Capitals vs Senators 12/7/2011 Live Blog

The Washington Capitals are looking to rebound from Monday’s 5-4 loss to the Florida Panthers. They are also looking for their first road win since early November. Last time these two teams played, the Capitals were able to give coach Dale Hunter his first NHL win in overtime as they beat the Ottawa Senators 3-2. This should be an exciting game.

SCRATCHES:

Capitals- Matt Hendricks, Jay Beagle, Mike Green, Roman Hamrlik. Beagle is skating again, so that’s a positive sign.

FORWARD LINES:

Capitals: 8-19-28; 20-90-15; 25-21-42; 50-85-22

FIRST PERIOD

5:39- FIGHT! Troy Brouwer vs. Jesse Winchester

I’ll call it a draw. Brouwer got some good punches in but he got thrown down.

9:23- CAPITALS PENALTY. Nicklas Backstrom, Hooking

Backstrom did commit a penalty, but that’s an interesting interpretation of hooking. It’s probably interference.

11:10 SENATORS PENALTIES. Craig Anderson for tripping;  Sergei Gonchar for tripping

Personally I think it’s a bit overkill to give them two because they were so close to each other… but Chimera was tripped by both Anderson and Gonchar on a PK breakaway chance. Capitals will get a 5 on 3 chance.

Well, they didn’t score. Capitals PP is now 0-15 since their last PP goal.

END OF THE FIRST PERIOD. SCORE IS 0-0

Despite not scoring any goals in the first period, the Capitals are definitely dominating the game so far. They have 15 shots on goal, while the Senators only have 6. The Senators do have an 11-8 lead over the Capitals in the hits department. Capitals definitely have to be more physical.  The Capitals are doing quite well in the faceoff circles, holding a 15-12 lead over the Senators in faceoff wins. They have to start crashing the net. If they do, the goals will come.

The Capitals defense so far has been suffocating the Senators. On top of just allowing 6 shots on goal in the first period, they have also blocked 6 shots. They have done a terrific job of keeping the puck away from the net and clearing the puck when they need to.

SECOND PERIOD

2:12- CAPITALS GOAL. 1-0 Capitals

Goal scored by Jeff Halpern (2), assisted by Dennis Wideman (12) and Troy Brouwer (8). Let’s just say they listened to me when I said crash the net. Halpern crashed the net, and had a very easy goal off the rebound of Wideman’s shot. Great job by Brouwer to move it up to Wideman. Brouwer’s presence allows the Capitals to let a defenseman play up, so that had a huge part of it as well. Craig Anderson had no chance at it.

8:12- SENATORS PENALTY. Chris Neil, unsportsmanlike conduct.

I kind of want to know why this was unsportsmanlike conduct and not diving. They’re pretty much one and the same, but it was the act of diving that got him the penalty. Refs didn’t see Ovechkin hit him. Even if they did, a clear attempt to try to draw a penalty.

Capitals did not capitalize on the power play opportunity, they are now 0-16 on power play chances since their last power play goal. They desperately miss Mike Green.

12:43- SENATORS GOAL. 1-1.

Goal scored by Erik Condra (4). Assisted by Erik Karlsson (22) and Zack Smith (8). This is all on Vokoun. He was outside the crease when he had no real reason to be, and had to make a diving save. He couldn’t control the rebound, and Condra had an easy tip in for the equalizer.

14:46- CAPITALS PENALTY. Too many men on ice

Self-explanatory. Perreault was just a bit too eager on the line change.

15:51- CAPITALS PENALTY. Jason Chimera, hooking.

Capitals now on the 5 on 3. Questionable call.

17:54- SENATORS GOAL. Senators take the lead 2-1.

Goal scored by Nick Foligno (9). Wideman got burned, and Vokoun got caught out of position once again. Sadly, this has been happening to Vokoun way too often as of late.

END OF SECOND PERIOD. Senators lead 2-1.

