Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Capitals Finally Shake Their Nemesis

For just the second time in 11 tries, Alex Ovechkin has beaten the Pittsburgh Penguins. It took a shootout, but the Capitals knocked off the Pens, 6-5, erasing a six game losing streak against the team that has had the Caps number dating back to several playoff setbacks in the early '90s.

Ovechkin did everything he could to keep the Capitals rolling, scoring twice in regulation to wrestle control of the league's goal scoring lead with his 37th and 38th tallies. He was physical as always, but came up on the short end of a monster collision with the consolation prize of the 2004 draft, Evgeni Malkin. Ovechkin, lined up Malkin only to bounce off him and twist through the air crashing hard into the boards while Malkin remained on his feet.

Unfazed, Ovechkin played a team high 28:48 (three minutes more than any other Cap) and fired 11 of the team's 30 shots on goal. Add four hits, an assist, and a shootout goal and you have Ovechkin's most complete performance against the reviled Penguins.

The Capitals' star got plenty of help as both Viktor Kozlov and Nicklas Backstrom matched season-high performances for the second straight game. Kozlov dented the twine twice for the second straight game. After scoring just four goals in his first 46 games this season, Kozlov has equaled that output in his last two contests. Last season, in consecutive games, he scored four and two goals  -- one of which came against these same Pittsburgh Penguins.

Nicklas Backstrom set an NHL record by notching back to back four assist performances, a feat never before accomplished by a rookie. Backstrom, who has had problems in the faceoff circle this season, won 63% of his draws on a night in which he drew within five points of  Patrick Kane's rookie scoring lead.

Tomas Fleischmann continued his improved play, setting Ovechkin up with a crisp centering pass and adding a goal of his own. Also deserving of recognition is Jeff Schultz. The scapegiraffe was superb killing off the Penguins' two-man advantage in overtime, laying his stick down to block a number of pass attempts. As the only defenseman on the ice during the kill, Schultz was brilliant and a huge reason why the Caps were able to survive the overtime period and get a second point on the night.

The Capitals -- winners of four straight, six of seven, and eight of ten -- have moved into second place in the Southeast Division and tenth place in the East. Next up are back-to-back, home-and-home series against Toronto and Montreal (quite the unusual schedule if you ask me) beginning Wednesday.

In the meantime, Bruce Boudreau needs to sort out the goaltending situation. Olie Kolzig's .667 save percentage is inexcusable. It goes without saying that an NHL goaltender MUST stop more than 10 out of 15 shots. Could this be the proverbial straw?

A FEW NOTES FROM THE GAME:

• Quintin Laing blocked three more shots, giving him 30 on the season in only 21 games played. He is averaging 1.43 blocks per game -- more than any other forward in the NHL who has appeared in even a single game this season. In fact, only one other forward is averaging over one shot block per game -- St. Louis' Ryan Johnson (1.22 per game.)
• The Capitals had only one "minus" player...uh, oh...Steve Eminger. On the bright side, Eminger had two of the team's three takeaways. PHEW!!!
• Special teams play is going in opposite directions for Washington. In the last four games the power play is 8 for 22 (36.4%) but the penalty kill is only 12 for 19 (63.2%) in the last three.
• The 15 shots the Capitals allowed are the fewest registered by Pittsburgh in over a year and a half and the fewest Washington has allowed in several years (sorry I don't have the exact number at this time but it dates back to at least 2002.)

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