Going into the third period, the Caps were down by two goals – but what Cap fan doesn’t realize that two goals are nothing for this offensive juggernaut? As long as you have Alex Ovechkin on your team, you shouldn’t ever think that two goals is insurmountable; it might only be two shifts for the Great 8.

Ovi proved that, when he brought the Caps back to within one on an unassisted goal just 27 seconds into the third to breathe new life into the Caps. The Panthers coughed up the puck in front of their own net, and Ovi made them pay by jumping on the loose puck and throwing it past Vokoun to make it 4-3.

Then at 12:25 of the third, Nichlas Backstrom evened the score at fours. Mike Green picked the puck off the boards on a bad clearance attempt from Florida and just threw it at the net; Backstrom was Johnny-on-the-spot and tipped it in to (eventually) send the game into overtime.

The extra period settled nothing, so it went to penalties. It took six rounds, before Fleischmann’s goal gave the Caps the win.

It was a great win in part because it’s always a shame to see a Gordie Howe hat trick go to waste; especially one that happened all in one period. That’s exactly what new recruit Jason Chimera did in the second frame. First he potted an unassisted goal, then he got a helper on Brian Pothier’s goal at 16:12, and then he completed the trick about two minutes later when he dropped the gloves and had a go with Gregory Campbell. To coin an old Howie Meeker phrase, ‘Just Super!’ It was definitely Chimera’s best outing since coming to the Caps seven games ago from the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Michal Neuvirth started the game in goal for Washington, but was chased from the game when Gregory Campbell scored his first of the season to make it 4-1 half-way through the second. Jose Theodore came on in relief and made the comeback possible by stopping all 15 shots that he faced.

Michael Frolik, Dominic Moore, Stephen Weiss and Campbell scored for the Panthers in the losing effort; Vokoun stopped 33 shots.

“We always had that feeling tonight that something good was going to happen, we were always in striking range,” Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said. “Once we made it 4-2 near the end of the second, we thought we could come back. Fortunately, for us, we did.”

The win gave Washington a 1-1 split in Florida, and brought their season total to 28 wins and 62 points – good enough for tops in the division and second in the Eastern Conference. They now head back home to face the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Verizon Center on Friday night – game time is 7:00pm.

Video highlights

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.

The New York Islanders come into the Verizon Center looking to avenge a 3-2 overtime loss to the Capitals just six nights ago in Nassau Coliseum. Making his first trip to the Verizon Center is 19-year old John Tavares. The 2009 No. 1 overall draft choice is second on the team with points and goals scored. The Capitals will also welcome a familiar face back to the rink when Brendan Witt hits the ice. Witt spent 10 seasons in Washington from 1995-2006. He was traded to the Nashville Predators in the second half of the 2006 season for Kris Beech and the Predators’ first round selection, which the Capitals used to select goaltender Semyon Varlomov.

1st Period Overview:

Not surprisingly the Capitals struck first with a goal from none other than Alexander Ovechkin, who is on pace for a third straight MVP season. The Capitals did a great job getting themselves out of jams by clearing the puck from behind their own net to across the rink on several occassions. That was until the Islanders were able to capitalize off of that pressure they forced and retaliated with a goal by Kyle Okposo (his third on the season) with an assist coming from Witt.

Goals: NY – 1 WAS – 1
Shots: NY – 11 WAS – 9
Power Play Goals: NY – 0 WAS – 1
Hits: NY – 9 WAS – 4

2nd Period Overview:

The second period was a tale of two scorers. There was not much defense to be had, especially in the final minutes. The Islanders struck first with a goal from Frans Nielson to go up 2-1, Tomas Fleischmann, who made his season debut last night against the Thrashers after missing the start of the season with deep vein thrombosis (a blood clot) in his leg, delivered his first two goals of the season to give the Caps their second lead of the night at 3-2. His second came with a little over three minutes to go. Just over one minute later, Nielson closed out the period with his second goal of the season as well with 2:10 remaining to tie it up at 3.

Goals: NY – 2 WAS – 2
Shots: NY – 9 WAS – 13
Power Play Goals: NY – 0 WAS – 1
Hits: NY – 2 WAS – 9

3rd Period Overview:

The Capitals spent most of their time as they did in the first period, trying to clear traffic out from goaltender Jose Theodore’s way. This period was a battle of defenses. The contest ended in regulation as it did on Satruday night with a tied score headed into overtime.

Goals: NY – 0 WAS – 0
Shots: NY – 8 WAS – 17
Power Play Goals: NY – 0 WAS – 0
Hits: NY – 8 WAS – 6

Overtime Overview:

The Islanders earned their first victory over the Capitals since February 2008 in the same fashion the Capitals earned their win last win against the Isles Saturday night; in the first minute of overtime. This time, Mark Streit is the hero of the night for New York, who shocked the crowd by taking advantage of a puck-handling error by Capitals defenseman Mike Green just 0:53 into overtime.

Goals: NY – 1 WAS – 0
Shots: NY – 2 WAS – 0
Power Play Goals: NY – 0 WAS – 0
Hits: NY – 0 WAS – 0

Tom Poti – Postgame Interview

Tomas Fleischmann – Postgame Interview

Bruce Boudreau – Postgame Presser

@ Minnesota, Monday 11/24 – The Caps loss to Minnesota last Monday was not nearly as close as the score would imply. The Caps looked dog tired and beat up for most of the game before finally turning it back on for the last six minutes of the game, while Minnesota was already enjoying a 4-0 lead.

Matt Bradley started the Caps’ comeback with 5:17 seconds left in the game when he scored off the backhand on a feed by Eric Fehr. Alex Ovechkin added to his point scoring streak when he fired his trademark slap shot from the point, but the goal everyone was waiting for happened 2:09 later when Caps’ center Nicklas Backstrom beat Wild goalie Nicklas Backstrom on the power play to bring the Caps to within a goal of overtime with 1:53 left to play.

