For the first home game of the new year, the Washington Capitals are looking to avenge a dreadful two-game trip to the West Coast that saw them lose their respected matchups by a combined score of 7-3. The Caps had their work cut out for them, facing two of the of the top teams in the Western Conference in the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings. The road trip proved that there is plenty of work to do if they truly want to make a Stanley Cup run.

The Capitals are also playing their first home game since the departure of team captain Chris Clark, who was sent to the Columbus Blue Jackets along with Milan Jurcina in exchange for Jason Chimera. Clark’s absence meant that the Capitals would need to appoint a new player to wear the coveted “C” patch. As Alex Ovechkin made his way onto the ice, fans in the Verizon Center noticed a change with his wardrobe. For the first time in his career, he will be wearing a “C” on his sweater. This move makes the Russian superstar the 14th captain in team history.

1st Period Overview:

The Capitals and Canadiens both were unable to put any points on the board but Washington was certainly more aggressive, dominating the Habs with 11 shots on goal compared to Montreal’s three. Ovechkin led the team with almost nine minutes of ice time, almost all of which were in full speed and full force, obviously motivated by his new role on the team.

Aside from Ovechkin’s obvious presence on the ice and the discrepancy in shots, there was not much action for fans to enjoy, unless you love defense and offenses failing to finish off passes near the opponents’ goals. Expect a more offensive second period (Captain Obvious alert!) from the Capitals.

Prediction: Ovechkin scores a goal in the second period to celebrate his captaincy. (Am I going out on a limb here?)

Faceoffs won: Mon – 9 Was – 10
Shots: Mon – 3 Was – 11
Hits: Mon – 5 Was – 14
Blocked Shots: Mon – 6 Was – 3
Goals: Mon – 0 Was – 0

2nd Period Overview:

The beginning of the second period started off exciting, with the Caps firing shots from close range and hounding Canadiens goalie Carey Price. The pressure paid off when Tomas Fleischmann weaved his way in the middle of traffic in front of the net and easily slid the puck between Price’s feet for his 15th goal on the season. That goal came just over five minutes into the period.

The Caps should be noted for their great penalty kill following Jason Chimera’s two-minute minor for hooking halfway through the period. During that PK, the penalty killers cleared the puck across the ice several times and were helped by several athletic saves by the youngster, Michal Neuvirth.

Shortly after the penalty kill however, Montreal’s Josh Gorges fired a blast over Neuvirth’s shoulder for the Canadiens’ first appearance on the scoreboard. That was when the action started. A minute and a half later, Eric Fehr retaliated for the Capitals, deflecting a pass off of the skate of Montreal’s Hal Gill into the net to regain the lead. Thirty six seconds after that, Alexander Semin, like Fleischmann, tacked on his 15th goal of the year to give the Caps a 3-1 lead heading into the second intermission.

My prediction for the new captain to score was wrong but my “Captain Obvious” obersvation paid off, as it was certainly a more offensive and active second period that even featured two big fights..

Faceoffs won: Mon – 6 Was – 12
Shots: Mon – 10 Was – 17
Hits: Mon – 6 Was – 6
Blocked Shots: Mon – 4 Was – 4
Goals: Mon – 1 Was – 3

3rd Period Overview (most of it):

As has been status quo with the rest of the game, the Caps have kept the puck on Montreal’s half of the ice for most of the period.

Despite starting out the period even, the Canadiens were able to cut the Caps lead to one with a power play goal scored by Benoit Pouliot, making the score 3-2.

Tonight, the Verizon Center hosts a battle of the NHL’s points leader (the Capitals are tied with the San Jose Sharks at 44) against the NHL’s most deprived (the Hurricanes come into tonight’s contest with just 19 points).

The Capitals are looking to avenge a 3-0 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night while the Hurricanes are looking to win their third game in their last four after losing five straight.

1st Period Overview:

The Hurricanes came into downtown D.C. with a lot to prove and they did just that by striking first off an easy two-on-one goal that was assisted by center Brandon Sutter and finished off by center Jiri Tlusty for his first goal of the season. Their second goal came with an unlikely slide from the puck. With over six minutes to go, Jose Theodore, filling in for the injured Semyon Varlomov, had his leg against the corner of the net and had the puck trapped following an Eric Staal shot but once he moved his leg, the puck slowly slid behind the veteran goaltender.

The opening period of the night can best be described by the Capitals inability to take advantage of oppurtunities on offense, with Alexander Ovechkin whiffing on two shots, the last being within 20 feet of the Hurricanes net with just a few minutes remaining in the period.

The Capitals offense has not been able to sustain a solid presence in Carolina territory while the defense has allowed time and space for the last-place Hurricanes to create two-on-ones and open oppurtunities for shooters. The lack of defensive awareness and inability shows when the shots on goal are reviewed. The Hurricanes have converted half of their shots into goals while the Capitals have failed to score once while almost quadrupling Carolina’s shot output.

