Mike Green ties NHL record in shootout loss to Rangers.

Mike Green led the charge for the Capitals while vaulting himself into the NHL record books.

The offensively gifted defenseman tallied twice in the second period, tying the record for consecutive games with a goal by a blue liner, set by Mike O'Connell in 1983-84.

However, it was not enough, as the Capitals came up on the short end of a 5-4 shootout loss to the Rangers.

Green, along with Fehr and Fleischmann all notched two point performances for the Capitals, while Ryan Callahan and Lauri Korpikoski each scored once for the Rangers, who were in need of a win.

Alexander Ovechkin managed only an assist in the loss, but also registered a whopping 13 hits - his highest single game total this season.

Viktor Kozlov and Alexander Semin both did not dress tonight as they are nursing minor injures. Defensemen John Erskine and Staffan Kronwall were healthy scratches for the Caps. It has been hinted that Kronwall could play in this weekends Florida road swing, as the Capitals coaching staff is confident that he is learning the teams system to their liking.

Jay Beagle was called up for tonight's game, making his NHL debut for Washington. He logged 7:41 in minutes and was an even plus minus on the game.

For the Rangers, they are now 4-5-1 in their last 10 games, trying to secure a playoff spot down the stretch. They were 0-5 on their power play, (the second straight game in which the Caps have managed to ice a spotless PK) and most notably were 0-4 in the third period, including a brief 5 on 3 as well as a four minute double minor to defenseman Shaone Morrisonn.

Washington on the other hand were awarded only one power play throughout the game, and also did not capitalize on their man advantage.

The Capitals will now head to Florida for a weekend back-to-back with the Lightning and Panthers, trying to distance themselves from their Southeast opponents.

Thinks finally coming up "Fehr"

It took Eric Fehr only 33 seconds to wrist his 6th goal of the season past an unsuspecting Tomas Vokoun in last nights 3-1 win over the Florida Panthers. His latest tally has doubled his past two seasons in combined scoring, as he only put in 3 goals between the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons.

Fehr began his professional career with Washington's AHL affiliate in Hershey, where he scored 53 points in 73 games, as well as potting 11 points in 19 playoff games en route to Herhsey's 2005-06 Calder Cup Championship.

The following season, the 6'4" 212 lbs forward battled through injuries while putting up a point per game average for the Bears (41pts in 40 games and a ridiculous +20 rating).

However, last year put a halt to Eric's professional hockey career as he suffered from a hip problem which doctors could not treat as they were unable to find the source of the problem.

Fehr was shelved for the majority of the season when he finally met a specialist who concluded he suffered from a lower back injury which was causing the symptoms in his hip.

He was able to suit up for 34 games last year, splitting time between Hershey and Washington, with mild success. It was evident that he was still not in peak condition to be an every day NHL player.

This past off season, the Capitals resigned Fehr to a one year $735,000 deal, hoping that he could prove he was worth the 18th overall selection in the 2003 draft.

The signing seems to be paying off in spades, as Fehr is on pace for 25 point season, which is one shy of the 26 which fellow Capital Tomas Fleischmann registered in 2007-08.

The Winkler, Manitoba native has really turned on his game as of late, contributing 5 points in his past 5 games, while making good on his opportunity to return to the line-up after Chris Clark has been placed on IR for the remainder of the season.

Evidently, Eric's campaign won't match the point production he saw with Brandon of the WHL or his rookie season in Hershey, it is certainly a step in the right direction for the 23 year old winger.

He still projects as a top six forward in this organization, and with this being a contract year for Viktor Kozlov and Sergei Fedorov, it will be interesting to see if Fehr is given the opportunity to step into the role in which he was drafted.

As for now, at least Fehr can take solace in the fact that for the first time in three seasons, things finally seem to be coming up "Fehr".

Ovechkin chips in as Capitals break losing streak.

Nothing remedies a losing streak better than a six goal outing. Tonight the Capitals were able to break out of their recent funk, notching a 6-3 victory over rival Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Capitals continued the trend of falling behind early as an Evgeni Malkin power play marker had the Pens take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

It didn't take long for the Capitals to cut the deficit, as Viktor Kozlov scored his 10th of the season 1:06 into the second frame. Miroslav Satan and Alexander Semin traded goals through the midway point of the period, as both clubs hit the locker room knotted in a 2-2 tie.

However it was in the third period that Alexander Ovechkin took over.

Ovechkin marked his 27th goal of the season midway through a Capitals power play early in the third. Soon after Pittsburgh had tied the game again, he provided the primary assist on a Tomas Fleischmann goal that turned out to be the game winner. And for an encore, he scored once more off the skate of Pittsbugh defenseman Brooks Orpik to give Washington a comfortable 5-3 lead.

