Washington Capitals Hockey Schedule
Wednesday
9/22/2010
7:00 PM
Columbus Blue Jackets vs Washington Capitals PRE
Saturday
9/25/2010
7:00 PM
Nashville Predators vs Washington Capitals PRE
Tuesday
9/28/2010
7:00 PM
Washington Capitals vs Boston Bruins PRE
NEWS
By Bud L. Ellis
A loss on home ice is a rare experience for the National Hockey League’s best team. So to the surprise of nobody, the Washington Capitals found a way to rebound.
Two nights after seeing their 13-game home winning streak end in a shootout loss to Dallas, the Caps came through in extra time against Carolina. Tomas Fleischmann scored the game-winner, as Washington extended its streak of earning at least one point in home games to 15.
Carolina was the last team to beat Washington at the Verizon Center in regulation, that coming on Dec. 28. The Caps lead the NHL in points with 99, and are 14 points ahead in the Eastern Conference.
Mike Green scored twice for Washington. Alexander Semin added a breakaway goal in the first period. Alexander Ovechkin finished with two assists, and Jose Theodore got the win in goal.
Washington plays host to Tampa Bay on Friday.
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Friday, March 12, 2010 at 8:14 pm by bud
Tags: Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars, Jose Theodore, Mike Green, National Hockey League, Tampa Bay Lightning, Tomas Fleischmann, Washington Capitals
By Bud L. Ellis
The bad news Saturday night: The Washington Capitals lost their third consecutive game.
The good news: The Caps earned two points in the three losses, and wrap up the pre-Olympic part of the schedule atop the NHL in points.
Washington fell at St. Louis 4-3 in a shootout Saturday, ending the first half (actually the first three-fourths) of the season at 41-13-8. Driven by a 14-game winning streak that set a franchise record and was the third-longest in NHL history, the Caps now sit in first place in the race for the President’s Trophy, leading San Jose by one point (90-89).
In the Eastern Conference standings, Washington holds a comfy 13-point lead over New Jersey. The Southeast Division title is all but wrapped up at this point, Washington leading Tampa Bay by 27 points.
Saturday’s loss came after the Caps fought back from a one-goal deficit three different times. Mike Knuble made it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 10:40 of the first period. Alexander Semin tied the game at 2-2 on a goal at 13:26 of the second.
St. Louis took the lead just two minutes later, but Knuble’s second power-play goal of the game at 17:43 of the second tied the score at 3-3.
Washington opens the post-Olympic part of the schedule at Buffalo on March 3.
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Sunday, February 14, 2010 at 11:01 am by bud
Tags: Alexander Semin, Buffalo Sabres, Mike Knuble, National Hockey League, New Jersey Devils, San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals
By Bud L. Ellis
No. 13 wasn’t about luck. It was about a team that right now is playing at a level the NHL hasn’t seen in years.
The Washington Capitals pushed their franchise-record winning streak to 13 on Friday night. Down early 1-0 against the Atlanta Thrashers inside Verizon Center, while a blizzard raged outside, the Caps fired up their unstoppable offense and pulled away for a 5-2 victory.
Washington leads New Jersey by 12 points in the Eastern Conference standings, improving to 40-12-6 on the season. The Caps’ 86 points leads San Jose by three in the race for the Presidents’ Cup.
As usual, it was the Washington offense that sparked the Caps. Alex Ovechkin knotted the game at 1-1 at the 13:41 mark of the first period. Nicklas Backstrom gave the Caps the lead for keeps in the second, scoring at the 4:31 mark.
Up 2-1 entering the third, the Caps put it away with two goals in a 68-second span. Alexander Semin scored on a two-on-one, off a pretty feed from Brooks Laich, and Jason Chimera scored on a three-on-one. Mike Green, back after a three-game suspension, closed the scoring with an empty-netter.
Atlanta, which dealt star winger Ilya Kovalchuk to New Jersey the day before, came out with plenty of jump. The Thrashers, fighting for one of the final playoff spots in the East, peppered goalie Michal Neuvirth all night. Neuvirth, who was recalled from Hershey earlier in the day, made 43 saves.
The Caps’ streak is the longest in the NHL since New Jersey won 13 in a row in the 2000-01 season. Should the Caps win Sunday at home against Pittsburgh, they would own the longest streak in the league since the 1992-93 Penguins won 17 in a row.
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Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 7:42 am by bud
Tags: Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Atlanta Thrashers, Brooks Laich, Ilya Kovalchuk, Jason Chimera, Michal Neuvirth, Mike Green, National Hockey League, New Jersey Devils, Nicklas Backstrom, Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks, Verizon Center, Washington Capitals
By Bud L. Ellis
Make it 11 in a row and still counting for the Washington Capitals.
The hottest team in the NHL, which set a franchise record for most wins in a month in January, opened February by setting a club mark for longest win streak. Brooks Laich scored the game-tying goal early in the third period, and Washington took off from there, handing Boston a 4-1 loss on Tuesday.
Washington now has won 11 games in a row, a new franchise mark and the longest in the NHL since San Jose turned the trick two years ago. The Caps moved past San Jose and now lead the NHL in points with 82, and extended their advantage over New Jersey in the Eastern Conference standings to 10 points.
