

For only the second time this season, the Capitals lost their second straight game with a 5-4 shootout loss to the visiting Philadelphia Flyers. The loss was a tough one, though the Caps fought hard in the third to send the game into overtime.

Rookie Marcus Johnasson opened the scoring in the first period, notching his second of the season. The goal came after the Caps had put their first three shots off the crossbar and goal posts. The theme of the first half of the game was missed chances by the Caps, including a couple of failed breakaways by Alexander Ovechkin. “I thought all game we had good chances,” coach Bruce Boudreau said. “I was worried after the first period when it was only 1-0 because we didn’t get rewarded for having three 2-on-1s, two breakaways – those are the kind of times that you put teams away and when you let them hang around something usually happens.” Continue reading →

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Atlanta Strikes Early, Stones Caps

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‘IMG_2665.jpg’
courtesy of ‘bridgetds’

The Washington Capitals suffered their first regulation loss in ten games last night, dropping a 5-0 decision to their division opponents in Atlanta. The Thrashers have handed the Caps two of their five regulation losses this season.

Atlanta led 3-0 after the first, with Ben Eager opening the scoring less than three minutes in. Two quick strikes around the 9 minute mark by Nik Antropov and Evander Kane was enough to send Braden Holtby off the ice for the evening. It was only the rookie’s fourth career start.

Dustin Byfuglien and Alexander Burmistrov rounded out Atlanta’s scoring. It was the Caps first shutout loss since Dec. 9, 2009 against Buffalo. Continue reading →

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Caps Drop Sabres 4-2

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‘DSC_9042’
courtesy of ‘bhrome’

The Washington Capitals went into last night’s game against the Buffalo Sabres with a chip the size of the second period on their shoulder. For the last few contests, the Caps have suffered a relapse of play midway through their games and some media has taken the team to task for it. After all, their second period stutters have allowed their opponents to come back into the game.

History almost repeated itself last night.

The Caps had a great first period, cruising to a 2-0 lead with goals by Nicklas Backstrom and Matt Bradley. And the second period started out well, with David Steckel snapping a wrister behind Sabres goalie Ryan Miller to put the game all but out of reach. But then, it nearly happened again. Continue reading →

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Vote Your Favorite Caps Player to the NHL All-Star Game

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‘DSC_7711’
courtesy of ‘bhrome’

Fan voting for the NHL All-Star game this year opened yesterday. Three Caps players are on the list for fans to select from: Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Ovechkin, and Mike Green. Shockingly, Alexander Semin is missing from the list, a mistake of great proportions. Semin currently ranks second in the league in goals (13) and fourth in points (23) and leads the Caps in goals scored. He was also named one of the NHL’s three stars of last week. It’s a little puzzling, considering there are other less-than-stellar players on the ballot this year. (We’re looking at you, Ilya Kovalchuk…)

This year’s All-Star game will have a different format, featuring an “All-Star Fantasy Draft” where the captains for each side will select from a pool of players chosen by fan balloting and the NHL. Captains will be chosen by the final group of 42 players selected for the All-Star game. (Even odds it’ll be “Ovechkin vs. Crosby.” I’m just sayin’.)

Another notable Caps name missing from the fan ballot is rookie netminder Michal Neuvirth. Tied for the league lead in wins (11), Neuvirth has posted a respectable 2.60 GAA and .910 Save Percentage through 16 games played. Hopefully the league will wise up and allot one of the All-Star slots to the Caps’ latest standout – provided he remains healthy and on top of his game. But it wouldn’t hurt if Caps fans started a write-in campaign to get Neuvirth some votes…

So what say we start a write-in campaign for Alexander Semin?

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Caps Outlast Thrashers 6-4

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‘IMG_0709.jpg’
courtesy of ‘bridgetds’

Playing their third game in four days (and fifth in eight), the Caps managed to hold off an equally tired Atlanta team last night 6-4 with a ripping shot from John Erskine with just under seven minutes remaining. It was Erskine’s second goal in four games; previously, he’s had seven goals in 336 career games. There was some joking in the locker room that the sudden burst of offense from the defenseman of late was from the new mustache. “Yeah, the ‘stache has been good luck this month,” he joked. “I talked to the wife and I might be keeping it for a while.”

“He’s let a couple of really good shots go this year. He’s finding the mark,” said coach Bruce Boudreau. “He’s a big strong guy and when he gets it all he can score. Good for him. He played real hard.”