Jeff Schultz would later mark a short-handed empty net goal, his first on the campaign.

For the most part, Washington's defense was able to keep the duo of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin silent, as they managed only 3 points combined in a losing effort.

Crosby left the game twice with an apparent leg injury.

Jose Theodore was sharp, stopping 26 shots in the victory, including some clutch saves on a Pittsbugh man advantage in the third.

Nicklas Backstrom tallied three assists while the afformentioned Tomas Fleischmann finished with a goal and an assist. Brooks Laich also had a productive game, registering 5 shots and 2 assists.

The Caps next action is set to take place Saturday as they will clash with the Eastern Conference leading Boston Bruins at the Verizon Center.

Capitals prove mortal against Blue Jackets

Deja-vu all over again.

The Capitals went into last nights game hoping to keep to streaks in tact. Firstly, the club was going for it's tenth straight home victory, which would tie the record set by the 2000-01 team.

Secondly, Jose Theodore was vying for his 7th straight win which would tie his all time record which he set in the 2001-02 season.

Neither statistic was achieved as the Caps were blanked for the second time this season by Calder Trophy front runner Steve Mason.

Mason warded off all 45 shots he faced, notching his 14th win and 6th shutout of the season.


The 20 year old Oakville, Ontario native leads the NHL in GAA (1.74), SV% (.938) and shutouts (6)

Meanwhile the Capitals had Sergei Fedorov and Tomas Fleischmann return to their line-up last night, both of whom had rather pedestrian outings. Jeff Schultz is back on the shelf as he is still struggling with his broken finger. Tyler Sloan was recalled for yesterday's game, and will suit up again tonight in Montreal.

Washington has not lost in back-to-back games since their injury riddled western road trip in November when they dropped games to Los Angeles and San Jose.

Let's hope that this streak continues. As they say, "one outta three ain't bad."

Tomas Fleischmann : Winner of Inaugural FEAR THE WEAGLE Poll

In a close race, Tomas Fleischmann edged out Karl Alzner for which Washington Capital you think will have the biggest impact this year.

Here is how the polls closed:

Tomas Fleischmann - 38% (13 votes)
Karl Alzner - 35% (12 votes)
Chris Bourque - 14% (5 votes)
Eric Fehr - 8% (3 votes)
Sami Lepisto - 2% (1 vote)


A new poll will be up soon, keep checking in.

Pre-Game Thoughts: 10/13/08 Washington Capitals vs. Vancouver Canucks - UPDATED

A sigh of relief was all that could escape Capitals fans mouths after Alexander Ovechkin notched his second goal in Saturday nights game to give Washington a 4-2 lead with under five minutes left to play.

For the second game in a row the Capitals struggled early, and were forced to prove their resilience as they erased a two goal deficit early in the second period. Tonight they will face a Canucks team and a familiar foe who will look to shut the Caps down.

Roberto Luongo has faced this team as a member of the Florida Panthers, and now as a Vancouver Canuck. He is 15-9-3 with two shutouts, a 2.14 GAA and a .933 SV% lifetime against Washington. Luongo, in all likelihood will shut the door on the Capitals should they stumble out of the blocks again, so it will be imperil that they play a full sixty minute game.

Washington will have to get more production out of their third line of Fleischmann, Nylander and Clark. Not only have they yet to show up on the score sheet, but with the exception of Fleischmann, more resemble the ghosts of the Montreal Forum.

To put it into context, the Canucks third line of Alexander Burrows (2G, 1A), Ryan Kesler (1G, 2A) and Rick Rypien (2G) have ammased 8 points combined, compared to the one assist Michael Nylander marked against Atlanta.

Bruce Boudreau runs an up-tempo offense that relies on each line doing their part. They key to Washington's success tonight will be to ensure they can play a full team game and put up points early. If Luongo is provided a two goal lead, it could be curtains for the Capitals this evening.

Update: Tarik El-Bashir reports that Fedorov will be playing defense tonight. I will continue to update as news becomes available.

"With a game against Roberto Luongo and the undefeated Canucks looming tonight, Coach Bruce Boudreau appears to have changed things up. Sergei Fedorov wearing a black jersey this morning and he's working with the defensemen. Michael Nylander, meantime, has replaced him as the second line center, while Boyd Gordon is centering the third line."

Also of note, Jose Theodore has a career record of 17-7-1-2 with three shutouts in head-to-head match-ups against Roberto Luongo.

Update 2: Here are the line-ups for tonight:

Washington Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 19-Backstrom, 25-Kozlov
21-Laich, 92-Nylander, 28-Semin
14-Fleischmann, 15-Gordon, 17-Clark
87-Brashear, 39-Steckel, 10-Bradley

Washington Defense
26-Morrisonn, 52-Green
3-Poti, 55-Schultz
91-Fedorov, 23-Jurcina

Brent Johnson will get the start in goal tonight, which according to Boudreau "was the plan from the start".