Jose Theodore returned between the pipes and allowed an early goal, but nothing else in making 41 saves. The Caps’ offense, leaders in the NHL in goals scored, took it from there.
Mike Knuble’s goal at 2:04 of the second period knotted the score at 1-1. Laich then broke the tie 5:04 into the third, off a feed from Alexander Semin. Boyd Gordon and Alex Ovechkin closed the scoring.
Washington plays Thursday at the New York Rangers.
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Wednesday, February 3, 2010 at 5:05 am by bud
Tags: Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Boston Bruins, Boyd Gordon, Brooks Laich, Jose Theodore, Mike Knuble, National Hockey League, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, San Jose Sharks, Washington Capitals
By Bud L. Ellis
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Just like that, the Washington Capitals turned a nip-and-tuck affair into a blowout win, continuing their torrid January.
The Caps scored three goals on three shots during a dizzying 2:30 span of the third period Wednesday, running away with a 5-1 victory over Anaheim that pushed Washington’s win streak to eight games.
Shaone Morrison, Mike Knuble and Alexander Semin scored during the decisive 150-second span that propelled the Caps to their 11th victory in the past 12 games. With the win, Washington extends its lead in the Eastern Conference over New Jersey to six points (76-70).
Morrisonn’s goal at 1:45 of the third snapped a 1-1 tie. Knuble made it 3-1 with a goal just 54 seconds later. At 4:15 of the third, Semin scored to make it 4-1.
Semin added his second goal, and fourth in two nights, on the power play at 11:47. Alex Ovechkin scored Washington’s other goal, that coming just 36 seconds into the contest.
Washington, which ends January with home games Friday against Florida and Sunday against Tampa Bay, improves to 12-1 at the Verizon Center since late November. The eight-game winning streak is the longest since 1989, and just two off the franchise record, set in 1983-84.
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Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 5:00 am by bud
Tags: Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Anaheim Ducks, Florida Panthers, Mike Knuble, National Hockey League, New Jersey Devils, Shaone Morrisonn, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals
By Bud L. Ellis
Things are going so well for the Washington Capitals right now, they’re getting offense from unlikely sources.
Defenseman John Erskine scored his first goal in more than two years Tuesday night, and a four-goal first period was more than enough for the white-hot Caps in a 7-2 blowout of the New York Islanders.
The win pushes the Caps’ winning streak to seven games, and Washington’s lead in the Eastern Conference to five points over New Jersey. At 74 points on the season (34-12-6), the Caps trail only San Jose and Chicago for best record in the NHL.
This one was over early. Brendan Morrison scored just 1:05 into the contest, and the first of two Alexander Semin scores nearly four minutes later made it 2-0. Ahead 2-1 late in the first, the Caps busted through for two goals in the final 1:47 of the period. Mike Knuble and Semin both lighting the lamp to make it 4-1 after a period.
Erskine got in on the action in the second, scoring his first goal since Jan. 19, 2008, at 2:36 of the second. Jason Chimera scored later in the second and Brooks Laich closed the scoring in the third.
Even a lower-body injury to goaltender Jose Theodore couldn’t slow the Caps. Theodore got the win in goal, but left after the second period. The Caps term the injury as day-to-day, and Michael Neuvirth didn’t allow a goal in the third.
Washington returns home to open a three-game homestand Wednesday against Anaheim. The Caps now are 10-2 in January.
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Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at 4:59 am by bud
Tags: Alexander Semin, Anaheim Ducks, Brendan Morrison, Brooks Laich, Chicago Blackhawks, Jason Chimera, John Erskine, Jose Theodore, Michal Neuvirth, Mike Knuble, National Hockey League, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, San Jose Sharks, Washington Capitals
By Bud L. Ellis
A guy named Alex kept the Washington Capitals rolling Saturday night.
And yes, that Alex scratched the scoresheet, Alexander Ovechkin scoring his 33rd goal of the season. But that came with six seconds left and the Caps’ sixth-consecutive victory in hand.
It was Alexander Semin who starred on this night, scoring a goal and assisting on the other three Washington tallies in a 4-2 home victory over Phoenix.
That’s how it’s gone lately for a Caps’ team that now is 9-1 in its past 10 games. The victory gives Washington 72 points on the season, tops the Eastern Conference and third overall in the NHL (behind San Jose’s 76 and Chicago’s 74).
Trailing 1-0, the Caps tied the game in the first period on an Brooks Laich power-play goal. Eric Fehr gave Washington the lead for keeps with a power-play goal at the 13:22 mark of the second period, and Semin scored four minutes later to push the lead to 3-1.
That was enough for Michal Neuvirth, who earned the victory in net.
Washington improved to 18-3-3 at home. After a road trip Tuesday to face the Islanders, Washington ends January with three consecutive home games.
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Saturday, January 23, 2010 at 9:17 pm by bud
Tags: Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Brooks Laich, Chicago Blackhawks, Eric Fehr, Michal Neuvirth, National Hockey League, New York Islanders, Phoenix Coyotes, San Jose Sharks, Washington Capitals