Capitals defense simply had a breakdown this period. Couldn’t clear the puck when they needed to, which led to both goals. Of course, Tomas Vokoun was also way out of position on both goals, but still it’s something that could have prevented both goals. Capitals are getting chances on offense, but are still having trouble finishing. They are outshooting Ottawa 28-20. They do, however, need to start being more physical as they are getting outhit 16-11. The Capitals are still doing well on defense, only allowing 20 shots and blocking 12 shots.

The Capitals need to fix the defensive breakdown that happened in the second period. Not sure what happened, but something has to be adjusted. On offense, they need to continue being aggressive with the puck, as they are creating a lot of chances. However, they need to finish them. Screen Anderson, camp out around the posts, fight for the rebounds, find a way to disrupt Anderson and get him out of his comfort zone. Should be a very exciting third period.

THIRD PERIOD

0:34- CAPITALS PENALTY. Joel Ward, slashing.

Joel Ward went for the puck and he missed. That’s a textbook slashing call.

Great PK there by the Capitals. Brooks Laich deserves props for playing about 30 seconds without his stick.

8:46- SENATORS PENALTY. Erik Karlsson, tripping.

Tripped Ovechkin. Pretty obvious. Caps on the PP, let’s see if they can end the powerplay goal famine.

9:45- CAPITALS GOAL. 

Goal scored by Nicklas Backstrom (10). Assisted by Brooks Laich (11) and John Carlson (13). Yes the Capitals finally scored a power play goal, ending their 0-16 power play drought. Huge momentum shift for the Capitals, let’s see if they can keep it going.

13:12- OFF-SETTING ROUGHING PENALTIES. Brooks Laich and Nick Foligno.

Had a little fight after the whistle.

13:50- CAPITALS GOAL. Capitals 3-2

Goal scored by Alex Ovechkin (9). Assisted by Nicklas Backstrom (19) and Dmitry Orlov (4). Ovechkin with a vintage Ovi goal. Took the puck around the net to the slot and blasted it past Anderson.

14:05- CAPITALS GOAL. Capitals 4-2

Goal scored by Troy Brouwer (8). Assisted by Marcus Johansson (9) and John Carlson (14). With that goal, Brouwer now has a Gordie Howe hat trick (goal, assist, and fight in same game).

16:03- CAPITALS PENALTY. Alex Semin, hooking.

Semin with a questionable hooking call.

16:08- SENATORS GOAL. Caps 4-3

Goal scored by Milan Michalek (17). Assisted by Greening (6). Vokoun’s glove wasn’t quick enough.

17:02- CAPITALS PENALTY. Joel Ward, slashing.

Once again, Ward goes for the puck and misses.

Huge PK there by the Capitals to keep the game 4-3.

19:14- CAPITALS GOAL. Caps 5-3.

Empty Net Goal scored by John Carlson (5), unassisted. Carlson puts the final nail in the coffin with a snipe into the empty net.

END OF THIRD PERIOD. Capitals win 5-3.

Capitals won a tough one in Ottawa 5-3. The offense is starting to come along, as they have scored 3 or more goals in each of their last 3 games. Alex Ovechkin had his best game in at least a month. He was a force in both directions, and the stats don’t even begin to tell the story of how much he impacted the game. John Carlson has gone back to being the John Carlson that we all know and love, rather than the one who frustrates us. Tomas Vokoun was clutch when he needed to be, and the Capitals get Dale Hunter his second career win as an NHL coach. Both of his wins have come against the Senators.

The turning point of the game was Ovechkin’s goal that gave the Capitals a 3-2 lead. Ovechkin was probably the most frustrated player in the NHL because he’s been having a rough season, and it’s been showing. Ovechkin needed that goal. He’s starting to create chances like the old Ovechkin used to, hopefully he can get it going. This did wonders for his confidence.

The Capitals come back to the Verizon Center this Friday to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs.

SHOTS ON GOAL:
Capitals: 44
Senators: 34

HITS:
Capitals: 13
Senators: 21

FACEOFF WINS:
Capitals: 41
Senators: 31

BLOCKED SHOTS:
Capitals: 19
Senators: 7

THREE STARS:

1. John Carlson (1 goal, 2 assists, 3 points)
2. Alex Ovechkin (1 goal, 1 point, 7 shots on goal)
3. Nick Foligno (1 goal)