Caps "Rock the Red": 4-2 win over Blackhawks.

As the Washington Capitals raised their 2007-08 Southeast Division Championship banner to the rafters, 18,277 rabid fans were hoping to put yesterday out of their memory and turn the page on their 2008-09 campaign. And then the puck dropped.

Oh no. Not again. Not tonight.

That's all one could think as 26 seconds into the game, Washington found themselves down 1-0. A Kris Versteeg shot squeaked through Jose Theodore's pads on what many would call a routine save opportunity to put the Capitals behind the eight ball. At the half way point of the first, the Caps were down 2-0 as sophomore Jack Skille slapped a puck through Theodore's five hole again.

Deja vu.

For the second night in a row, Theodore was off to a rough start and the team would have to claw back to earn the win. Moments after falling behind 2-0, Theodore was called upon to make two desperation saves, denying the Hawks of a 3-0 lead.

It was then that the game started to change.

Washington's gritty fourth line of David Steckel, Donald Brashear and Matt Bradley provided the first spark of the game as Steckel made a nice feed to Bradley on the doorstep for a tap in goal. Just after the five minute mark of the second, Alexander Ovechkin scored a classic Ovechkin-esque goal, shooting through the legs of defenseman Brian Campbell and through the pads of screened Nikolai Khabibulin. This wasn't the first time that Ovechkin abused Campbell for a goal.

For the second game in a row, the Caps came back from an early deficit to tie the game. But unlike last night's short comings, tonight's home opener at the Phone Booth would be different.

Late in the third, Alexander Semin drove to the net and deposited the puck on the stick of Brooks Laich who netted his first of the year. Referee Bill McCreary had to go upstairs to make sure the puck had completely crossed the line, but after only a few minutes of deliberation, it was ruled a goal.

Then with under five minutes left in the third, Alexander Ovechkin sniped a shot low blocker side on Khabibulin to seal the game, his second of the night.

As for Theodore, he seemed to find his game in the second period and was helped out by his defense, who gave up only eleven shots through the remainder of the game. This allowed Theodore to get into the game, and he finished the game stopping 19 of 21 shots for the win.

Also of note was the play of winger Tomas Fleischmann. Fleischmann was a standout in my eyes making nice dekes and smart plays with the puck to try to generate scoring for an otherwise stagnant third line. He was praised for his play by Bruce Boudreau in his post game interview.

The defensive pairing of Milan Jurcina and John Erskine (better know as JURSKINE) played as good as a Caps fan could expect, logging a modest 15 minutes of ice time a piece. The duo was split up for last nights game, but Bruce Boudreau decided it would be best for his top four defensemen to play together while Jurcina and Erskine would fill in where needed. I have ragged on both of them as of late but their play in tonight's game was rather impressive.

The Capitals will now host the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night at 7:00 PM.

Opinion: Bourque and Alzner will make the team.

After closely following the Capitals preseason, it is of my opinion that both speedy winger Chris Bourque and rookie defenseman Karl Alzner will both be on the teams opening night roster.

The 22 year old Bourque is having a tremendously proficient preseason statistically, notching 2 goals and 3 assists in 4 appearances. Last night he tallied a primary assist on Tomas Fleischmann's power play goal and at only 5'8", he was a noticeable force making plays all over the ice.

Alzner was drafted 5th overall in the 2007 draft and his play thus far should have Los Angeles Kings fans questioning the selection of Thomas Hickey, who was picked 4th overall. Though Alzner has been held off the stat sheet, he has been very effective defensively. His calm and cool demenaor with the puck allows for a smooth up ice transition and he rarely turns pucks over. He has a very long reach and is extremely effective with his stick against the oncoming rush. Last night he showed some grit against Philly, getting aggressive with Flyers forwards in the corners. His passive nature on defense had some comparing him to Jeff Schultz, but last night he proved he can get physical. In 4 preseason games he has logged on average 19:35 minutes a game and seems to have chemistry with Capitals veteran Tom Poti. Also, Jeff Schultz has proven so far that he is able to play independently on the blue line and not rely on his partner to bail him out, which benefits Alzner.

Of the two, Alzner is more likely to make the club as it seems to be a numbers game at forward. Both players are waiver exempt and risk being assigned to Hershey so the Capitlas don't have to expose another player to waivers. Also you would have to consider the fact that Washington is teetering up against the salary cap and it will be a difficult task to fit both these players in their lineup. However, no matter what happens, both these young prospects will be first call ups when the time arrives.