Photo credit: Greg Fiume

You could liken Tomas Vokoun’s debut for the Washignton Capitals to being fed to wolves. A team that relies heavily on their netminders, the Capitals chose their date with the fluke-friendly Tampa Bay Lightning to introduce the goalie. This is the same team that knocked the Caps just a few months ago and whose coach has mastered the art of saying passive-aggressive dick-y things. No pressure. GAME ON.

Teddy Purcell deflected off Mike Green’s legs for an early goal that probably pissed Vokoun off righteously. Marcus Johansson converted a wraparound after Dwayne Roloson left the net (more on this below). Bruno “Ricky” Gervais wristed it from beneath the goal line, catching Vokoun off the post to put the Bolts back up. Dennis Wideman unleashed a monster from the blue line that hit iron and webbing (Neil put this shot percentage at around 2%). Dominic Moore had all the time in the world to put his puck in short-side from the slot. Then Schultz ripped one off of Troy Brouwer, whose shot was screened by Joel Ward.

Lemme catch my breath… There’s more.

Jason Chimera crashed the net to clean up Brooks Laich’s rebound and put the Caps up 4-3 in the third. Nick Thompson exploited a completely screened Tomas Vokoun to even it back up. Vokoun had no excuse on the next one, a deep-from-behind ricochet by Brett Clark. Jason Chimera tied it up with a rocket from the circles, earning all in attendance free wings from Glory Days. Into overtime and onto the shootout. New paragraph needed.

Hendricks dekes a deke that hath not yet been deked to give the Caps one. Vokoun sends back soup. Ovechkin rebuffed. Vokoun sends back soup. Sasha scoars! Caps beat Bolts 6-5 (SO)!

• Tomas Vokoun had as tumultuous a premiere as one could have. Three sketchy pucks on sketchier bounces, the seeming calling card of Tampa’s Lightning, flummoxed the veteran. Vokoun looked angry, and his defense was not doing him many favors. Three bad goals against would slay most goalies, but Tomas recovered to play a stellar overtime and an even better shootout. Every goalie has bad games like this, but Vokoun followed through to play like a champ. Welcome to the team.
• Despite the shot disparity (43-28 Caps), this game’s scoring chances were dead even at 22. A good bout and a great rivalry.
• Jason Chimera has three goals in two games. Jason Chimera has three goals in two games. The third line is on fire. The third line is on fire. That was Chimera’s 100th. And 101st. That was Chimera’s 100th goal. And 101st.
• How do you know that line is on fire? Bruce Boudreau gave Brooks Laich 11 offensive-zone starts compared to Nick Backstrom’s 6. That tells you who coach trusts right now.
• Sasha cares very much… with the man advantage. Alex Semin had 4 of the Caps’ 7 PP scoring chances.
• 

  Thick. Proud. Matt Hendricks (Photo credit: Greg Fiume)

  So that first goal against Dwayne Roloson… let’s do some old jokes! Roloson wandered out of the net as if he was off meds and looking for Werther’s Originals. A Silver Alert was posted on all the highways, but Rolo was lying low somewhere out of the crease, probably watching reruns of NCIS and counting his social security checks.  Happy 42nd birthday on Wednesday, Dwayne. For an old guy who looks like Jackie Earle Haley, playing goalie for the other team, you’re still awesome.

• So it’s NOT okay to throw your hockey stick at another player? Hunh. News to me. I guess it’s still verboten to take your skate off and try to stab someone with it, right?
• Marcus Johansson looked like a god among insects out there tonight. He leveled two hits on his first shift, scored a picturesque wraparound, drew a scary trip in overtime. Even on scoring chances for and against, but still a good night for the younger Swede.
• On the other hand, there’s Alex Ovechkin. AO’s minus-2 rating and mild offensive contributions made him little more than a neutral player. He didn’t have his first scoring chance until 55 seconds into the 3rd period.
• Neutral is what Nick Backstrom should aim for. Minus-2 with two penalties and two shots thoroughly shanked. Not Nicky’s night.
• Troy Brouwer recorded his first goal as a Washington Capital by deflecting Jeff Schultz’s rocket. Fellow newbie Joel Ward also gets props for screening the goalie on that one.
• Whose fault was the too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty? Coaching? A zealous player? Semin in the box? Let’s find out soon, because this is one penalty we see far too much of.

Okay, let’s give Alan May the mic for a second:

Not entirely sure what “thick & proud” means, but you should really be following @MayHockeyCSN.