Erskine and the rest of the Caps defense stepped up on the offense in the third period, finally shutting down a resurging Thrashers team that took advantage of another lackluster Caps second period. The Caps came out strong in the first with team captain Alexander Ovechkin notching his 10th goal of the season after Thrashers goalie Chris Mason bobbled the slapper and deflected it into the net behind him. Mike Green then took advantage of a penalty to Atlanta’s Ben Eager, slamming home a slap shot near the point on the power play. The Caps finished the first period strong and it looked as if the Caps were on their way to blowing out the visitors. Continue reading →

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Vanek Stands Alone, Sinks Caps in OT

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‘Karl!’
courtesy of ‘bridgetds’

With just a minute left in overtime, Buffalo Sabres forward Thomas Vanek put an end to a Caps comeback and earned the Sabres their first home victory.

Another inconsistent game plagued the Caps, this time letting the Sabres erase a one-goal lead in the second period. Outshot 11-4 in the second, the Caps let Vanek and Steve Montador put the Sabres ahead and forced coach Bruce Boudreau to shuffle up the lines to get something going.

The wake-up call worked, with Niklas Backstrom cracking a high shot over goalie Ryan Miller’s right shoulder midway through the third period. Miller showed few signs of his injury that dogged him earlier this season, stoning an Alexander Ovechkin breakaway near the end of the first and stopping 25 Caps shots. Ovie’s eight game point streak came to an end on Sabre ice; Vanek’s two goal night snapped a seven game drought.

Rookie goalie Braden Holtby stopped 24 of the 27 shots faced and Karl Alzner scored his first NHL goal to give the Caps their first period lead.

The Caps return home to face the Atlanta Thrashers in a 5 pm contest.

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Alexander Semin Bottles Lightning, Caps Win 6-3

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‘IMG_0686.jpg’
courtesy of ‘bridgetds’
Alexander Semin scored a hat trick and added two assists as the Caps downed the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-3 last night at Verizon Center. Semin scored all three of his goals in the third period to break open a close game. It was a battle of high-scoring players as Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Semin faced off against the equally potent Tampa Bay trio of Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, and league scoring leader Steven Stamkos. The super stars shone through as five of the six players tallied two or more points in the game.

Lecavalier opened the game by ringing a shot off the post behind Michal Neuvirth in the first minute of the game to set the tempo. Tampa Bay out shot and out hustled the Caps in the first period, getting many more quality scoring chances. Tampa Bay finally broke through when the fourth line capitalized on an odd-man rush. Teddy Purcell punched in a juicy rebound on a sharp angle shot by Sean Bergenheim. It was the 12th time in 16 games that the Caps have given up the first goal; the Caps have been outscored 17-7 in the first period this season. “The first period wasn’t so good,” said coach Bruce Boudreau. “We didn’t work hard enough. We have to find a way to start games better.”

On the other hand, the Caps have outscored opponents 17-2 in the second period in the past six games. Two minutes into the middle frame, Tom Poti notched his first goal of the season, picking up a rebound and lifting a backhand shot into an open net to even the score. It was Poti’s first game after missing eight games due to injury. Two minutes later, Mike Knuble put the Caps in front 2-1, reaching back from behind the net to tap in a loose puck on the edge of the crease. Continue reading →

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Caps Trim Leafs in Shootout

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The Caps beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-4 last night at the Verizon Center in a thriller that saw three lead changes, spectacular goaltending, and a shootout victory for the home team. The teams traded three-goal bursts in the second and third periods as the momentum swung back and forth over 65 minutes. The Caps prevailed in the shootout on goals by Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin and two saves by Michal Neuvirth to earn two points in the standings.

Semin’s full range of talent and fury were on display last night. The speedy winger ended the evening as the first star of the game, but also spent four minutes in the box for needless penalties. He assisted on the Caps’ first goal, scored a power play goal late in regulation to tie the game, then blasted a point blank slapshot shot past Leafs goalie Jonas Gustavsson in the shootout to seal the win and make up for his two offensive zone penalties. “He was actually sick tonight and we didn’t know if he would be scratched or not until after warm up,” said Boudreau. “But he wanted to play and so he did.”

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Caps to Play 9 Home Games in November

Photo courtesy of

Alexander Semin
courtesy of ‘Jessica Whittle Photography’

The Caps enter the scond month of the season with reason to be optimistic. Goaltender Michal Neuvirth earned Rookie of the Month honors for leading the Caps to seven victories while posting a 2.15 goals against average in October. The Caps looked like the Caps we know and love Saturday night in Calgary, uncorking three straight power-play goals en route to a 7-2 victory over the Flames. It was the second time this season the Caps had scored seven goals in a game.