Unfortunately the Caps would come up just a little short.

Clutter-what?! – The Wild’s first two goals of the night were scored by Cal Clutterbuck. All I could think of whenever they said his name on TV (which was often because everyone seemed to enjoy saying it) was that old SNL sketch for celebrity jeopardy when Sean Connery shouted “Buck-Futter!” for no particular reason.

The Perfect-Timing Award goes to… – James Sheppard of Minnesota. While his family was being interviewed from the stands, and talking about how many thousands of miles they had driven to see their son’s first NHL game, James Sheppard opened up on a two-on-one and scored his first NHL goal.

Boudreau after 82 games – Monday night’s game marked Boudreau’s 82^nd game as the team’s bench boss. His 82 game record? 48-24-10.

The Caps returned home Tuesday and were given the day off from practice, but Wednesday morning brought in the fresh troops in Chris Bourque, Karl Alzner, Sami Lepisto, and Graham Mink.

Vs. Atlanta, Wednesday 11/26 – The Caps new legs may not have made a lot of noise on the scoreboard (with Sami Lepisto registering the only point on the assist) but their impact was clearly apparent. After allowing 30-plus shots per game in each of their last five games Jose Theodore faced a meager 18 shots. Meanwhile Ondrej Pavelec was peppered with 33 shots at the other end of the ice. Alex Ovechkin got his career 6^th hat trick less than a minute into the second period as the Caps looked to be totally in control of Atlanta the entire game winning 5-3.

Most impressive goal of the night – had to be Eric Fehr on the three-on-one breakaway. Fehr passed the puck to Fleischmann, who passed to Nylander, who passed it right back to Fehr who put the puck in the net.

An old friend for dinner – This marked the third straight year the Caps had faced Atlanta on the day before Thanksgiving. The Thrashers had won the previous two Thanksgiving-eve match-ups by scores of 4-2 and 5-1 respectively.

Some new friends for dinner – Three Washington Capitals players – Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green and Brooks Laich – spent Thanksgiving Day with more than 400 underprivileged children and their families as part of the Miracle on Seventh Street at District ChopHouse & Brewery in Washington, D.C.. The Caps players joined volunteers from organizations throughout the city to help out at this event. The Capitals have participated in Miracle on Seventh Street all six years that it has taken place. Backstrom, Green and Laich signed autographs, served food and spent time with the families.

Vs. Montreal, Friday 11/28 – The Caps came back Friday night and beat the Montreal Canadiens with their first shutout victory since Cristobal Huet blanked the Florida Panthers in South Florida on March 29, 2008. It was Washington’s first shutout at home in more than a year, since Olie Kolzig blanked the Carolina Hurricanes in Washington’s 2007-08 home opener on Oct. 6, 2007.

The Caps scored midway through the first period when Tomas Fleischmann scored his ninth goal of the year. Fleischmann should have been given a goal and an assist on this play. Fleischmann, who had positioned himself on the right of the net, intercepted a pass from behind the net. He passed the puck to a waiting Michael Nylander who was on the left side of the net, which drew Canadiens goalie Jaroslav Halak off the post. Nylander passed the puck immediately back to Fleischmann who popped it in the net.

The Caps would cling to their one goal lead throughout the second period until Alex Ovechkin and David Steckel scored the Caps second and third goals in the third.

For Ovechkin, it would be his 13^th goal in 10 games. For Theodore it would be his first win against his former team, and his first shutout as a Washington Capital. Theodore earned his shutout facing 28 total shots.

Fastest to 50 – Friday night’s victory over Montreal gave Coach Boudreau his 50^th career victory as the Capitals’ bench boss. His 50 wins in 84 games erases a team mark that has stood since Jim Schoenfeld reached 50 in 98 games.

Smitty reaches a milestone – Head trainer for the Capitals, Greg Smith marked his 1,000^th career game Friday night.

@ Columbus, Saturday 11/29 – The Caps finished their week with a disappointing shutout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, thus ending Ovechkin’s point scoring streak at 10 games.

The Caps went 2-2-0 this past week, and hold the lead in the Southeast by three points.

November’s first star – Alex Ovechkin, having broken out of his October scoring slump scored 13 goals and 25-points to be named the NHL’s first star of November.

The Caps went 8-5-2 in November after going 5-3-1 in October. The Capitals have still not lost in regulation at home (9-0-1) and are setting new attendance records. Friday night’s sellout crowd of 18,277 was their second straight sellout at home, and their fourth of the season. The Capitals average attendance after 10 games is now 17,862. That’s a 29.1% increase over the attendance from last year (13,389) and a franchise record for average attendance after 10 games.

The Caps have four games coming up this week. The first is this tomorrow at Verizon, and is blacked out from TV coverage.

For the Caps, Tomas “Flash” Fleischmann opened the scoring 6:21 in the first period, just seconds into the team’s first power play. The Caps acting Captain Matt Bradley tallied just 64 second later to close out the first period scoring.

The ‘Canes Joni Pitkanen opened the scoring in the second period with a power play goal 7:58 in. Four minutes later, Matheiu Perreault scored in his first NHL pre-season game, at the 11:57 mark. Flash closed out the scoring 17:06 into the period with his second power play goal, this time just 9 seconds into the extra man advantage.

For a good read regarding last night’s victory, be sure to check out Mike Vogel’s Postgame Notebook on WashingtonCaps.com.

Carolina travels to the phone booth this evening for the re-match. You won’t be able to find it on TV or radio, but you can watch and listen live on WashingtonCaps.com. Let’s get ‘em!