Joe B. suit of the night

This game was thoroughly insane. There’s too much for one recap. Some might open fire on Tomas Vokoun for letting by some softies, but his performance in the closing minutes should water it down a bit. For now, let it be Jason Chimera’s night.

I hope that this victory over Tampa, the first in a very long time, gives you some relief. I hope you eat delicious wings from Glory Days. I hope you picked up Jason Chimera in your fantasy league.

We’ve got the Penguins on Thursday. Expect to see Vokoun in net.

We leave you with a tune from Veruca Salt dedicated to your Palm player of the game:

CHIMMER CHIMMER LIKE A GIRL SHOULD YEAH!

Additional reporting by Neil Greenberg, who totally called Chimera being hot tonight.

Just another night at the office for Ovechkin: a goal, two assists and the invention of a new dance. (Photo credit: Mitchell Layton)

Referee Bill McCreary is honored with his wife Mary Ann and daughter Melissa, along with Vice President and Caps General Manger George McPhee before officiating his final NHL game. (Photo credit: Mitchell Layton)

On Fan Appreciation Day, the Capitals certainly rewarded their supporters. In front of 18,398 deafening fans — good for the Caps’ 100th consecutive sellout — Washington pulled out a thrilling overtime victory, moving into the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Caps struck first and early when just 37 seconds in John Carlson fired a wrist shot that Buffalo Sabres goalie Jhonas Enroth failed to collect. The red-hot Mike Knuble then did his usual dirty work in the crease to net the opening tally.

Washington jumped out to a two goal lead at 4:41 when Alexander Semin — who was on the ice for eight chances for and three against — scored a similar goal to Knuble’s, tapping in Nicklas Backstrom’s rebound behind Enroth. PANIC!!!1 Timeout Buffalo.

Lindy Ruff’s T.O. would work wonders as just 1:51 later Tomas Vanek put the Sabres on the board as he tipped in Jason Pominville’s shot. At 9:28 Buffalo tied the game when Drew Stafford unleashed what appeared to be a weak, harmless looking shot from the point. After glancing off Jeff Schultz’s leg, the bouncing biscuit went five-hole on Michal Neuvirth, who appeared never to see it.

In the second, both team were even at 11 shots on goal for the frame, but neither converted on their chances.

The teams remained scoreless for most of the third period until Paul Gaustad broke in behind the Capitals defense and faked out Neuvirth to give Buffalo the 3-2 lead.

Less than two minutes later, however, Knuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuble netted his second goal of the match, as he deflected Brooks Laich’s shot from the point on the man advantage to tie the game once again.

But speaking of second goals, it was Stafford who struck again for the Sabres, scoring 2:31 after Knuble’s marker when Carlson ran into Neuvirth, preventing him from making the save. The head coach appeared enraged at rookie defenseman on television, yelling: “What the [Boudreau] was that?”. BRUCE MAD!

“I just talked to him about it,” Bruce Boudreau said after the game. “It’s under four minutes to go in the game and we’re killing a penalty and we didn’t have full control even. We’re just taking off. We can’t do that. And then we have to come back like a chicken with their heads cut off.”

With just 52 seconds left and Neuvirth pulled the Caps netted the tying tally in dramatic fashion as Jason Arnott backhanded home Alex Ovechkin’s rebound, his 400th career goal.

It was also the Capitals’ second power play marker of the game. The captain summed it up well.

“Power play worked today good,” Ovechkin said.

Boudreau agreed.

“Anytime we can score a power play goal it’s a beautiful thing,” he remarked.

“Good for our confidence,” said Marcus Johansson of the power play. “You feel you can score when you have to score.”

In overtime, well, you know what it was: Ovi Time. Ovechkin curled and dragged pass two Sabres before firing a wrist shot pass Enroth. Boom. First place. WINGS! IS PARTY NOW! WE WE WE SO EXCITED! Shall we dance? Caps shock Sabres, 5-4.

MISSING: Nicklas Backstrom bobblehead. This one and at least three others were stolen from the Verizon Center press box when media members were away in the locker room. No demands by the culprits have been made. Victim is approximately 0' 8," 1 lb. with long blond hair. Please contact with any information as to his whereabouts.