If the Caps can shake off some shaggy defense work and find some secondary scoring, we can expect another exciting season atop the standings. Coach Bruce Boudreau is expected to keep Alexander Semin on the first line with Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom for a few games, so look for the boys in red to keep lighting the red lamp at Verizon Center.

November promises to be jackpot for hockey fans in DC. Starting tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Caps play nine home games at the phone booth this month. Here is the rest of the schedule for November:

Fri Nov 5 – Bruins
Sun Nov 7 – Flyers
Thu Nov 11 – Lightning
Sun Nov 14 – Thrashers
Wed Nov 17 – Sabres
Sat Nov 20 – Flyers
Fri Nov 26 – Lightning
Sun Nov 28 – Hurricanes

So put on your Red and prepare to Rock the Red in the nation’s hockey capital!

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Neuvie Blanks ‘Canes

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‘DSC_7615’
courtesy of ‘bhrome’
Michal Neuvirth earned his first NHL shutout as the Caps downed division rivals Carolina Hurricanes 3-0 to start a three-game road trip. Neuvirth made 29 saves, including a spectacular cross-crease glove save to rob Carolina catain Eric Staal on an apparent open net, as he improved his record to 6-2.

It wasn’t pretty hockey, but the Caps demonstrated that they can play aggressive on the boards and at both ends of the rink as they put together perhaps their best effort of the season. Coach Bruce Boudreau made a statement by starting the game with his fourth line of Matt Bradley, David Steckel and Matt Hendricks. The Caps strategy of cycling four lines and playing shorter shifts paid off as the fourth line produced the first goal of the game half way through the first period. Good hustle and scrappy play around the net by Bradley and Steckel allowed John Erskine to take an open shot from the point. Steckel made a quick pass off the rebound even as he was falling to the ice and Matt Hendricks was able to poke it past Carolina goalie Cam Ward for a 1-0 lead.

That goal was the only difference for the next 41 minutes as Neuvirth and Ward dueled with great saves at both ends of the ice. The Caps negated a couple of second period power plays with penalties of their own. Finally the first line broke open the game with Nicklas Backstrom putting back a rebound off a Mike Knuble shot with eight minutes remaining in the contest. Backstrom added an empty-netter to seal the victory and record his third goal of the season.

“I thought that was easily our most complete game by everybody.” said Boudreau after the game. “You got contributions from the fourth line and the penalty killing. The goaltender was great. Everybody did a good job.”

The Caps play tonight in Minnesota against the Wild, and will face the Calgary flames in Calgary on Saturday night.

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Bruins Crush Caps Again, 4-1


‘DSC_7102~’
courtesy of ‘photopete’

Two nights after beating the Caps in Washington, the Bruins handed the Caps a second straight defeat last night in Boston, 4-1. While the Caps unleashed even more shots on Tim Thomas than Tuesday night, the Boston goalie was brilliant and the Bruins physically dominated the Caps all over the ice. It seemed that the only team that learned any lessons from Tuesday night was the Bruins as they demolished Washington’s perfect record on the penalty kill, scoring three power play goals on four chances.

Two bright spots for the Caps were the play of rookie Marcus Johansson, who was promoted to the second line and responded with his best game of the season. Semyon Varlamov made his first start of the season and showed why the Caps have a promising future with two young netminders.

The Caps once again had many quality chances in the offensive zone, especially early in the game, but Thomas played lights-out good, making 38 saves for the game. The Bruins scored a power play goal in the last minute of the first period when Patrice Bergeron found Michael Ryder open at the side of the crease, and he knocked it past Varlamov for a 1-0 lead.

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Bruins Drop Caps 3-1

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‘DSC_6300’
courtesy of ‘bhrome’

The Boston Bruins capitalized on some early opportunities and held on to the lead in front of stellar play by goalie Tim Thomas to defeat the Caps 3-1 last night at the Verizon Center. It was the Caps first lost at home this season. Goalie Semyon Varlamov came off the bench to replace a dizzy Michal Neuvirth halfway through the first period. Alex Ovechkin was held to no points for the first time this season by Boston’s tight defense.

The Capitals started the game with some jump in their legs, getting several quality scoring chances in the first and generally dictating the pace of the game. Only some exceptional saves by Bruins goalie Tim Thomas kept the Caps off the scoreboard. Even an early fight between Matt Hendricks and Greg Campbell went in the Caps favor. But the Caps’ trend of allowing odd-man breaks continued to hurt when Milan Lucic sprung Nathan Horton and David Krejci on a two-on-one break with with Krejci converting to give the Bruins the lead. It was the fourth time in six games that the opposing team has scored first on the Caps. Two minutes later, Lucic put back a rebound on a shot by Johnny Boychuk to go up 2-0 with just seven shots on goal.

