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