• Ovechdance! Ovechdance!
• Alex Ovechkin‘s 30th goal of the year came on his 11th game-winning goal and third OTGWG of the year. His other two overtime game-winners came on picturesque tallies against the Islanders on March 1 and the Senators on October 11.
• Ovechkin was on the ice for 11 chances for, had seven shots on goal and four hits. Oh, yeah… he had also had the primary assist on Arnott’s 400th career goal, a powerful point shot that Enroth had no chance on corralling, and the secondary assist on Knuble’s first period rebound goal. Despite his great offensive play, Ovi was on the ice for eight chances against, the seventh time this season he’s had such a game, explaining his minus-one on the night.
• One last bullet on Ovechkin. The enthusiasm he showed in his dance after the game-winner creates hockey fans for life. He is simply one of the most remarkable players in hockey history, combining Hall of Fame skill with a boyish enthusiasm. Everyday we watch him play, we consider ourselves lucky.
• “Protecting the lead, for most parts of this year, was a forte of ours,” said Boudreau. “But the teams that we play are in their playoff mode. And it’s a great learning experience of seeing how teams are ramping it up for the playoffs.”
• Bill McCreary officiated his final NHL game on Saturday, his 1,737th major league contest. McCreary’s started his career that spanned four decades on November 3, 1984, when the Washington Capitals hosted the New Jerseys Devils. He ref’d the most playoff games (297) and the most Stanley Cup Final games (44) in league history, along with two Winter Olympics goad metal games in 1998 and 2002.”He has probably seen it all in our game,” said Knuble.
• Speaking of McCreary, it was the first time since the 2004-05 NHL lockout that a referee tandem with him did not call a minor penalty through two periods. It was also the first time since 2008 that the Caps have played in a game with no minors called on either team in the first two frames.”I thought the refs did a great job,” Boudreau said. “It was a like a playoff hockey game, and they know what it means so they let the hacks and the slashes go while it was even”
• Jason Chimera played just 9:23 of ice time and was the ice for zero scoring chances for, one against. He was invisible out there.
• Matt Bradley had seven hits in under 11 minutes on the ice. That is all.
• Sean Collins, seeing his first NHL game in almost two season, was not too bad. Collins was on the ice for three chances for and four against in 14:07 of ice time. He also played nine (!) seconds on the penalty kill. Boudreau had this to say after the game: “I think he did really good. I think he moved the puck well. He competed. He did a really good job.”
• The Caps lost yet another D-man to injury when Tyler Sloan left in the second period after registering 10:52 of ice time. “He’s day to day,” said Boudreau, meaning it could be anything from a hangnail to a ruptured spleen.”He got his bell rung and we’ll see how it goes,” he added. It appears, however, that John Erskine will back for the next match.
• Despite giving up four goals, Boudreau prasied his rookie Czech netminder. “I thought Neuvy did a real good job of staying composed and not letting things get to him and juust battling the battle, and I thought we did a real good job of coming back and not hanging our heads and saying “oh well , let’s just wait till tomorrow,” he said. Guess we know who playoff starter is.


Joe B. Suit of the Night

• With Buffalo picking up the point tonight, they move into to sole possession of seventh place in the East, with the Caps now set to take on the New York Rangers in the playoffs as the seedings currently stand. YELP!

Games remaining: three.

Additional reporting by Neil Greenberg and Ian Oland.

That is how you do it! The Washington Capitals have done the unthinkable: playing two smart games back to back.

Who better to get us started that Andrew Gordon? His goal-crashing shot off a speedy Marcus Johansson pass was the night’s first goal and the first of Andrew’s NHL career. (We knew you could do it!) The Devils responded with a Patrik Elias whizzer from above the circles, expertly screened by former Cap Danius Zubrus. Hershey’s own Jay Beagle returned fire with a chip-in up close. On a breakaway. Jason Chimera brushed off a hook and converted. Alex Ovechkin pulled an honest-to-goodness statue-of-liberty play with John Carlson, who launched a neutrino puck into Marty Brodeur’s net. Finally, Mike Knuble gingerly diverted a Tom Poti shot for the free wings. Caps beat Devils 5-1.