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Caps Need OT to Down Preds

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‘Laich vs. Legwand’
courtesy of ‘bhrome’

The Washington Capitals finally showed up for their game against the Nashville Predators near the end of the second period. Outplayed for a good portion of the game, the Caps finally got goals from Alexander Semin and Tomas Fleischman to tie it up in the third and force overtime.

Alexander Ovechkin drew a tripping penalty less than two minutes into OT; with Preds defenseman Ryan Suter in the box, Ovie hammered a slap shot near the blue line that Brooks Laich redirected into the net behind Anders Lindback. And just like that, the Caps netted their fourth win in a row and gave Nashville their first loss on the season.

“They outplayed us so badly in the first 27 or 28 minutes of the game,” said coach Bruce Boudreau. “You look up and you see that you’re only down a goal or two goals, you’ve still got a chance. Every time we play these guys is like this. They’re so fast. The fastest team, easily that we’ve seen.” Continue reading →

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Backstrom, Ovie Sink Isles

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‘DSC_7711’
courtesy of ‘bhrome’

The two biggest questions the Caps had going into last night’s contest with the New York Islanders were: “When is Nicklas Backstrom going to score?” and “Is the power play ever going to be effective?”

Both questions were answered with less than four minutes remaining in regulation; Backstrom’s deflection of an Alexander Ovechkin slap shot on the power play proved to be the game winner in a 2-1 win for the Caps.

Granted, Backstrom got an assist on Ovechkin’s second period goal, but you could tell he wanted more. Having been demoted to the second line at the start of the game, swapping places with Tomas Fleischmann, Backstrom was put back on the first line at the start of the second, and that’s when things began to click. “I thought they needed a break,” Coach Bruce Boudreau explained after the game. “And by the start of the second period, I thought they’d had a long enough break.” The strategy seemed to work. “Once (Backstrom) got the assist I just knew he was going to get more, because he never stops at just one once he gets a little bit of a roll going.”

The Caps came into the game having converted only 1 of their last 13 power play attempts. The Islanders gave the Caps plenty of chances to redeem themselves; it was the last power play opportunity that produced Backstrom’s game winner. The team now sits at converting 2 for 17, a dismal 11%, compared to last year’s league-dominating 25%.

Things looked a bit rocky at the start. The Caps were sluggish and let the Islanders dominate in their end. Even an early fight by new winger DJ King failed to provide much spark. King took on Trevor Gillies in the corner less than three minutes into the game in a rousing fight. It was an rousing introduction for the fiesty winger to the Verizon Center crowd, despite his eventual takedown by Gillies. Continue reading →

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Ovechkin Trips Senators’ Bid for Win

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‘DSC_7613’
courtesy of ‘bhrome’

Fresh off their shellacking of New Jersey on Saturday, the Caps were looking to extend their success last night against Ottawa. The Senators were looking for some redemption after being pasted by Toronto and in search of their first point on the season. A point they got, but the Senators left the Verizon Center winless, thanks to the overtime heroics of one Alex Ovechkin.

With a great fake, Ovechkin slammed a low shot home past Pascal Leclaire with only 31 seconds remaining in overtime, giving the Caps their second win in a row and on the season. The goal capped a high intensity game that by rights, Ottawa could’ve won.

“Only Alex can play like he did and still score the overtime goal and be the hero,” said Caps coach Bruce Boudreau. “That’s what superstars do. That’s why he’s out there in the last minute – because he can win you a game at any chance.”

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Caps: This is Our House

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‘Green and Kovalchuk About to Throw Down’
courtesy of ‘clydeorama’

The Washington Capitals made an emphatic statement in their home opener tonight at the Verizon Center: “This is our house.” After unfurling pennants for last year’s Southeast Division Championship and the President’s Trophy, the Caps soundly beat the New Jersey Devils 7-2 in front of a boisterous sell out crowd.

The Caps bounced back from two early deficits to dominate the Devils in every facet of the game. Scoring short handed, on the power play, and even on a rare penalty shot, the Caps demonstrated their fearsome goal scoring talent, chasing veteran netminder Martin Brodeur after 40 minutes.

The Caps generated momentum early in the first period, keeping most of the action in the New Jersey end of the ice. But two early defensive lapses in the Washington zone resulted in two first period goals for New Jersey. Rookie defenseman John Carlson started the Caps scoring when he intercepted a pass during a line change and scored with a rising wrist shot from just inside the blue line.

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