The Caps must keep the puck away from Theodore if they want to have any chance tonight and take advantage of any scoring oppurtunity.

Faceoffs won: Car – 11 Was – 8
Blocked Shots: Car – 8 Was 4
Hits: Car 7 – Was 3
Shots on goal: Car – 4 Was – 14
Goals: Car – 2 Was – 0

2nd Period Overview:

This game, so far, has been a tale of two periods.

Despite starting out the beginning of the period defending themselves on their own half of the ice for the most part, the Capitals applied a large amount of offensive pressure against Carolina and it increased towards the middle of the period.

The pressure paid off when Alexander Semin fired a missle past Cam Ward’s shoulder to put the Capitals on the board. Following the goal, the Capitals showed a renewed energy and continued to surround and harsass Ward around the net, reminding the fifth-year goaltender why the Caps remain atop the league in scoring.

Semin ended the period in exciting fashion by finishing off a shot deflected by Ward for his second goal of the period. The goal came with 0.6 seconds to go.

The Capitals still had a tendency to let long pass get behind the defense but as long as they don’t get past Theodore and the offense continues to ride the wave of momentum, winning this game should not be a problem.

Faceoffs won: Car – 9 Was – 12
Blocked Shots: Car – 10 Was – 4
Hits: Car – 6 Was – 2
Shots on goal: Car – 7 Was – 12
Goals: Car – 0 Was – 2

3rd Period (Most of it):

Just less than three minutes into the third, Tomas “Flash” Fleischmann strikes with his first goal of the night (11th on the season), giving the Capitals their first lead at 3-2.

Washington is looking more fluid on both ends of the ice this period. The offense is passing the puck around better and looks more organized by the minute.

The Hurricanes tied the game up with an interception from Tim Gleason, who scored on an unassisted shot that screamed past an out-of-position Theodore, who had skated up from the net several feet forward, giving Gleason plenty of open room.

Game Summary:

The Washington Capitals defeated the San Jose Sharks 4-1, to end a couple of ’skids’ on Thursday night. Most importantly, the Caps ended their 4-game losing streak with the win; it was also the first time the Capitals have beat the Sharks in their last twelve meetings – a phenomenal run that dates back to February 2oth, 1999. Two Ovechkin goals less than half a minute apart at the beginning of the second period, proved to be the difference.

There was a tremendous tempo from the Caps to start the game, and they forced some early penalties from the Sharks. Washington found themselves with a two-man advantage, and Alexander Semin opened the scoring at 7:21 of the first period. Mike Green and Nicklas Backstrom deftly played the puck back and forth, until Backstrom beautifully picked out Semin sneaking down the back-side, who slapped the puck into a yawning net. Mike Green also assisted. 1-0 Caps. Video.

San Jose spent a large part of the opening frame in the penalty box, with five minors in the first eighteen minutes. Their penalty kill units did a great job of keeping them in the game and they were rewarded when Benn Ferriero scored his second of the season at 14:07 to even the score at 1-1. Kent Huskins and Scott Nichol assisted on the goal.

When the Capitals came out for the second period, Semyon Varlamov had taken over in net, due to (later disclosed) back spasms for Jose Theodore.

The young Russian goaltender didn’t have to wait long for his team to get him support and a lead; Alexander Ovechkin crashed the net and tipped in a gorgeous backhand pass that Mike Knuble saucered on to his stick – Brendan Morrison picked up the second assist. Ovie ended a three-game scoring drought with his sixth goal of the season, and Washington had a 2-1 lead. Video.

Just twenty-eight seconds later, Ovechkin made it seven on the season. Knuble took a Morrison pass at the top of the right circle, and fired a quick shot on Evgeni Nabokov; Nabokov let an awful rebound get away, and Ovechkin was there to slap it into the net. 3-1 Caps just 3:23 into the second period. Video.

The outburst from the Russian sensation seemed to suck the wind out of the sails of the San Jose Sharks. Washington really controlled the game from there on out, and stretched their lead to 4-1 at 5:11 of the third. Matt Bradley was parked at the side of the net, and snapped in the rebound from a Milan Jurcina point shot, to give the Caps an insurmountable three goal lead. Video.

Varlamov was a perfect 15-for-15 in relief of Theodore, and earned a big, confidence building win.

Game Notes:
Ovechkin’s goal(s) were his first ever against the Sharks, the only team he had never scored against… Washington only drew three penalties – a much more disciplined effort… there were actually chants of, “Varly, Varly, Varly…” late in the third period – he didn’t really have that much to do, but it was novel nevertheless… Bruce Boudreau juggled the line-up and considering that they got scoring from three lines and played exponentially better defensively, you’d have to call the first game with the new lines a success.

Ovechkin Summary:
2 Goals; 13 shots; 20:53 minutes of ice time