• Andrew Gordon, did you have fun today?
• Seriously, Gordo had a blast out there, and that’s exactly what the team needed. Crashing an omega-level goalie like Martin Brodeur is a great way to get started in the NHL.  And the kid knows how to celebrate:

• Alex Ovechkin put one shot on net. Yeah. That’s not going to bust him out of the slump.  Between his malaise and Alex Semin‘s manic-depressive play, it’s a good thing that the Hershey guys are playing like they actually care.
• The Capitals powerplay was a bummer. Nick Backstrom and Mike Green stood statuesque as the Devils counted the seconds. Alex Ovechkin shifted from the point the crease, where he was welcomed by the Devils PKers with some pops to the head.  No goals and precious few chances, despite five Devils penalties and 1:18 of two-man advantage.
• 

  NHL goal #1

  Matt Bradley put Anton Volchenkov on the ice with a monster check in the first period. Not sure what happened in the second, but #10 did not return to the ice for the third. 6:44 TOI. UPDATE: Per Mike Vogel, Bradley will miss 2-4 weeks with a broken finger. I am devastated.
• John Carlson: plus-4 rating, one screaming goal, 24 minutes of great hockey.
• RockTheRed.net observed this morning: “Chimera looks about ready to break out of his slump, roofing shootout moves.” His penalty-drawing, top-shelf breakaway goal proves that practice pays off.
• Michal Neuvirth‘s numbers were sterling: 35 saves on 36 shots. Don’t let the offensive resurgence be the only story you take from this game; Neuvy was a star. Hope he’s ready for Thursday, cause he’s going to get the nod.
• The Devils actually led the Caps in shots 36 to 28. After so many 30+ shot losses, here’s more proof that it’s the quality of the shot that matters more. And if you can measure the shot distance in inches (Beagle, Knuble, Gordon), that’s even better.

Joe B's suit of the night

Here comes either the smartest or dumbest analysis ever.  Sure, the Capitals win when they play better, but they also play better when they win. The boys were surging, having fun, connecting on passes, and dominating zone time. And it all started when the Hershey Bears contingent got ‘em started. The attitude was infectious. Even when Ovechkin would flub a shot, his goofy grin stuck around. The goals that felt infuriatingly out of reach came easy tonight, even with a titan in the other net.  That’s Caps hockey: high-octane, high-scoring, fun.

If they keep that energy up, it’s gonna be a good winter.

Pittsburgh on Thursday. I’ll be at a bachelor party in D.C., so Ian will be covering the game. It was nice knowing you all. Go Caps. CRASH THE NET.

John Erskine Rocks Chris Thorburn's World (AP Photo/Nick Wass) (Top: Mitchell Layton/NHLI via Getty Images)

Mystery solved. The Caps turned in an even performance for two periods before heating up in the third. Your standard goal scorers Ovie and Backy were joined by Jason Chimera, Mike Green, and even the bipolar Alexander Semin on the scoreboard tonight. Netminder little Mikey Neuvirth turned in an A+ effort to keep the Thrashers to two. Even John Erskine had a great night, making hay out of Chris Thorburn’s brainpan. And if you’re paying attention, you’ll notice that the Caps scored five goals again, ensuring free wings from Glory Days for the 10th time. Now all the ticketholders have to do is survive the epic snowstorm hovering over the tri-state area.

Instead of teasing the bullet points, here’s a secret: blogatrician Ian Oland has a crush on CSN’s Lisa Hillary.

• Alexander Oveckin broke a stick during a first-period power play. He hustled to the bench to retrieve another while Nick Backstrom bought time. As soon as Ovie returned, Backy set him up with a one-timer rocket. That beautiful goal puts Ovechkin in the goal-scoring lead, which wouldn’t have been a problem in the first place if he hadn’t missed those NINE games in the fall.  Dude’s gonna need a new trophy room.
• Mike Green‘s return to the ice wasn’t looking historic until eighteen minutes into the third period. Not long after Ondrej Pavelec cleared the ice, Green took a page out of his captain’s book and sailed the puck all the way in. Somewhere a Glory Days promotion manager is updating his resume.  The Russian Machine is happy to report a forthcoming wings-related t-shirt. (SEE HERE)
• Michal Neuvirth relieved an overworked Jose Theodore tonight and made a great show of it. He allowed a pretty soft goal in the inaugural minutes, but came back furiously. He stopped 44 shots total tonight (matching Jose Theodore’s single-game record from the Red Wings game a few weeks ago). We’ll be sad to see him go when Varly returns, but Michal will take our gratitude back with to Hershey. And we have a strong feeling we’ll see him again.
• Alex Semin received a wizardly pass from Brooks Laich to score the third goal of the night, but this bullet point is not about that. This is the Bad Boy Bullet, and Semin earned it for his bonehead power play shift halfway through the third period. A bad pass from Sasha gave Rich Peverly a great breakaway chance. Michal Neuvirth was ready for the challenge, easily trapping the puck beneath him. But Neuvirth wasn’t prepared for two-hundred pounds of Siberian trucking at him full-speed. Semin plowed the puck past Neuvi and gave the Thrashers a goal they did not earn. It’s hard to be too mad at Alex, though. These flukes happen sometimes, and we can excuse the goof by attributing it to Semin’s enduring enthusiasm.

• Oh yeah, John Erskine did this. Nuff said.
• Nicklas Backstrom missed the third period due to an uncertain ailment. I’ve heard both flu and migraines, although the latter is more plausible given Backy’s inclination toward them. It would also be preferable, as We want Sweden’s star center in tip-top shape for the big game on Superb Owl Sunday.
• Do the boos at Verizon Center and Comcast’s expose on the Capstronaut mark the waning of his popularity? If so, we’re happy to restore @TheHornGuy to Preferred Fan status. That guy deserves as much credit as whoever cut the “Unleash the Fury” video package.

And that makes 13 goals. Kismet, I think, that the 13th win in a row comes right as 13 inches of snow cover the area. But then there’s another twenty behind it. Do you think the Pens game will actually happen on Sunday? I’ve got my doubts. We should hope that any uncertainty about the game’s happening does not affect the team’s ability to prepare mentally. The Penguins are looking better right now than they have at any point this season. But then again, you can only wonder what they’re saying about us.

Stay safe, comrades! We leave you with a fitting song from The Pixies:

Steve Eminger returns. No he still can't play defense. (Photos not by Stevie K)

I’ll admit it– wearing my undefeated Mean, Mean Russian Machine t-shirt tonight, I was a little worried about tonight’s game. It’s not as if the Ducks are a west coast powerhouse or that the Caps are missing players; it’s just that the streak has to break sometime. Why not tonight and against a lesser opponent, the kind the Capitals used to play down against.

It only took forty some minutes for the Capitals to wake up. The home team dominated the first period, but had only a 1-0 game to show for it. The second period was a sleepy affair, and gave the Ducks a chance to tie it up. But early in third period, the Caps reached deep into their bag of tricks and pulled out a game-winning goal from Shaone Morrisonn. Let me state that again: Shaone Morrisonn (0 goals in the last whole-bunch-of games) scored the go-ahead goal tonight. And that’s when the flood gates opened. Within less than three minutes, the Caps delivered two more notches. The Ducks tried to muster up some bluster with some good, old-fashioned hockey violence, but to no avail. Caps beat Ducks 5-1.

Bullets, anyone?

• For real: Shaone Morrisonn? Tonight was the blueliner’s first goal of the season. I want to award the guy some bonus points for making it a crucial one. Shaone’s 25-foot wrister danced around the knees of four or five guys before sneaking past Anaheim goalie Giguere. Wait. Was that really Shaone Morrisonn? Wow. Alright. Whatever. We’ll take it.
• Yeah, yeah. Alexander Semin scored another pair of goals and looked like a pro playing among pee-wees out there. That’s not the story. Here’s the story. @Caps_Girl, she of the “CLICK CLICK BOOOOM!”, provides this revelatory video. That’s Sasha “No speak English” Semin chatting it up with Hershey call-up Braden Holtby on the bench. The guy clearly knows the language. He’s been running a long game on the hockey press for five years now.  Bet you twenty bucks he can rap the first verse from “Ice Ice Baby.”
• Canada’s Best Defenseman Mike Green got manhandled by the Ducks. Bobby Ryan got away with some dirty shots in his bear-hug tackle behind the net. Green’s bad shoulder was smeared into the glass too many times for my taste. And while his offensive contribution was only a single assist, Green was a monster in his own zone. Green spun Ducks on breakaways and secured clears when the rest of the team seemed somnambulant.
• Russian Machine correspondent Steven Kern provided us some blurry photos from his bitchin’ seat behind the goal. Unfortunately, that goal was the Caps’ in the first and third, the Ducks in the second.  Not so much traffic there. But because the Caps scored five goals tonight, I can trade K’s ticket in for free wings at Glory Days Grill.  K, please drop off that ticket ASAP.

Tonight’s game marks the teams 207th goal of the season. No other team has 180. The Caps are tied for first place in the whole league. Washington has won eight games in a row for the first time since I’ve been potty trained. Alexander Semin has ten points in the last five games, five of which are goals. The reign of Captain Alex Ovechkin has seen only one defeat. Enjoy while it lasts, fans, because it cannot. Sorry to pee on the parade, but the Caps will have to find this same strength and greater come April and May. No time for back-patting.

Unless you’re Shaone Morrisonn.   Wow.